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For the sixth straight year, Carroll College has been named as the top rated Regional College in the West by the U.S. News & World Best Colleges report. It earned a perfect score in the 2017 rankings of 1,600 schools released on Tuesday.

Carroll College President Dr. Tom Evans was happy to once again hear the news.

Hes also been hearing from parents and alumni whove been calling to tell him how proud and excited they are for the campus, he said in a phone interview from Seattle.

For us to have six in a row as number one is quite an achievement, he said.

This is our second year in a row as the Best Regional College in the West for veterans."

The school has between 40 to 60 students who are vets, Evans said. The growth has been quite strong in the last few years.

Part of that ranking is the dedication of staff members, space and resources for veterans, said Evans.

Weve received a number of accolades, he said, for the schools veteran services. Current stats indicate 41 students receive VA benefits -- 23 of them veterans and others are family members.

Carroll College also ranked No. 2 for Best Value College in the West.

To have a number 1 ranking for academics, a number 2 for value and a number 1 for veterans -- thats really saying something," said Evans. "Its a terrific combination of excellence and costs and value.

Carrolls classification as a regional college is based on a Carnegie classification, said Evans. It is one of 65 such colleges in the West, with 31 of them ranked by the U.S. News & World Report.

We fit the regional college, which means we offer bachelors degrees and have more graduates in the professional area, such as nursing, engineering, pre-med, business -- than the liberal arts. Were still a liberal arts school, but we have more graduates in the professions.

Of the 15 indicators researchers used to measure academic excellence, the freshman retention rate of 82 percent is one Evans is particularly proud of.

I think the retention rate is really important for academic rigor, he told the Independent Record in a previous interview. Its kind of a happiness quotient of our students -- its a measure of our success.

In determining Carrolls score of 100, the rankings focus on student outcomes --- including their graduation and retention rates, which carry the most weight in our methodology, wrote Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News, in an email.

Rankings are based on 15 indicators, with some weighed more heavily than others. Besides retention and graduation rates, it looks at factors like academic reputation and faculty resources.

Close to 65 percent of Carrolls classes have fewer than 20 students, and the student/faculty ratio is 13:1.

Its four-year graduation rate is 49 percent.

A private Catholic college, Carroll was founded in 1909 and has an undergraduate enrollment of 1,469.

Annual tuition and fees are listed by U.S. News & World Report as $33,192, with room and board at $9,372.

According to Evans, 99 percent of the students receive financial aid, with an average package of $25,056.

Students graduate with an average debt load of $30,000.

Our graduates debt loads are equal to or less than graduates of the University of Montana or Montana State University and they typically graduate in less time, Evans said.

Carroll reports its default ratio at 3.4 percent, which it says is lower than the state average of 9.8 percent and the national average of 11.8 percent.

While some people may get sticker shock when they see Carrolls tuition rate, said Evans, we give substantial financial aid. Its an excellent private school education with really affordable tuition.

For a private education ... were a screaming deal -- especially for a top education like Carroll College, said Evans. Our faculty, our teaching is really excellent.

Our students graduate. They get into grad school. They get into med school. They get good jobs. ... I love to tell the story.

Were really happy. Its so nice to be recognized for excellence.

The Best Colleges rankings, released annually by U.S. News & World Report, includes assessments of more than 1,600 accredited four-year schools.

According to a story on National Public Radio, they are perhaps the most famous and influential college rankings, although not the only publication or organization that issues rankings.

Morse recommends the rankings can help prospective students and their families to make the important and expensive decision of which college to choose. Graduation rates and retention rates are important indicators of how well a school supports its students academically and financially, wrote Morse.

The Best Colleges rankings measure academic excellence, and we believe that students and their families should strongly consider academic quality when choosing a college.

For more information, visit http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/.
Modality Solutions will host and present the Day 2: Pre-Conference Workshop titled Using Performance Curves to Define OQ Test Profiles and Optimal Designs for Passive Shipping Containers. We encourage attendees to stop by our conference booth 425 to ask questions about their cold chain thermal packaging, transport validation, and logistics challenges, said Modality Solutions President Gary Hutchinson. Past News Releases RSS Cold Chain Experts Modality...

Modality Solutions Appoints Robert...

Modality Solutions Daniel...

Modality Solutions, LLC, a privately-held company that delivers integrated cold chain management solutions for life sciences and food industries, is pleased to announce they are once again sponsoring and presenting an innovative approach to understanding thermal passive shipper performance at the 14th Annual Cold Chain GDP & Temperature Management Logistics Global Forum. Modality Solutions will be joined by 850 temperature controlled life science leaders, September 26-30 at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

Modality Solutions will host and present the Day 2: Pre-Conference Workshop titled Using Performance Curves to Define OQ Test Profiles and Optimal Designs for Passive Shipping Containers. Paul Harber, Principal, Modality Solutions and Bernard McGarvey, Senior Engineering Advisor, Eli Lilly & Company will examine the current approaches to selection of passive shippers and how they can fail. A description of how to evaluate lane data and compile it into a thermal profile for use in qualification will be presented. Performance curves for passive shippers, how they can be used and the methodologies of development will be explained in-depth. Participants will take away tools and a methodology for defining shipper capabilities with a performance curve and quantifying the risk of failure within specified lanes.

In its 14th installment, the Cold Chain Global Forum has significantly expanded the topic focuses, session formats, speaking faculty and vendor options to help meet the industrys emerging and ongoing challenges for 2016 and beyond. The event is designed to include eight pre-conference workshops, two in-depth master classes, two days of main conference sessions, roundtable discussions and panel discussions, and more than 14 hours of networking to discuss the most important challenges and most effective strategies and solutions within the cold chain industry.

We encourage attendees to stop by our conference booth 423 to ask questions about their cold chain thermal packaging, transport validation, and logistics challenges, said Modality Solutions President Gary Hutchinson. We are committed to helping life science companies explore cost-reduction strategies, understand changing industry standards, and initiate risk management processes to ensure compliance, quality and product integrity."

Were thrilled to head back to Boston once again for the Cold Chain Global Forum, said Claudia Rubino, Divisional Director  Cold Chain Portfolio, IQPC. The Global Forum continues to be the leading event for temperature-controlled life science supply chains, and were pleased to have Modality Solutions partner with us to help make the event a success.

Subscribers of Modality Solutions receive 20% off rates with code: 14CCGF_MSOLUTIONS. Visit registration: http://bit.ly/23eK10e

To learn more about Modality Solutions, visit http://www.modality-solutions.com.

About Modality Solutions, LLC

Founded in 2011 Modality Solutions delivers integrated cold chain management solutions for highly regulated industries. Its Advantage Transportation Simulation Laboratory tests the effects of transportation environmental hazards on formulations. Key areas of service are: ensure regulatory compliance; deliver cold chain thermal packaging design / qualification and controlled-environment logistics solutions; conduct transport simulation testing; decrease development cycle times for a faster route-to-market; develop transport validation strategies to support global regulatory applications; and clinical trial operations. Additional information can be found at http://www.modality-solutions.com.

About IQPC

IQPC produces 1,500 global events that are custom-tailored to the unique needs of business executives. Founded in 1973, IQPC leverages an office network that spans six continents and a wealth of intellectual capital to provide an unparalleled portfolio of conferences and seminars. For more information, please visit http://www.iqpc.com

For IQPC:

Lauren Miller

Marketing Manager

(646) 454-4559

Lauren.Miller(at)IQPC.com

For Modality Solutions:

Susan Almon-Pesch

(858) 205-0516

sue(at)speschialpr.com
"We are very honored to be one of the top 500 remodelers in the country. We attribute our success to the quality of our products and installation, along with our customer service," said Neil Sciacca, President of New Jersey Siding and Windows.

New Jersey Siding and Windows is pleased to announce that it has been included among the Qualified Remodelers list of the Top 500 remodeling companies in America for 2016. Qualified Remodeler ranks the largest remodelers in the United States every year based on each company's annual revenue.

Qualified Remodeler publishes its list on an annual basis to inform professionals and consumers on all things related to the remodeling industry, including products, trends and other relevant news. The magazine featured its Top 500 list in its August 2016 edition. The list has provided evidence that the remodeling industry is growing, demonstrated by an overall increase in industry revenue each year.

"We are very honored to be one of the top 500 remodelers in the country. We attribute our success to the quality of our products and installation, along with our customer service," said Neil Sciacca, President of New Jersey Siding and Windows.

New Jersey Siding and Windows has also recently received the Angie's List Super Service Award and holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. New Jersey Siding and Windows is partnered with the industry's best-known brands, is an EnergyStar retail partner, and offers many GreenSpec and GreenSeal certified products.

In addition to the recent Top 500 award, the family-owned and operated company is proud to continue its charitable community involvement with Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross, and the Wounded Warrior Project and many other local community events.

For more information on New Jersey Siding and Windows and its Top 500 ranking, guests are encouraged to visit http://www.newjerseywindow.com or to contact them at (973) 895-1113.

New Jersey Siding and Windows focuses on providing high-quality products and customer service to the residents of Northern New Jersey. They specialize in offering siding, windows, doors, decks, roofing and gutters. The company is also an EnergyStar retail partner and offers products from brands such as Soft-Lite, Provia, Beechworth, CertainTeed, James Hardie and Azek.
If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity.

PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move.
NPR:

Five states are voting this fall on whether marijuana should be legal, like alcohol, for recreational use. That has sparked questions about what we know  and dont know  about marijuanas effect on the brain.

Research is scarce. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. That classification puts up barriers to conducting research on it, including a cumbersome DEA approval application and a requirement that scientists procure very specific marijuana plants.

One long-term study in New Zealand compared the IQs of people at age 13 and then through adolescence and adulthood to age 38. Those who used pot heavily from adolescence onward showed an average 8 percent drop in IQ. People who never smoked, by contrast, showed slightly increased IQ.



Jackson and Joshua Isen, now an assistant professor of psychology at the University of South Alabama, conducted a study comparing IQ tests of twins age 9 to 12, before either had smoked marijuana, and then seven to 10 years later, after one had started.

Read the whole story: NPR
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MISSOULA -- At the top of Elk Mountain, Kristin Barker hopped into the bed of the Ford pickup sometimes called "The Green Monster," raised the radio telemetry antenna high above her head and put the receiver to her ear.

From her vantage point, she could see far and wide, the tops of other mountains draped in forest green, the tamaracks that hadn't started turning golden yet, the sky in striations of gray and silver.

As the master's candidate in the wildlife biology program at the University of Montana listened for a single bull elk, she turned the device one way, then another.

The receiver crackled, but it didn't beep.

"Honestly, I don't have high hopes, but we have to do our due diligence," Barker said.

The researcher with an undergraduate degree in English was in the field far up Miller Creek at the tail end of a study examining how elk migration patterns affect their nutrition.

Barker said she was attracted to the project because it's collaborative and also meaningful outside the classroom. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and a private conservation company called MPG Ranch also are working on the study.

"I would like to do something that is important and applicable in the real world," Barker said.

Truth be told, she'd rather be out in the great outdoors any day of the week, although at this point in the research, she's spending more time at the computer screen looking for stories in the heaps of data the team gathered rather than trekking through the woods.

"I actually would have preferred to do 100 percent in the field, but my adviser (Mike Mitchell) told me I already know how to do field work, and I'm here to learn science," Barker said, who estimated overall field work at some 50 percent. "That's fair."

And in Montana, the connection between research in the lab and work in the field is close, sometimes just a short truck ride away.

***

Before heading out, Barker tossed a couple of backpacks into the backseat of "The Green Monster," also called "The Hulk," and stuck her coffee thermos in the console.

On any given trip, she and any of the researchers heading into the field might carry a topographical map, a GPS unit, radio telemetry equipment, PVC pipe squares for vegetation work, high-tech scissors, calipers to measure shrubs, iPads, and brown paper bags for samples.

"And latex gloves for handling fecal samples. Very important," Barker said.

The project started in 2014, she said, and as is typical with this type of work, the team brought on the master's student in 2015, after its inception, to carry out the data analysis portion toward the end.

To collect information, the scientists had collared 65 elk in the Sapphire Mountains. Most of the collars had dropped off and been retrieved, but Barker was looking for data from one that remained.

"Two bulls still have collars on 'em. One of them hasn't transmitted in a while," Barker said.

It sounded like a lovely problem for Barker; even though her main job at this point was looking at data at a computer in the Natural Sciences building on campus, she had to chase one last elk.

***

The trip to the top of the mountain took Barker through meadows, past a small vegetable farm, and under a deep green canopy of pine, maybe spruce  "I'd have to touch the needles to be sure."

Once, a tiny rabbit hopped along on the side of the road, one of the many critters Barker has encountered on her excursions. She'd seen a black bear, whitetail deer, mule deer, and lots of birds.

"Once, I found a little caterpillar cocoon," Barker said.

The mountain lions were there, too, but they observe the people; rarely is it the other way around.

Last week, the researcher had to tread with special care because it was hunting season, and she didn't want to upset the balance in the field. Barker didn't want to get in the way of the hunters, nor did she want to force elk from any hiding spots.

"During hunting season, you want to be real cautious to be fair to both parties," said Barker, a hunter herself.

On the drive, Barker spoke about the project in a way that made it clear science is a creative pursuit. The researchers have many different hypotheses, not just one, and they were testing different answers, which weren't mutually exclusive.

For instance, one idea is that the more an elk migrates, the better access it has to more nutritious food.

"You have to be creative to even come up with a good question," Barker said.

To find answers, the team collected data about the elk, and nutritional information about plants, such as balsamroot and spotted knapweed, at various stages of life.

At least last week, Barker only had preliminary conclusions to the question about nutrition posed by the agency. She's scheduled to graduate in December 2017, and before she does, she plans to use the data to answer one of her own questions about elk in the Sapphires, too.

"I'm trying to understand why the full continuum of migration behavior is represented in this population," Barker said.

Some elk migrate, but some start to migrate and then return, and their range of behaviors is wide. Some people believe they see patterns in elk movement, but so far the stories are only anecdotal and not backed by data, Barker said.

Some species, such as the wildebeest, have stopped migrating altogether, she said.

"Migratory behavior seems to be changing in a lot of species," Barker said.

The state agency will keep the data from the study, she said, and they'll continue to seek answers in it to questions about life and wild places even after this particular project ends.

***

Before coming to Montana, Barker worked in the software industry in Colorado.

Eventually, she found her volunteer work monitoring bats more interesting, and she decided to seek an advanced degree in wildlife biology. She headed to Missoula because she liked the town itself  which she had visited earlier while doing wolf research  as well as the campus lab, called the Montana Cooperative Research Unit, and the strength of the program, recognized nationally.

"It's one of the better wildlife bio programs in the country," Barker said.

After a few fruitless minutes with the antenna on the top of the mountain, the researcher revved up the truck again and rolled to a different vantage site. She didn't have luck there and she figured the batteries had died in the collar.

Typically, the collars upload data to a satellite every two hours, but it hadn't been sending information and she couldn't pick it up manually.

"He could be anywhere," she said.

With most of the collars already secure, though, Barker hopped back in the truck and headed back to campus, where she traded her socks and boots for a pair of sandals and settled in for computer analysis.

"This is where the magic happens," she said, joking.

Really, the magic seemed to be the way the campus and the field were bound together. Barker had landed on the top of Elk Mountain in the morning to listen for the signal of one bull elk, and she was back in her office the same afternoon, looking at the results of a couple of seasons of elk on the move in Montana.
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Terrorists groups in Central Africa have for years made war on children -- kidnapping them, raping them, murdering them, strapping bombs on their bodies and blowing them up. When ONE family is able to escape and get their children to the United States, Congressman Ryan Zinke tells them that they are not welcome here! THEY MUST GO BACK! What makes me embarrassed -- no ashamed -- of Montana is that people in the audience cheered at this barbarity.
The Lewis and Clark County Commission agreed to a tax break for a proposed solar electrical generation facility, but not before faulting project coordinators for not communicating enough with neighboring property owners.

According to a county staff report and county officials, the solar facility would be on 32 acres in the Canyon Creek area owned by Sieben Ranch Co. The facility would be capable of producing 4.2 megawatts and have a total installed cost of $5,460,000.

The power is to be sold to NorthWestern Energy and is the second solar generation facility proposed for the county.

A tax break was granted in April to a Cypress Creek Renewables subsidiary that proposed a facility able to generate up to 3 megawatts in the 7300 block of Green Meadow Drive.

The Canyon Creek project is proposed by Great Divide Solar LLC, whose address at in Santa Monica, California, matches that of one of the offices for Cypress Creek Renewables. Cypress Creek has eight offices in six states, according to its website.

Commissioner Susan Good Geise said Steve Johns, a Canyon Creek landowner, had expressed concern to her regarding the project, although he apparently did not attend the commission meeting and didnt address the commission during the time for public comment.

Commissioner Andy Hunthausen said Johns had also spoken with him about the proposed solar facility.

Commission Chairman Mike Murray said he had not spoken with Johns regarding Great Divides plans.

However, Murray said he wanted Wiley Barker, an attorney with Crowley Fleck who represented Great Divide Solar, to meet with Johns regarding concerns about how the solar facility would affect the view from his home.

There is a lot to recommend this project; clearly there is, Geise said, but then noted that as commissioners we dont have any voice in what happens with these kinds of projects that go in. Its not subject to subdivision review or anything like that.

The commissions only say in the project is in the granting of tax breaks, she continued before explaining the importance of being a good neighbor.

While not individually faulting the landowner or Cypress Creek Renewables for a lack of communication with neighboring property owners, Geise said, I dont think this was done in as neighborly a way as possible.

She cast the sole dissenting vote in granting Great Divide Solar a reduction in its taxes for the facility planned for 8896 Capeplace Drive.

Geise said that as a commissioner, shes seen many events, some tragic, that resulted when people were not being neighborly.

Thats who we are in Lewis and Clark County. We really and seriously do try to be neighborly, Geise said before adding that the tax break would receive the commissions approval.

But I want this to be my statement: That if youre going to consider any economic development or any kind of development at all, please take your neighbors into consideration, she said.

According to a community outreach memo from Great Divide Solar on Cypress Creek Renewables letterhead, an additional 200-foot setback on the sites southern boundary was added in response to neighbor concerns, as was a fence to screen the facility from the frontage road near the Canyon Creek fire hall.

Native and regional trees and shrubs will be used for landscaping and will be watered, the memo noted, and a rooftop solar installation will be provided for the fire department.

The community outreach effort was held from January through March of this year.

Barker, an attorney with Crowley Fleck who represented Great Divide Solar, presented the commission with plans for how the facility will be landscaped.

Great Divide and the landowner made efforts to reach out to all of the adjoining neighbors, he said and added that the company would be open to providing similar screening to address the concern of any neighbor who didnt have the opportunity to speak with the companys representatives.

The solar panels are made of aluminum and are not toxic, Barker noted.

Hunthausen said this tax break is one of the only tools that the commission has to promote economic development.

Its also a tool that the commission has employed with the city of Helena, he added.

It is important to note that these are new taxes. So even though were giving a break on taxes, thats a break on new taxes, he said.

The tax break calls for Great Divide Solars tax bill to be reduced by 50 percent for the first five years of the 10-year tax break.

During the next five years, the tax bill is increased by 10 percent increments so the full tax bill is being paid by the 10th year. This is the same tax break given to the other Cypress Creek Renewables subsidiary in April.

According to information from the Montana Department of Revenue, the tax bill without any reduction for the first 10 years of operation is figured to be $455,578.

Over 10 years, the taxes paid to the county and two local school districts would be reduced by $138,494, for a total of $317,085 paid during that time.

No taxes for the city of Helena are involved, as the project is outside of the city limits.

While about half of each dollar in property taxes goes to fund public education, the tax break does not affect the portion of those school taxes collected by the state, it was noted during the discussion by the commission.

Perhaps 40 percent of school taxes are those used locally to fund public education, and these are reduced by the tax break even though the school district doesnt vote on whether a tax break is granted.

Murray said he agreed with Hunthausen on the new taxes the solar facility would generate for the county and school districts.

Lewis and Clark County, in my opinion, welcomes economic development, especially an energy project like this that is very clean. The more projects like this we can get in Lewis and Clark County Im in support of, he said.
Despite the release last week of disappointing quarterly results and the surprise dismissal of CEO Ron Boire in August, Barnes & Nobles shareholders meeting held Wednesday morning was a tranquil affair.

No shareholders in attendance asked B&N founder and interim CEO Len Riggio about what exactly led to Boires ouster, or pressed for more details on how the company plans to improve results.

Riggio and CFO Allen Lindstrom largely reiterated remarks they made last week, when the first quarter financials were issued. Riggio once again said that while his and the boards main objective is to hire a new CEO, he wont rush the process. He promised to find a new leader who understands the nuances and complexities of bookselling. Riggio also said the misguided decision to drastically cut inventory and store floor personnelwhich some insiders claim led to Boires firingis currently being fixed.

While its inventory and store personnel levels are being restored, B&N still expects to cut store expenses by $25 million. It plans to do so by attacking areas that are not sales sensitive, Riggio said.

Five new concept stores will be opened in the fiscal year, and B&N is continuing to test different store layouts and inventory mixes, Riggio said. While books will remain the central component of B&Ns offerings, given the current retail economics, the chain, according to Riggio, cant make it just by selling books.

B&N has done well selling gifts and educational toys and games, and will continue to look for the next hot area such as adult coloring books, which unexpectedly boomed last year.

Nonetheless, one of the issues in maintaining a large physical store presence is the high costs of rents, Riggio said, adding that he hopes that trend will abate. High rent was one reason B&N closed the last of its Queens, N.Y., stores, Riggio said, in response to a question about the issue. He then added that B&N is looking for a location for a new Queens outlet.

Riggio then said that the New York City-based company would like to be in every borough.
The thermal metamaterial represented in this graphic could make possible more efficient thermophotovoltaic devices that generate electricity from thermal radiation. Such a technology might be adapted to industrial pipes in factories and power plants, as well as on car engines and automotive exhaust systems, to recapture a portion of the energy wasted as heat. (Purdue University image/ Gabriela Sincich and Matthew Bollinger)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  An international research team has used a "thermal metamaterial" to control the emission of radiation at high temperatures, an advance that could bring devices able to efficiently harvest waste heat from power plants and factories.

Roughly 50 to 60 percent of the energy generated in coal and oil-based power plants is wasted as heat. However, thermophotovoltaic devices that generate electricity from thermal radiation might be adapted to industrial pipes in factories and power plants, as well as on car engines and automotive exhaust systems, to recapture much of the wasted energy.

In new findings, researchers demonstrated how to restrict emission of thermal radiation to a portion of the spectrum most needed for thermophotovoltaic technology.

"These devices require spectrally tailored thermal emission at high temperatures, and our research shows that intrinsic material properties can be controlled so that a very hot object glows only in certain colors," said Zubin Jacob, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University. "The main idea is to start controlling thermal emission at record high temperatures in ways that haven't been done before."

The thermal metamaterial  nanoscale layers of tungsten and hafnium oxide  was used to suppress the emission of one portion of the spectrum while enhancing emission in another. (An animation is available at https://youtu.be/mRhcNF1yyyU.)

Metamaterials are composite media that contain features, patterns or elements such as tiny nanoantennas that enable an unprecedented control of light. Under development for about 15 years, the metamaterials owe their unusual abilities to precision design and manufacture on the scale of nanometers.

"They have been used mainly to manipulate coherent light, as in a laser, but the ability to manipulate infrared thermal radiation at 1,000 C opens up new areas of research," Jacob said. "The technique we used to achieve this thermal suppression and enhancement is fundamentally different from existing thermal engineering approaches and harnesses a phenomenon called topological transitions."

The research represents the first time the approach was used for thermal emission in high-temperature metamaterials, also called refractory metamaterials.

"My student, Sean Molesky, theoretically predicted it in 2012, and it has taken about four years and some exceptional materials engineering from our collaborators to perform the high-temperature experiments and demonstrate the thermal metamaterial," Jacob said.

Findings were detailed in a research paper published earlier this year in the journal Nature Communications. The work was performed by researchers at Purdue, the Hamburg University of Technology in Germany; University of Alberta in Canada; and Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research in Germany. The co-lead authors were Hamburg University of Technology postdoctoral researcher Pavel Dyachenko and University of Alberta doctoral student Sean Molesky.

The basic operating principle of a photovoltaic cell is that a semiconducting material is illuminated with light, causing electrons to move from one energy level to another. Electrons in the semiconductor occupy a region of energy called the valence band while the material is in the dark. But shining light on the material causes the electrons to absorb energy, elevating them into a region of higher energy called the conduction band. As the electrons move to the conduction band, they leave behind "holes" in the valance band. The region between both bands, where no electrons exist, is called the band gap.

"If you have energy below the band gap, that is generally wasted," Jacob said. "So what you want to do for high-efficiency thermal energy conversion is suppress the thermal emission below the band gap and enhance it above the band gap, and this is what we have done. We have used the topological transition in a way that was not done before for thermal enhancement and suppression, enhancing the high-energy part of the emission spectrum and suppressing the low-energy thermal photons. This allows us to emit light only within the energy spectrum above the band gap."

The paper's other authors were Jacob; Hamburg University of Technology researchers Alexander Yu Petrov, Slawa Lang, Manfred Eich, T. Krekeler and M. Ritter; and senior research scientist Michael Stormer from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Centre for Materials and Coastal Research.

Future research will include work to convert heat radiation from a thermal metamaterial to electron-hole pairs in a semiconducting material, a critical step in developing the technology. The thermophotovoltaic technology might be ready for commercialization within seven years, Jacob said.

A graphic depicting the high-temperature thermal metamaterial is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/2016/jacob-hyperboloidal.jpg

The graphic depicts how the thermal radiation is controlled using the shape of the surfaces: the metamaterial enhances thermal radiation in the ellipsoidal regime at left, but suppresses it in the hyperboloidal regime at right.

The research was funded by the German Research Foundation, National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, and the Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative.

Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu

Source: Zubin Jacob, 765-494-3514, zjacob@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: An electronic copy of the research paper is available by contacting press@nature.com or Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu. An animation, available at https://youtu.be/dbePERsPh-g, was prepared by College of Engineering digital producer Erin Easterling, 765-496-3388, Easterling@purdue.edu

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MISSOULA -- The Commissioner of Higher Education's staff said enrollment across the Montana University System is "slightly up" over last fall and will support the budgets proposed by the universities.

But Tyler Trevor, deputy commissioner of planning and analysis, declined to provide preliminary enrollment at the Montana Board of Regents meeting, saying early estimates were too hard for the "average person" to understand.

"The validity of our operating budgets and the strength of those budgets, I'm here to tell you, is backed by our current enrollment," Trevor said.

At the meeting in Billings, the regents talked about enrollment, heard an update on state support for higher education, and took up the $1.54 billion system budget for the 2017 fiscal year.

The University of Montana has budgeted for a 6.6 percent drop in enrollment for the 2017 fiscal year compared to the actual 2016 fiscal year enrollment, according to the presentation to regents. UM budgeted for 10,409 full-time equivalent students including those at Missoula College.

Chuck Jensen, deputy commissioner for administration and finance, said it was important to point out the University of Montana had made important progress in aligning its budget with its enrollment projections.

Its really important to note that in the two fiscal years from FY15 to FY17, this campus has made a significant reduction in their operating expenses, Jensen said, citing more than $10 million in cuts.

Enrollment figures to date this semester were not available at the meeting.

Trevor said the commissioner asked him to pull the preliminary data together, but he isn't convinced the figures are accurate because the target is still moving. Campuses take a census on the 15th day of classes when fees are due, and most campuses are only in their 12th day, he said.

Before the budget discussion that followed, Regent Martha Sheehy of Billings asked Trevor to direct her to the document that showed the estimates for each of the branches. She said she understood the preliminary nature of the information.

"Where do I look to find the numbers that we're close to?" Sheehy said.

At this point, Trevor said, the estimates include "too many stipulations for the average person to digest." However, he said the regents would receive more details when they discussed the budget; during that portion of the agenda, they heard the numbers each campus had budgeted for the fiscal year.

Montana State University in Bozeman is planning on an enrollment increase of 3.4 percent for a total FTE of 14,412 including Gallatin College students.

Commissioner Clayton Christian also said the regents would not receive the estimates, and said it would be irresponsible to offer data before the 15th day of instruction.

"We do not have a document, and we don't intend to produce that based on a guess," Christian said.

On the other hand, he said the budgets were built on enrollment projections, and the budgets appear to be on track.

***

At the meeting, the regents moved the Montana University System budget for approval Thursday.

Over the last decade, higher education has seen strong state support, Trevor said. Commissioner Christian said former Gov. Brian Schweitzer and current Gov. Steve Bullock have backed higher education, as have legislators, so this state is in a different financial position than many others.

We have increased state revenue, something only three other states have managed to do in that same period of time, Christian said.

At one point, state support had fallen to 32 percent, and the board wanted to get closer to 50 percent, he said. State support now sits at some 40 percent, although its at 50 percent for resident students.

The budget the regents will formally vote on Thursday is $1.54 billion and up 6 percent from the 2016 fiscal year.

Regent Bill Johnstone said he wasnt comfortable that the regents could only vote up or down on such a large item. Hed like to ensure the university system is providing adequate need based aid and he hopes to take a closer look at that issue and tuition in the future.

It does represent one of the most important decisions were asked to make every year, Johnstone said of the budget.

Regent Sheehy said she was heartened to hear the campuses were aligning their budgets with their enrollment  and living within their means. At the same time, she wanted the regents to be able to discuss whether campuses were on track with enrollment, and she specifically wanted to evaluate the plan put forward for Missoula last fall.

Are we on the right course with respect to growth? Sheehy said.

In response, President Engstrom said UM is taking a number of steps to strengthen enrollment. Its new vice president for enrollment management, Tom Crady, is revising operations in recruiting and admissions, for one.

UM is being more aggressive in strategic non-resident markets, and it has launched an effort to improve customer service, he said. The campus is also evaluating its curricula and adjusting offerings.

When you are in Missoula for the November meeting, we would like to give you a more complete detailed view of some of those efforts and how theyre progressing at that time, Engstrom said.

The board reconvenes at 8:15 a.m. Thursday and a live feed of the meeting is available at https://mus.edu/board/meetings/2016/Sept2016/Sept2016.asp.
In their silence on the Independent Map Amendment Tuesday, the majority of Illinois Supreme Court justices spoke volumes.

Of course, the decision by the four majority Democrats not to revisit their original decision to dump the reform measure from the Nov. 8 ballot was not unexpected. But it remains hard to accept because of what it may say about the fundamental right of Illinoisans to reform the way their lawmakers are elected.

In refusing to respond to legal entreaties seeking details about how any citizen redistricting measure could make it to voters, justices (again voting along party lines) chose to leave Illinoisans guessing. Not surprisingly, supporters of the status quo say the majority not only got the original decision right, they had no responsibility to do reformers work for them.

Theyre wrong on both counts.

Consider what Dennis FitzSimons, chair of Independent Maps group which collected more than 563,000 signatures to get the amendment on the ballot and raised and spent millions to defend it, said in a statement Tuesday.

Unlike what they had done in every single similar case, the majority of the Supreme Court refused to consider transcripts of the Constitutional Convention debates, which support our argument that the amendment is exactly what the framers intended to allow citizens to do, he said. They ruled on only one of seven arguments made by opponents and did not consider the other six counts -- leaving those questions for another day. But that another day may never come.

In addition, the majoritys refusal to respond to requests for legal guidance about what the majority believes is permissible in a citizen-initiated amendment to reform redistricting through a fair and impartial commission, rewards the entrenched political class which has exploited the current system at the expense of voters.

Our coalition remains committed to reform and believes an independent redistricting commission would be one important step in changing state government and making the legislature more responsive to the voters of this state, Mr. FitzSimons said. Whether that is possible through a citizen-initiated amendment is now an open question to be discussed by supporters throughout the state.

As his group decides what to do next, others are turning to lawmakers. Though we too would like to see the General Assembly reform itself, thats a bigger long-shot than getting a redistricting amendment through the current high court majority. Illinoisans by now should be well familiar with the standard legislative practice of passing differing amendments on the same subject in each chamber. Lawmakers can vote for the one in their chamber and claim to support reform when they meet with the folks back home, all the while knowing that their leaders will not allow either chamber to agree on the exact language in the other chambers version.

If House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton were to ever allow an identical redistricting reform amendment to pass in both their chambers, we would urge reformers to take a long, hard look at the fine print.

That doesnt mean the Legislature cant do what needs to be done. In fact, lawmakers do not face any of the stringent constitutional restrictions governing citizen initiatives created mostly via judicial interpretation of the 1970 constitution. To ensure they take advantage of that fact, we continue to urge voters to hold House and Senate candidates feet to the fire. Demand to know precisely how incumbents and challengers plan to do more than pay lip service to ending gerrymandering.

At the same time, however, voters must refuse to surrender our constitutional right to change how we pick our legislature or abandon the search for a path judges say can legally be used to do so. Its easy to despair, but remember, it took California six years to pass an amendment which put state legislative redistricting in the hands of an independent commission. It worked so well after it was approved in 2008, in 2010 Californians expanded its duties to include congressional districts.

Failure is inevitable only if we quit trying.

As Mr. FitzSimons said, Change is difficult, especially in Illinois government, but it is a battle worth fighting.
The devil is in the music and art, with a new exhibit opening Saturday at Davenport's Figge Art Museum. "Giving the Devil His Due: The Art of Gary Kelley" will be displayed in the fourth-floor gallery through Dec. 31.

The exhibition is a collection of drawings and monotypes of the lives of two legendary musicians: the 19th-century violinist and guitarist Nicolo Paganini, and his 20th-century counterpart, blues guitar legend Robert Johnson, according to a Figge release.

"Though their lives were divided by a century, both shared a restless intellectual and emotional urge to master their instruments and, according to legend, sold their souls to the devil to achieve perfection," the release said.

Based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Mr. Kelley is an artist, illustrator and music lover who visually explored these lives in artwork he created for two award-winning books: "Dark Fiddler: The Life and Legend of Nicolo Paganini," by Aaron Frisch, and "Black Cat Bone: The Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson," by J. Patrick Lewis.

At the Figge, these 60-plus musically inspired illustrations will be shown together for the first time. An opening reception will be held Friday at 5:30 p.m., where Mr. Kelley will give a free talk starting at 7 p.m. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be offered at the reception.

A special event will be held at the Figge on Thursday, Nov. 17 (at 6 p.m.), when community partners will join to celebrate the exhibit with music, dance and visual arts. The scheduled performers include Quad City Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, the River Music Experiences Ellis Kell, and dancers from Ballet Quad Cities. That night, admission is free.

As it has been all summer, admission to the Figge will be free every day through Sept. 25, due to support from The Bechtel Trusts and John Deere Classic.
A judge on Wednesday denied a request by Mitchell Gayer to have his DUI/fatality trial moved because of concerns that pretrial publicity would prevent him from getting a fair hearing.

Mr. Gayer, 26, of Andalusia, is accused of causing the Nov. 27, 2013, alcohol-related crash that killed Jamie Sedam, 22, of Port Byron, and Clayton Carver, 24, of Taylor Ridge.

Mr. Gayer wanted the venue change, citing worries that pretrial publicity has tainted the pool of potential jurors against him.

On Wednesday, Judge Richard A. Zimmer ruled there was not enough evidence to indicate a relocation of the proceedings was necessary. The judge said the change of venue could be revisited later if concerns over the impartiality of the jury pool persisted as the case continues.

Before Judge Zimmer made his ruling, Katherine Drummond, Mr. Gayer's attorney, and prosecutor Cynthia Hennings presented their arguments concerning the venue change request.

Ms. Drummond said comments posted on social media and on news websites -- as well as coverage by news media -- had raised doubt about whether Rock Island County jurors could be impartial and fair to her client.

"We have concerns about being able to select enough jurors," she said.

Ms. Hennings countered that the attention the case has received has not reached a threshold that requires the case to be moved from the county.

"There's always going to be publicity in cases like this," she said.

In January 2015, Mr. Gayer entered an Alford plea to one felony count of aggravated DUI, for which he received a prison sentence of up to 18 years. He later requested permission to withdraw the plea and asked the judge to vacate the sentence, claiming ineffective counsel by his trial attorney, William "Gerry" Schick.

The judge granted his motion in December 2015.

In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges a conviction is likely at trial. Withdrawing his Alford plea meant two counts of aggravated driving under the influence were reinstated against Mr. Gayer, who faces six to 28 years in prison if convicted.
COLONA -- A Moline couple has 35 days to remove a 9,000-square-foot pole building that includes their home in the Ponderosa Hills subdivision between Geneseo and Colona.

Judge Jeffrey O'Connor on Wednesday denied a motion in Henry County Circuit Court to reconsider his May decision on the size of the garage exceeding space for three vehicles. This week he noted subdivision and county rules would govern future construction.

The 35 days will give Brett and Melissa Swanson time to file an appeal, although the judge counseled against it.

The Swansons' attorney, William Stengel, asked whether the couple could return with a building plan that would meet the court's approval. The judge declined.

"He's going to go forward at his own risk on the residence part of this thing," Judge O'Connor said. "He'd be better off spending it on his residence.

"I have no jurisdiction if it conforms to covenants running with land and the Henry County Building code," Judge O'Connor said. "The fact engineers have to re-draw -- that's up to them."

In the original civil suit, 19 owners of nearby properties claimed the building's construction violated both neighborhood restrictions and Henry County zoning ordinances. In April, the judge issued a temporary restraining order to halt construction.

In May, Judge O'Connor eliminated all plaintiffs but the owners of six properties closest to the Swansons and ruled the building must come down.

"It's too bad this came up with the atmosphere which it did because I happen to believe neighbors should be neighbors," he added.

Nadine Palmgren, the neighbors' attorney, said other Pondersosa Hills subdivision residents, meanwhile, revised subdivision covenants in part to prohibit steel metal exterior walls and to require that accessory buildings not be built in front or side yards.
BETTENDORF -- The former Isle of Capri riverboat casino has been bought by a Memphis, Tenn., company that plans to make it a 166-passenger all-suite riverboat for Mississippi River cruises.

In late June, the Isle of Capri moved its Bettendorf casino from the boat into a new land-based facility.

Officials with the American Queen Steamboat Co. on Wednesday announced it bought the riverboat and will rechristen it the American Duchess. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed, and Isle spokeswoman Jill Alexander did not have a date for when the Bettendorf riverboat would leave the Quad-Cities.

The Duchess would start cruising the Mississippi River in June 2017, according to American Queen officials.

In a news release, American Queen President Ted Sykes said the renovated boat will feature large suites and room for 166 passengers. The American Duchess would include 550-square-foot loft suites, standard veranda cabins of about 240 square feet and interior cabins about 180 square feet.

The Isle of Capri casino boat will be used as a platform for the new cruise ship. The American Queen Steamboat Co. plans to send the boat to a U.S. shipyard to have a third deck added and the current two decks rebuilt.

Mr. Sykes said the renovated boat will resemble a historic Mississippi riverboat with a "classic wedding cake style." A working paddlewheel also will be added, he said.

The boat would feature two dining venues, including a grand dining room to accommodate all passengers and a Grill Room with seating for 80.

The American Duchess would be the company's third river cruise boat. Its flagship craft -- the American Queen with a 436-passenger capacity -- is the largest steamboat ever built, according to the company.

American Duchess would join the American Queen for Mississippi River cruises from New Orleans to St. Paul, Minn. The American Queen currently cruises the upper Mississippi River, with three more trips planned through mid-October. The boat then isn't scheduled to return to the Quad-Cities area until July 2017, according to the company.

The company's other riverboat, The American Empress, is the largest overnight riverboat west of the Mississippi River. The 360-foot diesel-powered paddle-wheeler travels the Pacific Northwest.

In February 2015, European river cruise giant Viking announced it would make New Orleans its first North American home port for the Mississippi River starting by late 2017. Company officials said Viking planned to build six to 12 ships, each able to accommodate 338 passengers, for Mississippi River cruises from New Orleans to Memphis, St. Louis and St. Paul.

Davenport would be a port of call on some of those cruises, company officials said.

As of today, Viking has released no schedule for Mississippi River cruises. Joe Taylor, president/CEO of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he wasn't sure if Viking has built the boats yet for its Mississippi River cruises.

Mr. Taylor said it was his understanding that Viking is still "moving in the direction" of docking in Davenport, but the company is facing issues in obtaining the permits needed to cruise American waterways.
MOLINE -- WQPT, the Quad-Cities' PBS station, recently hired two new employees, including one in a new position. Both are focused on fundraising.

Andrew Orrego-Lindstad joined the station as the new director of development, replacing Jamie Lange, who spent six years in the position. He comes to WQPT from the Denver, Colo.-based Second Wind Fund, a statewide youth and child suicide prevention mental health provider, where he also was development director, according to a WQPT release.

I am so excited to join this wonderful group committed to bringing quality, educational programs to the Quad-Cities region, Mr. Orrego-Lindstad said in the release.

Brian Williams has been named WQPTs underwriter and outreach coordinator. Formerly an account executive with North Scott Press in Eldridge, he and his family have been longtime volunteers for the station.

I am happy to be with WQPT and be part of the PBS family, and to spread the word about all that WQPT does in our community, Mr. Williams said in the release.

WQPT General Manager Mary Pruess said both positions were filled "after a careful search by respective search committees. "We are delighted to welcome such accomplished professionals to our staff," she said.

The underwriting job became necessary when public broadcasting throughout Illinois was cut from the state budget last year. "We are not planning on any funding from the state for this year," station spokeswoman Lora Adams said Tuesday.

WQPT is a public media service of Western Illinois University based at its Riverfront Campus in Moline. The station, however, receives no direct cash support from WIU.

"Since WQPT is a self-sustaining department within the university, we are responsible for raising our own funding through a variety of sources," Ms. Adams said. "The underwriting position allows us to have a staff member focus on this portion of fundraising."

The development director focuses on major giving, capital campaigns and the station's "Leaving a Legacy" program, she noted. The underwriter looks for smaller gifts, promoted in the 15-second messages aired before or after programs, she said.

Last year WQPT expected $70,000 from the state but received nothing, she said. "Obviously, when the budget impasse was going on, we took that out of our budget and we don't anticipate anything this year either."

According to the last annual report for 2014-15 posted on wqpt.org, the station had operating expenses of $1.875 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, with an operating deficit of $529,113.

Operating revenues accounted for 79 percent of WQPT's total revenue, which includes grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, viewer memberships and contributions. Non-operating revenue, which covers the rest of the budget, includes donated support, grants for capital acquisitions and investment earnings, according to the report.
A special squad assigned a year ago to help clear backlogged cases uncovered those problems and many others so serious that in January Police Chief Darryl Forte suspended nearly the entire Crimes Against Children unit of detectives and sergeants. At the time, Forte said cases were being worked too slowly.

But police never disclosed the depth and scope of the detectives inaction on reported crimes  sexual assaults, broken bones, near starvation among them. The departments own memos describe 148 severely mishandled cases, gross negligence, incompetence and evidence of attempts to cover up.

Never in my career with the KCPD have I seen such a systemic failure, Maj. David Lindaman wrote in a Nov. 19 memo to a deputy chief that was among hundreds of pages of documents obtained by The Star.

Lindaman blamed sergeants for poor supervision, detectives for not holding themselves accountable and commanders  himself included  for allowing this organizational failure to develop over the past four years.

According to the memos, many cases sat idle for months. Fifty sat idle for more than a year, including the report of a 4-year-old girl who had been raped and infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

Relatives told The Star that they called the detective six or seven times after their lone meeting with her but never heard back. For more than a year they looked over their shoulders, fearful that the rapist could be near when, as it turned out, the suspect sat locked in a Kansas jail on another child rape allegation, easy to find for anyone actually looking for him.

These (detectives) are the people we called to protect us, a relative of the 4-year-old told The Star. I feel like they were just throwing our case away.

The memos describe numerous other investigations that languished for many months, sometimes from the beginning of the case and other times after a detective spent some time investigating. They included reports of:

4- and 5-year-old malnourished and neglected children who had been sodomized by a sex offender living in their home.

An 11-month-old child who suffered a skull fracture and another 11-month-old with a broken femur.

A 12-year-old runaway raped by three men, at least one of whom she identified to police.

Detectives closed cases they could have solved, the documents detail. They never questioned some named suspects. They failed to follow a lead involving DNA.

And they left a handgun, cellphones, DVDs of recorded interviews with children and a range of other evidence in desks for months, even years, sometimes without any note to indicate what case the evidence accompanied.

The departments failures  The Star found in extensive reporting  impact hospital staff, child welfare workers and child interview specialists whose efforts, often before detectives got assigned, went for naught. The failures handicap prosecutors who have had to delay filing charges or couldnt file them at all.

And ultimately the failures steal from victimized children the chance to obtain justice  and safety.

When The Star recently asked Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker whether the detectives inaction left any children in peril, she paused, sighed and paused again for several seconds.

Move on to another question, she finally said. She declined to be more specific but said, It pains me to think about that.

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd acknowledged harm done to children. His office managed to prosecute cases with old evidence. Sadly, however, the delay in investigating and referring cases for charges exposed additional children to sexual abuse, he told The Star.

Forte declined an interview and would not allow his command staff to publicly discuss the units problems or the ongoing internal investigation.

But in a written statement, Forte called the suspensions an unprecedented step in the departments history, saying but it was one we felt was needed to properly serve and protect our citys most vulnerable victims.

He noted that in April, the department created a quality-control until that has reviewed tens of thousands of cases handled by patrol officers and investigators to make sure cases are being handled thoroughly and in a timely fashion.

He declined to provide specifics about the internal investigation into the Crimes Against Children unit.

We want to thoroughly review our processes and actions of all personnel involved, Forte wrote. Because that investigation is not complete and because it is an internal one, I cannot comment any further about it.



Police commanders knew of problems in the unit as early as 2011, when several attempts by a sergeant trying to deal with less than satisfactory performance by several detectives was met with resistance from command staff, Lindaman wrote in a memo.

Lindaman asked higher-ups for another sergeant to help supervise the unit, but it took a year to get one.

The memo recounted other, ongoing personnel problems  and inaction on solving them.

Then in the summer of 2015, according to the memos, Baker complained to police that Jackson County prosecutors could not continue to go to court on cases that took over a year to investigate.

That spurred Lindaman to ask the special victims unit commander to research how many of the childrens unit cases were at least six months old.

That commander found several hundred cases. Many were more than a year old.

The special response team launched in mid-September 2015. Initially, members examined 242 cases identified as older than six months.

They found some type of failure to properly investigate in 115, or nearly half.

Memos about extensive problems soon began shooting up the chain of command.

Child victims of rape, sodomy, molestation, abuse and neglect were not receiving proper or any service, Sgt. Michael Seward, the extra supervisor assigned to help clear the backlog, wrote Oct. 30 to the special victims unit commander. I identified significant issues that I believe need to be immediately and formally addressed to include improper judgment, mishandling of documents and evidence, lack in the understanding of probable cause or absolute failure to question suspects.

It appeared that several underperforming members of the unit had tried to cover their tracks through deception or possibly an intentional cover-up of the failure to properly investigate, Seward wrote.

As the special response team expanded its review to more cases, it found more problems.

Eventually other memos, many written by Seward, detailed problems found in the 148 severely mishandled cases.

By November, the teams findings had prompted an internal affairs investigation.

Meanwhile, childrens unit detectives continued working, mostly on newer cases.

In early December, one of the detectives went on indefinite leave. The special response team checked that persons desk for any notes, files or other paperwork that needed to be completed.

During this examination, many items indicating further failure to perform as expected were found, Lindaman wrote.

Another problem surfaced in January, when special response team members tried to reconcile evidence in the property room with a database listing evidence detectives had procured. One detective had documented recovering 40 pieces of evidence that could not be found in the property room. Some was found in a desk, some not at all.

Those developments prompted Lindaman to recommend removal of seven of the units eight detectives and two sergeants, as it is impossible to assure the public these detectives can be trusted to conduct themselves professionally until a thorough internal investigation is completed, he wrote in a January memo to Deputy Chief Cheryl Rose.

After about a week, the nine suspended officers were reinstated and reassigned to patrol units.



The Crimes Against Children unit typically investigates about 1,000 cases a year involving victims 16 and younger who have been physically or sexually abused, neglected, kidnapped by parents or caught up in other violations of court-ordered custody.

Detectives collect evidence, interview witnesses and often collaborate with state child welfare workers, pediatricians, prosecutors and other child advocates, such as court-appointed lawyers. Sometimes they remove endangered children from homes.

Yet in case after case cited in the documents, police department memos point to a complete lack of investigation.

One detective never interviewed a schoolteacher who allegedly pulled a 16-year-old student by her hair, hard enough to give her a headache, because no video of the incident existed, one memo said.

Another case involved a 14-year-old girl who had been sexually molested for 10 years before telling someone at school in late 2014, just a month after the most recent incident. She identified a suspect, had a medical exam and answered questions asked by a forensic specialist. Yet 10 months later, the case file showed no work by the assigned detective.

A child endangerment case assigned in May 2015 involved seven children, ages 4 months to 10 years, living in a home with a very large cockroach infestation. Cockroaches crawled on the children, who slept on blankets on the floor. The case file showed crime scene photos, a state child welfare workers report and other information. But it showed no investigative work by the detective.

In late December 2013, Childrens Mercy Hospital reported a 3-year-old boy vomiting with stomach pain. He had internal injuries, multiple scars, facial bruises and fresh cuts below an eyebrow and on his bottom lip. He had a history of being abused by his father, who had custody when the new injuries happened. In a meeting the next month, the victim said, Daddy did it. Yet about 20 months later, shortly after the newly assigned detectives began uncovering problems in the Crimes Against Children unit, the case detective completed an inactivation report, writing: I was unable to identify a suspect and I was unable to establish probable cause for child abuse.

I know that while these detectives have clearly failed to perform their duties as expected, they have also performed admirably on many other cases  making this an even more perplexing situation, Lindaman wrote in a memo.

Its unclear what went wrong in the case of the 4-year-old girl reportedly raped by a man who left her battling the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia. The memo that referenced the case said it had not been investigated in any capacity for more than a year. The girl had told her father about it first. Then during an interview with a forensic specialist, the girl used dolls to explain what the man had done, court records show.

After meeting once with the detective, the girls parents waited for news that the suspect, Dustin Hudson, had been arrested. Over the months, they called six or seven times seeking an update. The detective never called back, leaving the parents to question whether she cared, the relative said.

Hudson had been locked up the entire time in a Kansas jail after being accused of raping a 12-year-old girl just three months before the younger girl recounted her rape story.

By the time the newly assigned detectives uncovered the stalled case last fall, the suspect had gone through a mistrial in Wyandotte County on the other rape case but remained in custody on an unrelated felony charge. When he pleaded guilty to the other felony in August 2015, prosecutors dismissed the rape case.

On Oct. 26, he was sentenced to probation during a Wyandotte County District Court hearing. Afterward, he boarded a public transit bus to Missouri, unaware that Kansas City police now were watching. A street crimes tactical unit trailed the bus until Hudson disembarked at 10th and Main streets downtown, where officers tackled and arrested him.

The girls family didnt learn of his arrest until one saw Hudsons mug shot on a local television newscast two days later. Jackson County prosecutors had filed statutory rape and child molestation charges against Hudson, now 29. His case is pending.

Recently told about the memo revealing how the case had languished, the girls relative grew angry.

What pisses me off is, this could have been done and over, the relative said. It is really frustrating that it was over a year before they opened it up, and he was sitting right there (in jail).

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)



After the scrutiny began, some detectives apparently tried to cover up their lack of work on cases, according to memos from Lindaman.

In some instances, the detectives added new notes to old cases describing work done years earlier.

They also suddenly closed dozens of cases, some that still contained good evidence and leads, apparently so the special review team would not see the cases. One four-person detective squad had closed 64 cases, an unusually high number, in September alone.

In one of his memos, Lindaman reported the existence of enough data to indicate the possibility of deception in an attempt to close cases inappropriately so as not to come to my attention during this review.

The review team soon reopened some of those cases to conduct proper investigations, a memo said.

One case concerned a 7-year-old who reported in 2014 being molested by her mothers fiancee. The girl told her mother, who did nothing. The child then told her grandmother and Girl Scout leader.

But after the childs interview, no work was recorded in the case file for nearly 10 months.

Only in September 2015, just before the special backlog review team arrived, did the detective begin making notes in the case again, sometimes late at night, about interviews with a witness and a school counselor that were dated as having occurred months before.

That same night, the detective also closed a 2013 case, first entering notes about an interview conducted two years earlier with a 14-year-old who identified a man who raped her while she baby-sat for a family member.

The review team reopened that case.

The pattern held in other cases, too.

The sergeant leading the review suggested an internal affairs investigation into the cases and others that were intentionally and inappropriately closed.



Baker, the prosecutor, said she wasnt aware of the depth of the problems until police officials suspended nearly the entire Crimes Against Children unit in January.

She also didnt know how poorly the detectives were tracking cases until an audit launched in February compared police records to prosecutor files. The audit covered cases dated from January 2011 through December 2015.

Detectives showed 216 cases listed as pending at the Jackson, Clay and Platte county prosecutors offices, the audit found.

In reality, only 12 actually were waiting for prosecutors to make charging decisions. Charges already had been filed in 81 cases but detectives had failed to properly update records.

Detectives marked nearly two dozen cases as sent to prosecutors for review that had not been, effectively delaying any further action until the review team caught the mistakes.

And  most concerning, as one police major noted in a memo  detectives themselves deemed 29 cases serious and strong enough for criminal charges but then ignored prosecutors demands for more work.

There are still bad men and women out there hurting kids and anyone standing in the way of bringing these people to justice is giving aid and comfort to societys greatest enemies, said Clay County Prosecutor Daniel White.

Both he and Zahnd of Platte County said their offices have been able to prosecute suspects even when police investigations have lacked polish.

But the delays could be harming children, Zahnd said.

Because crimes against children are often repetitive in nature and many child sex abusers have multiple victims, its essential to investigate and charge cases quickly, he said.

When evidence is not collected in a timely manner, there is a chance that a judge will throw it out, Baker said.

Before the suspension and the ongoing internal review, she tried a variety of ways to speed up the slowly moving cases.

She had an assistant prosecutor work directly with detectives; conducted weekly meetings between police and prosecutors; and utilized the Child Protection Center on an around-the-clock basis so victims could be interviewed more quickly.

Baker now worries about all criminal cases these detectives have touched.

Their credibility as key witnesses lies at the heart of the documents that The Star obtained. The police departments memos about detectives and the units failures have become part of many ongoing criminal cases because discovery rules require prosecutors to disclose information that could undermine witnesses believability. The Star obtained hundreds of pages of documents from sources involved in such cases.

Defense lawyers have been requesting internal police memos and internal affairs information to search for ways to impeach the detectives at trial.

Jurors can be told if detectives have falsified documents, were slow to interview victims or failed to complete an investigation, said John Picerno, a defense lawyer.

Certainly that is something the jury is going to take quite seriously, Picerno said. It is like with any other witness, whether it is a jailhouse snitch or a co-defendant testifying or an eyewitness, and we will utilize it if we think it affects the witnesss credibility.



As problems with the Kansas City unit grew, agencies tasked with caring for children did not receive proper service from police, according to a department memo from a sergeant brought in to deal with the backlog.

Those agencies included the Child Protection Center, Synergy Services, the Childrens Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services, and Childrens Mercy Hospital.

Childrens Mercy treats about 3,000 children each year for physical or sexual abuse. Some have broken bones. Some have been burned or raped.

After treating injuries, doctors often spend hours examining a child and collecting evidence to identify abuse. Even when doctors are as gentle as possible, the examinations can be difficult for children who are already traumatized.

To think that those efforts could be wasted is frustrating, said James Anderst, a child abuse pediatrician and director of the hospitals child abuse and neglect division.

Our work only has a societal impact if our partners take it and use it appropriately, Anderst said.

By last year, frustrations with the Kansas City units failings had reached across the state.

In Callaway County, east of Columbia, state caseworker Christina Winter tried for months without success to get answers from a Kansas City detective about what would happen to four children brought to her area to stay with relatives during an abuse investigation.

The children had been removed from their Kansas City home after it was reported two of them, ages 4 and 5, had been sodomized by a known sex offender. The children had been found living in conditions of gross neglect and appeared malnourished, a memo said.

For more than a year, police memos show, detectives did no work on the investigation.

Winter said the detective seemed annoyed at her questions  posed in an exchange of 35 emails between July and October. At one point the detective wrote, Unfortunately, our office has been inundated with a lot of high profile incidents, such as shootings, that have occupied my attention. The case is open and is being investigated.

Winter took away the impression that these children were being put very last on the list, that what happened to them was not important to them. That they werent (the detectives) first priority and they werent going to be.

She was unhappy to learn that even after a new detective finished the case, it could not be prosecuted because it was too old.



So far this year, prosecutors, social workers and child advocates say theyve seen a difference since the unit was overhauled.

The current detectives care about the children, Baker said.

This unit is doing the kind of work that I demand of them, she said. I havent met a child yet that is not worthy of all of us working long hours and putting all of us through the paces to do the very best job possible on their behalf.

Winter, the social worker in Callaway County, said the new detective assigned to that case seemed much more responsive and effective.

Lisa Mizell, chief executive officer of the Child Protection Center, said she had noticed a marked improvement in the work of detectives this year. The department brings more than 500 children a year to the center, which specializes in interviewing children.

I think once they found out what they were dealing with there, they took it very seriously. And Ive been impressed with how they confronted it, she said.

In his written statement to The Star, Forte also emphasized the improvements.

I am confident that the checks and balances we have put in place since the beginning of the year can give our community confidence that their cases will be handled professionally, investigated thoroughly and be of the quality that represents the greatest chance for prosecution and conviction, he said.
The charges against Michael Grant, 29, a recovering heroin addict who walks the streets of Philadelphia dressed as Jesus, stemmed from his refusal to leave the Apple store at 1607 Walnut St. in Center City in May.

Grant owns an iPhone and jokes that hes on the family plan with God and the Holy Ghost. He has a prolific Twitter presence and often visits the electronics mecca to charge his phone and update his accounts.

At the crux of the case against Grant was a cross  a 7-to-8-foot wooden one that Grant sometimes carries around the city.

Apple store manager Shawn Dobbs testified Wednesday that Grants cross was blocking an aisle of the store May 2 and that Grant became very aggressive when asked to leave.

He told me the only way hed leave was to be arrested, Dobbs testified. He told me he needed to be arrested.

As Grant began to yell about his religious freedoms, Dobbs said, 20 to 30 customers and employees took photos and videos.

Officer Michael Levin, who arrested Grant after twice warning him to vacate the premises, testified that Grant was yelling as he was taken away in handcuffs.

Hes screaming, Freedom of speech! I know my rights!  Levin recalled.

Grants attorney, Brian Zeiger, argued that Grant believed he was being asked to leave because of the expression of his religious beliefs and thus thought his protestations of his persecution would be covered under the First Amendment.

Dobbs, who wore a black-and-silver Apple watch to court, said that although the store has hundreds of video cameras, none managed to capture the alleged incident.

Zeiger said he found that hard to believe. He also questioned why the cross being used to crucify Grant wasnt brought into court as evidence.

We know the cross existed, Assistant District Attorney Noel Walton said. It doesnt have to be here in all its 8-foot glory.

So the judge had to take it as gospel.

Since his arrest in May, Grant has returned to the store many times without incident, Dobbs said.

At the advice of his attorney, Grant did not testify Wednesday. During the trial Zeiger described his client as very peaceful and a public figure in our local community, whether we like it or not.

After rendering his verdict, Municipal Court Judge Craig M. Washington sentenced Grant to three months probation. Grant and his attorney plan to appeal their case to a jury.

I think the citizens of Philadelphia will see that hes not guilty, Zeiger said.

Grant, who has long, brown hair and dressed for court in his trademark long, white robe, maintained his innocence in an interview afterward and said he has only love for the judge and the justice system.

I forgive them for trespassing against me, he said.
After the June referendum vote in Britain to quit the EU, it should have felt for many of the other member states like a brake was released and they were free to move forward with their joint venture. Instead, 28-minus-1 leaders will be meeting at the centuries-old Bratislava Castle on Friday with one question on their minds  how to keep everybody else moving, and if not in lockstep then more or less in the same direction?

"It would be a fatal error to assume that the negative result in the U.K. referendum represents a specifically British issue," EU Council President Donald Tusk wrote to the 27 leaders ahead of the summit.

"We must be lucid on Europe's situation", French president Francois Hollande said on Thursday following a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris. "It's not just another crisis, it might be an existential crisis" for the EU.

Losing a member for the first time  a financial powerhouse at that  would be difficult to swallow at the best of times. But Brexit comes on top of a refugee emergency that EU nations simply cannot agree how to manage. Countries in the east  Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and others  have openly opposed proposed solutions coming out of Brussels and even defied the wishes of their neighbors.

Economic woes weigh heavily too. Greece's place in the euro single currency has been called into question, and created a major rift between pro-austerity countries led by Germany and countries with more social-minded governments. Spain and Portugal face the threat of fines for failing to bring their budgets into line while France has avoided penalties, creating more strains.

Meanwhile extremist attacks in Paris, Brussels and Germany combined with the lack of intelligence-sharing between member countries have fueled the fears of citizens for their safety and undermined confidence that the EU can provide a solution.

It's all been fodder for the far-right. Only on Wednesday French far-right leader Marine Le Pen promised a referendum on France's place in the EU should she seize the presidency next year.

Against this backdrop, Tusk is hoping for an "honest assessment" of how the EU got itself into this fundamental political quagmire where distrust has replaced half a century of optimism as the EU expanded from a core of a half-dozen west European neighbors to a wealthy group of 28 nations making up the world's largest trading bloc.

As he chairs the summit, Tusk will be counting on frank, even blunt exchanges. Increasingly, politeness has gone out the window as one crisis has been heaped onto the next.

"We must rectify a number of things in order to preserve what is best," Tusk wrote.

The one-day Bratislava summit should be the first in a number of confidence-building meetings where a roadmap should be set up to culminate in a March summit in the Italian capital when the 60th anniversary of the EU's founding Treaty of Rome will be marked  or, in the best of circumstances, celebrated.

These days, though, hand-wringing is more in order than hand-shaking.

Just this week, the foreign minister of founding member Luxembourg suggested Hungary should be suspended or expelled from the EU over its dealings with refugees and other human rights issues. Immediately, Hungary's foreign minister retorted that Jean Asselborn was "a frivolous figure" who "has long excluded himself from among the politicians who can be taken seriously."

The weeks preceding the Bratislava summit have seen an endless array of regional meetings of government leaders, hoping to gather some critical mass to push through their views on how the EU should be run in the future, along either geographical or ideological lines, or a mix of both.

Tusk said there is really is little choice but for things to change, given the increasing discontent with the EU's centralized institutions and the sense that unelected officials in Brussels are dictating policy to the member states.

One thing rarely changes, though. At one vital point, France and Germany, the founding political and industrial engine of the EU, get together to set out the lines for others to follow. It was the same on Thursday, when Merkel met with Hollande.

Among other proposals, they agreed to push for the creation of a permanent EU military headquarters that could dispatch European troops quickly when necessary  a project long opposed by Britain.

Merkel said European leaders understand that they need to set out "a Bratislava agenda which makes clear that we are determined to react together to the weaknesses and the tasks that we face."

In these troubled times, though, with Merkel under pressure for her welcoming migration policy and Hollande for his sputtering economy, the aura of both has dimmed. Uncertainty and even fear abound, and a strong vision for the future of the European project is needed to stop others weighing the benefits of heading for the exit door.

"People in Europe want to know if the political elites are capable of restoring control over events and processes which overwhelm, disorientate, and sometimes terrify them," Tusk wrote to the leaders. "Today many people, not only in the U.K., think that being part of the European Union stands in the way of stability and security."
Why does Donald Trump say such nice things about Vladimir Putin and Russia? What is Trump hiding in the tax returns he refuses to release? And are those two questions related?

Voters should demand answers. Until we get them, we can only speculate about Trump's weird admiration for a strongman who presides over a system of autocratic cronyism, flouts international law with his territorial ambitions, works against U.S. interests in hotspots around the globe, and apparently might have even deployed computer hackers to meddle in our election.

There may be nothing nefarious here; perhaps Trump just admires Putin's swaggering style. But there are reasons to wonder whether Trump's warm-and-fuzzy feelings are prompted by financial motives.

"Reasons to wonder" normally do not qualify as legitimate fodder for journalism, but these are not normal circumstances. Trump has broken with four decades of precedent and adamantly refused to let voters see his tax returns. His excuse -- that he is under audit -- is bogus. Given his history as a swashbuckling wheeler-dealer, including four corporate bankruptcies, there are legitimate questions about his finances. Yet he stonewalls, knowing that speculation does not qualify as proof.

Here's what we know. In July, Trump said in a tweet that he has "ZERO investments in Russia." If this is true, the more relevant question may be the extent to which Russian oligarchs, by definition beholden to Putin, have investments in Trump and his empire.

In 2008, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., said at a New York real estate conference that "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets." Referring to the Trump Organization, where he works with his father, he added that "we see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

That boast would make perfect sense. Following the bankruptcy of Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts in 2004 -- which involved three casinos in Atlantic City and one in Indiana, and allowed Trump to get out from under an estimated $1.8 billion in debt -- banks became wary of lending to Trump, according to widespread reports.

A 2010 federal lawsuit alleged that much of the money that financed the Trump SoHo luxury hotel development in Manhattan, which broke ground in 2006, came from a shadowy Iceland-based corporate entity. The suit alleges that "the money behind" the firm was "mostly Russian," and that the Russians involved "were in favor with Putin."

Trump was not charged with any wrongdoing in the suit, but the suit does strongly suggest that if traditional lenders were reluctant to get involved with Trump, Russian money had no such compunctions.

Which raises an obvious question: To what extent are Trump and the Trump organization dependent on Russian investment? We have no way of knowing. Examination of Trump's tax returns might provide the answer.

We do know that Trump considered Russian oligarchs prime customers for high-end properties. In 2008, he sold a Palm Beach mansion to billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million. Less than four years earlier, Trump had picked up the property at a bankruptcy auction for $41 million -- meaning he made quite a tidy profit. Rybolovlev, who was then worth nearly $13 billion, is not believed to be as close to Putin as some of the other oligarchs, but neither is he in any sense an opponent of the regime.

Despite earlier claims to the contrary, Trump now says he has never actually met Putin. He tried his best to do so in 2013, when he took his Miss Universe pageant to Moscow, but Putin canceled a planned meeting and sent a lacquered box as a present instead, along with what was described as a warm note.

In his campaign, Trump has been consistent in calling for better relations with Russia. He has accepted Russia's annexation of Crimea as a fait accompli and suggested he might not come to the aid of the Baltic states if Russia invaded. Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort did extensive work on behalf of Viktor Yanukovych, the thuggish Putin-backed Ukrainian president who was ousted in 2014 and now lives in exile in Russia.

As a general rule, I don't believe in conspiracy theories and I do believe in coincidences. But Trump's chest-thumping "America First" attitude toward the rest of the world seems to make an exception for Russia, and we need to know why.

Trump supporters will say I'm speculating without the relevant facts. I say provide them: Release the taxes, now.
CALDCs Halloween Celebration A Real Treat! The Central Astoria LDCs 7th annual Batty Over Halloween Celebration held on Sunday, October 23rd was a real treat for everyone who came out. Despite...

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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!
SPRINGFIELD  The world of Disney will be come to life during Disney on Ice Dare to Dream. The stories of popular Disney princesses will be recreated on ice with seven performances today through Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield.

According to show representative Bruce Kennedy, Disney and its popular characters have not been to Central Illinois for some time.  'Disney On Ice' is the first (show) in nearly a decade, he said.

Over 40 skaters will bring to life the stories of Snow White, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, Rapunzel from Tangled and Cinderella, along with their princes. We go from the beginning of their stories to the end, Lauren Anderson said.

Anderson will be on the ice performing as Cinderella. She said the show is unique with added features recreating the classic stories. It's a really nice way to bring the story to life, she said.

Cinderella's carriage, fireworks, dancing animals and, of course, Mickey and Minnie join in creating the stories of the popular animated characters.

Jean-Simon Legare, who performs along with Cinderella as her Prince Charming, promises exciting performances. It's a fun show starting with high energy and Micky and Minnie introductions, he said.

Typical of Disney productions, whether on screen or on ice, the show offers interesting special effects. The skaters incorporate an aerial silk performance adding to the artistry. Its very impressive scene, Legare said. It is graceful with acrobatics.

According to Legare, Disney on Ice was one the first shows to incorporate the modern form of dance. It brings magic to the show, he said.

The music, costumes and scenery mixed with talented skaters and performers are part of the classic Disney productions. Skaters from all over the world, including South Africa, Australia and Canada, are part of the troupe.
The law firm Thompson & Knight LLP announced September 14 that Charles W. Shewmake has joined the firm as a partner in the Trial Practice Group. Prior to joining Thompson & Knight, Mr. Shewmake served for more than eight years as Vice President and General Counsel for BNSF Railway Corporation (BNSF).

Charles brings a wealth of legal and transportation industry experience from his nearly 30 years at BNSF, said Greg W. Curry, the Firms Trial Practice Leader. While Charles has a breadth of expertise in many areas of law, he will focus his practice at Thompson & Knight on employment and labor law, commercial litigation, regulatory law, and environmental litigation. I have had the pleasure of knowing Charles as a friend and client for many years. Now, I look forward to working with him in his new role.

Mr. Shewmake focuses his practice on labor and employment, regulatory matters, commercial litigation, and environmental litigation. His experience also includes complex shareholder litigation, antitrust litigation, personal injury litigation, and commercial arbitration, as well as emergency response management.

Beginning as an intern at BNSF in 1988, Mr. Shewmake held various positions at the company, including handling and supervising numerous labor and employment matters; overseeing and coordinating BNSFs State Government Affairs team with responsibility for state legislative and political activities in 28 states; environmental litigation; and labor law. In 2008, he was named Vice President and General Counsel with responsibility for casualty litigation, safety related legal matters, labor and employment law, and certain environmental legal matters.

He received an Advanced Management Program degree from Harvard Business School in 2007, a J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1990, and a B.A. in Business Administration from University of Texas at Arlington in 1987.
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The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PardeeRAND.edu) is home to the only Ph.D. and M.Phil. programs offered at an independent public policy research organizationthe RAND Corporation.
The agreement Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov negotiated to suspend fighting in Syria and get relief supplies to trapped civilians is an important breakthrough that could change the situation on the ground in this war-torn country. Over the course of the next few days, as all parties implement the seven-day cease-fire and peace plan agreement, the United States and Russia should draw a new red line forbidding the use of toxic chemicals as weapons.

In the second year of the conflict in Syria, there were allegations of chemical weapons use. President Obama stated that if Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime used these weapons, it would cross a red line for America and could provoke military punishment. Ultimately, instead of bombing Syria to smithereens with a highly uncertain outcome, the United States worked with Russia and other nations to get the Assad government to give up its chemical weapons and join the international treaty banning their production and use.

What is not widely known is that the United States and Russia had been discussing what to do about Syria's chemical weapons for months before the confrontation. This collaboration proved critical to the successful elimination of the Assad regime's chemical weapons arsenal. Thus, the two countries have successfully worked together on the Syrian conflict, and fitfully they continue to do so even though they are at odds on other issues such as Ukraine and Crimea. Putting aside fundamental differences in other parts of the globe to address a huge humanitarian crisis is a modest bright spot in what is likely to be one of the grimmest chapters of the early 21st century.

While virtually all of Assad's military-grade chemical weapons were eliminated in 2014, it did not stop his military from using barrel bombs filled with the industrial chemical chlorine. Late last month, a United Nations investigative panel concluded that the Syria military used chemical agents against its people delivered in barrel bombs at least eight times from April 2014 to September 2015.

The U.N. report also points out that there is credible evidence that the Islamic State terrorist group and the Nusra Front might have responded in kind with their own chemical weapons. Given the horrific violence these groups have perpetrated, it is little wonder that they'd eventually respond to Syrian military attacks with toxic chemicals. Tragically, whoever used them, the results are consistently the sameinnocent civilians are hit with the indiscriminate and heinous weapons. This is good reason for the United States and Russia to convene as part of the peace plan a Joint Implementation Committee to coordinate U.S. and Russian attacks on these two extremist groups.

Kerry described as a bedrock element of the peace plan the restrictions on Syrian combat air missions. Restricting Syria military aircraft will lessen the likelihood of the regime dropping chlorine-filled barrel bombs on Syrians caught in the crossfire. After the agreement was announced, the Syrian military launched air attacks to expand its territorial gains before the agreement went into effect. While this was a disconcerting development, the clock on the accord is now running. It began on the first day of Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday that started Monday.

Kerry and Lavrov indicated that they had consulted with all the Syrian and outside parties to the conflict, including Iran, Turkey, the Persian Gulf states and the Assad regime. Getting all sides to recognize the red line against the use of toxic chemicals as weapons is something that needs to become part of the discussion as the cease-fire and other elements of the peace plan unfold.

At each stage of what will hopefully be a successful implementation process of the agreement, the United States and Russia need to redraw the red line against chemical weapons and weave it into the narrative of the fragile peace plan. Implementing the cease-fire will undoubtedly entail considerable engagement of America and Russia with the key participants in the region. They should not miss an opportunity to regularly and forcefully draw a red line on the use of toxic chemicals as weapons.

John V. Parachini is a senior policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and the director of the RAND Intelligence Policy Center.

This commentary originally appeared on USA Today on September 14, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Michelle Jokisch Polo, a journalist and Grand Rapidian who originally hails from El Salvador and Ecuador, is bringing her expertise in advocating against systemic oppression, offering critical analysis and listening to the community through her research to Rapid Growth's newest series, On The Ground.

I was born in the capital of the smallest country of Central America, San Salvador, El Salvador. In the mid 90s, El Salvador was plagued with great civil disruption and our family was forced to relocate to my mothers hometown in Quito, Ecuador. When I moved to Grand Rapids in 2008, I was 17 going on 18 and an entering freshman at Calvin College.I came here attempting to make my parents' American Dream a reality, but, when I stepped foot on my campus, I noticed very few students who looked like me. Pretty soon I was struck by homesickness and a strong desire to fit in. I learned to disguise my accent and tried not to tell many people where I was from. I think I was ashamed of who I was and where I came from.As the years have gone by I have learned to be proud of my heritage because my family has worked very hard to have my sister and I remain in the United States. I am proud to be Latina and of the perspective I bring as an immigrant and international.As a transplant to the city I have struggled to feel welcomed into such a tight knit city of networks, resources and communities. Because I didnt grow up here, once I graduated from college it became harder and harder to get connected to job opportunities. I didnt have an uncle or a grandmother who could advocate and vouch for me. I had to work extra hard to get connected, and I think many Grand Rapidians forget the privilege of having networks and connections. I believe it is extremely important to step outside of our own experiences, check our privilege and always ask questions. If I dont know that you dont knowthen we both will never know.I am ever so grateful for my time at El Vocero Hispano. It was there that I finally got the opportunity to write, advocate and find a place for my words. When I was head reporter of the paper, I got to write a series of articles focusing on the importance of providing drivers licenses for undocumented Michigan residents. In this series I got to do some investigative journalism and provide the readers with a strong argument for the provision of drivers licenses for undocumented residents. I wanted to give our communitys stake holders, residents and organizations a solution for how to make this a reality for our city.At HQ I get to build empowering relationships with youth who are experiencing unsafe or unstable housing while connecting them to valuable community resources. Working with HQ youth has been like finding a home of people who understand what it is like to be on the outside.In order to address youth homelessness our community needs to understand systemic oppression and how these systems affect the way youth of color have less access to resources, opportunities and stable housing.I guess you could say I am interested in all the things dealing with human connection and building relationships, asking questions and encouraging discourse, and addressing systems of oppression and gender-based violence.This project is like a dream. It is the perfect mix of advocacy, Spanglish, social justice and writingall the things that make me excited about life.I am excited I get entrusted with these stories, and by telling them I hope I can help make Grand Rapids a more welcoming place for all.A couple of weeks ago I was biking on South Division and, as I neared the light on Burton and Division, I was stopped by one of the business owners I got to interview earlier on the week. They waved, smiled and called my name as if we knew each other for a long time. Being known in this way is what home feels like.I dont think I expected this community to be as diverse as it is. I was surprised when I found out how many foreign born residents were in the area. When I am in the neighborhood I dont feel like I have to talk around my own international background. They get itthey arent from here either.Definitely. Longtime residents of the area are having difficulty finding affordable housing, and those who do are faced with landlords who take advantage of them. Many of the residents are unaware of their rights and the resources available to them. I hope that On The Ground GR can help tell these stories and ensure the community at large comes together to advocate for their neighbors.To connect with Michelle, you can email her at [email protected] and follow her on Facebook and Instagram . To see her first article in the On The Ground series, click here
Rapid Growth's new On The Ground series focuses on the community found along South Division Avenue, touching on the Garfield Park and Burton Heights neighborhoods. This series will highlight the stories of the neighbors and community members who make this area what it is today. The project begins with a celebration of the strong spirit of entrepreneurship and hospitality in the area.





In the early 1920s, Black and Latinx residents began migrating to the Grand Rapids area, looking for an opportunity to make an American Dream of their own. Black individuals came here during the Great Migration, attempting to escape from racism in the southern United States, and the first Mexican immigrants moved here to work on the railroad tracks. The area was largely unpopulated, and the open scenery and beautiful landscapes attracted many who were looking to settle on the outskirts of the city. Despite the availability of land, people of color were barred from settling here because of racist landlords and racist development policies. It was not until 1970 that Black residents were sold land south of the railroad tracks, a change that occurred after the uprisings of 1967, when hundreds of Black residents took to the streets after witnessing the brutal arrest of several young Black teenagers by Grand Rapids police officers.



After tensions had settled, residents of color began moving over to this area while white residents put their homes for sale and moved out of the neighborhood; some even moved out before their homes were sold.



"As African Americans moved over the tracks and into the all-white neighborhood, many white neighbors grew concerned and began a mass exodus," details Linda Samuelson & Andrew Schrier in "Heart & Soul: The Story of Grand Rapids Neighborhoods."



Even though the area suffered and many businesses were forced to close down, those who moved in and those who remained sought to continue spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship that began in 1924 with the Burton Heights Businessmen's Association, the first business association in the city of Grand Rapids. Among those responsible for threading together the diverse business owners and visionaries of the neighborhood was The Garfield Park Neighborhood Association. In the mid-1970s, this group of invested residents, community members and business owners sought to ensure the neighborhood came together, despite their economic, racial or geographic differences.



Corners of Burton and Division



An extended family

With numerous languages being spoken in businesses and homes, an eclectic array of successful shops, strong leaders, and residents who have long fought to keep their community vibrant, the area found along South Division Avenue, touching on the Garfield Park and Burton Heights neighborhoods, features a unique and diverse identity and a welcoming spirit.In the early 1920s, Black and Latinx residents began migrating to the Grand Rapids area, looking for an opportunity to make an American Dream of their own. Black individuals came here during the Great Migration, attempting to escape from racism in the southern United States, and the first Mexican immigrants moved here to work on the railroad tracks. The area was largely unpopulated, and the open scenery and beautiful landscapes attracted many who were looking to settle on the outskirts of the city. Despite the availability of land, people of color were barred from settling here because of racist landlords and racist development policies. It was not until 1970 that Black residents were sold land south of the railroad tracks, a change that occurred after the uprisings of 1967, when hundreds of Black residents took to the streets after witnessing the brutal arrest of several young Black teenagers by Grand Rapids police officers.After tensions had settled, residents of color began moving over to this area while white residents put their homes for sale and moved out of the neighborhood; some even moved out before their homes were sold."As African Americans moved over the tracks and into the all-white neighborhood, many white neighbors grew concerned and began a mass exodus," details Linda Samuelson & Andrew Schrier in "Heart & Soul: The Story of Grand Rapids Neighborhoods."Even though the area suffered and many businesses were forced to close down, those who moved in and those who remained sought to continue spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship that began in 1924 with the Burton Heights Businessmen's Association, the first business association in the city of Grand Rapids. Among those responsible for threading together the diverse business owners and visionaries of the neighborhood was The Garfield Park Neighborhood Association. In the mid-1970s, this group of invested residents, community members and business owners sought to ensure the neighborhood came together, despite their economic, racial or geographic differences.The overwhelming feeling of hospitality, as well as a pride in the community's diversity, continues to bring together those who occupy the area today. Currently, the neighborhood is made up of 19 percent Black residents, 63 percent Latinx residents and 15 percent white residents, and one can expect the businesses along the South Division corridor to mirror the area's demographics. House of Style, The Place and Mi Casa Restaurante are among the many businesses standing on the avenue that echo the area's longstanding history of entrepreneurship, fight for equitable economic opportunities and welcoming character.





A company run by Debra Reece, House of Style is a licensed unisex barbershop and beauty salon offering walk-in-only service six days a week and an array of hair products to clients of all races, ethnicities, cultures and ages.



"You got hairwe do it," Reece says when asked about her clientele.



The spirit of inclusivity and openness is what she asked the three young artistsDaniel Cornejo, 17; Railyn Eaddy, 15; and John Newton, 16 to depict in the mural on the back entry of the store. The mural, the first of its kind on this side of the avenue, was made possible through the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) and seeks to give art exposure to places who wouldn't otherwise get it.



Sketch of mural depicted on the back entrance of House of Style









"We want to spread the idea that art is everywhere" explains George Eberhardt, the WMCAT painting, drawing and street art instructor.



The mural of a mother and a child depicts the family environment one can expect inside the salon.



The family-owned business was started by Reece's father, Ernest Mathis Sr., more than 50 years ago, and Reece has been around since the very beginning. Today, she continues to be able to carry on her father's vision for the shop. Every customer who walks into the salon is greeted by name, and all newcomers are invited in with sincerity and generosity.



Reece always wants to give back to her community, and one way she ensures the salon does that is by offering a discount on haircuts every Sunday.



"We want to make it affordable for those who are unable to cover the full price of a hair cut everybody deserves to look nice," says Reece. This past Sunday was no exception, and all seven of her employees were kept busy cutting the hair of more than 100 clientsjust in time for the start of school.



When asked about her future hopes for the avenue, she replies with, "we would like to continue to uplift the neighborhood and the community."

2013 S. Division Avenue is one of the corridor's historical landmarks, House of Style, the very first African-American business in the city of Grand Rapids to be incorporated. The business was incorporated in 196910 years after it was started and two years after the uprisings that forced half of the shops on Burton Heights to close down. When the current owner's family bought the building the business stands in today, the shop had been incorporated for 16 years.A company run by Debra Reece, House of Style is a licensed unisex barbershop and beauty salon offering walk-in-only service six days a week and an array of hair products to clients of all races, ethnicities, cultures and ages."You got hairwe do it," Reece says when asked about her clientele.The spirit of inclusivity and openness is what she asked the three young artistsDaniel Cornejo, 17; Railyn Eaddy, 15; and John Newton, 16 to depict in the mural on the back entry of the store. The mural, the first of its kind on this side of the avenue, was made possible through the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) and seeks to give art exposure to places who wouldn't otherwise get it."We want to spread the idea that art is everywhere" explains George Eberhardt, the WMCAT painting, drawing and street art instructor.The mural of a mother and a child depicts the family environment one can expect inside the salon.The family-owned business was started by Reece's father, Ernest Mathis Sr., more than 50 years ago, and Reece has been around since the very beginning. Today, she continues to be able to carry on her father's vision for the shop. Every customer who walks into the salon is greeted by name, and all newcomers are invited in with sincerity and generosity.Reece always wants to give back to her community, and one way she ensures the salon does that is by offering a discount on haircuts every Sunday."We want to make it affordable for those who are unable to cover the full price of a hair cut everybody deserves to look nice," says Reece. This past Sunday was no exception, and all seven of her employees were kept busy cutting the hair of more than 100 clientsjust in time for the start of school.When asked about her future hopes for the avenue, she replies with, "we would like to continue to uplift the neighborhood and the community."





What is family?: "Ellos on the avenue son mi familia"

Israel Perez cutting customer's hair at The Place



It was a Thursday morning and The Place buzzed with the sound of razors and conversation. Israel Perez, the owner of The Place, stands busy in the middle of the barbershop, conversing rapidly in his most fluent language, Spanglish, as he buzzes the hair of the man sitting on his chair.



The Place stands on 1922 S. Division and has been a neighborhood staple for more than 60 years. Tom Willette opened the barbershop in 1954 and kept cutting hair until his death in December of 2015. The space remained vacant for a couple of months until Perez moved in July of this year.



The 28-year-old had been wanting to open up his own shop since he got started cutting hair three years ago but had been unable to find a place to rent in the corridor. Having grown up in the area, Israel could not easily dismiss the strong community who, without question, has his back.



"The people here son mi familia (translation: are my family) and I wanted to stay here," says Perez.



He had opportunities to open up a shop on 44th and 28th street, but he held out hope for a spot on the corridor. "One day on on my way home from work I saw the "FOR RENT" sign hanging from the door, and I bugged the owners until I got it," explains Perez.



This was four months ago, and since then he has been able to expand to employ five other barbers at the shop, all while planning a wedding and expecting a child.



Getting started was not easy, and, after a stint in prison, Perez was left to raise his son on his own. At the time, he wanted to find a profession that would allow him flexibility to be able to care for his son, and cutting hair gave him just that.



"On the day my son's mother left us, she left a note on the bed that said, 'You'll never be a boss,' so I decided I would never give up and one day I would open up my own shop," recalls Israel. For Perez, the painful memory serves simply as a reminder of how far he has come since then.



When asked about what he hopes to see in the corridor, he replies with, "I want this area to come back to lifeeverybody is hiding. People are hiding from gunshots and immigration."

At House of Style, you can expect a warm, open-arm welcome and an invitation to be part of an extended family.It was a Thursday morning and The Place buzzed with the sound of razors and conversation. Israel Perez, the owner of The Place, stands busy in the middle of the barbershop, conversing rapidly in his most fluent language, Spanglish, as he buzzes the hair of the man sitting on his chair.The Place stands on 1922 S. Division and has been a neighborhood staple for more than 60 years. Tom Willette opened the barbershop in 1954 and kept cutting hair until his death in December of 2015. The space remained vacant for a couple of months until Perez moved in July of this year.The 28-year-old had been wanting to open up his own shop since he got started cutting hair three years ago but had been unable to find a place to rent in the corridor. Having grown up in the area, Israel could not easily dismiss the strong community who, without question, has his back."The people here son mi familia (translation: are my family) and I wanted to stay here," says Perez.He had opportunities to open up a shop on 44th and 28th street, but he held out hope for a spot on the corridor. "One day on on my way home from work I saw the "FOR RENT" sign hanging from the door, and I bugged the owners until I got it," explains Perez.This was four months ago, and since then he has been able to expand to employ five other barbers at the shop, all while planning a wedding and expecting a child.Getting started was not easy, and, after a stint in prison, Perez was left to raise his son on his own. At the time, he wanted to find a profession that would allow him flexibility to be able to care for his son, and cutting hair gave him just that."On the day my son's mother left us, she left a note on the bed that said, 'You'll never be a boss,' so I decided I would never give up and one day I would open up my own shop," recalls Israel. For Perez, the painful memory serves simply as a reminder of how far he has come since then.When asked about what he hopes to see in the corridor, he replies with, "I want this area to come back to lifeeverybody is hiding. People are hiding from gunshots and immigration."





A family legacy



Beef Jibarito and Shrimp Mofongo



Mi Casa Restaurante proudly stands on 334 Burton St., bringing a taste of home to the area. It's impossible to pass southwest of Burton without noticing the great number of customers lining up outside the restaurant, drawn by the smells of home cooked chivo guisado and platanitos (goat stew and fried plantains). Mi Casa Restaurante is a family-owned business which opened for the first time in April of this year in hopes of being able to bring the taste of "tu segunda casa" (translation: your second home) to the neighborhood. The business is owned by Eduardo and Rosa Madera and operated by their daughter, Rosibel Vialet.



Julisa Diaz and Rosibel Vialet, Chef and Manager of Mi Casa Restaurante

Thus far, Vialet has been successful in being able to recreate the sense of home, family and belonging within the restaurant.



"From the customer service, to the presentation of each dish we strive to ensure the customer feels and is known by us," says Vialet. Her spirit of entrepreneurship and love for her community are contagious, she greets all her customers with a smile and open arms, and one can't help but leave the restaurant without the feeling of arriving at home.



The restaurant features typical Dominican, Venezuelan, and Central American dishes in its menu, as well as features of the day on its "menu especial." All dishes are prepared under the direction of Julisa Diaz, the head chef at Mi Casa Restaurante. Diaz, who originally hails from the Dominican Republic, brings a wealth of knowledge and more than a decade of restaurant experience.



"Immigrating to the United States was not easy," explains Diaz. "My experience and passion was not recognizedso it took time and hard work to get where I am today. Now I get to share a little bit of what home is for me with others with the food I prepare."



Even though Eduardo and Rosa Madera, natives of the Dominican Republic who settled in Michigan close to two decades ago after living in New York for about 12 years, have been doing business in the area on their own for 17 years



The young entrepreneur recently graduated with an MBA from Davenport University and has since helped to rebrand the family businesses and taught her parents to use social media to grow their clientele.



"Burton Meat Farm helped cover the cost of my educationso now I want to give back and use the knowledge I obtained to grow our family businesses," says Vialet as she recalls the time when her family arrived to Grand Rapids with the hopes and dreams of owning their very own butcher shop. Now, 17 years later, the dream is a reality. At The Place, you can expect to be inspired.Mi Casa Restaurante proudly stands on 334 Burton St., bringing a taste of home to the area. It's impossible to pass southwest of Burton without noticing the great number of customers lining up outside the restaurant, drawn by the smells of home cooked chivo guisado and platanitos (goat stew and fried plantains). Mi Casa Restaurante is a family-owned business which opened for the first time in April of this year in hopes of being able to bring the taste of "tu segunda casa" (translation: your second home) to the neighborhood. The business is owned by Eduardo and Rosa Madera and operated by their daughter, Rosibel Vialet.Thus far, Vialet has been successful in being able to recreate the sense of home, family and belonging within the restaurant."From the customer service, to the presentation of each dish we strive to ensure the customer feels and is known by us," says Vialet. Her spirit of entrepreneurship and love for her community are contagious, she greets all her customers with a smile and open arms, and one can't help but leave the restaurant without the feeling of arriving at home.The restaurant features typical Dominican, Venezuelan, and Central American dishes in its menu, as well as features of the day on its "menu especial." All dishes are prepared under the direction of Julisa Diaz, the head chef at Mi Casa Restaurante. Diaz, who originally hails from the Dominican Republic, brings a wealth of knowledge and more than a decade of restaurant experience."Immigrating to the United States was not easy," explains Diaz. "My experience and passion was not recognizedso it took time and hard work to get where I am today. Now I get to share a little bit of what home is for me with others with the food I prepare."Even though Eduardo and Rosa Madera, natives of the Dominican Republic who settled in Michigan close to two decades ago after living in New York for about 12 years, have been doing business in the area on their own for 17 years with Burton Meat Farm , a Latinx specialty food store and butcher shop, their desire to learn from, and empower, their daughter, Vialet, has made possible what Mi Casa Restaurante is today.The young entrepreneur recently graduated with an MBA from Davenport University and has since helped to rebrand the family businesses and taught her parents to use social media to grow their clientele."Burton Meat Farm helped cover the cost of my educationso now I want to give back and use the knowledge I obtained to grow our family businesses," says Vialet as she recalls the time when her family arrived to Grand Rapids with the hopes and dreams of owning their very own butcher shop. Now, 17 years later, the dream is a reality.
South African mobile operator Cell C is taking its first steps into content production with the launch of an online reality show called #BreakTheNet (#BTN).





Made in conjunction with Bl!nk Pictures, the unscripted talent show is a test bed for the launch of a full video-on-demand ( VOD ) platform from Cell C next year, according to IT Web How and where content is delivered to consumers is changing dramatically in South Africa as Internet access becomes more pervasive, said Jose Dos Santos, CEO, Cell C.Millennials are now watching as much YouTube as they do TV, and a large segment of the South African population is consuming content delivered through online platforms. We feel that the time is right to begin delivering incredible content through new channels, added Dos Santos.According to the operator, #BTN represents a combination of traditional high-level creative television and the best cutting-edge content offerings available to the YouTube generation.Derick Watts and The Sunday Blues will anchor the show, with Darren 'Whackhead' Simpson as the Task Master. The mentors include YouTube star Suzelle DIY, Instagrammer Ofentse Mwase, and online personality Theodora Lee. South African actor Blessing Xaba will also participate as a celebrity contestant.The 30 contestants will compete to win ZAR250 000 and a trip to Hollywood. The shows producers are now encouraging participation via the new Cell C Reality App.The show will be streamed on the Cell C Channel on YouTube from 23 October.
House Productions has appointed three executives to work collaboratively on the companys development slate across film and TV, from its London base.





Tessa Ross and Juliette Howells newly-created television and film production company has recruited Tom Leggett, who joins from Playground Television where he was director of development and where he developed high end drama series for the BBC, Channel 4, Sky and Starz. He will work across all film and TV projects on the House Development slate. Prior to Playground, Tom was senior development editor at Film4 working on films such as71, The Riot Club, Macbeth, 12 Years a Slave, High-Rise, Room and Black Sea.Polly Buckle also joins; she most recently produced You, Me and the Apocalypse for Sky One/Working Title. Buckle has also produced Rev for BBC2/Big Talk, Being Human for BBC3/Touchpaper and worked extensively in script development for Working Title Television and Shine Drama, including developing Merlin for BBC 1. Whilst bringing her producing expertise to the team she will also continue with her writing commitments.Ann Philips joins House from See-Saw Films, where she worked across the development of the film slate, collaborating with talent such as Steve McQueen, Simon Beaufoy, Garth Davis and Philippa Goslett. She previously worked within Film4s development team as a creative executive and will primarily focus on Houses film projects. Prior to joining Film4 Ann was head of development and acquisitions at international sales and financing company, WestEnd Films, whose line up included Benedict Andrews UNA, Jeremy Saulniers GREEN ROOM, Tomm Moores Oscar-nominated SONG OF THE SEA and Joseph Cedars Oscar-nominated FOOTNOTE.Were very excited to be welcoming such a creative and clever team to House, said Ross. Tom, Polly and Ann all bring a wealth of expertise, huge energy and very good taste to the company, and we so look forward to building our slate with them across film and television.
Benjamin Franklin may have been on to something when he prescribed early to bed for better health.

This could be especially true in the ongoing fight against childhood obesity. A recent study found that preschoolers who went to bed after 8 p.m. had a significantly higher risk of becoming obese teenagers than those with earlier bedtimes.

Led by researchers at Ohio State University, the study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, followed 977 children from ages 4.5 to 15 years, asking their parents what time they typically were put to bed on the weekdays. Bedtimes ranged from 6:45 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., with the most common times being 8 p.m., 8:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.

The scientists also examined the childrens height, weight and body mass index as teenagers.

Pre-school-aged children with early weekday bedtimes were half as likely as those with late bedtimes to become obese as adolescents, the researchers wrote.

In fact, only 10 percent of the children who were put to bed by 8 p.m. were obese later, the study said. But 23 percent of the late-nighters (those who went to bed after 9 p.m.) became obese teenagers.

While its unclear exactly how childrens bedtimes affect body weight, other studies have found that a lack of sleep is linked to hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism. Staying up late also increases opportunities to snack after dinner.

As work and school schedules get busier, its a bigger challenge to establish early bedtimes, the study noted.

For young children, parents create the routines that allow children to obtain sufficient sleep to meet their physiologic needs. However, in establishing young childrens bedtimes, like other household routines, parents must often make compromises as they face competing time demands, the authors wrote.

For example, some parents work schedules do not allow them to arrive home early enough in the evening to spend time with their child and also maintain an early bedtime. This may push childrens bedtimes later.

At the same time, early bedtimes are required for adequate night sleep if children must wake to accommodate their parents work or siblings school start times.
At last weeks Commander-in-Chief forum on NBC television, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said (twice for emphasis), Take the Oil, when questioned about how to keep ISIS from recapturing contested areas of Iraq.

His proposals for Iraqi oil, if they ever became U.S. policy, would have a chilling effect on American efforts to maintain its broad coalition against ISIS and, due to his cavalier dismissal of international standards of behavior, poison U.S. relations throughout the world. They are likely already doing damage to American efforts to combat terrorism.

Some elements of Trumps views on Iraqi oil are defensible and compatible with long-time U.S. policy. Since World War II, U.S. military contingency plans have included components to maintain U.S. access to Persian Gulf oil and keep it out of the hands of external forces that pose a threat to our interests. To a large extent, thats why we now have the Central Command available to deal with that regions problems.

The current administration has already seriously damaged the ability of ISIS to raise money from oil, which has weakened the viability of its military operations; though probably not its low-cost digital media campaign to inspire terrorism, the greater long-term threat to Americans.

But Trumps response to former Marine Corps captain Phil Klay (author of the award-winning book Redeployment) last Wednesday night broke new and dangerous ground.

The major misstep on energy came when Trump linked his oil plan to an endorsement of a spoils of war doctrine abandoned ages by most of the civilized world.

In a follow-up to moderator Matt Lauer, Trump proposed seizing Iraqi oil and leaving behind a certain group to protect it. What Trump apparently did not realize, Iraqs oil resources are spread around the country, the vast bulk of them far distant from and not vulnerable to ISIS operations. Presumably, we would establish little Guantanamo-like enclaves around each far-flung oil well and refinery and maintain constant surveillance of pipelines and ports, which would increasingly become major targets of terrorist attacks. The result of Trumps policies would then be attacks coming from both Sunnis and Shiites.

It is hard to overstate the stupidity of this idea. Even our allies in the Middle East regard oil in their lands as a gift from God and the only major source of income to develop their countries. Seizing Iraqs oil would make our current allies against ISIS our new enemies. We would likely, at the least, have to return to the massive military expenditures and deployment of American troops at the wars peak.

Andrew Bacevich, a retired colonel and professor of history and international relations at Boston University told the Washington Posts Steve Mufson last week that the occupation would probably cost more than the oil itself. The whole idea is beyond goofy.

Its hard to imagine why American oil companies would want to cut back investments in, say, the Permian Basin of West Texas or North Dakotas Bakken shale to expose their employees to the dangers of an Iraq further inflamed by the reaction to Trumps policies.* The ramifications of the new Trump doctrine would be felt well beyond Iraq. A new American assertion of its right to the spoils of war, even when allies are dying at our side, would make it almost impossible to forge new alliances in the Middle East or elsewhere.

Trump seems oblivious to the respect accorded the United States because it has for a long time eschewed spoils of war policies.

There have been exceptions. Americans helped overthrow the government of Iran in 1953, because its leader Mohammad Mossadeq had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, after which the United States forced Anglo-Iranian (later BP) to share its assets with American firms  a strategy producing some short-term benefits and several long-term disasters. The U.S.-led Coalition Authority that ruled Iraq from April of 2003 to June of 2004 dismantled Iraqs state oil company and barred French and Russian companies from competing for reconstruction contracts, thus rewarding with the spoils of war companies from the United States and Britain, who had furnished the troops for the invasion. American officials wisely abandoned this strategy when it became apparent it would constitute an insurmountable barrier to establishing a friendly civilian government.

Trump is a professed admirer of Douglas MacArthur, and he would be well-served to study the generals service as Supreme Commander for the Allied Forces during the occupation of Japan after World War II. The Japanese people, fearful of the possibility of pillaging victors, found instead that MacArthur was focused initially on ending starvation and then on political, economic, and civil reform. By giving up the spoils of war, MacArthur and the United States earned the respect of the Japanese and the world, helping legitimize Americas status as leader of the free world.

The United States has traditionally articulated noble motives for its foreign interventions, though sometimes failing to follow through on wartime promises. The rhetoric of morality has helped rally foreign troops on our side and, in the case of potential recruits for Middle East-based terrorists, refutes the idea we are fighting solely to aggrandize our economic interests.

For Trump, imperious values, like to the victor belong the spoils, may elate some super nationalists at home. But his approach helps motivate our enemies on the field of battle, further endangering our troops, and raises the risks to people within our borders, since his statements play into the ISIS narrative of the global struggle used to recruit the next generation of terrorists.

Trump has been the first presidential nominee to be a climate change denier. Now, he is the first to publicly espouse a spoils of war doctrine as part of our international energy and security strategy. Whether he wins or loses, he will be remembered as having the two least defensible energy policies in modern American history.

As the Republican-nominated presidential candidate, Trump no longer speaks just for himself. He represents one the nations two major parties, including its elected leaders, battalions of political consultants, and down ballot candidates. They all need to explain why they want to provide more fodder for ISIS efforts to inspire terrorism.
Many of Donald Trumps comments on foreign relations have left experts and former policymakers scratching their heads, and, in some cases, hostile to his candidacy for president.

Case in point are the 50 former foreign policy officials from Republican administrations who last month announced they wouldnt vote for Trump because he has demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding of Americas vital national interests.

Their position is not surprising. Trumps perspective on foreign policy sees a continuing decline of American power and influence in the world. Most foreign policy experts dont question the United States dominant role on the world stage. America has been a superpower for as long as they can remember -- to think otherwise is almost heresy.

But basic economic statistics tell a different story.

In a period of about 15 years, Americas share of global manufacturing has dropped from 28 percent to roughly 17 percent. The trade deficit has increased 38 percent over the same time period -- from $360 billion to $500 billion. Meanwhile, average economic growth has slowed from over 3 percent to a meager 2 percent, and the federal debt has skyrocketed to an unsustainable 100 percent of gross domestic product.

In Trumps assessment, Americas power flows directly from its economic strength. The ability of the United States to influence other nations is a result of the competitive advantage held by its industries.

Therefore, growth in the trade deficit is a clear indicator of American decline, especially when Chinese exports are increasing. The manufacturing and technology sectors are incredibly important industries to U.S. power and prestige in Trumps view. Regaining Americas place as a heavy manufacturing leader is paramount for Trump. Renegotiating trade deals or effectively enforcing them to protect American competitiveness is necessary to reversing the relative decline of U.S. industry and the leakage of jobs overseas. Perhaps more important are Trumps calls for the reform of a burdensome bureaucratic federal state that cost the economy more than $2 trillion in 2012, according to a study commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers. Trump also wants to see the reform of our antiquated tax system, which automatically puts American companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Trump views growing the economy as crucial to rebuilding a military capable of meeting the challenges America will face in coming decades -- particularly from a resurgent and expansionist China.

Trump believes that the United States must be realistic in its approach to foreign policymaking. It should avoid nation-building, recognizing that attempts to force Western-style democracy on societies that reject or are not prepared for it are futile, wastes resources that should be spent on domestic needs, and results in the needless deaths of countless Americans and foreign nationals. Trump views the Iraq War and the subsequent military intervention in Libya as disasters that only destabilized the Middle East and further fanned the flames of terrorism.

Theres no question that Trump sees Islamist terror as the most immediate threat to America. Trump made this clear in a recent speech where he said that all actions should be oriented around this goal, and any country which shares this goal will be our ally.

Its through the same lens that he views Russia. For Trump, the enemy of our enemy is our friend -- at least until our mutual enemy is destroyed.

Trump takes a similarly cautious approach to China. Trump has called for better relations with Beijing on multiple occasions, but he understands that Chinas increasing economic power is translating into greater military capabilities in the region. Trump is aware of the importance of keeping Russia as a counterbalance to Chinas growing dominance. Dont ever let China and Russia get together, Trump has said. Hes right.

The Trump Doctrine appears uninformed only to those who fail to see that the competitiveness of U.S. industry is key to Americas ability to project power, and that the challenges of Islamist terror and the rise of China require a review of our strategic alliances and policies, which were largely shaped by the Cold War.

While these factors may not be apparent to the foreign policy establishment now, Trump will likely be proven right with time. We can only hope that the next president will be someone who understands the need to adapt to a changing world before its too late.
The horse trading has begun. Hours after the polls closed in Croatias parliamentary election on September 11, the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which won the most votes, began seeking a coalition partner.

The chances are that the party will form the countrys next government with Most, the Bridge of Independent Lists, which made reform of the economy one of its main campaign slogans. Even if Most does become the junior partner in the government, its going to require immense political willpower to rid the country of endemic corruption and overhaul the public administration.

Since the country joined the EU in 2013, Croatias reputation in Brussels has been sullied by nepotism, procurement procedures that lack transparency, and unclear if not extremely murky property rights.

Such a reputation not only damages Croatia and the EU, which was well aware of the countrys rampant corruption before it joined the union. That reputation also does nothing for Croatias neighbors in the Western Balkans that aspire to become EU members. They see only growing antipathy to further enlargement of the 28-member bloc. For them, Croatia is no shining example for a region that is saddled with corruption, increasing pressure on the media from local oligarchs, and political elites who can tap into nationalism, often at random.

A recent report commissioned by the European Parliament and written by RAND Europe paints a pretty miserable picture about corruption in Croatia (but also other EU countries, particularly Bulgaria and Romania). According to the study, which pulls no punches in its analysis, Croatia has the highest level of corruption in public procurement in the EU. Corruption also drains the coffers of any finance ministry. The report showed that Croatia, as well as Bulgaria, Latvia, and Romania, loses about 15 percent of its annual gross domestic product to corruption.

The World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are a little bit more diplomatic in their criticism of Croatia. In its assessment of Croatia for 2016, the World Bank ranked the countrys competitiveness and business environment 40 out of 189 economies, compared with 39 in 2015. And that was after the Croatian government began tackling corruption and making procurement procedures more transparent. Also, Croatia scored low in dealing with construction permits, coming 129th, as well as receiving low ratings for registering property, starting a business, and dealing with insolvencies.

The EBRDs Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey showed that Croatian businesses were hampered by a lack of access to finance besides having to compete against unregistered or informal firms.

The previous government, led by Tihomir OreskoviA?, a technocrat, was forced to resign in June 2016 after a five-month stint in office. The government was plagued by infighting, irregular business links, and deteriorating relations with Serbia.

It has taken Croatia so long to tackle corruption largely because of the culture of impunity perpetrated by the political elites, who in turn have close links with business and industry. During the 2000s, the corruption surrounding the building of highways, the modernization of the rail network, and the energy sector became notorious. Even then, at a time when Croatia was negotiating to join the EU, Brussels applied insufficient pressure. Finally, Ivo Sanader, prime minister from 2003 to 2009, was charged with corruption in 2011 and wide abuse of office.

Mounting pressure from the World Bank and the EU and influential studies such as RANDs are forcing Zagreb to combat the sleaze and corruption. Civil society organizations too are mobilizingjust as they have done in Romania. But supporters of clean government in Croatia have no illusions about the economic and political elites who oppose completing the transition to a strong democracy. Nor do civil society activists in the Western Balkans have any illusions as they wait to join the EU. One day.
Charles Schmitz is professor of Geography and a specialist on the Middle East and Yemen at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he has taught since 1999. This article was published in collaboration with the Middle East Institute. The views expressed are solely those of the author.

Yemen is not in the American publics eye. The country only really attracts the attention of the military professionals combating al-Qaeda, or U.S. diplomats charged with promoting stability in support of the fight against the terrorist organization. Yemen sits low even on the U.S. State Departments agenda, overshadowed by its much more important neighbor, Saudi Arabia. The United States may disagree with Riyadh over Yemen, but the heavy gravity of Saudi Arabia in U.S. policy causes a mix of contradictory stances that add up to the kind of failure evident in the recent visit to the region by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Kerrys suggestions to restart political negotiations after a month of intense fighting became quickly mired in the very Saudi and Yemeni politics that Washington appears unable or unwilling to navigate. The Saudis have staked out a red line in the sand in Yemen -- repeated recently by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir -- that Riyadh will not allow the Houthi movement, who the Saudis see as an Iranian proxy, to take over Yemen. However, the aggressive Saudi military stance in Yemen has only deepened the countrys political troubles, in fact strengthening the hand of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, with whom the Houthis formed an alliance back in 2014. Moreover, while the United States at times appears to differ from its close Saudi ally on Yemen, Washington has in reality supported the Saudi campaign with large-scale weapons sales and coordination of military operations.

Kerry, as far as can be discerned from press statements, called for the formation of a national unity government and the creation of a neutral security body, a third party, to oversee disengagement of forces. Given the military stalemate in Yemen, Kerrys proposals do not appear unreasonable, but Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Saudi backers see them as a dangerous capitulation to the Houthi and Saleh coup in Sanaa. Rather than a neutral security body, the Saudis want the Hadi government restored to power in Sanaa and the military rebuilt under Hadis command, in effect a complete surrender of the Houthi-Saleh forces that the latter are not likely to agree to. The Saudi stance appears untenable given the military stalemate, but the United States and the international community gave strong support to the Saudi position in UN Security Resolution 2216 in 2015, and the Hadi faction carefully guards against even the slightest apparent deviation from the language of that resolution.

The ongoing Saudi air campaign has also caught the attention of a small portion of the American public. Revelations that cluster bombs hit civilian targets, and that medical facilities, particularly Doctors Without Borders clinics in the north, have been targeted by Saudi planes caused members of Congress to call for restricting arms sales to Saudi Arabia. While the White House did stop the sale of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia, Saudi requests for large arms deals are always approved.

Bigger Than Yemen

American priorities in Yemen do differ from those of the Saudis. For Riyadh, as al-Jubeir reiterates, Iran is the principal threat to the region, and the Houthis are Irans agents. Washington, on the other hand, sees political instability and terrorist groups as the primary threats, not Iran. In the days after Kerrys visit to Saudi Arabia, the Islamic State group attacked military recruits in Aden, killing more than 50 youths. The State Department used the opportunity of its condemnation of the attack to focus on the need for a political settlement in Yemen and the restoration of a unified central state.

In early September, Kerry doubled down on his proposals for negotiations by calling for a 72-hour truce in the fighting. Neither side paid attention, but Kerrys insistence signals growing U.S. concern with Yemen. The United States can play a constructive role as a negotiator, but only to the extent that the warring parties are resigned to a negotiated solution. The Saudis still pretend to chart a course independent of the United States in the region, but the impossibility of a military solution will force Riyadh to return to negotiations. The larger problem is the stark differences between the warring sides. The Hadi faction appears unwilling to truly share power (or even really negotiate), insisting on a complete surrender. The Hadi faction also enjoys support from a lot of Yemenis. That Saleh may regain power repels many Yemenis who aspire to build a civil state without tribal warlords and who made great sacrifices to overturn Salehs rule. On the other side, the Houthi-Saleh leaders have yet to show that they will play by the rules of a peaceful political solution and at least withdraw their weapons, if not surrender them. While the Saudi side has shown a willingness to negotiate with the Houthis, and vice versa, in spite of al-Jubeirs rhetoric, the parties show little willingness to budge even the slightest from their positions.

Given the hardened stances in Yemen, only patient, long-term mediation will succeed, and the United States can play a constructive role in pressuring all sides -- including the Saudis -- and providing a forum for negotiations. For Washington, Yemen is primarily a terror threat, and it will remain so under any future administration. The Obama administration is at its most hawkish in its use of drones against al-Qaeda in Yemen. Future administrations will likely continue the practice. The Obama administration insists that the drones must be accompanied by efforts to build the capacities of local partners, in this case helping to mend the deep split in the Yemeni state, but a more isolationist administration might forego intervening in foreign wars.

The U.S.-Saudi relationship is likely to stabilize in spite of recent rhetoric in Congress against the Saudis. Regardless of recent differences, American and Saudi geopolitical interests will continue to overlap, and any future U.S. administration will no doubt remain attentive to Saudi interests in the region.
BLOOMINGTON  A man who admitted to helping a woman plan a bank robbery and make a false bomb threat to divert police attention from the crime has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the plot.

Bryan Perschall, 36, of Bloomington pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit financial institution robbery and disorderly conduct. Dismissed in a plea agreement was a charge of making a false bomb threat to Illinois State University.

Perschall was sentenced to a concurrent two-year term for disorderly conduct.

Perschall and co-defendant Joanna Etter, also 36, were charged with planning the July robbery of Busey Bank on North Veterans Parkway and similar robberies in other parts of the Twin Cities.

A Sept. 30 hearing is scheduled to review Etter's case.

According to authorities, Perschall called ISU and said, "I have placed chemical bombs on your campus and they will go off within two hours unless I receive $1 million." The call was traced by police to Ewing Park in Bloomington where Perschall was located.

Perschall told police he got cold feet after he saw a police car near the bank. In a note police found on Perschall when he was arrested, the suspect demanded $10,000 from a bank teller. He threatened to open fire on bank employees if police were contacted, according to court records.

Following Perschall's direction, police located a realistic BB gun dumped by Perschall on Constitution Trail. Inside an apartment shared by the two, police also found a sketch pad with handwritten robbery and bomb threat notes and maps of banks, said a prosecutor's statement.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 09/15/2016



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
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Nevada-based Battle Arms Development has never shied away from doing things just a bit different than everyone else. Their latest is a clamp-on front sight named the ARCHITEK, and it's available exclusively through Brownells.

Here's what they have to say about it:

Grinnell, Iowa  Brownells proudly offers a new AR-15 front sight, the Battle Arms Development ARCHITEK, #100-019-664. Available exclusively from Brownells, the sight retails for $89.99. Designed for shooters who prefer using iron sights, the ARCHITEK simply clamps onto a standard AR-15 barrel between .735 and .750 in diameter, and extends the sight radius to the maximum length possible. It works on rifles without the traditional front sight tower gas block. It also compensates for any variances in free-float handguard design or installation, or flexing due to firing or sling pressure that could cause imperfect sight alignment. Precision machined from billet aluminum, the ARCHITEK is strong but weighs only 1.3 oz. to help keep the rifle balanced and fast-handling. We are very pleased to offer our latest product, the ARCHITECK, exclusively through Brownells, said George Huang, President/CEO of Battle Arms Development. There is a long working history with Brownells since the early days of Battle Arms Development, and we are honored to be involved in this project. The front sight post is thinner than the typical A2-style post and won't obstruct targets at long ranges. Modeled after the AK-47 front post, the ARCHITEK front post allows adjustments with a set of standard pliers, or an AK-47 front sight tool.

You can find the ARCHITEK on the Brownells webpage here.

More About Brownells:

Serious About Firearms Since 1939, Brownells is the world's leading source for gun parts and accessories, ammunition, gunsmithing tools and survival gear. With a large selection of both common and hard-to- find items, and an extensive collection of videos, articles, and gun schematics, Brownells is the expert for everything shooting-related. Committed to maintaining our great traditions, Brownells has more, does more and knows more  and guarantees it all, Forever.
DECATUR  Rocki Wilkerson received an early morning phone call from the custodian at the Adult Education Department on East Eldorado Street.

He said people had been here waiting since before dawn, said Wilkerson, the executive director. They were sitting outside when I pulled up. It shows how badly these programs are needed, and I can't do any more because I don't have any more money. This is the last one I have. The ones who didn't get in were really upset.

The earliest arrived at 4 a.m. The custodian doesn't get there until 6 a.m.

The attraction was a grant-based class to become a certified nursing assistant, which means that students don't have to pay tuition, if they've passed a pretest with a high enough score. Being a CNA can lead to a job, and is also required to go on into licensed practical nursing or registered nursing, all fields with shortages and plenty of job openings. Adult Education specializes in helping people bring their skills up to speed and move into self-sustaining employment.

The state of Illinois still has no budget, though a stopgap measure was passed to fund critical services such as education and social services. Thanks to that stopgap, adult education was funded through the end of the calendar year, but money is tight and Wilkerson can't offer the number of classes she once could.

In January, students who had taken the tests and qualified for the classes learned that the class then under way would be the last unless funding came through. The only classes Wilkerson could offer were tuition-based and cost $975, out of reach of most of the low-income students the program serves.

With only five seats available for this class, because the students who qualified last winter were promised seats in the next available class, many of those who showed up on Wednesday had to be turned away. Wilkerson took them into a room and explained the situation. Today, she's meeting with the Illinois Association of School Boards and plans to show them the photos she took of people waiting, and tell them of the dire need.

Two other classes, known as bridges because their purpose is to help people move into employment or post-secondary education, are full: introduction to hospitality and introduction to health care.

Legislators have said they won't consider a budget before the November elections, which means that it could be months before funding for further classes is available.

Angie Phillips arrived a little before 4 a.m. They were only taking the first 15, and it's been really hard to find (a class), she said. I was the first one there. I'm going on into the nursing field. It's just something I've always done. I let my license go to be a stay-at-home mom.

Now that her children are older, she's ready to go back and pursue a nursing degree, but it's been 16 years, and she has to take the class and be recertified, she said.
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In 2002, Bob Hart, with the help of his friends, built a memorial trail on his property on Morton Farm Lane after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Every five years, Hart has hosted an ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the attacks.

Close
A University of Georgia student was hit by a bus, an off-campus rape was reported to police, a truck driver pulled a gun on a man at a stop light and police respond to gunman at Chuck E. Cheese's all between Sept. 5 and 9.
Nearly 90,000 fans pack into Sanford Stadium to watch and cheer on the Georgia football team. This turnout is unprecedented for most other University of Georgia events. No political protest or rally has drawn that number of people in university history.
Margaret Hasting, center, mother of Valerie Janice Lane, is supported by granddaughter Karly Kendrick, left, and daughter Melanie Hasting, right, as they leave the Yuba County Superior Court, Wednesday, Sept. 14, in Yuba City. 65-year-old cousins William Lloyd Harbour and Larry Don Patterson are charged with murder in the shotgun slayings of two young girls, but the lead prosecutor said they can't face the death penalty because it wasn't an option when the girls were sexually assaulted and killed more than 40 years ago. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)

SHARE

By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO (AP)  A California prosecutor said Wednesday that two men charged with murder in the shotgun slayings of two young girls can't face the death penalty because it wasn't an option when the girls were sexually assaulted and killed more than 40 years ago.

The district attorney in Yuba County filed six counts of murder against 65-year-old cousins William Lloyd Harbour and Larry Don Patterson, who both lived near the victims in Olivehurst, when they were killed in November 1973.

Harbour pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in California, said Deputy District Attorney John Vacek. Patterson was ordered held without bond in Oklahoma.

Patterson said he intends to waive extradition back to California to face charges in the deaths of 12-year-old Valerie Janice Lane and 13-year-old Doris Karen Derryberry, officials said.

The girls' mothers first reported them missing as runaways on Nov. 12, 1973, after they failed to return home overnight from a shopping trip to a mall in nearby Linda.

The Yuba County Sheriff's Department was notified a few hours later that their bodies had been found along a dirt road in a wooded area near Marysville, north of Sacramento, where they had been shot at close range.

The case went cold decades ago, Yuba County authorities said, until a state forensics lab matched DNA from the two suspects to semen found on Derryberry.

"It's just like it reopened  it's like it just happened again. And it's really, really hard," Margrette Hasting, the mother of Valerie Janice Lane, said after the arraignment.

The six murder charges  three for each of the victims  include one count each of premeditated murder, one count of murder committed during a rape or attempted rape, and one count of murder committed while molesting a child.

But the defendants won't face the possibility of execution if convicted, District Attorney Patrick McGrath told The Associated Press.

The case must be tried under the law as it existed in California in 1973, he said in an email: "During that time, the death penalty was not available in California, so the death penalty is not under consideration."

The most the men could face is a life sentence, and the law then provided that they could be considered for parole after serving seven years, McGrath said. The death penalty wasn't reinstated in California until 1977.

Vacek said the girls' families had little reaction when they were told Tuesday that the death penalty wasn't an option. "I think they were just kind of overwhelmed with the information they were being provided, so that was just a piece of it," he said.

Harbour was set for his next court appearance on Oct. 19, when Vacek said prosecutors hope to have both men back in Yuba County. Public Defender Brian Davis was appointed Wednesday to represent Harbour and declined comment.

Investigators in the 1970s carefully noted each of the more than 60 people they interviewed, Vacek said, and the suspects' names never came up.

They later considered Patterson after he was charged in 1976 with raping two women in nearby Chico, Vacek said, but found no link to the killing of the two girls until the DNA match decades later.

Detectives at the time "had done pretty much a bangup job in doing a thorough investigation," Vacek said. "To not have run across these guys is a little surprising, I guess ... We're reasonably confident there was nothing to connect them to the crimes at the time."

___

Associated Press writer Tim Talley contributed from Oklahoma City.
SHARE Joshua Daniel Devaney

By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

A 28-year-old Oak Run man arrested Saturday on suspicion of DUI following a crash that sparked a 75-acre fire that destroyed three Shasta Lake homes was released Wednesday afternoon from Shasta County Jail.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Laura Smith said Wednesday that Joshua Daniel Devaney was to be released from jail after no criminal charges were filed against him within a 48-hour arraignment time frame.

The arraignment clock began to click on Monday, but Smith said she is still awaiting on necessary fire and collision reports from the investigating agencies before a case can be filed against him.

As such, Devaney must be released from jail, where he has been held in lieu of $10,000 bail since the crash and fire.

Although he's been released, Smith said she's hoping those fire and collision reports will be filed soon, possibly within days.

Smith said, however, she has received a report from the Department of Justice that states Devaney's blood-alcohol content level following the crash was 0.226 percent, nearly three times higher than the legal driving limit of 0.08 percent.

But that's apparently not enough for a solid, air-tight case against him.

Devaney, who does not have a criminal history other than a 2012 traffic citation for a helmet infraction, was arrested after allegedly crashing his vehicle Saturday afternoon near the intersection of Hill and Lake boulevards in Shasta Lake.

Deputies who arrived at the crash immediately saw a fire spreading through a wooded area on the east side of Lake Boulevard. The fire, which forced residents to evacuate, destroyed three homes, including that of Anderson City Councilwoman Pam Morgan and her husband, Steve, who is running for the Board of Supervisors.

At least 40 homes were in danger during the height of the fire Saturday afternoon, said Battalion Chief Charles Dahlen with Shasta Lake Fire Protection District.

Sheriff's deputies said that a passer-by had pulled Devaney to safety from the wrecked vehicle and that he then ran away.

Shortly after that, Devaney returned and approached a deputy who was telling residents to evacuate, telling the deputy he was the driver of the wrecked vehicle that started the blaze.

That deputy said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol on the man's breath and noticed other symptoms of alcohol intoxication.

Devaney admitted to drinking several alcoholic beverages before getting into the wreck, deputies said, adding that he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and taken to a hospital for clearance before being booked into jail.

At least 40 homes were in danger during the height of the fire Saturday afternoon, Dahlen said.
Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight

Jason Jonathan Olson makes court appearance.

SHARE DePonte

Travel agent retains public defender

A Redding travel agent accused of fraud and charged with 60 felonies and 10 misdemeanors is sticking with the Shasta County Public Defender's Office.

At least for now.

Jason Jonathan Olson, 39, told a Superior Court judge Wednesday he has so far been unable to hire a private attorney to represent him.

Olson, who remains free of jail custody, is due to return to Superior Court next month for the possible setting of his preliminary hearing.

Olson, who was arrested earlier this month and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, is charged with grand theft and embezzlement, among other counts.

Following his brief court appearance Wednesday, Olson said he was appreciative of the support he and his company, True Vacation Travel, has received from their loyal customers.

Man sentenced for domestic violence

A 35-year-old Redding man was sentenced Tuesday in Shasta County Superior Court to 13 years in prison after being earlier convicted of a series of assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment and domestic violence-related charges.

The charges against James Manuel DePonte, III, who was also convicted of DUI, stem from an Oct. 24 incident in which DePonte drunkenly started an argument with a woman he knows outside a downtown bar, prosecutors said on the Shasta County District Attorney's Office Facebook page.

DePonte, who has a history of domestic violence, later pulled her from the driver's seat of her car, dragged her across the asphalt parking lot and shoved her into the passenger side of his sport utility vehicle, prosecutors said.

As he recklessly drove in the downtown area, prosecutors said, he repeatedly hit her in the face and head.

Eventually, after numerous pleas to stop hitting her, stop the car, and let her out, she jumped out of his moving SUV because she feared for her life, prosecutors said.

DePonte then got out of his SUV and began kicking the woman while she was lying on the street, prosecutors said.

Intruder sought in residential robbery

Shasta County sheriff's deputies were searching for a suspect in connection to a robbery at a south Redding mobile home park Wednesday morning.

The robbery occurred at the Deluxe Mobile Home Park at 7725 Happy Valley Road about 6:45 a.m. when a man walked into a resident's home through the front door and demanded "unspecified property," deputies said.

The intruder assaulted the resident, Victor Clark, and took his fanny pack containing money and other items. The suspect was also carrying a silver-colored, semi-automatic pistol, deputies said.

Deputies searched for the man, assisted by a dog and a helicopter, but were unable to find him. The man is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with a medium build and had a black bandanna over his face, deputies said. He was possibly wearing a dark shirt over his head and also wearing a dark, short-sleeved shirt, black pants and dark-colored sunglasses.

The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about the robbery to call 245-6025 or 225-3700.

Interstate 5 crash slows noon traffic

A crash slowed northbound Interstate 5 traffic near the Highway 44 interchange at noontime Wednesday.

The wreck, reported about 12:20 p.m. just south of the freeway's off-ramp to Highway 44, also knocked a pole down across the right lane, according to the California Highway Patrol's incident log website.

One vehicle, a small SUV or hatchback, was involved. Northbound traffic slowed dramatically in the area down to Cypress Avenue, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The right lane was reopened as of 12:40 p.m., with the CHP saying no one was injured.

Willard Fire at 65% containment

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported minimal fire activity Wednesday on the Willard Fire in Lassen County.

The 2,575-acre wildland fire is located off Willard Creek Road west of Susanville along the eastern perimeter of Lassen National Forest. It was 65 percent contained as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Crews continue to work on improving containment lines.

Two residences and five other structures were destroyed after the fire started Sunday morning. The fire's cause is under evacuation.

All mandatory evacuations and advisories have been lifted.

More forest reopens in Gap Fire area

The Gap Fire 20 miles west of Siskiyou County remained at 33,867 acres Wednesday but was 95 percent contained.

A forest closure has been reduced, with areas reopened on the fire's east and west sides, Klamath National Forest officials said. The Pacific Crest Trail has reopened to hikers.

Firefighters on Wednesday found and extinguished hot spots within the fire's perimeter and strengthened containment lines at the fire's northwest corner.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Advisory board presents awards

The Shasta County Public Health Advisory Board presented Community Health Awards to two programs and one federal agency Wednesday at the Holiday Inn in Redding.

The winners were the Safe Medicine Disposal Kiosk Program, the Shasta Community Health Center's worksite wellness program titled "We Are Wellness" and the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Karen Smith, director and state public health officer for the California Department of Public Health.
Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, said the need to support biomass facilities has been a concern of his for some time.

SHARE Gov. Jerry Brown signs two bills on Wednesday related to climate change, including Senate Bill 859 which gives a boost to the biomass industry.

By Nathan Solis of the Redding Record Searchlight

Biomass facilities across the state banked their future on Gov. Jerry Brown's signing of Senate Bill 859 on Wednesday, which gives energy providers incentive to consider bioenergy and purchase electricity from those plants.

The bill will allow bioenergy plants to stay in business or at least that is the hope. Contract negotiations between power companies and bioenergy plants will work out the details of who will stay afloat. Current contracts with power companies with will term out by the end of this year, leaving many biomass plants scrambling to sign new deals.

SB 859, along with Assembly Bill 1613 signed on Wednesday, provides direction on the spending of $900 million in cap-and-trade funding. SB 859 gives bioenergy the type of incentive solar and wind power enjoys.

Bioenergy is produced from harvested wood and sold to energy providers, like Pacific Gas & Electric in the North State, which purchased 92 percent of all bioenergy in the state last year, said PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno.

Coupled with drought, wildfires and bark beetle infestation in the Sierra National Forest, the need for an option to dispose of wood fuels is at an all-time high and biomass is a natural fit say proponents of the SB 859.

Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, said the need to support biomass facilities has been a concern of his for some time. Thanks to SB 859 at least 400-450 jobs in the biomass industry are saved in the North State, including plant operators and truck drivers hauling lumber from forests.

The language to support the biomass industry was added at the last minute to SB 859, which also looks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairies and farms.

"I knew we were coming up to a deadline with the utility providers. We've been working on this nonstop," said Dahle.

Contracts will term out again in five years and the biomass industry will be in a similar situation as it was last week, unless proponents can find a place for bioenergy in California's future. Dahle has requested to be part of a group that would work toward that goal.

About 400,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest are at least 80 percent dead, said Carolyn Ballard, fire chief with the Sierra National Forest. With SB 859, the bioenergy industry provided a solution for all that fuel.

"It's some of the best news we've heard in a while," said Ballard. "We have a lot of volume (of fuels) and we would like to move them off."

The details of contracts between the biomass facilities, power companies and National Forest service were not mentioned in the Senate bill. Instead all of that will have to be worked out between those key players.

There is a ticking clock element: New contracts will expire at the end of this year and winter conditions will make forest roads useless to truck drivers trying to haul two-ton trees.

Critics of previous biomass programs involving cap-and-trade dollars have resulted in lawsuits filed against state agencies. Criticisms point out cap-and-trade dollars should not go to generate revenue for the state or any industry.

Dahle invited legislators to the North State to see biomass plants and what their closing could mean for the local economy.

"We went to see the Burney Forest Power and saw what they are accomplishing. Without the provisions of SB 859, the biomass industry cannot compete with wind or solar power. We need to make them competitive," Dahle said.

In August, Burney Forest Power issued a 60-day notice to its 25 employees that it would cease operations around September. The biomass facility sells its steam to Shasta Green, which then sells its wood waste to Burney Forest Power. Shasta Green has a staff of about 100 employees and would face difficulties without the steam from Burney Forest Power.

Dahle adds that the Senate bill is the work of bipartisan efforts and credits the Speaker of the Assembly and other legislators.

Representatives with Burney Forest Power would not comment as the company is in contract negotiations with PG&E.

SB 859 does not guarantee a contract for every plant. Some facilities will stay open, while others will sink in the competitive market.

Julee Malinowski-Ball, executive director of the California Biomass Energy Alliance, said the state's efforts paint a bright future for the industry.

"I think it's just the start of a much longer-term solution. Biomass (plants) are taking waste material out of the agricultural fields and out of landfills, as well. Today, we need these facilities in place for a short-term problem."

PMoreno said the bidding process for biomass facilities will be ongoing, but he could not provide any details.

"We are sensitive to the hardships that the drought, fires and bark beetles have caused the forest leading to extensive damage and creation of fuels," Moreno said.

SB 859 requires power companies across the state to take a share of 125 megawatts of biomass energy on their books. Before there was the Bio-Renewable Auction Mechanism, which required 50 megawatts to be on the books. Many considered that the precursor to what was signed on Wednesday.
We dont know what percentage of new fathers in the Indian corporate sector take their parental responsibilities seriously enough to use the leave, says Kanika Datta.

Maneka Gandhi was both right and wrong when she said introducing a law for paternity leave would amount to little more than granting men a paid holiday.

Her point: That men dont take the leave to which they are already entitled to look after their children, so they were unlikely to avail themselves of a special category of leave for this purpose.

Naturally, she was excoriated by womens rights activists.

But to unpack her remark, which she modified a couple of days later, you have to appreciate where shes coming from.

And that is, like all of us in India, from a chauvinistic society in which the burden of child-care, to quite a late age, is borne by the mother.

Ms Gandhis point is that the government needs to focus on the basics first, which is delivering better childcare via the maternity Bill before it considers such sophisticated concepts as paternity leave.

And as women and child development minister, she has done some sterling work here in extending maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks in the organised sector.

There is no legal provision for paternity leave in the private sector, but male civil servants in the central government get 15 days of paternity leave for up to two children.

We dont know what percentage of new fathers in the bureaucracy opt for such leave, but Ms Gandhis long experience in government suggests that she has noted that the number couldnt be high.

It is small comfort that India can claim parity with the United States on this metric.

A 2012 study of college professors in the US found that only 12 per cent of fathers took paternity leave (note also that the US remains one of the few countries that does not legally mandate paid maternity or paternity leave).

Many of those who did take such leave spent more time working rather than on childcare.

We heard stories of male academics who took paid post birth leave in order to advance their publishing agendas. Another had taken leave while his child was in full-time day care, wrote researchers of the University of Virginia and University of Connecticut, which conducted the study.

Ironically, say HR specialists, one compelling reason for many US corporations to make generous provisions for paternity leave  some, like Yahoo!, offer as much as eight weeks  is that fathers rarely avail of it.

It becomes, therefore, a low-cost way for a company to acquire a progressive image.

In India, many large corporations  and the IT industry honourably leads the way  go significantly beyond the law in terms of the perquisites and work-time flexibility extended to new and expectant mothers, and paternity and parental leave figures prominently in the mix.

Again, we dont know what percentage of new fathers in the Indian corporate sector take their parental responsibilities seriously enough to use the leave.

It is possible that Ms Gandhis observations apply to them as well. But that is a poor reason not to include it in labour legislation.

For one, the expansion of nuclear families in urban India often requires husbands and wives to work, so it is only right that men should be given time out to shoulder some of the parental burdens. For another, it flags off a sorely-needed progressive trend.

Sweden is the global leader in terms of parental leave: 60 days plus 420 days to be shared by the parents.

Yet 40 years ago, when the scheme was introduced (mainly to reverse falling population growth), men took less than one per cent of their entitlement.

Today, almost 90 per cent of Swedish fathers take parental leave, and any visitor to the country will attest to the sight of young men baby-sitting in parks and public places. No surprise that Sweden has one of the worlds narrowest gender gaps.

So, Ms Gandhi was right to say paternity leave could be misused.

In the short term, thats probably going to be the case. But she is wrong not to introduce it in law.

It could, as Swedens experience has shown, mark the start of progressive social change in a country where the status of women is not to be envied.
The fund allocated for pulses buffer is more than 40% of entire farm ministry's 2016-17 budget.

The Centre is all set to create a huge buffer stock of pulses of around 2 million tonnes, half of which would be realized through domestic procurement and rest via imports.

This would play a crucial role in resolving the crisis in pulses that the country faces year after year, but a body to purchase, store and distribute them is required for any such success.

This buffer  procurement for which started sometime back  would ensure that the crop is purchased when prices drop below MSP and it is disposed off when they rise abnormally to cool down the markets.

Given that the Centre now plans to be regular player in the domestic pulses market, experts say the need has come to have an FCI like permanent body for pulses, which could solve this vexed problem once and for all.

Of course, we need an FCI like permanent body to handle the pulses procurement, storage and distribution, but needs to be much more efficient than FCI is. Also, to create any viable buzz about pulses among farmers we not only need assured purchases, but also irrigation facilities as despite all things pulses still cant compete with cereals when it comes to profitability for farmers, Dr S Mahendra Dev, director of Mumbai-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) told Business Standard.

P K Joshi, South-Asia director of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said that there three models which can be considered for handling this pulses buffer.

The first is that the Centre does it on its own, second the entire operations are done by private companies and third one to combine the two.

Experts say the Centre needs to ensure that neither farmers nor consumers suffer.

The initial procurement for pulses started from kharif 2015 when it was first decided to create a buffer of 0.5 million tonne, which was later scaled up to 0.8 million tonnes and now almost 2 million tonnes.

However, the big difference between purchases done earlier and now is that till last rabi season procurement was being done at market rates, but from 2016 kharif they are being done at MSP rates because prices have dropped sharply in the past 3-4 months.

The difference is also reflecting on the Centres sale of pulses and the commodity purchased at around Rs 90 per kilogram is not even fetching Rs 60 in the market now.

The move to create a permanent mechanism for purchasing and disposing off pulses, if fruitful would go a long way in solving the perennial pulses crisis in India.

However, one of the most critical parts of this exercise is the creation of an agency or empowering an existing one which is capable of undertaking large-scale procurement of pulses, storing them scientifically and also distributing them on time and efficiently.

More so as the total expenditure for handling such huge amount of pulses would come to around Rs 18,500 crore, which is over 40 per cent of the entire agriculture ministrys 2016-17 Budget.

The money, according to the plan wont come from budgetary support but would be raised from the market and elsewhere for which also a professional agency is desirable.

For the time being NAFED along with SFAC assisted by Food Corporation of India (FCI) is doing most of the procurement, while the stocks are being stored at the Central and State Warehousing Facilities.

CWC has a storage space of around 1.07 million tonnes, while State Warehousing Corporations have much more. Nafed since the 2015 kharif procurement season has purchased over 45,000 tonnes of pulses from farmers, while it has been mandated to buy around 0.35 million tonnes during the ongoing kharif season.

It has already started purchases of moong where prices have dropped below the MSP of Rs 52.25 per kilogram and soon it will start purchasing urad and tur as their prices are also showing a downward trend.

Urad MSP for 2015-16 is Rs 50 per kilogram, while that of tur/arhar is Rs 50.50 per kilogram.

The total buffer stock of pulses available with the government as on date is around 300,000 tonnes.

The ideal model according to us will be a mixture of both. That is public sector agencies procure pulses, while private agencies store them and the distribution is again handled by public sector, Joshi said.

He said transparent and clear guidelines could be developed for each of the three operations that is procurement, engagement of warehouses and storage spaces and thereafter their release through public agencies or into the open market, monitored by a committee.

For the time small pilots can be conducted in select districts to test this model, before being replicated nationally, Joshi said, adding that handling 2 million tonnes of pulses in one go is a big task and the Centre instead should have dealt with 1-1.25 million tonnes of pulses to begin with.

As studies conducted by IFPRI itself shows that South-East Asia comprising countries such as India, Pakistan among others could face huge pulses deficit till 2050, and as such permanent structure to manage purchase, storage and lifting of pulses would go a long way in dealing with the recurring crisis.

The Centres attempt to engage a professional agency to handle the buffer stock should consider all these.

Year Production

2009-10 14.66

2010-11 18.24

2011-12 17.09

2012-13 18.34

2013-14 19.25

2014-15 17.15

2015-16 16.47

NOTE: The Crop year runs from July to June

*As per the fourth advanced estimate

Source: Department of Agriculture

Photograph: Reuters
Prompt refunds have been made for small amounts. For larger amounts, time has been sought till March 2018

On March 30, 2016, the income-tax (I-T) office reportedly raised an incorrect demand of Rs 10,000 crore on State Bank of India (SBI) and forced it to pay up on the same day. This was refunded the very next month.

When this use of extortionate methods to meet revenue collection target was reported in the press, the finance ministry criticised such crude methods to fulfil revenue targets. In response, tax officers passed a resolution criticising the ministry. The minister then intervened and warned of action against tax officers under conduct rules for insubordination.

In fact, most tax practitioners were not surprised by the unjust demand of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) raised on the last day of the financial year, and its forcible collection on the same day. Their clients, too, routinely face this. What surprised them was that the unjustly collected tax was actually refunded in the next month itself.

This process normally takes many months or even years, no matter how justified tax refund is.

The biggest practitioner of denying legitimate tax refund demands is the central processing cell of the tax department. According to the procedure, a refund claimed in the return should be given after it is checked and corrected for any arithmetical and other prima facie errors.

The assumption is that the refund claimed is correct. The department always has the option to opt for a detailed scrutiny later. And, if the refund is found to be incorrectly claimed, it can demand the tax back with interest and charge a stiff penalty.

Since most returns are filed electronically, this check for prima facie correctness is a fairly simple process. Hence, providing the refund quickly should be easy. This is proven by the fact that many who filed their tax returns in July, have already received their refunds. In fact, prompt refunds are supposed to be the departments new, friendly face. But, all these quick refunds are for very small amounts.

Interestingly, the technology does not discriminate between small and large refunds. Yet, the department has kept time till March 31, 2018, for all returns filed this year. Obviously the larger refund claims are going to be paid only by March 31, 2018.

There is further delay due to payment by cheque, rather than electronically. Then, in many cases, the tax official is asked to check the refund manually. The officer reduces the tax refund amount by unjustly denying credit for taxes already paid.

If the department is serious about making tax refunds on time, it should provide for a short window to make the refund. The refund should be made electronically from the central processing cell itself. Only if that is done, I think, the finance ministry will have the moral high ground to censure tax officers on such extortionate methods of tax collection.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Harsh Roongta is a Sebi-registered investment advisor
Xiaomi is the third largest smartphone brand in the top 30 cities in India.



Experts say for multinationals to succeed in India the key is learning to do business the Indian way, rather than dumping global business models and practices on the local market.

Its a lesson Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has applied to its advantage.

As things stand, Xiaomi is the third largest smartphone brand in the top 30 cities in India.

With a market share of 8.1 per cent, it is only behind market leader Samsung (28.5 per cent) and Micromax (11.9 per cent).

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) India, the brand overtook Intex and Lenovo to become the third largest brand by sales in major urban markets during the April-June quarter.

Making its way to the top three brands within two years of operations in India, it appears to have played the price card to perfection.

Not long ago, Micromax and Intex disrupted the market with smart pricing.

They offered high-end smartphones at affordable prices, posing serious challenges to established brands like Apple and Samsung.

Xiaomis early success in India raises the million-dollar question: How long will the smartphone maker be able to hold on to its price advantage?

And will it be able to sustain the growth momentum in the long run and take a serious shot at the numero uno position?

Chief of Xiaomi India Manu Jain is upbeat about the current streak, and is confident that the brand is well poised to deliver on the promise of innovation that everyone can enjoy.

For Xiaomi, globally as well as in India, the business pitch revolves around a strong belief that high-end technology should not cost a fortune and be available to all.

According to Karthik J, senior market analyst, client devices, IDC India, Xiaomis continuous focus in the mid-price segment of smartphones with feature-rich and advanced hardware has helped the brand create a strong position in the mind of users who prefer to choose value-for-money options.

For instance, increased capacity of battery in Xiaomi devices is attracting users in huge numbers as they want longer battery life.

With a high-quality product proposition, there are a few other things that make Xiaomis value-for-money proposition more attractive than other brands.

To begin with, it offers its own operating system (OS) MI - which reportedly has more features than others.

Xiaomi started off as an OS developer and as the platform became popular it got into manufacturing smartphones.

With its genesis in technology, innovation comes naturally to Xiaomi, claims Jain.

He credits Xiaomis latest success to its unique approach to advertising and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.

The company has built in cost efficiency in each of the functions, saving significant costs.

It passes on this cost advantage to end buyers by offering high-end yet affordable phones.

Jain says unlike other companies which spend significant portions of their profits or revenues on marketing, Xiaomi doesnt spend ad dollars on marketing.

It does indulge in advertising but in an innovative way. It leverages social media and word of mouth to build brand image.

For Xiaomi, its fans are its brand ambassadors which is why it doesnt have a Bollywood actor or a sportsperson as a brand ambassador unlike other players.

To create buzz around its launches, Xiaomi engages its fans at multiple levels.

For instance, prior to launching Redmi Note 3 in March this year, the company started an explorer programme.

It chose 100 Mi fans who were most active on the Mi community one month before the launch and handed out Redmi Note 3 as a beta-testing device.

The content that the users generated on social media helped the brand attract more than 300,000 engagements.

Next, Xiaomi follows a direct-to-retail model which means a consumer directly comes and buys a device either on the its website or that of a partners (e-commerce).

A business-to-customer model helps Xiaomi cut costs by bypassing the traditional distribution model including stakeholders like master, regional, micro distributor and retailer.

Many brands end up losing from five to 20 per cent margin as they follow the traditional retail model.

Xiaomi also manufactures its devices locally. It helps save costs because of a friendly tax structure that the company enjoys vis-a-vis imports.

In terms of cost, local sourcing reduces the lead time in getting the products quickly to the market in comparison to imports from China which require advance planning of two to three months.

The working capital which is stuck in the system is lower when one is manufacturing locally as against imports.

Further, Xiaomis products enjoy a long life cycle of 15 to 18 months.

For instance, Redmi 2 and Redmi Prime launched in 2015 but continue to sell as they remain competitive devices in terms of features and price.

With long life cycles, component costs go down drastically.

The prices also go down, but not in the same ratio.

Therefore, we make a lot more money at the end of the life cycle of products than in the beginning of the lifecycle, says Jain.

What this implies is that competitive brands are playing catch-up with Xiaomi which leads the market by bringing cutting-edge products to buyers.

Interestingly, unlike other brands which launch about 30 to 40 models per year, Xiaomi rolls out only four models.

Despite that, it has a range of smartphones between Rs 7,000 and Rs 23,000.

Xiaomi is playing the volumes game. The lower segment of smartphones in the sub-Rs 10,000 category is its biggest market.

Redmi 3S and Redmi 3 Note are Xiaomis largest selling devices in the category.

Redmi Note clocked sales of about 1.75 billion units within five months of its launch in March. Jain admits a section of the population would always consider buying a device that they can flaunt.

They will opt for a device that is perhaps heavily advertised and offers some snobbish value.

However, he says, If as a brand Im offering more advanced technology and packing in more features at the same price point, smart, intelligent and well-read consumer will opt for Xiaomi.

Jain asserts that the growth potential which the Indian smartphone market offers is big enough for everyone to co-exist.

But as India becomes more digital, more and more people will read reviews, blogs and compare brands.

And people will discover that Xiaomi will easily beat any established brand on specifications and price points, he says.

A game of innovation: N Chandramouli

An effective pricing strategy has to come with quality.

And this is a difficult balance to achieve for a brand.

More so, when it is working on wafer-thin margins, which is the case with Xiaomi.

In a competitive market, its a per product piece that they are probably accounting for. Therefore, volume is the only metric on which they can hedge their bet.

The brand is packing a punch in the sub-Rs 10,000 category, the largest selling smartphone segment.

By and large its talking to job seekers, targeting people looking at gifting a phone.

This target audience will continue to grow and offer brands like Xiaomi an opportunity to expand.

Xiaomi is treading on thin ice. Competition is coming up with better, newer and cheaper products. Its going to be a game of innovation and constant value addition.

N Chandramouli

Chief executive officer, TRA
8 out of the world's 10 highest bridges are located in China

China can now boast of another infrastructure marvel, another world record -- the Beipanjiang Bridge that spans a rocky gorge, and sits 1,854 feet above the river below.

Recently, engineers in China's mountainous South Western Guizhou province linked the two ends of the bridge.

According to media reports, it stands 24 metres taller than New Yorks One World Trade Centre, and is around twice the height of the Shard in London. Views from the top are similar to those you would get from an airplane.

Interestingly 8 out of the world's 10 highest bridges are located in China.

The Beipanjiang Bridge connects the mountainous Guizhou province to Yunnan.

It is said that the combined population of these two provinces is considerably more than that of the UK. Thus, opening of this bridge will help people from these provinces to easily access Hangzhou, a Chinese hub of industry and commerce.

Photographs: Kind courtesy, CCTVNEWS via Twitter
It is alleged that WhatsApps strategy of gaining user permission for such data sharing is deceptive and surreptitious in nature and compromises privacy rights of citizens

WhatsApp submitted before the Delhi high court on Wednesday that it would not share contents of messages sent by users with its parent company Facebook (or its affiliate entities), as part of their data-sharing policy, which is expected to come into effect on September 25.

The Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal were hearing a petition filed by users of WhatsApp, challenging the messaging platforms proposal of data sharing and the manner of seeking such consent.

The petitioners have alleged that WhatsApps strategy of gaining user permission for such data sharing is deceptive and surreptitious in nature and compromises privacy rights of citizens, in a severe contrast to the over-the-top (OTT) platforms initial user policy.

In Wednesdays arguments, senior advocate Pratibha Singh began by highlighting relevant portions of the revised privacy guidelines, which she contended will allow WhatsApp to share all types of user data with its parent entity (and its affiliates). The policy says sharing can be restricted (by users) only for Facebook advertisements and experiences; for all other purposes, the data may be shared, said Singh.

What's up with WhatsApp's privacy The petitioners have alleged that WhatsApps strategy of gaining user permission for such data sharing is deceptive and surreptitious in nature and compromises privacy rights of citizens, in a severe contrast to the OTT platforms initial user policy The petition has sought for directions to be issued to the Centre to protect the privacy of individuals using such services and for Trai to frame the necessary rules under the Information Technology Act, 2000, for this purpose The Centres counsels were in agreement that the government did not have the power to regulate the conduct and policy decisions of OTT messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, under the current legal framework

Responding to the government counsels argument, that the availing of WhatsApp services were voluntary choices made by individual users in accordance with the platforms privacy conditions, Singh mentioned that one-tenth of WhatsApp users resided in India and raised the petitioners concerns about the sharing of past data, acquired from users without their knowledge.

Both counsels though, were in agreement that the government did not have the power to regulate the conduct and policy decisions of OTT messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, under the current legal framework.

In this regard, the petition has sought for directions to be issued to the Centre to protect the privacy of individuals using such services and for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to frame the necessary rules under the Information Technology Act, 2000, for this purpose.

The petition also seeks to prohibit WhatsApp from implementing the policy in question and maintain unrestricted access for users of the service till the determination of the present challenge.

Senior counsel Siddharth Luthra, appearing on behalf of WhatsApp, defended the platforms stance by reiterating the government counsels argument. Nobody has forced anyone (users) to join. If one is not happy (with the terms and conditions of the service), then opt out, said Luthra.

However, on a concluding note, Luthra offered some reassurance to users of the messaging service by mentioning that WhatsApp only intends to share details of its users and not the content of the messages sent by individuals. Luthra also stated that WhatsApp messages were fully encrypted and inaccessible, even to the service provider itself.

The Bench has asked WhatsApp to file an affidavit, in line with Wednesdays submissions, in order to create a written record of the OTT platforms stance. The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 20.

Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
The mobile wallet player plans to add more Chinese sellers to its e-commerce platform and boost technology for its soon-to-be-launched payments bank

Go big or go home: chances are thats the first thing you will notice across the walls as you enter Paytms headquarters in Noida, adjacent to Delhi. If the companys top boss Vijay Shekhar Sharmas pace of expansion is anything to go by, going home is clearly not an option.

The latest fund raising of $300 million by Paytm, a combination of mobile wallet and e-commerce platform, shows Sharmas ambition as well as skill to get investment in an otherwise cash-crunched start-up universe. The company has kept quiet about the recent funding round though.

In 2016, few tech start-ups have been able to attract serious money from investors. In fact, more than 20 big and small start-ups have shut shop over the last few months, while some others have opted for consolidation. Sectors such as food tech and real estate have gone through significant upheavals, prompting investors to exercise caution like never before.

Among the handful of players that managed to get funding this year are Kunal Bahl-led Snapdeal and Ritesh Agarwal-run Oyo. In February, Snapdeal raised $200 million from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and Singapore-based investment entity Brother Fortune Apparel, while Japans SoftBank pumped $61 million into Oyo.

In such a scenario, Sharmas company stands out in raising $300 million, or Rs 1,800 crore, even though others in the sector, including Flipkart and Snapdeal, have raised much higher amounts in the past. Other than existing investors such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and SAIF Partners, the new round of fund-raising saw participation from Singapores Temasek Holdings, Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek and Wall Street major Goldman Sachs.

Alibaba angle helped

What helped Paytm raise the money, say analysts, is the force behind the company. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant is the largest investor in Paytm. The very fact that Paytm is backed by Alibaba makes investors more reassured about the company. It has the combined strength of both Alibaba and Alipay (its payment platform), says Amarjeet Singh, partner (tax), KPMG India.

At the same time, Paytms business model is such that it is suited not only to the metro cities but also tier-III and tier-IV towns, according to Singh. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is a hardcore techie who is concentrating more on payments than e-commerce unlike others. All this makes him and his company an absolute darling of investors.

Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, himself makes the point about investor confidence.

The recent fund-raise is a showcase of investor confidence in the strength of our online and offline network. A platforms success is based on how people use it as it creates a positive network effect, Sharma told Business Standard. Investors evaluate potential investments based on this and are excited about it, he said. Paytms strength is in the robust network of services and use-cases it has built across the country.

Profitability goal

Founded in 2010 and incubated by One97 Communications as a humble prepaid mobile recharge website, Paytm, an acronym for pay through mobile, is valued at $2.9 billion, and it could be worth $5 billion after the deal is sealed, says sources.

The mobile wallet, which has now branched into e-commerce, travel, movie ticketing, among others, recently hived off its e-commerce and payments bank businesses into separate entities. Company insiders say the new funds will be used to grow its e-commerce and payments businesses.

Unlike other businesses, the payments bank is going to be a capital intensive venture. The technology sector needs front-loaded investments with a long-term vision for profitability, says Sharma.

The companys top priority now is to have the largest KYC customer base. This will in turn prove useful for the upcoming payments bank. Our target is to bring half a billion consumers on our platform, adds Sharma. He says that in the coming quarters, the company will work towards that goal by on-boarding consumers and merchants across the country.

Besides launching the payments bank, Sharmas next big thing could well be a joint venture with Alibaba, which is planning a major entry into India. Industry sources say Alibaba could go for Paytm, its biggest investment in this country, as a partner. During an earnings call for its June quarter results, the company gave an official indication of its Indian plan.

Alibaba believes mobile and payments would be an important strategic asset for it in India. According to a transcript of the earnings call, available at seekingalpha.com, Joseph C Tsai, Alibabas executive vice-chairman, said: We have decided to play some very strategically located assets in India.

We invested jointly with Ant Financial into a company called Paytm, largest mobile wallet company in India. We think mobiles and payment are going to be important strategic assets for us in that market.

Paytm could use some of the funds raised to reinforce its online marketplace in tune with Alibabas requirements. The company plans to expand the number of services it offers and add a host of sellers from China and Southeast Asia on its e-commerce platform.

The bonhomie between Paytm and Alibaba is hard to miss. Senior management of Paytm can routinely be spotted at Alibabas headquarters in Hangzhou, China. And, Alibaba executives are often at the Paytm office in Noida.

Yet, Paytm has hardly been any different from most of its other counterparts in online businesses when it comes to profits. In its annual filing with the registrar of companies, it reported a loss of Rs 1,534 crore in the financial year ended March 2016, as against Rs 372 crore in the previous financial year. Paytm says the losses are because it is still in the investment phase. That sounds familiar.

Photograph: Courtesy, Paytm.com
'The book has immense value because it reveals the inner workings of the think-tank which appears to provide facts and insights to Modi, though he himself takes the final decisions and articulates them in his characteristic rhetorical style,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Barack Obama at their eighth meeting, this time in Laos, September 8, 2016.

If M K Narayanan, Shiv Shankar Menon and Sanjaya Baru had commissioned a few experts to write an article each on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's foreign policy, edited them and published them in a volume with a joint editorial, it would be hardly objective.

But it would contain an analysis of the logic of his policy and a clear idea of the direction it would take in the future.

Similarly, The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigm in India's Foreign Policy, edited by Anirban Ganguly, a BJP researcher, Vijay Chauthaiwale, coordinator, Overseas Friends of BJP, and Uttam Kumar, formerly of BHU, cannot but be a panegyric of Modi.

The three editors themselves could have written the book, given their insights into Modi's foreign policy as its architects, but they have put together a number of credible writers to pen the articles.

The usual suspects from India, even those who have been sympathetic to the Modi government, are conspicuous by their absence. Satish Chandra, Virendra Gupta and P Stobdan are the only former diplomats who have contributed.

It is noteworthy that of the 21 contributors, 12 are foreigners or Persons of Indian Origin living abroad. The external perspectives reflected in the book are a measure of the acceptability of the changes in Indian foreign policy abroad.

IMAGE: Modi addresses the Indian Diaspora at the Wembley Stadium in London, November 14, 2015.

Setting aside these unique features, the book has immense value because it reveals the inner workings of the think-tank which appears to provide facts and insights to Modi, though he himself takes the final decisions and articulates them in his characteristic rhetorical style.

The purpose of the book is to unveil Modi's objectives, his accomplishments and his plans for the future. The release of the book by the minister of external affairs and the foreword by the finance minister bestow official blessings on the book.

The theme that threads through every article is the premise that 'India's approach to the world has begun to fundamentally alter, reshape and reposition' on the strength of India's greatness, going back to pre-historic times, the absolute majority for a single party after thirty years, the emergence of a common man, with immense capabilities as the prime minister and an assertive foreign policy, backed by a strong, growing economy and democracy.

Anirban Gangly, in the final chapter, states that the supporting pillars of Indian foreign policy are Samman (dignity and honour), Samvad (engagement and dialogue), Samridhi (prosperity), Suraksha (security) and Sanskriti (culture) -- the Panchamrit which seems to replace the Panchsheel.

The writers assert that the foreign policy in the first two years of Modi has been an unqualified success. Failures, such as a troubled neighbourhood, the NSG fiasco and elusive UN reform are turned into challenges yet to be won over by the argument that success has to be earned through hard work. It does not come on a platter and accordingly, fear of failure should not deter one from striving for success or otherwise, it will surely elude us.

Modi is prepared to stake his personal reputation when national interests so dictate and he is not afraid to lead from the front.

The editors state, rather dubiously, that 'a striking aspect is that global leaders do not require prior international experience to be one.' Foresight defines a global leader -- a clear vision for the country and its people and the ability to build a consensus to achieve the vision.

They then go on to summarise each of the 21 articles to support their thesis. This is very helpful, because the reader gets a general idea of the book by reading the chapter entitled 'Modi's foreign policy as problem solving'

Finding the right partners and understanding and leveraging the priorities of the partners are said to be keys to Modi's success in foreign policy. By pulling in Indian Americans into the forefront, Modi showed US politicians that he held sway over a section of their own political system.

IMAGE: Modi at the Fiji National University, November 19, 2014.

The importance of Modi's interaction with 14 Pacific Island countries is perhaps a bit exaggerated. Except for Fiji, which still has a significant population of Indian origin, they are virtual protectorates of Australia and New Zealand and have had little interest in India in the past.

To show that it will take more than Modi's vision alone to maintain momentum and that thoughtless bureaucracy could ruin things, one writer points out that a meeting of the Pacific Island countries was held in arid Jaipur, not on the coast.

Having been the Indian envoy to 8 of these 14 countries, I know that their leaders have been taken to Kerala and other coastal states again and again, but our scale of operations and methods of developing maritime resources do not appeal to them.

We cannot also match the generosity of Australia and New Zealand in offering projects to them. One has to wait and watch if Modi's intervention will produce any tangible results.

One writer argues that India has not put India's royalty to use to serve foreign policy. He claims that 'there are some doors only royalty can walk through.' Blue blood would be recognised in monarchies even if the Indian royalty has no power anymore. He seems to be unaware that India had recruited several former maharajas into the IFS, causing protocol confusion in some courts.

In the UK, the third secretary, a former prince, was ranked above the high commissioner! It is ironic that the writer should advocate the use of princes by a country which prides itself as a democracy, headed by a common man. Modi himself is likely to turn down the suggestion.

IMAGE: Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin, then Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma at the BRICS summit in UFA, Russia, July 2015. Photograph: PTI

China is a recurring theme in virtually every chapter as a rival, as a threat and sometimes as a potential partner. But there is no separate chapter on China, though there are chapters on Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and even Mongolia.

China comes up for severe criticism in the chapter on NSG. Satish Chandra argues that the Seoul experience once again demonstrated China's inimical mindset against India.

On many counts, India's credentials for admission to the NSG were excellent, while China was known to be a notorious proliferator. 'Seoul showed up China for what it is -- notably a hegemonic, unprincipled and ruthless player, quite prepared to disregard the common good in order to achieve its narrow ends.'

Satish Chandra justifies the move for membership of the NSG, but forgets the hesitations of history in the past, not only on NSG, but also on the MTCR, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australian Group.

The real criticism was about the timing and the manner in which it was pushed, resulting in a victory for China. Needless to say, diplomacy is the art of the possible.

Writing on India-US relations, Lisa Curtis notes rightly that there has been a qualitative improvement in India-US relations since 2014. Among the remaining irritants, she lists the US supply of F-16 to Pakistan and the welcome US accords to China for playing a role in South Asia, including Afghanistan.

But the big stories are India becoming a major defence partner of the US and resolving the nuclear liability issue by announcing the commencement of work on six Westinghouse nuclear reactors in India. She has no doubt that India-US cooperation, particularly on security issues, is sure to stay on an upward trajectory.

The book has much more on every aspect of India's foreign policy, particularly Modi's skilful use of soft power and the Indian Diaspora to advance the aim of India becoming a global power. That the Modi doctrine has led to Indians across the globe feel cared for is clearly strength.

'Re-imagining who is an Indian' is the churning that has happened in the minds of the countrymen, according to the author. The message that the world looks at India not as a recipient or a weak partner any longer, but a leader, and a strong ally is clearly highlighted in the book.

The purpose of the book undoubtedly is to establish that India is on its way to be a formidable global power under Modi.

Ramesh Thakur, writing on multilateralism, has argued for India's permanent membership in the UN Security Council not in terms of entitlement, but of a political contest involving building winning coalitions, mobilising sufficient resources and neutralising opposition.

But his prescription for the future is provocative and hazardous. He suggests that India and the other candidates should announce non-cooperation with the UN and if that also fails, should ignore the UN and switch to G-20 and BRICS to pursue our interests. Even more dangerously, he claims that such an agenda is in sync with Modi's style and vision, which is unlikely.

In the final section, Thematically Tied to the World, which is a refreshing title in a book on foreign policy, we find interesting lessons adopted from the world by India in economic, strategic, defence, energy, environment and civilisational quest.

The book certainly is a gold mine of the thoughts and ideas of the ruling party on foreign policy. Some of them are well argued and there are signs that Modi has adopted them. Others may be mere kite flying. But it will remain a handbook for those who look for the logic of Modi's foreign policy and for its likely course in the future.

No reader can miss the quality of production and style of the book by Wisdom Tree.
Rather than shaming Indian women (and men) who dont want to drink, through peer pressure and barbs, lets consider respecting their, perhaps more sensible, choices instead, says Sankrant Sanu.

Shruti, a student I know of at an engineering college in India, spoke to me of the pressure to adopt the bar culture -- being associated with 'progressive modernity'.

A mixed group of her friends had gone to a nightclub in Delhi. Most of the students in the group were drinking, but Shruti preferred not to. She was told she was being a Sati-Savitri for refusing to consume alcohol. Not 'blending-in would result in shaming.

They make you feel aloof from the group, she reported in a Whatsapp chat, And no matter how hard you try you cant gel with them.

I call this Savitri shaming, a social ostracism as potent as the much-talked-of slut shaming.

There is nothing particularly progressive or liberated about drinking alcohol, either for men or women. In rural areas in India, the campaign against alcohol consumption by men is often led by women (external link). These women experience first-hand the consequences of alcoholism -- blowing up of precious savings, domestic violence and breakdown of families.

In urban India, alcohol consumption is being pushed as the new cool, where often in the past it was looked down upon -- people from good families didnt drink.

The media and urban messaging is especially targeting women as part of the drinking culture. Is this really feminist? Studies have shown that alcohol is even worse for women than men. The US National Institute of Health concludes (external link) that drinking is much more risky for women than it is for men. A study by the Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia showed (external link) that women get drunk, high and addicted faster than men.

According to Susan Foster, director of the centre:

'A woman's body contains less water and more fatty tissue -- which increases alcohol absorption -- compared to a male body. And women have a lower activity level of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol.

Alcohol in even moderate amounts has been shown to increase risk of breast cancer in women, whereas the slight benefits of lower heart disease in some cases doesnt apply to women below 55. Heavy drinking is even worse, leading to higher risks of liver damage, cancer, brain impairment and heart disease. The NIH estimates that 5.3 million women in the US  drink in a way that threatens their health, safety, and general wellbeing. A strong case can be made that heavy drinking is more risky for women than men.

Another NIH study (external link) shows alcohol use, by men and women, is also a major factor in sexual assaults.

Conservative estimates of sexual assault prevalence suggest that 25 per cent of American women have experienced sexual assault, including rape. Approximately one-half of those cases involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, victim, or both.

Given an American society grappling with the ill-effects of alcoholism and showing a horrendous rate of sexual assaults, why would we emulate this drinking culture and call it progressive?

I heard other accounts from women in corporate settings whore told they must drink to socialise with their (male) clients. Is this progressive or regressive?

Shruti recounted the increasing peer pressure to drink in college:

Its a status symbol'. I was being forced to take a sip at least. And they would have had made me drink it if one of my friend hadnt stood up for me. They were like its an awesome feeling ... try it and get high and enjoy the world. Girls (were trying to make me drink) even harder.

It used to be the stereotype that women from good families didnt drink. Now the mindless aping of a harmful practice, one that Western society is struggling to overcome, has been made cool, while those who resist are derided as Sati-Savitris.

Who is Savitri? The story of Savitri and Satyavan is a love story of a courageous woman who challenged death itself to save her husband and love, Satyavan. Savitri represents commitment, loyalty, fidelity, courage and true love. Savitri-shaming denigrates all these values as patriarchal! What then is the alternative society?

Apparently the society we are asked to take as our model is one which has a sexual assault rape of 25 per cent, over 10 times that of Indias. A society in which the divorce rate is 20-40 times as high as in India (external link). Who benefits from the lack of commitment to the relationship?

In the US, women bear the brunt of divorce (external link). According to law professor Lenore Weitzmans book Divorce Revolution, A typical woman endures a 73 per cent reduction in her standard of living after a divorce. Her typical ex-husband enjoys a 42 per cent increased standard of living.

As per a Brookings report (external link), Single parents have much lower incomes and much higher poverty rates than their married counterparts. It also adds that there is near-consensus that the retreat from marriage has not been good for children.

Biologically promiscuity also has disproportionate consequence for women. In case of resulting pregnancy (and we know there is no foolproof contraception), women are often left holding the bag (and the baby). They need to either subject their bodies to drugs or surgery to terminate the pregnancy or deal with the consequence of an unwanted pregnancy and the potential of ending up as single mothers.

The men can shoot and scoot. Im not advocating that men should be irresponsible; but that the reality is they have less consequences for being so.

In effect, marriage is an institution that serves women. Many men would be quite happy sleeping around given available women. As players, men who make conquering and dumping women into a game, know this is easier to do when a woman is drinking since it lowers inhibitions. Men are happy with a culture of drinking and no-strings-attached sex where women bear the disproportionate responsibilities.

Progressive feminists may inadvertently push the cause of patriarchy in decrying slut-shaming while pushing for Savitri-shaming in an attempt to replicate a troubled Western society. Women do not need to be slut-shamed for dressing provocatively or victim-blamed for assault. Nor should they be shamed as behenjis or Savitri-shamed for dressing traditionally or refusing to drink alcohol.

Rather than shaming Indian women (and men) who dont want to drink with peer pressure and barbs, lets consider respecting their, perhaps more sensible, choices instead.
CHICAGO -- Depending on the mood of the country, immigrants are either welcome additions to a melting pot that always needs youth, or they're a pox upon our country, contributing to violence, crime and disease. But research dating back at least a century unequivocally shows that the foreign-born are involved in crime at significantly lower rates than their U.S.-born peers.

"We don't always express these strong levels of apprehension or anxiety toward immigrants. Rather, these feelings build as the immigrant population grows," said Bianca E. Bersani, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts and the lead author on a new paper investigating the link between immigration and crime. "There is an ebb and flow that coincides with increasing and decreasing levels of immigration to the U.S."

Alex R. Piquero, a criminologist at the University of Texas at Dallas and Bersani's co-author added, "Immigrants simply do not commit crimes at the rates that people think they do. The anxieties are in large part because immigrants are, to natives, 'not like us.' They bring different cultures, religions, language and demographics than what many are used to and that frightens us and contributes to a pervasive view, absent any empirical data, that immigrants bring problems and take our jobs. That is simply not consistent with the facts, especially when it comes to crime."

Bersani and Piquero's data analysis reinforced previous research showing that the foreign-born pose no unique criminal threat. But they went a step further and answered the question: "How can we know the respondents didn't lie about their interactions with law enforcement?"

Misrepresentation is a problem with all research that relies on people self-reporting information that may put them in a negative light. And in the case of immigrants -- both legal and unauthorized -- it's well-known that they sometimes don't trust, or understand, the criminal justice system.

But when Bersani and Piquero set out to learn whether immigrants' lower levels of crime (compared with first- and subsequent-generation U.S.-born people) might be influenced by differing crime reporting practices between these generations, they found that immigrants do not have a greater tendency to underreport their offenses.

Their analysis of data that included both individual self-reports of crime and official records found "no evidence that foreign-born, first-generation immigrants underreport their arrest history. In fact, when evidence of divergence exists, it is in the direction of immigrants overreporting arrests."

Pervasive myths die hard, and the authors have already fielded inquiries about whether their research differentiates between legal and unauthorized immigrants.

Though overstaying a visa or entering the United States without authorization is a civil offense -- not a criminal one -- illegal immigrants are often viewed as being definitively linked to violence and crime.

"In our analysis we don't have the level of detail to distinguish citizenship status for the foreign-born group," Bersani told me in an email. "That said, we can't rule out that the data do not include illegal entrants either, but there are two things to note here. One, others who have looked at differences in offending comparing legal and illegal immigrants do not find that illegal immigrants are significantly different from legal immigrants. And, two, in practice, the lines between legal and illegal are often blurred, and other research has established that in many people's minds the status of immigrant, regardless of legality, is deemed 'intrinsically delinquent.'"

Predictably, the authors have been accused of pro-immigrant bias.

Piquero, the only one of the pair of researchers who is the child of immigrants, told me: "Many people think we are absolving illegal immigrants because they believe that immigrants and illegal immigrants are one and the same, and they are not." The science and data rule the day. Any person, regardless of their demographic, would have arrived at the same conclusion that we did."

As Bersani noted, the fervor with which negative assertions are made against immigrants varies depending on the circumstances.

According to the Pew Research Center, growth and dispersion of the U.S. Latino population has slowed since 2007, and immigration from Latin America has cooled even as Latino fertility rates have fallen. Immigrants from China and India -- who, for better or worse, carry with them the "model minority" halo -- are outpacing those from Mexico.

Maybe this demographic shift to an even more diverse group of new immigrants can help reverse some people's willful insistence on seeing all immigrants in a negative light.
Chikungunya and dengue continued to wreak havoc in Delhi with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 30 on Thursday even as the number of affected people crossed 2,800.

A 75-year-old man from south Delhi succumbed to chikungunya complications at a city hospital on Thursday, taking to 12 the number of fatalities due to the disease.

The death toll due to dengue rose to 18 with half of the fatalities reported from AIIMS even as the number of cases of this vector-borne disease crossed 1,100.

J D Madan died on Thursday at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the fifth person to have lost life to complications triggered by chikungunya, at the hospital in last four days.

"He had acute febrile illness and was tested positive for chikungunya by rapid PCR test, and died at 6:45 am of chikungunya sepsis with septic shock and cardio-pulmonary arrest," hospital authorities said.

Five deaths from chikungunya complications were reported till Wednesday at Apollo Hospital, and most of the victims were aged 80 or above.

AIIMS had confirmed one suspected case yesterday. The victim, an old man from Muzaffarnagar, had died earlier this month of multi-organ failure triggered by chikungunya.

According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, the number of chikungunya cases in Delhi has spiked to 1,724 till September 11 as fever clinics in the city continue to be swamped with patients.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, meanwhile, said unlike dengue, chikungunya in itself cannot cause death.

"Naddaji (Union Health Minister J P Nadda) told me no one died of chikungunya in the entire country. People die directly of dengue. But medical literature says normally people do not die of chikungunya," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party government also requested the Centre to convene a meeting of the health ministers of neighbouring states to prepare a strategy to deal with dengue and chikungunya "outbreak" as many of the patients are coming to Delhi due to "lack" of proper healthcare facilities there.

In a report released on Thursday on vector-borne disease cases at AIIMS, the premier institute said, "Nine dengue patients have died from September 1 till date."

At least 1,158 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital with nearly 390 of them being recorded in the first 10 days of September, the month in which the vector-borne disease begins to peak.

Delhi is showing the spurt in chikungunya after nearly 10 years and health experts are conjecturing that this "upsurge" could be due to "evolution" in the chikungunya viral strain.

Dengue and chikungunya both are caused by the same aedes mosquito but dengue can be contracted through four viral strains while chikungunya is caused only by one strain.

Doctors say that chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease in general, but in rare cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons.

Seven of the 12 chikungunya victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh, including two from Ghaziabad, and five from Delhi.

Meanwhile, AIIMS laboratories have tested 1,443 chikungunya blood test samples positive till September 13.
The Peoples Democratic Party, which is struggling to contain the over two-month-long unrest in Kashmir, on Thursday suffered a jolt when its founding member Tariq Hameed Karra quit the ruling party and his Lok Sabha seat as well, protesting against "brutal policies" of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and "complete surrender" of the state government before it.

Karra, who was elected from Srinagar parliamentary constituency in 2014 on PDP ticket, also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Talking to reporters in Srinagar, the 61-year-old MP said he has decided to disassociate himself from the primary membership of the PDP and from the membership of the Parliament.

He said he would be submitting his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's office on Friday after which he would be deciding on the future course of action.

"The decision was tough as I have invested my youth in my party. I was opposing the alliance for last 16 months and I say it with pain that I have failed," he said, adding that he was not resigning out of any "compulsion or convenience but because of conviction".

Karra alleged that Modi has pushed the country towards Hinduisation and turned "Incredible India into Intolerant India".

"The prime minister has pushed the country towards Hinduisation and by doing so undermined Indian nationalism which has liberal space and place for diversity built into it.

"Though he couldn't convert his jingoistic promises made during general elections even to the people of Ladakh and Jammu into reality, one must give devil his due for converting highly publicised Incredible India into Intolerant India," he said.

The MP, who was once tipped to head the Jammu and Kashmir government with support of the Congress when political stalemate had dogged the state after the death of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in January this year, alleged that the Central and state governments policies of "unabated genocide", continued denial of the dangerous ground realities, insensitive and adhoc approach towards Kashmir issue led to his resignation.

He also said a blatant policy of dealing with Kashmiris by way of "oppressive, repressive and suppressive measures" adopted by the state and Centre were the other reasons for his resignation.

"My heart is bleeding and my soul is crying for the people of my homeland. My conscience cannot take it any longer," Karra said.

He said the PDP was floated in 1999 to safeguard lives, property, honour, dignity, self respect and political aspirations of the people. "But today, in the present tragic circumstances, (PDP) made a U-turn and treated its subjects much worst than the Nazi forces. I feel still continuing with them would be equally subscribing to the administratively inhuman and politically unethical blunders."

He said the PDP was formed to act as buffer between the Centre and the state. "The launch of this new political dispensation was on the premise as facilitators rather than collaborators or obstructionists for the permanent, peaceful and everlasting resolution of Kashmir issue."

"I was forcefully consistent on it so that the PDP buffer character would be saved which had blood and sweat of thousands of dedicated and selfless workers in it," Karra said defending his decision to resign after 69-days of unrest in Kashmir in which nearly 80 people have been killed and thousands of others have been injured.
In a bid to prevent further questions about her health, Hillary Clinton on Thursday released an updated medical record after a bout of pneumonia with her doctor saying she is fit to serve as United States president, as her fitness remained the main focus for the race to White House.

She is in excellent mental condition, said Lisa Bardack, her physician, four days after the Democratic nominee wobbled, stumbled and nearly collapsed during the 15th anniversary of 9/11 attacks in New York.

The health scare had forced the 68-year-old former secretary of state to cancel campaign and fundraising trips to California and has fuelled concerns about her medical fitness less than two months to go for the November 8 election.

She is set to resume her campaign this week.

The disclosure came as her Republican rival Donald Trump released new health data of his own soon after he questioned Clintons fitness, which has remained an area of speculation since this was not the first time she has had health issues.

Previously Clinton was afflicted by an uncontrollable cough for several minutes which forced her to stop speaking during a rally in Cleveland. And in December 2013, she had to be rushed to New Yorks Presbyterian Hospital after a medical scare following a fainting spell and concussion.

But Bardack said in a detailed medical report of the Clinton released by her campaign on Thursday that she is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States.

Bardack said Clinton has been seen by her regularly this year for routine care. She has had recurrent blood testing for Coumadin dosing and adjustments.

Her blood levels have been relatively stable. She also has had several allergy flares over the past year, which has been a typical pattern for most of her life.

In consultation with her allergist, she responded well to her medication adjustments.

In January of 2016, Mrs Clinton developed symptoms of sinusitis and an ear infection, which was treated with antibiotics and steroids. Over the ensuing few weeks, she noted progressive pain in her left ear despite treatment, and subsequently was evaluated by her ENT physician, she said.

Robby Mook, Hillary for America campaign manager, said: Its fair to say the public now knows more about Hillary Clinton than nearly anyone in public life.

Hillary Clintons release of updated medical information today meets a standard followed by presidential candidates like Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, he said.

Additionally, Hillary has made public nearly 40 years of tax returns over her lifetime. In stark contrast, Donald Trump is hands down the least transparent presidential nominee in memory.

His Doctor Oz charade is as completely unserious as his original joke of a letter written in five minutes. He continues to hide his taxes and business dealing behind fake excuses. And it begs the question: what is he trying to hide? Mook asked.

Image: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton waves as she leaves the home of her daughter Chelsea Clinton. Earlier in the day, Clinton left a 9/11 memorial ceremony early after she fell ill. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A piece of aircraft wreckage found in June off Tanzania has been confirmed as coming from the doomed airliner MH370.

The debris, found on Pemba Island off the Tanzanian coast, is the latest piece of wreckage to be linked to the Malaysia Airlines jet, whose disappearance remains a mystery.

The debris, an outboard flap, will be examined further to see if it can yield any insight into the circumstances around the missing plane, the Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, said.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report on the new wing flap said it was confirmed as originating from the aircraft registered 9M-MRO and operating as MH370.

Investigators had previously confirmed a piece of plane debris found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015 as being part of the missing MH370.

They are examining several other pieces of debris found in Mozambique, South Africa and Rodrigues Island, a territory of Mauritius.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureaus analysis of several pieces of debris led them to conclude that four of them were almost certainly from the missing plane.

On March 8 2014, the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people veered so far off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing leading to theories ranging from a deliberate murder-suicide plot by one of the pilots to a mechanical catastrophe.

Image: The inboard section of one of MH370s outboard wing flaps undergoes examination. Photograph: ATSB
Typhoon Meranti, stated to be the world's strongest typhoon so far this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province early Thursday, causing widespread destruction.

IMAGE: A man stands in front of a damaged vehicle and convenience store after Typhoon Meranti made landfall, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

The typhoon that hit Xiang'an district of Xiamen city, has also been monitored as the strongest one hitting southern Fujian Province since 1949.

Strong winds shattered windows on the high-rises even as tap water supply was disrupted following the typhoon in many communities in Xiamen.

IMAGE: Shipping containers toppled by strong winds of typhoon Meranti are seen in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Photograph: Reuters

"The winds and rain got extremely loud after 3 am. The cracking sound of windows and tree branches were also scary. The power went out in the shop several times," Su Binglin, a night-shift shop assistant at a 24-hour convenient store told state-run Xinhua news agency.

IMAGE: A partially capsized fishing ship is seen after Typhoon Meranti made landfall, in Kaohsiung. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

He said he had to use a metal plate to strengthen the shop door to prevent it from shattering. He also used boxes filled with mineral water to consolidate the plate.

IMAGE: Uprooted trees are seen after Typhoon Meranti makes a landfall on southeastern China, in Xiamen. Photograph: Reuters

At around 6 am, the winds abated. Streets in Xiamen are scattered with glass shards, broken tree branches and blown down billboards.

"It is so wretched. Many trees by road sides are fallen, and there are also blocking traffic," Hu Rong, a delivery man said.

IMAGE: Toppled bicycles lie on street after Typhoon Meranti makes a landfall on southeastern China, in Xiamen, Fujian province, China. Photograph: Reuters

The Xiamen Power Supply company said the typhoon has caused severe damages to the power grid in Xiamen, leading to mass blackout. The electricity supply was also disrupted in Xiamen's outlying islands and with the typhoon further moving inland, more power outages are likely.

The typhoon hit during a three-day public holiday for mid-autumn festival. Schools and kindergartens in coastal cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian in Fujian were closed on Wednesday as a precaution.

IMAGE: A car drives past a collapsed traffic sign, toppled by strong winds of typhoon Meranti, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Photograph: Reuters

The railway authorities in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi province, had on Wednesday announced cancellation of 144 trains till Saturday to southern and eastern cities in an emergent response to the typhoon.
Amid the raging feud in Mulayam Singh Yadav's family, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav on Thursday said the leadership had committed a "mistake" by removing Akhilesh Yadav as party's UP president and that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding".

Ramgopal, SP national general secretary and Mulayam's cousin, met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow in a bid to defuse the situation after the CM stripped his uncle and Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ramgopal, who is known to be close to Mulayam's son Akhilesh, told reporters before the meeting.

"He (CM) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal). Some misunderstanding has taken place and there is nothing more to it," he said.

He asserted that there is "no crisis" in Samajwadi Party.

"Many times some decisions are made due to which people feel that there is some problem in the party. There is nothing like that. This happens in all parties in different situations," Ramgopal.

When asked about the CM's statement that he has taken some decisions on his own, Ramgopal said, "Whatever decisions the CM has taken were on the directions of party president (Mulayam). Some decisions, he (CM) said, he has taken himself. It is not unnatural that a CM of a state like Uttar Pradesh takes some decisions on his own. It is natural... he should take decisions".

When asked about reports suggesting that Akhilesh will be made working President of SP for damage control, Ramgopal said, "It's simply gossip."

"When netaji (Mulayam) is president, there is no such question."

Asked about the CM's statement regarding role of "outsiders" in the family tussle, Ramgopal said, "I will talk to the chief minister as to what he wanted to say.... But there is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...."

On the talk of party's Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh's alleged role, Ramgopal said, "When you have come to conclusion, what can I say.... I will let you know later."

Shivpal, who is the younger brother of Mulayam, had on Wednesday reached Delhi to meet the party chief at his official residence.

An indication that the crisis in the SP lingered on came when Shivpal told Mulayam that despite following his orders, he was being painted as a villain.

Later talking to reporters, Shivpal had rejected suggestions that there were differences within the party and the Yadav clan.

"Neither am I angry nor is Netaji (Mulayam). We all are happy...there are no differences," he had said.

Mulayam is likely to reach Lucknow on Friday morning.

Asked about another report of national parliamentary board meeting of the party, Ramgopal said that there is not need for it.

"When has it been called? I am the secretary of parliamentary board and I call the meet. It is called when there is an issue of removing anyone or deciding tickets of Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Parishad...there is nothing like that," he said.

IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Wednesday. PHOTOGRAPH: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo
Patch up in the Yadav clan appeared to be on the cards with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announcing on Friday night that his disgruntled uncle Shivpal Yadav will be given back his portfolios and Gayatri Prajapati will be reinducted as Cabinet minister, issues which had triggered0 an all-out war.

The announcements were made as per the compromise formula worked out by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav who asserted that "There can be no division in the party, till I am there."

The signs of patch up came after Mulayam held discussions with brother Shivpal and son Akhilesh.

"Portfolios will be given back to Mr. Shivpal Singh Yadav," Akhilesh tweeted about his uncle who was stripped of his key ministries only two days back by the chief minister, triggering all out war during which Akhilesh was removed as party's state unit chief.

In another tweet, the CM said, "Gayatri Prajapati will be inducted in the cabinet."

According to party insiders, Prajapati, who was sacked as mines minister, could be accommodated in the cabinet but with a different portfolio.

Setting in motion the reconciliation process, Mulayam as well as Akhilesh earlier rejected Shivpal's resignation from the Cabinet as well as the head of state party unit, to which he was appointed two days ago replacing Akhilesh.

Shivpal had resigned last night as a minister and as state party unit head.

"Netaji (Mulayam) has heard all of us. He will talk to to some others if he wants and will take decision by tomorrow," Shivpal said on Friday, indicating a truce was on the anvil.

Akhilesh said at a function that he has rejected the resignation of Shivpal and he will comply with whatever his father directs.

"Netaji (Mulayam) will find a solution (to the current crisis) and everyone will accept it," he said.

Shivpal said he continues as UP party chief and is preparing for electoral challenge ahead but was evasive whether he will go back to the government.

"That (resignation from party post) has not been accepted. When I have said that for me, Netaji's hint is an order...Akhilesh has also said so. So where is the feud anymore," he said.

At the same time, he indicated that he may not return to the government. "Look, I have resigned only recently. I have got a bigger responsibility. Elections are near and I have to work for the polls. Who is bothered about portfolios? I had only one portfolio, so I said why only one. I will work for the party."

Earlier this morning, Mulayam also broke his silence over the five-day no holds barred family war, saying, "There can be no division in the party, till I am there."

The party supremo, who rushed here on Thursday evening from Delhi to douse the raging flames of feud, said, "We have a big family, differences may occur...There is no fight between Shivpal Yadav and Akhilesh."

He has met Shivpal and Akhilesh separately and then together to ensure that the crisis was resolved.

Mulayam said Akhilesh will not defy his words and announced that Prajapati will be taken back in the UP Cabinet, considered a bone of contention between Shivpal and

Akhilesh.

Akhilesh, on his part, said, "I have two duties, as chief minister and as son. I will honour the word of the party president and I will do everything to make my father happy."

At India TV's 'Chunav Manch' conclave here, he said, "I felt bad and you saw its effect. I'm coming here after a discussion with Netaji (Mulayam). Samajwadi Party is a family and there are no differences in the party."

He rubbished reports that he is behind the feud in the family saying, "It's a fight for the chair. If a good person asks for the CM's post, I am ready to give it up.

"It's election time. We should all come together and work. There is no fight between Ramgopal Yadav, Akhilesh and Shivpal."

Making it clear that he wanted a say in the distribution of tickets in the upcoming state elections, Akhilesh said, "I say I will give back everything but then I will say I should have the authority to distribute tickets. It will be my pariskha (test) in elections."

Apparently attacking SP Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh for fuelling feud in the family, he said, "Everyone understands who this outsider is, even you know that. I have told Netaji that if an outsider comes between us, he will be thrown out."

"Netaji and I have decided that we will not let outsiders drive a wedge between us," he said.

Shivpal defended 'outsider' Amar Singh while advising Akhilesh Yadav not to develop an ego and to "gain more experience".

"Anyone sitting on the chair of the Chief Minster should not develop an ego. I have seen many chief ministers. Akhilesh needs to gain experience. He should learn from Netaji (SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav) and me as well," Shivpal said.

Defending Amar Singh, he said, "His name should not have been taken. He can never cause any harm to our family. No decision in the party is taken without Netaji's consent. Need to tactfully deal with outsiders, if any, and one should apply his mind."

On Akhilesh's demand for more say in ticket distribution, he said, "Netaji will decide on ticket distribution. How elections are fought is the perogative of the party chief. Netaji will allocate responsibilities."

IMAGE: SP leader Shivpal Yadav at Chowdhury Charan Singh Airport in New Delhi in Lucknow on Thursday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo
Edward Snowden, a former Central Investigative Agency contractor who leaked classified government documents is not a whistleblower, but someone who risked national security and American lives, the White House said, dimming his hopes of a presidential pardon from Barack Obama before he demits office.

There actually is a specific process that is well-established and well-protected that allows whistleblowers to raise concerns that they have, particularly when it relates to confidential or classified information, to do so in a way that protects the national security secrets of the US. That is not what Snowden did, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Edward Snowden is not a whistleblower, Earnest said.

His conduct put American lives at risk and it risked American national security. That is why the policy of the Obama administration is that Snowden should return to the US and face the very serious charges that he is facing, he told reporters.

Snowden, 33, is accused of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property for leaking sensitive data to the media about National Security Agencys internet and phone surveillance.

He faces at least 30 years in jail in the US, and has been living in exile at an undisclosed location in Russia since June 2013. His residency permit expires next year.

Earnest maintained the long-held position of the US government that Snowden will be afforded the rights that are due to every American citizen in our criminal justice system.

But we believe that he should return to the United States and face those charges, he said, adding that there is no communication between Snowden and the US president.

Im not aware of any conversations or any communications between Snowden and the president, he said.

Snowden, on the other hand, argues that though he leaked secret data, the information have benefited the public as they led to an improvement in privacy protection laws.

Snowden has asked Obama for clemency in an interview with a UK newspaper, saying: If not for these disclosures, if not for these revelations, we would be worse off.

Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing. But that is perhaps why the pardon power exists -- for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things, he said.

Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
During his first address today at a government cabinet session, newly appointed Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said that the tax authorities should be focusing on large manufacturers and importers considered a tax-paying risk and should only go after small and medium sized business in extreme circumstances.

Karapetyan said that his government would be creating new committees to coordinate the campaign against corruption within the government.

Many in Armenia have long given up any hope that any administration can rein in corrupt practices within the government.

The new prime minister also instructed public utility regulatory agencies and the ministers of energy, labor and social affairs to jointly discuss a review of gas and electricity rates and to offer their proposals.
The following statement has been issued by the Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF)

The Kentron District police of Yerevan recently called Levon Galstyan, member of the coordinating board of Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF), informing him that Lydian Armenia, the company that plans to operate the Amulsar mine, filed a complaint that he and his colleagues had threatened the company.

Now, the police are collecting material regarding this complaint. Levon Galstyan was invited to the police, but since there was no official notification, he refused to go.

As a reminder, Lydian Armenia company is 100 percent owned by Lydian International Limited, a British offshore company. Despite the negative opinion of most independent specialists and environmental organizations, and majority of the population of Jermuk and Gndevaz, Armenias government permitted the implementation of this disastrous project.

The mine poses unmanageable risks not only for the Arpa and Vorotan river basin, the Jermuk health resort, Spandaryan and Kechut reservoirs, but also for Lake Sevan  the main regional repository of fresh water. The plan is to process 10 million tons of ore annually using the toxic substance cyanide  only 1000 meters from the Arpa River and Gndevaz village.

Within the scope of international and local laws, the PAEF, together with other concerned organizations, specialists and individual, has organized and continues organizing initiatives to express its opposition to this unsustainable project.

Here, you can get acquainted with experts opinions, analysis, articles and some of the videos regarding Amulsar gold mine.

We would urge civil society to be more active in this issue and for human rights organizations to be more alert in protecting everybodys rights.

Pan-Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF) Civil Initiative
Freedom in the World 2016 - Vanuatu

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Vanuatu, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da55751b.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 78

Freedom Rating: 2.0

Political Rights: 2

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Port-Vila

Population: 277,500

GDP/capita: $3,167.10

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 31 / 40 (-1)

Civil Liberties: 47 / 60

Like many Pacific island states, Vanuatu is threatened by rising sea levels and other effects of climate change. A powerful cyclone struck the region in March 2015, killing at least two dozen people, displacing many more, and destroying nearly all crops across the country. To raise funds for the recovery, the government expanded its programs granting Vanuatu passports in exchange for investments in the country. The schemes have largely targeted Chinese nationals seeking tax benefits or easy access to European countries.

In June, Prime Minister Joe Natuman, in office since May 2014, was ousted in a no-confidence vote after three government lawmakers shifted support to the opposition. Former prime minister Sato Kilman was chosen to replace him, marking the ninth change of government in seven years. Political uncertainly deepened in October, when 15 government lawmakers were convicted of bribery charges, leaving Kilman vulnerable to another no-confidence motion. Speaker Marcellino Pipite, one of those convicted, pardoned himself and 13 of the others while serving as acting head of state during an overseas trip by President Baldwin Lonsdale; the remaining member had pleaded guilty and was not pardoned. Lonsdale revoked the pardons after returning, and the convicted lawmakers received prison sentences of three to four years.

Important legislative business ground to a halt as Kilman, left with a weak minority government, pushed for early elections, while the opposition sought a government of national unity. The president ultimately called elections for late January 2016.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Vanuatu, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2016 - St. Vincent and Grenadines

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - St. Vincent and Grenadines, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da55773a.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 91

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Kingstown

Population: 110,000

GDP/capita: $6,663.30

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 37 / 40 (+1)

Civil Liberties: 54 / 60

In December 2015, the social-democratic Unity Labour Party (ULP) won its fourth consecutive victory in parliamentary elections, taking 8 seats in a narrow victory over the conservative New Democratic Party (NDP), which won the remaining 7. The Commonwealth Election Observer Team noted irregularities in the voting, but said they were not significant enough to discredit the elections.

However, the NDP, alleging electoral fraud, refused to accept the results and staged a series of public protests, including one in which demonstrators unsuccessfully attempted to prevent incumbent prime minister Ralph Gonsalves from taking office by blocking the road to the government building where he was to be sworn in. The arrest amid unclear circumstances of opposition member Ben Exeter in late December additionally inflamed tensions. An opposition boycott of the parliament was in effect at the year's end, as protests continued.

The constitution guarantees freedoms of speech and of the press, but these protections are not always enforced, and many media outlets are openly partisan. Shortly after the December elections, Douglas De Freitas, the owner and operator of Nice Radio, was arrested on allegations of inciting violence after he claimed on the air that the ULP planned to tamper with ballot boxes. He was released shortly afterward, but an investigation against him was continuing at the year's end. An access to information law makes public information available to residents, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) assist with such requests. The Public Accounts Committee occasionally raises public awareness of government irregularities.

Domestic violence remains a serious problem. While not itself a criminal offense, instances of domestic violence can be prosecuted under existing laws prohibiting assault or battery; however, police do not always act when such instances are reported. In April 2015, the government approved a law that provided greater protections for victims; broadened the definition of domestic violence to include stalking, intimidation, and psychological abuse, among other things; and obligated certain medical workers to report instances of domestic abuse. The law also required medical professionals to report instances in which minors have become pregnant or have given birth.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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US and Dutch authorities are seeking a record US$ 1.4 billion settlement from Nordic telecommunications firm Telia Company to resolve allegations of large-scale bribery during the companys entry into Uzbekistan in 2007, the company said Thursday.

Telia Company, formerly TeliaSonera, is being probed by both countries for bribing its way into the Central Asian countrys market.

Reporting by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in 2015 revealed how the company paid US$ 381 million in bribes to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of late President Islam Karimov. The company also promised another US$ 75 million in further payments, as part of Karimovas squeeze of more than US$ 1 billion in payments and shares from foreign telcos.

"I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility. We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter," Telia Company Chairman Marie Ehrling said in a statement.

The proposed settlement is the highest yet under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Telia Chief Executive Officer Johan Dennelind told a telephone conference with the media that the company had not yet decided if it will accept the offer.

"We will make sure that (the settlement offer) is analyzed and understood before we make any further comments," Dennelind said. "But its a very high amount."

occrp.org

The news comes almost a year after Telia Company announced its plan to gradually withdraw from Central Asia.

Russian-Norwegian telecom operator VimpelCom agreed in February to pay US$ 795 million to US and Dutch authorities after admitting to bribing Karimova.
Freedom in the World 2016 - Tuvalu

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Tuvalu, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da55774.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 94

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Funafuti

Population: 11,800

GDP/capita: $3,880.40

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 37 / 40

Civil Liberties: 57 / 60

Enele Sopoaga, the prime minister since 2013, secured a new term after March 2015 parliamentary elections, holding together his alliance of independent lawmakers. There are no political parties in Tuvalu, though no law bars their formation. Incumbents won 12 of Parliament's 15 seats.

The elections had been postponed by more than a week due to damage from a cyclone. This and other severe weather events underscored the country's vulnerability to the effects of climate change. In August, the government said it was considering the idea of buying land in Australia or New Zealand to support the population in the face of rising sea levels.

A UN committee reviewing discrimination against women in Tuvalu reported in March that the country had adopted new legislation against domestic violence in 2014 and abolished some discriminatory practices in recent years. However, it found that inequality in law and society still limited women's human rights. The constitution offers no protection against gender-based discrimination, and customary norms curtail women's role in society. Women cannot inherit the traditional title of matai, or chief, from their fathers, and few women hold prominent roles in business or government. Victims of domestic violence often refrain from reporting abuse. In December, the government said it was training counselors, religious leaders, and a specialized police unit to help address the problem.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Tuvalu, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - St. Lucia

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - St. Lucia, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557814.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 92

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Castries

Population: 175,000

GDP/capita: $7,435.10

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 39 / 40

Civil Liberties: 53 / 60

In August 2015, Parliament began debating a report authored by the Constitutional Reform Commission that was introduced in 2013 after years of consultation and development. The report contains more than 100 recommendations for the reform of Saint Lucia's 1979 constitution, including on same-sex marriage, capital punishment, and term limits for the prime minister.

Police brutality remains a significant problem. In 2013, the United States cut aid to the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) due to credible allegations of gross human rights violations related to 12 extrajudicial killings that took place between 2009 and 2011. In response, the government of Saint Lucia invited a team of Jamaican investigators to study the circumstances surrounding the killings. In findings released in March 2015, the Jamaican team concluded that that police officers had planted weapons at the scene of each of the 12 shootings, which officers had then reported as having been carried out by unidentified persons; the investigators also confirmed the rumored existence of a RSLPF "death list" of suspected criminals to be targeted. Saint Lucia's Director of Public Prosecutions had yet to charge anyone in connection with the killings at the year's end.

In October 2015, police released figures showing a 16 percent decrease in the rate of homicides for the first nine months of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. However, the rate remained relatively high, with 21 homicides, including one categorized as a police shooting.

Discrimination, harassment, and attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people continued in 2015.Violent crimes committed against LGBT individuals have gone unprosecuted. Same-sex sexual relations are illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, civil society voices have begun to demand changes in legislation in recent years.

Women are underrepresented in politics and other professions; there are currently three women serving in Parliament. Domestic violence is a serious concern and often goes unreported.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Saint Lucia, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - St. Kitts and Nevis

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - St. Kitts and Nevis, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557914.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 88

Freedom Rating: 1.5

Political Rights: 2

Civil Liberties: 1

Ratings Change:

Saint Kitts and Nevis's political rights rating declined from 1 to 2 due to problems with the 2015 elections, including unequal access to the media and financial resources, final determination of a number of constituency boundaries only a few days before the polling, and refusal of the supervisor of elections to publish the results on schedule.

Quick Facts

Capital: Basseterre

Population: 46,000

GDP/capita: $15,167

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 35 / 40 (-2)

Civil Liberties: 53 / 60

In general elections held in February 2015, the opposition Team Unity defeated the Labor Party (SKNLP), which had been in government for two decades. Team Unity, an alliance of three parties led by former foreign minister Timothy Harris, took seven of the 11 directly elected seats in the National Assembly, while the SKNLP and an ally won the remainder. Although the vote was generally considered to be free and fair, a number of factors caused concerns about its quality. Opposition candidates as well as observers criticized the lack of campaign finance legislation, and the Organization of American States (OAS) noted that the difference between state resources and SKNLP financing was not always clear. Some observers also noted that the government enjoyed disproportionate access to state-owned media for campaign purposes. Additionally, a delay in reporting results led to questions about the independence of the election commission.

The lead-up to the vote featured uncertainty surrounding boundary delineation, with the SKNLP government advocating for the use of new electoral boundaries in February. The government introduced the changes in January, eliciting strong criticism from the opposition, which claimed that the changes did not follow constitutional procedure and unfairly favored incumbents. Opposition politicians initiated a legal challenge to the new boundaries, but local courts dismissed their claims. The plaintiffs took the case to the Privy Council in London, the highest court of appeal for Saint Kitts and Nevis. The judicial committee of the Privy Council overturned the decision to use new boundaries on February 12, four days before the elections.

The country continued to grapple with a high incidence of violent crime in 2015. In July, the national police force unveiled a six-part plan for combatting crime and improving public safety. The plan calls for more proactive policing of public spaces, engagement with communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and closer cooperation with other government agencies, among other things.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Saint Kitts and Nevis, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - San Marino

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - San Marino, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557b3b.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 100

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: San Marino

Population: 33,000

GDP/capita: $62,993.40

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 40 / 40

Civil Liberties: 60 / 60

There is little abuse of office by public officials in San Marino, but financial misconduct has prompted the government to increase financial transparency. After an investigation into a money laundering scheme at the Commercial Bank of San Marino led to the arrest of former captain regent Claudio Podeschi and former secretary of state for foreign affairs Fiorenzo Stolfi in 2014, Stolfi and Podeschi were released in 2015 but remained under investigation. The Council of Europe's committee on money laundering noted in an April 2015 report that San Marino has satisfactorily addressed its recommendations to combat the practice.

In July 2015, the government passed a law recognizing same-sex couples married abroad and granting residence permits to partners under certain circumstances.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in San Marino, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Sao Tome and Principe

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Sao Tome and Principe, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557b5.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 81

Freedom Rating: 2.0

Political Rights: 2

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Sao Tome

Population: 195,570

GDP/capita: $1,797.20

Press Freedom Status: N/A

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 34 / 40

Civil Liberties: 47 / 60

Sao Tome and Principe remained stable in 2015 after the Independent Democratic Action party (ADI) defeated the governing Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party (MLSTP-PSD) in last year's parliamentary elections. In anticipation of the 2016 presidential election, officials began work on a new voter registration system in 2015. In March, the government declared that all Cape Verdean emigrants who were living in Sao Tome and Principe at the time of its 1975 independence would be able to secure Sao Tomean nationality at no cost through the end of 2015; those who take advantage will have the opportunity to participate in future elections.

Government corruption remains a problem. In May 2015, the Court of Auditors announced that it had found numerous irregularities in public contracts awarded in 2014, adding that it had discovered similar issues in previous years and that the country lacked mechanisms to hold offenders accountable. Investigators in late 2015 were probing corruption allegations against former members of the Cantagalo municipal government, pertaining to illegal land sales and the issuing of fake documents, including passports. Separately, in a May session of the National Assembly, the opposition MLSTP-PSD claimed that Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada had been involved in a corrupt real estate deal involving the public acquisition of a new Supreme Court building. In August, MLSTP-PSD members accused Trovoada of politicizing the central bank after he dismissed three of its directors, two of whom were MLSTP-PSD members.

Members of the security forces have been known to commit violent acts against civilians. Justino Lima, head of the armed forces, was dismissed in early 2015 after the emergence of a video clip that apparently depicted him and other military officials beating a man suspected of theft. A new military chief was appointed in July, a few weeks after a military patrol had killed a young man accused of illegally extracting sand.

Sao Tome and Principe remains heavily dependent on international aid, with the majority of its budget financed by donors. The trafficking of people and narcotics on ships in Sao Tomean waters continued in 2015. The government has actively sought international assistance to address the problem, and in December inaugurated a new maritime surveillance system.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Sao Tome and Principe, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Samoa

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Samoa, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557d4.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 80

Freedom Rating: 2.0

Political Rights: 2

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Apia

Population: 194,210

GDP/capita: $4,173.10

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 31 / 40 (-1)

Civil Liberties: 49 / 60

During 2015, the legislature considered various updates to the electoral law ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2016. Those elections would be the first to apply a 2013 constitutional amendment requiring at least 10 percent of the seats in Parliament to be held by women.

Lawmakers also passed the Citizenship Investment Act, which allows foreign nationals to obtain permanent residency or citizenship in exchange for a large investment in the country. Opponents argued that citizenship should not be sold, and some expressed fear that the law would expand Chinese domination of the economy, which was already a source of social tension.

Official corruption is a major cause of public discontent. In January, an associate minister was found guilty of forgery and later resigned from Parliament. A 2014 parliamentary report found instances of corruption and mismanagement in government agencies, but in early 2015 the government dismissed the majority of its findings and recommendations.

In June, Parliament passed legislation that establishes a Media Council to enforce a code of media ethics and investigate public complaints. Journalist groups and the community will select representatives to sit on the council. Journalists and media outlets were divided on the law, with some opposing it and others arguing that it could improve the profession.

In August, the Ombudsman's Office submitted its first human rights report to Parliament, calling for better safeguards for equality and respect for women, children, persons with disabilities, and prisoners. Domestic violence against women and children is a serious problem. The Crimes Act of 2013 made spousal rape a crime, and the Family Safety Act of 2013 empowers the police, public health officials, and educators to assist victims and families. Nevertheless, some women still do not report abuses due to social stigma and fear of reprisal. Women also face discrimination in employment and other aspects of life. The first woman was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2015.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Samoa, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Palau

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Palau, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557e5.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 92

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Melekeok

Population: 18,000

GDP/capita: $11,879.70

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 37 / 40

Civil Liberties: 55 / 60

The economy of Palau depends heavily on tourism, foreign assistance, and remittances from workers overseas. Growing tourism from China in particular has created jobs but also raised the cost of living, and some locals regard the presence of Chinese businesses and foreign residents with hostility. The government has sought to license a tourist casino to bring in additional revenue, but the Senate rejected legislation to that end in January 2015.

Foreign workers, who account for about a third of the population, remain vulnerable to sexual exploitation and forced labor. In September, several women from the Philippines alleged human trafficking and forced prostitution at bars that were partly owned by Taiwanese nationals.

High-ranking public officials have faced corruption charges in recent years, and several have been convicted. In March and June, respectively, a House delegate and a former vice president were charged with official misconduct. In August, the Office of the Ombudsman asked for a clearer legal mandate with greater independence, as it currently operates as part of the president's office under an executive order.

Palau's Compact of Free Association with the United States  which obliges Washington to provide for the country's defense through 2044  has been in effect since 1994. A scheduled 15-year review of the compact resulted in a 2010 agreement on development aid and other benefits to last until the next review in 2024, but legislation to implement that agreement remained stalled in the U.S. Congress as of 2015. In the meantime, Congress continued to appropriate basic aid funds on an annual basis.

The last of six ethnic Uighurs from China who had been transferred to Palau from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2009 reportedly left the country in March 2015 to resettle elsewhere. The U.S. government had promised to pay for their settlement in Palau, but the funding expired in 2013; the decision to accept the Uighurs and the handling of the funds had been the subject of political and legal disputes in Palau.

The country's next national elections were scheduled for late 2016.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Palau, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Monaco

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Monaco, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557e5f.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 88

Freedom Rating: 1.5

Political Rights: 2

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Monaco

Population: 38,088

GDP/capita: $163,351.60

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 31 / 40

Civil Liberties: 57 / 60

In March 2015, Monaco inaugurated its first national human rights body, the High Commission for the Protection of Rights, Liberties and for Mediation. The commission released its first annual report in July, emphasizing a need for stronger protections against discrimination in the workplace and at sporting events. In March, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report about the overall state of human rights in Monaco. The office expressed concern about inadequate definitions of torture in Monegasque and excessive surveillance, and recommended modifying legislation on torture, examining the incidence of discrimination based on race and nationality, and reviewing the use of closed-circuit cameras by security forces.

Secrecy laws and inadequate financial record keeping have traditionally made the country's level of corruption difficult to measure. In March, Monaco signed an agreement with Italy that will allow Italian tax authorities to access information about the financial activities of Italian taxpayers in the principality's banks. The agreement aims to fight tax evasion, money laundering, financing of terrorism, and other offenses.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Monaco, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Micronesia

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Micronesia, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da557f116.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 93

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Palikir

Population: 103,000

GDP/capita: $3,049.10

Press Freedom Status: N/A

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 37 / 40

Civil Liberties: 56 / 60

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) held general elections in March 2015, resulting in a new Congress of 14 members, all of whom ran as independents. In May, Congress named Peter Christian, the at-large senator representing the state of Pohnpei, as president and Yosiwo George, the at-large senator for Kosrae, as vice president.

There were no reports of fraud or irregularities in the March polls. No female candidates participated, and the FSM remained one of the few countries in the world with no women in the legislature. Voters in Chuuk, the federation's most populous state, were to decide in a concurrent referendum whether to seek independence, but the Chuuk governor postponed the plebiscite indefinitely in February on the grounds that more consultation was needed before such an important vote.

The FSM relies on economic and defense assistance from the United States under a 1986 Compact of Free Association. The current terms of the compact call for more than $130 million in annual aid through 2023, in addition to funding from applicable U.S. federal programs, though the compact itself does not expire.

Ties with China have deepened in recent years, with increased Chinese aid and more Chinese tourist arrivals. In April 2015, China pledged $500,000 in disaster assistance after a typhoon struck the states of Chuuk and Yap. In September, the Chinese government agreed to provide a $10 million grant for various transportation projects.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Micronesia, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Mauritius

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Mauritius, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da558014.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 90

Freedom Rating: 1.5

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Port Louis

Population: 1,262,660

GDP/capita: $10,005.60

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 38 / 40

Civil Liberties: 52 / 60

The new Alliance Lepep government consolidated its political power in 2015, taking all 120 seats contested in June's local elections. The polls were conducted following electoral reforms that increased the number of councilors to 4 per district, from 3 previously. Alliance Lepep's sweep of the local polls followed its surprise victory over the ruling coalition of Navinchandra Ramgoolam in general elections held in late 2014.

The implementation of a 2012 gender quota for local elections resulted in women's representation in local government increasing to 34 percent following the June 2015 polls, from 26 percent previously. Additionally, after the 2014 polls, the new National Assembly elected a woman to be speaker of the assembly, and in June 2015 it unanimously elected the first woman president. However, there are only 8 women in the 70-seat National Assembly, and women hold just 3 positions in the 24-member cabinet. Separately, at the year's end, the country had yet to complete reforms to address a 2013 UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) ruling that a law requiring political candidates to declare their ethnic and religious status constituted a human rights violation.

The country's generally positive reputation for transparency and accountability was damaged by multiple corruption scandals in 2015, including the arrest in February of former prime minister Ramgoolam on allegations of conspiracy and money laundering, in connection with the discovery of $6.4 million in cash at his residence. The inquiry later widened to include the former Bank of Mauritius governor. Separately, Pravind Jugnauth, a former finance minister and technology minister and the son of Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth, was convicted in June 2015 of a conflict of interest offense related to the government's use of public funds to buy a private hospital; the case was under appeal at the year's end.

In December 2015, the national assembly passed a good governance bill that expanded the number of public officials required to disclose their assets to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Mauritius, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Marshall Islands

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Marshall Islands, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da5581d.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 92

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Majuro

Population: 55,000

GDP/capita: $3,616.80

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 37 / 40 (+1)

Civil Liberties: 55 / 60

Parliamentary elections held in November 2015 featured significant turnover, with 14 of 33 seats in the unicameral legislature changing hands. The results were a blow to the government of President Chris Loeak, who saw about half of his cabinet members voted out of office. While the incumbent government was supported by the Aelon Kein Ad (AKA) party and the Kien Eo Am (KEA) group was in opposition, elections are officially nonpartisan, and lawmakers are free to form alliances and change affiliations. The new legislature was set to hold a presidential election in January 2016.

There were no reports of violence or complaints of fraud or irregularities. Voter turnout was lower than usual at 46 percent, though some observers suggested that the list of registered voters was inflated with deceased citizens, making the turnout figure artificially low. Naturalized citizens were allowed to run as candidates under a February court ruling, which found that a 1980 law requiring parliamentary candidates to have at least one Marshallese parent and traditional land rights was unconstitutional.

Corruption and lack of transparency remained problems in 2015. In August, the auditor general reported to the parliament that national and local government officials were obstructing his work, forcing him to use subpoenas to obtain meetings and routine documents.

A 2015 UN human rights review called on the Marshall Islands to form a national human rights commission and step up efforts to address domestic violence, child abuse, and discrimination against women. In October, the country adopted a law prohibiting the domestic and transnational trafficking of children. Local and foreign women and children are vulnerable to forced prostitution in a trade serving the crews of visiting foreign vessels, and the government rarely investigates or prosecutes cases.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has close relations with the United States under a 1986 Compact of Free Association, which allows the U.S. military to operate in the country in exchange for defense guarantees and development assistance. A component of the compact in force through 2023 calls for the United States to provide about $70 million in annual aid, including contributions to a trust fund for the country.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in the Marshall Islands, see Freedom in the World 2015.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

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Z = Change from Previous Year

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Malta

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Malta, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da55828.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 96

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Valetta

Population: 431,486

GDP/capita: $22,776.20

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 39 / 40

Civil Liberties: 57 / 60 (-1)

In May 2015, a report from the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants found that migrants have difficulty integrating into Malta's economy and society. It noted the prevalence of labor exploitation and weak enforcement of laws against such abuses. Also that month, the Migrant Integration Policy Index ranked Malta 33 out of 38 countries, underscoring problems in areas such as labor-market mobility, education, and access to permanent residence.

The parliament passed a new party financing law in July, stipulating that parties must adhere to international auditing standards, that they cannot accept donations from any government entity, that no donations should be accepted from trusts or foundations with unknown beneficiaries, that all donations over 7,000 ($7,800) must be published online, and that any individual donation cannot exceed 25,000 ($28,000).

Separately during 2015, officials continued to investigate corruption scandals involving the state-owned energy company Enemalta. In May, the company's former chief projects officer was acquitted of charges that he had accepted bribes from an oil trader.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Malta, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Liechtenstein

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Liechtenstein, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da558331.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 98

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Vaduz

Population: 37,570

GDP/capita: $149,160.80

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 39 / 40

Civil Liberties: 59 / 60

In 2015, the government of Liechtenstein continued to combat the country's reputation as a tax haven and to increase transparency in banking. In October, Liechtenstein entered an information-sharing agreement with the European Union (EU), part of a wider effort to reduce tax evasion within the bloc. Under the agreement, EU member states will be able to access information about bank accounts held by their citizens in Liechtenstein banks. The country had already reached a similar agreement with the United States in 2014. The press continues to play a role in illuminating secrecy practices and fraudulent financial activity. Local media are largely independent, and international outlets are also accessible.

A third of the population is foreign-born. Some native citizens have expressed concern over the growing number of immigrants from non-German-speaking countries, such as Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Officials responded by creating formal integration programs to teach recent immigrants the language and culture of Liechtenstein. In 2015, the government agreed to participate in a plan for the distribution of refugees across the European Union, and also continued resettlement through mechanisms provided by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Women are underrepresented in politics and business, and a gender pay gap persists. Abortion is legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy if the mother's life is in danger or if she was under the age of 14 at the time of conception. The government has signaled some intentions to decriminalize abortion in recent years, and in March 2015, legislators announced that they would amend legislation that criminalizes obtaining abortions abroad. The law recognizes same-sex civil unions.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Liechtenstein, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Luxembourg

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Luxembourg, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da55837.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 98

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Luxembourg

Population: 569,202

GDP/capita: $110,664.80

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 38 / 40

Civil Liberties: 60 / 60

The European Commission (EC) continued to investigate allegations that Luxembourg had given multinational corporations favorable tax arrangements that violated European Union (EU) regulations. EC president Jean-Claude Juncker, who was the country's prime minister from 1995 to 2013, faced scrutiny in the investigations, with critics raising questions about his awareness of the arrangements. In October 2015, the EC found that Luxembourg had given Italian automaker Fiat illegal tax advantages, ordering the recovery of close to 30 million ($34 million). Separately, in April, a local court charged French journalist Edouard Perrin for his role in the so-called "LuxLeaks" affair, which in 2014 revealed secret tax breaks for multinational firms. The court charged Perrin with abetting the violation of professional secrecy laws as well as possessing and distributing confidential papers; two former PricewaterhouseCoopers employees who leaked the documents also faced similar offenses. The cases were ongoing at year's end.

Social reforms initiated by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel  who leads a coalition government composed of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, the Democratic Party, and the Greens  continued in 2015. In January, officials reached an agreement with the Catholic Church to change its longstanding relationship with the state. Under the agreement, state funds will no longer be used to pay priests' salaries, an ethics class will replace religious instruction in schools, and subsidies for the Catholic Church will be drastically cut. In addition, the state will begin to provide subsidies to Luxembourg's Muslim community. The legalization of same-sex marriage, also a prominent goal of the Bettel administration, took effect in January.

Some of the government's reform efforts have faced popular resistance. In a June referendum, voters overwhelmingly rejected proposals to place a 10-year limit on ministerial mandates, to lower the voting age from 18 to 16, and to grant voting rights to foreigners if they have resided in Luxembourg for at least 10 years and previously voted in a local or EU election.

Under a plan to resettle the unprecedented number of asylum seekers who reached the EU during the year, Luxembourg agreed to accept 751 individuals over a period of two years. The first refugees began arriving in the country in November.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Luxembourg, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Grenada

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Grenada, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da558414.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 89

Freedom Rating: 1.5

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Saint George's

Population: 111,000

GDP/capita: $8,295.50

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 38 / 40

Civil Liberties: 51 / 60

Politics in 2015 were dominated by the ongoing constitutional reform process, led by a Constitution Reform Advisory Committee (CRAC) whose government-appointed members include representatives from political parties, religious denominations, and other groups. In March 2015, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), withdrew from CRAC, claiming the body's members were pushing through recommendations without NDC input and without undertaking adequate public consultation. In December, over NDC protests that the ruling New National Party (NNP) had hijacked the reform process, six bills developed by the CRAC saw their first reading in the lower house of parliament. Among other things, the bills sought to improve constitutional protections for individual freedoms, to reform electoral bodies, and to implement various reforms to the judicial system and rules governing the functioning of the parliament. A much-delayed referendum on a new charter is set for April 2016.

The NNP won all 15 seats in the lower house in 2013 elections, winning 59 percent of the vote to the NDC's 41 percent. Due to the lack of parliamentary opposition after the elections, the governor-general appointed three former NDC ministers to the upper house.

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people face significant societal discrimination in Grenada. Same-sex sexual activity between men is prohibited by criminal law and can carry jail sentences of as long as 10 years. Grenadian representatives at an April 2015 meeting of a UN human rights review committee stated that there was little public support for writing protections for LGBT people into a draft constitution. However, several civil society groups actively promote LGBT rights; in November 2015, police participated in an LGBT awareness workshop sponsored by one such group.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Grenada, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Dominica

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Dominica, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da5585103.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 95

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Roseau

Population: 68,000

GDP/capita: $7,433.90

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 38 / 40

Civil Liberties: 57 / 60

Dominica faced its worst natural disaster in decades when a tropical storm passed close to its coastline in August, causing devastating damage and leading to an estimated 30 deaths and displacing more than 500 people from their homes. The World Bank assessed the damage at nearly $500 million, and the International Monetary Fund provided $8.7 million in immediate recovery assistance.

In May and June, residents of Salisbury organized demonstrations to protest poor agricultural conditions, and constructed road blocks in some parts of the town. The government deemed the demonstrations illegal, and the police response led to clashes; no serious injuries were reported. Some journalists covering the protests reported intimidation by security forces.

The country lacks legislation on access to information, and defamation remains a criminal offense. Government officials have used defamation lawsuits  or threats thereof  against members of the media, encouraging an environment of self-censorship. In 2014, after opposition leader and journalist Lennox Linton accused the government of harboring criminals, eight ministers filed a defamation suit against him, seeking $1 million in damages. In November 2015, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit launched a defamation case against Linton after the journalist published a letter connecting Skerrit to a corruption case involving a former UN president.

The Dominica police force, which assumed responsibility for security after the military was disbanded in 1981, operates professionally, and there have been few complaints of violations of human rights in recent years. In 2014, five police officers were arrested in connection with the death of a detainee. In March 2015, the officers were formally charged with murder; the case was ongoing at year's end.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Dominica, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Cape Verde

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Cape Verde, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da558611.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 90

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Praia

Population: 514,000

GDP/capita: $3,641.10

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 37 / 40

Civil Liberties: 53 / 60

In 2015, Cape Verde saw growing tensions between political parties in anticipation of 2016 general elections. Nevertheless, the main political forces came together in early 2015 to select new members of several official bodies, including a newly established Constitutional Court, and the National Election Commission (CNE). In May, the National Assembly approved a bill introducing a local referendum system; lawmakers from the governing African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), the opposition Movement for Democracy (MpD), and other parties praised the measure for permitting more direct participation of local communities in political processes. Separately, in April, President Jorge Carlos Fonseca vetoed a bill that would have increased public officials' salaries by 65 percent. The measure, which lawmakers approved as Cape Verde continued to struggle with high unemployment, had prompted large popular protests.

Cape Verde has relatively low levels of government corruption. However, in 2015 MpD members alleged that several ministries had misappropriated government subsidies and grants. In November, Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves announced that officials were investigating the allegations. In December, Attorney General Antonio Pedro Lopes noted that gaps in the country's laws that could allow some forms of corruption to go unpunished. Freedom of the press is guaranteed by law and generally respected in practice, but in October the Cape Verde Journalists' Association (AJOC) criticized an article of the electoral code that banned media outlets from spreading information deemed to be propaganda.

While Cape Verde's judiciary is independent, the capacity and efficiency of the courts are limited. After long delays, the Constitutional Court was established in October 2015. In parallel, the Supreme Court was restructured, as it no longer needed to perform the duties of a Constitutional Court. The criminal justice system is impeded by a lack of resources and poor coordination among relevant government entities. In April, Defense Minister Rui Semedo expressed concern that Cape Verde lacked resources to adequately address growing piracy and drug, human, and arms trafficking on its shores.

While discrimination based on gender is prohibited by law, wage discrimination and unequal access to education persist. In April 2015, the Network of Women Parliamentarians Cape Verde (RMP-CV) proposed that at least 1 percent of all ministries' budgets be used to implement the National Plan for Gender Equality and Equity, which despite having been officially launched was not awarded any funding in the 2015 budget.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Cape Verde, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Belize

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Belize, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da5587d.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 87

Freedom Rating: 1.5

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Belmopan

Population: 368,000

GDP/capita: $4,719.10

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 36 / 40

Civil Liberties: 51 / 60

In snap elections held in November 2015, the incumbent United Democratic Party (UDP) increased its majority from 17 to 19 seats in the House of Representatives, which has 31 directly elected seats. The opposition People's United Party (PUP) took the remaining 12 seats. The UDP entered an unprecedented third consecutive term in government, with Dean Barrow retaining the seat of prime minister. Observers from the Organization of American States noted that the election was inclusive and conducted in a fair and professional manner. The UDP and PUP dominate Belize's competitive two-party system, but a number of smaller parties are also active. The Belize Progressive Party fielded candidates in 25 districts in the 2015 elections, although it did not ultimately secure seats.

Belize continues to struggle with the negative effects of organized crime, gang violence, drug trafficking, and corruption, although to a much lower extent than its neighbors. In March 2015, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal case against Elvin Penner, a legislator who was dismissed from his post in 2013 amid suspicions that he had facilitated the illegal issuance of a Belizean passport to a South Korean national. A local NGO had launched the appeal in 2014 after a court dismissed Penner's case for lack of evidence. Separately, authorities continued to investigate how David Nanes Schnitzer, an international fugitive wanted for involvement in financial crimes, had acquired Belizean citizenship. Police apprehended Schnitzer in November, but he escaped shortly after being released on bail. His whereabouts were unknown at year's end.

Indigenous communities continue to criticize the government for making their lands vulnerable to exploitation by foreign corporations, particularly by granting concessions. In a small victory, in June, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) upheld a 2013 decision by the Belizean Court of Appeals affirming ownership of ancestral lands for members of more than 30 Mayan communities. In another ruling in October, the CCJ ordered the government of Belize to compensate 25 members of the Maya community of the Toledo district for failing to protect their constitutional right to private property.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Belize, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Barbados

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Barbados, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da5588b.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 98

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Bridgetown

Population: 278,000

GDP/capita: $15,343.40

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: Free

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 40 / 40

Civil Liberties: 58 / 60 (-1)

Infighting among members of the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) continued in 2015. In November, the BLP expelled from its ranks longtime member and sitting member of Parliament Maria Agard. Agard said she would challenge the expulsion, and continued to sit in the House of Assembly, the lower house, at the year's end. The developments followed the 2014 resignation from the BLP of former prime minister Owen Arthur, who became an independent. The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) holds a majority in the Parliament, having won 16 of 30 seats in the House of Assembly in 2013 polls.

As Barbados continued to grapple with a struggling economy, a number of labor disputes involving public-sector workers emerged in 2015. The country's two leading trade unions adopted a policy of working at reduced speeds over complaints including the dismissal of 10 workers over age 60 at the state-run Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), and threatened a national strike. Sanitation workers  including garbage collectors and grave diggers  as well as customs officials went forward with strike actions amid disputes with the government during the year.

Conditions remained difficult for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people in Barbados in 2015. The law criminalizes same-sex sexual relations and provides for sentences as severe as life imprisonment. While the law has not been applied in recent years, it remains among the harshest anti-LGBT laws in the Western hemisphere. LGBT people face discrimination in housing, employment, and access to health care. Occasional violent incidents against LGBT people continue, and go underreported due to many victims' fear of reprisals.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Barbados, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Antigua and Barbuda

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Antigua and Barbuda, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da55893d.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 82

Freedom Rating: 2.0

Political Rights: 2

Civil Liberties: 2

Quick Facts

Capital: Saint John's

Population: 90,000

GDP/capita: $13,921.74

Press Freedom Status: Partly Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 33 / 40 (+2)

Civil Liberties: 49 / 60

In April 2015, Parliament passed a controversial banking act that increases the regulatory authority of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank over banks in Antigua and Barbuda. The move was in part a response to a financial crisis that had been sparked by a Ponzi scheme involving American investor R. Allen Stanford. Although a group of defrauded investors sued the government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2013, claiming that top officials were aware of Stanford's scheme and benefited from it, no Antiguan officials connected to the Stanford case have been brought to trial. The 2015 banking act provoked strong protests by the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union because of restrictions on employee rights, especially severance payments, and the amount of authority the law delegates to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. Similar legislation was passed in other Caribbean countries.

Elections are administered by an Independent Elections Commission, whose effectiveness has improved since the 2009 elections. The electoral law now calls for continuous registration, which is considered more inclusive than the limited time period for registration that had previously been allowed for. Amendments to the Representation of the People Act were proposed in 2015 that would increase transparency in the campaign finance system.

Antigua and Barbuda has seen gradual improvement in accountability structures since 2004, when the government enacted a Freedom of Information Act. The Public Accounts Committee can also expose governmental improprieties and wrongdoings, but historically it has not functioned effectively and there have been lengthy delays in submission of the Auditor General's report.

The country took initial steps in 2015 to join the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), with both major political parties signing a Memorandum of Understanding on constitutional reform in July. If successful, this would mean that the CCJ would replace the British Privy Council as the final court of appeal for the country.

The legislature abolished criminal defamation in April 2015, though certain similar cyber crimes remain subject to imprisonment or large fines under the Electronic Crimes Act of 2013.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in Antigua and Barbuda, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Freedom in the World 2016 - Bahamas

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 7 September 2016 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2016 - Bahamas, 7 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da5589b.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.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 92

Freedom Rating: 1.0

Political Rights: 1

Civil Liberties: 1

Quick Facts

Capital: Nassau

Population: 377,000

GDP/capita: $22,217.50

Press Freedom Status: Free

Net Freedom Status: N/A

OVERVIEW

Political Rights: 38 / 40

Civil Liberties: 54 / 60 (-4)

Harsh new immigration policies enacted in 2014 and 2015 have drawn protests from domestic and international observers, who decry inhumane conditions at migrant detention centers and the detention of children, and say the policies unjustly target people of Haitian descent. The new policies also threaten to block children born in the Bahamas to undocumented migrants from attending primary and secondary schools, and to make it more difficult for Bahaman-born children of migrants to attend universities. The immigration measures have served to further exacerbate stigma and discrimination against Haitian-Bahaman and Haitian migrants.

In June 2015, an unarmed Haitian migrant was confirmed to have been shot in the back of the neck by a police officer in an immigration raid, contradicting official reports. He was then detained for five months before finally being deported, though his lawyers claimed that they had never seen a copy of the deportation order against him, or the order permitting his detention.

In 2015 the government once again delayed a referendum, originally proposed in 2012, to end gender-based discrimination in the acquisition and transmission of Bahamian nationality. Under current rules, a child born to a Bahaman father and a non-Bahaman mother who are unmarried is not a Bahaman citizen at birth, nor is a child born outside the Bahamas to a Bahamian mother and a non-Bahamian father. Neither do children born in the Bahamas to non-Bahaman parents gain citizenship upon birth.

Separately, in March 2015, allegations emerged that V. Alfred Gray, a cabinet official and member of parliament, had abused his power in order to win the release of a constituent who had been convicted of a crime. While Gray admitted to contacting a magistrate in connection with the matter, the attorney general in May declined to pursue allegations of judicial interference against him. The developments raised concerns about political interference in the judicial system.

This country report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2016. For background information on political rights and civil liberties in the Bahamas, see Freedom in the World 2015.

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Avenues for peace in Afghanistan must be explored with 'utmost urgency'  UN envoy

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Avenues for peace in Afghanistan must be explored with 'utmost urgency'  UN envoy, 14 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da854b40c.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.

14 September 2016 - Highlighting the challenges facing Afghanistan due to decades-long violence and instability, the United Nations envoy to the country stressed today that avenues for peace there must be explored with utmost urgency and seriousness.

"As one of the world's most aid-dependent countries, it will be difficult for Afghanistan to achieve self-reliance as long as there is conflict," Special Representative of the Secretary-General Tadamichi Yamamoto told members of the Security Council during a briefing.

"Conflict diverts resources, which would be better spent on developing Afghanistan and helping its people. Peace is therefore a requirement," he underlined.

Mr. Yamamoto, who is also head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), went on to stress the need to resolve political tensions between two senior leaders in the Government to ensure that it is stable.

"No effective policies are possible if the Government is internally divided," noting that tensions had surfaced, with public criticism by Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah about what he viewed as the incomplete implementation of the political agreement of 2014.

Mr. Yamamoto noted that the two leaders have met several times since then to try to identify the issues and to seek solutions. He said efforts are still under way, and further meetings are expected.

He nevertheless called on the leaders to show to the people of Afghanistan and to the international community that they are able to govern effectively. He also welcomed the recent signature by President Ashraf Ghani of the legislative decree for electoral reform as a constructive development in this regard.

"The political agenda must progress constructively, political stability must be maintained; and the elections must take place," he said, telling the Council that the two year anniversary of the 2014 political agreement that established the National Unity Government draws near, the political oppositions have increasingly challenged the legitimacy of the Government.

Challenging security situation

Drawing attention of the 15-member body to the volatile security situation within the country, the UN official expressed concern that the toll extracted by violence on civilians continues to increase.

The Bish-Bator compound in Afghanistan where around 650 conflict-displaced families live. Photo: OCHA Afghanistan

"Nowhere is this trend more apparent than for children, among whom there has been an 18 per cent increase in casualties, with 388 children killed in six months," he reported.

He noted that the country's health and social systems could also face further strain as the number of people newly displaced by the conflict is being added to by a massive increase in the number of Afghan families returning back from Pakistan.

"If current trends continue, Afghanistan will have to meet the needs of at least one million people on the move," said Mr. Yamamoto, adding that unless urgent measures are taken, thousands of families could suffer due to the upcoming winter season.

Some positive developments

In his briefing, SRSG Yamamoto also noted some positive developments. In particular, he welcomed President Ghani's comprehensive, long-term approach to tackling corruption, which seeks to develop the architecture needed to prevent corruption, as well as hold those responsible for corruption to account.

He also acknowledged the Government's continued progress on other reform and mutual accountability commitments, in particular preparing for the country's National Peace and Development Framework and successfully negotiating a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

Speaking on the upcoming Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, Mr. Yamamoto called upon the Government to "seize this opportunity" that meeting will offer.

He also welcomed the Government's plan to hold a side event at the Conference to spotlight the challenges faced by the country's women who were widowed by the long conflict.

Concluding his briefing, Mr. Yamamoto said that the country has an opportunity to build on its achievements of the past fifteen years and move towards stability and self-reliance.

"With effective government and the continued support of the international community it has every chance of succeeding," he added.
Security Council approves three-month extension for UN Mission in Liberia

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Security Council approves three-month extension for UN Mission in Liberia, 14 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da85e64.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 Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through the end of the year, while reaffirming its readiness to consider withdrawing the operation and transitioning to a future UN presence there following a proposed mid-November review of situation on the ground in the country.

With the unanimous adoption of a new resolution, the Council extend UNMIL through 31 and decided that the authorized ceilings of the Mission's military and police components should remain at 1240 and 606 personnel, respectively.

Affirming its readiness to consider the withdrawal of UNMIL and transition to a future United Nations presence, the Council recalled its request that the Secretary-General conduct an assessment mission to Liberia to provide recommendations by 15 November, including an update on the proposed modalities regarding the transfer of the regional quick reaction force.

Briefing the Council in late in August, Farid Zarif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIL, said many Liberians are concerned about the prospect of the Mission's withdrawal and potential lack of UN support during the October 2017 presidential and legislative elections.

"There is a consensus among national actors that the next elections will be a critical test for Liberia's stability, democracy and development," Mr. Zarif said, emphasizing that both the Government of Liberia and the international community must not lose sight of the still arduous path to sustainable peace in the country and the region, which "will require long-term robust engagement by all concerned, particularly by this august Council."
Refugees, climate change and Syria likely standouts amid 'whirlwind' of UN high-level week  Ban

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 14 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Refugees, climate change and Syria likely standouts amid 'whirlwind' of UN high-level week  Ban, 14 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da86cc4.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.

Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the global challenges pertaining to refugees and migrants, climate change, and the war in Syria are the major topics that will likely figure prominently in this year's high-level week at the United Nations.

"This year's high-level week at the United Nations comes at a critical time," Mr. Ban told a press conference at Headquarters in New York, previewing activities that will take place at the annual session, when international attention is focused on the work under way at UN.

World leaders are scheduled to address next week's general debate and other events that will take place during the high-level segment of the General Assembly's 71st session. With the Secretary-General's second five-year term expiring on 31 December, this will be Mr. Ban's last high-level week as the UN chief.

We will seek progress in resolving protracted conflicts and rising tensions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. We will strive to continue the momentum towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, our plan of action for peace and prosperity on a healthy planet," he said.

"But amid the whirlwind, three challenges stand out," he said at the press conference.

First, he said, the international community must come together in a spirit of shared responsibility for the world's refugees and migrants. More countries must resettle more people who have been forced from their homes. More countries must recognize the benefits of migration. And everyone, everywhere, must stand up against the animosity that so many refugees, migrants and minority communities face.

The Declaration to be adopted at next Monday's Summit for Summit for Refugees and Migrants marks a major step forward, Mr. Ban said, noting that on this occasion the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will join the UN family and a global campaign will be launched to fight xenophobia.

"The refugee and migration challenge is one we can, and must, tackle together," he said.

Second, Mr. Ban said he is pushing for the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change before the end of this year. The world's two largest emitters, China and the United States, recently joined the accord.

"Now we need just 28 more countries, representing 16 per cent of global emissions, to cross the necessary threshold," he said, drawing attention to the 21 September special event at which countries can deposit their ratification instruments with the Secretary-General.

"Third, while many conflicts are causing enormous pain, none is causing so much death, destruction and widespread instability as the worsening war in Syria," he said.

While welcoming the reinstatement of the cessation of hostilities following the understanding reached between the Russian Federation and the United States, Mr. Ban said the UN is positioned to utilize this crucial opportunity to immediately deliver vital humanitarian assistance to Aleppo and other besieged and hard-to-reach locations throughout Syria.

"It is essential that intra-Syrian negotiations resume so that Syria's long-suffering people feel a real change in their daily lives. Major countries with influence have a duty to use their influence and seize this latest opportunity to pursue a political solution to end this catastrophic conflict," he said.

Describing the past 10 years as "a decade of progress and setback alike," he said that the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, and the establishment of UN Women have been among the high points, while the inability to resolve several protracted conflicts has been a source of tremendous pain.

"But in the time still left to me, I am focused entirely on the work at hand and on what I know can be achieved by Member States, civil society, the private sector and others working in partnership to serve the Charter's 'we the peoples,'" he concluded.

The annual general debate will begin at UN Headquarters on 20 September. Member States will gather ahead of that, on 19 September, for the Assembly's meeting on refugees and migrants. Made up of all the 193 UN Member States, the Assembly provides a forum for multilateral discussion of international issues covered by the UN Charter.
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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.
After Libya's Oil Grab, Compromise Could Lead to a Restart of Exports

Publisher International Crisis Group (ICG) Publication Date 14 September 2016 Cite as International Crisis Group (ICG), After Libya's Oil Grab, Compromise Could Lead to a Restart of Exports, 14 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da8c264.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 seizure of Libya's main pre-2013 oil terminals by an opposition force is a blow to the authority of Libya's fledgling UN-backed Presidency Council. But smart compromises might help restart the flow of oil, as Crisis Group's Senior Libya analyst Claudia Gazzini explains in this Q&A.

What has happened on the ground in Libya?

Key crude oil export terminals in eastern Libya were seized on 11 September by General Khalifa Haftar's Libya National Army (LNA). This is a force opposed to the fledgling Presidency Council (PC) based in Tripoli in the west of the country, backed by the UN and also supported by the U.S. and UK.

At dawn on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Kebir feast, Haftar's LNA forces moved into Sidra and Ras Lanuf oil terminals and the Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex in the Gulf of Sirte. By the end of the day they also controlled Zuwetina export terminal, further east. A fifth terminal, in Brega, also changed hands in the following days.

The Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) forces, under local strongman Ibrahim Jadran, a PC ally who has controlled the terminals since 2013, were either on leave for the Muslim holiday or surrendered without putting up significant resistance. With the exception of some clashes in Zuwetina on 11 September and east of Ras Lanuf the next day, the terminals' takeover has therefore taken place with little bloodshed and no damage to the oil and gas infrastructure. Jadran and his brothers appear to have fled from their homes in Ajdabiya to nearby Brega after coming under attack by rival local factions. They are reportedly attempting a counter-offensive to retake the terminals, requesting help from the PC.

What does this mean for the UN-backed Libyan PC? And what is the PC's likely reaction?

From a political and military point of view, these developments are a huge setback to the authority of the UN-backed fledgling government in Tripoli. General Haftar does not recognise the PC's authority and has refused to place his forces under its command. That these forces have managed to dislodge a strategic (albeit controversial) PC ally and succeeded (at least so far) in taking Libya's most important oil terminals is inflammatory.

The PC, a nine-member body formed after a December 2015 power-sharing deal, appears to be divided on how to respond: several of its members seem to favour a military attempt to regain control; others say they would be willing to accept the status quo on condition the LNA recognises the PC's authority. Military factions in central/western Libya that do not fall under the PC's authority (including some Tripoli and Misrata militias, and an anti-Haftar force known as the Benghazi Defence Brigade) are also clamouring for a military response.

The situation remains fluid. The decision about how to respond is complicated by the fact that PC-aligned forces are already stretched in their ongoing battle to retake Sirte from Islamic State fighters and in securing the capital from rival forces. In fact, some in pro-PC circles fear that deploying men to the terminals will weaken already tenuous security arrangements in the capital and thus provide an opportunity for these anti-PC militias located on its outskirts to enter the city. Another factor to consider is the popular support that Haftar and the LNA currently enjoy in the east: any military response coming from western Libya is likely to be met with resistance from eastern tribes, especially where it concerns the terminals. But given the tensions that Haftar's move has provoked, a military attempt on the terminals is certainly possible.

Why does Haftar refuse to recognise the PC?

Haftar has repeatedly refused to come under the PC's authority for both political and military reasons. The political basis for his refusal to recognise the PC is the fact that the House of Representatives (HoR), the parliament based in Tobruk in the east of the country that appointed him general commander of the Libyan Armed Forces, has yet to officially endorse the December 2015 political agreement. The HoR - or rather, those HoR members still operating in Tobruk - have also repeatedly refused to recognise the cabinet line-up proposed by the PC.

Haftar and eastern Libyan parliamentarians have demanded revisions to the proposed unity government and to security provisions, specifically regarding the position of the supreme commander of the armed forces (which according to the agreement should be held by the head of the PC and his five deputies). Haftar thus considers himself as the legitimate head of the Libyan army and accuses PC-aligned forces in Tripoli of being militias outside state control. Haftar detractors accuse him of using this legal requirement and the war against extremists as a pretext to impose his military rule across Libya. They also accuse him of relying on foreign mercenaries.

What does Haftar hope to achieve by taking over the terminals?

By seizing the oil terminals in the Gulf of Sirte, Haftar and his supporters are trying to achieve a number of goals. First, they hope to consolidate the LNA's control across eastern Libya. Ever since launching his Operation Dignity in 2014 against extremist groups in Benghazi, forces allied to Haftar have gradually consolidated control over most of the east, from Tobruk to the western outskirts of Benghazi, and across the oil fields in the eastern hinterland. The move on the oil terminals is just a natural extension of this ongoing attempt to expand their control. Secondly, they are hoping to secure the support of tribal leaders and other constituencies opposed to the PC's deal with Ibrahim Jadran, whom many across Libya - including within Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) - consider an unreliable partner. If Haftar were to swiftly reopen the ports and allow the NOC to export oil, he could potentially cast himself as the person who allowed Libya's oil to flow again and put new revenue in the country's depleted coffers. Most importantly, by controlling the oil terminals, he could increase his bargaining power vis-a-vis the PC.

Why is controlling these terminals so important?

The crude oil export terminals in the Gulf of Sirte account for approximately 80 per cent of Libya's total oil exports (when oil is flowing at full capacity). In a country that depends almost entirely on oil and gas exports for its revenues, it is easy to see why their physical control is strategic. Unfortunately, since mid-2013 these terminals have remained offline, largely due to a power struggle between successive governments and local strongman Jadran, as well as to other political fractures that have divided the country since 2014. This has contributed (among other things) to a collapse of Libya's oil production and thus a free fall in state revenues. Currently Libya produces approximately 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day, less than a fifth of what it was producing in 2012, and only half of which it appears to be exporting. (Natural-gas exports have not suffered as much, in part because of offshore production). Foreign-currency reserves have plummeted, with less than a year's worth of funds in state coffers to run government operations and pay public-sector salaries.

At its establishment, one of the PC's priorities was to increase oil exports in order to stabilise the economy, restore basic services (such as electricity and water supplies) and also fund future PC-backed projects. Securing control of the terminals was seen as key to achieving this. For this reason, in mid-2016, the PC struck an agreement with Jadran: in exchange for his recognition of the PC's authority and reopening of the ports, the PC agreed to confirm him as the head of the Petroleum Facilities Guards in the area and to pay him and its employees. The PC also promised to create social-development projects in oil-rich areas. The deal appears to have been blessed by the PC's international backers, most importantly by the U.S. and UK. The UN special envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, also supported the arrangement, visiting Jadran in late July.

The PC paid a first instalment of around 40 million Libyan dinars (some $30 million) to Jadran in June; future instalments are conditional on the ports' reopening and resumption of exports. However, no exports from the terminals have taken place thus far. A challenge to Jadran's ability to reopen the terminals has been the fact that, in the last five months, Haftar-aligned forces gradually gained control of a number of oil fields (such as those in the Zella and Jalo areas) that feed into these terminals.

So is the current situation going to strain Libya's economy further?

This largely depends on whether or not we are going to see a military response from anti-Haftar forces. An escalation would be disastrous for the current economy because fighting in the terminal area is not likely to be decisive west of Sidra and could actually damage the oil and gas infrastructure and delay further the resumption of oil exports. On the other hand, if LNA forces were to maintain control of the terminals we could see a swifter resumption of oil exports. This might sound paradoxical given the LNA's hostility to the PC. However, one has to take into consideration the fact that the NOC, the authority that manages the country's oil production and sales, has a good working relation with the LNA. Over the past two years, the Hariga oil terminal in Tobruk, which is under control of LNA-affiliated forces, has continued to export oil, with revenues from those sales going into accounts of the Tripoli-based Central Bank. So, in principle, there would be no obstacles to resuming exports from these terminals with the LNA in control.

What needs to happen next?

A first urgent step would need to be to de-escalate current tensions and avoid a renewed flare-up. The PC should refrain from launching a military offensive to recapture the terminals and instead engage in negotiations (either directly or through third parties) with LNA commanders to establish a new security arrangement in the terminals area that would be amenable to the LNA, local tribesmen, the PC as well as the NOC.

From the PC's point of view, the incentive to pursue this line of action rather than military confrontation would be the quick resumption of oil exports and resulting flow of revenues, beneficial to both itself and the population at large. With the economy collapsing, the PC has the responsibility to factor in such considerations rather than pursue military objectives that would likely lead to prolonged conflict, with severe consequences for the population. The PC's international backers should also refrain from encouraging a military response, and instead should call for a freezing of hostilities in order to allow negotiations to take place. In this regard, the U.S. and neighbouring Egypt, who have been backing respectively the PC-aligned and Haftar-aligned forces, have a key role to play. They, too, have an interest in encouraging steps that would help improve the economy.

From its side, the LNA must stand by its promise to work through the internationally recognised NOC, as per UN Security Council resolutions, and collaborate in ensuring a rapid resumption of oil exports from the terminals under its control. The LNA and its local allies must also refrain from targeting people's homes and ensure that these forces do not interfere in civilian life, limiting themselves to guarding oil facilities.
Syria-Jordan border: 75,000 refugees trapped in desert no man's land in dire conditions

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 15 September 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Syria-Jordan border: 75,000 refugees trapped in desert no man's land in dire conditions, 15 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da8fdf4.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.

To download available video material and satellite imagery click here

Video footage and satellite images showing makeshift grave sites and burial mounds offer a rare glimpse inside a desert no man's land between Jordan and Syria where tens of thousands of refugees who have been virtually cut off from humanitarian aid for two months are stranded, said Amnesty International.

The video footage was obtained from Tribal Council of Palmyra and Badia, which has a network of activists operating inside the area known as the berm, and independently verified using satellite imagery.

Fresh accounts gathered by the organization, paint a desperate picture of human suffering and highlight the tragic consequences of the world's failure to share responsibility for the global refugee crisis. Next week, world leaders will gather in New York for two high-level summits to discuss refugees.

"The situation at the berm offers a grim snapshot of the consequences of the world's abject failure to share responsibility for the global refugee crisis. The knock on effect of this failure has seen many of Syria's neighbours close their borders to refugees," said Tirana Hassan, Crisis Response Director at Amnesty International.

"It's a desperate picture for people trapped at the berm, food is running out and disease is rife. In some cases people are suffering or even dying from preventable illnesses, simply because they are not allowed into Jordan and the authorities have blocked access for aid, medical treatment and a meaningful humanitarian response."

Syria's neighbours, including Jordan which is hosting 650,000 refugees, have taken in the vast majority of people fleeing the conflict, severely straining their resources. Ahead of the two summits next week Amnesty International is calling on world leaders to move beyond rhetoric and make concrete commitments to welcome their fair share of refugees, relieving the pressure on countries which are hosting large numbers of refugees. The organization is also calling on Jordan to grant immediate entry to refugees at the berm.

Starvation, sickness and death

Humanitarian assistance to the berm, which was already limited before, stopped completely when the Jordanian authorities sealed off the Rukban and Hadalat border crossings after a deadly attack killed seven border guards on 21 June. Since then, only one delivery of food aid was made in early August to more than 75,000 people stranded there. Aid agencies are barred by the Jordanian authorities from accessing the no man's land area and were forced to drop supplies over the sandy ridge (berm) using cranes.

Abu Mohamed, who has been living in the informal camp at Rukban for five months said the situation there has sharply deteriorated since the 21 June attack.

"The humanitarian situation is very bad, the situation of children in particular is very bad. We have drinking water but hardly any food or milk [it] is awful," he said.

"Many people have died They distributed just rice and lentils and a kilo of dried dates, but that was all for a whole month, they gave us nothing but that. The mood among the people in Rukban is below zero."

Video footage obtained by Amnesty International shows two makeshift grave sites in Rukban revealing dozens of burial mounds in close proximity to refugee tents.

The lack of access to proper medical care and the dire conditions is a deadly combination. Poor hygiene, sanitation conditions and limited access to clean water are reported to have led to an outbreak of hepatitis, which is believed to be the leading cause of child deaths in Rukban.

Humanitarian sources indicate that since June there have been at least 10 deaths from hepatitis. Sources in Rukban and members of the Tribal Council of Palmyra and Badia said many of those who have died are children who were suffering from jaundice which occurs as a result of hepatitis.

Aid workers have also reported that at least nine childbirth-related deaths took place since 21 June. A significant number of pregnant women are reportedly among the refugee population unable to access medical care.

The total number of deaths that have occurred is difficult to verify given the lack of access to the berm.

Slide to display before and after image of shelters at Rukban

According to sources inside Rukban, in late August a 20-year-old man died from complications of jaundice most likely as a result of hepatitis. He is reported to have bled to death from gastrointestinal bleeding. The lack of medical treatment meant there was nothing that could be done to save his life.

Among the other most prevalent illnesses spreading in the camp are respiratory infections, dehydration, leishmaniasisand diarrhoea.

Satellite images obtained by Amnesty International show that since the end of 2015 the population density near the two informal border camps at Rukban and Hadalat has risen significantly.

Although the number of refugees at Hadalat decreased slightly following the halt to the humanitarian response in June and nearby Russian airstrikes in July, overall there has been steady rise in the number of refugees at the berm.

At Rukban the overall number of shelters rose from just 368 a year ago to 6,563 in late July 2016 and most recently increased to more 8,295 in September 2016. This dramatic influx highlights the fact that over the past few months thousands of people have continued to flee the conflict in Syria where war crimes and other grave violations are being committed on a daily basis.

Security concerns heighten restrictions

The Jordanian authorities have repeatedly cited security concerns as their reason for closing the border, halting humanitarian operations at the berm. Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammed al-Momani told Amnesty International that the area around the berm is "becoming a Daesh enclave" (controlled by the armed group calling itself Islamic State). While he acknowledged that the humanitarian situation there is difficult and said that Jordan is ready to assume its share of responsibility he also called on the UN and international community to do their fair share for the refugees at the berm.

"There is no question that security is an important consideration, but protecting people in Jordan should not come at the expense of providing humanitarian assistance and protection to those desperately in need," said Tirana Hassan.

Jordan has previously welcomed refugees from Syria through its borders and carried out rigorous screening and registration processes prior to allowing their entry into the country. The authorities can use these processes again to open their doors to refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, while ensuring security at the same time.

The UN is negotiating plans with the Jordanian authorities to shift humanitarian aid distribution points some 2km into the no man's land area, away from the Jordanian border creating a buffer zone, to allow humanitarian operations to resume.

"Whether aid is distributed at the berm's edge or 2km away does not change the fact that there are tens of thousands of people seeking international protection on Jordan's doorstep, nor does it absolve the authorities' obligation to offer a safe haven to those fleeing conflict and persecution," said Tirana Hassan.

"Directly or indirectly forcing refugees to return to Syria by refusing access and imposing intolerable living conditions on them is a flagrant violation of Jordan's international obligations. The authorities must allow unfettered humanitarian access to refugees who are trapped. Any attempt to coerce or ask them to move should be rejected."

Any longer term solution however, needs to be a global one. Internationally, resettlement places for refugees from Syria remain woefully insufficient. Countries in the region continue to bear the brunt of the refugee crisis, with more than four million refugees in just three countries.

"Without real commitments to boost resettlement followed by concrete action, next week's refugee summits will serve as little more than a token gesture," said Tirana Hassan.

"Failing to provide a long term solution for refugees stranded at the berm will point not just to the world's failure there, but their failure of refugees worldwide."

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Sanctions make delivering aid hard in North Korea

Publisher IRIN Author Jared Ferrie Publication Date 14 September 2016 Cite as IRIN, Sanctions make delivering aid hard in North Korea, 14 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da99364.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.

Massive flooding in North Korea has killed at least 138 people and washed out roads, making it impossible for relief workers to reach thousands of victims. In addition to physical barriers to delivering aid, the crisis highlights the difficulties agencies face in a country subject to authoritarian rule, as well as international sanctions.

While the full extent of flood damage won't be known until relief workers are able to reach areas in the northeastern part of the country, the UN's resident coordinator Tapan Mishra said in a statement today that about 140,000 people need assistance.

State media said the floods are the worst natural disaster to hit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 70 years.

"The storm and flooding left houses for tens of thousands of families and public buildings collapsed and railways, roads, electric power system[s], industrial establishment[s] and farm lands destroyed or submerged," the state's Korea Central News Agency said on Sunday.

The magnitude of the disaster prompted the government to ask for help from international agencies and, in a relatively rare move, it invited aid officials to join an assessment mission last week to flood-hit areas.

The team was unable to reach two counties - Musan and Yonsa - because flooding had washed away 50 kilometres of road, according to Murat Sahin, who is deputy representative to the DPRK for UNICEF.

"There is now a large team of local people working to repair these roads and bridges, in order to provide access to these heavily hit counties," he said in an email from Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. "We expect the roads to be open by this weekend."

The Red Cross said 1,000 volunteers helped government authorities carry out search and rescue efforts and provided emergency medical care in the immediate aftermath of the floods, which struck North Hamgyong Province on 9 September. The UN's World Food Programme said it has so far distributed emergency rations to 140,000 people.

In order to meet the urgent need for rations, WFP dipped into stocks that were meant to go to young children and pregnant or nursing mothers as part of a programme that provides food to 650,000 people throughout the country. The WFP considers about 70 percent of North Korea's 25 million people to be "food insecure", while a 2013 nutrition survey by UN agencies found that 28 percent of the population is chronically malnourished.

Now, WFP needs to replace those rations, but that could be harder than you'd expect.

In response to its fourth nuclear test, the UN tightened sanctions on North Korea in March. Humanitarian aid is exempt from the sanctions regime, but banks are now even more reluctant than before to make transfers. As a result, the UN lost its banking channel and aid agencies are still trying to figure out a way to get cash into the country to replace their rapidly dwindling supplies.

"While the sanctions did not prevent us from responding to these floods, this emergency response - which obviously comes on top of planned programme expenses - is forcing us to spend what cash we do have access to more quickly than anticipated, which will cause further challenges in coming months," Silke Buhr, a WFP spokeswoman, told IRIN.

Sahin said UNICEF has also had trouble making money transfers into North Korea, and shipments of humanitarian supplies are sometimes blocked too.

The UN resident coordinator's office told IRIN that officials are working to resolve the banking issue and hoping for a solution "soon", while agencies are taking measures to preserve the cash they have inside the country.

"In the meantime, most of the procurement is done abroad, thus minimising the need to spend cash in-country," the office said in an email.

In addition to dealing with sanctions, agencies have a hard time raising enough funds to support their programmes as donors shy away from any relationship with North Korea, which many regard as an international pariah due to its repressive government and its insistence on developing nuclear weapons.

The WFP, for example, has been forced to scale back on food distribution and says it still needs $21 million to continue the programme into 2017, as well as $1.2 million to replace the rations it has funnelled into flood relief.

Sahin said that UNICEF has been struggling to raise money to buy vaccines to inoculate 160,000 children.

"The sudden and large-scale disaster has put significant strain on our existing resources in DPR Korea, which were already underfunded," he said.

That situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. North Korea conducted its fifth and largest-ever nuclear test on Friday, exploding a bomb underground that caused a magnitude 5.3 earthquake and raised alarm throughout the diplomatic community.
Afghanistan overwhelmed as refugees return from Pakistan

Publisher IRIN Author Jared Ferrie Publication Date 13 September 2016 Cite as IRIN, Afghanistan overwhelmed as refugees return from Pakistan, 13 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da99a94.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.

A humanitarian crisis is looming in Afghanistan as 5,000 refugees return each day from Pakistan, where they are being pressured to leave and join hundreds of thousands already displaced by war at home.

The UN has announced an emergency appeal for $152 million to support approximately one million people expected to be on the move in Afghanistan from now until the end of the year. That's about 600,000 more people than the UN's Humanitarian Response Plan projected for 2016.

The plan prescribed assistance for 250,000 internally displaced people, but the number of IDPs so far this year has already come close to that estimate. With fierce fighting continuing through the country, many more are expected to flee their homes.

The new estimates include 400,000 internally displaced people, along with returns of about 220,000 people who were registered as refugees in Pakistan or Iran, and another 400,000 who were not registered but are returning from those two countries, but mostly from Pakistan.

Conditions are especially poor for the undocumented returnees, who do not receive the same support as those who have been registered as refugees. But this hasn't stopped thousands returning from Pakistan, where many have lived for decades, because they are no longer welcome there.

"Unprecedented numbers of Afghans are fleeing increased incidents of violence, arbitrary arrest, detention and other forms of harassment," said the International Organization for Migration in a statement on Friday.

"Given as little as 48 hours to leave, they are hard-pressed to sell off assets and pack up their homes and possessions. In some instances people arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs."

The Norwegian Refugee Council said last week that 225,000 people have returned so far this year, of which 136,000 are undocumented, and returns have increased dramatically in the past six weeks. It was this spike that prompted the UN appeal, as aid groups are already struggling to assist those who've already returned.

Will Carter, who is with the NRC and recently visited returnees in Nangarhar Province, found families living out in the open or in overcrowded dwellings. Many had little food, and there were no sanitation facilities, which raised fears of disease outbreaks.

"We are in a race against time to provide enough shelter and sanitation facilities to families arriving before the wet winter season," Carter said in a statement.

Nangarhar, which shares the busy Torkham border crossing with Pakistan, is expected to absorb 85,000 returnees - far more than any of Afghanistan's other 34 provinces. But the province has also seen its own mass displacement as government and allied forces battle insurgents including the Taliban and Daesh (also known as the Islamic State).

On a trip last week to Afghanistan, Stephen O'Brien, the head of the UN's emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, said the government was "preparing plans for longer-terms solutions for the resettlement of returnees".

O'Brien did not say exactly what those plans are, but the government has a poor track record when it comes to caring for displaced people.

An Amnesty International report earlier this year said Afghanistan had failed to implement a 2014 national policy to provide basic living standards for IDPs. Instead, Amnesty researchers found them living "on the brink of survival".

A report last year by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction exposed the former government's history of corruption and mismanagement of programmes meant to help returnees.

The current government is facing political infighting, an economic collapse, and insurgencies on multiple fronts. It will need all the help it can get to deal with the ever-growing number of Afghans with nowhere to live.
How South Sudan's leaders robbed their country  and nearly got away with it

Publisher IRIN Author Karin Zeitvogel Publication Date 13 September 2016 Cite as IRIN, How South Sudan's leaders robbed their country  and nearly got away with it, 13 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57da9a5b4.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.

South Sudan's political and military leaders have bled their country dry to fuel extravagant lifestyles and fund a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, says the Washington-based conflict investigative group, The Sentry, co-founded by actor George Clooney and human rights activist John Prendergast.

A two-year undercover probe conducted around the globe by investigators drawn from the ranks of the FBI and the US departments of state and treasury found "massive criminal behaviour by the president of South Sudan and by his opposition, the ousted vice president of South Sudan, and their generals," Clooney told a news conference in Washington on Monday.

"The simple fact is they're stealing money to fund their militias to attack and kill one another", as they amass still more wealth and their next of kin live in luxury, miles away from the violence that has displaced at least 2.4 million people and left more than five million in need, Clooney said.

Around $4 billion has been "lost" in the 11 years since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, which paved the way for South Sudan's independence in 2011, said Sentry investigator Brian Adeba.

Most of the misappropriated money has come from South Sudan's oil riches, not aid money, which was given directly to NGOs because they are "more efficient at managing the funds than the government of South Sudan," he added.

Over the same 11 years, "several of the most powerful politicians and generals in South Sudan appear to have accumulated significant wealth," the report says. Much of it is parked in property, both inside and outside South Sudan, despite the country's collapse into civil war in December 2013.

Generals who make less than $40,000 a year live in luxury villas with infinity pools in a neighborhood in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where homes run upwards of $2 million.

Close relatives of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned bitter rival, Riek Machar, "reside in luxurious homes outside of South Sudan, including in one particular upscale neighbourhood in Nairobi, Kenya," it says. That suburb is Lavington, where homes cost at least $1 million.

When the price of a barrel of oil was high, it's easy to see how officials with their fingers deeply embedded in South Sudan's pie could take a huge slice of the resource-rich country's pickings. But when oil prices began to tumble in June 2014  a time when most of South Sudan's oilfields were idle because of the civil war  they needed to do some creative thinking, investigators told IRIN.

Machar, for example, opted to sell oil futures in exchange for weapons, said former FBI international corruption unit agent, Debra LaPrevotte.

"He was working with a Russian arms dealer, and said, 'OK, we'll sell you oil at this price when the pipelines open up again, in exchange for weapons now,'" LaPrevotte, who is now the Sentry's lead investigator, said.

Keep it in the family

South Sudan, like many countries, has laws guarding against nepotism. But according to The Sentry's investigations, Kiir regularly doled out stakes in companies to close family members  including a 12-year-old son.

"At least seven of Kiir's children hold stakes in companies across a wide range of business sectors in South Sudan  oil companies, banks, mining companies, telecommunications, gambling. In virtually every profitable business sector in South Sudan, President Kiir's family has an interest," investigator J. R. Mailey told the news conference.

Kiir's family have held stakes in holding companies and banks. His wife has a 50 percent stake in a prominent telecoms company that used to be owned by the investment arm of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's government. The other 50 percent is held by one of her sons. The company in which Kiir's 12-year-old has a 25 percent stake was set up in February this year.

Mailey and the other investigators found documents that show that Kiir's brother-in-law, Major General Gregory Vasili, was awarded lucrative contracts from South Sudan's military.

A company owned by Vasili is involved in a joint venture with Malaysian oil major, Petronas, and recently purchased an entire Petronas subsidiary for the bargain basement price of 25,000 euros. Vasili is in charge of security for the oil fields.

And it's not just Kiir who keeps it in the family. The relatives of his chief-of-staff, General Paul Malong Awan, a powerful figure within the government, are also involved in "many business ventures", said Mailey.

At one point, Mailey contacted a son of Malong to ask him to comment on some of The Sentry's findings about corruption and money-laundering in South Sudan. After Mailey identified himself, he says Malong's son, "without missing a beat, began pitching me on investment" in the company he runs.

The general's son reportedly told Mailey that Malong and Kiir were involved in the company, and there was no public accounting process. Even if there were, he assured Mailey, there would be no consequences.

"I've never seen anything so brazen in my time as an investigator," Mailey said.

Use a neighbourhood bank

Mainly for convenience, the big players in South Sudan's massive money-laundering scheme bank in neighbouring Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, said LaPrevotte.

A substantial amount of South Sudan's wealth is also held in bank accounts in Australia, where there's a large South Sudanese expatriate community, she added. Sentry investigators tracked money being paid into these external accounts from Chinese, Turkish, Lebanese, and Kenyan businesses, among others.

One foreign company, Kenya's Dalbit Petroleum, allegedly wired a reimbursement to the South Sudanese government to a general's personal account, the report says. That money is thought to have gone toward paying for General Jok Riak's luxury villa in Uganda  a property his $35,000 annual salary could never have afforded.

The banks implicated in the report are significant institutions. The $300,000-plus paid to Riak by Dalbit went into an account held with the Kenya Commercial Bank, East Africa's oldest and largest commercial bank.

Sentry investigators told IRIN that banks holding pilfered South Sudanese assets could be either turning a blind eye to the theft or  just as bad  the officials in South Sudan, who are laundering their money in foreign real estate deals, may have people in the banks on their payroll.

But there are ways of recovering the money, said LaPrevotte. Because the properties were paid for in dollars, "a civil forfeiture action could be filed in the US against those properties," she noted.

Uganda and Kenya are both signatories to the UN Convention Against Corruption and could themselves seize the homes bought with ill-gotten gains.

"If they don't have laws to repatriate the money, allow the US to do it," said LaPrevotte. "The US could remove the generals' families from those houses, sell them and work not just to give the money back to South Sudan, but to give it back in such a way that it is going to roads and schools and infrastructure."

Sentry investigators pieced together the evidence for the report using satellite imagery, data mining, poring over official documents, and deploying investigators to speak with sources around the world.

While they can't put an exact dollar figure on the amount of money stashed in bank accounts or invested in real estate by South Sudanese officials, LaPrevotte said they are certain of one thing.

"What money has come in to the government has gone to fuelling the war," she said. "What it hasn't gone to is education, health services, medication and the welfare of the people."

A presidential aide denounced the Sentry report as "rubbish and "nonsense", while a spokesman for Machar described it as "commendable", but denied the opposition leader had "luxurious houses" outside South Sudan.
Title Letter from the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, to Mr Andreas Xanthos, Minister of Health of Greece, and to Ms Theanou Fotiou, Alternate Minister of Social Solidarity of Greece, concerning the human rights of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and their de-institutionalisation

Publication Date 12 September 2016

Country Greece

Topics Persons with disabilities

Cite as Council of Europe: Commissioner for Human Rights, Letter from the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, to Mr Andreas Xanthos, Minister of Health of Greece, and to Ms Theanou Fotiou, Alternate Minister of Social Solidarity of Greece, concerning the human rights of persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and their de-institutionalisation, 12 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57dab1604.html [accessed 30 October 2022]
When to trick or treat around Indianapolis this Halloween

When does trick-or-treating start on Halloween in 2022? Here's a list of times and hours for Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon and more.
CHRISTOVAL  About 80 supporters of West Texas Rehabilitation Center gathered near a tin barn and in the shadow of an authentic 1910 chuck wagon on the Bob and Sandra Helmers ranch here Tuesday to kick off the Fall Roundup in the Concho Valley.

'The 25th annual cattle sale benefiting WTRC will start at 11 a.m. Sept. 22 at Producers Livestock Auction in San Angelo,' Bob Helmers said. 'We need both livestock and cash donations to successfully reach our part in raising funds which are converted into treatment services.'

Helmers, who is co-chairman of Roundup for Rehab in the Concho Valley, said more than $2,300 already has been raised this year from the sale of sheep and goats at Producers. Also, the Sonora Sensation raised more than $23,800.

Last year's Roundup for Rehab raised $107,000 throughout the Concho Valley, including the producers sale and eight other events.

The 57th annual Roundup for Rehab will kick off in the Big Country on Tuesday at Abilene Livestock Auction. Last year's Abilene sale brought in more than $94,000.

Founded in 1953, the WTRC facilities  in Abilene, San Angelo and Ozona  provide outpatient rehabilitation to more than 600 patients daily regardless of financial circumstances.

Besides the business at hand, guests at the Helmers ranch enjoyed a chicken-fried steak supper, donated by Sutton County Steakhouse, and Dutch oven peach cobbler served from Archie Jobe's chuck wagon. And like any gathering of ranchers, the conversation eventually focused on rainfall, or the lack of it.

'If not for Broomweeds we would not have any green in the pastures at all,' Helmers said. The Helmers ranch, located in Tom Green and Schleicher counties, has missed all the recent rain events. 'Last spring we received rain every time a norther came down, but we have missed every thundershower in the summer and recently,' he said.

At the Six Mile Ranch at Fort McKavett, Jimmie Powell said it's rained so often he has lost count of the amounts. However, his grandson, James Uhl, who lives at the ranch, said more than 25 inches of rainfall has benefited pastures this year.

Ronnie Mittel, who ranches in Schleicher and Sutton counties, has received adequate rainfall in multiple thundershowers to grow grass in time to provide livestock grazing well into winter.

Rusty Owens, who operates the Owens Ranch with his father, 84-year old Buck Owens at Barnhart, said pastures are green although rainfall has been spotted. Despite that, they have recorded 26 inches of rainfall since January.

Plenty of rain in August

Meanwhile, August was one of the wettest on record in Texas, said state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon in College Station.

'Two corners of the state with severe drought at the beginning of August, the South Plains in the Lubbock area and northeast Texas, both got enough rain to improve considerably if not eliminate drought completely,' he said.

Nielsen-Gammon said the average rainfall for the state was more than 5 inches during August.

'Widespread rains in August put a damper on field work but have filled farm ponds and ended drought conditions in most of Texas,' said Kevin Wagner, deputy director of engagement at the Texas Water Resources Institute.

Wagner said most major water-supply reservoirs around the state are full or holding good amounts of water after several inches of rain fell over a weeklong period in August.

'Generally, if an area is out of drought, we can assume that the farm pond levels are going to be in good shape,' he said. 'Producers in the South Plains and other arid areas of the state typically use groundwater as their predominant water source for livestock.'

The stock tanks maybe full around the Concho Valley, but Ivie Reservoir remains at 23 percent capacity, Stephen Brown told me.

Brown, consultant for the Upper Colorado River Authority and retired San Angelo city manager, said although the rainfall has been significant this year, it will take much more runoff to pull reservoir water capacity, like Ivie, higher and satisfy future supply.

The Climatic Atlas of Texas produced by the Texas Department of Water Resources in 1983, compiled almost 30 years of weather-related data between 1950 and 1979 and remains the go-to reference for annual climate information.

The atlas showed the January monthly average evaporation for lakes was 2 inches in East Texas and 3.5 inches in far West Texas. Evaporation numbers around the state begin climbing in earnest in April  3.25 inches in East Texas and 7.5 inches in far West Texas  and peak at between 5.5-7.5 inches in East Texas and 10.75-11.75 inches in far West Texas during July and August.

Email Jerry Lackey, agriculture editor emeritus of the San Angelo Standar-Times, at jlackey@wcc.net.
The Abilene Police Department is working several cases involving vandalism. The tires on several vehicles were reported slashed overnight at six locations, including at several businesses, police said Wednesday.

Among those affected are the Abilene Housing Authority/ Water Utility Office, the West Central Texas Municipal Water District, the Abilene Civic Center, a north-side bank and at least one home in south Abilene.

There are no suspects at this time and this is an active investigation. To report suspicious activity, call the department's nonemergency number, 673-8331. If you have information on vandalism, call Abilene Crime Stoppers at 325-676-8477

The Abilene Police Department issue the details of this incident in a press release, click here to view those details.

Other incident reports released Wednesday include:

Burglary, 5400 block of Durango Drive, Tuesday

A power washer worth $350 was reported stolen from a residence.

Theft, 2200 block of Industrial Boulevard, Tuesday

A known suspect reportedly stole the front end of an old Plymouth van that had been attached to a business. The item's value was estimated at $600.

Fraud, 1600 block of Rainey Road, Tuesday

Someone reportedly opened an account with a business using the victim's personal information.

Theft, 3000 block of South First Street, Tuesday

Someone allegedly stole a truck with the keys left inside. The suspect reportedly crashed the truck into a business's window, then fled with another suspect. The truck was located a short time later. Tools were missing from the vehicle, according to the report.

Burglary, 1700 block of South 17th Street, Monday

Someone reportedly used bodily force to enter a home, taking items that included a mountain bike and various tools.

Theft, 3600 block of East Highway 80, Monday

A suspect was arrested after allegedly selling stolen property at a local salvage yard.
Yfat Yossifor / Standard-Times Investigators from several law enforcement agencies place cones to mark evidence at the scene of a double homicide Tuesday morning in the 1000 block of Rio Grande Street in San Angelo.

SHARE Yfat Yossifor / Standard-Times Investigators from several law enforcement agencies examine the scene of a double homicide Tuesday morning in the 1000 block of Rio Grande Street in San Angelo. Yfat Yossifor / Standard-Times Investigators from several law enforcement agencies examine the scene of a double homicide Tuesday morning in the 1000 block of Rio Grande Street in San Angelo. Yfat Yossifor / Standard-Times Investigators from several law enforcement agencies talk to residents at the scene of a double homicide Tuesday morning in the 1000 block of Rio Grande Street in San Angelo.

By Staff Report

SAN ANGELO  Investigators from several law enforcement agencies scoured the scene of a double homicide Tuesday morning near San Angelo Central High School.

The San Angelo Police Department and the Texas Rangers were examining the circumstances concerning the shooting deaths of two men late Monday.

Police blocked off an area while they continued their investigation.

A tent was set up to allow investigators to safely remove crime scene evidence amid a light morning drizzle.

Investigators have not released the identities of the deceased and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release from SAPD.

Autopsy reports have been ordered.

Police were dispatched to a residence in the 1000 block of Rio Grande about 10:30 p.m. Monday after a report of a shooting victim, according to SAPD.

Officers found two 28-year-old men inside the home, both with apparent gunshot wounds, according to the release.

SAPD did not indicate where the two men were shot.

The men were taken to Shannon Medical Center by ambulance and pronounced dead.

Neighbors said they did not hear gunshots but heard police sirens late Monday.

Police are asking the public to submit tips to Crime Stoppers of San Angelo. Contact the San Angelo Crime Stoppers anonymous tip hotline at 325-658-4357 or 800-756-3434, online at sanangelocrimestoppers.com, or download the free mobile app P3 Tips.
SHARE

By John C. Moritz, USA Today Network Austin Bureau

AUSTIN  More than 400 public school campuses across the state earned "distinction designations" applicable to their individual school based on a variety of academic standards, the Texas Education Agency reported Wednesday.

Among those earning the distinction was an Abilene ISD campus and seven schools in the Big Country.

Distinction designations are awarded to campuses that already have cleared TEA's "Met Standards" benchmark for the 2016 accountability ratings. The distinction designations are based on achievement in performance indicators relative to a group of 40 campuses of similar type, size and student demographics.

Depending on campus grade levels and type, the number of potential distinction designations can vary.

"Earning one or more campus distinctions is noteworthy and should be a source of pride in a community," said Education Commissioner Mike Morath. "Earning all possible distinctions is a significant accomplishment and should signal to parents that there is extraordinary work taking place on that campus."

Among the performance indicators the TEA used were Academic Achievement in English Language Arts/Reading; Academic Achievement in Mathematics; Academic Achievement in Science; Academic Achievement in Social Studies; Top 25 Percent: Student Progress; Top 25 Percent: Closing Performance Gaps; and Postsecondary Readiness.

For the AISD, the spotlight is on the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science, which earned all seven distinctions. According to the school district, 94 percent of ATEMS graduates have been accepted into postsecondary schools.

In the Big Country, the Brownwood ISD scored two all-distinctions schools  Brownwood Middle School and Woodland Heights Elementary School. Highland School, west of Roscoe, and Cisco High, Early, Roby and Stamford high schools also were noted.

Two schools in San Angelo ISD also were honored  Fannin and Fort Concho elementary schools. The Early College High School and Carver Center in the Midland ISD were recognized.

See all the ratings at http://tea.texas.gov.
Joel Olufowote looks out his third-floor office window at McMurry University and sees a diverse campus.

It's that diversity, with Hispanic students mingling with whites and blacks chatting with those of Middle Eastern descent, that spurred the political science professor to found a student organization focused on promoting those values.

But the Diversity Affairs Council was just one of several to address a diverse culture from a student-centered view. Olufowote also saw a need for administration to think about diversity.

His answer was to present a proposal to create the Center for Community Inclusion. Approved to begin this fall, it's a think tank of sorts, where faculty, staff and administration can come together and work toward addressing large-scale diversity issues as they come up, he said.

'We'll rely on the faculty and staff to address some of the issues like inclusivity and multiculturalism on campus,' Olufowote said. 'It's thinking about the issues facing the typical student on McMurry's campus. They're a first-generational college student, Hispanic, maybe they're former military or a single mother. It's high time the university thinks about the demands they face.'

One such issue is McMurry's inclusion of Native American history and culture in its annual homecoming celebration, Olufowote said.

The deep-rooted traditions, including Tipi Village, are well attended. But Olufowote said the mission is to make sure these traditions are handled tastefully without mocking.

For the center's first official event, the faculty will host a session of Cafe Conversations, gatherings put on the Abilene Interfaith Council to encourage healthy dialogue.

Next week, there will be a discussion on religion and interfaith congregation.

With a growing number of international students attending McMurry, the need to incorporate traditions of other religions has increased, Olufowote said. This roundtable discussion is designed to air some of those needs.

'We have about 50 students from Saudi Arabia, most of whom are practitioners of Islam,' Olufowote said. 'McMurry is a Christian campus, but we need to be willing to open ourselves up to others. As we had conversations with them, we found out we needed to set up a prayer room for them. And it needed access to a water line, because they have washing rituals they perform. We did set that up for them, got them a room and we took out the carpeting and met their needs.'

Also in the works at McMurry is a program that would match international students with domestic students in an effort to ensure that no one feels like a stranger on campus, Olufowote said.

The idea started with the school's Center for International Education and its director. The Center for Community Inclusion would help facilitate the program, Olufowote said.

Eventually, Olufowote said, he'd like to see the Center for Community Inclusion become the faculty-based hub for the school's many diversity-minded student clubs.
A blow to the financial health of four taxing entities in Scurry County will be felt for more than just a year.

Western Texas College President Barbara Beebe said Wednesday a mistake in the appraisal values for a mineral company is forcing the Snyder college to cut more than $500,000 from its budget.

Scurry County, the Snyder Independent School District and the Scurry County Hospital District are also affected by the mistake.

'Not only does it affect us this year, we'll also have to live with it next year, too,' Beebe said. 'Because we're going to be starting from that (revenue) number. It's left us in a lurch.'

Termed an 'input error' by Scurry County Chief Appraiser Larry Crooks, the value of Occidental Permian LLC's Cogdell Units in Scurry County were overrepresented by about $84 million. Crooks said that the company contracted to perform the mineral value appraisal, Thomas Y. Pickett, reported the error in late August to his office, which then passed the incorrect information on to the various taxing entities affected.

The timing of the error couldn't have been worse for three of the four entities, which have already set their tax rates for this fiscal year. WTC, the hospital district and Snyder ISD are all stuck with few options available aside from making cuts.

Budgets were already hit hard by the loss of oil value in the county. Crooks said the county lost $760 million in minerals value last year, with another massive reduction this year.

The college already had made about $1.6 million in cuts before the error was found. Beebe said. Another $500,000 in cuts simply won't be easy to find, she said.

She asked every employee of the college to give her ideas, she said.

'When I put out our request to the faculty and staff Monday night, I had many, many, many emails and ideas and people who approached me as I walked across the campus,' Beebe said. 'We told them to put out any idea no matter how crazy they think it may be. Some of them won't work because of the way we're funded, but we want every idea that's out there. I think they realize the significance of this decrease.'

Only the county has yet to set a tax rate for the fiscal year and could increase its rate to make up for the loss of projected revenue if county commissioners desire, Crooks said.

When there's an error like this, the situation is just exponentially worse, Crooks said.

He said it's too early to tell if the problem can be rectified through legal means, therefore sparing the taxing entities the loss of funds.

'We've never gone through this type of thing,' he said. 'We don't know what the ins and outs are. It would be nice if there was an errors and omissions policy to cover something like this, but I don't know what'll happen.

'But errors like this happen all the time. All over the state, every appraisal district makes errors. You always hope you're making minor errors. This is no excuse because we always want to do our best and never make a mistake, but appraisal is never an exact science.'
A 253 megawatt wind farm in Scurry county that will generate 1,000,000 megawatt hours of wind energy yearly was announced Thursday by Amazon.

'Amazon Wind Farm Texas' will produce enough energy in a year to power almost 90,000 homes.

The location includes more than 100 turbines, each with a rotor diameter twice as long as the wingspan of a Boeing 747, according to a news release from Amazon.

Scheduled to open in late 2017, Amazon Wind Farm Texas will be the company's largest renewable energy project to date.

Amazon previously announced wind and solar farms in Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia that deliver energy to the electrical grids supplying both current and future Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud data centers.

The five projects together will generate more than 2.6 million MWh of renewable energy each year, enough to power more than 240,000 U.S. homes, the company said.

'We're excited to work with the community in Scurry County and Lincoln Clean Energy to generate 1,000,000 MWh of renewable energy each year from West Texas,' said Kara Hurst, director of sustainability with Amazon, who called the project the 'newest milestone in our long-term sustainability efforts across the company.'

Amazon contracted with Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE), which will construct, own and operate the new wind farm. Amazon will purchase about 90 percent of the power generated.

According to a news release, LCE is a leading developer of wind and solar projects across the United States and is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, a global infrastructure fund.

'We applaud Amazon's leadership in directly purchasing renewable power,' said Declan Flanagan, founder and CEO of Lincoln Clean Energy. 'Direct purchasing by large, long-term thinking customers like Amazon has quickly become a key driver of the transition to renewable power across the U.S.'

Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE) is a leading developer of U.S. wind and solar projects with offices in Chicago and Austin.

Amazon Wind Farm Texas is one of several clean energy initiatives Amazon is undertaking.

Examples of other projects include wind and solar farms to add renewable energy to the electrical grids that supply AWS Cloud datacenters, green rooftops, and the District Energy Project that uses recycled energy for heating offices in Seattle. For more information on Amazon's sustainability initiatives, visit www.amazon.com/sustainability.
The parking lot at the Law Enforcement Center was filled Wednesday with something other than police vehicles: people, food and money.

'The crowds have been exceptional, and there has been way more participation than even we anticipated,' said Frann Smith, corporate market director for the Big Country for the American Heart Association. The Taylor County Sheriff's Office was host of the inaugural fundraiser, called Fork and Knife, to benefit the association. 'The people are excited, the vendors are excited and I'm confident we will easily exceed our ($10,000) goal.'

The department previously has helped raise funds for the association.

'This is by far the most successful event we've done with the sheriff's department, and they've already told me they're going to do it again next year,' Smith said.

Nine area food trucks sold food to raise funds.

'We are glad to be part of this event,' said Joe Campbell, owner of 5C Smokehouse, which has operated a food truck for more than eight months. 'It's fantastic to be here with the other food trucks, and people have been exceptionally generous in putting money in our collection containers. We love being part of things that give back to our community, so when asked, we enthusiastically said 'yes.''

Todd Sinclair, an X-ray technician for Dr. Norm Dozier in Abilene, came to the event with co-workers.

'We heard about it through social media, and saw it in the paper and on the news,' Sinclair said. 'When we realized it would also benefit someone right here in Abilene, that made it even more significant, and so we got most of the office to come out. We all love the food trucks and what they serve, and there's something here for everyone. This is a great idea and a great way to raise funds for a good cause.'

Smith said the food trucks donated 10 percent to 25 percent of their net proceeds to the AHA. In addition, attendees were stuffing plastic containers at each food truck with cash and checks.

'One lady wrote a check for $100 and put it in our container,' Campbell said.

Smith said the amount raised won't be known for a few days, but she is pleased with the response.

'We are very thankful for the generosity of the Abilene community,' she said. 'The money donated today goes to support important research into treatment and cures for heart disease.'
Hillary Clinton made a mistake when she put half of Donald Trump's supporters in a 'basket of deplorables.' She had already given her big speech on Trump's ties to the alt right. And she had talked before about some of his supporters being 'deplorable.'

Her words became controversial and gave the Trump campaign an opening  because she assigned 'half' his supporters to the bad basket. Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, said that Clinton had slandered millions of Americans.

So her remark was impolitic. Was it mistaken in any deeper sense? That depends on the answer to two questions: How racist, sexist, etc., are Trump's supporters? And how deplorable does that make them?

Some commentators have cited surveys to defend the accuracy of Clinton's remarks. Polls have found that most Trump supporters believe President Barack Obama is Muslim. A Reuters-Ipsos poll taken over the course of the spring found that nearly half of Trump supporters consider blacks more violent than whites. Most Republicans polled during the primaries favored a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. Also during the primaries, a poll found that nearly 20 percent of Trump supporters, shockingly, regretted the Emancipation Proclamation.

Sounds pretty ugly. But there are a few things to keep in mind. First: Not all of those polls can be taken at face value. That last one should be interpreted very cautiously. As Tim Carney pointed out, the wording was sufficiently confusing that 10 percent of Sanders supporters, 6 percent of Clinton supporters and 5 percent of blacks chose the proslavery answer.

Second: Some of these views may not be rooted in prejudice. The response that blacks are more violent, for example, may just reflect statistics showing that blacks commit more violent crimes in proportion to their population than, say, whites do. This fact doesn't justify suspicion of the vast majority of law-abiding black people. But it may help explain why more than 30 percent of Clinton supporters, too, view blacks as more violent. (How many of Clinton's defenders are willing to say that about a third of her supporters are deplorable, too?) Nor is confusion about Obama's religion per se bigoted, given that the press has had no qualms about calling his 'Muslim roots.'

Third and most important: You can hold deplorable views without being a deplorable person in general. David Duke is deplorable, even if Mike Pence can't bring himself to say so. But deplorable or misguided views aren't always defining ones. That a Trump supporter, when asked, says blacks are more violent than whites does not necessarily mean that's why he is supporting Trump, or even that racial differences are a topic that he thinks about much at all.

The view that our government is naive about violent Muslim extremism  a view that a lot of political rhetoric, including some from Clinton, reinforces  could lead someone to answer yes to a pollster's question about banning Muslim immigration. But you might be able to convince some of those people that a ban is a bad idea (as I believe). You might appeal to the better angels of their nature. If you have written them off as terrible people, on the other hand, you're not going to try.

Bill Clinton understood this point. Racism in the United States has been declining for decades, so we can assume that a large percentage of his voters in 1992 and 1996  to say nothing of his voters in Arkansas before that  held racial views worse than the ones surveys have shown to prevail among Trump voters.

Clinton saw that a lot of white voters had some legitimate concerns mixed up with some worse impulses. He spoke up for racial tolerance and addressed the legitimate concerns, and refrained from condemning millions of people for harboring prejudices that he must have deplored.

While progressives these days disapprove of many steps Bill Clinton took in the 1990s, particularly on racially fraught issues, that was the right approach. And his wife was right to clarify and apologize.

Ramesh Ponnuru, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a senior editor for National Review and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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In a country dogged by accusations of voter fraud, opposition party officials tell RFAs Khmer Service that Cambodian military personnel are being transferred into districts to register to vote where they are not residents.

Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) officials told RFA that they have filed five different complaints with the National Election Commission (NEC) regarding voter-registration irregularities, including attempts to register soldiers in districts where they are ineligible.

Sok Kimseng, the deputy head of the CNRPs Siem Reap province executive committee, told RFA that the partys observers have reported that there have been irregularities in a number of communes in Varin and Banteay Srei districts.

Those armed forces do not live in these districts, he told RFA. In some cases, they did not even come in person to have their residential ID issued, but in some communes the local authorities have issued them the IDs anyway.

In the Kulen district, the commune chief for the Sam Rainsy Party, Pen Laam, told RFA that he refused to issue the residential IDs to the armed forces of two battalions who were transported by the 41st Brigade to the commune. A battalion typically consists of 300-600 soldiers.

Pen Laam said the Kulen district authorities and the army commander there threatened him when he refused to issue the IDs to the soldiers, but he didnt give in because he said he knows they have never lived in the commune.

Some of them, are based in the Preah Vihear [Temple] and some in Rungroeung commune near Cambodian-Thai-Lao border, he said.

In the Cheb district of Preah Vihear province, a commune chief there also refused to issue residential IDs to many armed forces personnel last week.

National Election Committee (NEC) spokesperson Hang Puthea told RFA that voters have to reside in the commune where they register.

If soldiers are transported from other places to register in a commune where they have never lived, then it raises concerns.

It is possible that there is another issue that we should consider, he said. Maybe there is a plan to move those [soldiers] based on the border to a station in the area where there will be a voter registration office in the future.

An official with the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) told RFA that a soldier who is stationed or works in any commune should consider that place as his residence and register in that commune.

I just heard during National Election Commission (NEC) meeting yesterday about a plan to use some armed forces as security guards in the election, he said. That may be why soldiers have been transported to register in different communes, but I have not seen any NEC [written] principles on this issue.

Cambodians are using a new digital voter registration system that is designed to combat voter fraud.

Elections in 2013 were dogged by accusations of fraud, and the new system is part of a 2014 election reform deal between the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) and the opposition CNRP that ended almost a year of deadlock following the disputed 2013 national ballot.

Rights groups and foreign aid donors, including the European Union, have expressed concern about the election registration process which is unfolding amid rising political tensions in Cambodia.

In particular, NEC Deputy Secretary-General Ny Chakriya is in police custody, one of five people arrested by the government in its wide-ranging probe into an alleged affair opposition CNRP acting leader Kem Sokha had with a young hairdresser.

Reported by Savyouth Hang. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.


Authorities in Jinggu township stand guard outside the Li family home after a murder-suicide case in China's western Gansu province, August 2016.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party's powerful propaganda department has moved to quash online reports of a woman in the remote western province of Gansu who murdered her own children before committing suicide in one of the country's poorest rural communities.

"Regarding the incident of Yang Gailan, the Gansu woman who killed her children, websites must not issue public comments," editors of China's tightly controlled media organizations were warned in a recent directive leaked to China Digital Times (CDT).

"Find and delete any unauthorized or independent reports, and eliminate any politically harmful content or commentary," the order, dated Sept. 13, said in a translation provided by CDT.

Local journalists told RFA that local authorities had refused to investigate the deaths of Yang Gailan, her four children and her husband Li Keying in a suspected murder-suicide case that has rocked social media.

According to local journalist Zhang Weijun, three children under six were given pesticides by Yang Gailan, their mother, on Aug. 24, while a fourth was allegedly beaten to death by Yang, because she refused to drink the pesticide. She died despite attempts to save her at a hospital.

Yang then took pesticide herself, dying in the ambulance despite medics attempts to save her, Zhang said.



Husband commits suicide

Yang's husband Li Keying then killed himself on Aug. 27 after arriving at his home in Jinggu township in Gansu's Kangle county to find all of his immediately family already dead.

Li was later found dead, also believed to have committed suicide by drinking pesticide, in woods not far from his home, Zhang said via his social media account.

Police concluded that all six deaths were suicides caused by drinking pesticides, and declined to investigate further, his tweets said.

Zhang said the local authorities had imposed an information blackout on the case.

"I don't think they will give interviews, but ... you can call the Kangle county incident room and ask them," he told RFA, before supplying the number.

An employee who answered the phone at the incident room declined to comment, however.

"We don't know about that here," the employee said. "It's not our case."

Li Keying's cousin Li Keyi gave only a brief interview when contacted recently by RFA.

"The results of the police forensic tests haven't come out yet, so I'll wait for them," he said, admitting that the police had pushed him to the ground. "But I hope you [journalists] will follow the results of the investigation," he added.

Killings are symptomatic

Internet users have seen the killings as symptomatic of official corruption and grinding poverty that remains in parts of rural China.

Many have spoken out against a sense of hopelessness expressed in Yang's desperate actions, blaming the routine mistreatment of the most vulnerable in Chinese society.

"The police have prevaricated, giving various excuses, and haven't responded to public opinion," Zhang told RFA.

"So the public now wants to know even more what the truth is," he said.

He said Li Keyi had been subjected to lengthy police interrogations.

"He was pretty frightened, probably terrified," Zhang said. "He asked me to delete any reports that I had written about this story."

According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper, Yang's family was only able to eke out a meager living, depending on crops of peas, wheat and canola as well as a handful of livestock for their survival.

Local officials withdrew poverty relief funding from the family in 2014, saying they earned too much to qualify, it said.

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
The photo shows the headquarters of Myanmar Economic Corporation, one of Myanmar's main military conglomerates under U.S. sanctions in Yangon, Sept. 15, 2016.

While many in Myanmars business communities welcomed the news that the U.S. will lift economic sanctions against the country, some journalists and ethnic and civil society groups took a more critical stance, apprehensive about the moves effect on human rights.

The announcement was made during the visit of State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyis to Washington where she met with U.S. President Barack Obama and asked him to drop the remaining sanctions.

The U.S. said it was ready to lift the economic sanctions and restore preferential trade benefits to Myanmar. The U.S. also dropped Myanmar from inclusion under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1997, which allows American presidents to annually declare the Asian country in a state of national emergency.

Myanmar businessmen, government officials, and those who work in Myanmars huge garment sector greeted the announcement with enthusiasm, believing it will usher in a new era of deepened trade ties with the reinstatement of Myanmar to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in November.

The preferential trade program for developing countries eliminates duties on imports in roughly 5,000 product categories.

The U.S. removed the Myanmar from the GSP in 1989, a year after a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.

Myat Thin Aung, chairman of the Hlaing Tharyar, the countrys largest industrial zone, told the online journal The Irrawaddy that exporters are happy about the move.

Weve been waiting a long time to receive this benefit from the U.S., he was quoted as saying, adding that the restoration of Myanmar to the GSP will boost the countrys garment, agriculture, fisheries, and export sectors.

Despite the lifting of sanctions, several restrictions will remain in place, according to a U.S. State Department press release issued Wednesday. They include a visa ban barring some former and current members of Myanmar's military from traveling to the U.S. and limitations on foreign assistance to the military.

The national army is still at war with several ethnic armies in Myanmar, even as Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys de facto leader, has made peace talks and national reconciliation a central policy of her nearly six-month-old administration.

Onus now on the government

Not everyone in Myanmar was happy about the announcement.

In an opinion piece, Aung Zaw, founding editor of The Irrawaddy, wrote that although many cronies who are on the U.S. blacklist list will soon be removed, its still unclear who will remain under restrictions.

More than 100 individuals and organizations from Myanmar are on an official U.S. blacklist of entities prohibited from doing business with the U.S. Many of them have ties to the countrys former military junta and have been cited for their involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and illicit trade in gemstones.

To put it simply, removing them from the U.S. sanctions list doesnt necessarily mean these cronies and criminals are clean, Aung Zaw said. Now, the onus is on the Burmese government and State Counselor Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi to hold them accountable and begin a process of rehabilitation so that it matches her repeated aphorism that she will introduce rule of law in the country.

Indeed, Burmas notorious drug barons, arms dealers, and businessmen associated with the military generals have all enriched themselves while the country was ruled by a military junta for 50 years until 2011, Aung Zaw wrote.

Ethnic civil society organizations (CSOs) were also displeased with Obamas announcement about lifting the sanctions. Some of them had urged the U.S. to maintain the sanctions in the run-up to Aung San Suu Kyis visit.

The CSOs have expressed concern over continued human rights abuses by the countrys national military in areas where troops are fighting armed ethnic groups as well as over the failure of the government to grant citizenship to the stateless Muslim Rohingyaan issue now being addressed by a special advisory commission.

Many Burmese refer to the Rohingya as Bengalis because they consider them illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. The countrys Buddhist majority has long subjected them to persecution and attacks and denied them basic rights, including citizenship. About 120,000 Rohingya reside in displaced persons camps in western Myanmars Rakhine state following as a result of communal violence in 2012.

The CSOs had submitted a written request dated Sept. 12 that the U.S. maintain targeted sanctions on the military and its related entities until it complies with democratic norms and respects human rights. In areas where fighting has occurred, the Myanmar military has been involved in civilian killings and sexual assaults and has forced villagers to serve as porters.

[T]here remain a number of pressing issues threatening the stability of the country and its most vulnerable people, the letter said. These issues are deeply concerning as they include the severest of human rights abuses, and progress on these dire matters should be required to lift further sanctions.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi at Blair House in Washington, Sept. 14, 2016. AFP Human rights progress at risk

International rights groups continue to chime in on the issue as well, arguing that lifting sanctions on Myanmar puts human rights progress there at risk.

Lifting all sanctions now will embolden the Myanmar military and its partners, said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of Fortify Rights, a nonprofit human rights organization based in Southeast Asia. This decision was hasty and fails to recognize political realities on the ground.

One Washington legislator picked up on the Rohingya issue, expressing displeasure with comments Aung San Suu Kyi made during a breakfast meeting on Wednesday with Vice President Joe Biden.

The group encouraged the U.S. Congress to maintain targeted sanctions to support the promotion and protection of human rights and civilian leadership in Myanmar.

Senator Bob Corker (T-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a press statement saying he was somewhat appalled by what he called dismissive reactions to human trafficking concerns regarding the Rohingya.

While we certainly appreciate the work Aung San Suu Kyi has done to ensure a democratic transition in Burma, I am somewhat appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country, he said.

After witnessing her lack of regard for Burmas dismal track record on this issue, I plan to pay very close attention to her governments efforts to prevent innocent human beings from being trafficked and sold into forced labor and sex slavery, he said.



Convention Against Torture

Meanwhile closer to home, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a nonprofit human rights organization based in Mae Sot, Thailand, sent a letter to Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, urging her to sign the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) to stop authorities from abusing people.

During the previous governments administration, NLD lawmaker Aung Moe Nyo submitted a proposal in the upper house of parliament for Myanmar to sign the international human rights treaty that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment worldwide.

Lawmakers had approved the measure, but former president Thein Seins government did not follow through.

The AAPPs letter also said that Myanmars signing of the convention would indicate that the new government, which came to power in April, has made working on human rights a priority.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
In an event held for the first time for nuns in Tibetan areas of China, a convent in southwestern Chinas Sichuan province has hosted a traditional Jang Gunchoe, or Winter Teaching, drawing hundreds of participants from seven nunneries across Sichuan and neighboring Qinghai, a Tibetan source says.



The event, which ran from Sept. 4 to Sept. 9, was held at Ganden Shedrub Choephel Ling in Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures Sershul (Siqu) county and featured debates on Buddhist logic and other aspects of religious philosophy, a Tibetan living in the area told RFAs Tibetan Service this week.



Also taking part were several senior male religious instructors, called Geshes, who were invited from nearby monasteries to observe the debates and offer guidance for the future, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Many of them came from Sershul, Nyaktso, and Lab, the source said, adding, They applauded the organization of the first-ever Jang Gunchoe held for nuns and encouraged the nuns to continue the tradition.



Following the advice of [exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama, many such efforts are being initiated by people living in Tibetan areas to restore, maintain, and foster the Tibetan language, culture, and religion, he said.



The five-day series of teachings and debates held at the convent was followed separately next day by an eight-day Jang Gunchoe hosted by Drakkar monastery in Qinghai that drew hundreds of Buddhist monks from 48 monasteries around the region, sources told RFA.



Monks from Tibets Bon tradition also took part in the gathering, the 13th to be held at Drakkar.



Teachings at Kirti



Meanwhile, at Ngaba (Aba) prefectures Kirti monastery, frequently a scene of monks protests against Chinese rule, 23 religious scholars representing 16 monasteries gathered beginning Sept. 12 for a three-day conference on the writings of Tsongkhapa, the fourteenth-century founder of Tibets Geluk tradition.



More than 300 monks, along with their own teachers, attended the discussions and debates, a local source told RFA.



Public assemblies at monasteries in Tibetan regions of China have greatly increased in size in recent years, observers and participants say, as tens of thousands of Tibetans gather to assert their national and cultural identity in the face of Chinese domination.



Chinese security forces, fearful of sudden protests by Tibetans opposed to Beijings rule, frequently monitor and sometimes close down events involving large crowds, sources say.



Reported by Kunsang Tenzin and Lobe Socktsang for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Zhu Xiaoyan is the U.S.-based sister of veteran jailed democracy activist Zhu Yufu, who was handed a seven-year jail term for subversion by a court in the eastern city of Hangzhou after he penned a poem calling on people to vote with their feet. She spoke at a recent event in San Francisco about her brother, who wrote the poem titled "It is Time" during online calls for 'Jasmine' rallies inspired by protests in the Middle East in early 2011.

"It is time, people of China! It is time," the poem read. "The square belongs to us all; our feet are our own."

"It is time to use our feet to go to the square and to make a choice . . . We should use our choices to decide the future of China."

Ever since 1989 [the year of pro-democracy protests on Tiananmen Square] I can remember that our home was always being searched by police, who were always visiting.

My brother has now served three stints in prison, and they even arrested and sentenced his son Zhu Ang at the same time and sentenced him as well.

My brother is a cultivated man. All he wanted was to express some of his opinions on society, but he has suffered persecution at the hands of the Chinese government, not once, not twice, but three times.

His whole family now suffers from psychological problems, including his son and daughter, caused by his treatment [by the authorities].

As their aunt, this is very painful to me.

Every time I went to see my brother, he was always very strong, telling us not to worry about him. He was going to serve his time in this Communist Party jail.

The thing that moved Zhu Yufu the most [during his time in jail] was hearing that there were people overseas who cared about his case, and who wanted to help democracy activists in China.

Every time I would pass on news to him about people overseas trying to help pro-democracy activists in China, he would get very animated . . . [sometimes] he would be moved to tears.

His wife told me that he would think all that time in jail was worth it, just to know that there were people outside China trying to help him.

But the last time I went to see him, he seemed to be in a trance, as if his spirit had been broken. I felt so bad about that, that I decided I would definitely start speaking out on his behalf. Otherwise he might die in that Communist Party jail.

Reported by C.K. for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.




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An invitation to speak at an international literary festival in Italy has turned into an ongoing nightmare for Akram Aylisli, an esteemed Azerbaijani author who has endured persistent intimidation since he began criticizing his country's leadership in 2011.

Long honored by the state as a cherished cultural figure, the 78-year-old Aylisli has become a prominent target of what rights activists say is a growing government campaign to silence independent voices and stifle dissent.

On March 30, police at Baku's international airport stopped Aylisli from traveling to the Crossroads of Civilizations festival in Venice, accusing him of assaulting and seriously injuring a border guard almost half a century his junior -- a claim the writer dismisses as "absurd."

Authorities initially charged Aylisli with hooliganism, threatening the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize nominee with up to a year behind bars. But on September 6, the Prosecutor-General's Office revised the charge to "using violence against government representatives," a more serious charge that, considering the border guard's purported injuries, could lead to a seven-year prison sentence.

Investigators said they would summon Aylisli this week for further questioning, but as of September 15 they had not done so.

Aylisli denies the charges, calling them politically motivated retribution for his writing. "They have presented a fit, 30-year-old man who accuses me of using physical force against him, saying I punched him so hard that it caused internal injuries," Aylisli tells RFE/RL. "The allegations are just so poorly thought-out."

"All I did was tell them I was going to an international event with representatives from 20 countries," he said. "They deprived me of my right to travel abroad."

Contradicting Official Truths

Aylisli's troubles with President Ilham Aliyev's government began half a decade ago.

His pension and state awards were revoked after the publication in 2012 of his book Stone Dreams, whose depiction of massacres of ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan during the late 1980s and early 1990s contradicted Baku's official narrative of events during the war over the breakaway of Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Aylisli's writings were removed from school curricula in the former Soviet republic, and his books have been burned at rallies in front of his apartment building in Baku.

He has been accused in parliament of treason and threatened by the leader of the pro-government Modern Musavat party, who offered a bounty equal to $13,000 for cutting off one of Aylisli's ears.

Aliyev's government portrays the backlash against Aylisli as a spontaneous, patriotic movement against a writer who betrayed the country.

But Alasgar Mammadli, a free-speech advocate at the Civil Society Platform, an NGO, says the government is encouraging Azerbaijanis to treat Aylisli as a kind of "persona non grata" as part of an "attack on freedom of expression."

"Nobody considers what happened at Baku airport to be legal, considering his age and status," Mammadli says. "It is obvious that he was artificially barred from leaving the country because of his writing."

Human Rights Watch has called on Aliyev's government to bring an end to the "hostile campaign of intimidation" against Aylisli, saying the state is "making a mockery out of its international obligations on freedom of expression."

An Earlier 'Betrayal'

Khadija Ismayilova, an RFE/RL journalist who spent 1 1/2 years in jail on financial-crimes charges widely seen as retaliation for her reports on government corruption, also believes Aylisli is the target of an intimidation campaign "orchestrated by the government."

"People who have never read any of his writings were forced to come and protest, burn his books, and so on. And the government presented it as if Akram Aylisli was writing against Azerbaijan's national interests and portraying Azerbaijanis as savages," Ismayilova says.

But Ismayilova, who is herself barred from leaving the Caspian Sea state under a court-ordered travel ban, says that "the retaliation was not for Stone Dreams."

She believes Aylisli is being punished for a 2011 novel, The Grand Traffic Jam, that she says portrays President Aliyev's late father and predecessor, Heidar Aliyev, as "a dictator with maniacal problems."

"Whatever has happened to Akram Aylisli since then, including these recent moves against him, is just a continuation of pressure and retaliation for what he wrote about Heidar Aliyev," Ismayilova said.

Before 2011, Aylisli publicly supported the government. He was awarded the title People's Writer and received Azerbaijan's highest state awards: the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Independence.

He also was a member of parliament from 2005 until 2010.

"Akram Aylisli is not like an ordinary Azerbaijani," Ismayilova says. "They've made it clear that if the government can do this to Akram Aylisli, it can be done to any writer. It's one of their tactics of intimidation and it works well."

The authorities are continuing to hold Aylisli's identification documents and enforce a travel ban during an investigation that his supporters fear could last years before any trial. Meanwhile, he lives with the knowledge that he could be taken into custody at any time.

Delaying the judicial process in politically motivated cases is "another one of the tactics the government uses against its critics," Ismayilova explains.

Literature 'Has Its Own Life'

Thomas de Waal, a Caucasus expert and senior associate at the Carnegie Europe think tank, calls Aylisli's writing courageous. "He wrote [Stone Dreams] not as a politician or a journalist, but as an artist and a writer," De Waal says. "He expressed his vision in an artistic work" that calls on Azerbaijani society to admit wrongdoings and accept responsibility.

In an interview, Aylisli says he has lived through many hardships "but what has been happening lately is more difficult than ever."

"I am not at fault for having a work that is accepted around the world differently than the way it is perceived in Azerbaijan," he says. "Literary works have their own destiny once they leave an author's hands. Our authorities, unfortunately, do not accept this fate."

Aylisli says his age and health problems make it unlikely he would survive long in an Azerbaijani prison. "I don't think about where I will die. But at this age, I don't think it would suit our government -- or myself -- if I die in prison," he says.

"My family has been worried about this for a while now, especially the women in my family. Their worries are far worse than my own concerns," he says. "It is harder for them."

With reporting by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service
A European court has partially upheld sanctions imposed on Ukraine's ousted former president, Viktor Yanukovych, his son Oleksandr, and the former head of the presidential administration, Andriy Klyuyev.

The three challenged the European Union's sanctions on charges of embezzlement and financial wrongdoing that meant losing access to their funds held in European banks.

The EU's General Court "confirms the freezing of funds imposed for the period from March 6, 2015 until March 6, 2016," the court said in a September 15 statement.

The three Ukrainians can appeal against the ruling to the EU's top court.

However, the three Ukrainians won their challenge to the sanctions for the March 2014 to March 2015 period because EU governments did not provide enough proof, the court also said.

The statement said the European Council provided more proof for the extension of sanctions for the following period, allowing them to stand.

The EU has extended the sanctions until March 2017, which the two Yanukovyches and Klyuyev have also challenged and the case is ongoing.

Yanukovych fled to Russia in February 2014 after a popular uprising. He has denied involvement in corruption.

With reporting by Reuters
The U.S. governments top watchdog on Afghanistan says the United States has contributed to the growth of corruption in the war-torn country and was slow to recognize the magnitude of the problem.

In a report released on September 14, the Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said "corruption undermined the U.S. mission in Afghanistan by fueling grievances and channeling support to the insurgency."

"In Afghanistan today, corruption remains an enormous challenge to security, political stability, and development," SIGAR said.

SIGAR also said U.S. military and political aims "consistently trumped" the fight against corruption in Afghanistan.

It also added that anticorruption efforts "lacked sustained political commitment and saw limited success."

Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt counties in the world.

Afghanistan was at No. 166 in Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual ranking of countries.
The Tajik government has rejected the UN Human Rights Councils call to release prisoners held on politically motivated charges, tackle torture in detention facilities, and redouble efforts to ensure media freedoms.

Tajikistans response to a UN review has been made public ahead of the September 22 meeting in Geneva where a UN working group and Tajikistan government representatives are scheduled to discuss the human rights situation in Tajikistan.

In the review and recommendations published in May, the UN called on Tajikistan to immediately and unconditionally release prisoners arrested on politically motivated charges, including members of the banned opposition groups Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT) and Group 24.

Tajikistan banned the IRPT in 2015 as a terrorist organization.

The UN also called on Tajikistan to provide fair trials to jailed rights activists and defense lawyers, including Buzurgmehr Yorov, Shuhrat Qudratov, and Ishoq Tabarov and his sons.

The Tajik government, however, said there was no political motive in the cases against the opposition officials, activists, and lawyers.

The government also said it is not ready yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.

The government also rejected the councils recommendation to provide a better environment for media freedoms, saying Tajikistan has already created all necessary conditions for media development and free press.
WASHINGTON -- Activists warn that Azerbaijan's government has stepped up repression of journalists, civil society activists, and human rights workers ahead of a key referendum, and urge the West to do more to confront Baku.

The oil-rich South Caucasus country has faced growing internal problems stemming from falling world oil prices in recent years. At the same time, longtime President Ilham Aliyev has pushed forward with a referendum scheduled for September 26 that will strengthen his authority, extend the length of presidential terms, and drop the minimum age for future presidential candidates.

Turkel Karimli, the son of jailed opposition leader Ali Karimli, told a U.S. congressional panel on September 15 that the referendum results were almost certain to be rigged, and there was a growing danger of civil unrest if the government continued to stifle dissent.

"A normal and competent government would have moved to introduce economic reforms to revitalize the public finances," Karimli told the bipartisan panel known as the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

"But the corrupt and incompetent regime of Ilham Aliyev, facing...likely social unrest, has chosen to respond in the only way it knows -- more arrests, more oppression, more terror, false imprisonment, and the systematic plan to silence the last remaining free media outlets," he said.

"It is beyond a reasonable doubt that the upcoming reference vote will be completely rigged," he added.

Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist who was jailed for 17 months in what was widely seen as retribution for her work for RFE/RL and other media outlets, said Azerbaijan currently had 138 people in jail considered to be political prisoners. She said several were reporters who, like herself, have documented corrupt deals connected to the Aliyev family and other top government officials.

"The country has literally become a prison," she said, speaking via video conference from Azerbaijan, which she is currently barred from leaving after her release from prison in May.

"Those who expose corruption are punished more than those whose corruption are uncovered by journalists," Ismayilova said. "None of us broke any law, but we broke an unspoken rule of the regime -- we dare to tell the truth. What is the inconvenient truth that the government doesn't like? It's all about money, it's all about corruption."

Located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan has major oil and gas reserves that are being developed jointly with major international companies. The mainly Shi'ite Muslim country has also been a supporter of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, and the fight against the radical Islamic State militants.

But the increasing repression within the country has worried activists and some Western governments, and raised the specter of internal turmoil should simmering resentment toward elites who have enriched themselves boil over.

Richard Kauzlarich, who served as U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan in the 1990s, told the commission that the United States and other Western countries should abandon "quiet diplomacy" -- raising human rights concerns discreetly -- and more actively confront the Aliyev government.

He urged Washington to consider recalling its ambassador in Baku, imposing asset freezes and visa bans for officials involved in repressing journalists and activists, and curtailing U.S. government financing deals through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation or the Export Import Bank that would benefit Azerbaijani companies.

"Quiet diplomacy has not worked. Quiet diplomacy has turned political prisoners into objects to be traded," he said.

"Active diplomacy is tough-love diplomacy, and  good relationship requires common values and confronting corruption, limits of freedom, and perpetuation of a Soviet-style command economy," he said.

Ismayilova warned that that Azerbaijan's internal problems could lead to an increasingly radicalized society, with dire consequences for the already tumultuous Caucasus region or elsewhere.

"Problems within Azerbaijan today could become problems for the United States tomorrow," she said. "The United States should care for us because the last thing we want to be is to become a problem for the rest of the world."
The United Nations' special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Miklos Haraszti, has said there was no real difference between the September 11 parliamentary elections and all the previous ones carried out in the country.

In a September 15 statement, Haraszti commended the "somewhat extended opportunities allowed for candidates to hold their meetings," and welcomed the elections of two opposition figures -- the first opposition candidates to win seats in 20 years.

But citing reports of "intimidation, fraud, manipulations, and opacity," he added that citizens' right to a free and fair election "continued to be abused in the grip of entrenched repressive laws and institutions."

"The smooth-looking conduct" of the elections "should not eclipse the underlying systemic violations," Haraszti also said.

"The elections proved a clear lack of political will to promote and protect human rights in Belarus."
So how's this for irony?

Russia's Investigative Committee has just opened a criminal case against officers of Ukraine's Security Service for -- get this -- using "illegal means and methods of war."

Yeah, you heard that right.

The country that invaded Ukraine; annexed part of its territory; occupied, destroyed, and devastated another part of its territory; and kidnapped its citizens -- that country is now accusing Ukraine of using "illegal means and methods of war."

If nothing else, you gotta admire their chutzpah.

So what exactly is Russia accusing Ukraine of doing?

According to the Investigative Committee and Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv has sent a team of seven teenage terrorists into the occupied areas of Donetsk Oblast to carry out acts of sabotage.

Earlier this week, separatist leaders in Donetsk released a videotape of the youths being detained and confessing.

Now if all that sounds familiar, it's because it is.

Just last month, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of sending agent-saboteurs to the annexed Crimean Peninsula to carry out terrorist attacks.

There was no real evidence and the story was so full of holes and contradictions that it quickly fell apart and nobody took it seriously. And this time around, the evidence looks just as flimsy.

So here we go again.

As Russia continues to wage an illegal war in Ukraine, it is again accusing Ukraine of using illegal methods in defending itself.

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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."
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, her campaign said on September 14, in an effort to contrast her pro-Kyiv stance with her Republican opponent Donald Trump's public comments in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Clinton's meeting with Poroshenko, whose country has struggled economically and politically since Moscow forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and fueled a war with separatists in eastern Ukraine, will occur on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting in New York next week.

Ukrainian officials said on September 14 that both Clinton and Trump had been invited to meet Poroshenko, but so far only Clinton has confirmed.

Aides said the former secretary of state will use the meeting with Poroshenko to burnish her foreign policy credentials and show her solidarity with Ukraine.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
The International Monetary Fund on September 14 approved a loan disbursement for Ukraine of $1 billion after a delay of more than a year that reflected concern about corruption and stability in the war-torn nation.

The IMF in March 2015 had agreed to provide Kyiv with $17.5 billion over four years as long as the government continued to make progress on improving its management of the economy and fighting corruption.

To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion of the loans. The latest disbursement was less than the $1.7 billion Kyiv hoped to get, showing the fund still has concerns about stalled reforms.

But the IMF said its executive board approved waivers allowing loans to resume despite Kyiv's failure to meet targets on limiting debt, boosting international reserves, and easing foreign exchange restrictions.

President Petro Poroshenko hailed the IMF's decision as a triumph, saying it would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.

He said a Russian attempt to block the IMF's decision had failed and that the new loans would help keep the hryvnya currency stable and aid the economy.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said on Twitter.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September.

Ukraine's economy has suffered a deep decline after two years of war with Russia-backed separatists in the east, where most of its industries are located. Its economic output plummeted by 9.9 percent in 2015.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that Ukraine is showing "welcome signs of recovery" and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies, and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system.

"While the social and economic cost of the crisis has been high, growth is expected to be higher in the period ahead," Lagarde said.

"A sustainable recovery requires completing the structural transformation of the economy, where much remains to be done, including combating corruption and improving governance," she said.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Prosecutors in Kosovo have brought charges against five ethnic Albanians, including four imams and the leader of an Islamic political party.

The Prosecutor-General's Office said on September 15 that two of the imams were accused of committing terrorist acts and the two others of inciting national, racial, religious, or ethnic hatred.

It did not detail the alleged activities that led to the charges, but said the most serious charges would be punishable by up to eight years in prison.

Charges were also filed against LISBA party leader Fuad Ramiqi, accusing him of inciting viewers to resist state authority during a 2014 television broadcast.

Ramiqi called the accusations against him unfounded and politically motivated.

All five were arrested more than a year ago but were released later.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
A Kyrgyz filmmaker says the fear of offending Moscow has thus far prevented officials from approving his film about the 1916 revolt against tsarist Russia that resulted in the deaths of at least 150,000 ethnic Kyrgyz.

Producer Mukhtar Atanliev said he submitted his film, Urkun, to the state Goskinofond nearly three weeks ago and has yet to get that body's approval to show the film in Kyrgyzstan. "I think...there is some fear [among the authorities] that the film may cause some issues between Russia and Kyrgyzstan," a frustrated Atanliev told RFE/RL.

Atanliev, who said previous films of his have taken only a few hours or days to gain approval, said none of the members at Goskinofond -- the entity that determines which films can be screened in Kyrgyzstan -- "have the guts" to issue permission for him to show Urkun.

The filmmaker had hoped the film would be in theaters in Kyrgyzstan on Independence Day on August 31 or by September 2, when the Kyrgyz government unveiled a Great Urkun monument to mark the event's centennial.

Some observers have linked a visit to the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on September 16 by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a Commonwealth of Independent States summit as the reason Urkun has not been approved.

They suggest that having billboards around Bishkek promoting the film when the Russian delegation descends upon the capital could offend some Kremlin officials.

But Urmat Aytaliev, the head of Goskinofond, dismissed charges that his committee was dragging its feet in approving Urkun. He told RFE/RL on September 14 that a special commission would review the film within the next week. "We consider 10 or 20 films per month...and we are interested in showing [Urkun]," he said. "We cooperate with filmmakers and want to support them."

Central Asian 'Genocide'

The Great Urkun, which is an old Turkic word that means dispersal or scattering, occurred in various forms throughout Central Asia but was a direct reaction to aggressive Russian colonization of the region and the decision by the Russian government to force some 220,000 Central Asian men to join the tsarist Russian Army.

The notion of fighting for the colonial power was certainly not embraced by Central Asians and there was open resistance to conscription into the Russian Army.

St. Petersburg officials ordered Russian troops to quash the uprising, and the reprisals were bloody.

Some historians estimate as many as 250,000 Kyrgyz died in the uprising. A Kyrgyz public commission concluded on August 15 that the crackdown -- which took place during most of 1916 -- was genocide.

The commission's head, Azimbek Beknazarov, told reporters his commission's conclusion was based on data from archives provided by Russian and Chinese authorities.

In April, Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin rejected the genocide allegations in regard to the uprisings, saying that "all nations suffered 100 years ago."

Tens of thousands of Kyrgyz families fled their homes and left the land for safety in neighboring China, although many succumbed to starvation, freezing temperatures, and disease as they tried to outrun Russian forces.

Several of the mountain passes along the escape route taken by the Kyrgyz and within the Tien-Shan Mountains are still littered with the skeletons of people and livestock who didn't make it to China as winter came early in 1916.

'All Nations Suffered'

Atanliev's nearly two-hour film focuses on the travails of one Kyrgyz family as it flees with others toward the border as they are chased by Russian troops.

Medin Uchukeev, who directed the film, said the screenplay had been completed with the approval of historians, scholars, the Kyrgyz film department, and with ex-Culture Minister Altynbek Maksutov. Uchukeev told RFE/RL there was "no discrimination against any nationality" in the film.

Ethnic Russians, who in the 1959 census made up nearly one-third of the population of Kyrgyzstan, have slowly left the country since the break-up of the Soviet Union and currently account for about 8 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population.

"Kyrgyzstan has been talking for almost a year about the Urkun tragedy and what sufferings it brought to the Kyrgyz people -- that is exactly why we decided to shoot the film," Atanliev said. "So many archives have been opened, many books and articles have been written [and] they are all available in the newspapers and broadcast on radio stations. Our film probably shows just 5 percent of what has been written about the tragedy -- I do not understand why it is a big deal to issue the permission."

Although the revolt against Russian colonists and tsarist troops took part in various forms throughout Central Asia, the 100th anniversary of the insurrection is only being officially marked in Kyrgyzstan.

In Kazakhstan, then-Prime Minister Karim Masimov announced on August 12 that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had agreed to return the skull of Keiki Batyr, a leader of the Kazakh national liberation movement in 1916, to Kazakh officials for burial. The skull of Batyr, who was murdered in 1923, is currently stored in a St. Petersburg museum.

But there was no official commemoration of the Urkun in Kazakhstan.

There likewise have been no official ceremonies in Tajikistan, the base of the fiercely anti-Russian Basmachi movement, which continued fighting Russian and Soviet forces until the 1930s.

With reporting by Bruce Pannier and the Kyrgyz Service's Zayyrbek Azhymatov and Venera Djumataeva
NATO and Russia officials have held talks on "ways to increase transparency and risk reduction," the military alliance says.

A statement says NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow discussed these issues on September 15 with Russia's NATO ambassador, Aleksandr Grushko.

The statement said Vershbow told Grushko that NATO was ready to continue the dialogue, but that there was "no change" in policy toward Russia.

"Our practical cooperation remains suspended following Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine," it said. "At the same time, we decided to keep channels of political dialogue open."

The statement added that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg "looks forward to discussing these issues and next steps" with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "in the near future."

The meeting could come next week, when Stoltenberg and Lavrov are scheduled to be in New York for the annual session of the UN General Assembly.

Relations between NATO and Russia have reached their lowest point since the Cold War over Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its role in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine.

With reporting by AFP and AP
From independence in late 1991 until December 2006, Turkmenistan was ruled by Saparmurat Niyazov. He preferred to be called "Turkmenbashi," literally the "head of the Turkmen."

Turkmenistan possesses the fourth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world. The country has made a great amount of money from that. The population is some 5 million people. Most of that money never benefitted them.

Instead, Turkmenbashi spent lavishly on new marble buildings in the capital, at Awaza on the Caspian Sea coast, and on monuments to himself, including the infamous 75-meter-high tripod with a gold statute of himself mounted on top that rotated so Niyazov's face was always turned in the direction of the sun.

According to a 2006 report from the London-based corruption watchdog Global Witness, Niyazov also had more than $3 billion in foreign bank accounts, "some $2 billion of which appears to reside in the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund (FERF) at Deutsche Bank in Germany." The report also said that "Global Witness has discovered that, according to a 2001 contract, gas revenues from 2002 to 2006 were intended to be paid into Central Bank of Turkmenistan account No. 949924500 at Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt."

Niyazov died in late December 2006 and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov took over as president.

On August 29, Berdymukhammedov visited Berlin. It was a curious visit, lasting one day. A Turkmen-German business forum was planned and President Berdymukhammedov, apparently somewhat belatedly, chose to lead that delegation.

RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, learned there was some debate in the German government as to whether Chancellor Angela Merkel should meet with Berdymukhammedov while he was in Berlin.

Turkmenistan's human rights record has been abysmal for 25 years and despite the country's gas riches, Western leaders are not anxious to host Turkmen leaders.

Berdymukhammedov appeared at a press conference with Merkel, one in which his bodyguard brought in water to replace that offered by the German hosts.

The Turkmen president was asked about the rights situation, a question he was clearly expecting, and he deflected the issue by saying that Turkmenistan's people were supplied with free gas, electricity, and water, so how could the government be repressing them?

He omitted mentioning that he had earlier this year proposed canceling state subsidies for all those things, saying Turkmenistan had advanced so much over the last 25 years that those subsidies were no longer needed.

He did repeat that Turkmenistan was prepared to supply Europe with gas, something he has said dozens of times over the last few years, usually from inside Turkmenistan where no one asks about human rights.

It is doubtful Berdymukhammedov essentially invited himself to Germany so he could answer uncomfortable questions about the respect for rights in Turkmenistan. So what was the great need to make a quick trip to Germany?

Let's open up the lid of Turkmenbashi's treasure chest again.

Tom Mayne, who worked on the 2006 Global Witness report, says that after Niyazov's death, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development pressed Turkmen authorities to close some of the off-budget funds and accounts highlighted in the 2006 report, and they did. However, according to the source, Berdymukhammedov opened a new "Stabilization Fund," though it is unclear if it was with Deutsche Bank.

In 2008, Turkmenistan also passed a law on hydrocarbons. According to the Natural Resource Governance Institute website, the law "is publicly available but states only general principles and does not include fiscal terms." Furthermore, "rather than promoting transparency, the law prohibits government agencies from disclosing information about the hydrocarbons sector."

According to RFE/RL's source, the law allocates 20 percent of revenues from gas sales to the state budget, while the other 80 percent goes to the State Agency on Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources under the President of Turkmenistan.

On March 21, 2014, Global Witness released more information. Referring back to the 2006 report, the corruption watchdog said Turkmenistan's "foreign exchange reserves have grown substantially, with international financial institutions estimating that the country held as much as $20 billion around 2009." The 2014 release continued, "Global Witness believes that as much as 75 percent of this could still be held in the off-budget 'FERF.'"

While in Berlin, Berdymukhammedov met with top officials from several businesses, including Siemens, Airbus, and Cargolux. Turkmen state media reported that Berdymukhammedov was discussing partnerships.

It's doubtful many German companies would be anxious to rush into Turkmenistan's business world, considering the experience of German oil and gas company DEA (formerly RWE Dea AG).

DEA signed a production-sharing agreement in 2009 for a block in Turkmenistan's Caspian Sea sector. In late 2015 DEA announced it was withdrawing from Turkmenistan. The opposition website Alternative News of Turkmenistan reported that "the Germans were simply tired of the bureaucratic entanglements."

If he didn't come home with new business partners it wouldn't necessarily mean the trip was a failure, however. Most telling about his visit were the meetings Berdymukhammedov reportedly had with people he already knew.

The pro-government website Turkmenistan.ru reported the Turkmen president met that day with "Deutsche Bank AG Executive Director for Central and Eastern Europe Peter Tilles and the bank's Senior Adviser Jurgen Fitchen."

Mayne notes that, in September 2014, Tilles and Fitchen were in Turkmenistan to meet with Berdymukhammedov.

So there is good reason to believe that banking was definitely part of Berdymukhammedov's reason for being in Berlin. The question is why now?

Turkmenistan could surely use some extra money.

The country currently has only one customer that pays cash for natural-gas supplies -- China -- and China has loaned Turkmenistan billions of dollars, which Turkmenistan is repaying with gas. It's unclear how much actual money Turkmenistan receives from gas shipments to China. And even then, the price of gas is less than half of what it was just two years ago.

The national currency depreciated in value by 23 percent last year but has held steady at $1 to 3.5 manats, though the black market rate has jumped, touching seven manats to $1 at times recently.

On September 6, the Turkmen opposition website Chrono-tm.org reported that police, teachers, and medical workers in two of Turkmenistan's five provinces -- Lebap and Mary -- had not been paid for the last three months.

Azatlyk has been reporting for months about layoffs in various sectors of Turkmenistan, including the gas and oil sector, the backbone of the country's economy. There are no official unemployment figures for Turkmenistan but some opposition websites claim the figure to be more than half the eligible workforce.

Berdymukhammedov likes to be called "Arkadag," the Protector. But there was no word from Berdymukhammedov, or any other official, indicating that the Protector might be bringing any of the money from this "Stabilization Fund" or "FERF" back home to help create jobs, pay wages on time, or prolong state subsidies.

There was a report, however, that Berdymukhammedov attended the opening of a new $100 million, five-star hotel at the Awaza resort area on September 9.

The "Gami" (Boat) Hotel joins several other multimillion-dollar hotels along the Awaza strip. Reports indicate occupancy at any of them is rarely even 30 percent. A fence keeps locals from coming onto the grounds of the resort area.

Turkmenistan is also hosting the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games next year and is in the process of spending billions of dollars on facilities for the event.

In its 2006 report, Global Witness said, "It is clear that the money is not being spent on them [the people]: standards of health, education, and living quality have plummeted since independence in 1991."

That is all still true. And it appears that whatever business Berdymukhammedov had with one of the German banks that was last known to be holding billions of dollars from his country, it had nothing to do with helping out Turkmenistan's people.

Thanks to Azatlyk, and to the many people outside RFE/RL who helped prepare this report
Human rights groups are urging U.S. President Barack Obama to pardon former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden for leaking state secrets before leaving office in January.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch said on September 14 that they have started an online petition drive to pardon Snowden, who is living in exile in Russia after leaking documents revealing the National Security Agency's widespread surveillance programs in 2013.

"Cases like Edward Snowden's are precisely why the presidential pardon power exists," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said. "There is widespread consensus that Edward Snowden's actions catalyzed an unprecedented debate about the proper limits of government surveillance, and his actions resulted in widespread reforms both in law and in technology that protect Americans and individuals across the globe."

Snowden said that he has not asked for a pardon, but he does not believe he could receive a fair trial in the United States because the 1917 Espionage Act does not allow him to explain to a jury his reasons for leaking.

"This World War I-era law does not distinguish between those who freely give critical information to journalists in the public interest or spies who sell it to a foreign power for their own" profit, he said.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters


A bust of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in Russia's Siberia region could be removed by local authorities.

Stalin supporters in the city of Surgut unveiled the bust on September 15.

Yekaterina Shvidkaya, the head of the city's information department, said just hours after the unveiling that the bust had been placed illegally near a site allocated for a monument dedicated to the victims of Stalin's 1930s purge policies.

"Very likely the decision will be made that the bust was placed there illegally. If that is proven, the bust will be removed," Shvidkaya said.

Surgut was one of the most notorious sites of Stalin's gulag forced-labor-camp system, where hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens served their prison terms.

Descendants of people who served time in the camps still live in Surgut and in the surrounding areas.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Russia says it's ready to help the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in fighting cybercrime, after the world's main anti-doping regulator called on Moscow to do all it could to prevent the hacking of athletes' medical records.

"If we're talking about a request for help, then no question, if we receive such an appeal," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 15, adding that Russia "consistently backs fighting cybercrime."

WADA said this week a Russian hacking group known as Fancy Bear had hacked one of its databases and leaked confidential medical records of 29 athletes.

The hackers released details of medication taken by the athletes, mainly from the United States, under therapeutic-use exemptions that allow for the use of banned substances.

WADA Director-General Olivier Niggli said the leaks were "retaliation" for the agency's role in "investigations that exposed state-sponsored doping in Russia."

The probe led to a ban of the entire Russian Paralympic team and nearly 120 athletes from the country's Olympic squad from competing in Rio.

"Continued cyberattacks emanating from Russia seriously undermine the work that is being carried out to rebuild a compliant anti-doping program in Russia," Niggli also warned.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was wrong to connect the issue of cybercrime with Russia's attempts to overcome the doping scandal around its athletes.

Zakharova also called on WADA to "develop clear criteria for its work that everyone understands, based on international law, and not on some very strange statements."

She reiterated that Russia denied any role in the hacks, saying, "For Russia just like for the rest of the world, hackers and hacking are outside the law."

Meanwhile, the independent public anti-doping commission of the Russian Olympic Committee announced it had requested the assistance of Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, in an investigation into the hacking of WADA's database.

With reporting by AFP, AP, TASS, and Interfax
Russia has accused the United States of failing to meet its obligations under the Syria cease-fire agreement.

In a statement on September 15, Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed Washington was using a "verbal curtain" to hide what he said was its reluctance to rein in the opposition groups it supports.

The cease-fire has largely held since taking effect on September 12, with only minor violations reported.

The cease-fire deal was brokered by Russia and the United States, which are backing different sides in Syria's five-year-old civil war.

The Kremlin supports President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States is backing rebel groups seeking his ouster.

If the cease-fire holds for a week, the United States and Russia are to carry out coordinated air strikes against Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, and Islamic State militants.

The truce does not apply to these two extremist groups.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa
Tajik authorities say they are investigating an early-morning traffic accident in the capital that left two people dead after a car driven by the son of Deputy Prime Minister Davlatali Saidov slammed into a parked roadwork vehicle.

Interior Ministry spokesman Umarjoni Emomali said the collision took place in Dushanbe early on September 10, and that two passengers -- a 25-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man -- were killed.

The spokesman told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that the driver, 23-year-old Faromurz Saidov, remained in the hospital with injuries.

Police are treating the case as a "traffic accident," Emomali said, adding that "it should not be called a purposeful criminal act."

There were no immediate public comments from Deputy Prime Minister Saidov, who was appointed in 2013 after serving as the head of the youth affairs committee and a stint as Tajikistan's ambassador to Japan.

An official close to the investigation told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that Saidov and his friends had left the Royal Club bar and were riding in his Toyota Camry at high speed when the incident occurred. But RFE/RL could not independently corroborate that assertion.

The accident happened not far from the scene of a deadly road incident in 2013 that was linked to a teenage son of Amonulloh Hukumov, a former chief of Tajikistan's state railways operator and a relative of President Emomali Rahmon. That crash killed three people and injured the driver.

That incident sparked angry comments on social media demanding that the authorities bring the young driver to justice. Comments on Facebook and social network Odnoklassniki suggested ordinary citizens were closely following the investigation to see how Tajik police would treat well-connected people in such a case.

Police eventually concluded that Hukumov's son wasn't behind the wheel at the time of the accident, although the vehicle was registered in his name.

Later in 2013, Tajik authorities acknowledged that reckless driving by children of the country's elite had been responsible for fatal road accidents.

The presidential press service said in November 2013 that 850 closed-circuit video cameras had been installed across Dushanbe to monitor the streets to prevent, among other violations, "deadly accidents [involving] the children of officials, state workers, and rich citizens."
John Doe investigators filed affidavits in 2012 and 2013 in which they laid out why they thought the governor's campaign violated campaign finance laws.
Nordic telecommunications operator Telia says it will have to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. and Dutch probes into deals the company made in Uzbekistan in 2007.

U.S. and Swedish prosecutors believe the company paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Gulnara Karimova, elder daughter of late Uzbek President Islam Karimov, in an effort to secure telecom licenses in Uzbekistan.

"I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility," Telia Chairman Marie Ehrling said in a statement on September 15.

The Swedish-Finnish communications giant has been planning to pull out of seven Eurasian countries, including Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova, and Tajikistan.

Telia had previously said an internal investigation had found the company had broken its own ethical rules but didnt breach any laws.

Based on reporting by AFP and The Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian media reports say police are searching the residence of the mayor of the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko was quoted as saying that a hotel in Kharkiv, where Hennadiy Kernes is currently residing, was being searched on September 15.

Lutsenko also said a house in the city belonging to the mother of opposition lawmaker Mykhaylo Dobkin was also being searched.

According to Lutsenko, the searches are part of an investigation into the alleged involvement of Kharkiv city officials into an illegal land privatization.

Kernes barely survived a shooting attack in April 2014, a time of growing instability in eastern Ukraine and a month after Moscow forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Kernes initially gave his backing to the pro-Russia separatists in the east before later switching his loyalty to the Ukrainian government.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is just 20 kilometers from the Russian border.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and pravda.com.ua
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says a new cease-fire declared in eastern Ukraine appears to be holding.

"It is still early, but I was encouraged to learn from the [OSCE] monitors that the cease-fire has been widely holding since midnight," Steinmeier said on September 15 during a visit to Kramatorsk, an eastern Ukrainian city controlled by the government.

"This shows that the sides can control the situation if there is political willingness."

Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said separatists had violated the truce six times since midnight, while separatist officials were quoted as saying their forces came under mortar fire.

On September 14, the leaders of the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared a unilateral cease-fire, and Steinmeier said the following day in Kyiv that Ukrainian officials agreed to observe the truce.

The sides earlier agreed to abide by a truce to coincide with the start of the school year on September 1, but it failed to stop the fighting that has killed more than 9,600 people since April 2014.

With reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax
Ukraine has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge Russia over restrictions on freight transit.

"This is a yet another step taken to defend Ukraine's rights within the WTO against opaque and discriminatory restrictions by the Russian Federation," Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv said in a September 15 statement.

In its complaint, seen by Reuters, Kyiv accuses Moscow of breaking WTO rules by singling out Ukraine with trade-restrictive measures -- such as requiring Ukrainian trucks to use identification seals and to move in convoy -- and by putting restrictions on Ukrainian drivers entering Russia from Belarus.

Ukraine says its trade to countries in Central and Eastern Asia and the Caucasus region had fallen by 35.1 percent in the first half of 2016 compared to the same months of 2015.

By the end of this year Ukraine will have lost about $400 million worth of exports to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, it says.

Kyiv's request for consultations marks the first step in the WTO dispute system.

The party have 60 days to resolve the dispute. After that, the WTO can create a panel of experts to review the case.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
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U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Stanley Quinn, the sexual assault response coordinator for the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, briefs soldiers on the subjects of sexual harassment and sexual assault at Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, June 21, 2013.
A Louisa County man and woman have been arrested after being overheard making threats against a middle school, the sheriff's office said.

Adrian Reeves, 31, and Marlana Milan, 33, made the threats against Louisa Middle School on Sept. 8, said Tabethia Cosner, spokeswoman for the Louisa County Sheriff's Office.

Cosner said the incident began when Milan went to the school to see her children at the school. Milan is not allowed to see the children because of a court order, Cosner said, and school officials prevented Milan from entering the building.

About two hours later, a passer-by heard Milan and Reeves making the threats and called the sheriff's office, Cosner said.

Milan and Reeves were not on school grounds when the threats were made, and no students were in danger, Cosner said.

Milan and Reeves are charged with conspiracy to burn or destroy a public building and conspiracy to stab or wound with malicious intent. They are being held at the Central Virginia Regional Jail.
A donor to the Wisconsin Club for Growth included the line "Because Scott Walker asked" in the memo line.
The department that oversees Hanover Countys firefighters and medics was awarded more than $550,000 in federal money for training and recruitment.

Hanover Fire-EMS was awarded a $559,500 SAFER grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recruit, train and retain 48 volunteer firefighters over the next four years. The grant arrives less than a year after a dwindling number of volunteers forced a fire squad in Hanover to disband.

The countys fire chief, Jethro H. Piland III, said the grant will help the department replenish volunteers as they age or leave volunteerism behind for other reasons.

This is just one way that we can relieve some of the financial burden not only for the department but for the (volunteers) themselves, Piland said.

On Wednesday, the Hanover Board of Supervisors voted, as part of its consent agenda, to incorporate the grant money into its budget. The grant sets aside $165,000 for fiscal 2017 and then $131,500 annually through fiscal 2020.

In the past five years, about $2 million in grant money has been awarded to Hanover for recruiting volunteers, Piland said. The SAFER grant, which stands for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, will enable Hanover to train 12 firefighters each year from 2017 to 2020. It also covers marketing, uniform and equipment costs.

Hanover, along with localities across the country, has endured a decline in volunteer firefighting in recent decades. The Rockville Volunteer Fire Company disbanded in January after the number of volunteers languished to four, prompting county supervisors to transfer contingency money to fund three firefighter medics to staff the remainder of the most recent fiscal year.
Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, made a campaign swing through the area Wednesday, touting her mothers plans for affordable schooling and reducing college debt.

We have to make investments in our young people from the beginning and then, all the way through, Chelsea Clinton, 36, said during an afternoon stop at Roanoke College.

In front of about 200 people in Olin Hall, Clinton answered questions about student debt and detailed her mothers New College Compact for affordable college tuition. No one asked about Hillary Clintons health just days after news broke that the Democratic nominee had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

The fresh-faced former first daughter resembled a college student herself in her black jeans, boots and Diane von Furstenberg T-shirt emblazoned with the words Proud to Support Mme President.

She promised that her mother would push for the lowest prevailing interest rates on federal and private student loans, forgiveness of loans after 20 years and caps on student loan payments at 10 percent of graduates incomes.

Students who graduate and work as doctors and teachers in high-need areas also should have that service count toward repaying their loans, Chelsea Clinton said. A similar situation allowed her mother to work at the Childrens Defense Fund after graduating from law school.

You shouldnt have to make decisions in a professional sense only motivated by what your loan burden is, Chelsea Clinton said.

Her Roanoke visit was a thinly veiled attempt to hide her mothers problems with a smiling face, said a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia.

Neither Tim Kaines harmonica nor Chelsea Clintons visits with toddlers will make Virginia voters forget Hillary Clintons secret email server, her perpetual lies about handling classified information or the gigantic conflicts of interest generated by the Clinton Foundation, state party Chairman John Whitbeck said in a statement.

For Hillary Clinton, the student loans issue is personal because it took her about 12 years to pay off her loans from her time in Yale Law School, her daughter said.

Roanoke College junior Ariana Bagherian, who sat on stage with Chelsea Clinton and several other students, said she expects to carry about $150,000 in debt after completing her studies. She plans to attend law school after graduating from Roanoke College, where she is studying art and communication.

That number scares me, Bagherian said. But what scares me more is I now have 150,000 reasons why I cant use my law degree to help people, but instead have to use it to pay back the debt Ive accrued.

Earlier in the day, Clinton met with students and parents at Small Steps Learning Academy on Roanokes Oxford Avenue. The children werent fazed by Clintons celebrity status or the horde of cameras following her every move.

The mother of two asked students their ages and laughed as the children showed her their toys and puzzles. Clinton even checked out the class white guinea pig, Marla, who cowered in her cage during the commotion.

Hillary Clinton is advocating universal pre-kindergarten and daycare options that dont cost more than 10 percent of a familys income, her daughter said in an interview with The Roanoke Times.
The Supreme Court of Virginia on Thursday rejected a Republican effort to have Gov. Terry McAuliffe held in contempt over his ongoing efforts to restore voting rights for felons.

In a unanimous one-page order, the Supreme Court said it would not force McAuliffe to return to court to prove that he is complying with the courts July 22 ruling that struck down the governors first attempt to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 felons via executive order. The court also said it would not allow Republican General Assembly leaders to seek documents from the McAuliffe administration through a new discovery process.

The ruling brings to an end the legal fight that cast uncertainty over thousands of ex-offenders just weeks before early voting gets underway for the presidential election.

In a written statement, McAuliffe said he will continue to move forward with the revised process he adopted after the court ruling to grant political rights to would-be voters on an individual basis.

It is my hope that the courts validation of the process we are using will convince Republicans to drop their divisive efforts to prevent Virginians from regaining their voting rights and focus their energy and resources on making Virginia a better place to live for the people who elected all of us to lead, McAuliffe said.

House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, said Republicans were disappointed by the ruling but respect the courts order.

The governor stretched the bounds of the Virginia Constitution and sought to expand executive power in a manner we viewed as inappropriate and reckless, Howell said in a written statement. The Supreme Court strongly rebuked the governors executive overreach in the original case.

Howell and Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, sued McAuliffe in May, arguing that the governor overstepped his authority by issuing a blanket order restoring political rights to 206,000 felons whose names the governor kept secret. The Supreme Court sided with the Republican leaders in July, ordering state officials to cancel the voter registrations of nearly 13,000 people who had registered under McAuliffes invalidated order.

After the ruling, the governor focused his efforts on restoring rights individually to the group of 13,000 who had already registered, saying they had shown an interest in rejoining civic life. McAuliffe has said he intends to eventually restore rights to the entire group of more than 200,000, but relatively few in that group are expected to receive individual restoration orders in time for the November election.

Republicans took issue with McAuliffes revised process, saying the governors new process, though different technologically and procedurally, had the same effect as the action the court ruled unconstitutional.

The McAuliffe administration and Attorney General Mark R. Herring argued the state had fully complied with the earlier ruling and said no further court action was necessary. After the Supreme Court agreed, McAuliffes Democratic allies hailed the ruling as a victory for rights restoration efforts.

This contempt motion was completely baseless, and Im glad the Supreme Court dispatched it so quickly, said Herring, whose office defended McAuliffes original order and fought the more recent contempt motion.

Virginia Republicans tried to use the judiciary branch in their unwavering effort to disenfranchise voters, and today, they failed, Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a written statement.

Democrats urge amendment

Though the summers court battle has ended, the debate over long-term changes to Virginias felon voting policy may have just begun.

On Thursday, a group of Democratic lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment to end the states ban on felon voting.

The amendment, patroned by Del. Marcus B. Simon, D-Fairfax, would strike the sentence from the state constitution that says no felon is allowed to vote unless his or her political rights have been restored by the governor. In a news release, Simon pitched the amendment as a way to better reflect modern Virginia and move away from the racially motivated politics of a bygone era.

This language is a relic of Virginias 1902 Jim Crow constitution, which included a laundry list of those not deemed fit to vote, a list that included idiots, insane persons and paupers as well as those who had participated in duel, Simon said in a prepared statement. Call me politically correct if you will, but I think Virginia has come a long way since then.

McAuliffe has called the states felon voting ban unusually restrictive, saying Virginia is one of just four states that take away felons political rights for life unless a rights restoration request is made to the governor.

Without any accompanying legislation, Simons proposed amendment, co-patroned by six other Democrats, would put Virginia at the opposite end of the spectrum, joining only Maine and Vermont among states that have no restrictions on felon voting.

What else do Maine and Vermont have in common? According to census data, they have the smallest nonwhite populations, ranked 49th and 50th. So they never needed to get creative about denying people of color the right to vote. There simply werent enough of them to matter, Simon said.

Simons amendment will likely be a tough sell in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, but will nevertheless factor in to what could be a high-profile issue in the 2017 legislative session. Similar proposals have died in previous sessions, but the amendment comes amid unprecedented attention on Virginias felon voting policies and statements from leading Republicans supporting changes to those policies.

Earlier this month, Norment introduced a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons who have finished their sentences and paid all fines, court costs and restitution. Norments amendment would also strip the governor of the power to restore rights, which means violent felons would no longer have a path to regaining rights.

Howell said Thursday that he has asked House members to begin evaluating the various proposals ahead of what he expects to be a robust discussion when the General Assembly returns in January.
Amid a contentious debate over felon voting in Virginia, a group of Democratic lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment Thursday to end the state's policy of stripping political rights from all felons and forcing them to apply later in life to get them back.

The amendment, patroned by Del. Marcus B. Simon, D-Fairfax, would strike the sentence from the state Constitution that says no felon is allowed to vote unless his or her political rights have been restored by the governor. In a news release, Simon pitched the amendment as a way to better reflect modern Virginia and move away from the "racially motivated politics of a bygone era."

"This language is a relic of Virginias 1902 'Jim Crow' Constitution, which included a laundry list of those not deemed fit to vote, a list that included idiots,' insane persons, and paupers as well as those who had participated in duel," Simon said in a prepared statement. "Call me politically correct if you will, but I think Virginia has come a long way since then."

Simon's amendment will likely be a tough sell in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, but will nevertheless factor in to what could be a high-profile debate in the 2017 legislative session. Similar proposals have died in previous sessions, but the amendment comes amid unprecedented attention on Virginia's felon voting policies and statements from leading Republicans supporting changes to those policies.

During his attempts to restore voting rights for hundreds of thousands of felons, Gov. Terry McAuliffe has called the state's felon voting ban unusually restrictive, saying Virginia is one of just four states that take away felons' political rights for life unless a rights restoration request is made to the governor.

Without any accompanying legislation, Simon's proposed amendment, co-patroned by six other Democrats, would put Virginia at the opposite end of the spectrum, joining only Maine and Vermont among states that have no restrictions on felon voting.

"What else do Maine and Vermont have in common? According to census data, they have the smallest non-white populations, ranked 49th and 50th. So they never needed to get creative about denying people of color the right to vote. There simply weren't enough of them to matter," Simon said.

Republicans, who are still fighting McAuliffe's attempts to use his executive authority to restore rights to more than 200,000 felons, have pushed back against the suggestion of racial motivations. They've pointed out that the felon voting ban originated in a Virginia constitution adopted in 1830, before African-Americans had the rights to vote, and was retained in a 1971 rewrite that did away with other discriminatory voting policies such as literacy tests and poll taxes.

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, introduced a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons who have finished their sentences and paid all fines, court costs and restitution. Norment's amendment would also strip the governor of the power to restore rights, which means violent felons would no longer have a path to regaining rights.

Norment and House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, successfully sued the governor this summer, arguing his action to restore rights for 206,000 felons in one executive order effectively thwarted the constitution. McAuliffe has since begun restoring rights to a smaller number of felons through a slower, more deliberative process.
The Supreme Court of Virginia has cleared six current and former state senators who were held in contempt by a lower court this year for refusing to turn over redistricting records by invoking legislative privilege.

In a unanimous opinion published Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that legislative privilege not only covers communications between legislators and their aides, but also can extend to third-party consultants hired to perform work on legislators behalf.

Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons wrote that the Richmond Circuit Court abused its discretion in April by holding the senators and the Division of Legislative Services in contempt for ignoring subpoenas aimed at internal records that would shed light on the redistricting process.

Taking an expansive view of the state constitutions clause on legislative immunity, Lemons wrote that the protection allows legislators to fulfill their legislative duties without undue interference.

That legislators seek assistance in accomplishing these functions does not diminish this goal or this protection, Lemons wrote. It would be of little use to protect acts regarding the drafting of a bill when performed by a legislator but not an agent at the legislators direction. Legislators must be free to accomplish legislative tasks through agents, including and especially to obtain assistance in legislative drafting from the experienced staff at DLS.

OneVirginia2021, a redistricting reform group, sought the records as part of a lawsuit alleging that several legislative districts had been illegally gerrymandered.

Specifically, the group sought documents and communications related to redistricting criteria, partisan considerations and draft map files. The suit is scheduled to go to trial next year.

The sitting senators held in contempt were Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax; George L. Barker, D-Fairfax; David W. Marsden, D-Fairfax; and John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke.

The former senators involved were Charles J. Colgan, a Democrat from Prince William County and Ralph K. Smith, a Republican from Roanoke County.

Wyatt Durrette Jr., an attorney representing OneVirginia2021, said theres still a chance the group will be able to obtain some of the records it wants when the case returns to the lower court. Details about how the consultants were paid and the exact nature of the work they performed, Durrette said, could help show that the work falls outside the legislative sphere as defined in the Supreme Court opinion.

Its one of those things where very often in litigation theres information youd like to have in an ideal world, but you dont really need it that badly and it doesnt really go to the heart of the case, Durrette said. Thats what were talking about here.

Durrette was the GOP nominee for attorney general in 1981 and for governor in 1985.

A seventh lawmaker, Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Stafford, was spared a contempt decree because he complied with the orders of Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant.
James Richard Pavlis, 22, escaped from Lynchburgs Blue Ridge Regional Jail just before 7 a.m. Monday.

After an all-out search involving more than a half-dozen agencies, he was apprehended without incident in about 60 hours near the James River, about 2.3 miles from the jail.

Pavlis escape from the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center prompted lockdowns Monday at several Lynchburg and Campbell County public schools. It also brought in a flood of tips from residents as various sightings were reported, and Lynchburg Police Capt. Ryan Zuidema said that information was key to helping authorities narrow their search Wednesday afternoon.

Pavlis, who authorities had said should be considered dangerous, was taken into custody at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, near the 2300 block of Concord Turnpike.

This is a joint effort not only between law enforcement and the different agencies  but this is an effort between the community and us to ultimately bring this gentleman into custody, Zuidema said at a news conference Wednesday night announcing the capture.

Pavlis, a Danville resident, escaped Monday morning through the kitchen area and the rear entrance at the jail facility at 510 Ninth St., going through the loading dock area out toward Madison Street.

Zuidema said through a variety of sources, law enforcement was able to narrow their search Wednesday at about 1:30 p.m. to the lower Madison Heights area close to the river.

Tracking dogs from the Halifax County Sheriffs Office and the Virginia Department of Cor-rections played a critical role in locating Pavlis, Zuidema said.

He would still be on the loose if it wasnt for the K-9 officers, he said. The handlers and the dogs both worked extremely hard. I can tell you theyll all probably sleep very well tonight.

Zuidema said through tips and reactions from the dogs, law enforcement were able to deter-mine Pavlis had crossed the river and began searching near the Lynchburg Wastewater Treat-ment Center at 2301 Concord Turnpike.

Officers were able to spot Pavlis between the river and railroad tracks. Zuidema said officers identified themselves and were able to take Pavlis into custody at 5:45 p.m. without incident. He was transported to Amherst Adult Detention Center.

Zuidema said the only visible injuries Pavlis had were small scratches, and he appeared de-hydrated.

Jail staff has been giving him medical treatment since he was taken into custody and brought [to Amherst], he said.

Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority Administrator Tim Trent credited the joint effort by law enforcement that led to the capture of Pavlis.

The Lynchburg Police Department, Amherst County Sheriffs Office, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, U.S. Marshals Service, Virginia Department of Corrections, Halifax County Sheriffs Office and the Pittsylvania County Sheriffs Office all were part of the search effort.

Zuidema said its hard to say what Pavlis was doing during his escape, but authorities will be continuing to investigate. He said he had no reason to believe Pavlis had help during his initial escape from the jail.

Theres going to be two investigations going on, Zuidema said. Theres a criminal investi-gation that the Lynchburg Police Department is [conducting] because this escape took place in our jurisdiction, and then Mr. Trents staff will be conducting an internal investigation into procedures.

Pavlis is charged with escape, which is a class six felony, but he could face more charges, Zuidema said.

Trent said he would not comment if there would be any changes to jail policy as the investigation continues.

In August, a Pittsylvania County jury found Pavlis guilty of grand larceny, identity fraud, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and burglary.

Larry Wayne Dodson Jr. became the first person to escape from the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center in 2010.

The Pittsylvania County man reportedly slid more than 100 feet down a rope made of bed sheets and sparked a month long manhunt across the Southeast.

It ended in a high-speed chase and crash just outside of Savannah, Georgia, and Dodson, who had been in Lynchburg awaiting transfer to a state prison on larceny and firearm convictions, was taken back into custody.
Virginia Attorney General Cuccinelli drew national scorn over his investigation of climatologist Michael Mann. Cuccinelli used Virginias Fraud Against Taxpayers Act to demand that the University of Virginia hand over Manns emails and other documents related to grants he received to study climate change.

Critics accused Cuccinelli, a Republican, of trying to criminalize policy differences. They condemned him for engaging in a witch hunt, invading privacy, traducing academic freedom and more. This newspaper said he was stretching the fraud statute beyond recognition and warned that he was setting a dangerous precedent. What was to keep future AGs from following his example?

Apparently nothing. A group of 20 Democratic attorneys general have been hounding Exxon, demanding that it cough up four decades worth of internal documents, and communications with think tanks and policy groups, about climate change. They have issued subpoenas and civil investigative demands in the hopes of turning up evidence that the energy giant defrauded investors.

The AGs dont really care about potential fraud any more than Cuccinelli did. Their main purpose, like his, consists of using the legal system to punish those who promote views with which they disagree. Not surprisingly, few of those who blasted Cuccinellis fishing expedition have voiced any protests over the Democrats.
By Nina Woolley and Braveen Ragunanthan

Women and children are on our minds every day. Witnessing the birth of a child is one of the most exhilarating experiences in life. However, it can also be an anxious and distressing time in the setting of health problems or birth defects.

As two fourth-year medical students soon to become an obstetrician/gynecologist and a pediatrician, respectively, we see ourselves at a critical juncture now to protect mothers and children from a virus that is causing devastating birth defects and neurologic disorders: Zika.

Zika has been ravaging Latin America and the Caribbean since being noted in Brazil in early 2015. There have already been more than 1,800 infants born in Latin America with Zika-related birth defects.

Zika is also hitting close to home: As of Sept. 7, there have been 78 documented cases of travel-related Zika in Virginia. That makes Virginia eighth out of 50 states in terms of number of Zika cases. Now, mosquitoes are transmitting the virus within Florida, the first evidence of mosquito-borne transmission of Zika in the United States. From there, it is not hard to see how the virus may continue to spread within our country. As of this writing there already were 2,964 Zika cases within the U.S. and 15,869 cases in Puerto Rico, and the numbers continue to rise.

Yet rather than broad support for research to better understand the virus and stop transmission, we have woefully little to show from our government.

Congress has been unable to pass any bill to combat Zika. Back in February 2016, the Obama administration called for $1.9 billion to fight Zika. However, no bill was passed. Currently, funding to fight Zika has been cobbled together from other important initiatives, pulled from budgets addressing Ebola, diabetes, and cancer, as well as from antipoverty programs like heating subsidies. It is insufficient. The Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Tom Frieden reports that the CDC is due to run out of money to combat Zika by the end of September.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the two groups of physicians on the front lines caring for patients burdened by Zika risk, continue to call for funding for Zika. But their calls are falling on deaf ears.

Members of Congress left Washington for a seven-week recess in the height of mosquito season without first appropriating funds for Zika.

Meanwhile, there are now 671 pregnant women in the U.S. with laboratory-confirmed Zika infection. Seventeen infants have already been born in the U.S. with what appears to be Zika-related birth defects, and during the congressional recess, one infant in Texas died of Zika-related microcephaly.

There are far too many questions about the virus that are yet unanswered: How long does Zika infection last? What are all of its harmful effects? How does it cause birth defects like microcephaly, and is there a way to prevent it? And, critically, can we develop a vaccine? The only way to answer these questions will be biomedical research.

Researchers are currently collaborating in remarkable ways. The U.S. National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, numerous other organizations, and the leading scientific journals have all agreed to share Zika-related data and results freely in an open-access format.

They are striving to spread knowledge rapidly among scientists, health-care professionals, public health officials, and the public, and they should be commended for their communal efforts. Our politicians need to adopt a similarly collaborative spirit in the face of this emerging disease.

We call upon our elected leaders to pass a strong emergency supplemental funding package to combat Zika without delay. It has already been too long without sufficient funding to fight this public health threat.

Even in our age of partisanship and legislative stalling, there are some issues that are too serious to ignore. The health of pregnant women and children is one of them.
Paying for gas at the pump might cost you more than just the listed price.

Card skimmers  surreptitious devices that steal bank card information with a swipe  are popping up all over Wisconsin, including in Madison. So state officials on Tuesday warned consumers to be watchful for any evidence of skimmers or unusual account activity.

Five skimmers have been discovered in gas pumps in Madison since early August, prompting the Madison Police Department to alert every gas station in the city to check their pumps.

The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said the five Madison stations were Whitney Way Mobil, 699 S. Whitney Way; Farzo LLC, 699 S. Gammon Road; MS Mobil, 3019 E. Washington Ave.; BP Amoco Food Shop, 318 S. Park St.; and Avenue Shell, 4821 E. Washington Ave.

State investigators found those five skimmers and another 10 across the state during inspections of pumps conducted over the past five weeks.

Other card skimmers were discovered at Newville Travel Plaza in Edgerton, J&R Express Mart in Janesville, Milton Travel Center in Milton, Tri-Par Qwik Stop in Random Lake, Camp Douglas BP in Camp Douglas, Dino Stop II in Lake Delton, 7 Eleven in Franklin, Open Pantry in Brookfield, BB Mobil Mart in Appleton and Jackson Street Mobil in Oshkosh.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said once skimmers are found, they are removed, and owners are encouraged to check their pumps daily. Police will also share photos of what skimmers look like to gas station owners. Officers will be going to each station to walk employees through what they should be looking for, DeSpain said.

DATCP spokesman Bill Cosh urged consumers to ask stations about steps theyre taking to secure their pumps. The skimmers, either internal or external, read information off cards without the consumer knowing, so accounts can be hacked.

The FBI and IRS have been conducting local skimming investigations at gas stations and ATMs but havent released information about arrests.

Police and IRS agents temporarily shut down several area gas stations several weeks ago, but DeSpain told the State Journal the skimmers found were not from one particular chain or owner.

The investigation by DATCP first found one card skimmer inside a gas pump, which prompted Madison police to encourage other operators to check their pumps, DeSpain said. Five skimmers were found in all, but we cant say there might not be others, DeSpain said.

DATCP said Tuesday that inspectors have recently become aware of skimmers in gas pumps throughout Wisconsin.

A consumer may likely have no indication that they used an altered dispenser until they find a discrepancy on their bank statements, said Frank Frassetto, division administrator of trade and consumer protection.

The best defense against card skimmer theft is a strong offense, so we strongly encourage shoppers to pay close attention to their monthly statements and to regularly check their credit reports, Frassetto said.

Gas pump skimmers are either external, with a false card reader fitting over the real card reader, or internal, with a communication cable containing a recording device put between the card reader and the main board.

DATCP said consumers can protect themselves from card skimming by wiggling the card reader on the pump  a skimmer might feel loose and fall off  or checking the pump to see if any security seals have been broken. If a seal is compromised, tell the station manager.

DeSpain said customers worried about having their personal information stolen can take steps to alleviate concerns.

Pre-pay for your gas inside the station or pay in cash, he said. And check your credit report for any unusual activity.

What happens when a card skimmer is found on a pump? DATCP said station management would be informed by the inspector, the pump would be taken out of service and law enforcement would be notified, because the presence of a skimmer makes the pump a crime scene.
It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search?

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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
For almost 30 years, Fitzgerald's has been known as a supper club. Now the Middleton restaurant is also going to serve teriyaki chicken, Asian dumplings and sushi, its owner said.

It will still offer the steaks, seafood and prime rib it always has, except with some Asian items added to the mix, owner Chulkee Chang said.

Chang, who owns a successful Korean restaurant outside of Champaign, Illinois, bought the restaurant at 112 Parmenter St., about a year ago, and is just getting around to making the changes.

The Asian food should be available in the next few weeks, said Dean Carr, who Chang brought from Champaign to manage Fitzgerald's.

"It's an experiment because you don't find Asian-American combinations in restaurants," Carr said. "It may not work or it may work."

Carr said they are betting it's going to work, especially putting sushi and Asian appetizers on the bar menu. "It gives our regular customers an added selection of foods to chose from," he said.

Fitzgerald's has never before strayed from its steaks-and-seafood identity. The 10,000-square-foot, 300-seat restaurant was a supper club when Jerry Fitzgerald opened it in 1988 and remained a supper club after John Kaul bought it in 1996.

The other big change is that the restaurant is going to open for lunch with Japanese bento boxes among other offerings, Carr said. That will happen in a week or two, or as soon as the city of Middleton approves its new kitchen.

They are not changing the name. It will stay Fitzgerald's. "I don't know how you would translate that into Korean or Japanese," said Carr, who speaks Chinese but no other Asian language.

The longtime restaurant has a strong, loyal following, so Carr said he and Chang have so far maintained the same menu, the same staff, the same pricing. "Nothing has changed," he said.

Carr said Chang may come live in Madison soon because he's taken over the space that was Blair Street BBQ. He plans to open 5 Star BBQ there, hopefully within the next week, Chang said.

It, too, will have American and Asian food, but just Korean and Japanese to start, Chang said.

Carr said that there are many Asian people who live in the Madison-Middleton area, and he and Chang intend to reach out to them. They'd like to make the restaurant their meeting place, which is the case with Chang's restaurant in Savoy, Illinois, a bedroom community to Champaign the way Middleton is to Madison.

The restaurant, Star Karaoke, is like a "headquarters of every Asian organization and church," Carr said, adding that it's a model they want to copy here.

The Asian population in Madison is growing, from about 5.8 percent of the population in 2000, to about 7.4 recorded in the 2010 U.S. Census.

"There are more Asians here than in Champaign," Carr said. "We intend to attract the Asian community, but we're not going to ignore the local people, either."
All state agencies may be equal under the law, but when it comes to employee pay, some may be more equal than others, and thats beginning to worry state lawmakers.

Members of a new working group on state employee compensation said Wednesday they will take a closer look at potential inequities among Virginia agencies and public institutions, based on where they get their funding and how much independence they have over spending it.

It behooves us to look at equity on our compensation, especially at the lowest levels, said Senate Finance Co-Chairman Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta, a member of the compensation work group for the Commission on Employee Retirement Security and Pension Reform.

The cancellation of salary increases for most state employees because of a nearly $1.5 billion revenue shortfall has heightened concern among state officials about the morale of Virginias public workforce, especially classified employees who work in executive branch agencies that rely on general budget funds.

At the same time, independent state agencies, such as the Virginia Retirement System and the Virginia Lottery, are providing some employees performance bonuses, based on incentive pay plans designed to attract and retain highly competitive talent.

Will that affect morale? Yes, it will, Sara Redding Wilson, director of the Department of Human Resource Management, told the work group at its first meeting on Wednesday.

The revenue shortfall that emerged at the end of the last fiscal year in June triggered language in the new, two-year budget that immediately deferred payment of $346.3 million in planned employee compensation.

Those plans included a 3 percent raise for state employees and college faculty, a 2 percent increase for teachers and state-supported local employees such as sheriffs deputies, and funds to address pay disparities between new hires and veterans in State Police and other law enforcement agencies.

Its no longer deferred  its now canceled, Wilson said of the compensation package that was scheduled to take effect Dec. 1. That does have an impact. That does frustrate employees.

R. Ronald Jordan, executive director of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association and a member of the panel, confronted the issue directly after the VRS Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to award almost $6 million in incentives to 45 internal investment professionals, as well as performance pay to its administrative and operational employees, and a bonus for the director of the $69.4 billion pension system.

Treating employees unequally based on agency revenue source has resulted in tremendous pay disparity and a system of agency haves and have-nots, Jordan said in a statement that contrasted classified employees of general fund agencies with those who work in state agencies and institutions that charge tuition, sell lottery tickets, license businesses, and manage employee pension plans.

In addition to VRS, he was talking about the Virginia Lottery, the State Corporation Commission, and big public colleges and universities that manage their own pay plans for most, if not all, employees.

The University of Virginia, for example, said it has awarded pay increases averaging 3 percent for what it calls university staff and administrative and professional faculty on its academic campus, and 4.75 percent for teaching faculty. The university staff represents employees hired after July 1, 2006, under U.Va.s new human resources system, or state employees and administrative faculty who chose to switch to the new personnel plan.

But the remaining, longtime classified state employees will not receive a raise because of the revenue shortfall, the university confirmed.

However, not all universities are taking advantage of their financial flexibility. At this point we are forgoing planned raises this year for faculty and staff, said Pamela D. Lepley, spokeswoman at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The lottery, which generated a record $588 million in profits for the state last year, had planned to give its roughly 300 employees a 3 percent raise, but it backed off the plan because of the budget issues, spokeswoman Jill Vaughan said. The increase would have cost the agency about $500,000.

Secretary of Finance Richard D. Ric Brown said he spoke with lottery officials about the planned raises, but had no say in the decision to cancel them. From my perspective, the timing is not great for that, he said. Ultimately, its the boards decision, not mine.

However, the lottery did proceed with its plan to distribute about $1 million in incentive payments to employees based on their individual performances and the departments success in meeting its financial goals.

The SCC also administers its own pay plan for more than 600 employees because it relies on fees from regulated industries. It also has authority to offer a pay for performance plan, but spokesman Kenneth J. Schrad said the commission has not made any decision about employee compensation in light of the budget situation.

Some big agencies that generate their own funding, such as the Department of Transportation and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, are still part of the states HR system for classified employees, who wont get their raises this year. That includes about 7,200 employees at VDOT, but spokeswoman Tamara Rollison said the agency has the flexibility to make adjustments within the pay bands for compensation to retain valuable employees who otherwise might leave.

But its not across the board, Rollison said. These (adjustments) are being made on a case-by-case, individual basis.

The increased flexibility given to agencies for compensation came in the last reform of the classified pay system in 2000, but Wilson said the state hasnt funded provisions for performance pay or met the policy established then of paying salaries at market levels. Legislators acknowledge the market lag in pay but want to see a comparison based on total compensation, including benefits such as health insurance and retirement.

State employees received a 2 percent raise last year, with some additional pay for veteran employees to reduce the salary disparity with new hires. A 5 percent raise in 2011 was offset entirely by a requirement that they pay a 5 percent share of VRS pension rates, and a 2 percent raise in 2013 was diminished by an increase in federal payroll taxes.

The loss of the raises planned this year has been a major blow to state police, who lost nine sworn officers and civilian employees in one day last week and now have more than 100 vacancies for sworn officers, said former Superintendent M. Wayne Huggins, now executive director of the Virginia State Police Association.

I do know that morale is a very serious issue, Huggins said after the meeting Wednesday. Its a growing concern.
Mini Hot Pot on Park Street offers more than just great food. Customers come away with an excellent meal and an entertaining and interactive dining experience.

More and more, even when you enter a straightforward restaurant these days, a host or server will ask if youve visited before and maybe fill you in on specials or unique features of the place. But at Mini Hot Pot, a cook-it-yourself restaurant, we were shown a table and given menus, but no instructions. And this is not an intuitive place.

First of all, there were a bunch of pens on the table, but it wasnt clear we had to mark the paper menus to order.

Not only do you check the meat you want (beef, pork, chicken, lamb  theres also sliced fish or mixed vegetable), but you also choose a soup base. There are eight, including Szechuan, Korean kimchi and Singapore coconut.

Its cheaper to go at lunchtime when the hot pot special is $9.95. Portions are large, so it makes sense to share, only that will cost you an extra $5.99. Dinner hot pots start at $12.99 for mixed vegetable, and go up to $18.99 for seafood.

Vincent Chang, who before opening Mini Hot Pot managed the Asian food department at the Hy-Vee in Fitchburg for two years, opened the small restaurant almost a year ago. Its in a small strip mall next to Taj Indian Restaurant, where Mabuhay Philippine Cuisine used to be.

Changs wife, Amy, brought out our food, while their daughter Yahan, a junior at Memorial High School, waited on us. Chang said now that Yahan is back in school, their other daughter, Sihan, will be the one waiting tables.

After we ordered, we were told to visit the sauce bar, where there were at least a dozen sauces and fixings. When I gave our young server a deer-in-the-headlights look, she pointed out a dipping sauce recipe taped to the sneeze guard.

That foolproof sauce, a combination of six ingredients, including garlic, green onion, cilantro and sesame paste, made all the difference. Cooked udon noodles were also there, free for the taking.

Heaping plates with our proteins and myriad other items came out quickly, along with warm pots of broth.

Electric burners are built into each place setting, and once turned on, the broth boiled fast. Then you can start dropping in your items. The chicken and pork were sliced thin and rolled up, cooking almost immediately. The sliced fish also needed little time in the pot.

I took it for tilapia, but Chang later told me it was sewin, or brown trout.

I think its better than tilapia, said Chang, and Id agree.

The plate included a huge number of other items, some recognizable, others not. Favorites included big pieces of cabbage, enoki mushroom, a fish ball, a spongy tofu square, fried bean curd skin and mock crab.

The plate also featured baby carrots, a cocktail-sized sausage and a clam. Everything tasted amazing dipped in the sauce wed mixed up at the sauce bar.

If there were any quibbles, it would be that the broccoli was cut too big. I also could have done without the strange beef ball which had something gelatinous poking out of it.

One member of our party wasnt interested in a hot pot, and turned to the $6.95 lunch specials, ordering the chicken with broccoli. He was the only one who didnt leave happy.

He complained that his broccoli was basically raw, so I offered to cook it in my pot, but he declined. He also didnt care for how thinly sliced the chicken was. His meal came with a crisp, flaky egg roll, but it didnt have much filling. He also noticed that the fortune cookies were stale.

And boy, were they stale.

A delightful sweet treat at Mini Hot Pot is the bubble tea ($3.75), made with black tea and milk, and served with tapioca balls in a tall, plastic to-go cup.

Before coming to Madison, Chang owned a Chinese restaurant in Vernon Hills, Illinois. While hot pot originated in China, it was popularized in Japan, where its called shabu-shabu.

Soga was Madisons first hot pot restaurant, opening on State Street in 2012. The city is apparently big enough for two, with Mini Hot Pot doing a strong business since it opened.
A 74-year-old Madison man who sexually assaulted and took nude photos of a 4-year-old girl he babysat could spend the rest of his life in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to three felonies.

Ronald L. Mikkelson, who was a trusted friend of the girls mother and someone the girl called Uncle Ron, pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault of a child, sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography for events that happened between January 2015 and March 2016.

The sexual assault conviction carries up to 60 years of combined prison and extended supervision, the sexual exploitation conviction carries up to 40 years and the child pornography conviction carries up to 25 years. The sexual exploitation conviction also carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years, and child pornography possession carries a mandatory minimum of three years.

Dane County Circuit Judge William Hanrahan can also consider six other counts that were dismissed as part of a plea agreement when he sentences Mikkelson on Nov. 14, after the state Department of Corrections completes a pre-sentence report.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Sattler and Mikkelsons lawyer, state Assistant Public Defender Stan Woodard, did not agree on any sentencing recommendation parameters.

Hanrahan ordered Mikkelson jailed immediately pending sentencing. Mikkelson, who was arrested in April, had been free after posting $25,000 bail shortly after he was charged.

Woodard asked that Mikkelson remain free on bail until he is sentenced, because he has been in the bail monitoring program and on a GPS-enabled tracker and has had no violations. But Hanrahan said that after pleading guilty, Mikkelson is no longer shrouded with the cloak of innocence and is now convicted of some very horrible crimes.

According to a criminal complaint, Mikkelson had done odd jobs at the girls mothers place of employment, and Mikkelson would play with the girl there. Later, the girls mother started to let the girl stay at Mikkelsons home in the 1400 block of MacArthur Road while she was at work. On March 15, the complaint states, the girl told her mother that she had been naked with Mikkelson and that he touched her private areas.

In interviews with authorities, the girl said Mikkelson took pictures of her, and police later found pictures of her on a camera taken from Mikkelsons home.

Mikkelson, a former insurance agent and stockbroker, previously served time in prison for financial malfeasance after convictions in Dane and Green counties.
A smoky fire that appeared to have started in a laundry room caused an estimated $30,000 in damage to a Sun Prairie home on Wednesday.

Nobody was hurt in the fire reported at about 4:30 p.m. in the 900 block of Katherine Drive, the Sun Prairie Fire Department said.

The first unit on scene saw heavy smoke coming from the garage, and crews found active fire in the laundry room area.

"The initial engine crew confirmed the house was evacuated and made an aggressive attack, confining the fire to the origin area," said Fire Chief Christopher Garrison.

The homeowner said a neighbor used a fire extinguisher on the blaze prior to firefighters arriving on scene.

The Sun Prairie Fire Department was assisted by the Marshall Fire Department. Sun Prairie police, EMS and the Red Cross also assisted at the scene.
A Verona man driving a school bus Wednesday morning was arrested after authorities said he was observed driving all over the road at high speed with a 10-year-old boy on the bus.

Matthew Frings, 25, was taken into custody on tentative charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence, with the enhanced charge of having a child in the vehicle, the Dane County Sheriffs Office said.

According to the Sheriffs Office, three people called 911 shortly after 7 a.m. to report a Badger Bus school bus making erratic moves on roads in Verona.

The callers reported the bus driver traveling at high speeds, weaving all over the road, running yellow traffic lights and crossing the center line, nearly striking an oncoming vehicle, said Lt. Tim Schuetz.

Deputies stopped the bus on Shady Oak Lane just north of McKee Road in the town of Verona. The driver denied any alcohol or controlled substance usage, but after failing field sobriety tests, he was arrested, Schuetz said.

The boy, who Frings had picked up to take to school and was the only student on the bus, was not injured.

Frings was taken to Meriter Hospital, where his blood was drawn for analysis, the Sheriffs Office said. He was being held Wednesday in Dane County Jail.
An early Thursday morning fire at an eight-unit apartment complex in the town of Westport heavily damaged the building, but nobody was hurt in the fire.

The fire was reported at about 3:10 a.m. at 5350 Westport Road, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said.

Waunakee Fire Chief Gary Acker told news media at the scene that the building appeared to be a total loss, and flames were shooting 40 to 50 feet in the air when firefighters arrived.

Deputies assisted in evacuating the apartment residents; 13 people were displaced by the fire and are being assisted by the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

The cause of the fire was not determined, and no monetary damage estimate was given.

The fire was brought under control about three hours after firefighters arrived.

WKOW.com reported that seven fire departments helped at the scene, including units from Sun Prairie, DeForest, Middleton, Maple Bluff, Madison and Cross Plains, with Waunakee as the lead department.
The head of facilities at UW-Madison is leaving his job for a position in Texas.

Bill Elvey, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management, is becoming senior vice president at Children's Health System in Texas.

The university said Margaret Tennessen, deputy associate vice chancellor, will become interim facilities head. A national search for a permanent successor to Elvey will be conducted.

Elvey will be leaving his UW-Madison position in early October.

Elvey headed the facilities office for four years, coming to UW-Madison from a similar post at the University of Texas-Dallas.

Tennessen previously served as assistant director for administration at the Wisconsin Union, and has been at UW-Madison for 20 years.
THE number of people out of work in the Rotherham district has fallen, according to the latest government figures.



The number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit in Rotherham  which includes Maltby, Dinnington and Mexborough  fell to 4,375 for August, a drop of 310 or seven per cent on the year before.



For people aged 18 to 24 there were 1,025 people on Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit, a fall of 140 or 12 per cent from last year.



Nationally, the unemployment rate remained at 4.9 per cent for the May to July period, with unemployment falling by 39,000 to 1.63 million over that time.



Nigel Coleman, of Jobcentre Plus in Rotherham, said: Its still going in the right direction.



Month on month the figures do fluctuate but when you do it year on year they are still going down.



We are considerably below last years level.



Over the last five to six years the unemployment rate has gone down and down.



In the Rotherham area, Mr Coleman said that Royal Mail was offering vacancies throughout September and there are Christmas recruitment opportunities at the towns Parkgate shopping complex.



Greencore of Kiveton is working with Jobcentre on the Feeding Britains Future project which will provide jobs and there will be an Ikea jobs fair at Sheffield Town Hall on October 21 where representatives from the retailer will talk about different roles within the company.



The Meadowhall Jobs Fair will be held on Wednesday (September 21) in a tent in the car park behind the shopping sites management centre.



It is expected to be double the size of last years Jobs Fair and people need to register their interest before attending at https://www.meadowhall.co.uk/news-events.



Mr Coleman said that there are many other jobs in the Rotherham area.



He said: There are lots of opportunities. There are dozens and dozens and dozens of opportunities out there.



Minister for employment, Damian Hinds, said: When it comes to our jobs market, weve made great progress since 2010 with employment up in every region.



Theres good news in Yorkshire and the Humber, where there is a record of over 2.5 million people in work with a record number of women in work as well.



Its important that we work to keep up this momentum so more people can make the most of opportunities available out there in the economy.



The director of people and skills at the Confederation of British Industry, Neil Carberry, said: With much of the data still pre-Referendum, its too early to make any assumptions about the effect of Junes vote to leave the European Union on the UKs labour market.



But the strength of employment growth in the first half of this year is encouraging, and highlights the resilience of the UKs flexible labour market.



Maintaining this flexibility as we navigate the challenges and opportunities the country faces following the EU Referendum will be vital for our future prosperity, pay and job creation.
Diamcor more than doubles Q2 revenue Diamcor generated gross revenues of about $3 million from its operations in the interim period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $1,4 million for the same period in the previous year. The company is still conducting trial mining exercises at its...

IBJA commits to Declaration of Responsibility & Sustainability Principles The Indian gold industry has signed a Declaration of Responsibility and Sustainability Principles, convened by the LBMA and the World Gold Council, which expresses a commitment to operate responsibly and sustainably, based on a clear set of shared goals...

De Beers boosts Q3 output, maintains production guidance De Beers rough diamond production rose 4% to 9.6 million carats, mainly due to the treatment of higher grade ore at both Orapa in Botswana and South Africa as well as continued strong performance in Namibia, according to its parent company, Anglo...

Hong Kongs major jewellery fairs are set to return in 2023 An announcement from Informa Markets Jewellery indicates that the industrys two biggest B2B sourcing events will be back in action in Hong Kong in 2023 following a three-year forced pandemic break.
Canadian stocks inched higher Wednesday, trimming recent losses despite a big drop in crude oil prices.

Bargain hunters stepped in after yesterday's significant retreat across most most sectors.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 17.17 percent, or 0.12 percent, to 14,366.27.

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by 600,000 barrels last week to 510.8 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration reported, staying at unseasonably high levels.

The data confirmed suspicious that the 14.5 million barrel drawdown two weeks ago was a one-off related to Hurricane Hermine, which interrupted production from the Gulf of Mexico.

Oct. WTI oil settled at $43.58/bbl on Nymex, down $1.32, or 2.9%, the lowest since September 1.

TD Securities, a unit of TD Bank (TD.TO), is acquiring New York-based broker-dealer Albert Fried & Co. Shares were down 0.6 percent.

W. Galen Weston stepped down as executive chairman at George Weston Limited (WN.TO). Shares were up 0.6 percent.

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Market Analysis
Swedish telecommunication company Telia Company AB (0H6X.L,TLSNY.PK), formerly known as TeliaSonera AB, said that U.S. and Dutch authorities have proposed the company pay $1.4 billion to settle allegations the company paid bribes to win in Uzbekistan.

Telia Chairman Marie Ehrling said, "I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility."

Ehrling said," We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter. With that said, our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyze the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities."

The U.S. and Dutch authorities have since the spring of 2014 investigated historical transactions related to Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan in 2007. On 4 September, Telia Company received new information from the authorities with proposals from them for a settlement with the company.

The company noted that the information received was general and did not go into much detail but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately US$1.4 billion which corresponds to approximately SEK 12 billion for all investigations.

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Business News
German conglomerate Siemens AG (SIEGY,SMAWF, SIEGY) said that it signed a letter of intent to participate in up to 5 billion euros of energy, transportation and infrastructure projects in Argentina.

"Siemens plans to double its in Argentina before 2020, fostering local content, creating new jobs and expanding training opportunities for the young generation - for instance for jobs that require digital knowhow and create a better planet," said Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG.

Kaeser said the company would offer about $3 billion in financing for the projects, which he said would create 3,000 direct and 7,000 indirect jobs in Argentina. The projects include plans to generate 5 gigawatts in energy.

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Business News
Portugal's producer prices continued to decline in August, though at a slower pace than in the previous month, figures from Statistics Portugal showed Thursday.

The producer price index dropped 3.0 percent year-over-year in August, following a 3.4 percent decrease in July.

Excluding the energy group, producer prices slid 1.3 percent annually in August, after a 1.1 percent fall a month ago.

Month-on-month, producer prices went down 0.4 percent from July, when it decrease by 0.5 percent. It was the second successive monthly decline.

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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.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had some harsh words for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday, claiming that the real estate tycoon is only running for president to benefit himself.

In remarks from the Senate floor, Reid cited a recent Newsweek article that claimed Trump would be the most conflicted president in American history.

"We face this from Donald Trump, a candidate and notorious con artist," Reid said. "Donald Trump is only trying to help one person - Donald Trump."

He added, "I don't care if he wants to be president or city commissioner, Donald Trump is in it to benefit Donald Trump."

Reid accused Trump of ripping off a list of people at least a mile long, including a glass company in New Jersey, a children's singing group, real estate brokers, plumbers, painters and dishwashers.

The Nevada Senator also claimed that Trump would not be able to get a gaming license in Nevada due to his practices in Atlantic City.

"Let's be clear about Donald Trump. He is a spoiled brat, raised in plenty, who inherited a fortune and used his money to make more money," Reid said. "And he did a lot of it by swindling working men and women."

He added, "Why would he change as president? The answer is simple: Trump won't change. He is asking us to let him get rich scamming America."

Reid went so far as to describe Trump as a "human leech who will bleed the country" and laugh at the money he has made while working people have been hurt and ruined.

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Political News
The states largest teachers union, which has experienced a big drop in membership after lawmakers curtailed public-sector collective bargaining, is selling its Madison headquarters.

The Wisconsin Education Association Council is asking $6.9 million for its 51,000-square-foot building and nearly 40 acres as the union seeks to stem the tide of diminishing funding since Republicans in 2011 passed Act 10.

John Walsh, a real estate broker for commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates, confirmed that the property, at 33 Nob Hill Road on the citys South Side, is for sale. An online listing shows a posting date of Feb. 8.

I think theyre downsizing because of Act 10, said Walsh, who deferred further comment to WEAC.

A newsletter written in November by WEACs new vice president, Peggy Wirtz-Olsen, notes, WEAC voted to put the WEAC building up for sale at an October meeting.

WEAC spokeswoman Christina Brey said this week that despite the listing and despite the union vote last year, theres nothing in the works for a sale at this time.

I think you have all the facts right, Brey told the Wisconsin State Journal. While we are exploring options around the building, there are no immediate plans for a sale.

She said the union has shifted staffing to a new regional structure, creating 10 regions to which members belong instead of a centralized location in Madison. Brey would not say how many members are in the union.

After all, our union isnt a building. Our union is teachers and support professionals who work in public schools, she said. Our strength is in parents, communities and educators who unite around the shared value of public education  not around brick and mortar.

According to federal tax records from 2013, the latest year available, the organization had $52,435 in cash and $126,246 in savings. Total assets, including their property, totaled $3.7 million, while the organizations liabilities totaled $1.6 million.

WEACs membership has decreased by more than half from the unions 98,000-member levels before Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 10 in 2011.

As of February 2015, a WEAC official told the State Journal the union represented about 40,000 public school employees.

At the same time, WEACs lobbying dollars also have dropped dramatically.

A decade ago, WEAC spent $1.5 million on lobbying during the 2005-06 legislative session, state records show.

The next session, that figure was $1.1 million. During the two sessions leading up to the passage of Act 10, WEAC spent $2.5 million and $2.3 million, respectively.

But during the 2015-16 session, the union spent just $109,888 on lobbying and had one lobbyist aside from its president and communications director.

During the 2011-12 session  when Walker signed Act 10  the union had 13 authorized lobbyists listed.
New Zealand will on Friday see September results for the consumer confidence index from ANZ, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

In August, the index slid 0.4 percent to a score of 117.7.

New Zealand also will see August numbers for non-resident bond holdings; in July, the figure was at 67.2 percent.

The Philippines will release Q2 data for current account. In the three months prior, the current account surplus was $0.45 billion, while the capital account surplus was $25 million and the financial account surplus was $1.88 billion.

Finally, the in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong are all closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival, while Malaysia is shuttered for Malaysia Day. All of the markets return to action on Monday.

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A new artificial bat cave on Madisons North Side is ready to provide a wintertime sanctuary for the animals facing the devastating effects of white-nose syndrome. Its up to them to find it.

The project is the result of a year-and-a-half effort by state and county officials and a community group to convert an abandoned tunnel underneath the Dane County Human Services Department property on Northport Drive into a suitable hibernation habitat for bats.

Initially opened in 1930 as a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients, the Human Services building had tunnels that allowed nurses and other medical staff to get to a dormitory on the property.

After the sanitarium closed in 1966 and Human Services moved into the property, the dormitory was used as office space in the 70s, as storage in the 80s and 90s, and eventually fell into disrepair, said Greg Brockmeyer, director of facilities and services for Dane County. The dormitory and connecting tunnel were targeted for demolition early last year.

Nelson Eisman, who lives near the Human Services building, pitched the idea of repurposing the tunnel for bats after hearing a lecture about bats and white-nose syndrome by Jennifer Redell, a bat biologist for the state Department of Natural Resources.

Eisman  a member of Friends of Lake View Hill Park, the heavily wooded 27-acre county park adjacent to Human Services  and Redell contacted Brockmeyer, and the 6-foot-wide, 65-yard-long tunnel was saved from demolition for its new purpose.

While the conversion work was done by the county, Redell said the DNR provided plans, such as designs for the metal slats to allow bats in. The hope is that the tunnel will provide suitable conditions for hibernating bats, such as a Goldilocks temperature zone and high humidity, Redell said. Building artificial hibernacula for bats is relatively new in Wisconsin, though states such as Tennessee and Maryland that have been dealing with white-nose syndrome for longer have tried similar projects.

Were sort of making this up as we go, because no ones ever had a need really to create hibernation sites prior to white-nose syndrome, Redell said. We can do what we know they like. We can make it as comfortable and as desirable for them as possible. We can allow them to access it, and then if they choose to use it, they choose to use it.

With the newly converted tunnel ready to accept residents for its first winter of use, Redell said her main hope is that bats actually find the new site in an area largely devoid of a typical hibernaculum like a cave or mine.

Ill be happy if we get one bat. That would make me very happy, because that would be a hopeful thing, Redell said, adding that the tunnel could house hundreds of bats but a far smaller number the first winter wouldnt be unusual.

The tunnel provides a space free of the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats. First appearing in Wisconsin in 2014, the disease is having a huge effect on the states population, already causing a noticeable decline in summer population counts, Redell said.

A survey by the DNR last winter found that one Grant County mine first infected in 2014 had a 94 percent decline in bat population, while a site infected in 2015 had no bats last winter.

The fungus will grow on the cold body of a hibernating bat, warming it and potentially waking the bat from its slumber. Redell said a bat could lose 30 to 60 days worth of stored fat by waking up from an individual disturbance.

Long before the winter, theyve used up all their body fat, she said. Theyre either starving to death, literally on site, or theyre flying out onto the cold landscape and starving to death looking for food.

Eisman said he notices plenty of bats in the area.

We have a good population of bats, and now we have good habitats for them, he said referring to the tunnel and a bat house atop the Human Services building thats suitable for summertime use.

From January through March, the DNR will inspect hibernacula around the state for bat population, types of species present and signs of white-nose syndrome, Redell said.

She said she expects the Madison tunnel will be checked a few times this winter to see if any bats have made it their home. If they hibernate there and the fungus that causes the disease finds its way as well, the man-made structure will be easier for the DNR to decontaminate over the summer than a typical cave, Redell said.

We may be better apt to manage them and the disease, she said.

The cost of the hibernaculum was rolled into the $500,000 project of demolishing the dormitory and erecting a memorial on the spot, Brockmeyer said. While no exact figure is available for the tunnel conversion, which included sealing off one tunnel doorway, cutting a hole through a concrete floor and building the metal slats, Brockmeyer said its in the area of a couple thousand dollars.

Protecting bats, though, appears to pay off in large amounts. A 2011 study estimates that bats save Wisconsins agriculture industry $658 million to $1.5 billion yearly in pesticide costs.

This is a site that hopefully has all of the right environmental conditions to be suitable for these little guys to spend the winter, Redell said. (The tunnel) may have benefits when were talking about the effects of white-nose syndrome and attempts at population recovery.
I have learned the hard way not to put my personal life on the Internet. But suffice it to say that, God willing, things should be pretty much back to norm...

2 weeks ago
Young roster has high hopes for future. Only four seniors suited up.
Heres a thought. Two f words come to mind when one steps back to observe the legal wrangling about the handling of charges against the suspended Director of the National Prosecution Office (N.P.O).

Fascinating and farcical.

The truth is that the seriousness of the actual charges of negligent driving causing injury and dangerous driving against Mauga Precious Chang has taken a backseat to the arm wrestle for power, which has become so clear, its ridiculous.

None more obvious than the showdown at the District Court on Monday when some of the most powerful lawyers in Samoa  including a Samoan lawyer from New Zealand  showed up for a hearing that could easily make an episode of The Practice.

Wed like to think its all legal of course obviously because they are lawyers and they are supposed to know what they are doing. Its just that from a laymans perspective, it resembles a circus without the funny noses and the clowns.

Its not surprising that poor Judge Vaepule Vaemoa Vaai didnt know what had taken over his Court.

In case you are not aware of what happened on Monday, let me quickly run you through it. When the charges against Mauga were called before Judge Vaepule, confusion arose as to which lawyer was the prosecutor.

Two senior lawyers were present. One was Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu, who appeared on behalf of the N.P.O. The other was New Zealand-based lawyer, Satiu Simativa Perese, who claimed to have been there to represent the Police.

Taulapapa insisted she was acting on behalf of the N.P.O. Satiu, however, disagreed saying the Director of the N.P.O. cannot appoint her own prosecutor. In any case, the matter has now been referred to the Supreme Court which is due to make a decision next week.

In the meantime, Judge Vaepule obviously was not impressed.

I did not anticipate whats now happening, he said adding that he expected the lawyers to make pleas for their clients instead.

I do not see that this Court has to be necessarily involved in arguments as to which Act prevails over which Act, he spelled out.

That should be dealt with in the Supreme Court but if counsel sees that these particular arguments should proceed in this Court, it wont happen this morning (Monday).

He then adjourned the matter until 23 September, 2016 for the Police to finalise charges and to give time for the Supreme Court on Monday to rule on who would stand to prosecute. Judge Vaepule added if at that stage the Supreme Court has still not ruled on who would prosecute; the District Court will make a decision based on common sense.

Well thats a great idea, Judge Vaepule. Since this hearing involves so many lauias in the legal profession, maybe, just maybe common sense is whats needed. The simple fact is that someone has been accused of a crime and thats what the attention should focus on.

Now here is why we say this particular hearing is fascinating.

The personalities involved  except for Satiu (we stand corrected)  have all had connections to the Office of the Attorney General at one time or another. Taulapapa and Maugas lawyer, Aumua Ming Leung Wai, are both former Attorney Generals. Mauga herself has held the position of Acting Attorney General during the time of her lawyer Aumuas term as Attorney General.

Satiu on the other hand is in Samoa due to instructions from the current Attorney General, Lemalu Herman Retzlaff.

This is starting to look like the battle of the Attorney Generals. Fascinating.

But why then do we say its farcical?

Well with the personalities involved, its all so dramatic isnt it?

If we hadnt been privy to the information we now know about charges and what led to it, we could be forgiven for thinking the case is a matter of life and death.

But then there is probably method in thy madness.

Keep in mind that this is a case that has been dramatic from day one. It all started when uniformed Police officers and members of the Tactical Operation Squad (T.O.S.) turned up at the Tofilau Eti Alesana Building to arrest the N.P.O Director. The rest as you know is history.

The latest twist and turns is just a continuation.

Who needs those Filipino and Chinese soaps on T.V. anymore? We are watching one unfold before our very eyes. This episode is a made in Samoa for Samoa starring Tuilaepas kids.

And its all free.

So stay tuned!
What makes a good model?

Confidence, some people say, is the most powerful attribute a person should have.

Thats also what celebrity model and experienced actor, Sarika Young, believes.

Sarika is the owner and director of F.T.M Model Management in Australia. The 30-year-old is in the country this week as one of the judges and guest speakers for the Inaugural Samoa Fashion Week.

As this is her first time in Samoa, Sarika said she is thrilled to be here.

For me, being here is very, very special, she told Samoa Observer yesterday.

It is such an honour to be here for this great event and to be invited for this show. I have nothing to say but praise for this country.

She also praised the organisers of the show for such an incredible initiative to have a Fashion Week for Samoa.

I love what they are trying to do here with this show. This can be a great platform for the local fashion designers and also models. This can be a stepping stone for them to get out to the outside world and make a good career out of it.

Its a great opportunity to expose all the hidden talents in Samoa, and I am excited to be here for this event.

Like I said, I feel so blessed to be part of the Inaugural Samoa Fashion Week, and one that is situated in the Pacific Islands, because my mum is from Fiji.

I have Fiji/Indian heritage, and I am also part Australian, Irish and English.

Sarika said modeling has taken her around the world and while in Samoa, she will be sharing her knowledge with the aspiring models in Samoa.

Ive been in the industry for about fifteen years now, she said.

I guess I have evolved over that time. I started off as a model and predominantly I was a runway model. I guess as I emerged myself in the industry, I later on then hooked up with all the different forces in the industry.

I got into photography and acting. because modelling and acting are similar and they sort of like, merge together, so I tried my hand in commercials and acting, so I am now an actor as well.

Modelling has taken me everywhere; it has been an amazing and beautiful experience being a model.

Ive gone from Australia to Malaysia, to Singapore, Paris, England, Samoa and Fiji. Ive had so many beautiful and wonderful experiences as a model and those experiences have extended my understanding of the modelling industry by doing things like teaching aspiring young models about modeling and others.

I also do my best to inspire other people to be their best and help them to understand that if you have faith in yourself you can become whoever you aspire to be.

Sarika choreographs fashion shows as well.

As an experienced model, her message for the aspiring models of Samoa is very simple.

I would just say, never give up, she said. Confidence is the key factor; its the best weapon any model can use. If you feel good, youll look good. If modeling is your passion and this is what you want to do in life, you can do it, no matter what. You just have to have absolute faith in yourself and believe that you can do it.

There are so many different agencies out there looking for particular things in models. You might not be wanted here, but you might be exactly what other agencies out there are looking for.

Dont ever be discouraged. Get up, be confident, and believe that you can do it and dont let anything or anyone hold you back from reaching for the stars.

Nevertheless, Sarika also believes that there is a lot of hidden potential in Samoa which needs exposure.

Theres definitely potential out there in terms of fashion and modelling, she said. They just need to be exposed.

I am utterly impressed with the fashion industry here in Samoa.

I am surprised to see that a small island has a lot of talented designers and the beauty in their designs and work. Samoa is a small island with a small population but people have so much talent, passion and potential. They also value the designs that they make and they are just amazing.

Sarika also believes that with more fashion shows such as the show on Saturday. this will put a spotlight on all the hidden talents.

I know its known as a beautiful country, but there is also a lot of beautiful talents and art work beneath it all.

I also think that some of these talents and work have been swept under the carpet and probably a lot of people dont know that they have the potential or maybe there is a lack of opportunity for them to showcase their talents.

"Hopefully, if Samoa have more shows like this, the future of this industry in Samoa will gain that momentum to put it out there for the world to see.

So what is Sarika expecting from the show on Saturday?

I expect people to see what Samoa has to offer, she said.

Its a collaborative thing as well. Its not just about designs. Its about showcasing whats made in Samoa; the models, the designers, photographers, and the quality of the make-up artists, the work of hairdressers, directors and designers in Samoa.

A fashion show is more than just showcasing designs. It involves a lot of art work and effort put together to have a show.

Sarika says she has another goal.

While in Samoa, she will keep an eye out for talented aspiring models for her agency.

I would love to have Samoans on board, she said.

While I am here, I am keeping my eyes open for the right type of talent that compliments with the agency that we have.

My agency back home is made up of multi-cultural talented people.

Like I said earlier, its about having the variety of models with different cultural backgrounds and heritage on board. Some people love to see a variety of different things on stage and I want to be able to have that variety and different flair for the people to see.

Finally, she wants to thank the Samoa Art Council for inviting her to be part of the show.

I am truly honored to be here for this event. It is a great initiative and its about time we develop the fashion industry in Samoa.

"Whats great about this show is that it also provides an educational side for all the people to learn from some of the experts on how to improve their work.

Right now I am just really soaking in everything I can about this beautiful country and I am really excited about the show on Saturday.

And thats not all. Sarika will also be modeling on Saturday. It's an event not to miss.
The Vaitele area is rapidly growing in terms of new businesses and attracting a lot of foreign investment in the industrial zone.

One of those businesses in Vaitele is Summer Wholesale Company owned by Chinese man Michael Xue.

Mr. Xue moved to Samoa five years ago from Tonga with his family because he believes its safer to invest here.

He moved all his businesses from Tonga except for one retail shop left there.

But the influx of foreign investors mostly Asians - is making things competitive for the businessman.

Summer Wholesale is located opposite the Island Boys workshop at Vaitele.

I started my business here in 2011 on the other side of Vaitele, Mr. Xue told the Samoa Observer yesterday.

We deliver goods just like other wholesales to Savaii and rural villages. It was good business when we started but now there are many new businesses that we have to share the market. All of this cost more than a million to setup.

So why did the businessman leave Tonga in the first place?

Mr. Xue said he did not feel safe in Tonga.

The people in Tonga are not friendly like Samoans, he said.

Most of the Asian businesses in Tonga get robbed, beaten up and it was very unsafe at night. That was the reason why we looked to Samoa and we were happy to come here and see that they are very friendly and accepting of us.

In Tonga most of the Chinese shops in the villages put up metal fences in front of the shops window.

Mr. Xue said the Chinese felt threatened.

The businessman moved to Tonga more than twenty years ago when he was 18 years old to help his aunty.

I only went to Tonga when I was 18 years old to help my aunty with her business, he recalled.

When I got there she asked me to stay with her to help with her business.

"I did and four years later I started up my own retail business and that is how I ended up in Tonga.

Although he left in his teenage years, Mr. Xue who is now 44 years old said he still keeps contact with family in China.

The businessman said he has made the islands his home and when he does go back to China we are treated like foreigners.

Asked to explain, Mr. Xue said most Chinese who leave the country for more than 20 years return to their home country but do not feel at home.

But over here I am married (to a Chinese) have children and a beautiful business, he said.

Everything is okay here and I want to stay here longer with my family.

The businessman is a permanent resident and has bought the land where his business is to ensure Samoa will become his home.
The village mayor of Vaigaga is cautious about the governments plan to build an international wharf at Vaiusu Bay.

Although Papalii Toiaivao Amby Perez supports the governments project, he has many questions that remain unanswered.

The village of Vaigaga including Vaiusu and Vailoa area close to the sea will be affected in the proposed multimillion wharf.

Papalii confirmed he has attended several seminars discussing the wharf project but he is certain about the plan.

There is still that question of what will happen to the families that are currently living there, he told the Samoa Observer.

What will happen to them? Will the government allocate land for them to live on like those in Falelauniu? Is there enough land to relocate the families?

There are so many questions that are unanswered and government should be consulting with the families that will be affected directly on what will happen to them.

"If those families are to move inland on this side I dont see any vacant land seeing that this area is overcrowded with businesses.

According to Papalii, despite what people feel, the government will go ahead with their plans.

The government is bigger than one person, he said.

They do what they like so I dont think objections from the people will stop their developmentsour village has agreed to the project but I am not aware of those families living on that side whether they share the same views.

There are more than 200 people living on the coastline of Vailoa, Vaiusu and Vaigaga.

Last week an elderly matai from Vaiusu, Ulugia Aukuso shared his concerns about the governments project.

While he denied the government consulting the village over their plans, Ulugia pointed out the project will mean their source of income from the fish will be lost.

We want to protect our lagoons, he said.

We are also thinking about the future of our children and those that have left us.

"A lot of our villagers depend on seafood sales to help their families. Its important we protect it.

We have to think not only about today but tomorrow on what will happen to our children and our reef. Our land is also our God given right and we value it.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi had mentioned the project in Parliament on several occasions.

Tuilaepa said the port is a critical development for Samoa in terms of trade.

He said the Matautu Wharf was too small with no room to expand.

Last week the Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Selafi Purcell said the relocation of residents of Sogi has a connection to the wharf development in Vaiusu.
Samoa has joined the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (C.T.O.) as Full Member Country.

The countrys decision was conveyed to Secretary-General Shola Taylor earlier this month by the countrys Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupai.

In recent years, Samoa increased its efforts to integrate I.C.Ts in its socio-economic development.

Its internet penetration has grown nearly five folds to 30 percent over the past ten years.

However, fixed broadband access remains a key challenge at a much lower two percent.

But the country remains committed to affordable, reliable and secure communications services for all Samoans and sees its membership of the C.T.O. as one means to achieve this goal.

Full Member Countries are Commonwealth countries that make an annual financial contribution to the C.T.O.
Think a minute Do you remember as a child being afraid of monsters at night?

But now that youre an adult, you know better than to be afraid of things that dont exist, right?

Its amazing how we adults still have fears and worries about things that are not real.

Like the man who said: Dont tell me worrying doesnt help.

Almost all the things I worry about never happen to me! The crazy thing is that worry and fear make you run from something that is not even chasing you.

Besides, Worry only gives you wrinkleswhich is something else to worry about!

Englands Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, said that whenever he started to worry, he would remember the man on his deathbed who said: Ive had a lot of trouble in my life, and most of it never happened!

Its not usually work that kills people, its worry.

When you fear the future, you waste the present.

Today has enough trouble of its own, so At night give your worries to GodHes up all night anyway!

Fear often finds proof for itself. If you are fearful, you will find something to be fearful about. That is why the American President, Franklin Roosevelt, said: The only thing we have to fearis fear itself. Many of us are afraid of what others thinkbut if we knew how seldom they actually think about us, we would know we have no need to fear or worry about their opinion.

So whatever you are afraid of or worrying about, ask yourself: Is it real? And if it is real, how will worrying about it help you? How long will it last? Is it something you can change?

If not, how can you best accept it?

Then finally ask yourself: How important will this be a year from now?

Will it be important to me at the end of my life?

Today, why not give your life, and all of its worries, to Jesus? Ask Him to take full control.

Then, you know that after you have done your best, He will always take care of the rest.

Just think a minute
FLINT, Mich. (AP)  Donald Trump was cut off, chastised and then heckled after he attacked rival Hillary Clinton during what was supposed to be a speech on helping where the government had failed the people of Flint, Michigan.

"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," said the Rev. Faith Green Timmons, the pastor of the Bethel United Methodist Church.

The Republican nominee quickly stopped, then said "Ok, that's good, Then I'm going to go back to Flint" and its water crisis that had sickened its citizens.

But the interruption seemed to embolden those in the sparse crowd. One woman shouted that Trump had used discriminatory housing practices in his buildings, causing the celebrity businessman to respond, "Never, you're wrong. Never would."

Trump abruptly ended his speech, which had lasted six minutes. More heckling followed him out.

The visit was part of the campaign's effort to persuade voters that the celebrity businessman can appear empathetic and presidential in a crisis. Trump also has his eye on a good showing in the industrial Midwest, though polls have him down in Michigan, which last went Republican in 1988.

The trip was the Republican presidential nominee's first visit to the poverty-stricken city since lead was detected in its water supply in April 2014. More than 100,000 had their water contaminated after the city left Detroit's water supply and started using improperly treated Flint River water.

Trump did address the crisis, saying at the church "We will get it fixed and it will be fixed and effectively and Flint will come back. Most importantly, we'll bring jobs back."

He also bemoaned that previously "cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico. Now cars are made in Mexico and you can't drink the water in Flint."

Trump visited the traditionally African American church in the impoverished city to pay tribute to the city's resiliency. But then, he attacked Clinton, saying "everything she touched didn't work out." Timmons then stepped up and interrupted him.

Others began to heckle the GOP presidential nominee. The pastor stepped in and silenced them too, saying that Trump "is our guest" who should be honored.

But when Trump abruptly ended his speech, a few more in the crowd yelled at him as he walked off stage.

One black woman, Reneta Richard, yelled at him "What do you mean, 'African-Americans have nothing to lose?'" repeating back to Trump his recent call for African-Americans to turn their back on Democrats and vote for him.

The reverend had said in a statement distributed to reporters that the visit "in no way" represented an endorsement of Trump's candidacy.

"What we pray is that it conveys a fine example of a faithful, intelligent, historically African-American congregating at work, serving and volunteering among the people of Flint as we work through this crisis of national impact," read the statement. "We cannot let this story drift from national attention for any reason."

But later at a rally in Ohio, Trump insisted he was undeterred by the tough reception and would be "willing to campaign anywhere, even if voters openly oppose me somewhere."

"Some people in those communities aren't planning on voting for me and that's ok  I will be the president for all Americans," Trump said in front of rowdy crowd of about 5,000 people in Canton. "I'm running to bring hope to Flint."

The visit to Flint, where most residents are African-American, comes as Trump has increased his outreach to minorities, arguing that Democratic policies have left inner cities impoverished and dangerous.

Critics say Trump paints an overly bleak picture of life in urban African-American communities, where crime has fallen and the life expectancy has risen in recent decades. Some black leaders have also suggested that Trump's outreach to minorities is mostly about proving to undecided white voters that he's not racist.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Creating the Atlantic Ocean's first marine national monument is a needed response to dangerous climate change, oceanic dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. It's the 27th time that Obama has created or enlarged a national monument.

"If we're going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then we're going to have to act and we're going to have to act boldly," Obama said at a State Department conference. More than 20 countries represented at the meeting were also announcing the creation of their own marine protected areas.

Monument designations come with restrictions on certain activities. The White House said the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a seven-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. Others, such as whiting and squid harvesters, have 60 days to transition out. Recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.

Supporters of the new monument say protecting large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. Fishermen worry it will become harder for them to earn a living as a result of Obama's move.

"This is deplorable," said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association, in describing the designation.

White House officials said the administration listened to industry's concerns, and noted the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies. Obama said helping oceans become more resilient to climate change will help fishermen.

Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts, said his company will survive, but the changes designed to address some of the industry's concerns don't sway him about the merits of the monument.

"We've been fishing out there for 35 years," Williams said. "It's a big blow to us."

Obama said the world was asking too much of its oceans. He said the investments the U.S. and other nations were taking with new marine protected areas were vital for their economy and national security, but "also vital to our spirit." He noted that he had spent his own childhood looking out over the ocean shores and being humbled by the endless expanse.

"I know that in a contest between us and the oceans, eventually the oceans will win one way or the other," he said. "So it's up to us to adapt, not the other way around."

In all, the Atlantic Ocean monument will include three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. It is home to such protected species as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemp's ridley turtles. Expeditions also have found species of coral found nowhere else on earth.

Environmental groups pushed the effort to designate the new monument and sought to make the case it was as important to be good stewards of the ocean as it was the land and air. They described the monument, located about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, as one of the least fished areas in the U.S. Atlantic, which is part of why it was chosen.

Their efforts proved persuasive with a president who is also looking to establish his own legacy as a protector of the environment. Obama noted that he has protected more land and water through monument designations than any president in history.
Dear Gatoaitele Savea,

As you are aware I have been coming to Samoa for many years and have seen Apia develop from a sleepy village into a modern town.

But challenges come with development. From my own perspective I note the following:

The old trees that lined Beach Road have not been replaced and, as such, much of the natural beauty and charm of Apia has been lost. The shady street is no more and has been replaced with glass shop fronts that are typical of rushed development in the Pacific. Apia has lost its uniqueness.

L.T.A and police officers stand on every street corner, like praying mantis waiting to pounce on their unsuspecting prey (the driver). This instills a feeling of disquiet in tourist and local drivers alike who seem to be randomly picked off as they turn left on red lights. The tourist drivers are charged a fee for Temporary Drivers Licenses (effectively a WST$ 21 tax as no one checks the capacity of drivers to comply with Samoan laws). The L.T.A. does not provide a pamphlet for tourists on arrival regarding local traffic rules so who knows what rules apply. I just followed the vehicle in front and hoped for the best.

The presence of police and L.T.A. is a complete overkill and a waste of resources and is simply off-putting to tourists who want to relax. Police could be better utilised chasing drug suppliers, attending to domestic violence matters and guarding the jail.

I also note the perennial issue of tourist numbers and the chicken and egg situation regarding flights to Samoa i.e. more tourists will come if there are more flights but airlines will not put on more flights until there are more tourists.

One option to address this issue is the P.N.G. solution where charter flights are organised and aircraft filled for low cost package holidays e.g. Cairns to Milne Bay and East New Britain.

If Samoa wants to tap into the Chinese or Japanese tourist market then it needs to get tour operators to Samoa to sample the delights and get direct charter flights organised. No tourist is going to fly to Australia from China or Japan and then on to Samoa via the Pacific milk run through New Zealand or alternatively wait till Saturday in Brisbane to catch a direct flight to Apia.

I raise the issue of total holiday cost as Samoa is surprisingly not a low cost destination for the middle-aged visitor like myself.

Sure you can stay in a fale, which is a good adventure for the young at low cost. But I am past lying on mats on the floor. The old bones need something that is softer.

Hotel accommodation is comparatively more expensive that Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu. I base this statement on my sisters calculations having been to all three locations recently and I assure you that she watches her money. Added to that cost is the high cost of car hire in Samoa.

The cost is over 2.5 times higher than Brisbane for example and the quality of vehicles while improving is still generally poor.

Cost of car hire approximates the cost of accommodation for a holiday in Samoa. Car hire costs need to be reduced.

As explained air fares from China or Japan are also prohibitive. I suggest that the Samoa Tourism Authority needs to be a bit more inventive in its marketing strategy and undertake a cost analysis to ensure that Samoa rates favourably against other Pacific destinations and put strategies in place to address issues where Samoa is at a disadvantage.

On another issue, I would suggest that the L.T.A. pursue the taxi drivers who park on Beach Road in front of the Digicel office and tout for business while occupying valuable parking space for shoppers.

I counted 9 taxis in the parking bays that Saturday for long periods trying to pick up passengers who exited shops in the area. Moving taxis on would make traffic flow in the area much more effective.

Having said that some area in town needs to be reserved for a taxi rank as compensation. A bit of town planning is required.

Also action should be taken to set a minimum speed limit on major roads such as the Cross Island Road where motorists drive at very low speed and cause others to try and pass them on blind corners.

Again taxis are the main culprits. I and 26 other drivers sat behind one taxi that managed a maximum of 17 km per hour up the hill and refused to pull over to let vehicles pass.

The above is provided as constructive comment on Samoan development and hopefully will assist planners. The matters are small but the impact could be considerable. In any case nothing will deter me from recommending Samoa as a holiday destination.

Regards

Dr. Bill Hamblin
Leading with an iron fist sometimes isnt the best approach for a leader; and you will notice leadership quality right away when someone is able to bring unity to his or her people.

Leauvaas village mayor, Vaifale Soe Tupai knows this very well and strongly believes in a united village.

A great example of the villages unity is seen in the form of Teuila festival lights going along the village road greeting overseas visitors with a beautiful light show as they make their way to Apia.

But Vaifale says it was all done in a united effort.

I take no credit for this project; its the project of the entire village, she told the Village Voice yesterday.

No one has been forgotten; we gathered the money together as a village and completed the project. The project cost was around $30,000 and as you can see, it was well worth it.

That cost is separate from the electricity costs bills we pay.

Villagers are even volunteering to pay electricity costs for the lights.

There are families who are designated to provide the electricity for the lights, Vaifale said.

We have a separate power line underground for each light; its separate from the power from the governments light posts.

The families who provide the power do it out of the goodness of their hearts; the village isnt forcing anyone to do anything.

According to Vaifale, this is what the village people want and it makes them happy.

Samoans are proud people; these are the sort of things we love to do with our money, she said.

If you look at individual families, they would rather spend money on this than on good food. No matter how poor we get, we do what makes us happy, and these lights makes the villagers happy.

Here in our village, we dont believe in ruling with power.

Whatever is done within the village is done in unity, even the future plans for the lights have to be discussed together and no single power rules.

Our future plans on the subject are unknown; but that is what we discuss in our village meetings, Vaifale said.

As the village mayor, I dont believe in forcing anyone to do anything. If there are times we need to clean up areas then I have a committee designated to take care of that.

But with this project; everyone worked as a one minded entity.

Aside from acting united, what is the actual role of the Leauvaa village leadership?

The village leaders have done so much for the village, Vaifale said.

We handle all the requests to organizations and ministries. Once we requested to S.V.S.G. and they helped out with our schools by providing chairs, tables and so on.

Also on request, we received voluntary doctors from overseas who came and did some work on the people. We even receive gifts like blankets, pillows, clothes and more.

We went to the Ministry of Agriculture and we received $700 which was spent on wheel barrows to help out with plantations.
I hope I open peoples eyes and ears to the issues we face in the Pacific, our way of life that is constantly changing and under threat as our environment is impacted from threats.

This is what S.P.R.E.P Youth Ambassador, Brianna Fruean, will be sharing as the Pacific message at the 73rd session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child this month.

Ms. Fruean will be presenting at the Day of General Discussion on Childrens Rights and the Environment this month.

One of the outcomes from this special event will be the opportunity to address aspects of the relationship between childrens rights and the environment.

Ms. Fruean will be joining Ambassadors, U.N. representatives, child representatives and academics in the one day event, with her panel specifically focusing on the Children and the effects of environmental degradation  childrens rights and climate change.

I am recommending for climate change to be featured more strongly in both formal and informal education platforms, said Ms. Fruean.

The climate change curriculums in school must be updated on a regular basis as I find climate change is a changing issue, as this progresses, so must the information that is being taught in schools.

We also need to recognise the role of information education in helping children to learn about climate change. Not all children learn the same and we must acknowledge this so as many children as possible learn about this issue.

Four panels in all will be featured during the day of discussion which focus on the topics of childrens exposure to environmental toxicants as well as childrens rights and the degradation of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity and lack of access to natural resources.

The day of discussion follows on from a week of workshops for children for which Ms. Fruean will be a resource person. This is a special highlight for Ms. Fruean her entry into this field was cemented through a similar initiative, the Tunza International Youth and Children Conference on Climate Change in 2009.

It feels really great, I cant wait to meet the children who are attending, I know how it feels. Seven years ago the role that people played in my position now had such an impact on what I do and the person I am now. I hope that the young people at this workshop will remember me as fondly, in seven years time.

Ms. Fruean has been encouraged by the support from Supreme Court Judge, Justice Vui Clarence Nelson, a member of the U.N. Committee of the Rights of the Child. The first Pacific islander to be appointed as a member of the CRC in 2014, he represents Samoa and the Pacific.

Id like to thank Justice Vui, I know its a big responsibility attending this and bringing voice to our Pacific island concerns at this special gathering. I will do my very best to work and represent us all.

The Day of the General Discussion on Childrens Rights and the Environment is 23 September 2016 at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Attendance by Ms. Fruean is supported by U.N.I.C.E.F Pacific.
Different people have different talents from God.

But no matter what it is, they are given to us for a purpose. The choice is up to us to use it.

So believes Samoas celebrity fashion designer, Failepou Peni, who insists we should utilize our talents from God to the best of our ability.

The established Pacific Fashion designer, Director of the Pacific Runway Fashion and Owner of the Lepou Label is in Samoa as one of the judges and special guests for the Inaugural Samoa Fashion week.

Failepou has been in the fashion industry for more than thirty-five years now. And while in Samoa, she is calling out to all the creative designers in Samoa to rise up and pursue their passion for fashion.

I call out to our Samoans creative designers. Whether you are in the designing field or the artistic field, whatever it is, she said.

I am not challenging you because you are all talented. This is our gift from God. And He did not give it to us so we can just sit. He gave it to us to utilize it and gave it the best of our ability. But the choice is really up to us, whether to sit on it, or actually stand up and utilize it to the best of our abilities.

If you aspire to become a fashion designer, then go for it. Use Gods gift and make it happen. It happened to me and I know it can happen to anyone else as well.

Failepou said she is delighted to be back in Samoa.

One of the things that we know is that Samoa is the home of the elei and it has been widely exposed to the international countries such as, America, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom but it was all born from Samoa.

Coming here to Samoa is like bringing us back to our roots.

She also praised the Samoa Art Council and the organizing committee of the Samoa Fashion week for the great initiative.

Its about time we have something like this here in Samoa, representing the local designers and the emerging designers.

They are in the right move, and if we really look at it, there is a huge market or percentage in the fashion industry and a lot of people can benefit from this.

Said Failepou, there is a massive potential in the fashion industry in Samoa, but little has been done to develop it.

Not many people know about some of our Samoan designers and Tongan designers that have actually really made it out there in the world. The sad thing is, this industry has been treated like a close door.

However, with shows such as this, Failepou the future for the fashion industry in Samoa and the Pacific will be brighter and better.

The Samoa Fashion week provides an opportunity for our designers to showcase their work and talents. This is actually our community a platform and serves as a stepping stone for our local designers to be recognized and exposed to the outside world.

Failepou also understands that limited resources available in Samoa can be a challenge. However, she believes thats where they can step in and help make it better.

We know that there are some tools that are not available here, but this is where we can come together as a Pacific Region to develop the fashion industry in Samoa.

This is an opportunity for us to see where we can help develop this industry and look at the areas where help is needed so we can step in and help.

As the director of an international fashion show in Australia, Failepou said they are trying to build a strong platform for the fashion industry in the Pacific Region.

We find a lot of countries outside of the Pacific are gaining from our cultural identity and our designs. We are trying to build a strong Pacific platform for fashion so that we can be able to showcase to the world that these are our designs and patterns.

And we also want to get out of the shadows. We want to get the Pacific out of the shadows. We deserve to get our own light, because we shine brighter than they think we do. And thats the beauty of the Pacific Runway Fashion. Its a stepping stone for all the Pacific designers. We want the elite, the best of the best and weve done that this year.

Weve got the best from Tonga, some great designers from Fiji, the Cook Islands and were here now searching for the best of Samoa and we will take them all to Sydney for the world to see.

And we truly believe that if our Pacific stand together and work together to help one another in this industry, outsiders will see us for who we really are. We want our designers to keep competing and to keep growing and better every day.

We have these workshops and programmes to enhance their skills and knowledge and we want to encourage them to keep doing their best and never give up.

And thats the beauty of this whole fashion week in Samoa. So we want to stand together and work together as a Pacific to showcase the talents and art work of our people.

When we work together as a Pacific region, the world will stop and notice us.

Moreover, she also believes that government should also invest in the fashion industry because this industry also attracts a lot of tourists to a country.

We also think that our government should develop the industry as well. Because this can be one of the areas where it can attract a lot of tourist to come into the country.

This is something New Zealand had three or four years ago. When they had the Pasifika Style. When they had that show in New Zealand, a lot of tourist flocked in to New Zealand to see and watch the show.

And Samoa is capable of that as well. And so as many other islands like Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands and Tonga.

As one of the judges for Saturdays show, what is she expecting from the show?

I want to see raw talent, said Failepou. Something that we havent seen before. I want to see new designs and new ideas put into display on Saturday.

I want to see all the designers and their own signature on the elei. You know how we have so many elei in Samoa, but how do we distinguish your work from the other peoples work?

I want to see what Samoa has to offer in regards to their own signature.

Like for example, you can easily tell a design or pattern from Cecilias House, or a design from Peter Tamasese because weve seen their work and designs over the years.

I want our local designers to find their actual signature as to why they have become fashion designers and their passions about fashion and show it to everyone.

Finally, her message for the local designers is very simple.

If you have passion for fashion, dont let anything stop you. Whatever is happening around you, whatever happens, just believe in yourself and have faith in yourself and do it. No one can make it happen other than you. Because if you dont do it, you will always wonder, what if?

And I know our people. We have so much pride in all that we do in Samoa. So if we can just drive that pride and turn into passion, you will definitely get to where you want to be. It will happen if you make it happen.

My passion started at a very young age, and never wanted to stop ever since then and I am here because I didnt let anything stop me. Dont stop believing and dont stop trying. Be the best you can be and have faith in yourself.
The U.S Embassy compound at Vailima was the venue of a very special occasion yesterday.

The celebration was the presentation of certificates to 10 recipients of the 2016 U.S Embassy Apia Public Diplomacy Grant Scheme.

They received small grants from $10,000 to $12,000 to help them with their projects.

The recipients were: The Scientific Research Organization of Samoa (S.R.O.S), Samoa National Youth Council (S.N.Y.C), Nobesity Samoa, Samoa Alliance of Media Practitioners for Development, Rugby Academy Samoa, Samoa Faafafine Association, Soifua Manuia Samoa, Filet685 Productions, Nelson Memorial Library-American Corner, and Future Leaders of the Pacific 2016 Candidate- Ms. Rachel Tominiko.

The Charge dAffaires for U.S Embassy in Samoa, Angelina Wilkinson congratulated the recipients for their perseverance.

I understand that becoming a recipient of one of the U.S Embassy Apias 2016 Public Diplomacy Grants was not an easy task, but I am glad that you all held through the long winding process of securing funding for your projects.

Ms. Angelina Wilkinson also highlighted the importance of the partnership between Samoa and the U.S through their Embassy in Apia.

Samoa and the United States share a lot of important values like the values of democracy, religious freedom, fair economic opportunity, and human rights to name a few, and our countries also work together in a number of different areas.

We consider it a privilege being able to continuously lend a helping hand to the Samoan Community.

This Public Diplomacy Grants Program is a competitive program that offers small grants from $10,000-$12,000, to various organizations to strengthen democracy, engage youth and alumni, promote U.S-Samoa links, address climate change and health concerns, the advancement of human rights and womens rights. This years grants totaled more than WST$100,000.

The main objective of the event was to recognize the efforts by these organizations and congratulate the recipients on receiving funding from the 2016 U.S Embassy Apia Public Diplomacy Grant Scheme.
Attorney General, Lemalu Herman Retzlaff, is the newest Board member of the Robert Louis Stevenson Muesum.

The President of the Museum, James S. Winegar, and the General Manager, Margaret Silva, have personally welcomed Lemalu.

The Attorney General is a mandatory member of the Board.

According to Mr. Winegar, himself a past missionary in Samoa in the 1950s, there is an added bonus in this instance.

Lemalu is a direct descendant of the well-documented close friend of Stevenson, that being Mr Harry J Moors.

Lemalu is his great, great grandson, so we can now record the historical friendship has been blessed with this renewed connection, Mr. Winegar said.

The Attorney General is looking forward to building on the foundation of all the great work of his predecessors, such as Tuatagaloa Ming Leung Wai.

I aim to follow with service and support to the Museums work, given the important link it has to our countrys history.

Lemalu will now be one of two local board members, together with long serving founding member Seiuli Paul Wallwork.

He will join other members RJ Lloyd and the Chairman Tilafaiga Rex Maughan, a dedicated supporter of R.L.S and other projects within Samoa.

Stevensons old plantation home includes over 3000 square feet of covered verandas and is the location of the World Class Museum that has welcomed thousands of visitors from around the globe since its dedication in 1994.

The Museum is at the foot of Mount Vaea, atop which is Stevensons resting place and tomb, which bears his epitaph UNDER THE WIDE AND STARRY SKY known the world over.
The governments plan to build a multi-million-tala wharf at Vaiusu has alarmed many residents  including the descendants of the late William Cowley.

The descendants of William Cowley have settled in the village of Vaiusu and the sub-village of Vaigaga for hundreds of years.

Originally from England, Cowley made Samoa his home when Germany ruled Samoa.

He married a girl from the family of Tamaseu in Tauese, named Tasiaeafe.

It wasnt until 1889 when Cowley passed away that he was laid to rest on his family land at Vaiusu.

More than thirty descendants of Cowley, including his children and grandchildren are buried alongside him on the shoreline of Vaiusu where the family graveyard is located.

Cowley is also connected to the Stanley family, whose family members are also laid to rest on the family freehold land at Vaiusu.

However, the governments proposed wharf at the Vaiusu Bay could see the graveyards removed.

Ulugia Tailua Cowley, who is the fourth generation of the Cowley family, lives right next to the family graveyard.

The father of four said if the wharf means their family graves will be affected, he will not support it.

I dont think its right if the structure will affect us living here and our families who are resting there, Ulugia told the Samoa Observer.

I dont go against the government and its plan if its for a way forward for our country. But as you see here, the families living here have been established and I have been living here ever since I was born.

I dont know how the government is planning to build the wharf but we wont support it if it will mean the removal of our ancestors.

According to Ulugia, in June this year, he saw some Asian men on their land setting up their equipment.

He said none of them understood English and he could not communicate with them on what they were doing there.

They came here, set up their equipment and they started measuring the lands, said the matai.

We couldnt understand what they were saying. I wouldve thought that the government would brief us on what they are planning so we can understand where exactly they will plan the wharf and if our lands will be affectedlike I mentioned before we do not object to their plans but it would be nice and the right thing to do to consult villagers.

The matai also pointed out that their lagoons are very good source of food for the families living in the area.

He explained that there are so many sea creatures and fish living on the shores and it would be damaging if the wharf will take over the lagoon.

Looking at the shoreline, Ulugia said he is unclear of how far out the wharf will be.

Meanwhile, he said they will not rush in a decision and will wait on the government for an explanation.
Hopeful that recent buzz can help propel plug-in cars from niche-status into a mainstream force, San Diego Gas & Electric hosts its fourth annual Electric Vehicle Day on Saturday.

We think this is a breakthrough year for electric vehicles, said April Bolduc, SDG&Es electric vehicle customer engagement manager.

For the record: The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A previous version of this story had the wrong time listed.

After spending its first three years at Liberty Station, this edition of Electric Vehicle Day moves to a much larger venue  Qualcomm Stadium, where participants can test drive a variety of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid plug-ins on two test tracks laid out in the parking lot.

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Dealerships will also be on hand showing off their latest models, demonstrations will be held showing how EV charging stations work and kids can drive mini-electric cars on a safety course hosted by the San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation.

SDG&E is also encouraging drivers who already own EVs to tailgate at the event, showing off their vehicles and sharing their experiences with those considering their first EV purchase. Electric bicycles will also be available for test rides.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Among the EVs scheduled for display will be models from Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Kia, Nissan, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche and Volvo. Tesla is not participating.

Organizers will also discuss the financial incentives that come with buying EVs. The federal government offers tax credits of up to $7,500 and California offers rebates ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 for clean vehicles.

Californias rebate checks for recent buyers have been put on hold after a legislative impasse in Sacramento but Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign a budget bill that includes funding for the rebates, as well as green stickers that allow EV owners to drive in the high-occupancy lanes even if there is just one person in the car.

For me being a San Diegan and sitting in a lot of traffic, I love that Im not emitting any emissions and I can jump right into that carpool lane to go home, Bolduc said.

With an eye on the transportation sector accounting for 54 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in San Diego, SDG&E has placed a focus on boosting EV ownership.

Earlier this year, SDG&E announced a $45 million pilot program called Power Your Drive that within three years will install 3,500 charging stations for EVs at 350 locations.

The program, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, will be paid by SDG&E customers.

Saturdays event comes as gasoline prices across the country remain low, which has hurt the alternative vehicle market. Sales of hybrids and EVs in California have been flat or trending down while the purchases of light trucks and SUVs have been surging.

The national numbers are even more pronounced.

But EV advocates are optimistic.

Earlier this year, thousands swamped Tesla showrooms, eager to place $1,000 deposits on the companys Model 3, even though the car is not expected to roll out until 2017.

And this fall, Chevrolet is set to debut its all-electric Bolt, which boasts of going 238 miles on a single charge. That would curb one of the biggest raps on EVs  range anxiety, the fear of getting stranded if the car conks out.

When you take a range and you go over 200 miles, that does a lot to allay a lot of consumers fears, said Jeremy Acevedo, pricing and industry analyst for Edmunds.com. Even incremental gains are significant  That could potentially be a game-changer.

Nationally, EVs make up less than 1 percent of aggregate market share in the industry.

In California, about 3 percent of new vehicles sold qualify under the Air Resource Boards Zero Emission Vehicle program. There are currently just under 224,000 plug-in or electric vehicles in the state.

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski
Construction officially began Wednesday on the $127.8 million, 2,901-space parking garage at Lindbergh Fields Terminal 2. The three-story structure is expected to be completed in early 2018 and operational by that summer.

There is great demand for more close-in parking at the airport, said San Diego County Regional Airport Authority President and CEO Thella Bowens. She said it will improve service for customers needing the park for a short period.

The project architect is Watry Design, a San Jose-based firm that has designed more than 1,000 parking garages in western states. The general contractor is Swinerton Builders.

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While construction proceeds, visitors are directed to parking lots west of the terminal off McCain Road, where the daily rate is $32. Parking remains available at Terminal 1, also at the $32 rate; the long-term lot at 3015 N. Harbor Drive at $20 per day; and the economy lot at Pacific Highway at Washington St. at $13 per day. Valet dropoff at both terminals is $40 per day. There is a $5 discount for valet parking when prepaid online at upgradeyourparking.com.

The project follows on the $903 million completion of Terminal 2s expansion completed in 2013. Planning is moving forward for rebuilding Terminal 1 over the next few years.

The surface lot where the new garage will be located previously contained 1,327 spaces, although 83 will remain operational.

Several high-tech features will be built into the new facility, including connection to a smart-phone app to reserve a parking space and pay for it in advance. Sensors embedded in the parking stalls will keep track of spaces available. Parking revenues will largely cover the project cost. The airport expects to collect about $40.6 million in parking charges this year.

roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286;Twitter: @rogershowley
How do you turn a fairly technical paper about the mechanics of embryogenesis into a brave new world of motherless babies?

Easy, if youre a science journalist who values hype over accuracy. And there are plenty of those, as the study published this week in Nature Communications, indicates.

The study found that unfertilized or parthenogenetic mouse egg cells could be fertilized by sperm even after they had been chemically tricked into beginning development. These embryo-like structures die during the development process. They havent been brought to term as babies.

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But the scientists in the study found that if mouse sperm is introduced while the embryo-like structure is just a two-celled entity, it can yield baby mice. I found that to be not very interesting, certainly not anything like a major breakthrough.

However, the press release that accompanied the story gave a much more dramatic account,

Motherless babies possible as scientists create live offspring without need for female egg, said the headline in the UK Daily Telegraph, one of the most prominent purveyors of inaccurate science stories.

The landmark experiment by the University of Bath rewrites 200 years of biology teaching and could pave the way for a baby to be born from the DNA of two men, wrote the reporter.

The Guardian, another UK paper, went the same route. Its story carried the headline: Skin cells might be used instead of eggs to make embryos, scientists say.

The British Broadcasting Corp.s take: Making babies without eggs may be possible, say scientists.

Gizmodo did the same thing, as did Engadget.

Other cells, like skin cells, wouldnt be expected to successfully join with sperm because those skin cells carry a full rather than half set of chromosomes.  Neuroscientist/priest Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk.

You have to read closely to understand that these are simply opinions. The actual study results dont even come close to establishing that eggs can be dispensed with.

A story in Science pointed out the error. A more accurate statement would have been: Scientists make mouse babies with sperm and modified egg cells.

And the UK Daily Mail flagrantly lied with its headline: Scientists discover how to make embryos from skin cells instead of eggs, making women redundant.

If reporters in the mainstream media wonder why trust in the press keeps dropping, they should take a look how the MSM witlessly propagates such bogus stories.

But the ignorance in the media coverage goes even deeper. As usual, the British science reporters were just regurgitating a statement from the press release.

Our work challenges the dogma, held since early embryologists first observed mammalian eggs around 1827 and observed fertilisation 50 years later, that only an egg cell fertilised with a sperm cell can result in a live mammalian birth, author Tony Perry was quoted as saying in the press release.

In reality, that dogma was overthrown 20 years ago with the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep. Dolly was the product of the nucleus of a mammary cell transplanted into an unfertilized egg cell with no nucleus. No sperm was used.

And in 2004, scientists reported the birth of a mouse with the genes of two mothers, again with no sperm.

The Dolly process, Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, or SCNT, has been used to clone livestock and even pets. It might be usable on people, as a 2013 study from Oregon Health and Science University indicated. That study created an embryo from a human donor egg cell and used the embryo to create embryonic stem cells. The embryo itself was destroyed in the process.

Ian Wilmut, the British scientist who led the dogma-overthrowing work on Dolly, has said he doesnt favor use of SCNT for human therapeutic uses. During a 201 visit to San Diego, Wilmut said a more promising route was to directly convert cells of one type, such as skin cells, into cells to replace other types of cells that were destroyed in injury or disease.

Glossing over difficulties

The Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a Roman Catholic priest who has a Yale doctorate in neuroscience, said by email that the work got more hype than it probably deserved.

It is scientifically interesting, but appears to have been extrapolated into domains where it is not applicable (such as joining a skin cell with a sperm cell so two males could putatively create offspring), Pacholczyk said.

As a Roman Catholic priest, Pacholczyk morally opposes such uses. That aside, as a scientifically trained bioethicist, he finds that the study falls far short of establishing the technical feasibility.

The press release speaks of how it could have potential future applications in human fertility treatment and for breeding endangered species, both of which sound like a pretty speculative stretch, Pacholczyk said.

He also found a statement by Perry, as quoted in the Guardian, to be speculation not substantiated by the study.

What were talking about are different ways of making embryos. Imagine that you could take skin cells and make embryos from them? This would have all kinds of utility, Perry said in the Guardian.

That statement ignores the genetic differences between skin cells and parthenogentic cells, Pacholczyk said.

The fact that a parthenote has half, rather than the full genetic complement, is part of the reason why a sperm can be successfully united to it to create offspring, even further along in the parthenogenetic developmental pathway, Pacholczyk said.

Other cells (like skin cells) wouldnt be expected to successfully join with sperm because those skin cells carry a full, rather than half, set of chromosomes, and because, unlike the parthenogenetic embryo, they are presumably not enriched with any of the essential reprogramming factors of the egg.

Eggs are still key to the enterprise!

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @sandiegoscience

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTBiotech
Come From Away, the 9/11-minded musical that was birthed at La Jolla Playhouse last year, now has an official Broadway destination.

Producers announced today that the show will go up at New Yorks Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

As previously announced, Come From Away will begin Broadway performances in February, and will open March 12, with a cast that includes many of the actors from the original Playhouse staging.

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Since its debut here, the musical has been seen at Seattle Rep (which co-produced the show with the Playhouse), and is now onstage at the Fords Theatre in Washington, D.C. It will have one additional production in Toronto before heading to Broadway.

Come From Away was created by Irene Sankoff and David Hein (a wife-and-husband team) and is directed by Playhouse artistic chief Christopher Ashley.

The show chronicles what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, after the 9/11 terror attacks caused 38 airliners carrying more than 5,000 passengers to be diverted to the tiny Canadian town.

Tickets for the musicals Broadway production go on sale in October.

Twitter: @jimhebert

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com
A former Philippine militiaman testified before the countrys Senate on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings, and acknowledged that he himself carried out about 50 assassinations, including of a suspected kidnapper who was fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao del Sur province.

Rights groups have long accused Duterte of involvement in death squads, claims he has denied even while engaging in tough talk in which he stated his approach to criminals was to kill them all. Matobato is the first person to admit any role in such killings and to directly implicate Duterte under oath in a public hearing.

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The Senate committee inquiry was led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Dutertes anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June. Duterte has accused de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she formerly had a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.

Matobato said Duterte had once even issued an order to kill de Lima, when she chaired the Commission on Human Rights and was investigating the mayors possible role in extrajudicial killings in 2009 in Davao. He said he and others were all set to ambush de Lima, but on a visit to the site of a suspected mass grave she did not go to a hilly area where they hid.

If you went inside the upper portion, we were already in ambush position, Matobato told de Lima. Its good that you left.

The recent killings of suspected drug dealers have sparked concerns in the Philippines and among U.N. and U.S. officials, including President Obama, who have urged Dutertes government to take steps to immediately stop the killings and ensure his anti-drug war complies with human rights laws and the rule of law.

Duterte has rejected the criticisms, questioning the right of the U.N., the U.S. and Obama to raise human rights issues, when U.S. forces, for example, killed Muslims in the countrys south in the early 1900s as part of a pacification campaign.

Matobato said under oath that the killings went on from 1988, when Duterte first became Davao city mayor, to 2013, when Matobato said he expressed his desire to leave the death squad. He said that prompted his colleagues to implicate him criminally in one killing to silence him.

Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers. These are the kind we killed every day, Matobato said. But he said their targets were not only criminals but also opponents of Duterte and one of his sons, Paolo Duterte, who is now the vice mayor of Davao.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Dutertes time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of evidence and witnesses.

Philippine human rights officials and advocates have previously said potential witnesses refused to testify against Duterte when he was still mayor out of fear of being killed.

There was no immediate reaction from Duterte. Another Duterte spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said at a news conference that while Matobato may sound credible, it is imperative that each and every one of us properly weigh whatever he said and respond right.

Matobato said the victims in Davao ranged from petty criminals to a wealthy businessman from central Cebu province who was killed in 2014 in his office in Davao city, allegedly because of a feud with Paolo Duterte over a woman. The presidents son said the allegations were without proof and are mere hearsay, telling reporters he would not dignify the accusations of a mad man.

Other purported victims were a suspected foreign militant whom Matobato said he strangled, then chopped into pieces and buried in a quarry in 2002. Another was a radio commentator, Jun Pala, who was critical of Duterte and was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen while walking home in 2003.

After a 1993 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral in Davao city, Matobato said Duterte ordered him and his colleagues to launch attacks on mosques in an apparent retaliation. He testified he hurled a grenade at one mosque but there were no casualties because the attacks were carried out when no one was inside.

Matobato said some of the squads victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three secret pits, while others were disposed of at sea with their stomachs cut open and their bodies tied to concrete blocks.

They were killed like chickens, said Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection program.

He left the protection program when Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed, and said he decided to surface now so the killings will stop.

Matobatos testimony set off a tense exchange between pro-Duterte and opposition senators.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano accused Matobato of being part of a plot to unseat Duterte. Im testing to see if you were brought here to bring down this government, he said.

De Lima eventually declared Cayetano out of order and ordered Senate security personnel to restrain him.

Another senator, former national police Chief Panfilo Lacson, warned Matobato that his admissions that he was involved in killings could land him in jail.

You can be jailed with your revelations, Lacson said. You have no immunity.

Duterte has immunity from lawsuits as president, but de Lima said that principle may have to be revisited now. What if a leader is elected and turns out to be a mass murderer? de Lima asked in a news conference after the Senate hearing.

ALSO:

India swiftly rejects U.N. request for a visit to the disputed territory of Kashmir

Nearly 50 million children uprooted: A global crisis by the numbers

Dogs, Deepak Chopra, Instagram weddings and other signs of change among Irans middle class

UPDATES:

10:15 a.m.: This article has been updated throughout with additional details.

This article was originally published Sept. 14, 10:30 p.m.
After leaving the Church of Scientology and its secretive international base in the desert, Ronald Miscavige Sr. settled into small-town life in Wisconsin, his 40-year ties to the religion cut once and for all.

Or so he thought, as he spent his time hawking exercise equipment online and playing trumpet with Dixieland bands in the Milwaukee area. His suburban tranquility was shattered in July 2013, when police told him that two private eyes had been watching his every move for months  and that the church, led by his son David Miscavige, was behind it.

I dont know if youve ever hit your thumb with a hammer, but when it happens you go numb: It takes a little while for the pain to set in, the elder Miscavige said in an interview. I thought, You have got to be kidding. 

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Miscavige, 80, has chronicled his life before, during and after Scientology in a book, Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige and Me. It paints an unflattering portrait of his son and the church, and it echoes the views of other disaffected ex-members.

David runs Scientology with an iron fist and, to my mind, it has become a cult, pure and simple, he writes.

Miscaviges book includes no blockbuster revelations, but it has evoked an unusually vehement response from the church, which has mounted an aggressively negative publicity campaign, including a website dedicated to discrediting him.

Dozens of testimonials and blog posts by Scientologists praise David Miscavige and lambaste his father for everything from his musicianship to his morals. He is cast as a liar and an opportunist, on the website and in a church lawyers letter to The Times.

That is a father who is a despicable human being, simply trying to make a buck off of the good name, fame and kindness of his son, attorney Monique Yingling wrote.

Peter Schless, a longtime Scientologist and composer who worked with Ron Miscavige, used some of the same language in a 12-minute video that castigated him as vile and disgusting.

I know him inside out and thats all hes doing is hes figured out a way to make a buck off of selling out his own family, Schless said in the video.

Miscavige said he expected the intensely personal criticism posted on the website.

Clearly, all it is is a character assassination of me, he said.

Other ex-members say the website is yet another example of the churchs longstanding efforts to dissuade current and former Scientologists from publicly discussing their experiences.

Ron Miscavige has been singled out for particularly harsh treatment because of his relationship to David, said Mike Rinder, once a top church official and now one of its staunchest critics. He said the elder Miscavige also has been targeted by an email campaign and negative online ads.

This is stuff that is even beyond the normal smear tactics, Rinder said.

Even if I cant help myself, maybe I can help hundreds of others forced to disconnect.  Ronald Miscavige Sr.

::

Founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology has its own study technology, vocabulary and long-held secret story of Xenu, a soul-stealing galactic overlord. The church teaches that spiritual freedom  the state of clear  can be reached through one-on-one auditing, a form of counseling aided by a polygraph-like device called an e-meter and expensive training courses.

David Miscavige, 56, became the head of Scientology after Hubbards death in 1986. As chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Center, he is the churchs ultimate authority and its ecclesiastical leader. He also is its most controversial living figure.

Ex-members, including Rinder and other top officials who told their stories to the St. Petersburg Times in 2009, have accused him of physical assaults and bizarre behavior  all of which he and the church deny.

His fathers book details the familys history, some of it fondly remembered, some of it anything but heartwarming. Among other things, he writes about his sometimes abusive relationship with his late first wife, Loretta, the mother of his children.

It pains me to admit it now, and I regret ever doing it, but there were times when I punched Loretta, he writes. I never slapped or hit her in the face but, still, sometimes I did strike her. ... She threw things at me  pots, pans, a pot of boiling water once.

Miscavige said he regrets that his children witnessed the domestic violence and thinks it might have affected Davids personality.

When I compare the happy, fun-loving boy I raised to the man he has become, the images of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde spring immediately to mind, he writes.

David and his three siblings were introduced to Scientology by their father, a musician and cookware salesman. At age 16 he left their home near Philadelphia to join the Sea Organization, Hubbards religious order.

Years later, in 1985, Ron Miscavige was accused of an attempted rape. He denied the allegation and, after his son sent lawyers to defend him, the charges eventually were dismissed, according to the memoir and the church website.

Soon after, the elder Miscavige also joined the Sea Organization and he and his wife divorced. He spent 27 years at the sprawling Gold Base near Hemet, where Golden Era Productions makes videos, audio recordings and e-meters. Miscavige played trumpet in the Golden Era band.

He and other ex-Scientologists describe long hours and low pay for Sea Org members there and demeaning punishments, including stints in the Hole, for those who upset David.

Its a dark world, Miscavige said. Its a grim existence, buddy.

::

In March 2012, Miscavige and his second wife, Becky, drove off the base while pretending to run errands, and eventually wound up in Wisconsin.

Life there was unremarkable until July 2013, when West Allis police arrested private investigator Dwayne Powell on obstruction and prowling charges and found firearms and a homemade silencer in his rented SUV.

For more than a year, Powell told detectives, he and his son had followed Miscavige, eavesdropped on him and spied on his emails. They were paid $10,000 a week through an intermediary, he told police, explaining that David Miscavige was the main client.

On one outing, Powell told police, he saw Ron Miscavige clutch his chest while loading his car and thought he was having a heart attack. He called his go-between for instructions, and minutes later a man who identified himself as David Miscavige called back and told him that if it was Rons time to die, to let him die and not intervene in any way, a police report states.

Scientology attorneys dispute that account and last year said that David Miscavige had never spoken with Powell and had no connection to the surveillance of his father. They noted that they sometimes retained private investigators in matters related to litigation and have since acknowledged hiring Powell.

Church attorney Yingling said in her letter to The Times that he was hired to follow the elder Miscavige but that it was for his own well-being and out of concern that people with hostile intentions toward Scientology would harass him.

It would be naive to think that the father of the leader of a worldwide religion would not be at risk of harm from people inimical to Scientology, she wrote.

Yingling also forwarded a signed declaration from Powell, recanting his statements to police about the phone call from David Miscavige.

Certain statements I allegedly made to the West Allis Police Department have been misinterpreted, it read in part.

Police in that Milwaukee suburb stand by their account: There is no confusion in the statements that were made by Dwayne and Daniel Powell, Chief Patrick Mitchell said in an email.

Now, in the latest twist in the saga of church-sanctioned surveillance, Powell says he was paid thousands of dollars to sign the declaration after church attorneys summoned him to a meeting last year in Atlanta.

The whole meeting took less than 10 minutes, he said. They said, This is what this is, and this is what its for. Goodbye and good luck. 

He furnished no documentation, and Scientology attorneys deny that any such payment was made.

But other records obtained by The Times show that Scientology lawyers, who had publicly sought to distance the church from Powell, kept him on the payroll two years after his arrest  and long after he stopped conducting investigations.

In the spring of 2015, just weeks before Powell signed the declaration, a Scientology attorney paid him at least $16,000 for security services in five payments, according to check stubs obtained by The Times. The checks were written on the trust account of Kendrick Moxon, a prominent Scientology attorney in Los Angeles, the records show.

Reached by phone, Powell confirmed the payments but would not comment on them.

But he did say that he had not worked for the church after giving up his Florida private investigators license in 2014, when he was indicted on a federal charge of possessing an illegal silencer. It was dismissed when he entered a pretrial diversion program.

Moxon told The Times in a written response that Powell performed security and research services for his firm last year.

The relationship between this firm and any investigators I retain is privileged and confidential, he wrote. However, I can categorically state for the record that no payments were made to Mr. Powell for the testimony in his truthful declaration.

::

Ron Miscavige spent much of his summer promoting his book. He said he wrote it because his son and the church, through a form of shunning called disconnection, had turned his family against him.

Someone has to stand their ground and take a position, he said. Even if I cant help myself, maybe I can help hundreds of others forced to disconnect.

In response, the church has posted a joint statement by his two adult daughters accusing him of a pattern of physical and emotional abuse against them and their late mother.

We know what is right and moral, and what is evil, they wrote. Evil is Ronald T. Miscavige. We reject him.

Miscavige said he was surprised and hurt by their statement. On his 70th birthday, he said, they and David bought him a car; on his 75th they showered him with 75 gifts. Everything was fine, he said, until he spoke out against the church.

Now all of a sudden Ive changed into this beast? he said.

Miscavige said he hopes his story will help reform Scientology. He also hopes to someday reconcile with his son.

I will always hold that hope in my heart, he said. Would I put much money on it? No.

kim.christensen@latimes.com

ALSO:

Fathers memoir spurs Scientology leader David Miscavige to threaten lawsuit

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Hulus provocative new series Path focuses on a cult-like faith, but its not Scientology
The takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon by anti-government protesters wasnt violent, a county sheriff testified, but it was far from peaceful.

Certainly its not normal to have a hundred people walking around with firearms on our streets, Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said Wednesday, becoming the first witness to testify in the trial of Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan and five others charged with conspiracy in the 41-day takeover of a federal wildlife preserve in southeast Oregon.

Ward testified in the federal courthouse here that features a wall engraved with a quote from Thomas Jefferson: The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave. The sheriff told the jury how such a wave, ridden by Ammon Bundy and his supporters, came crashing down on Harney County early this year.

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On Jan. 2, Ward was watching what he thought was a live TV feed of a Bundy-led rally just three blocks from his office in Burns. Outside the local Safeway, Bundy was urging the anti-government crowd  many from Idaho, Nevada and California  to join him in a seizure of the nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a 187,000-acre sanctuary for more than 300 bird species.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward meets Ammon Bundy in January outside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. (Beth Nakamura / Associated Press )

As a precaution, Ward had sent the inmates from the jail adjoining the sheriffs office to another county and planned for his team to lock themselves into the heavy-walled slammer if they were attacked. He also had state troopers ready to back him up and figured the flag- and gun-waving out-of-towners would probably make a show of it and then depart.

Even so, I had been feeling optimistic, he said, that conflict could be avoided.

Then a deputy radioed in from 10 miles outside town. Hed just seen Bundy and several others drive by, apparently headed to the refuge. Ward realized that the video feed he had watched was on tape delay. The protesters were almost halfway to Malheur.

It made the hair on the back of my neck go up. Something was wrong, the sheriff said.

Bundy and a caravan of followers moved swiftly once they arrived. They would later claim that their takeover of the federal land was legal and peaceful. Ward said it was neither.

Theres 200 years of case law contrary to the occupiers view that the U.S. land belonged to the people of Oregon, for whom they were claiming it, he said. A combat veteran, Ward said the takeover was done in military style. What was described to me [by witnesses] was not peaceful but an armed room-clearing of buildings controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That was the beginning of the standoff that ended in early February and resulted in one death, millions of dollars in damage, and the indictment of 26 people, 11 of whom have already negotiated pleas or been sentenced. At least one is scheduled to testify against his former occupation members.

Federal prosecutors are using considerable evidence, including videotapes provided by the defendants, who taped themselves during the standoff and held daily news briefings.

On Wednesday, the government played a video that had been put in the court exhibit record by the defense, showing Ward attempting to persuade Bundy and others to leave the refuge peacefully and try to work out their grievances through the system. Ward sounded sympathetic and said, for the most part, that he and Bundy usually had enjoyable conversations.

A number of times, however, Bundy or other protest leaders ended the talks with ultimatums. If he didnt do as they asked, Ward was told, they said they would bring hundreds of people to town to do my job for me, Ward testified.

He was also told, We cant control what they may or may not do, he recounted. All that, the sheriff said, in my mind, sounded bad.

Bundy had told a reporter that if Burns townsfolk didnt want them to stay at the refuge, theyd leave. A town hall meeting followed, in which a majority of the 400 or so attendees raised their hands in favor the occupiers departing. The news was passed on to protesters. They stayed anyway.

Bundys defense attorney, Marcus Mumford, pressed Ward on whether he thought the federal government had authority over its land in Oregon. Ward stood firm for the status quo, saying hed spent considerable time researching the issue after first meeting with Bundy in November.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, following the lead of their father, Cliven Bundy, 70, who is under indictment with two of his other sons in Nevada for a 2014 federal land takeover in a dispute over grazing fees, believe the U.S. has no right to regulate or own public land.

They brought their fight to Oregon, claiming that two local ranchers, Dwight and Steve Hammond, were wrongly sentenced to five years in prison for starting fires on federal land. They pressured Ward to prevent the Hammonds imprisonment and confront federal authorities.

When he refused, Ward became the target for the Bundys supporters, deluged with email and phoned-in threats and called a sellout  a point some tried to make by throwing coins at his front door, Ward said.

Actually, the sheriff testified, I thought it was nice. We donated the coins to the local kids club.

The trial is expected to last two months.

Anderson is a special correspondent.

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A seemingly humbled but healthier Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail with new urgency Thursday and sought to reframe the presidential election on her terms, vowing to deliver results for American families.

With just more than 50 days until election day and votes already being cast in many states, the most precious resource a candidate has is time. And Clinton, who has been sidelined with pneumonia since Sunday, returned to the campaign trail in North Carolina knowing she had some catching up to do.

Sitting at home was pretty much the last place I wanted to be, she told a modest crowd here after arriving on stage to James Browns I Feel Good.

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But she cast her time off as an unexpected blessing, giving her time for reflection that allowed her to really reconnect with what this campaign is all about.

Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Sign up for the newsletter | The race to 270

Throughout her remarks, the former secretary of State returned to the themes of a successful Democratic convention and even to her own announcement speech more than a year ago, detailing the causes she has fought for throughout her career and issues driving her to seek the nations highest office.

Im going to close my campaign the way I began my career, she said, focused on opportunities for kids and fairness for families.

The choice of North Carolina for her return campaign appearance was intentional, campaign officials said, designed to send the message that they still believe they are on offense in a race that has tightened in recent days. President Obama carried the state in 2008 but narrowly lost it to Mitt Romney in 2012.

The campaign owns up to the challenge before it. But just as it argued that her post-convention high point was never quite as high as it seemed in polls, her camp views the turbulence of the last week as not quite as dire as those on the outside  even some vocal Democrats  might make it seem.

And so in the coming weeks, Clinton said she intends to make an affirmative case about her vision, starting Monday with an address in Philadelphia focused on the challenges of the millennial generation, followed by an economic speech in Florida.

Meanwhile, she encouraged supporters to tune out all the chatter and the nonstop analysis that often doesnt have much to do with what the next president has to do.

Its a message that has filtered throughout Clintons sprawling campaign, which is gearing up for the start of a massive voter-turnout operation as early and absentee voting begins across the country.

One of the challenges of this cycle has been at times trying to get back to what the campaign is really supposed to be about  a vision the candidate has for the future, campaign manager Robby Mook said in an interview Wednesday at the campaigns Brooklyn, N.Y., headquarters. So I think what youre going to see from us over the next few weeks is trying to showcase why shes running, what she wants to get done, the people she wants to help.

Mook also predicted that Donald Trump is going to have to confront his liabilities in a more significant way, citing a Newsweek report about the troubling web of business connections he maintains.

Hes going to be backed into a corner, both disclosing more so that we can have a better picture, but also explaining how in the world is he actually going to govern in the midst of all that, Mook said.

In her remarks here, Clinton acknowledged that over years in the public eye, she has built up some defenses to deal with the charges of her opponents.

When it comes to public service, Im better at the service part than the public part, she said.

But she defended the initial decision not to disclose her illness until after she appeared to collapse as she left a 9/11 memorial service in New York.

My senior staff knew and information was provided to a number of people, she said when asked whether her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, was informed. This was an ailment that many people just power through, and thats what I thought I would do as well.

Clinton also criticized Trump for a thin policy platform and for statements she labeled outrageous, such as his recent suggestion that he would order the nation into armed conflict if an opposing force simply taunted American troops.

Ill never be the showman my opponent is, she said, citing his appearance on The Dr. Oz Show to release personal health information. And thats OK with me.  But I am going to deliver for you and your family.

She noted she has been accused of a lot throughout her career, but nobody ever accuses me of quitting.

I will never give up, she said. Im actually asking Americans to hold me accountable for my ideas and hold my opponent accountable for his.

Clinton acknowledged to reporters that polls have tightened but that she was confident she was in a strong position to win.

What matters is who registers to vote and who is motivated and mobilized to turn out to vote, she said.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more 2016 campaign coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter

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UPDATES:

2:20 p.m.: Added details and comments from Clintons campaign appearance.

This story was originally published at 3 a.m.
Is the Islamic States next frontier in the Pacific and Asia?

The commander of American military forces across Asia, Adm. Harry Harris, said the jihadist group  commonly called ISIS  is seeking new territory as it gets squeezed out of Iraq and Syria.

Its clear to me that [ISIS] is also rebalancing to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, said Harris, speaking during a meeting of the San Diego Military Advisory Council on Wednesday in Point Loma.

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Using a cancer analogy, the four-star leader of U.S. Pacific Command added: Through multinational cooperation, we can eradicate this [ISIS] disease before it metastasizes.

But the U.S. alliance with the Philippines hit choppy waters recently after comments by President Rodrigo Duterte  something that Harris also addressed Wednesday with lightly veiled criticism of Dutertes statements.

We have been allied with the Philippines for a long time. We have shed our blood with them.  We fought side by side during World War II. I consider our alliance with the Philippines to be iron-clad, Harris said. He also mentioned U.S. aid to the Philippines, budgeted at $120 million this year, and the dispatch of American troops to help after Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

So when the leader said, Only China supports us, I dont know what he means, Harris said, answering a reporters question toward the end of his presentation.

Duterte started making headlines last week when, speaking in Tagalog, he called President Barack Obama a son of a bitch.

Since then the Philippines president has said his government would shop for weapons in China and Russia and would halt joint U.S.-Philippines patrols in the South China Sea to avoid appearing hostile to China.

He also called for the departure of U.S. special-operations troops from the southern Philippines, saying their presence could complicate the fight against the ISIS-linked terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

One analyst said it appears that nationalism and a desire for outsider status are driving the Filipino presidents current tone.

I dont really think this is as much about the U.S. as it is about domestic politics  and just his personality. We are a very useful whipping boy, said Thomas Sanderson, director of the transnational threats project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. I think this is largely about someone who is a rebel  hes an outsider and hes broken through into an area that outsiders typically didnt get to.

Sanderson said the Philippines would do an about-face if Islamic terrorism becomes a more widespread problem for Filipinos.

[Duterte] comes right back to us, theres no doubt about it, he said. Because the center of gravity for counter-terrorism knowledge and skill is the United States.

Harris outlined the signposts of the ISIS advance on new turf in the Pacific Command theater, an area thats home to 700 million Muslims. That means more Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region than in the Middle East.

Population numbers alone have forced [Pacific Command] to think ahead about whats next in the fight against [ISIS], Harris said. The vast majority of these people are peaceful citizens who seek to live lives free from the scourge of terrorism, but we know that a small band of fanatics can produce deadly results.

He pointed to ISIS-inspired terrorism in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines so far in 2016. Those events include the July 2 attack on a Bangladeshi restaurant by ISIS-aligned militants. In May and June, Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines released video showing the beheadings of two Canadians after their families didnt pay ransoms.

Hundreds of jihadists have traveled from Asia to the main ISIS battlegrounds of Iraq and Syria to join in the groups violent vision of creating an Islamic caliphate, according to published accounts.

The tally is about 700 from Indonesia, 100 from Malaysia, 100 from the Philippines, 200 from the Maldives, 300 from China and 120 from Australia, according to a December report by The Soufan Group. These recruits make up a small portion of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 fighters ISIS can claim or has been credited with over time.

But as they tire of warfare, the danger is that they may return home and try to continue the fight  and recruit others.

Sanderson said Indonesia has the highest vulnerability to ISIS despite its strong security forces, because of the number of ISIS fighters already hailing from there and because of Indonesia being a string of islands with lots of places to hide.

All of this comes as the United States is finishing its own rebalance, with the Navy shifting 60 percent of its fleet to the Pacific by 2020. That move, announced late in Barack Obamas first term, was seen as a hedge against North Korean saber-rattling and the growing economic and military might of China.

Academics differ on how big the ISIS threat is becoming in the Pacific and Asia.

Eli Berman, a UC San Diego economics professor, said he thinks rebalancing is too strong a term for the jihadist groups foothold in Asia. ISIS isnt on the verge of controlling territory anywhere in the Pacific Rim, said Berman, who is a research director at the universitys Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.

Asia expert Denny Roy at the East-West Center in Honolulu agrees with Harris that the basic ideas represented by ISIS wont die if the Islamic State is geographically erased.

The purveyors of those ideas are already trying to transplant them into other regions and are finding some interest, Roy said.

But several observers pointed out that Asia has major differences that may hinder ISIS if it tries to expand there.

Governments there are generally more intact than in the Middle East.

Whats missing is the ultra-weak states in which locals are ready and chomping at the bit to sign up for something to do, said Sanderson at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. There are far fewer people who would want to sign up for a battle inside of Indonesia, as opposed to those who would want to sign up to battle inside Libya, Tunisia, Yemen or Syria  where the majority of young men would say, Give me a gun and lets go. They have nothing to lose.

Roy sees South Asia, which includes Bangladesh, as fertile ground for extremism.

Southeast Asia is less so, because the sense of grievance and the (routine practice) of mass political violence are less strong than in the Middle East or South Asia, he said.

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jensteeley
San Diego County is the home of WD-40, the worlds oldest active sailing ship, Comic-Con, skateboarder Tony Hawk and ... Americas strongest woman.

Yes, if you have seriously heavy lifting to do, you might want to befriend Kristin Rhodes.

For the record: Spring Valley

The Spring Valley mother of three can pick up a 315-pound rock and hoist it over a bar 50 inches high. She can walk several yards with a 250-pound weight in each hand or dead-lift 520 pounds. And she can pull a truck (and driver) with a tow rope.

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Meet the housewife and child-care provider who has muscled her way to Americas Strongest Woman status six times since 2007 and earned a strongest woman in the world title in a contest in Finland in 2012. She relishes challenging workouts.

I mean, honestly, how many people can say they pull 20,000-pound trucks for flip 700-pound tires just for fun, Rhodes told a reporter for a strength-training website.

This Saturday, Rhodes, who turned 40 last weekend, is going up against the worlds 11 top female strength athletes in the elite Strongman competition in England to claim the coveted title of 2016 strongest woman in the world. (The event will be live-streamed on www.floelite.com beginning at 1:15 a.m. PDT.)

She started strength training in 2006 with her husband, California Highway Patrolman Donald Donnie Rhodes, also a competitive weight lifter. They created their own workout area at home and, on Sundays, it has become a haven for fellow heavy lifters.

She remains very, very humble, says a friend, Melissa Masters. She chairs a lot of events and shares her expertise.  Kristin is one of the kindest people Ive ever met  the type of person who would give the shirt off her back if someone needed it.

That is good news because no one would want to pick a fight with someone who has set three womens Guinness world records for strength: most single-handed repetitions with a 77-pound dumbbell in one minute (26), fastest carrier of a pole balancing two 165-pound weights for 65 feet (in about seven seconds) and fastest five-time flipper of a 220-pound hinged pole called a Fingals finger (35.9 seconds).

Kristin is carrying on a family tradition. Her grandfather is Olympic gold medalist William Bill Nieder, who set shot put world records three times. Her uncle, Tim Danielson, was the second high school student ever to run a mile in less than four minutes.

Last month, Rhodes posted on her Facebook page: 9 months of training. 9 months of hard work. 9 months of chasing that dream. 10 years in the making. I have a long list of wins. A long list of records. But this is the last dream left unattained because of lack of opportunity.

When she returns, San Diego County just may be home to the worlds strongest woman.

Say what? Paul Jacobs, executive chairman of Qualcomm, apologized for not appearing in India-style clothing Saturday when Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Director Hugh Davies introduced him as its new board president, succeeding Matthew Strauss.

Why? His introduction occurred at its Bollywood-themed gala, and attendees wore saris, kurtas, sherwanis and pathani suits.

One museum supporter, ResMed CEO Michael Mick Farrell, was barely recognizable as the white-collared businessman in last weeks nationally televised CNBC Mad Money interview. He wore a long, Nehru-collared embroidered silk coat and glittery slippers with turned-up toes. Farrell confessed he had hoped the bejeweled turban his wife and gala co-chair, Lisette, had picked out for him, wouldnt fit. Alas, it did.

Senior moment: Chula Vista has arrived. On Tuesday, the AARP officially recognized the city as an Age-Friendly Community.

Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said the city is thrilled to be included in the former American Association of Retired Persons network after its conscious steps to create walkable communities, senior recreation programs, health care partnerships and affordable housing.

The County of San Diego was added last year, but Chula Vista is the first city in the county, and the eighth city in all of California, to get age-friendly bragging rights.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: @dianebellSD Facebook: dianebell.news
The mother of a teenage girl who was shot to death at a park in Oceanside is calling for her killer to come forward.

You killed my daughter at 15 years old, 40-year-old Annebell Flores said. You deserve to pay for your crime. She didnt deserve to die. Her daughter was also named Annebell.

Police have been tight-lipped about the Sept. 3 shooting. Oceanside police Lt. Taurino Valdovinos said the girl was with at least one other person when the shooter fired his gun at Balderrama Park about 2:30 a.m.

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Officers found her on a playground structure with at least one gunshot wound. She died before she was taken to a hospital, police said.

Investigators have identified her companion, but attempts to speak with that person were met with resistance. Officials wont say whether the person was a juvenile, and declined to otherwise elaborate.

Detectives dont believe the shooting was random, but they also dont know if Annebell was the intended target. A police spokesman said the department misspoke when it previously referred to the shooting as a targeted attack.

The park where the teen was found sits at the center of Eastside, a tight-knit, working class neighborhood with a rich Latino history. The neighborhood has struggled with gang violence in the past, and Annebell is the third young person to be killed in the area in three months.

Valdovinos said its too soon to say if the shooting is gang related, however, we are keeping all avenues open. He also said the department doesnt comment on juvenile gang ties.

The girls death devastated family and friends.

She had a happy spirit. She was kindhearted. Everyone loved Annebell, her mother said. She was a shining star, man. she brightened up everyones life.

The teen leaves behind five siblings  four sisters and a brother.

Were all hurting and were all stunned about what happened to her, the mother said. Were all grieving in our own ways.

She said after Annebells death, the community cocooned the family in love and support. People the mother didnt even know got in contact with her to offer help, or their condolences.

Its a great comfort to myself and my family that the community is so supportive, she said. Thats whats keeping us afloat. Without them, I dont know if Id be able to be as strong.

Her mother didnt want to talk about why her daughter was at the park so late, instead saying she was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. She said the teen spent most of her time with friends and family, and wasnt gang banging. She declined to comment on Annebells schooling, saying the family had gotten into a disagreement with the district.

Friends of Annebell said she loved Balderrama Park, so much so that she sometimes slept there. The girls mother, who was also born and raised in Oceanside, said her children viewed the neighborhood as their safe place.

This is their home. This is where they felt safe, she said. Everyone looked out for everybody.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest. Police asked witnesses to come forward and call the department at (760) 435-4911.
A 65-year-old woman was badly injured after she lost control of her bicycle on a steep section of a street in the Lake Murray neighborhood Wednesday, police said.

The woman was headed north down a hill on Cowles Mountain Boulevard near Lake Adlon Drive when she flipped over the bikes handlebars about noon, police said.

The bicyclist, who was wearing a helmet, hit the road and was knocked unconscious, police said. She was taken to a hospital with severe head injuries.

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Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
The family of a woman left to die in the middle of a street in Linda Vista is calling for the three hit-and-run drivers who struck her to come forward.

That would give us closure, said 30-year-old LeToya Jackson, the oldest of nine children Wynona Mitchell left behind. We just want this to be over and done with, and justice needs to be served.

Three drivers flee after running over female pedestrian

Mitchell was fatally hit as she crossed Linda Vista Road just north of Mesa College Drive about 10:30 p.m. Sunday night. Neither of the three drivers stopped.

If they came forward, that would bring justice to our hearts, Mitchells step daughter Unique Jenkins said.

On Wednesday night family members gathered near the stretch of the road where Mitchell died to stage a small vigil, leaving behind candles and a sign that read, Who killed my mom?

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At 48, Mitchell was youthful in spirit, her family said. She was remembered as upbeat, spiritual and loving.

Above all, Mitchell loved her children, some of whom live in Utah and Nebraska.

After spending some years in prison and battling a drug addition, Mitchell turned her life around, with her kids in mind, Jackson said.

She always had plans for the future and what we would all do together, Jackson said. So it makes me sad I wont be able to share that with her.

Aside from her nine children, Mitchell also leaves behind her mother, her partner of more than 20 years and a grandchild. She was expecting two more grandchildren by the end of the year.

Police said the first vehicle that struck Mitchell, who crossed mid-block in a dimly-lit area, was a dark-colored sedan. The second was a pickup truck with a camper shell, followed by a red sedan.

Police asked anyone with information about the collisions to call investigators at (619) 531-2000.

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
A flight from Newark, New Jersey to San Diego was diverted to Denver International Airport fir several hours Wednesday night because of an unfounded security concern, airport officials said.

United flight 1243 resumed its path and was expected to land at San Diego International Airport about 1:15 a.m., according to the airlines website.

The flight landed in Denver about 9:30 p.m. MST after someone reported a possible security concern, a Denver International Airport spokesman said. The flight had departed from Newark about 6:50 p.m. EST, according to Uniteds website.

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In Denver passengers were evacuated off the plane while police and the FBI investigated the report, Denver airport officials said.

The passengers were later allowed back onto the plane and it departed for San Diego. The flight was delayed about three and a half hours, according to Uniteds website.

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Universities in San Diego are reporting strong interest in the advanced courses theyve begun offering in cybersecurity and anti-terrorism issues.

San Diego State University recently added 66 students to its Graduate Program in Homeland Security  twice the number it reported a year ago.

The University of San Diego has a similar number of graduate-level students barely one year after it created the Center for Cyber Security Engineering and Technology. An additional 45 students are set to be added in the spring.

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UC San Diego doesnt have a standalone cybersecurity program. But the campus is making the issue a key component of its engineering and technology certificates, and the campus plans to soon introduce a course titled Best Practices for Security Managers.

At the same time, UC San Diego is searching for a security chief for its massive, campus-wide information system. Such experts are in heavy demand nationally, and its common for them to earn $200,000-plus a year in high-profile positions.

SDSU has seen tremendous growth in 2016 enrollment in-part due to the need for qualified homeland and cybersecurity-trained professionals in the United States and around the world, said Lance Larson, assistant director of the Graduate Program in Homeland Security.

Some of our students transition from recent military service, arm themselves with a masters in homeland security degree and find they are highly sought-after by military contractors and intelligence agencies, Larson said.

Our students can speak Mandarin, French, Russian, Italian, Urdu, Spanish and Arabic, to name just a few languages, he added. Most SDSU homeland security students are from the United States, but others attend from South Korea, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Programs like the one at San Diego State are evolving to meet local and regional needs.

Only a small percentage of (our) students are from law enforcement, said John Callahan, who heads the cybersecurity program at USD.

We have a good number from the defense/military community, but probably less than 10 with a law-enforcement background. However, we are starting a law-enforcement cybersecurity and cyber-investigations training program this fall.

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
Aiming to encourage more use of solar power, San Diego will expand the number of companies in a program that allows homeowners and businesses to install solar systems with no up-front costs.

The City Councils Environment Committee agreed Thursday to allow two new companies  CleanFund and Spruce -- to enter the two-year old city program, bringing the number of providers to eight.

City officials said the additional companies would increase competition and help San Diego meet some of the goals in its ambitious climate action plan, which aims to sharply reduce local production of greenhouse gases.

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Were adding a couple options for folks, which is good news, said Councilman David Alvarez, committee chairman.

Since the council expanded the program to residential customers in spring 2014, hundreds of homeowners have taken advantage, city officials said. But exact numbers werent provided Thursday.

Instead of paying for the upgrades immediately, homeowners secure private loans from lenders participating in the program and then pay the money back over several years as a surcharge on their property tax bills.

Reductions in utility bills are often larger than the property tax surcharges.

The city benefits from tax revenue and permit fees generated by the construction projects, plus increases in property taxes because the homes and commercial sites become more valuable.

The city faces no financial risks because the state covers any shortfalls.

The loans are available under a state program known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE.

In addition to solar power systems, charging stations for electric vehicles and water conservation systems are eligible.

To be eligible, property owners must not be behind on their property taxes or mortgage payments, and must not have declared bankruptcy in the last seven years.

CleanFund focused on installing solar power systems for businesses, while Spruce is focused on residential solar.

The citys six other providers are HERO, Figtree, CaliforniaFIRST, Ygrene, Energy Efficient Equity and AllianceNRG.

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San Diego Justice Alex C. McDonald, who served on the state 4th District Court of Appeal for more than two decades, died unexpectedly on Sept. 8, the court announced.

McDonald had gone to work at the appeals court that day but died that night after leaving work. He was 79. A cause of death has not been released.

No services have been announced, the court said.

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McDonald had served on the appeals court since 1995, after being appointed by then-Gov. Pete Wilson. Before that, he was a lawyer in private practice in San Diego for 30 years and was a founding member of the firm formerly known as McDonald, Hecht and Solberg.

He specialized in real estate law and was involved in the development of the Meridian condominium project in downtown San Diego, buildings in the Golden Triangle area east of La Jolla and in Rancho Bernardo.

Administrative Presiding Justice Judith McConnell, a longtime colleague, said McDonald was known for his deep intellect, willingness to learn new areas of the law, and great sense of humor.

McDonald is survived by his wife of 56 years, Judy, four children and numerous grandchildren. A native of Butte, Mont., he graduated from Stanford University and earned a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California Berkeley.

Among the many opinions he authored on the bench was a 2010 decision that struck down San Diegos curfew for minors, a 2013 decision that upheld Californias ban on assault weapons, and a decision in 2007 that overturned a $1.5 million award by a San Diego jury to the family of a man murdered by Kristin Rossum in what was known as the American Beauty case.

McDonald also served as president of the downtown San Diego Lions Club and played a key role in creating Lions Community Manor, which provides housing for low-income people, those with disabilities and senior citizens.

His death creates a second vacancy on the court. Justice James McIntyre retired June 30. Gov. Jerry Brown will fill both seats by appointment.

Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com
Thousands of Native Americans camped out near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota to oppose a $3.7 billion oil pipeline project continue to receive support from fellow Indians and environmental activists nationwide, including those from the San Diego region.

Dozens of people from tribal reservations in San Diego County  from Campo to Viejas to Pala  have given donations and made the trip to the camp in recent weeks to deliver supplies, according to local organizers.

When we went out there, it was 1,500 people. Now theres upwards of 3,000 people. Its just exploded. Its massive, said Bobby Wallace, member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, who helped coordinate a trip to the camp a couple weeks ago that included members from half a dozen tribes.

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This issue is everybodys issue, he added. Its not just native.

Wallace is planning an event for this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Belmont Park in Mission Beach to collect more donations for the camp, as well as to talk about issues facing local tribes. This would follow up on several related events, including a protest Tuesday night in downtown San Diego that was part of a national day of action.

Members of the Kupa Indian Tribe from Pala Indian reservation hold signs during a rally on September in San Diego in support for the protesters at Standing Rock, North Dakota who are fighting construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. (Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images )

Shirley Rodriguez, a member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, said local Native American leaders have been gathering donations of food, clothes, tents and other camping equipment for weeks now.

Theyve been fundraising, collecting supplies to take down to Standing Rock, she said, referring to the site in North Dakota. Theres a lot of reservations that went with truckloads of supplies.

During recent months, opposition has grown to construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, which if completed would carry roughly 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day over about 1,172 miles from North Dakota through South Dakota, Iowa and finally to an existing pipeline in Illinois, according to the developer, Energy Transfer Partners. The pipeline is about 60 percent complete.

While a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled last week that the project could move forward despite a legal challenge from the Standing Rock Sioux, the Obama administration has halted construction pending further review of the section of pipeline in question.

Theres a lot of reservations that went with truckloads of supplies.  Shirley Rodriguez, member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians

Attracting substantial support from about 280 tribes across the nation, much of the concern about the pipeline has focused on the potential for a spill to leach oil into the Missouri River and specifically Lake Oahe, which the Standing Rock Sioux reservation relies on for drinking water.

The $3.7-billion pipeline that became a rallying cry for tribes across America 

On Tuesday, the chief executive of Energy Transfer Partners, Kelcy Warren, sent out a memo to staff that said the company plans to meet with federal officials and is committed to completing construction of the pipeline.

He also said: Concerns about the pipelines impact on the local water supply are unfounded. Multiple pipelines, railways and highways cross the Missouri River today, carrying hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil.

In recent years, such pipelines have become targets for climate change activists attempting to curb fossil-fuel extraction, a state of affairs that has lent momentum to efforts to block the Dakota Access pipeline.

On Tuesday, the Sierra Club and 350.org  the environmental group that made its name by opposing the now halted Keystone XL pipeline  held rallies in nearly 200 cities.

In front of the U.S. District Court building, the smell of burning sage and the sound of drums filled the plaza on Broadway. Masada Disenhouse, co-founder of the San Diego chapter of 350.org, addressed a crowd of hundreds.

We must protect our water, she said to cheers. We must protect our climate. And we must protect our future  and that means keeping fossil fuels in the ground, not building new pipelines.

Also on hand was Gina Tiger-Madueno, a Chula Vista resident who is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux. She plans to travel in the next week to the camp in North Dakota, where members of her family have already gathered.

The outpouring of support from the environmental community was heartening, she said.

It shows that they care and people are starting to realize the seriousness of this issue  that its not just a native issue, that its an issue that we all should be concerned about because we all drink water.

This is a big concern for all of us, she added. We have people all over the world standing in solidarity with us.

The Obama administration has said it will engage in government-to-government talks this fall with native tribes to discuss the situation.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
The National Science Foundation is giving UC San Diego $1 million to make robots of greater use to workers in the nations manufacturing plants.

The three-year effort will be led by Laurel Riek, a newly-hired roboticist who specializes in getting machines and humans to interact more smoothly and effectively.

Riek will focus on getting robots to provide skilled workers with materials exactly when they need them, making the manufacturing process run more efficiently.

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She will collaborate on the project with Steelcase, a Michigan company that produces made-to-order furniture.

Robots would sense when skilled workers need materials and deliver them in advance, Riek said. This would save companies, and consumers, about $1.7 million per hourthe cost of lost productivity when work stops to procure the needed materials.

Riek added that, This project will help the US manufacturing sector dramatically improve their operations, not by replacing workers with robots, but by using automation to directly support a talented, skilled workforce.

The project has the potential to impact all major US manufacturing sectors, including automotive, construction, healthcare, energy, and goods.

Riek is part of UC San Diegos new Contextual Robotics Institute, where scientists and engineers focus on developing robotic system that sense a persons needs, and provide them with what they want or need. CRI engineers also develop robots that can better sense their environment, a field called contextual robotics.

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The long-planned Mid-Coast Trolley line has received a $1 billion federal grant, the last key financial step to stretch the railway from UC San Diego and the Sorrento Valley biotech hub to downtown and the border.

The Federal Transit Administration announced Wednesday that the region received the money to build the nine-station, 11-mile extension to the Blue Line that runs from the border to downtowns America Plaza Station. Construction is scheduled to begin in late-October and the first paying riders are expected in 2021.

The funding means that two disparate economic hubs  the border at San Ysidro and Tijuana and the bio-technology corridor in the Golden Triangle  will eventually be connected by the trolley system, and riders will be able to travel between the destinationcs without leaving their seats.

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The new rails will be placed alongside Interstate 5 from the Old Town Transit Center to University City, where it will switch to a 3-mile stretch of elevated track. From there, it will go north before turning east at UC San Diego and then south to the terminus at the Westfield UTC mall. A span of the extended blue line will make use of existing rails between America Plaza to Old Town. From there to stations north, the trolley will use new tracks.

The extended Blue Line is expected to serve riders in Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, UC San Diego, University City and other areas. An anticipated 20,000 people are expected to ride per day, many of which dont have trolley lines in their suburban neighborhoods. Trains are expected to arrive every 15 minutes in both directions when the line opens for service in five years, and every 7 minutes shortly thereafter.

Commuters in cars will see the new line during their rush hour commute and be encouraged to spend less time in their four-wheeled rides in favor of the trolleys cars, Federal Transit Administration Acting Administrator Carolyn Flowers said following a news conference at UC San Diego.

They will be zooming by on the 5 Freeway, they will not, she said.

This is one of the federal governments few billion-dollar mega-projects and earned the grant because it connects job centers, improves access to health care, and reduces congestion, Flowers said.

In all, the extension is expected to cost $2.1 billion, with the half-cent sales tax county voters approved 1987 and extended in 2004 covering the remainder of the expenses after the federal grant. In November, voters will consider Measure A, an additional half-cent sales tax that will be largely be used for transportation-related projects. The ballot item needs support from two-thirds of voters to pass.

The $1 billion federal grant will be disbursed over 10 years, including $100 million that will be provided immediately. Gary Gallegos, the executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments, the regional planning organization that helped develop the rail project, said money will be borrowed to pay for construction of the line until the entire grant is paid over the next decade. Some work, including the relocation of public utilities, is already underway and has been paid for.

Funding will depend on appropriations from future Congresses and presidential administrations, but the government has made a commitment to continue funding the Mid-Coast trolley line extension, Gallegos said.

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 DESPITE SOME BUMPS THIS YEAR, THE 11-MILE EXTENSION FROM OLD TOWN TO UC SAN DIEGO AND WESTFIELD UTC IS INCHING TOWARD KEY APPROVALS AND HAS BECOME MUCH MORE THAN JUST A SET OF LINES ON A MAP. THE DISCOVERY OF AN ENDANGERED SPECIES ALONG THE PROJECT

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
For all the policy differences between the two major party presidential nominees, both are striking surprisingly similar positions on trade.

Donald Trumps rhetoric might be decidedly more pitched than Hillary Clintons, but they have each taken positions that would make the American economy less competitive, cut off our manufacturers from overseas markets and make goods more expensive for consumers here at home.

Trump, who says that Mexico is killing us on trade, is claiming that erecting physical barriers between the U.S. and one of our top trading partners and raising tariffs will enhance our economy and security.

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OPPOSING VIEW: Trade deal could undermine national security

Clinton, once a proponent of free trade, is now positioning herself as a protectionist, claiming that trade hurts American workers.

Theyre both wrong. Trade means jobs. To put a finer point on it, border region trade means jobs. Close to 20 percent of U.S. jobs depend on trade in the border regions.

What Trump is proposing would make it harder for businesses of all sizes to legally and freely move goods and services between the two countries. For someone who is not shy about touting his mastery of economic matters, he is surprisingly ill-informed about trades positive effects on American jobs.

Clintons positions on trade have been, to be charitable, more evolving. She on one hand acknowledges that modern economies must engage in commerce outside their borders, yet she now says she opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the proposed trade bloc of countries in Asia and the Americas, despite having played a leading role in its development. Her opposition to the TPP of late has become more rigid, sending a message that she will not be an ally of job creators who look beyond our shores for new customers and opportunities.

But the power of trade does not have to be understood only in the abstract. Take a trip to the Otay Mesa port of entry here in San Diego, or Nogales, or El Paso, or Laredo. In those communities inland ports of entry, youll see long lines of commercial trucks carrying everything from laptops to tomatoes destined for American store shelves.

But you will also see plenty of trucks headed to Mexico, filled with American-made parts that will find their way into finished products. In fact, 40 percent of the value of imports from Mexico originated in the U.S.

But to listen to the two nominees, one would think that trade more generally  and the North American Free Trade Agreement more specifically  was the source of all of our nations economic ills.

Its not. Trade between Mexico and the U.S. is a $1.3 billion-a-day industry, responsible for 6 million U.S. jobs.

Democrats and Republicans need a reset in their rhetoric on trade, which should be an issue both parties can champion. After all, it was Republican George H.W. Bush who negotiated NAFTA and Democrat Bill Clinton who secured its adoption.

While trades benefits have been elusive for some, voters understand its importance. Border region voters are especially attuned to trades impact, as a recent Cronkite News-Univision-Dallas Morning News survey found that 79 percent of Americans living in border regions said they depend on Mexico for economic survival.

And building a wall? That idea is deeply unpopular among Americans in the region, with 72 percent of the polls respondents saying they are opposed to the idea.

The lack of an unabashed pro-growth, pro-trade, pro-border presidential nominee is disappointing. A candidate who could articulate to voters why lower tariffs can increase consumer choice and buying power; why multilateral trade deals are good news for American manufacturers competing abroad; why investing in our ports of entry will positively affect communities from the border to the heartland; and why building walls between us and our neighbors is so antithetical to what our nation stands for, could have been a point of light in an otherwise depressing campaign.

Organizations like ours will make the case for robust trade before the next administration regardless of party. Heres hoping theres still time for the nominees to give trades benefits another look.

Jones is chairman of the Border Trade Alliance and president of RL Jones Customhouse Brokers, which has offices in San Diego and throughout the U.S.-Mexico border. Avila is vice president of international business affairs for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Clark is executive director of the San Diego-Tijuana Smart Border Coalition.
In his valedictory trip to Asia this month, President Obama was as focused on domestic lobbying as he was on foreign diplomacy. While he discussed serious business with East Asian leaders, he also seized every opportunity to pitch wavering American lawmakers on the importance of passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during the lame duck session after the election.

The Asia backdrop was important. As Americans from both parties have soured on the economic case for the 12-nation trade deal, backers including the White House and many Congressional Republicans have fallen back on describing the TPP has a crucial component of the Asia foreign policy pivot, a strategy to contain China, and a requirement for upholding Americas global responsibilities. Failure to move ahead with TPP would not just have economic consequences, but would call into question Americas leadership in the region, Obama said.

OPPOSING VIEW: Trade deal benefits U.S., border region

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As a retired brigadier general and 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Im no stranger to these arguments, which have been made time and time again in defense of trade agreements. But in analyzing the potential impacts of the TPP, Ive come to take a different view: This proposed trade deal could actually endanger our national security and foreign policy priorities.

As the Pentagons Defense Science Board has warned, we cant separate our national security from the strength of our domestic manufacturing base. The loss of more than 5 million American manufacturing jobs in the last two decades  much of which can be tied to our failed trade policies with China, Mexico and Korea  hasnt just hurt our wage standards but also compromised our supply chains and our technological advantages in many sectors. With so much less manufacturing happening at home, our military is increasingly dependent on foreign production. Our trade policy has made us seriously vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, including from poor manufacturing practices, disasters abroad, and even price gouging by foreign actors. We have also outsourced and offshored production enabling some of tomorrows potential adversaries, like China, with capabilities such as enhanced stealth technology, communications capabilities and other leading-edge defensive and offensive capacity.

Theres near-consensus that TPP would make our manufacturing situation  and, in turn, our supply chain problem  worse. Even this years official US government study on the TPPs economic effects from the International Trade Commission said so much. Other studies indicate that the deal would lower wages for 90 percent of Americans, contributing to the growing income inequality that destabilizes us as a nation and diminishes our citizens desire for international engagement.

America can maintain its influence in East Asia without taking these risks.

As Clyde Prestowitz, a top Asia policy official during the Reagan years and a trade advisor during the Clinton administration, has argued, the combination of our existing military presence and allies reliance on it for their defense (weve had the Seventh Fleet and about 100,000 troops in the region for more than half a century) and persistent trade deficits with East Asian nations guarantees that the U.S. will remain engaged and highly influential in the region for the foreseeable future.

Whats more, the U.S. already has written the rules of commerce for the region. We have comprehensive free trade agreements with the six TPP countries that account for over 80 percent of the promised trade under TPP. And all the nations in the proposed deal are currently members of the World Trade Organization.

This isnt a choice of integration versus isolationism. The U.S. already is economically integrated with the world and will continue to be so. Rather at issue with the TPP is whether the U.S. will demand that its allies provide special privileges for multinational corporations  like the rights at the heart of the TPP that allow global firms to sue governments before panels of corporate lawyers for cash compensation from taxpayers. This does not advance U.S. national interests or promote American values but could generate significant animosity against the U.S.

From Chinas ambitions to North Koreas instability, there are plenty of reasons why the Asia-Pacific region matters for American national security. We can stay engaged and support our allies without putting our workers, industrial base and laws at risk. American values require a smarter approach to trade.

Adams, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general, is president of Guardian Six Consulting LLC. His final military assignment before retiring in September 2007 was as deputy U.S. military representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Military Committee, the highest military authority of NATO.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  The former head of Argentinas air force was convicted Thursday in the kidnapping and torture of a left-wing activist couple during the 1976-1983 dictatorship.

The court then sentenced Omar Graffigna, 90, to 25 years in prison for the 1978 abduction of Patricia Roisinblit and Jose Manuel Perez Rojo, who belonged to the Montoneros guerrilla group.

Roisinblit was pregnant when she and Perez Rojo were taken to a clandestine government detention center. Their 15-month-old daughter, Mariana, was raised by the paternal grandmother, and the couple has never been seen again  two victims among the thousands disappeared by the military regime.

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The plaintiffs in the case included Roisinblits mother, Rosa de Roisinblit, who is vice president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo human rights group, and Guillermo Perez Roisinblit, the son born to Roisinblit at the notorious Naval Mechanics School in 1978.

Guillermo was known as Guillermo Gomez for decades, until he was contacted by his biological sister and the Grandmothers of the Playa de Mayo to finally learn about his biological parents.

He had been raised by Francisco Gomez, who has served time for stealing Guillermo when he was an infant. Gomez was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for the abduction and torture of Guillermos parents.

Another former subordinate of Graffigna, Luis Tomas Trillo, was sentenced to 25 years.

I waited for 38 years to reach this moment, Guillermos grandmother, 97-year-old Rosa de Roisinblit said, trying to hold back tears in court. The fight goes on. Were not done here ... but, still, I never thought Id live to see this moment.

Since 1977, the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo have fought to recover their stolen grandchildren. In the dictatorship years, they marched every week in front of the main square in Buenos Aires at great risks to their lives. After Argentinas return to democracy, they lobbied the government to create a DNA database and dedicate judicial resources to the effort.

Argentinas search for truth remains focused on the 500 or so newborns raised by surrogate families after the military junta launched a systematic plan to steal babies born to political prisoners. To date, 120 cases of stolen children have been resolved, but several hundred have yet to be accounted for.

Our parents have been disappeared for 38 years. We dont know where they are and weve never received an answer. But today, at least three of the criminals received their sentence, said Mariana Perez Roisinblit, who embraced her brother and grandmother when the ruling was announced.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced during a visit to Buenos Aires this year that coincided with the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought the junta to power that Washington would open up a trove of U.S. intelligence files from Argentinas dirty war era.

Human rights groups estimate about 30,000 people were killed or forcibly disappeared during the dictatorship.

___

Associated Press video journalist Paul Byrne contributed to this report.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Honduras judiciary says a small-town mayor has made an initial appearance before a judge in San Pedro Sula on murder and illicit association charges.

In a Tuesday statement, the countrys judiciary says El Negrito Mayor Delvin Salgado Fuentes is among five people arrested in connection with two killings in 2013 and 2014. It adds that Salgado was the material author of the slayings.

The statement says Salgado has been linked to two criminal bands, including a group that killed suspected criminals in El Negrito. Honduras is plagued with intense gang violence.

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One of its victims was a police officer who ordered that the group disarm. Salgado allegedly intervened so that their weapons were returned. Days later, the police officer was ambushed and killed.
BRUSSELS (AP)  A judge says that European Union agreements on closer ties and trade with Morocco shouldnt apply to Western Sahara amid tensions over the disputed territory.

Advocate General Melchior Wathelet said in a legal opinion Tuesday that Western Sahara isnt a part of Morocco, and EU member countries have never recognized the north African countrys sovereignty over the territory.

Wathelet said that neither an EU-Morocco accord on closer ties nor a trade pact in agriculture and fisheries should apply there.

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Morocco suspended contacts with the EU after Europes top court annulled in December their fisheries and agriculture agreement because it included the mineral-rich territory, which Morocco considers to be its southern provinces.

Opinions such as Wathelets arent legally binding, but are respected by EU courts in most cases.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Days after killing himself, a vocal advocate for gun rights and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has won a New York primary election.

Assemblyman Bill Nojay was facing a fraud trial in Cambodia and reportedly under FBI scrutiny when he went to his familys cemetery plot in Rochester and shot himself in front of an arriving police officer on Friday.

Now the defeat Tuesday of challenger Richard Milne coupled with a quirk in state election law means that local GOP leaders, who encouraged voters to choose Nojay despite his death, get to pick someone to take on Democrat Barbara Baer in November. Nojays Republican-leaning district in the Legislatures lower chamber covers parts of suburban Rochester and the Finger Lakes region.

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I really dont know what to say. Its such an unusual situation, Milne told The Associated Press as unofficial results showed him trailing by nearly 1,000 of the 4,500 votes cast.

Though he hopes the three county leaders put him on the ballot, Milne was critical of robocalls and other efforts by the powers that be to boost Nojay after his death.

They really did some things in the past few days that were in poor taste in my opinion to sway the vote, he said.

While rare, posthumous elections happen, notably when Missouri Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash but defeated the Republican incumbent and future U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in a 2000 Senate race. That victory led to the appointment of Carnahans widow, Jean Carnahan, to the Senate. Since 1962, four people who died close to Election Day have been elected to the House of Representatives.

Nojay, a 59-year-old Rochester native and father of three, was elected to the Assembly in 2012 and quickly emerged as a leading critic of stricter gun control laws that Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed through the Legislature after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. He had graduate degrees in law and business from Columbia University and was a research fellow at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal, according to his official biography.

In addition to his work as a lawyer and lawmaker, Nojay hosted a regional conservative talk radio show and encouraged Trump when he previously flirted with running for governor of New York.

Authorities havent said what might have been behind Nojays suicide, but multiple Rochester media outlets have reported he was due to surrender to the FBI to face federal fraud charges on the afternoon he killed himself near his brothers grave. Federal prosecutors have declined to comment on that case.

Nojay and two other men were also facing trial in Cambodia on fraud charges, accused of bilking an investor of $1 million in a proposed rice exporting business. Nojay denied fraud was committed.

All the people Ive worked with have been honorable people, but again, some of them have done well, and some of them have stumbled. Thats just the nature of small business work, Nojay told Rochesters WHAM radio the day before he died.

Milne, who is mayor of Honeoye Falls, said he ran a clean and solid race and was disappointed.

I really believe we would have fared better with Mr. Nojay still alive, he said.
LIMA, Peru (AP)  Four centuries ago the Count of San Isidro planted nearly 2,000 olive trees from his native Spain in a sprawling grove on the edges of Lima, the capital of colonial Peru.

Perfectly suited to the arid climate, the olive trees thrived as the city grew around them. Their twisting, knobby trunks and shady leaves became the centerpiece of a park named for them  El Olivar  thats a magnet for lovers, exercise enthusiasts and children on school field trips.

However, in a feat of poor planning, officials surrounded the trees with a 25-acre (10-hectare) carpet of crabgrass that every week receives more than 2 million gallons (9,000 cubic meters) of water, practically drowning the 1,700 trees.

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After nearly a century of overwatering, many of the slow-growing trees are at risk of dying. Eleven have exposed roots and are in danger of falling, as one did in 2014. The problem is drawing attention to how residents and city planners waste scarce water resources ornamenting Lima with lush parks unsuited to the capitals dry environment.

Lima was built atop a desert, Maureen Vilca, a teacher at a private Catholic school, reminded her students as they sat under the trees on a recent school day.

The district of San Isidro, Limas wealthiest and best-organized, is looking for ways to urgently fix a problem created by previous administrations. Under consideration are plans to substitute the current grass for a less thirsty species, or using targeted irrigation techniques to prevent overwatering. Under normal conditions the trees could live more than 1,000 years, said Fernando de la Vega, who oversees San Isidros parks.

Salustio Pomacondor, a forestry expert, said the lack of water planning is endemic to Lima. He cited as an example a 6-mile stretch of parks along El Malecon, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean and which the city spent years improving without much consideration for the constant watering that such immaculate landscaping requires. Another example of the focus on aesthetics over utility is the preference on downtown sidewalks for willows, a tree usually found next to rivers and which requires 40 gallons (150 liters) of water each week.

Pomacondor said the majority of Limas 9 million residents have little notion of how scarce a resource water is in the capital despite the fact that annual rainfall rarely exceeds a third of an inch (9 millimeters.) While an estimated 700,000 residents have no access to running water, the rest consume an average of 66 gallons (250 liters) a day, more than their counterparts in other Andean capitals such as Bogota, Quito or La Paz.

Everyone plants whatever they feel like, he said.

___

Franklin Briceno is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/franklinbriceno .

His work can also be read at https://bigstory.ap.org/author/franklin-briceno
PALERMO, Sicily (AP)  Two Eritrean baby boys were recovering well at a hospital in Palermo on Wednesday, a week after they were born prematurely in Libya and then  at only 5 days old  put on a cramped boat headed to Europes shores.

The twin boys were lucky survivors of a dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean that has claimed more than 3,000 lives to date this year, a journey that many continue to take in desperate efforts for a better life.

The tiny infants, bundled in towels and with a white bonnet covering the head of one, were rescued off the Libyan coast by non-governmental groups on Monday. They were among thousands of migrants, mostly Eritreans and Somalis, who piled into boats in Libya before dawn and traveled for several hours before being picked up.

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The babies were in an open wooden boat carrying about 650 people who were exposed to the sun and wind and who had no food or water, said Nicholas Papachrysostomou, the field coordinator of rescue operators on Dignity I, a Doctors Without Borders ship that played a leading role in the rescue.

Can you picture two 5-day-old babies on this boat? Papachrysostomou told The Associated Press in a phone interview. Its hard to even imagine how the babies could be held by their mother without being squashed.

He said that one of the boys was at first in a very vulnerable state, suffering from hypothermia, fatigue and showing low responsiveness.

The medical team on board the ship determined that the baby needed immediate medical attention and arranged to have both twins and their mother evacuated. They were first taken by boat to the island of Lampedusa, where they were stabilized, and then airlifted to a hospital in Palermo, where the boy was admitted to the neonatal ward.

Both of them are doing well. The vulnerable one is stable. The developments of the story justified the decision for the emergency medical treatment, Papachrysostomou said.

The mother, Merhawit Tesfamamrim, a 26-year-old from Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, was also recovering in the Palermo hospital, and appeared to be in good shape.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said that 3,167 people have either died or gone missing crossing the Mediterranean Sea into Europe from the Middle East and Africa to date this year in unseaworthy boats and dinghies.

___

Vanessa Gera reported from Warsaw, Poland.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that Merhawit is the first name, not the last name, of the mother of the babies.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Qatars emir has spoken with the Iranian president in an outreach effort that could help ease tensions between Sunni Gulf Arab states and Shiite-majority Iran.

The official Qatar News Agency says Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani offered his greetings Monday to President Hasan Rouhani to mark the start of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, and discussed issues including terrorism and the principles of good neighborliness.

Qatar is part of the Saudi-dominated, six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and hosts U.S. troops on a major air base.

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Saudi Arabia and Iran are regional rivals and back opposing sides in Syria and Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in January after Riyadh executed a prominent Shiite cleric and angry Iranian crowds overran Saudi diplomatic missions.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)  Somalia on Tuesday hosted its first regional summit of African heads of state in 30 years, a source of pride in this Horn of Africa country after decades of chaos and deadly attacks by al-Shabab extremists. On social media, people marveled that their country was trending for something other than explosions.

Security measures were high as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn arrived, and residents said celebrations of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha had been severely restricted in recent days.

The summit was seen as the latest sign of confidence in a return to normal life in Somalia, which was plunged into decades of conflict in 1991 when warlords overthrew the regime of dictator Siad Barre.

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Mogadishu was considered one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, but now it regained its image, resident Ismail Abdi said. Its a dream came true, another resident, Abdullahi Gafow, said.

Even so, the summit was decided to be held at the last minute, Ethiopias foreign minister, Tedros Adhanom, told The Associated Press, without giving details. There were previous plans to abandon it.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir said he would not attend after being invited, Somalias Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer confirmed. Al-Bashir would have been defying a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court with his presence.

Somalias government had said leaders also were expected from South Sudan and Djibouti for the summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development regional bloc. But a plane carrying Djiboutis president turned back after developing engine problems that prevented it from landing, that countrys ambassador to Somalia confirmed.

While the South Sudan crisis was set to be a top issue for discussion, President Salva Kiir did not show up.

The presence of the heads of state in Somalia is a clear dividend of returning stability in the country. It is an endorsement of Somalias recovery, the African Unions special representative for Somalia, Francisco Caetano Madeira, said in a statement. The United Nations mission in Somalia called it a great achievement.

Somalia is now preparing for a presidential election in October, another significant step forward.

But homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab continues to strike at the heart of Somalias seaside capital, killing scores of people so far this year. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck near the gate of the presidential palace in Mogadishu late last month, killing at least 12 people.

Several of the countries invited to the summit take part in a 22,000-strong African Union force protecting Somalia, though the force faces funding cuts and troop shortages that experts have warned could further destabilize the country.

The summits communique called on the AU force and Somalias security forces to expand their operations, deal with evolving terror threats and immediately recover the remaining areas controlled by al-Shabab.

It also encouraged the voluntary return of all Somali refugees. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis have spent years in the worlds largest refugee camp across the border in Kenya. Kenyatta has said his government will close Dadaab camp this year, leading to fears that some people would be forced to return.

___

Associated Press writer Elias Meseret in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and videographer Mohamed Sheikh Nor contributed.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  Guatemalas president said Tuesday that a son and a brother had made statements to prosecutors investigating the allged misappropriation of funds.

President Jimmy Morales addressed the nation about the case, saying both men went to the Attorney Generals Office to make their statements.

They are alleged to have presented false bills for reimbursement favoring the restaurant of one of the financial backers of the political party that carried Morales to office.

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An international commission investigating corruption in Guatemala along with the Attorney Generals Office arrested 22 people earlier this month for the misappropriation of funds.

Attorney Generals Office spokeswoman Julia Barrera confirmed that Morales son Jose Manuel Morales and brother Samuel Everardo Morales made statements.

Morales, accompanied by his wife, said his son had travelled from outside Guatemala to make the statement.
Before his untimely death two years ago at age 48, Vista resident Steve Hofstadler was known as a scientist who loved his family, friends, work and community, as well as chocolate.

Those words, including the chocolate part, are now etched on a marble plaque outside the just-opened Hoffy House for orphans in Jinja, Uganda. Hofstadlers widow, Nina, and their teen sons Justin and Shane, were among those gathered July 23 at the buildings dedication ceremony. In an interview Thursday, she could hardly talk about the experience without choking up.

It was life-changing, Nina said. So many people, so many friends, so many families did this for us and for these children in Uganda. I love that its a memorial  it will always be something that we can connect with Steve.

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The opening of Hoffy House was the culmination of two years of fundraising, planning and construction organized by the Hofstadlers closest friends, Barb and Gil Miltenberger of Oceanside. The Miltenbergers and their two teen daughters, Rylie and Kelsey, also attended the ceremony, and Barb said all of her hard work paid off when she saw Ninas face that day.

Nina is a super happy, joyful person ... if you could have seen her expressions that day, it was amazing, Barb said. From a horrible situation, she found joy.

Steve Hofstadler died suddenly on Jan. 18, 2014, from an aortic dissection after a day at the beach with his family. More than 500 people, including scientists who flew in from as far away as Germany, attended his memorial service. The New Mexico native was vice president of research and development for Ibis Biosciences in Carlsbad, a division of Abbot Molecular.

He held more than 50 patents, mostly in the field of bioanalytical mass spectrometry for drug discovery and pathogen detection. Abbott recognized his achievements by inducting him into its Volwiler Society, an honor reserved for just over 200 of its more than 70,000 employees.

He was a brilliant scientist but low key and he had a funny sense of humor and made everyone feel at ease, Barb said.

Just months before his death, Hofstadler met with Gil Miltenberger to discuss ways that Abbott Molecular could support the orphanage program run by Assist International. Gil has served for eight years on the board of the Santa Cruz-based global charity, which has sponsored more than 500 childrens, education, water, medical and anti-poverty programs in 61 countries since 1990.

After their friend died, the Miltenbergers decided to forge ahead in building an orphan home in his honor. Through a community garage sale, wine-tasting, fundraisers and private donations, they raised nearly $25,000 to fund what became known as the Hoffy house (Hoffy was Steves nickname).

Hoffy House is one of several homes for orphans that Assist International built in the community of Jinja, which is overseen by the Ugandan charity AOET, Action for Empowerment. There are more than 11 million children orphaned by AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, and war and poverty have added to the numbers.

Projects like Hoffy House are built with charitable donations, but they become self-sustaining. Jinja has several private schools that serve the region. Tuition collected from families outside Jinja supports the community. For Hoffy House, AOET selected a schoolteacher who moved in with his wife and three children. The family also took in four orphaned teen girls, who will get a free education at the school where their adoptive father now teaches.

Nina said she was overwhelmed by the spirit of love she encountered in the village, from the friendly children to the kind and grateful adults. She was also happy to share the experience with her sons, who were so moved by what they saw, they gave all their own pocket money to shoeless children they met in the streets.

It was beautiful. The message the boys got out of this is that material things dont matter. Love and the basic things are all you need, she said. None of this could have happened without Barb and Gil and everyone who contributed. Its a beautiful gift that will keep giving for years to come.

Barb said shes thrilled the Hoffy House can be a lasting legacy for a man who was known for his generosity

Not only does it memorialize him, but it captures his spirit of giving and caring, she said.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/14/2016 -- 'The Insurance Industry in Suriname, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed analysis of Surinamese insurance industry.



It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review (20112015) and forecast periods (20152020).



The report also gives a comprehensive overview of the Surinamese economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country. It also includes the impact of natural hazards on the insurance industry.



The report brings together Timetrics 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.



To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @ http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=811935



Summary

'The Insurance Industry in Suriname, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Surinamese insurance industry, including:



An overview of the Surinamese insurance industry

The Surinamese insurance industry's growth prospects by segment and category

A comprehensive overview of the Surinamese economy and demographics

The detailed competitive landscape in the Surinamese insurance industry

Details of regulatory policy applicable to the Surinamese insurance industry

An analysis of natural hazards in the Surinamese insurance industry



Scope



This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the insurance industry in Suriname:



It provides historical values for the Surinamese insurance industry for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.

It offers a detailed analysis of the key segments in the Surinamese insurance industry, with market forecasts to 2020.

It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions.

It profiles the top insurance companies in Suriname, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.

It covers the economy and demographics structure of Suriname.

It analyzes the impact of natural hazards in the Surinamese insurance industry.



Make an Enquiry of this report @ http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=811935



Reasons To Buy



Make strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Surinamese insurance industry and each segment and category within it.

Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Surinamese insurance industry.

Assess the competitive dynamics in the Surinamese insurance industry.

Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key segments.

Gain insights into key regulations governing the Surinamese insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.



Key Highlights



The Surinamese insurance industry is developing. Thirteen insurance companies were operational as of 2013, of which four were life insurers, seven were general insurers and two were funeral insurers.

The Insurance Act was introduced to the parliament in 2014 but is yet to be passed.

The industry grew from at a review-period CAGR of 18.5%. Growth was driven by the personal accident and health segment which recorded a review-period CAGR of 28.7% and accounted for 43.3% of the industry's gross written premium in 2015.

The motor insurance category constituted 44.4% of the total non-life segments industry contribution in 2015.

Despite the increase in the premium amount, the total percentage of reinsurance ceded declined in all three segments, indicating that insurers were retaining a higher percentage of risk.



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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/15/2016 -- This research report provides analytical insights on the 'Europe commercial refrigeration equipment market' with focus on regions such as United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Scandinavia, and rest of Europe. It covers commercial refrigeration equipments used in food and beverage production, food and beverage retail and distribution, and others. The study gives market evaluation in terms of revenue and volume and forecast for the period 2013 to 2019. Different parameters considered while segmenting the market are product, geography and application type. The report includes Porter's five forces analysis of commercial refrigeration equipment market and the market attractiveness analysis, which highlight emerging market segments and competitive scenario across the different levels of the supply chain.



The market overview section of the report emphasizes on the market dynamics and trends, which include the drivers, restraints and opportunities and influence the current nature and future growth of the market. The detailed porter's five forces analysis helps the market competitors to formulate their business strategies at every stage of their business. Moreover, the market estimates have been analyzed by keeping in mind the several factors which affect the market including but not limited to technological, economical, social, environmental and legal. Impact factors such as market attractiveness analysis has also been explained in this section of the report, in order to give a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the European commercial refrigeration market.



Complete Report with TOC @ http://www.mrrse.com/europe-commercial-refrigeration-equipment-market



The emergence of new retail networks and expansion of existing stores which include hotels, cafes, and supermarkets in Europe has led to increase in number of people who dine out and purchase frozen food items. This increased trade of frozen food items has led to surge in demand for refrigeration equipment across the commercial sector. Moreover, use of refrigeration equipment in horticulture, processes, and sea food exports across the globe are some of the key factors supporting the growth of this market.



However, after the European debt crisis and economic slump, expansion of retail sector and investment in new outlets has provided necessary momentum leading to revival of the commercial refrigeration equipment market growth. Thus, demand for both new products as well as replacement of obsolete products is identified as two different types of demand trends, which are expected to support the market growth during the forecast period. Furthermore, solar powered commercial refrigeration systems (CRS) which plays a vital part in avoiding energy crisis opens up new avenues for exploration. Remote monitored commercial equipment which offers benefits such monitoring the system 24/7 for alerts such refrigerant leak detection, high liquid levels and high system pressure help to reduce energy consumption, maintenance and overall operating cost. Owing to these advantages remote-monitored commercial refrigeration equipment along with solar powered CRS are seen as high potential markets in the long run.



The Europe commercial refrigeration equipment market, based on the type of product, is segmented in to transportation refrigeration equipment, refrigerators & freezers, beverage refrigeration, other equipment, and parts. These different product types find their applications in food service, food & beverage retail, food & beverage distribution, unorganized (Mom n pop stores), food & beverage production, and other applications. In terms of geographical distribution, the European commercial refrigeration market has been classified into countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Scandinavia, and rest of Europe This section includes market estimates and forecast for the commercial refrigeration equipment market for each segment in terms of USD million.



Major players have been profiled with focus on competitive details such as company and financial overview, business strategies, and their recent developments. The players are focused on developing refrigeration equipment which will help in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and minimizing energy consumption. Thus, manufacturers are switching to green refrigerants such as CO2, ammonia and water vapor for development of commercial refrigeration equipment. Some of the market participants profiled in this report include Viessmann Group (Norpe Group), Frigoglass, ISA s.r.l., Hoshizaki International, Inc., Hussmann Corporation (Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC), York (Johnson Controls), Metalfrio Solutions, Inc., Interlevin Refrigeration Ltd, Epta S.p.a., Hubbard Products Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Plc, Dover Corporation (Hill Phoenix), Carrier (UTC), and Illinois Tool Works Inc. among others.



Request a Free Sample Copy of the Report @ http://www.mrrse.com/sample/1043



The report analyzes the Europe commercial refrigeration equipment market in terms of revenue (USD million) and volume (thousand units) for each segment for the period 2011 to 2019, along with the CAGR for the forecast period: 2013 to 2019.



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Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/15/2016 -- The smoke detector market has witnessed major developments in the past few years. North America and Europe are major regions where smoke detectors have witnessed maximum growth. This is because of the presence of key players in the smoke detector market and key end-users of smoke detectors.



Browse 76 market data tables with 63 figures spread through 149 pages and in-depth TOC on "Smoke Detector Market - Global Forecast to 2022"



Download PDF Brochure :

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=162940771



Major players operating in the smoke detector market are Hochiki Corporation (Japan), Honeywell International (U.S.), United Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Tyco (Ireland), Siemens AG (Germany), Johnson Control (U.S.), Robert Bosch (Germany), NEC Corporation (U.S.), Nest labs (U.S.), and Schneider Electric (France) among others. The top five players that hold maximum share in smoke detector market are Honeywell International (U.S.), United Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Tyco (Ireland), Siemens AG (Germany), and Johnson Controls (U.S.).



United Technologies Corporation (U.S.) ranked first in the smoke detector market in 2015. UTC follows an organized approach toward fire security. The company focuses on enhancing its fire and security system portfolio by adopting new strategies and divesting its non-core businesses. Kidde is the brand and business division of UTC that manufactures and distributes fire protection equipment such as smoke detectors or smoke alarms, fire detectors, CO alarms for various commercial, residential and industrial sectors. Rapid urbanization and strong commercial aerospace growth assist UTC in increasing its customer base.



Report Information :

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smoke-detector-market-162940771.html



This has resulted in the increase in opportunities in the aerospace domain. The UTC climate and controls & security segment further strengthens the company's market presence. UTC has established several joint ventures in the local market and has also increased product localization across various markets. The company focuses on maintaining a balanced and diversified portfolio of businesses to limit the impact of the economy of any one country or an industry on operating results. The company's offerings include OEM and aftermarket parts and services in the UTC climate and controls & security as well as commercial aerospace spares businesses. Its customers include companies in both the public and private sectors, and its businesses reflect an extensive geographical diversification that has evolved with the continued globalization of the world economies.



Honeywell International is one of the innovative wireless smoke detector providers. Its business performance, technologies, and strategies have a significant impact on the security and safety management and utilization solutions sectors. It focuses on expanding its services and solutions by introducing new product lines, which encourage security and safety practices to pre-empt safety incidents before they occur. The company aims on strengthening its footprint significantly in the fields of engineering, research, and manufacturing in the U.S., France, the U.K., Romania, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, and China. To further broaden its product portfolio, the company has adopted the strategies of acquisitions and new product launches. For instance, in 2016, Honeywell acquired Xtralis (Ireland), a leading global provider of aspirating smoke detection, advanced perimeter security technologies, and video analytics software for USD 480 million.



Xtralis aspirating smoke detection solutions protect many Fortune 500 companies and famous infrastructures worldwide, to provide early warning and verification of threats to speed response time and minimize facility damages and potential injuries. In 2015, Honeywell expanded its Lyric product family with the introduction of Lyric home security, a new home security system. In 2014, the company launched a new commercial wireless fire or smoke alarm solution, as well as acquired RAE Systems, Inc., a global gas and radiation detection systems and software company. It has also made significant investments in its R&D.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/15/2016 -- Thailand Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2021 report is a comprehensive report on crude oil refinery industry in Thailand. The report provides oil production, consumption, exports and imports details from 2000 to 2020 along with oil reserves for the period 2000 to 2015. The report also provides details on oil refineries such as name, type, operational status, operator apart from capacity data for the major processing units, for all active refineries in Thailand till 2021. Further, the report also offers recent developments, financial deals as well as latest contracts awarded in the country's oil refinery industry.



Scope

- Historic and forecast of oil data related to production, consumption, imports and exports for the period 2000-2020, and reserves for the period 2000-2015



- Updated information related to all active refineries in the country, including operator and equity details



- Information on CDU, condensate splitter, FCC and hydrocracking capacities by refinery in the country, where available



- Key mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, private equity and IPOs in the country's crude oil industry, where available



- Latest developments, financial deals and awarded contracts related to crude oil refineries in the country



Reasons to buy

- Gain a strong understanding of the country's energy sector and crude oil refining industry



- Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast production, reserves and capacity data



- Assess your competitor's major crude oil refining assets and their performance in the country



- Analyze the latest developments, financial deals and awarded contracts related to the country's crude oil refining industry



- Understand the country's financial deals landscape by analyzing how competitors are financed, and the mergers and partnerships that have shaped the market



Spanning over 39 pages, 12 Tables and 5 Figures "Thailand Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2021" report covers Introduction, Thailand Energy Sector, Thailand Refining Industry, Recent Contracts, Financial Deals Landscape, Recent Developments, Appendix.



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Astronomers using ESOs Very Large Telescope and NASAs Chandra and Hubble space telescopes have solved the mystery of a rare change in the behavior of a central black hole of the active galaxy Markarian 1018.

Many galaxies are found to have an extremely bright core powered by a supermassive black hole. These cores make active galaxies some of the brightest objects in the Universe.

They are thought to shine so brightly because hot material is glowing fiercely as it falls into the black hole, a process known as accretion.

This brilliant light can vary hugely between different active galaxies, so astronomers classify them into several types based on the properties of the light they emit.

Some of these galaxies have been observed to change dramatically over the course of only ten years.

However, the active galaxy Markarian 1018 stands out by having changed type a second time, reverting back to its initial classification within the last five years.

We were stunned to see such a rare and dramatic change in Markarian 1018, said Rebecca McElroy, from the University of Sydney and the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO).

The chance observation of the galaxy so soon after it began to fade was an unexpected opportunity to learn what makes these galaxies tick, added ESO astronomer Dr. Bernd Husemann.

We were lucky that we detected the event just 3-4 years after the decline started so we could begin monitoring campaigns to study details of the accretion physics of active galaxies that cannot be studied otherwise.

The team made the most of this opportunity, making it their first priority to pinpoint the process causing Markarian 1018s brightness to change so wildly.

This could have been caused by any one of a number of astrophysical events, but they could rule out the black hole pulling in and consuming a single star and cast doubt on the possibility of obscuration by intervening gas.

But the true mechanism responsible for Markarian 1018s surprising variation remained a mystery after the first round of observations.

However, with the new data from Hubble and Chandra space telescopes they were able to solve the mystery  the black hole was slowly fading because it was being starved of accretion material.

Its possible that this starvation is because the inflow of fuel is being disrupted. An intriguing possibility is that this could be due to interactions with a second supermassive black hole, McElroy said.

Such a black hole binary system is a distinct possibility in Markarian 1018, as the galaxy is the product of a major merger of two galaxies  each of which likely contained a supermassive black hole in its center.

The teams findings will be published in two papers in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

_____

R.E. McElroy et al. 2016. The Close AGN Reference Survey: Mrk 1018s return to the shadows after 30 years as a Seyfert 1. A&A, accepted for publication;

B. Husemann et al. 2016. The Close AGN Reference Survey (CARS): What is causing Mrk 1018s return to the shadows after 30 years? A&A, accepted for publication;

This article is based on a press-release from the European Southern Observatory.
Scientists on NASAs New Horizons mission have learned that reddish material in the north polar region of Plutos biggest moon, Charon, is chemically processed methane that escaped from the atmosphere of the dwarf planet onto the moon.

NASAs New Horizons robotic spacecraft first spotted the dark red polar region on Plutos largest moon in June 2015. Over the past year, after analyzing the images and other data from the spacecraft, New Horizons mission scientists think theyve solved the mystery.

Charons polar coloring comes from Pluto itself  as methane gas that escapes from the dwarf planets atmosphere and becomes trapped by the moons gravity and freezes to the cold, icy surface at Charons north pole.

This is followed by chemical processing by solar UV light that transforms the methane into heavier hydrocarbons and eventually into reddish organic materials called tholins.

Who would have thought that Pluto is a graffiti artist, spray-painting its companion with a reddish stain that covers an area the size of New Mexico? Every time we explore, we find surprises. Nature is amazingly inventive in using the basic laws of physics and chemistry to create spectacular landscapes, said New Horizons project scientist Dr. Will Grundy, from Lowell Observatory.

Dr. Grundy and his colleagues from the United States, Germany and France combined analyses from detailed images of Charon with computer models of how ice evolves on the moons poles.

They had previously speculated that methane from Plutos atmosphere was trapped in Charons north pole and slowly converted into the reddish material, but had no models to support that theory.

They dug into the data to determine whether conditions on Charon could allow the capture and processing of methane gas.

The models using Pluto and Charons 248-year orbit around the Sun show some extreme weather at Charons poles, where 100 years of continuous sunlight alternate with another century of continuous darkness.

Surface temperatures during these long winters dip to minus 430 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 257 degrees Celsius), cold enough to freeze methane gas into a solid.

The methane molecules bounce around on Charons surface until they either escape back into space or land on the cold pole, where they freeze solid, forming a thin coating of methane ice that lasts until sunlight comes back in the spring, Dr. Grundy said.

But while the methane ice quickly sublimates away, the heavier hydrocarbons created from it remain on the surface.

The models also suggested that in Charons springtime the returning sunlight triggers conversion of the frozen methane back into gas. But while the methane ice quickly sublimates away, the heavier hydrocarbons created from this evaporative process remain on the surface.

Sunlight further irradiates those leftovers into reddish tholins that have slowly accumulated on Charons poles over millions of years.

New Horizons observations of Charons other pole, currently in winter darkness  and seen by New Horizons only by light reflecting from Pluto confirmed that the same activity was occurring at both poles.

The teams findings were published online this week in the journal Nature.

_____

W.M. Grundy et al. The formation of Charons red poles from seasonally cold-trapped volatiles. Nature, published online September 14, 2016; doi: 10.1038/nature19340

This article is based on a press-release issued by NASA.
Engineering capacity is strongly linked to economic development, according to a study published today that brings together data from 99 countries to reveal the first global engineering rankings.



But the sector has poor visibility in development planning and education, and needs a clearer focus on fighting poverty, according to leading figures.



Facts about engineering capacity across the globe

India and Vietnam are future engineering hotspots

No developing nations feature among the top 20 countries on the new engineering index

Only two African countries, South Africa and Tunisia, have an index score above 40 per cent

Myanmar, Tunisia and Honduras have the highest proportion of female engineering graduates at 65, 42 and 41 per cent

The study, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, comes as engineering and international development professionals gathered in London, UK, for the Engineering a Better World conference organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering this week (13 September).

It shows that, on average, a rise on the engineering index of 1 per cent is associated with 0.85 per cent rise in GDP (gross domestic product) per capita. The analysis considers engineering capacity measures such as workforce, output, prospective recruits and quality of research.



The report identifies India and Vietnam as future engineering hotspots. For India, this is linked to its booming urban population as well as growth in asset wealth and GDP  all leading to a rising demand for infrastructure and construction. Vietnams rise is also tied to GDP growth, as well as a high gender parity among graduates that raises its index score.



Addressing the conference via videolink, Bill Gates said having a market-driven engineering agenda is problematic and the sector needs closer links with efforts to fight poverty. Dame Anne Dowling, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, noted that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) give new impetus to this effort.



No developing nation features among the top 20 countries on the new engineering index. And only two African countries, South Africa and Tunisia, have an index score above 40 per cent, compared with the highest performers at over 70 per cent. Data was not available for many parts of the world, and much of the information that fed into the index come from European and Asian countries.



Joanna Maduka, President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, said the low visibility and esteem given to engineers in most African countries is a key issue. Taking charge of a research institute or ministry often amounts to relegation or punishment in politics, she told the gathering.



Literacy about engineering among the public and policymakers is still relatively low, Maduka told SciDev.Net. In fact this conference may be the beginning of [visibility]  I have my minister of science and technology here, she said, adding that the Nigerian government currently lacks engineering expertise in the committee charged with implementing the SDGs.



Raising the profile of engineering is one of Madukas priorities as president of the association, as are education and gender  themes that resonated throughout the day at the conference.

Ammenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius and a chemist, emphasised the role of early education, adding that engineers in developing countries are also held back by low funding , poor facilities and inadequate systems to support their careers.She also highlighted outdated curriculums that emphasise the social and administrative capacities favoured during colonial times.

Gender stereotyping is another obstacle, still rife in textbooks, said Gurib-Fakim, with girls often encouraged to study soft sciences.

Maduka told SciDev.Net the impact of culture and religion is strong in Africa. There are people who dont believe in sending the girl child to school. [And] the second there is difficulty in a family, the girl child is withdrawn from school.

Women currently make up 10% of engineers in Nigeria, according to Maduka, but things are improving.

The report finds a mixed global picture on gender parity, with many rich countries having a poor record and three developing countries among the leaders: Myanmar, Tunisia and Honduras have the highest proportion of female engineering graduates at 65, 42 and 41 per cent respectively, compared with 22 per cent in the UK and 21 per cent in Australia and the Netherlands.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Global desk.
[LHASA] Tibets expanding glacial lakes threaten downstream communities in Nepal, reports Jane Qiu.

Geologists gathered in Beijing for the 33rd International Geographical Congress, held in August, reported that at least six of Tibets southern lakes could be classified as very critically dangerous since they could cause devastating glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

There have been at least 30 GLOFs in Tibet in the recent past according to Pradeep Mool, a geologist and remote-sensing expert with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal.

In 1981, the rocky moraine ridge of Cirenma Co, a glacial lake 14 kilometres from the China-Nepal border, collapsed as a result of an ice avalanche, unleashing nearly 20 million cubic metres of water that picked up debris and blocked the Poiqu River  a transboundary river that originates in Tibet and flows through Nepal and India (known respectively as Bhote Koshi and Sun Koshi). It raised the water level by 30 metres over a 30 kilometre-stretch in Nepal.

In Tibet, the torrent destroyed a village and a highway bridge, though there was no fatality. In Nepal, however, the floods killed five people, damaged infrastructure, including 47 houses, one hydropower station and a key trade route between Nepal and Tibet, causing economic losses worth US$ 4 million.

Critically dangerous lakes

Now, 35 years on, Cirenma Co is full again, says Hu Jinming, a hydrologist at the Yunnan University in Kunming, China. And Cirenma Co is just one of several rapidly expanding glacial lakes in the Poiqu watershed, according to a study Hu presented at the Beijing conference.

By using satellite imagery, Hu, Mool and their colleagues found that 13, out of the 21 glacier lakes they studied, had increased by 24162 per cent between 1991 and 2012. This is consistent with the big picture of glacial-lake changes in the Himalayas, where most glaciers are retreating rapidly, says Wang Weicai, a glaciologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research in Beijing.

They [censors] do not provide enough lead time for downstream communities in Nepal to respond if a flood originates in Tibet. Pradeep Mool, ICIMOD

In a separate study that analysed 119 glacier lakes in the Poiqu watershed, Wang and his colleagues found that their total area had expanded by 122 per cent between 1976 and 2010  pointing to a trend that began at least four decades ago.

In a rare joint China-Nepal expedition to the region, Hu, Mool and their colleagues surveyed 10 of the expanding lakes, gathering information such as dam composition and the degree of consolidation, whether they are drained from the surface or underneath, the distance between the mother glacier and the drainage point, and valley gradients that could help determine the likelihood of an outburst flood and the impacts.

Based on an area-volume relationship derived from previous studies of glacial lakes in the Himalayas, the researchers estimate that the volume of those 10 lakes  an important factor in risk assessment  averages 92 million cubic metres and can be as high as 430 million cubic metres.

The team, relying on Wangs study, concluded that six of them are very critically dangerous while two lakes, including Cirenma Co, are considered to be lakes in very high degree of danger.



Worrisome for Nepal

Both studies point to a really worrisome situation that has serious implications for downstream communities, says Jeffery Kargel, a glaciologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, who has been working in Nepal for over a decade but is not involved in the studies.

The Poiqu watershed is home to 17 Tibetan settlements of about 5,000 people, though most of them are not at risk in this sparsely populated part of Tibet. In Nepal, however, approximately 3,000 households with 16,000 people could be affected, says Mool. Risk assessment shows that a GLOF of the same scale of the 1981 incident would cause much greater economic losses, about US$153 million. This is mainly because there has been significant infrastructure development along the valley in the past decades, he says.

The lakes that are deemed highly dangerous need to be closely monitored, the researchers say. When necessary, there should be proactive attempts to lower the water levels, says Kargel, who is part of the scientific team that advises the mitigation work.

One such effort is being carried out at Imja Tsho, a glacial lake in Nepal 10 kilometres south of Mount Everest, where the goal is to lower the water level by three metres. This will at least reduce the magnitude of the disaster should one occur if not eliminating the risk altogether, says Kargel.

Meanwhile, there is urgent need to install effective early-warning systems in the upstream regions in Tibet, says Hu. Such systems consist of sensors that measure water levels and automatically send warning signals to a management centre when they rise above certain thresholds.

In the aftermath of the 1981 disaster, Nepal installed a series of such censors along the Bhote Koshi and Sun Koshi. But they do not provide enough lead time for downstream communities in Nepal to respond if a flood originates in Tibet, says Mool.

To be more effective, early-warning systems need to be located much closer to glacial lakes in Tibet, says Kargel. This requires a strong bilateral cooperation between China and Nepal and the sharing of water-level information. This is the only way to ensure that disasters such as the 1981 GLOF wont happen again, says Mool.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets South Asia desk.
General Motors Co (GM) has recalled about 4.3 million vehicles worldwide, including 3.64 million in the United States itself, for a software issue affecting frontal airbags. The company said at least one fatality and three injuries were linked to the issue, but did not specify the details.

The recall included a number of models of cars, electric vehicles, SUVs, and trucks.

2014-2016 Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet SS, Chevrolet Spark EV

2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Trax, Chevrolet Caprice PPV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Buick Encore, GMC Sierra 1500

2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Sierra HD, Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV

In a document submitted by GM to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the company said the software issue may prevent frontal airbags and pretensions from deploying during certain circumstances. The company supplying the module, Delphi Automotive, had said it would cooperate with the recall.

The move followed GM's investigation into a crash on May 17 involving a Chevrolet Silverado, in which the vehicle's air bags did not deploy due to errors in computer software. The company did not give more information about the crash. Meanwhile, GM had said the massive recall would not affect its third-quarter earnings, due to be released in October.

GM said it would contact owners to bring vehicles to dealerships for a software reflash. The module will be replaced if the airbags have been deployed. Alternatively, owners can check at NHSTA or GM Owner Center websites if their vehicle identification number is covered by the recall.

Owners can also contact the following customer service hotlines for information about the recall #16007.

Buick - 1-800-521-7300

Cadillac - 1-800-458-8006

Chevrolet - 1-800-222-1020

GMC - 1-800-462-8782

They can also inquire at NHTSA Vehicle Safety campaign #16V651000 at 1-888-327-4236.
Hundreds of space rocks whiz past Earth every day, and most of them go unnoticed by telescopes. Just recently, an asteroid as big as a small school bus made a very close but safe flyby of Earth. However, it flew by alarmingly near the orbit of communications satellites.

Scientists discovered the near-Earth object (NEO) named 2016 RB1 just two days before its flyby, Space.com said. The space rock was estimated to be between 13 and 46 feet (4 to 14 meters) wide and belonged to the Atens group of NEOs that orbit inside the inner solar system.

Asteroid 2016 RB1 had a relative speed of 18,000 mph (8.13 km/s) during its closest approach at 17:28 UTC on September 7, 2016. It passed within 23,900 miles (38,463 km) above Earth's surface, or just one-tenth the average distance between Earth and the Moon. Its flyby was quite close to the orbit of geosynchronous satellites at about 22,300 miles (35,900 km). There had been no risk 2016 RB1 would have impacted any satellites during the encounter, EarthSky reported, citing scientists who plotted the asteroid's track.

But what would happen if an asteroid as big as 2016 RB1 hit the planet? According to Space.com, 2016 RB1 is not big enough to cause damage as extensive as the meteor that exploded mid-air over Russia's Chelyabinsk region in 2013. An asteroid that could cause a catastrophe as massive as the extinction of the dinosaurs should be at least 30 times the size of 2016 RB1, as per experts.

The close flyby happened just a day before NASA launched its first-ever asteroid sampling spacecraft, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, REgolith Explorer or OSIRIS-Rex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The $800-million mission will get a sample from the 1,640-foot-wide (500 meters) asteroid Bennu in August 2018, before returning to Earth in September 2023. OSIRIS-REx will also conduct research on forces affecting deep-space asteroids.
The world's top two auto manufacturers, BMW and Volkswagen, have teamed up with one of the world's biggest electric vehicle (EV) charging station maker, ChargePoint, to build up a new corridor of fast charging stations all across the United States. Last year in January, the two German manufacturers announced more stations would be built that'd be compatible with CCS in collaboration with ChargePoint.

The Project, also known as the Express Charging Corridor Initiative, included installation of 95 DC fast-charging stations along side major East and West Coast corridors. The automakers state the corridors have been designed to meet the rapidly growing demand for Electric Vehicle fast chargers and also to aid adoption of EVs in the U.S. according to autoweek.com.

Along the East Coast, the DC fast chargers will be on some of the most heavily populated regions, primarily along that of Interstate 95, this will enable a vehicle to travel from Boston via New York City and Philadelphia, and also to Washington D.C. that is on the West Coast. The charging stations will primarily be placed along Highway 101 and Interstate 5, connecting Portland, San Francisco Bay area, San Diego and Los Angeles. Other charging stations are reported be placed along other heavily traveled zones, including the Hamptons, Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, the Jersey Shore and Sonoma, reports arstechnica.com .

To provide easy access to public facilities, the chargers are to be placed 50 miles apart in areas where restaurants, shopping centers, rest areas and other facilities are located. The main plan here is to eliminate the "range anxiety," a fear of driving to a place having no alternate way to charge their vehicle. The expansion of these charging stations is also going to help the carmakers combat Tesla's network of stations.

Now, with so many new charging spots, long-distance travel will definitely be far easier and also the fear of being stranded will be eradicated. Drivers can locate stations easily either using the ChargePoint mobile application or website. The drivers may also find the spots by using the in-vehicle connectivity provided by both the carmakers.

Each location is to offer a 50 kW or 24 kW DC fast-charging station along with the SAE Combo connectors that is used in both the BMW and Volkswagen EVs. Many locations are also to offer CHAdeMO connectors for vehicles working with this type of charging port, according to greencarreports.com.

"The Express Charging Corridors extends the power of existing ChargePoint network not only to simplify long-distance travel for EV drivers but also to encourage more people to make EV their primary vehicle," says CEO of ChargePoint, Pasquale Romano. There are 4,109 charging outlets1 and 881 DC fast-charging stations for Electric Vehicles all across the nation, according to the Department of Energy.
Samsung's popular A series smartphone is due for a makeover next year and the internet has already found leaks pertaining to Galaxy A7's supposed specs.

Popular benchmarking tool GFXBench had listed the device recently, providing some insight into what the new Galaxy could be made of. The model number featured on the tool was SM-A720x, which resembled what last year's Galaxy A7 model number was. So it is safe to say that this could well be the true successor to the A7 line, according to a report from Tech Times.

According to the benchmarking tool, the A7 will sport a 5.5-inch FHD screen, meaning a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels - the same which had come with the 2016 model. The processor running on the new A7 will be the new Exynos chipset 7870, which is a powerful 1.8 GHz Cortex A53 octa-core chip made by Samsung. It will feature a 14nm architecture with a Mali T830 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.1 functionality. The same processor can be found in Samsung's Galaxy J7 (2016).

The device is expected to come with 3GB of RAM and storage consisting of 24GB, with expandable memory, according to Indian Express.

The most notable feature on the handset are the updated camera modules, now featuring two 16MP cameras on the front and rear of the device. This variant could be Samsung's first handset to have a front-facing camera above the 8MP segment. Whether the camera will feature 4K recording is yet to be confirmed.

Since the A series of Galaxy smartphone had originally been released last December, the public can expect the new generation of A series smartphones to release during December of this year as well, according to Android Geeks.

The A7 is the higher-end variant of the A series, with the A3 and A5 positioned just below it.
Climate change could potentially cause great distress to military operations, according to U.S. military officials. They believe that climate change could increase international conflict in a statement by the Center for Climate and Security, which states that climate change could pose a strategic risk to military operation and that inaction is not advisable against the issue.

The statement was further endorsed by high-level former military and national security officials and are urging the new upcoming president to build a new cabinet to discuss the effects of climate change on national security, in a report by Fox News.

The Climate Security Consensus project, a bipartisan group, claims that climate change could affect water, food and energy supplies, which could in-turn result in "hard-to-predict" circumstances and security risks. Leaders behind the statement included Dr. Geoffrey Kemp, former special assistant to President Reagan for national security affairs and Dov S. Zakheim, former undersecretary of defence under President George W. Bush.

Some of the other risks mentioned in the statement, that climate change could be the cause of, included state failure, mass migration and the creation of ungoverned spaces, according to a report by ABC News.

Last year, the Department of Defence had said that climate change was a "threat multiplier", demanding greater humanitarian action and could lead to severe storms threatening military bases. High sea levels could damage coastal infrastructure and submerge small islands. This year in January, the Pentagon had all its officials prepare special considerations from weapons testing to preparing the army for war in the event of climate change.

The military is more concerned over the 1,774 military installations along the coasts which are operated from home and abroad as they more likely to experience the effects of climate change more than on land, since if one of those are soaked, it could prove to be dangerous for national security. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that by 2050, a vast majority of coasts along the US will experience 30 or more days of intense flooding owing to the rising sea levels, reported The Guardian.
California has now become the first state to put a complete end on the breeding of killer whales and of using animals in private theatrical shows. There will no longer be such breeding of captive whales such as those which were used in the SeaWorld's famous 'Shamu' shows. All of which is to end by summer 2017.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill as a law this Tuesday which goes into effect in 2017. Passed after years of controversy about keeping killer whales to entertain humans, under this law, the orcas, already in captivity can be used only for "educational presentations" to be starting in June next year, reports Reuters.com .

SeaWorld in San Diego which uses orcas at its park, said it ended its breeding program earlier in March according to cnn.com. The company had come under fire for its non-ethical treatment of Orcas since the release of 2013 CNN documentary "Blackfish."

SeaWorld San Diego has a plan to retain the 11 whales under its care to be used for educational orca encounters that is to be started in San Diego next year, the company stated earlier. "Most of the orcas we have here were born in a zoological environment and the present threats in our oceans are a huge danger to these animals," the company added.

The 'Blackfish' Documentary

"Blackfish", released in 2013 showed the capturing of young orcas from the wild in the 1970s. It also showed SeaWorld to be insensitive for raising them in dark and cramped conditions. It also recounted the death of SeaWorld's trainer Dawn Brancheau by a killer whale named Tilikum in 2010.

Very pleased to announce that my law protecting #orca from captive breeding in California was signed by @JerryBrownGov today  Richard Bloom (@RichardBloom) September 13, 2016

The stock and people's attendance has fallen recently at SeaWorld. The state law also allows the rescue of Orcas for rehabilitation and research purposes. Brown's decision to sign the bill was well praised by all the animal rights group including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), that had been opposed to the SeaWorld shows. "Future generations of orcas will not have to suffer the stress and frustration of living trapped in a small concrete tank," PETA's vice president Tracy Reiman said in a statement.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The Florence Police Department is asking for the public's assistance in identifying a suspect who allegedly robbed TD Bank on Pamplico Highway on Thursday afternoon.

According to Lt. Mike Brandt of the Florence Police Department, the suspect is an African-American male who was wearing a straw hat and was armed with a handgun.

The robbery occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the TD Bank at 684 Pamplico Highway. Brandt said the suspect was driving a bronze-colored GMC Jimmy and left the scene toward Alligator Road.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Florence Police Department 843-665-3191 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Community leaders gathered at the Florence Civic Center early Wednesday morning to hear from three of the Pee Dees educational heavyweights:Francis Marion University President Fred Carter, Florence-Darlington Technical College President Ben Dillard and Hood Temple, representative of the 7th District for the Commission on Higher Education.

The event was sponsored by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Dillard and Carter gave updates on what programs and initiatives their institutions are undertaking or ramping up.

Everything that we do at Florence-Darlington Tech revolves around workforce development, Dillard said. Weve got a lot of exciting things going on.

Preparing students for college even before they exit the K-12 system is getting a huge push now, Dillard said.

One of the programs we are really excited about is the Early College/Dual Credit Program, Dillard said. We are working with just about every high school in our service area, which is Florence, Darlington and Marion counties. We had seven seniors in Darlington High and one in Florence who graduated with their associates degree in the spring.

While dual-credit has been in place for years, Dillard said that having a two-year degree when they graduate high school puts students on a path to finish their post-secondary education early and enter the workforce.

Industry partners are really beginning to understand the importance of this program, Dillard said. What they are understanding today is that probably 60 percent of our graduates get an associates degree and go to work in the community  The benefit to the students is that they can graduate high school with that first year (complete), go to our technical college or any technical college and within a years time they will be able to graduate and have the skills to get a job.

Dillard also said that apprenticeship programs are having a rebirth across the state.

In the Pee Dee we have, I think, 19 companies that have a registered apprenticeship program, Dillard said. In those companies we have 46 apprentices working, so thats a pretty good start for us here and were excited about that.

Carter gave a short FMU history lesson, from its inception until now. He spoke about the difference the university is making in the region that it calls home.

Drive across the Pee Dee, and find out how many schools  have been shaped by the graduates of Francis Marion University, as teachers, superintendents, teachers aides, as people who have breathed educational life into those communities and set educational standards that have allowed those men and women to acquire superb educations and go on to do wonderful things, Carter said. There are more Francis Marion teachers in the schools across the Pee Dee than there are representatives of all of the universities in South Carolina combined. Were very, very proud of that.

Carter said part of his commitment to education includes partnering with local hospitals and the University of South Carolina to provide a home for third- and fourth-year USC Medical School students at the Carter Center for Health Sciences.

(USC President) Pastides tells me Fred, we are going to reach a point, in which most of our kids are going to opt for Florence over Columbia, Carter said. Id love to tell you its because Florence is a wonderful great place to be but in truth what happens is the third- and fourth-year medical students here dont have to get in line behind the residents in Charleston and Columbia; they are essentially able to get to the front of the line and do the procedures now.

Recounting a conversation with a student heading into her fourth year, Carter said that she was able to deliver nearly three dozen babies in Florence last year, while some of her classmates had not delivered a single one.

Temple told attendees that the Commission on Higher Education has gotten a new fire lit underneath it.

South Carolina needs us, Temple said. It is a perfect storm right now. We saw what happened at South Carolina State and theyre not the only ones. There are a lot of schools out there tinkering on the edge. Thank goodness we have Dr. Carter who is really guiding us through and showing us, and Dr. Dillard as well, who are doing things right, who are keeping tuition in check, who are not overspending and overleveraging the resources that the state has and putting this burden on students.

Temple said part of the mission of the Commission on Higher Education is making sure that schools in South Carolina are working together to provide what is best for the state and not just what is in its own best interest.

Over the years, we have had a lack of leadership at the top, Temple said. Because of that, people are making decisions that are independent of the other schools; thats not the right way a unified system should work  We need to figure out what South Carolina needsWe need to use the programs that are relevant and lead to jobs.

At the end of the day, Temple said, there are three things that education needs to be.

We believe that our North Star, our guiding light, it to make higher education in South Carolina accessible, affordable and excellent, Temple said. We have to do that; its critical.
The patrols will extend to the piracy-prone waters of the Sulu Sea, to realize the trilateral maritime agreement signed by the three countries in August. Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu was quoted as saying.

"I believe we can start the coordinated patrols this year. I will meet the Malaysian Defence Minister in the near future [to further discuss the plan]," Ryamizard said.

Aside from drafting the coordinated patrol routes, the Navy is also mulling the safest routes for commercial ships to use in the area, especially those traveling back and forth among the three countries.

The trilateral maritime agreement, signed by the Indonesian, Philippine and Malaysian defence ministers during a ministerial meeting in Bali, is aimed at strengthening regional cooperation to overcome security challenges in the countries maritime border areas, which have been beset by threats in recent months.

At least nine Indonesians are still being held captive by Philippine militants from the Abu Sayyaf group who have demanded ransoms in exchange for the hostages.
Dritsas, an MP for Piraeus, called on the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) and the Panhellenic Seamens Federation (PNO) to sign a new collective agreement, which has been on the shelf for months.

Indeed, Greece could be heading for an even more turbulent time on the labour front as the leftist government is set to tell the countrys creditors it cannot comply with labour reforms demanded by the IMF as condition of its support for the countrys third bailout. The government considers the IMFs demands as a ban on the right for workers to negotiate wages and conditions on a collective basis.

Labour Minister George Katrougalos says the government will fight to preserve collective bargaining, describing the IMF as an extreme player. Katrougalos said: We want to reinstate collective bargaining because it is the core of the European social model.

Both the EU and the IMF say an inflexible labour force has helped to make Greece uncompetitive, contributing to its economic malaise, but the IMF is seen as especially opposed to any effort to restore collective bargaining.

Shippings Dritsas says the Ministry, the UGS and the PNO have been working towards this goal, saying, "I hope we are at the beginning of the end" and a new agreement "will not only regulate salary issues, but set a minimum, to dramatically increase the complement of Greek seamen working on Greek ships".

Dritsas said "the sea, seamanship, and Greek sailors are more than a professional and productive activity, not just from the foreign currency and economic perspective, but also as culture".

He noted Greece has not got many firsts in areas of economic productive dynamism, but "it is the first global maritime power added "Greek shipping is mainly about sailors".

UGS president, Theodore Veniamis says a collective agreement has to be based on realism. Veniamis reiterated the position of Greek shipowners saying: "At a time when our country and our society is plagued by unemployment, particularly among young people, we have expressed our desire many times to revive Greek seamanship, which the Greek owners appreciate and trust. At the same time competitiveness has always been, and still is, a decisive factor for the survival of the Greek ship in the international maritime arena so that it will remain a strategic pillar and growth driver of the Greek economy.

Therefore, a prerequisite for signing the collective labour agreement is that it would be based on new realistic terms, taking into account the conditions in the Greek and international maritime labour market.

PNO secretary general, John Halas, scoffed at Dritsas and Veniamis, saying he could not see go for the proposed -framework to increase employment in Greek vessels.



In a statement Halas noted the position of seafarers unions is contrary to the government's intentions and the shipowners proposals on the table.

Indeed, Halas said the proposal raises a serious issue regarding Greek legislation noting that in countries like Greece, where there is a collective agreement providing better terms than the international norm, these conditions are not to be tampered with and weakened. Further, Halas maintains the MLC [Maritime Labour Convention] is clear in its preamble and its text indicating local agreements cannot be changed for the worse.

Halas said the PNO has referred the whole matter to lawyers.
It may seem counterintuitive  and a bit cold  to learn a foreign language sitting in front of a computer screen. After all, a big part of language learning is talking with other people. But students and teachers say online language programs provide a good foundation in fundamentals and offer exposure to other cultures in ways classroom experiences cant.Students from kindergarten to college, as well as homeschoolers, library patrons and refugees, are increasingly using online programs to learn languages for fun, credit, citizenship or world travel.After two years of Spanish at her public high school in Oxford, Avalon McKinney decided to try an online German course when she transferred to Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy to finish high school.McKinney, who graduated as her class salutatorian last spring, enrolled in German as an elective during her senior year and says she learned more and preferred the pace and format of the online course. She previously attended Oxford High School north of metro Detroit and says there were too many distractions to really learn much.I dont think I would have realized I was interested in foreign languages had I stayed there, McKinney says. The teacher was always distracted with the kids. We were always reviewing and could not progress.Todays online learning environment allows students to study languages they might not have access to in a traditional school.The courses also allow students to learn at their own pace, whether that means going over vocabulary words or reviewing reading, writing, listening and speaking exercises.An extremely beneficial aspect of the online courses is this notion of anywhere, anytime, anyplace, which offers students a flexibility they wouldnt have otherwise in a face-to-face classroom, says Alanna Prieditis, a Spanish and English instructor for Michigan Virtual School , a supplemental provider of world language courses available to Michigan students from sixth to 12grades. Prieditis says this self-paced style allows students to take control of their learning.Michigans requirement of two years of foreign language study has many students turning to online courses when schools dont offer their desired language or there is a schedule conflict.Michigan Virtual School provides online courses and career development tools for some 500 schools across the state, and it offers seven languages and 20 advanced placement courses.MVSs world language courses are aligned with the national standards from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and are taught by Michigan-certified online instructors  many of whom are native speakers. Courses include Spanish, French, German, Latin, Japanese and Chinese.Prieditis says teachers often use audio and video tools featuring native speakers to illustrate authentic language use. MVS courses also offer discussion-board communication for student-to-student interaction and interactive practice activities to teach students about languages and cultures around the world.Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy, attended by McKinney, is an online public school authorized by Manistee Area Public Schools and powered by K12 Inc. , which has partner schools in more than 30 states. K12 uses Middlebury Interactive Languages for its world languages courses.It really expands that opportunity for students to interact with multiple languages they might not otherwise get the chance to learn, says Dr. Dana Laursen, a former world languages instructor and vice president of curriculum and program effectiveness for Middlebury.Theyre really designed to be 21century courses, Laursen says. They give the students a chance to learn to use the language in real-life settings.Studying a foreign language helps build cognition and links to other learning, including mastery of the English language, Laursen says. Online courses allow students to study a new language on their own time and at their own pace.They can practice pronunciation and can play it over and over again, she says. They have the opportunity to do that without feeling like they have to be perfect.The courses also include cultural lessons.In every unit, we learned something about the culture, about how they celebrate Christmas, the way their roads work and the food, she says. It was really well-balanced.McKinney also studied Arabic through Schoolcraft College and plans to study international business in college. She spent time conversing with others in Arabic using various apps and online forums to practice and connect with native speakers.Its a really good start to a language, she says of online language learning. You get the basics and grammar which helps with the foundation. To speak it fluently, you have to get off the computer and interact with people.As a high school student in Holt, south of Lansing, Mer Harper took an online German course for two semesters through Lansing Community College , receiving both high school and college credits.She also took several years of Spanish in a traditional classroom and found the online course preferential.It was an adjustment at first, but I actually found it was a better way to learn, says Harper, who now lives in metro Detroit. The lectures were all prerecorded so you could go back in and listen to them and hear how the professor spoke in the language. You dont get that in the classroom.The course also included virtual group projects and presentations, and students had the option for discussions via Blackboards online learning platform and live chats with the teacher and fellow students.Many libraries have joined in the virtual language learning movement, offering free online language programs to patrons who want to learn English as a second language and a variety of other world languages. Capital Area District Libraries serves Lansing and Ingham County and began offering Pronunciator in 2014. Scott Duimstra, CADLs senior associate director, says its popular among patrons, with more than 2,300 user accounts and more than 10,000 logins.We had other language instruction databases, but Pronunciator offered more languages and the ability to select the language you speak, plus the language you would like to learn, he says.As CADLs community outreach librarian, part of Jill Aboods job is to show patrons how to use Pronunciator. It offers basic instruction in 80 languages, along with options for live, teacher-led conversation classes online, various learning guides, pronunciation analysis, quizzes, flashcards, review exercises and cultural and travel lessons which are popular with people planning a vacation abroad.Typically, patrons access the lessons from home or another remote location.This is much more self-directed, Abood says. Its not a class and you dont get grades. Its really more language learning on your own.This story is part of a series on online education in Michigan. Support for this series is provided by Michigan Virtual University Marla R. Miller is an award-winning journalist, veteran education reporter and professional writer who lives in West Michigan. Connect with her at http://marlarmiller.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/MarlaRMillerwriter
From samosa to daal to biryani, the eclectic (and at times delightfully spicy) cuisine of Southern Asia has gained a visible presence in Metro Detroit in recent years. It's a phenomenon that can be witnessed (and tasted) quite readily at more than two dozen local ethnic markets in our region.

The emergence of a network of South Asian, or Desi, food retailers here is tied to an influx of immigrants from various parts of the Indian subcontinent (which includes countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) to Southeast Michigan over the last few decades.

There are now around 60,000 South Asian-American families living in Michigan, mostly in Metro Detroit, according to

Although it's come in different waves, much of the immigration from South Asia to Metro Detroit has happened since the 1990s.

"[For] the last 20 years, pretty much it's the IT engineers that have been coming to Michigan," SAAVI President Chandru tells

Different nations, similar cuisines

When it comes to the food of the Indian subcontinent, Acharya says the cuisines of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan "have a lot in common." But there are still regional specialties and preferences like

Metro Detroit ethnic markets run the gamut of these traditions.

Amanah Poultry & Groceries

Perched on the corner of Conant and Yemans in Hamtramck, Amanah Poultry & Groceries makes its home in a sturdy brick building with a big yellow sign proudly announcing its name in English and Bengali.

The shopwhich carries a sizable assortment of imported goods, frozen foods and meats and is known for its extremely fresh chickenis well-positioned to draw in folks from the growing Bangladeshi community that makes its home in Hamtramck and a nearby slice of Detroit.





Amanah's owner is a friendly fellow with a cap and a long goatee named Ahmed Hussain; he has a good-spirited candor about him that seems to fit well with the name Amanah, an Arabic word that refers to the fulfilling or upholding of trusts.

Born in the city of Sylhet, Hussain immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, following in the footsteps of his father, a sailor, and his brother, who served in the U.S. Army. Although his first home in this country was Queens in New York City, he heard about Hamtramck from his brother, who had settled here and found a job with Ford. His sibling's tales of cheap land and inexpensive living conditions in Michigan eventually proved too hard to resist.

"[My brother] went to New York [to] vacation, and when he came [back, he took] me with him," says Hussain. "We drive here, and then I look, and I say: 'OK, no problem!' We did buy this place and then fixed everything."

At first, the brother was the owner and Hussain served as the shop's butcher. Eventually, his sibling opened a travel agency called Fair Sky Travel, and Hussain ended up owning the shop. He now runs the place with the help of his sons.

In addition to spices, rice mixes, lentils, rice and a nice assortment of pickles, the store offers a selection of fresh produce, including mangos from Pakistan that Hussain says are as "sweet as honey." The store also boasts an ample selection of frozen foods including kebabs, chicken and beef patties, fish (both Bangladeshi-specific and more typical U.S. varieties) and an oily flatbread called paratha.

For many of the customers, however, the real attraction is the fresh chicken. Hussain has been a butcher all his life and slaughters the chicken (and Turkey for Thanksgiving) himself.

"Our chicken is special. Amish people raise [it] for us, and we slaughter it [in a special room in the back of the store]," says Hussain. "We take the skin off [and charge] $2.25 a pound."

Hussain is an authorized Halal slaughterer and has also cooperated with a rabbi to butcher chicken in a kosher manner for Jewish holidays. The shop gets brisk business from Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis and Yemenis in the area. It used to get a lot of Polish customers too, but Hussain says most of them have moved on to the suburbs at this point.

Hussain says he has no complaints. Hamtramck is thriving these days, and business is good, a state of affairs he attributes to hard work and God's assistance.

Payal Grocers

Payal is a Hindi word that refers to an anklet, a special kind of jewelry that covers a woman's ankles. While Payal Grocers in Sterling Heights may not have any anklets in stock, it has plenty of products to cover folks' Desi cooking needs.

Known for its fresh vegetables, the shop carries staples like spices, flour, rice and frozen foods. Although the Payal has ketchup and a few other convenience items, most of the products there are decidedly non-American.

"[It's] mostly Indian foods," says owner Romy Patel. "Pretty much everything comes pre-packed from India and is directly shipped over here."

As for the produce, Payal gets much of it locally, though some is shipped in from Florida. In addition to the edible stuff, the store also carries a variety of beauty supplies and phone cards.





A native of India, Patel originally hails from the city of Ahmedabad in the western Indian state of Gujarat; he later immigrated to the U.S. with his family. After first spending time in New York, he eventually moved to Michigan after hearing great things about the school system from relatives who lived here.

Eventually Patel married, and he and his wife decided to open a market. In their search for a storefront, they ended up stumbling onto an already existing market on Dequindre between 16 Mile and 17 Mile.

"We just happened to come upon it, talked to the owners and they were looking to sell," Patel tells

About two years after acquiring the space, the Patels built out the inside of the building to accommodate more goods. They now carry nearly twice as many products as when they opened.

Payal attracts a mix of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Middle Eastern customers, as well as quite a few non-immigrant Americans from the surrounding area. While the owners have advertised on some Desi community websites to let folks know about the shop, Patel tells

"Customer service is number one," says Patel. "Customers tell us that one of the reasons that they like coming here is they always see a smile on our faces, and we are always ready to help them."

Asia Grocers & Halal Meat

Located in a strip mall on Middlebelt near 12 Mile Rd.,Asia Grocers & Halal Meat offers a bountiful collection of Desi food options to shoppers in Farmington Hills and other nearby areas of Oakland County.

The market's shelves are packed with rows of South Asian seasonings and rice mixes, cans of beans, cookies and sweets from the Indian subcontinent. Customers can also pick up heaping bags of rice, Desi-style yogurt and various types of frozen foods and vegetables.

Mahmoud Ahmed, a native of Pakistan, founded the store in 2009. Although he wasn't available for comment, Khurram Arif, a part-time employee of the store, was happy to tell

As the name suggests, the market is well-known for its meats. Shoppers have their choice of various cuts of goat, lamb, beef, veal and chicken.

"Most of their product comes from... a slaughterhouse in downtown Detroit. Its certified to do halal there," says Arif. "Chicken they get from Chicago."

Another attraction is Karachi Corner, a small kitchen that sits in the back end of the store behind a small dining area. The food is made by a local cook named Ahmed and is popular with Farmington Hills' Pakistani community and Indian students who live in the area. The little kitchen offers all kinds of hot meals for visitors, like chicken biryani and nihari, a stew made mainly of slow-cooked meat like beef or lamb, sides like naan and kheer, and a rice pudding.

Asked about his favorite meal offered by the kitchen, Arif doesn't limit himself.





This is part of an ongoing series on Metro Detroit's ethnic markets, Read more in the series "Everything," he says. "Everything that he makes, all the kebabs and the chicken tikka. It's all delicious!"This is part of an ongoing series on Metro Detroit's ethnic markets, Read more in the series here
Energy production, engineering, and machine tools. Mechatronics, skilled trades, and welding programs. They all can be found in the new Hanson Technology Center that recently opened on the Lake Michigan College Benton Harbor campus.The center replaces the former M-Tec facility on Klock Road. College officials say they anticipate the new location will introduce more students to technology programs and inspire them to pursue careers in manufacturing."Manufacturing careers have evolved remarkably with advances in technology, but some people still have outdated ideas about the profession, says Dean of Career and Workforce Education Dr. Ken Flowers. "Weve created a beautiful, bright and modern space where all kinds of students can get excited about transforming ideas into reality. It will be a wellspring for invention and innovation. This is where the next generation of makers are made.Manufacturing provides an estimated 17,500 jobs and has a $2.1 billion impact on Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties. A recent report by Kinexus found that area manufacturers are concerned about the lack of available applicants with technical skills.At the ribbon cutting for the new tech center, Matt Tyler, president of Vickers Engineering, talked about the gap between the jobs available and the skills of those seeking jobs. "High-tech manufacturing is back," Vickers says. "But the problem is the workforce hasnt caught up with that yet. This building will make an absolute difference.In manufacturing across southwest Michigan employees are paid, very well and many of his employees earn above $70,000 per year. Were not just creating jobs, were creating careers, Vickers says.Souce: Lake Michigan College
After more than 44 years with Family & Children Services , eight of those as CEO, Rosemary Gardiner is retiring from the agency.Sherry Thomas-Cloud has been named as the new CEO, effective Oct. 3.Since 2013, Thomas-Cloud has served as executive director of the Douglass Community Association in Kalamazoo, a nonprofit agency that provides services in behavioral health and recreation for youth, adults, and families.Prior to that, she served as director of Kalamazoo County Department of Human Services (KCDHS). She is a Licensed Master Social Worker, has taught at Western Michigan University (WMU) School of Social Work and has a long record of community involvement and collaboration.Her career in health and human services is exemplary and she embodies the traits our customers have grown to expect," says Family & Children Services Board President Mac Waldorf. "As a former DHS leader and as executive director of the Douglas Community Association, Sherry has seen both sides of the nonprofit world and will work diligently to bridge the gap between required services of our community and access to much-needed funding sources.Family & Children's Services offers a continuum of behavioral health and child welfare programs and services. All services support individuals and families as they create healthy changes in their lives. Family & Children Services is dedicated to  and known for  best practices in human- service delivery in the community. In 2016, Family & Children Services will serve more than 7,000 individuals and families, including about 4,000 children. It has served the community since 1903.The agency is a nonprofit organization with a 2016 operating budget of $11.625 million. It receives funding through contracts with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Community Mental Health programs, allocations from local United Ways, insurance reimbursements, fees for services based on a sliding scale and contributions from individuals and businesses.Thomas-Cloud was hired through an extensive search by the Family & Children Services board, assisted by Kalamazoo-based professional recruiting firm Welsh & Associates. She will arrive shortly before the agency opens a newly constructed family center and renovated centers for youth' activity, counseling, and central reception  all at the agencys Kalamazoo location on Lake Street in the Edison Neighborhood. A grand opening for the new spaces will be held later this year. It will be the culmination of the agencys successful $5.6 million Making Room for Hope campaign and the beginning of greatly expanded programs and services for foster parents and children, youth in need of social-emotional education, individuals in need of counseling and other Family & Children Services clients.Thomas-Cloud says, The agencys mission to meet the needs of struggling families and individuals of all ages helps make Kalamazoo, Battle Creek and all of Southwestern Michigan a better place in which to live and work. All our families and children are stronger because of the good work carried out by Family & Children Services. I look forward to helping continue that legacy.Source: Family & Children Services
There's an emoji for just about every situation and just about every person, except one. Muslim teen Rayouf Alhumedhi, who lives in Berlin, Germany, was hard-pressed to find an image she could related to. After some research and help from former New Yorker Time reporter, Jennifer 8. Lee, Alhumedhi and Lee submitted a proposal to the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit corporation that helps develop and promote software standards that apply internationally, reports the New York Times. RELATED: What The West Gets Wrong About Muslim Women In the proposal, Alhumedhi included a history of the hijab and commented on its importance in her culture. "The hijab symbolizes modesty, privacy and religious identity. Excluding family members, the hijab is worn in the presence of men. Women all across the globe choose to wear the headscarf because of its evident indication of their faith and identity," the proposal states. The proposal originally requested an emoji for Muslim men who wear a kaffiyeh, but that has since been removed since the matter presents complications. WATCH VIDEO: Emoji: The Future of Language?

Alhumedhi, who was born in Saudi Arabia, began wearing a head scarf two years ago when she was age 13. Earlier this week, she responded to questions on Reddit about wearing a headscarf and whether it symbolized oppression of women. To critics, she wrote, "It might seem baffling, but when I wear the head scarf I actually feel liberated because I'm in control of what I want to cover. The head scarf allows for people to see past a woman's beauty and see her for her knowledge." This November, Alhumedhi will fly to California to give a presentation of her proposal before Unicode's committee. If they accept it, an announcement would come in June 2017 with adoption later that fall. SEE PHOTOS: Women Leaders From Cleopatra to Merkel: Photos

style="text-align: left;">Angela Merkel, who holds a doctorate as a physical chemist, was appointed as Germany's first woman Chancellor in 2005, a position she still holds today, having won subsequent elections. In May 2016, Forbes magazine named Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for a record 10th time. Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Queen Hatshepsut (1503-1482 B.C.) One of the most successful pharaohs in Egyptian history, Queen Hatshepsut brought long-standing peace and wealth to Egypt, mostly due to successful military campaigns waged early on in her rule. That prosperity enabled her to initiate unprecedented building projects, such as monuments at the Temple of Karnak, which furthered architecture and the arts in the ancient world.

Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.) Several female Egyptian leaders had the name Cleopatra, but the most famous was Cleopatra VII, ancient Egypt's last pharaoh. Before her tragic death -- likely by suicide to avoid capture and to maintain her own honor -- Cleopatra forged a liaison with Roman military and political leader Gaius Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassination, she continued the alliance with Rome by entering into a relationship with Roman general Mark Antony, an influential Roman politician with whom she had twins.

Empress Theodora (500-548) Although born into the lowest class of Byzantine society, Theodora was a beautiful, famous actress who wound up marrying Emperor Justinian I. As Empress, she strengthened the Eastern Christian Church and was later made a saint in the Orthodox Church. She also was well ahead of her time in supporting women's rights issues, by doing things such as establishing punishment for rape, granting women rights in divorce cases and allowing women to own and inherit property.

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) The last monarch of the Tudor dynasty and a daughter of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I was perhaps the polar opposite of her mother, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth never married and instead threw herself into her work. She prevented France from using Scotland as a military stronghold and blocked the Spanish threat to England. The peace and prosperity of her rule led to one of the greatest periods in English literature. Known as the Elizabethan Age, it produced such playwrights as Chrisopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare.

Catherine the Great (1729-1796) As Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great extended the borders of the Russian Empire, adding some 200,000 miles to the Russian territory. Through successful military campaigns and negotiations, she made her country the dominant power in southeastern Europe. A believer in enlightened absolutism, she encouraged religious tolerance, freedom of speech, the arts and education.

Queen Liliuokalani (1838-1917) The last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani fought to establish a constitution that would have granted voting rights to economically disenfranchised Native Hawaiians and Asians. A proponent of the traditional culture and her family's right to rule, Liliuokalani was viewed as a threat by some American and European leaders. She was arrested and jailed in 1895 and agreed to abdicate in return for the release of her jailed supporters. Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish American War.

Golda Meir (1898-1978) Having served as Minister of Labor and Foreign Minister, Golda Meir became the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel in the politically turbulent 1969-1974 period. She was an early negotiator between Palestinian Jews and British Mandatory authorities. In 1948, she also was one of the 24 signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence. After a courageous battle against cancer, Meir died in Jerusalem at the age of 80 after a lifetime of having served her people and her state.

Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) For three consecutive terms from 1966-1977, Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. Her leadership coincided with a very difficult period that altered the power between the central authorities and the Indian states. After a victorious war against Pakistan, she returned to office and became involved in an escalating conflict with Punjab separatists. This led to her assassination, by her own bodyguards, in 1984. Indira Gandhi was India's first and only female prime minister.

Eva Peron (1919-1952) After a poor, abusive upbringing, Eva Duarte met and married Colonel Juan Peron, who later became President of Argentina. A strong individual in her own right, she tried to run for Vice President, but the establishment and her failing health prevented her from doing so. While dying from cancer at a young age, Eva Peron was given the honorary title, "Spiritual Leader of the Nation." Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber further immortalized her in his popular musical, "Evita."

Margaret Thatcher (1925-) The daughter of a grocery shop owner, Thatcher officially began her political career in the 1950's, when she ran in various elections, such as local Labor seats, and slowly rose up the ranks. From 1979 to 1990, she served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and is the only woman ever to have held that position. From 1975 to 1990, she was also the leader of the Conservative Party. Again, she is the only woman to have ever held this position. With U.S. president Ronald Reagan, she helped define conservative politics that guided the western world's leadership for over a decade.

Violeta Chamorro (1929-) From 1990 to 1997, Chamorro served as the 48th President of Nicaragua. To date, she is the only woman to have ever held that office. A member of the National Opposition Union, she was part of a coalition of 14 political parties that ran against the leftist Sandinistas. Although the alliance fell apart after her election to the presidency, Chamorro brought peace back to a country that had been at war for over a decade.

Corazon Aquino (1933-) The widow of assassinated senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., Corazon Aquino bravely entered politics on her own after her husband's death. She served as president of the Philippines from 1986-1992 and was the first woman to hold that position. In rising to that office, she also became Asia's first ever female president. Facing numerous military coups, she still maintained her democratic principles. In 1987, a new constitution was drafted, leading to a government based on popular and democratic mandates. In 1986, Aquino was named Time Magazine's "Woman of the Year."

Wilma Pearl Mankiller (1945-) The first female chief of the Cherokee Nation, Mankiller took on low-paying jobs with the Cherokee Nation to help her people. Entering leadership roles, she faced opposition from the male-dominated infrastructure. Desiring a more inclusive vision, she established community projects that brought men and women together. During her position as Chief, the Cherokee Nation's population increased from 55,000 to 156,000.

Aung San Suu Kyi (1945-) For the Burmese people, Aung San Suu Kyi represents the lasting hope that there will one day be an end to the country's controlling military junta. As a pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy party (NLD), she has spent more than a decade in some form of detention under the country's military regime. In 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Burma.
The scientists reached that conclusion after studying the DNA of more than four-dozen feral pigs, an analysis that told them the pigs arrived on the islands as much as 800 years earlier.

Writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science , an international team of researchers argues that Hawaii's hogs, previously thought to have arrived on the islands with English explorer James Cook in 1778, were brought there hundreds of years earlier by Polynesian settlers who would come to live there.

The family tree of Hawaii's feral pigs (Sus scrofa) looks a bit different today, after a new DNA analysis resets their arrival on the islands to several hundred years earlier than previously thought. More than just an interesting genealogy rewrite, the news could also be relevant to efforts to control the animals.

Researchers from more than half a dozen research facilities contributed to the study, among them lead author Anna Linderholm, Texas A&M assistant professor of anthropology.

"[Cook] almost certainly brought pigs, chickens and other animals with him," said Linderholm in a statement. "But our findings show that the wild hogs there today were introduced much earlier than his arrival, by hundreds of years at least. They likely came from European or Asian descent."

RELATED: Pigs as Smart as Chimps, Study Says

That conclusion could end up helping the hogs.

Hawaii has a sizable wild pig problem at present. The islands are overrun with thousands of up-to-400-pound feral hogs, which have been called "the most prolific large mammal on the face of the Earth" and ruin native plants as well as planted crops. Owning a home or farm in their path can be costly, and this has brought about talk of methods to get the problem under control.

However, the researchers note, pigs hold a special place in Hawaiian culture, with its Polynesian roots, and they urge caution moving forward.

"The ancestry of feral hogs in Hawaii today can be traced back to Polynesians, and their colorful island history and legends are embedded in the state's culture and many traditions," said Linderholm.

"The lineage of these wild hogs is part of the state's rich past," she added, "so management of these wild hogs will take considerable thought and careful planning."
The oldest indigo-dyed fabric ever found has been discovered in Peru, pushing back the use of this blue coloring to at least 6,200 years ago.

Previously, the oldest sample of blue-dyed fabric dated to around 4,400 years ago in Egypt, with the oldest written references to blue dye going back to around 5,000 years ago in the Middle East. The discovery in Peru, however, shines a spotlight on the Americas, which are less-discussed in terms of firsts, said study researcher Jeffrey Splitstoser, an archaeologist and textile expert at The George Washington University.

"The people of the Americas were making scientific and technological contributions as early and in this case even earlier than people were in other parts of the world," Splitstoser told Live Science. "We always leave them out. I think this finding just shows that that's a mistake." [Gallery: See Images of the Oldest Indigo]

RELATED: Oldest Known Dress Made More Than 5000 Years Ago

The dyed fabric pieces are small scraps made of woven cotton. They were excavated by archaeologists Tom Dillehay and Duccio Bonavia between 2007 and 2008 from a prehistoric site called Huaca Prieta, which is north of the city of Trujillo in coastal Peru. Huaca Prieta was a prehistoric dwelling that was covered by a mound and turned into a temple, Splitstoser said. The temple was made of a sort of concrete mixed from ash, shells and sand; over the years, many layers of this material had been applied to the structure as local people renovated and rebuilt the temple. The fabric scraps were found in bundles lining the ramp that led up to the top of the temple, embedded in the concrete-like layers. They all date to between 4,000 and 6,200 years ago.

"They were literally sealed under these new layers of building, but because the building material had so much ash in it, it leached into the textiles, making them a very dirty, sooty color," Splitstoser said.

RELATED: Ancient Burial Shroud Made of Surprising Material

The blue color didn't appear until conservationists washed the textiles. Almost all blue dye in nature comes from the compound indigoid, Splitstoser said, which can be made by many plants. But the first tests on the fabric yielded no sign of indigoid. Splitstoser was stumped.

He persevered, finding another chemist -- Jan Wouters of University College London -- with more sensitive equipment. Wouters, using a sensitive technique called high-performance liquid chromatography, was able to tease out the chemical makeup of the dye to discover that it was, in fact, indigo. He tested eight tiny samples of the blue cotton and confirmed indigo in five of them.

"That's when we realized then that we had the world's oldest indigo, by far," Splitstoser said.

RELATED: Oldest Known Pair of Pants Unearthed

The fabric pieces were all cut or torn before they were deposited on the temple ramp, which probably represented a ritual "killing," by peoples who viewed objects as living, Splitstoser said.

"We see that all over the Andes. They not only ritually killed textiles, but they ritually killed ceramics. Anything that was buried was broken," he said. [Photos: Journey Into the Tropial Andes]

Some of the fabrics showed signs of being wetted and then squeezed out, possibly as part of the ritual, Splitstoser said. The fabrics weren't just blue - they were woven in patterns made of blue-dyed yarn, natural off-white cotton and bright-white thread made from milkweed, a very rare textile in South America, Splitstoser said. The yarn had also been dipped in red and yellow ochre, an iron pigment often used in rock art. Unlike the indigo, the ochre would have run when wetted.

"If you were to pour water on those and then squeeze it, you'd get colored water pouring out of the textiles, which might have been part of the show," Splitstoser said. No one knows what these rituals might have represented to the people who invented them; the era in which the textiles were made was one of a drying climate, Splitstoser said, so perhaps the rituals had to do with rain or water.

WATCH VIDEO: Why Do Clothes Shrink When You Wash Them?
"We need the public to be engaged to convince governments and convince the seafood industry that they need to solve the problems of overfishing," Amos told AFP. "If you can't see it and can't measure it, you are not going to care about it and it is not going to get solved." The project has cost $10.3 million over the past three years to build, with six million of those dollars contributed by DiCaprio himself, Oceana vice president for US oceans Jackie Savitz told AFP. RELATED: Mexico Using Drones to Protect Vaquita Porpoise In order the make the data available for free, the partners negotiated a deal with the satellite company Orbcomm to use its three-day old data, which is described as "near real-time," along with historical records. Although the delay means that any criminals won't be nabbed instantaneously, advocates say the technology will open the world's waters to public watchdogs in a way that has never been done before. "We think it is going to have a lot of impact, first of all just the deterrent effect of vessels knowing that we could see them if they are doing something they are not supposed to be doing," Savitz said. "You can look at an area you are interested in, zoom in and see what data we have." For instance, users could zero in on a marine protected area and see if any boat tracks have crossed into waters where they should not have been. RELATED: These Fish Are Oddly Shaped For a Reason: Photos One could scan the map for any evidence that large vessels are fishing in areas that are reserved for small-scale fishermen. Vessels can be tracked by name or by country, or by traffic inside exclusive economic zones. The paths of ships are visible, including zig-zags paths that could indicate vessels are avoiding shore to offload their catch on to other ships undetected, or that other illegal operations or human rights abuses may be under way. Savitz said some capacities may be beyond the ability of the average Internet user, but that experts are available via the website to help with specific questions. Future versions of the technology may even include tagging data for marine animals, so that the paths of whales and sharks and other fish might be visible alongside the vessel activity, she said. Currently, Global Fishing Watch does not include every vessel, only those that broadcast data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), collected by satellite and terrestrial receivers and meant mainly as a safety mechanism to avoid collisions. RELATED: Swarms of Robotic Ships Could Surround Enemy Ships Many of the world's largest fishing vessels are required by the International Maritime Organization to use AIS. AIS can be turned off if the boat operator is doing something illegal, but Savitz said that such an on-off action would likely be apparent by tracing the boat's appearing and disappearing tracks. Already, the government of Kiribati has used Global Fishing Watch data to unmask illegal fishing in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), declared off-limits to commercial fishing on January 1, 2015. The owners of the vessel had to pay a $1 million fine and also made a "goodwill" donation of another $1 million grant, Oceana said. DiCaprio is scheduled to unveil the technology at 1:30 pm (1730 GMT) Thursday, in a presentation viewable online at www.ourocean2016.org. Tech Targeting Poachers: Photos

Theres no silver bullet solution to protecting endangered species. We can't stand guard over every single one of them, as this man is doing to protect black rhinos in Zimbabwe. But technology can be helpful in staying ahead of wildlife poachers who have been winning the war for too long, according to Crawford Allan, a senior director based at the World Wildlife Fund for a large international wildlife trade monitoring program called TRAFFIC. Heres a look at their arsenal.

One of the first technologies rolled out consistently to monitor wildlife, camera traps were catching poachers in the act. Theyve since evolved into tinier, almost impossible to detect digital devices. Some have live video feeds, automatic triggers, remote access, heat sensing, vibration detection and are smart enough to triangulate shotgun sounds so park rangers know exactly where to go.

Wildlife conservationists need to know where the animals are in order to protect them. Radio-frequency identification tags are an important tool, WWFs Crawford Allan said. RFID chips implanted in rhinoceros horns connect to ground or mobile sensors so when one falls off the grid, a team can work on tracking it down and check the animal's welfare. The tags work for other species, as well. Here, two Canada Lynx kittens are tagged by rangers from the US Fish and WIldlife Services.

Getting a visual on poachers before they strike is tall order. Masts with static night vision cameras are used to keep an eye out, but the image angle and range are limited, according to Allan. Light aircraft are expensive, require a pilot, need runways and could be shot down. For these reasons, unmanned aerial vehicles are emerging as a potential solution. Cost is still an issue but poachers cant hide easily from UAVs with thermal detection patrolling the skies.

Mesh networks are digital communications systems originally developed for the military, Allan explained. With help from a $5 million Google grant, WWF is installing a mesh network to relay sensor and device data. Rangers on the ground can also use the network to communicate without poachers being able to listen in.

Satellite technology has transformed basic tracking collars. Accelerometers inside can indicate whether the animal is well, sick or has died given its motion and the satellite connection means the animals are easier to locate. The collars can be used on a wide range of animals, from birds on up to elephants. Allan said the price has been prohibitive for developing countries, so he hopes it will come down.

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool, known as SMART, is a free open-source software created by a community of conservation organizations. Available in local languages, the software is designed to make wildlife conservation activities and wildlife law enforcement patrols more effective. Tracking animals, patrols and vehicles means an influx of data, and SMART can crunch it all to show stakeholders the big picture.

In India, the illegal metal snares used to catch tigers were being cleverly camouflaged. To fight back, the TRAFFIC wildlife trade monitoring network trained forest guards to use robust, easy-to-assemble Deep Search Metal Detectors. Word kind of got around that there was some sort of magic technology out there that was going to find every poacher in the forest instantly, Allan said.
The Obama administration recently overturned a federal judge's decision to proceed with building the Dakota Access Pipeline, temporarily halting the project. Protesters have been fighting against the pipeline's construction for months because if it is completed, it could potentially damage native american ancestral sites and contaminate a nearby reservation's water supply.

The estimated $3.7 billion pipeline would carry 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day from western North Dakota to Illinois where it would connect with an existing pipeline. But protesters have halted the building of a section that would go under the Missouri River, running very near to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Lawyers representing the Standing Rock Sioux argue that by approving the pipeline construction, the Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Historic Preservation Act. They say the pipeline would damage ancestral sites and put the reservation's water supply in danger.

RELATED: Can The Middle East Survive Without Oil?

Protesters say the blocking of the Dakota Access pipeline represents the bigger issue at hand; the fact that many of the oil pipelines and rail lines built in recent years run right through or near Native American reservations. When fossil fuels are transported, there is always a risk of pollution to the surrounding air, water and land.

"Every time there's a project of this magnitude, so the nation can benefit, there's a cost," Dave Archambault, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, told the LA Times. "That cost is born by tribal nations," he said.

Archambault is one of 30 protesters recently arrested for creating "safety issues," at the pipeline's current construction site, according to Morton County sheriff, Kyle Kirchmeier. The concern over safety is what initially halted the pipeline's construction.

To the surprise of many tribal leaders like Archambault, the protest against the Dakota Access pipeline has drawn international support. Environmental groups, as well as a few celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Susan Sarandon, have shown their support for the fight, either online or in-person.

The Corps of Engineers argued in court last week that those opposed to the pipeline had plenty of time to voice concerns during a review process, and that the project was legitimately approved. The company hired to build the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, added that it's a safer way of transporting oil compared to a rail line.

In 2015, the Fraser Institute in Canada found that transporting oil by pipeline is 4.5 times safer than transporting it by rail, reports Fortune. At the time, a Fraser representative commented that "saying 'No' to a pipeline is saying 'Yes' to rail," and this will "increase the risk to the environment and human health and not decrease it."

However, if the protests of Dakota Access manage to terminate its current implementation plan, it doesn't mean a rail line will automatically be the alternative. The Corps of Engineers could agree to reroute the pipeline to avoid affecting tribal lands instead.

RELATED: How Independent Are Native American Reservations?

Some of the Dakota Access protesters stood their ground for weeks until the decision on whether the project would continue was finalized.

Clyde Bellecourt was one of them. He's Ojibwe from Minnesota and he helped found the American Indian Movement which became famous for the 71-day siege in Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1973. Bellecourt is 80 years old now and said this time he's fighting for future generations of Native Americans.

"My life is almost over, but there's fresh energy here," he told the LA Times. "Save the children - that's what this is all about."

Some of those 'children' are also part of the protest themselves. Jasilyn Charger is only 20 years old but has been committed to this cause since its beginning as a small prayer group along the river. Charger is one of the runners that participated in a 2,000-mile relay race from North Dakota to Washington, D.C. to march in protest of the Dakota Access pipeline in front of the White House.

"When we started this, people thought we were crazy," she told the LA Times. "But look at where we are today."

-- Molly Fosco



Learn More:

Democracy Now!: In Dramatic Reversal, White House Halts Dakota Access Pipeline Construction Under Missouri River

New York Times: From 280 Tribes, a Protest on the Plains



Vox: The fight over the Dakota Access Pipeline, explained
Press Release

September 15, 2016 Cayetano: EJK hearings could be LP's 'Plan B' to reclaim Malacanang Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has questioned the real motive of the Senate Justice Committee in producing witness Edgar Matobato, who has claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte was behind numerous killings in Davao City when he was still mayor. During Thursday's hearing headed by Senator Leila De Lima, Cayetano warned that the probe could be a ploy initiated by the Liberal Party to damage the reputation of President Rodrigo Duterte, remove him from power, and install their own president. "Gusto ko ipakita... na merong posibleng motibo ng paninira sa ating Pangulo dito... I'm asking about you [Sen. De Lima], your motive, and the motive of your party in this hearing... I am testing whether [the witnesses are credible] or is this part of the plan B of the Liberal Party para makuha ang Malacanang at manira lang," Cayetano said. "Ako po ay naniniwala sa kasabihan sa Bibliya, kung anong itinanim, 'yun ang aanihin mo. So kailangan, sa committee na 'to, katotohanan ang itatanim natin, kasi kung kasinungalingan, grabe po ang consequences nito... Ano ba ang importante, ang lumabas ang totoo, or is this just a demolition job being done against President Duterte?" The senator questioned the Justice committee's intention for presenting a witness with no proper corroboration. He strongly expressed doubt over the accusations made by Matobato, a self-proclaimed member of the suspected Davao Death Squad (DDS) who testified against Duterte before the hearing. To disprove claims of Duterte's alleged involvement in the killings in Davao during his term as mayor, Cayetano cited how the local office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) already denied the existence of the said death squad. The commission earlier conducted public hearings in Davao and even requested the Ombudsman to investigate on murder cases attributed to the DDS. The final disposition approved by the Office of the Ombudsman showed that "no evidence was gathered to support the killings attributed or attributable to the DDS" and that the allegations remain as "chismis and other gossips," Cayetano noted. He then stressed that Matobato's credibility as a witness needs to be tested further, especially considering his proximity to De Lima, a Liberal Party member. "Kaya ko nga tine-testing kung totoo sinasabi niyo o hindi... kung drawing ba ito, imbento lang ba ito, at dinala ka dito para pabagsakin ang administrasyon," he told Matobato, who had been under the Justice Department's Witness Protection Program (WPP) since 2014, back when De Lima was still DOJ Secretary. Cayetano further expressed his frustration over the manner by which the proceedings were being conducted, particularly the committee's failure to provide senators with a list of the witnesses prior to last Thursday's hearing. "Until 4 p.m. yesterday (Wednesday), humihingi ako ng listahan ng imbitado sa hearing na 'to. Hindi ako binibigyan ng committee po ninyo. Kahit ang initial list kung sino ang imbitado," Cayetano narrated. "I just take exception to the way this [hearing] is being conducted. Because dapat handa at prepared kaming lahat, and factual ang mga lumalabas," he stressed. Cayetano also called out the committee for mentioning misleading data with regards to the number of deaths being linked to the current administration. "When the chair gives facts and figures, it should be factual, hindi conclusions. At the start of this hearing, the chair mentioned that there are 3,526 total killed persons on the drug war... But this is wrong, because there are only 1,506 killed resulting from actual police operations. Ang ibang dinagdag dito, 'yung murder and homicide [cases], pareho ang numero nung time ni Pangulong Aquino, na ngayon ay china-charge kay Pangulong Duterte," he said during his manifestation. "Let me say why I want to manifest this. We are being monitored not only by the local media but also the international media, and they are quoting from this hearing, from the CHR, and from this chair. Pero 'yung mga numero ay mali at misleading," he added.
Press Release

September 15, 2016 SENATE'S BLUE RIBBON TO CONDUCT PROBE ON ZAMBALES EXCAVATIONS, ILLEGAL MINING The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will start investigating today on the reported destructive mining operation and illegal excavation in the Province of Zambales. Senator Richard J. Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon committee) said the investigation aims to determine the extent of damage caused to the environment and the persons to be held accountable for the alleged exploitative activities. The rock and soil from the "treacherous" excavations in Zambales province are allegedly smuggled and used by China to build on rocks to create islands in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Senate Resolution No. 92, filed by Senator Panfilo Lacson, prompted the investigation to be conducted at the Sen. Geronima T. Pecson Room at 10 am, called for the inquiry on the issue. The hearing will be conducted jointly with the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. "This will be the first investigation of the Blue Ribbon for this Congress. This is a very serious issue. I have been getting reports that a whole mountain has been flattened because of the mining operations. Not only does it harm the environment, but it also poses serious threats to our national security and sovereignty if reports are true that the rocks and soil are being used to reclaim contested islands in the West Philippine Sea," Gordon said. "In view of the territorial dispute over that area, China could be literally taking over our lands," he added. Resource persons who confirmed attendance for the hearing were Undersecretary and Engr. Leo Jasareno and Undersecretary Arturo Valdez, both from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Zambales Governor Amor Deloso; Undersecretary Mario Luis Jacinto, of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau; and Esperanza Sajul, of the Environment Management Bureau. Reports said mining activities practically flattened mountains and damaged a large area of forested highlands in Santa Cruz town in Zambales. Soil and rocks taken from these areas were reportedly "shipped, dumped and used to reclaim almost 3,500 hectares of the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea.
Press Release

September 15, 2016 Hontiveros: Harm Reduction is the most effective and compassionate response to the drug problem Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday asked the Department of Health (DOH) to push for harm reduction strategies as a response to the country's drug problem. During the government's National Health Summit attended by stakeholders, officials and employees of the health department, Hontiveros said that the 'war on drugs cannot be a war against the people, or worse, a war against the poor'. The senator urged the health department to play a crucial role in providing a public health framework in curbing drug addiction and trafficking in the country. "In order for our government to succeed in its campaign against illegal drugs and trafficking, we must also respond to the health and social issues that lead to drug dependence", Hontiveros said. Harm reduction Hontiveros, who also currently serves as the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, recently visited Thailand to study its health framework on drugs. She cited the country's effectiveness in pursuing a harm reduction strategy. Hontiveros explained that harm reduction strategies will allow the creation of friendly, community-based drop-in centers and outreach services, encourage the uptake of health services through improved peer education and support, and spend resources on sustainable, evidence-based policies and interventions at the community level. "Harm reduction is not only a compassionate response, it is also the most effective response", Hontiveros said. The senator lamented the fact that there are only 44 drug rehabilitation centers in the country. "Clearly, much has to be done in this aspect", she said. Universal Healthcare The Senator also urged stakeholders to build the momentum towards universal healthcare' through public spending and localization. The Senator also lauded the Duterte administration's decision to send the government's health officials to Cuba to the study their public health system. She said the visit is a step towards heavy public spending for health professionals, healthcare providers and health infrastructure to address hospital shortages and facility upgrades. "Cuba-inspired super barangay health centers" The Senator also urged the government to seriously study the possibility of building "super barangay health centers" similar to Cuba's consultorios (clinics) and policlinicos (specialty clinics) to strengthen the role of our local government units, down to the barangay level, and bring healthcare to the farthest and to the fringes. "Super barangay health centers could strengthen our current barangay health system by modernizing it with adequate facilities, personnel and expertise. Our barangays must become the people's first line of defense against preventable diseases, especially with the emergence of new and dangerous viruses like the Zika," Hontiveros concluded.
POE SETS FOI HEARING ON SEPT. 19

The transparency and anti-corruption measure Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill is targeted to be passed early next year, said Senator Grace Poe.

"Wala tayong pag-aalinlangang maipapasa ang importanteng batas na ito sa Senado," said Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public information and mass media that is also set to tackle FOI proposals on Monday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m. (Room 3, Second Floor, Philippine Senate) "Kailangan natin ng isang bukas at tapat na pamamahala na makikinig sa mga hinaing ng ating mga kababayan," added Poe, FOI advocate and author of Senate Bill No. 159 or the proposed FOI Act.

The FOI, which opens government records to the public subject to reasonable exceptions, will empower the citizens to participate in governance, the senator said as she highlighted the need to institutionalize this important measure.

"An FOI Law is needed to institutionalize transparency across all branches of the government, not just in the Executive branch. It is not only about transparency and accountability but also about creating an environment for stakeholder participation," Poe stressed.

Once the proposed legislation is passed into law, Poe said, government officials are required to act and/or comply with the request for information within 15 working days. It covers all government agencies and instrumentalities, including the executive, legislative, judicial branches of government, local governments as well as government-owned- and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs).

Statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of public officials, annual budget of government agencies, summary of income and expenditures, and procurement contracts, among others will also be made available to the public and uploaded on government agencies' websites.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier issued Executive Order No. 2 implementing FOI in the executive branch.

In the 16th Congress, the Senate passed on third and final reading the FOI bill in record time.
Two propositions headed to Novembers ballot could add new demographics to San Franciscos electorate  teenagers and immigrant parents.

Proposition F would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to cast a ballot in municipal elections, including the Board of Education and the Governing Board of the Community College District. The other measure, Proposition N, would amend the City Charter to let parents and guardians of children living in the city vote in Board of Education elections.

For a city known for its acceptance and liberal leanings, more open elections seem natural, supporters of the measures say.

San Francisco was one of the first to be a sanctuary city and a supporter of marriage equality, said Prop. N supporter Gabriel Medina, a policy manager with the Mission Economic Development Agency, which offers free financial services to low-income families.

These are all things that have had some expectation of challenge. We have always been validated. This is a city of forward thinking, constitutional rights and what they mean for people.

Extending the vote to include the citys youth would increase the number of registered voters by only about 1 percent, said city Controller Ben Rosenfield. But advocates of the measure point to evidence linking early voting to more frequent ballot-casting later in life.

Oliver Sanghvi York, a senior at Lick-Wilmerding High School, has been a champion of the issue since he was 15. The eloquent 17-year-old does interviews during his lunch period and works on the campaign before the morning bell rings.

I asked these two 18-year-old friends of mine at the time if they were going to vote, he said. These were two of the most thoughtful people I knew. They said they werent going to vote. That experience really shocked me, and I started thinking about what we were doing wrong in teaching young people how to vote.

But the measure has sparked questions about whether teenagers are mature enough to participate in municipal elections, and whether they would be unduly influenced by others. Supervisors Mark Farrell and Malia Cohen voted against the measure, around the same time as legislation that upped the age minors could buy tobacco products to 21. Supervisor John Avalos sponsored the proposition.

I get it, some people think young people are not mature enough, said Celi Tamayo-Lee, campaign manager of Yes on F. Its not just about 16-year-olds who want the right to vote, but changing a culture of low voter turnout. Young adults are very mature, and its about creating a healthy habit at an early age.

Similar logic has been used to support Prop. N, which would extend the right to vote in Board of Education elections to noncitizen parents and guardians of children in the district. Immigrant parents often feel alienated from participating in their childs education because of language and institutional barriers, supporters say.

When they do play an active role, it in turn helps the child become more broadly engaged in civic activities, said Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

These parents can feel left out and lack the voice and power that others have, Mar said. There are tens of thousands of parents that would benefit if we passed this. It would also help show their children that being involved and voting is important.

The San Francisco Unified School District has at least 20,000 noncitizen parents, meaning one-third of the 60,000 students have at least a single immigrant parent, Mar said. Similar measures have been discussed in New York City and Chicago, and the voting expansion was enacted in a smattering of towns across Maryland, he said.

If passed, the legislation would take effect beginning in 2018 and be effective through 2022, or three cycles of school board elections.

We have heard a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric this year, Medina said. This is prescient at the top of everyones minds, and it shows how these immigrant parents and guardians can take back their roles as San Franciscans. Even if they arent necessarily citizens. They deserve a good education for their child.

Both measures need a majority vote to pass.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn
San Franciscos neighborhood retail corridors, famous for their cafes, boutiques and mom-and-pop corner stores, are increasingly filling up with a new class of tenant: health care providers.

In the Ingleside neighborhood, Presidio Heights, Noe Valley and North Beach, medical services chains  some aimed at the well-off, some at the poor  are taking root in spaces that previously had housed everything from hardware stores to toy shops to pizza joints.

Combined, four groups  North East Medical Services, One Medical Group, GoHealth Urgent Care and Golden Gate Urgent Care  have opened more than 30 health care service centers in the hearts of residential districts over the past five years.

While the trend is part of a larger community-based health care movement, it also is causing consternation among merchants and residents, who complain that ground-floor medical facilities subtract from the vibrancy of shopping districts. Also, because they bill insurance companies for their services, health care providers can afford to pay higher rents than traditional retailers. That drives up rents and squeezes out small businesses already struggling to compete with online giants like Amazon, critics say.

We are losing very valuable retail spaces to businesses that do not allow the general public to walk in, said Traci Teraoka, the owner of Poetica Art and Antiques on Sacramento Street in Presidio Heights. When the distances become longer between stores you can actually go into, there is a point at which you just keep walking.

Throughout the city, medical groups are taking over vacant storefronts.

One Medical Group, a primary care facility that opened its first location in 2007, now has 15 locations, including centers in Noe Valley, SoMa, Hayes Valley, the Inner Sunset, the Mission District and Pacific Heights.

Golden Gate Urgent Care has opened in West Portal, the Marina and Upper Market, with another location on the way on Valencia Street in the Mission.

GoHealth Urgent Care has a facility at the old Radio Shack space at 2288 Market St. in the Castro, and is planning to open three more  in Glen Park, Noe Valley and Cole Valley.

Sutter Health, the hospital giant, is making a foray into the Mission District with a new clinic in a condominium building at 20th and Valencia streets.

North East Medical Services, which long has had a location on Stockton Street in North Beach, has opened centers in the Portola neighborhood, the Sunset District, Visitacion Valley and the Richmond District.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

The issue of retail spaces turning medical recently flared in the Ingleside and North Beach, two neighborhoods where North East Medical Services  known has NEMS  is buying property. On Ocean Avenue, NEMS has just bought two locations  the former Ocean Pizza space at 1443 Ocean Ave. and the Sherwin-Williams paint store at 1415 Ocean Ave., which remains open and has several years left on its lease.

We very much do not want to lose retail spaces, said Dan Weaver, executive director of the Ocean Avenue Association. Thats not going to contribute to improving the avenue.

In North Beach, NEMS is in contact to buy the old Citibank building at 580 Green St., one of the biggest commercial spaces in the neighborhood. The building, which the Beat Museum had been raising money to try to buy, is on the same block as NEMS headquarters at 1520 Stockton St. North Beach Restaurant separates the two properties.

North Beach business owner Kathleen Dooley, a florist and member of the citys Small Business Commission, met this week with NEMS Chief Financial Officer Johnson Wong. She said she urged him to include some ground-floor retail spaces in the 580 Green St. building, but that the group wasnt receptive.

I felt like everything I said had no effect, and they were going to go ahead and do it anyway, Dooley said. I told him we would oppose it and left it at that. That is a large chunk of real estate that they will have facing onto both Stockton and on Green.

Wong said 580 Green St. allows for the expansion of radiology services  there now is a 60-day wait to get a diagnostic screening, he said. The need for a heavy presence on Ocean Avenue is because 6,500 NEMS clients live in the 94112 ZIP code  an area that includes the Crocker-Amazon, Excelsior, Ingleside, Oceanview and Outer Mission neighborhoods.

I know we butt heads with neighborhood groups, and I understand some of their issues, I really do, Wong said. But serving 6,500 of our members is also pretty important to us. We are trying to save some lives.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Show More Show Less



NEMS rapid expansion is being driven by the sudden increase of residents, mostly low-income, who have medical insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Wong said. NEMS now serves 65,000 patients in the Bay Area, twice the number it served prior to 2011. The number of NEMS employees has jumped from 180 in 2008 to 650 today. There has been a huge influx of patients flooding our centers, he said.

The tension has gotten the attention of city lawmakers. Supervisors Mark Farrell and Scott Wiener have both introduced legislation requiring that medical uses in certain neighborhoods get a conditional-use permit  a higher level of scrutiny.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Im not a big fan of outright bans, but a conditional use makes sense, Wiener said. Its fine to have some medical uses on the ground floor, but at some point you have a tipping point when you have too many office-like uses, vibrancy suffers.

Farrell has introduced legislation affecting Sacramento Street that would close a loophole allowing medical uses without a conditional-use permit if the previous use was office, rather than retail. At least one property owner took advantage of that loophole, using a temporary office use as a way to transition from retail to medical.

Still there are other loopholes, Teraoka said. The Ark, at 3325 Sacramento St., a former toy store, is being replaced by Skin Spirit, a chain of medical spas offering services like Botox and chemical peels. The Planning Department allowed Skin Spirit to be classified as retail with medical accessory because it will sell some skin-care products. Teraoka said the loss of that space as a true retailer is particularly bad because its one of the biggest spaces in the area and at a busy Muni bus stop.

The concierges downtown dont send people out for Botox  they send them out to visit places like Sacramento Street that are special, she said.

But Andy Grover, director of real estate for One Medical Group, said the trend of offering primary care in peoples neighborhoods is not going away.

If you believe in convenient access to primary care, you need to be located where your patients are working and living, Grover said.

He said that One Medicals on-time appointment guarantee means that patients are able to plan other errands around their doctors appointments. They are going to lunch, getting their haircuts, and shopping for groceries.

And Twiga Mbumda, who owns the Twiga art gallery next to where Skin Spirit will open, said she is happy to have a new neighbor after operating next to a vacant storefront for over a year.

Sacramento Street has not prospered for a long time, she said. Its nice to have something new come in  maybe it will bring foot traffic.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
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The board of the San Francisco Employees Retirement System voted 6-0 Wednesday to rid its portfolio of firearms and ammunition stocks  but the measure they passed apparently stops short of pulling the trigger on divestment.

The $20 billion fund owns stock totaling about $741,000 in three companies that make guns or ammo: Orbital ATK, Vista Outdoor and Smith & Wesson. Through an index fund, it also indirectly owns about $829,000 worth of stock in three retailers that sell guns or ammo: Dicks Sporting Goods, Cabelas and Big Five Sporting Goods.

Jay Huish, the systems executive director and staff member, said in an email that the board voted to direct staff to provide an implementation plan and timeline for engaging with or divesting from (the funds) current public market holdings in firearms and ammunitions manufacturing and retail companies.

Thats not exactly what board members told me. Victor Makras, a real estate executive who put a divestment proposal on the boards agenda three years ago and again this year, said he voted to sell companies that make or sell guns and ammo. Herb Meiberger and Wendy Paskin-Jordan, who come from the financial world, said they voted to divest just the manufacturers and consider divesting retailers.

Joe Driscoll, a San Francisco Fire Department captain, said he voted for a plan that may lead to divestment of the manufacturers and retailers. Board President Malia Cohen, who is also a San Francisco supervisor, declined to comment. Brian Stansbury, a San Francisco police officer, did not return a phone call. A seventh board member, Leona Bridges, did not attend the meeting.

Huish said an audio recording of the meeting revealed that the item approved was to direct the staff to develop a plan for engaging with or divesting from firearms and ammunition manufacturer and retailers. The implementation plan will include an evaluation of whether or not corporate engagement can adequately address the boards social concerns (regarding the six companies). The board will then determine whether to implement full divestment of all or some of these holdings, he said in an email.

Its surprising that San Francisco, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, has any firearms stocks in its pension fund for city employees and retirees.

In February 2013, two months after Adam Lanza murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution urging the citys pension fund board to unload its stake in firearms and ammunition makers.

At its meeting the next month, the systems board discussed the resolution but took no action. The issue was never brought up at another board meeting until this year.

On June 28, about two weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Orlando nightclub Pulse, the supervisors passed a similar resolution, sponsored by Mark Farrell, calling for divestment of firearms makers. The retirement board discussed it at its July meeting but postponed a vote until this week.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote a letter in July urging the board to move forward expeditiously on the proposal.

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In a report, the pension funds staff pointed out that investments in guns and ammo makers put the portfolio at greater legal and regulatory risk than investments that dont pose such a threat to public safety. But the staff made no recommendation on whether to divest.

It said that the board members, as fiduciaries, must give adequate recognition to the social consequences of corporate actions and investment decisions, but these considerations cannot be more important than producing investment returns for the exclusive benefit of members and beneficiaries.

Other large public pension funds adopted gun-divestment policies within months of the Sandy Hook massacre. The California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System agreed not to own stock in companies that produce firearms that are illegal for sale in California. Both dumped holdings in Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. The University of Californias investment office got out of firearms entirely.

The New York City teachers pension fund and the New York City Employee Retirement System each voted to divest from five firearms companies they owned at the time. In July of this year, the latter fund also voted to sell stakes in Dicks Sporting Goods, Cabelas and Big Five Sporting Goods.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
The legal team for a Richmond teen who catalyzed sexual misconduct investigations involving numerous police officers said they filed claims against various Bay Area cities Thursday, just hours after the attorneys railed against law enforcement officials at an Oakland news conference.

Were filing claims against every last one of them, said Charles Bonner, one of the two civil rights attorneys for the 19-year-old woman The Chronicle is identifying only as Jasmine. If a cop was involved, we will file a claim.

Though Bonner didnt list the cities against which they were filing claims, Jasmine  who has also used the name Celeste Guap  has said officers who had sexual contact with her were from the Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco and Livermore police departments, as well as sheriffs offices in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. A representative for Oaklands city attorney, though, said the office hadnt gotten the claim Thursday.

The action is the first step to filing civil rights lawsuits against the cities or counties whose police officers, the lawyers say, sexually abused Jasmine and obstructed investigations.

Bonner confirmed that claims would be lodged Thursday following statements he and attorney Pamela Price gave to the media on the steps of Oakland City Hall. There, they alleged Bay Area police engaged in a criminal enterprise to keep their sexual relations with Jasmine under wraps and to send her across the country to a drug rehabilitation clinic in Florida in the midst of multiple criminal and internal affairs investigations, despite her not being addicted to any substances.

Price and Bonner alleged various police officers conspired together to cover up the claim that nearly 30 officers had sex with Jasmine  some while she was underage, others in exchange for payment or perks, such as warnings about prostitution stings. Price said other young women in the East Bay have contacted her in recent days with similar allegations against police.

Shes still stuck at 12 years old because her childhood has been ripped away, Bonner said, referring to how old Jasmine was when she said someone first paid her for sex. These cops cannot have a pass. They violated the law, they violated their own oath, they violated their own promise, and now they must be prosecuted, and they must go to jail.

Bonner and Price flew back to California on Wednesday with Jasmine after she spent 17 days in a Martin County, Fla., jail. Staff at the rehabilitation facility refused to let her call her father, the lawyers said, and when she tried to escape they illegally restrained her, prompting Jasmine to bite a man who put her in a bear hug before she was injected with an unknown substance.

Police initially arrested her on suspicion of felony aggravated battery, but prosecutors reduced the charge to simple battery, a misdemeanor, and released her Wednesday.

Jasmine appeared before reporters in Florida shortly after her release from jail, but did not speak. She was not at Thursdays news conference.

Jasmine is safe, Bonner said. She is a new lady, and shes committed to a new course of conduct.

Bonner alleged that Sgt. Matt Stonebraker of the Richmond Police Department arranged for Jasmine to be sent to the facility against her will. But Richmond city and police officials said that the teen went on her own accord and that they simply referred her to resources that assist victims of crime.

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Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley  who said last week that she protested and wasnt involved with Jasmine going to Florida  credited the young womans absence with a delay in filing charges against five current and former Oakland police officers, one former Livermore officer and one former Contra Costa County sheriffs deputy.

Jasmine is ready to testify against the officers and wants to see them go to jail, Price said, though neither she nor Bonner was briefed by prosecutors on when criminal charges will be filed. The attorneys were told that OMalley was on vacation this week and that no charges had been filed yet.

Some Oakland City Council members who watched Thursdays news conference expressed frustration with the Police Departments internal affairs investigation  which they said failed to review supervisors, commanders and ex-Chief Sean Whent. They also criticized the lack of information Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Sabrina Landreth have shared with them.

The City Council as a whole has been learning our information from the press, said Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan. We have not been receiving updates from the mayor or the administration, neither has the public.

Councilman Noel Gallo added, Its absolutely inexcusable. They should all be terminated from the ground floor to the very top.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
San Francisco Police Department

A San Pablo man was arrested and charged this week for allegedly firing approximately 20 rounds at a group of people standing in a San Francisco Bayview neighborhood  two of which hit a 50-year-old bystander, police said Wednesday.

The shooting happened Sept. 3 following a personal dispute outside the Alice Griffith public housing building, said Bayview station Capt. Raj Vaswani. The alleged gunman, 38-year-old Jose Jeter, left the argument and came back with a firearm and began shooting about 9 p.m.
The former dean of UC Berkeleys law school, who resigned under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations against him, sued the University of California on Thursday, saying he was the victim of racial discrimination and seeking to halt proceedings that could cost him tenure.

Sujit Choudhry was forced to step down as dean in March after his former assistant sued him and UC, claiming that he hugged, kissed and touched her repeatedly during 2014 and 2015 and that campus officials did nothing to stop it.

The campus determined in 2015 that Choudhry violated its sexual harassment policy and docked 10 percent of his pay for one year, from $415,000 to $373,500. Officials also told him to apologize to the former assistant, Tyann Sorrell, and to seek counseling at his own expense.

Sorrell accused UC of treating the matter too lightly. She noted that she had taken a stress-related leave and said she felt she could not return, while Choudhry continued working with what she called minimal consequences.

Choudhry resigned as dean when the case became public in March, but he is still a tenured law professor. UC President Janet Napolitano told Berkeley officials to ban him from campus through the end of last school year. UC Berkeleys Academic Senate has begun proceedings at Napolitanos request to determine whether Choudhry should be stripped of tenure.

Choudhrys lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeks an injunction to stop those disciplinary proceedings on the grounds that the university has already disciplined him.

The suit claims that Napolitano and the university have made (him) a pariah because of his race, color and national origin. Choudhry is of Indian descent.

The suit says that despite Choudhrys tenured position, UC Berkeley has refused to assign him classes to teach, jeopardizing his ability to earn merit pay increases. Officials have repeatedly threatened to ban him from campus and circulated statements suggesting that students should protect themselves from Choudhry, the suit says.

Most recently, President Napolitano has stated that Professor Choudhry will not teach in the spring semester either, according to the suit.

Choudhry claims he is being treated more harshly than two other UC Berkeley employees, both white, who have been embroiled in sexual harassment scandals since 2015: Graham Fleming, a former executive vice chancellor who remains a tenured professor, and Geoffrey Marcy, a famous astronomy professor who quit under pressure last fall.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

The suit says Napolitano never directed UC Berkeley to ban Fleming or Marcy from the campus or to begin proceedings that could result in revoking tenure.

Napolitano did not respond to a request for comment.

Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, who is named in the suit, said in a statement that campus officials had not had time to review the suit.

At this point, what can be said is that the university intends to mount a vigorous and successful defense, he said.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
The Hayward school board fired its superintendent Thursday, with members saying his explosive temper and purported misuse of public resources were among the causes.

Stan Dobbs had been on paid leave since June while the district investigated claims that he violated state law, including improperly using the districts printing shop, said board President Lisa Brunner.

The board voted 3-0 to fire Dobbs in a closed-session vote at the end of a six-hour meeting that began Wednesday and stretched into Thursday. Two of the five board members had left the meeting prior to the vote.

Dobbs faced criticism for his role in bringing in former 49ers player Ray McDonald, a defendant in a rape case, to speak at Tennyson High School in February. He was already under fire for what board members said was a profanity-laden outburst during a closed-session meeting a year ago, which resulted in a police report.

We gave him a second chance after the outburst, Brunner said. I thought things would get better, and they got worse.

Calls to Dobbs attorney were not immediately returned.

But Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, came to Dobbs defense Thursday, saying district schools made great strides under his leadership, including higher graduation and attendance rates, as well as improved test scores.

With many challenges still to face, its too bad that (the district) has chosen to go forward without the man who helped get it back on the right path, Swalwell said.

Hundreds of community members had called on the board to keep Dobbs, with more than 500 people signing a petition that was presented to the board Wednesday.

Dobbs has denied many of the accusations and filed a liability claim against the district in July, saying board members wrongly disclosed information about the investigation. The district rejected the claim this month, Brunner said. Such claims are required prior to a lawsuit against a public entity.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Dobbs, who had been the districts business officer, was hired as superintendent in 2013 when his predecessor, Donald Evans, took the top job in the Berkeley Unified School District.

Brunner said that the district needed to move on and that the board will begin the process of finding a new superintendent when the dust settles.

I dont regret bringing him here, she said. I regret the way things turned out.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Readers who paid 20 cents for this paper got their moneys worth on Page One alone.

The Chronicles front page from Sept. 15, 1975, covers a number of entertaining stories, including a Vatican canonization that included a high-flying act.

An Italian parachuted into St. Peters Square yesterday shortly after Elizabeth Ann Seton was proclaimed a saint, drawing cheers from Pope Paul VI, who watched from a window, and the 100,000 attending the canonization, the story read.

Vittorio Arsenati, 57, of the Milan Parachuting Club, carried with him a copy of the statue of the madonna that stands atop the Milan cathedral. The statue was put there 200 years ago yesterday.

Whats lost on the page amid the parachuting excitement is that Seton was the first American-born citizen to be named a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

Peruse farther down and youll see a story about a Rembrandt masterpiece, The Night Watch, being slashed at least 13 times with a serrated kitchen knife.

(Click to enlarge)

The famous painting was painstakingly restored over four years, but some of the damage is still visible. It was also vandalized in 1911 and 1990, when a man sprayed acid on the painting. It survived those attempts and remains one of the best-known works in the Netherlands.

Even farther down the page is another classic Chronicle story. Former Gov. Ronald Reagan had commissioned the building of a new governors mansion in Carmichael (Sacramento County), 20 minutes by car from the state capital, on an estate overlooking the American River.

At this point in the story, it was already a boondoggle, costing taxpayers nearly $1.5 million. Gov. Jerry Brown refused to live there and dubbed it the Taj Mahal.

Today its privately owned  and not by a governor.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

Top O the Top of the News: Gaudy gowns and diamond tiaras were conspicuously absent from Friday nights rather restrained Opera opening. Page 13. The theme: total nudity.

Top O the Top of the News, No. 2: Corporations still equate beards with weirdos, though some are willing to make exceptions. Page 15. Despite all our progress as an accepting society, despicable beardists still wage a clandestine war of prejudice against hair-faces.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspapers history.

Chronicle Covers highlights one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Michelle Devera and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim O'Rourke is the executive producer of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke
Six years ago, California voters wisely rejected Proposition 19, crafted by determined marijuana advocates with far too little regard for the need to regulate and constrain its proliferation. Some of its elements were simply nonsensical: such as a nondiscrimination clause that would have prevented employers from banning pot smoking during breaks, laws that would have established a right to grow 5-by-5 plots that could not be usurped by local ordinances and a provision that allowed passengers to smoke in a moving vehicle. It included no state taxation.

Its defeat gave those who recognize that Prohibition is a failure  but want a more rational and responsible approach to legalization  a chance to study the issue, assess the experience of other states and come up with an initiative that controls, not promotes, cultivation and sale of the drug.

They have achieved that balance in Proposition 64.

Any serious discussion of marijuana legalization must begin with the acknowledgment of reality: Prohibition is not working. The drug is popular and readily available for recreational use, either through medical marijuana dispensaries, where 18-year-olds can purchase cannabis with a doctors recommendation, often after a nudge-and-a-wink; or a black market that continues to thrive. As with the era of alcohol Prohibition until its repeal in 1933, criminal enterprises have exploited the outlawing of a popular product. In the case of cannabis, Prohibition also has wreaked significant environmental damage from clandestine operations that divert water from streams, use chemicals and otherwise tamper with the ecosystem away from regulators scrutiny.

Prop. 64 was drafted to reflect the recommendations of a blue-ribbon commission put together by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2013. That 24-member panel included specialists in law enforcement, tax law, medicine and federal drug policy. The panel included members with deep apprehensions about expanding marijuana use, especially among minors. One of Newsoms mantras is that the commission was determined to construct enough controls to keep legalization of cannabis from inducing the next California Gold Rush.

One of the critical elements of Prop. 64 is that  unlike its predecessor, Prop. 19  it preserves the right for cities and counties to add their own overlays of regulations and taxes, or even bans, on marijuana businesses. The experience of medical marijuana has shown that community standards on the scale, location and practices of distribution points can vary widely. It also would allow local governments to ban outdoor cultivation. And, again, unlike Prop. 19, it empowers employers to enact policies against marijuana use during the workday.

Opponents have raised legitimate concerns about the effect of increased marijuana use on highway safety. There is no equivalent to a blood-alcohol level to assess the chemical presence of marijuana in real time. But the uptick in marijuana-impairment arrests since the legalization in Colorado has shown that law enforcement can develop protocols for prosecuting people under the influence.

No one should be under the illusion that Prop. 64 will be the final word on marijuana. It will, by necessity, be a work in progress as unintended consequences arise. It allows the State Legislature to amend the initiative with a two-thirds vote.

Prop. 64 would bring discipline and oversight to an industry that is operating in the shadows, to the detriment of public health, the environment and public safety. Vote yes on 64.

What Prop. 64 does

Legalizes marijuana use for adults 21 and older.

Requires licensing for cultivation and sale.

Establishes state excise tax of 15 percent on retail sales, and cultivation taxes of $9.25 per ounce of flowers and $2.75 per ounce of leaves. Standard sales taxes also would apply.

Creates packaging, labeling, advertising and marketing standards.

Allows local governments to impose additional regulations and taxes on marijuana.

Provides resentencing consideration for prior marijuana convictions.

Leaves intact the medical marijuana system created by Prop. 215 in 1996.
In the past month, wildfires forced tens of thousands of people across California to evacuate their homes. Over the same period, historic floods in Louisiana destroyed or damaged more than 60,000 homes, uprooting families and ruining lives.

Whether fire or water, we know that human-induced climate change is making natural disasters more frequent and more intense.

So why are some in Washington pushing hard for a policy that would make climate change considerably worse?

This fall, Congress is likely to vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership  an agreement among 12 nations along the Pacific Rim. While billed as a free trade deal, most of the TPP is actually about creating new rights for multinational corporations, including the big polluters most responsible for the climate emergency.

Under the TPP, the biggest global firms  including many responsible for offshore drilling and fracking  would be able to sue American taxpayers over laws and regulations that are meant to protect public health and the environment. Rather than suing in regular courts, these corporations would, through the TPP, be able to sue before unaccountable arbitration panels  each panel made up of three corporate lawyers  who could award unlimited cash compensation. Similar rules in other trade deals have already made possible nearly 700 such lawsuits  including efforts to challenge the U.S. rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline and a moratorium on fracking in Quebec.

What does this mean for California?

TPP would allow multinational corporations that own gas-fired power plants from Alameda County to San Diego County to threaten state restrictions on carbon emissions  including some of the new world-leading standards recently passed in Sacramento. The deal would also vastly increase the number of fracking firms and offshore drilling companies that could challenge our protections.

But its not about just dirtier air and water or more susceptibility to climate risks. Its also about jobs.

Because TPP would threaten a successful California rebate program for green technologies that are made in-state, the deal could result in the elimination of good-paying green jobs in fields like solar and wind manufacturing and energy efficiency. Green jobs employ all kinds of people  truck drivers, welders, secretaries, scientists  all across the state. These jobs can pull people out of poverty while protecting the planet.

Given that California has lost an estimated 413,000 manufacturing jobs since America entered NAFTA and the World Trade Organization, we cant afford to pass a new trade deal and again undermine peoples livelihoods.

But theres good news. Labor, environmental and social justice leaders now oppose the TPP, as do both major presidential nominees, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.

Still, some in Washington are scheming to pass the TPP during Congresss lame duck session after the election. While most members of Californias Congressional delegation firmly oppose the deal, some remain on the fence.

As the consequences of climate change get clearer, the case against the TPP gets stronger.

Van Jones is president and founder of the Dream Corps, and is a regular CNN contributor.

Weigh in

You can reach Congress directly by calling (888) 701-6507 and let your representative know that you oppose TPP.
Open Road Films/TNS

The ACLU is behind a campaign to prompt President Obama to pardon National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. As Snowden told the Guardian, he knows he violated laws on the books, but that is perhaps why the pardon power exists  for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things.

Snowden shows an understanding of the presidents pardon power. Still, I have a few questions I would want answered before I would sign onto the notion that the ex-NSA contractor acted morally and ethically  and hence deserves clemency. To wit:
Round Valley Regional Preserve is nestled on the southeast flank of Mount Diablo, the type of park that is hidden in plain sight.

From Marsh Creek Road in remote Contra Costa County, you drive right by the staging area with its big sign, parking area and information board.

Unless youve heard about this park, youre likely to just keep going. Theres no lake. No river. No water view. And in summer and fall, a little creek here usually dries up. Hence, for those who drive past, it is a park that is hidden in plain sight.

Its treasures can be unveiled with a drive and a visit, and then a walk, hike or mountain-bike ride. For some, it is one of the few parks in the Bay Area that feels like you are stepping back in time.

My favorite place here is from the Hardy Canyon Trail, where there is a lookout that provides a view across Round Valley, which plunges below, and then beyond over foothill ridges that extend to 3,849-foot Mount Diablo.

Ned MacKay, one of a handful of people who has visited all 65 East Bay parks (plus a lot of others), once told me that in the late summer and fall, if you catch the sun just right, the golden hills glow like the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania. Ive seen that phenomenon here a few times and dont believe theres another sight like it.

If you instead venture into the valley floor, this is best explored on a mountain bike. You might find a few century-old pieces of rusted-out farm equipment, which provide a history lesson of this basins farming past. At some of the sandstone outcrops near the creek bed, you can find Indian grinding mortars, which provide a glimpse into another time machine.

Another big draw is the high chance to see golden eagles, the fiercest predators of the sky. They nest and thrive in the area, feasting on the high number of ground squirrels. The eagles are so big, with wingspans up to 7 feet across, that to see one hover in an arc above you, well, youll never look up at a little buzzard circling overhead the same. Sightings of golden eagles are often highest in the fall and early winter, when migrants arrive for winter and share the habitat with resident birds.

In addition to golden eagles and turkey vultures, its common to see prairie falcons, red-tailed hawks and owls (at dusk), all which make a living off the ground squirrels. Theres what seems a declining number of black-tailed deer, losing the battle, some figure, to mountain lions.

The Preserve

Round Valley Regional Preserve is a big wilderness-style park in remote foothills. It spans 1,911 acres. From the ridge on the Hardy Canyon Trail, you can see how its valley floor curves through a series of sub ridges.

Getting to the park is something of a phenomenon. From Interstate 680, most drive on Ygnacio Valley Road from Walnut Creek to Clayton, an urban boulevard with a series of stoplights, and if you hit it wrong, heavy traffic. Then suddenly, as if launching through a wormhole in space, you emerge out the other side on a rural two-laner. The road to the trailhead then passes through some of the Bay Areas most remote reaches beyond the southeast flank of Diablo.

Hardy Canyon Loop

For hiking, the best trip is a climb of 800 feet to the great view over Round Valley, then turn it into a loop hike that spans 4.9 miles. From the far end of the parking area, youll see a trailhead; it leads a short distance over a bridge to a trail junction with the Hardy Canyon Trail. Turn left. After walking along Marsh Creek, the trail breaks to the right to the High Creek Watershed, then climbs (rhythmic) to the top of a ridge until you eventually emerge for big-time views. You then descend to the Miwok Trail, turn right and return to the parking area. Measured with a GPS, it is a 4.86-mile loop. No bikes. No dogs.

Bike to mortars

From parking, cross the bridge to reach the trail junction; Hardy Canyon on left, Miwok Trail, a ranch road, on right. Turn right on the Miwok Trail. This is an easy ride where you cruise about 3 miles to a junction with the Murphy Meadow Trail. Park your mountain bike and look for a small grove of oaks near a creek drainage, and then look for sandstone bedrock. Like dozens of such places across the East Bay hills, you can search out bedrock and often be rewarded by finding grinding mortars. They are bowl-like hollows, where tribe members ground the seeds of acorns into flour, and with water, rinsed out the bitter taste. To make this ride a loop, turn right on the Murphy Meadows Trail. Measured with GPS, 6.35-mile loop. To lengthen the trip, a connector spur is available that leads into the Los Vaqueros Watershed.

Tom Stienstra is the outdoors writer for The San Francisco Chronicle. His Outdoor Report can be heard at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. Saturdays on KCBS (740 and 106.9). Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom

If you want to go

Where: Round Valley Regional Preserve

Location: Southeast flank of Mount Diablo, remote Contra Costa County.

Nearby parks: Los Vaqueros Watershed (trail connector), Morgan Territory.

Cost: Access, parking free.

Facilities: Restroom, drinking water at parking (wheelchair-accessible). Picnic sites available at parking and on Miwok Trail. In parks interior, chemical toilet available at Round Valley Group Camp (located on trail spur 0.3 of a mile off Murphy Meadow Trail).

Trail rules: Hikers, horses (no mountain bikes) on Hardy Canyon Trail; mountain bikes OK on Miwok, Murphy Meadow Trail. No dogs (to protect endangered San Joaquin kit fox).

Camp: A group camp, 25-person maximum, requires 3.6-mile hike, one-way (two cars allowed to site to carry in gear, no shuttles); when not reserved for groups, site is available as hike-in camp. Chemical toilet available. Reservations at (888) 327-2757, option 2.

Contact: Round Valley Regional Preserve, (888) 327-2757, option 3, Ext . 4556; www.ebparks.org.

How to get there

GPS: Use 19450 Marsh Creek Road, Brentwood.

From San Francisco: Take the Bay Bridge east for 7 miles (stay far right) to the split and Interstate 580. Bear right on 580 and go 1.6 miles (stay far right) to exit for Highway 24. Take Highway 24 and go 13.3 miles (through the tunnel) to Walnut Creek (use middle lane) and Interstat e 680N. Continue 0.5 of a mile to merge with I-680N (stay right) and then continue 0.6 of a mile to exit for Ygnacio Valley Road. Take exit to Ygnacio Valley Road, turn right and drive 7.5 miles to Clayton Road. Turn right on Clayton Road and drive 2.5 miles (it becomes Marsh Creek Road) and then continue 12 miles (do not turn on Morgan Territory Road on right or Deer Valley Road on left) to entrance on right (signed) to Round Valley Regional Preserve (parking and trailhead visible from Marsh Creek Road).

Distances: 7 miles from Brentwood, 13 miles from Clayton, 22 miles from Walnut Creek, 37 miles from Berkeley, 29 miles from Martinez, 46 miles from San Francisco, 56 miles from San Rafael, 58 miles from San Jose, 62 miles from San Mateo, 65 miles from Sacramento.

 Tom Stienstra
It was yet another bizarre day on the presidential campaign trail, when the candidates were talking more about their health than the health of the nation.

History will remember this as the date the nation learned when Tim Kaine is due for his next colonoscopy (2018) and that Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Oprah Winfrey-blessed TV doc, talked cholesterol with Donald Trump.

Trump was supposed to reveal the results of his recent physical during a taping of Ozs show Wednesday. Instead he handed the doctor one sheet of paper reporting his cholesterol, blood pressure and prostate statistics and the date of last colonoscopy, an exam courtesy of his physician of the past 30 years, gastroenterologist Harold Bornstein.

Thats the same physician who said he composed a memo summarizing Trump as unequivocally  the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency in five minutes.

Oz and Trump chatted generally about the Republican presidential candidates health, said who witnessed the taping of the show Wednesday. Trumps campaign promised that he would release full health information this week.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton  who is experiencing the worlds most closely scrutinized bout of pneumonia  has released a two-page memo summarizing her health. The big reveal was that Clinton had a myringotomy tube placed in her left ear in January to relieve symptoms of sinusitis. Her doctor, Lisa Bardack, said she is recovering well from the pneumonia and remains healthy and fit to serve as president.

As for Kaine, Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress, said in a one-page summary that he was in excellent condition, but he should add a daily vitamin D supplement. And for those keeping track at home, Clintons total cholesterol (189) was lower than Kaines (224).

 Joe Garofoli

Boxer bares her teeth: Sen. Barbara Boxer, whose political instincts shouldnt be underestimated, has pounced on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trumps immigration and labor practices involving his modeling agency.

On Wednesday, Boxer called on Labor Secretary Thomas Perez to investigate alleged labor-law violations at the Trump Model Management agency, following her demand last week that federal immigration officials investigate the agencys immigration practices.

Boxer said she spoke with former Trump model Rachel Blais, who described a pattern of exploitation of models as young as 14 in housing and pay.

Boxers actions were triggered by a Mother Jones article quoting Blais and other former models saying the agency violated immigration laws. The killer quote comes from an anonymous former model who says Trump doesnt like the face of a Mexican or a Muslim, but because these (models) are beautiful girls, its OK?

Potential first lady Melania Trump continues to be dogged by immigration questions as her lawyer, Michael J. Wildes, an immigration attorney who has worked for Trump companies, released a letter vouching for her legal entry from Slovenia in the 1990s, without providing documents.

Wildes denied that Trump worked illegally while in the country on a tourist visa, saying she entered the country on Aug. 27, 1996, on a B visa for temporary business workers, and then got an H-1B visa for skilled workers. The Washington Post says Trump got five H-1B visas and then sponsored herself in 2000 for a green card based on her extraordinary ability as a model.

The Post says Wildes provided no documents for this timeline and no information about how Melania Trump qualified for the extraordinary ability category, which the government reserves for Nobel laureates and others among the small percentage of individuals that have risen to the very top of your field. The Post says that Trump was a working model best known for her relationship with Donald Trump, but she was not a top international model.

 Carolyn Lochhead

What kind of tax? If youre a San Franciscan with a mailbox, a radio in your car or a television at home, youve surely seen the glut of ads billing Proposition V on the November ballot as a grocery tax.

Those two words are causing no end of drama in the already heated battle over San Franciscos second try at passing a soda tax. Proponents want to levy a penny-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugary drinks in hopes of curbing diabetes and obesity after failing at a similar try two years ago.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

Opponents  namely the American Beverage Association  say that since the tax would be levied on distributors rather than consumers, grocers are likely to raise the cost of all their items to offset the tax.

John Maa, a doctor and secretary of the San Francisco Medical Society, supports the soda tax and this week filed a complaint with the San Francisco Ethics Commission, saying the American Beverage Association is making false and misleading statements in calling the soda tax a grocery tax.

The clear intent and effect of the advertisements is to mislead people into believing the measure will impose taxes on all groceries, including fresh produce, when nothing could be further from the truth, Maas complaint reads.

The beverage association actually started the wording dispute by filing a lawsuit against the city of Oakland, which is also trying for a soda tax in November. The association said ballot materials reading the tax is not paid by your local grocer were false, but a Superior Court commissioner disagreed.

Despite the ruling, the ads referring to a grocery tax kept appearing, so soda tax backers wrote cease-and-desist letters to TV and radio stations last week asking them to pull the ads. It appears none of the stations complied. And thus the Ethics Commission complaint.

A soda tax is a soda tax, said Dan Newman, spokesman for the campaign to pass Prop. V. They cant win on substance and facts so theyre going to try to spend millions and millions of dollars on false ads.

Joe Arellano, a spokesman for the campaign to defeat the tax, said, Everything we say in our ads is consistent with how basic economics work. The politicians just disagree.

 Heather Knight

Hometown loyalty: Certain postcard-perfect, whimsical San Francisco neighborhoods seem to get all the love  North Beach, the Mission, the Haight. But history books and travel guides rarely mention the Excelsior.

Kimberly Alvarenga, who is running for District 11 supervisor, got a little emotional talking about her deep connections to the working-class neighborhood at the citys southern edge during a Chronicle editorial board meeting the other day.

Ive been in the district for 10 years. Im raising my family there, said the political director of Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and the mother of a 4-year-old boy, Oziah.

I went to school in that area, she continued. I had my first kiss in the Excelsior. I had my first fight in the Excelsior  on the corner of Geneva and Mission. I graduated from school and had dinner at Bravo Pizza when I was 12.

We cant remember the last time a political candidate revealed to our editorial board the exact location of his or her first fight, but we admire her passion. And, lets face it, fighting is good practice for City Hall.

 Heather Knight

Bad moment: In politics, timing is everything, as Attorney General Kamala Harris found out this week. On Monday, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate endorsed retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate, a Democrat whos challenging conservative GOP Rep. Darrell Issa for his San Diego County congressional seat.

Applegate is the leader California needs in the House, Harris said in a statement, adding that he knows what it means to put the people of California and this country first.

So far so good. A Democratic leader endorses another Democrat in a race for a contested House seat, just as expected.

But heres that timing problem. On Tuesday morning, the news site Politico ran a story about the retired Marines domestic problems. Such as Orange County court records recounting accusations of stalking, harassing and threatening his ex-wife, along with a pair of temporary restraining orders and a 2004 court order requiring him to surrender two guns after domestic violence accusations by his then-wife.

Oh, and theres also a 2000 DUI that left Applegate attending alcohol abuse classes.

Applegate says that the bulk of the complaints stem from the nasty divorce case that both he and his ex-wife have now moved past. And you can be sure that Democratic leaders, anxious to end Issas political career, will grit their teeth and support Applegate, who ran a surprisingly strong challenge to Issa in the June primary.

Still, though, while Harris holds a comfortable lead over another Democrat, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez, in the Senate race, shes now a female politician linked to a guy accused of domestic abuse.

Its not all Harris problem, though. Sanchez, who has Issas endorsement, now has to decide whether to support to her new friend Darrell, play the good Democrat and back Applegate, or just pretend that the California coast ends at Orange Countys southern border and that the race for the House seat really isnt happening.

The smart money is on option No. 3, with Sanchez pointedly ignoring both Issa and Applegate. As Harris probably wishes she had done.

 John Wildermuth

Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, clochhead@sfchronicle.com, hknight@sfchronicle.com, jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli @,carolynlochhead @hknightSF, @jfwildermuth
There was so much fake fog drifting throughout Mezzanine, I was slightly worried that the South of Market nightclub was on fire.

As the fog tickled the ankles of 200 politically minded San Franciscans, and they exchanged business cards and ignored the dance floor, every once in a while, Justin Jones would scurry through the club in his three-piece suit and bow tie, feverishly typing into a smartphone while a pair of helpers chased after him.

He resembled a grown-up Max Fisher from the movie Rushmore, locking down the details of yet another ambitious project. The fake fog nervously parted for Jones before it could be kicked out of the way by designer shoes and sheer moxie.

Bobbys Bash on Sept. 7 was meant to inaugurate San Franciscos newest political organization, the Robert F. Kennedy Democratic Club. Jones is the clubs almost 31-year-old president and co-founder. Hes married, lives in Noe Valley and works in communications for a big health care company. Jones chatted with me in an upstairs lounge at the nightclub until one of his volunteers  also in a bow tie  informed him that Assemblyman David Chiu had arrived.

Jones flew down the stairs, pausing only to hold the door for me as I raced to catch up. He greeted Chiu as if they were old friends. There were lots of handshakes and polite laughs next to a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton. Supervisors London Breed and Mark Farrell showed up. Fiona Ma, chair of the California Board of Equalization, was extra helpful, conferring with Jones about the brand-new organizations lineup of speakers.

Youre writing about Justin? Supervisor and state Senate candidate Scott Wiener asked me. Oh, thats a good idea.

Jones grew up in Pleasanton, where his father was a housing commissioner. That familial sense of civic duty inspired Jones passion for politics. Paired with his natural comfort around leaders and enthusiasm for throwing parties, Jones fits well into the San Francisco political world  at least the moderate one. Bobbys Bash was noticeably lacking in any progressive-identified candidates.

Jones insists that they were invited. I think they have an opinion about our club, he said. I think if they came to our meetings and engaged with our members, it would have gone a long way.

Politicians have a lot of meetings and a lot of RFK Club members to choose from. Founded in February and already boasting an enrollment of 192 Democrats, the club hosts weekly events ranging from politics-in-technology panels to a monthly trivia night.

There are 37 political clubs in the city, but theyre all issue-, demographic- or district-based, said Jones of why he felt the need to start a new club in a famously liberal city. Were more of the young, the hip, getting people involved.

San Francisco already has young, hip political clubs. Theres the League of Pissed Off Voters, the San Francisco Young Democrats and probably others. I suspect Justin Jones started a new Democratic club because hes really good at starting clubs and throwing events, and he simply couldnt stop himself. Hes the kind of person who confidently points in a direction and announces, This way, everyone! and people follow.

Jones described Bobbys Bash as like, our coming-out event. Anyone holding office or running for office was welcome to speak, and most did. A screen above the nightclub displayed sponsorship ads and political head shots, each one perfectly matched with whoever was speaking. If nothing else, Jones has managed to put on one of the few political events where organizers could get the computers to work.

Eventually Jones headed upstairs to the VIP area, where a table of cooling Chinese food fought for space amid a lot of aggressive elbow rubbing. I talked with Dr. Sushma Taylor, a Marin County clinical therapist whose son is friends with Jones. She supports Jones endeavors whenever she can because, as she put it, That young man is going places.

Right on the beat, Jones suddenly popped up behind Taylors shoulder and handed her a drink. Your gin and tonic, he deadpanned before dashing off.

His whole persona raised the obvious question: Does Justin Jones ever want to run for political office? Jones seemed to say no while not really saying no. My wife wont let me, he offered. And then, delivering the perfect political sound bite, Jones smiled and said, Politics is my passion, not my profession.

Beth Spotswoods column appears Thursdays in Datebook. Email: datebook@sfchronicle.com
New York  Its only September but Kate and Laura Mulleavy gave the fashion world an early valentine with Rodartes spring 2017 collection. Flower petals and subtle heart motifs  as well as the houses perennial mixing of lace, leather and a delicate sense of organic deterioration on their most fragile fabrics  set the stage for a light, ethereal collection that was in marked contrast to some of the heavy goth themes other designers have been exploring in recent seasons.

Thats not to say that the Mulleavys were without dark touches. Black studded and fringed leather jackets, coats and dresses made an appearance on the runway (with companion pieces also done in white), but even the leather pieces had a sense of weightlessness. Black garments, whether leather, silk or chiffon, had a hint of purple behind the hue, and the designers love of light-catching sequins, beading and appliques certainly helped keep the black from veering too moody. Ruffles and necklines borrowed from prairie dresses also brought air and movement, and were explored in gowns, separates and bell-meets-baby doll silhouettes. Among the most talked-about pieces were dresses with wildflower print and applique motifs, the subtle heart-shaped bodices that recurred in several places, and a puff-sleeve red metallic lace dress that harked to the kind of fantasy prom dresses of fashion lovers raised in the 1980s (which the Mulleavys were).

Rodartes fringe and elegant flower-powered details made one immediately think of the original hippie moment as a possible source of inspiration for the collection; the designers were raised outside of Santa Cruz and have referenced the period in the past. But in fact, backstage the Mulleavys named the 1973 Spanish film Spirit of the Beehive, a fantasy film about two girls in a Castilian village who search the woods for a mythical creature, as a starting point.

It was a very romantic collection, said Palo Alto fashion author and collector Christine Suppes following the show, which she attended with her daughter, Lexi Suppes, and San Franciscan Mary Beth Shimmon. They said it directly with hearts and the wildflowers that were strewn as an homage to their California home. Theyre the antidote to all this heaviness on the runway.

Monique Lhuillier: Like many designers who begin their careers in bridal, Monique Lhuilliers collections can have a confection quality to them: The gauzy, cotton candy-pink and frosting-white creations she showed for her 20th anniversary seemed to be made with a pastry icing gun as much as a needle and thread. Thats what her clients like about the pieces: The same poofy, princess quality she brings to her wedding dresses. This season, Lhuilliers palette also included minty greens, icy blues and a metallic floral print she showed in a jumpsuit. The blacks and darker florals in the collection also retained that same air of confection (think licorice candy vine). For women who want to feel like the Disney heroines of childhood, there is no better designer than Lhuillier, although one wonders how long a woman can be a princess before her fashion identity grows up.

Bibhu Mohapatra: Bibhu Mohapatra loves history as much as he loves fashion. Last season, he studied the life of Chinese Dowager Empress Cixi for a wicked imperial collection. For spring he went more toward innocence as he reimagined the muses and courtesans of La Belle Epoque, the beautiful era in Europe before World Wars and revolutions sent the continent into a tailspin. The proportions of the cinched waist, full-skirt gowns, use of face-framing ruffles, Deauville resort stripes and the feminine (yet not girlish) quality of the chiffons and satins felt like an update to French writer Colettes women: Beautiful creatures meant for promenading and discreet passions.

You turn on the TV and see the world around us is decaying, Mohapatra said after his show. For me, La Belle Epoque as a concept became stronger after the war broke out. People reminisce and became more appreciative of the era. In that period, art and literature really flourished, the relationships between artists and muse were very strong. I wanted to give the muses an homage and make each of these looks like a beautiful bird.

The idea came to Mohapatra after an exhibition at Paris Musee Dorsey that highlighted artistic depictions of courtesans of the era. The sensual undertones were key in keeping the theme current and modern for his global customers

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

These were women that were sexy, spirited, maybe a bit raunchy, he said.

So, maybe not that innocent after all.

Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com
Carrie Hawthorne and Kira Westly own Kitkitdizzi, a Nevada City shop representing mostly local and California artists. Longtime friends, both 40, they are Nevada City natives who wandered but returned. Its home, says Hawthorne. We really enjoy taking our own kids to the same elementary school we went to, Westly adds.

Both women worked at Kitkitdizzis smaller Broad Street location, which opened in 2012. About a year later, they bought the store, and last year, they expanded and moved.

Kitkitdizzi sells goods for the home but evokes the outdoors. An enormous piece of hanging driftwood found by store merchandiser Nikiya Schwarz showcases ceramic planters from potter Stephanie Adams and brass wall hangings from Electric Sun Creatives. Ceramic cups with bright geometric designs from Pauline Wolstencroft are balanced by rustic bowls made from local clay by Jessica Agnew. Jewelry, much of it enormous, glows like the moon. Soaps and candles emit forest scents.

Both women appreciate Nevada Citys strong antimaterialist streak. We never want customers to feel attacked by retail, Hawthorne says.

That said, they themselves admit to being eager, discerning consumers. Aside from their store, there are great places in this county to spend money. Some of their favorites are at right.

Kitkitdizzi: 219 Broad St., Nevada City. (530) 265-4750. www.kitkitdizzi.com. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily.

Sarah Miller is a freelance writer. Twitter: @sarahlovescali. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com

The Magic Theater: This art-house theater seats about 60 people and has one screen. It shows one film for about two weeks at a time, says Carrie Hawthorne. The people who run the theater actually have opinions about film and are selective with what they show. The popcorn is organic, the butter is real, and I dust it with brewers yeast. 107 Argall Way, Nevada City; (530) 265-8262. www.themagictheatre.com

Ikes Quarter Cafe: Worth the 45-minute wait to be seated for breakfast, says Hawthorne. A really extensive Creole-inspired menu by our friend of over 25 years, Ike Frazee. He uses locally grown, organic food. I love the Rose Mimosa, the catfish and the gingered greens. 401 Commercial St., Nevada City; (530) 265-6138. www.ikesquartercafe.com

Malakoff Diggins State Park: If youve ever wanted to hike on trails through cliffs carved out by hydraulic mining, this is your place, says Kira Westly. Theres even a ghost town you can wander around and imagine yourself living here during the Gold Rush era. 23579 N. Bloomfield Road, Nevada City; (530) 265-2740. www. parks.ca.gov

Lilly Vigil Gallery: This shop-gallery of beautiful Native American jewelry feels more like a museum, says Hawthorne. Lilly is lovely and has so much information on the tribes and history behind each piece. This is always our destination when we have any money to spend. 214 Broad St., Nevada City; (530) 265-5790 . www.lillyvigilgallery.com

The Willo Steakhouse: We have so many memories of eating here as kids, says Westly. We come here when we want a perfectly cooked steak, a baked potato and a stiff drink. 16898 Hwy. 49, Nevada City; (530) 265-9902. www.thewillo.com

Enid & Edgar: We come here for the well-selected vintage clothing. They always have a great record playing, says Hawthorne. I found a halter dress from the early 70s that is on my top five favorite dresses list. 234 Commercial St., Nevada City; www.enidandedgarvintage.com

The National Hotel: This is the oldest continually operating hotel west of the Rockies. We love walking through this Victorian landmark, getting a drink at the bar at the end of the day and sitting up on the balcony overlooking downtown, says Westly. Its the perfect spot for birds-eye people watching, sunset gazing and impromptu business meetings. We are also total ghost nerds, and the National was featured on the show Ghost Hunters and is part of the Nevada City ghost tour. 211 Broad St., Nevada City; (530) 265-4551. www.thenationalhotel.com

The New Moon: We prefer a warm Sunday evening dinner and wine on the porch here to almost anything, says Hawthorne. The menu changes with the new moon. It has always been fresh, seasonal, local and organic, even before those things were trendy. The meal is long, there is a cloth napkin on your lap, every bite to be savored, your water glass is never empty, and everyone is lovely and totally unpretentious. Owners Peter Selaya and Buzz Crouch have been Nevada City mountain men for as long as we can remember, but they have always fed us like we are fancy city folk. 203 York St., Nevada City; (530) 265-6399. www.thenewmooncafe.com

The Crystal Rainbow Rock Shop: This is a place we frequented as kids and now take our kids, says Westly. Its the size of an outhouse but full of the most beautiful earthly crystals and rocks. Every time we learn about a new stone we had never heard of and leave with a new member of our ever-growing rock family. 310 Commercial St., Nevada City; (530) 265-3784.

Treats: We come here for the mint chip, which is the best, says Hawthorne. Its made with the spearmint plant, cream and sugar. One of many amazing flavors made here by hand. I get mine on a gluten-free cone and sit on the curb with the kids. 110 York St., Nevada City; (530) 913-5819. www.treatsnevadacity.com
The village was empty. Some of the 12th century edifices might have been nearing ruins status: former monasteries with no signs of life; squat, stone houses with doors so petite that even a modern-size 10-year-old might have trouble getting through.

This was Vosne-Romanee, a village in Burgundys Cote de Nuits. If any place could be said to produce the worlds best wine, Vosne-Romanee, home of vineyards like Romanee-Conti, La Tache and Richebourg, surely contends. Yet any casual tourist driving through this village (population: 427) might never have guessed she was standing on such hallowed ground.

Someone better accustomed to the Napa Valley style of wine tourism might have wondered: Where are the droves of thirsty visitors taking selfies? The roadside burger joints? The luxury home wares shops?

Where, indeed, are all the tasting rooms?

OK  there are a few tasting rooms in Burgundy, and several restaurants, even if not in Vosne-Romanee. Still, many Californians would be surprised by the impression of ghostliness Burgundy conveys relative to its heft in the wine world. Even many of the larger-scale, household-name wineries whose equivalents in Napa or Sonoma would have state-of-the-art hospitality behemoths  Domaine Faiveley, for instance, which produces about 60,000 cases of wine per year  arent open to the public.

The experience of wine tasting in Burgundy largely exists for the wine trade. It involves standing in dark, chilly, damp cellars, while the vigneron extracts small amounts of wine out of barrels and pipes them into your glass. You clasp the stem precariously between two fingers while furiously jotting notes in your notebook. This is not finished wine: Its nascent, tannic, brutal Pinot Noir, as girded and reserved as many of the Burgundians themselves. With gums numb from polyphenolic overload, you spit into a drain, trying not to focus too much on the glowing pink mass growing in the walls furry mold that must be, youve decided, an insects egg sac. Whatever precious drops remain in your glass, you pour back into the barrel.

Napa Valleys Beringer, this is not.

Its an instructive reminder that we do things very, very differently here. Wine tasting in Burgundy can give the satisfaction of finishing a grueling workout. In California, on the other hand, wine tasting aims primarily to give pleasure.

This contrast has been on my mind a lot lately as I have been visiting winery tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma counties in order to review them. From these reviews, both mine and my colleagues, weve selected an exemplary set of 50 to include in our 2016 magazine guide to Wine Country, which youll find in Sundays newspaper. Later this fall, we launch a new website, The Press, an interactive online guide to visiting Napa and Sonoma. Both offer recommendations for where and how to go wine tasting, and are anchored in our independent reviews.

But how to evaluate the experience of visiting a winery? The more I tasted in Burgundy, the more complicated the question seemed. Is wine tasting supposed to be serious? What if it feels too serious, as if catering only to connoisseurs? Is it supposed to be fun? Is it possible for it to be too fun  tacky, tawdry, commercial? What if you dislike the Chardonnay but love the patio? Or what if, no matter how precious the Pinot, you just dont want to spit into drains in a musky cellar with egg sacs growing in the walls?

Sam Wolson/Special to the Chronicle

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

Because the small and mid-size California winerys business model depends on direct-to-consumer sales  cutting out the middlemen of wholesaler and retailer, who take sizable cuts of the profit  many of our wineries depend quite heavily on their tasting rooms. This is a different model from whats found in many of the worlds other wine regions. When visitors come, maybe theyll buy some wine to bring home, or better yet, join the wine club; at the very least, theyll recognize the wine later at a restaurant.

The result is that California wineries have invested a lot of resources into creating a leisure sport for us. Thats perhaps nowhere clearer than at Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga  a reproduction of a 13th century Tuscan castle (reported construction cost: $30 million) where the wine can feel like an afterthought to the dungeon, torture chamber, drawbridge and moat. (All can be experienced on a guided tour; $40.) You could hardly spot more bachelorette-party sashes if you were at Asia SF on a Saturday night.

The wine business is a relationship business, says Tom Davies, president of V. Sattui, which owns Castello di Amorosa. To sell wine, you have to share a story about where the grapes are grown, how the wine is made. There has to be a connection.

Evidently, people are connecting. Every year, V. Sattui alone sees about 250,000 unique visitors. (The company would not disclose Castello di Amorosas specific visitor figures.) Both V. Sattui and Castello di Amorosa sell all of their wine directly. Zero enters distribution.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

A few miles south of the castle, up Spring Mountain, youll find Smith-Madrone  or, more likely, drive past it  where brothers Stu and Charlie Smith have been farming their small vineyard for the last four decades. Theyre open by appointment, just barely. The brothers are charming when theyre not bickering with each other, and the tastings, which they hold somewhat reluctantly, are about as unfussy as they come, held among their barrels in an old barn. Hospitality is not a word youd imagine passing through the Smiths lips. The wine is an afterthought to nothing; its the only thought, and youd better be ready to chime in amid Stu and Charlies winemaking debates.

You couldnt leave Smith-Madrone and not connect with the place, the people, the wines. But achieving that connection requires a little more legwork than moseying up to the castle, moat notwithstanding.

Me, Id rather sit in the barn than the torture chamber any day. But is recommending the Smith-Madrone experience, categorically, a bit like telling people they should skip the latest Captain America movie and go watch The Seventh Seal instead?

Maybe. I was amazed, over our recent visits to hundreds of Napa and Sonoma tasting rooms, by how much there was to love at all points on the spectrum. We found lots of scrappy-underdog operations that were easy to want to advocate (see: Nalle, Two Shepherds). We likewise found plenty of big-budget blockbusters that, if youre willing to spend a little extra, we believe are worth it (see: Quintessa, Larkmead). We found places that offer settings so beautiful you wont care whether the wine is any good (see: Stonestreet, Artesa). And places that, despite sometimes feeling like tourist traps, are just, we had to admit, a lot of fun (see: Gundlach Bundschu, Robert Mondavi).

As with restaurant reviews, the nexus of quality, service, ambiance and value is complicated. We tried our best to make sense of it in this particular context, keeping in mind that sometimes (most of the time?) youd rather get a Mission burrito than a reservation at Saison.

The good news is that in California youll find the vinous equivalents of both: Whereas a Vosne-Romanee wine can legally be made only from Pinot Noir, here its a free-for-all. That means were free to flop  and plenty of wineries do; well warn you from those  but also to stake out new methods, new grapes, new styles. Weve got Tuscan castles and dilapidated barns. And whether they spent nothing or $30 million on their tasting room construction, theyre all in the relationship business. Thats just how it works here.

The Wine Country Guide 2016

Buy The Chronicles guide to 50 of the best tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma counties in our online store at http://sfchronicle.myshopify.com/products/the-wine-country-guide-2016
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The NRA loses points for attention to detail after airing an ad that mixes up San Francisco's skyline with that of New York City.

The 30-second spot, airing in Maine, proclaims "The New Yorkers are here" with a skyline of San Francisco. Clearly visible are the Transamerica Pyramid, Bay Bridge and Ferry Building. But they added a big silhouette of the Statue of Liberty in the foreground, so presumably it's close enough for their purposes.
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The San Francisco district attorneys office is a step closer to becoming the lead investigator in all shootings involving city police officers, a move designed to ease concerns about cops policing themselves.

Mayor Ed Lee has approved a final round of funding for a new unit in the district attorneys office that will take the lead in the shootings, officials said Wednesday. The idea is not only to promote independent probes, officials said, but to help the district attorneys office clear a backlog of 10 fatal shooting cases dating as far back as 2014 that remain open.

But some law enforcement experts worry that giving prosecutors rather than homicide detectives the lead role could degrade the quality of investigations. The shift could also test an uneasy relationship between police and George Gascon, the district attorney and former police chief .

The funding of the new unit, which still must be staffed up, comes amid a growing call for expanded police accountability from civil rights activists and others in the Bay Area and across the nation. In modern history, only one police officer in the region  former BART O fficer Johannes Mehserle  has been charged for an on-duty killing.

The fight over handling these cases has been intense in San Francisco, where officer-involved shootings in the past two years  in particular, the video-recorded killing of Mario Woods in the Bayview neighborhood  prompted a pending U.S. Department of Justice review of the police force.

Currently, the district attorneys office conducts an independent investigation into police shootings in the city before deciding whether to file charges against officers. But the Police Department plays the lead role in critical components of the investigation, including interviewing witnesses and handling physical evidence.

When a San Francisco police officer is involved in a shooting, SFPD is currently the lead agency investigating the case, said district attorneys office spokesman Max Szabo. Even if its a justifiable shooting, the community is going to have a difficult time believing the outcome of the investigatio n.

After the mayors approval this week of a final round of funding, the city has allocated $1.8 million for 14 positions in the newly created Independent Investigations Bureau. Six of the new positions will be for investigators, bumping the total number from 33 to 39. No hires have been made, and theres no firm timeline on when the bureau will be operating, Szabo said.

The money comes from a $20 million police-reform budget, which aims to improve public safety and community-police relations, officials said. Funding for six of the positions was approved this summer, and the remaining eight were authorized Tuesday.

The new unit will be in charge of conducting investigations of officer-involved shootings as well as other potential instances of law-enforcement abuse. It will work independently from the rest of the district attorneys office to address concerns that the close working relationship between police and prosecutors presents an inherent conflict. Gascon retains authority over the unit.

The details of the new arrangement still need to be fleshed out. Officials said a memorandum of understanding is in the works that should spell out what, exactly, it will look like to have the district attorneys office running the show during police shooting investigations  and what role San Francisco police will play moving forward.

To restore faith in law enforcement and ensure there is accountability for misconduct, these investigations must be objective and independent, Gascon said. Thats why this is so important. Its an essential step toward restoring trust.

The planned shift follows a rash of controversial police shootings in San Francisco, which prompted widespread protests, the Department of Justice review of police practices and the resignation in May of Chief Greg Suhr.

Some have questioned whether the district attorneys office is the best agency to head the investigations. While San Francisco police officials did not return requests for comment Wednesday, Sgt. John Crudo of the internal affairs division told The Chronicle in May that the Police Department is the only agency in the city with the expertise to investigate complicated police shootings.

If somebody else did it in this county, he said, youre losing a lot of expertise and youre losing a lot of resources.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association supports the general idea of separate and independent investigations, but doesnt believe local prosecutors should lead the charge. Instead, police union adviser Nathan Ballard suggested neighboring agencies, or a multiagency task force, should head the effort  as recommended by President Obamas Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

A city or county prosecutors office is inherently compromised to judge a shooting, Ballard said. Theres an inherent conflict if youre leading an investigation and also charged with prosecuting the defendant.

The district attorneys office has struggled to promptly complete its investigations into police shootings, taking an average of 15 months to decide whether or not to file charges.

Jason Elliott, Lees deputy chief of staff, said the mayors efforts to improve policing in the face of criticism cannot succeed without gaining community trust.

A key to rebuilding trust is closure for families and officers, and that only happens when investigations are resolved, Elliot said. Two years is too long for some families and officers to wait, and that is why we are funding these positions.

The district attorneys office attributes the lag to staffing shortages. Currently, the agency has to pull investigators from other assignments to examine police shootings.

Some observers, including Ballard, have suggested the state attorney general would be a better choice to lead investigations of San Francisco police shootings. The proposal has sparked discussion at City Hall and could still be adopted in the future, forcing the district attorneys office to step aside.

More independence is always better, said John Crew, a former police practices expert with the American Civil Liberties Union. But you also need to deal with the practical problems, like whether or not the attorney general would be staffed in a way where it can roll out to a shooting quickly.

Kristin Ford, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Kamala Harris, said Wednesday that Harris has advocated to the governor, the speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate president pro tem for the necessary resources to create new teams within the attorney generals office to conduct criminal investigations of officer-involved shootings, including working with San Francisco.

Joaquin Palomino is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jpalomino@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JoaquinPalomino

Police shootings backlogged

San Francisco prosecutors have yet to decide whether officers who fatally shot the following 10 people should face charges or be cleared:

Giovany Contreras-Sandoval: Shot Sept. 25, 2014

OShane Evans: Oct. 7, 2014

Mathew Hoffman: Jan. 4, 2015

Amilcar Perez-Lopez: Feb. 26, 2015

Alice Brown: March 17, 2015

Herbert Benitez: Oct. 15, 2015

Javier Ivan Lopez Garcia: Nov. 11, 2015

Mario Woods: Dec. 2, 2015

Luis Gongora: April 7, 2016

Jessica Williams: May 19, 2016
The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for a former deputy city attorney in San Francisco to go to trial in a lawsuit claiming she was fired in retaliation for reporting her suspicions of millions of dollars in questionable payments to owners of damaged sewer lines.

Joanne Hoeper, former chief trial deputy to City Attorney Dennis Herrera, said she had also reported that members of Herreras staff might have taken kickbacks for approving the payments. Herrera said her suspicions were unfounded and sought dismissal of the suit, arguing that Hoeper was not a whistle-blower and that he had intended to replace her at least a year before she started looking into the sewer payments.
SEOUL, South Korea  It was supposed to be a dramatic  but quick  recall.

Samsung Electronics said two weeks ago that it would voluntarily recall 2.5 million units of its new high-end smartphone, the Galaxy Note7, just days after some customers said their phones had caught fire. The recall is the largest in the history of the smartphone industry, but it also won Samsung praise for the South Korean companys speed and decisiveness.

Today, the recall looks anything but smooth.

Safety regulators in the United States have issued warnings, cautioning consumers not to turn on their Note7s on airplanes  and not to use their phones at all. South Koreas flight regulator, in a reversal, followed suit, as have others around the world. And on Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an official recall, affecting about 1 million of the devices.

The constant reminders of potential combustibility have further dented Samsungs reputation and shaved as much as $14 billion off its market value, just when it looked to be gaining ground on Apple, its longtime rival, with its new line of sleek Galaxy smartphones. They also raise questions about whether Samsungs rush to take back the phones created more problems.

Experts say it led to a ham-handed effort that confused customers, frustrated regulators and continued to generate headlines both in the United States and at home. Data from the mobile analytics firm Apteligent showed that while Samsungs recall appears to have stopped new sales of the phone, the majority of people who have affected phones are continuing to use them.

I thought, How is it that this is happening? said Jennifer Shecter, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports. She said the group found an inconsistent response to the recall across America, with some stores and carriers still selling the phones days after Samsungs announcement.

Samsung made an announcement, but the government wasnt involved, there wasnt a clear message, there wasnt an approved remedy and there wasnt a clear fix, she said.

The recall is an embarrassing comedown for Samsung, an symbol of South Korean innovation that accounts for one-fifth of the countrys exports. Its importance can lead to deference from regulators, experts say.

South Koreas flight regulator recommended last week that airline passengers not use or charge their Note7 phones on flights only after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration made the same recommendation. Flight regulators in Europe, Japan, India and elsewhere have issued similar notices.

The situation is regrettable, said Kang Jeong-hyeon, deputy director of the flight standards division of South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. He said the ministry initially had not acted because Samsung told it that the risks were manageable.

But when the United States made its recommendation, South Korea had no choice but to follow, Kang said. As the authority in the country with the company that made the product, the ministry felt concerned about the repercussions, should it be the first to ban the gadget on airplanes, he said. Samsung confirmed that company representatives had met with the ministry but declined to comment further.

Korean consumer safety regulators say the companys effort had complied with South Korean law, and Samsung has taken additional steps in recent days to minimize the damage. This week it issued a software update that would keep the Note7 from fully charging, reducing the risk of overheating. It has also bought advertising in American and South Korean media.

Samsung has not given specifics about how many affected phones are in which markets, but many of the affected phones were most likely sold in critical markets where the company ships phones first, like the United States, South Korea and European countries including Britain.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission requires companies to notify it of defects and to coordinate public notification of recalls. The commission also asks the companies to work with it to determine how to notify customers and coordinate how the defective products can be replaced or returned.

But when Samsung said on Sept. 2 that it would replace 2.5 million Note7s, it issued a news release by itself. It set up its own website, telling Note7 users to go back to where they had bought the phones or to contact its call center.

In Hong Kong, Samsung initially told consumers they would not be affected because the models there used a different battery. A day later, it said about 500 would be affected after all.

Experts say Samsungs desire to deal with the problem quickly may have created confusion. Kim Jinbaek, a professor at the School of Business at Chung-Ang University in Seoul and a former Samsung employee, cited the example of Toyota in Japan, which was criticized beginning in 2009 for dragging its heels in what turned out to be a major safety recall. At the time, Kim said, Toyota was in discussions with U.S. safety regulators.

Samsung, on the other hand, decided not to wait through such coordination, he said.

Adding to the confusion, Samsung in its initial statement said it would replace the phones, avoiding use of the more damaging word recall. Samsung also did not advise users to stop using the phones altogether until Sept. 10.

In an internal electronic bulletin board, Samsung employees called on the company to act swiftly, according to local media reports that were confirmed by the company. The service allows employees to post messages anonymously.

We want you to make the best decision so we dont feel ashamed before our customers who use the Galaxy phablet smartphones, one posting said.

The company owes much to the customers who preordered our phones or purchased them, read another. Our future lies in how well we treat these loyal customers.
LONDON  The head of Britains new cybersecurity agency says authorities are exploring the creation of a national Internet filter to block malicious software and rogue websites, a proposal that has raised eyebrows among Internet freedom advocates.

Ciaran Martin, CEO of Britains new National Cyber Security Center, told a conference in Washington that his agency is working on a flagship project that would block Britons from coming into contact with known malware and bad addresses.

According to a text of his speech published Wednesday, Martin said the system would allow people to opt out  meaning that privacy and choice would be hardwired into our program.

Those assurances didnt sit well with some activists.

Martin said rogue websites would be blocked using DNS filtering, a venerable if clumsy censorship technique that prevents Internet users from reaching certain servers when they click a link or type out a Web address. But the technique is imprecise, occasionally blocking an entire website over a single rogue link. Londons Open Rights Group worried that the Cyber Security Centers parent agency, Government Communication Headquarters, risked tampering with the integrity of the Internet. The Financial Times newspaper described the project as a Great British Firewall  a reference to Chinas vast Internet censorship system.

Joss Wright of the Oxford Internet Institute said that talk of a China-style firewall is overblown and that other forms of censorship  blocks on child pornography and copyright violators  were already in use.

This is not the U.K. government turning into China or Iran and filtering the Internet at its core, he said.

But Wright said there is always room for concern when a government agency began drawing up lists of sites to block.

When you start building filter lists or censorship lists, things start getting censored, he said.
Wells Fargo has received subpoenas from three U.S. attorneys offices in the last week, escalating an investigation into how thousands of bank employees came to secretly issue millions of sham accounts without the customers consent.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and San Francisco sent the subpoenas seeking information about the misconduct, according to two people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to discuss it. Prosecutors in North Carolina are also investigating, one of the people said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday blasted the San Francisco banks top management, complaining that so far there had not been enough accountability by top executives for the employees actions.

Warrens remarks set the stage for whats expected to be a contentious Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday, where Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf is scheduled to appear. Warren is a member of the committee.

Were talking about a scandal here that involves thousands of their employees cheating tens of thousands of customers out of money and making millions of dollars doing it for the bank, Warren said in an interview with CNBC.

Wells settled civil charges from regulators and the city of Los Angeles last week, paying $185 million in fines and promising to hire an independent consultant to review its sales practices.

The bank is famous for its practice of selling new accounts to existing customers, and it is the pressure to meet sales quotas and earn bonuses that is seen as the motive for bank employees who set up credit card and deposit accounts without customers permission. So far, 5,300 employees have been fired for this.

The subpoenas from federal prosecutors raise the prospect that the investigation, while in its early stages, could lead to criminal charges for the bank or its employees.

Another option is for prosecutors to handle the investigation as a civil fraud matter, which would require a lower burden of proof. At least one of the subpoenas indicated that prosecutors were considering that route, one of the people briefed on the matter said.

Ultimately, only one of the three offices will most likely lead the investigation. When multiple U.S. attorneys offices vie for a case  and cannot resolve it among themselves  they will either team up or let the deputy attorney general in Washington make the final call.

A spokesman for Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, did not respond to a request for comment. Representatives for the U.S. attorneys in the Western District of North Carolina and San Francisco also did not respond.

Wells Fargo declined to comment.

The multiple subpoenas are the latest fallout from the unfolding scandal surrounding the sham accounts. Last week, banking regulators revealed that Wells Fargo employees may have set up as many as 1.5 million unauthorized accounts and applied for 565,000 credit cards without their customers consent.

In public statements since the settlement was announced, bank executives have acknowledged that the accounts were created improperly. But they deny regulators assertions that the banks internal culture and incentive system encouraged the misdeeds.

In July, the bank announced the retirement of its head of community banking, Carrie Tolstedt, a longtime Wells executive who oversaw all of the banks branches. A spokeswoman said that Tolstedt had planned on retiring and that her departure was unrelated to the settlement with regulators.

The bank has refunded about $2.5 million to customers who were charged fees as a result of the unwanted accounts.

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
The legal team for a Richmond teen who catalyzed sexual misconduct investigations involving numerous police officers said they filed claims against various Bay Area cities Thursday, just hours after the attorneys railed against law enforcement officials at an Oakland news conference.

Were filing claims against every last one of them, said Charles Bonner, one of the two civil rights attorneys for the 19-year-old woman The Chronicle is identifying only as Jasmine. If a cop was involved, we will file a claim.

Though Bonner didnt list the cities against which they were filing claims, Jasmine  who has also used the name Celeste Guap  has said officers who had sexual contact with her were from the Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco and Livermore police departments, as well as sheriffs offices in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. A representative for Oaklands city attorney, though, said the office hadnt gotten the claim Thursday.

The action is the first step to filing civil rights lawsuits against the cities or counties whose police officers, the lawyers say, sexually abused Jasmine and obstructed investigations.

Bonner confirmed that claims would be lodged Thursday following statements he and attorney Pamela Price gave to the media on the steps of Oakland City Hall. There, they alleged Bay Area police engaged in a criminal enterprise to keep their sexual relations with Jasmine under wraps and to send her across the country to a drug rehabilitation clinic in Florida in the midst of multiple criminal and internal affairs investigations, despite her not being addicted to any substances.

Price and Bonner alleged various police officers conspired together to cover up the claim that nearly 30 officers had sex with Jasmine  some while she was underage, others in exchange for payment or perks, such as warnings about prostitution stings. Price said other young women in the East Bay have contacted her in recent days with similar allegations against police.

Shes still stuck at 12 years old because her childhood has been ripped away, Bonner said, referring to how old Jasmine was when she said someone first paid her for sex. These cops cannot have a pass. They violated the law, they violated their own oath, they violated their own promise, and now they must be prosecuted, and they must go to jail.

Bonner and Price flew back to California on Wednesday with Jasmine after she spent 17 days in a Martin County, Fla., jail. Staff at the rehabilitation facility refused to let her call her father, the lawyers said, and when she tried to escape they illegally restrained her, prompting Jasmine to bite a man who put her in a bear hug before she was injected with an unknown substance.

Police initially arrested her on suspicion of felony aggravated battery, but prosecutors reduced the charge to simple battery, a misdemeanor, and released her Wednesday.

Jasmine appeared before reporters in Florida shortly after her release from jail, but did not speak. She was not at Thursdays news conference.

Jasmine is safe, Bonner said. She is a new lady, and shes committed to a new course of conduct.

Bonner alleged that Sgt. Matt Stonebraker of the Richmond Police Department arranged for Jasmine to be sent to the facility against her will. But Richmond city and police officials said that the teen went on her own accord and that they simply referred her to resources that assist victims of crime.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley  who said last week that she protested and wasnt involved with Jasmine going to Florida  credited the young womans absence with a delay in filing charges against five current and former Oakland police officers, one former Livermore officer and one former Contra Costa County sheriffs deputy.

Jasmine is ready to testify against the officers and wants to see them go to jail, Price said, though neither she nor Bonner was briefed by prosecutors on when criminal charges will be filed. The attorneys were told that OMalley was on vacation this week and that no charges had been filed yet.

Some Oakland City Council members who watched Thursdays news conference expressed frustration with the Police Departments internal affairs investigation  which they said failed to review supervisors, commanders and ex-Chief Sean Whent. They also criticized the lack of information Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Sabrina Landreth have shared with them.

The City Council as a whole has been learning our information from the press, said Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan. We have not been receiving updates from the mayor or the administration, neither has the public.

Councilman Noel Gallo added, Its absolutely inexcusable. They should all be terminated from the ground floor to the very top.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
A half-naked man allegedly resisted arrest by biting and attacking police trying to arrest him on a street in San Franciscos Mission District, where witnesses told officers he was running around throwing tree branches at random people, police said Thursday.

Officers responded to reports of a man chasing people and throwing branches at them on the 3800 block of 25th Street at about 6:21 a.m. on Friday, police said. When an officer arrived, he found Robert Mathew Kaplan, a 37-year-old San Diego resident, talking to himself and wearing almost nothing, police said.

Police tried to detain him and he became combative, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department.

Minutes after contacting Kaplan, the officer radioed for help, saying he was in a physical fight with the suspect, Talkoff said.

She said Kaplan tried to gouge out the officers eye and bit him on the right cheek. She said the officer, whose name was not released, also suffered cuts to his hands and abrasions to his forearms trying to restrain Kaplan.

Three other police officer rushed to the scene and struggled with Kaplan before putting him in handcuffs and arresting him.

Police officials released a booking photo of Kaplan showing what appeared to be bruises to his forehead, but Talkoff could not confirm whether he was injured during the altercation.

Kaplan was arrested on suspicion of a string of felonies, including battery on a peace officer, battery causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism, aggravated mayhem and obstructing and resisting a peace officer.

Police asked that anyone who took cell phone video of the incident to call the Investigation Team at the Mission Station at (415) 558-5400. To make an anonymous report, people can call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-444, or text a tip to TIP411.

The more video you have, the better to show what happened, Talkoff said.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
A charter school operator will get $10 million to try to reinvent the American high school in Oakland, part of a billionaire-backed effort to revolutionize what sponsors say is an antiquated model that hasnt changed in 100 years.

Nearly 700 teams nationally entered the Super School Project contest, submitting applications outlining how they would overhaul the public high school model, an effort sponsored by Palo Alto heiress Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Summit Public Schools  in partnership with the Oakland school district, California College of the Arts and Mayor Libby Schaafs office  was among 10 winners nationwide.

The Super School Project was born out of the conviction and commitment that every child from every background has a right to a quality education that prepares them for a future none of us can easily predict, said Russlynn Ali, CEO of XQ Institute, which ran the contest.

The Summit high school will expand on the personalized learning model the operator uses in its existing charter schools, officials said, featuring a novel mentoring and advisory network that includes tutors, engaged professionals and community members who will support students in the pursuit of their academic and professional interests.

Along with our partners, we designed this school to provide high-quality, free, public school education in a personalized model that will meet the needs of a diverse student population, said Summit founder and CEO Diane Tavenner in a statement.

The school, to be called Summit Elevate, will get the $10 million grant over five years.

Summit Public Schools is already doing extraordinary work to help teachers tailor learning to students individual needs, and we are eager to further deepen our partnership in ways that will benefit all Oakland students, said Oakland Unified Superintendent Antwan Wilson.

Summit operates 10 schools, with 3,000 students, including eight schools in the Bay Area and two in Washington. The organization said it will hold community meetings to get input on the effort.

The contests eight-figure award lured public, private and nonprofit contestants, including the San Francisco Unified School District.

The project is funded by Jobs through her nonprofit Emerson Collective, which advocates for social issues like education and immigration reform.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
The Hayward school board fired its superintendent Thursday, with members saying his explosive temper and purported misuse of public resources were among the causes.

Stan Dobbs had been on paid leave since June while the district investigated claims that he violated state law, including improperly using the districts printing shop, said board President Lisa Brunner.

The board voted 3-0 to fire Dobbs in a closed-session vote at the end of a six-hour meeting that began Wednesday and stretched into Thursday. Two of the five board members had left the meeting prior to the vote.

Dobbs faced criticism for his role in bringing in former 49ers player Ray McDonald, a defendant in a rape case, to speak at Tennyson High School in February. He was already under fire for what board members said was a profanity-laden outburst during a closed-session meeting a year ago, which resulted in a police report.

We gave him a second chance after the outburst, Brunner said. I thought things would get better, and they got worse.

Calls to Dobbs attorney were not immediately returned.

But Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, came to Dobbs defense Thursday, saying district schools made great strides under his leadership, including higher graduation and attendance rates, as well as improved test scores.

With many challenges still to face, its too bad that (the district) has chosen to go forward without the man who helped get it back on the right path, Swalwell said.

Hundreds of community members had called on the board to keep Dobbs, with more than 500 people signing a petition that was presented to the board Wednesday.

Dobbs has denied many of the accusations and filed a liability claim against the district in July, saying board members wrongly disclosed information about the investigation. The district rejected the claim this month, Brunner said. Such claims are required prior to a lawsuit against a public entity.

Dobbs, who had been the districts business officer, was hired as superintendent in 2013 when his predecessor, Donald Evans, took the top job in the Berkeley Unified School District.

Brunner said that the district needed to move on and that the board will begin the process of finding a new superintendent when the dust settles.

I dont regret bringing him here, she said. I regret the way things turned out.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
1 Snowden pardon: Human and civil rights organizations, including the ACLU, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, launched a public campaign on Wednesday to persuade President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden for revealing the National Security Agencys mass surveillance programs. The campaign started just two days before Oliver Stones Snowden hits theaters. The hope is that the movie directors largely sympathetic portrayal of the whistle-blower will further help Snowdens image nationwide.

2 Hunger strike ends: A transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website will end a hunger strike after the Army agreed to allow her to receive medical treatment for her gender dysphoria, the American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday. Chelsea Mannings medical treatment will begin with surgery that was recommended by her psychologist in April, the ACLU said. Manning began the hunger strike at Fort Leavenworth military prison on Friday, vowing to continue until she received better treatment.
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In his short eight years in San Francisco, Claude, the Academy of Sciences' resident albino alligator, has become a mascot of the city.

So naturally, Cal Academy will mark his 21st birthday on September 15 with a grand celebratory fete at his swampy museum digs.

The gator, who has thus far had a surprisingly eventful life since he moved to San Francisco from Florida, will be spoiled by the night's affairs. The Alonzo King LINES Ballet will perform in his honor onsite with a dance choreographed to nature sounds, UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology will teach the audience about reptiles, and bartenders will shake up "Gator-Ade" cocktails.

Even Pete, an albino python at the museum, will don a birthday hat for the occasion. Per the event invite, the sight is "as great as you'd think it'd be."

And though Claude traditionally chows down on "cupcakes" of gator food for his birthdays, guests will be noshing on Creole food from Claude's Southern homeland, provided by the Academy Cafe.

See above for a few of Claude's favorite things. Maybe they'll give you an idea about what you should buy him for his big day?

Claude's Birthday Bash will take place at the California Academy of the Sciences in San Francisco on Thursday, September 15. The event, part of the museum's NightLife series, begins at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.

Alyssa Pereira is a staff writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.
Artist Jenny Holzer, famous for her poetic LED-stream text displays in architectural environments, has been awarded a major commission for a work to be integrated into San Franciscos new Transbay Transit Center. The Board of Directors of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority voted last Thursday, Sept. 8, to award a contract of $182,000 to Holzer for design and project oversight. Fabrication and installation are estimated at $740,000.

It was reported in 2011 that the authority had allocated a budget of $4.75 million for public art in the $6 billion downtown transportation hub, but it was not until last week that the authority approved the Holzer project.

Four other artists are also slated to make major works: Tim Hawkinson of Los Angeles will build a roughly figurative guardian towering 41 feet out of demolition rubble from the old transit center. Bay Area artists Julie Chang and Ned Kahn and New Yorker James Carpenter plan more architecturally integrated works  floors by Chang and Carpenter and a water feature by Kahn in the rooftop park.

Holzer has installed permanent LED works at the Reichstag and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain and 7 World Trade Center in New York City. Her San Francisco installation will consist of 11-foot-high texts that will run around a glass enclosure surrounding a central atrium, visible from outside as well as from within the transit center. She plans to both compose her own texts and integrate the words of Bay Area authors.

Spoiler alert: I have been unable to see The Proposal at the Walter and McBean Galleries of the San Francisco Art Institute in its completed state, but I have a good sense of the exhibition. I went by as installers were finishing their work before the opening Saturday, Sept. 10. Years ago, as president of the institiute, I approved the show and its budget, which included some funds for project development.

I also had read a superb story in the Aug. 1 issue of the New Yorker, The Architect Who Became a Diamond. It tells of the artist Jill Magid and her fascinating quest to secure the return to Mexico of the archives of that countrys great modernist architect, Luis Barragan. The Proposal is but one part of that larger effort.

At least, thats one of the things Magids work is about. It also deals with scholarly obsession, the arrogance of wealth (corporate and individual), copyright law and, it would seem, an insidiously possessive kind of love.

As sometimes happens, though, the exhibition may be better as a book  or, in this case, as a magazine article. I could not recommend the work more highly, but its the concept that is the work of art; the New Yorker story isnt just a teaser  its a spoiler. See the exhibition, long planned by curator Hesse McGraw, first, then read Alice Gregorys piece.

Monterey Bay Aquarium/Monterey Bay Aquarium, photo by

The art of finance: The announcement last week that the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco has appointed a new chief financial officer was covered by The Chronicle. Its not the kind of news that would ordinarily excite our attention.

But nearly five years of instability at the museums have occasioned much public speculation over internal politics and financial matters at our largest visual arts institution. Thats why I am heartened by the news that a seasoned professional, Ed Prohaska, is coming to us after 14 years of service as CFO at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is widely considered one of the best-run cultural institutions in California.

As chair of the finance committee for the boards of KQED and the California Association of Museums, he has sat on the governance side of the table  rare experience for a staff member, even at the top level, and much needed in this situation, where the museums board has too often seemed to shirk its oversight duties.

Best of all, the announcement was made not by a trustee or the president (though I am told that the board was, appropriately, consulted), but by the new director. Ed ... will be a valued partner, operationally and strategically, Max Hollein said in a statement. Which is just as things ought to be: a strong director, taking charge, building his team.

Making the rounds: Over the course of just two weeks, pretty much every San Francisco gallery is opening an important exhibition. I havent seen them all, but I did manage to preview a good number. Among the wealth of excitements are three shows remarkable both for their visual intelligence and because they present artists who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to abstraction.

At Haines Gallery, David Simpson is featured in a small retrospective titled Now & Then. Born in 1928, the Berkeley painter has maintained a vital career since the 1950s. I am most drawn to the earliest work (horizontal strata of solid color and glowing washes, like visual notations on journeys through austere landscapes) and the latest (glimmering surfaces that recall the magical effects of fog and light).

Gallery Wendi Norris

New Yorker Peter Young, 76, shows his Ellipse Paintings in his first solo show at Gallery Wendi Norris. Young takes the ellipse shape as a starting place and uses it engagingly, whether as a cool gray screen through which we view a field of pinks and greens or as elements of sunny, landscape-like compositions.

And, finally, Suzanne Blank Redstone, 71, is at Jessica Silverman Gallery in an exhibition of 1960s Portal Paintings. Silverman asked the artist to bring out works that had been languishing in storage for close to 50 years. They have a great midcentury look to them, with references to de Chirico and Mondrian. (And thats a sentence I would never have guessed Id write.)

Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Artguy1
Here is a look at the past. Items have been culled from The Chronicles archives of 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago.

Sept. 18: Jose Canseco says fans in Oakland are being mean to him, and he hopes that they will be nicer now that hes mentioned it. This comes as something of a surprise to the fans themselves. But it is no shock that Canseco is complaining. That seems to be a perfected hobby of his. Over the last few tumultuous years, conspirators include, but are not limited to: overzealous police, contractors, car dealers, homeowners associations, environmental regulators, Madonna, sportswriters, speed limits, umpires, out-of-town fans. John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald have yet to be added to the conspiracy list. But the good people who attend As games? The East Bay ballpark isnt exactly Yankee Stadium where the Bronx cheer is a birthright or Philadelphia where fans boo Santa Claus. It isnt even Candlestick where fog and wind put people in a sour mood from the start. But in this disappointing season, however, the boo birds have let their $5 million outfielder know that they are unhappy. The general fan response is that if you make $5 million a year to play ball and make late night visits to Madonnas Manhattan penthouse, you ought to be able to take a little heat for it. He symbolizes the fans bad attitude towards the players making so much money, says fan Steve Williams. Got to take it out on somebody, and hes the perfect person to do it to. 

 Sam Whiting

1966

Sept. 22: The Supervisors Finance Committee yesterday recommended approval of a 552-car garage under Washington Square. It is a garage the traffic engineers said is not needed, the Controller said, will lose more than $3.5 million, and the Department of Public Works said is in the wrong location. Supervisor William C. Blake, winking broadly to his North Beach friends in the hearing room, blandly proclaimed the reports of the city staff a bunch of bunk. I did my own survey, he said. The old complainers about losing Washington Square will fade away and die, once the garage is built. The vote was close, 3-2. ... North Beach merchants have been wining and dining Supervisors for months, trying to get them to vote for the garage. Joining Blake in support of the proposal were Supervisor John A. Ertola, who lives in North Beach, and counts on the Italian-American colony there for his political base, and Supervisor Terry A. Francois, who must run for re-election next year and is fearful of alienating a large bloc of voters. Opposed were Jack Morrison and Roger Boas. According to William Marconi, the citys traffic engineer  whose advice has proven remarkably accurate in all of San Franciscos neighborhood and downtown parking garages  at peak hours there is a shortage of only three parking spaces at Washington Square. A parking garage, or at least a parking lot, is needed on Stockton Street, between Vallejo and Green Streets. There is a shortage there, at peak times, of 98 spaces, Marconi said. Roger Boas explained that he voted largely against the proposal largely because the garage would destroy Washington Square.

 Mel Wax

1941

Sept. 21: When the two battle-scarred British cruisers Liverpool and Orion complete repairs at Mare Island Navy Yard and put to sea again they will carry a supply of dried blood plasma. Fifty transfusion kits will be aboard each of the ships, Dr. John R. Upton, medical director of the British War Relief Association, has announced. During sea battles in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic the cruisers lost some men who could have been saved if blood transfusions were possible. The dried plasma has been made from what was termed surplus blood in the county medical societys blood bank. When mixed with distilled water the dried plasma serves the purpose of fresh blood transfusions.

1916

Sept. 18: George Washington Dennis, familiar figure about the Ferry Building for a generation, messenger for the Board of Harbor Commissioners for the past twenty-two years and the oldest colored pioneer of California, died at his home, 2507 Bush Street, Saturday night. Had he lived six months longer he would have reached his ninety-second birthday. Dennis is survived by two daughters, Mrs. M.L. Benston and Mrs. C. R. Downs and sons, Andrew, Alexander, Julian and Joseph. Dennis was born a slave in Alabama. He was brought to San Francisco June 30, 1849, as a chattel by a coterie of gamblers, who opened a gambling hall in a tent on the site now occupied by the Hall of Justice. Dennis saved enough from his earnings to buy his own and his mothers liberty. Dennis son George, now dead, was a delegate to the Democratic convention that nominated James H. Budd for Governor. As a reward Governor appointed Dennis messenger for the Board of Harbor Commissioners, a job he retained for 22 years. He worked until a week or two ago, when ill health forced him to quit.

Johnny Miller is a freelance writer.
Our 9-to-5 grind has created a cult of workaholics. And, unfortunately, the eight-hour workday hasnt budged in 100 years.

Related: A 40 Hour Workweek . . . Really?

Never mind that the Information Age represents the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution and that family structures have changed dramatically since the early 1900s.

Yet we keep slogging away: Workers get in their cars every morning and clog up the freeways, then do it again at night. Mondays are an object of dread. Wednesdays are hump days. Friday mornings bring relief simply because theyre the final push before the weekend.

And the overall idea that workers are expected to endure 70 percent of their week so they can enjoy the other 30 percent? That's collective insanity.

Why my company moved to a 5-hour work week.

My company decided to do things differently. I run a business that sells stand-up paddleboards, so a shorter workday that freed our employees afternoons for extraordinary living was a natural fit for our beach-lifestyle brand.

We decided to move to a five-hour workday, where everyone works from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. By eliminating an hour-long lunch, we reduced our work time by only two hours. Our employees dont get paid less, and I still expect them to be twice as productive as the average worker.

The results have been astounding. Last year, we were named the fastest-growing private company in San Diego. This year, our nine-person team will generate $9 million in revenue.

When I tell people that my team works only five hours a day, their response is always, Thats nice, but it wont work for me. The 9-to-5 pattern is so engrained in their minds that they cant imagine anything else.

But you can reduce your hours by 30 percent and maintain the same level of productivity. Three reasons why:

Humans are not machines. Just because youre at your desk for eight hours doesnt mean youre being productive. Even the best employees probably accomplish only two to three hours of actual work. The five-hour day is about managing human energy more efficiently by working in bursts over a shorter period.

Happiness boosts productivity. Studies show that happier workers are more productive, and that makes sense: Having time to pursue your passions, nurture your relationships and stay active gives you more energy, emotionally and physically.

Fewer hours create scarcity. In their book Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir wrote that having less time creates periods of heightened productivity; their term for these periods was focus dividends. A five-hour workday offers baked-in time management by forcing workers to prioritize high-value activities.

Related: Here's Why the 8-Hour Workday Doesn't Work

How to implement a 5-hour work day.

The question I hear most often from people is: Can a five-hour day work for everyone?

Unfortunately, if your job looks the same as it did during the Industrial Revolution, the answer is probably not. Professions that require a 24-hour presence, such as law enforcement, emergency response and nursing are not good candidates for the five-hour workday. Nor will jobs that require working in unison with a large number of people (such as film production) qualify.

But for the vast majority of knowledge workers, clocking fewer hours in order to generate higher productivity is very manageable. Heres how to get started:

1. Apply the 80-20 rule.

Timothy Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek is required reading for anyone looking to adopt a shorter workday. One of the most important ideas discussed is the Pareto Principle: It says that 80 percent of production comes from 20 percent of efforts. Evaluate your own workday to identify those 20 percent activities, and eliminate the rest.

2. Shift to a production mindset.

People who dismiss the five-hour workday usually think its impossible because they measure work in hours rather than output. However, most knowledge workers arent paid by the hour. Theyre paid a flat salary.

To help my team shift to a production mindset, I rolled out a profit-sharing plan, where 5 percent of the profits are doled out to employees who demonstrate exemplary productivity.

3. Nix the 'always available' attitude.

One of my biggest objections to moving to a five-hour workday was reducing our customer service departments hours. I worried that if we cut our open hours in half, wed lose half our business.

But then I realized that we didnt run a convenience store. Our customers bought new paddleboards maybe once every five years. It didnt matter when we were open as long as those customers knew our hours.

So, we made the switch, and nothing fell apart. We still get roughly the same number of calls each day, and emails are usually answered within hours.

Understand that even in our instant-gratification society, being available all day isnt necessary. You just need to communicate when you are available.

4. Use technology to boost efficiency.

One of the unexpected benefits of the five-hour workday has been that it's exposed weaknesses in our company that had been hidden by man hours. To allow our warehouse and customer service employees to work 30 percent less (without growing our staff), we had to figure out how to serve the same number of customers in less time.

The obvious solution was leveraging automation. In the warehouse, we reduced our packing and shipping time, using software. In customer service, we overhauled our FAQs, or frequently asked questions page and created video tutorials to help customers help themselves.

Once you put a time constraint on work, you're forced to consider how you can get technology to do the heavy lifting, to increase your output. Make use of email auto responders, set up automatic trigger-based tasks and learn to use keyboard macros.

5. Dont restrict yourself to a 25-hour week.

My employees know they can always walk out of the office guilt-free, but top performers still put in the occasional 12-hour day.

Just as with a 9-to-5 job, you have to recognize that there will be times when you want or need to work an extra-long day. But when you can leave the office at 1 p.m. to go surfing or pick your kids up from school, work isnt separate from life; its all just living.

Moving my staff to a five-hour workday was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but today my employees are happier, more productive and invested in the business.

Related: Why Summer Fridays and Flexible Hours Are a Must

You can make the leap to a five-hour workday, too. You just have to shift to a production mindset and let go of the fear. Youll be amazed by the productivity and freedom you can achieve when you stop mindlessly punching the clock.

Related:

How to Make a 5-Hour Workday Work for You

Autoresponder: "Thank You for Your Email, But You Are Breaking the Law"

Link Found Between Working Night Shifts and Increased Risk of Heart Disease



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A short video about lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual diversity may bring an abrupt end to a federal employee's 14-year career with the Social Security Administration. David Hall, who works in information technology at the agency's office in Champaign, Ill., refused to watch the 17-minute video on several occasions.

Hall told the News-Gazette that the mandate to watch the video first came in April, when the national office sent out an email memo regarding LGBT diversity and inclusivity training. (The Washington Post contacted the Social Security Administration to confirm this initiative early Wednesday, although the agency was unable to immediately respond.) The Chicago-area Social Security office issued a statement to Illinois's WCIA to explain the training without commenting on the specifics of this case.

"In support of an inclusive work environment, as well as exemplary customer service, the Social Security Administration recently announced a diversity and inclusion training on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community to our employees," the statement read. "The training includes a brief session on tips for increasing cultural awareness in a diverse and inclusive environment."

For Hall, that premise was too sinful. The 42-year-old, who identifies as Christian, said he does not believe God would have wanted him to watch the video. Signing a statement he had watched such a video, moreover, was equal to endorsing "an abomination," he told WCIA . "I'm not going to certify sin."

On two occasions in June, Hall's boss told him to watch the video. When Hall declined, he was reprimanded. He later received a two-day suspension, in August, without pay.

The employee does not have a public-facing job, and said he considers himself neither a "martyr or a bigot." He told WCIA during an interview that the video was propaganda, and cited his right under the Constitution to religious freedom in support of his refusal. He could not be "sorta Christian," he said, any more than you could be "sorta pregnant." Hall added he has LGBT friends.

Hall is willing to lose his job - he admits it is likely, in fact - and he sees his stance as a call to other Christians. "This is something I want to fight and expose, to give other Christians the courage of their convictions," he said told the News-Gazette. He said several Christian co-workers are "scared" and "their fears are being realized through me."

Hall hired an attorney, Jason Craddock, who has also represented the Christian man who runs the Timber Creek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton, Ill. Owner Jim Walder refused to host a same-sex ceremony on the venue's grounds in 2011; the bed-and-breakfast was ordered to pay an $80,000 settlement in March.
Entrepreneurs are some of the hardest-working individuals on the planet, and we have powerful reasons to stay motivated. When we start a business, we're responsible for our own livelihood as well as that of our employees. It can be a heavy burden to bear.

The added weight on the shoulders might be why a large percentage of entrepreneurs find it difficult to break away from work for even a short period of time. For some, full-blown vacations seem impossible. 

Im guilty myself. In the past, I've treated vacations like the plague and made every excuse to avoid taking them. That way of thinking finally changed, though. As I write this, Im battling a serious case of jet lag. My fiancee and I just returned from a quick holiday trip to Hawaii. And while the island destination is better suited for a longer stay, the four-day break was a big step for me.

Its also the best thing I couldve done for myself and my business. Here are a few reasons why Im already planning our next vacation.

Travel inspires fresh ideas.

I think about my business all the time, and Im sure most entrepreneurs do the same. There isnt anything wrong with that -- the best ideas and visions might come to us while were in a relaxing setting, away from the office.

My Hawaii trip sparked so many new ideas and opportunities. In fact, a new business venture was born after a few emails -- en route to dinner via an Uber ride. I knew I wouldnt be able to completely unplug from work, but I did promise myself Id try to relax as much as possible. That relaxation inspired new ideas. I set some of them in motion before we landed from our 13-hour flight home.

Related: How to Vacation Like a Boss

Travel tests automated systems.

Most businesses with an online presence use some form of automation, be it lead generation or lead/sales nurturing. Just before we left for Hawaii, Id set up a few new, automated funnels to market new courses and consulting programs. I was excited to see how they would perform while I was on vacation.

Automating a large percentage of your business enables it to run on its own while you are away. Its a beautiful thing. During my trip, I learned some components of my automation worked very well, but others needed tweaking. Sometimes the only way to truly test your systems is to give them a real-world run-through.

Travel brings great personal rewards.

I knew I deserved to get away, but Id always made excuses why the timing wasnt right. Now that Ive finally taken a proper vacation (and had an amazing experience), Im already planning my next trip. To keep myself on track, I established a target goal to hit before I step away from my business again.

This is a great way to help push yourself and your business toward achieving landmark milestones. Entrepreneurs are very stubborn people. We expect nothing but excellence from ourselves, and we dont give ourselves enough credit when we succeed. Its not selfish to reward yourself. Once you get a taste of how a real vacation benefits you and your business, you can establish a vacation-based reward system that works for you.

Travel recharges your mind and body.

Being an entrepreneur is hard. Its mentally and physically tiring.

When you get away and allow yourself to truly relax, you can focus on recharging your mind and body. Constantly running yourself into the ground leads to exhaustion, and your work inevitably suffers.

I made this mistake for years. I never took time off, and I worked ridiculous hours. I was beat mentally and physically -- and it showed in my productivity.

In Hawaii, I soaked up the sun on the beach, treated myself to massages and unplugged as much as possible. I came back fully recharged and ready to crush it at work.

Related: How Millennials May Be Ruining Vacations for All of Us

Travel helps you refocus.

While I didnt want to leave paradise, I did want to dive headfirst back into my work. I was excited about multiple opportunities and new ideas. After a half-day to readjust to my home time zone, I was ultra-focused.

Id always feared going away on vacation would have the opposite impact. I worried Id lose momentum. I couldnt have been more wrong (and I hate admitting when Ive misjudged a situation).

Related: Let's Stop Fetishizing Entrepreneurs' Hours

Dont make the same mistake I made for several years. Embrace your time away and take full advantage of the many benefits a vacation offers for your body, spirit and business.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A 19-year-old Iowa man who filmed himself molesting a baby girl two years ago plead guilty to engaging in a lascivious act with a child Monday and was given a sentence that could keep the teen out of prison, according to media reports.

Kraigen Grooms, 19, received a 10-year suspended sentence and five years of supervised release after federal agents said he filmed himself raping a 12-month to 18-month-old girl in 2014 and put the footage on an underground pornography website, KTVO reported Tuesday. But an Iowa prosecutor told the Associated Press that Grooms did not actually rape or cause any physical harm to the child.
LONDON  The British government on Thursday approved the construction of the countrys first new nuclear power plant in more than two decades, a French- and Chinese-backed project that had prompted high-level fears about national security.

The government said in a statement that it had decided to proceed with the $23 billion Hinkley Point plant in southwest England, but that future foreign-funded infrastructure projects will be subject to tighter rules.

The plant will be financed by Chinese nuclear power provider CGN and French energy group EDF.

China and France welcomed the approval, which came weeks after Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly stalled the deal after she took office in July, saying she wanted to review it.

The delay threw into doubt the golden era of ties proclaimed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Britain last year. Chinas ambassador to Britain warned that it left relations between the two countries at a crossroads.

Some British politicians and diplomats are wary of the enthusiasm the previous government of Prime Minister David Cameron showed for boosting ties with Beijing, and voiced concerns about the security implications of China holding a major stake in such key infrastructure.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said the Hinkley Point deal will include a series of measures to enhance security and ensure it cannot change hands without the governments agreement.

Under the deal, EDF wont be able to sell its controlling stake in the project before completion without British approval.

The British government also said it would impose significant new safeguards on future foreign investment in nuclear power and other critical infrastructure, to ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the governments knowledge or consent.

Chinas CGN welcomed the Hinkley decision and said it was now able to move forward and deliver nuclear capacity at two more planned United Kingdom. reactors, one of which is expected to be Chinese-designed, as well as financed.

Nuclear power supplies about 20 percent of Britains energy, but no new reactors have been built since the 1990s.

Environmental groups say the plant is far too expensive, and money would be better spent developing wind and solar energy.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay  A former Guantanamo detainee reportedly has awakened from a coma that resulted from a hunger strike to dramatize his unhappiness about being resettled in Uruguay and his demand to be moved to another country.

Cristian Mirza, the Uruguayan governments liaison with six resettled detainees, said Thursday that Abu Wael Dhiab had come out of the coma at his apartment in Montevideo.

Dr. Julia Galzerano of the Medical Union of Uruguay said Dhiab was extremely dehydrated after 11 days without water but said his vital signs were generally good, despite kidney problems.

She said paramedics found him unconscious when they arrived at the apartment where the 45-year-old Syrian has been staying in Montevideo. He remained at the apartment for treatment, in keeping with his wishes not to be hospitalized during his protest.

A supporters group known as Vigil for Jihad Dhiab said he began to regain consciousness after treatment with a saline solution. But it said that after regaining lucidity, he decided to remove the intravenous line.

Dhiab drew international attention through hunger strikes during his 12 years of occasionally confrontational confinement at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Released in December 2014, he could not return to his war-torn homeland and was taken in as a refugee by Uruguay along with five other freed detainees.

While the others mostly stayed out of the spotlight, Dhiab grew increasingly disgruntled in this South American country.

Less than two months after his arrival, he turned up in neighboring Argentina and denounced the U.S. failure to close Guantanamo. U.S. officials said the trip violated an understanding he not leave the country, but Uruguay has said there was no such agreement.

He also publicly complained about life in Uruguay, to the increasing irritation of the government, and he protested outside the U.S. Embassy. In July, he set off alarms when he vanished for several weeks, before turning up in Venezuela, which sent him back to Uruguay.

At some point, he began the hunger strike seeking to pressure Uruguays government into allowing him to join his wife and children in Turkey or another nation.

Mirza said Wednesday that officials have been working at the highest levels to find another country that would accept Dhiab.
1 Military aid: The United States on Wednesday signed an unprecedented security agreement with Israel that will give the Israeli military $38 billion over 10 years. The deal, the largest such agreement the U.S. has ever had with any country, amounts to $3.8 billion a year beginning in budget year 2019, compared with $3.1 billion the U.S. gave Israel annually under the current 10-year deal that expires in 2018. Under the agreement, Israels ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be phased out and eventually all of the money must be spent on American military industries. Israels preference for spending some internally had been a major sticking point in the deal.

2 Myanmar trade: The White House offered trade benefits to Myanmar as the Asian nation continued its transition from military rule. The announcement came as Myanmars leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, met with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday. Myanmar is one of the worlds poorest countries and has been eligible for preferential trade treatment. But President George H.W. Bush suspended that treatment in 1989, citing Myanmars refusal to recognize workers rights.
BEIRUT  Syrias military began withdrawing from a major artery to Aleppo late Thursday as the U.N. envoy accused President Bashar Assads government of obstructing aid access to the contested city.

A monitoring group reported three civilian fatalities, the first since the U.S.-Russian-brokered cease-fire took effect three days ago.

Meanwhile, Russia was expected to deploy its forces along Aleppos Castello Road to ensure safe passage for humanitarian convoys to the citys opposition-held quarters. It would be the most overt participation by Russian ground forces in the Syrian war, underscoring Moscows position as power broker in the conflict.

Russia intervened with its air force on the side of the Assad government last year, turning the tide of the war in his favor.

As part of the truce deal, the rebels and the Syrian government are supposed to agree to the deployment of a security force to protect checkpoints along the route to Aleppo to ensure aid delivery to the citys opposition sector, which has been besieged by Russian-backed government forces since July.

The U.N. estimates about a quarter million people are trapped inside.

However, the U.N. envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said that despite the dramatic drop in violence since the cease-fire took effect on Monday, the humanitarian aid flow that was supposed to follow had not materialized.

Speaking in Geneva, de Mistura blamed Assads government for the delay.

He said the Syrian government had not provided the necessary facilitation letters, or permits, to allow the aid convoys to reach opposition areas, disappointing even Russia, the Syrian presidents key backer.

De Mistura said 40 aid trucks were ready to move and the U.N. would prioritize delivery to the embattled rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo.

That is what makes a difference for the people, apart from seeing no more bombs or mortar shelling taking place, he said of the aid deliveries that are supposed to be part of the truce deal.

It is particularly regrettable. ... These are days which we should have used for convoys to move ... because there is no fighting, he said.

Activists reported the cease-fire was holding despite some violations, though the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group warned the rate of violations had escalated and three civilians were killed, including two children.
Lockheed Martin Plans Massive Layoffs

Officials are celebrating Facebooks decision to

in Los Lunas, but the 50 jobs being created there will be offset by a huge layoff at Kirtland Air Force Base. Lockheed Martin plans to cut 300 employees there by the end of the month, and some longtime employees, who have

, claim theyre being left in the dark.

Deming Approves Med Pot Dispensary

City councilors in Deming have

to allow New Mexico Top Organics  Ultra Health, Inc. to sell medical cannabis to patients in Southern New Mexico.

Unwise Tax Strategy

The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department wants to

, a New Mexico pizza and salad restaurant management group, for failure to pay taxes and workers compensation insurance or agree to an payment installment plan.

No Tuition Hike at NMSU

Students at New Mexico State University

this year, even if lawmakers cut higher education budgets to trim the states growing budget deficit, according to Heath Haussamen.

Variety is the Spice of Life

The general election ballots are finally set to be printed, and Matthew Reichbach reports New Mexicans will have

voting for. Gary Johnson hopes to pick up a lot of them. A new poll shows him at



only two percentage points short of being allowed to join the debate stage later this month.

New Mexico Truth Ads Face Ethics Complaint

The New Mexico Secretary of States Office is reviewing an ethics complaint by a Republican state representative who alleges a Catholic charity behind the controversial New Mexico Truth advertisements broke state law by

, reports Justin Hayworth.

State Election Code Affirmed

The New Mexico Supreme Court has affirmed an amendment

, including a ban on women and idiot voters, according to Andrew Oxford.

Hagel Talks World Order at Domenici Conference

Former US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told attendees at the Pete Domenici Public Policy Conference in Las Cruces on Wednesday that t

is mostly due to the rise of other countries' influence, including China, which he says will be a dominant power for a long time.

Santa Fe Reporter
Australian-owned carpet maker Godfrey Hirst is questioning the benefit of foreign shareholders to New Zealand in its bid to prevent the creation of a wool scouring monopoly.

Godfrey Hirst is appealing the Commerce Commission's decision last November to allow Cavalier Wool Holdings to acquire New Zealand Wool Service International's wool scouring business and assets, allowing a monopoly on the supply of wool scouring services and the supply of wool grease on the trade-off that there was a broader public benefit in fending off competition from cheaper foreign rivals.

The Court of Appeal limited the carpet maker's argument to whether the High Court erred in agreeing with the commission's treatment of productivity gains which would flow to foreign shareholders from the merger. The commission relied on the appeal court's decision from 1991 in a case between Telecom and the Commerce Commission, referred to as AMPS-A, where the court found that gains to foreign shareholders should not be discounted in deciding whether the merger should go ahead.

"We're not saying it's a detriment, we're just saying it's not a benefit," Godfrey Hirst's lawyer John Dixon said today. The commission had quantified the benefits of the merger as between $1 million and $15 million, but that valuation hadn't been properly assessed and it may be unquantifiable, he said.

"If you adopt our approach, you'd exclude these benefits and basically what that means is nearly half of the benefits the commission ascribes to this transaction would be excluded," Dixon said. "Instead of having a range of likely outcomes that is all positive, if you take away 45 percent of those benefits as we say you should, then the range of quantified benefits moves substantially into the red. The likely outcome goes to between minus $6.5 million to positive $14 million, so you straddle zero and there's a material likelihood of outcomes which are detrimental to the public of New Zealand."

The lawyer for Cavalier and New Zealand Wool, David Goddard QC, said the High Court had been right to rely on AMPS-A because profit outflows to foreign shareholders shouldn't be regarded as a drain on New Zealand.

"We welcome foreign capital in New Zealand, we've depended on it for the whole of our history and will no doubt continue to do so," Goddard said. "We accept when foreign capital comes into New Zealand, you have to pay for it - it's capital provided to us in exchange for the returns on and of that capital over time. It's wrong to treat dividends going offshore as a detriment to New Zealand, it's wrong to treat a buyback of shares as a loss, we don't treat it as somehow offsetting the reality of those productivity gains."

Matthew Dudding QC, the lawyer for the Commerce Commission, said calculating feedback effects was "not simply a mathematical exercise", and when there was foreign ownership the commission didn't necessarily have to discount productivity gains.

"We do not want to discount or ignore real productive efficiency gains where they have been found, we think these are good things for the New Zealand economy," Dudding said. "Just because there's foreign shareholder doesn't necessarily mean you should ignore or discount those gains you've found, because they are inherently good unless shown to the contrary and there's no evidence to the contrary."

Dudding said this wasn't a merger-specific point, but was a broader question about whether New Zealand wanted to attract foreign capital to its economy.

"If you want to start treating foreign investors differently, you'll have some negative impact on that capital," Dudding said. "The commission said expressly in their decision they aren't the same, but we don't want to discriminate against foreign investors because that might have an impact on quite a large inflow of capital."

Goddard asked the judges for expediency in making their decision, as the merger has been stayed pending the appeal. The one-day hearing is continuing.

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BurgerFuel Worldwide, the burger chain franchisor is looking to the city of Indianapolis in Indiana as the site of its first potential store in the United States.

The company is going ahead with expansion in North America, despite the ending of its deal with Subway franchisor, Franchise Brands. That deal would have seen the American operator take up to a 50 percent stake in the business, but Subway co-founder Fred de Luca died last year, leaving the agreement in limbo.

Chief executive Josef Roberts told investors at today's annual meeting that the passing of de Luca was a "tremendously sad occasion for me, on both a personal and business level. The vision for the BurgerFuel and Franchise Brands partnership was something Fred and I created together, so losing Fred, and the passion he had for the relationship was devastating."

Roberts added that BurgerFuel was now looking to launch its first US store in the city of Indianapolis in Indiana. Founder Chris Mason has moved to the city.

Away from America, the company's Iraqi franchisees re-opened its store in the capital, Baghdad, after it was closed in 2014 due to unrest. A Kuwait store closed, due to high retail rents and economic volatility due to the fall in the price of oil. There are nine stores in Saudi Arabia, 14 in the United Arab Emirates and three in Egypt.

Results in Australia were described as "mixed" with the company concerned by the "high operating costs and length of time it could take to establish the brand to a profitable level." Chief operating officer Tyrone Foley told investors that they had experienced success in some areas, and will review the business at the end of the 2017 financial year.

Twelve new restaurants were opened in the last financial year, with five opening in the year so far. The total number of global stores was 78.

The NZAX-listed shares increased 0.6 percent to $1.61.

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Creative HQ, the Wellington business incubator, says its efforts to create an "accelerator exchange" that would help Kiwi start-up get a foothold in China has thrown up gaps in government funding after it got plenty of praise but was told the concept didn't meet any criteria.

Creative HQ already gets a Callaghan Innovation grant for its incubator but chief executive Stefan Korn said conversations with the government funding agency, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment haven't yielded money for the exchange programme, with the agencies liking the idea but saying it falls outside their remit.

"We believe it's a government thing to fund these programmes because it's a very clear and measured result, especially for early stage," Korn said. "Currently it falls between all of the buckets. In general, everyone thinks it's a great idea but no-one wants to fund it."

The lack of funding means Korn can't say when a New Zealand group of firms could travel to Chengdu, and he's trying to find private sector alternatives if the government doesn't come to the party.

Creative HQ included Chengdu-based Chicken Run in its three-month Lightning Lab XX Accelerator programme, giving the Chinese free-range chicken firm exposure to a Western style of developing an early-stage company. Since the programme finished in June, Chicken Run is on track to triple sales by end of the year as it seeks to grow into a multi-million business by the end of 2017.

Chicken Run sat alongside the accelerator's other start-ups as part of a plan to forge links between Wellington and Chengdu exposing early stage firms to a foreign market, where Chinese firms can test their services in a relatively safe English-speaking market, while New Zealand start-ups would get support in the world's second-biggest economy.

Korn said New Zealand hasn't taken full advantage of its 2008 free-trade agreement with China, largely focusing on increasing exports of commodity products rather than pursuing high-value business opportunities.

"We've been looking at one small aspect of that whole picture, which is the early stage business space, around investment and innovation," Korn said. "Generally our start-ups and smaller companies don't go to China because it's seen as being in the too hard basket, and generally Chinese investors don't invest in early stage companies in New Zealand because it's also seen as the too hard basket."

Chicken Run's experience showed an appetite from Chinese companies for exposure to the Western experience that wasn't available in Chengdu's 80 incubators, without the expense of going to the US, and Creative HQ now wants to take a handful of local companies to China to gauge their readiness and appetite to enter that market.

Korn said it's easy enough for Creative HQ to wear the cost of accepting Chinese companies in its Lightning Lab programmes, however taking New Zealand companies is more costly and something which he says the government should help foster.

If it gets off the ground, Korn says the accelerator exchange has the potential to be self-funding within five years if it can create a big enough deal flow that Creative HQ can then charge a success fee on.

"Once you've established the model and you've got some successes, for example investment has happened, the model would work in a way where you take a small success fee of any investment that happens," he said. "If you've got enough deal flow and investments that happen, it actually pays for the running of the programme."

Korn said the time is ripe for New Zealand to pursue an exchange along these lines with the Communist Party of China's five-year plenary plan including innovation as a central pillar, paving the way for increased Chinese investment in start-ups.

New Zealand's consul-general in Chengdu, Alistair Crozier, helped drive the exchange, building connections with city officials. Chengdu is China's fastest-growing city and has become a hub for food and beverage, high-tech manufacturing, and digital sectors, which Korn cites as creating a natural fit for New Zealand firms, and because it's smaller than the top tier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing it's easier to get noticed, he said.

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NEW DELHI: Cab aggregator applications company Uber on Thursday announced the launch of UberSHAAN, an initiative aimed at creating 1 million livelihood opportunities as micro-entrepreneurs in India by 2018.

The UberSHAAN will focus at expanding economic opportunities across the spectrum and will provide access to skill development and driver training to the unskilled, the statement said.

The initiative will also aim to help trained drivers receive commercial licenses and support the entrepreneurial ambitions of licensed drivers through vehicle financing and leasing solutions.

Launching the initiative at the 9th Global Skills Summit at FICCI, Uber also announced partnerships with Maruti Suzuki and National Skills Development Corp (NSDC) in support of this vision.

"Through concerted efforts towards skill development and entrepreneurship building, we can mobilise the untapped potential of millions of Indians and support them in their journey towards self reliance and micro entrepreneurship," said Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

"In this context, UberSHAAN's vision to skill and empower 1 million individuals in the next two years and help them turn micro-entrepreneurs is creditable," he added.

"Uber is committed to creating more economic opportunities and extends full support to the government's Skill India and entrepreneurship building initiatives," said President Amit Jain of Uber India.

"With UberSHAAN, our plan is to rapidly scale India's entrepreneurial base and generate 1 million livelihood opportunities on the Uber platform by 2018," said Jain.

As part of the agreement signed with Maruti, the two will conduct a four-month pilot in Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Chennai and organise driver training and on-boarding programmes, which is required to join the Uber platform.

On completion of training and receipt of a commercial licence, Uber will also be supporting the journey of successful candidates by offering vehicle financing and leasing solutions.

Based on the outcome of the pilot project, the partnership will be expanded to other cities across India, the statement said.

Through its partnership with NSDC, Uber will support driver training at NSDC training centres nationwide that promote skill building in the automobile sector. Eligible drivers will be offered vehicle financing and leasing solutions from Uber.

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RAIPUR: To give a fillip to Prime Minister's vision of Startup India, the state government today launched 'Start-up Chhattisgarh' initiative here to foster entrepreneurship and promote innovation.

Youths have no dearth of ideas. Lots of creative ideas take shape in their mind. They should convert them into business ideas according to the need of market to provide facilities to people at lower rates in a convenient manner," Chief Minister Raman Singh said after the event.

"They need to be fearless to bring their ideas into commercial products," he said.

The function was held at Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management & Technology in Sejbahar area, which was attended by a large number of entrepreneurs and youths.

As part of the initiative, 14 special camps will be set up in Chhattisgarh, which would be used as a platform to present ideas and the best out of them would be selected for incubation, he said.

"At least3000 ideas would be collected through these camps and in the first phase, 36 start-up units selected of these ideas will be developed in next four months," the CM said.

Singh also announced a slew of measures to nurture and support start-ups.

"First36 start-ups established in the state would be reimbursed (with) all state govt taxes paid by them for first three years. Apart from this, assistance will be given in preparing the project report, quality certifications, technical patent costs," he said.

While the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) startups shall be eligible for 60% subsidy on land premium in government industrial parks, all start-ups shall be given facility to do self-certifications for various state laws, Singh added.

The CM said subsidy of 75 per cent would be given on term loan up to Rs 70 lakh for six years.

He also announced the fixed capital subsidy of 35-40%up to Rs 3.5 crore, electricity duty exemption for 10 years and stamp duty exemption for land purchase or lease.

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Government Pinpoints the Startup Deadpool Scenario as a Mild Declining Phase
In continuing efforts to help companies get compliant with the law, Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor Emil Lee together with his Ministry has developed a quick reference compliance guide for employers and a quick reference guide for employees. As government seeks to improve compliance, one of the first steps is to provide clear information as to the rules for which compliance is expected. We believe that by improving communication with the public, government can expect improved compliance said Minister Lee.





Too often, when the Labor Department inspects a company, they are told that the company was not aware of the things that should be in place in order for their business to be compliant with the law.





The quick reference guide for Employers gives information to employers which they would need to adhere to. It also provides important contact numbers in case of questions that the employers may have.





Some topics that are covered in the emplo yers guide are: Labor Registration, tax compliance, work/employment permits for employees, occupational health and safety standards, and more.





It has been noted that many employees do not know their rights in their workplace, and because of this , the Ministry also made a quick reference guide for employees.





It was designed to guide employees, and provide them with basic information that they should know about their rights. It also provides them with the relevant contact numbers in case they have any questions. Some topics that are covered in the guide are : trial period, the labor agreement, dismissals, overtime, medical insurance , and more.





The compliance guides are also available in a digital format on www.ministryvsa.sx, and will be distributed to employers and employees in the coming weeks.
The Climate Change Authority report: a dissenting view

Posted on 15 September 2016 by Guest Author

Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethics, Centre For Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics (CAPPE), Charles Sturt University and David Karoly, Professor of Atmospheric Science, University of Melbourne

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

As Members of the Climate Change Authority who have participated fully in the Special Review of Australias Climate Goals and Policies, we reached the conclusion, after much consideration, that we could not in good conscience lend our names to its report, published last week.

Rather than resign from the Authority we decided to write a minority report. Here we present edited extracts from our report, which is released today.

The basis of our disagreement with the majority report is its failure to recognise the importance of the constraint put on all future emissions-reduction targets and policies by Australias carbon budget. The carbon budget is the total emissions that Australia can release between now and 2050 while still contributing its fair share in holding the global temperature rise to less than 2?  a key goal of the Paris climate agreement negotiated last December.

The majority report should, but does not, address the relationship between its recommendations and Australias carbon budget, consistent with a fair and equitable national contribution to the global carbon budget.

This is all the more regrettable because the requirement to do so is embedded in the Special Reviews terms of reference and was analysed in the First Report of the Special Review released in April 2015 (before the appointment of six new Members to the Authority in October 2015).

The budget constraint

In 2014 the Authority recommended an Australian emissions budget of 10.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases for the period 2013-2050. On this basis, it advised that Australia should set an emissions-reduction trajectory for 2030 in the range of 45-65% below 2005 levels. Contrast that with the current 26-28% target set by the Abbott government.

Against the constraints of the carbon budget, the majority report accepts  explicitly in some places, implicitly in others  the governments current target.

But accepting this less ambitious target for 2030 is consistent neither with the Authoritys own advice to government, nor with Australias commitment under the Paris Agreement to play its role in holding warming below 2?.

The graph below shows the carbon budget for Australia put forward by the Climate Change Authority in its earlier report. (The budget is the area under the curve.)

The embedded pie chart shows the sliver of emissions that would remain to cover the 20-year period after 2030 if there is no change from the 26-28% target. More than 90% of Australias carbon budget to 2050 would be used up by 2030. Australias emissions would have to decline precipitously and reach net zero by 2035.

Author provided

Such a dramatic reduction would be impossible to achieve. So the current target of 26-28% lacks credibility because it is wholly inconsistent with Australias international obligations. If pursued it is likely to lead to a policy crisis within a decade or less.

Political independence

In our view, the failure of the majority report to make this clear to government and the public contravenes the Authoritys legislated obligation to deliver independent advice and to recommend measures that are environmentally effective and based on science.

We believe that the effect of the majority report will be to sanction further delay and a slow pace of action, with serious consequences for the nation. Those consequences include either very severe and costly emissions cuts in the mid-to-late 2020s, or alternatively a repudiation of Australias international commitments, and free-riding on the efforts of the rest of the world.

As we see it, the recommendations of the majority report are framed to suit a particular assessment of the prevailing political circumstances. We believe it is inappropriate and often counterproductive to attempt to second-guess political negotiations, especially for a new and uncertain parliament.

The unduly narrow focus of the majority report, seemingly based on a reading from a political crystal ball, has ruled out policies, such as a strengthened renewables target and stronger land clearing restrictions, that have a proven capacity to respond most effectively to the nations climate change goals.

Policy recommendations

At the centre of the majority reports recommendations is the retention of the current Direct Action policy as the basis for further action. Its two pillars are the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) and its incorporated Safeguard Mechanism, which sets an upper limit on emissions from major polluters.

The report also recommends a new emissions trading scheme for electricity generation, based on an emissions-intensity baseline. Such a scheme would have lower price rises than the kind of cap-and-trade scheme favoured everywhere else in the world, and which Australia would have now if not for the Abbott government. After the rancour that engulfed the carbon price, the intensity-based scheme is presumably seen as more appealing to nervous politicians.

The majority report downplays the drawbacks of emissions-intensity schemes and the Safeguard Mechanism. There is not space to discuss them here, but we would like to comment on the flaws in the ERF because the majority report recommends that it be hugely expanded.

Flaws in the ERF

Under an expanded ERF policy, the cost to the federal budget would increase sharply, and even more so if Australia adopted tougher emissions targets in line with the science. Using the ERF in this way would be, in Professor Ross Garnauts words, an immense drain on the budget.

We believe it is unwise to make Australias climate policy hostage to disputes over fiscal policy.

As a rule, the replacement of the widely accepted polluter pays principle with the ERFs pay the polluter principle is bad economics, bad ethics and bad policy. The practical drawbacks include the need for an expert bureaucracy to evaluate each prospective project and then to monitor, over several years, each successful project to ensure that the promised emissions reductions actually happen.

There are also serious and continuing concerns about the issue of additionality. Under the ERF, it is hard to know whether the Commonwealth is wasting money by paying for emissions reductions that would have taken place anyway  that is, projects that are not additional. Bear in mind that businesses plan energy-saving projects all the time, so why wouldnt they try to get a subsidy if one is on offer?

Surveys show that a large majority of Australians want stronger action to reduce Australias emissions. The role of the Climate Change Authority is to advise on how that desire can be realised, in a way that is consistent with the best scientific and economic evidence.

The full minority report can be read here.
Of all the dangers to firefighters, its the physical rigors that pose the greatest risk; nearly half of all line-of-duty deaths are due to sudden cardiac events. With an expert in this field on its teaching faculty, Skidmore College recently received a $1,467,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.



Students conduct research in health and

exercise sciences. Students conduct research in health andexercise sciences.

This is Skidmore's fifth such grant, totaling $5.4 million, to support a research program led by Denise Smith, professor of health and exercise sciences and director of Skidmores First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory. Smith will again mentor several students in her lab, which will work with previous collaborators from the University of California at Los Angeles, the U.S. Department of Defense, Globe Manufacturing, and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The ongoing work at Skidmore's lab has improved understandings of the way work and heat stress combine to affect various components of the cardiovascular system and has elucidated underlying medical conditions related to cardiac events in the line of duty.



Denise Smith Denise Smith

This latest project will advance the lab's work on wireless, wearable technologies to sense, track, and relay individual firefighters' physiological responses and also monitor toxic particulates in the air. Smith says, "The technology has matured to the point where we can consider incorporating these tools into the fire service across the country, to improve the health and safety of firefighters who risk so much to protect their communities."

Skidmore President Philip Glotzbach adds, "This exciting work embodies the best of what we do at Skidmore: expert faculty members develop research projects that address thorny problems, actively engage our students in the work, and produce results that make the world a better place."
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Asia's second richest person Li Ka-Shing is suing Goldman Sachs Australia over $15.9 million in incorrectly charged fees linked to his takeover of one of Australia's biggest gas companies.

Mr Li's Australian Gas Networks, formerly known as Envestra, has filed action in the Supreme Court of Victoria to claw back the fees it paid to Goldman Sachs relating to the takeover of Envestra in 2014 by a trio of companies backed by the Hong Kong businessman.

Cheung Kong Infrastructure, which is led by Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-Shing, has already battled the ATO and may face the impact of this latest crackdown. Credit:Tomohiro Ohsumi

The three companies controlled by Mr Li  Cheung Kong Infrastructure, Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Power Asset Holdings  splashed $2.37 billion in cash to purchase Envestra.

Cheung Kong Infrastructure recently made headlines in Australia when its offer to buy Ausgrid was rebuffed by the Federal Government over concerns of Mr Li's links to Chinese politicians.
Clive Palmer was all smiles on Thursday morning as he entered court. Credit:Bradley Kanaris Mr Palmer argued that $1.95 billion in assets from the joint venture controlling Queensland Nickel, QNI Resources and QNI Metals, should have been enough to lend against, especially when he offered a further $250 million in other assets. "I took the view that if $1.95 billion wasn't going to do it and $250 million wasn't going to do it  politically these people were going to sink north Queensland no matter what we did," he said, when asked why he had not put his personal assets up. Clive Palmer regained control of the refinery in February under his new company Queensland Nickel Sales. Credit:Robert Rough The company eventually collapsed into voluntary administration in January and was sent into liquidation earlier this year, leaving almost 800 people out of work and debts of about $300 million.

The court returned to an expletive-laden email from Clive Palmer telling his nephew not to "cover his arse" or he would "f--- everything", which the court heard was prompted by a draft letter to Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt.. On Monday, Mr Palmer failed to answer any questions about what instructions he had given QNI sole director Clive Mensink not to email him again. "I told you what to do. Do it," he wrote "Do not send me anything to cover your arse or you f--- everything. "Do not contact me by email again."

On Thursday, Mr Palmer was slightly more responsive, saying he may "have told him to wipe his arse" with the draft letter Mr Pitt, who he said was "no one of significance, really". "I had a very poor opinion of the treasurer's morals and his integrity and I didn't want to have any further discussions with him at all," he said. "I'd told Mensink to forget about the Queensland treasurer, because I'd been told by (former Labor deputy premier) Jim Elder that the Labor Party had decided to sink us regardless." Mr Palmer claimed Mr Mensink may have been trying to "cover his arse" for a future government job and the email ban came because the future of workers was a "serious issue" and best discussed face to face. He was questioned about a memo from QNI's former chief financial officer Daren Wolfe to a senior National Australia Bank employee, apparently making complaints about the company's treatment.

Mr Palmer did not admit to dictating the memo, but said he was "aware" of the material in it. "Everyone said the NAB was baddies and we should put it on the record regardless of what Turnbull and (Queensland Premier Annastacia) Palaszczuk wanted to do to us," he said. Mr Palmer also shed light on the origins of the controversial Terry Smith email account, which the court heard was originally known as "Clive Palmer", before it was changed in 2012. The Palmer United Party founder said he wanted to impress his wife with a romantic dinner but needed to go "incognito" to avoid media turning up, so he booked under the name "Terry Smith". Mr Palmer said they enjoyed a "nice entree, main course and desert" and the evening was "very successful".

The mining magnate was questioned extensively about the definitions of insolvent trading and the responsibilities of company directors to prevent it, which claimed he "didn't fully" understand. The court heard Aurizon issued QNI with a formal notice of default on November 27, 2015, for more than $12 million in debt, after Mr Palmer earlier said the company had agreed to defer the debt. Mr Palmer wrote off the request for payment, and another strongly worded letter and December 10 as "commercial negotiations", with Aurizon acting as "paper tigers". Mr Palmer stood down as a director of the company after being elected to federal parliament but Mr Sullivan, acting for PPB Advisory, has been trying to determine whether he acted as a shadow director, which Mr Palmer has denied. He has produced an old green notebook purporting to grant him wide-ranging authority to direct QNI under an agreement of the Joint Venture Owners Committee, made up of only himself and nephew Clive Mensink.

The pair clashed several times throughout the morning, with Mr Sullivan at one stage reminding the witness he was "under oath", when he claimed not to have known 200 workers were going to be made redundant from QNI on January 15. After initially denying advance knowledge of redundancies, the court heard Mr Palmer received details in December of 250 workers to be sacked but denied he made the final decision that eventually put 200 employees out of work in January. On another occasion Mr Sullivan said: "You've got a temper, don't you Mr Palmer?" "Not like you, you've got a temper," Mr Palmer replied. Mr Palmer has consistently denied allegations from Mr Sullivan that QNI had a "systemic cash flow problem" as far back as September, possibly leading it to insolvent trading, pointing often to a report from Ernst and Young he said must have signed the company off being able to continue as a going concern.
Two giants of the farming and chemical industries agreed to merge in a $US66 billion ($88 billion) deal: the US's Monsanto and Germany's Bayer, the original maker of aspirin. It's the year's biggest deal and will create the world's largest supplier of seeds and farm chemicals, with $US26 billion in combined annual revenue from agriculture. If the merger goes through, it will combine two companies with a long and storied history that shaped what we eat, the drugs we take and how we grow our food.

Bayer: Then & now

Two friends making dyes from coal-tar started Bayer in 1863, and it developed into a chemical and drug company famous for introducing heroin as a cough remedy in 1896, then aspirin in 1899. The company was a Nazi contractor during World War II and used forced labour. Today, the firm based in Leverkusen, Germany, makes drugs and has a crop science unit, which makes weed and bug killers. Its goal is to dominate the chemical and drug markets for people, plants and animals.

Monsanto: Then & now
This was the beginning of something really special in Australian science and statistics. When Joe arrived in Canberra, living first in Brassey House and then at the new University House, he met and became close friends with Ted Hannan. Joe and Ted were the first PhD students of Pat Moran, the University's foundation professor of mathematical statistics. All three would have distinguished careers, pushing Australia to the forefront of the discipline internationally. In 1955 Joe met Ruth Stephens, a botanist working at the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. Ruth, who was born in York, was a graduate of the University of Liverpool and had migrated to Australia to work as research assistant to (Sir) Otto Frankel, the chief of the Division. The couple were married at the end of the year and settled in Ainslie, then Deakin. Ruth became a geneticist and, among various positions, worked on cytogenetics at Woden Valley (now Canberra) Hospital. They were to have four children, two girls and two boys. Joe's great achievements, professionally, began in the 1960s, most notably at Sheffield University in Britain (1965-74) and at CSIRO's Division of Mathematical Statistics at Yarralumla (1974-82). His years at Sheffield, where he became Professor of Mathematical Statistics, were some of the happiest and most productive of his life. He made Sheffield and nearby Manchester the most powerful centres of mathematical statistics in the UK, and also a home-away-from home for many Australian scientists. In 1973 Joe was asked to conduct a review of CSIRO's Division of Mathematics and Statistics, which had its headquarters at Yarralumla. He found poor morale, some ordinary research and a lack of training and resources. His review was accepted and CSIRO soon invited Joe to take over the Division. The decision to leave Sheffield, where he and Ruth had been so happy, was the most difficult of their lives. His period as chief was a great success. He revived the Division, where the focus had previously been on agricultural statistics, broadening and deepening its work.

In 1981 a new review of the Division praised his achievements  morale was high, the quality of research was much improved, talented mathematicians had been recruited, the work of the Division had been broadened and its international and local visibility heightened. The review reported: "The credit for this transformation lies with the enthusiasm, drive and large vision of the chief. His leadership has been quite crucial. Throughout this transition the chief's concern for the welfare of his staff has been notable" But the review was a double-edged sword, and led to Joe's departure. It recommended that the Division move away from its emphasis on research, on which its reputation was now based, to work of a more commercial nature. This disappointed Joe greatly  he was not opposed to an emphasis on commerce as well as research, but he was opposed to running down something that was doing really good work. Despite his disappointment at what happened to the Division, Joe, as an intellectual and a scientist, was probably fortunate to leave before managerialism began its long march through CSIRO in the 1980s. Joe was an ideas man, an innovator. He was a great organiser  of meetings, symposiums and committees. He started new things and got old things working better. He co-founded the Australian Mathematical Society and, when he could not get support in Australia to found an international journal of applied probability, sought and found it in Britain. The journal began in 1964 and continues to this day. It is funded by the Applied Probability Trust, also founded by Joe. In 1968 he founded and edited a mathematics magazine for students and teachers, Mathematical Spectrum, which continued until this year, and in 1976 a journal, The Mathematical Scientist, originally published by CSIRO, and continuing today. Joe's initiatives were not limited to mathematics. In Sheffield he was a founding member of a society to help house low income families His ideas sometimes met with resistance from more conservative colleagues and administrators. At CSIRO he attempted to establish national mathematics prizes for school students, a brilliant idea which unsettled the organisation's senior administrators because he had not gone through the proper channels.

Joe was ebullient, restless, sociable, generous, outgoing, quick to be exasperated and quick to forgive. He loved his colleagues, even when he disagreed with them, and loved working with others. He lacked religious belief but his colleague, Pat Moran, always assumed that Joe was a religious man because of his generosity and passion for justice. He had a great sense of humour and a huge repertoire of jokes drawing on Soviet bureaucracy and Jewish life. Unlike the jokes of most inveterate joke-tellers, Joe's jokes were actually funny. After CSIRO, Joe worked at several universities in the US. On retirement, he and Ruth returned to their home in Deakin. Ruth died in 1997. Joe continued as a fellow in the ANU's School of Mathematical Sciences after retirement, working on, among other things, modelling the spread of HIV/AIDS in prisons. He was a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, a member of the Order of Australia, and the author of several hundred scientific papers. A keen walker on weekends, he visited the families of his late colleagues, Moran and Hannan, until shortly before his death. Joe's great professional achievements were his establishment of the Applied Probability Trust, his building of mathematical statistics at Sheffield in England and at CSIRO in Canberra, and his fostering of mathematics in schools and universities and through countless other initiatives. Beyond that, he was much admired and loved. Joe is survived by his children  Jonathan, Miriam, Matthew and Sarah, their partners and five grandchildren  and by his brothers, Robert of Melbourne and Maurice of Israel.
Turnbull government ministers have cautiously criticised Pauline Hanson's incendiary first speech, including its attacks on Islam, while maintaining the One Nation senator and her supporters must be respected.

As the nation took stock of the right-wing firebrand's provocative statements, the government indicated it would still work with Senator Hanson, who controls four votes in the Senate and whose support is crucial for any bills opposed by Labor and the Greens.

Treasurer Scott Morrison declined to condemn Senator Hanson but said his record on engaging with the Muslim community stood for itself, while Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said she would "politely disagree" with the One National senator's views.

Special Minister of State Scott Ryan told Fairfax Media he disagreed "profoundly" with Senator Hanson's comments, but would work with her and respect her presence.
Winners don't need to boast.

And so, as he fronted his very own press conference on Thursday, George Christensen insisted he wasn't there to take credit for the government's decision to dump some of its superannuation changes.

Yes, he was the most outspoken critic of the changes. Yes, he threatened to cross the floor and vote against them. But it was Scott Morrison and Kelly O'Dwyer, Christensen stressed, who deserved praise for listening to the backbench.

Modest words aside, there was no hiding his delight. Christensen was as happy as the cat that swallowed the King Island double cream and it showed. In fact he seemed a little stunned at the extent of the Treasurer's backdown.
The Senate has committed itself to getting through the budget omnibus bill - sitting until it passes.

Labor has already announced it will support the legislation, after negotiations with the government. So it is all but a done deal.

And that is where we will leave you today. Stephanie Peatling, Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen will be back with you when Parliament resumes on October 10.

Until then, let's have a look at what we learnt today

A deal has been struck on the super changes - between the government and its own MPs.

And George Christensen is quite possibly the happiest politician in parliament right now

Which has made some wonder, given the argument the government has mounted in regards to the plebiscite, whether its 'promises' to the electorate are actually equal

Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson's first speech is still making an impact

Enjoy the next three weeks and as always, thank you for reading.
Children are not permitted to undergo gender-reaffirming surgery until 18 years of age. Children like my son change the things they can control. They change their name, pronouns and personal appearance. These things become vital to transgender and gender diverse children who have so little control over everything else. They revel in being able to express themselves in a way that reflects their gender.

As Andrew Eklund, from The Shed says, "How does having a full hysterectomy make me a man? Does that mean every woman who has had a full hysterectomy is now a man?"

The case for forced sterilisation in order to change the gender marker on a birth certificate is a deeply disturbing. The only option open to transgender men in Australia to comply with this law is a full hysterectomy.

Many transgender and gender diverse people never undergo surgery to affirm their gender. And they shouldn't have to. Genitals do not determine a person's gender and it is no one else's business what is in a person's underwear.

Imagine living your entire life with everyone thinking you are a certain gender because there is an M or F written on a piece of paper. It's like life says: "Yes, go ahead, be acknowledged for who you are by your family, friends, school and community," but bureaucracy says: "Unless you go under the knife we will not acknowledge you."

My son is young, he has many years ahead of him where one letter on one document will shadow almost everything he does. He lives as a boy, and will grow to live life as a man, and there will be many times where he has to verify his identity. I worry he may slowly retreat from those situations where he needs to present his birth certificate, the risk of showing it too great. His options to live a full life closing in on him.

A wide array of firsts that should be celebrated become a confronting challenge when your identity document betrays you - the rites of passage open to his peers - a first job, learner's permit, university enrolment. He could forever be confronted by the magnitude and power that one letter has.

Research tells us that transgender and gender diverse children have much better mental health outcomes if they are supported. While we as families and the the wider community can support transgender and gender diverse children to feel comfortable and supported as their true gender, it is also the responsibility of those in government to do the same.

Sam Hibbins asked the opposition to "Do the work that is necessary to get yourselves in a position to support this Bill." That's why we elect you. Not to bring ignorance or prejudice to the table, but to take the time to become educated on the issues that have real impacts on other people's lives.
Indonesian campaigner Firliana Purwanti is on a mission to tell women in her largely conservative nation that insisting on equality in the bedroom can help them achieve equal footing in boardrooms and in politics.

Purwanti's approach is unconventional in the country with the world's largest Muslim population where open discussion of sex is largely frowned upon.

Indonesian campaigner Firliana Purwanti poses for a photo in Jakarta. Credit:Thomson Reuters Foundation/Beh Lih Yi

Dubbed the "Orgasm Lady", Purwanti said if women are empowered enough to voice their demands in the bedroom, they are more likely to take the fight for equality outside the home.

By speaking up about sex, she hopes to spark discussion on issues such as virginity tests on women who want to join the Indonesia's military or police force and the ritual of female genital mutilation (FGM).
It might be worth taking a short detour here to look at just why Wells Fargo punched a hole in Warren Buffett's pocketbook. And the answer is depressingly familiar to anyone who has followed the financial services industry here or overseas recently  some misdeeds by the bank's employees, designed to maximise their compensation. In this case, it was staff  apparently 5300 have been fired over the scandal  opening fake bank accounts in order to hit sales targets and earn bonuses. According to CNN, "employees moved funds from customers' existing accounts into newly created ones without their knowledge or consent". Reputation matters Based on Warren Buffett's longstanding views on integrity, it's reasonable to assume that the scandal's impact on Wells' reputation is more important to him than the financial impact on Berkshire's 10 per cent stake in the bank. After all, thanks in no small part to Buffett's imprimatur (and, to be fair, excellent operating results over many decades) Wells Fargo is seen as the pre-eminent retail bank in the US. Whether it can retain that mantle is yet to be determined. And while the world's greatest investor is likely shaking his head at the shenanigans, he's almost certainly not losing sleep. Buffett is no stranger to employee problems. He famously parted ways with the man many saw as his likely successor, David Sokol, after the latter bought shares in a company he knew was being considered by Berkshire as a potential acquisition.

And in a morning interview with CNBC back in 2012, Buffett said: "We have 270,000 people working at Berkshire, and it's a little early in the morning, but I will guarantee you that during the rest of the day, at least, some people will be doing something wrong." Famously, in a US congressional appearance, he had a message for employees of Salomon Brothers, of which he was temporarily chief executive when that company's employees got it in trouble: "After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper, to be read by their spouses, children, and friends, with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter. If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless." It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to deduce that the master investor would consider those Wells employees to have spectacularly failed that test. And he'd be pleased that they've been shown the door.
An airport baggage handler was unfairly sacked for making a "sarcastic" Facebook post supporting Islamic State, the Fair Work Commission has found in a decision awarding compensation for lost earnings.

Nirmal Singh took action for unfair dismissal after his employment was terminated in October last year by Aerocare Flight Support, a national aviation services company contracted by Virgin Australia.

The Fair Work Commission found the baggage handler was unfairly sacked for the Facebook post.

Aerocare had concerns a Facebook post by Mr Singh saying "We all support ISIS" could result in "panic, furore and concern about public safety" and damage the reputation of Aerocare and Virgin, the Fair Work Commission heard.

Mr Singh had made the comment above a Facebook post he shared from religious extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has known sympathies with ISIS, about a demonstration in Lakemba.
An addiction doctor has slammed the rush to legalise medical marijuana for sick children, warning there's no evidence it is safe for young brains.

"It shouldn't be used at all on children or adolescents," said Dr Philip Crowley, an addiction medicine specialist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital who will present his views at a medical conference on Friday.

Addiction expert Dr Philip Crowley says "we know cannabis is toxic to the developing brain in kids". Credit:AP

"We now know cannabis is toxic to the developing brain in kids and adolescents. It leads to long-term damage to structures that are vital for memory, learning and thinking."

His comments come as states begin opening up medical cannabis to children with severe epilepsy.
The former Catholic Bishop of Parramatta Bede Heather has told a royal commission he destroyed documents relating to potential legal action against a paedophile priest.

Bishop Heather told the public inquiry he destroyed documents because he was traumatised by a police search of his office as part of an earlier investigation into sexual abuse by clergy.

John Joseph Farrell (left) during a previous hearing. Credit:Barry Smith

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard Bishop Heather advised his lawyers Makinson & D'Apice of his actions in a 1996 letter.

"Following the police raid on our offices, shortly afterwards I took the precaution of destroying all papers of mine which could have been to the disadvantage of persons with whom I deal," he wrote in the letter which was partly read out before the commission.
One of NSW's most dangerous prisoners Bassam Hamzy has been linked to the discovery of a mobile phone within the state's highest security jail.

The seven-centimetre-long phone was found concealed within the spine of a book in the library of Goulburn SuperMax prison on Thursday.

Fairfax Media understands prison staff made the discovery following a tip-off and that the phone is linked to Hamzy - a convicted killer who started the notorious street gang Brothers 4 Life while behind bars.

It is understood that the phone is yet to undergo analysis to determine how long it had been inside the jail as well as how often and who it was used to contact. Its discovery, and links to an extremist in Hamzy, is also believed to be of interest to national security agencies.
Three people have been taken to hospital after a bus full of peak hour commuters caught fire at Milsons Point, temporarily closing all lanes of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and causing traffic chaos in the city for several hours.

The bus, heading to Northbridge on Sydney's lower north shore, caught fire at around 5.23pm and burned ferociously.

Some people who were driving behind the bus stopped to get out of their cars as they watched the fire, which had flames reaching several metres into the air. Southbound lanes initially remained open, with bus passengers travelling in the opposite direction reporting they felt an intense heat even from some distance away. All lanes were then closed as emergency services responded.

The bus was well alight when firefighters arrived but all of the passengers on board were able to get off safely as thick black smoke filled the air.
The cost of Sydney properties acquired for the WestConnex motorway is set to easily exceed $1.5 billion, new figures show as the NSW government sustains criticism for its lack of response to a report outlining how to make the system fairer.

Last month finance minister Dominic Perrottet told a budget estimates hearing that 427 properties are marked for acquisition for the $16.8 billion project. Of these, 111 were yet to be acquired.

The properties include residential and commercial properties as well as those owned by councils and public authorities.

Figures obtained by the NSW opposition under access to government information laws show that at June 10, Roads and Maritime Services had spent $634 million on acquiring properties.
The state government has been accused of sneaking through plans to privatise the operation of a further five hospitals across the state.

More than $1 billion was committed at the last state election to upgrade hospitals at Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn and Shellharbour and for improvements at a fifth, in Bowral.

The government confirmed on Thursday that under its plans private companies would be invited to submit tenders to build and run the hospitals, but said public patients would continue to receive free care.

Health minister Jillian Skinner said the state government was ensuring the sustainability of the health system.
Former Fairfax journalist Natalie O'Brien has lost a defamation case against the ABC over a Media Watch broadcast criticising her articles on the alleged discovery of toxic substances near a playground in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

O'Brien took legal action against the ABC in 2013 after Media Watch criticised two articles she wrote for the Sun-Herald about the alleged discovery of toxic substances "well above" health limits near the Orica industrial site in Hillsdale in Sydney.

Former Fairfax journalist Natalie O'Brien. Credit:Anthony Johnson

Host Paul Barry alleged in the July 2013 broadcast that "the central claims of Natalie O'Brien's story are just wrong" and took aim at two commercial TV outlets for picking up the reports.

In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Lucy McCallum found for the ABC on the basis the broadcast was defensible as fair comment on a matter of public interest or honest opinion.
Deputy Premier Troy Grant stood up in the parliament on Wednesday and proceeded to heap praise on himself.

The reforms he has overseen in the regulation of liquor licensing in NSW, he informed the house, have led to a drop in the number of days it takes to have a liquor licence application processed in NSW.

Eighty per cent of applications are processed within 120 days, he said, down from the previous 170 days.

There were a couple of problems with this - the first, and most obvious, being the timing.
Across the public and private sector it is considered a sign of respect to acknowledge traditional Aboriginal land owners at the start of a meeting or event, but one Liberal-dominated Sydney council has repeatedly refused to adopt the practice.

The Hills Shire Council, in Sydney's north west, once again rejected a motion on Tuesday night to update its meeting code of practice to include an acknowledgement of the Darug people, the traditional owners of the area, as well as arranging an annual smoking ceremony for council chambers.

The motion, moved by three Labor councillors proposed the council begin each meeting's order of business with the words: "Council acknowledges that this meeting is being held on the traditional lands of the Darug people."

But the one-line statement, known as an "acknowledgment of country", was voted down by a block of seven Liberal councillors, despite requests from Darug elders to adopt the practice.
Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis and his partner Amirah Droudis conspired together to create a false story in case her DNA was found at the murder scene of his ex-wife, a court has been told.

As police narrowed in on Ms Droudis as a suspect, surveillance recordings captured Monis reassuring her and offering her explanations as to why her hair, skin or blood might be found at the crime scene.

Ms Droudis, 37, is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court accused of stabbing Monis' ex-wife 18 times, dousing her body in petrol and setting her alight in April 2013.

She has pleaded not guilty, although her defence team does not dispute that Monis was the mastermind of the brutal killing outside the apartment he rented in western Sydney.
Clive Palmer has made light of a potentially damning letter administrators claim shows Queensland Nickel was trading while insolvent for a month and a half before they were called in.

The November 27, 2015, letter from rail freight operator Aurizon declares the company in default of a $12.5 million debt and calls for payment within 28 days, leading to intense questioning in the Federal Court.

But the former politician, who had stepped down as a director by then but was still the ultimate beneficiary of the company, claimed it was just "commercial negotiations" and the Aurizon company was acting as "paper tigers".

He'd previously told the Federal Court hearing into the company's collapse he'd been assured there was "nothing to worry about with Aurizon" and the company had agreed to defer the debt.
Early childhood education and care workers will be compelled by law to report suspected child abuse cases from July next year, after Queensland's Parliament passed the so-called "Mason's Law" legislation on Wednesday night.

The legislation honours Mason Parker, a 16-month Townsville toddler who was murdered in 2011, days after child care workers photographed bruises on the little boy's body.

John Sandeman with his grandson Mason Parker, who was killed by his mother's de facto partner.

All political parties on Wednesday night backed amendments to Queensland's Child Protection legislation, likely to come into effect from July 1, 2017.

The new laws follow a five-year battle by Townsville grandparentsJohn and Sue Sandeman after their grandson's murder.
A man has been charged after he allegedly attacked police officers in Brisbane's south-west.

Police attempted to speak to a man in the car park of a fast food outlet on Government Road, Richlands, when he allegedly became "combative" and violent towards the officers.

Officers had to call for additional resources to help restrain and arrest the man. Credit:Glenn Hunt

The man, who police said had "inordinate" strength, allegedly punched, kicked and assaulted the police.

Tasers and pepper spray were deployed however they had little effect and additional police resources were called to help restrain and handcuff the man.
Katter's Australian Party has moved a motion in the Queensland Parliament calling for the state to be split in two.

Mt Isa MP Rob Katter, who has previously spoken out about the misallocation of resources to the regions, wants a new state to be established in north Queensland.

Mr Katter gave notice of the motion on Thursday morning.

He suggested an independent body, such as the Queensland Redistribution Commission, be charged with deciding whether the boundary between the two states should be.
Samsung has an exploding phone problem, and it isn't just the Galaxy Note7.

So claims a California man in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New Jersey last week. Daniel Ramirez says a Galaxy S7 Edge badly burned his right leg when it burst into flames in late May.

Ramirez, who was working a construction job in Akron, Ohio, says he "heard a whistling and screeching sound and noticed his (right-front) pocket vibrating and moving around, as well as thick smoke ascending from his pocket," according to the 19-page suit. Ramirez said he suffered second- and third-degree burns to his right upper leg and right thumb and index finger when the handset ignited his pants and "melted" them to his leg.

Ramirez is seeking more than $US15,000 ($20,000) in compensatory and punitive damages.
The mother of a Beechworth boy missing in wet and cold conditions for about 18 hours has thanked those who joined the search for him.

Ben Dean, 6, was barefoot when found by Wodonga man John McLennan and nearby resident Ben Hill about 11.20am on Thursday.

He had wandered off from his parents' home on Chiltern Road, Wooragee, 280 kilometres north of Melbourne, as his mother, Nadia David, prepared dinner on Wednesday night.

It sparked a major search operation fuelled by an appeal on Facebook, with people travelling to the scene to look for the young boy.
Victoria's Parliament is mired in political bickering, with the non-government parties forcing a shutdown of the upper house.

The parties have used their numbers to block all government business until a special joint sitting of Parliament is held to swear in new Nationals upper house MP Luke O'Sullivan.

Labor's deputy leader in the upper house, Jaala Pulford, accused the Coalition of throwing the "mother of all tantrums". Credit:Amy Paton

The move is the latest in a string of tit-for-tat political manoeuvring in the upper house, which began with the six-month suspension of the government's leader in the Legislative Council, Gavin Jennings, over his refusal to produce confidential government documents.

The Coalition teamed with Greens MPs to have Mr Jennings turfed.
Two dogs that savaged a nine-year-old girl at a Bassendean park were put down as the girl recovered from another round of surgery, according to reports.

"The family tell us tonight she is resting and is otherwise recovering well," 9 News Perth's Michael Genovese reported on Wednesday night.

The pets, both Staffordshire bull terrier crosses, were euthanased on Tuesday morning with their owner's consent.

The Town of Bassendean and police would continue to investigate, Mr Genovese said, with Midland Detectives saying the woman could be charged with criminal negligence.
A sharp rise in the number of people being diagnosed with gonorrhoea has prompted a warning from WA Health about the importance of practising safe sex.

Notifications of the sexually transmitted infection in Perth have more than doubled in the past five years to 2015, increasing from 684 to 1432.

There were 1432 cases of gonorrhea in Perth in 2015...and the number for this year across the state has already topped 2000. Credit:Stocksy

More than 2000 confirmed cases have already been reported across the state this year, with people aged 20 to 39 accounting for most incidents.

Paul Armstrong, from WA Health, said the sharp increase in gonorrhoea notifications showed the safe sex message was not getting across.
Australian Federal Police have caught up with an Australian man who skipped bail and fled to Thailand in 2011 after being charged in connection with his involvement in a drug syndicate.

Thai police arrested 58-year-old Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee at a bar on the resort island of Phuket in a joint operation with the AFP.

From South Australia, Gee was allegedly the ring leader of an Australia-wide drug network.

Gee has been listed among Australia's most wanted on charges of narcotics and conspiracy and is expected to face extradition to Australia.

Police launched a national appeal for information on Gee and other fugitives in August.
Strasbourg: The European Union's chief executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, has warned divided Europeans that their Union is in an "existential crisis" after Britain's vote to quit and said leaders must pull together to stop it unravelling.

In his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, the European Commission president said the bloc was not about to disappear - "the EU as such is not at risk" - but its ability to steer common policies was jeopardised by splits, so that it was "at least in part, in an existential crisis".

Though addressed to mainly sympathetic members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, his message was aimed squarely at the 27 national leaders who will meet on Friday in Bratislava to try and find a way forward following the decision of the absent 28th member state, Britain, to leave the bloc in June's Brexit referendum.

He declared that accepting refugees "must be voluntary, it must come from the heart, it cannot be imposed".
Trials with sugary drinks: The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Credit:Wayne Taylor "Some of the most interesting work we are doing at the minute is around domestic violence," Dr Gallagher said. They are looking at how to simplify forms used in the justice system, and adding 'behavioural messaging" to help reduce violence. "We are looking now at other more deep behavioural change programs aimed at defendants to reduce reoffending." Dr Rory Gallagher, head of the Behavioural Insights Team in Australia. Dr Gallagher said BI's UK arm had discussed how techniques might be applied to living wills.

Living wills, also known as advanced care directives, set out a person's wishes over what kind of treatments they want  or don't want  should they become incapacitated and terminally ill. However some hospitals and doctors have found it difficult to discuss living wills with patients and families, who are suspicious they are signing their own "death warrant". "My wife's a palliative care doctor and so we've had several conversations about how important those initial conversations and the framing of some of those decisions are," Dr Gallagher said. "There's huge human capital, personal, emotional and financial costs to those sorts of decisions and I would say the system is definitely not working as well as it could do." Many of BI's successes in Australia have come in the health field.

In the last year the organisation ran a trial at Victoria's Alfred Hospital adding 20 per cent to the price of high-calorie, sugary drinks in half of the hospital's vending machines. The trial worked: 44 per cent of drinks bought from machines with the price hike were high-calorie, compared with 49 per cent of drinks bought from unaffected machines. This result would inform policy debates in Australia and in the UK, Dr Gallagher said. "People were considering whether we should have a sugar tax but there's very little evidence on what price increases may do to consumption," he said. There were signs that people were not just switching to low-calorie alternatives, but all the way to water, Dr Gallagher said. "We weren't expecting that."

But overall sales stayed the same, so the retailers weren't out of pocket. "That's really important for us to know and to make the case to policy makers that a sugar tax could not only achieve our objective but also wouldn't economically harm retailers." BI also worked with Lendlease, who gave their employees FitBit devices to measure their physical activity. They compared what sort of feedback was most encouraging, and found an extra 700 steps a day were taken by people who got personalised feedback on their performance, rather than just being ranked in a leaderboard. The effect was most pronounced in those who'd been the least active before the experiment. "Relatively subtle prompts can lead to significant changes in outcomes," Dr Gallagher said.

In NSW, BI worked with St Vincent's Hospital improving attendance at outpatient appointments. It found that sending a text message saying "if you attend, the hospital will not lose the $125 we lose when a patient does not turn up" resulted in 20 per cent fewer missed appointments. The simpler, but more negative message "If you do not attend, the hospital loses $125" was not as effective. BI is working with the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet on other nudge experiments, in areas such as return to work, childhood obesity and rental arrears in social housing. Dr Gallagher said he couldn't yet reveal details, but the report said they showed "some impressive wins but also, as would be expected, that not everything has worked".

In Australia BI has doubled in size in the last year  in terms of personnel and income. Behavioural interventions are becoming a mainstream pursuit of civil servants in the UK and in other countries including Australia, Singapore and the US, BI said as it issued its annual update report on Wednesday night. They are being applied in education, policing, charity, traffic offences, tax collection and health. Loading Ben Gummer, Minister for the UK's Cabinet Office, said Behavioural Insights was "now a central part of how government goes about its business", growing rapidly from its establishment in 2010.
Florence: Days after meeting Australian ministers, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson says a European Union naval force deployed in the Mediterranean should turn back migrant boats after they leave Libya and prevent them from reaching Italy.

Italy is on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis, taking in more than 400,000 refugees over the past three years, many of them saved from rickety boats pushed out to sea by people smugglers based in north Africa.

Italian officers rescue a woman from a crowded wooden boat carrying more than seven hundred migrants, during a rescue operation in the Mediterranean, off Libya last month. Credit:AP

The European Union launched Operation Sophia in 2015 in response to the crisis, with a mandate to disrupt the people trafficking networks and destroy smugglers' boats.

Mr Johnson said part of the mission's work was to return boats back to shore after they had put to sea.
London: Former Prime Minister David Cameron's 2011 decision to intervene militarily in Libya was misguided and helped give rise to Islamic extremism in North Africa, a key British parliamentary committee says.

The harsh report slams Cameron and his top advisers for expanding a civilian protection mission in Libya to include regime change and failing to adequately plan for the country's future after the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Former British PM David Cameron, right, and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrive in Benghazi, Libya, in 2011. Credit:PA

It says Britain's military action was based on "erroneous assumptions'' and an "incomplete understanding'' of the ramifications of removing Gadhafi and that Cameron's team should have been aware that the rebel groups Britain was backing contained "significant'' numbers of extremists.

"The UK's actions in Libya were part of an ill-conceived intervention, the results of which are still playing out today,'' said committee chairman Crispin Blunt, a Conservative Party legislator.
Earlier Trump reached into his suit pocket for a doctor's letter with a casual "I happen to have it here", as though it was a pleasant co-incidence he had brought it along. "Should I do it? I don't care." he continued, to cheers and whoops from an audience who sounded more like the soundtrack to The Jerry Springer Show. Trump has been criticised in the past for a lack of clarity; contrary to US custom Trump has not released his tax returns and, until today, nor his health records. In December, Trump released a short note from his doctor, Dr Harold N. Borstein, describing him as potentially "the healthiest person ever to serve in the White House". Borstein later admitted that letter was written without Trump present and while a Trump staffer waited outside for the letter.

Trump revealed on the Dr Oz program that Bornstein has been his personal physician for three decades.The new medical report was also compiled by Dr Bornstein and was the result of an examination which took place on September 9. It noted his blood pressure at 116 over 70, his blood sugar level at 99, his calcium score at 98, his HDL (good) cholesterol at 63 and LDL (bad) cholesterol at 94 and triglycerides (the amount of fat in the blood) at 61. Oz said all of those numbers were "good numbers". "If a patient of mine had these records I'd be really happy," Oz said. Trump's prostate-specific antigen (PSA) count was 0.15, which Oz said was "very low". PSA is used to measure risk of prostate cancer. One detail which won applause from the audience was Trump's testosterone level; the report gave him a score of 441 which Oz said was "good".

The report also listed his weight at 236 pounds and his height at 6'3". "I think if I had one thing, I'd like to lose weight," Trump told Oz. "It's tough because of the way I live, but the one thing I would like to do is be able to drop 15, 20 pounds." Trump's body mass index (BMI) is 29.5 which puts him in the "overweight" range; a BMI of 30 or more would categorise him as "obese". The medical report noted that Trump had undergone an echocardiogram and chest X-ray but did not disclose why; it also said he takes statins, to lower cholesterol, and a "low dose" of aspirin, which reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke. The document featured on the Dr Oz program was not the actual medical report itself - though Trump did refer to to it as "the report" - but rather a letter from Dr Bornstein summarising the report's contents.

Trump told Oz that he had no hormone or thyroid issues, no issues with blood sugar or diabetes and no heart problems. He also disclosed that the last time he had been in hospital was at the age of 11 to have his appendix removed. "That was a one-night deal," he said. "So I've spent basically one night in a hospital. You know, I'm very fortunate in that respect." Prior to the interview being taped, Oz said he would not ask Trump "questions he doesn't want to have answered". Oz also said the pair would not discuss Clinton, though during the broadcast Trump managed one side aside: "I want her to get well, so that's fine," Trump said. Trump's camp issued a media release today saying the test results showed Trump "is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure - uninterrupted - the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign."

The issue of presidential health surged into the centre of the US political media circus in the last week in the wake of Hillary Clinton's disclosure that she was suffering from pneumonia. That admission came only after she stumbled publicly while attending a 9/11 memorial in New York. Asked by Oz why he had not released his medical records earlier, Trump said "I didn't think it was really necessary."



"The question is often asked: should you show it? It's very private. It is all very private stuff," Trump said. But, he added, "When you're running for president of the United States, or maybe any other country, I think you have an obligation to be healthy. "I just don't think you can do the work if you're not healthy; I don't think you can represent the country properly if you're not a healthy person."
And, as my friend Amy Walter has written smartly, when either of these two candidates has the national spotlight on them, their poll numbers go down. She writes :

Combine that improved messaging with the rapidly-approaching Election Day and you get Republican voters rallying behind their party flag. That doesn't mean that many of them who had either been on the fence all along or jumped onto it after Trump's fumbling over the summer are now convinced he would make a great, conservative president. By and large, they still aren't. But presidential elections are the most tribal of votes, and Republicans who spent some time in the wilderness are returning to their tribe's camp  spurred to it by the idea of a Clinton presidency. In a way what we are seeing in this most unorthodox of races is a return to the polarised normal we've grown used to since the 2000 election ushered it in.

At the end of the day, this race feels like one of those movies where escaping prisoners desperately try to stay in the shadows as a huge spotlight arcs across the yard. I'm not implying that either candidate is a jailbird (or deserves to be in jail). It's really about the spotlight. As we've seen throughout this year, the spotlight has not been their friend. When it hits them it exposes their flaws instead of highlighting their strengths. Their poll numbers and their favourability numbers sink.

Never forget that these are the two least popular presidential nominees in modern history. When you are unpopular, the best thing you can do is try not to be in people's faces constantly; it reminds them of what they don't like. As Amy notes, Clinton has been in peoples' faces a lot more of late than Trump.

Now. It's important to note that Trump's momentum in this race has brought him back into contention  not catapulted him into the lead. The electoral map still heavily favours Clinton unless Trump can find a way to make Pennsylvania competitive, a task that has so far proved elusive. Trump still must win states like Ohio, Florida and North Carolina, which, even with his recent surge factored in, remain no better than toss ups today.

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Those are the hard realities Trump faces. Clinton still has  and will continue to have  more paths to the presidency. But, for a candidate and a campaign that looked moribund a month ago, Trump has regained his footing quite nicely and put himself back into serious contention with the first debate approaching. That's pretty impressive.
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The HAGUE:---Hindus are urging ban on usage of pejorative term allochtoon in all official forums in Netherlands, which is commonly used to refer to immigrants and their descendants, and which literally means emerging from another soil.

Many of the so-called allochtoons were born in Netherlands and they and foreign born allochtoons were as good contributors to the nation and society as any autochtoon (literal emerging from this soil) and deserved the same respect, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed pointed out in a statement in Nevada today.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that this highly stigmatizing, divisive and outdated term had no place in 21st century Netherlands as it unfavorably distinguished people forced into the allochtoon compartment (who now formed a substantial portion of the Netherlands population) from the rest of the Dutch.

How fair was it to call somebody allochtoon who was born in Netherlands to even with one parent born abroad (and other born in Netherlands), while the person who is born outside Netherlands was still an autochtoon if his/her both parents were born in the Netherlands? Rajan Zed asked.

Even the allochtoon people were further categorized as Western and non-Western, which was very sad, Zed added.

Hindus also want Netherlands to retire the character of Black Pete (Zwarte Piet), who appeared with Sinterklaas during winter holiday celebrations. It was time for the negative, offensive, racist and discriminatory caricature of Black Pete to vanish from the traditional festivities of Netherlands. Black Pete might be a popular Dutch tradition but it appeared to be a racist throwback to the slavery era, Rajan Zed said.

The country also needed to offer an official apology regarding Dutch involvement in trans-Atlantic slave trade during 17th-19th centuries, with Netherlands being one of the last countries to abolish slavery, Zed stated.

Rajan Zed further said that it was absolutely baffling to see the Country of Rembrandt and Van Gogh, which had a long history of social tolerance and which hosted International Court of Justice, in the business of such negative stereotyping and xenophobia, which should have been extinct many decades ago; Zed said and asked: Was not Netherlands famous for promoting equality?

Netherlands needed to show strong political will to end such xenophobia and racism and demeaning labeling and treat all Dutch people as equal contributors to the society and look forward to a shared future and equal opportunities for all, Zed stressed.

Rajan Zed urged His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands to urgently intervene to put an end to allochtoon and Black Pete and push for official apology on countrys involvement in slavery.

Zed suggested His Holiness Pope Francis and other religious leaders to also come out with strong statements on these issues, as religions were supposed to speak against racism.
"When you pay people a better wage," says Jackson, "more people are willing to do the work."

California has become the first state in the US to pay agriculture workers overtime pay. At $10 an hour overtime and $7.25 minimum wage, these strawberry pickers are by far the best paid farm workers in the U.S.

California Governor Brown has signed a bill to give farm workers overtime pay. The state will become the first in the nation to grant agricultural workers the right to collect overtime pay when the bill takes effect in 2019. Currently, California is one of only five states where the minimum wage, $10/hour, is greater than the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour.

Assembly Bill 1066 will phase in the wage increases over the four years beginning in 2019. For farmers with 25 employees or less, there will be a delay of an additional five years for the increases. The bill was the brainchild of the United Farm Workers, an agricultural worker union founded by Cesar Chavez and now active in 10 states.

During seasons of harvest, hours for farm workers are usually longer. This requirement has been the reason given for exempting farmers from having to pay overtime in the past. The farm workers, however, believe they should be accorded the same protections under the law as workers in other industries. As reported by the Pacific Coast Business Times, Roman Pinal, regional director of the UFW, said, "Every industry has figured out how to usher in the 8-hour day and to compensate their workers time and half when they demand, when they require, more time."

The Western Growers Association, representing the state's farmers, are less sanguine about the new law, believing that with increased cost in wages, California may be pricing itself out of the market for food production.

California has become the first state in the US to pay agriculture workers overtime pay. At $10 an hour overtime and $7.25 minimum wage, these strawberry pickers are by far the best paid farm workers in the U.S.

Matthew Allen, director of California government affairs for the WGA said, "Our folks are very subject to the international marketplace and other pressures so it's not as easy as saying they'll pay the cost increase for the overtime." In fact, Allen noted, the average age of farm owners is rising toward retirement. He posited that some owners might decide to cease farming and sell their land rather than work in a decreasingly profitable environment. "This is a question of how difficult will we continue to make it for our farms to remain viable and successful in California, both in conventional and organic growing."

California growers already suffer from a multi-year drought, pest threats, multiple pesticide and fertilizer regulation, and a labor shortage, all of which have done their part to create a multi-billion dollar loss for the industry.

Pinal and legislators such as State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) believe the new overtime measure will ease the labor shortage. Increased wages should increase the motivation for workers to join the labor force in the fields.

"When you pay people a better wage," says Jackson, "more people are willing to do the work."
Evan McMullin says Trump's Business Depends on Russian Oligarchs

Evan McMullin believes that America should be much more worried about presidential candidate Donald Trump's close ties to Vladimir Putin.

The former CIA agent and former Republican is so concerned about Trump's ties to Putin that he entered the 2016 presidential election as an Independent candidate in July in an eleventh-hour bid to bring some attention to the issue.

In an interview this week with CNN, McMullin asserts that his friends in intelligence have told him that Trump's previous business activities in Russia could have implications that jeopardize his candidacy.

"Donald Trump is dependent on Russian investments from Russian oligarchs associated with Vladimir Putin for his real estate development projects."

The potential for exposure by Putin puts the strong-arm Russian president in a position to coerce Trump into appointing Russia-favoring advisors and, should he win, implementing Russia-favoring policies as president.

"Vladimir Putin is one of the primary sources of instability in this world, and the thought that we would have a Republican nominee so 'in bed' with Putin, I think is so discouraging and really a bad thing for our country," McMullin said.

Since the Commander-In-Chief forum, McMullin has been even more critical about the constant praise Trump offers Putin, pointing out how unfortunate it is that we, as a country, have to debate on whether or not it's a good thing that a major party candidate is so fond of Putin.

"He is opposed to democracy, opposed to freedom, and opposed to our interests," McMullin said of the Russian leader.

McMullin believes that some of the appointments Trump has made to his staff support his claims. Paul Manafort, who was once Trump's campaign manager, was forced to resign from his position after his ties with a former Pro-Russian president of Ukraine became public knowledge.

He says other key members of Trump's staff have financial ties to Russia, including retired General Michael Flynn, who is also employed as an analyst by RT America. RT is a Russian cable network owned by the Russian government.

Trump actually invited Flynn, an employee of a Russian government-owned business, to join him at his intelligence briefing last week.

"An American president should never have these kinds of warm views of a Russian authoritarian like Vladimir Putin," McMullin said.

Evan McMullin: former CIA agent, former Republican, and the fifth U.S. presidential candidate.

McMullin is not the only former intelligence officer to suggest that Trump is being used by Putin.

"In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," wrote Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell in a New York Times op-ed on August 5.

"He [Trump] may well pose a threat to our national security."

CIA officers are not known for liberal leanings. When men like McMullin and Morell question the reliability and loyalty of a major presidential candidate, it might be time for America to listen.

Evan McMullin is now either on the ballot or approved as a write-in in 20 U.S. States.
One of the Largest Ever Found on Earth

Gancedo is likely the second or third largest meteorite ever found on planet Earth.

Over the weekend, a work crew used a crane to hoist a 30-ton meteorite out of the Campo del Cielo (Field of Heaven) about 670 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the border between the provinces of Chaco and Santiago del Estero.

The meteorite, named Gancedo, has been tentatively declared the second largest yet discovered on Earth. Careful weighing will have to be done before that title can be formally declared, as well as tests to confirm that it is an actual meteorite.

This confirmation seems likely.

The accurately named Campo del Cielo is blistered with craters caused by a powerful meteor shower 4000 to 4700 years ago. At least 26 craters spread across an area of less than 2 x 12 miles.

Excavation at the site has already revealed an estimated 100 tons of space debris.

The undisputed champion of meteorites is called Hoba and was found in Namibia almost a century ago. Hoba weighs a whopping 66 tons. Though it has been fully uncovered, it has never been moved from its discovery location due to its enormous size. Hoba is thought to have slammed into our planet about 80,000 years ago, and is estimated to be between 190 million and 410 million years.

Gancedo's competition for the second largest is El Chaco. Weighing in at 37 tons, Chaco is also from the Campo del Cielo, and is therefore a brother of Gancedo, so to speak, likely arrived in the same space shower.

"While we hoped for weights above what had been registered, we did not expect it to exceed 30 tons," the president of the Astronomy Association of Chaco, Mario Vesconi, told the Xinhua news agency. "The size and weight surprised us."

"We could compare the weight with the other large meteorite found in the province. Although we expected it to be heavier, we did not expect it to exceed 30 tons," Vesconi reported to the Argentinian government news service, Telam.

"We will weigh it again. Apart from wanting the added confidence of a double-check of the initial readings we took, the fact that its weight is such a surprise to us makes us want to recalibrate."

--------------------

About Meteorites

Eugen Zibiso Hoba, the largest known meteorite on Earth, was declared a national monument in Namibia in 1955. It has never been moved, but is a popular tourist destination, visited by thousands each year.

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and impact with the Earth's surface. When the object enters the atmosphere, various factors like friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate that energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting/falling star; astronomers call the brightest examples "bolides." Meteorites that survive atmospheric entry and impact vary greatly in size. For geologists, a bolide is a meteorite large enough to create a crater.

Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transit the atmosphere or impact the Earth are called meteorite falls. All others are known as meteorite finds.

Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites that are largely composed of metallic iron-nickel; and, stony-iron meteorites that contain large amounts of both metallic and rocky material. Modern classification schemes divide meteorites into groups according to their structure, chemical and isotopic composition and mineralogy. Meteorites smaller than 2 mm are classified as micrometeorites. Extraterrestrial meteorites are such objects that have impacted other celestial bodies, whether or not they have passed through an atmosphere. They have been found on the moon and Mars.
Smartick Is Ready for the Back-to-School Season

BOSTON, MA  (Marketwired)  09/14/16  Are your kids really ready to go back-to-school? , a new and highly-effective online math learning methodology and practice application, is now available for students ages four to fourteen. The proven Smartick Method ensures each students understanding of mathematical skills with a customized and personalized curriculum, accelerates their learning, and develops their maximum capabilities, leading to a comfort with math conducive to learning even more.

Smartick is an affordable online enrichment tool that allows children to work at their own pace from anywhere they have access to a connected computer or tablet. They are poised to challenge Kumon (and other in-person math tutoring programs) by saving parents travel time, scheduling issues, and maximizing childrens learning time. Nearly 25,000 children from around the world have used the Smartick Method to learn math skills and concepts. The Smartick methodology includes highly-focused, short bursts of practice (15 minutes daily) with lessons that continually adapt to a childs needs. Smartick offers encouragement and positive reinforcement, helping kids learn to love math.

Math skills are more important than ever and it is our goal to help children learn math and enjoy it, said Conchi Ruiz, vice president, U.S. operations. Whether a student is facing difficulties in math or is looking to expand their knowledge beyond the classroom, Smartick provides an opportunity for children to independently unleash their full potential and have fun while doing it.

Smartick has been designed to complement classroom math lessons. In addition to helping parents to promote the development of math skills by leveraging engaging interactive tools (the internet and mobile devices), Smartick helps improve a childs self-confidence, discipline, study habits, ability to focus, and self-learning capabilities. Smarticks proven methodology incorporates global best practices of learning methodologies, such as JUMP, Singapore Math, Jo Boaler, traditional japanese methods and new and combined with findings from research conducted at leading learning institutions such as Harvard and Chicago University.

Smartick was founded by two Spanish entrepreneurs in 2011 with the goal of improving the teaching of mathematics to students ages 4-14. Used in more than 42 countries globally, Smartick has helped students improve their math score results by 30-40 percent in official standardized tests. In 2015, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Smartick formed a strategic partnership in order to accelerate the expansion of Smartick into the North American market. For more information, visit Smartickmethod.com. Prices range from $24 month/child to $49 month/child, depending on the number of children and subscription period. The Smartick app is available for and .

Bobbie Carlton

Carlton PR & Marketing

781-281-8387 (Direct)

@BobbieC
Thinspace Technology Announces New Family of Mobile Clients

DALLAS, TX  (Marketwired)  09/15/16  Thinspace Technology Inc. (OTC PINK: THNS); (Thinspace or the Company), a global provider of reliable, scalable and affordable application delivery, virtualization, and cloud client technology to public and private sector companies and organizations of all sizes, today announced the release of a new family of Mobile Universal Clients.

Access to applications and desktops from mobile devices is more important than ever to organizations as mobile internet usage exceeds fixed-desktop internet usage. Moreover, there are now more mobile devices on the planet than people at 8.6 billion devices and 7.3 billion people. With this latest release from Thinspace, the Company can tap into this growing segment of mobile users and workers.

Following its recent release of SkyDesk, Thinspace continues to focus on increasing access options for its current and prospective customers. The new Universal Clients for Android and Apple iOS, will allow users to extend their applications and published desktop to their mobile devices. The new Universal Clients will also provide IT Managers with improved capabilities to deliver and manage cloud computing demands for their users, such as BYOD (bring-your-on-device).

The new Universal Clients will provide seamless access to applications or Windows desktops whether you are in the Office, at Home or Mobile. Universal Client connects to SkyDesk, and Microsoft RD Gateway solutions offering the ability to securely use business applications such as Microsoft Office, Healthcare and ERP applications running from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

We are very excited about our new products performing and integrating as synergistic solutions for the best-in-class application and desktop publishing market, stated Chris Bautista, CEO and President of Thinspace Technology. Furthermore, this will offer tremendous value and ease-of-use for our clients to provide universal access in a mobile first world at a fraction of the cost of older legacy solutions. And for Thinspace, we are able to serve a larger and broader customer-base.

Thinspace Technology Inc. is a leading, global provider of reliable, scalable and affordable desk top virtualization and cloud computing solutions to public and private sector enterprises and organizations of all sizes. Operating on the belief that solutions should be flexible, dynamic and above all, simple to use, Thinspace understands and is passionate about solving customer problems affordably in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

This press release includes forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of our business, its operations and its financial performance and condition, and also includes selected operating results presented without the context of accompanying financial results. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to our objectives and strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates or intentions. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations. We caution that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from the assumptions, estimates or expectations reflected or contained in the forward-looking information, and that actual future performance will be affected by a number of factors, including economic conditions, technological change, regulatory change and competitive factors, many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, future events and results may vary significantly from what we currently foresee. We are under no obligation (and we expressly disclaim any such obligation) to update or alter the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Company is subject to the risks and uncertainties described in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the section entitled Risk Factors in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Contact:

Investor Relations

786-763-3830
Tata Communications Partners With NJFX for Colocation Services

WALL, NJ  (Marketwired)  09/15/16  , the first Tier 3 carrier-neutral colocation campus that intersects where subsea cables from the United States, Europe, South America and the Caribbean meet, is proud to welcome as one of its first colocation customers and the Diamond sponsor for its Tier 3 by the Subsea grand opening launch event, taking place on Sept. 21, 2016. NJFXs brand new carrier-neutral, highly secure enterprise-class facility already interconnects with Tata Communications Cable Landing Station (CLS) via private backhaul.

NJFX colocation campus sits adjacent to Tata Communications CLS and offers instant connectivity from around the globe. With direct access to Tier 1 Internet Service Providers (ISPs), fiber providers, and other network operators, NJFX customers are able to avoid traditional backhaul solutions and design high-capacity, low latency networks directly to and from the cable head.

The grand opening launch event will feature world champion racing driver, Mario Andretti, and will offer attendees the opportunity to tour the new facility and network with industry leaders. As the Diamond Sponsor, Tata Communications is also hosting its Lewis Hamilton race car virtual reality tour and Formula 1 racing simulation  to further drive home the speed that customers will benefit from NJFX and Tata Communications partnership. In addition, Chief Operations Officer of Tata Communications, John Hayduk, will be participating in an intimate fireside chat with Mr. Andretti and NJFX Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gil Santaliz.

Tata Communications has been indispensable to our Tier 3 by the Subsea project, says Santaliz, We are proud that Tata Communications not only facilitated our strategy to tether the facility to its subsea landing station, but also found value in the data center for its own initiatives by deploying servers in our mission-critical environment.

Adjacencies of having a data center facility with a subsea cable landing station connecting North America, Europe and South America provides tremendous value for customers, says Hayduk. We believe that enterprises and service providers alike will be eager to adopt products and services with NJFX to gain access to the connectivity ecosystem that resides within our landing station.

For more information about NJFX and its carrier-neutral Tier 3 by the Subsea data center, visit .

To register for the Tier 3 by the Subsea Grand Opening, please .

New Jersey Fiber Exchange (NJFX) is the first Tier 3, carrier neutral colocation campus that intersects where subsea cables from the United States, South America, Europe and the Caribbean meet. Its highly secure, enterprise-class facility is focused on providing direct connectivity to international submarine cable systems via private backhaul solutions. The companys 64,800-square-foot data center features high  and low-density colocation solutions with 24/7 tech support assisting carriers, content providers and enterprises, as well as federal and state government entities. NJFXs low latency offerings provide the flexibility, reliability and security that global customers require to drive revenue, reduce expenses and improve service quality. For more information, please visit . For the latest news, follow the company on and .

Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA)

+1.866.695.3629 ext. 21
Information Builders Earns Hot Vendor Ranking in Ventana Research 2016 Value Index for Mobile Analytics and Business Intelligence

NEW YORK, NY  (Marketwired)  09/15/16  Information Builders, a leader in (BI) and analytics, data integrity, and integration solutions, today announced that the company has been ranked first overall in Ventana Researchs 2016 Value Index for Mobile Analytics and Business Intelligence. Information Builders has been awarded Hot Vendor status for the unrivaled depth and breadth of the WebFOCUS Mobile platform and has earned the number one ranking in the Adaptability, Capability, Manageability, Reliability, and TCO/ROI categories.

: .@infobldrs ranks 1st in @VentanaResearch 2016 Value Index for Mobile Analytics & BI #BI #analytics

Ventana Researchs Value Index for Mobile Analytics and Business Intelligence is a quantified, research-based assessment designed to help business and IT organizations evaluate their existing suppliers and make informed decisions about new software investments. Based on a comprehensive, overall weighted evaluation of 13 vendors products, the index revealed that Information Builders WebFOCUS BI and analytics platform is delivering the highest overall value and best meeting buyers requirements for software that enables and supports mobile analytics and BI.

Information Builders received top billing for being the most consistent overall performer across the five product-related and two customer assurance categories evaluated. The company not only leads the market in the areas of product adaptability, capability, manageability, and reliability, but also is the only vendor to qualify as a Hot Vendor for TCO/ROI. The index found that Information Builders is the most committed to its mobile analytics and BI product line and is more sophisticated than others in the way it demonstrates product value, total cost of ownership, and total benefit of ownership. The data shows that the company also does a superior job of equipping customers with tools to measure their ROI in the WebFOCUS product.

Unlike other industry analyst rankings, the Ventana Research Value Index assesses the value offered by mobile analytics and business intelligence vendors and products based on their ability to address business drivers and needs versus simply delivering features and functions. A rigorous evaluation of hundreds of criteria shows that Information Builders is currently the top supplier, delivering the highest value based on an overall weighted scoring across customer assurance and product categories. Information Builders is the only supplier to earn a Hot Vendor rating this year.

WebFOCUS is a robust platform that delivers a hybrid approach to mobile BI. It enables organizations to build once and deploy anywhere  rapidly and cost effectively. The distinctive analytic and interactive capabilities of web content and apps delivered by WebFOCUS, combined with the special abilities of WebFOCUS Mobile Faves, the companys companion native app, provide for these web apps to enrich the user experience.

Our standing as the overall Hot Vendor in this years Value Index and sweep of five assessment categories underscores Information Builders unique ability to apply decades of engineering wisdom to achieve ongoing, cutting-edge innovation. Its gratifying to see further validation of what we hear from customers every day-  the WebFOCUS platform is helping them to optimize and capitalize on mobile analytics and business intelligence.

Access report today.

Information Builders provides solutions for business intelligence (BI), analytics, data integration, and data quality that help drive performance improvements, innovation, and value. Through one set of powerful products, we enable organizations to serve everyone  analysts, non-technical users, even partners, customers, and citizens  with better data and analytics. Our dedication to customer success is unmatched with thousands of organizations relying on us as their trusted partner. Founded in 1975, Information Builders is headquartered in New York, NY, with global offices, and remains one of the largest independent, privately held companies in the industry. Visit us at , follow us on Twitter at , like us on , and visit our page.

Kathleen Moran

Information Builders

(917) 339-6313

Kate Finigan

LEWIS

(781) 761-4500
Prysmian Group Welcomes the European Commissions Proposals for a Telecommunications Framework Fit for the Digital Age

Posted by Publisher Telecommunication

The proposed reforms set out new broadband targets

SVP Vanhille: The Commission has struck the right tone

Milan, 15 September 2016  Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry and owner of the only European technology for the production of optical fibre, welcomes the publication of the European Commissions telecommunications review and its efforts to reform Europes telecoms rules to make them fit for the digital age. Prysmian is the worldwide leader in the production of optical cables, producing around 30 million km of optical fibre every year in its five centres of excellence in Italy, France, The Netherlands, North America and Brazil. The Group provides Europe and the rest of the world its know-how and technologies for ultra-broadband cabling projects.

Prysmian believes that the vision of a gigabit society, presented by the Commission in the package, points Europe in the right direction. It is a vision that industry, consumers, politicians and regulators alike can share, and one that will enable Europe to reap the full benefits of new technologies such as the Internet of Things. With this in mind, it is encouraging to see the EC advancing new broadband targets, placing the objective of providing widespread access to and take-up of very high capacity connectivity across the EU at the heart of the framework.

Included within the package is a recognition that optical fibre is the future of connectivity in the EU. Although a combination of technologies can be chosen as part of a progressive approach, it is clear that for the type of high speed connectivity that the Commission and many other stakeholders envisage for Europe, optical fibre sets the standard. It is now time to clearly back and encourage the use of this technology, and Prysmian is very happy to see the Commission promote it in this package.

As the Commission has recognised in previous announcements and as is reflected in this package, it is necessary to have a clear plan now if Europe wants to keep up with its international competitors on the roll-out of 5G technology and capacity. In this regard, Prysmian Group strongly agrees with the Commissions assessment of the necessity of fibred backhaul networks in order to achieve 5G speeds and functionality.

Philippe Vanhille, Senior Vice President Telecom Business at Prysmian Group, commented: Prysmian has been a leading company facilitating the progression of the EU debate on connectivity and lending its expertise to the conversation. We believe the Commission has struck the right tone in this proposal which clearly incentivizes the provision of the next generation networks that Europe needs. We will continue in our efforts to facilitate the discussions and decision making as these proposals progress through the EU institutions.
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Now, MP government will support the toppers of class 12 to help them prepare for competitive exams.

Class 12 toppers to get support from MP govt for UPSC preparation

By India Today Web Desk, Press Trust of India: With all students looking forward to get the best job today mainly in government sector, a competition is seen among children in India.

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has lent a helping hand to students who are preparing for competitive exams conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

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(Read: UPSC Civil Services Exam: Upper age limit may be reduced to 26)



Further reports explained:

As per reports, CM made the announcement at a scholarship distribution programme organised by a private news channel

Now, government will support the toppers of class 12 to help them prepare for competitive exams

At the event, Minister for Water Resources and Public Relations Narottam Mishra, Minister for Home and Transport Bhupendra Singh, Minister for School Education Vijay Shah, Mayor Alok Sharma and Bhopal MP Alok Sanjar were present, among others

Moreover, officials said, a new scheme called Ladli Laxmi Yojana (LLY) has also been announced

Currently, there are as many as 23 lakh girls in Mumbai, who stand to get Rs 1 lakh monetary benefit under the scheme

Further Chouhan said, "The government will pay the fees of students, who get admissions in premier national institutes through all India competition."

Not only this, Chouhan also spoke on encouraging girls to strive for knowledge and success in every field and said the government would extend all possible help to them.

While concluding, he also underlined the need to remove gender disparity, saying it was not a part of Indian culture.

(Read: Third gender category to be included in UPSC civil services exam form: Delhi HC directs centre)



Meanwhile, the Centre has been directed by the Delhi High Court to take instant steps in modifying the rules with regard to incorporating transgender or the third gender in the civil services examination application forms.



Read: HRD Ministry introduces 32 new educational channels with DishTV

Read: Above half of girls in UK schools faced sexual harassment

For information on more latest news and updates, click here.

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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.
Any matter regarding the results, the candidates need to communicate with the Controller of TET-Examinations-2014, West Bengal Board of Primary Education, "Acharya Prafulla Chandra Bhavan", DK - 7/1 , Sector - II , Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700091

By India Today Web Desk: The West Bengal Board of Primary Education had declared the results of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for Primary Schools on September 14, following the Calcutta High Court's order. The candidates can check the results through the official website, www.wbresults.nic.in, as the results has been declared.



TET exam was conducted on October 11 last year all over the state. More than 20 lakh candidates had appeared for the exam for the recruitment of 30,000 primary teacher posts in the state.



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"The court had earlier put a stay order on releasing the results and after the verdict came we immediately published the results," board president Manik Bhattacharya said.



Steps to check the results:



Log on to the official website, www.wbresults.nic.in

Click on the relevant link

Enter the required details like roll number, date of birth

Click on submit

Results will appear on the screen

Save the results and take a print out for further reference.

Earlier, the board could not publish results, as some candidates filed a litigations challenging the provisions, including the inclusion of non-trained candidates for teaching jobs.



The candidates, who have secured 90 out of 150 that is 60 per cent of the total marks, are declared to be successful. As per the notification, there is a relaxation of 5 per cent for the SC, ST, OBC(A), OBC(B), PH and Exempted Category candidates and Ex-Servicemen.



Any matter regarding the results, the candidates need to communicate with the Controller of TET-Examinations-2014, West Bengal Board of Primary Education, "Acharya Prafulla Chandra Bhavan", DK - 7/1 , Sector - II , Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700091.



Read: OSSSC Junior Clerk Skill Test 2016: Admit card released at osssc.gov.in

Read: National Law School of India University commences its admission process for distance Law courses 2016



For latest updates on exam related news click here.

For more details, follow India Today Education or you can write to us at education.intoday@gmail.com .

--- ENDS ---
TV actress Aankita Lokhaande flaunts her new look on the social media.

By India Today Web Desk: TV star Aankita Lokhaande is stunning, alright. And the actress has always dazzled everyone with her looks, and going by the recent pictures that she has posted on her personal Instagram account, she is ready to do the same all over again!

Also read:Oh No! Ankita Lokhande burns her hands and neck in fire accident

Aankita poses for a picture. Picture courtesy: Instagram/lokhandeankita

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The pretty lady has recently gotten a new makeover and needless to say, the actress looks gorgeous. Aankita recently posted a couple of pictures of herself in the new avatar--which basically involves a great-looking bang--and wrote in the description, "New look ...Happy meee, wearing #cerise @flyrobe , @shoe.fgali shoes . Styled by @aakansha_kapoor & @stylist_hemu."

Stunning is the word. Picture courtesy: Instagram/lokhandeankita

The actress looked super-happy as she laughed, posed, and basically exposed her goofy side to the world.

The one with Mouni Roy. Picture courtesy: Instagram/lokhandeankita

Aankita also posed for a couple of selfies with her friends from the TV industry in her new look. She took one picture with the Naagin actress Mouni Roy, and another one with her close friend Mahhi Vij.

Aankita and Mahhi take a selfie. Picture courtesy: Instagram/lokhandeankita

Thanks Aankita, for setting new hairstyle goals. As if we did not have enough of those already.



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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) Shares of auto components maker Amtek Auto today plunged almost 6.5 per cent after it reported a net loss of Rs 319.68 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, hit by decline in sales.

The scrip tanked 6.46 per cent to Rs 41.25 on BSE.

At NSE, shares of the company dropped 6.46 per cent to Rs 41.20.

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Later, the stock made some recovery and was trading 1.81 per cent lower at Rs 43.30 on BSE.

The company had reported a net loss of Rs 157.6 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

Net sales of the company also declined to Rs 539.83 crore for the June quarter as against Rs 854.22 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal, Amtek Auto said in a regulatory filing.

In the stock market, the Sensex was trading flat at 28,358.46, up 4.92 points at 1240 hrs. PTI SUM ANU

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China's Tiangong-2 space laboratory for astronauts launches into space atop a Long March 2F rocket in this view from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sept. 15, 2016.

China has launched its second-ever space lab, a key part of the nation's plan to have a permanently staffed space station up and running by the early 2020s.

The uncrewed Tiangong-2 spacecraft lifted off today (Sept. 15) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 10:04 a.m. EDT (1404 GMT; 10:04 p.m. local Beijing time), riding a Long March-2F T2 rocket to orbit.

If all goes according to plan, the 9.5-ton (8.6 metric tons) Tiangong-2  whose name translates as "Heavenly Palace" in Mandarin  will soon settle into an orbit about 236 miles (380 kilometers) above Earth and perform a series of initial tests and checkouts, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. [China's Tiangong-2 Space Lab Mission in Pictures]

The space lab will then climb to an altitude of 244 miles (393 km)  the same height at which China's future space station will operate  and await a mid- to late-October visit from two Chinese astronauts aboard a vessel called Shenzhou-11.

China's Tiangong-2 space laboratory is seen ahead of launch in this still image from a China Manned Space program mission overview video. The Tiangong-2 space module launched into orbit Sept. 15, 2016 and will be visited by a two-man crew for 30 days during China's planned Shenzhou-11 mission. (Image credit: China Manned Space Program)

Take a look at how China's first space station, called Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace") will be assembled in orbit in this SPACE.com infographic. See the full infographic on the Tiangong space station here (Image credit: Karl Tate/SPACE.com)

Those astronauts, who have not yet been publicly identified, will stay aboard Tiangong-2 for 30 days, conducting a series of experiments in biology, physics and space medicine, Xinhua reported.

In April 2017, China's first cargo ship, Tianzhou-1, will dock with Tiangong-2, delivering fuel and other supplies to the space lab.

The 34-foot-long (10.4 meters) Tiangong-2 looks a lot like China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, which launched in September 2011. Chinese astronauts visited Tiangong-1 on two different occasions, spending about eight and 12 days aboard the lab in June 2012 and June 2013, respectively.

Tiangong-1 ended its operational life in March of this year and will likely fall back to Earth in the second half of 2017, Chinese officials have said.

Tiangong-1 served primarily to prove out space-docking technologies. Tiangong-2 features improved living quarters and life-support infrastructure, facilitating longer stays by visiting crewmembers, Xinhua reported.

"The launch of Tiangong-2 will lay a solid foundation for the building and operation of a permanent space station in the future," Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, said during a prelaunch briefing Wednesday (Sept. 14), Xinhua reported.

China's human spaceflight program has now entered a "new phase of application and development," she added.

China aims to build a 60-ton (54 metric tons) space station by 2022 or thereabouts, officials have said. For comparison, the International Space Station (ISS), which has hosted rotating astronaut crews continuously since November 2000, weighs about 440 tons (400 metric tons). (China is not part of the international consortium that operates the ISS.)

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
A penumbral lunar eclipse will coincide with September's full moon, also known as the Harvest Moon, this Friday (Sept. 16), and you can watch it live thanks to the Slooh Community Observatory, which is partnering with the Old Farmer's Almanac to broadcast the Harvest Moon eclipse.

The 4-hour webcast will include a live stream from telescopes in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and western Australia  all locations where the eclipse will be visible. You can watch the action at Slooh.com beginning at 12:45 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT).

You can also watch the lunar eclipse webcast on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh. [Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse Guide: When, Where & How to See It]

During the webcast, Slooh astronomer Paul Cox will explain the science of a penumbral lunar eclipse, which happens when the moon moves through the faint, outer shadow of the Earth. This causes the moon to darken slightly, but the effects may not be visible to the naked eye.

On March 23, 2016, the moon will pass through part of Earth's shadow in a minor penumbral lunar eclipse. This NASA chart by eclipse expert Fred Espenak shows details and visibility projections for the lunar eclipse. (Image credit: Fred Espenak/NASA's GSFC)

The penumbral lunar eclipse is far less dramatic than a total eclipse. During a total eclipse, the moon moves into the center of Earth's shadow, causing the moon's surface to appear blood red because it receives only a portion of the light coming from Earth's atmosphere. During the webcast, Eric Edelman, another Slooh astronomer, will discuss the differences between the types of eclipses.

Bob Berman  Slooh astronomer and astronomy editor for The Old Farmer's Almanac  will talk about how the moon moves around the Earth, and Janice Stillman, editor of The Old Farmer's Almanac, will discuss the history and folklore surrounding the Harvest Moon.

"They'll discuss the different names the September Moon has been given by different cultures, and delve into some of the cultural stories and traditions surrounding the Harvest Moon, and the annual harvests associated with it," Slooh representatives wrote in a statement.

Viewers can ask questions during the show by tweeting @Slooh or by participating in the live chat at Slooh.com.

Editor's note: If you live in one of the visilibility regions for the Harvest Mooon penumbral lunar eclipse and capture a striking photo of the event that you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a story or gallery, we want to know! You can send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebookand Google+.Original article on Space.com.
LONG BEACH, Calif.  One of the difficult lessons learned from the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 was the need for human-carrying spacecraft to come with emergency escape systems, a means of ejecting the crew vehicle from the rocket in an emergency.

That's one requirement that NASA has placed on Boeing and SpaceX, the first two commercial companies in history to build vehicles that will carry humans to the International Space Station.

While both companies are required to include one of these escape systems in their vehicles, the approach to testing the systems differs slightly between the two companies. Representatives of SpaceX and Boeing, along with a representative from NASA, discussed the testing process in a session at a meeting of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), held this week in Long Beach, California. [Boeing's CST-100 Space Capsule in Pictures]

Abort!

Founded and helmed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX is currently flying cargo to the space station for NASA using the company's Falcon 9 rocket and Drago cargo capsule. SpaceX is adapting the Dragon to fly humans to the station.

The Dragon's escape system was directly tested in May 2015, during the craft's first pad abort test. The capsule was placed on a launch pad by itself (no rocket) and controllers fired the Dragon's eight SuperDraco launch-abort engines; in the case of an emergency (like a rocket explosion) those engines would fire the craft away from danger. The Dragon was able to reach an altitude of nearly 5,000 feet (about 1,500 meters), demonstrating that it could get away from the pad on its own.

SpaceX's Dragon Version 2 spacecraft is a manned space capsule designed to fly seven astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. See how SpaceX's Dragon V2 spacecraft works in this Space.com infographic (Image credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)

But how will the ejection system perform when it's atop a rocket? SpaceX plans to do a flight-abort test in the future, said Benjamin Reed, director of SpaceX's Commercial Crew Program, who spoke at the AIAA meeting this week. During the flight-abort test, the Dragon will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket and "get up to an [altitude] where you have the maximum forces on the rocket, and [we will] abort the vehicle from rocket at that point, and make sure the vehicle can get away safely."

Boeing also plans to do a pad-abort test with its crew vehicle, known as the CST-100 Starliner. The company has already done a water-landing test of the abort system. However, Boeing will not perform a flight-abort test, said former NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson, now Boeing's director of crew and mission operations.

"We looked very early on at where we could get the most testing value," Ferguson said, and "made the conscious decision" that the company could certify the vehicle in a wind tunnel and did not need to conduct a flight-abort test. He added that "we consider the pad-abort test more robust and challenging" and said the company is currently conducting many abort-system tests in a wind tunnel.

Kathy Lueders, program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, confirmed that NASA's safety thresholds did not specifically require an in-flight test of the abort system. The guidelines did require that the companies "show that they have the abort reliability that we needed to have. And so we provided them the ability to propose their own strategy for how they met that, and both currently are meeting the requirements."

(These crew vehicles will not be the first human-carrying capsules to be equipped with abort systems; the Mercury capsule that carried the first American astronaut into space was also equipped with such a system.)

NASA's involvement in the development of the crew vehicles is far from passive, said Ferguson, who described the difference between building a launch vehicle to carry cargo for the agency and one to carry humans. He said NASA is, understandably, far more involved in the development of the human spacecraft, and has set qualifications and safety requirements at multiple stages of the systems' construction, rather than just doing a final capability check.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew capsule undergoes a water-landing test. (Image credit: NASA)

A time to launch

Boeing is developing the CST-100 capsule for use ferrying astronauts to Earth orbit and to the International Space Station. See how Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft works in this Space.com infographic (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

It's a bit unclear when SpaceX or Boeing will launch the first commercial crews to the station. A recent report by the NASA Office of the Inspector General suggested that regular commercial flights won't happen before late 2018, due to delays that are the result of technical problems with both companies' vehicles. According to SpaceNews, the report showed that Boeing has completed 15 of 34 milestones in its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with NASA, valued at $1.067 billion.

The report stated that Boeing's first uncrewed test flight of the CST-100 has been pushed to December 2017, and the company's first crewed flight was pushed until February 2018.

SpaceX has completed eight of 21 milestones under its CCtCap contract, the report stated, adding that the company was planning uncrewed and crewed test flights in mid-2017.

On Sept. 1, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, two days before the craft's scheduled launch. The incident occurred while the rocket was being fueled for a routine preflight test. On Twitter, SpaceX and Elon Musk have stated that the company does not know what caused the anomaly.

In the wake of the incident, SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell stated that the company would halt all its currently scheduled launches, but planned to return to flight in November.

Reed stated at the AIAA meeting that the company is "assessing the data" from the anomaly and will "fold that data back in to make [the rocket] more reliable and safe." In the meantime, he said the company is "fully on track" with the crew program. "It's full steam ahead on crew, while listening to the data."

When asked about specific time lines for the crew vehicle launches, both Ferguson and Reed repeated a phrase that SpaceX representatives have used before: "We'll fly when we're ready."

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Vice President Hamid Ansari today left for Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit during which key issues of concern like terrorism, UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament are expected to be discussed.

Ansari is leading the Indian delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only the second Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era blocs summit a miss after Charan Singh in 1979.

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The summit, which started on Tuesday and will end on September 18, is taking place in Venezuelas Margarita Island and has meetings scheduled in three consecutive segments-- officials-level, foreign ministers meet, and a conference of heads of state and government.

Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar is already in Venezuela to take part in the deliberations while Ansari will reach the country after an overnight halt in Berlin.

"The summit is expected to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern such as terrorism, UN reform, the situation in West Asia, threats to peace and security," according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

UN peacekeeping operations, climate change, sustainable development, economic governance, south-south cooperation, refugees and migrants, and nuclear disarmament will also be discussed, the statement said.

"All these issues are of relevance in the context of the discussions that will take place at the United Nations in coming months," it said.

The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Margarita is expected to bring together leaders from 120 developing countries that are its members. The NAM Summits are among the largest gatherings of countries, after the United Nations.

NAM is also an important forum for interaction with partner countries across continents, including from Africa, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs), with whom India has long-standing development partnerships in a spirit of south-south cooperation, the statement said.

"NAM continues to represent space for action in pursuance of the collective interests of the developing world, along with the G-77, especially on subject such as the reform of the global economic system and disarmament. At the United Nations, the NAM is an influential grouping on a range of issues such as UN peacekeeping and disarmament," it said. More PTI ASK RT AAR

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AAP chief Kejriwal has been asked to avoid speaking for a few days after undergoing surgery on his tongue and restructuring his chin.

By India Today Web Desk: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's sharp tongue, that left many an opponent bruised ever since he entered politics, has stopped moving for a while - a development that may come as much-needed relief for his rivals.

The AAP chief has been advised by doctors to avoid speaking for a few days after he underwent successful corrective surgery for his chronic cough at Narayan Health City in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

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The Delhi CM had his mouth operated on and restructured to treat a cough that has apparently persistent for the last 40 years.

READ| Kejriwal is a selfishly ambitious careerist, can sacrifice anyone: Manish Tewari

WHY THE SURGERY?

Doctors explained that Kejriwal was suffering from 'an enlarged soft palate and uvula in relation to a slight increase in the volume of tongue'. In simple words, his tongue was a little too big in respect to the size of his mouth, which was unable to accommodate it. We cannot confirm if that was the reason it was so acerbic.

In a medical release, the Bengaluru hospital briefed the media on the problems with Arvind Kejriwal's mouth. It was, arguably, an open and shut case.

Not only did his mouth have a limited space for the movement of tongue, but the increasing size of the tongue led to problems in its movement and the abnormal anatomy of his throat and upper portion of mouth were causing small amounts of saliva to trickle into his air passage whenever he suffered from an allergy.

SWEET CHIN MUSIC

The surgery involved correcting Kejriwal's small muscle at the roof of mouth, repositioning of the tongue-base relationship and restructuring of the chin. So basically, the Delhi CM took it on the chin.

Now, Kejriwal has been asked to not talk for a couple of days and depending on his recovery time, doctors will take a call on when he can start speaking again.

His opponents should not rejoice too much though, because his fingers, with which he tweets, have not had any surgery.

Kejriwal has in the past taken leaves of absence to treat his cough and has often been at the receiving end of jokes and memes mocking his coughing.

Kejriwal is having a cough time.. err.. tough time with the Media!

&; Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) February 25, 2014

Hitler's autobiography was called 'Mein Kampf'

Arvind Kejriwal's autobiography will be called 'Mein Cough'

&; The Bad Doctor (@DOCTORATLARGE) January 21, 2014

If one was to poetically translate the reason behind Arvind Kejriwal's chronic cough issue in Hindi, it would be 'Chhota muhh aur badi baat'

&; Garvita (@grrrvita) September 15, 2016

Kejriwal has had it tough

Was always difficult with chronic cough

But now we're told

Its a problem old

His tongue is long&mouth not enough&; Divya (@divya_16_) September 15, 2016

When Kejriwal meets Kiran Bedi we can call it Coughy With Kiran.&; Manas (@Spooferman_) February 2, 2015

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Also read: Arvind Kejriwal heads to Bengaluru for naturopathy treatment





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SPIEGEL ONLINE: The British still haven't invoked the official exit clause under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. When should this be filed by?

Schulz: The government in London apparently had no plan ready for an exit scenario -- it was taken by surprise. That's why I can understand that they need a little time to get themselves sorted. But I hope that the petition is submitted by the end of the year. Once it is, the two years of negotiations can begin. The people, but also the economy, the companies, need to be able to plan.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In current discussions pertaining to the future of the EU, one issue is that of a possible joint European army. What are your thoughts on the issue?

Schulz: We surely need increased cooperation on both internal and foreign security. But a joint European army is a very far-reaching proposal and it would be difficult to implement. Such initiatives are nevertheless needed. Political leaders need to formulate long-term EU goals that show: Yes, we want to stay together.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Yet the forces pulling Europe apart are powerful. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn recently called for Hungary to be kicked out of the EU. Is he right?

Schulz: I have no regard for such formulations. Right now we need to keep this shop together and not launch new provocations, day in, day out. Still, I am also critical of the fact that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is pulling out of everything -- the joint approach to the refugee issue, for example. He cannot disparage his colleagues in the EU either -- that's not how we treat each other. We require solidarity: in refugee policies, just as in the financial architecture of the structural funds from which countries like Hungary have strongly profited from for years.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Does that mean that you want to exert financial pressure on countries like Hungary?

Schulz: You can't always be demanding solidarity from others and then refuse to show it yourself. The process of EU budget revisions will commence soon and there will also surely be a debate in parliament over whether the countries that have shown solidarity in the refugee crisis should be provided with greater financial support.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: It's not only in Europe that right-wing populists like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are on the rise. In the United States, a right-wing populist could even become president. What would it mean for the EU if Donald Trump landed in the White House?

Schulz: Trump is not just a problem for the EU, but for the whole world. When a man ends up in the White House who boasts about not having a clue and who says that specialist knowledge is elite nonsense, then a critical point has been reached. Then you will have an obviously irresponsible man sitting in a position that requires the utmost degree of responsibility. My worry is that he may inspire copycats, also in Europe. That's why I hope Hillary Clinton wins.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Those are astoundingly clear words from a leading European politician. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel has shied away from being so unambiguous.

Schulz: I say what I think about Trump.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What will you do if Trump becomes president and then visits the EU?

Schulz: Then we will receive him just as we have every other US president.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your own future is wide open. You would like to continue in your role as president of the European Parliament, but according to EU tradition it would now be the turn of a member of the conservative family of parties. Are you counting on help from Chancellor Merkel, who clearly seems to appreciate you?

Schulz: I take note of the fact that there are a lot of people who appreciate what I do as parliament president, not just within my Social Democratic party group, but also among the conservatives. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and many others, incidentally, would like to see me carry on. My term runs until Jan. 17, and I will continue to focus on the problems that need to be solved until then.
To quell the demonstrations, security forces have been firing tear gas and pellet guns at protesters. Like shotguns, they project hundreds of shrapnel-like pellets that can cause serious injuries and even death if improperly used.

On August 15, one of the pellets pierced Sheikh's heart. He died on the way to a nearby hospital. A group of people later brought his body to his father.

His father, Abdul Salaam Sheikh, 52, said that his son stood for Kashmir's freedom. He told his relatives over the phone that his son had become a martyr, that he had sacrificed his life for independence. But he was also his son, the very one he had been playing chess with only hours before he was killed.

"He would always say that he was unarmed, but they shot at him anyway," said Salaam. "He didn't understand why we were being treated like this. Had nobody told the Indians that there are protests all over the world, but that nobody shoots pellets at people?"

Used properly, security officials are only supposed to aim below the knees when firing pellet guns. Yet because some aren't adhering to that rule and are instead firing at the upper body and the head, they have become fatal. More than 500 people have already been struck in the eye by pellets and a few have been blinded as a result.
A Tim Kaine radio ad in Spanish will soon be hitting the airwaves in the must-win battleground states. It is not a secret that Mr. Kaine is fluent in Spanish, and he has decided to put his skills at the service of his party and running mate and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic candidate for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election has recorded his Spanish-language ad in which he talks about his time in Honduras. At the age of 22, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee left Harvard Law School where he was studying to go work in Honduras.

For nine months Kaine helped Jesuit missionaries, who ran a Catholic school in El Progreso. Kaine, who worked in a vocational center that taught carpentry and welding, is credited with increasing the schools enrollment by recruiting local villagers. Mauricio Gaborit, S.J.(Society of Jesus), now 67, who met Kaine in 1976 and worked with him in the village of El Progreso, did an interview last month where he had nothing but praise for him. Gaborit stated:

I believe it had to do with the values he grew up with in his Jesuit education. That oriented him to be attentive to and responsive to the plight of the poor. There is the belief that even if a situation is dire, people can still make a difference.

Father Gaborit added that Kaines optimism while working at the Jesuit mission was something that everyone around him noticed. He added:

When one reflects on the plight and situations of the poor, one has two courses of response, he said. One has the course of going the road of despair or going the road of optimism and confidence. He went the route of optimism. He saw himselfhelping people.

Gaborit also said that he was happy to hear Kaine speak Spanish at the Democratic convention. Kaines 60-second radio spot will target Spanish-speaking voters in Florida, Ohio, and Nevada, in the hope of getting them to turn out to the polls on Election Day.

Last week, Americas Voice and Latino Decisions released a poll that showed Clinton with a commanding lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump. According to the political polling firms, Clinton is poised to win the votes of 70% of Latino voters compared to 19% for Trump. Immigration and deportations were the most important issues facing the Latino community, according to that same poll.

In 2013, Kaine made history by delivering an entire speech in Spanish on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration bill that overwhelmingly passed in the Senate and never made it to the House.
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The signs confirm financial-services giant UBS ongoing move out of its longtime hub at 677 Washington Blvd. in downtown Stamford.

The Switzerland-based firm last month took down its signs bearing the companys three-key logo at the approximately 720,000-square-foot complex overlooking Interstate 95 and Metro-North rail lines. The removal corresponded with UBS putting up new signs this spring on top of and at the base of the building at 600 Washington Blvd. it now shares with RBS.

While a smaller UBS remains in Stamford, the city now grapples with a large  and highly visible  vacancy downtown. As other cities and towns in southwestern Connecticut face prominent idle properties, public officials and local business leaders express varying levels of concerns, but generally say those unused tracts will soon bustle again with tenants.

Its not unusual that a big, dynamic company grows here, makes it its Northeast headquarters and then departs or downsizes, said Sandy Goldstein, president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District. Those are things that happen in a dynamic business environment.

Empty space

A small number of IT specialists for UBS still work at 677 Washington Blvd., representing a fraction of the contingent once based there. The relocation of employees from the property, which includes a 14-story office tower and a sprawling, 100,000-square-foot trading floor  started in early 2016. The move-out is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. Approximately 900 UBS employees now work at 600 Washington.

The departure fits into a broader strategy of UBS reducing its real estate footprint throughout the Americas. The company, like many in the financial sector, has experienced significant layoffs and missed a number of performance benchmarks in recent years. Its first-quarter net income this year fell by almost two-thirds compared with the same period in 2015.

For years, UBS had signaled it was contemplating a smaller footprint in Stamford. In late 2014, it hired the commercial real-estate firm Cushman and Wakefield to market 677 Washington Blvd. A message left for Cushman and Wakefield was not immediately returned.

Many in the Stamford business community said they were disappointed to see UBS leave one of the citys most recognizable buildings.

It was a sad day in Stamford the day they took those signs down, said Jack Condlin, president and CEO of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. The mold was cast that it wasnt going to be a temporary shutdown.

In Danbury, the Matrix Corporate Center comprises one of the largest office complexes in Fairfield County, with 1.2 million total square feet. As the complex nears completion of a $20 million renovation, market materials show available blocks of space totaling up to 400,000 square feet.

One of the buildings largest tenants, Praxair, reportedly purchased the former GE Capital building in Danbury last year and will leave the Matrix when the renovation of its new building is complete. Praxair employs about 400 people in Danbury.

Our leasing activity continues to remains strong with the appointment of Cushman and Wakefield out of Stamford. We recently renewed a tenant of more than 20,000 square feet and we are entertaining proposals to lease more than 100,000 square feet, said Matrixs CEO, Enrico Scarda.

In Trumbull, the 253,000-square-foot space at 48 Monroe Turnpike was vacated by United Healthcare last year. United cited the buildings size in its decision to move into a 108,000-square-foot space at 4 Research Drive in Shelton.

In Greenwich, an approximately 3,800-square-foot building at 1 Boulder Ave., off East Putnam Avenue, has stood empty for about four years. It represents one of the lengthiest vacancies in town.

The property last housed PD Photo and Sophias Cafe. It initially emptied because the owners needed to attend to family issues, according to Greenwich Commercial Propertys Bill Mason, the buildings leasing agent. The property would have housed a School of Rock music school, but the town denied its lease application in 2012 because of a lack of parking.

In recent months, the property has undergone extensive renovations, including work on its HVAC and electrical systems, windows and facade.

Norwalk has faced only a handful of large-scale vacancies. Out of sight to most are two properties with significant openings: 10 Norden Place, in the Norden Park complex, and 230 East Ave.

Built as a military radar system production plant by Northrop Grumman before the contractor left the facility in 2012, Norden Park has seen the departures of Taucks headquarters to Wilton and Access International to 761 Main Ave. in Norwalk, north of the Merritt Parkway. Remaining tenants include CompHealth, a Salt Lake City-based company that provides health-staffing services; and Ventus, a provider of enterprise wireless-networking technology.

Filling the void

Business leaders and economic development officials are not expecting high-profile properties such as 677 Washington Blvd. to languish for years without occupants.

Another major corporation, a high-tech company, could easily come in there, said Goldstein, of the Stamford DSSD. Its a beautiful building, and it was constructed in a quality manner.

Matrix Group, which owns Danburys Matrix Corporate Center, announced early this year the company was considering reusing some of the space with amenities such as extended-stay facilities, an expanded conference center and residential housing.

In Trumbull, Rina Bakalar, the towns economic development director, said several parties are interested in the office center at 48 Monroe Turnpike although she declined to provide specifics.

Mason, of Greenwich Commercial Property, said he expects 1 Boulder Ave. to be leased by the end of the month, but he could not give details on the next tenant.
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.
Tollywood star Rana Daggubati or better known as Bhallaladeva, has completed his portion for Baahubali: The Conclusion, which is currently being shot in Hyderabad.

By India Today Web Desk: Last year, the world witnessed SS Rajamouli's epic fantasy film Baahubali, whose visual experience made even some Hollywood films pale in comparison.

In fact, ever since Baahubali's release last year, the fans can't stop asking the question, "Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?"



ALSO READ: Baahubali 2- Besides Rajamouli, these are the ONLY people who know why Kattappa killed Baahubali



ALSO READ: Baahubali 2- Prabhas's first look to be unveiled on his birthday



While the team is rigorously shooting for the climax of the film, the latest report is that actor Rana Daggubati, who plays the menacing antagonist Bhallaladeva in the film has completed his portion for Baahubali: The Conclusion, which is currently being shot in Hyderabad.

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According to The News Minute, Rana will be next in a yet-untitled action drama, which will co-star actors Kajal Aggarwal and Catherine Tresa. To be helmed by Teja, the project is likely take off on October 1 and will be bankrolled by P Satyanarayana Reddy.

Reports also suggest that Bhallaladeva is more villainous in the sequel than the first part.

Meanwhile, the shooting of Baahubali: The Conclusion is progressing at a rapid pace. With the much-awaited film slated to release on April 28, 2017, the first look poster of the film is likely to be unveiled on actor Prabhas' birthday (October 23).

Interestingly, Rana Daggubati himself revealed that the theatrical trailer of Baahubali: The Conclusion will be out in January next year.



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By Mayank Pratap Singh: Two images surfaced during Pakistan Army raids in Turbat in Balochistan - 3-year-old Gulsur Baloch and 4-month-old Darwar Baloch. The Pakistan Army took siege of a house of former BSO-Azad leader, Pirdhan Baloch, for 7 days. As the siege ended, these two children and their mother went missing. It is accused by the Baloch activist on Twitter that these were abducted and shifted to so called safe house.

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Earlier, it was reported that many women and children were abducted from Kohistan Marri by Pakistani forces. Hundreds of Baloch population migrated from the area due to massive military and air force bombing.

15 BALOCH CIVILIANS

15 Baloch civilians were killed, 26 abducted during military operations in border areas of Dera Bugti today.

Also read:

One killed in fresh military operation in Balochistan; activists protest against Pakistan army, ISI



At UNHCR, India has categorically taken stand on the issue of Balochistan and has said that Pakistan is characterised by authoritarianism, absence of democratic norms and widespread human rights violations across the country including Balochistan. The institutions of governance in Pakistan have corroded to such an extent that it has become a hub for the global export of terror.

A group of Baloch activists held protests against Pakistan outside the UN headquarters in New York, demanding freedom and highlighting Pakistan's crimes against humanity in Balochistan. The protests were organised by the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM).

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O ne of the worlds biggest floats this year, Denmarks Dong Energy, is under political scrutiny after the countrys national audit office launched an investigation into the role of key parties involved in the launch.

The privatisation of the offshore wind farm developer Dong Energy in June put an 10 billion price tag on the company as the sale raised 17 billion kroner (1.9 billion) for the Danish state and a consortium of investors led by Goldman Sachs.

Dong is a major operator in Britain and Germany.

The sale meant the Wall Street bank doubled its investment made just two and a half years earlier, fuelling criticism in Denmark that the previous government sold an 18% stake to the Goldman consortium too cheaply.

Denmarks public accounts committee asked the audit office to investigate issues related to the sale and subsequent float, including the role of the companys management and the finance ministry in the valuation and sale of shares.

It also asked it to look into Dongs dividend payout to Goldman and the Danish state since the flotation.

Dong said it looked forward to an investigation shedding light on the facts and dismissing the myths. Goldman declined to comment.
W ho'd be Amber Rudd? Just months after tearing strips off Brexiteer Boris Johnson in the pre-referendum debates, one of Remains most strident attack dogs is now Home Secretary, reluctantly following the will of the people and pointing a Brexit-loaded shotgun at the UK economy.

Rudd says her department is looking closely at a work-permit system to control European Union immigration, driving the numbers down but protecting the people who really add value to the economy.

Unfortunately, the Minister is between a rock and a hard place.

She has to acknowledge that the deep concerns over EU immigration expressed by the vote inevitably demand restrictions, unless the UK agrees a politically suicidal combination of unfettered single-market access and uncontrolled immigration. But she must pick through this minefield while doing as little economic damage as possible.

London will feel the pain most keenly. Thats the same capital which chips in nearly a quarter of the countrys annual growth  which were going to need badly over the next few years.

Migrant labour is a vital fuel in the capitals growth engine, and has been for centuries. Together, EU and non-EU workers account for about 43% of Londons workforce, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research; thats more than twice as big a proportion as the 16% of foreign workers making up the labour force across the entire rest of the UK.

Of course, we dont exactly know what form these work permits will take. But if what we end up is anything like the Tier 2 visa regime for non-EU migrants, where applications are capped in a failed attempts to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, there could be big problems.

Experienced workers from the rest of the world have to earn at least 30,000 to work here from next year (although the Government has so far made exemptions for the likes of nurses and paramedics until 2019). Its a time-consuming and expensive process, needing a certificate of sponsorship and costing 575 for each worker and his or her dependants.

The UK has a shortage of occupations list that ranges from engineering professionals and project managers to dancers and choreographers. But, to take one example, nowhere on it will you find bricklayers and carpenters  the two occupations badly needed as the home-grown baby-boomers in the traditional trades approach retirement.

So what happens to the construction industry if EU workers are suddenly restricted to an oppressive work visa regime purely for the purposes of controlling numbers, particularly in London?

Figures compiled by the CEBR, using data for the first three months of the year from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey, show EU workers, mainly from the eastern European accession states, account for 18% of workers in the capitals construction industry. Bear in mind this is a city with a major housing shortage  so reducing the workforce now is exactly what we dont need.

Then theres the 13% of Londons workforce in hotels, restaurants and retail jobs who come from the EU, as well as the 11% of Londons banking and financial workforce, which for all the brickbats is still a central contributor to the capitals wealth. Fresh restrictions look bound to cause a negative shock to the London economy. How easy will it be to meet housebuilding targets if 18% of your construction workforce might struggle to get a visa? Whos going to help lay the bricks of all that new infrastructure everybodys talking about?

And why should we be lurching towards a statist system where people in Whitehall are taking the final decisions on how much labour the economy needs every year, not to mention the administrative cost?

Solutions for the capital, such as London-only visas that allow immigrants to live and work in the capital may be the way forward, albeit underlining our increasing otherness from the rest of the UK.

But lets face it: any restrictions at all on Londons economic engine will scar prospects.

The Home Secretary has the unenviable task of doing as little harm as she can. Wish her luck: shell need it.
T he march of Waitrose opening shops aggressively across the UK has ground to a halt, the grocer indicated on Thursday, as it scrapped plans for new stores and its parent announced a 15% profit drop.

The supermarket  a favourite of the middle classes and owned by the John Lewis Partnership  revealed that it has reviewed seven planned store openings and decided not to proceed. As a result, it has taken a 25 million hit for the property writedown.

Its decision comes after years of heavy expansion: in December last year it unveiled plans to launch 14 shops adding almost 200,000 square feet of new space to its estate which now totals 349 shops.

The company has joined rivals such as Tesco and Sainsburys which have halted some plans to open more shops as consumers make a move from the big weekly shop to buying more locally and online.

Retailers are also having to endure price wars driven by discounters including Aldi and Lidl, as well as competition from Amazon which is muscling in on the online groceries market.

Instead, Waitrose plans to invest in the shops it already has. The chairman, Sir Charlie Mayfield, said: We plan to increase both the depth and pace of investment in our existing stores."

This will enable us to get the best value from our estate As we shift the focus of our investment towards our existing branches, the rate of new space growth will slow.

Waitrose boss Rob Collins added: You will see a significant slowdown in openings. We are aiming to turbocharge our investment in the existing estate.

He said that plans for London include designing more branches along the lines of its Kings Cross outlet  introducing wine bars, juice bars and new concepts to make them more compelling and convenient.

The plans were announced as parent John Lewis Partnership posted a 15% slump in pre-tax profits to 81.9 million for the six months to July 30.

Same-store sales at John Lewis department stores increased by 3.1%, but decreased by 1% at Waitrose.

Mayfield said profit was held back by price competition, pay increases and IT investments. He said Britains decision to leave the European Union was not a factor in the performance.

But he warned that the pressure on trading will continue through next year and said the full impact of the Brexit vote is yet to become clear.

John Lewis Partnership also flagged job cuts as it meets the cost of pay rises above and beyond the new National Living Wage, costing it 33 million.

The company said: Higher pay depends on better productivity and greater contribution and we anticipate that this will mean we will have fewer partners over time as compared with today.
The organisers of London Fashion Week say the event will be the most international to date because Brexit has thrown a spotlight on the capital.

More than 5,000 visitors from 58 countries are expected to arrive this week, with the fashion industry eager to show London is open for business as usual following the vote to leave the European Union.

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, said: We have a point to prove to our guests that the vote to leave the EU doesnt mean were going to end our international partnerships and collaborations.

This is the first international event on our shores since the EU vote and its definitely sparked a lot of interest from all over the world. People want to know if London feels different. We need to send them a clear message that London is open to outsiders and the UK is a place of business opportunity.

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council

Ms Rush said that while the Brexit vote had presented challenges, there had been an upturn in fashion exports because of the weaker pound - with clothing companies looking at increasing on-shore production in the UK as a result.

Figures show that the British fashion industrys worth to the UK economy increased by 8 per cent to 28 billion between 2013 and 2014.

Theresa May will host a reception for leading designers and industry figures at Downing Street tonight.

Samantha Cameron previously presided over the Number 10 event in her capacity as BFC ambassador, but the Prime Ministers personal involvement is a boost and will see fashion apprentices invited to encourage more young people into the industry. Fashion week will officially launch tomorrow with a show at Brewer Street car park in Soho. Eighty-three designers will debut their spring/summer 2017 collections.

More than 150 designers will present their work during the four-day event with brands such as Burberry, Aquascutum, Belstaff, Oliver Spencer and House of Holland taking part.

House of Holland AW16 at London Fashion Week 1 /33 House of Holland AW16 at London Fashion Week House of Holland Models walk the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland Models walk the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland A model walks the AW16 runway Jeff Moore House of Holland Henry Holland greets his audience Jeff Moore

Justine Simons, deputy mayor for culture and creative industries said: We have all the best ingredients as a fashion capital - we are home to leading fashion colleges, we are really good at growing the next generation of talent and we have wonderful established brands."

"London Fashion Week provides the glittering centrepiece, showcasing creativity and innovation, underlining the fact that London is open to the world and a global hub of talent.
Six seasons into his tenure at Hugo Boss and Jason Wu has found his sweet spot.

Unveiling his spring collection at New York Fashion Week, Wu suggested he had gotten to grips with the wants of the Hugo Boss woman offering her office-ready tailoring, easy to wear separates and series of inset print pleated dresses which looked perfectly suited to no nonsense dressers.

Drawing on a bold palette of electric blue, red and vivid forest green, this collection's prevailing message was that business dressing need not mean boring.

Offering a softer and more elegant way to approach tailoring, Wu unveiled crushed organza skirts with drawstring waistbands and loose fitted jackets with parachute-tie cuffs.

A fusion of classic ideas and modern technology, the designer looked to add longevity to the German brand. Raw-edge tweed was interspersed with engineered pleating while delicate lace was inset onto high quality crepe.

The designer's determination to pioneer a new era for the brand played out backstage too. Notably with Hugo Bosss first attempt to join the see now, buy now model currently occupying the fashion industry with its collection of soft leather handbags, made available for customers to buy immediately after the show had finished.

Keen to capitalise on developments in technology and lure a new youthful customer to the label, Hugo Boss worked with tech experts to create an an online version of the show which can be viewed online in 360 format via virtual reality glasses.

Such developments have been a familiar factor at the shows in New York this week as the world's most commercially astute designers look for new ways to reach their consumers.
 Are you in anything at the moment?

Its the question that a jobbing actor dreads hearing. One great job is no guarantee of another one, and when one job ends theres no knowing how long it will take to land the next.

Actor Jonathan Harden was in that period where he really didnt want anyone to ask him that question. He felt like a failure at 35, doing minimum wage jobs because the acting work hadnt been coming.

When I got in from work, no matter where I turned on social media, it seemed that every actor I knew was at a costume fitting, in a trailer somewhere, or at some glitzy industry event, he says. But none of it was true.

It wasnt exactly that they were lying, he adds  it was just that they werent telling the whole truth. I was just as guilty, he says. I realised that in six years in London, working in pubs, building sites, and thankfully on the odd stage or film set, I had never posted a single picture of me at work unless it was in a serious play or in a classy period drama.

He found himself wanting to know more about what actors did to stay sane and pay the bills between jobs, and this coincided with him discovering the insanely popular whodunnit podcast Serial. I had never listened to a podcast before that. I hadnt thought about how engaging radio can be. It wasnt long before the two things converged in my mind: acting and podcasts.

He searched for the podcast about acting that he wanted to hear, but it didnt exist  so he decided to make his own. His aim? To restore balance to the conversations that were happening about acting. And thus, the Honest Actors' podcast was born.

Once the podcast was in the works, Harden found himself hearing actors like Denise Gough, Jessica Raine and Tom Goodman-Hill speaking honestly about their experiences being in and out of work as an actor. It was his interview with Gough, who went on to deliver the performance of the year and receive endless adulating raves for her work in People Places and Things, that really hit the mark with his listeners.

I recorded it a few weeks before she started rehearsals for People Places and Things, and she was just coming out of the most difficult period of her career. She talked really candidly about living on 35 a week, doing her shopping in her sisters fridge, and referred to the whole experience as Siberia, he says. The episode went out after the show had opened, so the nice part was that the listeners knew what was ahead for her, and now Siberia is a thing actors refer to; its entered the language.

London's local theatres 1 /15 London's local theatres Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre in Shepherds Bush began life in 1972; it first lived above a pub that held only 80 people, but in 2010 moved to an old public library building. Under the artistic directorship of Madani Younis, the theatre was transformed into one of the city's most influential artistic spaces. Now that Lynette Linton has taken over the reins, the stages continue to host groundbreaking works by new talent and the legends of years gone by. Philip Vile Camden People's Theatre Camden Peoples Theatre is a small theatre a few minutes away from Warren Street that has shown huge dedication to developing and supporting new artists. Since 2013, their Calm Down Dear Festival has presented a packed programme of feminist performance. It's just one of the many festivals CPT holds, including Handle With Care, which sees the so-called "generation snowflake" strike out beyond their safe spaces. Finborough Theatre The Finborough, a 50-seater above a pub in Earls Court, is a great champion for new writing, but it also puts on a number of rarely seen plays, like RC Sherriffs The White Carnation and JB Priestleys Cornelius. A number of playwrights associated with the building have won the Pearson Award including Laura Wade, Anders Lustgarten and James Graham, so its a great place for spotting upcoming new talent.

The Finborough, a 50-seater above a pub in Earls Court, is a great champion for new writing, but it also puts on a number of rarely seen plays, winning numerous fringe awards. A number of playwrights associated with the building have won the Pearson Award including Laura Wade, Anders Lustgarten and James Graham, so its a great place for spotting upcoming new talent. Matt Freestone Orange Tree Theatre Under Artistic Director Paul Miller, who was appointed in 2014, Richmonds Orange Tree has had something of a shake-up. They had a huge hit with Alistair MacDowells Pomona, which brought in new audiences and transferred to the National Theatre and the Royal Exchange. Alongside new writing they have presented revivals from writers as DH Lawrence, Doris Lessing, and Terence Rattigan.

Under Artistic Director Paul Miller, who was appointed in 2014, Richmonds Orange Tree has had something of a shake-up. They had a huge hit with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon, which ran at the National Theatre, and stage evenings with some of the most influential voices in theatre from Dame Judi Dench to Sharon D Clarke. Alongside new writing they have presented revivals from writers as DH Lawrence, Doris Lessing, and Terence Rattigan.  The Yard Artistic Director Jay Miller converted a disused warehouse in Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, into a 110-seater fully raked amphitheatre, and filled it with vibrant new writing. The small venue, created with recycled materials, has punched above its weight ever since; Alexander Zeldins extraordinary play on zero-hour workers, Beyond Caring, began life there before going to the National Theatre. It also regularly holds readings of drafts in developments and scratch nights for artists to test out new work. Arcola Theatre The Arcola in Dalston has two theatre spaces and plays host to a number of emerging theatre companies. On top of this, it is heavily invested in the local community and contains a number of theatre groups within it, including the Queer Collection, Women's Company and Ala-Turka for the Turkish and Kurdish groups of east London. As well as hosting new writing, they hold an opera festival every year; Grimeborn runs for several weeks over the summer. Lyric Hammersmith Theatre The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is over 125 years old but it definitely isnt showing its age. Theyve had a number of hits transfer to the West End, including Ghost Stories, which returned to the UK this year after a successful trip around the word. There is now a new boss behind the wheel, as Rachel O'Riordan has taken over and kicked things off with artistic associate Tinuke Craig's urgent adaptation of A Doll's House. Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre lives above the Prince Albert pub in Notting Hill, where it has been presenting theatre in its 75-seat venue since 1979. It counts Stephen Daldry, Erica Whyman and Carrie Cracknell amongst its previous artistic directors, with Ellen McDougall in charge now, and pretty much anyone who is anyone has worked there at some stage of their career. Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse began life in 1993, with a disused workshop being turned into a flexible theatre space. With two performance spaces, they put on a vast spread of work, from musicals to new plays, always focusing on breathing new life into the classics. Ambitious as ever, the Playhouse is moving into two new venues, a flagship site at Elephant and Castle and another in the arches of London Bridge Station. Ovalhouse Ovalhouse provides a space for new artists to develop work and offers an eclectic programme of experimental performance, as well as having a commitment to participation work and getting young people involved with the theatre. Its roots go back to the 1930s and numerous important cultural figures have started their careers there, from David Hare to Stella Duffy. They are about to move from their home in Kennington to a new site in Brixton, a mile and a half down the road, and asked performers in the final season to help them demolish the building. Shoreditch Town Hall This Grade II building became an independent arts venue in 2004, and has a number of different spaces including the huge Assembly Hall and basement space The Ditch. As well as hosting productions they curate their own artistic programme and present ground-breaking works from the likes of Jamie Lloyd and Alice Birch. Fun fact: it was involved in the filming of Florence Foster Jenkins and The Lady in the Van. Kiln Theatre Kiln Theatre in Kilburn (formerly known as the Tricycle) is the starting place for a number of plays that have gone on to have a massive life in recent years: Red Velvet starring Adrian Lester, Moira Buffinis Handbagged and Florian Zeller's The Son. Indhu Rubasingham joined as artistic director in 2012 and spearheaded a renovation before the rebrand. Theres a cinema too if your prefer your entertainment beneath a veil of celluloid. Philip Vile Theatre503 The Theatre503 is above The Latchmere pub in Battersea, and offers more new writing opportunities than anywhere else in the country. They have a year-round open submission policy and believe its a crucial way to keep the industry open to new writers. Their writing prize offers an unproduced writer a chance to be a part of their main season, and ensure they programme productions from writers from previous decades who have been overlooked. Their track record is excellent, with a lot of their shows transferring to bigger venues. Rose Theatre Kingston Its worth making the journey to the Rose. It opened in 2008 and was modelled on the original Elizabethan theatre that lived on Londons bankside. It hosts work from theatre companies such as the RSC as well as producing its own, and can attract the best. The world premiere of Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend took place here in 2017, and runs this year at the National Theatre, reuniting the original cast. Park Theatre The Park Theatre in Finsbury Park only opened in 2013, converted from a vacant office block next to the station. Artistic director Jez Bond wanted to create a neighbourhood theatre that presented world class theatre, and its first season featured Maureen Lipman and Charity Wakefield. It continues to present new writing and revivals, featuring Ian McKellen and Celia Imrie among its cheerleaders. parktheatre.co.uk

Harden cites his own personal favourite moment from the podcast as when actress Sinead Matthews remembered running down the road laughing at her own shitness after a particularly awful audition.

The series took on a life of its own, met with huge gratitude and support by the acting community, but Harden wasnt able to make a second series without a form of sponsorship to support it. A campaign to save the series swept across social media, and the hashtag #SaveHonestActors trended on Twitter for 12 hours on the same days as the Oscar and Olivier nominations were announced.

I guess its all just testimony to how badly we were all craving a bit of honesty, Harden says.

Fortunately, TodayTix stepped in and enabled Harden to bring the podcast back for a second series. This time round, he already has Noma Dumezweni, currently starring in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Amanda Abbington, star of Sherlock, signed up for a good old honest natter.

Harden ends every interview with the question what advice would you go back and give yourself? As an actor himself, hes got plenty of wisdom to impart too. Whats the best piece of advice he could offer right now?

There are worse things than being an unemployed actor; its just a job.

Find out more about Honest Actors and listen to previous episodes at the Honest Actors website, or go to iTunes

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Policemen dragged a body for hundreds of metres with a rope tied around the neck in Vaishali district of Bihar. Two policemen were later suspended for their callous act and insensitivity towards the dead man.

By India Today Web Desk: In another case of police apathy seen in Vaishali district of Bihar as policemen dragged a dead body for hundreds of metres by tying a rope around the neck. The policemen did so to take that body out of river Ganga.

The photographs exposed the appalling insensitivity of the policemen, who had reached the spot two hours after they were informed about a body floating body in the river. The man was found dead in the river Ganga by villagers in Vaishali.

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DIGNITY DENIED IN DEATH

The incident took place on Wednesday. The police team arrived at the scene without any support team of ambulance or aid workers. But, what they did to take out the body shocked everyone present.

To make up for the absence of ambulance, the policemen tied a rope around the deceased's neck and dragged the body for a few hundred metres from the river bank up to the spot they had parked their vehicle. Villagers watched as they dragged the dead body.

Bihar Police dragged a man, who was found dead in river Ganga, with a rope tied around the neck. Bihar Police dragged a man, who was found dead in river Ganga, with a rope tied around the neck.

ACTION AFTER OUTRAGE

Soon, the footage and photographs betraying police insensitivity went viral. By the time it reached top police officers, there was outrage among people for the way police treated the man in his death. Later, two policemen were suspended for their insensitivity shown to a dead man.

This is the second incident of the dead being ill-treated by Vaishali police. Action was taken a few years ago against top cops of the district for throwing the bodies of ten men, lynched by a mob, into river Ganga. The police officers had claimed that the bodies had been cremated.

THE ODISHA INCIDENT

The images of a man in Odisha walking with the body of his wife on his shoulder shocked the nation. The man, Dana Majhi was denied a vehicle to take his wife's body to their village for cremation.

Denied a hearse, he started his journey back home on foot with his daughter wailing and walking along side. After walking for nearly 12 kilometres, he got help from administration.



ALSO READ:

Tribal man in Odisha had to walk 10 km carrying wife's body after being denied govt help

Odisha again: Man forced to carry ailing wife to hospital on shoulder









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Review at a glance









O nly writer/director Barry Jenkins's second feature, Moonlight is the buzziest film at this year's Toronto film festival. It's the story of a troubled African-American boy growing up in drug-ridden Miami, told in three acts, the protagonist, Chiron, played at different ages by three different actors. They do not much resemble one another  but so powerful is our identification, so challenged is this boy's identity, that not only does that not matter, it works marvellously for the film.

In Part 1, "Little" (Alex Hibbert), a silent, gawky, big-eyed 10 year-old, estranged from his mother (Naomie Harris), a crack addict, is mentored by a surprisingly kind drugs dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali), who takes him for swimming lessons and answers him thoughtfully when he asks, "What's a faggot?", having already been singled out for abuse by his peers.

In Part 2, Chiron (Ashton Sanders) is an even more etiolated high-school kid, now severely tormented by his strutting classmates but he tentatively forms a relationship with his one childhood friend Kevin (now played by Jharrel Jerome), evolving into a tender sex scene on the beach, before the bullies force Kevin to beat Chiron  and he in turn finally resorts to savage violence.

In Part 3, some ten years later, "Black", Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) has, after prison, transformed himself into a hugely muscular drugdealer, working the streets of Atlanta, wearing gold grillz.

One night he gets an apologetic call from Kevin (Andre Holland, this time), now running a diner, and they meet again after so many years  and melt into one another, Chiron, his defences dissolving, confessing nobody else has ever touched him since.

Moonlight is mesmerically, sometimes swooningly, shot and scored, and well-acted all round too. It is bound to gain traction in this year's awards season, after last year's embarrassments.

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Although all about issues of troubled identity, it is not about inter-racial conflict, being set entirely within the black community, without a single white speaking part. Finally.

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T he Mercury Prize returns tonight, September 15, for its 25th birthday, to name the album of 2016.

The prestigious awards, held this year at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo, sees the likes of Kanos 'Made in the Manor' up against The 1975s mouthful 'i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it'.

In total, 12 acts are competing for the 25,000 prize.

David Bowie is presently the frontrunner, with Blackstar a 4/7 favourite to land him a posthumous win, which would be a first for the prize.

Dexter actor Michael C. Hall will perform album track Lazarus live this evening as a tribute to the late icon. Hall said of the performance: Its an unspeakable honour.

Its as humbling and gratifying as anything Ive ever been invited to do.

Radiohead are also up for the award, with 'A Moon Shaped Pool' giving them their fifth Mercury nomination. They are yet to win.

A statement from the judging panel, made up of musicians and industry experts, said: The 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize 'Albums of the Year' are marked by their musical ambitions, unexpected instrumentation and breathtaking arrangements."

Nominations Anohni  Hopelessness Bat For Lashes  The Bride David Bowie  Blackstar Jamie Woon  Making Time Kano  Made in the Manor Laura Mvula  The Dreaming Room Michael Kiwanuka  Love & Hate Radiohead  A Moon Shaped Pool Savages  Adore Life Skepta  Konnichiwa The 1975  I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it The Comet Is Coming  Channel the Spirits

Unusually, this year only features one debut album, Channel The Spirits by The Comet Is Coming.

Its expected that most of the 12 nominated acts will perform tonight at the concert. BBC Radio 6 Music will broadcast the show live over the airways, while BBC Four will show the ceremony from 9pm to 10pm in a special presented by Lauren Laverne.

Tickets can be bought for the ceremony here.

For more details about the Hyundai Mercury Prize visit mercuryprize.com

Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis

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Review at a glance









T heres a very real danger that, once released from the so-called Edinburgh bubble, a Fringe-acclaimed play can start to look diminished. Mercifully that isnt the case here, although undoubtedly Al Smiths transposition of Gogols short story to contemporary Scotland would have had more visceral impact north of the border.

Poprishchin is now Pop Sheeran (Liam Brennan), whose job is endlessly to repaint the Forth Rail Bridge. All of Pops available means of self-definition are thrown dangerously into crisis with the arrival of middle-class English university student Matthew (Guy Clark), who not only brings livelihood-threatening news of a special long-lasting paint but also seems to have designs on Pops teenage daughter Sophie (Louise McMenemy). Pops mental health, already fragile, starts to spiral dangerously.

As a study of traditional working-class manhood in decline in the brave new world of todays post-industrial Scotland, its effective, although there are some undoubted passages of slackness in Smiths writing and Christopher Haydons production.

Good as Brennan is, we long for the slide into madness  chats with Edinburghs legendary dog Greyfriars Bobby, fully-blown Braveheart fantasies  to be interspersed with more fully developed portraits of the four supporting characters, including Pops loyal wife Mavra (Deborah Arnott).

Theres particularly cherishable work from Lois Chimimba as Sophies sharp-tongued friend Mel; each scene fizzes into life when shes onstage. And that makes poor Pop even more mad.

Until Sept 24, Gate Theatre; gatetheatre.co.uk

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T he Thames is the repository and guardian of Londons unconsidered treasures. Roman potsherds and tesserae, medieval pipkins and porringers, imported Chinese porcelain, shoes, mutton-bones, the pins with which housewives secured their kirtles, dimpled glass raspberry prunts from the stems of 17th-century wine glasses, Victorian encaustic tiles, lost dolls and the bowls and fractured stems of an infinity of cheap clay pipes  all have been swallowed by the river as it flowed through the city and cast up again, centuries later, to be found on its muddy shores.

In London Labour and the London Poor, his 1851 account of the metropolitan underclass, Henry Mayhew described the wretched lives of mudlarks, who notice no one, they never speak, but... plash their way through the mire, their bodies bent down while they peer anxiously about.

Ted Sandlings version of mudlarking is an altogether more graceful pursuit. A history of art graduate with a keen eye for the strange desirability of the lost, the broken and discarded, he began mudlarking by accident a decade ago when he ventured onto the foreshore near Blackfriars Bridge and found the unbroken bowl of a clay pipe in the shape of a horses hoof. Here, in the centre of London... I was holding history: not of great political events but of very small things, of an individual living around 1850 who had broken his pipe and chucked it in the river...I knew I wanted more of this.

The days of spectacular finds such as the Iron Age Battersea shield, now in the British Museum, may be past but Sandling insists that, even bringing home a fragment of mediaeval pottery is enough to conjure real romance for the amateur. It is the connection between fragments, as well as their intrinsic beauty, that excites Sandling, who arranges his book thematically, deciphering from buttons and shards of pottery stories of exploration, foreign trade, shifting populations and social mores, changing tastes in consumption, decoration and household goods.

He begins his opening chapter with the oldest object in his collection, an 80-million-year-old fossil sea urchin from a time when London lay beneath the sea, juxtaposing it with a Mesolithic flint blade, a spandrel from the old Palace of Westminster, destroyed by fire in 1834, a Roman wine flagon, a fragment of 17th-century delftware and a piece of a childs cup printed with a religious verse. Each object, beautifully photographed, accompanies an essay describing the circumstances of its discovery, its origins and wider historical resonance.

Exhilaratingly curious and entertainingly knowledgeable, Sandling is especially good at following the fractals of his eclectic finds, linking the chemical violence of a piece of 19th-century Mochaware to a bilious essay by Charles Dickens in which, desolate in a wretched Staffordshire hotel, he is reduced to engaging his plate in conversation.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

He is a fine observer, too, of the potent flawed beauty of his hoard of rescued treasure, praising the wonderfully sensitive depiction of an alert sheeps hindquarters on a piece of 19th-century pearlware, a dimpled green glass raspberry prunt  jewel-like without being as gaudy as a gem  and the endless summer of a vibrantly coloured chip of 16th-century Italian majolica.

With handsome photography, an introduction by Iain Sinclair and a chapter of excellent practical advice for would-be mudlarkers, this book is an indispensable vade-mecum for anyone who has ever been tempted to explore the secrets that lie hidden in plain sight on the shores of Londons great river.

14.49, Amazon, Buy it now
H ere is a book which, as soon as I could get sight of a copy, I could not stop myself reading straight through, nothing being more urgent to me. These are not long, revelatory or self-disclosing letters  and to those who do not know or love Beckett many might even seem perfunctory or mannered. But every one of them, however brief, is a considered act by Beckett. Each is an example of how he conducted himself. Taken together they constitute a substantial addition to his body of writing. There are wonderful finds to be made here, to be taken to heart.

As the editors point out, right from the start of this collection, in January 1966, coming up to 60, Beckett was saying he was done: Yes, drive me to Pere Lachaise and go straight through the red lights. But in fact he was to live and continue to do what work he could  it included such masterpieces as Not I, Footfalls, Company and Ill Seen Ill Said  for another 24 years.

There is a sense in which if ever anyone were suited to, and prepared for, the inevitable winnowings of old age, that person is Beckett... the editors say, almost as if it were a form of good fortune. Its true: all his mature art is one of indigence and failure. But Beckett was also intimately aware, through his own mind and body, of the degradations of age, its reductions and impairments, in deadly earnest about death being, if were lucky, release.

So, on the one hand, Beckett writes to Lawrence Shainberg of his preposterous conviction, formed long ago, that here in the end is the last and by far the best chance for the writer. As late as 1980 he says, with care and wit, to the Swiss-Jewish poet Franz Wurm: I try to think, with what mind remains, that now is the time at last, the chance at last, in these remains, with those remains, though think is not the word, at last not the word.

But on the other, there are more direct if no less eloquent statements of decline, tiredness, near-blindness. To an English poet friend, who repeatedly sent him his own work for comment, he replies courteously and encouragingly as ever, before concluding: Of me nothing tellable to tell. I fare slowly on, in the long farewelling. So beautiful! To the same correspondent two years later, in 1983, he says: I flounder on down the long devious straight. Age with his stealing steps hath clawed me in his clutch. I try in vain to say as much. The quote is what the gravedigger sings in Hamlet  before throwing up a skull.

Beckett writes fine letters of condolence. Nonetheless, he says, on being told of a family bereavement, simply: I cant grieve for the dead. To Herbert Myron, on the death of his mother, aged 90: My heart goes out to you if youre grieving. But how can one? Mine went in 50. I was with her and through many nights before. It was good to see the poor old face & body calm at last, after 80 years of it. And, no less directly: Birthdays, after childhood, are sad occasions...

The temptation is only to quote. There is so much here of great value to those who study Beckett. In 1972, to Alan Schneider, producing Not I, he disclaims any privileged information as author: I no more know where she is or why thus than she does. All I know is in the text... The rest is Ibsen.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

Theres his trouble with his first biographer, Deirdre Bair, who wrote, he says, by all accounts nescience fiction. If only life were copyright, he says  but puts at last his trust in his good biographer, James Knowlson. Likewise, although he writes in 1974, as for the publication of letters, never again if I can help it, in 1984 he tells Martha Dow Fehsenfeld that he has confidence in her and knows he can rely upon her to edit his correspondence by its reduction to those passages only having bearing on my work.

Thats an injunction that requires interpretation. The editors reveal that there are some 9,000 pages of letters from these years and that what we have here is only 12 per cent of them, although perhaps 22 per cent of the actual words, many being notes to his agents about proposed adaptations of his work reading simply No.

The sheer volume, the unending punctiliousness and kindness of Becketts correspondence remains astounding. After winning the Nobel he wrote approx 500 cards, notes & letters of acknowledgement in three weeks. In 1986 he wrote an exculpation to Mary Manning Howe: Pen to paper is a long howl these days. Even the simplest words. I have no secretary & am crushed with mail.

But how could Beckett have had a secretary, have somebody else to write for him? Every word Beckett wrote as only he could write it. That is why, as Dan Gunn says in his excellent introduction to this final volume, that, though the writing of letters can seem like a diversion from, or even obstruction of, his work, the writing of letters is also that work. Now we can read them.

This is a great piece of publication. In their General Introduction the editors speak of their own amazement and sadness at what they have read. A senior member of the team reported ending each day of re-reading the total file in tears: the pitilessness with which Beckett observes his own decline, all the time hastening and retarding it with the word he writes in his letters, is staggering... Yes. But words are all we have. More of them now.
E mma Donoghue is best known for Room. This claustrophobic account of a kidnapped woman and her son narrowly missed out on the Man Booker and the Orange prizes in 2010, and was adapted into a film starring Brie Larson. Since then, Donoghue says that she is mostly known as the locked-up children writer.

In The Wonder, shes stuck to Room territory, with a tense account of a lonely woman keeping watch over a bright girl in confinement. But unlike Room, The Wonder is set in the past, which gives it a gothic feel.

The story begins with a slow journey out of London to the middle of rural Ireland. Its the 1850s and the country is in the grips of the potato famine. Nurse Lib Wright has been sent to investigate the mysterious case of Anna ODonnell, an 11-year-old girl who has apparently managed to survive without food for four months.

In a close-knit Catholic community where superstition rules, Lib stands out as an independent thinker, recently widowed and liberated by her lack of family ties. Trained by Florence Nightingale in Crimea, she believes only in empirical evidence and is desperate not to be outwitted by a snub-nosed child.

She rigorously logs Annas details as Nightingale taught her to, turning away tourists who have come from as far as Canada to meet the child and clashing with villagers desperate to believe in a miracle. But after a few days the nurse-turned-detective becomes plagued by concerns that something sinister is afoot.

Donoghue, who was born in Dublin, has a good understanding of the beguiling-yet-hostile Irish countryside as well as the prejudices of the people who live there. She was inspired by around 50 cases of so-called fasting girls between the 16th and 20th centuries, and chose the 1850s because that decade predates the identification in 1874 of anorexia nervosa as an illness.

Her sparse descriptions of Annas body breaking down are unpleasant to read, as are the sections about her parents, who are floundering, having already lost a son. Their motives are unclear and Lib projects her own emotions onto them.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

Being alone all day with a starving girl also means Lib becomes acutely conscious of every bite she eats, sourced from a community with meagre resources. Cold buttered griddle cakes and peaty eggs are momentous meals when consumed in front of abstemious Anna.

Libs own story is a gripping subplot. She glosses over a dead husband and sister, which calls her reliability as a narrator into question. But she is likeable, especially when a charming provocateur journalist exposes the conflict between the professional veneer shes worked so hard to acquire and her softer side.

The novel does feel slightly unbalanced, with the first two-thirds building momentum through evocative description and dialogue and all the action packed into the end. But Donoghues skill as a storyteller remains undented. This is a clever, satisfying novel that reels you in, asks questions and sustains the suspense until the big reveal.
F iona Shackleton, the high-profile family solicitor, once said that people in the throes of a divorce always behave at least 25 per cent worse than normal. Proving the point, Rachel Cusk chronicled her own matrimonial breakdown with such vitriolic rage and self-righteousness in her 2012 novel Aftermath that she got an absolute hammering for it.

The raw emotion that spilled from its pages was so toxic that her critics, many of whom had vilified her already for her disarmingly candid view of motherhood, simply couldnt get enough. Cusk subsequently told one interviewer: Without wishing to sound melodramatic, it was creative death after Aftermath. That was the end. I was heading into total silence.

She couldnt read or write for almost three years until eventually she produced Outline, a semi-autobiographical novel about a woman called Faye who goes to Athens to teach a writing course. It was in a sense the absolute opposite of Aftermath  instead of the central character doing major spillage she became the detached narrator observing others with terrifying, piercing accuracy.

Here now is Transit, its sequel. Neatly divided into nine chapters, each of which could work as a short story, Transit sees Faye navigating her way back to London with her two sons through different situations and conversations.

There is the estate agent who sells her a run-down ex-council flat and tells her, looking her in the eye for the first time, its not a place where you could expect children to live.

There is her ex-boyfriend Gerard, who she runs into outside his daughters school, and who shouts out something to one of the other mothers, with the enthusiasm that had always been the camouflage for his social mistrust.

There is the builder she hires to renovate her home, who had a kindly face that nonetheless wore a curious look of torment, like a babys face in the moment before it begins to cry, and her neighbour, living in the basement beneath her, whose large, slack body had an unmistakable core of violence.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

A female student comes to the flat for a lesson and confides that she has just broken up with her partner, someone who knew her with sufficient thoroughness that his demolition of her character in their final arguments could not fail to undermine her opinion of herself. And we meet Fayes hairdresser Dale, who pronounces on the meaning of freedom and his own Damascene conversion while dying her grey roots brown. Cusks landscape, both inside and out, is shot through with grey, from buildings and roadsides to the dawn skies and the tint of fatigue beneath made-up skin. Its cold and heartless.

Her final chapter is a superb depiction of a blended family, riven with the resentments that are unique to the step-parent/children dynamic. Fayes patriarchal bullish cousin Lawrence has left his wife for another woman and, while they entertain friends with champagne and foie gras in a low-ceilinged room, illuminated by so many candles it seemed for an instant to be on fire, their children  a mixed bunch from their previous relationships  squabble and clamour for attention, subtly exposing the couples diametrically opposed attitudes to parenting.

Faye, ever the perceptive spectator, asks questions and listens to the answers coolly, never sympathetic, only pitilessly, brittly observant. And while Cusk, creatively alive again, remains a writer who does not ask to be liked, she does demand to be admired.
A rriving at the vast, gleaming Net-a-Porter headquarters to interview the companys president, Alison Loehnis, only to realise you have forgotten to get a manicure, is not unlike those dreams of leaving the house without trousers on. Quelle horreur. I sheepishly extend a tatty hand that she grasps with a professional vigour and warmth, and beams, Oh, do come in.

Its the hottest day of the year. Shepherds Bush is such an inferno that one of the floor-to-ceiling head office windows has shattered in the heat. Nevertheless, Loehnis, 46, is immaculate: dressed in a pristine Saint Laurent white shirt, Dolce & Gabbana printed skirt and pumps, and a lick of Tom Ford black eyeliner (Always. Its my desert island thing).

Shes easy breezy in her air-conditioned glass office; a 25m-long stretch of windows on one side, and coffee table books stacked high on the other. Only two hours ago, she was balanced precariously on the scalding metal roof of the HQ, wearing a Roksanda AW16 catwalk look and vertiginous heels to shoot for this story. One false move and 10 points would have been wiped off the Milan stock exchange (following its merger with Yoox, the Yoox Net-a-Porter Group was listed on Milans stock exchange in October 2015). Loehnis, you see, as any of her staff will attest, is a doer.

You dont become president of the Net-a-Porter Group without being an alpha personality, lets face it. Since being appointed by Yoox CEO Federico Marchetti in October 2015, one month after Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet resigned, Loehnis has been charged with overseeing Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter and their related magazines and media channels.

She appears confident and comfortable in her relatively new role. Does she ever feel overwhelmed by it all? Oh God, of course. But I try not to be too self-flagellating about it. You have to be organised and able to say no to things. Arguably considered the most influential woman in fashion, Massenet left big Manolos to fill. She revolutionised the way we shop and changed the retail landscape forever.

With Kate Moss last June. (Dave Benett/Getty Images / Dave Benett/Getty Images

Ive been briefed that Massenet-related questions are off the table, but Loehniss palpable composure is surely down to the fact that her appointment is not quite the big hoik-up that it could be perceived to be; shes been quietly steering the Net-a-Porter ship from behind the scenes since joining in 2007 as vice-president of sales and marketing, leading all marketing, PR, customer care, personal shopping, content and branding activity. By the time she was promoted to head of the group, she had been working as president of Net-a-Porter for four years.

Some 400 staff now work under her charge at Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter (before you start adding on the distribution centres, studio teams and so forth) spread between offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai. There are 650 brands on Net-a-Porter (including beauty) and 400 on Mr Porter that need to be taken care of. Every week, 1,000 new-season products are uploaded onto the Net-a-Porter site, plus roughly 250 for Mr Porter. The scale is mind-boggling.

Before I meet Loehnis, a PR gives me a tour of the 90,000 sq ft buying offices that double as chandelier-bedecked yoga studios for the staff. Security here is so rigorous you need a swipe card to get into the loos. Theres miles of black lacquered surfaces, and seven photo bays, where e-commerce models are photographed wearing the latest arrivals. We pass banks of personal shoppers, PRs, marketing writers, buyers, merchandisers and translators working in French, German and Mandarin. Everyone  everyone  looks stylish. Crossing the threshold into the Mr Porter side of the building, trim, erudite men with tattoos and horn-rimmed glasses dart about or gather for stand-up meetings. Its efficiency-squared here.

Online clothes shops - in pictures 1 /16 Online clothes shops - in pictures ASOS From boho dresses to the trendiest trainers, ASOS is your one-stop shop for of-the-moment pieces. Both men and women can browse through a helpful list of popular high-street, sports and designer labels including the likes of River Island, Nike and Moschino. To make your search easier, theres the option to shop by various edits including a Going Out-Out range and Workwear. ASOS, Shop now Missguided The ultimate e-fashion store for ladies on a budget. With pastcampaigns featuring the likes of singers Pia Mia and Nicole Scherzinger, the website offers various styles of affordable clothing and doesnt skimp on quality. Youll also come across pieces that resemble items recently worn by style-savvy stars including the Kardashians. Missguided, Shop now Net a Porter A leading name of online fashion, Net a Porter brings the latest catwalk styles to your fingertips. Its luxury range includes bridal wear, a vacation shop and theres a beauty section featuring popular cosmetic brands like Charlotte Tilbury. Net a Porter, Shop now Simply Be Simply Be is a popular name in plus-size fashion, offering cute on-trend pieces in sizes 10-32. British TV presenter Jameela Jamil can be spotted flaunting her own collection for the website, while theres an eclectic mix of trends to shop through. Featured brands include Coast, Joe Browns and Little Mistress. Simply Be, Shop now Amazon Fashion Looking for everything in one place? Amazon might be known as a one-stop shop for daily essentials, but the online giant is also becoming a go-to site for millennials searching for a stylish ensemble. Stocking heaps of high-street and designer labels, from Mango and New Look to Kate Spade and Michael Kors, Amazon Fashion is a great bet for those who regularly top up their wardrobe with the seasons key trend pieces. It also has a jeans store where you can shop denim pieces from iconic brands such as Levis. If thats not enough, then Amazon Prime members are able to order three or more items without paying upfront. Amazon Fashion, Shop now Rokit With reasonable prices and an incredibly easy search function, Rokit is the perfect online shopping destination for vintage fashion-hunters. From 50s tea dresses to 90s track tops, its quirky retro gems feature almost every single era and theres also a Recycled range. Rokit, Shop now Boohoo This website draws inspiration from some of the most stylish celebs of the moment. Whether its Kendall Jenners casual chic or the vibrant TOWIE style youre aiming for, theres a purse-friendly piece to suit different tastes. Click on the catwalk video to get a closer look of the items you've got your eye on. Boohoo, Shop now Secret Sales If youre all about discounts, then look no further than this private shopping club. Its hidden time-limited sales include up to 70 percent off designer brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada. As well as clothing and accessories, there are also reductions on homeware and beauty goods. Secret Sales, Shop now Cloggs Footwear retailer Cloggs boasts some of the best footwear brands around and offers a 15 percent discount to students. With a free returns service, the easy-to-use website provides an A-Z brand directory as well as sections for men, women and kids. Cloggs, Shop now Figleaves This online lingerie retailer features a huge selection of lingerie, nightwear and swimwear from well-known underwear labels  think Heidi Klum Intimates and Triumph. Picky ladies have the option to find their perfect fit using the websites handy Bra Calculator, while brides-to-be can shop for those special essentials from the Bridal section. Figleaves, Shop now Young British Designers Explore the UKs up and coming fashion designers while shopping for quintessentially British pieces. Launched in 2010, this edgy website offers some of the best designs from the likes of Issi, J.W Anderson and Debra Hepburn. Young British Designers, Buy it now Zalando Belin-based online fashion retailer, Zalando, sells clothing styles for women, men and kids from more than 1,500 brands. With a sophisticated design, the website lets you shop the latest items from your favourite high-street labels and sought-after designer brands, from Topshop and New Look to Fendi and Ralph Lauren. It offers free home delivery and theres also a courier collection service for returns, which allows you to book a slot within the hour. Boohoo, Shop now

How much of the job is about instinct versus statistical reporting? When the numbers tell you that ankle boots dont sell in summer, but your buyers discover the most divine pair at market, what do you do? Its very much a marriage of the two. My job is to have a thorough understanding of the market and to draw on this knowledge and the fantastic data we have to make decisions. At the same time, were an agile business; we like to stay entrepreneurial and fast paced. Im a big believer in fully understanding the facts and also trusting your gut.

Loehnis, nee Appel, grew up on Manhattans Upper West Side. Her mother was a teacher before having Loehnis and her sister, later becoming an advertising account manager with fashion clients including Ralph Lauren. Her father ran the Saint Laurent fragrance business in North America.

Aged 18, Loehnis moved to Rhode Island to study art history at Brown University but preferred her part-time job working on the shop floor for Ralph Lauren. The art market was dead and I knew about advertising through osmosis, she says. After failing a typing test for an apprenticeship at Conde Nast she landed a job at Saatchi & Saatchi working on a breakfast cereal account. It was fantastic. It taught me how to work in an office, how to conduct a meeting, how to write up a conference report. The learning curve was steep, but it was super interesting. Later she worked in corporate communications at Hachette Filipacchi in New York, before joining LVMH and Thomas Pink. She joined Net-a-Porter in 2007.

She met her husband, Alexander, co-founder of the corporate communications company Investis and her sounding board, through mutual friends when she came to London. They live with their two children, Milo, nine, and Tilly, eight, in Ravenscourt Park. At one point, she confesses, I love to get up early and get ahead of the day, but reassuringly, she says she also loves unfettered time.

Yet even that description sounds like MBA business speak; her weekends are totally unprogrammed and spent outdoors in bucolic Gloucestershire at a house she rents, although she admits to loving nothing more than a Netflix series. She regularly runs and does Pilates to maintain her sample-size figure. People ask, How can you have a full-on career and be a full-on mum? For me, something has to take a back seat  and thats my social life. During the week I will try to be strict about how often Im out, because I really want to be totally present for my family and totally present at work. Everyones different, but I dont think I could do all three. I love seeing friends, but Im also lucky because my work is quite social.

With Net-a-Porter founder, Natalie Massenet / BFAnyc.com/REX/Shutterstock

When not at the River Cafe or Casa Cruz with her husband, she can be found around her dining table at home with the cream of Londons designers. I adore Erdem, I adore Christopher [Kane], I adore Roksanda, I adore Alessandra [Rich].

Business is booming. While foreboding reports pepper the luxury newswires, YNAPs stock is up.

Loehnis says the biggest market is the US, which is growing at a really great curve, and, mercifully, we are still experiencing growth in Europe. Although the company is now 16 years old, she says in many ways, it feels like just the beginning. There are so many people in markets out there who do not know about us or about what we do.

Thats hard to swallow given the 6 million shoppers who visit the site every month (plus its 5.6 million strong social media following), but Loehnis is on a mission to leave no stone unturned. The year ahead promises more tech developments  our focus is wholeheartedly on mobile: 40 per cent of shopping happens on our phones  as well as the launch of Mr Porters own in-house designed menswear label, Mr P, and heavy investment in watches and fine jewellery.

Her PA, Sophie, taps at the glass door; our time together is up  38 minutes. A self-confessed stickler for timekeeping, you get the impression that if one minute were to be missed, Loehniss whole life would spiral out of control into one indiscriminate surge of emails, missed appointments and red traffic lights. As it stands, you imagine Loehnis is one of those people for whom the lights are always green, leaving her to glide straight on through.

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I m not a huge fan of fashion shows, declares Jamie Bochert, model, musician, and Marc Jacobs muse. Im claustrophobic and I dont really like being touched. Im a germaphobe, so thats not fun when people are coming at you with fingers, make-up She shivers. Im like, No! I actually try to bring my own make-up when I can. Yikes  the prospect of fashion month must have her quaking in her bovver boots. How does she prepare? There is no way. Its like walking into a hurricane.

Shes certainly not in it for the fame, either. Among fashion insiders, Bochert, 33, has amassed a cult following  as well as her long-standing collaboration with Jacobs, the Olsen sisters, Karl Lagerfeld and Riccardo Tisci are fans. Her Instagram feed, meanwhile, is peppered with messages of love and support from influential editors, as well as fellow models Carolyn Murphy and Agyness Deyn. With her sculptural features and string-bean limbs, Bocherts is an androgynous look that sex blogger Karley Slutever Sciortino described as: the sort of beauty that makes gay men weep, straight guys feel intimidated and straight girls feel all tingly and confused.

Yet shes also an enigma. There are hardly any interviews with her online, and she physically recoils when I ask about her rumoured boyfriend, the actor and musician Michael Pitt. Its personal. Yeah, please dont write about any of that, she implores, when I ask if the rumours they recently wed, following a lengthy engagement, are true. She doesnt even have a Facebook profile. Im not very good on the computer. Instagram is the only thing I know how to use, besides email, she says. Its actually scary. I miss when all of that didnt exist

Were perched on the edge of a squishy leather sofa, her nails being painted a shade of storm-cloud grey for the ES Magazine shoot. Bochert arrived on set moments earlier, blown into the studio like an early autumn leaf on an unseasonably soggy Manhattan morning. Dressed in a black-and-red chiffon cheongsam picked up at the Salvation Army, endless legs lugging a pair of well-worn lace-up biker boots, she is a vampish wisp of a woman. But with the take-me-or-leave-me demeanour of a seasoned New Yorker.

Shes tired. It is the build-up to New York Fashion Week, and she was in fittings until gone midnight last night. And then the traffic this morning killed me, she says. Shes travelled in from Williamsburg, across the river, where she lives in a sprawling artists loft with her piano and her rescue cat, Sid (who my dad calls Sid Vicious, because she beats up his cat when he watches her for me). In other words, shes somehow still living the bohemian Brooklyn dream we all assumed had been steamrolled by the billionaires and the shiny new condos that have descended on the borough over the past decade. But you soon get the impression that Bochert, as raw and vulnerable as she is deadpan, possesses a finely honed ability to create her own reality.

BOTTEGA VENETA jacket, 1,160; trousers, 760 (bottegaveneta.com). TRIUMPH non-wired bra, 18 (triumph.com). JACQUEMUS shoes, 400 (jacquemus.com/laboutique) / Liam Warwick

Born in the nondescript town of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Bochert travelled around a lot as a child with her parents work, spending a few years down in Louisiana. Everyone always assumes it was the army, but my mother worked for the company that made parts for the space shuttle, she says. Yes, she has siblings, but I dont get along with them. Thats a shame, I suggest. But she just shrugs: Its not even something that comes up, really.

It doesnt sound like the most idyllic upbringing  but then she discovered ballet. I wanted to be a cheerleader, but I auditioned and didnt make it. So my mother took me to a dance studio instead. I was like, Ill try it, and then I became obsessed. Like completely obsessed. I just danced. I didnt have boyfriends, I didnt do anything. I just went to ballet and then I went home. What did she love so much about it? It felt like an escape from myself, and that felt really good. Like an out-of-my-head kind of high it taught me a lot about hard work, and focus, obvious things. But I really loved going there. I craved it.

A few years down the line, having discovered artists such as Nina Simone and Duke Ellington, she found a similar sense of escape with music. My best friend in Louisiana had a piano, and her mother would just let me come over and play, she remembers. I dont know I just lost myself, and it felt so good I wanted to stay. Same story.

Jamie Bochert: in pictures 1 /8 Jamie Bochert: in pictures VICTORIA BECKHAM dress, 1,550, 36 Dover Street, W1, (victoriabeckham.com). JW ANDERSON earrings, 265, at Selfridges Designer Studio.CHARLOTTE CHESNAIS ring, 504 (charlottechesnais.fr) - Liam Warwick BOTTEGA VENETA jacket, 1,160; trousers, 760 (bottegaveneta.com). TRIUMPH non-wired bra, 18 (triumph.com). JACQUEMUS shoes, 400 (jacquemus.com/laboutique) Liam Warwick BALENCIAGA stirrup trousers, 635; jacket, 1,295; silk smock, 665; white patent boots, 515 (balenciaga.com) Liam Warwick JACQUEMUS coat, 695, at Selfridges Designer Studio. MARNI shoes, 570, 26 Sloane Street, SW1. HERMES roll neck, 1,030, 155 New Bond Street, W1 Liam Warwick VETEMENTS suit; shirt; and boots, POA, all from a selection at Selfridges Designer Studio Liam Warwick LOUIS VUITTON jacket, 2,741; trousers, 1,227, 17-20 New Bond Street, W1 Liam Warwick

Her first foray into modelling came after she was scouted in 2002 while she was bartending in LA. But it was all too maybe youll work, maybe you wont. I needed to make money, so I thought Id get a keyboard and a guitar, make music, and work in a bar. Which is what I did for about five years, until I met Marc.

She was introduced to Jacobs when he was looking for a new fit model in 2008, and the connection between them was instant. He cast her to open his show that season, and the rest is fashion history. Why do they get on so well? The same things amuse us... I guess its just why anybody would connect. But I like that he sees beauty in things that you would never... I dont know. Hes just a really special person.

Needless to say, with Marcs blessing doors that were previously closed to Bochert began to open, and shes since worked steadily and at the very highest level, having walked for all the greats and booked campaigns for the likes of Balenciaga, Calvin Klein, Valentino, Lanvin, Christopher Kane and Gucci.

Her weight  she is very slim, in a lean, androgynous way, but not, in the flesh, unhealthily so  has been something of a controversy. People [on Instagram] say really strange things, like Oh youre too skinny, eat a hamburger. Its something shes got used to, and it doesnt piss me off. Im happy with my body. But it is annoying when people who dont even know you just assume youre anorexic, or a drug addict, or a tranny. After all, Nick Cave for example, hes really skinny. Do I think hes anorexic? No, hes just a beautiful man, and an amazing artist.

And sure, she may have shunned breakfast in favour of a black coffee this morning (Ill just pick throughout the day, she tells an assistant who offers to bring her a croissant), but she also tells me that she loves food and is a keen cook  her current favourite dish is salt-baked sea bass, after she discovered the Mediterranean speciality on a summer holiday in Formentera. Indeed, dinners at home with friends  other Brooklyn musicians and artists  are her favourite way to socialise outside of work. Meanwhile, shes currently reading Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal, an obscure pornographic novel from 1893 thats said to have been written by Oscar Wilde (a friend got it for me at Shakespeare and Company in Paris).

But music is still her true passion. One pays my rent and the other I cant live without, she once said, when asked to describe the roles of fashion and music in her life. She performs under the stage moniker Francis Wolf. Her songs are languid and melancholy, her singing voice reminiscent of a feminine Lou Reed. Its unsurprising that none other than Patti Smith, with whom she jammed at an all-night concert in Paris in 2009 after they were introduced by their mutual friend, the fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester, has said of Bochert that she somewhat resembles my younger self.

Meanwhile, she cites PJ Harvey as her chief inspiration and all-time girl crush; she once said that Harvey would be her ultimate dinner date: Wed have to go out, though, because Id be too nervous to cook. I love her. Shes amazing authentic and honest. And they could be sisters, I tell her, they look so alike. No we dont. I wish I looked like her, shes so beautiful. Her 10-year plan, meanwhile, is to finish the album Ive been working on forever! And of course she still loves to dance. The last time I went out dancing was to the Goth night at [East Village institution] Pyramid, she smiles, inciting oohs and ahhs from our make-up artist (Wow, is that place still there?)

Snapshots of a very bohemian existence, indeed  with a fabulous life in fashion on the side.

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I f you havent already lusted after the sell-out long-sleeved, almost matronly Lyra dress from Mother of Pearl, you soon will do. The hitherto under-the-radar label is rapidly going from cult favourite among the fashion set to it-brand, beloved by discerning A-listers (Gwyneth Paltrow, Florence Welch and Lena Dunham are fans). Prepare to hanker after this winters rose-print ruched velvet dress, ditsy print tops and silk-print shoes, which all cleverly combine the labels catnip blueprint of homespun femininity with a streak of tomboyish cool.

Founded in 2002 by Maia Norman (former partner of Damien Hirst) the brand has been reinvented over the past year by its 31-year-old creative director, Amy Powney. Having joined the company straight from Kingston University in 2006, working her way up to the role of creative director, she took over full control when Norman stepped away from the day-to-day running of the business last year (she remains the owner). It wasnt a hard conversation, says Powney of taking over the reins. I had been here for 10 years, Maia and I had always got on. I was ambitious and really wanted to push this brand and Maia was thrilled that I was going to do that. She has a busy life and it made sense.

Despite her forthright vision, theres nothing showy about Powney with her shoulder-length brown hair and soft voice. Only the Anissa Kermiche gold earrings, not unlike golden Chinese fortune cookies, are a giveaway that she might work in fashion. Yet she speaks passionately on all aspects of the company. Feminine, sporty and modern is the design mantra she repeats to herself each season.

Mother of Pearl AW16

She not only designs ruffled tea dresses printed with wallpaper flowers (her Walthamstow house backs onto the William Morris Gallery and his influence is omnipresent), but mannish herringbone overcoats and tailored joggers, too. Its about finding something pretty with a relaxed silhouette, being able to throw it on and still feel feminine and great and not trussed up. She says the Mother of Pearl customer is a strong woman, and if that sounds like the throwaway comment of every fashion designer, she backs it up by telling me about her childhood. I grew up on an off-the-grid farm near Preston. For some time, I lived in a caravan in a field with no water and electricity. We had one mirror, she says, outlining the size of an A5 envelope. And yet I was surrounded by strong women: my mother was, and is, very beautiful but she was also very strong, mentally as well as physically.

London Fashion Week AW16 round-up 1 /17 London Fashion Week AW16 round-up Kleptomania Christopher Kane Late-night leather House of Holland Applique AV Robertson Leather trims J W Anderson Raw Edges Mulberry Plisse Mary Katrantzou No fur coats Unique Dressed-up denim Emilia Wickstead Buff Simone Rocha Subtle seduction Preen Statement sleeves Erdem Heritage coats Burberry Ruffles Roksanda

Today, Mother of Pearl is stocked by more than 100 retailers worldwide, including matchesfashion.com, Net-a-Porter and Harvey Nichols. The AW16 collection arrives on shop floors this week, just as Powney reveals her SS17 show at London Fashion Week. Crucially, it doesnt cost the Earth, sitting alongside names such as MSGM and Tibi. These brands offer desirable designed clothes without the intimidating Bond Street price tag. Powneys dresses start at 495, her shoes at 195. You dont have to be very rich to be able to save up and still buy them. She puts the recent uptick in retailers down to the humour evident in the designs. I think thats what sets us apart. We take something quite prim but make it fun and light-hearted. Powney, a clever and ambitious creative mind, is as intensely likeable as her clothes.

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By Samonway Duttagupta: If there's a country with some of the most beautiful national parks in the world, it has to be Canada. With plenty of uninhabited space, Canada has let Mother Nature thrive in the most beautiful of ways.

The good news is, all national parks of Canada will offer free entry to visitors for an entire year in 2017. That's reason enough to make us want to save up for that trip to Canada. Seriously, the national parks in this country are that beautiful! And we really urge you to do the same as well.

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Wondering why Canada is being so generous to travellers? Well, it's because the country will be celebrating its 150th anniversary next year. According to a post on treehugger.com, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau wrote in a mandate letter to the new Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna: "Make admission for all visitors to National Parks free in 2017, the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Beginning in 2018, ensure that admission for children under 18 is free, and provide any adult who has become a Canadian citizen in the previous 12 months one year's free admission."

This should make travellers, trekkers, hikers, mountaineers, nature lovers, and every adventure lover around the world really happy.

Also read: A must-add to your Paris itinerary: a museum tracing the history perfumes



Having known this, let's take a look at some of the most beautiful national parks in Canada:

Banff National Park

Established in the year 1885, the Banff National Park in Alberta is the oldest and the most visited national park in Canada. It is spread across an area of 6,641 square kilometres and is known for its beautiful blend towering snow-capped peaks and flower-strewn meadows. There are 53 species of mammals in Banff National Park, including grizzly bears, black bears, cougar, lynx, wolverine, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, mountain goats and bighorn sheep. The park is also home to at least 280 species of birds, including bald eagles, red-tailed hawk and osprey.

Banff national Park. Photo: Reuters

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park was the next to come up in Canada's long list of picturesque national parks. The park is said to have been carved out naturally from the rugged Selkirk and Purcell mountains from as many as 400 glaciers. The Glacier National Park is home to Nakimu Cave, which is among the 10 largest cave systems in Canada.

Glacier National Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/Jasper and Pat Donaho/Creative Commons

Jasper National Park

The sheer size of the Jasper National Park can amaze the greatest globetrotters around the world. It is spread across a massive area of 10,878 square kilometres. What makes Jasper one of the biggest tourist attractions not only among Canadians but travellers from all parts of the world is the fact that it rests amid the unforgettable splendour of the Rocky Mountains. All you see here are the snow-capped peaks, mineral springs and glacier-fed lakes and rivers, and they attract as many as 30 lakh visitors every year. The wildlife population of this park being one of the biggest tourist attractions, some of the most commonly spotted species here include moose, elk, mule deer, black bear, coyote, mountain goats and bighorn sheep.

Jasper National Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/BRJ INC/Creative Commons Jasper National Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/BRJ INC/Creative Commons

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Want to make your travel bucket list of Canada's national parks? Click here to see them all.



--- ENDS ---
H ome is

New York City.

How long do you take to get ready in the morning?

Its usually about an hour. Typically Im awake by 7am. Then I walk Neville, my bull terrier, shower, shave and eat breakfast.

What is your approach to grooming?

I love a ritual. I couldnt live without our Under(cover) Coconut Primer and Lip Lock lip balm.

Where do you stay in London?

Claridges. Whats not to love?

The designer stays at Claridges

Whats the first thing you do when you arrive in London?

I like to settle into my hotel room before making any commitments. Im always curious about new exhibitions. Olafur Eliassons The Weather Project, which was on at Tate Modern a while back, is one that has stuck with me.

What are your favourite London discoveries?

New art exhibits. Sadie Coles always introduces me to the most amazing pieces.

Whos your hero?

I wouldnt say theres one specific hero figure

Who is your British icon  and why?

I love Kate Moss dearly. She embodies the spirit of London. She is a woman of incomparable style  bold, sharp, dynamic and fearless.

Kate Moss in The EDIT 1 /6 Kate Moss in The EDIT Chris Colls courtesy of The EDIT, NET-A-PORTER.com Kate Moss wears jacket & dress by Kate Moss for Equipment Chris Colls and courtesy of The EDIT, NET-A-PORTER.com Kate Moss wears coat by Stella McCartney & pants by Kate Moss for Equipment Chris Colls and courtesy of The EDIT, NET-A-PORTER.com Kate Moss wears shirt and pants by Kate Moss for Equipment Chris Colls and courtesy of The EDIT, NET-A-PORTER.com Kate Moss on the cover of The EDIT Chris Colls and courtesy of The EDIT, NET-A-PORTER.com

Where would you recommend for a first date?

Your guess is as good as mine!

Where do you go to let your hair down?

My London friends and I threw a party for Kate Moss at the Playboy Club a few years back  that was a great night.

Best meal youve had in London?

I recently had a great meal at Tamarind restaurant on Queen Street in Mayfair. It was all delicious.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?

Im not sure Id like that job!

If you had to be locked in a building in London overnight, which would it be?

Tate Modern.

What are your favourite London shops?

Dover Street Market, our Mount Street store, Turnbull & Asser for new shirts or a suit. I also love walking through Harrods and John Lewis on Oxford Street to see our beauty collection.

What is your biggest extravagance?

Art. I can never have enough.

Best piece of advice youve been given?

I met [the designer] Perry Ellis as a teenager and he encouraged me to attend Parsons School of Design in New York. That definitely changed my future.

What are you up to at the moment?

Im working every day to perfect our Spring 2017 show this September.

Who do you call when you want to have fun?

Katie Grand. She always knows exactly the kind of thing I like.

The Marc Jacobs Beauty collection is available at John Lewis, Oxford Street, W1 (johnlewis.com) #MJBxJohnLewis
L ondon Fashion Week is a particularly busy time for us as we cater for a lot of shoots and parties, which means long days on the go and many late nights. Were not the only ones. Designers, models, PRs, editors theyre all wrestling with schedules that involve ultra-early starts, back-to-back shows across town, and events in the evening.

Its exhilarating but its important to stay well-fuelled to avoid burnout. Pho is the perfect solution. Traditional Vietnamese pho is eaten for breakfast and will definitely fill you up, but its also a great pick-me-up throughout the day. Its quick, easy, cleansing and a welcome boost if you are feeling run-down. This recipe is our own adaptation and combines the originals wonderfully light and fragrant broth with indulgent pancetta and fresh crunchy greens  peas, broad beans, asparagus and sugar snaps. The great thing is that the veg doesnt need to be cooked in advance (you dont even need to defrost the peas). Just throw them all straight into the pan, then serve immediately to keep them nice and crunchy.

If youre cooking at the weekend or have some spare time you can make your own stock (simmering water with bones of your choice, veg and herbs for a few hours), but if you are in a rush then most supermarkets do good-quality fresh stock, which you can find in the chilled section. In this recipe we use chicken stock but if youre vegetarian, vegetable will be just as delicious  you can also substitute the pancetta for shiitake mushrooms.

You can easily make a big batch in advance (it freezes well) and dip into it during the week, decorating with herbs, toasted sesame seeds, spring onions, chilli and condiments of choice (chilli oil and hoisin work well) before serving.

Smoked pancetta, pea and mint pho

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tbsp coconut oil

250g smoked pancetta, chopped

1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped

5cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 birds eye chilli, finely chopped

1 lemon grass stalk, finely chopped

3 lime leaves

1 large cinnamon stick

2 star anise

2 tsp fish sauce

Large glass white wine

1L chicken stock

500g rice noodles

Dash soy sauce

1 tsp honey

1 lime, zest and juice

250g peas

100g broad beans, podded

250g asparagus spears

Handful of chives, dill and mint, chopped

Sliced red chilli for decoration

Method

Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook for a few minutes until it starts to crisp.

Add the shallot, ginger, garlic, chilli, lemon grass, lime leaves, cinnamon stick and star anise, and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add the fish sauce and stir, then add the white wine and chicken stock. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

While this is cooking, prepare the rice noodles according to the instructions on the pack and leave to the side.

Add the soy sauce, honey, lime zest and juice to the broth. Add the crunchy greens and herbs.

Divide the noodles between 4 bowls, then portion out the broth. Garnish to taste and serve.

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T hese are just a few of the fantastic photographs battling it out to be crowned the winner of this years Sony World Photography Awards.

The first selection of images from the 10th anniversary of the world's largest photography competition were revealed today.

This years entries cover subjects as varying as grand architecture, fascinating underwater scenes and cultural celebrations, as well as creative digital manipulation at its finest.

Highlights from this year's competition include a majestic peacock dancing in Jaipur, India and a colourful photograph of festival dancers at the Dinagyang Festival in the Philippines.

Also announced today are the juries for the 2017 awards. Esteemed experts from across the photographic industry will cast their votes on the best images shot in 2016 across the awards Professional, Open, Youth, National Award and Student Focus competitions.

The chosen winners will receive the latest Sony digital imaging equipment as well as a $25,000 prize (18,900) for the overall winner.

All winning and shortlisted images will also be exhibited as part of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House, London from April 21  May 7, 2017.

Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle
T he message from the AW16 catwalks is clear: bigger is better  at least when it comes to jewellery that is. Maximalist label du jour, Alessandro Micheles Gucci, offered opulent crystal-embellished costume jewellery as did Dolce & Gabbana, while Marni and JW Anderson did clunky Modernist baubles of the type that can be heard before they are seen.

Elsewhere, weighty, sculptural metal pieces dominated Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang, Balenciaga and Loewe. For this style, look out for pieces from young Parisian craftsperson Charlotte Chesnais. Her swirling gold, silver and rose gold shapes appear to have formed organically, and though large, are extremely chic and flattering.



At Wolf & Badger, one of Londons most imaginative independent boutiques, small, quirky motifs are the order of the day, as creative director and co-founder, Henry Graham, explains: Jewellery trends are embracing the natural world. We are seeing a great variety of designs inspired by flora and fauna, which allow the wearer to really express their individuality. Layering several pieces together from different designers and mixing metals is a great way to style them. Origami jewellery birds, from swans to cranes, along with a kitschy-cute gold cactus by Lee Renee, are among their bestsellers.

While the vogue for oversized pieces rages on the catwalk, the opposite has proved to be true for fans of piercing, with tiny trinkets colonising ever more obscure nooks and crannies of corporeal real estate (the inner ear, for example). Also, ear cuffs (no piercing necessary, they clip over the side the ear) for every length of the finger are as popular as ever. New York piercer and jewellery designer Maria Tash,whose celebrity fans include Gwyneth Paltrow, FKA twigs, and Beyonce, has recently opened up her first permanent UK piercing spa at Liberty.

Tash will curate your ear, strategically placing opal or diamondstudded micro hoops, studs and chains among lobes, cartilage, tragus and rook. (Last year may have seen peak septum ring, its more about ears now.) The range, Venus by Maria Tash, is among a very few brands classed as fine body jewellery with exquisite, almost microscopically tiny pieces, and prices from 41 to 4,100. Notting Hills Love Hate Social Club offers similar service, but slightly more affordably.

If a pierced tragus is outside your comfort zone, theres another trend that may be of interest: pearls are back! Once the signifier of Sloane Rangers and Tory wives, theyre currently the coolest stones around. On reflection, theres nothing more chicly minimal than a precious white sphere.

Forget grannyish strings and go for one or two oversized pearls, on a dangling earring, ring or simplebangle. Fine jeweller, NOA, has a pink pearl ring sourced from rare freshwater pearls thats extremely pretty. Cashmere twinset entirely optional.



With over 280 stores give your accessories an overhaul at Westfield, see the full list of shops and services at Westfield.com
I f you havent succeeded in making Monday-to-Friday dressing an effortless ritual, then let us revisit that nostalgic concept of a crisp, new uniform Now is the ideal moment to shake up your weekday wardrobe.



Get in the mindset

Never has the phrase less is more rung louder than when it comes to workwear. Much has been made recently of successful leaders who dont have to don a uniform but do so out of choice  for example, the simple reason billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wears the exact same style of grey T-shirt every day is because its one less decision for him to make in the mornings. Ditto Barack Obama, who only ever wears blue or grey suits so he isnt distracted by what he calls trivia.



While were not suggesting you should wear a suit to the office every day, you could take a leaf out of Matilda Kahls book. The blog post she wrote last year for Harpers Bazaar about wearing the same thing to work every day, went viral. For the past four years, Kahl  creative manager at Sony Music in Stockholm  has worn a self-imposed uniform consisting of a white silk shirt, black trousers and a black leather bow around her neck for embellishment. She explained how devising a go-to look allowed her to park all the frustrations she experienced around getting dressed in favour of focusing on the day ahead. And she took the look with her when she changed jobs, industries and continents  moving from an art director role at Saatchi & Saatchi agency in New York to her current position in Sweden  earlier this year.

Outside of work, Kahl loves nothing more than a statement summer dress or a pair of jeans like the rest ofus, marking a stark difference between her work and weekend mindset.

And herein lies the problem for many of us: the relaxed dress codes in less-corporate places of work has enabled us to wear whatever we want whenever we want, meaning the outfit you put together on a Monday morning is the one you might end up wearing on Saturday. So when 80 per cent of your wardrobe is suitable for 80 per cent of your lifestyle, this is where option paralysis rears its head, always when you least expect it  like at 7.30am on a Tuesday.

Best of British: Jacket 129, top 69, trouser 99, shoes 99, M&S

The distinction between weekend and weekday wear has become so blurred that clawing back the differences between your Mondayto-Friday attire by way of a work-only capsule is a savvy move. And before you worry about being seen in the same thing all the time, remember that some of the most influential people in fashion have adopted trademark formulas that dont waver.

New York designer Carolina Herrera, for instance, is rarely photographed in anything but a midi skirt and crisp white shirt, collar popped up and sleeves artfully rolled up, while French editrix Carine Roitfeld always falls back on a pencil skirt and a half-undone blouse.

Find pieces that work as hard as you do

Swing Lace Bib Dress, 135, ME+EM

As always, the Great British high street is a fantastic place to cultivate a solid foundation of office-only pieces. Pay a visit to COS and Whistles for clean lines and sober items  such as shirts and A-line or pencil skirts  that can be styled up accordingly with accessories.

Avoiding shouty prints means you wont grow tired of items so quickly. Marks & Spencer has sharpened up its workwear game too, offering a collection of monochromatic tops and bottoms that are easily interchangeable.

Gabrielle Teare, a leading personal stylist based in the capital, has the following advice: If youre going to wear suit-style pieces, then choose the best fit and fabric you can afford; Reiss is a good place to go. If your budget is limited, go to the sales and buy the most stylish jacket you can find and aim to keep it for several years.

Theres also a handful of brilliant brands started by women who swapped their power jobs for power dressing. Libby Hart, founder of Libby London, quit her career as an investment banker to create serious but feminine pieces at accessible prices. She explains: Our customers want to be able to put on their work outfits then get on with their day, rather than worrying about what they look like.

The Libby London Richmond dress is currently a bestseller with the brands high-flying clientele. With a fitted-in shape and an asymmetric neckline, the price (non-sale) is 198  a demure sum, considering everything is made in the capital.

Polly McMaster, who founded The Fold in 2011, was similarly motivated to put her own spin on workwear after stints in consultancy and finance. She has a boutique in Clerkenwell and counts the Duchess of Cambridge and Samantha Cameron among her clients.



For those who prefer more fluid separates, log on to ME + EM for its leg-lengthening black Luxe Track Pant trousers with a graphic white side double stripe (135). For autumn, its Milano Knit trouser (119) and top (135, both on previous page) coordinates in grey are practical separates, and that little bit edgy when worn together  if your office isnt too traditional.

So, although your weekend might occasionally accompany you into the office on a Monday (those twoday hangovers are brutal), no one wants work looming over them on a Saturday. And the best way to stop that is to shed your uniform come Friday and leave it in your wardrobe until the start of another week.

With more than 250 stores, Westfield is the perfect place to curate your own work uniform. From designer boutiques to trend led stores, you'll find everything you need to update your workplace style. For more information and to see a full list of stores visit westfield.com/uk
A man knifed to death in south-east London has been named as Tobi Animashaun.

Mr Aminashaun was attacked by a gang of thugs as he left work at a retail park off Hope and Anchor Lane, in Charlton, just before 8pm on Sunday.

He was stabbed in the chest and a stomach.

The 25-year-old died in hospital the following day from his injuries.

Mr Aminashauns family described him as having a heart of gold.

They said in a statement: "Tobi was a son, big brother, cousin and friend. He had a heart of gold and was protective of everyone in his family especially the girls.

It truly saddens us that we have lost Tobi, but his spirit will live on in our hearts.

We do hope the people who are responsible for this are brought to justice."

Metropolitan Police launched a murder investigation into the death on Tuesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Gwyn said: "Tobi was attacked by a group of males as he left work on Sunday evening.

We are keeping an open mind as to motive but he was attacked just as he exited the security gate.

We are keen to speak with anyone with information and ask they contact us as a matter of urgency."

There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 0208 721 4805. To give information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
A lawyer whose 3 million mansion was one of six properties ransacked by a gang of heavily armed burglars today revealed he is fleeing London, saying: I no longer feel safe.

The four thugs, riding stolen mopeds and wielding samurai swords, knives and crowbars, took more than 1 million of valuables from homes in Bromley, Sidcup and Beckenham in one hour.

This week, they were jailed for a total of 65 years for what police described as an extremely vicious and violent series of carefully planned raids.

The lawyer, a father of two, told the Standard how the gang targeted his five-bedroom home. He said: They broke through the front gates and then smashed my front door in like it was made of butter and made off with all the jewellery and cash they could find. Luckily there was no one in otherwise who knows what couldve happened. I know other people were roughed up by those scumbags.

Ive never been brave enough to watch the CCTV back or listen to them but by all accounts the gang sounded really pumped up  swearing at each other as they go into each room. They definitely knew what they were doing  it had obviously been planned for a very long time.

Police flooded the streets after receiving calls from victims of the raids at 11am on June 19 last year. Two of the suspects were stopped in a minicab leading officers to recover 630,000 of stolen property, two mopeds and a number of weapons. A third gang member was arrested in Essex after a month on the run. The fourth was identified in February while serving a prison sentence for an unrelated burglary.

The lawyer is now in the process of selling his 3,500 sq ft property after spending thousands of pounds on security upgrades. He said: This place is like Fort Knox now, I have CCTV, a direct line to the police, Ive got doors installed that it would take a fire engine to get through.

However, he said: Im awake every night listening out for every bang and bump, it makes you feel so vulnerable. Im moving to the middle of nowhere, I thought it was safe here when I bought this place, but when something like this happens it makes you re-evaluate everything.

These are nasty people and Im glad theyre off the streets, but Im terrified their mates could come back at any time.

You work so hard for what youve got and then people like that can just come in one day and take it all away.

Deon Onyeneke, 21, of Deptford, and Kevin Barnett, 25, of Forest Hill, were both jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated burglary at Croydon crown court on Friday. Alfie Whitten, 27, of Downham, was jailed for 19 years after being found guilty of two counts of aggravated burglary and Jason Murray-Pilgrim, 33, of no fixed address, was jailed for 18 years after a conviction on the same charges.
A man and a woman were found shot dead this morning at a flat in north London.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene after police were called to a block of flats on Elmhurst Crescent in East Finchley at around 6:25am.

An investigation has now been launched by the Met police.

A Met police spokesman said: "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 06.25hrs on Thursday, 15 September to reports of two people injured at an address in Elmshurst Crescent, N2.

"Officers attended and found two people - a man and a woman - suffering gunshot injuries.

"Both were pronounced dead at the scene."

The Homicide and Major Crime Command has been called in.

Shooting: Police at the scene of the incident on Elmhurst Crescent / @miliremersaro

No arrests have been made.

One nearby resident, Lizzy Holgrove, described the "crazy" events in a series of tweets.

She wrote at 7am: "Something absolutely nuts going down on my road. Road blocked off, 20 police cars, 8 ambulances and police talking about shots fired.

"...keep hearing more sirens heading this way. Everyone I've heard walking past is talking about it being a shooting," she added.

An hour later she posted that most of the ambulances had left "without lights flashing".

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A man has been charged with robbing a 101-year-old woman on her way home from a prayer meeting.

Jawad Naser, 37, was charged yesterday with the mugging of pensioner Alexteen Roberts, who was left extremely distressed and shaken.

Mrs Roberts, who turned 101 last week, was targeted just outside her front door in Sherboro Road, Tottenham, on August 23.

Her granddaughter Natasha Angol told the Standard: I dont know how somebody could do this to an elderly woman. Its disgusting, mindless and insensitive.

Shes the sweetest, kindest, nicest old lady and so fiercely independent. For somebody to take advantage of that is horrendous.

Naser will appear in custody today at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court.
A man is fighting for his life following a crash between a moped and a car in south-east London.

Metropolitan Police were called to Woolwich Road, Greenwich, shortly after 5pm today to reports of the smash.

A passenger, who was riding on the back of the moped, suffered life-changing injuries and was rushed to a south London hospital.

The driver of the moped fled the scene, police said.

Woolwich Road is taped off at the junction with Blackwell Road while officers investigate.

A police spokesman said: A pillion passenger has been taken to hospital with life-changing injuries.

The driver of the moped fled the scene.

No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.
A UK-based mother shared a heartbreaking picture of her daughter, whom she lost to cancer last year, to raise awareness about childhood cancer.

By India Today Web Desk: Emily Rush should've turned nine this year, but cancer came in the way. And no one more than her parents realised the gap she has left behind.

Last week, Emily's mother, Julie Apicella, shared a picture on her Facebook page that quite literally shows how haunting the emptiness of losing a child is.

Apicella, who is now an advocate for Childhood Cancer Awareness, shared an edited version of Emily's picture from last year, when she was on her way to school. Edited into it is a snapshot of the exact spot where Emily had posed in last year.

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Only now, it is empty.

Emily Rush. Source: Julie Apicella/ Facebook



After battling with Wilm's Tumour, a kidney cancer, for three years, 8-year-old Emily passed away last year in December.

Apicella has shared this picture to raise awareness regarding childhood cancer symptoms. In the description section, she writes:

"School photo time - obviously someone very special missing - my daughter Emily. Imagine if your school photo this year is the LAST you will ever be able to take and will just be a memory to remember. I have asked my friends and family to change their profile pics to go gold and many have done this and I thank you, those who haven't please consider changing yours , it takes seconds and you don't have to donate any money or your spleen in doing so. Nearly everyone on my list has children or family members and this could be your reality in the future 1 in 285 children will get A cancer diagnoses. Raising awareness of symptoms and that childhood cancer is not rare is the first hurdle to jump. Eventually the gold ribbon of childhood cancer will be as well known as the pink ribbon for breast cancer but it takes people to actually post on social media ect for this to happen."

Emily Rush. Source: Julie Apicella/ Facebook

If you want to joined Emily's mother in her fight, you can pitch your support for Childhood Cancer Awareness campaign here.



What are the most common symptoms of cancer for children?

Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) website says it is "difficult to come up with a definitive list of symptoms as many are common in childhood." They do, however, list some general common symptoms are:

1. Feeling very tired and lethargic

2. Having lots of infections

3. Having flu-like symptoms that don't go away

4. Bleeding or bruising easily

5. Unexplained aches and pains that don't go away

6. Feeling a lump or unusual firmness anywhere on the body

7. Losing a significant amount of weight in teenagers

--- ENDS ---
A mother-of-nine and her nephew were gunned down today when five men burst into a north London flat, relatives said.

Anny Ekofo and her nephew Bervil Ekofo were shot dead in Mrs Ekofos home in East Finchley at around 6.25am.

It is understood the the gang targeted Beverly, 21, before shooting his 52-year-old aunt.

Their family said today Bervil, known as Beverly, was shot in a case of mistaken identity.

Victim: Anny Ekofo died along with her nephew Beverly

Some of Mrs Ekofos children and her husband Jean Pierre were said to be at the address at the time of the shootings.

Police today launched a murder investigation after they were called to reports of a man and woman suffering from gunshot wounds.

Mother of nine and her nephew shot dead at flat in East Finchley

The pair were pronounced dead at the scene.

Relatives and friends of the victims continued to stay at the scene outside the house. One woman was reportedly seen trying to break through the police cordon.

East Finchley Shooting 1 /17 East Finchley Shooting Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, where found dead with gunshot wounds Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, where found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Family members outside flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA The bodies of Anny Ekofo, 52, and her nephew Bevely, 21, are removed from flats in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London after they were found dead with gunshot wounds. Victim Bervil Ekofo pictured with his mother Maymie Botamba. PA Distraught onlookers at the scene in East Finchley. Lucy Young Shooting: Police at the scene of the incident on Elmhurst Crescent. @miliremersaro Forensics attend the scene at Elmhurst Crescent. Lucy Young The flats in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London. Francesca Gosling/PA

Mr Ekofo's sister Francine claimed that he was shot in bed at his Auntie Anny's house.

Distraught onlookers at the scene in East Finchley / Lucy Young

She said: "He was in bed. Anny answered the door to the gang, they shot her and then shot Bervil while he was asleep on the couch. There had been someone staying at the house who was on the run from someone but had moved on.

"They were targeting him but got my brother instead. It was a case of mistaken identity. My brother was never in any trouble he was just stating at his auntie's house it was wrong place wrong time. He was the best brother anyone could have.

Beverly had previously been studying art and media at Westminster College but had recently moved to the University of West London, his sister said.

His mother Maymie added that he wanted to be a photographer.

She said: "He was an angel he was the perfect son in every way. He was like my best friend as well. He wanted to be a photographer he had a bright future and now he is gone."

A relative said: A gang of five people came in through the front door and shot Beverly.

Shooting: Police at the scene of the incident on Elmhurst Crescent / @miliremersaro

Fifi Selo, a cousin of Anny, said: Anny was Beverlys auntie. She was an amazing mother and wonderful person.

The family are from Congo and moved here for a better life. We did not expect this in London.

We are in the dark, we have no idea why this happened. They had no problems. We got a call this morning and we are devastated.

It is believed Mr Ekofo was visiting his auntie at the flat in Elmshurst Crescent.

Neighbours told how they were woken by sirens just after dawn as paramedics and police cars raced to the scene.

Milagros Remersaro said she heard someone shouting what have you done, what have you done just before police arrived.

Neighbour Rob Crouchley added: I head arguing between a man and woman and then wailing and screaming the someone panic stricken shouted get an ambulance.

That flat is busy with people coming and going all hours but there has never been any trouble.

Scotland Yards Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating and no arrests have been made.

The roads around the estate were cordoned off and forensic officers were trawling the scene.

Anyone with any information is urged to call the incident room on 020 8358 0300 or Crimestooppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
T wo men were stabbed and robbed by balaclava-clad muggers who lay in wait outside an urban awards ceremony.

The victims were ambushed as they left the Rated Awards, which were hosted by BBC 1Xtra presenter Yasmin Evans at the Roundhouse in Camden.

One victim, aged 20, was found lying in the street by a night porter at a residential estate in Eton College Road. A second, aged 28, took himself to hospital with stab wounds.

Detectives from the Mets Trident gang unit are looking for six suspects who fled the scene in a dark-coloured Mercedes 4x4 following the attacks at 11.30pm last Wednesday.

Guest: Idris Elba / Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

Thousands of young people attended the event, a celebration of Londons grime music scene, where guests included Idris Elba, Craig David and Tim Westwood.

Night porter Adi Are, 35, said he found the first victim on the pavement with leg and stomach wounds. He added: I passed by four young guys who were running away. The poor kid wasnt shouting, he was very quiet. He is so lucky the stab wounds werent very deep, it couldve been much worse.

No arrests had been made. Detective Constable Leigh Dooley said: I am appealing for anyone who was in or around the area and may have seen or heard anything to contact us.

Anyone with information can call Trident in confidence on 020 8201 2884 or contact police via 101. To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org
P rison officers rushed shamed children's entertainer Rolf Harris to hospital after he fell ill in his cell, according to reports.

The 86-year-old was apparently taken from Stafford prison with suspected blood poisoning on Sunday.

He was reported to be under doctors supervision on Wednesday night but is soon expected to be discharged.

A source told The Sun: Harris was treated like any other prisoner in the circumstances.

Sex crimes: Rolf Harris

He was escorted from Stafford by prison officers and has been monitored at all times.

He is likely to return to jail shortly.

The newspaper reported earlier this year how Harris was taken to hospital twice to control his diabetes and for chest pains.

Blood poisoning, otherwise known as sepsis, is triggered by an infection or injury and can be fatal if untreated.

Harris was sentenced to five years and nine months in 2014 for sexually assaulting four young girls.

In January, he faces a new trial in January over fresh charges of indecently assaulting seven more women and girls, which he denies.

Harris was among the high-profile figures convicted under the Mets Operation Yewtree, set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said it did not comment on individual prisoners.
T he family of a musician who died in police custody in south London will "urgently consider" appealing against the decision not to prosecute any police officers for his death.

Sean Rigg died after being restrained at Brixton police station in 2008.

In 2012 an inquest jury found that police used "unsuitable" force after arresting Mr Rigg in Balham for attacking passers-by and officers.

He was taken to the police station, where it was decided to keep him in a police van for 11 minutes until the custody area had been cleared.

Mr Rigg was found to be unwell when he was taken into the building and later died from a heart attack.

Lawyers for Mr Riggs family said there were "serious concerns" about the announcement by prosecutors that they will not bring five officers to court.

The Crown Prosecution Service said this evening that there was "insufficient evidence" to pursue charges against the individuals, who had been referred to them by the police watchdog.

Shortly before his death, Mr Rigg, who suffered from schizophrenia, had been held down for eight minutes in the "prone position" while in custody.

Daniel Machover, solicitor for the Rigg family, said: "There are some serious concerns about the legal basis of the CPS decision today.

"The family will now urgently consider reviewing it under the victims' right of review."

The CPS's decision came after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) passed it evidence about the incident at the conclusion of its investigation.

A spokesman for the CPS said: "Following careful consideration of the evidence provided to us, we have decided there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against the arresting officers for offences relating to the death of Sean Rigg in 2008.

"Of the five officers referred to us by the IPCC, one, Paul White, is facing trial for perjury relating to evidence he gave at Mr Rigg's inquest."

The Metropolitan Police said they welcomed the announcement that charges would not be pressed.

Mr Rigg's sister Marcia said: "Today, more than eight years after my brother died, I was informed that none of the officers involved in his death will face prosecution for what happened that day.

"After a damning review of the original IPCC investigation, and a successful challenge of the decision not to prosecute an officer for perjury, I had hoped for an opportunity to get justice. "

White will appear in court on October 31 accused of lying to an inquest jury considering the circumstances of Mr Rigg's death.
A bride was arrested just moments before she was due to walk down the aisle for a sham marriage to secure herself a UK visa.

Immigration officials swooped on Lambeth registry office as Emmaculate Lumnwi, 29, and Nika Lokko, 35, prepared to exchange their vows.

Lumnwi, from Cameroon, moved to the UK in 2011 on a student visa, but was turned down when she applied to stay permanently. She enlisted Lokko, an NHS facilities manager, to pose as her husband-to-be at the bogus ceremony on March 3 last year.

Lokko, who is already married with children, used a French passport under the name of Messangan Sergio Kouye in a bid to fool officials.

But suspicions were raised when they applied for the marriage, and the registry office alerted the Home Office.

When questioned, Lumnwi claimed she had sex with Lokko, calling himself Kouye, the day before they were due to marry and that they were a couple. But when his true identity was revealed, she said she thought sex was just hugging and passionately kissing and that they did that the day before.

Judge Nigel Seed QC said Lumnwi also gave herself away by calling Lokko by his real name at the registry office.

Lokko had papers in his own name in his car as he drove to the ceremony.

A jury at Inner London crown court found Lumnwi, of Tulse Hill, and Lokko, of Camberwell, guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state and convicted Lokko of possessing an identity card with intent.

The pair were bailed until a sentencing hearing on October 13.

The court heard Lokko is a naturalised British citizen, having moved to the UK from Togo in 2003. During the trial, he claimed he was standing in for a friend  Kouye  who could not make it as he was in Paris with his sick mother.

Lokko claimed so-called proxy marriages were common in his country, and he was ignorant they are illegal in the UK. Lumnwi and Lokko denied conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state. Lokko denied possessing an identity card with intent.
R esearchers have discovered a link between long daytime napping and type 2 diabetes.

A new study found that those who sleep for more than an hour during the day have a 45 per cent higher risk of developing the disease. Shorter naps had no effect.

Experts from the University of Tokyo said they had identified the link in a study of 300,000 people.

They claimed long naps during the day could result in disturbed sleep patterns at night which worsened the risk of heart attacks, stroke, cardiovascular problems and other metabolic disorders.

Sleep deprivation, caused by work or social life habits, could also trigger an increased appetite which may lead to diabetes, the study added.

The authors concluded: Longer napping was associated with increased risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

But UK experts said there was no evidence that napping caused or increased the risk of diabetes.

Dr Benjamin Cairns, from the University of Oxford, told the BBC the research should be treated with caution.

He said: "In general, it is not possible to make conclusions about cause and effect based on observational studies alone, because usually they cannot rule out alternative explanations for their findings," he said.

The study is being presented at a meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Munich.
B ridget Jones may have fallen for the wrong man now and then but when it came to the capitals up-and-coming neighbourhoods, theres no doubt she knew how to pick them.

Her one-bedroom flat above The Globe Tavern in Borough is estimated to have been worth 190,000 when Bridget Joness Diary came out in 2001  just about plausible for a lowly journalist.

Fifteen years later, with Renee Zellweger back in the title role for the series third film, Bridget Joness Baby, her home would sell for about 650,000  even though it is now sandwiched between two railway lines.

Director Sharon Maguire said: When we first went there it was just a market surrounded by some quite rundown buildings and now its one of the most chi-chi places in London to live. We rationalised that Bridget could still afford to live there because she got on the property ladder just as another railway line was going beside her flat  now she has one either side of her flat, and the whole place rattles.

Hot property: The flat in Borough / Google Street View

According to the crew, the south London areas gentrification posed a problem when it came to production. Its market, which features in a key scene in the film, has gone from a farmers market open two days a week in 2001 to a tourist hub open for six, making shooting on location difficult.

But Maguire said the team, assisted by Film London, were welcomed by traders and tourists alike. Going back to Borough Market was a bit like going home for us, even though it now costs 8 for a potato, she said. With the first film nobody knew quite what it was, but this time we were welcomed with open arms. It was really moving to go around your own city and for people to say, Oh, I know that, I know the street where that bit was filmed.

Bridget Joness Baby is out tomorrow
S ir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appeared together in London for an "emotional" film premiere of The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.

The two surviving members of the Fab Four joined a host of celebrities including Madonna for the premiere of a new documentary charting their live gigs and meteoric rise to fame in the 1960s.

Sir Paul McCartney said looking back at footage from the Beatles' touring years when the band took the world by storm was "emotional and very special".

John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison, widow of George, also attended the screening in London, which followed the world premiere in the Beatles' home city of Liverpool earlier on Thursday.

The film, directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, features remastered footage of the band's sell-out stadium concerts in America, which followed their early days playing in The Cavern Club.

Beatle mania: Director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on stage at the premiere / PA

Speaking on the blue carpet, Sir Paul told reporters: "We're getting great memories obviously of playing with John and George.

"So that's very emotional and very special to see that again."

The band played their last big concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966, and had their last live performance together three years later on the rooftop of their Apple Records headquarters in London.

Fab Four: The two surviving members of the band. / REUTERS

Starr described their lasting fame as "beautiful", adding: "People love the Beatles. We happen to be two of them and here we are."

Mrs Harrison paid tribute to Howard's work on the film, describing him as "a great storyteller".

She said: "We were privileged to have Ron Howard making this film, he's a great storyteller and I think he's learned a lot too."

She said it was "sweet" that some of the home movie footage is from her husband's 8mm camera.

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Sir Paul, who said he was wearing the same jacket he donned for the band's premiere of A Hard Day's Night back in 1964, was joined by his wife Nancy Shevell and daughter, fashion designer Stella McCartney, while Starr was accompanied by his wife Barbara Bach.
P rofessional landlords in London are using websites like Airbnb to dodge rules and taxes in a way which can leave tenants vulnerable, a senior MP has claimed.

Iain Wright, the chairman of the House of Commons Business Committee, has written to Mayor Sadiq Khan asking his views on whether a change in the law is needed.

Mr Wright claimed some landlords were breaking the law by letting properties through Airbnb and other companies for more than 90 days in the year, driving up prices for rented accommodation.

The current law, after the government deregulated short-term rentals in the UK last year, means people can rent out their house without permission but only for fewer than 90 nights every year.

Airbnb landlords need to get planning permission if their property is let for more than 90 days.

But the worry is the law is "unenforceable".

Mr Wright said: "Landlords who use companies like Airbnb to illegally let properties for more than 90 days are driving up prices and leaving tenants vulnerable.

"These landlords are hoteliers in all but name and gain an unfair competitive advantage by dodging regulations and taxes which hotels are required to pay.

"Disruptive technologies make a valued contribution to the country's economy and it is important to embrace such disruption and innovation as a means of improving prosperity and customer choice, but the rules must be enforced and a level playing field provided.

"Where those rules are unenforceable, then the law may have to change.

"London appears to have a particular problem with these issues and that is why I have asked the mayor for his views on what needs to be done to protect the public and ensure a level playing field in the property and hospitality sectors."

But Airbnb insisted that the "vast majority" of its hosts in the capital were ordinary householders making extra money while staying within the rules, and not professionals running a property business.

Airbnb rentals generated 1.3 billion of economic activity in the capital last year, with the typical host earning an additional 3,500 by renting out space for 50 nights a year, the company said.

A spokesman for Airbnb said: "The vast majority of Airbnb hosts are regular Londoners who share their homes to boost their income and afford living costs in one of the world's most expensive cities - they are not typically businesses or professionals.

"London has clear and simple home-sharing rules; we regularly remind hosts to follow them and we are working closely with London boroughs to promote responsible home-sharing and help tackle bad actors."
S adiq Khan turned down an upgrade to first class on his British Airways flight to Montreal as he kicked off his six-day North American tour.

The captain of his flight revealed that he had offered the Mayor to move from his premium economy seat but he had politely declined.

Later, Mr Khan said he hadn't felt he could leave behind the rest of his team, who numbered around half a dozen, to revel in luxury.

It was a stark contrast to the mayoral days of Boris Johnson who almost always accepted upgrades on flights as he travelled round the world "banging the drum" for London.

His decision prompted jokes on Twitter about why he hadn't opted to sit on the floor, following the lead of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who did that an overcrowded Virgin train, although it later turned out there had been seats.

Progress 1000: Sadiq Khan on being named an influential Londoner, night Tube and Fabric's closure

However, Mr Khan still had a comfortable flight as BA premium economy is the equivalent of business class on many operators. Dozens more passengers were crammed into regular economy at the back of the plane.
Criticising the AAP leaders for the open loot in the name of party funds and tickets, the Congress leader said the party leaders by exploiting the females in the name of tickets has brought a shame to the party.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh today slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for having failed to control the dengue and chikungunia outbreak in Delhi.

Criticising the AAP leaders for the open loot in the name of party funds and tickets, the Congress leader said the party leaders by exploiting the females in the name of tickets has brought a shame to the party. He also criticised AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal for expelling party MLA Devender Sehrawat who had raised the issue.

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Earlier the Punjab University Students Union (PUSU) announced its support to the Congress and criticised the ruling SAD-BJP government for blocking the university grant amounting to Rs. 100 crore.

Also read:

Punjab University Students Union announces support for Congress

Amarinder Singh mocks Kejriwal for opting out of Punjab contest, calls it 'victory of Punjabis'



Punjab Congress will launch an intensive campaign to reach out to people from September 26 to November 1. The modalities of the campaign were worked out today and the programme was finalised at a meeting of senior party leaders, zonal coordinators and district presidents.

The campaign will cover all the 117 constituencies and during this period the party will hold 1404 meetings. 54 meetings will be held every day across the state.

The state has been divided into 13 parliamentary zones with three coordinators in each zone. The party has custom-made 13 vehicles for each parliamentary zone which will carry the party's message across the every nook and corner of the state.

The vehicles will be flagged off on September 24 by the PCC president from the Congress Bhawan and the campaign will start from September 26.

--- ENDS ---
L ondoners have reacted to the announcement Tube drivers are to walk out in a dispute dubbed the "toilet break" strike.

More than 600,000 commuters on the London Underground face travel chaos when train drivers on two lines start a 24-hour strike from 9pm tonight. The strike is set to last all day tomorrow.

Workers on the Hammersmith and City and Circle lines will walk out over claims their toilet breaks are being timed by stopwatch.

Today the Standard took the streets of London and asked commuters to share their views on the planned walk-out.

Some called the strike "silly" and the Tube drivers "selfish", while others defended their decision and claimed the management's behaviour was "disgusting".

One man said: "For the greater good of the country and the movement of the economy, and the hundreds of people trying to go home at those specific times they are striking, I think it's very selfish."

Another passer-by said: "If I was getting timed by management with a stop clock I'd feel pretty obliged to strike. It's absolutely ridiculous, it's disgusting."

Opinions on the strike continued to be mixed on Twitter, with calls striking causes "misery to millions".

But Kevin Nicholas said on Twitter: "I hope the Tube drivers win."

A spokesman for the RMT union, which ordered the strike, said: The dispute is over heavy handed and aggressive management, including putting staff toilet breaks on a stopwatch and flagrant disregard for agreed policies and procedures.

The stoppage comes after managers reportedly noticed a minority of drivers were spending so long in the toilets - allegedly to avoid work - that their train has had to be cancelled or a new driver found.

Steve White, operations director for London Underground, said: If the strike goes ahead customers are advised to check our real-time travel information.

All other Tube lines and TfL services will be operating as normal and well be making sure that everyone has the information they need to re-plan their journeys is necessary.

Of the stopwatch claim, a TfL spokesperson said: We would refute that. Our staff are able to take reasonable toilet breaks.
S adiq Khan will today warn that some new communities in London are becoming increasingly segregated as rapid immigration transforms parts of the city beyond all recognition.

The Mayor will also say the growing gap between rich and poor was leaving some white working-class areas feeling left behind.

Mr Khan tackled concerns over immigration head-on in a major speech he was due to make tonight on his trip to the United States.

He will tell an audience in Chicago that London remained a beacon of tolerance, cohesion and integration but warn about the pressure of a booming population, saying: The number of immigrants arriving in Britain every year has doubled between 1997 and 2015.

And these new communities  coming to work and contribute to our economy  have become increasingly concentrated and in some instances increasingly segregated, saying that some communities have been transformed beyond all recognition.

Mr Khan will also speak of the impact of growing inequality, which he said was leaving particular groups understandably feeling left behind  like white working-class communities in some parts of London and across the US.

These growing tensions make it harder for people from different backgrounds to walk a mile in one anothers shoes, he added.

Mr Khan will warn a hands-off approach to integration would lead to higher unemployment, greater fear of crime and a massive economic cost and that London needed rules and institutions to make sure that communities came together.

Sadiq Khan: The first 100 days

He said there must be a shared set of common values and laws around which communities could unite. These would be overseen by his new deputy mayor for social integration, Matthew Ryder, who is one of the countrys leading QCs and a judge.

City Hall insiders said measures could include more English lessons for public sector staff, including in the NHS and Transport for London, to make sure they have a common language.

There could also be more shared community spaces in new developments and a ban on poor doors  separate entries for affordable housing tenants in luxury blocks.

We need to be totally honest. Were not perfect and the equilibrium we have by and large struck remains fragile, Mr Khan told a global affairs conference, hosted by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Our levels of social integration are not keeping pace with our changing population and growing diversity.

Mr Khan warns that a failure to lead fully interconnected lives had eventually led to terror attacks on both sides of the Atlantic, and the Brexit vote. It all leads back to integration, he said.

Research shows that the failure to socially integrate cost the UK economy 6 billion each year in lost employment opportunities and poor health.

Mr Khan also stepped up his attack on Donald Trump just 24 hours after he told the Standard it was time for the US Republican presidential candidate to build bridges not walls.

It follows a row between the two men after the Mayors election victory in May over the billionaire businessmans plans to ban Muslims from the United States.

Its not for me to get involved in a presidential election in another country, Mr Khan said, before breaking diplomatic protocol and doing just that.

Aides said he felt compelled to speak out because of his fears that a Trump White House would be a disaster for social integration not just in America, but around the world.

We play straight into the hands of those who seek to divide us  of extremists and terrorists around the world  when we imply that its not possible to hold Western values dear and to be a Muslim, he will tell his audience.

It only makes it harder to build integrated and cohesive communities. And it makes it easier for terrorists to radicalise our young people, making us less safe, whether in the US, France or Britain.

Earlier in the day, Mr Khan appeared in Montreal alongside Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to discuss social integration, economic growth and climate change.
S adiq Khan has said Donald Trump is "playing into the hands of Isis" during his tour of North America.

The Mayor of London addressed a global progress summit in Montreal with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, ahead of trips to Chicago and New York as part of a five-day visit.

Mr Khan, who was involved in a spat with Mr Trump earlier this year over his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US, told the audience that the Republican candidate's message showed a "lack of understanding".

He said: "Donald Trump said that Muslims from around the world - I'm paraphrasing - would not be welcome into the United States of America.

"Not only does that show a lack of understanding and awareness of the great country that is the USA and its history and legacy, it's also inadvertently playing into the hands of Daesh and so-called Isis because it implies it's not possible to be a Western liberal and mainstream Muslim.

"I think it's important that the USA maintains her role as a beacon for tolerance, respect and diversity.

"I think it's important for those of us who are foreigners to stay out of the US elections. I hope the best candidate wins and I hope she does win with a stomping majority."

Later Mr Khan said he would be open to meeting Mr Trump during his trip, along with any other presidential candidate.

He told the Press Association: "It's not for me to get directly involved in the US presidential election. I'm more than happy to meet candidates to discuss some of the joys of London."

During the summit Mr Khan stressed the importance of integrating ethnic minority communities, telling the audience that "the days of laissez-faire" integration were gone.

"The messages of hate being transmitted into people's bedrooms means that people like Justin, the prime minister of Canada, and people like me, the mayor, have a responsibility," he said.
P lans to build the UK's first new nuclear plant in a generation were today given the green light by the government following months of doubt.

The Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power station will go ahead, with the government confirming that a "new agreement" had been reached with French state energy firm EDF.

A statement said: "Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the Government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.

"However, ministers will impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain's critical infrastructure, which will include nuclear energy and apply after Hinkley."

The decision on the 18 billion Hinkley Point project was delayed by Theresa May in July.

The Somerset plant is set to be built by EDF but a third of the cost will be covered by the Chinese Nuclear Power Corporation.
O ne of the men who killed Lee Rigby was not the victim of a UK intelligence conspiracy or mistreatment," a watchdog has ruled.

The government ordered a report into the treatment of Michael Adebolajo, who along with Michael Adebowale killed Fusilier Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks in south-east London in 2013.

Adebolajo was sentenced to a whole-life prison term and Adebowale was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 45 years.

In a report published in 2014, the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee found that security agencies could not have foreseen or prevented the murder.

But it raised concerns about the response to Adebolajo's arrest in Kenya in November 2010 and his subsequent allegations of mistreatment - sparking a report by Intelligence Services Commissioner Sir Mark Waller, which was published on Thursday.

It concluded that Adebolajo was not the victim of a conspiracy, torture or mistreatment.

The commissioner wrote: "I found that Mr Adebolajo was most definitely not the subject of an intelligence services conspiracy and that his allegations of mistreatment at the hands of the Kenyan authorities were probably untrue.

"Indeed, I think it highly unlikely that Mr Adebolajo was mistreated by any of the Kenyan police or intelligence units which work with HMG (HM Government)."

Adebolajo flew from the UK to Kenya in October 2010. He was arrested a month later in a remote village just over 40 miles from the border with Somalia, before being returned to Britain.

UK intelligence services were not aware of or involved in the arrest, and there was no reason to think they should have been, Sir Mark's report found.

It said the response of MI5 and MI6 to the arrest and detention of Adebolajo in Kenya was "generally good".

The commissioner did not share the committee's criticism that MI6 - officially known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) - demonstrated a "deeply unsatisfactory" or "passive" approach to the case.

Sir Mark wrote: "To my mind, the disruption of Mr Adebolajo's travel to Somalia represented an effective and satisfactory outcome which served the national security interests of the UK."


F ar-right extremists violently clashed with asylum seekers on the streets in an east German town amid escalating anti-migrant tensions.

Up to 80 residents brawled with around 20 refugees in Bautzen, about 37 miles east of Dresden, on Wednesday night.

The violence is believed to have been triggered by an incident on Tuesday when a 32-year-old resident was reportedly injured after being struck by a bottle.

Witnesses said asylum seekers hurled missiles at police including bottles when they were asked to leave the square before the fighting broke out.

Clashes: Fighting broke out on the street

Locals reported extremists chanting anti-immigrant slogans such as Bautzen for the Germans before the violence began.

A video has emerged of the clashes which reportedly ended when refugees were marched back to their hostel and kept under police guard.

Community tension: Police were called to break up the brawls between far-right residents and refugees / Christian Essler/AP

Police said one Moroccan man, 18, was taken to hospital for cuts to his face.

Bautzen mayor Alexander Ahrens was quick to condemn the violence as he promised to investigate the attacks.

Writing on his Facebook page, he said he was angry and disgusted at the violence.

The town has become flashpoint for anti-migrant sentiment amid a series of incidents.

In February, residents cheered when a building due to house migrants was set on fire.

Weeks later, German President Joachim Gauck was verbally abused on a visit to Bauzen to discuss the influx of refugees in the country.
A British Airways flight bound for Heathrow from Barcelona was forced to make an emergency stop in France this morning.

The passenger jet announced an emergency due to a technical issue while flying close to Toulouse.

The A320 aircraft diverted its route and landed successfully at Toulouse Blagnac Airport at around 12:20pm.

A British Airways spokesperson said: The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots diverted the aircraft to Toulouse as a precaution after a technical issue,' they said.

The safety of our customers is always our top priority and we are sorry for the resulting delay to their travel plans.

Engineers are believed to be assessing the plane as the extent of the technical issue is unknown.
S everal Brits are feared to have been injured after an explosion on a tourist ferry in Indonesia which claimed the lives of at least two people.

The packed tourist boat, known as the Gili Cat 2, was a short distance from shore when the blast occurred on board as it ferried tourists between Bali and the holiday island Lombok.

One Indonesian person died. There are conflicting reports over the nationality of the other victim, believed to be either German or Dutch.

Police in Bali said 13 people had been injured, including Brits, who were on board with fellow tourists from Portugal, Germany,France and Italy.

However, other reports said around 20 people had been wounded, according to officials.

Two people are believed to have died and 13 injured after the tourist boat blast, feared to have been caused by an exploding fuel tank

One passenger was carried from the scene with horrific injuries to her feet. A video posted on Facebook shows one man being stretchered into the back of an ambulance.

The cause of the explosion remains unclear at this stage but investigators dismissed suggestions it was a bomb. Early reports suggest the boat's fuel tank may have exploded.

Medics tend to the injured after the explosion on board a passenger ferry / @9NewsAUS

Police chief Sugeng Sudarso told the AFP News Agency: The explosion happened five minutes after the boat departed. One female passenger died from head injuries

Based on the testimony [from passengers] and from what I saw on the scene, the explosion came from the fuel tank.

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Above it was a battery, maybe there was a short circuit that affected the fuel tank.

According to a document seen by News Corp Australia, 13 Brits were on board the boat along with nationals from Austria, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Emergency response: Authorities were called to the Gili Cat 2 following an explosion / AFP/Getty Images

Police are understood to be questioning the boat's captain.

Tour boat horror: A seriously injured tourist is carried away for treatment after the explosion on board

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: We are providing consular assistance to British nationals affected by an explosion on a ferry off the coast of Bali.
H eroin addicts in Canada are now able to access the drug with a prescription.

New drug regulations allow doctors to provide serious addicts with a small amount of pharmaceutical-grade heroin.

The aim is to give users just enough of the drug to stabilise their lives and beat the addiction, in the same way nicotine patches work.

The drug will only be prescribed to addicts who havent had any success with conventional methods.

Terry Lake, health minister for British Columbia, told a local radio station: It shows a more healthy approach to addiction.

This, obviously, is reserved for people that have tried other forms of addiction treatment but have not been successful. And I think we need every single tool to fight this terrible problem that we have with addictions.

It indicates a willingness on behalf of the federal government to look at addictions as a health-based kind of an issue rather than a criminal-based issue.

Canada's former Conservative government banned the practice in 2013, but the move has now been reversed.

The British Medical Association passed proposals supporting similar practices in June, with doctors claiming it would help prevent overdoses and HIV transmissions.
T he EU has promised free wifi for all its member states by 2020.

President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, outlined his vision to roll out 5G across the EU and give every village and city free internet.

He made the announcement in his annual State of the Union speech to the European Parliament.

Mr Juncker said: We need to work for a Europe that empowers our citizens and our economy. And today, both have gone digital.

Digital technologies and digital communications are permeating every aspect of life.

All they require is access to high-speed internet. We need to be connected. Our economy needs it. People need it.

Friendly: Nigel Farage, ex-leader of Ukip and MEP, shakes hands with Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European commission, at the speech. / AP

He said: That is why today the Commission is proposing to fully deploy 5G, the fifth generation of mobile communication systems, across the European Union by 2025.

This has the potential to create a further two million jobs in the EU.

We propose today to equip every European village and every city with free wireless internet access around the main centres of public life by 2020.

As the world goes digital, we also have to empower our artists and creators and protect their works.

Speaking to MEPs in Strasbourg, Mr Juncker also said the EU needs a military headquarters to work towards a common military force.

He said: We should also move towards common military assets, in some cases owned by the EU. And, of course, in full complementarity with NATO.

The business case is clear. The lack of cooperation in defence matters costs Europe between 25 billion and 100 billion per year, depending on the areas concerned. We could use that money for so much more.
The apex court had asked the Karnataka government on September 12 to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu daily.

By Indo-Asian News Service: The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments for their failure to stop people from taking to the agitation path after its order on Cauvery river water sharing and said it hoped both states will maintain peace and respect for law.

When told about a shutdown and a 'rail roko' stir in Karnataka on Thursday and another bandh on Friday in Tamil Nadu, a bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit said the shutdowns and agitations could not be allowed pursuant to the apex court orders.

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Having made its displeasure known over the events that followed its September 12 order, Justice Misra said: "We hope and trust that wisdom will prevail on both the states to maintain peace, harmony, order and calm and, above all, dignity and respect for law."

The apex court had asked the Karnataka government on September 12 to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu daily, after modifying its earlier September 5 order for the release of 15,000 cusecs.

ALSO READ:

Cauvery row: Naam Tamilar cadre sets himself ablaze during anti-Karnataka protest in Chennai



--- ENDS ---
U S presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she was doing great as she held her first rally after pneumonia forced her to take time out of the campaign trail.

The Democratic nominee, who will be going head to head with Donald Trump in the US election in just two months time, took three days off to recuperate.

Her health took centre stage after footage emerged of her appearing to nearly collapse at a 9/11 anniversary ceremony on Sunday.

But on Thursday Mrs Clinton walked on to the stage of a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, to the sound of James Browns I Feel Good.

Rally: Hillary Clinton speaks in Greensboro, North Carolina. / AP

She called the time away at her home in Chappaqua, New York a gift which had allowed her to reflect on the campaign.

Just one day earlier, a note from Mrs Clintons doctor Lisa Bardack said she was healthy and fit and revealed bacterial pneumonia was the cause.

Picture of health: Hillary Clinton smiles as she speaks to aids on her campaign plane. / AP

The 68-year-old told the crowd at the rally on Thursday: "With just two months to go until Election Day, sitting at home was pretty much the last place I want to be."

On Thursday Donald Trump released a letter from his doctor which said he is in excellent physical health.

At a rally on Wednesday, Mr Trump referred to Mrs Clintons health scare, seemingly casting doubt on her fitness.

"I don't know folks, do you think Hillary Clinton would be able to stand up here for an hour?" he said.

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He also appeared on a US medical chat show, which aired on Thursday, to discuss his health.

There are just 54 days to go until election day, on November 8.
A North Korean TV channel has aired a comedy sketch show poking fun at president Obama and the leader of South Korea.

The show, which aired on government-run Korea Central Television, has two actors playing the part of Obama and his secretary.

The sketch shows the president with a bloodied and bandaged head with the secretary asking if he is alright.

He responds: I smacked my head on the bathroom floor and broke four tiles on it as I was so shocked from the Norths hydrogen bomb detonation!

Korea Central Television comedy show mocks Barack Obama

The secretary then jokes as the audience roars with laughter: So Mr President, you were testing the hardness of your skull while the North was testing its hydrogen bomb?

Satirical show: The actors are playing the part of Obama and his secretary / Korea Central TV

Later in the show, South Korea is described as a society corrupted to the root and where the government oppresses its people.

An actor playing a South Korean police officer refers to the countrys president, Park Geun-hye, as a rampaging mad dog and a granny who purges anyone anti-American.

Popular TV: The audience can be seen roaring with laughter / Korea Central Television

Granny Park in the Blue House is enraged as the anti-American sentiment is rising in the South, says the police officer, who is then ordered to arrest anyone who squints, frowns, punches at anything to do with the US.

According to NHK News, the North Korean media regularly condemns both the US and South Korea.

However, they say it is the first time the two countries have explicitly been used in its comedy.
A US teaching assistant is at the centre of a raging sexism and racism row over her choice of clothes in the classroom.

Patrice Brown, dubbed Teacher Bae, has come under intense scrutiny on social media over her choice of outfits while teaching nine and 10-year-olds in Atlanta.

Pictures from her now-private Instagram account have featured in blogs which debate whether her attire is appropriate following some criticism.

One uploaded image showed Brown, who is training to be a fully qualified teacher, wearing a skin-tight pink dress.

One woman said: That teacher looks good but her attire is just inappropriate to be teaching a 4th grade glass. Little boys are pervs by like 2nd grade.

But thousands have leapt to her defence following the row and said the assistant was being unfairly treated because she is a black woman with curves.

One supportive tweet said: black women w/ curvy bodies are immediately judged and sexualized for something they have no control over #teacherbae

While Jay Warren added: Y'all focused on her body and not the TYPE of teacher she is? If she's a good teacher helping youth grow why y'all sweating her? #teacherbae.

Speaking to the Daily Dot, Brown said attention should be focused on her teaching ability as she hit back at critics.

She said: I just wish they would respect me and focus on the positive and what truly matterswhich is educating the children of the future generations and providing and caring for them."

In a statement to US media outlet Fox 5, her employer said Brown was provided guidance over dress code.

Atlanta Public Schools said: She was given guidance regarding the APS employee dress code, the use of social media, and Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators, and she has been cooperative in addressing her presence on social media.
A ctor Michael C Hall has spoken about working with David Bowie at the Mercury Prize 2016.

The Dexter star, who is playing the lead in Bowies musical Lazarus, will be giving a special performance at the Mercury ceremony following Bowies death in January.

Since working with [Bowie] on Lazarus and being a part of that entire experience, its not just a career highlight, but a highlight of my life, he told Standard.co.uk on the red carpet.

After a successful run in New York, Lazarus will be playing in London from October 25 with Hall remaining in the lead role.

I was a Bowie fan growing up, Hall said. I had revisited a lot of his music shortly before Lazarus started because I was playing Hedwig in the Angry Inch  Bowies sensibility, and his music, is such an influence in that character and in that world  that I was listening to it a lot again.

Bowie is the bookies favourite to win the Mercury for his final album Blackstar, which was released just days before his death.

Mercury Prize 2016: red carpet 1 /13 Mercury Prize 2016: red carpet Michael C. Hall and Morgan Macgregor Dave Benett The 1975 Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Savages Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Skepta Dave Benett The Comet is Coming Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Michael Kiwanuka Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Jamie Cullum Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Jarvis Cocker Dave Benett Kano Joel Ryan/Invision/AP Bat for Lashes Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

If the record receives the accolade, it will be the first time an artist has posthumously won the Mercury Prize.

The 1975 at the Mercury Prize: 'We'd like to work with Skepta'

This years shortlisted albums include Adore Life by Savages, Made in the Major by Kano, Konnichiwa by Skepta, Channel the Spirits by The Comet is Coming, The Bride by Bat For Lashes, The Dreaming Room by Laura Mvula, A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead, Hopelessness by Anohni, Making Time by Jamie Woon, Love & Hate by Michael Kiwanuka, and I Like it When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It by The 1975.

Mercury Prize red carpet: Laura Mvula on connecting with her audience

Mercury Prize 2016: the shortlisted albums 1 /16 Mercury Prize 2016: the shortlisted albums David Bowie Blackstar

 - review Bat For Lashes The Bride

 - review Laura Mvula The Dreaming Room

 - review Skepta Konnichiwa Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool

 - review The 1975 I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

 - review Anohni Hopelessness

 - review Jamie Woon Making Time

 - review Kano - Made in the Manor

 - review Michael Kiwanuka Love and Hate

 - review Savages Adore Life Making Time

 - review The Comet is Coming Channel the Spirits

A statement from the judging panel, made up of musicians and industry experts, said: The 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize 'Albums of the Year' are marked by their musical ambitions, unexpected instrumentation and breathtaking arrangements."

Mercury Prize red carpet: Kano on being a London boy, becoming famous locally and getting older

The winner is due to be announced on the evening of September 15.
W ith work on the next season of Game of Thrones getting underway, expectant fans are keeping an eye on Irish airports to see which actors are turning up for filming.

If one recent rumour is to be believed, a significant character could be making a big comeback in Season 7.

Actor Joe Dempsie was reportedly seen at Belfast airport, with a photo currently circulating on social media.

The stars presence would indicate the return of Gendry  who was last seen in Season 3.

The character was introduced as an incidental blacksmith back in Season 1, but it emerged that he is an unacknowledged bastard son of original king Robert Baratheon.

After travelling with Arya Stark, Gendry was turned over to Melisandre by the Brotherhood without Banners in Season 3  and the red woman told him of his lineage.

He was locked away in a cell at Dragonstone, before being freed by Ser Davos  and was last seen rowing away into the unknown.

Game of Thrones locations you can actually stay in: 1 /6 Game of Thrones locations you can actually stay in: A summerhouse North of Westeros, Iceland With Iceland representing the northern-most tip of Westeros, this summerhouse is perfectly located an hours drive from Reykjavik. Fans will recognise the Thingvellir National Park from Arya's storyline and as the setting for the battle of the Hound and Brienne, as this listing boasts 360 degree views of the park itself.



114 per night based on two guests. Book it here Dont slave away in Slavers Bay, Morocco This classic guesthouse offers the most spectacular views of Ait-Ben-Haddou in Morocco, the setting for Slavers Bay. Fans of the show will recognise the area from season three, where Daenerys Targaryen successfully led a military campaign with the goal of liberating the enslaved populace.



From 16 per night based on four guests. Book it here Dorne of a great break in Seville, Spain Dorne is one of the lushest new locations featured in season five and was shot on location in Seville, Spain. The beautiful verdant courtyards and eye catching architecture runs through the whole city, including this lovely listing.



From 61 per night based on three guests. Book it here Over the Wall in Galway, Ireland Built in the 1400s, this refurbished medieval castle is full of quirks, perfect to visit the realm of the wildlings who live beyond. With winding staircases and oak beams youll feel like a real member of the Nights Watch.



From 95 per night based on two guests. Book it here Dwell in the Dalmatian Coast A short distance from the beach, and overlooking the beautiful Old Town, this listing acts as the real life backdrop of Kings Landing. Overlooking the island of Lokrum, you will be enchanted by the views and the history surrounding you as you purvey your kingdom.



18 per night based on one guest. Book it here

Now, four seasons later the character could be back to shake things up. With  spoiler alert  all of Cersei Lannisters children now dead, Gendry is the last Baratheon with any claim to the Iron Throne. Will he be daring enough to take it?

Kit Harington: Battle of the Bastards is the biggest thing Thrones has ever filmed

Of course, this is all speculation for now  but don't rule out Gendry rowing his way back into Westeros.

The seventh season of Game of Thrones is set to consist of seven episodes, rather than the usual ten, and is expected to arrive in summer 2017.
W hen a doctor diagnoses a problem, the proposed solution often involves being prescribed a set of pills.

And yet, while our understanding of medical issues is the strongest its ever been, Dr Chris Van Tulleken claims our reliance on drugs is a crisis in medicine that threatens us all.

He claims that some drugs are not hugely effective, and the benefits can often be outweighed by negatives including serious side effects and over-use.

Were just prescribing more, and more, and more pills, he says in his new BBC One show, The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs.

I believe theres another way. Im going to take over part of a doctors surgery where Ill replace the drugs by treating patients ills without pills  from chronic pain to depression.

Setting up his own small clinic, the two part documentary follows Van Tulleken's social experiment to see if alternative drug-free treatments could work better.

However, he is clear to explain that viewers shouldnt immediately give up on their own prescriptions.

Best TV dramas 2016 1 /38 Best TV dramas 2016 The Missing The addictive and twisty second series of the BBC's crime anthology series BBC/New Pictures/Robert Viglasky Dark Angel Joanne Froggatt stared as Victorian mass murderer Mary Ann Cotton in this ITV drama ITV Close to the Enemy Stephen Poliakoff's post-war drama thriller BBC/Little Island Pictures Ordinary Lies The BBC anthology drama returns with more twisted tales BBC/Red Productions/Adrian Rogers The Night Of Riz Ahmed stars in HBO's critically acclaimed crime mini-series HBO Cold Feet The classic ITV comedy-drama returns - and it's just as good as it ever was ITV Victoria ITV have given Poldark some stiff competition with this period drama about a young Queen Victoria ITV Poldark The BBC's hit drama returns with more brooding, and less naked scything BBC/Robert Viglasky One of Us The BBC kept everyone guessing with this claustrophobic four-part whodunit Ripper Street The fan-favourite Victorian police drama returned for Series 4 BBC/Tiger Aspect 2016/Bernard Walsh The Secret Agent Toby Jones led the cast in the BBC's Joseph Conrad adaptation BBC/World Productions/Mark Mainz/Matt Burlem The Living and the Dead The BBC's gothic romance debuted in full on iPlayer BBC Preacher AMC's adaptation of Garth Ennis' cult comic book is available week-by-week on Amazon Prime Amazon / AMC Versailles A raunchy royal romp around the court of King Louis XIV, spicing up Wednesdays on BBC Two Canal +/ BBC Locked Up The Spanish prison drama came to the UK thanks to Channel 4's Walter Presents series Channel 4 / Global Series Peaky Blinders The Birmingham-set gangster thriller was more popular than ever in its third series BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky The A Word The BBC gave us a nuanced and emotional take on autism BBC/Fifty Fathoms Marcella Anna Friel stars in ITV's British take on the Scandi-noir thriller ITV Grantchester James Norton is back as the crime-solving vicar ITV / Lovely Day Stag The comedy-thriller from the team behind The Wrong Mans is both hilarious and chilling BBC/Des Willie/Hal Shinnie/Matt Burlem Vinyl Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger present a glossy drama about the Seventies music industry HBO American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson Cuba Gooding Jr leads an all-star cast in a dramatic re-telling of the 'trial of century' BBC/Fox Happy Valley Sarah Lancashire returned as Sgt Catherine Cawood for a second series of the gritty crime thriller BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall The X Files Mulder and Scully return for a brand new set of mysteries War and Peace The BBC's epic adaptation of the Russian literary classic BBC/Mitch Jenkins Call the Midwife The BBC period drama moved into the Sixties for Series 5 BBC/Neal Street Productions/Sophie Mutevelian Dickensian Charles Dickens' most famous characters collide in this historical soap BBC Jericho ITV's British western set in the wilds of Yorkshire Silent Witness The hugely popular detective drama returns for a 19th series

I want to be clear  this is not some personal crusade against all medicine, he says.

There are drugs that benefit and save countless lives. But, modern medicine has got to a point where we treat millions of people in this country with drugs that the science says dont work very well, for many people they dont work at all, and they do massive amounts of harm. They kill people.

Van Tullekens experiment is an interesting way to broach a topic that is likely to recur over the coming years  how much medicine is too much, and is it time to rethink our medical practices?

BBC One, 9pm
On the directions of the Supreme Court over the Cauvery River row, seven men, their instruments and a boat are literally standing between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

By Jugal R Purohit: "There is a lot of pressure. You can talk to my seniors," he said and walked off.

On the directions of the Supreme Court over the Cauvery River row, seven men, their instruments and a boat are literally standing between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Their job is to ensure that Karnataka releases 12000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily till September 20 to Tamil Nadu, not a drop more or less.

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However, measuring the fast moving water with a speed of over 6 metre/second which runs a course of 800km for a mere 12000 cusecs is not an easy task. Adding to this the politics and emotions attached.

Also read: Chennai RJ's Cauvery take: Remember, it was Karnataka that helped us during floods

CENTRE LINE SEPARATING THE STATES



Biligundulu is a small village located on the border dividing the two states where the Cauvery flows by from Karnataka's Krishna Raj Sagar dam into Tamil Nadu. On the outskirts is a Central Water Commission (CWC) facility where the river channel separates the two states by 160m. The seven member CWC team calls this as the 'centre line'.

"Every morning, the team led by a junior engineer boards the boat and sails from one bank to the other. As they sail, they drop their equipment into the river to measure the velocity of the flowing water. They do this at 15 distinct points for the 160m distance. The values they get are multiplied with the area to arrive at the quantity of water which is released per second. This is then extrapolated to arrive at the quantity of water released through the day," said a CWC staffer who did not wish to be named.

The derived data is kept secure and is shared when violations are seen or a state or the court officially seeks the same. The villagers said this is a routine which is followed from 8am to 10am, everyday.

Also read: Cauvery row: Naam Tamilar cadre sets himself ablaze during anti-Karnataka protest in Chennai, hospitalised

What if, once they are done, authorities at the KRS dam slowly curb the flow of water?



HOW CAUVERY WATER LEVEL IS MEASURED



Informed sources pointed out that one CWC staffer visits the centre line every hour to see whether or not the river remains at the level it was in the morning. In case the level comes down, the matter is immediately flagged to their senior officers.

"Ever since the Supreme Court stepped in, that has not happened. In any case, the instructions to the staff at Biligundulu are very clear. They are not supposed to interact with the states at all. If either of the states contact them for anything, they are to refer them to the senior officers," said a source.

Also read: Cauvery dispute: SC pulls up Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, says maintain peace



At the site, the team arrived exactly at 8am. The boat, which was moored by a rope, was freed and the team boarded wearing their life vests. While three men rowed the boat, others collected data. The current in the river was too strong. The boat, as a result, was firmly tied to an overhead cable which connected both the banks. By clinging to the overhead cable, the boat became stable enough to let the crew pick up the values. After almost two hours, the worked out crew came back.

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So what were the measurements like? "We are not supposed to talk to you. Please talk to our seniors," said another team member.

--- ENDS ---
By Aravind Gowda: With Tamil organisations calling for a bandh on September 16 over Cauvery River water row, Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has urged his Tamil Nadu counterpart to protect the interests of Kannadigas living there.

On Monday, angry mobs burnt Tamil Nadu-registered vehicles and damaged properties owned by Tamilians in Karnataka in the wake of Supreme Court directing the state to release Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka fears that there could be retaliatory attacks on Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu tomorrow.

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Also read: Cauvery dispute: SC pulls up Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, says maintain peace

PROTECT THE CITIZENS



"I urge you to protect the interests of Kannadigas living in Tamil Nadu. At the same time, Karnataka has taken steps to ensure that Tamilians are not harmed in Karnataka. The government is committed to protect them," Siddaramaiah said in his letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.



At a separate public event in Chikkaballapura town, Siddaramaiah today lamented that Jayalalithaa was not inclined to resolve the issue amicably. "Nevertheless, we will continue our fight in the courts. We will protect the interests of our farmers," he said.

Also read: Chennai RJ's Cauvery take: Remember, it was Karnataka that helped us during floods



The Supreme Court had asked the Karnataka government on September 12 to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu daily, after modifying its earlier September 5 order for the release of 15,000 cusecs that led to protests across the state.

--- ENDS ---
During the protest, Naam Tamilar activist Vignesh, set himself ablaze to condemn the riots against Tamil people in Karnataka.

A day ahead of the statewide shutdown called by various parties and trade organisations, Naam Tamilar party held a protest in Chennai.

By Pramod Madhav: A day ahead of the statewide shutdown called by various parties and trade organisations, Naam Tamilar party held a protest in Chennai. Close to 500 cadres participated in the event where, their leader Seeman conducted a March from Pudupet to Egmore.

Cadres were chanting anti-Karnataka slogans and demanded that Cauvery water should be shared as per the court's verdict. Amidst the protest, Vignesh, a youth from Mannarkudi, set himself ablaze to everybody's shock.

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People extinguished the fire and Vignesh was rushed to the Kilpauk hospital by cops.

Close to 500 cadres of Naam Tamilar, a pro-Tamil group, conducted a protest at Pudupet.

Seeman stated, "If the heart claims that blood only belongs to it, how can other organs survive? Same way Karnataka is the blood flow and Tamil Nadu can't survive without it."

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah has written a letter to Jayalalithaa raising concern over the bandh call in Tamil Nadu on Friday and said that any escalation of animosity between the states would be the collective detriment of both the states and requested Jayalalithaa to take adequate measures to maintain the safety of Kannada speaking people in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa is yet to reply.



ALSO READ:

Cauvery row: Bengaluru crawls back to normalcy after shops open, traffic restored



--- ENDS ---
The Delhi government has directed municipal corporations to inspect all construction sites for breeding of mosquitoes and cancelled leaves of doctors.

By Parbina Purkayastha: The Aam Aadmi Party today called for bridging the gap between the Delhi government and the BJP-dominated Municipal Corporation of Delhi after the death of six people due to chikungunya in the last three days has taken the toll to 11 in the national capital.

With 90 per cent rise in the cases within a week, the Health Ministry has finally swung into action, and called for combined efforts from both the government and the civic bodies.

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ALSO READ: Delhi in ICU: Chikungunya death toll rises to 10 in the national capital



"Regardless of whatever differences there be, various agencies and political parties will have to work together to tackle chikungunya," Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra quoted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The government has also directed municipal corporations to inspect all construction sites for the breeding of mosquitoes and has cancelled the leaves of doctors.



The move comes after India Today, in a series of reports, exposed the reality of the Delhi government and MCD's failure to deal with the dengue-chickungunya outbreak.

HOSPITALS BEDS INCREASED, FOGGING DONE

"We have increased the number of beds. Officials are working for longer hours, have increased the stock of medicines, and the number of patients is decreasing", said Dr Chugh, Medical Superintendent of Malviya Nagar Hospital.

Fogging is being carried out in most areas after several localities last month complained there were no measures being undertaken to inhibit breeding of mosquitoes. Too little too late at it seems, residents feel the government should have started with fogging on a very serious note as soon as the monsoon began.

"Seriousness towards dealing with this menace should have been shown when the monsoon began. Is this the time to begin the process when the season is getting over," said a police constable of south Delhi locality.



AMBULANCES

The issue of shortage of ambulances in the national capital is yet to be addressed. With ambulance employees being on strike for not being paid for three months, over 50 per cent ambulances stand non-operational.

ALSO READ: Co-infection of dengue and chikungunya doubles risk of virus evolution



--- ENDS ---
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Doctors and staff at hospitals are not able to handle the huge number of patients flooding the hospitals with dengue and chikungunya symptoms.

By Parbina Purkayastha: As the death toll continues to rise due to Chikungunya in Delhi, neighbouring Gurgaon is not far behind. Doctors and staff at hospitals are not able to handle the huge number of patients flooding the hospitals with dengue and chikungunya symptoms.

CHAOS AT HOSPITALS

Similar scenes and the same anger which was seen at Delhi hospitals makes its inroads in Gurgaon hospitals too. With 5-6 senior citizens succumbing to the disease in Delhi, it has instilled fear among older people in Delhi-NCR.

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50-year-old Rajkumari reached Gurgaon's civil lines hospital at 6 am with immense fever and joint pain, by 1 pm she managed to collect two receipts which allowed her to enter OPD and meet the doctor. In her second visit to the hospital, she lost her patience and walked to the India Today camera and cried for help.

Also read:

Chikungunya: 6 more deaths take toll to 11, AAP seeks to 'bridge gaps'

AAP Minister Kapil Mishra writes open letter to Delhiites, says let's fight dengue, chikungunya together



"I am not able to stand and they are not allowing me to see the doctor, can you help me please?" asked Rajkumari.

Around 400 to 500 patients reach each day complaining of fever and joint pain. Hospitals staff and doctors are having difficult time ensuring everyone gets consultations quickly and efficiently. "The civil hospital has capacity of 200 beds but we have increased the number now wherever possible with the existing space" said Dr Puspa Bishnoi, CMO, Gurgaon district.

ANGER AMONG PATIENTS

The situation in private hospitals of Gurgaon is no better. They too have adopted the same measures to control the huge number of fever patients. Reports from all the hospitals say, doctors are extending their shifts and doing the best they can. "I cannot see any doctors extending their shifts, I came to the hospital at 7 am and because it is 1 pm now they have shut the OPD, do you really think they care?" said another fever patient.

If there was a 90 % rise in chikungunya patients in Delhi over a week, Gurgaon saw 50 % rise in the number of patients from last month. "The situation in Gurgaon is not as bad as Delhi. Everything is under control. We have hundreds of patients coming with symptoms of chikungunya but there are less positives which is a relief" said Bishnoi.

However, official records show 55 dengue and two chikungunya cases and more than 90 % are Gurgaon residents. The reason for the low figure could also be that the hospitals are not reporting every case to the district authorities.

--- ENDS ---
Bishop William H. Willimon was named one of the 12 best preachers in the English speaking world, hes written more than 60 books, he has served as dean of Duke Chapel and a bishop in the United Methodist Church.
The following cases were heard in Iredell County District Court on Sept. 12-13.

Sept. 12: Judge Deborah Brown

 Antavious Baxter, possession of stolen goods, 45 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Vicki Brady, driving while impaired, 24 months suspended, 24 months supervised probation.

 Clarence Cunningham, assault on a female, credit for eight days served.

 Jacob Debroder, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, six months unsupervised probation and 18 hours of community service within 90 days.

 Perry Junior Hairston, simple assault, 20 days.

 Michael Herrington, assault on a female, 150 days suspended, 12 months supervised probation.

 Renee Herrington, possession of marijuana up to a half ounce, six months unsupervised probation.

 Chelsea Marie Hinson, possession of marijuana paraphernalia consolidated for judgment with possession of marijuana to a half ounce, six months unsupervised probation.

 Kimberly Holland, possession of drug paraphernalia, 30 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Nicholas Johnston, harassing phone call, 30 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Balzat Kabdygaliyevaa, simple assault, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Laura Laircey, food nutrition fraud, six months unsupervised probation.

 Lora Joyce Lim, resisting a public officer, six months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service within 90 days.

 Jordan Blake Moore, possession of schedule VI controlled substance, 12 months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service within 90 days.

 Raeshell Reddick, possession of marijuana up to a half ounce, six months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service within 90 days.

 Henry Sigmon, domestic criminal trespassing, 45 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Justin Michael Simon, possession of marijuana up to a half ounce, six months unsupervised probation and 18 hours of community service within 90 days.

 Samuel Alan Turetsky, larceny, 30 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Leonard Warren Wilson, stalking, credit for 40 days served.

 Snow Meaghan Leigh, possession of drug paraphernalia, credit for nine days served.

 Thomas David Wilson, resisting a public officer, 10 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

Sept. 13: Judge Christine Underwood

 Barbara Brown, larceny, 45 days suspended, 12 months supervised probation.

 Rodney OBrian Davis, assault on a female, 150 days suspended, 18 months supervised probation; driving while impaired, 120 days suspended, 18 months supervised probation and 72 hours of community service within 120 days.

 Bertha Freeman, possession of marijuana up to a half ounce, 20 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation.

 Miles Hendrix, consuming alcohol under the age of 19, six months unsupervised probation.

 Natasha Johnson, driving while impaired, 60 days suspended, 12 months unsupervised probation and 24 hours of community service within 60 days.

 Herbert Lackey, attempted breaking and entering of a motor vehicle, credit for three days served.

 Alondra Little, simple possession of schedule VI controlled substance, six months unsupervised probation.

 Matthew Ramseur, possession of stolen goods, 45 days; assault on a government employee/official, 75 days.

 Eduardo Santiago, possession of drug paraphernalia, credit for 45 days served.

 Brian Smyre, driving while impaired, 120 days suspended, 18 months supervised probation and 72 hours of community service within 120 days.

 Ryan Stiltner, larceny, 45 days suspended, 12 months supervised probation and 24 hours of community service within 60 days.

 Bradley David Tomlin, driving while impaired, 60 days suspended, 12 months supervised probation and 24 hours of community service within 60 days.

 Gregory Smart, larceny, credit for 45 days served.
When Whitney Gilbert and Shadese (DeeDee) Griffith began dating more than a year ago, neither could have expected that they and their family w
Thursday, 15 September 2016 23:58:43 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Brazil plans to appeal the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a fight against the recently announced determinations by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in its anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations over the imports of CRC from several countries, including Brazil , a Brazilian official said this week.

Media reports said Brazil s industry, foreign trade and services (MDIC) minister, Marcos Pereira, asked the nations chamber of foreign trade to analyze the case with urgency.

I will defend that position... and I believe the chamber will support it because what the United States is doing is not legal, Pereira told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.

I believe Camex will approve this, Pereira said.

In July this year, the US Department of Commerce determined that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled steel, or CRS) from Brazil .

As such, imports of CRC from Brazilian steelmakers CSN and Usiminas should pay duties of 11.31 percent and 11.09 percent, respectively.

The Brazilian government will also appeal a separate decision by ITC to raise anti-subsidy duties to just over 11 percent on hot-rolled flat steel imports from Brazil , according to a media report.




Wednesday, 14 September 2016 23:44:45 (GMT+3) | San Diego

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) initiated Tuesday a preliminary injury inquiry into a complaint by Supermetal Structures Inc., of Levis, Quebec, Supreme Group LP, of Edmonton, Alberta, and Waiward Steel LP, of Edmonton, Alberta, that they have suffered injury as a result of the dumping of certain fabricated industrial steel components from the China, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom and subsidizing of certain fabricated industrial steel components from China.

On November 10, 2016, the Tribunal will determine whether there is a reasonable indication that the alleged dumping and subsidizing have caused injury. If so, the CBSA will continue its investigations and, by December 12, 2016, will issue preliminary determinations.

If these preliminary determinations indicate that there has been dumping or subsidizing, the CBSA will then continue its investigations and, concurrently, the Tribunal will initiate a final injury inquiry. Anti-dumping and/or countervailing duties will be imposed only if the Tribunal finds that dumped or subsidized products are injuring or threatening to injure the Canadian producers.


By PTI: Experts

New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) As the number of deaths in Delhi due to chikungunya and its complications have shown a spike, health experts say the sudden "upsurge" of the disease this year could be a result of "evolution" of the viral strain.

Doctors have detected that the viral strain is showing "different behaviour", though it will only be conclusive once research is conducted on the make up of the virus.

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"Dengue and chikungunya both are caused by the same aedes mosquito but dengue can be contracted through four viral strains while chikungunya is caused only by one strain.

"Also, in dengue cases, some strains are more virulent than other ones. The number of rising cases of chikungunya this year after the 2006 spike could be due to an evolution in its strain," National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) Director A C Dhariwal said.

Experts also feel that north Indians could be succumbing to the vector-borne disease because of their "low immunity" to it.

"People in north India havent been really exposed to the chikungunya strain compared to the population in the southern part of the country, and therefore they are more vulnerable to this viral attack," Municipal Health Officer of SDMC, P K Hazarika told PTI.

He, however, said the probability of evolution of the viral strain will just be a speculation until scientists establish it.

IgM-ELISA and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) are the two main tests used to detect chikungunya in patients.

A senior doctor at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital says the viral strain in patients diagnosed with chikungunya at its hospital are "showing different behaviour" for the two tests.

"We used IgM serology on patients earlier but then after finding discrepancy between clinical diagnosis and laboratory tests, we started performing molecular test (RT-PCR) to detect the chikungunya virus from the blood of clinically suspected patients from September 1 onwards," the doctor said.

"And from Sep 1-13, out of 565 samples of suspected viral fever, 319 came positive for chikungunya virus which is about 56 per cent positivity. So, we found out that a test coming negative by IgM is coming positive by RT-PCR. And, this could mean the number of cases in Delhi could be much higher than currently reported," he said.

Arun R Kaushik, specialist in microbiology and geriatrics, says, "Chikungunya virus is transmitted by the bite of aedes albopictus and aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The risk of death is about one in 1,000 especially common among the elderly or those with underlying chronic medical problems."

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According to the Bangalore-based doctor, "The prevalence of arbovirus infections similar to chikungunya virus in south India especially in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have made people tolerant to these infections."

The number of chikungunya cases in the national capital have climbed to over 1,700 this season and at least 12 deaths have been reported due to the disease. (MORE) PTI KND AAR RT AAR TRK

--- ENDS ---
Thursday, 15 September 2016 10:34:49 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

In August this year, commercial vehicle registrations in the German market totaled 30,623 units, up 7.5 percent month on month and increasing by 43 percent year on year, according to the data released by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). Meanwhile, in the first eight months of this year, Germany 's commercial vehicle registrations increased by 12 percent year on year, totaling 236,100 units.

According to the VDA, in August this year 16,210 commercial vehicles rolled off production lines in Germany , which represents a month-on-month decrease of 30.9 percent and a year-on-year decline of 15 percent. German commercial vehicle output in the January-August period of the current year amounted to 205,320 units, declining one percent compared to the same period last year.




Thursday, 15 September 2016 09:06:47 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

In July this year, Japan 's hot rolled plate and sheet shipments increased by 6.3 percent compared to the previous month and were up by seven percent compared to the same month last year, amounting to 890,000 metric tons. 69 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 31 percent were made to the export markets, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data.

In July of the current year, Japan 's hot rolled plate and sheet production amounted to 811,000 mt, down 9.6 percent month on month and rising 2.4 percent year on year.
According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in July this year South Africa 's manufacturing output increased by 0.4 percent compared to the same month last year.

In July, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery decreased by 4.9 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa fell by 1.1 percent, while the production of structural metal products decreased by 15.8 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with June, in July this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa decreased by 5.2 percent and production of structural metal products narrowed by 4.2 percent.
In August this year, the value of Taiwan 's iron and steel exports decreased by 3.1 percent year on year to $1.24 billion, according to the preliminary statistics issued by Taiwan 's Ministry of Finance. In the given month, the country's iron and steel import value totaled $720 million, up 0.1 percent year on year.
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Bloomsdale will probably host a major fireworks display. The pyrotechnics will not take place until 2024, however. During the Oct. 12 board of aldermen meeting, Kevin Wehner and city officials again discussed the possibility of a July 4 fireworks display at the youth soccer fields on land leased by the city
Minister-delegate for Romanians Abroad Maria Ligor told a workshop on Thursday on reinvented Diaspora in the digital era that state officials have to undertake a change in paradigm as far as the relationship with the Romanian nationals abroad is concerned, and partnership should be that change.

"We are undergoing changes, and we should acknowledge that we have to undertake a change in paradigm in our relationship with our Diaspora. (...) We have to make this switch from a previous paradigm that entailed us providing assistance (...) through our overseas offices, to another paradigm, of partnership. (...)This is a time when partnership should underpin relating with overseas Romanians. It has to start from respect for the competence these Romanians have, for their capability of contributing and their wish to contribute," said Ligor.

In her opinion, the shared agenda of citizens and officials should define the real interests and concerns of those living outside Romania, and to this end efforts are being deployed to establish a team in charge with initiatives.

"We are working on a series of initiatives and projects that we want to bring to maturity by the end of the current year. The biggest challenge facing us is resetting the team of our department. (...) We want to change procedures and to put simplification front and centre in this exercise," added Ligor.

In her turn, presidential adviser on Diaspora affairs with Romania's Presidential Administration Sandra Pralong praised the partnership vision in the relationship between the State and Diaspora as proof of democratic maturity.

"A partnership between a democratic state and the citizens is reflective of a democracy in which partner citizens dictate their needs, and not the other way around," said Pralong.

She added that the challenge in this demarche is finding digital tools to create communities.

Moderating the workshop was Associate Professor in Diplomatic Studies at Oxford University Corneliu Bjola.

The workshop included speeches delivered by officials of diplomatic missions to Romania who mentioned good practices, teaching staff and IT project leaders who want to bring together citizens and software experts.

Dan Nechita, adviser to Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, talked about how the GovIT project could bring together Romanians from all over the world.

"The fact that we are connecting increasingly better and we want digitisation to get us closer to 3 million Romanians overseas is not just a gladdening sign, but also a priority with us for the months to come and, hopefully, for the years ahead," said Nechita.

In the first part of the workshop, a presentation was made of the votdiaspora.ro website designed to offer Romanians abroad information about the electoral process, as well as of the RomBel online platform serving the Romanian community of Belgium, according to Agerpres.
Romanian police professionalism in fighting illegal migration was praised by participants in the European Police Chiefs Convention (EPCC), at Europol headquarters in the Hague, September 14-15.

"The Romanian Police delegation held several bilateral meetings with Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian and Belgian partners. (...) One reason the colleagues in partner states appreciated the Romanian police was their exchange of information through police channels, with many of the officials stating that Romania is already seen as a Schengen Area member state. The Romanian police professionalism was also praised when it came to fighting illegal migration, where Romanian efforts have contributed toward ensuring security for the entire European area," says a press statement released by the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR).

The meetings also approached developing common strategies to fight cross-border crime, cybercrime and itinerant criminal groups.

"Partners in the Netherlands and Norway thanked Romanian Police for their support in fighting itinerant crime, emphasizing that, because of their information exchange and common operations, the number of individuals involved in this type of crimes has dropped significantly in recent years," the IGPR statement reads.

Romania was represented at the European Police Chiefs Convention by head of the Romanian Police Bogdan Despescu. In his address, he stressed that the Romanian Police stand by all other European and international law enforcement agencies in preventing and fighting cybercrime.

Over 450 high-ranking officials of law enforcement agencies and experts from European, Asian as well as American countries and Australia attended the event in the Hague, which focused on international cooperation, security implication of migration crisis, terrorism, cybercrime and the impact of digitalization, according to Agerpres.
Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Romania's Chamber of Deputies Laszlo Borbely is attending, September 15-17, the 13th Yalta European Strategy annual meeting in Kiev.

According to a press statement released to AGERPRES, the conference includes debates on current affairs, such as terrorism and radicalism, Brexit, refugees, populism, Ukraine - an important test for the West, as well as the US elections, Russian-Western conflict, co-existence, cooperation, inequality as a threat for social unity, as well as a global view on threats, innovation and economy.

"The meeting in Yalta is seen as an open forum of ideas and opinions, where participants are able to learn from international good practices. The organization promotes policies and concrete, viable solutions. Through these annual forums, YES supports Ukraine's reopening to the rest of the world and the country's bid to join the European Union," the statement says, according to Agerpres.
Deputy Prime Minister and Regional Development and Public Administration Minister Vasile Dincu met at the Victoria Palace Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova to discuss mainly strategic and operational aspects on coordinating Priority Axis 3 of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).

According to a Regional Development and Public Administration Ministry (MDRAP) release, on this occasion "Minister Dincu reiterated the commitment and full availability of the MDRAP representatives for the further development of the collaboration with the Bulgarian experts aimed at achieving these common goals."

In respect to the preparation of the joint project for funding the coordination of the priority areas of the Danube Transnational Programme, Deputy PM Vasile Dincu underscored the experience of the MDRAP technical experts in respect to drawing up and implementing the projects funded under transnational programmes."Concerning the future activities, namely the meeting of the Coordination Committee and the other events scheduled until the end of 2016, the MDRAP experts are currently working together to identify the optimal solution for their scheduling, taking into account the availability of the members of the Coordination Committee and the event calendar in the tourism and culture are for October - November 2016," Vasile Dincu mentioned.On the occasion of the meeting, Deputy PM Vasile Dincu was invited to participate in Sofia in the conference on worldwide civilisations and modern tourism, due to have a plenary session on November 29.In respect to the common agenda on the level of the two states' governments, the officials assessed the possibility of organising a joint meeting this autumn, meant to strengthen the future cooperation relations between Romania and Bulgaria, the source also informs.

Agerpres
The Tiangong 2 module will be used for "testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling," and will house experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies.

By AP: China has launched its second space station in a sign of the growing sophistication of its military-backed program that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years.

The Tiangong 2 was carried into space on Thursday night atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

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Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain on board for a month. The station, whose name means "Heavenly Palace," is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

WHAT IS TIANGONG 2

The Tiangong 2 module will be used for "testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling," and will house experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies.

China's first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year after having docked with three visiting spacecraft.

China launches second space station. Photo: Twitter/@AllPlanets China launches second space station. Photo: Twitter/@AllPlanets

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the U.S. to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon. Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future.

China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to U.S. concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

CHINA SPACE PROGRAM PLANS 20 MISSIONS THIS YEAR



A source of enormous national pride, China's space program plans a total of 20 missions this year at a time when the U.S. and other countries' programs are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.

China plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020, attempting to recreate the success of the U.S. Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) CPI(M) today provided a financial assistance of Rs 9.72 lakh to the victims of Nepals devastated earthquake by handing over the cheque to the countrys Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is on his maiden foriegn visit to India after assuming office.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury handed over the cheque of Rs 9.72 lakh to Dahal during their meeting at Nepal embassy here.

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With this contribution, the monetary help the CPI(M) and mass organisations backed by it provided to Nepal has gone up to Rs 5.28 crore.

According to the Left party, the total funds raised include Rs 1.67 crore, Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh collected separately by Kerala State Service Pensioners Union, Centre of Trade Unions and School Teachers Federation of India respectively.

The last years powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal and claimed about 9,000 people.

Dahal is on a four-day visit to India from today during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders. PTI SBR ENM PMS RG PMS

--- ENDS ---
The policemen and PG owner didn't let her file a complaint, "their argument was- "Kuch nahi hoga case karne se," writes the victim of harrowing sexual assault in a Facebook post.

By India Today Web Desk: Yet again, Delhi has proved to be one of the most unsafe places for women, and a resident's horrific sexual assault in her own PG strengthens this fact.

Pinjratod 'an autonomous collective effort to ensure secure, affordable and not gender-discriminatory accommodation for women students across Delhi,' recently shared a shocking post about a college girl's harrowing tale of sexual harassment in her PG in Lajpat Nagar.

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The anonymous girl shared spine-chilling details about the entire episode in the Facebook post. When she got back to the PG after classes, she sensed a presence in her kitchen, only to find a drunk intruder with his pants down.

In the spur of the moment, she dodged the inebriated man with a chair and locked herself up in her room. She immediately called up the caretaker of the PG to take control of the situation. In the post she writes, 'the owner was stuck in traffic and came 40 minutes late. The man was inside the room for that time and he took off his pants and rolled my PG-mate's magazines, by tying them up with her rubber band, to play with his penis.'

Despite the utterly shocking incident, the PG owner dissuaded her from calling up the police. As mentioned in the post, 'the PG owner called up some head constable, Shyam Sunder, with whom he is on good terms.'

At this point the police and PG owner gave her baseless arguments like 'kuch nahi hoga case karne se. Ek din bhi nahi rakhte hein is cheez ke liye custody mein' and lectured her about irrelevant things like a girl 'shouldn't go out after 11.'

To make matters even worse, the PG owner kept calling the drunk intruder as a 'baccha', while the policemen instead of taking action, were laughing away at the CCTV footage.

The girl who is a student of Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College, emphatically concludes the post saying, "I cannot let these men get away with this so easily. When someone wants to take an action, it is the duty of the police to support them, instead of laughing it off and manipulating their decision. Regularize private/PG accommodations! Secure and affordable accommodation for all! Put an end to moral policing and protectionism of hostel and PG authorities!"

Read the full post here:





--- ENDS ---
CREVE COEUR  The announced $66 billion sale of Monsanto Co. to Bayer AG leaves many wondering about its impact on the futures of both companies. Beyond the finances, one question is whether the mega-scale merger of pharmaceutical and agricultural giants will do anything to change Monsantos controversial  and widely vilified  reputation worldwide.

From business experts to activists, some are skeptical that the deal will move the needle of some public sentiment, which they say remains weighted against the Creve Coeur-based company branded as Monsatan in some activist circles.

I dont think its really going to change their image, said Doug Gurian-Sherman, the director of sustainable agriculture and a senior scientist at the Center for Food Safety. He said that both Monsanto and Bayer have done things that, from our perspective, are not in the publics interest.

Skeptics say Monsanto wont be helped by Bayers own past. The German company has been linked to a number of controversial issues and products throughout its history  from production of the deadly gas used in Nazi concentration camps to its stance in the modern-day debate on genetically modified food.

When you look at the history of Bayer, its almost as bad as Monsanto, in terms of spending huge amounts of money to resist genetically modified food labeling, said Michael Hansen, a food safety and environmental health expert for Consumers Union.

Hansen said Bayer had a poor track record with genetically modified crops, pointing to a $750 million out-of-court settlement the company reached in 2011 after an engineered rice variety that was never approved for public consumption turned up in the commercial rice supply, ruining about half of long-grain rice exports from the United States and leading to international trade bans. The rice variety, known as LibertyLink 601, was grown only on test plots from 1998 to 2001, Hansen said, yet somehow resurfaced in rice exports five years later.

But the merger is perhaps most worrisome to environmentalists and scientists concerned about Monsanto, the worlds most prominent herbicide producer, joining forces with Bayer, manufacturers of widely used, controversial pesticides called neonicotinoids. Some studies suggest that the family of pesticides may harm pollinators such as honeybees, prompting bans to be implemented or proposed from Europe to Minnesota.

Its a troubling combination of toxins and more toxins, said Gurian-Sherman.

Others are more optimistic about how Monsanto will fare after the merger, which is expected to close at the end of 2017.

Monsantos image could only be helped by disappearing into Bayer, I would think, said Carey Gillam, a director of the consumer group, U.S. Right to Know, who has researched Monsanto for nearly two decades.

She believes the benefits of merging with Bayer will be twofold. Besides shielding Monsanto from continued negative attention, she says the deal could also provide financial security at a time when the companys marquee products face intense public scrutiny or outright bans in markets such as Europe.

Monsanto faces many challenges if they continue to push back against Bayer and opt for a standalone strategy as their rivals consolidate, Gillam said. Both of the companys bread-and-butter product lines  its glyphosate herbicide and its GMO crops  are facing a host of challenges now and Monsantos efforts to develop new product lines and diversify its revenue stream so far have not proven successful.

Wayne Keene, director of the Center for Sales and Customer Development at the University of Missouri-Columbia, says that the merger could provide Monsanto with a fresh start in terms of building its corporate reputation.

I think that Bayer gives them the opportunity to reset the discussion, said Keene.

Plus, he says the deal may expand the companys marketing possibilities. Monsanto is looking at Bayer as a company that can give them opportunity and access to new growth, Keene said.

The merger still needs approval from anti-trust regulators before being finalized. Anti-trust concerns not only present a regulatory hurdle, but an additional challenge in terms of the new companys public image.

Anytime you get into monopoly conditions, thats not considered good at all for the farmer, said Hansen.

Ultimately, the effect of the merger on Monsantos image may come down the name the company takes on in the aftermath of an approved deal. In comments Wednesday, Monsanto Chief Executive Hugh Grant said the name of the company was not discussed as part of the merger. Thats really the $66 billion question, said Keene, weighing whether Monsanto will keep its name.

On one hand, the companys name has garnered notoriety in some circles that it may wish to shed.

Theyre keenly aware that thats a huge liability in terms of limiting their business opportunities, said Ricardo Salvador, the director of the food and environment program with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

But on the other hand, Monsanto could be compelled to keep its name, Keene said, because its name-brand crop science still holds unique value to a number of customers.

From a marketing stand point, Roundup is highly valued in their marketplace, Keene said. Within their lane, Monsanto has a great brand recognition if nothing else.
About 30 dance companies will perform under the sky on Saturday in Grand Center, as the arts district launches a new attraction.

The goal of Grand DanceFest is to celebrate dance, showcase a variety of styles and expose the art form to a wide audience, says Linda Green, artistic director for the event to be held in Strauss Park. Among the groups scheduled to perform are the Alexandra Ballet, the Big Muddy Dance Company, Grand Center Arts Academy Dance Ensemble, Karlovsky & Company Dance, Leverage Dance Theater, Midwest Ballet Theatre and the Washington University Dance Collective.

The dance festival is co-presented by Grand Center and the Regional Arts Commission.

We knew that we wanted to have 30 of the premier dance companies in St. Louis performing, along with two visiting companies from Kansas City, Green says. And were very excited to bring this to Grand Center. Its a fun way to see the wonderful world of dance.

The Kansas City-based companies are City in Motion Dance Theater and VidaDance.

Encompassing a range of styles including but not limited to ballet, jazz, hip-hop, modern and tap, the event may bring to mind Dancing in the Street, a festival that was held on several stages in the Grand Center district but ended its seven-year run in 2013. In addition to local companies, the fest featured a high-profile, nationally recognized headliner each year.

Organizers cited funding problems as the reason for the events demise. Its absence has been much lamented by the dance community.

But Green says that Grand DanceFest is not Dancing in the Street under another name.

Im very familiar with what Dancing in the Street was, and it was a wonderful event, she says. But that was not just a dance event  that was a big fair. In contrast, Grand DanceFest is a one-stage, four-hour event with its own identity.

Grand DanceFest promises to provide a kaleidoscopic experience, with company after company taking the outdoor stage  and making the most of their time on it. The festival will provide companies with the opportunity not only to show off their established repertoire, but to try out new and recent work, Green says.

The performances will have at least one thing in common: brevity.

Most of them are between five and six minutes long, she says.
Our fair burgh does not trail many when it comes to celebrating Germanic roots  and we'd be better if we were safer.

According to the listomaniacs at marketing website WalletHub, St. Louis checks in as No. 12 on the "2016 Best Cities for Oktoberfest."

The list looked at the biggest 100 U.S. cities and used three main categories: Oktoberfest traditions; related costs; and safety and accessibility.

When it comes to traditions, St. Louis boomed in at No. 4, behind only Cincinnati, Orlando and Pittsburgh.

That category included a number of specific statistics: number of festivals per capita; percentage of German population; number of breweries; access to bars (second only to Pittsburgh!); and number of German restaurants.

St. Louis finished No. 38 in the "related costs" category, but ended up No. 91 for safety and accessibility, thanks mainly to finishing 98th out of the 100 when it comes to crime rate.

The 11 cities ahead of us on the list are: Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Minneapolis; Orlando; Denver; Tampa; Miami; Boise, Idaho; and Scottsdale, Ariz.
Notwithstanding chikungunya and dengue patients complaining about shortage of beds in government hospitals, Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain claimed that about 2,000 beds are still unoccupied.

By India Today Web Desk: With Chikungunya death toll climbing to 12 in Delhi and dengue deaths mounting to 14, there is panic in the city over the outbreak of viral pair of diseases. But, Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain on Thursday rejected the complaints of the dengue and chikungunya patients about shortage of beds in Delhi hospitals.

With the death of a 75-year old in a south Delhi hospital, the total number of deaths due to chikungunya stood at 11 on Thursday. Maximum number of chikungunya deaths occurred at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where five patients lost their lives. Four chikungunya deaths were reported from Apollo Hospital, one from Bara Hindu Rao and one from AIIMS.

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Amidst rising death toll, Jain said, "About 2,000 beds are unoccupied in Delhi government's hospitals. Delhi is fully prepared to deal with the challenge of dengue and chikungunya."

'DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG'

After facing flak from several quarters, AAP government suddenly became active on Wednesday with two of its ministers, Satyendra Jain and Kapil Mishra doing rounds in the city. Jain visited several hospitals on Thursday to take stock of the situation.

He said, "I visited 12 government hospitals today and I didn't find anything wrong anywhere. Around 2,000 beds are unoccupied in government hospitals."

Delhi health minister blamed media for creating panic by highlighting negative aspects of the hospitals.

"There is nothing wrong if some deficiencies are found here and there. Media should report about doctors, who have cancelled their leaves to attend the patients," Jain said.

The government hospitals were fully equipped to deal with the massive outbreak of dengue and chikunguyna, Jain said.

Jain is scheduled to meet Union health minister JP Nadda to discuss the ways and means to deal with dengue and chikungunya outbreak in Delhi. Jain is expected to raise the issue of dengue and chikungunya patients coming to Delhi from other states.

'CHIKUNGUNYA DOESN'T KILL'

Earlier in the day, the Delhi health minister created a flutter by reiterating that no one died of chikungunya. His logic was, "Naddaji (Union health minister JP Nadda) told me no one died of chikungunya in the entire country."

"And upon inquiry, I have discovered that most of the deaths are of people who were aged and already sick with other ailments," the Delhi minister said.

In some media reports, Jain was also quoted as saying, "This is a fact that is available on Google and not his opinion."

HELPLINE LAUNCHED

To deal with rising cases of chikungunya and dengue, Delhi government launched a helpline to provide medical assistance to people and help them locate nearest fever clinics.

People can call at 011-22307145 to get information relating to nearest fever clinics and also medical assistance.

ALSO READ:

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Delhi in ICU: Chikungunya death toll rises to 10 in the national capital



Delhi: Dengue-chikungunya outbreak worries shoo away tourists



Defective fogging machines add to woes amid rising chikungunya, dengue cases in Delhi



--- ENDS ---
EAST ST. LOUIS  A woman who conspired with her husband to coerce a distraught 15-year-old girl from Madison into prostitution at truck stops and trailer parks last summer was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J. Reagan told Robin (Lott) Thompson, 25, that her crime was one of the worst he has ever seen.

What you and your husband did was strip an individual of the right to feel secure, control and trust what she did with her own body, Reagan said at a hearing here. He was one of the enablers in your case but I think there were numerous times when you could have said, Enough is enough, and Stop.

In addition to 20 years, Robin Thompson was given 10 years of supervised release and fines.

Thompson and her husband, Marcus D. Thompson, 29, of Park Hills, Mo., admitted in May that they used the girl for prostitution in at least three states, advertising sex encounters by posting explicit pictures of her on the website Backpage.com.

The victim reported the couple to authorities in July 2015 from Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center in St. Louis, telling police she believed the four other girls enticed into the operation were 12 to 18 years old. She told authorities that one of the girls died in her arms and that they were beaten and threatened with being fed to alligators in a swamp if they tried to escape.

The teen had been missing since June 9. She was walking down a street in Madison when Marcus Thompson approached in a white pickup with the four other girls inside, court documents said.

She had been contemplating suicide that day by jumping off a bridge after arguing with her father over becoming pregnant, Reagan said Thursday.

Federal investigators subpoenaed Backpage.com and found that the Thompsons cellphone was used to place ads in Orlando and Pensacola in Florida, as well as Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and Dallas in June and early July 2015.

As part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, Robin Thompson pleaded guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a child by force, fraud or coercion. Her husband pleaded guilty in May to the conspiracy charge and child sex trafficking. At his sentencing hearing set for Sept. 29, Marcus Thompson faces 27 to nearly 34 years in prison.

Robin Thompsons lawyer, Gary Milone, argued for a lighter sentence, saying Robin Thompson had never run afoul of the law before meeting her husband. The lawyer said she had an uphill climb all her life and pointed to her lack of criminal record, and her drug-addicted mother, history of child abuse and methamphetamine addiction.

Milone said she dropped out of high school her junior year, and at the time was ranked 232nd of 239 classmates.

Robin Thompson said Thursday in court, My biggest mistake was not being able to tell people no. She added, I admit I was wrong, but Im not this horrible person everyone makes me out to be.

She told Reagan she didnt know the teen was underage until later on. Reagan said he didnt believe her.

Robin Thompson negotiated prices, arranged meetings at truck stops, booked hotel rooms, provided condoms, kept a ledger of the transactions and threatened to harm the girl if she tried to escape.

The girl told authorities she brought in about $1,000 a day for having sex with men, some of whom took pictures and videos.

Reagan read excerpts of the girl's victim impact letter, in which she described long-term emotional and physical trauma, loneliness and fear of being re-victimized: Its hard to wake up every day and remember the people I had sex with ...  she wrote.
ST. LOUIS  St. Louis prosecutors dismissed a gun and marijuana possession case this week after a judge stopped a police officers testimony in a hearing and refused to let him continue without his own lawyer.

The issue was the veracity of a search warrant affidavit signed by Officer Ellis Brown  and it has come up before.

Prosecutor Karelia Rajagopal told Circuit Judge Beth Hogan during the hearing Wednesday that she believed Browns testimony, and wanted him to continue. Hogan repeatedly refused to allow it, saying Brown had given conflicting statements.

When Rajagopal told Hogan that Brown could clarify his testimony, she was again turned down. Hogan said Brown would need to get an attorney first.

The judge said Browns testimony implicates practices and procedures in the entire St. Louis Police Department, and that the agency has an interest in Brown being represented.

The hearing was to resume Thursday. But prosecutors dropped charges against Aaron White Sr., 48, later Wednesday, saying only that they elected not to proceed.

Brown was testifying about a 2015 search that led to the charges. Defense lawyer Will Goldstein, trying to get the evidence tossed out, questioned Brown about the affidavits details.

Browns search warrants have been challenged previously in state and federal courts for their similarity to each other and lack of detail.

Federal prosecutors dismissed a case last month after the defense claimed Brown used boilerplate wording instead of specifics. U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said then, There were some search and seizure issues we didnt want to litigate.

St. Louis prosecutors said this month they researched the matter and found no evidence of misconduct on (Browns) part. They said they identified training issues but not veracity issues and said Brown was retrained on proper procedures.

They said they would make a decision on a case-by-case basis on Browns future warrants.

His police union lawyer, Brian Millikan, said before this weeks case was dropped that Brown did not misrepresent anything, and that the issue was more a case of being incomplete than being accurate.

Millikan said Brown is a relatively young policeman and that warrant applications have a steep learning curve.

Brown testified Wednesday that he could not provide details of a surveillance a year ago that led to the warrant. His affidavit says he saw numerous individuals of varying race and gender visit a house for a short time, which he said was indicative of drug transactions.

He also said a confidential informer claimed to have bought heroin there. In a raid, Brown said police found three rifles, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Goldstein said White, his client, had only been visiting, and that the contraband was not his. White was charged in connection with the weapons because he has a past felony conviction.

Aaron has maintained his innocence from day one and at long last he is vindicated. Now he will begin the process of piecing his life back together after this difficult ordeal, Goldstein wrote in a text message to a reporter.
JEFFERSON CITY  Gov. Jay Nixon made good on his threat to slash more money from the state budget after Missouri lawmakers overrode his vetoes on bills that give tax breaks to so-called special interests.

In an announcement Thursday, the Democrat cut $59.1 million from the $27 billion spending blueprint. The money would have gone to schools, roads, universities and farmers.

Theres nothing happy about taking money from schools, Nixon told reporters gathered in his office. None of this was fun.

The move came a day after Republicans who control the House and Senate overrode 13 bills he vetoed.

One measure offers an income tax deduction for federal agricultural disaster aid payments. His budget office projected that could result in a hit of $59.5 million to state coffers this fiscal year. Lawmakers insist the amount claimed by Missouri cattlemen and ranchers based on income losses from a 2014 drought will be far less.

The other new law would exempt yoga classes and exercise studios from state and local sales taxes. The Department of Revenue said that could lead to a drop in revenue of $8 million this fiscal year.

To account for those decreases, Nixon cut $16.5 million in aid that helps school districts pay busing costs. He cut another $6 million from general state school aid.

Even with the reductions to schools, he said the state is still on pace to spend more money on schools this year than last.

Were still at record funding, Nixon said.

The governor also cut $20 million from a special new fund the Republican majority created to pay for road and bridge upgrades.

Nixon said roads should not be paid for with general tax dollars. Rather, he had advocated on behalf of a gasoline tax hike that failed to garner support during the legislative session.

Also targeted were five agricultural programs worth over $5 million, including beef and dairy initiatives. Nixon said he specifically chose them because the tax break affects cattle owners.

That one was a pretty clear message, Nixon said. They made a choice.

Following Wednesdays veto session, House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, acknowledged Nixon had warned lawmakers against overriding the vetoes. But, he defended the Legislatures record on budget matters.

We have a strong record of fiscal discipline in this House, Richardson said.

In comments to reporters late Wednesday, Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, dismissed the concerns about the tax breaks.

Those are not going to cause Missouris $27.5 billion budget to go into a tailspin, Kehoe said.

In a statement Thursday, Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said Nixons move was a smokescreen to hide rapid growth in Medicaid spending.

The reason for the recent withholds by the governor has nothing to do with the Legislatures actions last night. The effects of the bills overridden wont be felt for months if not years down the road, Richard said.

The new budget cuts will be on top of $115 million of spending that Nixon blocked shortly after the budget took effect in July.

The governor signaled it is unlikely the money for the various programs will be restored before the end of the fiscal year. Fiscal estimates dont indicate a large boost in revenue between now and June 30, he said.
ST. LOUIS  Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Jason Kander is up today with a new commercial in which he assembles an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle blindfolded  then taunts, "I'd like to see Sen. Blunt do this."

The unusual ad is a response to attacks on Kander, a Democrat, by the National Rifle Association, which has endorsed incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

Kander, currently Missouri's secretary of state, describes himself as pro-Second Amendment, but also has supported expanded background checks and other restrictions.

In the ad  the latest in a series of firearms-themed political ads among Missouri candidates this year  Kander touts his military background, which Blunt doesn't have. Assembling a firearm while blindfolded is an old standard in military training.

"I'm Jason Kander, and Sen. Blunt has been attacking me on guns, Kander, blindfolded, says into the camera while standing in a large warehouse, a table and disassembled rifle in front of him.

Well, in the Army, I learned how to use and respect my rifle," says Kander, as he starts snapping the pieces of the weapon into place. He continues the assembly while recounting his service in the war in Afghanistan and his support for gun rights as a former state legislator.

I also believe in background checks, so that terrorists can't get their hands on one of these," Kander says, as he completes the assembly of the rifle and removes the blindfold. "I approved this message, because I'd like to see Sen. Blunt do this."

In a written statement, Blunt's campaign responded: "Apparently, Secretary Kander is reacting to an NRA ad highlighting the fact that he was one of the most anti-Second Amendment legislators and was awarded an F for his opposition to Missourians' Second Amendment rights."

That NRA ad, released earlier this month, slams Kander for his 2009 Missouri House vote against a measure that would have allowed concealed guns to be carried on Missouri college campuses. The bill passed the House but was never called for a vote in the Senate.

Political ads featuring firearms have popped up repeatedly in Missouri campaigns this year, even as the Republican-controlled Legislature has worked to loosen gun restrictions over Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's opposition.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, got national attention during the GOP primary with an ad that showed him firing a military-style rifle across a field to spark an explosion. In another primary ad, Greitens fired what appears to be a fully automatic machine gun.

Republican primary candidate Catherine Hanaway featured a shotgun in one of her ads. Fellow primary candidate John Brunner summed up the growing trend with a satiric video featuring an anti-aircraft gun.

"Okay, guys, I got the biggest gun here in this campaign," says Brunner in the video.

Kander's campaign said the new ad is part of a statewide ad buy that began running Thursday.
JEFFERSON CITY  A St. Louis County judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging the lone independent member of the Missouri Legislature is not living in his district.

The suit, filed by of Jermond Jay Mosley of Florissant, claims that Rep. Keith English lives in Jefferson City, not at a rental house he lists as his voting address in Florissant.

The Missouri Constitution requires members of the House and Senate to live in their districts.

Mosley, a Democrat, is running against English in the Nov. 8 election.

In an order issued earlier this week, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Joseph Dueker said the lawsuit was not filed in a timely manner and dismissed the case. State law, he wrote, required the suit to be filed by Aug. 28. It was filed Sept. 3.

Mosley's attorney, Elbert Walton, told the Post-Dispatch Thursday he plans to appeal. Walton is Mosley's father-in-law.

English signaled last year that he wouldnt run again for the office he has held since 2012. But, he reversed course last month and filed petitions to get on the general election ballot for another two-year term.

English was elected as Democrat, but became an independent in 2015.

A Post-Dispatch review of Englishs housing arrangement in June and July found he filed a statement with the Missouri Ethics Commission saying he lived at 470 S. Castello Street in Florissant. Records filed in 2014 note he lived at 755 Pelican Lane in the same city. He filed his paperwork with the Missouri Secretary of States office on last month listing his address as 745 Pelican Lane. He said he has rented an apartment there since February.

The lawsuit claims he doesnt reside at the apartment.

English said he and his wife, Kelly Sullens, are in the process of purchasing a historic home in Florissant. Records show Sullens has a house in Jefferson City where she works for the state.
Apart from doctors, even nurses, other members of the medical staff and sanitation workers are going on leave at a time when the number of people afflicted by dengue and chikungunya this year in the city and its suburbs has crossed two thousand.

Doctors are on sick leave while the number of people afflicted by dengue and chikungunya this year in the city and its suburbs has crossed two thousand

By Sneha Agrawal: As outcry over an onslaught of viral diseases in the Capital reaches fever pitch and hospitals struggle in the face of an unrelenting tide of patients, the men in white too have started calling in sick.

Apart from doctors, even nurses, other members of the medical staff and sanitation workers are going on leave at a time when the number of people afflicted by dengue and chikungunya this year in the city and its suburbs has crossed two thousand.

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"In our hospital, 10 per cent of the staff is currently down with fever," said Dr Ramesh Chugh, medical superintendent of Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya Hospital in south Delhi. "We have over 100 doctors, and currently 7-8 doctors are down with fever."

Experts say heavier than usual rainfall, a large number of construction projects and scores of open drains in Delhi are allowing mosquitoes to breed in stagnant water.

READ| Delhi in ICU: Chikungunya death toll rises to 10 in the national capital



At Lok Nayak Hospital in central Delhi, 18 doctors are on leave. "Either the doctors are down with fever or somebody in their family is ill. The doctors are taking leave for at least 4-5 days.

We have had cases where physicians were ill but returned to work early seeing the number of patients," said a senior doctor.

NURSES AND SANITATION WORKERS ALSO ON LEAVE



In east Delhi's Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, 18 members of the medical staff, including doctors, nurses and sanitation workers, are absent. "In a staff of nearly 1200, 10-15 doctors are on leave due to viral illnesses," said Dr Punita Mahajan, medical superintendent of Baba Ambedkar Hospital in northwest Delhi. "We are not exerting pressure on the doctors to continue if they feel slightly unwell as it is very important for the hospital to ensure that they remain healthy."

The Delhi government has asked hospitals to ensure that dengue and chikungunya patients are treated without distress.

Officials say the health department has already dedicated an additional 1,000 beds for those suffering from fever at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital and Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital.

These institutes have been designated nodal hospitals for fever in the city. All hospitals- government and private - in the National Capital Territory have been directed to increase their surge capacity.

"While doctors are trying their best to remain on duty till the effect of vector-borne diseases recedes the city, the shortage in staff and the new directions from the government would add to the existing burden," said a doctor on condition of anonymity.

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The Delhi government says it is fully prepared to battle with the onslaught of diseases and has denied in the city high court claims that the Capital is facing its worst dengue crisis.

In an affidavit filed in the court, it said strict surveillance of preparedness and impact of these diseases has been carried out for taking further preventive measures as, due to environmental conditions, the number of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria shows an upswing during July to October.

ALSO READ: Delhi in tight grip of monsoon mayhem, Chikungunya on rise, 423 cases reported





--- ENDS ---
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouri Republicans may have muscled through a voter ID law on Wednesday, but their veto session victory could be relatively short-lived, if court rulings in other states are any indication.

Before any court challenges can be filed, however, voters will have their say. The vetoed law overridden by lawmakers this week is tied to a referendum on Nov. 8, when Missouri voters will be asked whether to amend the state constitution to require voter identification. If they approve, the law would go into effect in 2017.

At issue is whether requiring Missouri residents to present a photo identification before voting disenfranchises certain groups, including people of color, the elderly, the poor and students. Missouri Republicans, like their GOP counterparts in other states, argue that showing a photo ID is a common-sense way to prevent voter fraud.

Democrats say voter fraud isnt a pervasive problem, and that voter ID legislation is merely a way to suppress minority voters who tend to support more liberal candidates. Recently, courts throughout the country have agreed.

A federal appeals court struck down North Carolinas voter identification law in July, ruling that the measure targeted African-Americans with almost surgical precision. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against reinstating it the following month.

A U.S. district judge threw out part of Wisconsins 2011 voter ID law, ruling that a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement which undermine rather than enhance confidence in elections.

On similar grounds, a federal appeals court tossed Texas voter ID law on July 20.

With these rulings and others, the future of voter ID in Missouri remains murky.

Sponsoring state Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lees Summit, said Missouris law is more palatable than other states because of a provision that allows voters without a photo ID to sign a statement at the polls, swearing that they are who they say they are under penalty of perjury. Their vote then still counts so long as their signature matches the one on file.

The statement makes sure no one is disenfranchised at all, Kraus said.

Still, Republicans are bracing themselves for a fight in court.

Based on whats going on around the country, I assume therell be some court action, said Senate President Ron Richard, R-Joplin, on Wednesday. Republicans hoped that putting an amendment before voters would be sufficient enough to make the courts happy, he added. Thats why we went the extra mile.

David Mitchell, a University of Missouri law professor who is an expert on voter identification laws and policies, said he expects lawsuits to be filed against the legislation because it deprives people of a fundamental right to vote.

But he acknowledged the constitutional amendment was a strategic move.

Its for the same reason they pushed Missouris own constitutional amendment for the right to bear arms, Mitchell said. Its a harder burden to overcome once its part of the state constitution.

Still, Mitchell said, its ironic in part that it will be going before voters who already know they are eligible.

If there are folks who think with yesterdays actions they cannot vote already, they wont show up, Mitchell said. People have to read the fine print to find out this is going to be on the ballot.
WASHINGTON  National Democrats, who until now had been cool to lawyer C.J. Baricevics challenge of Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, in Illinois 12th congressional district, are riding in to help.

Baricevic says thanks, but points out he thinks hes done well enough on his own, and his spokesman was quick to say how a Southern Illinois Democrat differs from a Nancy Pelosi Democrat.

Bost immediately tried to tie Baricevic with Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will announce that it had put Barivevics challenge of the first-term Bost on its emerging races list, which means that an undisclosed level of "financial, communications, grassroots and strategic support" will be put into the race by the national party.

The fact that the DCCC is coming in at all, after a year that included a public courtship of another potential Bost challenger and continuous distance from Baricevics campaign, is reflective of the national Democrats attempts to identify any potential takeover district in their uphill battle to take control of the House of Representatives.

Republicans still consider Bost to be in a strong position for re-election, and Donald Trumps strong showing in the Illinois primary in that swath of southwestern Illinois showed how different the region is politically from heavily Democratic Chicago and its suburbs.

Even as Baricevic was ramping up his challenge of Bost last year, the DCCC publicly courted St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson as their best hope to knock off Bost. But when Watson decided to not run, Democrats nationally kept their distance from Illinois 12. The district covers parts of Metro East and fans into other areas of Southern Illinois.

DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, a Democratic representative from New Mexico, cited Baricevics strong fund-raising, his early television advertising campaign, and his endorsement from key groups like the United Steelworkers and the Alliance for Retired Americans as evidence that Baricevic deserved additional support from the national party.

But Baricevic spokesman Barzin Emami said that while the campaign would take the help, it had issues with the national party. He had said earlier this year that Baricevic would welcome DCCC support, and a DCCC spokesman told the Post-Dispatch in April that it would never take the Bost-Baricevic race off its list of possible takeovers.

But with less than eight weeks to go before the Nov. 8 election, Emami is stressing that Baricevic has largely gotten to this point on his own.

I hate to toe the line of 'we concentrate on local voters, and we concentrate on our district,' but I think that concentration on our district has paid off, Emami said. Maybe the national party wasnt aware of the groundswell of support we have. They are starting to see that, that this is winnable.

Baricevic has been trying to separate himself from the national Democratic Party and President Barack Obama on two key issues: trade and coal. Both are important in Southern Illinois, as steelworkers and coal miners have seen their livelihoods buffeted by international trade agreements and the Obama administrations clean-power environmental push, which has helped cripple the coal industry.

Baricevic argues that clean-coal technology should allow for a better 20-30 year transition away from coal than Obama has pushed.

We have never really been one to cater to the national party, Emami said. We dont agree with all their platform. We are Southern Illinois Democrats. A Southern Illinois Democrat is different from a Nancy Pelosi Democrat.

But Bost campaign manager Evan Handy issued this statement: "We've known all along that Nancy Pelosi is keeping an eye on this race. She's looking for loyal foot soldiers and she knows our opponent would vote in lockstep with the Clinton-Pelosi agenda. In contrast, Mike Bost has been a leader for Southern Illinois, a fighter for our values, and a worker who has built trust across this district.

Baricevic raised eyebrows earlier when he outraised Bost in fundraising over the first three months of 2016, a rare accomplishment for a challenger.

But a Post-Dispatch investigation showed that a large chunk of those donations came from lawyers who practiced before Baricevics father, Circuit Chief Judge John Baricevic.

The DCCC kept its distance until Thursday.

Lujan issued a statement calling Baricevic a distinguished leader in his community, with a record of defending the constitutional rights of Southern Illinois families and a lifetime of public service
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Senate Thursday passed a $9 billion water resources development bill that includes $25 million to dredge Mississippi River ports.

The bill, a rare example of bipartisan compromise this year, still needs to pass the House, which could consider its version as early as next week. Its primary sponsors were Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., one of the Senate's most conservative members, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Ca,lif., one of its most liberal.

The Water Resources Development Act includes several other Missouri-related provisions for clean-drinking water and for flood-control projects around the state, according to Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. The bill also contains a Blunt provision that promotes calculating community affordability in new environmental regulations.

Blunt said that 500 million tons of cargo are transported on the Mississippi River each year and that the dredging projects in small ports will help Illinois, Missouri, and other states along the river improve that commerce.

The bill also includes a compromise on regulations on the disposal of coal ash.

Much of the focus on the bill was the $100 million it includes to address water problems in Flint, Mich., where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered an economic speech Thursday.

There, Trump referenced old axioms that cars were built in Flint and not to drink the water in Mexico. Now, he said, people are told not to drink the water in Flint, and cars are built in Mexico.

The bill passed, 94-3, with Republican senators Mike Lee of Utah, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Ben Sasse of Nebraska voting no.

The National Wildlife Federation generally praised the bill, although it objected to some provisions, such as dredging in the Florida Everglades.

"The bill passed today will make America more resilient and prepared for increasing floods, extreme storms, and sea level rise by helping to ensure that the Army Corps can meet the nations 21st century water infrastructure needs while protecting and restoring our nations rivers, coasts, and wetlands," NWF CEO Collin O'Mara said. "Most provisions in the bill represent an improvement over the status quo, although there are some parts that could further damage our already stressed river and coastal areas."

A description of the bills main components is here.
In the past few days, a former St. Louis police sergeant, who admitted stealing nearly $81,000, agreed to turn in his law enforcement certificate and never again work as a police officer. About the same time, a West Virginia officer was fired because he did not kill a man with an unloaded gun. Will the first cop really never work as a cop again? Will the second be able to clear his name and resume being a model of restraint that others should follow?

Those questions could be readily answered with a database for police officers envisioned and recommended by Roger Goldman, emeritus law professor at St. Louis University and an authority on police licensing laws.

A broken network of laws, lax screening and certification programs that vary by state allow bad cops to keep working in law enforcement. They can move from one department, one city, one state to another, frequently with no one the wiser about their shady backgrounds.

Bad police officers are among the most destructive forces in a community. They can terrorize neighborhoods, preying on the vulnerable. Some have been known to lie, steal, cheat and assault citizens. Their numbers are few, but the damage they can cause is significant.

They are also among the most destructive forces inside police departments, smearing the reputation of the entire force and undermining the work of officers who are hard-working, compassionate and play by the rules. Weeding out the ones who dont meet professional standards is among the best ways to bolster community confidence in law enforcement.

The current system for tracking police officers who may be ill-suited for their jobs is a database managed by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training. The database of about 21,000 names includes only those who have been stripped of their police certification, and its executive director says the organization lacks resources to do a more thorough job.

Goldman said six states employ more than 25 percent of police nationwide, yet they do not decertify police. So the names of bad cops from those states dont make it into the existing database.

He suggests a database modeled on one used nationally for physicians. It would include officers who have criminal convictions, been fired or forced to resign, had their licenses revoked or been named in a misconduct case. It would be open only to law enforcement and state licensing agencies and would use Social Security numbers to avoid confusion and protect privacy.

It would also allow officers to rebut or explain how they wound up in the database. It could be a sound tool to help ensure that the right kind of officers stay on the streets, and the wrong kind are kept away from the badge.
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.
In the emails, Colin Powell said he stayed relatively quiet during the rise of Donald Trump and also criticised him for backing the false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

By AP: In a trove of newly leaked emails, former Secretary of State Colin Powell calls Donald Trump "a national disgrace" and suggests his own Republican Party is "crashing and burning."

Powell also laments Hillary Clinton's attempt to equate her use of private email at the State Department with his.

The emails, posted on the website DCLeaks.com and first reported by Buzzfeed News late Tuesday, offer insight into the unvarnished opinions of the respected retired Army general who was secretary of state under President George W. Bush. The messages run from March 2015 through last month.

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READ| Facebook co-founder pledges USD 20 million to defeat Donald Trump



Powell, 79, did not respond Wednesday to a phone message or email seeking comment. He earlier told BuzzFeed that he does not deny the emails' authenticity.

In the emails, Powell said he stayed relatively quiet during the rise of Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. "To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him," Powell said.

'TRUMP AN INTERNATIONAL PARIAH'

To a former aide he writes, "No need to debate it with you now, but Trump is a national disgrace and an international pariah."

He also criticised Trump for backing the false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

"All his lies and nonsense just pile up," Powell wrote. "I just go back to the unforgivable one. Trying to destroy the President elected by the American people with his fictitious investigation into this source of birth. Absolutely disgraceful."

Trump, in a Twitter post late Wednesday, said, "I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!"

Powell, a Republican, also suggests frustration with the state of the nation's politics.

"We all need to start voting for America and not our parties," Powell writes. "Trump is taking on water. He doesn't have a GOP philosophy or even a Conservative philosophy. We need a revolution and it will begin with the GOP crashing and burning up its current form."

DCLeaks.com has been alleged to be an outlet for hackers tied to the Russian intelligence groups. The website, which says it intends to expose the misuse of political power, has previously released emails from other Washington political figures.

READ| Hillary Clinton's doctor says she is 'recovering well', fit to serve as US President



FBI INVESTIGATING THE BREACH

The release of Powell's emails is the latest in a string of leaks that appear intended to influence the 2016 presidential election. The FBI is investigating how thousands of Democratic National Committee emails were hacked and released, an embarrassing breach that Clinton's campaign maintains was committed by Russia to benefit Trump.

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Powell's leaked messages include his thoughts on Clinton's lingering email woes. He criticised Clinton aides for tying him into the controversy over the Democratic nominee's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

READ| Donald Trump eliminates his "black list" of media banned from his campaign rallies

Powell has acknowledged using a private email account with both senior US officials and for back-channel communications with foreign dignitaries. Clinton used a private email server located in the basement of her New York home.

Powell wrote that he had told Clinton's "minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try." In another spot, he declared of Clinton that "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris."

The messages contain comments that reflect that he, too, sought to use private email as a way to avoid creating documents retained by the government. Decrying "friggin record rules," Powell wrote that he "saw email more like a telephone than a cable machine."

READ| Trump's ideas are wacky, he is not qualified to be president: Obama



Congressional Democrats have seized on the use of a private email addresses by Powell and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a foil for Republican attacks on Clinton. By suggesting that he didn't view work conducted via private email as a permanent government record, Powell could offer those Democrats additional ammunition.

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In May, Powell messaged with a former colleague as the State Department's inspector general prepared to release a report critical of both his and Clinton's use of private email to conduct government business.

"Wow, I didn't follow rules," Powell wrote. "I only revolutionised the information system in the entire State Department. ... I think I'll bash the Department tomorrow. Fifteen years later they come up with this. ... Thanks Hillary."

ALSO READ:

Donald Trump in TV event with Hillary Clinton, says Vladimir Putin better leader than Barack Obama

Donald Trump eliminates his "black list" of media banned from his campaign rallies



--- ENDS ---
Yes, there's a day kept aside just to celebrate engineers. And yes, engineer jokes are as funny as they come. Here are a few to crank up your engines.

By India Today Web Desk:

Engineer's Day is celebrated in honour of the greatest Indian engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Bharat Ratna. But we're not here for that. For that we have Wikipedia.





We're here to discuss the hilarity that ensues when you become an engineer, a species that is found in the friend-zone, far away from girlfriends, hell-bent on pursuing MBAs and US visas, because that's what they're supposed to do.

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What does it feel like to be an engineer, the eternal bad boy who people think can fix everything -- from ceiling fans to spaceships. We decided to tell you what the world thinks, memes and tweets of course.



And here it goes.

HULKA SA JOKE.



Happy Engineer's Day Doston pic.twitter.com/dAfGd8cmnP All India Bakchod (@AllIndiaBakchod) September 15, 2016

ANEARTH HOGAYA.



Happy Engineer's day, Engineering is the only religion on earth where no one gets offended by jokes on them. EngiNerd. (@mainbhiengineer) September 15, 2016

MAH DEGREE, MAH SURNAME, MAHESH.

Me: Happy #EngineersDay Mahesh uncle. Mahesh Uncle: Tumhe kitni baar bola hai mera surname Engineer hai, I'm a Doctor. Saint Chikna (@Madan_Chikna) September 15, 2016

OH "NO".



ENGINEER + WRITER = ENJANITOR?



Happy #EngineersDay to all Engineer turns MBA turns Writer.????????? Chicken Biryanii (@ChickenBiryanii) September 15, 2016

PIXEL PERFECT.



Sonakshi to IT engineer: Thappad se Dell nahi lagta sahab. Manas (@Spooferman_) June 2, 2014





IT'S NOT ALWAYS MAN-DATE-RY.



I am an engineer too if not having a girlfriend makes you one. #EngineersDay Gautam (@gautamverma23) September 15, 2016

NO PROBLEM. THEY ARE PRO-SOLUTION.



Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems....???

Happy #EngineersDay Dr. Arohi Tyagi (@tyagi_arohi) September 15, 2016

WISER ENGINEER FIXING GEYSER.



DON'T FORGET TO DRINK AT LEAST 3 GLASSES OF WATAIR EVERY DAY.



ENGINEER BROTHER BECOMES A TREE-HUGGER.



Here's wishing a very happy #EngineersDay to all ! pic.twitter.com/QdzjDXXkN0 The Viral Fever (@TheViralFever) September 15, 2016

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WALL-E THE ROBOT



Mechanical engineers at Computer Science branch. #EngineersDay pic.twitter.com/8Wu0GX5o7j The Viral Fever (@TheViralFever) September 15, 2016

DHOOM MACHAALE DHOOMA MACHAALE DHOOM



YOU BECOME NAWAZUDDIN SAD-IQUI



DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES



How Engineers tried to get the attention

of girls in the last 5 years: 2010 : Guitar

2012 : DSLR

2014 : Standup Comedy

2015 : Startup Varun Agarwal (@varun067) October 23, 2015

And with that, we wish you a very...

--- ENDS ---
By Jessica DiNapoli

(Reuters) - For-profit U.S. college operator ITT Educational Services Inc is preparing to file for bankruptcy after the U.S. government restricted financial aid to new students, according to people familiar with the matter.

ITT's move comes after it said last week it would shut its 137 technical college campuses in 39 states, where roughly 35,000 students are enrolled and 8,000 employees work, as a result of the U.S. Department of Education decision.

ITT has hired restructuring consultants Alvarez & Marsal LLC and bankruptcy law firm Faegre Baker Daniels LLP to prepare for the filing, the sources said this week.

ITT Educational Services and spokespeople at Alvarez & Marsal and Faegre Baker Daniels did not immediately return a request for comment.

A&G Realty Partners was hired to sell all of the company's real estate, which includes 30 properties it owns, said Andrew Graiser, co-president at A&G.

The for-profit education sector has come under pressure as the U.S. government enforces tighter regulations that require school graduates to find gainful employment and can repay their student debt.

Last year, Corinthian Colleges Inc filed for bankruptcy and abruptly closed 28 schools, leaving 16,000 students without classes amid federal and state investigations.

U.S. for-profit college operator Education Management Corp said in November it will pay a record $95.5 million to resolve charges it used high-pressure sales tactics to mislead students.

In August, the U.S. Department of Education banned ITT from enrolling new students who get federal aid. Such students accounted for more than two-thirds of ITT's revenue in 2015. The Carmel, Indiana-based company had already been subject to government scrutiny over allegations of fraud and deceptive marketing tactics.

Some of ITT's students have announced a "debt strike." They will not pay their federal student loans because they say ITT defrauded them.

The U.S. Department of Education said that ITT students can apply for a discharge and not have to repay their debts, an option that was available to Corinthian students.

Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL] loaned ITT $100 million in 2014.

Even with declines in enrollment, the for-profit education sector has been a focal point of Wall Street investors. Buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC earlier this year led a $1.14 billion deal to take private Apollo Education Group Inc, which owns the University of Phoenix.

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (Cobalt) (NYSE: CIE) today announced that it has entered into an amendment to its drilling contract (Amendment) with Rowan (UK) Reliance Limited, an affiliate of Rowan Companies plc (Rowan), which provides for the early termination of Cobalts long term drilling contract for the Rowan Reliance drillship. The drilling contract was originally scheduled to terminate on February 1, 2018 and the Amendment provides for a contract termination date of March 31, 2017. Additionally, per the Amendment, Cobalt will save 45% of the contract value between the original termination date and the new termination date, or approximately $80 million, and will pay to Rowan the remainder of approximately $98 million. Cobalt also commits to use Rowan as its exclusive provider of drilling services for five years at market rates as determined by normal indices.

Timothy J. Cutt, Cobalts Chief Executive Officer, said, We are very glad to reach an agreement with Rowan that helps our balance sheet in the near term and secures a strong relationship with Rowan for the long term.

About Cobalt

Cobalt is an independent exploration and production company active in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa. Cobalt was formed in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934  that is, statements related to future, not past, events. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and include any statement that does not directly relate to a current or historical fact. In this context, forward-looking statements often address Cobalts expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as anticipate, believe, intend, expect, plan, will or other similar words. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that ultimately may not prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. For further discussion of risks and uncertainties, individuals should refer to Cobalts SEC filings. Cobalt undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after this press release, other than as required by law. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915006599/en/

Cobalt International Energy, Inc.

Investor Relations:

Rob Cordray, +1-713-579-9126

Director, Investor Relations

or

Media Relations:

Lynne L. Hackedorn, +1-713-579-9115

Vice President, Government and Public Affairs



Source: Cobalt International Energy, Inc.
LANSING, Mich., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with The Ohio State University, Texas A&M University, the USDA Agricultural Research Service and Ohio Sea Grant, recently completed a four-year project that was funded through the Wildlife Component of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP-Wildlife). The project focused on understanding and modeling the potential benefits of agricultural conservation practices to stream water quality and fish communities throughout the western Lake Erie basin watershed.

"Harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie are certainly an important problem that must be addressed and are getting all of the attention. However, people often forget that western Lake Erie is fed by thousands of miles of stream that are essentially the "arteries" of the lake. Our project focused on these arteries, which are important in their own right and are more directly connected to the source of the problems we are experiencing in western Lake Erie," said Scott Sowa, Director of Science in Michigan for The Nature Conservancy.

The study found that stream fish communities are being negatively affected by multiple water quality factors, including phosphorus, nitrogen and sediments. "This is an important finding since we tend to think of phosphorus as the only problem, and it really isn't the only one affecting fish," said Bill Stanley, Assistant State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. "We can't focus solely on phosphorus. We also have to reduce nitrogen and sediment losses. Widespread adoption of traditional conservation practices will help a lot, but we also need to restore some wetlands and stream banks in areas that aren't suited for growing crops," noted Stanley.

Although this study primarily focused on streams, it also used computer model simulations to assess the ability of various conservation management scenarios to achieve the recommended 40% total phosphorus reduction goal for western Lake Erie. Results suggest meeting this goal is achievable by keeping current conservation practices in place and targeted treatment of approximately 50% of cropland with a combination of management practices. However, these same management scenarios suggest fish communities would still be limited by excess sediments and nutrients in a high percentage of western Lake Erie basin streams.

"What this result means is that, if we define success as only meeting the phosphorus reduction goals for the lake, we will fall far short of addressing the water quality problems that are impairing stream-fish communities in western Lake Erie's watershed," said Stuart Ludsin, an Associate Professor in and Co-director of Ohio State University's Aquatic Ecology Laboratory in Columbus.

Results from this study can help inform management solutions for the streams and the lake, just as a related CEAP-Wildlife study is currently doing for management efforts across Saginaw Bay (nature.org/saginawrcpp). Results of this study make it clear that we cannot just focus all of our attention only on western Lake Erie.

"We have to find 'win-win' management solutions that simultaneously achieve stream health and Western Lake Erie nutrient reduction goals. Our study can help inform those solutions," said Conor Keitzer, a first-year Assistant Professor at Tusculum College who worked on this research project as a post-doctoral scientist at Ohio State University.

"Ultimately though, we must find win-win-win solutions that also consider the potential socioeconomic impacts of management scenarios on producers, consumers and the rest of the agricultural supply chain," added Sowa.

To learn more about this project and obtain a copy the full project report and associated publications, visit www.lakeerieceap.com.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters upon which all life depends. In the Great Lakes region, the Conservancy works to make this among the most effectively managed ecosystems on Earth by protecting and restoring watersheds, forests, coastal areas and native fisheries. For more information, visit http://nature.org/michigan.

Contact: Scott Sowa(517) 898-4077 or [email protected]ORBill Stanley(614) 787-1910 or [email protected]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/four-year-project-develops-information-to-help-improve-stream-health-across-the-western-lake-erie-basin-300328967.html

SOURCE The Nature Conservancy
A fire broke out at Hiranandani Towers in Kandivali area of Mumbai. No casualty was reported in the incident.

By India Today Web Desk: A fire broke out at Hiranandani Towers in Kandivali area of Mumbai. The building houses several residential houses, offices, hospital and schools among others.



Hiranandani Tower fire has been upgraded to level III fire. Earlier, ANI reported that the level II fire on the 22nd floor of Hiranandani Tower. Fire fighting operation took about one and a-half hour to bring fire under control.

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Four fire tenders, two ambulances and three water tankers were rushed to the spot. The entire building was evacuated when the operation was on.



The cause of the fire was not known yet. No casualty has been report in the incident.





--- ENDS ---
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ralphs Grocery Company is bringing the ultimate Italian foodie experience to its customers.

From September 14 to September 27, Ralphs stores across Southern California will be inviting customers to experience locally-sourced ingredients and authentic Italian fare as part of the supermarket company's latest foodie event - Savor World Flavor: Taste of Italy.

Taste of Italy will feature samples, recipe ideas, new food products, buy-one-get-one-free offers and events that bring a taste of Italian culture to nearly 200 Ralphs supermarkets from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

Select stores will host educational "Crack the Parm" events. On September 17 at 12 p.m. Ralphs cheese specialists will demonstrate how to crack a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel weighing nearly 80 pounds in the Murray's Cheese departments at the following Ralphs stores:

26901 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo

7140 Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad

380 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa

32555 Golden Lantern, Dana Point

3455 Del mar Heights Rd., Del Mar

17840 Ventura Blvd., Encino

7257 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

5241 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach

49908 Jefferson St., Indio

5345 Alton Parkway, Irvine

521 W. Foothill Blvd. La Canada

2675 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta

6290 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach

645 W. 9th St., Los Angeles

260 S. La Brea Blvd., Los Angeles

12057 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

23841 W. Malibu Rd., Malibu

2700 Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach

4700 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey

2555 East Bluff Dr., Newport Beach

10900 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood

19781 Rinaldi St., Northridge

1733 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs

10525 4S Commons Dr., San Diego

11875 Carmel Mountain Rd., San Diego

101 G St., San Diego

5680 Mission Center Rd., San Diego

1020 University Ave., San Diego

14049 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks

10901 Ventura Blvd., Studio City

13321 Jamboree Rd., Tustin

14440 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys

910 Lincoln Blvd., Venice

10861 Weyburn, Westwood

21909 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills

The cracking events will be followed with recipes, tastings and suggestions for enjoying this nutty, savory cheese.

Ralphs continues to expand its internationally-inspired product offerings under the exclusive HemisFares brand, which debuted with the company's first Taste of Italy event last fall. In conjunction with the most current Taste of Italy event, HemisFares will introduce Italian favorites including antipasti jars, flavored oils, gelato, and new pastas and pasta sauces.

Ralphs, along with its parent company, Kroger, will host a national Twitter party at 3 p.m. EST on Saturday, September 17, for customers to learn more about Italian cuisine and culture. To participate, follow @kroger on Twitter.

This is Ralphs' fourth Savor World Flavor event, which has included Taste of Mexico in 2014, Taste of Italy in 2015 and Taste of Spain earlier this year. For more details, including recipes and an easy-to-use, authentic meal planning experience, "How to Eat Like an Italian", please visit www.italianworldflavor.com.

About Ralphs Grocery CompanyRalphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 198 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. Last year, Ralphs contributed more than $6 million to support education, hunger relief, women's health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company's stores. Ralphs is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE: KR), one of the nation's largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more about Ralphs, please visit our web site at www.ralphs.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407941

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130715/LA47427LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ralphs-invites-customers-to-savor-world-flavor-with-a-taste-of-italy-300328468.html

SOURCE Ralphs Grocery Company
The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Boeing (BA) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Boeing (NYSE: BA) formally challenged a decision by the Danish government to pick Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) F-35 fighter jet over its own Super Hornet, saying on Thursday the choice was based on a "flawed evaluation process".

Boeing said it had submitted a request to the country's ministry of defense that would require it to provide all materials related to the procurement evaluation and decision announced in June.

"We believe the ministry's evaluation of the competitors was fundamentally flawed and inaccurately assessed the cost and capability of the F/A-18 Super Hornet," said Boeing vice president Debbie Rub.

In May, Boeing challenged the Danish government's recommendation to buy 27 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, questioning data which suggested its Super Hornet fighter jet was a more expensive option.

Denmark's Defense Minister Peter Christensen confirmed that Boeing would get access to the requested information.

"I note that we had a very thorough and transparent process before the Danish choice of fighter jet. This led to a broad political agreement," Christensen said in an email.

A ministry report in May evaluating each fighter jet candidate was based on data estimating that the Super Hornet would have a service life of 6,000 flying hours, while Boeing thinks the right figure for Denmark is 9,500 hours.

The report also concluded that the total cost of the F-35 jet is 42.2 billion Danish crowns ($6.4 billion) while the Super Hornet would cost 60.6 billion crowns.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Alexander Smith)
By Alisa Tang

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Tun Tun Win and his co-workers from Myanmar thought life was fine at the Thammakaset chicken farm in central Thailand, where they reared hundreds of thousands of birds for export to the European Union.

The migrants clocked 20 hours a day for 40 days straight, shoveling litter and culling the sick among the birds as they grew from chicks to poultry for slaughter.

Then 10-hour days for three weeks cleaning the warehouse-sized coops at the Thammakaset chicken farm in Lopburi province.

And finally they got three days off.

All that work for what they figured was a fair wage: nearly $7 a day, with free rent and electricity.

"We thought our employer was a nice guy because he gave us rooms, and we didn't have to pay rent," Tun Tun Win said. "We stayed for free, and we got our money."

More than 3 million migrants work in Thailand, the vast majority from neighboring Myanmar, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Many are exploited on farms and in factories across the country, facing an uphill battle for compensation and justice against multi-tiered corporate supply chains, rights groups say.

That's if they even know they're being exploited in the first place.

It was a smartphone and a Facebook post that opened Tun Tun Win's eyes to the severity of his work conditions - and led to a landmark lawsuit pitting migrant workers against a corporation at the top of the food chain.

The case highlights widespread ignorance among both workers and employers about labor rights, and workplace norms seen as violations in the closely scrutinized global supply chain.

It all began last year after Tun Tun Win bought a new phone, and a "chicken doctor", one of the farm's veterinarians, introduced him to social media.

Lying in bed next to his wife one night, he saw a post about tuna plant workers from Myanmar who had been overworked and underpaid. They had received more than $1 million in an unprecedented settlement in March.

The Facebook post by the local non-profit Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) inspired Tun Tun Win and 13 co-workers to take action.

In a lawsuit filed at a labor court earlier this month following unsuccessful negotiations with the company and local authorities, they are demanding $1.3 million in compensation and civil damages.

The suit alleges forced overtime, unlawful salary deductions, passport confiscation and limited freedom of movement.

Crucially, the action is against both Thammakaset and the buyer of the farm's poultry - agricultural giant Betagro, which exports food worldwide.

"TEST CASE"

Andy Hall, a prominent British human rights activist in Thailand who has consulted on several cases involving migrants, said the litigation was an important test case.

"We're trying to hold Betagro responsible for the system of contract farming," he said. "If we can, it will have huge implications for contract farming and the responsibility of corporate supply chains across Thailand."

Part of the workers' evidence includes pictures snapped on Tun Tun Win's phone and shared on Facebook, including time-stamped cards - one showing a worker clocking in on May 24 at 6:54, out at 17:00, in again at 19:02, then out at 5:37.

That's a total of 20 hours and 41 minutes.

In an interview, Thammakaset owner Chanchai Pheamphon said he had not fully understood the requirements under Thai law and agreed he had underpaid staff as well as illegally deducting rent and utilities from their daily wages.

But he denied charges of forced labor or limiting employees' freedom of movement, and said he planned to file a counter defamation suit against the workers and MWRN.

"I'm now facing bankruptcy," he told Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that a decision by Betagro to halt business with Thammakaset amid the controversy had forced him to shut his 1.6 million-chicken, three-farm operation and lay off nearly 100 employees.

"This NGO (MWRN) wants more money for these 14 workers, but what about the 100 others?" he said. "The world has already found me guilty, and they have stopped buying my goods. They've already sentenced me to death."

Betagro, one of Thailand's largest meat producers and exporters, also denied the workers' allegations.

"There were no violations of human rights or anything resembling forced labor, as defined by the law on prevention and suppression of human trafficking," it said in a statement.

Other than the statement, Betagro did not respond to email and phone requests for an interview.

ABUSE AND IGNORANCE

Supply chains for goods such as food, clothing and electronics usually begin in countries with the cheapest labor.

Thailand has been at the center of scores of reports of slavery and human trafficking, with migrants from Myanmar suffering the worst exploitation.

In the face of mounting scrutiny of supply chains, Thailand has strengthened laws to crack down on labor exploitation, while other countries have passed legislation to address abuses abroad.

Britain's 2015 Modern Slavery Bill requires businesses to disclose actions taken to ensure their supply chains are free of slave labor.

In February, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, banning imports of goods made with forced labor into the United States.

Yet at the lowest rungs of supply chains, rights groups say many businesses such as Thammakaset fall short of global standards - even if owners like Chanchai defend working practices.

He said staff voluntarily worked nights to rack up bonuses.

"We paid them to work during the day, but we didn't forbid them from working at night," he said, adding that they chose to sleep in hammocks in the room next to the chicken warehouse.

"They play on the Wi-Fi, then go and look at their chickens. They don't have to work, but they just might think that if they raise the chickens well, they will get more money."

Flipping through a bound file of documents, Chanchai showed photos of the workers drinking at a restaurant and swimming, and of the low fence around his farm that he said proved they were free to come and go as they pleased.

He said he deducted $2 from their $8.60 legal minimum daily wage for rent, drinking water and electricity, and made cuts such as a 14 cent fine for not picking up dead chickens.

With the fines collected, he would buy a gold necklace for a raffle at the workers' year-end party, he said.

Hall, the rights activist, said the workers were told if they did not work overnight, they would face salary deductions - a charge Chanchai denies.

Commenting on the 14 cent deduction for not picking up dead chickens, Hall said: "That is illegal. Any deduction from the salary is illegal. He has acknowledged that he has unlawfully deducted money from them."

Hall added that it was common for employers and officials to rationalize violations, revealing a mindset in which only the most extreme conditions or acts - such as putting workers in chains - constituted crimes.

"These people just don't understand that what they're doing is abuse," he said. "They don't think of it as forced labor or modern-day slavery. They don't understand how people could level such allegations against them."

(Reporting by Alisa Tang @alisatang, additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat, editing by Timothy Large. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
By Clement Manirabarusha

BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - A former army officer and his family were killed in a grenade attack on their home in Burundi, a government official said on Thursday, the latest episode in political violence that has plagued the central African country for more than a year.

Burundi's crisis has broadly followed political lines, but experts fear the violence could revive ethnic rivalries in a nation torn apart by a 12-year civil war pitting Hutu rebels against a Tutsi-led army that only ended in 2005.

Dismas Bashirahishize, a pro-government former officer, and his wife and child were killed when a grenade was hurled into their house on Wednesday, the governor of Bururi province in the south of Burundi, Christian Nkurunziza, told Reuters.

Local residents said it may have been staged because of Bashirahishize's links to the government. "It was believed he was revealing names of political opponents to the police and administration to be arrested and tortured," said one resident, who asked not to be named.

There was no immediate official comment on the reason for the attack. The governor said two armed people carried out the attack on Wednesday afternoon.

Sporadic violence has gripped Burundi since April 2015 when incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, prompting protests and leading to often deadly clashes with police. He then won a disputed election in July.

Opponents said a third term breached the country's constitution and the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended a previous civil war. A constitutional court ruled he could run.

At least three rebel groups though have launched an armed resistance against him and tit-for-tat killings of government officials and opposition figures have continued unabated.

At least 450 people have been killed, while the violence has also uprooted about a quarter of a million Burundians, who have fled mostly to neighboring Tanzania and Uganda.

In a separate incident, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye told Reuters a soldier who was in custody for questioning committed suicide using a grenade. Police said he found the weapon during the interrogation procedure.

Opponents of the government say people held for questioning are often tortured and killed, a charge officials deny.

(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Edmund Blair and Alison Williams)
Demonstrators hold signs of Sandra Bland who was found hanged in her Texas jail cell after being taken into custody following a traffic stop, during a rally against police violence in New York, U.S. on July 22, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The family of a black motorist found hanged in her Texas jail cell after being held in police custody following a traffic stop has reached a $1.9 million settlement in a wrongful death suit against law enforcement, their lawyer said on Thursday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County Jail, run by the local sheriff, will pay the family of Sandra Bland, Chicago-based lawyer Cannon Lambert said in an interview.

The county jail will also step up staff training and inmate monitoring, and have a nurse or emergency medical technician available for all shifts as part of the settlement, he said.

"This is the beginning, not the end," said Lambert, who added that Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, had insisted that jail reform be included in the settlement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it had not settled litigation regarding Bland and was not a party to any agreements between the plaintiffs and Waller County defendants.

Lambert said that in the settlement, the Department of Public Safety, whose liability is capped by state statutes, will pay $100,000 and the jail will pay $1.8 million.

Bland, 28, was found dead in her cell three days after her July 2015 arrest, with a trash bag around her neck. Critics said race was a factor in her being pulled over while driving, and for her arrest, which they said was sparked by the trooper escalating tensions.

The Waller County Sheriff's office said an agreement had been reached but was not yet final. It said the deal's details were still confidential.

"The Waller County defendants also emphasize they vigorously deny any fault or wrongdoing, and the potential settlement does not involve any such admissions," it said in a statement.

Bland was pulled over in her car on July 10 by then-state trooper Brian Encinia for failing to signal a lane change in Waller County, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. She was charged with assaulting an officer.

The Department of Public Safety faulted Encinia for his conduct during the stop and later fired him. A dashcam video showed him shouting at Bland and failing to answer her when she asked repeatedly why she was being arrested.

Shortly after the incident, Bland's family filed the wrongful death suit against Encinia, the Waller County sheriff's office and her jailers. They also questioned an autopsy report that described her death as a suicide by hanging.

Encinia has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge of lying in the arrest report he had written of the incident.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary may let in more foreign workers to cope with a labor shortage, the country's economy minister said in a newspaper interview - but they should be the right kind of foreigners.

Economy Minister Mihaly Varga told Heti Valasz that only foreigners from similar "cultural and historical" backgrounds as Hungarians should be allowed in.

A country of less than 10 million people, Hungary has lost about half a million people who have left for better-paid jobs in western Europe. Consequently, employers can't fill as many as 50,000 private-sector jobs, Varga said.

Workers from elsewhere in the European Union are already allowed to move to and work in Hungary, under the EU's rule of free movement for its people. And Hungary has walled itself off from the masses of mostly Muslim refugees and migrants who came to Europe last year {nL8N1B70LK}.

"In the professions affected we temporarily need to enable employers to take in workers from the European Union -- where there is free movement of labor -- or neighboring third countries," Varga was quoted as saying on Thursday.

That would appear to leave only foreigners from other European countries that do not belong to the EU, such as Ukraine and some of the Balkan countries. Varga did not specify what counties he had in mind.

A 2015 survey by staffing company Manpower Group showed drivers, engineers, accountants, information technology experts and health care workers were in the shortest supply.

Government efforts to fill the shortages, such as vocational training reforms, need time to take effect, Varga said, and Hungary was under pressure to avoid losing potential investment.

Some major foreign investors, such as German premium car makers Audi and Mercedes have resorted to sponsoring local university faculties to ensure their employment needs are met.

Hungarian companies should also raise wages to dissuade workers from leaving in droves for better-paid jobs in richer EU neighbors, such as Austria, Varga said. He also said wages would grow "significantly" in the coming year.

Average gross wages rose by 5.7 percent year-on-year in June, according to official statistics. The unemployment rate was 5 percent in the three-month period ending in July.

Varga also said there was no room in the budget for a full-scale reduction in Hungary's 27 percent value-added tax rate, the highest in the European Union.

(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs, editing by Larry King)
British volunteer primary school teacher Helen Brannigan (C) speaks to refugee children before class at the volunteer-run "Refugee Education Chios" school on the island of Chios, Greece September 7, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

By Karolina Tagaris

CHIOS, Greece (Reuters) - Nour ran out of the bleak refugee camp, her six-year-old shoulders weighed down by a brand-new school bag.

"Let's go! Let's go!" her classmates cheered, in English, and the children set off on foot to class on the Greek island of Chios, home since their families fled the Syrian war for Europe.

At the school, set up by volunteers, they will be taught how to hold a pencil, write their names and count to 10. The teenagers among them will begin making up for lost time.

Humanitarian organizations say nearly 40 percent of the 60,000 refugees and migrants trapped in Greece are children who have lost years of schooling or missed out entirely on education.

So far, their needs in Greece are met in part by volunteer-run initiatives, like the school on Chios, but the Greek government is hoping to change that starting this semester and plans to enroll thousands in schools across the country.

Formal classes - Greek, math, a foreign language - are expected to begin later this month. Authorities say about 22,000 are eligible. To begin with they will be taught separately from Greek students while they integrate.

"All these children in Greece are facing a very challenging situation," said Eric Durpaire, chief of field operations for UNICEF, the United Nations children's fund. "They are what we have called 'the lost generation.'"

On average, child refugees stranded in Greece have been out of school for one-and-a half years, International charity Save the Children said in a report.

Going to school was a priority for nearly all those interviewed in camps in Greece, but more than one in five had yet to even begin their education, mainly because of war an displacement, it said.

"It's a very simple, basic right," Durpaire told Reuters. "They have a right to education."

For the parents, sending their children to school is about more than education. Some say they children are so traumatized by years of war that they are too scared to leave the tiny bleak tents in the camps which they live.

During playtime at the school on Chios, six-year-old Janna looks out for her mother, sitting near by.

"I want my daughter to come here, to adapt, to develop a strong personality because she cries most of the time," her mother Ufaira said.

The family arrived in Greece from Syria 10 days ago, hoping to go to Britain.

"I want to find a home, to stay in one place, so that my daughter can continue studying," she said.

"NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL"

For the teachers, it won't be an easy task. Teaching refugee children "is not business as usual," UNICEF's Durpaire said.

Students who have been out of class for years see no reason to make an effort. Some parents feel sending them to school implies they will stay longer in Greece, which they had never planned, and learning Greek is not a priority.

On good days, children on Chios go to class happy and energized, on bad days unmotivated and deflated, teachers say.

"Sometimes I'm not sure what's happened in the camp, why they come in a bit tired. I don't know if they've had a difficult time," said Helen Brannigan, a primary school teacher from Britain volunteering on the island.

About 160 children attend the school twice a week. Set up by Nicholas Millet, 26, and Jacob Rohde, 28 after hearing stories of families fleeing Syria for the future of their children, the project is not meant to replace traditional schools, they said.

Is their project enough? "Absolutely not," they reply in unison. "In an ideal world these kids would be attending five days a week and they would be integrated, they would not be in the camps," Millet said.

That is not always easy. UNICEF says more European funding is needed to support Greek efforts as the welfare services have collapsed after years of crisis. Funding so far was directed less towards education and more towards housing.

Residents of one suburb in northern Greece have also fiercely protested this week the prospect of refugee children attending classrooms alongside Greek children

But the Education Ministry says it will not back down.

"Does a neighborhood, a school, have the right to say 'I don't want foreigners here'? No it does not," Education Minister Nikos Filis said.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
By Mitra Taj

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's new environment minister said on Wednesday the government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski would focus on preventing pollution rather than fining companies after the fact, part of a more collaborative stance she described for the private sector.

Elsa Galarza, a U.S.-trained economist who previously headed the research unit at Lima's University of the Pacific, said that previous administrations tended to mistrust companies instead of helping them navigate environmental rules.

"Since the regulations are so profuse, many companies don't know they're breaking them," Galarza told Reuters in a brief interview. "There need to be mechanisms to help companies, to alert them. 'Look, you need to comply with this and you're not, what do you need? How can we help you?'"

Several global miners, including Newmont Mining Corp, Southern Copper Corp and the Aluminum Corp of China, operate in Peru, where conflicts over water and pollution often erupt in far-flung villages. Peru is also home to melting glaciers in the Andes, more than 10 percent of the Amazon rainforest and at least 2,000 km (1,240 miles) of Pacific coastline.

Galarza said the process of assessing environmental damage and levying fines would become more transparent during Kuczynski's five-year term, so companies get a better grasp of the grounds for sanctions.

"Obviously that doesn't mean that we're not going to punish whomever needs to be punished," Galarza said. But "we don't want to fine companies, we want to keep them from doing environmental harm."

The more business-friendly tone comes as Kuczynski, a former investment banker who took office on July 28, has vowed to bolster private investments that have declined for three years straight.

Kuczynski has called Peru's air quality standards "unrealistic" and proposed lowering them to spur new smelters that could add value to Peru's exports.

Galarza said her ministry had started a review of air and water quality standards that could result in changes, perhaps next year. But she said the review aimed to ensure all standards were scientifically sound, not necessarily to lower any.

"It's a very technical topic," Galarza said. "I couldn't tell you now what the result will be."

Galarza said she was also open to studying whether Peru might process copper concentrates with high levels of arsenic, as Kuczynski has suggested as part of a plan to revive a polymetallic smelter.

"Anything's possible and we can't close the door to receiving proposals," Galarza said.

(Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Peter Cooney)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

Current Report

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): September 14, 2016

LION BIOTECHNOLOGIES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Nevada (State of Incorporation) 000-53127 75-3254381 Commission File Number (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 112 W. 34th Street, 17th Floor New York, NY 10120 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) (212) 946-4856 (Registrants Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425).

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12).

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)).

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)).

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On September 14, 2016, Lion Biotechnologies, Inc. (the Company) entered into an Exclusive and Co-Exclusive License Agreement (the License Agreement) with PolyBioCept AB, a corporation organized under the laws of Sweden (PolyBioCept). PolyBioCept has filed two patent applications with claims related to a cytokine cocktail for use in expansion of lymphocytes. Under the License Agreement, the Company received the exclusive right and license to PolyBioCepts intellectual property to develop, manufacture, market and genetically engineer tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) produced by expansion, selection and enrichment using a cytokine cocktail. The Company also received a co-exclusive license (with PolyBioCept) to develop, manufacture and market genetically engineered TIL under the same intellectual property. The licenses are for the use in all cancers and are worldwide in scope, with the exception that the uses in melanoma are not included for certain countries of the former Soviet Union.

The Company paid PolyBioCept a total of $2.5 million as an up-front exclusive license payment. The Company will also have to make additional milestone payments to PolyBioCept under the License Agreement if, and when, (i) certain product development milestones are achieved, (ii) certain regulatory approvals have been obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and (iii) certain product sales targets are achieved. The milestone payments will be payable both in cash (U.S. dollars) and in shares of the Companys common stock. If all of the foregoing product development, regulatory approval and sales milestone payments are met, the Company will have to pay PolyBioCept an additional $8,745,000 and will have to issue to PolyBioCept a total 2,219,376 shares of unregistered common stock. In addition to these potential payments, the Company will reimburse PolyBioCept up to $200,000 in expenses related to the transfer of know-how and will pay PolyBioCept $100,000 as a clinical trials management fee. The Company also separately engaged PolyBioCept as a consultant to provide certain product development and research related services in a one year agreement for up to $192,000, subject to the consent of the Karolinska Institute to the services to be performed by its employees thereunder.

The License Agreement has an initial term of 30 years, and may be extended for additional five-year periods. The License Agreement will automatically terminate if the Company files a petition for reorganization, bankruptcy or insolvency, is served with an involuntary petition in any insolvency proceeding, and such petition is not dismissed within sixty (60) days after the filing thereof, becomes insolvent or discontinues business, or makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors or any similar arrangement under any bankruptcy law. The License Agreement also may be terminated by PolyBioCept for Companys uncured material breach, the Companys challenge to any of the patents licensed under the License Agreement, or after the Companys third material breach in any consecutive six-month period. The License Agreement also may be terminated by PolyBioCept if the Company does not achieve certain product development milestones or regulatory approvals, except that in all cases other than Companys requirement to commence a Phase I Trial, PolyBioCepts right to terminate can be removed by the Companys payment to PolyBioCept of a milestone payment in lieu of meeting the milestone or obtaining the regulatory approval.

In connection with the execution of the License Agreement, the Company also (i) entered into a clinical trials agreement with the Karolinska University Hospital to conduct clinical trials in glioblastoma and pancreatic cancer at the Karolinska University Hospital, and (ii) agreed to enter into a sponsored research agreement with the Karolinska Institute for the research of the cytokine cocktail in additional indications. The Company agreed to enter into the sponsored research agreement within 90 days after the date of the License Agreement. Failure to do so will give PolyBioCept the right to terminate the License Agreement (and to return $2.2 million of the payments it received). The Company will pay the Karolinska an additional $2.6 million in connection with these other related agreements.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) September 15, 2016

Reynolds American Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

North Carolina 1-32258 20-0546644 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)

401 North Main Street,

Winston-Salem, NC 27101

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrants telephone number, including area code: 336-741-2000

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

ITEM 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

At its meeting on September 15, 2016, the Board of Directors, referred to as the Board, of Reynolds American Inc., referred to as RAI, elected John A. Boehner and Jean-Marc Levy to serve on RAIs Board as Class II Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Boehner also was appointed to serve on the Boards Corporate Governance, Nominating and Sustainability Committee, and Mr. Levy also was appointed to serve on the Boards Compensation and Leadership Development Committee. Mr. Levy is a designee of Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc., referred to as B&W, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco p.l.c., referred to as BAT. A copy of the press release announcing the foregoing Board elections and Board Committee appointments is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1.

Under the terms of a July 30, 2004 governance agreement, as amended, among RAI, BAT and B&W, referred to as the governance agreement, B&W has the right, based upon the current ownership of BAT and its subsidiaries of approximately 42% of RAI common stock, to designate five people for nomination to RAIs Board  three of which must be independent directors under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards and the governance agreement. With respect to the designation of Mr. Levy as a nominee for election to the Board, B&W requested and received a waiver from RAIs Other Directors (as defined in the governance agreement) to any objection to B&Ws designation of Mr. Levy as an independent director under the terms of the governance agreement. Although Mr. Levy was an employee of BAT during the three years immediately preceding his designation by B&W, Mr. Levy left BAT in December 2014, and RAIs Board has determined that he is an independent director under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards. After the September 15, 2016 elections of Messrs. Boehner and Levy, RAIs Board is comprised of 14 Directors. While the governance agreement provides that the total number of RAI directors is 13, BAT has agreed that the size of RAIs Board will be temporarily increased to 14 to accommodate the election of Mr. Boehner, so long as the Board size is reduced to 13 by the date of RAIs 2017 annual shareholders meeting. In addition to Mr. Levy, the other current RAI Directors who have been designated as independent directors by B&W pursuant to the governance agreement are: Ronald S. Rolfe (Class I Director) and Martin D. Feinstein (Class III Director). The other current RAI Directors designated by B&W pursuant to the governance agreement are: Jerome Abelman (Class II Director) and Ricardo Oberlander (Class III Director). Each class of RAI Directors generally serves a staggered three-year term; however, the terms of all of RAIs Directors, regardless of class, will expire on the date of RAIs 2017 annual shareholders meeting, at which time the Board will be declassified. Thereafter, each Director nominee will stand for election to a one-year term expiring at the next annual shareholders meeting (or such shorter period if elected during the one-year term).

Each of Messrs. Boehner and Levy is eligible to participate in the non-employee director compensation arrangements described in the Reynolds American Inc. 2016 Outside Directors Compensation Summary, which summary was filed as Exhibit 10.32 to RAIs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and which is incorporated herein by reference. Each of Messrs. Boehner and Levy has entered into an indemnification agreement with RAI, the same indemnification agreement which RAI offers to all of its executive officers and directors. Such indemnification agreement was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to RAIs Form 8-K dated February 1, 2005 and is incorporated by reference herein.

ITEM 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

The following is furnished as an Exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Number Exhibit 99.1 Press Release of Reynolds American Inc., dated September 15, 2016

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

REYNOLDS AMERICAN INC. By: /s/ McDara P. Folan, III Name: McDara P. Folan, III Title: Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary

Date: September 15, 2016

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Number Exhibit 99.1 Press Release of Reynolds American Inc., dated September 15, 2016

Exhibit 99.1

Reynolds American Inc. P.O. Box 2990 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-2990

Contact: Investor Relations: Bob Bannon (336) 741-3359 Media: Jane Seccombe (336) 741-5068 RAI 2016-25

RAI board elects two new directors

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.  Sept. 15, 2016  Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) announced today that John Boehner, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Jean-Marc Levy, executive-in-residence at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, have been elected to serve on RAIs board of directors as Class II directors, effective immediately. Boehner will serve on the boards corporate governance, nominating and sustainability committee, and Levy will serve on the compensation and leadership development committee.

Levy fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Lerwill in June this year. He is one of five RAI board members designated by Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc. (B&W), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT), under the terms of the 2004 governance agreement, as amended, between RAI, B&W and BAT. RAIs board now has 14 members.

Both John and Jean-Marc bring valuable new experience and insights to the board in a dynamic environment, said Thomas C. Wajnert, chairman of RAIs board of directors. As RAI gains momentum in its strategy to transform the tobacco industry, we welcome their fresh perspectives on our businesses and the rapidly evolving environments in which the RAI companies compete.

Boehner, an Ohio native, was elected to Congress in 1990. Prior to that, he served as the president of a sales company in the packaging and plastic industry. He was also an Ohio state representative from 1985 to 1990.

Boehner served as the U.S. representative from Ohios 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. He was the House majority leader from 2006 to 2007, and House minority leader from 2007 through 2010. In January 2011, he was elected House speaker. Boehner retired from Congress in October 2015.

Levy, a Swiss national, is also the chief operating officer of Day Medical SA, a Swiss medical devices company, and serves as a board member of a Swiss startup company, Domo Safety SA. Levy also worked for BAT for 18 years in various management positions, and was BAT Groups chief marketing officer for six years until the end of 2014. Prior to joining BAT, he started his career in the coffee and confectionery categories with the Kraft Jacobs Suchard Group.

Web and Social Media Disclosure

RAIs website, www.reynoldsamerican.com , is the primary source of publicly disclosed news, including our quarterly earnings, about RAI and its operating companies. RAI also uses Twitter to publicly disseminate company news via @RAI News . It is possible that the information we post could be deemed to be material information. We encourage investors and others to register at www.reynoldsamerican.com to receive alerts when news about the company has been posted, and to follow RAI on Twitter at @RAI News .

ABOUT US

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc.; American Snuff Company, LLC; Niconovum USA, Inc.; Niconovum AB; and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company.

 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the second-largest U.S. tobacco company. R.J. Reynolds brands include Newport, Camel and Pall Mall.

 Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. manufactures and markets Natural American Spirit products.

 American Snuff Company, LLC is the nations second-largest manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products. Its leading brands are Grizzly and Kodiak.

 Niconovum USA, Inc. and Niconovum AB market innovative nicotine replacement therapy products in the U.S. and Sweden, respectively, under the ZONNIC brand name.

 R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company is a marketer of digital vapor cigarettes, manufactured on its behalf by R.J. Reynolds, under the VUSE brand name in the United States.

Copies of RAIs news releases, annual reports, SEC filings and other financial materials, including risk factors containing forward-looking information, are available at www.reynoldsamerican.com . To learn how RAI and its operating companies are transforming the tobacco industry, go to the RAI website, Transforming Tobacco .

###
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Agencies in possession of Aadhaar number of an individual will not be allowed to publish or post the information publicly and will have to ensure security and confidentiality of the 12-digit resident identification number under the Aadhaar Act.

The move to restrict sharing and circulation of Aadhaar numbers comes as part of UIDAIs efforts to ensure the information is not misused.

advertisement

Under the recently notified regulations, these agencies have also been mandated to inform Aadhaar holders the purpose for which their details will be used.

As per the rules, the core biometric information, collected by the Authority, cannot be shared with anyone for any reason whatsoever.

"The data he (resident) has given, that data is now also secure and protected... it casts responsibility on UIDAI and other agencies that use his Aadhaar number for various purposes to protect his identity and data and maintain confidentiality," Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI.

Any violation of the Aadhaar Act will constitute an offence and is punishable under the Act, he added.

Under the Act, penalty has been prescribed for offences such as impersonation of the Aadhaar holder at the time of enrolment, tampering with data in the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) and disclosing identity information.

Based on the offence, the penalty could go up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh or both. The Act specifies a stiff penalty of at least Rs 10 lakh for unauthorised access to CIDR.

The agencies that collect the Aadhaar number will also have to specify whether submission of the number or proof of Aadhaar is mandatory or voluntary.

In case it is voluntary, the agencies will then have to specify "alternatives" to the Aadhaar document.

The regulations also provide for obtaining consent of the Aadhaar number holder for collection, storage and use of the same for specified purposes.

Besides, to ensure data is secure, UIDAI has mandated that these agencies have their data centres -- the ones used for Aadhaar authentication and routing through CIDR -- within India. UIDAI will also set up a contact centre for resolution of queries and grievances of residents.

Asked if Aadhaar will be mandatory for availing government schemes and subsidies, Pandey replied in the affirmative.

Central and state governments will have to notify schemes for which furnishing Aadhaar will be required, he said.

"Those who do not have Aadhaar will be directed for enrolment at a nearby centre... In case after enrolment it is taking time and Aadhaar is not assigned, then there has to be a mechanism for alternative means of identification," he said.

advertisement

Pandey added that the department concerned will have to specify such alternative means of identification, based on which the benefit will be given. PTI SR MBI ARD

--- ENDS ---
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): September 14, 2016

TIME INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Delaware 001-36218 13-3486363 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) (Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

225 Liberty Street

New York, NY 10281

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

(212) 522-1212

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2 below):

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On September 14, 2016, the Company appointed Jen Wong as its Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for (1) all digital operations and business development, (2) all product development and engineering, (3) the Foundry division, and (4) the Consumer Marketing and Revenue division, effective September 19, 2016. Ms. Wong has served as the Companys President of Digital since January 2016.

In connection with her appointment as Chief Operating Officer, the Company and Ms. Wong have entered into an amendment to her current employment agreement, extending the term to September 30, 2019 and pursuant to which (i) her annual base salary will increase to $750,000 per annum and (ii) her target award opportunity in respect of annual equity incentive awards will increase to $500,000. The change to be effected in Ms. Wongs base salary will be effective from and after September 19, 2016, while the increase in the opportunity related to her annual equity awards will be implemented in connection with the annual awards to be made in 2017. Consistent with generally applicable policies for officers at her level, under Ms. Wongs current employment agreement, if her employment is involuntarily terminated by the Company without cause, she will receive bi-weekly installments over a stated severance period based on an annualized amount equal to the sum of annual base salary, plus an annualized amount based generally on the average of certain bonuses received over a period up to the last three years. In connection with her promotion, the applicable severance period has been increased to 18 months.

A copy of the Companys press release related to the matters described in Item 5.02 above is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein.

ITEM 9.01. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.

(d) Exhibits 99.1 Time Inc. Press Release, dated September 15, 2016.

2

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

TIME INC. (Registrant) By: /s/ Lauren Ezrol Klein Lauren Ezrol Klein Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Date: September 15, 2016

3

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number Exhibit 99.1 Press Release, dated September 15, 2016, issued by Time Inc.

4

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JEN WONG APPOINTED CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF TIME INC.

NEW YORK, NY (September 15, 2016)  In his first move as President and CEO of Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME), Rich Battista today announced that Jen Wong has been named Chief Operating Officer of the company, effective immediately. Wong joined Time Inc. in December 2015 as President of Digital.

In this newly created role, Wong will work closely with Battista on the companys overall strategy and execution. While maintaining her oversight of Time Inc.s digital operations and strategy, digital product development and engineering and The Foundry, the state-of-the-art creative lab and content studio, Wong is also assuming oversight of the companys Consumer Marketing + Revenue division including Synapse, Bizrate Insights and TCS. Leslie Dukker Doty, Executive Vice President, Consumer Marketing + Revenue, will now report to Wong. Doty joined Time Inc. earlier this year.

Im thrilled to appoint Jen to this important role as we accelerate our transition into a full-fledged multimedia company. No one understands the transformation occurring in the media industry better than Jen, and it is critical that our COO has a strong digital foundation as we expedite Time Inc.s return to growth, said Battista. Jen has made invaluable contributions to our company in a short amount of time and I look forward to relying on her expertise and counsel as we boldly move ahead.

Battista continued, Aligning Leslies strong direct marketing experience and Jens digital skills particularly in commerce will unite and further drive our dynamic capabilities in the critical consumer marketing space. Leslies proven track record of driving consumer marketing transformation for global companies is already helping facilitate the acceleration of our consumer marketing revenue growth in her short tenure.

Wong commented, Im excited to work closely with Rich and the executive team on growing Time Inc. Our brands are the most trusted and beloved, and they each have enormous potential to deepen and extend their relationship with consumers. Leslie and I have already become close partners and I look forward to working with her and her talented team on building out greater digital and data-driven capabilities that will make our consumer marketing business even more competitive and agile.

Wong joined Time Inc. from POPSUGAR, Inc., where she was Chief Business Officer. From 2011 to 2015, she led business operations and growth strategies for the companys media and commerce businesses. She grew the POPSUGAR and ShopStyle brands internationally while also expanding the companys ad products, video business, commerce revenue and other high-growth revenue streams and businesses. Wong previously held several executive management roles at AOL and, earlier in her career, worked with a range of digital media and technology clients at McKinsey & Company. A Harvard Business School graduate, Wong received a masters degree in engineering economic systems and operations research from Stanford University after graduating from Yale University with a degree in applied mathematics.

ABOUT TIME INC.

Time Inc. is one of the worlds leading media companies, with a monthly global print audience of over 120 million and worldwide digital properties that attract more than 150 million visitors each month, including over 60 websites. Our influential brands include People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Time, Real Simple and Southern Living, as well as more than 50 diverse titles in the United Kingdom.

CONTACTS

Jaison Blair, 212-522-5952 , [email protected]
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14C INFORMATION STATEMENT

Information Statement Pursuant to Section 14(c) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant x

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant 

Check the appropriate box:

x Preliminary Information Statement

 Definitive Information Statement

 Confidential, for use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-5(d)(2)

CHESS SUPERSITE CORPORATION

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

x No fee required.

 Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14c-5(g) and 0-11.

1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

5) Total fee paid:

 Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

 Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 240.0-11 and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

1) Amount Previously Paid:

2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

3) Filing Party:

4) Date Filed:

CHESS SUPERSITE CORPORATION

1131A Leslie Street, Suite 101

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 3L8

Telephone: (416) 444-4644

Notice of Proposed Action by Written Consent

of the Holders of the

Majority of the Voting Stock to be taken on or about October 17, 2016.

To the Stockholders of Chess Supersite Corporation

The enclosed Information Statement is to inform you that upon written consent by the holders of a majority of the voting stock of the Company, the Company intends to take certain action as more particularly described in this Information Statement. The action will be effected 20 days from the date this Information Statement is mailed to stockholders which mailing is expected to be on or about September 27, 2016.

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on September 15, 2016 will be given Notice of the Action by Written Consent. The Company is not soliciting proxies.

WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY AND

YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY.

THIS IS NOT A NOTICE OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS AND NO MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS WILL BE HELD TO CONSIDER ANY MATTER WHICH IS DESCRIBED IN THE INFORMATION STATEMENT

By Order of the Board of Directors

/s/ Rubin Schindermann

Chief Executive Officer

2

CHESS SUPERSITE CORPORATION

1131A Leslie Street, Suite 101

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 3L8

Telephone: (416) 444-4644

INFORMATION STATEMENT

PURSUANT TO SETION 14(C) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANEG ACT

OF 1934, AS AMENDED

CONSENT ACTION BY STOCKHOLDERS WITHOUT A MEETING

This Information Statement is furnished to all holders of the Common Stock of the Company in connection with proposed action by the holders of the majority of the voting stock of the Company to approve an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation to increase authorized common stock to 500,000,000 shares (Amendment). The Companys board of directors unanimously approved the Amendment.

The action is proposed to occur on or about October 17, 2016. This Information Statement is first being mailed to stockholders on or about September 27, 2016.

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on September 15, 2016 (Record) are entitled to notice of the action to be taken. There will be no vote on the Amendment by the stockholders of the Company because the proposed action will be accomplished by the written consent of the holders of the majority voting power of the Company as allowed by Delaware General Corporation Act. No other votes are required or necessary.

The cost of furnishing this Information Statement will be borne by the Company.

WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU FOR A PROXY

AND YOU ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SEND US A PROXY

3

DISSENTERS RIGHTS OF APPRAISAL

The Delaware General Corporation Act does not provide for dissenters rights of appraisal in connection with the corporate action to be taken.

VOTING SECURITIES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS THEREOF

At the Record Date, the Company had outstanding 33,420,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share and no shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Rubin Schindermann and Alexander Starr, who hold the majority voting power on the Record Date, have signed consent to the taking of the corporate action described. This consent will be sufficient, without any further action, to provide the necessary stockholder approval of the action.

CORPORATE ACTION TO BE TAKEN

ADOPTION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

The Board of Directors is recommending that the Companys current Articles of Incorporation be amended to increase the authorized common stock to 500,000,000 shares. The proposed amendment will also establish a class of preferred stock designated as Series A Preferred Stock. However, the establishment of this class or any class of preferred stock does not require approval of the Companys shareholders because the current Articles of Incorporation grant to the Board of Directors the authority to establish classes or series of preferred stock without the need for shareholder approval.

The increase in the authorized Common Stock will provide the Company with needed stock to enable it to undertake financing transactions in which the Company may employ the common stock, including transactions to raise working capital through the sale of common stock. Since the Board of Directors believes that the currently authorized number of shares may be not be sufficient to meet anticipated needs in the immediate future, the Board considers it desirable that the Company has the flexibility to issue an additional amount of Common Stock without further stockholder action, unless otherwise required by law or other regulations. The availability of these additional shares will enhance the Companys flexibility in connection with any possible acquisition or merger, stock splits or dividends, financings and other corporate purposes and will allow such shares to be issued without the expense and delay of a special stockholders meeting, unless such action is required by applicable law or rules of any stock exchange on which the Companys securities may then be listed.

In certain circumstances, a proposal to increase the authorized capital stock may have an anti-takeover effect. The authorization, without prior shareholder approval of additional unreserved classes of Common Stock with either specified voting rights or rights providing for the approval of extraordinary corporate action may be used to create voting impediments or to frustrate persons seeking to effect a merger or otherwise gain control of the Company opposed by management by diluting the stock ownership of any persons seeking to obtain control of the Company. Management of the Company might use the additional authorized capital stock to resist or frustrate a third-party transaction which might provide an above-market premium that is favored by a majority of the independent shareholders. Management of the Company has no present plans to adopt any proposals or to enter into other arrangements that may have material anti-takeover consequences. There are no anti-takeover provisions in the Companys Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws or other governing documents at this time.

A copy of the proposed amendment is included in this Information Statement.

4

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK AND VOTING RIGHTS

The Companys authorized capital consists of 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 20,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001. As of the Record Date, there were 33,420,000 shares of Common Stock outstanding and no shares of Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. The holders of Common Stock are entitled to vote on all matters to come before a vote of the stockholders of the Company.

VOTE REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL

Section 242 of the Delaware General Business Corporation Act provides an outline of the scope of the amendments of the Articles of Incorporation allowed a Delaware Corporation. This includes the amendment discussed in this Information Statement. The procedure and requirements to effect an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of a Delaware corporation are set forth in Section 242 provides that proposed amendments must first be adopted by the Board of Directors and then submitted to stockholders for their consideration at an annual or special meeting and must be approved by shareholders holding at least the majority voting power of the Company.

Section 228 of the Delaware General Business Corporation Act provides that any action required to be taken at a special or annual meeting of the stockholders of a Delaware corporation may be taken by written consent, in lieu of a meeting, if the consent is signed by stockholders holding at least the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take the action at a meeting at which all shareholders entitled to vote were present and voted.

The persons holding at least the majority voting power of the Company has adopted, ratified and approved the amendment to the articles of incorporation increasing the authorized capital stock as described in this Information Statement. No further votes are required or necessary to effect the proposed amendment or the other corporate actions to be taken.

The securities that would have been entitled to vote if a meeting was required to be held to amend the Companys Articles of Incorporation consist of 33,420,000 shares of the Companys Common Stock issued and outstanding as of the Record Date for determining stockholders who would have been entitled to notice of and to vote on the proposed amendment to the Articles of Incorporation.

5

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS

AND FIVE PERCENT STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth certain information concerning the ownership of the Companys Common Stock as of September 15, 2016, with respect to: (i) each person known to the Company to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the Companys Common Stock; (ii) all directors; and (iii) directors and executive officers of the Company as a group. To the knowledge of the Company, each shareholder listed below possesses sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated.

Title of Class Name and Address of Beneficial Owner Amount of

Ownership Percent

of Class Common Stock Rubin Schindermann 13,293,500 39.77% 1131A Leslie Street, Suite 101 Toronto, Ontario Canada M3C 3L8 Common Stock Alexander (Sasha) Starr 13,293,500 39.77% 1131A Leslie Street, Suite 101 Toronto, Ontario Canada M3C 3L8 Common Stock Chess Supersite Inc.(a) 2,000,000 5.94% 1409-7440 Bathurst Street Thornhill, Ontario Canada L4J 7K8 Common Stock All executive officers and directors as a group ( 2 persons) 26,587,000 75.55%

(a) Alexander (Sasha) Starr is an officer and director of Chess Supersite Inc.

INTEREST OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN

OR OPPOSITION TO MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON

No person who has been a director or officer of the Company at any time since the beginning of the last fiscal year, nominee for election as a director of the Company, nor associates of the foregoing persons has any substantial interest, direct or indirect, in proposed amendment to the Companys Articles of Incorporation which differs from that of other stockholders of the Company. No director of the Company opposes the proposed amendment of the Companys Articles of Incorporation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information concerning the Company, including its annual and quarterly reports for the previous twelve months which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR archives at www.sec.gov. Upon written request of any stockholder to the Companys President, Alexander Starr, at 1131A Leslie Street, Suite 101, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 3L8, a copy of the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 will be provided without charge and as well as the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2016.

6

Index of Exhibits

Exhibit 3(i) Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation.

7

EXHIBIT 3(i)

CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT

TO

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION OF CHESS SUPERSITE CORPORATION

The undersigned, being the Chief Executive Officer of Chess Supersite Corporation, a Delaware corporation (Corporation), does hereby certify on behalf of the Corporation as follows:

1. The following resolution to amend the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation was declared advisable and was duly adopted by written consent of the directors of the Corporation pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation:

RESOLVED, that the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation be amended by changing Article Four to (i) increase the authorized shares of Common Stock to 500,000,00; and (ii) establish a class of Preferred Stock to be designated as Series A Preferred Stock as follows:

ARTICLE FOUR

The total number of shares of stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 520,000,000 shares consisting of 500,000,000 shares of Common Stock having a par value of $0.0001 per share and 20,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock having a par value of $0.0001 per share.

Designation of Series A Preferred Stock. 1,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock having a par value of $0.0001 per share shall be designated as Series A Preferred Stock (Series A Stock). Dividends shall be declared and set aside for any shares of Series A Stock in the same manner and amount as for the Common Stock. Series A Stock, as a class, shall have voting rights equal to a multiple of 2X the number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding that are entitled to vote on any matter requiring shareholder approval (Voting Multiple). Each share of Series A Stock shall be entitled to such number of votes based on the Voting Multiple and as held at the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote on such matter or, if no such record date is established, at the date on which notice of the meeting of shareholders at which the vote is to be taken is marked or the date any written consent of shareholders is solicited if the vote is not to be taken at a meeting. The Series A Stock shall not vote as a separate class, but shall vote together with the Common Stock on all matters, including any amendment to increase or decrease the authorized capital stock. Upon the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the corporation, the assets of the Corporation available for distribution to its shareholders shall be distributed to the holders of Common Stock and the holders of the Series A Stock ratably without any preference to the holders of the Series A Stock.

Subject to and in compliance with the provisions of this Certificate of Amendment, shares of Series A Stock may, at the option of the holder, be converted at any time into fully-paid and nonassessable shares of Common Stock at the rate of One Hundred (100) shares of Common Stock for each One (1) share of Series A Stock (Conversion Rate).

Mechanics of Conversion. Each holder of Series A Stock who desires to convert the same into shares of Common Stock shall surrender the certificate or certificates therefor, duly endorsed, at the office of the Corporation or any transfer agent for the Series A Stock, and shall give written notice to the Corporation at such office that such holder elects to convert the same. Such notice shall state the number of shares of Series A Stock being converted. Thereupon, the Corporation shall promptly issue and deliver at such office to such holder a certificate or certificates for the number of shares of Common Stock to which such holder is entitled and shall promptly pay in cash or, to the extent sufficient funds are not then legally available therefor, in Common Stock (at the Common Stock's fair market value determined by the Board of Directors as of the date of such conversion), any declared and unpaid dividends on the shares of Series A Stock being converted. Such conversion shall be deemed to have been made at the close of business on the date of such surrender of the certificates representing the shares of Series A Stock to be converted, and the person entitled to receive the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such conversion shall be treated for all purposes as the record holder of such shares of Common Stock on such date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing, no conversion shall occur until after the 60th day following the date that the first share of Series A Stock is issued ("Original Issue Date").

1

Adjustment for Stock Splits and Combinations. If the Corporation shall at any time or from time to time after the Original Issue Date effect a subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock without a corresponding subdivision of the Preferred Stock, the Conversion Rate in effect immediately before that subdivision shall be proportionately decreased. Conversely, if the Corporation shall at any time or from time to time after the Original Issue Date combine the outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares without a corresponding combination of the Preferred Stock, the Conversion Rate in effect immediately before the combination shall be proportionately increased. Any adjustment hereunder shall become effective at the close of business on the date the subdivision or combination becomes effective.

Adjustment for Common Stock Dividends and Distributions. If the Corporation at any time or from time to time after the Original Issue Date makes, or fixes a record date for the determination of holders of Common Stock entitled to receive, a dividend or other distribution payable in additional shares of Common Stock, in each such event the Conversion Rate that is then in effect shall be decreased as of the time of such issuance or, in the event such record date is fixed, as of the close of business on such record date, by multiplying the Conversion Rate then in effect by a fraction (i) the numerator of which is the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance or the close of business on such record date, and (ii) the denominator of which is the total number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the time of such issuance or the close of business on such record date plus the number of shares of Common Stock issuable in payment of such dividend or distribution; provided, however, that if such record date is fixed and such dividend is not fully paid or if such distribution is not fully made on the date fixed therefor, the Conversion Rate shall be recomputed accordingly as of the close of business on such record date and thereafter the Conversion Rate shall be adjusted pursuant to reflect the actual payment of such dividend or distribution.

Adjustment for Reclassification, Exchange and Substitution. If at any time or from time to time after the Original Issue Date, the Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of the Series A Stock is changed into the same or a different number of shares of any class or classes of stock, whether by recapitalization, reclassification or otherwise (other than a subdivision or combination of shares or stock dividend or a reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale of assets provided for elsewhere herein, in any such event each holder of Series A Stock shall have the right thereafter to convert such stock into the kind and amount of stock and other securities and property receivable upon such recapitalization, reclassification or other change by holders of the maximum number of shares of Common Stock into which such shares of Series A Stock could have been converted immediately prior to such recapitalization, reclassification or change, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein or with respect to such other securities or property by the terms thereof.

2

Reorganizations, Mergers, Consolidations or Sales of Assets. If at any time or from time to time after the Original Issue Date, there is a capital reorganization of the Common Stock (other than a recapitalization, subdivision, combination, reclassification, exchange or substitution of shares provided for elsewhere herein, as a part of such capital reorganization, provision shall be made so that the holders of the Series A Stock shall thereafter be entitled to receive upon conversion of the Series A Stock the number of shares of stock or other securities or property of the Corporation to which a holder of the number of shares of Common Stock deliverable upon conversion would have been entitled on such capital reorganization, subject to adjustment in respect of such stock or securities by the terms thereof. In any such case, appropriate adjustment shall be made in the application of the provisions of Certificate of Amendment with respect to the rights of the holders of Series A Stock after the capital reorganization to the end that the provisions of this Certificate of Amendment (including adjustment of the Conversion Rate then in effect and the number of shares issuable upon conversion of the Series A Stock) shall be applicable after that event and be as nearly equivalent as practicable.

Automatic Conversion. (i) Each share of Series A Stock shall automatically be converted into shares of Common Stock, based on the then-effective Conversion Rate, (a) at any time upon the affirmative vote of all of the holders of the outstanding shares of the Series A Stock, or (b) immediately upon the closing of a firmly underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, covering the offer and sale of Common Stock for the account of the Corporation in which the gross cash proceeds to the Corporation (before underwriting discounts, commissions and fees) are at least $10,000,000. Upon such automatic conversion, any declared and unpaid dividends shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of this Certificate of Amendment. (ii) Upon the occurrence of the event specified in paragraph (i) above, the outstanding shares of Series A Stock shall be converted automatically without any further action by the holders of such shares and whether or not the certificates representing such shares are surrendered to the Corporation or its transfer agent; provided, however, that the Corporation shall not be obligated to issue certificates evidencing the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such conversion unless the certificates evidencing such shares of Series A Stock are either delivered to the Corporation or its transfer agent as provided below, or the holder notifies the Corporation or its transfer agent that such certificates have been lost, stolen or destroyed and executes an agreement satisfactory to the Corporation to indemnify the Corporation from any loss incurred by it in connection with such certificates. Upon the occurrence of such automatic conversion of the Series A Stock, the holders of Series A Stock shall surrender the certificates representing such shares at the office of the Corporation or any transfer agent for the Series A Stock. Thereupon, there shall be issued and delivered to such holder promptly at such office and in its name as shown on such surrendered certificate or certificates, a certificate or certificates for the number of shares of Common Stock into which the shares of Series A Stock surrendered were convertible on the date on which such automatic conversion occurred, and any declared and unpaid dividends shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of this Certificate of Amendment.

RESOLVED, that the officers of the Corporation are hereby authorized and directed to file a Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation with the Secretary of State of Delaware pursuant to Section 242 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and to take such action necessary on behalf of the Corporation to carry out the intent of the foregoing resolution.

2. The foregoing resolution was adopted by written consent of the directors of the Corporation in lieu of the meeting of directors in accordance with the provisions of Section 141 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

3

3. The foregoing resolution was duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 242 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and pursuant to the authority granted to the directors of the Corporation under the Corporations Certificate of Incorporation to provide for the issuance of shares of Preferred Stock and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of such series and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate has been signed this ____ day of ________ 2016.

CHESS SUPERSITE CORPORATION By: Rubin Schindermann, Chief Executive Officer
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 14 (PTI) The Ministry of AYUSH today held talks with US-based National Cancer Institute(NIC) for cooperation in the use of traditional medicines in cancer cure.

Secretary AYUSH, Ajit M Sharan, along with other senior ministry officials met Dr Edward Trimble of the NIC and discussed work plan and modalities for co-operation in use of traditional medicine.

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Cancer research was the primary focus of the talks.

"While we want plants with cancer curative properties to get a global acceptance. The United States is also interested in procuring scientific leads on our traditional medicines and thereafter establish the science behind their treatment power.

"Once the US approves these medicines you can imagine the global acceptance these treatments will get," Joint Director Anil Ganeriwal said.

India will shortlist its research studies on treatment of cancer using ayurveda and unani systems of medicine. These will be then shared with NIC by December. PTI JC DIP SMJ DIP

--- ENDS ---
With this, Rupani will most probably become the first chief minister in India to host Twitter Town Hall.

By Gopi Maniar Ghanghar : Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will host Twitter Town Hall on September 23. With this, Rupani will most probably become the first chief minister in India to host Twitter Town Hall.

Rupani today through his twitter handle made this announcement. He tweeted: Happy to announce that I am hosting a Twitter town hall on 23rd September. Tweet your questions to me using #AskVijayRupani

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Typically in Twitter Town Hall, anyone having twitter account can ask a question to one hosting twitter town hall by mentioning question and prescribed hashtag in same tweet.

Through a hashtag, the host of the town hall recognises a question and replies it during live show which is telecast in video.

ALSO READ:

Amitbhai is BJP national party head, it is natural for me to follow him, says Vijay Rupani



--- ENDS ---
The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign released an updated medical information which claimed that Hillary Clinton 'continues to improve' after a pneumonia diagnosis.

By Pranav Priyadarshi: Hillary Clinton's doctor on Wednesday declared her healthy and said she is "recovering well" from pneumonia and remains "fit to serve as President of the United States.

The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign released an updated medical information which claimed that Clinton "continues to improve" after a pneumonia diagnosis.

Her illness became public after she left Sunday's 9/11 memorial service early and was seen on video staggering while getting into a van.

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ALSO READ: Hillary Clinton diagnosed with pneumonia, cancels California trip





According to Clinton's physician Dr Lisa Bardack , Clinton underwent a chest scan that revealed she had "mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia.

Bardack said Clinton is up to date on all vaccines, including two given to help prevent pneumonia - Prevnar and Pneumovax. The letter did not state when she received those vaccines.

HALE AND HEARTY

Doctor said that She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest, She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

According to the letter, Clinton, 68, has blood pressure of 100 over 70. Her total cholesterol was 189; her LDL or "bad" cholesterol was 103, and her HDL or "good" cholesterol was 56 - all within healthy levels and not signaling the need for any medications. She has also had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound.

She takes thyroid and allergy medicines and the blood thinner Coumadin, prescribed as a preventative after she suffered a blood clot resulting from a 2012 concussion.

Clinton has spent the past three days out of the public eye, recuperating at her suburban New York home. She'll return to the campaign trail Thursday in North Carolina

Meanwhile, her rival Donald Trump has also announced the release the details of his recent physical tes this week. On Wednesday, he handed over a one-page summary of that exam, conducted by his longtime physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein.

Bornstein had previously written a note declaring the 70-year-old Trump, if elected, would be the healthiest president in history. He later said he had written the letter in five minutes as a limousine sent by the candidate idled outside.

ALSO READ:

I'm not Obama. I'm not Bill Clinton: Hillary Clinton bares her soul in candid interview to Humans of New York



--- ENDS ---
The Indian Air Force has finally informed family members of those onboard its missing AN-32 aircraft that there was no chances of survival anymore.

The IAF has also requested family members to sign the certificate of presumption of death in order to begin legal proceedings for compensation.

By Indrajit Kundu: The Indian Air Force has finally informed family members of those on board its missing AN-32 aircraft that there was no chances of survival anymore. This comes after the massive search and rescue operation (SAR) carried out in the Bay of Bengal for close to two months failed to yield any substantial breakthrough.

On 22 July, the ill-fated Antonov-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force carrying 29 people on board, including six crew members, went missing over the Bay of Bengal while on its way to Port Blair from Tambaram air base in Tamil Nadu.

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In a correspondence to the family members of those onboard the aircraft, the IAF has mentioned that it is "unlikely" that the missing personnel would have survived the accident.

CERTIFICATE OF PRESUMPTION OF DEATH

The letter titled "Presumption of Demise" also mentions that a Court of Inquiry was conducted to "examine the available evidence and establish the possibilities of survival of the aircrew and passengers."

Following the inquiry conducted by the Air Force station at Sulur, the IAF concluded that "it is unlikely that the missing personnel on board the ill-fated aircraft would have survived the accident."

This after "careful scrutiny of the circumstantial evidence available and in light of existence search and rescue operation carried out," the letter states.

The IAF has also requested family members to sign the "certificate of presumption of death" in order to begin legal proceedings for compensation.

In an effort to console the bereaved family members, the IAF in its letter states that it has "spared no efforts whatsoever in trying to locate the aircraft and the missing personnel."

"No fewer than 201 search and rescue sorties, using all suitable aircraft at our disposal were undertaken. Approximately 2,17,800 square Nautical Miles (Sq Nm) has been covered multiple number of times by these aircrafts," the letter stated adding that even date from international emergency response teams and satellites from USA also "did not help in getting any concrete information about the missing aircraft."

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:



ALSO READ:

Workhorse of the IAF: All you need to know about the sturdy AN-32 aircraft



EXCLUSIVE: When India quietly asked, Russia tried but could not locate AN-32

Jolted by crash, IAF promises safety beacons on AN-32s 'on priority'



--- ENDS ---

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Gisborne Police have concluded their investigation into a complaint made against Gisborne Mayoral candidate Mr Meng Foon, with no offence being substantiated.

Police spoke to numerous people identified as witnesses by the complainant in this matter, says Detective Sergeant Kevin Ford.

There is absolutely no evidence - or in fact any suggestion from anyone other than the complainant - that Mr Foon has in any way been trying to corruptly influence voters.

There are also no legal issues with the circumstances surrounding $20 given to a person that Mr Foon has had an association with since childhood.

Koha in correct legal circumstances and in accordance with Maori custom does not translate into an offence under the Electoral Act.

It is disappointing that the complainant in this matter has continued to make allegations - and post inaccurate and inflammatory comments - on social media.

Many of those spoken to as part of the Police investigation have expressed their anger at the allegations being made, and this matter is perhaps a useful reminder for people to be mindful of the information they post online, both in terms of accuracy and legality, and with regard to any subsequent comments others might make in response.

Source: New Zealand Police.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith say 13.1 hectares of vacant land at Counties Manukau is being freed up for housing.

The Government has approved an application by Counties Manukau DHB to release vacant land at the Manukau SuperClinic Browns Road site, says Dr Coleman.

It makes sense for DHBs to sell land they dont need for future use as it allows them to reinvest the proceeds into new or upgraded health facilities.

The application comes as a result of the DHB developing its long-term investment plan which looked at future population growth and forecast health service demand and subsequent need for land and capital investment.

The plan confirmed that there is sufficient remaining land on the Manukau SuperClinic site to meet future health requirements with a focus on ambulatory, elective, rehabilitation and community health and wellbeing services.

The vacant land would also not be suitable for a second acute hospital if the district needed it going forward.

Following an additional review and public consultation the DHB has declared two parcels of land surplus to their requirements.

Dr Smith says housing issues are impacting on peoples health and it makes sense for areas such as this, which are not needed in the foreseeable future, to be freed up for additional homes.

The next step will be finalising a fair market price for my ministry to secure the land from Counties Manukau Health and adding it to the Governments Crown land housing programme. We will be exploring with Auckland iwi the opportunity to partner with them on the proposal to develop the area for housing, says Dr Smith.

This new site adds to the other sites we have secured to date under the Crown land programme, which is just part of a wide range of reforms and initiatives to address Aucklands housing challenges. We have increased the new house build rate in Auckland from 10 per day to 40 per day. This initiative will help maintain this momentum.

Source: Office of Jonathan Coleman and Nick Smith.
Vodafone New Zealand Limited has been fined $165,000 in the Auckland District Court after pleading guilty to making false price representations in breach of the Fair Trading Act.

The Commerce Commission filed charges against Vodafone in May this year related to invoices sent to customers who signed on to the Red Essentials mobile phone plan between January and December 2014.
New Zealand companies may receive compensation from Google following an outage which affected the tech companiys Gmail email service this morning.

Google first notified its customers via the Apps Status dashboard they were investigating the issue which was reported to only affect Google for Work Gmail users at 3.16am (NZ Time).
UPDATED: Earlier this morning, Napier Police, with the assistance of the Armed Offenders Squad were searching for a male who was involved in a domestic dispute at a Kelvin Place address.

Police were looking for a male, who was potentially armed.

Police have completed all inquiries at known addresses and the surrounding areas and have not been able to locate the offender at this time but will continue to look for him.

Police would like to thank members of the public for their patience while streets in the area were closed.

The nearby schools are back to business as usual and all the cordons have been lifted. Police would like to reassure the community that their safety is not at risk.

EARLIER:

Napier police are currently dealing with an armed incident near Maraenui in Napier.

The parties are known to each other, however members of the public nearby the cordon points have been asked to stay inside their addresses and the schools nearby have also asked all students to stay inside.

Police have cordoned the area and motorists and pedestrians are asked to avoid the Henry Charles Crescent area.

SOURCE: New Zealand Police
Tauranga City councillors today authorised Mayor Stuart Crosby to sign amendments extending the deadline on Taurangas special housing accord.

The accord signed with the Government expires Friday, September 16. The decision extends the councils ability to process qualifying developments until June 30, 2017.
The Human Rights Commission today welcomed New Zealands first human trafficking conviction, saying it serves a strong reminder to kiwi businesses that exploiting migrant workers will not go unpunished.

Feroz Ali was found guilty in the Auckland High Court of 15 people trafficking charges and guilty of 15 charges for aiding and abetting a person to unlawfully enter New Zealand for work on Bay of Plenty orchards.
Tauranga humanitarian Chloe Wright has been announced as one of the finalists in NEXT magazines Woman of the Year Awards.

Chloe, who co-founded the Wright Family Foundation with husband Wayne, is one of five finalists in the Education category and one of 30 finalists overall.
The number of houses sold in Tauranga during August of this year is down 11.1 per cent, or 17 properties, compared to August 2015.

But when compared to July of this year, August house sales were up by 7.9 per cent (10 properties), according to the latest residential real estate data released by REINZ on Wednesday.
Raising the issue of Balochistan for the first time before the UN, India has accused Pakistan of widespread human rights violations there as well as in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

By PTI: Raising the issue of Balochistan for the first time before the UN, India has accused Pakistan of widespread human rights violations there as well as in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In a scathing attack on Pakistan during the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, India said the main reason behind the disturbances in Kashmir was the cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan that stems from its territorial ambitions over the place that has found a clear expression in repeated armed aggressions.

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STOP ACTING AS HOTBED OF TERROR



Balochistan freedom movement gets new poster faces

Pakistan's dismal track record is well known and many countries have repeatedly called upon Islamabad to end cross- border infiltration, dismantle the terrorism infrastructure and stop acting as an epicentre of terrorism, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the UN in Geneva Ajit Kumar said.

DEMOCRATIC NORMS ABSENT IN PAK



India's credentials as a peaceful, democratic and a pluralistic society deeply committed to the welfare of its people are well established and on the contrary, Pakistan is characterized by authoritarianism, absence of democratic norms and widespread human rights violations across the country including in Balochistan, Kumar said.

Also read: US says does not support independence for Balochistan





--- ENDS ---
The Steamers side to take on the Wellington Lions this weekend at Westpac Stadium features a number of changes following last weekends win over Northland.

Dan Hollinshead and Joseph Royal return to the team having recovered from their respective injuries; Hollinshead a concussion and Royal a broken thumb.
The rigorous five-month training regime has led to the dawning moment where members of the superyacht industry and those looking to raise awareness and much-needed funds for marine conservation battle to arrive in Monaco in time for the Monaco Yacht Show.

The funds raised will go directly towards two of BLUEs projects that will significantly contribute to ocean protection; Ascension Island and the Aeolian Islands.

Simon Le Bon will be in attendance as BLUEs ambassador to wave the cyclists off on their adventure ahead, as will a crowd of well-wishers and supporters. To watch our interview with Simon Le Bon and Chris Gorrell-Barnes, click here.

This ride comes at a time of great importance for the BLUE mission as today the team also announced that Sir Alan Duncan, the UK Foreign Office Minister, is set to announce plans to double the area of protected oceans around the UK Overseas Territories to around four million square kilometres  greater than the landmass of India.

The UK government is set to pledge 20 million over the next four years to support the implementation, management, surveillance and enforcement of the new Marine Protected Areas around the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific and St Helena in the Atlantic.

Clare Brook, Blue Marine CEO said, We were confident that the blue belt commitment was one which transcended party divisions and would be upheld by a post-Brexit government. This announcement today is hugely encouraging, not least that the UK government is putting meaningful sums of money towards the protection of these extraordinary territories.
In the wake of outrage, Pakistan has unblocked India Today's website, which had a magazine cover carrying its Army Chief Raheel Sharif's picture.

By India Today Web Desk: In the wake of outrage, Pakistan has unblocked India Today's website, which had a magazine cover carrying its Army Chief Raheel Sharif's picture.

India Today's online portal (IndiaToday.in) was blocked in Pakistan yesterday, according to a report in The Express Tribune.

As per the report, the move came despite the Lahore High Court disposing of a petition seeking a directive to the government to block access to the website.

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Referring to an India Today magazine cover that went viral, petitioner Abdul Hameed in his plea had said that the magazine had published a 'derogatory photo' of Pakistan's Army chief General Raheel Sharif.

Though the Lahore High Court Chief Justice observed that only the parliament was authorised to take a decision in this regard, he said elected representatives of the public should be approached on this account.

Earlier, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had decided to crack down on illegal satellite dishes and Indian content that was being aired across Pakistan.

What India Today Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa had to say on India Today Magazine blocking issue





They've lifted the ban which is a good news and good sense has prevailed..

The high court actually made a very good order, which said that they were not going to ban India Today under law, even if the Pakistan government does so.

If they've decided to do it [lift the ban] so quickly, then good they're very happy to do so.

You know actually, I was surprised and shocked to read the news late last night because it is most unusual. India Today is a publication for 40 years now. We have written the toughest pieces on Pakistan, including when president Musharraf, chief of the Army staff, was in power. We called him America's General. We had a a series of negative cover against Musharraf. He didn't ban any of our issues. In fact, I went and interviewed him after that.

We all know where it is coming from. If they've lifted the ban it is a good news, and we should accept that.

Well, we need to get confirmation because if this is the case, then we are happy and we will congratulate whoever lifted it and took the tough stand.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:









--- ENDS ---
Kapil Sharma is apparently waiting for the controversy to die down before resuming the shoot of The Kapil Sharma Show.

By India Today Web Desk: As the controversy surrounding Kapil Sharma's bribery tweet refuses to die down, the comedian is now feeling the heat of the situation. According to a Mumbai website Spotboye.com, Kapil couldn't shoot the upcoming episode of The Kapil Sharma Show and the show's set looked deserted.

Not only this, if reports are to be trusted Kapil has left his home to shift to a 5-star hotel, the name of which has been strictly kept under wraps.

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Also read: Comedian Kapil Sharma booked for destroying mangroves

A source close to the show tells Spotboye, "We will start shooting again but only after things settle down a bit."

The furore started after Kapil tweeted that he was made to pay a bribe of Rs 5 lakh for the construction of his Mumbai office by a BMC official. It not only led to a political brouhaha, Kapil was in turn accused of illegal construction and was even booked for destroying mangroves while construction.

Also read: With tweet backfiring, Kapil Sharma now seeks meeting with CM Fadnavis



While Kapil later clarified his stand saying that he was not making a comment on any political party, the harm was done.

Hope things get resolved soon.

--- ENDS ---
Chances are each of us knows someone who's into collector cars, you know, Chevys, Ford, Pontiacs. Maybe we know somebody who collects luxury cars like Cadillacs or Lincolns.

Pat Grosso, of East Syracuse, is a guy who collects luxury cars, real luxury cars.

"I used to be into Corvettes. I had a lot of them but when I got a little older I began to like cars that are more comfortable," he said. So Grosso decided he would get his hands on a Rolls-Royce or two. One thing led to another and pretty soon he had a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley.

But that's not all. He also owns a kit car replica of a Ford Cobra, a high-performance car that closely resembles the Ford classic manufactured in Great Britain as the AC Cobra and imported from 1962 to 1967 and badged in the United States as the Ford Shelby Cobra. Once in the United States the car bodies were outfitted with a transmission and Ford V-8 motor.

But this is a replica made of Fiberglass and there are many around, so in the Grosso garage it's a nice car but it's small potatoes compared to the RR and Bentley.

And by the way Grosso's garage is unlike any you've ever seen and it's artwork by itself, which is fitting because it houses two rare cars, the RR and Bentley, and make no mistake these are cars you don't normally see.

Grosso began his search for a Rolls-Royce several years ago, a Rolls coupe to be exact. The search that took him far and wide. Along the way he saw cars that were misrepresented and cars that didn't match his vision. Until, that is, he came across a 1996 Bentley Turbo Continental Coupe, in the hands of a private owner in Ohio. It's a two-door coupe, and it's the next best thing to a Rolls although some people believe it's better than a Rolls.

"These cars are heavyweight super models," Grosso said. No truer words have been spoken. This is a 5,400-pound coupe with the agility and performance of a Corvette. This thing is fast thanks to its 6.7-liter V-8. Not that the Bentley is a car to be driven like a Corvette might be, but if the driver is so inclined this car can click off 60 mph in under six seconds. Not bad for a two-and-a-half-ton car.

Grosso bought the Bentley Coupe, a car that was nearly $300,000 new, and took it home to a position of prominence in his garage. The Bentley is nice any way you look at it but it's missing one thing, according to Grosso, the RR on the grille.

So just because he had a Bentley parked safely in his garage didn't mean Grosso forgot about having a Rolls. "I always had that thought," he said.

The thought continued but it wasn't until Grosso took the Bentley for service to John Palma Automotive, that his dreams about a Rolls came true. A 1976 Rolls-Royce Corniche cabriolet was at the shop and in its inventory.

He checked it out and decided it was what he was looking for even though it's a convertible. The Rolls is triple black, the color he wanted, so he bought it and took it home. Triple black in itself is somewhat unusual for Rolls-Royce because it makes heavy use of interiors that are beige or light tan.

Now Grosso has two very high-end cars that he drives regularly, perhaps the Bentley one day and the Rolls the next, each eased out of his climate-controlled garage and carefully driven while he does errands and goes about his daily routine.

"I like the looks of these cars, the way they feel, the quality is there but it's a personal thing whether they're worth the kind of money you have to pay for them," he said.

For Grosso they are worth the money he paid for them, and chances are the next one will be worth it, too. Oh yes, there could be another one; Grosso said he's always on the lookout for the next one.

Just so you know Grosso isn't a one-note Johnny considering what he's owned in the past: Indian and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Corvettes, Jaguars, an Avanti, several Cadillacs, on and on.

"I loved all of those cars but they got to the point they weren't comfortable enough for me," he said. "You know, a hamburger is good but sometimes a steak is better."

Pat Grosso's two luxury cars



1976 Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible



Owner:

Pat Grosso, East Syracuse



Wheelbase:

120 inches



Length:

203.5 inches



Weight:

4,815



Motor:

6.7-liter V-8



Transmission:

3-speed Hydramatic (GM)



Cost new:

$76,500



Average income 1976:

$9,226



Average cost new car:

$4,250

1996 Bentley Continental Turbo Coupe

 Owner: Pat Grosso

 Cost new: $296,500

 Wheelbase: 120.5 inches

 Length: 210.3 inches

 Weight: 5,401 pounds

 Motor: Turbo charged V-8

 Transmission: GM 4L80 automatic

 0-60: 5.8 seconds

Know about a car you'd like to see featured? Contact Kenn Peters: kpeters@twcny.rr.com.

Previously from Kenn:

Father Sean O'Brien, pastor of three Catholic parishes in Central New York, has three Model T Fords, including a 1924 Tudor sedan, a 1925 Coupe and a 1926 Touring car, and a 1941 Chrysler Highlander sedan.

More great cars and news about cars.
Ryan Lawrence booking photo

Syracuse, NY -- Ryan Lawrence admitted to police in February he brutally murdered his 21-month-old daughter: hitting her, burning her and dumping her in a creek.

But no one has answered "why" he killed Baby Maddox. And that has everything to do with his punishment. A cold, calculated murder can be punished differently than a murder after someone snaps.

Prosecutors said Lawrence's actions over days -- from killing her and disposing of the body before running -- showed the murder was cold and calculated. But a defense lawyer argued that Lawrence had been a good father: something must have snapped.

Going into today's court appearance, Lawrence faced three possible punishments:

 25 years in prison: If guilty of first-degree murder, but under extreme emotional duress it knocks down the punishment from murder to the equivalent of manslaughter.

 25 years to life in prison: If guilty of first-degree murder, but sentenced to less than the maximum punishment. This sentence is also the one imposed for most murders.

 Life in prison without parole: If guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to the maximum punishment.

There was another factor, too: Would Lawrence stand up and take responsibility for his horrific actions? That's what Maddox's family wanted.

And did the family want to go through the horrors of trial: reliving the gruesome details about the girl's death and risking (however small the chances since Lawrence had admitted to the crimes in court already) an acquittal?

Those were the questions discussed this morning during nearly an hour of private conversations: Between judge and lawyers, prosecutor and family, defense lawyer and client.

Afterward, Lawrence pleaded guilty to the middle option: First-degree murder in exchange for a 25-year-to-life prison sentence in his daughter's Feb. 21 death.

He stood in court and admitted what he'd done.

A loving father who snapped?

Ryan Lawrence had been a doting, loving father, his lawyer, Michael Vavonese, said after court today.

There were "clearly emotional things he was going through that led him to do this," Vavonese said. "He was clearly, from what everyone says and from what everyone knows of Ryan and Maddox and that family, that he was an overwhelmingly responsible, caring and loving father, up to the time this incident occurred."

"I don't know that we'll ever be able to comprehend and understand exactly why he got to this emotional state," Vavonese concluded.

Prosecutor Jeremy Cali said he didn't have any idea of whether Lawrence was a good dad beforehand. "All I know is, he killed his daughter," Cali said.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick had planned to try Lawrence himself if Lawrence rejected a plea. In a previous interview, the DA suggested that Lawrence was jealous over the attention his daughter got during her battle with cancer. But the DA added he didn't know if that contributed to he murder.

Lawrence told authorities a lot during hours of interrogation days after his daughter's death. But Cali said none of it added up to a certain motive.

Vavonese said that Lawrence now regrets what happened that night. He said in court that Lawrence had "extreme remorse."

The lawyer had hired a mental health doctor to examine Lawrence as part of the defense. That doctor had determined Lawrence suffered from "extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of the kidnapping and murder. But prosecutors had their own doctor who disagreed.

It appeared the only realistic reason to have a trial would be for Vavonese to try to convince a jury that Lawrence suffered from emotional duress and should serve no more than 25 years in prison.

On the other hand, Lawrence could have been sent to life in prison without chance of parole if things went the other way.

He will officially be sentenced Oct. 7.
Paul_Morgan_DeWitt_2.JPG

Paul Morgan, former SPCA CNY executive director, was arraigned Aug. 26 in DeWitt Town Court on grand larceny charges. He's accused of stealing more than $400,000 from the non-profit group.

(Sarah Moses | smoses@syracuse.c)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Insurance experts who work with nonprofits across New York state and nationally say the Central New York SPCA could have protected themselves from losing nearly $700,000 in an embezzlement scam by buying insurance.

Fidelity insurance, also known as crime insurance or employee dishonesty insurance, can protect an organization if a fraudulent act, such as embezzlement, occurs by employees or volunteers, according to experts.

Former SPCA Executive Director Paul Morgan and Taylor Gilkey, a veterinarian technician at the SPCA, stole $692,000 from the CNY SPCA over five years, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick announced last month. They used the money to go gambling and take trips, he said.

Morgan, 45, of Salina, was accused of stealing $475,000 between 2011 and July 2016. Gilkey, 32, of Canastota, was accused of stealing $217,000. Both were arraigned Aug. 26, charged with second-degree grand larceny.

The investigation started in July, when a bank worker contacted the CNY SPCA about suspicious activity, Fitzpatrick said. Nick Pirro, the SPCA's treasurer and former county executive of Onondaga County, then contacted the district attorney's office, he said.

An investigation revealed money had been taken from an operating account between 2011 and July, Fitzpatrick said. Over the course of five years, Morgan wrote himself 107 checks which he later cashed -- stealing $475,000, Fitzpatrick said. Morgan's salary from the SPCA was $118,118 in 2014, according to tax records filed by the SPCA.

Peter Andrew, the president of Council Services Plus, Inc., said a non-profit the size of the CNY SPCA is encouraged to carry a fidelity insurance plan that has $100,000 to $500,000 coverage. Council Services Plus Inc. was created by the New York Council of Nonprofits, which is a statewide association that provides a collective policy voice for the nonprofit sector and serves as a crucial support and information provider. Council Services Plus provides insurance exclusively to nonprofits.

Thirty percent of New York's small nonprofits, which is an organization with a yearly budget of $1 million and below, carry a fidelity insurance plan worth up to $500,000. The percentage for nonprofits with the insurance increases as the size of the organization increases, Andrew said.

The CNY SPCA's annual budget was about $1.3 million in 2014, according to the latest tax forms available for the group.

Andrew said a small amount of fidelity insurance is often included in packages sold to nonprofits but he strongly encourages that bigger organizations purchase extra.

"Affordability is always an issue for nonprofits," he said. "One dollar spent on insurance is a one dollar not spent on the cause."

Andrew said that additional fidelity insurance is between $1,000 to $1,500 a year in New York for a policy up to $500,000.

CNY SPCA Interim Director Nick Pirro holds a puppy that the non-profit was trying to find a home. Pirro, the former county executive and treasurer of the group, was made interim director after the former director was fired over an allegations he and another employee stole nearly $700,000.

Pirro, who is now the SPCA's interim executive director, said he believes the organization only carries a $25,000 policy to cover employee theft but that the organization is in the process of reviewing its policy to see what other coverage they have.

Fidelity insurance requires that an organization seek legal action to submit an insurance claim. The insurance would cover the monetary loss and the insurance company would collect restitution from the defendant.

Without insurance, the SPCA will have to rely on trying to get restitution through the court from Morgan and Gilkey if they are found guilty.

Pirro said he worries that restitution will be hard to collect. Fitzpatrick said last month that the pair used most of the money to go gambling. They also took trips to New Orleans, Las Vegas and the Turning Stone Resort Casino, Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said Morgan was not a successful gambler. That means there is a "very, very slight chance" of returning the funds to the CNY SPCA, he said.

In addition to helping nonprofits recover after money is stolen, fidelity insurance can also help nonprofits prevent such crimes, Andrew said.

Before insurance companies offer this type of coverage, the nonprofit must show that they have risk management controls or check and balances in place to help prevent embezzlement or fraud crimes.

Pirro declined to describe how the thefts took place until the investigation is complete, but said there were checks and balances in place. However, this situation involves one person having too much authority and being able to get around checks and balances, he said.

Pamela Davis, founder and president of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group in California, says the loss of $700,000 at a small nonprofit is an unusual situation. The Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group works with 16,000 nonprofits across the country.

Davis said thefts do occur, but not usually on this scale. She said that's why insurance is so important.

"It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of good business," she said.
FullSizeRender_2.JPG

Ryan Lawrence (right) was in court Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 to plead guilty to first-degree murder for the February murder of his young daughter, Maddox Lawrence.

(Sam House | shouse@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, NY -- Ryan Lawrence pleaded guilty to first-degree murder today in the February murder of his young daughter, Maddox Lawrence.

As part of his plea, Lawrence will be given a 25-year-to-life sentence. That's less than the maximum punishment of life without parole. He also gave up his right to appeal.

And because Lawrence was convicted of a violent felony, he will not have any time shaved off his sentence in prison. That means he won't go before a parole board until 25 years from now.

Onondaga County prosecutor Jeremy Cali said in court that Maddox Lawrence's family agreed to the plea deal.

Maddox's mother, Morgan, broke into tears as County Court Judge Anthony Aloi read a detailed description -- from the indictment -- of what Lawrence did to his daughter when he killed her.

Lawrence admitted hitting his daughter with a wooden bat, putting the 21-month-old girl's body in a fire pit with the bat and burning them for hours. He then took Maddox's charred remains and tied them to a cinder block before dropping them in Onondaga Creek.

The plea came after nearly an hour this morning of private discussions among the judge and lawyers, the prosecutor and Maddox's family and the defense lawyer and Lawrence.

Aloi made it clear he would not accept the plea deal without the family's consent.

Both prosecutor Cali and defense lawyer Michael Vavonese indicated that the family had wanted to avoid trial if Lawrence took responsibility and spent 25 years to life in prison.

Maddox Lawrence, 21 months, was killed on Feb. 20 and her body was later dumped in Onondaga Creek, authorities have said.

Ryan Lawrence, 24, of Valley Drive, Syracuse, had previously admitted in court that he told police he killed his daughter, burned her body and dumped her in the creek.

His promised sentence -- which will be finalized Oct. 7 -- is the maximum punishment for most murders.

But under an aggressive reading of the law, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick sought an indictment for first-degree murder, punishable by up to life in prison without parole.

First-degree murder is reserved for cases in which someone is killed in the commission of another serious felony, in this case, kidnapping.

Aloi had previously upheld Fitzpatrick's interpretation of the law, though it would have undoubtedly been the subject of an appeal.

Ryan Lawrence was scheduled to go to trial Oct. 31.
25 albums you might not realize are now 'classic rock'

What is classic rock? "Broadly, it covers artists/songs from late 60s to early 90s," Dave Frisina, program director and radio DJ for Syracuse's 105.9 The Rebel, told syracuse.com. "It starts with Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd [and then goes] from A-Z: AC/DC, Aerosmith, Allman Brothers - Zappa, Zevon, ZZ Top)."

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Aerosmith, 'Get a Grip'

"The Classic Rock format was actually created in the early 1980s when the 'rock'/AOR (album oriented rock) sound started to transform. What it resulted in was a sub format called classic rock that focused on late 1960's (Beatles) through late 70's," Kat Walters, producer and radio DJ for I-100 Iconic Rock in Cortland and Ithaca, told syracuse.com.

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Pearl Jam, 'Ten'

"In the 2000s, these classic rock stations started adding in 1980s tracks into the rotation, (which was pretty easy because many of the artists like Aerosmith and Springsteen, were still putting out amazing music) and 'newer' 80s artists such as Def Lepard, Bon Jovi, AC/DC," Walters said. "By the 2010 era, you started to see the inclusion of bands like Metallica, Guns 'N' Roses, and yes, even Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Red Hot Chili Peppers move into the 'classic' club."

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Red Hot Chili Peppers, 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik'

"From a time standpoint, 25 years seems like the legal classic rock drinking age," I-100's Walters said. RHCP's 1991 release featured 'Give It Away' and 'Under the Bridge.'

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Nirvana, 'Nevermind'

Can you believe the Nirvana baby from the album cover is now 25 years old?

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Guns N Roses, 'Use Your Illusion I'

'Appetite for Destruction' is a classic, but this 1991 album also fits, thanks to hits 'November Rain' and a cover of Paul Cartney and Wings' 'Live and Let Die.'

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R.E.M., 'Automatic for the People'

The Rebel's Frisina argues that albums don't need to be a certain age to be "classic rock," however. "Its more of a Sound compatibility based on core artists from the Peak Era (70s)," he explained.

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Alice in Chains, 'Dirt'

"If you are 60 years old, its probably hard to consider Alice in Chains 'classic' but if you are 40Alice in Chains is more than half your life ago. To that listener, heck yeah, its plenty of time that has gone by and they are 'classic,'" I-100's Walters said.

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Bruce Springsteen, 'The Ghost of Tom Joad'

"Nothing was 'Classic Rock' when I was a kid," The Rebel's Dave Frisina said. "The term wasnt even first used on radio till 1980." So he didn't consider Springsteen's 'Born to Run' classic at the time, but he definitely does now. 1995's 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' can even be considered classic now.

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The Black Keys, 'Attack & Release'

Walters says the "sonic texture of music" can determine what songs I-100 plays. "A person that likes Classic Rock is going to have a hard time not liking the sound of the Black Keys. If time defines 'what is classic,' bands like the Black Keys are out," she said. "If the ear defines it  you bet your ass it's classic/iconic!"

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Soundgarden, 'Superunknown'

Both Frisina and Walters agreed artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are not automatically rock and roll. "They have diluted the term to include popular music of all genres," Frisina said. Chris Cornell's band has been eligible for induction for half a decade, but songs like 'Black Hole Sun' are classics.

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Meat Loaf, 'Bat Out of Hell II'

What else could be considered 'classic' rock? In 1993, Meat Loaf returned to the sound of 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' and other songs with new hits like 'I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That).'

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U2, 'Achtung Baby'

U2 continued to evolve its sound with the 1991 hit 'One.'

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The Smashing Pumpkins, 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'

Sometimes it's hard to believe how much time has passed since some albums were released. Smashing Pumpkins' double-disc 1995 collection featured 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings,' '1979,' 'Tonight Tonight' and 'Zero.'

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Oasis, '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'

The British rock band's debut featured 'Wonderwall,' 'Champagne Supernova' and 'Don't Look Back in Anger'

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Green Day, 'Dookie'

"When I Come Around" and "Basketcase" led this breakout album from the recently inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

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Tom Petty, 'Wildflowers'

Rick Rubin produced Petty's second solo album, featuring 'You Don't Know How It Feels,' 'You Wreck Me' and the title track.

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Nine Inch Nails, 'The Downward Spiral'

NIN leans industrial on songs like 'Mr. Self Destruct,' 'Closer' and 'March of the Pigs,' but 'Hurt' is so iconic now that even Johnny Cash has covered it.

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Metallica, 'Metallica'

In 1991, the heavy metal went more mainstream with 'Enter Sandman' and 'Nothing Else Matters.'

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Radiohead, 'The Bends'

The 'Creep' alt-rockers' triumphant sophomore album, featuring 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'High & Dry.'

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Stone Temple Pilots, 'Core'

What other albums might not you realize can be considered classic rock? How about STP's debut featuring 'Plush?'

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Live, 'Throwing Copper'

featuring 'I Alone' and 'Lightning Crashes'

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Weezer, 'Weezer' (The Blue Album)

featuring 'Buddy Holly,' 'Only in Dreams' and 'Say It Ain't So'

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Gin Blossoms, 'New Miserable Experience'

featuring 'Hey Jealousy' and 'Found Out About You'

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Staind, 'Break the Cycle'

featuring 'It's Been Awhile' and 'Fade'

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Collective Soul, 'Collective Soul'

featuring 'December' and 'The World I Know'

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Don't worry, classic rock still includes the 'classics'

"I'd also like to point out that I loved The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Eagles, Stones, Santana, Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, (and many others) just as much as I loved [Staind, Live, Weezer and others]," I-100's Walters said. "And I was not alone. When I was a teen in the 90s we liked the older stuff along with the new. At the time, it all just seemed to fit together seamlessly, for one major reason  because it was (and still is) relevant and good!"

Bottom line is - rock is still kicking ass and theres a lot more out now that sounds really damn good, so good in fact - its Iconic.
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa at the Lakeview Amphitheater

Jhene Aiko at the Lakeview Amphitheater, Geddes, N.Y., Saturday Aug. 13, 2016.

(Scott Schild | sschild@newyorkup)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Concertgoers can expect permanent concessions stands and better accessibility for persons with disabilities at Lakeview Amphitheater next summer.

County officials said Wednesday that Aramark -- the private company that runs concessions at the amphitheater -- will spend $1 million to build new concession stands for next season.

"This year [amphitheater operator SMG] had to rent a lot of tents and kitchen trailers, but you're going to see some sort of building built next year," said Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher in an editorial board meeting Wednesday with Syracuse.com.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said the county will also improve the handicap accessible parking lot. The amphitheater faced criticism from concertgoers in wheelchairs earlier this year for bumpy conditions in the accessible areas.

Mahoney said she is in talks with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office to use state money to pave those parking lots.

New York State still owes Onondaga County a check for $119,000 for last year's Miranda Lambert concert. Mahoney said Wednesday the county may ask the state to use that money to pave some lots.

"One of the things we're talking to the governor's office about is, instead of cash...maybe pave an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) lot for us using that money that they owe us," Mahoney said. "We will have a better setup for ADA [next season]."

Right now, there is no plan to pave any of the other parking lots at the amphitheater, which are owned by the state and operated by private vendors during concerts. There is also no plan to pave the walkways inside Lakeview Park, which are made of crushed stone.

Mahoney and Fisher said no county money is being allocated for improvements at the amphitheater this year. The park is maintained by county parks, which will not have any increase in its budget.

However, Fisher said there are other funding sources for improvements, including the private companies that rent the amphitheater.

"You won't see us making improvements to the seats we built, for example," Fisher said. "But you've probably already noticed the improvements Live Nation made to those seats...They replaced the premium seats on their dime."

Other changes coming to the amphitheater include a dock with slips for 20 to 30 boats and improved accessibility. The County Legislature allocated $1.7 million for the pier and several other docks on Onondaga Lake in February.
According to intelligence inputs, ahead of the festival, mobs backed by terrorists were all set to trigger turmoil.

The strong mobis said to be unprecedented. If the forces were to retaliate with firing hundreds would be killed.(Picture for representation)

By Abhishek Bhalla : A 'Tahrir Square' like gathering of one lakh people aimed at attacking security forces in Srinagar on Tuesday was foiled as specific intelligence inputs about Pakistan backed militants penetrating the mob to fuel violence alerted forces on the ground.

According to intelligence inputs, ahead of the festival, mobs backed by terrorists were all set to trigger turmoil. "They called it the Tahrir Square moment and planned to launch a massive strike on the forces," said a top government official.

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A protest march from Idgah to Lal Chowk Srinagar downtown was to be organised after Eid prayers on Tuesday aimed at escalating the continuing unrest in the state since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in July.

TAHRIR SQUARE' PLOT NIPPED

In 2011, Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt became the central point for demonstrators seeking democracy and eventually led to the overthrowing of then President Hosni Mubarak as thousands gathered on the square that has became a symbol of revolution.

Top intelligence sources said that the mass gathering could not take place as forces on the ground ensured a clampdown. "Even if 10,000 turned up and with terrorists being part of the crowd the situation would have got out of hand. If the forces were to retaliate with firing hundreds would be killed and things would only get worse," said an official.

With two deaths on Tuesday the death toll in the last two months reached 78. "Based on specific intelligence generated areas from where people were expected to join the march were identified and put under a strict vigil," the official added.

Intelligence reports also indicate that a spike in local recruitment by terror outfits is expected following the turbulence in the state over the last two months. There have been a series of clashes between raging stone pelting mobs and security forces. Last year the number was local recruits was around 80 but sources say by the end of this year the number will definitely be more.

Before violence struck the state two months back this year's tally of local youth joining terror outfits was over 30. According to agencies with successful infiltrations from across the border this year Pakistan is using the strategy to generate local unrest.

"This year Pakistan's strategy has been to try and promote radicalisation through the vested interest groups and social media so that this can be given the shape of civil resistance. Despite all this, the situation continued to improve. As a result of this the terrorist organisations got desperate and were incited to attack the Security Forces in Jammu & Kashmir," the home ministry stated in a parliament question recently.

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ALSO READ:

'You lied to us in the name of religion': Egyptians flood Tahrir Square demanding Morsi ouster



Kashmir unrest: Terrorism grossest violation of human rights, says India; rejects UNHRHC proposal

Kashmir unrest: Death toll rises to 80, 150 injured in fresh clashes



--- ENDS ---
Antonacci

Onondaga County Comptroller Robert Antonacci poses for a portrait in 2013 in front of the jail in downtown Syracuse.

(Brett Carlsen / Syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The proposed 2017 county budget would slash Comptroller Bob Antonacci's staff, and he says the reasons are personal.

In her proposed budget, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney moved six of Antonacci's 32 employees to other departments. All six were account clerks in the comptroller's office.

Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher listens to the budget presentation to the Onondaga County Legislature, Thursday Sept. 15, 2016.

Most of those employees will be moved to the Personnel Department where they will do a similar job.

"The County Executive gutted my office," Antonacci said. "She is firing fiscal watchdogs because she doesn't like to be held accountable."

County officials, however, said Antonacci is "misunderstanding" the budget and that those employees do payroll administration, not payroll auditing.

"The budget is a complicated document," Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher said. "We'd encourage [Antonacci] to contact the Chief Fiscal Officer, who can walk him through it."

Fisher said the county has for years been in the process of combining various department operations into a shared services model. He said the comptroller's office will still have the resources needed to audit payroll and that this move merely relocates payroll operations to the Personnel Department.

The budget cuts about half a million dollars from Antonacci's 2016 budget -- a 27 percent decrease.

Antonacci accused Mahoney of using the budget as retaliation for a pay raise lawsuit he filed against her and the county legislature earlier this year. As part of that lawsuit, he asked for an injunction preventing Personnel Director Peter Troiano from making payroll adjustments.

Antonacci had attempted to undo raises for legislators and the county executive in January. A member of his staff adjusted payroll amounts in the first pay period of the year.

The county executive's office caught the change and readjusted the amounts. The back-and-forth changes prompted Antonacci's lawsuit.

"I certainly think the lawsuit may have motivated this change," Antonacci said. "We were never consulted on this change and we obviously did not request it. So yes, I think revenge is certainly a possibility."

Fisher said the timing has nothing to do with the lawsuit. The relocation of Antonacci's staff coincides with the launch of a new payroll system called PeopleSoft, which launches next year, he said.
CANASTOTA, NY - A community came together today to honor one of their own - Canastota native and U.S. Marine Pvt. Frank Penna - who was killed in action in World War II more than 70 years ago.

Hundreds of people, young and old, lined the streets of Canastota as a motorcade led by police escorts and including a hearse and Penna family traveled along the village's main street.

Many waited more than 45 minutes for the procession to arrive, waving both small and large flags as the procession passed. A half-dozen area police cars led the procession, followed by more than 50 Patriot Guard Rider motorcyclists.

Along the 31-mile route, the Fayetteville Fire Department's ladder trucks formed an arch overhead on Route 5 in Fayetteville as more than a dozen people watched from the sidewalk. Other groups of people gathered at spots along the way.

A group of U.S. Marines from Mattydale provided an honor detail at Syracuse International Airport when the remains arrived on a Delta flight. Frank Penna's family met the plane.

From there, a motorcade took the remains and the family down Interstate 81 to Interstate 481 and on to Route 5 into Canastota.

A large flag hung over the street in the center of Canastota's business district, held up by National Grid trucks. The National Grid workmen held their hard hats over their hearts as as the hearse went by them.

Frank Penna's brother Fred, who will be 92 in a few weeks, waved to people from the hearse as he went by. He was accompanied by his daughter, Sharon Humphries, and his grandson David. Another grandson, Steven, will join the family Friday.

"This is just amazing,'' Fred Penna said after the hearse had arrived at Fiore Funeral Home. "I couldn't believe all they did for my brother. I know he is looking down on this."

Daughter Sharon said the family was "flabbergasted" at all the attention and the number of people who came out.

Grandson David Humphries, 34, who lives in Chile in South America, said he feels fortunate to be in Canastota to honor Frank Penna.

"I didn't know what to expect,'' he said. "But this was a really big deal, and I am lucky to be here and be part of it."

Frank Penna was killed during a battle in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean in 1943. His bones were recently identified through DNA - 73 years after his family was told he'd been killed in action.

"He was just a kid when he was killed on foreign soil, and that has to be lonely,'' said Anthony Pulverenti, a Canastota native. "We came to watch so we can honor our lost veteran."

The remains of U.S. Marine Frank Penna arrive Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Penna, 24, was killed in World War II; his remains were recently identified. He will be buried Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 in Canastota.

Frank Penna will be buried with full military honors on Saturday.

Members of the public can pay their respects from noon to 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

The funeral Mass will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Agatha's Church, followed by a burial with full military services in the family plot at St. Agatha's cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that people make contributions to a charity of their choice.

The Canastota VFW will be open to the public for a reception after the funeral.
The M&T Bank Jazz Fest 2016, Sunday July 3

Jazz fans listen to the Eleventh House with Julien Coryell perform at the 34th Jazz Fest on the Onondaga Community College campus, Sunday, July 3, 2016.

(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Onondaga County has a message for Syracuse Jazz Fest: Move to the Lakeview Amphitheater, or we'll take away your funding.

In her proposed 2017 budget, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney moved money typically put aside for Jazz Fest into a County Parks fund earmarked for events at the amphitheater. If organizers decide to move Jazz Fest to the amphitheater, then they can use that money, she said.

"If the Jazz Fest goes to the amphitheater, that money's there," Mahoney said. "I don't know why you would use county dollars to build a stage in the parking lot at OCC to do Jazz Fest."

Jazz Fest gets $75,000 from Onondaga County. That's about 20 percent of the festival's annual budget. The festival typically operates on razor-thin margins and spends the bulk of its money on artist fees.

Frank Malfitano, executive director of Jazz Fest, refused to move the festival this summer, despite attempts by the county to sway him.

"I wanted Jazz Fest to be at the amphitheater this year," Mahoney said. "Bill Fisher did a lot of work to put together a business plan showing them they could do it at the amphitheater without spending any more money than they spent at OCC."

Jazz Fest has moved venues twice in the last five years and is currently entering the fourth year of a four-year contract with Onondaga Community College.

Next year is the 35th anniversary of the festival, which Malfitano has run since it began at Song Mountain in 1982. The festival is free and routinely draws tens of thousands of people to see artists like B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald or Ray Charles.

The funding decision isn't final. Legislators will spend the next few weeks discussing the budget proposals. There will be a public hearing regarding the budget on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at the County Legislature Chambers on the fourth floor of the old Onondaga County Courthouse, 401 Montgormery St., Syracuse.

The legislature will vote on a budget on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Jazz Fest isn't the first festival to be impacted by the amphitheater. This summer, for the first time since 1995, there was no K-Rockathon festival held in Central New York. K-Rock president Ed Levine said the cancellation was a result of "the amazing amount of rock shows in Central New York this summer."

The amphitheater hosted half a dozen rock shows, including Vans Warped Tour, a festival similar in style and genre to K-Rockathon.
An image of a tired and exhausted koala sitting on a post amidst flooding in South Australia has gone viral. The picture shows the koala sadly looking at the camera as water rages behind him.

By India Today Web Desk:

An exhausted koala was photographed resting on a fence post as the floodwaters swept past him in South Australia.

The persistent rains have battered southeastern areas of Australia.

Resident of the area, Russell Latter, snapped the photo of the koala, south-west of Adelaide posting it on Facebook.





According to an FB Newswire report, the koala eventually found a gum tree to climb up and looked dejected as the floodwaters destroyed his surroundings.

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In another incident, in South Australia, where the floods are wreaking havoc, a man had been walking his pet dog, Mia, when Mia jumped into the water and was swept away.

Worried about his dog, he also jumped into the water and swept along the rising creek for one kilometre.

Firefighters from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade found the man and his dog together in waist-high floodwaters.



--- ENDS ---
A once-in-12-years carnival of Buddhist spirituality, culture and tradition, the fourth edition of the Naropa festival is all set to begin.

By Indo-Asian News Service: A once-in-12-years carnival of Buddhist spirituality, culture and tradition -- and a grand congregation of Drukpa masters -- is set to begin this week at the 17th century Hemis monastery of Drukpa lineage, the largest such in the Himalayas.

Organisers say the fourth edition of the Naropa festival, a celebration of the 1,000th birth anniversary of the great Indian saint Naropa, is likely to see more than 200,000 devotees, mainly from Ladakh, Bhutan and Nepal, during the week-long celebrations, beginning September 16. It's rightly called the Kumbh of the Himalayas.

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The festival also attracts people from across the globe, including celebrities. This time, Hollywood stars Michelle Yeoh and Robert Kennedy Junior will be attending, among others.

Picture courtesy: www.naropa2016.org

The rare public display of six bone ornaments and the unfurling of the ancient silk Thangka of Buddha Amitabha, the largest silk brocade in the Himalayas, are among the main highlights of the Naropa festival.

Explaining the display of six sacred ornaments, spiritual leader Thuksey Rinpoche told IANS: "It's rare indeed since this opportunity comes only once in 12 years." He said the moment saint Naropa achieved enlightenment he was offered the six bone ornaments by Dakinis.

"These ornaments are revered relics of Buddhism and historic symbols of a great Himalayan odyssey. From Naropa, several Buddhist traditions flourished throughout India, Central Asia and beyond. For close to 1,000 years, the six bone ornaments have been used as a relic of devotional support," said the 30-year-old Rinpoche, the spiritual regent to the Gyalwang Drukpa, the 54-year-old spiritual head of the Drukpa Order with over 1,000 monasteries across the Himalayas.

On the millennial birth anniversary of saint Naropa, the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa will don the six ornaments to grant the grand Chakrasamvara empowerment.

Also read: 4 budget accommodations in Ladakh that are less than Rs 3K



Believers say the devotees can attain "liberation on sight" on seeing the six ornaments.

Naropa festival authorities say a Guinness World Record will be broken on September 16 for the largest projected image on to the famed Hemis monastery, 40 km from Leh.

The last record was achieved by the Moscow International Festival "Circle of Light" on October 4, 2015, with a dazzling video animation projected on to the famous Ministry of Defence building.

Over 200 kung fu nuns belonging to various nunneries of the Drukpa sect, who reached Leh this month after traversing 2,500 km on cycles from Kathmandu, will also give drum as well as theatrical performances during the festival.

En route to the expedition, led by the Gyalwang Drukpa, they talked about women's empowerment, gender equality and climate change.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi attended the first Naropa festival in June 1980. At that time, 50,000 devotees had attended the festival.

The Naropa festival was earlier to be held, as in the past, in July but was postponed at the last minute as it was coinciding with the visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to Leh in August.



--- ENDS ---

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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) A consignment of 900 iPhones worth Rs 2.25 crore that was looted early this week has been recovered in South Delhi with arrest of two persons in this connection, police said today.

The iPhones were looted on Tuesday, September 13, when Kalam Singh, a driver with Beetel Company, Okhla, was going to to deliver the consignment to Mudita Cargo Express in Dwarka.

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When he reached near Rajokri Flyover, a gang of robbers attacked Singh with knife and injured him, said additional DCP-I (South) Nupur Prasad.

They kidnapped him and took control of the truck with the consignment of iPhones and later dumped him at the underpass of Dwarka Link Road, added the officer.

Accused Mehtab Alam and Arman were arrested yesterday, said additional DCP-I (South) Nupur Prasad.

During the course of investigation, the crime scene was created and it was concluded the accused could have taken only three routes.

The CCTV footages of the three routes were scanned and the truck with the consignment was spotted in the CCTV footage on the route of Sector-E, Pocket-2, Vasant Kunj, said Prasad.

Later, Malkhan Singh, who used to provide drivers to the company told the police that two of his drivers, Bhola and Pradeep, had left the job two weeks ago, the officer said.

It was found that Bhola and Pradeep had followed the complainant on the day of the incident, she said.

Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted yesterday at a house in Mahipalpur and Mehtab Alam, who is Bholas and Pradeeps accomplice, was arrested, the officer said.

Later, another accomplice Arman was also arrested and 98 cartons were recovered from his hideout at Bengali Basti, Rangpuri, the officer said.

The police are on the look out for the remaining accused, said the officer. PTI SLB TIR RG TIR

--- ENDS ---
A search of more than two years has turned up few traces of the Boeing 777 aircraft that disappeared in March 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board, soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

By Reuters: Malaysia said on Thursday that a large piece of aircraft debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June, was from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370.

ALSO READ | Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 fell out of sky after engine failure



A search of more than two years has turned up few traces of the Boeing 777 aircraft that disappeared in March 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board, soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, bound for Beijing.

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ALSO READ | Alien abduction? Stolen by Russia? MH370 theories keep coming

MH370 originated in Kuala Lumpur. Wing debris has been found on Pemba Island off the Tanzanian coast. (Photo courtesy: Google Maps)

The debris, an outboard flap, will be examined further to see if it can yield any insight into the circumstances around the missing plane, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement.

ALSO READ | The passengers and crew on board the missing Malaysia plane



Investigators have previously confirmed a piece of plane debris found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015 as being part of MH370. They are examining several other pieces of debris found in Mozambique, South Africa and Rodrigues Island, a territory of Mauritius.

ALSO READ:



Malaysia investigates second piece of debris two years after MH370 disappeared



MH370 families' painful choice: Demand answers or move on?



--- ENDS ---
Unknown attackers have been testing the defenses of companies that run critical parts of the Internet, possibly to figure out how to take them down, cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier warned Tuesday.

Large nation states  perhaps China or Russia  are the likely culprits, he suggested.

Nation state actors are going to probe to find weaknesses in all of our technologies, said Travis Smith, senior security research engineer at Tripwire.

They want to know what can be done not only in the event of a cyberwar but a kinetic war as well, he told TechNewsWorld.

The Growing DDoS Threat

The easiest way to take a network off the Internet is with a distributed denial of service attack, Schneier said, and some of the targeted companies recently have been hit with DDoS attacks that are significantly larger, longer lasting, and more sophisticated than before.

The attacks typically ramp up to a particular level then stop. They resume at that higher level and then continue ramping up, as if the attackers are looking for the networks exact point of failure, Schneier speculated. The attacks use multiple vectors, forcing targets to deploy all of their defenses, thus disclosing their capabilities.

Because the attackers whereabouts are unknown, potential targets can do nothing to ward them off, Schneier said. The data seems to indicate China is behind them, but its possible to disguise the country of origin.

DDoS and other attacks hit record heights in the second quarter of this year, Akamai reported. DDoS attacks rose 23 percent over the number recorded in Q4, 2015, and Web application attacks increased 26 percent.

Targets suffered a greater number of repeat DDoS attacks  29 on average. Multivectored attacks increased, as did mega-attacks of more than 100 Gbps using simple attack vectors.

Possible or Not?

State actors are probably looking at a number of different ways to disable parts or all of the Internet, commented Paul Mockapetris, coinventor of the domain name system, currently chief scientist at ThreatStop.

DDoS is one of the ways to do that, and I would imagine state actors would attack routing systems as well, he told TechNewsWorld.

The attacks would be most effective against shared commons  the public resources on the Web  but people could go back to the system of partitioning the Internet, Mockapetris suggested. Those who have their own protected network will continue to have Internet access.

A takedown of the entire Internet is not going to happen, contended Martin McKeay, security advocate at Akamai, because its a whole bunch of networks, and youre not going to take it down unless you take down all the circuits. You can take down a company, an organization, or part of a government  but you cant really take down the Internet as a whole.

Communications links are too widespread for a global attack to succeed, he told TechNewsWorld. There are a couple dozen terabit circuits from San Francisco alone, to Hong Kong and Tokyo and other places.

The largest network layer attacks seen so far, approaching 500 Gbps, are an order of magnitude smaller than the bandwidth capacity the largest transit providers and ISPs manage, noted Tim Mathews, vice president of the Incapsula product line at Imperva.

With proper DDoS protections in place, most attacks would be stopped in their tracks, he told TechNewsWorld.

Worst-Case Scenarios

The loss of utilities and emergency services resulting from an Internet takedown could promote the establishment of militia groups and, possibly, a breakdown of society, warned Michael Patterson, CEO of Plixer. Imagine your neighbors excluding you from protection because you have no resources to share.

The responsibility to safeguard the Internet from attacks has fallen largely on service providers, he told TechNewsWorld.

In the short run, banks and other businesses could sustain considerable economic losses if the Internet went down and they lost ephemeral transactional data, Akamais McKeay suggested, but long-term outages arent a problem.
By PTI: Imphal, Sept 15 (PTI) BJP will not allow Manipurs territorial integrity to be compromised, BJP president Amit Shah said.

"Not a single inch of Manipur will be given to any other state," Shah told a huge public meeting here yesterday, virtually kick starting the partys campaign for the Assembly election in the state likely to be held early next year.

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Shah told the gathering it was time the Congress government in the state was changed and exuded confidence that BJP would get two-thirds majority in the Assembly after the election.

Stating that Northeast will be the "engine of development", Shah asked Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh to elaborate on how his government utilised Rs 5,000 crore given by the Centre for the states development.

Shah was accompanied by BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, Prahlad Patel, Assams finance minister and Northeast Democratic Alliance convenor Hemanta Bishwa Sharma among others in his two-day visit to the state. PTI CORR MD MNG PS

--- ENDS ---
Pandora on Thursday launched a new premium streaming music tier it's calling Pandora Plus. While it's not quite the Spotify killer most were expecting (that it coming at a later date), the new option - priced at $4.99 per month - does afford a wider range of features including the ability to listen offline.

The new premium tier, which will replace Pandora One (its existing $4.99 ad-free option), allows users to skip as many songs as they'd like and also replay tracks they've already heard. It also eliminates ads and dishes up higher-quality streams just as One did.

Pandora Plus also has a new offline listening mode that is quite clever. When the service detects that your connection has dropped, it'll play an audio alert before seamlessly switching you over to one of your four top stations based on what you've been listening to lately. That's a far better approach than simply stopping the music without warning as most other services do when your connection drops.

According to TechCrunch, Pandora Plus only has a catalog of around two million tracks - not all that much when you consider on-demand competitors regularly offer up 30+ million songs.

Pandora VP of Product, Chris Becherer, tried to spin the limited catalog as a good thing, saying that for them, it's not really quantity but the quality of the library and the curation around the tracks. I suppose that's what anyone would say in that position but I digress. The good news is that the Pandora Plus library will be expanded overtime.

Pandora's free, ad-supported option is also still available and will now offer more skips and replays (so long as you're willing to watch a video ad to unlock them).

Pandora is still working on its Spotify killer, an on-demand subscription service that'll likely be priced at the same $9.99 we're familiar with from everyone else.

Earlier this week, Pandora said it has signed licensing deals with two of the three major music labels - Sony and Universal Music - as well as indie labels Merlin and The Orchard (plus more than 30 other indie labels and distributors). The company is still reportedly working to ink a deal with Warner Music, the last piece of the puzzle it needs before launching an on-demand service. How soon the on-demand option arrives will likely depend on how quickly Pandora can button up a deal with Warner.

Pandora Plus and the added functionality for free listeners will begin rolling out today on Android and iOS devices. Pandora is taking the slow approach as only one percent of its user base will get the new options initially. Everyone else should gradually get access over the coming months, we're told, while those in Australia and New Zealand will have to wait until 2017.
Samsung has faced its greatest challenge so far with the recall of the Galaxy Note 7, and it looks like a minor battery manufacturing flaw was enough for a global callback.

The company presented the initial findings of its investigation to the country's technology standards agency in a publicly undisclosed report. However, the company asked for more time to figure out exactly what went south in the building process of the Note 7.

The first conclusion seems to be that a manufacturing error placed pressure on plates that are located within battery cells, leading to the negative and positive poles getting in contact and generating excessive heat.

The company underlines that despite that finding, it requires more time to thoroughly analyze and understand what exactly caused the battery damage.

Galaxy Note 7s Flaming South Korea

The company is making efforts to keep the fallout under control, as 35 cases of combusting or overheating Note 7 phones were reported. What is more, about half of them took place in South Korea. Samsung decided that a total recall of the phablet is the best strategy, and as incidents involving Note 7 devices started to involve children, it probably is.

In its report, Samsung points out that it puts the safety of its customers above temporary profit boosts.

"Even before we have the final result of the investigation, we plan to establish and carry out the best ways to take care of our customers," the company says.

The company adds that the investigation is taking place with the aid of battery manufacturers.

According to a source familiar with the matter, most Note 7s packed batteries manufactured by Samsung SDI Co. Fortunately, the phablets built in China using ATL power sources were not part of the recall.

Prior to the pileup of Note 7s overheating and exploding, the smartphone was one of the best reviewed handsets of the company.

Samsung scored a record high stock value in August, but that number suffered a consistent dent as more and more Note 7s caught fire. The fact that regulators, airlines and Samsung itself warned against using the devices cost the company $22 billion in market value over the course of only two days. In the wake of the scandal, the company's shares lost nearly 10 percent.

According to Samsung, the number of shipped phones reached almost 2.5 million before the recall. Those who are waiting for a replacement must know that starting Sept. 19, Note 7s with new batteries will land in stores and service centers.

Galaxy Note Brand

Samsung poured billions in crafting the Note brand as one of the top smartphone models, and analysts are curious how the battery issues will affect the global perception of the handset line.

Preliminary estimations are indicating that the company will lose north of $1 billion as a direct result of the scandal, but the fact that it took rapid action might help in the long run.

Peter Lee and Justin Choi, analysts at NH Investment & Securities, went as far as comparing the situation to the hastened recall of Tylenol in the 1980s, by Johnson & Johnson's. The recall took place shortly after a tampering incident caused the death of a customer.

Lee and Choi argue that any company's quick response is prone to improve end-user faith in that enterprise, saying that Samsung's "rapid and responsible reaction" will probably enhance the trust of users of its products.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Uber users in Pittsburgh can now hail a self-driving vehicle to drive them around the city, in the company's push to secure a lead in autonomous driving.

The experiment is essential to the ridehailing service as it aims to grow its fleet to include autonomous vehicles.

Uber's engineers retrofitted Ford Fusion sedans with radars, light-mapping systems, cameras and sensors to give them the necessary tools for self-driving. Until the technology gets thoroughly tested, Uber asks an employee to be ready to take the wheel should the car's autonomous driving system make a mistake.

"I really believe that the most important thing that computers are going to do in the next 10 years is drive cars," says Anthony Levandowski, who is at the helm of Uber's self-driving car arm.

Uber Testing Self-Driving Cars In Pittsburgh

Uber trained some of its drivers specifically for the task of assisting the Pittsburgh autonomous cars. Passengers will be notified about the possibility of being randomly assigned to a self-driving vehicle if they hail an UberX ride. For the time being, Uber self-driving car rides are free.

While operators have to keep a light grip on the steering wheel, passengers can watch ride info from the comfort of the backseat via touch screens.

Pittsburgh is an ideal testing ground for autonomous driving as it features a wide variety of elements, from bridges and railroads to pedestrians and bicyclists' tracks, to urban driving and notoriously bad weather. The latter is one of the worst banes of self-driving cars, and testing in such conditions is mandatory for the safe release of a full fleet, as Uber aims to do.

The city is also where the company deployed its Advanced Technologies Center (ATC), a headquarters for experts in self-driving cars. Some time ago, Uber was chastised for poaching research staff from Carnegie Mellon University.

The head of Uber's ATC, Raffi Krikorian, points out that if his company can "master driving in Pittsburgh," chances are high that it can replicate the experiment in most global urban centers.

Gray Skies Over Autonomous Rivals

The past few weeks have brought the field of autonomous vehicles in the slow lane.

Recent reports suggest that Google's self-driving car project is losing traction compared to its rivals, and Apple is purportedly refocusing its efforts and axing jobs in the process.

Tesla Motors is working hard to revamp its Autopilot software system, as the first deadly crash in a self-driving car featured a Tesla Model S in May. The accident raised eyebrows and caused regulators to look into the company's self-driving technology.

All the major automakers are approaching the area with different levels of autonomy.

The biggest challenge for total driving autonomy is to feed cars with the information and understanding of roadmap scenarios that a human driver would process nearly instantly. Another problem for the future of self-driving cars is that the infrastructure is little to nonexistent, thus making the communication between vehicles and road infrastructure scarce and unreliable.

Evan Rawley, a Columbia Business School professor who specializes in ridesharing, notes that the recent hiccups for Apple, Tesla and Google are a "reality check" for near-term hopes of self-driving cars.

A few days ago, experts voiced some concerns over the safety of Uber's self-driving taxi.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
More than a few characters have seemingly disappeared from Game of Thrones over the years. They're mainly side characters that served a purpose for a few episodes (or a few seasons), but for whatever reason, haven't been seen since. However, it looks like one such character may finally be returning to the show.

Potential spoilers for Game of Thrones season seven below!

That character is none other than Gendry, the bastard son of Robert Baratheon that fans last saw sailing in a rowboat toward King's Landing back in season three after Davos Seaworth broke him out of Stannis Baratheon's dungeon. Gendry lucked out of not being burned alive by Stannis at the stake, though he hasn't been seen since.

It has long been a joke that Gendry is still rowing after all this time, but it seems like he may have finally arrived at his destination alive and well in season seven. How do we know this? As fansite Watchers on the Wall reports, Gendry actor Joe Dempsie was recently spotted getting off a plane in Belfast, where much of Game of Thrones is filmed.

Dempsie's appearance at the Belfast airport isn't 100 percent confirmation that Gendry will appear in season seven, but it would make a lot of sense. No doubt, season seven will focus plenty on King's Landing under the rule of Cersei Lannister. If Gendry did arrive in King's Landing, he couldn't have arrived at a worse time. With Stannis, Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon all dead, Gendry, bastard or not, is one of the last Baratheons still alive. Though Cersei believes all of Robert's bastards to be dead, Gendry could find himself in a whole lot of trouble, given how ruthless Cersei has proven she can be.

Along with the sighting of Dempsie, Watchers on the Wall also writes that it has received reports of Jorah Mormont actor Iain Glen in Belfast. Daenerys Targaryen ordered the old warrior to find a cure for his greyscale during season six, and he then left her side to be on his own personal quest. The act seemed more like Dany's refusal to acknowledge Jorah's impending death more than anything (there is no known cure for greyscale), but perhaps Jorah does discover a way to cure himself during his travels.

Or perhaps not. Fans will have to wait until Game of Thrones season seven arrives next year to find out.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The crash involving a Tesla Model S car in China may have been caused by its automated driver-assist system. This has emerged amid ongoing internal investigation at Tesla and the hearing of the lawsuit filed by the victim's family in Beijing.

The incident, which transpired in January, involved Gao Yaning, a 23-year-old driver. His Tesla car hit a road sweeper while traversing a highway in the province of Hebei. Gao's family claimed that the autopilot technology failed to prevent the fatal crash.

Presently, Tesla would not confirm this claim. It has indicated, however, that it is difficult to ascertain whether the Autopilot technology did indeed cause the crash.

"Because of the damage caused by the collision, the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers and we therefore have no way of knowing whether or not Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash," Tesla explained.

The family of the victims reportedly refused to cooperate in the Tesla investigation. The company claimed it prevents it further from finding out what truly happened. However, the video clip that captured the accident could provide some insights.

In the dashcam footage, Gao's car was shown continuously moving forward at highway speed without slowing down or avoiding the road sweeper, which was partially on its path. The clip did not capture any sound and movements inside the car that could have indicated driver actions prior to the accident. This could have shed light on whether the Autopilot was turned on.

Tesla also warns its drivers in the car's manual to pay attention to the road and prepare to take corrective action since the Autopilot cannot always detect and make decisions and actions concerning stationary objects on its path.

The only other Tesla Model S-related fatality took place in May, when Joshua Brown, a 40-year-old entrepreneur, crashed his vehicle on a tractor trailer crossing the road in Florida. In this case, the Autopilot was turned on. However, it failed to distinguish the color of the tractor from the bright sky behind it.

In response to the fatality and increased regulatory scrutiny, Tesla recently announced a planned update of its Autopilot system. The changes include a shift in reliance from captured images to the radar sensors in its system. This is expected to improve the AI's capability to detect metallic objects.

"My personal guess is that there is probably a threefold improvement in safety," Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO said. "I have to emphasize this does not mean perfect safety though, perfect safety is really an impossible goal."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facebook and Twitter just became the latest partner in the growing coalition of international media organizations committed to addressing fake news reporting and hoaxes online.

The partnership called First Draft brings together specialists representing the media, social media as well as stakeholders in the academe and human rights groups to help filter information and correct false data that often get undue attention in the web.

"We live in a time when trust and truth are issues that all newsrooms, and increasingly the social platforms themselves, are facing," Jenni Sargent, First Draft's managing director, said. "Each partner is committed to sharing knowledge, developing policies and devising training in how journalists use the social web to find and report news."

Facebook and Twitter's involvement is seen as critical given the number of their user base and the potency of their respective platforms in disseminating information. Facebook alone has 1.7 billion monthly visits and these users are constantly exposed to a barrage of content shared in their personal feeds. Just recently, for instance, Facebook drew a lot of flak for promoting an article that is nothing more than a conspiracy theory about the 9/11 attacks.

"The network will help Facebook showcase the products, tools and services we have built for journalists but also ensure we are constantly learning about how to improve them based on feedback from newsrooms," Aine Kerr, Facebook's journalism partnership manager said. "We want to ensure we are building opportunities to learn from the industry and to ensure we continually hear their questions and feedback."

Twitter expressed the same sentiment in an interview with CNET where it underscored an opportunity to share best practices while discovering and verifying eyewitness media.

Indeed, First Draft is keen on establishing a system that will work for partners in their collective and individual works. For example, there are the initiatives to develop standards and ethical guidelines. There is also the case of the First Draft News platform, which aims to foster some form of checklist for reporters who publish their stories in the social media. It also provides tools to partners such as training programs for employees as well as content in the drive to educate social media users.

First Draft also touts its feedback loop, which is a streamlined system where media reporters can verify and improve reports drawn from eyewitness coverage.

The First Draft partner network was initiated by Google and it includes traditional news organizations such as Channel 4 News, the Telegraph, the New York Times, Washington Post, and Agence France-Presse. Social media organizations include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and BuzzFeed.

Photo: Marcus Quigmire | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Findings of earlier studies suggest that sleeping patterns may influence the likelihood that a person would develop type 2 diabetes. Now, new research suggests that long naps during the day could be a warning sign that a person suffers from this blood sugar disease.

Individuals who suffer from diabetes are not able to naturally regulate their blood sugar levels. Left untreated, the condition can lead to nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and even premature death.

Although the researchers did not prove a causal link between sleeping long hours during the day and type 2 diabetes, the study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Tokyo in Japan, found that the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes is higher with naps that last an hour or longer than having short naps or not getting any sleep during the day.

For the study presented on Sept. 14 at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Germany, Yamada Tomahide and colleagues looked at the data of 21 published studies involving more than 300,000 participants.

The researchers found that naps that last an hour or longer were linked to a 45 percent elevated chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Tomahide and colleagues also found that the risk for the lifestyle-related disease disappears with naps that last less than an hour.

Joel Zonszein, Clinical Diabetes Center director at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, offered some insights on the findings of the study. He explained that type 2 diabetes is associated with unhealthy lifestyle practices, and long naps could be a marker of such a lifestyle.

"Maybe longer naps are short periods of sleep and more common in those individuals with long working hours, stress all day, working more than one job, and maybe stress is associated with fast-food eating," Zonszein said.

Zonszein added that people who take short naps are likely to be less stressed and have more leisure, so the meta-analysis did not find a link between short naps and potential type 2 diabetes risk.

Metabolic medicine professor Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, noted that there is now a growing body of evidence that shows a link between sleep and type 2 diabetes. Sleep deprivation, for instance, may be caused by work or social life patterns that can increase appetite, which could raise the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Sattar also said that the risk factors that can lead to diabetes may also cause napping, which include slightly high sugar levels.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Dwarf planet Pluto may be sharing its atmosphere with its moon Charon, producing the red spot at the north pole of its largest natural satellite.

Researchers conducted a new study based on data gathered by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto and Charon. Findings suggest that the conditions on these two extraterrestrial worlds over the past billion years would make it possible for components of Pluto's traveling atmosphere to freeze out on the frigid environment of Charon.

Methane gas that escapes from Pluto's atmosphere gets trapped by Charon's gravity and freezes on its cold and icy surface. Ultraviolet light from the sun, on the other hand, converts methane into heavier hydrocarbon and eventually into the reddish residue that make up the visually striking red polar region.

Will Grundy, a planetary scientist from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona who is part of the team behind New Horizons mission, modelled conditions on Charon over the past few billion years. The researchers used images of Charon taken by New Horizons as well as computer models on how ice evolves on the moon's poles.

They found extreme weather at the poles of Charon characterized by 100 years of continuous sunlight that alternate with another 100 years of continuous darkness.

During the long winter, the surface temperatures would dip to -430 degrees Fahrenheit, which is cold enough to freeze methane into solid. Methane molecules that land on the cold pole freeze and form a thin coating of methane ice that lasts until sunlight returns.

"The winter pole is absurdly cold, so any methane that hits it is unable to hop around like it would elsewhere on Charon. It just stays there in the cold trap," Grundy said. "Eventually you get quite a bit of it up there."

Although methane ice easily sublimates, the heavier hydrocarbons that were produced from the evaporative process remain on the moon's surface. These leftover hydrocarbons turn into the reddish material called tholins when sunlight further irradiates them.

"We model the surface thermal environment on Charon and the supply and temporary cold-trapping of material escaping from Pluto, as well as the photolytic processing of this material into more complex and less volatile molecules while cold-trapped," Grundy and colleagues wrote in their study, which was published in the journal Nature on Sept. 14.

"The model results are consistent with the proposed mechanism for producing the observed colour pattern on Charon."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A team of researchers and conservationists has found that the critically endangered Hawaiian crow is highly proficient in using tools for foraging food.

The Hawaiian crow, commonly known as 'Alala, is one of very few birds that use tools for foraging in the wild. However, 'Alala is not the only crow variety with such skills  the New Caledonian crow that lives in a remote South Pacific island of the same name has amazed the researchers with its exemplary skills in using tools.

The New Caledonian crow is proficient in using sticks to winkle out worms and insects from deadwood and other vegetation. Researchers were confused for a long time now that among 40 species of crows and ravens in the world only one species possessed such foraging skills.

Dr. Christian Rutz, from the University of St. Andrews in the UK said that there is an intriguing possibility that a number of crow species efficient in using tools are yet to be discovered. The unusually straight bills of the New Caledonian crow species made researchers wonder if it is a special adaption of the bird to hold tools just like the opposable thumb in people.

The eagerness to find crow species that are capable of handling tools took the researchers close to 'Alala, which is now unfortunately extinct in the wild. However, the endangered bird variety is taken into captivity for breeding lately.

Bryce Masuda, the study co-leader and program manager of San Diego Zoo Global's Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, said that the captive-reared birds will be released later this year in the Hawaiian island to re-establish the bird population in the wild.

Masuda added that though his team has at times noticed 'Alala using stick tools at their breeding center they did not give much of a thought about it. Masuda, who was excited about St. Andrews researchers' call for a collaborative study on tool handling skills of 'Alala in captivity, readily agreed to the research.

Masuda noted that 104 of 109 'Alala species alive at the time were keenly observed and it was found that the majority of the said birds in captivity used tools spontaneously.

"Using tools comes naturally to 'Alala," said Rutz. "These birds had no specific training prior to our study, yet most of them were incredibly skilled at handling stick tools, and even swiftly extracted bait from demanding tasks."

Rutz also noted that the Hawaiian crow is similar to the New Caledonian species that is under study for 10 years now.

The study is published in the journal Nature on Sept. 14.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Mauritius today expressed hope to remain one of the biggest investment routes to India post revision of the bilateral tax treaty, as the two nations move ahead with talks on trade liberalisation pacts.

After meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Mauritian Minister of Finance and Economic Development Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said the negotiations on Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement (CECPA)are moving ahead.

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"In fact, there is now a delegation from Indian side visiting Mauritius. There has been a preliminary draft agreement which will need to be further looked up and discussed.

"We are looking forward that through that agreement we can extend opportunities for both Mauritius and India. We have to increase trade and investment," he said.

When asked if FDI inflows to India from Mauritius will reduce following revision of the bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC), Jugnauth expressed hope that the island nation will continue to "play the role of the biggest investment route to India" because it benefits both the nations.

"We need to monitor the situation and we will review and discuss as and when there is necessity," the visiting minister added.

He said the two countries have successfully agreed for changes and the protocol on DTAC has already been signed.

"We are looking now how to consolidate the relationship between India and Mauritius," he said.

After long-drawn negotiations, the amendment to the 1983 DTAC was signed by India and Mauritius in May. With the changes, India can impose capital gains tax on investments routed through Mauritius.

For two years starting April 1, 2017, capital gains tax would be levied at 50 per cent of the prevailing domestic rate and after that, full rate would be applicable.

Mauritius accounted for 33 per cent of the total FDI inflows to India during April 2000 to March 2016.

Jugnauth also expressed hope that India would support Mauritius in number of major projects it was implementing. PTI JD NKD CS ANU

--- ENDS ---
Nexus 6 And 9 LTE May Soon Get Nougat Update | TechTree.com

We already know that Google recently rolled out the Nougat Update to most of the Nexus devices including Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C Tablet and a few other Android One devices. But, the company had missed out Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 LTE in the list of compatible devices for the first set of Nougat roll-outs.

Google has now announced that both Motorola Google Nexus 6 and HTC Nexus 9 LTE will be getting Android Nougat updates in the coming weeks. However, no exact timeline has been reported yet. Also, Google has not even provided information regarding the delay in the update roll-out for the devices.

With this new annoucement by Google, we can clearly say that all the allegations regarding Nougat not coming for Nexus 6 are false. But, it looks like the company is working on a couple of bugs, probably, before actually releasing the update to Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 LTE.

However, if you still cannot wait for a few more weeks, you can, as always, enroll for the Android N Developer Previews program and enjoy Nougat.

TAGS: Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nougat Update, Android N
Would You Trust Xiaomi With An Air Purifier? | TechTree.com

Xiaomi, one of the biggest smart-ups in the world has been quite a success in India. It makes feature-packed sleek smartphones that become sluggish after a while, but considering its affordable pricing nobody complains. While us Indians relate Xiaomi to only phones, in its home company the brand produces rice cookers, electric bicycles, smart bulbs, TVs, robotic cleaner, air purifier, water purifier, and whatnot. Now it seems that the company is prepping to launch its first "smart" appliance in India.



Going by the hint dropped by Manu Jain, Head of Mi India, Xiaomi would be launching an air purifier on 21st of September. As you can see from the tweet below, he is emphasizing on the importance of the clean air:



#MiProductLaunch live stream at 12 noon, 21st Sept 2016, on Mi. com. Every breath of fresh air is equally important! @XiaomiIndia  Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) September 14, 2016



India is likely to get the Mi Air Purifier 2, which was introduced in last November. According to Xiaomi, this purifier is smaller than a regular A4 size paper. Despite the compact size, the Mi Air Purifier 2 comes with 3-layer filter to remove impurities from the air. Xiaomi claims that the purifier has a CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) of 310m3/h. Other noteworthy features are built-in WiFi module and mobile app support.





In China, the Xiaomi Mi Air Purifier 2 is pegged at 699 Yuan (approx Rs 7000). So you can expect to be priced around Rs 10,000 in India. The product looks promising and Xiaomi has quite a following in mobile space. However, it will be interesting to see weather Indians will trust a Chinese brand with breathing air. Especially, when the European brand Philips have been selling similar devices in the country for years.

TAGS: Xiaomi
First Nokia Android Device, P1 Rumoured To Have 3GB RAM, HD Display

If you have used Nokia, you will remember the rugged Nokia 3310 and other smartphones that could break a wall and still survive. Nokia is back to making smartphones but Android operating system.

Nokia in late May had issued a press release announcing that not only would it be returning to the smartphone arena, but also its new line of devices would have Android running on it. The Finland-based company will license its brand to its Asian partners, which will then create Nokia handsets. Since the announcement, rumors about the new Nokia smartphone have been doing the rounds.

In early July, leaked images of a device bearing Nokia branding, deemed to be the Nokia P1, appeared online creating a lot of buzz. However, these images turned out to be that of Sharp Aquos P1, which is designed by engineers at InFocus and Sharp, a Foxconn subsidiary.

In its bid to return to smartphone production, Nokia has leased its name to Foxconn, which was announced earlier this year. Foxconn also purchased Sharp a few months ago, which may give an explanation as to why the image could be the same as the Sharp Aquos 1. Many have suggested that the Sharp Aquos P1 will be rebranded as the Nokia P1 for launch in Europe later this year, but there is no solid evidence to back this up.

Nothing is official about this Nokia P1 handset, and Phone Arena speculates that the smartphone could be the same as the Sharp Aquos P1 handset, which saw a limited distribution.

Nokia P1 reportedly could share the same set of specs with that of Sharp Aquos 1 such as a 5.3-inch FHD resolution IGZO panel, Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, a 22.6MP primary camera with an f/1.9 aperture, a 3,000mAh battery, IP58 dust-proof body of water repellent and fast-charge support.

Its not the first time that a leaked image of Android-powered Nokia handset has appeared online. Previously an alleged image of Nokia C1 had appeared. The model was being speculated to be launched in both variants  Android and Windows  but so far that news has just been a rumor.

So, for all those Nokia lovers who have been waiting for the company to announce an Android-powered smartphone can now finally get their hands on an Android device.

If you are planning to buy a new phone, you should wait out till Nokia P1 hits the market. Rest assured you will get a quality smartphone from the Finnish smartphone maker.
KickassTorrents often abbreviated as KATcr is one of the most reliable BitTorrent sites and is admired by the entire torrent community.

The official Kickass Torrents site was shut down, hence it is time we look at the Kickass Torrents alternatives.

The Kickass site provides torrent files and magnet links to a wide category of movies, tv-series, games, applications, ebooks, music, and videos, to facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol.

If we look at its past, KickassTorrents took away the throne of the most visited torrent site from The Pirate Bay before it came to shut down in 2016.

Before we begin, you might like to view the working Kickass torrents proxy and mirror

NOTE: Techworm does not condone using torrents to illegally obtain content. Using the following torrent websites for illegal purposes is done entirely at your own risk. Techworm takes no responsibility for any legal problems you encounter.

Top 10 Kickass Torrents Alternatives

Check out our list of some of the best recommended Kickass Torrents download sites alternatives below. These torrent websites are tested and found to be working fine.

Most of these sites are unblocked and have a good number of seeds and peers to provide good downloading speed.

1. 1337x

Overview

Best Features Simple and clean UI; Dedicated sections for different types of content Types of Content anime, movies, music, TV shows, games, software Availability Banned in Australia, Austria, Ireland, United Kingdom. 1337x Mirror URL Link 1

The first Kickass alternative on the list is 1337x. Similar to KAT, 1337x is a website that provides a directory of torrent files and magnet links used for peer-to-peer file sharing through the BitTorrent protocol.

Users on 1337x share the best torrent files for free download.

1337x has a clean UI, which makes searching content a breeze. Furthermore, to enhance discoverability the content is divided into different categories.

VISIT 1337x

2. The Pirate Bay

Overview

Best Features Magnet links supported; peer-to-peer file sharing Types of Content movies, music, TV shows, games, software Availability Banned in several countries and regions The Pirate Bay Mirror URL Link 1

Another perfect site like KAT is The Pirate Bay. As you might know, The Pirate Bay is one of the best torrent search engines.

The Pirate Bay allows visitors to search, download, and even contribute magnet links and torrent files. This website facilitates peer-to-peer file sharing among users of the BitTorrent protocol.

Pirate Bay has a minimal UI, and there is no exploration option. Consequently, you should be precise as to what you want to download.

If you are a Pirate Bay fan but it is not available in your country or your ISP has blocked it, then you should check out the Best Pirate Bay alternatives.

VISIT The Pirate Bay

3. Torlock

Overview

Best Features Torlock only lists verified torrents Types of Content movies, TV shows, anime, software Availability blocked in Australia, India, United Kingdom Torlock Mirror URL Link 1

Next in the list is Torlock. The most impressive feature of Torlock is that it only lists verified torrents.

Content on Torlock is very well organized into different sections like Movie Torrents, TV Torrents, Music Torrents, Game Torrents, Software Torrents, and eBooks Torrents.

Torlock has a simple UI and the website offers a massive collection of Anime series. Lastly, Torlock also displays trending torrents on its homepage.

VISIT Torlock

4. LimeTorrents

Overview

Best Features One-click torrents downloads; LimeTorrents displays the size and the upload time of every torrent. Types of Content movies, games, software, ebooks Availability Banned in Australia, France, United Kingdom. LimeTorrents Mirror URL Link 1

LimeTorrents is a relatively new, but an impressive website for downloading and sharing content.

Content on LimeTorrents is very well organized in different sections like movies, games, music, anime, TV shows, and software just like the kickass torrents. This website offer verified one-click torrents downloads.

In the list of Kickass torrents alternatives, I would definitely rank this one on a pedestal for a lot of stuff.

VISIT LimeTorrents

ALSO READ: Best Torrent Clients for Windows

5. Snowfl

Overview

Best Features Advanced filtering options; Direct download magnet links Types of Content Movies, TV shows, games, applications, music, books, anime, adult content Availability Targeted by individual ISPs. Snowfl Mirror URL Not required

The next KAT alternative that we have here is Snowfl. A simple to use torrent site that allows you to download torrents for free.

We have replaced SeedPeer, formerly known as Meganova, with Snowfl, which is making all the right noises.

Search for a torrent, and the results will be displayed with a single block ad below the search bar. You can either visit the torrent site or download from the magnet link itself.

The magnet link comes in handy as most of the torrent sites are blocked across different regions.

Talking about filters, you can search for audio, movies in SD, HD, and 4K separately, along with applications and software(s).

On top of that, we also can search for verified and NSFW torrents separately using filters.

VISIT Snowfl

6. RARBG

Overview

Best Features Availability of movies in high-def 720p, 1080p, and even 3D. Types of Content movies Availability banned in Ireland RARBG Mirror URL Link 1

Next website to find torrent files and magnet links RARBG. Similar to KickAss Torrents, RARBG, provides torrent files and magnet links to enable peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent protocol.

RARBG has a very simple and intuitive UI. Furthermore, RARBG is very well known for providing verified torrents.

Users can contribute content to RARBG by signing up for the service. Lastly, you can even find exclusive movies on RARBG in 4K HDR quality.

VISIT RARBG

ALSO READ: RARBG Alternatives

7. Nyaa.si

Overview

Best Features No popups and advertisements; Availability of Anime, Audio, Literature, Live Action, Pictures, and Software Types of Content anime related content Availability Available in the entire world. Nyaa Mirror URL Link 1

nyaa.si is an impressive Kickass Torrents alternative for those who are looking for anime content.

The popular anime torrent site has been targeted by law enforcement agencies in the past but somehow new proxies and mirrors have always come up.

NYAA is very popular in japan and users looking for anime content.

VISIT Nyaa.si

8. EZTV

Overview

Best Features No popups and advertisements Types of Content movies, TV shows Availability Blocked in Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom. EZTV Mirror URL Link 1

The next near-perfect kickass replacement would be EZTV. Similar to all other websites, you can easily find and download content.

EZTV has an outdated UI, but it gets the job done. Well, EZTV is perfect for downloading movies and TV shows. Furthermore, the website also displays the latest website news on its homepage.

VISIT EZTV

9. YTS

Overview

Best Features Availability of movies in high-def 720p, 1080p, and even 3D. Types of Content movies Availability banned in Ireland YTS Mirror URL Link 1

Another great alternative of KAT for downloading free movies is YTS. This torrent website is primarily focused on films. Consequently, you cant find other content like software on YTS.

YTS has a very well-developed and pleasing UI. The website helps users to choose between either 720p or 1080p video quality.

Moreover, YTS offers direct one-click download options for all of the movies on the platform.

VISIT YTS

ALSO READ: Yify Torrents Alternatives

10. Torrent9

Overview

Best Feature Simple and well-developed UI Types of Content movies, TV shows, games, music, software Availability Blocked in many countries like Saudi Arabia, India, Portugal, Denmark, United Kingdom, and Morroco. Torrent9 Mirror URL Link 1

The last Kickass torrents alternative on the list is Torrent9. Similar to other websites, Torrent9 also offers verified torrents.

The UI of the website is visually impressive and content is segregated into different sections like movies, TV shows, games, music, software etc.

In addition to that, Torrent 9 also features random movies on its homepage that may impress some users.

Visit Torrent 9

Also Read Best Torrent9 Alternatives

Kickass Proxy Sites

https://kkat.net

https://kat.rip

https://kickass.onl

https://kkickass.com

https://kickasshydra.dev

Users are advised not to use any unknown kAT mirror or Kickass proxy as they may ask for credit card details or even can serve malware or adware.

Please Note: In some territories, such as the UK, US, Canada, and Australia, it is necessary to use a VPN for torrenting. You can check out our list of the Best VPNs for torrenting.

Simply choose a VPN service that suits you. Then you can use torrent websites without any interruptions.

ALSO READ How To Unblock Torrent Sites

Brief History Of Kickass Torrents

The original peer-to-peer file-sharing site Kickass Torrents (KAT) has been down for since 2016, due to legal issues. However, it was recruited by its original staff at a new site katcr.co

Is Torrenting Legal?

One of the most common questions associated with downloading Torrent content Is Torrenting Legal?.

In principle, it is. But if you are downloading and redistributing copyrighted content then its an illegal activity. This comes under the category of pirated content.

That said, if you are sharing now-copyrighted content then Torrenting is completely legal.

You Might Like- Top 10 Torrent Search Engines

Conclusion-

So these were some of the best Kickass movie torrent alternatives. Do share any other alternatives that you know about via the comment section.
E-commerce giant, Alibaba fires four engineers for making a program to get the mooncakes for themselves

Mooncake! A traditional Chinese cake eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. If you have Chinese friends, you will know that they will go to any extent to lay their hands on the mooncake on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

But can you imagine the mooncake being the reason for four engineers from Alibaba. The Chinese e-commerce giant has kicked out four engineers who tried to hack the Alibabas distribution system for mooncake selloff and get the mooncakes for themselves.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd confirmed it fired four engineers this week after they hacked into the internal website that allows employees to purchase the companys signature mooncakes, with an orange fluffy Alibaba mascot inside. The Hangzhou-based company allocates one free box to each employee for the holiday, and sells extras on the site at cost59 yuan (about $9) for a box of four.

The four Alibaba programmers coded a new program into the mooncake website so as to divert a leftover 100-odd boxes to themselves. The hack apparently worked and the fired engineers got their mooncakes but they were also caught. Asked about the dismissals, Alibaba said its decision to fire the employees is another reminder to our staff that every game comes with rules.

The four engineers were however hailed as heroes on the Chinese social media. The four dismissed engineers were trending on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging Twitter equivalent, and were praised for their entrepreneurial instincts and technical competence.

The Chinese love for mooncakes can be further judged by the fact that Lin Wei, a manager at Beijing-based antivirus company Qihoo 360 has offered the four a job at his firm. Wei said he extended a job offer to the four via WeChat minutes after hearing about the mooncake drama.

I think computer engineers need to have a geek spirit, and these people are not using technology to do any harm, he wrote. Mr. Lin said he saw more than 30 job offers circulating on WeChat and decided to join in before talking to his boss.

We always are hiring network security engineers, he said. They are hot commodities. He said he didnt receive an answer to his offer.

Another firm, JD.com which is main Alibaba competitor in the e-commerce space in China also offered the dismissed engineers a job. In a note posted on WeChat newsfeed, JD.com said, We should treat network security engineers well. Please forward your resume via email.

One commenter on Zhihu, a Quora-like question-and-answer platform, evoked Forrest Gump: Life is just like a box of mooncakes. You never know what youre gonna get.
Eerie Loud Sound Just Shut Down a Banks Data Center for 10 Hours

We have had natural calamities stopping Internet and data centers but this is first time that a loud sound completely destroying hard drives and shutting the data center completely for a whopping ten hours.

The eerie incident happened in ING Banks main data center located in Bucharest, Romania. The trigger for the incident was a failed fire extinguishing test which set a fire in the data center premises. But what happened next was a rare and shocking phenomenon never witnessed before. People heard a loud sound of inert gas being released and the next thing that happened shocked the data center employees as well as service engineers. The loud sound also destroyed dozens of hard drives running in the data center. It also took the banks data center completely offline and now ING Bank is relying solely on its backup data center, located within a couple of miles proximity.

The drill went as designed, but we had collateral damage, INGs spokeswoman in Romania told Motherboards Andrada Fiscutean. The spokesperson confirmed that the loud noise was due to an inert gas.

The immediate effect of the big bang was that local ING Bank customers were unable to use debit cards and to perform online banking operations on Saturday between 1PM and 11PM. Our team is investigating the incident, she told Motherboard.

Usually, data centers hold such mock fire drills to prepare for any unforeseen eventuality. Most data centers use Helium based fire extinguishing systems to protect their sensitive equipment as Helium does not chemically damage electronics, and the gas only slightly decreases the temperature within the data center.

Normally during mock drills, the inert gas stored in cylinders is released at high velocity out of nozzles uniformly spread across the data center. However, ING Bank service engineers released the inert gas at a higher pressure which a loud sound when rapidly expelled through tiny holes. The same effect can be seen when you release air at high pressure from a balloon at home.

The bank monitored the sound and it was very loud. It was as high as their equipment could monitor, over 130dB.

Sound also means vibration coming at high velocity and the sensitive data center hard drives were damaged in the incident. The HDD cases started to vibrate, and the vibration was transmitted to the read/write heads, causing them to go off the data tracks.

The inert gas deployment procedure has severely and surprisingly affected several servers and our storage equipment, ING said in a press release.

This is the first time that sound has caused hard drives to fail as there have been a very few studies to determine the same. One of the first such experiments was made by engineer Brendan Gregg, in 2008, while he was working for Suns Fishworks team. He recorded a video in which he explains how shouting in a data center can result in hard drives malfunction.

The ING Bank incident immediately drew attention of IBM researchers who are also investigating data center sound-related inert gas issues. [T]he HDD can tolerate less than 1/1,000,000 of an inch offset from the center of the data trackany more than that will halt reads and writes, experts Brian P. Rawson and Kent C. Green wrote in a paper. Early disk storage had much greater spacing between data tracks because they held less data, which is a likely reason why this issue was not apparent until recently.

Siemens also published a white paper a year ago saying that its tests show that excessive noise can have a negative impact on HDD performance. Researchers said this negative impact may even begin at levels below 110dB.
This new iteration of Pwn2Own mobile hacking contest targets iOS and Android

The mobile Pwn2Own hacking contest is back!!! This time a top prize of $250,000 is being offered to any security researcher who forces an Apple iPhone to unlock.

Earlier this year, the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) group that sponsors the Pwn2Own event was sold to Trend Micro by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), which resulted in the event going through a bit of a changeover. The browser edition of the Pwn2Own event that was held in March was jointly sponsored by HPE and Trend Micro. It will be the first time a Pwn2Own event (mobile Pwn2Own 2016 contest) that is being scheduled to be held next month would not benefit from HPE sponsorship.

To us, its still Pwn2Own, Brian Gorenc, senior manager of vulnerability research at Trend Micro, told eWEEK. We always hope each contest brings us something new we havent seen before, but if youve seen the contest, it should look very familiar.

A total of $460,000 in prize money to researchers was awarded by ZDI for publicly exhibiting new zero-day exploits in web browsers during the 2016 Pwn2Own browser event, which was held at the CanSecWest conference in Vancouver.

The total available prize pool is set to top $500,000 at the PacSec Security Conference in Tokyo that is scheduled to held the mobile Pwn2Own event on October 26-27. ZDI is asking researchers to target three specific mobile devices for the 2016 mobile event: the Apple iPhone 6s, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and the Google Nexus 6p.

ZDI is tasking researchers with several challenges across all of the targeted devices. Firstly, ZDI is awarding $50,000 to those who can compromise a device to obtain sensitive information on the iPhone or the Google Nexus. Further, an award of $35,000 will be given to the researcher who is able to get sensitive information off a Galaxy device.

The second challenge at the mobile Pwn2Own 2016 is to install a rogue application on a targeted device. The installation of a rogue app by a researcher on the iPhone, Google Nexus, and Samsung Galaxy would fetch $125,000, $100,000 and $60,000 prizes respectively.

Each phone will be running the latest operating system available at the time of the contest, and all available patches will also be applied, Gorenc said. This can lead to some late nights as ZDI researchers update phones in the days leading up to the contest, but we feel its best to have the latest and greatest targeted.

All the targeted devices will be in their default configuration, Gorenc said. This means that Pwn2Own contestants must target Safari on iOS, as this is the default browser and most common, realistic situation for users of that device. Several WebKit browser rendering engine related vulnerabilities have been exhibited by Pwn2Own contestants in the past. WebKit is the essential rendering engine behind Safari and has many components that are also used in Googles Chrome.

The threat landscape shifts so much from contest to contest that its hard to predict what component will be targeted, he said. WebKit will likely make an appearance, but were hoping to see some new techniques and research as well.

Gorenc said that ZDI has no requirements for the app for the installation of the rogue application. We will leave it up to the contestant to express their creativity during the public demonstration, he said.

The researcher who is able to successfully force an iPhone to unlock will be awarded the biggest single prize at the mobile Pwn2Own 2016 event. The challenge of unlocking an iPhone has been a hot topic in recent months. As much as $1.3 million has been reportedly paid by the FBI to bypass the iPhone lock screen.

Apple has started its own bug bounty program, with a $200,000 prize, while security firm Exodus Intelligence will pay a top prize of $500,000 for an iOS zero-day flaw.

Offering $250,000 for an iPhone unlock exploit is lucrative prize money, believes Gorenc.

We feel this amount is not a bad payday for what will clearly be a significant amount of research needed to accomplish this hack, he said. Along with the money, the researcher will get the recognition that comes with winning Pwn2Own.

Finally, its the marketplace that will let ZDI know if $250,000 is a fair price, says Gorenc. However, he is hopeful that someone will actually make an effort to force an iPhone to unlock in the public.

Finally, by reporting this through ZDI, the bugs will actually get fixed by the vendor, Gorenc said. Thats better than some of the alternatives.

Source: eWEEK
Canary Wharf computer hacker jailed for stealing nearly 90k of gold and diverting the haul to his own flat before attempting to blackmail gold bullion firm

A jobless computer hacker has been jailed for accessing a gold bullion firms website by hacking into a company computer system from his Canary Wharf home in London.

Adam Penny, 25, stole the names, addresses and parcel tracking numbers of customers who were waiting for deliveries of gold bullion, before passing the data to three associates who then intercepted the gold deliveries.

It emerged that the culprit and his team stole or attempted to steal six packages of gold with an estimated value of more than 88,000, according to a court hearing at Kingston Crown Court on September 12. The 88,000 haul was later sold to an unsuspecting London jeweller.

They went from London to an address in Newcastle on one occasion, where they failed to intercept the delivery because the postman knew the victim and refused to hand over the parcel.

Penny, who lived in a luxury flat in Londons Canary Wharf, and then blackmailed the gold bullion trading company for 50,000 to keep his lavish lifestyle.

Penny, of West Tower, Pan Peninsula Square, was arrested in June last year and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal, unauthorised access to a computer and blackmail at Kingston Crown Court. He was sentenced to for five years and four months in jail. He previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and computer misuse with intent on April 1 at the same court.

Detective Constable Matt Burke, of the Met Polices cybercrime team, said: Penny hacked into the computers of the company and got others to intercept the gold packages for him.

When even this wasnt enough for his lavish lifestyle, he blackmailed the company for 50,000.

At the time of his arrest Penny was living in a luxury apartment in the Canary Wharf area, despite having no paid employment that we could identify.

Following Pennys initial arrest in the Canary Wharf area on June 26, 2015, police seized six iPhones and two Apple MacBooks  one of which was discovered in a toilet cistern. They were found to contain evidence of Pennys blackmail demands to the company and instructions for his interceptors.

Alongside Penny, Joshua Wilkins, 25, of Burns Road and Nour Mansouri, 24, of Hanley Road, both north London; and Daniel William Rabbitte, 25, of Stanley Road, Hornchurch, Essex, were sentenced for conspiracy to steal, for their part in intercepting deliveries of gold.

Wilkins was jailed for 22 months, Mansouri was given 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay 1,000 and Rabbitte was given an 18 months jail sentence suspended for two years.

Detective Inspector Sanjiv Gohil, of the Cyber Crime Unit, said: This case highlights the importance of robust cyber security systems for businesses and particularly those with an on-line presence. In this case the breach was reported to the police and we were able to investigate and bring Penny to justice, without further compromise to the company and their customers.
Samsung shares plunge down on Note 7 fire warnings

Samsung which had launched its premium smartphone Galaxy Note 7 on August 19, 2016 was globally recalled in early September following reports of the device catching fire and exploding due to defective batteries. Further, the South Korean giant advised consumers to stop using its Galaxy Note 7 and immediately participate in a replacement programme, following more reports of smartphones catching fire.

The advisory came after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommended last Friday that consumers stop using the smartphone and major airlines globally banned use during flights. Note 7s with new batteries are due to become available on September 19.

With an estimated 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 units sold, analysts say the recall could cost Samsung as much as $5 billion in revenue. Shares have plunged 11 percent since Friday and the company has lost $22 billion of market value, which is the largest two-day decline in eight years, according to Bloomberg.

The notion is that this could have great impact to the Samsung brand almost immediately. Where we could not see not the long term degradation around the notion of safety around what is a Samsung product, but the immediate reaction where the users of the devices cant use the devices anymore, Bloombergs editor Corey Johnson said.

Samsungs brand could go well beyond the early estimates of $1 billion for a single products recall looking at the damage caused due to drop in stock prices. In the past, the company has spent huge amount on marketing its name, and had hoped to get an advantage on Apple Inc. by launching its device weeks before the new iPhones hit the market. However, it looks like that the advantage has now disappeared.

Samsungs nightmare is just getting worse and worse, said Bryan Ma, vice president of devices research for IDC. Instead of isolating Note 7s, it is likely that airlines may decide to ban all Samsung smartphones given the difficulty of differentiating between models. If true, then the Note 7 could end up dragging down the rest of the portfolio.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Samsung are in talks on an official recall of the devices as soon as possible. Almost all CPSC recalls are done voluntarily in conjunction with a company and the scope of any action on the Note 7 may be identical to what Samsung has already suggested to consumers. But once the agency becomes involved, it triggers additional protections for people. For example, U.S. law prohibits the sale or resale of any recalled item once CPSC acts.

The uncertainty over the Note 7 recall has grown following the tough reactions from the U.S., said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co. in Seoul. Samsung has to settle this situation as early as possible by replacing every Note 7 device in order to reassure customers. In the worst case scenario, Samsung may have to consider discontinuing Note 7 sales for a time.

Following warnings from aviation regulators in several countries and airlines, the CPSC advisory has issued the advisory.

The market certainly thinks this is going to cost more than $1 billion, said Anthea Lai, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. You have to persuade normal consumers that they should try to convince airlines and guards that these phones are now okay. Most people are just not going to bother. Theyll want new phones.

Source: Bloomberg
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.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Mauritius today sought Indias assistance to develop its handloom and handicraft sectors, outlining the potential areas for bilateral cooperation.

Mauritius Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth, currently on a visit to India, today met Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra.

"We seek Indias assistance to develop handloom and handicraft sectors in Mauritius," Jugnauth said, highlighting other possible areas of bilateral cooperation like tourism and aquaculture between the neighbouring countries.

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Mishra said the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in Mauritius has "great potential" for skill development and job creation.

Mishra said his ministry will work towards establishing tool rooms and technology centres to help skill people in specific sectors, and assured all technological assistance to develop the MSME sector in Mauritius. PTI RSN RSN JM

--- ENDS ---
On the debate, two pollsters who conducted studies, agreed on Saturday that former president Lula defeated Bolsonaro. | Read More
Typhoon Meranti, which struck mainland China earlier today, hit an inflated moon and shooed it down the streets in Fuzhou.

By India Today Web Desk: After battering Taiwan, super-typhoon Meranti has now rolled into mainland China.

As it hit Xiamen city in Fujian Province, the strong winds pulled down a moon and sent it tumbling down the streets.

Of course, it is not the real moon (duh!). It was just a big balloon that was adorning the streets as a part of the city's annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.

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Check out video of tweeted by China Xinhua News:



Huge moon balloon blown away in Fuzhou, E China, as #TyphoonMeranti approaches. Moonless #MidAutumnFestival? pic.twitter.com/5YqrYAuRdk China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 14, 2016

The moon balloon, after having escaped, was filmed rolling down the streets and over some cars; basically terrorizing the city.

There has been no reports of any person being hurt or vehicles being damaged by the balloon. However, the inflated moon is still on the loose.

Here's how a moon balloon from last year looked like on display ahead of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in Nanjing, China.

Source: Reuters

--- ENDS ---
Looking pretty in her glittery golden outfit and curly tresses, Mouni Roy is back as Shivanya on the sets of Naagin.

By India Today Web Desk: Come October, Mouni Roy, Adaa Khan and Sudha Chandran are all set to return with the second installment of Naagin. If a recent picture shared by Mouni is to be believed, the cast has started shooting for the show. In the pic, Mouni is in her Shivanya get up complete with maang-teeka and nath.

She is indeed looking smoking hot!

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Also read: Adaa Khan aka Sesha joins Mouni Roy in Naagin Season 2

Naagin 2 will take off from where it left in Season 1. However, Shivanya's Ritik aka Arjun Bijlani will no longer be part of the show. We hear that actor Karanvir Bohra will romance Mouni now.

As per reports, the second season of Naagin will see Mouni in two avatars--of mother and daughter Shivanya and Shivangi.

Also read: Naagin Season 2: Arjun Bijlani out, Karanvir Bohra in?

Naagin Season 1 that premiered on November 1, 2015 and ended on June 5, 2016, was on the top of rating charts throughout its run barring a couple of weeks in the beginning. Will Naagin 2 re-create the magic? Only time will tell.



@eshagupta3105 ,"didn't wait for me to finish flipping hair"!!!! #naagin2 #comingsoon Are we excited? @colorstv A photo posted by mon (@imouniroy) on Sep 15, 2016 at 4:58am PDT

--- ENDS ---
Best known for its factual output, Raw TVs latest is a big budget US drama. but, Dimitri Doganis tells Jon Creamer, story is just story

At the time of this interview, Raw TVs founder Dimitri Doganis is ensconced at Molinare putting the finishing touches to Harley and the Davidsons, a three part drama about the founding fathers of iconic American motorcycle brand, Harley Davidson for Raws parent company Discovery.

Its Raw TVs biggest scripted show by far and a big budget drama bet for an indie perhaps best known for its long running factual shows like Gold Rush.

But its not so much of a leap, says Doganis. This is our first big US mini series but we have done one-offs in the UK including Cyberbully starring Game of Thrones Maisie Williams as well as drama/doc hybrids like Blackout. And we have a significant film slate in the wake of The Imposter [Raws successful theatrical doc).

But there was still a lot to grasp, he says. For me personally it has been a fantastic learning curve. What we did of course was find and partner with really great experienced people to make sure that learning curve wasnt at the expense of the project itself.

Whether its factual or drama or something in between story is story, he says. What was the most powerful thing abou t the experience for me was that sense in which everything comes down to the strength of the story and the strength of the characters.

Big budget drama, says Doganis, is just the next logical step for the now 15 year old company that was acquired by Discovery back in 2014. Bart [Layton, Raws co founder] and I had always wanted to do it. We both come from factual and documentary backgrounds but that has never been the limit of our ambition. And he says, a lot of Raws factual output is inspired by film. Weve take a lot of those ambitions and those sensibilities and applied it to factual storytelling. Locked Up Abroad and The Imposter are examples. It doesnt feel like a leap into the unknown. It feels like the next step on a continuous journey and one which feels very natural.

And inevitable given the huge wealth of stuff in the development bank. Many of the projects were developing in the scripted space are based on true stories. After The Imposter we realised we had this huge repository of fantastic stories many of which been developed as possible factual programmes that could work in the scripted space. It has felt like a continuum of ideas generation and creative thought that really goes back to our very early days.

And blurring the boundaries of genre is what Raw has always done, he says Weve always tried to ignore the artificial boundaries between genre because innovation comes from taking either people or methods from one discipline and applying them to another.

The success of the company has come from resolutely following its creative rather than commercial nose, says Doganis. Bart and I have never believed that you chase the money. We believe if you do good work the money should chase you. Its almost a mental jujitsu you have to do. Running a production company requires you to live with financial risk as an ambient hum. We have always taken refuge in the notion that if you do great work there will be a way in which you can make a living from that. We have never done a project because we thought it would make us money.

Even Gold Rush, now on episode 137 and counting, started as a way to tell the story of the death of the American dream after the financial meltdown of 2008, he says. It grew in to something else because of the way we told the story but it didnt start with hey we should have a long running American reality TV series that would finance other things.

Risk is essential for success, says Doganis partly because you never know where the next long running series is going to come from. You have to keep trying new things and taking risks otherwise youre just rehashing old things. Im not remotely interested in rehashing things other people have done before.

And that means following the instincts of Raws staff rather than calculating what the market wants. Trying to second guess broadcasters has not been a particularly good development strategy for us. Whats been more productive is finding stories we are passionate about and finding characters we are fascinated by. We can be a bit unworldly in that way.

Thats despite Raw being part of a very large business since its acquisition by Discovery two years ago. But the Discovery deal has been a big positive says Doganis. Not least in aiding its move into drama. They have trusted us with big projects like Harley and the Davidsons. They have been fantastic in being encouraging of our scripted ambitions and importantly The deal was shaped in a way that wasnt driven by our profit margins, it was driven by the success of the shows we made and it enabled us to keep doing the thing wed been doing since we set up which was to try to tell great stories about characters that feel relevant to an audience.

CV

Doganis started out in 24-hour TV news, as a producer and cameraman, going on to make current affairs shows and docs as a freelance producer and director for the BBC, C4 and C5. He set up Raw in 2001 with a small development deal from Channel 4. Initially he continued to direct docs alongside running the company but since 2004 he has concentrated on running Raw and exec-ing on much of Raws output including producing theatrical doc The Imposter. Raws shows include Banged Up Abroad, Race for the Whitehouse, Goldrush, Cyberbully and Blackout

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By PTI: Kathmandu, Sep 15 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda today left for India with a jumbo delegation on his maiden foreign visit during which he is expected to discuss issues aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.

Prachanda is accompanied by wife Sita, Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak on his four-day visit.

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Speaker Onsari Gharti, Deputy Prime Ministers Bimalendra Nidhi and Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and chiefs of three security bodies were at Kathmandus Tribhuvan International Airport to see off Prachanda.

A contingent of Nepal Army offered a guard of honour to the prime minister.

Prachanda is scheduled to hold meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow. He will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and also meet Cabinet members of the government.

He will return to Nepal on Sunday. PTI ABH AKJ ABH

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The Thai government is working hard to promote Thailand 4.0 as a new gimmick and economic model aimed at pulling Thailand out of the middle-income trap, and push the country in the high-income range.

If you dont know what is Thailand 4.0, dont blame yourself. A survey by the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting showed that slightly more than half of the businesses in Thailand knew little about Thailand 4.0.

When asked to rate their understanding on Thailand 4.0, 55% admitted they had little knowledge about it and only 1% responded that they knew it comprehensively.

In between, 27% of the respondents said they somewhat knew what it meant and 17% said they knew it pretty well.

Why Thailand 4.0 ?

In the first model, Thailand 1.0, emphasis was placed on the agricultural sector.

The second model, Thailand 2.0, focused on light industries, which helped upgrade the countrys economy from the low-income to middle-income status.

In the third model, Thailand 3.0, the country is currently emphasising heavy industries for continued economic growth.

During this period, Thailand has become stuck in the middle-income trap and faces disparities and imbalanced development.



The Thai government is working hard to promote Thailand 4.0 as a new gimmick

What is the middle-income trap ?

The middle-income trap is a situation in which a countrys growth slows after having reached the middle-income levels.

Middle-income countries like Thailand are squeezed between their low-wage competitors that dominate the mature industries on one side. And the rich-country innovators that dominate industries of rapid technological change on the other side.

In other words, Thailand is moving on from a country with abundant cheap, unskilled labour to an innovation value-based economy to climb to the next step of the ladder.

Thailand 4.0, towards a value-based economy

Thailand 4.0 focuses on a value-based economy, as the country needs to deal effectively with disparities and the imbalance between the environment and society.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha explained that Thailand 4.0 has three elements, which mark a significant change in the countrys economy and production.

Become a high-income nation

The first element aims to enhance the countrys standing to become a high-income nation through developing it as a knowledge-based economy. With an emphasis on research and development, science and technology, creative thinking, and innovation.

Move toward an inclusive society

In the second element, Thailand will move toward an inclusive society with equitable access to the fruits of prosperity and development.

Focus on a sustainable growth and development

The third element focuses on sustainable growth and development, in order to achieve economic growth and sustainable development without destroying the environment.

New SMART Visa to support Thailand 4.0 targeted industries

Smart Visas are available for investors, executives, talented individuals and those involved in start-up incubators and accelerators to stay in Thailand for up to four years.

There is, however, one important requirement: at the moment, SMART Visa holders must be working in one of the 10 industries targeted by the Thai government as essential to advancing the Kingdoms economy and level of development. Expanding the new visas to other industries, however, is under consideration.



SMART Visa to support Thailand 4.0 targeted industries

The 10 targeted industries are: Aviation and logistics; biofuels and biochemicals; robotics; digital development; next-generation automotive; medical industries; smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology, and food for the future.

These industries are the foundation of Thailand 4.0, a bold and visionary 20-year national strategy.

Thailand 4.0 endeavours to transform the Kingdoms economy from one reliant on manufacturing existing products designed by others to one driven by innovation, research and development, creativity and the development of higher technologies and green industries.

Ban Huai Sai Tai Muslim Community and Ban Lat Community

During a press trip organised by the Public Relation Department of the Foreign Office, members of the press were invited to witness a rural community as an example of Thailand 4.0.

Located in Cha-am district, Phetchaburi province, the Ban Huai Sai Tai Muslim Community is a royally initiated project, inspired by the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy as a way of life.

Local residents stand on their own, without relying on financial support from commercial banks.

This community is interesting, as it has been selected by Silpakorn University as a model community for the development of Phetchaburi into a creative city.

The Silpakorn University researchers began their study on developing agricultural residue as energy by turning lead tree branches, normally used as goat food, into a biofuel.

The lead tree seeds can also be used to produce pieces of jewellery.



agricultural residue is used as energy by turning lead tree branches, normally used as goat food, into a biofuel

The goat meat is being processed into various forms of food, while the goatskin has fetched a higher price through an environmentally friendly tanning method.

The Ban Huai Sai Tai Muslim Community reflects peaceful coexistence enjoyed by people from different cultures.

The local residents are engaged mainly in raising dairy cattle and goats.

As for Ban Lat, this community possesses a strong agrarian lifestyle in the form of a cooperative. This enables local residents to stand on their own, without relying on financial support from commercial banks.

Local people here make their living by growing and exporting Gros Michel banana (kluai hom thong).

The solar dome technology has been used as one of the alternative techniques to help create a variety of products from this kind of banana.

less for more vs more for less.

The Thailand 4.0 new model will change the countrys traditional farming to smart farming. Traditional SMEs to smart enterprises, and traditional services to high-value services, under the concept of less for more rather than more for less.
Recently I gave a talk to a group of expats buying in Vietnam which is a hot topic I am regular asked about as a foreigner myself. This is all well and good for the expat few that do buy but what about the rest of the market? The majority of the market? What impact has the legislation had in encouraging the average Vietnamese buyer to purchase property?

When the Vietnam's National Assembly passed on November 25, 2014, the long-awaited (now not so new) amended Housing Law that finally addressed the issue on foreign ownership of properties, we in the industry had no idea what to expect. Now, almost 1.5 years on, this single piece of legislation has (supported by fortunately favourable market conditions) helped to drive the Vietnam real estate market from what was considered toxic oblivion pre 2015 to becoming one of the more attractive markets in the region. You want to know the best thing about it? Now foreigners have a slice of the pie  well, perhaps more of a bite than a slice.

The Vietnam residential market had seen very sluggish growth leading up to 2015 due to a number of factors including the previous restrictions on foreign ownership; the lack of quality developments; a speculative bubble from 2006 to 2008; the small size of the leasing market and more attractive and transparent investment opportunities elsewhere in the region. However, the new legislation played a major role in addressing many of these issues and even removed some of those cumbersome conditions that foreigners previously faced making Vietnam somewhat sexy again.

So how does the foreign ownership law impact expats living in Vietnam and foreign investors? Allow me to sum this up for you.

WHO CAN BUY? Individuals - all foreigners who are granted a visa to Vietnam are allowed to buy residential properties in the country. Entities - All foreign investment funds, banks, Vietnamese branches and representative offices of overseas companies are eligible to buy.

TYPES OF PROPERTY All types of residential sector properties including condominiums and landed property such as villa and townhouses within a development project (previously only applicable to condominiums).

VOLUME There is no limit on the number of units a foreigner can buy, but the total number of dwelling units owned by foreigners must not exceed 30% of the total units in one condominium complex, or not exceed 10% of landed property within a development project.

PURPOSE OF PURCHASE The properties owned by foreigners can be sub-leased, inherited and collateralized (previously only for owner occupying purpose and not to be rented out).

TENURE The tenure allowed to foreign individuals buying homes is a 50-year leasehold with renewal possibility upon expiration, which remains unchanged. Foreign individuals married to Vietnamese citizens are entitled to freehold tenure.

Opening the gates of the local property market wider to foreigners proved to be a very positive step in the right direction and it could not come sooner as far as Im concerned.

However, with the gate swung open, affordability now reigns as the major issue impacting investors as property prices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have hit record highs.

So how have the legislative changes impacted foreigners living and working in Vietnam and more importantly, Vietnams property sector itself?

If my own experience is anything to go buy, I would say positive. Having spent almost 6 years living and working in Vietnam I took the dive to invest in Vietnam property myself. I was actually one of the first handful of foreigners who took advantage of the new foreign ownership legislation. The fundamentals worked for me. However, to comment on the Vietnam property sector itself, I personally think it is a little too early to tell.

But hey, I have been wrong before and strong interest monitored at recent launch events for residential projects in Ho Chi Minh City is proving otherwise  for now.

* The writer is director of real estate services firm JLL. The opinions expressed are his own.
These companies used to sell heroin and Agent Orange. Now, they want to form the worlds largest supplier of seeds and pesticides.

Two giants of the farming and chemical industries agreed to merge Wednesday in a $66 billion deal: the U.S.s Monsanto and Germanys Bayer, the original maker of aspirin. Its the years biggest deal and will create the worlds largest supplier of seeds and farm chemicals, with $26 billion in combined annual revenue from agriculture. If the merger goes through, it will combine two companies with a long and storied history that shaped what we eat, the drugs we take and how we grow our food.

Bayer: then & now

A Bayer advertisement from a 1900 magazine. Source: Getty Images Two friends making dyes from coal-tar started Bayer in 1863, and it developed into a chemical and drug company famous for introducing heroin as a cough remedy in 1896, then aspirin in 1899. The company was a Nazi contractor during World War II and used forced labor. Today, the firm based in Leverkusen, Germany, makes drugs and has a crop science unit, which makes weed and bug killers. Its goal is to dominate the chemical and drug markets for people, plants and animals.

Monsanto: then & now

Agent Orange is sprayed over a forest in north Vietnam, during the Vietnam war. Source: Getty Images Monsanto, founded in 1901, originally made food additives like saccharin before expanding into industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and agriculture products. Its famous for making some controversial and highly toxic chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls, now banned and commonly known as PCBs, and the herbicide Agent Orange, which was used by the U.S. military in Vietnam. It commercialized Roundup herbicide in the 1970s and began developing genetically modified corn and soybean seeds in the 1980s. In 2000, a new Monsanto emerged from a series of corporate mergers.

The ultimate farm store

Monsanto's 'Roundup' pesticide. Photo: AFP Monsanto has recently tried to position itself as a one-stop seeds and chemicals shop for farmers. The idea is to use information directly from the fields to figure out exactly when, where and how farmers should apply chemicals to crops to yield a bigger harvest. Monsantos not the only company with this clever idea. Dow Chemical and DuPont said in December theyd merge, then break into three entities, one of which will offer a range of seeds and chemicals. A few months later, China National Chemical Corp. said it was buying Syngenta in an even bigger deal.

Will the deal go through?

An anti-Monsanto activist in Munich. Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images The deal would be the biggest ever in agriculture, but its not a sure thing. There could be antitrust hurdles. A combined Bayer-Monsanto would be the biggest player in an industry with only three megacompanies left standing. Plus, the deal could face a backlash in Germany, where the majority of citizens question the safety of eating and growing modified food. The mistrust is so deep, its illegal to grow GMO crops for food there. Monsanto is considered a poster child for evil American corporations in Germany, and its pesticide has been blamed for deaths of monarch butterflies in North America.

The future of agriculture?
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By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Stressing that India has never been "prescriptive" in Nepals constitution making process, the government today said it was an "internal issue" which the Nepalese citizens will decide.

The remarks came on a day when visiting Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said till the time Tharus, Madhesis and Janjatis are not taken into confidence, atmosphere cannot be created for implementation of the new Constitution.

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"As far as constitution making process is concerned, it is an internal matter of Nepal. We have never been prescriptive in this regard. It is for people of Nepal to decide what is in their best interest," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Dahal, commonly known as Prachanda, who was elected as the Prime Minister for the second time on August 3, said the top focus of the new dispensation is to create the "right atmosphere" before the implementation of the Constitution and pave way for the necessary amendments.

"We have already made two amendments," he said here ahead of his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.

Prachanda, who is on a four-day goodwill visit to India, his first foreign visit after assuming power, was addressing the Nepali diaspora at the Nepalese embassy here.

"Till the time we dont take the Tharus, Madhesis and janjatis into confidence and address their legitimate demands the atmosphere cannot be created for implementation of the new Constitution.

"There is a need to unite Nepal and its people despite differences in ethnicity, language, caste, class," Prachanda said.

Emphasising on the need to unite those in the Terai, hills and the plains, Prachanda said, if that does not happen, then Nepals sovereignty will be mere words.

"If they are not united then the political crisis will loom large," he said.

The Madhesi parties had led a six month-long agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution. At least 50 people were killed during the protests in south Nepal last year over the issue.

India wants Nepal to take steps to address the concerns of its citizens, especially those in Terai, over its newly-adopted constitution, as it feels the more the process in this regard gets delayed, the situation will "worsen and can get messy again".

During his interaction, the Nepalese community also complained that they played a prominent role during the movement against the monarchy, but since the new democratic polity came into being they have been forgotten. PTI SBR SAP PR SAP DIP RG DIP

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There's an unwelcome creature in Tilde Lake, and officials in northwest Minnesota are urging residents to be on alert for ... crawfish.

After two crawfish were found in the lake, the state's Department of Natural Resources sounded the alarm, according to a report on the MPRNews public radio site.

The DNR said the crawfish are harmful because they compete with native species for habitat and "their burrowing habits ... cause damage to levees, dams and water control structures."

In fact, "without a permit, it is illegal to import or possess red swamp crayfish in Minnesota," Heidi Wolf, DNR invasive species unit supervisor, said in a statement.

The DNR said the most humane way to dispose of the creatures is to "put them in a plastic bag in the freezer for a day, then put the bag into the trash."

Pity. Entire cookbooks have been written in Louisiana dedicated to much more delicious ways to accomplish the same goal.

See the full MPRNews story here.
Stoney Drake Bergeron Jr., 25, of Arnaudville, was booked into the St. Landry Parish jail on Sept. 15, 2016, after authorities found him in New Mexico in an Arnaudville homicide victim's missing car.
WASHINGTON (AP)  It's a tough time for a governor to come to Washington, hat in hand, to ask for billions of dollars for a hard-hit state, especially with Congress in the midst of election-season dysfunction and dominated by tightfisted tea party Republicans.

But Gov. John Bel Edwards is back for the second straight week, pleading for almost $3 billion to help Louisiana rebuild from last month's devastating floods, undeterred by warnings that he should keep expectations low. This is, after all, not the same Congress that voted for $60 billion in the span of a week after Hurricane Katrina slammed Louisiana in 2005.

"What I was told to expect was that there would be a tremendous difference in the way I'm perceived than what would have happened after Katrina because even disaster recovery funding seems to be caught up in partisan gridlock, whereas that was never the case before," Edwards said in an interview. "But that has not been my experience thus far."

Why Louisiana leaders remain optimistic about federal flood aid chances Louisiana leaders say they remain optimistic that the state is close to securing a federal r

Congress was generous in approving $95 billion to help Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas rebuild after Katrina. Funding to help the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy four years ago was a much more difficult lift, with the bulk of President Barack Obama's aid request opposed by House Republicans. More recently, GOP conservatives have been slow to embrace the need for $1 billion or so to battle the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Edwards, a first-year Democrat, has teamed up with the Pelican State's GOP-dominated delegation behind a drive to add Louisiana flood aid to a short-term, government-wide spending bill that Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shutdown in a little more than two weeks. Louisiana is known for rough-and-tumble politics  Edwards handily beat GOP Sen. David Vitter in last year's gubernatorial race  but the rival sides are united now.

"We've all been working really well together to stay focused on helping people get back in their houses, and that's where our focus needs to be," said Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 3 Republican in the House.

Edwards wasn't the only governor in Washington this week. Another visitor, GOP Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, met with top Republicans on Zika aid on Tuesday and Wednesday  and was spitting fire at Democrats for holding up a GOP-drafted measure to fight the virus, which can cause grave birth defects and is spreading in Florida. But Scott arrived just as the long-stalled Zika measure appears about to break free.

Scott said Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida had "turned his back on Floridians" by supporting a filibuster of the measure over a contentious provision targeting Planned Parenthood.

"This is about pregnant women and developing babies and he said, you know, that he was going to play politics instead," Scott said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who joined Scott at a meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., went out of his way Wednesday to praise Nelson for "his partnership and hard work" on Zika.

Edwards, meanwhile, met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who was "noncommittal" as to whether Louisiana will get Obama's full $2.6 billion request to rebuild housing and infrastructure ruined by the floods. He's finding that the Capitol works at a much slower pace and is a stingier place than it was when Katrina smashed Louisiana a decade ago.

Edwards has a meeting with Obama on Friday after sitting down with two Cabinet members last week, including budget director Shaun Donovan, who submitted the administration's official request Tuesday evening.

"It's incumbent upon us to have good relationships and good communication regardless of party, but it's just easier when you are in the same party. And I think that has been helpful when I've been meeting with the president but also with his Cabinet secretaries," Edwards said. "But it's also obviously helpful to have folks from the Louisiana congressional delegation who can work the Republican side of the aisle."

Timing may also work in Edwards' favor. Part of the difficulty for the Zika request was that it traveled alone in the middle of the political season. It's now catching a ride on the stopgap spending bill, which is the sole must-do item before Congress adjourns for the elections. Most of the flood aid seems likely to advance in a year-end spending bill, but the Louisianans are pushing hard for some aid now. They may have a potent ally.

"We want to try to find ways to help Louisiana even at this real late date," said the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who met with Edwards on Thursday.

+8 Congressmen tour Baton Rouge area for first-hand look at devastating impact of flood Seeking to drum up more national support for south Louisiana as the region rebuilds from Aug

___

This story has been corrected to replace 'not' with 'now' in the second-to-last paragraph, so it reads, "It's now catching a ride on the stopgap spending bill ..."
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The Metro Council on Wednesday made perhaps the most sweeping change to its flood ordinance yet, meaning many people now won't have to worry about whether the government will make them elevate or demolish their homes.

According to the latest numbers from the city-parish, more than half the households that flooded  some 32,000 households  are in areas variously described as X zones, low-and moderate-risk zones and non-special hazard zones. The practical difference is that those people are not required by their mortgage companies to buy flood insurance, as the people in high-risk zones are.

Wednesday, the Metro Council voted to exempt existing buildings in low- and moderate-risk flood zones from elevation requirements.

"That's a big deal," said Mayor Pro Tem Chandler Loupe.

City staff said Wednesday they aren't sure how many of the more than 32,000 homes now relieved of elevation requirements would have actually reached the threshold that would have required they raise or wreck their homes.

Several other flood topics were brought before the Metro Council on Wednesday, including an update on local waterways and the start of talks about how many millions of dollars it's going to cost to pay for all the damaged public property.

There's also a chance the airport could serve as a future site for trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA has previously announced its preference for rental assistance and performing basic repairs so flood victims can shelter at home, but many politicians have said the trailers will be the only way forward for many residents, and not every lot has enough space to fit one.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office submitted a $35,000 proposal to lease five acres at the airport to place trailers for deputies and their families, though the measure was pulled without discussion.

However, Aviation Director Anthony Marino said FEMA has expressed interest in renting about eight acres for 27 trailers, but no deal has been struck.

The Metro Council also introduced a measure to allocate $47 million to pay for flood-related expenses. The matter will go up for discussion and vote during the next meeting on Sept. 22. According to supporting documents, it will cost at least $31 million to pay for debris removal, $10 million for building and equipment repairs, $5 million for emergency protective measures and $899,000 for contractors to apply for flood-related grants and oversee the disbursement of federal funds.

The city-parish expects that all or nearly all the money will be reimbursed by the federal government's public assistance program. Recently, the White House upped the amount it will pay local governments' flood expenses from 75 percent to 90 percent. The city-parish intends to pay the rest with its budget stabilization fund, and the East Baton Rouge finance director has said the local government won't have to put off any capital projects to make up its share.

Besides the cost of debris removal, the city took damage to dozens of police vehicles, fire departments, libraries and other public property.

EBR Metro Council approves emergency measures, gets look at municipal flood damage The East Baton Rouge Metro Council on Monday waived the parish noise ordinance for flood-rel

The council also signed off on the $899,000 deal with the grant contractors, which will apply for grants on behalf of the city and oversee the disbursement of federal money. Several asked questions about whether the bid was properly advertised and what it would pay for, but city-parish Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel said it was competitively bid and that the amount is the "not to exceed" amount based on the salaries at the company, CSRS Inc.

Public works staff also submitted a report on parish waterways. Fallen trees have worsened erosion around the Comite River, and water levels in the south of the parish near Bayou Manchac were still high.

Canals appear to be back to normal, but portions of Cypress Bayou and Redwood Creek still had some tree debris when workers performed their observations at various points in the past two weeks.

In their written report, staff recommended three methods to improve drainage. First, the parish could bring back the plan to bond out money to update 42 miles of channels, though a bond issue to support such a strategy has failed three times. The unfunded Comite River Diversion Canal would also help, though it will require federal support. Finally, the connections between subdivision and municipal channels need to be improved to increase capacity.

Public works staff shot aerial photographs of the damage they encountered and made a map for the council. Loupe asked that it be made public. The city-parish has been publishing its flood-related public maps at gis.brla.gov/.

While the big news out of Wednesday's meeting for many was the news that they definitely won't have to elevate their homes, there are a few caveats.

Buildings in high-risk zones  sometimes called A zones  that sustained 50 percent damage and are not currently at least one foot above the base flood elevation level will still have to be torn down or raised up.

"There's nothing we can do about A (zones,)" Daniel said.

High-risk zones must meet standards set forth by the federal government so residents of a parish or municipality may participate in the National Flood Insurance Plan.

For decades, the city-parish has enforced stricter building codes than the federal minimum to receive cheaper flood insurance rates. Earlier this month, the Metro Council made other changes to try to reduce the number of people who will be forced to rebuild.

Previously, people had to raise or rebuild when their homes received 40 percent damage. The threshold was raised to 50 percent. Also, homes in high-risk flood zones only have to be a foot above the base flood elevation after the council exempted the recent flood from any elevation standards.

The city-parish has lost points toward its flood rating for changing its standards. However, Daniel said Wednesday that none of the changes so far has pushed the parish into a lower rating that will force people to pay higher premiums.

The newest rule does not affect new construction in low- and moderate-risk zones, which must still be built one foot above the street center line, manhole covers and record inundation excluding the recent event, explained engineer Shannon Dupont, the city-parish's floodplain manager.

Furthermore, property owners who have land in a high-risk zone, but their houses are in a low-risk zone and flooded, will not have to meet any type of elevation standard, said interim assistant chief administrative officer Carey Chauvin.
The committee vetting candidates to serve as the next chief executive officer for the Capital Area Transit System has recommended the public transportation board offer the spot to its interim CEO.

After interviewing interim CATS CEO William "Bill" Deville and one other finalist Wednesday, the search committee voted 7-2 to recommend that the board overseeing CATS appoint Deville as permanent CEO. He's been leading the agency since April.

The board is expected to vote on the recommendation at its next meeting Sept. 20.

Deville stepped in as interim leader of the bus system following the resignation earlier this year of former CEO Bob Mirabito.

In addition to Deville, the committee also conducted an in-person interview with Jonathan Davis, retired CEO of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston.

The committee's decision comes at the consternation of some local leaders, like State Sen. Mack Bodi White (R-Central), who had hoped the decision would be put off until after the upcoming mayoral election.

"I think it would have been nice if the new mayor could have some input," White said Wednesday afternoon. "The mayor gets to have an appointment on the board and maybe that person would have some interesting ideas and questions to ask during the process."

+2 Next CATS chief needs to improve public perception, committee says It may not matter who's in charge of the Capital Area Transit System if the troubled bus age

In a prepared statement the committee's chairman, Ken Perret, said, "Bill Deville has served CATS well as the interim CEO, most recently leading the agency's response from the Baton Rouge flooding, during which CATS evacuated 6,000 residents."

"Bill has a vision for the future of CATS, which includes finding innovative ways to improve our fleet so that we are improving our service to riders in this community," Perret said.

Deville joined CATS in 2013 as its chief operating officer and project manager through MV Transportation, the private company that aided in CATS' 2013 route expansion.

Deville's entry into CATS came after he served as the CEO of the Regional Transit Authority in New Orleans. He worked with RTA for 22 years.

The committee on Wednesday quizzed Deville with a round of questions mostly geared toward how he would improve the public bus system which in the past few years has faced heavy criticism from riders and elected officials and was scandalized by fraud allegations.

Deville was also grilled on how he would get voters to renew a 10-year property tax CATS has been collecting since 2012, which committee members fear is unpopular since many feel the agency hasn't delivered on the promises it made to gain voter approval.

"The agency needs re-branding. I don't know if the tax would be renewed if the vote took place today," Deville told the committee. "We must immediately replace 40-something vehicles that are more than 12 years old. We have operators who don't want to drive these old buses because they keep breaking down on them."

Deville said replacing the bus fleet is a visible change that could give the agency a "short-term, honeymoon" period to regain the public's trust and increase ridership while he attacks one the system's larger needs -- redesigning routes.

As the permanent CEO, Deville pitched using expert consultants to help implement possible administrative restructuring and more aggressive grant writing, which he sees as critical needs to help overall improvements.

He also promised face-to-face meetings with members of the Baton Rouge Metro Council, which the committee acknowledged doesn't have the best relationship with the transportation board.

Deville even said the recent flood disaster is an opportunity for outreach to surrounding parishes struggling to recover. He said the disaster is an opportunity to extend CATS footprint outside the East Baton Rouge Parish lines.

"It's a regional transit authority and it needs to be regional," he said.
By PTI: Chennai, Sep 14 (PTI) Senior leader Su Thirunavukkarasar, who was today named President of Tamil Nadu Congress, has a tough job on hand to take along various factions and guide the party to a good performance in the coming local body elections.

He takes over the party state unit three months after E V K S Elangovan tendered his resignation owning moral responsibility for the poor showing of Congress in the May assembly polls.

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"I will be visiting Delhi tomorrow to call on top party leaders to seek their advice (on key issues) and get their blessings. Later, I will discuss with our state leaders and take over officially," Thirunavukkarasar told PTI.

The impending decision of DMK on alliances will have a big impact on his task vis-a-vis the elections to urban and rural local bodies, including for the posts of several thousand councillors, expected to be held next month.

To a question, he said "it is an important election. How we will be going about it will be decided based on the deliberations with our national and state leadership."

Congress had faced the May 16 assembly polls in alliance with DMK. Though it contested in 41 seats, it won only eight.

On Tiurnavukkarasar succeeding him, Elangovan said "he should take along all party workers," viewed as an indication to suggest that he should be above factional differences.

Several other Congress functionaries said steering the party to "reasonable wins," was dependent on two factors. One was taking along all sections of party workers and another working for an electoral arrangement with DMK.

Convincing the DMK to forge hands with Congress may pose difficulties as sections of party functionaries within the DMK are said to be of the view that Congress pulled it down from capturing power in the assembly elections.

A DMK leader said a decision will be taken on the issue of forging alliances for civic polls soon at the party district secretaries meet.

Another task that awaits Thirunavukkarasar, according to Congress functionaries, will be looking into the issue of party appointments for various posts including that of district presidents. During the tenure of Elangovan, there were several grievances with regard to it, they said.

Soon after he was named TNCC chief, the Anna Nagar residence of Thirunavukkarasar here was swarmed by supporters and party functionaries to greet him.

Thirunavukkarasar was a former AIADMK leader and had been a Minister in the Cabinet of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran between 1980 and 1987.

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He was elected as an MLA from Aranthangi constituency for six consecutive terms from 1977. He became the Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1977 at a young age of 28 when AIADMK first captured power in the state.

After being the deputy leader of Opposition (AIADMK) between 1987 to 1991, he later floated MGR-ADMK following difference of opinion with party chief Jayalalithaa.

In 2002, he merged his outfit with the BJP and went on to become its national secretary and also Union Minister of State for Shipping in the then NDA regime. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP nominee in 2004 from Madhya Pradesh.

In November 2009, he quit the BJP, resigned his Rajya Sabha membership and joined the Congress. PTI VGN VS SMJ

--- ENDS ---
Livingston Parish officials lifted a curfew for residents Thursday, a month after historic flooding ravaged the area and displaced thousands, according to a report.

Livingston Parish President Layton Hicks and the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness made the announcement Thursday morning, WBRZ reported. It is effective immediately.

Parish officials implemented the overnight curfew shortly after the historic flooding.

Livingston Parish schools also resumed classes this week.

Read the full WBRZ report here.
Photo provided by Sheriff's Department -- A 17-year-old driver died from injuries he suffered in a single-vehicle accident in Ponchatoula on Tuesday, Tangipahoa Parish authorities said.
Southern University officials projected this fall would be a banner year for enrollment.

In July, officials said all signs pointed to the school having its largest freshmen class ever and that the tide was turning in favor of a steadily increasing enrollment after years of losses.

While the school was spared from damages from the great flood event in the Baton Rouge area last month, many students were not, and hundreds expected to show up to class this week never arrived.

In total 6,571 students enrolled at Southern University and had active schedules, but as of Tuesday when the official tallies were counted, only 6,152 students had paid their bills for the semester. That means 419 students who had expected to start school didn't end up making it.

The loss in students is a 5 percent drop from last year's fall enrollment of 6,510. The freshmen class is 1,063. In July, citing increases in student applications, acceptance rates and attendance at freshman orientation, Southern predicted a record breaking freshmen class of more than 1,500.

But all of that changed with the flood.

"We have had some instances of parents who have simply said to us, 'My home is lost. My automobile is lost. We're under a financial burden and our mental state is not one where I want my child starting college or continuing college under these conditions,'" said Brandon Dumas, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management.

Recruiting new students has been a major effort for Southern University in recent years, as officials have tried to combat lost enrollment over the years.

While Southerns enrollment peaked after Hurricane Katrina at more than 10,000 students, its steadily fallen over the past decade by almost 40 percent.

Ray Belton, the universitys president, previously said hed like to see the enrollment return to about 9,000 students.

Dumas said he believes that the high profile fatal shootings this summer and the fall out from the death of Alton Sterling and the three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers also sent shock waves to out of state students.

"I do believe that both (shootings and flood) had an impact, but not necessarily equally," he said. "I have been contacted by parents who have said to me, 'I'm not necessarily comfortable sending my kid to Baton Rouge.'"

Last week, LSU's enrollment count came in at less than 2 percent down from last year. LSU officials also cited loss of students due to floods.
An air permit approved last year for the Yuhuang Chemical Inc. plant in St. James Parish has been sent back to the state for more work after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed with environmental groups that the permit is not up to par.

The $1.8 billion Yuhuang Chemical Inc. plant received the permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality on May 5, 2015 to produce 5,000 metric tons of methanol a day from natural gas.

EPA posed no objection at the time, but the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Sierra Club petitioned the federal agency to reconsider.

On Aug.31, EPA granted part of the environmental groups' petition on the grounds that although the permit may set limits on how much pollution can be released, there isn't enough in the permit to make sure those limits can be enforced.

The EPA order means DEQ could decide to rewrite the permit, change the permit to consider the facility a major source, which comes with a requirement to use best available pollution control technology, or provide more information to EPA better explaining why the permit is enforceable, said Donald Trahan, DEQ administrator for the air permits division.

DEQ is still reviewing the order and the permit, he said, and hasn't decided what action to take. DEQ has 90 days to resolve EPA's objections.

Environmental groups that petitioned EPA praised the federal agency's action.

This shows that the LDEQ was not been following all the requirements for permitting under the Clean Air Act, and we thank the EPA for its actions," wrote Marylee Orr, executive director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network.

EPA directed the state to make sure requirements placed on air pollution, including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, can be enforced. These limits in the current permit were set at below 100 tons per year, which is the threshold to be considered a "minor source" of air pollution. If those amounts go above 100 tons per year, the facility would be considered a "major source" and additional and costly pollution control requirements would go into effect.

"They issued a permit, which is a license to pollute, without putting in measures in to make sure the plant meets those limits," said Corinne Van Dalen, supervisory attorney with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, which has represented the environmental groups in this matter. "You have to have ways to enforce that."

The company didn't return requests for comment by deadline Wednesday.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the facility was held last fall, at which time it was expected the plant would create 400 permanent jobs and 2,100 temporary construction jobs. Construction hasn't begun yet, according to DEQ. This would be Yuhuang Chemical Inc.'s fist major project in the U.S., according to the company's website.

Chinese company finalizes purchase of St. James High School; here are next steps St. James Yuhuang Chemical, the Chinese company developing its first major U.S. project in 

As part of negotiations, the company agreed to buy St. James High School, which is adjacent to the site where the company plants to build its facility. That money, plus a voter-approved bond issue, will fund a new high school on a 54-acre property off LA. 3127 in Vacherie in the next several years.
Just four of the more than 18,000 households that have sought help from Louisiana's signature housing recovery program have had emergency repair work completed, following the catastrophic floods that swept across South Louisiana last month.

But leaders say that they expect the number to ramp up as the "Shelter At Home" program gets past the initial hurdles of its launch.

"It takes time to establish a program and get it moving," said Lael Holton, of AECOM, the company selected to administer the program. "Those homes are going to start moving forward very rapidly."

Holton said that at least 900 homes are currently in the process of repairs two weeks after the program formally launched. That number is expected to continue to increase, as more construction crews hit the ground.

"18,000 people are all seeking the same service at the same time," Holton said. "We're pushing it as fast as we absolutely can."

Shelter at Home was unveiled last month as a key component of the state's plan for addressing the needs of thousands of people left displaced by the August floods, while also easing the burden on an already squeezed housing market.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has on several occasions, including during a recent congressional hearing, touted the program as the preferred housing recovery method, as opposed to rental assistance and hotel stays, because it allows people to remain in their communities.

The idea is to get homes into a livable state, so people can live there while they make more permanent repairs.

On Wednesday, Edwards' spokesman, Richard Carbo, said that the governor is closely monitoring the Shelter at Home roll out and remains optimistic about it.

"I think over the next 24-to-48 hours, the numbers will spike dramatically," Carbo said. "We're doing everything we can to get people into their homes as quickly as possible. It's a process."

The state and federal partnership is a first for Louisiana, and leaders have touted it as an innovative solution for the complex housing needs that have arisen following the floods.

But Holton said that homeowners in the pipeline have already been expressing frustration over the pace of the roll out.

"Right now, we are continuing to let folks know that we are hearing their concerns," he said.

During a recent congressional hearing on the flood response, U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Florida, said that he had also was aware of concerns over the Shelter at Home program's pace.

Mica, who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees FEMA and visited Baton Rouge following the flood, said that FEMA blamed the state for delays.

"The thing I heard was that it took a long time to get Shelter at Home in place," he said. "I'm saying, 'Why hasn't anything been done?' (FEMA) said the state had not approved a plan."

Officials estimate that as many as 160,000 homes have been affected by the flood. The central goal of Shelter At Home is to help people return to their communities and settle back into their lives as they continue the recovery process.

If a home can be back in a livable state with up to $15,000 in repairs, then the state will OK the work and a crew will be sent out to do the work.

The program only covers minor repair work: basic electrical and plumbing inspections; carpet and insulation removal; air conditioning and hot water heater repairs; and installing temporary bathroom fixtures, are among the types of tasks they will consider.

The program will also pay for mini-refrigerators or microwaves to be installed to serve as makeshift kitchen appliances.

Holton said that despite the initial backlog, he thinks that it's important to spread word about the program. Shelter at Home representatives will be setting up at disaster recovery centers in the coming days and work to promote the program throughout affected parishes.

"One of the things we need to focus on is getting the word out to folks," he said.
Louisiana leaders say they remain optimistic that the state is close to securing a federal relief package that will help provide funding for housing, infrastructure and community development programs following the catastrophic floods that left 13 people dead and thousands displaced last month.

Gov. John Bel Edwards spent Wednesday in Washington, D.C., lobbying for what he says is a more than $2 billion immediate need back home to help jump start the recovery process in flood-wracked communities.

Edwards spokesman Richard Carbo said that the governor on Wednesday night was waiting for legislation to be finalized, including an official dollar amount that the state could see, but the latest round of meetings, including with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, were positive.

"As far as the delegation is concerned I think everyone is very committed to getting something as quickly as possible," Carbo said. "There are still hurdles to climb but we are working through them."

President Barack Obama's administration has requested $2.6 billion in flood relief for Louisiana that could be used for housing repair or replacement that won't be covered by insurance; additional individual assistance awards through FEMA; small business repair needs; infrastructure improvements and other programs to benefit flood victims, including affordable housing and community development projects.

"The administration urges the Congress to provide additional funding to address Louisiana's unmet housing and infrastructure needs as soon as possible," White House Budget Director Shaun Donovan wrote in the letter formally requesting aid for the state's recovery Tuesday.

Edwards this week announced a 21-member task force that will help lead the state's recovery, including coordinating resources for the rebuilding and redevelopment of flood-wracked areas to "maximize their impact, improve efficiency and avoid duplication of efforts." That group would likely help direct how the federal aid makes its way to communities.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said he's confident that Louisiana will receive federal assistance.

"Everybody's on board and everybody's doing their part," he said. "I'm confident that we will have more relief. The question is whether it will happen in September or December."

The U.S. House and Senate are scheduled to recess by the end of the month and won't return until after the November elections.

The continuing resolution that would be a vehicle to carry the flood aid is needed to keep government funded past the end of the month.

"There is a chance, and we've been working with others to line things up, so at least a portion of it can come out now," Cassidy said. "Aid will be most impactful if it comes out earlier, and not later."

One of the concerns for Louisiana's leaders has been over whether other projects might also get tacked onto the continuing resolution, derailing the flood aid.

Cassidy said that's a concern for him as well, but he sees things generally tilting toward Louisiana's favor at this point.

"I'm the kind of guy that until it's signed into law, I'm going to keep working at it and working for it and not take anything for granted," he said. "We do receive positive feedback as we're working on this."

"We continue to have things lining up," he said.

Representatives from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry were in Washington on Wednesday for an unrelated meeting with the state's congressional delegation. It's by coincidence that a major issue affecting Louisiana is also going on at the same time, LABI President Stephen Waguespack said.

But the business leaders quickly shifted into unofficial flood ambassador mode -- spreading the word about just how badly aid is needed back home.

"They can't wait until December," Waguespack said. "For some of these areas, if there's not an immediate investment of some sort, you just won't have recovery there. We're trying to stay on that message."

Waguespack said that representatives from LABI had met with Edwards and Louisiana's delegation throughout the day. He said they had also been working to stress to lawmakers from other states.

"At this point, I think everyone understands that something has to be done," he said. "It sounds promising that they'll get something done."
The major Democratic and Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate are mostly divided along party lines over how Congress should break a partisan deadlock that has prevented approval of federal money to combat the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Whether Congress authorizes the spending is no moot point.

The Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed that the virus has infected 28 people in the state, although all of them were bitten by mosquitoes while outside of the country.

President Barack Obama has been asking Congress since February to approve at least $1.1 billion to combat the virus, which has been linked to pregnant women giving birth to babies with severe defects.

Congress urged to pass emergency funding for Zika response and research Health leaders and elected officials made a plea Thursday for Congress to approve emergency 

Republicans have insisted the spending measure include language that would provide offsetting budget cuts to Obamacare and Planned Parenthood  programs that are important to Democrats. In turn, Democrats have refused to green light the bill as long as it includes what in Washington are known as riders.

Foster Campbell, a Public Service Commission member from Bossier Parish who is a Democrat, agrees with the Democrats position.

I dont think Congress should hold Zika hostage, he said. Fund the damn thing.

Campbell called approving the bill a pro-life issue.

Little babies could be infected with the Zika virus, he said.

Campbell has used the gridlock over the Zika funding as a fundraising pitch to potential donors.

We cant wait any longer  we need a senator who will commit to stopping Zikas spread, Campbell said in his request for money.

U.S. Rep. John Fleming, a Republican from the Shreveport area, said he voted for the version approved by the Republican-controlled House because he believes it would stymie a Democratic effort to direct Zika testing and treatment to Planned Parenthood.

Republicans oppose federal aid to Planned Parenthood because the group performs abortions. It also provides life-saving cancer screenings, contraception, STD testing and treatment and community sexual health education.

The hold up on funding is Democrats playing political games and wanting to reward their political friends, Fleming said in an interview, adding that Republicans should continue to hold their ground, even if that further stalls the funding.

Rob Maness, a Republican who finished a distant third in the 2014 U.S. Senate race, also toes the Republican line.

Its despicable that the Democrats are using the riders as excuses to be obstructionist, Maness said in an interview. If those riders are about saving American lives, I would be very amenable to leaving them in.

In the meantime, the 28 infected people in Louisiana could pass along the virus through sexual intercourse while they remain infected, said Kyle Moppert, the states bug man. Or a mosquito that transmits the virus could bite any of the 28 and then infect someone else through another bite. Those mosquitoes are principally found in six parishes that surround Lake Pontchartrain, Moppert said.

Of the other major candidates, state Treasurer John Kennedy, a Republican, said he believes that Democrats are trying to use the Zika virus as a way to direct more clients  and thus more federal money  to Planned Parenthood, something he said he opposed.

Everybody on both sides should stop trying to score political points, Kennedy said an interview but did not say whether he believes that Congress should approve the Zika money without the Republican riders.

It depends on what the final bill looks like, he said.

Caroline Fayard, a Democrat from New Orleans who lost a 2010 bid to be lieutenant governor, did not agree to an interview.

Louisiana is square in the path of the Zika epidemic and funding for combating the Zika virus deserves be put to an up or down vote without any strings attached, Fayard said in a written statement.

Congressman Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, also did not agree to an interview. He provided a statement that did not say whether he wants an up or down vote now without the strings or favors the Republican position of holding up the money, even if that means further delay.

"It's despicable that Democrats in Congress would hold up a vote on critical funding to combat the Zika virus for political reasons, Boustany said in a statement that echoes Republican talking points of blaming Democrats. When I'm in the Senate, I'll work to stop Democrats from putting politics ahead of people.

David Duke, a Mandeville Republican who was a Ku Klux Klan grand wizard from 1973 to 1980 and a state representative from 1989 to 1992, also did not agree to an interview. In a written statement, he said he agreed with cutting spending on certain aspects of Planned Parenthood but said that the Zika virus is an emergency situation and must be addressed NOW!

Troy Hebert, a former state House and Senate member from districts south of Lafayette, is running as a political independent.

He said the gridlock over the Zika funding is precisely why Louisiana ought to send him to the Senate to replace the outgoing Republican, Sen. David Vitter.

This is a prime example of how both parties put their interests ahead of the people, Hebert said in an interview. Its sad when the people you send to Washington cant come to agreement on a health issue. The American people are fed up with bills that have riders on them, that have nothing to do with the object of the bill. Isnt the issue simple? Get rid of the Zika virus. Pass the bill straight up.

Hebert said Republicans ought to offer a separate bill to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood. He said he would support that measure.
As Chad Lynch, Director of Planning & Construction, left, watches, Jeff Parent, Maintenance Supervisor, right, shows where the high water mark was on the golf cart when the flood hit while talking about the cleanup at the school district's distribution center on Thursday Sept. 8, 2016. Five schools in Ascension Parish flooded, but the distribution center also flooded. It houses planning and construction, maintenance and child nutrition departments; maintains school buses and has an IT warehouse, all affected by the flood. Its cold storage unit also flooded.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) NHIDCL would provide consultancy to Nepal government for construction of 10 postal roads in the Terai region bordering India at a cost of Rs 500 crore.

"NHIDCL will sign an MoU with Nepal government for acting as a project management consultant for 10 postal road projects in Terai region of Nepal. The cost of these is Rs 500 crore," Road Transport and Highways Minster Nitin Gadkari said today.

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A postal road is designated for the transportation of postal mail.

The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) will ink the pact with Nepal tomorrow, he said.

NHIDCL is a government company under Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and is mandated to build a network of roads in tough terrains, including the North Eastern states. PTI NAM ABM

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As frustrated as many homeowners have become with post-flood rebuilding, some Denham Springs residents will have to go through the permitting process twice because the initial trip turned out to be handled by the wrong people.

Denham Springs Building Official Rick Foster said at least 30 homeowners in the city had received inspections and permits from the Livingston Parish permit office, rather than from city officials, within the past few weeks. Those permits were issued "in error, with no authority and are not valid," he said.

Any construction performed under the invalid permits may be in default under city regulations, Foster said, and those homeowners must seek a valid permit from the city's planning and development office. City officials will do everything they can to expedite those requests, he said.

Denham Springs residents voice frustrations over regulations that could require them to elevate their homes DENHAM SPRINGS  Residents packed Old City Hall's second-floor courtroom, overflowed to the 

DeeDee Delatte, the parish's assistant permit director, said the invalid permits were the result of the office's heavy workload after the flood and their use of out-of-town inspectors unfamiliar with the municipal boundaries.

Delatte said the parish permit staff has been swamped with applications, issuing 200-300 permits per day, working six or seven days each week since the office reopened Aug. 22.

"We have outside agencies helping us, people from Tennessee and from Baton Rouge, not from permit departments," Delatte said. "Some of them have been working our front desk on the weekends to give us time to catch up on entering our data, and some permits were issued in error by those outside entities."

Just how many invalid permits were issued and to whom is unclear. Foster asked the parish for a list of homeowners inside city limits who received parish permits, but Delatte said they cannot provide that list.

"We've been hand-writing everything and don't have a way to go back and search for those until they have all been entered in our system," she said.

The parish also cannot guarantee the errors won't recur, Delatte said.

The out-of-town inspectors discovered the problem when a Denham Springs resident told them they had no jurisdiction in an area where they were working this past week. After speaking with parish permit staff, the inspectors decided they would no longer conduct inspections at Denham Springs addresses, Delatte said.

"Is it going to happen again? Possibly," she said. "We're seeing so many applications, I just can't say that it absolutely won't happen again. But these were mistakes. We have so much of a workload here, I definitely don't need to be grabbing any from other places."

It's not clear how many of the thousands of parish permit applications have resulted in a "substantial damage" determination  meaning, the cost of repairing the home equals 50 percent or more of its pre-flood value.

Homes in special flood hazard areas that are built lower than the base flood elevation and determined to have been substantially damaged will have to be elevated, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations the parish adopted in order to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Substantial damage: What does it mean for Louisiana flood survivors? As Louisiana flood victims continue rebuilding their lives and property, many are facing the

Delatte said parish Building Official Chuck Vincent had found some homes to be substantially damaged, but she was unsure how many.

"I'm not quite sure on that total," Delatte said. "He (Vincent) is just running that part on his own. ... Most of them are houses on piers, not slab homes, where the foundation has been shifted and the subfloors are bad. I'm sure there's a whole lot more to come."

In Denham Springs, city inspectors have found 10 homes  among 260 for which repair permits were sought  to be substantially damaged, Foster told the City Council on Tuesday.

Delatte said residents in the unincorporated areas of the parish who believe their homes may have been substantially damaged should call the parish permit office for an inspection.

"We'll come out and look at it and make that determination based on appraised value," she said. "Then at that point, we'll determine if you have to elevate or if you can go in and repair it."

Delatte said what may appear to a homeowner to be substantial damage could wind up falling below the 50 percent threshold.

"If the foundation is there, the outer walls are still intact and the roof is good, there may still be a lot of work to be done but it might not necessarily meet the threshold," she said.

Foster said Denham Springs officials will look at two figures to determine whether homes inside city limits have been substantially damaged: the pre-flood market value and the estimated cost of repairs. FEMA provided a list of approved sources for those figures, which is available on the city's website at www.cityofdenhamsprings.com/docs/MarketValue.pdf.
Newly compiled data from Court Watch NOLA shed some fresh light on the makeup of the nearly 36,000 people arrested last year in Orleans Parish and the road that defendants plow through the criminal justice system.

The volunteer-driven court watchdog group released a report Wednesday that described a system dominated by poor arrestees who often get priced out of release on bail, plead guilty in the bulk of felony cases and, for nearly 2,500 convicts last year, land back behind bars for failing to pay court fines and fees.

The report itself offered little analysis of the numbers, but Simone Levine, the group's executive director, called it "critical data we need to educate the people of New Orleans about what is happening in their criminal justice system."

The group gathered data from the New Orleans Police Department, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office, Sheriff Marlin Gusman's office, the Vera Institute of Justice and elsewhere.

Among the findings, Levine pointed to a wide disparity in average sentences for various types of crimes. The report contrasts the average sentence of less than six months for domestic abuse batteries charged as felonies to an average of 9.3 years for distribution or possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

The drug distribution charges carry higher minimum sentences, and Levine acknowledged that victims' fear of retribution often makes domestic violence cases difficult to prosecute.

Still, she argued that the contrast in average sentences shows a "different value judgment" with domestic battery cases in Orleans Parish than in other jurisdictions in the state.

A spokesman for Cannizzaro's office said he could not immediately respond without looking further into the data.

Among the report's other findings:

More than three-quarters of arrestees in 2015 were male, and three-quarters were black. But their victims  more than 38,000 of them  much more closely mirrored the demographics of the city. Blacks made up 61 percent of crime victims last year, with whites accounting for 34 percent, the data show. Also, 52 percent of those victims were females. Orleans Parish is about 59 percent black and 48 percent male.

There were 21,040 admissions into the Orleans Parish jail last year, the report found.

More than 80 percent of those arrested on felony counts had their bail set above $2,500, while only 11 percent were released on their own recognizance.

According to data gathered from New Orleans Pretrial Services, 48 percent of jailed defendants made bail within seven days of their first court appearance, while 38 percent could not afford their bail or remained jailed for another reason while awaiting trial.

Levine suggested that those figures point to a disconnect between bail amounts and a defendant's ability to pay  a hot legal topic of late. Judges in Orleans Parish and several other Louisiana jurisdictions are under legal attack, accused of violating a U.S. Supreme Court edict that defendants can't be locked up solely on the basis of an inability to pay.

Role of fines and fees in New Orleans courts to be subject of Vera Institute study The reliance in some cities on the cycle of arrest, jail, bail, plea, fine and possibly jail

The Court Watch NOLA report also homed in on 858 sentences handed down last year for major felonies that included homicide, manslaughter, aggravated rape, armed robbery, domestic violence and drug distribution. It found that 52 percent of those defendants were accompanied at their sentencing by a public defender, having been deemed indigent.

Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton said that last figure may actually downplay his office's role, by failing to account for private attorneys that his office hires under contract to handle "conflict cases" for indigent defendants.

Bunton also said the report fell short in describing the economics of a system that increasingly "is aimed at poor people and people of color."

"I would suspect everybody in jail is in poverty, or absolutely the vast majority are," Bunton said. "When you move from arrest to detention, the disparities grow. You would see, I think, a pattern of racial disparities at every point of contact with the system that would deepen as the case goes on."

The report can be found at www.courtwatchnola.org.
The next ACT government should make mandatory swimming pool fencing retroactive, the head of Royal Lifesaving Australia has said.

Two people drowned in the ACT in 2014-15, according to the Royal Lifesaving Australia's National Drowning Report launched on Thursday.

New laws require that a valid certificate be attached to the sale or rental contract of any property with a swimming pool or spa. Credit:Colleen Petch

The ACT had the lowest rate of drowning in Australia and accounted for less than 1 per cent of drowning deaths nationwide.

However Royal Lifesaving Australia chief executive Justin Scarr said there was much more governments like the ACT's should be doing.
Hundreds of diehard Western Bulldogs fans were at Whitten Oval on Thursday morning to watch their beloved team train ahead of the blockbuster semi-final against Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night.

Given a victory would see the Bulldogs travel to Sydney for a preliminary final against Greater Western Sydney next week, the training session could serve as one of the last times the fans get to see their heroes in the flesh this season.

There was a notable addition to the Bulldogs' training group too, with banned ex-Essendon player Stewart Crameri participating in his first team training session since January.

Crameri is serving a season-long doping ban, along with 33 other former and current Bombers, for his involvement in the ill-fated 2012 supplements program.
Clive Palmer's absent nephew has weighed into the Queensland Nickel collapse controversy from the other side of the world, announcing plans to launch court action against the company's liquidators.

Mr Palmer himself is listed to appear in the High Court on Thursday afternoon in a challenge to the company's liquidators, believed to be an attempt to halt the public examination he is being questioned in.

He previously fought the summons to give evidence into the company's collapse, failing in September to have his appearance delayed.
Infrastructure assets I will never use stage one of the light rail. I will also never use the new jail, or most of the new road duplications, or the new courthouse, or the hospital upgrades. This does not mean they are not good long-term assets to the community. The wider non-transport benefits to a city-wide light rail system have been proven in other cities, and have already been stated as a factor in land sales along the stage one route by developers. The Labor government was elected with a promise to start construction of stage one. They have fulfilled that promise. The Canberra Liberals are seeking office promising to put $30 million in crisp new hundred dollar notes into a big pile, and set fire to it. Has this policy been subject to a cost-benefit analysis?

Peter Brassington, Coombs Headline horror I thought the days of reading headlines focusing on the behaviour of rape victims was well over, especially in our nation's capital. I was horrified therefore to see the headline "Alleged rape victim accused of fooling around" (September 14, p10). The story you present is of a vulnerable 15-year-old girl, and two men  one we are told is 10 years older, and the other, his friend, she is scared of. Better headlines might have been "Man accused of raping minor" or "Young girl reports allegations to appease angry boyfriend". Your reporting feeds into victim-blaming behaviour, and is disappointing.

Jessica Morrison, West Heidelberg, Vic Sensitive construction At last, a building format for new apartments and shops here that seems to work well in its localenvironment. It can be seen in a "works approval application" to the National Capital Authority for a new development on sensitive Constitution Avenue, one block east of Anzac Parade. The medium-rise building's avenue-facing elevation is centrally pierced by a wide three-storey opening extending through to the counter or aperture of the building's splayed, square-U-shaped footprint. Pedestrians will be able to walk from the avenue through the lofty "arch", into a spacious sunny courtyard formed by the aperture, which contains more shops and cafes etc at ground level. Views towards the National Triangle should be available from the courtyard, and of course, from the avenue-facing, and some side parts of the building. The three-dimensional articulated format will relieve the usual jaw-breaking monotony of such buildings ubiquitously seen in Canberra, including a couple of fairly ordinary ones already built on Constitution Avenue.

Jack Kershaw, Kambah Tram comparison This year Mike Reddy (Letters, September 9) has visited more cities using trams. Last year it was Zurich (population density 4400/sqkm) and Frankfurt (population density 3000/sqkm). Now it is Yekaterinburg (population density 2800/sqkm). If he can find a city like Canberra (population density 430/sqkm) using trams, then CanTheTram might cease its campaign. A. Smith, Farrer

Marriage equality a chance to join the league of true leaders By using their leadership, they garnered support and communicated the need for change beyond the murkiness of factional party politics. Gough Whitlam brought our troops home from Vietnam. Malcolm Fraser's unwavering stance helped end apartheid in South Africa; Bob Hawke's summit opened a gateway of co-operation and conciliation; John Howard enacted strong gun laws in the wake of Port Arthur; and Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generation. All these resonate in my consciousness as instances of true leadership. No political party has a monopoly on leadership qualities. It's in the person, their drive, the desire to make change, to be strident in their beliefs. Malcolm Turnbull has an opportunity where he, too, could be in this league.

Marriage equality is a human right. Stand up for all Australians in their choice of who to love and marry. Dump the plebiscite and push ahead regardless. L. Parker Doyle, Bonner ALP's arrogance I refer to your story "Turnbull's test as cabinet considers February plebiscite" (September 13, p8) and Labor's negative commentary coupled with a stated commitment to opposing the plebiscite legislation.

I am amazed that the ALP could be so arrogant as to suggest that I can't have a say in the future of Australian society that the plebiscite will deliver. Labor's position is another illustration of its penchant for social engineering. I remain undecided on same-sex marriage. I have no strong feeling one way or the other, but am open to being convinced one way or the other on the merits of the respective arguments. But what I do believe is that the plebiscite will arrive at a conclusion on this matter that is supported by all Australians, not just a few who will doubtless be lobbied by interest groups on both sides of the debate and those in between if the vote on same-sex marriage is reduced to a vote of parliamentarians. Regrettably there will winners and losers, and those who lose will need to move on. Like the Medicare scare campaign conducted by the ALP at the recent election, the Leader of the Opposition and his deputy are now making breathtaking claims that young children, of less than marital age by the way, will likely suicide. Why? Where is the empirical evidence for this outrageous statement?

John Fuhrman, Kambah Foregone conclusion George Brandis told the ABC's AM on Wednesday: "And I would appeal to Mr Shorten and members of the Labor caucus to realise that if they support this plebiscite bill then there will be a plebiscite on the 11th of February which all of the opinion poll evidence indicates would be passed overwhelmingly." (http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2016/s4538368.htm). So the Turnbull government knows, unequivocally, the outcome of a plebiscite. Why then do we need a hurtful plebiscite costing at least $175million which many members of their side have said they will ignore when they are called on to vote in Parliament, all in the midst of the Coalition's claimed "debt and deficit crisis"? What are the criteria to decide on whether a plebiscite should be held on any issue?

Mike Stracey, Fraser Use of boy hypocrisy My favourite politician, Tanya Plibersek, showed a disappointing lack of grace using a same-sex family's 13-year-old son to score a political point ("Labor forces PM into three-week plebiscite wait", September 14, p4). After Labor claiming concern over the possibility of a plebiscite's effect on those same children, this is hypocrisy. If this is an example of the tenor of the same-sex marriage debate, then I agree a plebiscite should be scrapped and any debate left in abeyance until some time in the future when sensible, calm debate with respect from both sides for different points of view is evident.

Sylvia Miners, Isabella Plains Where's my share? So Australia has had 25 years of continued economic growth, which logically should result in a continuing improvement in the living standards of all Australians. However, the reverse is the situation. The real value of salaries, wages and working conditions has been declining for years, youth unemployment is a national disgrace, and we are arguably the meanest country in the developed world when it comes to providing welfare for the aged, the unemployed, the disabled and other disadvantaged Australians. Consequently our living standards are going backwards. What is the good of an all singing and dancing economy if nobody seems to be sharing the benefits of the prosperity? Obviously, there must be a few out there who are copping the lot. I wonder who they are?

John Vincent, Wanniassa Asylum obscenity By Save the Children/UNICEF estimates, removing a family of four from Nauru to Australia would save $1.6million each year ("Stopping boats cost nation more than $9.6bn", September13, p9). Think what could be done with that sort of money by way of setting them up on small farms or shops, or providing full-time training or whatever it takes to meet their known desire to lead productive lives and give back to their country of refuge. Instead, obscene amounts are spent  security guards on six-figure salaries!  to police ever-more despairing and listless detainees whose only crime was to risk their lives at sea to find safe haven.

Tim Macnaught, Narrabundah Cronulla defence With reference to the Minto stabbing, John Rodriguez (Letters, September14) asked, "Was the Cronulla beach incident also a 'terrorist' attack, perpetrated by white supremacists on a group of Muslim youths?" No, mate. It was an enraged mob reaction to a bunch of self-righteous young men of minority religious affiliation who were deliberately and consistently intimidating young women on the beach. Mr Rodriguez' comments are not relevant to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. They are offensive and ignorant. Gary J. Wilson, MacGregor

TO THE POINT AGEISM CALL Should I feel insulted that the one call I have received for this election on Canberra issues is only open to those aged 18-29? Apparently it is an eight-minute survey  presumably for Labor and the Chief Minister's target generation. What about Gen X? Don't our views count? R. Scouller, Forrest

POPPINS PROMISES This being election season, I must remember Mary Poppins' advice: "That's a pie-crust promise. Easily made and easily broken." Richard Horobin, Curtin COUNTING DOWN On Sunday, the man from the Australian Bureau of Statistics told me census returns were overdue. Challenged that they could be received up until September23, he quoted an ABS email: "The completion of the census is due or overdue."

Later on, the email stated September 23 as the final date. Three contradictory statements. Lies, damned lies and ABS truths. Jeremy McGrane, Kingston WORKING ON THE RAIL Victoria's light rail creates jobs manufacturing trams in Victoria. Queensland's light rail creates jobs manufacturing trams in Queensland. Canberra's light rail will create jobs manufacturing trams in Japan, Spain or Germany.

Leon Arundell, Downer DISCERNING RACISM If Senator Pauline Hanson really cannot be bothered to try and distinguish between a "'good Muslim" or "bad Muslim" ("Hanson's speech takes aim at Muslims, welfare recipients", September15, p4), then why should anyone make an effort to distinguish between her decent, fearful, One Nation supporters and those racist elements among them? Michael Crowe, Hawker GO FIGURE

As surprised as I was at a 25 per cent overestimation of my gas bill, it was the nature of the "estimate" that confounded me. The estimate was quoted to six significant figures, and furthermore was based on an original reading of just four significant figures. A. Bartlett, Deakin SKEWED VIEW Sadly, your story ("Bordering on outrageous", Comment, September15, p16) won't change anything. The Coalition and Labor commission opinion polls. The polls reveal that most voters see refugees as vermin, not people. Change will come only when most voters see refugees as people.
The organised crime taskforce noted that many of those arrests attributed to bikie gangs are in fact not related. Spreading across Australia In 2015 Victoria enacted new laws to deal with bikie gangs. South Australia has introduced laws heavily based on Queenslands existing model, despite their lack of success. New South Wales already has consorting laws it uses to police bikie gangs. The NSW Ombudsman has conducted two reviews on the use of this legislation  one in 2014 and another in 2016. Both found shortcomings in the way police were using the legislation. The 2016 review recommended the use of the consorting laws be focused only on serious or organised crime, and prohibited from being used to tackle minor or nuisance offending.

The proposed Queensland law does not necessarily focus on consorting for the purpose of criminal activity. It says:  the persons association with the other person need not have a purpose related to criminal activity. This would seem at odds with the governments claims that the laws:  would enable law enforcement agencies to tackle all forms of serious organised crime  by focusing on peoples criminal activity, rather than a focus on any individual group. Queenslands new laws draw heavily on the NSW consorting laws. They include several provisions, including consorting offences, a ban on clubhouses, anti-fortification requirements, and public safety orders.

Perhaps most controversially they ban the wearing of gang colours in public. Until now colours had only been banned in licensed venues in some states. The previous Queensland state government rejected such a move. Then-premier Campbell Newman said: We dont go after people because of the clothes they wear, the tattoo they may have, the way their wear their hair. We go after the people who break the law, who are a threat to society. But banning colours is now seen as a way to combat organised crime. Police already have the tools they need

The QPS and other Australian law-enforcement agencies already had powerful legislative tools to combat criminal organisations prior to enacting consorting-specific legislation. Queenslands Criminal Organisations Act provides for making declarations and control orders for preventing and disrupting the activities of organisations involved in serious criminal activity, and of their members, former members, prospective members and associates. Ironically, this legislation was introduced by the then-Labor government in 2009, and was opposed by the LNP opposition both before and after its introduction. Its criticisms included: This bill is a repugnant attack on the rights and liberties of individuals. The QPS has made only one application under it to have an organised declared a criminal organisation: the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks bikie gang. The application and the legislation successfully withstood a High Court challenge.

At the time, QPS Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon said: Where there is sufficient evidence we will take action. Despite this in 2014, the QPS withdrew is application regarding the Finks. The reasons for withdrawal were suppressed. And no other evidence has ever been presented to make an application against any other gang in Queensland. What will the proposed laws achieve? It may well be difficult for the minority Labor government in Queensland to have these laws passed. Minor parties and independents have expressed concern with them.

This reflects to some degree a state of policy paralysis the government finds itself in. It has insufficient numbers in parliament to pass legislation without crossbench support. The devil is in the detail. The government says even if the new laws are passed, the existing laws will remain in place for two years  possibly until after the next state election. This will allow the government to claim it did something about the unpopular existing laws, but that by bringing in its own laws it is also tough on crime. In any case, like those that preceded them, these proposed laws may just end up being window-dressing. Existing offences and investigative powers are more than sufficient to deal with the threat of organised crime and criminal elements in the bikies. Loading
In 1998 I walked out of my high school, like thousands of other students around the country, to demonstrate against Pauline Hanson. To many young people, she personified the cruel, racist bullying so many of us had been subjected to while growing up in Australia as migrants.

Hanson lost her seat that year. Had someone told me at the time that, almost two decades later, I would find myself organising against Hanson and her ilk again, I would have found it hard to believe. Yet here we are.

It is feared racially motivated attacks will rise after Pauline Hanson's maiden speech in the Senate. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

If I was unprepared for Hanson's impending return to federal politics, it is not because I am surprised that her ideas have currency. Since her emergence in 1996, the Liberal Party has been busy keeping almost all of her original rhetoric alive in one form or another.

This latest election was a masterclass in the kind of divisive, racialised discourse that has paved the way for Hanson's return. The Coalition certainly wasted no time launching into a list of its greatest hits, with Peter Dutton opening the show: refugees can't read or write, and they're here to take our jobs and languish on welfare. Rather than rebuke him, Malcolm Turnbull commended Dutton as an "outstanding" minister, then used the attack in Orlando to link refugees to terrorism. Tony Abbott surfaced in the final weeks of the campaign to remind us that nobody was talking about Islam enough, and  a day before polling  Dutton returned after an attack in Istanbul to remind us that refugees are potential terrorists.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 15 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today raised the issue of floods which hit the state annually with Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal Prachanda and advocated water management to tackle floods and boost hydropower.

Calling Prachanda a "capable" leader, Kumar hoped that he will be able to ensure that there are no fresh flare ups or Madhesi agitations in areas of Nepal bordering Bihar.

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He called on Prachanda, who took over as Nepals Prime Minister for the second time recently, at the Nepalese embassy here.

"There are many issues. Indo-Nepal ties are unique and special. We have discussed the issues related to the rivers in Bihar that emerge from Nepal. The rivers in north Bihar mainly emerge from Nepal.

"If water management is undertaken properly, it will not only help tackle floods but also boost hydropower and Nepals economy," Kumar told reporters after the meeting.

Kumar said he has also requested the Centre to resume the Patna-Kathmandu flights.

Besides Kumar, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and NCP leader D P Tripathi also called on Prachanda.

"I have conveyed to him that as far as CPM is concerned, it will play its due role in order to ensure that the entire constitutional process in Nepal is completed with the maximum satisfaction to all the sections in Nepal.

"The process of the constitutional amendments should be completed so that there is a political stability in terms of the direction Nepal will be taking," he said. PTI SBR PMS RG PMS

--- ENDS ---
In Federal Parliament on Wednesday two new lawmakers each delivered a compelling speech. One united people by presenting facts and a personal story of the widespread tragedy of suicide. The other divided people by presenting misinformation and by fanning fear and prejudice, primarily about immigration and Muslims.

In the first, the Liberal Party member for the NSW seat of Berowra, Julian Leeser, recounted the death of his father by suicide 20 years ago, a searing event that has motivated the fledgling politician to promote education, intervention and understanding to raise awareness and thus to help reduce a terrible toll.

In the second, Queensland senator Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation, reprised her first speech 20 years ago  when she had a term in the lower house  by claiming Australia "is in danger of being swamped by Muslims". It was an update of her previous, evidently false proposition, repeated in recent weeks, that our suburbs are being "swamped by Asians".

The Age respects and defends Senator Hanson's right to state her opinion, and we acknowledge there are legitimate concerns about radicalisation, as well as extremist Islamists' treatment of women and persecution of homosexuals. In no way do we sneer at Senator Hanson. Having garnered one in 25 votes at the July 2 election, One Nation is a fringe party, but, given the way the voting system operates, Senator Hanson leads a team of four lawmakers and has a valid voice in the national debate. We believe facts do not support her, and that her policy prescriptions are against the national interest. These include: a royal commission into Islam; a royal commission into climate science; barring Muslims from migrating to Australia; and unwinding multiculturalism.
The RAAF wants to close bases at Richmond in western Sydney and Laverton outside Melbourne in a move that could shift hundreds of defence personnel to other states but free up large tracts of land for development.

The Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, said on Thursday the RAAF had a preference for Richmond and Laverton to close, though he stressed this was part of a broader plan that had not yet been put to the government.

Defence Minister Marise Payne said the government was "not considering" closing either base despite the RAAF's signalling that Richmond in particular will need heavy investment to make it worthwhile keeping it open.

Air Marshal Davies said Richmond's functions had been diminishing for years and a decision was needed on whether to close it or invest hundreds of millions of dollars to get it to a "fighting state".
Treasurer Scott Morrison has unveiled a compromise deal on superannuation changes that dumps one of the most controversial elements of the "ironclad" policy and saves an extra $180 million.

The headline change to the package is the axing of a proposed $500,000 lifetime non-concessional cap on super, which was to be backdated to 2007.

That backdating to 2007 was condemned by sections of the Coalition base  who rushed to praise the backdown on the cap  and lambasted by Labor for being retrospective.

Labor characterised the decision to drop the $500,000 cap as a "capitulation" after months of "chaos and dysfunction" over the policy but shadow treasurer Chris Bowen would not say whether the opposition would now support the policy, promising only to look constructively at the legislation when it is released in coming months.
It was the very first point Malcolm Turnbull made in introducing the same-sex marriage plebiscite bill to Parliament on Wednesday.

"I present to the House today the commitment that we made in the election campaign," he began.

Here was Australia's path to same-sex marriage, according to the Prime Minister, because it was the one signposted during the election.

And everyone knows what happens to Australian prime ministers who back out of firm promises made during an election.
The federal government will establish a dedicated support team for current and former ADF personnel who believe they have been damaged by controversial antimalarial drug mefloquine.

The commitment comes after a senate committee called on the Defence Department to provide all who took the drug with access to neurological assessments, full medical reports and ongoing support.

The federal government has launched new initiatives to support veterans concerned about mefloquine. Credit:Dave Hunt

Mefloquine, or Lariam, was first used on up to 2000 ADF personnel during a drug trial in East Timor in 2001-02. It remains the ADF's third choice anti-malarial despite being banned by the US special forces.

A group of soldiers including Iraq and Afghanistan veterans believe the drug scarred them with anxiety attacks, vertigo, nightmares, suicidal thoughts and hallucinations.
The Queensland government will be asked to help master plan the Southport Spit after Gold Coast City Council dramatically deferred for 12 months a decision on Sunland's $600 million, 44-storey twin towers.

The decision was made 11 to three, with councillor Peter Young abstaining, in front of a packed public gallery of up to 50 people.

The proposed Sunland development on the Southport Spit.

Sunland lodged its application for the striking hotel complex, complete with 350 apartments, a giant aquarium, a museum and gallery, in June last year.

In the past 15 months, the application has received widespread community debate due to its contribution to traffic on the Southport Spit, its contribution to tourism and how it would fit in the Gold Coast City Plan, which has a three-story ceiling for buildings in the area.
The legal age for consensual anal sex in Queensland has been lowered to 16 years, in line with other consensual sexual activity, and the word "sodomy" removed from the Criminal Code.

The Queensland Parliament voted to remove the longstanding source of discrimination in Queensland's Criminal Code on Thursday night.

The age of consent for anal sex has been lowered from 18 to 16, in line with other sexual activities. Credit:Ashley Corbin-Teich

Previously in Queensland, the age of consent was 18 for anal intercourse but 16 for all other sexual activity.

An panel of health experts met in May this year to consider changes to the Criminal Code and found that bringing the age of consent for anal intercourse in line with other sexual activity would improve sexual health.
The Surrey Hills level crossing where two elderly women were killed on Wednesday has been rated as Victoria's 14th most dangerous but is not part of Labor's list of 50 that are being replaced.

A 71-year-old and 73-year-old, both from Camberwell in Melbourne's east, were killed when their 2010 black Hyundai was crushed beyond recognition by an express train at Surrey Hills station about 4pm.

Witnesses said the car appeared to have been halfway through the Union Road level crossing when the boomgates came down around it.

Police have dismissed earlier reports that the driver went around the boomgates.
Lalu Prasad Yadav's comments have come at a time when a controversy is raging over gangster turned politician Shahabuddin's release from jail in Bihar.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has asserted that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the leader of the coalition government in the state.

Yadav's comments have come at a time when a massive controversy is raging after gangster Shahabuddin said that he did not consider Nitish as a leader but an accidental chief minister.

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"Nitish is the leader of the grand alliance government. The BJP has no other issue than Shahabuddin. It is the judiciary that has granted bail to Shahabuddin," said Yadav.

Also read: Tej Pratap Yadav spotted with another Shahabuddin strongman

GRAND ALLIANCE INTACT



The RJD chief appealed that the controversy surrounding the grand alliance government in Bihar after the release of gangster turned politician Shahabuddin should cease. He added that the opposition in the state was trying to create a rift between the JDU and the RJD.

"The grand alliance was formed after much thought. If someone has some grievance, they should raise it at the party level," said Yadav.

The RJD leader was also miffed at the press conference convened by ministers Bijendra Yadav and Lallan Singh, both from JDU quota, to slam RJD Vice-President Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and said that in future no party should convene press conferences unilaterally.

"The state president of all the three parties, JDU-RJD-Congress should address press conferences jointly to avoid confusion," he said.

Also read: Siwan administration recommends sending Shahabuddin back to jail

Yadav asserted that despite the recent friction between the JDU and the RJD over Shahabuddin and his scathing attack on Bihar CM, the grand alliance was intact like a rock.

"BJP's mouth is watering for power. We had formed grand alliance to keep the BJP at bay. Our alliance is rock solid," he said.



SOLUTIONS AT PARTY LEVEL



The chief admitted there could be differences between alliance partners over ideology, however, he added that solutions on the differences should be found at the party level.

"It's a grand alliance governemnt in Bihar. One should think before giving any comment because that may damage the alliance," advised Yadav.

--- ENDS ---
Just 1.6 per cent of young Victorian criminals are committing almost a quarter of offences involving juvenile lawbreakers, new research shows.

Those in the "high-frequency" category committed an average of 76.5 offences each, from their 10th birthday to the day before they turned 18.

Letting children off with a warning may underestimate their criminal behaviour, warns the Crime Statistics Agency. Credit:Josh Robenstone

And the biggest risk factors for 10-17 year olds falling into the "high" frequency group were being male and growing up in low-income suburbs.

The new Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) research comes as Victoria grapples with a 10 per cent rise in crimes during the past year.
An alleged stalker in Melbourne's north confronted his teenage victim twice over several days, demanding she get into his car, according to police.

In both incidents, the man allegedly pulled up in a black BMW and intimidated the 18-year-old while she was walking in Wollert, near Craigieburn.

A police image of the man authorities wish to speak to. Credit:Victoria Police

In the first incident, the young woman was walking her dog on Lehmanns Road about 5.30pm on August 28 when the man allegedly drove past, honking the horn and waving.

Failing to get her attention, the driver did a U-turn and pulled up alongside the young woman, yelling "get in the car".
Commuters gritted their teeth through long delays in the rain on Thursday evening as train lines were suspended and delayed.

The Sandringham line was suspended due to water on the tracks near Prahran and there were major delays on the South Morang and Hurstbridge lines due to a train fault at Southern Cross Station.

Trains have been suspended and delayed on Thursday evening. Credit:John Woudstra

Metro Trains has advised services have resumed on the Sandringham Line.
The man who killed two students during a shooting rampage at Monash University has been found not guilty by way of mental impairment after stabbing a worker at a Melbourne psychiatric hospital.

Huan Yun Xiang stabbed the staff member  who cannot be named  to the neck and hand on October 20 last year at Thomas Embling Hospital.

Huan Yun Xiang stabbed the staff member to the neck and hand. Sketch: Matt Davidson

Xiang, who shot two men dead and wounded five others at Monash's Clayton campus on October 21, 2002, has been a patient at the secure unit since 2004.

He was found not guilty of two counts of murder and five of attempted murder, before being ordered to spend up to 25 years under supervision at Thomas Embling.
Sex Party MP Fiona Patten has been accused by the Liberal Party of a conflict of interest after investing "a few thousand dollars" in a medicinal cannabis company.

Ms Patten, who this week unsuccessfully attempted to introduce a motion to legalise the recreational use of dope, has declared to parliament she purchased shares in MGC Pharmaceuticals, a global medicinal cannabis company that originated in Israel.

In a rare media comment, opposition scrutiny of government spokeswoman Inga Peulich accused Ms Patten of "standing to make personal profit out of moralising on the pain and suffering of others".

"Fiona Patten needs to get off the grass and sell her shares in a company that stands to make hundreds of millions if her bill legalising cannabis is passed," she said.
The car crushed by an express train at a Surrey Hills level crossing was not trying to evade boom gates and had its reverse lights on moments before it was hit, eyewitnesses say.

The two women, Denise Dobbyn and Carmel Iseppi, were neighbours in a Camberwell retirement village.

Friends and neighbours: Denise Dobbyn (left) and Carmel Iseppi.

The women, aged 73 and 71, died on Wednesday when their small black Hyundai was hit by a train travelling at 80km/h at a Surrey Hills level crossing.

Eyewitnesses on Thursday described the crash at Union Road, next to Surrey Hills railway station, and how the car came to be on the tracks in the train's path.
Flooded paddocks along Mt Emu Creek, just south of Terang. Credit:Rob Gunstone The wild weather has impacted 25 council areas, closing 13 schools and shutting 188 roads. Mr Lapsley said the water in Charlton would continue to rise overnight before reaching 7.5 metres on Friday, where it would stay for the next couple of days. The farmer's submerged ute in Wallacedale. Light rain is expected for the rest of the week, followed by heavy rain on Tuesday or Wednesday next week that poses significant concern for emergency services.

Mr Lapsley urged people to exercise caution as drivers continued to place themselves at risk by ignoring road closures. Danger sign at the Avoca River in Charlton which is set to peak on Thursday. Credit:Joe Armao "Roads are turning into rivers," he said. "Water may seem calm but underneath there are significant currents." The floodwaters cut power to about 8000 homes and businesses across north-west Victoria, including nearly 800 in Charlton, about 240 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, at 1am on Thursday. Power had been restored to most of those by the evening. Man and girl stranded in floodwaters at Inverleigh on Wednesday night. Credit:Channel Seven

Charlton residents also battled limited fuel supplies and phone coverage. The SES door-knocked 80 homes in the southern parts of the town on Thursday, while more than 100 people attended a public meeting in the Charlton Shire Hall. Sandbags in Charlton. Credit:Joe Armao

Firefighters have lined doorways and walls in the town with hundreds of sandbags in preparation for flooding. Victoria Police stationed officers in the town overnight to ensure residents' security. Man and young girl rescued from floodwaters at Inverleigh. SES Wycheproof commander Cameron Arnel said houses on Rutherford Street were in the most immediate danger from the rising river, but the situation remained unpredictable. He said water was expected to rise from the storm water drains in Charlton's main street and elsewhere in town.

Locals prepare for a flood as the Avoca River nears its peak in Charlton. Credit:Joe Armao Another public meeting will be held in the hall at 10am on Friday. Charlton is no stranger to major floods. In 2011, the farming town was struck by its worst flood in living memory when the Avoca broke its banks after five days of solid rain and spilled into town with a tidal force. The swollen Avoca River near Charlton in the state's north-west. Credit:Joe Armao

The hospital was inundated and remained closed for more than six months. Graham and Margaret Hodges decided to leave their Watson Street house and stay with a friend as the flood caused extensive damage to a bungalow and their belongings. The flooded town of Charlton in 2011. Credit:Mal Fairclough This time  almost six years later  they will be staying put all night to keep an eye on the situation. "If it comes any higher than what they said, we'll be in a lot of trouble again," Mrs Hodges said.

"Some have said it could be 7.8 metres, another person said 8.4. If it gets to 7.4, then the water will be in the bungalow again." Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said she expected the water to run through her house and out to her front veranda. "It got right up to the veranda in 2011, and I expect that to happen again," she said. "A lot of people are really worried because of what happened in 2010 and 2011. "I wouldn't want to live at the southern end of town right now."

Another area of concern is Skipton, 52 kilometres south-west of Ballarat, where Mount Emu Creek continues to rise and may have already flooded homes and businesses. "Properties and businesses along Anderson, Montgomery and Cleveland Streets may have been affected by floodwater," an SES alert said. Meanwhile, an SES spokeswoman said the Great Ocean Road remains closed between Lorne and Skenes Creek following a landslide. Across the state, emergency services have plucked 17 people from floodwaters, sometimes having to resort to using a police helicopter due to the perilous conditions. A young girl and a man had to be winched to safety after their car became caught in floodwaters in Inverleigh, west of Geelong, on Wednesday night.

Police are still searching for an elderly farmer from Wallacedale, south of Hamilton, after his car was swept away by floodwaters on Wednesday afternoon. The farmer's white ute has been found in a dam, however there is no sign of the 84-year-old. Family and friends gathered at the dam on Thursday, while police drivers searched around the submerged ute. Three dogs were tied to the back of the ute and one of them has died. "[The farmer] was driving a country road that we would suggest he knows extremely well and probably drives every day off his life. The road was covered in water and it appears that the vehicle is now in a dam," Mr Lapsley said.
WA Police have defended their officer's right to park in a disabled bay in response to an emergency call.

An image of a patrol car parked in a disabled bay in front of Warnbro KFC began circulating social media yesterday afternoon.

WA Police have been inundated with support following their Facebook post. Credit:Caleb Morgan: Facebook

Commenters criticised the officer's parking job, but the Western Australia Police Facebook page was quick to point out the officers were not circumventing the law to stop for a "10 piece feed".

"The incident pictured occurred yesterday when police were responding to an emergency situation with an offender who was suspected of being involved in a number of serious offences."
Curitiba: Brazilian federal prosecutors have charged ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with being the boss of a vast corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras, in a major blow to the leftist hero's hopes of a political comeback.

It was the first time that Lula, still Brazil's most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party, was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petrobras.

Former Brazilian President Lula after President Dilma Rousseff was impeached. Credit:AP

Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told a news conference Lula would be charged with corruption and money laundering for leading a kickback scheme that caused an estimated 42 billion reais ($17 billion) in losses to Petrobras shareholders and tax payers.

"He was the conductor of this criminal orchestra," Dallagnol said during a detailed presentation of the investigation. "The Petrobras graft scheme aimed at keeping the Workers Party in power by criminal means.
Tokyo:  Renho Murata became the first woman to lead the opposition Democratic Party in Japan after winning a leadership contest on Thursday.

Murata, who has served in the country's upper house of Parliament for more than a decade, won in a landslide against two male competitors despite controversy over her part-Taiwanese heritage.

"Of the three candidates, she was the only one who has any chance of turning around the party's fortunes" Credit:AP

By winning the leadership contest, Murata, who goes by Renho, became the third woman to take up a prominent political job in Japan in less than two months, heralding a budding shift in a country with an abysmal track record of putting women in power.

In her final speech before the vote, Murata, a former model and television news anchor, spoke emotionally about her children, 19-year-old twins, and how she was sometimes frustrated trying to balance work and motherhood. But in her acceptance speech, she did not refer to her gender, speaking only about the challenges ahead.
State-of-the-art Panthera-T6 armoured vehicle will protect our security forces from Kashmir stone-pelters and marauding terror attacks.

By India Today Web Desk: To keep security personnel away from harm's way, the government has introduced an all new armoured personnel carrier in Jammu and Kashmir where stone-pelting has reared its ugly head as a new form of attack by a few wayward Kashmiri youth.

In violence-hit Kashmir, where stone-pelting incidents are reported on a regular basis, Panthera-T6 armoured vehicle will prove its mettle as a saviour. The state-of-the-art combat vehicle will also protect our forces from marauding terror attacks.

Know more about the armoured personnel carrier: The cost of one Panthera-T6 armoured vehicle is around Rs 75 lakh and is built to deal with irate mobs and stone pelters. It is a light armoured personnel carrier and will be deployed in violence hit areas. The counter-terror vehicle is air-conditioned with a seating capacity for eight jawans. It has real-time public monitoring system and high resolution camera, which can monitor a mob around 360 degrees. The vehicle is quipped with stretcher, medicines and tow bars. Each Army unit will be equipped with two of these bullet-proof vehicles to record movements within 500 metre. MSPV develops Panthera T6 from Toyota land cruiser. It is armored personnel carrier.

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ALSO READ:

Hurriyat hawks exposed: How funds flow from Pakistan to fuel Kashmir unrest

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Nissan offers Rogue drivers more choice  new Rogue Hybrid model launched for 2017

2017 Rogue versus 2016 Rogue

New 2017 Nissan Rogue offers advanced safety and security, connectivity,

infotainment and driving aid technologies

New Rogue anticipated to become Nissan's top-selling vehicle

Pivotal vehicle in Nissan's "Year of the Truck" along with Pathfinder, Armada and TITAN family of pickups

First-ever Rogue Hybrid boosts projected fuel economy to 35 mpg highway (estimated, front wheel drive models) 1

Updated exterior features new, dynamic front end design with Nissan signature design cues, available Motion-Activated Liftgate

New available Safety Shield technologies include Forward Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection and Intelligent Cruise Control

The Nissan Rogue, following three straight years of sales growth since the introduction of the completely redesigned second generation for the 2014 model year, takes another major step forward for 2017 with a new look, enhanced utility and an expanded suite of Nissan Safety Shield technologies. And, in an expansion of the Rogue lineup, a new gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain  available in two grade levels and a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive  is offered for the first time in Rogue history. Rogue Hybrid will join the lineup by the end of 2016.

"There are so many enhancements to Rogue for 2017, with every one of them designed to enhance its appeal with the fastest growing segment of buyers in the industry," said Michael Bunce, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America, Inc. "The crowning achievement is the addition of the new Rogue Hybrid, which increases fuel efficiency without compromising passenger roominess or cargo utility."

As in previous years, the 2017 Rogue offers optional 3-row/7-passenger seating, along with exceptional passenger and cargo flexibility with its innovative EZ Flex Seating System and Divide-N-Hide Cargo System (not available with Rogue Hybrid).

Refined Exterior Design for 2017

The new Rogue offers updated exterior styling  which includes a new front fascia with integrated fog lamps, bumper, Nissan signature "V-Motion" grille and revised headlights with LED signature Daytime Running Lights designed to enhance Rogue's robust, dynamic presence. In the rear, a new bumper and revised rear combination lamps with LED boomerang signature taillights have been added, while new chrome-trim side door moldings complete the freshened appearance. New, aggressive 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels are also available on SL models, rounding out the upscale look of 2017 Rogue.

Rogue again offers a desirable combination of compact overall size and ample interior roominess. Details such as wide opening (77 degrees) rear doors for easier entry and exit to the rear passenger space add to its utility  along with one of the major additions for 2017, a new Motion-Activated Liftgate. Standard on Rogue SL and available on Rogue SV as part of the SV Premium Package, it uses a kick sensor system to provide easy, comfortable and secure operation  both opening and closing of the tailgate.

Other Rogue exterior highlights include body-color heated outside mirrors with available integrated turn signals, a rear spoiler, privacy glass and roof rails. Rogue's available power panoramic moonroof offers a wide view of the outside world through its extended length. The front glass panel slides and tilts, while the rear glass panel is fixed. When in the open position, the front panel slides under the fixed second panel.

The 2017 Rogue is offered in nine exterior colors: Midnight Jade, Brilliant Silver, Gun Metallic, Magnetic Black, Pearl White, Glacier White and new Monarch Orange, Caspian Blue and Palatial Ruby.

Refined Interior for 2017

Among the interior enhancements found in the 2017 Rogue are a new D-shaped steering wheel and leather-booted sport-mode shifter, available heated steering wheel, memory for driver's seats and mirror, and remote engine start2. Enhanced design features include new door and instrument panel finishers, new shift knob design, revised center console and console lid and new seat fabric. The result is a more premium look and feel. Also new is a Platinum Reserve Interior Package (available on Rogue SL) highlighted by premium tan leather-appointed seats with special quilted leather inserts.

The 2017 Rogue is offered with standard 2-row/5-passenger seating and optional 3-row/7-passenger seating (not available with Rogue Hybrid), which is possible thanks to its interior packaging efficiency. With its innovative EZ Flex Seating System, every seat except the driver's easily folds down. The front passenger seat folds rearwards, allowing transport of long items such as an 8-foot ladder when combined with the flat folding 40/20/40-split 2nd row seat.

Rogue also offers an innovative Divide-N-Hide Cargo System that provides 18 adjustable variations (two-row models only, not available with Rogue Hybrid) between the cargo and occupant areas.

The front bucket seats are a special Zero Gravity design. The driver's seat is 6-way adjustable, with available power adjustment including lumbar support, while the front passenger seat is 4-way adjustable. The available (SV, SL) Quick Comfort heated front seats are designed to immediately begin warming the body parts most sensitive to heat, such as the thighs and hips. Leather-appointed seats are standard on SL models. In addition, the optional stadium-style, flat-fold 3rd row 50/50-split bench seat (not available with Rogue Hybrid) enhances Rogue's outstanding passenger versatility.

Standard interior features include SiriusXM Satellite Radio (SiriusXM subscription required, sold separately), 5.0-inch center meter color display (Advanced Driver Assist Display), 4-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system with auxiliary audio input jack, USB connection port for iPod interface and other compatible devices, Bluetooth Hands-free Phone System, RearView Monitor, Streaming Audio via Bluetooth and Hands-free Text Messaging Assistant (compatible smartphone required). Also available are dual-zone automatic air conditioning and Bose audio system with nine speakers. The new Remote Engine Start (RES) system2 provides flexibility to start the Rogue remotely using the keyless entry fob.

Three interior colors are offered: Charcoal and Almond, along with the special Premium Tan with the Platinum Reserve Interior Package.

Advanced Safety and Security, Connectivity and Driving Aid Features

The 2017 Rogue has a number of available connected technology and smartphone integration features, including NissanConnectSM with Navigation, Mobile Apps and Services. It offers a 7.0-inch color touch-screen display, Nissan Voice Recognition for navigation and audio, SiriusXM Traffic and SiriusXM Travel Link (SiriusXM subscription required, sold separately).

NissanConnect Services powered by SiriusXM (SiriusXM subscription required, sold separately) is standard on Rogue SL models. Also available is Siri Eyes Free3 and Around View Monitor (AVM) with Moving Object Detection (MOD)4.

Rogue Safety Shield technologies include radar-based Blind Spot Warning (BSW) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), both now available on Rogue SV grade (in addition to Rogue SL). The 2017 Rogue is also available for the first time with Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP). Two Safety Shield technologies are new to Rogue for 2017  Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC)5 and Forward Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection6. Both are optional for Rogue SL as part of the new Platinum Package.

Choice of Two Powertrains, Including First-Ever Rogue Hybrid

The Rogue model lineup expands for the 2017 model year with the addition of a second powertrain  a new gasoline-electric hybrid  to the standard 170-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine.

The new Rogue Hybrid utilizes Nissan's advanced Intelligent Dual Clutch system. It uses a compact Lithium-ion battery and electric motor to provide supplementary power through its one-motor/two-clutch system. The advanced 2.0-liter gasoline engine is rated at 141 horsepower and 144 lb-ft of torque. The electric motor is rated at 40 horsepower, with net system horsepower estimated at 176 hp. The system also includes an Idle Start/Stop system and an Intelligent Regenerative Braking system.

Its 2.0-liter engine and 30kW electric motor, connected to the advanced Xtronic transmission, produces projected fuel economy1 of 33 mpg city, 35 mpg highway and 34 mpg combined (estimated) for the front-wheel drive model. Rogue Hybrid all-wheel drive models are projected at 31 mpg city, 34 mpg highway and 33 mpg combined (estimated)1.

"The new, first-ever Rogue Hybrid combines an outstanding, direct acceleration feel in city driving  along with fuel economy that is among the leaders in the compact SUV segment," said Bunce.

Non-hybrid 2017 Rogue models are equipped with a responsive 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine rated at 170 horsepower and 175 lb-ft or torque. The engine is matched with an advanced Xtronic transmission with standard Sport Mode and Eco switches. Non-hybrid fuel economy7 is projected at 26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined for front-wheel drive models. Rogue AWD models are estimated at 25 mpg city, 32 mpg highway and 28 mpg combined7.

The 2017 Rogue features Nissan's suite of confidence-inspiring dynamic technologies with Active Trace Control, Active Engine Braking and Active Ride Control. Rogue also offers standard 4-wheel independent suspension, Electric Power-assisted Steering, 4-wheel disc brakes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) with Traction Control System (TCS) and Hill Start Assist. Rogue is available with a choice of front-wheel drive or an intuitive All-Wheel Drive.

Every Rogue also offers a standard Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) with position monitoring and Nissan's innovative Easy Fill Tire Alert.

A Range of Well-Equipped Rogue Models

The 2017 Nissan Rogue comes in three well-equipped models  S, SV and SL, each in a choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive. Rogue Hybrid is offered in two grade levels  SV and SL, in FWD or AWD (late availability).

Along with the long list of standard features found on Rogue S, the Rogue SV adds 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, privacy glass, Nissan Intelligent Key with Push Button Ignition, 6-way power driver's seat and power driver's seat lumbar support. The Rogue SV also includes two additional audio system speakers, roof rails and Smart Auto on/off headlights. New items added to the SV grade for 2017 include Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, heated outside mirrors, heated cloth-appointed front seats and remote engine start.

Rogue SL models include Quick Comfort heated leather-appointed front seats, Bose audio system with nine speakers, NissanConnect with Navigation, Mobile Apps and Services, 7.0-inch QVGA color touchscreen display, and NissanConnect Services powered by SiriusXM (SiriusXM subscription required, sold separately).

Rogue SL models also include standard Siri Eyes Free, power liftgate, Around View Monitor (AVM), 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, fog lights, heated outside mirrors, heated leather-wrapped steering wheel and leather-wrapped shift knob. New features for 2017 include the Motion-Activated Liftgate, heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, High Beam Assist headlights and memory driver's seat and mirrors.

Rogue Hybrid SV and SL models features several differences from their non-hybrid counterparts. An HEV gauge is added to the Advanced Drive Assist Display, the 2nd row seat is a 60/40 split folding design, a storage space is added under the rear cargo area and Pure Drive HEV badging is added to the exterior. Other additions include an HEV badge on the engine cover and the dual horn includes a Vehicle Sound Generator for driving in the electric mode.

For 2017, the available optional equipment packages have been revised with new content and three new ones  Sun and Sound Touring, Platinum and Platinum Reserve interior. In addition, other available packages include the Family Package (S, SV), Appearance Package (S) and Premium Package (SV, SL).Two options are available with the new Rogue Hybrid  the SV Hybrid Premium Package and the SL Hybrid Premium Package.

The 2017 Nissan Rogue is assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee, Kyushu, Japan and Busan, Korea.

# # #

1. Fuel economy based on targeted 2017 EPA fuel economy estimates for 2017 Rogue Hybrid. EPA data not available at time of publication. Targeted 2017 fuel economy 33 mpg city or 35 mpg highway or 34 mpg combined (FWD) or 31 mpg city or 34 mpg highway or 33 mpg combined (AWD) estimate based on Nissan internal testing results, subject to EPA confirmation. Actual mileage may vary with driving conditions  use for comparison only.

2. State laws may apply; review local laws before using.

3. Driving is serious business and requires your full attention. If you have to use this feature while driving, exercise extreme caution at all times so full attention may be given to the vehicle operation.

4. AVM with MOD cannot completely eliminate blind spots and may not detect every object. MOD operates at vehicles speeds below 5 mph. Always check surroundings before moving vehicle. Not a substitute for proper backing procedures. Always turn to check what is behind you before backing up.

5. ICC is not a collision avoidance system or warning device. Designed to use limited braking. Failure to apply the brakes could result in an accident.

6. Forward Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection is not a replacement for responsible driving. May not provide warning or braking in certain conditions. Limitations apply. See Owner's Manual for details.

7. Fuel economy based on targeted 2017 EPA fuel economy estimates for 2017 Rogue. EPA data not available at time of publication. Targeted 2017 fuel economy 26 mpg city or 33 mpg highway or 29 mpg combined (FWD) or 25 mpg city or 32 mpg highway or 28 mpg combined (AWD) estimate based on Nissan internal testing results, subject to EPA confirmation. Actual mileage may vary with driving conditions  use for comparison only.
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
Yes, you read that right. Paris will soon be home to a museum of fragrances.

By India Today Web Desk: If you try to find out, travellers will give you a hundred reasons to travel to Paris. There's art, there's culture, there's food, there's romance, and there's so much more that make this French city a dream destination for every traveller around the world.

But here's one more thing that you can soon add to your Paris itinerary. According to a report by WWD, in December this year, Paris will be home to Cue Le Grand Muse du Parfum, a new museum dedicated to perfumes.

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Yes, you read that right! The museum, slated to be located at 73 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honor in a sprawling four-story, 15,555-square-foot 19th century mansion, will have exhibits that will trace three major phases in the history of fragrances--right from the pharaohs of Egypt to the present times.

Also read: Taiwan offers free visas to Indians; 4 compelling reasons you must visit



Backed by the Ile-de-France region and sponsored by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the museum aims to provide visitors valuable information on the finesse that France has in the world of fragrances and the creative process that goes into the making of the same. Apart from this, those visiting the museum will also learn about the artistic and scientific thinking that perfumers use in order to conceptualise a fragrance.

When Cue Le Grand Muse du Parfum opens its doors, it will also house a bookstore and a concept store apart from the fragrance collection.



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By PTI: Panaji, Sep 15 (PTI) Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will chair a meeting of BJP workers here on September 17 in run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections.

Possible political implications of the rebellion by Subhash Velingkar, sacked as RSS Goa chief, could come up for discussion during the meeting.

Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and other leaders of BJP will participate in the conclave which is kept out-of-bounds for media, a senior BJP official told PTI today.

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Velingkar was recently "relieved" of the charge as Goa RSS chief after his outfit, Bhartiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch announced a political foray against the ruling BJP over the issue of medium of instruction.

Velingkar and the rebels who broke away from the RSS Konkan Prant later floated RSS Goa Prant. However, they have not officially severed their connection with RSS.

Interestingly, Velingkar had targeted Parrikar, former CM of Goa, for "reneging" on language issue and had blamed him for his ouster as Goa unit head of Sangh.

The Defence Minister has so far kept himself away from meetings held by BJP in Goa post the Velingkar episode, owing to Ganesh festival, which concluded today.

"Parrikar had decided that only after Ganesh Chaturthi (festival) he will begin the preparations for the polls," the official said.

Saturdays meeting is taking place ahead of the scheduled visit by senior BJP leader and in-charge of Goa BJP, Nitin Gadkari next week.

According to the BJP functionary, the talks on alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) will be kept on back-burner as of now.

MGP is the current alliance partner of BJP in state government.

BBSM has reportedly has put out feelers to MGP, which frames its politics mainly on regional issues.

State PWD Minister and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar said the talks on tie-up will start only next month.

"Right now there are no talks happening," he added.

Dhavalikar, who met Gadkari in Delhi today to review the work on various developmental projects, said nothing regarding the alliance was discussed at the meeting.

MGP had earlier announced they will stake claim on at least 14 out of total 40 seats up for grabs for polls for forging pre-poll alliance with BJP. PTI RPS NSK TIR BAS

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Total Energy Services Inc. provides various products and services to the oil and natural gas industry primarily in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Contract Drilling Services, Rentals and Transportation Services, Compression and Process Services and Well Servicing. The Contract Drilling Services segment offers contract drilling services to oil and gas exploration and development companies. As of December 31, 2021, it operated a total fleet of 95 drilling rigs. The Rentals and Transportation Services segment provides drilling, completion and production rental equipment, and oilfield transportation services in western Canada and in the United States. This segment owned and operated a fleet of 79 heavy trucks. The Compression and Process Services segment offers gas compression services; and designs and packages skid style compressors and proprietary trailer-mounted compressors under the NOMAD brand in Canada and the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Mexico. It had 53,800 horsepower of compression in its rental fleet. The Well Servicing segment offers well services. This segment operated a total fleet of 83 well servicing rigs across Western Canada, mid-western United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
For Dogs, its Trick and Treat Its almost Halloween, a great time to teach your dog a trick and give him a treat. Most trainers are fans of trick training. Its not as silly as it...

Muzzle is not a bad word If you see a dog in a muzzle, you immediately think the dog is aggressive. Right? Well, this is not always true. Unfortunately, seeing a dog in a muzzle carries...
The versatile Modi plush toy promises a whole range of skill-set, from improving a child's attention span to 'instilling' love for wildlife in children.

By India Today Web Desk: From his impeccable oratory skills, to his massive reach on social media and of course the NaMo brand, PM Modi is the first Indian politician to carve out a niche in the world of social media through his amazing marketing skills.



Namo Mantra, Namo Lekh and Namo Tech, you NaMo it and it's there, and adding to this ubiquity is a new product launched by 'Tickles', a company that sells soft toys online.

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The toy, suited for the age group 2-8, is on sale across various e-commerce websites. And each one promises a whole range of skill-sets. Take for example Flipkart, which has set the price of the 15-inch Modi plush toy at Rs 958, describes the unique skills as, improving attention span, and instilling 'creativity and imagination'.



The description on Amazon India, reads, "Delight your little ones this year by presenting them with an adorable soft toy. This soft toy in their bedroom will give them endless hours of fun-filled playtime." However the Amazon website has currently blocked the link to the Modi Toy. Snap deal, on the other hand, which has set its price at 1365, says it is ideal for boys and girl.

While meeting Modi ji in person is a far-fetched dream for many, getting this plush toy might be a more practical option.



Also read:

Fake you very much: 8 times PM Modi's supporters showed too much Photoshop love

From Condoms to Rakhis and now even Pens: Narendra Modi, the brand

Want to buy Modi merchandise? Visit NaMo store





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We live in terrifying times.

Nuclear Armageddon, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, remains a distinct possibility in the post-Cold War world, and thats not just because Iran continues its bellicose saber-rattling and North Korea presses on with warlike weapons testing.

As documentary director Robert Kenner and investigative journalist Eric Schlosser chillingly demonstrate in their film Command and Controlwhich opens today in New York and, later, nationwideits also because Americas apocalyptic arsenal is alarmingly accident-prone.

Yet, as Kenner and Schlosser sat at a conference table in their Manhattan publicists office the other day, that didnt seem to be their most immediate worry.

Quite honestly, I spend a lot of time with people who handle nuclear weapons, either as launch officers, weapons designers, maintenance guys or the commanders, and they had to undergo something called the Personnel Reliability Program, said Schlosser, whose much-lauded 2013 book of the same title was the basis for Command and Control. They had to undergo really strict psychological evaluation, mental health evaluation.

Donald Trump would be disqualified from handling and working with American nuclear weapons because of his history of lying, because of the evidence of a kind of instability, and because of his financial dealings. If youre a young launch officer, and they find that youve run up a huge amount of credit card debt

And bankruptcies, Kenner chimed in.

And bankruptcies, Schlosser agreed, that could get you disqualified from handling nuclear weapons. They want people who are considered reliable. They want people who cant be blackmailed. So its amazing that our potential commander in chief probably literally couldnt pass the psychological evaluation.

While the filmmakers conceded that Hillary Clinton hardly enjoys a sterling record of candornotably failing to promptly disclose her bout with pneumonia, or her tall tales of landing under sniper fire in war-torn BosniaKenner argued: Shes not totally unstable. I think she could get us into land wars, but not necessarily shooting off missiles to do it. I think she would like to be on the earthI think theres a psychological advantage that she might have, although I disagree with her political instincts.

So both men, residents of Democrat-leaning California, plan to hold their noses and cast their ballots for Clinton, though Kenner mused that since shes likely to carry the state anyway, our votes dont mean anything.

Im voting against Donald Trump, Schlosser confided. I cant bear the guy.

Their movie focuses on a little-remembered Sept. 19, 1980 explosion of one of the Air Forces Titan II missiles in Damascus, Ark.an aging and nearly obsolete two-decade-old technology that was mainly kept in the active arsenal as a bargaining chip in potential negotiations with the Soviets.

Its a Kafkaesque saga of human error, panicked decision-making, bureaucratic incompetence, groupthink and ass-covering that could have resulted in millions of deaths if the 9-megaton warhead had detonated, a very real a risk, unleashing a destructive force equivalent to three times that of all the bombs dropped during World War II, including the atomic devices dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This was a microcosm of all those other incidents, said Kenner, whose film notes that at least a thousand mishaps of varying degrees of severitymost of them only acknowledged in recently declassified Air Force documentshave occurred over the past five decades. The Air Force brass has toiled assiduously to keep such lapses from the public.

This past January, the Air Force finally summarized but refused to provide details of a May 2014 incident at a Minuteman 3 launch silo on the Colorado-Nebraska borderin which three airmen were stripped of their nuclear certifications after damaging a missile during a routine diagnostic testbut this basic information was shared only after the Associated Press filed more than a years worth of legal challenges in support of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Shit happened. It was called human error, but it has kept happening and happening and happening, Kenner said. And at some point you have to think its a systemic problem.

Featuring on-camera interviews with participants, real-time news footage, Air Force training films and dramatic re-enactments (the filmmakers were granted access to the silo and deactivated missile at the Titan Museum in Sahuarita, Arizona), Command and Control presents a gripping minute-by-minute narrative of the Arkansas accident 36 years ago, back when Jimmy Carter was president and Bill Clinton was a 34-year-old first-term governor; one Air Force enlisted man was killed and several others were grievously injured in the explosion as they tried to stop a fuel leak eight stories below ground in a Titan II missile silobriefly generating national headlines before being quickly forgotten.

The shocking thing is that an unprecedented catastrophe almost occurred because of a series of cascading misjudgments, usually animated by the Air Force hierarchys inflexible edicts and the unwillingness of underlings to disobey ordersall started by the most mundane of mistakes, when a socket slipped out of an airmans grasp, striking the missile and causing a vapor emission during a routine maintenance procedure on a missile.

In the end, the criticalindeed, fataldecisions were made by a top general in the Strategic Air Command hundreds of miles away, Vice SAC Commander Lloyd Leavitt, who had scant experience with or knowledge of Titan II missile silos. The brave men in their early twenties who risked their lives to carry out the generals orders, even though they knew he was ill-informed and misguided, were variously blamed, disciplined, and drummed out of the Air Force in the aftermath of explosion.

To err is human, retired Col. John T. Moser, commander of the 308th Strategic Missile Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, notes in the film. To forgive isnt SAC policy. (Leavitt, perhaps understandably, didnt respond to the filmmakers request to appear on camera.)

He had no first-hand knowledge of the systems he was making decisions about, and he made some incredibly poor decisions, Schlosser said, listing a catalogue of missteps, notably ordering the evacuation of the silos relatively safe command center, which prevented any measure of control of the situation, and ordering the repair crew to cut their way through heavy blast doors to get to the missile instead of climbing down through an open escape hatch. He was never punished in any way. The guys who risked their lives, knowing that this was a terrible plan, and that they had come up with a much better planthey were stigmatized and demonized, and they will carry the weight of what happened with them for the rest of their lives.

The Air Force, meanwhile, worked feverishly to protect its brass from scrutiny and went to absurd lengths to enforce secrecy, consistently refusing to confirm or denyeven to Vice President Walter Mondale, who happened to be in Arkansas for a campaign eventthat the destroyed missile had carried a live warhead (which was ejected during the blast and eventually discovered in a ditch).

The Air Force rationaleand Im not defending itis that we were in the middle of the Cold War at a time when the Soviets had just invaded Afghanistan, when America had its hostages in Iran, and we were perceived as being very weak, Schlosser said. Its true that the American nuclear arsenal was aging, but it was better to blame these guys than to admit we had a weapons system that was obsolete and problematic.

The maddening irony, Schlosser said, was while the Air Force hid the truth about the deteriorating condition of its 54 siloed Titan IIs from the American public, the Soviets had effectively infiltrated the program and knew everything there was to know about itowing to a young deputy commander of a missile complex in Kansas who had spilled the secrets of launch codes, attack options and the weapon systems vulnerabilities in multiple visits and phone calls to the Soviet embassy in Washington.

Since the accident at Damascus, Arkansas, the Titan II has been replaced by more accurate intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying far less destructive warheads, and the United States has decreased its nuclear arsenal from around 32,000 weapons to 7,000 todayabout 900 of which are ready-to-launch.

Kenner and Schlosser hope their documentary might end up influencing policymakers to increase vigilance and ensure the safety of these weapons of mass destructionmuch as the 1983 made-for-television movie about a nuclear apocalypse, The Day After, famously influenced President Ronald Reagan to commence arms control negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev.

This is the most important issue thats not being discussed in this campaign, Kenner said.

Command and Control is released Sept. 14, at Film Forum in New York City and Sept. 30, at the Nuart Theatre, Los Angeles
Rev. Faith Green Timmons made herself Donald Trumps latest public enemy in just 20 words.

The Flint, Michigan, pastor and her church, Bethel United Methodist Church, had invited the Republican presidential nominee to speak Wednesday about the citys water crisis, and efforts to combat it. When Trump began attacking Hillary Clinton from the pulpit (Everything she touched didnt work out), Timmons intervened.

Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, not give a political speech, Timmons told him while he was on-stage mid-speech.

OK, thats good, then Im going back onto Flint, OK, Trump replied, quickly backing down.

But by Thursday morning, Pastor Faith had found herself in Trumps crosshairs.

Something was up, because I noticed she was so nervous when she introduced me, Trump said on Fox News. When she got up to introduce me, she was so nervous, she was shaking. And I said, Wow, this is sort of strange. And then she came up. So she had that in mind, theres no question about it She was like a nervous mess, so I figured something was up.

Trumps allies in conservative media also agreed with the real-estate mogul that something was up, with Fox Newss website and the relentlessly pro-Trump outlet Breitbart both posting articles suggesting that the pastor had ambushed and set up a trap for Trump.

We have our chance to show Donald Trump that this nation is filled with intelligent, wise black citizens of integrity many of whom live right in Flint, Michigan, Timmons wrote on Facebook prior to Trumps appearance, in a post flagged by conservative news outlets to show evidence of bias and possible premeditation. What he will see is how we are braving a man-made catastrophe. HE WILL NOT USE US, WE will EDUCATE HIM!!!

(A photo of her smiling and shaking President Obamas hand has also been making the rounds.)

The church, as well as Rev. Timmons, did not respond to requests for comment, but she responded to the controversy online.

The United Methodist Church has open hearts, open doors and open minds. Mr. Trump's campaign claimed he was swinging by and stepping through only to greet the volunteers and thank them with no political rhetoric of any kind, she wrote in a brief statement on her churchs Facebook page. That was stated. When it went further than that I did exactly what we agreed I would do.

Had he stuck to what his camp claimed he came to do, we would not have had a problem! - Good night, she posted on her personal page.

If he had only stuck with his stated purpose, Timmons continued in the comments section of her Facebook post. I would not let others [the hecklers at the event] make this a platform to disrespect him either. He said his ONE goal was to learn more about the water situation and observe & thank the volunteers in action.

For months, the pastor and her church have been providing aid and trying to bring more attention and awareness to the Flint water crisis. In April, Timmons spoke about the water contaminations effect on her own family, which included her daughter suffering from severe rashes and her son profusely vomiting.

We were told the water was OK, she said, regarding the first months of the crisis.

Since then, Flints Bethel United Methodist Church has hosted event after event and helped organized donation drives and distribution of bottled water and supplies.

It is work Timmons is clearly proud of, and that she maintains she invited Trump to observe. Because of her acceptance of the Trump campaigns outreach, she is now being mocked as a nervous wreck by the Republican Partys presidential contender.
The speculation gained steam on Infowars, the conspiracy theorist website run by Alex Jonesa noted 9/11 truther who believes the slain Sandy Hook children were actors. On Aug. 4, they ran a story claiming the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was in poor health, having seizures even while in public. A flurry of stories by her opponent Donald Trumps favorite propaganda rag The National Enquirer (sorry, Breitbart) followed, and before long Trump himself, whos repeated many a claim that originated on Infowars and the Enquirer, addressed the manufactured controversy in a speech in Ohio in late August: [Hillary] lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS and all of the many adversaries we face.

So, when Hillary Clinton nearly fainted at the 9/11 Memorial, all the evidence-free gossip that had been spread by Infowars, the Enquirer, and their No. 1 fanDonald Trumpfinally bubbled to the surface. Of course, it was only walking pneumonia. But its pretty diabolical, isnt it? An obese 70-year-old man who eats almost exclusively fast food calling into question the physical fitness of a woman two years his junior who does yoga, thus forcing her to adopt a grin and bear it approach with any and all illnesses until one inevitably overcomes her. Anyway, this whole silly Mean Girls-esque charade (more policy, please?) prompted Hillary to publicly release a detailed letter from her doctor giving the all-clear, and Trump to show his records (cooked up by this space cadet) to fellow snake oil salesman Dr. Oz.

Enter feminist icon Gloria Steinem. On Thursday morning, the 82-year-old appeared on Chelsea Handlers Netflix talk show Chelsea to discuss all the health hullabaloo.

Its Donald who should be hospitalized, not elected [president], declared Steinem, a fervent Hillary supporter.

You know what? Ive had walking pneumonia and you dont necessarily know that you have it, I mean you just get exhausted, she added. First we punish [Hillary] for being too vulnerable to be president and then we punish her for being not vulnerable enough. Its so frustrating. I cant bear it. I really cant bear it. I mean, we werent for Sarah Palin because she was a woman. Hello! Its not about biology. Its about people who stand for the majority dreams and concerns and so on. And if they also have the experience of walking around for a lifetime as an African-American person, a female person, a gay or lesbian, it helpsbecause they can empathize. But its the representation and the issues that come first.

When Handler asked whether age should play a factor in who we choose as presidentour current POTUS, Barack Obama, was elected at age 47 and Reagan was elected at nearly 70, while the average age of past presidents is 54 years and 11 monthsSteinem politely shook her head. No, not necessarily, she said. I think [mental] health and sanity plays a factor, which is why we dont need Trump.

Steinem was joined on the Chelsea couch by Sarah Silverman, who delivered a well-received (and partly improvised) speech at this years Democratic National Convention, telling the Bernie or Bust crowd: Youre being ridiculous.

That was just in the moment, she said of her DNC speech. I was saying it to the fringe, fundamentalistevery sect has this fringe-fundamentalist version that is bananas, you know? Thats the extreme. So there are these Bernie or Bust people that are anti-Hillary and are like, Bernie or nothing! Well, there is no nothing, like, whats your endgame? Look, I love Bernie but most people who change the world are not the president, added Silverman. But lets get an ally in office to continue thisan ally of Bernies. Someone whos gonna listen to the revolution and feel the pressure of people speaking out. She does.
A DMK functionary was hacked by a group of men on his routine walk on Wednesday morning.

C Selvaraj was a well known person in Villupuram who held the position of DMK party town secretary

By Pramod Madhav: A DMK functionary was hacked to death by a gang on his routine morning walk on Wednesday in Villupuram.

Three men approached Selvaraj for asking directions on Wednesday morning. While he was helping them, two men came from behind and attacked Selvaraj with sharp weapons. Before Selvaraj could escape or react, the men slashed his head multiple times, ultimately killing him.

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READ| Madurai: DMK member's son-in-law killed to avenge murder

Bystanders tried to save Selvaraj but the gang attacked them too, slashing one man's arm. They managed to escaped from the area.

C Selvaraj was a well known person in Villupuram who held the position of DMK party town secretary. He used to go on a regular morning walk along with his friend.

Selvaraj was a close aide of DMK leader Ponmudi.

Last year, another politician, Pathar Selvam was brutally murdered. According to the cops, Selvaraj could have been murdered in connection to Pathar Selvam's murder as a form of clearing political vengeance.

Also read: DMK members stall Assembly, stage sit-in protest against eviction





--- ENDS ---
From truffles to tequila to tater tots, it seems as though a different type of food or drink is celebrated every single day. (Get excited: Today is supposedly National Linguini Day! No joke.)

And while it can be hard not to get swept up in the social media frenzy (#nationaldonutday), the history of these dubious holidays is most likely the work of savvy brand marketers. But I like to think that National Bourbon Heritage Monthwhich was created in 2007 by a congressional resolutioninspired the trend.

Congress spirits interest is not a huge surprise given that, according to The Daily Beasts senior drinks columnist David Wondrich, the Capitol building housed a bar as far back as the 1830s.) The resolution itself states the history of bourbon-making is interwoven with the history of the United States, from the first settlers of Kentucky in the 1700s, who began the bourbon-making process, to the 2,000 families and farmers distilling bourbon in Kentucky by the 1800s.

Curiously, however, it is not clear from the text of the 2007 resolution whether or not the month was supposed to be observed in perpetuity or for just that year. (It also states that in 1964 Congress called bourbon Americas Native Spirit. It actually didnt, but that hasnt stopped bourbon fans and brands from widely quoting the accolade.)

No matter the intention of Congress nine years ago, September has become synonymous with the whiskey. It also doesnt hurt that the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, which takes place in Bardstown, Kentucky, is also traditionally held this month. (Its events began on Monday.)

So now distillers generally roll out their newest whiskies this month. This years crop seems particularly robust, with a number of very rare and extremely limited releases that will disappear almost immediately, as well as a few bourbons you should be able to find on store shelves with relative ease. Here are three to look for and to enjoy this fall.

Four Roses 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon ($99)

Four Roses just released 9,258 bottles of its 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon. I suggest you try to track one down. The brand introduces a special variant every year: Master distiller Brent Elliott blended three different bourbons to create a 111.2-proof barrel-strength whiskey for this most recent incarnation. Mix it in a Manhattan or sip the potent spirit on the rocks.

William Larue Weller ($90)

Whiskey drinkers around the world eagerly await the annual late September release of Buffalo Traces Antique Collection. As a result, most of the bottlings are nearly impossible to get a hold of. But this year, the distillery has miraculously decided to bottle a relatively large number of William Larue Weller barrels: 145 to be exact, compared to just 105 in 2015 and a paltry 39 in 2014. The 2016 Weller is more than 12 years old and made from the brands signature mix of corn, barley and wheat, which is a similar mash bill to cult favorite Pappy Van Winkle.

Jeffersons Reserve Old Rum Cask Finish ($80)

Cant decide whether to drink rum or bourbon? You can have both, thanks to the newest edition of Jeffersons, which was made by aging eight-year-old bourbon in used Goslings Rum barrels for another 15 months. While the combination sounds a little out there, it has actually been done in the past several times using Scotch. The two spirits work together nicely and the bottling is something a bit unusual for the drinker that has tried everything.
Gilles Mendel had greeted 69 members of the press, many of them one-by-one, when I arrivednumber 70to see his spring collection in a glass-walled penthouse at the top of the Standard East hotel.

Hed been at it since 9 a.m., explaining the inspiration for his collection over and over and over again, and was still spry and energetic and affable nearly nine hours lateran observation worth dwelling on when most high-powered designers dont have the time of day for press, unless youre Anna Wintour.

Let me tell you today was amazing, he said, standing beside one of his intricately beaded evening gowns that looked more like couture than ready-to-wear. I dont see many people after my runway because they run!

Indeed, Wintour dashes off as soon as designers take their bows, and others are close behind. With his presentation on Wednesday, Mendel, who serves as fifth-generation CEO and creative director of the fashion house (it was founded in St. Petersburg in 1870, then relocated to Paris), was able to show his designs up close: a breathtaking oxblood fur coat with a cut-out grid pattern (fur is a house signature and not just for winter, Mendel explained); hand-worked geometric lace and paper-thin leather boleros and capes; breathtaking, beaded evening gowns whichdespite all the beadworklook like second skins. And all of it was made in Mendels two New York ateliers in the Garment District, where he oversees the houses ready-to-wear collections.

I have met more people today than at any of my shows, and they were all very present! I can relate to people in this setting and its more constructive than meeting them in between six other people, he said. Its less stressful. I feel like Fashion Week is just such a zoo now!

He does not go to shows, but hed visited a friend on the Upper East Side on Tuesday and found that several blocks on Madison Avenue had been cut off for Ralph Laurens big show on Wednesday evening.

Its a different vibe here, he said with a warm smile.

Uptown, a stretch of Madison Avenue had indeed been shut down, save for a bus lane. A sweaty man in running garb was more than a little peeved that a police officer demanded to know his address before letting him pass through a gated off area on 72nd Street, adjacent to a limestone mansionhome to Ralph Laurens New York City flagship store, where the designer staged his first see-now-shop-now collection in back-to-back runway presentations.

The first show was mostly for select clients from around the world, who sat in sisal-covered bleachers atop comfy white cotton cushionsalmost too comfy, for the fashion week-weary, who sank into their seats and listened to jazz music before the show began. Lauren had turned the sidewalk into a runway and his Madison Ave flagship into a set.

For me, this is the ultimate expression of luxury, Lauren wrote of his first see-now-buy-now collection in a note given to guests. You are changing the way you live and the way you want to shop, and we are changing with you and for you.

There were subtle changes in the collection, too, which was technically season-less but had plenty of pieces to stave off the coming autumn chill, like suede jackets and sweater trenches with Navajo prints, or a distressed leather bomber paired with pinstripe trousers modeled by Kendall Jenner.

The theme was predominantly Western, except for the Oscar-ready evening wear: micro-sequined sheath dresses in electric blue, yellow, and pink were without Western touches except for thin, brown leather straps with tiny belt buckles. Lauren also cast several classic Ralph models from the early aughts: Stella Tennant, who wore one of the suede coats and layers of silver jewelry, along with Carolyn Murphy and Liya Kebede, who modeled still more Navajo prints.

Lauren came out at the end in a faded denim shirt, faded jeans, and cowboy boots, andwith a little Fred Astaire tap dance movecued the parting of gray curtains on the giant store windows for the big reveal: a video of a rearing horse and mannequins showcasing pieces wed just seen on the runway.

If the cushy seats and stately setting had seemed glamorous, what came next was even more of a treat.

Guests were welcomed inside the store, where dishy male caterers in white jackets carried silver trays of champagne and water-filled wine glasses with delicate lime slices floating at the surface. David Lauren, Ralphs son, shook hands and urged us all to please, please come upstairs!

So we didand, for those who have never been to Laurens Madison Avenue store, it was like wandering around the designers living room. Winding limestone stairs with a wrought-iron railing led up to the second floor, where Lauren and his longtime wife Ricky (the two recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary) posed for photographs between two beckoningly plush couches.

It was as though wed all been invited to an intimate Lauren family gathering, if family gatherings were also shopping extravaganzas.

Thats really cute, a young woman said to her husband, holding up a blazer.

No way are you wearing that, he sniffed, putting it back on a rack. She spent the next hour trying on every piece of clothing in the store.

This jacket has a whole...vibe, another woman said to me, trying on the same piece Stella Tennant had worn. This was less the language of fashionasymmetric this, macrame thatthan the language of money: she would walk out with at least $10,000 worth of clothing.

As would a middle-aged French woman in a flashy floral jumpsuit. My husband is going to kill me! she giggled to another guest.

Suddenly, models descended from the third floor, teetering on stilettos as they slowly made their way downstairs for round twothis time for the media. Jenner seemed sullen.

She looked downright miserable on the catwalk! said a British woman who had flown with a friend from London for the show, having won a ticket at auction.

I didnt even know her surname, her friend tittered. I said, I dont see any Kardashians! Their bottoms are like minetoo big for fashion shows!

Twenty minutes later, Anna Wintour breezed into the couch area with Lauren.

Congratulations, it was so chic! she said, her voice climbing to an unrecognizably high registernothing like the voice we know from Vogue.com videos and The September Issue. And the girls were just gorgeous!

Lauren put both hands on her infamous bob and winked.

Carine Roitfeld came in next, followed by Jessica Alba and Julianne Moore, who brought her daughter along.

A cameraman caught Alba taking a selfie on Snapchat, framing her face with a filter that gave her dog ears and a long tongue. Could he film her doing that, he asked gingerly?

Sure, let me just post it first. Isnt it cute?

After all the celebrities and shoppers had left, I found the British ladies drinking champagne and discussing Kendall Jenner again, this time with one of the pretty waitersan 18-year-old from Idaho who confessed he was wildly in love with the supermodel.

Oh, but you could do so much better! one of them enthused, taking a tiny, caviar-covered pancake off his silver tray and holding her glass up for another waiter to see. More champagne, please!
The families of Americans held hostage in the Middle East are used to counting the days their loved ones have been in captivity. But now, theyre counting the days left in President Obamas administrationand are fearful that if some deal isnt brokered to bring their family member home before he leaves office, the window of opportunity will have closed.

Its a sentiment shared by some U.S. officials working to secure the hostages release: Come January 2017, a new administration will take power, and in the bureaucratic reshuffling that accompanies every transition, momentum to resolve the cases that has been building in recent months may be lost.

Obamas only going to be president for four months. He will leave, as will a lot of people whove been working for him, and new people will have to spend time getting up to speed, said one individual close to the negotiations who, like four others interviewed for this story, asked not to be identified by name given the sensitivity of the matter.

There are at least seven Americans being held or missing in the Middle East alone. Some were taken during Hillary Clintons time as secretary of state, and some family members, who said the State Department didnt pay enough attention to their plight, are concerned that her administration will not move aggressively to bring home the hostages. As for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump has no track record of any sort with respect to the issue, so its difficult for families to gauge how he would act.

Officials whove been implementing new hostage recovery policies may find themselves out of a job in a Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump administration. A new president could decide to modify or even abandon the current path, which has relied particularly on the State Department to work with foreign government officials who may have influence over the hostage takers.

Two U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that these efforts have been making slow but steady progress. And in a sign that the FBI in particular is trying new approaches, the bureau has contacted at least two journalists with contacts in the Middle East and asked them to provide information that might assist in individual hostages cases, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Thats a major change for the FBI, which has faced criticism from lawmakers and some family members for not acting aggressively enough.

But timing is becoming a more crucial factor in the negotiations than diplomatic connections or innovative techniques.

The period between now and Jan. 20 is the best chance we have to free captured Americans, a person familiar with one hostages case said.

The Obama administration moved to improve the coordination hostage recovery efforts across the government following the murder of Americans held by ISIS in 2014. As part of the new policies, a Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell was set up at the FBI, which is the lead investigative agency when Americans are kidnapped overseas. And a special presidential hostage envoy for hostage affairs was installed at the State Department.

And while the government has insisted it wont pay ransom, it stopped threatening to prosecute families who want to pay on their own. Last month, the family of deceased hostage Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker, told ABC News they received 32 emails from ISIS, many seeking ransom. Rather than help them free their daughter, the Muellers said the FBI, which crafted responses to ISIS, only stalled the terror group, or threatened to prosecute them if they paid. ISIS sent a photo to Muellers family in February 2015, saying she had been killed in a U.S. airstrike.

Only in the last few months do both the families and U.S. officials feel that the handling of hostage cases has become a cohesive effort and that the government is doing a better job of keeping families informed of the progress on their loved ones cases, three individuals close to the matter told The Daily Beast.

That has been a significant development; the new policies, which emphasize keeping families in the loop, were enacted because of pressure by the parents of murdered ISIS prisoners who felt the government kept them in the dark.

The institutional structures that have been put in place may remain past the current administration. The fusion cell and the State Department position in particular were established last year by a presidential policy directive, which has the force of law.

Through the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, career officials work closely with leaders of agencies and departments from across the U.S. government to ensure we are coordinated, engaged and focused, a fusion cell spokesperson told The Daily Beast in a statement. While we are working tirelessly to resolve these cases as soon as possible, the Presidential Executive Order ensures we will sustain our efforts to bring home Americans held captive overseas.

But a future president could rescind that order or craft a new one that supersedes it. And while neither candidate has indicated he or she would do that, the envoy himself is a political appointee and will presumably be replaced. The head of the fusion cell at the FBI also may move onto a new position.

Of course, change of leadership is a constant feature of every new administration. People come and go and the work of government doesnt grind to a halt.

We think that the families are seeing some progress on the coordination front between them and government and are feeling better about that, but at a certain point the question has to be asked: Are we achieving results? And we still havent, Joe Kasper, the chief of staff to Rep. Duncan Hunter, told The Daily Beast. Hunter, who is an adviser to Trump on congressional affairs, has been a leading critic of the Obama administrations hostage policies.

Before the new hostage efforts were put in place, there were several agencies working on various components of hostage recovery efforts, and often at cross purposes.

For example, the FBI wanted to build criminal cases against the hostage-takers for potential prosecution. The State Department wanted to protect diplomatic relations and was often hesitant to forcefully intervene to recover Americans. And while at times members of the military have been in favor of armed rescue missions, the White House has often been reluctant to put forces in harms way.

On some rescue missions, the military has arrived too late to find hostages that intelligence indicated were being held in a particular location. Last year, the U.S. government obtained intelligence on the possible location of American captives held by ISIS in Syria, but Obama administration officials waited nearly a month to launch a rescue mission because of concerns that the intelligence wasnt conclusive and some of it had come from a foreign service, U.S. and British officials told The Daily Beast.

The families of hostages taken in Syria signaled the heightened sense of urgency in a June letter in which they pleaded for the government to do all it could on behalf of American freelance journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in August 2012.

We are asking the president, fully within the responsibilities and obligations of his office, to put aside any personal or election year concern, to engage boldly and to use all appropriate means to bring Austin Tice safely home as soon as possible, the families of Steven Sotloff, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, James Foley, and Kayla Mueller, who all died at ISISs hands, wrote in June.

Tice isnt alone. U.S. citizens Caitlan Coleman and her two young sons are being held by the Haqqani network, an affiliate of the Taliban, along with Josh Boyle, Colemans husband and the boys father, who is a Canadian citizen.

Another American man is believed to be held by the same group. At the request of family members and U.S. officials, The Daily Beast hasnt identified him by name. He disappeared in 2014 and at the time was attempting to help broker a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban. In an email to a colleague, the man, who had previously traveled in the Afghanistan region, described himself as one of the few sincerely interested in the Afghanistan situation with a view toward solving it

An American professor recently kidnapped in Afghanistan is also still being held hostage. In Yemen, a former U.S. Marine remains a prisoner. And Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working on a mission for the CIA, has never been accounted for. Some U.S. officials believe that Levinson likely died in Iran. Earlier this year, current and former intelligence officials said they thought the Iranian government doesnt know where Levinson is.

Some of the hostages have indicated that time is of the essence, as well. In a video released last month by the Haqqani network, Coleman and Boyle implored their governments to come to some agreement with their kidnappers.

We have been told that the Afghan government has executed some of their prisonersand that our captors are frightened of the idea of further executions, Coleman said, referring to the governments execution of Taliban fighters. Because of their fear, they are willing to kill us, willing to kill women, and to kill children, to kill whoever in order to get these policies reversed or to take revenge.
The man arrested for setting fire to the mosque of Omar Mateen, who murdered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, describes himself as a Jew for Jesus, a religious sect that believes Jesus is the messiah.

Joseph Michael Schreiber was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail on Wednesday on charges that he set fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, Florida, just after midnight on Sept. 12. Photos from inside the small mosque, which has received threats since Mateens ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, show collapsed walls and fire damage. Schreiber faces at least 30 years in prison if convicted because of his prior felony history, according to court documents. Police said Schreiber confessed after he was arrested.

Schreibers Facebook profile features abundant anti-Muslim rhetoric. In one post, he proclaimed ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL. And after Micah Johnson killed five police officers in Dallas, Schreiber shared a post attempting to link the shooter with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The first clues to Schreibers religious beliefs also come from his Facebook page, where his cover photo features the seal of messianic Judaism. It shows a menorah and a Jesus fish intersecting to form the Star of David.

Many of Schreibers three dozen Facebook friends also self-identify with Messianic Judaism, either proclaiming themselves members of the faith in their profiles, or saying that they work at Messianic Jewish synagogues.

Previous media reports described Schreiber, who spewed anti-Muslim hate on Facebook, as Jewish. But Messianic Jews, colloquially known as Jews for Jesus, occupy a nebulous space in the religious landscape. (Jews for Jesus is also a recognized nonprofit organization that promotes a type of Messianic Judaism.)

Many adherents would describe themselves as Jewish, and some even fit the bill under Jewish law, having been born to Jewish parents or converted into traditional Jewish denominations. They often refer to their religious leaders as rabbis, observe Jewish holidays, and conduct services in Hebrew. Yet Messianic Jews accept Jesus as the messiah, in stark contrast to mainstream Jews who do not. They are typically not acknowledged as Jewish by mainline Jewish denominations, and often grouped as a type of evangelical Christianity.

They are outside the parameters of accepted Jewish thinking, Bruce Benson, the rabbi of a Reform Jewish temple briefly attended by Schreider, told The Daily Beast.

Because once you accept Jesus as your messiahwhich, Im 100 percent fine with thatbut once you do that, youve accepted a messianic imaging that really sort of separates you out from the Jewish community, Benson said.

And, while Jews dont typically proselytize to people outside the religion, Messianic Jews are known for their recruitment efforts. Jews for Jesus (the registered 501c3, in this case) is particularly known for dispatching flocks of recruiters to accost people in public areas.

But Schreiber also openly admitted to being a Jew for Jesus to Rabbi Benson when he showed up to a Saturday Torah study earlier this year. Fort Pierces Temple Beth El Israel is a Reform congregation and dont believe that Jesus was a messiah or a son of God, but Benson says he welcomed Schreiber to the Torah study as he would any other non-Jew.

He wanted to study, Benson said. Clearly our visions are a tad different, but thats OK. It would be the same as if he walked in and said he was Catholic or Methodist or Baptist.

And, bluntly, I appreciated that he was clear in his belief. I had no interest in getting him to change his beliefs, because frankly, it wasnt gonna work, he added.

Schreiber only stuck around for three or four lessons, according to Benson. The rabbi doesnt remember him being angry or confrontational, or trying to push his beliefs on members of the congregation.

If Im selling Chevrolets and youre pushing Buicks, get out of my house, Benson said. But he wasnt.

In fact, Benson mightve all but forgotten about Schreiber had his father, Arthur, not shown up on the synagogues steps on Wednesday evening.

It turns out Schreibers grandfather, also named Arthur, was once a member of Temple Beth El Israel. He left many years ago and had since passed away. The younger Arthur Schreiber and his wife were not members of the synagogue, and had no contact with the temple.

But when police showed up at the Scheibers door on Wednesday, Josephs father got in his car to drive around.

And apparently, in answering his own issue of what do I do, where do I go, came to the temple, Benson said.
Kid Cudi, who rose to fame on the heels of his debut single Day n Nite, had some things to get off his chest.

On Wednesday afternoon, the rapper turned actorwhose biggest onscreen credit was in the short-lived HBO series How to Make It in America, about a group of poseurs manufacturing high-end jeans (really)took to Twitter to air out the haters and clowns within the rap industry.

Everyone thinks theyre soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them, he tweeted. Let me tell you something. The days of fuckery are over. The fake ones wont be lasting much longer.

The Cleveland, Ohio, native formerly known as Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi then proceeded to reveal he was talking about not only Drake, but also his mentor, Kanye West, whos also been the subject of ghostwriting allegations in the past.

You see, Kanye discovered Cudis mixtape back in 2008 and signed him to his Universal imprint GOOD Music. Cudi began his GOOD career by helping out on Jay Zs The Blueprint 3 before co-writing a number of songs on Kanyes LP 808s & Heartbreak. He eventually made a name for himself with his own Man on the Moon albums, though never achieved anywhere near the crossover success of a Ye, Drake, or even recent GOOD signee Desiigner.

Enter West. In the middle of a show in Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday night, the Life of Pablo musician paused in the middle of a performance of the track Dont Likewhose hook goes, I snitch n*gga, thats that shit I dont liketo address Cudis recent comments.

Stop, stop, stop it! yelled West, mid-song. Kid Cudi: Dont ever mention Ye name. I birthed you! You know, Im dealin with that emo shit all the time!Dont ever mention Ye name! he continued. Dont try to say who I can do songs with! You mad you not doin songs with Drake! CANT NOBODY TELL YE WHO TO DO SONGS WITH! RESPECT THE GOD!

Cudis rant against Kanye and others came as more than a bit of a surprise. First things first: He is not on their level. And though Cudi acrimoniously split from GOOD Music back in 2013, mere months ago the rapper gushed to Billboard about how thrilled he was to have reunited with his longtime mentor and big bro on Yeezys eighth studio album, The Life of Pablo.

Me and Kanye are brothers. With family, theres always going to be issues and shit. That was the first time I had been around him and his team in a while, said Cudi. We needed to have a big bro, lil bro convo. As soon as we had that, we were good. Whatever we were dealing with, it was a beautiful thing to clear the air about. Im really happy to be back working with my friends.
Prince Harry turns 32 today, and, amidst the celebrations at Kensington Palace today, where the tanned and bearded royal is once again based after an extended summer sojourn in Africa, the question of what Harry is actually planning to do with the rest of his life continues to trouble royal strategists.

Although Harry has made it very clear he would like a wife and children, he doesnt seem to have been able to translate that wish into solid action.

The young royal feels that he faces almost impossible problems when it comes to meeting Mrs. Righthe has told friends and interviewers that even if I talk to a girl, that person is then suddenly my wife, and people go knocking on her door.

If or when I do find a girlfriend, he told an interviewer for the Sunday Times, I will do my utmost... to ensure that me and her can get to the point where were actually comfortable with each other before the massive invasion that is inevitably going to happen into her privacy.

There have been persistent rumors that Harry may be secretly hoping to one day get back together with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, whom he dated for almost seven years.

Harry spent several months this summer in Africa working on an elephant conservation project, and there has been much speculation that she might have met up with Harry.

Chelsy is still very much part of the young royal setshe is close friends with Princess Eugenie and another of Harrys ex-girlfriends, Cressida Bonas, and she spent part of her summer in Africa, launching her new venture, an ethical jewellery company named Aya.

In the course of promoting the new range, Chelsy spoke frankly to The Times, telling the paper of her time with Harry, It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldnt cope.

The reality is, however, that Chelsy has moved on, and as he turns 32, Harry still has no job or wife on the cards.

In the end, he may be better hooking up with someone with a high profile in their own right, who would be less freaked out by being plunged into the public eye.

Ellie Goulding, perhaps?

Professionally Harry seems happy enough to continue working on a more or less ad hoc basis with his conservation charities and the Invictus Games for wounded servicemen. But people who know and have worked with Harry have told The Daily Beast that Harry misses the structure of Army life.

He left the Army last year after 10 years as an officer.

Harrys main focus for the year ahead will be his charitiesone of his first actions on getting back to the U.K. last week was to pay a private visit to HIV hospital Mildmay in east London, which his mother famously toured; it was where she held hands with patients on camera.

Harry is now said to be preparing for a high-profile foreign tour the Caribbean in the late autumn, which will see him visiting Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

We are sure Harry has a busy inbox, at least, one hopes so; as six weeks seems like a long time to be getting ready for such a jaunt.
Benjamin Van Zandts hellish odyssey through New Yorks criminal justice system began when the voices inside his head compelled him to light a neighbors house on fire.

While the occupants of the house were away, and no one was hurt, the 17-year-old schizophrenic and psychotic depressive was prosecuted as an adult and sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in adult prison. There he was raped, extorted, forced to mule drugs, sent to solitary confinement, and deprived of the medication required to keep him stable, sane, and aliveall this according to his mother and father, who regularly visited him, prison records, and court filings obtained by The Daily Beast.

Benjamins journey ended, four years later, at New Yorks Fishkill Correctional Facility, when he killed himself after the prisons beat-up squad of guards tortured a mentally ill prisoner in front of him, leaving Ben to fear for his own life. Fishkills beat-up squads are accused of killing at least one inmate, whose death is being investigated by Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

But no one has been held remotely responsible for the death of Benjamin Van Zandtuntil now.

***

His mother called him Ben.

The son of Alicia Barraza and Douglas Van Zant grew up in Selkirk, New York, a suburb of Albany. Ben started playing the violin in elementary school and became a Boy Scout, ascending to the rank of Life Scout, one rank below Eagle.

He was always a very good kid. He was never in any trouble or anything, Alicia told The Daily Beast.

Ben developed a learning disability in elementary school, but after specialized classes became an honor student from middle school to high school, Alicia said.

Ben was also shy and socially awkward. As he grew older he began hearing noises in his head. Over time, the noises grew louder and louder, and then the noises urged him to burn things.

He used to spend a lot of time on his headphones, Alicia said, listening to music, in his room. But as a teenager we didnt really think that that was that unusual. But later he told us that he was actually trying to drown out bad thoughts.

Ben kept those bad thoughts to himself, occasionally writing down some of them in a private journal. On June 18, 2010, he wrote:

I thought about suicide for the first time. I didnt like it. I figured I would cut my wrists in the bath tub and just listen to music while I died, what an end. I wonder if Im depressed, I feel so bad and alone My mind is realizing all its problems, and it hates itself, I hate myself I took all these psychoanalysis tests online and they all saw I have borderline, scitoid and I dont know what else.

Things just got worse, Alicia said. Delusional thoughts convinced him that starting fires would make his sadness go away. He would burn little pieces of paper in the back yard. Then he started burning bigger pieces of paper.

According to court records, while he was still 16, Ben lit small fires in the backyard of his home no less than six times around the beginning of July 2010.

Ben described the experience to Erica Francis, a psychologist who conducted a forensic psychiatric evaluation of Ben after he was arrested. It began, he said, with urges to light a fire, and a vision of something burning. He described igniting a small piece of paper, and watching it lightly, gently burn. He graduated to cardboard boxes.

Ben told Francis that after he lit the fires my life was a little bit better, as if it had a purpose.

Then one day, Alicia said, he got this thought that if he started a big fire in a house that would really make all the sadness go away. So thats what he did.

Ben described it to Francis as an epiphany.

On Aug. 4, 2010, 11 days after he turned 17, Ben rode his bicycle to a house in Delmar, a well-to-do neighborhood about a mile away. Ben selected the house because he knew it was empty, having seen on Facebook that its occupants were on vacation. He carried with him a backpack containing a pocketknife, a hammer, water bottles filled with gasoline, wooden matches, latex gloves, a raincoat, a blowtorch, plastic bags, and binoculars.

Later, when asked why he brought the binoculars, Ben said to make sure nobody was there.

Ben broke in through a basement window before going room to room, searching for people or pets. In one room, he found credit cards and he took them. In another room, he poured some of the gasoline he had brought with him on the floor, and set it on fire, before going downstairs, pouring out the rest of the gas, and setting it on fire too.

Then he went home, Alicia said, and he realized that it didnt make him feel any better eitherit just made it worse.

A few days later, Ben began using the credit cards he had taken from the house, which were reported stolen, to order things online. A Town of Bethlehem police officer posing as a FedEx worker delivered the goods and arrested Ben.

Bens father, Douglas, was home when the police came. Though Ben was only 17, the police would not let Douglas go to the police station with him. Instead, Douglas watched as the police took his son away in handcuffs.

To this day, I wish I had shouted to him, Dont say anything until we get an attorney! Douglas said.

At the station, court records say, police asked Ben what he had against the family whose house he burned. Ben responded by saying that he heard voices. Police then invited Ben to write his feelings down because it would make him feel better, according to court records.

It was an invitation to confess.

He did it because he was under the impression that if he cooperated they would help him with his mental health problems, Alicia said. He didnt realize that all of that was gonna be used against him, and it was.

Ben was charged with arson, burglary, criminal mischief, grand larceny, and reckless endangerment.

Bens family posted his $50,000 bail and sent him to Four Winds psychiatric hospital in Saratoga Springs. The hospital diagnosed him with schizoid personality disorder, a lifelong condition that typically manifests itself in early adulthood, as well as severe depression with psychotic features. He was prescribed Abilify, Celexia, and Vistaril.

The medication worked. Bens mood leveled. The voices went silent.

***

After getting Bens mental health needs properly diagnosed and treated, his family had to deal with the felony charges against him.

Ben didnt have a criminal historythis had been his first arrest.

Nevertheless, the office of Albany County Prosecutor David Soares, who lived in the neighborhood where Ben burned down the house, refused to grant Ben youthful offender statuswhich wouldve kept Ben out of prison, kept his criminal record sealed and given him a real chance at a normal life.

Instead, Soaress office prosecuted Ben as an adult, and insisted that Ben plead guilty as an adult, to third-degree arson, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in adult prison.

Besides refusing to treat Ben as a youthful offender, Cheryl Fowler, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case against Ben, refused to even consider evidence that Ben was mentally ill. Bens family said they retained Bob Corliss, a Forensic Mental Health Advocate, whose job it was to explain Bens case to prosecutors, but Fowler wouldnt even talk to Corliss.

Neither Soares nor Fowler responded to requests for comment.

Bens father said the attorney they retained to represent Ben, Andrew Safranko, negotiated a plea agreement with prosecutors and the court behind closed doors.

Everything was pretty much signed, sealed and delivered, Douglas said.

I dont think we had any choice in the matter. And I told our high-powered attorney, for 500 bucks an hour, after it was all over, I said, Really?  I dont think the outcome could have been any worse.

Safranko, though his name appears as Bens sole attorney in court records, told The Daily Beast that he was not the lead attorney on the case. He also said Bens family was involved in all decision-making.

According to Douglas, Corliss (the mental-health advocate they retained) told them that even if a jury believed that Bens mental illness excused him from criminal liability at a trial, he still faced at least 5 to 10 years confinement in a state mental hospital.

The idea of releasing somebody into the public is such a liability, Douglas said, relating what they were told by Corliss, that theres a very small chanceeven if Ben were miraculously cured  they would still keep him there for a long time just because they didnt want to sign off on the responsibility of releasing somebody like that into the public domain.

So, Bens father said, it looked like a plea bargain prison sentence would be the best thing.

Ben took the deal and pleaded guilty. The Honorable Thomas A. Breslin of Albany County Court accepted Bens plea. He sentenced Ben as an adult to 4 to 12 years in state prison, and tacked on $455,000 in restitution. Ben was 17 years old.

Judge Breslin did not respond to a request for comment, but his brother, State Sen. Neil Breslin, told the Gotham Gazette news website he thought his brother went too far.

We have this shy, bright teen with so much potential who admitted mental health issues and admitted he started a fire. Does that mean he should be sentenced to jail with older hardened criminals who harassed and abused him? The answer to me is clearly no.

Ben, his mother said was totally unprepared for prison.

He had trouble recognizing peoples social cues. If someone was nice to him he thought it was because they wanted to be his friend. He didnt realize they were trying to take advantage of him. He had no life experience. He was not a street-wise kid

And the DA knew all of this when they sentenced him, but they dont care, Alicia said.

A psychiatric evaluation that found Ben could not properly interpret social cues and would be vulnerable to predation in prison was included in a pre-sentence report reviewed by Judge Breslin and assistant D.A. Fowler, court records show.

After being sentenced, Ben was taken to the Albany County Jail and placed in its mental health unit. Yet he was denied his psychiatric medication, according to prison records made later. After a week, Ben was transferred to the Downstate Correctional Facility, where convicts are first received into state custody, and had his medication restarted. From there he was sent on to the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, where he stayed from March 2011 until May 2013.

The first year Ben was at Woodbourne, he was stable and sane enough to earn a high school equivalency diploma and attend courses offered in prison through Bard College.

During this time a corrections officer who supervised Ben came to know and like him. The officer is not authorized to speak about prison matters, and so requested that his name not be disclosed, but prison records confirm that he interacted with Ben regularly.

Ben, he said, was very nice. Very well-behaved, [a] little dirty. You know he didnt keep his cell clean. I had to yell at him a few times.

Above all, the officer said, Ben was scared out of his mind. He really was.

When I heard he killed himself it was like My Godthat was something he was thinking about. I was disturbed, I was very disturbed over Benjamin dying. I really was.

In early 2013 Ben was transferred within the prison, from a cellblock to open, dormitory-style housing. Thats when Ben was raped by an older inmate, Donald J. Robinson, according to prison records. At the time, Robinson, 45, was serving a 20-year sentence for first degree burglary and first degree robbery, which he is still serving, now at the notorious Attica Correctional Facility.

Bens mother said Robinson pretended to be his friend, and pretty much groomed him to take advantage of him sexually, later.

Robinson started asking Ben for sex, then he demanded it before finally threatening him: If he didnt comply, other prisoners were going to extort him, beat him up, or worse. Ben felt he didnt have choice, Alicia said, and couldnt tell anyone about it, so he submitted.

It went on for several months, Alicia said.

Ben wanted it to stop, his mother said, but he was afraid of what would happen if he went to prison officials for help and get labeled a snitch. Instead, Ben tried to get caught. In May 2013, Ben was busted performing oral sex on Robinson, according to prison records.

Prison officials punished both Robinson and Ben, and the mentally ill teenager was sentenced to 70 days in solitary confinement.

Ben wrote a letter home that, Alicia said, tore my heart stating that he was extremely depressed, and he knew he would be insane by day 70. He begged us to do everything possible to get him out of solitary.

Bens family hired an attorney, Cheryl L. Kates-Benman, who specializes in prison issues. Citing the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, Kates-Benman convinced prison officials to release Ben from solitary confinement after two weeks.

Instead of releasing Ben into general population at Woodbourne, prison officials sent Ben to the Mid-State Correctional Facility. At Mid-State, Ben was placed in a specialized housing unit known as the Intermediate Care Program, commonly called ICP. The ICP is for prisoners with significant mental health issues that fall short of requiring full hospitalization, but do require special treatment and isolation from ordinary prisoners in general population.

At Mid-State, Ben manifested symptoms commonly associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and mental health professionals concluded that Ben has likely experienced a disturbing traumatic event in the past.

Nevertheless, prison officials and clinicians soon discharged Ben from the ICP, and sent him to live, again, in another dormitory, in general population.

This time, the Bloods took interest in Ben.

They recognized that he was a young, innocent kid, probably a little more affluent than other people in there, so they started extorting him, and then they started having him transport some K2 out to the yard, Alicia said.

One night, prison guards caught Ben with K2, a synthetic cannabinoid. Instead of placing Ben in solitary confinement, prison officials transferred him from Mid-State to Fishkill.

***

Fishkill sits on an open, rolling hillside between Beacon Mountain and the Hudson River, 60 miles north of New York City. It is a semi-bucolic setting of farms and former farms being eaten away by suburban sprawl. The prison began life in the 1892 as the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. In 1977, New York closed Matteawan and converted it into the Fishkill Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison for men.

The closing of Matteawan and its re-purposing as a prison signaled the criminalization of mental illnessa wholesale shift away from considering mental illness a medical condition amenable to treatment, toward the punishment of persons who are afflicted.

Today, Fishkill holds more than 1,500 male criminal offenders, housed in open, dormitory-style housing typical of contemporary medium- and minimum-security prisons, as well as a 200-bed maximum-security disciplinary segregation unit known as S-Block, a six-cell self-harm crisis unit with observation cells, and 42 residential mental-health treatment beds, spread across three small, specialized housing units.

Services for mentally ill prisoners are administered by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). Fishkill is a designated OMH Level-1 facility (PDF), providingat least on paperthe highest level of mental health care available within the state prison system.

But in April 2012, auditors from the Correctional Association of New York, a watchdog agency with a legislative mandate guaranteeing unrestricted access to prisons, visited Fishkill and were disturbed by what they found.

At the time, 464 prisoners were on the psychiatric care caseload but there were only 42 mental-health care beds to treat them. There are some concerns, the associations report stated, that the vast majority of people at Fishkill with mental health needs are in general population and thus receive limited mental health support other than medication.

OMH staff refused to speak with members of the association.

The report concluded that between 2011 and August 2013, there were 12 attempted suicides by OMH patients at Fishkill (six in 2011, two in 2012, and three in 2013), with one person committing suicide in 2013.

In 2014, another number was added to the list.

***

At first, Alicia said Ben was OK at Fishkill.

Maybe on the outside he was, but not on the inside.

By July 2014, four years into his sentence, Ben began to recall his crime and associate the fire with love and romanticism, according to mental-health treatment records. Then, during a group counseling session in August, Ben said each day he feels more empty or less emotional.

This was before Ben repeatedly witnessed guards abuse prisoner-patients in the Fishkill ICPwhere theyre supposed to receive dedicated psychiatric treatment and be protected from predators.

Usually the other patients are completely out of it, Alicia said. Some of them are very schizophrenic. They are very psychotic. Ben was functional when hes on his medication, and so he was aware of what other people were doing.

Ben told his parents that he saw guards call inmates crude names and slap them to get their attention.

A prisoner-patient whom Ben had first met at Mid-State was transferred into the Fishkill ICP with Ben. After Ben left Mid-State, the man had gouged one of his own eyes out. He wore a patch over the empty eye socket and Ben told his family, the COs were pushing this guy in line. And calling him a Pirate.

Ben sent a letter to Cheryl Kates-Benman, the lawyer who got him out of solitary at Woodbourne, describing his new home.

It makes me feel very unsafe in this environment and that Im in and I hope you could give me some advice on how to stop this from happening to me.

According to prison records, three weeks later, on Sept. 18, a state psychiatrist, Dr. Masum Ahmad, canceled Bens Abilifythe medication that had been given to Ben to treat his schizophrenia and suicidal depression.

Then Ben witnessed Fishkills beat-up squad in action.

Every prison maintains a group of 12 or so guards whose official job is to maintain order by breaking-up fights between prisoners, quelling disturbances or responding to assaults on staff. Because COs work in shifts, each shift or tour has its own squad. Members of the squad rotate, but tend to be among the physically largest COs working in the facility, or the most aggressive.

Ben told his family that he witnessed the beat-up squad torture a psychotic prisoner-patient in the Fishkill ICP, after the man randomly punched a corrections officer delivering mail, for walking too closely past him in the day room.

Douglas, Bens father, remembers what Ben told him like this. When he struck the CO thats when the shit hit the fan. The COwhatever he did to make a call or whatever. And there was a whole bunch of COs who came in. And they started beating the crap out of this guy.

And what really disturbed Ben most was, they were just standing off to the side in the same room, where they were holding this guy down, and one of the COs was jumping down, up-and-down, intentionally breaking this guys knees.

And of course that fella, hes was just a mentally ill guy, he didnt mean anything by it, Ben knew that, and he was screaming bloody murder.

And one of the COs, because everybody there was quite disturbed, they took all the ICP people and locked them in another room. And Ben had said it was just excruciating to hear this guy suffering, and screaming, through the door like that.

Alicia remembered the rest of what Ben told them.

Then a few minutes later they saw him being wheeled out in a wheelchair.

He said the guy disappeared after that and he had no idea what happened to him. Everyone acted liked nothing happened.

But he realized, Alicia said, referring to Ben, at that point the brutality that these guys were capable ofthey could kill you if they wanted to.

While Bens account could not be independently corroborated, it is consistent with how prison beat-up squads are known to operate, and how a beat-up squad from Fishkill is reported to have operated, when it killed Samuel Harrell, a year later.

After witnessing the violence at close range, and being denied anti-psychotic medication, Ben started coming apart. He stopped calling home, started sleeping more, lost 20 pounds, and became unkempt and fidgety, according to Alicia.

Alicia called Fishkill and spoke with Bens primary mental health provider in prison, psychologist Brooke Merino. Alicia told Merino that Ben had not called in several days, and that this is not a good thing when he stops communication.

Merino documented the phone call, and Alicias warning, in Bens treatment record.

But, instead of listening to Bens mother, Merino notes that his diagnosis as severely depressive with psychotic features will soon be changed. Merino and other Fishkill doctors re-diagnosed Ben as having Anti-Social Personality Disorder, with narcissistic tendencies.

On Oct. 20, Ben allegedly got into a fight with another prisoner in the prison yard and was sent to solitary confinement. Ben told Merino that it had not been a fight, according to treatment records, but that a guard attacked him after asking if Ben was taught to read in the ICP.

To cover up the assault, Ben said, the COs then accused him of fighting with the patient-prisoner he had been sitting with.

Ben told Merino that hes fearful because he was told that if he tells anyone he will be killed, according to treatment notes Merino took of the meeting. Ben said he would rather kill himself than be beaten to death.

Notwithstanding Bens fear of being killed by guards, Merino reported Bens allegations of abuse to prison officials. Prison officials conducted an investigation and questioned Ben.

Sergeant Terry Shultis was tasked with sounding out Bens account of abuse. Ben repeated what he told Merino to Shultis, records show, but Shultis discounted the allegations. Shultis said Ben was a troublemaker and a liar, and called him a punk ass bitch, Alicia said Ben told her.

If Ben didnt keep his mouth shut that he was going to tell everyone that he was snitch, she added.

It was clear that they were beginning to target him because he was aware enough about his surroundings that he was trying raise a voice about these things that were wrong, Bens father said.

The day after the fight, a mental-health treatment team led by doctors Merino and Ahmad recorded that Ben reported being depressed and threatened by guards.

Thats why Id rather kill myself before someone else does it, Ben told them.

The treatment team had prison officials transfer Ben into an observation cell in the crisis unit. Ben again told clinicians he feared for his life if he were sent back to the special housing unit. Instead, he asked to be transferred to another prison. Ben threatened to refuse his medication and to bash his head against the concrete walls of his cell.

Despite his threats of self-harm, including suicide, Merino reported that Mr. Van Zandt continues to present without salient symptoms related to Major Depression with Psychotic Features [emphasis added].

However, in apparent contradiction, Ben was re-started on Abilifythe medication he had been taking for schizophrenia and psychotic depression since 2011.

On Oct. 27, Douglas, Bens father, called Fishkill expressing concern for Ben and spoke with Merino.

She said he was doing great, Douglas said, remembering their conversation. That was a couple of days before he died.

Four days later, on Oct. 28, Ben was found guilty of fighting and sentenced to 30 days in the special housing unit, where he would be exposed to corrections officers again.

That night, Ben made good on his promise, with shoelaces and a sheet.

A prison official called Bens parents two hours after he was pronounced dead.

And he had absolutely no details, Alicia said. How did he die? Was he murdered? He would give us no information.

Alicia said they tried calling Fishkills superintendent and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision but no one would talk to us. No one would talk with us. Everyone just gave us the run-around.

Alicia wanted to see her sons body, but the one prison official she did manage to talk with told her that she couldntthey still considered him to be their property.

And they said, No, you cannot see him until after they do the autopsy because hes the property of DOCCS until that time.

Ben left behind a handwritten suicide note.

DOCCS did not tell Alicia or Douglas about their sons suicide note.

It wasnt until months later that they found out it even existed, and then it took more time for State Sen. Neil Breslin, Judge Breslins brother, to convince the State Police to give him a copy, which he provided to Alicia.

PLEASE TELL MY FAMILY I LOVE THEM, the suicide note said.

DOCCS did not respond to a request for comment.

OMH declined to comment about its particular treatment of Ben, but said that its services at Fishkill provide the most comprehensive mental health services available to New York State prisoners.

***

One week after they buried their son, Alicia Barraza and Douglas van Zandt went to the New York State legislature.

We were still in shock, Alicia said, when asked about the visit. But we were also angry about Bens death, which could have been prevented, and with the disgraceful way DOCCS treated us after he died.

Alicia testified in front of a joint committee on prisons and mental health and told her sons story in support of legislation that might have saved her sons life, by raising the age that juvenile law-breakers could be prosecuted as criminals, from 16 to 18.

Despite Alicias heart-breaking personal testimony, and support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the measure was defeated, as it has been every year since.

I think its disgraceful, Alicia said, that the legislature hasnt passed this bill and that New York State may be the last state in the country to do so. Their reasons for opposing the bill just dont hold up to the facts but they keep spouting this nonsense. They are succumbing to political pressure from the statewide District Attorneys association and the COs union.

Meanwhile, despite multiple state and federal investigations into the killing of Samuel Harrell by Fishkills beat-up squad, no prison official has been charged in connection with his death.

Based on what happened to Ben, this doesnt surprise Alicia.

I fear there will be more deaths until someone intervenes, like the United States Attorney, Preet Bharara. Why he hasnt I dont know.
It seems Donald Trumps personal physician is capable of writing a sane-appearing medical note after all.

In a letter released Thursday, Dr. Harold Bornstein of New York Citys Lenox Hill Hospital attested to Trumps general health. In four paragraphs of dry medical prose, Dr. Bornstein offered evidence of Trumps overall fitness, reported several test results, and gestured toward the longevity of the Trump clan as a whole.

The blandness of Thursdays letter is in contrast to the parody of a doctors note Dr. Bornstein released last December. In that letter, he proclaimed that Trumps physical exam showed uniformly positive results, which was an immediate red flag that it wasnt a purely medical document. Medical providers reserve use of the term positive for when they find something, not when everything is normal. A positive CT scan when youre looking for a tumor isnt considered a good outcome, for example.

Puzzling, too, was Dr. Bornsteins proclamation that Trumps test results were astonishingly excellent. No matter how good someones test results may be, physicians rarely react to them with stupefied amazement.

When it was later revealed that Dr. Bornstein dashed off the letter in five minutes while a limo sent from the Trump campaign idled outside, it didnt come as much of a surprise. Trump doesnt seem the kind of patient who would wait calmly while his doctor wrote a letter, merely for the sake of making it appear normal. How else to explain Dr. Bornsteins whopper of a conclusion: If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.

Time travel not being on most accredited medical school curricula, no doctor can make such a statement with any authority.

While it is not to Dr. Bornsteins credit that he was willing to put his name on an absurdity like the last letter, someone seems to have reminded him how to write a real one since.

Perhaps aware that his gravitas may be in need of shoring up, Dr. Bornstein begins by laying out his credentials, including graduating from Tufts University School of Medicine and being board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. The hospital where he is on staff, where I rotated briefly during residency, is on Manhattans Upper East Side, and often cares for well-do-to patients. (It received some negative publicity for the extraordinary security measures it put in place when Beyonce delivered Blue Ivy there.)

Dr. Bornstein goes on to report Trumps unremarkable medical history, and lists his height as 6-foot-3, and his weight as 236 lbs. This yields a body mass index of 29.5, which puts him in the higher range of overweight but shy of 30, the cutoff for defining obesity.

That one risk factor for ill health notwithstanding, the remainder of Dr. Bornsteins report depicts a 70-year-old man in good health. His cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and C-reactive protein (a measure of inflammation) are all in normal range. Screening tests for coronary heart disease and colon cancer are reassuring and, for those of you who care about such things, his testosterone levels are also within the normal range.

Trumps only medications are a lipid-lowering agent and a daily aspirin. For good measure, Dr. Bornstein mentions that Trumps parents both lived into ripe old age. The only reported fact about Trumps medical history that seems to have been omitted is any mention of bone spurs.

All in all, its a professional-appearing report for an older man in generally good health. Nothing astonishing. Nothing that stacks him up favorably against William Henry Harrison. But a good health report.

Trump should lay off the fast food, but there seems no reason to question Dr. Bornsteins new assertion that Trump is in excellent physical health.
Julia Roberts Says MLK Jr. Paid Hospital Bill For Her Birth

YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT

The actress said her parents were friends with King and his wife, and the couple helped out when they couldn't afford the bill.
Priyanka Chopra is the 8th highest paid TV actress in the world according to the just-released Forbes annual list of highest paid TV actresses.

By India Today Web Desk: Forbes magazine's annual list of best paid television actresses in the world is out, and Bollywood queen Priyanka Chopra is in the top 10. The multi-talented actress is the eighth highest paid TV actress in the world.

Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara, primarily known for her work in the comedy sitcom Modern Family, topped the rich list for the fifth time in a row! Yeah, we said WOW too.

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Also read:Priyanka Chopra posts new teaser of Quantico Season 2 on her Insta account



According to reports, Priyanka earned USD 11 million for her work in ABC's political-thriller Quantico.

A promo poster of the show. Picture courtesy: Instagram/quantico_fc

Mindy Kaling is another actress of Indian origin who features on the aforementioned list. Kaling beat Priyanka as she is the third highest paid television actress in the world.

Apparently, the richest actress on the list, Vergara, took home more money than even her male colleagues. The second highest paid TV actress is The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco, who shot to fame with her portrayal of Penny on the dramedy.

"In all, the 15 highest-paid female stars of the small screen made a combined $208.5 million between June 2015 and June 2016 -- $43.5 million more than last year's combined total of $165 million," said Forbes.

The Forbes magazine list of best paid TV actors will be released next week, said Forbes.



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Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi, Punjab convener of AAP, said instead of insisting on the key issues of Punjab on the floor of the house, Congress preferred to enact a 'drama of dharna' inside the assembly to catch the attention of media.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Terming the 'drama of dharna' inside the assembly by Congress as mockery of democracy, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged that the key opposition party has miserably failed to perform its role on the floor of house.

"Instead of insisting on the key issues of Punjab on the floor of the house, that too during the last session of the current regime, Congress preferred to enact a 'drama of dharna' inside the assembly to catch the attention of media, which is highly deplorable", said State Convener of AAP, Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi.

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CONGRESS MLAS WASTED PUBLIC MONEY



Entire Punjab has witnessed, how Congress failed to engage the ruling parties into the meaningful discussion, rather Congress MLAs wasted public money by keeping themselves busy in enacting drama of dharna by staying two nights inside the assembly, Ghuggi said however the Congress leaders even failed to impress media, which also highlighted them in their the 'poor light', AAP Convener said.

It was the duty of opposition parties to intervene, discuss and interrogate the ruling parties on its attempt to pass the 20 key bills in haste; Ghuggi said adding that the Congress' behaviour during the session indicates its involvement in the tacit (secret) understanding with Akalis to enable them to pass their bills in a smooth away.

Even the draconian Prisons (Punjab Amendment) Repeal Bill was also passed by the assembly without any discussion, Ghuggi said adding the bill was aimed to let loose the criminals right before the assembly elections under the garb of 'parole' to create fear among voters by Akalis.

AKALIS WANT TO CREATE TERROR AMONG VOTERS



"We don't have any objection on the release or granting parole to the genuine release of prisoners, but we apprehend that in the garb of this Akalis want to create terror among voters", Ghuggi said while quipping that why this initiative was being done right before the elections not earlier.

"While PPCC Chief Captain Amarinder Singh made 'hue and cry" on the issue of Khalsa University in media, but in the assembly Congress MLAs did not utter even a single word to oppose the Bill allowing enactment of Khalsa Unviersity", Ghuggi alleged.

ALSO READ | Amarinder Singh mocks Kejriwal for opting out of Punjab contest, calls it 'victory of Punjabis'



Referring the Comptroller General of Auditors (CAG) report of the grave violations of norms committed by state government while sanctioning private universities in the state, Ghuggi said this was a serious issue and needed serious discussion.

PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES CREATED WITHOUT FOLLOWING RULES



It is pertinent to mention here that CAG underlined that seven private universities were created without following rules.

It highlighted irregularities and deficiencies leading to a loss of almost Rs 145 crore by the departments of higher education, housing, technical education and health, besides the PWD and others, in the financial year 2014-15. Information for final compilation of the report was received till January 2016.

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About the universities, the report said that, in 2012, Adesh University was allowed to be created despite an inspection committee and a high-powered committee of the chief secretary noting that the promoters had not complied with conditions of the Punjab Private Universities Policy, 2010.

Even at DAV University in Jalandhar, said the report, "Availability of infrastructural facilities as provided in the policy was not ensured by the government". As per records, its proposed building was under construction (July 2013) at the time of nod, and only quotations invited by the sponsoring body were considered evidence of purchase of books worth Rs 50 lakh, the report added.

The information about Lovely Professional University (LPU) received from the chief town planner in April 2015 and the LPU website said it was established on 600 acres, with 10 lakh square feet of built-up area (up to 2006) on Phagwara Road, Jalandhar. But, neither had the sponsoring body obtained permission for change of land use (CLU), nor had it deposited the external development charges, licence fee and scrutiny fee. This resulted in an undue financial favour to the promoter, said the report.

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Even in case of Desh Bhagat University, Guru Kashi University and Rayat Bahra University, Chitkara University, Chandigarh University, SGGS World University were named by the CAG for serious violation of norms.

ALSO READ:

Satirist Gurpreet Ghuggi becomes Punjab unit convener



--- ENDS ---
If you are travelling to Bandung for the first time, why not make use of Traveloka , which happens to be one of the leading portals for hotel & flight booking online in Indonesia. The GH Universal Hotel is a very popular choice as they offer an unparalleled experience of hospitality. This is the hotel for you if you are looking for a comfortable stay at a great price!

After checking in, and a short rest, get ready to discover the wonders of the city. It is time for shopping and sightseeing. If you are serious about shopping, head for the factory outlets at Jl Riau or Jl Dago where you will come across an endless variety of clothes, bags, shoes and other accessories under all the famous brands. You will be able to find excellent bargains at these factory outlets with many items at half price.

Next explore the great outdoors and there is plenty to explore. Visit the stunningly beautiful lake, Kawah Putih, which is just two hours away from Bandung city where the sulphuric lake sources out from a volcano. Then, head for another volcano, Tangkuban Perahu, which is dormant and you can drive up to its very rim.





Explore the Villa Isola, perched at the northern part of Bandung. It was built by an Italian millionaire and offers a breathtaking view of the city. Another architectural wonder is Gedung Merdeka that came to the attention of people for hosting the first Asian

-African conference in the area.

Go to Gedung Sate which is a public building popular for its design. The building's central pinnacle -resembles the shape of the Indonesian traditional dish satay. It was built by and used by the Dutch companies, but the place is op

en to the public.





View from top of Gunung Batu, Bandung Copyright Wander With Jo




By Hardeep Dugal: The have maintained the tradition of celebrating Ganpati Utsav for decades and keeping up with it this year was no different. The Kapoor clan including Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor along with the young and dashing Ranbir Kapoor took to the streets of Mumbai to celebrate the festival with much fervour amid a maddening crowd.

WATCH: Ranbir Kapoor greeting his fans with his grandmom Krishna is the cutest thing you'll see today

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ALSO READ: Ranbir Kapoor is an alcoholic!?



ALSO READ: I haven't even said I've broken up with Katrina, says Ranbir



The procession began at around 1:30pm on Thursday (September 15) from RK Studios in Chembur culminating at Shivaji Park where the idol of Lord Ganesha will be immersed a little later in the evening.

(L to R) Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor

This year marked Ranbir's longest ever procession in history. The actor along with other members of his family covered a distance of about 4kms despite heavy rainfall and thousands of fans who were gathered just to catch a glimpse of their Rockstar hero.

Ranbir Kapoor holding the manjeera Ranbir Kapoor holding the manjeera

There was immense chaos, colour and defeaning noise yet Ranbir maintained a calm and composed look. Walking close to his father Rishi, Ranbir oozed oodles of charm even in his casual avatar wearing a black sweatshirt with a hoodie, dark blue jeans and black and white striped loafers. In fact, he even caught hold of an orange manjeera and played it till the end of the proceedings.

Ranbir, Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor

The beginning of the festivities did see the elder Kapoor brothers i.e Randhir and Rishi get into a brief altercation with some sections of the media, however Lord Ganesha and the occasion soon took prominence.

(L to R) Randhir Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor

Well, overall, it was fun to watch the Kapoor clan walk the streets with their fans keeping alive the spirit of Ganesha.

(Photos: Milind Shelte)



--- ENDS ---
Seemingly unimportant men shaped America's future

When we hear the stirring words "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union ... " many of us aren't thinking of Constitutional Convention delegate Gouverneur Morris.

Morris wrote the Preamble to the Constitution, but he also was known for writing lustful thoughts about Dolley Madison, the wife of his fellow co-signer of the Constitution, James Madison.

Nicholas Gilman, a convention delegate from New Hampshire, had a reputation for ineffectiveness and there is no record that he spoke at all during the Constitutional Convention. New Hampshire, a state opposed to the Constitution, may have sent Gilman because it wasn't thought that he could accomplish anything. Under Gilman's leadership, however, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, therefore making it a binding document.

When the delegates argued over representation of larger versus smaller states, David Brearley of New Jersey proposed that existing boundaries be erased and the land divided into thirteen equal parts. This idea wasn't successful, but as a state Supreme Court justice, one of Brearley's cases, Holmes v. Walton, helped to establish the precedent of judicial review to determine the constitutionality of a law.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was composed of men with a variety of personalities, experiences and opinions. As described by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese in Signing Their Rights Away, a playboy gave us the Preamble to the Constitution, a person who accomplished nothing was responsible for the Constitution becoming a binding document and someone who wanted to divide the country's land into 13 equal pieces gave us judicial review.

Important contributions from seemingly unimportant men created our Constitution and shaped the future of our nation.

LEONORA OWRE, Vice-Regent

Constitution Week Chair

La Villita Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution

Add an autonomous freight shuttle to high-speed rail plans

What a significant accomplishment it would be to consolidate an elevated autonomous freight shuttle and high-speed rail system along an established highway right-of-way.

JOHN R. VILAS

Brazos County
By PTI: Jain today also visited several government hosopitals to assess their preparedness.

In a series of tweets the city health minister said, "Visited Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital, all services are normal. More than 100 beds are vacant. No need to panic."

"Visited DDU hospital, good arrangements for treatment of Dengue & Chikangunia. 100 beds avalable. No need to panic."

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"Earlier visited Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic at lawrence Road. People here were very happy with the Doctor & services," he tweeted.

Delhi government had yesterday ordered a probe into the chikungunya deaths reported in the national capital.

The Health Minister yesterday had also carried out inspections of five Delhi government hospitals and appealed to people to not panic. PTI KND SMJ

--- ENDS ---
Iowa organizations earn grants from A Community Thrives initiative

Seven Iowa organizations receive grants from the USA TODAY Network to support families in need, local initiatives.
Laxmi who was attacked at the age of 15, walked the ramp for the British Asian Trust.

By India Today Web Desk: It's not even been a week since acid attack survivor Reshma Qureshi turned heads at the New York Fashion Week, yet another brave lady from the country, Laxmi made her debut at a charity show in London.

Organised by the British Asian Trust, the fashion show was organised to induce a sense of awareness and empathy towards the issues faced by women across the world.





Laxmi struts down the ramp. Picture courtesy: Instagram/gmsp_foundation

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Also Read: Reshma Qureshi's journey: From an acid attack survivor to a New York Fashion Week model

Laxmi, who was attacked by a man she rejected at the age of 15 walked the ramp alongside Adele Bellis, an acid attack survivor from UK. Expressing her surprise over the commonality of acid attacks in UK, Laxmi was quoted as telling The Times of India, "People told me that acid attacks are common in the UK too. It was surprising, as I thought that it existed only in countries like India. Par wahan pe bhi aisa bahut hota hai, aur 10 saal mein aise crimes almost double ho gaye hain. I even chatted with Adele, who walked the ramp with me."





Laxmi alongside acid attack survivor, Adele. Picture courtesy: Instagram/sophiainharlem

Also Read: Reshma Qureshi to Sunny Leone: 8 Indian reasons to cheer for New York Fashion Week

Having survived an acid attack herself, Laxmi is extremely happy with Reshma's debut on the New York Fashion Week debut. She mentioned how there is a need for one to swim past difficulties and emerge victorious in the end.





Picture courtesy: Instagram/swateedeepak Picture courtesy: Instagram/swateedeepak

Laxmi, who'd once given up on the idea of finding love was accompanied by her husband Alok Dixit whom she met during the Stop Acid Attacks campaign brainwired by her.

--- ENDS ---
If the duration of creation to depletion can be a measure of a products success, then Rowayton Seafood Fish Market has a winner with its Rhode Island clam chowder, and manager Scott Bennett knows it. An intoxicating blend of herbs (you can smell the dill), fennel, a dash of spices and, of course, clams, this clear broth soup draws many customers, who, in turn draw down the pot.

We like to give it a little zip, but we dont overpower it, Bennett says of the markets clam chowder one recent afternoon. We are already almost sold out of it.

The 40-year-old market is a bit off the beaten path, tucked next to The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood off Rowayton Avenue, but its likely to get a whole lot more feet crossing its doorstep this summer, when the eatery joins the states chowder trail.

In Connecticut, you can go looking for chocolate, booze (signature cocktails, wine and craft beer) and pizza to your hearts content by ambling along several trails that crisscross the state. This year, as was the case last year, you can go in search of chowder, whether its New England, Manhattan, Rhode Island or Manhattan, or soup and bisque. Theres even a few creative concoctions that team ingredients such as mango and habaneros, and lobster and chorizo. Given the fluidity of soup, the trail even seeps past the states edges to Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts.

Put the pedal to the metal for the AAA Chowda Trail, and then slow down to pop in to places such as Sedona Taphouse, The Blind Rhino and Sugar & Olives in Norwalk; Dunvilles and Little Barn in Westport; Take Five Cookery in Hartford and Our House in Vermont. You might need a ticket, however, as in one for a plane, for a jaunt to Pike Place Chowder. The Seattle culinary hot spot is the farthest on a trail that features competitors in this years Chowdafest, taking place Oct. 2 in Westport.

I love that it is a living, breathing trail that changes each year, says Jim Keenan, who has run the event since its beginnings nearly 10 years ago. Discernible foodies are passionate and take a great deal of pride in knowing whats good and not good, and I know they travel. Each year, they are going to get a different group of restaurants with award-winning soups.

Keenan, whose love of a good bowl of soup has brought him to all the New England states, New York, Long Island and Seattle, developed the trail when he began to see more and more people visiting the festival from out of state  those busloads of chowder heads went looking for a fix right after the festival was over. He wanted to keep up an influx of interest for those award-winners and runners-up before the event, too.

Its not unusual for Keenan to get a call from a random chowder fan, tooling around on a road somewhere in New England, or even a foodie in flight, like a private pilot who called in February, who want a great bowl of soup. Keenan doesnt mind taking on concierge duties, but the trail makes it a whole lot easier.

One place that might be difficult to access on a day jaunt is Pike Place Chowder. It was last years winner in the New England chowder competition and will be back this year. Owner Larry Mellum is not afraid to travel to show off his soup, which has won in the Newport, R.I., festival, as well.

We pride ourselves on getting the best of what is out there and, by hook or crook, by luck maybe, we fell into some ingredients that work so perfect together, he says. We found a secret blend of great clams, great juice concentration, stock, potatoes, celery and onions, and bacon, which gives it a great bacon flavor.

Foodies on the go have all summer to prove him right or find another award-winner closer to home. Last year, Jeff Hardy, co-owner of Sedona Taphouse in Norwalk, saw his restaurants New England clam chowder come in second to Mellums, but he considers it No. 1 in New England.

Its got a full-body, robust flavor, he says. There are no crazy spices or secrets, just a great soup that immediately warms you up.

Seems as if the competition is just beginning.

chennessy@hearstmediact.com;

Twitter: @xtinahennessy
The sparring between Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Singh Yadav threatened to blow up in a full-scale war, forcing Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to intervene.

By Prabhash K Dutta: As the turf war in Samajwadi Party intensifies in Uttar Pradesh, Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav has emerged as a mediator between the two warring factions led by state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav. The ongoing family feud poses a threat to both the Samajwadi Party and the state government.

READ: SP's internal feud a drama to boost UP CM Akhilesh's image, says BJP



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The sparring between Akhilesh and Shivpal threatened to blow up in a full-scale war, forcing SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to intervene. He held a four-hour long meeting with Shivpal in New Delhi yesterday to iron out the differences. Despite Shivpal replacing Akhilesh as the chief of the SP's UP unit, the fire is still raging.

Hence, Ram Gopal Yadav, the intellectual face of the family, came out as a mediator between the two camps today.



MULAYAM WITH SHIVPAL

Meanwhile in the run up to the assembly elections, Mulayam made it clear that Shivpal was pivotal party's strategy. He said, "Shivpal will be in the party and governemnt, both. He will take care of the party in UP. I and Ram Gopal Yadav took the decision."

The SP chief also played down the reports that Shivpal was unhappy with the way CM Akhilesh Yadav has acted. "Shivpal is never angry. He always keeps smiling," Mulayam said.

Having ensured backing of the party supremo, Shivpal toned town his angst against the chief minister saying that "whatever is acceptable to Netaji (Mulayam) is acceptable to me as well."

On the question of merger of Quami Ekta Dal, the SP leader said, "If Netaji takes a decision, no one in the party can defy him."

READ: Akhilesh Yadav blames 'outsiders' for crisis in party

THE 'OUTSIDER' PUZZLE

Taking an apparant jibe at SP leader Amar Singh, Akhilesh Yadav had said that an outsider was trying to create rift in the family. Ram Gopal Yadav echoed chief minister's sentiments saying, "Outsiders are hurting the Samajwadi Party."

However, Shivpal Yadav denied the role of 'outsider'. "There is no outsider in the party," said Shivpal.

THE GENESIS

The current crisis, that the SP finds itself embroiled in, began with a dinner party on Sunday hosted by party's comeback man, Amar Singh. Akhilesh skipped the party, which was attended by Deepak Singhal among others.

In the company of high and mighty, Singhal allegedly made fun of Akhilesh's position in the party and as the chief minister. Within 36 hours, Singhal was sacked barely two months after being appointed as the chief secretary.

Singhal was always considered close to Shivpal Yadav and his removal was considered as an act against CM's formidable uncle.

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READ: Rahul is a good boy, we can be friends, says Akhilesh Yadav

AKHILESH VERSUS SHIVPAL VERSUS MULAYAM

The next day, Mulayam replaced Akhilesh with Shivpal as state SP president. It apparently came as a shock to the chief minister, who had been appointed state president in the run up to the 2012-assembly polls.

Giving Shivpal the charge of the party in UP meant that he will have say in the selection of the party candidates and also in the matters of political alliances. Akhilesh and Shivpal already have had an open fight over merger of Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal with the SP.

Akhilesh responded by stripping Shivpal with crucial ministries. This was viewed as widening of rift between the party supremo father and the chief minister son. Now, party seemed to be in deep crisis.

SHIVPAL THROWS HAT IN THE RING

Stripped UP minister gave feelers that he would prefer resigning from the government to work as per the diktat of Akhilesh. A meeting between Shivpal and Mulayam was arranged in New Delhi.

They met and discussed for over four-hours but the dispute remained unresolved. Shivpal returned to Lucknow saying Mulayam would have the final say.

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Interestingly, Shivpal's son, Aditya Yadav accompanied his embattled father all this while. He sat through the discussion between Mulayam and Shivpal.

Aditya had once lost the election for Block Pramukh. Nonetheless, he is the chairman of UP Pradeshik Cooperative Federation.

TWO VOICES ON POLL CAMPAIGN

Amidst an all out political fight within the family, the party spoke different voices over election campaign. Party has rolled out an election campaign plan with Mulayam Sandesh Rath Yatra. The SP president will launch his campaign from his Lok Sabha constituency, Azamgarh on October 7.

On the other hand, Akhilesh Yadav made his poll plan public on twitter. The chief minister tweeted that he would launch his poll campaign with Samajwadi Vikas Rath Yatra on October 3.

Also read: Happenings in SP a vain image-building bid: Kalraj Mishra



--- ENDS ---
NORWALK  An elderly Norwalk couple had a large amount of cash stolen from their home Thursday afternoon by two men posing as driveway contractors.

Police say that two men who claimed they were from A-1 Paving Company, knocked on the door of the home and said that they were there to do discuss driveway work. The men  described by police as a white male with light-colored hair and a short Hispanic male with short hair and a scruffy beard  were let into the home by the residents.
DARIEN  A vehicle stolen from a Norwalk furniture store was recovered in the Goodwives Shopping Center last Friday with the help of Darien and Norwalk police.

On Sept. 9 around 12:30 p.m., Norwalk officers notified Darien police that a stolen 2005 Chevrolet Suburban being tracked by GPS was in Darien. The vehicle, used as a company car for Lillian August, a furniture retailer in the area, had been reported stolen out of Norwalk on Sept. 7.
WILTON  A Weston woman landed herself in hot water last Wednesday after incriminating herself in a theft as police investigated another shoplifting that had occurred at the same place and time, police said.

Police received on July 15 from the local CVS about a shoplifting incident where more than $2,500 dollars worth of self-care items, such as Crest White Strips, Prilosec and Nexium.

After reviewing video footage, police saw two women committing the aforementioned crime while a third woman stood nearby. Through their investigation, police learned that the third woman was a 34-year-old Weston resident by the name of Nicole Yost.

When police contacted Yost to see if she knew anything about the crime, or if she was familiar with the two other suspects, they received a surprise.

Yost said that while she was unfamiliar with the two other suspects, she did admit to witnessing them shoplifting and, after seeing them commit the theft, police said that she herself decided to steal an energy drink and a bottle of cough syrup, valued at $11.

Yost was charged with sixth-degree larceny. She appeared in court on the same day that she turned herself in.

As for the other theft, Lt. Stephen Brennan said that cooperation with authorities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania uncovered a slate of 24 similar robberies throughout the three states.

Thanks to the video footage from the Wilton robbery, Pennsylvania police were able to arrest one of the suspects. Once the suspect completes her court case in Pennsylvania, Brennan said she will be extradited to Connecticut to face additional charges. The other suspect in the crime is still at large.

ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1046; Tomlinson_PE
One would have hoped that 15 years out from the cataclysmic events of Sept. 11, 2001, which forever altered our sense of security, caught our elected officials by unwarranted surprise, and had the State Department scrambling for Farsi-speakers, wed be vastly more aware of the world and its conflicts. And our place in them.

Instead, some of our politicians have lurched between bombing campaigns and isolationist rhetoric without addressing the underlying causes of dissatisfaction that plague the world and fuel unrest.

So approaching a presidential election, which of these is scarier:

That Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton voted for the Iraq War based on President George W. Bushs fabricated link between those attacks and Saddam Hussein?

That Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is clueless about Aleppo?

Or that Republican nominee Donald Trump thinks he can craft a foreign policy out of interpreting the body language of intelligence officials who briefed him?

Frankly, given the latter, Im less concerned by Johnsons ignorance of Aleppo than I am by his very presence in the race, which could result in a Trump win. I have a problem with Clintons hawkishness, but a greater one with Trumps make-it-up-as-you-go approach, which has had him extolling nuclear war, invoking the merits of banned torture methods, and inviting Russias Vladimir Putin to hack our cybersecurity systems. Plus he has no use for global treaties such as the one to lessen the impact of climate-change.

But Trumps greatest deficiency as a presidential candidate may be his abject lack of curiosity. He has yet to name a credible foreign affairs expert whose counsel he has sought. He boasts of relying on his own instincts, but even intuition demands history lessons. And being the leader of the worlds most powerful nation requires knowledge that cannot be supplanted by self-satisfaction.

In a post-9/11 America, fear-mongering politicians have found it easier to close the door on Muslim refugees than figure out how best to support legitimate pro-democracy forces in their home countries. Easier to sound alarms about mythical incursions of Sharia law into America than to read the Koran and understand what it actually says  and how moderate Muslim countries like Morocco have chosen to interpret it. Easier to blame Iraqs Saddam Hussein and Afghanistans Taliban for their actions than examine our own complicity in their rise to power. And easier to invoke radical Islam than tackle the Palestinian question, which is at the heart of a deep-seated sense of grievance in the Middle East.

That leads us to this November. We simply cant afford that attitude anymore. The upcoming election is critical, and experience and diplomacy matter. Clinton, though perhaps not as progressive as some of us might like, has White House, State Department and Senate experience. Shes savvy, seasoned and level-headed. The same cannot be said for Trump, who is volatile, utterly lacking in diplomacy and more interested in dictating than negotiating.

The race is frighteningly close, with a CNN poll last week showing only 2 points divide Clinton and Trump nationally, mirrored in some toss-up states. Its in just such situations that third-party candidates can help throw the race as spoilers. And that poses a real dilemma.

The reality is that no third-party candidate has ever come close to winning the presidency. George Wallace got 14 percent in 1968. Ross Perot got 19 percent in 1992. But in 2000, Ralph Nader siphoned away enough votes from Al Gore (3 percent) as a Green Party candidate to give Florida to George W. Bush. That put Bush in the White House and gave us the Iraq War. And the fallout from that continues.

Johnson is running as a Libertarian, and Jill Stein as a Green. Johnson has been polling in the double digits. Stein, hoping to pick up some of Bernie Sanders supporters, has said Clinton would be no better than Trump. Thats magical thinking, although third-party candidates have long used the same argument. The best they can hope to accomplish is to challenge the two-party systems dominance by winning enough votes to qualify for federal campaign financing and a place on the ballot in all 50 states next time. Thats a worthy goal, but theres the immediate future to worry about.

You can symbolically support third parties with your votes in non-battleground presidential states. You can also vote for them in local elections, where candidates have the opportunity to build credibility at the grassroots level. But as I wrote in 2004 in the face of another Nader run, that one not supported by the Green Party: A symbolic vote for a third presidential candidate ... cant sign peace treaties, protect the wilderness from the logging industry, mandate health care for all or appoint Supreme Court justices to protect the Constitution.

All of those issues are still relevant today. The prospect of a Trump presidency would undermine our standing on the world stage and threaten our commitment to human rights and democracy. Johnson and Stein should think long and hard about those prospects.
Astros strike back to win Game 2 vs. Phillies, evening up World Series

The Houston Astros won Game 2 on Saturday night to send the World Series back to Philadelphia at 1-1.
After his marathon meeting with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav said that he was ready to make sacrifices for the party.

By India Today Web Desk: Shying away from further confrontation with UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, newly appointed state SP chief, Shivpal Yadav said that Mulayam Singh's decision is final for everyone in the party.



On being asked if he was fine with Akhilesh being SP's UP CM face for 2017 elections, Shivpal said, "I accept whatever decision Netaji takes."



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But, the downsized UP minister soon added, "Humari party mein kisi ki bhi haisiyat nahin hai jo Netaji ke faisley ko kaate (No one in our party has the authority to defy the decisions taken by Mulayam Singh Yadav)."

A HURT SHIVPAL

SP chief Mulayam Singh seemed to have put his weight behind his youngest brother by stating that Shivpal was "in the party and the government, both." But, it was seemingly not enough for Shivpal.



"I will make all the sacrifices needed to be made for the party. Party is bigger than any individual," Shivpal said.



On the question of him being stripped of key ministries, Shivpal said, "Decision of allocation of departments is of the chief minister. It is his right. Under what circumstances did he take his decisions, we can't raise a question mark over that."

TUSSLE OVER QEM



Chief Miniser Akhilesh Yadav has staunchly opposed the merger of Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal with the SP. Shivpal has worked hard behind the curtains to bring QED to SP's fold.



Shivpal has always claimed that Mulayam Singh is in favour of forging an alliance with QEM. But, Akhilesh's opposition led to calling off the merger last month.



ALSO READ:

Samajwadi Party feud: What happened beyond public gaze

SP's internal feud a drama to boost UP CM Akhilesh's image, says BJP

Fight in the govt, not family, says Akhilesh Yadav on differences with uncle Shivpal









--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Sep 14 (PTI) The United States would "soon" lift its sanctions against Myanmar, the US President Barack Obama said today but stopped short of giving a time frame for this.

"The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that have been imposed on Burma for quite some time. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office in a joint media appearance with the visiting Burmese Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi.

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"Soon," Obama said when asked when these sanctions would be lifted.

Referring to the transition of Burma to elections, Obama said the new government is giving voice to the hopes and dreams to new generation of Burmese people.

As a consequence, the new government is in a position to begin shaking a remarkable social, political and economic transformation, he said.

Describing the progress made in Burma towards strengthening of democracy, Suu Kyi stressed on the need of lifting sanctions.

"We think time has now come to remove all the sanctions that hurt us economically," she said, adding the Burmese parliament in the next few weeks would bring in new investment law.

This along with lifting of sanctions, Burma would be a very attractive destination for people from all over the world, she said.

"We think, the country is in a position to take off," she said.

The Burmese Constitution, she asserted, is not entirely democratic, because it gives the military special powers.

"I want our military to be an honorable institution and capable of protecting and defending our rights... but we do not think, politics is a place for the military," she said, adding that her government would continue to work to make the Constitution truly democratic.

"We have reached at a point where people did not expect us to reach five years ago," she said.

But there is so much that now has to be done, she added.

She also referred to the steps taken by her government to look into communal strife in the country.

"We want to make sure that everyone who is entitled to citizenship is accorded citizenship as quickly and as fairly as possible," she said.

"This is what we are trying to do in Rakhine (State)," she added. PTI LKJ SUA SUA

--- ENDS ---
In these times of continuous change and challenges to higher education, it is not a bad idea to ponder whether or not its fundamental mission has changed.

Most people accept that the main mission of colleges and universities is the transmission of knowledge. Whether that knowledge is used to learn skills, get a better job, or simply for advancement of intellectual growth, that is and has always been the mission of higher education.

In ancient Egypt higher education was devoted to teaching things that we would consider the basic transmission of knowledge in primary schools today: reading, writing and counting. These studies would later lead to proficiency in both literature and mathematics. This training was exclusively offered to males and evolved into copying religious texts for use in temples. And since medicine at that time was closely associated with religion, interest started to develop in theology and medical practices. We see the production of the first textbooks in Egypt about 4,200 years ago. Educated people formed part of the scribal class and were given high status in Egyptian society.

In the Middle East education was practical in nature and reserved to administrators of the state. The Greeks developed a more open system of education aimed at free people (mostly males) for the sake of knowledge itself, mostly in the areas of mathematics, music and astronomy. The Greek philosopher Plato advanced the idea in the fourth century B.C. that education should be public and obligatory and that women should be allowed full access to it. The ancient Greeks created the first known libraries and the production of teaching materials, and for the first time connected teaching with research.

The Romans made advances in the areas of architecture, engineering and legal education.

Other cultures such as the Chinese and Islam also made progress in higher education. A special mention has to be made to Qairouan University in Fez, Morocco. It was founded in the year 859 by a Muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihri and taught not only religious but also secular knowledge. Today it is considered the worlds oldest continuously operated educational institution.

Sub-Saharan Africa also saw the development of the University of Sankore in Timbuktu in what is today the West African nation of Mali. Founded in the year 988, it was located at the crossroads of major commercial routes in Africa. At one point it contained an extremely large collection of manuscripts, estimated at between 400,000 and 700,000.

European monasteries started to appear in the 4th century, collecting books and making copies of them for preservation purposes. Because monks were about the only people capable of reading and writing, the feudal lords of Europe asked them to educate their heirs so they could become better administrators of their properties. As they opened their doors to middle-class individuals - and the increase of urbanization - trade started to flourish, and with it the development of guilds. These guilds carried the name universitas, hence the name university, which we use to this day.

That is when we see the birth of the oldest university in Europe: Bologna, in what is today Italy in the year 1088. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, the transmission of knowledge became wider, easier and more affordable.

Because of the increasing importance of universities, rulers started to provide protection to their faculties and students, as occurred in Paris, Oxford and Bologna. Later the protection extended to guard faculty and students from the administrators (chancellors) of their own universities for political reasons. Universities gained more autonomy, but at the same time students had to pay tuition in order to maintain an increasingly larger and more complex organization.

Lectures were based on readings and the teacher made commentaries about them. Another approach was disputation by which two or more people who had read the material discussed it. The questions to be discussed were announced in advance by the teacher, and the first examinations took place at the fourth year after which the student was promoted to baccalaureus (garlanded with laurels). Two more years and the student could achieve the masters degree, allowing him to teach.

Faculty of the liberal arts taught the general compulsory courses, what we call today general education. The teaching of languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, and Chaldean (former Syrian) started to flourish, while vernacular European languages, such as English and French were, for the most part, ignored. Because French was used in the British court, however, that language was taught at Oxford. That is why there are so many French words in todays English. History and literature were usually neglected. The reason is that for the society of the time, they found no use for either subject.

As we can see the roots of higher education is almost as old as human civilization itself. Today we may count with smart classrooms equipped with the latest innovations in visual equipment, offer on-line education, and other types of technological novelties, but despite all these the mission of the university remains the same: the transmission of knowledge.

The other aspect that we need to remember is that some fundamental tools to achieve that goal are the same: teachers who are well-prepared when they come to class, who are enthusiastic about their subject and about making sure that students learn things beyond of what is written in textbooks.

What all this means is that education is a profound human activity where human nature, from the sublime to the appalling, will always play a role.

When we look at it, higher education may have changed in how knowledge is delivered, but it continues - and will continue to be for the foreseeable future - a deeply human activity.

Dr. Aldemaro Romero Jr. is a writer and college professor with leadership experience in higher education. He can be contacted through his website at: http://www.aromerojr.net
The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police is putting on its third statewide Illinois Rail Safety Week, which runs through Sept. 17.

The Edwardsville Police Department is also getting involved and aims to spread awareness to better the safety of motorists and citizens around railroad tracks.

According to Operation Lifesaver, 244 people in the U.S. were killed or injured in 2015 at highway rail crossings and 511 people in the U.S. were killed or injured in 2015 after trespassing on railroad property. Many citizens are unaware of the potential dangers surrounding railroad crossings, and Lt. Charlie Kohlberg of the EPD said although this isnt a pressing issue in Edwardsville, its important to spread the word.

In my recent memory, we have not had any particular issues. The railways that go through Edwardsville have actually decreased over the past several years, whereas a lot of the railways have been converted to bike trails, so we dont have near as many railways running through Edwardsville as we used to, Kohlberg said.

Its just an awareness that people should have that if youre not paying attention or again if youre trying to circumvent the gates to the railway crossing or not pay attention to the flashing signals, it could have tragic consequences, he added.

The Norfolk Southern still operates a line through Edwardsville as it skirts the Watershed Nature Center on the north edge of town. The Nickel Plate, Chicago Northwestern and Litchfield and Madison tracks have been gone for years.

Most citizens are unaware of the dangers of railroad crossings and trains, and Kohlberg said going forward, he hopes people consider the risks and be mindful of their safety.

Take it extremely serious. Do not walk along the railroad tracks, dont utilize that as a method for transportation, thats for trains only. Always be vigilant and pay attention whenever youre approaching a railroad crossing. Always check for a train, even if the signals arent indicating theres a train, in case theres a malfunction at the crossing. Always be vigilant and pay attention, Kohlberg said.

For more information about Illinois Rail Safety Week, contact the Edwardsville Police Department at 618-656-2131 or visit www.illinoisrailsafetyweek.org.
An Edwardsville man is facing eight felony charges for his alleged involvement in a string of graffiti incidents at seven locations near downtown Edwardsville.

Edwardsville police began investigating the incidents on June 17 after several businesses in downtown Edwardsville reported graffiti.

On Wednesday, the Madison County States Attorneys Office issued charges against 22-year-old Alexander Phelps of Edwardsville.

He was being held late Wednesday at the Madison County Jail late in lieu of $100,000 bond.

I hope these charges and the Defendants arrest serve as a warning to anyone else considering defacing public and private property: the defacement and destruction of property is a serious offense, vandalism of any type will not be tolerated in Madison County, Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons said in a news release.

Two of the charges are for Criminal Damage to Government Supported Property. Those charges pertain to graffiti found at the Illinois Department of Transportation rest stop building by northbound Interstate 55 at mile marker 24, and for graffiti found on a bridge in the 1100 block of St. Louis Street in Edwardsville.

Phelps also faces five counts of Criminal Damage to Property Over $300. Those pertain to damage on buildings located at 222 E. Park St.; 112 E. Vandalia; 101 E. Vandalia; 113 Plaza Court; and 1201 N. Main St.

Phelps has also been charged with one count of burglary for his alleged involvement in a burglary at 1201 N. Main St., the site of the former Rustys Restaurant.

During their investigation, Edwardsville detectives located a social media account that had posted images documenting the various pieces of graffiti, according to the news release.

After learning that Phelps was allegedly involved, Edwardsville police searched his cell phone and reportedly were able to confirm his culpability, according to the release.

Gibbons praised Edwardsville police for their hard work in solving this case.

Maximum penalties for the burglary charges is 3 to 7 years in prison. The maximum for Criminal Damage to Government Supported Property charges is 2 to 5 years. The maximum for Criminal Damage to Property Over $300 is 1 to 3 years.
Oktoberfest is coming earlier this year and Global Brew Tap House is ready for it. The third annual Oktoberfest celebration kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Edwardsville City Park. With over 20 beer selections available, including German-style and Global Brew favorites, the event is free and anyone can enter the park. However, those who plan to drink must be 21 or older.

Co-owner of Global Brew Ryan High said this Oktoberfest is held in September, unlike other celebrations, to reflect the German tradition.

Sept. 17 is the beginning of Oktoberfest in Munich (Germany), so we always align our celebration with the first official kickoff date that occurs in Germany. We get to put our spin on the tradition and do it right here, High said.

Food will be provided by Cleveland-Heath and 1818 Chophouse. Live music will also be featured at the festival as well. Joe Polach & The St. Louis Express band will take the stage from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by UberCool from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Wise Brothers will close out the celebration from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

High said this years Oktoberfest is the same as last years, given the past successes that Global Brew has seen so far.

Were doing what we do best. Came up with the same guys, same vendors, and bring out the music. Itll basically be the same offerings we have from last year, with the acrylic mugs to purchase and keep, well have the food, and its basically the same thing we did last year, he said.

Last year was our largest Oktoberfest yet and this year we are hoping to pass those numbers. We know its a busy time of year but its also a great time to get outside and enjoy some great beer and great food, High added.

The event is being co-hosted by Gori Jullian & Associates, P.C. of Edwardsville, who will also be sponsoring a raffle to win a seven-day trip for two to Germany with brewery tours.

All of the proceeds raised at the festival will go to benefit the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, and High said both Global Brew and Gori Jullian & Associates are aiming for high numbers.

Were looking to reach the $10,000 price point, proceed wise to donate between sponsors and the proceeds from the event that were donating, High said.

Every year the event benefits the MARF; however, High said this event first originated three years ago following Global Brews fall and spring festivals.

Three years ago, we saw the opportunity to bring something that wasnt going on in this area, in terms of Edwardsville, a seasonal Oktoberfest celebration. We work with our local beer distributor who handles distributing our German beer portfolio, collaborated our idea, put our knowledge behind it, and created a new event for downtown Edwardsville, he said. Its multifaceted. We obviously want to give back to the Edwardsville community. We want to bring traffic downtown, we want to help boost the amount of visitors that we have in this area, support our business, support local businesses as well. For those who may not be familiar with Global Brew who stumble upon the event, itd be a good way for us to introduce our brand to them. We showcase over 200 different beers at the taphouse; this is an opportunity for us to showcase 20 plus more in a different environment and associating our brand with a good cause and fun activities.

No outside food or alcoholic beverages are permitted in the park at the time of the event. Dogs are allowed, but only if they are on a leash. The Edwardsville Police Department will also be on-site to confiscate fake IDs if necessary.

For more information about Global Brews Oktoberfest, search Global Brew Edwardsville Oktoberfest on Facebook, or visit globalbrew.com.
Even as the Samajwadi Party (SP) is busy firefighting its internal feud, the BJP has called it a drama enacted to build the image of Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

By India Today Web Desk: Even as the Samajwadi Party (SP) is busy firefighting its internal feud, the BJP has called it a drama enacted to build the image of Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

BJP's UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "This is a drama to build the image of Akhilesh Yadav. This is the state government's strategy (ahead of the UP Assembly elections in 2017)."

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Also read| Samajwadi Party feud: What happened beyond public gaze



MULAYAM MUST ASK AKHILESH TO QUIT: BJP



He said SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav should advise Akhilesh to step down as UP chief minister. "There is a need to get freedom from SP government's misgovernance in UP," he said.

The BJP leader alleged that UP had been stained in the four-and-a-half years of SP rule. The state needs to get freed from this misrule, he said.



Also read: Akhilesh Yadav blames 'outsiders' for crisis in party



The SP is embroiled in an internal feud for the past few days. A fight has erupted between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. The two have been hitting out at each other even as the party patriarch is busy dousing the fire.



AKHILESH STRIPS SHIVPAL OF 2 MINISTRIES

Akhilesh divested Shivpal of two major portfolios, removed two ministers considered close to his uncle from the ministry and shunted out state chief secretary Deepak Singhal. The senior IAS officer was apparently appointed to the post at the insistence of Shivpal Yadav.

In a return fire, Akhilesh was replaced by Shivpal as the UP chief of the SP. This was also done to assuage Shivpal's hurt feelings and balance the power equation. While matters related to the state's governance were left to Akhilesh, the reins for selection of candidates for the forthcoming UP elections were handed over to Shivpal.



Also read: Rahul is a good boy, we can be friends, says Akhilesh Yadav

Regarding the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's ongoing Vikas Yatra, Maurya said the party does not have any standing in UP. Instead of helping the Congress, Rahul will only further harm the party's image wherever he goes.

Meanwhile, BSP president Mayawati has said that whatever was happening in SP was a drama. "If this is correct, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav should quit politics."

Also read: Happenings in SP a vain image-building bid: Kalraj Mishra



--- ENDS ---

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The tug of war between the uncle and the nephew had been going for long.

By Mail Today Bureau: A private bash thrown by Amar Singh in New Delhi, where former UP chief secretary Deepak Singhal allegedly threw around some loose remarks about chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, has triggered a battle for supremacy within the Yadav clan that runs the party.

However, sources in the party said the episode was more of some differences cropping up in the family and there was no threat of a split in the party.

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On Wednesday, Shivpal Yadav met elder brother and party president Mulayam Singh Yadav at the latter's official residence in New Delhi. Emerging after a four-hour meeting, Shivpal said, "Neither I nor Netaji (Mulayam) is angry. We all are happy... There are no differences."

ALSO READ: Fight in the govt, not family, says Akhilesh Yadav on differences with uncle Shivpal





Sources close to Shivpal said in the meeting he gave examples of how as a senior minister in the Akhilesh government, he never publicly opposed the decisions taken by Akhilesh or Mulayam even though he may have expressed difference of opinion to them in private.

The outcome reflected some dousing of sentiments that had flared in the past couple of days, even though Akhilesh ignored Mulayam's call to visit him. "The decision on Cabinet portfolios are the discretion of the chief minister," Shivpal told mediapersons outside Mulayam's residence. "Netaji has decided to appoint me as the party's state unit chief. My role is to bring back SP to power in next polls."

Shivpal denied rumour of his stepping down from the post. "I will fulfil my responsibility...I will not resign...I am still part of the cabinet," he said.

The SP leader said from reinducting Amar Singh into the SP to experimenting with the 'Grand Alliance', he had always followed the directions of Mulayam. Still he has been painted as a villain.

THE BATTLE OF YADAVAS

While Singhal was unceremoniously booted out by the chief minister within 36 hours of the party, the event had threatened to become the last straw in a tussle for dominance that has been going on between Akhilesh, who has been exuding a confident image of late, and his uncle Shivpal Yadav.

The tug of war between the uncle and the nephew had been going for long, at least in open since Akhilesh vetoed the proposed merger of mafia donturned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) with the Samajwadi Party, a deal that had been struck by Shivpal.

Things came to a head after Shivpal was made the new party chief in UP, to succeed Akhilesh. In response, the chief minister on Tuesday stripped his uncle Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios. According to observers, while there might be a rift that has spilled on to the public realm, party patriarch Mulayam Singh is expected to rein in both his son and his brother. "Akhilesh is the best face of the party while Shivpal is Mulayam's best organization man," an SP leader said.

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"A split in the party can be ruled out so far as Netaji is alive. He will not let that happen at any cost while the prime actors in this latest bout of feud also know that without Netaji neither has any chance with the people of UP. After him people are free to do as they wish," he said.

Meanwhile, breaking his silence on the ongoing developments, Akhilesh clarified that this was not a "family feud".

READ| Fight in the govt, not family, says Akhilesh Yadav on differences with uncle Shivpal

"Yeh Sarkar ka jhagda hai, pariwar ka nahi (This is entirely a difference between (the ministers) the government. Whatever decision Netaji takes is final. Whatever decision are taken by me are based on the directives of Netaji", Akhilesh said. In an indirect reference to Amar Singh, he said "Ghar ke bhar ke log hastkshep karenge toh party kaise chalegi (It is impossible to run the party if outsiders interfere)," he said.

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However, he also went ahead to confirm that he is the CM. "I have taken some decisions on my own with the capacity of the CM.

(Kuch faisle maine apane app liye hain mukhyamantri ki haisiyat se)", he said. "As far as family is concerned, everyone abides by what 'netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) says and will accept his words. There may be problems in the government, but not in the family," he said.

ALSO READ:

Shivpal Yadav replaces Akhilesh Yadav as Samajwadi Party chief

Yadav vs Yadav: Shivpal likely to resign from UP Cabinet



--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Grameyru Prabu Edward Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Indonesia was the pioneer of the production sharing contract (PSC) scheme when the concept was introduced in 1966. PSC schemes continue to be implemented and have been adopted by many hydrocarbon-producing countries. However, recently one of Indonesian PSCs components, the cost recovery arrangement, has been blamed as a severe barrier to investment in the upstream oil industry.

The cost recovery rule is stipulated in Government Regulation No. 79/2010 on recoverable operating costs and income tax treatment for the upstream oil and gas industry. The state oil and gas policymaker, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, views that regulation as no longer relevant because oil and gas exploration and production activities have been moving to more complex and riskier areas than past times (such as in deepwater blocks). Thus, to woo investors to undertake those projects, a higher internal rate of return (IRR) is required. As a response, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has discussed amending the regulation with the Finance Ministry.

Previously, undermined by low oil prices and unattractive terms and conditions, no contract was awarded in the Indonesian conventional oil and gas 2015 bidding round. The upstream oil and gas industry is a capital-intensive business, and many countries rely on foreign companies funds for exploring their regions. The competition for foreign funds has been increasingly fierce.

IRR is a decision criterion in capital budgeting and expressed in a percentage. To calculate an IRR, an analyst will use a projects estimated cash flow based on capital expenditure, revenues, operating expenditures, and the timing of their occurrence. Generally, if a company requires a minimum rate of return of 10 percent, and a project has a 20 percent IRR, then the project is acceptable financially.

However, it is important to note that IRR does not reflect an absolute value. An investor would not choose a project with 20 percent IRR and net present value (NPV) of US$10 million, over another project that has 15 percent IRR but has an NPV of $100 million. NPV is another decision criterion that measures monetary value.

Amid the low oil price trend, shrinking revenues and profits force companies to slash their capital expenditures. To some governments, this simply means lower investment. Some countries have provided or considered fiscal incentives to keep their upstream industry running. UK cut its petroleum revenue tax from 50 percent to 35 percent in 2015, and this rate was reduced drastically to zero percent in 2016. Peru says that it plans to reduce royalties from 20 percent to 5 percent in future contracts.

In the 2016 oil and gas block auction, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry introduced the open bid split scheme. Under this new scheme, the government does not determine a specific Government Take (government share of a projects profit) of an offered block. Instead, investors take the initiative to submit bids on the Government Take rate.

From the perspective of governments, balancing interests to capture maximum economic benefits, while encouraging investment, is the key to robust exploration and exploitation activities. Governments reap economic benefits through their petroleum fiscal regimes, which are basically all the payments companies make to the government (such as bonuses, production splits and taxes), in an upstream arrangement as the result of fiscal terms.

Loosening fiscal regimes means lower government revenue, but it might boost the investment climate for exploration.

At the end of the day, if an exploration succeeds, it can increase oil production, which a couple of years later will serve as a countrys new tax base. That is an ideal situation. For some oil-producing countries, oil revenue is a significant contributor to the state treasury, and lower revenue will instantly hurt their budget. This condition could be a position they tend to avoid. For countries with this type of issue, there is still a way out if an improved IRR is what an investor really needs.

Back to IRRs components: cash flows (in and out) and their timing, a country can improve its investment climate by examining the timing aspect. If the timing for investors cash flows is accelerated, it will automatically improve investors IRR. In this case, the governments sacrifice will be the time, but overall, it should lose nothing in terms of monetary units (particularly from the viewpoint of the state revenue authority).

A practical example related with the cost recovery rule is an acceleration of asset depreciation periods. Let us say an asset valued at $100 million is depreciable annually at $20 million in five years.

By accelerating the depreciation period to four years ($25 million each year), investors IRR will improve, while expenses remain unchanged ($100 million). There is a possibility that other fiscal terms in the cost recovery rule can also be designed to work this way.

In conclusion, a closer look to the timing issue of the cost recovery rule in petroleum fiscal regimes may assist the government to provide a better IRR for investors, and at the same time impose a minimum impact on its treasury.

______________________________

The writer works for the Finance Ministry. The views expressed are his own.
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Linkedin Wimar Witoelar Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Last week an investigative team from the Environment and Forestry Ministry was ambushed as it investigated fire-ravaged concession lands in Rokan Hulu, Riau.

Later, a team from the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) was prevented by security staff from the Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) company from conducting an inspection to collect data on the opening of new peatlands and the construction of canals as reported by the local community.

This confrontational dynamic can be traced back to 2015. At the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015 (COP21), President Joko Jokowi Widodo in an important part of his opening address outlined his plan to reduce emissions by revamping the management of forests and land use.

Identifying the exploitation of forest peatlands as the source of most of the devastating forest fires, he promised a moratorium and a review of permits on peatland use.

This bold promise was heard around the world and raised expectations among nations committed to battling climate change and forest fires that had reached epic proportions by 2015, the first year of President Jokowis watch.

When the BRG was formed the international response was convincing. Donor countries that had long been staunch supporters of the Indonesian environmental effort pledged contributions.

Implementation of these financial commitments is now a major challenge for Indonesia.

Legal and political frameworks must be readied to accept and take responsibility for incoming funds for peatland restoration.

This is now todays challenge in the political economy of peatland restoration. The technical issue is clear and steps as well as options are being formulated. The political and economic reality has to be made clear to all players, including corporations that are perpetrators of the annual forest fires.

President Jokowi has repeatedly insisted that there are no separate visions among the ministries. There is only one vision and that is the presidential vision.

That is the vision articulated at COP21 and this should be the gist of a first-year report at COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco.

There are many cause-and-effect scenarios but they all start in the peatlands and end in fires or their avoidance.

Many institutions are involved and most of the worlds media is keeping a watchful eye. The first positive signs appeared in the international news broadcast of Channel News Asia in late August, when

they reported that the hot spots in Riau province had been brought under control.

The BRG has recently passed the half-year mark since its launch by President Jokowi last January. The BRG has not become the household name it deserves to be as the new hope in reducing Indonesias

forest fires.

The fires are the regular result of policies carried out to ensure continuing growth and profits for huge plantations that still wish to expand their territory. The costs are very high for the public at large.

Forest fires facilitate the expansion of plantation lands to produce high-margin products such as palm oil and acacia-based wood.

Analysis by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) examined data across four districts in Riau province. CIFOR found that 85 percent of the cash was distributed to local officials and business elites and to plantation developers.

In the absence of preventive action, plantation expansion (especially on peatland) continues. It incurs domestic and regional losses that create a global impact affecting many more people than the elites who benefit.

The World Bank estimated that the 2015 fires cost Indonesia at least US$16.1 billion, which is more than twice the reconstruction cost following the Aceh tsunami.

This includes the impact on agriculture, forestry, trade, tourism and transportation and the short-term effect of the fires on health and school closures.

Other costs incurred include those of emergency responders and fire suppression as well as costs to the environment.

President Jokowi has vowed to impose sanctions on local military and police chiefs who are unable to control the spread of land and forest fires in their jurisdictions.

The Presidents call should not be used by the government security apparatus to criminalize any and all people who burn land as part of the time-honored tradition of preparing land for new crops.

Field personnel must be trained to distinguish between this traditional burning and the cynical burning operations of big plantation companies to expand their territories.

Peatland restoration is important but not everything. A long-term commitment to sustainable land management is needed. This means taking action to improve the governance and management of land and natural resources.

Land boundaries must be clearly defined. Land use options must be recognized and their trade-offs balanced among competing users. Important consideration must be given to tenure and use rights with a focus on local communities and adat (customary) traditions.

All should be supported by a strong regime of spatial planning and licensing procedures.

Institutions, policies and incentives across horizontal and vertical lines of government should be

oriented to sustainable land management.

______________________________

The writer is founder of Intermatrix Communications, which advises the civil society group Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN)
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Linkedin Nova Riyanti Yusuf (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Every year, nearly 800,000 people commit suicide. Suicide was the fifth leading cause of death among those aged 30 to 49 in 2012, globally, and the second in the 15 to 29 age group. The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are committed to preventing suicide.

Suicide is complex because it has no single cause. Suicide is most of the times caused by a combination of many different factors, such as psychiatric disorders, social pressure, psychological trauma, biological factors, genetic factors and physical disorders.

Data from psychological autopsies carried out in 1999 showed that mental illness was among the major factors for suicide with more than 90 percent of suicide cases accompanied by mental disorders. Based on data from the Indonesia Health Research (Riskesdas) in 2013, the prevalence of severe mental disorders (psychosis or schizophrenia) in Indonesia's population was 1.7 per 1,000 people. The prevalence of mental emotional disorder in the population aged 15 and above was 6 percent.

Previous research shows that artists were more susceptible to committing suicide than other population groups because of the ostensible prevalence of mental disorder in artistic people. Two contemporary painters, S (1973-2003) and A (1975-2005), both decided to end their lives by hanging themselves in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

This is my story of performing a psychological autopsy of the two deceased painters.

Coming to Yogyakarta

I tried to locate Ss and As paintings in Yogyakarta and a curator introduced me to their family members and fellow painters.

I managed to find the locations of the deceased painters rented houses. One of the painters committed suicide in a rented house in Yogyakarta while the other did it in his parents house in Magelang, Central Java. There was a similarity to both houses: quiet and isolated, providing an opportunity for a painter to seek ideas, think, and reflect.

Both painters hung themselves at the age of 30, still considered within the young adulthood group, according to Erik Eriksons psychosocial development category. At this stage, people share themselves more intimately by exploring relationship toward long-term commitments with someone other than family. Successful completion of this stage can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression.

Back in Jakarta: Psychological autopsy

In my psychological autopsy on photos of the paintings by the deceased painters and the interviews with family members and fellow painters, I found streaks of psychopathology appearing.

Ss psychopathology began to appear with a change in behavior beginning 2001. He complained of hearing voices that he felt as an attack against himself (auditory hallucinations). He felt that he was being harmed by black magic and persecuted by those devilish people (persecutory delusion). Approaching his death, he felt his hands were rotting and ravaged by maggots (bizarre delusion). Affective components can be seen from the great energy he had in painting various paintings of great size, day and night without stopping, and sadness towards suicide. Meanwhile, A experienced dominant psychotic symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations, delusion of being controlled, and persecutory delusion. There were somatic symptoms and sadness toward the end of his life. Family witnessed him cry and lose interest in painting.

Protective factors did not prevent them from committing suicide. S showed social withdrawal prior to suicide. He also came home and showed worsened psychopathology, but the family did not take him for psychiatric treatment. A turned to religion but was misguided by a spiritual healer. Both had precipitating factors: S got dumped by his girlfriend, while A became increasingly desperate with his illness and showed warning signs by saying he wished to die and bought rope at the nearest warung. He even came back to look for a longer rope.

Family history also plays a major role. S had no family history of suicide or substance abuse. Neither did A, but As brother showed signs of psychopathology in auditory hallucination.

An expert, Dr. Eugen Koh, who is a psychiatrist from the art psychiatry unit of St. Vincent's Mental Hospital, director of the Dax Collection and Anthony White Lecturer in art history at the University of Melbourne, has also helped me analyze the paintings.

Koh analyzed the photographs of the paintings I sent through e-mail and came up with possible differential diagnoses. A definite diagnosis was not possible because the deceased painters did not undergo psychiatric interviews.

Kohs Differential diagnosis on S:

Possible schizophrenia and schizoaffective with narcissistic personality traits. Narcissistic Personality Disorder tends to use the defense of mania. There seems to be an impression of mania (visible from the habit of painting the whole night while singing) in the early stages of his psychosis.

Kohs Differential Diagnosis on A:

Possible schizophrenia or anxiety neurosis with episodes of depression with obsessional personality.

Are these differential diagnoses stigmatizing their suicide? No. These diagnoses are evidence that mental illness should have been treated like any other disease before it leads to suicide.

I conducted my research in 2008, until now, no further research has been done on this psychological autopsy level.

Stigma often inhibits the reporting of suicide cases so that not all cases are reported. In many countries, suicide cases are underreported. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN recommend all governments to have a national suicide prevention program linked to related public health policies.

Screening mental illness in vulnerable groups is a form of suicide prevention. Connection is crucial to individuals who may be vulnerable to suicide. World Suicide Prevention Day sponsored by the IASP that fell on Sept. 10, promotes the theme "Connect. Communicate. Care." And the mediaaccording to the 2014 Mental Health Law, has a role to play in socializing the importance of being aware and taking part in suicide prevention in a way that is conducive to the growth and development of mental health.

***

Nova Riyanti Yusuf (NoRiYu) is a psychiatrist engaged in community mental health. Serving as a House of Representatives member from 2009 to 2014, she was the initiator of the mental health bill and chaired the drafting committee, which passed into the Mental Health Law in 2014 . The Health Ministry awarded her Person of Community Mental Health on World Mental Health Day in 2014, as well as the Most Powerful Woman 2014 by magazine Her World Indonesia.

She was a research scholar at Harvard Medical School in 2015 and is currently active as a psychiatrist at Dr Soeharto Heerdjan Jakarta Mental Hospital in Grogol, West Jakarta. Upon completion of her Public Health PhD candidacy from the University of Indonesia, she continues to lecture and write.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Youkyung Lee (Associated Press) Seoul  Thu, September 15, 2016

Samsung's recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates.

Announcing the recall on Sept. 2, Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging at 60 percent capacity to help minimize risks of overheating. But it is urging owners to keep the phones turned off until they can get them replaced, beginning Sept. 19.

The Note 7 debuted to rave reviews in August thanks to its speed, new software features and  not least  the estimated nine hours it would run between charges. But all that power comes at a price: users began reporting the phones were catching fire or exploding, in one case incinerating the SUV it had been left in.

Aviation authorities in the U.S., Australia and Europe have urged passengers not to use or charge Note 7s while flying and not to put them in checked baggage. On Monday, Canada issued an official recall.

Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president, said in announcing the recall on Sept. 2 that an investigation turned up a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s that was very difficult to identify. The end of the pouch-shaped battery cell had some flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating, he explained.

That kind of manufacturing error is unimaginable for top-notch battery makers with adequate quality controls, said Park Chul Wan, a former director of the next generation battery research center at the state-owned Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

Samsung and other experts should search for factors outside the battery cells that could have led to overheating, he said.

"If Koh's argument is right, that makes Samsung SDI a third-rate company," Park said. "But it does not appear to be a simple battery problem."

Time also is a factor in marketing and making the phones.

In 2015, Samsung moved up its unveiling of its new Galaxy Note model to August from September, seeking a leg up on Apple's September iPhone upgrades.

Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping pace with demand for the Note 7.

Samsung has not recalled Note 7s sold in China, but the company has refused to say which of its two battery suppliers made the faulty batteries or clarify whose batteries are used in which Note 7 smartphones. The company also refused comment on South Korean media reports that it has stopped using batteries from Samsung SDI, one of its two suppliers, in the Note 7.

C.W. Chung, an analyst at Nomura Securities in Seoul, cited SDI officials in estimating that about 70 percent of the batteries for the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones came from SDI.

The other 30 percent are thought to have been supplied by Amperex Technology Ltd., a Chinese-based manufacturer that reportedly also is a main supplier of batteries for the iPhone.

(Read also: Samsung's quick fix for Note 7 is no full recharge)

Problems with lithium batteries have afflicted everything from laptops to Tesla cars to Boeing's 787 jetliner, though having so many lithium-ion battery fires in a short time is unheard of, Park said.

The batteries are ubiquitous in consumer electronic devices, favored by manufacturers because they are lightweight and pack much more energy into a small space than other power cells.

But storing so much energy in a tiny space, with combustible components separated by ultra-thin walls, makes them susceptible to overheating if exposed to high temperatures, damage or flaws in manufacturing. If the separators fail, a chemical reaction can quickly escalate out of control.

That's what happened with the Note 7, Samsung's Koh explained.

"The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together," he told reporters in Seoul.

It is unclear how Samsung failed to discover the battery problem before launching the Note 7. It confirmed delays in shipments for extra quality tests weeks later, in late August, after photos of charred phones began popping up on social media.

South Korean experts suggested Samsung may have been so ambitious with the Note 7's design that it compromised safety.

"There was no choice but to make the separator (between positive and negative anodes) thin because of the battery capacity," said Lee Sang-yong, a professor at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology who worked more than a decade at LG Chem, a leading lithium battery maker. Thicker separators can improve safety but will not necessarily prevent all overheating issues, he said.

Doh Chil-Hoon, head of the state-run Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute's battery research division, said that based on the limited information provided by Samsung, he believes the push to increase battery power was part of the problem.

"Even with a small manufacturing mistake, if there had been enough elements to ensure safety, it would not explode," Doh said. "It is a roundabout way of admitting weak safety."

The Note 7 phones have a powerful 3,500 milliampere hour battery, whereas the Galaxy S7 smartphone, which has a slightly smaller body than the Note 7, features a 3,000 mAh battery. So does the Note 5, launched in 2015.

Apple does not provide information on the iPhone's battery capacity in milliampere hours. But two research firms that specialize in analyzing tech gadgets and their components said the battery in the iPhone 6S Plus is 2,750mAh. The size of the battery in the newly released iPhone 7 is not yet known.

The 3,500 mAh battery in the Samsung Note 7 is "one of the highest, if not the highest, capacity battery we've seen in a phone," said Wayne Lam, an industry analyst at IHS Markit Technology.

Lam said he thinks the Note 7 battery problem resulted from weak controls in manufacturing, not a poor or unsafe design.

A spokeswoman at iFixit, which publishes repair guides for electronic gadgets, offered a similar view. "We don't think any internal design changes in the Note 7 are responsible for the exploding batteries  more likely just a manufacturing defect," IFixit's Kay-Kay Clapp said in an email.

Apple has tweaked hardware and software it developed itself to make iPhones use power more efficiently, while Samsung has increased the capacity of the batteries in its phones.

That can be done without increasing size by adjusting components or changing the production process, Lam said.

"You have two different trajectories, with Samsung packing in more energy density, versus Apple trying to trim it down by optimizing everything else," he said, adding that the two rivals are "constantly locked in this arms race of improving and one-upping."

While Apple and Samsung are using built-in batteries for their premium phones, LG Electronics, Samsung's smaller South Korean rival, has opted for a replaceable, 3,200 mAh capacity battery for its new premium, jumbo screen smartphone, the V20.

LG chose to make the phone thinner and allow customers to extend battery life by swapping out batteries.

"The security of the battery isn't directly related to whether the battery is replaceable or not," Cho Joon-ho, head of LG's mobile business, told reporters. "But we make efforts to secure safety with quality controlling tests beforehand."

__

AP Technology Writer Brandon Bailey contributed to this report from San Francisco.
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Linkedin Lee Ji-yoon (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)  Thu, September 15, 2016

KB Investment & Securities on Sept. 13 raised the possibility that Samsung Electronics could advance the launch of its next flagship smartphone, tentatively called Galaxy S8, earlier than planned following the recall of the Galaxy Note 7.

(Read also: Galaxy Note 7 recall shows challenges of stronger batteries)

Smartphone demands have polarized: advanced and emerging markets, and premium and budget phones, said Kim Sang-pyo, an analyst at the securities firm. If Samsungs flagship smartphone launch is delayed to the end of the first quarter of next year, the profitability of the mobile business division could be worsened next year.

Kim predicted that it is difficult to gauge the timing of the sales resumption of the Note phone considering governments are putting restrictions on the phones use. In Korea, Samsung plans to resume sales from Sept. 19.

Regardless of the sales resumption, an earlier launch of a new quality flagship model seems to be the most realistic solution to dealing with the current recall crisis, he added.

(Read also: Samsung goes online to lure millennials with new product)

In a separate analyst report, Mirae Asset Securities also said Samsung could reduce sales impact from the recall by launching the next flagship model rather than putting resources into elevating Note sales.

According to industry sources, Samsung has already started securing curved displays for the next flagship Galaxy S8. It is highly likely for the company to ditch a flat-screen version for the new phone. It has promoted a curvy screen as a key identity of its premium smartphone lineup.
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Linkedin Rumy Doo (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)  Thu, September 15, 2016

According to actor Lee Byung-hun, his character on the latest rendition of Western flick The Magnificent Seven is both stylish and weighty.

While it is not every day that an Asian actor stars as one of the main protagonists in a Hollywood blockbuster, Lee says that he was not too preoccupied with the nature of the role.

I dont necessary prefer playing a villain or a protagonist, he said at the press screening for the film, directed by Antoine Fuqua (Southpaw), on Monday in southern Seoul.

(Read also: 'Moonlight Drawn by Clouds employee open up on Park Bo-gum)

For an actor, its more appealing to play a well-written villain than a poorly-written protagonist.

In the film, Lee stars as Billy Rocks, the mysterious and lethal knife-wielding assassin who fights for justice, rubbing shoulders with Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent DOnofrio and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.

Filming in the Louisiana swamps was a difficult feat of production, he said. There were crew members who were in charge of just catching snakes that came to the set, he said.

His co-star Chris Pratt would spend his free time fishing in the swamps and ask the chef on the set to prepare it for lunch, Lee recalled.

It is the sixth time Lee is starring in a Hollywood film, and the second time Lee is starring in a Western, after the 2008 The Good, the Bad, the Weird by Kim Jee-woon, which director Fuqua had seen, Lee said.

(Read also: K-dramas global appeal lies in wholesome sexiness)

Hes a very open director. He was even open to (actors) creating new scenes that werent in the script, he said.

Hes so cool, his look his very unique, director Fuqua said on Lee via video message. Very funny, charming guy, very physical. He came up and we talked and right away, I thought, Hes a cool guy.

Lees character is engaged in a bromance of sorts with the washed-out sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux played by Ethan Hawke.

We became good friends in real life, Lee said of Hawke. When we werent filming, we would have a drink together. ... I used to be a fan of his, so becoming his friend was a great experience.

The film is a modern remake of the 1960 film of the same title. There is a stylishness that is unique to director Fuqua in the remake, Lee said. Its an exhilarating action flick.

There are so many superhero films these days with computer graphics effects and blue screens, said Lee. But acting out all the action sequences in real life in an analog fashion was extremely difficult.

On his international career, Lee said he hopes to continue to take on new challenges.

The Magnificent Seven premiered on Sept. 8 as the opening film of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in local theaters on Sept. 14.
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Following its success last year, Ideafest 2016 marks its return by presenting more than 200 speakers from diverse backgrounds, scheduled for Sept. 23-24 at the Jakarta Convention Center in South Jakarta.

Among the renowned figures who will be attending the event are Mashable Asia strategy director Gwendolyn Regina, Grab co-founder Hooi Ling Tan, Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil, journalist and presenter Andy F. Noya and BukaLapak.com CEO Achmad Zaky.

(Read also: Productivity apps to help you through your work days)

A press conference was held by (from left to right) Ideafest 2016 festival director Chaerany Putri, Ideafest co-founder Ben Soebiakto, Tokopedia founder and CEO Wiilliam Tanuwijaya and Indovidgram co-founder Benakribo on Wednesday.(JP/Ni Nyoman Wira )

Embracing SHIFT(THINK) as this years theme, which means changing our thinking to improve lifestyles through technology, the event aims for its participants to expand their networks. The best way to grow business today is by building connections, said Ideafest co-founder Ben Soebiakto.

Debuted in 2011, the event will collaborate with the creative video community Indovidgram to host Indovidfest, which is said to be the biggest creative video festival in Indonesia. Numerous performers, such as SkinnyIndonesian24, Chandra Liow and Devina Aureel, are scheduled to take the stage during the session. In addition to the aforementioned events, the competition ideas aim to find the best social entrepreneurs from Indonesia, in which the winner will receive mentorship funding as well as an education trip. (kes)
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Linkedin Dake Kang (Associated Press) Pittsburgh, United States  Thu, September 15, 2016

Taylor Pollier got an offer from Uber he couldn't refuse  to be part of an experiment with a car of the future.

Uber on Wednesday became the first company to make self-driving cars available to the general public in the U.S. through a test program in Pittsburgh. The ride-hailing service selected a group of customers, including Pollier, to take free rides in autonomous Ford Fusions, with human drivers as backups.

Pollier, 27, said the Fusion "felt sharp," and the 15-minute ride to his bartending job went smoothly and felt "like taking an Uber any other day."

If other riders have a similar reaction, and the autonomous cars are able to handle all the challenges Pittsburgh offers, including snowstorms, rolling hills and a tangled network of aging roads and bridges, then the self-driving car will be one step closer to going from science fiction to a realistic option for travelers.

(Read also: Self-driving cars go public; Uber offers rides in Pittsburgh)

"That pilot really pushes the ball forward for us," said Raffi Krikorian, Director of Uber Advanced Technologies Center (ATC) in Pittsburgh, the company's main facility for testing self-driving vehicles. "We think it can help with congestion. We think it can make transportation cheaper and more accessible for the vast majority of people."

The race between Silicon Valley upstarts and traditional automakers to perfect a fully driverless car to serve regular people has intensified. Companies such as Audi, Nissan and Google have invested hundreds of millions of dollars and logged millions of miles test-driving autonomous vehicles, typically in more ideal locations such as California. Ford recently announced plans for a fully driverless car for use in ride-hailing and car-sharing programs by 2021.

The developments are ahead of regulations in some states. This spring, Uber employees first took the self-driving cars to and from work every day - perfectly legal under current state law, Pennsylvania officials said.

Uber safety driver Zachary Rearick, left, and vehicle operator Paul Rocchini take journalists on a drive through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh in a self driving Uber, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016. Starting Wednesday morning, Sept. 14, 2016 dozens of self-driving Ford Fusions will pick up riders who opted into a test program with Uber. While the vehicles are loaded with features that allow them to navigate on their own, an Uber engineer will sit in the drivers seat and seize control if things go awry. (AP/Gene J. Puskar)

"There's no requirement that you be touching the steering wheel," said Kurt J. Myers, deputy secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. "But there is a requirement that you are a licensed driver and that you are in the driver's seat."

Approaches to driverless technology differ. Google, a unit of Alphabet, and Ford say the only safe option for riders is a fully driverless car  no steering wheel, no pedals and no human operator. Others, like Mercedes-Benz, are adding autonomous features in phases, while relying on the driver to take over in certain circumstances.

Many experts predict that it will be years, if not decades, before the public is being driven around in fleets of fully driverless vehicles under any condition. Some are apprehensive about involving humans as passengers while removing them as drivers before the technology has been thoroughly tested.

"Because vehicles are driving at seventy miles per hour on the highway, if something goes wrong, things could go wrong very bad, very quickly," said Carnegie Mellon engineering Professor Raj Rajkumar. "This technology needs to be ultra-reliable before we can take the human out of the driving equation."

NuTonomy, a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, got the jump on Uber globally three weeks ago when it began picking up passengers in self-driving taxis in a district in Singapore. The company said Tuesday that its six taxis  with backup drivers  haven't had any accidents since the service launched.

The Uber vehicles are equipped with everything from seven traffic-light detecting cameras to a radar system that detects different weather conditions to 20 spinning lasers that generate a continuous, 360-degree 3-D map of the surrounding environment. During the test program, two engineers are seated in front  a backup driver and another monitoring the car's 3D map and scribbling notes on how to improve the car's software.

Uber executives are watching to see how the cars handle Pittsburgh's notoriously tricky driving conditions to determine when fully driverless vehicles will be ready to hit the roads.

"We actually think of Pittsburgh as the double black diamond of driving," Krikorian said. "If we can really tackle Pittsburgh, that we have a better chance of tackling most other cities around the world."

A group of self driving Uber vehicles position themselves to take journalists on rides during a media preview at Uber's Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, Monday, Sept. 12, 2016. Starting Wednesday morning, Sept. 14, 2016 dozens of self-driving Ford Fusions will pick up riders who opted into a test program with Uber. While the vehicles are loaded with features that allow them to navigate on their own, an Uber engineer will sit in the drivers seat and seize control if things go awry. (AP/Gene J. Puskar)

Besides road conditions, Uber must also tackle people's fears about self-driving technology.

"It scares me not to have a driver there with an Uber," said Claudia Tyler, a health executive standing near the entrance of an office in downtown Pittsburgh.

When the drivers are removed from front seats, the cars will likely be restricted to driving in specific locations under good conditions at first.

A study released Wednesday by the University of Michigan found that 23 percent of Americans wouldn't ride in a self-driving car. Uber officials hope the initial trial will teach them how to ease public fears of adopting the leading-edge technology.

(Read also: World's first self-driving taxis debut in Singapore)

"The Pittsburgh pilot is our opportunity for real world testing, so that we can learn more about what makes riders feel safe and comfortable," said Uber product manager Emily Bartel.

Uber's Silicon Valley roots mean it tends to pivot quickly and plan, experiment, and adjust direction within weeks, in contrast to longtime carmakers like General Motors or Toyota who have years-long timelines when bringing out new features, Rajkumar and Uber officials said.

"I'd probably give them a little bit and let them work their kinks out," Patrick Holland, a Philadelphia-area student, said right before getting into a human-driven Uber. "But I think a product that's well-tested and it's proven to work and safe  I think that's where we're heading, and I think I'll eventually find myself in a driverless vehicle."
Apart from serving delicious food and whisky-based cocktails, the Singleton Street Fair at Le Meridien will also host a set of stalls by book vendors from Daryaganj, glass bangle sellers among others.

By India Today Web Desk: What happens when the charm of Old Delhi seamlessly blends into the delectable taste of street food and premium whisky? Sheer magic, of course.

And that is exactly the kind of magic New Delhi's Le Meridien seeks to create with the help of celebrity sommelier, Dan Jones.

Also Read: Jack Daniel's whiskey recipe was brainwired by a slave, reveal makers

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To be held on September 17, 2016 the Singleton Street Fair at Le Meridien will feature a set of drool-worthy street food items like Pakoras, Fruit kulia, Dal ka laddoo, Lachha tokri, Ragda tikki and golgappas. But the fair is more than being a mere street food festival. It will in fact, play host to sommelier Dan Jones who will prepare some rather unique whisky-based cocktails to go with the delicious food.





Photo courtesy: Facebook/Le Meridien New Delhi

Also Read: When Delhi played host to Jack Daniel's Barrel Hunt



What makes the festival even more interesting is the fact that host a string of stalls by book vendors from Daryaganj, Haji Bartan Wale known for handmade utensils, glass bangle sellers, gramophone record sellers, silversmiths and among other.





Photo courtesy: Facebook/Le Meridien New Delhi

The Singleton Street Fair will be held on September 17, 2016 at Le Meridien, Windsor Place, New Delhi.

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

In June, when flooding and landslides devastated cities in Central Java, including Banjarnegara, renowned University of Indonesia sociologist and lecturer Imam B. Prasodjo said he felt the need to act to help the victims.

Imam asked permission to use illegally logged teak, kept at the Central Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), to rebuild houses and schools in the affected regions.

I asked for 409.33 cubic meters of timber to build schools and houses destroyed by the landslide in Banjarnegara. The victims reached out to me to make this request, he said.

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Linkedin Mamay Sukaesih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

Close geographical distance does not always mean having close economic links, but rather transportation access that brings two regions closer. In this article, we illustrate this theory by looking at the relationships between South Sulawesi and other provinces in Indonesia.



South Sulawesi, the gate to eastern Indonesia, certainly has economic interactions with other provinces. This economic interaction may be in the form of either input or output flows between provinces in goods and services or production processes.



In other words, the volume of economic interaction among different areas relies on how much an area utilizes or supplies goods or services to other areas to fulfill its input needs in order to satisfy both its production processes and consumption.



In economic literature, we know that economic linkages among areas and sectors can be distinguished into either backward or forward linkage.



Backward linkage is a linkage between areas or sectors in utilizing production inputs, while forward linkage is a linkage between areas and sectors in supplying production output to other areas or sectors.



We use interregional input output analysis to show interesting facts regarding South Sulawesis linkages with other provinces.



The data surprisingly show that South Sulawesi has closer linkage with provinces in Java and Sumatra islands than provinces on Sulawesi Island or other provinces in the eastern part of Indonesia. This indicates that close geographical proximity does not automatically create close economic linkages.



In general, if one regions economy has input or output linkages with other regions, an increase in production and or consumption in this region will impact the production activities in another region.



In other words, increases in production and or consumption in one sector in one region will impact on the increase in production of other sectors in its region and other regions.



In the input-output and interregional input-output analysis, the impact of the output is calculated by using an output multiplier. Simply put, the output multiplier is defined as the addition of total output as a result of additional demand for goods or services in one sector.



In interregional input-output analysis, the total output multiplier comprises an internal (regional) output multiplier and external (interregional) output multiplier. An internal output multiplier is the addition of output in the very same region due to additional demand for goods or services from one sector in the region.



While the external (interregional) output multiplier is the addition of input out of the region due to additional demand for goods or services from one sector in one region. Therefore, the total output multiplier of one sector in one region is the internal output multiplier and the external interregional output multiplier added together.



South Sulawesi has high backward linkage with West Java, Central Java, South Sumatra, Jakarta and North Sumatra provinces. This means that many inputs of production activities come from provinces on Java and Sumatra islands.



South Sulawesi has the highest backward linkage with West Java province, with a linkage coefficient of 0.0728. This means that Rp 1 of output produced in South Sulawesi requires input of Rp 0.0728 from West Java.



The rubber industry and rubber-based products industry in South Sulawesi are two sectors that use a lot of inputs from West Java, with an input coefficient of 0.1194 and 0.1086, respectively.



South Sulawesis second-highest backward linkage, which is 0.0527, is with Central Java. This means that Rp 1 of output produced in South Sulawesi requires an input of Rp 0.0527 from Central Java. The electricity, gas, and clean-water sectors and air transportation sector in South Sulawesi consume a lot of input from Central Java.



Further, South Sulawesi has high forward linkage with Maluku, Jakarta, North Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and North Maluku provinces. This indicates that production output in South Sulawesi is much more utilized in the production activities in those provinces in the eastern part of Indonesia than any other provinces.



South Sulawesis highest forward linkage is with Maluku, which is 0.0182. This means that one rupiah of output produced in South Sulawesi will be supplied to Maluku for an additional 0.0182 rupiah. South Sulawesis cement industry supplies much of its production output to Maluku.



In short, our analysis finds that Java is an important area for providing raw materials for South Sulawesi and the eastern part of Indonesia, such as Papua and Maluku; and provinces on Sulawesi Island are important market destinations for products from South Sulawesi.



Our study reveals that geographical distance may not matter for economic linkage rather than for transportation access to economic resources and new markets.



Our study suggests that access to transportation for each region is key to integrating provinces in Indonesia. Infrastructure connectivity between provinces, especially in eastern Indonesia, needs to be improved, so that logistic costs can be reduced in eastern Indonesia.

_____________



The writer is a regional analyst at PT Bank Mandiri.

---------------

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

The Law and Human Rights Ministry admitted it had struggled to find a legal basis to reinstate former energy and mineral resources minister Arcandra Tahar as an Indonesian citizen.

Ministry officials said they realized that their idea to use some articles of Law No. 12/2006 on Indonesian citizenship was not feasible in Arcandras case. There is no solution in the Citizenship Law that can justify Arcandras circumstances. So, discretion is needed, Freddy Haris, the director general of the General Law Administration (AHU), said on Wednesday.

For instance, Freddy said Article 20 of the Citizenship Law stipulates that foreigners who have made a meritorious contribution to the nation can be granted Indonesian citizenship by the President with consideration by the House of Representatives.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

ASEAN and the EU have agreed to cooperate in managing peatlands and combating cross-boundary haze pollution in order to prevent a recurrence of last years disastrous forest fires that ended up severely affecting the wider region.

Franck Viault, the head of cooperation at the delegation of the EU to Indonesia, said on Wednesday that about 24 million (US$26.9 million) in funds had been set aside to finance the Regional Peatlands program. The EU will provide 20 million while co-financier Germany will provide the rest of the money.

It [the program] is to be implemented next year. It is to be implemented in all ASEAN member states, but with specific focus in Indonesia and Malaysia because you have the majority of peatland areas, Viault told The Jakarta Post, adding that most of the haze also emanated from these two countries, and first and foremost from Indonesia.

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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar, Bali  Thu, September 15, 2016

Twenty people were taken to hospital for injuries sustained in a boat explosion, which killed one other passenger, on Thursday, according to the Denpasar Port Health Office (KKP).

The explosion occurred at 9:35 a.m. local time just after the Gili Cat 2 speed boat departed from Padangbai Port in Karangasem, Bali, for several destinations, including Gili Trawangan in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

KKPs Padangbai office coordinator Putu Swardiana said the incident happened only 200 meters from Padangbai Port.

Witnesses saw smoke emanating from an area near the boats engine. It was reported that a liquid tank exploded, he told The Jakarta Post.

Putu further said the Gili Cat 2 was carrying 35 passengers, all were foreign citizens.

He said 15 victims were taken to Penta Medika clinic in Manggis village, Karangasem, around three kilometers from Padangbai Port. Five other passengers were taken to Manggis community health center (Puskesmas) while one other was rushed to Klungkung Hospital after sustaining a fractured backbone.

One female passenger taken to Penta Medika clinic died. We have not yet identified the victim but it is suspected that she is a German citizen, said Putu, adding that all victims at Penta Medika clinic had been referred to several hospitals in Denpasar.

Karangasem Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sugeng Sudarso said police were currently investigating the cause of the incident. The polices forensic laboratory personnel have been dispatched to the incidents site, he said.

Four crew members were on board when the incident occurred. They comprised boat captain Totok Wasito, engineer Sugiarto and deckhands Nyoman Supartika and Kadek Kris. (ebf)

Under investigation: Police have sealed off the Gili Cat 2 speed boat after an explosion on the vessel injured 20 people and killed one on Sept. 15. (JP/Ni Komang Erviani)

--

Correction: The article's previous edition contained an error. We reported the name of the boat as the "Gini Cat 2". Its proper name is the "Gili Cat 2", which we have corrected. -Editor
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

The commodity boom has caused premature deindustrialization in Indonesia, according to the US Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Indonesia in a recent report about US-Indonesian economic relations.

Based on World Bank data, the contribution of the Indonesian manufacturing sector to gross domestic product (GDP) had decreased since 2002 when the export of commodities overtook that contribution. Meanwhile, in the same period, Malaysia and Vietnam increased their share in global manufacturing.

Three factors that held back Indonesian manufacturing were a decrease in labor productivity despite low wages, inefficient logistics costs that stood at 24 percent of GDP compared to that in Thailand, where it is only 16 percent, and complex regulatory procedures.

Despite the grim results of de-industrialization in the past, US companies in Indonesia showed optimism over Indonesias economy. In Amchams survey report, 87 percent of the respondents said improvements have been made during President Joko "Jokowi" Widodos administration.

All US companies responded that the economic packages launched so far have made some impact on the improvement of business processes.

We have produced four reports so far and this years report is to present a broader picture of economic cooperation between the two countries, said AmCham Indonesia president director Brian Arnold at the US-Indonesia Investment Initiative 2016 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Jakarta on Thursday. (ags)
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Linkedin Grameyru Prabu Edward (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

Indonesia was the pioneer of the production sharing contract (PSC) scheme when the concept was introduced in 1966. PSC schemes continue to be implemented and have been adopted by many hydrocarbon-producing countries. However, recently one of Indonesian PSCs components, the cost recovery arrangement, has been blamed as a severe barrier to investment in the upstream oil industry.

The cost recovery rule is stipulated in Government Regulation No. 79/2010 on recoverable operating costs and income tax treatment for the upstream oil and gas industry. The state oil and gas policymaker, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, views that regulation as no longer relevant because oil and gas exploration and production activities have been moving to more complex and riskier areas than past times (such as in deepwater blocks). Thus, to woo investors to undertake those projects, a higher internal rate of return (IRR) is required. As a response, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has discussed amending the regulation with the Finance Ministry.

Previously, undermined by low oil prices and unattractive terms and conditions, no contract was awarded in the Indonesian conventional oil and gas 2015 bidding round. The upstream oil and gas industry is a capital-intensive business, and many countries rely on foreign companies funds for exploring their regions. The competition for foreign funds has been increasingly fierce.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Tangerang Council has promised fishermen in Dadap, Tangerang, to fully participate in a slum upgrading program to develop the fishermen village into Kampung Baru Dadap (New Dadap Kampung) during a meeting Wednesday.

The councilors have been deliberating a bylaw on slum prevention and upgrading programs, where Dadap fishermen have urged the administration to follow the principles in the bylaw in upgrading their kampung.

We come to follow up the slum upgrading plan, residents want to be involved in the bylaws deliberation, a resident representative, Waisul Kurnia, said in a statement made available on Wednesday.

However, the councilors have asked the fishermen to entrust the deliberation process to them, while promising to invite Dadap residents participation in the neighborhood improvement.

Read also: LBH Jakarta to assist Dadap residents after clash

Previously, Dadap residents had met with the Indonesian Ombudsman in July, in which councilors and Tangerang administration officials, the Kosambi district head and the Dadap subdistrict head were present.

Through the meeting we have confirmed the commitment from Tangerang Council and administration agencies that we will form a working team consisting of administration officials and the residents, to ensure full participation of the residents in the improvement of their neighborhood, Citra Referandum, a public attorney from Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), which is the residents legal consultant, said.

Residents have rejected the earlier concept proposed by the administration, which wanted to build an Islamic center in Dadap. They said they did not need an Islamic center. Let us decide together the new concept, we want an improved focus on fishermens welfare that is in compliance with existing spatial planning, fisherman Waisul said. (evi)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

A counterterrorism official has said the arrest of East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) leader Basri, alias Bagong, in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Wednesday, may further weaken the power of the terrorist group; however, security authorities should not underestimate the potential of the groups militants, who remain at large, in staging terror attacks.

Even though their power has been weakened, the possibility of an attack is still an enormous threat as these individuals are linked to global terrorist networks," National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) deputy head of enforcement Arief Dharmawan said on Wednesday.

MIT members are linked to other terrorist groups. Therefore, even if they only have a small supply of munitions, they could still initiate devastating attacks with the support of other terrorist groups, Arief explained.

Arief said the BNPT monitored the movement of MIT and other terrorist groups in Indonesia. The agency was also increasing measures to curb the spread of radicalism and conduct comprehensive programs to deradicalize suspected militant group members in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Basri was arrested in Tangkura village, South Poso Pesisir, at around 9:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. He was second in command after Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, who was shot dead in an ambush on July 18. (ebf)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

A lawyer of accused murderer Jessica Kumala Wongso, Otto Hasibuan, claimed that the examination of Wayan Mirna Salihins corpse was not done in accordance with National Police Chief Regulation No. 10/2009, which provides standards for examining poisoning victims.

Mirna's body was examined in the National Police's hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Jan. 9, three days after she died. Doctor Slamet Purnomo, who was in charge of the examination, only took a gastric sample for further study in the police forensic laboratory.

Otto said based on the police chief's regulation, doctors should take 100 grams of each of a victims organs, including the stomach, liver, kidneys, heart, adipose tissue and brain, and the forensic doctor should also take 25 milliliters of a victims urine and 10 milliliters of a victims blood.

Some of those items were not examined, although according to the regulation it was compulsory. Based on the law, the taking of the body samples is performed by the doctor during an autopsy to obtain evidence. In this case, no autopsy was performed on Mirna, Otto said in the trial hearing on Thursday.

A chemical toxicologist from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Indonesia, Budiawan, who appeared as an expert witness for the defense, said that the police examination of Mirnas body was invalid.

Meanwhile, according to the same regulation, among the requirements in carrying out an examination of the evidence of poisoning is to obtain the container of the alleged poison. In this case, police failed to do so, Otto said. (bbn)
The Siwan administration has sent a report to the state government on gangster Shahabuddin and recommended sending back the don-turned-politician to jail.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: The Siwan administration has sent a report to the state government on gangster Shahabuddin and recommended sending back the don-turned-politician to jail. The report is based on the ground situation prevailing in the district after the release of Shahabuddin.

In the report the Siwan administration has pointed out eversince the four-time RJD MP Shahabuddin has come out of jail, fear has revisited Siwan. In the report it is said that local people are living under constant fear especially the business community. It has been said that many businessmen have not opened their shops and offices due to Shahabuddin's fear.

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Top police officials confirmed India Today that on the direction of Bihar government, a daily report on Shahabuddin was being sent to the government.

On the other hand the state government is under immense pressure to impose Crime Control Act against Shahabuddin as the opposition is demanding this. BJP leaders are maintaining Shahabuddin should be sent to jail after imposing CCA on him. BJP has also been demanding Bihar government to move Supreme Court for cancellation of Shahabuddin's bail.

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) lawyer Tigor Hutapea criticized the plan by the central government and the Jakarta administration to put fishermen a 16-story low-cost apartment building (rusunawa) following the decision to continue on with the Jakarta Bay reclamation project.

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has proposed to build rusunawa as tall as 16 stories or even 20 stories to accommodate the fishermen.

"Looking at it from a social perspective, fishermen can't be placed in low-cost apartments. It will be hard for them if they have to carry their nets by an elevator to the 16th floor every day," Tigor told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Tigor said it would be also hard for the fishermen to dry their catch and repair their broken nets in their apartments. To do both, fishermen need spacious room with direct sunlight. Relocating them to rusunawa cannot be called a solution, Tigor said.

Besides the housing and economic space problems, the fishermen would also find their fishing areas reduced because the public sea would have been turned into private properties in the form of 17 islets, Tigor said.

He said rusunawa could not answer the problem of dwindling income once their movement on the sea is limited.

"Fishermen don't need apartments, they only need the ocean back," he said.

LBH Jakarta is one of the legal consultants of the Muara Angke fishermen in North Jakarta who filed a lawsuit against the construction permits of islets F, G, H, I and K with the Jakarta State Administrative Court. (evi)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

In response to the city administrations plan to develop low-cost apartments for fishermen that required relocation, one of the fishermen has said that such apartments did not fit their livelihoods.

"We can't live far from the coast because we need to monitor our ships continuously," said Iwan, who is member of the Traditional Fishermen Community (KNT) in Jakarta, adding that an apartment was not a home of a fisherman.

Previously, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan and Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama vowed to construct around 20,000 low-cost apartment units in Muara Baru, North Jakarta and Cakung Cilincing in East Jakarta for relocating affected residents of reclamation development.

This was after they said the government had decided to go ahead with the construction of Islet G in Jakarta Bay that was halted by Luhuts predecessor Rizal Ramli.

Previously, the Jakarta State Administrative Court ruled on May 31 for the project to be halted. The Jakarta administration subsequently filed an appeal over the decision.

"The government has been unfair to us. Now, fishermen are figuring out a way to halt the government's decision, as well as the continuation of Islet Gs development," Iwan said.

Meanwhile, Kuat Wibisono, a member of the communitys national body (KNTI), said relocation to the apartments would burden the fishermen because they had to pay rental fees.

"I think the low cost apartments are not a solution for us. We will have to pay rental fees for the apartments forever because we won't own them," Kuat told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. (bbn)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

If the government gets its way, voters in the 2019 legislative elections will have little say in deciding who is elected a legislator in the House of Representatives.

In a proposal that will likely be endorsed by the House, the government plans to change the countrys voting system from an open-list variant of proportional representation to one that is closer to the closed-list system used by the authoritarian New Order regime.

Under the new plan, hatched by Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, a stalwart member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the government will propose to the House what it calls an open-limited system, under which political parties will have the authority to determine which of their candidates fill legislative seats in the House, regardless of the votes garnered by the particular candidates.

Under todays open-list system, used in the 2009 and 2014 legislative elections, voters vote for candidates whose names appear on the ballot paper and candidates are elected after meeting the required quota of votes needed to win a seat.

With the open-limited system proposed by the government, voters receive information about the candidates they vote for, but political parties will still have the final say in determining whether the candidates who meet the quota get a seat in the House.

We expect to bring this proposal to the House in late September. The General Elections Commission [KPU] expects to have a new law on legislative elections by 2017, Tjahjo told reporters.

Political factions at the House have expressed their preference for a closed-list system, but pro-democracy and electoral watchdogs have campaigned for maintaining the current open-list system for the 2019 elections.

Responding to the campaign, the government is offering a compromise by proposing the open-limited system, a kind of middle ground between the closed-list system and the open-list system.

The majority of factions in the House have backed the governments proposal, saying it would be fair for both political parties and voters.

[With this proposal], people will still have the right to vote, but parties can choose the members who show their best performance, Johnny G. Platte, deputy chairman of the NasDem Party faction at the House, said.

Hanura Party politician Dadang Rusdiana said the open-limited system could promote fair competition among candidates.

This doesnt mean we want to sideline peoples voting rights, but in a society where most people dont have enough understanding of politics and one that is also prone to money politics, this system will allow us to punish those who are involved in corrupt practices, Dadang said.

The country applied a closed-list voting system in the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections, but the Constitutional Court scrapped the rule in 2008, responding to a judicial review filed by politicians from the PDI-P and the Democratic Party, both of which claimed the system was undemocratic.

The two largest political factions at the House, the PDI-P and the Golkar Party, meanwhile, said they could accept a more radical proposal and support a wholesale return to the closed-list system.

The open-list system is not effective because its too costly and the party politicians chosen by voters are not always qualified. The closed-list system is the best. We only need to force the parties to have a clean and transparent recruitment process, PDI-P legislator Arteria Dahlan said.

Tjahjo said another advantage of the open-limited system is that parties have the authority to replace members who engage in vote-buying during elections.

Its open because people know who they vote for, but it is semi-closed because authority now rests with political parties, Tjahjo said.

Chusnul Mariyah, a political expert from University of Indonesia who served as a KPU commissioner during the 2001 to 2007 period, said the open-limited voting system proposed by the government could potentially create chaos within political parties.

There should be a rule regulating who gets a seat; otherwise the arbitrary nature of it all will create chaos, she said.

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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has said it will strive to use non-military strategies to combat East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group members who remain at large.

BNPT chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius said security authorities should not underestimate the power of MIT members in launching terror attacks, although the arrest of the groups leader Basri, alias Bagong, would weaken it further.

He said a radical mindset was unpredictable so that in many cases, militant group members pretended they had given up their struggle although in fact they continued to fight against parties they deemed to be their enemies.

"Well try to reduce their resistance by applying a soft approach and hopefully they will understand that this nation has a bigger purpose and that to live side-by-side would be more comfortable than to continue to live a life filled with revenge, fear and suspicion," Suhardi told reporters at the House of Representatives complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Thursday.

He said the BNPT would continue to implement a down-to-earth approach, saying the agencys officials were scheduled to visit Poso, Central Sulawesi, where the MIT was based.

Since his inauguration in July, Suhardi has been committed to emphasizing a persuasive approach, in addition to the military approach the government used to combat terror groups. He aims to improve cooperation with religious leaders and civil society groups to enhance deradicalization efforts.

Basri was arrested by authorities in South Poso Pesisir on Wednesday. He took over the MIT leadership after Santoso, alias Abu Wardah, was shot dead in an ambush on July 18. (ebf)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

Budiawan, a toxicologist from the University of Indonesia (UI), has told the Central Jakarta District Court he is certain that any cyanide detected in the body of Wayan Mirna Salihin was naturally produced.

He was quoted as saying by tribunnews.com that the small amount of the hazardous substance in her stomach resulted from a chemical reaction that occurred prior to her death.

The expert witness, presented by defendant Jessica Kulama Wongso, told the panel of judges in Wednesdays hearing that the 0.2 milligrams of cyanide that was taken from Mirnas gastric fluid 70 minutes after she died was actually nitrite compounds that had turned into cyanide.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

The South Jakarta Prosecutors Office questioned West Jakarta Mayor Annas Effendi on Wednesday as a witness in a graft case pertaining to the illegal sale of land in Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta.

Annas, who was questioned for 2.5 hours, said he knew nothing about the case. I was asked if I knew about the Permata Hijau land. I said I didnt know. So we were just talking in there, the mayor said as quoted by kompas.com.

The case came to light in 2014 when the administration found out that 2,975 square meters of land it owned in Grogol Utara, Kebayoran Lama, had been sold by unidentified officials.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

The House of Representatives committee investigating forest fires will summon 15 companies alleged to have been responsible for land and forest fires in order to get to the bottom of why terminations of investigation (SP3s) into the companies activities were issued by Riau Police.

The committee's chairperson Benny K. Harman said that lawmakers had found an indication of manipulation during the process of the SP3 issuance. For example, he added, the police did not send notification letters on the investigation orders (SPDP) to the Riau Prosecutors Office when they named the companies as suspects, but then unilaterally issued the SP3s, citing reasons such as a lack of evidence.

"We want to ensure the transparency and accountability of the mechanism and the background [of the SP3 issuance]," Benny told reporters on Wednesday.

Benny said the public wanted to know whether the issuances followed a legal process or whether non-legal aspects influenced the decisions. The hearing with the companies are expected in the next five weeks.

Before summoning the 15 companies, the committee plans to summon Environment and Forestry Ministry officials to obtain more accurate data on the companies, Benny said, especially to verify whether the companies had valid production-forest concession permits and to ascertain further facts behind the forest fires allegedly started by them. (dan)
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Indonesia may get stronger support for its fight against piracy by joining the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), a US official has said.

"If Indonesia joins ReCAAP and coordinates with this multilateral agreement and the International Maritime Bureau [IMB], itll get even bigger coordinated patrols. Youll have better assets, better awareness, better targeting capacity and that will start to drive piracy down," the senior advisor to the assistant secretary for borders, immigration and trade of the US Department of Homeland Securitys policy office, Sean Moon, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He further said ReCAAP membership was essential although Indonesia had reached a trilateral maritime security agreement with Malaysia and the Philippines to secure regional waters.

Moon underlined that international cooperation and cooperation at sea were key to address maritime security issues because the sea itself was inherently international.

The US official further said ReCAAP would welcome Indonesia's presence as a member of the multilateral agreement, in which it would complete its regional patch because the cooperation overlooked and would create holistic coordination.

It is in everybody's best interest, Moon added.

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC), established under the agreement, was recognized as an international organization in 2007. ReCAAP now consists of 20 member states, mostly from Asia. It also includes the US, Australia and several European countries.

Moon is currently in Indonesia to visit several cities across the country and will engage with the private and public sectors to exchange knowledge on maritime matters, specifically on seaport management and sea security to ensure smooth trade-lane operations. (ebf)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Thomas Trikasih Lembong has promised to delist more sectors from the negative investment list (DNI) after holding a discussion with relevant ministries.

President Joko Widodo has promised a second, third, and fourth [DNI] revision. But in regard to the details about which sectors they are, I need to discuss with other ministries, through some bureaucratic procedures, he said at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Thursday in Jakarta.

Thomas was responding to a US Chamber of Commerce recommendation in the US-Indonesia Investment Initiative 2016. Overall, according to the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) Indonesia report, US investors had praised the governments move to reduce the DNI recently, but wanted more revisions to follow.

US Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Myron A. Brilliant told The Jakarta Post that his institution wanted to see that negative investment list continue to shrink. That would be a positive measure for doing business here, he said.

The government should further liberalize the financial services, oil and gas, e-commerce, and educational services sectors, he added. Those are the four sectors in which many US companies have expertise.

In the governments 10th economic policy package, which was released in January, the medicine ingredients, tourism and creative industries were removed from the DNI. During the announcement, President Jokowi promised more DNI revisions in the future. (ags)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Indonesia welcomes a new era of US investments where the investors no longer place most of their capital in extractive industries.

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Thomas Trikasih Lembong said 95 percent of US foreign direct investment (FDI) during the recent commodity boom was in oil, gas and mining.

Now, as the commodity boom has waned, foreign investments, including those from the US, have shifted to the downstream sector, in line with the governments efforts to lessen the investments in the extractive industry and boost economic diversification.

US investments to traditional sectors may persist, but we hope for more investments in e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and the creative industry, Thomas said to The Jakarta Post at the US Chamber of Commerces US-Indonesia Investment Initiative 2016 at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Jakarta on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) vice chairman Shinta Widjaja Kamdani said the US pharmaceutical businesspeople had expressed their interest in investing more as the sector had been removed from the investment negative list (DNI) in January.

We will sign a memorandum of understanding related to the Indonesian pharmaceutical business assessment with the US businesspeople tonight, Shinta said. (ags)
Dhanya's parents identified the alleged murderer as a 27-year-old man who used to harass their daughter her to love him back.

Dhanya's parents found her body in a pool of blood inside their house.

By Pramod Madhav: A 23-year-old woman was brutally hacked to death inside her house at Annur in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

Dhanya was working in a private company and was also helping her father with in his tailoring business.

On Wednesday, Dhanya's parents Somasundaram and Sharadha left their house to attend a program in a nearby town. When they returned, they saw Dhanya lying dead in a pool of blood.

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READ: Another Swathi? Jilted lover in Tamil Nadu sets himself afire, then hugs teen



According to Dhanya's parents, the murderer must have barged in through the back door as they had locked the front door of the house before leaving.

Dhanya suffered many cuts and slashes on her body and died due to blood loss.

The victim's parents informed the police about a 27-year-old man who was disturbing Dhanya and pestering her to love him. The man, identified as Zakir, was found by the police in an unconscious state after consuming poison. He was immediately rushed to the hospital where he is being treated.

Accused murderer Zakir.

Dhanya had recently got engaged and her marriage was due in some time.

The shocked neighbors are blaming the cops for not providing security to Dhanya and are demanding immediate punishment for the murderer. In remembrance of Dhanya, they have announced a shut down on September 15 in Annur.

Also Read

Chennai Infosys murder: Swathi's killer arrested in Tirunelveli, tries to kill self Why did you do this to my daughter? Swathi's father breaks down on seeing killer Ramkumar



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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Digital forensic expert Rismon Sianipar from Mataram University in testifying for Jessica Kumala Wongso has said CCTV footage from Olivier Cafe that had been enlarged by the prosecutors expert Mohammad Nuh has been unfairly modified.

Nuh presented the enlarged video before judges on Aug. 10 to show that Jessica scratched her hand and thigh continuously when Juwita Boon, alias Hani, and Olivier employees were trying to help Mirna on Jan. 6.

By analyzing the CCTV footage which was recorded by private television stations such as Kompas TV, INews, TV One and Berita Satu, Rismon has shown judges the irregularities in the enlarged video.

We feel that the video has been edited or modified. In the forensic digital field, video editing can be conducted by brightening the pixel intensity to create a movement effect, Rismon told judges.

Rismon says other forms of editing consists changing the frame speed and object texture. Adding that, the effects of modification can be seen by the inconsistency and disproportion of Jessicas fingers.

In the frame that showed Jessica scratching her thigh, all of Jessicas fingers seem to be of the same length, which indicates editing. Jessicas fingers seem ghostly, Rismon said.

In the beginning of the trial, prosecutors refused Rismons request to directly analyze the enlarged video in court. Prosecutors said to analyze Nuhs work, Rismons devices need to be standardized and certified. Judges granted the prosecutors rejections by saying that Rismon could analyze Nuhs work when Nuh reappeared in court. (bbn)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

The prosecutions digital forensic expert Mohammad Nuh, who testified again on Thursday in the murder trial of Jessica Kumala Wongso, challenged defense expert Rismon Sianipar to analyze original CCTV footage following Rismons accusation that he had manipulated the video.

The challenge was in line with Judge Kisworos suggestion. I agree with the judges suggestion because this is a scientific matter, Nuh said at the trial on Thursday.

Rismon previously stated that Nuh had tampered with the video, especially the part that showed Jessica scratching her leg. Jessicas index finger looked abnormally long, like a ghost, he said. All Jessicas fingers also looked to have the same length.

Nuh said the comparison of video should be carried out apple to apple which means the source, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and tools to analyze the video should be the same.

In this case, Rismon performed the analysis based on private television station recordings. The recordings must have been distorted, which made his analysis results invalid, he added.

Were talking about material evidence. If he said that Jessicas finger looked like a ghost, we can prove who is lying here. If he used a different SOP and source, the result must be different. The software should also be standardized because there is a lot of rubbish software in digital forensics, Nuh said.

However, Jessicas camp rejected Nuh's challenge. Jessicas lawyer Otto Hasibuan said the footage analysis would take a long time. Kisworo refused Ottos request because statements by experts should not be confronted. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Islamic mass organization Muhammadiyah canceled its plan to file a judicial review of the Tax Amnesty Law after a visit from Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Wednesday.

There was no decision to file a judicial review, we did not talk about it, said Lincolin Arsyad, the head of higher education, research, and leadership training on Muhammadiyahs central board, on Wednesday.

Lincolin said after a closed meeting with Sri Mulyani at the central boards office, the plan was the personal views of some people in the organization, not Muhammadiyahs official stance. He said Haedar Nashir, the chairman, had yet to issue any decision on the amnesty.

Previously, on Aug. 31, the organization held a press conference in which leaders of the organization including Busyro Muqoddas said they wanted to file a judicial review opposed to the tax amnesty, saying the program was unjust toward low and middle-income earners.

Lincolin said after Sri Mulyanis visit, Muhammadiyah and the government had reached a good understanding about the amnesty.

But there is a request from Pak Busyro, to have another meeting with the government to further explain regulations to make things clearer, he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Sri Mulyani avoided journalists after the meeting. She exited through the offices backdoor to her car in leaving the compound. Taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi also refused to comment. (evi)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, September 15, 2016

The opening of the New Priok Container Terminal (NPCT) 1 in Kalibaru, North Jakarta on Tuesday with an annual capacity of 1.5 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) will significantly improve goods flowing through Indonesias largest trading hub. This new terminal is only the first of five phases of Tanjung Priok ports overall expansion, which will increase its handling capacity by 11.5 million TEUs to a total of 19.5 million in 2020.

Efficient sea transportation services are indeed a prerequisite to developing efficient supply chains within the vast archipelago. Another vital component of this service is efficient seaports because smooth sea transportation will contribute to strengthening the overall competitiveness of the economy.

Superb seaport performance will unleash the countrys vast economic potential because shipping lines and the whole business sector will benefit from improved logistics and the reduced costs of supply chains. Indonesias logistics costs have been 2.15 times higher than in other ASEAN countries and the biggest component of these costs is grossly inefficient seaport handling.

A recent survey by the World Bank concluded that 40 percent of Indonesias unusually high logistics costs were caused by inefficient transportation and cargo handling. Further down the line, the inefficient logistics system made the inventory costs of manufacturing firms in Indonesia much higher, as companies simply do not know when their inputs or parts will arrive because of uncertainty in port handling, paperwork and road transportation.

Reducing congestion problems at Tanjung Priok port will strengthen the competitiveness of Southeast Asias largest economy because this port handles not only a large portion of the countrys exports but also almost 70 percent of its imports. A smoother flow of imports will in turn help reduce production costs because manufacturing plants operating in Jakarta and West Java depend largely on imported basic and intermediate materials.

As the new terminal is equipped with eight cranes that can move 30 containers per hour and can dock freighters with a draft of up to 16 meters, the new facility will also encourage shipping lines to operate bigger container vessels with capacities of up to 10,000 TEUs directly from Europe and East Asia to Jakarta, instead of using transshipment services via Singapores port.

Its encouraging to note that the Kalibaru terminal also will be integrated with online port system Inaportnet, which will expedite clearances and permits to move cargoes online, thereby cutting costs. This online service is a breakthrough because seaport operations involve about 18 government institutions.

Without an efficient freight logistics system, low connectivity within the country will continue to undermine efforts by the provinces to diversify their economies as resource-producing regions in the outer islands cannot efficiently link up with markets and manufacturing hubs in Java and Sumatra. Whereas most raw commodities need to be brought from the outer islands to be processed in Java and industrial products have to be transported from Java to the outer islands.
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15 2016

Late budget disbursement has pushed back the construction of a giant sea wall off the coast of Jakarta, which was expected to be finished in April 2018.

Phase A of the project, which is also known as the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD), was inaugurated in 2014 as a joint project involving the central government, the Jakarta administration and private companies. The NCICDs Phase A was claimed to be a way to mitigate land subsidence in the capital with the 62 kilometers of sea walls installed along the coast from the border of Tangerang regency, Banten, to Bekasi regency, West Java.

The project also includes the extension and reinforcement of 57 km of embankments along 16 city rivers that flow into Jakarta Bay.

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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Repent and you shall be forgiven. This religious saying seems to suit current conditions as the government seeks to offer forgiveness to disobedient taxpayers by joining hands with religious groups.



Last Sunday, the congregation of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Kayu Putih in East Jakarta received a weekly bulletin that greeted them with the now-famous tax amnesty Declare, Redeem, Relief slogan.



The slogan encourages reflection on the importance of paying taxes and being honest.



The reflection contains the writers concern for actual issues and what Christianity says about them, Rev. Nathanael Adi Setiadi said by phone on Wednesday.



The reflection was part of the churchs attempt to familiarize its 4,000 members with the governments program.



It held an information dissemination event the night after the tax amnesty program was passed into law on June 28. The event saw a Finance Ministry official speak on the program and attracted 85 members.



The number of participants is considered quite high for an event held late at night, Adi said.



The churchs board plans to hold another event specifically on tax amnesty procedures.



The tax office admits that several religious groups have held tax amnesty dissemination events to inform the public. These events have helped boost public participation, which is currently below the governments expectations.



As of Wednesday evening, the amount of declared assets stood at just Rp 471 trillion (US$35.61 billion) or 11.8 percent of the Rp 4 quadrillion target. The amount of redemption or penalty payments is also low at Rp 11 trillion, or 6.6 percent of the target.



Most of the declared assets, or more than 71 percent, come from onshore accounts.



Satria Anggoro, the South Jakarta 1 tax office head, even claimed that around 3,000 members of a pastoral community had visited his office recently to obtain a tax identification number (NPWP), thanks to such a dissemination event.



Meanwhile, the religious touch has now expanded to Muhammadiyah, the second-largest Muslim organization in the country.



Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, along with high ranking aides, met with the organizations leaders in a two-and-a-half hour closed-door meeting on Wednesday.



Taxation Director General Ken Dwijugiasteadi and Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki were also seen at the meeting.



Lincolin Arsyad, the chairman of Muhammadiyahs central committee on higher education, research and development, said they had discussed the program in detail, with the minister explicating the programs purpose and benefits.



The meeting ended in harmony. We will work with the Finance Ministry to hold dissemination events, for example, at Muhammadiyah colleges, Lincolin said, highlighting the organizations 176 colleges scattered across the country.



He was quick to add, however, that the meeting did not discuss Muhammadiyahs plan to file a judicial review on the Tax Amnesty Law at the Constitutional Court.



The government has reportedly tried to delay the submission of the judicial review by asking for time to explain the program to Muhammadiyahs central committee.



When asked about the fate of the submission, Lincolin told journalists to just wait.



Despite its earlier oppositional stance, Muhammadiyah proposed in the meeting that the period of tax amnesty be extended to three years from nine months to allow more time for a proper dissemination process. Lincolin said, however, that Sri Mulyani had told them that the law could not be changed.



The tax amnesty was launched in July and will run in several phases until March 2017. The first phase will end on Sept. 30 and carries the highest importance for the government due to the low rates of tax compliance.
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu, Central Sulawesi  Thu, September 15, 2016

The hope for a peaceful Poso after the arrest of East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) leader Basir alias Bagong still seems far away as senior figures of the terrorist group continue to roam through the forests across the Central Sulawesi regency.

After the death of Santoso alias Abu Wardah in an ambush in Poso on July 18, Basri took over the MITs leadership. Leading 15 MIT members who still defended the group, Basri kept moving from one hideout to another across Poso's forests, witnessing his followers killed or arrested one at a time.

Basri and his wife, Nurmi Usman alias Oma, finally surrendered to Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel who were part of the Operation Tinombala task force during a raid at about 9:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

The arrest occurred when Basri, his wife and two MIT members, Andika Putra alias Andika alias Hilal and Sobron, were about to cross the Puna River in Tangkura village, South Poso Pesisir. In a cacao plantation in Gantinadi, a small village in Tangkura, they were caught by surprise by the Tinombala force. Andika was killed during the arrest while Sobron managed to escape.

Tinombala task force spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Hari Suprapto said Basri was its second target after Santoso because of the dangerous activities he has been conducting for a long time.

Hari said he believed Basris arrest had further weakened his terrorist groups power and that the potential for terrorist threats in Poso would also continuously decrease and the situation would become more conducive to peace and security.

He said there were very few possibilities for the terrorist network to expand its activities. At least, there has been no indication of the presence of either new MIT members or weaponry systems seen since the launch of a counterterrorism operation codenamed Operation Camar Maleo in 2015, which ended in January this year and was continued by Operation Tinombala.

However, Hari said, it was likely that another MIT senior figure, Ali Kalora, would take over Basris leadership.

Busted -- Operation Tinombala task force personnel escort East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group leader Basri, alias Bagong (center), who was arrested in Tangkura village, South Poso Pesisir, on Sept. 14.(Courtesy of the 2016 Operation Tinombala Task Force/File)

Given the name Mohammad Basri Mohammad Basri bin Baco Sampe at birth, the terrorist leader is known to have a long crime record. Since joining with the MIT, Basri was apparently involved in a string of crimes, including a shooting at the North Poso Pesisir Police office on June 10, 2014, bomb attacks at the community police post in Pantango Lemba village in Poso Pesisir on Feb. 24 and 25, 2014, and a bombing in Dewua village on Oct. 9, 2014.

Basri was also reportedly involved in an attack on the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police in Tangkura on Nov. 7, 2014, and the kidnapping of two local residents in Sedoa on Dec. 15, 2014.

The police reported that Basri, who had two other aliases, Ayas and Opa, was also involved in the kidnapping of three residents of Tamadue village in East Lore district, Poso, in 2014. He was allegedly involved in killing a resident of Taunca, South Poso Pesisir, on Sept. 18, 2014, and the beheading of three Taunca residents on Jan. 16, 2015, and three Sausu residents on Sept. 16 and 17, 2015. He was reportedly responsible for a shooting that killed First Insp.Bryan on Aug. 17, 2015.

This long criminal record does not include crimes Basri committed before he was arrested in February 2007 over terrorist attacks and imprisoned at Ampana Prison in Tojo Una-una, said Hari.

For 132 Military Region Command (Korem)/Tadulako commander Col.M.Saleh Mustafa, terrorist attacks in Poso after the arrest of Basri remain a possibility, especially because Ali Kalora and Furdaus alias Daus alias Barok alias Rangga are still waging guerilla warfare.

For the time being, terrorism in Poso is still far from being at an end, said Saleh, who is also the Operation Tinombala deputy chief. (ebf)
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Linkedin Rizal Harahap and Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru/Medan  Thu, September 15 2016

Trawlers operating in the waters off Riau and North Sumatra have been blamed for drastically reducing the incomes of local fishermen. Local fisherman are now urging their respective administrations to curb the operations of the trawlers.

In Riau, Bagan Siapiapi chairman Jumadi said some 25 trawlers with a minimum tonnage of 500 GT had been operating in Rokan Hilir waters. They are predicted to have come from North Sumatra.

The colors of the boats are different from those of local fishermen. The number of trawlers continues to increase day after day, Jumadi told reporters on Tuesday.

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Linkedin Jill Colvin (Associated Press) Washington  Thu, September 15, 2016

Racist. Divisive. Lacks policy details.

Those are the jibes Donald Trump has recently unleashed on Hillary Clinton. If they sound familiar, it could be because she's lodged those very attacks on him throughout the campaign.

As he works to gain ground against Clinton in the final stretch of the presidential race, Trump is increasingly repurposing Clinton's attacks against her. It's a popular schoolyard tactic for the GOP nominee, a political game of "I know you are, but what am I?"

In the last few days, Trump and his campaign have repeatedly criticized Clinton for failing to provide specific policy proposals. That's despite the fact that, by any measure, Trump has offered less detail on far fewer issues over the course of his campaign than Clinton, who has released so many policy proposals, her campaign published a book of them.

"Clinton is running a policy-free campaign. She offers no ideas, no solutions. And only hatred and derision," he said at a rally Tuesday in Clive, Iowa.

It's ironic coming from a candidate defined by divisive statements, who once mocked Clinton's large policy shop, deriding her proposals as "a waste of paper" and insisting the public didn't care about the sort of specifics she offered.

But it illustrates the way that the newly redesigned Trump campaign has embraced the technique of projection, slapping attacks back on his opponent, whether they fit or not.

It's a tactic aimed at neutralizing attacks, said Tucker Martin, a longtime Republican operative.

"Essentially you're delegitimizing their attack by simply muddying the water, and saying, 'We're all guilty, now what?'" said Martin. He said the tactic is especially effective in a fast-moving race, where few people step back to analyze the legitimacy of the charges.

"It's almost like a political shortcut," he said, "a strategy of, 'Nope you're guilty too, let's move to the next question.'"

Early in her campaign, Clinton and her allies highlighted Trump's most controversial comments to paint him as too crass for the job. Her campaign's first attack ad featured children watching and reacting to a compilation of Trump clips.

"Next time you see Trump rant on television, think about all the children listening across America. Kids hear a lot more than we think," Clinton recently said.

It's a line Trump lifted this week, after Clinton said at a fundraiser that half of Trump's supporters fit into a "basket of deplorables," including racists and xenophobes.

"What should these parents tell their children about Hillary Clinton's attacks?" Trump asked his audience in North Carolina. "To every kid in America tonight, I want you to know that your parents are working so hard to make your life better, and to make your country better."

The same pattern has repeated over and over. After Clinton called Trump "temperamentally unfit" for the White House, Trump responded by defending his temperament and assailing hers. He's accused her of being involved with Russia  despite his frequent praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his own campaign's ties to the strongman. And he's accused Clinton of starting the "birther" movement questioning President Barack Obama's citizenship, when he was its most vocal proponent.

The most jarring example has come in Trump's denunciation of Clinton, deeply popular among blacks, as a racist.

A day after her campaign announced that she'd be giving a speech linking Trump to the so-called "alt-right movement"  a modern evolution of white supremacy  Trump escalated his attacks, labelling Clinton as "a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future."

"She's going to do nothing for African-Americans. She's going to do nothing for the Hispanics," said Trump, who himself is viewed as racist by a large portion of the electorate.

Trump's campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But Pastor Darrell Scott, the CEO of Trump's National Diversity Coalition, said Trump was pushing minority voters to re-think their assumptions about Clinton and the Democratic party by asking what they had to lose by voting for him.

He said that, after listening to Clinton's attacks, Trump had come to the conclusion that she was guilty of many of the charges she was lobbing. "In the black community, it's called flipping the script," he said.

The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, the president of the North Carolina NAACP and a Clinton supporter, said that if Trump really wanted to appeal to blacks, he would be embracing policies like strengthening the Voting Rights Act and supporting criminal justice reform, not attacking Clinton.

"Instead, what he wants to do is project onto Hillary Clinton what his own policies project onto him, attempt to deflect, and then insult the entire African-American community by suggesting that we have allowed a party to take advantage of us," Barber said of Trump. "He tries pointing one finger at her, with all the rest of his fingers pointing at himself."

Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who advised Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in his presidential bid, said projection can be effective  but Trump would be better served focusing on Clinton's clearer vulnerabilities, including perceptions that she isn't trustworthy.

"I think it's a great tactic that's misapplied," he said. While conservatives have been waiting for someone willing to "give it back to the left," he said, with Trump, "it doesn't quite hold water, because most of the assertions he's making against her, he's guilty of. It's tinged with a base alloy of hypocrisy."

___

Following Colvin on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@colvinj (**)
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Linkedin Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Lemire (Associated Press) White Plains, N.Y.  Thu, September 15, 2016

Hoping to put the issue of her health behind her as she gets ready to return to the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday released an updated review of her physical fitness and details about a recent bout of pneumonia.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," said her doctor, Lisa Bardack, in a letter released by her campaign. "She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

The details made public by the Democratic presidential nominee included a description of the pneumonia diagnosis she received last week. Her illness became public after she left Sunday's 9/11 memorial service in New York early and was seen on video staggering while getting into a van.

The health episode fueled long-simmering conservative conspiracy theories about Clinton's health and provided a fresh line of attack for rival Donald Trump, who has frequently questioned whether Clinton has the stamina to serve as commander in chief.

At a Wednesday evening rally in Canton, Ohio, Trump noted the room filled with 5,000 people was hot.

"You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this?" he asked. "I don't think so."

Trump later added at the same rally, "We want her better, we want her back on the trail."

The Republican nominee, meanwhile, handed over a one-page summary of a recent physical exam to the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Oz's talk show. But voters will have to wait another day for details: the show does not air until Thursday.

The letter from Bardack, the chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, New York, said a chest scan revealed the candidate had "mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia." She was treated with a 10-day course of Levaquin, an antibiotic used to treat infections.

The letter says the illness stemmed from a bout of seasonal allergies that developed into an upper respiratory tract infection and cough. Clinton's pneumonia symptoms began around the start of this month, and she saw Bardack on Sept. 2 for a low-grade fever, congestion and fatigue.

The letter also notes that in January, during the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, Clinton received treatment for a sinus and ear infection that included placing a drainage tube in her left ear. A CT scan of her brain and sinuses showed no abnormalities and mild chronic sinus inflammation.

Clinton, 68, has blood pressure of 100 over 70  within healthy levels and not signaling the need for any medications. She has also had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound, according to the letter.

The letter from Clinton's doctor made no mention of her weight, a key part of any medical exam, nor did a similar letter released last year.

"These numbers suggest she's a healthy 68-year-old woman with a very favorable cardiovascular risk profile," said Dr. Mark Creager, director of the Dartmouth-Hitchkock heart and vascular center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and a past president of the American Heart Association.

Testing that shows no evidence of plaque building up in her arteries "is all very reassuring," he said.

Bardack, who also wrote the letter about Clinton's health released in July 2015, said her patient takes thyroid and allergy medicines and the blood thinner Coumadin, prescribed as a preventative after she suffered a blood clot resulting from a 2012 concussion that led her to spend a few days in New York-Presbyterian Hospital and take a month-long absence from the State Department.

Clinton has spent the past three days out of the public eye, recuperating at her suburban New York home. She'll return to the campaign trail Thursday.

"She's feeling great and I think she'll be back out there tomorrow," former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday, when he stepped in for his wife at a previous scheduled campaign event in Las Vegas. "It's a crazy time we live in, you know, when people think there's something unusual about getting the flu."

Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine is in "overall excellent health," according to a letter the campaign also released Wednesday from his doctor, Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress. The letter said Kaine has never smoked and his alcohol use is "modest." He's 5-foot-9 and weighed more than 208 pounds during his last physical in February.

Clinton's campaign used the letters to argue that she's gone far beyond Trump in disclosing details about her personal life. Beyond health records, Clinton has released nearly four decades of tax returns; Trump has refused to make his filings public.

"It's fair to say the public now knows more about Hillary Clinton than nearly anyone in public life," said campaign manager Robby Mook in a statement. "Donald Trump is hands down the least transparent presidential nominee in memory."

Mook added: "It begs the question: what is he trying to hide?"

Trump has said he plans to release the details of a recent physical this week. Trump's Thursday appearance on "The Dr. Oz Show" was billed by the campaign as a discussion about his general well-being and his family's medical history.

But ever the showman, he pulled an outline of results of an exam, conducted by his longtime physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, from his jacket pocket for Oz to review during Wednesday's taping. "Those were all the tests that were just done last week," Trump said in an excerpt released by the show.

Bornstein had previously written a note declaring the 70-year-old Trump, if elected, would be the healthiest president in history. He later said he had written the letter in five minutes as a limousine sent by the candidate idled outside.

____

Lemire reported from Flint, Michigan. AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee and Associated Press writers Donna Cassata in Washington and Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

____

Follow Lisa Lerer and Jon Lemire on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/llerer and http://twitter.com/JonLemire (**)
Tariq Hamid Karra blamed the PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir for his resignation and the current unrest in the Kashmir Valley.

By Naseer Ganai: In a big setback to the ruling PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, Member of Parliament from Srinagar Tariq Hamid Karra today resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Lok Sabha.

"I was feeling suffocated by the alliance and new avatar adorned by the PDP. My conscience cannot take it any more. As a mark of protest against sell-out to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), I am disassociating myself from primary membership of party as well as Parliament," Karra told reporters in Srinagar.

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Also read: Supreme Court rejects petition against 'government funding' to separatists in Kashmir



POLITICAL FALLOUT



Since protests erupted in Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffer Wani on July 8, Hurriyat Conference and other separatist parties have been asking mainstream political leaders, legislators and the MPs to resign and join the "people's movement."



Karra is the second politician to resign during the current unrest in the Valley.

Earlier Iftikhar Misgar of National Conference quit the party citing killings of protesters by the security forces as the reason. He had unsuccessfully contested against Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in by-elections this year from Anantnag constituency.



BLAMED THE ALLIANCE



Karra blamed the alliance between the PDP and the BJP for the current unrest saying the "seeds of deceit, discontent and betrayal got sown in the hearts and minds of the people that very day when the PDP got into alliance with the BJP and formed the government."

Also read: Kashmir unrest: Terrorism grossest violation of human rights, says India; rejects UNHRHC proposal



Karra described the PDP-BJP alliance as "unnatural" and said he had warned both late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti about its repercussions and dangerous consequences. He said he had called for course correction and realignment with the secular forces. He said instead of focusing on what he was saying, the political novices in the party mocked at him.

The 61-year-old MP, had defeated National Conference president and former Union Minister Farooq Abdullah from Srinagar- Budgam parliamentary seat in 2014.



CALL OF CONSCIENCE



About the current situation in the Valley, he said, "Every single day Kashmiris were being butchered, fathers carry coffins of their young sons, hundreds have been blinded and thousands injured."

"My conscience can't take it anymore. My heart is bleeding and my soul in crying for my own people and I take the call of conscience. And as a mark of protest on moral grounds against brutal policies of the BJP at the centre and state government's complete sell-out and surrender before them, I have decided to disassociate myself from the primary membership of the party and from the membership of parliament to which I was elected from Srinagar parliamentary constituency on the PDP ticket," he said.

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He said he would forward his resignation to both the Lok Sabha Speaker and as well as PDP President Mehbooba Mufti. He added that parliament members and the legislators, both MLAs and MLCs, should take a decision according to their own conscience.

At least 80 civilians have been killed and over 10,000 injured, by government forces firing bullets and pellets at stone and rock-throwing protesters. Two policemen have been killed and 4000 government forces have been injured in the clashes.

A prolonged curfew, communication blackout including internet blockade and everyday crackdown have failed to stop pro-Azadi protests and processions in the Kashmir Valley. The separatists are also giving prolonged strike calls.

The protests erupted after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzaffer Wani on July 8. Since then, people across the restive Kashmir region mostly in rural areas have defied security restrictions, staged protests and clashed with government forces on a daily basis.

--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Thu, September 15, 2016

Raina Saumi Grahana Ramdhani, a swimmer from West Java, won the first gold medal of the 2016 National Games (PON) in the womens 400-meter freestyle race at the University of Indonesias (UI) swimming hall on Wednesday. She also managed to break her own national record for the womens 400m freestyle she set during the 2012 PON.

Raina finished with a time of 4 minutes 21.23 seconds. She got the upper hand over her closest competitor, Ressa Kania Dewi of East Java, in the last 50 meters. Ressa won a silver medal clocking in at 4 minutes 21.32 seconds. Azzahra Permatahani from Riau ranked third with 4 minutes 26.28 seconds.

With her victory, Raina also improved on the PON record of 4 minutes 22.62 seconds she set at the 2012 PON in Riau.

With a gold medal placed around her neck, Raina could not hide her happiness. She kept smiling, saying she was very happy. Im glad I could win a gold medal for West Java. It was a very tough competition but finally, I passed through it all, said Raina.

Also on Wednesday, the West Java delegation increased its collection of gold medals after its swimmer, A. Fadhlan Prawira, ranked first in the mens 400m freestyle, finishing with a time of 4 minutes 01:57 seconds. Ricky Anggawijaya won a silver medal with 4 minutes 03.98 seconds. Meanwhile, Putra M. Randa from DKI Jakarta ranked third with 4 minutes 5.69 seconds.

Our swimmers performed optimally, West Java contingent head Hadi Prasodjo said. The 2016 PON opening ceremony is set to be held in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday. (ebf)
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Linkedin Julie Pace and Catherine Lucey (Associated Press) White Plains, N.Y.  Thu, September 15, 2016

When Hillary Clinton was sidelined this week with pneumonia, her campaign didn't rush to cancel a busy slate of events out West. The presidential candidate's husband simply stepped in to take her place.

Former President Bill Clinton hobnobbed with wealthy donors at a pair of Beverly Hills fundraisers, including a $100,000-per-couple dinner at the home of designer Diane Von Furstenberg. He snapped selfies with fans during a surprise stop at a trendy coffee shop in Los Angeles. And he rallied supporters in swing state Nevada.

"I'm glad to have a chance to stand in for Hillary today," he told voters in Las Vegas on Wednesday. "She did it for me for a long time. It's about time I showed up and did it for her."

Having a former president on standby is an unprecedented luxury for a White House candidate. It's also a reminder to voters that, when it comes to the Clintons, the couple is a package deal, for better or worse.

That's been less overt in the 2016 campaign than in some of the Clintons' previous political endeavors, when they actively pitched themselves as a "two for the price of one" proposition. Other than a prime-time speech at the Democratic convention, Bill Clinton's general election schedule has been purposely low-key, reflecting the Clinton campaign's desire to keep him from overshadowing his wife or creating unnecessary distractions.

But those concerns became secondary this week. Hillary Clinton tried to campaign through a bout of pneumonia, but she was sidelined by her doctor after getting dehydrated and dizzy while attending a 9/11 memorial in New York on Sunday.

Campaign aides quickly called Bill Clinton's chief of staff to see if he could step in for a few days. The timing wasn't ideal. His schedule was packed with interviews and other events in New York ahead of next week's last-ever meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a wing of the family's philanthropy.

But aides said he quickly agreed to clear his schedule and fly to California. He's been calling his wife multiple times a day to check on her health and report back on conversations with donors and other Democrats.

"She's married to the best surrogate in the world," said Jerry Crawford, an Iowa Democrat and longtime Clinton ally.

For all his political gifts, Bill Clinton has been an imperfect messenger on his wife's health this week. He volunteered in an interview that she's had episodes like this before and on Wednesday he said she had flu, not pneumonia. A spokesman said he misspoke and meant pneumonia, but such moments provide grist to conspiracy theorists who think Hillary Clinton is hiding health issues.

Hillary Clinton's aides have spent the general election warily waiting to see if Republican Donald Trump makes good on his promises to turn the former president's extramarital affairs into a campaign issue. Trump has steered clear of those issues in recent weeks, but she is still preparing for the possibility he could raise them in the upcoming presidential debates.

Republican Rick Tyler, who worked on Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential bid, said that if Trump does raise those issues, they will "fall on deaf ears."

"All those things have been litigated over and over again," Tyler said.

Hillary Clinton has an impressive stable of other surrogates on hand for the campaign's final stretch. President Barack Obama, whose favorability is on the rise in his final year in office, campaigned for her on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Vice President Joe Biden opened the week in North Carolina. Michelle Obama, the hugely popular first lady, will help rally voters in Virginia on Friday.

But it's Bill Clinton who is his wife's most dedicated supporter, and often her most complicated.

He speaks passionately about her advocacy for children and the underprivileged, and calls her "the best darn change-maker I've ever seen." He peppers his remarks with personal stories about their courtship in law school more than 40 years ago and their excitement over becoming grandparents. His campaign presence can often remind voters of the peace and prosperity that accompanied his eight years in office.

"Him and his family have been a big deal for our country," said Samuel Del Real, a 28-year-old who ran into the former president during his stop at a Los Angeles coffee shop Tuesday.

But voters also remember the scandals that plagued Clinton's tenure in the White House. While the former president has been more disciplined than during his wife's failed 2008 campaign, he still finds ways to create unwanted distractions, most notably when he met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the midst of the Justice Department's investigation into his wife's email practices. Lynch characterized the conversation as social, but acknowledged the meeting "cast a shadow" on the public's perception of the case.

The former president's possible role in a Hillary Clinton administration came under scrutiny this year when she suggested she would place her husband in charge of revitalizing the economy. Aides later had to stress there were no formal plans in place to do so.

Hillary Clinton planned to return to campaigning on Thursday in Greensboro, North Carolina. But Bill Clinton will be staying in the spotlight, at least for a few more days.

He'll spend next week in New York mingling with world leaders and celebrities at the annual CGI meetings. With the Clinton Foundation under election-year scrutiny, he's pledged that this year will mark the last CGI gathering, regardless of the outcome of the election.

___

Lucey reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writers Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Catherine Lucey at http://twitter.com/catherine_lucey (**)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Former law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra has urged judges at the Constitutional Court to reject the judicial review filed by Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, who wants to revise the leave requirement for incumbent regional heads seeking reelection.

The leave requirement during a campaign period as stated in the Regional Elections Law is there to maintain fairness between incumbent regional leaders and their challengers in regional elections, said Yusril when speaking at a court hearing in Jakarta on Thursday.

Incumbent regional headsgovernors, mayors and regentshad various powers like financial and bureaucratic authorities that could be misused if they did not take leave during the election campaign, he said.

Taking leave, as stipulated in the law, is a must. There is no other interpretation of the rule, said Yusril, who is seeking political support to be able to run in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Similar opinion was expressed by Gerindra Party politician Habiburokhman, who challenged Ahoks argument that taking leave was a right not an obligation. Previously, Ahok said he would not campaign as he wanted to prepare the city budget bill.

Even if an incumbent doesnt campaign, they still have a big opportunity to use their position to influence people, said Habiburokhman.

He also said incumbent regional heads were able to appear in the media more frequently because of their positions and that would be unfair for non-incumbent candidates. (wnd/bbn)
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Linkedin Germelina Lacorte (Inquirer.net/ANN) Davao City  Thu, September 15, 2016

The Davao city governments public safety office is planning to require Muslim women to take off their burqas upon entering malls as a security measure.

A group was quick to call this discriminatory against Muslims.

Benito de Leon, the new head of the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC), said the plan was part of security protocol following the Sept. 2 night market blast that killed 15 people and wounded at least 69 others.

De Leon, however, said that apart from burqas, caps, bonnets, sunglasses and other bodily accessories that could conceal a persons identity would be ordered taken off upon entering malls and other establishments.

We will be requiring people, upon entering malls and other establishments, to remove their caps, bonnets, sunglasses, including hijabs (for women) for inspection, De Leon said, apparently referring to the burqa, which covers the entire face except for the eyes. Anything that can conceal their faces or identities.

The group Suara Bangsamoro assailed the plan, saying this was discriminatory against Muslims and disrespectful of their religious belief and culture.




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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 15, 2016

Set around a large tamarind tree, the newly established Labyrinth Park in Bandung's City Hall area has become one of the latest attractions to visit in the West Java capital.

As the name suggests, the park consists of granite-floored paths that seem endless with only four exits available. It is located near the office Ridwan Kamil, the city's popular mayor.

(Read also: Batik Air to offer full-service from Pekanbaru to Bandung)

A photo posted by M Kamil (@ridwankamil) on Sep 7, 2016 at 10:01pm PDT

Esthetical and ecological were [the parks] initial concepts, the head of the city's public and supply agency, Dadang Dharmawan, told kompas.com.

As a public space, the park also provides a social function as visitors can access the park's central area by running or simply strolling while marveling at the surroundings. Dadang added that it took 90 days to build the place. In the near future, the area will also host a new children's pool park that is currently under construction. (kes)
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) released the following statement after the United States and Israel signed a new 10 year Memorandum of Understanding on security assistance through 2028:

Ensuring Israel can defend itself is vitally important to the national security of the United States and security of the Middle East. But Israel is more than just a critical strategic partner. The U.S. and Israel have a special and enduring bond based on common interests and shared values.

I visited Israel just a few weeks ago and saw firsthand how U.S. military aid bolsters regional security, protects the United States vital security interests, and enables many layers of cooperation. Israel is in a tough neighborhood, with ongoing and persistent threats from Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, among others. This is why I have pushed for a robust MOU that increases aid.

The Memorandum of Understanding announced today is the single largest pledge of military assistance in U.S. history and an expression of our continued commitment to Israels security and a response to the threats its citizens face every day. This MOU is the result of bipartisan efforts in Congress and beyond to ensure the strong, bilateral security partnership between the U.S. and Israel continues long into the future. Im committed to ensuring that this partnership never falters.

Senator Booker has been a leading voice in calling for a new Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel. In August 2015, Booker called on the Obama administration to fast-track the completion of a 10-year MOU to bolster our strong bilateral security partnership and cooperation with even greater levels of foreign military financing.

In April 2016, Booker joined a bipartisan Senate letter that called on President Obama to conclude an agreement with Israel for a robust new MOU that increases aid while retaining the current terms of our existing aid program.

Booker is also an original cosponsor of a Senate resolution that called for the expeditious consideration and finalization of a new, robust, and long-term Memorandum of Understanding on military assistance to Israel.

[TLS]
Md. Kaifi and Javed Mian are allegedly sharpshooters of dreaded gangster turned politician Shahabuddin who was released from Bhagalpur jail last week.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: A day after pictures of RJD President Lalu Prasad's son and Health Minister Tej Pratap with sharpshooter Md. Kaifi went viral, another picture has now emerged where Tej Pratap is seen with Javed Mian, another sharpshooter. Interestingly, both Md. Kaifi and Javed Mian are wanted in the Siwan journalist Rajdev Ranjan murder case.

Md. Kaifi and Javed Mian are allegedly sharpshooters of dreaded gangster turned politician Shahabuddin who was released from Bhagalpur jail last week. Md. Kaifi was spotted along with Shahabuddin soon after he was released from jail and accompanied the four time RJD MP from Bhagalpur to Siwan.

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A picture of Kaifi with Shahabuddin also raised eyebrows couple of days back, after which, the Siwan Police began hunting for the sharpshooter. Kaifi at the moment is absconding and evading arrest.

Also read:

Lalu's son spotted with Shahabuddin's sharpshooter, creates controversy



Tej Pratap, when his pictures with Md Kaifi went viral, defended himself saying that he was a public figure and thousands of people meet him and click pictures with him.

"I am a minister and thousands of people meet me and click pictures. It's not written on their foreheads whether they are gentlemen or criminals", said Tej Pratap.

TEJ RELEASES PHOTOS OF PM WITH SEX-RACKET ACCUSED

Tej hitting back at the opposition, released pictures of PM Narendra Modi with alleged sex racket kingpin Tinu Jain and asked opposition whether they would ask for PM's resignation too as they were seeking his.

Also read:

First ask Modi to resign: Tej Pratap hits back, releases photographs of PM with sex-racket accused



Reacting to the pictures of Tej Pratap with sharpshooter Md. Kaifi, JDU had expressed its reservation and advised that ministers to refrain being clicked with criminals.

"Ministers should be careful while getting clicked. They should not get themselves clicked with criminals", said Sanjay Singh, JDU spokesperson.

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Chennai, Sep 15 (PTI) Tamil Nadu is bracing for a dawn-to- dusk bandh supported by Opposition parties tomorrow on the Cauvery with police deploying thousands of personnel across the state to ensure peace even as a youth set himself on fire here today over the water sharing row.

The bandh call given by several farmers and traders bodies, including Tamil Nadu All Farmers Federations and Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu (a traders collective) is supported by main Opposition party DMK, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, MDMK, PMK, TMC, CPI(M), and CPI.

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Protesters have also called for rail and road rokos.

Primarily to protest the violence targeted against the Tamils in Karnataka, the bandh is also aimed at seeking Cauvery water for the state and a final solution to the problem.

Ruling AIADMK and trade unions affiliated to it have been non-committal on their participation in the bandh.

After Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa, urging her to ensure protection of Kannada speaking people, police said all measures have been taken to ensure peace.

Thousands of police personnel, including armed reserves will be deployed in Chennai and other parts of the state.

Over 15,000 police personnel will be on duty.

Protection was being provided to Karnataka-related business establishments, schools, institutions and areas where Kannada speaking people live, including Krishnagiri district.

Commercial firms, including over 35,000 jewellery and fuel outlets are expected to remaine closed. However Company Owned and Company Operated Fuel Outlets of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil will operate, officials said.

While sporadic demonstrations were held today too, a 24-year-old man set himself on fire at a rally held by Nam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) here for "retrieving Tamil Nadus rights in Cauvery," and to condemn attacks on the Tamils in Karnataka.

An official of the Kilpauk Government Medical College Hospital, where he has been admitted, told PTI the "man has sustained 93 per cent burns, his chances of survival are dim."

"It is a painful act. We do not support it. No one should do such a thing," NTK leader Seeman said.

Before he set himself afire, he threw pamphlets urging people to fight for rights of Tamil Nadu people on Cauvery and other issues. Blaming the Centre on Cauvery, unidentified persons pelted stones at an office of Indian Oil Corporation Limited and some glass panes were damaged, police said.

Tamil outfits in Union Territory of Puducherry have called for a similar bandh tomorrow. (MORE) PTI VGN SA VIJ COR BN TIR

--- ENDS ---

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A new plan set out by the London mayor and the mayoral team aims to produce creative enterprise zones to combat threats to the citys artistic industries.

explained to the Evening Standard Recently appointed deputy mayor for culture Justine Simonsthat the zones would be set up in parts of London where a lot of artists already work, such as Hackney Wick and Peckham.

(Yui Mok/PA)

Sadiq Khan said during his campaign for mayor that working spaces for people within the creative industries, such as the arts and fashion, would be made.

Simons also suggested that assistance could be given to artists who want to buy their own studios.

She said: The property market moves so quickly that by the time people have put grants together and applied for sponsorship the property is off the market, so its the kind of intervention that is about accessing finance to allow creative people to put down roots and buy infrastructure and create ownership.

At the moment artists and creative people are like the advance party  they find the stranger, weird places that no-one sees much value in, they bring them to life, the area becomes valuable and then they are priced out of the market.

(Lauren Hurley/PA)

What we want to create is an area where creative people can put down roots and that would be a creative enterprise zone. Thats working with local authorities, developers with the creative community and residents. Its putting a spotlight and a ring around an area.

If nothing is done, 30% of artists spaces in the next five years could be lost. Last year, two-thirds of artists based in the UK earned 10,000, while the average London property price sits at around 600,000.
University students are putting themselves in danger by failing to protect their details online, according to new research.

The survey, of 1,027 students and carried out by The survey, of 1,027 students and carried out by Intel Security , along with The National Student, found that over half (51.72%) have shared their mobile password with friends, whilst close to that number (46.46%) havent installed security software on their phones.

Of those who do have security installed on their phone, 56.81% have updated it in the last year - although 7.57% updated their software between one and two years and and 1.36% up to five years ago. 12.04% can't remember when their security was last updated.

Despite this, more than 90% of students logon to public Wi-Fi in their campuses, bars and clubs, whether its secure or not.

When it comes to protecting potentially expensive gadgets, the news doesnt get much better  only 12.82% of students took out contents insurance before leaving for university, meaning the vast majority will find themselves in a difficult situation if they lose their possessions or have them stolen.

After arriving on campus, 56.99% of students failed to find out what security policies their university had to keep them safe.

The survey was carried out August 2016.

Not only are students putting themselves at risk from fraud by failing to protect themselves online, but it also appears that theyre not too worried about it. Over half of those surveyed  51.69% - said that they wouldnt attend talks about online security even if their university offered them.

Ahead of students starting uni this autumn, Intel Security is encouraging universities to put security education in place.

Nick Viney, VP Consumer, Intel Security, says: It's concerning that many (students) are still opening themselves up to risks unknowingly. When it comes to students online safety, we all have a responsibility. Not only should parents be educating their children before they fly the nest, but universities too  they should be doing all they can to ensure students understand the security policies at their university.

He adds: There are also very simple measures that students can take to keep their work and their data safe.

"For example, students can make the most of special deals on security software, but make sure the links are legitimate before you click on them! And simple solutions, such as investing in security software like McAfee LiveSafe and not clicking on unknown email links, will help to keep work and personal data safe.

Here are 3 tips from Intel Security on how to stay safe online:

1. Update your anti-virus software often. Hundreds of viruses are discovered each month, so to make sure that you are protected against the latestbreed of threats, make sure you not only have anti-virus software, but update it frequently. That means downloading the latest virus signature files and the most current version of the scanning engine.

2. Back up your files. If a virus infects your files, at least you can replace them with your backup copy. It's a good idea to store your backup files (on CDs or flash drives) in another secure physical location away from your computer.
Going to Oktoberfest for the first time this year and a little bit daunted? Dont worry, we have your back. Here is everything you need to know about Munichs most famous festival, to help you navigate your beer-filled trip.

The history.

In case it comes up, heres a little background to Oktoberfest. It was first held in Munich in 1810 to celebrate the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwigs marriage. Its so much more than just a beer-drinking bonanza, but also a folk festival to celebrate everything Bavarian.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

Its actually in September.

We really hope you havent messed this one up if youve already booked your tickets: Oktoberfest actually runs from 17 September to 3 October. Apparently it was originally held just in October, but was moved back for better weather. Something we can all be thankful for.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

The tents.

There are 14 different beer tents at the festival, holding between 4,000 and 11,000 beer-lovers. Yep, thats pretty overwhelming to navigate if youre a first-timer, so make sure you pick your tent wisely. Wed even recommend booking a table in one of the major tents in advance, otherwise you might spend a lot of the day walking from tent to tent and queueing for seats.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

The beers.

Youll be served beer in one litre mugs, and all the beer comes from six Munich breweries. If you dont love the taste of beer (which would make Oktoberfest an odd choice of trip), theres also a wine tent you can visit.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

The rides.

Most first-timers to the festival dont realise there are rides galore at Oktoberfest: were talking ferris wheels, rollercoasters, ghost trains and more. These are great fun, but be careful going on them if youve had a few too many.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

What to wear.

Most people do dress up  men wear a pair of lederhosen leather shorts, and women wear a traditional dirndl dress. Be careful when wearing a dirndl: placing the bow on the right tells people youre taken, on the left means youre single, and on the front means youre a virgin. Good to know.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

Where to stay.

Unless you love to camp and wake up with a raging hangover in a tent, its best to book a hotel as early as possible.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

Useful phrases.

Bierzelt  Beer tent.

Kellner/Kellnerin  Waiter/waitress.

Prost!  Cheers!

Ozapft is!  It is open! (what the Lord Mayor will proclaim at the start of the festival).

Wiesn-Hendl  Grilled chicken (which is a must-try).

Entschuldigung, wie komme ich zum Oktoberfest  Excuse me, how do I get to the Oktoberfest?

Wo befinden sich die Toiletten?  Where are the toilets?

Wieviel kostet das?  How much does this cost?

Matthias Schrader/AP)

People.

Be prepared for people. A lot of them. The majority of whom will be drunk.

(Matthias Schrader/AP)

Paris Hilton.

Okay, so this isnt exactly something first-timers need to know, but is a fun fact anyway  in 2006 Paris Hilton was permanently banned from the event for promoting wine there. Tut, tut: dont make the same mistake.

(Joshua Paul/AP)

Now youre armed with everything youll need to know about the festival (and some things you dont)  go forth, drink beer and be merry!
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Hurriyat leaders collected 'Azadi funds' worth crores of rupees sent by Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin to fuel unrest in the Valley.

By India Today Web Desk: Intelligence agencies have dug out the details of internet calls between separatist Hurriyat leaders and their Pakistani handlers as they joined hands to foment trouble in Kashmir. The call details, intelligence sources said, establish links between the Hurriyat hawks and their handlers from across the border.

According to intelligence agencies funds from Pakistan reached the Kashmir Valley via Delhi route. Hurriyat leaders collected 'Azadi funds' worth crores of rupees sent by Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin to fuel unrest in the Valley.

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ALSO READ | NIA calls Syed Ali Geelani's son for questioning over suspicious financial transactions, Hurriyat cries foul

Earlier, India Today reported that Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul chief Salahuddin had joined hands to raise funds for fomenting trouble in the valley after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani. Saeed and Salahuddin were collecting donations from across Pakistan to fund the troublemakers in the Valley.

GEELANI UNDER SCANNER

As the proof for Hurriyat hawks-Pakistan link emerged, the several separatist leaders have come under the scanner of the security agencies. As per intelligence sources, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his wing of Hurriyat Conference along with ten district heads of the outfit are under the scanner for their links with their Pakistani handlers and their suspected role in fueling unrest in the state.

ALSO READ | Hafiz Saeed releases new video before Eid, asks Kashmiris to back Hurriyat

Funds raised in Pakistan and PoK are learnt to have reached the Valley through hawala via Delhi. The funds were transferred from Pakistan to Delhi and from Delhi to Kashmir and again from Kashmir to Delhi.

GEELANI'S SON TO BE QUESTIONED

Naeem Geelani, son the Syed Ali Shah Geelani, is likely to be called for questioning by senior officials for his suspected involvement in hawala funds transfer.

Intelligence agencies have found that Hurriyat leaders run eight trading companies to receive funds from Pakistan. Huge amounts of cash were used for investment in benami properties, intelligence sources said.





ALSO READ:



Supreme Court rejects petition against 'government funding' to separatists in Kashmir

Kashmir unrest: Geelani thanks Pakistan, China for support as J-K govt disallows his press conference



--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Visakhapatnam, Sep 14 (PTI) In what could give a boost to Andhra Pradeshs efforts at rapid industrialisation, Russias United Shipping Corporation has evinced interest in setting up a shipbuilding facility in port city Visakhapatnam even as Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu invited Russian corporations to come and invest in the sunrise state.

Taking part in the two-day dialogue of Indo-Russian Defence Industry, jointly organised by FICCI and Economic Development Board (EDB) of AP here in the last two days, United Shipping president Alexey L Rakhmanov said his company would consider making AP its base for both Indian and world markets.

advertisement

"This will give a major boost to our state," EDB Chief Executive Office J Krishna Kishore said on the development.

Addressing the delegates this afternoon, the Chief Minister said AP, with its longest seacoast, could serve as the gateway for southeast Asian countries.

"You have abundant opportunities here and we are keen to work with you. If we work together, it will be a win-win situation," Naidu told the Russians.

AP currently has seven seaports while an equal number would soon be developed.

"We are strong in information technology. You are strong in many technologies, including aerospace and defence. That is your core competence. We want good relations with Russia," the Chief Minister added.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice-Admiral H C S Bisht said ties between India and Russia have been most enduring since World War II and Vishakhapatnam has been a key pillar of collaboration.

Hindustan Shipyard Limited chairman Rear Admiral L V Sarat Babu said shipbuilding was central to Indias strategic interest and Andhra Pradesh had natural advantages due to its ecosystem.

"The focus of AP government is on indigenisation as 45 per cent of input requirements are currently imported. Indigenisation can contribute to three per cent of GDP and accelerate manufacturing from 16 to 25 per cent," he added.

The EDB CEO said AP has a strong presence of defence public sector units that focused on missile testing, optical and opto-electronic devices manufacturing, satellite launching stations and shipyards.

"It is ideal for attracting investments in aerospace and defence sectors," he added. PTI DBV NRB KUN

--- ENDS ---
Health: How much Phuket's lifeguards can  and cannot  do to save you from drowning

Sadly, at this time of year we receive almost weekly reports of people drowning or being rescued in the turbulent wet-season waters of Phukets Andaman coast. These reports continue with alarming regularity despite the best efforts of members of the Phuket Lifeguard Service.

Thursday 15 September 2016, 10:00AM

Language barriers are one of the biggest problems faced by Phukets lifeguards

To get a clearer understanding of what lifeguards can and cant do when foolhardy swimmers put themselves at risk, we decided to speak to Phuket Lifeguard Service Chief, Prathaiyuth Chuayuan.

What can lifeguards do if a tourist enters dangerous waters?

We can warn them verbally and with hand gestures to tell them that it is a dangerous area. Sometimes lifeguards use a whistle to signal a warning and try to get them to move out of the dangerous water.

Can lifeguards call police to assist them if people ignore their warnings?

Yes, lifeguards can call for help from the police, because people respect the police in uniform and believe them. For example, a few years ago at Kata Beach, we had many problems with people drowning and needing to be rescued. The tourists were just not listening to us, but then we got help from the police to tell them that they cannot swim in the dangerous areas.

What people can do if they see people that need help in the water and there is no lifeguard on duty?

The first thing you can do is yell for help, and hopefully someone can alert a lifeguard in the area. If you get no response, you can try to throw a rope or something that floats so they can grab onto it. You should also call the police emergency numbers 1169 or 1555, or get someone to call for you. You can also call the Tourist Police on 1155 and talk to someone in English.

How often do people ignore lifeguard warnings and red flags to go swimming in dangerous surf?

In Patong, we find that about 15-20 per cent of people ignore or do not understand lifeguard warnings. We find that about the same percentage of Russian tourists will understand the lifeguards warning but choose to ignore it and swim anyway.

We also find that about 10% of Chinese tourists have trouble understanding the meaning of the red No Swimming flags. Perhaps 5% of all people on the beach at first do not understand the warnings and that they cannot swim, but usually they realise in a day or two that the beaches are closed for their safety.

Which beaches have the highest incidents of rescues or drownings, and are there any common factors linking the people that get into trouble while swimming at the beach?Karon Beach is probably the worst for drowning and rescues, and it seems that people from about 27 years old through to 55 get into trouble most often. Russian tourists are probably the worst offenders, maybe its because they cannot speak English, but often the will just ignore warnings and swim anyway.

Chinese tourists often dont understand what the lifeguards are trying to tell them. Sometimes we have to just point to the red flag and use body language to try to warn them. Although now, some of the Patong Beach lifeguards can speak a little bit of Chinese and Russian, so this is improving.

Are lifeguards allowed to use force to stop people swimming on closed beaches?

We do not have the legal power to stop people from entering the water, but if a lifeguard can clearly see that it is very risky for them to enter the water, then we will physically stop them.

We can also call the police to have them order someone to leave the beach if they keep ignoring our warnings.

If lifeguards warn a person not to go in the water, and the person ignores them and ends up in trouble and needs rescuing, are lifeguards obliged to try to save that person?

We would never refuse to help someone that is drowning. Even if we have told them many times not to go into the water, if they get into trouble, we will rescue them. Sometimes it seems that tourists do not value their own lives, but as lifeguards it is our duty to protect these people from themselves.

Do you have a general safety message for everyone who goes to the beach in Phuket?

We want to work to communicate better with all tourists to help them understand the dangers of the beach. We would like there to be more signs in different languages at the airport to inform tourists. They could say something like, Swim only between the red and yellow flags and enjoy your holiday in Phuket. We also want to encourage tour guides to inform their tourists about beach safety.
Bali tourist boat blast kills foreigner, injures 14 others

INDONESIA: An explosion hit a tourist boat as it departed the Indonesian resort island of Bali today (Sept 15), killing one foreign woman and injuring 14 other foreigners, police said.

accidentsdeathpolicetransportmarine

By AFP

Thursday 15 September 2016, 02:41PM

The speedboat was leaving Bali for the nearby holiday island of Gili Trawangan (pictured). Photo: Public Domain

The blast in the speedboat carrying about 30 passengers appeared to have happened in the fuel tank, said police, adding it was not caused by a bomb. Indonesia has a poor maritime safety record and there have been similar incidents in the past where no foul play was detected.

Authorities said the woman killed on the boat, which was heading for the nearby holiday island of Gili Trawangan, was a foreigner but that they were verifying her identity before releasing more details.

The dead woman and the 14 injured tourists were taken to medical centres on the island, with TV footage showing dazed, bloodied passengers lying on hospital beds and being carried into ambulances on stretchers.

A manifest provided by authorities showed that among the passengers were 17 Britons, and smaller numbers of foreigners from France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.

The boat, which was also carrying four crew, and had just left Padang Bai port in eastern Bali this morning when the blast occurred.

The explosion happened five minutes after the boat departed, local police chief Sugeng Sudarso told AFP, adding the vessel had been about 200 metres from the port.

One female passenger died from head injuries.

Teams of police and the bomb squad were initially deployed to investigate but Sudarso later ruled out a bomb as the cause.

Based on the testimony (from passengers) and from what I saw at the scene, the explosion came from the fuel tank, he said.

Above it was a battery, maybe there was a short circuit that affected the fuel tank.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on ferry services but the industry has a poor safety record and fatal accidents are common.

Last year, dozens of tourists were injured when small explosions hit a ferry crossing between Bali and the neighbouring holiday island of Lombok.

The explosions were an accident and thought to have come from the fuel tank of the ferry, which was carrying 129 passengers, most of them tourists.

However fears have also been growing in Indonesia that radicals who have headed to fight with the Islamic State (IS) group in the Middle East could encourage supporters back home to launch attacks, or may launch attacks themselves on their return.

In January, a gun and suicide bomb attack claimed by IS in the capital Jakarta left four attackers and four civilians dead.

Bali has been attacked by Islamic radicals before. In 2002, more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed in bombings on the island.

A sustained crackdown following the Bali bombings had weakened the most dangerous networks but IS has proved a potent new rallying cry for the countrys extremists.

A pocket of Hinduism in Muslim-majority Indonesia, Bali attracts millions of foreign visitors every year due to its palm-fringed, tropical beaches and picture-postcard temples.
Suspect slain as cops target drugs lord

NAKHON RATCHISIMA: A suspected drug trafficker was shot and killed early yesterday (Sept 14) in a clash with police in Saraburi province while 30 others were rounded up at a thank-you party in Nakhon Ratchasimas Pak Chong district.

crimedeathdrugspoliceviolencetransportcorruptionland

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 15 September 2016, 09:01AM

Police examine the car of one of the suspects who tried to shoot his way out of the Khao Yai raid and died in a hail of gunfire. Photo: Tanaphon Ongarttrakul

Almost simultaneously, anti-narcotics authorities launched pre-dawn raids at 27 locations in Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi, seized 6kg of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice), 80,000 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and several firearms.

Rewat Klinkesorn, commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), said the raids were part of Operation Triple Night targeting the network of major drug suspect Sadayu Lueangpradapjai.

Mr Sadayu, known to be an amateur sharpshooter, is said to run a car racing gang called Nakaoka. Members of the gang are allegedly recruited to be couriers.

He said authorities had followed the activities of some of the suspects and learned a major drug gang was throwing a seminar and thank-you party for dozens of alleged drug dealers at a resort in Khao Yai national park in Pak Chong.

More than 100 officers were brought in to break up the party, which was said to be in its third night, and at least eight of the party-goers had arrest warrants against them for drug-related offences, according to Lt Gen Rewat.

He said as authorities moved in, some suspects managed to get away in four vehicles heading to Bangkok via Mittraphap Rd. Police gave chase and one of the suspects cars came to a halt in the middle of the road when it reached the 6km marker in Saraburis Kaeng Khoi district.

As the car stopped, a gunfight broke out in which a suspect identified as Surasak Boonthap was killed and police officer Tiwapong Pluto was seriously wounded, sustaining bullet wounds to the back. He was admitted to the Police General Hospital in Bangkok and his condition remains critical.

Two other suspects fled from the car, but one, Tawichart Kanchanakul, was captured.

According to Lt Gen Rewat, the other getaway cars headed to Bangkok and one was found abandoned in Nonthaburis Bang Bua Thong district.

Back at the Khao Yai resort, authorities rounded up about 30 suspects who all tested positive for drugs. They were detained pending further investigation into their connection to the drug trafficking ring.

The NSB commissioner said another police team raided a house in Nonthaburis Bang Yai district owned by Mr Sadayu and found his 23-year-old girlfriend, Pornthiwa Boonthap, who denied any involvement in her boyfriends business.

At the house, police found some ketamine and ecstasy pills. The search also uncovered and seized three guns. Some bank account information was also taken for further investigation. He said police later arrested Wachirapat In-ngern, an alleged member of Mr Sadayus network, at an apartment, also in Bang Yai district, and confiscated 6kg of ya ice and 80,000 ya bah pills.

Meanwhile, officials from the Central Investigation Bureau yesterday raided 14 locations in five provinces and arrested six people as part of a crackdown on dark influences, said Thitirat Nongharnpitak, the bureaus commissioner.

Most of the 14 targets were the houses of tambon administrative organisation heads and mayors.

Confiscated for further investigation were 13 guns, 110 rounds of ammunition, nine firearm registration papers, information regarding 14 bank accounts, five land ownership documents and 30 car registration documents, he said.

Read original story here.
Teacher accused of maiming pupil ousted

NAKHON RATCHISIMA: A schoolteacher in Nakhon Ratchasima accused of throwing a mug at a 17-year-old student, allegedly causing a facial nerve injury, has been transferred.

crimeviolencehealth

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 15 September 2016, 09:24AM

Long-time child-rights advocate and ex-minister Pavena Hongsakul (left) and her Foundation for Children and Women chairwoman have taken assault victim Ms Narudee under their wing to provide medical help. Photo: Chanat Katanyu

Chukiat Wisetsena, director of the Secondary Educational Service Area Office 31, said Paithoon Klaengkratok, 58, has been moved to office duties.

Mr Paithoon is a physical education teacher at Chokchai Samakkee School in Chok Chai district.

The transfer came after Pranee Jodsanthia, 48, accompanied by her daughter, Narudee, who suffered facial feature distortion after Mr Paithoon allegedly threw a mug at her, brought the issue to the medias attention.

A disciplinary panel against the teacher was under way yesterday (Sept 14). A result is expected within seven days.

Mr Chukiat said an adviser to a class which Narudee, a Mathayom 5 student, attends and four other classmates who witnessed the incident testified to the panel yesterday.

Student Somsak Kakrathok said Mr Paithoon threw a ceramic mug at Narudee and other students. The teacher became angry when students stood up to avoid sunlight during an outdoor class on Aug 8. The mug missed other students and hit Narudees face.

Provincial justice chief Pichianpatana Intarapanich is supervising the probe to ensure fairness, Mr Chukiat added.

Narudee was taken by Pavena Foundation for Children and Women chairwoman Pavena Hongsakula to Yanhee Hospital in Bangkok for an examination yesterday.

Speaking at a press briefing at the hospital, its CEO Supot Sumritvanitcha said Narudees muscles on the left side of her face were unresponsive due to a nerve injury caused by an object hitting the base of her left ear.

Dr Supot said Ms Narudee was also unable to close her left eyelid which could lead to eye irritation, inflammation and blindness without proper treatment.

He described Narudees conditions as severe.

However, further medical tests would determine whether facial nerves were inflamed or damaged, he added.

The attack left some swelling above her left eyebrow. After Ms Narudee went home, she was unable to close her mouth and left eye, which later developed into facial distortion.

Ms Narudee and her mother lodged a complaint with Chok Chai Police on Aug 9. Later they decided to seek help from the media after the police investigation failed to make headway.

Ms Pranee said the school gave them B40,000 to help pay for her daughters treatment.

The teacher also offered to pay B80,000 of his own money for damages.

However, the family declined the teachers offer, saying a hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima where the girl was treated initially estimated the medical cost at B300,000.

Chokchai Samakkee School director Niphon Pakdeekaew insisted the school has consistently provided assistance including medical expenses for the student.

The issue reached the media after the familys negotiations with Mr Paithoon over the medical payment failed on Monday (Sept 12), Mr Niphon said.

Read original story here.
Technology: Get your food and photo fix at Phuketstagram's meetup this Sunday

Instagrams Worldwide InstaMeet 14 is happening across the world this weekend, September 17-18. The event is a chance for mobile phone photographers, Instagram enthusiasts and food lovers to get together and celebrate their love of photography and food through strategic food styling, clever filters and utilizing the hashtag #WWIM14

Thursday 15 September 2016, 03:00PM

Phuketstagram is putting out a call for food and photography fans across the island.

The theme for Worldwide InstaMeet 14 is food. Through celebrating food, the event presents a unique opportunity to bring together friends, both old and new, to celebrate. Its not only about celebrating the diversity of food and how it brings people from all backgrounds together, its also a chance to showcase delicious local foods from Phuket, which Unesco has now deemed a City of Gastronomy.

Phukets very own Instagram-based project, Phuketstagram, is planning to participate in Worldwide InstaMeet 14 and is extending the invitation to other Instagram enthusiasts across the island to join in.

Unfamiliar with Phuketstagram? It is an Instagram account that encourages locals, expats and tourists to see Phuket differently. The account showcases Phukets natural beauty, traditional charm, local customs, culture and everyday life.

Phuketstagram is quite popular on Facebook and Instagram. Currently, the hashtag #phuketstagram has been tagged over 37,000 times.

Phuket will join in on Worldwide InstaMeet 14 this Sunday, September 18 2016. The meeting place is the islands trendy Chillva Market at 5pm in front of the markets huge sign. The group will then explore the market and snap photos of the various foods on hand, whether it be delicious Thai street eats or gourmet burgers.

To get Instagram enthusiasts in the mood for the upcoming Worldwide InstaMeet 14, Phuketstagram recommends checking out some of the hottest food bloggers currently on Instagram here.

For more information or to join Worldwide InstaMeet 14 in Phuket, email teamphuketstagram@gmail.com or call Amy Bensema on 091-0433640.

Follow Phuketstagram on social media

Instagram: instagram.com/phuketstagram



Facebook: facebook.com/phuketstagram



Dedicated event hashtags: #WWIM14 #instameet #Phuket #phuketstagram #PhuketFoodies #WWIM14_phuket
Translator trouble deepens delay in Bangkok bomb trial

BANGKOK: The trial of two Chinese Uighurs accused of the deadly Erawan shrine bombing was postponed for a second time today (Sept 15) as the court again failed to find a suitable translator for the suspects.

crimeChinesepoliceviolence

By AFP

Thursday 15 September 2016, 05:24PM

A vehicle carrying two Chinese nationals, suspects of the Erawan Shrine bombings, arrives at the military court in Bangkok today (Sept 15). Photo: AFP

The August 2015 bombing left 20 dead in the centre of the city in an unprecedented attack on the junta-ruled nation.

The two accused, Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed, were scooped up by police in the days after the bombing and have been held in military custody ever since.

Both deny the charges.

Todays delay added a fresh layer of farce to a case that has been marked by official obfuscation, with police unable to offer a convincing motive for the attack, according to analysts.

More than a dozen ethnic Chinese tourists were among the dead when explosives  apparently left in a backpack  detonated in a Hindu shrine popular with tourists last year.

The blast came weeks after Thailands junta forcibly repatriated 109 Uighurs to China, where rights activists says the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority face cultural and religious repression.

The timing prompted speculation that the attack was part of a revenge plot against a country which had been a key transit hub for Uighurs as Thailands military leaders have grown closer to Beijing.

Thai authorities have rejected the theory and insist the attack was in retaliation for a crackdown on a people-smuggling gang.

A court-appointed translator  a female Uzbek immigration detainee  was today turned down by both defendants.

I can understand [the Uzbek] translator... but not well, Yusufu told the military court in English.

The military prosecutor had earlier refused a translator provided by the defence, according to a judge, who told the court that the case is a security matter... so the court provided a translator from immigration [detention centre].

The court will seek a new translator and postpones the case to October 13 and 14, the male judge, who can not be named, added.

The case was first delayed in August when the translator for the accused, another Uzbek national, fled after he was hit with drug possession charges.

Sirojiddin Bakhodirov accused police of planting drugs on him as punishment for helping Thailands Uighur community  a charge officers denied.

Getting proper translation is a serious matter and not easy for any court, Sam Zarifi, of the International Commission of Jurists, told AFP.

But this is a very high-profile case for the Thai government and theyve had months to prepare so its unclear why they cant provide the necessary translation, while the suspects are being held without a trial.

Prosecutors accuse Mohammed of placing the bomb inside a backpack at the shrine and say Mieraili was involved in transporting the device.
11AAA semis will be awesome and more from HS football quarterfinals

high-school-sports
Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will Favorite posts | Manifold podcast | Twitter: @hsu_steve
Mallun Yen kicking of the first day of the Summit

with a run through of the year's achievements in IP and

diversity progress

Noreen Krall holding her fireside chat with Nina Totenberg

and Jamie Gorelick

Star studded panel of Circuit Judges

(thanks Dad!)but only this year did the opportunity arise for her attend the 2 016 ChIPs Women in Tech, Law and Policy Global Summit held in Washington D.C. Now with 1200 members, ChIPs was founded in 2005 dedicated to advancing women at the confluence of law, technology and regulatory policy, with the objective of increasing diversity and inclusion in these fields to enable the progress of innovation that benefits society. The Annual Summit focuses on key legal developments, innovation and leadership skills. Membership is open to anyone who shares the ChIPs mission and the AmeriKat encourages all to join On Wednesday, the AmeriKat was invited to speak at the Inaugural ChIPs Next Gen Summit which is dedicated to providing the next generation of women leaders in tech, law and policy with strategies and tools to help propel them in the first fifteen years of their careers on topics including profile-raising, social media and career pathways. The session was held after the pre-Summit mock exercise before members of the judiciary, government and agencies, as well as in-house executives, who provided feedback to the eager advocates. This year the mock was on the topical issue of a patent damages trial, with numerous teams facing off against each other.After a slow Uber ride back through rush hour DC traffic to the main venue site, the US Chief Technology Officer (CTO ) - was bestowed with the title of 2016 ChIPs Hall of Fame honoree at the Hall of Fame dinner. After receiving her award, Megan spoke eloquently and passionately about her path from studying science to serving as a Vice President at Google leading New Business Development to her current role at the White House. Besides being in awe of Megan's professional accomplishments, the AmeriKat was struck by Megan's skill, empathy and passion for her work, public service and fixing social problems with tech. If we can deliver restaurant food to our house in 25 minutes, why can't we solve other issues? We need to bring tech solutions to social and environmental problems, urged Megan, and to do this we need to use our passion for our fields to encourage change. After her fireside conversation with RPX ), the AmeriKat (like everyone else in the room), left the ballroom in awe of a truly inspirational leader that reminded us to look beyond the legal brief on our desk and to use our skills and energy in our wider community and world.This morning the main Summit kicked off with a welcome from Executive VP of RPX and co-founder of ChIPs ) running through the year's IP news from the fair use decision in, the new Defend Trade Secrets Act and emergence of once dormant patent assertion entities, but she also focused on the gender and diversity issues that continue to face the tech sector (more on that later). VP, Chief Litigation Counsel at Apple ) moderated the morning's fireside chat with the AmeriKat's inspiration Legal Affairs, Correspondence at National Public Radio ) and Partner, WilmerHale and Board Director, Amazon.com). The first topic was the Supreme Court who, Nina commented, are doing the best they can, but they cannot do as much as they could (perhaps should, suggests the AmeriKat), such as deciding certain cases, because they are tied. For example, cases concerning important election issues about voting procedure are not being decided. The passing of Justice Scalia and lack of replacement has hobbled the Supreme Court, she noted. "The odds are not good in confirming the President's nominee, Merrick Garland ", she continued. For all practical purposes, the Republican opposition has effectively killed off two terms of Supreme Court decisions. Jamie mentioned that the executive appointments are also dormant. The Senate has entirely defaulted in its job to confirm nominees - the backlog is astounding. Jamie commented that many government agencies who have nominees in the chute, those nominees never come out of the chute. Jamie said that it would be preferable for there to bi-partisan agreement to hold hearings and get the nominations through so work can continue. However, in an election year the agencies are essentially told not to make news in case it is used as political fodder in the campaign cycle. Thus, the US is finding itself in a stalemate.Noreen asked how the social media and 24/7 hour news cycle has impacted news. Nina said that there is an appetite for instant reliable news, in depth reporting and images/sound, but no one wants to pay for it which is a real problem. Raising the importance of accurate reporting, Jamie commented that when the Affordable Care Act decision (listen to Nina's comment here ) was announced by the Supreme Court, the initial reports stated that the entire law had been overturned. Jamie's husband, who is a physician, said that he did not understand the initial reports. Ten minutes later, Nina reported on NPR to explain what it really meant. Nina explained a reason for the misreporting is that reporters often grab the decision as soon as it comes out, run down the court's steps and then they start reporting, without necessarily taking the time to fully understand the decision. Nina said that this is why she goes to listen to the court announcement to pick up on the key issues.Jamie, who has an incredible background having practised law for over 40 years including acting as a Deputy Attorney General of the US and as General Counsel at the Department of Defense, noted the changes to law firm practice are tremendous. She explained that firms are acting increasingly like businesses, outsourcing litigation work streams such as document review to low cost centers. The economics and size of private practice law is changing because the bottom of the pyramid work (i.e. discovery) can be outsourced and the real value of legal services, at the top of the pyramid with creative, strategic legal thinking, is becoming increasingly competitive. However, Jamie said she was not wringing her hands about these changes, but embracing them as the next evolution in legal practice.Nina and Jamie also shared stories of being the first women in their respective fields, including an entertaining story from Nina about her, Cokie Roberts, Linda Wertheimer and Susan Stamberg who sat in a corner of the newsroom that the men referred to as "the fallopian jungle". She said that they did not care for/about that term, because it was her Old Girls' Club that was breaking the stories that the men weren't getting.A star studded panel of Federal Circuit Judges followed, with the Circuit Judges sharing stories of their career trajectories and advice to the audience. The AmeriKat was struck by the sheer number of women judges from one court that deals with patent cases and looks forward to the day when the English Patents Court has a similar composition.Chief Judge Sharon Prost ( US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ) shared a story about a lunch she attended a few years ago. Someone at the lunch asked Justice Kagan how she felt to be the first woman Dean of Harvard Law School and Solicitor-General. Justice Kagan responded that it was an odd question to ask because if she had not taken those jobs, it would have been someone shortly behind her that did. She said it was really women like Justice Ginsburg who paved the way so that by the time she got to the table it was not that hard. For the IP judges, Chief Judge Prost said their Justice Ginsberg was Judge Pauline Newman (also on the panel).Judge Kimberly Moore echoed the sentiment when she said that her generation of women lawyers have far more opportunity and flexibility to shape their careers to achieve a purposeful work/life balance than previous generations. There are more opportunities but you have to plan - this is important. Judge Kara Stoll agreed explaining that at certain points in her career she had to make decisions about what path she wanted to pursue - litigation v prosecution, district v appellate work - and that required active decision making. You cannot let your career happen to you, she explained, you need to take active control and direct your career. Judge Newman said her career path was less purposeful - she went to law school because it was next door to where she lived. However, Judge Newman, when explaining her work with UNESCO in 1962, explained that your career path is not always linear - you need to take the opportunities that come to you. Judge O'Malley agreed stating that although she originally had an idea of how to plot her career path to become a federal judge, there was actually no linear career path. You have to deviate, be flexible and take chances to get to where you want to.When asked what their core values were, the judges where unified in saying it was kindness. It is so easy, especially in the legal profession where work becomes all-consuming, to think that what you do is all important. However, it is not. You need perspective and you need kindness. Chief Judge Prost explained that a woman who worked in the Senate cafeteria who she knew over twenty years ago recently came up to her at a conference and said "hello". Chief Judge Prost was surprised the woman remembered her, but the woman replied that "of course I did, you were always so nice to me." That feedback is more important than any other success. Judge Stoll echoed the sentiment explaining that of course what we do as lawyers and patent litigators is important, but its not just what you do - it is how you do it. It does not take much to be very kind to the people around you.The AmeriKat will be back with reports on the latest Defend Trade Secrets Act strategy, issues in copyright and the problem with dual-track systems and patent validity finality.


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Melania Trump, wife of Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, speaks during the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Monday, July 18, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy for Syria, speaks about the International Syria Support Group's Humanitarian Access Task Force at the European headquarters of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
REHOBOTH - Police say they are in a standoff with a man armed with a gun at the Cumberland F
* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020.

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018.

* IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013.

* Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011.

2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100.

* Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010.

* Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010.

* Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010.

* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.
The crisis in Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party continued on Thursday with General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav failing to persuade Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to call a truce with Shivpal Yadav, his uncle and another party leader.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had asked Ram Gopal Yadav to bring about a truce between his son Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav.

Emerging after a 50-minute meeting with Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav said he was hopeful that a solution to the leadership crisis in the party would come about soon.

Saying "Netaji"Mulayam Singhwas the final authority in the party and family matters, Ram Gopal Yadav also ruled out any discontent or anger in the state's first family. Like the chief minister earlier, he too hinted that an "outsider" was behind the crisis that has rattled the Samajwadi Party ahead of assembly elections early next year.

Asked if he was referring to Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh, he said, "The world knows who the man is." He also suggested that Amar Singh was the person who got Shivpal Yadav appointed as "in-charge" of the state some months ago in a bid to destabilise the chief minister.

"A man is out to destroy the party and he is taking undue advantage of the simplicity of Netaji," Ram Gopal Yadav said. Clearly tilting in favour of Akhilesh Yadav, he said it would have been better had the chief minister been informed of his removal from the state Samajwadi Party chief's post.

"I tried to put across this point to Netaji but I was told to issue the orders immediately. That triggered a chain reaction." Ram Gopal Yadav also seemed to justify the chief minister's tit-for-tat decision to divest Shivpal Yadav of plum portfolios, saying "every action has a reaction".

Asked about a possible timeline when the crisis will be resolved, Ram Gopal Yadav said "soon" as there would be talks between Mulayam Singh Yadav and the chief minister. "Things will be sorted out." But he refused to reveal what transpired between him and Akhilesh Yadav, saying he would first brief Mulayam Singh.

Meanwhile, Shivpal Singh Yadav returned from New Delhi to Lucknow on Thursday to a rousing welcome by hundreds of supporters at the Chaudhary Charan Singh airport.

Asked to comment on the power struggle in the party, he said he had nothing to say but he would "work to uphold the responsibility given to him by Netaji".

His son Aditya Yadav, who had accompanied his father to New Delhi, said the post of state president of the ruling party was a major responsibility that Shivpal Yadav would discharge to the best of his abilities.

A power struggle erupted in the state on Tuesday when the chief minister removed Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal, considered close to Shivpal Yadav.

Soon after, Mulayam Sinngh Yadav removed Akhilesh Yadav as the state Smajawadi Party chief. Akhilesh Yadav hit back within hours and took away the key portfolios allocated to Shivpal Yadav.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', leading a 125-member delegation, on Thursday left for a four-day state visit to New Delhi at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

This is his first foreign visit after Dahal was elected in August.

Dahal is being is accompanied by his wife, Sita, two ministers, senior Nepal government officials, media team and member of the Nepali business community.

His meting with Modi is scheduled for Friday at the Hyderabad House will be followed by signing of some agreements and a joint press briefing.

According to Rishiraj Adhikari, foreign relations advisor to Dahal, a breakthrough is expected on an agreement on long pending Panchewhwor Hydroproject in Nepal that has installation capacity of 48,00mw. Nepal and India had jointly agreed to develop this project in 1996, but no progress has been made due to some outstanding issues.

The prime minister will seek Indian's support to build another 400mw hydro power plant in Nepal, Adhikari added.

Officials told IANS that a $1 billion soft loan and grant for the reconstruction of damaged structures in Nepal will also be discussed during the meet.

Proposal on feasibility study of east-west electric rail in Nepal, building an 80km long Buddhist circuit, linking key heritage sites between Nepal and India, are also in the agenda.

Several others issues like growing trade deficit with India, construction of a sub-station for trading energy between Nepal and India, aid for second phase for construction of Postal road in Nepal's southern plain will also be discussed.

Both sides will commit to review and update all bilateral agreements and pacts through the Eminent Person's Group which has already met in Kathmandu once.

Dahal will also visit Himanchal Pradesh to inspect one hydro power plant before his return to Nepal.
He described the conditions as worrying.

Khademi said: When I visited the school in this village, I saw two places used for keeping animals. I noticed that one of them was dedicated to being used as a classroom. This is worrying, the fact that after more than 30 years from the revolution we see such places used for education in the country.

He addressed the regimes Minister of Education to ask why children in Khuzestan province had to study in animal shelters and how far this problem went across Iran.

Khademi said that it wasnt as if Iran did not have the money to build a classroom, citing the widespread embezzlements across the country.

He said the villages were lacking amenities and being run inefficiently leading to deprived citizens.

He added: There are many areas and villages that have these same problems while nothing has been done for them in recent years I wonder where I should shout about this injustice. Why do the officials pay no attention to this town?
Democrats are sounding increasingly concerned about their chances of retaking control of the Senate, as Republicans demonstrate a commanding fundraising advantage and Hillary Clintons lead narrows in key battleground races.

Although most Democrats still express confidence that they will win back the Senate majority in November, they now appear to have fewer paths to victory as wins in Ohio and even Florida look increasingly remote.

And if they do win back control, it could end up being with the narrowest of margins, even a 50-50 Senate with a Vice President Tim Kaine casting tie-breaking votes for the Democrats, if Hillary Clinton becomes president.

A key factor is the Republican money edge, which is particularly pronounced this year because some major donors, most notably the billionaire Koch Brothers, have decided to stay out of the presidential race out of distaste for Donald Trump and are pouring money into Senate races instead. Ohio, Florida, Nevada and other races are awash with cash.

Its worrisome, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said Tuesday of the GOP money advantage. Overall, Durbin offered mixed reviews of the Senate map: Solid, quality candidates, good campaigns but a massive infusion of Republican money in the last few weeks, and we are working overtime to try to keep up with it.

Democrats frequently point with alarm to the massive $42 million haul in August disclosed by two connected fundraising committees run by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. That money is now being funneled to New Hampshire, Nevada, Indiana and elsewhere.

Senate Democrats have been pressed to chip in more to make up the deficit. Last week, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who heads the Senate Democratic fundraising arm, announced in a private meeting that Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York had transferred $2 million from his campaign accounts to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Another concern is Clintons sometimes weak performance as a candidate, particularly pronounced over the past days as her campaign contended with questions over its handling of her health. Clintons stumbling exit from a 9/11 memorial Sunday was followed by the disclosure that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he was surprised and a little frustrated that the race was so close, and said it was a concern as Democrats seek to recapture the Senate.

In Pennsylvania for example, if Hillary does win by the 7 shes up in the latest poll it will be very hard for (incumbent Republican Pat) Toomey to win, Rendell said. If Hillary wins by 2 or 3, it gives Toomey a chance.

Republicans now have a 54-46 majority in the Senate, so Democrats have to net at least four seats to take back the majority, or five if Donald Trump becomes president, because of the vice presidents role as the Senate tie-breaker.

Democrats entered this election cycle with some expressing high hopes because of a favorable Senate map that has Republicans defending 24 seats and Democrats only 10. Republicans have vulnerable incumbents in blue or purple states including Illinois, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, while Democrats are defending only one at-risk seat, in Nevada, where Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is retiring.

Partisans on both sides are acutely aware that the map reverses itself in 2018 when Democrats will be playing defense on GOP-friendly terrain such as Missouri, North Dakota, Montana and West Virginia. That makes the task for Democrats all the more urgent this year since they will be at greater risk of losing seats two years from now.

While some predicted that Trump at the top of the ticket would pull down Republican incumbents from coast to coast, that hasnt happened in all cases. Instead, lawmakers including Rob Portman in Ohio, Marco Rubio in Florida and Toomey are running ahead of Trump in their states, and either beating their opponents or keeping it close.

All I can say is that I was feeling much better a few weeks about the chances of Democrats retaking the Senate, said Jim Manley, a Democratic consultant and former top Reid aide. I still think its going to happen, because the Trump campaign is going to prove toxic to the Republican Party, but it may prove to be tougher than many Democrats were thinking a few months ago.

Officials with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee dispute suggestions that the outlook has changed for the worse, noting that unlike some others, they never predicted they would sweep to victories across the country and end up with a comfortable majority.

While disagreeing that they are giving up on Florida and Ohio, where they have delayed spending, DSCC officials point to plans to spend in North Carolina and Missouri. Its cheaper in those states to pay for advertising, though Missouri is widely considered a long shot.

Tester said he would of course feel more confident if Clinton had a bigger lead, but added: The truth is that Hillarys running a great race, Im confident that shes going to win, but nothings easy. I mean these are hotly contested races and we knew that 20 months ago, and that hasnt changed.

(AP)
On the morning of Tuesday 10 Elul, Jerusalem District Court Judge Alexander Ron accepted the appeal filed by Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado on the Hozrim LaHar (Returning to Har Habayis) activist distanced from the Old City of Jerusalem for 30 days for davening near the gates to Har Habayis.

Despite the fact that the police claimed that the individual is a dominant activist who has arrived many times to pray in the Old City, Judge Ron ruled that as with the three young women distanced from the Old City under similar circumstances whose case was judged the same morning, there is no cause to distance him. Judge Ron also stated that it is difficult to rule that prayer constitutes a criminal violation.

Judge Ron canceled the distancing order, but left standing the bail conditions that were signed in the case. The police requested a delay in carrying out the decision in order to allow time to consider filing an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado: I welcome the [Jerusalem] District Courts decision according to which Jewish prayer in the Muslim Quarter cannot constitute a criminal violation. It is unfortunate that we have reached days such as these in which the question is raised as to whether or not a Jew is permitted to pray close to the Temple Mount.

Gedolei Yisrael over the generations and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel prohibit visiting Har Habayis.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
All four 14-year old yeshiva students detained on the morning of Monday 9 Elul during a police raid in Nachliel have been released, some of them after being brought to court.

One minor was released the same day after being interrogated on suspicion of assaulting policemen Two other minors detained on suspicion of destroying agricultural equipment during a trip two months previously were taken to a court deliberation and released to seven days of house arrest, despite a demand by police representatives to extend their remand by five days. Honenu Attorneys David HaLevi and Sinaiya Moses-Harizi represented the minors in court.

The minor who was evacuated to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital with facial injuries was interrogated in the evening on suspicion of assaulting policemen. After interrogation he was released to five days of house arrest. The police demanded NIS 1,000 bail as a condition for release.

On the morning of Tuesday 10 Elul Honenu filed an urgent appeal on the decision. Honenu Attorney Avichai Hajbi, who represented the minor, asserted in the appeal that the minor himself had been assaulted and that because he had not carried out any violation, there is no cause to restrict his freedom or to demand bail.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A panel discussion was held in Beit Avi-Chai in Jerusalem on Tuesday night the eve of 11 Elul to discuss the significance a kashrus seal on a food item has on Israeli society.

During the event MK (Yesh Atid) Elazar Stern expressed criticism on the state kashrus, namely the Chief Rabbinate of Israels kashrus. He lamented the fact that corruption is linked to the state kashrus, and he expressed his strong opinion that kashrus must be taken out of the hands of the Chief Rabbinate and handled as it is in the United States, by hechsherim running independently.

Stern cited that even today, the Chief Rabbis do not eat foods certified by the Chief Rabbinate, adding even the director of the nations largest religious council told me the kashrus certification must become more friendly and the current system must be dismantled and built anew.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Polls commissioned by the Jerusalem Post in partnership with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) scheduled to be released on Friday, 13 Elul, show a majority of Jews in the United States and Israel favor official State of Israel recognition of non-religious Jewry, calling for an end to the Orthodox monopoly over religion-and-state issues in Israel. The poll shows that 74% of American Jews and 62% of Israeli Jews believe the time has come for official State of Israel recognition of the Reform and Conservative Movements.

While one may argue the poll is taken by the AJC and not all the Jews who voted are halachically Jews and so-forth, but the fact remains that significant numbers of Jews in the two largest Jewish populations around the world favor the move.

The poll also highlights the growing tensions between these movements and the State of Israel amid an awareness the Reform and Conservative Movements, their leaders and members, are major contributors to the State of Israel and thereby carry significant weight with the states decision-makers. This has been evident in Israel during recent months in the ongoing controversy surrounding an egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel. YWN-ISRAEL reported earlier this week that the government coalition came under fire in a session of the Supreme Court addressing a petition on the egalitarian area and government foot-dragging. The court made it clear that it was not going to tolerate this and that an area must be set into place to permit mixed and non-Orthodox services for those wishing to take advantage of it.

The Post survey adds that 70% of US Jewry and 61% of Israeli Jewry support an egalitarian prayer area at the Kosel Plaza.

48% of American Jews believe that the recognition of frum Jewry as the official Jewry is responsible for weakened relations with the Diaspora Jewish community and 39% do not see this as being so.

Most Israeli Jews, 54%, remain opposed to exclusive Orthodox control of state religious services as has been the case since the establishment of the state.

The poll was conducted by SSRS Research Company and 1,002 Jews over the age of 18 responded in the United States. The margin of error is +/- 3.5%.

The poll in Israel was conducted by the Rafi Smith Institute, questioning 500 adults over 18, with the margin of error reported to be +/- 4.5%.

The J. Post is planning to release the in-depth results of the polls in its Friday magazine.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
As reported by YWN-ISRAEL, three Jewish girls were arrested by police on 2 Rosh Chodesh Elul after trying to daven in the area of the Lions Gate of Jerusalems Old City. They were told they were disturbing the peace.

Honenu intervened, questioning how Jews can be arrested for exercising freedom of worship.

Police on Wednesday morning 11 Elul announced that they retract earlier statements and Jews may indeed daven in the Muslim Quarter. This was the result of Honenu challenging the legality of the Israel Police policy.

The prosecutor and police notified attorney Itamar Ben-Givir and attorney Menashe Yado that they will not appeal a court decision not to distance the girls from the Old City as police requested.

On Tuesday, Ben-Givir appealed a magistrate court decision, explaining it was contrary to freedom of worship. District Court Justice Ron Alexander accepted the appeal, explaining the first condition for a restraining order is a crime and davening is not a crime. The District Court overturned the Magistrates decision and the girls are not distanced from the Old City and they may daven there with the courts blessings.

Police asked to delay implementation of the decision to permit it time to appeal the decision to the High Court of Justice. On Wednesday morning however, police explained there would not be an appeal filed in the case.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
S entered the IDF a number of weeks ago and she is currently in the midst of basic training. She was off for a weekend and out on Motzei Shabbos in the Machane Yehuda area of Yerushalayim. She became frustrated after she could not find a parking spot. She finally found a spot but wasnt sure if it was legal so she consulted with passersby, who assured her it was fine. She parked and was surprised to find a NIS 500 summons upon her return.

She explains that she went online almost immediately and paid the summons to get done with it. She received a digital receipt a short time later. However, when she checked her bank account online the next morning, she was shocked to fine the city levied the fine 11 times, taking NIS 5,500 from her account!

She told MyNet on Wednesday, 11 Elul that she has been on the phone with city clerks all week, albeit without any signs of progress. One clerk said he does not see the summons issued at all. Another she explains she should receive a cancelation of the excessive charges from the city and the money returned to her account, but this has yet to occur.

The credit card company intervened on her behalf, but was told by city officials that the problem has been resolved but in actuality, it hasnt.

When asked to comment, a city official explains that when she paid the fine online, it appears she was uncertain if the payment went through and repeatedly hit the pay button, resulting in the excessive charges. The city only received NIS 500 and the rest went to the credit card company. However, being that this is a soldier the city is going to work it out with the credit card company in an effort to assist the young soldier.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Herzliya during July and August provided residents with a Shabbos shuttle service to the beach but now, in September, the shuttles continue operating. City Councilman (Gesher) Elad Tzadikov is calling for a halt of the shuttle service, calling on City Director Yehuda Ben-Ezra to stop the service immediately, MyNet reports.

According to Tzadikov, the shuttles were intended to create new realities on the ground vis-a-vis the Shabbos status quo, nothing more, and this was done with the blessing of the mayor. The religious parties and certainly Gesher were not elected to remain silent. Perhaps this is a precedent from the days of [former Mayor Yael] German. I remind everyone the mayor was elected on his promise to maintain the Shabbos status que and not to compromise our tradition, Tzadikov wrote to Ben-Ezra.

If the Prime Minister knows how to stand in the breach and stop Israel Railways work on Shabbos, then the Herzliya mayor can do the same, to stop the shuttles, which have exceeded their mandate in any event Tzadikov adds.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
In its response to the High Court of Justice on Wednesday, 11 Elul, the state explained it opposes razing the homes of the convicted murderers of Jerusalem Arab teen Muhmad Abu-Khadir, 16. The petition to the High Court was filed by the family of the victim, claiming that just as the state destroys homes of families of convicted Arab terrorists, the same should be done in this case with the convicted Jewish terrorists.

The families of the victim are demanding the state order the demolition of the homes of the families of Yosef Chaim Ben-David of Geva Binyamin as well as those of the two minors convicted in the case. The state however is opposed, telling the court one cannot compare Arab terrorism to Jewish terrorism as the latter is a rare occurrence and therefore, deterrence in not necessary while the same cannot be said for the former.

The state added that unlike the Arab population, when there is a case involving Jewish terror, such as this one, the community at large and its leaders decry and condemn it, hence, it is not comparable to Arab terror and the response from that community.

The state adds that without trying to lessen in any way the severity of this act or the fatal arson attack against the Darawshe family of Duma, which claimed number of lives, there is still a fundamental difference in Jewish and Arab terrorism.

And the state added that the time element plays a role in this too, stating it has been two years since the heinous act and as a result, the time for razing the home has passed and the IDF cannot carry out such an order at present.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Dayanim and Rabbonim who passed their exams for certification as rabbinical judges and civil service rabbis of cities were given their certificates in a festive event hosted in Jerusalems Yeshurun Shul on Wednesday, 11 Elul.

The event was attended by Chief Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita and Rishon LTzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Shlita as well as Minister of Religious Services David Azoulai. Friends and family members of the rabbonim receiving certificates were also present.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group)
President Barack Obama is offering his best wishes to retiring New York City police commissioner Bill Bratton and his successor.

Obama was in New York City Tuesday night to attend a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser at the Upper East Side home of hedge-fund founder Jim Chanos.

Shortly after the event, the president briefly greeted Bratton and New York City Police Chief James ONeill, the citys next police commissioner.

The president congratulated both on their recent moves and thanked them both for their selfless service.

Bratton is leaving this month to become a risk and security adviser at Teneo, a consulting firm.

(AP)
Authorities say two men planned to capitalize on post-9/11 fears by dressing in traditional Muslim attire and displaying a fake bomb while robbing a New York City check cashing store on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

A criminal complaint says the plan was called off because there were too many people near the Bronx store Sunday. It says the two had planned to wear dark-colored robes that one man had obtained from his mother.

Juneal Ali was held without bail after an initial appearance Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. A criminal complaint charged him with conspiracy and attempted robbery.

The complaint says a co-conspirator revealed the plot to police.

Alis attorney did not immediately respond to a request to comment on his behalf.

(AP)
National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden says it would chill speech and erode the quality of our democracy if he serves a long prison term in the U.S.

Snowden spoke by video at a New York news conference Wednesday. Advocates, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, are launching a public campaign to persuade President Barack Obama to pardon him.

Speaking from Moscow where he is in exile, Snowden said he performed a public service by giving thousands of classified documents to journalists in 2013.

He says whistleblowers are democracys safeguard of last resort.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that the president believes Snowden should return to the U.S. to face charges. He said Obamas position is that Snowdens leaks harmed national security and put Americans at risk.

(AP)
BJX is a a unique organization and Kehillah with 6 Divisions to help all of Hashems children. The Kerovim division has a helpline for people who have questions or issues pertaining to Yiddishkeit. They receive dozens of calls a week from both secular and frum people. Shortly after Pesach Rabbi Dr. Ari Kornblit called the BJX helpline and described to Rabbi Moshe Fingerer, Menahel of BJX, a young man in his early thirties who he met in Puerto Rico. Could you please try reaching out to him? he asked. Rabbi Moshe who receives all helpline calls spoke with Dmitry and invited him to join one of their signature uplifting weekly Shabbatons for young professionals and collegiate. The rest is history. He has been coming to BJX for almost every Shabbos and has been wearing his Tefflin for almost two months.

After a beautiful and exceedingly spiritual BJX Shabbaton upstate this summer with Dr. Faye Zakheim and family, Dmitry started discussing the possibility of having a bris.

The Morah DAsra, Rov Yitzchok Fingerer presented Dmitry with a pair of tzitzis, immediately after the bris. This was the first Mitzvah that Dmitry performed after the bris and first time he wore tzitzis. It was exceedingly emotional. Everyone was so inspired and near tears. He then presented Dmitry with a mezuzah, chumash and Kiddush cup.

Dmitry spoke at his Bris. He said that he was heavily influenced by his studies in chemistry and engineering to avert religion. That was until he stepped into the BJX (Brooklyn Jewish Xperience) Kiruv centers. I feel energized today; like I have a new opportunity at life. BJX has helped me become a better version of myself, he said.

Dmitry- now Dovid- has a MS in chemistry and worked in the chemical industry in Russia, two years in Israel and a short time in South Korea. He now resides in Brooklyn and is part of the BJX family.

BJX is bringing Hashems children home. May the Rabbeim and all the staff continue making beautiful simachos and continue inspiring our community!
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

On Tuesday night, September 13th, yeshiva leaders, administrators, community activists and parents filled an Agudath Israel conference room to honor New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan, a man who has supported and spearheaded important legislation benefitting nonpublic school students across New York State. Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath Israels Executive Vice President, called Senator Flanagan a special hero who has made historic strides and gains for the yeshiva community.

It is appropriate to gather together to fulfill the obligation to recognize good  hakaras hatov, said Rabbi Zwiebel. He lauded Senator Flanagans friendship and support for yeshivas over the many years of his public service, and his partnership with the yeshiva community. Rabbi Zwiebel then called on several speakers from the yeshiva community, who explained how Senator Flanagans work affected them personally.

The general tenor of the evening was mutual appreciation, as Senator Flanagan humbly acknowledged that the advocacy of Agudath Israel, yeshiva administrators, and parents are a key component in his recent successes. When asked in the question and answer session how useful Agudath Israels Missions to Albany are, he said, I cant overstate the value and importance of that You have to keep our feet to the fire. Your continued advocacy makes all the difference in the world.

The relationship between Senator Flanagan and the yeshiva community goes back many years, beyond the two years he has served as Senate Majority Leader to his fourteen years in the State Senate and his five years as chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

The past years accomplishments for nonpublic schools across the state were prominently displayed in a scorecard for the 2016 New York State budget. The list includes: $60 million in additional funding for CAP (the Comprehensive Attendance Policy), which will help greatly towards retiring the debt that the state owes nonpublic schools; current CAP funding of $69.8 million dollars, reflecting actual costs to nonpublic schools for taking attendance rather than an efficiency model far below those costs; $125 million re-appropriated to pay nonpublic schools for prior-year CAP claims; $10.5 million in additional funds for safety equipment for nonpublic schools; greater flexibility in the use of Safety Equipment Funds that may allow schools to hire security personnel; and the re-establishment of a dedicated office for nonpublic schools at the State Education Department.

Three speakers from the yeshiva community expounded upon how these and other benefits had impacted their lives. The first speaker, Mr. Yehuda Zachter, a parent of students in Bnos Bais Yaakov in Far Rockaway, NY, said that it is a struggle for many yeshivas to balance the budget and give their children a good education while ensuring their safety. His yeshiva has been able to provide new security systems to protect their students due to recent legislation. We are taking care of their education, he said. We thank you for helping us take care of their security.

Mr. Sruli Orzel, the Chairman of the Board and President of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley, said that in the past, laying out the cost for Mandated Services, which the state is supposed to reimburse, made it difficult to balance the yeshivas budget. The monies allocated this past year to help eradicate the states debt to nonpublic schools, has made a huge difference, said Mr. Orzel.

He also spoke of security. We are one of the few mosdos in Spring Valley and Monsey that has a full-time guard, he stated.

Rabbi Ephraim Nierenberg, a parent of a special needs child, praised Majority Leader Flanagan and his colleagues in the Senate  particularly Senator Simcha Felder  for their role in instigating major changes in the way New York City handles tuition reimbursement claims for children enrolled in nonpublic special education schools. Very often, we knew that services were out there, but they were just out of reach. Now its less of a struggle, he said. Parents now breathe easier because of your efforts.

The strides made in easing the process for special education placements were noted several times, and Senator Flanagan himself thanked Mrs. Leah Steinberg, Director of Project LEARN, Agudath Israels special education advocacy office, for her work in this area. Mrs. Steinberg said, I would like to note the devotion of Senator Flanagan. Throughout the years that weve worked together, he really listened as if it were his children sitting there. Thank you, Senator, for all of your help for our children.

Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, Agudath Israels Vice President for Community Services, said that the struggle to represent and support nonpublic schools has recently become much more difficult, and there are now legislators who seem determined to cut all funding to nonpublic schools. In such a climate, Rabbi Lefkowitz said, good friends like Majority Leader Flanagan are even more precious. He presented a plaque to the Majority Leader for his work on behalf of the yeshiva community.

In his speech, Mr. Flanagan called for the continued collaboration of Agudath Israel and the Jewish community with himself and other legislators and urged the community to get everyone to go out and vote.

Chaskel Bennett, member of Agudath Israels Board of Trustees, said, It is rare in politics to forge a relationship with someone who fearlessly fights for the causes and people they believe in, no matter the political costs. First as education committee chairman and now as Leader, John Flanagan has been our friend and ally showing a tenacity and loyalty rare in politics. Activists deep in the trenches truly understand just how precious it is to have legislative leaders who place a premium on principles and friendship It is important to remember and thank those who really stand with you, especially when things get tough. Today we had the opportunity to thank the Leader and his colleagues in the Senate for their sensitivity and determination in protecting and defending the issues vitally important to our faith-based community.

Another politically active member of Agudath Israels Board of Trustees, Leon Goldenberg, said, this was a historic gathering, bringing together top leaders of New Yorks yeshiva community, representing tens of thousands of children and their families, with the person who has done so much for our yeshivas and day schools in the New York State Legislature. Thank you, Agudath Israel, for making this happen.

The evening might best be summed up in Senator Flanagans own words: I believe that what youve done for me today is a terrific mitzvah.

(YWN Desk  NYC)
The Aleph Institute is launching its first ever crowdfunding, all-or-nothing, campaign, with the aim of fundraising one million dollars in under 24 hours. The campaign runs from Wednesday, Sept. 14th 2:00pm EDT  Thursday, Sept. 15th at 2:00pm EDT.

The Arora Nash Foundation, Mr. Howard Jonas, and a group of donors, including financier Mitch Julis, have each agreed to match all funds raisedwithin 24 hours, resulting in a three to one ratio. Every dollar donated will be quadrupled! Their commitment is conditional on Aleph raising a total of $1,000,000 in their all-or-nothing campaign, by Thursday, September 15 at 2 p.m. EST.

This campaign, if successful, will result in a one million dollar infusion for Aleph to continue its lifesaving work.

Donations can be made by accessing the campaign page at Charidy.com/aleph.

The Aleph Institute, founded in 1981 by Rabbi Sholom Dovber Lipskar, at the express direction of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, is the nations premier Jewish organization providing critical spiritual, emotional and financial assistance for people in limited environments, including thousands of military personnel in the United States armed forces; isolated men, women and adolescents who are incarcerated or institutionalized; and for their families. Alephs Project Tikvah helps transform young lives who are in (or facing) prison, as a result of untreated mental illness or addiction.

Living up to its mandate, No One Alone, No One Forgotten The Aleph Institutes team of over 30 staff and 400+ volunteers extend a loving hand and a warm embrace to these human beings, who often need it the most.

Since its founding, Aleph has provided 3 main functions, family services, prison services and military services. Acting as an ecclesiastical endorsing agency for the Department of Defense, the Aleph Institute hosts an annual military shabbaton and regular ongoing trainings for military chaplains. Alephs prison services division maintains ongoing communications with prison chaplains regarding Jewish practice and holidays and its prison advocacy branch acts to protect the constitutional religious and human rights of its constituents. The advocacy branch, which fields over 1,000 requests per month, also engages in alternative sentencing work and at-risk youth programs (through its Project Tikvah program) that include diversion from prison and securing treatment. One worried mother, whose worries were addressed by Alephs team, wrote: You. have brought me air when I didnt know where my next breath was coming from. You have picked up my pieces when I felt feeling whole again was useless. I am not alone because of you and [the] Aleph Institute.

For the hundreds of families struggling at home, Alephs family services division provides financial, emotional, and professional assistance, facilitating much needed stability for the children and spouses of inmates. In addition to sponsoring trips -often across country- for families to see their loved ones, Aleph sent nearly 100 children (with a parent in prison) to summer camps for a meaningful and fun-filled summer.

As a part of its religious services, Aleph distributes thousands of religious items through the year to families, military personnel and prisons, including holiday materials for the High Holidays, Sukkos, Chanukah, Purim, Pesach and Shavous and religious items for year-round. More than 1,000 people participate in Alephs Jewish correspondence courses and Alephs team of rabbinical students visit over 500 prisons in 45 states in the summer each year. They also arrange and conduct High Holiday services in institutions nationwide.

A recent elderly man who gets no visits from family, and recently received a visit from Aleph volunteers, sent in a moving letter: Two young students came to visit. With them they brought compassion, kindness, [and] a love that lit up a darkened place. They lit the candles that existed in each of us. They motivated the unmotivated. They made the uninterested become interested. They reminded us by their actions of our great fortune to be G-ds children. They lifted us up and gave us more to think about. They shared their knowledge on a wide range of subjects. They made me smile so many times..

Aleph is, at its core, a reflection of the mission that no one shall be left behind. Whether the need is spiritual, emotional, financial or social, Aleph is the single resource to help those in our communities who are often the most forgotten and alone. says Rabbi Aaron Lipskar, the executive director at the Aleph Institute.

Says Rabbi Sholom Dovber Lipskar, Aleph Institutes founder,  Alephs mission is to bring light to the darkest places, where no one else dares to go. We become their extended family for whatever they need from emotional support to financial support to spiritual support

Click here to donate now
When Hillary Clinton was sidelined this week with pneumonia, her campaign didnt rush to cancel a busy slate of events out West. The presidential candidates husband simply stepped in to take her place.

Former President Bill Clinton hobnobbed with wealthy donors at a pair of Beverly Hills fundraisers, including a $100,000-per couple dinner at the home of designer Diane Von Furstenberg. He snapped selfies with fans during a surprise stop at a trendy coffee shop in Los Angeles. And he rallied supporters in swing state Nevada.

Im glad to have a chance to stand in for Hillary today, he told voters in Las Vegas on Wednesday. She did it for me for a long time. Its about time I showed up and did it for her.

Having a former president on standby is an unprecedented luxury for a White House candidate. Its also a reminder to voters that, when it comes to the Clintons, the couple is a package deal, for better or worse.

Thats been less overt in the 2016 campaign than in some of the Clintons previous political endeavors, when they actively pitched themselves as a two for the price of one proposition. Other than a prime-time speech at the Democratic convention, Bill Clintons general election schedule has been purposely low-key, reflecting the Clinton campaigns desire to keep him from overshadowing his wife or creating unnecessary distractions.

But those concerns became secondary this week. Hillary Clinton tried to campaign through a bout of pneumonia, but she was sidelined by her doctor after getting dehydrated and dizzy while attending a 9/11 memorial in New York on Sunday.

Campaign aides quickly called Bill Clintons chief of staff to see if he could step in for a few days. The timing wasnt ideal. His schedule was packed with interviews and other events in New York ahead of next weeks last-ever meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a wing of the familys philanthropy.

But aides said he quickly agreed to clear his schedule and fly to California. Hes been calling his wife multiple times a day to check on her health and report back on conversations with donors and other Democrats.

Shes married to the best surrogate in the world, said Jerry Crawford, an Iowa Democrat and longtime Clinton ally.

For all his political gifts, Bill Clinton has been an imperfect messenger on his wifes health this week. He volunteered in an interview that shes had episodes like this before and on Wednesday he said she had flu, not pneumonia. A spokesman said he misspoke and meant pneumonia, but such moments provide grist to conspiracy theorists who think Hillary Clinton is hiding health issues.

Hillary Clintons aides have spent the general election warily waiting to see if Republican Donald Trump makes good on his promises to turn the former presidents martial affairs into a campaign issue. Trump has steered clear of those issues in recent weeks, but she is still preparing for the possibility he could raise them in the upcoming presidential debates.

Republican Rick Tyler, who worked on Ted Cruzs 2016 presidential bid, said that if Trump does raise those issues, they will fall on deaf ears.

All those things have been litigated over and over again, Tyler said.

Hillary Clinton has an impressive stable of other surrogates on hand for the campaigns final stretch. President Barack Obama, whose favorability is on the rise in his final year in office, campaigned for her on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Vice President Joe Biden opened the week in North Carolina. Michelle Obama, the hugely popular first lady, will help rally voters in Virginia on Friday.

But its Bill Clinton who is his wifes most dedicated supporter, and often her most complicated.

He speaks passionately about her advocacy for children and the underprivileged, and calls her the best darn change-maker Ive ever seen. He peppers his remarks with personal stories about their courtship in law school more than 40 years ago and their excitement over becoming grandparents. His campaign presence can often remind voters of the peace and prosperity that accompanied his eight years in office.

Him and his family have been a big deal for our country, said Samuel Del Real, a 28-year-old who ran into the former president during his stop at a Los Angeles coffee shop Tuesday.

But voters also remember the scandals that plagued Clintons tenure in the White House. While the former president has been more disciplined than during his wifes failed 2008 campaign, he still finds ways to create unwanted distractions, most notably when he met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the midst of the Justice Departments investigation into his wifes email practices. Lynch characterized the conversation as social, but acknowledged the meeting cast a shadow on the publics perception of the case.

The former presidents possible role in a Hillary Clinton administration came under scrutiny this year when she suggested she would place her husband in charge of revitalizing the economy. Aides later had to stress there were no formal plans in place to do so.

Hillary Clinton planned to return to campaigning on Thursday in Greensboro, North Carolina. But Bill Clinton will be staying in the spotlight, at least for a few more days.

Hell spend next week in New York mingling with world leaders and celebrities at the annual CGI meetings. With the Clinton Foundation under election-year scrutiny, hes pledged that this year will mark the last CGI gathering, regardless of the outcome of the election.

(AP)
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America welcomed the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government. The agreement between the United States and Israel was reached Tuesday, cementing a $38 billion, 10-year military aid package for 2019  2028. The agreement also includes $5 billion in joint missile defense spending which will significantly advance Israels defensive capabilities as well as technology that benefits U.S. defense.

Nathan Diament, Orthodox Union executive director for public policy, stated:

We commend President Obama, the bipartisan coalition in Congress and Prime Minister Netanyahu on this historic agreement. The United States and Israel have always had a special relationship. Israel is the most stable democratically in the region and the United States understands the importance of the continuation of the Jewish States ability to defend itself. Importantly, this MOU communicates to Israels enemies that the United States stands firmly beside Israel.

The new MOU will take effect in 2019 upon the expiration of the current MOU, signed in 2007. The money will be spent on modernizing the Israel Defense Forces and allow them to better defend Israel in the Middle East.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
[By: Fern Sidman]

The Hineni Organization founded by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, ah, has announced that the shloshim (culmination of the 30-day mourning period) commemorating the life and majestic legacy of the Rebbetzin will be held, IYH, on Wednesday evening, September 21st at 8:00 pm at Manhattans Fifth Avenue Synagogue . The synagogue is located at 5 East 62nd Street on the Upper East Side.

In a statement released to the media, Hineni directors issued an open invitation for all Jews to attend the Shloshim. At Hineni, we are a family, and as such families come together to share both joy and sorrow. We consider every Jew to be an important part of our extended family and encourage everyone, both near and far, to join us on September 21st as we strengthen each other and pay tribute to the incredible accomplishments that Rebbetzin Jungreis, ah made during her lifetime.

On Tuesday, August 23rd, (19th of Av) Rebbetzin Jungreis heilege neshoma was called to Shamayim by Hashem at the age of 80. Her levaya at the Agudath Israel synagogue in Far Rockaway was attended by over 1000 people while countless Jews around the world (whose hearts the Rebbetzin touched) mourned over the passing of this remarkable woman whose historic litany of achievements in the world of kiruv is unparalleled.

Imbibing the sagacious wisdom of her father, HaGaon HaRav Avraham HaLevi Jungreis, her grandfather, Rabbi Yisroel, ztl and her many holy antecedents, the Rebbetzin made it her lifes mission to disseminate the timeless and eternal teachings of the Torah.

It was during the formation of Hineni in 1973 that she posited herself in the forefront of the battle against the spiritual Holocaust which had claimed exorbitant numbers of Jews through rampant assimilation, intermarriage and alienation.

Speaking of her upcoming international project at the annual Hineni dinner held in March of 2016, Rebbetzin Jungreis said at the time, The hallmark of Jewish life; the center of our existence is the acknowledgment of Hashem and we do this through the recitation of the Shema Yisroel prayer every day; twice a day. With determination and resolve reverberating in her voice, she called upon her organization to embark on a very special Shema Yisroel campaign that would bring the words of the Shema to every Jew in every land.

At the Shloshim, we intend, with Hashems help, to unveil the Hineni Shema Yisroel program. This was my mothers final and fervent wish as she wanted to once again connect her people to their faith through the Shema, said Slovie Jungreis-Wolff, the Rebbetzins daughter and Hineni director.

She added, The best way of paying tribute to the Rebbetzin is to continue her vitally important work for Jewish survival. We invite everyone to join us at the Shloshim for an evening in which we can collectively and personally reflect on the Rebbetzins life as we listen to how she impacted each of us and the world at large.

A special video presentation featuring exceptionally rare and never before seen footage of the Rebbetzin delivering powerful messages over the decades will be shown.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
[September 14, 2016] Fitch Rates NVIDIA's 5- and 10-Year Senior Notes Offering 'BBB+'

Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BBB+' rating to NVIDIA Corp. (News - Alert)'s (NVIDIA) $2 billion Benchmark five-year and 10-year senior notes offering. Fitch has also assigned a 'BBB+' rating to NVIDIA's revolving credit facility (RCF). Fitch's actions affect roughly $1.5 billion of debt, excluding the senior notes and RCF. The Rating Outlook is Stable. NVIDIA plans to use net proceeds to prefund the repayment of the $1.5 billion principal amount of convertible notes, which are deep in-the-money, and for general corporate purposes, including shareholder returns. The senior notes will be senior unsecured and rank pari passu with NVIDIA's senior unsecured debt, including the convertible notes and RCF. The senior notes include customary investment grade covenants, including limitations on liens, and provide certain Change of Control protection. KEY RATING DRIVERS Secular Growth Drivers: Fitch expects secular demand will drive solid revenue growth across NVIDIA's specialized platforms over the intermediate term, particularly within gaming and data center markets. Richer gaming experiences, increased broadband penetration in developing markets and eSports expansion in conjunction with NVIDIA's significant installed base will drive solid demand in the company's largest end market. Robust hyperscale adoption of deep learning platforms and virtualization should drive strong data center platform growth, albeit from a smaller base. Strong positions in advanced infotainment within automotive and increasing adoption of virtual reality across a variety of verticals also will drive growth. Higher Profitability and Margins: Fitch expects structurally higher profitability and profit margin expansion from a richer sales mix and operating leverage. Fitch believes NVIDIA's focus on leveraging its core graphics platforms, combining algorithms and graphics processing units (GPU), across markets with faster growth should drive higher profit growth with modest incremental research and development (R&D) investments. Specialized platforms sales represent a growing portion of overall revenues with 87% for the last-12-months (LTM) ended July 31, 2016, versus 84% for fiscal 2016 and 72% for fiscal 2015. Fitch expects operating EBITDA margin will range in the mid- to high-20s through the intermediate term versus the low- to mid-20s historically. Solid FCF Through the Cycle: Fitch expects $750 million to $1 billion of annual FCF, driven by solid top line growth and strong profitability. NVIDIA's platform development focus and outsourced manufacturing reduces investment intensity, and also supports cash flow. Fitch expects FCF margins at the upper end of a 10% - 15% range through the intermediate term with additional upside from lower than anticipated cash taxes. Significant Off Shore Cash Build: Fitch expects the significant majority of NVIDIA's pre-dividend free cash flow (FCF) will be offshore, adding to the company's already sizeable offshore cash position of $4.9 billion at July 31, 2016 (the significant majority of which is located outside the U.S.). Fitch believes NVIDIA's pre-dividend FCF mix roughly approximates that of its revenue, roughly 85% of which is outside the U.S. As a result, a continuation of current shareholder return levels may require repatriation of offshore cash or incremental borrowing. Significant Technology Risk: Fitch expects significant technology risk over time, given increasingly challenging process technology transitions, intensifying competitive landscape and rapid industry innovation. Fitch believes investment requirements could intensify, resulting in profit or FCF margin contraction. Competing technologies may also set standards in emerging markets, potentially constraining NVIDIA's growth prospects. Concentration to Gaming Markets: Fitch expects NVIDIA will remain concentrated to gaming markets through the intermediate term, given strong gaming demad. Gaming was 57% for the LTM ended July 31, 2016 and could approach 60% through the forecast period. Nonetheless, given secular growth drivers from richer experiences, expanding broadband access, eSports and virtual reality, Fitch expects gaming will support consistent and solid operating performance until non-gaming markets gain greater scale.



KEY ASSUMPTIONS Fitch's key assumptions within the rating case for NVIDIA include:

--Solid revenue growth through the intermediate term, driven by robust adoption of the company's GPU platforms within strategic markets, including hyper-growth from adoption of deep learning in the data center, gaming growth moderating through the forecast period from 20% growth in fiscal 2017, low- to mid-single digit growth in professional virtualization and mid-teens growth in automotive following hyper-growth in fiscal 2017.

--Operating EBITDA margins remain in the mid- to high-20s through the intermediate term, driven by solid revenue growth and expectations for improving yields at the company's current process geometry now that the company has achieved scale, offset by ongoing development investments.

--Annual pre-dividend FCF of $1 billion to $1.25 billion, driven by solid profitability growth and low capital intensity, with a significant majority of pre-dividend FCF generated offshore.

--Continuation of heightened annual shareholder returns, including 10% dividend growth and $500 million of gross share repurchases.

--NVIDIA could borrow to fund domestic cash shortfalls through the intermediate term. RATING SENSITIVITIES A negative rating action could result from:

--Expectations that annual FCF will decline below $500 million, from reduced profit margins or higher investment intensity related to development or process node transitions; or

--Expectations for less robust top line growth from lower adoption of NVIDIA's GPU platforms across non-gaming markets, signaling reduced technology leadership; or

--Total leverage sustained above 2x from higher than expected debt issuance to support shareholder returns. Fitch believes positive rating actions are unlikely over the intermediate term, in the absence of:

--Significantly greater revenue and FCF scale (double current levels), supporting technology leadership and customer adoption; and

--Reduced exposure to gaming from significant and balanced growth in non-gaming markets. LIQUIDITY Fitch believes liquidity will remain sufficient through the intermediate term. Liquidity at July 31, 2016 was supported by $5 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, the significant majority of which was located outside the U.S. NVIDIA will bolster liquidity upon completing the arrangement of and entering into an undrawn RCF. Fitch's expectation for $750 million to $1 billion of annual FCF through the intermediate term also supports liquidity. Total debt at July 31, 2016 was $1.5 billion and consisted primarily of $1.5 billion of senior unsecured convertible notes due December 2018. FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS Fitch assigns the following ratings: NVIDIA Corp.

--Senior unsecured notes 'BBB+';

--Senior unsecured RCF 'BBB+'. Fitch currently rates NVIDIA Corp. as follows: --Long-Term Issuer Default Rating 'BBB+';

--Senior unsecured convertible debt 'BBB+'. Date of Relevant Rating Committee: Sept. 1, 2016 Summary of Financial Statement Adjustments - Fitch expects to treat NVIDIA's operating lease financing arrangement related to the construction of the company's headquarters as on balance sheet debt once the 2.5 year construction ends, which is expected to be in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. Fitch will add $380 million of debt to NVIDIA's on balance sheet debt for purposes of calculating credit protection measures. This will include backing out annual interest payments related to the arrangement from operating EBITDA, given these cash flows will be treated by NVIDIA as rent expense. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. Applicable Criteria

Corporate Rating Methodology - Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage (pub. 17 Aug 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/869362 Additional Disclosures

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1011662

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006139/en/

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The United States on Wednesday 11 Elul released a travel advisory for the Golan Heights following a number of spill-over mortar rocket attacks into the Northern Israeli area. There have been numerous instances in which mortar shells landed on the Israeli side of the border as the civil war in Syria continues. Israel retaliated by targeting Syrian artillery cannons as Israel explains it holds Syria responsible for any and all spill-over crossing the border.

The US travel advisory states Due to multiple mortar rounds launched from Syria and landing in the northern Golan Heights in recent days, we urge US citizens to carefully consider and possibly defer travel to that area until the situation stabilizes. The United States Embassy in Tel Aviv continues to closely monitor the security situation and advises US citizens to visit the website of the Government of Israels Home Front Command for further emergency preparedness guidance. Due to the recent mortar incidents, US government employees are temporarily prohibited from personal travel into the area north of Route 87 and east of Route 918 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Recent events underscore the importance of situational awareness. We remind you to be aware of your surroundings at all times, to monitor the media, and to follow directions of emergency responders.

For additional information about security and safety issues in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, we remind citizens to review the Department of States travel warning and country specific information sheet.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Israel Air Force on 12 Elul (Wednesday night to Thursday morning) targeted Hamas objectives in Gaza in retaliation for recent rocket attacks into southern Israel.

Since assuming his post, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been exhibiting a zero tolerance policy to rocket fire from Gaza and spill-over rocket fire from Syria, ordering retaliatory strikes in each instance.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The High Court of Justice on Thursday, 12 Elul, ruled that the head of Shuvu Banim, Rabbi Eliezer Berland, will remain in custody. Justice Yoram Danziger heard the defense attorneys petition to release the elderly rabbi on bail, turning it down.

Attorneys Avigdor Feldman and Rachel Toran told the court that the allegations against the rav would carry a maximum jail term of 18 months, and therefore, he should be permitted to be out on bail since he has already been imprisoned, referring to the period the rabbi was incarcerated in South Africa prior to being extradited.

The court was inclined to accept the states fears that the rabbi would be a flight risk.

The defense attorneys then tried persuading the court by pointing out the ravs advanced age and declining health but the court was firm, turning down their plea and ruling the rabbi would remain in jail without bail throughout his trial.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Anti-Defamation League is calling on Thursday for Donald Trumps oldest son to apologize for making what appeared to be a Holocaust-themed joke.

In an interview with a Philadelphia radio station on Wednesday, Donald Trump Jr. accused the Democrats of rigging their primary system.

Donald Trump Jr. was interviewed on 1210 WPHT radio in Philadelphia with host Chris Stigall and said the following:

The media has been her number one surrogate in this.Without the media, this wouldnt even be a contest, but the media has built her up. Theyve let her slide on every in-discrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of this thing. If Republicans were doing that, theyd be warming up the gas chamber right now.

The ADL, an international anti-Semitism organization, tweeted Thursday that trivialization of the Holocaust and gas chamber is NEVER ok.

The group then tweeted that its members hoped Trump Jr. understood the insensitivity and hurt caused by his joke and asked for an apology.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(AP / YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
[September 14, 2016] Neuromorphic Chip Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The neuromorphic computing is executed on hardware by threshold switches, transistors and oxide based memristors. Neuromorphic chips are the amalgamation of memristors and transistors deployed over a silicon fabrication chip, which assists to lessen memory consumption in real time manner. Moreover, neuromorphic chips are the digital and analog very large scale integration (VLSI) system which performs as neural systems models. Implementation of neuromorphic chip is likely to increase scalability, performance and sensitivity of machines. The neuromorphic chip market is driven primarily due to the increasing demand of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a machine learning technology that provides the skill to machines to learn with partial programming. This involves the advancement of computer programs and machines which are competent enough to update themselves when being exposed to real time data. Moreover, an innovation in the field of miniaturization of integrated circuits has increased the scope of applications for neuromorphic chip. The neuromorphic chips are small and scalable enough to get easily implemented in different end use products. Rising demand of neuromorphic chip in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) technology is driving the growth of the market. The chips are likely being planted in large supercomputers to enhance the speed of machine learning along with some other neural network-based computations. Growth of neuromorphic chip market is hindered due to high cost associated in manufacturing of such chips. Manufacturer faces different tribulations in integrating biological synapses in to a minute hardware which requires just a single micron of space. Complexities in hardware designing are also major restraining factors in this market. The complicated neuromorphic synapses are difficult to implement in hardware. As of 2015, in developing countries, developments in the field of neuromorphic computing have negatively affected due to lack of availability of technological resurces and lack of availability of competent infrastructure.



Implementation of neuromorphic chips in diverse end use products of different industries including automotive, semiconductor & electronics and healthcare can be identified as future growth opportunity for the market. Neuromorphic chips have application level opportunities in industrial and service robotics.



Based on function, the market is segregated into signal processing, data processing, image recognition and others. On the basis of application, the neuromorphic chips market is segmented into defense and aerospace, automotive, medical, industrial and others. On the basis of geography, the market report is segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). The scope of the report offers an insight into neuromorphic chips market in these regions based on revenue (USD million).





The competitive profiling of the key players in the global neuromorphic chips market across four broad geographic regions is included in the study. These include different business strategies adopted by the leading players and their recent developments as in the field of neuromorphic chips. The market attractive analysis of the major application areas has been provided in the report, in order to offer a deep insight of global neuromorphic chips market.



A comprehensive analysis of the market dynamics that is inclusive of market drivers, restraints and opportunities is included in the purview of the report. Market dynamics are the distinctive factors which impact the market growth, thereby helping to understand the ongoing trends of the global market. Therefore, the report provides the forecast of the global market for the period from 2015 to 2023, along with offering an inclusive study of the neuromorphic chips market.



Major market players in this market are Intel Corp. (U.S), Qualcomm Inc.(U.S), International Business Machine Corporation (U.S), General Vision Inc.(U.S), Brain Corporation (U.S), HRL Laboratories LLC (U.S), Vicarious FPC Inc.(U.S), Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S), Hewlett Packard Corp.(U.S) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea) among others.



The Neuromorphic Chip market has been segmented as: Global Neuromorphic Chip Market: By Function



Signal processing

Data processing

Image recognition

Others

Global Neuromorphic Chip Market: By Application



Defense and Aerospace

Automotive

Medical

Industrial

Others

Global Neuromorphic Chip Market, by Geography:



North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Rest of the World

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03999850-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

__________________________

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Intl: +1 339-368-6001 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neuromorphic-chip-market---global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2015---2023-300328189.html SOURCE Reportlinker

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Takeover: GM food firm Monsanto is to be bought by German giant Bayer in a 49bn deal

A German takeover of so-called Frankenstein food firm Monsanto is to go ahead in a 49billion deal.

The acquisition is the biggest in Germanys history and comes after agriculture giant Bayer raised its offer four times for the US company, a key producer of genetically modified crops.

It originally proposed $122 a share but was rebuffed for offering too little. Monsanto directors, who are thought to have been reluctant to engage, were finally forced to accept after the bids gradually ratcheted up to $128 a share.

However, they did demand a 1.5billion break-up fee, which will pay out if the merger is blocked by hawkish American or EU competition authorities.

The tie-up will give the new business more than 25 per cent of the worlds supply of seeds and pesticides.
Jane Shepherdson has stepped down as Whistles boss after eight years

She was known as the fairy godmother of the High Street after overhauling the image of Whistles from frumpy to fashionable.

But Jane Shepherdson, who became chief executive in 2008 and was awarded a CBE two years ago after transforming the fortunes of the women's fashion store, has stepped down after eight years.

It followed a career at Topshop, which she helped build into a High Street leader.

Shepherdson, 55, has left Whistles just six months after it was bought by South Africa's Foschini Group, which also owns the clothing brand Phase Eight.

At the time of the takeover, Shepherdson retained her 20 per cent stake and said she would stay on to run the business  a favourite with the Duchess of Cornwall and Samantha Cameron.

However, now the 46-store chain will be run by Helen Williamson, brand director, Justin Hampshire, managing director, and Nick Passmore, who is creative director.

There was speculation that Shepherdson disagreed with the new owners over attempts to introduce some of the methods used at other brands it owns.

But Shepherdson said: 'I am really proud of what we have achieved at Whistles and am confident that I am handing over to a strong team.'

She had already signed off the company's 2017 collections when it was revealed that she had stepped down.
Chief executive David Potts, who has now been in charge for more than a year, has been attempting to revive the retailer's fortunes

Morrisons has notched up a third straight quarter of sales growth as the supermarket continues its turnaround under chief executive David Potts.

Britain's fourth biggest supermarket chain said like-for-like sales grew 2 per cent in the second quarter.

While over the six months to July 31, its pretax profits increased by 13.5 per cent to 143million as sales rose 1.4 per cent.

Morrisons' chairman Andrew Higginson said: 'The new team has made a real difference and delivered further good progress across the board in the first half.

'Prices are lower, customers are being served better and quality is improving.'

Under Mr Potts - who joined in March 2015 - the supermarket group has been cutting costs as well as looking for new commercial deals.

Morrisons this year inked a new deal with online grocer Ocado and signed a landmark agreement with US internet giant Amazon to supply fresh food to its customers.

Mr Potts said he is planning more improvements: 'We are pleased with positive like-for-like sales and underlying profit growth in the first half. Our priorities are unchanged. We have made improvements to the shopping trip for customers and we plan to do more.'

The solid results saw Morrisons shares top the FTSE 100 leader board in morning trading, up 7 per cent or 12.8p at 206.4p, with rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's also benefitting - ahead 4.3p to 166.0p and 3.9p to 239.0p respectively.

James Grzinic, analyst at broker Jefferies International, said: 'We had pretty hefty expectations for Morrisons interims, and they were beaten across the board.

'Progress in laying the foundations has been strong in recent months given agreements with Timpson, Amazon and Ocado. We expect more news to emerge on this in the months to come.'

But results were less impressive at high-end supermarket Waitrose - part of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership - which today posted a drop in like-for-like sales.

Waitrose saw its sales fall by 1 per cent in the six months to July 30 as the stores group said it was having to respond to 'deep structural changes in the retail market'.

John Lewis chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield added that Waitrose would combat the changes by slowing down its new store openings and instead focusing on improving the stores that it already has.

As a result, John Lewis said it has written down property assets it no longer plans to develop for Waitrose at a cost of 25million.

The property writedowns caused overall first half pretax profits at the John Lewis Partnership to drop by 74.6 per cent to 56.9million. Excluding the charge, the group's pretax profits fell 14.7 per cent to 81.9million.

Cutting back: John Lewis said it had decided to prioritise sprucing up existing Waitrose stores rather than opening new ones

John Lewis said its commitment to competitive pricing, increasing pay and investment also held back profits in the six months to July 30.

Mr Mayfield continued: 'We have grown gross sales and market share across both Waitrose and John Lewis, but our profits are down.

'This reflects market conditions and, in particular, steps we are taking to adapt the partnership for the future. These are not as a consequence of the EU referendum result, which has had little quantifiable impact on sales so far.

'Instead there are far-reaching changes taking place in society, in retail and in the workplace, that have much greater implications.'
Solid: Purplebricks said it had bolstered its market share and increased its customer base over the last five months

Recently-listed digital estate agency Purplebricks has reiterated that it will make a profit this financial year.

The confirmation comes after a string of analysts warned that the firm had not been selling houses quickly enough.

In a trading statement Purplebricks said: 'The Company is well funded with over 28million of cash and is on course to meet the board's full year expectations, with the UK business moving into profitability this financial year.'

The group also said it had bolstered its market share and increased its customer base over the last five months.

That reassurance sent Purplebricks shares up 4 per cent, or 5.5p to 135.5p at lunchtime.

Purplebricks became the first online estate agent to list in the UK last December, when its stock was floated at 100p each.

The AIM-listed firm said it witnessed a 121 per cent year on year increase in people looking to sell their homes in the 19 weeks to September 14 - including 3,156 new customers in August alone.

Meanwhile its Australia business, which launched at the end of August, has started well, with valuations 'substantially ahead' of its UK business at the same point in its development.

Purplebrick's chief executive Michael Bruce - who started the company with his brother Kenny - said he was confident that the business could be replicated in Australia.

He said: 'Our technology, marketing expertise and strong culture, coupled with our low fixed cost business model makes us best placed to win in this market.'

But analysts said the company, which is backed by a group of prominent investors - notably fund manager Neil Woodford and Wonga founder Errol Damelin - still has plenty of questions to answer.

Backing: Investors in Purplebricks include Neil Woodford (left) and Errol Damelin (right)

Anthony Codling, analyst at Jefferies International, said: 'Once again Purplebricks has chosen to major on growth in instructions without telling us how many homes it has actually helped to sell, we continue to be surprised that this simple question is left unanswered.

'The Group describes trading since May as encouraging and in-line with their expectations. We think it a shame that management do not tell us how many homes they hope to "sell" rather than "list for sale" as we expect their customers ultimately are more interested in the selling rather than the listing'.

Back in July, Mr Codling criticised Joby Russell, Purplebricks chief marketing officer, for cashing in more than 340,000 of shares in the company.

Mr Codling said at the time that he was 'surprised', as Mr Russell had described the company as 'the UK's most remarkable estate agency and one of the country's fastest growing businesses'.
[September 14, 2016] Adacus goes Beyond DCO with latest release at DMEXCO

COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Adacus today announced the launch of Creative Decision Tree Reach Metrics within its Creative Side Platform (CSP). No other ad server allows digital marketers to see the percentage of users that will be assigned to each node of a creative decision tree before its deployment. Unlike Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) platforms that are used to optimize individual creatives, Adacus' CSP optimizes an entire creative plan using Creative Decision Trees and over 1,000 built-in demographic and interest segments. "Before Adacus' CSP, creative decisioning against even basic segments like gender was rare because it was expensive and an ad ops nightmare," explained CEO Ken Archer, "After buying the segments with precious media budget from a DMP, you had to create multiple DSP line items, sync your DMP audiences with the DSP line items, create multiple ad tags and traffic each ad tag to the right line item  and even then your decisioning is ignored by impressions on other line items, DSPs or direct buy partners. Adacus'CSP changes all of that. You just add a node to your Creative Decision Tree diagram for the desired segment, for which you pay nothing extra, then traffic one ad tag across all DSPs and publishers, and you're done."



Adacus' CSP also integrates with major DMPs like BlueKai and Adobe to make it easy to build Customer Journeys against 1st party data. "The ability to optimize your entire creative plan with an audience-aware A/B test is what digital marketers are most excited about," said Adacus VP of Product Joel Sadler, "With our Bayesian A/B stats package, we not only identify winning creatives in a fraction of the time as traditional stats, but we also break out results by over 1,000 demographic and interest segments. It's a game-changer."

About Adacus The Adacus Creative Side Platform does for creative personalization what the DSP did for media buying. By combining built-in audience segments and an intuitive decision tree editor, the Adacus CSP enables advertisers to both identify audiences and programmatically serve the right message to each audience at scale across their media buy. No other ad server or creative personalization platform has the capability to target creative based on best-in-class demographic data or interest signals built on machine learning at no incremental cost. Adacus is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. You can learn more at www.adacus.com. Contact: Ken Archer, [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adacus-goes-beyond-dco-with-latest-release-at-dmexco-300328196.html SOURCE Adacus

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Global Partners LP engages in the purchasing, selling, gathering, blending, storing, and logistics of transporting gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, distillates, residual oil, renewable fuels, crude oil, and propane to wholesalers, retailers, and commercial customers in the New England states, Mid-Atlantic region, and New York. The company is also involved in the transportation of petroleum products and renewable fuels through rail from the mid-continent region of the United States and Canada. Its Wholesale segment sells home heating oil, branded and unbranded gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, diesel, kerosene, residual oil, and propane to home heating oil retailers and wholesale distributors. It also aggregates crude oil through truck or pipeline in the mid-continent region of the United States and Canada, as well as transports it through rail and ships it through barge to refiners. The company's Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations segment sells branded and unbranded gasoline to gasoline station operators and sub-jobbers; operates gasoline stations and convenience stores; and provides car wash, lottery, and ATM services, as well as leases gasoline stations. Its Commercial segment sells and delivers unbranded gasoline, home heating oil, diesel, kerosene, residual oil, and bunker fuel to customers in the public sector, as well as to commercial and industrial end-users; and sells custom blended fuels. As of December 31, 2021, the company had a portfolio of 1,595 owned, leased, and supplied gasoline stations, which included 295 directly operated convenience stores; and owned, leased, or maintained storage facilities at 26 bulk terminals with a collective storage capacity of 11.9 million barrels. Global GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.
[September 14, 2016] Fitch Rates TELUS's Senior Unsecured Notes Offering 'BBB+'; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BBB+' rating to TELUS (News - Alert) Corporation's (TSX:T, NYSE:TU) offering of up to USD750 million senior unsecured notes due 2027. Net proceeds are expected to be used to repay outstanding commercial paper with the remaining balance to be used for general corporate purposes. TELUS' Issuer Default Rating (IDR) is currently 'BBB+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. KEY RATING DRIVERS Strong Position in a Competitive Market: TELUS Corporation's (TELUS) ratings reflect the stability of the company's diversified operations, its position as one of the three principal national wireless operators in the Canadian market and its leading market position as a local wireline operator in western Canada and eastern Quebec. Growing Wireless and Wireline Data Revenues: Fitch believes the rating is supported by the continued strong performance of the wireless business, which generates solid growth in revenues, EBITDA and simple free cash flow (FCF; EBITDA less capital spending). Wireline results have also been solid, as TELUS has experienced consistent wireline revenue growth since 2011. Gross Leverage: Gross leverage for the latest 12 months (LTM) period ending June 30, 2016, was 2.7x, up from 2.2x at end-2014. The primary cause of the rise was the acquisition of spectrum in 2014 and 2015, a key resource that is largely only available to TELUS through the auction process. Fitch believes moderate EBITDA growth will provide the company with the flexibility to manage net leverage within its 2.0x to 2.5x target range over the longer term. However, Fitch does not expect TELUS to get back within this range until early 2018. Stock Repurchases: Continued stock repurchases have contributed to the rise in leverage; a total of CAD628 million of repurchases were made in 2015, following CAD612 million in repurchases in 2014. In May 2016, TELUS announced its intention to renew its normal course issuer bid (NCIB) program in each year of the next three years in order to permit purchases for up to $250 million in each such calendar year. The NCIB will be more discretionary in nature than the previous NCIB. TELUS International (TI): In June 2016, TELUS completed the sale of a noncontrolling 35% interest in TI to Baring Private Equity Asia, valuing the business at CAD1.2 billion. TELUS received approximately CAD600 million from the transaction including proceeds from incremental debt within TI. In total, TI has a CAD425 million nonrecourse financing (Fitch will include this debt within TELUS's consolidated debt) secured by TI's assets. TELUS will use the proceeds to invest in its wireless and wireline networks. FCF and Capital Spending: TELUS's guidance for 2016 capital spending is CAD2.85 billion, about a 11% increase over 2015 levels. Fitch expects FCF to be negative in 2016, in the range of CAD250 million to CAD300 million. KEY ASSUMPTIONS --Fitch's base case forecast assumes a 10% dividend increase in 2016, the last year of its multi-year 2014-2016 dividend strategy. Fitch's existing assumptions reflect more moderate dividend increases after 2016 (5% per annum). Fitch's existing assumptions did not reflect the sale of TI or a modest level share repurchases as have occurred under a new NCIB. --Fitch assumes consolidated revenue grows 2.45% in 2016, just below the midpoint of the company guidance of 2.2% to 3% in 2016. A similar level is projected for 2017. The lower growth rates than historical reflect the slow economy in Canada, particularly in energy and resource intensiv areas of its service territory (Alberta), as well as wireless competition.



--Fitch expects the EBITDA margin to improve owing to efficiency initiatives. In addition, slower growth in the wireless area can lead to higher margins as fewer subsidized handsets are sold, although this effect could be somewhat muted by retention initiatives (which are expected to moderate in 2016 as the coterminous contract issues ameliorate). Restructuring costs are excluded from EBITDA but are included in non-operating cash flow as projected (CAD175 million total). --Cash taxes in 2016 are expected to increase over 2015 before declining in 2017. The use of Public Mobile losses in 2014 enabled the deferment of a portion of 2015 taxes until 2016 and leads to the increase in relative instalments payable. The effects go away in 2017, reducing cash payments by approximately CAD150 million relative to 2016.

RATING SENSITIVITIES Positive Rating Action: The rating could be upgraded if the company committed to maintaining gross leverage at a level lower than anticipated, i.e. in the range of 1.5x to 1.7x, along with continued strong wireless operating performance and stable wireline performance. Negative Rating Action: A negative rating action could be prompted by sustained gross leverage of 2.5x or higher due to a combination of acquisitions, spectrum purchases and stock repurchases in the absence of a credible deleveraging plan. In addition, operating profit declines owing to greater-than-anticipated competition could lead to a negative action if a return to stability is uncertain. LIQUIDITY Strong Liquidity: TELUS's financial flexibility is good, owing to its cash and temporary investments, undrawn revolver capacity, commercial paper program and accounts receivable securitization program. Cash and temporary investments amounted to CAD428 million at June 30, 2016. TELUS maintains a CAD2.25 billion revolving credit facility maturing in May 2021. The financial ratio covenants in the credit facility restrict net debt/operating cash flow to no more than 4x and operating cash flow/interest expense of no less than 2x. The revolver backstops TELUS's CAD1.4 billion commercial paper program, which had CAD975 million outstanding at June 30, 2016. Consequently, the CAD2.25 billion revolving facility had CAD1.27 billion in net availability. Commercial paper is denominated in U.S. dollars. The company's CAD500 million accounts receivable securitization program matures in December 2018, and TELUS had CAD100 million outstanding on June 30, 2016, flat with the amount outstanding at the end of 2015. The program contains a trigger clause, which would unwind the program if TELUS Communications Inc. is rated below 'BB' by a Canadian rating agency, though Fitch believes this is unlikely given its current rating level. Near-term maturities are manageable at CAD700 million in 2017. Date of Relevant Rating Committee: March 31, 2016 Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com. Summary of Financial Statement Adjustments - Financial statement adjustments that depart materially from those contained in the published financial statements of the relevant rated entity or obligor are disclosed below: --No material adjustments have been made that have not been disclosed in public filings of this issuer. Applicable Criteria Corporate Rating Methodology - Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage (pub. 17 Aug 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/869362 Additional Disclosures Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1011677 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006239/en/

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MSCI Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment decision support tools for the clients to manage their investment processes worldwide. It operates through four segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and All Other - Private Assets. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed product creation, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct. The Analytics segment offers risk management, performance attribution and portfolio management content, application, and service that provides an integrated view of risk and return, and an analysis of market, credit, liquidity, and counterparty risk across asset classes; managed services, including consolidation of client portfolio data from various sources, review and reconciliation of input data and results, and customized reporting; and HedgePlatform to measure, evaluate, and monitor the risk of hedge fund investments. The ESG and Climate segment provides products and services that help institutional investors understand how ESG factors impact the long-term risk and return of their portfolio and individual security-level investments; and data, ratings, research, and tools to help investors navigate increasing regulation. The All Other - Private Assets segment includes real estate market and transaction data, benchmarks, return-analytics, climate assessments and market insights for funds, investors, and managers; business intelligence to real estate owners, managers, developers, and brokers; and offers investment decision support tools for private capital. It serves asset owners and managers, financial intermediaries, wealth managers, real estate professionals, and corporates. MSCI Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides Duck Creek Policy, a solution that enables insurers to develop and launch new insurance products and manage various aspects of policy administration ranging from product definition to quoting, binding, and servicing; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. It also offers Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, the company provides Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business, such as commercial auto, inland marine, and workers compensation. It has a partnership with Shift Technologies, Inc. to implement AI fraud detection. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its advice centers, RBC insurance stores, and mobile advisors; digital, mobile, and social platforms; independent brokers; and travel partners. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset servicing, custody, payments, and treasury services to financial and other investors; and fund and investment administration, shareholder, private capital, performance measurement and compliance monitoring, distribution, transaction banking, cash and liquidity management, foreign exchange, and global securities finance services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, advisory services, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Limited, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Limited, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AFD.TECH, AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, AIG Shared Services Business Processing Inc, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co. Ltd., Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) Pty Ltd, Accenture (UK) Limited, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Agencia Interativa Ltda, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture B.V., Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BPS Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A., Accenture Canada Holdings Inc, Accenture Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Limited, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co. Ltd, Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Pty Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SASU, Accenture Customer Services Ltd, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Delivery Poland S.p. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance II Limited, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services S.r.l., Accenture Financial Advanced Solution & Technology S.r.l., Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Global Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Global Engagements Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Limited, Accenture Global Services Limited, Accenture Global Solutions Limited, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc, Accenture Holding Brasil Ltda, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SASU, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services B.V., Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture International B.V., Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea B.V., Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Lithuania UAB, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Marketing Services LLC, Accenture Marketing Services Limited, Accenture Middle East B.V., Accenture Minority I B.V., Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi Pty Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations GmbH, Accenture Operations S.p. z o.o., Accenture Operations Services Private Limited, Accenture Operations Services Sdn Bhd, Accenture Outsourcing S.r.l., Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations B.V., Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru SRL, Accenture Post Trade Processing SASU, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture Qiyun Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture S.p. z o.o., Accenture S.p.A., Accenture SASU, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sdn Bhd, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services and Technology S.r.l., Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Single Member S.A. Organization Information Technology & Business Development, Accenture Solutions Co. Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions S.p. z o.o, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc, Accenture Sub III Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions S.r.l., Accenture Technology Solutions SASU, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures B.V., Accenture Technology Ventures SPRL, Accenture Tecnologia Consultoria y Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co. Limited, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Ltda, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Advoco, Agilex Technologies Inc., Alfa Consulting, Allen International, AlphaBeta Advisors, Altevie Technologies S.r.l., Altima, Altima (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Altima Asia Ltd, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Altius Consulting Limited, Altius Data Solutions Private Limited, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Apis Group Pty Ltd, Appaloosa Technology SASU, AppsPro, AppsPro, Arca, Arca Ingenieros y Consultoria S.L., Arca Telecom S.L., Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Artio People (Payroll) Pty Ltd, Artio People Pty Ltd, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Automation Partners Pty Ltd, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc, Avanade Consulting Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Limited, Avanade Europe Services Limited, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SASU, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade Inc, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy S.r.l., Avanade Japan KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Middle East Limited, Avanade Netherlands B.V., Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain S.L., Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Limited, Avanade do Brasil Ltda , Avanade Osterreich GmbH, Avenai, Avieco, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCS Consulting, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BENEXT, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, BRIDGEi2i, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Zhidao Future Consulting Co. Ltd, Benext, Berico Technologies LLC, Bionic, Bionic Solution LLC, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Bow & Arrow, Bow & Arrow Limited, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, Byte Prophecy Private Limited, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CS Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, CS Technology (UK) Limited, CS Technology Group LLC, CS Technology LLC, CadenceQuest Inc., Callisto Integration Europe B.V., Callisto Integration Europe Limited, Callisto Integration LLC, Callisto Integration Ltd, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc, Certus Solutions Consulting Services Limited, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cirrus Connect Australia Pty Ltd, Cirrus Connect Limited, Cirruseo, Clarity Insights, ClearEdge Partners, Clearhead, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas Japan G.K., Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Limited, Cloudeasier SAS, Cloudpoint Limited, Cloudsherpas Inc, Cloudworks, Cloudworks Consulting Services Inc, Cloudworks Technology LLC, Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda, Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda, Context Information Security, Context Information Security LLC, Context Information Security Limited, CoreCompete LLC, CoreCompete Limited, CoreCompete Private Limited, Corliant Inc., Creative Drive LLC, Creative Drive US LLC, CreativeDrive, CreativeDrive Digital Content Services (Shenzhen) Co Ltd., CreativeDrive EMEA Limited, CreativeDrive Singapore Pte Ltd, CreativeDrive UK Group Limited, Cutting Edge Solutions Limited, Cygni AB, Cygni Norrsken AB, Cygni Stockholm AB, Cygni Syd AB, Cygni Vast AB, Cygni Ost AB, Cygni Ostersund AB, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Limited, DI Futures Corporation, Data Essential SARL, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings LLC, Decora Marketplace LLC, Decorado Marketplace Ltda-EPP, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digital Results Group LLC, Double Digit Limitada, Double Digit Pty SA, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Limited, Duck Creek Technologies, ESR Labs, ESR Labs AG, EdenOne Solutions Limited, Edenhouse ERP Holdings Limited, Edenhouse Solutions Limited, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting LP, End to End Analytics LLC, End-to-End Analytics, Endorphin Medici (M) Sdn Bhd, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Limited, EnergyQuote JHA, Enimbos, Enimbos Global Services S.L., Enkitec, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V., Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enthusian Pty Ltd, Entropia, Entropia (M) Sdn Bhd, Entropia Holdings Pte Ltd, Entropia Intercraft Sdn Bhd, Epylon, Ergo, Espedia S.r.l., Ethica Consulting Group, Ethica Consulting S.p.A., Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Experity, Exton Consulting, Exton Consulting Spain Strategy&Management S.L., Exton Germany GmbH, Exton International SAS, Exton Italia S.r.l., Exton SAS, FGM LLC, Fairway Technologies Inc, Farah BidCo Limited, Farah MidCo Limited, Farah Topco Limited, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Formicary, Founders Intelligence, Fruendo S.r.l., FusionX, Future State Consulting LLC, FutureMove (Beijing) Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., FutureMove Automotive, FutureMove Automotive Co. Ltd., GRA Supply Chain Pty Ltd, Gagel Group S de R.L. de C.V., Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gevity, Gren utvikling AS, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hahntel Ltda, Halo Partners LLC, Hamilton Holding Company S.A, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Happen GP Limited, Happen Limited, Headspring, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl A/S, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IBB Consulting, ICM.S S.r.l., IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INSITUM, IQSP Consulting LLC, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Icon Integration (NZ) Limited, Icon Integration Pty Ltd, Imagine Broadband (USA) Limited, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Imaginea Technologies LLC, Industrie IT (Hong Kong) Ltd, Industrie IT (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Industrie IT Group Pty Ltd, Industrie IT Pty Ltd, Industrie&Co, Infinity Works Consulting Limited, Infinity Works Holdings Limited, Infinity Works Management Limited, Infinity Works Midco Limited, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Innotec International EAD, Innotec International S.p. z.o.o., Innotec Marketing GmbH, Innotec Marketing International Ireland Limited, Innotec- Marketing Spain S.L, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., International Biometric Group LLC, International Biometric Group UK Limited, Intrepid, Intrepid Futureworks Sdn Bhd, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, King James Group, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision LLC, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations  Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Olympus Systems Corporation, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, T.A. Cook, TXF LLC, Tambourine, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis AG, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines Inc, Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc, Zestgroup, Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut.

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Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail.

Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories.

The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name.

Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022.

Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG).

The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation provides a range of financial products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Securities Services, Market and Wealth Services, Investment and Wealth Management, and Other segments. The Securities Services segment offers custody, trust and depositary, accounting, exchange-traded funds, middle-office solutions, transfer agency, services for private equity and real estate funds, foreign exchange, securities lending, liquidity/lending services, prime brokerage, and data analytics. This segment also provides trustee, paying agency, fiduciary, escrow and other financial, issuer, and support services for brokers and investors. The Market and Wealth Services segment offers clearing and custody, investment, wealth and retirement solutions, technology and enterprise data management, trading, and prime brokerage services; and clearance and collateral management services. This segment also provides integrated cash management solutions, including payments, foreign exchange, liquidity management, receivables processing and payables management, and trade finance and processing services. The Investment and Wealth Management segment offers investment management strategies and distribution of investment products, investment management, custody, wealth and estate planning, private banking, investment, and information management services. The Other segment engages in the provision of leasing, corporate treasury, derivative and other trading, corporate and bank-owned life insurance, renewable energy investment, and business exit services. It serves central banks and sovereigns, financial institutions, asset managers, insurance companies, corporations, local authorities and high net-worth individuals, and family offices. The company was founded in 1784 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
[September 14, 2016] Fitch Affirms Lewisville ISD, TX ULT GO Bonds at 'AA+'; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'AA+' rating for Lewisville Independent School District, TX's (the district) outstanding $1.2 billion unlimited tax (ULT) general obligation (GO) bonds. In addition, Fitch has affirmed the district's Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable SECURITY The bonds are payable from an unlimited ad valorem tax levied against all taxable property within the district, and are further backed by the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) bond guaranty program, rated 'AAA' by Fitch. (For more information on the Texas Permanent School Fund see 'Fitch Affirms Texas PSF Rating at 'AAA'; Outlook Stable', dated Aug. 5, 2015). KEY RATING DRIVERS The 'AA+' rating reflects the district's growing economic resource base and the district's strong operating profile. Operations are supported by considerable expenditure flexibility, expectations for solid revenue growth, and a high level of gap-closing capacity. Given anticipated borrowing plans, the district's moderate long-term liability burden is expected to remain manageable in future years. Economic Resource Base The district encompasses 127 square miles and is located in Denton County about 20 miles northwest of Dallas (GOs rated 'AA+'/ Stable Outlook). It serves 13 residential communities, including the cities of Lewisville (GOs rated 'AAA'/ Stable Outlook), Flower Mound (GOs and certificates of obligation rated 'AAA'/ Stable Outlook), Carrollton (ULTGOs rated 'AAA'/ Stable Outlook), and The Colony. Revenue Framework: 'a' factor assessment A combination of local property taxes and state aid supports district operations. Fitch expects solid revenue growth in future years, given historical performance and nominal enrollment growth. The district's legal ability to raise revenues is limited, as the current tax rate is $1.04 and an increase would require voter approval. Expenditure Framework: 'aa' factor assessment The natural pace of spending growth is expected to remain in line with to marginally above revenue growth, given manageable capital needs and modest projected enrollment growth. The district's moderate carrying costs reflect state support for debt service and retiree benefits, bolstering spending flexibility. Long-Term Liability Burden: 'aa' factor assessment The combined burden of long-term debt and pension liabilities represents a modest share of resident personal income. Fitch expects debt levels to remain manageable, given the district's nominal enrollment growth, related capital needs and future borrowing plans. Operating Performance: 'aaa' factor assessment The 'aaa' operating performance assessment reflects the district's ample reserve funding levels relative to Fitch's expectations of revenue sensitivity, and a considerable level of spending flexibility in the event of revenue declines. RATING SENSITIVITIES Maintenance of Financial Flexibility: The rating is sensitive to material changes in the district's currently high level of expenditure flexibility and ample reserve levels, which Fitch expects it to maintain through a typical economic cycle. CREDIT PROFILE The district services a population of approximately 304,400, and is comprised of five high schools, three 9th-grade campuses, two 9th-10th grade campuses, two career centers, one learning center, 15 intermediate schools, 40 elementary schools and one early childhood center. Fiscal 2015 enrollment of 52,698 students reflects modest cumulative growth of about 17% over the last decade. Minimal growth is projected in future years. Revenue Framework Funding for public schools in Texas is provided by a combination of local (property tax), state and federal resources. The state budgets the majority of instructional activity through the Foundation School Program (FSP), which uses a statutory formula to allocate school aid taking into account each district's property taxes, projected enrollment, and amounts appropriated by the legislature in the biennial budget process. The majority of districts are funded using a targeted revenue approach, whereby the combination of local and state funding for operations meets a predetermined per pupil amount (which varies from district to district). Approximately 30% of district operating revenues come from state aid, with the remainer generated by local property tax revenues. Enrollment is a key component of state funding and Fitch's expectations for revenue growth absent policy action are based on anticipated slight enrollment gains (given the district's minimal revenue-raising ability).



District revenues have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 3.1% over the last decade, performing 0.8% ahead of national CPI and 0.4% under GDP growth. Fitch expects a comparable pace of district revenue growth in future years, given anticipated enrollment growth trends and expectation of continued taxable assessed value (TAV) growth in the intermediate term. The district's independent legal ability to raise revenues is limited, as the current maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate is $1.04 per $100 TAV and would need voter authorization to be increased to the statutory limit of $1.17. Management reports no current plans to do so. The district levies a separate, unlimited debt service tax rate of $0.437 per $100 TAV, slightly below the statutory cap of $0.50 per $100 TAV for new debt issuance.

Expenditure Framework The district spends the vast majority of its operating budget on instruction. The district also funds some annual capital outlay from general fund revenues for facility maintenance and repairs. Given slight enrollment growth, limited capital needs and modest borrowing plans, Fitch expects the natural pace of spending growth to remain in line with to moderately above revenue growth absent policy action. The district's adequate expenditure flexibility reflects control over workforce costs and moderate carrying costs for debt service, pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) of about 18% of fiscal 2015 governmental spending. Carrying costs also benefit from state-wide support for school district pension and OPEB. Long-Term Liability Burden The district's long-term liability burden is moderate at approximately 15% of personal income, and is predominately made up of the district's quickly-amortizing debt load. The district's limited capital needs indicate that debt levels will likely remain manageable in future years, barring any major new borrowing by overlapping entities. The district participates in the Texas Teachers Retirement System (TRS), a cost-sharing multiple employer pension system. Under GASB 67 and 68, TRS' assets covered 83.3% of liabilities as of TRS fiscal 2015, a ratio that falls to 75% using a more conservative 7% return assumption. The state assumes the majority of TRS' employer contributions and net pension liability on behalf of school districts, except for small amounts which state statute requires districts to assume. Like all Texas school districts, the district is vulnerable to future policy changes that shift more of the contributions and liabilities onto districts as evidenced by a relatively modest 1.5% of salary contribution requirement, effective fiscal year 2015 for certain districts. The proportionate share of the system's net pension liability paid by the district is minimal. Operating Performance The district has bolstered its financial cushion to ample levels despite recessionary pressures and state funding cuts, garnering an 'aaa' assessment. Healthy operating margins provide considerable cushion to absorb sudden revenue declines. Fitch believes the district would use its solid expenditure flexibility to maintain a satisfactory reserve safety margin in a moderate economic decline scenario. The district has demonstrated a strong commitment to maintaining financial flexibility. Budgeting is conservative, and management has been proactive in maintaining operational balance throughout economic cycles. Unrestricted reserves have increased to a high $155 million at fiscal 2015 year-end, bringing the district's financial cushion to approximately 37% of spending. Fiscal 2015 general fund revenues came in at about $426 million with expenditures coming in at approximately $417 million, leading to a net operating surplus of around $9 million. The fiscal 2016-2017 budget includes an operating deficit of $8.9 million, driven primarily by an increase in salaries and investments in new technology equipment. Although the district has budgeted a deficit for the year, consistently conservative budgeting practices are expected to produce an addition to fund balance by year-end. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. In addition to the sources of information identified in the applicable criteria specified below, this action was informed by information from Lumesis and InvestorTools. Applicable Criteria U.S. Tax-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 18 Apr 2016) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/879478 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1011678 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1011678 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006249/en/

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Delek US Holdings, Inc. engages in the integrated downstream energy business in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Refining, Logistics, and Retail. The Refining segment processes crude oil and other feedstock for the manufacture of various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products that are distributed through owned and third-party product terminal. It owns and operates four independent refineries located in Tyler, Texas; El Dorado, Arkansas; Big Spring, Texas; and Krotz Springs, Louisiana, as well as three biodiesel facilities in Crossett, Arkansas, Cleburne, Texas, and New Albany. The Logistics segment gathers, transports, and stores crude oil, intermediate, and refined products; and markets, distributes, transports, and stores refined products for third parties. It owns or leases capacity on approximately 400 miles of crude oil transportation pipelines, approximately 450 miles of refined product pipelines, an approximately 900-mile crude oil gathering system, and associated crude oil storage tanks with an aggregate of approximately 10.2 million barrels of active shell capacity; and owns and operates ten light product distribution terminals, as well as markets light products using third-party terminals. The Retail segment owns and leases 248 convenience store sites located primarily in West Texas and New Mexico. Its convenience stores offer various grades of gasoline and diesel under the DK or Alon brand; and food products and service, tobacco products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and general merchandise, as well as money orders to the public primarily under the 7-Eleven and DK or Alon brand names. It serves oil companies, independent refiners and marketers, jobbers, distributors, utility and transportation companies, the U.S. government, and independent retail fuel operators. Delek US Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Europe has started a new battle in its fight against big tech from the U.S., as it announced draft rules that could make YouTube as well as others pay more to the worlds music industry.

European Union law is administrated by the European Commission, which has proposed new copyright laws for all of Europe saying it wanted to strengthen the rights of the different artists and to make sure they were compensated fairly with profits made from their work.

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alerts:

If these new rules are approved, they will force the different music streaming services like Dailymotion and YouTube to increase their measures for copyright protection through filtering out content that is copyrighted or pay for using it.

That is a big step up from current measures that just require the services to act upon being notified about infringement of a copyright.

The EC said it wanted to address concerns that artists have, who see the value of what they do plummet once it appears free online.

The overall music industry is in full agreement with the EC. It has lobbied Brussels to increase its pressure on online video and music providers.

IFPI is an international group that represents more than 1,300 record companies. Its CEO Frances Moore said the EC proposal confirms that uploaded content services like YouTube, which are the biggest source of music on demand, should not have the right to operate outside normal rules for licensing.

However, critics say this proposal would hurt the freedom of the Internet across Europe. As association that lobbies for freedoms online, European Digital Rights said the reform proposed panders to a lobbying interest that is small in number.

The group added that the rules would mean the filtering of all uploads in Europe to the Internet.

Google, which is the owner of YouTube, said the new proposal was worrying.

A vice president at Google, Caroline Atkinson wrote online that the proposal suggested that works that included video, text, images as well as more must first be filtered by services online.

That, she said would effectively turn Internet into a place that has everything uploaded must first be given clearance by lawyers prior to it finding an audience.

The EC wants to also give news groups the right to ask for payments from search engines and aggregators who use parts of their articles as well as other content.
[September 14, 2016] Easy Solutions Lends Expertise to New Report Calling for Revolutionary Approach to Cyber Security

Today, Easy Solutions announced the joint release of the first-annual 2017 TAG Cyber Security Annual -- Practical Handbook and Reference Guide for the Working Cyber Security Professional. Easy Solutions is part of an industry collective of 48 of the nation's foremost cyber security vendors participating in the report, which was published by The Amoroso Group (TAG Cyber) following in-depth industry research and analysis. The report details a new urgency for how America's commercial, financial and utility sectors respond to escalating and increasingly complex cyber attacks. It includes a comprehensive analysis of the cyber security industry with specific insights from C-level executives and thought leaders. Dr. Edward G. Amoroso, former chief security officer of AT&T (News - Alert) and author of six books on cyber security, spearheaded writing and researching the report. "TAG Cyber has created a valuable reference guide with useful, practical advice for CISO teams," explained Ricardo Villadiego, CEO of Easy Solutions. "We worked hard to help Ed educate teams on the concept of end-to-end fraud protection, as a key piece of his advice." The report, which named Easy Solutions as a Distinguished Vendor, notes that "Easy Solutions offers a comprehensive end-to-end total solution for dealing with Web fraud. Perhaps more than any other company, Easy Solutions focuses on offering the various pieces of the puzzle to provide a true defense-in-depth architecture from a common vendor." "The Easy Solutions team exemplifies the type of total solution that will be required to protect the modern enterprise from fraudsters," said Ed Amoroso. The 2017 TAG Cyber Security Annual has been writen for information security and technology professionals in all industries with a special focus on U.S. infrastructure companies, including energy, telecommunications, manufacturing, health care and utilities. The report will be available at no cost to all users as a free download on Easy Solutions' website and TAG Cyber's website.



The handbook is centered around a revolutionary new approach to cyber security that calls on tech leaders of the largest and most important American enterprises to explode existing infrastructure to disperse data across multiple platforms, offload sensitive information into secure cloud-based solutions and reload systems, policies and personnel to better position them to effectively defend against cyber attacks that are not only likely, but occurring at an increasing rate. It includes three volumes:

Volume 1: TAG Cyber Security Fifty Controls details the 50 primary control areas required for CISO teams to be effective in this new era of cyber security. These areas include traditional controls such as firewall platforms and two-factor authentication along with non-traditional controls such as security recruiting and security R&D. For each control area, an extensive list of supporting vendors is included to help jumpstart local source selection.

details the 50 primary control areas required for CISO teams to be effective in this new era of cyber security. These areas include traditional controls such as firewall platforms and two-factor authentication along with non-traditional controls such as security recruiting and security R&D. For each control area, an extensive list of supporting vendors is included to help jumpstart local source selection. Volume 2: Interviews with Distinguished Vendor Principals includes in-depth conversations with the thought leaders and distinguished vendor principals. It offers a brief digest of the expert guidance and cyber security insights offered by these industry authorities during the research stages of this report.

includes in-depth conversations with the thought leaders and distinguished vendor principals. It offers a brief digest of the expert guidance and cyber security insights offered by these industry authorities during the research stages of this report. Volume 3: TAG Cyber Security Vendor Listings serves as a reference guide to the cyber security industry. This comprehensive review includes nearly 1,400 vendors this year, with an additional 500 vendors to be incorporated into the 2018 report. ABOUT EASY SOLUTIONS Easy Solutions is a leading security vendor focused on the comprehensive detection and prevention of electronic fraud across all devices, channels and clouds. Our products range from anti-phishing and secure browsing to multifactor authentication and transaction anomaly detection, offering a one-stop shop for multiple fraud prevention services. The online activities of over 94 million customers at 350 leading financial services companies, security firms, retailers, airlines and other entities all over the world are protected by Easy Solutions fraud prevention systems. United States: 8550 N.W. 33 Street, Miami FL 33122. Phone (News - Alert): 1 (866) 524 4782 Latin America: Cra. 13A No. 98 - 21 Of. 401. Bogota, Colombia. Phone: +57 1 - 742 5570 About TAG Cyber, LLC The Amoroso Group (TAG Cyber) is a global cyber security advisory, training, consulting and media services company. Led by Edward Amoroso, industry veteran and former chief security officer for AT&T, TAG Cyber supports hundreds of companies around the world by providing a roadmap for identifying, preventing and eliminating cyber attacks on their systems and data. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006286/en/

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Addressing fire safety Living in San Diego County, the threat of fires is constant, that is why I have made fire safety one...

Supporting animals As a trained Project Wildlife Native Songbird Rehabilitator, my experience raising orphaned and injured songbirds and returning them to the...
[September 14, 2016] Sequans Communications S.A. Announces Proposed Underwritten Public Offering of American Depositary Shares

Sequans Communications (News - Alert) S.A. (NYSE: SQNS), ("Sequans", or the "Company"), a leading provider of single-mode 4G LTE wireless semiconductor solutions for Internet of Things ("IoT") and a wide range of broadband data devices, today announced that it intends to offer newly issued American Depositary Shares (ADSs), representing ordinary shares, in an underwritten public offering under an effective shelf registration statement (the "Offering") filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC (News - Alert)"). The final terms of the Offering will depend on market and other conditions at the time of pricing. Sequans intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general corporate purposes. Canaccord Genuity is acting as the sole book-running manager of the offering. The ADSs described above are being offered by Sequans pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form F-3, including a base prospectus, previously filed with and subsequently declared effective by the SEC. The securities may be offered only by means of a prospectus. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to the Offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus relating to this offering may also be obtained, when available, from the Syndicate Department of Canaccord Genuity Inc., Attention: Syndicate Department, 99 High Street, 12th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, or by telephone at (617) 371-3900, by email at [email protected]. Before you invest, you should read the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus and other documents Sequans has filed or will file with the SEC for more complete information about Sequans and the Offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall tere be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.



About Sequans Communications Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) is a leading provider of single-mode 4G LTE (News - Alert) wireless semiconductor solutions for Internet of Things ("IoT") and a wide range of broadband data devices. Founded in 2003, Sequans has developed and delivered seven generations of 4G technology and its chips are certified and shipping in 4G networks around the world. Today, Sequans offers two LTE product lines: StreamliteLTE, optimized for Internet of Things and M2M devices and StreamrichLTE, optimized for feature-rich mobile computing and home and portable router devices. The Company is based in Paris, France with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.

Safe Harbor This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the proposed public offering and the intended use of proceeds from the offering. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including market conditions, risks associated with the cash requirements of our business and other risks detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and represent our views only as of the date they are made and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Disclaimer The announcement is for information purposes only and does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering by Sequans, nor a solicitation of an offer to subscribe for securities in any jurisdiction outside the United States, including France. No prospectus (including any amendment, supplement or replacement thereto) or any other offering material has been prepared in connection with the offering of the ADSs that has been approved by the Autorite des marches financiers or by the competent authority of another State that is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorite des marches financiers; no ADSs have been offered or sold nor will be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France; the prospectus or any other offering material relating to the ADSs have not been distributed or caused to be distributed and will not be distributed or caused to be distributed to the public in France; such offers, sales and distributions have been and shall only be made in France to persons licensed to provide the investment service of portfolio management for the account of third parties, qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies) and/or restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint d'investisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in Articles L. 411-2, D. 411-1, D. 411-4, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D. 764-1 of the French Code monetaire et financier. The direct or indirect distribution to the public in France of any so acquired ADSs may be made only as provided by Articles L. 411-1, L. 411-2, L. 412-1 and L. 621-8 to L. 621-8-3 of the French Code monetaire et financier and applicable regulations thereunder. This communication does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for or to purchase any of the ADSs and neither this communication nor anything herein shall form the basis of any contract or commitment whatsoever. Any contact with potential qualified investors in France does not and will not constitute financial and banking solicitation (demarchage bancaire et financier) as set forth in Articles L. 341-1 and seq. of the French Code monetaire et financier. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006284/en/

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[September 14, 2016] UDP Flood Attack Volume Increased by 71% Reports DDoS-GUARD

FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hackers activity has decreased significantly, but they became more violent. Such a conclusion was reached by DDoS-GUARD experts after analyzing the statistical data for the 2nd quarter of 2016. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407749 When it comes to quantitative indicators, the last quarter can be marked by significant quantitative decline. The number of detected DDoS attacks is 57% lower than in the previous quarter and equals to 12583. But don't get excited too soon, as the attacks quality, volume and complexity has increased markedly. The maximum volume of malicious traffic for a single UDP flood attack totaled 217.7 Gbps, which is 71% higher than in the first quarter of 2016. The largest TCP flood attack reached 119.8 Gbps, which is 49% more powerful than in the first quarter. The average volume of all types of DDoS attacks has also increased by 10% and amounted to 1.15 Gbps. The protocol and volumetric attacks volume for the reporting period increased by 12 times and averaged to 450,603 packets per second. Spring-Summer Trends: Multidirectional attacks, i.e. the attack on a single host is performed through multiple protocols at a time; Combination of low-volume and short-term targeted high-volume flood attacks; Social media is used to generate malicious traffic (e.g. using standard Facebook API and a large number of bots  this case is described in details in DDoS-GUARD Report).



The second quarter was remarkable for a significant increase of attacks on online stores and gaming projects. This can be explained by the fact that people spend more time on shopping, getting prepared for their vacation, thus the increased competition between stores results in an increase of DDoS attacks in this time of the year. While popular online game servers are always among the favorite attack targets for hackers.

Distribution of DDoS attacks on the world map. Hosts located in China and Russia have become a bit less popular if compared to the previous quarter, but the TOP-3 leaders remained the same*: China - 41% Russia - 30% USA - 29% This rating indicates the percentage of attacks with target hosts located specifically in these three countries. When it comes to the global statistics - more than 70% of all attacks are targeted to the TOP-3 countries. All told, the forecasts made by the company experts upon the 1st quarter of 2016 were justified. Number of plain attacks (UDP flood) has decreased, although their volume has increased considerably. At the same time, there were attacks targeted on the internal infrastructure of the protection provider, which can be considered as "reconnaissance attacks". Nevertheless, despite the efforts of unknown attackers we have managed to maintain the availability of company resources, while the analysis of DDoS attacks, performed by our experts, has helped us to improve the data protection algorithms. Contacts: [email protected] https://twitter.com/DDoSGUARD https://www.facebook.com/ddosguard Related Files Q2_2016_ddos_report.pdf Related Images image1.jpg image2.jpg This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/udp-flood-attack-volume-increased-by-71-reports-ddos-guard-300328185.html SOURCE DDoS-GUARD

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By Bill Parry

Three lawmakers are warning Corona residents of a possible conversion of a Holiday Inn Express into a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) and state Assemblyman Francisco (D-Jackson Heights) released a joint statement Wednesday after learning of the city maneuver.

After reaching out to the Department of Homeless Services for several months, it has come to our attention that the Holiday Inn Express, located at 113-10 Horace Harding Expressway, has been housing homeless families for months, they said. The number of rooms being utilized for the purpose of housing the homeless has routinely exceeded 30 to 40 percent of the buildings capacity, and neither elected officials nor the community were notified. Although the community is extremely sympathetic to the homeless crisis, and we know that many are just a paycheck away from becoming homeless themselves, it is our hope that this hotel is not converted into a permanent homeless shelter.

A receptionist at the Holiday Inn Express in Corona said she cannot disclose any information about the hotel and the manager was not available.

The Department of Homeless Services is renting some rooms at this location to help meet its legal obligation to provide shelter to homeless New Yorkers who would otherwise be sleeping on the street, DHS spokeswoman Lauren Gray said. There are currently no plans to convert this location into a homeless shelter, but New York Citys legal obligation to provide shelter to a rising number of homeless New Yorkers has created a need to open additional shelters and rent hotel rooms.

The lawmakers arent buying it.

Last month a record 59,373 were in shelters and another 4,000 homeless slept in 46 motels, up from 1,000 in eight hotels in January 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal.

News that a permanent conversion may be taking place is especially troubling following the citys failed attempt to convert the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth into a shelter this month, Crowley, Peralta and Moya continued. With five permanent homeless shelters already operating in this region of Queens, our communities have contributed more than their fair share to alleviate the homelessness crisis that we are facing in New York City.

The future of the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth is muddled. Last week the owner, Harshad Patel, called Juniper Park Civic Association President Bob Holden saying he no longer wanted to go against the wishes of the community and he was pulling out of a deal with the city. The city issued no official statement, but a source said negotiations were still happening.

Patel has not returned repeated calls for comment.

Meanwhile, the trio of lawmakers vowed to confront the de Blasio administration in Corona.

We will fiercely fight any attempt by the city to convert yet another local facility into a shelter, they said. A successful effort to address the pervasive issue of homelessness starts with an open dialogue between DHS, elected officials, and community residents, not by forcing a neighborhood to take on additional burdens without first gathering meaningful input from those who are to be affected.
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By Lenore Skenazy

A recent New York Times description of LaGuardia Airport bore a certain resemblance to the End Times. As Patrick McGeehan reported on one particularly terrible, very bad, no good day last month:

Harried travelers abandoned cars and navigated the clogged Grand Central Parkwaythe main highway serving LaGuardiaon foot with suitcases in tow. Such traffic debacles have become so common that seasoned fliers and travel bloggers have recommended avoiding LaGuardia altogether, perhaps for years to come.

This called to mind the evening Id flown home earlier in the summer to find a line of perhaps 200-300 people waiting for a taxi. I whipped out my phone and videotaped it the way youd video a funnel cloud or mud slide.

And those were people who werent going to miss a plane! Anyone trying to depart has been advised by the Transportation Security Administration to arrive at LaGuardia a minimum of two hours before takeoff. So last week I did.

For a 1 p.m. fight on American I got to the airport at 10:30 a.m. via the amazingly efficient bus from the 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue station. To my shock, everything seemed efficient when I arrived, too. The check-in lines were vanishingly short, the lady at the bookstore delightfully chatty, and the security line, pleasantly swift and groping-free. I felt I could almost hold onto a bottle of water, it was that sane. Cheerfully I entered Terminal C to look for gate C37 and saw the sign:

Gates C114.

Hmm.

I just walked all the way to the end, a lady told me as we meandered around before discovering a little desk where a harried employee was explaining that Terminal C is now in two different buildings at once, physics be damned.

To get to the parallel universe C requires a shuttle bus, something that must throw off any travelers who allotted themselves just a few minutes to walk to their gate. And to get to the shuttle bus requires schlepping down a bunch of sad, service-entrance steps with your luggage or, in the case of one family I was watching, your luggage, your two babies, and your double stroller. No elevator, no offer of help. Welcome, American Airlines passengers!

The shuttle bus winds its way past the New York of 1977: Piles of traffic barriers looming next to loading docks protected by the dingy plastic strips you see at the car wash. All its missing is a blackout.

Ive never seen an airport so messy, Sravya Bandi, an I.T. analyst down from Montreal, told me.

But then you get off the bus, drag your luggage (and kids and double stroller) up three flights of stairs, and suddenly: Oz!

This terminal is gleaming! Its more than respectable, it elegantly refutes the famous Joe Biden quote, If I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport, you [would] think, I must be in some third world country. 

Why, none of the seats here are ripped. No weird brown stains are spreading across the ceiling. And theres nary an Aunt Annes Pretzel to be gnawed.

OK, the parking is impossible and there is clearly not enough room to drop people off, said Marie DeParis, a television marketing exec on her way to Florida. But once you walk inside and get past security, its beautiful!

The travelers I spoke to from Ghana, Ukraine, and even New Jersey marveled at the futuristic decor, including a restaurant so sleek one man wasnt sure how to order.

I kept trying to signal a waiter, he said, until someone explained, No, you order using the iPad. 

Bo Miller, a 42-year-old veteran from Charlotte, NC, said he found the prices futuristic, too.

I just had a burger and the smallest ginger ale I ever had, for $21.

But, he added, the burger was good.

Yes, there will be years of construction along with untold parking woes. There may still be those days like the one a traveler named Will recalled from his most recent LaGuardia trip; We were 44th in line for takeoff.

But for those of us traumatized by the old LaGuardia, the Airport of Despair, the new terminal hints of brighter days to come.

After some delays.
[September 15, 2016] Trend Micro Protects Personal Data and Priceless Files with Enhanced Security Software

OTTAWA, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in security software, has today reaffirmed its commitment to providing security and peace-of-mind to its customers with the release of Trend Micro Security for 2017. The new range of software has expanded capabilities that safeguard users from ransomware, malicious threats, identity theft and new malware varieties by providing reliable protection against 250 million threats a day. Trend Micro's comprehensive security solution defends users against well-known dangers, but it also addresses the risks of new attacks, including the extremely disruptive online threat called "ransomware," which locks computers or mobile devices and can encrypt files, holding them for ransom unless victims pay a set fee. Attackers can then delete photos and documents, or permanently lock a computer. Industry experts recently recognized Trend Micro Security as blocking 100 percent of ransomware threatsi and 100 percent effective protection against web threats as well,ii ensuring customers can effectively protect their valuable personal data with Trend Micro. "Cybercriminals are everywhere, watching and waiting for their next victim to get too comfortable and relaxed with their digital footprint," said Eva Chen, CEO, Trend Micro. "With Internet accessibility at the push of a button, falling into a ransomware trap or finding your devices riddled with viruses is easier than ever. We think the best defense is a good offense. Our security software ensures users are fully protected and able to access the Internet without fear of losing their private information, identity or money." With the growing presence of ransomware and other malicious threats, the latest version of Trend Micro Security provides an additional layer of protection for your most valuable files and memories. Its robust security features block ransomware threats lurking on compromised websites, hidden in spammed emails, or wrapped in other malware. Trend Micro's new Folder Shield feature also prevents ransomware from maliciously encrypting irreplaceable PC file.



It's important to keep mobile devices protected as well. Android mobile ransomware threats have grown 15 times higher than they were in April 2015iii. Mobile ransomware masquerades as a legitimate app or can be distributed to visitors of pornographic sites, forum sites, SMS texting spam, and third party app stores (No ransomware currently found on Google Play app store). While ransomware for PCs still outpace Android ransomware quantity, these malicious mobile threats are infiltrating homes in clever ways like infecting Android-based Smart-TVs (as first reported by Trend Microiv). Trend Micro Mobile Security for Android, included with select Trend Micro Security subscriptions, delivers 99.9 percent malicious app detectionv and keeps its users safe from ransomware attacks while online. In addition to tailoring new and updated mobile security features to protect specifically against ransomware, Mobile Security now offers new defenses, including notifying you before connecting to an unsecured wireless network and scanning apps for vulnerabilities.

These vulnerabilities could be exploited by cybercriminals hijacking your phone or files. Mobile Security also blocks users of WhatsApp from dangerous links, helping keep them safe from identity theft. From safeguarding your digital photo collection to protecting sensitive financial records, Trend Micro Security protects the information and files dearest to you. "As technology and cybercrime continue to evolve, so do the security threats that come with it," said Chen. "It's our goal to not only continue offering our customers the best in threat defense, but to also stay ahead of the curve and ensure our customers are able to safely enjoy all facets of an online, cloud-connected life. We believe Trend Micro Security for 2017 provides the comprehensive protection needed in today's digital landscape." Free ransomware-specific tech support is available to everyone by calling the Trend Micro Ransomware hotline at 1-877-558-7363 between 8:00am - 11:00pm, EST, Monday through Friday. For more information on Trend Micro Security or to try for free at www.trendmicro.com/consumer-ransomware/ The new Trend Micro Security portfolio will be available online and in stores from September 14th. All current customers are able to upgrade to the latest version for free here. About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cyber security solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 5,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables users to enjoy their digital lives safely. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com. i AV-TEST Institute Report commissioned by Trend Micro, July 2016 ii AV Comparatives "Whole Product Dynamic Real-World Protection Test," April-June 2016. iii Trend Micro Mobile App Reputation Service database, June 2016. iv "Flocker Mobile Ransomware Crosses to Smart TV" http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/flocker-ransomware-crosses-smart-tv/ v Per AV-TEST Institute during 2014-2016 bi-monthly testing periods, compared to the industry average of 98% (May 2016). SOURCE Trend Micro Canada Technologies Inc.

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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.
[September 15, 2016] The Canadian Internet Registration Authority helps Canadian communities measure and benchmark smart community efforts with new testing program

Municipal Internet Performance Test maps local Internet speed and performance OTTAWA, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) announced the first two participants in its national program to support Canadian communities in measuring, assessing, and monitoring local Internet performance. CIRA has created a customized Internet Performance Test for both the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia and Stratford, Ontario, which allows citizens to test their Internet connection and contribute to a comprehensive Internet performance dataset for their community. Data from the test will help municipal leaders determine where they need market or policy interventions to ensure sufficient broadband access and performance. Key facts Municipalities across Canada are working to deploy smart community strategies to help equip their communities to compete in a rapidly changing digital economy. Broadband access is the foundation for these programs and by partnering with CIRA municipal leaders can gain insight and analysis on where to focus resources in relation to connectivity.

are working to deploy smart community strategies to help equip their communities to compete in a rapidly changing digital economy. Broadband access is the foundation for these programs and by partnering with CIRA municipal leaders can gain insight and analysis on where to focus resources in relation to connectivity. CIRA's Internet Performance Test is built on the globally-recognized M-Labs testing technology, with test nodes across the country. The test operates independently from any major Internet Service Provider network, ensuring unbiased measurements and data.

To launch this new service for Canadian municipalities, CIRA is rolling out custom testing portals for up to ten communities across Canada . Interested municipalities should contact CIRA for more information on how to apply to take part in this project.

. Interested municipalities should contact CIRA for more information on how to apply to take part in this project. Leveraging a custom heat-map interface, CIRA's solution provides insight into the relationship between geography and connectivity  isolating performance by ward, neighbourhood, or county.

CIRA has a portfolio of solutions to help augment smart community projects. From expertise in Internet Exchange Points, advanced DNS solutions for municipal online services, to support navigating the new world of city domains, CIRA is equipped to help communities build resilient and lasting digital projects. Test your connection now Users in the Annapolis Valley, Noa Scotia can access their custom version of the test here: https://performance.cira.ca/AnnapolisValley

can access their custom version of the test here: https://performance.cira.ca/AnnapolisValley Users in Stratford, Ontario can access their custom version of the test here: https://performance.cira.ca/Stratford



Executive quotes "Policy makers know that it is tough to change what we can't measure. CIRA has the infrastructure in place to help us understand the state of connectivity in the Annapolis Valley region as it is experienced by citizens and businesses every day. As we help our community build the tools it will need to compete in a global digital market, this data will help us understand the gaps and where we need to focus."

- Terry Dalton, President and CEO, i-Valley "As one of the worlds most advanced communities in the provision of free broadband access to its citizens, the City of Stratford WiFi network not only gives people accessibility to the Internet, but also great public messaging in terms of safety or awareness on different issues. There are spots in Stratford where the WiFi signal simply doesn't reach reliably, and it's something Rhyzome is working to improve. Something that we're continuously looking at is how we get a better experience from our WiFi, and that includes 'heat-mapping' to determine where the signal is good and where it could be better." - Ysni Semsedini, President and CEO, Rhyzome Networks "If we can help communities understand their level of connectivity and how they may be able to support more resilient Internet architectures, we can provide the baseline infrastructure on top of which a smart community will thrive. When the connectivity is in place, communities can create innovative applications and services that work towards building a better online Canada." - David Chiswell, Vice President of Product Development at CIRA Additional resources Find out more information about CIRA's national Internet Performance Testing program at cira.ca/performance.

Details on CIRA's Internet Performance Test methodology can be found in this online FAQ. About the Canadian Internet Registration Authority The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. CIRA also develops technologies and services that help support its goal of building a better online Canada. The CIRA team operates one of the fastest-growing ccTLDs, a high-performance global DNS network, and one of the world's most advanced back-end registry solutions. CIRA helps to support the Canadian Internet community through investments in Internet Exchange Points, the Canada Internet Forum, and the CIRA Community Investment Program. About i-Valley i-Valley (i-Valley Intelligent Community Association) is a not-for-profit movement to create Smart Regions and Communities in the Annapolis Valley and elsewhere in Nova Scotia. Smart Communities mobilize citizens to achieve faster economic growth, better health care and greater sustainability, through the use of advanced enabling technologies. About the City of Stratford Rhyzome Networks, the City of Stratford-owned data infrastructure company, is building a data ecosystem for Stratford that is: dependable and carrier-grade, via a 50km grid of optical fibre

ubiquitous and mobile, via wireless mesh technology using IEEE 802.11N Wi-Fi. Data infrastructure is a necessity. With a fibre optic data grid, and a citywide high-speed wireless network, Rhyzome Networks built the data infrastructure that positioned Stratford to emerge as a digital technology centre, broadband economy and Intelligent Community. Rhyzome also work with other communities who are planning and building infrastructure for their citizens in rural and under serviced areas in order to deliver broadband connectivity. SOURCE Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)

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By Times Record News

Madison Carlston of Rider High School and Clara Baker of Wichita Falls High School have earned the honor of being among about 16,000 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for 2017.

Edwin Graham of Graham High School and Julia Pelletier of Navajo High School in Altus, Oklahoma, also made the list.

The high school seniors will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered in the spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level. Semifinalists and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the student's academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received. The student must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test.

About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain the finalist standing, and about half the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship and earn the Merit Scholar title.

About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screening of program entrants.

The pool of semifinalists across the nation represents fewer than 1 percent of high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. is a not-for-profit organization established in 1995 to specifically conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by the corporation with its own funds and by about 420 business organizations and higher education institutions.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships awarded on a state-representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by about 230 corporations and business organizations for those who meet their specified criteria. Also, about 190 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for those who will attend the sponsor institution.

National Merit Scholarship winners for 2017 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. The recipients will join more than 323,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
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The Wichita Falls Poetry Society will meet Sept. 17 in the Texas Room at the Kemp Center. There will be a luncheon at 1 p.m. followed the meeting at 2 p.m.

Lynn Hoggard will read selections from her works.

For more information on the Wichita Falls Poetry Society email BNLSmith@wf.net or sheri@nottusenergy.com.

Orientation set for High School Equivalency class

Region 9 Education Service Center Adult Education and Literacy will hold orientation Sept. 19-21 for a Distance Learning Pathway to High School Equivalency program.

The HSE programs replace those formerly referred to as GED classes.

Students interested in enrolling for the high school equivalency classes must attend from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. all three days of the orientation. Orientation will be at Region 9 Education Service Center, 301 Loop 11. Students must attend both a pre-registration appointment and the full orientation to be eligible for classes, which will meet for three hours, twice a week. Those attending the orientation will need a picture ID, Social Security card and a pen and paper.

Information: 322-6928.
President Barack Obama (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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It appears that two major international trade agreements that President Barack Obama wanted to conclude before the end of his second term aren't going to make it.

They are, first, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the 28 members of the European Union, and, second, the Trans-Pacific Partnership involving the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, including Australia, Canada, Japan, and Mexico, but, notably, not China.

The French and the Germans have just walked away from the T-TIP, at least for the time being. No agreement has been reached on any of the accord's 27 chapters.

The TPP is dead in the water, both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates having rejected it as it stands. The agreement seeks to broaden cooperation on trade rules and principles, increase mutual market access among the 12 signatories, and make regulation of trade among them more specific. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump oppose it on the grounds that it would kill jobs in the U.S. or speed their export abroad.

Whether or not Trump wins the presidency, he has made trade and the loss of manufacturing jobs a major issue in the 2016 presidential campaign and forced Clinton to adapt her own position on trade. Trump has consistently said that he is not a protectionist but that he wants fair trade  for China, for example, to allow in more U.S. products with lower tariffs. Or, for the U.S. to place higher tariffs on Chinese goods coming into this country.

This is not a radical position. Most Americans agree with it.

The trade and manufacturing issue is finally getting the attention it deserves in national politics.

By some estimates, as many as 5 million manufacturing jobs were lost in this country between 2000 and 2014. How many divorces and suicides does that represent? And how much lost economic fuel?

The total U.S. trade deficit in 2015 was $736 billion, which is approximately 4 percent of our GDP.

With the U.S. economy in the state it is in, and with a large portion of the American population victim to continuing economic inequality, it is natural for voters to be skeptical about trade agreements that might result in even more jobs being shipped offshore.

If a subsequent U.S. administration returns to the table on TTIP and TPP, it should insist on agreements that will more equitably balance U.S. trade and put the American worker first.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed September 11, 2001 after two hijacked airplanes slammed into the twin towers in a terrorist attack. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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John Martischnig, Wichita Falls

Sunday was Sept. 11. On the 15th anniversary of 9-11, I spent several hours watching the events of that fateful day and finding myself getting angry.

I still have extremely strong feelings about the savages who killed almost 3,000 of my fellow citizens, but what angered me the most was the short memory of the average American.

The media and the liberals have worked feverishly to make us forget 9-11 because we do not want to offend Islam.

The media does not talk about it, the liberals have changed the name of the Muslim terrorist acts to "man caused disasters" and then they tell me I cannot judge an entire religion for the actions of a few.

As a white male, I am still held accountable for slavery that ended more than 100 years ago. As a gun owner I am lumped in with all criminals who commit crimes with guns.

As a Christian I am told I have responsibility for the Crusades 1,000 years ago. And as Conservative, I am called a racist, a bigot, and an Islamophobe for not accepting every Muslim sight-unseen.

I am held accountable for the actions of a few because I am white, male, gun owning, Christian conservative.

The hypocrisy is obvious. So I will not stand down and I will support and defend this great country. And if that offends you, please refer to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
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On August 24, leaders of the "nominally Marxist" Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia agreed to what they called a "definitive ceasefire" with the pro-U.S. Colombian government they once vowed to topple.

Weary Colombian citizens immediately applauded the announcement. They hope the deal will end the 52 years of war FARC ignited in 1964.

260,000 people have died in the conflict. 45,000 are missing.

Past ceasefire agreements failed to end the war. Non-aligned militia forces, some with right-wing political agendas, some with no definable agenda, have complicated previous deals and could trouble this one.

However, after three weeks and some public second-guessing by hard-core FARC militants, it appears the August agreement could eventually cause this round of La Volencia to fade.

Yes, this round. Another La Violencia pitting political left against political right gripped Colombia from 1948 to 1958. Somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 people died in one decade of relentless slaughter by militias, guerrilla groups, paramilitary forces and bandit gangs. The formation of a power-sharing National Front government helped end that chaotic conflict.

When FARC declared war on the National Front government, Communists were preaching global revolution. The end of the Cold War unmasked their Workers Paradise scam. In 1991, the impoverished Soviet Union (a key FARC ally) collapsed. With Moscow and Fidel Castro's Cuba no longer providing support, many Colombians believed FARC's war would fade.

It didn't. FARC adapted. Still "nominally Marxist," it maintained connections with other guerrilla and terrorist groups. However, FARC transformed itself into a disciplined criminal organization allied with drug cartels. That was ironic, for at one time Colombia's cocaine cartels united to combat FARC. FARC guerrillas became mercenary gangsters providing security services. In the process, their guerrilla war became what some observers called The New Violence.

2000 and 2001 were the nadir of The New Violence. By 2000, FARC rebels controlled almost 40 percent of the country, carving Colombia into "drug duchies" where the government exerted no control.

That same year, the U.S.-supported "Plan Colombia" (a $7.5 billion dollar program with the U.S. kicking in $1.3 billion) provided the hard-pressed government with 60 new helicopters. Suddenly the government had the ability to quickly move troops into the mountains and jungles.

Its political camouflage lost, Colombians identified FARC as just another gang. In August 2002, they elected Alvaro Uribe president. Uribe promised to crush FARC and restore law and order. He fired bureaucrats, collected taxes, and increased security spending. Within three years, FARC and other violent groups were in retreat.

Yet it took 11 more years to convince the die-hards to quit. Now-deceased Venezuelan socialist leader Hugo Chavez helped keep FARC alive. Venezuela's collapse into impoverished socialist anarchy has ended that lifeline.

The August agreement confronts major challenges. Colombia's current president, Juan Manuel Santos, says the agreement is all or nothing. So, on October 2, Colombia will hold a referendum. Citizens will decide to accept or reject the agreement. Polls indicate Colombians will do so. However, many citizens oppose specific parts of the agreement. Former President Uribe (who remains popular) argues FARC leaders responsible for heinous crimes are treated too leniently. They will not go to prison but face "restrictions on their freedom of movement," whatever that is.

In coming months, FARC's rank and file guerrilla-gangsters must assemble in "Transitional Village Zones for Normalization" and turn in their weapons. In exchange they will receive a limited amnesty. These "safe camps" in the hinterland, however, must be created then secured. This is a huge logistical challenge.

Even a ratified August agreement will not produce immediate peace. Several observers argue some FARC militants will quickly give up on civilian life and join militias that are not subject to the peace deal or go to work for drug cartels. The agreement does signal FARC as a combatant force has fractured. That means overall violence should diminish, dramatically, and that will give political reconciliation a chance.

Austin Bay is a commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," covering foreign affairs but often addressing issues in Texas that have a national interest.
[September 15, 2016] Canadian CIOs Have IT Security on Lock

In Matters of Security, Companies Confident but Budgets Come Up Short



TORONTO, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - As the prevalence of data breaches continues to grow, many companies are enhancing their IT security efforts, but where do Canadian technology leaders see themselves on the data safety scale? A recent survey from Robert Half Technology of CIOs found that 11 per cent believe they are better equipped to respond to a security breach than other companies in their industry, while 71 per cent feel equally prepared and only 7 per cent feel less well-equipped than their competitors. While confidence is not lacking, budgets may be, as more than one-quarter of CIOs surveyed don't feel they have sufficient budgets to keep their organization's information safe. "As technology continues to evolve within the workplace so do security threats, and as a result, IT leaders are implementing strategies to access and recruit professionals with skills strong enough to address complex security challenges," said Deborah Bottineau, senior regional manager of Robert Half Technology.

CIOs were asked, "Compared to other companies in your industry, do you feel you are more or less well-equipped to respond to a security breach? " Their responses:







About the same 71% More well-equipped 11% Less well-equipped 7% Don't know/No answer 12% Total 101%*

*Does not total 100 per cent due to rounding. CIOs were also asked, "Do you feel your security budget is ample enough to keep your organization's data safe?" They said: Yes 74% No 26% Total 100% Mitigating the very real risks inherent in using business technology requires more than a strong IT team, added Bottineau. "Leaders must provide employees with regular learning opportunities for new software and updates on best practices, because ultimately a well-informed workforce is the company's best defence against outside threats." The survey also went on to explore what businesses are doing to educate employees on best practices for preventing breaches. CIOs said one of the most common ways they raise awareness among employees is to conduct regular employee presentations on security best practices. Using gamification or incentives to encourage staff members to follow proper IT protocols was the second most popular response. CIOs were also asked, "Which of the following are approaches your firm uses to educate employees on best practices for data security?" Their responses: Conduct regular presentations on security best practices 50% Using gamification or incentives to enhance and encourage employee education 40% Mock phishing exercises to test employee knowledge 21% None of these 31% *Multiple responses permitted About the Survey

The survey was developed and conducted by Robert Half Technology and includes responses from more than 270 CIOs in Canada. About Robert Half Technology

With 120 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at roberthalf.ca/technology. Follow blog.roberthalf.ca, and @RobertHalf_CAN on Twitter for additional workplace advice and hiring trends. Contact: Naz Araghian

416.865.2140

[email protected] SOURCE Robert Half Technology

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ROTTERDAM

Parts of Interstate 890 in Rotterdam will be closed for a few hours early Monday morning as General Electric Co. begins to move oversized power plant equipment across the highway to Lock 8 on the Erie Canal for shipment to a customer.

The state Department of Transportation will issue an advisory before the weekend to alert motorists to the closure, which was scheduled for when traffic is not busy. Cars will be detoured at that time. The time period is expected to be from about midnight to 3 a.m.

The closures will happen again the following Monday, Sept. 26, as well.

GE is building a concrete pad at Lock 8 that will be used for a portable crane that will be installed to lift both turbines and generators onto a barge on the Erie Canal. The shipments will move through the locks in Rotterdam, Niskayuna and Waterford en route to the Hudson River.

GE usually used rail service to ship power plant equipment like generators and turbines to the Port of Albany for shipment down the Hudson to customers overseas. However in this case, the turbines are too large for rail service into the Port of Albany.

GE did not say which customer is being sent the equipment, although the company has signed deals across the globe, from Asia to the Middle East.

"The use of the canal allows us to meet a specific customer requirement of shipping the steam turbines fully assembled, which is not typically done," GE spokeswoman Chris Horne said Wednesday. "The fully assembled turbines would exceed current rail dimensional clearances to the Port of Albany."

Both the state Canal Corp. and the state Department of Transportation worked with GE on the logistics of the project. GE needed permits from both state agencies.

"We appreciate the support we are receiving from state and local officials to execute this plan," Horne said. "When the project is complete, we intend to leave the pad in place for possible future use by the Canal Corp."

Although most people associate the canal, which will celebrate 200 years of existence next year, as an outdated mode of interstate commerce, that is not the case.

In fact, companies like GlobalFoundries, the computer chip maker in Malta, have used the canal system as one mode of transportation to move large pieces of equipment to its facility. Rochester Gas & Electric has also shipped transformers on the water route.

Canal Corp. spokesman Shane Mahar said that since the beginning of the year, 93,000 tons on cargo have been shipped on the canal system, with 100,000 tons expected to be carried by the end of the year. That provides a lot of business to local tug boat and barge operators in addition to the Canal Corp., which charges fees for commercial use of the canal.

"The canal system is open for business," Mahar said. "It (the GE project) is a huge positive for us."

lrulison@timesunion.com  518-454-5504  @larryrulison
Albuquerque, N.M.

Facebook has chosen a village on the edge of New Mexico's largest metropolitan area as the location for its new data center, an announcement that spread quickly Wednesday as elected officials celebrated a hard-sought win that could have ripple effects for the state's struggling economy.

Data centers are key to the booming cloud-computing economy, but they typically bring few local jobs. Los Lunas officials have said the center would be a $1.8 billion construction project creating 300 direct temporary jobs and just 50 permanent jobs.

News of the social media giant's decision to build in Los Lunas, south of Albuquerque, comes after a roller-coaster contest between New Mexico and Utah to attract the facility.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich broke the news on social media, and the rest of the congressional delegation followed minutes later. Gov. Susana Martinez in a statement welcomed what she described as a stellar, cutting-edge company. Village officials were rejoicing.

"This is huge for the state of New Mexico, for the region, for the whole Southwest. This is a big win," said Ralph Mims, the village's economic development director.

The courting of Facebook began more than a year ago with a meeting between the Republican governor and Facebook executives. During a visit to California, Martinez and her economic development team pitched the sparsely populated state as a good place to do business.
American seed and weed-killer company Monsanto and German medicine and farm chemical maker Bayer are combining in a deal that could help farmers produce higher yields to address challenges from global warming to rising food demand from a fast-growing global population.

Consumers could benefit from more-affordable and healthier food options as well as the companies' using their expertise to help farmers limit their chemical use and environmental impact, company executives said Wednesday after the all-cash deal was announced.

It comes amid record harvests driving crop prices to painfully low levels for many farmers.

After four months of courtship, Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer AG said Monsanto Co. accepted its third offer. In addition to the $57 billion price for shareholders, Bayer is assuming $9 billion in Monsanto debt.

It will pay Monsanto shareholders $128 per share, $6 above its initial offer and a 44 percent premium over the St. Louis, Mo., company's closing price before rumors of a bid emerged.

The deal would create a global agricultural and chemical giant with a broad array of products. Fitch Ratings noted the combined Bayer would have a 25 percent share in some markets, "almost certainly drawing regulatory scrutiny and posing antitrust obstacles."

That's because the deal combines two of the six U.S. and European companies that dominate in agrochemicals.

"It will ... create an innovation engine for the next generation of farming," Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said.

The world's population is expected to jump by nearly 3 billion people, to 9 billion, by 2050.

Together with the effects of warmer temperatures, more-severe storms, less land available for farming and the need to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from farming operations, that is pressuring farmers to be more productive.

"It's going to take a lot of innovation to ensure that everybody can be fed," and the combined company will be able to speed up product improvements to help, Liam Condon, head of Bayer Crop Science, told The Associated Press.

Affordability also is an issue, Condon said, as people in many poor countries spend more than half their income on food, compared to 10 percent to 15 percent in the U.S.
Albany

A second area code will soon be added to the 518 area to accommodate growing demand for phone numbers.

The Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a plan to overlay the new area code, instead of splitting 518 coverage area in two, which would have required many businesses and residents to get new phone numbers.

Instead, callers will need to dial 10 digits, starting with the area code, for local phone calls.

The new code will be implemented over the next 13 months.

Current customers will keep their 518 area code and phone number.

Comments at various forums and hearings ran 60-40 in favor of the overlay plan, and all new area codes introduced nationwide in the past several years have followed the overlay approach, the PSC said.

Under an overlay plan, existing telephone numbers remain unchanged. All new numbers would be assigned the new area code, the PSC said.

The North American Numbering Plan Administrator initially said that the supply of 518 numbers would be exhausted by early 2019, but more recently has moved that date up to the third quarter of next year.

Carriers have been given 45 days to file plans to implement the overlay.

After its implementation, callers who dial the seven-digit number will trigger a message telling them to dial all 10 digits.

The numbering plan administrator is expected to choose the new area code within 30 days.

The demand for new phone numbers has come largely from the growth of mobile phones and tablets. The 518 area code is the only original code in the state that still has its original boundaries, and one of the few nationwide that hasn't been split or overlaid, the PSC said. The 518 code stretches from the Canadian border south to Columbia and Greene counties and west to Fulton and Montgomery counties.

"The need for a new area code in this region points to a thriving telecommunications market in eastern upstate New York," said Audrey Zibelman, the commission chair. "Creating a new area code will allow telephone companies to accommodate growing consumer demand for telephone numbers in the area."

eanderson@timesunion.com  518-454-5323
Tarrytown

The last few years have been kind to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

They've been even kinder to the company's top five executives, who from 2011-2015 raked in more than $500 million in combined pay.

That number puts the Tarrytown-based drugmaker at No. 1 among all U.S. pharmaceutical companies, a recent Wall Street Journal analysis of executive pay found.

At No. 2 was EpiPen producer Mylan, currently facing public, congressional and campaign trail backlash for hiking drug prices by more than 450 percent since 2007. It paid its top five executives $292 million from 2011-2015.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch  who will testify on the EpiPen hike in front of a congressional oversight committee next week  saw a 671 percent increase in her compensation, from $2.5 million in 2007 to $19 million in 2015.

Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer, meanwhile, netted about $47.5 million in compensation last year, according to the company's 2016 proxy statement. George Yancopoulos, who heads the company's research and development, took home about $40 million.

To put that in perspective: Extrapolated to a 5-day, 40-hour work week, Schleifer would make more than $22,800 an hour; $182,000 a day; and $910,000 a week.

But unlike Mylan and Bresch  likely the newest punching bags for critics of lavish CEO pay  Regeneron's top brass can point to their company's simply staggering market performance to justify their own compensation, of which about 90 percent is tied to stock options.

In its 2016 report (http://bit.ly/2czU1jq), Regeneron also adamantly points out that, when weighed against growth in shareholder returns, top executive pay has actually tailed off considerably in the last five years.

Schleifer, who helped co-found the company in 1988, has guided Regeneron through an almost unprecedented growth period, with stock prices climbing by more than 1,500 percent from 2010-2015.

Through huge successes with drugs like Eylea, a treatment for age-related macular degeneration, Regeneron has established itself as a dominant player in a biotech industry exploding both nationally and internationally.

The company, which this year notched the No. 3 ranking on Forbes' Most Innovative list, employs about 4,300 people.

Locally, Regeneron has undertaken a half-decade long hiring and building spree that tripled employment at its East Greenbush complex in the last four years.

And there are no signs of slowdown.

The company announced earlier this year plans for a second complex near Exit 9 of Interstate 90. Project designs, it appears, could accommodate more than 1,000 employees and 1,500 parking spaces.

In June, Regeneron also purchased the 217,000-square-foot MapInfo/Pitney Bowes building at the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush, paying $17.75 million for the structure.

rdownen@timesunion.com  518-454-5018  @robert_downen
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Dallas

It's not even officially fall yet, but delivery companies and retailers are making their hiring lists for the holiday season.

UPS said Wednesday it will add about 95,000 seasonal workers to meet the demand from increased online shopping. Many of the full-time and part-time jobs will be package handlers and drivers.

That's close to last year's pace, when United Parcel Service Inc. estimated it would hire between 90,000 and 95,000 seasonal workers. Delivery rival FedEx Corp. has not yet announced its plans.

Toys R Us also said Wednesday it has begun taking applications for part-time seasonal jobs in stores and distribution centers. A spokeswoman declined to give a nationwide figure but said the retailer expects to add at least 10,900 workers in five of its biggest markets: New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Earlier this week, Target Corp. said it would hire more than 70,000 seasonal store workers  about the same as last year as well.

While holiday hiring has been flat to down in stores, it is rising for transportation and warehousing services  part of the trend toward more online shopping, according to workplace consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Target, for example, also said it would add 7,500 people in fulfillment and distribution centers.

Challenger expects overall holiday hiring by retailers to be unchanged from last year. In 2015, retailers added about 738,800 seasonal jobs, down 1.4 percent from the year before, according to government figures.

Atlanta-based UPS expects the volume of packages for delivery to pick up in November and last through the gift-return season in early January.

Many applicants view seasonal jobs as a way to earn extra money for the holidays. UPS tries to make the jobs more enticing by noting that about one-third of seasonal hires eventually land year-round jobs at the company. CEO David Abney started as a part-time package loader while in college.

Privately held Toys R Us, based in Wayne, N.J., said 15 percent to 20 percent of its seasonal workers catch on permanently.
'Special Blood' documentary screening

A new documentary called "Special Blood," about four patients living with a very rare and life-threatening blood disease called Hereditary Angioedema (HAE), screens at 6:30 tonight at Spectrum 8 Theatres, 290 Delaware Ave., Albany. The special event was set up through TUGG, a cinema-on-demand theatrical service, by an Albany resident living with the disease. HAE is an inherited blood disorder that causes attacks of swelling that may affect the face, extremities, genitals, gastrointestinal tract and upper airways

Director, co-writer and producer Natalie Metzger also suffers from HAE and will be in attendance for a Q&A session at the screening. She recently won the Best Woman Filmmaker Award at the Chandler International Film Festival for "Special Blood."

Tickets are $11. For more information or to buy tickets, call 449-8995 or visit https://www.landmarktheatres.com/albany-ny/spectrum-8-theatres or https://www.tugg.com/events/special-blood-20j7.

Making tracks and making snacks

The Food Truck & Classic Car Festival will be firing on all cylinders from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Polo Grounds of the Saratoga Casino Hotel, 342 Jefferson St., Saratoga Springs. There will be food trucks and classic cars, naturally, but also live music, celebrity appearances, free gifts to the first 1,000 guests and $45,000 in prizes throughout the day.

Two of those celebrities include actor and comedian Adam Ferrara ("Rescue Me"), host of the American version of "Top Gear," which recently concluded its run on the History Channel, and chef and cookbook author Sara Moulton, host of "Sara's Weeknight Meals," which airs in syndication through Public Television. There will be an autograph signing with Ferrara from 2-3:30 p.m., and one with Moulton from 3-4:30 p.m.

For more information, call (800) 727-2990 or visit, http://saratogacasino.com.

Willkommen back to local cabaret arists

"ENCORE! The Reunion" brings back together Betsy Riley and Gary Aldrich, two of the Capital Region's most celebrated cabaret entertainers, absent from area stages for decades, for three shows on the Riggi Theater at the National Museum of Dance, 99 South Broadway, Saratoga Springs. The shows, presented by The Creative Place International, take place 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 24, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.

The program will include classic cabaret music from pop to Broadway and beyond, along with recollections of their collaboration's most memorable moments. In addition to their many appearances with the New York State Theatre Institute, Riley and Aldrich appeared in numerous stage productions, playing the leads in "Oklahoma" at Albany's Palace Theatre, "Kiss Me Kate" at Albany Civic Theater, "Camelot" in dinner theater, "Follies" at the Palace Theatre and "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" at the Park Playhouse in Washington Park.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students. For more information or to buy tickets, call 584-7780 or visit http://bpt.me/2587034.

 C.J. Lais Jr.
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Albany

The widow of a Watervliet man who was fatally shot by a Troy police officer filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Troy and the police sergeant who fired eight rounds into the man's vehicle.

The lawsuit does not target Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove, whose handling of the case is being examined by the state attorney general's office.

Sgt. Randall French opened fire at the windshield of 37-year-old Edson Thevenin's vehicle when the officer's legs were pinned against a police cruiser following a brief pursuit, police said after the incident.

The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of Thevenin's widow, Cinthia, and the couple's two sons by Michael A. Rose, a New York City attorney for the family. The federal complaint alleges civil rights violations, including assault and battery. "At no time was Sgt. French, or any member of the Troy Police Department in physical danger when French opened fire into Edson's car," it states.

Police officials previously said that French fired his service pistol because Thevenin was using his vehicle as a weapon against the officer. The Attorney General's office is examining that allegation, and recently asked the FBI to analyze the angles of the bullet holes in Thevenin's small sedan.

The Times Union previously reported that Abelove did not require French to waive his immunity from prosecution when the officer testified before a grand jury that cleared him of wrongdoing five days after the April 17 shooting.

Two civilians told police they witnessed the shooting and did not believe French was in imminent danger when he opened fire. The witnesses, Keith Millington, 26, of Cohoes and Phillip E. Gross III, 35, of Troy, were both interviewed by Troy police and the attorney general's office. Abelove allegedly did not subpoena Millington or Gross to testify in front of the grand jury that cleared French.

On April 29  the same day the Times Union asked the attorney general's office about the accounts by the civilian witnesses  Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order giving Attorney General Eric Schneiderman authority to investigate and prosecute any "unlawful acts or omissions by any law enforcement officer" involved in Thevenin's case.

The fatal shooting took place about 3:15 a.m. April 17 on Hoosick Street near the Collar City Bridge after Thevenin's vehicle was boxed in by two police cruisers following a chase that police said began when he fled a traffic stop.

Police said the stop was prompted by French's suspicion that Thevenin was driving while intoxicated. No weapon was found in Thevenin's possession.

Abelove's office issued a statement less than a week after the shooting saying a grand jury reviewed evidence in the shooting and found no wrongdoing. "Specifically, the grand jury found that Sergeant Randall French's use of deadly physical force was justifiable under the law," the statement from Abelove's office said. "The grand jury considered the evidence and has passed on charging Sergeant French with any crime relating to the death of Edson Thevenin."

Schneiderman's office said Abelove did not notify their agency of his intention to present the case to a grand jury. Schneiderman's office then accused Abelove of doing an "end run" around an executive order the governor signed last year giving Schneiderman authority to investigate fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians.

blyons@timesunion.com  518-454-5547  @brendan_lyonstu
ALBANY  To mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is in Washington Park from Thursday to Monday.

The hosts are the Tri-County Council Vietnam Era Veterans and the city.
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With a beer festival nearly every weekend, it is easy to get overwhelmed and tired of the same-old, same-old at events. It wears on the consumers, but it also can feel like a drag for breweries and beer representatives, too.

"It's what craft beer struggles with: quality over quantity," says Dave Gardell, the owner of The Ruck in Troy. Many beer festivals focus on getting as many breweries as possible to an event, pouring as much volume as possible, and basically reducing the event to an outsized frat party, minus pledge paddles.

To offer a more curated, thoughtful experience, Gardell and area brewers, beer distributors and bar owners formed the Troy Craft Beer Council to help focus the beer festival experience. The nine-person council is presenting the Collar City Beer Invitational Friday as a first step in this process.

Troy's first rare beer festival is a signature event for Troy Craft Beer Week, which started on Monday and runs through Saturday in conjunction with Troy Restaurant Week. Beer Week started in 2014 and culminates with the Troy on Tap beer festival on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the River Street Field. That event is produced by America on Tap, the national beer event producer, and not the Troy Craft Beer Council.

More Information If you go Collar City Beer Invitational When: Friday. VIP session from 5:15 to 6 p.m., $65 Regular session from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. $55 Where: Takk House, 55 Third St., Troy Tickets: troycraftbeerweek.com See More Collapse

"Those festivals are making a lot of money and not giving back to the community. It's an event in a box," says Kevin Mullen, owner and brewer at Rare Form Brewing Co. in Troy and council member. Gardell agrees, saying, "that's the one piece that is missing: There is no connection to the community."

The community they speak of is brewers, distributors, bar owners and beer lovers. The Collar City Beer Invitational will host many representatives from participating breweries in an intimate setting to help educate the public and promote great beer.

"We want to grow craft beer in general. It's a team effort," says Frank Sicari, craft beer manager for key accounts at Saratoga Eagle distribution company. By working to offer the best, not necessarily the most, beer, the invitational benefits the craft beer industry as a whole, he says.

The invitational features 30 selected breweries from around the world that will offer beers hard to find in local bars and bottle shops.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

Local breweries, like Rare Form, Browns, Shmaltz, Paradox, Common Roots and Rushing Duck will join national brands (like Finback, Jester King and American Solera) and international breweries (Drie Fonteinen, from Belgium) to offer an eclectic array of brews.

Well-known craft brands, like Jack's Abby, Smuttynose and Uinta, will be present, and mead and cider from B.Nektar (Michigan), Citizen Cider, and Albany's own Nine Pin will also be at the invitational.

An extensive list of confirmed breweries, and other Beer Week events, is available at troycraftbeerweek.com.

Deanna Fox is a freelance food and agriculture writer. More at www.foxonfood.com or @DeannaNFox.
"A comedy routine," Jim Mendrinos was saying to a group of amateur comedians, "is one of the most delicate ecosystems in the world."

The comics, all Capital Region residents trying to break into, or upward in, the comedy world, looked intent if not illuminated.

A play has words and stage directions, Mendrinos said; a song, its music. Other people are also usually involved in both.

But a stand-up comic is almost uniquely alone, armed with just his or her words in front of an audience that has the expectation of being made to laugh several times a minute.

And even after a comic has been working for years, Mendrinos said, "You're probably your own manager, agent and PR agent."

The group nodded.

He followed with a joke that is also a truism: "We're the only art form in the world with a two-drink minimum; generally, the audience is lit."

The group smiled and laughed.

Mendrinos, who has made his living as a comic since 1983, was in the Comedy Works in Saratoga Springs, a basement room behind Newberry Music Hall that is the seventh home since the club's founding in Albany 35 years ago.

Owner Tommy Nicchi, who has been in the humor business his entire life  his father opened the Comedy Works and ran it for many years  knows the lonely life of a comic as well as the sometimes-true belief that the solo nature of comedy makes its practitioners less inclined to support one another and work collaboratively. And so Nicchi established what he calls a writers group, a weekly meeting that is the comedy equivalent of a fiction-writers workshop. It provides a regular time and place for local comics to get together, share their work and have it critiqued by others.

The sessions, held before an open-mic night at the Comedy Works where many of the writers-group participants perform, attract from 10 to 30 people each Tuesday. Some nights, the local comics work with one another. A couple of times a month, the headliners who will be performing at the Comedy Works later that week  as Mendrinos was earlier this month and longtime stand-up Rich Williams did last week  address the group.

"Young comics are the lifeblood of the business," said Mendrinos, who, in addition to his 33 years of performing experience, wrote the book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Comedy Writing" and has multiple credits for theater, film and TV, including jokes for three hosts of the "Weekend Update" segment on "Saturday Night Live": Dennis Miller, Colin Quinn and Norm Macdonald.

Mendrinos believes conducting sessions with beginning comics is a way of paying back what he learned years ago as a neophyte opening for established comics. Williams, a 20-year veteran of the stand-up scene who wrote for TV and film in Los Angeles before recently moving back to Schenectady, echoed that sentiment, saying, "I have lived out all my dreams as a comic, so now it's my responsibility to give back to the comics coming up, especially here in my hometown."

Mendrinos sees another benefit: "When you have people that are pushing the art form, it's good for the established guys, too. If one of these (younger) guys comes on and blows away the room, that's going to keep the veterans sharp."

Mendrinos described to the group how he'd learned from his forebears: After he came off stage one evening many years ago, one of his heroes, the dark-humored cerebralist and social satirist Bill Hicks, said, "Do you want to know what you did wrong?" George Carlin told him, "This is how you can make that bit really work." After he'd perform alongside Quinn and Chris Rock, "We'd go to a diner and try to fix each other's jokes."

"There's no school for this like there is a school of music," said Mendrinos, "no place that cares for and teaches the next generation. We have to do it for ourselves."

When one of the amateur comics asked about "finding (his) voice," Mendrinos said, "You don't 'find your voice': You already have your voice. Just talk to people. ... There's something really to be said about having a conversation with the audience. Just be honest."

Another asked about the value of cheap laughs from jokes about flatulence or genitalia.

"Look," said Mendrinos, "you can chose to be a dick-joke comic, or you can choose to be an artist. With that said, I've never seen a comic do more fart jokes than George Carlin, and I wish I'd written half of them."

While some comedians work in an old-school joke format of setup and punchline, Mendrinos said, most deliver short anecdotes that are a succession of humorous lines or observations. Truly skilled comedians can unreel 20- to 30-minute stories that evoke sustained laughter throughout.

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"Train yourself to look for what's funny," Mendrinos said, noting that on his drive north from his New York City home, he became increasingly bothered that highway rest areas are being rebranded as "text stops." Though born of a laudable safety effort to combat texting while driving, Mendrinos said, "To me it's another example of us being further connected to our devices."

He hadn't worked out the precise joke yet, but decades of honing humor gave him the confidence he'd have it within days. Mendrinos said he writes material for an hour a day, every day, scribbling longhand on a legal pad with a computer handy for research. He once wrote 10 pages' worth of material, of which he used only one line  the first he'd written.

"The discipline of writing an hour a day is singularly the most important thing you can do," he said. "If you get one minute of material out of a week's worth of writing, after a year, you've got an hour's worth for your act." (Most beginning comics perform sets of between five and 10 minutes.)

The following week, Williams admitted such discipline is hard, saying, "Comics have trouble, because they usually don't like writing. They like having written."

One of the newcomers at the writers group with Mendrinos was Alp Yanbal, the stage name of Turkish-born teacher from Saratoga who has attended four sessions and been performing at open mics for a few months. "Everybody who's talked has had different advice on different things," said Yanbal, 34, who preferred to use his stage name to keep his comedy separate from his career. "If I wasn't coming here and getting this kind of help, I don't think I'd otherwise continue trying to perform."

Among the most frequent questions for Mendrinos came from Tommy McGuire, 35, an Albany bartender who has been doing stand-up for a couple of years.

"A lot of the advice is so practical and helpful," McGuire said. "It really helps you understand the craft."

Open-mic nights, Mendrinos said, are the time for comics to push themselves.

"You'll never have more freedom in your career than you do now," Mendrinos told the group. "There are no expectations, so take risks. Don't do the same five minutes you did last week. The moment you're afraid to have a bad set is the moment you fail as a comic."

sbarnes@timesunion.com  518-454-5489  @Tablehopping  http://facebook.com/SteveBarnesFoodCritic
Bishop Ryan, originally from Cormackstown, Holycross was ordained a priest in Holycross Abbey and it was a great joy for him to have been chosen by Pope Francis to be Bishop of Mzuzu at a time when he was thinking of retirement rather than continuing his pastoral work.

And, following in the footsteps of the Pontiff, Bishop John's first act in his new role was to visit the prison and celebrate Mass and pray with the prisoners - there are currently 500 existing in a prison designed for 150.

Bishop John was joined by local priest Fr Conor Moloney, The Green, Holycross and Fr Celsus Tierney CC Holycross while Fr Michael Kelly, who is originally from Cashel and who was ordained at the same time as the then Fr Ryan, also made the trip. Among the family members who travelled were Bill, Tom, Percy and Peggy Ryan and their families.

Rev Professor John A. Ryan of St Patricks Missionary Society, is son of the late Mr and Mrs Pierce Ryan and his appointment as the new Bishop of Mzuzu in Malawi created real excitement in his native parish and amongst his family members including his brothers Martin, Pat, Bill, Percy, Tom and Pascal, and his sister Peg. He has two deceased sisters also, Anne and Mary. Bishop John was home during the summer and had received congratulations from all quarters having celebrated Mass in Holycross Abbey on a number of occasions.

Bishop John has spent almost forty years in Malawi and was head of the Mathematics Department, in the University of Mzuzu, where he specialised in coding theory. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Makasa Zuza, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Malawi, who was killed tragically in a road accident in January 2015 after a decade in the position.

Bishop John was born in Holycross in 1952. He was ordained a priest in June 1978 - and was the first priest in 800 years to be ordained in Holycross Abbey, where he was also baptised and Confirmed. He is a past pupil of Scoil Ailbhe CBS primary school in Thurles, Thurles CBS Secondary School and St Kierans College in Kilkenny. Since his ordination he has served in academic and pastoral roles from 1978 to 2005 in St Pauls parish in Mzimba (Mzuzu); St Stephens in Kapuro (Mzuzu); St Mathias parish in Misuku (Mzuzu); head teacher at the Community Day Secondary School in Misuku (Mzuzu); as head of the minor seminary of St Patrick in Rumphi (Mzuzu) and he also spent time teaching maths in Ireland.

From 2000, he served as chaplain to the Holy Rosary Sisters in Katete; and between 2005 and 2011 he ministered as a chaplain at the University of Mzuzu where he also worked as professor of mathematics; he also served as assistant chaplain of St Augustine and its outstations and as a member of the college of consultors.

The Prefecture Apostolic of Northern Malawi was erected in 1947, and was elevated to the status of the Diocese of Mzuzu in 1961. It currently has a Catholic population of 400,000. The diocese comprises the northern districts of Rumphi, Mzimba, Nkhata Bay and part of the central district region of Kazungu. In total Bishop Johns diocese has 11 parishes.

The five hour ordination ceremony featured song and dance and was attended by the Papal Nuncio and Mr Pat Fitzpatrick, a retired Professor of Mathematics from UCC who had assisted Bishop John with his PHd some years ago. Rosarie Griffin from UCC, who was working in the area at the time on another project, also attended - she is niece of a neighbour of the Ryans in Cormackstown - Bernie Moylan.

It was a magnificent occasion and a real privilege to have represented the parishioners of Holycross. It was very historic and as Bishop John said himself, his three families were there - his spiritual family, his parish family and his own family, Fr Celsus Tierney told The Tipperary Star this week.

The Ordination ceremony took place primarily through English and followed the same format as we would be used to here, apart from the inclusion of local song and dance, and the huge crowd. Such was the congregation, that the ceremony took place in a local stadium and it was very touching to see people who have little giving presents of congratulations to Bishop John - the people are known for being generous to a fault and among the gifts he received were goats and cows. Malawi is known as the 'warm heart of Africa' and that warmth was certainly apparent to those who made the journey to be with Bishop John at the start of his new journey.

Bishop Ryan is to be congratulated and wished well in his very challenging role.
Tipperary's Adi Roche has won a 'Pride of Ireland' Lifetime Achievement Award for helping tens of thousands of children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

The Clonmel native picked up their Pride of Ireland gong on Monday evening (Sept 12th) at the star-studded Irish Mirror awards event.

The big-hearted humanitarian founded Chernobyl Children International (CCI) and dedicated her accolade, presented by Raisa Carolan and Anna Gabriel whom her charity has helped resettled in Ireland, to her troop of volunteers.

We have an army of volunteers of all ages and from all counties in Ireland. They are the lifeblood, they are the boots on the ground, and they are the frontline people who help to make it happen. They are the veins that run through the charity. We are like a family and I may be the mother hen but I couldnt do anything without them.

Adi added: This award is like a beacon of hope on the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl Children International. This says to the victims and survivors that the people of Ireland will never forget them.

It was the third year of the spectacular awards, sponsored by Lidl Ireland and presented by Amanda Byram. A special programme, to be broadcast on UTV Ireland on Sunday, September 18 at 7.30pm, has captured all the emotional moments of the event.

Chernobyl Children

Chernobyl Children International (CCI) was establlished in the aftermath of the devastating 1986 nuclear disaster. Adi has been the driving force behind what started as a small fundraiser, escalating into a humanitarian organisation that has raised 100m in aid. When she first heard about the catastrophe Adi began to host tea parties to raise money for those suffering from the devastating effects of the nuclear blast. But she soon felt she needed to do more to help, especially for the children left with serious health consequences as a result.

Adi initially went over to Chernobyl with other volunteers from UNICEF, intending to donate items and to bring money to the devastated region, but she ended-up staying for six months and giving aid to more than 10,000 people.

She has travelled the world to continue shining a light on the plight of the Chernobyl children, giving inspirational talks at the UN. Her unshakeable passion and steadfast determination has ensured that those still living with the horrific effects of the nuclear blast are not forgotten.

Under Adis leadership the CCI has grown to become an organisation that has helped 25,000 children enjoy recuperation in Ireland as well as providing 3,500 life-saving cardiac surgeries over the last 12 years, in addition to a host of other life-changing programmes.

In a bid to raise awareness Adi also collaborated with friend Ali Hewson to bring the documentary Chernobyl Heart (2003) to the big screen. The Oscar-winning film takes a look at children born after the disaster with deteriorated heart conditions.

In recognition of her outstanding humanitarian efforts Adis Pride of Ireland award will join a clutch of accolades that acknowledges her lifetime of devotion to the children of Chernobyl.

Judges opinion: Adi has spent a lifetime tirelessly helping the children of Chernobyl. Having founded the Chernobyl Children International (CCI) Adi has spent nearly 30 years passionately campaigning on a global scale for those affected by the nuclear disaster. She has brought joy into the lives of thousands of children and has ensured they arent forgotten by the world.
Clonmel fashion designer Alanna McIntyre is London bound after scooping the much coveted 'One to Watch' title at Kerry Fashion Week earlier this year.

The former Presentation Clonmel student and LSAD graduate has recently departed for the bright lights of London town to pursue a career in fashion design with the ultimate goal of setting up her own label.

I decided to move to London to apply for design jobs within fashion companies based here. Having my own brand is definitely something that I aspire to in the future but at the moment I definitely want to learn a lot more about the fashion business and gain more experience, Alanna told the Tipperary Star.

The Tipperary designer, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Irish designers Simone Rocha and Danielle Romeril, received national attention last March when she was named on the One to Watch list by the Irish Fashion Industry Awards during Kerry Fashion Week- something which the Clonmel native describes as a "pinch me moment."

"It was a great feeling to see my work acknowledged at a national platform outside of college events," explains Alanna who cites her graduate fashion show as another standout moment in her budding career.

"Fashion students spend four years working towards the graduate show and one very intensive year designing and making their collections. After a year of hard work and late nights it was surreal to actually see the finished collection worn on the night," she adds.

However while the 22 year old designer may be creating a buzz with her designs, she admits fashion wasn't always her obvious choice of career in school having been originally focused on a more "practical" profession.

When I was in sixth year of school, I couldnt decide what to do for ages and was thinking nursing or teaching, something practical. I then realised that I wasnt really interested in either of those and that I wanted to do something that I would love. Thats when I decided that I wanted to do fashion design.

And since then her climb through the fashion ranks has been nothing short of phenomenal securing internships with the likes of Danielle Romeril and London based fashion house Preen who have dressed everyone from Rihanna to Michelle Obama.

Interning at Preen was a great experience. I spent three months interning with the company and definitely learned a lot from it. I was lucky that I had the chance to intern briefly with Irish designer Danielle Romeril while she was based in Dublin before I went to Preen in London. Danielle Romeril was a much smaller company and I was able to learn new skills from her that definitely helped me when I was with a much bigger company. I also really enjoyed seeing the differences in how a small and large fashion company work. I definitely think that interning during college is something that all fashion students should try to do even if it is not required, you learn so much from the experience, she says.

Following her internships, Alanna returned to Limerick to complete the final year of her degree and graduate collection inspired by the life of artist Vincent Van Gogh. Her collection received high critical acclaim with fashion writers lauding her conceptual approach to her work which involved exploring the connection between Van Gogh's art, mental health and struggle with bipolar disorder.

However despite having such an impressive CV, the rising fashion star says she wants to secure as much experience as possible in the industry before setting up her own label.

My dream role would be creative director of my own brand, once I have gained more experience of the industry," she enthuses.

And with a portfolio of such high calibre already, there is no doubt we'll be seeing more of the Clonmel native's design on the catwalks in years to come.
Bill Ludwick finished his 450-mile trek across Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Ludwick biked along Route 6, from the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border to Titusville, to raise awareness for two incurable diseases hes watched family members fight. During the final leg of his trip, Ludwick was greeted by students from Main Street Elementary School who waved as he rode past.
[September 15, 2016] Asia Self Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) (Test Strips, Lancet, Meter) Market and Forecast 2016-2021 - Research and Markets

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Asia - Self Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) (Test Strips, Lancet, Meter) Market and Forecast" report to their offering. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is an important component of modern therapy for diabetes mellitus. SMBG has been recommended for people with diabetes and their health care professionals in order to achieve a specific level of glycemic control and to prevent hypoglycemia. Self-monitoring of blood glucose is a very lucrative business with enormous market opportunity. The primary growth factors for the SMBG market is the increasing global diabetic population; increasing awareness among the diabetes population, increasing spending on healthcare, active reimbursement policies and the technological advancement aimed at minimal and non-invasive testing methods. Key Highlights: - In 2015, Asian SMBG market was valued at nearly US$ 2 Billion. - It is anticipated that the Asian SMBG users will cross the figure of 20 Million by 2021. - China dominates the self-monitoring of blood glucose users - Thailand and Malysia are competing closely with each other to grab maximum share of the blood glucose users.



- In Asia, China is the single largest market for SMBG followed by Australia and India. - Test Strips account for maximum share of the SMBG market.

All the 7 Countries in the report have been studied from 3 viewpoints. 1. Country Wise Diabetes Population and Forecast (2007 - 2021) I. Type 1 Diabetes Population II. Type 2 Diabetes Population 2. Country Wise SMBG Users and Forecast (2007 - 2021) 3. Country Wise SMBG Market and Forecast (2007 - 2021) I. Blood Glucose Test Strips Market II. Blood Glucose Lancet Market III. Blood Glucose Meter Market Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Asia Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) Users and Forecast 2.1 Asia Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) Users Share and Forecast 3. Asia Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) Market and Forecast 4. Asia Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) Market Share and Forecast 5. India SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 6. China SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 7. Thailand SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 8. Korea SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 9. Malaysia SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 10. Australia SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 11. Kuwait SMBG Users, Market and Forecast to 2021 For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m48v57/asia_self Related Topics: Home Testing and Home Healthcare, Diabetes Devices View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005790/en/

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[September 15, 2016] CEP America Expands Partnership with Swedish Edmonds

Multi-specialty clinical staffing expert CEP America is expanding its partnership with Swedish Edmonds, located north of Seattle, to offer an innovative program that integrates a new Short-Stay unit, Urgent Care facility and the Emergency Department (ED). This integrated model will leverage the close collaboration between CEP America's physicians and the Swedish medical team to effectively reduce length of stay (LOS) for patients, optimize bed allocation, and ensure faster admission of patients to help ease ED overcrowding. The new program integrates the existing ED program, already staffed by CEP clinical staff, and adds the 10-bed Short-Stay unit created specifically for patients who require brief stays for extended observation, but who will not need admittance. This blended model will enable a rapid diagnosis so that patients receive appropriate targeted care, and can be discharged as soon as their clinical conditions are resolved. "We have developed a strong relationship with the providers and leadership of CEP and our concept for the Short Stay unit is a result of creative collaboration between our two organizations that share a common goal of providing extraordinary care for our community," said Jennifer Graves, chief executive, Swedish Edmonds. "Together, we are also developing meaningful strategies to alleviate bottlenecks in the emergency care chain, create options that allow for same day access that is cost effective for our patients while ensuring they receive timely, appropriate and effective care." The new Urgent Care includes a state-of-the-art digital x-ray and a design feature that places workstations with line-of-sight to exam rooms so that providers can easily check on patients. There is also a "quickcare" consult room for those injuries or illnesses that do not require an exam table. To further increase efficiency for patients, workflow processes have been established so that patients are greeted by a provider, placed in the appropriate room and promptly triaged. "Urgent Care is an important service providing convenient, quality care for those patients with acute illnesses and injuries," said Sherry Barber, director of operations, Primary Care, Swedish Medical Group. "With this Urgent Care Clinic, we will reduce wait times for patients as well as ED overcrowding." The pogram is also designed to reduce LOS to less than 24 hours for low-acuity patients; about half of the 48-hour maximum observation services time allowed by Medicare to determine whether the patient should be discharged or admitted. With Medicare now closely monitoring time to admit, programs such as this are becoming increasingly important for reimbursement, as well as for patient satisfaction measures.



Working together, CEP America hospitalists (who will serve as the observational gatekeeper) and Swedish Edmonds physicians will utilize best practice and outcomes-based criteria to decrease unnecessary hospital admissions while most importantly ensuring patient care is efficiently given at the right level and the right time. "This is a tremendous opportunity for CEP to support the Swedish medical staff and to provide next level care for the Swedish community," said Denise Brown, MD, vice president of Practice Development at CEP America. "We are a solution provider focused on bringing creative, customized, team-based solutions to provide high quality patient care. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Swedish and to bringing better and more efficient care to the community."

Swedish Edmonds is part of Providence St. Joseph Health, a not-for-profit Catholic health care system, with 50 hospitals, 829 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 100,000 caregivers (employees) serving communities across seven states - Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington. About Swedish Medical Center Founded in 1910, Swedish is the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary-care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2015, Swedish provided more than $175 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit www.swedish.org, www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or www.twitter.com/swedish. About CEP America CEP America is an independent physician-owned partnership, focused on delivering exceptional care for patients across the acute care continuum. Since its founding in 1975, CEP America has expanded nationally, delivering integrated services that span urgent, emergent, inpatient, post-acute, and peri-operative settings. Today, CEP America includes over 3,150 providers treating 6.3 million patients a year at over 250 practices. Visit www.cepamerica.com. Follow CEP America on Twitter (News - Alert) at twitter.com/CEP_America. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005381/en/

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[September 15, 2016] CIT Serves as Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent for $242 Million Financing for Jordan Health Services

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT), cit.com, a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, today announced that CIT Healthcare Finance served as Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent for a $242 million senior secured credit facility to Jordan Health Services, one of the largest providers of home healthcare and hospice services in Texas and Oklahoma, with a growing presence in Arkansas and Louisiana. Jordan is a portfolio company of affiliates of Palladium Equity Partners, LLC ("Palladium"), a private equity firm that specializes in investing in middle-market companies. The financing will support the refinancing of Jordan's existing debt and provide incremental capital to support Jordan's growth objectives. Financing was provided by CIT Bank, N.A., the principal bank subsidiary of CIT. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CIT has had a long-standing relationship with Jordan, having assisted Jordan in expanding its geographic and service footprint by helping to finance numerous transactions since 2007. This latest transaction provides substantial flexibility for Jordan to continue its pursuit of growth through acquisitions and the build-out of its service offering in its target markets. Scott Herman, Chief Executive Officer, Jordan Health Services, said, "This financing will help consolidate our financial position as well as add flexibility for future acquisitions as we grow our footprint and patient populations. The delivery of high-caliber patient care in the post-acute health services market is a core value that we hold in very high regard. CIT has been a long-term partner and holds extensive knowledge of our business and this industry. We are very pleased to continue working with them as we progressively build our post-acute continuum, focused on delivering care to America's most vulnerable and costly population of patients." Daniel Ilundain, a Principal of Palladium, said, "Jordan's leadership has advanced a growth strategy encompassing both organic growth and acquisitions. Since 2010, Jordan has expanded from 28 locations in Texas to about 90 locations in four states serving more than 28,000 patients a day. With a diversified service offering, Jordan is well-positioned as a leading consolidator within the home care industry, having completed over 20 acquisitions since 2010. CIT's financial support and expertise has been instrumental to Jordan's growth over the years, and we appreciate their continued collaboration." William Douglass, Group Head and Managing Director, CIT Healthcare Finance, said, "As the U.S. population continues to age, demand for the services offered by Jordan is expected to grow. Jordan has a strong reputation driven by their quality service, continuum of care programs and utilization of technology-enhanced clinical tools. Palladium has provided Jordan important financial and strategic support as they pursue these opportunities."



Will Duke, Managing Director, CIT Healthcare Finance, said, "We have enjoyed working with the Jordan and Palladium teams on this transaction and look forward to supporting them further as they pursue Jordan's strategic growth objectives." EDITOR'S NOTE:

CIT thought leadership content can be found at the Knowledge Center on CIT.com (cit.com/knowledgecenter) and our CIT Point of View blog (cit.com/pov). View our corporate video (cit.com/corporatevideo) and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. Register to receive press releases at cit.com/newsalerts. About Jordan Health Services Founded in 1975 and based in Dallas, TX, Jordan Health Services is one of the nation's largest home care providers. With its unique blend of services including personal care, case management, skilled nursing, therapy, and hospice services, Jordan's team of over 17,000 highly skilled and dedicated professionals provide care to more than 28,000 adult and pediatric patients daily. jhsi.com About Palladium Equity Partners, LLC Palladium is a middle market private equity firm with approximately $2.0 billion in assets under management. The firm seeks to acquire and grow companies in partnership with founders and experienced management teams by providing capital, strategic guidance and operational oversight. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested over $1.5 billion of capital in more than 25 platform investments and over 50 add-on acquisitions. The firm focuses primarily on buyout equity investments in the range of $50 million to $150 million. The principals of the firm have significant experience in financial services, business services, food, healthcare, industrial and media businesses, with a special focus on companies they believe will benefit from the growth in the U.S. Hispanic population. Palladium is based in New York City. www.palladiumequity.com About CIT Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE:CIT) is a financial holding company with more than $65 billion in assets. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has more than $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. It provides financing, leasing and advisory services principally to middle market companies across a wide variety of industries primarily in North America, and equipment financing and leasing solutions to the transportation sector. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. cit.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005746/en/

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[September 15, 2016] Dialog Insight named one of the fastest growing companies in Canada

 PROFIT and Canadian Business unveils 28th annual list of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies QUEBEC, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked Dialog Insight No. 395 on the 28th annual PROFIT 500, the definitive ranking of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies. Published in the October issue of Canadian Business and at PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT 500 ranks Canadian businesses by their five-year revenue growth. Dialog Insight made the 2016 PROFIT 500 list with five-year revenue growth of 118% which position it No. 395 in the ranking. "Companies become a part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit," says James Cowan, Editor-in-chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. "These firms demonstrate what Canadian entrepreneurs can achieve, both at home and across the globe." "Dialog Insight is honoured to be on the PROFIT 500 ranking," says CEO Pascale Guay. "This achievement reflects all the efforts we put in developing our company and sustaining continuous growth." Dialog Insight is a small business that serves big companies and undertakes tremendous projects with an exclusive technology that stands upto any competitor. The company is proud to succeed in offering versatile solutions to a variety of big players while providing a very good customer support.



About PROFIT and PROFITguide.com

PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success is Canada's preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 34 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT online at PROFITguide.com. About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total brand readership of more than 1.1 million, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. We provide concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and great photography. Canadian Businesswhat leadership looks like.

About Dialog Insight

For over 17 years, Dialog Insight have designed personalized relational marketing solutions for both customer acquisition, content management, customer data analysis and personalized email communications to increase digital marketing programs efficiency. The company counts over 300 clients in Canada including Metro, Transat, TD, Trudeau, Ontario Parks and National Research Council Canada. Visit website: www.dialoginsight.com

Like Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DInsight/

Follow Twitter: https://twitter.com/DialogInsight SOURCE Dialog Insight

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[September 15, 2016] Fabrinet Announces Acquisition of Exception Global CEM Solutions Ltd.

Fabrinet (NYSE:FN), a leading provider of advanced optical packaging and precision optical, electro-mechanical and electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers of complex products, today announced its entry into the European EMS market through the acquisition of Exception Global CEM Solutions Ltd. (Exception EMS), located in Wiltshire, United Kingdom, which was completed today. Exception EMS, founded in 2005, provides contract electronics manufacturing services to the global electronics industry with innovative solutions, adding value to the design, manufacture and testing of printed circuit board assemblies. Its customers include industrial, energy, aerospace and defense companies, with approximately 80% of its revenue derived from customers in Europe. "Fabrinet has enjoyed exceptional growth over the past several years, primarily with customers in the U.S. and Japan, and there are tremendous opportunities for growing our business in Europe," noted Tom Mitchell, Chairman and CEO of Fabrinet. "With this acquisition, we are establishing a strong foothold in Europe, which will allow us to grow our business with European customers, and give them access to our advanced low-cost manufacturing services in Thailand, particularly in our new facility in Chonburi that is coming on-line and ramping in the next several months." In February 2015, Fabrinet established Fabrinet West, Inc., a new product introduction (NPI) center in Santa Clara, California, to better serve its U.S. customers with advanced NPI services, particularly those in Silicon Valley. With the acquisition of Exception EMS, Fabrinet will now provide the same advanced NPI services to European customers, along with the low-volume manufacturing services Exception EMS provided historically. Going forward, as NPI projects n Fabrinet West and Exceptions EMS transition to volume manufacturing, these intra-company relationships will facilitate the transfer of the volume manufacturing to Fabrinet's Thailand facilities.



Total consideration for the transaction was approximately $13.5 million in cash. Fabrinet anticipates that the transaction will have an immaterial impact on revenue and net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. The Company will provide additional details on the transaction's financial impact during its first quarter fiscal 2017 conference call. About Fabrinet

Fabrinet is a leading provider of advanced optical packaging and precision optical, electro-mechanical, and electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers of complex products, such as optical communication components, modules and subsystems, industrial lasers and sensors. Fabrinet offers a broad range of advanced optical and electro-mechanical capabilities across the entire manufacturing process, including process design and engineering, supply chain management, manufacturing, advanced packaging, integration, final assembly and test. Fabrinet focuses on production of high complexity products in any mix and volume. Fabrinet maintains engineering and manufacturing resources and facilities in Thailand, the United States of America, the People's Republic of China, and now in the United Kingdom. For more information visit: www.fabrinet.com. "Safe Harbor" Statement Under U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include our expectations regarding business growth in Europe, the financial impact of the transaction and anticipated synergies related to the transaction. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially from these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: less customer demand for our products and services than forecasted; failure to achieve anticipated benefits of the transaction; difficulties in integrating Exception EMS, including challenges in retaining key employees and customers of Exception EMS; difficulties in managing and operating our business across multiple countries (including the U.K., the U.S., and Thailand); and other important factors as described in reports and documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)), including the factors described under the section captioned "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on August 17, 2016. We disclaim any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005730/en/

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[September 15, 2016] GSMA and Mobile World Capital Barcelona Introduce Youth Mobile Festival at Mobile World Congress 2017

The GSMA (News - Alert) and the Mobile World Capital Barcelona today announced that they are launching the first Youth Mobile Festival Barcelona (YoMo Barcelona) at Mobile World Congress 2017. YoMo Barcelona has been created to inspire young people to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, art/design, and math (STEAM) disciplines. YoMo Barcelona will be held 27 February - 2 March 2016 at Fira Montjuic. "We are very excited to be launching the Youth Mobile Festival at Mobile World Congress Barcelona," said John Hoffman (News - Alert), CEO, GSMA Ltd. "YoMo will bring classroom learning to life for thousands of school children by showing the exciting and rewarding opportunities that are available in the mobile and STEAM ecosystems. This initiative builds on the great work already underway here through the Mobile World Capital's mSchools programme and will provide an important foundation for Catalan and Spanish students as they map out their future study and career paths." "With our continued commitment to enhance our students' digital skills, we are pleased to be part of this project together with the GSMA and Mobile World Capital Barcelona. YoMo is the ideal setting for students and teachers in Catalonia to experience first-hand the opportunities technology brings to meet the challenges of digital transformation," said Meritxell Ruiz, Catalan Ministry of Education. More than 20,000 students from across Catalonia and Spain will come to Barcelona to participate in this engaging four-day showcase of science and technology, which is set to become the largest STEAM event in Spain. Designed for students from 10 to 16 years old, YoMo Barcelona will feature educational exhibits, live theatre shows, interactive workshops, and a wide range of hands-on activities. For educators and administrators, YoMo Barcelona offers the Educational Resources Zone, which includes resources by specific education publishers and online toolkit providers and numerous lesson plans from activity providers. YoMo will also include educator-focused workshops and lectures sharing best practice in STEAM-related professional development, produced in conjunction with the European Schoolnet and mSchools. YoMo complements and builds on the mSchools programme developed by Mobile World Capital Barcelona in partnership with the Generalitat of Catalonia, Barcelona City Hall and the GSMA. Launched in 2012, mSchools supports students and teachers, effectively integrating mobile technologies into the classroom. During the last school year, more than 24,000 Catalan students participated in the mSchools programme, opening up new ways of teaching and learning that improve achievement and employability in today's connected world. YoMo is supported by local, regional, national and European stakeholders, including the Catalan Ministry of Education, STEAM industry organisations, professional institutions, R&D labortories, not-for-profit charities, universities and other specialist education institutions.



How to Participate in YoMo YoMo is open to all students and education professionals in Catalonia and Spain and is free to attend. Registration for YoMo will open in October, but potential attendees can indicate interest in advance. More information on YoMo, including how to register interest in attending and to participate in other ways, is available at www.yomobcn.com.

Get Involved at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) 2017 For more information on Mobile World Congress 2017, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress on Twitter (News - Alert) @GSMA using #MWC17, on our LinkedIn Mobile World Congress page https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-world-congress or on Facebook (News - Alert) at https://www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/. For additional information on GSMA social channels, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/about/contact/social-media/. The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona through 2023. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com. -ENDS- About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. About Mobile World Capital Barcelona Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) is an initiative driving the mobile and digital transformation of society while helping improve people's lives globally. With support of the public and private sector throughout Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, MWCapital focuses on three areas: the digital empowerment of new generations, professionals and citizens; the digital transformation of industries; and the acceleration of digital innovation through entrepreneurship. Collectively, our mSchools, Digital Transformation and mVenturesBcn programmes are positively transforming the education system, the industry and the economy. MWCapital also hosts the Mobile World Congress and delivers 4 Years From Now (4YFN), a business platform for the startup community. Visit www.mobileworldcapital.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005095/en/

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[September 15, 2016] Ripple Raises $55 Million in Series B Funding

Ripple, the global provider of financial settlement solutions, announced today that it has completed a $55 million Series B financing. The company will use the funds to accelerate its rapid customer growth, pursue strategic partnerships and grow the team internationally. The financing includes participation from new investors including Standard Chartered, Accenture Ventures, SCB Digital Ventures, the venture arm of Siam Commercial Bank, and SBI Holdings. Additional investors participating in the round include Santander Innoventures, the venture arms of CME Group and Seagate (News - Alert) Technology, and Venture 51. The addition of notable strategic investors in this round, especially banks who are backing Ripple following hands-on experience with its solutions, provides the company with new counsel and expertise to better serve its growing customer base around the world. "Our mission is to make cross-border payments truly efficient for banks and their customers, and in doing so, lay the foundation for an Internet of Value where the world moves money as easily as information," said Ripple CEO & co-founder Chris Larsen, "We're thrilled to have these world-class investors joining forces with us to help make this vision a reality." Existing Ripple investors include GV (Google Ventures), Andreessen Horowitz, IDG Capital Partners, and Jerry Yang's (News - Alert) AME Cloud Ventures. Ripple has received a total of ver $93 million in funding.



As the only provider of enterprise blockchain solutions, Ripple's growing, global network includes 15 of the top 50 global banks, 10 banks in commercial deal phases and over 30 bank pilots completed, among many others also using Ripple's solutions. Today Ripple also announced the addition of several new banks to its growing global network. Many of the investors commented about their decision to back Ripple and its distributed financial technology:

"This investment is part of our commitment to the bank's digitization agenda. Ripple is one of the most advanced distributed financial technology companies in the industry with a tested and viable solution," said Alex Manson, Global Head, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered. "Leveraging Ripple's deep expertise in technology, financial services and compliance, we can co-develop more use cases to better serve our clients and their ecosystems' needs in an evolving marketplace." "Accenture (News - Alert) has worked alongside Ripple for some time now, helping our banking clients understand and implement distributed financial technology," said Richard Lumb, group chief executive-Financial Services at Accenture. "But the benefits of DFT could go further, with real-time reporting capabilities and fraud detection for example, having disruptive applications across industries. As such, and in addition to this investment by Accenture Ventures, we have formed an alliance with Ripple to investigate new ways to help clients use their technology, leveraging Accenture's deep industry expertise." "Siam Commercial Bank is excited to take a pioneering role in investing and piloting money transfers through Ripple's network. Our participation makes SCB the first Thai commercial bank to move forward with remittance and other use cases with blockchain," said Thana Thienachariya, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Digital Ventures, a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank. "Our due diligence was conducted by Digital Ventures, the investment and innovation arm of SCB, reaffirming our commitment to cultivating a solid fintech ecosystem for Thailand." "Distributed financial technology is already beginning to transform the financial system, and we're excited to help Ripple drive even broader adoption of its enterprise solutions in Asia and around the world," said President and CEO of SBI Holdings Yoshitaka Kitao. "Following the recent creation of our joint venture SBI Ripple Asia and in light of incredible customer growth, we are very pleased to increase our investment in Ripple." To learn more about Ripple's solutions and relevant use cases for financial institutions, please visit Ripple.com. About Ripple Ripple provides global financial settlement solutions to ultimately enable the world to exchange value like it already exchanges information - giving rise to an Internet of Value (IoV). Ripple solutions lower the total cost of settlement by enabling banks to transact directly and with real-time certainty, optionally using the digital asset XRP to further reduce liquidity costs. Banks around the world are partnering with Ripple to improve their cross-border payment offerings, and to join its growing, global network of financial institutions and liquidity providers. Ripple is a venture-backed startup with offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Sydney and Luxembourg. As an industry advocate for the Internet of Value, Ripple sits on the Federal Reserve's Faster Payments Task Force Steering Committee and co-chairs the W3C's Web Payments Working Group. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005477/en/

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[September 15, 2016] TomTom Expands its Traffic Service to India and Bulgaria

TomTom (News - Alert) (TOM2) today announced the launch of its real-time Traffic service in India and Bulgaria, extending its global reach to 52 countries. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914005879/en/ TomTom Expands its Traffic Service to India and Bulgaria (Photo: Business Wire) "Traffic congestion remains a major problem for many countries around the world - and India and Bulgaria are no different," said Ralf-Peter Schafer, Head of Traffic and Travel Information at TomTom. "Our aim is to continuously empower drivers, businesses and governments by providing accurate traffic information to better manage traffic flow, increase road safety and ease the impact of congestion on the environment." Traffic conditions in India are amongst the worst in the world. In New Delhi, the capital of India, the frequency of traffic collisions is 40 times higher than the rate in London, the capital of the United Kingdom.1 In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, despite recent modernisation programmes to help tackle congestion, the city suffers from substantial traffic jams and excessive air pollutio levels.2



By expanding its Traffic service to these two additional countries, TomTom will be able to reach another 1.3 billion people, helping them to move more quickly and safely, while providing a valuable tool for all environmentally conscious end-users. 1 TR Jain; Mukesh Trehan; Ranju Trehan. Indian Economy. FK Publications. p. 457. ISBN 978-81-87140-37-5.

2 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/bulgaria/new-ring-road-eases-congestion-and-reduces-travel-times-in-bulgaria-s-capital-city

2 http://www.numbeo.com/pollution/city_result.jsp?country=Bulgaria&city=Sofia

-ENDS- About TomTom At TomTom (TOM2) our mission is to make technology so easy to use, that everyone can benefit from it. We created easy to use navigation devices, helping millions of people to get where they want to be. Today, we continue to simplify the complex, making technology more accessible for everyone. We have four customer facing business units: Consumer, Telematics, Automotive and Licensing. We make easy to use navigation devices, sport watches and action cameras for consumers. We enable businesses with vehicles to more easily manage and improve fleet efficiency whilst increasing overall business performance with our Telematics solutions. We also offer a world leading real-time map platform that is powering innovative location based services and helping to make automated driving a reality for the automotive industry. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Amsterdam, we have over 4,600 employees and sell our products worldwide. About TomTom Automotive TomTom Automotive is the trusted partner for innovative and future-proof navigation technology for the global automotive industry. As a global leader in connected navigation software, traffic information, and digital real-time maps, we offer Automotive OEMs the modular components to create competitive infotainment systems, as well as the technology to enable the future self-driving cars to see beyond their sensors. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914005879/en/

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[September 14, 2016] Unified Communications Applications and Services Market in India CY 2015

LONDON, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Unified Communications Applications and Services Market in India CY 2015 : Device Independence is Driving Change in Market Trends by Increasing Customer Interaction Channels The study analyzes the Unified Communications (UC) applications and services market for the calendar year 2015. Some of the key industry trends that drive mobility and bring your own device applications are identified and substantiated with quantitative analysis. Furthermore, market share analysis has also been performed for the complete UC portfolio. Major industry trends impacting the global UC market are also discussed in this study. This report also discusses the various market forces that are driving UC vendors to change their business models. The study also focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises that are becoming more aware of the versatility of UC applications and are showing good adoption of UC similar to large enterprises. DefinitionsUC Applications



The key application segments and enabling platforms that form the total UC framework include:



-Enterprise Telephony: Includes KTS, WPBX, PBX, IP-PBX systems, IP hard phones and soft phons, and digital phones.







- Unified Messaging: Includes applications that integrate the storage and accessibility of voice, fax, and e-mail messages into a single mailbox that can be accessed via e-mail, telephone, web browser, or a unified client. Also includes sales of voice mail systems as they form an addressable opportunity for UM solutions.

- Conferencing and Collaboration: Includes video conferencing infrastructure and endpoints (includes traditional video conferencing and telepresence).

- Contact Center Applications (ACD, CTI, IVR, Outbound, Multimedia systems): Includes product license sales of customer facing applications in the contact center. The applications included are

automatic call distributors, computer telephony integration systems, interactive voice response systems, outbound dialers, and multimedia systems.

- Mobility: Includes middleware applications and soft clients that enable the delivery of corporate desktop and voice communications through mobile devices. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4062636/





About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unified-communications-applications-and-services-market-in-india-cy-2015-300328401.html SOURCE ReportBuyer

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[September 14, 2016]

Second Fatal Tesla Crash Shows Firm Can't Be Trusted, Need For Mandatory Safety Standards, Says Consumer Watchdog

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The new revelation of a second fatal Tesla crash while the vehicle was likely on autopilot shows the company cannot be trusted to deal with deadly failures in its vehicles and underscores the need for enforceable federal safety standards covering autonomous vehicle technology, Consumer Watchdog said today.

China's CCTV reported Wednesday that Gao Yaning, 23, died in January after crashing into the back of a road sweeping truck near Handan, 300 miles south of Beijing. CCTV said the Tesla Model S was on autopilot.

"Tesla's Failure to report the death of another of its human guinea pigs in a timely manner is unconscionable," said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project director. "It also makes it clear that autonomous vehicle technologies must be subject to safety regulations that are enforeable by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration."







View CCTV's coverage of the crash, including video taken from the Tesla, here: http://video.sina.com.cn/view/250748967.html

What was widely believed to be the first fatal Tesla crash in Florida killed Joshua Brown, 40, in May. It was not revealed until late June.

"Tesla's vehicles are connected and data is transmitted to the company. There is no way that Tesla was unaware of the China crash. Keeping it secret since January smacks of a cover-up," said Simpson.

Consumer Watchdog noted that NHTSA is expected to release autonomous vehicle policy "guidance" any day.

"Guidance is meaningless and will be ignored by companies when it suits them," said Simpson. "This second fatal crash and the following cover-up demonstrates the need for real enforceable standards. NHTSA needs to start a rulemaking covering autonomous vehicle technologies."

Visit our website at www.consumerwatchdog.org

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/second-fatal-tesla-crash-shows-firm-cant-be-trusted-need-for-mandatory-safety-standards-says-consumer-watchdog-300328414.html

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
[September 15, 2016] Indian DCB Bank collaborates With GI Technology, a Wirecard AG Subsidiary, to Launch mVisa in the Indian Retail Market

MUNICH, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- mVisa is a mobile QR- based payment solution

GI Technology enables retailers to accept mVisa payments

First payment company to launch cash withdrawl from mVisa in India DCB Bank, a new-generation private sector bank in India, has announced the launch of mVisa. The mobile based payment solution will make payments at retail outlets much easier: Customers of any mVisa issuing bank can make digital payments at mVisa enabled retail outlets simply by scanning a unique QR code on their smartphones. To implement mVisa, the DCB Bank has partnered with GI Technology, a Chennai-based digital payment company. As a Wirecard AG subsidiary company, GI Technology is one of India's and South East Asia's leading electronic payment companies that provides retailers with the acceptance of mVisa payments and withdrawls at their POS within this collaboration. Praveen Kutty, Head of Retail & SME Banking, DCB Bank is confident that the mobile-first approach of mVisa is a pioneer in digital payments. "We are convinced that our collaboration with Visa and GI Technology will accelerate set-up of infrastructure for retail outlets to accept digital payments." Ramu Annamalia Ramsamy, Managing Director of Wirecard's GI Technology, says: "We have been on the forefront of India's very dynamic and early-stage e-commerce and digital payments market for many years. We appreciate this prosperous cooperation and are looking forward for many more to come." "India is undergoing a digital revolution with a clear shift in customer preference to move away from cash payments and mobile phones are a key enabler in this transition", said T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, at Visa. "I m positive this partnership will be instrumental in accelerating the adoption of digital payments."



The mVisa solution has been enabled at over 1,000 Smart Shop retail outlets and the bank plans to expand this number to over 25,000 shops across India in the next few months. Through mVisa, customers can also avail themselves of [email protected] service and pay for goods and services directly using their smartphones. About Wirecard:

Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard. About DCB Bank: DCB Bank Limited is a new generation private sector bank with 205 branches across 18 states and 2 union territories. It is a scheduled commercial bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. It is professionally managed and governed. DCB Bank has contemporary technology and infrastructure, including state-of-the-art India's first Aadhaar number & fingerprint based biometric ATMs, and internet banking for personal as well as business banking customers. The Bank's business segments are Retail, micro-SMEs, SMEs, mid-Corporate, Microfinance Institutions (MFI), Agriculture, Commodities, Government, Public Sector, Indian Banks, Cooperative Banks and Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFC). DCB Bank has approximately 500,000 customers. The Bank has deep roots in India since its inception in 1930s. Its promoter and promoter group the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and Platinum Jubilee Investments Ltd. holds over 16% stake. AKFED is an international development enterprise. It is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and building economically sound companies. AKFED operates as a network of affiliates with more than 90 separate project companies and over 80,000 people. For more details please visit http://www.dcbbank.com & http://www.akdn.org/akfed . About Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks - VisaNet - that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews. Wirecard media contact:

Wirecard AG

Jana Tilz

+49(0)89-4424-1363

E-Mail: [email protected]



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[September 15, 2016] Edupoint's Growth in California Continues with Elk Grove Unified School District's Selection of Synergy

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Edupoint Educational Systems, creator of the industry-leading Synergy Education Platform for K-12 student information, learning management and assessment, has been selected by Elk Grove Unified School District to implement the company's Synergy Student Information System (SIS). The district required a state-of-the-art SIS that could comply with increasingly demanding external mandates and meet the high expectations of the district's E4 Integrated Learning System initiative to ensure college- and career-ready graduates, simply expressed as "Every student learning in Every classroom, in Every subject, Every day." Elk Grove selected Synergy based on its ability to meet these requirements, as well as Edupoint's customer-centric focus on solutions, implementation, and support. "Only Synergy met our needs for a modern SIS that would provide us with an integrated gradebook, parent and student portals, powerful scheduling capabilities, and an online registration system," said Steve Mate, Director of Technology Services Administration for Elk Grove Unified School District. "Synergy's .NET platform will prove to be a great technology fit and will enable us to customize and integrate with other solutions currently in use districtwide. We thoroughly vetted Edupoint and the Synergy solution by contacting numerous other districts using Synergy, and each one had positive feedback about both the product and the company. We were looking for a true partner, and feel that we will have just that with Edupoint." Elk Grove Unified School District, located just south of Sacramento, California, supports over 62,000 students across 63 campuses. Recognized throughout the state as a leader in progressive education, the district invited a broad cross section of district personnel to review and evaluate a new SIS solution. They found that Synergy not only met district requirements for robust data and process management, but also promised to deliver greater value than a traditional SIS by incorporating fully integrated solutions for teachers, administrators, students and parents. The district will be implementing a rich combination of Synergy Education Platform components, including Synergy SIS, TeacherVUE with Gradebook, the ParentVUE and StudentVUE portals, Master Scheduler Builder, Synergy Online Registration, and the Synergy Technology Dvelopment Toolkit. In addition, Elk Grove Unified has chosen a Private Cloud Hosting environment, managed by Edupoint, which will provide the district with ongoing backend access to the Synergy database and source code.



"Elk Grove Unified School District needed a solution that would modernize their student data management while allowing them to build upon their existing best practices, and Synergy was able to provide the best solution," said Rob Wilson, President and Chief Innovation Officer for Edupoint. "Elk Grove Unified's E4 mission - which is focused on providing learning opportunities that challenge all of its students to realize their greatest potential - can only be possible when the right data management, learning management and engagement technologies are being used. Our solutions enable stakeholders in the classroom, school, district, and community to harness both student and instructional data to inform teaching, increase collaboration and positively impact student success. Edupoint's mission is perfectly aligned with Elk Grove Unified's and we look forward to building a valuable partnership with the district as well as continued growth throughout California." Elk Grove Unified School District will soon begin the data conversion process and plans to go live with Synergy in July 2017.

About Edupoint Educational Systems:

For more than thirty years, the leadership of Edupoint Educational Systems has provided well designed, technologically advanced student data management systems that empower all K-12 stakeholders with the tools they need to improve student achievement. The Synergy Education Platform is a suite of integrated solutions that includes Synergy SIS, the most powerful K-12 student information system available today, Synergy LMS, an all-in-one learning management and assessment platform, and Synergy Special Education, a comprehensive special education data management system. More than a data management tool, Synergy is a collaborative environment that facilitates improved communication between educators, administrators, parents and students resulting in better instructional decisions at all levels. To learn why thousands of schools across the country use the Synergy Education Platform to manage more than 3.5 million students, visit www.Edupoint.com. About the Elk Grove Unified School District:

The Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) is the fifth-largest school district in California located in southern Sacramento County. EGUSD covers 320 square miles and includes 65 schools: 40 elementary schools, nine middle schools, nine high schools, five alternative education schools, an adult school, one charter school and a virtual academy. Offering a multitude of educational programs, including over 40 career-themed academies and pathways within 14 industry sectors, we prepare our students for college and career by supporting them with the means to be creative problem solvers; self-aware, self-reliant, and self-disciplined; technically literate; effective communicators and collaborators; and engaged in the community as individuals with integrity. We integrate rigorous academics with career-based learning and real world workplace experiences and strive for having every student learning in every classroom, every subject, every day. For more information about the Elk Grove Unified School District, please visit www.egusd.net and follow us @ElkGroveUnified on Facebook and Twitter. *LOGO for media: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/16-0126-edupoint-300dpi.jpg This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edupoints-growth-in-california-continues-with-elk-grove-unified-school-districts-selection-of-synergy-300328522.html SOURCE Edupoint Educational Systems

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[September 15, 2016] Gratafy partners with Foursquare to help power Swarm Perks

SEATTLE, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gratafy is pleased to announce a new partnership with Foursquare, the location intelligence company. With over 50 million monthly active users across its consumer apps and websites, Foursquare is known for providing its users with rich experiences in the real world through Foursquare and Swarm. Gratafy is now helping to power Swarm Perks, expanding the network of merchant deals and discounts available. Gratafy is offering exclusive promotions through Swarm Perks for users who check in at participating restaurant and bar locations. This gives Gratafy's national network of merchant partners the ability to engage and capture new customers by offering Swarm Perks such as an appetizer or dessert. Through the partnership with Foursquare, Gratafy extends the reach of its platform to a new channel of key, covetable consmers for its brand-name clients.



Gratafy partners with many of the world's largest beverage brands and Fortune 500 CPG companies to power product trial at retail, digitally via mobile. The company's patent-pending POS integrations allow Gratafy to close the data loop on media attribution by effectively quantifying consumer sampling programs that begin in the digital world and end in the physical world. Gratafy's proprietary technology, merchant network, and brand sampling programs paired with location-oriented Swarm Perks, makes for highly relevant consumer offers. "Foursquare's extensive location data adds a new level of context to Gratafy's merchant offers and brand promotions. Being able to put our brand and merchant partners' products directly into a consumer's hands when they are actually inside the venue is extremely powerful," said Gratafy cofounder Ryan Halper.

Gratafy (www.gratafy.com) is an award-winning technology platform that links digital media to offline retail purchase for many of the world's biggest brands. Gratafy enables Fortune 500 companies and local merchants alike to link their online ads to offline purchase via its proprietary point-of-sale integrated technology. Brands recruit new consumers to their products via trial offers and measure affinity thereafter through Gratafy's data analytics tools. Launched in 2012, Gratafy is a privately held company based in Seattle. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gratafy-partners-with-foursquare-to-help-power-swarm-perks-300328467.html SOURCE Gratafy

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[September 15, 2016] Kudelski Security Wins Top Award From F5 Networks

CHESEAUX, Switzerland and PHOENIX, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kudelski Security, a trusted advisor and cybersecurity innovator for the world's most security-conscious organizations, today announced its Authorized Training Center (ATC), Milestone University, has received F5 Network's 2016 "Training Partner of the Year Award." F5 Networks, the global leader in application networking and security, presented the honor during F5 Agility Americas, the company's flagship learning and networking conference, which took place August 2-4 in Chicago. Kudelski Security was chosen for the award based on rigid criteria, including: year-over-year growth of training days; number of unique F5 classes taught and extent of curriculum covered; and percentage of instructors fully certified. Kudelski Security's highly regarded F5 lab environment also contributed to the company coming out on top. Kudelski Security, through its Milestone University training program, has provided F5 training for more than 14 years. Beth Naczkowski, F5 Network's director for worldwide customer education, stated: "Congratulations to Kudelski Security for receiving F5 Network's 2016 'Training Partner of the Year Award.' Kudelski Security was one of the first F5 ATC's in the U.S. and they continue to be a valued training partner." As an F5 ATC and long standing partner, Kudelski Security has the largest number of certified F5 instructors in North America. As a result, its instructors have the deepest and broadest capabilities to support F5's end-user needs across all of their deployments. Kudelski Security also delivers training onsite at customer facilities and offers open enrollment in major cities throughout North America, with online instruction available as well. In addition to Kudelski Security's F5 training experise, the company is also a Guardian-level partner for F5 professional services.



"It is particularly validating when an innovative company such as F5 recognizes our superior training capabilities and understanding of their technology," said Rich Fennessy, chief executive officer of Kudelski Security. "We are proud of our training reputation and the depth of expertise we have developed. As a long-time partner of F5 Networks, our team has worked diligently to ensure all our trainers have achieved the highest number of technical certifications for their products. This award underscores our already firm commitment to F5 and we look forward to working with them for many years to come." The F5 honor comes at a time of rapid global growth for Kudelski Security, marked in recent weeks by the expansion of its U.S. presence. Building off its reputation in Europe as trusted advisors and innovators with proven R&D capabilities and high-quality engineering expertise, Kudelski Security has established a strong foothold in the U.S. market with a growing Fortune 500 client base, unique capabilities and a plan to change how clients work with solution providers to design, deploy and manage cybersecurity.

Kudelski Security also provides world-class advisory services delivered through a comprehensive framework that encompasses the four core areas of a cybersecurity program: Strategy and Governance; Threat, Vulnerability and Risk Management; Incident Response and Cyber Resilience; and Strategy Cyber Staffing. Its advisors collaborate with clients to build and articulate a clear security vision, providing a measurable plan and blueprint for achieving priorities. About F5

F5 provides solutions for an application world. F5 helps organisations seamlessly scale cloud, data center, and software defined networking (SDN) deployments to successfully deliver applications to anyone, anywhere, at any time. F5 solutions broaden the reach of IT through an open, extensible framework and a rich partner ecosystem of leading technology and data centre orchestration vendors. This approach lets customers pursue the infrastructure model that best fits their needs over time. The world's largest businesses, service providers, government entities, and consumer brands rely on F5 to stay ahead of cloud, security, and mobility trends. For more information, go to f5.com. You can also follow @F5NetworksAPJ on Twitter or visit us on Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies. About Kudelski Security

Kudelski Security is the premier advisor and cybersecurity innovator for today's most security-conscious organizations. Our long-term approach to client partnerships enables us to continuously evaluate their security posture to recommend solutions that reduce business risk, maintain compliance and increase overall security effectiveness. With clients that include Fortune 500 enterprises and government organizations in Europe and across the United States, we address the most complex environments through an unparalleled set of solution capabilities including advisory, technology, managed security services and custom innovation. For more information, visit www.kudelskisecurity.com. Kudelski Security Contact:

John Van Blaricum

Vice President, Global Marketing

Kudelski Security

650.966.4320

[email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160722/392252LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kudelski-security-wins-top-award-from-f5-networks-300328848.html SOURCE Kudelski Security

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[September 15, 2016] Stroz Friedberg, Gotham Digital Science First Members of CREST USA Chapter

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Stroz Friedberg announced today that it, along with its subsidiary Gotham Digital Science (GDS), are two of the six founding members of CREST's new USA Chapter. Stroz Friedberg and GDS are certified to offer leading CREST pen testing in the U.S. and the U.K. GDS is also certified to offer the industry leading CREST STAR (Simulated Targeted Attack and Response) cybersecurity testing services. CREST, an accreditation and certification body for the technical security industry, recently announced an agreement with the National Security Agency (NSA) to take over the operation of its Cyber Incident Response Assistance (CIRA) accreditation program. Stroz Friedberg and GDS will join four other organizations as inaugural members in the U.S. chapter aimed at encouraging cybersecurity providers to assess and accredit their capabilities. "Cybersecurity is a business imperative. As a founding chapter member, Stroz Friedberg and GDS continue to demonstrate our expertise and quality of service in helping organizations become more resilient in in today's digital world," said Michael Patsalos-Fox, CEO, Stroz Friedberg. "This recognition spaks to the level of cyber services we provide holistically both globally and in the U.S."



CREST provides internationally recognized accreditation for organizations and individuals providing penetration testing, cyber incident response, STAR threat intelligence-led penetration testing, and threat intelligence services. In addition to pen testing services, Stroz Friedberg is in the process of receiving incident response and threat intelligence accreditations. Stroz Friedberg, LLC

Founded in 2000, Stroz Friedberg is a specialized risk management firm built to help clients solve the complex challenges prevalent in today's digital, connected, and regulated business world. A global leader in the fields of cybersecurity, with leading experts in digital forensics, incident response, and security science; investigations; eDiscovery; and due diligence, Stroz Friedberg works to maximize the health of an organization, ensuring its longevity, protection and resilience. With thirteen offices across nine U.S. cities, London, Zurich, Dubai, and Hong Kong, Stroz Friedberg serves Fortune 100 companies, 80% of the AmLaw 100, and the Top 20 UK law firms. Learn more at www.strozfriedberg.com.

Gotham Digital Science

Gotham Digital Science (GDS) is an international security services company specializing in application penetration testing, security code review, and related secure development lifecycle services, as well as threat intelligence led red team penetration testing. GDS clients number among the largest financial services institutions and software development companies in the world, including Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 firms. GDS security specialists work with clients to find, fix, and prevent security vulnerabilities in mission critical systems and help manage their security risks. With offices located in New York City; Charlotte, North Carolina; and London, GDS seamlessly and efficiently assists clients with operations on both sides of the Atlantic. Learn more at http://www.gdssecurity.com. Contact:

Stroz Friedberg

Carolyn Vadino

[email protected]

+1-646-524-8454 Weber Shandwick

Katherine DeBerry

[email protected]

+1-212-445-8330 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stroz-friedberg-gotham-digital-science-first-members-of-crest-usa-chapter-300328857.html SOURCE Stroz Friedberg, LLC

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[September 15, 2016] Government of Canada Celebrates World's Tallest Wood Building at UBC

VANCOUVER, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Our government sees forestry as a high-value, high-tech industry, leading the way in innovation and playing a central role in the fight against climate change. Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, today visited the University of British Columbia's campus to celebrate the "topping out" of the Brock Commons Residence. This 53-metre, 18-storey building is the tallest wood frame building of its kind in the world. The Brock Commons Residence, part of UBC's Student Housing Growth Strategy, uses cross-laminated timber as its primary building material, a technology that greatly increases the technical limits for tall wood construction. The Government of Canada is contributing $2.3 million toward the project through Natural Resources anada's Tall Wood Building Demonstration Initiative, which is part of the Government of Canada's strategy to help expand the North American market for Canadian wood products by encouraging the use of wood in construction.



Wood is a sustainable and versatile building material that stores carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). By using wood, UBC's latest residence will store over 1,750 metric tonnes of CO 2 -equivalent greenhouse gases, which is the equivalent of removing 511 cars from Canada's roads for a year. Quote

"This remarkable building, the first of its kind in the world, is another shining example of Canadian ingenuity and innovation, an apt demonstration of how Canada's forest industry is finding new opportunities through technology and innovation  opening up a world of possibilities for our forest and construction industries."

Jim Carr

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Associated Links Spotlight: Pushing the Heights of Building With Wood Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.news.gc.ca SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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[September 15, 2016] LinkShare Japan Enters Exclusive Alliance with Finch

LinkShare Japan K.K., a group corporation of Rakuten, Inc. and Finch, LLC located in Utah, USA, formed a business agreement on September 14th, 2016 to provide Finch services in Japan. This agreement enables LinkShare Japan to provide Finch's automated optimization service for search, shopping and mobile. This agreement authorizes LinkShare Japan to provide the service exclusively in Japan. LinkShare Japan will launch Finch's CPA service in October of 2016. Finch provides a programmatic and predictive technology that was originally created by Bjorn Espenes and Eric Maas, Finch co-Founders, to solve the biggest problem in paid advertising: to know the profit of the next click. With Finch's technology in place, companies can create and add keywords, control bidding prices, optimize campaigns and maximize profit in a holistic manner. Generally, the operation of listing ads is highly dependent on each individual's ability and experience, which can be time-consuming, expensive and impossible to manage. With Finch, clients can run more effective campaigns using its analytic reporting that guarantees a high level of quality. Free reporting is available for a trial use of the service. "This is an amazing partnership that offers a great opportunity and growth for the LinkShare client base" says CEO and co-Founder Bjorn Espenes, "we're excited to work with a company like LinkShare who is forward-thinking and wants to push the boundaries of programmatic technology in both their country and our industry." In addition, LinkShare Japan will provide their consulting service that enables clients to investigate each campaign's obstacles which are difficult to be found by a technology alone. Currently, Finch provides consulting in English, German, Danish and the Scandinavian languages, Japanese clients will be able to receive consulting services in their language through LinkShare Japan. LinkShare Japan will utilize the technology that Finch provides, contribute to customers' campaigns and the resulting sales growth and reduction in cost, while supporting their Omni-channel marketing strategy. If you have inquiries, please contact Kim Pratt at [email protected] or call 855-275-7772. About Finch Finch is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah; U.S.A. A global company with offices in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia, Finch manages AdWords programs to create optimal business growth for their clients using their proprietary programmatic advertising platform. Finch is a Google (News - Alert) Premier Partner and boasts a team of Google certified AdWords Experts. Learn more about Finch at www.finch.com or through our official blog at finch.com/en/blog. About LinkShare Japan







Corporate Name: LinkShare Japan, K.K. Rep Name: Tomoaki Hamano, CEO Address: Rakuten Crimson House, 1-14-1 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 158-0094 Year Established: 2004/12/24 Main Service: Performance-Based Online Services URL: http://jp.linkshare.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915006306/en/

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[September 15, 2016] Can the Smart Tech Industry Convince Consumers to Take the Smart Home Leap

DALLAS, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sabine H. Schoenberg, host of Sabine's New House, has been often described as a designer, builder, and Realtor wrapped into one over the years. The combination has set her up well in understanding several nuances that go into home design and home construction. Because of this expertise, she will be a presenting at CEDIA 2016 in Dallas, Texas today. She will dive into the struggles the industry is having to break into broader adoption in households across the country and offer a path to getting smart home tech to go mainstream. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408404 Schoenberg's experience with smart home tech goes all the way back to 2005, when she was one of the first builders in Connecticut to install smart home wiring in a spec house she built. The home got the attention of Robb Report and other publications at the time seeking to capture the trend. Today, Schoenberg is still working with clients through her real estate brokerage company in Greenwich, Connecticut, a suburb of the greater New York metropolitan area. "My clients come from all around the world and represent all age groups and income levels," says Schoenberg. "Most of them do not have smart home tech installed and are intrigued, but nervous about having it. They share one common element, they are consumers who are making decisions around what home environments and home products they want to surround themselves with." Consumers are much more willing to make lifestyle upgrades and changes around the time they are buying a home. It may be adding bedrooms for a growing family, downsizing into retirement, or simply wanting an enhanced the home experience. "This willingness to make changes is key. It's consumers in this transition that the industry needs to reach out to in order to drive adoption of smart home tech in a mainstream market," added Schoenberg. Schoenberg's access to feedback and consumer exposure doesn't stop at her real estate brokerage. Through her series, Sabine's New House which launched last fall, she constantly receives feedback from consumers across the country. They are reacting to the various social, editorial coverage and video content that tracks what Sabine calls "smart, healthy, and green - next generation home building." "Our audience often reaches out to ask questions around what products they should install in their homes, both for renovations and new construction projects." One example that Schoenberg offers is a follower who recently sold her home and is looking to downsize. She watches Sabine's New House closely and is aware of the various product innovations that are featured. When she approached her builder about smart tech the response was shocking, "Oh, you'll do that later - it's all wireless now." "Thankfully this viewer reached out when she didn't quite believe what she was hearing. We were happy to answer her questions. Now with better, more complete information, she is ready to tackle her new construction project complete with a full home automation system," added Schoenberg. Schoenberg feels that the industry is certainly at an exciting junction as it moves from early adopters to going more mainstream in homes. She sees a couple of challenges that the industry still needs to overcome however, emotional barriers and changing habits. "You'll probably laugh when I tell you this, but people are very much afraid of something as simple as a smart thermostat. They fear losing control over their home," remarked Schoenberg. "Thy very much feel that someone will start screwing with their heating and cooling systems in order to 'save energy'."



She is confident that consumers want products that improve their lifestyles. They are eager to purchase products that make them feel better and enhance how they live within their home. Her latest project, dubbed "The Greenwich House," serves as a demonstration on how products can enhance a consumer's lifestyle within the home. It is filled with choices and building products that Schoenberg believes today's consumer wants and often demands.

Lifestyle Trends Shape Consumer Choices Schoenberg feels that consumers are looking more at new construction and away from fixer uppers filled with DIY projects. She sees new construction as offering less headache, less maintenance and greater comfort through smart temperature control, smart irrigation and other features. She also notes that consumers today have a different sense of time. "We live in a now culture, there is less time for everything including long remodeling projects," says Schoenberg. She adds that smart home tech really speaks to that instant gratification that consumers are looking for. Buyers are also seeking out a healthy home that enhances overall well-being. The Shelton Group has conducted several surveys around healthy living and smart home technology and notes that both men and women respond to healthier living. According to a recent survey 19% of women see smart home tech as their path to healthier and safer homes. A key factor that is likely to increase as smart home tech moves into the mainstream. The same group found a significant spike in how consumers identified eco-friendly products with energy efficiency. For several years the sentiment was at 26%, this year that number jumped to 47% representing a significant change. That same study noted that almost half of female consumers believe smart home tech can help their homes be more energy efficient. Schoenberg also believes that access and control on the go will define the importance of having smart home tech. She believes that most home systems should be available on any device, any platform, even when you are away from the home to enhance mobility and independence. Bettering Living, Lifestyle Enhancement Transcends Generational Divide Often when asked about what age demographic "The Greenwich House" was built for, Schoenberg replies "We all really want the same thing, millennials, gen x'ers, baby boomers. There is a fundamental desire for better living, for lifestyle enhancement." In her presentation today, Schoenberg walked through what she sees as the major motivators that impact each generation differently. First, she talks about how we're currently in a "now culture." Millennials have a very different sense of time and expect to be able to access information and needs instantly. In contrast, she believes that baby boomers simply want to be able to pack as many life experiences into their retirement as possible. Mobility also plays a big part according to Schoenberg. She points out that millennials and baby boomers alike want to be on the go with their jobs and with travel. Both groups have a desire to close the door to their home, yet still be connected with vital home systems and security. Schoenberg also points out a desire to make maintenance easier. Her experience shows that millennials are new to home maintenance and are frankly fearful of key system breakdowns. Gen X'ers on the other hand are working harder for less and are seeking to simplify and make things easier so they have more time to spend with family and their careers. Baby boomers similarly are seeking easier ways to maintain their home. Further, she talks about how eco-minded and money-minded go hand in hand for all age groups. Millennials are known for their eco-minded and money-minded approach to life and baby boomers are seeking to stretch retirement savings across longer life spans. All of these trends amount to lifestyle enhancements according to Schoenberg. Therefore, the focus needs to be on how do smart home tech products improve everybody's lifestyle. According to Schoenberg, based on the trends all generations will embrace technologies and products that give them an enhanced lifestyle. "This is really good news for the smart home tech industry." Although millennials are often seen as the likely adopters of smart home tech, they still only account for 2.6% of the home buying market. Schoenberg notes that in order for smart home tech to go mainstream today, the industry needs to focus attention on baby boomers and gen x'ers who make up the remainder of the home buying market. "As we've just seen, focusing the conversation on lifestyle benefits relates to all age groups and is one of the keys to make smart home tech go mainstream," adds Schoenberg. Women May Very Well Be The Best Path Forward Home improvement product manufacturers and retailers have been shifting their marketing focus towards women for years. Stores like The Home Depot are now stocking lighter tools for example that are specifically designed for women's preferences. They are leading the decisions around home products and technologies. Schoenberg asks, "What are the motivating lifestyle choices for 'these home purchasing managers' when it comes to smart home technology?" Studies in this area repeatedly show that women are motivated by technologies that provide safety, result in savings, enhance health, and are environmentally friendly. Sabine tells the audience, "Stop telling women about the latest 'cool' gadgets." She feels that companies that can figure out how to connect with women's desires and needs, are focused on healthy and safety for families, comfort, and energy efficiency will win this market. "When I present "The Greenwich House" I know men will head right to the utility room to check out all the gear. Women on the other hand want to be in the kitchen and family room where I often hand them my phone so they can control the thermostat, lighting, and more, they discover quickly that they can control and easily manage their domain, their home out of the palm of their hand. This control over their nest is what they get," adds Schoenberg. She is confident that smart home technology will go mainstream across the country very soon. It will be dominated by companies who can position their products to enhance daily life within the home and answer key motivating factors that are relevant to women. Related Links Sabine's New House CEDIA 2016 Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6NGK5eIuJE This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/can-the-smart-tech-industry-convince-consumers-to-take-the-smart-home-leap-300328918.html SOURCE Sabine's New House

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Saddling up to help children What gave rise to the Ventura County Sheriffs Posses latest initiative to help kids with disabilities? Just a man and his horse. Somis resident Russell...

CRPD to dedicate latest neighborhood park near Janss/23 The newest installation in the Conejo Rec and Park District system is now open to the public. On Oct. 21, CRPD crews took down the...

The best birthday gift ever As Kerri Braemer-Castro looked down at the mountains and valleys of Camarillo from the cockpit of a World War II B-25 bomber earlier this month,...

Break out the costumes HISTORIC FUNTop, Layla Sayegh, 8, of West Hills tries her hand at roping on Oct. 22 during Leonis Adobe Museums annual Pumpkin Party. Above, Lisa...
We listen to a lot of music here at Tone Deaf HQ, and were the first to admit were perhaps a little biased towards sounds of the Australian variety. We do make the best music in the world, after all.

In honouring our favourite Aussies, weve once again compiled a list of the most outstanding local releases you should be listening to right now  whether theyre smaller indies acts or big-name essentials, these are the newest Australian records you should be adding to your must-listen list.

Lets get started.

Nick Cave  Skeleton Tree

Out now

One of the most harrowing records of the year, from an Australian music icon who has plunged through unimaginable heartache, Skeleton Tree was never going to be anything less than bleak, confronting, and brilliant. Read our full review here.

Northeast Party House  Dare

Out now

This crew have been steadily making a name for themselves over the last few years, with Dare being their highly-anticipated follow-up to their impressive 2014 debut Any Given Weekend. The band managed to put this one together themselves from various corners of the world while on tour overseas, but have now settled back in Australia to tour the record around the country as we speak  they always put on a cracker of a live show. Dare is out now on iTunes.

Harts  Smoke Fire Hope Desire

Out Friday Sep 16

Melbourne guitar maestro Harts has proven time and time again that he can tear it up onstage, delivering an enthralling performance recently at BIGSOUND, but hes also shown a meticulous work ethic thats allowed that live energy to sink into his recordings. Hes on tour now promoting the record, and wed strongly suggest any fans of the axe get down to one of his shows.

Ceres  Drag It Down On You

Out now

Another band that have been impressing us on the live stage recently, Ceres have followed up on that immense early promise with their second record, and Tom Bromley of Los Campesinos! has definitely helped to bring the best out of the band on this one as producer.

Osaka Punch  Death Monster Super Squad

Out Friday Sep 16

Just a bonkers fun record from a band that almost refuse categorisation, beyond a satisfying blend of prog rock, metal and funk. The video for single Make The Call, featuring an acid-fuelled carnival trip, pretty much tells you everything you need to know about this one.

Jarrow  2003 Dream

Out Friday Sep 16

Melbourne garage-pop talent Jarrow impressed immediately with his recent single $$ Spoilers $$, and 2003 Dream is set to continue on with the winning formula. Hes launching the album tomorrow at Polyester records, and this one will be well-worth getting down for.

Columbus  Spring Forever

Out now

The latest impressive act out of UNFD, Columbus tore the stage down at BIGSOUND last week with an immense sound. Theyve hit the nail on the head in bringing emo back to its post-hardcore/punk roots, with shades of early Greenday. A very exciting band, and a great record.

The Pretty Littles  Soft Rock For The Anxious

Out now

One of our favourite indie rock acts in the country, The Pretty Littles have just released their third album, and it delivers rock-solid indie choons with an effortless charm  an example of which youll find here, with the band letting us in on their personal brand of humour.

Dallas Frasca  Dirt Buzz

Out Friday Sep 16

Aussie rock champs Dallas Frascas first independent release was born of a severe injury that lead to some soul-searching and reevaluation for the band, but which ultimately led to what they describe as their proudest work to date. About to head off on a 40-date international tour, youll be able to catch the new record being toured around Australia before they jet off.

Sans Parents  Dead End

Out now

Featuring former members of Hungry Kids of Hungary, these guys impressed us recently with the EPs title track, and were loving the record too. If youre digging the Brissy outfits indie-infused sound, theyre midway through touring this one, with Melbourne and Sydney dates still to come later this month.

Darren Cross  _Xantastic

Out now

The frontman of Sydney legends Gerling, Darren Cross has been keeping busy in other outfits for years, but has finally dropped his immersive solo debut. Darren has gone in-depth on this one for us, taking us through each track, with influences ranging from 60s protest songs to Lena Dunhams Girls.
Adelaide venue The Producers Bar has come under fire from more than one local band claiming the venue did not honour contracts it had signed, leaving the bands out of pocket and in one case, forcing the band to cancel the gig.

Sydney outfit The Lulu Raes took to Facebook yesterday to announce the cancellation of their Adelaide show this Friday. The venue decided they dont feel like honouring the contract by paying us so we regret to inform you we will NOT be playing this Fridays gig, they wrote.

Adelaide kids were very sorry and well be back soon at a good venue, they added. According to the bands management, the cancellation has left the band out of pocket for the cost of flights and the time taken off work to travel.

The lads were really excited about getting back to Adelaide but after the venue booker (who signed the contract 5th August) suddenly left the position a few weeks back the new person in that role attempted to renegotiate every aspect of the contract pulling the bands performance fee, accom and back line, they wrote.

Facing a rather large financial loss we were left with no option but to cancel the show. However, the venue has since responded to the bands claims, insisting the contract The Lulu Raes signed is void as it was signed by an unauthorised person on the venues end.

We would have loved for the Lulu Raes to perform at our venue but we were presented with an invalid contract. The contract hadnt even been signed off by Lulu Raess management/agent, or been signed on our end by an authorised person, they wrote in a statement.

We did not buy the show or were the promoter, we are merely the venue. Their agent had attempted to pass on most of the risk to the venue through an unauthorised person. We were merely trying to make sense of it all.

The venue went one further, sticking the knife in by claiming the band had sold very few tickets to the cancelled performance. Maybe if they hadnt only sold seven tickets to the show, their agency wouldnt have cancelled the event, they added.

However, another band with gripes against the Producers Bar has since come out of the woodwork. Taking to social media, fellow Sydney band WildHoney claimed they still havent been paid for a performance back in July.

You still havent paid us our fee nor reimbursed us our travel etc from a gig we played at your venue back in June, they wrote. You have not come through on anything you contractually agreed to and was signed at both ends.

Not a leg to stand on. You book bands, sign contracts, and then leave those bands in debt for playing your venue. A blight on the beautiful South Australian landscape. Tone Deaf has reached out to The Producers Bar for comment but they did not respond in time for publication.
CHARLESTON (JG-TC) -- The suspect in connection with the reported bank robbery a couple of weeks ago might have gotten into a dark green minivan with damage to the driver's side front quarter panel and driver's door after fleeing the scene that day.

The suspect, a 5-feet, 6-inch to 5-feet, 8-inch tall, heavyset male with brown hair, reportedly robbed the Prairie State Bank & Trust, 1820 18th St. near Casey's General Store, on Sept. 2. The suspect allegedly took $5,800.

According to Charleston police, the suspect, who was last seen walking northbound from the scene, possibly left in the aforementioned vehicle.

Prairie State Bank & Trust is offering a $2,000 reward for anyone who is able to identify the suspect, resulting in his arrest, according to police.

Tips on the identification of the man can be accepted at http://bit.ly/2cbsuRi.

Police urge anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect or the incident itself to message the CPD through their Facebook page, call Coles County Crime Stoppers at 866-345-8488 or call CPD detective Tony West at 217-345-8402.
Brisbanes experimental trip-punkers The Keepaways have dropped the awesome Baggage EP.

Having spent a while making a name for themselves as one of the most innovative and inventive artists in Brisbane, The Keepaways Baggage EP is their most experimental release to date.

Self-produced by the duo, Baggage is a journey through the mind of the group, as they explore a crazy mixture of alternative, electronic, punk, and trip-hop music. Undoubtedly one of the few releases that really does offer something for everyone, The Keepaways are certainly on the right track to capture the minds of fans all around Australia.

To celebrate the release of Baggage, The Keepaways will be performing with Spacecowboy4005 as part of a double EP launch at Brisbanes The Zoo on Friday, 16th September.
"This is the "hair curler" for the one on top of Bartle Hall that was struck by lighting months ago. It was removed by helicopter and will be replaced by helicopter on Sunday."

From now on, if Kansas City claims to be "artsy" let's call this thingif holding on to the "Paris of the Plain" tag is really important . . .A nice note sent our way and. . .Official word . . .The City of Kansas City, Missouri, and A. Zahner Company will reinstall the Sky Station sculpture that was removed in May after lightning struck the easternmost 300-foot pylon at the Kansas City Convention Center.The reinstallation of the 12-ton metal sculpture is planned for Sunday, Sept. 18, starting as early as 7 a.m. For information on street closures that will impact downtown traffic flow, please visit. That site also has information on parking and designated viewing areas.We are so grateful to the project team for repairing the Sky Station. We are really looking forward to the sculpture regaining its iconic perch on the Kansas City skyline, said Liz Bowman, Public Art Administrator with the Municipal Art Commission. `The Bartle Hall Sky Stations have helped establish Kansas Citys reputation as an Art City.###################
Show-Me State gun rights in

Don't Blame Kansas City Urban Core Violence On Missouri Gun Rights

, domestic drama combatants and mass shooters

KCMO Politicos: Back Off Constitutional Debates & Focus On Local Problems

Disarming Urban Core Doesn't Stop Killing









Huff Post: Trevor Noah Blasts Missouri Law That Requires No Gun Training

Last night the Missouri General Assembly overwhelmingly stood up fora victory that should send a clear message about political reality amid flyover country.Meanwhile . . . We'd like to clear up a few misconceptions . . .It's hard for people to understand this one but violent criminalsrarely pay attention to gun laws in the first place. Anti-gun scare tactics commonly used in gun crackdown legislation debates speak to the level of fear that so-called "progressives" are willing to employ in order to push their agenda.It's always a shame watching local politicos engage in the culture war when there are so many potholes, infrastructure problems and tax complaints to address.Let's save time andabout their success stopping violence by cracking down on guns.More links on last night's win for the 2nd Amendment . . .You decide . . .
MO HOUSE REP. BRANDON ELLINGTON HAS BEEN ENJOYING MISSOURI OPEN CARRY INSIDE THE STATE CAPITOL IN ORDER TO OPPOSE SENATE BILL 656!!!

Missouri Rep. Brandon Ellington: "Today the State Legislature is set to make Missouri as safe as the Old Wild Wild West.. since Monday I've been walking though out the Capitol openly displaying my fire arm in an attempt to visibly show my colleagues how crazy this legislation is. I don't think they're getting the message."

And holding legislators for the same practices and policies they pass should not be a controversial stance

Like or not, our TKC Blog Communityeven if we might slightly disagree on the issues.While Mayor Sly James hides from tough questions in an abused women's shelter and. . . Kansas City's most promising elected officialand by demonstrating his opposition in the real world.To wit and as the. . .The statement . . .While we may not agree with opposition to the bill, wereal world lessons in guns rights not just in theory but practice.despite the fact that Missouri media has kept this display on the topic of gun rights silent.Developing . . .
Athens is the World Book Capital for 2018, according to UNESCO announcement issued on Wednesday.

UNESCO has selected Athens to be World Book Capital for 2018, according to UNESCO announcement issued on Wednesday. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova named the Greek capital on the recommendation of the programmes Advisory Committee, the announcement said.

The city of Athens was chosen for the quality of its activities, supported by the entire book industry. The proposed programme includes meetings with writers, translators and illustrators, concerts, thematic exhibitions, poetry readings and workshops for publishing professionals. The aim of the programme is to make books accessible to the citys entire population, including migrants and refugees. Members of the Advisory Committee also praised Athens cultural infrastructure and its expertise in organizing international events.

Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital undertake to promote books and reading and to organize activities over the year which starts with the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day (23 April).

The Advisory Committee brings together representatives of UNESCO, the International Publishers Associations (IPA) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). It recently met in Paris, at UNESCOs Headquarters, to examine a record number of candidacies for the title of World Book Capital.

Athens is the 18th city to become World Book Capital. It was preceded by Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011), Yerevan (2012), Bangkok (2013), Port Harcourt (2014), Incheon (2015), Wroclaw (2016) and Conakry (2017).

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
Cyprus POED Teachers Union will be going on a warning strike on Wednesday

Cyprus POED Teachers Union will be going on a warning strike on Wednesday September 21 at 12:00 pm, an announcement said on Thursday.

The announcement added that the decision was made on Thursday after a meeting of the Unions executive board.

During the strike, POED announced, district offices around Cyprus will hold meetings to inform their members.

The Organisation has said that their decision to take intensified measures was influenced by the slow and insufficient staffing at schools, which is affecting their work.

These are problems that continue to exist three weeks after the beginning of the school year, the announcement said.

POEDs announcement added: They [the governing board] believes the Cabinets decision is unacceptable as per the actual staffing needs that the Ministry of Education has recognised.

The Union has said that the issue with the decision is that it replacements should be filled by a yearly contract, so as to not damage the public school system.

POED has announced that they will release an analytical announcement on Friday, and that on Tuesday they will be holding a press conference at 10:00 am.

The Teachers Union has said that they will send a brief to all parents and other organisations to inform them, and request meetings.

Education Minister Costas Kadis has told Simerini newspaper that he is disappointed in the union's actions.

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
Bahrain government is all set to hand over an additional 3,200 housing units in the kingdoms various governorates, in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, said a report.



The Ministry has put forward a schedule for the distribution of the units across the kingdom starting from September 25, reported the BNA citing the Housing Minister Bassim bin Yaqoob Al Hamar.



The scheme includes the distribution of units in the kingdoms various governorates, including the East Hidd project in Muharraq, the Riyadh Askar and Hajjiyat projects in the Southern Governorate, the Bloc 609 project in Sitra in the Capital Governorate in addition to the Phase Two of the Northern City, the Hamad Town project and the Al Ramli project in the Northern Governorate, he stated.



The minister thanked HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and HRH Prince Salman for their directives to speed up the distribution of housing units to the citizens so as to provide the requirements of decent living and welfare for them, said the report.



With this handover, the total number of housing units distributed in 2016 will rise to 6,200, it added.
CHARLESTON -- A woman was ordered to not work where she has access to controlled substances after she admitted stealing a painkiller from a hospital while working as a nurse there.

Sara J. Calhoun, 39, for whom court records list an address in Effingham, pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a controlled substance alleging she had morphine she took from Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.

Calhoun, who according to records is also known as Sara Gordon, was first charged with taking four different doses of painkillers from the hospital on Sept. 24 and 25.

With the agreement that included her guilty plea to the possession charge, the other charges were dismissed and she was sentenced to two years of what's called first offender probation.

First offender probation is possible for a defendant without a criminal history and it offers a chance for no record of a conviction if completed successfully.

The Illinois Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau prosecuted the case.

During the hearing at which Calhoun pleaded guilty, Assistant Attorney General Chris Scanlon said the missing painkillers were discovered because Calhoun didn't record that they were used.

That meant the amount of the painkillers in the storage area from which Calhoun took them didn't match what hospital records indicated should have been on hand, Scanlon said.

That led to an investigation during which Calhoun admitted to other hospital staff that she took the painkillers for her own use, Scanlon related.

In addition to the employment restriction, probation terms for Calhoun included an evaluation to determine what substance abuse treatment is needed and a requirement that she follow the evaluation's recommendations.

The charge to which Calhoun pleaded guilty was a felony offense that could have resulted in a prison sentence of one to three years.

The dismissed charges, which also included unlawful acquisition of a controlled substance, were the same level of felony offense.

Coles County Circuit Judge Teresa Righter ordered Calhoun to pay about $600 in fines and court fees. The judge sentenced her by accepting the terms of the plea agreement that Scanlon and defense attorney Tyler Weaver recommended.
South Koreas Daewoo Engineering & Construction Company has been awarded a contract worth 805.1 billion won ($730 million) by Ashghal, the public works authority of Qatar, for extension of the E-Ring expressway in capital Doha.



As per the contract, Daewoo E&C will be the sole contractor of the project, and will complete the work in 42 months, reported Business Korea.



The project involves the extension of the expressway connecting the southern part of Doha by 4.5 km as well as adding 4-km-long roads with 8 to 14 lanes and three multi-level intersections.



Although the project is the construction of the 8.5-km section of the road, it has a high profitability in the future due to a large amount of construction costs as it has three multi-level crossing interchanges, said the report citing a Daewoo E&C spokesaman.



The company has so far won a total of five projects worth 3.27 trillion won ($3 billion) in Qatar after entering the market in 2005.
The United States and Russia agreed that the Syrian cessation of hostilities that began on Monday had largely held and should be extended for another 48 hours despite sporadic violence, the US State Department said on Wednesday.



The cessation of hostilities, brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, went into effect on Monday night.



State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry and Lavrov had spoken by telephone earlier on Wednesday and agreed it was worth extending the truce.



Under the deal, the United States and Russia are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not party to the truce.



"There was agreement that as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding, and violence is significantly lower in comparison with previous days and weeks," Toner told a briefing.



"As part of the conversation they agreed to extend the cessation for another 48 hours," he said.



The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict through contacts on the ground, said no deaths from fighting had been reported in the first 48 hours of the truce.



"This recommitment will initially be for 48 hours, and, provided it holds, the US and Russia will discuss extensions, with the aim of achieving an indefinite extension to lower the violence," Toner explained later.



He said Russia needed to use its influence over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to ensure that humanitarian aid was delivered to besieged communities under the agreement.



"We haven't seen the humanitarian access yet so we're still continuing to assess this, talking to the Russians," he said. "We're pressuring them to pressure the Assad regime."



Two aid convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, that were headed for the city of Aleppo have been held up since crossing the Turkish border, according to United Nations and other officials.



The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Tuesday the United Nations was waiting for Damascus to issue letters authorizing the aid deliveries, which are desperately needed in Aleppo, the scene of Syria's fiercest fighting in recent months.



The U.N. has estimated that well over half a million people are living under siege in Syria.



The five-year-long civil war in Syria has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than 11 million people have been displaced.  Reuters
More than 300 new hotels housing almost 85,000 guest rooms are set to open across the Middle East and Africa next year, latest industry figures have revealed.



The Middle East and Africa Hotel Construction Overview report by Tophotelprojects released in the days leading up to the 17th annual The Hotel Show Dubai (September 17-19)  shows that the region will welcome 316 new builds in 2017, between them opening the doors on 84,337 new rooms for tourists and holidaymakers.



The UAE accounts for almost 20 per cent of those developments, with 59 projects already underway, set to open in 2017. Saudi Arabia is close behind with 51 builds in the pipeline, while Turkey (28), Qatar (18), and Morocco (17) are also set for a busy 12 months.



Caroline List, International Sales Manager at Tophotelprojects, said: There are some truly exciting hotel openings forecast for the region in 2017. Those include the ME Dubai Hotel designed by the late, renowned architect Zaha Hadid; Abraj Kudai Towers in Makkah, which will become the worlds biggest hotel with 10,000 rooms; The Address Emaar Square in Istanbul; and Melia Beach Hotel Saidia, Morocco.



List, who will be speaking as part of the Update on market and consumer patterns and trends - get the inside track panel discussion at The Hotel Show Dubais 2016 Vision Conference, added: The busiest cities remain Dubai, Riyadh and Doha. At The Hotel Show we will be presenting the latest facts and figures about the hotel construction pipeline in the MEA region with a closer look at the UAE and Dubai.



With 138 hotel projects currently underway across Dubai, the citys hospitality development buzz is set to heighten with more than 30,000 visitors forecast to attend The Hotel Show  and co-located events The Leisure Show and Piscine Middle East  starting this week at the Dubai World Trade Centre.



Complementing The Hotel Show  while highlighting the importance of hotel design in Dubai and its growing focus on sustainability  two additional exhibitions, the Windows, Doors & Facade Event (September 18-20) and Intersolar Middle East (September 19-21), will also take place at the venue.



Discover the latest hospitality industry trends in Dubai, UAE, and across the Middle East and Africa, at the Dubai World Trade Centre: 10am-6pm, September 17-19 (Halls 1-8). Register online to attend for free: www.thehotelshow.com. - TradeArabia News Service
For a lot of people who do not know Beirut, it is a city of chaos. But for those who have had a taste of it, the city can be described as a rebellious beauty with an eclectic mix that continues to inspire and attract its people and those who have seen her. Evidence of that is the upcoming Beirut Art Fair, which will take place on September 15 to 18 with 18 countries participating in the event.

This is only just the beginning because Beirut's art scene is alive and kicking. At the end of September, Beit Beirut, a center that holds memories of conflict and chaos in the country, will open its doors to the public. And there's more to Beirut that would make any art enthusiast cry out with glee. Here are a few places to go to and a few things to do in Beirut:

Sursock Museum is the headliner of the art scene in Beirut. This contemporary art gallery has a very colorful past being a sniper outpost during the civil war. Headed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the building has been beautifully preserved together with the bullet pockmarks that serve as a reminder to the city's past turmoil.

Next to Sursock is Aishti Foundation, a private museum commissioned by businessman Tony Salame and designed by British architect David Adjaye. The museum houses around 2,000 artworks from famous artists including Urs Fischer and Lucio Fontana. All of these art pieces come from Salame's personal collection.

Food and art also merge well in Beirut. In Ashrafeh district, Liza Soughayar's restaurant is both aesthetically pleasing to the eye and the taste. Its interiors are filled with artworks made by young Lebanese artists. The menu does not fail to deliver as well with its fusion of modern and traditional Lebanese cuisine.

At night, visitors can kick off their shoes at Armenian Street located in Mar Mikhael and have their happy hour in any of the hip and trendy nightclubs and bars. Absinthe mixed with sumac or za'atar is available at Anise bar while a large burger using Black Angus beef is served at the Happy Prince.

To borrow Liza Soughayar's words, Beirut has "learned to survive by living with its past while always looking to the future."

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
News from Malaysia Airlines



(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - September 15th, 2016 - While most of us are reluctant to lose the summer vibe, its difficult to believe today (Thursday 15 September) officially marks just 100 days until Christmas Day.

With weather forecasters predicting temperatures of around 4-9c during the festive season in the UK, Malaysia Airlines has launched a getaway sale, which means that travellers can switch their jumpers and overcoats, for shorts and beachwear, and enjoy the warmer climates of the Far East, Australia and New Zealand.

Between now and midnight on 30 September 2015, travellers can book flights with return fares starting from as low as 479 return (economy). Travellers can enjoy the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur, soak up the sun in Langkawi or Kota Kinabalu, or surf the waves at Australias world famous Bondi Beach, in Sydney.

The journey begins at London Heathrow on-board one of our twice daily Superjumbo A380s to Kuala Lumpur. From here a convenient and seamless connection will take you on to any of our other exciting destinations across Asia and Australasia.

Arved von zur Muehlen, Chief Commercial Officer, said: "With the festive holidays just around the corner, Malaysia Airlines offers the perfect opportunity to escape the winter weather and enjoy this magical season in the warm climates of the Far East, Australia or New Zealand with friends and family."

To seal the deal, book now at:www.malaysiaairlines.com or via a local travel agent.

-ENDS-

For further information contact Andrew McConnell: +447918 122062 or

###
Adventure tour operator, Acacia Africa launches tactically timed promotion geared to travellers in search of snap gaps



(TRAVPR.COM) UK - September 15th, 2016 - Acacia Africa is running a snap gap sale on 25 itineraries, the tours covering ten countries in Southern and East Africa. The promotion includes 15% discounts, with selected departures available in October, November and December. The offer applies to bookings made from now through 30 September.

Acacia's camping overland tours are strictly targeted at adventurers aged between 18 and 39 years, its budget focused trips a huge draw card for youth travellers who want to tick off bucket list locations in Africa. Tactically timed after the recent release of A level results, the promotion will be attractive to the increasing number of gappers opting to shorten the traditional year long travel stint to trips ranging from just a few weeks to around three months.

Arno Delport, Sales & Marketing Manager at Acacia Africa comments, More youth travellers are recognising the advantages of taking time out before continuing their studies and the rise of the snap gap means agents have an ideal window of opportunity to bring in higher commissions on sales of our longer overland tours.

For example, the 21-day South East Adventure starts at 1,229pp (no single supplement) down from 1,445pp (a 15% saving of 216pp), and includes 16 nights camping in two-person dome tents, four nights in a twin-share rooms; 21 breakfasts, 15 lunches and 15 dinners; all ground transportation, including a safari vehicle; camping and cooking equipment (BYO sleeping bag); and services of a tour guide/driver. Starting in Nairobi and ending in Livingstone, the camping overland trip visits Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi and Zambia. Departing 19 October, 16 November and 14 December.

SAVE 15% (389pp) The 41 day Cape Town To Kenya begins and ends at a mountain, Table Mountain and Mount Kilimanjaro. Along the way, travellers will be trekking across the giant sand dunes of Namibia, lazing on the beaches of Zanzibar, and gazing upon the thundering Victoria Falls. From 2,206pp (no single supplement) including transport, camping accommodation, most meals and services of a tour guide/driver. Departing 05 and 19 November, 03, 17 and 31 December. Full tour price 2,595pp.

SAVE 15% (411pp) Acacias 36 day Beach Bush & Ramble is an overland adventure and beach safari combo. Highlights include Big Five animal action in the Kruger and Hwange national parks and optional dive excursions at friendly laid back beaches, the itinerary passing through Mozambique and making further stops at Lake Malawi and Zanzibar. The tour also visits the Victoria Falls. From 2,334pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from 860pp including transport, camping accommodation, most meals and services of a tour guide/driver. Departing 27 October, 24 November and 22 December. Book by 30 September. Full tour price from 2,745pp.

With Acacia Africa's collection heavily focused on the youth market, the tour operator will also be exhibiting at this years World Youth & Student Travel Conference (WYSTC), which will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 20 to 23 September.

All prices exclude return flight. Acacia Africa (020 7706 4700; info@acacia-africa.com) SATSA membership No. 1931, ATOL No. 6499 and ABTA No. W4093 PROTECTED.

###
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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 15

The Finance Ministry today denied any move of rupee devaluation to boost exports though the domestic currency reacted to reports by ending below 67-mark to the US dollar, falling 13 paise to hit over two-week low.

The Finance Ministry officials today said there were no plans at present to devalue the rupee and its value will continue to be determined by market forces.

With exports falling for almost 20 months, there were reports that the Commerce Ministry might discuss with the Finance Ministry about possible rupee devaluation.

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, said she had not said that the government was discussing rupee devaluation.

I had no conversation on devaluation of any currency with any news correspondent. Any quotes/mentions referring to me on this topic are baseless, Sitharaman tweeted.

Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das also said rupee is not an administered rate and is governed by market forces.

The value of rupee is determined by the market and there is no plan to change the policy. The market reports that government wants to devalue the rupee is false, he told reporters here.

The rupee fell after devaluation reports, but trimmed losses after the Finance Ministry denied these reports.

Commenting on the devaluation reports, Dhananjay Sinha, Head, Institutional Research, Economist and Strategist, Emkay Global Financial Services, said, In our assessment, the Indian rupee is overvalued considerably. Our projection for INR has been maintained at 68-70.

He said from the policy stand point the problem is that India has prevented sharp depreciation in the rupee due to fears of capital retrenchment. India mobilised $26 billion in FCNRB deposits in 2013 and further enhanced its foreign exchange reserves. While this ensured stability in exchange rate and financial markets, it has ended up harming Indias competitiveness, he added.
Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 15

With the first international flight of Air India Express taking off to Sharjah (UAE), the international airport finally took wings this evening, a year after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last.

The 186-seater Air India Express Boeing aircraft 737-800, with 182 passengers, including Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and his high-profile 40-member delegation, on board, took off from the airport at 6.35 pm today.

Earlier, the aircraft touched Mohali soil by landing here with 128 passengers from Sharjah at 5.15 pm. The aircraft was welcomed with a "water salute" at the airport.

Union Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were also present at the airport to attend a brief function held on the airport premises to mark the historic moment. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also scheduled to attend the function, but he did not turn up.

Terming the development a big leap towards the overall progress of the state, Raju and Sukhbir Badal said now the sky was the limit for Punjab and all Punjabis, living in different parts of the globe.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said having witnessed a 20 per cent growth, Indias aviation industry was developing by leaps and bounds. With the start of international flights from here, Punjab and its neighbouring states will be benefited tremendously. I am happy and wish good luck to Sukhbir Badal, who is going to the Gulf with his delegation to open new trade avenues with them on the first international flight from here, said Raju.

Asked about the extension of air connectivity to other countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and the UK, Raju said the process had started today. Its a continuous process. The airport will be connected to other parts of the world soon, said Raju, adding that several airlines, especially Indian players, were showing interest in starting flights from here. We will promote them, said the Union Minister.

While Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal preferred to keep mum on the occasion, Sukhbir said the development would boost the IT sector, tourism, industry and investment in the entire state.

Our next destination is Dubai, then Singapore and then the whole world, said Sukhbir, adding that the first flight from here to Dubai would take off on September 26.

You will see the airport become one of the most successful airports in the world one day, said Sukhbir. Among others present on the occasion were Punjab Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Dera Bassi MLA NK Sharma and Mohali Mayor Kulwant Singh.

Happy to be part of historic journey, say Sharjah-bound passengers

I am happy to be part of the historic moment. The start of international flights from the airport is a big achievement and will help boost development of the area. I am going to Sharjah and it has saved me a minimum of 10 hours and a few thousand bucks, which I would have had to spend had I gone to New Delhi to board a flight  Reema Arora, a local resident

The start of international flights from Mohali will not only benefit Punjab but also people of Himachal Pradesh, several parts of Haryana and even Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. People from Ferozepur prefer New Delhi to Amritsar to board international flights due to lack of facilities and infrastructure in Amritsar. Now, Mohali is our first choice.  Sushil Mittal, a resident of Ferozepur

The start of international flights from Mohali is another feather in the towns cap. It doesn't feel that I am going to a foreign country. The three-hour journey to Sharjah appears to be a local journey. It takes more time to reach Delhi  Ashwini Rinku, a resident of Mohali

A great relief, say those coming from Sharjah

It is a great relief to land directly at Mohali from Sharjah. Now, it will take me another 15 to 20 minutes to reach home. Earlier, I had to spend a minimum of five hours in a taxi or a bus to reach my home after landing at the Delhi airport. Now, I can go more frequently to meet my Dubai-based husband  Bhawna, city resident

Oh! What a relief. Another one hour and I'll be at home, unlike my earlier journeys when it took me a minimum of five hours through the mad rush of Delhi and the Delhi-Patiala highway to reach home. Being a frequent international traveller, I can say the start of the international flights from the airport here is the topmost achievement of this area  Isha, a resident of Patiala

I congratulate the state government for this leap. A large number of Punjabis live abroad and for them, international travel will now be more convenient  Satwinder Singh, a resident of Kurali
Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 14

In line with the Union Governments campaign to coax Indian citizens to disclose their undeclared assets, the Income Tax Department today held a meeting with a large number of traders from Gur Mandi and Tripuri areas. They were told to make most of the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS)-2016.

Principal Commissioner (Income Tax) Jagtar Singh said the IDS-2016 was incorporated as chapter IX of the Finance Act, 2016, which provided an opportunity to all persons, who had not declared income correctly in previous years, to come forward and declare such undisclosed assets.

He informed the traders that under the scheme, the undisclosed assets would be taxed at a rate of 30 per cent in addition to krishi kalyan cess and penalty (25 per cent each) on the taxes payable. It will increase tax to 45 per cent of the income declared under the scheme.

He said the scheme was in force for a period of four months from June 1 to September 30 and the traders could file their declarations by November 20 this year. He said the declaration could be filed online.

Giving details about the scheme, he said the scheme would apply to undisclosed income whether in the form of investment in assets or otherwise, pertaining to financial year 2015-16 or earlier. He said where the declaration was in the form of investment in assets, the fair market value of such asset as on June 1, 2016, would be deemed to be the undisclosed income under the scheme. However, foreign assets or the income to which the Black Money Act-2015 applies are not

eligible for declaration under this scheme.

Besides, the assets specified in the declaration will be exempt from wealth tax and no scrutiny and inquiry under the Income Tax Act or the Wealth Tax Act will be undertaken with respect to such a declaration.

The scheme also provides immunity from prosecution under the Income Tax Act and the Wealth Tax Act and from the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988.

The non-declaration of undisclosed income under the scheme will render such undisclosed income liable to tax in the previous year in which it is detected by the Income tax Department along with other penal consequences.
Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

As the international flight operations started from Chandigarh airport on Thursday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar took exception to the Punjab Government's move over calling the airport 'Mohali International Airport' in its advertisements.

In a strongly-worded letter to his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal, Khattar said he was deeply anguished by the Punjab Governments advertisement that appeared in various newspapers terming Chandigarh International Airport as Mohali International Airport".

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Terming the advertisement as factually incorrect, Khattar reminded Badal that the final name of the airport was yet to be decided by the Centre.

The airport is managed by the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CIAL) where the Airport Authority of India is having 51 per cent equity partnership and the state governments of Haryana and Punjab are having equity at 24.5 per cent each. Besides being equal partners in the CIAL, we strongly object to the misleading advertisement campaign carried out by the Punjab Govenrment, Khattar said.

The first international Air India Express flight to Sharjah took off from the airport today, carrying 186 passengers, including Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and other state ministers.

Terming it a historic moment, Union Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju and Badal said the airport would result in the overall development of the state. (With inputs from Akash Ghai)
Kulwinder Sangha

Mohali, September 15

A government school here turned into a salon with boys being given weird haircuts by their seniors during school hours, causing humiliation to the victims. Some of the boys were compelled to get their heads tonsured on leaving school to avoid attracting attention with their patchy and shabby haircuts, given by two student barbers. Two of the affected students were seen today with their heads covered, one donning a cap and the other with a handerkerchief tied on his head.

The fathers of two of the students have demanded the transfer of the teacher in charge of Government Middle School, Phase VII, for the treatment meted out to their children. Abhishek, a Class VII student, whose father works as a peon with an advertisement firm, claimed today that most of the boys of classes VI to VIII were made to sit in a row in the school yesterday. Two boys of Class VIII had a pair of scissors each and were asked to give a haircut to those seated.

He said hair was cut in a patchy and untidy manner and many of the boys felt embarrassed while coming back home. Some of them covered their heads with handkerchiefs or schoolbags while returning. He said the boys who were given a haircut were also allegedly asked to bring Rs 10 each to the school for it.

Prem Shankar, father of Abhishek and his twin brother Abhinash, said both his sons felt embarrassed while coming home. He said boys in the school had been asked by teachers on Monday to get their hair cut.

He said his sons had got a haircut about 10 days ago and their hair was not very long. Moreover, it was difficult to get a haircut on Tuesdays.

Another resentful student, Sukhdev, said Mere bal paglon jaise kaat diye. He said he had to get his head tonsured later. His father, Ram Pal, who works in the Punjab Secretariat in Chandigarh, said the boys looks had been ruined by the so-called haircuts and they were made to look like prisoners. I was compelled to spend Rs 600 on buying three caps for my son as he felt embarrassed moving around with his head tonsured, he added.

Another victim, Ajay, whose father works as a washerman, was also upset with the treatment at his school. He was seen covering his tonsured head with a handkerchief today.

Prem Shankar and Ram Pal said they had met teachers at the school, who, they claimed, apologised for the action. They both demanded that the teacher in charge of the school should be transferred.

Harpreet Kaur, teacher in charge of the school, said nothing of the sort had happened in the school.

However, other teachers said most boys came with odd haircuts from home which adversely affected the school discipline. The intention was good and the action was aimed at disciplining the students.

The District Education Officer concerned, Surinder Singh Sidhu, said he would visit the school tomorrow and get a report in this regard. Strict action would be taken in the matter if anybody was found guilty, he added.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 15

In a bizarre case, a local resident, identified as Surjit Singh, has accused his daughter-in-law of defrauding him. He has lodged a complaint with the Division B police station where a case under Sections 420 and 120-B, IPC, has been registered in this regard.

The woman was identified as Pardeep Kaur of Kandiala village in Adampur, Jalandhar. Besides her, the police have booked her mother, Jagvir Kaur, Karamjit Singh and Sandeep Kaur and Jagwinder Kaur of Bherowal village in Garshankar in Hoshiarpur.

Surjit Singh, the complainant, stated to the police that Pardeep married his son after claiming herself to be single in December 2012. He said in 2014, they sent Pardeep to New Zealand for higher studies and spent huge money on it. He said she also took away many gifts, including gold ornaments worth Rs 2 lakh and New Zealand dollars. He said before leaving for New Zealand, she promised them that she would return the gifts when she would return after six months. However, she had not returned so far.

According to the police, investigations were under progress and no arrest has been made till now.

This is the second case of its kind in the recent past. Only yesterday, the Division B police had booked Navdeep Kaur of the New Amritsar area for allegedly defrauding her husband and in-laws family. Her father-in-law, Surat Singh of New Amritsar, stated to the police that he sent Navdeep abroad for higher studies and to settle there by spending huge money. He said she had promised to take his son and her husband, Sukhdeep Singh, with her whenever she would settle there. He said now when she had settled there, she was not attending to their calls and neither had she sent any spouse visa for his son, thereby cheating them.
Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 15

With the region emerging as the hub of education institutions, foreign students have been dominating various crimes committed here like drug peddling, rash driving and theft etc, thereby bringing a bad name to the education institutions in which they study.

Information obtained by this correspondent from the Jalandhar Commissionerate regarding the involvement of foreigners and foreign students in crime through the Right to Information (RTI) Act has brought forth startling revelations.

In the past one and a half year, the Jalandhar police have made huge drug recoveries from foreigners. Among the cases registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, foreign students face many cases. In the said period, 12 foreign citizens were booked by the Jalandhar police in various crimes like drug peddling, rash driving, theft or cheating, of which eight cases are of drug peddling. Among the eight foreigners booked for drug peddling, six are students of a university in Phagwara.

The big catch

The city police arrested one Agu Emmanuel (30) and a girl Okoh Precious (23), a native of Nigeria, with a big catch of heroin worth several crores on June 14, 2016. Then the fact had come to the fore that the duo was also supplying drugs to students in the region. Suspecting their connection with the international smugglers, Central agencies, too, had interrogated them.

6 students of LPU caught under NDPS Act: RTI Act

As per the RTI reply by the city police crime branch, six students of Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara, were nabbed under the NDPS Act, while three in others crimes.

The students nabbed for drug peddling were Kwizera Fabrice of Rwanda, Kingsly of Seirra Leona, Ndikumana Karani Jackson of Nigeria, Thomas Liberty Atoma alias Jimmy of Nigeria, Rimond of Zimbian and Nkumba Kifufya of Zimbian. While the university student, named Criscian of Tanzania was nabbed for rash driving, Didier Irakarama and Alian Sivarinzi were nabbed for house theft. Aman Mittal, deputy director (media), categorically denied that nabbed foreigners were students of the LPU and said they could possibly the students of other institutes. The police should inquire about the institute before mentioning the name of the institute in the case file. Whenever any African student is nabbed, it is considered that the same could be a student of the LPU which is totally wrong, Mittal added. The university regularly holds induction and counselling programmes to discourage the students from being part of any wrong practices, otherwise the university would take strict action against them, he said.

48 NRIs wanted to police in various crimes

As many as 48 NRIs are wanted by the city police in various crimes like criminal conspiracy, cheating, culpable homicide, attempt to murder, murder, dowry death, PUDA Act etc. Fourteen NRIs, hiding in Canada, top the list, followed by six in the USA, three each in New Zealand and the UK and one in Pakistan. The police said look-out notices had already been issued against these NRIs.
Harish Khare

NITIN GADKARI has rightly earned the reputation of being the only working minister in the Narendra Modi government. Many of his colleagues may be inclined to contest this salutation, but he himself would have no quarrel with any dissenter  partly, because he is also the most level-headed political head in the Narendra Modi arrangement. Having been a national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he is fairly well versed in the dynamics of pan-Indian political and economic forces at work in our continental polity and probably knows that there are more than 11 shades of grey.

It was, therefore, rather courageous of Nitin Gadkari to have allowed himself to observe the other day on the achhe din promise made in the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. He was reported to have diluted and distanced his government from the achhe din slogan, so prominently and so full-throatedly voiced by his partys prime ministerial candidate. To be fair, Gadkari is not the first to backtrack on the promises made in 2014. It was the current BJP president who had, for example, pooh-poohed the election-time slogan of fifteen lakh rupees in every Indian's pocket. During the 2014 campaign, it need be recalled, the BJP and its prime ministerial mascot were mesmerising the masses and voters with a promise of bringing back the mountainous black money that the UPA government had allowed to fly away to the Swiss banks. The BJP president simply dismissed the tantalising promise as nothing more than an election-time jumla. Sorry folks, we simply did not mean it.

Gadkaris demurral, however, is not deceitful. His argument, as reported in the media, was that in a vast, hugely over-populated country such as ours, with centuries of poverty and inequalities, there would always be oceans of unfulfilled dreams and ambitions, and that large swathes of society would continue to hunger and aspire for better days. When confronted with the query as to when the promised achhe din would be ushered in, Gadkari had rather tartly responded that the slogan had become a gale ki haddi. A colourful Hindi colloquial expression, but a perfect epigram for the Modi governments dilemma: a promise that the government can neither disown nor deliver. What perhaps he meant was what a seasoned American political leader, Mario Cuomo, had once summed up as being the essence of modern-day democratic electoral contests: You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose.

All democratically elected leaders face a fundamental conundrum. As an outsider, the challenger has an inherent advantage over the incumbent President or Prime Minister: unsaddled as he is with a record, the outsider happily sells  often, oversells  dreams, knowing full well that the voter would eventually feel short-changed. Yet, all outsiders make exaggerated promises because they sincerely believe that they would be able to bring dramatic changes in the way the society, the economy and the government were organised, and that such rearrangements would produce an overall satisfaction among the citizens and voters.

Once voted to power, the outsider comes face to face with the grim reality. Governance is routine, demanding, unglamorous, and boring. It is far more intoxicating for an Arvind Kejriwal to promise grandiloquently the eradication of corruption than to attend to mundane administrative tasks such as dealing with the outbreak of chikungunya or collection of piled-up garbage. It is far more exciting to be a Home Minister and fly in and out of Srinagar, strutting like a daroga to the nation than to be a Transport Minister or Rural Development Minister, attempting to solve the nitty-gritty of water, roads, power supply, etc.

This is a global phenomenon. Three decades ago, European political scientists and policy wonks had begun organising seminars on disaffected democracies. They concluded: Governance deficit was inherent and inevitable. Take, for example, the current turmoil in the United States. Last week, the United States Census Bureau released data which shows that the household incomes in the United States had registered a 5.2 per cent jump in 2015, which was the highest since 1967; yet the American presidential campaign is being driven by an intense sense of disaffection and populist anger, and President Obama has been judged a grand failure.

We in India are on a slightly different wicket. The 2014 achhe din campaign was packaged as a total rollback of the Congress raj, the dynasty, and everything else that was deemed to be part of the Nehruvian legacy and history. We were repeatedly and gratingly told that the ancien regime had perpetuated dysfunctional policies and personalities, prejudices and preferences, and come achhe din, this historic albatross around our national neck would disappear. The achhe din was also a promise of muscular governance. We all had a jolly good time, mocking at Manmohan Singh for being so soft-spoken; we merrily accused him of taking orders from Sonia Gandhi, and, we believed that the achhe din would stand instantly ushered in once the primacy of the Prime Ministers Office was restored. In sum, the achhe din was not just a promise of a better economic deal, it was also an invitation to new efficacy and edge at home and abroad. It was as sweeping a promise of change as was Indira Gandhis 1971 slogan of garibi hatao.

In the early days, the PM himself had got carried away with his achhe din spiel, and was boastfully telling the audiences, at home and abroad, that the nations bad dream was finally over. Things have not  and, never do  turned out quite so rosily. Indira Gandhi discovered so for herself, just as Modi and his band of cheer-leaders are discovering for themselves now. The magician has no magic wand, it is only a sleight of hand.

Let there be no doubt about it: the gale ki haddi will keep making itself felt. This is the theme song of the 21st century. A new mismatch has got introduced in the equation: our citizens have the access to the same technological tools of denunciation and are exposed to the same habit of demonisation that pockmark the American political discourse, but our rulers  at the Centre and in the states who have to govern and deliver are saddled with primitive capacities and outdated incompetencies. The gap between the election-time promise and the governing-time delivery will not that easily get narrowed down.

Disappointment is built-in in democratic governance. In order to distract the voter, the American and European leaders are resorting to xenophobia, uber nationalism, hyper-patriotism and minority-bashing. In the coming days, our leaders, too, would be constrained to find ways of distracting the public from its acute sense of having been taken for a ride. That could be a dangerous moment. That would be the time for the collective democratic energy to ensure that regression does not set in and our leaders are kept on an even keel.
Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, September 15

HCMS doctors will be on mass casual leave on September 19 and 20 for their longstanding demands. If the demands are still not met, the doctors will tender their resignations to the Chief Minister on September 21.

This was decided at a meeting of the HCMS Associations state executive held here today.

Dr Jasbir Parmar, HCMSA president, said they had been asking the state government to recruit more doctors to ensure quality healthcare, grant a special package to specialists , revise the promotional policy and ensure the provision of better working conditions but to no avail.

As the state authorities have paid no heed to our longstanding demands despite repeated requests and reminders, the responsibility for the inconvenience caused to people due to the mass casual leave lies with the state government, he maintained. Dr Parmar stated that only the emergency and post-mortem services would be provided at district hospitals on September 19 and 20 while other medical/health facilities, including PHCs, CHCs and subdivisional health centres would remain closed.

He said the state government had neither notified the enhancement in the retirement age of HCMS doctors nor the increase in the post-mortem allowance. Even those concerns on which the state authorities have agreed in principle are not being addressed due to which we have been compelled to take mass casual leave and the extreme step of tendering our resignations, the association chief maintained.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

The INLD has decided to hold the birth anniversary celebrations of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal on September 25 in Karnal, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattars constituency.

Addressing a press conference here today, party leader and Leader of Opposition Abhay Chautala, accompanied by state unit president Ashok Arora, said the party had decided to call it Sadbhawna Samman Diwas to drive home the point it was unwilling to let the government off the hook for being a mute spectator to the arson that followed the Jat agitation in February.

Haryana was burning, the social fabric was in tatters and the CM was lost in his own world, unwilling to step in to quell the violence. None of the BJP leaders made a statement, let alone step out of their comfort zones. As many as 31 people died in the agitation. Though we held sadbhawna meetings to restore the brotherhood among various castes, the rally to mark the birth anniversary will show that we have been successful in bringing all 36 castes of the state together, said Abhay.

Citing the Mewat example, Abhay said the police failed to register a case and arrest the guilty till the party raised the issue of gang-rape and murder in Dingerheri in the Assembly, which was in session that time. The police then registered a case, but did not add the murder section. An all-party delegation of Mewat leaders met the CM, who assured them of a CBI probe in the matter. Nothing has happened till date, while a BJP MLA and union minister continue to defend those arrested in connection with the crime, maintaining they have been framed, he said.

The leader was critical of the BJPs silence on provocative statements by BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini. The latest is his statement that candidates of a particular caste were favoured in the Haryana Civil Services exam. However, we studied the result closely and found that many of those who were given 65 out of 75 marks in the interview could not make it to the merit list, while only two candidates in the top 13 got 65 marks from among the candidates of the caste he mentions, said Abhay.

At the 103rd anniversary rally, Abhay said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah and JD (U) leader KC Tyagi had confirmed their participation, while the Akali Dal was likely to be represented by Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal.
Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government is set to declare Panchkula and Sirsa open defecation-free (ODF) districts on Prime Minister Narendra Modis 66th birthday on September 17.

Translating Modis vision of Swachh Bharat by 2019, the Haryana Government has taken lead by declaring the two districts ODF. It is our governments gift to Modi, who pioneered the unique concept of Swachh Bharat by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Health Minister Anil Vij told The Tribune today.

Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Narendra Singh Tomar would declare the two districts ODF.

Sources said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, a protege of Modi, was keen that the declaration of the ODF districts should coincide with the PMs birthday as it would be Haryanas symbolic gesture for the birthday celebrations.

While Haryana is targeting 10 districts as ODF by December 2016, the target for the entire state has been fixed for December 2017.

With a view to give a fillip to the sanitation campaign, Khattar recently announced an incentive-based scheme for those villages, blocks and districts, which would become open defecation-free (ODF) in 2016.They had been promised incentive money ranging between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 20 lakh for development works.

Under the scheme, the state government will provide incentive of Rs 1 lakh to a village that will become ODF this year. Similarly, a panchayat samiti will get Rs 5 lakh in case all villages of a block become ODF. In case a district becomes ODF, the Zila Parishad will get Rs 20 lakh.
R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 15

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Thursday questioned in the Delhi High Court the validity and legality of CBIs disproportionate assets (DA) case against him on several counts, contending that the agency had flouted laws to proceed against him with an element of enthusiasm and mala fide intention.

Arguing before Justice Vipin Sanghi, Singhs senior counsel Kapil Sibal pleaded that the CBI could not have registered the case in the form of a preliminary enquiry (PE) in the first place. The agency could take up any case only with the permission of the state or the high court concerned, but this was not done in his case.

Sibal said CBI also could not have registered the DA case in Delhi as the alleged assets were in Himachal Pradesh. The agency had booked his client under Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act for purchase of insurance policies for Rs 6 crore using undisclosed income, not for taking bribe which fell under Section 13(1(d) of the Act, he noted.

The CBI could have registered the case in Delhi only if the offence had fallen under 13(1)(d), not 13(1)(e). If CBIs logic was right, then all DA cases against MPs or Central ministers would have to be recorded only in Delhi, not in their respective states. But this was not the case, he contended.

Sibal also found fault with CBI starting a second PE, after giving him a clean chit in the first PE despite the fact that both the PEs were based on the same set of allegations pertaining to three assessment years (AY) 2009-12.

Pointing out that Singh had become a Central minister only on May 28, 2009, Sibal wanted to know as to how the CBI booked his client for AY 2009-10 despite the fact that Singh was not a public servant in financial year 2008-09.

Sibal was arguing against CBIs move to file the chargesheet against Singh. Another crucial legal factor came in CBI way. The case was about Singhs income during 2008-11 and he had challenged the Income Tax departments two orders for this check period in the Supreme Court. The CBI should have waited for the outcome of the SC cases before proceeding against Singh, Sibal argued.

As the arguments remained inconclusive, the HC slated the next hearing for September 23.
Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 15

India is finally set to ink the much-talked deal with France to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets. The two sides are ironing out the last-minute details before the deal is signed in all likelihood on September 23 when the French Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visits India.

The deal is to procure 36-twin engine Rafale jets produced from Dassault Aviation of France. The two sides have agreed to a price of 7.87 billion euro (approximately Rs 59,000 crore).

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The French government is giving its sovereign guarantee to back Dassault aviation.

Along with the 36 fighters, India will also get spares and weaponry, including the Meteor missile, considered to have a range of 150 km beyond the visual range.

About 50 per cent total cost will reinvested in India to source equipment of this value from India.

An Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France allows for a follow on order of Rafale fighters with a 10 per cent cost escalation.

The deal had to be held in January when French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest for the Republic Day because India wanted a better lower price than what was being offered by French company.

Negotiations had been suspended on January 26, as an agreement on the price could not be reached. India and France had then agreed to sign a general agreement without naming the price.

For the Indian Air Force, the deal is bitter-sweet. On one hand, they will be getting two squadrons of the state-of-the-art fighter, on the other hand the original requirement was for at least 126 jets.

India needs at least 42 squadrons of fighters to tackle a simultaneous two-front war launched by Pakistan and China. It has an existing strength of 32.

The new Rafale fighters will begin entering service in 2018.
Tribune News Service

Mandi, September 15

Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma said here today that the state government would spend Rs 25 crore through different schemes to develop the agriculture sector in the district and urged people to come forward to take benefit from it.

He was at Kotli village here to attend the inauguration ceremony of a one-day training programme for farmers organised by the Agriculture Department to make them aware of new techniques of farming, which would help them boost agriculture production.

The minister said the state government had started different schemes to bring about revolution in the farming sector and provide livelihood opportunities to people at their doorstep.

Under these schemes, a subsidy was provided to farmers for adopting new techniques of farming and soil testing to analyse the fertility of land.

Under Dr YS Parmar Agriculture self-employment plan, the state government was providing 85 per cent subsidy to farmers of the state to establish their own polyhouses, sprinklers and irrigation units for the purpose and this year Rs 2.57 crore would be spent in Mandi district, he added.

He urged farmers to take active participation in such training programmes organised by the authorities concerned from time to time to enhance their farming skills as well as to get aware of different welfare schemes run by the state government for their betterment.
Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 15

Peeved over the appointment of state Congress secretaries without consulting the local MLAs and block level leaders, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said a majority of them were ambitious people with no mass base who will work against the party MLAs during elections.

Virbhadra today said he was neither opposed to the appointment of Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu nor had he sought his removal.

The remarks, however, by the Chief Minister made it amply clear that he was completely unhappy with the manner in which non-entities were being appointed on party posts, ignoring the established party leadership. The Chief Minister also denied having written any letter to the Congress high command seeking Sukhus removal.

Interacting with media here today, he said he had never brought this to the notice of the high command but if asked he would give his honest opinion in the larger interest of the party.

I would like to clarify that Sukhu did meet me yesterday but barring the issue of appointment of a state Congress secretary from Banjar, I did not have any other discussions with him he said. He, however, said that the number of HPCC secretaries was over 100 and Sukhu was appointing any Tom, Dick and Harry who was his friend or supporter in the state body.

Neither do I wish to become HPCC chief as I have remained elected president for four terms and nominated once, nor am I supporting anybody for the post but yes I want the party organisation to be more active and effective, he said emphatically. He added that such appointments must be avoided and remedied in the interest of the party as these will only cause dissidence during the Assembly elections.

Virbhadra also said that despite repeated pleas, the HPCC had not provided the list with names and postal address of the state HPCC office-bearers so that they can be intimated about the policies and schemes of the government.

The Chief Minister also expressed his strong opposition to the creation of new Block Congress Committees (BCCs) in various districts like Kangra and Mandi on the plea that this would give rise to demand for creation of administrative districts which Himachal cannot afford.
Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Tariq Hameed Karra has taken the step of resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party, which he co-founded along with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her late father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in July 1999, at a time when this shock and awe move has thrown the ball in the court of Mehbooba and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MP from Srinagar, who had defeated the hitherto invincible Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference in the May 2014 parliamentary polls, earning the title of giant killer, made the lockdown on Eid the threshold of saying farewell to the PDP. It meant enough is enough. There could be no further delay to the call of the conscience, where an unnatural (PDP-BJP) alliance had resulted in inflicting of tragedies on Kashmir, he declared.

His statement at the press conference in Srinagar on Thursday profusely referred to the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who is viewed both as hero and anti-hero in the eyes of Kashmir. Hero, he was, for he brought the much sought after relief to the people in the Valley harassed by midnight knocks, snatching of innocents and jail for suspects. Mufti Sayeed ushered in an era when people could sleep in their bedrooms undisturbed, observed Mansoor Ahmad, a PDP leader and former political adviser to Mehbooba.

As an astute politician, Karra took out paragraphs from the PDP-BJPs Agenda of Alliance which bound the allies to work for the dignity of the people of Kashmir, keeping their special status intact and facilitating dialogue and solution. It was a counter to the often-repeated assertions by Mehbooba and the BJP leadership, particularly BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, that their commitment was to follow the AoA in letter and spirit, which he claimed had not been followed. This is the card which hes playing against the coalition.

In Kashmiri thinking, Karra has distanced himself from the ruling alliance, which is being blamed for the death and destruction in the state. Thats the step he has taken, say veteran political observers, who are awaiting the turn of events.

No one is talking about the instigators because of a multiple reasons, ranging from the typical anti-Delhi sentiment and also fear of the stone throwers who are running the show, with gunmen in the background.

It all depends on his next move  when his resignation lands at the Lok Sabha Speakers table that how much physical and psychological ground he has covered. And it would also show that how Mehbooba has been able to contain the damage to her own image, reputation and that of her party and the coalition government that she is heading. This has become imperative for her as Karra has said that the current regime has enabled the RSS to push its agenda in the Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Mehboobas first priority now would be to keep her party flock together. It is a difficult task in the given situation. There are dissidents in the party, even some of her ministers are miffed that they have been taken off the role of advisers, which they performed during her fathers time. Shes her own person, she decides what she feels is good, though at times she listens to all who wish to share their experiences or advice, a senior minister told The Tribune.

Now it is for the Prime Minister to see that Jammu and Kashmir returns to normalcy at the earliest without any further loss of life, without compromising on the national authority.

Equally important is to work out measures that lift the spirits of the peace-loving majority in Kashmir. That will help Mehbooba and Modi both. Kashmirs peace is a national necessity and the pressure would mount further with what Karra has done and what others in the party may think of doing.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 15

Kashmir continued to remain paralysed for the 69th consecutive day today as one more youth succumbed to his injuries, taking the toll in the unrest to 82.

Rasiq Ahmed Bhat, 23, of Akhran Nowpora, Kulgam, who was injured during clashes in south Kashmir on September 5, succumbed to his injuries at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar today.

Curfew imposed on Eid-ul-Azha on Tuesday, was lifted from all parts of the Valley on Thursday. However, restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC remained imposed in some parts. Heavy deployments of the police and Central Armed Police Force remained in place to maintain law and order.

There were reports of minor clashes in various parts of the Valley, in which over a dozen people were injured. In the city centre, security forces carried out a search operation.

A tourist cafeteria was torched on the Srinagar-Anantnag highway at Awantipora last evening. The building suffered damages.

A police spokesman said the cafeteria was set ablaze by miscreants. The incident took place at a time when an additional Army brigade has been deployed in the four districts of south Kashmir  the epicentre of the current unrest.

The broadband Internet facility continues to remain suspended since Monday afternoon. Barring the BSNL postpaid services, all other mobile phone services remain suspended.

Meanwhile, the Army today denied allegations that a youth, Mansoor Ahmad Lone, was beaten to death by them in north Kashmirs Sopore.

The Army unequivocally rejects the allegations and some media reports insinuating at its involvement in the death of a youth in Sopore. Such conspiratorial machinations evince malicious designs of forces inimical to the cause of peace in Kashmir and clearly aimed at further vitiating the atmosphere by discrediting the security forces which are collectively striving for the well-being of the people, a defence spokesman said.

On Wednesday, violent protests had erupted at Hard-Shiva village of Sopore after the body of Mansoor Ahmad was recovered from a stone quarry. Mansoor had gone missing on Tuesday morning and there were allegations that he was beaten to death by the Army. After complaint by locals, the police have already filed a case with murder charges against the Army.
Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 15

With lawlessness having been continuing in the Kashmir valley for over two months, protesters are now aggressively trying to destroy fuel trucks by using petrol bombs and attacking drivers to disrupt supplies for civilian and military installations.

On Wednesday, mobs attacked two fuel tankers at Lethpora village on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, a 300-km lifeline that connects the Valley with rest of the country. A mob first stopped the tankers, thrashed drivers and later threw petrol bombs to burn the vehicles. Though the police and CRPFs prompt action saved the vehicles, the incident underscores the vulnerability of convoys ferrying supplies to the Kashmir and Ladakh region.

According to a senior police officer, the use of petrol bombs was quite worrisome as protesters were trying to set afire the fuel tankers with the aim to create large-scale disturbances. Till now more than 700 trucks have been damaged by the rampaging mobs during the widespread violence which has engulfed 10 districts of Kashmir following the elimination of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Despite assurance of security cover by the state government, vehicles have been targetted on the highway.

There is a total chaos in the Valley and in the past few days a majority of the drivers told us that the mobs targetted them with petrol bombs. The government has also failed to provide an adequate security. We cannot ply our vehicles in the prevailing situation as it has become dangerous for drivers and cleaners, said Anan Sharma, president, J&K Petrol Tankers Association.

A transporter alleged that the protesters selectively target trucks registered in Jammu. Whenever a truck is stopped, those leading the mobs check the driving licence and if the driver belongs to Kashmir, the truck is allowed to proceed and if he is from Jammu, the truck is attacked, said Satwant Singh, a transporter whose vehicle was targetted during the turmoil.

The highway between Jammu and Srinagar till Banihal is considered safe, but after crossing the Jawahar Tunnel worries start as the vehicles have to travel through Anantnag and Pulwama, the epicentre of the present unrest in Kashmir.

We always stay alert. Whenever the protesters start hurling stones and petrol bombs. we speed up to avoid them. But at times when roadblocks are placed by the protesters, we get caught. That is the worst thing for us, said JS Rissam, a senior union leader of tankers association.

There are around 1,800 petrol tankers in Jammu and Kashmir that supply petroleum products to all three regions of the state. On a daily basis, nearly 300 tankers of Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum supply fuel to the Kashmir and Ladakh regions.
Bollywood actress Amy Jackson will walk the ramp as a showstopper for Welsh designer Jayne Pierson at the London Fashion Week.

"I've know Jayne for a while now and I absolutely love her work. It's a huge honour for me to turn showstopper for her show at the London Fashion Week. Jayne isn't just a designer but an artist. Every piece she creates is spectacular," Amy said in a statement.

Amy will fly to London later this week and will leave from there the same night for Chennai, where she is currently shooting Rajinikanth-starrer 2.0.

The Freaky Ali actress says she is looking forward to walking the ramp.

Pierson, who earlier worked with popular names like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, has styled the likes of celebrities like Amber Rose, Gemma Arterton and La Roux.  IANS
Washington, September 15

When India and the US cooperate, they can do incredibly important things not only for themselves but for the entire world, the White House has said nearly a week after American President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Laos.

The United States and India have been able to work together on a number of shared priorities. There was a lot of scepticism internationally about whether the Paris climate agreement would be reached if India was not prepared to engage constructively in pursuit of a solution. But to his credit, that is exactly what Prime Minister Modi did. And he did that frequently consulting with President Obama and other world leaders, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday.

But I think its a testament to the fact that the worlds two largest democracies, when we cooperate, can do incredibly important things, not just for our two countries, but for the planet and the president is proud of the legacy of the US-India relationship thats been established under Prime Minister Modi and President Obamas leadership, Earnest said in response to a question.

Obama and Modi met in Laos last week on the sidelines of the 14th India-Asean Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, their eighth meeting in the last two years.

I know that the President enjoyed the opportunity that he had to sit down with Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders have cooperated extensively on a range of shared priorities particularly with regard to the climate agreement that was reached in Paris at the end of last year, he said.

The President has obviously engaged in an effort to encourage other countries around the world to join that agreement before the end of this year. And certainly, Prime Minister Modi is well aware of the significance of this international agreement. I know that he is supportive of the contents of the agreement because of the positive impact it would have on the future of his nation, Earnest said.

Typically, when the President has the opportunity to sit down with Modi, they dont just talk about climate, they also talk about other extensive ties between the US and India, particularly with regard to economy and national security, he noted.  PTI
Jitendra K Shrivastava

Patna, September 15

Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chandra Babu, a resident of Siwan district in Bihar whose three sons were murdered, today challenged in the Supreme Court RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddins bail granted by the Patna High Court.

After gangster-turned-politician Shahabuddin walked out of jail, all hopes of getting justice in connection with the murder of Chandra Babus three out of four sons allegedly by saheb (Shahabuddins nickname in Siwan) faded away. But with eminent lawyer Prashant Bhushans initiative to cope with delivery of justice, Chandra Babu today completed all legal formalities.

After we failed to give extortion money of Rs2 lakh to Shahabuddin, my two sons Girish Raj and Satish Raj were drowned in acid by the gangsters men on August 16, 2004. The only witness to the incident was my third son Rajiv Raushan who managed to flee the spot, Chandra Babu told The Tribune, adding that his brother died of heart attack after he was threatened in Mumbai if he helped me. 10 years later, Rajiv was also killed on August 16, 2014, two days before he was to appear in the court as a witness. My three shops were torched and my fourth son is handicapped. The reign of Shahabuddins terror was at its peak when I dared to fight a legal battle against him, Chandra Babu said.

He said after saheb walked out of jail, it appeared that he had lost all hopes of justice but Bhushan, who had assured him of free legal help, came forward to take his case in the Supreme Court.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 15

The growing threat from Islamic State and its spread has made the BRICS to work. The member nations have decided to pool in efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism sprouting from the West Asia and North Africa region, exchange best practices in counter-terrorism and join hands on cyber-security and energy security.

These three issues figured prominently during the meeting of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa high representatives responsible for security in their respective countries. The sixth meeting of this group was chaired by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval who hosted the event.

While highlighting the need for resolution of outstanding disputes in the WANA region through dialogue peaceful means and in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN charter, BRICS High Representatives also agreed to pool BRICS efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the region, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said here. The focus appears to be to work together in battling the ISIS that breeds in Syria and Iraq.

In the area of cyber security/information security, the representatives agreed to strengthen joint efforts on enhancing cyber security by sharing of information and best practices, combating cybercrimes, improving cooperation between technical and law enforcement agencies, including joint cyber security R&D and capacity building.

They encouraged cooperation and exchanging of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counterterrorism issues. In this context, they welcomed the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Counter Terrorism that was held a day before.

Agreeing to expand BRICS Counter Terrorism cooperation further, they said this would include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror-hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition. They underscored the need for a global legal regime to deal with the global menace of terrorism.

The group also agreed to explore regular energy dialogue between BRICS countries in order to discuss long-term and medium-term energy security issues.

Later, NSA Doval held bilateral meetings with his counterparts separately.
New Delhi, September 15

The Supreme Court on Thursday took the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments to task for failing to check violence following its order on the Cauvery dispute, asserting that its verdict has to be complied with and violent agitation would serve no purpose as those aggrieved were free to take legal recourse.

Asserting that the people cannot take law into their hands, the apex court directed the two states to ensure there is no violence, agitation, destruction and damage to properties following its order on Cauvery water sharing and asked them to maintain peace, calm and dignity for law.

We are compelled to state that it is the duty of both the states (Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) to see that no violence, agitation or destruction of properties takes place, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said, adding we sincerely hope that wisdom shall prevail on competent authorities of both the states and that peace will prevail.

The bench also warned that "when there is court order, there should not be any violent agitations and any party aggrieved has the liberty to take legal recourse for mitigation of their grievances.

"We reiterate neither any strike nor bandh or agitation can take place when the court has passed an order and it has to be complied with. In any difficulty, concerned parties can approach the court and people cannot take law unto themselves.

It is the obligation of both the states to prevent such actions, the bench said referring to its 2009 judgement which had laid down guidelines to deal with situations of violence and destruction of properties by protestors and agitators.

"We expect both the states to maintain peace, calm, harmony and dignity for law", the bench said.

The apex court, which posted the hearing on September 20 on the plea for direction to both states to take preventive measures and assessing the damages to public and private properties during agitation, said it will also take up the main matter of Cauvery water dispute.

On being pointed out by senior advocate Adish Aggarwala, appearing for petitioner P Shivakumar that today 'Rail Roko' was organised in Karnataka and tomorrow a similar agitation will be held in Tamil Nadu, the bench said it was the sacred duty to see no agitation, damage or destruction of property takes place.

The bench observed that as per media reports, the situation was returning to normal and asked the petitioner to specify what was the present state of affairs.

Counsel for petitioner then told the bench that due to the 'rail roko' agitation, buses were also not plying in Karnataka apprehending violence and a similar 'bandh' call has been given in Tamil Nadu for tomorrow.

Approximately Rs 25,000 crore worth of properties have been damaged in violence in the two states and the apex court had specifically directed in 2009 that if there is violence in these two states, these have to be reported to the apex court, the counsel said.

On September 12, the apex court modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.  PTI
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

Congress MLA from Banga Tarlochan Singh Soondh would never have imagined how his worn-out pair of shoes would become a prized possession.

A Canada-based news channel has reportedly offered Soondh Rs 50,000 if he could bring on their show the shoe allegedly hurled by him towards the Akali Dal legislators in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday, or even the one he did not throw.

The MLA went back to the Vidhan Sabha this afternoon to get his shoes. Secretary Shashi Lakhanpal Mishra reportedly told him that the shoe that landed near Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia was a case property, while the other one was not in their possession.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said while the shoe that fell near Majithia had been handed over to the Speakers office, he had no clue where the other one was.

Soondh had claimed that he had hurled the shoe at Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha over an alleged caste slur.

The Treasury benches came to know about the shoe-hurler only when they noticed that Soondh had only one shoe on. Sensing trouble, Soondh hid it near his seat. It was taken into possession by the watch and ward staff and its whereabouts are not known.

Soondh admitted receiving calls from Canada-based news organisations. They want to highlight the incident as a strong protest not just against Majithia, but against the government, he said.

Soondh walked barefoot yesterday and asked the CLP office secretary to arrange a pair of shoes. They did buy me a new pair, but it was uncomfortable. Now I am looking for a new pair in the Sector 19 market, he said.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 15

A nine-year-old girl was killed and another person injured when the iron frame supporting a lintel at the under-construction spectator gallery at Attari-Wagah joint check-post came down after being hit by a JCB machine.

The deceased was identified as Srinandana of Kerala. She and her parents had come to witness the Retreat ceremony.

Amritsar (Rural) SSP Harkamalpreet Singh said an iron plate supporting the lintel hit the girl on the head, killing her on the spot. Jagtar Singh of Attari suffered injuries on his shoulder and foot. The incident occurred near Swarn Jayanti Dwar at the Attari-Wagah joint check-post around 4.30 pm.

The SSP said the JCB driver, Jugraj Singh of Jhita Kalan village, had been arrested and the machine confiscated. He said action would also be taken against the building contractor.

BSF personnel took the body of the girl to the Civil Hospital. It would be handed over to the family after a post-mortem tomorrow.
Our Correspondent

Jaipur, September 15

The Income Tax Department has served notices to over 4,000 businessmen of Rajasthan who have been doing share and commodity transactions without filing tax returns.

The I-T Department Rajasthan circle was expecting huge disclosures under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) by September 30, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Rajasthan, K C Jain, said on Thursday.

Directorate of Risk Assessments (DRA) data was analysed and it was found that thousands of transactors doing share and commodity business were not showing this activity in their returns which amounted to crores of rupees in profit, Jain claimed, adding notices were being sent to them under the law.
London, September 15

The Indian community in the UK accounting for 2 per cent of the population is contributing 6 per cent to the GDP of Britain, thus playing a very significant role in building bilateral relations, the Indian envoy here said.

India is the third largest investor in the UK and one of the major creators of jobs in the UK, Indias High Commissioner to the UK Navtej Singh Sarna said.

Though Indian community accounts for 2 per cent of the population it contribute 6 per cent to the countrys GDP, Sarna said at a function where three Indian-origin businessmen were honoured for their contributions to the society.

The US is the biggest investor to the UK followed by China.

Sarna complimented the 1.5 million strong Indian community in the UK for their positive contribution to the British society.

Today the Indian community here is a major factor in India-UK relations. The Indian community has also made its presence in politics with his representation in the House of Commons and House Lords, Sarna said.

Dr Rami Ranger, a leading businessman who is the winner of the Queens award eight times - six times for Business and twice personally for services to British Business and the British Asian Community, received a shield in recognition of his services to the community and business.

Ranger set up his first business in 1987 with a mere 2 pounds capital. He is now at the helm of two of Britains fastest growing companies with an annual turnover in excess of 200 million pounds.

The other two honoured at the Annual Dinner of Friends Circle International at the Radisson Portman Hotel were Atul Pathak, one of the UKs most successful franchise entrepreneurs running twenty-nine McDonalds restaurants across London and Krishan Ralleigh, Chief Editor of India Link International, a magazine he founded in 1993.

Pathak opened his first McDonalds in 2003 and now employs more than 2,500 staff who between them serve over 18 million customers a year.

Ralleigh was founding member and general secretary of the Hindu Cultural Society in London, before becoming general secretary and president of the Hindu Centre London.  PTI
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, September 15

The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a death sentence awarded to a man convicted of raping a 23-year-old train passenger in February 2011 when the victim was going back home for her marriage engagement. The victim died two days later.

The trial court and the Kerala High Court had sentenced Govindaswamy to death for murdering the victim and life sentence for committing rape.

A three-member apex court Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, reduced the death sentence to imprisonment for seven years, observing that available evidence did not rule out that the victim possibly jumped off the train to escape rape and in the process sustained fatal injuries.

The Bench, which included Justices Prafulla C Pant and Uday Umesh Lalit, upheld the life sentence for the rapist who had jumped off the train to commit the crime on the badly injured victim in a most brutal and grotesque manner.

The fact that the victim was alive for two days indicated that the assailants intention was not to cause death, the SC remarked.

Both the life sentence and the seven-year imprisonment would run concurrently.

The victim had boarded the train at Ernakulam, where she was employed, to go to her hometown. The convict took advantage of the fact that she was travelling alone in a ladies compartment.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

Former Supreme Court Judges and Chief Justices of various high courts have called for lifting the veil off the collegium proceedings.

The Judges have not only written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on bringing about greater transparency in the collegium system of appointing Judges, but also submitted a petition underscoring the need for apparent transparency in the proceedings.

The initiative is unique as former Judges have linked transparency with natural justice. They have made it clear that haziness violated the principles of natural justice. They have also made it clear that lack of lucidity indicated absence of fairness.

The letter to the CJI has been written by former Supreme Court Judges, Justice Kuldip Singh and Justice HS Bedi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice SS Sodhi; former Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice MS Liberhan; former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice RN Aggarwal, and former Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Mehtab Singh Gill.

It comes days after Supreme Court Judge, Justice Chelameswar, complained about opacity in the collegium process for selecting Judges. Refusing to attend meetings, Justice Chelameswar also faulted the collegium for not permitting member Judges to record their views on candidates under consideration.

The Supreme Court collegium comprises the Chief Justice of India and four senior-most Judges, while the High Court collegium consists of the Chief Justice and two senior-most Judges.

The former Judges reiterated that transparency in collegium proceedings, while considering the appointment of Judges, would meet principles of natural justice and also satisfy all those whose cases were being considered by the collegium.

The letter said the Supreme Courts Constitution Bench, which delivered judgment in the National Judicial Appointments Commission in October, 2015, allowed suggestions to be filed, while considering the memorandum of procedure regarding the appointment of Judges.

The Judges added they submitted a petition through former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court-cum-senior advocate Rajinder Sachar and suggested that there should be apparent transparency in respect of proceedings.

The letter added the desirability of having transparency was recently raised by a Supreme Court collegium member. Without going into the views highlighted in the media, they wished to reiterate that transparency while considering the appointment of Judges would meet the basic principles of natural justice. It would entirely be for the collegium to lay down the methodology of maintaining the said proceedings as record, the letter concluded.
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 15

The newly appointed Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda today arrived in the capital on a four-day visit. India-Nepal relations have been on a downslide in the last year, especially when KP Sharma Oli was the Prime Minister.

Prachandas visit here is being looked at with optimism as he has promised to amend the Constitution to address Madhesis complaints. Indias public stance on being unhappy with the new Constitution of Nepal soured the two nations relations and in the time of Oli, there was a definite movement by Nepal to move closer to China and to even explore the possibility of replacing Nepals India dependence with China.

Prachanda has already promised to balance the relationship. In his last stint as the PM, he broke with tradition and visited Beijing first after becoming the PM in 2009. This time around, he has chosen India over Beijing as his first destination and that seems to signal his desire to reach out to India to build a positive relationship.

Prior to his visit, Prachanda said: I am confident that the visit (to India) would not only normalise the relations that went through some bitter experience in the recent past, but also build a strong foundation for mutual trust. He made these comments to the International Relations and Labour Committee of the Parliament yesterday.

More support for post-quake reconstruction, hydropower trade agreements and the Postal Highway will be the main agenda during his talks here, Prachanda said. Oli, who is now in the Opposition, has warned Prachanda not to sign any agreement with India that could jeopardise Nepals independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Bengaluru, September 15

Amidst tight security, the police on Thursday foiled attempted rail blockades across southern Karnataka by angry mobs protesting against the state releasing the Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

We have arrested about 100 pro-Kannada activists, including their leaders, in the city centre and stopped them from going to the main railway station for rail roko (blockade), said Bengaluru Additional Commissioner of Police K.S.R. Charan Reddy.

Among those arrested and whisked away 1 km away from the station were Kannada Okkuta (federation) president Vatal Nagaraj, Kannada Rakshana Vedike (KRV) convener Pravin Shetty and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president Sa Ra Govindu.

The activists were taken into custody as the ban order under section 144 of CrPC against assembling of more than five persons in public places and populated areas has been extended till September 25 to maintain law and order, asserted Reddy.

About 50 protesters, including farmers and traders were detained and whisked away at Mandya station, about 100 km from here, to prevent them from entering platforms to block trains between Bengaluru and Mysuru, 150 km away from here.

Earlier in the day, police thwarted KRV activists from holding up and delaying the Bangarapet-Bengaluru passenger at Kolar station, 70 km from here, after entering the platform and staging a protest against the state government and Tamil Nadu.

Similarly, about 50 activists were rounded up outside the Mysuru station to prevent them from barging onto the platforms, staging protests and blocking trains.

According to reports, several protesters at Shivamogga, Hubballi and Dharwad in the states central and northern regions were taken into preventive custody and thwarted from stepping on rail tracks to block trains on the Bengaluru-Belagavi route.

Holding flags and raising slogans against Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments, the activists took out a protest rally to Mysore Bank circle from Town Hall in Bengaluru and tried to break the heavy security cordon to enter the main city station.

About 13,000 police personnel, 11 companies of paramilitary forces and 30 platoons of City Armoured Force have been deployed across the city, including stations, city and inter-state bus terminals, city airport on outskirts, in sensitive areas, vital installations, markets and Tamil-dominant localities to ensure safety of the people and prevent damage to public property, asserted Reddy.

In a related development, state Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the situation was under control and peaceful across the city and normality prevailed.

Paramilitary forces, state and central reserve police forces will remain in the state until further orders, as the Cauvery row remains an issue with the people and the states, Parameshwara told reporters here. IANS
Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, September 15

Claims of all being well within the Yadav family appear to be hollow.

Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav airdashed to Lucknow soon after cousin and national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav went public in criticising the dismissal of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav from the post of party state president.

The Yadav family Mahabharat is now live on news channels.

In an unprecedented move, Ramgopal Yadav chose to speak at length to a news channel at its studio where between the lines he blamed the party patriarch of committing a mistake by removing Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as partys UP president and that differences had arisen due to some misunderstanding.

Ramgopal virtually shared inner family/party details with the world when he spoke of an angry netaji giving a dressing-down to son over the phone on Tuesday evening apparently after someone (read Amar Singh) poisoned his ears.

He called to instruct about issuing a letter relieving the Chief Minister of the post of state president at once.

He was giving me an order, not asking for my advice, so I did as was told. However, I did inform the Chief Minister before making the letter public. He had already received a call from netaji and was aware of the angry mood, said Ramgopal to the news channel.

Responding to a question about who could have precipitated the crisis, Ramgopal named newly inducted Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh.

This sahib concerned had always tried to damage the party. Workers are demanding action against the person who is damaging the party and something will have to be done on priority, said Ramgopal.

Netaji will have to take this matter seriously. Something needs to be done against these disruptive forces, he said, adding that such people wanted to destabilise the Akhilesh Yadav government.

Answering a question to decipher Amar Singhs claim of being a Mulayamwadi instead of Samajwadi, Ramgopal said it meant that he was concerned only with netaji and the party could well go to hell.

According to Ramgopal, the present crisis could have been averted if netaji would have asked Akhilesh to resign rather than dismissing him which led to Akhilesh stripping uncle Shivpal of key portfolios in reaction.

He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as Chief Minister and let Shivpal handle the work of state president.

While Ramgopal corroborated that the present sequence of events had weakened the party at a crucial moment, he was hopeful that things could be sorted in a day or two once the family sat together to thrash out differences.

However, he dismissed all formulas doing the rounds of establishing ceasefire as pure gossip, including Shivpals portfolios being restored and Akhilesh being made the party president once again.

The first family member to arrive from Safai on Thursday morning, Ramgopal spent some time with the Chief Minister before speaking to the media.

Chacha Shivpal Singh Yadav, who arrived from Delhi later in the day where he had held a marathon meeting with Mulayam, claimed that he was agreeable to whatever netaji wanted.

Speaking to the media he played down the crisis saying the netajis verdict was final and he had no problems with posts and positions. He has given me the responsibility of the party. We have the task of bringing the party back to power in 2017 and I will do my best, he said.

Contrary to Ramgopal, Shivpal denied that the events of the past three days--sacking of two ministers, removal of the chief secretary and change of his own portfolios--would harm the partys prospects. In fact, all this has galvanised party workers into action, he maintained.

Reacting to BSP supremo Mayawatis statement that Mulayam Singh Yadav should retire from active politics, Shivpal asked her to keep her opinion to herself.

Meanwhile, a clearly tense netaji refused to interact with the media at the airport where he arrived by an Indigo flight and drove straight to his residence where he has reportedly summoned son chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is yet to arrive.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

Western Command, the Armys frontline operational command, celebrated its 69th Raising Day at Chandimandir Military Station today even as it continues to await the appointment of a General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) for the past month-and-a-half.

The Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lt Gen IS Ghuman, laid a wreath at the Veer Smriti war memorial to pay homage to the martyrs on behalf of all ranks of the Command. A large number of serving officers and other ranks attended the homage-paying ceremony.

The Western Command continues to be without a GOC-in-C since the previous commander retired on August 31. Lt Gen Surinder Singh, a 1979 Guards officer, is tipped to take over the post, but the Ministry of Defence is yet to issue posting orders even though he completed his earlier assignment as GOC 33 Corps in the last week of August and has since been attached to the Deputy Chief of Army Staffs Branch at Army Headquarters on a supernumerary post.

The senior-most Corps Commander in the Western Command has been officiating as the GOC-in-C for the past six weeks, a situation cited by many officers as unprecedented and intriguing.

The Command was raised on this day in 1947 as the Delhi and East Punjab Command with its headquarters in Delhi was re-designated as Western Command in January 1948. In 1954, the HQs moved to Shimla. It has played a decisive role in all wars and operations since Independence.

After the India-Pakistan War of 1971, the Northern Command, with its HQs at Udhampur, was carved out of Western Command to assume operational responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1985, Command HQs moved to its present location at Chandimandir.
Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 15

Vice President Hamid Ansari left India today to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in distant Venezuela amidst questions about its relevance in this part of the world. India, a founder-member and one of the moving spirits behind NAM, is not the only SAARC country unrepresented by its Prime Minister. Bangladesh and Pakistan are sending their Foreign Ministers, Nepal its Vice President and Sri Lanka has opted for a Cabinet Minister to signal their abiding but low key, and almost disinterested, association with NAM.

Even Iran, which swore by NAM till it was in trouble with the West on the nuclear issue, is sending its Foreign Minister. Numbers tell an impressive story. NAM is the worlds second largest multinational body after the United Nations. Each one of the African nations is a member of NAM. So are many countries in Asia and Latin America. But the world has changed since the glory days of NAM that coincided with the Cold War. It now basically consists of three camps.

The most vocal group is the one that has fallen foul of the US and its allies. Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Iran, the host of the previous summit, fall in this category. The second stream consists of countries that made peace with one of the super powers but continued with the motions of turning up at NAM summits, almost always without a top-level representation.

Then there is the third category of countries like India. They dont like the language of perpetual confrontation, espoused by the radicals like Venezuela and Iran, but also see NAM reflecting some of their concerns such as the reform of the United Nations, etc. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a reluctant attendee at the Tehran NAM summit. His successor Narendra Modi has not identified NAM as one of Indias core foreign policy concerns. His current strategic proximity with the US might have been a factor. Under a Leftist Presidents watch, host nation Venezuelas economy has tanked and the rightists have swept the parliamentary elections.

Modis decision to stay away was not swayed by the visit of the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, who was accompanied by her colleague marshalling the countrys bounty of petroleum. India exports quite a bit of oil from Venezuela and even Reliance has got interested. The Prime Minister could rightly point to his packed overseas schedule. He might also have factored in the stridently anti-US statements emanating from Venezuela.

This time the PM could point to the tyranny of distance and how it was impossible to stay away for a long time, shortly after attending the G20 and ASEAN summits. Indias other neighbours too have made their excuses.

Azerbaijan will be the next country to host the NAM summit, probably after three years. Till then, it is incumbent upon NAMs founders to retool it so that it again becomes useful enough for world leaders to attend.
Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 15

Concerned over the lackadaisical approach of the state government towards the victims of the 1984 riots, five woman members of the 1984 Sikh Katleaam Peerat Welfare Society have threatened to immolate themselves in front of the Chief Ministers residence in Chandigarh on September 17.

President of the women wing of the society Gurdeep Kaur said for the past 32 years, they had been hoping that the SAD government, which claims to be a Panthic government and well-wisher of the Sikh community, would fulfil their demands on preferential basis. However, it had failed to do, she rued.

Lashing out the SAD government led by Parkash Singh Badal, Gurdeep said SAD had been ruling for 20 years since the 1984 riots, but it failed to resolve their problems. I consider him (Prakash Singh Badal) as our father, but he has used us for his personal benefits during elections. Badal Sahib was not sensitive towards the problems of the five widows who had lost their family members in the 1984 riots.

Gurpreet added that SAD had been using the 1984 victims for their political ambitions during the past 32 years, but this time it would not be so as they had decided to urge the members of the society to vote as per their conscience. She also criticised the police action yesterday, when the police lathicharged the peaceful protesters.

She said they had been on indefinite fast for the last four days, but no minister or senior officer of the government had cared to seek information about the problems being faced by them. Gurdeep added that she along with five widows would march towards Chandigarh and thousands of victims of the 1984 Sikh riots would also join them from across the state. If the Punjab Police tried to stop them on their way, they will take the extreme step on the site and the government will be responsible for any untoward incident thereafter, she warned.
Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi, September 15

Two factions of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) clashed over the distribution of cheques to the poor at a gurdwara at Sehna Khera village in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badals home constituency Lambi in Muktsar district on Thursday.

Five people suffered injuries during the brawl, which took place in the presence of CMs OSD Balkaran Singh. They were taken to the Community Health Centre (CHC), Lambi.

While one faction was led by former sarpanch Jaswant Singh and Jasmel Singh Mithri, the other was led by Kuldeep Singh, husband of sarpanch Kiranjit Kaur, and Babbu Brar.

The clash ensued as both factions raised objection over keeping the cheques of some beneficiaries who were not present there with them. Someone from the crowd used abusive language and the activists of both factions started hurling chairs at one another. They even pelted one another with stones and bricks. Later, a faction took out a march in the village. The incident lasted around half an hour.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

A police party, too, arrived on the scene and controlled the situation.

Kuldeep Singh alleged, The cheque distribution work was going on smoothly. But someone from the other faction used abusive language and passed casteist remarks. It led to a brawl. Our two activists--Sukhraj and Vickysuffered head injuries.

On the other hand, Khushbir Singh, grandson of Jaswant Singh, said, The clash erupted over distribution of cheques. The husband of the sitting sarpanch kept cheques of some beneficiaries who were not present there with him, but when we wanted to do the same he, along with others, raised an objection. They used derogatory words, which led to the clash. Our three activists--Parkash Singh, Avtar Singh and Baldev Singhwere injured.

The Lambi police have started investigation. SHO Gurpreet Singh said, We have started investigation. Five people from both the factions have suffered injuries. A case will be registered after recording their statements and receiving the medico-legal report. The situation is under control now.
Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 15

With the first international flight of Air India Express taking off to Sharjah (UAE), the international airport finally took wings this evening, a year after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September last.

The 186-seater Air India Express Boeing aircraft 737-800, with 182 passengers, including Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and his high-profile 40-member delegation, on board, took off from the airport at 6.35 pm today.

Earlier, the aircraft touched Mohali soil by landing here with 128 passengers from Sharjah at 5.15 pm. The aircraft was welcomed with a "water salute" at the airport.

Union Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were also present at the airport to attend a brief function held on the airport premises to mark the historic moment. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also scheduled to attend the function, but he did not turn up.

Terming the development a big leap towards the overall progress of the state, Raju and Sukhbir Badal said now the sky was the limit for Punjab and all Punjabis, living in different parts of the globe.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister said having witnessed a 20 per cent growth, Indias aviation industry was developing by leaps and bounds. With the start of international flights from here, Punjab and its neighbouring states will be benefited tremendously. I am happy and wish good luck to Sukhbir Badal, who is going to the Gulf with his delegation to open new trade avenues with them on the first international flight from here, said Raju.

Asked about the extension of air connectivity to other countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and the UK, Raju said the process had started today. Its a continuous process. The airport will be connected to other parts of the world soon, said Raju, adding that several airlines, especially Indian players, were showing interest in starting flights from here. We will promote them, said the Union Minister.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 15

Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh today demanded the arrest of Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha for "passing" casteist remark against Banga MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh.

"It was Valtoha who had earlier said in the Vidhan Sabha that he was, he is and he will remain a terrorist. And he had got away with it," Amarinder claimed.

"I am never in favour of hurling shoe at anyone and had opposed every such incident. But what should one do if a casteist remark is passed at him. One can get emotional. It is unfortunate," he said, while addressing a press conference here.

He rubbished the SAD's allegation that protesting Congress MLAs consumed liquor in the House.

Meanwhile, the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) today extended support to the Congress for the upcoming state Assembly elections.

Intensive Cong campaign from Sept 26

The Congress will launch an intensive poll campaign from September 26 to November 1. The campaign has been named "Congress Liyao, Punjab Bachao". The modalities of the campaign were worked out today. PCC senior vice-president Laal Singh said they would cover all 117 constituencies. A total of 1,404 meetings will be held across the state.

Akali MLA seeks privilege motion

Chandigarh: Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha has written a letter to Vidhan Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, demanding a privilege motion against Tarlochan Singh Soond and other Congress MLAs. Valtoha said Soond and the others used defamatory language against him and falsely accused him of making casteist remarks. TNS
Jotirmay Thapliyal

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 15

Eminent scientist Dr Vinod Kumar Bhatt, who has devoted his life to the promotion of organic agriculture, says that going back to the basics is the only way to revive agriculture in the state.

Bhatt, while talking to The Tribune, points out that the traditional farming system practiced by our forefathers was more reliable and sustainable. Farmers nowadays, in order to get high yields, have taken to greedy practices that have been destroying the agriculture, he says.

Dr Bhatt quit his lecturer post in Department of Botany, HN Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, in 1995 before joining the organic movement. Due to my passion to work with the farming community as well as for society, I left the university and joined the development sector. I started training women farmers on mushroom cultivation in Dehradun district and also started exploring the biodiversity and traditional knowledge, he says.

He terms 1997 as an important year in his life when he got himself directly involving in biodiversity conservation, promotion of organic farming and medicinal plants by joining Navdanya, a biodiversity conservation NGO. At Navdanya, Dr Vinod Bhatt set new standards in biodiversity conservation, promotion of organic farming and medicinal plants. Currently Dr Bhatt holds the position of executive director in Navdanya Trust and looks after the core programme of the organisation - seed sovereignty, food sovereignty, biodiversity conservation that includes conservation of indigenous open pollinated seeds and promotion of organic farming including organic certification and adaptation to climate change in India and Bhutan.

He said farmers have fast started realising that the genetically engineered crops will do them no good. It has been a wrong notion that cultivating genetically engineered crops would give better yields but it has proved to be a farce and has only been counterproductive, making their agriculture lands barren, Dr Bhatt pointed out.

Belonging to Agastyamuni in Rudraprayag district, he did his D Phil on Taxonomy and Ecology of Mushrooms of Garhwal Himalaya in 1994 and is also a faculty at Bija-Vidyapeeth in Dehradun, an international college for sustainable living, in collaboration with the Schumacher College United Kingdom.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 15

Canadas Consul General Christopher Gibbins, who is posted in Chandigarh, paid a courtesy call on Governor KK Paul at Raj Bhavan here today.

Both of them discussed various matters related to Uttarakhand. The Governor gave him detailed information about the beauty, tranquillity, cleanliness and biodiversity of the state and spoke about the potential the state had for the development of tourism and cultivation of herbs. The Governor also told him about the rich cultural history of the state and its legacy of yoga.

The Governor presented him with a special memento on the occasion.
Manila, September 15

Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament today, in explosive allegations against the Philippine President.

The self-described assassin told a Senate hearing that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people over 25 years on Dutertes orders  one of them fed alive to a crocodile.

Many of the others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Dutertes anti-crime crackdown that police said have left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry that Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Dutertes spokesman said the allegations had already been investigated without charges being filed while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony mere hearsay of a madman. Matobato said that in 1993, he and other members of the death squad were on a mission when they approached a road blocked by the vehicle of an agent from the justice departments National Bureau of Investigation.

A confrontation degenerated into a shootout. Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of the southern city of Davao at the time, then arrived on the scene, Matobato said. Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. Jamisola (the justice department official) was still alive when he (Duterte) arrived. He emptied two Uzi magazines on him.  AFP
Geneva, September 15

Fewer than half of the worlds some six million refugee children are in school, making them five times less likely to get an education than the global average, the UN warned on Thursday.

A full 3.7 million school-aged refugee children have no school to go to, the UN refugee agency said in a report.

This represents a crisis for millions of refugee children, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement, urging international action to get the children back to school.

His comments came ahead of the first-ever UN summit on refugees and migrants, to be held in New York on September 19, and which will be followed the next day by a pledging conference for new offers of aid to refugees hosted by President Barack Obama.

As the international community considers how best to deal with the refugee crisis, it is essential that we think beyond basic survival, Grandi said, pointing out that refugees on average are displaced for about 20 years.

That, he said in the UN report, is more than an entire childhood.

Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return, he stressed.

Todays report, which compares UNHCR data on refugee education with data from UNESCO on global school enrolment, showed that only 50 per cent of the worlds refugee children have access to primary education.

That compares to a global average of more than 90 per cent.

And as these children become older, the gap becomes a chasm, it said, pointing out that only 22 per cent of teens living as refugees attended secondary school.

That compares with a global average of 84 per cent.

As for university, only one percent of refugees attend, compared to 34 per cent globally, the report showed.

Todays report said efforts by UNHCR and others to enrol more refugee children in school were being overshadowed by soaring numbers of newly displaced people.

While the global number of school-aged refugees remained fairly stable at around 3.5 million during the first decade of the 21st century, it has swelled on average by 600,000 children and adolescents annually since 2011, it pointed out.

In 2014 alone, the school-aged refugee population swelled by 30 per cent, UNHCR said, stressing that at this rate an additional 12,000 classrooms and 20,000 teachers are needed each year to cover the refugee needs.  AFP
Colombo, September 14

Exiled Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has said he is in talks with the former president, who repeatedly threw him in jail, to "legally topple" the current leader of the troubled honeymoon islands.

Nasheed became the first democratically elected president of the Maldives in 2008, but now lives in exile in London after he was jailed on terrorism charges that he says were politically motivated.

In the past he has accused Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years and is still regarded as the power behind the throne, of being behind his downfall.

But yesterday he indicated he wanted to bury the hatchet with Gayoom, amid reports of a rift between the former strongman leader and his half-brother, current President Abdulla Yameen.

"How can you build a future if you always want to go back to live in the past," Nasheed told reporters in Colombo via a video link from London.

Nasheed said he had forgiven Gayoom and was in talks with his faction of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) "for a new political alignment".

He did not disclose details, but said he had visited Colombo late last month to meet fellow dissidents and map out a strategy to "legally topple" Yameen.

He served repeated jail terms under Gayoom's autocratic leadership before winning the country's first democratic election in 2008.

There was no immediate comment from Gayoom, however, and diplomats in Colombo were cautious about the prospect of such an alliance.

"The opposition was expecting Gayoom to get a section of his party to withdraw support for Yameen late last month, but for some reason that did not happen," said one western diplomatic source in Colombo, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It is not easy for the opposition to organise any agitation inside the country because all their leaders are either in jail or in exile."

An alliance between the 78-year-old Gayoom and Nasheed was unthinkable even a few months ago.

But an intensifying crackdown on political dissent in the atoll nation of 340,000 people has dented its popular image as an upmarket holiday paradise.  AFP
Washington, September 15

In a bid to prevent further questions about her health, Hillary Clinton today released an updated medical record after a bout of pneumonia, with her doctor saying she is fit to serve as US President but her fitness remained a topic in the race to the White House.

She is in excellent mental condition, said Lisa Bardack, her physician, four days after the Democratic nominee wobbled, stumbled and nearly collapsed during the 15th anniversary of 9/11 attacks in New York.

The health scare had forced the 68-year-old former secretary of state to cancel campaign and fundraising trips to California and has fuelled concerns about her medical fitness less than two months to go for the November 8 election. She is set to resume her campaign this week.

The disclosure came as her Republican rival Donald Trump released new health data of his own soon after he questioned Clintons fitness, which has remained an area of speculation since this was not the first time she has had health issues.

Previously, Clinton was afflicted by an uncontrollable cough for several minutes which forced her to stop speaking during a rally in Cleveland. And in December 2013, she had to be rushed to New Yorks Presbyterian Hospital after a medical scare following a fainting spell and concussion.

But Bardack said in a detailed medical report released by Clintons campaign that she is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States. Bardack said Clinton has been seen by her regularly this year for routine care. She has had recurrent blood testing for Coumadin dosing and adjustments.

Her blood levels have been relatively stable. She also has had several allergy flares over the past year, which has been a typical pattern for most of her life. In consultation with her allergist, she responded well to her medication adjustments.

In January of 2016, Mrs Clinton developed symptoms of sinusitis and an ear infection, which was treated with antibiotics and steroids. Over the ensuing few weeks, she noted progressive pain in her left ear despite treatment, and subsequently was evaluated by her ENT physician, she said.  PTI

Trump in excellent physical health too

Donald Trump on Thursday released the results of his recent medical test, with his personal physician saying the 70-year-old Republican presidential candidate is in excellent physical health

In summer, Trump is in excellent physical health, Dr Harold N Bornstein said in a one-page medical report dated September 13, which was released to the press by his campaign

His investment in India to affect US policy

Trumps investments in real estate overseas, including in Indian cities of Pune and Gurgaon, could have implications on Americas foreign policy if the Republican presidential nominee wins the elections and occupies the White House next January, a major US weekly said
Kuala Lumpur, September 15

A piece of aircraft wreckage found in June off Tanzania has been confirmed as coming from the doomed airliner MH370, Malaysia said on Thursday.

The debris, found on Pemba Island off the Tanzanian coast, is the latest piece of wreckage to be linked to the Malaysia Airlines jet, whose disappearance remains a mystery.

Malaysias transport ministry said the piece of debris, which had been taken to Australia for expert analysis, was found to have part numbers, date stamps and other identifiers confirming it came from the Malaysia Airlines jet.

"As such, the experts have concluded that the debris, an outboard flap, originated from the aircraft 9M-MRO, also known as MH370," a ministry statement said.

"Further examination of the debris will continue in hopes that evidence may be uncovered which may provide new insight into the circumstances surrounding flight MH370."

Authorities had earlier said the piece of debris was "highly likely" to have come from MH370. However, the confirmation appears to have so far shed no fresh light on the plane's fate.

The Malaysia Airlines jet was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but an extensive deep-sea hunt off Australia's west coast is drawing to a close with nothing found yet.

However, several pieces of debris that apparently drifted thousands of km toward the African coast have been identified as definitely or probably from the Boeing 777.

Those finds have confirmed the plane went down but have so far shed no light on why and have fuelled questions over whether the official search is focused in the right area.

The Australian-led operation is scouring the seafloor within a remote 120,000-sq-km belt of the Indian Ocean where authorities believe the passenger jet went down.

The search is nearly finished, however, and families are bracing for it to be called off.

An American amateur investigator, Blaine Gibson, handed other possible MH370 debris to Australian officials on Monday, saying several pieces were blackened by flames, raising the prospect of a flash fire onboard.

Gibson, a lawyer, who has travelled the world trying to solve the MH370 mystery, told Australian reporters the debris had washed up in Madagascar.  AFP
Karachi, September 15

Over 4,000 people went to private and government hospitals due to ailments linked to overeating on Eid-ul Azha in Karachi, the capital of Pakistans southern Sindh province.

The Health Department said that people went to private and government hospitals complaining of diarrhoea, dehydration and vomiting after the festival marked by traditional feasts.

More than 2,200 people visited Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Complex, 1,000 people went to Civil Hospital Karachi, 500 had visited to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Geo TV reported, quoting a spokesman for the Health Department.

Due to overeating, gastro, dehydration and vomiting are common on Eid-ul-Azha, Deputy Director Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Huma Ahmed said, adding that people should take minimum meal and try to avoid eating oily and junk food.

Director Health Karachi Dr Shakoor Abbasi suggested that people should take vegetables in lunch and dinner beside meat or mutton and avoid soft drink specially heart, diabetic and hypertension patients.

Approximately 1,000 people also visited hospitals for injuries sustained while sacrificing animals.

Eid-ul-Azha or Bakrid or was celebrated across Pakistan on Tuesday.  PTI
Washington, September 14

Encouraged by Myanmars progress towards democracy and installation of a civilian government, US President Barack Obama on Thursday decided to terminate national emergency imposed on the country and said he will soon lift the sanctions against it.

The announcement from Obama came after his meeting with his fellow Nobel laureate and Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi at the Oval Office of the White House.

In part because of the progress that weve seen over the last several months, I indicated, after consulting with Daw Suu, that the US is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Myanmar for quite some time. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that the people of Myanmar see rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government, Obama said.

Recognising the progress toward democratic transition that Myanmar has achieved, including through the election of a civilian-led government, the US will terminate the National Emergency with respect to Myanmar and will revoke the Executive Order-based framework of the Myanmar sanctions programme, said a joint statement issued after the meeting.

The State Department said announcement during the historic visit of Suu Kyi is a testament to the tremendous change Myanmar has undergone in the past few years.

Myanmar now has democratically-elected civilian leadership for the first time in over half a century, and is focused on bringing peace and national reconciliation, economic prosperity and social welfare, and respect for human rights to its people, it said.

During the meeting, Obama also announced his intention to take action to lift Executive Order-based economic and financial sanctions on Myanmar.

I believe the President said in the coming days (sanctions would be lifted), White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during his daily news conference.

Earnest said what substantively has changed is that the reason that this national emergency was placed into effect in the first place was concern about the undemocratic conduct of the military government that previously ruled Myanmar.

Much of the concern in the United States was rooted in the way that that military government was treating Aung San Suu Kyi. She was imprisoned in her own house, he said.

Thats an important reason why the national emergency was put into place. Now, weve seen significant democratic reforms inside of Myanmar. No longer is Aung San Suu Kyi a prisoner in her own house, shes now the head of the government. So I think that does reflect important progress inside of Myanmar and I think given that progress, I think it makes sense that the national emergency would be withdrawn and the sanctions lifted, he said in response to a question.

That said, we continue to want to encourage the pursuit of additional Democratic reforms as many have noted. There still is aan undo role that the military plays in the government, there. They have about 25 per cent of the legislative seats. So thats an indication that there are additional Democratic reforms that wed like to see them pursue.  PTI
Crowding, continued staffing shortages and lack of programming that keeps inmates from timely parole remain the top problems facing Nebraska prisons, a report issued Thursday showed.

The state Department of Correctional Services is trying to dig out from a pile of problems that grows with every report of inmate unrest, assaults on corrections officers and loss of key staff.

Doug Koebernick, the inspector general watching over Nebraska's prisons, outlined his concerns and offered a long list of recommendations in his first annual report.

He was chosen to be the state's official watchdog of prisons by State Ombudsman Marshall Lux a year ago. The job was created as part of a prison reform law after investigations into sentencing miscalculations and other problems.

At any given time, more than 300 vacancies among front-line prison staff plague the department, Koebernick said in the report. Add in crowded conditions, an increase in the number of inmate assaults on corrections officers and the need for program funding.

"(This) is an agency that clearly does not have the necessary resources needed to fulfill its mission," he said.

Today, 1,321 inmates eligible for parole are still sitting in prison, many of them waiting for programs they need to complete to meet conditions of their parole, he said.

Recently, inmates Koebernick talked to in the minimum custody unit at the Nebraska State Penitentiary shared this concern: Im past my parole eligibility date and have done what has been asked of me. However there is one more program I have to take in order to have the board parole me and Im not scheduled to get into it for months or longer.

"To say they were frustrated is an understatement," he said.

Failure to have the inmates prepared for parole may cost the state of Nebraska $35,000 to $40,000 per year for each of those inmates, he said.

Crowding contributes to the agency's problems.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nebraska was the fourth most overcrowded prison system in the country behind Alabama, Delaware and Illinois.

This month, 5,289 inmates are in custody, including 151 housed in county jails. That is 161 percent of design capacity, Koebernick said. Jail inmates are included because that program will end next year, he said.

Other highlights of the report:

* The May 9 suicide at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution of Aslin Nabarro, 44, shows the need for mental health treatment, training, use of interpreters and emergency response.

A critical incident review team made a thorough and professional report on the suicide, Koebernick said. The inspector general observed Nabarro was kept in restrictive confinement too long, was not provided the care or treatment he required, and that his cries for help were not heard or were ignored.

Better communication and coordination of care for inmates is needed, he said, as are enhanced training of staff so they recognize requests for assistance and better use of interpreters, including face-to-face contacts with inmates.

* The June 10 escape of two prisoners from Lincoln Correctional Center was the result of failures in security and oversight. Koebernick said his review of the escapes will be completed by Oct. 1.

His preliminary concerns include the effect of staff shortages on security, the impact of crowding, staff complacency that led to practices that did not meet departmental or public expectations and a lack of security and accountability audits.

At this time, Koebernick said, no staff or administrators -- including Warden Mario Peart, who was reassigned following the escape and retired July 1 -- have been disciplined, although that may be pending.

The question of where accountability starts and ends regarding the escape needs to be answered by the department, Koebernick said in the report.

* The department should increase recruitment and employment of minority staff, including those who speak Spanish and other languages prominent among inmates.

A relatively steady 10 percent of Nebraska prison employees, or 231, are minorities. In 2014, 100 were African-American, 75 Latino, seven Native and 24 Asian. Few minorities are in leadership positions.

Currently, about 45 percent of inmates are minorities.

Other highlights of Koebernick's report include these.

* Vocation and life skills programs need significant funding.

* At least six counties are interested in working with the state Corrections Department to house work release inmates in their home counties.

* The Corrections Department is unable to keep up with travel orders for medical consult requests despite efforts by a work group in 2015 and 2016 to solve the problem.

In February, Koebernick completed a needs assessment on which his report is based. Those needs include staff salary increases, including possible reclassification of positions and consideration of extra duty pay, more beds for low-level, nonviolent offenders and the potential for work release inmates to stay in their communities, a $50 million backlog in maintenance and a need for adding core services, such as kitchen and eating space, day rooms, classrooms, recreation areas and yard space.

Here are recommendations included in Koebernick's report.

* Present salary proposals that would include longevity pay or a plan to reward employees for reaching certain work goals, achievements or certifications.

* Provide additional pay for extra duties that require more training.

* End the $250 bonus program that is part of a $1.5 million retention plan and use remaining funds to provide bonuses to employees who did not get a $500 bonus this month.

* Place limits on overtime and consider stopping back-to-back 16-hour shifts.

* Develop plans to bring "new blood" into the agency's staff.

* Continue to develop more program options for inmates to assist in them being paroled, including programs provided in foreign languages.
A federal appeals court on Wednesday affirmed the mandatory minimum sentence of a Nebraska woman told by a judge at her sentencing she was a poster child for why such sentences don't work.

Robyn Hamilton, 33 of Hartington, was federally indicted in April 2013 and charged in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In interview earlier this year, Hamilton admitted she's a recovering user, but she always denied being part of a conspiracy to distribute drugs in northeast Nebraska.

At her trial in March 2015, three people facing indictments of their own testified against her in deals with prosecutors and ID'd a picture of the house Hamilton rented as a place they dropped off and picked up drugs.

The jury convicted Hamilton but acquitted a co-defendant who was tried at the same time.

In June 2015, U.S. District Judge John Gerrard sentenced her to 120 months in prison, the mandatory minimum, but noted at the time that such sentences aren't a proper fit in all drug conspiracy cases.

In Hamilton's case, congressional sentencing laws mandated a 10-year sentence despite the fact her criminal record consisted of no more than two old DUIs and a drug paraphernalia ticket, Gerrard said.

She appealed the conviction, arguing that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient and arguing that it didn't show she knew of and knowingly participated in the alleged conspiracy. Even if there was enough evidence that she was a member of some drug conspiracy, she argued, the government failed to prove she was a member of the one that was the focus of the indictment.

But the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying enough evidence was presented for jurors to infer her participation in the conspiracy.

"She allowed (one) conspirator to use (her) residence as a 'stash house' for drugs and drug proceeds, was present at multiple drug transactions, kept records of the drug transactions and was furnished some of the methamphetamine delivered to her home," the court said in its ruling.

Hamilton remains at a minimum-security prison work camp for women in Bryan, Texas, and is set to be released in May 2024.
A startup company says it is bringing a new level to camera-based truck safety systems with the help of artificial intelligence.

NetraDyne was founded last year to apply artificial intelligence to fleet management. It's just announced its first product, driver-i, which uses artificial intelligence to analyze the data coming in through its patent-pending four-camera system and provide near-real-time information on what drivers are doing wrong -- and what they're doing right.

The platform was developed to capture every moment and aspect of the driving experience, rather than a small sample of time.

Driver-is artificial intelligence uses deep learning, the approach to AI that most closely mimics the way the human brain processes visual imagery, explained Sandeep Pandya, NetraDyne president.

In addition, the system uses processing technology that was developed for modern smartphones, where the ways they render graphics are similar to deep learning calculations. The system uses the most powerful mobile CPU available, a TerraFlop, which can perform a trillion calculations per second. For comparison, a typical laptop is a GigaFlop, or about a billion per second.

What does all this technology do for the fleet?

Ultimately this is about replacing the humans having to review videos that come in and try to provide some context later, explains Adam Kahn, vice president of fleet business. Our system can do it in real time.

For instance, say the speed and G-force indicators in the system detect a hard braking event. A traditional camera-based safety system would save a snippet of video before and after the event and send it off to be analyzed by humans, either by a group at the company providing the safety system or by the fleet.

However, Kahn contends, that process A) involves a delay in the information getting to the fleet and B) may not tell the whole story.

He shared an example of a video where a car pulled in front of a truck with a following distance of only 0.4 seconds. The system recognized that it was tailgating, but also realized that it was not the truck drivers fault.

Its a risky event that wasnt caused by the driver, Kahn says. We believe this starts to change the conversation between the fleet manager and the driver.

With artificial intelligence we have much greater visibility into the event, he says, with video of minutes [not seconds] before and after, with causality determined at the vehicle level so it doesnt have to go through a center. There's immediate notification to fleet manager if a severe event happens, he says, and in cases where a driver is being proactive, the fleet manager can provide positive reinforcement and recognition. I think the more you can have a positive conversation with the driver vs. punitive ones, the more it drives up the ability to retain that driver in your fleet.

In addition, the artificial intelligence-driven driver-i can capture events that would not be noticed by what he calls inertial-based events. For instance, the system detects stop lights and can determine if a driver ran a red light  which would not trigger a traditional safety system, since theres no hard braking or acceleration or swerving. It also tracks actual truck speed vs. posted limits.

Its actually reviewing what is going on every minute of every hour of the driving day, says Pandya. Its always vigilant, its always on watch.

The fleet safety management center is intuitive, full featured and provides near-real time crowd sourcing of driver and vehicle safety event data, says the company, enabling trend analysis and business intelligence with triggers for organization wide work flow.

The driver-is proprietary GreenZone Driver Score gives fleets the ability to see how drivers are tracking against team safety programs and goals. This view offers visibility into positive driving activity, events that were caused by third parties, and notification of at-risk conditions, allowing the fleet manager to step in before those events become severe. The GreenZone utility also offers performance-based push notifications so fleet managers can pass along kudos and rewards for excellent driving practices.
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The CEO of Ramps Logistics says he is "really really disappointed" with the Guyana Revenue A
The Simpsons are back for their 28th season on ELEVEN later this month.

Encouragingly, it will air at 8.30pm Wednesday, 28 September, just 2 days after the US.

At 9pm it will be followed by the premiere of Son of Zorn, a new live action / animated comedy that is part of the Fall season. This premiered earlier this week in the US.



The Simpsons

Monty Burns Fleeing Circus

When Springfield is burned to the ground, the Simpsons beg Mr. Burns to fund its rebuilding. Burns agrees, with one condition: he gets to put on a variety show at the Springfield Bowl.

Comedian Amy Schumer guest stars as Mrs. Burns in this flashback episode depicting Mr. Burns childhood.

Son of Zorn

Return to Orange County

Fully animated Zorn (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) is a fearless warrior and defender of Zephyria, a faraway island in the Pacific Ocean, where everything and everyone is animated.

After 10 years in Zephyria, Zorn travels to California to visit his son Alangulon (aka Alan), where he learns that his ex-wife Edie (Cheryl Hines) has a fiance and new upper-middle-class life.

Determined to reconnect with his son and win his ex-wife back, Zorn stays and obtains a job. Despite his unique qualities, he is welcomed by his new boss. Zorn does his best to exchange the challenges of battling dark herdsmen and bloodthirsty arachnobots for those of fatherhood and office life.
A federal judge on Thursday ruled that a mother and her son accused in a conspiracy to sell misbranded synthetic drugs at their Lincoln stores will be tried together.

Sharon Elder had asked the court to sever her trial from Allen Peithman's.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart denied the request, saying that generally, people charged in conspiracy cases should be tried together.

Federal prosecutors allege Elder and Peithman were engaged in a scheme to sell synthetic drugs that contained illegal cannabinoids and were misbranded as potpourri at Island Smokes and Dirt Cheap between October 2013 and April 2015.

Elder had argued that it would be impossible for her to get a fair trial if she were tried with her son.

The two may have made incriminating statements against each other, Elder argued. Further, she argued, jurors may not be able to sift through all the evidence and decide the individual cases fairly, and attorneys may use mutually exclusive, antagonistic defenses.

But Zwart said she found no evidence Elder's son has incriminated her. And, she said, jurors are presumed to be able to sift through evidence. Zwart disagreed that defense attorneys will employ conflicting defenses.

Peithman and Elder were set to stand trial late next month, but that was postponed as the judge considered several motions. It's not clear when the trial will begin.
A former Fairbury man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for being part of a child pornography ring, federal prosecutors said.

Brandon Hennerberg, 31, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln. In June he pleaded guilty to one count of child exploitation enterprise.

Hennerberg and five co-defendants were charged in the Eastern District of Michigan in a 28-count indictment that included conspiracy to produce child pornography. Prosecutors said the six schemed to deceive at least 100 girls into online sexual activity that was recorded.

Gina Balaya in the Michigan prosecutor's office said Thursday that Hennerberg had asked that his case be transferred to Lincoln for pleading and sentencing.

Two of his co-defendants await sentencing, and cases are pending for the three others.
Kyivs Metropolitan, the municipal enterprise that operates the Kyiv subway system, plans to stop using tokens to pay a fare.

Head of Kyivs Metropolitan Viktor Brahynsky said at a meeting of Kyiv Council, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I believe that next year we will make this step [stop using tokens], Brahynsky said.

He said that in the near future Kyivs subway will have a single e-ticket to pay a fare for using the subway and ground transport.

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Ukraine may receive the next tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of 2016, IMF Communications Director Gerry Rice has said at a briefing in Washington, own Ukrinform correspondent reports.

At the same time, he noted that he had no information on certain dates or a size of the next tranche. According to him, these issues will be considered at a meeting of the IMF Executive Board. iy
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of Great Britain Boris Johnson.

This is reported by the press service of the Head of State.

The Ukrainian President expressed gratitude to the UK for constantly supporting Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity noting the role of the United Kingdom in the international organizations like G7, NATO, the statement reads.

The Head of State highly appreciated contribution of Great Britain to the training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and expressed hope that cooperation in that sphere would be continued and enhanced.

The President informed the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of Great Britain on the situation in Donbas.

In turn, Boris Johnson emphasized that Ukraine was among priorities of his activities and it is not a coincidence that Ukraine had become one of the first countries he has visited in his new position.

Ukraine is a victim of unacceptable aggression. We are 100% determined in putting pressure on Russia, Boris Johnson said speaking of the British Governments position. He added that Great Britain is willing to support sanctions against the aggressor, he said.

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The European Council will discuss the relations with Russia at its meeting on October 20-21.

European Council President Donald Tusk said this in his address to the Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States, an Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels reports.

"As I have already announced, our relations with Russia will be reviewed at a separate session of the European Council summit in October," Tusk said.

As reported, EU member states have extended the government's personal sanctions against the Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean officials, who are involved in encroachment on the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

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Ukraine calls on the Council of Europe and its 47 member states not to recognize the legitimacy of the elections to the Russian State Duma, which will be held in occupied Crimea on September 18.

This is stated in a letter by Ukraines permanent representative to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba, which was sent to the ambassadors of Council of Europe member states.

In particular, the diplomat said if elections are held in Crimea, then the Council of Europe member states should refrain from recognizing any Russian delegation at parliamentary assemblies, which will include deputies elected in Crimea.

These elections violate fundamental norms and principles of the international law, relevant resolutions by the United Nations and the Council of Europe, as well as the current legislation of Ukraine, the diplomat noted.

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The International Publishers Forum has kicked off in Lviv, having collected hundreds of book lovers, writers, poets, owners and managers of publishing houses.

The rich program of the Forum includes more than a thousand events, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Lviv hosts the most important and most long-awaited book, literary, cultural event in Ukraine for the 23d year in a row. The goal of the International Publishers Forum is to acquaint book lovers with the novelties of domestic and foreign book publishing and authors, to draw public attention to the most topical issues of Ukrainian publishing houses, and to maintain the tradition of professional discussions and workshops," President of the Forum, Oleksandra Koval said.

The star guest of the 23d International Publishers Forum in Lviv is Frederic Beigbeder, one of the most popular contemporary French writers. He will present in Lviv his four books which were published into the Ukrainian language.

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A city advisory committee approved plans Thursday for the demolition and replacement of a University of Nebraska-Lincoln fraternity house near East Campus.

The Historic Preservation Commission approved plans for the FarmHouse Fraternity house at 3601 Apple St. The fraternity plans to tear down its current house and rebuild it, likely starting in May, said Jeff Monzu of Omaha architectural firm Leo A Daly and a FarmHouse alum.

The fraternity also plans to demolish a private residence adjacent to the east of its main house so it can expand its parking lot. Monzu said the project will allow the fraternity to expand its membership from 80 to 88 and increase off-street parking by nearly 25 stalls.

The commissions recommendation will be forwarded to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission, which is expected to consider a special permit for the project at its Sept. 28 meeting.

Monzu said the project will require the fraternitys members to live elsewhere for about a year.

The interest in the house and institution is still strong, he said.

FarmHouse started at UNL in 1911 and was indefinitely suspended after the death of an 18-year-old freshman in September 2014 at an off-campus party.

It is no longer suspended, according to a university spokesman.

Paul Johnson, president of the East Campus Community Organization, said the neighborhood group now supports the project after objecting to earlier expansion proposals.

He said the increase in off-site parking, which should result in fewer fraternity members vehicles on nearby streets, offsets the loss of the private residence adjacent to the property. The fraternity owns the private home.

The additional parking stalls are a bigger plus than the loss of the house, he said. Were pretty happy with it.
On the first day of term at a secondary school in the desert of northern Kenya, Esther Nyakong, the head girl, leads her fellow pupils in assembly prayers in the yard.

It is 7:15 am, and everyone has already been in class for more than two hours.

"I don't need to remind you this is exam time," Esther, from South Sudan, tells the 340 students, all girls and 90 per cent of them refugees, standing beneath the rising sun in their smart uniforms of blue tartan skirts and turquoise shirts. "Once you finish an exam, go and study for the next one. Let's not be found loitering, this is the time we all need to focus."

Kenya: Learning to beat the odds in Kakuma

Providing refugee children and adolescents with an education wherever they find safety is a core humanitarian service, yet many do not have the opportunity. Esther, 18, did not attend school from late 2008 through to early 2011.

Constant insecurity in South Sudan's capital, Juba, forced her to flee to Kenya with her mother and two older sisters. Processing the paperwork to continue her education at Kakuma refugee camp, near the border with South Sudan, took another two years.

Today, she has caught up and is among the brightest pupils at Morneau Shepell Secondary School for Girls, a boarding school managed by UNHCR and funded by a Canadian human resources company. She is on track to complete high school in 2017 with grades that should make her confident of a place at university.

"There are a lot of people who don't achieve this, but I really believe in myself."

"Beggars cannot be choosers, but my wish and my dream is to study medicine in Canada and specialize in brain surgery, to be the first South Sudanese female neurosurgeon," she said. Her role model is Ben Carson, an American neurosurgeon and former US presidential candidate, whose autobiography she found in the school library.

"People ask me, Will you really make it?" she said with a grin. "I say wait and see. Yes, there are a lot of people who don't achieve this, but I really believe in myself."

Esther has already beaten the odds to make it this far. Her childhood was wracked by war, forcing her to flee from home at age 10. The chances of a refugee completing secondary school are slim, especially for a girl. The chance of reaching university verges on statistical fantasy. Only one in every 100 of the world's refugees go on to tertiary education.

Esther Nyakong, 18, and her schoolmates return to the classroom at Morneau Shepell boarding school for girls, near Kakuma refugee camp.  UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

Head girl Esther Nyakong, 18, assigns morning chores to students at the Morneau Shepell boarding school for girls.  UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

"My wish and my dream is to study medicine in Canada and specialize in brain surgery, to be the first South Sudanese female neurosurgeon," says Esther Nyakong.  UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

South Sudanese refugee Esther Nyakong, 18, attends a computer literacy class at the Morneau Shepell boarding school for girls, near Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya.  UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

There are about 74,000 school-age children at Kakuma, but fewer than one in four reach secondary school. For girls the odds are even worse: only one in 10 makes it to high school. Traditionally among Esther's people, girls are removed from education early, to help with domestic chores or to be married while still teenagers to earn lucrative dowries for their parents.

Apart from issues of culture, class size is another hurdle. At Kakuma's Mogadishu Primary School, one of 22 feeding into the camp's five secondary schools, there are 31 teachers for 2,661 students. The three youngest classes have no desks or chairs, and the pupils must sit on the dirt floor.

Nonetheless, Joseph Waiyaki, the head teacher, proudly lists last year's results: "We had 101 pupils sit the exams," he said. One hundred passed." The Kenyan national average is 75 per cent.

Classrooms are crowded at Mogadishu primary school, in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp.  UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

More than 4,000 primary school pupils are expected to earn the grades for secondary education this year, but there are only 1,000 places at the five high schools. To try to accommodate everyone, one school has divided its pupils into two groups, using the same classrooms and facilities for one full enrolment of students from 6 am to noon, and another from noon to 6pm. Others endure 80 pupils per class, double the recommended maximum.

"Yes these are refugees, but they are children like any others around the world," said Irene Kinyanjui, the principal at Esther's Morneau Shepell Secondary School. "Education is their only source of hope that they will be able to transform their lives and escape their situation here."

"Education is their only source of hope that they will be able to transform their lives.

Outside term time, Esther stays with her cousin Rebecca Nyandeng, 31, at her mud-walled, tin-roofed home in the camp. Rebecca has six children between the ages of three and 17. She mends clothes for a living, using an antiquated pedal-powered sewing machine. In a good month, she makes US$30.

"I would have liked to go to school, but when I was only 14 my parents forced me to be married," she said. "I would have been in a better position if I had been able to stay in school."

At Morneau Shepell School, assembly is over and the girls are rushing to their next mock exam. For Esther, it is an important one: biology. Beneath her confidence, there are worries.

"By now, we should know how to dissect a rat," she says. "Other schools will have done that, but here there are no facilities, no chemicals, no scalpels. I really wish we had been able to learn that already. It might be too late. It's not too late, is it?"
Let's go through the year, says the teacher, gesturing encouragingly at a small Syrian boy. He puts his head on one side and gazes at her quizzically for a moment. Then the penny drops. Januar, he says proudly. His classmates catch on and dutifully recite the German names of the months in order.

It's August in Berlin. Most German children are outside playing in the sunshine, school firmly out of their minds over the summer break. Meanwhile, young asylum-seekers and refugees all over Germany are spending their summers sitting in classrooms, drilling German grammar rules.

I didn't know a word of German when I got to Berlin, said Sanas Somijara, an Afghan asylum-seeker and summer school pupil who arrived in Germany together with her family 10 months ago. It wasn't so bad because I could already speak a bit of English. But lots of other children had it really hard because they didn't even know the [Roman] alphabet.

Sanas Somijara (middle), 15, from Afghanistan, dreams of being a pharmacist when she grows up. That's why she's spent her summer studying German in Berlin.  UNHCR/Gerhard Westrich

Teachers at the Lehrreich summer school in West Berlin say that unaccompanied minors find it harder to make progress learning the new language.  UNHCR/Gerhard Westrich

Mahmoud Jad, 13, from Syria, loves reading and writing and takes part at the Lehrreich refugee summer school in Berlin-Wilmersdorf.  UNHCR/Gerhard Westrich

"The children who join summer schools in Berlin wouldn't otherwise have the chance to learn German during the six-week holiday," said teacher Yvonne Hylla.  UNHCR/Gerhard Westrich

Beyond the challenges that unaccompanied children face, teachers say it can be difficult to adjust lessons to fit students of drastically varied abilities and backgrounds.  UNHCR/Gerhard Westrich

Once 15-year-old Sanas and her family moved into a Berlin shelter last winter, she and her two siblings were keen to start school. Their parents applied to local authorities, and the children were assigned to so-called welcome classes. These are parallel classes run in Berlin's primary and secondary schools, designed to prepare newcomers to enter regular schooling.

Together with 13 other children from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, Sanas took intensive language lessons and was introduced to the basics of German society and culture. The welcome class was a lot of fun, she said. We had a good teacher and she always helped us. It just felt like being in a normal class really.

Sanas' German improved so quickly that after six months she was allowed to transfer out of the welcome class and into regular ninth grade classes with her German peers. But that has not stopped her from taking the opportunity to brush up on the language during the holidays.

I like school here. The teachers help me to read and write. It's fun playing games.

We've had a lot of fun here in the summer school too, making new friends, playing sport and going on outings, she said. Most of the time we speak German to each other, but we translate into our own languages if one of us needs it.

Others in Sanas' summer school class are finding the language more challenging. German is very hard for me. It's very difficult, said Mahmoud Jad, a 13-year-old asylum-seeker from Syria. He fled his home in Damascus with his older brother and arrived in Berlin in February. But despite the long slog, Mahmoud is enjoying learning. I like school here. The teachers help me to read and write. It's fun playing games.

Teachers at the Lehrreich summer school in West Berlin say making progress is harder for unaccompanied children such as Mahmoud. When term starts again in September, he will return to a welcome class until his German is good enough to join regular school. Meanwhile, extra classes at the summer school help him keep up his efforts.

The children who join summer schools in Berlin wouldn't otherwise have the chance to learn German during the six-week holiday, said Yvonne Hylla, program coordinator at the German Children and Youth Foundation (DKJS), the state-funded umbrella organization responsible for Berlin's refugee and asylum-seeker summer schools.

We've had good feedback from the welcome class teachers that these children don't stagnate and forget everything over the summer, but instead make progress over the holidays, she added.

"Germany is a very good place because I can go to school and I don't have to be afraid," says Samira Marwi, age 15, from Afganistan, who lost both her parents at a young age.  UNHCR/Gerhard Westrich

Summer schools and welcome classes help children integrate into the school system, as well as into the cities and communities that have welcomed them. Many of the approximately 1.35 million people who have been pre-registered for asylum in Germany since the beginning of 2015 are children of school age. And after three months of residence in Germany, every child has both the right and the legal obligation to attend school.

Having fled deadly conflicts in their home countries, many refugee children have not have been to school for years and carry haunting memories of war and flight. They have to learn a new language in a different cultural context, as well as make new friends and acquaint themselves with a new environment. To support teachers and pupils alike, UNHCR has published teaching materials and continues to call for integration opportunities for children and the implementation of adequate measures to secure their well-being.

Germany is a very good place because I can go to school and I don't have to be afraid.

Germany is a very good place because I can go to school and I don't have to be afraid, said Samira Marwi, an Afghan asylum-seeker and summer school pupil whose education at home was constantly disrupted by the threat of violence against schoolgirls.

During term time, 15-year-old Samira, who arrived in Berlin last November with her older brother, also attends a welcome class during term time. My teacher says I'll have to stay on in the welcome class a bit longer, because my German isn't good enough yet, she said.

But whether it's in a welcome class, summer school or regular school classes, Samira is just glad to be able to learn in peace. I want to stay here, go to school and study. Then I'll become a doctor and be able to help people, she said. Meanwhile, her classmate Sanas dreams of one day becoming a pharmacist. The journey here to Germany was so hard, she said. Now we want to stay and study and make a new life, a good and beautiful life with no fear.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, released a report today showing that more than half  3.7 million  of the 6 million school-age children under its mandate have no school to go to.

Some 1.75 million refugee children are not in primary school and 1.95 million refugee adolescents are not in secondary school, the report found. Refugees are five times more likely to be out of school than the global average.

This represents a crisis for millions of refugee children, said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Refugee education is sorely neglected, when it is one of the few opportunities we have to transform and build the next generation so they can change the fortunes of the tens of millions of forcibly displaced people globally.

Refugee education in crisis: three standout statistics

Entitled "Missing Out: Refugee Education in Crisis", the report compares UNHCR data on refugee education with UNESCO data on global school enrolment. Only 50 per cent of refugee children have access to primary education, compared with a global average of more than 90 per cent. And as these children become older, the gap becomes a chasm: only 22 per cent of refugee adolescents attend secondary school compared to a global average of 84 per cent. At the higher education level, just one per cent of refugees attend university, compared to a global average of 34 per cent.

The report is released in advance of world leaders gathering on September 19-20 at the UN General Assemblys Summit for Refugees and Migrants and the Leaders Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis, hosted by the President of the United States. At both summits UNHCR is calling on governments, donors, humanitarian agencies and development partners as well as private-sector partners to strengthen their commitment to ensuring that every child receives a quality education. Underlining the discussions will be the target of Sustainable Development Goal 4, Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning an aim that will not be realized by 2030 without meeting the education needs of vulnerable populations, including refugees and other forcibly displaced people.

As the international community considers how best to deal with the refugee crisis, it is essential that we think beyond basic survival, said Grandi. Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return.

While the report highlights progress made by governments, UNHCR and partners in enrolling increased numbers of refugees in school, the struggle is one of sheer numbers. While the global school-age refugee population was relatively stable at 3.5 million over the first 10 years of the 21st century, it has grown on average by 600,000 children and adolescents annually since 2011. In 2014 alone, the refugee school-age population grew by 30 per cent. At this pace of growth, UNHCR estimates that an average of at least 12,000 additional classrooms and 20,000 additional teachers are needed on an annual basis.

Refugees often live in regions where governments are already struggling to educate their own children. They face the additional task of finding school places, trained teachers and learning materials for tens or even hundreds of thousands of newcomers, who often do not speak the language of instruction and have frequently missed out on three to four years of schooling. More than half of the worlds out-of-school refugee children and adolescents are located in just seven countries: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey.

Exemplified by Syria, the report shows how conflict has the potential to reverse positive education trends. Whereas in 2009, 94 per cent of Syrian children attended primary and lower secondary education, by June 2016 only 60 per cent of children were in school in Syria, leaving 2.1 million children and adolescents without access to education in Syria. In neighbouring countries, over 4.8 million Syrian refugees are registered with UNHCR, amongst them around 35 per cent are of school-age. In Turkey, only 39 per cent of school-age refugee children and adolescents were enrolled in primary and secondary education, 40 per cent in Lebanon, and 70 per cent in Jordan. This means that nearly 900,000 Syrian school-age refugee children and adolescents are not in school.

In February at the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in London donors committed to a plan to reach 1.7 million Syrian refugee and affected host-community children and youth in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey, and 2.1 million out-of-school children inside Syria. By the start of the new school year in September, the work by host governments is impressive, with Jordan and Lebanon reinforcing their double shift system at schools, 90 per cent of Syrian refugee children enrolled in school in Egypt, and Turkey redoubling efforts to encourage enrolment. However, funding from this conference is still not fully committed, threatening to undermine some of this progress.

The progress seen in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey points to the potential to turn around the educational prospects of refugees, but only if the international community invests, said Grandi.

The report also looks at some of the more protracted refugee situations that receive less attention. In Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya, the report profiles the remarkable story of a young South Sudanese girl, Esther, who has caught up on multiple years of missed education to reach the last year of secondary school. Only three per cent of children in Kakuma camp are enrolled in secondary school, and less than one per cent make it to higher education.

The report calls for governments to prioritize effective inclusion of refugee children in national systems and multi-year education sector plans. In Chad, a recent transition of all schools to the national system has supported both refugee and host community children. However, lack of funding is resulting in overcrowded and under resourced classrooms.

Given the fact that the average length of displacement for a refugee in a protracted situation currently stands at 20 years, the report calls for donors to transition from a system of emergency to multi-year and predictable funding that allows for sustainable planning, quality programming and sound monitoring of education for refugees and national children and adolescents.

The report concludes with the inspiring story of Nawa, a Somali refugee who only started her education aged 16 at a community learning centre in Malaysia. Under four years later, she is due to start a foundation course at university while giving back to her school as a volunteer teacher.

Nawas story proves it is never too late to invest in refugee education, and investment in one refugees education means the entire community benefits, said Grandi.

Media contacts and materials:

The multimedia version of the report can be found at http://www.unhcr.org/missingout.

For more information on this topic  including media contacts, a PDF version, and related photos, video, infographics and motion graphics  please visit http://www.unhcr.org/missingoutmedia.
UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt meets with Syrian refugees at Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, home to 37,000 people.  UNHCR/Ivor Prickett

AMMAN, Jordan  During a three-day visit to meet with Syrian refugees in Jordan, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt urged the international community to do more to solve the countrys crisis which is now in its sixth year, noting that the gulf between our responsibilities and our actions has never been so wide.

Now in its sixth year, the brutal conflict in Syria has forced more than 4.8 million people to seek safety in neighbouring countries. Jordan currently hosts more than 655,000 registered Syrian refugees, who live in two main camps at Zaatari and Azraq and in towns and cities across the country.

On Friday the Special Envoy met with refugees in Azraq, a remote camp in Jordans barren north-eastern desert currently home to around 37,000 Syrian refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency. They described to her the horror of daily life in Syria, and living in perpetual fear.

We were always scared when we heard the sounds of the explosions, and sometimes we fled to the shelters underground, Nizar, a 13-year-old boy from Homs scarred by shrapnel from a barrel bomb.

I met a family this morning, who fled Daesh in Raqqa, and then moved 20 times, trying to find safety inside Syria. In that time, the mother suffered repeated miscarriages, and her two brothers and one sister were killed in an airstrike, Ms Jolie Pitt told a news conference at the camp following her visit.

There are children here who remember no life other than this harsh desert environment and barbed wire fences, she added.

Earlier, the Special Envoy met Um Ahlam, a mother to eight daughters from Palmyra, who arrived in Azraq earlier this year after spending six months at an informal camp on the Syrian-Jordanian border. Um Ahlam described the hardship of spending a bitter winter in the middle of the desert, her family sheltered in a tiny tent, with the roof collapsing under each rainfall, and the uncertainty as to when they would finally reach safety.

Up to 75,000 people  mostly women and children  remain camped at the border in dire conditions, with limited access to food, healthcare and other essentials. The Special Envoy called on the international community to do more to assist them, saying They have had no food since early August. There is next to no humanitarian access. There is no mechanism for evacuating the war wounded. None of the basic protections under international humanitarian law are being applied.

On Saturday, the final day of her visit, Ms Jolie Pitt met with war-wounded Syrian refugees in Amman, including another 13-year-old boy, Selim, who was severely burned along with his brother when their home in Raqqa was hit by a barrel bomb. Selim has undergone 18 plastic surgery operations of the face, and still under treatment, Like any parent, it is impossible for me not to imagine what it would be like for my own children in this situation, the Special Envoy said.

Ms Jolie Pitt met with His Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Judeh and expressed her appreciation for Jordans efforts in hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrians since the start of the crisis in 2011. This is not a problem of Jordans making, or that Jordan should be left to bear alone, she said. They have been warning for years that they would reach a point where they on their own could do no more.

Jordan will co-host a Leaders Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis on 20 September, on the margins of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. That event will be preceded by a high-level UN summit on refugees and migration on 19 September, with the aim of finding new solutions to the current record levels of global displacement.

Ms Jolie Pitt called on governments to use the events to focus on finding a political solution.

My message to world leaders, as they prepare to gather at the UN General Assembly in 10 days is to ask the fundamental question of what are the root causes of the Syria conflict, and what will it take to end it, and please put that at the centre of your discussion, she said.

During her mission, the Special Envoy spent time with war-wounded refugees, including children that are in treatment at the MSF Hospital in Amman, Jordan. She also heard from survivors of sexual violence, and met with a group of inspiring young refugees, among them a future pharmacist, civil engineers and an English graduate, who are focused on rebuilding their futures, and that of Syria.

This was Ms Jolie Pitts fourth visit to Jordan since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes the US plan to admit more refugees next year, saying the decision reaffirms the need for resettlement as a life-saving option for the most vulnerable people and shows continued leadership in addressing the global humanitarian crisis.

Only a tiny fraction of refugees in the most desperate need ever get a chance to rebuild a life through resettlement in a safe country, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

More must be done by all countries to care for our fellow human beings facing life-threatening risk. The decision by the United States government reflects the willingness of communities across the country to welcome more refugees and for this I am profoundly grateful, he said.

The United States, the worlds largest country for refugee resettlement, affirmed this week plans to take in 110,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017 which begins October 1. That target figure represents a robust increase from the 85,000 resettled in the United States this year.

Decisions on which refugees will be admitted are made solely by the US government which also conducts a comprehensive and detailed vetting process overseas that must be completed satisfactorily before any refugee can travel to the United States for resettlement.

Grandi noted that the vast majority of refugees in the world remain close to their own countries in the hope of returning home as soon as it is safe, while others may eventually settle in the country where they were forced to flee.

Resettlement to a third country, however, must remain an option for the most vulnerable for whom no other humane solution is available, he said.

According to the latest UNHCR annual Global Trends report, more than 65 million women, children and men, including some 20 million refugees, were forcibly uprooted from their homes at the end of 2015  the highest number on record.
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This is not to say that radio itself didnt work at all. People in rural communities throughout Guinea did receive radio broadcasts. One could always turn on a small portable and tune into BBC Afrique or RFI. But quickly the next problem was revealed. While Guinea is a Francophone country, outside of the capital most people only speak local languages. Receiving information in French is either impossible to understand or lacks credibility to rural communities.

Beyond Ebola, Guinea is a country plagued by other outbreaks. Polio, measles, meningitis, and cholera among others regularly make their way through the countryside. Despite the building of hundreds of schools, there are still communities miles and miles away from the nearest schoolhouse. The literacy is low, and dangerously violent traditional practices such as female genital mutilation and cutting rates, at 97 per cent, are among the highest in the world. We realized very early on that a strong network of rural radios broadcasting in multiple local languages reaching even the most remote villages would be necessary to address all of these issues and more.

In March of 2015, UNICEF inaugurated the first newly built rural radio station in Forecariah, then the centre of the Ebola outbreak. I was told that this was the first radio station in Sousou reaching Forecariah that anyone could remember.

After Forecariah, we built a station in Boffa, then Dalaba, then Boke. By the time Ebola was over in Guinea on 29 December 2015, UNICEF had built, rehabilitated, or supported 22 rural radio stations. But there was more to be done. Some communities were still not being reached. We placed repeaters high up in the hills and continued adding new stations.

Last month, following a week of inaugurations in Leloma, Koubia, Dubreka, and Fria, along with the Ministry of Communications who is supporting these stations moving forward, we opened the final rural radio station on the island of Kassa. The station is designed to reach all of the people living on the five islands off of the coast of Conakry. Broadcasting to the island villages in their own language is essential. Past cholera outbreaks often begin off of the coast.
BALTIMORE -- Hillary Clinton may have been unwise to say half of Donald Trump's supporters are racists and other "deplorables." But she wasn't wrong.

If anything, when it comes to Trump's racist support, she might have low-balled the number.

Trump, speaking to the National Guard Association of the United States' annual conference here Monday afternoon, proclaimed himself "deeply shocked and alarmed" about Clinton putting half of his supporters in the "basket of deplorables" -- as if anybody, especially Trump, could be shocked by anything this late in the campaign. How dare she, Trump said, "attack, slander, smear, demean these wonderful, amazing people."

But this isn't a matter of gratuitous name-calling. This election has proved that there is much more racism in America than many believed. It came out of hiding in opposition to the first African-American president, and it has been welcomed into the open by Trump.

The American National Election Studies, the long-running, extensive poll of American voters, asked voters in 2012 a basic test of prejudice: to rank black and white people on a scale from hardworking to lazy and from intelligent to unintelligent. The researchers found that 62 percent of white people gave black people a lower score in at least one of the attributes. This was a jump in prejudicial attitudes from 2008, when 45 percent of white people expressed negative stereotypes.

This question is a good indicator of how one votes: Republican Mitt Romney won 61 percent of those who expressed negative stereotypes. And, when the question was asked during the 2008 primaries, those with negative racial stereotypes consistently favored Republican candidates -- any of them -- over any Democratic candidate in hypothetical matchups.

"There is plenty of overt white prejudice," observes Simon Jackman, who directed the ANES until earlier this year and now runs the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. "Whites who reported prejudicial beliefs about blacks skewed heavily Republican in 2008 and 2012 -- and they will in 2016."

Clinton's infelicitous "basket of deplorables" phrase takes its place alongside Romney's "binders full of women" in the awkward pantheon and could only have been devised by a woman who previously gave the world "ladders of opportunity." But for the large number of racists drawn to Trump, the shoe fits.

In June, the Pew Research Center found that 79 percent of Clinton voters believe the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities is an important issue, while only 42 percent of Trump supporters feel that way. Earlier Pew research found that Trump supporters were significantly less likely than other Americans to think that racial and ethnic diversity improves the United States.

Research by Washington Post pollsters and by University of California at Irvine political scientist Michael Tesler, among others, have found that Trump does best among Americans who express racial animus. Evidence indicates fear that white people are losing ground was the single greatest predictor of support for Trump -- more, even, than economic anxiety.

Few people embrace the "racist" label, so let's help them. If you are "very enthusiastic" about a candidate who has based his campaign on scapegoating immigrants, Latinos and African-Americans, talked of banning Muslims from the country, hesitated to disown the Ku Klux Klan and employed anti-Semitic imagery -- well, you might be a racist. But if you are holding your nose and supporting Trump only because you think him better than Clinton, that doesn't put you in the basket.

The new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the two groups roughly equal: Forty-six percent of Trump supporters say they are "very enthusiastic" about his candidacy. The rest were "somewhat" or not terribly enthusiastic.

There were mostly the latter at the National Guard gathering in Baltimore. Donny Crandell, a pastor from Nevada who serves as a National Guard chaplain, figured the audience was 70-30 for Trump, but with few of the "deplorables." Said Crandell: "I don't think you'll find a lot of military types who are core Trump fans. They just like him better than her." That includes Crandell, who backed Ted Cruz and would prefer Marco Rubio to Trump, whose "meanness" offends Crandell. "But he's the choice we have," the chaplain told me.

Trump, on stage, rejected any notion of racism, saying people who want secure borders "are not racists," people who warn of "radical Islamic terrorism are not Islamophobes" and people who support police "are not prejudiced." But moments later, he repeated the campaign slogan he borrowed from an anti-Semitic organization that opposed involvement in World War II.

"America First -- remember that," he said. "America First."

That's deplorable.
Microsoft is said to hold an event in October. What could the company be launching?

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release date

A source has learned about Microsoft's plan to hold an event in October. It will showcase new device called Project Rio. However, according to Neowin, Microsoft is unlikely to unveil new device in the upcoming month - not even a Surface Pro 5. It is reported that the event will present an all-in-one PC which is currently on final stage of development.

It is worth noting that the rumored Kaby Lake set to be placed in the hybrid laptop, won't make any appearance until the end of 2016. And the Redstone 2 will not arrive till 2017. This could mean that we won't be seeing Microsoft Surface Pro 5 any time this year.

Microsoft Surface Pro 5 rumored specs

However, there is still hope that Microsoft would at least give the viewers a clue on the next gen of Surface Pro. Or even better, announce the device before it is available for public in 2017. For the record, Microsoft unveiled Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book in October 2015. Judging from the past event, it would be a perfect schedule to launch a refreshed device next month.

Wait for Surface Pro 5 grows with rumors https://t.co/UyDz1j8OXH  Mobile Tech HQ (@MobileTechHQ) June 7, 2016

If Kaby Lake and Redstone 2 are shipped with the laptop, it will be powerful yet energy efficient device. University Herald has done the roundups of the device's possible specs by investigating all the rants circulating around the web. The Surface Pro 5 might have 2K and 4K displays and a much improved Surface Pen. It will likely to sport USB type C.

As for the processor, the upcoming Surface Pro might be powered by Nvidia pascal-based GPU or perhaps, AMD's newest chipset. The price point is speculated to be $899 for the base model.

Microsoft's October event

In an October event, Microsoft is rumored to launch a device codenamed 'Cardinal'. NextPowerUp said that the will be only one device launched in the event.
The founding fathers of the American constitution meant well when they said "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed with certain unalienable rights." However, they might be living in a dream world because that certainly hasn't been the case throughout the history of the United States. One area where discrimination rear its ugly head strongly is in the American education system.

One does not need to go far to find evidence how racial, ethnic, religious, social, and gender discrimination is at play in schools. Just read the headlines and there they are staring at you in big black and white letters.

A glaring example of this discrimination can be seen in the public school system wherein public schools are funded by property taxes that come from the residents of the community. Consequently, if a community belongs to a low-income or poverty-stricken group, there will be a lack of funding as well which affects the quality of education received by students in that particular area.

This inequality becomes much greater with racial practices, such as redlining and gentrification. In redlining, banks deny loans to people of color further impending them to own homes in particular neighborhoods or communities. The Washington Post had an article revealing that such practices are still alive in the modern society.

Gentrification, on the other hand, is the process where a large number of affluent families move into communities driving housing costs higher. As a result, those who cannot afford these housing costs are forced to transfer to another area. A report made by Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service showed that this practice is still happening.

These practices create a culture where low-income families and people of color are driven into specific neighborhoods which are densely populated, with a lack of funds, and low quality of education offered to students.

While these practices are going on, experts and lawmakers are still debating for an effective way how to redistribute funding to areas which needed it the most. One proposed method in order to eliminate these existing inequalities is to allocate property taxes to areas where there is a lack of funds. It's an effective and sustainable method but it is still in the hands of legislators who will decide whether they will deem it effective or not.
A letter addressed to the Department of Justice was sent by the democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. It was a request for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate the Donald J. Trump Foundation's $25,000 donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

ABC News reported that the letter comes after a report by The Washington Post on the Republican presidential aspirant's charitable organization. Trump's team told the publication that the foundation made an error in donating $25,000 to a group backing Bondi in 2013. This happened while her office was considering looking into Trump University.

This fact pattern indicates that these payments may have influenced Ms. Bondi's official decision not to participate in litigation against Mr. Trump," the letter read. It was also revealed that "at least one of Mr. Trump's family members also donated to [Bondi's] campaign" and that "after receiving these funds, Mrs. Bondi declined to further investigate Mr. Trump's business interests."

In another report by The Washington Post, Justice Department spokesperson Peter Carr confirmed that officials have received the letter and were already reviewing it. Hope Hicks, a spokesperson for Trump expressed her outrage at the requested investigation.

"That is a totally ridiculous and false mischaracterization that blatantly disregards the facts," she said. "This is clearly a politically motivated attempt to distract from all of Hillary Clinton's issues."

"Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is a partisan hack who has turned a blind eye to the Clinton Foundation for years and has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President," Trump communications adviser Jason Miller added. "This is nothing more than another left-wing hit job designed to distract from Crooked Hillary Clinton's disastrous week."

According to an insider, the investigation would be broader than the donation to Bondi. It may include the possible violations of Trump Foundation to IRS rules such as incorrect filing of tax paperwork as well as spending charity money to buy personal items for the Republican presidential candidate.
Princeton University, Williams College and the University of California-Berkeley nabbed the top spots as the best schools in the United States. This comes after the U.S. got the top three spots in the world's best universities list for 2016 by QS.

"I encourage parents and students to use the wealth of data and information in Best Colleges to identify schools that suit their specific needs," Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of the publication said. "In addition to considering factors like location and cost, families should pay close attention to graduation and retention rates. These are important indicators of how well a school supports its students both academically and financially."

The list is collated by U.S. News and World Report for 2017. Princeton University leads the rankings as one of the best national universities. It is followed by Harvard University. The University of Chicago and Yale University both got third place in the list. Columbia and Stanford are at fifth place.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is at seventh place. Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania are at eighth and Johns Hopkins University finished the top ten list.

Williams College is reportedly the best national liberal arts college. Amherst and Wellesley have the second and third places, respectively. Middlebury and Swarthmore are tied in fourth place.

University of California - Berkeley is believed to be the top national public university. Its Los Angeles campus is tied in second place with the University of Virginia. The University of Michigan is at fourth place while the University of North Carolina finished the top five.

In another report, U.S. News revealed how the rankings were calculated. First, the publication categorized regionally accredited schools by their mission.

National universities are those that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, master's and doctoral programs as well as emphasize on faculty research. National liberal arts colleges, on the other hand, have an exclusive focus on undergraduate education.

Afterwards, the publication collects data from each college on 15 indicators of academic excellence. This includes graduation and retention rates, undergraduate academic reputation and faculty resources, among others.
Purdue University opened a discussion on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement on Tuesday night, Sep. 14. The event was held in the school campus.

WLFI.com reported that the holistic discussion on the Black Lives Matter movement was part of a lecture series. It was hosted by the African American Studies and Research Center.

The series focuses on class, race as well as gender inequality. The panelists were from different backgrounds. They shared their thoughts on BLM and the movement.

Associate Professor Nadia Brown was the moderator for the event. She admitted that it is essential for students to be aware and have discussions on diversity and inclusion.

"Some of them might come with preconceived notions. But they aren't set in stone," she said. "So, having this panel here is really able to, hopefully able to explain some things they've seen on television or social media, but in a really in-depth way, by experts."

Moreover, she hopes that students will continue the discussion even after the event. This comes after several issues being faced by Black students lately.

Recently, Alabama State University was slammed with a lawsuit by 41 of its Nigerian students for alleged unnecessary charges when the Nigerian government has already paid for their education. The students have sued the college for overcharging them for books and meals. They also accused the school of enrolling them in classes that they never took, among others, because of the fact that they were black foreigners.

In Northern Kentucky University, Black students were outraged when a "Welcome White Week" flier attempted to mock their "Welcome Black Week" event. University spokesperson Amanda Nageleisen noted that the flier did not go through the official approval process of the school. Moreover, the student organization that was named on the document is not active or registered with the institution.

"The ignorance that stands on NKU's campus is no longer acceptable," junior student James Johnson said. "It's starting to become deliberate. Just like this person who deliberately copied our flier."
I am writing in response to John A. Clinton's letter, "Discussing politics in good faith" (Sept. 3). I was so glad to read that and know that I'm not alone. I'm planning on voting the way I do because of the generations before that me voted that way.

Learning from my grandpa and from a mandatory civics class I took as a senior in high school, I viewed history in books as sacred information. History was not removed in order to shield me from things that made me feel uncomfortable or because the may offend me. The Constitution and the National Anthem were revered. I learned that I must hear all of the information and seek the truth before I mark my ballot.

Perhaps in the past, news outlets would report the news without bias and understood that their readers needed to hear the truth to make informed choices. In today's news, the wording is shielded, biased and heavily sided. I do not like all the name calling. I hate the deceit. It speaks to character. I agree to disagree! I agree to remain civil! I am an American! I love the USA! I hope and pray my friends will join me. I beg my friends and family to desire to seek truth, be informed and go to the polls and vote. Above all, please don't try to make me feel guilty for my choice. Our country depends on it!

Anna Brazer, Lincoln
Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse parted company Thursday on Senate passage of a major new water resources development bill.

The measure cleared the Senate on a 95-3 vote.

Fischer said the legislation will provide communities in Nebraska with "increased flexibility as they work to protect our state's precious water resources."

Sasse won approval of an amendment requiring a Government Accountability Office audit of the environmental infrastructure program managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, then voted against enactment of the bill.

The program that will be audited has "historically been a slush fund for earmarks," Sasse said.

Sasse said he voted against the bill itself because it would "expand the Environmental Protection Agency's reach" and spend too much money.

Earlier in the legislative process, Fischer was able to "eliminate unnecessary burdens affecting our state's agricultural producers who use on-farm fuel storage," she said.

"I was firm on providing exemptions that would limit harmful federal regulations on our farmers who feed a hungry world," she said.

Sasse said Fischer's effort "provided regulatory relief for farmers and ranchers struggling with the EPA's on-farm storage tank rules."

Fischer said the bill will help "ensure safe and reliable water infrastructure for communities in Nebraska and across the country."

"I believe infrastructure is a priority of the federal government," Fischer said during a later conference call from Washington. It's a priority that is second to national security, she said.

And, Fischer said, her changes to the bill do limit the EPA's reach.
September 2 2014

Hub South West Scotland has appointed Kier Construction to deliver the 40m Glengarnock community and education campus on behalf of North Ayrshire Council, after the scheme secured planning approval.Incorporating the merged Garnock Academy and Glengarnock Primary on a greenfield site in Glengarnock the combined campus will hold up to 1,500 students and is scheduled for completion by late 2016.Brian McQuade, MD of Kier Construction's Scotland & north-east England business, said: We will be working closely with North Ayrshire Council and the Garnock Valley communities to construct a campus that will inspire future generations.Designed by JM Architects the school will play host to a six-lane 25m pool and fitness suite which will be made available for community use.
September 14, 2016  New research confirms that an innovative procedure combining MRI and ultrasound to create a 3D image of the prostate can more accurately locate suspicious areas and help diagnose whether its prostate cancer.Using specialized equipment needed, physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Centers Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center began using the fusion biopsy procedure about three years ago for its ability to blend live ultrasound images with captured MRI images.The fused image creates the 3D model, and flags anomalies that could be areas of concern. That helps guide urologists to get tissue samples called biopsies to determine whether cancer is present.UT Southwesterns early adoption of the cutting-edge technology allowed researchers to report on the superior diagnostic performance of this novel approach compared to traditional methods for diagnosing prostate cancer. Furthermore, these researchers have partnered with colleagues in Brazil to conduct follow up studies that now show the technique consistently improved detection of clinically significant prostate cancer under a wide variety of conditions, even when radiologists were using different equipment and protocols.In the past, we diagnosed prostate cancer by random biopsies of the prostate in men with elevated PSA values. With fusion biopsy, we actually find more cancer, we can differentiate between dangerous tumors and less aggressive tumors, and in some cases we perform fewer biopsies, said Dr. Daniel Costa , Assistant Professor of Radiology and with the Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC) at UT Southwestern.Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men, after skin cancer. Prostate cancer risk increases with age, with most cases occurring after age 60. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), about 180,890 men will be diagnosed this year, and about 14 percent of men will be diagnosed sometime during their lifetime.The procedure, technically known as MRI-TRUS (magnetic resonance imaging/transrectal ultrasound) fusion targeted prostate biopsy, requires special imaging capabilities and high level training for both radiologists and urologists, so its use has not become widespread.It works like this: after the urologist identifies a patient at risk for prostate cancer, radiologists use a state-of-the-art MRI examination to identify potentially suspicious areas. If present, the MRI images are then sent to a device that blends those with an ultrasound used by urologists to take a biopsy or sample of the tissue in question to determine whether it has cancer.In many instances, MRI-TRUS biopsies performed at UT Southwestern have allowed us to diagnose and treat aggressive prostate cancer in patients whose prior biopsies failed to find the cancer, said Dr. Ivan Pedrosa , Chief of the Division of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Associate Professor of Radiology and with the Advanced Imaging Research Center , who holds the Jack Reynolds, M.D. Chair in Radiology. Because of its improved precision, patients and physicians are better informed to choose the most appropriate treatment. This helps to avoid surgery in patients with less aggressive disease, and ensures that patients with more aggressive cancers are identified earlier.The fusion biopsy technique has been used for nearly 1,000 patients at UT Southwestern.Patients diagnosed at a later stage of disease, or with a more aggressive cancer, have lower rates of survival, making it vital that we quickly identify those who are at the highest risk, said Dr. Claus Roehrborn , Chair and Professor of Urology , who holds the E. E. Fogelson and Greer Garson Fogelson Distinguished Chair in Urology and the S.T. Harris Family Chair in Medical Science, in Honor of John D. McConnell, M.D. The close collaboration between radiology and urology, and the ability to exchange the images and information across a common network, enhances the productivity of this collaboration and the outcomes for our patients.Prostate cancer forms in tissues of the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system found below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The prostate surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine flows. A healthy prostate is about the size of a walnut. If the prostate grows too large, it squeezes the urethra. This may cause difficulty in urinating, burning or pain during urination, more frequent urges to urinate at night, loss of bladder control, and blood in the urine. These symptoms may also have a different cause, so men with prostate symptoms should speak with their physician, Dr. Roehrborn said.Additional UT Southwestern researchers involved in the studies of fusion biopsy are Dr. Neil Rofsky , Chair and Professor of Radiology and with the Advanced Imaging Research Center, who holds the Effie and Wofford Cain Distinguished Chair in Diagnostic Imaging; and Dr. Yair Lotan , Professor of Urology, who holds Helen J. and Robert S. Strauss Professorship in Urology.UT Southwesterns Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in North Texas and one of just 47 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation. Simmons Cancer Center includes 13 major cancer care programs and its education and training programs support and develop the next generation of cancer researchers and clinicians. Simmons Cancer Center is among only 30 U.S. cancer research centers to be designated by the National Cancer Institute as a National Clinical Trials Network Lead Academic Participating Site.UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institutions faculty includes many distinguished members, including six who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. The faculty of almost 2,800 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in about 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients and oversee approximately 2.2 million outpatient visits a year.
Seventy-five years ago, the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor took place.



The Imperial Japanese Army conducted the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 early in the morning on the island of O'ahu  it was over before noon.



This devastating attack took the lives of more than 2,400 service members, including 73 U.S. Marines.



A ceremony was held to rededicate the Marine Memorial at the USS ARIZONA Education Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, Aug. 19, 2016. The memorial expresses the nation's appreciation for these American heroes.

A U.S. flag at half-mast billows in the wind during the Marine Memorial Rededication Ceremony at the USS ARIZONA Education Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, Aug. 19, 2016. Three plaques on the memorial are dedicated to the 73 U.S. Marines that made the ultimate sacrifice during the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet) Families, friends and military service members came to Pearl Harbor to view the bronze plaques commemorating the 73 valiant U.S. Marines who made the ultimate sacrifice and their 15 brothers who survived the attack on the battleship USS ARIZONA.



As Marines, we consider it our sacred duty to honor those who fought and sacrificed so much here, to always remember their deeds, and to never let their sacrifices be in vain, said Lt. Gen. John A. Toolan, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.



For some members of the audience, this was their first experience witnessing the Marine Corps' dignified ceremonial proceedings.

Minister Kahu Kelekona Bishaw performs a traditional Hawaiian blessing during the Marine Memorial Rededication Ceremony at the USS ARIZONA Education Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, Aug. 19, 2016. Bishaw sprinkled fresh Hawaiian water over the memorial, representing the connection between Hawaii and the fallen Marines. (Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet) It's nice to see how the Marine Corps upholds their traditions first hand, said Angelika Khan, a native of Germany, whose son is enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps. To have General Toolan come down here to speak about these Marines was truly an honor and something I will never forget, especially now knowing what kind of institution my son is getting into.



Memorials, like the one rededicated to the USS ARIZONA Marines, pique visitors' curiosity.



Anytime there is something new, people gravitate to it, but it will always be here, said Stanley Mertes II, a photographer for the Pacific Aviation Museum. Now there is something they will see and they will take pictures to research it, only later to learn about the history of these Marines.



As the bugler plays Taps, hushing the audience and even the passers-by, this event illustrates the Marine Corps tradition of holding the highest regard for the fallen with a poignant remembrance ceremony.



Members of Pyramid Rock Young Marines program prepare to post colors during the Marine Memorial Rededication Ceremony at the USS ARIZONA Education Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, Aug. 19, 2016. The memorial is dedicated to the 73 U.S. Marines that made the ultimate sacrifice and their 15 fellow Marines who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet) So why is it that we still hold these ceremonies? Toolan asked the audience. There are several reasons: even though 15 of the men whose names are inscribed on the Remembrance survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, none are still alive today, so there is no one left to tell their story  no one but us, and this marker will help us in telling that story for many, many years to come. By U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet

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Copyright 2016 The U.S. Marines | Comment on this article
To end a disease that takes the life of an American man every 20 minutes, Lincoln joins 35-plus communities across the nation in hosting the third-annual ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk. During Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, on Sunday, Sept. 18, ZERO  The End of Prostate Cancer and Urology P.C. of Lincoln will host a 5K run/walk beginning with registration at 8 a.m. at Pioneers Park to save lives and support the nearly 1,000 men in Nebraska who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.

Ive been involved with the ZERO Run/Walk in Lincoln since it began here three years ago, which was the same year that I was diagnosed, said Duane Holmes, a prostate cancer patient at Urology P.C. This Run/Walk is an awesome event. The camaraderie it brings to the community is important, and each year Im glad to connect with other men fighting prostate cancer to talk about our experiences and to spread awareness.

Holmes was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer at age 60 in 2013. When he started his current treatment plan, he was told that he had less than five years to live, as his cancer had spread to his bones. Holmes was grateful to find ZERO, an organization fighting to fund new treatments that could potentially treat his advanced disease. Hes been involved with the local Run/Walk ever since, and is energized by the camaraderie and the support hes able to give to other men in his community. His goal is for no man to feel alone in his prostate cancer journey.

For the past 10 years, the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk has rallied communities and given participants a voice in the fight to end prostate cancer, said ZERO CEO Jamie Bearse. By mobilizing survivors, patients, caregivers, families and businesses in communities across the country to raise funds and awareness, we can make prostate cancer a national priority.

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month brings the national spotlight to prostate cancer, encouraging vital and necessary awareness on both a national and local level. Funds raised for this years Run/Walk event will go toward national efforts to provide research for new treatments, patient support resources, and to educate men and families about prostate cancer.

For more information on the race, visit www.zeroprostatecancerrun.org/lincoln.
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YORKVILLE  Six months into the job, state Department of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher says hes working to implement changes across the department.

Hes got his work cut out for him, as a town hall meeting Wednesday night indicated. Forced overtime for corrections employees and the Lincoln Hills controversy were two of the biggest issues raised at the meeting at Ives Grove Office Complex, 14200 Washington Ave.

Both issues predate Litscher. He took over as secretary on March 1 after the departure of Ed Wall, who resigned amid the wide-ranging probe into the Copper Lake/Lincoln Hills School in the Lincoln County community of Irma.

An investigation is ongoing into allegations including child abuse, sexual assault and misconduct in public office. Litscher insisted the problems are a thing of the past, even if media coverage continues, and that a series of reforms have been made.

Some of those changes include expanded medical and mental health care, body cameras on staffers, a change in how complaints are filed and a retraining of youth counselors.

It is the past that (the media) continue to report on, Litscher told an audience of about 25. The fact of the matter is Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake, in our opinion right now, is both stable, productive and also focuses on the needs of the young people that are sent to Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake.

Daryl Carter of Racine said he remains concerned about a lack of criminal charges so far for those who were in charge of the facility and whether children there are protected.

This went on for ... almost two years. That is unacceptable, said Carter, 41, a Racine Unified School District employee. Why do we let stuff like that happen to children?

OT issues raised

Many in the audience were Department of Corrections employees who voiced frustration over the departments system of forced overtime. They also raised concerns about pay scales, high turnover and other issues.

Because corrections facilities have minimum staffing requirements, employees may be required to work overtime if absences occur. Those duties are rotated among employees, but Litscher said he is looking at changes to favor seniority, which is how it was previously done.

I will give a reward to seniority in whatever process I put in, because Im here to tell you that seniority is important, he said.
The Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis will glow blue for 11 days in memory and honor of Jacob Wetterling.

Governor Mark Dayton told the Minnesota Department of Transportation to light the bridge blue until September 25th, which is the night of Jacob's memorial service.

The color blue is meant to represent child abuse prevention.

The Wetterling family and the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center have asked Minnesotans to honor Jacob's memory by wearing the number 11 -- that's the jersey he used to wear in sports.
RACINE  Dover resident Ronald E. Kaehne broke into a home in his neighborhood in January 2015 and slit the throat of a man, narrowly missing his carotid artery.

Kaehne, now 30, would later reveal that the break-in had been part of a plan he constructed to test whether he had homicidal tendencies. If he was able to go through with the act, he said, it would mean, he was indeed the third Antichrist and the one meant to bring on a coming apocalypse.

The bizarre reasoning behind the hypothesis, investigators would later discover, also was detailed in a journal penned by the unemployed and reclusive Kaehne. That journal detailed his plans to carry out the act, and a later passage expressed his relief that he had ultimately not wanted to cut the victim when the time came.

The victim, Dale Parker of Racine, would tell sheriffs deputies that he awoke at the Kansasville-area home at about 2:30 a.m. to find a man later identified as Kaehne standing in the bedroom. While the two grappled, Parkers girlfriend retrieved a gun, the complaint states. Kaehne reportedly told investigators he fled as a shot was fired.

Prosecutors charged Kaehne last year with two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, armed burglary and substantial battery. His trial took place Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court.

Disorder or disease

Rather than contesting whether the incident actually took place, Kaehne pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, which is also known as an NGI plea.

To be accepted by the court, an NGI plea requires that a defendant show that he was not mentally responsible for the crime, either because he was unable to understand that his actions were wrong at the time he committed them, or because he was unable to conform his behavior to the constructs of the law.

Defendants found by a judge or jury to be not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect typically end up being sent to a state mental hospital instead of prison.

On Wednesday, close to a year after Kaehne entered his NGI plea, forensic psychologists  hired by the state and Kaehnes defense attorneys  described to Racine County Circuit Judge Emily Mueller what they believed was going on in Kaehnes mind on the night of the break-in.

Appearing for the defense, Melissa J. Westendorf said she believed the defendant had undiagnosed schizophrenia.

Westendorf testified that it was difficult to diagnose Kaehne, but that she settled on schizophrenia after reviewing his journal, which showed the development of an intricate, delusional pattern over eight years.

She added that his condition made him unable conform to the law.

While he may question whether he has these homicidal tendencies  he was compelled to do it, Westendorf said.

But Deborah Collins, who appeared for the state, said she didnt believe Kaehne suffered from true mental illness, but had a personality disorder  albeit one with schizotypal features. She added that his behavior on the night of the throat slashing, including the regret he expressed in his journal following the incident, showed coherency.

Mr. Kaehnes unusual beliefs were cultivated by him, Collins said. His inclination to go in that direction had to do with his personality disorder. He was an isolated loner who became obsessed with apocalyptic material and came to believe it, to be persuaded by, to be convinced by it.

Collins and Westendorf were the only two witnesses to testify in the trial on Wednesday. At the end of their examinations of each of the witnesses, Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete and Kaehnes attorney, Katie Gutowski, agreed to submit their final arguments in writing next week.

Mueller, who is serving as both judge and jury in the case, said she hoped to deliver her ruling from the bench sometime in the next two weeks.

Kaene remains in the Racine County Jail on $500,000 cash bond, court and jail records show.
Men work at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site near Bridgwater in Britain, August 4, 2016. photo source: REUTERS/Darren Staples

China has a one-third stake in the Hinkley Point project, and analysts have warned that Britain would have risked its relations with the world's second-largest economy if it cancelled.

The announcement came two months after Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review of the 18 billion (21 billion euro, US$24 billion) deal brokered under her predecessor, David Cameron.

The board of French state-owned power company EDF had already approved its participation in the project in southwest England in July when May's government said it wanted to review it.

"Having thoroughly reviewed the proposals for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government's agreement," Britain's Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement.

"Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation".

A separate government statement said there had been a "revised agreement with EDF" and that new laws would be introduced to govern future foreign investment in critical British infrastructure.

"Existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, will mean that the government is able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational," the statement added.

May called French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday evening to tell him that the British government had approved the project, the French presidency said.

KEY STRATEGIC DEAL

Critics of the project have argued that the price for power generated by Hinkley is too high and that the technology is outdated.

May's joint chief of staff, Nick Timothy, made his scepticism over the security aspects of China's involvement in the project clear last year.

It was "baffling" that Britain had welcomed investment by state-owned Chinese companies given fears they could build weaknesses into IT systems, "which will allow them to shut down Britain's energy production at will," Timothy wrote in a blog.

Campaigners against the project were due to hand in a 300,000-signature petition to May's Downing Street office later on Thursday with environmental watchdog Greenpeace.

"Consumers can tell that the project may be unconstructable, requires vast subsidies and would generate electricity too expensive to use," Stop Hinkley spokeswoman Sue Aubrey said in a statement.

Criticism has focused on the growing difference between an electricity price guarantee for EDF, subsidised by the British taxpayer, and current falling energy prices.

China's one-third stake in the deal was sealed last year on a state visit to Britain by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Under the deal, Beijing's state-run China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) is set to finance 6.0 billion of the costs, with EDF providing the remainder.

The Hinkley facility will not be operational until 2025 -- two years later than originally planned when the deal was first unveiled.

The pair also reached agreement on a partnership to develop nuclear power stations at Sizewell, on the eastern English coast in Suffolk, and at Bradwell in Essex, southeastern England.

The Financial Times reported that Downing Street had been particularly concerned about the deal to build plants at Sizewell and Bradwell.

The latter would be led by CGN using its own technology.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior industry figure as saying that the green light for Hinkley would likely be conditional on new "scrutiny or oversight" of Bradwell.
Investment in global energy projects fell eight percent last year on sliding expenditure in oil and gas upstream projects, the Paris-based IEA said in a report. (Photo: AFP/Haidar Mohammed Ali)

Investment in global energy projects fell eight percent last year on sliding expenditure in oil and gas upstream projects, despite robust spending in renewables, electricity networks and energy efficiency, the Paris-based IEA said in a report.

The total level of investment was US$1.8 trillion (1.6 trillion), down from US$2.0 trillion in 2014, it said in a detailed analysis of the energy sector.

The IEA added however that there was a clear move to switch away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner renewable energy.

"We see a broad shift of spending toward cleaner energy, often as a result of government policies," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in the report.

"Our report clearly shows that such government measures can work, and are key to a successful energy transition. But while some progress has been achieved, investors need clarity and certainty from policy makers.

China was the world's largest energy investor last year with spending of US$315 billion thanks to its efforts to build up low carbon generation and electricity networks and energy efficiency policies.

Renewable energy investments of US$313 billion accounted for nearly a fifth of total spending last year, making renewables the largest source of power investment, the report found.
Local workers process shrimps for export. - File Photo

The Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) announced that this final decision was taken at the 10th administrative review (POR 10). DOC selected one mandatory respondent, which will be taxed at 4.78 per cent. Therefore, voluntary respondents will also have to pay a duty rate of 4.78 per cent.

Mandatory respondents are exporters selected for individual investigation by the DOC as part of its anti-dumping duty review, whereas exporters that are not initially chosen for investigation, but wish to participate and are accepted by DOC, are voluntary respondents.

Meanwhile, the tariff imposed on other Vietnamese firms or exporters not examined as mandatory or voluntary respondents in the POR10, remains at 25.76 per cent, said VCA.

It added that the United States had significantly increased the duty rate for Vietnamese shrimp in the POR10, from 0.91 per cent in the POR9 to 4.78 per cent at present, for both mandatory and voluntary businesses.

According to Vietnamese shrimp exporters, the higher anti-dumping duties will pose difficulties for their exports to the US market in the future.

During the first seven months of this year, Viet Nam earned an export turnover of US$364.8 million from shrimp exports, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 16.3 per cent.
Shoppers at E-Mart store in Go Vap District. - Photo businesskorea.co.kr

The Korean retailer will build giant stores, supermarkets and various other types of commercial facilities in Viet Nam's commercial hub.

Korean newswire Yonhap said the signing ceremony in Seoul on September 9 was attended by key officials from both sides, including E-Mart CEO Lee Gap-su and HCM City Party Committee secretary Dinh La Thang.

The company also plans to expand imports of non-food items like clothes and toys and food products like fruits and fisheries.

E-Mart opened its first Vietnamese outlet in HCM City's Go Vap District last December.

"We expect to increase our investment in HCM City, Viet Nam's economic centre, in various forms through this MOU," Kim Seong-young, who heads new businesses at E-Mart, said.

"HCM City will be the base in our efforts to enlarge the Vietnamese market."
Russian tourists are seen at a resort in Binh Thuan Province. Russian visitor arrivals to Vietnam have rebounded strongly after a period of decline sparked by the strong depreciation of the Russian rouble currency against the U.S. dollar - Photo: Dao Loan

Nearly 266,000 Russians visited Vietnam in the first eight months of the year, up a staggering 125% compared to the same period last year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

The figure is expected to continue growing in the coming months when the Russian winter holiday season begins, Nguyen Quoc Hung, deputy general director of VNAT, said at a dialogue on tourism development and cooperation between Vietnam and the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) countries held in HCMC last week.

Hung said the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the EAEU, which comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, is scheduled to take effect in October, bringing great opportunities for local tourism.

However, to attract tourists from Russia and other EAEU members, domestic tour operators should propose the Government simplify visa procedures for EAEU visitors, increase the visa-free stay, and adopt a foreign exchange regime based on policies of the Eurasian Customs Union (EACU).

Ta Bich Ha, director of the Russian National Tourist Office in Southeast Asia, credited the big return of Russian travelers to promotion activities of tourism authorities and firms since last year, including efforts from the Hanoi Tourism Department.

In March, Hanois tourism sector joined VNAT and the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) in promoting Vietnam in Russia and teamed up with localities and firms to create specific tourism products to lure visitors from this market.

Hoang Huu Loc, chairman of Saigontourist Travel Service Co., said tourism promotion should be expanded to other former Soviet Union states as they also use the Russian language. Vietnam has adequate infrastructure and manpower to serve these markets as well, he said.

Although the potential is huge, these countries are totally new to Vietnam due to a lack of information. Loc urged VNAT to help local travel firms learn more about these markets.

In the opposite direction, Ha said the number of Vietnamese traveling to Russia has significantly soared. The weakening of the Russian rouble has made Russians reluctant to travel abroad but would encourage more Vietnamese to visit the country.

She told the Daily that the Russian Administration of Tourism (Rostourism) has proposed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs apply a visa waiver to groups of travelers on a bilateral basis with Vietnam.

At the dialogue, the Vietnam-Russia Tourism Club and the Vietnam-Russia Tourism Advisory Board were launched. The club has 22 members including international tour operators, hotels and tourism service providers. Meanwhile, the advisory board will be responsible for supporting the clubs activities.
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Try our home page: https://vir.com.vn/ - Vietnam Investment Review - VIR
RACINE COUNTY  Elected officials in Racine County sharply criticized Gov. Scott Walkers proposed transportation funding plan for creating more delays on the Interstate 94 north-south project.

Under Walkers plan, the 2017-19 state budget would allocate no money for the project, which extends from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee County, through Racine County to the Illinois state line. If approved, several interchange projects, an intersection reconstruction, I-94 repaving and other improvements planned in Racine County would be pushed back.

As a years-long struggle over transportation funding continues, Walker on Thursday touted the plan for including no fee or tax increases and giving local governments a $65 million increase in aid.

But local officials zeroed in on the Interstate 94 north-south project, putting multiple Republicans at odds with the governor.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said he was promised when delays occurred five years ago that funds for the expansion would be included in the 2017-19 budget.

Road safety and economic development in Racine and Kenosha County is just as important as in Milwaukee, Rock and Outagamie counties, Wanggaard said, referring to areas where construction would remain. I intend to hold people to their word. Taxpayers deserve nothing less.

Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said he was pleased with the increase to local governments, but disappointed about the proposed I-94 delay, saying it would hurt economic development efforts.

He pointed specifically to the DeBack Farms Business Park under development on Highway K near I-94 in Caledonia. He said prospective businesses often ask about the status of the I-94 project, which includes a planned reconstruction of the Highway K interchange.

One of my priorities is to promote economic development along the strategic I-94 corridor, Delagrave said in a statement. The proposed delays make it difficult to attract new investments and retain businesses that depend on properly developed and maintained roads along this critical stretch.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who has also resisted more construction delays on I-94, said in a joint statement with other Republican Assembly leaders the budget request falls short of addressing the long-term funding crisis in our transportation budget.

It is a political solution, not a real solution, officials said in the statement.

Legislators said more money to support local roads should not come at the expense of delaying other projects, which will result in higher costs and lead to more dramatic fee or tax increases in the future.

The Legislature will take up the budget proposal when it reconvenes in January.

Walker defends plan

In addition to the proposed local funding and lack of tax and fee increases, Walker has emphasized the plans reduced borrowing and commitment to other mega-projects besides I-94.

Under the proposal, $122 million would be allocated to other freeway work in southeastern Wisconsin, including the Zoo Interchange and beginning work on the I-94 east-west corridor. An expansion of Interstate 39/90 between Madison and Illinois and work on Highway 10/441 in the Fox Valley would remain on schedule.

But several other projects around the state would also see delays.

On Twitter, Walker challenged opponents of the plan, writing Those who want to spend more should tell voters where its coming from.

This budget provides more funding to local governments for their roads and bridges, keeps borrowing at historically low levels, and maintains our no tax or fee increase pledge, Walker said in a statement. Good roads and bridges are important to Wisconsin and our economy, and this budget proves you dont have to raise taxes or fees to maintain a safe and strong transportation network.

Delagrave praised the increases in transportation funding to local governments, which he said will help us address many of the necessary maintenance projects and repairs on our roads.

He pointed to Highway U as an example. The county is considering reconstructing the road from Highway K to 6 Mile Road in Raymond next year, but would like to do the entire stretch to the county line. Extra money could make it easier to do that, Delagrave said.

Several projects planned

In Racine County, the $1.6 billion I-94 north-south project has included a reconstruction of the Highway G interchange in 2009, the Highway 20 interchange last year and the rebuilding of the Highway C bridge over I-94 in 2014.

Future work planned includes a reconstruction of interchanges at Highway 11, Highway K and 7 Mile Road, according to the project website.

Walkers plan could also delay work on the frontage roads from Highway 20 to Highway KR and a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Highways 20 and C, both of which are considered part of the north-south project.

The DOT had also planned resurfacing I-94 in Racine County, which has seen pavement begin to deteriorate after temporary repairs about three years ago.
The agreement was signed in Singapore on September 13.

Vinamilk has co-operated with DSM for years in applying nutrition standards in its products including powder milk, fresh milk and other products.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vinamilk Managing Director Pham Minh Tien said the firm would continue to work with DSM and with other world leading nutrition groups to provide customers with international standard products, but at a price 60-70 per cent below other imported products in the Vietnamese market.

According to a report from the National Nutrition Institute, about 25 per cent of Vietnamese children under five years old have stunted growth due to malnutrition. The lack of iron, zinc, Vitamin A and D is very common in Viet Nam.

The report also says Vietnamese people are about 10 centimetres shorter than the global average.

Tien blamed malnutrition on Vietnamese people's milk drinking habits, with consumption quite low at about 15 litres of milk per year on average, equal to one-second of Thailand and one-third of Singapore.

Vice President of DSM Swiss Pieter Nouber, who is in charge of the Asia Pacific region, committed to applying international standards with the latest nutrients to Vinamilk products. DSM would support Vinamilk in researching and developing milk products, conducting clinical tests and helping the firm disseminate the importance of nutrition.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets.
Photo by BALTIMORE SUN

Carla Hayden said she will focus on moving the Library of Congress forward and making its 162 million items more accessible. Library workers hope Hayden brings more diversity to the 200-year-old institution.
Millions of Indian workers stage one of the biggest labor strikes in history
Photo by MIAMI HERALD

Protesters demonstrate on the steps of Miami Beach City Hall against the use of the pesticide NALED being sprayed in Miami Beach on Wednesday.
Mindful Eating: Slower Consumption for Better Health

With tight schedules and busy lives, sitting down to a meal free of distraction can be more of a luxury than the norm. Mindful eating gets pushed aside for many reasons. Taking a break to satisfy your hunger may also seem like the perfect opportunity to catch up on social
Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon has issued an order in an attempt to stabilize plummeting prices of agricultural products.

The order came after farmers complained about the falling price of agricultural products.

Sakhon wrote to his provincial subordinates ordering them to intervene to fix the price of produce and stop predatory traders keeping the prices low.

The ministry also called on the rice millers association to assist.

Lor Reaksmey, a spokesman for the minster, said the measures were a short-term move aimed at stabilizing prices, adding that he was also encouraging farmers associations to carry out more contract farming to keep prices at a sustainable level.

He pointed to a group of farmers in Kampong Thom province, who are contracted by a South Korean company to export mangoes.

Its not a small [operation], its 7,000 hectares. They have a contract without farmers to export mangoes, so they cant lower the price, he said.

China has also recently signed a rice import agreement with Phnom Penh for 20,000 tons.

Sngoun Yors, a farmer in Banteay Meanchey province, said the drop in the price of cash crops had badly affected the income of farmers in the area.

If the price is high or low, [the farmers] need to sell their crop, because they dont have money, he said, adding that many farmers in the area had moved to Thailand to seek better opportunities.

Sam Vitou, executive director of the Cambodia Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, said the governments measures were a good first step, but in order to keep crop prices stable it would need to invest.

The special funds can buy produce at a price which is acceptable for farmers and to prevent traders from lowering the price too much, because we can all see that even when we [farmers] work with the rice millers they dont buy.

As a long-term measure, he said that the government should invest in irrigation systems and reducing the reliance on fertilizers and pesticides.
The de facto leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, is meeting Thursday with leaders from the U.S. Congress a day after President Barack Obama announced the government is prepared to lift economic sanctions against her country.

Her schedule includes talks with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as a dinner hosted by business leaders and a question-and-answer session with students at a Washington high school.

Aung San Suu Kyi also likely to try to persuade key members of Congress that this is the right time to lift economic sanctions.

But after a breakfast meeting Wednesday with some congressional leaders at Vice President Joe Bidens residence, influential Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker put out this statement: "While we certainly appreciate the work Aung San Suu Kyi has done to ensure a democratic transition in Burma, I am somewhat appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country. After witnessing her lack of regard for Burmas dismal track record on this issue, I plan to pay very close attention to her governments efforts to prevent innocent human beings from being trafficked and sold into forced labor and sex slavery."

Corker has been a leading advocate in the Senate against global human trafficking.

Obama cited Myanmar's "remarkable social and political transformation" as he signaled Wednesday the U.S. readiness to lift sanctions.



After his remarks alongside Aung Sang Suu Kyi in the Oval Office, a reporter shouted a question at the president about when that might take place. Obama replied, "Soon."

Earlier, he sent a letter to Congress saying the administration is moving to restore trade benefits to Myanmar that were suspended more than two decades ago because of human rights abuses.

Speaking alongside Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi thanked him personally for being the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar. She also thanked the Congress for putting pressure on Myanmar to restore human rights, but said the time had come for the U.S. to lift all sanctions: "But unity also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important."

She pleaded for people to visit and invest in the country, saying, I expect businessmen to come to our country to make profits. She said she expects Myanmars legislature to pass a new investment law she hopes will be very attractive to countries around the world.

Aung San Suu Kyi acknowledged that while Myanmar has made progress in its transition to democracy, there is "so much that has to be done." She cited continuing tensions among the country's 135 ethnic groups and said her administration is focused on the situation in Rakhine state. "Communal strife is not something we can ignore," she explained.

Some human rights leaders say it is too soon to lift sanctions on Myanmar because the governments human rights record has been mixed, particularly with regard to the rights of religious minorities and its indifference to the suffering of the Rohingya.

The White House says Aung San Suu Kyi has made significant progress on these human rights concerns since she took office six months ago.

Obama conceded a lot of work remains, but marveled at how far Myanmar has come: "If you predicted five years ago Aung San Suu Kyi would now be here sitting as the duly elected representative of her country, many people would have been skeptical. But it is a good news story in an era in which so often we see countries going in the opposite direction."

Obama urged Americans to travel to Myanmar, saying it is a beautiful country with a rich culture and wonderful people.

This was Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to the U.S. as state counselor and foreign minister  a position she assumed after her party's decisive win in last November's elections. The country's military-era constitution bars her from holding the title of president because her late husband and children are foreign citizens.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent more than 20 years under house arrest in the country formerly known as Burma. Her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office is viewed as another clear indication that she is Myanmars de facto civilian leader.

Over the past 20 years, the White House and Congress have maintained a long list of sanctions on Myanmar, including restrictions on jade and gemstones, and on businesses linked to the sales of arms and illegal drugs. Obama eased some of those sanctions in 2013.
President Barack Obama has announced that the United States is prepared to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar, following talks at the White House with the country's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

After their meeting Wednesday, both leaders spoke to reporters in the Oval Office. Citing that countrys remarkable social and political transformation, Obama said, "The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time.

After their remarks, a reporter shouted a question at the president about the timeline for lifting U.S. economic sanctions, and Obama replied, Soon.

WATCH: Obama on Aung San Suu Kyi's outreach to ethnic minorities

Earlier, he sent a letter to Congress saying the administration is moving to restore trade benefits to Myanmar that were suspended more than two decades ago because of human rights abuses.

Speaking alongside Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi thanked him personally for being the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar. She also thanked the Congress for putting pressure on Myanmar to restore human rights.

But she said the time has now come for the U.S. to lift all sanctions, saying unity also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important.

She pleaded for people to visit and invest in the country, saying, I expect businessmen to come to our country to make profits. She said she expects Myanmars legislature to pass a new investment law she hopes will be very attractive to countries around the world.

Aung San Suu Kyi acknowledged that while Myanmar has made progress in its transition to democracy, there is "so much that has to be done." She cited continuing tensions among its135 ethnic groups, and said her administration is focused on the situation in Rakhine state, saying "communal strife is not something we can ignore."

WATCH: Aung San Suu Kyi on importance of national reconciliation

Some human rights leaders say it is too soon to lift sanctions on Myanmar because the governments human rights record has been mixed, particularly with regard to the rights of religious minorities and its indifference to the suffering of the Rohingyas.

The White House says Aung San Suu Kyi has made significant progress on these human rights concerns since she took office six months ago. Obama conceded there is a lot of work that remains to be done, but marveled at how far Myanmar has come.

If you predicted five years ago Aung San Suu Kyi would now be here sitting as the dually elected representative of her country, many people would have been skeptical. But it is a good news story in an era in which so often we see countries going in the opposite direction."

Obama urged Americans to travel to Myanmar, saying it is a beautiful country with a rich culture and wonderful people.

Congressional meetings

Aung San Suu Kyi also is meeting with key members of Congress during this visit, and is likely also to try to persuade them this is the right time to lift economic sanctions.

But after a breakfast meeting Wednesday with some congressional leaders at Vice President Joe Bidens residence, influential Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker put out this statement:

While we certainly appreciate the work Aung San Suu Kyi has done to ensure a democratic transition in Burma, I am somewhat appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country. After witnessing her lack of regard for Burmas dismal track record on this issue, I plan to pay very close attention to her governments efforts to prevent innocent human beings from being trafficked and sold into forced labor and sex slavery.

Corker has been a leading advocate in the Senate against global human trafficking.

This was Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to the U.S. as state counselor and foreign minister  a position she assumed after her party's decisive win in last November's elections. The country's military era constitution bars her from holding the title of president because her late husband and children are foreign citizens.

Myanmar's de facto leader

Aung San Suu Kyi spent more than 20 years under house arrest in the country formerly known as Burma. Her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office is viewed as another clear indication that she is Myanmars de facto civilian leader.

Over the past 20 years, the White House and Congress have maintained a long list of sanctions on Myanmar, including restrictions on jade and gemstones, and on businesses linked to the sales of arms and illegal drugs. Obama eased some of those sanctions in 2013.
RACINE  Saint Catherines High School, 1200 Park Ave., was evacuated Thursday afternoon after a suspicious message was found in the school, according to police and the school.

School officials said later Thursday afternoon that police determined the threat was not credible and that all school classes and activities will resume as usual Friday.

According to a late afternoon message to parents and students, St. Catherines administrators immediately contacted police and evacuated the building after the message was reported to administration.

A message sent to parents stated, Due to a safety concern the school has been evacuated. Please pick up your student immediately ... Details soon.

Since the incident happened close to dismissal time, students who were able to leave on their own were instructed to do so, while students who needed a ride were held across the street until a parent or guardian picked them up, officials said.

As a precaution, all afternoon activities were canceled.

No details on the content of the message was disclosed.
Americans across the United States are expressing support for a Native American tribe in North Dakota that is protesting the construction of an oil pipeline across its sacred ancestral land. Presidential candidates of the two major parties have not taken a stance on the issue that juxtaposes the industry against environmentalists. But some left-leaning politicians and celebrities are taking an active role on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Zlatica Hoke has more.
Afghan officials say leaders of the beleaguered national unity government are resolved to overcome internal differences so they can jointly tackle security and many other challenges facing the war-torn country.

The pledge comes a day after the United Nations declared the political situation precarious, stemming from internal disputes between President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and called for a prompt resolution.

A political deal, mediated by the United States to end a protracted election dispute between Ghani and his election rival Abdullah, enabled the two leaders to establish the national unity government in September of 2014. The agreement allowed for the creation of a new chief executive post to share power with the president.

But both Abdullah and Ghani have recently criticized each other of violating commitments of the political deal, publicly exposing simmering tensions as the government marks completion of its two years this month.

Abdullah has complained Ghani does not consult him on key policy decisions as well as governmental appointments, and blamed the president for not moving swiftly on electoral reforms to prevent a repeat of the irregularities that marred the 2014 presidential election. The Afghan president rejects assertions of fraud in the poll.



UN calls for action

The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Tadamichi Yamamoto, underscored the political agenda must progress constructively to maintain political stability in the country.

The current precarious political situation, including the tensions between the two leaders of the government, must be brought to a resolution. A way must be found to ensure stability in the government for the long term, Tadamichi said while briefing the Security Council on Wednesday.

The National Unity Government is at a defining moment. A way forward must be found through realistic and flexible compromise and a show of true statesmanship. The leaders must show to the people of Afghanistan and to the international community that they are able to govern effectively, he said.

A spokesman for President Ghani, when contacted by VOA, declined to comment on the U.N. criticism of the political tensions.

Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Abdullah, played down the criticism. He told VOA the political differences are for the best and betterment of the country and they could not be termed as political crisis or political instability.



The president and the chief executive are shareholders, they are partners in this national unity government. So, we know that the only option we are left with, the only solution we have to overcome these problems and challenges is to work together, Faisal said.

Ghani and Abdullah have held four meetings since they went public with their reservations about the 2014 political agreement.

Faisal insisted the two leaders have come up with some good solutions in the meetings and are preparing to hold another round soon to ensure the remaining issues are sorted out.



Peace owed to Afghan people

In his speech, UNAMA Chief Yamamoto also appreciated the sincere efforts the Afghan government has been making to conclude a peace agreement with the Hizb-e-Islami insurgent group, led by notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

President Ghani this week promised the peace deal would be finalized in the near future, though critics cite differences in Abdullahs camp over inclusion of Hekmatyar in the Afghan political mainstream for preventing the government from concluding the truce.

But Faisal dismissed the impression.

The (government-appointed) High Peace Council in Afghanistan is in dialogue with the Hizb-e-Islami. We hope we will have an agreement with Hizb-e-Islami in the near future and those people will be part of a peaceful and prosperous future of Afghanistan, he said.

Yamamoto said measures should also be taken to pave the way for substantive peace talks with the main Taliban insurgency, reminding the Council of unprecedented levels of civilian casualties this year due to an intensified Taliban insurgency.

It is imperative that avenues for peace be explored with the utmost urgency and seriousness ... I would therefore urge both sides to come together to find a lasting peace for Afghanistan, said the U.N. envoy.



Political cover for strongmen

Hekmatyar is a longtime guerrilla commander whose forces fought against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, using equipment supplied by the CIA. Later, his militias battled the Taliban for control of Afghanistan in the 1990s. Human rights groups accused Hekmatyar of committing massive abuses.

The ethnic Pashtun warlord was designated a "global terrorist" by the United States in 2003 for allegedly participating in and supporting attacks by al-Qaida and Taliban forces against U.S. troops. Meanwhile, Ghanis government, like its predecessor, is under fire for bolstering Afghan strongmen for political gain.

Hekmatyar is not alone in enjoying impunity for his crimes. None of the Afghan warlords has been held accountable for similar crimes, Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher at the Human Rights Watch, told VOA.

This lack of accountability and the failed disarmament of abusive militia forces has crippled reforms needed to build effective government institutions essential to a lasting peace. As the war churns on, killing an ever-increasing number of civilians, its clear how high a price Afghans have paid for appeasing the warlords.
The African Union says it plans to send observers to help Gabon's Constitutional Court with a legal complaint lodged by opposition leader Jean Ping, who accuses President Ali Bongo of cheating to secure victory in an election last month.

The dispute has led to riots that killed at least six people and brought unwelcome international scrutiny for Bongo, whose family has ruled the central African nation member for nearly 50 years.

Ping, who officially lost by fewer than 6,000 votes, last week applied to the court to authorize a recount in Haut-Ogooue province, Bongo's stronghold, where the president won 95 percent of the vote on a 99.9 percent turnout.

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union requested that its executive branch deploy observers from other French-speaking African countries "to assist the Constitutional Court of Gabon," it said in a statement late Tuesday.

The European Union, which sent an official observation team to the election and has cited anomalies in the poll results from Haut-Ogooue province, will maintain observers in the country.

It was not clear what level of access observers would have to the internal deliberations of the court, which is due to decide on the recount by September 23.

Ping says he has no faith in the judicial body because of its ties to the Bongo family. The head of the court, Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo, was the longtime mistress of Ali Bongo's father, Omar Bongo, who ruled for 41 years.

Ali Bongo's opponents complained to the court after he won his first term in 2009, and the court upheld his victory following a recount.

The government has stressed that the court is neutral and also accused Ping's supporters of irregularities in the polls.

Former colonial ruler France, which has a military base in Gabon and a large stake in the nation's oil sector, has urged the court to examine the opposition's complaint transparently and impartially. It has ruled out intervening militarily in the dispute, as it has done previously in parts of Africa.
A truce in the conflict in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta is in danger of being derailed by anger at the military over the death of an elderly local leader.

The Niger Delta Avengers group, whose attacks on oil pipelines in the southern region crippled crude output earlier this year and pushed Africa's biggest economy into recession, said in August it agreed to a cease-fire.

The government has held out the prospect of holding talks on the grievances of people in the Delta with militant groups that maintain a truce.

But the death last week of Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, the father of a fugitive former militant leader, could rekindle hostilities.

The octogenarian fell while fleeing an army raid on his hometown in May and injured his leg, which had to be amputated two months later, said a spokesman for his son, former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo.

Militants launched a wave of attacks at the start of the year to demand a greater share of oil revenues for the swampy region, which produces most of Nigeria's crude but whose residents are mired in poverty.

Tompolo denies links

Security sources say Tompolo has links to those responsible for the attacks, which began shortly after corruption charges were brought against him. He has denied any involvement.

"In a nutshell, [the] government caused the death of my father," Frank Ekpemupolo, another son, said at a gathering of 400 mourners at his father's compound in Warri, the largest city in Delta state.

Mourners including community chiefs, politicians and villagers accused troops of harassing people in the fishing communities dotted along the region's waterways.

An Avengers spokesman told Reuters the military was "harassing poor people of the Niger Delta." The military denies it, saying troops are merely searching for militants and criminals.

Several new militant groups have sprung up in the last few weeks, each with its own demands, and some have vowed to launch a new wave of attacks.

Community leaders say they are concerned that the government has not contacted militants or unveiled a negotiation team, three weeks after the Avengers said they were ready for the promised talks.

"We haven't been contacted, but we are not worried," said the Avengers spokesman.

Captain Mark Anthony, a spokesman for the Niger Delta Liberation Force, a defunct militant group, said the "government's muteness" since the Avengers announced a cease-fire was creating "a security concern for everybody."

"They have only stopped bombing temporarily. It doesn't mean they are tired of bombing," he said.

Army offensive

An army offensive was launched in late August against militant camps and led to the deaths of five people and the arrests of 23 others.

Eric Omare, spokesman for the Ijaw Youth Council, which represents one of the region's largest ethnic groups, said statements by President Muhammadu Buhari that militants would be treated like Boko Haram jihadists prompted fears that the offer of talks was a ruse to prepare for a military onslaught.

Tensions in Warri are concentrated along its murky brown waterways  used by fishermen, commuters and thieves stealing crude oil  where fleeting encounters with strangers can end in bloodshed.

Boats slow down and their occupants raise their arms when they encounter naval patrol boats fitted with machine guns.

Fishermen say they fear being mistaken for militants and shot. Gunmen disguised as priests killed three soldiers last month.

An official who did not want to be named said "arrangements" were being made to resume dialogue with the militants.

He said the government wanted each militant group to send representatives, rather than acting through intermediaries as in the past.
The tarboosh, or fez, once a common sight in Middle Eastern countries, may be set for a 21st-century revival.

Having quit the lucrative world of finance, entrepreneur Elias El Haddad is pressing ahead with his forward-looking take on a hat that once adorned sultans and farmers alike.

The result, hats named Boshies, may upset traditionalists, coming as they do in a variety of colors, a new shape, and a stripe instead of the famous tassel that usually sits atop the tarboosh.

But in looking to solve what he dubbed the tarboosh problem, El Haddad said he was aiming higher than selling a few hats and causing a brief stir.

Lebanon-born, El Haddad spent his 20s in Europe, studying in Lyon before a career in the banking sector took him to Paris, London and Geneva, among other places. The experience showed El Haddad that he definitely did not want to work in banking.

Another path

But as one door closed, another opened.

El Haddad noticed there were no Middle Eastern clothing retailers offering affordable, fresh expressions of his native culture on European high streets.

So, having quit his job and returned to Beirut, a city he saw transformed by new, entrepreneurial talent, he set his sights on filling that gap.

All he needed was an iconic item of clothing that was ready for reinvention.

People have this big complex with the tarboosh," he said. "Theyre not proud of it, theyre ashamed of it, and its falling into oblivion.

Strong words, but the hats decline is clear. The presence of the tarboosh in Lebanon has been largely reduced to its presence in tourist shops, a tale replicated across much of the Middle East.

El-Haddad, 34, dug into the tarboosh's past with the zeal of a historian. What he found expressed much about the shifting currents of the Arab world.

The origins of the tarboosh are disputed, but it is thought to have had an early presence in Turkey and the Balkans.

Sultan's decree

The hat came to prominence in the Middle East in the early 19th century when Sultan Mahmud II, Turkish sultan of the Ottoman Empire, demanded that his civil servants wear the hat instead of turbans.

It was a move seen as part of wider modernizing, Western-leaning measures taken by the sultan.

Fashion filters down in a hierarchical order, said anthropologist and tarboosh expert Maha Kayal. The leaders of the empire became an example, a role model for the officials and the people highly placed in Ottoman countries, who began following the fashion.

And so the presence of the tarboosh spread, and it came to represent different things in different countries across the Middle East and beyond.

In Lebanon, Kayal said, far from being pro-European, it became a symbol of defiance against the French mandate, which began in 1923 and lasted more than 20 years.

Within a few decades, however, the hat had begun its decline.

It is this sense of decline that El Haddad told VOA he wanted to reverse with his Boshies. In doing so, he said, he hopes to help a new generation of Middle East residents recognize the achievements of their ancestors.

I wanted to bring my small contribution to the revival of our culture, and reconnect the youth with its past glory, he said. Now is the time for my generation to wake up and say we can be universally known for our culture, for things like our food, our music, our art.

Marketed to women, too

Not that he is entirely misty-eyed about the history of the tarboosh.

El Haddad is consciously marketing his new design to women as well as men, in a refutation of the patriarchy he sees embodied within the tarboosh tradition.

He is also keen to keep production ethical. The hats are made at the Institut de Reeducation Audio-Phonetique, where hearing-impaired Lebanese are given the chance for employment.

Having been launched just this year, Boshies can be found in only a few shops so far, but El Haddad is on the hunt for investors and thinking big. He is already lining up new products to launch, and a custom hat was worn last month by pop star Mika.

And in Decale, a design shop in Beiruts upper-market Achrafieh district, browsing customer Randa Tabbah was impressed.

When I first saw it I was reminded of the tarboosh. Then it was clear it was one, but revisited, said Tabbah, herself a designer. I found it a brilliant idea, and I think its going to be successful.
Prosecutors in Bosnia announced charges Thursday against a citizen accused of joining and fighting for the Islamic State terror group in Syria.

Authorities say Abdulaziz Osman Kekic, who was deported from Turkey earlier this year, was arrested by Bosnian authorities at Sarajevo International Airport.

It is unclear if he was actively fighting in Syria before his detention.

Soon after his arrest, he was released pending trial. He is formally charged with "organizing a terrorist group."

The court ordered Kekic not to leave the town of Buzim, where he currently lives. The defendant is appealing the decision, arguing he should be allowed to travel to see his family in Gornji Rahic. However, prosecutors argue against travel rights, saying that the region he intends to travel is known as a stronghold of radicalized Bosnians.

Kekics attorney, Senad Dupovac, dismissed that assertion.

The court's decision is expected in a couple of weeks.

So far this year, Bosnian State Court has sentenced 12 individuals to a total of 23 years in prison for public incitement of religious hatred and for joining or planning to join a terrorist organization.
Backers of Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and part of the opposition agreed Wednesday on the sequence of a series of upcoming elections, potentially removing a major obstacle to breaking a dangerous political impasse.

The compromise came just two days after opposition leaders walked out of the talks on the timing of the presidential election, which was due to happen in November but which authorities say cannot be held before July.

The opposition had insisted the presidential election be the next poll held. The government said local elections should take place first, likely further delaying the presidential vote.

While Wednesday's agreement between the government and a group of opposition parties set no specific dates, the two sides agreed the presidential vote would be combined with legislative and provincial elections, with local polls to be held later.

"This opens the way to a calendar that will mention the exact date of the handover of power between the old president of the republic ... and the newly elected president," said Vital Kamerhe, one of the leading negotiators for the opposition.

Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, who is representing Kabila's political supporters in the talks, confirmed the agreement.

"We solemnly announce to you that we will finance these elections. Take note of it," he said.

Despite the apparent advance in the negotiations, efforts to broker a peaceful exit from power for Kabila, who has led Africa's leading copper producer since the assassination of his father in 2001, remain fragile.

Congo has never experienced a non-violent transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Most major opposition parties are boycotting the talks, which they see as giving Kabila a chance to justify what they say is his plan to stay in power beyond the end of his mandate in December, breaking constitutional term limits.

Diplomats and observers fear the political crisis could trigger a repeat of civil wars that killed millions of people between 1996 and 2003.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met Thursday with European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Strasbourg.

According to Politico.eu, Chinese officials protested the meeting by announcing an immediate postponement of an upcoming visit by an EU economic delegation to China.

In a meeting with the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, the spiritual leader urged European officials to offer more "constructive criticism" to China on its policies in Tibet.

In a prepared statement, Schulz's office confirmed his one-on-one meeting with the Dharamsala-based Tibetan leader, in which they discussed "global affairs and the human rights situation in the world."

"President Schulz enjoyed the frank, open, spiritually enriching and wide-ranging discussion," according to the statement. "The meeting was originally requested by His Holiness' side. President Schulz said he met the Dalai Lama in his capacity as spiritual leader.

"President Schulz regrets Chinese authorities have stated their intention of postponing upcoming visits of MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] to the country, but the President remains firm in deciding autonomously and free from undue pressure on who he should meet and in ensuring the European Parliament remains an open and pluralistic place for debate, hosting a number of guests and of different opinions."

The statement also says the European Parliament endorses the one-China policy, and it has expressed concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet.
Suicide is hard to predict, even for close friends and family of victims.

When Dorothy Paugh's son, Peter, took his life at the age of 25, her family was devastated.

"We had no idea. None of us," she said. "We had gotten together a week or so before for his older brother's birthday. There were really no signs. He never said a word to anybody."

Suicide is shrouded in stigma and secrecy, even though it impacts countless individuals, families and communities. Someone commits suicide every 40 seconds across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. Data from the Centers for Disease Control show that 40,000 people kill themselves every year in the U.S.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital developed a study aimed at pinpointing those most at risk.

According to Thomas H. McCoy Jr., director of research at the hospital's Center for Quantitative Health who led the study, researchers drew on typical factors, "but we also added a newer risk predictor. And that was the words that the doctors had written about the patient at the time of discharge."

Researchers examined the hospital discharge statements for nearly half a million patients over a period of several years. In the study, the researchers noted that a patient has an elevated risk for suicide immediately after being discharged, so doctors notes might provide some life-saving information.

"The primary objective of this study was to try to build a model to understand a little bit more about risk factors for suicide, said Dr. Roy Perlis, a psychiatrist who worked on the study. In particular, what we wanted to understand was, could we get additional information out of what doctors write in the chart when patients leave the hospital?"

The researchers analyzed the notes using a computer that was sensitive to the doctors language. They found that certain words, such as "unfortunate" or "poorly," were linked to patients with a higher risk for suicide. The computer provided information that researchers might miss if only patients' data  diagnostic codes and medicines, ages, genders and so forth  were examined.

The doctors acknowledge they are just at the beginning of their research. Next, they hope to examine discharge notes from other hospitals in the United State and worldwide, to see if other doctors language offers similar clues as to suicide risk.

The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry, a publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
After recent attacks from Islamist militant rebels, Syrias Druze community is looking to clan leaders in nearby Israel for protection from attacks in Syrias civil war.

Druze in Israel are concerned about whats happening to their brothers in Syria, said Sheikh Mouafak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel.

The Druze, who are an ancient religious sect with ties to Shiite Islam, were split between Israel and Syria following a 1967 war when Israel gained the Golan Heights from Syria.

As Syrias five-year war has unfolded, Israeli Druze have watched as their community in Syria has come under increasing threat, especially from Islamist militants affiliated with the Fateh al-Sham Front, a rebel group battling Syrian troops. The group was formerly known as al-Nusra Front, which was al-Qaidas affiliate in Syria.

Druze solidarity

Scattered across Syria, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, Druze have nonetheless maintained a strong sense of solidarity. As a religious minority, they have often been persecuted for their faith. Druze make up nearly 2 percent of Israels 8 million people.

The Israeli Druze leader Tarif told Israels public radio that he had demanded the Israeli military intervene on behalf of the Druze of Syria. He was referring the Druze town of Khader, located on the border between Syria and Israel, that has been under siege by rebels recently.

But Israel has been careful not to become embroiled in Syrias civil war, and analysts say that will most likely continue despite pressure from Druze leaders.

I doubt the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] would overtly intervene in Syria unless there was a direct danger to Israeli civilians or interests, said Roei Eisenberg, an Israeli journalist who closely follows Israeli military affairs.

Israel has occasionally attacked targets belonging to the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah group fighting on behalf of the Syrian regime. Hezbollah is a self-professed enemy of Israel and calls for the extinction of the Jewish state.

An Israeli aircraft attacked a Syrian military position this week. The Israeli government said it was responding to a missile that was launched from the Syrian side and landed in Israel.

Help for Islamist rebels

But Druze see Israels occasional aerial assaults as aiding Islamist rebels in Syria.

Al-Nusra fighters enter areas after the [Israeli] army bombs to clear the way for them, Akram Hasson, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament, wrote in a Facebook post.

He called on Knesset members to have an emergency session on what he called a massacre ... against people of Khader.

Israel's military leaders have dismissed the allegations.

What the Israeli military and air force are doing is to prevent the war spillover in Israel, Avigdor Liebermann, Israels defense minister, said.

The government also says it has aided wounded Syrian civilians living in border areas, allowing them treatment in Israeli hospitals.

Druze in Israel are concerned that any gains for Muslim Sunnis in Syria would result in more persecution for the Druze minority in the country.

Like any other minority group, Druze have grown worried about whats going in Syria, said Fares El Schoufi, a Druze political activist from Syria. They are vulnerable and afraid of the growing extremism in Syria and elsewhere.
We owe veterans support that specifically recognizes what they endured while serving our nation. That can take various forms, whether its training for a post-service job, or loans or grants to enable a veteran to make up for time lost while in service.

There seems to be general agreement that the fundamental debt we owe those who have served is health care, especially when they are no longer able to take care of themselves. Which is why we urge Gov. Scott Walker to discontinue the bipartisan practice of moving money for state veterans hospitals to fund other veterans programs.

State lawmakers from both parties are calling for an audit of the state Veterans Home at King in Waupaca County, the states largest veterans home, and raising questions about millions of dollars transferred from it for use in other veterans programs, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Monday.

Democratic legislators have demanded answers about reports of inadequate service at King, charging that Walkers administration raided the homes surplus to fill a budget deficit. (We acknowledge that any time one of the two biggest political parties moves money from one area to another, theres a strong chance the other party will characterize that as a raid.)

Last year, Walkers Department of Veterans Affairs transferred $12 million from the King home to the perennially underfunded Veterans Trust Fund, which covers nearly $14 million in expenditures annually for loan and grant programs.

Meanwhile, the King home had built a budget surplus of $39 million by the end of the 2015 fiscal year, thanks in part to congressional action about 10 years ago that changed the rules for federal per diem payments made for each veteran in a nursing home.

Under the rule change, those payments no longer trigger reductions in the Medicaid assistance that covers nursing home costs, said Jon Dyck, a Legislative Fiscal Bureau analyst who specializes in the veterans department.

The King home receives about $20 million to $25 million annually in per-diem payments, Dyck estimated.

The Veterans Trust Fund is likely to have a $12 million annual revenue shortfall that will need to be filled each year at least through 2020, Dyck said.

Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said keeping the fund healthy was important because it pays for a variety of programs from job training to help for homeless and incarcerated veterans.

Evenson pointed out that Democrats voted for transfers from the veterans homes to the trust fund under Walkers predecessor, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. Under Doyle, a total of about $8.1 million was transferred in two installments, one in 2007 and the other in 2009, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Wed rather Gov. Doyle hadnt done that, either. But were focused today on urging that such movement of money earmarked for veterans health care not happen again.

An investigation by the Capital Times, published Aug. 29, found that elderly and over-medicated veterans with complex combinations of physical and mental ailments are not receiving adequate care at King, even as the state brings in millions more each year than it spends to care for its residents, transferring the surplus elsewhere.

In February 2013, a Wisconsin State Journal investigationin the wake of a residents death at King uncovered a rise in the number of federal regulation violations there, including two that posed immediate jeopardy to residents. The State Journal also reportedthat lawmakers had authorized an increase in staffing there after officials first boosted the number of residents in an effort to bring in more revenue.

The Legislatures Joint Committee on Audit is set to meet Sept. 21 on a proposal directing the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau to examine King.

An audit should help settle questions about whether the King home is staffed properly or if it is filling beds by accepting residents with medical problems more serious than it is able to handle, said Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, whose district includes the King home.

It would appear that money which comes to King specifically for veterans health care should be put toward increased hiring and better training practices at King, or to another state veterans health care facility. If Gov. Walker, or any governor after him, wants to transfer funds from one facility to another  be it the facility in Tomah, which has had its own share of health-care troubles, or the Zablocki medical center in Milwaukee, or the Southern Center here in Racine County  we would see that as a proper reallocation, since the funds will still serve their intended purpose.

The veterans programs which dont deal with health care are worthy causes. But in light of the issues with care at King and at Tomah, money earmarked for health care, and any future surpluses at the hospitals, should be put only toward improving health care at the hospitals.
A former member of a Philippines death squad told senators in Manila Thursday that Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, while serving as mayor of Davao City, shot and killed an employee of the justice department and ordered the deaths more than 1,000 people over the past 25 years.

The hitman, Edgar Matobato, said during a Senate hearing he was one of several policemen on a death squad that took orders from Duterte.

Matobato said he personally killed about 50 people using various methods that included feeding one man to an alligator and burning others.

He went on to describe an incident in 1993 where his hit squad encountered a justice department agent who tried to stop them from carrying out a mission.

The encounter escalated into a gun battle that ended with Duterte executing the agent, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. Jamisola (the justice department official) was still alive when he (Duterte) arrived. He emptied two Uzi magazines on him, he said.

Duterte has long been accused of being behind the death squad in Davao City, where he served as mayor before winning the presidency earlier this year, but has denied any involvement.

A spokesman for Duterte called the allegations false and said the testimony was mere hearsay from a madman.

Matobato surrendered to authorities in 2009 and had been in a witness protection program until just recently.
Ghanas President John Dramani Mahama, from the ruling National Democratic Congress, main opposition leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo from the New Patriotic Party and other presidential candidates have picked up nomination documents from the Electoral Commission ahead of the December 7 general election. Parliamentary candidates also began picking up their nomination forms.

The candidates are required to pay $12,505 while parliamentary candidates pay $2,501 as nomination fees in addition to meeting other requirements outlined by the electoral commission.

September 29 and 30 are the only dates the electoral commission has set for the official filing of nomination for all candidates who want to participate in the elections, according to spokesman Eric Dzakpasu.

Weve given the opportunity to all prospective candidates to come and pick their nomination forms, and then fill it, provide the necessary documentation and then the filing fees so that they can file them on 29th and 30th of September. As at the close of work on the 15th of September, 14 party candidates and three independent candidates have come to pick the forms for processing, said Dzakpasu.

A key requirement for the processing of the nomination forms to make it valid for the filing is that each presidential candidate should be able to get two registered voters per each district assembly administrative area in the country. We have about 216 of the districts so the requirement is that you would be getting 432 signatories across the country to endorse your candidature.

Officials of the electoral commission came under criticism after some candidates accused them as well as the ruling NDC of undermining their efforts to file their nomination documents in the 2012 general election. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings from the opposition National Democratic Party said her efforts to represent her party as the presidential candidate during the 2012 were sabotaged.

Dzakpasu says the electoral commission is not to blame for the inability of the candidates to meet requirements as outlined by the electoral body before the last elections.

In 2012, it is very true some political parties and some candidates couldnt file their nomination for the simple reason that they failed to satisfy the legal requirement as stated in the law. So, this year round, the laws are available to them, the onus is on them, they have a duty, they have a responsibility to fully comply with the requirement for the filing of the nomination, said Dzakpasu.

For a presidential candidate you need to get the 232 signatories to sign the form. You must have a vice presidential candidate, you need to sign a statutory declaration to the effect that you are qualified to be elected as president or a member of parliament and you are not disqualified from contesting the election. In addition to this, you must provide four back-side red background pictures and then you pay your nomination fee. And this process must be done between the hours of 9-12 pm and then between 2-5 pm on the 29th and 30th September. Failing to comply with any of these requirements of the law would amount to a rejection of your nomination by the electoral commission.

Some political parties have expressed concern about the exorbitant nomination fees set by the electoral commission. They say it appears the decision gives advantage to the so-called major parties ahead of the election. They have demanded the electoral commission rescind its decision.

But Dzakpasu says the Ghanaian electoral laws allow the commission to determine nomination fees for presidential and parliamentary candidates ahead of polls.

When the fee was mentioned at the Interparty Advisory Committee level, most of the political parties raised concerns about the level of the fee, they complained that it was rather too high. So at the end of the day what the commission said was that it has taken notice of the concerns of the political parties, and that the commission would consider the possibility of a review," said Dzakpasu.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association on Thursday strongly condemned Chinese security officials for the violent treatment of journalists reporting on confrontations between police and Wukan villagers in Guangdong province.

Journalists from Hong Kong said they were beaten and detained by Chinese police while attempting to cover the violent crackdown on protesters in the small fishing village Wednesday.

The South China Morning Post and Ming Pao, a liberal Hong Kong newspaper, both reported that employees were assaulted and subsequently detained Wednesday night while attempting to interview villagers about the protest.

The reporters were inside a villagers house when police kicked in the door and forced them to kneel on the ground. One of the reporters was punched in the stomach, while another was slapped twice in the face, one journalist said. Police then took the three journalists to a local police station, where they were questioned for several hours before being forced to sign a letter promising never to return.

Two more reporters were stopped from entering the village and were taken to the local police station, where they had their phones confiscated and fingerprints taken.

We feel outraged. The reporters were covering a big news event. That is their job," said Shirley Yam, vice chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association and columnist for the Morning Post. "There is no reason that Chinese local police should treat them like that. This is totally unacceptable.

Yam went on to say Hong Kong-based reporters covering mainland China are often subject to explicit and implicit threats of violence. HKJA has formally called upon the Hong Kong government to look into the matter and take effective measures to protect the rights and safety of Hong Kong journalists working on the mainland.

Ming Pao also issued a statement on Thursday condemning Chinese police for brutally suppressing the freedom of the press and endangering the safety of reporters.

In downtown Hong Kong on Thursday, members of the citys Democratic Party gathered outside government headquarters to show solidarity with the Wukan villagers and demand a government investigation.

The Global Times, a newspaper with connections to the Chinese Communist Party, blamed foreign media for encouraging and planning the organized chaos in Wukan, which holds a particular significance in China after protests in 2011 over an allegedly illegal land grab put it in the global spotlight.



Watch video of Wukan clashes (not independently confirmed):

Wukan villagers began protesting recently after their leader, Lin Zuluan, was arrested last week on corruption charges. Video of the protests shows villagers throwing rocks at police dressed in riot gear and police responding with rubber bullets and tear gas.

Some villagers said that authorities have urged them to report on press or foreign forces hiding in the village. Informants will allegedly be rewarded 20,000 yuan (U.S. $3,000) per report.

In the meantime, China denies allegations of civilian suppression and claims that the situation in Wukan has returned to normal. When asked about events in the region at a news conference, Guangdong province Governor Zhu Xiaodan left after saying there had been no crackdown.
The International Monetary Fund said its board on Wednesday approved a long-awaited loan disbursement to Ukraine of about $1 billion after a review of the country's bailout program.

The IMF has agreed to pump $17.5 billion into Ukraine's economy in a four-year bailout, releasing the funds in installments subject to the government's making progress on economic and anti-corruption reforms.

To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion in the program, which was launched in March 2015.

The latest disbursement was less than the roughly $1.7 billion anticipated, after some reforms required by the fund had stalled.

But the IMF said in a statement that the board had approved waivers for Kyiv's failure to meet criteria related to international reserves targets, external payments arrears and foreign exchange restrictions.

President Petro Poroshenko said the disbursement would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.

Currency stability

In a statement, he said a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed, and that the funds' release would help keep the hryvnia currency stable and aid the economy.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said.

Last week, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement after the board's vote that Ukraine was showing signs of recovery and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system.

"Further progress in fiscal reforms is key to ensure medium-term sustainability," Lagarde said, calling for pension reforms and tax policies that would avoid higher deficits, as well as the restructuring of state-owned enterprises.
The former head of investigations for the Mexican attorney general's office, who has been criticized for his handling of the missing-persons case involving 43 students, was named a national security adviser hours after he resigned his previous post.

A statement from the Interior Department late Wednesday announced that Tomas Zeron would be technical secretary for the National Security Council, a position appointed by and reporting directly to President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Zeron's dismissal had been demanded by the families of the 43 teachers college students who disappeared in September 2014, after they were taken by local police in Iguala, in Guerrero state, and have not been heard from since. They were allegedly handed over to a drug gang and slain.

Zeron was at the center of the government's widely criticized investigation. Two independent teams of experts have cast doubt on its insistence that their bodies were incinerated at a trash dump.

Zeron oversaw the criminal investigation agency of the attorney general's office and also its forensic work.

Human rights activist Mario Patron said in an interview with Radio Formula on Thursday that Zeron's departure and subsequent appointment to the National Security Council appeared to signal that he would be absolved of errors in the investigation of the disappearances.

At a news conference Thursday in the Mexican capital, Mario Gonzalez, the father of one of the students who vanished, said students' families continue to be frustrated with the investigation and suggested that officials had withheld evidence to protect unnamed persons.

"For us it is outrageous that when he has an open investigation, they reward him with a higher position,'' Gonzalez said. "It is a mockery, not only for the parents of the 43 but for all Mexicans.''

The Interior Department statement said Zeron's appointment was "a recognition of his actions" and reflected "the experience and capability he has demonstrated in his previous positions.''

The missing students attended the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa. They were in Iguala on September 26, 2014, and were en route to a rally in Mexico City when police stopped them and allegedly handed them over to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.
Kenya reaffirmed on Thursday its plan to close the world's largest refugee camp by November, rejecting allegations by Human Rights Watch that it is harassing and intimidating Somali refugees to return home when it is not safe to do so.

The rights group said Kenya is not giving the refugees a real choice between being repatriated or staying, and that the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, is not giving refugees accurate information about the risks they face in Somalia.

"Our timeline is November 30th for closure of the camp," Karanja Kibicho, principal secretary for Kenya's Interior Ministry, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "We are trying to restore sanity in matters of refugee affairs. We are a sovereign country that is trying to address a security concern, and we are as humane as possible."

A spokesman for UNHCR in Kenya said the agency would have to study HRW's report before responding.

Kenya announced in May that it would close Dadaab, home to more than 300,000 mostly Somali refugees, by November, following deadly attacks on Kenyan soil by Somali Islamist group al-Shabab. The government says al-Shabab has used the camp as a recruiting ground for its attacks.

Kenya softened its stance in June, following an outcry from rights groups who said much of Somalia was not yet safe for return, and agreed a goal of halving Dadaab's population by the end of 2016.

Somalia continues to face an Islamist insurgency and is struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict.

Kibicho's comments suggest the government is sticking to its original November deadline.

There has been a surge in departures from Dadaab in recent months, with more than 24,000 refugees returning to Somalia since December 2014, the United Nations said.

Some are third-generation residents of the camp, which was set up in 1991 to host Somalis fleeing civil war in the Horn of Africa country.

Fears of deportation

HRW interviewed 100 refugees and asylum-seekers in Dadaab, some of whom said in a report released on Thursday that they agreed to return home because they fear the Kenyan government will deport them if they stay.

Community leaders told HRW that a government official intimidated them at a meeting in July.

"When I tried to tell the [official] that people can't go back, that it is not as safe as he suggests, he pointed his finger at me and told me to sit down," HRW quoted one elder as saying. "He told me to pick up a gun and defend my country. ... After that meeting, people began to really worry that we would be put into lorries come November."

In 2014, Kenyan authorities deported more than 300 people to Somalia in a crackdown the United Nations said violated the 1951 Refugee Convention, which prohibits the forcible return of refugees to areas where their lives would be threatened.

"These people are voluntarily taking themselves [home]," Kibicho said. "We are a country that respects our obligations to the international conventions."

Refugees who choose not to return to Somalia will be taken to Kakuma, he said, referring to Kenya's second refugee camp, which mostly hosts people fleeing war in South Sudan.

The United Nations has struggled to raise funds to provide health and education services to refugees returning to Somalia.

Some refugees who left Dadaab were stranded near the Somali border in August after local authorities in Jubaland refused to receive them, saying they could not provide enough assistance, HRW and local media reported.
A group of British lawmakers has strongly criticized the intervention by Britain and France in 2011 that led to the ousting of Moammar Gadhafi. The report said a lack of planning for the aftermath meant that Libya quickly descended into chaos, with rival militias battling for power, and the terror group Islamic State gaining an increasing foothold in the country. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
A group of British lawmakers has strongly criticized the intervention by Britain and France in 2011 that led to the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The report from the British Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee said a lack of planning for the aftermath meant that Libya quickly descended into chaos, with rival militias battling for power, and the terror group Islamic State gaining an increasing foothold in the country.

In Washington, the State Department echoed that the power vacuum facilitated the disorder that followed the fall of Gadhafi.

We recognize that in the immediate aftermath of Gadhafi's downfall, not enough was done to secure Libya and to help the new government stand on its feet, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday.

But Toner said since that time, there has been a focus on setting up the new Government of National Accord and helping it cope with threats from Islamic State.

The damning British verdict came exactly five years after then-British Prime Minister David Cameron and then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy stood triumphant in Benghazi's Liberty Square in September 2011, cheered by huge crowds. Their joint campaign of air and missile strikes had swiftly ousted dictator Gadhafi.

The Libyan leader had threatened to attack the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

The report, however, concluded that Britain and France had failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated.

"The decision-makers here were being presented with a blood-curdling assessment as to what was going to happen in Benghazi and therefore the need to act, said lawmaker Crispin Blunt, chairman of the committee.

He added that past failures by the international community led to a rushed decision.

Overhanging that was the history of Srebrenica and the failure of the international community to protect the people of Srebrenica back in 1995, and it was in that climate that decisions were taken, Blunt said.

He was referring to the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995 during the Bosnian war. They were slain when troops commanded by a Serbian general overran the U.N. enclave protected by Dutch troops. It was the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II.

The report by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee regarding Libya said the initial aim of protecting civilians drifted into regime change. That was one of the earliest mistakes that the British-French coalition made, said analyst Riccardo Fabiani of the Eurasia Group.





One of the biggest mistakes that France and Britain made during the Libyan intervention was, first of all, to refuse to establish any dialogue, any real possibility of a compromise with the Gadhafi regime," he said. "So they changed the rules of engagement from protecting civilians to overthrowing the Gadhafi regime.

The British government was also criticized for failing to understand the nature of the rebellion. Fabiani said the chaos could have been predicted.

What happened afterwards was not surprising at all, when you move from a one-man strong regime to a coalition of militias and political parties and municipalities with very little cohesion and no leadership," he said. "Nobody should be surprised when the country after that collapsed into chaos.





Cameron has since defended his action, and the British government says the military action was requested by the Arab League and approved by the U.N. Security Council.

Chaos continues on the ground in Libya. Two rival administrations  one backed by the U.N. and based in Tripoli, the other in the eastern city of Tobruk  signed a unity government deal in December, but theres been little progress in enforcing it.

The lawlessness has allowed Libya to become the main gateway for migrants trying to reach Europe. More than 125,000 people have attempted the crossing this year alone; an estimated 3,000 of them have drowned.
Judi Richardson doesnt understand how a gun background check can be a burden to anyone.

She pages through a binder stuffed with newspaper clips that tell the story of the last six years, starting with the night in 2010 when a still unidentified intruder broke into her 25-year-old daughter Dariens Portland, Maine apartment and shot six bullets into her body.

Its a moment that brought Richardson and her husband, Wayne, to the South Portland office of Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership, just weeks before voters across the state will make a decision on the ballot initiative they co-sponsored. Maines unusually open system for ballot questions means that, with enough citizen signatures, any proposed law can come up before voters. Citizen referendums like Question 3 are often the most deeply personal  and fiercely debated - issues to go before voters every election.

For the Richardsons, the fight for Question 3 began with the discovery that the gun that killed their daughter was involved in another murder, but was untraceable because it had been sold privately without a background check.

We said, 'Well, what do you mean there was no background check?' Richardson says. Shes repeated the story many times in these past six years, during meetings with state and national lawmakers, while testifying on preventing gun violence and even with President Obama  but the shock is still evident in her voice.

In Maine, if you sell it privately, you dont have to have a background check. You dont have to conduct that if youre not a licensed dealer. Thats the loophole were trying to close, she says.

An estimated 40 percent of all firearms transferred in the U.S. are transferred by unlicensed individuals, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. If voters pass Question 3 in November, Maine will become the 19th state to extend background check requirements to include at least some private firearms sales.

Upstairs, while Richardson talks, a team of volunteers work phones to educate voters on the reasons they should vote yes. Nationwide polling on the issue shows that should be an easy sell  a December 2015 survey found voters support requiring background checks on gun purchases at gun shows or online 89-9 percent, with 55 percent of U.S. voters saying its too easy to buy a gun in this country.

Grassroots initiative?

But here in Maine  where hunting and gun clubs are a way of life woven into the state's identity  a ballot question proposing background checks on private gun sales is seen as a threat from outside political influences. The signs of that fierce debate dot the back roads of this rural states small towns, with yard signs declaring Keep NYC Out of Maine! Vote No on Question 3!

Critics point out that much of the money for the campaign, including the constant stream of ads on local TV, comes from known gun control supporter and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Ballot initiatives require in-state sponsors like the Richardsons along with signatures from 10 percent of the population that voted for governor in the last election  about 61,000 signatures in Maine. But even those signatures have come under scrutiny.

David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsmans Alliance of Maine, is one of those opponents who says the initiative is not even close to being a grassroots citizens' campaign from within the state.

Over the last hundred years, a culture has developed. We live with firearms. We hunt. We recreationally shoot and we do it safely, he says. We should be looked at as a model state  not as a state for Michael Bloomberg to come in and change somehow.

Trahans organization has worked to educate local hunters and gun owners on the details of Question 3 in the lead-up to Election Day because, as he sees it, the initiative is an effort to destroy Maines hunting culture because thats the community that defends the right to own firearms most aggressively.

The TV ads asking for support of Question 3 try to tap into that hunting and gun culture by showing an older Maine hunter shooting in the woods with his grandson and talking about gun safety.

But those images havent convinced members of the Windham Goreham Gun Club in rural Maine. Some of them say they are waiting for an upcoming talk by Trahan to make up their minds, but all of them express concern about a portion of the law that would complicate long-standing Maine traditions of sharing guns among friends and extended family members.

Im concerned about the portion where I loan a friend a gun  it could be a problem for him and for me, says Hank Snowman, a lifelong hunter who has lived in the area for 22 years. He says he has no problem with the private sale background check part of the law, but he would like to see more training on gun safety rather than a debate over loopholes. And he knows for certain that he wont be swayed by TV ads bought with money thats not from Maine.

I dont like people coming in from out of state and meddling, he says.

Gun club member Luke House goes even further, saying the initiative is a ploy for even greater gun control. A lifelong Maine resident who says bear and moose hunting season is like Christmas and doesnt believe theres any such thing as a gun show loophole, House sees the ballot question as offensive.

They must think were really naive or really stupid or we just want to relinquish our heritage and our inalienable rights to protect ourselves, he says. Its angering and its frustrating because we didnt ask for this. We didnt ask to fight for our rights.

And thats a viewpoint that Judi Richardson finds difficult to understand back in the Question 3 offices in Portland.

Why wouldnt you want to make sure that person youre selling to is able to have that gun? Why wouldnt you want to have a background check? It doesnt even make sense to me why thats a hardship, she says.

But in a battle over the rights and wrongs of gun rights in the U.S., there is rarely a middle ground to be found.
Members of Mana, the Spanish-language pop band, are embarking on what they hope will be their most influential series of performances - the U.S. "Latino Power Tour" - seeking to encourage Latinos to use their power at the polls in the Nov. 8 presidential election.

"We are so proud, on one hand 'Latino Power Tour,' it's a celebration, but we're also suggesting for Latinos to use their power with their vote. They can change history in this country," said vocalist Fher Olvera.

The tour opened in San Diego on Sept. 9 and is scheduled to end in Los Angeles on Nov. 13. The band, sometimes referred to as "the U2 of Spanish rock," will perform in 18 major arenas across the United States.

The band from Guadalajara, Mexico, has always been vocal about denouncing violence and corruption in its home country.

Now, in the wake of some unfavorable comments about Mexicans by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump - who has also threatened to expel millions of Mexicans - Mana feels its influence can make a difference in the United States as well.

"Latinos can move the scale of history in the United States, they can rewrite history and I believe they deserve a lot more than what has been given to them, and they have the power," Olvera said in an interview.

For the "Latino Power Tour," Mana will perform a career-spanning set including greatest hits and songs from its ninth studio album, "Cama Incendiada" (Bed on Fire). It has also partnered with organizations including Voto Latino and local advocates to provide both inspiration and information Latinos might need to make their voices heard in the upcoming election.

"More than anything, it's a huge celebration of the Latino community," said drummer Alex Gonzalez. "You know, the Latino community has given so much and has worked so hard here in the United States, developed the country, especially economically.

On the other hand also, this tour is to emphasize Latinos to go out and vote."

Mana has earned four Grammy Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards and sold more than 40 million albums.
Attorney General Brad Schimel is considering investigating the recent leak of sealed documents from the halted John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walkers recall campaign.

Schimel is very concerned about the apparent violation of the secrecy orders issued by the court in this case, and is currently reviewing the available options to address the serious legal questions raised by the leak and publication of these sealed documents, Schimels spokesman Johnny Koremenos said in an email.

The Guardian US, an arm of the British-based newspaper, on Wednesday posted more than 1,300 documents related to the investigation into whether Walkers recall campaign circumvented state campaign finance law. The documents were supposed to be held under seal by a Supreme Court order. The newspaper didnt disclose the source of the documents.

Koremenos comments came as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and other top Assembly Republicans asked Schimel to consider appointing a special prosecutor to investigate this apparent violation of the Supreme Courts order and state law.

Should this potential crime go unprosecuted it runs the risk of undermining the integrity of our courts and judicial system, said Vos in a letter Thursday to Schimel.

Republican lawmakers  including Vos  have not previously publicly called for an investigation into apparent leaks to other publications, including the Wall Street Journals conservative editorial page.

For example, Wisconsin Club for Growth director Eric OKeefe acknowledged in 2014 in an interview with conservative radio show host Vicki McKenna that the subpoena he received during the 2012 John Doe investigation included a gag order, which if violated could result in a contempt of court ruling.

Before filing a federal lawsuit against the John Doe prosecutors, which resulted in the release of hundreds of documents detailing the investigation, OKeefe disclosed much of what was known about the John Doe to the Wall Street Journal. OKeefe has been an outspoken critic of the police tactics used to deliver subpoenas to those under investigation, comparing the experience to rape.

An attorney for OKeefe did not return a phone call seeking comment.

When asked whether Vos supports an investigation into all leaks, Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said, From the speakers perspective, whether its a violation of a court order or disclosure of sealed documents, any leak is a crime.

Koremenos said DOJ officials do not comment on or discuss specific details that could jeopardize a potential or ongoing investigation when asked whether an investigation into previous leaks also should be launched.

Walker: Probe baseless

The documents posted Wednesday provide the most complete record yet of how Walker raised millions of dollars for a supposedly independent, tax-exempt group during the 2011 and 2012 recalls  activity that prompted the John Doe investigation.

The article published by Guardian US based on the documents includes previously unreleased information about the effort by Walker to raise millions of dollars for Wisconsin Club for Growth, a nonprofit group that coordinated the fundraising effort to help Walker and Senate Republicans beat back recall attempts in 2011 and 2012.

Walker reiterated to reporters Thursday at an appearance in Edgerton that courts have not found he or his campaign broke any laws.

The facts are clear, Walker said. Multiple courts have looked at this and ruled that the investigation was baseless.

Walker sidestepped a volley of questions from reporters stemming from the release of the court documents and declined to say if the person who leaked the documents to Guardian US, whose identity is unknown, should be prosecuted.

He blamed the disclosure on investigators.

People whove failed to win in the court of law have chosen to leak bits and portions of things to try and win in the court of public opinion, Walker said.

Later Thursday, at another stop in the state, Walker said he is no longer raising money for Wisconsin Club for Growth, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The document disclosures come weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider a petition by prosecutors to overturn a Wisconsin Supreme Court 4-2 decision quashing the investigation.

Chisholm criticizes leak

Milwaukee Countys Democratic District Attorney John Chisholm, who oversaw the John Doe investigation in 2012, said Wednesday that its illegal to leak such documents and a violation of the John Doe secrecy order, and would support an investigation into the leaks.

Reached Thursday, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said he was busy and couldnt comment. He said he would call a reporter later in the day but did not.

Rep. David Craig, R-Big Bend, also on Wednesday renewed his call for the creation of a legislative committee to investigate the conduct of John Doe prosecutors in light of the leak.

These leaks appear to be in direct defiance to the Wisconsin Supreme Courts order, the secrecy orders placed on John Doe investigations, and potentially state statutes governing the former Government Accountability Board and current Ethics and Elections Commissions, Craig said in a statement. A special committee in the legislature with subpoena power should be empaneled to take sworn testimony by those involved in this investigation.

Craig also said if those who leaked the documents acted maliciously by intentionally releasing information in violation of state policy, then they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

State Journal reporter Mark Sommerhauser contributed to this report.
About two months before Joseph Michael Schreiber allegedly tried to burn down a mosque sometimes attended by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, he posted on Facebook that All Islam is radical and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, 32, was arrested without incident Wednesday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Major David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical. ... ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country.''

Thompson told a news conference that Schreiber, who has a criminal record, was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere. He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber on Wednesday evening, and he didn't say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

The fire was set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Evidence found

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreiber's home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation.

Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and Mateen as degenerates and punks.

Mateen was killed by police June 12 after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub. The rampage left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. He served his first sentence from March 2008 to July 2009 and his second from June 2010 to August 2014.

A weekend surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approaching the building with a bottle of liquid and some papers, then leaving when there was a flash and shaking his hand as though he may have burned it, Thompson said. The first 911 calls were made about 45 minutes later. It took more than four hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the fire investigation. Sheriff's officials released the video and asked for the public's help in identifying the arsonist.

Simmering tensions

Rabbi Bruce Benson, a chaplain with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, was outside Schreiber's home Wednesday night. He said Schreiber attended his synagogue for about a month last spring to study the Torah, but left little impression, and gave no indication he might act violently in the future.

Benson said Schreiber's father showed up at his office Wednesday afternoon after his son was arrested, even though he wasn't a member of his synagogue.

"I guess he didn't know where else to go," Benson said, adding that Schreiber's parents are "shocked, just like any of us would be if it were our child."

Benson said his reform synagogue, Temple Beth El Israel, has tried unsuccessfully in the past to reach out to the mosque.

We would welcome the opportunity, Benson said. They're a community feeling under attack. If we could all talk a bit, maybe things like this wouldn't have to happen.

The fire was part of an escalating series of threats and violence perpetuated against the mosque and its members, Ruiz said. He said the mosque began receiving threatening phone calls shortly after the Pulse massacre. In July, he said, a member was punched in the face as he arrived for morning prayers.

Sunday's fire has left the mosque's members saddened and scared, said assistant imam Hamaad Rahman.
The top Philippines diplomat has cautioned the United States against lecturing his government on human rights, prompting a White House spokesman to urge all countries, especially allies, to uphold universal human rights.

Speaking Thursday in Washington, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay called for mutual respect between his country and its former colonial power, saying Filipinos are not the little brown brothers of America.''

However, Yasay assured a group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that Manila is committed to a positive relationship with the United States.

His appearance followed a string of controversial statements by new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte urged U.S. President Barack Obama not to question him about extrajudicial killings, or, he warned, "Son of a whore, I will swear at you."

After the remarks, Obama called on his advisers to determine whether a scheduled meeting with Duterte at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, last week would be productive. The White House canceled the meeting, although the leaders exchanged pleasantries during a brief meeting at the ASEAN dinner gala.

Obama later said Dutertes remarks did not affect relations between the allied nations.

'Look at our aspirations'

"I am asking our American friends, American leaders, to look at our aspirations," Yasay said. "We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America. ... We have to develop, we have to grow and become the big brother of our own people.

The foreign secretary urged Washington not to give lectures on human rights as a condition for receiving American help.

You do not go to the Philippines and say, 'I am going to give you something. I am going to help you grow, but this is the checklist you must comply with. We will lecture you on human rights,' " said Yasay.

At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama "has made quite clear that human rights impacts our relationship with the Philippines.

The U.S. has worked closely with Manila on combating terrorism, extremism and violence connected to the drug trade, Earnest said.

Its important, however, that as those kinds of operations and efforts are undertaken, that universal human rights are protected, and engaging in that kind of law enforcement activity consistent with our commitment to human rights is important, he added. And we certainly encourage countries around the world, particularly our allies, to do exactly that.

Duterte has drawn the ire of the United States for his bloody crackdown on the drug trade, killing more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers since assuming the presidency in June.

Security ties

Yasay also sought to walk back suggestions by Duterte that Manila plans to curb its security alliance with Washington. He said the Philippines is committed to a defense pact that gives the U.S. access to five Philippine military bases.

However, Yasay confirmed that Manila does not want to take part in joint U.S.-Philippines patrol exercises in disputed waters in the South China Sea, as it previously has done.

At the Pentagon Thursday, a spokesman, Navy Commander Gary Ross, said, "We have conducted three [such] patrols. The first patrol was conducted in March, with the second completed in early April. Our last joint patrol was in July.

"Our relationship with the Philippines is broad and our alliance is one of our most enduring relationships in the Asia-Pacific region. It has been a cornerstone of stability for over 70 years. The Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies, and our relationship is built on shared sacrifices for democracy and human rights and strong people-to-people and societal ties."
Officials in Columbus, Ohio, are promising a thorough investigation into Wednesday's shooting death of a 13-year-old African-American by a white policeman.

The veteran officer shot and killed Tyre King after chasing robbery suspects when Tyre allegedly pulled a BB gun out of his waistband.

Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs held up a picture of the kind of gun Tyre had and said it looked like a "firearm that could kill you. ... Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to the weapon."

Officers wanted to talk to three young black men who fit the description of three suspects allegedly involved in an armed robbery when two of the men ran away.

Police cornered them in an alley when Tyre allegedly pulled out a gun. Officer Bryan Mason fired at least four bullets into the teenager. He later died at a hospital. Mason is on leave while the shooting is investigated.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther struggled to hold back tears Thursday as he talked about the shooting.

"There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets," he said. "And a 13-year-old boy is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence."

The Columbus shooting is reminiscent of a 2014 killing in another Ohio city, Cleveland, in which a white officer shot Tamir Rice, 12, who allegedly had waved a toy gun at people in a city park.

A grand jury declined to indict the officers involved, ruling both believed their lives were in danger and that the emergency police dispatcher did not mention Tamir was a child and had what looked like a toy.

The Columbus incident is another in a series of police killings of young African-Americans that black activists say is a symptom of racism in the United States, even though some of the officers involved were also black.
On the eve of a key European Union summit in Bratislava, French and German leaders are calling for unity and a clear roadmap for a post-Brexit EU that is struggling with migration, insecurity and growing public disenchantment with Brussels.

We need to be lucid about Europes situation, said President Francois Hollande, outlining EU priorities of security, jobs, economic growth and shared values and warning the block risks a crisis of its very existence and foundation.

The call for closing ranks was echoed Thursday by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a joint press conference in Paris, who said EU leaders must show we are determined to react together to the weaknesses, to the tasks we face."

The two European heavyweights met hours before talks Friday in Slovakia, which currently hosts the rotating EU presidency. Absent on the invitation list is Britain, whose June vote to exit the EU has triggered deep soul searching about the union's relevance and future.

Whether the discussions that begin with a dinner on Thursday will achieve any concrete results is unclear. Some of the most critical issues, such as migration and how to handle the British departure, are tricky and divisive and are likely to get short shrift in a broader search for unity, experts say.

Its not a usual summit, and it cant be one dealing with business-as-usual or focus too much on Brexit, says analyst Yann-Sven Rittelmeyer, of the Brussels-based European Policy Center. It needs to propose something else for the EU and its future.

EU Nations React to Brexit

The discussions come amid growing public skepticism about Brussels, which many ordinary Europeans see as meddling and out of touch with their daily concerns. June's Brexit referendum, some critics say, has only heightened those sentiments.

If the European Union does not undertake and effective relaunch within the next few months, it will move towards irreversible decline, warned former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta in an opinion published by the Chatham House think tank.

Describing the bloc as moving toward the Bratislava summit in the dark and with our headlights off, he added, "the reaction must be rapid and courageous."

Whether Bratislava will deliver on those expectations is uncertain, given the rifts among member states, particularly over how to handle the migrant crisis. Earlier this week, Luxembourgs foreign minister suggested Hungary should be suspended or even expelled from the block for hard-line immigration policies that undermined EU values.

You have some governments, particularly in Central European countries like Hungary, who are really trying to take advantage of Brexit to say the EU really needs to get out of our business, or well go the same way as the British, says Ian Bond, foreign policy director of the London-based Center for European Reform. And I think thats quite dangerous.

Defense and security cooperation is expected to top Fridays summit agenda, including proposals to establish a joint military headquarters, presumably in Brussels. While calls for closer EU defense cooperation are not new, Britain has long been a skeptic.

With London heading for the exit, the remaining defense heavyweights France and Germany have taken up the banner once again, amid shared worries about terror at home and instability in places like Africa and the Middle East. The two released a proposal this week calling for more joint spending and sharing of military equipment in areas like satellite surveillance and transportation.

EU Pushes for Closer Cooperation on Defense

On Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker endorsed the push, saying closer defense cooperation could save member states billions of dollars. In a key speech outlining the block's priorities, he also described an EU force that should be in complement to NATO.

One advantage of the British leaving the EU is they wont be able to block sensible changes in that area, said analyst Bond, describing cooperation in areas like military procurement to avoid duplication, but dismissing suggestions of an eventual EU army.

This is more about national forces working together more effectively, less duplication, more sensible distribution of resources, he added.

But some eastern European countries are reportedly underwhelmed at prospects for closer defense, with skeptics wary about undermining NATO.

France and Germany know they will meet this kind of resistance, analyst Rittelmeyer said. Thats why the proposal mentions working with only some member states going forward, a coalition of the willing."

Besides closer defense cooperation, EU leaders are also expected to discuss proposals Friday for strengthening EU external borders and boosting jobs, investments and the digital economy.

Yet the summits main thrust, some analysts say, is to send a message of unity and relevance to disaffected citizens at a time when anti-EU parties are surging in the polls ahead of key elections next year.

That includes in Germany, where Merkel recently took a beating in home state elections, amid disgruntlement over her immigration policies. In France, Hollande faces dismal reelection prospects next April, with the far right, anti-EU National Front party widely expected to win the first round of voting.

Yet mainstream European leaders are also part of the EU's problem, analyst Bond says.

The temptation to say I have done everything right and the EU has done everything wrong seems to be almost irresistible among national politicians, he says. They have to stop using the EU as the place to blame when they have to make difficult and painful decisions.
Hillary Clinton returned to the presidential campaign trail Thursday for the first time after being laid low all week with pneumonia.

"It's great to be back," the Democratic candidate told an audience in Greensboro, North Carolina. She admitted that she tried to "power through" her illness before realizing it wasn't working and that she needed to stay home and rest.

"I'm not great at taking it easy, even under ordinary circumstances," she said. "But with just two months to go before Election Day, sitting at home was pretty much the last place I wanted to be."

Clinton said she considered herself lucky to be able to afford time off if she gets sick. She said millions of Americans have no backup if they fall ill and are just one paycheck away from losing their homes or facing other catastrophes.

Watch video report from VOA's Zlatica Hoke:

She said she was running for president to make life better for children and their families.

"Every child, no matter who they are, what they look like or who they love, is part of the American dream, now and way into the future," she said. "Let that be our message. Let that be our mission."

Later, Clinton appeared before the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in Washington, saying she would send Congress comprehensive immigration reform within her first 100 days in office. She said her plan would include a path toward citizenship for many undocumented immigrants.

Clinton also tore into Republican rival Donald Trump, who in comments to The Washington Post again refused to say that President Barack Obama was born in the United States.

Clinton urged voters to "conclusively" stop Trump, and what she called his bigotry, in the November election.

Trump on 'Dr. Oz'

Meanwhile, Trump appeared on Thursday's broadcast of "The Dr. Oz Show," a talk show hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, and presented a letter from his doctors proclaiming him to be healthy after he took a physical exam last week.

"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results, which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health," the campaign said, "and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States."

But Trump, who is known to be fond of fast food, admitted to Oz that he takes drugs to treat high cholesterol.

He told the doctor that just like many other Americans, he wants to lose weight. Trump is 1.9 meters tall (6 feet 3 inches) and weighs 107 kilograms (236 pounds). He is overweight by medical standards, yet it is Trump who has suggested Clinton does not have the strength and stamina to be president.

Clinton mocked the way Trump disclosed his medical condition by appearing on a daytime TV talk show, calling him a "showman."

If Trump, 70, wins the November 8 election, he would be the oldest person elected U.S. president, while Clinton would be the second oldest. She turns 69 on October 26. Ronald Reagan was just short of 70 when he was first elected president in 1980.

A new New York Times/CBS News poll of likely voters gave Clinton a 46 percent-to-44 percent lead over Trump but said they were tied at 42 percent each when two other candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein, were considered.
Men with early prostate cancer whose doctors monitor their situation, as opposed to treating the cancer, have the same long-term survival rates. The finding was the outcome of a large British study comparing so-called watchful waiting with cancer treatment.

The ProtecT or Prostate Cancer Trial enrolled more than 82,400 men between the ages of 50 and 69. Of these, more than 1,600 men tested positive for early prostate cancer. They were followed for 10 years between 1999 and 2009.

They were randomized to receive active monitoring, radiation or surgery. The research teams at the University of Oxford, the University of Bristol, and nine other centers in Britain, investigated mortality rates, cancer spread and the side effects of treatment.

The researchers found that regardless of whether a man with early prostate cancer underwent treatment with radiation or surgery or was simply monitored, there was virtually no difference in terms of survival after a decade. In all three instances, 99 percent of the participants were still alive ten years later, if the cancer was localized.

But the study did find that there was less progression of cancer among men in the treatment groups than in men whose disease was simply monitored. The cancer spread in one in five men who were not treated compared to less than one in ten in those who received surgery or radiation.

The findings of the ProtecT study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer at the American Cancer Society, welcomed the findings. However, he suggested it will still be difficult to convince some men to forego treatment for prostate cancer.

If you are diagnosed and you are observed in this study, 44 percent [of men] at 10 years still had not gotten any treatment. About 20 percent got treatment because their tumor was progressing or growing in size. But then theres another 36 percent, literally a third of the men, who were in the observation arm threw up their arms at some point in time and said 'I cant take being watched while I have cancer. I want treatment,' said Brawley.

Side-effects of treatment

The British study found downsides to treatment. Men in the surgery group experienced urine leakage and difficulties with their sex lives after the operation to remove their prostate glands, called a prostatectomy, compared to men in the active monitoring or radiation group. Those who underwent radiation had more bowel problems.

Brawley said the studys findings validate his own views on treatment for small prostate cancers.

For most of my career, Ive been writing papers on my concern that weve been overpromising in terms of the value of screening and aggressive treatment for prostate cancer. I do think that there is a place for it, he said. This actually provides some data to show that we really ought to be circumspect about policies for screening and treatment for prostate cancer.

In the United States, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended against routine the PSA or prostate specific antigen test to screen for prostate cancer. The concern has been that there is a high rate of false positives or a detection of small tumors that never progress.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men talk to their doctors about the pros and cons of PSA screening for prostate cancer.
China has managed to raise the proportion of the population which can speak the national language, Mandarin, but still faces difficulty in remote areas and places where ethnic minorities live, state media said on Tuesday.

As of the end of last year, more than 70 percent of the population could speak Mandarin, compared with 53 percent at the end of the last century, the official China News Service said, citing the education ministry.

The ministry believes that with greater urbanization and more young people moving into cities, areas that are weak in Mandarin abilities, mostly remote places and areas with lots of ethnic minorities, the level will continue to rise, the news agency said.

It hopes to have "basic" national coverage for the language by 2020, it added.

Some officials have previously said that the country was too large and had too few resources to get all of its 1.3 billion people to speak Mandarin.

China has been promoting Mandarin for decades to ensure national cohesion in a country where there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dialects, as well as ethnic minority languages like Tibetan and Uighur.

But some dialects, such as Cantonese and Hokkien, enjoy strong regional support even if there is little official backing for their use.

In Tibet and Xinjiang, home to the Uighur people who speak a Turkic language, there has been resistance to greater Mandarin education in schools, with people fearing Beijing wants to culturally assimilate them, though the government denies this.

Lack of money also means that some schools in poorer, more remote areas have to use teachers whose own Mandarin skills may not be up to par.

China refers to Mandarin as "Putonghua", or "common speech," while in self-ruled Taiwan it is called "Guoyu", or "national language."
Six people stand almost shoulder-to-shoulder in a black room - the entire audience for a play unfolding just an arm's length away. With minimal set and a cast of only two, this is theater stripped to its bare bones.

The micro-theater trend has exploded since a first production in a former Madrid brothel in 2009. "Microteatro" is now an established brand, with theaters in 13 cities in Spain and the Americas.

Its success - the venue that originated the format put on its 1,000th show in April - provides a bright spot in Spanish theater which has suffered from cuts in arts funding and a drop in audience spending since an economic crisis.

In the bar at the Madrid venue, 30-year-old theatergoer Maria Renee explained the appeal.

"The good thing is you don't have to plan ahead. You can see one play or five," she said, examining the productions on offer that evening.

Each short play costs only four euros ($4.50) and is repeated up to seven times a night, so spectators can dip in and out of the evening's program.

The format follows a basic idea of three 15s: plays of 15 minutes for around 15 audience members in a 15 square-meter (160 square-foot) space.

In the original production, 13 independent theater groups put on 13 different shows, themed around prostitution, in the rooms of the former brothel where the sex workers used to receive their clients.

That show was so successful, with queues of more than 200 people waiting to get in, that the team bought a space around the corner. Since then theater companies around Spain and from places as far away as Miami and Mexico have bought licenses to use the Microteatro logo, marketing and house style.

Playwright and director Jose Luis Lozano, 34, says the format is a showcase for new work and provides a training ground for writers.

"You're obliged to say a lot in a short time. It's a good place to experiment with your style," he said.

For the players, the closeness to the audience makes the experience like a constant camera close-up, says Anthony Rotsa, a British actor starring in the theater's only English-language play.

"You see everyone's faces, right there. If they're enjoying it, you can feel that. And if they're not, you can feel that too!"
Schoolchildren as young as seven years old protested in Malawi's capital Wednesday, urging the government to address the concerns of their teachers, who have been on a nationwide strike since Monday.

The children, from schools around the city, were protesting on their own, without being accompanied by police.

Clad in school uniforms, the students blocked roads, causing traffic jams as they chanted songs calling on the government to meet the teachers' grievances.

Police intervened and dispersed the young protesters before they reached the district education office, where they wanted to present a petition.

"We are fighting for our freedom and education, said one student, who did not want to be named. It is not right and fair for someone to get educated and become a teacher and not receive his or her money."

The teachers are pushing the government to pay back salaries owed to those who were promoted in 2013, and for the promotion of other teachers deserving of advancement.

Teachers Union of Malawi Secretary General Denis Kalekeni says the union has received assurance from the government that it will meet all the teachers' demands by the end of the year.

He asked teachers to resume work and "give government the benefit of the doubt."

However, he added a warning: "[If] government plays dilly dallying, and thinks that the suspension of the strike can give them the audacity to fail to implement [teachers' demands], the Teachers Union of Malawi shall have no choice but to revive the strike."

Kalekeni also stressed a timeline for the unions demands.

"We need to see that in the month end of September, teachers have been uploaded on the payroll for their arrears, he said. We want to see that by October, teachers have been [upgraded]."

Education Ministry spokesperson Manfred Ndovi said officials are committed to meeting the teachers' demands by November.
In South Korea, a new documentary is attempting to make the case that the Seoul governments National Intelligence Service (NIS) is engaging in abusive and coercive techniques to falsely uncover North Korean spies posing as defectors.

The film Spy Nation focuses on one case in particular involving North Korean defector Yu Woo-sung, who was arrested in 2014 on charges of espionage but was acquitted a year later after it was discovered that incriminating documents in the case were fabricated, allegedly by the NIS.

Yus case became a widely reported scandal that forced the NIS director Nam Jae-joon to apologize and a high-ranking official with the intelligence service to resign.

The director of Spy Nation, Choi Seung-ho, uses Yus case and others documented in the film to argue the NISs over-zealous pursuit of spies is a symptom of a powerful and secretive agency reporting only to the president, that operates with little outside oversight or control.

We need to change legal system so that the NIS is prevented to be involved in all these political things and allow the National Assembly total control over the NIS, said Choi.

Coercion

Part of Yus case also involves allegations of physical and psychological coercion during the NIS interrogation process.

Prior to his arrest, Yu worked for the Seoul city government assisting recently arrived defectors.

The NIS suspected he was also sending back to North Korea lists of defector names and other sensitive information.

When Yus sister, Yu Garyeo, arrived in South Korea to request asylum, she was interrogated by the NIS about her brothers activities.

Director Choi conducted an interview with Yu Garyeo in which she claimed that the NIS kept her in isolation for weeks at a time, with only her interrogator to talk to, and hit, threatened and harassed her until she agreed to make a false confession implicating herself and her brother in spying for North Korea.

Yu Garyeo was deported and though her brother was acquitted of spying, he lost all claims to government aid for North Korean defectors, after it was discovered that he lived in China and became a Chinese national before attempting to defect.

Over 1,000 North Koreans defect to South Korea every year. They all must undergo debriefings at NIS facilities to weed out potential spies and to gather information on the situation inside the secretive and authoritarian Kim Jong Un government.

North Korean defector and analyst Ahn Chan-il, with the World Institute for North Korean Studies, said the debriefing process can at times be harsh but it is overstated to imply that abuse is both widespread and a generally accepted practice.

It is true that (NIS officials) may talk in loud voices during the process of checking the status of defectors, and they may use some coercive action if (the defectors) seem suspicious, but this applies only to some specific defectors, said Ahn.

Real threat

The threat of espionage has become even more dangerous to national security in this era of cyber-terrorism.

Earlier this year, South Korea's police cyber investigation unit reported that the North had hacked thousands of computers at South Korean firms and government agencies.

There have been cases of North Korean spies posing as defectors. The North Korean intelligence service reportedly uses threats of punishment and imprisonment against the families of defectors to force their compliance.

Independent journalism

Choi, the films director, is also affiliated with the Korean Center for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit organization funded by small donations from 350,000 people.

The group stresses its journalistic independence to stand up against political pressure, in contrast to established news organizations that he claims have not held government officials accountable for abuses of power.

The Spy Nation director is also featured in the film as he questions defectors and relentlessly badgers government officials on the street and on one occasion at a crowded airport.

The NIS, Choi said, tried unsuccessfully to level both criminal and civil defamation charges against him for his reporting of the case.

We completely won the civil charge and they sent us a subpoena once for criminal charge but did not send it anymore, so we were acquitted, Choi said.

Choi expects Spy Nation to be released to a number of South Korean theaters in September.
Former state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked then-Department of Corrections chief Ed Wall to give his wife a job, Wall said Wednesday.

Seeking to get his job back at the state Department of Justice after having resigned as DOC secretary, Wall testified that he told Van Hollen, who was still Attorney General at the time, instead to have his wife apply for the job as a DOC attorney.

He asked me to find her a position there as an attorney since he was not running again, so they would have an income source and benefits, Wall told the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

Wall said he told his staff that Lynne Van Hollen may apply and that he wanted nothing to do with the hiring process.

Lynne Van Hollen was ultimately hired for the job. Wall said the department actually had very few people apply.

Walls testimony came on the last day of a two-day hearing before WERC commissioners in which Wall is appealing his termination from the Department of Justice  where he landed after resigning as DOC secretary amid a wide-ranging investigation into abuse allegations at the states youth prison.

Wall also testified that his job transfer within DOJ when he returned was the result, in part, of retaliation for a past decision to not promote Lynne Van Hollen to the departments chief legal counsel position.

J.B. is still (mad) at me because I didnt promote his wife into the chief legal position and went to (former chief of staff for Gov. Scott Walker) Eric (Schutt) in an attempt to override me, Wall testified.

Neither J.B. Van Hollen nor Lynne Van Hollen returned a phone call or email seeking comment. Schutt could not be reached for comment.

Wall said he assumes Attorney General Brad Schimels staff discussed ways to dismiss Wall with Van Hollen because Walls termination from the DOJ mirrored the way Van Hollen tried to force out former Division of Criminal Investigation administrator Jim Warren in 2009. Warren abruptly retired that year after clashes with Van Hollen.

That was my opinion based on the fact that they were trying to do exactly what J.B.s administration did to the former (DCI) administrator and I dont know they would come up with that on their own, Wall said.

Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for Schimel, said there are absolutely no facts to back up Mr. Walls assertions.

His comments are completely false, Koremenos said in an email. His transfer was completely lawful under Wisconsin state law.

Wall decided to resign as DOC secretary in January and said he only did so because he was assured by a DOC official and Schutt that he would have rights to his former job at DOJs Division of Criminal Investigation should he ever leave DOC.

Wall was allowed under state civil service rules to return to DCI, where he previously worked as the division administrator.

DOJ officials then immediately transferred Wall to another position and put him on paid administrative leave in order to avoid conflicts of interest with the probe into the states Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls juvenile facility in Irma. Wall testified he was prohibited from entering the DOJ building as part of the terms of his paid leave.

He was then fired after he told Walker chief of staff Rich Zipperer that Zipperer could feel free to shred documents Wall sent him.

Schimel said Walls suggestion went against the spirit of the states open records law.

Wall testified Wednesday that he presumed the documents were considered drafts and that drafts were not public records.
Better late than never, that's what analysts say about an arms embargo on South Sudan.



The United States says it will back an arms embargo if the country's government blocks the deployment of a regional protection force in the war-torn country and continues to hinder the movement of U.N. staffers and peacekeepers.

But how much impact can the threat really have? A former arms expert on the U.N. Panel of Experts on South Sudan, Luuk van de Vondervoort, told VOA the United States has used the threat of an arms embargo as leverage several times, including once to get the government to sign a peace deal with rebels last year.



Both sides have committed the most egregious violations of human rights law and there have been atrocities committed on a scale that weve not seen in many other contexts where an arms embargo has in fact been imposed, said van de Vondervoort. Its normally the thing that you start with, not the end state.



He said the delay may have given the government time to prepare.

If you as a government are afraid that you wont be allowed to import bullets anymore, what are you going to do? You make sure you can produce them yourself, said van de Vondervoort.



He was referring to a Reuters report from earlier this month. According to the report, U.N. sanctions monitors have learned that South Sudan's army chief asked a Lebanese company to begin developing a small arms ammunition manufacturing facility in Juba.

The report did not say whether the project had proceeded.



Too little, too late?

To this point, South Sudan has been free to engage in state-to-state transfers in arms, without restrictions from sellers.

Rights groups have been calling for an arms embargo on South Sudan for more than two years.

Human Rights Watch senior researcher Jehanne Henry says it is long overdue.



The weapons that enter South Sudan are inevitably used against civilians in this conflict, in this conflict that is especially abusive, that is especially conducted against civilians, said Henry. This is not a classic conflict between classic armies.

South Sudans conflict has killed tens of thousands since it started in December 2013 and displaced more than two million. Aid agencies warn hundreds of thousands of people are on the brink of starvation.

Britain and France have supported imposing an arms embargo, while in the past other members of the U.N. Security Council have not. Russia says it is still too soon.



Since July, government troops have been accused of fresh attacks on civilians, international aid workers and U.S. diplomats.



U.S. Congressman Thomas Rooney addressed U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Ambassador Donald Booth during a congressional hearing on September 8. He argued in favor of an arms embargo.



What can it hurt if the United States does take the lead to say that enough is enough? Weve got diplomatic envoys being shot at. Weve got all kinds of crimes that weve talked about against its own citizenry. Weve got humanitarian aid and food being seized upon. Weve got the opposition has fled. Weve got a government that has lost control of its own military, said Rooney.



Questions about effectiveness

Some experts say arms embargoes in general don't work. They say there just isn't enough oversight of the global weapons trade to enforce them.



Zach Vertin, a fellow at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center, argues that although an arms embargo is important, its not the solution to South Sudans problems.



An arms embargo is long overdue, as it can have some impact in curtailing senseless government violence and access to sophisticated weapons in the short term, said Vertin. But we should also be careful not to attach outsized expectations to it; the path to a sustainable peace can only come through fundamental political changes.

Chatham House Horn of Africa research associate Ahmed Soliman agreed that there is no substitute for a political solution.



If theyve not acted in the spirit of the agreement since its signing, it doesnt seem as if its going to change and I would posit that an arms embargo is probably unlikely to change that, said Soliman. You know, coupled with travel embargoes and other things, there is a symbolic nature to these sanctions, but not necessarily theyre not going to alter the realities on the ground too much and too quickly, I dont think.



Several calls to South Sudans presidential spokesman for comment went unanswered.
U.S. lawmakers met Thursday with Myanmars de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and expressed mixed reactions to President Barack Obamas intention to lift economic sanctions on the country formerly known as Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi held separate talks with prominent House and Senate members of both parties at the Capitol. Sanctions played prominently in the discussions, according to several lawmakers who spoke with VOA afterward.

The message was clear, that Burmas a different country today than it was when those sanctions were imposed, said Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Cardin stressed that Americas attention is still needed in Myanmar, but that U.S. influence can be exerted more with carrots than sticks.

There is a continued role for the United States, but its going to be in a much more positive way, he said.

The president acted unilaterally [lifting sanctions] in a way that was unfortunate, said Republican Cory Gardner, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific. There are a number of concerns with military involvement and crony business operatives participating in illicit activities that warrant continued sanctioning."

We should make sure that the military doesnt have access to ways to enrich itself, as it has been for decades, and to make sure that we continue to provide leverage against the bad actors who have created so much difficulty for the people of Burma, Gardner added.

View the photo gallery:

At the White House on Wednesday, Obama cited Myanmar's "remarkable social and political transformation" as he signaled his administrations readiness to lift those sanctions that can be scrapped without congressional authorization.

Earlier, the president sent a letter to Congress saying the administration is moving to restore trade benefits to Myanmar that were suspended more than two decades ago because of human rights abuses.

The announcement contrasted sharply with a statement issued by the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Bob Corker, who met with Aung San Suu Kyi earlier in the day at Vice President Joe Bidens residence.

While we certainly appreciate the work Aung San Suu Kyi has done to ensure a democratic transition in Burma, I am somewhat appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country, said Corker.



After witnessing her lack of regard for Burmas dismal track record on this issue, I plan to pay very close attention to her governments efforts to prevent innocent human beings from being trafficked and sold into forced labor and sex slavery," Corker said.

Corker has been a leading voice in the Senate against global human trafficking.

Senator Corker and I talked about his conversation [with Aung San Suu Kyi], Cardin said. I followed up on it during our meeting [with her at the Capitol] and got a much more responsive reply in regards to what their [Myanmars] actions are going to be dealing with human trafficking. I was pleased to see that there was a detailed response and the issue was taken very seriously.

Sitting next to Obama Wednesday, Aung San Suu Kyi urged a lifting of U.S. sanctions, saying that unity also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important."

She pleaded for people to visit and invest in the country, saying, I expect businessmen to come to our country to make profits.

Aung San Suu Kyi said she expects Myanmars legislature to pass a new investment law she hopes will be very attractive to countries around the world.

Shes made remarkable progress, said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. Theres a long ways [to go].

Its been truly remarkable to see the changes that have taken hold in Burma in recent years, changes that once seemed literally unattainable, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, in floor remarks before meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

McConnell said challenges remain, however, like addressing much-needed constitutional reform and the militarys disproportionate power in parliament, like ending decades-long conflicts and peaceful reconciliation among ethnic groups, like encouraging economic development.



This was Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to the U.S. as state counselor and foreign minister  a position she assumed after her party's decisive win in last November's elections. The country's military era constitution bars her from holding the title of president because her late husband and children are foreign citizens.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent more than 20 years under house arrest in the country. Her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office is viewed as another clear indication that she is Myanmars de facto civilian leader.

Over the past couple of decades, the White House and Congress have maintained a long list of sanctions on Myanmar, including restrictions on jade and gemstones, and also on businesses linked to the sales of arms and illegal drugs. Obama eased some of those sanctions in 2013.
Tesla Motors is investigating a fatal crash involving one of its vehicles in China in January, the company announced Wednesday.

But it said it has "no way of knowing" the question at the center of the controversy - whether the driver was using the semi-automated autopilot system at the time of the crash.

"Because of the damage caused by the collision, the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers," Tesla said.

23-year-old Gao Yaning was killed while driving a Tesla vehicle in January that hit the back of a road sweeping vehicle on a Chinese highway, China's CCTV news channel reported. An official interviewed in the report said the Autopilot feature was turned on at the time of the crash.

Gao's family filed a lawsuit in a Beijing court against both Tesla and the local dealer that sold Gao the car in July. But Tesla said in the statement that the family had not cooperated with the company's investigation.

"We have tried repeatedly to work with our customer to investigate the cause of the crash, but he has not provided us with any additional information that would allow us to do so," the statement read.

Tesla's driver assist feature continues to come under scrutiny, particularly after a crash in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida killed a 40-year-old occupant in May when Autopilot equipment failed to distinguish the white siding on a tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky.
Two former executives of a Singapore-based defense contractor have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Navy and other offenses.

The U.S. Department of Justice said former Glenn Defense Marine Asia executives Neil Peterson and Linda Raja are accused of submitting false claims totaling more than $5 million to the Navy.

The company's CEO, Leonard "Fat Leonard'' Francis, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to bribing Navy officials with more than $500,000 in cash, prostitutes, luxury hotel stays and other gifts in exchange for classified information.

Peterson and Raja were taken into custody by authorities in Singapore at the request of the U.S. government.

In June, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Gilbeau pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to federal investigators, making him the highest-ranking officer to be convicted in the case. Gilbeau is awaiting sentencing.

Sixteen people, including 11 current or former U.S. Navy officials, have been charged in the investigation, prosecutors said.
When armed conflicts or political instability send people fleeing from countries across the world, children leave behind not only their homes but also in many cases their education.

That is the focus of a new report Thursday from the U.N. refugee agency, which says 3.7 million children under its mandate do not have access to a school.

The situation gets worse as the kids get older, dropping from 50 percent at primary school age to 22 percent at secondary school age. According to U.N. data, 1 percent of refugees go to a university compared to 34 percent of the global population.

"Refugee education is sorely neglected, when it is one of the few opportunities we have to transform and build the next generation so they can change the fortunes of the tens of millions of forcibly displaced people globally," said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.

The challenge of providing refugees with an education is made more difficult by the expanding population and a lack of necessary funding.

According to the U.N., the population of school-age children grew by 30 percent in 2014, a number requiring an extra 20,000 teachers. Host nations that in many cases already struggle to provide basic services for refugees must also find a place to hold classes as well as supplies. Often the kids are behind in their studies after missing several years of school and do not speak the local language.

"As the international community considers how best to deal with the refugee crisis, it is essential that we think beyond basic survival," Grandi said. "Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return."

Refugees from Syria have been a global focus as the conflict there continues in its sixth year and countries from neighboring Turkey to those across Europe have been forced to figure out how to respond to those who have fled the fighting.

The U.N. says there are about 1.7 million Syrian refugees who should be in school, but 900,000 of them are not.

The world body has asked global donors for $4.54 billion this year to aid Syrian refugees. Funding for education makes up $662 million of that request, and as of June the U.N. had collected only 39 percent of that total.

In 2015, the same program saw most of its education funding arrive in the final two months of the year, which the U.N. said hurt the ability of host countries to make effective long-term plans for schooling.

Thursday's report calls for donors to commit to providing predictable, multi-year funding to help those countries better plan for providing teachers and supplies. It also urges the host governments to include refugees in their national education systems instead of alternative schools that cannot be monitored or certified in the same way to ensure their effectiveness.

The report highlights the overall benefits of education, saying it helps kids avoid child labor and recruitment by armed groups, and that not providing schooling only continues cycles of conflict and leads to more people being displaced.

"There is solid evidence that quality education gives children a place of safety and can also reduce child marriage, child labor, exploitative and dangerous work, and teenage pregnancy," the report says.
The fragile three-day-old Syrian cease-fire negotiated by the U.S. and Russia appears increasingly troubled with Moscow accusing Washington of failing to rein in rebel militias, and insurgent commanders saying there is little point to the truce while Syrias president, Bashar al-Assad, continues to block U.N. aid from reaching the besieged city of Aleppo.

On Thursday, a Russian military spokesman accused the U.S. of covering up the actions of rebels it supports in Syria.

"As of the third day (of the truce), only the Syrian army is observing the regime of silence," he said. "At the same time, the 'moderate opposition' led by the U.S. is increasing the amount of attacks on residential districts."

The U.S. State Department also voiced skepticism about Russias level of commitment to the cease-fire, and said more time and effort would be needed to coordinate airstrikes and set up a joint command center.

I don't think that anyone in the U.S. government is necessarily taking at face value Russia's or certainly not the Syrian regime's commitment to this arrangement,'' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Toner, though, also said the only thing that really matters is President Barack Obamas commitment to the deal.

Our system of government works in such a way that everyone follows what the president says, he said.

The immediate source of the dispute is the refusal of rebel factions to withdraw 500 meters from a key route into insurgent-controlled parts of Aleppo, the Castello Road.

But rebel commanders told VOA they wont do so until Syrian army and foreign Shiite militiamen drawn from Iran and other Mideast countries start pulling back too. Rebel anger is mounting about the cease-fire agreement  parts of which have not been published or divulged by Moscow and Washington.

As far as I can see the agreement was written by the Russians, says Zakaria Malahefji, the political officer of Fastaqim Kama Umirt, an Aleppo-based Free Syrian Army militia. He told VOA that the only reason FSA groups and other rebel militias have observed the cease-fire is for aid to get to the people of Aleppo and help civilians who desperately need food and medicines.

Cease-fire meaningless without access to aid

But without humanitarian assistance happening, there is little purpose, as far as the rebels are concerned, for the cease-fire. All it is doing is to strengthen Assad, he says.

The main U.S. motive for pushing for a cease-fire was a humanitarian one and to get aid into Aleppo and to other besieged areas of Syria. Aid agencies as well as the United Nations are ready to supply relief to an estimated six million people inside Syria, including 250,000 trapped in eastern Aleppo.

The cease-fire deal is meant to allow for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to besieged areas.

Speaking to U.S. public broadcaster National Public Radio Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said about the cease-fire deal: What's the alternative? The alternative is to allow us to go from 450,000 people who've been slaughtered to how many thousands more? That Aleppo gets completely overrun? That the Russians and Assad simply bomb indiscriminately for days to come, and we sit there and do nothing?

But as of Thursday, U.N. aid trucks have not been given the go-ahead by the Assad regime to enter northern Syria from Turkey. More than 20 trucks laden with food and medicine have been on the border between Turkey and Syria waiting for clearance from Damascus, which insists all aid must be approved first before crossing into the country.

UN envoy blames Damascus for delay

U.N. Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, who says hundreds of trucks are ready to be loaded with aid, blamed Damascus for the delay  a hold-up thats endangering the whole truce. He says the U.N. has not yet received facilitation letters from Damascus that would allow aid deliveries to begin.

He also says the dispute over the Castello Road is complicating the aid issue. De Mistura says the blocking of aid is a clear breach of the cease-fire agreement. But despite the problems, the envoy told reporters that the Russian-American agreement is and remains a potential game-changer and has produced a reduction of violence, adding that by and large it is holding and is, in fact, substantial.

Under the agreement struck between Washington and Moscow the warring sides are meant to step back from the Castello Road. Two checkpoints are then meant to be established on the road overseen by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and with security provided by Russian soldiers.

Rebels say they are not comfortable with giving up territory they have fought so hard to keep and which has seen considerable loss of rebel lives.

There is fear because the regime exploits every opportunity, Malahefji said.

Overall, the cease-fire has broadly held since coming into effect on Monday evening when the major three-day Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, started. Both rebels and the regime have accused each other of violating the truce.

But monitoring groups have not reported civilian deaths since the cessation of hostilities went into effect  except in territory controlled by the jihadist Islamic State group, which is not covered by the cease-fire deal.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 23 civilians, including nine children, were killed in an airstrike in the IS-held town of Mayadeen. It is unclear whether the strike was carried out by the Russians, the Syrian Air Force or the U.S.-led coalition.

Despite the flare-ups of tensions, de Mistura said that by and large, the truce is holding. He did, however warn that authorization from Damascus for aid trucks to enter Aleppo is something that needs to happen immediately.
A northern Virginia congressman is calling on the Egyptian government to release a prisoner whose arrest two years ago has drawn condemnation from human rights groups.

Aya Hijazi grew up in the Washington suburb of Falls Church, Virginia, and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Egypt. She had been running a foundation in Egypt dedicated to helping street children when she and her husband were arrested in 2014.

Democratic congressman Don Beyer will meet with Hijazi's family Thursday on Capitol Hill, to be followed by an afternoon news conference. Fellow Democratic congressman Gerry Connolly will join him.

Egyptian authorities accuse Hijazi and her husband of using their foundation to exploit children, but the trial has been delayed multiple times. Human rights groups have said the charges are trumped up and part of a crackdown by Egypt's government on civil society there.

In May, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization petitioned the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to investigate what it called the "unjustified" pretrial detention of Hijazi, along with her husband and foundation co-founder, Mohamed Hassanein Mostafa Fathallah. It said Hijazi "has been subject to coercive in interrogation techniques," including hitting her in the neck, "and may be subject to further grave violations during her ongoing detention."

VOA contributed to this report.
As the United States prepares to mark 15 years since the start of the U.S.-led offensive in Afghanistan next month (October 7), American lawmakers are questioning the continuing military and humanitarian spending aimed at trying to end the war and stabilize the government.

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expressed concerns over the progress of the war, and the effectiveness of programs aimed at rooting out corruption.

Richard Olson, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. State Department, said the U.S. gives Afghanistan about $5 billion per year - $4 billion in support of the Afghan national security defense forces and roughly another billion in the form of civilian assistance.

But Senator Corker of Tennessee expressed his concern that year after year, the U.S. continues to spend similar amounts of money in Afghanistan - the fruits of which may not be immediately seen by the American people.

"They (U.S. people) weigh $10 billion a year ad infinitumhow would you express the value of this to Americans?" he asked the panel.

Donald Sampler Jr., assistant to the administrator of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at USAID, stressed the importance of ensuring order and a certain threshold of quality of life.

"Overlaying that with our national security interests, coming from a military background, ungoverned spaces are the worst [possible thing we could allow to reemerge," Sampler said. "So supporting the government of Afghanistan and supporting their ability to govern their own space and doing that proactively to prevent insurgencies rather than having to counter them is in my opinion a good investment."

Senators also discussed concerns that the Islamic State terror group's influence is growing in the region, through its Afghan affiliate known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP).

"We believe that they have a few thousand fighters 1,500 to 2,500 mostly concentrated in the Nangarhar Province in the east," Olson said. "They are actively being fought against by the government of Afghanistan and of course our own forces are carrying out airstrikes against them."

But Olson clarified that the Taliban and Islamic State are not working together in Afghanistan, but instead oppose each other as the Taliban focuses its objectives domestically and Islamic State has a global agenda.

Although the United States has dramatically scaled back the number of American troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. remains deeply involved.

Obama requested $3.45 billion in the 2017 budget to help fund Afghan security forces. He recommended that his successor maintain funding at that level through 2020. U.S. military trainers continue to advise Afghan forces, and U.S. warplanes carry out strikes to help Afghan units fighting on the ground.
For Pentagon officers who cut their teeth during the Cold War, the prospect of U.S. battlefield cooperation with Russia in Syria is not only uncomfortable. It's also unprecedented.

Against that background, the reactions of U.S. military officials range from caution to outright skepticism over a Geneva-based "joint integration center" that may soon bring together American and Russian militaries to discuss shared targets for the first time since World War II.

"There are challenges with this. There is a trust deficit with the Russians," acknowledged General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, even as he voiced support for the initiative at a forum on Wednesday.

U.S. officials past and present voiced concerns about the initiative, underscoring the Pentagon's long-public criticism about the way Russia had been waging war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and over Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Fraught with risks

Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense who specialized in Russia, warned of dangers ahead.

"Conducting joint operations with the Russian military is fraught with political, military and potentially legal risk," Farkas told Reuters.

Under the deal, the United States and Russia are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not party to the truce. If the truce holds, coordination could even start on Monday.

At that point, Russia and the United States could, in theory, gradually begin using the joint integration center to share targeting information.

Officials stress the Geneva-based JIC would not be similar to JOCs, the joint operation centers typical in war zones, like Iraq, replete with classified computer systems and giant television screens that show live feeds from armed drones carrying out strikes.

U.S. intelligence officials also have voiced concerns about sharing precise information on the positions of U.S.-backed rebel forces, given that Russia has targeted them in the past.

"The Russians aren't using precision-guided munitions in Syria, which gives them a perfect excuse to say, 'Sorry, we weren't aiming at your guys'," said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Civilian casualties

Working with Russia on targeting could risk linking Washington to any Russian misconduct.

Other U.S. officials publicly sought to play down those concerns this week, with one Obama administration official saying: "While we may share information on that threat, Russia remains fully responsible for the conduct of its operations."

There also is a legal hurdle. U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Ash Carter would need to issue a waiver to a U.S. law that puts strict limitations on U.S. military cooperation with Russia.

Carter, a fierce critic of Moscow, was skeptical of military coordination with Russia during internal Obama administration discussions. He has publicly backed the agreement and said on Wednesday the cease-fire, if implemented, would ease suffering.

"We in the Defense Department will play whatever role we have [in the process] with our accustomed excellence," he said.

Advocates for the initiative say the international community has run out of good choices in Syria's war, in which more than 400,000 people have died and more than 11 million people have been displaced.

"This whole war is the search for the least bad options," sad Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former supreme commander of NATO, supported the effort, even though he was not optimistic.

"The odds are low of this working out, given competing if not opposing [agendas]. But it is worth a try given the dire humanitarian situation," Stavridis told Reuters.
The U.S. government imposed sanctions Thursday on two men identified as financial facilitators for the Islamic State group.

Mohamad Alsaied Alhmidan and Hussam Jamous, both based in Turkey, have been designated by the U.S. Treasury Department. The action makes their property and interests in property subject to U.S. legal judgments, and they cannot engage in transactions with anyone in the U.S.

The Treasury says Alhmidan facilitated the movement of tens of thousands of dollars and foreign fighters, and provided logistical support to Islamic State.

Jamous was also allegedly involved in the movement of foreign fighters, and served as a financial intermediary for Islamic State members.

"Today's action marks the latest step in Treasury's efforts to cut off ISIL's finances and underscores that ISIL financial facilitators are not beyond the reach of the international campaign to defeat ISIL," a Treasury statement released Thursday said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

The two join a long list of Islamic State members who have been sanctioned for their roles in facilitating funds sent to the terror group over the past year.
Republican lawmakers are asking Attorney General Brad Schimel to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the source of leaked documents from the John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and groups that supported him.

A set of 1,500 documents, some previously published and some seen for the first time Wednesday, was leaked to the Guardian U.S., which reported on them this week.

The documents show multiple instances of Walker soliciting contributions from wealthy donors not for his campaign, but for Wisconsin Club for Growth, a conservative group that supported him during his 2012 recall campaign.

In a letter sent to Schimel on Thursday, three Assembly Republicans called for a special prosecutor to be appointed.

"We believe this potential crime is of statewide nature, importance, and influence, and within your power to investigate," wrote Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke and Joint Finance Committee co-chairman Rep. John Nygren. "Should this potential crime go unprosecuted it runs the risk of undermining the integrity of our courts and judicial system."

The document leak violates both state law and a secrecy order from the state Supreme Court. In a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said he supports any effort to determine the source of the leak.

Chisholm, a Democrat who launched the John Doe probe in 2012, has also criticized previous leaks to the Wall Street Journal.

In a 4-2 ruling last summer, the state Supreme Court ordered an end to the John Doe investigation. Prosecutors have since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that ruling, arguing some of the justices who ruled in favor of shutting down the probe should have recused themselves since they had received donations from the groups being investigated.

The Supreme Court is expected to consider the petition within the next few weeks.

Schimel, a Republican elected in 2014, said he is "very concerned about the apparent violation of the secrecy orders issued by the court in this case."

The attorney general is "currently reviewing available options to address serious legal questions raised by the leak and publication of these sealed documents," his office said.
The United States pulled its ambassador from Myanmar in 1990 after the military refused to cede power to a civilian government. U.S. sanctions were imposed in 1997 and have been in place in some form ever since. Here is a look at those sanctions:

What prompted the sanctions?

The diplomatic rift between Burma and the United States began after mass protests over economic mismanagement in 1988 led the military to suppress the protests and launch a coup. In September of that year, the military established the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and the following year changed the country's official name to Myanmar.

As the SLORC had promised, on May 27, 1990, Burma held general elections for the first time since 1960. Political activist Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of the 492 parliamentary seats. But the SLORC refused to recognize the election results.

The move prompted the U.S. to cut off economic aid and military assistance to Myanmar and downgrade diplomatic relations.

What were the sanctions?

In 1997, the U.S. government prohibited new investment in Myanmar by U.S. persons or entities. A number of U.S. companies exited the Burma market, even prior to the imposition of sanctions, due to a worsening business climate and mounting criticism from human rights groups, consumers and shareholders.

In 2003, a government-sponsored mob attacked an NLD convoy in central Myanmar and killed at least 70 people. U.S. President George W. Bush imposed new sanctions, banning the import of products from Myanmar and the export of financial services, placing a freeze on the assets of certain Burmese financial institutions, and extending visa restrictions on Burmese officials.

In 2007-2008, Bush announced a new Executive Order expanding the authority to block assets to individuals who are responsible for human rights abuses and public corruption, as well as those who provide material and financial support to the regime.

In addition, due to its particularly severe violations of religious freedom, the United States designated Myanmar a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. Myanmar also is designated a Tier 3 Country in the Trafficking in Persons Report for its use of forced labor, and is subject to additional sanctions as a result.

What has changed?

In late 2011, Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Myanmar since 1955. Clinton met with President Thein Sein, the former general whose government had begun to undertake a series of political reforms. She also met with democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.

In January 2012, Clinton announced the U.S. would exchange ambassadors with Myanmar after the release of several political prisoners. In July, Derek Mitchell became the first U.S. ambassador to Myanmar in 22 years. Washington also began easing sanctions after the military junta began ceding power to civilian rule. Since then, Myanmar has taken steady steps toward political liberalization that eventually led to elections in November of last year, which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won.

What is next?

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the United States is prepared to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar. When asked about the timeline for lifting the remaining sanctions, Obama replied, "Soon."

Officials say "some" U.S. sanctions will remain in place for the time being, but it is not yet clear which ones.
Members of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) have been attending the 2017 National Budget Consultation meetings held this week in a bid to influence government spending priorities both in their localities and at a national level.

According to ZimRights, the organization has been encouraging citizen participation in democratic processes through its community work in a bid to further human rights protection.

The budget consultations kicked off on Monday as members of the parliamentary portfolio committees on Finance and Economic Development, Mines Energy and Lands, Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development solicited views from the public.

At a meeting held at Mucheke Hall in Masvingo on Monday afternoon, ZimRights said residents pointed out that the government should look into the recapitalization of collapsed industries such as the Cold Storage Commission.

The residents also asked government to finalize the construction of Tokwe Murkosi Dam which is expected to revitalize the arid region with irrigation opportunities and recreation.

ZimRights noted that cotton farmers asked for more support and there was also a call upon government to support cattle farming in the province and investment in modern irrigation equipment.

In Harare, the consultations were held yesterday at Cresta Jameson Hotel where citizens asked the government to look into its investment policies in a bid to have many investors in order to help grow its tax base.

A cross-cutting theme in the consultations was the suggestion that government should merge ministries to cut public expenditure.
In the covert war in Syria, they now reveal their hands. After mortar projectiles and missiles struck the centre of Damascus that killed several civilians, Abu Omar, the rebel commander claimed responsibility for the action and declared yesterday (26 March 2013) to the New York Times that Rebel groups around Damascus have been given a boost by new supplies of arms through Jordan with US help. [1]. An inquiry by the same newspaper confirms what we have been writing for some months in the Manifesto: that the CIA has organized an international network, through which an increasing flow of weapons reaches the Syrian rebels [2].

From the relevant operational centres, CIA agents provide funding for purchasing arms (in the order of billions of dollars). Much of this funding comes from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf Monarchies. Then they organize for weapons to be transported to Turkey and Jordan by an air lift; then they ensure their passage across the border into the hands of groups in Syria, already trained in camps set up for this purpose on Turkish and Jordanian territories.

From the time the operation was initiated in January 2012, at least 3,500 tonnes of arms have been transported by the airlift, according to an estimate by default. The first flights were made with C-130 military airplanes for transport, from Qatar to Turkey. From April 2012, the following have been used: the gigantic C-17 air cargos, supplied by the USA to Qatar, that shuttle between the base at Al-Udeid and the Turkish base at Esenboga. A detail that cannot be disregarded: the Qatar airbase of Al Udeid hosts the advanced headquarters of the US Central Command, staffed by more than 10,000 soldiers and functioning as a hub for all Middle-Eastern operations. Its warehouses store all types of arms, including of course those not made in the USA, more suitable for covert operations. Since October 2012, Jordanian C-130 airplanes have been grounded at the Turkish base in Esenboga, to load arms to be transported to Amman for the Syrian rebels.

At the same time, Jordan cargo airplanes have begun to shuttle between Zagabria, transporting to Amman weapons of the Croatian arsenal purchased with Saudi funding. For these operations, gigantic Ilyushin airplanes of Jordanian International Air Cargo are used. From February 2013, in addition to the flights of Qatari and Jordanian cargo airplanes, Saudi C-130 airplanes are flying that land in the Turkish airbase of Esenboga.

Despite denials from Zagabria, the inquiry has comprehensively reported on Croatias involvement in this international arms trafficking, directed by the CIA. A meritorious act for Croatia that, for its role in the disintegration of Yugoslavia, was conferred the honour of being admitted to Nato in 2009. Now, Washington considers Croatia deserves further honours on account of its participation in the operation to break up Syria. And this on the eve of its admission to the EU when in July 2013, it will become the EUs 28th member state. Thus Croatia will be able to sing in unison with the European Union which, while stepping up the arms embargo on the Syrian government, expresses its desire to reach a political solution that bring to an end the massacre and that authorizes the supply of humanitarian aid quickly and effectively, paying particular attention to children.
During the past two years, a sense of gloom has taken over my country, as pride in Israels accomplishments and self-confidence grounded in reality have given way to fear-mongering, victimhood and internal quarrels.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enabled a militant, nationalist minority to carry out a hostile takeover of his party, Likud; to form a majority in his cabinet; and thus to hijack our national agenda in the service of a messianic drive toward, as its often put, a single Jewish state, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. This overarching ambition is bound to culminate in either a single, binational state, which, within a generation, may have a Jewish minority and likely a Bosnia-like civil war, or else an apartheid reality if Palestinian residents are deprived of the right to vote. Both spell doom for the Zionist dream.

Netanyahus reckless conduct has also undermined Israels security. Israel has reached a new military-aid agreement for the next decade with the United States. The damage produced by Netanyahus irresponsible management of the relations with the White House is now fully manifest. Israel will receive $3.8 billion a year  an important contribution to our security but far less than what could have been obtained before the prime minister chose to blatantly interfere with U.S. politics. Moreover, given the more than 20 percent cumulative rise in the cost of arms since the last 10-year agreement entered into force (in 2007), the newly agreed-upon amount represents no greater purchasing power  and even these funds will be conditioned on Israel refraining from requesting additional funding from Congress. Accentuating the degree of mistrust, according to new details reported Wednesday, the administration secured an Israeli written commitment to return any additional money that Congress might provide. In the past, Congress has added  with White House consent  $600 million to $700 million every year for Iron Dome and other defense systems.

Additionally, Israel will have to accept a gradual reduction of more than $750 million a year in funds for our defense industries. Consequently, either vital security projects will be canceled or the same amount will be reduced from important domestic programs.

Expressing our opposition to the Iran nuclear deal was certainly legitimate. But instead of holding a candid dialogue behind closed doors with President Obama, Netanyahu went behind his back to deliver a speech to Congress, shaking the foundations of bipartisan support for Israel and dividing Jewish opinion.

Likewise at home, Netanyahu has consistently nourished fear of existential threats and unleashed ghosts of enemies from within, when domestic realities called for unity and confidence and regional developments required a sober assessment and steady hand.

The Middle East is a tough neighborhood. Hezbollah, Hamas, the Islamic State and a more potent Iran are not imaginary adversaries. Yet as a former prime minister, defense minister and Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, I state unequivocally: While never to be taken lightly, none of these forces constitutes an existential threat.

Despite seven wars, two intifadas and a host of military operations, Israel has emerged as the most successful nation-building project of the 20th century: powerful scientifically, economically and militarily, with a vibrant culture. What made this possible is sorely lacking today: a vision that unifies; an action plan that is realistic; and bold, far-sighted leadership that navigates both while holding a compass, not a weather vane. Israel needs a policy that restores credibility to our relations with Washington; prioritizes the unity of the people over the unity of the land; enhances security via cooperation with like-minded nations; and promotes democratic values rather than messianic visions.

Our people need a policy that does not seek shelter in arguing over the availability of a Palestinian partner but rather takes the initiative by implementing the Security First plan recently presented by more than 200 of Israels most respected former top commanders. The plan would bolster our security while preserving the two-state option and prospects for regional cooperation.
Looking Ahead

The Missouri Contemporary Ballet wrapped up its 10th season in June, and it's already gearing up for its 11th, Jones says.

The upcoming season will carry the theme of a solar eclipse that's set to happen next August. Executive Director Karen Grundy has been working with an astronomer to learn more about the eclipse.

The 11 Stances

Fall show: November 2016

TBD

Spring show: April / May 2017

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Summer show: June 2017
Photo: Vera Anderson/WireImage

Bill Murray has long had the worn but perpetually unfazed face of a man to whom you reveal all of your most sacred secrets, and now hes got the vocation to match. This weekend, Murray will play barkeep at 21 Greenpoint, a new Brooklyn bar, making for the rare occasion when you think you see a famous older white dude in the wild and it is in fact that famous older white dude and not just, you know, a person. Murrays drink-slinging comes courtesy of good ol nepotism, as one of 21 Greenpoints owners just so happens to be Homer Murray, Bills son. So now that you know that Bill Murray will be at 21 Greenpoint on September 16 and 17 (his shift starts at 7 p.m. sharp), that totally random and spontaneous Bill Murray run-in of yours isnt going to meticulously plan itself.
Photo: Amazon/ABC Press/HBO

The 68th Emmy Awards air Sunday, September 18, and all this week, Vulture TV columnist Jen Chaney and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz are breaking down the major categories. What will win? What actually should win? Thats what were here to determine.

Todays focus: comedy. (Read our picks and predictions for variety series and limited series.)



Outstanding Comedy Series

Black-ish (ABC)

Master of None (Netflix)

Modern Family (ABC)

Silicon Valley (HBO)

Transparent (Amazon)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

Veep (HBO)

Stop and look at the wonderful mix that is this list of nominees. Youve got a family sitcom that reinvigorates the genre by running everything through the complex filter that is the African-American experience; an indie rom-com infused with the perspective of a 30-something son of Indian immigrants; a sharp look at tech start-up culture and critique of corporate American absurdity; the story of a transgender womans transition and its impact on one family, told with enormous humanity; an uproarious, joke-a-minute comedy about New York City oddballs thats also an insightful exploration of denial and post-traumatic stress syndrome; and a gloriously acidic political satire that also raises some valid, timely questions about the double standards faced by female leaders. Also, Modern Family is nominated.

You know what? Im not going to bust on Modern Family. If you havent watched it in a while  and if you havent, brace yourself, because Luke is basically 32 now  I am here to tell you that, while it is not reinventing any wheels, it is still an often funny show that hits its marks as cleanly as an Olympic gymnast. The reason I dont think it needs a sixth Outstanding Comedy Emmy is because it doesnt feel like its doing or saying anything fresh to the degree it was six years ago. Right now TV comedy is operating at such a high level that being reliably funny isnt enough. Being an Olympic gymnast is great. But to win the Emmy, you need to be Simone Biles.

Who comes closest to being a Biles? The Final Five, for me, are Transparent (which, more than the others, could credibly compete in the Outstanding Drama category); Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which speeds through its verbal volleys at such high velocity, it demands immediate rewinding; Silicon Valley, which, while tech-focused, captures universal truths about corporate miscommunication; Black-ish, which tackled urgent social issues this season without sacrificing its heart or humor; and Veep, a series that rebounded from the departure of its creator, Armando Iannucci, with even more vim in its step and profanities on its tongue.

Transparent could sneak in there for the win, but I think the Emmy will most likely go to either Black-ish or Veep. For reasons outlined in this piece, I would love to see Black-ish win; its a great show in a traditional genre that illustrates the degree to which diverse perspectives and a sense of daring can make a traditional genre seem radical. Hope, the episode that deals directly with police brutality and Black Lives Matter, will probably be part of a Smithsonian exhibit someday.

But I come back to a key question  Which of these wowed me most consistently?  and theres only one answer that feels fully right: Veep. The all-around strength of the cast, the jaw-dropping ways in which story lines interconnect, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss performance, which, five seasons in, finds new ways to astonish me: Its an excellent comedy that still found ways to surprise this season. Mother, the episode in which Selina Meyer confronts her moms passing while dealing with the seesawing developments in the election recount, actually made me cry. Theres lots of profanity and Jonah being a douchebag in Veep, but there is not supposed to be crying!

I hate when Emmy voters repeat themselves. But even though Veep won this last year, I still think its the one that should have a gold medal placed around its neck.

The Emmy should go to: Veep.

The Emmy will go to: Veep.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Aziz Ansari, Master of None

Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth

William H. Macy, Shameless

Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Ansari had to convince viewers to forget he was ever Tom Haverford and embrace him as Dev, and he did that impressively well. Both Forte and Macy play, in very different contexts, unlikable characters and manage to make them empathetic without softening their coarser, uglier tendencies. Middleditch is an awkward, stammering, often naive mess of a tech geek, but every season he uncovers previously excavated evidence of Richards intelligence and fortitude.

But, in the end, this comes down to two actors who, separately and together, represent the past and future of TV comedy acting: Jeffrey Tambor, a revered veteran who won last year and continues to do revelatory work on an unconventional streaming series, and Anthony Anderson, a longtime comic who anchors the antics on a show that takes one of the oldest genres in the medium to another level.

Tambors role is the more actorly of the two, and one that he infuses with enormous nuance; the way he registers Mauras shock, fear, and resentment when she realizes trans women arent welcome at the Idyllwild Wimmins Festival in the episode Man on Land is just one example of Tambor knowing exactly how to calibrate his performance. Anderson also demonstrates great range and versatility in a way that looks deceptively easy. He digs unabashedly into broad, comedic moments  say, shouting Save me, Black Jesus! while nearly drowning in the neighbors swimming pool  but is just as effective in the quieter ones. The Hope episode I mentioned earlier would not have worked nearly as well if Anderson had not understood just how to ground its key, bringing-the-family-together moment.

So who gets the Emmy? Since Tambor won last year and since, in some ways, Transparent felt more like an ensemble piece this season than last, Im going to say 

The Emmy should go to: Anthony Anderson. In addition to all the other reasons I mentioned, a win for him would be the first one for an African-American in this category in more than 30 years. And that would be awesome to see, especially if Black-ish gets Veep-ed in its other major categories.

The Emmy will go to: I have a feeling Jeffrey Tambor will win again. And Emmy voters would not be wrong to go with him; his performance really is wonderful.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Laurie Metcalf, Getting On

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer

Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Can anyone beat Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who, with a sixth victory, will become the actress with the all-time most Emmy wins in this category? Ill save us a little time here and say: No. No one can.

Schumer is a gifted comedian, but she doesnt shine as much in this season of Inside Amy Schumer. She cant take down JLD. Lily Tomlin is a national treasure, but the sometimes formulaic nature of Grace and Frankie doesnt push her performance into terribly unexpected places. She, too, seems unlikely to beat JLD. Laurie Metcalf is sensational on Getting On, a show I am betting most Emmy voters never got around to watching, and Ellie Kemper uncovered new dimension in Kimmy this season, showing just how much her perkiness functions as a coping mechanism. I still dont think they have a shot against JLD.

If anyone does, its probably Tracee Ellis Ross, who serves as the ideal foil for Anderson on Black-ish, proving that, unlike the usual practical sitcom moms who tut-tut at their husbands, Bow can crank up the crazy just as high as Dre can. Shes great. I still dont think she can knock Louis-Dreyfus out of her Emmy-winning seat.

As Selina, Louis-Dreyfus is constantly vacillating between her public and personal faces to a degree that is dizzying. This season, particularly in the aforementioned Mother episode, she also slides up and down the emotional spectrum  from grief, to confusion over her grief, to elation over some positive professional news, then back to grief again  within mere seconds in a way that immediately made me go, She just won another Emmy. Louis-Dreyfus has always been fabulous on Veep. This season featured the best work shes ever done. When you consider that she also was portraying the first female president against the real-world backdrop of Hillary Clintons presidential run, youve also got a timeliness factor that surely will work in her favor.

The Emmy should go to: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The Emmy will go to: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Louie Anderson, Baskets

Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Tony Hale, Veep

Keegan-Michael Key, Key and Peele

Mike Walsh, Veep

Man, this category is stacked. Burrell and Hale are still giving solid performances, but theyve both won before, and the recent seasons of their respective shows werent particular standouts for their characters. I continue to love Burgesss energetic performance on Kimmy Schmidt, though this was a series-best turn for Veeps Walsh, and I avow that Braugher is the best straight man/gay cop on television. Still, the strongest Emmy cases can be made for Anderson and Key.

As Christine Baskets, mother to not just one but two versions of Zach Galifianakis on Baskets, Anderson does something that sounds dicey on paper: He plays a woman, full stop. But theres nothing campy about this performance; within seconds, you forget youre watching a guy in drag. Then theres Key, who has been a dazzling sketch-comedy shapeshifter on Key and Peele for five seasons. On one hand, it feels wrong to recognize Key sans Peele here; on the other, hes been one of the most hilarious, magnetic dudes on TV for several years. So 

The Emmy should go to: Keegan-Michael Key. Just the way he says terries deserves a trophy. Plus, with Baskets getting a season two, Anderson should get another chance at victory next year while, at least for his Key and Peele work, this is Keys last chance.

The Emmy will go to: Louie Anderson. That he dares to take on this role, and does it so convincingly, will probably convince Emmy voters they simply cant wait a year to give him the award.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent

Allison Janney, Mom

Judith Light, Transparent

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Niecy Nash, Getting On

Janney has won this thing two years in a row, and theres a good chance she could win it a third. Which is fine; shes a great actress, and on Mom she takes a character in a Chuck Lorre sitcom and makes her a flawed, authentic human. In the interest of spreading the love around, though, it would be nice to see someone new win this. Both of the nominated ladies of Transparent are worthy; Hoffmanns character grappled with her sexuality this season with a curiosity and confusion that felt truthful, and Lights portrayal of Shelly is thoroughly lived-in and emotionally affecting. What mostly resonates in their performances are the dramatic elements, and that may steer Emmy voters toward acting thats more traditionally comedic. Same goes for Nash, whose work on Getting On shows just how versatile she is  I am not sure what the exact polar opposite of Nashs performance on Scream Queens is, but it may be what she did on Getting On  but is striking for being so different from her more overtly laugh-seeking work.

Personally, Id like to see either four-time nominee Anna Chlumsky or three-time nominee Kate McKinnon win this. Chlumsky continues to let reserves of regret and vulnerability poke through Amys sarcastic, cynical surface on Veep, while McKinnon is the SNL rock star who takes otherwise eh sketches and infuses them with unexpected life and lunacy.

The Emmy should go to: Either Anna Chlumsky or Kate McKinnon. Im leaning a little more toward Chlumsky, but, honestly, both of them deserve it.

The Emmy will go to: Allison Janney.

Outstanding Writing

Catastrophe, Episode One, Written by Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan

Master of None, Parents, Written by Aziz Ansari

Silicon Valley, Founder Friendly, Written by Dan OKeefe

Silicon Valley, The Uptick, Written by Alec Berg

Veep, Morning After, Written by David Mandel

Veep, Mother, Written by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck

I adore Catastrophe and thought Parents was a standout episode of Master of None. But the braiding of plotlines, past history, jokes, and varying emotions in Silicon Valleys The Uptick, the third season finale, and Veeps Mother were too masterfully handled to ignore. I give Mother the edge since it was probably the most extraordinary half-hour of comedy I saw last year.

The Emmy should go to: Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck for Veeps Mother.

The Emmy will go to: Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck for Veeps Mother.

Outstanding Directing

Master of None, Parents, Directed by Aziz Ansari

Silicon Valley, Founder Friendly, Directed by Mike Judge

Silicon Valley, Daily Active Users, Directed by Alec Berg

Transparent, Man on the Land, Directed by Jill Soloway

Veep, Morning After, Directed by Chris Addison

Veep, Mother, Directed by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck

All of these are great episodes of television. But the one I immediately remember from a visual standpoint  the one that evoked a setting so effectively it almost felt like I went to the Idyllwild Wimmins Festival myself  is the Man on the Land episode of Transparent.

The Emmy should go to: Jill Soloway for Transparent, Man on the Land.

The Emmy will go to: Jill Soloway for Transparent, Man on the Land. She won in this category last year, and I will not be shocked to see her do so again for a second.
Nearly three decades ago, Harry Connick Jr. was a brash young pianist from New Orleans who shot to fame with his hit soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally. Today, after countless tours, records, acting roles, and an American Idol judging gig, Connick Jr. is undertaking what is arguably his riskiest job yet: host of an eponymous daytime talk show, Harry. Connick Jr. spoke with Vulture about the shows spontaneous vibe, why he thinks its crucial to celebrate everyday people, why musicians make natural actors, and the one show hes had time to binge this year.

How does this show fill a particular void in the crowded landscape of daytime TV?

Well, we wanted to just make a show first, before we wanted to make a daytime show. Just a really great hour of TV. And the opportunity arose for it to air in daytime and we were lucky enough to sell it to 100 percent of the country. Its very spontaneous and built around all the things that I love. So it wasnt about taking an existing format and plugging me into it. Being the host and bandleader, I have to say I have a lot of flexibility!

Who do you see as your target demo?

I know there are a lot of ad dollars that target certain demos. But to be perfectly honest, I just want to put on the best show that I can without thinking about that. This way we can potentially appeal to a wider variety of people: old and young, male and female, gay and straight, and so on. I dont get too caught up in the demo stuff because there are a lot other people who make their living doing all that. [Laughs.]

Youve had a star-filled first week with guests like your pal Sandra Bullock and Empire star Terrence Howard, but I know youre also planning to do a lot of segments that feature regular folks. How will those work?

Theres a segment called I Got This. Weve filmed about ten so far all over the country. The producers find someone who needs a helping hand. They dont tell them that Im coming over  only that someones coming over to do a TV piece on them. And then I show up! And by the way, I dont know where Im going either. So we send them off to the spa and I say, I got this. And I take over their life for a day and do their job whatever it is  whether in a nail salon or serving ice cream. It gives them a chance to have a little bit of a break and feel special.

I bet youve had some tearjerker moments.

Its been incredible. Every single one of these people is unforgettable. And they are a reminder to me and everyone else that this country is just chock-full of really good, decent people who work really, really hard and are just trying to get through the day. I love the opportunity to live in their shoes.

Do you have any dream guests?

I think itd be pretty cool to have Dick Van Dyke on the show. Isnt he amazing?

What did you learn from American Idol about the dos and donts of a family-friendly variety show?

There are certain ground rules: You have to have a creative, intelligent, and dedicated staff, and you need a host who cares. Idol had that in Ryan [Seacrest]. I really loved being there. But our show is so different from Idol, its kind of apples and oranges.

So, just be good is the goal?

[Laughs.] You know what? That is the bottom line. If youre good, whether or not youre successful, at least you can sleep at night knowing you have a good product.

Youve been a performer since you were 5, and famous since you broke out with the soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally in the late 1980s. When fans engage with you, what are the most likely to reference?

It depends how old they are! Some know me for making jazz records. Some may know me just from American Idol. Some remember me as Leo from Will & Grace, or the doctor in the movie A Dolphin Tale. Everybody has a different perspective and its a reminder that Ive had so many different ways to express myself. Its pretty cool.

Its hard to believe its been 26 years since you debuted as an actor in Memphis Belle.

Oh, yeah, man, its been a while.

Do you have plans to act again?

Oh sure, man. I love acting. Definitely. Just too busy right now, sadly.

Why do you think musicians are often such natural actors? It goes the other direction too, but many big contemporary artists are appearing in this years high-profile films, like John Legend in La La Land and Janelle Monae in Moonlight and Hidden Figures.

Yeah, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesnt. [Laughs.] I think actors and musicians both enjoy pulling back the layers of things and theyre always learning.

And maybe theres an ingrained willingness to be fearless.

Yeah, absolutely. Taking risks is a huge part of it.

What shows do you like to watch in those rare moments when you arent working, whether as a family or on your own?

We dont sit down very often as a family to watch TV because everybodys so busy with homework and activities. I think [wife] Jill [Goodacre] and I most recently binged How to Get Away with Murder, but for the last few months Ive been so busy with the show, I havent had a whole lotta chance to watch TV.

So you have a lot to binge if you dont want to fake your way through all those interviews.

Youre right about that!

This interview has been edited and condensed.
Wed also like the Kremlins take on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Photo: Jurgen Olczyk

The Russian government, which is responsible for roughly 143.5 million inhabitants and also likes to suggest movies you might enjoy, has issued a rave review of Oliver Stones Edward Snowden biopic, Snowden. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised the film, which opens in Russia today, calling it top quality. [It has] a brilliant script, and, what is most important, it is nearly a documentary, Peskov said, doing his best to push up the films Rotten Tomatoes rating. This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn what actually happened. Its a must-see. According to a report from Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the Russian cut of Snowden also includes four extra minutes of footage, though the content of those minutes hasnt been revealed. Maybe its a bit of praise for Putin, maybe its an apperance from Russias own Leo doppelganger, but its certainly not a cameo from the cast of Bad Moms, as that film is not Russia-approved.
Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

The 2016 Emmy race is under way, and Vulture will take a close look at the contenders until the awards on September 18.

If youre at all familiar with British television, Olivia Colman needs no introduction  the actress has been seamlessly shifting between roles in comedy (Peep Show, Rev.) and drama (Broadchurch, Accused) for well over a decade, in addition to a steady stream of film work. But this summer, Colman became more familiar to U.S. audiences with her Emmy-nominated, nuanced portrayal of Angela Burr in an adaptation of John le Carres The Night Manager  airing on AMC  as an intelligence officer who teams up with Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) to take down a notorious international arms dealer. And before the awards on Sunday, her newest show, the darkly comedic Fleabag, will also debut on Amazon, in which she plays a godmother with a vicious streak a mile wide. Earlier this week, Vulture called Colman while she was filming season three of Broadchurch to discuss the two roles, what its like when a show she stars in gets an American remake, and her Marvel aspirations.

Congratulations on your Emmy nomination! How did you celebrate?

Thank you very much! Ive been filming, so I havent had much time to celebrate, to be honest. It hasnt really sunk in. Its incredibly exciting, I still cant believe it. Im flying in on Saturday, and show is on Sunday, and I fly back on Monday because Im filming again on Tuesday. Im quite nervous, I might be quite drunk when I get to the ceremony.

When we spoke with Susanne Bier earlier this year, she said she immediately thought of you when the character of Burr was changed to a woman. When she approached you, what conversations did you two have about the direction you wanted to take the character?

Awww, I didnt know that Susanne thought of me straight away! Thats lovely. I met her during auditions and a meeting for the role, and I was just so thrilled to be meeting her and to be considered for the part. I personally didnt have much involvement with where the part went, because Burr had been established in everyones thoughts as a man. It metamorphosed itself, in a way. When they knew it was a woman it became quite obvious the sort of things she would say, and do, and who she was. Id flatter myself into thinking I had any involvement in where it went after that. [Laughs.]

Burr is definitely the moral compass of the series. Besides bringing down Roper, what else motivates her?

People hurting other people is unacceptable, and I love the fact that she wont turn a blind eye; she wont have it. She genuinely wants to make the world a better place. Shes the sort of person we should all aspire to be. I love her, and she wont take the bullshit. Shes a brilliant human, and I think thats what drives her  wanting to say no to whats wrong.

It was also incredibly refreshing to see a female lead be pregnant and just, well, be pregnant without it being constantly acknowledged.

It means a lot to hear that. I was pregnant when I met Susanne for the first time, so I had to tell her the news straight away. All credit goes to Susanne and the producers and John le Carre for being like, Okay, cool! Im not aware that they had to worry about it, which Im so thrilled with. Spies are people too, and it shows shes got a life going on beyond her job. Its not an illness, and it was great being able to work during that time. I felt fine.

Very little is revealed about Burrs backstory throughout the series. Did you envision any biographical details for her to enhance your performance?

Not really, maybe a little. I thought, in my head anyway, that running through the story was this class battle. Burr was the opposite in every way from everybody  different gender, different class status. They think of her as the middle class to them, which is horrible. She probably didnt go to Oxford or Cambridge, but shes just as bright, if not brighter, than all of them. She has a different accent. That was really what I loved about the character, that she came from a different place and she wasnt going to have any of that nonsense. She never felt put-upon or like a lesser being than all of these people who thought they were so grand, and I loved her for that.

Roper successfully goes down in the end, but not before the corrupt River House tried to shut Burrs operation down. What do you think she learned through the whole ordeal?

She was very wise throughout what occurred. The reason she used to work for River House, and fell out with them, was that she wouldve been very disappointed that some of her colleagues werent doing things for the same reasons as she was. It wasnt a surprise to her to discover that they were dirty, per se, but maybe the level of dirt mightve been a surprise. It was a major sense of satisfaction to get them and shame them. Im not sure it came from surprise at all, more of a sense of achievement.

With todays political climate, watching The Night Manager made me very anxious.

Oh yeah. Sorry! But I do know that for every bad egg, theres a good egg. Its so easy to feel depressed about everything these days, but there are truly good things in the world. I believe there are more good people than bad. As long as we cling to that thought, well be all right.

Switching to Fleabag, your character is described as a horrid godmother, but I was surprised how amiable she started off in the first episode. How was it slowly unraveling into this horrid persona with each episode?

Oh, it was incredibly satisfying, because I knew where she was going to end up. Phoebe Waller-Bridge [Fleabags creator and star] is one of my dear friends, and Im so glad to be her friend, shes a genius. We met on the set of The Iron Lady and fell in love in the rehearsal room. [Laughs.] Weve only just started to see the tip of the iceberg with what she can do and whats in her mind. When she gave me the part to play, she said, Shes a horrible, horrible human being, a proper passive-aggressive woman. You know when youre telling someone about a relative, and its really hard to describe how quite vile they really are? And people are like, Oh cmon, theyre not that bad, it cant possibly be that bad. Oh, yes it is! You see, through Fleabag and myself, how truly vile this creature is, and I thought how she wrote it was brilliant.

She isnt afraid to do some ballsy things, like slapping her goddaughter and hitting on her handsome boyfriend

Oh yes. Very, very handsome.

Do you find it to be more enjoyable to play these slightly more unhinged characters, as opposed to inherently dramatic ones?

One isnt more enjoyable than the other, so I dont have a genre preference. To be honest, I feel incredibly grateful that at the moment Im allowed to be doing a little bit of all sorts of work. Thats what we all go into this business for, at the end of the day, to play other people. You very often see people that get feedback like, oh, she plays that, so they only get offers for that particular thing. Im really enjoying being able to do these unhinged comedies and emotional dramas alike. Im having a lovely time. After shooting a role that requires months of crying, its quite nice to be able to play something very different. [Laughs.]



Is there a role you have yet to be offered that youre keen on playing some day?

Ive always wanted to play a Marvel baddie. Im not sure I fit the mold, though. Like a powerful, extraordinary woman. Somebody with superpowers would be really fun, but Im not sure how many middle-aged woman they have in Marvel.

Thats fabulous, I would love to see that!

Oooh, me too! Fingers crossed, both of us. I imagine that dream is gone, but that would be amazing.

Two U.K. shows that you star in have been remade for U.S. audiences. Broadchurch aired for a season in 2014, and Peep Show is currently in development

Oh, it is?

It is!

I knew there had been Peep Show discussions for years, but I didnt know it was happening now. Thats exciting.

Is it difficult seeing these shows try to make new life in the States, especially since youre such an integral part of their original DNA?

Oh, no. Weve always done that, havent we, between our two countries? We take just as many of your shows and try to redo them. I think theres nothing wrong with them trying to do  eh, I sometimes wonder why. When Ive seen the original American versions of some shows, I think, Oh, why did we change it? Maybe people feel the same. Take that Scandi-noir show, The Killing, that started in Denmark and came to America, and its one of the influences of Broadchurch. I think its something all countries do, and its great. We have our own homegrown stuff and we find influences from other countries. It means there are more jobs for us. [Laughs.]

The cynical side of me is like, Why cant American audiences just adapt to the original shows?

Yeah, I mean, that would be great too from our point of view, having been in it. But I completely understand both sides of it. But also, Broadchurch was so revered in its original form, and it was also popular in its American version when it aired. Its all good! Things are getting made and stories are getting told, so thats what counts.

What makes an Olivia Colman character? Is there a distinguishing quality that connects all of your roles?

They all look like me. [Laughs.] Thats interesting, I never thought about it. I love to do something that is much further away from me than what I look like and what my accent is. I think each person you play has a little bit of you in it  you cant really help that. Im really rubbish about talking about that sort of thing. I dont have a process, I just feel it. My book on acting would be very short.
Your boyfriend has been through some shit. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

British actor and rapper Riz Ahmed continues to engage with political issues even as he has risen to the status of the internets boyfriend. The Night Of and Rogue One star has been vocal about many issues, including typecasting in Hollywood and his experiences getting detained at the airport. In an essay for The Guardian, Ahmed goes into greater detail discussing the violence he experienced when he was traveling from Berlin after the debut of his first major film, Michael Winterbottoms The Road to Guantanamo. Ahmed arrived in the London Luton airport, where he was illegally detained. Ahmed writes:

But airport security did not get the memo. Returning to the glamour of Luton Airport after our festival win, ironically named British intelligence officers frogmarched me to an unmarked room where they insulted, threatened, and then attacked me.



What kinda film you making? Did you become an actor to further the Muslim struggle? an officer screamed, twisting my arm to the point of snapping.

Traveling to the U.S. was no easier. When Ahmed arrived in the States, he describes being placed into a holding pen where he would have to wait to be questioned. Apart from a Chinese family and a South American pilot battling the indignity with his spotless uniform, the holding pen was filled with 20 slight variations of my own face, all staring at me  kind of like a Bollywood remake of Being John Malkovich.

He describes these experiences with immigration officers and airport security as a kind of audition process, where they invariably see him as a stereotype: someone to be feared, a potential terrorist. He wryly reflects on the performance he puts on, using Gosh! and other means to navigate his way out of those situations.

Ahmed now sees himself as edging towards the other side of the situation, where he is recognized and waved through. But he understands how he is placed within the system so that it can continue to function: These days its likely that no one resembles me in the waiting room for an acting audition, and the same is true of everyone being waved through with me at U.S. immigration. In both spaces, my exception proves the rule.
This fall, the world has been gifted with two Amy Adams movies: One where she tries to communicate with aliens, and another where she tries to communicate with Jake Gyllenhaal. The latter, Nocturnal Animals, from designer turned director Tom Ford (A Single Man), stars Adams as a fashionable insomniac who receives a manuscript from her ex-husband (Gyllenhaal) that tells the story of a family thats ambushed in Texas. The thriller flits back and forth between Adamss glitzy Los Angeles life with Armie Hammer and the plot of the manuscript, which features Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Isla Fisher (playing a fictional Adams, of course). Nocturnal Animals recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and will premiere in select theaters November 18. Watch the films full, tense trailer above, with its first teaser below. A movie about Amy Adams reading books has never looked so compelling.
Dallas-area painter Caroline Camden Lewis may have descriptive notes for the abstract paintings in her Art Center of Waco exhibit While I Breathe, I Hope, but those stories followed the wordless impulse and emotions that her works express.

Better to see the works in terms of color as theyre roughly grouped in the centers two galleries. Theres blue, the dominant shade in the main gallery and Lewis favorite. Red, for vibrancy, autumn and Christs sacrifice. Cream, for calm and a background for accents. Gold, attention-drawing flecks.

Most of the 37 paintings in While I Breathe, I Hope combine those colors in splashes, strokes and streaks, a blend of abstact and impressionism that communicate whats in Lewis heart and head.

These (canvasas) bring back memory and nostalgia for me, she explained during a visit to the Art Center of Waco. This is like walking through the past three years of my life and what I felt.

The 31-year-old artist, granddaughter of Waco resident and arts supporter Margaret (Mrs. Spencer) Brown, grew up with art, but didnt pursue it until adulthood. After a year and a half at Baylor University, she transferred to Southern Methodist University where she fell in love with history and majored in the subject.

She worked in communications for several non-profits on both coasts, rising to a national organization before deciding she needed to leave the high-powered, corrosive stress that came with it. Lewis returned to Texas and took up a brush to work out what was on her mind, starting first in watercolor, then on to acrylics.

Once those thoughts and feelings started to express themselves in color and on a canvas, Lewis could see patterns and meaning that led her on. Her abstract paintings find meaning in her faith, purpose in nature and reflection on her experiences, tastes and travels.

Faith is a big part of my work. God is the creator of all things and when I see nature as an artist, I have such an appreciation of the creativity of God. Ive got to try and take a little snapshot of Gods beauty and put it on a canvas, she said.

Venezia, series of nine small canvases, remind her, with their reds, pinks, oranges and blues, of a trip to Venice with her grandmother. The vertical beige panels of Honshu, with trunklike strokes of burnt and raw umber, not only recall Japans Honshu forest, but the long painted screens of Asian art. The buoyant colors in Crazy Horse and I Heart Birthdays! hum with internal energy while the glass shards and fragments embedded in Unbroken carry a meaning beyond color.

Lewis venture into art not only has allowed her to find her voice, but shes found an audience in the Dallas area and is open to commissions.

Its no coincidence that the painting that provides the title of her exhibit, a painting in her favorite blue, speaks to finding a new purpose in life. I found, through art, that there are still things to be joyful about. Life is still beautiful though it was broken, she said. God still has a purpose for us.
When I teach the US history since the end of the Civil War class, the subject I cover after Reconstruction is industrialization from 1865-1900. It was a period of dizzying, complex change in the country that can be quite difficult to get a handle on today.

As we begin to talk about it, I tell my students that unlike other topics, Im going to start off this section by giving them a lot of figures that I think make these years a little more understandable  numbers that hint at the broader situation that was facing the country. This column is going to be a little like that.

Every few years the National Endowment for the Arts publishes a study on arts participation in the United States. This year for the first time the agency has also released state-by-state data that NEA chairman Jane Chu says highlights interesting regional variations that speak to the diversity of our nation. Thats putting it mildly.

The report shows that people who live in certain western states like Colorado, Montana and Utah participate in the arts at a rate thats significantly higher than the national average. By contrast, in most southern states the rate is far below the national average. For example, last year about 32 percent of all U.S. adults attended at least one live music, theater or dance performance. In Utah, it was 51 percent. In both Alabama and Mississippi less than 18 percent of adults reported doing so.

Attending art exhibits is another way the NEA measures participation and here the overall national percentage is much lower: Only about 19 percent of all American adults went to an art exhibit last year. But in Utah, Colorado, Vermont and Washington, DC, more than 30 percent did. At the other end of the spectrum, only 7.6 percent of adults in Mississippi attended one. In Georgia, the rate was 9.5 percent. In this category low rates arent confined to the South: The numbers for North Dakota and Nevada were 10 percent and 11.9 percent. I guessed that New York would have a much higher rate of art exhibit attendance and indeed its higher than the national average, but its unexpectedly six points lower than the rate among Virginians. (Texas, by the way, comes in at 16.3 percent.)

I dont agree with the endowments decision to measure attendance at movies in this kind of survey, and I wasnt surprised to see these numbers in this category much higher. Nationally, 58.4 percent of adults said they saw a movie in the past year. But again, the same states jump out. Why would that number be 76.2 percent in Utah? And why is the lowest rate in Mississippi?

Another classification I dont find particularly illuminating is consuming art through electronic media because it includes not only things like downloading songs or watching live streaming of the Met but also listening to any sort of music on the radio. Thats setting the bar pretty low. Im all in favor of people listening to music on the way to work, but calling that participation in the arts is like regarding getting up to find the remote control as physical activity.

What can be gleaned from all these numbers? Overall, they paint a picture of a country in which large areas of people are either thwarted in their desires to participate in the arts or simply dont care enough about them to do it. My sense is that while the friendlier interpretation is that of insufficient supply, low demand and low interest may play a bigger part. These numbers upset me and I wish I knew how to change them. Any suggestions?
The Waco Symphony Orchestra launches its 2016-17 season Sept. 22 in Waco Hall with the audience-wooing comfort of a proven masterwork, Tchaikovskys Violin Concerto, and the concert will provide the comfort of the familar for guest violinist Andrej Kurti as well.

Kurti learned the piece while a student at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and hell perform it on a violin crafted for him by Hewitt luthier Timothy Johnson. Kurtis Waco appearance also brings the Northwestern State University of Louisiana violin professor back to where he met his fiancee, Sofiko Tchetchelashvili, then a graduate student in violin and viola. Hes counting the days before performing in Waco, he said.

I am the happiest pup in the world. Its one of the greatest violin concertos, Kurti said, speaking by phone from his home in Nachitoches, La. Its in my top three with Mendelssohn and Sibelius . . . but thats like asking a chef, What do you like to cook the most?

The Belgrade, Serbian native said his conservatory training durings his seven years in Russia and Moscow that deepened his appreciation of the concerto. Definitely we needed to play well the Tchaikovsky concerto. . . Its very hard. There are lots of notes and every note is very special. Its a wonderful piece of music, he said.

Tchaikovsky wrote the piece in 1878. It wasnt well received at its debut, including the opinion of a master violin teacher Leopold Auer who felt that it was unplayable. Over time, violinists rose to the work, as did audiences and its regarded as an enduring masterwork.

A violinist who performs it must master passages that are physically difficult to play, due to fingering and tempo, with emotional interpretation.

This is one you can appreciate on many different levels, observed WSO Music Director Stephen Heyde, himself a violinist. It really showcases the instrument and its one of the more technically challenging pieces.

Kurti agreed. Its very sentimental and very technical, he said. You have to have strong mental and physical preparation.

That said, once the conductor drops his baton to start, theres no time to look back. You play in one breath  you dont feel time when you play this, Kurti said.

Kurti began teaching at Northwestern State University in 2004 and has blended his time there with solo performances across the United States and Europe. One of his 2013 performances brought him to Baylor where he played Eugene Ysayes Six Sonatas For Violin, whose six movements are dedicated to six 20th century violinists.

He met Tchetchelashvili at the time, who would eventually become his fiance, as well as Heyde, who later invited him to perform as guest artist with the WSO. His visits since then also introduced him to Johnson, who presented him with a violin he had hand-crafted and thought would match Kurtis style. He was right. I stopped my violin search immediately, he said.

A Brazilian touch, carried over from this summers Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, opens the Sept. 22 concert with the symphony playing Oscar Lorenzo Fernandezs Batuque, the finale from his Reisado do Pastoreio. Music director Stephen Heyde said the short, driving piece, like last Aprils performance of Mexican composer Juan Contreras The Labyrinth Of Solitude, samples a Latin American orchestral repertory thats often overlooked. This is a proud music tradition that deserves to be heard, he said.

Rounding out the evening program is another Russian work, Prokofievs ballet Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2.

The composers first attempt at a ballet suite using Shakespeares story of star-crossed lovers met with criticism, but not for the music, Heyde said: Not wanting a tragic ending, Prokofiev created a version where the two live on rather than die. Prokofiev later bowed to the criticism that he had gone too far and wrote a suite that was true to its Shakespearean conclusion.

Regardless of the storyline, his Romeo and Juliet is filled with melodies that are frequently excerpted or sampled, the WSO music director said.

its a good concert to start with. Its beautiful music and its accessible to a broad audience. For our first concert, thats important, Heyde said.
Not even the banging sound of progress in the background could drown out Jimmy Dorrells shout of celebration Wednesday when he heard an auction of the old Elite Cafes contents Saturday raised $51,000 for Mission Wacos effort to create a nonprofit grocery store at North 15th Street and Colcord Avenue.

Magnolia spokesman Brock Murphy announced the $51,000 donation from the Elites new owners, Chip and Joanna Gaines, on Wednesday.

That is great news. That puts us over the top, Dorrell said, his voice rising as he spoke from inside the 6,500-square-foot former Safeway building undergoing renovations to become Jubilee Food Market.

Dorrell, executive director of Mission Waco, was within $28,000 of reaching his goal of $488,000 to create an oasis in a North Waco food desert.

Proceeds from the auction will give him breathing room as renovations wind down toward an opening in November. Any extra funds will supplement his budget for stocking the store, he said.

Well hold onto that money to make sure construction is covered, because that $488,000 was just our guess, Dorrell said. Man, thats great to hear.

The Gaineses, of Magnolia Market at the Silos and Fixer Upper fame, bought the historic Elite Cafe on Wacos traffic circle when it closed for business earlier this year. They plan to open a restaurant there but have yet to announce definite plans.

The auction Saturday included the sale of furniture, appliances, old photos, signs and even the baby-blue Cadillac parked out front.

The vintage Caddy fetched $12,500 from the winning bidder, identified on the Magnolia website as Greg Dunn, of Granbury.

Clark Auction Co., which carried out the sale, pledged 5 percent of its take to Mission Waco, and that totaled $1,304.

In their 21 years in business, this was one of their most successful auctions, Murphy said. Waco has a strong community bond, and it came together for this great cause.

Dorrell said exciting news about the gift from the Gaineses highlights a busy week at Jubilee Market he described as crazy fun.

Donated freezers came in Tuesday morning, and then huge air-conditioning units arrived from Austin. They had to put a crane on the roof to install those, Dorrell said. The welders were here. The sheetrockers were here. The refrigeration people were here, and so were the plumbers. We probably had 10 or 12 subcontractors on top of each other.

Dorrell said a crew installing foam insulation would arrive soon, and that electricians have been here every day for three weeks.

He said donations of every description are helping make the project possible, mentioning Carriers gift of the 10-ton air conditioners.

Mission Waco once said the store would open Oct. 15 under a best-case scenario, but Dorrell said an unveiling before November now seems unlikely.

A lot of work going on

My guess is well start doing some painting in a week or so, and the floor needs quite a bit of work. And then there are the windows and canopies, he said. There is just a lot of work going on, so were saying November. We still have to install a point-of-sale system and get approval to accept food stamps.

Jubilee Market, he said, will strive to offer grocery items as inexpensively as possible and also will place a premium on the availability of healthy food.

We are working on deals with food suppliers, including larger ones out of Houston and Brenham and several smaller ones who provide limited items, Dorrell said. Were getting inquiries from people who want to make livestock available to us, including a woman who raises grass-fed beef and likes to keep it hanging in coolers for 30 days, which she said improves the finished product. We wont be able to sell that a whole lot cheaper than others might because it represents higher quality.

The store is open to anyone wanting to shop there, though it primarily will serve the needs of the neighborhood near Mission Waco.

It will focus on the sale of edible merchandise, but shoppers also will find paper goods, diapers, batteries and about a dozen other nonfood products.

Dorrell said he will spend about $75,000 initially stocking the store, and part of the monetary gift from the Gaineses may go toward that purchase.

Next on Mission Wacos wish list is a solar-powered aquaponics greenhouse that would supply fresh produce and fish for the store.

It is priced at $275,000, and Dorrell has applied for a grant from Austin-based Green Mountain Energy Co.s Sun Club. Dorrell said getting the money may require a match from Mission Waco. He is prepared to put up $90,000 from memorials made when his son, Seth Dorrell, 32, died of a heart attack in 2014 on a mission trip to Mexico.

Seth received a masters degree in environmental studies, and this project would involve renewable energy and agricultural production, he said.

Murphy, meanwhile, said the Gaineses still have not a chosen a name for the restaurant they will operate in the former Elite Cafe after renovations.

We have submitted interior and exterior plans to the Texas Historical Commission and are waiting for approval, Murphy said.

The Elite can trace its founding back 97 years in downtown Waco, and it became a popular dining destination for travelers, Baylor University students and even a young Elvis Presley, who was stationed at Fort Hood. It fell on hard times in recent years, and Ford Restaurant Group closed it in February and sold it to the Gaineses in March.
Three Waco police officers were cleared Wednesday of wrongdoing in the May 17, 2015, Twin Peaks shootout that left nine people dead and 18 wounded.

Our department, along with numerous local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, has worked tirelessly on the still-ongoing investigation of Twin Peaks, Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said in a statement. We have completed an exhaustive internal investigation on the officer-involved portion of the incident, which was reviewed by the Texas Rangers. The three officers have been cleared by the investigation, and the action of the grand jury affirms those findings.

The grand jury no-billed 15-year veteran officer Andy ONeal, 11-year veteran officer Michael Bucher and nine-year veteran officer Heath Jackson in the Wednesday hearing. McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna and two Texas Rangers presented the cases to the grand jury, Reyna said.

These officers acted professionally under very difficult circumstances, Waco police interim Chief Frank Gentsch said in a statement. Im glad to have this caliber of officers protecting our city. I appreciate the job conducted by the department investigators, the Texas Rangers, the McLennan County DAs Office and the grand jury in this case.

The officers will immediately return to full duty, Gentsch said. Swanton did not immediately return a voicemail.

Four of the people killed in the shootout and one of the wounded were struck with bullets from .223-caliber rifles, the only type of firearms police used at the scene, according to an Associated Press report. Two of the bikers killed also were struck with other types of bullets, according to the AP report.

It is unclear whether bikers fired the same caliber of bullets. Twelve long guns were reportedly recovered from Twin Peaks, which could include rifles.

Brent Stroman, Wacos police chief at the time of the shootout, has said three officers fired a total of 12 shots. No other law enforcement officers fired their weapons, Stroman has said, and the rifles were used in a semiautomatic setting during the shootout, not fully automatic.

Stroman has said the three officers were on administrative leave for about two months after the shootout and then were placed on administrative duty.

Authorities confiscated about 475 weapons from Twin Peaks, including 151 guns, in addition to knives, brass knuckles, batons, tomahawks, weighted weapons, a hatchet, stun guns, bats, clubs, a machete, a pipe, an ax, pepper spray and a chain.

Police arrested 177 bikers after the shootout, and 154 have since been indicted.
A four-time felon who met David Zahirniak in the county jail testified Wednesday that Zahirniak confessed to killing his former girlfriend in 2014 but said he didnt mean to do it.

Zahirniak, 45, of West, is on trial for murder in Wacos 54th State District Court in the April 2014 shooting death of his former girlfriend, 21-year-old Caitlyn Reed.

Zahirniak told detectives he found Reed, the mother of two young sons, in her rented trailer on Tokio Loop and claimed the .40-caliber bullet wound to her chest was self-inflicted, according to trial testimony.

Prosecutors Hilary LaBorde and Robert Moody have presented 22 witnesses since testimony began Tuesday morning, including Steven Chavez, who said Wednesday that Zahirniak admitted shooting Reed. Prosecutors also presented videotaped testimony of the late West News publisher Linn Pescaia, who said he saw the pair struggling the afternoon Reed died.

Chavez testified that Zahirniak was walking around the eight-man holding cell with his head down like something was eating him up inside. Zahirniak and Reed both worked at Slovaceks store in West, and Zahirniak told Chavez that Reed didnt show up for work that day and he went to check on her.

He said they started arguing over an aggravated assault charge Reed had filed against Zahirniak for an incident in which he beat her with a cane and put her in the hospital a few weeks earlier, Chavez said.

Lost his cool

Zahirniak told Chavez he wanted her to drop the charges and lost his cool. He said he got the pistol that Reed had taken from her father for protection against Zahirniaks frequent abuse and fired a shot through the bedroom wall, Chavez said.

Zahirniak told Chavez he grabbed Reed by the head and asked her if she wanted to die. He put the gun to her chest, and she grabbed the hand that was holding the gun in her hands, he toldChavez.

The gun got caught up in Zahirniaks shirt as he tried to get her hands off, and the gun went off, striking Reed in the chest, Chavez said Zahirniak told him.

He told Chavez he dragged Reeds body from the bed to the hallway floor and dropped the gun on the bed. He went back later and threw the gun on the floor, Zahirniak told Chavez, offering no explanation for the move.

He said he had blood on his hands and went outside and wiped them on the grass, Chavez said. Then he went to a friends home and called 911, he told Chavez.

Moody asked Chavez how he remembers what Zahirniak told him in such detail.

Its just something you dont forget, Chavez said, adding that no one has ever confessed a murder to him before.

In other testimony, McLennan County Sheriffs Deputy Mike Ochoa said he responded to the shooting call and interviewed Zahirniak, whom he described as upset, crying and hysterical.

Ochoa said Zahirniak had trouble with his timeline and told different stories to different investigators about where he had been that day and whether he had been at the home earlier in the day.

Ochoa said he didnt see any actual tears in Zahirniaks eyes while he was crying, a point LaBorde emphasized when she played a dashcam video of Zahirniak in the back seat of a patrol car after the shooting.

Ochoa said he placed Zahirniak in the car to try to calm him down so he could find out what happened, and the video shows Zahirniak crying uncontrollably while the deputy stands by the door. Ochoa leaves for a moment and closes the door, and the camera keeps rolling. It shows that Zahirniaks histrionics end immediately while he sits in the car quietly for several minutes. When Ochoa returns, the crying resumes.

Defense attorneys Alan Bennett and Jessi Freud are trying to convince the jury that Reed killed herself because she was depressed and anxiety-ridden. They say she was worried about losing her children, getting her probation revoked and going to jail.

But Reeds older sister, Emilie Smith, testified Wednesday that most of her sisters problems centered on her abusive relationship with Zahirniak, whom she described as possessive, controlling and violent.

Smith said she knew her sister was taking medication for anxiety and depression but told jurors she was generally happy, planning for the future and lived for her two sons. Reed was close to her family and not suicidal, Smith said.

On one of the first occasions Smith was around Zahirniak after he and Reed became a couple, Smith said they were speaking in general terms about relationships. Reed went inside the house for a moment, and Smith said Zahirniak turned to her and very matter-of-factly said, Im very vindictive. As the relationship progressed, Smith noticed bruises on her sister, but Reed tried to hide them from her, she said.

Smith said her sister came banging on her back door about 2 a.m. one day and was scared and upset. Moments later, Zahirniak pushed open the back door, came in and started screaming at Reed, Smith said.

Smith, who is trained as an EMT, said she got a gun from her bedroom, pointed it at Zahirniak and told him never to come back to her home again. He left, but Reed did, too, she said.

Prosecutors played a videotaped, October 2015 interview with Pescaia, the longtime publisher of the West News who was terminally ill at the time with stomach cancer.

Pescaia owned the trailer Reed rented and said he drove by the property about 2 p.m. on the day she died and saw Zahirniak struggling with Reed in the front of the house.

He said at first, he thought they were just playing and didnt give it much more thought until he learned later that she died.

Pescaia said he was aware Zahirniak had been assaulting Reed. He offered to buy Reed a gun and to pay for a firearms training course so she could learn to protect herself, Pescaia said.

I told her to get some help, he said.

Prosecution testimony resumes Thursday morning.
Color and space are the most prominent changes at the renovated East Waco Library, which has 40 percent more room and a Crayola-box palette of colors inside.

Other improvements are less obvious: a larger and more selective book collection, special-use rooms and the first full-time branch librarian in seven years.

Its more relevant, more up-to-date  just better, Waco-McLennan County Library director Essy Day said.

The library at 901 Elm Ave. quietly reopened this week after closing nearly 17 months ago for a $1.3 million renovation.

A grand opening celebration is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, featuring free books and hot dogs.

The East Waco Library is the last of the citys four libraries to be modernized or replaced. Work was funded by a city bond election, general city funds and a grant from the Waco Foundation.

The project, designed by RBDR Architects and built by CWA Construction of Waco, gave the building a new roof and interior and expanded the library space into an area previously used by Waco Police Department.

New features include the library systems only enclosed computer lab, study rooms, a conference room and a community meeting room with audiovisual equipment. Theres also an open section of the library for teens, where a teen librarian will offer special programs, including computer coding and graphic design courses.

The childrens area has been greatly expanded with a substantial book collection and more space for childrens story times. The library system has added a new childrens librarian to serve the South and East library branches.

Day said the upgrade to the East Waco library isnt just physical.

Mary Ann Johnson will be the branchs first professional librarian since 2009, giving the library more attention to programming and collections.

Johnson started about six months ago and already has sifted through the aging collection, weeding out 5,500 obsolete or damaged items and adding 4,000 new ones.

People dont understand the need to weed, but you do have to weed out the old ones, Day said. Without a manager, that wasnt getting done, and collection development was not happening. . . . I will say that our employees did their absolute best, and they deserve all the praise for keeping it going.

Many books categorized as African-American literature simply because they were written by black authors have been recategorized to better reflect their subject matter, Johnson said.

The process also highlighted the need to distribute important works of black history and literature throughout the library system, Johnson said.

As people would start looking through the collections, they would ask, Why are all the books about Martin Luther King here?  she said. It was kind of stilted, but thats beginning to change.

Library officials say East Waco Library has been popular among students from nearby schools, including Rapoport Academy and J.H. Hines Elementary, but it also serves downtown and the northern part of the county.

Development on Elm

Councilman Wilbert Austin, whose district includes East Waco, said the renovated library is important to childrens education and to the redevelopment of the Elm Avenue area.

Its a much-needed thing for this district, Austin said.

Megan Henderson of City Center Waco, which is headquarted on Elm Avenue, said the library is an anchor for the street.

The community uses that library for lots of purposes. Its a gathering place and a vital community facility, Henderson said. The redesign is so fabulous, and its poised to offer even more.

Henderson said she likes how the colors echo the outdoor mural that artist David Loewenstein created in 2013 with community input, depicting scenes from East Wacos history.

For the physical building itself to take that inspiration and make it even larger is a beautiful statement, she said.

The structure was built in 1949 as H-E-Bs first Waco grocery store, according to research by Waco librarian Sean Sutcliffe.

After that store closed in 1973, the city of Waco and the Cooper Foundation studied the idea of a new library there and agreed to contribute to the project.

The new library opened in December 1977, moving from a location at 1011 E. Live Oak St., where it had been since 1961.

That library, in turn, had replaced a segregated African-American library, called the Wheatley Branch, that had been located at 619 N. Sixth St. since 1938, Sutcliffe said.

----

If you go

What: East Waco Library grand reopening

When: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday

Where: 901 Elm Avenue

Details: Event will include free books and hot dogs
Many of the black gospel recordings that Baylor University professor Bob Darden has championed in his career tell their listeners that patience, faith and endurance on the journey will lead to a reward.

For Darden, Baylors Black Gospel Music Restoration Project and their staffers and supporters, one of those rewards comes this month when the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of African-American History in Washington, D.C., opens to the public Sept. 24.

Included in the new museums Music Crossroads is an interactive touch screen in the museums permanent exhibit that will play selections and provide information from the Baylor black gospel music collection.

It is the first time Baylor has contributed materials to the Smithsonian, said Eric Ames, curator of Baylors digital collections, and more materials may be shared in the future if proposed exhibit expansions on album cover art and direct access to Baylors Black Gospel Music Restoration Project come about.

Its exciting to know that visitors to this important and long-awaited museum will see Baylor Universitys name enshrined among so many important people in American history, Ames said.

The museum recognition is one reward, but Darden said the greater prize is what the project has done in its 10 years: preserve and digitize some 7,000 black gospel performances that might have otherwise disappeared from all but memory.

Darden, 62, will attend a special advance showing of the museum for donors, supporters and contributors Monday. While hes in Washington, D.C., hell be recognized at a Baylor Libraries and Pruit Symposium reception for the projects inclusion in the Smithsonian museum.

September also marks another milestone for Darden and his gospel music work, the official publication of Nothing But Love in Gods Water, Vol. 2: Black Sacred Music From Sit-Ins to Resurrection City, the conclusion of his history of gospel music and the civil rights movement.

Years of research for that book led him to a surprising realization. Gospel music songs for freedom didnt disappear in the 1970s as the civil rights movement dissipated. Instead, the music found new life in social movements around the world, from Tiananmen Square and the Arab Spring to todays Black Lives Matter rallies, Darden said.

The music matters

The music matters now as much as it has  and even more, he said.

In 2005, Darden, a Baylor professor of journalism, public relations and new media, drew attention to what he feared was a vanishing part of American heritage: recorded black gospel music from the 1940s to 1970s, slowly lost to the aging of the generations that created and support it; the decline of vinyl records and audio cassettes; and the relative obscurity of many of its performers.

That concern, expressed in a New York Times guest column, sparked the interest of like-minded gospel fans and collectors, which, in turn, led to the creation of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project in 2007.

Private donations from the likes of philanthropist Charles Royce started the project. Material and advice from collectors such as Robert Marovich, combined with the work of Baylor Libraries Digital Projects Group  Ames, assistant director Darryl Stuhr, audiovisual engineer Stephen Bolech and digitization assistant Travis Taylor  bore fruit over the years in rescuing and restoring thousands of black gospel recordings.

An interview by National Public Radio host Terry Gross on her program Fresh Air gave the project an important boost, Darden said. Gross national program brought in more financial support and recordings listeners submitted from family and church collections.

Everyone wanted this to succeed, Darden said.

The restoration project caught the attention of those planning the Smithsonians new black history museum, particularly its music curator, Dwandalyn Reece. As plans for the museums Musical Crossroads crystallized after the museums 2012 ground-breaking, so did Baylors participation.

On a Smithsonian request, Darden and the Digital Projects Group submitted some 100 songs from the thousands in the restoration projects archives they felt had historical significance and good sound quality or were of general interest. Dialogue between Reece and Baylor staffers eventually narrowed the original submission to a final list of five songs.

First and foremost: The Old Ship of Zion by the Mighty Wonders, of Aquasco, Maryland, a favorite of Dardens and a recording whose background became emblematic of many in the project. The Mighty Wonders was a small, amateur group on an independent label, and sales and distribution were ad hoc.

Pumping our fist

We were kind of pumping our fist to (the selection of) The Old Ship of Zion,  Darden said.

That song, recorded in a small church by an obscure group, called listeners to Step on board if you want to see Jesus / Theres nothing but love in Gods water a prime example of the hope gospel music carried for black listeners under racial oppression.

A touch screen in the Musical Crossroads exhibit will let visitors access Baylors material under the gospel music tab. Touching an icon will start playing a 30-second clip from The Old Ship of Zion, and other icons will lead to information on the Mighty Wonders.

Museum officials intend to refresh exhibits and displays on a regular basis, and four other songs in Baylors collection stand behind The Old Ship of Zion in the initial pool of selections that will be refreshed over time: Wings Over Jordans 1953 recordings Amen and Over My Head, The Caravans I Wont Be Back from 1962 and the Davis Sisters Theres a Tree on Each Side of the River, recorded in 1957.

Dardens work with gospel recordings led to his two-volume book Nothing But Love in Gods Water when he discovered that the flip side of many vinyl singles had songs used in civil rights demonstrations and rallies of the 1950s and 1960s.

He found that gospel music was an important motivator and morale booster in the civil rights movement but one often overlooked in political and social histories. Published by the Penn State University Press, the book grew from one to two volumes and in the process provided its author with an open-ended closure.

Volume 2 was to end in the muddy shambles of Resurrection City, a 1968 shantytown created in Washington, D.C., as part of Martin Luther King Jr.s Poor Peoples Campaign to draw attention to American poverty. Then Darden encountered accounts of the gospel song We Shall Overcome, heard at the fall of the Berlin Wall, in Chinese protests at Tiananmen Square and in public demonstrations during the Arab Spring in the Middle East, and realized his final chapter needed to be that gospel musics power is still alive in freedoms cause.

Its a little overwhelming, and I feel real blessed, Darden said 10 years into a journey whose end he couldnt see at the time.
Hillary Clinton may have been unwise to say half of Donald Trumps supporters are racists and other deplorables. But she wasnt wrong.

If anything, when it comes to Trumps racist support, she might have low-balled the number.

Trump, speaking to the National Guard Association of the United States annual conference Monday afternoon, proclaimed himself deeply shocked and alarmed about Clinton putting half of his supporters in the basket of deplorables  as if anybody, especially Trump, could be shocked by anything this late in the campaign. How dare she, Trump said, attack, slander, smear, demean these wonderful, amazing people.

But this isnt a matter of gratuitous name-calling. This election has proved that there is much more racism in America than many believed. It came out of hiding in opposition to the first African-American president, and it has been welcomed into the open by Trump.

The American National Election Studies, the long-running, extensive poll of American voters, asked voters in 2012 a basic test of prejudice: to rank black and white people on a scale from hardworking to lazy and from intelligent to unintelligent. The researchers found that 62 percent of white people gave black people a lower score in at least one of the attributes. This was a jump in prejudicial attitudes from 2008, when 45 percent of white people expressed negative stereotypes.

This question is a good indicator of how one votes: Republican Mitt Romney won 61 percent of those who expressed negative stereotypes. And, when the question was asked during the 2008 primaries, those with negative racial stereotypes consistently favored Republican candidates  any of them  over any Democratic candidate in hypothetical matchups.

There is plenty of overt white prejudice, observes Simon Jackman, who directed the ANES until earlier this year and now runs the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Whites who reported prejudicial beliefs about blacks skewed heavily Republican in 2008 and 2012  and they will in 2016.

Clintons infelicitous basket of deplorables phrase takes its place alongside Romneys binders full of women in the awkward pantheon and could only have been devised by a woman who previously gave the world ladders of opportunity. But for the large number of racists drawn to Trump, the shoe fits.

In June, the Pew Research Center found that 79 percent of Clinton voters believe the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities is an important issue, while only 42 percent of Trump supporters feel that way. Earlier Pew research found that Trump supporters were significantly less likely than other Americans to think that racial and ethnic diversity improves the United States.

Research by Washington Post pollsters and by University of California at Irvine political scientist Michael Tesler, among others, have found that Trump does best among Americans who express racial animus. Evidence indicates fear that white people are losing ground was the single greatest predictor of support for Trump  more, even, than economic anxiety.

Few people embrace the racist label, so lets help them. If you are very enthusiastic about a candidate who has based his campaign on scapegoating immigrants, Latinos and African-Americans, talked of banning Muslims from the country, hesitated to disown the Ku Klux Klan and employed anti-Semitic imagery  well, you might be a racist. But if you are holding your nose and supporting Trump only because you think him better than Clinton, that doesnt put you in the basket.

The new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the two groups roughly equal: Forty-six percent of Trump supporters say they are very enthusiastic about his candidacy. The rest were somewhat or not terribly enthusiastic.

There were mostly the latter at the National Guard gathering in Baltimore. Donny Crandell, a pastor from Nevada who serves as a National Guard chaplain, figured the audience was 70-30 for Trump, but with few of the deplorables. Said Crandell: I dont think youll find a lot of military types who are core Trump fans. They just like him better than her. That includes Crandell, who backed Ted Cruz and would prefer Marco Rubio to Trump, whose meanness offends Crandell. But hes the choice we have, the chaplain told me.

Trump, onstage, rejected any notion of racism, saying people who want secure borders are not racists, people who warn of radical Islamic terrorism are not Islamophobes and people who support police are not prejudiced. But moments later, he repeated the campaign slogan he borrowed from an anti-Semitic organization that opposed involvement in World War II.

America first  remember that, he said. America first.

Thats deplorable.

Dana Milbank is the author of Homo Politicus: The Strange and Scary Tribes That Run Our Government.
BOARD PROCEEDINGS SAUNDERS COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS/EQUALIZATION

As per Nebr. State Statute 23-122, the following is a brief statement of the proceedings of the Saunders County Board of Supervisors and Board of Equalization September 6, 2016 meetings.

Members present were Breunig, Rastovski, Mach, Sukstorf, Hanson, Lutton and Karloff.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

PROCEEDINGS

Chairperson Karloff called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

1. M-Sukstorf, S-Lutton to table matter concerning a Letter of Support for the Lower Platte North Natural Resources pursuit of federal assistance for construction of Wahoo Creek structures 26 and 27 - and to place said matter back on the September 13th Board meeting agenda. Yes all.

2. M-Hanson, S-Breunig to convene as an Equalization Board at 9:19 a.m. Yes all.

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

PROCEEDINGS

Chairperson Sukstorf called the meeting to order at 9:19 a.m.

1. M-Karloff, S-Hanson to approve the following requests for Tax Refunds: Valerie S. Kjeldgaard, Fremont for the property described as Lot S-1208 Woodcliff; and Gary Waldron, Ceresco for the property described as Bal E WSE South of Creek 33-13-5 (25.03 ac) - as presented by the County Assessor. Yes all.

2. M-Rastovski, S-Breunig to approve Tax Corrections #5460 thru #5462. Yes all.

3. M-Hanson, S-Rastovski to approve the minutes of the August 23rd Board meeting. Yes all.

Chairperson Sukstorf declared the meeting adjourned Sine Die at 9:21 a.m.

***************

Upon the adjournment of the Equalization Board, the Saunders County Board of Supervisors reconvened in their Regular schedule Board meeting.

3. M-Breunig, S-Mach to approve the application for Special Designated Liquor License by the Knights of Columbus #8625, Valparaiso - for a Sampling/Tasting to be held on September 25, 2016 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Luke Benes Shop, 2760 Main Road, Valparaiso. Yes all.

4. M-Sukstorf, S-Hanson to accept the Annual Inventories as filed from the various County Officials, with their sworn oath and signatures attached thereto, stating that the foregoing inventory listed or attached is a just and true statement of all County personal property in their possession for the year ending June 30, 2016. Said inventories are hereby to be filed with the County Clerks office filing as a public record. All as per Nebr. Revised State Statute 23-347. Yes all.

5. M-Lutton, S-Rastovski to approve the minutes of the August 23rd board meeting and to approve the addition of Pledged Securities at the FirstBank of Nebraska Wahoo. Yes all.

Chairperson Karloff declared the meeting adjourned at 11:07 a.m. A complete copy of the Saunders County Board of Supervisors & Equalization proceedings is on file in the Saunders County Clerks office for review by the Public or can be seen on the Countys Web Site at www.saunderscounty.ne.gov.

NOTE: This is a draft of the minutes from the meetings; they are subject to change or correction(s) upon the approval by the Boards at their next regular scheduled meeting.

SCOTT SUKSTORF

Chairperson Board of Equalization

DORIS KARLOFF

Chairperson Board of Supervisors

PATTI J. LINDGREN

Saunders County Clerk

12087192;Sep 15
YUTAN  Yutan voters in the citys East Ward will have a choice to make on the Primary Election ballot.

Incumbent Jim McLaughlin and Jonathan Wageman are both vying to be the wards representative.

McLaughlin has been in the city council seat since 2011, when he was appointed due to a vacancy. He ran unopposed in 2012.

Prior to that, he served on Yutans planning commission since 2005.

We moved to Yutan in the fall of 1999, he said. When I signed my oldest son up for tee ball, they wanted volunteers. Ive been serving ever since then.

Wagemans desire for the East Ward seat is also related to a hometown feeling.

I love living in Yutan and raising my kids here, Wageman said.

It is an optimum place to raise his children, he said. You can sit back and hope it happens, or get involved.

Wageman is on the planning commission and his wife was recently appointed to the library board.

The couple has lived in Yutan for two years with their two children, but Wageman spent a great deal of time in Yutan as a youth, as his grandparents live just south of the city.

McLaughlin has two children also, one at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and the other at Yutan High School.

McLaughlin said he believes the ultimate role of a city councilman is to better the city, to move it forward and to listen to their constituents wants and needs.

This also means being able to make decisions with the council members about the citys main priorities, like its infrastructure and economic development.

We dont always agree, but we work well together, McLaughlin said.

This requires a balance of working to keep certain infrastructure functions operational and still looking ahead at the citys appearance.

Whether its a young couple looking for a place to live or relatives coming to town for a ballgame, both public and private property should be kept up, McLaughlin said.

Wageman also believes in that balance, as he said the council should ensure the city is providing the basic services it should in the best, most efficient matter.

That includes the roads, police fire department and making sure the water quality is up to par, Wageman said.

But Id love to see more economic development, he added. Businesses here are great and serve the immediate community, but Id like to see some that draw people to Yutan.

Wageman commutes to Omaha daily for work and said the perception is that Yutan is far away from Omaha. But its not, he said.

An increase in residents and maintaining an infrastructure to support them is what McLaughlin and the council have been contending with in the last few years.

The first project McLaughlin had to help tackle was a 12-inch water main from the water tower to the schools.

The city replaced three wells one summer as well, McLaughlin said.

At present, the council is working with Nebraska Rural Water to find a leak in the sewer that affects how water is getting into the lagoons.

Its still an unknown until the smoke test is done. Then, well look at costs, he said.

The city is also working to replace much of their lift system in the coming year.

Weve had a lot of projects. The biggest unexpected thing was the wells, McLaughlin said.

Some of the larger obstacles the council has faced in his time with them have been dealing with growth and how fast Yutan develops.

Ive learned a lot about how projects transpire  the steps you have to go through to get something completed, he said.

Its hard to keep the city moving forward with improvements and trying to keep the taxes to a minimum, McLaughlin said.

Wageman said prior to his current IT (information technologies) job, he worked for 10 years in business-to-business financial services.

Wageman also would like to see communication improve between the city and its constituents.

He said hes been to several city council meetings and believes that certain issues could be resolved more easily with open communication.

He also said that more

complicated issues with complex reports should be shared more openly and that there should be more town hall type meetings where theres real communication about what things are about.

Wageman noted some recent improvements in the citys website, but would like to see more community involvement where people are encouraged to join boards.

McLaughlin said the communication gap has been getting better with technology, but would like to see continued improvement.

He also said that he would like to see more community involvement on boards.

Its a small community, and for some reason those (board) spots are hard to fill, McLaughlin said.

The General Election will be held Nov. 8.

Johanna Peterson is running uncontested for the open seat in the West Ward. Long-time city councilman Allen Rowell chose not to re-run for election.
Notice is hereby given that the regular meeting of the Saunders Medical Center Board of Trustees is scheduled to be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday, September 19, 2016, in the boardroom at Saunders Medical Center, Wahoo, Nebraska. This meeting will be open to the public. An agenda for such meeting, kept continuously current, is available for public inspection during normal business hours at the offices of Saunders Medical Center, 1760 County Road J, Wahoo, Nebraska.
CIAA chief Karkis appointment file lost while shifting docs after quake: Govt reply to SC

The government has expressed its inability to provide the Supreme Court the original Cabinet minutes on appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority.
The National WWII Museum today announced it has been recognized as a winner in the 2016 TripAdvisor Travelers Choice awards for museums, ranking No.4 in the nation and No.11 in the world. Other winners include The Metropolitan Museum of Art (No.1), Art Institute of Chicago (No.2), The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum (No.3) and Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (No.5).

TripAdvisor Travelers Choice awards highlight the worlds most popular museums based on the quantity and quality of consumer ratings gathered over a 12-month period.

We are delighted to receive this honor from TripAdvisor and all the travelers who visit our Museum, said Gordon H. Nick Mueller, PhD, president and CEO of The National WWII Museum. The award is a true testament to the tireless work of our Board of Trustees, staff members and volunteers, and the connections they make with visitors every day. Were honored to share the story of the Greatest Generation, and were proud to continue advancing our educational mission while providing an enriching and inspiring experience to travelers around the globe.

The National WWII Museum remains the No. 1 attraction in New Orleans for the fourth consecutive year. Other top attractions in New Orleans include St. Louis Cathedral, Royal Street and Frenchmen Street.

In the last year, the Museum opened its newest permanent exhibit, Road to Tokyo, which retraces the grueling trail that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay while exploring the evolving strategy for fighting relentless Japanese forces in Asia and the Pacific. The institution closed fiscal year 2016 with nearly 700,000 visitors  an almost 15 percent increase from fiscal year 2015, which landed close to 600,000. The Museums membership  now at 147,000  is also the highest its ever been, increasing by nearly 10 percent.

Already a compelling national destination, the Museum is in the midst of a $370 million expansion designed to take the visitor experience to even greater heights. More than $260 million has already been raised as the organization forges ahead with plans to open new galleries in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion that tell the story of the Home Front and the road to war, drawing on personal narratives and evocative artifacts to highlight facets of American life during the WWII era. Nine immersive galleries will recall prewar domestic debates, the attack on Pearl Harbor, military recruitment and training, treatment of minority groups, manufacturing efforts and the Manhattan Project.

Additional stages of the Museums expansion plan include construction of the Hall of Democracy pavilion to house academic and outreach programs and additional exhibit space, and building of the Liberation Pavilion, focusing on end-of-war and postwar experiences, as well as the wars meaning for citizens today. To unify the six-acre campus and create a formal entry to Museum grounds, exterior improvements will include a Founders Plaza along Andrew Higgins Drive and the Bollinger Canopy of Peace, which will symbolize the hope and promise unleashed by the end of WWII hostilities.

To see TripAdvisor traveler reviews and opinions of The National WWII Museum click HERE.

The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world  why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today  so that future generations will know the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn. Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as Americas National WWII Museum, it celebrates the American Spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifices of the men and women who fought on the battlefront and served on the Home Front. For more information, call 877-813-3329 or 504-528-1944 or visit nationalww2museum.org.
The CAF Atlanta Warbird Weekend (AWW) will present its largest lineup of World War II veterans and aircraft for its third annual event at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) in Chamblee, Ga., Sept.24-25, 2016. Attendees will see eight Curtiss P-40 Warhawks among a total of 40 WWII warbirds on the grounds. More than 20 WWII veterans will participate, including Lt. Dick Cole, the last remaining crew member of the famous Doolittle Raid over Tokyo. Warbirds will fly during the day, with a special P-40 formation flight at 4 p.m., and rides will be available on vintage Commemorative Air Force (CAF) WWII aircraft throughout the weekend, beginning at 9 a.m. each day.

The CAF Dixie Wing, the Georgia chapter of the worlds largest WWII flying collection, coordinates this community event. This years program also will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), nicknamed the Flying Tigers, hosting the largest gathering of P-40 Warhawks in 50 years. Notable veterans who will participate include AVG Flying Tigers crew members Frank Losonsky and Charles Chuck Baiden, both officers of the AVG Flying Tigers Association. A special guest, Lt. Gen. Fan, Ta-Wei, Chief of Staff of the Republic of China Air Force, will attend with four other officers.

Kids will be able to ride the USAF Rapid Strike flight simulator, experience how to operate bomber turrets (electronically operated), see the inside of aircraft cockpits and play in the PDK park playground. The weekend event features 15 educational displays and two Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainers on display from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

The Curtiss P-40 was highly associated with the Flying Tigers and was the third-most-produced fighter plane of WWII. Very few are still flying and this will be a rare opportunity to see these aircraft together and hear from actual veterans who served with the Flying Tigers, as well as hear from other WWII veterans who will discuss their experiences. The Flying Tigers were recruited under secret presidential authority and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The shark-mouth nose art of the Flying Tigers remains among the most recognizable images of any individual combat aircraft or combat unit of World War II. The AVG Flying Tigers Association is celebrating its reunion in conjunction with the AWW. Presentations at AWW, and leading up to the event, will be organized to educate and connect the public with the historical significance of the American Volunteer Group.

Also expected for AWW are WWII veteran pilots Bob Jones, who flew C-47 and the C-46 Commando over the Hump in the Himalayan Mountains; Paul Crawford, who Flew 29 missions in P-51s and flew P-40s for Chennault in the 14th Air Force; plus Albert McMahan, a B-17 ball and tail gunner who flew 25 missions in the early days of the 8th Air Force when there were no friendly escorts, and Henry Hughey, who flew as a ball turret gunner with the 487th Bomber Group (Gentlemen from Hell) later in the war and completed 32 missions. Community support has been amazing and it is really bringing history alive in honor of our veterans, said Jay Bess, CAF Dixie Wing leader and AWW co-chairman. Aviation and veterans groups, museums, local municipalities and individuals are volunteering to help us share the story of World War II aviation history. This terrific weekend would not be possible without the support of Pat Epps and Epps Aviation, Atlantic Aviation, Discover Dekalb and Mario Evans, Dekalb-Peachtree Airport director.

AWW will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day Sept. 24-25 at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport. Great food will be available with food trucks, the 8th Air Force Historical Society barbecue and the Downwind restaurant, which will be open both days. This years Dinner with the Tigers and all photo workshops are sold out. For a complete schedule of activities and CAF aircraft flight prices and reservations, visit www.atlantawarbirdweekend.com. The mission of the Texas-based CAF is to honor veterans and American military aviation through flight, education and remembrance.


Clean bill of health

PM and health minister seem committed to reforming much corrupt medical education
Waterford native, Elaine Doheny, has launched an app that allows you to be literally pampered in your own home. Elaine, from Portlaw, has been based...
Seven jobs at a Waterford charity look set to be lost after it was announced that it is to be wound down. The U-Casadh...
AN Animal Welfare Inspector with the ISPCA has described how defenceless dogs that were saved from an illegal puppy farm in Waterford have been...
WATERFORD is the most sunny city in Ireland and the county is second in the sunshine league, being pipped to first place by our...
RENTS in Waterford are now spiralling out of control, with costs 16.2% higher than they were in the same period last year  and...
Waterford Fine Gael Senator John Cummins has described the progress which has been made on the purchase of the former Waterford Crystal site for...
ITS hard to believe the much-loved Waterford Greenway has been open just five years, as many locals feel they have been living with the...
More than 70pc Dashain flights sold out

More than 70 percent of the seats on Dashain flights have been sold as barely three weeks remain for the start of the festival. Dashain sees the countrys greatest annual travel rush when people return to their homes in hordes to celebrate the feast with their families.
Christmas is such an important time for family reunions, but there are many of us for whom Christmas is also a time when those...
IMAGINING Arts was about all we could do over the last 18 months or so, but now we need imagine no more. Celebrating its 20th...
Control of the operator of the Ghan and Indian Pacific train services has changed for the second time in a little over a year, as private equity investors reshuffle their holdings.

Quadrant Private Equity has bought control of Great Southern Rail from Allegro, which acquired the railway operator in May 2015, for an undisclosed amount.

The Indian Pacific has a new owner yet again as private equity fund Allegro offloaded the iconic railway business.

Great Southern Rail operates The Ghan, The Indian Pacific and The Overland passenger rail services.

Allegro had bought its stake from Serco, the UK-owned facilities management operator which runs a broad range of assets spanning detention centres to prisons and call centres.
Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty has slammed Pauline Hanson over her inflammatory maiden speech, branding the senator's tirade against the family law system an example of victim-blaming.

The One Nation leader made headlines for her claim that Australia was being "swamped by Muslims". But she also railed against the "discriminatory, biased and unworkable" family law system, and accused mothers of making "frivolous claims" to get sole custody of their children.

Fathers were taking their own lives or murdering family members out of "sheer frustration" at the system, Senator Hanson claimed.

"Children have two parents and until we treat mums and dads with the same courtesy and rights, we will continue to see murders due to sheer frustration, depression and mental illness caused by their unworkable scheme," she said.
Jakarta: Bali police have confirmed a second woman has died after an explosion on an Australian-made ferry travelling between East Bali and the Gili islands on Thursday.

The woman, a 28-year-old Austrian, died after arriving at hospital in a critical condition, according to Blahbatuh Gianyar police chief I Nyoman Sumarajaya.

Another woman, whose nationality is yet to be confirmed, also died in the blast, which occurred about 200 metres from Padang Bai harbour in East Bali, just after 9.30am local time.

Another 18 sustained injuries, some horrific. One woman had both her feet blasted off and others had both legs broken.
Bangkok: A confessed death squad member has testified that controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killings of criminals and political opponents and Muslims when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao.

Edgar Motabato told a televised hearing of the Philippines Senate on Thursday that he was among members of a squad who took four of Mr Duterte's political rivals to the island of Samalin in 2010, where they were placed in sand and strangled.

"We cut the stomachs open and I loaded them onto the boat on the shore. We threw them out. Weighed them down with hollow blocks. Three for each person," he said.

Mr Motabato testified that he carried out abductions and deadly assaults, including feeding a man to a crocodile in 2007, when he was a member of a squad comprising police and soldiers who worked as ghost employees at Davao City under the guise of a "civil security unit".
Deals with households in Valley from next week

The government will start signing the tripartite agreement from next week for the distribution of the first tranche of the housing aid to the earthquake-affected households inside Kathmandu Valley.
Runners of all ages showed up to Chaney's Dairy Barn Wednesday night in the memory of WKU graduate Eric Yates.

On September 18, 2010, 1st Lt. Eric Yates was killed in active duty. Now, every year, on the week of his death, friends, family and strangers alike step up to the starting line, and honor him with a 5k memorial run.

Eric was described as a very quiet person.

Eric's mother says sometimes the most soft-spoken of people can make the greatest positive impact.

"Whenever he had something to say, it was like everybody stopped and listened to him," says Kathy Yates.

Some of Eric's closest friends shared the same sentiment as his mother.

"Eric wasn't a person that was outspoken," says college friend Michael Rasmusson, "but when he did speak, it was profound."

Eric graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2008. He was a member of the ROTC program, where he built a number of strong relationships with fellow cadets.

"After we graduated, we both ended up stationed at Fort Campbell Kentucky," says Rasmusson. "We ended up deploying at the same time."

Eric wrote letters to people close to him when he deployed, in case something happened. Friends and family say that Eric loved his school, and he loved his country. They believe this run is a great way to honor both.

"In the letter that he wrote to me, he did say that he didn't want to be forgotten." says his mother. "He loved Western so much, so this is where we chose to honor him"

"This event is just something that I think he would be proud of," explains Michael Rasmusson. "He would be proud of his mother. He would be proud of his school for carrying on something that was important to him."

Money raised by the 5k goes to a scholarship fund for ROTC students at WKU.

Even though Eric Yates is gone, he continues making a positive impact.

Tonight the WKU ROTC was presented with a check for $5,000.
From 29 August to 01 September, the WCO and UNCTAD carried out a joint capacity-building workshop benefiting 37 representatives of the Ghanas NTFC, including 18 women. The present mission is the logical follow-up of the previous workshops held in Ghana held in January and May 2016.

The workshop focused on concepts related to the global supply chain, trade facilitation programme, indicators, donor engagement as well as the Revised Kyoto Convention and its importance in relation to the implementation of the WTO TFA. The workshop was delivered in an interactive manner using a blended learning approach, which included presentations, group exercises as well as role plays. By the end of the workshop, the members of the NTFC were able to prepare initial draft project proposals for 2 Category B and 6 Category C measures identified through the previous categorization efforts undertaken by the NTFC.

As part of this workshop, the Botswana Unified Revenue Services shared its experiences and lessons learned as chair of the NTFC in Botswana, thus contributing to the South-South cooperation. The next support mission to Ghanas NTFC is scheduled to take place at the end of November 2016. All the support provided to Ghana NTFC is funded by Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and jointly delivered by the WCO and UNCTAD. For further information about the WCO Mercator Programme, please send your queries to facilitation@wcoomd.org
Dr KCs supporters stage demo seeking Karkis appointment file

The supporters of Dr Govinda KC, also known as Solidarity for Dr KC Alliance, staged demonstrations in the Capital on Thursday, demanding the government make public the original document on appointment of Lok Man Singh Karki as the chief of Commisison for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
Ensure our right to education, health

When Sanjila Yonzon first brought to Kathmandu from Jharlang of Dhading district, she was promised that she would get to go to school.
Deaths during Tarai protest: Probe panel gets full shape

The government has given a full shape to the commission formed to investigate into excessive use of force and extra judicial killing during the Madhes movement.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Considerable clouds this morning. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High 71F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Ghising named NEA chief

The Cabinet on Wednesday appointed Kulman Ghising to the post of the managing director at Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), which had remained vacant since Friday after Mukesh Raj Kafle stepped down.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 15, 2016 | 02:28 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The Paducah Police Department has released officer body camera footage of a Sept. 11 incident at a Paducah nightclub, during which an officer was accused of using a racial slur.The body cam footage was released after another video was posted online by someone outside the Brickhouse nightclub. In that video, the person could be heard repeatedly accusing Officer Daniel Kimball of using the slur.Chief Brandon Barnhill has released a statement about the incident, saying Kimball was responding to the club at around 1:30 am after the owner called police to report some patrons smoking marijuana inside. Barnhill said that after making an announcement that he was not going to arrest anyone, Kimball asked patrons who were smoking inside to leave the building. A short time later outside the building, Kimball got into a discussion with an African-American man during which Barnhill says Kimball repeated the man's statement back to him, which included the racial slur.While acknowledging that it was not professional for Kimball to use the word in any context, Barnhill said he is glad that Kimball later apologized to the man and ended the exchange in a friendly way. "We recognized that while the command staff felt that Officer Kimballs approach of repeating the statement that included the slur did not live up to our expectation of professional, we were glad to see that he later explained his intentions to the man, that he apologized and the two ended on a handshake." Barnhill said.Barnhill said the department reached out to African-American leaders in the community to discuss the incident, and after watching the video he feels confident they were in agreement that Kimball did not appear to make the comment in a malicious or racist manner.Barnhill said the incident remains under internal review. Click the link below to watch the full, unedited video.

On the Net:
Even with 5-0 lead, Verlander can't get 1st World Series win
By The Associated Press Sep. 15, 2016 | 04:59 AM | CARTERVILLE, IL

Former Illinois state senator and congressman Glenn Poshard has been voted onto the board of trustees of John A. Logan College.

Board Chairman Don Brewer says there were "six excellent candidates" for the seat vacated by the death of Trustee Bill Alstat.

Brewer noted that Poshard has a history with the college, having worked as an assistant to its president before heading to Southern Illinois University to serve as its president. Brewer said during that time, Poshard was able to secure several grants for the southern Illinois community college, which serves about 7,000 students.

Poshard will assume his position Sept. 27. He will then have to run in an April election to secure a six- or four-year term on the board.

Poshard was named to the board in a 6-1 vote.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 15, 2016 | 12:13 PM | BENTON, KY

A Benton man faces a burglary charge for allegedly stealing items from a home under construction.

The Marshall County Sheriff's Office said deputies were dispatched to Nelson Lane on Wednesday in reference to a suspicious person. The caller reported seeing a man going through a tool box in a yard and entering a home under construction.

Deputies found the man, 37-year-old Joshua D. Collins. They also found the items taken from inside the home inside Collins' vehicle. Collins allegedly admitted to taking the items.

Collins was arrested and charged with third degree burglary. He was lodged in the Marshall County Detention Center.
Girl,5, killed by boy,9, for taunting

A five-year-old girl, who was found buried in a paddy field in Bangang Municipality of Kapilvastu on August 30, was murdered by a nine-year-old boy, investigators have said.
By The Associated Press Sep. 14, 2016 | 08:51 PM | FRANKFORT, KY

Republican Gov. Matt Bevin is moving forward with awarding $100 million for workforce training projects despite a warning from the top House Democrat that the actions could be illegal.

Bevin wants to borrow $100 million and use it to aid programs that train Kentucky's workforce. Wednesday, a committee appointed by Bevin and legislative leaders reviewed 114 proposals and approved 91 of them to submit formal applications next month.

The state legislature passed a law detailing how that money would be spent, but Bevin vetoed it and is developing the criteria himself. Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo sued, saying Bevin's veto was illegal. The case is pending.

The Bevin administration is mostly following the criteria that lawmakers approved. One difference is Bevin is not requiring the money to be distributed evenly among Kentucky's six congressional districts.
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More than two years ago, Northampton's artistic director James Dacre delivered a five-star version of Dickens's classic tale of revolutionary France, courtesy of a sparkling Mike Poulton script adaptation, a sumptuous Rachel Portman score, some stunning Mike Britton designs and a cast of (seemingly) thousands.

Such was the success of this limited run that the theatre has revived it now, playing in the appropriately Victorian environs of the bijou Royal Theatre before embarking on a national tour. And this incarnation is every bit as gripping, moving and exhilarating as its predecessor, retaining all the panache and sweep of Dacre's swaggering direction and coupling it with a diligent, accomplished team of professional and community actors.

From the iconic opening lines, delivered as a kind of chorus before segueing seamlessly into a thoroughly dramatic courtroom scene, the show takes hold of its audience and never lets go. The pace is relentless, the lines spoken rapidly but always intelligibly, and the story rattles terrifyingly on, like a three-wheeled carriage spinning dangerously down a steep hill.

And yet there is never a sense of this vehicle being out of control. Every Dickensian plot moment is meticulously staged, every character carefully drawn, so that the speed of the narrative serves only to add to its intensity, ploughing inevitably on to its equally iconic, heartbreaking conclusion.

The cast doubling has been extended and adapted further in this production, and it's all the better for it. Professionals and amateurs alike portray the mob of Paris and the gentility of London with equal authenticity, and Dacre makes fabulous use of Ruth Hall's costumes and Paul Keogan's lighting to paint beautiful images as a backdrop to the action. Britton's decaying decadence captures the mood perfectly, and the evocation is completed by Portman's haunting, well-judged underscore.

Jacob Ifan steps into the shoes of doomed French aristocrat Charles Darnay with smooth aplomb opposite a delicate, whimsical Shanaya Rafaat as Lucie Manette. Among the sizeable supporting cast there are plenty of fine cameos peopling a world of detailed, believable characters.

At the heart of the whole thing is a towering performance from Joseph Timms as the dissolute, self-destructive Sydney Carton. Timms reveals real heart as the drunkard who battles his demons in the search for something good in himself, and he's captivating to watch.

Judiciously filleted into a rollicking 150 minutes or so, this epic of literature gets a welcome revival at the hands of Dacre and his team, and a well-deserved exposure to a wider audience.

A Tale of Two Cities runs at Royal & Derngate, Northampton until 17 September before touring to Oxford, Richmond, Bradford, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, Brighton, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and Nottingham Theatre Royal.
Gurkhas lose battle for equal pension rights at European Court

Former Gurkhas have lost their appeal for equal pension rights at the European Court of Human Rights.
Hillary Clinton 'healthy and fit', says doctor

Hillary Clinton is "healthy and fit to serve" as US president, says her doctor, as her campaign released updated medical information.
Indian MEA Swaraj welcomes PM Dahal

Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj welcomed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi India on Thursday. PM Dahal is on a four-day state visit of the southern neighbor.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO  Make no mistake: Oliver Stone is the kind of filmmaker who doesnt shy away from speculation when it comes to presenting historical subjects, most prominently in his 1991 thriller JFK, which presented an alternative  some would say paranoid  history behind the story of the Kennedy assassination.

But Stones new film, Snowden, is comparatively scrupulous in detailing the story of how National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden became a whistleblower, exposing the extent of the NSAs illegal surveillance of American citizens in 2013, becoming an exile in the process.

In a way, its a film that should hit audiences closer to their homes. JFK might have left you doubting the veracity of the Warren Commission report into the assassination. But Snowden will have you wondering if someone isnt watching you through the camera on your laptop computer, or listening to your conversation via your smartphone.

Put it this way: actress Shailene Woodley, who plays Snowdens girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, in the film, says after making Snowden, she now puts a Band-Aid over her computer camera when shes not using it.

Privacy is a privilege now, she says. Its not something you inherently have as a human being in 2016.

Woodley is speaking at a press conference for the film at the Toronto International Film Festival alongside Stone and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays the embattled Snowden.

The film may take some dramatic liberty, but both Stone and Gordon-Levitt were intent on presenting Snowdens story as closely as possible to the way it happened. That process included Gordon-Levitt accompanying Stone on one of his many visits to interview Snowden in Moscow, where he has been living since Russian authorities granted him asylum.

Gordon-Levitt returned eager to show the subject was not the traitor he has been portrayed as by the American government.

Open Road Rilms Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden.

First and foremost, I was interested in his patriotism, that he was doing what he did out of a sincere love for his country and the principles the country was founded on, Gordon-Levitt says.

Before Oliver asked me to do this part, I actually knew very little about Edward Snowden, and in learning about him, I found out his father (was in the) Coast Guard, his grandfather worked for the FBI, the actor says.

He comes from a family that is very reverent and allegiant towards the United States. He enlisted in the U.S. army in 2004 the most dangerous part of the Iraq war, and he went to go fight for his country.

Gordon-Levitt suggests Snowden transitioned from one kind of patriot  where youre allegiant to your country no matter what and you dont ask any questions  to something more critical.

Theres another kind of patriotism that I really wanted to show in this character, the kind of patriotism that he grows into over the course of the nine years that you see in this story, where he does ask questions, he says. Thats the privilege of being from a free country like the United States of America, and thats why Im personally grateful to be from there.

Willy Sanjuan / Invision Director Oliver Stone (right) and Snowden star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

We have the right to ask these questions and hold the government accountable, and thats what was motivating him.

For Stones part, Snowdens story has echoes of his most controversial film.

Its really a detective story and for me its exciting, he says. Its like JFK; it goes into something that we dont know. Americans dont know anything about it and they still dont because its tricky. The government lies about it all the time.

What theyre doing is illegal and they keep doing it, Stone says. Its a very upsetting story, but at the same time its a drama, so its a great combination.

randall.king@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @FreepKing

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Open Road Films / TNS Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden and Shailene Woodley as Lindsay Mills
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For most of his life, East St. Paul native Edwin Ulrich never imagined living in downtown Winnipeg.

That changed a few years ago when he and his wife, Scarlette, were among the first Winnipeggers to buy a condominium in the proposed new Glasshouse Skylofts condominium tower on Hargrave Street just north of Portage Avenue.

A beaming Ulrich was on hand Thursday to help celebrate the official grand opening of the 21-storey tower, saying he and his wife were looking forward to moving into their 17th-floor corner suite this fall.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Resident Edwin Ulric, MLA Nic Curry, Doug McKay of Urban Capital, Mayor Brian Bowman, David Wex of Urban Capital, Angela Mathieson of Centre Venture and Hugo Germain of Groupe Germain Hotels toast the opening of Glasshouse Lofts.

The move will mark a big change for Ulrich, a retired consultant, and Scarlette, a pharmaceutical researcher. Theyll be moving to a nearly 1,300-square-foot condo, which was created by combining two smaller units, from a 5,000-square-foot detached home.

He said one of the things that sold them on their new suite, which faces south and west, was the two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows.

With all of that light coming in, it really does feel a lot bigger than the space would indicate. That was important to us  that we didnt feel like were in a small condo.

Another thing that helped convince them downtown Winnipeg was where they want to spend their retirement years was a three-month stint a few years ago living in a Princess Street apartment while their home was being used for a movie shoot.

During that time, they discovered what an incredibly vibrant place downtown Winnipeg has become, he said.

Photos by JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS One of the condo units inside Glasshouse Skylofts. It puts residents right in the heart of downtown.

There is something going on every evening and every weekend, he said. Its a fun place to be.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said the building is a sign of success.

Winnipeg is on a trajectory of strong and steady growth, and with over $1 billion in downtown investments over the past year, one thing is clear: Winnipegs downtown is thriving, Bowman said.

CentreVenture Development Corp. president and CEO Angela Mathieson said Glasshouse is the latest in a growing list of new residential developments since 2003.

When theyre completed, they will add 2,600 residents downtown.

The Exchange District, with King Street on the right and Princess Street on the left.

Glasshouse Lofts was developed by Toronto-based Urban Capital. It was the companys first development east of Ontario, and partner David Wex said the project, which cost about $50 million, finished generally on budget and only a few months behind schedule.

He described it as a big success, with about 70 per cent of the 200 units purchased so far. He expects the rest to be sold by the end of the year.

He said the first wave of residents began moving in at the beginning of September, and about 30 of them now call it home. The rest are expected to move in over the next few months.

Wex said Urban Capital is keen to do another residential project, but only if the provincial government renews its commitment to the city/provincial Live Downtown Rental Development Program, which was launched in late 2014. It offers developers of new residential rental units rebates for up to 20 years on any increase in city and provincial property taxes they would have paid as a result of the redevelopment of their property.

Wex said Urban Capital received a grant of $4.5 million.

Tory MLA Nic Curry watches as Mayor Brian Bowman takes a picture of downtown from the rooftop at 311 Hargrave St.

It would have lost money without it because of the high cost of new construction here, and the project wouldnt have proceeded.

So we will be keeping tabs on when it will be (available again) and well be back at that point, he added.

Progressive Conservative backbencher Nic Curry attended the grand opening on behalf of Indigenous Affairs and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke.

He didnt comment, but last month Clarke said last the provincial Treasury Board is reviewing that and a host of other funding matters.

At that time, she wouldnt speculate about when a decision would be made.

The MTS Centre is a just across Portage Avenue from the 21-storey condominium building, which cost $54 million to build.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Medical expenses to ex-VIPs: Govt told to stop arbitrary distribution of state funds

The Finance Committee of the Legislature-Parliament has instructed the government against arbitrary distribution of state funds to former VIPs in the name of medical expenses.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The bare-knuckle brawl between Walmart Canada and Visa is spilling over into Manitoba.

The retail heavyweight announced late Wednesday that it will start informing its Manitoba customers today that all 16 of its stores in the province will not accept Visa credit cards as of Oct. 24.

The move comes as Walmart and the credit card company remain locked in a battle over merchant fees. The retailer vowed in June to stop accepting Visa at its more than 400 Canadian stores, saying it pays more than $100 million in fees annually for customers to use the various brands of credit cards.

RYAN REMIORZ / CANADIAN PRESS FILES

But up until now, it had taken only a small step toward fulfilling that June pledge when it dropped the credit card from its three locations in Thunder Bay, Ont., on July 18.

Visa, the countrys largest credit card firm, shot back by encouraging Walmart customers to use their cards at the more than 5,200 stores in Thunder Bay that accept Visa.

It said it had offered Walmart one of the lowest rates for any merchant in the country but the retailer wanted more. If it had given in, Walmarts merchant fees would have been lower than those charged to local grocery markets, pharmacies, convenience stores, charities and schools, it added.

Walmart spokesman Alex Roberton said in an interview today that dropping Visa cards from its Thunder Bay stores was Phase I of its action plan again the card company. Expanding the ban to Manitoba is the second phase.

We wanted to make sure that we made all of the right technological changes. We had to change our systems internally, as well, and theres training in the stores (that needed to be done), he explained. So the entire exercise in Thunder Bay helped us understand what we need to do going forward and confirmed a lot of the assumptions we had made about the changes that we needed to implement.

Roberton said Walmart still plans to follow through with its original plan of eventually banning Visa cards in all of its Canadian stores. But no time frame has been set for how quickly that will happen.

He said Thunder Bay customers that used to pay by Visa have, for the most part, switched to alternate forms of payment. They include paying with cash, their debit card, or other brands of credit cards.

But Interac (debit card) and cash have been used more, he added.

Asked if rejecting Visa cards has had little impact on sales, he said, the results were seeing are better than expected, put it that way.

When the battle between Walmart and Visa first erupted, the Retail Council of Canada called on the federal government to intervene to mandate lower fees for all merchants.

A spokesman for Finance Minister Bill Morneau said he was waiting to receive a report on the matter before deciding how we can ensure this market stays competitive in the future.

 with files from The Canadian Press

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Manitoba MP Candice Bergen is the new House leader for the federal Conservative party.

Bergen, who will celebrate her 52nd birthday at the end of the month, replaces Andrew Scheer, who stepped down as house leader Tuesday to pursue a leadership bid.

I am pretty excited, she told the Free Press in an interview from Halifax, where she was attending the Conservative caucus retreat.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Conservative MP Candice Bergen passes cameras on the way to Conservative caucus in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.

She said it was well-known Scheer was to step down during the caucus retreat, so interim leader Rona Ambrose approached her last week about filling the role.

I thought about it for a short time and then thanked her for the opportunity and said yes, said Bergen.

With this new job, Bergen ends her short foray into a leadership bid. At the end of August she said she was considering it on the urging of some constituents but ultimately decided it wasnt for her. One of the biggest barriers is language. Bergen does not speak French.

The language learning curve, and not just conversational French, thats a big challenge, she said.

Bergen said she feels she can make a good impact as house leader, a role which assumes responsibility for managing the Conservatives business in the House of Commons. That includes negotiating with the government House leader over the progress of legislation, what bills will be brought up for debate when, the calendar and any other special issues that arise. She is also there to help Conservative MPs shepherd their private members bills through.

Bergen has eight years experience as an MP, including stints as a committee chair and parliamentary secretary as well as two years in cabinet. She was elected in 2008 but first caught the attention of many when she was the face the Conservatives put on the bill to end the long-gun registry. Although her private members bill ultimately failed, she did manage to get it passed at second reading in a minority Parliament which was no easy feat of negotiation.

Bergen becomes the first woman to hold the post for the Conservatives. Along with Bardish Chagger, who became the first woman ever appointed as government House Leader in August, it will be the first time in Canadian history two women are in charge of house decorum and progress.

Geoff Stevens, a former parliamentary press gallery journalist and now politics professor at Wilfred Laurier University, said he thinks the choice of Bergen was likely deliberate.

The Conservatives realize they have to compete with the Liberals for the womens vote and they did badly with women last year, Stevens said.

He said female politicians tend to be less aggressive than their male counterparts which suggests a Chagger/Bergen match up could improve things right across the House of Commons.

The House leader sets the tone for their party, he said. When you have a good house leader it works very well and the mood is good.

Bergen said she hopes having women in the roles will be encouraging to young women and girls. The House leaders are often those who get the most face time in Parliament, after their party leaders.

She said whether a female touch will prove things to be done differently is yet to be seen, but she did say she feels positive about working with Chagger.

I find her to be very warm, easy to be friendly with and not at all aloof so I think that is a good foundation to start, Bergen said.

Bergen said now that she is part of the Conservative leadership group, she will not be choosing sides in the upcoming Conservative leadership contest.

She will be replaced as the critic for natural resources, a role she played off against fellow Manitoba MP Jim Carr since last November.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The citys youth are fuelling a surge in methamphetamine use because its a cheaper way to get a long-lasting high.

In fact, because of its affordability, addictive nature and accessibility, the methamphetamine user base in Winnipeg has increased significantly over a few short years, allowing traffickers to prosper, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a statement.

Sadly, both police and health officials dont expect the situation to get better any time soon.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Methamphetamine is highly addictive.

Because of these factors, we believe and expect this trend will continue, the WPS statement said.

Shelley Marshall, a clinical nurse specialist with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authoritys Street Connections program, said the programs clients and local youth agencies have been reporting meth use has been on the rise for at least the past two years. Younger drug users, and users of other stimulant street drugs such as crack cocaine, are turning to meth because its cheaper, more accessible and can provide a high for up to 12 hours  compared with a 30-minute high for crack cocaine, which costs twice as much.

Its cheap, and the high lasts a long time, so theres a lot about the properties that resonate with the wants of youth who use the drug, she said.

It kind of increases your sense of meaning and purpose and increases your engagement in almost everything you do, Marshall added. When you have exclusion from meaningful modes of production in society, like no access to a job, familys broken up, children apprehended, and you dont have meaning in your everyday life, meth becomes sort of an instant replacement for a sense of purpose and engagement.

The impact of meth use has been reflected in Manitobas criminal justice system  most recently in a case in which the accused and the victim were both using the highly addictive synthetic street drug.

A 30-year-old crystal meth addict convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and threatening her with a blowtorch was released from jail Tuesday, bound by strict conditions including a court order not to use illegal drugs.

Nicholas Raymond Serbyniuk was sentenced to 21/2 years in custody followed by 21/2 years of supervised probation. He pleaded guilty on the day his trial was set to begin to sexual assault and assault with a weapon stemming from his drug-fuelled encounter with the underage girl in June 2014. He was freed after sentencing being given 11/2 days credit for each day he had served in custody since his arrest.

In asking Justice Joan McKelvey to impose a probation condition barring Serbyniuk from using drugs, the Crown said Serbyniuk needed to seriously address his abuse of crystal methamphetamine  a form of meth he started using when he was only 13.

We see the results of this particularly pernicious drug all too often in our courts, Crown attorney Mitchell Lavitt said, noting users often make bad decisions that land them in front of a judge.

In this case, it led (Serbyniuk) to a significant period of incarceration, which would have been avoided if hed simply been sober on the night in question.

Then 28, Serbyniuk met the 14-year-old girl outdoors during the Winnipeg Pride parade. He didnt know she was under 18, he told court, but took her back to his place, where they drank beer, got high on crystal meth and had sex  to which she was too young to legally consent. The next day, after the high had worn off, Serbyniuk became enraged thinking the girl had stolen some of the drugs. He lit a propane blowtorch and threatened her, saying he was going to burn her eyes out, Lavitt told court. He wouldnt let her leave and took her eyeglasses and iPad, but eventually she escaped and called police. Charges against him for forcible confinement, uttering threats, theft and sexual interference were stayed.

Lavitt told court he had previously met with the victim, whom he described as a bright young woman from a troubled background. She was living in foster care and appeared to be on the mend prior to Serbyniuks sentencing, but she couldnt be called in to give a victim-impact statement because she has gone essentially AWOL and is believed to have recently started using crystal meth again.

Its not clear whether this particular thing set her off, or something else, Lavitt told court.

Serbyniuk prays daily for the girl and her family, he told court, saying hes sorry for what he put her through.

Its cheap, and the high lasts a long time, so theres a lot about the properties that resonate with the wants of youth who use the drug Shelley Marshall, clinical nurse specialist with the WRHAs Street Connections

I really wish there was a way I could apologize to the victim and her family, he said, telling court hes done some soul-searching while incarcerated and doesnt want to get himself into trouble again. To know what I did, its just really hard to accept, he added.

I just want to say sorry, and I hope shes OK.

Serbyniuk has a new outlook on life. He wants to live a clean life, defence lawyer Brett Gladstone said, noting he has applied for treatment at a rehab centre.

But he told court his client is still struggling with drug addiction and expressed concern a court order to abstain from drugs might set him up to fail or prevent him from getting help if he slips up. Justice McKelvey ultimately imposed the order, with an exception that allows Serbyniuk to drink alcohol only in his own home. She said the condition was necessary as an incentive for him to get sober, as well as for the protection of the community.

Police expect the relative popularity of meth in Winnipeg to continue as long as the price stays low and it remains easily accessible. The man-made drug is primarily smuggled into Manitoba from British Columbia and sold in Winnipeg at a consistently very high quality and purity, the Winnipeg Police Services organized crime unit said in an emailed statement. Drug busts over the past two months have led city police to seize more than eight kilograms of meth with a street value of about $800,000, only a fraction of the methamphetamine being distributed in Winnipeg, WPS said.

But encounters with the criminal justice system can often lead to more problems for young meth users, Marshall said.

The situation of youth today is not an easy road, and crystal meth offers something from the perspective of youth, they get this sense of engagement in everything theyre doing when they use it. So its hard to dispel that benefit, she said.

If the community is concerned about meth, we should really be concerned about youth and what they actually have available to them  thats where we need to build. Rather than pulling people out of the river, we should fix the bridge so they stop falling off in the first place.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/09/2016 (2237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bad government policy is like a bomb with a very long fuse.

It may lie dormant for a very long time, even for years, and show little sign it presents any danger at all. But at some point down the road, it will blow up.

Such is the case now with First Nation casinos, a bad policy at its inception that has not gotten any better with the passage of time.

KRISTIN ANNABLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Aseneskak Casino at Opaskwayak Cree Nation near The Pas.

The spark for current concern comes courtesy of the Aseneskak Casino in The Pas, which is owned and operated by the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and five other northern First Nations. Aseneskak has served notice it very much wants to relocate to Assiniboia Downs in Headingley, just outside the western edge of Winnipeg.

The casinos general manager says gambling activity has dropped considerably and the facility now operates at a loss. The casino and its First Nation hosts have struck a deal with Assiniboia Downs and Peguis First Nation to relocate Aseneskak so that it can benefit from being closer to a denser population. All they need now is approval from the province to make it happen.

The previous NDP government was officially dead-set against moving the casino, even though there were strident supporters, such as former Thompson MLA Steve Ashton, lobbying hard within cabinet. Would the new Tory government go where the New Democrats feared to tread? The early answer is  nobody knows for sure.

Crowns Minister Ron Schuler and Justice Minister Heather Stefanson were in The Pas this week to hear more about a potential move. According to casino management, the two ministers didnt say they wanted us to stay, but they also didnt say they wanted us to move. Definitively vague would be a fair description of the provinces position.

If you had to put a bet on it  and that seems appropriate given the subject  there is growing circumstantial evidence the PCs are not amenable to moving the casino.

At the same time the Aseneskak lobby was garnering headlines, the province released an independent report into the state of gaming in Manitoba. The report, jointly commissioned by the province and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, has determined that Manitoba is the most over-serviced jurisdiction in the country when it comes to gaming.

The report found Manitoba has the highest ratio of video lottery terminals per capita, and trails only Quebec in the total number of gaming machines. The report noted Manitobans put more than $1.5 billion into VLTs every year.

The idea of relocating another casino to the capital region may seem like a good idea for First Nations, but it is a bad idea for everyone else. Southern Manitoba has more than enough gambling options right now and adding another larger casino would only serve to steal profits from the other existing facilities. And lets remember, the province reaps tens of millions of dollars in profits from the two casinos it directly owns and operates.

First Nations will argue the province has created an uneven playing field where government casinos get access to the best markets, and First Nations are left to operate in remote and sparsely populated regions. The First Nations are right to feel aggrieved, but then again, this was a problem that existed from the very inception of the First Nation casino initiative.

The seeds for this current and growing mess were first sown in the fall of 1999 when the former NDP government of premier Gary Doer promised during the election to license up to five First Nation casinos during its first term. True to his word, Doer launched a process to invite casino proposals within weeks of being elected, with an eye towards awarding up to five licences by the summer of 2000.

Unfortunately, the process was deeply flawed from the outset. First Nations were not prepared for the process and its ambitious timeline and had trouble completing all of the detailed design and financial modelling necessary to create a viable casino plan. But that was not the only problem.

The NDP process gave no consideration to the opinions of non-aboriginal communities. Many of the proposals that came forward envisioned casinos in or very near other cities and towns. As a result, bitter disputes were sparked between FN proponents and non-aboriginal communities.

Votes were held in Brandon, Thompson and Headingley, where citizens heartily rejected the casino proposals. The plebiscite campaigns were bitterly contested, with allegations by First Nations that racism was driving opposition to their plans.

Initially, only one casino proposal went forward, the Aseneskak casino on OCN land in The Pas. Since then, two other aboriginal casinos have opened: South Beach north of Winnipeg on the Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation; and Sand Hills Casino on Swan Lake First Nation land near Carberry. Currently, Aseneskak and Sand Hills claim to be operating at a loss; South Beach, which is located closer to Winnipeg than the other two casinos, is operating at a healthy profit.

The legacy of this flawed NDP policy now lands directly in the lap of Premier Brian Pallister and his Tory government. His options are limited and unpalatable.

Allowing Aseneskak casino to relocate to Headingley would certainly curry favour with powerful aboriginal leaders, and provide First Nations with a much more lucrative pool of money to share. However, much of that money would be coming right out of provincial general revenues, as gambling at provincially owned casinos would almost certainly go down. And as data has shown, this province does not need more gambling options.

Its a dilemma wrapped in a conundrum. In fact, the only thing the Tory government could do to help the situation is to promptly tell First Nations exactly what it is prepared to do, or not do, with respect to the casino in The Pas.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister met privately with the Southern Chiefs Organization on Brokenhead First Nation Tuesday and Wednesday but did not publicize his attendance ahead of time at the organizations request.

This was not a public appearance, at the request of SCO, Olivia Billson, the premiers press secretary, said in an email Wednesday. This was their event, which the premier was invited to attend.

Pallisters office issued a news release Wednesday afternoon in which his staff touted the success of his appearance at the organizations annual general meeting.

Premier Brian Pallister emphasized the commitment of Manitobas new government to building a productive relationship with the provinces indigenous leaders and community members based on a foundation of mutual respect and sustained trust today at a gathering of indigenous leaders at the annual general assembly of the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO). The assembly took place over the last two days at Brokenhead First Nation, the news release states.

Our government recognizes the path to our provinces future prosperity must include the active participation of our large and growing indigenous population, said Pallister in a statement.

We are committed to fulfilling our duty to consult with First Nations on the many economic and social development opportunities where we have an opportunity to collaborate and partner.

The premiers office said Pallister noted the lengthy process associated with treaty land entitlements and committed to speak to the federal government and Manitoba First Nations to facilitate a faster resolution of claims so they are able to move forward with their urban economic-development zones in communities throughout Manitoba.

Pallister was welcomed by Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Terrance Nelson on behalf of the 32 First Nations represented by the organization, his staff reported.

It was an honour to have Premier Brian Pallister attend the Southern Chiefs Organization chiefs-in-summit today, Nelson said in a statement. As Southern First Nations work towards building an economic path forward, we welcome the premiers willingness for open dialogue and his governments commitment to build partnerships based on respect and common ground.

The premiers staff said he also expressed the governments support for further dialogue with indigenous leaders throughout Manitoba, including the Southern Chiefs, with the goal of establishing a framework for resource sharing that would ensure opportunities for economic development associated with exploration of Manitobas vast natural resources are pursued in a manner that would allow for the benefit of First Nations.

Our government is extremely pleased with the opportunities that Manitoba chiefs have presented for us to meet and discuss opportunities for future partnerships, said Pallister.

We are committed to a continued dialogue and look forward to future meetings with community leaders from across Manitoba.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg trucker is appearing in a Toronto court charged with several driving offences in connection with a fiery multi-vehicle collision which claimed four lives.

Sarbjit Singh Matharu, 35, is charged with four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. He was scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Thursday.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, a spokesman for the departments Highway Safety Division, said on Thursday that a total of 12 vehicles, including three commercial transport trucks, were involved in the collision on Hwy. 400 southbound, on June 24 at 9:47 p.m.

ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE PHOTO Twelve vehicles, including three commercial transport trucks, were involved in the highway crash.

Schmidt said the collision left four people dead, including three members of one family including a child.

Xhemile Vokshi, 55, her daughter Valbona Vokshi, 35, and her five-year-old granddaughter Isabela Kuci died in the collision.

This was probably one of the most intense collision scenes that Ive been to in my career, Schmidt said.

They had to repave the road due to metal dripping down to the road from the fire.

Schmidt said police are still investigating and more charges could be laid.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Everyone enjoys an I told you so moment, which is why Canadians have been relishing the U.S presidential elections with more than a hint of schadenfreude. Weve always thought Americans could be extreme in their politics. The Republican party putting Donald Trump forward as its presidential nominee has only confirmed our suspicions. At night, we sleep easier knowing we dont have an American-style health-care system, an American-style gun culture and most importantly, American-style elections.

We are wrong.

Trumps brand of nativist politics is not an American phenomenon, although in typical American fashion, he may be the most boisterous of his contemporaries. Politicians throughout the West have been appealing to a demographic that has become known as the alt-right with success over the past decade. Frances Marine Le-Pen and the United Kingdoms Nigel Farage are only two examples.

These politicians have been building support for their nativist agendas (or even worse, hijacking the nativist agenda) by stoking the publics fear of immigration, unease over foreign competition and a desire to preserve their countrys distinct national character. Farages nativist-Brexit movement led the historic U.K. vote to leave the European Union, and recent polling has found Le-Pen may win Frances next presidential election in 2017.

Canada is not immune to the fears that have fuelled the candidacy of Trump in the U.S. One need not look further than Conservative party leadership candidate Kellie Leitchs recent trial balloon to screen new immigrants for Canadian values.

This country is a cultural mosaic drawn from all parts of the globe, a country of immigrants who subscribe to a common set of values. Many of our values are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, such as our respect for the rule of law, the right to speak our mind and practise our own religion; others are informal, such as our emphasis on family. Those values are not always shared by the countries many immigrants come from, and in fact, that is why many immigrants come to Canada in the first place.

Make no mistake, Canada wouldnt be Canada if, over time, immigrants did not adopt the values that make us proud to be Canadian. That was as true in 1916 as it is in 2016. Many Manitobans, myself included, have relatives who came a century ago from the former Soviet Union. But a values test cannot be enforced through a test at the border, nor should it be.

We should continue to screen for immigrants who may have plans to harm others, but it is impossible to screen for intolerance or other skewed values. Moreover, new Canadians are given a citizenship test on arrival that instils values such as justice, equality and tolerance and, over time, are exposed to Canadian values through experience and osmosis. We have to rely on our criminal law system and intelligence services to protect us from offenders, whether immigrants or natural-born citizens, caught up in an anti-western ideology. The most recent terrorist incidents on Canadian soil were committed by individuals born in Canada.

Therein lies the problem of politicians promoting nativist agendas. On the surface, they seem reasonable. Illegal immigration is a problem that needs to be addressed in the United States, stagnating economies pull manufacturing jobs away to foreign markets, and without a distinct Canadian ethnicity, a shared set of values is all we have to bind us together as a society. However, what makes a politician nativist is the solutions they propose are dangerously impractical and incendiary.

Blaming our problems on immigrants from autocratic countries is like giving a shot of heroin to an otherwise demoralized and fearful voter base.

The nativist agenda can turn otherwise legitimate issues into divisive race-baiting. Notice how the conversation in the United States has shifted from the best way to deal with illegal immigration to Trumps ridiculous deportation plan.

Parties on the right, such as the Republicans or Conservatives, are not inherently nativist. In fact, Rona Ambrose, the leader of the Conservative party, has openly criticized the proposal to screen for Canadian values at the border. However, in big-tent politics, fringe voters need to be denounced, lest they hijack the partys message, as the Tea Party did to the Republican party. Moreover, political parties need to resist the urge to expand their tent by stoking the fears of the electorate.

We can no longer sit back as smug third-party observers to nativist political movements; we are not immune. Our values are at stake.

Joshua Morry is the 2016 Gold Medalist at Robson Hall faculty of law at the University of Manitoba. He is currently enrolled in a post-graduate masters of law at the University of Oxford.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 12/09/2016 (2239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I sensed my wife wanted to talk to me about something.

I sensed this because, as I lay on the couch in the living room peeking over the top of the newspaper, there she was, arms folded across her chest, staring down at me with a look of grim determination.

Im getting the feeling theres something you want to say to me, I told her, loudly rumpling the pages of the weekend travel section.

Yes, my wife replied.

(You see, its like Im psychic or something.)

I continued reading for a few seconds, then looked up at my hovering wife and said: OK, honey bunny, what do you want to tell me?

Despite my use of this quaint term of marital endearment, the frown on my wifes face became even frownier.

You need to get off the couch because fall is almost here, and theres a lot of important stuff we need to do in the yard, she explained.

I calmly laid the paper on my chest to convey the manly notion I was giving her words serious consideration.

Id really like to help out, dear, I said, gently, but right now I need to finish reading this travel story about Australia.

Surprisingly, my wife was unimpressed. Why do you need to read about Australia? she demanded.

I arched my eyebrows to convey how shocked I was by this question. Because Im extremely interested in kangaroos, I sniffed, disdainfully. Also, koalas.

Which explains why, a few minutes later, I was standing with my wife in our backyard staring up at our eavestroughs, which looked perfectly fine to me but were clearly causing my wife to experience a high degree of homeowner aggravation.

Those are some good-looking gutters, I said tentatively, because I wasnt sure what my wife expected me to say.

She rolled her eyes. No. They. Are. Not! she snorted.

Our gutters are disgusting.

Which is when my wife patiently explained that, according to her hero, Bob Vila, the legendary American handyman and former longtime host of TVs This Old House, eavestroughs are your homes first line of defence against water damage, and if they become clogged with leaves and other gunk, it is only a matter of time before your entire house disintegrates and you are forced to live in a broken-down van in the parking lot of the nearest Walmart.

Wobbling back and forth in my flip-flops, I adopted an expression meant to convey concern.

So youre saying we need to clean the gutters? I asked in the probing manner of a crusading journalist searching for the truth.

My wife grimaced. No! she said. Not until we cut the lawn.

So we need to cut the lawn first, I echoed, pleased I finally had a firm grasp on the home-maintenance situation.

A brief, uncomfortable silence ensued. No! my wife snorted again, pointing at the grass. Not until we rake up all these crabapples and plums.

For the record, when you look at our lawn, you dont actually see the lawn so much as you see millions and millions of rotting crabapples and plums that have plummeted from the mini-orchard in our backyard.

Not only do these tiny, decaying fruits attract legions of bad-tempered wasps, they are also irresistible to both our dogs, who will happily spend hours gulping them down, then demanding to go back inside the house, where their digestive systems will almost instantly launch into reverse-thruster mode, causing them to emit potentially lethal fruit-based fumes that are toxic enough to make our neighbours wish they were living next to a slaughterhouse, if you catch my drift.

Let me see if Ive got this straight, I finally said, holding up three fingers.

We need to rake up the fruit, then cut the grass, and then we can deal with the disgusting gutters.

Like the grey clouds parting after a thunderstorm to reveal the sun, a beatific smile slowly stretched across my wifes face.

Thats pretty much it, she agreed. And we dont have a lot of time because theres only one more weekend before fall gets here.

Which is when I explained to my wife I was seriously excited to get going on these vital chores, but not before I went back in the house to finish an insightful column for this newspaper.

As I write these words, I can see my wife stooped over in the yard, scooping up decaying plums and crabapples and dropping them into large plastic garbage bags.

I just yelled out the window shes doing a great job, but I dont think she heard me because she didnt wave back.

Anyway, Ive pretty much run out of space today, so I will head outside to help her in a few minutes  just as soon as I finish my research on kangaroos.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fall events at Henderson Library

Theres a full slate of events and activities planned at Henderson Library (1050 Henderson Hwy.):

 Youth advisory council  Thurs., Sept. 29, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Youth in Grades 7 to 12 are invited to share opinions and ideas about the teen website Booked, teen programs and the materials available at their library. To apply visit wpl-teens.winnipeg.ca and click on Join a YAC.

 Book club  Thurs., Oct. 6, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Readers are invited to discuss and debate Anthony Doerrs All the Light We Cannot See.

 Iceland lecture  Tues., Oct. 25 7 p.m.

University of Winnipeg associate professor Dr. Ryan Eyford discusses the history of New Iceland at 7 p.m. Dr. Eyford is the author of White Settler Reserve: New Iceland and the Colonization of the Canadian West.

 Little Miners Minecraft  Sat., Oct. 29, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Children aged six to eight can celebrate Halloween by creating their own Minecraft poster.

 Baby Rhyme Time  Thursdays, 10:30 to 11 a.m., Fridays 1:30 to 2 p.m. beginning the week of Sept. 26.

Newborns to two-year olds will enjoy a session of songs, finger plays, simple books and bouncing rhymes. Bring a blanket for your baby.

 Sign-a-story  Tuesdays, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. from Oct. 11 to Nov. 15.

Enjoy story time with a host using American Sign Language. Learn signs to tell your favourite childrens picture book stories. No ASL knowledge is required and all are welcome. Recommended for children aged two to six. An interpreter will be present. Advance registration is required.

The library can be reached by phone at 204-986-4314.

Facebook.com/TheHeraldWPG

Twitter: @HeraldWPG
Nepal Womens Association convention begins

The third general convention of Nepal Womens Association, a sister wing of Nepali Congress, kicked off with an overwhelming participation in the Capital on Wednesday.
Buffalo County has signed on to a statewide alliance of public and private entities seeking more transportation funding to maintain roads.

A campaign dubbed Just Fix It is bringing pressure on Gov. Scott Walker and state legislators to adequately fund upkeep of local roads in Wisconsin.

More than 400 entities are allied in a quest with the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin to bring about more sustainable funding of roads and highways across the state.

The county board cited sources that Wisconsin highway conditions are losing ground to most states in upkeep and repair.

A resolution approved by the county board said state funding of local road maintenance had failed to keep up with costs, and cited a commissioned study that said municipal per capita spending on roads had declined.

Property tax levy limits have prevented local government from raising enough money for local road repairs and state gas taxes and vehicle registration fees are increasingly being used to pay state debts, alliance backers say.

A resolution forwarded to Walker and state lawmakers said Wisconsin motorists pay significantly less than any of our neighbors when you combine the annual cost of state gas tax and vehicle registration fees.

The transportation finance and policy commission, appointed by Walker and the Wisconsin Legislature, clearly found that state and local roads will deteriorate significantly over the next decade unless Wisconsin adjusts its user fees.

The Wisconsin League of Municipalities, Towns Association and Wisconsin Counties Association said 365 governing bodies are so far supporting the Just Fix It initiative.

A push is on to have meetings across the state Sept. 29 to rally support for more road funding. A meeting for those backing the Just Fix It campaign was scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, at the county courthouse in Alma.

So far, 365 governing bodies are supporting the Just Fix It initiative.
Maddy Martin was, luckily, in the mood for potatoes.

The Feast, a weekly, pay-what-you-can community meal hosted by Central Lutheran Church in Winona, was back Wednesday after a three-month break.

Volunteers spent the day baking potatoes and cooking chili for the 100-odd people who were expected to flock to the old stone church on Wabasha Street.

It was the first time since the beginning of summer the church had enough volunteers to make the meal, which attracts mostly elders and college students.

Its more balanced than what I make at home, said Maddy Martin, a nursing student at Winona State University. Her culinary range includes pasta and a variety of sandwiches.

This is a great thing, she said.

The Feast is prepared by members of the congregation and members of Winona States Circle K, a leadership training club with an emphasis on community service.

Connie Larson, a longtime volunteer at the church, said the return of students this fall has replenished the roster of volunteers, and made the dinner a less daunting task.

It will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesdays in the coming months.

Weve taken time off before, but we decided to take the full three months this time, Larson said. It think its brought us back more excited.

Later in the fall, when the meal usually gains steam, somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 people can pack the dining room in the space of a couple hours.

Larson said it is a chance for elders, many of whom live alone, to meet friends or new people.

Its like social hour, said Jessica Lavorata, a volunteer from Circle K. We get students who come with their friends, too. Theyre appreciative of a good meal.

Diners filled their plates with cottage cheese, coleslaw and cupcakes.

Betty, Joan, Carol, Dee and Marilyn come to the Feast every week they can. They also get together a few times a week to drink coffee and play bridge.

They live alone, they say, without husbands. They asked to go by their first names.

We get together to talk, Dee said. We dont gossip  just talk.

Dee and a couple others were not head-over-heels about the baked potatoes stuffed with chili.

Maybe, they said, if the two were served separately.

I like the casseroles, Joan said, stabbing another bite of potato. They stay hot longer.

The dinner was better than  at least comparable to  what theyd be having at home, the ladies said.

My cooking is  Marilyn said.

Then she finished the sentence under her breath.
Visitors are almost invariably at a loss to ascertain the correct locations of the compass points when in Winona. They cannot conceive that the Mississippi River runs from west to east along the north boundary of the city limits, which it does with a slight variation. The streets running parallel with the Mississippi River are divided by Center east and west and are represented in this directory by the letters E and W before the name of the street, which will represent east and west from center.

The odd numbers are all on the right-hand side of the street the persons going east and south, while the even numbers are on the left.  Winona city directory, 1923

Good luck. Knowing which way the river flows isnt much help in finding Bierce Street. Or Shives Road.

It doesnt explain where West Sarnia went when the sign says Gilmore Avenue. Nobody seems to know why Dacota becomes McBride, but most people spell Dacota wrong anyway.

Looking for the 800 block, the 1200 block? Forget it. Tightfisted city planners only doled out 50 house numbers to the block, as if they were afraid of running out of them.

For an out-of-towner with an appointment to keep, Winona has the street map from hell.

It didnt have to be, and for a brief, shining, logical moment it wasnt.

It all started with Indiana Avenue in 1921.

Annual publication of the city directory had been suspended during World War I and it had been slow to get re-organized in the immediate postwar years. But in 1921 a new directory was in the works, and a number of local movers-and-shakers saw it as a chance to clear up a few the citys quirks.

Like Indiana Avenue. Wabasha Street was Wabasha Street until you hit Sioux Street, where it became Indiana Avenue, which it remained until it hit South Baker Street, where it became Wabash Street, leaving everyone to wonder where the final a had gone.

This bit of geographic legerdemain annoyed C.A. Bolton, secretary of the Association of Commerce, as it did the aforementioned McBride/Dacota dilemma, and the incongruous existence of such orphan streets as Williams, Curtis and Wacouta.

It was long past time to clean up this mess, and the publication of the new directory was just the excuse the city needed to get on with it.

Bolton took his idea to the city council. Council members were hard-pressed to find fault with the suggestion, and the more they chewed it over among themselves, the more apparent the need for an even more far-reaching, forward-looking, modern-minded solution begin.

On March 1, at a special meeting of the council, with regular rules and procedures suspended, alderman George Kerkow proposed an ordinance, and, with a unanimous vote of the council defined, Mayor Protz signed it into law.

At midnight virtually everyone in the city was at a new address.

What had been an imaginative jumble of names commemorating wives and sons, presidents, lawyers and Indian chiefs had been reduced to mathematical precision. Streets ran east and west; avenues north and south. They were numbered north to south from the river, to the east and west beginning at Center Street.

Thus the whole Huff family  Henry Huff, Harriet and Wilson  became Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Avenues West. The Great Emancipator was replaced by 13th Ave. West, and, following the new Winona scheme of things, Gen. Pershing would have arrived in France to announce, First Avenue East, we are here.

Wabasha-Indiana-Wabash, the mess that started the whole thing, was now Seventh Street. Period.

Flushed with success, Kerkow announced the next move would be to re-number every city property, getting rid of the system of 50 numbers to the block and adopting the 100 number system used virtually everywhere else in the country.

The councilman were quite pleased with themselves. The people were less enthusiastic. At their next meeting, council members were confronted by a room full of angry citizens demanding their street names back.

They knew where they lived. They knew where their friends lived. If the council wanted numbered streets all that bad, they could move themselves to Rochester.

Dismayed by this uprising in the electorate, The city fathers agreed to put the matter before the people in a referendum.

Logic lost.

Dacota still becomes McBride, and Sarnia fades into Gilmore. Indiana and Wabash are gone, but finding John, Wilsie and Garfield still distinguishes the tourist from the townie.

And the river still flows from west to east.

Some things never change.
I vividly remember the first time driving to Winona. It was for college and I was amazed and enthralled when I crested the valley coming in from Rochester. I had no idea that such a beautiful place was part of Minnesota.

That infatuation carried throughout my life and was the driving force for me when I sought full-time employment. I did not land in Winona but was satisfied to be able to call Red Wing home.

I have recently retired and plan to relocate here amid the bluffs, coulees, streams and creeks. It will be nice to come home.

However, as someone said, you can never really return home.

Life has changed a lot since the eighties. Not just geographically but also socially. The youthful values I had as a young adult are still there, but they have been beaten and tarnished with the ongoing degradation we have put on the environment. This area still holds much of the allure I saw 30-some years ago. It brings me hope.

I was very interested to attend the public hearing about the proposed ban on frac sand mining. I was bolstered and impressed by the citizens with overwhelming support for the ban (I took a count and my ratio was 7 to 1 in favor).

There were so many reasons given for why banning frac sand mining is so important. If you have read the articles in the local news, one can get a glimpse of what is at stake.

I was mildly surprised when the county planning commission did not support the ban. Obviously, they know or feel something quite differently than the majority of the people who attended that night. Otherwise their vote would not have been so contrary or controversial.

I want to savor my last few years with just one Sugar Loaf. I want to trust the water I drink and the wells it comes from. I wish to be able to take my grandchildren out for walks confident they will not inhale damaging air. I would not mind paying more for dairy products and gas if it meant being more environmentally careful with how those products are produced. I want to be governed by conscientious people who listen and adhere to the wisdom of informed citizens they serve.

Much of this is a county issue. Granted, landowners should have rights to work their land with reason and responsibility. They should not be allowed to tamper with air or ground water that does not stop at property lines.

The biggest issue in my mind goes beyond the county boundaries. It revolves around our dependence on fossil fuels and the drastic attempts we employ to get more of it.

If we continue to demand more oil and are hesitant to look at other solutions, our nation is in big trouble. If the price of a product is more seductive than the careful and responsible production of it, our world will continue to go down a path that leads to disaster.

Our neighbors to the west are protesting this now. The frustration with the oil pipeline has gained the attention of the world.

I keep shaking my head at the people who do not believe in the seriousness or validity of global warming. I believe if the dam shows signs of leaking and possibly breaking, you should do something about it rather than assuming the rising water will recede.

I fervently hope Winona County takes a stand against repeated acceptance of oil drilling policies. If we allow frac sand mining to occur, we damage our land, water, and air. I believe we need to send a message to others and demand a better option than destroying deep earth strata. We need to reach across our state border and stand with our Native American brethren in support of saying no to big oil.

If we dont change what we are doing as Winonans and Americans, then there will be a great need for our sand. They can use it to extract oil. Plus, they may have a market for it with the new ocean front shoreline in cities such as Atlanta and Washington D.C.

I want myself and everyone else to enjoy the sunset years of our lives getting a fair share of emotional, experiential, and observable beauty. How tragically sad it would be for countless numbers of us if our sundowns turn out to be darkened and overcast.
Given that the weird and unwholesome political element epitomized by the "alt-right" insists that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will be Our Last Great Hope for Making America Great Again, then what would stand in the way of such elements whom the "alt-right" sees as "moochers," "takers," "parasites" and worse (as in the welfare "basket cases" technically unable to find work for circumstances not of their own choosing, the disabled, and minorities generally) from exercising their political strength and majesty by encouraging such to register to vote  and, even more so, to actually exercise electoral franchise come Nov. 8?

Is there somehow the dated-sounding fear that these "parasites" could "make the wrong choices," such as the Communists, as if they were still some class of a threat to our national and sovereign identity?

Is it because such are morally and mentally incapable of making sound choices, per former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's recent suggestion that women and the poor be barred from voting)?

Is it out of fear that His wrath and judgment could be all the more aggravated by these same undesirables (or as the Nazi regime called such, "Untermenschen," which translates as "subhuman") exercising electoral franchise?

Is it because of unsubstantiated notions that these "parasites" may be some sort of unwitting Fifth Column prepared to Betray Our Dear and Lovely Land to the Dark and Sinister Forces of the New World Order, and Other Threats From Without?

Or what exactly is the real threat?

Hence: Who will take the first steps to help register such otherwise "undesirables" to vote, and actually encourage them to vote?

Larry Ellis Reed,

Winona
Ralph Draheim

Ralph Gust Draheim, 94, son of the late Olga and Gust Draheim, died Sept. 12, 2016. Until recently he enjoyed good health and an active life. He died peacefully at his home with his wife, Betty Draheim (nee Cox), and his two daughters, Kristine and Cindy, at his side.

His survivors include their four children, Terry and his partner, Christian Grevstad, Susie Kupser and her husband Dave, Kristine Draheim-Isaacson and her husband Bruce, Cindy Holwerda and her husband Jim, and his sister, Maysel Wiersma. Survivors also include seven grandchildren, Kristen, Shelley, Jamie, Jessica, Melissa, Bianca and Joslin; and five great-grandchildren.

Ralph and Betty farmed for nearly 50 years in and around Randolph until selling their farm to their daughter, Cindy, and son-in-law, Jim. Ralph served on the Dodge County Board of Assessments for a number of years. He was one of the oldest church members at Friseland Lutheran Church where he and Betty were married in 1943.

Ralph was a dedicated, well-respected and hard working farmer. His hard work rewarded him with the ability to enjoy a number of hobbies and travel adventures to Canada, Africa, the South Pacific, New Zealand and Central America. He was an avid aviator and devoted outdoorsman. His fishing and hunting trips and outings were boundless. He willingly shared many of his fishing and hunting trips with family and friends. He also willingly shared a cold beer or two and loved a good game of euchre. He was a gentle and quiet man who rarely passed judgment and encouraged all to pursue their passions and dreams. He always ensured that his family was well cared for.

Ralph will be deeply missed by many. He leaves a legacy of goodness, sharing and the simple love and enjoyment of life.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Randolph Community Funeral Home is assisting the family. Vioew www.randolphfh.com.
A pair of Sauk Prairie accounting firms are merging and moving to a new location to accommodate the expanded office staff.

Sauk City bookkeeping company Navigate to Success will be taken over by Kari Apel, who owns the Prairie du Sac public accounting firm Apel and Associates. After purchasing Navigate to Success from Jackie Bascom, Apel plans to merge the firm with her own.

Apel plans to move the merged company from the current Prairie Street location into the old Schwarz Insurance building in downtown Prairie Du Sac by the end of the month. The firm also has locations in Baraboo and Johnson Creek.

Apel said the reputation of Navigate to Success as a successful bookkeeping firm made the merger an easy decision.

We had always been competitors, so I knew the level of work that Jackie did, she said. A lot of times when you work with other bookkeeping firms or accountants, they dont necessarily have that level of knowledge, and thats really difficult, because when you take over a firm like that, you have to start over and fix everything.

Apel said thats not the case with Navigate to Success, and she hopes to continue the firms reputation for accurate work. We knew the books would be good coming from Jackie, and we could continue to offer that great service and keep the great reputation, she said.

Apel also wants to place an increased emphasis on year-round tax services. We dont feel like there are many bookkeeping firms that really do the clients the right service as far as really understanding their numbers, she said.

Bascom started Navigate to Success 15 years ago with hopes of becoming a professional organizer. The company grew and evolved into bookkeeping, but Bascom said her other work with nonprofit organizations in recent years made it hard to keep up.

I got involved in nonprofit work, and I really had a passion for that, she said. But I started realizing I was way overextended.

Bascom said she wanted to continue her nonprofit work and make sure her clients and employees at Navigate to Success were cared for. Bascoms increasing workload prompted her to contact Apel with hopes that she could take over the bookkeeping firm.

They have a really strong firm, theyre really solid people and theyre invested in the community, Bascom said. It seemed like a perfect fit.

Bascom said its hard to let go of a business she spent 15 years building, but she believes the merger with Apel and Associates will be a smooth transition for employees and clients.

Its nice to see two local businesses come together like this for the sake of the staff and the clients, Bascom said. I think its a win-win all the way around.
A blood stain analyst testified Wednesday that he could not determine who was driving at the time of a May 2014 crash that took the life of a Baraboo man.

By the time I was all done with this, I just simply couldnt answer the question of who was sitting where in this vehicle, William Newhouse, a former employee at the Crime Laboratory Bureau of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, told a Sauk County jury.

Newhouse examined blood stains on a truck that was involved in a May 31 crash along Terrytown Road west of Baraboo. And although he said he could not determine who was driving based on his analysis, he said that was not unusual  despite what people see on television.

More often than not we do our best but we just cant answer those questions, he said.

Prosecutors allege that 33-year-old Matthew J. Steinhorst of Baraboo was driving at the time of the crash. His friend, 31-year-old James V. Wedekind of Baraboo, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

Steinhorst told authorities Wedekind was driving at the time of the crash, but prosecutors say the evidence from the scene, and witness testimony, tells a different story.

During the third day of the homicide trial that is expected to wrap up Thursday, prosecutors called Newhouse to the stand. Pointing to pictures on a projector screen, the retired state crime lab analyst walked jurors through various blood stains found both inside and outside the truck.

Although prosecutors have said a large amount of blood on the interior of the drivers side door likely was created when Steinhorst's left arm was seriously wounded while he was in the drivers seat, Newhouse said he could not make that determination.

Sauk County Assistant District Attorney Michael Albrecht tried to put Newhouses testimony in context for jurors, asking if his findings took into account other evidence, such as DNA analysis, witness statements, vehicle occupant injuries, seat belt usage, or the motion of occupants. Newhouse said they did not.

During cross examination of a detective that worked on the case, Steinhorsts attorney attempted to show that authorities had neglected to remove and test a portion of the passenger seatbelt that was stained with blood.

Under questioning by defense attorney Cole Ruby of Baraboo, Sauk County Sheriffs Department Detective Justin Hannagan said it seemed that he did not collect a portion of seat belt that appeared in a photo of the truck.

But Albrecht brought clarity to the matter during his questioning of Newhouse, who pointed out that the object actually was not a portion of the seat belt, but instead a dislodged piece of plastic trim from the trucks interior.

Steinhorst and Wedekind had been bar hopping in Baraboo that night, and were both extremely intoxicated, according to witnesses and blood analyses. They allegedly crashed on their way to go fishing in the early morning hours.
EDGERTON  Gov. Scott Walker edged closer Thursday to a road-funding showdown with fellow Republicans in the next state budget, saying his two-year transportation plan would not raise taxes or fees  at the cost of delaying major road expansions, including the Verona Road project in the Madison area.

Walkers plan would keep other large highway projects on schedule, including the Interstate 39-90 expansion in Dane and Rock counties.

Walker, while unveiling his administrations 2017-19 transportation budget request, also drew the lines of an impending battle with his Republican colleagues in the Assembly, where GOP leaders have left the door open to increasing gas taxes or transportation fees, such as vehicle registration fees, in 2017 to resolve the states road-funding woes. They have also floated the idea of instituting toll roads.

Walker told reporters Thursday that he would veto any changes made to the budget that add to the overall burden of the taxpayers of this state.

My promise to the taxpayers was, I was not going to raise the gas tax or other associated fees without a corresponding reduction, Walker said. If people want to make changes to the budget, they need to be mindful of that.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, panned Walkers proposal, calling it a political solution, not a real solution. Vos and other top Assembly Republicans have said new revenue for transportation likely is needed; it likely would come through higher taxes or fees.

It is more conservative to pay for projects today than it is to borrow the money and make our children pay the price, Vos said.

Transportation advocates and Democrats also knocked Walkers proposal as lacking a long-term fix for road funding. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi criticized the proposed Verona Road delay, saying the project needs to be completed for the safety of motorists and the economic well-being of businesses in Dane County.

Walker said his transportation plan would minimize borrowing and prioritize safety and maintenance of existing roads. It calls for $500 million in borrowing for the Department of Transportation for the two-year period beginning in July 2017. Walkers office described that level of borrowing for transportation as the lowest since the 2001-03 budget.

The budget enacted by Walker and lawmakers last year borrowed $850 million for roads. Critics, including some GOP lawmakers, have said the state cant afford to borrow so heavily again this time.

While some highway expansions are frozen out of Walkers plan, funding for road maintenance and state transportation aid to local units of government would increase.

First step in debate

Walkers budget request is the first step in a debate over the state transportation budget that likely will find a prominent place on the legislative agenda for 2017. His announcement came the day before state agencies were due to submit requests for the 2017-19 budget cycle.

Lawmakers will formally start to debate transportation and other areas of the next state budget when they begin the next legislative session early next year.

A statewide transportation advocacy group, the Transportation Development Association, blasted Walkers plan as short-sighted and troubling.

It would provide, for the next two years, needed investment at the local level, but at the expense of important economic corridors, said Craig Thompson, director of the association, which includes businesses, labor, local governments and citizen groups.

Walkers budget request would halt, at least for now, construction on three major highway expansions, including the Verona Road project  one seen as vital to the southwest Madison area, which includes some of Dane Countys fastest-growing business and residential areas.

Work currently underway on the project involves widening the Beltline from two to three lanes each direction.

The project also calls for widening Verona Road from two to three lanes each way from the Beltline to McKee Road, and upgrading part of McKee Road and other roads in the area.

The part of the project that likely would face delays under Walkers budget is the proposed construction of an interchange at Verona Road and McKee Road, according to DOT spokeswoman Patty Mayers.

Walkers budget also would delay expansion work on the Interstate 94 North-South project in Racine and Kenosha counties and on the north leg of Milwaukee Countys Zoo Interchange, the states oldest and busiest freeway interchange. The core portion of the interchange, which now is being rebuilt, would remain on track for completion in 2019.

Senate could be key

to outcome

The plan would keep on track two large expansions, including the Interstate 39-90 project, which widens it to three lanes each way from the Illinois state line to the Beltline. The other project that would stay on schedule under Walkers plan is an expansion of Highway 10-441 in the Fox Valley.

With Walker and Assembly Republicans staking out their positions on road funding, where the state Senate comes down on the issue likely will be pivotal.

Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, whose district includes the I-94 North-South project, released a statement Thursday criticizing Walkers proposal.

Two of the Senates staunchest fiscal conservatives, Sens. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, and Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, released statements praising it. Stroebel repeatedly has said the Department of Transportation must find more savings within its current spending practices.

Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach, of Middleton, whose district includes Verona, one of the cities most affected by the Verona Road project, said he favors increasing the gas tax.

Other ideas lawmakers have floated include raising registration fees or creating toll roads.

Tolling interstates would not be a short-term fix because it would require federal approval, which is far from certain.

The governor just simply isnt being realistic, Erpenbach said. You cant be the kind of pro-jobs governor he claims to be, then put the brakes on something that will create jobs down the road.
Officials say 6 people killed in Pakistan train accident

At least six passengers were killed and more than 100 others were hurt Thursday when a passenger train collided with a freight train near the central Pakistan city of Multan, rescuers and a railway officials said.
Not long ago, a woman came into Portages new Fastenal retail store, looking for a gift.

The gifts intended recipient is a construction contractor. Suffice it to say, the shopper found a suitable gift among the stores inventory of construction and industrial products.

Portages Fastenal store at 2800 New Pinery Road, in the Northridge Plaza shopping center, has been open since July.

Steve Sobiek, director of business development and planning for the city of Portage, said the addition of Fastenal to the citys retail offerings meets a vital need  partly because Portage has an unusually high number of small businesses (between 700 and 800) and a robust manufacturing community.

Businesses are Fastenals principal customers.

Its exciting that theyre coming into a market of the type in which theyre sure to succeed, Sobiek said.

According to Fastenals website, there are 2,622 stores nationwide, with a total inventory value of $913 million.

As the name suggests, construction-related fasteners such as nuts, bolts and nails are part of the Fastenal inventory. But the store also offers items such as safety equipment, tools, ladders and other supplies needed for construction.

Fastenal started in 1967 in Winona, Minnesota, where Bob Kierlin opened the first store. The original business plan called for dispensing nuts and bolts via vending machines  an idea that was ahead of its time, according to the Fastenal website, but not by much. Today, the company has installed more than 50,000 vending machines, though the Portage store doesnt have any.

Chris Dunahee, manager of the Portage store, said Fastenal differs from the typical big-box home improvement store in that it provides more direct service to builders, including going to construction sites.

The opening of the Portage store was the result of a split-off territory from Baraboo. The Portage territory encompasses most of Columbia and Marquette counties and a little bit of Adams and Sauk counties.

So far, Dunahee said, business has been good at Portage.

We get all kinds of customers walking in, including do-it-yourselfers, he said.

Store hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Wednesdays grand opening of the new Portage Food Pantry location was the celebration of something that started with a strange and serendipitous request.

Gayle Mack, who works in the building design division of Portages General Engineering Corp., made a request that baffled Parks and Recreation Manager Dan Kremer: Let me see the inside of that old brick building in Lincoln Park.

That old brick building  a former pump house that had been used for storage  is now the spacious, single-story location for the Portage Food Pantry.

Dozens gathered early Wednesday evening for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the pantry, 405 E. Howard St., partly to reflect on the journey that brought them there.

That journey actually started 35 years ago, said founding Food Pantry Board Member Charles Bradley, when the Rev. Keith Whitmore  then an Episcopal priest serving in Portage, now the assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta  proposed creating an ecumenical ministry to provide food for people who had fallen on hard times.

I was really grateful, Bradley said, to see that the whole community stood up in support of the project.

Since its 1981 inception, the Portage Food Pantry had been located in the basement of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 211 W. Pleasant St. But pantry volunteers wanted more space, and wanted it on one level, so that it would be accessible for volunteers and users.

Mayor Rick Dodd recalled the pantrys former location.

It was a real bear to get that stuff down the stairs, and for the people to haul it back up the stairs, he said.

The search for a more spacious and accessible location came to an end, however, when Kremer granted Macks request for a tour of the old pump house.

City Administrator Shawn Murphy said the building, at the time of the tour about two years ago, was used for storage.

We had pulled out all of the plumbing and heating, and we basically used it as a closet, he said.

The place needed work, according to Mack. The floors were uneven and had to be leveled. A bathroom had to be installed, to serve both pantry patrons and people who use Lincoln Park. The building needed a new roof. And, changes needed to be made in the interior to ensure accessibility and security  namely, adding a pass-through window where patrons can pick up their food.

The bathrooms construction was a partnership between the city and the Food Pantry board, and the city put on the roof. The city continues to own the building, but theres a memorandum of understanding designating it as the Portage Food Pantrys location.

A sign inside the pantry noted that, since 1992, the pantry had served 97,458 individuals and 37,484 households.

Bradley said none of that would have happened without the support, from the beginning, of Portage area individuals, organizations and congregations.

Right away, they started bringing food, he said, and we were ready for our first call.
The Portage Community School District wont be using last years professional handbook after all.

The school board this week approved the 2016-17 handbook a month later than usual, putting to rest  for now  an issue that had divided members over the districts health insurance coverage.

The District Leadership Team in May had recommended moving to a plan with $3,000 (single) and $6,000 (family) deductibles, dubbed Option 3. The plan would have been partially covered by a Health Savings Account (HSA) and was the option members Steve Pate, Fred Reckling and Dan Brown said would better serve more district employees in the long run, due largely to a reduction in premium costs.

But the issue  one that was quickly hit by the emotional factor, Pate said Monday  created much debate this summer when members learned the majority of employees supported Option 1. Members Matt Foster, Connie Shlimovitz and Chad Edwards ultimately sided with that majority.

The move to Option 3 failed in July, meaning employees this school year will keep using a Dean Health Insurance plan that includes a $1,000 or $2,000 deductible paid out of a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for single and family subscribers, respectively. This plan, though with higher premiums, was dubbed Option 1.

I want to be on the front end (next time), Pate said Monday before he voted to approve the handbook that reflected Option 1. Everybody else got to see (the health plans) but us, and thats not the way to run a school board.

I dont care if the whole staff is sitting there (with us)  we can do it in the auditorium  but I think the board needs to hear it first, to hear the pros and cons on both sides.

You have to take the emotions out of it.

Reckling and Brown again voted against the handbook Monday, but it passed 4-2 with Pates support. Pate said he didnt see much point in taking a stand on the health plan this late into the new school year.

Were going to have to move on, Pate said.

Before Mondays vote District Administrator Charles Poches informed board members it was already too late, logistically, to change health insurance coverage, even if members managed to find a majority in favor of Option 3. The new insurance year begins Oct. 1.

Sticking with Option 1 marked the first time a DLT recommendation failed to pass the school board, Poches said in July, a move that had some members questioning how well DLT represents staff.

Brown, though disappointed that DLT came to a conclusion and was disregarded, said he thinks the issue proves DLT and other committees need to get together soon and look at their structure and how they intend to operate going forward. Brown added the board, too, needs to be much more informed about the issue next time around.

Poches, who serves on the 15-member committee, said DLT will talk about these things at its next meeting. Reckling also serves on DLT.

Reckling and Brown this summer expressed concerns about what voting against a DLT recommendation might mean going forward since the DLT is a prorated group of district employees that aims to represent groups from every school. Its 15 members include teachers, administrators and a board member, among other groups represented like paraprofessionals and custodians.

DLT members are selected by their peers by building, a fact Brown believes sometimes gets overlooked by employees who perhaps are not participating enough in building meetings.

Brown and Reckling have said they want to see more participation from staff at building meetings to eliminate confusion and avoid situations like this years health plan debate. They fear a move to top-down decision-making should the DLT ever dissolve.

Collaborative decision-making, which we have adopted as a way of meeting and deciding issues, has taken a hit (and) is on the chopping block because of this issue, Reckling said Monday.

Just before the vote Reckling and Pate reiterated their belief that bypassing Option 3 for health insurance would prove costly to many employees this year.

Some people are going to be shocked when they open up their paychecks for the first time (this year), Reckling said.

Yes they will be, Pate said, its a lot of money.
PM Dahal leaves for 4-day state visit of India

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leading a 125-member delegation, embarked on a four-day state visit of the Republic of India on Thursday, at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Starwood Property Trust, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Commercial and Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property, and Investing and Servicing segments. The Commercial and Residential Lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as other real estate and real estate-related debt investments, including distressed or non-performing loans. The Infrastructure lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages infrastructure debt investments. The Property segment engages primarily in acquiring and managing equity interests in stabilized commercial real estate properties, such as multifamily properties and commercial properties subject to net leases, that are held for investment. The Investing and Servicing segment manages and works out problem assets; acquires and manages unrated, investment grade, and non-investment grade rated CMBS comprising subordinated interests of securitization and re-securitization transactions; originates conduit loans for the primary purpose of selling these loans into securitization transactions; and acquires commercial real estate assets that include properties acquired from CMBS trusts. The company qualifies as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes, if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
PM hints at informal pact with Madhesi parties

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that there has been informal understanding between the government and the Madhes-based parties to resolve the disputes over the constitution.
PNM Resources, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides electricity and electric services in the United States. It operates through Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and Texas-New Mexico Power Company (TNMP) segments. The PNM segment engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The segment generates electricity using coal, natural gas and oil, nuclear fuel, solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources. As of December 31, 2021, this segment had owned or leased facilities with a total net generation capacity of 2,168 megawatts; and owned 3,426 miles of electric transmission lines, 5,751 miles of distribution overhead lines, 5,765 miles of underground distribution lines, and 250 substations. The segment also owns and leases communication, office and other equipment, office space, vehicles, and real estate. The TNMP segment provides regulated transmission and distribution services. As of December 31, 2021, the segment owned 983 miles of overhead electric transmission lines, 7,297 miles of overhead distribution lines, 1,408 miles of underground distribution lines, and 113 substations. The segment also owns and leases vehicles, service facilities, and office locations throughout its service territory. The company serves approximately 806,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers and end-users of electricity in New Mexico and Texas. PNM Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 1882 and is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
PMs India visit: A jumbo team, a slew of agendas

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is set to embark on a state visit to India on Thursday with a jumbo team and a slew of agendassome new ones and some old.
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a marine fuel logistics company that markets and supplies refined marine fuel and lubricants to vessels in port, at sea, and on rivers worldwide. The company offers fueling services to ocean-going and a range of coastal vessels, including oil tankers, container ships, drybulk carriers, cruise ships, reefers, LNG/LPG carriers, car carriers, and ferries, as well as to marine fuel traders, brokers, and other end-users of marine fuel and lubricants. It also markets and distributes marine lubricants under the Alfa Marine Lubricants brand; and provides a range of shipping services, such as technical support and maintenance, insurance arrangement and handling, financial administration, and accounting services. As of December 31, 2016, the company owned and operated a fleet of 46 bunkering vessels, including 45 double hulls and 1 single hull special purpose vehicle; 15 double hull bunkering vessels with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 292,400 deadweight ton (dwt); operated 10 land-based storage facilities with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 1,075,000 cubic meters; and operated 2 vessels as floating storage facility with a cargo carrying capacity of approximately 86,800 dwt. Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.
General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Community Bank System, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank, N.A. that provides various banking and other financial services to retail, commercial, and municipal customers. It operates through three segments: Banking, Employee Benefit Services, and All Other. The company offers various deposits products, such as checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits. It also provides loans, including consumer mortgages; general purpose commercial and industrial loans, and mortgages on commercial properties; paycheck protection program loans; installment loans that are originated through selected dealerships and are secured by automobiles, marine, and other recreational vehicles; personal installment loans and lines of credit for consumers; and home equity products. In addition, the company offers broker-dealer and investment advisory; cash management, investment, and treasury services; asset management; and employee benefit services, as well as operates as a full-service insurance agency that offers personal and commercial lines of insurance, and other risk management products and services. Further, it provides contribution plan administration, employee benefit trust, collective investment fund, retirement plan administration, fund administration, transfer agency, actuarial and benefit consulting, VEBA/HRA, and health and welfare consulting services. Additionally, the company offers wealth management, retirement planning, higher educational planning, fiduciary, risk management, trust, and personal financial planning services; and investment alternatives, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and advisory products, as well as master recordkeeping services. As of January 24, 2022, it operated approximately 215 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. Community Bank System, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in DeWitt, New York.
Eagle Materials Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and supplies heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates through Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard segments. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures. It also manufactures and sells recycled paperboard to gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters, as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades. In addition, the company engages in the sale of ready-mix concrete; and mining, extracting, production, and sale of aggregates, including crushed stones, sand, and gravel. Its products are used in commercial and residential construction; public construction projects; and projects to build, expand, and repair roads and highways. The company was formerly known as Centex Construction Products, Inc. and changed its name to Eagle Materials, Inc. in January 2004. Eagle Materials Inc. was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Revenues from handicraft exports slip marginally

Revenues from handicraft exports slipped 0.41 percent in the last fiscal year as the trade blockade by India coupled with labour and transport problems took their toll.
Sita Air aircraft lands with single engine

A Dornier aircraft of Sita Airlines made an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport with a single engine on Thursday after one of its two engines failed.
W&M freshman honored for building library in Ghana

Read 2 Lead Samantha Boateng '20 poses for a photo with schoolchildren who will have access to the library. Courtesy photo

Read 2 Lead Volunteers help organize the books collected for the library in Accra, Ghana. Courtesy photo

Read 2 Lead A man puts finishing touches on the exterior of the library. Courtesy photo

Read 2 Lead Samantha Boateng '20 helps cut the ribbon the library. Courtesy photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

William & Mary freshman Samantha Boateng has been named as one of the 22 Under 22 Most Inspiring College Women by online publication Her Campus. Boateng was chosen out of 1,000 applicants for her work with Read 2 Lead this past summer in Ghana.

Read 2 Lead is an organization Boateng created to promote a love of reading by providing access to books and resources to children in her parents home country of Ghana.

Boateng was in Ghana working with Read 2 Lead at the time Her Campus named her to its 22 Under 22 list. She said Read 2 Lead had been struggling to get support from the community and the announcement helped lift her spirits.

One evening, I just decided to check my email, and I saw that and it got me really excited again, especially about the library, Boateng said. Because it was kind of hard, when we were there for some time, getting a lot of support.

Boateng was inspired to start Read 2 Lead after her mother returned to northern Virginia from a trip to Ghana where she taught a public speaking class to children who had little to no access to books or a library. When Boateng heard how heartbroken her mother was by this, she decided she wanted to do something to help.

I love reading so much, so I wanted to at least collect a few books to send over, she said.

What started out as collecting a few books turned into building a library in Accra, Ghana, from the ground up.

Boateng began collecting books for the children in Ghana her junior year at Gar-Field Senior High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. By the time she graduated, Boateng had collected more than 14,000 books and 22 computers and raised around $15,000 with the help of her classmates and her community.

This past summer, Boateng, along with her family and a few students and teachers from her community, took the books they collected to Ghana and began building the library. A local government school donated the land, which sits on the schools property, but it is open to the more than 20,000 students and members of the community.

Although the library has been opened, there is still work that needs to be done, such as finishing the electricity. Boateng and her family will return to Ghana at the end of the year to work on those finishing touches.

In the spring, Baoteng has plans to take students from her high school with her to open another library in her parents hometown of Kumasi. She also hopes to get involved with William & Marys Office of Community Engagement and have students from William & Mary travel with her to Ghana for Read 2 Lead.

It really opened my eyes up, she said. After being there, I know that in the future I want to do more things like that and help people somehow, any way I can.
Three injured in clash

Three persons, including an Armed Police Force (APF) officer, were injured in a clash between the APF personnel and suspected sand smugglers at Pidariguthi in Parsa district on Wednesday.




China News on Women





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Future nuclear supply chain worth billions, report finds

14 September 2016

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Nuclear power plant construction, long-term plant operation and decommissioning all offer potential multi-billion dollar markets over the next two decades, according to a newly released supply chain report from the World Nuclear Association.

With nuclear power generating worldwide revenues of about $300 billion a year for electricity utilities, The World Nuclear Supply Chain Outlook 2035 provides a market-oriented view of challenges and opportunities under three scenarios. In the reference scenario, the number of nuclear reactors grows from 444 operating reactors, as of July 2016, to 462 by 2025, and 547 by 2035. The upper case scenario sees a rise to 530 by 2025 and 720 by 2035, while the lower scenario sees little new construction and a fall to 362 units by 2035.

Under the reference case, revenues from operating nuclear power plants are expected to grow by 2.8% per year over the next 20 years to reach some $500 billion a year, with 62% of the growth occurring in the emerging industrial economies (the non-OECD area, including China). Investment in new nuclear build to 2035 is of the order of $1.5 trillion, with significant international procurement of $24-30 billion a year after 2025 (up from about $6-10 billion a year currently).

The value of the investment required to keep existing reactors in long-term operation could amount to $50-100 billion, with about $4 billion per year in international procurement.

The market for decommissioning is also substantial, with decommissioning work on projects involving immediate dismantling by 2035 potentially worth up to $111 billion. This includes at least $12.4 billion as the estimated cost for cleaning up the Fukushima Daiichi site, and at least $24.2 billion for decommissioning as Germany moves to phase out its nuclear power plants.

Eleven consolidated technology vendors from Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Russia and the USA today offer their services across much of the nuclear fuel cycle, and other significant technology vendors - such as BWX Technologies, Doosan and OMZ-Skoda - are internationally active. Each has built up a supply chain that is increasingly global in scope, and the leading vendors are, for the most part, internationally diversified in terms of their corporate make-up and supplier base, the report notes.

Choke points relieved



Competitive pressures has encourage localization of manufacturing, joint ventures and international procurement, resulting in materials, semi-processed and complete fabrications perhaps crossing several borders before reaching their final destination for assembly and installation.

A competitive global market exists for the construction and procurement of nuclear power plants. Several factors, including the cancellation of some planned plants following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, investment by existing suppliers and the transfer of technology and localization, particularly to China, mean that "choke points" in the supply chain identified a decade ago - notably in terms of heavy forging capacity - do not exist at present. Bottlenecks could, however, re-emerge in the event of multiple reactor orders being issued at the same time.

"Globalization has become as much part of the scene for nuclear as it is for other industries," the report notes. "The World Nuclear Association believes that the system for import and export between countries should be reviewed to streamline procedures while preserving a sound safeguards regime," it says.

Export control



The existing export control regime places the nuclear industry at a disadvantage in comparison with industries such as aerospace and defence, the report notes. Most export control authorities do not issue general export licences for nuclear-related items.

Instead, the report calls for the degree of scrutiny accorded to nuclear technology to be risk-based. "A nuclear power reactor poses a low technology risk with respect to proliferation. The same is true for components, spare parts, and maintenance or repair services for an existing nuclear facility that is subject to international safeguards. Under a risk-based approach the export of components and complete power reactors should be made possible under general authorization, without a prior individual licence, to another country that is a participating state in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), subject to notification being provided to the national authorities of the exporting and importing countries concerned. Within free trade areas, like the European Unions single market, shipments should be notifiable but otherwise unrestricted," it says.

Enrichment and reprocessing technologies are associated with a higher proliferation risk and there is a "greater justification" for licensing such transactions through individual export licences.

"Export control authorities should be able to recognize good private sector practice by extending authorized (or trusted) economic operator status to companies that apply diligently a robust and comprehensive internal compliance program to their operations," the report notes. "In the longer run, international trade and investment agreements can help to lower the technical and administrative barriers to trade."

Greg Kaser, senior project manager at the World Nuclear Association, said: "The Supply Chain report supplements and expands on the World Nuclear Association's biennial nuclear fuel report, looking in more depth at the supply side of the question and taking into account developments seen since the publication of last year's edition of the Nuclear Fuel Report."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
UK government gives go-ahead for Hinkley Point C

15 September 2016

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The UK government today announced its approval for the construction of two EPR reactors at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset after reaching a new agreement in principle with EDF. However, it has imposed certain conditions for foreign investment in future British nuclear power plant projects.

An artist's impression of how Hinkley Point C could appear (Image: EDF Energy)

Hinkley Point C received a long-awaited and positive final investment decision (FID) from the EDF board on 28 July, only for the UK government to immediately postpone signing its supporting agreements. Prime Minister Theresa May said a review of the deal would be carried out before the government commits its support. Under a deal agreed with EDF Energy last October, China General Nuclear will take a 33.5% stake in the project. In addition, the two companies plan to develop projects to build new plants at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex, the latter using Chinese reactor technology.

Today the government announced it has signed a revised agreement in principle with EDF for the project. While the agreed contract for difference (CfD) - the guaranteed price for electricity generated by Hinkley Point C - still stands, the government has imposed what it calls "significant new safeguards for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure".

In a statement, Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), said: "Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the Government's agreement."

According to the statement from BEIS, "The government will be able to prevent the sale of EDFs controlling stake prior to the completion of construction, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers." It noted that existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, will mean the government is able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational.

The new legal framework for future foreign investment in UK critical infrastructure will mean the government will take a "special share" in all future nuclear new build projects. This, it says, will ensure significant stakes cannot be sold without its knowledge or consent. Developers or operators of nuclear sites will be required to inform the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) of any change of ownership or part-ownership. The government will then "advise or direct the ONR to take action to protect national security as a result of a change in ownership".

This approach, the government said, will bring the UK's policy framework for ownership and control of critical infrastructure "into line with other major economies".

The government's announcement of its approval for the Hinkley project coincided with the opening today of the World Nuclear Association's 41st Annual Symposium in London.

EDF welcomes decision

The announcement was welcomed by EDF. "The approval of this construction project for two nuclear reactors on the Hinkley Point site in Somerset in the South West of England marks the conclusion of ten years of preparation and rigorous planning." It added, "An exchange of letters between EDF and the British authorities will render the discussions that took place over the last few days, to formalise their wish to take into account the EDF's commitment to retain control of HPC project."



EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said: "The decision of the British government to approve the construction of Hinkley Point C marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe. It demonstrates the UK's desire to lead the fight against climate change through the development of low carbon electricity."



Vincent de Rivaz, CEO of EDF Energy said: "Today's announcement is good news for British consumers, a huge boost for British industry and a major step forward in the fight against climate change." He added, "We will take the risk and responsibility to deliver Hinkley Point C and provide the UK with the reliable low carbon electricity it needs. The experience and expertise gained from restarting new nuclear build in the UK will help following projects be cheaper."

International cooperation

Agneta Rising, World Nuclear Association director general, said today's announcement is "good news for nuclear energy in the UK and Europe and that the Hinkley Point C project demonstrates the value of international cooperation in new nuclear build".



Hasan Murat Mercan, chair of the organising committee for the 23rd World Energy Congress, said the UK governments decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point C is essential but at the same time just one piece of the puzzle for the energy sector.



"While the UK has been debating the merits of Hinkley Point C, construction has begun on around 60 reactors in 13 countries, including two in Turkey - some of which will be completed by 2017," Mercan said.



For nuclear energy to increase its share of the generation market, simply expanding infrastructure is not enough. There needs to be the political will to foster innovation and a sympathetic policy and investment environment for this to succeed.



Nuclear is "high on the agenda" of the Congress, which takes place next month in Istanbul, Mercan said.

Horizon and NuGeneration

Owners of two other nuclear power plant projects in the UK welcomed the news of the government's support for Hinkley.

Horizon plans to deploy the UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor at two sites - Wylfa Newydd, which is on the Isle of Anglesey, and Oldbury-on-Severn, in South Gloucestershire. Established in 2009 and acquired by Hitachi in November 2012, Horizon aims to provide at least 5.4 GWe of new capacity, expecting the first unit at Wylfa to be operating in the first half of the 2020s.

Horizon CEO Duncan Hawthorne said: "The emphasis must now be on delivering the government's vision of a wider nuclear program in the UK and we remain focused on continuing to make strong progress with our lead Wylfa Newydd project. This includes clearing our tried and tested reactor technology for deployment in the UK, consulting across North Wales on our plans and the huge economic opportunities they will deliver, and working with Government on a deal that delivers at a fair and acceptable price for all."

NuGen, the UK joint venture between Japan's Toshiba and France's Engie, said its Moorside project remains unaffected by the outcome of the EU referendum. NuGen plans to build a nuclear power plant of up to 3.8 GWe gross capacity at the West Cumbria site using AP1000 nuclear reactor technology provided by Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba.

NuGen CEO Samson said: "The news is positive for the UK nuclear new build market, where developers such as NuGen are investing heavily in delivering the next generation of low carbon power for the UK. It demonstrates the viability of new nuclear investment in the UK, based on the government's Electricity Market Reform Program and is welcome evidence of the UK government's commitment to new nuclear as an essential part of the UK energy mix." He added: "Hinkley Point C is the start of the nuclear new build renaissance in the UK, of which NuGen are an integral part, and today's decision is an essential step towards strengthening the UK security of supply. New nuclear will also help the UK to meet its domestic and international commitments to a low carbon economy."

Trade associations

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association said the UK's nuclear supply chain is "ready to deliver this important national infrastructure project". He added, "The positive industrial impact of this project will be enormous with contracts already in place for Welsh steel, pumps made by Scottish companies and nuclear components from across England's industrial belt. Hinkley is a truly national project which represents an array of opportunities for the supply chain and a secure foundation for the government's industrial strategy."

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the government's support of Hinkley is good news for the UK's energy future as well as supporting jobs and growth across the South West of England and elsewhere in the country.

Josh Hardie, CBI deputy director-general, said: "Investors are hungry for further signs from the government that the UK is open for business. Pressing ahead with major infrastructure decisions  such as giving clarity to around the next Contracts for Difference auction and the post-2020 Levy Control Framework, and expanding runway capacity in the South East  would give a real boost to their confidence in the UK in the long-run."

Jenifer Baxter, head of energy and environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, welcomed the government's decision, but said: "It is important to note that this is not the end but merely a small step at the start of securing our low carbon energy requirements for the future." She said, "It is now more important than ever to focus on attracting business and foreign investment to our nation following the Brexit vote. The Government must work with industry to ensure we have modern, reliable and secure infrastructure, be it in energy, transport or communications."

Phil Whitehurst, national officer for construction at GMB, the union for energy and construction workers, said, "Not only will the 18 billion Hinkley Point C project provide 7% of the UK's energy needs and create at least 25,000 jobs during its construction and another 900 during operation, but 65% of the project's construction value will be placed with the UK supply chain." He added, "Along with this is an agreed minimum 1000 apprenticeship and adult trainees, creating a skill training level that will put other UK projects to shame.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Tourist police post set up in Nagarkot

A tourist police post has been set up in Nagarkot, a famous tourist destination around 35 kilometres north of Kathmandu, after five years of lobbying for the same by tourism entrepreneurs and locals.
Benin is on the African Coast, and it is particularly rich in culture. Benin was home to one of the most powerful kingdoms before the French occupation of the nation. The Dahomey kingdom is credited with establishing one of Benin's renowned cultural landmarks in the modern day. For almost three centuries, Dahomey's royalty ruled the present-day Benin from these earthen walls.

5. Description and History

In the period between 1695 and 1900, the Fon people of the town of Abbey were ruled by a successive of 12 Kings. The successive dynasties heavily relied on the trade of slavery, gaining wealth from European merchants in exchange for slaves. Each of the kings built a mud palace in enclosed royal grounds. The palaces were decorated with bas-reliefs, sculptures, and murals and were centers for the development of various craft styles. Bas reliefs illustrated the evolution of the kingdom, indigenous customs and rituals, war victories and resistance to colonial occupation. The palaces were however extensively burnt by King Behanzin of Abomey in 1892, as an act of defiance against French rule. The palaces of King Gll and King Ghzo are part of the Historical Museum of Abomey, while the rest of the palaces remain uninhabited.

4. Tourism

The Royal Palaces of Abomey, being a UNESCO cultural world heritage site, are ranked as one of the most famous tourists attraction sites in Abomey and the greater Benin. The palaces are vital representations of Benin's cultural heritage and attract thousands of tourists from across the world yearly.

3. Uniqueness

The palaces are proudly distinct as they relay the former prosperity of the Dahomey kingdom. The Dahomey kingdom was among the most powerful in the West African Coast, and this affluence is affirmed by the ancient palaces. As cradles of art, the embellishments in the palaces serve to showcase old African artistic expression. Erected through different decades, the palaces are living witnesses through various events. They signify organized power as it was before colonial occupation in Africa and are important monuments of Benin's culture and heritage.

2. Natural Surroundings, Sights, and Sounds

The palaces of Abomey are used for traditional ceremonies in modern-day Benin. During these ceremonies, rhythmic music, Benin's rich culture, rituals, religions, and customs are carried out in the complex. These ceremonies have significantly helped with the conservation of the complex, due to the palaces' continued functionality.

The whole complex covered 190 acres (44 hectares) and was surrounded by 20 feet (6m) high wall and had 14 palaces. Each palace had defensible courtyards with closely guarded passages.

1. Threats and Conservation

The palaces have been subject to two calamities which destroyed parts of them; a tornado in 1984 and a fire in 2009. The palaces were listed as UNESCO world heritage site in 1985. The palaces were listed as endangered in the same year, necessitating a comprehensive plan to safeguard their heritage. UNESCO, supported by various countries endeavored on measures to protect the site. These efforts were reinforced in 2007 when Benin's government legalized the protection of the country's cultural heritage. A comprehensive plan for the conservation and management of the site was drafted to guide all activities in the palaces. The site was subsequently removed from the list of endangered sites in 2007. Conservation of the site is overseen by the ministry of culture, while a management board manages stakeholder's interests, including those of the public. Site managers and the local communities are also important players in the preservation of the palaces.
James Allen Propes

By: Mahesh Sarin

A man was jailed after luring women to his have sex with him, but he did not tell them that he was HIV positive.

Police said that at least two victims contacted the suspect after he posted ads on Craigslist to organize unprotected sexual encounters.

James Allen Propes, 24, of Gwinnett County, Georgia, infected at least one of the woman with HIV.

Now, Propes was found guilty of two counts of reckless conduct by an HIV-infected person and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Police said that the incident came to light after Propes got into a domestic dispute with two women, who are roommates, and he was arrested.

Both women had sex with Propes in the past.

After the fight, the women researched Propes name online and they discovered news reports, which stated that he had previously been arrested and charged with reckless conduct for having sex and not telling the women he was HIV positive.

One victim was 17 years old and the other was 24 years old.

The roommates decided to report Propes to police. One woman said that Propes encouraged her to allow him to have sex without using a condom and she agreed.

Judge Tom Davis called the defendant an aevil persona as he sentenced him to serve the next ten years in prison.
Child potty training

By: Feng Qian

A teen filed a lawsuit against her parents after they embarrassed her by publicizing a photo of her sitting on a toilet, according to court documents in Austria.

The 18-year-old woman of Carinthia, told the court that her parents kept posting childhood pictures of her on their Facebook page despite her protests.

Over the past 7 years, the parents, who were not identified, have made the teenas life miserable by posting 500 childhood images on Facebook.

The images show her being diaper changed and potty trained. Some photos show the woman sitting on the toilet or lying naked in her bed when she was a child.

Each stage of her life was photographed and then made public on Facebook. The photos were shared on Facebook with 700 people.

Despite her requests, the parents have refused to delete the photos. The father told the court that since he took the pictures, he has the right to publish the images.
UKs DFID pledges Rs11.9b to Nepal

The Department of International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) has agreed to provide a grant assistance of around Rs11.98 billion to implement the third phase of Nepal Health Sector Reform Programme for four and a half years.
Members of the One People Canoe Society bear the flags of Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and Sealaska during a canoe run on September 8, showing support for the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota. The tribe is protesting construction of an oil pipeline across a sacred burial ground.

A former Wrangell resident joined an Alaska canoe group in supporting a North Dakota tribe protesting construction of an oil pipeline across sacred lands.

Earlier this month Ken Hoyt met up with members of the Juneau-based One People Canoe Society for a three-day spiritual journey on the Missouri River. For a week they joined a growing group of people protesting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near tribal land.

The pipeline is planned to be an 1,172-mile connection between the oilfields of North Dakota to southern Illinois. Potentially carrying up to half a million barrels of crude oil per day, the pipeline under construction passes close by the land of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and at some points disrupts traditional burial grounds. Residents are also concerned about pipeline breakages and contamination of the local water supply.

The issue struck a chord with Hoyt, considering similar concerns in Southeast Alaska about Canadian mining operations in development along shared transboundary waters. Hoyt's relatives are from Wrangell, and he considers the community his home. He worked here for SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's traditional foods program through 2014, when he moved to Idaho. Since January 2015 he has lived there, conducting a similar program for the Coeur D'Alene Tribe.

While in Wrangell, Hoyt was a part of the local Shtax'heen Canoe Family group, and by extension the One People Canoe Society. In November 2014 the Shtax'heen chapter launched its own newly-constructed canoe, a 30-foot model built from fiberglass and cedar.

He has since continued participation in the traditional activity in Coeur D'Alene, with that tribe's own group launching a similarly sized craft this summer.

"They've been going through their canoe movement as well," Hoyt said. In the past year, he said the Idaho group has constructed the large shovelnosed craft and 11 smaller dugout canoes.

Responding to an open invitation by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe chairman Dave Archambault II to come support the movement, Hoyt left for North Dakota with 15 members of the Coeur D'Alene canoe group on September 4. He said they had inspected the river route the week beforehand, and had left a canoe at the camp as a sign of good faith they would return.

Carver and canoe skipper Doug Chilton and other members of the One People Canoe Society were already en route, loading up their distinctive Raven Canoe on a trailer and driving for two days to Fort Rice, North Dakota. There the Alaska group joined canoe societies from four other states, and embarked on a several-hour journey down the Missouri River to Sacred Stone camp.

Near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, Sacred Stone camp is at the epicenter of a local struggle against construction of an 1,100-mile oil pipeline passing through the area. It was set up in April, but protest activity has picked up since mid-August as the issue gained national attention. When they arrived, Hoyt estimated the camp had between 4,000 and 5,000 people living there.

Though they were strangers, Hoyt said the atmosphere at the camp was warmly receptive and had a town-like quality.

"It's really a welcoming and warm vibe around the camp," he recalled. "It's a beautiful land. It's a beautiful territory with beautiful people."

One of the concerns he said friends and family had shared with Hoyt through Facebook was with safety, as images of walls of State Troopers, oil company security guards armed with Mace spray and protesters attacked by dogs circulated online.

"Everyone on Facebook was telling us to be safe," he said. "The truth was we saw plenty of dogs, and they were friendly dogs, with the campers. It's one of the safest places I've ever been."

However, tensions around the camp remained high, and Hoyt worried the group could be dispersed or arrested at any time. "There was that constant threat of bulldozers showing up."

As recently as Tuesday, the Associated Press confirmed at least 22 people protesting at a nearby pipeline construction site were arrested. The Sacred Stone Camp Facebook page reported riot police arrested the group, which included members of the media and support staff.

Tensions locally were also mixed, Hoyt recalled. While he personally experienced no direct intimidation while he was there, Hoyt recalled one instance where the group was paddling down the Missouri River and was caught in a storm.

"It went from sunny to hail in about ten minutes," Hoyt

said.

The canoes headed to shore, and the paddlers sought shelter in a nearby cabin. Hoyt said the owner was accommodating to the group, but mentioned that had they landed even 100 yards away, the neighboring landowner would likely have treated them as trespassers, leading to arrest or possibly worse.

Hoyt made a number of friends while he was there, and said the week was a time to reconnect with his Alaskan people.

"To me the biggest moment was when Doug Chilton told me I did a fine job," he said.

On a broader level, Hoyt saw similarities between the ordeal the Standing Rock Sioux were undergoing and that which the Coeur D'Alene experienced with the contamination of its traditional waters, as well as the ongoing transboundary mining issues closer to his own home.

"It's the same stories for a lot of communities," he said. "We all have some kind of pipeline being built in our backyard, through our sacred water."

Hoyt saw a common cause in the pipeline issue for environmental preservation, and hoped that Alaskans' support today may someday be repaid in kind when it is needed.

"It's easy for us to see ourselves there," he said. "The big thing was that we were making good on an obligation."

The issue in North Dakota remains ongoing, though a move by the Justice, Army and Interior departments on Friday has put construction around the disputed section of pipe on hold.
The mobile barge at the Swan Lake hydroelectric facility reservoir serves as a platform for a crane used in the dam's ongoing expansion. Water levels at the reservoir have had to be kept at a steady level in order for the project to move forward.

Costs for the transition of operations at the Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility may be higher than first expected.

Board members for Southeast Alaska Power Agency learned at their September 8 meeting that the unfunded pensions liability for Wrangell employees at the plant were more than double what was estimated when it assumed operations. SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson explained consultants had put the city's liabilities to the state Public Employees' Retirement System at $648,206, which included up-front costs of $159,440 with the long-term liability.

When SEAPA took over operation of the facility from Thomas Bay Power Authority in August 2014, it had agreed to assume those costs. The up-front portion was billed and paid in February, but Acteson reported the billing for the remaining liability presented by the state in August had come in at over $1.2 million.

"These bills were more than double the original estimate," he said. The discrepancy came from the state's inclusion of past service costs for all affected employees, not just those enrolled in PERS at the time of the transition. "That was a new development."

With the new billing, the total estimated cost of the Tyee transition has been amended to $1.39 million.

In the board's financial report, total power purchase revenues through the end of the fiscal year June 30 were reported at $10.92 million, short of the $11.73 million budgeted. Taking displaced sales from other operations, annual revenues for the year ended up being under budget by $147,308. However, savings on the expense side of administration and operations more than offset this shortfall, with $5.7 million spent against a $7.39 million budget.

SEAPA staff is currently preparing for its annual audit, which is scheduled for next month around the 24th.

"We've been working hard to get prepared for that," said Acteson.

In projects, the expansion at the Swan Lake hydroelectric dam should wrap up by the middle or end of October. Since June, spillway center pier and wall construction was completed in preparation for assembly of the gates and flashboards. Components were received early last month, and the project is currently running about two weeks behind schedule.

Inspecting the site while in Ketchikan last week, Wrangell's electrical superintendent and alternate SEAPA board member Clay Hammer was impressed with the work done so far. It was his first visit to the dam since work to raise it began, and he admitted the visit gave him a new respect for the project's scale. The raising of 15 feet from its current 59 feet will yield an expected 25-percent boost to capacity, yielding between 6,000 and 12,000 Megawatt hours annually.

"That was a real eye-opener," he commented. "The amount of work and engineering that has gone into

this project is also very impressive."

One of the trickier elements to the operation has been maintaining the reservoir at a stable level, both to enable work on the spillway and to provide a steady base for the crane, which is on a modular barge. "They've got a kind of sweet spot that they like to maintain," Hammer explained, at about 313 feet.

Work would have to stop if levels exceeded 327 feet, so the difference provided the project with some buffer in the event of unexpected wet weather or loss of transmission capability. In his power systems report, Ed Schofield reported the project has been aided by a dry July and August. As that trend is forecast to continue, he did not foresee an extension into later October as presenting much risk to the project.

Earlier on in the

summer there were concerns about keeping the reservoir at that level, after a load bank hired to help regulate outflow encountered problems. The purpose of the device is to draw additional power in order to allow release of water from the turbines as needed. In June it experienced a problem with its cooling circuit, which ended up tripping the system's failsafe and causing a power outage to the grid. The project continued on without the machine, which turned out to be unnecessary thanks to the dry summer.

"All things considered, they're doing very well," Hammer said.

In all, the expansion is expected to cost around $10 million. Acteson reported grant

dollars set aside for the project has been fully exhausted,

once invoicing was finished for work completed in August. The $3.32 million grant came

from the state Department of Commerce Community

and Economic Development

Photo submitted by Clay Hammer Risers along the top of the Swan Lake hydroelectric facility spillway await the installation of flashboards, which will enable the 78-foot expanse to collapse in the event of large-scale flood events.

and was dedicated to the

project.

Expenditures on the Kake-Petersburg intertie project expenditures have been minimal during the final Record of Decision comment period. TetraTech is addressing the last of the filings, which is required before the Final ROD can be signed. The first grant through Kwaan Electric Transmission Intertie Cooperative will not be renewed, so SEAPA has begun to draw on the second, which totals $2,000,000.

Due to revenue shortfalls, the board also discussed ways to increase revenue through surplus power sales. This would involve selling hydropower in excess of its long-term power sales agreement requirements at an adjusted rate, more comparable to the costs of heating fuel. The hope is that this would incentivize dual-fuel source users to shift back and remain on electric heat.
US lifts decades-long trade sanctions against Myanmar

Long-standing trade sanctions against Myanmar are to be lifted, US President Barack Obama has said.
Calls For More Welsh Government Funding to Build More Schools in Wrexham

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Sep 15th, 2016

Calls for additional Welsh Government funding to build more schools in Wrexham has been made to help meet the demand for primary school provision in the area.

The comment was made by Council Leader Mark Pritchard at Tuesdays Executive Board meeting during a debate on the increase of capacity at Ysgol Plas Coch and Ysgol Alexandra.

Both schools currently have a capacity of 210 pupils, however members of the Executive Board yesterday backed plans to increase provision at the schools by 105 pupil places.

Improvement and extension works to cater for the increase in provision have also been taking place on the two schools for the past two months.

Presenting his report Lead Member for People  Childrens Services & Education, Cllr Michael Williams noted there is a deficit in pupil places in town centre schools.

Cllr Williams said: The purpose of report to inform members of increasing capacity and seek approval to form increase in both schools from September 2017. The reasons for recommendation are proposed increase in capacity will provide town centre provision, of which there is a deficit in the area.

One query raised was if it was possible to extend other schools in Wrexham to meet the demand and if any thought had been given to the potential impact Brexit could have on school places.

Leader of the opposition Labour Party, Cllr Dana Davies said: Can use this as a pilot to roll out to other schools under pressure. We had a debate in the closed meeting last week  were unsure what the potential Brexit vote is going to do to school place planning and what the position for school places will be in Wrexham.

Could we roll this out where there is capacity and there is land on site. The next tranche of 21st century schools isnt until 2019. There are pressures on schools at the moment.

Responding Cllr Williams noted there was no idea how Brexit is going to affect school places or migration in Wrexham. He added: Its a long time in the future from my reading on what is taking place.

Cllr Davies said: Because of that uncertainty can we use that as a pilot to look at schools under pressure now with a view of increasing places?

The issues are addressed for Ysgol Alexandra and Ysgol Plas Coch and Im aware of other schools under pressure. Can we not carry this forward unto other schools as it is flexible space.

Cllr Davies added: As a priority, if we can look at areas where we can increase capacity, I think we need to do this as matter of urgency.

However it was noted that not all schools in Wrexham have the space to extend, with Cllr Williams stating: We need to look at a new school to accomodate 420 pupils for the demand.

The statistics and information we have collected and collated show we require a replacement school for St Marys and we need a new school for the projected increase as people migrate into the town centre as people prefer the life there.

Reference was also made to the ongoing Groves saga, with Cllr Pritchard stating: I am delighted you are sat here today recognising the pressure at schools. It wont be met with extensions, some have land mass and some dont.

We do know we have an increase in demand for education, that is why want to build on the Groves and the requirement to build a school in town.

The bluntness of it is we have to build new schools to meet demand. Playing around with extensions will not do it.

Cllr Davies noted that issues with school place planning had been recognised and debated for a number of years in Scrutiny meetings.

She added: The issue is funding for building a new school is years off. Ive had some assurance from the lead member that work is continuing.

From a political debate, we have been discussing for some time in Scrutiny for school place planning.

Regarding the funding of new schools, Cllr Pritchard noted that although there is funding issues across Wales he would plea; to Welsh Government to give the authority more money to build more schools.

Cllr Pritchard added: We in Wrexham have a fantastic record in schools and in building and modernising schools. If Welsh Government give us more we will build new schools and we will spend it.

The increase in capacity at both Ysgol Alexandra and Ysgol Plas Coch will be implemented in September 2017.
Wales To Follow England In Permanent Small Business Rates Relief Scheme

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Sep 15th, 2016

Small businesses in Wales are to benefit from a permanent scheme which will make them exempt from paying business rates.

The news of the introduction of a permanent Small Business Rates Relief scheme for small business across Wales was announced this morning.

Business rates in Wrexham have been a topic of discussion for years, with the subject often being blamed for deterring small businesses from opening in town centres and also forcing traders out of business.

Speaking to Wrexham.com last month First Minister Carwyn Jones hinted that an announcement on changes to business rates across Wales would be due in September. However at the time he also noted that he would urge landlords to be more creative in attracting new tenants.

Under the new scheme the 98m Small Business Rates Relief programme will be extended for 2017-18.

A new permanent scheme will also come into force from 2018.

During the election campaign, Welsh Labours manifesto pledge was to deliver a tax cut, meaning smaller bills for 70,000 businesses and bills reduced to zero for half of all eligible firms, and in todays media releases this line is being highlighted. The rate relief scheme is a maintenance of an existing scheme, rather than changing the tax liability, but does give reassurance to business owners on the future liabilities.

Wrexhams AM Lesley Griffiths said: Constituents have raised the issue of business rates with me over the months and this announcement will provide a major boost for local businesses, as well as our town centre.

Not only has the scheme been extended but the fact it will be permanent from 2018 offers businesses greater security and certainty, knowing that this vital support will continue.

Welsh Labour has delivered its manifesto pledge and it is clear the Welsh Government is committed to supporting businesses, both in Wrexham and across Wales.

Non-domestic rates (NDR) were devolved to Wales in 2015 and there are a number of relief schemes operating in Wales, providing a discount in NDR liability.

Small Business Rates Relief is the largest scheme. It provides 100% relief for properties with a rateable value of 6,000 or less, and tapered relief for properties between 6,001 and 12,000.

Around 51% or 56,000 non-domestic properties in Wales are eligible for 100% relief and a further 19% receive partial relief.

Non-domestic rates are normally revalued every 5 years  the next revaluation in Wales will come into effect on 1 April 2017, a delayed revaluation that has been criticised by many as it was based on rental values at the peak of the UKs property boom.

According to the latest figures, over 4,250 business properties are liable for non-domestic rates in Wrexham.

Welcoming the announcement, Economy Secretary and local AM Ken Skates said: Im delighted we will be able to continue to help thousands of small businesses through the small business rates relief scheme.

We want to see economic growth in all parts of Wales and schemes like this go a long way in helping our small businesses strengthen and expand.

Earlier this year in what was his final budget as Chancellor, George Osbourne announced in Westminster that England would introduce a similar permanent change but would also increase the Small Business Rates Relief to apply to properties with a Rateable Value of 15,000. In addition, the boundaries will also change in England with those businesses in England with a rateable value up to 12,000 receiving 100 per cent relief and those between 12,001 and 15,000 receiving the tapered relief.

Todays announcement from the Welsh Government will see Wales match the permanent nature of the English relief, however it does not change the boundaries for those properties eligible, keeping the existing Rateable value limit of 6,000 for 100% relief and tapered relief up to 12,000.
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has been notified 50 people from Wausau will be laid off from GMS Payroll Services, LLC and its affiliate Graebel Van Lines, LLC.

The layoffs will begin on or around Nov. 14.

A spokesperson for Graebel Van Lines released this statement:

As part of Graebel Van Lines ongoing focus to evolve our operations, we are taking steps toward giving our branches greater control to run and grow our business. In order to do so, we are evolving our corporate structure to a business development model to better serve and support our organization. With this move, we are making strategic changes within our organization. Among these changes is the reduction of our Wausau-based workforce by approximately 50 employees. The decision to reduce staff in Wausau is a necessary step in the transformation of our business and work to optimize our operations. With this change, well transition billing and credit responsibilities to our branches, and move business development functions to our Dallas office. We are providing resources for those employees impacted by these changes, including outplacement services, resume workshops and the opportunity to apply to open positions throughout our network. The people impacted by our news today have made valuable contributions to Graebel Van Lines throughout their careers, said Chris Preston, Chief Operating Officer for Graebel Van Lines. We will work side-by-side with them to offer our support as they transition to new opportunities. Our hope is business leaders in the community give these men and women strong consideration for future opportunities. Graebel Van Lines values the companys rich history in Wausau and will maintain a community presence and local office with 75 employees.

North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board Rapid Response will contact the company to offer Rapid Response services to the business and affected workers.
YouTube ordered to pay more for music by Europe

Video sites such as YouTube will be forced to pay more to musicians and record companies under plans to reform European copyright laws.
The US ambassador to Australia, John Berry, yesterday bought into the ferocious media campaign underway against alleged Chinese influence in Australian politics. His very public intervention not only confirms American involvement this crusade, but highlights Washingtons determination to ensure that Canberra does not waver in its support for the US pivot to Asia against China.

The Murdoch-owned Australian featured a front-page interview in which Berry expressed his alarm at Beijings involvement in Australias domestic politics. His comments follow the exposure of small payments by a Chinese businessman to opposition Labor Party frontbencher Sam Dastyari, supposedly in return for conciliatory remarks toward Beijing. Dastyari was quickly forced to resign.

Taking aim at China, Berry declared: We have been surprised quite frankly, at the extent of the involvement of the Chinese government in Australian politics. He bluntly accused Beijing of directly funnel[ling] funds to political candidates to advance their national interests in your national [election] campaign.

While declaring that donations by any foreign government should be considered illegitimate, he insisted: Our hope is that, in resolving this, Australia will consider doing what many other democracies have done: that is to protect their core responsibility against undue influence from governments that dont share our values.

Much could be written about the staggering hypocrisy involved in an American ambassador railing against foreign influence. Washington has for decades prosecuted its national interests through wars of aggression and coups, not to speak of systematically cultivating agents of influence, including through bribes, in countries around the world. In Australia, the US had a hand in the removal of two Labor prime ministersGough Whitlam in 1975 and Kevin Rudd in 2010.

There was nothing diplomatic about Berrys direct intervention in Australian domestic politics. Australia is a sovereign nation, he said, but then immediately made clear that Canberra should outlaw all foreign donations forthwith. I can see no argument of how a foreign governments involvement through political contributions advances Australias interests.

Berrys remarks follow a week of unrelenting media exposures of alleged Chinese influence over politicians and former politicians, think tanks, business figures, Chinese student organisations and Chinese associations. In one way or another, their crime has been to criticise or counter the accelerating propaganda campaign emanating from Washington to condemn Chinese expansionism and aggression in Asia, particularly in the South China Sea, or to suggest that Australian interests do not lie in involvement in the US war preparations against China, Australias largest trading partner.

No one should be so naive as to believe that this anti-China campaign has arisen out of the blue. Indeed last Saturday, the Australians foreign editor Greg Sheridan revealed that the Liberal-National Coalition government early last year established a multi-agency effort to assess by exactly how much, and how effectively, the Chinese government in Beijing was gaining influence over Australian national policy.

According to Sheridan, the project was coordinated by the Office of National Assessments (ONA) and involved input from several agencies, including the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the departments of defence and foreign affairs, and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). After several months, the investigation shifted the focus away from illegality towards influencethe grey area, the area of vulnerability.

The state apparatus in Canberra is tied by a thousand threads to Washington via the US alliance. In particular, the intelligence agencies such as ASIO and ONA are part of the five eyes intelligence-sharing agreement with the US. The multi-agency effort clearly provided the ammunition that has been fed to trusted journalists to launch the campaign to demonise against anyone critical, even in a limited way, of the US war drive against China. Sheridan himself has close ties to the military, intelligence and foreign policy establishment, not only in Canberra, but also in Washington.

Even if the allegations of Chinese activities were true, as Sheridan acknowledged, supposed Chinese agents of influence have done nothing illegal. That has not stopped the more hysterical commentary from implying that the individuals allegedly involved are traitors or government ministers branding Dastyari as Shanghai Sam.

In these circumstances, the US ambassadors intervention calling for foreign donations to be banned is particularly significant. It is the first step in creating the legal framework for police measures to be taken against those accused of being Chinese agents and intimidating anyone who criticises US propaganda and preparations for war with China.

The whole political establishment in Canberra is quickly falling into line. The government has launched a sweeping inquiry into political donations. Several government ministers and backbenchers, along with the opposition Labor Party, have called for a ban on foreign donations.

Not surprisingly, the Chinese embassy reacted with a statement to the Australian rejecting Berrys unfounded allegations. It noted that some people always love to give lectures like a preacher about the domestic politics, rules and laws, and foreign policies of other countries.

Berrys remarks also underscore the militarist agenda underlying the ideological assault on Chinese influence. Over the past five years, as part of its pivot to Asia, the US has greatly expanded its military presence in the Asia Pacific and recklessly inflamed key regional flashpoints as a means of undermining China.

As the pivot has stalled on the diplomatic and economic fronts, the Obama administration has accelerated its military build-up and engaged in freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea. It has directly challenged Chinese maritime claims by sending US navy warships within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits around Chinese-controlled atolls.

Washington wants other countries to follow suit and has identified Australia as the first candidate. A string of visiting American admirals, generals and politicians, including US Vice President Joe Biden, has pressed the Australian government to authorise its own FONOPs to confront China. Such military action is highly provocative and threatens to trigger Chinese retaliation that could escalate into open conflict.

Berry was the latest to imply that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was dragging his feet. He insisted that Washington had made no request to Canberra to conduct FONOPs and added that the decision was absolutely and entirely up to Australia. Nevertheless, he said, China was using bullying pressure in the South China Sea and pursuing untoward cyber-security policies. He emphasised that China would only improve if it were directly challenged by the international community.

The Australian Financial Review last week signalled that Turnbull is on notice. He has Chinese business connections and was critical of the pivot when it was first announced in 2011. An article entitled, PMs stance on China worries experts, declared that the intelligence agencies believed the prime minister isnt taking their warnings about the security threat posed by China seriously enough. An unnamed source drew a parallel between Turnbull and Whitlam, making the implicit threat that Turnbull could suffer the fate of Whitlam, who was ousted via a constitutional coup in November 1975 with the involvement of the CIA.
After a Sunday meeting with Unifor President Jerry Dias, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Dennis Williams told reporters Monday that despite offering his support to Unifor in their current contract discussions with General Motors Canada, he declined to commit to any specific action by American autoworkers should Unifor strike Canadian GM plants in Oshawa and St. Catharines, Ontario.

The Canadian union has selected General Motors as the target company in contract negotiations with the Detroit Three auto companies. Traditionally, the autoworkers union chooses an initial company with which to negotiate that then sets the pattern for subsequent agreements with the remaining automakers. Contracts for some 23,000 Canadian autoworkers at GM, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler Automotive (FCA) expire on September 19.

A strike by the 4,000 workers at two GM Canada installationsin the event that the strike is of some lengthcould slow production at several assembly facilities in the United States. This would most likely be the case if management is not able to utilize extra capacity in its American plants to make up lost production, in particular of the V6 and V8 engines built at the St. Catharines facility.

Auto analysts have pointed out that GM maintains enough redundant capacity in American powertrain plants to absorb, with very little additional costs, any reduced volume out of St. Catharines. As for production at the Oshawa assembly facilities, makers of GMs only high-selling product in Canada, the Equinox, the vehicle is also produced at GMs CAMI Ingersoll plant (CAMI workers have a separate contract that does not expire until 2017). Local Unifor officials at CAMI have announced that in the event of a strike, they will not disrupt their own production of the Equinox, but will merely undertake to refrain from extra work. In any case, the model can be produced in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and in Mexico as well.

A refusal, however, by American autoworkers to perform the extra work required would greatly strengthen the hand of their class brothers and sisters in Canada. But such action is anathema to the UAW, which like Unifor is an anti-working class organization that is tied through a web of corporatist relationships to the auto companies and is directly dependent on management for a large portion of its finances.

Further, having imposed a sellout contract on a rebellious American workforce in 2015, the last thing Williams wants to encourage is a militant and effective struggle by Canadian autoworkers.

Asked directly if he would order his membership to refuse to make up for lost Canadian output, Williams stated, I dont want to comment on that because I dont know what it will bring us. If GM asked the UAW to help make up lost production, Williams said, Well have discussions with General Motors and tell them how dissatisfied we are.

Williamss statements flatly contradict Diass prediction that the UAW would respect any action of the Canadian union by restricting extra work south of the border. In any event, Diass choice of GM as the unions initial target company for the pattern settlementthe company at which the membership has the least leveragehas sent a strong signal to all three Detroit automakers that the union is set to impose significant concessions.

GM Canada President Stephen Carlisle has insisted that no new investment decisions will be made for its Canadian operations until the conclusion of contract bargaining. The automakers transparent aim is to use the threat of massive job losses to extort concessions, pitting workers in Canada against their class brothers and sisters in the US and Mexico. For his own part, whilst claiming the possibility of a dust up in Oshawa, Dias has stated, I dont think there is going to be a strike. I think GM is going to work with us toward a solution.

Currently, some 2,500 jobs at the companys Oshawa complex are at risk (as well as financing of an underfunded pension program) as GM seeks to reposition its global operations. The Consolidated Line, which currently produces the Chevrolet Equinox and has narrowly avoided closure on several occasions over the past decade, has no new product scheduled after 2017. The Flex Line plant, which produces the poor-selling Buick Regal, Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS, is also threatened. That line already lost 1,000 jobs last year when Camaro production was transferred to Michigan. The union is also looking for renewed investment commitments for the St. Catharines operation.

There is a long history of united struggles by Canadian and US workers. All the earliest struggles of US autoworkers won a massive response from Canadian workers (and vice-versa) who recognized they were fighting against the same bosses. Meanwhile, every effort to unite with workers in the US was bitterly resisted by the Canadian ruling class, which invariably evoked Canadian nationalism and anti-communism.

The nationalist perspective of the Canadian AutoworkersCAW (now Unifor)and their counterparts south of the border culminated in the 1985 split of the UAW along national lines. It has borne bitter fruit for workers on both sides of the border. The auto companies are well versed in using the divisions created between American and Canadian workers to their own advantage.

Unifors promotion of economic nationalism dovetails with the promotion by the UAW of protectionist policies in the United States. This perspective has proven utterly disastrous for autoworkers and for communities dependent on the auto industry. It has served to pit Canadian, Mexican and American autoworkers against each other in a never-ending whipsawing drive to lower wages and benefits and destroy working conditions for all sections of workers

The role of Unifor in Canada and the UAW in the US is to divide workers against each other, aiding the companies in pitting them in a fratricidal competition to continuously slash wages and benefits.

There is no separate Canadian or US road to defend autoworkers against the attacks of the globally organized auto giants. The unity of US, Canadian, Mexican, Asian, Latin American and European workers is possible only by building new organizations of industrial and political struggle that reject the nationalist and pro-capitalist programs of the unions and their political subordination to the parties of big business.

Canadian autoworkers, like their brothers and sisters in the US, will resist the inevitable attempt by Unifor to impose a sellout agreement tailored to the needs of management. But a fight to defend jobs and living standards requires a rebellion against Unifor and the formation of rank-and-file factory committees to unite autoworkers not only across auto plants in Canada, but also in the US and internationally, in a common struggle against the corporations and their own treacherous unions, which function as junior partners of the auto bosses.
On Saturday, Republican Governor Matthew Bevin of Kentucky made a threat of violence if Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is elected in November. In an apocalyptic screed at the socially conservative Value Voters Summit in Washington, D.C., Bevin urged an audience of conservative activists to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we dont have to do it physically. But that may, in fact, be the case.

Do you think its possible, if Hillary Clinton were to win the election, do you think its possible that well be able to survive, that wed ever be able to recover as a nation? Bevin asked rhetorically. I do think it would be possible, but at what price? The roots of the tree of liberty are watered by what? The blood of who? The tyrants, to be sure, but who else? The patriots, Bevin declared, paraphrasing the famous Thomas Jefferson quote. Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren.

Continuing, the Republican governor appealed to an array of religion-based social prejudices, stating, Look at the atrocity of abortion, so many have remained silent. Its a slippery slope. First were killing children, then its dont ask, dont tell. Now its this gender-bending, dont ask, dont be a bigot, dont be unreasonable, dont be unenlightened, heaven forbid.

Bevins comments follow in the wake of a number of statements made by prominent Republican officials during the presidential elections hinting at violence. Speaking of a future President Hillary Clinton before an audience in North Carolina a month ago, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stated, If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks  Although the Second Amendment [gun-owning] peoplemaybe there is, I dont know.

Amid a media backlash over the obvious suggestion that only Clintons assassination could prevent her appointing judges after she entered the White House, Trumps campaign released a statement declaring that the comment regarding the Second Amendment right to bear arms was simply a reference to voting.

Right-wing violence has been a regular occurrence throughout the 2016 elections. In March, two protesters were physically assaulted by audience members at a Trump campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky. News cameras captured one protester, an African American woman, repeatedly hit and called racial slurs by audience members after Trump had stopped his speech to demand that security remove her.

Bevin, who was elected last year as Kentuckys governor, succeeding Democrat Steve Beshear, is one of the highest-ranking Republican officials to make such threats. The increasingly strident invocations of bloodshed and violence are aimed at whipping up and channeling the anger of deeply disoriented social layers and lay the groundwork for a fascistic movement, whatever the outcome of the November election.

The principal target is not Clinton and the Democrats, who are right-wing representatives of the ruling class, but the working class. It is part of the assault on democratic rights as a whole, as the corporate and financial elite prepares to meet social opposition with repression.

After the Kentucky Governors statements received harsh rebuking from local Democratic Party officials, his administration claimed that the blood of tyrants comment and others were references to military service. Today we have thousands of men and women in uniform fighting for us overseas, and they need our full backing, Bevin said. We cannot be complacent about the determination of radical Islamic extremists to destroy our freedoms.

On the face it, such a clarification is nonsensical. Bevin was clearly talking about physical resistance to the policies of a future Clinton administration. As for his reference to ISIS, one of the key planks of the Clinton campaign is to extend and deepen the US militarys operations in the Middle East and beyond.

Bevin, a former US Army captain and businessman, began his political career in 2014, challenging Senator Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the US Senate, from the right, as the candidate of the so-called Tea Party. After a landslide defeat in the primary, he switched his focus to the 2015 gubernatorial race.

In September 2015, Bevin offered full-throated support to Kim Davis, the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, who went to jail rather than obey a federal court order to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Upon entering the governors office last December, Bevin issued an executive order which allowed state law clerks to have their signatures kept off of marriage licenses to ensure that the sincerely held religious beliefs of all Kentuckians are honored.

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The Republicans plumb the depths

[20 July 2016]
Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of veteran Trotskyist Bill Brust, whose political struggle as a revolutionary socialist spanned 53 years. Comrade Brust, born in 1919, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 72.

Bills life was bound up with the fight against capitalism and its replacement by a socialist society. Bill and his wife and comrade, Jean (1921-1997), embodied the best traditions of the Socialist Workers Party when it was led by James P. Cannon. Bill was part of a generation of youth radicalized by the Great Depression of the 1930s. He was inspired by the struggle of the Minneapolis Teamsters, whose historic strike in 1934 played a major role in triggering the massive struggles for industrial unionism.

Bill spent time in Europe as a soldier in the closing months of the Second World War, and his experience there only solidified his internationalist principles and his hatred of the imperialist order that had plunged humanity into the Second World War.

Following the war, Bill entered the meatpacking industry, and he played an important role in both the 1946 and 1948 strikes of packinghouse workers, part of the powerful but short-lived upsurge of working-class militancy after the war. The postwar boom led to higher living standards, while the Cold War quickly ushered in a period of witch-hunting, in the unions and elsewhere.

These objective conditions contributed heavily to the growth of complacent, conservative and pessimistic moods within the Trotskyist movement, and the revisionist tendency, led by Michel Pablo and Ernest Mandel internationally and Bert Cochran and George Clarke in the US. It sought to politically disarm the movement in the name of a new world reality. The slogan of Cochran and Clarke was Junk the Old Trotskyism!

Bill stood together with Cannon and the SWP majority opposing this liquidationism, a struggle that led to the founding of the International Committee of the Fourth International in 1953.

Less than a decade later, the SWP leadership moved to make its peace with the Pabloites. Bill and Jean found themselves resisting the SWPs shift to the right and away from the necessary fight in the working class. In 1963 Bill established contact with the leadership of the British Socialist Labour League. This led shortly afterward to him and Jean joining the American Committee of the Fourth International, which had been formed by members of the SWP who had been expelled for their opposition to the SWPs reunification with the Pabloites and the subsequent entry of the Ceylonese Pabloites into a bourgeois coalition government.

Bill Brust became a founding member of the Workers League, the predecessor organization of the Socialist Equality Party, in 1966, and he contributed enormously over the next 25 years, taking up the banner of Marxism that the SWP had so disgracefully abandoned in its embrace of Castroism, black nationalism and other forms of middle-class protest politics.

I first met Bill Brust in the mid-60s, in the period leading up to the founding of the Workers League. Separated in age and in political experience by about two decades, we both found ourselves in opposition inside the SWP to the party leaderships abandonment of Trotskyism. We did not meet, however, until after the International Committee supporters inside the SWP, of whom I was a part, were expelled. From that point on, Bill and Jean brought the benefit of their knowledge and experience in the workers movement and in the SWP to the largely youthful and less experienced members of the Workers League.

A high point for me was the opportunity to work closely with both Bill and Jean for an extended period in 1986, both during the Hormel meatpacking strike against union-busting, a strike that was sabotaged by the union itself, as well as in Bills campaign as the Workers Leagues candidate for governor of Minnesota.

During the 1950s and 60s, Bill was able to resume his own education, pursuing an advanced degree in German literature, followed by college teaching for many years, an academic career that never stopped him from conducting political work and fighting for his views among students and other youth.

Bill Brusts political life spanned the Second World War and the government prosecution of the American Socialist Workers Party under the Smith Act; the postwar boom, the bureaucratization of the trade unions and the McCarthyite Red Scare; the fight against Jim Crow segregation and the war in Vietnam, alongside the upsurge in militancy of the working class in the 1960s; and the fight against the social counterrevolution during the presidency of Ronald Reagan that was embraced by both capitalist parties.

Throughout these decades Bill based himself above all on the struggle for Marxism. His activity in the working class was always guided by serious concern for the theoretical and historical foundations of revolutionary practice. He fought to clarify the decisive political issues facing the working class, and on this basis to win and train a leadership for the struggles ahead.

This year also marks 25 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The last quarter-century has vindicated the struggle to which Bill dedicated his life. The warnings by the Trotskyist movement that Stalinism would lead to the restoration of capitalism unless it was overthrown by the working class in a political revolution were proven correct.

Bill did not live to see the final collapse of Stalinism and its catastrophic aftermath after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. He took ill in early 1991 and died six months after his cancer diagnosis. He was survived by his wife Jean, who died six years later, and by his three children, Cynthia, Leo and Steve, as well as grandchildren. His children were all members or supporters of the movement to which their parents had devoted their lives. Leo Brust, a member of the Workers League, died suddenly of cardiac arrest in 1994, at the age of 40.

A memorial meeting was held for Comrade Bill Brust in Minneapolis on October 27, 1991, about six weeks after his death. Posted separately is the speech given by David North at this memorial meeting 25 years ago. It is included in Defending Principles: The Political Legacy of Bill Brust, a compilation of tributes as well as writings by Bill spanning the years of his activity in the Workers League.
* End two-tier and all job cuts and concessions!

* Build rank-and-file committees!

* Forge the fighting unity of North American auto workers!

With the contracts expiring September 19 at the Canadian operations of GM, Ford, and Fiat-Chrysler, Canadian auto workers face a decisive battle whose outcome will be critical for the whole working class.

Auto workersas demonstrated by the massive strike voteare determined to strike back after years of ever-expanding job cuts, concessions, and speed-up. But to mount a successful counteroffensive, workers must seize the leadership of their struggle from the pro-company Unifor apparatus and combine militant industrial action with a political strategy for the mobilization of working people across Canada and auto workers in the US, Mexico and around the world.

The transparent aim of the Detroit 3 automakers and their Unifor errand boys is to use the threat of plant closures in Oshawa, Brampton, and Windsor to extort further concessions, pitting workers in Canada against their class brothers and sisters in the US, Mexico, Europe and Asia in a race to the bottom.

Time and again, the threat of job losses has been used to blackmail workers, with the Canadian Auto Workers (now rebranded as Unifor) joining with the auto bosses to impose contracts that slash wages, shred benefits and gut work rules, and that have created an ever-expanding two- and even multi-tier, low-wage workforce. In 2009, CAW/Unifor collaborated with the automakers, the Obama administration, and the federal Conservative and Ontario Liberal governments to bail out the automakers by slashing labor costs by $20 per hour. Three years later, CAW/Unifor agreed to contracts that extended a wage freeze for a further 4 years, eliminated COLA for retirees, and slashed the pay of new hires by a further $4 per hour to just $20, while extending the number of years that they need to work to earn the regular base wage from six to ten.

Contract after contract, the union has touted concessions as necessary to save jobs, but the list of shuttered plants only grows longer. Since 2000 the Detroit 3 have more than halved their production workforce in Canada, devastating auto-based communities.

This round of bargaining is no different. Unifor President Jerry Dias and his labor lieutenants are already downplaying expectations of any reversal of the years of givebacks, although the auto makers have been making money hand-over-fist. Workers have been kept almost entirely in the dark about contract goals, other than an insistence that new product investment must be announced.

In other words, the union once again intends to bamboozle and bully workers into accepting concessions, claiming that otherwise they will imperil the investment guarantees they have won. Unifor officials have already signaled their readiness to match the pension cuts they agreed to last year at the GM-owned CAMI plant in Ingersoll. And at Oshawa, they have given GM the green light (under a deal struck in 2013) to employ 500 workers, more than a fifth of the total workforce, as Supplementary Workforce Employees, with permanently lower wages and benefits significantly inferior even to those of two-tier workers.

For their part, the Detroit Three have arrogantly threatened to eliminate 7,000 jobs, almost a third of their Canadian workforce, unless their Canadian operations can be made globally competitive, i.e. can provide investors profits even bigger than those that they can squeeze from workers in the US and Mexico .

A determined stand by auto workers against concessions and job cuts would galvanize support from workers across Canada and internationally. But such a stand must be guided by a different and opposed strategy to the nationalist and corporatist strategy pursued by CAW/Unifor since it split from the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1985.

Forge the unity of auto workers in North America and around the world

To defeat the globally organized auto companies and their systematic drive to extract ever-greater profits through whipsawing, Canadian auto workers must consciously ally and coordinate their struggle with their class brothers and sisters in the US, Mexico and across the globe.

This means reviving and developing the militant traditions that led Canadian workers in 1937 to support the insurrectionary Flint sit-down strike and join in the building of the UAWtraditions that were later betrayed and trampled on by the well-heeled union bureaucrats on both sides of the border.

In 1985, the CAW leadership justified its split from the UAW by pointing to the reactionary, pro-company policies of the unions leadership. But far from constituting a genuine opposition to concessions, the split was a reactionary maneuver that facilitated the companies attempts to pit workers against each other.

For the past three decades, the UAW and CAW have competed with one another as to which can better defend American or Canadian jobs by offering the automakers the bigger returns. This has gone hand in hand with their ever-deeper integration into managementa collaboration exemplified in Unifors case by its participation in the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, a government-industry-union body aimed at boosting the profitability of the corporations.

Workers needs must not be subordinated to investor profit

Unifor, the UAW and the unions have proven incapable of defending the most elementary interests of the working class, because they are nationalist, pro-capitalist organizations that accept that workers jobs and wages must be subordinated to the profits of investors.

Due to modern technology, labor is far more productive than even three decades ago, yet the conditions of life for working people grow ever more difficult. If the billionaire capitalists who control the economy cant provide workers with a decent wage and basic social rightsand they clearly cant and wontthen the working class must advance its own program to radically reorganize the economy on the basis of social need, not private profit.

Build rank-and-file committees

Unifor cant be pressured into acting in its workers interests. It is a bureaucratic apparatus, which functions ever more completely as an arm of management in suppressing worker opposition. Thats why, when Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak proposed to introduce reactionary US style right to work laws, the automakers successfully prevailed on him to drop the proposal, saying they didnt want to see their partnership with the union disrupted

Dias bluster about a possible strike is a fraud. Despite the automakers relentless concession demands, CAW/Unifor has not called a single day of job action against any of the Detroit 3 since 1996. In the unlikely event the union does sanction a walkout, it will be a stunt aimed at siphoning off rising rank-and-file anger, the better to push through a sell-out agreement.

Last year, US auto workers rebelled against the UAW bureaucracy, voting down a concessionary agreement at Fiat-Chrysler, but the union was ultimately able to ram through sell-out agreements, using a series of blatantly antidemocratic and unconstitutional maneuvers.

To prevent Unifor from sabotaging their struggle, auto workers must build new organizations of struggle, democratically controlled by rank-and-file workers and committed to defending workers social rights, not the profits of the corporations. These rank-and-file committees should take the lead in organizing industry-wide strike action, fighting to rally US and Mexican auto workers and workers across Canada in a common struggle against all concessions, job cuts and the dismantling of public services.

The fight against the auto bosses is a political struggle

The entire political establishment from the Conservatives and Liberals through the NDP were united in 2008-9 in insisting that any auto industry bailout must be at the expense of workers in the form of unprecedented wage and benefit concessions.

Similarly, any challenge by auto workers to the decades of givebacks would immediately bring them into a head-on collision with all the institutions of big businesstheir political parties, the government, the police and the entire state machinery that upholds capitalist exploitation and social inequality.

The hostility of the CAW/Unifor to the interests of the workers it purports to represent finds consummate expression in its ever-tighter embrace of the big-business Liberals over the past two decades. The union has been a key backer of the Ontario Liberal government that has imposed savage social spending cuts, privatized Hydro One, and illegalized teacher strikes, and it has equally close ties to the Trudeau government, which is no less committed to austerity and war than its Conservative predecessor.

To defeat big business, workers need their own partynot a sham labour party like the pro-capitalist NDPbut a socialist party that has as its aim the establishment of a workers government. Such a government would place basic industry and the banks under public ownership and the democratic control of the working class so as to guarantee for all secure and well-paying jobs, quality health care, education, a comfortable retirement, and a future for the next generation free from poverty and war.

Auto workers face powerful enemies, but they have even more powerful allies in the working class across Canada and around the world.

Auto workers who want to build rank-and-file committees to organize the long overdue working-class counteroffensive should contact the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter and the Socialist Equality Party.
The Obama administration, the Democratic Party and their allies in the corporate-controlled media have hailed the Census Bureau report released Tuesday, claiming it demonstrates that the US economy has turned the corner and that the supposed economic recovery is now providing big dividends for working people and even for the poor.

The headline numbers of the report include a 5.2 percent increase in median household income, the highest year-on-year increase in a half century; an increase in the number of full-time, year-round workers by 2.4 million; a drop in the poverty rate, from 14.8 percent to 13.5 percent; and a drop of 3.5 million in the total number of people living in poverty. The number of people without health insurance also declined significantly.

President Obama, who has repeatedly declared that the condition of America is pretty darn great, made much of the report during a campaign appearance Tuesday in Philadelphia in support of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. This is a big deal, he said. More Americans are working, more have health insurance. Incomes are rising. Poverty is falling.

The Washington Post hailed the report with an editorial blasting both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders for subjecting American voters to a bombardment of negativity about the U.S. economy. The editorial continued, [D]uring the entire time candidates such as Mr. Sanders and Mr. Trump were out on the stump, the U.S. economy was performing contrary to their respective tales of woe. Traumatic as it was, the Great Recession belongs mostly to the past, and those who speak and act otherwise are simply not leveling with the public.

The New York Times headlined its news analysis of the Census figures, The Economic Expansion Is Helping the Middle Class, Finally. Even lower-income workers were benefiting from the economic expansion in the US, the Times wrote. After all these years, the fruits of the recovery are now being delivered more broadly.

The triumphalist conclusions being drawn by the Obama administration and its media acolytes fly in the face of the actual lived experience of tens of millions of working people. They are following the example of the comedian Chico Marx, who famously said in Duck Soup, Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?

A careful examination of the figures presented in the Current Population Survey (CPS), the formal name of the study, suggests that the hosannas by Obama and the media are premature. The statistical data is not fabricated, but it has been packaged in the light most favorable to the Democrats in the final two months of a hotly contested presidential election.

The 5.2 percent increase in household income from 2014 to 2015, celebrated in media headlines around the country, was the first annual increase in median household income since 2007, before the Wall Street Crash. However, median household income remained 1.6 percent below the 2007 figure, and 2.4 percent below the all-time high, reached in 1999.

Table 1 of the report breaks down the income and earnings by various characteristics, including type of household (family or nonfamily, married couple or single parent), race, age, region and area of residence (city, suburban, rural), as well as giving figures for full-time, year-round workers.

The last figure is particularly important. Men who worked full-time throughout 2014 and 2015 saw an increase of only 1.5 percent in median household income. Women who worked full-time both years saw an increase of only 2.7 percent. Yet these comprised more than 111 million people, more than half the total number of working-age adults (aged 18 to 64).

How is it possible for the median household income to rise by 5.2 percent overall when the figure for workers holding full-time, year-round jobs is so much lower? Only if the minority of workers who were not employed full-time and year-round saw a much larger increase in median household income.

Many workers who were limited to part-time work in 2014, or were unemployed entirely, went back to work or worked longer hours in 2015. This does not mean they got a raise. A minimum-wage worker who went from 15 hours of work a week in 2014 to 30 hours of work a week in 2015 would see a doubling in his or her income, a 100 percent increase, entirely from longer hours, even as their pay remained abysmally low.

In other words, median household income may rise significantly through an increase in working hours rather than an increase in hourly pay. Given that real wages have remained stagnant or risen only slightly in recent years, that appears to be what happened in 2015. Low-paid workers worked more hours, and most new jobs taken by previously unemployed workers were in the low-pay service sectors, like healthcare, restaurants and bars, nursing homes, retail outlets, etc.

The Washington Post editorial sneered at Sanders because he served up a story of beaten-down employees serving their corporate bosses long hours for lower wages. The Census report actually suggests that longer hours for low wages would have been a completely precise description of the predicament facing tens of millions of American workers.

Several other pieces of data support this conclusion. The households which saw the biggest jump in median household income were headed by single women without children. While their median pay rose by 8.7 percent, this was from an extremely low base: from $26,703 in 2014 to $29,022 in 2015.

The only section of the population which saw an outright decline in median household income were people living in rural areas, already lower paid on average than people living in cities or suburbs. Their median household income fell 2 percent, to $44,657 annually, more than $15,000 a year behind people living in metropolitan areas (combining cities and suburbs). During the presidential primaries, these areas saw some of the largest votes for Trump, as well as for Sanders.

Obama and the media also hailed the reported drop in the poverty rate. First, a general caution about these figures. As the Census Bureau admits, its survey is limited to the resident civilian non-institutionalized population of the United States. This excludes a significant portion of the US population: People in institutions, such as prisons, long-term care hospitals, and nursing homes, are not eligible to be interviewed in the CPS.

If one adds up those excluded from the survey2.3 million prisoners, 1.4 million nursing home residents, 1.2 million in hospices and 1.1 million in other long-term care settingsthat means that some 6 million people are left out.

In addition, as the Census report explains, Since the CPS is a household survey, people who are homeless and not living in shelters are not included in the sample. Again, a large group of people, at least half a million and perhaps many more, who are all living in poverty, but not counted in the Census report.

These omissions suggest that the reports findings on declining poverty should be taken with a large grain of salt. What is happening to that section of the population too poor, too sick, too old or too desperate to be covered by the survey of households? Nearly all of these people are of low income, and the vast majority would be added to the total number of people living in poverty, bringing that figure closer to 50 million Americans.

That said, the poverty figures actually reported by the Census are themselves quite grim.

The Current Population Survey found: During the 4-year period from 2009 to 2012, 34.5 percent of the population had at least one spell of poverty lasting 2 or more months. The number is staggering: about 110 million people. The official poverty line is absurdly low, set now at $24,250 for a family of four, or $11,770 for an individual. But more than one-third of all Americans fell below that abysmal marker for a significant period of time.

According to the Census, only 2.7 percent of the population lived in poverty for all 48 months of 2009-2012. This underscores the reality that poverty in America is most frequently the result of a traumatic eventan illness, a lost job, a car accident, a house firewhich plunges people below the official poverty line. After the disaster, they claw their way back up, frequently with help from friends, family or charity, although they usually remain living on the edge, the proverbial one paycheck away from severe distress.

There is, in addition, one further aspect of the Census report, about which the media pundits as well as the capitalist politicians have been completely silent. There is a table showing Household Income Dispersion over a period of 40 years. That is a measure of how total income is distributed among the various sections of the population.

In 2015, the poorest 20 percent (quintile) of the US population received only 3.1 percent of total income. The richest 20 percent raked in 51.1 percent. The intermediate quintiles made up the difference: 8.2 percent of total income for the second poorest quintile, those between 20 percent and 40 percent of median income; 14.3 percent for the third or middle quintile, those from 40 percent to 60 percent of median income; and 23.2 percent for the fourth or second-richest quintile, those between 60 and 80 percent of median income.

What is remarkable about these figures is not only the appalling disparity between the richest and poorest fifths of the population, but the seeming immovability of that difference. The figures for 10 years earlier, in 2005, are virtually identical: 3.4 percent, 8.6 percent, 14.6 percent, 23 percent, 50.4 percent for the five quintiles. Ten years before that, in 1995: 3.7 percent, 9.1 percent, 15.2 percent, 23.3 percent, 48.7 percent.

A similar permanence is displayed in the share of national income going to the top 5 percent, those genuinely wealthy: 21.0 percent in 1995, 22.2 percent in 2005, virtually the 22.1 percent in 2015.

Despite the propaganda distortions of Obama, the Democrats and the media, what the Census report actually documents is the social reality of American capitalism in its death agony: mass poverty, stagnant incomes, increased low-wage exploitation, and the unbridgeable gulf between a tiny minority of the rich and super-rich and the working population.
Two days before the post-Brexit summit in Bratislava on Friday , European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his annual State of the European Union speech. Speaking before the European Parliament, he warned that the European Union is facing an existential crisis and made clear that the European ruling elite has nothing to offer to the European working class besides austerity, nationalism, police state build-up and war.

I am not going to stand here today and tell you that everything is now fine. It is not, he said. I have witnessed several decades of EU integration, but never before have I seen such little common ground between our member states. So few areas where they agree to work together []. Our European Union is, at least in part, in an existential crisis.

Juncker acknowledged that the historical crisis of the EU is reproducing the same national divisions and political break-down that plunged the continent into two world wars in the twentieth century. Never before have I seen national governments so weakened by the forces of populism and paralyzed by the risk of defeat in the next elections, he warned.

 The next twelve months are decisive if we want to reunite our Union, Juncker added. He was therefore proposing a positive agenda of concrete European actions for the next twelve months.

In reality, there is no positive agenda. Juncker all but admitted that the EU's policies have deprived a whole generation of a better future. I cannot and will not accept that the millennials, Generation Y, might be the first generation in 70 years to be poorer than their parents. Coming from a man who has overseen years of deep austerity that have slashed wages and living standards in Greece and across Europe, this is utter cynicism.

In an attempt to cover up the class character of the EU and channel rising anger among European workers in a nationalistic anti-American direction, Juncker claimed: Europe is not the Wild West, but a social market economy. In Europe, consumers are protected against cartels and abuses by powerful companies. This goes for giants like Apple too.

Who is Juncker kidding? Those who are protected in capitalist Europeas in capitalist Americaare the superrich and the banks! After years of deregulation and austerity, European workers face in the final analysis the same devastating conditions as their class brothers and sisters in the US. When Juncker criticizes Apple, which like most big companies is involved in large-scale tax evasion, this has nothing to do with protecting European workers. Rather, it points to the increasing tensions as the EU seeks to assert its interests more independently of, and even against, the United States.

 Europe can no longer afford to piggy-back on the military might of others, or let France alone defend its honour in Mali, Juncker said, all but calling for a major European military escalation in ongoing wars in Africa and the Middle East.

Juncker also pledged a major military build-up: For European defence to be strong, the European defence industry needs to innovate, he said. That is why we will propose before the end of the year a European Defence Fund, to turbo-boost research and innovation.

Juncker confirmed longstanding EU plans, revived by defense ministers Ursula von der Leyen of Germany and Jean-Yves Le Drian of France in the lead-up to the summit, to transform the EU into a de facto military and police state.

 Europe needs to toughen up, Juncker stated. Nowhere is this truer than in our defence policy. The Lisbon Treaty enables those Member States who wish, to pool their defence capabilities in the form of a permanent structured cooperation. I think the time to make use of this possibility is now.

Juncker called for a European Strategy for Syria and for Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Commissioner for Foreign Policy, to become our European Foreign Minister, via whom all diplomatic services, of big and small countries alike, pool their forces to achieve leverage in international negotiations.

This plan alone speaks volumes about the EU's reactionary strategy. Mogherini has been leading the EU's push for a common European military and foreign policy after the UK's vote to withdraw from the EU. At the first EU summit without British participation, at the end of June, she presented a paper titled Global Strategy for European Foreign and Security Policy. At its center stood the goal that the EU must become an aggressive military power capable of waging war independently from the United States.

Europe must be better equipped, trained and organised to contribute decisively to such collective efforts, as well as to act autonomously if and when necessary, this document demands. The paper calls for a massive rearmament program and makes clear that there is virtually no geographical limit to the potential reach of an EU military force. Brussels reserves the right to intervene not only in the war-torn regions in North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, but anywhere in the world.

The stated interests of the EU include ensuring open and protected ocean and sea routes critical for trade and access to natural resources. To this end, the EU will contribute to global maritime security, building on its experience in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, and exploring possibilities in the Gulf of Guinea, the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca.

The drive to prevent the break-up of the EU by preparing for global wars is pushed above all by Berlin. Germany's recently published White Paper 2016 on German Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr explicitly welcomes the European Unions new global foreign and security policy strategy, stating that it will make a significant contribution to strengthening the EUs capacity to act in the domain of foreign and security policy.

From the very beginning, Germany has played an active role in supporting the development of this new strategy, Berlin's official foreign policy doctrine boasts.

The current Franco-German plans, such as the creation of a unified EU military headquarters, were also spelled out first in Berlin's white paper. In the medium term, a permanent civil-military operational headquarters is required, it states, with a civil-military planning and command and control capability. Only thus could the political weight of the countries of Europe be maintained in the long term, along with the security interests of the EU, given geopolitical shifts and global demographic developments.

The push especially by the German ruling class to organize Europe militarily after Brexit to defend its geostrategic and economic interests on a world scale is only increasing the tensions between the European powers and the danger of another major war between the imperialist powers.

Britains Admiral Lord West was quoted I the British tabloid the Sun last week: Because of Brexit, I think Europe is very flaky, I think it is unfortunate that we didnt stay in, because they actually need our military expertise. I can see bits of Europe breaking up and when Europe gets into a mess, twice in the past weve had to go in there and clear it up with immense loss of blood and lives.
The live stream of the meeting and discussion with Socialist Equality Party presidential and vice presidential candidates Jerry White and Niles Niemuth is below. The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm US Eastern Time (time zone conversions here), and will bestreamed on the SEPs Facebook page.

If you would like to ask questions of the candidates, please do so by accessing the video stream on the Facebook page. You can pose your questions in the comment section.
On November 5, the Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality will hold a conference at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, Socialism vs. Capitalism & War. The purpose of this conference is to politically mobilize workers and young people throughout the country and internationally against the war policies of US and world imperialism, which threaten to escalate into a nuclear Third World War.

The greatest danger facing the international working class is that decisions with potentially catastrophic consequences are being made entirely behind their backs, with the extent of war preparations far exceeding the level of popular consciousness. This only facilitates the conspiracies of the capitalist elites.

Just over one hundred years ago, the population of the world was thrown into the First World War as a result of the conspiratorial decision of ministers, monarchs and business leaders to risk everything on military victory. The end of WWI in 1918 was followed a mere twenty-one years later by the eruption of the Second World War, accompanied by the horrors of fascism and the Holocaust. Together, these two world conflagrations took the lives of 100 million people and destroyed vast portions of the globe.

Today, the danger of world war is greater than at any point since the summer of 1939. In Washington, Berlin, London and other world capitals, politicians and generals are actively considering the unthinkable, including war waged with nuclear weapons.

Twenty-five years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and 15 years after the beginning of the war on terror, the unending conflicts launched by the United States in the Middle East and Central Asia are metastasizing into a global confrontation with the larger competitors of American imperialism, particularly Russia and China, both armed with nuclear weapons.

In this situation, the November 5th ConferenceSocialism vs. Capitalism and Waris a critically important political event. It is taking place in the closing days of a national election in which the candidates of the two major capitalist parties, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are both ruthless advocates of the interests of American imperialism.

Regardless of which of these candidates wins the presidential election, there will be a dramatic escalation of military operations in the months ahead. But the issue of war has been all but excluded from the campaign. With the connivance of the media, Trump and Clinton are saying as little as possible about plans for military operations.

The November 5 conference of the Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality in Detroit is the only meeting where the danger of world war and the present reality of expanding conflict will be discussed and opposed. It is being organized on the basis of the program of the International Committee of the Fourth International, which in its statement of February 18 elaborated the necessary political foundation for a movement against war:

1) The struggle against war must be based on the working class, the great revolutionary force in society, uniting behind it all progressive elements in the population

The same capitalist crisis that produces war also produces the basis for ending war, in the form of growing struggles against inequality, poverty and the attack on wages, jobs, health care, education and all the social rights of the working class.

The cost of war is itself a significant factor in the deterioration in the living conditions of the vast majority of the population. A report released by Brown University last week estimated that the costs of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria since 2001 is nearly $5 trillion, which does not include the $6.8 trillion spent on the Pentagons base budget. Combined, this is equivalent to $37,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Schools are unfunded, social infrastructure is in a state of advanced decay, and there are endless claims that there is no money for health care, pensions and decent wages for all. However, unlimited funds are made available to finance the military, including a $1 trillion nuclear weapons modernization program initiated by the Obama administration.

2) The fight against war must be anti-capitalist and socialist, since there can be no serious struggle against war except in the fight to end the dictatorship of finance capital and the economic system that is the fundamental cause of war

Imperialism arises out of the growth and contradictions of the world capitalist system. The systemic crisis of world capitalism fuels the drive to war, as the rival corporate interests that control national governments seek to force their competitors to bear the burden of the crisis by seizing control of key markets and sources of raw materials. The response of the ruling class to the contradiction embedded in the capitalist system, between the world economy and the nation-state system, is imperialist war and plunder.

The ruling class that is conspiring to wage war is the same financial oligarchy that has amassed vast wealth through fraud and speculation. In the aftermath of the 2008 crash, the Obama administration funneled trillions of dollars to the banks in the form of bailouts and quantitative easing. New speculative bubbles threaten at any moment to deflate, sending the world economy into an even greater slump.

3) The struggle against war must be completely and unequivocally independent of and hostile to all political parties and organizations of the capitalist class

The 2016 US elections demonstrate that it is impossible to fight against war without a complete break from all the capitalist parties.

Trumps program of Fortress America combines virulent nationalism and anti-immigrant chauvinism with the demand for a vast increase in the size of the military and a removal of all restraints on military spending. The Democratic Party campaign of Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is criticizing Trump from the right, as an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is insufficiently committed to the strategic interests of American imperialism. Clinton is seeking to transform anti-Trump sentiment into a pseudo-mandate for aggression against Russia once the election is over.

In the Democratic Party primaries, millions of workers and youth backed the campaign of Bernie Sanders due to his rhetorical denunciations of the billionaire class. Yet the clearest proof of the fraud of Sanders socialism was his support for the war policies of the Obama administration. He has now endorsed Clinton, hailing her right-wing and militarist campaign as the continuation of the political revolution.

As for the middle-class organizations that orbit around the Democratic Party, they have gone from criticizing the war policies of the Bush administration to full support for imperialist intervention in the Middle East and against Russia and China. Under the banner of human rights, they are prepared to support the most heinous crimes.

4) Above all, the fight against war must be international, mobilizing the vast power of the working class in a unified global struggle against imperialism

The danger of world war arises out of the contradictions of the world capitalist system. A new global conflagration can only be averted through the mobilization of the global working class. There is no part of the world that will not be impacted by a new world war, and there is no section of the working class that has an interest in the war planning of the capitalist elites.

While the United States is the cockpit of imperialist intrigue, it is not alone. Germany, which fought against the US in both world wars of the 20th century, is reviving its imperialist ambitions, with politicians and media personalities declaring an end to the unipolar world. Japan is remilitarizing, seeking to abolish its post-World War II constitutional restrains on armament. The ruling classes in Britain, France, Canada and Australia are all calculating how best to defend their interests in a global conflict.

Out of the capitalist crisis, two paths are possible: the path of imperialist war, dictatorship and barbarism; or the path of socialist revolution. The danger of world war is not a future threat, but a present reality. Already, over a million people have been killed and entire societies destroyed by the imperialist wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. Millions, even billions more lives will be sacrificed in a third world war.

An international, socialist political leadership must be built, and there is no time to lose. The Socialist Equality Party and the International Committee of the Fourth International are building this leadership. We call on all of our readers to take up this fight as your own.

The November 5 conference in Detroit is a critical stage in this struggle. Speakers at the conference will include Jerry White and Niles Niemuth, the SEPs candidates for US president and vice president; David North, chairman of the WSWS International Editorial Board and national chairman of the SEP; Joseph Kishore, national secretary of the SEP; Andre Damon, national secretary of the IYSSE; and Naomi Spencer, SEP candidate for West Virginia House of Delegates. Other speakers will include leading representatives from the SEPs sister parties in the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Make plans to attend and register today at sep2016.com/conference.

 For a socialist strategy against imperialist war!

 Unite the international working class!

 Fund schools, jobs and healthcare, not the Pentagon and the CIA!

 Withdraw all US forces from the Middle East and Central Asia!

 Stop the confrontation with Russia and China! No to World War III!
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech before newly sworn-in government officials on September 12, called for US special forces to leave the southern island of Mindanao. The next day, in an address to the Philippine Air Force, he said the Philippines would no longer stage joint patrols with the United States in the South China Sea.

Duterte also declared he was looking to secure arms from China and Russia, saying he would send Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to these countries to see what they had to offer.

The statements mark a further souring of ties between Manila and Washington under the new president. The US State Department responded by saying it had received no formal notice from the Philippines regarding its special forces in Mindanao and thus would not pull the troops out.

Dutertes cabinet promptly went into damage control. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella stated that Duterte was concerned with the risks that American forces faced. The presidents statements were not policies set in stone but were layered and could be interpreted in several ways.

Defense Secretary Lorenzana told the House Appropriations Committee the next day that American troops would not leave Mindanao, saying: We still need them there because they have the surveillance capability that our armed forces dont have.

Duterte is an exceptionally volatile figure and many of his public statements are greeted with public questions regarding his seriousness. His policy pronouncements, including those regarding Washington, are invariably delivered in the midst of lengthy, off-the-cuff, profanity-laden public speeches. Mondays speech was an example. He spoke extemporaneously for 30 minutes, wandering in a stream of consciousness manner from topic to topic.

Unlike his press secretary, Duterte expressed no concern for the safety of American special forces operatives. The Americans are real hypocrites, he stated. They know we have a real problem with drugs. He defended his campaign to kill tens of thousands of drug suspects and pointed to the violence of the 1899-1902 American conquest of the Philippines to justify his own crimes.

Duterte then stated: For as long as we stay with America we will never have peace. This is why the special forces have to go. There are lots of whites in Mindanao. They have to go. Even if youre a black, or a white, but as long as youre an American you have to go.

In the same speech, the president accused the Chineseusing the racial slur mga intsikof being responsible for the drug trade in the Philippines. He said his rivals were trying to impeach him. He told the assembled audience that social ills were the product of politicians not having the balls to carry out the death penalty.

Duterte stated that anyone who has used drugs for over a year cannot be rehabilitated. The only solution is to kill them, grind them up, and feed them to the animals.

Duterte delivers numerous such lengthy speeches every week. His most common audience is the military, to whom he delivers similar unprepared addresses two or three times a week.

The one consistent theme of all of Dutertes speeches is his commitment to the violent suppression of the population in the name of his war on drugs. The official death toll of those killed by police and vigilantes since he took office on July 1 is now over 3,500. More people have been murdered in the first two and half months of the Duterte government than during the entirety of the martial law dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos from 1972 to 1981.

Last week, Duterte declared an open-ended state of national emergency in response to a state of lawlessness. He called upon the military to run the country. His administration has clarified that the state of emergency authorizes warrantless arrests. Senator Richard Gordon recently put forward a bill authorizing the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, which forbids detention without trial.

Duterte is, in his extemporaneous articulation of policy, looking to cultivate an audience for his fascistic policies. He routinely resorts to nationalist appeals, including publicly denouncing Americans. He said on Monday: I do not like the Americans. Its simply a matter of principle for me.

According to the Philippine Department of Defense, there are only 107 US special forces in question in Mindanao. The issue of their presence has become, for Washington, a secondary matter. First stationed in 2002, the US regarded these troops as necessary to re-establish a foothold in the Philippines after the closure in 1992 of its major facilitiesthe Subic Bay naval base and Clark Airfield. Now, however, the chief US focus is the war drive against China in the South China Sea.

What Dutertes pronouncements increasingly call into doubt, however, is Manilas commitment to the renewed basing of US forces in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which was signed under Dutertes predecessor, Benigno Aquino. The termination of this agreement is something Washington will not tolerate.

Duterte has repeatedly said he intends to honor the EDCA treaty obligations, but his volatile nationalist posturing calls these statements into question.

Greg Poling of the influential US think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told the Wall Street Journal: There are two camps in Washingtonone that thinks Duterte is about to push the alliance off a cliff and there is nothing US policy makers can do about it, and one that continues to argue that the alliance is just too important to both countries and so a way forward must be found. But that latter group is losing the argument day by day as Duterte continues this anti-American rhetoric.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay arrives in Washington tonight to meet with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and speak before the CSIS. Doubtless he will attempt to patch things up in the wake of Dutertes latest statements. It is noteworthy, however, that he is not scheduled to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry.

Defense Secretary Lorenzana is scheduled to be meeting US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in Hawaii before the end of the month.

Polings remarks make clear that a growing section of US policy makers sees Duterte pushing the alliance off a cliff. The alliance is the long-established ties between a former colonial master and its colony. The Philippines has, for over a century, served as Washingtons stepping-stone to the Asia Pacific.

As Washington ratchets up its drive to subordinate China by military means to US economic and political dominance, it will not tolerate the loss of this stepping-stone. There has not been a single political transition during the last hundred years in the Philippines in which Washington did not play a direct role. If Dutertes nationalist posturing continues and relations further sour, his term in office may prove to be short one.
Following a meeting on Tuesday with government ministers, the Papua New Guinea Nurses Association (PNGNA) cancelled a nationwide nurses strike planned for Wednesday.

The PNGNA had called the strike after balloting its 5,000 members, who have not been paid properly for nine months. The unions 22 branches across the country all signed resolutions supporting the strike, which would have involved public sector nurses from rural health facilities, community health posts, health centres, provincial hospitals and the four regional hospitals.

The unions claims include non-payment of wages and other benefits. An industrial award was signed with the government last December, which was supposed to take effect in January. PNGNA acting president Steven Nawik said the government had ignored the agreement it reached with the union.

According to Nawik, the award included pay increases, a work value study on nurses throughout the country and the establishment of a housing committee. The union had submitted a proposal to the Health Department to begin the work value study in January but that did not happen.

The government declared the nurses strike would be illegal. Industrial Registrar Helen Saleu had refused the unions application for a secret strike ballot, which is a legal requirement.

The PNGNA is now collaborating with the government to enforce ongoing attacks on the health system. Nawik and the PNGNA executive left Tuesdays meeting declaring the sides reached a near positive outcome. Nawik said the government accepted that it had signed a binding agreement and was now looking for funds to honour that commitment.

However, government negotiators Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari and Health Secretary Pascoe Kase said there was no appropriation in the 2016 Budget for the PNGNA award. The government had re-adjusted the budget due to a sharp drop in revenue, and it would be extremely difficult to find savings at this stage, Lupari said. I have made the PNGNA executives aware of the above and that if the government is to honour it, savings must be identified in the budget. He added: Sometimes, industrial awards cannot be met in an expeditious manner.

The union agreed that the PNGNA will not take any industrial action, including strikes. Lupari thanked the union leaders for their maturity and understanding on the matter. With the unions agreement, the government will identify savings in the budget, and make some payments to nurses during the year.

In other words, thousands of nurses will continue to be improperly paid. Public services and living conditions of the wider working class will be plundered to meet budget shortfalls. A major betrayal is being imposed.

The dire situation facing nurses, and the entire health system, is part of the deep economic and social crisis confronting the working class under the government of Prime Minister Peter ONeill. Besides nurses, thousands of teachers and other public sector workers have been without pay since the beginning of the year.

The global commodity price crash has hit PNGs oil, mineral and gas exports. Total government income has dropped by 20 percent in 12 months, and public debt is set to increase this year to 32.2 percent of gross domestic product. Last month, the government announced further spending cuts and revenue raising measures.

Under pressure from global financial agencies, the government is imposing a brutal austerity agenda, including 40 percent funding cuts across the health system. Hospitals and clinics face shortages of blood bags, test kits and other medical kits. Doctors at the Western Highlands Mt Hagen hospital have struck three times this year, citing problems such as no microbiology unit, closure of the operating theatre for eight months, no blood test department for six months, and the blood bank crippled for a year.

Following a walkout on August 24, the health minister ordered the doctors to return to work under threats of dismissal and legal action. The Doctors Association said PNG is facing a catastrophic meltdown from a combination of corruption with financial debt, slashing of health sector funding, and diminished production of health workers.

Far from being confined to PNG, this situation is a sharp expression of the global assault that has propelled doctors and nurses into struggles internationally over working conditions and the destruction of public health. Currently, 4,800 nurses in Minnesota, USA are on strike over benefits and workloads, and 50,000 junior doctors in Britain voted to strike over excessive workloads after rejecting a sell-out agreement reached between the British Medical Association and the government.

Further budget cuts in PNG will compound a ballooning social disaster. According to Oxfam, 37 percent of the population already lives on less than $US1.25 a day. Diseases of poverty, malaria, drought-induced starvation and HIV/AIDS are rife due to the lack of health facilities and programs. More than 60 percent of the population has no access to safe drinking water.

This year, students and sections of workers have taken up significant struggles against the ONeill government, only to be led into a dead-end by union leaderships, civil society groups and parliamentary parties. Opposition leader Don Polye has remained silent on the nurses dispute, because he is as committed as the government to sweeping austerity measures.

None of the immense problems facing workers, youth and the rural poor will be addressed, let alone resolved, by the political representatives of the PNG ruling class. As the WSWS noted in drawing the lessons of the students struggle, the root cause of the social hardships facing millions is the profit system and the domination of the PNG economy by global banks and corporations, particularly the mining giants. That can only be overcome on the basis of a political fight by the working class for socialist internationalism.

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[17 August 2016]
A number of xenophobic attacks on the large Polish immigrant community in the UK following the Brexit referendum are being exploited by both the Polish and British ruling class to strengthen their alliance, amid deepening divisions within the European Union (EU) and growing tensions with Germany.

There are 850,000 Poles working and living with their families in the UK, making Polish in many cities the second language after English. Britain is home to the second largest Polish emigre community in Europe after Germany, where an estimated 2 million people from Poland are living and working.

The overwhelming majority have emigrated since the beginning of capitalist restoration in 1989 and particularly Polands entry into the EU in 2004. While Polish workers are on average paid less than their British counterparts, their average salary of 1,800 monthly in the UK is still twice as much as that in Poland.

There has been an increase in attacks on Polish workers in the UK in the wake of the Brexit referendum by right-wing elements encouraged by the whipping up of xenophobia and nationalism by all factions of the ruling elite and the media.

The most publicized case is also the most obscure: British police are investigating the killing of 40-year old Arkadiusz Jozwik in Harlow, a town in Essex by a group of youth. Although it remains unclear whether the killing had anything to do with Jozwiks nationality, it has received much media coverage in Poland and the Polish ambassador in London, Arkady Rzegocki, attended Jozwiks funeral.

The campaign of the Polish press and politicians of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) is not only hypocritical, coming as it does from outlets and politicians who are routinely whipping up racism and nationalism in Poland. It also stands in no relation to the actual number of cases (15 to 16 since the Brexit) that were reported by the Polish embassy.

What is involved for the Polish bourgeoisie is not a defence of Polish workers, let alone a struggle against racism. Rather, the Polish bourgeoisie is using the issue as a pawn in negotiations with Britain over Brexit and the future of bilateral relations which, in face of the crisis in the EU and resurgent German militarism, are assuming ever greater importance for both countries.

During British Prime Minister Theresa Mays first visit in Warsaw in late July, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydo stressed that Britain was and remains a strategic ally, but that the key issue in negotiations over exiting the EU would be the free movement of people. She insisted that Polish workers would have to remain in the UK.

The PiS government is horrified by the prospect of a closure of EU borders to Polish workers. Above all it fears an explosion of social tensions in Poland. The restoration of capitalism was accompanied by the destruction of a massive 3.2 million jobs in 1989-2003. With 11,100, the GDP per capita in Poland is less than half that of the EU average (27,400) and more than three times below that in neighbouring Germany, where it is 37,100.

This situation has prompted millions of workers to seek employment abroad. Out of a working-age population of about 25 million, around 2.5 million Poles have taken the opportunity to work in other EU countries since 2004. According to data by the Bank Polski from 2015, Polish workers working in other EU countries have transferred 43 billion back to their families in Poland from 2004 to 2013. These payments play an important role for many working class and middle class families in a country where 9 out of 38 million people live beneath or near the official poverty line.

Moreover, without the mass emigration of Polish workers the unemployment rate would rise significantly. Unemployment has hovered around 10 percent for about a decade now. Among youth under 25, every fourth is unemployed.

The new British Conservative government under May has shown itself eager to improve relations with the Polish government. During her first visit in late July, May emphasized that the Brexit vote should lead to a deepening, not a loosening, of bilateral relations. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson too stressed that he wanted the bilateral relations to become from good to great in his recent visit to Warsaw in early September where he talked with foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski.

Aware of the concerns of the Polish bourgeoisie over the return of Polish immigrants, Johnson, a notorious racist who spearheaded the anti-immigrant campaign for the Leave camp, hypocritically claimed in Warsaw said that there was no room for xenophobia in London and that Polish workers were welcome in Britain. Both May and Johnson have been careful, however, to not issue any guarantees about the legal status of Polish citizens in the UK after the Brexit.

Poland and Britain already maintain close economic ties. Poland is Britains second largest trading partner and the largest market in Central Europe for British companies like Tesco. Over 900 small businesses, with up to nine employees, are operating in Poland. The community of immigrant workers from Poland and other Eastern European countries represents an important pool of cheap labour for British businesses. Poland and Britain also closely collaborate within the framework of NATO, where they are spearheading the war preparations against Russia in Europe.

The PiS-government, shocked by the Brexit referendum, is now trying to use the negotiations over Brexit to push for its vision of the EU and weaken the political position of Germany. The British government in turn is trying to establish closer bilateral relations with the Pis-government, regarding it as a possible ally in negotiating favourable conditions for the Brexit. The fate of the Polish immigrant workers in the UK is merely a pawn in these manoeuvres.

A central concern for May, who is heading a cabinet bitterly divided over Brexit, has been to seek to negotiate the exit conditions with all 27 EU members individually and asked for secret negotiationsa proposal that was rejected by Brussels and Berlin.

The PiS-government is critical of Berlins proposal of a military union which it fears would weaken NATO and strengthen the German hegemony in Europe. Jarosaw Kaczynski, the head of PiS and most influential figure behind its government, has come forward arguing for a closer economic union and more political independence for the EU member states.

Moreover, there has been a bitter clash between the PiS government and the Polish President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. Tusk is a member of the opposition party Civic Platform (PO) and has openly supported the protest movement against the PiS-government earlier this year, which was headed by political forces arguing for closer collaboration with Germany .

Following the vote for a Brexit, Kaczynski said that Tusk was directly responsible for the outcome of the referendum because he had put excessively harsh conditions on the table for Britain in previous negotiations. Kaczynski called upon Tusk to disappear from the political scene. At the recent summit in Bratislava, Tusk was pushing, in apparent agreement with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for a quick Brexit, and the toughest possible conditions for Britain.
Recently, the notoriously right-wing former Berlin finance senator, Thilo Sarrazin (SPD), gave gushing praise to the Left Party, explaining to Germanys premier business newspaper that it was the ideal partner to impose austerity, incitement against refugees and rearmament at home and abroad. Despite such a scathing exposure of the right-wing character of the Left Party, pseudo-left organisations such as Socialist Alternative (SAV) and the Revolutionary Internationalist Organisation (RIO) are campaigning for it in the Berlin state elections.

On September 8, the official web site of the RIO prominently featured an interview with Sarah Moayeri, the candidate of the Left Party for the Berlin constituency of Neukolln 1. RIO operates in the environment of the Left Party and the trade unions and is internationally part of the Trotskyist FractionFourth International (FT-CI). Moayeri is a member of Socialist Alternative (SAV), a pseudo-left grouping that has been part of the Left Party for a number of years. She is the representative of the group on the Left Party executive.

The aim of Wladek Flakin, who conducted the interview for RIO, and Moayeri is quite straightforward. They are desperately trying to mobilise support for a party seeking to enter government at the state and federal level as part of a so-called red-red-green (SPD-Left Party- Green Party) coalition, a party that implements the same anti-working class and anti-social policies as the SPD and Greens and is despised by broad layers of the population.

At one point, the RIO admits: The Left Party in Berlin does not have particularly good reputation. It was in government (in Berlin) between 2001-11 and privatised everything that was not nailed to the floor. Will it be confronted with this heritage during the election campaign? Or is that forgotten? Moayeri answered: Of course, we are confronted with it. People do not forget 100,000 privatised apartments or the elimination of 35,000 public service jobs, all of this did indeed impact dramatically on peoples lives.

To justify their support for the Left Party, Wladek Flakin who conducted the interview for RIO, and Moayeri introduce an argument that is hard to beat when it comes to cynicism and absurdity. After Flakin established that the Berlin Left Party under Klaus Lederer wants to be part of a red-red-green coalition at any cost, Moayeri asserted, The people who vote for me are those who do not vote for red-red-green, but rather for a voice of movements and social struggles.

Do the pair assume the electorate are idiots? It is obvious that a vote for the candidate of a party that privatised everything not nailed to the floor and that wants to be to be part of a red-red-green coalition at any cost, is not a voice for social struggles, but rather a voice for social cutbacks and Lederers objective of joining a coalition government!

The assertion by Flakin and Moayeri that the local organisation of the Left Party in Neukolln is left and oppositional is a brazen lie. The keynote speaker at its Left Party campaign event on September 3 on Hermannplatz in Neukolln was none other than Gregor Gysi, a man who personifies the right-wing policies of the Left Party. In addition to a call for red-red-green, at the heart of Gysis address was the demand for more police and a more aggressive foreign policy focused on the interests of German imperialism.

Moayeri and the Neukolln Left Party invited Gysi because they support his policies. On their web site there is a photo of the event with Gysi, under the title Inspiring start. In addition, there is a prominent link to the election programme of the Left Party, which calls among other things for a massive build-up of the Berlin police.

The programme says, In particular, in buses and trains and at stations in public transport there must be additional security staff. The section headed Improve the working conditions of police states that the basis for police to carry out their duties responsibly, is sound training and equipment. Therefore it is necessary...to employ more police officers.

Flakins penchant for the Neukollner Left, the SAV and Moayeri, whom he describes as a left activist in the Left Party, underlines the RIOs own reactionary political role. Behind its official call, to cast an invalid vote on September 18 and create a front of the anti-capitalist left, is not the building of an independent revolutionary party of the working class, but rather the political orientation of the pseudo-left swamp to the right-wing policy of the Left Party and the entire red-red-green and trade union milieu.
On September 6, the Sandinista government of Nicaragua granted political asylum to former Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes (2009-2014) of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation (FMLN) party, his current partner and three sons. The state newspaper La Gaceta reported that the ex-president of our sister Republic of El Salvador argued that he considered his life and physical integrity and those of his family to be in danger, for fighting on behalf of democracy, peace, justice, and human rights, along with his political affiliation.

In an interview on September 8 with the Sandinista Channel 4, Funes stated: Being in El Salvador, and going and coming here to Managua, I received information from people very close to powerful economic groups in the country [El Salvador], where they sent me the message that they would not tire in their efforts to see me in jail and if possible see me dead.

He explained that this alleged threat is connected to his administration having investigated 152 corruption cases accusing former functionaries of past ARENA [far-right] governments and mostly business people tied to wealthy families in the country. Out of these, only two cases led to judicial processes, including that against ex-President Francisco Flores (1999-2004) for stealing $10 million donated by the Taiwanese government as assistance for the 2001 earthquake victims and for the National Police.

A 2014 investigation carried out by the Salvadoran online newspaper El Faro found that ARENA was not the intended recipient of the money, but that the party transferred the money to Costa Rica and distributed it among several regional divisions and campaign committees. The criminal proceeding was ended after Floress death in January of this year.

Funes complained in the interview that the civil proceeding was kept [open], but the prosecutor is doing absolutely nothing to find out where the resources went and who the main beneficiaries could be.

Only two weeks after Flores death, the Salvadoran Supreme Court gave the green light to begin the criminal investigation against Funes on five charges: crimes of embezzlement, illicit negotiations, misuse of funds, illicit enrichment and influence-trafficking. These are related to more than $700,000 worth of unjustified income and expenses. The court found that Funes spent over $54,000 shopping in luxury stores between 2011 and 2013, including $10,000 spent in a designer shoe store in Miami.

The former president stated in the interview that he is ideologically identified with the current government in El Salvador and with that in Nicaragua. Funes also declared that he is not guilty, but that if found guilty, he would not go to jail and would only have to return the funds.

Even though he also denies his participation, his administration sponsored a 14-month truce between gangs that led to a 41 percent drop in the homicide rate between 2012 and 2013. The truce came to a halt under pressure from the US government and Salvadoran elites. Last year, the homicide rate climbed to 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, bringing the country back to civil war-level violence.

The accusation of illicit negotiations against Funes is being used to legitimize the current FMLN-led intensification of the iron fist policies against gangs and buildup of the repressive apparatusisolation of alleged gang members in prisons, new elite military and police forces, authorized extrajudicial killings and death squad activity of the state forces.

During his time in office, Funes built closer bonds with Washington and established partnerships with far-right figures like former ARENA President Antonio Saca (2004-2009), who is also accused of illicit enrichment involving over $6 million.

When pressured by the US State Department, Funes turned General David Munguia and later General Atilio Benitez into ministers of Security and Justice. Together with the FMLN members in Congress, he allowed the far-right and military to take control of the security and justice apparatus. This continues today, facilitating the penetration of organized crime into the armed forces and state.

The US embassy and several members of the US Congress have participated in the selection of judicial cases, including those initiated under the Funes administration, and have given full support to all anti-crime and anti-corruption efforts led by the current top prosecutor, Douglas Melendez.

Last May, Melendez ordered the arrests of several state workers and lower-rank officials for participating in the 2012 truce, and threatened, Those thinking about a new truce should not do so. We will not allow this to happen.

The US imperialist use of the judicial and security authorities as levers to discipline its client regimes has a long history in Latin America, and is currently behind the anti-impunity international commissions in Guatemala and Honduras. These and similar efforts in El Salvador are being sponsored by international cooperation funds from the UN and directly from the US government.

The Salvadoran Supreme Court ruling in July to stop amnesty on crimes committed during the Civil War (1980-1992) is also part of this continued pressure on leaders of both ARENA and FMLN that were involved during the war. The FMLN vice-president, Oscar Ortizconsidered the de-facto head of state given President Sanchez Cerens medical conditionsaid the court ruling would create a scene of chaos, vengeance, and violence, while party leaders called it a coup attempt.

The Central American University (UCA) protested in an editorial column: A lot of people made poor by social injustice believed in the FMLN because its language suggested a greater concern over human dignity. But, attitudes like that of the vice-president make one doubt whether that concern still exists within the party.

An August 31 press release by the US embassy in San Salvador stated: In our interactions we have been clear that its important to demonstrate that a firm political will exists to combat corruption. We believe that this point is key in building a more stable and prosperous El Salvador.

The investigations against Funes have already led to at least 10 raids, along with judicial orders to make public his travel logs and finances from during his mandate. The state prosecutors office stated that even with Funes in Nicaragua, investigations against him will not stop.

Ultimately, if these forces are now going after them, Funes and FMLN only have themselves to blame, forming a bourgeois nationalist government and competing for greater privileges and shares of profit from the super exploitation of the impoverished Salvadoran working class.

The claims of innocence are not the only inconsistent part of Funes story. He had been living in Nicaragua for three months as a consultant, allegedly planning to reside in the country, presumably indefinitely, had no arrest warrant against him and was already receiving protection. Moreover, the FMLNs national secretary, Medardo Gonzalez, disclosed that the party had instructed Funes to go to Nicaragua to avoid possible arrest. The FMLN President Sanchez has also pledged support for Funes.

The request for asylum and expedited approval by the Ortega government in Nicaragua are a political move to respond to the US judicial and media offensives against both governments.

The Obama administration mouthpiece, the New York Times, got the message, and focused on attacking Ortega, claiming he threatened ... to undermine the early efforts to curb corruption by El Salvadors attorney general, Douglas Melendez

The Times also quoted right-wing academics criticizing Ortegas authoritarian tendencies and, again, his effort to discredit the process, to discredit the attorney general.

These claims match those expressed by the Times editorial board on August 4 that Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, intend to establish an authoritarian dynasty. They conclude the opinion piece with a grave warning used historically by the US government: The course of Mr. Ortegas own political history should serve as reminder that overthrowing a government can be the citizens response when all other avenues for dissent are shut.

Given the 2009 US-backed military coup in neighboring Honduras against President Manuel Zelaya, and subsequent repression and killings of the opposition, this severe threat is directed against workers and youth in Nicaragua.

While Ortegas administration has in fact sabotaged the oppositions electoral coalition prior to the November elections, US imperialism has no qualms about supporting authoritarian and dynastic regimes. Underlying the broader anti-Ortega campaign is the Obama administrations pivot to Asia coming into direct conflict with Ortegas military and economic ties with Russia and China, including the 50 tanks recently bought from Russia and the plans to build a $50 billion interoceanic canal by a Chinese firm.

Daniel (Ortega) is trying to do a favor to Sanchez and Funes, but it will have a cost, because the perception will be there that he is a fugitive from justice, claims Aguirre Sacasa, a former right-wing foreign minister, who calls the decision bad business. While the US government and corporate media continue to exploit this cost, the Sandinistas and FMLN are using their corrupt unity as a lever to seek a better deal with US capitalism. Aguirre has praised Ortegas political astuteness and his efforts to improve the perception of the business climate in our country, but has warned that his provocative attitude towards the US will ruin what has been built in this important aspect.

In El Salvador, the FMLN leader Medardo Gonzalez announced that the partys leadership will meet with representatives of the US embassy to discuss the partys concerns over disrespectful encroachment by US authorities in corruption cases.

With poverty and public debt on the rise, and the closing of channels of political and economic support from Venezuela and other left turn governments in South America, the bourgeois nationalist FMLN in El Salvador and FSLN in Nicaragua will continue to defend their own privileges by moving toward greater repression and austerity in the interests of US imperialism and their local oligarchies.
As Washington and Moscow agreed Wednesday to extend a Syrian ceasefire agreement for another 48 hours, statements by top civilian and uniformed Pentagon officials have raised serious questions over whether the US military brass is prepared to abide by the deal.

Underlying these divisions are not just divergent tactical prescriptions for the pursuit of US imperialist interests in Syria, but the far graver questions surrounding the increasing military tensions between the US and Russia itself.

The truce agreement, which went into effect on Monday, was negotiated between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during protracted talks in Geneva at the end of last week. It calls for a seven-day ceasefire, to be renewed every 48-hours to the extent that there is a cessation of violence.

After that, US and Russian military forces would begin coordinating their operations in Syria, setting up a joint implementation center and sharing targeting information for strikes against both the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and the al-Nusra Front, Syrias al-Qaeda affiliate, which recently renamed itself as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, or Front for the Conquest of Syria.

The deal has rekindled the sharp tensions within the Obama administration over US imperialisms proxy war for regime change in Syria. These divisions boiled to the surface previously over President Barack Obamas failure to use greater military might to enforce his demand that Syrias President Bashar al-Assad relinquish power and, in particular, in September 2013, after the US backed down from its threat to carry out a shock-and-awe assault on Damascus over the trumped up charge that the Assad government had used chemical weapons against civilians. Instead, Washington accepted a Russian-brokered deal for Syrias chemical disarmament.

More recently, some 50 career State Department employees issued an internal dissent memo in June, calling for the US to launch air strikes against the Syrian government, supposedly as a means of bringing an end to the bloodshed of the five-year-old war that Washington itself provoked in pursuit of regime change.

The present divisions are far more ominous, however, pitting active duty US military commanders against the policy of the administration, implicitly posing a challenge to the constitutional principle of civilian control of the military.

According to a report published Wednesday in the New York Times, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter first gave voice to the militarys opposition last week during a conference call in which Secretary of State Kerry was advocating acceptance of the agreement with Russia. Kerry grew increasingly frustrated as the debate dragged on for hours before Obama ultimately approved the deal, the Times reported.

Even after the administration decided on this policy, however, senior uniformed commanders have openly expressed reservations, if not outright opposition.

Asked in a press teleconference if the military would abide by the terms of the agreement and share information with the Russians after the completion of the seven-day ceasefire, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the commander of the US Air Forces Central Command, which is directing the bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, responded: I think...it would be premature to say we're going to jump right into it. And I'm not saying yes or no. The militarys decision, he indicated, is going to depend on what the plan ends up being.

Harrigian said of the Russians, Im not going to say I trust them.

This position was supported by Gen. Philip Breedlove, who stepped down as NATOs supreme allied commander just last March. I remain skeptical about anything to do with the Russians, he told the Times in an interview. There are a lot of concerns about putting out there where our folks are.

By our folks, Breedlove was apparently referring to the collection of Islamist militias that Washington, together with its regional allies, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, have paid and armed. One of the major sticking points of the ceasefire agreement is that the US is supposed to get its proxy forces to separate themselves from the Syrian al-Qaeda forces with which they are allied and, in many cases, from which they are indistinguishable.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that in phone conversation with Kerry Wednesday, Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed that Washington should fulfill its promise to separate moderate opposition groups from the former Nusra Front and other groups that literally merged with it. These proxy forces have expressed their opposition to any such separation and it is far from clear that they can survive without integration with the al-Qaeda militias, which constitute the backbone of the so-called rebels.

These statements were followed Wednesday by a speech delivered to the Institute for the Study of War in Washington by Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of the US Central Command expressing similar reservations about the Syrian ceasefire agreement.

We have to see how this goes first of all ... see what direction it goes ... whether it actually pans out or not, I dont know, Votel said. He added: There is a trust deficit with the Russians. It is not clear to us what their objectives are. They say one thing and then they don't necessarily follow up on that.

Similar sentiments were voiced the previous day in a speech to the Atlantic Council by Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Lettre, who mangled the English translation of the Russian proverb mouthed incessantly by Ronald Reagan during the 1980s negotiations with the Soviet Union on nuclear weapons treaties.

Distrust but verify, Lettre declared. That can apply a little bit in this case. He allowed that the intelligence community and the Department of Defense are strongly on board with supporting the new agreement, so long as the steps play out as we think they should.

Responding to this drumbeat of military opposition, Kerry delivered a meek defense of the deal he negotiated in an interview with National Public Radio Wednesday, insisting that Obama supports and is prepared to implement the agreement.

Well, the president of the United States is ready and I think the military therefore will be ready, he said. Nobodys asking people to abrogate our standards, but it is important for us to keep our part of the bargain.

The US secretary of state thinks the Pentagon is prepared to abide by an agreement approved by the US president, while stressing that he is not asking the military brass to abrogate their standards. Kerrys remarks express the real relations within the US state apparatus, the overriding influence of the vast military and intelligence apparatus and its ability to exercise what amounts to veto power over the countrys elected civilian officials.

If Kerry and the military are at loggerheads, it is bound up with the conflicting priorities in the prosecution of US imperialist policy on a global scale. The support of Kerry and others for the ceasefire is driven not by any humanitarian concern over bloodshed in Syria, but by their desire to use collaboration with Russia as a means of salvaging at least some of the proxy forces that they have backed, which are on the verge of a complete rout by Russian-backed government forces. They hope that they can employ a combination of diplomacy and military threats to pressure Moscow into acquiescing to some form of the regime change that Washington has pursued through its bloody intervention in Syria over the past five years.

For their part, the decisive layers within the US military command are focused increasingly on the preparation for direct military conflict with Russia. Concrete reservations have been raised about sharing targeting information against ISIS and the Nusra Frontaside from their being the main fighters for US-backed regime changethat it could provide Russia with intelligence on US military protocols that it could used to defend itself against air strikes on or within its own borders.

Under conditions in which the US is building up its forces from Eastern Europe and the former Baltic States to the Black Sea in an increasingly aggressive encirclement of Russia, this has become a major concern.

The anti-Russian hysteria that has been generated by the US corporate medialed by the New York Timesover an alleged Kremlin hand in the hacking of the Democratic Party and allegations that Donald Trump is dupe of Putin is entirely bound up with these war preparations.

The emergence of divisions between the military and the Obama administration over the Syria agreement with Moscow constitute an urgent warning that the danger of far bloodier wars and even a nuclear conflagration are steadily growing.
On September 12, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision barring a former Democratic state Senator from an independent run for office. The candidate, Erik Wells, was declared ineligible to appear on the ballot for Kanawha County Clerk, the court ruled, because he did not change his party registration to independent before petitioning. Wells testified that he did not make the decision to file for candidacy until after the primary elections.

With Wells name stricken from the ballot, the Republican incumbent clerk, Vera McCormick, will run unopposed in November. McCormick also chairs the countys Ballot Commission, which certifies who appears on the ballot in Kanawha County. It was on McCormicks behalf that Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller filed a complaint against Wells campaign in the Kanawha Circuit Court in Charleston last month.

The court said it would release a detailed opinion in due course, but declared Wells candidacy disallowed. The Kanawha County Clerk is ordered to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that Erik Patrick Wells does not appear on the 2016 General Election Ballot for the Office of County Clerk of Kanawha County, the order states.

As an independent candidate for the state House of Delegates in District 16, I want to register my opposition to this decision. There is no law stipulating that only people registered as independent may run as independent candidates in West Virginia. It is a violation of the constitutional rights of Erik Wells and those of the public, and the effect is to further restrict ballot access in the state.

The ruling impacts other races in the state. The Secretary of States office has advised county clerks that candidates are disqualified from running as independents if they are registered with any of four recognized parties in the state: Democratic, Republican, Libertarian or Mountain (Green) parties. Statewide, at least seven other candidates may be removed from the ballot.

Leaving aside whatever motivations Wells may have had in pursuing a candidacy outside of the primary process of the Democratic Party, the court ruling disregards the more than 1,000 residents of Kanawha County who signed Wells petitions to be included as a candidate, and leaves voters no choice for office of clerk in November. The result is the further curtailment of an already highly undemocratic process.

In fact, some opponents of Wells have suggested further restricting the process, by allowing only voters who are registered independent to sign petitions. This demand would render virtually impossible the task of collecting signatures equivalent to 1 percent of the total votes cast for many positions. This requirement is already difficult in urban areas like Kanawha County or my district in Huntington.

At bottom, ballot access laws are about restricting access, not facilitating it. Independent candidates with the least political influence or money at their disposal are required to meet the most onerous requirements. The Democratic and Republican Party machines, meanwhile, rest on war chests filled by big business and the wealthy. They exercise near-total domination of the media, and routinely turn to the courts to fend off electoral challenges.

My own campaign, by contrast, achieved ballot status through appealing directly to the democratic sentiments of the working class. Socialist Equality Party campaigners gathered hundreds of signatures from voters who felt that I had a right to be on the ballot and represent a socialist perspective, even in some cases people who characterized themselves as political conservatives. Countless registered Democrats and Republicans expressed a desire to see more third parties and independent candidates as options on the ballot. It was clear that many voters saw the system as rigged for the benefit of the corporate elite, and that the working class was not being given a real choice in the two-party system.

On November 8, I urge voters in West Virginia to cast a class-conscious ballot by writing in the Socialist Equality Partys presidential ticket, Jerry White and Niles Niemuth. In the District 16 House of Delegates, I ask for your vote.

Most importantly, beyond this election, I appeal to workers and young people to take forward the struggle for a genuine political alternative for the working class by supporting and joining the Socialist Equality Party.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A former Orlando police officer has been found guilty of felony battery for kneeing a man in a holding cell, causing his spleen to rupture.

The Orlando Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2cnGM7Z) reports that jurors deliberated for an hour and a half Wednesday before returning the guilty verdict for 32-year-old Peter Delio. His sentencing was set for Nov. 9.

Delio's defense attorney, David Bigney, says he was worried Delio wouldn't get a fair trial, given the public's current attitude toward police officers.

The case started when Robert Liese was arrested after he failed to pay a $60 bar tab.

Investigators say Liese was apparently drunk and broke a glass window on his cell door. Delio came into the cell and kneed him in the abdomen

___

Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Several FAMU students have announced that they are staging a sleep-in Wednesday night and a march Thursday morning to support President Elmira Mangum.

FAMU's Student Government Association Senate President Brandon Johnson said that students are tired of being ignored by the university's Board of Trustees. He said student are also sick of the way the board has created a rift in leadership.

"The campus is frustrated. For two years it's been up and down and they've questioned Mangum's decisions so much, she's become limited," said Johnson.

He said that with over 10,000 students as stakeholders in the well-being of the university, the board should have done a better job of transitioning Mangum into the campus' culture and should have focused more on creating solidarity.

"4 presidents in 15 years is not stability for any university," said Johnson, "We're all tired of not getting our voices heard... We have to stand up for our institution. They need to realize that nobody is more impacted than the students."

The sleep-in is scheduled for 9 p.m. on Wednesday at FAMU's Grand Ballroom. Students are also set to march with Mangum at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday from Lee Hall to the Grand Ballroom where the BOT meeting will be held at 9 a.m.

Johnson said that overall all students are asking for is change.

"[The] Overall goal is to move the university forward. We have to keep moving forward," said Johnson.
WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) - Deputies said that a utility worker was electrocuted when he touched a high voltage power line.

Thr Wakulla County Sheriff's Office and Wakulla County Fire Rescue said the incident took place on Tuesday around 6 p.m. near the area of New Light Church Road and Springhill Road.

The victim, Tad Shappard, was cutting tree limbs from the power lines when he came in contact with a high voltage power line. Once his partner heard the commotion, he moved the truck and lowered the bucket that Shappard was in. When he found Shappard unresponsive, he started CPR.

Firefighters said they airlifted Shappard to a local hospital where he is in critical condition.

The victim and his partner are contractors for Comcast Cable and employed by Southeast Utilities based in Georgia.
Photographer Barbara Prouds wife, Allison Cassidy, holds a copy of Prouds book First Comes Love, a collection of portraits featuring LGBTQ couples in long-term relationships. The Larson Gallery on the Yakima Valley College campus will feature 33 photos from the book in an exhibition opening Saturday.
Two Episcopal priests from the Yakima Valley are among those calling for a federal investigation of the tactics being used to break up an ongo
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The Syria ceasefire agreement , which was signed by the United States and Russia and took effect on Monday, may only be implemented randomly, in the form of local and temporary truces in certain areas. There is no chance, however, for a full ceasefire  in other words, an end to the serious bloodshed.

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The war in Syria, which has been going on for more than five years, has already claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of peopleincluding women and childrenand has left millions wounded and turned more than half of the country's citizens into refugees; some in their own country, some in neighboring countries, and some flowing into Europe.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sign ceasefire agreement

This war between the Alawite regime and its rivals includes external elements with opposing interests: The Shiite camp, led by Iran with the involvement of Hezbollah, supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and receives backing and military aid on the ground from Russia.

The Sunnis are divided into dozens of militias, few of which are jihadist (like ISIS, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and others), that receive support from the Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, and recently from the US as well. The Kurds in northern Syria are fighting ISIS, but oppose the regime as well. They are supported today by the US and other Western states, but are attacked by Turkey, which sees a Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria as a threat to its interests.

The opposing interests between the external elements involved in the fighting in Syria make it impossible for the war to be decided or for any political settlement to create a new reality in the divided country and stop the bloodshed.

ISIS tank on the border with Israel

The US is interested in seeing in Syria a moderate Sunni regime leaning towards the West, but has so far hesitated to put any significant effort into that. Russia sees the importance of the continued existence of an Alawite regime (with or without Assad) for fear that the alternative would be a complete breakup and radicalization, and would lead to Moscow losing its foothold on the ground. Turkey, for its part, would like to see a Sunni regime in Damascus, but is busy fighting the Kurds. That's the reason why Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime supported ISIS for such a long time and allowed jihadists from around the world to flock to Syria so that they would join the war and strike the Kurds.

This chaos increases the chance, which is high as it is, that the ceasefire will not be implemented, all the more so when as far as the Sunniswho make up more than 70 percent of Syria's populationand their bitter rivals in the Alawite community are concerned, they have an open account to settle.



The ceasefire agreement, therefore, mainly reflects an external involvement attempt rather than clear interests by the rival elements to end the war. Moreover, the pretension of different elements to reunite Syria is unrealistic. Syria is already divided into demographically-based cantons, and I believe it will remain that way for many years to come.

Destruction in Aleppo (Photo: AFP)

Assad and his supporters know it is a battle of life and death, and this situation will continue even if Assad himself decides to leave Syria and seek refuge in another country. The term "the Assad regime," therefore, no longer refers to a state's regime but to an ethnic group controlling certain areas across what used to be Syria.

For Israel, the ceasefire agreement changes nothing. It's important to continue acting responsibly and use discretion with the non-involvement policy in the internal war in Syria while protecting our interests, which are outlined as red lines: not allowing our sovereignty to be violated (as we experienced this week) and to respond firmly when it happens; not allowing the transfer of advanced weapons to our enemies; and not allowing the transfer of chemical substances and weapons to our enemies (which has yet to happen).

This policy has proved itself so far and has deterred all the elements involved in the war: The Syrian regime, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah and ISIS. It must be continued.

Lt. Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's former defense minister, is a distinguished senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
Soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade, currently stationed in the north, conducted a large-scale combat exercise in the Golan Heights intended to simulate an operation on the Syrian side of the Golan against the al-Nusra Front and Shuhada al-Yarmouk (Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade). The two extremist groups currently control the majority of the border with Israel and are aligned with ISIS.

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The exercise was carried out following an IDF assessment that the most likely threat facing the area is a massive terrorist infiltration or heavy rocket bombardment of Israeli communities, which could result in a significant loss of life. In such a scenario, the IDF will be required to conduct an unprecedented, yet limited operation across the border. Such an operation would likely resemble the raids in the Gaza Strip in the two years following the 2005 disengagement.

Paratroopers during field exercises (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Paratrooper brigade exercises in the Golan ( ")

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Drills included rapid raids on terrorist heavily concentrated in Syrian villages, the destruction of weapon caches and the seizure of enemy territory.

The Golan Division has conducted similar training exercises in the past three years with reserve battalions. According to the assessment, any such large-scale activity in response to an attack will require regular forces capable of operating on extremely short notice.

Commenting on the military rehearsal, a senior officer in the Paratroopers Brigade told Ynet, "Here, the story is fighting against global Jihad organizations in Syria which utilize guerilla tactics. We not only need to practice how to fight them, but under what circumstances we will need to fight them, whether it be the result of a strategic decision or a response to an action they carried out. We understand how conflicts develop in Gaza and we understand the history in Lebanon. Here, we are trying to understand the changes and mobility in all these organizations. They change extremely quickly. They are fast, flexible, utilize new weapons and tactics and are constantly changing allegiances."

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

The drill also simulated an exchange of fire with tanks from the 7th Brigade in order to prepare for engagements with Jihadis, whose primary weapons include improvised explosive devices, long range anti-tank missiles, mortars, small arms and machine guns. "Within three hours the battalion needs to secure enemy territory to stop fighters from escaping in pick-up trucks. Therefore, our order of battle is extremely short," the officer added.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

As for intelligence on the Jihadist groups operating in the Golan, the officer told Ynet, "I'm impressed we don't know as much about them as we do about Hamas or Hezbollah. They are much less entrenched in the ground. Hamas and Hezbollah have dug themselves in. Jihadist organizations are in one village today and another village tomorrow. They don't have command and control like Hamas or Hezbollah and they don't protect villages."

Further training will culminate next week in a brigade parachute exercise which will demonstrate the depth which the brigade is capable of penetrating in enemy territory during a large-scale operation. The drill is supposed to simulate a situation in which the IDF operates inside Lebanon following Hezbollah entering the fray and opening a second front against Israel. The Shiite organization has downshifted in the past year in its attempts to gain territory in the Golan near Israel. However, they utilize consultants and trainers for Assad's regime forces, who are seeking to regain control of the border with Israel.
Shimon Peres remains in serious condition for a third consecutive day in Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer after suffering a stroke on Tuesday night.

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The former presidents office provided an update on Thursday morning on the latest developments on his medical situation.

Shimon Peres (Photo: gettyimages)

Wednesday night, the statement said, was a quiet night. There is no change in his situation and he is continuing to receive the treatment decided upon by the doctors. Another medical consultation is expected later today.

Director of the neurosurgical unit in the hospital, Dr. Zeev Feldman, who is treating Peres also provided a brief update which gave a glimmer of hope.

Dr. Ze'ev Feldman (Photo: Yaron Brener)

Yesterday his situation and his alertness improved and his responses were better. This pattern is also continuing today, Dr. Feldman said. He is still being treated by the emergency neurosurgical unit. The treatment includes the continuation of optimal conditions for recovery and we hope that this treatment and the efforts that we are undertaking will bear fruits in the future.

Notwithstanding the moments when doctors conduct checks on Peres, he remains sedated. While Dr. Feldman said that it was still very early after the incident, the fact that he returned to consciousness is extremely significant and may enable a recovery in the future and a return to fuller functionality, as opposed to a person who remains unconscious and cannot communicate. His situation is still serious but stable and the danger still exists considering his situation and age.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Peres in the hospital for the first time since the stroke on Wednesday evening and discussed his medical state with the doctors and family members. I was impressed that there is an exceptional team taking care of an exceptional person. Peres has great vitality, he is young and energetic and there is hope, Netanyahu said after the visit. We will all continue to hope, pray and trust you, he added.
All is lost, The country has been snatched right out of our hands, Israel is going to the dogs, Maybe we should just find a better place for our kids to grow up in  such increasingly prevalent jeremiads are nearly as exasperating as the embittered people who utter them.

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In the war over Israels character, values and ideals, we might have suffered a few painful defeats, but it has not been lost as yet. Far from it. Even if the recent years have been riddled with strife, they werent so bad as to put the lid on the 68-year miracle that is Israel.

So lets take a deep breath and put things into perspective, and I have several suggestions to help us do just that.

Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

Suggestion number one: Dont leave politics to the politicians. Anyone who cares about Israels future ought to join some kind of political body or movement, as he or she deems fit. It does not necessarily mean joining a political party. Each should act according to his or her ability, be it participating in political house gatherings, signing petitions or lending ones voice to public protest and marching in demonstrations. We cant leave the town squares to rapper The Shadow and his accomplices. Those who fear a possible outbreak of violence in the streets can help by making themselves heard on social media.

Most importantly  never say die and lament the demise of democracy. Living in one requires a measure of active political involvement. After all, without politics there can be no democracy.

Suggestion number two: Beneath the politicians is a vast stratum of civil servants, gatekeepers and regulators. Granted, not all of them are promising and some were probably appointed precisely due to their inaptitude. But there are many who honestly endeavor to do the right thing. They are the gatekeepers who need our undivided support. They are our last bastion against the forces plotting to destroy democracyamong them several politicians who are outright committed to the demise thereof.

Take Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, for instance. Since his appointment, he had several slips of the tongue. Nevertheless, he is known to be an honest and fair man, who is in charge of a vital branch of law enforcement. Does this mean we should seek to undermine his position because of a few lapses? Or rather, should we, in the publics interest, support him so that one day he will have the power to stand up to rogue politicians?

Police Comissioner Roni Alsheikh (Photo: Zvika Tishler)

Or take Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit: In the past, he worked closely with the current prime minister. Does this mean we ought to question his motives as he conducts an investigation into the supersensitive findings regarding the Netanyahu family? Mandelblit is known for the integrity with which he stands at the top of the law-enforcement pyramid. Should we undermine him solely because of his previous position? Or perhaps, here too, the broader public interest merits our support and trust that will fortify his resolve when making decisions on such matters to the best of his professional and ethical abilities, whatever they are?

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit (Photo: Zvika Tishler)

Members of our business community tend to assert that Israel is encumbered by over-regulation. This is also the opinion in the international business community, where Israel is regarded as less than attractive business destination. I, for one, think Israel tends to over-regulate some areas.

Yet perhaps we should take a better look at the concept of gatekeepers in its broader sense: when a gatekeeper or regulator consistently makes decisions that prove he is nothing but a puppet on a string in the hands of his political masterand unfortunately there are more than a few of these in the corridors of powerthan he should be dealt with summarily, needless to say. However, when it comes to honest gatekeepers the likes of the attorney general, the police commissioner and champions of integrity and professionalism at the Bank of Israel, the Israel Securities Authority, the Anti-Trust Authority and many more agencies of civil servicethey deserve our full trust and support. This is material in enabling them to become even better protectors of democracy.

Suggestion number three: A countrys prosperity does not solely depend upon its public representatives and civil sector. Whether in business, academia, industry or tradeeach and every one of us can lend a hand to better our community. We can instill values, promote social equality and cohesion and choose progress. Each of us can find a worthy cause. There are literally hundreds of organizations that offer a wide range of volunteer opportunities from which to choose. The enclaves of excellence in science and high-tech will not prevail for long in a divided and conflicted society, awash with ignorance reminiscent of the third world. To preserve these beacons of excellence, Israel needs a healthy, egalitarian and modern society.

Finally, we allnot just the mediamust understand that the wanton attacks against the press in recent years are extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, the prime minister and his footmen are the biggest instigators of hostility towards the free press. Its true that the Israeli press is far from fault-free, and at times it can be prone to mistakes. But the public interest calls for the support and protection of a free press, just as we must do for our public gatekeepersafter all, the free press is integral to their mission.
Several years ago, I received an offer to teach a course funded by a Jewish millionaire at the University of California, Berkley. The man had donated to the faculty, and in return it promised to take in a staff member for a short period of time.

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The idea was to put a number of pro-Israeli lecturers in the lion's den  a liberal university with strong anti-Israeli organizations. There are quite a few Jews and Israelis on US campuses, but most of them don't want to or can't carry Israeli PR on their shoulders.

As prime minister, Netanyahu does not say much apart from PR (Photo: GPO)

This week, Omri Meniv reported on Channel 10 News about a new course at UC Berkley on the "history of colonialism in Palestine" and how to de-colonialize. In other words, how to turn the great Israel into a Palestinian state with no Jews in it, all across the land.

This perception the cleaning of Jews from the Land of Israel has existed since the start of Zionism. The 1929 Palestinian riots took place following Mufti Amin al-Husseini's demand to kill Jews. The Arab revolt was part of an ethnic cleansing attempt. The War of Independence and the Six-Day War were the result of a desire for ethnic cleansing. The charter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (which was founded in 1964, three years before the "occupation") and the Hamas charter are a clear expression of that aspiration. So were voices heard during the first, second and third intifada.

That's the truth. While Theodore Herzl, Ze'ev Jabotinsky and David Ben-Gurion were contemplating the possibility of living alongside the Arabs on the same piece of land, local Arab leaders (who were given a Palestinian identity by Zionism) were speaking about ethnic cleansing, and sometimes even about genocide.

Netanyahu's 'ethnic cleansing' video

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Those who argue that in some of the wars Arabs fled and were expelled from their homes are correct. It was part of survival. Their Nakba is our victory. Without that loss, the State of Israel would not have been established. Without the partial separation between the people, life would have been much more complicated.

Looking at what is happening in Palestinian society today, not much has changed. Ethnic cleansing is still part of the national narrative. It's the only thing that Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in Ramallah have in common, and even that is'nt strong enough to create unity there.

In recent years the term "ethnic cleansing" has been used as an anti-Israel PR tool. Israel is trying to regulate the Bedouins in the Negev? Libels around the world speak about ethnic cleansing. A battle against illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria? Ethnic cleansing, according to BDS activists. Sometimes it seems that saying Israel is carrying out a genocide (and such claims are being made) is too unfounded, so they use a different term.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "ethnic cleansing" video took a lot of truth and a little demagogy and put them together. That's the way to convey messages successfully. Netanyahu is a PR expert: Let him be the foreign minister, our ambassador at the United Nations or the information minister, and you'll get accurate videos which will raise an interest. But Netanyahu is the prime minister, and as such he does not say much apart from PR.

Whoever embraced him for this video failed to notice that it conceals the possibility of the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jewish communities, only if the Palestinians agree, and those who attacked him failed to notice the exact same thing.

The video demonstrates why a peace agreement cannot be signed with the Palestinians. The message is: "There is no one to talk to." Netanyahu spoke the truth as the national PR person. The question is; what is he saying as prime minister? What's next? Will we continue treating every community in Gush Etzion as depending on High Court decisions? Will we continue limiting our world view to videos?
Prof. Uzi Arad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former national security advisor, criticized his former boss on Thursday for his handling of the negotiations over the US military aid package to Israel, which was signed the previous day in Washington

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Netanyahu gambled and missed an historic opportunity, Arad told Ynet. I predicted this half a year ago that he would be wrong, and now I am vindicated. Reality slapped him in the face. Bibi made an error of judgment and as a result, handled matters incorrectly. As usual, the result is a loss compared with what was possible and what should have been. The State of Israel not only lost out by dint of the fact that it received fewer weapons and less funding but also missed an opportunity to achieve significant diplomatic benefits.

Prof. Uzi Arad and PM Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomosky and AFP)

The Prime Ministers Office has painted the agreement as one of historic magnitude given that it is the largest military aid package to ever have been delivered by the US to any of its allies.

Nevertheless, Arad holds a different interpretation. If Israel had entered into negotiations about the defense aid prior to the signing of the Iranian nuclear deal, it could have reaped diplomatic benefits, he posited.

Arad, who over the last few years has espoused harsh criticism of Netanyahu, emphasized that the increased financial package does not, contrary to popular belief, correspond with the increased prices of weapons systems. Proportionally, therefore, he concludes that the new $3.8 billion per year Israel is due to receive actually constitutes a lower sum than the annual $3.1 billin per year under the terms of the previous agreement.

US-Israel military aid signing ceremony

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There has never been any doubt that the security aid agreement would be extended, Arad added, but The only question on the table was whether, in light of the worsening of Israel's security situation following the nuclear deal, it was entitled to receive additional funding and arms that would give it the qualitative advantage the US has committed to help it maintain.

The expectation was that the agreement would be extended and that there would be an expansion or an increase of two kinds, Arad explained. Had we heeded to the (US) administation's pleas not to disrupt the attainment of an Iran agreement, they were prepared to give us different rewardsnot just as compensatin, but as taking advantage of a propitious opportunity.

Arad went on to say that senior American officials sent Israel a very clear message: "Name your price."

Israel and the US sign the military aid agreement (Photo: Reuters)

"This means that had (the negotiations) been done in an atmosphere of goodwill and celebration, (the Americans) would've given Israel a varied package of benefits that could have included the promise of American veto at the UN Security Council, scientific and technological cooperation as there never was before, and support in the construction of walls along Israel's bordersincluding the Syrian border, which would've given recognition to the Israeli claim over the Golan Heights.

"When our representatives sat at the negotiating table, it turned out that not only does the package not include any significant qualitative upgrades or upgrades on the diplomatic front, but there is also a significant worsening of the financial component. It undermines our ability to use the money for our own defense industry. This is an unexpected blow that they were only able to postpone, not prevent.

"The second blow was when (the US administration) tried to block Israel's ability to turn to Congress after the elections and ask for additional things. They turned the commitment to not do so into an integral part of the agreement. There has been an error in judgment here, a certain situation assessment tha overestimated our power and underestimated what the Americans would do. As a result of this, we preserved with the campaign and missed the golden opportunity the Americans presented us with. Now we need to get a package with no option of improving it in the future, which no doubt disappoints Netanyahu."

Meanwhile, former prime minister and former defense minister Ehud Barak published an op-ed on the Washington Post on Wednesday criticizing the security aid package and Netanyahu himself.

Ehud Barak (Photo: Darkenu)

"The damage produced by Netanyahus irresponsible management of the relations with the White House is now fully manifest," Barak wrote.

"Israel will receive $3.8 billion a yearan important contribution to our security but far less than what could have been obtained before the prime minister chose to blatantly interfere with US politics," he added.

Sources close to Netanyahu said in response to Barak's criticism that "Barak, who told the whole world that the prime minister hurt the relations with the US, should be eating his hat today rather than write false articles."

'If Congress wants to give us moreit can'

Deputy Minister Michael Oren (Kulanu), who served as Israel's ambassador to the US for four years, strongly disagrees with Arad and Barak.
Large-scale animal sacrifices marking the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha combined with heavy rains have turned the streets of Bangladesh's capital into rivers of blood.

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Authorities in Dhaka designated several places in the city where residents could slaughter animals, but heavy downpours Tuesday meant few people could use those areas.

Rivers of blood flow in Dhaka

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Dhaka

Muslims traditionally mark Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, by slaughtering livestock. Usually a goat, sheep or a cow is killed to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's test of faith.

Rivers of blood flow in the streets

The meat of the sacrificed animals is shared among family and friends and poor people who cannot afford to sacrifice animals as a gesture of generosity to promote social harmony.

Bangladesh awash with blood

Dhaka residents used parking lots, garages and alleys to kill the animals and the blood flowed into the flooded streets, turning them into rivers of blood.

Flooding is common in Dhaka, an overcrowded city of more than 10 million people, because of poor drainage systems.
Residents of Beit El have warned their fellow settlers in Amona ahead of the planned evacuation of the illegal settlement , advising them to be wary of promises made to them by the government.

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In June 2012, five building were evacuated from Beit El's Ulpana neighborhood after the High court of Justice determined they were illegally built. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered the settlers a creative compromise: Dismantle rather than demolish the homes and move them to a nearby location. Four years later, however, the residents are still waiting.

"The government simply tricked us. We're being led on for four years now, and nothing has happened. The government knows how to carry out its decisions, as it did in Gush Katif, but not its promises," said the head of the Beit El council, Shai Alon.





The disassembled walls of the Ulpana houses (Photo: Yesh Din)

He warned the Amona residents that history might repeat itself. "It raises a lot of questions regarding future agreements of settlers with the state."

Even now, the walls of the disassembled Ulpana homes can still be found piled outside the Border Police base in Beit El, gathering dust.

At the time, Netanyahu decided that the five buildings, that were built on privately-owned Palestinian land and included 30 apartments, would not be demolished, but rather moved to land in Beit El owned by the state, several hundreds of meters away.

The Ulpana neighborhood homes being disassembled (Photo: Yesh Din)

In discussions over the matter, the prime minister said he was going to adhere to the HCJ's ruling, while at the same time clarified he did not want to demolish the homes. At the same time, he also noted he preferred to avoid having to pass a law that would cancel the HCJ's ruling. This led to the idea of simply disassembling and moving the homes.

At the time, the Defense Ministry claimed that "there is a place in Beit El we could move the Ulpana homes to. We continue working on the technical arrangements for the move, and it will be done on time."

Only a year and a half ago, during the crisis over the evacuation of the Drinof towers in Beit El, the prime minister signed the zoning plan for the area where the Ulpana houses are set to be moved to, which means they will not be rebuilt any time soon.
A prison warden found himself in hot water last week after it was discovered that security guards have been marking visitors to the penitentiary with hand stamps featuring the Nazi swastika.

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Ecuador's government quickly condemned the practice after photos of the hand stamps appeared on social media and caused an immediate uproar.

The Nazi stamps (Photo: AP, Ana Maria Bonilla)

A Justice Ministry statement said the warden of the prison in the capital Quito had been disciplined for negligence and the head of security fired for using a symbol associated with the Holocaust.

The stamps featured the emblem of the Nazi Party with an eagle atop a swastika and the year 1939.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced that he will be travelling to Cyprus on Friday.

He is expected to meet with Cypriot Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, and Head of the Cypriot Secret Service Kyriakos Kouros amongst others.

They are expected to discuss strengthening security ties between the countries, alongside strategic, regional, and bilateral ties.
In an effort to de-Westernize and maintain control over internet users and the spread of information, the Iranian government has launched a state-sponsored internet, known formally as the National Information Network. This new service, nicknamed the halal (lawful) internet, is another attempt by the ayatollah regime in Tehran to limit the spread of information into and around Iran.

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The network is basically a government effort to create a nationally controlled internet, Sanam Vakil, an associate fellow at Chatham House, an international affairs think tank in London, told The Media Line. Iran is a state that has heavy internet censorship so a national internet would be a way to provide increased government control.

This state-sponsored internet acts more as an intranet, which is essentially a private network controlled by an organization, which, in this case, is the Iranian government. In this type of system, all users are identifiable and the state can determine what users can and cannot see. These types of systems are common in workplaces and other large organizations to control what employees can and cannot access.

Internet users in Iran (Photo: Getty Images)

It is a more managed, internal internet, Gabi Siboni, head of cyber security at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which is a theocracy, has been vehemently anti-Western since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which overthrew the dictatorial monarchy and instead introduced all-powerful religious figuresthe ayatollahs.

The state has maintained a tight grip on the press and the spreading of information in and around Iran, which is ranked 169 out of 180 in the Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, an NGO dedicated to defending media freedom. In Iran, journalists are arrested and sometimes beheaded for publishing anti-government or anti-Islam content on websites or social platforms.

There is no open freedom of information or freedom of the press in Iran, Vakil said. This new service is an effort to have more institutionalized control over the internet and, particularly, the freedom of information.

Both the government and the clergy fear Western infiltration, especially through the world wide web. Thus, creating an intranet can keep Western topicsfrom pornography to fashionout of Iran.

Its a nice culmination, or next step, in a long series of attempts to control what Iranians can see, Zeev Maghen, a Middle Eastern history professor at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv told The Media Line. Its like an amplified Google safe search.

While the Iranian government does not necessarily want to ban the internet, they want to purify it, Vakil added. It even created an agency known as the Cyberspace Supreme Council to police internet usage in the country.

However, this network service is not yet exclusive, and Iranians can still use the regular internet. In an effort to attract users, the government has offered a series of incentiveslike low prices and quick installationto using this state-sponsored internet, which claims to be 60 times faster than any current internet in Iran.

This is a persuasive tool to increase internet usage and deceive people that the internet connection is faster, Vakil said.

Most Iranians have figured out ways to circumvent the closely monitored web. Many people use proxies, which are essentially intermediate servers that hide an internet users IP address creating anonymity and allowing users to access sites that are currently unavailable in their countries.

If Im looking at something in Google and I dont want people to know what I am looking for, I go through a VPN (a virtual private network) and the request comes from a different IP address and it is presumably more secure, Siboni said.

This new internet service was unveiled after some 100 internet users were arrested in Iran and two press agencies as well as two online news outlets were blocked, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Article written by student journalist Katie Beiter
A week before Rosh Hashana 1916, a young Israel Kristal turned 13. But in his town of Maleniec, Poland, no one had the time or the energy to celebrate the young man's Bar Mitzva, especially in light of the fact that World War One was raging all around them, and his father had been kidnapped by the Russian Army to go serve on the front lines, leaving him in the sudden care of his uncle.

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As the months and years passed, Kristal didn't have much time to ponder his missed Bar Mitzva. He lost his father in the war, and at 16 had to work to support himself.

He started a family - which he lost in Auschwitz, re-married to another Holocaust survivor, moved to Israel, and brought two children into the world.

World's oldest man to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah (Photo: EPA)

By 2014, Kristal was recognized as being the world's oldest still living Holocaust survivor, and six months ago in 2016, was put in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living man.

Today, Thursday, September 15, 2016, Kristal is celebrating his 113th birthday, and his family has decided to help him fulfill one of his oldest dreams.

In 10 days, on Kristal's Hebrew birthday, he will finally be able to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah  100 years late. He will go up to read from the Torah at his neighborhood Synagogue Haifa  the city he has been living in since he made aliyah.

So how does one celebrate a Bar Mitzvah 100 years late?

"Just like the Orthodox do!" his daughter Shula said. "We'll celebrate his going up to the Torah in the Synagogue, we'll throw candy at him, and we'll dance and celebrate."

She said that Yisrael himself is really excited and happy. "I'm happy that I can make him happy, and I'm happy that he's able to do this. It's hard to believe it, and I'm very thankful for this opportunity."
- The chief of the Russian army's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Thursday for talks on military cooperation and Syria, Turkish officials said, reflecting a warming of ties in the past few weeks.

Russia and Turkey have backed opposing sides in Syria, with Moscow supporting President Bashar al-Assad while Ankara backs rebels fighting to oust him. Relations hit a low last November, when Turkey downed a Russian war plane near the Syrian border.

But ties between Moscow and Ankara were largely restored last month. A Syrian ceasefire deal brokered by the United States and Russia could meanwhile change the dynamics of the conflict, raising the prospect of joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups by the former Cold War foes.
DUBAI/SANAA - Forces allied to Yemen's Houthi group attacked across the border into Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province on Thursday, with both sides claiming victory in the skirmish and giving conflicting accounts of of casualties.

Sources in a Saudi-led coalition said Saudi forces at the Jabal Dukhan mountain repelled the attack by Yemeni Republican Guard troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing about 25 and wounding 30.

In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a Houthi official said the clash resulted in the Houthi capture of the mountain as well as a place called Al Romaih. The commander of a Saudi rapid intervention force was killed in the fighting, he added.
Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits

Yes, they will make the city more inviting

Maybe ... does it really matter?

No, the signs in place are fine

No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars

Vote

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ATHENS- Eight asylum seekers are taking legal action against Macedonia for expelling them back to Greece after a chaotic mass border crossing earlier this year.

The migrant advocacy group ProAsyl said it helped the group file a complaint Monday with the Council of Europe's Court of Human Rights.

Karl Kopp of the Frankfurt, Germany-based group said Thursday that the asylum seekers were from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. He did not disclose their names.
In preparation for the Home Front Commands nationwide drill due to take place next week, new data about simulated scenarios have been published. These include an all-out attack on several fronts simultaneously, namely Gaza, Lebanon, the Syrian Golan Heights and Iran. The drill will prepare for a slew of missiles and rockets, 95% of which are assumed to be short-range (up to 45 km) and equipped with 10 kg of explosives. The scenario will also include a situation where Israel suffers up to 350  400 casualties.

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1% of the rockets and missiles included in the situation are assumed to hit populated areas. Out of the 230,000 multi-range armaments, most are expected to be grad rockets or mortars, targeting a wide area from Haifa in the north to the Shfela region in the south. The Home Front Command will prepare for dozens of rocket landings throughout this area.





An evacuation simulation from a previous IDF drill (Photo:Motti Elmaliah and United Hatzalah of Israel)

The overall assumption is that, similar to what happened in Operation Protective Edge, the majority of the missiles and rockets targeting Israel in the next war will fall in open areas. As a result, the IDF is focusing its resources on countering a massive infiltration from Hzbollahs Raduan units into Israeli territory. Such an infiltration would not necessarily be in order to conquer Israeli land, but for Hezbollah to appear victorious - to bolster motivation among its fighters by temporarily capturing an Israeli settlement.

It should be noted that Hezbollah is known to be in possession of hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), most of which are Egyptian or Iranian-made. The Israeli Air Force will be responsible for countering Hezbollahs aerial weaponry, with the Home Front Command putting together a response to such a threat.

The Home Front Command has invested hundreds of millions of shekels in improving its alert system, a system which is due to undergo a massive overhaul in preparation for the next war. The Home Front Command will demarcate 3,000 alert areas, something which will greatly aid the Command by focusing its alerts at specific locations.

A part of the IDF's anti-missile defense system (Photo: AFP)

As such, alert times will shorten from a minute to 30 seconds, and since it will focus on a smaller area, one third of the number of civilians who are alerted to run towards a secure space during Protective Edge will need to do so during the next war. In addition, the radius of alerts in open areas that might have civilians in them will be one square kilometer.

The Home Front Command have accomplished two other goals as well - the first being verifying that civilian nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) kits in the Golan Heights are up-to-date in preparation for Syrian-based terrorist groups who may use unconventional chemical warfare agents, such as chlorine. This despite a general assumption that the threat of the Syrian Army using chemical warfare against Israel has dramatically decreased, due to the civil war that has only recently been halted by a US and Russian-brokered ceasefire .

A second, recently-accomplished goal of the Home Front Command has been the erection of an emergency war room that will receive live video feeds from cameras dispersed throughout the country.

The sirens that will be sounded during the drill are meant to help the civilian population practice getting to a designated safe space in different situations and scenarios. These include such possibilities as exposure to hazardous materials from the Haifa refineries, civilian evacuations and rescue efforts of civilians from underneath a wreckage.

A previous massive evacuation simulation (Photo:Motti Elmaliah and United Hatzalah of Israel)

Recent Home Front Command polls have found that 71% of the general population feel they know how to react in case of a nearby missile strike. Particularly of note is the discovery that 75% of the ultra-Orthodox sector feel confident they would be able to successfully choose a safe space in such a scenario doubled, up from 34%.

Two main courses of action have been formulated by the Home Front Command regarding civilian evacuations, the first being a more specific evacuation and the second a widespread evacuation decreed by the Security Cabinet.

In the worst case scenario, 750,000 people need to be evacuated and will need to be relocated to other communities. According to the plan, each regional council will be obligated to take in 4% of its current population.

The drill will take place from Sunday to Wednesday. On Tuesday, a siren will be sounded around 11:00 and 19:05 throughout the country, except in settlements close to the Gaza Strip.
JOHANNESBURG- In South Africa, the job of a paramedic can be perilous.

Uniformed paramedics marched and ambulance lights flashed during a protest this week against attacks on the emergency responders, who are sometimes targeted by criminals when they rush to treat patients in poor communities, particularly at night.

Paramedics in Western Cape province have been robbed and in a few cases assaulted 42 times so far this year, an increase of roughly 30 percent over the same period in 2015, said spokesman Robert Daniels.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his deep concern over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus recent remarks, in which he described Palestinian President Mahnoud Abbas refusal to allow Jews to live in a future Palestinian state as ethnic cleansing.

Interpreting Netanyahus words to mean that anyone who opposes expanding the settlements supports the ethnic cleansing of Israelis, Ban stated that his response to Abbas was "unacceptable and outrageous,".

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L to R: Ban Ki-moon and Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)

Speaking before the Security Council, Ban said, "Let me be absolutely clear: settlements are illegal under international law. The occupation, stifling and oppressive, must end." Ban also said that the settlements are the key obstacle for peace.Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon responded to Bans statement, saying that it presented a twisted view of the situation in Israel. He added that the true obstacle to peace begins and ends with Abu Mazen refusing to meet with Netanyahu. He also suggested that Ban start admonishing Hamas for building underground tunnels and developing a terrorist infrastructure, instead of continuously criticizing Israel.
DUBAI/SANAA - A US official has presented a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to the country's dominant Houthis at a meeting in Oman, a member of the Houthi negotiating team said on Thursday.

Negotiators will return to Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday carrying the plan offered by US. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in talks in Muscat, he said.

Shannon met the Houthi team, officials of the allied General People's Congress (GPC) party and an Omani mediator in Muscat earlier this week to discuss how to end a war which has killed over 10,000 people and displaced more than three million.
Hillary Clinton returned to campaigning on Thursday after pneumonia forced her to take time off and an aide to the Democratic presidential nominee said facing a Republican rival as controversial as Donald Trump makes it "harder to be heard."

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Clinton's return to the campaign trailspecifically to a rally in North Carolina and then a dinner in Washingtoncomes as Trump has cut into her lead in polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Hillary Clinton Returns to campaign (: )

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Hillary Clinton, back on the campaign trail, before boarding a plane to North Carolina (Photo: Reuters)

Clinton had been resting at her home in Chappaqua, New York, for three days after being diagnosed with pneumonia and falling ill at a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony on Sunday.

With the candidates' health in the spotlight, Trump released details of a recent physical examination on Thursday, a day after Clinton released details on her medical condition.

Photo: Reuters

Trump's campaign said the results of his physical showed the fast-food fan has a normal level of cholesterol, maintained with the help of a statin drug, weighs 236 pounds (107 kg) and has normal blood pressure.

Photo: Reuters

In a not-so-subtle slap at Clinton, the Trump campaign said the medical report showed Trump "has the stamina to endureuninterruptedthe rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States."

Photo: AFP

Top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri said "one upside" of Clinton's unplanned break was the chance to "sharpen the final argument Clinton will present to voters in these closing weeks."

Aboard the campaign plane (Photo: AFP)

Photo: AFP

Clinton's strong lead over Trump in most opinion polls after the party-nominating conventions in July narrowed throughout August. A New York Times/CBS News poll released Thursday showed Clinton had the support of 46 percent of likely voters nationwide, with 44 percent backing Trump.

Clinton speaking to reporters (Photo: AFP)

States such as Ohio and Florida, which do not lean heavily Democratic or Republican, are no longer considered likely wins for Clinton, according to the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project released on Saturday.

Trump's goal: a 4% economic growth

In a major economic address in New York on Thursday, Trump said if elected he would set a national goal of achieving a 4 percent economic growth annual, which he said would create 25 million new jobs. The growth rate last year was about 2 percent.

"My great economists don't want me to say this but I think we can do better than that," Trump said of the 4 percent goal, an idea originally championed by Jeb Bush, who was among the 16 Republican candidates Trump defeated for the nomination.

Trump backers on Capitol Hill said they were heartened by the tightening race after a call on Thursday morning with Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who mapped out what the campaign was doing. She promised a more policy-driven approach from Trump in the race's final stretch.

"The poll numbers are just looking phenomenal as you move away from registered voters to likely voters," US Representative Republican Blake Farenthold of Texas said.

Clinton's health scare forced her to cancel a two-day swing through California earlier this week and send her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to a Las Vegas campaign rally in her stead. It also interrupted a series of speeches in which she had planned to refocus her campaign on what she would do for the country after a period when she attacked Trump as a dangerous, unprepared candidate.

Clinton's speech in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday was to focus on how she plans to make sure "every child has the chance to live up to their God-given potential," Palmieri said.

The former secretary of state, US senator from New York and first lady will deliver speeches in the coming days on the economy and national service, her campaign said. Last week, she discussed her religious faith in Kansas City, Missouri.

In a move to jump-start momentum, Clinton's campaign announced on Thursday that US Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont will campaign for her on Saturday in the battleground state of Ohio.

Warren is a progressive leader within the Democratic Party, and Sanders waged a hard-fought primary race against Clinton, eventually acknowledging Clinton's win and asking that his supporters rally around her. At events aimed at younger voters, both will discuss Clinton's plan to reduce college tuition costs.

Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis came at inopportune time for the candidate, who spent the bulk of August fundraising in wealthy US enclaves such as New York's Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, with only intermittent campaign events.

On Wednesday, Clinton released a letter from her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, to dispel rumors about her health. The letter detailed her pneumonia diagnosis and declared her fit for the presidency.

Trump discussed his health in a segment of the Dr. Oz Show due to air Thursday.
The 910th Airlift Wing held a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the headquarters building flagpole here Sept. 11, 2016. Members representing units from around the 910th participated in a parade style ceremony during the lowering of the flag to half-staff commemorating the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on of Sept. 11, 2001.

The ceremony included members of the 910th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department performing a flag passing on top of a fire engine, in honor of the firefighters who raised a flag at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center.

910th Airlift Wing Deputy Wing Chaplin Maj. David A. Black Jr. addressed the attendees.

Remembering is one of Gods Blessings, said Black. Remembering is important because the event is far enough in the past that people forget what it feels like to be attacked, and need to remember that call to arms, to stand in the gap.

Lt. Col. Chris Connelly, a C-130 Hercules Pilot for the 757th Airlift Squadron, remembers the attacks of 9/11 when he was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot stationed in Yuma, Arizona.

I arrived to work just as the second tower in New York was being hit, said Connelly. We just looked at intelligence reports and sat glued to the television like everyone else trying to figure out what had happened.

Connelly served in Iraq in 2003 with the Marine Corps and has deployed with the 757th during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein addressed all members of the United States Air Force in his statement regarding the anniversary of the attacks.

As we continue to fight, may we never forget the 2,996 lives lost on 9/11, the countless first responders who gave their full measure, and the Airmen and their families who endured the ultimate sacrifice in our fight following 9/11, said Goldfein.
Dobra, k. Szczecina 900 m2

40 miejsc parkingowych



Atut: Dodatkowe dochody z paczkomatow InPostu, a juz niedugo i z myjni samoobsugowej.



Tradycyjny zakup nieruchomosci, mozliwosc wykupienia uzytkowania wieczystego.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - With the official fire season coming to a close, Governor Doug Ducey thanked our firefighters and first responders while urging Arizonans to continue exercising caution when recreating.

I want to thank our firefighters and first responders who bravely protected and still are protecting Arizonans this year, said Governor Ducey. While the official fire season may be winding down, we know these heroes put their lives on the line year round and that are forests are always at risk.

We faced a dangerous wildfire season, but our firefighters and first responders were preparedon-call waiting to take action at a moments notice. Its because of their heroism that lives, property and natural resources were protected.

In addition to protecting Arizona and its citizens, we looked out for our neighbors, sending 48 engines, their crews, and 20 support personnel from across the state to support fire suppression efforts in California. Considering engine crews can include up to 10 firefighters, I urge you to remember the substantial number of our men and women who knowingly placed themselves in danger in order to protect their fellow Americans. Their courage and commitment to public safety exceeds all of our best expectations.

Lets be clear that fire season is not over. As the summer heat begins to cool down, we all still have a responsibility to continue to prevent firesbecause, at the end of the day, the best way to protect our firefighters and first responders is to give them fewer to fight.

Be safe, and enjoy all of the beautiful landscapes that Arizona has to offer.
Latest News

Washington, DC - The Vice President hosted leading Members of Congress this morning for a breakfast meeting with Burma State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi at the Naval Observatory. The Vice President and Members welcomed the recent progress in Burma's democratic transition, discussed the President's decision to terminate the national emergency and end Executive Order-based sanctions, and shared views on areas for future bilateral cooperation.

The State Counsellor supported the President's decision to lift sanctions and welcomed the efforts of the United States to strengthen civilian rule in Burma.
Latest News

Washington, DC - Aung Sang Suu Kyis historic visit in her new capacities as State Counsellor and Foreign Minister is testament to the far-reaching change Burma has undergone in the past few years. Burma now has a civilian-led, democratically elected government focused on bringing peace and national reconciliation, economic prosperity and social welfare, and respect for human rights to its people.

Building on this progress and in close coordination with the new government, President Obama has decided to make significant adjustments to our policies to help State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, her government, and the people of Burma continue their process of political reform and broad-based economic growth and prosperity. These changes include: forthcoming termination of the national emergency with respect to Burma, reinstating Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits for Burma, establishing a U.S- Myanmar Partnership, expanding people-to-people ties, deepening bilateral economic engagement, continuing to work toward an Open Skies Treaty, and initiating a new USAID loan portfolio guarantee.

Terminating the National Emergency

President Obamas announcement that he will terminate the national emergency with respect to Burma, which has been in place since 1997, reflects Burmas tremendous progress toward democratic consolidation and our continued commitment to help the new government deliver on expectations for democracy and economic growth.

The economic and financial sanctions imposed on Burma under the national emergency were intended to encourage democratic transition. The forthcoming termination of the national emergency will serve to recognize the enormous transformation Burma has achieved through the democratic election of a civilian-led government and its commitment to achieving peace, national reconciliation, and inclusive economic growth. In terminating the national emergency, all of the restrictions implemented by the Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will no longer be in effect, including the removal from OFACs Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List of individuals and entities designated pursuant to the Burma sanctions program (although some Burmese SDNs may remain designated under other OFAC authorities).

The forthcoming termination of the national emergency does not end our commitment to support ongoing democratic consolidation in Burma. With the Government of Burma as a democratic partner, however, the United States will have more constructive channels and tools to support change and progress. The United States will use all of our available engagement tools to deepen democratic gains, promote good governance and transparency, and strengthen democratic institutions.

For additional information on the specifics on the termination of this measure, please see our National Emergency Fact Sheet.

Reinstating of GSP Benefits

The President signed a proclamation that designates Burma as eligible for trade benefits under the GSP trade preferences program. We believe this step has the potential to make an important contribution to goals we share with the new government: creation of jobs; reduction of poverty in a country with a per capita income estimated to be $1,280, the second-lowest figure in ASEAN and East Asia; and ultimately, the success of democratic reform.

This action will take effect on November 13, 2016 following a 60-day Congressional notification period.

For additional information concerning the reinstatement of GSP benefits, we refer you to the press release from the United States Trade Representatives Office.

Establishing U.S.-Myanmar Partnership

On September 14, 2016, President Obama and State Counsellor Aung Sang Suu Kyi launched the U.S.-Myanmar Partnership to enhance cooperation, based on mutual respect and common interests. Acknowledging the dramatic transformations that have taken place in Burma, including the inauguration of a democratically-elected government, the announcement of a new partnership reflects our shared desire to build a broad, forward-looking relationship between our two countries.

The Partnership will provide a framework for advancing key priorities in our bilateral relationship, and will create mechanisms for cooperation in areas including political and diplomatic relations, trade and economic ties, science and technology, education and training, environment and health, defense and security, protection and promotion of rule of law, human rights, and people-to-people connections.

In support of the U.S.-Myanmar Partnership, the two countries will hold annual meetings led by the U.S. Department of State and Burmas Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The location of the meetings will alternate between the two countries.

The key thematic areas of engagement could include:

Supporting Burmas efforts to achieve peace and national reconciliation

Building a strong economic and commercial partnership

Promoting inclusive economic development that benefits the people of Burma, protects its environment, and builds resilient communities

Encouraging Burmas democratic transition and support for the protection of human rights and the rule of law

Building people-to-people and educational ties

Cooperating on regional, multilateral, and global issues

Expanding People-to-People Ties

The United States seeks to strengthen people-to-people ties with Burma by multiplying the connections between the young people of our two countries, including through the Presidents Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). Recognizing that 55 percent of Burmas population is under age 30, the United States intends to engage the next generation of young leaders through the full range of U.S. exchange programs, including by providing a 50 percent increase in funding for educational advising to encourage and assist more Burmese students to study in the United States. The funding would expand our reach to more states and regions across Burma, including funding a new advisor in Mandalay.

We will also strengthen English language teacher capacity in Burma through additional direct training for 1,500 English Access Micro-scholarship teachers and other Burmese English language educators from across the country. The training will include workshops and networking opportunities with subject experts on modern teaching methodologies.

Finally, we will also launch a new International Visitor Leadership Program -- the U.S. Department of State's premier professional exchange program  focused primarily on engaging Burmese participants on models of democratic federalism.

Deepening Bilateral Economic Engagement

The United States and Burma recognize their shared interest in enhancing bilateral economic engagement and exchanging views on laws and practices that affect bilateral investment flows and foreign investment, including the elements of a high-standard Bilateral Investment Treaty.

New Loan Portfolio Guarantee

In Burma, a lack of access to credit is one of the largest constraints to small business growth: 74 percent of formal enterprises and 58 percent of informal enterprises lack access to credit. To address this constraint, USAID/Burma intends to launch a Development Credit Authority (DCA) loan guarantee program with five microfinance institutions, mobilizing over $10 million in loans. This DCA guarantee will target micro, small, and medium-sized businesses working in agriculture, livestock/poultry, and trade and other post-production services. This program will increase the availability of and access to food. It will also foster economic growth and business development involving some of Burmas poorest people. Many of the targeted enterprises are expected to be owned or operated by women. This loan program will be accompanied by technical assistance to both the microfinance institutions and the government on regulatory changes needed to expand access to credit.

Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labor Rights and Practices in Burma

The U.S. Government is working with Burma and partners in the international community to develop and support new tools to help Burma improve fundamental labor rights and set a strong foundation for sustainable growth and development.

Launched in 2014 during President Obama's visit to Burma, the governments of Burma, the United States, Japan, Denmark, the European Union, and the International Labor Organization are working together on a joint Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labor Rights and Practices in Burma. The Initiative is intended to help modernize Burmas labor code, improve compliance with international labor standards, and foster a robust dialogue between the government, business, labor and civil society.

At the first Stakeholder Forum in 2015, the Government of Burma and partners committed to an ambitious agenda of labor law reforms, stakeholder consultations, and efforts to build enforcement capacity. The newly elected government has reiterated its strong support for the approach and will convene the 2nd Stakeholder Forum September 29-30 in Yangon.

Peace Corps Burma Program

The United States and Myanmar look forward to the arrival of the first group of Peace Corps volunteers later this month, who will train English teachers as well as teach students in middle and high schools.

Global Health Security Agenda

The United States and Burma are committed to advancing global health security. In 2017, Burma will complete and publish a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of national capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. The United States completed and published a JEE in 2016. President Obama hopes that together we can make significant progress on the goals of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) this year as partners in building capacity against the threat of infectious disease.

The United States seeks enhanced ASEAN regional engagement and domestic member state action through the GHSA, to help build the capacities necessary to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats regardless of source. In particular, we are encouraging ASEAN member states to take advantage of the World Health Organizations JEE process, the World Organization for Animal Healths Performance of Veterinary Services Pathway Standards, and other technical expertise from donors interested in the region, including the Republic of Korea, United States, and other G-7 members.

These are global objectives, but the work is particularly critical in the ASEAN region. The issue is not that ASEAN governments are recalcitrant or unaware of the threats - rather they are dealing with risks that are extremely complicated and getting more so. Several serious infectious diseases are endemic (found naturally in the environment). Key conditions in the region - including population density, human-animal contact, international travel, climatic conditions, and limitations in health infrastructure - are increasingly favorable to the spread of disease.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - On September 14, 2016 at approximately 7:15 AM, a Chevy Tracker struck the west side of Mr. Gs, 501 S. 4th Avenue, causing approximately $20,000.00 worth of damages to the building.

The driver of the vehicle, a 49 year old female, said her foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas pedal. The driver and her 12 year old daughter both suffered minor injuries but neither were transported to the hospital. There were no injuries reported from inside the business.

Alcohol does not appear to be a factor.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous. Remember if your information leads to an arrest you may receive up to a $1,000 cash reward.


Red Anderson (left) and Jose Castro are pictured while assisting with the Pioneer Fire, Boise National Forest, in August 2016.

USAFA grads, parents enjoy unlikely connection

When it comes to the Long Blue Line, sometimes it's a small world after all.

Two parents of USAFA Class of 2012 graduates sent along a story of an incredible coincidence to share with the Association of Graduates.



David Anderson (left) and Danny Castro are pictured at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, also in August 2016.

Red Anderson (a professional forester with the U.S. Forest Service) and Jose Castro (a special assistant to the Regional Forest with the U.S. Forest Service) happened to both be fighting the Pioneer Fire near Idaho City, Idaho in early August 2016.

"On my first day with the division, I was scouting the fire line, walking several miles down a rocky ridge," Anderson recalls. "The safety officer assigned to my division volunteered to pick me up at a location where the ridge intersected a road and deliver me back to my vehicle."

Castro was the one who picked up his fellow Forest Service employee and introduced himself. "The name was familiar, but I couldn't remember from where," Anderson says.

Then Anderson remembered. The two had met briefly at a Parents Club Presidents Conference at the Association of Graduates' Doolittle Hall in 2010. Anderson and his wife, Aquina, were involved in a USAFA parents club in Tennessee at the time. Castro was the president of a Montana parents club.

"At one of the sessions during the workshop, we happened to sit with another U.S. Forest Service employee  Jose Castro. We visited during the workshop session, and then parted to attend other events throughout the weekend," Anderson recalls.

Their paths didn't cross again until this past summer's fire in Idaho. Anderson is based in South Carolina, but often travels to forest fires throughout the nation. Castro is employed by the Intermountain Region of the Forest Service and stationed in Wyoming, so he wasn't far from home.

During their short drive together, Castro and Anderson had a few moments to catch up. Two of Castro's sons are Academy graduates (Joe in 2010 and Daniel in 2012). Daniel graduated the same year that Anderson's son, David, completed his time at USAFA. It turns out that both Daniel Castro and David Anderson graduated with civil engineering degrees.

"We started sharing tales of our sons. Both of Jose's sons fly versions of the C-130. My son flies the KC-10," Anderson notes. "Danny is based in Arkansas, David in California."

As their conversation continued, Castro and Anderson realized that both of their sons were deployed at the same base in Qatar.

"The next day  when I was on top of a mountain that had cell coverage  I texted my son. In my brief message, I inquired, 'Do you remember Danny Castro?' I received an immediate reply from David, 'He is sitting right behind me!'" Anderson says.

"Turns out they are on the same assignment and share an office," Castro adds. "What are the chances that the two dads would be on the same fire and division (1,800 personnel assigned to an 80,000-acre fire) in Idaho, while half-way across the world our two sons were deployed in defense of our country at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar?"

"Jose and I felt like brothers for the rest of the time we were assigned to the fire," Anderson says. "We will remain brothers wherever we go."
This World Health Day that fell on April 7, Indians had all the reasons to feel fabulously healthy. For this year, they have been bestowed with the best ever magical medicine poured out in profusion to fill their heart cups to the brim. <br><br> Its not the green tea with a sea of antioxidants. Neither is it a miraculous potion prepared by one of those saffron wrapped babas, by mixing a handful of mysterious herbs. <br><br> And nor is it one of those finest varieties of Scotch imported fresh from the breweries of Scotland. For, Indians this time have been intoxicated with nothing less than the whole world in a cup. <br><br> Courtesy, Team India with a galaxy of cricketing stalwarts! <br><br> All thanks to the 15-member squad spearheaded by once a ticket collector to the present crickets Collector - MS Dhoni, along with the God himself standing tall over the entire team in the form of little master blaster, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. <br><br> You might be tempted to quip in between with 'how come the World Cup trophy is going to be a cup full of health for them? <br><br> Well, the answer lies in your very own thrills and hoots that floated and filled the whole firmament of the Saturday night, April 2nd, 2011, resonating with the vociferous victory of millions when MSD lifted up his bat for the final winning stroke, tossing the ball away for the sweetest six ever. <br><br> Its now scientifically proven that more you feel good and happy, the stronger your immune system gets T cells increase in number, fighting the common pathogens like cold and cough causing corona virus. <br><br> And this all - due to the so dubbed happiness hormone Dopamine and Serotonin. These are known to increase blood circulation, which in turn results in sufficient dollops of oxygen enriching each and every cell of the body. <br><br> Oxygen, as we all must know, is the elixir of existence. It energizes our body cells, flushing out the pent-up metabolic waste, mainly CO2. This explains how getting good doses of happiness boosts your health. Happiness and feel good, which has now come to be synonymous with WORLD CUP. <br><br> There is yet another aspect to the recent Cricket triumph that is going to ensure that a major chunk of Indians, especially those fond of bat and ball, remain in good shape. <br><br> Because statistics show that the sale of wooden cricket bats triples as the cricketing season draws near. That obviously translates into more and more people playing cricket. <br><br> Cricket, being a strenuous sport makes sure that your stamina builds up <br><br> Thus, cricket takes care of your mental, emotional and physical well being, and that is what the general definition of health is. <br><br> I would also like to add one more aspect to this multifaceted game. <br><br> And that would be religion. Besides, of the seven official religions being followed in India, cricket is fast turning out to be the eighth wonderful religion, with its god, unlike that of others', walking in flesh and blood, among us. <br><br> Now, you dont deserve a prize for guessing that. Yes, it is Sachin of course! <br><br> Baptized as god for the first time by Matthew Hayden, Sachin proves to be an instant inspirer. Irrespective of whether one is interested in the bat and ball game, Sachin manages to move and motivate one and all. Such is the magic of little master's persona, that he cant help transmitting positive energy into your subconscious. <br><br> You are fortunately compelled to believe in him. And Faith, having a strong faith is another prerequisite to leading a successfully healthy life. <br><br> Here's what some stalwarts have to say about Sachin <br><br> <b>Andrew Symonds:</b> Wrote on an Aussie T-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin. <br><br> "To Sachin, the man we all want to be." <br><br> <b>A.R. Rahman:</b> <br><br> Well, Im no Sachin Tendulkar you know, whenever he takes the field, people expect him to score a century before he loses his wicket. <br><br> <b>Yuvraj Singh:</b> <br><br> Sachin in Himself is a Bharat Ratna. <br><br> <b>Mathew Hayden:</b> <br><br> I have seen GOD, he bats at No.4 for India in Tests. <br><br> So, if people of such huge statures find him so divine, who are you and me, not to get inspired? And follow suit in our own personal and professional lives. Honesty, integrity, relentless hard work, and to letting work speak for itself, this is the least we can imbibe in our life. <br><br> So here is my prescription for great health - eat cricket, breathe cricket, and feel cricket <br><br> WORLD CUP IS OVER? <br><br> So What? <br><br> We did not have to wait for another downpour of sixes and fours. <br><br> Because since 8th April, it is again, raining bats and balls. <br><br> Welcome Indian Premier League <br><br> Bat for your health. <br><br> Break into a jig, Jai Ho! And happy health to one and all!
White Plains, New York: Hillary Clinton is set to resume campaigning on Thursday after a bout with pneumonia compelled the US Democratic presidential nominee to take an unforeseen break as she and Republican rival Donald Trump entered the critical two-month final stretch before the election.

Clinton will attend a rally in North Carolina and speak at a dinner in Washington after resting at her home in Chappaqua, New York, for three days following a pneumonia diagnosis and falling ill at a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony on Sunday.

The detour forced Clinton to cancel a two-day swing through California and send her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to a Las Vegas campaign rally in her stead. It also interrupted a series of speeches in which she had planned to refocus her campaign on what she would do for the country after a period when she attacked Trump as a dangerous, unprepared candidate.

Top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri said on Thursday that "one upside" of the unplanned break was the chance to "sharpen the final argument she will present to voters in these closing weeks."

"Our campaign readily admits that running against a candidate as controversial as Donald Trump means it is harder to be heard on what you aspire for the country`s future, and it is incumbent on us to work harder," Palmieri said in a statement.

Clinton`s speech in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday will focus on how she plans to make sure "every child has the chance to live up to their God-given potential," Palmieri said.

She will deliver speeches in the coming days on the economy and national service, her campaign said. Last week, she discussed her religious faith in Kansas City, Missouri.

Clinton`s pneumonia diagnosis came at inopportune time for the former secretary of state, who spent the bulk of August fundraising in wealthy US enclaves such as the Hamptons and Martha`s Vineyard, with only intermittent campaign events.

Her strong lead over Trump in most opinion polls after the party-nominating conventions in July narrowed throughout August. A New York Times/CBS News poll released on Thursday showed Clinton had the support of 46 percent of likely voters nationwide, with 44 percent backing Trump.

Battleground states such as Ohio and Florida are no longer considered likely wins for the Democratic nominee, according to the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project released on Saturday.

Clinton on Wednesday released a letter from her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, to dispel rumors about her health. The letter detailed her pneumonia diagnosis and declared her fit for the presidency.

Trump discussed his health in a segment of the Dr. Oz Show that will air on Thursday.
Washington: In the first six months of 2016, two more militants released from the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have returned to fighting, the US government said on Wednesday.

Washington has confirmed that a total of nine people freed from Guantanamo have rejoined militant groups since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI.

The report said the number of militants freed by the Obama administration whom US agencies "suspect" of having returned to action dropped to 11 from 12 between January and July.

An official familiar with the latest statistics said this number dropped because a freed detainee previously categorized as "suspected" of returning to the battlefield now has been confirmed to have done so.

The United States opened the Guantanamo detention facility in 2002, the year after the September 11 attacks by Islamist militants on New York and Washington, to hold what it described as foreign terrorism suspects. Most have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation.

Obama had hoped to close the prison during his first year in office. In February, he rolled out a plan aimed at shutting it, but that is opposed by many Republican lawmakers and some of his fellow Democrats.

Overall, the figures released by ODNI still showed that the administration of Obama`s predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, released far more detainees from Guantanamo than the Obama administration has.

The figures show that 113 of the 532 detainees released by Bush - 21.2 percent - have returned to fighting, while the nine detainees released since 2009 who have re-engaged are only 5.6 percent of the prisoners freed by Obama.

In all, the Obama administration has released 161 prisoners from Guantanamo since 2009, 17 of them in the first six months of this year, ODNI said.
New Delhi: Maintaining that India has never been prescriptive in the Constitution making process of Nepal, Ministry of External (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday said that the Constitution making process is an internal matter of Kathmandu, adding it is for their people to discuss what is in their best interest.

Swarup made the statement during a press briefing on being asked if India will raise the issue of Madhes representation in Nepal`s Constitution during discussions with visiting Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

"As far as the constitution making process that you have said, this is an internal matter of Nepal. We have never been prescriptive in this regard. It is for the people of Nepal to discuss what is in their best interest," Swarup said.

Swarup said that primarily reason for Dahal`s visit is for India to meet and greet him and to understand from him firsthand what are the priorities of the new Nepal government in terms of development and reconstruction.

"The idea is for us to meet Mr. Prachanda, convey to him our continues interest in the stability, peace and prosperity of Nepal and to learn from him firsthand what are his developmental priorities which are the areas he wants to focus on and where Indian assistance can provide maximum benefit to the people and government of Nepal," he added.

He pointed out that India has already offered Nepal considerable assistance of one billion dollars in earthquake assistance of which very little has been utilized. Visiting Nepali Prime Minister Dahal is in New Delhi at the invitation of his Indian counterpart President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dahal`s visit to India is his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office for the second time as Nepal`s Prime Minister on August 4 this year.During his visit, Dahal would hold talks with the Indian leadership. He will also visit the Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project, a concrete gravity dam on the Satluj River in Himachal Pradesh.The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supplies 1,500 megawatts of power.Prime Ministers Modi and Dahal will meet for delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on September 16.

That meeting will be followed by a signing of bilateral agreements and the issue of statement to the media. Among the dignitaries expected to call on the Nepal Prime Minister are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Power Minister Piyush Goyal. Prime Minister Dahal would also call on President Pranab Mukherjee. (ANI)
Karachi: Over 4,000 people went to private and government hospitals due to ailments linked to overeating on Eid-ul Azha in Karachi, the capital of Pakistan's southern Sindh province.

The Health Department said that people went to private and government hospitals complaining of diarrhoea, dehydration and vomiting after the festival marked by traditional feasts.

More than 2,200 people visited Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Complex, 1,000 people went to Civil Hospital Karachi, 500 had visited to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Geo TV reported, quoting a spokesman for the Health Department.

Due to overeating gastro, dehydration, vomiting are common on Eid-ul-Azha, Deputy Director Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Huma Ahmed said, adding that people should take minimum meal and try to avoid eating oily and junk food.

Director Health Karachi Dr Shakoor Abbasi suggested that people should take vegetables in lunch and dinner beside meat or mutton and avoid soft drink specially heart, diabetic and hypertension patients.

Approximately 1,000 people also visited hospitals for injuries sustained while sacrificing animals.

Eid-ul-Azha or Bakrid or was celebrated across Pakistan on Tuesday.
Ankara: Turkish air strikes in northern Syria in late August killed 24 civilians, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, accusing Ankara of failing to properly identify the target and pro-Kurdish forces of grouping fighters together with civilians.

Activists had said at the time that the air strikes on August 24, in the early stages of Turkey`s campaign in Syria, killed civilians. But Turkish state media said that 25 "terrorists" were killed.

HRW said that 24 civilians, including six children, were killed. Between 10 and 15 fighters deployed among the civilians were also killed, it added.

Turkey has always insisted it is doing the utmost to avoid civilian casualties in Syria and at the time issued a statement saying claims that civilians were targeted or hit in the August 28 air strikes "do not reflect reality".

"Available information suggests that both sides could have done more to minimise civilian loss of life, as required by the laws of war," HRW said in a statement.

It said that according to residents, Turkish aircraft struck Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) "who had just disembarked from military vehicles among residential buildings in which about four dozen civilians had sought shelter from nearby fighting."

Artillery shelling then resulted in additional casualties. The attack took place near the village of Suraysat, about 12 kilometres (7 miles) south of Jarabalus, which had been taken by pro-Ankara fighters from jihadists on August 24.

The SDF is a US-backed grouping of Syrian rebel forces still dominated by the Kurdish People`s Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Turkey regards as a terror group.

The deaths "could have been avoided if the SDF fighters hadn`t positioned themselves among buildings filled with civilians and Turkish forces had made a better effort to determine whether civilians were there," said Ole Solvang, HRW deputy emergencies director.

The rights group said the SDF should not have positioned their forces in the residential compound "without having first relocated the civilians to another area."

Meanwhile, it is not clear that "the Turkish military took adequate steps to determine the extent to which civilians might be at risk in the attack," it added.

The attack came on the fifth day of Turkey`s unprecedented air and ground campaign in Syria which is aimed at dislodging both Islamic State (IS) jihadists and YPG fighters from the area.
New Delhi: Underlining the urgency to unite despite differences in ethnicity and caste, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday said till the time Tharus and Madhesis are not taken into confidence, atmosphere for implementing the new Constitution cannot be created.

Prachanda, who was elected as the Prime Minister for the second time on August 3, said the top focus of the new dispensation is to create the "right atmosphere" before the implementation of the Constitution and pave way for the necessary amendments.

"We have already made two amendments," he said.

Prachanda, who is on a four-day goodwill visit to India, his first foreign visit after assuming power, was addressing the Nepali diaspora at the Nepalese embassy here.

"Till the time we don't take the Tharus, Madhesis and Janjatis into confidence and address their legitimate demands the atmosphere cannot be created for implementation of the new Constitution.

"There is a need to unite Nepal and its people despite differences in ethnicities, language, caste, class," Prachanda said.

Emphasising on the need to unite those in the Terai, hills and the plains, the Prime Minister of Nepal said, if that does not happen, then Nepal's sovereignty will be mere words.

"If they are not united then the political crisis will loom large," he said.

The Madhesi parties had led a six month-long agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution. At least 50 people were killed during the protests in south Nepal last year over the issue.

India wants Nepal to take steps to address the concerns of its citizens, especially those in Terai, over its newly-adopted constitution, as it feels the more the process in this regard gets delayed, the situation will "worsen and can get messy again".

During his interaction, the Nepalese community also complained that they played a prominent role during the movement against the monarchy, but since the new democratic polity came into being they have been forgotten.
Nagaon: At least eight people had a miraculous escape on Thursday after their helicopter made an emergency landing at Nagaon in Assam following a technical snag.

The helicopter, belonging to Sky One Airways Pvt Ltd, took off from Guwahati and was bound for the Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar with two passengers and six crew members, informed sources said.
Bengaluru: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday underwent a five-hour throat surgery at a private hospital in Bengaluru for a persistent cough.

Due to the surgery, Kejriwal will not be able to talk to for a while.

Kejriwal, who arrived in the city from New Delhi on Tuesday for the long-pending surgery, was first diagnosed by Narayana Health City's medical director Paul C Salins for his bouts of coughing.

According to Salins, "computer analytics confirmed that a restricted space for the movement of his tongue and an enlarged soft palate and uvula in relation to a slight increase in the volume of the tongue caused kinematic problems in function".

To put it simply, his tongue is too big for his mouth.

"The surgery corrected an anatomical abnormality of Kejriwal's oral-pharyngeal and palatal area, which was causing small amounts of saliva to trickle into his air passages whenever his nose breathing was affected by allergy or other factors," said Narayana Health City in a statement.

A diabetic, Kejriwal, 48, is likely to be in the hospital for about a week under medical observation.

He has been advised not to talk.

"The recovery for such a long-standing problem with its own functional accommodation will be gradual. Based on his recovery on Thursday, the doctors will advise him on when he can start talking," Bangalore Mirror quoted a hospital spokesperson as saying.
Bengaluru: Heavy security has been put in place at the Mandya Railway Station as "Rail Roko" protest by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike is expected against the Supreme Court directive to Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Here are the latest updates:-

-If anybody assemble on roads or stage protest, he will be taken in preventive custody: Charan Reddy.

-We have deployed city police, state reserve police and para-military forces in the wake of "Rail Roko" protest: Charan Reddy (Additional CP).

-Karnataka Rakshana Vedike stage "Rail Roko" protest in Bengaluru. Vatal Nagraj & other Pro-Kannada activists detained.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike stage "Rail Roko" protest in Bengaluru.Vatal Nagraj & other Pro Kannada Activists detained pic.twitter.com/ZucHPw7Bbh  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

-ITBP forces deployed at Mandya railway station as "Rail Roko" protest by K'taka Rakshana Vedike is expected.

ITBP forces deployed at Mandya railway station as "Rail Roko" protest by K'taka Rakshana Vedike is expected. pic.twitter.com/jm0YOgj5pY  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

-Pro-Kannada protesters at Mandya railway station, detained by the police.

Mandya (Karnataka): Pro-Kannada protesters at Mandya railway station, detained by the police #CauveryProtests pic.twitter.com/3ucHg5KuH5  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

-Visual of the security deployment at Mandya Station.

Security deployed at Mandya Station as "Rail Roko" protest by K'taka Rakshana Vedike is expected #CauveryProtests pic.twitter.com/DhxgrSmvqc  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

-Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Jai Karnataka, Vatal Kannada Paksha and Dr. Rajkumar Fans Association are among the 800 Kannada organisations which will take part in the protest.

-Mandya Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Reddy told ANI that all sorts of arrangement are made to deal with any kind of trouble.

-The situation continues to be normal in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as no reports of violence has come from any parts of the states though the interstate transport through Karnataka border remained at standstill.

-The district administration has arranged special buses to bring the passengers who disembark at the Karnataka side of the border to Hosur from where they could proceed to their destinations.

-Curfew was lifted in all the 16 police station limits in Bengaluru on Wednesday as the city bounced back to normal after widespread violence over the Cauvery water sharing row with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

-The Supreme Court will hear a plea today seeking direction to the Centre and the state governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain law and order, in the wake of the massive protests over the Cauvery water distribution row.

-Bus and metro services started and some schools and colleges also reopened yesterday.

-Large gatherings are still banned in the city as a precaution, Bengaluru Police Commissioner NS Megharikh said.
Vaishali: In yet incident exposing the insensitive and inhuman attitude of the Bihar Police, a shocking video has now come to fore, which shows some cops dragging a dead body several metres with a rope tied around the neck.

According to reports, a man was found dead near the Ganga river by villagers in Bihar's Vaishali district who then informed the local police.

The dead body was pulled out two hours after the police arrived at the scene.

Police apathy seen in Vaishali (Bihar), policemen drag dead body out of river Ganga by the neck with rope (14.9.16) pic.twitter.com/PNKS9D71ZX  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

However, in the absence of an ambulance, the policemen tied a noose around the man's neck and dragged him hundreds of metres from the riverbank to their vehicle.

The video clearly shows a large crowd watching as the cops dragged the body to their vehicle.

After the video went viral, the top authorities suspended two policemen in connection with the case.

This is the second incident of the dead being treated callously by the police in Vaishali.

Watch the appalling video here.
Siwan: The CBI on Thursday registered a case against unknown persons in Siwan journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case.

Yesterday, four months after the murder of bureau chief of a Hindi daily 'Hindustan', it was reported that CBI would be be taking over the investigation in the case.

PTI had quoted CBI sources as saying that RJD strongman Shahabuddin, who was recently released on bail, was under the scanner of investigation agencies in the case.

Bihar had transferred the case to CBI.

The state government had issued a notification requesting the CBI to take over the investigation of the murder case, a demand made by the kin of the journalist who was killed in May this year.

"In exercise of the powers conferred under section 6 of Delhi Police Establishment Act 1946 (Act 25 of 1946), the Governor of Bihar is pleased to accord his consent to exercise of powers and jurisdiction to the whole of Bihar to the members of Delhi Special Police Establishment to investigate/ supervise and inquire into the Siwan Town P.S. Case No. 362/16, dated May 13, 2016 u/s 302/120 (B)/34 IPC and 27 Arms Act which is related to murder of reporter Rajdev Ranjan," the notification issued by Bihar home department had read.

The case again come into limelight as a photograph appeared of absconding suspects Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed with Shahbuddin after his release from Bhagalpur jail on Saturday last on bail granted by Patna High Court.

(With PTI inputs)
Patna: Breaking his silence in the wake of criticism over release strongman Md Shahabuddins release from jail, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said on Thursday that no once can question court's judgement in this regard.

Talking to a news channel, Lalu Yadav said, ''Why is the issue being blown out of proportion. Can you or anyone question the court's judgement why it gave bail to Shahabuddin?

He was kept in jail for 11 years as per the law and he was released only after going through a legal framework., he said.

The RJD chief also blamed the media for pushing the issue unnecessarily and called it a conspiracy by BJP.

Will you decide or the court as to why a person should be given bail, he quizzed.

However, he kept mum when asked about a picture showing his son Tej Pratap with a sharpshooter and accused wanted in Siwan journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case, which went viral on the social media.

The issue prompted the opposition in Bihar to sharpen its attack on the ruling grand alliance, which is already facing flak after the release of former Lok Sabha MP Mohammad Shahabuddin from Bhagalpur jail.

The RJD chief made these remarks in the wake of reports that the Nitish Kumar government is set to challenge the bail given to Md Shahabuddins in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Siwan's Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chandra Babu, whose three of four sons were murdered allegedly by former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, will today file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Patna High Court's order granting bail to the gangster-turned-politician.
Siwan: Asha Ranjan, wife of murdered journalist Rajdev Ranjan on Thursday thanked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Government for taking over her husband`s murder case.

"I am thankful to the CBI and also to the Central Government. But why did it take so much time? Why did the CBI take four months to take up the issue? I would ask the state government to help in the matter so that the culprits get punishment. I have been with Rajdev for the last 18 years and I have never seen Bunty Kaif with him. May be they used to talk over the phone...that is different. Rajdev had gone to Bunty`s reception on his invitation," Asha told ANI.

Asha said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should have seen to it why the CBI did not take up the matter even after his announcement on May 16.

"Nitish ji had called for a CBI probe on May 16 itself but he could have seen where the matter is stuck. He has failed somewhere in doing so and that is why there is delay in the matter. Now I would want Nitish ji to give full cooperation," she added.

In a major development, the CBI is set to take over the probe into the murder of Rajdev.

This comes after a furore erupted over Mohammad Kaif, the wanted sharpshooter in the murder case, who was spotted next to former RJD parliamentarian Shahabuddin, when he was released from prison.

Kaif is one of the accused in the murder of Hindustan daily`s Siwan bureau chief Rajdev Ranjan.

In the video clip, Kaif can be seen standing right next to Shahabuddin and cheering him on, as he spoke to media after being released on bail on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had launched a scathing attack over the development, stating that he had become helpless, questioning his silence over a murder accused walking scot free and the police being unable to trace him.

Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, KaiF has rubbished all accusations against him and said that he has no involvement in the murder of journalist Rajdev Rajan.

Kaif told ANI that he had very close and good relations with Rajan, adding that he was at his sister`s residence for the post funereal ceremony at the time he was killed as she died two days before his murder.

Speaking on the accusation levelled against him by Rajan`s wife, he said, "Rajdev`s wife doesn`t know me that well. People have said wrong things about me to Rajdev`s wife."
New Delhi: Siwan's Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chandra Babu, whose three of four sons were murdered allegedly by former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, will on Thursday file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Patna High Court's order granting bail to the gangster-turned-politician.

The petition will challenge how bail can be given to a "history-sheeter".

Shahabuddin was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7 in the 2014 murder case of Rajiv Roshan, the son of Chandrakeshwar Prasad. The controversial RJD strongman was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10, after being there for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.

Roshan was a witness to the murder of his brothers Gitish and Satish, who were drenched with acid in 2004. The trial for Roshan's murder is yet to start.

Meanwhile, facing flak over Shahabuddin's release from jail, the Bihar government is also reportedly considering filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the bail granted to him.

"This has been an established process followed by Nitish Kumar government in the past 11 years that if the state is not satisfied with the bail of somebody, it goes to appeal in higher court," JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok said, adding that "it has been done in the past and would be followed in the present case of Shahabuddin too."

(With PTI inputs)
Chennai: The dog who was was thrown off the rooftop of a three-storeyed building in July has finally recovered and found a home.

Activists had later named the dog `Bhadra`, which means the warrior, for having extraordinarily survived the fall.

On Wednesday, a Facebook post announced that Bhadra has been officially adopted by Chennai resident Karthik Dhandapani, who was fostering her since the time she was found injured.

It's ironic that the seven-month-old likes to spend her time on the terrace of her new home, given that she was flung off one.

In July, the video of Gowtham Sudarshan and Ashish Paul -- one throwing the dog down from the rooftop of a building and the other filming the gruesome act -- had gone viral and drew much revulsion.

The two medical students, who committed the gruesome act and filmed it, were fined Rs 2 lakh each by a committee formed by the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University.

Animal welfare activists made a police complaint and the two students were later arrested. The two got bail immediately.

The activists had then moved the court for compensation for the dog that suffered a leg fracture.

Bhadra has been recovered, however, she will have to live with a permanent limp as her right hind leg has been damaged beyond repair.
New Delhi: Resolute on his stand, Delhi`s Health Minister, Satyendra Jain, has reiterated that Chikungunya cannot cause deaths, and added that this is a fact that is available on Google, and not his opinion.

Speaking to media here, Jain said that Delhiites need not panic and that all they needed to do is to take precautions and go to the hospital only if they experience symptoms of the vector-borne disease.

"People of Delhi have no need to panic. The state government is ready to provide help at all cost. But one should get admitted only if the doctor advises them to do so and not because they are scared," he said.

Talking about the recent casualties, Jain stated that four of the five deaths had been reported from the same hospital, which made the situation quite suspicious.

"Chikungunya deaths are not happening across the world. Why is it only in a select few Delhi hospitals? And upon enquiry, I have discovered that most of the deaths are of people who were aged and already sick with other ailments," the minister said.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that no complaints of shortage of medicine or doctors and testing facilities have been reported, adding that the Centre is fully prepared to tackle the crisis.

Nadda said the Centre has held a review meeting in this regard and found out that there is an increase in cases of Chikungunya in Delhi, whereas the hike in cases of Dengue have been reported from West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka.

Meanwhile, some people in West Bengal have tested positive for malaria also.

Nadda informed, "We today held a review meeting in regard with the upsurge of vector borne diseases. In Delhi, an increase in cases of Chikungunya has been reported, and meanwhile, large number of cases of fever has been reported. In West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka, cases of dengue have been reported. In West Bengal, cases of malaria have been reported."

Nadda further said the Centre has also held three video conferences in this regard, and added that he had also called on the Delhi Health Minister, the NDMC and the MCD, and guided them on protocols to be followed to counter the spread of this disease.

"In one video conference, I addressed the state Health Ministers. The second was addressed by the Secretary and the third was done by heads of vector borne diseases," he said.

Nadda also urged the people not to panic and help in pacifying the current upsurge of vector borne diseases.
New Delhi: Top security advisors of BRICS grouping on Thursday agreed to cooperate to deny terrorists access to finance and weapons while vowing to launch joint efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the West Asia and North African region.

The decision came as the BRICS High Representatives responsible for security held their sixth meeting here, which was presided over by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

They deliberated on security issues such as counter- terrorism, cyber security and energy security, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, adding that they also exchanged assessments of recent developments in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region.

He said that India has always said from the very beginning that there should not be a segmented approach on the issue of terror.

The High Representatives encouraged cooperation and exchanging of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counter-terrorism issues.

In this context, they welcomed the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Counter-Terrorism that was held a day before.

They also agreed to expand BRICS Counter-Terrorism cooperation further to include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror-hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition.

They underscored the need for a global legal regime to deal with the global menace of terrorism, Swarup said.

The delegation from Brazil was led by General Sergio Westphalen Etchegoyen, Minister of State, Head of the Cabinet for Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, Russia by Nikolai P Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, China by Yang Jiechi, State Councilor and South Africa by Mbangiseni David Mahlobo, Minister of State Security.
New Delhi: BRICS High Representatives responsible for national security met here on Thursday and discussed issues of counter-terrorism, cyber security and energy security among others ahead of the BRICS Summit next month in Goa.

It was the sixth such meeting of those in charge of national security in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and was presided over by India`s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

India assumed chairmanship of BRICS this year and will host the 8th Summit meeting in Goa on October 15-16.

In Thursday`s meeting, the delegation from Brazil was led by Gen. Sergio Westphalen Etchegoyen, Minister of State, and Head of the Cabinet for Institutional Security, that of Russia by Nikolai P. Patrushev, Secretary of the country`s Security Council, that of China by Yang Jiechi, State Councillor, and that of South Africa by Mbangiseni David Mahlobo, Minister of State Security.

"Acknowledging the positive contribution of the BRICS grouping on important global issues, they deliberated on security issues such as counter-terrorism, cyber security and energy security," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement following the meeting.

"They also exchanged assessments of recent developments in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region," it stated.

In the area of cyber and information security, the participants agreed to strengthen joint efforts on enhancing cyber security by sharing information and best practices, combating cyber crimes, improving cooperation between technical and law enforcement agencies including joint cyber security research and development capacity building.

"The High Representatives encouraged cooperation and exchanging of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counter-terrorism issues," the statement said.

"In this context, they welcomed the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Counter-Terrorism that was held a day before," it said.

"They also agreed to expand BRICS counter-terrorism cooperation further to include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror-hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition. They underscored the need for a global legal regime to deal with the global menace of terrorism."

The participants also agreed to explore a regular energy dialogue between BRICS countries in order to discuss long-term and medium-term energy security issues.

"While highlighting the need for resolution of outstanding disputes in the WANA region through dialogue, peaceful means and in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN charter, the BRICS High Representatives also agreed to pool BRICS`s efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the region," the statement continued.

"The High Representatives concurred on a BRICS Forum to progressively consolidate cooperation and exchanges among respective agencies in security related fields."
Imphal: BJP will not allow Manipur's territorial integrity to be compromised, BJP president Amit Shah said.

"Not a single inch of Manipur will be given to any other state," Shah told a huge public meeting here yesterday, virtually kick starting the party's campaign for the Assembly election in the state likely to be held early next year.

Shah told the gathering it was time the Congress government in the state was changed and exuded confidence that BJP would get two-thirds majority in the Assembly after the election.

Stating that Northeast will be the "engine of development", Shah asked Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh to elaborate on how his government utilised Rs 5,000 crore given by the Centre for the state's development.

Shah was accompanied by BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, Prahlad Patel, Assam's finance minister and Northeast Democratic Alliance convenor Hemanta Bishwa Sharma among others in his two-day visit to the state.
Kathmandu: Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leading a 125-member delegation, on Thursday left for a four-day state visit to New Delhi at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

This is his first foreign visit after Dahal was elected in August.

Dahal is being is accompanied by his wife, Sita, two ministers, senior Nepal government officials, media team and member of the Nepali business community.

On the top of the agenda, his meeting with Modi is scheduled for Friday at the Hyderabad House which will be followed by signing some agreements and a joint press briefing.

According to Rishiraj Adhikari, Foreign Relations Advisor to Dahal, a breakthrough is expected on an agreement on long pending Panchewhwor Hydro Project in Nepal that has installation capacity of 48,00 mw.

Nepal and India had jointly agreed to develop this project in 1996 but no progress has been made due to some outstanding issues.

The Prime Minister will seek Indian`s support to build another 400 mw hydro power plant in Nepal, Adhikari added.

Officials told IANS that a $1 billion soft loan and grant for the reconstruction of damaged structures in Nepal, will also be discussed.

Proposal on feasibility study of east-west electric rail in Nepal, building an 80 km long Buddhist circuit linking key heritage sites between Nepal and India were also in the agenda.

Several others agendas like growing trade deficit with India, construction of a sub station for trading energy between Nepal and India, aid for second phase for construction of Postal road in Nepal`s southern plain will also be discussed.

Both sides will commit to review and update all bilateral agreements and pacts through the Eminent Person`s Group which has already met in Kathmandu once.

Dahal will also visit Himanchal Pradesh to inspect one hydro power plant before his return to Nepal.
Puducherry: Congress MLA A John Kumar on Thursday quit his post to pave way for Chief Minister V Narayanasamy to seek re-election from Nellithope assembly constituency and become an elected member.

Kumar, who is also Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister, called on Speaker V Vaithilingam at his office in the Assembly premises and handed over the resignation letter at 10 AM.

With his resignation, the decks have been cleared for Narayanasamy to contest the election through a by-poll from Nellithope constituency.

Speaking to reporters after accepting Kumar's resignation, the Speaker said a notification declaring a vacancy in Nellithope constituency would be issued immediately and it would be forwarded to the Election Commission.

With the resignation of Kumar, the strength of the ruling Congress has come down from 15 to 14 in the Assembly.

Kumar was elected to Puducherry Assembly as a Congress nominee in the May 16 Assembly polls.

Narayanasamy was unanimously elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party in May 28 last and was sworn in as Chief Minister of the Union Territory on June 6.
New Delhi: With the government cracking the whip on NGOs for alleged violation of foreign funding rules, the Supreme Court has also taken a serious view of mushrooming of about 30 lakh such bodies across the country and many of them not filing Income Tax returns for years.

The apex court, which has been seized of the matter for nearly five years and had ordered CBI to probe into charges of misappropriation of funds by many NGOs, wanted to know if there was any regulatory body to look at the size and magnitude of the problem.

"This is a major problem. These are mind-boggling figures," a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said, adding that "lakhs of societies are getting money from all over the world".

"Is there any recommendation by the Law Commission to frame legislations for effective regulation and transparency in the funding of such NGOs.

"Whatever has happened in the past, like siphoning of money etc, is difficult to go into, but for the future, transparency has to be there," the bench, also comprising Justice A M Khanwilkar, said while appointing senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi as amicus to assist the court in the matter.

"Keeping in view the nature of the controversy and the magnitude of the problem arising on account of as many as 29,99,623 societies registered in this country, we request Rakesh Dwivedi, senior advocate, to assist this court as amicus who has graciously agreed to do so.

"The Registry is directed to furnish him a copy of the writ petition and connected papers including the previous orders passed by this court within two days," the bench said.

Meanwhile, the CBI counsel filed several reports, documents and CDs in compliance with the court's earlier orders, giving the number of NGOs registered in various states, which showed Maharashtra had over five lakh voluntary bodies, Bihar 61,000 and Assam 97,000.

CBI also told the court that governments of Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana have still not complied with its earlier order.

Petitioner advocate M L Sharma sought time to make his submissions, after which the bench posted the matter for September 23.

CBI had in September last year informed the apex court that less than ten per cent of over 30 lakh NGOs functioning across the country had submitted their returns or balance sheets and other financial details to the authorities.
Delhi: A day after raising the issue at United Nations body, India on Thursday said that it would continue to raise the matter till human rights violations continue in Balochistan.

"Till the time Balochistan faces repression and human rights violations continue there, India will raise this issue, Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup said, as per ANI.

Yesterday, raising the issue of Balochistan for the first time before the UN, India had accused Pakistan of widespread human rights violations there as well as in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In a scathing attack on Pakistan during the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, India had said that the main reason for disturbances in Kashmir was the cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan that stems from its territorial ambitions over the place that has found concrete expression in repeated armed aggressions.

Pakistan's dismal track record was well known and many countries have repeatedly called upon Pakistan to end cross- border infiltration, dismantle the terrorism infrastructure and stop acting as an epicentre of terrorism, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the UN in Geneva Ajit Kumar had said.

India's credentials as a peaceful, democratic, pluralistic society that was deeply committed to the welfare of its people were well established and on the contrary, Pakistan was characterised by authoritarianism, absence of democratic norms and widespread human rights violations across the country including Balochistan, Kumar had said.

Exercising its right of reply to the statement made by Pakistan, Kumar had said Pakistan was a country, which has systematically abused and violated the human rights of its own citizens, including in Balochistan, as well as of the people of PoK.

India raises Balochistan at UN, hits out at Pakistan

"The fundamental reason for disturbances in Kashmir is the cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan which has provided active support since 1989 to separatist groups and terrorist elements including those operating from the territory under Pakistan's control. Pakistan has once again sought to mask its territorial ambitions and use of terrorism as a state policy under the garb of concern for human rights. J&K is an integral part of India and will always remain so. We reject attempts by Pakistan to denigrate the democratic choice that has been regularly exercised by the people of J&K," he had said.

In a no-holds-barred offensive, India had said that while advocating restraint to others, Pakistan had no hesitation in using air power against its own people.

"Pakistan also continues to provide sanctuary to UN- designated terrorists. It was, therefore, no surprise that Pakistan failed to convince the international community to secure the membership of the Human Rights Council last year," Kumar had added, as per PTI.

The ambassador had further said that India strongly rejected Pakistan's continued misuse of the Council to make tendentious references about internal matters pertaining to the Indian state of J&K.

"This stems from Pakistan's territorial ambitions over Kashmir that has found concrete expression in repeated armed aggressions. Pakistan continues to be in illegal occupation of a large part of territory in J&K," he had said.

Reiterating that the situation in the Valley arose from the death of a self-acknowledged commander of Hizb-ul- Mujahideen terror group, India had said that it was further aggravated by sustained cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Kumar had said the high number of causalities sustained by Indian security forces was a reflection of the tremendous restraint they have displayed in difficult circumstances.

Kumar had asserted that India had a robust institutional framework to ensure adherence to rule of law and respect for fundamental rights of the people in J&K, including independent judiciary, National Human Rights Commission, vibrant civil society and free and vocal media.

In contrast, the people of Pakistan as well as PoK, had become victims of sectarian conflict, terrorism and extreme economic hardship due to Pakistan's authoritarian and discriminatory policies in complete disregard of human rights, he had added.

"The heart of the matter is that we are dealing with a state that regards the use of terrorism as a legitimate instrument of statecraft. The world watches with concern as the consequences of Pakistan?s actions have spread beyond its immediate neighbour. All of us stand prepared to help, if only the creators of this monster wake up to the dangers of what they have done to themselves," the Indian envoy had added.

"The institutions of governance in Pakistan have corroded to such an extent that it has become a hub for the global export of terror," Kumar had pointed out.

The envoy had emphasised that it would be in the fitness of things if instead of ritually raking up alleged human rights violations elsewhere, Pakistan were to focus its energies on improving human rights situation within Pakistan and PoK.

It must also take action against the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on its neighbours who were roaming freely in Pakistan with impunity, so that terrorism emanating from Pakistan - the gravest risk for peace and stability of the region - could be addressed effectively, he had said.

(With Agency inputs)
Srinagar: Senior PDP leader Tariq Karra on Thursday announced his resignation from the party and Parliament, accusing the PDP of being a collaborator with the RSS.

"The PDP has become a collaborator for fascist RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)-governed BJP," Karra told reporters here.

Elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014, Karra was a close aide of the late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and was one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He had always opposed the idea of a PDP-BJP alliance and made his dissent known earlier also.

The resignation comes as the Kashmir Valley is battling months of the deadliest unrest it has suffered in six years. Over 80 people have been killed and thousands injured in clashes with security forces.
Srinagar: Founding PDP leader and Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Tariq Hameed Karra resigned from the party as well as Parliament on Thursday to protest against "brutal policies" of ruling BJP at the centre and Jammu and Kashmir government's complete surrender before it.

"I have decided to disassociate myself from the primary membership of the PDP and from the membership of the Parliament to which I was elected from the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency in 2014 on PDP ticket," Karra told reporters at his residence here.

Karra alleged that the central and state governments policies of "unabated genocide", continued denial of the dangerous ground realities, insensitive and adhoc approach towards Kashmir issue and blatant policy of dealing with Kashmiris by way of "oppressive, repressive and suppressive measures" were the other reasons for his resignation.

"My heart is bleeding and my soul is crying for the people of my homeland. My conscience cannot take it any longer," Karra said.

The Lok Sabha member from Sringar said PDP was floated in 1999 to safeguard lives, property, honour, dignity, self respect and political aspirations of the people. "But today, in the present tragic circumstances, (PDP) made a U-turn and treated its subjects much worst than the Nazi forces. I feel still continuing with them would be equally subscribing to the administratively inhuman and politically unethical blunders," he said.

The 61-year-old said the PDP was formed to act as buffer between the Centre and state. "The launch of this new political dispensation was on the premise as facilitators rather than collaborators or obstructionists for the permanent, peaceful and everlasting resolution of Kashmir issue."

"I was forcefully consistent on it so that PDP buffer character would be saved which had blood and sweat of thousands of dedicated and selfless workers in it," Karra said defending his decision to resign after 69-days of unrest in Kashmir in which nearly 80 people have been killed and thousand others have been injured.

Karra is the first Lok Sabha member from Jammu and Kashmir to have resigned from the Parliament.

He said he is leaving it to the conscience of all other members of Parliament, MLAs and MLCs from his party to decide whether they would like to side with their helpless people or let this bloodshed continue- "perpetuated by RSS-drived BJP and facilitated by the PDP."


New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments to maintain peace, harmony, order and respect and dignity of the law, in the wake of unrest over sharing of the Cauvery river waters.

When there is a court order, it has to be complied with. There should be no violence when there is a court order, said the SC.

Underlining that people cannot take law onto themselves, the apex court said that aggrieved parties can take legal recourse.

Amidst tight security, police today foiled attempted rail blockades across southern Karnataka by angry mobs protesting against the state releasing the Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

In a related development, state Home Minister G Parameshwara said the situation was under control and peaceful across Bengaluru and normality prevailed.
Puducherry: The Puducherry unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced its support to the bandh called by several tamil outfits here, Friday, to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka in the wake of Cauvery row.

"The BJP will extend its support to the bandh being observed in the Union Territory tomorrow to condemn the against the violence against Tamils in Karnataka," President of the Puducherry unit of BJP V Saminathan in a release said.

"The Congress government in Karnataka is ignoring and dishonouring the Supreme court order to release water to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry," he said.

More than 30 Tamil fringe outfits including Tamizhar Desiya Iyyakkam, Makkal Vazhuvurimai Iyakkam and Tamizhaga Makkal Vazhuvurimai Katchi had announced a 12-hour bandh in Puducherry on September 16 to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka.

Protests by Kannada groups had turned violent on Monday with two persons getting killed in police action, including one in firing, in Bengaluru.

Vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu registration were also torched and damaged even as commercial establishments owned by Tamils were targeted in Karnataka.

In Tamil Nadu, restaurants owned by Kannadigas and vehicles bearing Karnataka registration were attacked by fringe outfits in some places on September 12.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear a plea seeking direction to the Centre, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka to maintain law and order in these two states witnessing violent protests in the wake of a row over the distribution of Cauvery water.

On Wednesday, senior advocate Adish Aggarwala, appearing for P Shivakumar, urged a bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and AM Khanwilkar that an urgent hearing of the PIL be done as on Thursday, there is a state-wide bandh in Karnataka and, a day after, Tamil Nadu will have the same kind of protest across that state.

He said the states be directed to take prompt action against the protesters to maintain law and order and provide security to private and public properties and the citizens of both the states.

Shivakumar, who claims to be a social activist, has also sought a direction that the leaders of the protest be held accountable for the damage caused to the properties and be asked to pay up for them.

Bengaluru limped back to normal life on Wednesday, making police lift curfew in all the affected areas two days after violence shook the country's tech hub in protest against Karnataka releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu on the Supreme Court's directives.

Partial curfew was enforced three days since Tuesday after violence erupted on Monday in which one person was killed in police firing and 78 vehicles, including trucks and buses, were burnt across the city.

On September 12, the apex court modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.

Rejecting Karnataka's plea seeking to place in abeyance for its earlier order, the court asked the executives to ensure compliance.

The apex court bench was critical of the language used in the fresh plea of Karnataka seeking to keep in abeyance the September 5 order asking it to release 15,000 cusecs water per day to Tamil Nadu.

(With Agency inputs)
Narsinghpur: While most teenagers these days have their sights set on the latest cellphone models, a brother-sister duo in Madhya Pradesh`s Narsinghpur district has donated their scholarships to a society and a school for constructing a toilet.

This is not the first time that Memoona Khan and Aamir Khan have been helping other children, as earlier, they had helped a school in their locality get an electricity connection.

"The girls told me that in their school they have only one toilet. So, I constructed a toilet for them with my scholarship and pocket money. In this, my brother also supported me. I gave my scholarship and pocket money to the principal through the district education officer," Memoona said.

She added it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s `Swachh Bharat Abhiyan` that had motivated them to construct a toilet in the school.

This deed of the siblings has become something of a saving grace for students of the Maharani Laxmibai School, which earlier had to make do with just one toilet.

"One day, Memoona Khan of Central School came and saw that we here were facing problems. Students are more here and one toilet is inadequate. Then, she constructed a toilet with her scholarship money. Now, we all are very happy," said Anjali, a student of the school.

Less than a third of India`s 1.2 billion population has access to sanitation and more than 186,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, according to the charity WaterAid.

The United Nations said in May that half of India`s people defecate in the open-putting people at risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid.

Last month, Prime Minister Modi in his Mann ki Baat address lauded Mallamma Sannaningamma Bagalapur, a class 10th student, who staged a protest for a toilet in her home in Karnataka`s Koppal district.

"In Karnataka`s Koppal district, a 16-year-old resorted to hunger strike for a toilet in her house. As the family was facing financial constraints, gram panchayat president Mohammed Shafi extended the incentive and got the toilet constructed. See how the girl and Mr Shafi have found a solution to the problem," the Prime Minister said.
Mumbai: A major fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in north Mumbai on Thursday.

Fire crews have gained control of the blaze.

No casualty was reported.

The fire broke out on the topmost floor of Hiranandani Heritage building in Kandivli area, news agency PTI has quoted sources as saying.

The fire is confined to the 32nd floor of the building, which has two basements, a ground floor and a podium.

Six tankers and an ambulance are at the spot, they added.
Agartala/New Delhi: A frontline Sukhoi SU-30 combat jet landed at the civil airport in Agartala on Thursday and departed soon after, with the authorities describing it as a "routine" mission.

Informed sources, however, said this was part of efforts by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to operationalise more air bases in the Northeast region to act as a counter to China.

"A Sukhoi SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft landed at the Agartala airport this morning. It departed soon afterwards," Agartala Airport Director S.D. Barman told reporters.

"This is a part of routine peace-time training activity, nothing else," Defence Ministry spokesman Group Captain Amit Mahajan told IANS on the phone from Shillong.

The IAF had, in August 2010, deployed its first SU-30 squadron in the northeast at Tezpur in Assam. In March 2011, it raised another Sukhoi squadron at the Chabua airbase, also in Assam.

On August 19, three SU-30s had touched down at the upgraded Pasighat Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh.

Barman said that there are eight airports in the region, besides a few ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh where the SU-30s can land.
Miami: American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio unveiled Thursday a free technology that allows users to spy on global fishing practices, in a bid to curb illegal activity in the oceans and rebuild imperiled fish stocks.

The technology, known as Global Fishing Watch, was officially released to the public during the Our Oceans Conference hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington today and tomorrow.

"Today, this unprecedented technology is available to everyone in the world. I encourage everyone to go check it out," DiCaprio told the conference.

"This platform will empower citizens across the globe to become powerful advocates for our oceans."

Available at GlobaFishingWatch.Org, the technology aims to offer a crowd sourced solution to the problem of illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 35 percent of the global wild marine catch and causes yearly losses of USD 23.5 billion, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Overfishing is also a growing problem worldwide, with about two thirds of fish stocks in the high seas either over exploited or depleted, said the FAO.

Some of the planet's largest fish, including tuna and swordfish, are below 10 percent of their historical level.

Using satellite technology combined with radar aboard boats, the platform allows people to zero in on areas of interest around the world and trace the paths of 35,000 commercial fishing vessels.

"It gives the public an opportunity to see what is happening, even out in the middle of the ocean," said John Amos, president and founder of SkyTruth, one of three partners in the project along with Google and Oceana.

"We need the public to be engaged to convince governments and convince the seafood industry that they need to solve the problems of overfishing," Amos told AFP.

"If you can't see it and can't measure it, you are not going to care about it and it is not going to get solved."

The project has cost USD 10.3 million over the past three years to build, with USD 6 million of those funds contributed by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in January.

In order the make the data available for free, Oceana and its partners negotiated a deal with the satellite company Orbcomm to use its three-day old data, which is described as "near real-time," along with historical records.

Although the delay means that any criminals won't be nabbed instantaneously, advocates say the technology will open the world's waters to public watchdogs in a way that has never been done before.
Jiuquan: China on Thursday launched its Tiangong-2 space lab into space paving the way for a permanent space station it plans to build around 2022.

In a cloud of brown smoke, Tiangong-2 roared into the air underneath a mid-autumn full moon from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on the back of a Long March-2F rocket, trailing a vast volume of flame, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party central leadership is reported to have prepared a compromise formula to end the ongoing bitter power tussle between two key figures of the party  Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

As per the formula, Akhilesh Yadav may be appointed as the working president of the Samajwadi Party, while his uncle Shivpal may be given back his key portfolios.

Importantly, Shivpal had refused to work under his nephew Akhilesh and conveyed this to party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during a meeting on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters, SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said, ''Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav will speak to each other, everything will be resolved soon.''

''There is no deadlock, no crisis in the party,'' he added.

However, he hinted at the role of some 'outsider' in the ongoing feud in the party.

''There are some people who take advantage of Netaji's humbleness, they are not concerned about party's welfare,'' Ram Gopal Yadav said. The party may take action against them in the days to come, he added. We will take tough steps against leaders indulging in anti-party activities, he said.

He, however, said that ''no one can challenge Netaji in the party.''

There is no need for parliamentary board meeting, Netaji will decide what will happen, he added. SP chief Mulayam Singh is expected to reach Lucknow tomorrow to decide on the future course of action.

SP heavyweight and Mulayam Singh Yadavs cousin, Ramgopal Yadav, made these remarks shortly after arriving in the state capital earlier this morning to iron out differences between his nephew and Shivpal.

Earlier, during his interaction with media, Ram Gopal Yadav said it was wrong for the party to have removed Akhilesh Yadav from the Uttar Pradesh chiefs post without consulting with him.

Had the party asked him (Akhilesh) to quit the post in view of the elections and focus on the chief ministerial job and that he (Shivpal) will take up the state presidents job, he would have resigned, Ramgopal, who is the SPs general secretary and a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters.

The removal of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh as the state's party chief "led to a misunderstanding...the matter will be resolved," said Ram Gopal.

The SP was thrown into turmoil on Tuesday night after Akhilesh curtailed uncle Shivpal Singh Yadavs powers, within hours of party patriarch Mulayam taking away the partys state presidentship from his chief minister-son and giving it to brother Shivpal.

On Thursday, Ramgopal denied there any crisis in the party. Sometimes, some decisions are taken that make it appear as if there is a crisis. It happens in all the parties, he said.

He also denied reports that Mulayam had convened a meeting of the partys parliamentary board on Thursday in Lucknow. I am the secretary of the board. I summon meetings. I have not called any meeting, Ramgopal said.
Ballia (UP): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today held "politicisation" of the police force responsible for law and order problems in Uttar Pradesh.

"Police should not be misused for political purposes. It is capable of handling big criminals. For development, law and order is a must. Due to politicisation of force, law and order problems rise," he said. On the ongoing dispute in the Samajwadi Party, Rajnath said, "There is a law and order problem in the SP government, and the dispute is affecting the common man."

The Union Minister claimed, the state government should give accounts of the huge amounts of money it received from the Centre for natural calamities.

Exuding confidence on BJP's victory in the election next year, Rajnath said the party was given "sanyas" in 2002 by the state's people, now after "14 years of exile" it will return to power.

"It is a matter of pride that in over two years (at the Centre) no one could charge any minister with corruption," he said.

Rajnath was here to attend a function on death anniversary of former MP Harikewal Prasad.
Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Thursday attacked party's Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh for stoking tension between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal.

In a lengthy discussion with ETV News, the SP general secretary said, ''Amar Singh never thinks in party's interest. He always thinks about himself. He said that he is 'Mulayamwadi' not Samajwadi, what does this mean?''

Attacking Singh further, Ram Gopal said, ''He has created problems in past too but despite the opposition of several SP leaders he was re-inducted in the party fold and even sent to Rajya Sabha.''

The SP general secretary further stated that people have often taken disadvantage of Netaji's simplicity for personal gains. ''Netaji has been a down-to-earth leader, people have misused his simplicity,'' Ram Gopal said.

When to asked to name one such person, he said, ''Party workers think Amar Singh is one of them.''

He, however, said that all is ''settled'' between Akhilesh and Shivpal, and the party is united as always.

Ram Gopal had earlier hinted the party's central leadership has prepared a compromise formula to end the ongoing bitter power tussle between two key figures of the party  Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.

As per the formula, Akhilesh Yadav may be appointed as the working president of the Samajwadi Party, while his uncle Shivpal may be given back his key portfolios.

Shivpal will continue to be state party president; Akhilesh is not upset with him, he added.

Both will continue to work for the party in the days to come, he said.

Importantly, Shivpal had refused to work under his nephew Akhilesh and conveyed this to party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during a meeting on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters this morning, Ram Gopal Yadav said, ''Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav will speak to each other, everything will be resolved soon.''

He, however, said that ''no one can challenge Netaji in the party.'' There is no need for parliamentary board meeting, Netaji will decide what will happen, he added.

SP chief Mulayam Singh is expected to reach Lucknow today to decide on the future course of action, he added.

SP heavyweight Ramgopal Yadav made these remarks shortly after arriving in the state capital earlier this morning to iron out differences between his nephew and Shivpal.

Earlier, during his interaction with media, Ram Gopal Yadav said it was wrong for the party to have removed Akhilesh Yadav from the Uttar Pradesh chiefs post without consulting with him.

Had the party asked him (Akhilesh) to quit the post in view of the elections and focus on the chief ministerial job and that he (Shivpal) will take up the state presidents job, he would have resigned, Ramgopal, who is the SPs general secretary and a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters.

The removal of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh as the state's party chief "led to a misunderstanding...the matter will be resolved," said Ram Gopal.

The SP was thrown into turmoil on Tuesday night after Akhilesh curtailed uncle Shivpal Singh Yadavs powers, within hours of party patriarch Mulayam taking away the partys state presidentship from his chief minister-son and giving it to brother Shivpal.
Lucknow: In a significant development, Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav resigned from Uttar Pradesh Cabinet and also stepped down as state party chief on Thursday.

Shivpal, who had met UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today, submitted his resignation late tonight to SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Shivpal's wife Sarla also resigned from the post of District Cooperative Bank chairperson, Etawah, and son Aditya resigned as chairman of Pradeshik Cooperative Federation, as per media reports.

However, Mulayam has reportedly refused to accept the resignations.

Earlier, Mulayam had rushed to Lucknow from Delhi this evening and had launched efforts to douse the flames by meeting his son Akhilesh as well as brother Shivpal.

As soon as he reached Lucknow, Mulayam had summoned Shivpal, who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, and held closed door meeting with him to defuse the situation.

Shivpal later met Akhilesh at his official residence, sources said, adding the meeting came at the behest of Mulayam.

The feud had spilled into the open after the UP CM had stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios (PWD, cooperative and irrigation) on September 13, hours after he was replaced with his uncle as the party's state unit chief by his father.

Meanwhile, Mulayam's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav earlier today had said that leadership had committed an unintentional 'mistake' by removing Akhilesh as party's UP president.

He had said that 'differences' had arisen due to some 'misunderstanding' even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ram Gopal had told reporters, as per PTI.

When asked about CM's statement regarding role of 'outsiders' in the family tussle, Ram Gopal had said, "There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...".

But Shivpal had defended Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along. "Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also," he had said.

Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.

When asked about stripping of his portfolios, Shivpal had said, "I cannot raise questions on which circumstances the CM has changed my departments. It is his discretion. I have a big responsibility. It is bigger than getting portfolios. We have to form a majority government in the state in 2017. I was state president in 2011 and now neta ji (Mulayam) has once again given me this responsibility. No one has the capacity to disobey what he says.

Asked where he felt more comfortable - running the government or in the organisation - he had said that he had vast experience and could run both.

(With Agency inputs)
Mau, Uttar Pradesh: Breaking bread with Dalits is among the favourite photo-ops of our politicians. A recent such incident has thrown light on the offer people who offer meals to netas.

A Dalit family from Mau had hosted Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is touring Uttar Pradesh, at their humble home on Sunday.

Rahul and Congress' UP in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad were served rotis and potato choka by the family of Swaminath.

However, it has now come to light that the family had borrowed food material from others to prepare food and are now worried about the debt.

A family member said, Rahul Gandhi was like a God to us so we had to prepare no matter what. Will repay the debt somehow.

Speaking to TOI, Swaminath said, "Rahul ji enquired about our living and the problems we are facing. I told him that we hardly manage to meet our basic needs."

Despite his poverty, the proud man he is, Swaminath did not tell Rahul that he had borrowed food to prepare a meal for him.
Curitiba (Brazil): Brazilian prosecutors charged ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday with being the "boss" of a vast corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras, in a major blow to the leftist hero`s hopes of a political comeback.

It was the first time that Lula, still Brazil`s most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party, was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro , as the company is officially known.

Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told a news conference that Lula will be charged with corruption and money laundering for leading a kickback scheme that caused an estimated 42 billion reais ($12.6 billion) in losses to Petrobras shareholders and tax payers.

"He was the conductor of this criminal orchestra," Dallagnol said during a detailed presentation of the investigation. "The Petrobras graft scheme aimed at keeping the Workers Party in power by criminal means."

Lula`s lawyers said prosecutors lacked evidence to back up their accusations which were part of political persecution to stop him running in the 2018 election.

"This Lula-centered farce was trumped up as an affront to the democratic state and intelligence of Brazilian citizens," one of Lula`s lawyers, Cristiano Zanin, told reporters in Sao Paulo.

Dallagnol stopped short of saying investigators would seek an arrest order for Lula, who became a hero to many poor Brazilians during his 2003-2010 government.

The two-year-old Operation Carwash anti-corruption investigation, based in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, has uncovered how political appointees named by Lula`s Workers Party and its allies handed overpriced contracts to engineering firms in return for illicit party funding and bribes.

The scandal helped topple the Workers Party from power last month by crushing the popularity of Lula`s chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff. She was impeached by Congress on unrelated charges of breaking budget rules, amid rising anger over her handling of Brazil`s worst recession since the 1930s.

Dallagnol said that Lula, because of his control of the machinery of the Workers Party and the Brazilian government, was the central figure in the scheme.

Prosecutors allege that the charismatic former union leader had personally received some 3.7 million reais ($1.11 million) in bribes, including a luxury apartment on the coast of Sao Paulo from one of the engineering and construction firms at the centre of the bribery scandal, OAS.

Lula has denied ownership of the three-floor condo in Guaruja.

Lula`s case will go before crusading anti-corruption Judge Sergio Moro, who has jailed dozens of executives and others involved in the scheme.

Former first lady, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, has also been charged.

Lula has separately been indicted by a court in Brasilia for obstruction of justice in a case related to an attempt to persuade a defendant in the Petrobras scandal not to turn state`s witness.

BLOW TO LULA MYTH

Lula, 70, has not ruled out running again for president in 2018, but a criminal conviction would bar him from being a candidate for the next eight years.

His fall, as well as that of the leftist party he founded in 1980, has been dramatic.

A one-time shoeshine boy and union leader who led massive strikes against Brazil`s military dictatorship, contributing to its downfall, he was elected the nation`s first working class president in 2002 after three failed campaigns.

Wildly popular with Brazil`s poor, Lula`s social policies helped yank millions out of poverty and into the middle class, and he left office in 2010 with an 83-percent approval rating and an economy that grew at a blistering 7.5 percent.

But two years ago, as the Petrobras probe became public, prosecutors began to slowly put Lula in their crosshairs.

Many prosecutors and investigators say they cannot imagine such a powerful figure was unaware of the institutionalized corruption and political kickbacks taking place at Petrobras and other state-run companies.

Marcos Troyjo, a former Brazilian diplomat and co-director of Columbia University`s BRICLab in Rio de Janeiro, said he thinks Wednesday`s charges are the first of many Lula will be facing in the coming months.

"That means the Workers Party, which may have thought it would move comfortably into the opposition after Dilma`s impeachment, will confront extreme challenges," said Troyjo. "It`s certainly the beginning of the end to Lula`s presidential aspirations for 2018."

Recent polls have shown that despite the investigations targeting Lula and the Workers Party, he would be a favourite to win the next presidential election.

"But these charges are likely too big a blow to the political myth of Lula, to the candidate Lula and to the Workers Party as a whole for that to happen," Troyjo said.

($1 = 3.3408 Brazilian reais)
Manila: Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament on Thursday, in explosive allegations against the Philippine president.

The self-described assassin told a Senate hearing that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people over 25 years on Duterte's orders - one of them fed alive to a crocodile.

Many of the others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said have left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Duterte's spokesman said the allegations had already been investigated without charges being filed while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony "mere hearsay" of "a madman".

Matobato said that in 1993, he and other members of the death squad were on a mission when they approached a road blocked by the vehicle of an agent from the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation.

A confrontation degenerated into a shootout. Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of the southern city of Davao at the time, then arrived on the scene, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. Jamisola (the justice department official) was still alive when he (Duterte) arrived. He emptied two Uzi magazines on him."

His testimony fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind a death squad that killed more than a thousand people in Davao, where he was mayor for most of the past two decades.

"Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis," said Matobato.

He said they killed mainly criminal suspects and personal enemies of the Duterte family between 1988 and 2013.

Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, said he doubted that the then mayor could have ordered the killing of 1,000 people.

"I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that. The Commission on Human Rights already investigated this a long time ago and no charges were filed," he said.

Another spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the allegations needed to be properly scrutinised.

"Whatever testimonies, statements that the chairperson (of the Senate committee) are saying, we will have to have a proper investigation regarding that."
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has challenged Uganda to take deliberate efforts to end violence against journalists.

The director for freedom of expression and media development Mr.Guy Berger was speaking to KFM in relation to the numerous cases of violence by the police against Ugandas journalists ahead of the International Day to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

Over the past 4 years, the United Nations has passed 8 resolutions about the safety of journalists, including the one which proclaimed November 2nd International Day to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.

Mr. Berger says that sadly in some cases government has turned a blind eye on violation of journalists rights by security personnel. The most recent is the unresolved case of Andrew Lwanga, a Television Journalist who was beaten up and his spinal cord damaged by a the former DPC Old Kampala Police Station Joram Mwesigye in January 2015, while covering a peaceful demonstration by a group of unemployed youth along Namirembe Road in Kampala.

He adds that access to information is a key factor for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that were agreed upon by all UN member countries in 2015 and must be promoted by all government organs.

One goal says Peace, Justice Strong institutions and a target within that is there must be public access to information and fundamental freedoms. Of course you can only have public access to information if journalists are free to do their work, Mr. Berger said in an interview with KFM.

Mr. Berger adds that it is for this reason that the UN has resolved to use it as a measure of public access to information with regard to laws on information and safety of journalists.

He also challenges the government of Uganda to ensure that there is punishment for those who attack, maim or kill journalists.

Why its import is because when society sees there is no justice for journalists there realize there is no rule of law and that they themselves are not being protected. So there is a lot of work that governments must do to ensure journalists are free to do their work, said Mr. Berger.

He says failure to protect journalists impacts negatively on image of the country internationally so its in the interest of these governments to protect journalists while they execute their duties. If journalists are not free to do their work, the people will not have information to decide what to do with their lives and for good information to flow you need a free media, explains Mr. Berger.

Mr. Berger says many activities have been organized across the world to run over the next 6 weeks in the build up to the International Day to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists slated for 2 November 2016.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised by UNESCO and the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights on Strengthening Judicail Systems and African Courts to protect safety of journalists and end impunity, in Arusha, Tanzania on September 10th.

Story By Catherine Ageno
Bali: A German woman was killed and about 20 other people were injured in an explosion on Thursday on a speedboat that was ferrying them from the Indonesian tourist island of Bali to neighboring Lombok, police said.

Karangasem district police chief Sugeng Sudarso said the "Gili Cat 2" fast boat had about 40 people including crew on board. He said all the passengers have been evacuated and the injured are being treated at a local medical clinic.

Police have not yet determined the cause of the explosion, but a member of the forensics team investigating the scene said initial indications are it was an accident. The officer didn't want to be named because he is not an official police spokesman.

Sudarso said the explosion occurred after smoke was seen billowing from the engine.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago made up of thousands of islands where regulation of boat services is often lax.

Sudarso said the explosion, which occurred when the boat was about 200 meters (220 yards) from the port of departure, shattered its rear windows and upended seating.

"We are still questioning the boat captain while a forensic team is examining the scene to find of cause of the explosion," he said.

"One of the passengers died from bad injuries after being hit by boat debris that also caused injuries to others," Sudarso said.

Aside from Germany, a manifest showed that passengers were from several other countries, including Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.

Bali became a byword for tragedy in 2002 when bombings by Jemaah Islamiyah militants killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

A sustained security crackdown since then has weakened JI but counter-terrorism officials say there is still a threat of attacks from militants inspired by the Islamic State group.
GREENSBORO, N.C.: Hillary Clinton got back on the campaign trail on Thursday after taking three days off for pneumonia, and the Democratic presidential candidate faced a more challenging political landscape, with Republican rival Donald Trump rising in opinion polls.

Senior Clinton aides said they always expected the race to the Nov. 8 election to be close. But it was clear from a raft of new polls that Trump had halted a summer swoon after taking steps to deliver a less freewheeling, more polished performance on the stump.

Clinton, 68, appeared in good health on a visit to the press section of her campaign plane while flying to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a rally where she sought to refocus her campaign on the plight of the working class.

"I want you to think with me for a minute about how I certainly feel lucky when Im under the weather I can afford to take a few days off," she said. "Millions of Americans cant."

On Sunday, Clinton nearly collapsed at a ceremony marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York.

Her illness coincided with a mini-surge by Trump, who has drawn even or taken a slight lead in national polls. Polls in battleground states where the race is likely to be decided showed Trump now leading in Iowa, Ohio, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina.

Clinton`s campaign chairman, John Podesta, said the candidate and her aides expected the contest to be close.

"We always expected the race to tighten up, we still feel like were in a strong position with organizational advantage in Florida and Ohio," Podesta told reporters on Thursday. "They call these states battlegrounds for a reason."

In a speech at the New York Economic Club, Trump stuck to his script, avoiding the more improvisational style that has produced a cornucopia of controversies.

Trump pushed a package of tax cuts he said would help power the U.S. economy to an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent.

The New York businessman said his goal would be 4 percent growth, a target originally championed by Republican primary rival Jeb Bush. Trump said the growth would generate 25 million new jobs.

His economic package resurrected a decades-old debate on whether tax cuts can generate sustainable growth. But the overarching impression left by his speech was one of Trump talking about substantive issues and avoiding the frivolous.

Bob Shrum, a Democratic strategist who managed 2004 candidate John Kerry`s unsuccessful campaign, said Clinton remained the favourite to win the White House, with demographic changes favouring her over Trump, who is heavily reliant on white voters.

What has hurt Clinton, Shrum said, is not the time taken off from the campaign trail but rather her decision to keep her pneumonia diagnosis last Friday secret until forced to disclose it - which reinforced a perception among voters that she has a penchant for secrecy.

"Fairly or unfairly, what this was taken as was more evidence that she was not transparent and thats what hurts her," Shrum said. "She been far more transparent than Trump but she hasnt gotten any credit for it."

Democrats have sought to pressure Trump to release his tax returns but the Republican has said he will not release them until a federal government audit has been completed. Clinton has released her tax records.

With the candidates` health in the spotlight, Trump, 70, on Thursday released details of a recent physical examination, a day after Clinton released specifics on her medical condition.

Trump`s campaign said the results of his physical showed the fast-food fan has normal cholesterol with the help of a statin drug, weighs 236 pounds (107 kg) and has normal blood pressure.

In a not-so-subtle slap at Clinton, the Trump campaign said his medical report showed he "has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigours of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States."

Trump also appeared on the "Dr. Oz Show" to discuss his health in an interview with host Mehmet Oz, a surgeon.

Top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri said "one upside" of Clinton`s unplanned break was the chance to "sharpen the final argument Clinton will present to voters in these closing weeks."

"Our campaign readily admits that running against a candidate as controversial as Donald Trump means it is harder to be heard on what you aspire for the country`s future, and it is incumbent on us to work harder," Palmieri said in a statement.

Trump backers on Capitol Hill said they were heartened by the tightening race after a call on Thursday morning with Trump`s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who mapped out what the campaign was doing. She promised a more policy-driven approach from Trump in the race`s final stretch.

"The poll numbers are just looking phenomenal as you move away from registered voters to likely voters," Republican U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold of Texas said.

In a move to jump-start momentum, Clinton`s campaign announced on Thursday that U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont would campaign for her on Saturday in the battleground state of Ohio.

Warren is a progressive leader in the Democratic Party, and Sanders waged a hard-fought primary race against Clinton. At events aimed at younger voters, both will discuss Clinton`s plan to reduce college tuition costs.
Washington: The United States and Russia agreed that the Syrian cessation of hostilities that began on Monday had largely held and should be extended for another 48 hours despite the sporadic violence, the US State Department said on Wednesday.

The cessation of hostilities, brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, went into effect on Monday night.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry and Lavrov had spoken by telephone earlier on Wednesday and agreed it was worth extending the truce.

Under the deal, the United States and Russia are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not a party to the truce.

"There was agreement that as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding, and violence is significantly lower in comparison with previous days and weeks," Toner told a briefing.

"As part of the conversation they agreed to extend the cessation for another 48 hours," he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict through contacts on the ground, said no deaths from the fighting had been reported in the first 48 hours of the truce.

"This recommitment will initially be for 48 hours, and, provided it holds, the US and Russia will discuss extensions, with the aim of achieving an indefinite extension to lower the violence," Toner explained later.

He said Russia needed to use its influence over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to ensure that humanitarian aid was delivered to besieged communities under the agreement.

"We haven`t seen the humanitarian access yet so we`re still continuing to assess this, talking to the Russians," he said. "We`re pressuring them to pressure the Assad regime."

Two aid convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, that were headed for the city of Aleppo have been held up since crossing the Turkish border, according to United Nations and other officials.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Tuesday the United Nations was waiting for Damascus to issue letters authorizing the aid deliveries, which are desperately needed in Aleppo, the scene of Syria`s fiercest fighting in recent months.

The UN has estimated that well over half a million people are living under siege in Syria.

The five-year-long civil war in Syria has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than 11 million people have been displaced.
Washington: Edward Snowden, a former CIA contractor who leaked classified government documents is not a whistleblower, but someone who risked national security and American lives, the White House said, dimming his hopes of a presidential pardon from Barack Obama before he demits office.

"There actually is a specific process that is well-established and well-protected that allows whistleblowers to raise concerns that they have, particularly when it relates to confidential or classified information, to do so in a way that protects the national security secrets of the US. That is not what Snowden did," Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

"Edward Snowden is not a whistleblower," Earnest said.

"His conduct put American lives at risk and it risked American national security. That is why the policy of the Obama administration is that Snowden should return to the US and face the very serious charges that he is facing," he told reporters yesterday.

Snowden, 33, is accused of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property for leaking sensitive data to the media about National Security Agency's internet and phone surveillance.

He faces at least 30 years in jail in the US, and has been living in exile at an undisclosed location in Russia since June 2013. His residency permit expires next year.

Earnest maintained the long-held position of the US government that Snowden will be "afforded the rights that are due to every American citizen in our criminal justice system."

"But we believe that he should return to the United States and face those charges," he said, adding that there is no communication between Snowden and the US president.

"I'm not aware of any conversations or any communications between Snowden and the president," he said.

Snowden, on the other hand, argues that though he leaked secret data, the information have benefited the public as they led to a improvement in privacy protection laws.

Snowden has asked Obama for clemency in an interview with a UK newspaper, saying: "If not for these disclosures, if not for these revelations, we would be worse off."

"Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing. But that is perhaps why the pardon power exists - for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things," he said.
London: The British government said Thursday it was giving the green light to a controversial new nuclear project at Hinkley Point after Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review.

"Having thoroughly reviewed the proposals for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government`s agreement," Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement.

"Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation".

The board of French state-owned power company EDF approved its participation in the project in southwest England on July 28, only for Britain`s new government under May to announce hours later that it wanted to review it.

China has a one-third stake in Hinkley Point, and analysts have warned that Britain would have risked its relations with the world`s second-largest economy if it cancelled the costly deal.
Geneva: Syria`s government is holding up delivery of UN aid that was supposed to move unhindered under a U.S.-Russian peace deal, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday.

"The government, I repeat the government, was expected to provide... permits, authorisations," de Mistura told reporters in Geneva. They "have not been received", he added. The lack of permission was "a very major disappointment" even for Syria`s ally Russia, de Mistura said.

The reduction in violence since the U.S.-Russia agreement came into force at sunset on Monday had been substantial, but expecting a "cessation of hostilities" was perhaps ambitious after a war of five years, he said.

His humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said there had been no reports of civilian killings in the past 24 hours and attacks on schools and hospitals had stopped.

Egeland said aid convoys could reach besieged zones such as Moadamiyah, al Waer and Douma by the end of the week if the permits were issued, which would be simple to do.

"Can well-fed grown men please stop putting political, bureaucratic and procedural road blocks for brave humanitarian workers that are willing to go to serve women, children, wounded civilians in besieged and crossfire areas?" Egeland said.

De Mistura said some people had used the argument that offices were closed during this week`s Muslim Eid holiday, and the Syrian government had been "a little bit slow" during Eid, but he would not accept that as a valid reason.

Egeland said he hoped aid could go to Aleppo on Friday, but first all fighting forces had to disengage from the Castello Road supply route.

Castello Road has special status under the U.S.-Russia agreement and the United States and Russia are expected to manage a demilitarisation of the route, allowing new checkpoints to ensure the flow of aid, de Mistura said.

"Russia and the US are now expected ... to deliver the Castello Road new arrangement," he said. "We heard today from the Russians that that is already taking place."
Welcome! You have come to the right place. Khmerization is a home to the Cambodian daily news, which is updated twice daily. Please take a tour and enjoy yourself. Thank you.

To contact Khmerization please send an email to:
Australias first agriculture technology accelerator SproutX is taking shape and is now open for applications to its pre-accelerator program.

Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull first announced the initiative in December 2015 as a joint venture between the National Farmers Federation (NFF) and Findex, Australias largest privately-owned professional services company.

SproutX has raised over $1 million in funding for operations from the Victorian Government and strategic partners like Ruralco, a publicly-listed rural services and distribution provider.

The initiative is now raising a $10 million fund to invest in the startups that will go through its accelerator. This fund will be an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) giving investors tax benefits and it will be raised by Artesian Venture Partners, a Melbourne-based alternative investment manager.

How will SproutX work?

The first stage of the initiative is a 6-week pre-accelerator program that will accept 100 startups and put them through a free, online program of weekly lectures. The startups will be set milestones to achieve during the period, such as market validation, proof of concept and basic budgeting, which will represent about 10 hours of work a week. If they succeed, the program will award them $1k in cash and $10k in services.

Next is the main accelerator, a 6-month program, which will provide startups with seed funding in exchange for an equity stake. A line-up of partners that offer distribution, marketing, media exposure and technology will be made available for startups. Successful startups in the pre-accelerator have a better chance of making it onto the main accelerator, but it is not a shoe-in, said Sam Trethewey, general manager of SproutX.

You dont need to have done the pre-accelerator to go into the main one, but success during it will be beneficial, he said.

Tretheweys growing team, which has now reached five staff, will manage the selection process alongside a selection panel.

While Findex has provided 800 square meters of office space for the program, it will be partly online and hopes to encourage entrepreneurship in various regions of the country.

Australia is the most urbanized country in the world, so we want to keep people in their regions and not force them to flock to Melbourne, said Trethewey. So that might mean we include a certain number of face-to-face meetings to enable startups to take part in the program remotely.

Startups in the program will receive investment from the $10 million fund under terms that will be set before the program begins.

To apply for the pre-accelerator, click here.
A U.S. resolution condemning the oppression of Cambodias political opposition and human rights groups passed on Tuesday in Washington as the U.N. Human Rights Council convened in Geneva to highlight recent rights abuses in Cambodia and elsewhere.Prime Minister Hun Sens thuggish regime continues to crack down on his political opposition and other activists, arresting and beating those who oppose his rule, Congressman Ed Royce, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said on the floor before the vote.This systematic persecution of the governments opposition completely undermines the legitimacy of upcoming local elections, as well as the countrys 2018 national elections, said Mr. Royce, a California Republican and longtime critic of Mr. Hun Sen.The U.S. House of Representatives resolution, updated since its May introduction to reference the July murder of political analyst Kem Ley and last weeks conviction of deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha, urges Mr. Hun Sen to end all harassment and intimidation of Cambodias opposition and drop all politically motivated charges against opposition lawmakers.Meanwhile in Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council convened its 33rd regular session with an agenda that includes the presentation of reports outlining alleged human rights abuses in Cambodia, which will be discussed later this month.In his introductory remarks, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein defended the U.N. body against what he described as frequent attacks from around the world in response to credible allegations of violations including prosecutions that appear politically motivated.Efforts to duck or refuse legitimate scrutiny raise an obvious question: What, precisely, are you hiding from us? Mr. Al Hussein said.The U.N. human rights office issued a statement last week expressing its deep concern over the escalating atmosphere of intimidation of opposition politicians, their supporters, civil society, and peaceful demonstrators in Cambodia. It also said the trial of Mr. Sokha had a weak evidentiary basis and accompanying procedural flaws.The government responded by claiming that the U.N. was attempting to meddle in Cambodias internal affairs and interfere in its judiciary.Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan on Tuesday shrugged off the U.S. resolution, saying it would have no tangible impact on the Cambodian government.We dont take that resolution seriously, Mr. Siphan said, explaining that it was pushed through by a contingent of U.S. congressmen who supported the CNRP. Cambodia has no obligation to abide by it.What many are calling suppression of opposition politicians in Cambodian was simply a matter of punishing criminals, he said.They have full rights and freedoms to do politics here, but we have a few politicians who abuse the law, so they are to sit in front of the court, Mr. Siphan said.Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, currently living in exile to avoid a two-year prison sentence, said that even if the CNRP had lobbied U.S. congressmen for the resolution, the American lawmakers had acted according to their consciences.Asked if the congressmen behind the resolution were CNRP supporters, he replied: No, all the concerned U.S. House Representative support democracy in Cambodia.Sophal Ear, associate professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, noted that the latest resolution lacked teeth.Its about going on the record, a bit of political persuasion, and an attempt to influence foreign affairs, Mr. Ear said in an email. But theres no bite. What do they propose to do? Nothing.A spending bill approved by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee in July proposes to make U.S. aid to Cambodia next year contingent on an end to the governments harassment of the opposition and civil society. The bill has yet to reach the Senate floor.Mr. Ear said measures laid out in another bill now being considered by the U.S. House of Representativeswhich would allow the U.S. to freeze foreigners assets and ban their visas if they have committed gross human rights violationscould be far more effective.No more trophy U.S. visas to brag about on Facebook and shopping trips by the misses for Birkin bags and luxury goods; no more real estate buying sprees to launder ill-gotten gain, he said. It could be a real game-changer. 2016,
Aspirin-maker Bayer's planned 58.8-billion-euro ($65.7 billion) takeover of the US seed and pesticide producer Monsanto is the biggest ever by a German company

German chemicals giant Bayer announced Wednesday a $66 billion deal to buy controversial US seeds and pesticides firm Monsanto, triggering immediate criticism from farmers and environmentalists.

After a months-long pursuit, Bayer said its US peer had accepted an improved offer of $128 per share for Monsanto in an all-cash transaction, avoiding the need to resort to a hostile takeover.

If completed, the 58.8-billion-euro deal would mark the largest-ever takeover by a German firm and would create one of the largest firms in the agribusiness sector.

"The combination with Monsanto represents the kind of revolutionary approach to agriculture that will be needed to sustainably feed the world," Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann told investors in a conference call.

But investors' reaction in the US, where Monsanto shares rose 0.6 percent but remained more than $21 below the deal price, suggested deep market doubts that the deal can pass financial and antitrust hurdles.

Bayer's share price initially leapt on news of the deal but fell back as the afternoon wore on, gaining 0.3 percent to 93.55 euros.

Meanwhile environmental groups geared up for a fight. In a nod to fierce opposition in Europe to Monsanto's use of genetically modified crops and its potent herbicide Roundup, Friends of the Earth labelled the tie-up a "marriage made in hell".

"This mega corporation will be doing its best to force damaging pesticides and GM seeds into our countryside," campaigner Adrian Bebb said in a statement.

The National Farmers Union in the US said the Bayer deal, along with other pending agricultural mergers, "are being made to benefit the corporate boardrooms at the expense of family farmers, ranchers, consumers and rural economies."

The group said it looked forward to making its case at a congressional hearing next week to be chaired by Senator Charles Grassley, who plans to press antitrust regulators to ensure that farmers benefit robust competition from suppliers. Grassley represents the farm-rich midwestern state of Iowa.

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"Iowa farmers who I've spoken with are worried about rising input costs, especially in an increasingly weak agriculture economy," Grassley said in a statement. "Today's announcement will only heighten those concerns."

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, Bayer said, though it still requires shareholder and regulatory approval.

Baumann said that he had already "received encouraging feedback" from regulatory agencies.

"There is very little overlap" between the two companies that might concern regulators, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant told investors on Wednesday. "I think it's a very clean deal."

But the Bayer-Monsanto tie-up comes in the wake of two other proposed mega-mergers involving US companies DuPont and Dow Chemical, and Swiss company Syngenta and ChemChina.

They also come as low crop prices take a toll on farmer incomes in many countries.

German Green Party MEP Martin Haeusling insisted that "it's up to German regulators and European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager to stop Bayer from dominating the worldwide agrochemicals market."

- A long engagement -

Bayer -- best known as the company behind aspirin -- has been wooing Monsanto since late May, when it made an initial bid of $122 per share, valuing the crop giant at $62 billion.

Monsanto rejected that bid, but said it was "open" to further talks.

The 153-year-old German chemicals behemoth then raised its offer twice more but was rebuffed each time as Monsanto held out for more money.

Under its final bid, Bayer also offered to pay Monsanto a $2-billion fee in case the merger is rejected by US or European authorities.

"We do not like this transaction, because we think that Bayer is overpaying significantly," wrote analyst Peter Spengler of DZ bank on Wednesday before the deal was confirmed.

But Bayer said that it expects synergy savings from the merger will allow it to add $1.5 billion to its underlying profit as measured by EBITDA within three years.

Added together, Bayer and Monsanto booked sales of 23 billion euros in 2015.

- Cries of dismay -

As well as Monsanto's genetically modified crops, environmental campaigners in Europe are also highly critical of its best-selling weedkiller Roundup, whose active ingredient glyphosate is suspected of being a carcinogen.

In Europe, debate about glyphosate has reached Brussels, where EU member states in July voted to restrict its use by the bloc's farmers for 18 months.

The merged firm "will play a defining role in deciding which seeds and pesticides come onto the market," warned Greenpeace agriculture expert Dirk Zimmermann.
The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, a twin-engine, supersonic, all weather multirole fighter, was in the running for the Danish order, which had been debated for over 10 years

Boeing accused the Danish government Thursday of overseeing a "fundamentally flawed" process to replace its fleet of fighter jets which saw the US defence giant lose out to competitor Lockheed Martin.

In June, Denmark decided to replace its ageing fleet of F-16s with 27 US-built Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters in a deal valued at 20 billion kroner (2.69 billion euros, $3.02 billion).

Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter's Typhoon model were also in the running for the order, which had been debated for over 10 years.

"We believe the ministry's evaluation of the competitors was fundamentally flawed and inaccurately assessed the cost and capability of the F/A-18 Super Hornet," Debbie Rub, a Boeing vice president, said in a statement.

The company had submitted a request for the defence ministry to provide "all materials related to the fighter procurement evaluation and decision announced in June," it said.

"We're taking this step because there's too much at stake for Denmark and, potentially, other countries considering the Super Hornet," Rub said.

She described it as "the first step toward bringing a formal legal challenge."

Boeing said it had voiced concern earlier this year over the Danish evaluation process, in particular with a government estimate that "the Super Hornet would cost up to twice as much as detailed in US Department of Defense budget documents."

Danish Defence Minister Peter Christensen said it was "natural" that only the company behind the winning bid would be happy with the outcome of the process.

"I note that we have had a very thorough and transparent process," he told Danish news agency Ritzau.

Denmark is one of nine partner countries, that also include Britain, Canada and Turkey, who are helping pay for the futuristic F-35A fighter jet's development.

The country expects to take delivery of the F-35s between 2021 and 2026.
Someone  possibly the government of China  has launched a series of probing attacks on the internet's most critical infrastructure, using carefully titrated doses of denial-of-service to precisely calibrate a tool for shutting down the whole net.



Security expert Bruce Schneier, who consults for many of these infrastructure firms, describes in general terms the confidential information he's been privy to, describing these systematic, iterative probing attacks and speculating on the kind of end-game they'll result in. Though Schneier doesn't know who's behind these attacks, he says the data "suggests China, an assessment shared by the people I spoke with"  but he adds it could also be another country trying to pin the blame on China.



I am unable to give details, because these companies spoke with me under condition of anonymity. But this all is consistent with what Verisign is reporting. Verisign is the registrar for many popular top-level Internet domains, like .com and .net. If it goes down, there's a global blackout of all websites and e-mail addresses in the most common top-level domains. Every quarter, Verisign publishes a DDoS trends report. While its publication doesn't have the level of detail I heard from the companies I spoke with, the trends are the same: "in Q2 2016, attacks continued to become more frequent, persistent, and complex." There's more. One company told me about a variety of probing attacks in addition to the DDoS attacks: testing the ability to manipulate Internet addresses and routes, seeing how long it takes the defenders to respond, and so on. Someone is extensively testing the core defensive capabilities of the companies that provide critical Internet services.



Someone Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet

[Bruce Schneier/Lawfare]





(Image: Castle Romeo, United States Department of Energy, PD)





(via Dan Hon)
By Eric Auchard and Tova Cohen FRANKFURT/TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Mobileye broke ties with Tesla Motors because the Silicon Valley firm was pushing the envelope in terms of safety with the design of its Autopilot driver-assistance system, Mobileyes chairman said on Wednesday. "It is not designed to cover all possible crash situations in a safe manner," Amnon Shashua, who is also chief technology officer at the Israel-based maker of collision detection and driver assistance systems, told Reuters. No matter how you spin it, (Autopilot) is not designed for that. It is a driver assistance system and not a driverless system, he said in an interview. The safety of Autopilot, which helps drivers stay in lanes and steer on highways, was thrust into the public spotlight after a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S driver using the new technology in May. Tesla said in a blogpost after the accident that "neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied." A Tesla spokeswoman said Wednesday the company had never described Autopilot as an autonomous technology or self-driving car. "Since the release of Autopilot, weve continuously educated customers on the use of the features, reminding them that theyre responsible to keep their hands on the wheel and remain alert and present when using Autopilot," the spokeswoman said. "Drivers must be prepared to take control at all times." However, drivers using Autopilot were able to take their hands off the wheel at highway speeds for several minutes at a time. YouTube videos proliferated soon after the system's launch last fall showing Tesla drivers driving hands-free, prompting Musk to express concern about drivers doing "crazy things." The company in January said it was modifying the system. AN UNUSUALLY PUBLIC RIFT On Sunday, Tesla said it would update Autopilot to make it more difficult for drivers to ignore warnings to keep hands on the wheel and other changes that Musk said would probably have prevented the fatality in May. Musk said Sunday as drivers became familiar with the system, they tended to ignore audible warnings to retake the wheel. Still, Musk said the revised system will allow a driver's hands to be off the wheel for up to three minutes while following a car at highway speeds. Shashua's comments escalate an unusually public rift in an industry where suppliers and automakers rarely speak ill of each other in public. After Mobileye announced its break with Tesla in July in the wake of the fatality, Tesla said in a statement that Mobileye could not keep pace with Teslas product changes. Our parting ways was inevitable," Musk told a press conference in late July. Shashua said the company had reservations about the mixed messages from Tesla about Autopilot - both boasting of its capabilities while cautioning that drivers needed to keep their hands on the wheel - especially after watching Teslas response to the Florida crash. Long term this is going to hurt the interests of the company and hurt the interests of an entire industry, if a company of our reputation will continue to be associated with this type of pushing the envelope in terms of safety, he said. The company counts as customers 27 automakers for its collision detection systems, which represent around 70 percent of the current market. Tesla and Musk have also said the Florida death was the first known fatality involving a car operating on Autopilot in 130 million miles of driving, and have contrasted that to the average of one death every 60 million miles of driving by vehicles worldwide. (Additional reporting by Paul Lienert and Joe White in Detroit and Alexandria Sage in San Francisco; Editing by Greg Mahlich and James Dalgleish)
Two years after the Marine Corps started issuing a lighter, improved Enhanced Combat Helmet to deploying troops, the service is beginning a process to get the helmet into the hands of every Marine.

The service published a pre-solicitation notice this summer for up to 84,376 helmets. The service has already fielded 77,000 of the helmets, beginning in 2014.

There's just one catch.

"We don't have any funding right now," Charles Bell, product manager for infantry combat equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command, told Military.com in an interview.

Bell said the Marine Corps submitted a request to Congress for $22 million in Fiscal 2017 to purchase the helmets. The request appears as a line item on the service's $2.7 billion unfunded priorities list, a wish list of projects, programs and equipment beyond what appears in the president's budget request.

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2017 has yet to pass Congress, and will require significant reconciliation between the House and Senate versions before it can. Currently, the House version of the bill, which cuts into war spending to buy more equipment and maintenance, contains funding to field the helmet, while the Senate version does not.

The Enhanced Combat Helmet was developed in collaboration with the Army and Navy as protective equipment that leveraged cutting-edge technology to protect Marines against the most common war-zone threats.

It is designed with the same cut as the modular communications helmet, used primarily by reconnaissance and signals intelligence Marines. It replaces the lightweight helmet, which is currently fielded to Marines as standard.

Originally made by 3M-Ceradyne, the helmet was hailed as a breakthrough at its 2013 unveiling, featuring on that year's "100 Best Innovations" list in Popular Science for its 35 percent improvement in ballistic protection.

"The Marine Corps is now moving toward a single-helmet solution that will provide superior protection to all Marines across the force," SYSCOM spokeswoman Barb Hamby said in an email. "Manufactured with the latest lightweight material technology, the ECH provides improved ballistic protection against specific small arms and fragmentation."

Bell said fielding the Enhanced Combat Helmet to all 182,000 Marines -- the service's ultimate goal -- would allow the Corps to reduce the variety of helmets in circulation, increasing efficiency and minimizing logistical challenges.

The Marine Corps is expected to release a request for proposals for the helmet in coming days, as it hopes funding to field the gear will materialize.

"What the Marine Corps is doing is giving a higher protection helmet to everybody," Bell said.
The offices of Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO) are shown in Newport Beach, California August 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake (Reuters)

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co accused former star bond fund manager Bill Gross of leaking confidential bonus data and exercising "bad faith" in pursuing a $200 million lawsuit over his sudden September 2014 departure from the firm.

In a court filing dated Tuesday, Pimco said Gross admitted to having revealed 2013 compensation data to a Bloomberg News columnist after leaving Pimco, as part of his "sad obsession" with attacking the firm he co-founded and his former colleagues.

Pimco said Gross should be ordered to turn over materials it is entitled to see and be sanctioned for dragging his heels.

It cited, as an example, Gross' alleged failure to turn over emails about his exit from Pimco with the chief executive of his current employer, Janus Capital Group Inc <JNS.N>, which Pimco said it uncovered through a subpoena to Janus itself.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE <ALVG.DE>, said Gross' "egregious misconduct" supports its argument that it would have had "good cause" for terminating his employment.

In his lawsuit filed last October, Gross claimed that Newport Beach, California-based Pimco forced him to resign so it could distribute his bonus to others.

Patricia Glaser, Gross' lawyer, in a statement on Wednesday called Pimco's "off-topic insults and baseless accusations" an attempt to deflect blame from its own misconduct.

"The only party trying play 'hide the ball' is Pimco," she said.

Both sides are expected to appear in the California Superior Court in Santa Ana on Sept. 16.

Pimco said Gross' disclosures to the columnist at Bloomberg, which competes with Reuters News, included data for one-time Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian, his successor Douglas Hodge, and Daniel Ivascyn, who succeeded Gross as chief investment officer.

It also said Gross admitted to giving compensation details to eight or nine managing directors prior to leaving Pimco.

Story continues

That revelation included a note to recipients, "let's get our fair share in December," according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the note.

Gross denied that Pimco had a right to take any adverse action over the disclosures, according to Tuesday's filing.

Gross is worth $2.4 billion according to Forbes magazine, and has pledged to donate proceeds from his lawsuit to charity.

At Pimco, he built the flagship Pimco Total Return fund <PTTRX.O> into the world's largest bond fund. Gross now runs the much smaller Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund <JUCAX.O>.

The case is Gross v. Pacific Investment Management Co et al, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 2015-00813636.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)
(Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Thursday it was collaborating with Intel Corp to develop a wearable technology platform to track the progression of disease in patients with Huntington's, a fatal degenerative disorder. The inherited condition causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain, resulting in a gradual decline in motor control, cognition and mental stability. There are no approved drugs to alter the course of Huntington's, although there are medicines that help with symptoms. Patients typically succumb to the disease within 1525 years of diagnosis. Teva , with Intel, will deploy the technology as part of an ongoing mid-stage Huntington's study, the Israeli company said on Thursday. Patients will use a smartphone and wear a smartwatch equipped with sensing technology that will continuously measure functioning and movement. The data from the devices will then be wirelessly streamed to a cloud-based platform, developed by Intel, that will translate it, in near real-time, into scores to assess motor symptom severity. The line between pharmaceuticals and technology is blurring as companies join forces to tackle chronic diseases using high-tech devices that combine biology, software and hardware. Accurate monitoring using wearables is expected to dovetail with a drive to offer so-called value-based healthcare. The aim is to prove that medicines can keep large groups of patients healthy, thereby improving their appeal to cost-conscious insurers. That gives drugmakers a major incentive to offer services that go beyond routine drug prescriptions. Businesses such as Apple , Samsung Electronics <005930.KS> and Alphabet, are all trying to find health-related applications for a new wave of wearable products. Earlier this month, Sanofi and Verily, the life sciences unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc , announced a joint venture combining devices with services to improve diabetes care. In August, GlaxoSmithKline and Verily created a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, a novel field of medicine called bioelectronics. Verily is also working on development of a smart contact lens in partnership with Swiss drugmaker Novartis that has an embedded glucose sensor to help monitor diabetes. Sanofi also has a diabetes deal with Alphabet, while Biogen is working with the tech giant to study the progression of multiple sclerosis. Teva, last year, announced it would partner with IBM's Watson Health. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru and Steven Scheer in Jerusalam; Editing by Susan Thomas and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Could long afternoon naps raise your risk of developing type 2 diabetes?

It's possible but not yet proven, according to new research out of Japan. The study found that, compared with short naps or no napping at all, the risk for the blood sugar disease may be 45 percent higher if your naps last an hour or more.

But if you nap less than an hour, the risk disappears, the researchers suggested.

Dr. Joel Zonszein is director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He said the possible connection between long daytime naps and a risk for type 2 diabetes is interesting.

But, added Zonszein, who had no part in the study, "People need to be aware that this study, and these findings, are just associations or markers of lifestyles rather that the cause of diabetes."

The results of the study were to be presented Wednesday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Munich, Germany.

For the study, a research team led by Dr. Yamada Tomohide, from the University of Tokyo, analyzed data on more than 300,000 people included in 21 published studies -- a process called a meta-analysis.

In this type of study, researchers try to find common patterns from other research and draw new conclusions. The problem with meta-analyses is that the conclusions are only as good as the original data.

Tomohide's team found that naps lasting an hour or more were associated with a 45 percent increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Shorter naps had no effect on diabetes risk, however.

"Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacy [effectiveness] of a short nap," Tomohide's group concluded.

Zonszein said that "type 2 diabetes is a very complex disorder that can be affected by many environmental factors, including sleep patterns -- particularly in those individuals that have genetic factors to develop diabetes."

Mixing all these different studies, which were done among diverse populations, may not yield the most reliable results because "naps may reflect certain lifestyles and different lifestyles in different countries and different societies," he noted.

There are long naps, and even longer naps, and a key question is why some people nap longer, Zonszein said. "Maybe longer naps are short periods of sleep and more common in those individuals with long working hours, stress all day, working more than one job, and maybe stress is associated with fast-food eating, etcetera. So, the long nap is just a marker of lifestyle," he said -- a lifestyle that could potentially contribute to the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease often linked to unwise lifestyle choices such as poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Maybe those who take short naps have less stress and more leisure time than those who take longer naps. And "that may explain why the study found that short naps weren't linked to a possible type 2 diabetes risk," Zonszein said.

"It is difficult to use this meta-analysis to support causation; it can simply be an association," he said.

Dr. Gerald Bernstein is coordinator of the Friedman Diabetes Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He also had no hand in the study.

However, he said, napping can cause blood sugar to rise and if you take long naps regularly and are predisposed to diabetes, that rise in blood sugar might trigger diabetes.

Bernstein agreed that the new study only shows a link between long naps and diabetes -- not that napping causes diabetes. Still, "if you're going to nap, make it short," he said.

More information

To learn more about type 2 diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association.
Guatemala Cops Raid Jewish Cult Lev Tahor Wanted for Abusing Children

Unconfirmed reports say police took children away from parents, and that Israeli officials were present at the raid on the Lev Tahor community.



Haaretz, Israel/September 14, 2016



By Yair Ettinger

After having been forced to abandon Israel, the United States and Canada amid accusations of child abuse, the radical ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect is now under investigation in Guatemala, where it has been based for the past two years.



Guatemalan media reported that police had conducted a raid lasting several hours on the village where over 200 Lev Tahor members live. One unconfirmed report said children were taken away from their parents, and another said that Israeli officials were present during the raid.



The Foreign Ministry said in a press statement last night that Israel was cooperating with Guatemalan authorities.



The Guatemalan authorities recently decided to investigate members of the community on suspicion that serious criminal offenses, including against minors, are being committed in the compound where they live, the statement said. The relevant Israeli authorities are in direct contact with the Guatemalan authorities and are following developments closely in order to ensure the welfare of Israeli citizens, most of them minors, who are in the Lev Tahor communitys compound in Guatemala.



The community is headed by Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, an Israeli who fled the country with a group of his disciples in 1990. For the past 15 years, most of the community has been wandering around North and South America, most recently in Guatemala. But the sect also has members in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh.



Relatives of Lev Tahor members have testified in recent years that Helbrans and his senior disciples use extreme, violent methods to retain control over the community, including abuse, corporal punishment of children, use of psychiatric drugs, kidnapping children from their parents and forcing young girls to marry older men. In Canada, these suspicions resulted in criminal proceedings against some community members, and several children were taken from their parents.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - The African Union says it plans to send observers to help Gabon's Constitutional Court with a legal complaint lodged by opposition leader Jean Ping, who accuses President Ali Bongo of cheating to secure victory in an election last month. The dispute led to riots that killed at least six people and brought unwelcome international scrutiny for Bongo, whose family has ruled the central African OPEC member for nearly 50 years. Ping, who officially lost by fewer than 6,000 votes, last week applied to the court to authorize a recount in the Haut-Ogooue province, Bongo's stronghold, where the president won 95 percent of the votes on a 99.9 percent turnout. The Peace and Security Council of the African Union requested that its executive branch deploy observers from other French-speaking African countries "to assist the Constitutional Court of Gabon", it said in a statement late on Tuesday. The European Union, which sent an official observation team to the election and has cited anomalies in the poll results from Haut-Ogooue province, will maintain observers in the country. It was not clear what level of access observers would have to the internal deliberations of the court, which is due to decide on the recount by Sept. 23. The government has stressed that the court is neutral and also accused Ping's supporters of irregularities in the polls, allegations repeated on Wednesday by Faustin Boukoubi, secretary-general of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party. Boukoubi also called upon the international community to act responsibly, though he did not specifically mention the African Union. "We have no doubt that our partners and the friends of Gabon will objectively involve themselves in preserving our peace and that no member of the international community will contrive to pour fuel on the fire," he told reporters. Ping says he has no faith in the judicial body because of its ties to the Bongo family. The head of the court, Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo, was the long-time mistress of Ali Bongo's father Omar Bongo, who ruled for 41 years. Ping is himself a longtime political insider and was a close ally of Omar Bongo. He fathered two children with the current president's sister, Pascaline. Ali Bongo's opponents complained to the court after he won his first term in 2009, and the court upheld his victory following a recount. Gabon's former colonial ruler France, which has a military base in the country and a large stake in the oil sector via major Total, has urged the court to examine the opposition's complaint transparently and impartially. It has ruled out intervening militarily in the dispute, as it has done previously in parts of Africa. (Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Additional reporting by Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa and Emma Farge in Dakar; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Alison Williams)
Outrage has grown worldwide over the plight of villagers and indigenous people being thrown off land sold to logging and mining companies, as well as agribusiness (AFP Photo/Isaac Kasamani)

The Hague (AFP) - Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court on Thursday put big business and politicians on notice of a greater focus on environmental destruction and illegal land grabs as possible crimes against humanity.

In a new ICC internal policy, chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office would "give particular consideration" to crimes committed by or resulting in "the destruction of the environment, the illegal exploitation of natural resources or the illegal dispossession of land".

The landmark move was hailed by environmental and rights activists who said it could act as a strong deterrent to big business and corrupt politicians around the world.

"No western company wants to be accused of crimes against humanity through obtaining mining concessions in Asia or Africa," lawyer Richard Rogers, who has filed a case at the ICC against land grabs in Cambodia, told AFP.

Outrage has grown worldwide over the plight of villagers and indigenous people being thrown off land sold to logging and mining companies, as well as agribusiness.

The non-governmental organisation Global Witness said millions had been dispossessed around the world. And they calculate that at least three people a week are killed defending their lands.

The ICC move "shows that the age of impunity is coming to an end", said its executive director Gillian Caldwell in a statement.

"Company bosses and politicians complicit in violently seizing land, razing tropical forests or poisoning water sources could soon find themselves standing trial in The Hague alongside war criminals and dictators," she added.

Helen Brady, senior appeals counsel in the prosecutor's office who chaired the policy's working group, told AFP the ICC was "not adding new crimes" to those already set out in its guiding Rome Statute.

"What we're acknowledging is an emphasis, or an expanded focus by this office... on these crimes that are committed by means of this destruction of environment or dispossession of property".

Story continues

-'21st century' challenges-

This focus -- along with prioritising crimes against children, gender-based violence and cultural destruction -- will "move the ICC to become an international criminal court for the 21st century and beyond", she added.

It "does send a powerful message and is something that could be listened to by would-be perpetrators", Brady said.

Based in The Hague, the ICC began work in 2002 to prosecute the world's worst crimes where domestic courts are unwilling or unable to act.

A total of 124 countries and territories have so far signed up to the Rome Statute.

Prosecutors have opened full investigations into 10 cases, all in Africa apart from Georgia, seeking to gather the evidence to bring charges. There are also nine preliminary probes going on, the step before a full inquiry.

There are also six ongoing trials.

But the Rome Statute does also "cover crimes which can be committed in peacetime" such as the forcible removal of people from their lands, said Brady.

Lawyers already filed in 2014 a large dossier to the prosecutor's office asking her to open an investigation into land grabs in Cambodia.

Some 850,000 people are believed to have been forced off their land in the past 15 to 20 years, as plots of Cambodian land have been sold off to foreign companies often from China and Vietnam, said Rogers.

The new emphasis at the ICC will send "a message to these kleptocracies around the world who have stayed under the radar for such a long time", said the lawyer with the London-based firm Global Diligence LLP.

"These type of crimes like environmental destruction are some of the great challenges of our age," he added.
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer after Indonesia, will raise its crude palm oil export tax to 6.5 percent in October from 5 percent in September, according to a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board website on Thursday.

The Southeast Asian nation calculated a reference price of 2,879.47 ringgit ($698) per tonne for October. A price above 2,250 ringgit incurs a tax, which starts from 4.5 percent and can reach a maximum of 8.5 percent.

Malaysia last raised the tax in July from 5.5 percent in June.

($1 = 4.1250 ringgit) (Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Joseph Radford)
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman revealed that his office has opened an investigation into Donald Trump's charity foundation "to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York."



"My interest in this issue really is in my capacity as regulator of nonprofits in New York state. And we have been concerned that the Trump Foundation may have engaged in some impropriety from that point of view," Schneiderman told Jake Tapper on CNN's The Lead late Tuesday. "And we've inquired into it, and we've had correspondence with them. I didn't make a big deal out of it or hold a press conference. We have been looking into the Trump Foundation to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York."



The investigation comes as a series of reports by the Associated Press and The Washington Post have raised questions about Trump's charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation. In a story published over the weekend, the Post reported that Trump had not donated to his own foundation since 2008 and alleged that he "spent $20,000 of money earmarked for charitable purposes by buying a 6-foot-tall painting of himself."



The Trump Foundation was fined $2,500 by the IRS earlier this month for making an illegal donation of $25,000 to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2013, who at the time was considering opening an investigation into allegations against Trump University. Bondi dropped the case but Schneiderman later filed a fraud lawsuit against Trump University in August 2013. Both Trump and Bondi have denied any wrongdoing.









Hillary Clinton on Donald Trump: 'We Were Not Friends'





Jason Miller, a senior communications adviser for the Trump campaign, released a statement calling Schneiderman, a Democrat who supports Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, "a partisan hack who has turned a blind eye to the Clinton Foundation for years and has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.



"This is nothing more than another left-wing hit job designed to distract from Crooked Hillary Clintonas disastrous week," Miller said.





Are you planning on voting in this year's election? We want to know! Take our survey: https://t.co/b6KMj1ZeAt a People Magazine (@people) August 15, 2016





Meanwhile, President Barack Obama criticized Trump and his foundation while campaigning for Clinton at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday.



Referencing criticism the Clintons have faced over the Clinton Foundation, Obama said, "You want to debate foundations and charities? One candidate's family foundation has saved countless lives around the world."



"The other candidate's foundation took money other people gave to his charity and then bought a 6-foot-tall painting of himself. I mean, he had the taste not to go for the 10 foot version," Obama added to laughs.
New York (AFP) - Internet radio leader Pandora unveiled plans Thursday to challenge streaming stalwarts such as Spotify by undercutting them on price and matching them with on-demand music.

The move comes after prolonged market jitters over the future of Pandora at a time that on-demand streaming is reshaping the music industry.

Pandora said that its premium service would cost $4.99 a month -- half its earlier cost and half the subscription prices for Spotify and Apple Music.

The company said the new Pandora Plus will include more advanced features to be rolled out in the coming months.

Among them is an automatic switch to offline radio stations whenever a subscriber loses an internet connection -- avoiding the sudden blackouts that remain an annoyance on streaming services.

Pandora said it would launch an on-demand subscription platform later this year. The service, whose pricing was not immediately revealed, would follow the model of Spotify in letting users select any song at any time.

Pandora, whose users overwhelmingly choose its free advertising-backed tier, said it would make the level more interactive.

Listeners will be able skip or repeat songs if they click on a video commercial -- a feature likely to delight advertisers who are crucial to the company's bottom line.

Tim Westergren, the company's co-founder who returned earlier this year as CEO, said Pandora wanted to give users "flexibility" in what they listen to and how much they pay.

"Whether a listener wants to take advantage of our enhanced ad-supported experience, our groundbreaking subscription radio service or our fully interactive on-demand option coming later this year, we have a solution tailored for you at a price point you can afford," he said in a statement.

Pandora later Thursday said it had reached a licensing agreement with Warner Music for the on-demand service, two days after announcing deals with the other two major label conglomerates, Universal and Sony Music, and indie network Merlin.

Story continues

Pandora share prices closed flat Thursday despite a surge on the US market.

- Reviving stagnant growth? -

Pandora, launched in 2000, designed itself as a radio network with stations based on genre and, more recently, automatically personalized around listeners' selections.

It had 78 million active users at the end of June -- an impressive number, but a slight fall from a year earlier.

Spotify by contrast has posted breakneck growth. The Swedish company said Wednesday that its number of paying subscribers soared by one-third in just the past half-year to 40 million, out of total users of 100 million when including its free tier.

Spotify's audience tends to be younger, while Pandora's strengths include casual listeners and restaurants and businesses looking to create a musical mood.

Global revenue from streaming rose more than 45 percent in 2015 alone, according to the IFPI industry group, leading the music industry to post its first significant growth since the start of the internet age.

Apple Music as well as Tidal, led by rap mogul Jay Z, have sought a bigger slice of the market by promoting exclusives -- such as, for Tidal, the latest album by Jay Z's wife Beyonce.

Apple Music, launched by the tech giant last year, recently said it had 17 million paying subscribers -- posting steady growth but significantly trailing Spotify.

As for Tidal, the Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper in Norway, where the service's parent group Aspiro is based, this week reported that the company has suffered heavy losses and received around 100 payment default notices.

Unlike the major on-demand services, California-based Pandora has a limited global reach due to complex government regulations.

Outside of the United States, Pandora is only available in Australia and New Zealand where the new features will come out next year.
London (AFP) - Britain finally gave the go-ahead Thursday for Hinkley Point, its first nuclear plant in a generation, but set conditions to address concerns over China's role in a flagship project for Europe's nuclear sector.

The announcement, welcomed by its French and Chinese backers, came two months after Prime Minister Theresa May caused shockwaves by ordering a review of the 18 billion (21 billion euro, $24 billion) deal brokered under her predecessor, David Cameron.

China has a one-third stake in the project and analysts had warned that Britain could have jeopardised relations with the world's second-largest economy if it scrapped the deal while critics said it could give China the power to turn off the lights.

Jean-Bernard Levy, chief executive of the French state-owned power company EDF, said the move "relaunches nuclear power in Europe".

EDF's board had already approved its participation in the project in southwest England in July when May's government suddenly announced it was pausing it.

"We have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation," Britain's Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement, while pledging fresh measures "to enhance security".

He told parliament that the plant's construction would create 26,000 jobs and guarantee seven percent of Britain's electricity needs for 60 years.

It will be "a huge boost to the economy", he said.

- 'National security' test -

One of Downing Street's prime concerns was over the security implications of allowing China to take such a large stake in a critical infrastructure project.

Beijing's state-run China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN), the Chinese investor in Hinkley Point, was also set to take the lead in the Bradwell power station project in Essex in southeast England.

But Clark's ministry explained the government was taking steps to ensure it could intervene to stop any sale of EDF's stake and to give the government more control over future nuclear projects.

Story continues

Olivia Gippner, a fellow in EU-China relations at the London School of Economics, said the framework was aimed at China but "by introducing a general national security test rather than focusing only on Chinese investment, this is a very diplomatic solution".

CGN said in a statement on social network Weibo it was "delighted" at Thursday's announcement and would now "move forward and deliver" on Hinkley Point, as well as the Bradwell plant.

Chinese state media also welcomed the approval, but accused Britain of suffering from "China-phobia".

"Finally, London has made a welcoming move by giving the go-ahead order to a key nuclear power plant programme after it was suspended over some fictitious 'national security' concerns about Chinese investment," the Xinhua news agency said in a signed commentary.

"Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development."

- 'Huge' obstacles -

CGN is set to finance 6.0 billion of the cost of the Hinkley Point plant, with EDF providing the remaining 12 billion.

EDF's share price was down 1.5 percent in afternoon trading on the Paris stock exchange following concern about how the company will fund construction.

But French Prime Minister Manuel Valls hailed the deal as "excellent news" for France's nuclear sector and domestic employment.

May called French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday evening to tell him that the British government had approved the project, the French presidency said.

Critics have focused on an electricity price guarantee to be paid to EDF of 92.5 for every megawatt hour of power produced by Hinkley for the next 35 years, rising with inflation, despite falling energy prices.

However, professor Juan Matthews from the University of Manchester explained that future reactors were expected to produce cheaper power and that Hinkley was needed to help meet carbon emission targets.

"The strike price (the cost of electricity) for nuclear plants is generally substantially lower than those for renewable energy," he said.

Campaigners against Hinkley Point meanwhile handed in a petition with more than 300,000 signatures to May's Downing Street office on Thursday with environmental pressure group Greenpeace.

The Hinkley facility will not be operational until 2025 -- two years later than originally planned when the deal was first unveiled.

Steve Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at London's Greenwich University, said there was still "a number of major hurdles to get through before Hinkley can go ahead" including financing at EDF's end.
The U.S. and Dutch authorities have since the spring of 2014 investigated historical transactions related to Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan in 2007. On the evening of 14 September, Telia Company received new information from the authorities with proposals from them for a settlement with the company. The information received was general and did not go into much detail but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately USD 1.4 billion which corresponds to approximately SEK 12 billion for all investigations. I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility. We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter. With that said, our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyze the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities, says Telia Companys Chairman Marie Ehrling. Analyst and media telephone conference at 8.30 a.m. CET Telia Company invites you to a conference call with Telia Companys President and CEO Johan Dennelind, General Counsel Jonas Bengtsson and CFO Christian Luiga. Dial-in number: +44 (0) 1452 555566 Access code: 83137312 You can also listen to the conference call afterwards until September 20, 2016. Replay number: +44 (0) 1452550000 Access code: 83137312 Telia Company AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instrument Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at time 7:45 on September 15, 2016. For more information, please contact our press office +46 771 77 58 30, visit our Newsroom (http://www.teliacompany.com/en/newsroom/) or follow us on Twitter @Teliacompany (https://twitter.com/Teliacompany). Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in the press release relating to future status or circumstances, including future performance and other trend projections are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to many factors, many of which are outside the control of Telia Company. Were Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the worlds most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, were the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 - on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, were set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at http://www.teliacompany.com/.
Latvian English

Olaine, 2016-09-15 16:25 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

August 2016, consolidated sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to August, 2015 Share in total sales Latvia 2 179 33% 32% Russia 1 366 -48% 20% Ukraine 964 182% 14% Belarus 495 -44% 7% Uzbekistan 301 147% 4% Czech Republic 250 1866% 4% Kazakhstan 209 29% 3% Brazil 120 NA 2% Lithuania 80 -17% 1% Germany 76 NA 1% Other 720 -11% 11% Total 6 760 1% 100%

Sales of pharmacy chain of SIA Latvijas aptieka in August were 1.47 million euro, which represents an increase by 18% compared to the same period of last year. Sixty two pharmacies were operating during august 2016. Sales of SIA Silvanols during August 2016 were 0.36 million euro, which represents an increase by 57% compared to August of 2015. SIA Silvanols was selling its products in six European countries and with the help of AS Olainfarm also to Lithuania, Azerbaijan and Russia. Sales of SIA Tonus Elast during August 2016 were 0.76 million euros. The company sold its products to 23 countries in four continents.

According to preliminary consolidated numbers, the amount of sales of AS Olainfarm in eight monthf of 2016 was 70.35 million euro, which represents an increase by 8% compared to eight months of 2015. The biggest sales increase was achieved in Uzbekistan, where sales grew by 112%. Sales to Poland increased by 75%, while sales to Ukraine increased by 51%. The major sales markets in eight months were Russia, Latvia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Eight months of 2016, consolidated sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to eight months of 2015 Share in total sales Russia 20 946 -6% 30% Latvia 16 436 13% 23% Ukraine 11 488 51% 16% Belarus 5 771 23% 8% Uzbekistan 1 751 112% 2% UK 1 589 4% 2% Kazakhstan 1 568 -4% 2% The Netherlands 1 090 -76% 2% Turkmenistan 1 067 38% 2% Poland 992 75% 1% Other 7 647 31% 11% Total 70 345 8% 100%

Sales of pharmacy chain of SIA Latvijas aptieka in eight months was 12.3 million euros, which is an increase by 14% compared to eight months of 2015. Sales of SIA Silvanols in eight months of 2016 were 3.1 million euros, which represents an increase by 29%, as last year during this period sales of SIA Silvanols were 2.4 million euros. Products of SIA Silvanols during this period were sold to eleven European countries and with a help of AS Olainfarm also to Albania, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia. Sales of SIA Tonus Elast in three months was 2.1 million euros. Its products were sold to 28 countries in four continents.

According to preliminary unconsolidated data, sales of AS Olainfarm during August 2016 were 4.94 million euros, which represents a reduction by 16% compared to sales made during August of 2015. The biggest sales increase was achieved in Ukraine, where sales grew by 182%, while sales to Uzbekistan grew by 147%. Major sales markets of AS Olainfarm during August 2016 were Russia, Latvia, Ukraine and Belarus. During August 2016, products of AS Olainfarm were sold to 25 countries in three continents.

August, 2016, consolidates sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to August 2015 Share in total sales Russia 1 366 -48% 28% Latvia 1 094 21% 22% Ukraine 964 182% 20% Belarus 483 -45% 10% Uzbekistan 301 147% 6% Kazakhstan 121 -26% 2% Brazil 120 NA 2% Lithuania 79 -10% 2% Germany 73 NA 1% Bulgaria 62 NA 1% Other 274 -63% 6% Total 4 937 -16% 100%

According to unconsolidated preliminary numbers, sales of AS Olainfarm in eight months of 2016 were 59.65 million euros, which represents an increase by 4% compared to the same period of 2015. The biggest sales increase during this period was achieved in Uzbekistan, where sales grew by 112%. Sales to Ukraine grew by 50%, and sales to Lithuania grew by 44%. Major sales markets of AS Olainfarm during this period were Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Belarus. In total, during this eight months period products of AS Olainfarm were sold to 38 countries in four continents.

Wight months of 2016, unconsolidated sales Sales, thsnd. EUR Changes to eight months of 2015 Share in total sales Russia 20 545 -8% 34% Ukraine 11 404 50% 19% Latvia 8 739 9% 15% Belarus 5 748 23% 10% Uzbekistan 1 751 112% 3% UK 1 540 1% 3% Kazakhstan 1 336 -18% 2% The Netherlands 1 090 -76% 2% Turkmenistan 1 067 38% 2% Lithuania 742 44% 1% Other 5 692 17% 10% Total 59 654 4% 100%

AGM of AS Olainfarm held on June 7, this year approved operating plan of the Company and the Group, providing that Companys sales in 2016 will reach 86 million euros, while Groups sales will reach 100 million euros. According to these preliminary sales numbers, in eight months of 2016 sixty nine percent of planned annual Companys sales and 70% percent of planned annual Groups sales have been attained.

JSC Olainfarm is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Latvia with more than 40 years of experience in production of medication and chemical and pharmaceutical products. A basic principle of company's operations is to produce reliable and effective top quality products for Latvia and the rest of the world. Products made by the Group are being exported to more than 35 countries of the world, including the Baltics, Russia, other CIS, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
DGAP-Media / 15.09.2016 / 18:39 exceet Group SE LU0472835155 "exceet shareholders approve capital reduction" Luxembourg, 15 September 2016 - 06:30 p.m. - exceet Group SE (the "Company") hereby announces that the shareholders of the Company in their extraordinary general meeting (EGM) today agreed to the proposals tabled by the management board and by the board of directors of the Company. The Company's share capital was decreased by EUR 216,000.00 from EUR 527,960.16 to EUR 311,960.16 and the entire amount of Class B shares (5,210,526 shares) and the entire amount of Class C shares (9,000,000 shares) were cancelled; in connection with these cancellations, as soon as practicable after 15 October 2016 the Company will pay a cash consideration to the former holders of the Class B shares and of the Class C shares at the price equal to the nominal amount per share of EUR 0.0152 each. The articles of association of the Company were amended and fully restated accordingly. The total number of shares and voting rights of the Company now amounts to 20,523,695 shares and voting rights. Please contact for further information: Wolf-Gunter Freese, acting CEO & CFO - Email: Investor.relations@exceet.lu exceet Group SE 115, avenue Gaston Diderich L-1420 Luxembourg Phone +352 26 29 91 22 ISIN LU0472835155 (Public Shares), Regulated Market, Prime Standard, Frankfurt/Main exceet will announce the 3Q results for 2016 on 7 November 2016 (after closing of the market) About exceet exceet is an international technology group, which is specialized in the development and production of intelligent, complex and secure electronics. End of Media Release --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issuer: exceet Group SE Key word(s): Enterprise 15.09.2016 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: exceet Group SE 115, avenue Gaston Diderich L-1420 Luxemburg Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Phone: +352 2629 9122 Fax: +352 2629 9150 E-mail: info@exceet.ch Internet: www.exceet.ch ISIN: LU0472835155, LU0472839819 WKN: A0YF5P, A1BFHT Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange End of News DGAP Media --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 502395 15.09.2016
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AUBURN  The commander of the new USS Indiana submarine visited two sites in northeast Indiana Wednesday morning.

Commander Jesse Zimbauer toured the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn and Wick-Fab Inc. in Avilla, which has been a contractor for U.S. Navy.

Ray Shearer, chairman of the USS Indiana Commissioning Committee, accompanied Zimbauer. They traveled in a pickup truck towing a replica of the new submarine that will take to the seas next year.

The ship is the first submarine named for Indiana and the first ship to carry the USS Indiana name since a battleship in World War II.

Its literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved in naming a ship for a state, Shearer said.

The purpose of touring Indiana is to teach the crew about the state and help Hoosiers learn about the ship.

Two things we do really well: We either grow things, or we build things, Shearer said in explaining Indiana to Zimbauer. They visited the auto museum, with its display of cars built in Auburn, for a glimpse of Indianas manufacturing heritage.

At least 55 Indiana manufacturing companies are making components for the USS Indiana, Shearer added. A key part of the ship, its nuclear reactor vessel, was made in Mount Vernon.

Its Hoosier hands who are actually building that ship, Shearer said.

Indianas in the submarine business, Zimbauer said.

The new submarines crest features symbols of Indiana manufacturing and agriculture, a silhouette of the World War II-era USS Indiana and the motto Silent victors, taken from the Soldiers and Saliors Monument at the center of Indianapolis.

For the Commissioning Committee, The ultimate goal is building a support organization  that will continue to support the crew for the next 30-some years, Shearer said.

Plans call for christening the submarine in February 2017. It will be tested at sea next July and August, with official commissioning planned for January 2018.

As the 16th Virginia-class submarine, the USS Indiana will have enhanced stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements, according to the ships website, ussindiana.org.

The USS Indiana is under construction at Newport News, Virginia. It will be 377 feet long and 34 feet wide, with a top speed of more than 25 knots.

when submerged.
Wet weather and heavy rains this summer did little to hamper this years big slate of construction projects around the region. But those hoping for an end to detours and closed traffic lanes still have a while to wait.

Seven highway construction projects this summer have been the bane of commuters trying to get to and from La Crosse, Holmen, Onalaska and the surrounding communities. Some will be wrapping up by the end of this month, with others finishing in October or early November, giving drivers a respite from slower speed limits, lane changes and crossovers.

The completion of the Hwy. 35 project will be welcome news for businesses along the highway between Onalaska and Holmen. Some, like the Shadow Run Motel, have seen business decline this summer as customers have avoided the congestion.

This was the slowest summer in his three years at the motel, manager John Davis said. Anglers and business travelers are Shadow Runs regular customers, and some avoided the motel during the worst of the construction or were leery of trying to haul their boats through the congestion.

At the Blue Moon, managing partner Dustin Nimtz said there was some slowdown during the worst of the construction, but for the most part, regular customers were able to get through by taking alternate routes. Loyal customers are a big part of the business, he said, and the community support during the construction process has been stellar.

Both said the final product will be worth the inconvenience. With the new roundabouts on the highway and the addition of extra lanes for turning, both managers predicted businesses along Hwy. 35 will see uptick as drivers have an easier time of navigating the roadway.

We are definitely looking forward to it being done, Davis said. When it is done, it will bring in a lot more business.

It was the seventh-wettest summer on record for La Crosse, with the region receiving half a foot more rain than normal. Inclement weather days are built into construction timetables and budgets, and nearly all the projects were able to weather the storms, except the construction on Hwy. 33, which is about two weeks behind schedule, project manager Brian Meyer said.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is working with the contractors to get caught up, Meyer said, modifying the contract to allow construction crews to start some portions of the project a little earlier in order to offset the delays. The project also dealt with soil complications that required extra digging and fill.

Even with the struggles, Meyer said the DOT aims to meet the Nov. 15 target.

Here is a look at each of the seven construction projects and where they sit:

Interstate 90 reconstruction

Things are wrapping up on this years $26 million stage of the 2.2-mile I-90 reconstruction project from Round Lake Bridge in the town of Campbell to Theater Road in Onalaska. Project Manager Rob Winterhorn said crews are close to finishing the paving of the eastbound lanes, and the Rose Street bridge is scheduled for completion in October.

Traffic might switch to the new lanes in early November he said, and the closed ramps will open after this stage of the project finishes later that month at the latest. The final stage of the project will begin next year as crews reconstruct Rose Street.

Highway 35

The Hwy. 35 project is on schedule, Waldo said, for an end-of-October completion date. The $10 million project will improve 3.5 miles of the highway by reconstructing the highway and adding left turn lanes, raised medians, roundabouts at Riders Club Road and Mason Street, a multi-use path, and both left and right turn lanes.

Traffic is reduced to one lane, Waldo said, and will switch to the outer lanes in the next week or so. Riders Club Road should also open within the next two weeks.

Theres still a lot of work going on, Waldo said. People should slow down and pay attention during construction.

Hwy. 16

Despite all the rain, the Hwy. 16 project remains ahead of schedule, project leader Dale Merten said. The nearly $13 million project is reconstructing three miles of the highway between Onalaska and West Salem and required a detour earlier this summer as road crews dug and graded.

Traffic reopened to one lane in each direction in July, with a crossover. The location of the crossover may change as the project progresses, with the last pieces of pavement being put in over the next few days.

Paving for a multi-use path on the south side of the roadway will begin in the next few weeks, Merten said, and crews will work on finishing touches such as turn lanes, curb and gutters.

The original timeline had the project ending around Thanksgiving. It could be finished earlier in the month.

Despite this being the seventh-wettest summer on record for La Crosse  the region received half a foot more rain than normal  nearly all area projects are on schedule.
An Onalaska High School graduate has recently provided some fresh insight for anyone interested in the relationship between Russias President Vladimir Putin and Turkeys President Recep Erdogan.

Christopher Hellie, a 2001 OHS grad, is among the contributors to Global Risk Insights, which describes itself as a world-leading publication for political risk news and analysis.

Hellie wrote on Aug. 23 that an apology and official condemnation by Erdogan for the shooting down of a Russian plane last year was the beginning of a deliciate diplomatic dance aimed at creating an alternative alliance for the sitting president. Erdogan blamed the shoot down on elements of the military who recently attempted a coup against him.

Hellie also noted that Erdogans first visit outside the country after the failed coup was to Russia, A more than symbolic gesture toward NATO and the West of his shifting alliances. The article goes on at some length to describe the potential economic and political agreements between Russia and Turkey in the light of Turkeys strained relationship with the European Union and the United States.

I learned of Hellies recent posting on Global Risk when his parents, Dan and Irene, who are retired and living in Arizona, visited us recently. I asked them about Chris and when we Googled him, the new post (http://globalriskinsights.com/2016/08/erdogan-2/) showed up, the first they had seen it.

After leaving Onalaska, Chris graduated from St. Thomas University and was a platoon leader and company executive officer with the First Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, serving 16 months in Iraq. He later served in Afghanistan as a humanitarian aid worker and received a masters degree in international commerce from George Mason Universitys School of Public Policy. The Global Risk website bio says he is a consultant and advisor working in the United Arab Emirates.

Hellie concluded his essay, noting that Putin has strategically placed himself as Erdogans savior, positioning himself as an alternative to increasingly demanding Western requirements of transparency and a return to democratic principles.Anyone with a stake in that outcome, which, in a way, is all of us, should be aware that the future of Turkey may lean more to the East than to the West.

Chris also has a new venture, his parents told us.

He is the founder and CEO of Traveling Wonk, a tour company focused on policy, education and culture in Asia and the Middle East. Hes specializing now in Sri Lanka, featuring tours of surfing areas, tea growing, wildlife areas, and Sri Lanka culture. And theres a tour in October offered in partnership with Vogue Crossfit, The premier fitness gym in the Gulf region. On the southern coast of Sri Lanka, Vogue trainers will lead clients through a customized workout package that includes Crossfit-style workouts, high-intensity beach training sessions, and informational sessions on nutrition and workout recovery. The website is travelingwonk.com if youre interested in a high-intensity workout in Sri Lanka.

Our area school districts often refer to preparing their students to live in a global society. I offer Chriss story as an example of the complex mix of skills and experience required to carry a local high school graduate to a place in the global community. There are many such stories and, no doubt, many more to come, but it takes a commitment from all of us to maintain a strong public education system that provides the platform for such growth.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  Facebook has chosen a village on the edge of New Mexicos largest metropolitan area as the location for its new data center, an announcement that spread quickly Wednesday as elected officials celebrated a hard-fought win that could have ripple effects for the states struggling economy.

News of the social media giants decision to build in Los Lunas, just south of Albuquerque, comes after a roller-coaster contest between New Mexico and Utah to attract the facility.

The courting of Facebook began more than a year ago with a meeting between Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and Facebook executives. During a visit to California, Martinez and her economic development team pitched the sparsely populated state as a good place to do business.

New Mexico wasnt on the radar before that August 2015 meeting.

With the improvements weve made over the past several years, New Mexico is finally competing again, and in this case, its a big win for the people of our state and our economic future, the governor said.

While the project has enjoyed broad political support in New Mexico, local leaders in Utah pushed back against a tax-incentive plan they saw as too generous.

Utah supporters said the project would bring a high-tech cachet that could draw other companies to West Jordan, but critics said the cost was too high for land that could attract other development.

The village of Los Lunas, meanwhile, agreed to give up all property taxes for 30 years in exchange for annual payments from Facebook that start at $50,000 and top out at less than $500,000. The complex economic development agreement also involves tax breaks on billions of dollars in computer equipment over time.

In Utah, an initial $240 million tax-break plan publicly fell apart after several leaders said the lure was too rich. Despite talks being revived, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert later said the deal looked dormant, if not dead.

West Jordan Mayor Kim Rolfe said hes disappointed his city wasnt chosen and the tax-break package was unfairly maligned. The billion-dollar project would have been an economic boon, he said.

A critic of the Utah plan, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, said the cost to taxpayers was too steep.

We will walk away from a bad deal. Were not so desperate that were willing to give everything away, he said.

Construction is expected to start next month, with the center coming online in late 2018.
The Mount News Center

Featuring the extraordinary people, stories and news of Mount St. Mary's University, America's oldest independent Catholic university. Members of the media looking for information about setting up interviews, finding faculty experts or gaining access to campus for stories should contact Executive Director of Communications Donna Klinger at 301-447-5657 or d.j.klinger@msmary.edu.

Have a question, comment to share or want to find a photo from this week's big event? Check out the Mount on our social media channels!
FRA Grants to Improve Safety at Rail Crossings in 14 States

The projects are located in California, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas, with grants for improvements to stations and grade crossings in Montana and for track improvements in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $25 million in grants this week to increase safety at railroad crossings, train stations, and tracks in 14 states and in Washington, D.C. -- with 23 projects in all getting the money. FRA had received 40 eligible applications requesting $67.5 million, nearly three times the $25 million that Congress provided in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act that funds the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The projects are located in California, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas, with grants for improvements to stations and grade crossings in Montana and for track improvements in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

"It is vitally important that we invest in safety as rail continues to play an increasingly larger role in this country, transporting tons of freight and millions of passengers each day," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Sept. 12. "These grants will help address some of the improvements that are crucial to ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient railroad networks."

The grants fund safety improvements to railroad infrastructure, including the acquisition, improvement, or rehabilitation of intermodal facilities; improvements to track, bridges, rail yards, and tunnels; upgrades to crossings; and separating railroad crossings and roads. "A safe railroad network requires continuous investment and upgrades," said FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg. "These grants will improve safety at hundreds of railroad crossings and make important safety upgrades at stations across the country. This is an investment that is desperately needed  and I urge state DOTs to join the FRA in investing more in improving safety at crossings."

FRA requested $520 million for competitive local rail facility and safety project grants as part of the president's FY2017 budget proposal.
NIOSH Funds Two New Total Worker Health Centers of Excellence, Six in All

"New patterns of employment and work restructuring impact the safety and health of workers, and we look forward to working to improve safety interventions in construction, small business, and health care, among others," NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard, M.D., MPH, said.

NIOSH announced it has funded six Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health, with two new centers in Colorado and Illinois joining four existing Centers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Oregon. "The Centers of Excellence represent the extramural portfolio of Total Worker Health (TWH) research funded by NIOSH to further its mission of protecting and advancing the safety, health, and well-being of the diverse population of workers in our nation," the agency's announcement stated.

"The center's regional presence and expertise play an important role in conducting novel research on the important connections between work and health, so vital in a rapidly changing economy," NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard, M.D., MPH, said. "New patterns of employment and work restructuring impact the safety and health of workers, and we look forward to working to improve safety interventions in construction, small business, and health care, among others."

NIOSH defines Total Worker Health as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with the promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts in order to advance worker well-being. This approach prioritizes a hazard-free work environment that protects the safety and health of all workers.

The six Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health include:

The Center for Work, Health, & Well-being in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which is focused on expanding the evidence base for TWH by conducting research on system level approaches, developing and implementing best practices, assessing workplace policies, and building the capacity of trained professionals and organizations to carry out this work.

The Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace, a joint interdisciplinary initiative of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the University of Connecticut with the goal of improving workers' health through a highly participatory process involving front-line employees and top-down organizational support. Its focus is health care workers and correctional officers.

The Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest (formerly known as the Healthier Workforce Center of Excellence) at the University of Iowa, which will continue its focus on small enterprises and expands by partnering with the states of Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas. A target of this center includes developing integrated approaches that address the precarious nature of work in the construction industry.

The Oregon Healthy Workforce Center at the Oregon Health and Science University, which aims to evaluate the TWH concept through research on intervention effectiveness and to determine its impact on workforce and population safety and health. This center's emphasis is on truck drivers and sedentary work.

The Rocky Mountain Center for Total Worker Health at the University of Colorado, which aims to advance the overall health and well-being of workers in the U.S. Mountain Region and highlights workers in small enterprises and high-risk industries.

The University of Illinois-Chicago Center for Healthy Work, aiming to improve the health of the rapidly growing number of vulnerable workers in the United States.

NIOSH established the extramural research Centers of Excellence in 2005. For more information about TWH, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/TWH/.
UN Ag Agency Issues Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in Foods

The action plan calls for raising awareness among farmers, consumers, authorities, and veterinary professionals and building national capacities for surveillance and monitoring.

The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization has released an action plan that aims to help countries combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance in their food supply chains and counter the growing threat of medicine-resistant "superbugs."

"Antimicrobial medicines play a critical role in the treatment of diseases of farm animals and plants. Their use is essential to food security, to our well-being, and to animal welfare," FAO stated in its announcement. "However, the misuse of these drugs, associated with the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant micro-organisms, places everyone at great risk."

The "Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance" will focus on improving awareness of antimicrobial resistance among farmers, veterinary professionals, authorities, policymakers, and consumers. It also emphasizes building national capacities for surveillance and monitoring of AMR and antimicrobial use in food and agriculture and promoting best practices.

FAO says the global use of antimicrobial substances has grown steadily during the past 50 years as animal and fish farmers increasing their use of such medicines. To a lesser degree, antimicrobial substances are spread on plant crops. They are also added in low concentrations to animal feed as a way to stimulate growth.

FAO's plan highlights four key areas for action in food and agriculture:

Improving awareness of AMR issues

Building national capacities for surveillance and monitoring of AMR and antimicrobial use

Strengthening governance related to antimicrobial use and AMR in food and agriculture

Promoting good practices in food and agricultural systems and the prudent use of antimicrobials

Estimated global antimicrobial consumption in the livestock sector is now above 60,000 tonnes per year and, with demand for animal-sourced food products projected to grow steadily in coming decades, the use of antimicrobials will continue to rise, FAO says.
5 Factors That Can Help You Decide Which Singapore Coworking Space is For You

Coworking spaces, which didnt exist in Singapore a few years ago, are now sprouting up like mushrooms. And theyre not just for hipster startup founders either. A slew of atas coworking spaces has recently opened, and theres even one with child-minding facilities for mumpreneurs.

The thing is, signing up to a coworking space is going to cost money, and if youre a solopreneur, that extra $300 to $500++ is going to eat directly into your profit margin.

With the wide range of coworking spaces on offer, there are also more factors to consider when trying to decide if a particular coworking space is going to serve your needs, or whether working there is going to make your work feel like a grind.

Here are five factors to consider before you introduce yourself as a coworking spaces latest member.

1. Is the location convenient?

As a freelancer or business owner, one of the biggest perks you enjoy is not having to face a long, grinding commute to the office every morning along with millions of other dour-faced workers.

So dont pick a coworking space that is so far from your home you waste hours travelling each day. In particular, if youre the sort who likes to start work at 9am, you want to avoid picking a location that will put you in peak hour traffic. Apparently, about 1/5 of coworking spaces are now located in the CBD.

On the other hand, there are some good reasons you might want to be based in a central location, such as if you have to regularly meet clients located in the city, especially those in a more corporate setting, such as bank employees.

At present, there are coworking spaces in the Lavender, Little India, One North and Eunos areas, so pick one thats convenient for you.

2. What are the subscription packages and operating hours like?

No matter how perfect a coworking space is, if their subscription packages dont meet your needs, its pointless to sign up.

Many but not all coworking spaces offer day passes in addition to part-time and full-time packages. Some coworking spaces like The Hive also offer office space, which is great for start-ups who arent ready to commit to renting an actual office yet.

Story continues

13 Open House even offers a co-living option, which means you can basically move into the space. This can be a good option for those without family in Singapore who would need to rent a space either way, or Singaporeans who are looking for an affordable way to move out. On the other hand, if youre just looking for a desk there, youll have to commit to a subscription of at least 6 months.

The operating hours of coworking spaces can differ too. Most offer full-time members 24 hour access, but if youre on a part-time subscription or day pass, youll want to make sure the opening hours suit your schedule.

For instance, The Co. offers 24 hour access to all members except those on a day pass, who can only use the space from 9am to 6pm.

3. Is this the kind of community you want to be around?

This is probably going to be the biggest factor influencing coworking members decision. After all, the main reason so many are willing to pay for a workspace when they could work from home is simply because they get some much-needed human interaction. But you need to be clear about what kinds of humans you want to interact with.

For instance, Trehaus, one of the main draws of which is its on-site childcare facility, is clearly targeted at mumpreneurs.

Makespace appeals more to those working in tech or early-stage startups, and offers opportunities to collaborate or bounce ideas off other members.

The Great Room, on the other hand, is a lot more upmarket and the vibe more professional. Many of their members are already established entrepreneurs.

4. Are the subscription packages within your budget?

No money, no talk. The subscription fees of coworking spaces can vary quite dramatically, so your decision will largely depend on how much you are willing to spend.

For instance, at hackerspace.sg, regular members pay $128 a month for 24-8 access and hotdesking. On the other hand, the much more atas The Working Capitol charges $425 per month for a 24/7 workspot.

5. Are there any other perks?

Joining a coworking space isnt just about securing yourself a quiet desk and wifi. If thats all you wanted, you could just go to one of the National Library branches or Starbucks.

Other than the community, you want to check if there are events and other perks that can make it more worthwhile to become a member. Some coworking spaces are strictly places where you can rent an office to work, while others have more of a community feel.

For instance, at all-girl coworking space Woolf Works, there are numerous workshopsright now theyre doing cyclic meditation, method acting and exercise sessions, as well as numerous lean-in circles where members lend each other support and have facilitated discussions.

At The Hive, there are weekly socials as well as other events like movie nights, quiz nights and lunches.

Joining a coworking space is a bit like joining a country club, without the snobbery and polo shirts. Youre going to be spending a lot of time there, so choose with care.

Have you ever tried a local coworking space? Share your experiences in the comments!

The post 5 Factors That Can Help You Decide Which Singapore Coworking Space is For You appeared first on the MoneySmart blog.

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Oil prices edged up after tanking the previous day but the gains were limited following fresh US stockpiles data and the prospect of a boost in Libyan output.

Both main contracts tumbled almost three percent Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration said gasoline and distilled products inventories rose last week, dampening news of a surprise fall in crude supplies.

Later in the day Libya's National Oil Corporation said it would double production within four weeks after it was handed control of crucial ports that had been seized by forces loyal to the country's rival administration.

Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves.

The news fanned long-running worries about a global supply glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for more than two years.

At around 0750 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up six cents at $43.64 and Brent added 20 cents to $46.05.

"More heartbreak in the oil market overnight for bulls," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst with OANDA trading.

"Brent and WTI futures duly responded by heading south at a rapid rate of knots, making crude the ugliest horse in the glue factory in a tough week for investors."

He said support for WTI was $42.50 and Brent $45.00 "although it must be said (that) neither of the duo are respecting technical levels at the moment".

EY oil and gas analyst Sanjeev Gupta said a meeting of OPEC and Russia in Algeria later this month, and further developments in Libya, will be key influences on prices.

The Algeria meeting is expected to tackle the supply glut although many analysts remain doubtful that a deal can be reached to freeze or slash output.
Healthcare facilities in Singapore are widely regarded as among some of the best in the world. Moreover, Singapore is ranked fourth in the world for innovation in the biopharma industry, according to a recent report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) based in Washington, D.C. In the report, titled, How National Policies Impact Global Biopharma Innovation: A Worldwide Ranking. The ITIF found that five countries (U.S., Switzerland, Taiwan, Singapore, and Sweden) have enacted long term policies that have helped them become leading life-science innovators globally. The report also states, Singapores aggressive push into life sciences has resulted in eight of the top ten global pharmaceutical firms locating their (Asian) regional headquarters there.



The reason that Singapore has been able to achieve such a high ranking is largely due to the enormous amount of government investment over the years in life-sciences research, coupled with low pharmaceutical price controls. Similar to that of most governments in the developed world, Singapore has long held healthcare objectives of providing an efficient and world-class healthcare system. But perhaps where Singapore has a slightly different approach is the importance which the government attaches to the incorporation of new technology into care delivery. This is closely connected with the other goal held by the government of making the country a major hub for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.



According to "Affordable Excellence  The Singapore Healthcare Story by William A. Haseltine, Singapore ranks sixth in the world in healthcare outcomes. This position is well ahead of many developed countries, including notably the United States, where basic healthcare can still extend beyond the reach of too many.



Government funding helps establish pharma hub in Singapore



The impetus provided by the government has helped to build a solid infrastructure for international companies wishing to set up operations in the country. According to the Singapore Economic Development Board, there are seven research institutes and five research consortia in Singapore. They are involved in fields ranging from clinical sciences and genomics, to bioengineering, molecular/cell biology, medical biology, bio-imaging, and immunology. In the field of biomedical science alone, over 50 companies are carrying out research in Singapore.



A host of special incentives, predominantly but not exclusively tax-related, have been provided by the government for research activities. These include the Translational & Clinical Research Flagship Programme for researchers to develop healthcare solutions for patients, and the Competitive Research Programme that provides funding for a wide range of research ideas.



The list of biopharmaceutical companies with manufacturing facilities in Singapore reads like a roster of the worlds leading pharma firms, and includes Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Lonza, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis.



Each of these manufacturing facilities has received validation from international regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and the Japan Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency.



Bio and pharma industries major contributors to Singapores economy



According to data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, biomedical manufacturing contributed just under $30 billion to the nation states GDP in 2014. Of this, pharmaceuticals accounted for nearly $17 billion, and medical technology contributed about $11 billion. This sector employs over 18,000 workers, most of whom are highly skilled and technically qualified.



In April 2016, the Singapore Economic Development Boards Monthly Manufacturing Performance data revealed that without the contribution from the biomedical manufacturing sector, the countrys output would have contracted by 0.1% yoy in April 2016. Thanks to biomedical manufacturing, which saw output expand by 14.6% in April 2016, total national output rose by 2.9% yoy. Pharmaceuticals expanded by 17.7%, while the medical technology segment, which enjoyed strong export demand, grew by 5.4%, for combined growth of 18.6% compared to the same period a year ago.



Going forward: look out for some promising start-ups



Singapore continues to take steps to build on its existing strengths in this sector. Recently, EDBI, the corporate investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board partnered with Royal Philips to jointly invest in companies specialising in digital health.



This tie-up will help startups break into the Asian healthcare market using Singapore as a base. At the time of launching this initiative, EDBI said that it had been supporting the biomedical sciences sector for the last 25 years.



Singapores biopharma sector has already carved out an important place for itself in the region. The coming years should see further expansion as a result of the strong ecosystem that exists for this industry within the country.



(By Ravinder Kapur)



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Britain finally gave the go-ahead Thursday for Hinkley Point, its first nuclear plant in a generation, but set conditions to address concerns over China's role in a flagship project for Europe's nuclear sector. The announcement, welcomed by its French and Chinese backers, came two months after Prime Minister Theresa May caused shockwaves by ordering a review of the 18 billion (21 billion euro, $24 billion) deal brokered under her predecessor, David Cameron. China has a one-third stake in the project and analysts had warned that Britain could have jeopardised relations with the world's second-largest economy if it scrapped the deal while critics said it could give China the power to turn off the lights. Jean-Bernard Levy, chief executive of the French state-owned power company EDF, said the move "relaunches nuclear power in Europe". EDF's board had already approved its participation in the project in southwest England in July when May's government suddenly announced it was pausing it. "We have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation," Britain's Business Secretary Greg Clark said in a statement, while pledging fresh measures "to enhance security". He told parliament that the plant's construction would create 26,000 jobs and guarantee seven percent of Britain's electricity needs for 60 years. It will be "a huge boost to the economy", he said. - 'National security' test - One of Downing Street's prime concerns was over the security implications of allowing China to take such a large stake in a critical infrastructure project. Beijing's state-run China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN), the Chinese investor in Hinkley Point, was also set to take the lead in the Bradwell power station project in Essex in southeast England. But Clark's ministry explained the government was taking steps to ensure it could intervene to stop any sale of EDF's stake and to give the government more control over future nuclear projects. Olivia Gippner, a fellow in EU-China relations at the London School of Economics, said the framework was aimed at China but "by introducing a general national security test rather than focusing only on Chinese investment, this is a very diplomatic solution". CGN said in a statement on social network Weibo it was "delighted" at Thursday's announcement and would now "move forward and deliver" on Hinkley Point, as well as the Bradwell plant. Chinese state media also welcomed the approval, but accused Britain of suffering from "China-phobia". "Finally, London has made a welcoming move by giving the go-ahead order to a key nuclear power plant programme after it was suspended over some fictitious 'national security' concerns about Chinese investment," the Xinhua news agency said in a signed commentary. "Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development." - 'Huge' obstacles - CGN is set to finance 6.0 billion of the cost of the Hinkley Point plant, with EDF providing the remaining 12 billion. EDF's share price was down 1.5 percent in afternoon trading on the Paris stock exchange following concern about how the company will fund construction. But French Prime Minister Manuel Valls hailed the deal as "excellent news" for France's nuclear sector and domestic employment. May called French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday evening to tell him that the British government had approved the project, the French presidency said. Critics have focused on an electricity price guarantee to be paid to EDF of 92.5 for every megawatt hour of power produced by Hinkley for the next 35 years, rising with inflation, despite falling energy prices. However, professor Juan Matthews from the University of Manchester explained that future reactors were expected to produce cheaper power and that Hinkley was needed to help meet carbon emission targets. "The strike price (the cost of electricity) for nuclear plants is generally substantially lower than those for renewable energy," he said. Campaigners against Hinkley Point meanwhile handed in a petition with more than 300,000 signatures to May's Downing Street office on Thursday with environmental pressure group Greenpeace. The Hinkley facility will not be operational until 2025 -- two years later than originally planned when the deal was first unveiled. Steve Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy at London's Greenwich University, said there was still "a number of major hurdles to get through before Hinkley can go ahead" including financing at EDF's end.
AFP News

Ukraine's maritime grain exports were halted Sunday after Russia suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed the vital shipments, blaming drone attacks on its ships in Crimea. The July deal to unlock grain exports signed between Russia and Ukraine and brokered by Turkey and the UN, is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict. The agreement had already allowed more than nine million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to be exported and was due to be renewed on November 19. On Saturday, Russia said it was halting its participation after its army accused Kyiv of a "massive" drone attack on its Black Sea fleet, which Ukraine labelled a "false pretext". US President Joe Biden called the move "purely outrageous" while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Moscow was "weaponising food". The centre coordinating the logistics of the deal said in a statement that no traffic was planned for Sunday. "A joint agreement has not been reached at the JCC for the movement of inbound and outbound vessels on 30 October," it said. "There are more than ten vessels both outbound and inbound waiting to enter the corridor." Ukraine and the UN have urged that the agreement remains in force. "I call on all states to demand that Russia stop its hunger games and recommit to fulfilling its obligations," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Russian move "an absolutely transparent intention of Russia to return the threat of large-scale famine to Africa and Asia". "Just today, more than two million tons of food are in the sea. This means that access to food has actually worsened for more than seven million consumers," he said in his nightly address. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said: "It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that would imperil the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is a critical humanitarian effort". - 'Peddling false claims' - Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea has been targeted several times in recent months and serves as the headquarters for the Black Sea fleet and a logistical hub for operations in Ukraine. The Russian army claimed to have "destroyed" nine aerial drones and seven maritime ones in an attack on the port early Saturday. "In light of the terrorist act carried out by the Kyiv regime with the participation of British experts against ships of the Black Sea fleet and civilian vessels involved in the security of grain corridors, Russia suspends its participation in the implementation of the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports," the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram. Moscow's forces alleged British "specialists", whom they said were based in the southern Ukrainian city of Ochakiv, had helped prepare and train Kyiv to carry out the strike. In a further singling out of the UK -- which Moscow sees as one of the most unfriendly Western countries -- Russia said the same British unit was involved in explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month. Britain strongly rebutted both claims, saying "the Russian Ministry of Defence is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale". Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday Moscow would raise the blasts and the alleged drone attack at the UN Security Council. Moscow's military said ships targeted at their Crimean base were involved in the grain deal. The United Nations Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Abdulla, reported that Russia had notified him earlier Saturday of "its concerns about the safety of movements of merchant vessels" under the agreement. Russia had recently criticised the deal, saying its own grain exports have suffered due to Western sanctions. - 'Massive' attack - Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, said Saturday's drone attack was the "most massive" the peninsula had seen. City authorities said the harbour was "temporarily" closed to boats and ferries and urged people "not to panic". Attacks on Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, have increased in recent weeks, as Kyiv presses a counter-offensive in the south to retake territory held by Moscow for months. Moscow-installed authorities in Kherson, just north of Crimea, have vowed to turn the city into a fortress, preparing for an inevitable assault. In early October, Moscow's bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland -- personally inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 -- was damaged by a blast that Putin blamed on Ukraine. The Russian fleet stationed in the port had also been attacked by a drone in August. Russia's allegations Saturday came as the Ukrainian army reported fighting in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the east, including near Bakhmut -- the only area where Moscow's forces have advanced in recent weeks. Pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside Moscow also announced a new prisoner exchange with Kyiv, saying 50 will return home from each side. bur-gw/bfm/caw/mca-yad/dva
Skateboarding is still at its infancy in Nepal, unlike its heavy commercial and recreational presence here in the western world.

Pokhara is the home of Nepals only skatepark and skate shop outfit. Located in the base town of the Himalayan mountains.

The skatepark was built and entirely funded by Ram C Koirala, who is arguably Nepals first skateboarder. Ram has put his whole being into skateboarding because he wholeheartedly believes it is a positive expression for the kids of Nepal. This mutual understanding of the positive nature of skateboarding gave way for the inception of Skate Nepal.

Because of Ram there is a healthy scene of kids skateboarding in Nepal with a growing number as days go by. With the invention of Youtube and the ability to watch first class skateboarding at your finger tips, the kids have fresh inspiration on a daily basis which only fuels them with more enthusiasm to push theyre physical, mental and creative sensibilities as well as developing their social skills, to interact and help push each other to learn new things. All this stems from a mutual love for skateboarding. This is testament to the unity that skateboarding can bring and this is what Skate Nepal aims to nurture.

Currently the skatepark takes up a small amount of area in a large space so this particular project aims to extend the park so that the kids have more variety to develop and explore their skills.
Tony Hawk pays a visit to South Africa for the opening of Skateistans Johannesburg Skate School, skating the park there before heading out with Shawn Hale, David Loy and Thalente Biyela to continue the South African search for Chin . Skateistan are doing some rad work out there at the moment, check out their site for more of what they do here .

In defence of the layback air - some of our favourite examples from Christian Hosoi, Sean Goff, Jeff Phillips, Erick Winkowski, Bill Danforth and more...

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The security aid package, Rice added, will also strengthen Israeli missile defense systems like the Iron Dome, which is designed to destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells such as those fired from the Gaza Strip, while providing the United States with mutual benefits.

"Moreover, our Israeli friends will be able to buy more of the advanced capabilities produced by the United States, which will support American jobs," Rice reasoned during a speech right before the MOU was inked. "Like so many aspects of the US-Israeli relationship, this MOU is a win-win."

Obama said in a statement shortly after the ceremony that the MOU represents his own staunch commitment to Israeli security, adding that both he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are confident the assistance will contribute to ensuring Israel remains secure in a "dangerous neighborhood."

The US president also warned, however, that Israel can only endure as a Jewish and democratic state through the realization of an "independent and viable Palestine" and underlined Washingtons resolve to pursuing a two-state solution.

The new US-Israeli MOU will be effective for fiscal years 2019 through 2028, according to the State Department. The current agreement, which ends at the end of 2018, totaled $3 billion annually before additional US Congress allocations.

The MOU, despite representing the largest bilateral security aid deal in US history, fell short of what Netanyahu had sought, which was $45 billion over ten years, and was criticized by some lawmakers for not being enough.

US Senator Lindsey Graham said he had proposed an increase of $300 million in military financing above the amount stipulated in the MOU due to threats Israel faces from Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic radicals in the Sinai Desert. Graham also proposed an additional $100 million for missile defense on top of that designated in the final MOU.

The Republican Senator also disagreed with a provision in the MOU that bars Israel from using US defense funding to develop its own suppliers.

"Under our old agreement Israel was allowed to develop cutting-edge military technology and was required to share this technology with the United States," Graham stated. "Im proud to say that many of these advancements helped protect the lives of American service members in uniform."

Others have warned that the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has been spending an increased portion of its limited budget to fund Israeli security. The Center for Strategic and International Studies concluded in a July report that US initiatives have a tendency to get cut as a kind of "bill-payer" for larger Israeli missile defense programs.

The result of MDAs growing foreign assistance to Israel "puts US missile defense and Israeli missile defense in competition," for the same limited funds, the report noted.

The Obama administration has often been at odds with the state of Israel over a number of issues, despite the significant amount of military aid, especially with respect to the Iran nuclear agreement, which Tel Aviv has adamantly opposed.

In March 2015, Netanyahu addressed US Congress during which he thanked Obama for his support of Israel while at the same time criticized the Iran nuclear agreement because it would "not block Iran's path to the bomb."

The United States, for its part, has repeatedly condemned settlement activity by Israel which Washington believes undermines efforts to find a two-state solution.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow is ready to host long postponed talks between Israel and the Palestinians as soon as the respective leaders agree to a time and place.
Stab in the Back

Compounding the mendacity fueling regime change in Libya in 2011 was the fact that under Gaddafi, Libya by then was a country open for business with the West and had been for the best part of a decade. If Muammar Gaddafi was the "tyrant" the US claimed he was upon his death at the hands of a mob, what was he when President Obama was shaking hands with him at the G8 Summit in Italy in 2009, to which the Libyan leader had been invited as head of the African Union?

As Oscar Wilde said, "A true friend stabs you in the front."

Another grievous consequence of the chaos in Libya has been a refugee crisis of biblical dimension. Over the past five years tens of thousands of Libyans, desperate to escape the hell the country has become, have risked a perilous voyage across the Mediterranean in barely seaworthy vessels. Thousands of them have drowned in the attempt with more sure to follow. These are the desperate human beings whom David Cameron once infamously described as a "swarm."

'Democracy'?

The reality of regime change in Libya has proved a world away from the fantasy embodied in the fatuous proclamation made by Cameron during a visit to Benghazi along with his then French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in 2011. Flush with the triumphalism of a man cocooned from the consequences of his decisions, the British prime minister took to a microphone to congratulate the Libyan people for "choosing democracy."
Thousands of users across Russia were left empty-handed when the state banned access to the world's largest adult website, Pornhub. However, the site's administration appears to be unfazed, if not amused, by this development.

Taking things in stride, they tweeted a joking appeal to the Russian telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor, making them an intriguing offer in exchange for amnesty.

"If we give you guys a Pornhub Premium account, will you un ban Pornhub in Russia?" a message posted on the adult websites official Twitter account said.
On September 5 the Russian Export Center and China's Alibaba Corporation launched the " National Russian Pavilion " on Tmall, one of China's largest internet marketplaces. The new section of the website allows Chinese consumers to order Russian goods directly over the internet.

To mark China's Mid-Autumn Festival, a harvest festival which this year falls on February 15, Sputnik China decided to check out the Russian Pavilion, and used it to buy presents for the team.

"The National Russian Pavilion presents a variety of non-alcoholic drinks, toys, cosmetics, electronics and even trips to Russia  to Saint Petersburg and Lake Baikal. Nevertheless, the majority of the goods are food products, particularly Russian chocolate and oatmeal," Sputnik China reported.
"They are bluffing that B-1Bs are enough for fighting an all-out nuclear war," according to a statement from the DPRK's state-run Korean Central News Agency.

According to an unconfirmed statement by South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the US will deploy the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the Japan-based Carrier Strike Group Five in South Korean waters next month for a joint naval training exercise. Additionally, Beijing considers a US plan to base a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea provocative, as the missile system's range places a significant portion of Chinese territory in its crosshairs. Chinese news reports claim that the US is pretending that it has no effect on the DPRK, and that Washington is places the blame for Pyongyang's aggressive military posture on other factors.
On Wednesday, Russias Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said that the UNSC was going to work on another sanctions resolution against Pyongyang.

Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly ordered the government on Sunday to prepare a raft of unilateral sanctions against North Korea to restrain Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Pyongyang confirmed on September 9 that it had carried out a nuclear test, at its northeastern nuclear test site. The nuclear experiment is believed to be the fifth and largest since Pyongyang started pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile programs, drawing condemnation from the international community.

Pyongyangs January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch in February resulted in the tightening of sanctions against North Korea in a new UN Security Council resolution adopted in March.

The United Nations previously imposed sanctions on North Korea for three tests it carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On September 9, Pyongyang confirmed that it had carried out a nuclear test at its northeastern nuclear test site. The nuclear experiment is believed to be the fifth and largest since North Korea started pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile programs, drawing condemnation from the international community.

"The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission has not found any traces of radionuclides, such as xenon, in its tests of soil, water and air samples following North Korea's fifth nuclear test," the statement said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Australia's Attorney-General George Brandis has proposed a counter-terrorism bill, which would allow indefinite detention for people convicted of terrorism-related offenses, he said in a statement Thursday.

"The High Risk Terrorist Offenders Bill amends Part 5.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 to create a new regime, to enable a Supreme Court, upon application by the Attorney-General, to make an order for the ongoing detention of high risk terrorist offenders who are approaching the end of their custodial sentences and are about to be released into the community," the statement said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The US-led coalition launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in October 2001 in a bid to destroy al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden who was behind 9/11 terror attacks.

"It turned out that they came there for long, that their aims were not limited to extinction of international terrorists in Afghanistan. Their main goal was to gain foothold in Central Asia in a bid to solve their geopolitical problems," Akayev told RIA Novosti.

He added that the operation in Afghanistan enabled Washington to cut China from potential routes of oil deliveries from the Persian Gulf.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A tourist boat exploded off the Indonesian island of Bali on Thursday, killing one tourist and injuring dozens more, the Indonesian police said.

"One of the passengers died from bad injuries after being hit by boat debris that also caused injuries in others," Karangasen district police chief Sugeng Sudarso said, as quoted by The Independent.

Sudarso added that they were investigating all possible causes of the explosion.
"With the two successful nuclear tests this year, we must assume that the DPRK has designed and demonstrated nuclear warheads that can be mounted on some of its short-range and perhaps medium-range missiles," reads the report, written by Siegfried S. Hecker.

"Its ability to field an ICBM fitted with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the United States is still a long way off  perhaps 5 to 10 years, but likely doable if the program is unconstrained."

A recent report from the private intelligence firm Soufan Group estimates that Pyongyang could have a nuclear-armed ballistic missile in the next four years.

"There is no public verification for North Koreas claim to have miniaturized a nuclear warhead for a ballistic missile, but estimates indicate it likely will be by 2020."
Earlier, on Monday, the ATSB announced that the plane may have been on fire prior to its crash. According to Gibson, "the top layer of paint has been singed, scorched black."

"If it was proven this was from the avionics bay, it was a flash fire, yes, it changes everything," aviation specialist Geoffrey Thomas told Channel 7 in Perth. Following the disaster, there was speculation on whether a fire brought down the plane.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

According to the Malaysian transport minister, the search for the missing aircraft will continue until the entire search area of 120,000 square kilometers (over 46,000 square miles) defined by experts has been covered. So far, several pieces of debris suspected to come from the aircraft have been found at different locations, including in Mozambique, South Africa and the French island of Reunion.
MOSCOW (Spuntik)  The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has issued a permit for Britains BP to buy a 49 percent stake in Yermak Neftegaz, a new joint venture created with Rosneft, the FAS press service reported.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service has considered, and has decided to approve, the application from BP Russian Investments Limited to purchase a 49 percent stake in the share capital of Yermak Neftegaz LLC, the FAS said.
Seven major Swedish banks, including Nordea, Handelsbanken and Swedbank, have through their savings funds invested a total of 4.7 billion SEK ($600 million) in 15 companies exporting military equipment and weapons to countries that are considered "particularly controversial" by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ( SIPRI ), a recent disclosure by the social services organization Diakonia and economic watchdog Fair Finance Guide

According to Diakonia Secretary General Bo Forsberg and Fair Finance Guide project manager Jakob Konig, arms sale to countries with authoritarian regimes that lack political and civil liberties and spend a large part of their budget on military cause particular concern. Swedish banks were found to clearly neglect their own guidelines or requirements on controversial arms exports, whereas banking giant Nordea was found to lack any ethical policy whatsoever, Forsberg and Konig wrote in an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter.

Investments in arms companies were found in 65 of the banks' savings funds, often most passively managed ones. One of the main investees was identified as European international conglomerate corporation Thyssen-Krupp, which deals in arms sale to among other Saudi Arabia.
The deal is expected to be sealed by the end of this year. Earlier in May this year, OVL had successfully acquired a 15% shareholding interest in Vankorneft. Though OVL officials refused to disclose the price of the additional 11% stake, sources told Sputnik that it would be almost the same amount paid for the 15% stake that was acquired earlier.

OVL had paid $1.268 bln for their 15% stake in Vankorneft.

Last week, Dinesh K Sharaf, Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC said, After the acquisition of 15%, a consortium of Oil India, Indian Oil and BPCL have acquired a 23.99% stake in this particular company and this is at the same price as the first 15%.

Vankor is Russias second largest field by production and accounts for 4% of all Russian production. The daily production from the field is around 421,000 bpd of crude oil on average. With a total 26% stake, OVLs share of daily oil production from Vankor will be about 110,000 bpd.

This acquisition has significant strategic importance to India, both in terms of augmentation of Indias energy security as well as enhancing Indias stature in the global political and economic arena. At present, ONGC Videsh has 37 projects in 17 countries including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela, Vietnam and New Zealand.
However, the latest surveys suggested that unemployment had stopped increasing. A recent report by the Norwegian central bank indicated that the decline of the oil industry has slowed down, whereas other industries even displayed sparse growth this summer. The staffing company Manpower reported an increase in the number of Norwegian employers who want to hire in the coming quarter for the first time since the beginning of 2014.

"According to all industry barometers, now it seems like the bottom has been reached for the Norwegian economy," Siv Jensen told Swedish Radio, lauding Sweden's capacity for starting new businesses and promising to catch up with its neighbors.

"Although I do not want to hoist the flag prematurely, such a thorough report is very important for the Norwegian economy," Jensen earlier told the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad.

Earlier this week, the Finance Minister said at a seminar at Bergen's National Research University Higher School of Economics that oil prices are unlikely to return to their previous record levels. Nevertheless, she stressed the fact that the Norwegian economy is prepared for decades of huge revenues from oil and gas. According to Jensen, the Norwegian economy is set to pick up already next year.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The European Commission has not yet been notified about the merger of the German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer and the US agricultural company Monsanto, the spokesperson for the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission told Sputnik on Thursday.

"This transaction has not been notified to the Commission. We will carefully assess the transaction if and when the deal is notified to the Commission," Ricardo Cardoso said.
According to the documents exposed by the hacker known as Guccifer 2.0, top donors to the DNC have received various government positions. Most are ambassadorships, but several are departmental appointments.

For example, Matthew Berzun, who reportedly raised $1,907,100 for the DNC, as well as $1,174,430 for President Barack Obamas Organizing for Action (OFA), was appointed as Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Kirk Wagar appears to have raised $825,000 for the DNC and $1,300,000 for the OFA before being appointed Ambassador to Singapore.
French officials impose discriminatory practices on Muslims, according to Mustapha, despite the fact that political commentators have suggested that the policy of alienating Muslims encourages terrorism, as people, especially youth, feel that they are unwanted in their own country, and live in fear and frustration.

Unlike the US, France focuses on assimilation rather that diversity, Mustapha opined.

As Joan Wallach Scott, an American historian of France, put it, "equality comes from sameness." And, amid preventing schoolgirls from wearing headscarves, "rather than encouraging students to release their individual potentials for the common good, French education shapes them as acceptable citizens  a process which alienates students from their intrinsic social and intellectual capacities," Nick Riemer, an Australian political activist and an academic at the University of Sydney, wrote.

Meanwhile, anti-Muslim fear escalates and what steps the French will take to mitigate the causes remains an open question.
LONDON (Sputnik)  Although no formal decision has been made yet, British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to give the go-ahead for the project on September 15, which is the last possible day for a statement to parliament before the recess of the lower house, the newspaper said on Wednesday citing Downing Street sources.

According to The Guardian, the United Kingdom is expected to seek a better deal with China on electricity prices and to impose new conditions on the French and Chinese bankers.

The Hinkley Point power plant project for the construction of the countrys first reactor in decades at a location in southwest England has been lagging behind schedule and struggling to secure investment, despite companies in France and China having expressed interest in funding it.
He blamed the French government for its inability to resolve migration-related problems, specifically pointing to the fact that there were 10,000 migrants in the Calais Jungle, not 4,000 as the government claimed.

"So the government offers to 'distribute' the problem throughout France, but I do not want to grapple with this problem because I have already enough migrants [and don't need] to take in more of them. Earlier I opposed the arrival of Syrian 'refugees' in Beziers, and now I do not want Calais migrants to come to my city which is poor enough and which has other problems to deal with," he said.

When asked about the problems related to the migrants who currently reside in Beziers, which has a population of about 73,000, Menard said that migration adds significantly to crime and terrorism.

"When we received scores of Syrian and Iraqi quasi-refugees in France, we actually received some number of jihadists who proved to be terrorists.This is reality, which was confirmed by this year's terrorist attacks in France. This is why it is necessary to halt the migration process and stop accepting pseudo-refugees," he said.

In a separate interview with Sputnik, Jean-Charles Orsucci, Mayor of the city of Bonifacio in southern Corsica, said that it is only natural that the French government decided not to send Calais migrants to Corsica, given that refugee-related tensions that have persisted there in the past few months.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Head of the mission Fiona Frazer told reporters in Kiev it recorded a total of 32,071 civilian casualties of the conflict, 9,640 of whom had been killed and 22,431 wounded.

Ukraines southeast has been severely affected by Kievs special military operation, launched in the southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014. The operation was a response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government in the country.

Head of the mission Fiona Frazer who presented OHCHR report on Ukraine told reporters in Kiev it recorded a total of 32,071 civilian casualties of the conflict, 9,640 of whom had been killed and 22,431 wounded.
"I think that politically, the most important point is his [Juncker's] initiative to try to reassure people that the European Commission and the European Union can deliver on security, an issue Europeans are worried about," Kartheiser said, referring to Juncker's plan to create a European military structure.

"Most Europeans are concerned about the border security and the threat of terrorism, among other things, which should be addressed in different ways. As for the initiative announced by Juncker, it is an attempt to reinforce federalist Europe, and nowadays people in Europe don't want it, so it is not a welcome initiative," he said.

Regarding Brexit, he said that "some people in Europe are now trying to profit from the fact that Britain is leaving the EU to create a sub-structure, but this is not a realistic prospect."

"The United Kingdom is, of course, absolutely interested in European defense," according to Kartheiser.

"Let's be very clear, nobody needs the European Union as an institution to reinforce military cooperation in Europe. I think the European Union just tries to put itself on the map in order to reinforce its competence and its own grip on European policies," he said.

"With so many rifts currently in place in the EU, endorsing a political initiative that aims to reinforce the EU's federalism is probably not a useful idea," according to him.

During his State of the Union speech, Juncker announced plans to double the capacity of the European Investment Bank, which will provide assistance not only to member-states, but to other countries as well.

At the same time, Juncker stated that the planned EU military force should complement NATO, stressing that lack of military cooperation is costing the EU countries hefty sums.

To tackle the problem, the European Commission President proposed to create a European Defense Fund.
The groups shouted insults and threw sticks at each other in the city center, Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said, adding that some 100 police officers who came to intervene were attacked with bottles and sticks.

The criminal police are investigating the case over violation of public order and infliction of bodily injuries.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) Moscow does not support the decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to grant Ukraine a new tranche of aid, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"We do not support such a decision, we consistently oppose it, it is a constant position of Russia, and nothing actually has changed here," Peskov told journalists.

Earlier in the day, the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to provide a new $1-billion tranche of financial aid to Ukraine, according to a statement issued by the organization.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow has not pledged to ensure full cessation of hostilities in the crisis-torn eastern Ukraine, because Russia is not party to the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"Moscow could not have promised [a full cessation of hostilities], because it is not a party to the conflict in Donbass," Peskov said, answering a question about reported Russia's promise to Germany.

On September 1, a new ceasefire regime came into force in the region. The ceasefire agreement was reached between Ukraines conflicting sides during a Contact Group meeting in August. Media reported that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Moscow promised Berlin to ensure respect of ceasefire in Ukraine.
Hianich managing director Cornelia Beau told the newspaper that the EU's decision to impose sanctions against Russia is a result of narcissism among politicians in Germany and the EU.

Beau, described as a supporter of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, said the decision is based on "the wounded vanity" of politicians, and urged them to be lifted.

Others told the newspaper their business is unaffected by the EU's anti-Russian sanctions, or Russian counter-sanctions.

Jens Meyer, director of locks and security systems manufacturer S&S, said that sanctions have had little impact on his business, which has continued to trade with Russia.

"We have not felt any effect from the prolongation of the embargo," Meyer said, adding that his business has also faced few administrative barriers to trade.

Last week IHK Nord, an association of 12 Chambers of Commerce from five northern German states, reported that the state of Bremen has been most affected by the EU's sanctions against Russia, and Russia's counter-sanctions.

While total German exports to Russia have declined by 37 percent since 2014, in the five north German states the drop was 47 percent.
"Britain is out, but this kind of Trans-Atlantic block will do everything to hinder any deepening of the political processes of integration and will be absolutely opposed to the defense and security policy as the common policy of the EU," Schulze said.

"They are putting their security interests solely on NATO. So, we have a kind of cacophony of interests in the EU at the moment."

Besides, he added, there are Mediterranean countries which are in the hidden conflict with the Eastern countries or Central Eastern countries.

"So, the EU is a very strange animal at the moment," the expert concluded.

He further said that even though it doesn't mean that the EU is going to be dissolved, all the countries have to come with "a kind of a coherent concept" out of this crisis. There will be "kind of a restructuring of the EU in the future," he said.

However, he said it won't be a European military structure.

"A European army can only be an army which carries two hats on its head," he said.

"This means a NATO hat and the European army hat. The European army would have its own headquarters and general staff and things that belong to this kind of structure," he explained.

However when it comes to military operations, then they would borrow units for operation from NATO and vice versa.

"To have a double structure is too costly and it would fly against the interests of most of the Trans-Atlantic member states especially in Central Europe and Scandinavian area," he explained.
The Tri-County chapter 1386 of National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees is scheduled to meet at Pizones Restaurant, at 202 Superior Ave. in Tomah this Thursday, Sept. 15 at 11:30 a.m. for lunch with the meeting at noon.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  The Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (COREPER) confirmed to RIA Novosti of the six-month extension against 146 people and 37 legal entities without changes last week.

"These sanctions consist of an asset freeze and a travel ban against 146 persons and 37 entities They have been extended until 15 March 2017," the European Council said in a statement.

The legal acts on the measures adopted by written procedure will be published in the EU Official Journal on Friday, it added.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A Normandy Four summit may be held if the agenda includes substantial matters linked to the implementation of the Minks deal on Ukraine reconciliation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"If any substantial matters related to the implementation of Minsk agreements are put on agenda, it would make sense for the Normandy Four to hold a top-level meeting. It would be possible if some real issues for discussion arise," Peskov told reporters.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  The terrorist threat in Germany continues to increase and the country could be targeted any time, a secret governmental report on domestic security said as cited by a local newspaper Thursday.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a declared and actual target for jihadists violence. German agencies and interests are subjected to the hypothetical threat within the country as well as in other parts of the world, the Bild newspaper quoted the secret report prepared in June.

The paper said that there is the heightened risk that sympathizers of terrorist organizations that have no direct links to such groups may commit their own attacks.
WARSAW (Sputnik)  Polands commission investigating the deadly 2010 plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk that killed then-president and dozens high-level figures will not identify the culprit but only the cause of the catastrophe, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said Thursday.

"Please do not expect that the commission will point to the culprits, because it is not the task of this committee, only an indication of what factors and events led to this tragedy," Macierewicz said at a briefing.

Moreover, Antoni Macierewicz has decided to declassify archive materials relating to the 2010 plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk that killed then-president and dozens high-level figures.
"The rest aren't earning, and therefore, aren't paying taxes. The budget isn't receiving money, and so the state does not have the funds to pay off the loans. But it must pay  otherwise it won't receive any new loans."

Effectively, Kononenko noted, the IMF is the equivalent of a massive debt collector, its tentacles reaching into the pockets of every Ukrainian, including the most vulnerable.

"And if you think that the IMF is above collector practices like throwing a Molotov cocktail into the window of a debtor's home, you'd be mistaken. In addition to the above-mentioned example of the meat grinder in eastern Ukraine, where unemployed Ukrainians can go, there is, for instance, the example of the genocide in Rwanda. That event was partially the result of social tensions arising as a result of 'reforms' carried out according to IMF recommendations."

"Knowing all this, the president of Ukraine said to his people: 'God willing'God willing that Ukraine gets further and further bogged down in this situation. God willing that it repeats the fate of Somalia, Rwanda, Argentina and Mexico in following IMF recommendations. But Ukraine will not repeat the fate of Russia, which miraculously managed to break away from this kind of 'assistance' after 1998," since its present leaders find it unseemly to do anything like its eastern neighbors.

Ultimately, Kononenko noted, as with the IMF's $4.8 billion tranche given to Russia in 1998, which ended up getting stolen almost in its entirety by Yeltsin-era officials, Ukraine's present leaders will find a way to 'appropriate' the funds, but not to the benefit of Ukrainians. The country's ordinary and most vulnerable citizens, meanwhile, will continue to pay the price of the IMF's austerity demands.
The project at Hinkley had been green-lit by the previous prime minister, David Cameron, after he got agreement that China General Nuclear Power Corp would put up a third of the cost of construction, with French energy giant EDF putting up the rest.

However, soon after taking office, May put the plans on hold, allegedly over fears of giving China access to a critical part of the UK infrastructure. There were also concerns that  as part of the Hinkley deal  China would be allowed to build its own plants on the east coast of Britain, at Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk.

The announcement came as a shock in both Paris and Beijing, whose representatives were already in Britain for an official signing ceremony within hours of the news. Much had been made of a new relationship between Britain and China, with Cameron and his Chancellor, George Osborne heralding a "golden age" between the two nations.
LONDON (Sputnik)  The United Kingdom supports firm approach of the European Union in regard to sanctions imposed on Russia and would support their extension, a government response to a parliamentary report said on Thursday.

On July 5, the UK parliament's Defense Committee in the report called for the renewal of the anti-Russia sanctions, but at the same time it highlighted the necessity to renew the dialogue with Moscow.

"The UK supports continuation of the robust approach by the EU towards sanctions against Russia We believe that the current sanctions are firm and proportionate," the government response said.
PACE adopted a resolution to bar Russian lawmakers from participating in its three key bodies in April 2014, following the deterioration of relations between the West and Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. Russia did not renew its credentials ahead of the organization's winter 2016 session, and made its return conditional on the full restoration of Russian delegates' voting rights.

If this happens, Kiev would be put on the spot to make a decision on whether to follow through with their threat to walk out. Accordingly, political analysts have said, Foreign Minister Klimkin seems to have painted himself into a corner.

Asked to comment on Klimkin's remarks by the independent online newspaper Svobodnaya Pressa, Alexander Bezpalko, a member of the Russian Presidential Council and expert on Ukrainian affairs, suggested that a decision by Kiev to leave PACE "would be just wonderful."

"In this case, Russia would remain in PACE, and Ukraine, a source of problems, including for most members of the European Union, would exit the organization," Bezpalko added. "Unfortunately, Ukrainian politicians, their military and public figures do not ever keep their word. Therefore, I am convinced that if Russia restores its rights in PACE, Ukraine will not leave the organization, but only continue to raise a ruckus."

In the expert's view, Foreign Minister Klimkin's threats amount to little more than an attempt to begin another anti-Russian political campaign. "For this purpose, Kiev is prepared to use any pretext."

The only problem with Ukrainian officials' efforts is that "Russia is a major power, and makes a significant financial contribution toward PACE's existence. It defines policy in the Middle East. And copes even under sanctions. Russia commands more respect and willingness to cooperate than contemporary Ukraine, which managed to destroy its economy without any sanctions, and whose president is constantly out asking for money, to the point where he has become a source of ridicule."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Spanish government debt in the second quarter of 2016 amounted to 1.106 trillion euros ($1.244 trillion) or 100.5 percent of GDP, the Spanish Central Bank said in a press release on Thursday.

While dropping from 100.6 percent in March, the debt grew in absolute values by 10.543 billion euro.

The debt growth occurred in all the autonomous communities, except for the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Galicia with Valencia being the largest debtor.
However, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to what kind of economic and trade relationship Mrs. May intends to adopt with the rest of the EU.

Many UK businesses are anxious to be able to continue having access to the EU single market: a lucrative customs union that allows the freedom of movement of goods and services without any regulatory obstacles.

Mr. Van Rompuy also weighed in on this issue on Thursday, claiming that if the UK wants to retain it's single market access, it must also accept the key EU principle of the freedom of movement of people.

"There are huge economic interests, but there are also red lines. It is very well known that freedom of movement of EU nationals is a red line."

His assertions have been met with scorn from some quarters in the UK.

Strongest in his criticism was Van Rompuy's old political adversary, Nigel Farage.

"My old friend Herman is as deluded as ever and has completely failed to understand that we voted to leave his corrupt club and rejoin the rest of the world," Mr. Farage said.

His comments come a day after Farage mounted a stinging rebuke of the EU during a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Reacting to the news that the EU has just appointed former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt as its chief negotiator, he said the EU had not "learnt any lessons" from the UK's rejection of its membership.

He called the appointment of Mr. Verhofstadt "a declaration of war" on the UK, claiming he was the "high priest" of federalism and should instead be replaced by someone "who likes the UK."

Mr. Verhofstadt also believes that if the UK wants access to the EU single market, it must accept the free movement of EU workers as "an inseparable" principle.

UK Gov. wants to make #Brexit a success for Britain. Fair enough. It is our duty to make it a success for Europe. #SOTEU  Guy Verhofstadt (@GuyVerhofstadt) September 14, 2016

Former European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that the EU is not seeking to penalize the UK for rejecting EU membership, but acknowledged that several member states are mindful of not seeming to encourage further withdrawals.

"There is not a feeling that we have to punish, but on the other hand most leaders don't want to encourage other exits," Mr, Van Rompuy said.

"Because Europe was for many countries still a model, a model that you can achieve peace among peoples and states that waged wars for centuries, so it was a model of co-operation and integration," he added.

"That image of a strong Europe, that is tarnished a lot after Brexit."

Neither British Prime Minister Theresa May nor current EU officials have stated when they believe UK-EU negotiations will actually begin, but once started, they are expected to last for at least two years.
La Crosse County Health Department employees and other health-care advocates are trying to wrap their minds around the meaning and scope of the word stigma to assess its impact on mental health issues, Health Director Jen Rombalski said.

We need to get at the stigma piece, because it truly is a burden to mental health, Rombalski told attendees Thursday at an informational exchange meeting of the Mental Health Coalition of the Greater La Crosse Area.

One of the stumbling blocks is that the word itself carries its own stigma, an albatross around its neck, as the health department attempts to tackle the No. 1 priority in its five-year plan, she said.

County workers will research the issue in an attempt to design a tool to pinpoint stigmas impact and reduce it, she said.

If we dont, how can we measure whether we are making progress? she said. If we want to get resources for this, we need to be able to measure it.

Erasing the shameful feeling that stigmas inflict will help make people more open to seeking help and propel progress in identifying and treating people who are struggling with mental health, Rombalski said.

Just about everybody who comes through the court system has some type of mental health issue, and those problems often are unaddressed because they are disconnected from resources, La Crosse County Circuit Judge Todd Bjerke said.

The result is the county jails frequent description as the biggest mental health institution in the area, Bjerke said.

The judge told of a defendant in another jurisdiction who became so frustrated because the county attorney did not acknowledge the role of mental illness in his crime that he committed suicide.

That vacuum of information and treatment burdens law enforcement officials and jurists, he said.

The health department is exploring setting up a community pathways hub model to help those who need services connect with agencies so that nobody drops out, Rombalski said.

Ideally, we can get far enough upstream so they dont enter the system, she said.

Efforts such as the Campaign to Change Direction, the Changemaker grant the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium recently received to increase coordination of mental health services, are expected to play important roles in the effort, she said.

With a screening tool and the no-wrong-way-approach, we can identify what they need help with, Rombalski said.

Do they need help with housing? Help with calling, transportation, child care, taking care of their business? she said.

When youre down and out, you focus on other things just to survive, she said.

The task is a daunting one that will require efforts throughout the community, she said.

Along those lines, she encouraged people to get involved and become comfortable with the terminology of mental health, mental illness and serious mental illness. It also is important to learn protective factors as a more positive approach than just addressing risk factors.

Become a caring adult  and recognize that its not only my kids but also the kids around my kids, she said.

Recognizing signals of struggling or suffering, such as Change Directions five signs of mental struggles  personality change, agitation, withdrawal, poor self care and hopelessness  also are keys, Rombalski said.

Anyone who senses that a young person or people of any age might be struggling or even contemplating suicide should take the question-persuade-refer approach, she said.

Ask such individuals about any problems they may be encountering and whether they are considering hurting themselves, she said. If so, persuade them that they are important and people care about them.

Then, refer them to the appropriate service or agency to obtain help, she said.

You can save a life just like CPR, Rombalski said.
LONDON (Sputnik)  On July 5, the UK parliament's Defense Committee in the report called for the renewal of the anti-Russia sanctions , but at the same time it highlighted the necessity to renew the dialogue with Moscow.

"The UK will continue to have military to military contact with Russia where it is in our interest to do so," the government response said.
The authors also expressed alarm over the loyalty of the local residents towards Russia and their negative attitude towards the US and NATO.

The residents think that Estonia's good relationship with Russia is a guarantor of the country's security and every third resident believes that Russia has the right to protect its compatriots residing on the territory of the former USSR.

The leak sparked an uproar in the local and Russian media.

Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) director-general Elmar Vaher told the country's newspaper Eesti Ekspress that his department has been studying the scenario of an "invasion by little green men."

Raul Rebane, an expert in strategic communication at the Estonian Internal Security Service (KaPo) said that the memo was not just simply "pulled out of thin air," it describes a potential crisis situation which however will "luckily not become a reality."

In his comment to the Baltic News Service (BNS), Andres Ammas, a member of Riigikogu (the country's parliament) from the Free Party, reminded that the country's Security Commission is a very niche unit which has among its members the prime-minister, justice minister, defense minister, minister of economy and infrastructure, finance minister, minister of internal affairs and foreign minister.
The TUC were joined by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists (SCP) on September 13 to highlight the problem of having a sexist dress code, which forces women to wear heels to work.

I find the fascination with Theresa May's kitten heels as nauseating as anyone but she should be allowed to wear what she wants.  helena horton  (@horton_official) 13 September 2016

The TUC delegates also called for the Prime Minister Theresa May to stop wearing kitten heels and swap them for sensible flats in order to set an example for women in the workplace, proving that they do not need to wear uncomfortable and feet-deforming shoes to rise to the top of the corporate ladder.

The TUC report on footwear suggests that up to 80 percent of the adult population is wearing shoes that are inappropriate and leading to some form of foot problem. This can vary from aches and pains, to swelling and corns as well as fungal infections and varicose veins.
Unemployed refugees who have claimed asylum status in Germany are returning to the countries they allegedly left due to persecution, according to the German newspaper Die Welt

According to the newspaper, such cases are especially popular among refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Die Welt explained that German legislation allows unemployed individuals to leave the country for 21 days in a year.
Relations between Ankara and Berlin have been under strain for some time, particularly because the German media has not been afraid of taking a swipe at the Turkish President, who is under fire for clamping down on press freedoms in his own country and silencing journalists who criticize him.

The latest row is over the front cover of respected German magazine Der Spiegel, showing Erdogan wearing sunglasses reflecting two minarets as rockets taking off from a mosque and describing him in an article as a "Dictator."

'Der Spiegel' special edition: '#Turkey, the country which lost its freedom.Dictator at war w (own) Kurdish cities' pic.twitter.com/z9N8MTrEEm  Cahida Dersim (@cdersim3) September 10, 2016

The latest incident comes on the back of a spat between Germany and Turkey over satirist Jan Bohmermann, who broadcast a poem on ZDF television sitting in front of a portrait of Erdogan, reading out a poem that accusing the Turkish president of "repressing minorities, kicking Kurds and slapping Christians while watching child porn", among other things.
RIGA (Sputnik)  Citizens of non-Latvian descent can no longer choose Latvian nationality for their passports, according to the law passed by Latvian Parliament on Thursday.

The Latvian Parliament passed the amendments to the law on the changes of first name, last name and nationality, abolishing the clause allowing to choose Latvian nationality. Earlier the amendment stated that any Latvian citizen could change the nationality provided he or she had spent 15 years in the country and was familiar with Latvian language and culture.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A number of migrants that arrived in Italy by sea in August decreased by 2,300 arrivals (or 9.1 percent) in comparison with July, EU border agency Frontex said in a statement on Thursday.

"Italy remained under steady migratory pressure as 23 000 migrants arrived there in August, close to the number from the same month of last year," the statement said, while the agency reported about 25,300 sea arrivals in July.

The statement added that the majority of migrants were from Nigeria, Eritrea and Bangladesh.
PARIS (Sputnik)  EU countries need to use the upcoming summit in Slovakia to design a stage-by-stage plan of reforming the European Union following Brexit, French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.

"What we want to do tomorrow is to elaborate the Bratislava plan, involving working calendar to move forward stage-by-stage and a road map.  We would like to make the summit useful for Europe We should give Europeans a clear vision of their future, " Francois Hollande said at a press conference.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to France Info broadcaster, as many as 4,000 marched through the streets of Nantes , while people in masks threw objects at the buildings near the city's prefecture, according to the police. Police used tear gas and water balloons to disburse demonstrations, the channel added.

The broadcaster added that the mass demonstrations were also held in the cities of Rouen, Saint-Etienne, and Belfort, as well as the commune of Gueret.

Scores of flights were reportedly canceled as air traffic controllers staged strike in a bid to to force the government to cancel the changes introduced in July.
Germany's Salafist scene is increasing at an alarming rate and its intelligence services are struggling to prevent lone wolf terror attacks, according to a new report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence service.

Hans-Georg Maassen, president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), said that Germany's anti-terror operations are facing a new type of threat from terrorists who use the internet and social networks to communicate.

Maassen's intelligence agency identified Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram as particularly popular tools of communication among terrorists, who use them to send personal and group messages with end-to-end encryption.
Comic books today are about much more than superheroes saving the day. Theyre about exploring new genres and new ways of telling stories, according to librarians Lindsay Schmitt and Brendan Hubbs.

The La Crosse Public Library will embrace the genres wide-appeal in its second annual La Crosse Comic Con event Friday through Sunday at the main library.

For me growing up, it was way easier to read comics and way easier to be engaged with (them) than being faced with 300 pages of text, Schmitt said.

Not only are comics shorter chunks of stories, but there is some fantastic art paired with the stories, helping with reading comprehension while also keeping people engaged. The pictures particularly help with people just learning English as a second language.

It also works with our ESL population to see images along with the words and kind of match them up, Schmitt said.

Without a doubt, the medium has changed over the years.

Coming as a female reader, things are a lot different. I would be the only girl in a comic book shop with a bunch of guys, Schmitt said.

Schmitt had felt out of place, but as the years have gone by, the medium has changed to incorporate more diverse stories, which in turn appeal to a more diverse audience.

Comic book artist and writer Kimi Lacy, Winona, can relate, saying her interest in writing comics began with the inspiration to tell diverse stories using a combination of words and images that wouldnt necessarily work as a novel or a film.

As I got older, it was realizing that as a medium it has a lot more flexibility to tell stories that would otherwise be untellable, Lacy said. There are some things that only comics can do and when you find one  it really changes the way you think about stories and the way you view things.

The free event at the library will embrace the genres changes, and will include workshops and events to show people what its like in the industry and even encourage people to try their hand at writing their own comic and fanfiction.

We want to celebrate reading in any form that it comes in, Hubbs said. Its all educational and opens up all kinds of different career options.

Among the big names featured at the convention will be Jai Nitz, an author who has written for Dark Horse, Marvel, DC, Image and Disney. Nitz is known as the co-creator of El Diablo, a character featured in this summers blockbuster hit Suicide Squad.

Hubbs, who met Nitz while working in a comic store as a college student, sought out the writer because he was the first DC writer to publish a full Spanish edition of a mainstream title when he wrote a Blue Beetle story in 2008.

The comics industry is often seen as a white male-only activity, and were trying to really dispel that image, Hubbs said. Theres a very diverse spectrum of creators with something for everybody.

Nitz will appear via Skype at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Later that day at 2 p.m., Lacy will serve as both a vendor and a judge of the costume contest, which incorporates cosplay, or costume play, a convention staple across the country.

The thing that drives most cosplayers is just the passion for the characters and the fun you have in the costume, Halloween doesnt even compare, Lacy said.

Lacy considers herself a hobbyist, but still spent 30 hours putting together a costume based on the new Warcraft movie.

It does take a lot of time and effort. It is hot glue and pain, as the cosplayers mantra goes, she said, but its worth the effort, particularly when she runs into people who share her interests.

People just like to celebrate the characters they love in a very dynamic way, Hubbs said. Its also about the self-identification with those characters and expressing that.

Other highlights include a 5:45 p.m. Friday showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with pizza and treats, and a 6 p.m. Saturday Geek Trivia event sponsored by The Center: Seven Rivers LGBTQ Connection, as well as a video game industry conference call with Jesse Pintz of id Software.

There also will be 24 vendors selling everything from custom art to action figures.
Merkel's Nightmare

Merkel lives for the European dream as she has had first-hand experience of a divided Europe. She was born in 1954 in Hamburg  then in West Germany  but the family soon moved to East Germany, where her father  who had converted to Lutheranism  had been appointed as pastor pastorate at the church in Quitzow, near Perleberg in Brandenburg.

Having seen the reunification of Germany  as well as the stunningly brave decision to match the Ostmark and Westmark on a Mark-for-Mark basis for wages, prices and basic savings which put an enormous strain on the economy  Merkel is passionate about a joined up European family.

Is this the beginning of the end for the #Merkel era? Merkel sure won't like the answer: https://t.co/Ma6DS1r84l pic.twitter.com/h2delRzWF9  Gatestone Institute (@GatestoneInst) September 15, 2016

However, she is facing difficulties both at home and abroad  mainly over her immigration policy, under which she drew plaudits initially for opening Germany's doors to Syrian refugees, but now faces a backlash because of the sheer numbers reaching Germany, where Islamophobia is on the rise. Her popularity has plunged and there has been a huge rise in right-wing nationalism.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The recently proposed Central European states union within the European Union is expected to serve as informal institution that would take a joint stance on foreign and migration policies, including mending ties with Russia, an Austria foreign affairs committee member told Sputnik on Friday.

Earlier this week, Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer proposed after the meeting with Czech President Milos Zeman to create a "union within a union," in particular, to give Central Europe a stronger voice within the European Union.

"It will be an informal group of small countries that have the same goals in terms of foreign and migration polices," Roman Haider, a member of the lower house of the Austrian parliament, the National Council, and its foreign affairs committee, said.
And on Wednesday, her deputy James Wharton indicated that it isn't just how poor or needy a country is that will dictate how Ms. Patel allocates her multi-billion dollar budget.

The department is considering cutting overseas aid to countries that refuse to accept their own foreign national offenders being deported from the UK.

James Wharton said that such proposals were part of the "debate and discussion" on a potential new shake-up of UK foreign aid.

Stop sending millions of pounds in foreign aid to world superpowers with better high speed rail than the UK has #solveukpoverty  Whitey McPrivilege (@yankeebrit77) September 6, 2016

Wharton was responding to a call in parliament by Brexit campaigner Dominic Raab, who urged the government to change the criteria for bilateral aid to penalize countries "refusing point blank to accept" the return of foreign criminals.

Also speaking to the British newspaper, the Sun, Dominic Raab said:

"Priti Patel is shaking things up, and she's right to look at ways of stopping countries having a free-ride, gladly accepting millions of taxpayers' money, but point blank refusing to take back criminals who clog up UK jails."

Countries such as Jamaica, Pakistan and Nigeria have refused in the past to accept back offenders released from British jails.

Figures published earlier this year revealed that there are currently 13,000 foreign criminals awaiting deportation from the UK, a number said to include hundreds of Jamaican and Nigerians.

Let's stop giving the foreign aid billions that are wasted and stolen and lets spend it in UK.#WhyNot? https://t.co/6IXVBrbf17  Cllr.Brian Silvester (@CllrBSilvester) September 14, 2016

Mr. Wharton gave little further detail on the potential policy, merely adding:

"We want to ensure that every penny we spend is spent wisely."

The controversial proposal comes just hours after Ms. Patel announced she wants to radically alter the UK's aid budget to focus on priorities such as reducing the number of migrants fleeing to European shores, and creating jobs in poor countries. She said she wants to align UK foreign aid with "core Tory values."

Priti Patel says UK foreign aid will now be based on "core Tory values".

So hand it all over to the wealthiest and let the poorest rot then?  Tom Pride (@ThomasPride) September 14, 2016

Writing in the Daily Mail newspaper, she said: "It rightly infuriates taxpayers when money that is intended for the world's poorest people is stolen or wasted on inappropriate projects. I am infuriated.

"Let us be clear: if we allow extreme poverty, instability and humanitarian crises to go unchecked, the consequences will eventually be felt just as deeply back in Britain as they are abroad I want to use our aid budget to directly address the great global challenges that affect the UK  like creating jobs in poorer countries so as to reduce the pressure for mass migration to Europe."

Her comments have sparked anxiety among some aid agencies, who've expressed concerns that British aid funding could be diverted away from supporting the world's poorest people towards facilitating jobs and trade.

Our must read on uk foreign policy

The Empire Strikes Back. Priti Patel replaces Foreign Aid with Bribery Budget https://t.co/F2GbyqWWAg  Media Diversified (@WritersofColour) September 15, 2016

Aaron Oxley, executive director of charity Results UK, called Ms. Patel's comments "challenging reading", adding:

"Virtually all UK aid money is already spent incredibly well on high-impact activities that are focused on eliminating poverty and have a proven track record of delivering results," Mr. Oxley said.

.@patel4witham will you match the ambition of other donors and pledge big at the @GlobalFund replenishment in Montreal? #EndItForGood  RESULTS UK (@resultsuk) September 15, 2016

However, Ms. Patel insists that the aid industry should be open to hearing concerns over inefficiency.

"Some participants in the aid debate are resistant to criticism and sometimes unwilling to understand or even acknowledge genuine concerns," she said.

Despite suggesting that her department will undergo significant changes, Ms. Patel has stuck to the Conservative government's commitment to spend 0.7 % of national output on overseas aid.
The teenager revealed that when she turned 11, her parents posted pictures of her growing up as a child, however she only discovered the images three years later when she joined the social network herself.

"They knew no shame or limits", the teenager, who can't be named, told Austria's Die ganze Woche magazine.

"Whether I was sitting on the potty or naked in my crib, my every step was recorded photographically and, afterwards, made public."

Careful posting pics of your kids on the potty because they can sue you https://t.co/iNFnzVSbov pic.twitter.com/FqjiBHuRHc  Zora Suleman (@ZoraSuleman) September 14, 2016

The teenager told the magazine that the pictures could be seen by at least 700 Facebook users who had links to her parent's account. When she asked them to delete the pictures, they refused, prompting her to take the case to court and sue her parents for breaching her privacy and data protection rights.

Defending his actions, her father told the magazine that he didn't see the need to remove the images from Facebook.

"I see it as my right to publish these pictures. After all it's our children and, for my wife and myself, it's a nice family album that goes down well with our Facebook friends," her father told Die ganze Woche.

For all of those friends of yours who post boring pictures of their children on Facebook showing them on a potty or with porridge all around their mouth, just think, their digital offspring might be more offended than you and end up taking them to court.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Over 7,000 claims filed against the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees for long processing of asylum applications will not lead to favored treatment of refugees concerned, the office's spokeswoman told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the German migration body confirmed media reports revealing that as of June, there were 7,014 lawsuits filed against it due to slow procession of asylum claims.

"A lawsuit does not lead to a favored treatment concerning the processing of the asylum application, if the court doesnt decide so. It is even possible, that lawsuits lead to delays, because we wait for the decision of the court," Kira Gehrmann said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Sir Mark Waller said in his 126-page report that he found multiple defects in the way the MI6 responded to Adebolajo accusations of being mistreated by Kenyan counter terrorism units before his deportation to the United Kingdom, and described their level of cooperation in the investigation as "wholly inadequate."

Waller highlighted three main defects in British intelligence services' response, first involving a mistake done by MI6 officer in his understanding of the way Adebolajo was arrested in Kenya, which lead to a distortion in the way MI6 understood and should have followed the case.

"If the intelligence services had reviewed their understanding of the case based on the above mentioned intelligence reports they would have better understood the case and might have given it a different prioritization," Waller said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The EU leaders are due to convene on Friday in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava to discuss a stage-by-stage plan of reforming the European Union after British decision to leave the bloc. UK Prime Minister will not attend the meeting.

"We need optimistic scenario for EU27 future. But it requires realistic diagnosis of causes of Brexit & its consequences for Europe. We need to assure citizens that we're able to bring back stability, sense of security, effective protection," he said on his official Twitter account.

The participants of the summit will also discuss Europe's migrant crisis and the issue of protecting Schengen borders.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Demolition of the French refugees camp in the city of Calais will hit unaccompanied foreign minors and people with mental health issues especially hard, the MSF report stated.

"There are 861 unaccompanied foreign minors among the refugees currently living in Calais, 627 of them in the Jungle itself. Mostly from Sudan, Afghanistan, Eritrea or Ethiopia, the youngest is only 10 years old," the report said.

According to the report, Franck Esnee, MSFs head of mission for France, stressed the lack of placement, health care and education arrangements for these children.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier on Thursday, the EU General Court court ruled that the bloc illegally imposed sanctions on Yanukovych, his son and former head of presidential administration Andriy Klyuyev in 2014 but confirmed legality of the sanctions prolongation in 2015.

"As you remember, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on me in March 2014. They were guided by political not juridical motives to legitimize the new Ukrainian authorities. The EU courts decision only confirmed lack of evidence of crimes of which I was accused. As for the money and property that I allegedly took from the country, I see no sense in discussing that  I have never had those," Yanukovych told RIA Novosti.

Ukrainian courts are now controlled by the country's incumbent authorities and it is even more difficult to obtain justice there than in the EU court, he added.
STRASBOURG (Sputnik)  The centers should be set up "as close as possible to the [migrant] emission countries," so that the EU could "sort out migrants, [distinguish] economic migrants from those who are really refugees and those who can have potential terrorist threat," Kover said on the sidelines of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament.

He added that the countries which border war-torn states should also receive refugees.

"European community must develop a coordinated development policy which will rebuild these countries and make somehow appropriate for living of those people who leave these countries on economic and other reasons," he elaborated.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania will seek funding sources for road projects in the border regions, the spokesman stated. She also admitted possibility of appeal to European Commission concerning investments for Ukraine.

"Acceleration of transport infrastructure development in the border regions of Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia is a subject of particular interest of Polands government. One of the projects implemented at the international level is the road route Via Carpatia, set up at the initiative of Poland and extended in 2016 for Ukraine as well. After necessary investments this route would unite this part of our continent," Elzbieta Kisil told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

Earlier in September Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan stated at a meeting with Deputy Infrastructure and Construction Minister of Poland Jerzy Szmit that Ukraine together with Poland, Romania and Slovakia planned to address to EC with an initiative of joint development of border infrastructure between Ukraine and European Union.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to Knyrik, the head of the News Front Serbian edition, Oksana Sazonova, and video operator Sergey Belous were detained in Velika Hoca when they were filming a story about Orthodox churches and the life of Albanians and Serbs in the region.

"The journalists have been accused of violations of the Kosovo stay requirements, their video recording equipment was confiscated, the detained are not being allowed to contact their relatives, or the Russian diplomatic mission in Serbia," Knyrik said as quoted on the News Front website on Friday.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, and has since been recognized by over a hundred UN member-states, including the United States. Belgrade considers Kosovo to be part of Serbia. Dozens of countries, including Russia, do not recognize Kosovo's sovereignty.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  At least one person was killed and 22 others were injured when an explosion occurred in a prison in the Venezuelan city of San Juan de los Morros, in Guarico State, the countrys Interior Ministry said in a statement.

"The authorities reported16 inmates injured and one died. In addition, six relatives of prisoners who were carrying out their visits, were injured," the statement said, as quoted by El Universal on Wednesday.

Some Venezuelan media reports said that at least two people were killed by the blast and 27 others were wounded.
The official investigation concluded the missing students were killed and subsequently burnt on a dump site by a local gang cartel. But a new independent study revealed no evidence of a blaze large enough to consume 43 bodies, the Telesur broadcaster reported.

Following the resignation of Zeron, the country's attorney general would probe into the investigations led by the former official, the media outlet added.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik)  The mortar fired from Gaza landed in an empty field in Eshkol late on Wednesday night, the IDF statement says, as cited by The Times of Israel on Thursday.

According to the Israeli army, the countrys Golan Heights have also been hit by rockets, which were identified as errant fire coming from turbulent Syria.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed Hamas targets on August 21 after a rocket explosion in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, the most violent IDF response since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
TEL AVIV (Sputnik)  "This agreement demonstrates the simple truth that the relationship between Israel and the US is strong and powerful," Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as quoted by The Times of Israel, stressing that the deal "is the largest military aid package the US has ever given out to any nation."

On Wednesday, US State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon and the head of Israels National Security Council, Yaakov Nagel, signed the agreement, which consists of $33 billion in foreign military financing and $5 billion in missile defense.

"I want to thank President Obama and his administration for this historic agreement," Netanyahu said, adding that the deal will help Israel "continue building our armed forces, improve our missile defense systems."
Capable of carrying one helicopter and 100 crew, the ship is reported to be 55 yards long and 14 yards wide, with a speed of up to 28 knots and an operating range of 10,000 kilometers. Currently, a banner with the words "Go to the Bay of Pigs; the Persian Gulf is our home," is said to be displayed on the vessel, in a pointed remark to US ships in the region.

"Bay of Pigs" refers to a failed military invasion of Cuba backed by the US in 1961. Earlier this year the Republican-dominated US House of Representatives introduced a resolution reading that current Iranian military actions were eroding stability in the Persian Gulf.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated, "The Persian Gulf is our home. It is the Americans who must explain why they have come here from the other side of the world to launch war games."
Iran wants to coordinate actions in the Middle East with Russia where the countries interests align, Ansari said.

"We are making efforts to ensure that on those issues where there is a commonality of views and opinions there is proper coordination and harmonization [between Iran and Russia]," Ansari said.

The diplomat voiced support for regular Russian-Iranian consultations on regional issues that he said the sides launched nearly a month ago in Tehran.

"Given the fact that the speed of events in the Arab region, as well as the depth off these changes, is very high, there is the need to hold regular, periodic consultations between Iran and Russia about the events that take place in the Arab region," Ansari said.

Addressing the latest Russian-US ceasefire agreement in Syria, Ansari placed the responsibility for its practical implementation on both Moscow and Washington, but voiced particular hope that the US would remain committed to the agreement.

"Unfortunately, our previous experience related to the US suggests that the extensive use of terrorism to realize its political goals has of course been included on the US agenda," he stressed.

Turkeys Campaign in Syria Should be Coordinated With Damascus

Turkeys military actions in Syria should be coordinated with the Syrian government and be conducted with international standards, Ansari said.

Ankara launched operation Euphrates Shield on August 24 with the parallel aims of clearing the northern town of Jarablus and the surrounding areas from the Daesh jihadist group and preventing Kurdish forces from connecting their cantons.

"We believe that any operation and any foreign actions by Turkey in neighboring countries and in Syria, Iraq and other [country] should be in accordance with international standards as well as in coordination with the central government on whose territory the events take place," Ansari said.

Iraqi Kurdistans Independence Referendum Not in Foreseeable Future

Tehran does not foresee an independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan on the horizon, Ansari said.

"We believe that this has to be dealt with on the basis of two main principles: the need to uphold the civil rights of the Kurds, and to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of the countries in the region and their indivisibility."
Former President of the Russia-Iran Friendship Society Bahram Amirahmadiyan told Sputnik Persian that banking cooperation between Russia and Iran has a long history.

"This is really a very important topic, particularly in the context of trading and economic links between Russia and Iran. Even under the Shah, before the 1979 Islamic revolution, Russian-Iranian banking cooperation was very active. There was even a joint bank which conducted trade operations," he explained.

In 1924 two bilateral institutions were set up, the Russian-Persian Commercial Bank and the Russian-Persian Trade Company.

"After the 1979 that bank, along with many other joint banks, was closed, and bilateral transactions stopped," Amirahmadiyan explained.

The volume of bilateral trade between Russia and Iran is currently four to five billion dollars, which is conducted using dollars or euros, and mostly through intermediate countries such as Cyprus or the UAE.

Russia's trade representative in Iran Andrey Lugansky told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that following the lifting of sanctions, many Iranian companies conducting business through overseas subsidiaries will return their business to Iran and conduct their trade directly.

"We want to carry out all our trade operations in our national currencies, (although) this issue has not been resolved yet," Amirahmadiyan said.

"Of course, the prospect of Russian banks opening in Iran is very attractive and important because it can widen and improve our economic cooperation. At the moment, all banking operations between Russia and Iran are carried out in dollars or euros. It's very inconvenient, because all these operations are controlled either by the EU or US central banks."
"The Russians want equal cooperation with the Americans, and the Americans are ready to cooperate only if the Russians ensure that President Assad maintains the ceasefire," the top diplomat told the website in his Foreign Office on Werderscher Markt in Berlin.

The foreign minister said that US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked the Germans to advocate the agreement in the Arab world and he would gladly do so as he has been trying to promote the peace process for years.

However, he said, it is a lot more complicated than, for example, in eastern Ukraine, where there are only two conflicting parties, while in Syria there are about a hundred armed groups.

"Each of them has the ability to burst the whole thing," he said.

However there are still chances for success as the major players in the region seem to be ready to put an end to the conflict.

After all, he explained, one of the most powerful players in Syria is the neighboring Iran. And it has already expressed its willingness to support the agreement.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A long-lasting cessation of hostilities in war-torn Syria is possible to achieve with strong political will and cooperation between Moscow and Washington, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Thursday.

"We think that if there is a strong will, clear policy of the Unites States with partnership of Russia and other countries, there is a possibility to reach a long-lasting ceasefire [in Syria] and a comprehensive opposition to extremists and terrorists," Ansari said during a press conference in Moscow.

He added that Washington was still leading double games by backing the international fight against terrorism while sponsoring terrorist groups to reach its political goals.
"Also for the first time an open online real-time broadcast of the situation in the eastern districts of Aleppo filmed by a UAV has been arranged," Konashenkov added.

The ministry spokesman noted that the number of locations to provide online monitoring of the situation in Syria was planned to be increased in the future.
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SANAA (Sputnik)  The Saudi-led coalition will allow an UN plane to bring negotiators representing the Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah, from Oman to Yemen on September 16, after blocking their arrival for more than a month, a Houthi source told Sputnik Thursday.

A delegation of Houthi rebels and their allies loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been stuck in Oman since August where it went after failed peace talks with the Yemeni government hosted by Kuwait.

"The forces of the Arab coalition will allow a private UN plane to bring the delegation of Ansar Allah and [president Salehs] General Peoples Congress party from Oman's capital to Sanaa after more than 40 days after the initial ban," the source said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia has adhered to its side of the Syrian ceasefire agreement reached with the United States from day one, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Thursday, contrasting Moscow's faithfulness to the agreement with that of Washington.

"Russia has from the first minute fulfilled its obligations to enforce the ceasefire regime on Syrian territory. At the same time the various US State Department and Pentagon officials statements about the prospects of Russian fulfillment of the agreements reached on Syria are puzzling," Konashenkov said.
"The reduction of violence is by and large frankly holding, is being substantial. Second dividend of the agreement was and remains humanitarian access On that one we have a problem," de Mistura said.

The Syrian government has not yet provided facilitation levels for humanitarian aid deliveries, according to the UN official.

The United Nations is pushing to deliver humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo via Castello road, having received assurance from Moscow and Washington that they were disappointed over the Syrian government not authorizing this yet, according to de Mistura.

"We got a further assurance [from Russia and the United States] that the issue of facilitation letters is a major disappointment even for them. Twenty trucks on the Castello road have not yet moved. We are actively pushing for that to happen," de Mistura said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The United Nations hopes to deliver humanitarian aid to eastern Aleppo, Syria, on September 16, Senior Adviser to UN Special Envoy for Syria Jan Egeland said Thursday.

"We hope to go tomorrow in eastern Aleppo," Egeland told reporters.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  New law regulating building and restoring churches in Egypt discriminates against Christian minority, an international human rights watchdog said on Thursday.

"A long-awaited new law maintains restrictions over the construction and renovation of churches and discriminates against the Christian minority in Egypt. The law, passed by Egypts parliament on August 30, 2016, applies only to Christian houses of worship," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.

The law establishes requirements for construction of new churches depending on the size of Christian community. The final decision over new church construction is also to be made by the governors if they decide that the Christian place of worship would not disturb the peace in the area with Muslim citizens.
CAIRO (Sputnik)  The ports located at Libyas so-called oil crescent have been recently seized by forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar and the Tobruk-based parliament, opposed to the UN-backed government of national accord (GNA)

"NOC is in charge of the ports. They are secure, and we have been in contact with our foreign commercial partners NOC is therefore lifting force majeure at all Oil Crescent ports. Exports will resume immediately from Zuetina and Ras Lanuf, and will continue at Brega, in accordance with the instructions given to me by House of Representatives and the Presidency Council. Exports will resume from Es Sidra as soon as possible," Sanalla said.

The NOC declared force majeure because of the events that prevented the company to export oil in line with its contract obligations beyond the company's control. According to the company, force majeure was declared at Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf in 2014 and at Zuetina in 2015. Oil exports from Brega were not affected by force majeure,
ALEPPO (Sputnik)  The extremist groups redeploy their units to Kafr Hamrah village located to the northwest of Aleppo city amid nationwide ceasefire in Syria, a source in the city militia told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

"Terrorists are assembling a lot of fighters in Kaft Hamrah. According to our data, they are forming assault groups," the source said.

According to the source, additional units were redeployed from Idlib province to Aleppo city.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Airstrikes of the US-led coalition against the Daesh hit the groups chemical weapons storage near the Iraqi city of Huwayjah on Wednesday, the US Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement.

"Near Al Huwayjah, two strikes engaged the Daesh chemical weapons storage facility and destroyed a rocket system, a rocket rail, and a mortar system," the statement said on Thursday.

The coalition conducted a total of ten strikes in Iraq, coordinated with the country's government. The strikes destroyed Daesh tactical units, explosives factories, inoperable coalition equipment and headquarter buildings, the Task Force said.
DUBAI (Sputnik)  Saudi Arabia sent a letter to the UN Security Council demanding it to put an end to Iranian arms deliveries to Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, local media reported on Thursday.

In the letter, Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador Abdullah al-Mouallimi pointed out that the Iranian arms sales violate the UN Security Councils resolution 2216 and pose a threat to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the whole region.

The diplomat said that the kingdom became a target for attacks committed by the Houthi rebels and supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Al Riyadh newspaper reported.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The escalated violence in Yemen causes problems for peoples access to medical care, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Border, or MSF) said in a statement on Thursday.

"Now that the violence has resumed, traveling to seek care is life-threatening," Laurent Sury, MSFs head of emergency programs said, as quoted by the statement.

The statement said that during the last 12 months there were four attacks on hospitals in Yemen. The last one, committed by the Saudi led coalition on August 15 in the northern city of Abs, killed 19 people and injured 24 more.
The diplomat said that there are two pre-conditions for this ceasefire to become a success: first, it should be a serious multiparty opposition to the terrorism and all forms of extremism. All the parties to the conflict should call for a halt of arms deliveries, financial and human inflow into the hands of terrorists.

Second, the political horizon should be open both for the Syrian people and the representatives of different groups for them "to find a reason for hope."

Based on these concepts, the fight against terrorism should become a priority and the demands and requirements of the Syrian people should be taken into account while launching any legislative reforms.

These issues should be open for discussion within the internal Syrian dialogue, as it is the Syrian people who should decide their own fate, the diplomat said.

"If these principles are violated, if we do not seriously fight against terrorism but rather use it as a tool, there will be no political dialogue," he added.

If this happened, other political players would impose their opinion on Syria and there will be no changes to the current situation.

The crisis and the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria risks deteriorating. All the large players should do their best to prevent this happening, he finally stated.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A delegation of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee opposition group will travel to New York on September 18 for consultations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, HNC member George Sabra told Sputnik on Thursday.

"Yes, a HNC delegation will travel to New York, there is a program [of meetings]," Sabra, the deputy head of the HNC delegation at the intra-Syria talks, said.

HNC spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha in turn told Sputnik that Riyad Hijab, general coordinator of the HNC, will head the delegation.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The UN humanitarian convoy of 40 trucks carrying food supplies for 80,000 people in besieged eastern Aleppo is ready to cross into Syria from Turkey after receiving permission to do so, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs David Swanson told Sputnik.

Senior Adviser to UN Special Envoy for Syria Jan Egeland said on Thursday that UN hoped to deliver humanitarian aid to eastern Aleppo, Syria, on September 16.

"As of today, we currently have 40 trucks of food loaded and ready at the Turkish border for 80 thousand beneficiaries for one month," Swanson said, clarifying that "UN initially plans to send only 20 truck for 40,000 people on a first day followed by another 20 trucks the day after, depending on the security situation on the ground."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein  Any coordination of airstrikes in Syria between the United States and Russia will be worked out strictly at the level of US combatant commander, US Air Force Chief Gen. David Goldfein told Sputnik on Thursday.

Possible US-Russian coordination of airstrikes in Syria "is all in combatant commander lanes, in terms of the military aspect of it," Goldfein said.

Last week, the United States and Russia agreed to coordinate airstrikes against shared terrorist targets in Syria, if the terms of a ceasefire agreement are maintained over seven days. Russia has repeatedly sought cooperation with the United States to target the Daesh and al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Syria.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a new peace plan for Syria that called for a ceasefire to come into force beginning on Monday.

"If at any point it is determined that there is a legal requirement, of course we are going to meet that requirement," Cook stated on Thursday. "We are prepared to address those [issues] in close consultations with Congress as required."

If the new ceasefire in Syria lasts, Washington and Moscow will work together to establish the JIC, and carry out joint airstrikes against the Nusra Front terrorist group, according to the deal.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the Kremlin press service, Putin and Netanyahu agreed it's important to maintain contacts at various levels.

"An exchange of opinions continues on the current situation in the Middle East region. The situation with regard to the Palestinian-Israeli settlement was touched upon, including the prospect of resuming direct dialogue between the parties."
New Delhi (Sputnik)  India and France are still working on preparing a fresh Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for 36 Rafale combat aircraft.

Sources told Sputnik that following negotiations, officials from both countries are finalizing documents which will be placed before Cabinet Committee of Security, Indias topmost approving authority, for final approval.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian S-300 missile systems performed combat launches during air defense drills of the Western Military District at the Ashuluk firing range near the southern city of Astrakhan, a spokesman for the district, Igor Muginov, said Thursday.

"According to the drills scenario, the S-300 air defense systems were countering a sudden massive missile attack of the simulated enemy," Muginov said.
Earlier this week, Saab and its partner Boeing took the wraps off their T-X military training jet in Saint Louis, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported. They hope the single-engine two-seat aircraft will be able to replace the US Air Force's ageing fleet of T-38 trainer jets and meet the growing demand for future pilots capable of flying fifth-generation fighters. Recently, Sweden's Air Force itself experienced trouble in that the trainer planes it currently has in use have become far too obsolete to provide for the instruction of future Gripen pilots.

Consequently, Saab, which previously suffered a row of painful setbacks when trying to sell its fifth-generation Gripen E jets across the globe, is now pinning its hopes on the T-X becoming a fixture in the US Air Force, which would obviously serve as its best advertisement in large parts of the world. The T-X is a "blank sheet" aircraft, specifically designed to meet US Air Force requirements for the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning. According to Boeing, the design is inexpensive, flexible and easily upgradeable. Remarkably, its twin tails were derived from Saab's Gripen and offer greater maneuverability and a higher attack angle.

If successful, the T-X is expected to enter service in 2024 and replace the US Air Force's fleet of 400 T-38 aircraft, which have been in service for over half a century. Since a minimum order of 350 aircraft is anticipated, the major contract, worth 11 billion dollars, has attracted other major players as well. The Boeing-Saab duo is facing harsh competition from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Alenia Aermacchi and Textron AirLand.
Government sources told Sputnik that renting the second nuclear powered attack submarine from Russia would result in the introduction of newer technology into India, which would eventually pave the way for Russian collaboration with India for it program to build six new SSN.

Russia had originally offered Akula class submarine to India which India already had in the form of the INS Chakra. Experts consider that there may be some adversities due to the different characteristics of the two boats, but this may be more than offset by the newer technology the Yasen brings into India's own SSN-building program in the longer term.
In his analysis, published in the independent news and geopolitical analysis website Voltairenet.org, Vasilescu emphasized that the Sukhoi Su-34 has already proven itself as a capable strike fighter.

The 45 ton, Mach 1.8-capable airplane, designed to carry up to 8 tons of weaponry, has a tactical radius of 4,000 km, and a flight ceiling of 18,000 meters. The plane can also be equipped with up to three additional fuel tanks, allowing to fly 8 hours without refueling.

Having been tested in real-world fighting conditions against Daesh and other militants in Syria in the course of the past year, Vasilescu explained that "one of the conclusions drawn by Russian military experts has been to expand the capabilities of this aircraft for ground attack missions," and "to replace the armored Sukhoi Su-25 [close air support aircraft], whose operational resource is running out."
He further remarked that by assigning more operatives to Russia-related operations, the US intelligence community is unlikely to find itself short-staffed when dealing with other threats as it commands a much larger pool of resources than some people imagine.

"What you do have is a much larger network that works outside the CIA. There companies like Stratfor, and other companies that are outsourced but arent included in those budgets. These NGOs that I mentioned as well  these individuals are operating at a very intertwined level with the CIA. At the same time you also have the State Department, and you have the individuals working at the embassies, and the individuals who are working on the commercial side in different countries. So all of these intertwined capabilities are assimilated into the intelligence community," Rickard explained.

He also pointed out that that the increase in anti-Russian rhetoric can also be at least partially attributed to the ongoing US presidential election campaign, as Hillary Clinton is using it as a "tool, sort of her latest stint at McCarthyism against Donald Trump."

"Thats the kind of unfortunate rhetoric that goes left and right in order not only to support the agenda of the oligarchs who are financing these elections, but also to divide and conquer," Rickard concluded.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  The foreign ministers of the P5+1 group of countries will discuss the Iran agreement on September 22, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly gathering in New York, a UN source told RIA Novosti.

"A meeting of the E3+3 [also known as P5+1] group will take place on September 22 on the ministerial level," the source said.

Last month, media reports indicated that the next Iran and P5+1 session would take place in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with the purpose of going over some differences in opinion with regard to the implementation of the Iran deal.
Pyongyang has managed to tick off even China, which had always been a natural ally to North Korea in the past, the journalist emphasized. "Beijing had good communication with Kim Jong-un's father, and restrained Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. But Kim Jong-un has managed to significantly complicate relations not only with world powers, but also with their closest neighbor."

In this regard, it's notable, according to the journalist, that Kim has never made an official visit to China, or even met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Russia and China are the only two countries that continue to engage in dialog with Pyongyang. The recent nuclear test in the peninsula has complicated the already delicate regional balance. Everyone understands that a war on the Korean peninsula would have far-reaching and unpredictable consequences."

Commenting on the September 9 test, Xinhua news agency emphasized that "all parties, including North Korea, must recognize that chaos on the peninsula, war and instability in Northeast Asia, will not benefit anyone." At the same time, the agency added, it's important to take into account that the militarization of South Korea is one of the main motivations for Pyongyang to carry out its nuclear testing. Seoul, for instance has confirmed the deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system on its territory.
While the leaders are raising the alarm, heads of the southern Europe states are planning to pressure Brussels into changing its economic strategy and reconsidering austerity policies, Dmitri Rodionov of Svobodnaya Pressa writes

On September 9 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called upon the Mediterranean EU member-states in Athens to team up and develop a new European vision for dealing with migration, security and economy ahead of the Bratislava summit.

Rodionov noted that that the meeting in Athens has become a signal of discontent with the diktat of Brussels and Berlin.

In an interview with Svobodnaya Pressa Viktor Yakovchuk, Director of the Institute of Innovative Development, highlighted that the bloc's member states are trying to take advantage of the EU weakness in the wake of Brexit.

"Europe is politically weakened by Brexit and [EU member] states are trying to exploit the EU's weakness to obtain preferential treatment," Yakovchuk underscored.

The trend is worrisome, since the EU is already bursting at the seams, Bryan MacDonald, an Irish journalist, emphasized in his op-ed for RT.

He recalled that just a decade ago "the union was so attractive [that] even wealthy Switzerland and Norway seriously debated joining." However, the situation has drastically changed since then.

What lies at the root of the European Union project's failure?

"Put simply, it expanded too fast. And for too long, ideology was allowed to trump pragmatism," MacDonald suggested.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold a meeting with EU diplomacy chief Frederica Mogherini next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, Russian envoy to EU Vladimir Chizhov said Thursday.

"A meeting between our Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Frederica Mogherini will take place next week on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York," Chizhov told reporters.

The United Nations General Assembly opened its 71st session on September 13, with an emphasis on ensuring the implementation of the new global development goals, adopted by its 193 member states last year.
In accordance with the deal the US Department of Defense would have to share information with Moscow on Daesh targets in Syria if the ceasefire holds for seven days.

"I'm not saying yes or no. It would be premature to say that we're going to jump right into it," Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, commander of the United States Air Forces Central Command, said as cited by the media outlet.

For its part, on Monday Foreign Policy magazine drew attention to the fact that senior officials at the Pentagon were expressing serious doubts regarding the efficiency of the agreement struck by Washington and Moscow.

There appears to be a rift between Kerry and Carter over Syria, reflecting the ongoing conflict within the Obama administration. Previously, Carter has repeatedly opposed the Secretary of State's initiatives to establish a working relationship with Moscow.

However, in an apparent response to the New York Times' publication, Carter voiced support for the State Department's agreement with Russia on Syria.

"Well, the ceasefire as of today looks like it is largely being held. This is very important, I commend Secretary of State Kerry for getting us an agreement, which if it's implemented, will ease the suffering of the Syrian people, which is very important to all of us, very important to the president," the Secretary of Defense told a press briefing in Texas on September 14.
"Against this background," the analyst suggested, "the training of the Russian and Chinese military in the vicinity of the disputed territories is very revealing," serving to demonstrate the growing extent of military cooperation between the two countries. "Their message however, differs fundamentally from that of the US."

Speaking to Russian media ahead of the exercises, Vice Admiral Fedotenkov, commander of the Russian forces involved in the drills, emphasized that the Russian-Chinese cooperation "is not directed against anyone, and is intended to protect our mutual interests, to ensure security across the world's oceans. It's a good thing when two countries, two great powers, cooperate; this guarantees peace not only in the regions around our countries, but around the world."

In the course of the exercises, whose active phase began Thursday, Russian and Chinese sailors and marines are engaged in joint training on the defense of anchored ships, search and rescue operations, escort of civilian vessels, and the use of air defense systems. In addition, the military forces are holding rocket and artillery fire drills, and staging an operation to simulate the liberation of islands captured by the enemy, involving the use of paratroops and marines.
On this episode of "By Any Means Necessary" host Eugene Puryear is joined by Gabrielle Burks, Founder of Conscious Conversations to talk about the recent murder of activist Darren Seals and what his life meant to the people of Ferguson, Missouri. Gabrielle Burks also talks about the work her organization Conscious Conversations is doing to empower and edify the underserved and Black communities through conversation, poetry, and art.

In a special third segment former Congressmember and Presidential nominee Dennis Kucinich joins host Eugene Puryear to talk about the recent DNC leaks and the play-to-play culture of Washington elites in relation to Ambassadorships. Matthew Duss, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, also weighs in and talks with Eugene Puryear about the state of US relationships with Iran and Russia.

We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
Dr Richard Wellings of the Institute of Economic Affairs said that: Britain should not take the warnings from Japan very seriously because they [the Japanese] are well known for terrible mismanagement of their own economy, economics are not their strong point.The corporate sector in Japan is very unlike the western equivalent. They dont like any kind of uncertainty, they dont really like a dynamic free market like we aspire to western countries.One reason why the Japanese came out with all these warnings at the G20 summit is that they are possibly taking a lead from the United States which is very keen for the UK to remain deeply integrated in the EU, mostly for geopolitical reasons.If The US loses its influence in Europe, potentially it becomes a periphery economy, as the growing population centres and markets are actually in China, India and Asia.

Surely the Japanese point that they will have to pay double tariffs; export duties into EU countries for goods made in the UK, and also import duties for spare parts for cars, for example, made outside the UK, is valid, John Harrison asked? Dr Wellings relied by saying that there are various options available to the UK.there is the more extreme option of unilateral free trade, as in Hong Kong or Singapore, then Japanese car firms would be able to benefit from being able to source components very cheaply from all around the world, or the softer Norwegian version, whereby the UK would still be part of the European Economic Area, in which case nothing in particular would change for these firms. Lets not forget that you can buy foreign cars in the EU. As long as production costs are not too high, tariffs are not an insurmountable barrier to trading in the EU.

But for international companies wishing to trade with the EU, surely they will now relocate to the continent to avoid tax duties?, John Harrison argued. I disagree, Dr Wellings said. They may be looking further afield at places like India where you are going to get real cost savings. In the long term, Europe is not going to be an attractive place to produce cars because the cost base is too high, and the regulations are not so tough. India also has a huge potential domestic market, this is important. Dr Wellings continued, It is important that the UK makes the most of leaving the EU, in terms of deregulation, and makes trade deals with other parts of the world, particularly with developing economies. There are enormous opportunities available here, it just depends in what precise direction the UK government decides to take.
Todays main stories: NSA whistleblower Bill Binney, protagonist of the film The Good American which is premiered in the UK tonight, reveals that the 9/11 attacks in New York and many more recent terrorist attacks across Europe could have been avoided if the US had not relied on methods of mass surveillance. Bill Binnie and the films director, Friedrich Moser join us in the studio to discuss the ethics of mass surveillance and whether Edward Snowden could receive a presidential pardon.

Yesterday saw a major step forward in UK-Argentine relations, when UK Foreign Office Minister Alan Duncan met with Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra. The meeting is said to have resulted in a thawing of relations  a statement said that an agreement had been reached to "remove all obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development". We speak to Dr Christopher Wylde, Associate Professor in International Relations at Richmond University, London.

You can find previous editions of World in Focus here.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  US Congressman and Chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Mike McCaul said he misspoke in an interview Wednesday night when he claimed hackers breached the Republican National Committee (RNC).

"I misspoke by asserting that the RNC was hacked," McCaul said in a statement. "What I had intended to say was that in addition to the DNC [Democratic National Committee] hack, Republican political operatives have also been hacked."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Joseph Schreiber, a suspect in the Fort Pierce Islamic center fire, was arrested within 65 hours after the crime was reported, St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office said at a press conference.

"Under Florida law, Schreiber will be charged with arson and hate crime enhancement will also be applied [which brings the sentence] to possible 30 years in prison," the Sheriffs Office stated on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the authorities noted that Islamic terrorist Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June, had attended the Fort Pierce mosque in the past.
Governor Jerry Brown signed Assemblymember Richard Blooms groundbreaking California Orca Protection Act into law on Tuesday, and it will go into effect in 2017.

The new legislation does not require parks to get rid of their captive orcas, but they may only be used for educational presentations and can no longer be used for theatrical presentations or breeding. Those who do not comply may face a fine of up to $100,000.

The law allows for the rescue of killer whales for rehabilitation, but encourages their release if and when it becomes possible to do so safely.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The water crisis in Flint in the US state of Michigan was a direct result of the free trade policies championed by Democrats Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama over the past quarter century, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told a rally.

"This is the catastrophe that happens when [we] take care of every country except for our own," Trump said in Canton in the US state of Ohio on Wednesday. "It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico. Now cars are made in Mexico and you can't drink the water in Flint."

Fourteen million people had left the US labor force since Barack Obama became US president in January 2009 and the US national debt had almost doubled to close to $20 trillion during the same time, Trump pointed out.
"Even without his foundation, Trump would still be a billionaire, so why would he need to game a charity? [But] the Clinton Foundation  and both Hillarys and former President Bill Clintons massive speaking fees  are fundamental to their fortunes," he explained.

Jatras described the Clintons as "this Bonnie and Clyde of American politics" who in sixteen years had gone from "dead broke" by their own admission upon leaving the White House in 2001 to worth a quarter of a billion dollars.

Jatras noted that the latest attempt to discredit trump came as Democrats were growing increasingly alarmed by Hillary Clintons disappearing lead in opinion polls and the growing fears over her health.

"This also is first and foremost a distraction," Jatras noted. "Some are already pronouncing Hillary a political corpse, prematurely, in my view, and arguing over whether she would be replaced."

Potential alternative candidates on the Democratic ticket were Vice President Joe Biden, Clintons running mate Senator Tim Kaine and Senator Bernie Sanders, whom she defeated by a relatively narrow margin in a long primary campaign earlier this year, Jatras said.

However, Jatras predicted that Clinton would refuse to step down as the Democratic presidential candidate even if her health condition proves to be serious.

"Hillary would never let go of the nomination shes dedicated her life to obtaining until it was literally pried from her cold, dead fingers," he explained. "This militates against her stepping down, no matter how sick she is."

Clinton hoped the Trump Foundation probe would distract public attention from another politically damaging period for her, Jatras argued.

Clintons disastrous week combined an insult to a quarter of the electorate by calling Trump supporters "deplorable" with her collapse at the 9/11 memorial on Sunday, compounded by yet more lies and obfuscation, he added.

This explained why Clinton wanted her supporters to change the subject and try and renew their personal attacks on Trump rather than debate him on the issues, Jatras concluded.

In June, The Washington Post reported that in the last 15 years Trump spent about $2.8 million on charity through his foundation, contrary to claims that he had donated some $100 million in recent years. The newspaper added that it had not found any evidence of Trump donating to his foundation since 2008.
In the wake of the collapse of the Corinthian Colleges and questions about other for-profit career colleges, the Department of Education has drafted broad new rules for when people can get out of repaying federal loans. These proposed changes to whats called the borrower defense rule would let people petition for loan forgiveness or even sue their school.

The problem is that the proposed rules, which will be finalized by Nov. 1, are so vague they may invite abuse. For example, student borrowers could apply to discharge their loans if the college made statements that were misleading under the circumstances. What does that mean exactly? Department of Education employees and courts will get to decide on a case-by-case basis, apparently.

More troublesome is that these poorly devised standards probably would spur new lawsuits. Indeed, the proposed regulations expressly contemplate students suing their schools: One of the major proposed changes outlaws binding arbitration as a means of resolving disputes. Instead, students could either file an administrative petition asking the Department of Education to cancel their debt, or file a lawsuit against their school (or perhaps both). Indeed, the proposed regulations seek to protect the use of class-action lawsuits against colleges.

Students have a tremendous incentive to try to get out of paying for their education. More than two-thirds of college graduates carry student loans with an average debt of almost $35,000  more for graduate students. Many will struggle to keep up with payments, especially in their first jobs. You can bet plenty will try to take advantage of this rule change.

As long as a college did not mislead prospective or current students about, say, graduation or job-placement rates, or the cost of tuition, it should not have to worry, right? Hard to say. The old standard required proving that the school deceived students, and it referred to state law requirements for misrepresentation.

The newly proposed standard, mislead, is intentionally broader than misrepresent. It includes affirmative statements, but also failure to disclose something that the student can argue influenced their decision to enroll or to continue at the college. That could be just about anything, and a borrower defense can be raised any time before a loan is paid off.

Colleges that admitted reporting inflated average SAT scores during the 2000s, hoping to influence the annual U.S. News & World Report college rankings, should be worried, as should those that employed even more creative methods.

In 2008, Texas Baylor University offered $300 in bookstore credits to any incoming student whod retake the SAT  and if their score went up 50 points they were given a $1,000 scholarship. Baylor got a 10-point average SAT score bump out of the deal. Leaders at the University of California at Irvine Law School also had their eye on cracking the top 20 in their initial U.S. News ranking when they gave their entire inaugural class full three-year scholarships. The offer was designed to attract top students whod otherwise pass on applying to a brand-new law school.

Heres the catch: Subsequent classes didnt get the same deal, so the school cannot guarantee it would maintain a student body of that caliber.

Are such ranking-rigging strategies misleading? A student with significant debt will certainly be tempted to make the argument.

This is not the only area of risk. A number of colleges have been criticized for inaccurately reporting campus crime rates. A 2014 investigative report by the Columbus Dispatch concluded that: The crime statistics being released by colleges nationwide  are so misleading that they give students and parents a false sense of security. Is this misleading enough for a student to sue?

It is also not hard to imagine that different standards might emerge in every state where lawsuits are filed.

No court judgments, however, would be binding on the Department of Education. Even if a judge determines a case is meritless, department officials might still wipe out a students loan debt. These officials would be given complete discretion to decide whether a school is guilty of misleading under the circumstances statements. The Department of Education would then demand the school reimburse the government for all the forgiven loans. There is no procedure for the college to challenge those rulings.

Instead of protecting students from predatory or even fraudulent programs, the proposed new regulations would just spawn litigation and create substantial costs for colleges and universities. Those costs would be passed on to students. Rather than solve a problem, the Department of Educations rules look to be a lose-lose proposition for all parties.
Earlier on Tuesday, Democratic members of the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee sent a letter asking US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to probe Trumps foundation.

According to Giraldi, political foes of Trump have been preparing for some time to launch an investigation into the real estate moguls charitable activities in a renewed bid to discredit him.

"There has been considerable chatter for several weeks about irregularities at the Trump Foundation," he noted.

However, word of Schneidermans move came just as Clintons campaign was floundering, with opinion polls showing Trump gaining on Clinton in polls, Giraldi added.

He said the timing of the New York probe "has to be considered as suspicious as it comes on top of possibly the worst week that Hillary Clinton has had as a presidential candidate due to her health issues and her denigration of Trump supporters," he said.

Clinton and her campaign aides have tried to portray Trump as so undignified and unlikable that he couldnt be a credible president, but those efforts failed, prompting a revived attack, Giraldi asserted.

"Diverting the media narrative so that it is again focused negatively on Donald Trump is likely intended to mitigate the damage being done to the Hillary campaign," he said.

Giraldi, however, doubts Clintons latest criticism will be effective.

"I suspect it will not succeed, as the issues of credibility and honesty in the candidate [Clinton] were most affected  a vulnerability that cannot at this point be repaired by shifting the story," he concluded.

Giraldi currently is executive director of the Council for the National Interest, a group that seeks to influence US government policies in the Middle East.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Small businesses in two areas where local transmission of the Zika virus was detected in the US state of Florida have experienced economic pain, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Anne Schuchat, said on Thursday.

We know that travel guidance has had substantial consequences on local business and of course were working very hard with local authorities to address the mosquito problem and try to support the individuals in this zone, Schuchat stated in a call with reporters.

However, US Travel Association president Roger Dow said during the call that although the potential for economic harm from Zika exists, there so far is no evidence of long-term damage. The association represents companies in the travel industry.
Pollack asserts that two developments during the pendency of the investigation led him to write and ask for a public announcement that the case is closed with no criminal charges filed.

The first development points to the Attorney Generals revision of the DOJ regulations with respect to obtaining evidence from and charging members of the press in January 2015.

The Departments policy is intended to provide protection to members of the news media from certain law enforcement tools, whether criminal or civil, that might unreasonably impair newsgathering, the policy revision reads.

No member of the Department shall present information to a grand jury seeking a bill of indictment, or file an information, against a member of the news media for any offense which he or she is suspected of having committed in the course of, or arising out of, newsgathering activities without first providing notice to the Director of the Office of Public Affairs and obtaining express authorization of the Attorney General, it states.

Pollack argues that the investigation against Assange is clearly based on his newsgathering activities, and that WikiLeaks had published the information because they believed it was newsworthy. The lawyer argues that the extensive coverage of the published documents by third party media outlets affirms the assertion of newsworthiness.

The second development indicates that the investigation should be dropped due to a lack of charges against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. He notes that FBI Director James Comey based his recommendation of no charges for Clinton on his belief that there was no criminal intent.

In his statement, and in subsequent testimony before Congress, Director Comey made it clear his conclusion was based on the necessity of proving criminal intent. Director Comey noted that responsible prosecutors consider the context of a persons actions, Pollack wrote. Criminal prosecution is appropriate only when a person was knowingly violating the law and was intending to aid enemies of the United States or was attempting to obstruct justice.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The legislation, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, was passed unanimously by both houses of the US Congress, but Obama this week said he would veto it.

We have a system in this country for identifying, isolating and even punishing countries that support terrorism, Earnest said at the daily White House briefing. Thats more effective than a patchwork system of legal decisions that could cloud the clarity that is needed to forcefully respond to state sponsored terrorism.

Because the current session of Congress is nearing an end, the president has the option of using what is known as a pocket veto. If Congress adjourns, a bill dies because legislators have no opportunity to pass it with the usual two-thirds majority needed to enact laws without the presidents signature.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Chinese billionaire Wang Wenliang was among 45 lawmakers who were expelled from Chinas rubber-stamp National Peoples Congress in a scandal that involved mass vote buying, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.

"If this is the type of person Hillary Clinton would let into her private home, it should trouble every American who she might let into the White House," Miller stated.

Miller said that Wang, a Chinese citizen, attended a 2013 fundraiser at Clintons house in Washington, DC.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Akayev said that the coalition forces engaged in operations in Afghanistan could have been involved in the drug-smuggling from the troubled country.

"This base had always served its initial purpose  to deploy troops, cargo to supply the coalition forces in Afghanistan. We don't know what they worked out on the way back. Probably, they transported heroin They could have done anything on their way back," Akayev told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear weapons. It is "able to penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most valued, and heavily defended, targets," according to Military.com.

The upgrade is aimed at enhancing the safe escape of Air Force pilots while reducing the cost and time of maintenance and installation of the seats. The aircraft will have a detachable seat back and a "bucket structure" that will allow maintenance without having to remove escape hatches.
The president of the local police union told the paper that he had spoken to the officer and is defending his actions.

Officers do not have the luxury of knowing if its a real gun or not, union president Jason Pappas said. So two young men who were suspects in this armed robbery separated and ran. One of them was ordered to show his hands and go to the ground, and he complied.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther became emotional over the incident, and has promised that the investigation will be open and transparent. He also stated that everyone should be shocked and angry about the shooting.

There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets, Ginther said. And a 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence.

In 2014 in nearby Cleveland, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot to death while playing with a pellet gun at a local park. He had not committed any crimes prior to the incident.

Chief Jacobs has said it is too soon in the investigation to compare the two cases.

Jacobs has promised a full investigation and will be sending the results to a grand jury, stating, "we want all the right answers, not quick answers."

She also vowed that she will "not let an officer out on the street to perform their job if I don't trust them to be capable of doing it."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Snowden said that "their report is so artlessly distorted that it would be amusing if it weren't such a serious act of bad faith."

@Snowden Their report is so artlessly distorted that it would be amusing if it weren't such a serious act of bad faith. Let's take examples:  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) 15  2016 .

The report summary said Snowden damaged US national security when he made public a cache of documents about the US government's intelligence programs in 2013.

The Committee found that Snowden was not a whistleblower, explaining that he bypassed numerous official channels available to express concerns about US intelligence activities.
New Delhi (Sputnik)  A recent tweet from Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj brought immense relief to the family of T. Gopalakrishna and Balaram Kishan, both from Southern India.

Swaraj tweeted about their releases this morning: "I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued."

I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 15, 2016

The Indian nationals were teaching at Sirte University and were abducted while trying to flee Libya amid the ongoing fight with Daesh (ISIS) militants.
The following editorial appeared in the Sept. 8 Des Moines Register.

Elections have consequences for children.

Children cannot vote. They do not contribute big bucks to political campaigns. They are not represented by high-profile lobbying organizations. There is no AARP for the under-18 crowd in this country.

Yet kids may have more at stake than adults in state and federal elections. They are not only among the future generations that will deal with everything from the national debt to the health of the environment. Their daily lives, right this minute, are affected by what elected officials do.

When lawmakers dont adequately fund education or human services, children suffer. When politicians starve or reform government safety net programs, children feel the impact.

Each year about 410,000 Iowans are lifted out of poverty by tax credits for low-income families and government programs to provide food, income and housing, according to a July report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Of those Iowans, 93,000 are children. Safety-net programs reduce the child poverty rate in this state from 18.1 percent to 5.2 percent.

When members of Congress complain about food stamps, they want Americans to envision a welfare queen mother who drives a Cadillac and sponges off the system. What should come to mind is an image of a child. Of the 390,000 Iowans each month who rely on food stamps, 180,000 of them are youth, according to CBPP.

Then theres Medicaid, the single largest health insurer of children in the country. About 300,000 Iowa youngsters rely on it and its companion, the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for coverage. Turning over management of the government program to for-profit insurers, as Gov. Terry Branstad recently did, is not only disruptive to poor, elderly constituents and health care providers who arent being paid. It is disruptive to kids.

In fact, Iowans should take note of a June report from Georgetown Universitys Center for Children and Families. It examined specifically how children have fared during the first two years of statewide Medicaid privatization in Florida, a move spearheaded by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Two-thirds of Florida pediatricians reported an increase in patients reassigned to new health plans without their knowledge. Some of our patients keep getting switched to plans where they have to go all the way across the state for primary care, said one doctor. More than 80 percent said patients experienced difficulty accessing medications. Under private Medicaid management, only six in 10 infants are receiving the recommended number of well-child visits. The majority of adolescents are not receiving these visits at all. Only 27 percent of children covered by Floridas managed care programs received a preventative dental visit, compared with 48 percent of Medicaid- and CHIP-covered children nationwide.

The lesson: Elections have consequences for those too young to vote.

This countrys safety net programs separate impoverished children in the United States from impoverished children starving and dying from diseases in Third World countries. Those of us eligible to cast ballots must do so with an eye to protecting these government programs.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein  US politicians should remember the challenges posed by the Cold War era and reconsider their harsh positions on Russia in favor of diplomatic relations, US Senator and former Republican presidential nominee Rand Paul told Sputnik.

People say, Were going to punch Russia in the nose, or Were going to have a no-fly zone and shoot down Russian planes. These people didnt remember anything about the Cold War when we tried to avoid a war with Russia, Paul said.
In an interview with Sputnik, Republican Party member Nicolas Dhuicq described France's and Britain's intervention in Libya as "a very controversial operation" which he said added significantly to the complete destabilization if the region.

The interview came after the release of a UK parliamentary report which harshly criticized the NATO intervention by Britain and France that led to the ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The report published by a UK House of Commons cross-party committee said, in particular, that the intervention had not been "informed by accurate intelligence", and that it resulted in the rise of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) in North Africa.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The best thing that can be done with a new treaty should be that it should not be reversed; irreversible reductions is the key, Fu said Thursday at a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace forum on the future of arms control.

Fu cited concerns that once the 15-year treaty expires, either Russia or the United States could redevelop or redeploy weapons. He said he hopes that New START can be extended, or even better, that a new treaty can be negotiated.

New START was signed by the two countries in 2010 with goal of cutting the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 by 2018. Moscow and Washington are on target to meet that goal.
STEM

Website Aims to Improve STEM Teacher Leadership

Educators and education stakeholders now have access to resources that support STEM teacher leadership. The United States Department of Education launched a website yesterday that provides practical information and guidance on implementing and improving STEM teacher leadership.

Building STEM Teacher Leadership is authored by experts in the field of STEM teacher leadership for use by other practitioners. It is organized in a Q&A format, and aims to serve as a launching off point for educators to examine issues and roles in building STEM teacher leadership, according to the website.

It is intended to help the following stakeholders in STEM:

Elementary educators (K5);

Secondary educators (grades 612);

School and district administrators;

Educator support organizations;

Participants in teacher preparation programs;

State education agencies; and

National funding providers and policymakers.

U.S. Secretary of Education John King announced the website during the Opportunity Across America back-to-school bus tour.

All students deserve a high-quality education, complete with access to digital learning, which prepares them to succeed in our 21st century, knowledge-based economy, said King. And supporting teacher leadership is critical to improving education for all of our nations students, particularly those students who are often underserved and underrepresented.

Further information is available on the Building STEM Teacher Leadership site.
- President Uhuru has brokered a deal with Somalia government

- This was during the just concluded IGAD summit

President Uhuru Kenyatta visit to Somalia on September 12,2016 has seen Kenya Commercial Bank get approval to open a subsidiary in the neighbouring country.

List of most and cheapest banks when it comes to interest rates

READ ALSO: These are the billions that Delamere grandson left behind

This is after the president held a meeting with Somalia president Hassan Mohamoud on the sideline of the just concluded special Igad summit in Mogadishu.

KCB also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives in Somalia for the first time as a head of state

READ ALSO: A list of the most powerful women in modern Kenya

The new development comes at a time when president Kenyatta held bilateral talks with the Somalia government who agreed to lift the ban on Miraa.

Meru Governor Peter Munya remarks that undermined the sovereignty of the Somalia country had seen the country ban the product from Kenya.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Years before Scott Walker would become an at-times reluctant supporter of Donald Trump's run for the White House, the Wisconsin governor had a 45-minute meeting with the real estate mogul at the Trump Organization Building in New York.

The same day, Trump cut a $15,000 check to the Wisconsin Club for Growth  the conservative group that boosted Walker and a set of Republican senators who faced recall elections after the passage of Act 10.

The Trump donation was first reported in 2014, when some documents from the John Doe investigation into Walker's campaign and the groups that supported him during the recall election were released.

But it was used on Wednesday as one of several examples included in a Guardian U.S. report, laying out a series of instances where Walker appeared to solicit high-dollar donations for Wisconsin Club for Growth rather than his own campaign.

The report mentions Trump several times as it raises questions about the prevalence of quid pro quo arrangements in politics, using this Trump quote as a kicker: "When you give to them, they do whatever the hell you want them to do."

The relationship between Trump and Walker could be best described as complicated. Trump also gave Walker's gubernatorial campaign $10,000 in June 2014. And Trump has said Walker once came to his office and gave him a plaque to thank him for contributing to his re-election efforts.

Trump also briefly floated Walker as a potential vice presidential pick, an idea Walker called "breathtaking" given Trumps criticisms of the governors record throughout the presidential race.

When Walker ended his own presidential bid, he called on his fellow Republican candidates to follow suit and make way for a "positive alternative" to Trump.

Since then, Walker has undergone an evolution, first backing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over Trump in Wisconsin's primary while Trump mocked Walker in speeches throughout the state. Walker then shifted from offering lukewarm support for his party's nominee to eventually appearing with him onstage at a rally in West Bend.

Walker and Trump also share a common tie in Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, who was named this summer to Trump's economic policy council and serves as a vice chair of the Trump Victory committee.

Hendricks has been one of Walker's biggest backers, having donated more than $540,000 to the candidate himself and $1 million to the state Republican Party to back his election efforts.

Hendricks is also mentioned in the Guardian U.S. story, in emails about the fate of the state Supreme Court.

"She is concerned about the state s. Ct," wrote Wisconsin Club for Growth director Eric O'Keefe in a December 2010 email to Walker and Club for Growth adviser R.J. Johnson.

Johnson replied that it would be good for Hendricks to see their plan.

"Club is leading the coalition to maintain the Court," he wrote, referencing the court's conservative majority.

Walker later credited Wisconsin Club for Growth with not only retaining Justice David Prosser's seat, but also with defeating an incumbent justice for the first time in decades in 2008, in an email to GOP strategist Karl Rove.
(ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon, see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)

* FTSE 100 index steady

* Next (Frankfurt: 779551 - news) worst FTSE 100 performer

* Morrisons gains after results

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Britain's top equity index steadied near a one-month low on Thursday, with a slump in Next (EUREX: NXTJ.EX - news) following poor results offsetting a strong rally in Morrisons after a rise in its first-half profit for the first time in four years.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.06 percent at 6,677.55 points after falling to 6,654.82, coming close to Monday's one-month low. The index has fallen around 4 percent since early September, but is still up nearly 7 percent so far this year.

British clothing retailer Next fell nearly 5 percent, the worst performer in the FTSE 100 index, after reporting a 1.5 percent fall in its first-half profit and saying that trading since July had been challenging and volatile.

"Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) though Next is less prone to the difficulties currently facing the high-end retailers, there are a number of struggles ... which the company is confronting with varying degrees of success," said Richard Hunter, head of research at Wilson King Investment Management.

"The retail business has seen a slump in operating profit, the group overall has suffered due to the increase in markdown sales and the outlook is notably cautious. The wider implications of Brexit, such as higher import costs, have yet to wash through, whilst competition in the sector remains intense."

However, official figures showed that British retail sales softened only slightly in August after a bumper July, suggesting June's vote to leave the EU has had little initial impact on shoppers' willingness to spend.

Next's results also put pressure on its peer Marks & Spencer (Frankfurt: 534418 - news) , which fell 2.7 percent.

Story continues

In contrast, Morrisons surged 7.2 percent after the supermarket reported a rise in first-half profit for the first time in four years and a third straight quarter of underlying sales growth.

Nicholas Hyett, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown (LSE: HL.L - news) , said Morrisons is not completely out of the woods. "Lower sterling will increase the costs of imported foods, and how far the supermarket is able to pass that increase on to customers remains to be seen."

Specialist annuities provider JRP Group (LSE: JRP.L - news) was up more than 14 percent. It posted a 12 percent rise in operating profit on a pro-forma basis in the first half, boosted by the integration of a former rival.

"JRP Group ... reported an excellent set of interims, which should dispel many, if not all, of the fears in the market over the group's new business prospects, the strength of its balance sheet and the potential from the merger," Shore Capital said. (Reporting by Atul Prakash Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
A sign for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pictured in the foyer of the Fort Worth Regional Office in Fort Worth, Texas June 28, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Stone

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A brokerage CEO has become the first ever executive to challenge a penalty imposed by Thailand's stock market regulator, in the first disciplinary case involving an executive since an insider trading scandal prompted calls for stricter market oversight.

Apple Wealth Securities Chief Executive Prasit Srisuwan denied wrongdoing after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it had banned him from working at any securities firm for two years due to lax client supervision.

The case comes after investors criticized what they perceived as light sanctions on executives that the regulator fined in December for insider trading. That led to calls for a crackdown on financial crimes and harsher penalties to improve corporate governance and restore investor confidence.

In a statement late on Tuesday, the regulator said Prasit failed to adequately supervise know-your-customer and customer due diligence (KYC/CDD) policies, undermining a system aimed at reducing market risk for customers of financial institutions.

It said the executive approved accounts and raised credit lines for customers that lacked necessary documentation, and that his brokerage could be deemed an accomplice should such clients break the law.

At a news conference on Wednesday, the executive said he strictly complied with all rules and regulations and that he would file a petition against the regulator.

"After more than 15 years working in the securities business, I have never done anything that causes damage to customers," Prasit said. "I'm ready to fight in court if needed."

He also said, without elaborating, that Apple Wealth would continue with a plan to list shares on the Thai stock exchange.

Thailand's benchmark share index (.SETI) has risen 12.6 percent so far this year, making it the second-best performer in Southeast Asia.

(Reporting by Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Twelve members of a wild horse herd from Alto may be returned Lincoln County and a temporary holding site on Fort Stanton Road as

early as Friday.

During a community meeting Tuesday, about 50 people voted to use 10 acres owned by advocate Shelley McAlister as a temporary site for a 21-day quarantine period and supporters agreed to allow the New Mexico Livestock Board to transport the horses back to the area where last month they were penned and then hauled away to Santa Fe.

The horses have been microchipped, but Teeatta Lippert and McAlister said that will be a good thing for their future, if the court eventually declares them wild. Then if any of the horses are picked up, they can be identified as from the herd and returned.

McAlister, Lippert and Melissa Babcock, who early in the situation managed to channel the emotional response of supporters into positive actions, prepared signup sheets for volunteers to help in various aspects of the care of the horses until the court case that resulted in a temporary restraining order against the sale of the equines is resolved. McAlister said she will need volunteers at 9:30 a.m. today (Wednesday) at her property at 384 Fort Stanton Road to improve fencing, install water troughs and till up the ground. She already has pens, which will make any dispensing of medication easier. The horses will be fed, because there is no pasture. But once the quarantine expires, advocates hope to move the animals to a larger pasture area and and are looking for a suitable offer of property with fencing.

District Court Judge Dan Bryant last week issued a temporary restraining order to stop the sale of the horses and urged a return of the herd to Lincoln County pending the outcome of a lawsuit to determine their status as estray or wild.

With Judge Bryants ruling, the bid process has stopped, William Bunce, livestock board executive director, said Monday. The horses are fine, and discussions regarding acceptance of the horses by others are occurring.

We didnt know if they would make contact with us directly or through attorneys, but he called Shelley McAlister, Babcock said Monday. The two women were among the first to organize efforts to save the horses and to focus attention on providing a safe refuge for them, if needed. Per the judges encouragement, they have agreed to release the horses to someone in Ruidoso. There are some stipulations to that agreement, which is kind of what we said at the beginning of the (public) meeting (Aug. 29). They have to be kept together per the judges order. But the livestock boards conditions are obviously, we cant just let them loose.

They have to remained penned. There is a quarantine period. They are supposed to be faxing us the conditions, but one is a quarantine. What we were wanting to do was let everyone know that, and that the livestock board has asked people to stop calling. We want to let people know thats kind of where we are until it goes through court.

Group members find themselves almost at the point they were with the horses and livestock board on Aug. 29, when livestock board officials indicated McAlister or some other landowner with appropriate property could take custody of the horses, she said.

We want people to feel the decision is everyones decision, Babcock said. Shelley has 10 acres, but wherever we put them first, they definitely have to stay for the quarantine period. Then if there is someone else in the community with more land, but keep in mind, it is not just a matter of saying you can use my land. You have to take legal responsibility for them and it is a huge deal. One of the conditions from the livestock board is that it cant just be someone with land, it has to be someone with land and experience with horses.

Babcock and McAlister want to brief supporters and see who may step forward with an offer of land, she said.

Shelley is fine with them staying there, but she doesnt want people to think shes the one who gets to make that decision, Babcock said. We dont want anyone to think it was just the committee of six that was making all the decisions. We want to make sure people feel like they have a say and opinion. There are some things we cant change and their opinion wouldnt change, such as (the horses) must be kept. They cannot be turned loose.

Money still is being raised to cover veterinary bills, food and other upkeep of the herd until the court renders a decision. The livestock board didnt mention a minimum acreage size, she said.

Were open for people to make suggestions, she said of the move after quarantine. Forty acres would be nice, because we need as much secure space as possible to keep them in an environment that feels wild, so when we win this, they will be ready to bring them back to where they were picked up or close by and release them.

Herd advocates dont want to foster dependence on humans any more than absolutely necessary, she said.

One of the advantages of staying on McAlisters 10 acres is that it is in Alto and theres a possibility the stallion, Big Boss, may find his mares, Babcock said. Weve had (offers of land) from Nogal and all over, she said. Thats great, but being somewhat close would be nice for feeding.



2016 the Ruidoso News (Ruidoso, N.M.)

Visit the Ruidoso News (Ruidoso, N.M.) at www.ruidosonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

_____
PHOENIX  The Latest on an attack on Phoenix police officers (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

Phoenix police say the last of three officers injured when a car plowed into them outside a convenience store has been released from the hospital.

Sgt. Jonathan Howard confirmed Wednesday afternoon that a rookie officer who suffered a concussion was at home recovering.

Another officer was previously released after sustaining a broken leg.

A third officer who managed to jump out of the way suffered minor injuries during a scuffle with the suspect, 44-year-old Marc LaQuon Payne.

Police say the trio was taking a break early Tuesday when a vehicle barreled into them.

A judge on Wednesday ordered Payne held without bond on charges of attempted first-degree murder and other crimes.

Police Chief Joseph Yahner says the attack was an intentional act.

___

12:07 p.m.

Phoenix police say one Phoenix police officer remains hospitalized after he and two others were injured when a car plowed into them and during a subsequent scuffle with the cars driver.

Sgt. Jonathan Howard says all the officers injured in the Tuesday night incident are recovering. The one still hospitalized suffered a concussion when he was thrown and his head hit the cars windshield.

One of the officers released had a broken leg. The other officer whos been released suffered minor injuries during a scuffle while arresting a man identified as 44-year-old Marc LaQuon Payne.

A judge has ordered Payne held without bond. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and other crimes.

Police Chief Joseph Yahner denounced the attack as a violent, intentional act.

___

9:20 a.m.

A 44-year-old man described as a transient is jailed without bond after authorities said he drove a car into two police officers outside a Phoenix gas station and then scuffled with a third officer who managed to get out of the way.

Marc LaQuon Payne is jailed on multiple counts, including suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal damage and resisting arrest.

Payne didnt have an attorney when he appeared before a judge late Tuesday night after being treated at a hospital.

Police Chief Joseph Yahner denounced the Tuesday morning attack as a violent, intentional act.

One officer suffered injuries that included a broken leg. A second had bruises and a concussion.

A court document describes Payne as a transient without ties to the community.

___

This story has been corrected to give the complete name of the police chief, Joseph Yahner.
U.S. intelligence agencies are expanding spying operations against Russia on a greater scale than at any time since the end of the Cold War, U.S. officials said.

The mobilization involves clandestine CIA operatives, National Security Agency cyberespionage capabilities, satellite systems and other intelligence assets, officials said, describing a shift in resources across spy services that had previously diverted attention from Russia to focus on terrorist threats and U.S. war zones.

U.S. officials said the moves are part of an effort to rebuild U.S. intelligence capabilities that had continued to atrophy even as Russia sought to reassert itself as a global power. Over the past two years, officials said, the United States was caught flat-footed by Moscows aggression, including its annexation of Crimea, its intervention in the war in Syria and its suspected role in hacking operations against the United States and Europe.

U.S. spy agencies are playing catch-up big time with Russia, a senior U.S. intelligence official said. Terrorism remains the top concern for American intelligence services, the official said, but recent directives from the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have moved Russia up the list of intelligence priorities for the first time since the Soviet Unions collapse.

Though hidden from public view, the escalation in espionage activity is part of a broader renewal of conflict and competition between the United States and Russia after a two-decade lull. Surging tensions now cut across nearly every aspect of the U.S-Russia relationship.

The hack of the Democratic National Committee has raised fears that Russia is seeking to undermine democratic institutions if not influence the outcome of the American presidential race.

U.S. efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in Syria with Russia have divided President Barack Obamas administration officials and served as a tacit acknowledgment that Moscows intervention succeeded in one of its principal aims: ensuring that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in position to influence any Syria endgame.

Even an encounter between Obama and Putin at a recent summit in China turned, at moments, into an tense staring contest.

U.S. officials stressed that while the need for better intelligence on Russia is considered an urgent priority, there is no intent to return the CIA or other spy agencies to Cold War footings. At the height of that decades-long conflict, former officials said, U.S. spy agencies often devoted 40 percent or more of their personnel and resources to tracking the Soviet Union and its Communist satellites.

U.S. officials said that CIA and other agencies now devote at most 10 percent of their budgets to Russia-related espionage, a percentage that has risen over the past two years.

Critics contend that U.S. intelligence agencies have been too slow to boost collection against Russia and respond to its provocations abroad, repeatedly enabling Putin to gain an upper hand.

The failure to understand Putins plans and intentions has been the largest intelligence failure since 9/11, said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Nunes said that despite a now well-established pattern of Russian aggression online, against neighboring states and in Syria, U.S. spy agencies have struggled to anticipate Moscows moves.

These should have been red flags, Nunes said, but we continue to get it wrong.

Timothy Barrett, an ODNI spokesman, said in an emailed statement: The Intelligence Community continues to maintain its focus and deep expertise on Russia, which has enabled us to understand Putins evolving worldview. The IC allocates resources directed against Russia commensurate with this evolving threat.

Barrett and a spokesman for the CIA declined to comment on the scope or nature of espionage activities against Russia. Senior U.S. officials said that divining Putins intentions is a particularly daunting task because of the Russian presidents leadership style.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr. has said that Putin is impulsive and opportunistic rather than guided by consistent strategic aims that would help U.S. intelligence analysts understand or anticipate his moves. What his long-term plan is, Im not sure he has one, Clapper said in a CNN interview last year. I think he is kind of winging this day to day.

Former U.S. intelligence officials involved in spying operations against Russia disagreed, saying that Putins motivations are consistent and clear  to reclaim his countrys standing as a global rival of the United States, to destabilize Western governments that contest that aim and to constantly test how much Moscow can provoke its adversaries before they respond.

What hes basically doing is probing and saying: How far can I push? How much can I gain?  said Steven Hall, a former CIA officer who was responsible for overseeing operations in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The DNC hack is nothing more than a modern iteration of something the Russians and Soviets have been doing for a long time  trying to meddle in other countries politics to their benefit.

The greater challenge in gathering intelligence on Russias president, said current and former officials, is that because of Putins formative experience as a KGB officer, he takes extraordinary precautions to ensure that his plans are not vulnerable to foreign intelligence services. Critical information is kept to a tight circle within the Kremlin whose members are guarded in their use of phones, computers and other devices that might be penetrated.

Russias intelligence budget is probably a small fraction of the roughly $53 billion that the United States spends each year on espionage. But Russia aims a larger share of its resources at the United States, officials said, and takes advantage of a large disparity in manpower.

Russias foreign intelligence service, the SVR, is believed to have 150 or more operatives in the United States, officials said, concentrated not only in Washington and at the U.N. headquarters in New York but in San Francisco and other major cities.

The CIA, by contrast, has at most several dozen case officers  the term for agency employees responsible for stealing secrets abroad  based in Russia, with several dozen more scattered across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states, former officials said.

Those numbers have expanded in recent years, the officials said, as the CIA has directed dozens of additional recruits emerging from its training campus near Williamsburg, Virginia, to assignments that will eventually involve espionage against Russia. But the officials said that few of those new hires have any Russian language abilities and will require years of training before they become productive case officers who can recruit and manage networks of spies.

It is a pipeline process, a former official said. It will be years before they can be used operationally. The official, like other current and former officials interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence issues.

Former officials said there is an even greater imbalance in the counterintelligence resources the countries devote to tracking and disrupting the others spies.

The counterintelligence operation that [Moscow] runs against the U.S. Embassy measured in the thousands, said Michael McFaul, a Stanford University professor who until 2014 served as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It always felt, especially sitting in Moscow, of course, that we were in a counterintelligence and collection battle that was an asymmetric fight.

The FBI broke up a sprawling Russian spy ring in the United States six years ago and maintains surveillance on dozens of other suspected Russian operatives in the United States, former officials said. Even so, the officials said that the number of bureau agents assigned to tracking Russian espionage is a small fraction of the personnel deployed for the equivalent purpose by Moscow.

Though outnumbered, the CIA has embraced a more aggressive approach to recruiting Russian officials to spy for the United States in recent years, former officials said. The agency has taken advantage of the surging number of high-ranking Russians who travel abroad  trips they would rarely have made when the Soviet Union was intact. CIA operatives are also more daring in their approaches to Russian targets, officials said, waving wads of cash to entice would-be recruits in a nation where the pursuit of wealth has supplanted communism as the prevailing ideology.

The more brazen behavior by the CIA has been met with an intensifying campaign of harassment of American officials in Moscow. In the most recent case, an American official returning by taxi to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow after dark in June was tackled and thrown to the ground by a Russian guard stationed at the gate.

The American was formally identified as a U.S. diplomat, but current and former officials said that he was a CIA officer operating under diplomatic cover in Moscow and had to be evacuated from the country to have his injuries treated. State-owned Russian television subsequently aired video of the brawl, depicting it as an act of bravery by a Russian guard seeking to protect the embassy from a dangerous intruder  an interpretation denounced by U.S. officials as preposterous.

Even during less combative periods in U.S.-Russian relations, American spy agencies kept some of their most sophisticated capabilities aimed at Moscow. Budget files provided to The Washington Post by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden depict Russia as on par with China and North Korea as an intelligence priority.

Despite Russias high-profile cyber-exploits, current and former U.S. officials said Russias digital espionage capabilities are inferior to those of the United States.

One entry in the Snowden files refers to a National Security Agency program that will attempt to penetrate the Russian intelligence services computer networks, increase access and gain expertise on all elements of Russias cyber programs, and strengthen the [intelligence communitys] ability to counter Russias potential to tap or disrupt the undersea and landline communication cables that carry sensitive U.S. data.

Even so, officials expressed concern that basic U.S. capabilities fell to levels that could take years to rebuild. The ranks of Russian analysts and speakers went through two stretches of resource drain, officials said, first during the peace dividend years after the Soviet Unions implosion and the second when Russian sections were stripped of people who were reassigned to counterterrorism units after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The House and Senate intelligence committees sought to accelerate that rebuilding process by steering tens of millions of additional dollars toward Russian-related espionage in the budget adopted by Congress last year. But officials said that U.S. spy agencies have been slow to spend that money and that the CIA has not been given any additional authority to mount covert operations beyond traditional categories of espionage against Moscow.

We have really talented people that need direction from the DNI and White House, a senior U.S. official said. There needs to be a robust presidential finding, the official said, referring to the authority required for covert activity, that would allow us to do a lot more.

Putin would probably be skeptical that U.S. spy agencies face any such constraint.

Clapper and other U.S. intelligence officials have said that Putins renewed aggression against the United States appears to be driven in part by his paranoia that the CIA and other agencies have been behind public uprisings  including throngs of demonstrators in 2012, scenes that analysts say unnerved Putin before his return to the presidency.

He assigns a lot of influence and agency to organizations like the CIA, McFaul said. He grossly exaggerates what they can do in the world and what they can do in Washington. But because hes got that mind-set, he wants to win that war.

  

The Washington Posts Julie Tate contributed to this report.

us-russia-1stld-writethru
It all started with arguably the most famous plane wreck around these parts, the Feb. 1955 crash in the Sandia Mountains of a TWA plane bound for Santa Fe. The crash  which was later attributed to the failure of the navigational instruments  killed 13 passengers and three crew members.

Members of the New Mexico Mountain club and other volunteers assisted the New Mexico State Police as they carried out the recovery effort. And from this core group, the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council was eventually organized.

These are the people state and local law enforcement and fire departments call when someone falls or gets lost on La Luz Trail or anywhere else in the Albuquerque area.

And many dont know that these 50 men and women are volunteers. The Mountain Rescue Council specializes in technical rescue, search, winter and wilderness medical care but have a wide range of capabilities, according to Zak Kline.

Kline, president of the council, says that a typical 4- to 8-hour mission would cost nearly $10,000 in salary costs alone if the members of the group were paid. Add another $10,000 if a helicopter and crew are deployed.

This is a group of highly skilled and dedicated individuals, he says. And they do it because they want to help people.

These are some of the most unselfish people you will ever meet, Kline says of the group.

But becoming a member of the team is not just about signing up.

Theres an application process, training process and ongoing requirements to remain active, Kline says.

The 501(c)3 organization runs on an annual budget of between $10,000 and $12,000, which is all raised through donations.

Next weekend, the group will host its largest fundraising event of the year: Mountain Rescue Brew Fest on Sept. 24 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Marble Brewery, 111 Marble Ave NW, and includes not only beer, food and music but three rounds of silent auctions (artisanal goods, gift cards and mountain/outdoor goods).

All money raised will help the group acquire the technical equipment and medical kits that not only help members provide aid to individuals whose lives are at risk, but to keep the members safe as well.

He said long-range plans for the group are to be able to acquire a home to house equipment and provide space for meetings and trainings.

By the numbers

 59 percent of missions in 2016 were searches in which the subjects location was not known.

 The team responded to 58 missions in 2015 totaling 390 individual hours.

 The average mission lasts 4 to 8 hours

 Statistically, missions are more likely to happen on a Saturday in May than another other day and month

 41 percent of missions are between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
If you visited Iceland and asked someone what they called the smelling organ in the middle of their face, theyd tell you, nev. In Japan, its hana. To Sar speakers in southern Chad its kon, and among the Zuni tribe of the southwestern United States. its noli. In fact, you could go to more than 1,400 places around the world, question speakers of more than 1,400 different languages, and hear 1,400 words that contain the sound n. But all of them mean the same thing: nose.

Thats one of the findings of a sweeping study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday, which found evidence of strong associations between the sounds in words and the ideas they represent in completely unrelated languages from all corners of the world. Despite a long-standing assumption in linguistics that the sounds we pick to signify certain concepts are arbitrary, the researchers argue that at least some associations are more universal than youd think.

Most models for how words come into our lexicon are predicated on this assumption that the sound doesnt tell you anything about what it represents, said Jaime Reilly, a cognitive psychologist and speech pathologist at Temple University who was not involved in the study. So the really neat thing about this paper is it sort of questions whether that arbitrariness assumption actually holds across all words.

Its going to end up being a very important study, he said.

A century ago, Ferdinand de Saussure  one of the founders of modern linguistics  wrote about the arbitrary relationship between signals (or the words we use) and the signified (the concepts were trying to describe). For example, there is nothing inherent about the term cat that calls to mind the fluffy, mildly standoffish felines we keep in our homes. That we can say cat and other English speakers know what were talking about is a result of convention.

Its a hallmark of what makes human languages unique among animal communication systems, said Morten Christiansen, a language scientist at Cornell University and one of the authors of the PNAS study. In other animal systems theres more a direct relationship between what a signal means and what comes across.

Humans, on the other hand, are sophisticated enough to come up with tens of thousands of otherwise meaningless sounds and be able to keep track of exactly what they stand for.

Still, there have been hints that the sounds we choose for certain concepts arent entirely random. A series of studies starting in 1929 have documented whats called the bouba/kiki effect: People from societies across the world almost universally associate round shapes with the made-up word bouba and spiky shapes with the non-word kiki. Within languages, research has shown that sounds can become associated with ideas  for example, English words having to do with sight, like glance, glimmer and glare, all start with the sound gl. And Reilly was co-author on a recent study that found that English speakers can distinguish between words for concrete terms and those representing abstract concepts, even when the words come from languages they dont understand.

This notion that vocal sounds carry meaning in and of themselves, and that meaning can be mapped onto the ideas theyre used to represent, is called sound symbolism. Though linguists have acknowledged its existence for decades, its been sort of marginalized as not being super contributory to how languages evolve, Reilly said.

Christiansens work pushes sound symbolism back to the forefront. He and his team, which included statisticians, neuroscientists, physicists and computer scientists, examined the words for 100 concepts in more than 6,000 languages in search of commonalities. They werent looking for universal rules  just examples of associations that popped more often than youd expect due to pure chance.

We took a big data approach, Christiansen said. We were trying to see if, for a given concept, are people across the world more likely to use a particular sound in association with this concept.

To eliminate the influence of geographic relationships, shared sounds would only be considered symbolic if they appeared in languages from at least three of the worlds six large and relatively isolated areas: North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific islands, and Australia. The researchers also controlled for a false discovery rate of about 5 percent in order to weed out the possibility of false positives.

In the end, they found 30 concepts that were strongly associated with certain signals. For example, words for round were extremely likely to contain the letter r, including kokoro (from the indigenous Colombian language Ika), biribil (from the Basque language of northwestern Spain) and aridonda (from the Chamorro language spoken in the Mariana islands). Sand was associated with the s sound.

Some concepts were negatively associated with particular sounds  skin is especially likely to not contain m or n, and eye probably wont contain the sound a. Also, not all of the rules apply to all languages  in many cases, English was an outlier. So if youre reading this article, you might be surprised to learn that most words for dog contain the sound s, and you usually doesnt have an o or u in it.

What we think is the really exciting part, is independent of linguistic lineage, independent of whether languages are historically related to one another and independent of geographical location we see these signals showing up over and over again across the world, Christiansen said.

Exactly how associations evolved is fodder for several lifetimes of future research, he added. Christiansen and his colleagues considered whether it could be a result of evolution from some prehistoric protolanguage spoken by the earliest humans, but various statistical analyses ruled that possibility out.

That leaves something psychological and universal as a factor that gives a slight edge to a few sound-meaning associations, Johanna Nichols, a prominent linguist and professor emerita at the University of California in Berkeley, wrote in an email.

It seems there is something biological about our association of certain sounds with ideas. For a few of Christiansens concepts, the explanation appears straightforward. The n in nose (and nev and hana and kon and noli) is nasal, requiring that we speak through the very organ were trying to describe. Things that are small make high-pitched, squeaking sounds, just like the i in tiny, sagheer (Arabic) and liten (Norwegian). For other associations, the link between signal and signified is more opaque.

This doesnt mean that Saussure was completely wrong about arbitrariness. Though words like nose may share some commonalities, most of the terms in the average adults 80,000-word vocabulary represent abstract concepts that arent easily represented with concrete sounds. When words for the same concept do resemble each other, it is usually a sign that they share an etymological root.

It is still true that for the most part the relation of a words meaning to its consonants and vowels is arbitrary. That is what makes historical comparison possible in the first place, Nichols wrote. For example, the fact that the words for two in Romance and Slavic languages almost always start with d isnt due to some inherent naturalness but is a quirk likely to be inherited, she continued  evidence that the languages share a family history.

That still stands, Nichols said, but we now have to add those grains of salt.

language
SALT LAKE CITY  Mormons Manuel and Claire Saldana say they normally identify with Republican values and principles, but the Virginia couple is struggling to stay on board with the GOP after Donald Trump became the partys presidential nominee.

Trumps inability to connect with Mormon voters such as the Saldanas is likely the main reason the Republican hold on voters from the conservative faith has slipped significantly since 2012, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday.

It found that 48 percent of Mormon registered voters now describe themselves as Republican  down from 61 percent four years ago when Mitt Romney, a Mormon himself, was the partys presidential nominee.

The survey shows that most of the former Republicans now consider themselves independent.

It also indicated that 13 percent of Mormons surveyed are Democrats  down slightly from 14 percent four years ago.

Claire Saldana, a childrens book illustrator and mother of four, said she definitely wont vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton but is still trying to get past her reservations about Trump.

I felt he was someone who was crass and incapable of carrying on an intelligent and open-minded and kind relationship with other countries, said Saldana, who served a Mormon mission in Brazil and whose husband is from Peru. Im becoming more interested in him. Im not sure hes really as crass as he comes off. He may actually be the best candidate.

A similar shift from Republican affiliation has occurred among the top 15 leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Currently, six are registered Republican while nine are unaffiliated voters, according to Utah public records obtained by The Associated Press. Church President Thomas S. Monson is a Republican.

Four years ago, 11 of the top 15 Mormon leaders were Republicans and four were unaffiliated, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Publicly, the church is careful to maintain political neutrality by refraining from backing one party or endorsing candidates. But Mormon leaders sometimes weigh in on what they consider crucial moral issues.

This year, the Utah-based church defended religious liberty after Trump suggested banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Mormons say the suggestion harkens to past efforts to persecute members of their own faith.

David Campbell, a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame who wrote a book on Mormons and politics, called the Pew findings remarkable since big fluctuations in party affiliations are rare.

The change found by Pew is the largest from one presidential election cycle to the next in the religion since the organization began tracking the data in 1994.

The Trump effect has accelerated a gradual trend away from the Republican party among Mormons thats been underway for two decades, Campbell said. It was briefly reversed in 2012 with Romney, a dream candidate for the religion.

For those people who are kind of unsure if theyre truly Republican, Trump is enough to definitely push them out, opposite to the way that Romney was able to pull them in, Campbell said.

Trumps famously brash temperament and colorful language, combined with concerns about his past, have alienated many Mormons.

Romney, who is among the most high-profile Mormons in America, has also been a persistent critic of Trump. He delivered a speech in Utah earlier this year ripping the candidate as a phony who is unfit for office.

Matthew Millburn, 35, a Republican party delegate in Utah, agrees with Romney. Millburn plans to cast his ballot for independent candidate Evan McMullin, a relatively unknown ex-CIA officer and Brigham Young University graduate who is on the ballot in Utah and a few other states.

He doesnt share my values, Millburn said of Trump. All he cares about is himself and power. Hes a con-man just trying to deceive people into supporting him.

Crystal Young-Otterstrom, vice chair of the LDS Democrats of America, said more Republicans are open to hearing her pitch.

Trump at the top of the ticket has helped form a wedge in this almost sacred connection between Republicanisms and Mormonism, Young-Otterstrom said. Its really helping Mormon voters to see that maybe what they believe in, their values, really arent Republican values.

___

Follow Brady McCombs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradymccombs
PHOENIX  A landscaper who had been charged in a string of freeway shootings that kept Phoenix motorists on edge for weeks filed a lawsuit claiming that authorities falsely accused him when they knew their evidence was weak.

Lawyers for Leslie Merritt Jr. filed the lawsuit Tuesday accusing state crime lab workers of assuring detectives that they were positive that Merritts handgun was used in four of the shootings.

It also alleges that prosecutors misled grand jurors about the reliability of the ballistics evidence.

Lawyers for the 22-year-old Merritt said authorities pursued charges even though they knew his handgun was at a pawn shop during the last four shootings.

The charges against Merritt were dismissed at the request of prosecutors after another ballistics expert found the Arizona Department of Public Safetys crime lab had come to a faulty conclusion and noted the bullets from the four shootings couldnt be excluded or identified as having come from Merritts gun.

Merritt, who insisted he was innocent, spent seven months in jail before his release in April.

A total of 11 shootings occurred on Phoenix-area freeways in late August and early September of 2015. No one was seriously injured when eight cars were hit with bullets and three others were struck with projectiles such as BBs or pellets. The only injury occurred when the ear of a 13-year-old girl was cut by glass.

No one else has been arrested in the case and an investigation remains open.

Merritts lawsuit doesnt specify the amount of money he is seeking. His attorneys previously said he was seeking $10 million from the state, Maricopa County and the office of County Attorney Bill Montgomery.

Montgomery and the Department of Public Safety declined to comment on the lawsuit.

We all need the police. We all recognize that, said David Don, one of Merritts attorneys. This is not a case against the police. Its a case against poor police work.

The lawsuit also alleges that detectives changed the timeline of the last shooting to fit their theory that a bullet from Merritts gun got lodged in the sidewall of a tire of a BMW that later deflated.

DPS is accused in the lawsuit of suggesting to the BMW driver that he was incorrect in saying when the shooting occurred, but the driver stood by his account.

The lawsuit said the gouge marks on the tire showed the bullet passed immediately through the tire and caused it to deflate quickly.

___

Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jacques-billeaud.
SANTA FE  A former teacher at Tierra Encantada Charter School here was charged this week with several sex crimes involving a female student at the school, after the Santa Fe Police Department started investigating their inappropriate relationship in May.

Carlos Martin, who was fired from Tierra Encantada after the investigation started, is charged with attempting to manufacture visual media of sexual exploitation of a child, attempting to cause or permit a child to engage in sexual exploitation, attempting to commit criminal sexual exploitation by a school employee, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and distributing sexually oriented materials to a child. He was booked into the Santa Fe County jail around 7 p.m. Wednesday and is being held on a $25,000 cash bond, jail records show.

A criminal complaint and a statement of probable cause were filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court on Monday, according to online court records.

SFPD spokesman Greg Gurule didnt release details of the investigation, saying its very active right now.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed in Santa Fe District Court in July, police found Facebook messages between Martin, 38, and the 16-year-old student that were sexually graphic, and the student told investigators that they had exchanged nude photos.

She said in a safe-house interview that the messages started when she visited with Martin for help with an essay, and the messages made her feel like he was alluding to and wanting to have sex with her, according to the affidavit. The girl said the only physical contact they ever had was a hug at school, but she said they had talked about sex at school and Martin offered to have sex with her.

An officer was called to the school May 25 after a different student alerted another teacher about the messages. That student said the girl, who was exchanging messages with Martin, borrowed her phone and left her Facebook account open, allowing the student who lent to the phone to see the messages, the affidavit says.

A school social worker told investigators that Martin and the student started exchanging sexual messages May 8, but police wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit that Martin sent the girl a Facebook message on Feb. 9.

Messages sent by Martin include I miss flirting with you and How bad do you want to pass my class?  I wont let you (fail). You know youre my fave. Dont tell anyone that youre my teachers Pet.

In deleted messages a detective found using a special device, the teacher also wrote, The worst that could happen is that I end up in prison. Lose my kids my job and everything else. The girl told police that the messages stopped once Martin told her he was under investigation.
In the walls of the cubicle there were three orifices.  Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building.  For some reason they were nicknamed memory holes.

 George Orwell, 1984

WASHINGTON  Documents inconvenient to the regime went into the Ministry of Truths slits and down to enormous furnaces. Modern tyrannies depend on state control of national memories  retroactive truths established by government fiat. Which is why Russias Supreme Court recently upheld the conviction of a blogger for violating Article 354.1 of Russias criminal code.

This May 2014 provision criminalizes the Rehabilitation of Nazism. The bloggers crime was to write: The communists and Germany jointly invaded Poland, sparking off the Second World War. The secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact have gone down one of Vladimir Putins memory holes.

The pact was signed Aug. 23, 1939. On Sept. 1, Germany invaded Poland. Sixteen days later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Poland was carved up in accordance with the secret protocols, and about six months later Soviet occupiers were conducting the Katyn Forest Massacre of 25,700 Polish military officers, officials, priests and intellectuals.

Although in 2009 Putin denounced the pact as collusion to solve ones problems at others expense, in 2015 he defended it as Stalins means of buying time to prepare for the Nazi onslaught.

This fable is refuted by, among other facts, this: Stalin did not prepare. When Germanys ambassador in Moscow informed Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov that their nations were now at war, a stunned Molotov asked, What have we done to deserve this?

The Russian Supreme Courts Orwellian ruling was that the blogger denied facts established by the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal. It convicted leading Nazis of waging aggressive war against, among others, Poland, but, in an act of victors justice, made no judgment against the Soviet regime, representatives of which sat on the tribunal.

This accommodation to postwar political reality was necessary to enable the tribunal to function, which was necessary for civilizing vengeance. The tribunal ignored, but did not deny, the patent fact of Soviet aggression.

The Russian courts ruling is a window into the sinister continuity of Putins Russia and the Soviet system that incubated him. So, if the former secretary of state who aspires to the American presidency has time to read a book before Jan. 20, she should make it The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times.

It is a study of the volatile nostalgia of a man seething with resentments acquired as a KGB operative  a devoted officer of a dying empire  during the Soviet Unions final years. It is a pointillist portrait painted with telling details that should cause sobriety to supplant dreams of happy policy resets with Russia.

As a senior security official in post-Soviet Russia, Putin kept on his desk a bronze statue of Iron Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police and terror apparatus. At Putins presidential inauguration on May 7, 2000, a choir sang a composition written in 1836 to celebrate a soldiers death in the war against Poland and rewritten in Soviet times  to remove the homage to the tsar. For Putin, the choir sang the Soviet verses.

There was the 2006 assassination in Moscow, on Putins 54th birthday, of the troublesome journalist Anna Politkovskaya. (Asked about the frequent deaths of anti-Putin journalists, Donald Trump breezily said, I think our country does plenty of killing.) And the 2006 poisoning in London of Putins antagonist Alexander Litvinenko using radioactive polonium-210.

Domestically, Putins managed democracy is Stalinism leavened by kleptomania, as in the looting of the energy giant Yukos. In foreign policy, Putins Russia is unambiguously and unapologetically revanchist.

The Democratic presidential nominee fundamentally misread Putins thugocracy, and her opponent admires the thug because at least hes a leader. As the Russian bloggers fate demonstrates, Putin practices what Orwell wrote:  Who controls the past, ran the Party slogan, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. 

Back in the day, some analysts prophesied a convergence between the Soviet Union and the United States, two industrial societies becoming more alike. In our day, there is a growing similarity: In both places, post-factual politics are normal.

Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.
North Koreas latest nuclear test triggered diplomatic aftershocks in Asia  and a growing concern that the volatile regime in Pyongyang may pose the first big test for the next U.S. president.

Fridays test was the fifth and largest nuclear device North Korea has detonated, estimated at 10 kilotons, and it came defiantly on the 68th anniversary of the regimes founding. It triggered a flurry of phone calls among the worried leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan.

Analysts focused on an official statement by the Pyongyangs Nuclear Weapons Institute that described the detonation as a nuclear warhead explosion test for a device able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets. The statement also claimed that North Koreas standardization of this warhead design will allow production, at will, of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power.

North Korea has offered a chilling demonstration over the past month of its ability to deliver such warheads, using missiles that could strike Japan, South Korea and even U.S. territory. The combined bomb and missile tests showed that Pyongyang is coming closer and closer to attack capabilities that would pose a nightmare for the United States and its allies, warned one Asian diplomat on Friday.

Pyongyangs most impressive missile test was a launch Monday in rapid succession of three intermediate-range missiles toward Japan. Each of the missiles traveled about 600 miles and fell inside the boundaries of Japans air-defense identification zone and exclusive economic zone. Mondays multiple launches followed a test on Aug. 3 of a single missile that also landed within the Japanese zones.

North Korea showed its potential ability to strike the United States on Aug. 24, when it launched a missile from a submarine off its eastern coast. That missile traveled about 300 miles; it landed with Japans air-defense zone.

For the United States and its Asian allies, the North Korean weapons tests are a stark warning that the regional threat level is rising, despite U.N. sanctions against North Korea. The seriousness of the threat was signaled by an unusual round of phone calls Friday.

President Obama spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe just after midnight Friday, Washington time, near the end of his return trip from Asia.

According to the Japanese account of the conversation, Abe told Obama that Japan viewed the North Korean test as a grave threat to its security and a flagrant violation of U.N. sanctions. In response to Pyongyangs actions, a strong message is needed through concrete measures, Abe said.

According to the Japanese account of the call, Obama told Abe that he agreed with this assessment, and he described the U.S.-Japan alliance as rock solid and Americas commitment to nuclear deterrence against threats to Japan as unshakable. Such sharp language is the diplomatic equivalent of a flashing red warning light.

Obama also spoke early Friday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye to share concern and commitment.

And perhaps most interesting, given past strains between Tokyo and Seoul, Abe spoke directly with Park later Friday morning. The Japanese source said Park described North Koreas nuclear test as a serious provocation and outrageous violation of international norms.

After these intense expressions of concern, the question is what the United States and its allies will do to deter a North Korean regime that, under President Kim Jong Un, keeps upping the stakes in its nuclear brinkmanship.

One key issue is whether China can be persuaded to play a stronger role in curbing its volatile neighbor, by tougher enforcement of the U.N. sanctions it has already endorsed and perhaps by enactment of new U.N. sanctions.

The North Korean threat is likely to expand into full-blown nuclear-weapons capability early in the term of the next president. Pentagon officials say that as they prepare the agenda of key military issues for the next president, North Korea is near the top of the list. Partly thats a matter of defense  including the THAAD missile-defense system thats already planned, in partnership with South Korea and Japan.

But the menu of U.S. military options is likely to be broader than simply defense. The red lights may be flashing in Washington, Tokyo and Seoul, but theres no sign yet that North Koreas impulsive leader is getting the message.

Email: davidignatius@washpost.com. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.
Put your magnifying glasses aside for now.

The proposed Albuquerque city sick-leave ordinance almost certainly wont be on the November ballot. But it could pop up on the next city election ballot about a year from now.

The proposal  in all of its seven-page glory  basically requires Albuquerque employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees, whether full time, part time or temporary. It takes seven pages to do this because the proposal contains numerous and detailed provisions, regulations and record-keeping requirements.

State District Judge Alan Malott refused to order the proposal onto the general election ballot after the Bernalillo County Commission decided not to put the question on the ballot because of a lack of space.

Malott also ruled that when it does go to voters it must be in its entirety and not just as a summary.

When collecting signatures, proponents presented both a proposed summary and a complete, detailed ordinance to signers.

By doing this, petitioners appear to have tried to bypass the City Council and administration entirely, removing elected and appointed officials roles in crafting law based on the intent of an approved initiative, which could be a summary of a desired result such as sick leave for everyone.

That was their undoing. Had proponents not overreached in this fashion, voters might have had the opportunity to vote on something basic in November.

Of course, proponents could appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court. But besides questions about the lack of ballot space, there are questions about legitimate type size and other issues. Plus, the court would have to overturn the 4-1 decision of the County Commission not to include it.

All things considered, it would appear that Malott made a reasonable decision.

Meanwhile, the Bernalillo County Clerk has sent the commission-approved November ballot to the printers.

The citys charter correctly requires ballot initiatives to be published in their entirety. Thats so people know what petitioners are asking them to sign and so voters know what they are voting for or against. And questions remain on who could be trusted to fairly and accurately summarize any long, drawn out petition. City voters turned down an attempt to amend the City Charter to allow summaries in 2015.

So, come October 2017, Albuquerques next municipal election, voters could find themselves being handed a pile of papers when they sign in at one of the citys voting centers or open the mail containing their absentee ballots. (Can you imagine the paper, printing and postage costs?)

If voting reforms are to be made, efforts ought to target the citys petition initiative process. Right now, it is too easy for special interest groups to trigger an election  only 14,218 valid signatures were required this time around.

But that would take another ballot question in a future election.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Albuquerques police union says City Hall abruptly reduced the paid leave available to officers serving in the military this year, forcing some to tap into their vacation and sick time.

At least one officer is overseas and worried about a pay cut because hes exhausted his vacation and sick leave, the union said.

Its a huge impact for these families, Shaun Willoughby, president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, said in an interview Wednesday.  We have military officers that are concerned about whether theyre going to be able to pay their mortgage.

The APOA union contract says police officers who also serve in the National Guard, Air National Guard or military reserves are entitled to up to 420 hours of paid military leave a year, or about 50 regular work days, if they meet certain requirements.

But since March, the citys payroll system has been granting them only up to 150 hours, Willoughby said.

Rob Perry, the top administrator under Mayor Richard Berry, said the goal is simply to ensure officers receive paid leave only when they actually need it  not grant them the entire 420 hours if theyre only serving a couple of weeks.

He said he intends to ensure that any officer whos serving in the military up to the 420-hour limit is paid for the time, as called for in the union contract.

The confusion may be a result of a change in the citys new electronic timekeeping system, Perry said.

Representatives of the union and Berry administration plan to meet to address the handling of military leave.

Nevertheless, Willoughby said, the limit on military leave has turned into an incredible source of anxiety for officers. He estimated 30 to 50 officers serve in the military.

Every time I tried to get to the bottom of this situation, I get a different answer, Willoughby said.

The union filed a complaint with the city labor board in March, accusing the city of unilaterally reducing the limit on military leave. In a brief response, the city denied the allegation and said it was investigating the matter.

The complaint is pending.

Paid military leave has been part of the police union contract for roughly 17 years, with no recent changes, Willoughby said.

The goal is to attract officers with military experience and to recruit people who want to pursue careers in both law enforcement and military, he said.
A plan criticized by University of New Mexico student leaders to require incoming freshmen to live on campus is moving forward.

Regents approved the measure on a 5-to-2 vote after Board of Regents President Rob Doughty changed the policy to take effect in 2018 as opposed to 2017.

Supporters of the live-on requirement say students who spend their early years on campus are more likely to do better academically compared with their peers who dont.

Several students, including the head of the undergraduate student government Kyle Biederwolf, said 2017 was not the right time to require students to live on campus.

Right now, we feel this mandate would be an overstep, Biederwolf said.

Concerns include worries about whether there will be enough beds, construction projects around campus that may make living there unpleasant, and one of the selling points of UNM is being able to choose where one lives.

Student regent Ryan Berryman voted against the measure, but said he does recommend that new students live on campus as he did.

We talk about this mandate like we want it to make us a destination university, but I think that happens organically, Berryman said. I just dont think its the universitys place to mandate how someone spends their money or where they should live.

Danielle Kirven, 19, an ASUNM senator and a member of the Black Student Alliance, also asked the university to delay the measure, saying black students would be more adversely affected because of cultural divides. She argued regents should implement the requirement slowly.

A lot of our students who live on campus have voiced a sense of feeling out of place or frustration that comes with always having to explain themselves, which can contribute to a lack of engagement and negative performance academically, Kirven said.

A slow adoption, she said, would help address these issues.

Doughty seemed to hear that concern and said students should be able to claim an exemption for cultural reasons.

The cost of annual tuition is about $7,000, and room and board is about $9,400. Some students, such as those on the regents scholarship, are required to live on campus.

The new requirement would bring about 200 new students to university housing, according to administrators.

The living requirement would allow for numerous exceptions. For example, students who live with a parent, guardian or family member within 30 miles of the university would not be required to live in a dorm. And it wouldnt be required for those for whom dorm living would be an undue hardship, financial or otherwise.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Two years after missing out on a high-profile Tesla battery factory, New Mexico officials say the state has finally landed its big economic development fish.

Gov. Susana Martinez and several legislators said Wednesday that a joint announcement by the governor and Facebook executives that the company will build a massive data center in Los Lunas validates recent tax cuts aimed at diversifying New Mexicos economy, though at least one group raised concerns about generous state subsidies and tax breaks used to lure Facebook to the state.

Martinez called the deal a big win for the people of our state and our economic future.

Its about time that we have some good news in New Mexico, said Sen. Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants, whose district encompasses the data center site. It takes time for some of these policy changes to work, but I think theyre starting to come to fruition.

Martinez, who was traveling back to New Mexico from Boston on Wednesday, said in a telephone interview that New Mexico was ultimately selected from a group of more than 20 states originally competing for the project. New Mexico and Utah were the two finalists for the 510,000-square-foot data center.

She said she first met with Facebook officials while leading an economic development trip to California last year and returned to California last month to answer specific questions as talks intensified.

I think its a massive shot in the arm for our construction industry, and its also a massive capital investment (for the state), Martinez told the Journal. Other companies are going to be seeing this and saying, That is a competitive location. 

But at least some New Mexicans reacted to the news more cautiously.

Paul Gessing, president of the Albuquerque-based Rio Grande Foundation, said hes hopeful the project is successful but expressed wariness over the incentive package Facebook is getting  $10 million in state closing fund dollars for infrastructure improvements and up to $30 billion in industrial revenue bonds from the Los Lunas Village Council.

Its not that we oppose Facebook, but were definitely concerned about the generosity of the tax incentives and the flat-out subsidies, Gessing told the Journal.

I dont see this (project) as some sort of game-changer, he added, saying its unclear how much the project will benefit the surrounding area. Im not going to break out the champagne bottles.

While the announcement could mean hundreds jobs for the state and the possibility of New Mexico eventually becoming a hub for data center activity, its unlikely to single-handedly fix the states current budget crunch.

The state is facing a $589 million budget shortfall for the current and just-ended fiscal years, as plummeting oil and natural gas prices have the states tax collections falling far short of what had been expected, according to recent estimates.

Some Democratic lawmakers and child advocacy organizations have claimed in recent weeks that tax cuts enacted in recent years to improve the states economic attractiveness  including a 2013 tax package that will gradually reduce corporate income tax rates from 7.6 percent to 5.9 percent  were misguided and have failed to create the new jobs that were promised.

But Martinez, the states two-term Republican governor, said the Facebook decision shows otherwise, saying, It validates the fact that New Mexico has become a better place to do business in.

From the day I walked in as governor, I knew we couldnt rely on the federal government, she added. Weve had to diversify our economy.

Rep. Alonzo Baldonado, R-Los Lunas, whose district also encompasses the site of the Facebook data center, said the states tax cuts and increased spending on economic development incentives have been effective.

I think a lot of the actions weve taken in the last few years have changed the image of New Mexico into a business-friendly state, Baldonado said in an interview.

Maybe in 10 years well look back at 2016 and see this as the first domino toward putting New Mexico on a better track, Baldonado added. Im hopeful thats the case.

Facebooks decision to build the data center in Los Lunas was first announced Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who posted on social media that he was proud to welcome the company to New Mexico.

The five members of the states congressional delegation  four Democrats and Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce  then sent out a news release shortly thereafter, which was followed by a joint announcement from Facebook and the Governors Office.

A prominent Republican-leaning political committee blasted Heinrich on social media for trying to take credit for the project, but Heinrich told the Journal the entire congressional delegation has been supportive of the plan.

Ive been talking to Facebook for some time about how New Mexico is really an under-utilized resource for these kinds of data centers, Heinrich said. Obviously, now with sustainability goals being a big deal with a lot of Fortune 500 and Silicon Valley companies, being able to source renewable energy is a major issue.

New Mexico is pretty well-suited for this market, and Im sure that was recognized, he added.

Martinez said it was a little surprising that the congressional delegation made the announcement, saying she had wanted Facebook to be able to announce its plans, but added she appreciated the tone of the delegations announcement.

You know what? At the end of the day, its a good day to be a New Mexican, the governor told the Journal.

She also indicated there are other prominent companies in the states pipeline, but said she could not divulge their identities because plans have not been completed.

Journal staff writer Michael Coleman contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
FORT PIERCE, Fla.  A 32-year-old Florida man has been arrested and is facing a charge of arson and hate crime in a fire that heavily damaged a mosque that Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen attended, authorities announced Wednesday.

Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested without incident Wednesday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Maj. David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office.

Thompson told a news conference that Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere. He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber on Wednesday evening, and he didnt say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

The fire was set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. No one was injured in the blaze, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosques main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreibers home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical.  ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida, said Schreiber obviously doesnt know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation.

Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and Mateen as degenerates and punks.

Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateens actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Mr. Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion, Saleh said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded. He professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. The records show he served his first sentence from March 2008 to July 2009 and his second from June 2010 to August 2014.

A weekend surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approaching the building with a bottle of liquid and some papers, then leaving when there was a flash and shaking his hand as though he may have burned it, Thompson said. The first 911 calls were made about 45 minutes later after the fire had spread to the attic. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

No one had claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities said.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation into the fire. Sheriffs officials had released the video and asked for the publics help in identifying the arsonist.

Rabbi Bruce Benson, a chaplain with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, was outside Schreibers home Wednesday night. He said Schreiber attended his synagogue for about a month last spring to study the Torah, but left little impression, and no indication that he might act violently in the future.

Benson said Schreibers father showed up at his office Wednesday afternoon after his son was arrested, even though he wasnt a member of his synagogue.

I guess he didnt know where else to go, Benson said, adding that Schreibers parents are shocked, just like any of us would be if it were our child.

Benson said his reform synagogue, Temple Beth El Israel, has tried unsuccessfully in the past to reach out to the mosque.

We would welcome the opportunity, Benson said. Theyre a community feeling under attack. If we could all talk a bit, maybe things like this wouldnt have to happen.

The fire was part of an escalating series of threats and violence perpetuated against the mosque and its members, Ruiz said. He said the mosque began receiving threatening phone calls shortly after the Pulse massacre. And in July, he said, a member was punched in the face as he arrived for morning prayers.

Sundays fire has left the mosques members saddened and scared, said assistant imam Hamaad Rahman.
The power of young people to shape their own future: That idea united two political consultants on opposite sides of the aisle during a talk on issues related to the 2016 national elections.

James Carville, who helped Bill Clinton win the presidency, and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson talked about the role of millenials in the coming election, the historic lows with which Americans view both presidential candidates and the difficulty of predicting a tumultuous race this year.

Being young is nothing new, Carville said. There is no substitute for being involved in trying to shape a better future for you.

Both Soltis Anderson and Carville agreed that its ideas  not slogans  that motivate people to go to the polls.

One of these things that is frustrating about this election, is it about ideas or is it about personalities? Soltis Anderson said. Whats going to motivate people is an idea.

Carville said, There has never been anything more powerful than a reason. That is the biggest turnout generator there is. Its what inspires people.

Over the past four years, a chasm has developed between how the informed public and the mass population view key institutions including government, business and media.

Thats according to John Edelman, managing director for global engagement and corporate responsibility at public relations firm Edelman. Influence today decidedly rests with the mass population, he said.

In a recent survey of respondents in more than two dozen countries, Edelman said the gap in trust between the informed public  those between 25 and 46 years old, college-educated, who consume media  and the rest of respondents was largest in the U.S.: 19 percentage points.

He called the findings scary.

The disparity is largest when you break out high-income respondents versus low-income respondents, he said. More than 70 percent of high-income respondents trust public institutions, versus 31 percent of low-income respondents.

Business is most trusted, while the government and media come in last.

The vast majority of the public wants companies to solve societal problems, said Edelman.

Effective reform of, and public trust in, law enforcement requires walking a mile in each others shoes, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry said.

How does an immigrant who doesnt speak English experience policing? How do minorities who grow up with a generational mistrust of police interact with law enforcement? Police officers who every day put on a badge and a gun, how do they see the world?

Berry said these are questions that need to be asked and answered in order achieve real reform and win back the public trust.

The beleaguered Albuquerque Police Department has been implementing reforms required under a settlement with the Department of Justice.

Building public trust requires accountability and consistency, civic leadership, organizational excellence  for example in police hiring and training  and one-on-one conversations, Berry said.

If there is anything I have learned, its that almost every officer wants to improve how they keep us safe, Berry said.

New Mexico colleges and universities must learn to collaborate, despite the state having one of the most decentralized systems of higher education in the country, according to Higher Education Secretary Barbara Damron.

Damron provided an overview of the challenges faced by New Mexicos system of higher education the Domenici Public Policy Conference in its second day on Thursday.

The state will unveil a strategic plan for higher education next September, she said.

With state financing tight, Damron said officials need to ask, How can we be more efficient? How can we do more with less? What can we do better?

The conference held at New Mexico State University is in its ninth year.
LAS CRUCES  The Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners did not violate the Open Meetings Act last year as alleged by Sheriff Enrique Kiki Vigil, the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office ruled on Tuesday.

In a May 5, 2015, letter to the Attorney Generals Office, Vigil alleged that commissioners had violated the Open Meetings Act on April 28, 2015. Commissioners Billy Garrett and Wayne Hancock were the only members of the commission named in his complaint.

Vigil alleged that the commission had improperly convened in a closed session to discuss matters related to collective bargaining negotiations. He further alleged that the closed discussion was inappropriately related to a resolution regarding the allocation of GRT revenue.

Our office finds no evidence of a violation of OMA (Open Meetings Act) as alleged by Sheriff Vigil, Assistant Attorney General Joseph M. Dworak wrote in a letter dated Sept. 13, 2016.

Vigil believed Hancock and Garrett had convinced Commissioner Leticia Duarte-Benavidez to withdrawal her proposed resolution to allocated one-third of GRT revenue from a tax increase to the sheriffs office during the closed session.

There is insufficient evidence to conclude that matters discussed in closed session exceeded the scope of what was noticed on the agenda, Dworak said in his letter. Commissioner Benavidez independently withdrew her proposed resolution and the vote to table the resolution was taken in open session.

Dworak also wrote that there was no evidence that the commissions action was an intentional and premeditated plan to violate the publics right to government transparency.

While every public body should take action in limiting discussion in closed session only to those matters included in its motion for closure, it is presumed that the Board (Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners) acted in accordance with the law, Dworak wrote in his letter. We are unable to find evidence to overcome that presumption in this matter. Our office does not find evidence the Boards closed session discussion exceeded its permitted scope or that any official action took place in closed session. Therefore, the Board is found to be in substantial compliance with OMA.

Speaking Wednesday, Hancock said he never believed the commission violated the Open Meetings Act. But he said was surprised that it took more than a year from the Attorney Generals Office to issue a decision on Vigils complaint.

I hope the public is keeping score on all of (Vigils) lawsuits and all of the complaints that the sheriff has been inappropriately filing and consuming just an incredible amount of county resources, Hancock said.

Vigil did not immediately return requests for comments on Wednesday.



2016 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WACO, Texas  A grand jury declined to recommend charges for three Waco, Texas, police officers who shot bikers during a gunfight between rival motorcycle clubs in which nine people were killed and 20 others were hurt, the police department said Wednesday.

The gun battle happened in May 2015 outside a Twin Peaks restaurant where motorcycle clubs had gathered for a meeting, including members of the Bandidos and Cossacks, which the state considers to be gangs.

The McLennan County district attorneys office asked the grand jury whether the shootings were justified after the officers had been cleared by an internal police investigation, according to Waco police spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton. The officers, who were placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, will return to full duty immediately, Wacos interim police chief, Frank Gentsch, said in a news release.

Ballistics reports seen by The Associated Press show that four of the people killed were struck by the same caliber of rifle round fired by Waco police, and that two of them were struck only by that kind of rifle.

More than 150 bikers were indicted following the shootout on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. The investigation is ongoing, and no trial dates have been set.

The grand jury hearing allows the police to clean their hands of the shooting, said Dallas attorney Don Tittle, who is representing more than a dozen bikers in lawsuits against the city. Tittle added that it was routine for prosecutors in Texas who do not want to bring charges in an officer-involved shooting to refer the matter to a grand jury.

Police and the district attorneys office have defended the officers use of force, claiming that bikers had also opened fire on police.
WASHINGTON  Creating the Atlantic Oceans first marine national monument is a needed response to dangerous climate change, oceanic dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. Its the 27th time that Obama has created or enlarged a national monument.

If were going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then were going to have to act and were going to have to act boldly, Obama said at a State Department conference. More than 20 countries represented at the meeting were also announcing the creation of their own marine protected areas.

Monument designations come with restrictions on certain activities. The White House said the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a seven-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. Others, such as whiting and squid harvesters, have 60 days to transition out. Recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.

Supporters of the new monument say protecting large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. Fishermen worry it will become harder for them to earn a living as a result of Obamas move.

This is deplorable, said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermens Association, in describing the designation.

White House officials said the administration listened to industrys concerns, and noted the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies. Obama said helping oceans become more resilient to climate change will help fishermen.

Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts, said his company will survive, but the changes designed to address some of the industrys concerns dont sway him about the merits of the monument.

Weve been fishing out there for 35 years, Williams said. Its a big blow to us.

Obama said the world was asking too much of its oceans. He said the investments the U.S. and other nations were taking with new marine protected areas were vital for their economy and national security, but also vital to our spirit. He noted that he had spent his own childhood looking out over the ocean shores and being humbled by the endless expanse.

I know that in a contest between us and the oceans, eventually the oceans will win one way or the other, he said. So its up to us to adapt, not the other way around.

In all, the Atlantic Ocean monument will include three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. It is home to such protected species as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemps ridley turtles. Expeditions also have found species of coral found nowhere else on earth.

Environmental groups pushed the effort to designate the new monument and sought to make the case it was as important to be good stewards of the ocean as it was the land and air. They described the monument, located about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, as one of the least fished areas in the U.S. Atlantic, which is part of why it was chosen.

Their efforts proved persuasive with a president who is also looking to establish his own legacy as a protector of the environment. Obama noted that he has protected more land and water through monument designations than any president in history.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Rob Bishop, the Republican chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Obama will certainly leave his legacy  on the backs of fishermen and our entire domestic seafood supply.

But Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said the monument will protect countless species and habitats from irreversible damage, advance key research, and support critical jobs that depend on healthy oceans.

___

Associated Press writers Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

___

On Twitter, reach Kevin Freking at https://twitter.com/APkfreking
Police in Columbus, Ohio, say officers were responding to a report of an armed robbery Wednesday night when they encountered a person who pulled what appeared to be a gun from his waistband.

An officer opened fire, hitting this person multiple times, according to Columbus police officials. He was pronounced dead not long afterward.

Early Thursday morning, police said the person killed was 13-year-old Tyre King. Detectives investigating the area where the shooting occurred found what they said appeared to be a handgun, but upon further inspection, it was determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser site, according to a statement from the Columbus police.

We consider it a tragedy when something like this happens, Kim Jacobs, the Columbus police chief, said at a news conference Thursday morning. This is the last thing that a police officer wants to do in their career.

Tyre is the second-youngest person fatally shot by a police officer this year, according to a Washington Post database tracking such deaths.

The youngest person shot and killed by police this year was Ciara Meyer, a 12-year-old in Pennsylvania accidentally struck by a bullet during an eviction. Since the beginning of last year, the only person younger than Tyre and Ciara killed by police was Jeremy Mardis, a 6-year-old shot while his father tried to flee officers in Louisiana.

Any loss of life is tragic, but the loss of a young person is particularly difficult, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said at the briefing Thursday. As a mayor and a father, the loss of a 13-year-old in the city of Columbus is troubling.

This episode  a white officer fatally shooting a black teenager  came as similar incidents have sparked protests across the country in recent years. Relatively little information was available Thursday beyond the initial account provided by authorities, who said that they were gathering details.

Police in Columbus said they were still seeking video of the shooting, as there was when an officer in Cleveland fatally shot Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old with a toy gun, two years earlier. It did not appear any of the Columbus officers who responded were wearing body cameras. While some officers in the Ohio capital wore such cameras during a brief pilot program this summer, that trial is over, according to Jacobs.

Columbus police said officers were called about an armed robbery just after 7:40 p.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, the person who reported being robbed told officers that a group of people  one carrying what appeared to be a gun  demanded money, according to the police.

Officers then saw three people they said matched the descriptions from the reported robbery and approached them. Two ran away, and the officers followed them into an alley and went to take them into custody, police said. At that point, one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, police officials said, and was shot by an officer.

The 13-year-old was brought to a Columbus hospital and pronounced dead at 8:22 p.m. The officer who shot him was identified by the police as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran of the Columbus police force. Jacobs said Mason has been placed on administrative leave for at least a week.

Mason is a really, really good officer, Jason Pappas, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, told the Columbus Dispatch. Pappas, who said he went to the shooting scene and spoke with Mason, said that officers do not have the luxury of knowing if its a real gun or not.

In 2012, Mason was involved in another fatal shooting. Authorities at the time said that he shot and killed a man who police had said was aiming a gun at another person and refused commands to drop the weapon. Police said the following year that Mason acted within the departments policies.

During the briefing Thursday morning, officials in Ohios largest city called for calm and said they would share information with religious leaders and community members. While officials said the investigation was still in its early stages, they defended Mason and questioned the 13-year-olds actions in carrying the BB gun.

Why is it that a 13-year-old would have nearly an exact replica of a police firearm on him in our neighborhoods? Ginther said. An eighth-grader, involved in very, very dangerous conduct, in one of our neighborhoods.

Jacobs described the BB gun as looking practically identical to firearms carried by Columbus police officers. She held up an image of what she said the BB gun looked like, displaying it for reporters at the news conference outside City Hall.

It turns out to not be a firearm in the sense that it fires real bullets, but as you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you, she said. Jacobs said that authorities are talking about a 13-year-old that we believe was involved in an armed robbery, saying that officers who responded were ready to deal with an armed suspect.

Hours after the news conference, police in Columbus also posted an image online showing what they said was a replica of the gun.

Activists in the region questioned the shooting, with the Peoples Justice Project saying that it raises many questions about police training and behavior.

Officer statements were still being gathered on Thursday, Jacobs said. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron OBrien said Thursday that when the investigation is complete, information will be presented to a grand jury to make a decision on criminal charges.

Authorities said the other person who was with Tyre, whom they did not identify and who was not injured, was interviewed and released. Police say they are seeking additional suspects in the reported robbery. (Police had initially spelled the 13-year-olds name as Tyree King, rather than Tyre.)

The shooting comes amid intense scrutiny nationwide on how officers use deadly force, an issue that prompted protests in Columbus this summer and roiled other Ohio cities in recent years. In addition to Columbus, a city with 850,000 residents, there have been high-profile police shootings in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohios other biggest cities.

In June, just weeks before deadly shootings by and of police roiled the country, groups gathered at a Columbus courthouse to protest a fatal shooting involving a 23-year-old man. The demonstrators called for independent prosecutors to investigate deadly police shootings.

Groups in Columbus rallied again in July when the issue of violence involving police was pushed back into the national consciousness after officers fatally shot black men in Baton Rouge and near St. Paul, Minnesota, and a gunman killed five Dallas police officers.

In Columbus, police shootings are generally deemed to be justified. A review by the Columbus Dispatch found that since 2004, the citys police have been involved in more than 170 shootings, and nearly all were deemed to be within the departments policy guidelines.

Tyres death in Columbus came almost two years after Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old in Cleveland, was fatally shot while holding a toy gun. (Someone had called 911 to report a guy with a pistol. This caller said the gun may have been fake, but the officers who responded were not told that.) Last year, a grand jury declined to indict the Cleveland officers involved. In announcing the decision, Timothy McGinty, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, said that the boy was reaching for the toy in his waistband and described it as indistinguishable from a real gun.

The death of Tamir Rice was an absolute tragedy, McGinty said at the time. But it was not, by the law that binds us, a crime. Cleveland agreed this year to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the boys relatives.

Toy guns or reproductions can often appear indistinguishable from real weapons, and in shootings that involve such fake weapons, officers often say they could not tell the guns were not real. This issue has prompted fears from parents over what will happen if their children are seen with the toys and viewed as armed.

Police have shot and killed dozens of people holding what turned out to be toy guns, with at least 60 such deadly shootings since the start of 2015, according to The Posts database.

This year, that list has included Kionte Desean Spencer, an 18-year-old who was shot by Roanoke County police officers while holding a broken BB gun that officers say looked real; and Robert Dentmond, a 16-year-old in Gainesville, Florida, holding a toy gun that resembled an assault rifle. In April, a 13-year-old boy in Baltimore who ran from police carrying a BB gun was shot and injured.

I put my own eyes on it, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said at the time. Its an absolute, identical replica semiautomatic pistol. Those police officers had no way of knowing that it was not an actual firearm.



TWEET:

Columbus Ohio Police @ColumbusPolice

FATAL POLICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING:This is a replica of the 13yo suspects gun used in last nights armed robbery. #CPD pic.twitter.com/vKjlwYCKuY

3:26 PM  15 Sep 2016

columbus-1stld-writethru
DURANGO, Colo.  A dozen 911 emergency communications centers across Colorado have filed complaints with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission over 911 outages in June and July that occurred mostly on the Western Slope.

During some outages, 911 calls were handled by other call centers, and in other cases, agencies did not find out for hours that their 911 phone lines were not working.

The complaints were filed against CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association and other telephone providers. CenturyLink and Tri-State had no immediate comment, and Charter Communications did not return a phone call seeking comment.

An outage on June 17 in Durango lasted for about 10 hours. During that time calls were routed through Montrose, but in some cases, rerouting was not always possible, the Durango Herald reported (http://tinyurl.com/hkuxgox ).

As a consequence of the outages and lack of notification, the citizens of these communities were put in danger, the complaint states.

The Western Slope agencies asked the Public Utilities Commission to require telecommunications providers to come up with a plan to communicate with them during outages.

Mandy Stollsteimer, executive director of the Western Colorado Regional Dispatch Center in Montrose, said managers need to know who to contact when service is interrupted. Overall, our goal is to ensure we have those relationships in place so we can provide the emergency services to the community, she said.

The agencies also want a plan for backup communications.

We feel collaborating with service providers on alternate methods or use of different technology (including the Internet) to build diversity and redundancy is the path to success in solving this problem, the complaint states.

A hearing about the complaints is set for November.

___

Information from: Durango Herald, http://www.durangoherald.com
It was hours before Sen. Hillary Clinton would vote in 2002 on whether to give President George W. Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq. She had been advised by her husband and many close associates to vote yes. Now, at the last minute, she met with a group of church leaders, joining hands in silent prayer, insisting that she remained undecided.

What I saw was her asking a lot of probing questions, a lot of concern about would this be effective, said Andrew Shapiro, Clintons foreign policy adviser at the time, referring to the days leading up to her decision.

In the end, however, the Democrat crossed party lines and voted for the authorization to use military force. It would take her years to acknowledge that the decision was misguided, eventually calling it my mistake. But it was little surprise to many who watched her evolution as a hawk over her years as a first lady and then as a senator.

For years, Clinton has blamed Bush for misleading her into voting for the resolution. But an examination by The Washington Post found that her decision was based as much on advice from her husbands advisers as from Bush administration officials. There were also significant gaps in her fact-gathering, most notably her apparent failure to read a classified analysis that other senators cited in voting against the resolution.

The path to Clintons decision was paved by her evolving sense of presidential power, forged during years in which she played a bigger role than widely realized in pushing her husband to intervene militarily in the Balkans, Iraq and Kosovo. She continued that path when she advocated intervention in Libya as secretary of state.

Clintons actions provide a window into how she might conduct herself as president, balancing countless calls for action to prevent global crises against risking the lives of American troops.

Fourteen years later, Clintons decision is a heated issue in her presidential campaign against Republican Donald Trump, who said at a Sept. 7 forum that her vote and other hawkish actions show that she has a happy trigger. Clinton responded that force is her last resort, even as she acknowledged that she regrets the Iraq decision. (Trump has repeatedly said he opposed the resolution, but fact-checkers have determined that he favored it at the time Clinton voted.)

Once branded dovish because of her antipathy to the Vietnam War, Clinton had watched from her front-row White House seat what happened when presidential power was left unused as masses died in Rwanda and initially in the Balkans.

As she saw the benefits of intervention, her views of executive power expanded. She argued that a president should have latitude to launch military missions because, as she starkly put it in justifying her 2002 vote, sometimes a president has to do what he thinks is right no matter what anyone else says. She embraced an approach to military force that in many cases argued for using it  rather than regretting not doing so.

Clinton declined requests to be interviewed for this article. Her campaign also would not say whether she read the classified report about Iraqs purported weapons of mass destruction or provide names of opponents with whom she consulted, other than citing the meeting with church members.

Instead, Jesse Lehrich, her foreign policy spokesman, noted in a statement that Clinton considered the Iraq vote one of the hardest decisions of her life  one she anguished over exhaustively and, of course, one she came to regret in the end.



A soft rain fell on April 22, 1993, as the first lady attended the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The Clintons had just settled into the White House, and their new national security team was already facing a humanitarian disaster in the Balkans, scene of one of the bloodiest European conflicts since World War II.

Guest speaker Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning Holocaust survivor, urged President Clinton to try to stop the mass killings that came to be known as ethnic cleansing. We must do something to stop the bloodshed, he said.

Hillary Clinton later said the speech was one of several by Wiesel that deeply influenced her thinking about the use of American force. She watched as her husband delayed action in the Balkans, and then, a year later, as he did not intervene in response to reports of a genocide in Rwanda that killed an estimated 800,000.

She was with her husband when Wiesel later admonished him for Rwanda, telling the president, We could have prevented that massacre.

In 1995, as the White House sought to recover from the domestic failure of Hillary Clintons health-care plan and a Republican takeover of Congress, the president faced new pressure to act in the Balkans after 8,000 people were killed in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.

Some of the presidents aides feared that he had an aversion to intervention, given the downing of two Black Hawk helicopters and the loss of 18 troops in Somalia in October 1993. They came to view the first lady as a conduit who would push her husband to take military force.

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke  long an advocate of U.S. action in the Balkans  turned to the first lady for help persuading the president. He warned her that Bosnia was a cancer on the presidency,  said Derek Chollet, a speechwriter for Holbrooke, who died in 2010.

Hillary Clinton later said she became convinced that selective airstrikes are the only way to stop the genocide. After the president authorized the strikes, she credited intervention for a peace accord, which she observed as an emissary to Bosnia.



In early 1998, Hillary Clinton faced the press corps in the White Houses Map Room. Reporters had been focused on allegations that her husband had had an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

Hillary Clinton chose this moment, for the first time in such a public setting, to take on Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi leader was without conscience, having used weapons of mass destruction on his own people, she told reporters, referring to an attack on Kurds a decade earlier. We are facing an extraordinary threat from this man. Something will have to be done.

Iraq had been a festering issue for President Clinton. In the wake of reports that Hussein was behind an unsuccessful effort to assassinate former president George H.W. Bush, the president in July 1993 ordered the launch of 23 cruise missiles on Baghdad. Tensions escalated further when a U.N. report blamed economic sanctions for the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children, but U.S. officials shifted the blame to Hussein.

Amid reports that weapons inspectors were being blocked from key sites, a group of neoconservatives who would later play top roles in the George W. Bush administration pushed for regime change. Congress in October 1998 passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which called for Husseins removal. Hillary Clinton would repeatedly cite the legislation as part of the rationale for her Iraq War vote four years later.

After signing the legislation, President Clinton ordered bombers to Iraq in mid-November 1998. But he turned the planes around in midflight after Hussein suddenly promised cooperation.

On Dec. 15, 1998, the Clintons flew from Israel back to Washington to face a likely impeachment vote related to the Lewinsky scandal. National security adviser Sandy Berger and Bruce Riedel, one of his deputies, accompanied them.

While the president rested, Hillary Clinton conferred with his aides about rescheduling the attack on Iraq.

The president was in his bedroom suite, sleeping, and Mrs. Clinton was sitting with Sandy Berger and myself, Riedel, then the National Security Councils senior director for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, said in an interview. She was listening quite avidly and taking it all in, and at one point or another we started saying, What if we get another last-minute Saddam dodge? As I recall it, she said,  You cant let him do that again; you need to pull the trigger. 

Riedel often discussed foreign affairs with the first lady. The most force-averse person in the Clinton administration was the president, he said.

Hillary Clinton, by contrast, was among those who were encouraging the president not to let Saddam Hussein off the hook this time.  She was not in the chain of command, but she was among his most important advisers. A great deal of the memos Sandy sent to the president, she got a copy as well.

Berger, who died in 2015, said in an oral history for the University of Virginias Miller Center that he, too, never doubted Hillary Clintons influence. I often thought in the morning I heard some echoes of Hillary in something he said, Berger said, referring to the president.



Operation Desert Fox was designed as a four-day attack on 100 sites, mostly aimed at Husseins power structure. Weapons inspectors heeded U.S. warnings to evacuate.

I have no doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again, President Clinton told the nation as the attack was launched, referring to suspected weapons of mass destruction.

After waiting for the bombing to end, the House impeached the president, but he survived because the Senate did not convict him, and Hussein survived as the bombing stopped.

A few months later, as Hillary Clinton prepared to run for the Senate from New York, she and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, traveled to Africa. One night, in a phone call with her husband, the couple discussed a proposal to back bombing in Kosovo, which many Republicans opposed. President Clinton was hesitant, but his wife was certain.

I urged him to bomb; I supported him, Hillary Clinton told Talk magazine at the time. You cannot let this go on at the end of a century that has seen the major holocaust of our time. What do we have NATO for if not to defend our way of life?

Shortly after returning from Africa, the first lady hosted Wiesel at a White House event, The Perils of Indifference, which focused on the lessons of the Holocaust. Clinton made clear that the lesson for her was to be more willing to use force. Many of us in this room have personal experiences that are much more recent and fresh, about what it means to face that evil and that indifference today, she said, citing her travel to trouble spots.

Clintons role in her husbands foreign policy continued. In 2000, she attended a White House session with the president and his national security aides to discuss Husseins latest moves. Kenneth Pollack, the NSC director for Persian Gulf affairs at the time, said in an interview: Clearly her husband felt he wanted her there. She would be there, she would give him advice, sometimes with us in the room. She asked really smart questions.

Hillary Clinton hailed the intervention in Iraq as a success. But U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who had tried to forestall bombing, later wrote that Desert Fox ushered in a four-year period without inspections and without a dialogue with Iraq.



As Hillary Clinton prepared to be sworn in as a senator in 2001, her husbands administration handed over Iraq policy to President-elect George W. Bush. Bush and his aides suspected that Hussein had used the absence of inspections to escalate a weapons of mass destruction program, and they studied the possibility of an invasion.

The Bush administrations planning on Iraq escalated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Hillary Clinton was at the U.S. Capitol when she learned about the mass casualties at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The senator soon urged Bush to provide $20 billion to rebuild New York. The president agreed, and a gratified Clinton said, Ill stand behind Bush for a long time to come.

That pledge was tested a year later as the president urged Congress to grant him the authority to attack Iraq. Despite nearly universal support for intervening in Afghanistan, where Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was sheltered, the Iraq resolution encountered opposition from various leading Democrats, who said that Hussein had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks and that it would give Bush too much latitude.

As Hillary Clinton considered whether to support the resolution, her husband publicly endorsed regime change, as he had in 1998.

Many of Hillary Clintons advisers had been top officials in her husbands administration. Pollack, her husbands former aide, had just published a book, The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq. Clinton asked him to visit her.

After Pollack stressed Husseins dangers, Clinton asked him about the Iraqi leaders intentions.

I just remember being forced to say to her, Im sorry, senator, I wish I knew the answer to that. No one other than Saddam Hussein knows the answer,  Pollack recalled.

Riedel, the former NSC aide who had often consulted with Clinton, said he believed at the time that war with Iraq was insane. He was convinced that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

But Riedel said he did not talk directly to Clinton, instead conveying his views to Berger, who was advising the senator and thought that Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

In her public comments, Clinton strongly suggested support for Bush.

I agreed then with President Clinton, Hillary Clinton said on Sept. 15 on Meet the Press, referring to her husbands effort to oust Hussein. I agree with President Bushs emphasis on this issue.

I cant imagine that we wont give Bush the authority, she said.



Bush called Clinton to the White House on Oct. 8, 2002, three days before the vote. His public arguments included a stream of later-discredited claims, including that Hussein had weapons capable of killing millions.

After Clinton left the White House, she took a call from national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Clinton later cited this conversation as evidence that the Bush administration misled her. As she told it in a 2006 interview with the Atlantic, Condi Rice called me and asked if I had any questions. I said, Look, I have one question: If the president has this authority, will he go to the United Nations and use it to get inspectors to go back into Iraq and figure out what this guy has? 

Yes, thats what its for, Rice responded, according to Clinton.

Rice declined to comment, but her spokeswoman, Georgia Godfrey, said via email that Rice never would have suggested that the Authorization would be limited to getting inspectors in.

Clinton, like every other senator, was invited to read classified intelligence reports in a secure room on Capitol Hill.

The report had caveats  absent from an unclassified version  that led some senators to doubt the administrations case. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., who chaired the Intelligence Committee, pleaded with colleagues to read the document before voting.

Clinton has left the clear impression that she did not read the full report. She said in a 2008 interview on Meet the Press that she was briefed by its authors and that not very many people read the whole thing. When The Post asked a campaign spokesman to say definitively whether she read it, he pointed to Clintons 2008 statement.

Graham, who voted no, said in an interview that he remains frustrated that so many senators did not read the report. Im not sure if Senator Clinton read that or not; if she did, it apparently wasnt sufficiently persuasive, he said.

Some Clinton aides said they were uncertain until the end how she would vote. But her inclination to support Bush was so well known that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who was trying to rally opposition, made no effort to change her mind, a former Kennedy aide said.

Clinton has cited as reasons for her support her gratitude for Bushs financial support for New York, her expectation that the vote would reopen inspections and her underlying belief in strong presidential authority. She has also cited the advocacy of Clinton administration officials and the legacy of the Iraq Liberation Act. She has rejected suggestions that reading the full National Intelligence Estimate would have made a difference, noting that some who read it voted for the resolution.

On Oct. 10, 2002, Clintons Senate speech harked back to her husbands 1998 attack on Iraq, even as she stressed her hope for a diplomatic solution.

Left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons, she said.

The Senate approved the measure 77 to 23, with Democrats favoring it 29 to 21. The two other opponents were an independent and a Republican. The House also voted in favor.

The drumbeat for war mounted. The Bush administration said Hussein still refused to allow adequate inspections, and an invasion threat had not resolved the issue. Bush launched the attack in March 2003, sending more than 100,000 U.S. troops to Iraq.

A year after the vote, Clinton defended it on CNN, citing grave threats to the United States.

But the basis of her decision was soon undermined. In October 2004, a U.N. team led by Charles Duelfer reported that weapons of mass destruction stocks do not exist.

Clinton contacted Pollack, a voice that had urged her to vote for war.

So, Ken, what happened to the weapons of mass destruction? she asked, as he recalled it.

Im as mystified as you are, Senator, Pollack said he responded.

In 2008, as Clinton sought the Democratic presidential nomination for the first time, her pollster found that most voters would react negatively if she acknowledged that her vote was a mistake. She refrained from using the word, even as her primary rival, Barack Obama, attacked her vote.

She now characterizes her vote as a painful but valuable lesson.

It is imperative that we learn from the mistakes, she said earlier this month. We must learn what led us down that path so that it never happens again. I think Im in the best possible position to be able to understand that and prevent it.



Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites contributed to this report.

clinton-iraq-1stld-writethru
ORANGE, Calif.  The father of former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon strangled his wife then shot himself in their Southern California home, police said Thursday.

The deaths of Robert Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57, were an apparent murder-suicide, Orange police Lt. Fred Lopez said a day after the bodies were found. No further details on the motive or circumstances were released.

The couple were the father and stepmother of ex-NASCAR star Robby Gordon, who fought back tears and expressed disbelief Thursday outside the home on a Southern California hillside where he grew up and developed his love of racing.

Im so sad, and I cant believe it, the racing star said outside the house. I grew up on this property my whole life.

Robby Gordon recalled how his father, a racer known as Baja Bob in the motorsports community, instilled in him a love for competition and motorsports in the Orange County neighborhood, where many residents own horses and dirt riding trails line the suburban streets.

Gordon said he had given his father the home 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles where police discovered the bodies Wednesday after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor making a welfare check at the request of relatives.

Robby Gordon told the Orange County Register that family members had become concerned when his father missed a doctors appointment.

The younger Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father.

The elder Gordon started out in horse racing at the local track in Los Alamitos, California, before getting into auto racing.

He taught me at a young age that one horsepower wasnt going to be enough  go do something different, Gordon recalled his father saying. And I was fortunate enough to do something different.

Residents in the upscale neighborhood shared stories about the couples friendly ways  swapping jokes with neighbors, gifting tickets to racing events and delivering feed personally to local equestrians.

I can still see them walking hand in hand, walking their dogs down the street, said John Reina, who lives across the street. To kind of wrap your head around this tragedy is very hard to do.

Robby Gordon said he would speak about the deaths in more detail once authorities conclude their investigation.

The truth will come out, what went down there, he said.

Racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that he was praying for the Gordon family. Hope they find strength and support, he said.

Heartbreaking news this morning. Thinking of the Gordon family and friends, NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson said on Twitter.

Gordon, 47, has raced on numerous racing circuits, from NASCAR to IndyCar to Champ Car and IROC.

Known for his aggressive style, he earned three wins in parts of 19 seasons in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He was a full-time driver early last decade and finished a career-high 16th in the points standings in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Gordon last raced in the Sprint Cup in 2012.

Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps.

Gordon said an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned.

Gordons sister, Beccy, is married to 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. The driver tweeted Wednesday that his wife had given birth to a boy. Hunter-Reay would appear as scheduled in a weekend race in Sonoma County, Gordon said.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles and AP freelance writer Mike Cranston in Chicago contributed to this report.
False alarm.

Most of the 327 Lockheed Martin employees who faced layoffs when the companys Air Force training contract ended in late September will be rehired immediately by a new contractor.

AOCE, a Virginia-based company, is taking over training on Oct. 1.

Our chief executive, chief financial and chief operations officers are all in Albuquerque right now in meetings with Lockheed Martin staff and union representatives to get this transition done efficiently, effectively and on time, AOCE chief strategy officer Jeff Leeper told the Journal on Thursday. Theyre all sitting in an office now, as we speak, to work out the details for new letters of hire.

Reports started circling Wednesday evening that Lockheed planned to layoff all employees in New Mexico connected to the U.S. Air Forces Aircrew Training and Rehearsal Support (ATARS) program, which Lockheed has managed since 1987. Under the ATARS contract, Lockheed provides training for Air Force special operations and search-and-rescue aircrews at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, and at military installations in three other states.

But its current 10-year contract is ending on Sept. 30, so on Aug. 1, Lockheed filed notification with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions that it planned to lay off the 327 people in New Mexico. Thats mandatory under the federal WARN Act, which requires companies that are either planning to close a plant or to order a mass layoff to file notification at least 60 days in advance.

But AOCE  a small, veteran-owned business in operation since 1997  had already won the new contract to take over Air Force training.

Theres a good number of union folks under the current contract in Albuquerque, and weve been working with them to make sure everyones in the right place by Oct. 1, Leeper said. Well be sending out new letters of offer to a large number of people.
Authorities in Turkey plan to construct 174 prisons over the next five years to meet the unanticipated increase in the number of convicts, according to a Justice Ministry statement. Though not explicitly stated, the move is most probably linked to the strain placed on Turkeys penal system amid a nationwide purge launched in response to a coup attempt on July 15.

In the weeks since, authorities have rounded up and jailed tens of thousands of people suspected to be connected to a movement led by Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in exile in the United States who Ankara claims was behind the coup plot.

Some of the plans for the new facilities were already in place before the failed putsch, in which a mutinous faction of the military attempted to seize institutions of the state, bomb parliament and turn their weapons on protesting civilians before being quashed by loyalist forces. In March, reports suggested that Turkish jails were already at capacity.

But the sweeping purge, which has netted a vast number of journalists, lawyers, teachers and other members of civil society, has accelerated the need for new facilities. According to statistics from officials last month, about 35,000 people have been detained as part of the crackdown, and about 17,000 of them have been formally arrested.

In August, prison overcrowding was such a problem that the government issued a decree granting about 38,000 convicts early parole to free up room in the facilities. Detainees were being forced to sleep in shifts, while attorneys for those in jail have told reporters that, in some instances, cells are holding double the number of inmates they are supposed to.

They are six people staying in cells built for three people, lawyer Gul Altay told the Hurriyet newspaper. They are sleeping in bunk beds in turns. The prison is already overcrowded. Instead of taking steps to solve the situation, the state plans to jail more people via opening more prisons.

turkey
LOS LUNAS  Amid much fanfare, Gov. Susana Martinez said Thursday in Los Lunas that the $250 million data center deal was Facebook official.

When we first went out to talk to (Facebook), it was clear New Mexico wasnt even on their radar, she said during a news conference. But we told them the New Mexico story, and two months later, we got a phone call.

Facebooks selection of Los Lunas was made official on Wednesday.

New Mexico at first was one of 20 states competing for the project, Martinez said. By the beginning of summer, only New Mexico and Utah were still in the running. Quoting a Utah official, Martinez said New Mexico was able to roll out the red carpet for Facebook in a way other states were not.

Los Lunas has promised Facebook up to $30 billion in industrial revenue bonds, a gross receipts tax reimbursement of up to $1.6 million and $10 million in Local Development Act funding. The state also will offer the company access to $3 million in Job Training Incentive Program money, although it is unclear how much of the money Facebook will use.

The project is estimated to bring up to 50 data center jobs in its initial phases, as well as between 300 and 500 construction jobs over seven years. Construction is set to begin next month, and the data center is expected to be fully operational by late 2018. The contractor is the Portland, Ore.-based Fortis Construction.

Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela called the project the largest capital investment in nearly three decades in New Mexico.

When asked by the Journal what mechanisms would be in place to assure the economic development impact of the deal outweighed the substantial local and state investment, Martinez said the state would track the number of jobs Facebook provides in addition to other metrics.

Its something we always do whenever state economic development money is made available, she said.
RICHMOND, Va.  Virginias highest court on Thursday rejected Republican lawmakers latest challenge to Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffes efforts to restore voting rights to thousands of felons who have completed their sentences.

The Virginia Supreme Court denied a motion that sought to hold McAuliffe in contempt for violating a court order with his new process for restoring felons voting rights. The court did not explain its reason for denying the motion.

McAuliffe applauded the decision, saying he hopes it puts to rest the lengthy legal battle over his bid to let felons who have served their time cast ballots.

It is my hope that the courts validation of the process we are using will convince Republicans to drop their divisive efforts to prevent Virginians from regaining their voting rights and focus their energy and resources on making Virginia a better place to live for the people who elected all of us to lead, McAuliffe said in a statement.

The states Supreme Court ruled in July that McAuliffe overstepped his bounds with an executive order issued in April that had restored the rights of roughly 200,000 felons. The court said governors cannot restore voting rights en masse and must consider them on a case-by-case basis.

McAuliffe began restoring the rights again under a new process after the court ruling. He stressed that his administration was processing felons rights restoration orders individually to comply with the decision, but Republicans argued there is no practical difference between his new process and his previous action struck down by the court.

GOP House Speaker William Howell said Thursday that Republicans are disappointed, but respect the Supreme Courts decision.

Throughout this process, our goal was to hold Gov. McAuliffe accountable to the Constitution and the Rule of Law, Howell said in a statement. The governor stretched the bounds of the Virginia Constitution and sought to expand executive power in a manner we viewed as inappropriate and reckless.

Republicans have called McAuliffes voting rights effort a bald-faced political move aimed at getting more Democrats to the polls in November to help presidential candidate Hillary Clinton win the critical swing state. In addition to letting felons vote, the restoration order let them serve on a jury, run for public office and become a notary public.

McAuliffes administration said in court documents earlier this week that only a small fraction of the more than 200,000 felons will have their rights restored under the new case-by-case review by the Oct. 17 deadline for voting registration. As of earlier this week, McAuliffe has restored the rights of nearly 20,000 people under the new process, his administration said.

____

Follow Alanna Durkin Richer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aedurkinricher. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/alanna-durkin-richer .
Hours after polls closed in the closely contested 2011 state Supreme Court election, Republican consultants and lobbyists traded emails about launching a potential public campaign to allege widespread voter fraud, newly released emails show.

Critics say the emails are another sign of political motives behind Republican claims that voter fraud is a serious problem in Wisconsin.

The emails became public Wednesday through a report by Guardian US, an arm of the British newspaper, which included leaked court documents from the secret John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walkers 2012 recall campaign.

They were dated to the early morning hours of April 6, 2011. At that time, the outcome remained too close to call in the race between incumbent and GOP favorite then-Justice David Prosser and the candidate favored by Democrats, Judge Joanne Kloppenburg.

Steve Baas, a lobbyist for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and former Republican legislative staffer, floated an idea on the email thread:

Do we need to start messaging widespread reports of election fraud so we are positively set up for the recount regardless of the final number? I obviously think we should.

Scott Jensen  the former GOP Assembly Speaker turned lobbyist for American Federation for Children, a private school voucher advocacy group  quickly responded:

Yes. Anything fishy should be highlighted. Stories should be solicited by talk radio hosts.

In another email, Jensen writes that Prosser needs to be on talk radio in the morning saying he is confident he won and talk radio needs to scream the Dems are trying to steal the race.

Prosser went on to win the election in a recount. He served five more years on the high court before stepping down in July.

In a Wednesday post to his Election Law Blog, Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UC-Irvine, wrote the emails show all this talk of fraud is all about manipulating Republican public opinion.

This cynical messaging is sadly validating of what many of us have said, Hasen wrote.

Some Republican elected officials have cited concerns with voter fraud to justify the states voter ID requirement and other measures.

Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca of Kenosha told the Wisconsin State Journal in a statement that the exchange shows Republicans clearly had no qualms about deceiving Wisconsin voters.

This latest revelation exposes the way the Republican spin machine works  they were prepared to simply make things up, Barca said.

Jensen, in a statement to the State Journal Wednesday, defended his comments.

All I said was if anything looked fishy, we should shine a spotlight on it. Thats not an international story, Jensen wrote.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect the status of the Supreme Court election on April 6, 2011.
Hours after reaching an agreement on Syria last Friday with Secretary of State John Kerry and clearing the final deal with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wandered the halls of their meeting venue in Geneva, waiting for Kerry to get the OK from Washington.

In a secure room upstairs, a frustrated Kerry was on hold. Already deep into a conference call with President Barack Obamas top national security team, he was waiting for the Defense Department to locate its legal counsel to sign off on one of the many provisions of the accord that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was questioning.

Obama, who did not attend the principals meeting, ultimately approved the agreement, and a news conference was held at midnight, Geneva time.

But beneath the politics and diplomacy of the deal  which began with a cease-fire Monday, to be followed, if it succeeds, by coordinated U.S.-Russian counterterrorism airstrikes  the prospect of military-to-military cooperation does not sit well with the Defense Department.

There is a trust deficit with the Russians; it is not clear to us what their objectives are, Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, said this week. They say one thing, and we dont necessarily see them following up on this.

That mistrust resides most deeply in Carter, who officials familiar with the Russia negotiations said almost single-handedly delayed Fridays final agreement with his repeated questions during the conference call. Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, voiced little objection during the principals meeting, officials said.

But Pentagon officials acknowledged widespread concern that Russia will not live up to its end of the deal, and fears that the U.S. military will be blamed for problems or the failure of an initiative it does not fully support. Many are still smarting from criticism and derision over an earlier program to build up an army of U.S.-trained Syrian fighters that repeatedly stumbled and ultimately was abandoned.

Kerry and other proponents of the agreement say that they are similarly wary of Russian intentions. But they say they see no other way to stop the civil war in Syria while retaining focus on what the administration views as the far more important battle against the Islamic State  and without a major U.S. intervention that Obama has repeatedly rejected.

Whats the alternative? Kerry asked in an interview with NPR this week. The alternative is to allow us to go from 450,000 people whove been slaughtered to how many thousands more? That Aleppo gets completely overrun? That the Russians and [Syrian President Bashar] Assad simply bomb indiscriminately for days to come, and we sit there and do nothing? Thats the alternative to trying to get this done, if America is not going to go in with their troops  and Americas made the decision were not going in with our troops.

Amid reports of internal administration clashes, and after a terse and somewhat grudging initial Pentagon statement saying we will be watching the Russians to make sure they comply, the White House said Wednesday that Obama is not looking for a bunch of people that have the exact same opinion.

But the president, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, is entirely confident that once hes made a decision, that he can count on the members of his team to execute that strategy with excellence.

After commending Kerry for the deal, Carter said at a Wednesday news conference in Austin, We in the Defense Department will play whatever role we have with our accustomed excellence.

Although many Republicans, and some Democrats, have criticized Obama for years for his reluctance to become involved in Syrias domestic combat  and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused him of not listening to his generals  it is the generals who have been most averse to a direct role in the civil war.

Dempsey was throwing himself under a bus in front of every idea that came out, said a senior administration official, referring to former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin Dempsey, whom Dunford replaced last fall. The Defense Department got the Iraq part, but it was the Syria thing  even the counter-ISIL part  that they didnt want. My theory is that everyone in DOD understands Iraq, and they dont understand Syria. ISIL is an acronym for the Islamic State.

But military leaders share a deep-seated skepticism about whether the United States can change the course of the Syrian conflict at this stage, or, more broadly, can bring about lasting change anywhere in the Middle East.

During the months-long negotiations with Moscow that led to last weeks U.S.-Russia agreement, the Pentagon argued against more intervention and a diplomatic deal.

Any collusion with Russia has just made the long-standing reluctance to intervene worse, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Under the cease-fire terms of the deal, Russia is responsible for ensuring that the Syrian air force stops attacks against opposition forces and civilians, and the United States has pledged to do the same with those opposition groups it backs. If violence is substantially reduced for seven consecutive days  a period that began Monday night  and humanitarian aid begins to reach besieged communities, U.S. and Russian military and intelligence officials will establish a Joint Implementation Center.

There, they will share intelligence about the location of the two groups they both agree are terrorists and ineligible for a cease-fire: the Islamic State and the former Jabhat al-Nusra, which has renamed itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of Syria) and claims to have severed ties with al-Qaida. They will discuss and agree on legitimate targets and determine which of them is best situated to launch airstrikes against them.

U.S. military officials are working internally on ways to develop potential Front targets in areas where U.S. aircraft have not been recently active.

Officials from the U.S. Central Command, the European Command, and Dunfords office, along with the Pentagons intelligence shop, are among those working out the details of how the Center would operate, including personnel, logistics and how to obtain the surveillance information required to support the expanded air campaign.

Commanders are keen to ensure that operations with Russia would not divert planes or other assets from current operations targeting the Islamic State, and that Russia would follow rules in its use of target information.

They are concerned about providing some legal protection to the Pentagon in the case of, for example, Russian aircraft striking a civilian target. To mitigate that risk, one possibility under consideration is a system in which the United States would develop a target, Russia would approve it and the United States would take the strike, and vice versa.

Its not clear whether Russia, whose airstrikes have hit hospitals and civilian areas, will shift to using precision munitions in the jointly agreed strikes.

Under a measure lawmakers inserted into the defense appropriations bill after Russias military incursion into Ukraine, military-to-military cooperation with Russia is prohibited unless the defense secretary waives its provisions, notifies Congress and explains why the waiver is in the United States interest.

Congressional aides said the House and Senate armed services committees thought that such notification should have taken place last fall, when Washington signed a deconfliction memorandum with Moscow to ensure that their separate air operations against the Islamic State in Syria would not run into each other. The committees chose not to challenge a Pentagon assertion that the agreement was a safety issue and did not fall under the waiver requirement.

Following the new cease-fire and coordination deal, aides said, lawmakers have already requested waiver information from the Pentagon but have not yet received an answer.

Pentagon lawyers have determined that establishment of the Joint Implementation Center would trigger the notification and waiver requirement, although the Departments legal counsel, during last Fridays conference call with Kerry, indicated that it did not have to be immediate.

Pentagon lawyers are still exploring whether and when, during the planning stage, notification has to take place. Some military officials are asking, for example, whether they are permitted to talk to the Russian military as they make plans to open the center.

Late Wednesday, a Pentagon statement said that senior Defense Department civilians and military officers had held a video conference with their Russian counterparts about ongoing in-flight safety to avoid accidents and misunderstandings in the air space over Syria.

The meeting, the statement emphasized, was not part of separate discussions taking place on the possible stand-up of the joint integration cell.



Thomas Gibbons-Neff and William Wan contributed to this report.

syria-policy
The Attorney Generals Office will hold a transition meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday for students affected by the ITT Technical Institute closure.

It will be held at the New Mexico State Bar Center, 5121 Masthead. More sessions are planned later.

Former ITT students can learn about circumstances surrounding the closure, possible ways to deal with their federal student loan debt and other educational programs that might accept their transfer credits.

To find out about future sessions, go to nmag.gov/itt-closure.aspx.
WASHINGTON  Aya Hijazi grew up in the U.S., but after college she returned to her native Egypt to start a foundation dedicated to helping children. That, her family says, made her a target of Egypts authoritarian regime and has landed her in jail on trumped up charges for the last two years.

On Thursday, Hijazis family and two northern Virginia congressmen called for her release at a Capitol Hill press conference. They spotlighted Hijazis plight and sought to pressure Egyptian authorities.

The Egyptian government mistakes American resolve, said Democrat Gerry Connolly, who acknowledged the important strategic partnership between the U.S. and Egypt in confronting terrorists. They think that because we care about the broader, 30,000-foot relationship, we wont get into the nitty-gritty about individual human rights. Wrong. This case will continue to be elevated.

Hijazi, 29, grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Egypt. She received a degree in conflict resolution from George Mason University in 2009, and then returned to her native Egypt.

She was running a foundation there called Belady dedicated to helping street children when she and her husband, Mohammed Hassanein, were arrested in May 2014.

Egyptian authorities accuse Hijazi of abusing children in her care and engaging in human trafficking, kidnapping, sexual exploitation and torture. But the trial has been delayed multiple times on what human rights groups say are absurd pretexts, like inability to turn on a computer at a court hearing.

Human rights groups have said the charges are fabricated and part of a crackdown by Egypts government on civil society.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, who counts Hijazi as a constituent, said no evidence has been produced to support the allegations. He said the prolonged detention violates Egypts own laws guaranteeing a speedy trial.

Aya should be praised as a hero, someone who has championed the neglected, Beyer said.

Hijazis sister, Alaa Hijazi, said Thursday that her sister has generally been in good spirits during her detention, but she couldnt say how long that will last.

Were worried that Ayas resolve is beginning to crack, Alaa Hijazi said.

She called the charges against her sister absolutely absurd and unfounded. They only make sense, she said, in the context of the Egyptian governments campaign against intellectuals, academics and others that it deems a threat to its authority.

Wade McMullen, a lawyer with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, has assisted Hijazi. He said she has been banned from seeing her husband or conversing with other inmates during her detention.

Calls and emails to the Egyptian embassy seeking comment on Hijazis case were not returned.

Beyer said the State Department has been doing what it normally does to provide support in situations when U.S. citizens face charges abroad, but the time has come to do more.

Theres been a lot of jawboning going on, but so far it hasnt freed Aya, he said.

Another hearing in the case is scheduled for November.
WASHINGTON  A dramatic House vote on the impeachment of Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen has been delayed, if not averted entirely, by a last-minute deal between GOP leaders and the hard-line conservative members who could have forced the vote on Thursday.

Koskinen is expected to appear next week before the House Judiciary Committee, which is examining impeachment articles related to the destruction of emails subpoenaed by Congress, after declining to testify before the panel earlier this year. Because the committee has not advanced the impeachment proceedings, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus filed a special motion to bring the matter directly to the House floor.

The caucus declared victory in a statement late Wednesday, saying the hearing would give every American the opportunity to hear John Koskinen answer under oath why he misled Congress, allowed evidence pertinent to an investigation to be destroyed, and defied Congressional subpoenas and preservation orders.

It will also remove any lingering excuses for those who have been hesitant to proceed with this course of action, the statement read.

A spokeswoman for the Judiciary Committee confirmed next weeks hearing. Lawyers for Koskinen did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. He has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers wrote in a Sept. 8 letter to Judiciary Committee leaders that he would be willing to appear before the panel and answer questions under oath.

All that we seek is the use of traditional processes and standards, wrote the lawyers from the WilmerHale firm.

The impeachment vote that had been set for Thursday threatened to pit the Freedom Caucus and their desire to hold President Barack Obamas administration to account against not only the White House and congressional Democrats, but also moderate Republicans and a broader desire for regular order  in which the House takes action through the relevant committees, empowering their chairmen to decide what measures are sent to the floor.

Had the impeachment measure come to the House floor Thursday, it likely would have been subject to a vote to table, killing its progress. Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, worked with moderate Republicans, including Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, to round up roughly three dozen GOP members to join with Democrats to table the measure. They targeted Republicans who were either skeptical that Koskinens alleged offenses deserved impeachment or that he should be impeached through an abbreviated process.

Rep. John Fleming, R-Louisiana, the co-sponsor of the impeachment resolution, said late Wednesday that he was pleased there would be a formal impeachment hearing for Koskinen but reserved the right to force a floor vote in the future: [I]f regular order is not followed through with we still reserve the right to bring up a privileged resolution again in November and go directly to a vote.

IRS spokesman Matthew Leas said the agency was in touch with the Judiciary Committee Thursday about the timing of the hearing, which he said the agency understood to be a preliminary hearing rather than a formal impeachment proceeding.

There is still a possibility that the committee process could be short-circuited: The other co-sponsor, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, told reporters Thursday that he still planned to call up a floor vote next week. It only takes one, he said, according to Roll Call.

Huelskamp recently lost his bid for renomination and will leave Congress in January, and he has been critical of House GOP leaders for not intervening on his behalf in the Republican primary. If he forces a vote, it appears he would be doing it on his own behalf.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, told reporters that he understood the agreement to be that the hearing would take place instead of a vote before November. He praised that agreement Thursday: The members worked the differences out with themselves. . . . [Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia] worked this out with the members who were involved. Thats how I like things getting handled here.

The Freedom Caucus members have seized on lingering frustration among conservative activists over the scrutiny that right-leaning groups received from the IRSs Exempt Organizations Division when they applied for tax-exempt status in the early years of the Obama administration. Koskinen, a veteran turnaround specialist in the private and public sectors, was brought in to clean up after the scandal, but his relationship with the Republican Congress was poisoned after backup tapes containing emails sent by key official Lois Lerner were destroyed amid a House investigation.

Those emails were destroyed under his watch, said Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, which saw its IRS applications languish for more than four years before it won tax-exempt status. His job was to restore the public trust, and it hasnt been restored.

Koskinens defenders have not only taken issue with the substance of the Freedom Caucuss claims  pointing, for instance, to a Treasury Department inspector generals report that found no evidence implicating Koskinen in a cover-up  but have also objected to the process they have employed. Only once before, in 1876, has the House impeached an executive-branch official below the rank of president: Secretary of War William Belknap, who was charged with taking kickbacks from the operators of military trading posts.

Never before, Koskinens lawyers argued in the Sept. 8 letter, have impeachment articles been pursued outside of a committee process where the target of the impeachment is allowed to present evidence and give testimony in his or her defense.

irs-post-1stld-writethru
We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
Ares Management is reportedly seeking to raise more than $45bn for its latest batch of funds.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: In Atlanta, Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org

In Lusaka, Rachel Fowler, +260 (0) 96 817 8434, rachel.fowler@cartercenter.org

Read Full Statement >

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA  The Carter Center is deeply concerned about key aspects of the 2016 Zambian electoral process in both the pre- and post-electoral period, especially the failure of Zambias institutions to provide a level playing field prior to election day and adequate due process to ensure a fair hearing and effective remedy for electoral petitions filed following the polls. Unfortunately, this represents a significant step backward for Zambia.

The Centers limited election mission released a statement today highlighting some of its concerns. While it is difficult to quantify the precise impact of the flaws in the pre- and post-election periods, cumulatively these problems seriously undermine the integrity of Zambias electoral process and weaken public confidence in the countrys democratic institutions.

Overall, the 2016 elections represent a troubling departure from Zambias recent history of democratic governance. In this highly polarized and divisive environment, it is incumbent upon Zambias authorities and political leaders from all parties to play a constructive role to strengthen the countrys democratic institutions, lessen tensions, address divisions, and prevent post-electoral violence.

Pre-election Period and Election Day

The Centers preliminary statement following the Aug. 11 elections noted that the pre-election campaign period was marred by the lack of a level playing field, including harassment of private media, the abuse of office by government ministers, and the application of the Public Order Act in ways that appeared to disadvantage the main opposition party, the United Party for National Development. The political and electoral environment was also characterized by heightened tensions between the ruling Patriotic Front and the opposition, and some instances of localized violence.

While the pre-election environment was significantly flawed, both Zambian citizen observers and multiple international observation missions reported that voting and counting processes were largely successful, with only relatively minor problems. Following an extended tabulation process, the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced the final results of the polls, which indicated that the ruling PF party candidate, President Edgar Lungu, had been elected with 50.35 percent of valid votes cast. His main competitor, Hakainde Hichilema, received 47.63 percent of the votes. Lungus vote total narrowly avoided a runoff election, which would have been required had no candidate received more than 50 percent of the valid votes. President Lungu was inaugurated on Sept. 13.

While the election commission inadequately managed public expectations regarding the vote tabulation, verification, and declaration processes, a parallel vote tabulation conducted by domestic observer Christian Churches Monitoring Group broadly affirmed that the official results were within a statistically credible range.

Post-election Petitions and Constitutional Court Decisions

Following the polls, the UPND lodged a petition with the newly formed Constitutional Court challenging the outcome of the presidential election. Although Zambias constitution requires the court to hear electoral petitions within 14 days of its filing, it is silent as to the timeframe in which the court is required to issue a ruling. The court failed to hear evidence on the merits of the petition and to rule on the validity of the election.

Much of the courts deliberations were conducted in chambers, closed to the public. On Aug. 30, the court said that its calendar would be extended by five days, concluding on Sept. 8. However, it later reversed its position and required both sides to present their cases on Sept. 2, or calendar day 14. Opposition lawyers argued that there was insufficient time and withdrew from the case. The full court then stated that four additional days would be provided, two each for the sides to argue the merits. In a surprise ruling when it reconvened on Sept. 5, the court stated that its jurisdiction had ended at midnight on calendar day 14, and dismissed the UPND petition without hearing the case on its merits. The vote was three-two.

The end result of this decision is that the legal and judicial processes surrounding the presidential petitions failed to meet Zambias national and international obligations under the Zambian constitution, the African Charter for Human and Peoples Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to ensure due process, a fair hearing, and effective legal remedy.

Background

On July 19, the Center deployed a limited election observation mission, focusing on the political and electoral environment of the campaign period; the legal framework; and electoral dispute-resolution mechanisms. The mission assessed the process based on Zambias national legal framework and international obligations for genuine democratic elections. The Center released its preliminary statement on Aug. 13. A final report will be released three months following the elections.

The Carter Center conducts election observation in accordance with the Declaration of Principles of International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observation adopted at the United Nations in 2005.

###

"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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Britains three biggest abattoirs have denied that changes to how cattle are graded have wiped millions off farmers incomes.

In front of MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee on Wednesday (14 September), bosses from 2Sisters, ABP and Dunbia challenged the findings of an AHDB study.

One part of the levy board research, conducted over the summer, concluded that changes to the value of parts of the grid knocked 7%, or 1.1m, from the monthly cattle kill.

See also: Confidence grows as beef trade finally beats 2015

ABP UK chief executive Tom Kirwan, whose firm has introduced a new 15-point grid, while rolling out visual image analysis (VIA) grading in its UK plants, said the report was very emotive.

He said average cattle values at his abattoirs rose from 1,095 in the week before the system was brought in to 1,100 the week after.

Unlike human graders, he added, the VIA system was more objective than subjective.

I do not recognise the million pounds a month as missing, Mr Kirwan said. This erosion of value I question.

Dunbia group managing director Jim Dobson told MPs the report should be repeated over a longer period than AHDBs one-month comparisons.

Fifth-quarter drop

It should also reflect how the value of the so-called fifth quarter, including cattle hides, has dropped.

It would be a good idea to do it again and check it again on different cattle, Mr Dobson said.

The committee appearance was the first time processors have had a full say in a debate over beef grading that has rumbled since the spring.

Farmers have complained that new payment grids, launched over the winter, were much tougher on cattle just outside of supermarket spec, and penalties on heavier cattle, more than 380kg, had been hiked up at short notice.

Fairness in the sector

The questioning spun off into wider questions about fairness in the beef sector.

2Sisters red meat livestock procurement director John Dracup told the MPs that the industrys voluntary code, drawn up after the 2014 market crash, should be made mandatory.

Just under one in 10 abattoirs have signed up to the code, which demands a 12-week notice period for changes to terms and conditions.

Being the architect of the code, I am very proud we have got to a point where it has rolled out and been made available to the industry, Mr Dracup said.

I was slightly disappointed that there was not wider uptake. I would welcome it becoming mandatory because it is all about transparency.

Mr Dobson from Dunbia, which has not signed up, said he would not commit to guidelines that were incomplete.

He said the whole industry, including supermarkets and renderers, should have been covered, along the lines of the supermarket grocery code.

The code of practice should be for the whole chain, not just for [abattoirs], Mr Dobson said.

Consumer trends changing

On longer-term communication, ABPs Mr Kirwan said the changes in consumer trends had been coming for three or four years.

Retailers were now selling steaks at a fixed weight, he said, which required more consistency.

Dunbias Mr Dobson said most of his cattle came from finishers who kept beasts for six months at the most and were aware of what the customer needs.

Mr Dracup from 2Sisters said he had spent years working with farmers to get them to supply what the marketplace wanted and the grid did an adequate job of explaining what was needed.

Unfortunately, farmers respond far more clearly to penalties than they do premiums, he said.

Efra committee chairman Neil Parish asked each of the processors if they had ever colluded in the deadweight trade, given the close grouping of each weeks base prices.

All three witnesses denied the charge, claiming the market was working well, with strong demand for British beef and limited supply, which led to UK farmers receiving some of the highest prices in the world.

Supermarket view

After the long session on abattoirs, Tesco and the British Retail Consortium gave the supermarket view.

Tesco group quality director Tim Smith said customers drove specification above everything else and those requirements had been made clearer, rather than tightened.

Britains largest supermarket was also planning to build a dedicated beef supply group, with farmers on contracts, along the lines of its potato and dairy schemes, he added.
We are excited to release Consul 0.7, a major update with many new features and improvements. This release focused on making it easier to operate Consul clusters, and built key foundations for continued operational improvements in future releases.

Consul is a modern datacenter runtime that provides service discovery, configuration, and orchestration capabilities in an easy-to-deploy single binary. It is distributed, highly available, and proven to scale to tens of thousands of nodes with services across multiple datacenters.

There are a huge number of features, bug fixes, and improvements in Consul 0.7. Here are some of the highlights:

You can download Consul 0.7 here and view the changelog for a complete list of changes.

Read on to learn more about the major new features in 0.7.

This release has taken a few months to prepare as it involved core changes to subsystems like Consul's Raft implementation and underlying gossip protocol. Despite all the major changes, we've worked hard to make upgrading from Consul 0.6.4 a standard upgrade that will usually just require an agent restart with the new binary, provided you assess the 0.7 upgrade notes beforehand.

A very common request from Consul's community was for a mechanism to safely update multiple key/value entries in an atomic manner. Consul 0.7 adds this capability via a new transactional key/value API.

All key/value operations are supported, and can be combined in a single transaction to perform any combination of reads, writes, and lock operations. The following example tries to obtain a lock, and if the lock is obtained, atomically sets two related keys:

$ curl -X PUT -d \ '[ { "KV": { "Verb": "lock", "Key": "/app/lock", "Session": "119a5e6d-4f67-db86-4a24-7ba515807fcf" } }, { "KV": { "Verb": "set", "Key": "/app/hello", "Value": "d29ybGQ=" } }, { "KV": { "Verb": "set", "Key": "/app/foo", "Value": "YmFy" } } ]' localhost:8500/v1/txn { "Results": [ { "KV": { "LockIndex": 1, "Key": "/app/lock", "Flags": 0, "Value": null, "Session": "119a5e6d-4f67-db86-4a24-7ba515807fcf", "CreateIndex": 25, "ModifyIndex": 25 } }, ... ], "Errors": null }

Note that since values are being sent via JSON, they are always Base64 encoded.

The Results list (truncated in the example) has the outcome of each individual operation, and these also include the resulting index information for use in future check-and-set operations. The index feedback is useful even in operations involving a single key, since this previously had to be re-queried after an operation. If problems occur, a structured Error list helps map errors to the specific operation that failed.

We've intentionally added a flexible structure in the transaction and result lists, using a KV member and an object in order to leave transactions open to other types of operations in future versions of Consul, such as modifying tags on a service in the catalog based on obtaining a lock.

Consul Operator Improvements

Consul 0.7 contains several important improvements to make it easier for operators running Consul clusters.

This version of Consul upgrades to "stage one" of the v2 HashiCorp Raft library. The new library offers improved handling of cluster membership changes and recovery after a loss of quorum. It also provides a foundation for new features that will appear in future Consul versions once the migration to the full v2 library is complete. In particular, Consul will be able to support non-voting servers that can be on standby without affecting the Raft quorum size. This will make it simpler for Consul itself to orchestrate server replacement after a failure, and to provision servers across availability zones with one voter and one non-voter in each zone.

In addition to the new Raft library, Consul's default Raft timing is now set to work more reliably on lower-performance servers, which allows small clusters to use lower cost compute at the expense of reduced performance for failed leader detection and leader elections. A new Server Performance Guide provides details on server performance requirements, and guidance on tuning the Raft timing.

Finally, a new consul operator command, HTTP endpoint, and associated ACL now allow Consul operators to view and update the Raft configuration. A stale server can be removed from the Raft peers without requiring downtime. This is also a good foundation for future Consul operator tools, and command and HTTP endpoint parity enable interactive use and automation for these operations. The operator ACL with separate read and write controls also allows for delegation of diagnosis and repair privileges.

Here's an example consul operator command output for the raft subcommand, viewing important Raft information:

$ consul operator raft -list-peers Node ID Address State Voter alice 10.0.1.8:8300 10.0.1.8:8300 follower true bob 10.0.1.6:8300 10.0.1.6:8300 leader true carol 10.0.1.7:8300 10.0.1.7:8300 follower true

See Consul Operator Command and Consul Operator Endpoint for details, as well as the updated Outage Recovery Guide.

We've developed novel extensions and techniques to the underlying Gossip Protocol to make failure detections more robust. This results in less node health flapping in environments with unstable network or CPU performance. We call this feature Lifeguard.

The underlying failure detection is built on top of Serf, which in turn is based on SWIM. SWIM makes the assumption that the local node is healthy in the sense that soft real-time processing of packets is possible. However, in cases where the local node is experiencing CPU or network exhaustion this assumption can be violated. The result is that the serfHealth check status can occassionally flap, resulting in false monitoring alarms, adding noise to telemetry, and simply causing the overall cluster to waste CPU and network resources diagnosing a failure that may not truly exist.

Lifeguard completely resolves this issue with novel enhancements to SWIM.

The first extension introduces a "nack" message to probe queries. If the probing node realizes it is missing "nack" messages then it becomes aware that it may be degraded and slows down its failure detector. As nack messages begin arriving, the failure detector is sped back up.

The second change introduces a dynamically changing suspicion timeout before declaring another node as failed. The probing node will initially start with a very long suspicion timeout. As other nodes in the cluster confirm a node is suspect, the timer accelerates. During normal operations the detection time is actually the same as in previous versions of Consul. However, if a node is degraded and doesn't get confirmations, there is a long timeout which allows the suspected node to refute its status and remain healthy.

Lifeguard makes Consul 0.7 much more robust to degraded nodes, while keeping failure detection performance unchanged. There is no additional configuration for Lifeguard, it tunes itself automatically.

Lifeguard is the first result of HashiCorp Research seeing production applications, and we'll be publishing a paper and submitting it to various academic conferences next year.

Consul's ACL system requires a single datacenter to be designated as the authoritative ACL datacenter, and requests to modify ACLs or retrieve a policy for a token are always forwarded to this datacenter. There are existing configuration controls to allow a local datacenter's cache to be extended in the event of a partition, but any tokens not in the cache cannot be resolved locally. In addition, it's tricky to create a backup ACL datacenter or migrate the ACL datacenter.

Consul 0.7 adds a built-in ACL replication capability that's easy to configure using a single new acl_replication_token parameter. Once this is set on the servers in a datacenter, they will begin an automatic replication process copying the full set of ACLs in the ACL datacenter to the local datacenter. In the event of a partition, if the ACL down policy is set to "extend-cache", the locally replicated ACLs can be used resolve tokens. This also provides a simple tool to move the full set of ACLs from one datacenter to another.

There's a new API that allows operators to monitor the status of the replication process:

$ curl localhost:8500/v1/acl/replication { "Enabled": true, "Running": true, "SourceDatacenter": "dc1", "ReplicatedIndex": 5, "LastSuccess": "2016-09-13T06:31:50Z", "LastError": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z" }

This makes it much easier to configure Consul in a way that's robust to extended partitions from the ACL datacenter.

The default behavior of leave_on_terminate and skip_leave_on_interrupt are now dependent on whether or not the agent is acting as a server or client. When Consul is started as a server the defaults for these are false and true , respectively, which means that you have to explicitly configure a server to leave the cluster. When Consul is started as a client the defaults are the opposite, which means by default, clients will leave the cluster if shutdown or interrupted.

The allow_stale configuration for DNS queries to the Consul agent now defaults to true , allowing for better utilization of available Consul servers and higher throughput at the expense of weaker consistency. This is almost always an acceptable tradeoff for DNS queries, but this can be reconfigured to use the old default behavior if desired.

Support for protocol version 1 has been removed, so Consul 0.7 is no longer compatible with Consul versions prior to 0.3.

Enabling translate_wan_addrs now translates addresses in HTTP responses in addition to DNS, which could break clients that are expecting local addresses. A new X-Consul-Translate-Addresses header was added to allow clients to detect if translation is enabled for HTTP responses, and a "lan" tag was added to TaggedAddresses for clients that need the local address regardless of translation.

The behavior of the peers.json file is different in this version of Consul. This file won't normally be present and is used only during outage recovery. Be sure to read the updated Outage Recovery Guide for details.

Consul's default Raft timing is now set to work more reliably on lower-performance servers, which allows small clusters to use lower cost compute at the expense of reduced performance for failed leader detection and leader elections. You will need to configure Consul to get the same performance as before. See the new Server Performance guide for more details.

More details are available on the upgrade process here.

The next release will continue improving the experience for Consul operators, taking advantage of upcoming Raft features to make it easier to manage Consul servers, in addition to other new features, community enhancements, and bug fixes.

If you experience any issues with this release, please report them on GitHub.
We Call It a State of Emergency for Civil Rights.

By Jennifer Cook, Policy Director, September 13, 2016Something historic is happening in North Dakota. People are protesting an oil pipeline. And the people who are protesting the oil pipeline are mostly Native Americans.Its historic because the 200 or so tribes that are protesting the construction of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access Pipeline have not united together for more than 150 years. Several thousand indigenous people from across the county have journeyed to a little-known pasture on the prairie just miles from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes reservation  where the oil pipeline is slated to cross the Missouri River  to protect the land the tribes consider sacred and culturally significant as well as the water necessary for life. The protectors, as the protesters call themselves, are defending the land and water using little more than the right to assemble and speak freely, a long-standing protection afforded by the U.S. Constitution.Unfortunately, there is another kind of history happening here. Its a history that is all too familiar to indigenous people; it is the shameful cycle of government-sanctioned disregard for the human and civil rights of Native Americans. In response to the pipeline protests, North Dakotas government suppressed free speech and militarized its policing by declaring a state of emergency and calling out the National Guard.The origins of the states overreaction can be traced to a lawsuit filed by the oil pipeline company  Dakota Access  against protesters in federal court to stop demonstrations near its construction sites. To sway the courts decision and likely public opinion, too, the pipeline company claimed it feared violence from protesters was imminent because of a few vague threats posted on social media and an anonymous email. Protesters have been arrested for pushing through police lines to stop construction equipment, but incidents like these in no way support declaring a state of emergency and militarizing the states response.Instead, the pipeline company has conflated protesters acts of civil disobedience, like trespass onto private land to stand in the path of oncoming bulldozers, with violence and looming chaos. It seems state officials have done the same after reports of the companys claims surfaced in the media.And by declaring a state of emergency in response to peaceful protests, Gov. Jack Dalrymple allowed law enforcement to erect concrete barricades on a major public highway 30 miles north of the protest sites and encampments. Travelers approaching the barricade encountered powerful flood lights for nighttime use and four to six police officers. People heading south toward the protest and the reservation were stopped by police and told they could not drive toward the protest on the highway. A detour on a separate highway took travelers south toward the reservation and the protest area, adding unnecessary distance and time to the trip.A roadblock 30 miles from the site of a protest is not the least restrictive means to protect the public or the protesters. Its hard not to see the roadblock for what it really is: an attack on free speech and freedom of association. Its also a purposeful and exacting punishment meted out to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its members who live on the reservation near the protest for encouraging peaceful protest of the pipeline.An employee of the tribe aptly described the roadblocks impact on the tribes members as financially harmful. The road closure added significant distance and travel time to and from the rural reservation to Bismarck, the nearest large city. Time and distance increase fuel cost and that makes a world of difference to many tribal members who live in poverty. The average income of a resident on Standing Rocks reservation is $4,421 a year.Last Thursday, the roadblock was converted into an informational checkpoint. We hoped this would begin to ease the tension between the state and the protesters, but Gov. Dalrymple immediately activated the National Guard to enforce the checkpoint so that people now face armed soldiers when they are stopped and required to report their destination before traveling further down the highway. The states declaration of emergency, the highway roadblock and checkpoint, and National Guard call-up sets a tone of intimidation and signals its intent to silence and punish free speech.The governor expected violent protesters and protests, but his expectations of violence have been met instead with peaceful civil disobedience. Overall, there is little to no evidence of violence on the part of protesters to justify the states response, but there is significant evidence of violence instigated by the pipeline company. Video footage captured by Democracy Now shows pipeline private security forces used dogs and pepper spray to attack protesters who blocked bulldozers.And yet the National Guard still patrols a highway checkpoint; the police appear at peaceful protests in riot gear; and the governor continues to ignore the shameful violence inflicted on protesters by pipeline security.Yes, its a state of emergency in North Dakota, Gov. Dalrymple. But its not public safety that is at risk. Governor, your citizens civil rights are in danger, and youre complicit.ACLU of North Dakota
Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi is in Washington for a series of meetings with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Secretary John Kerry and US AID's Gayle Smith.

Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi is in Washington for a series of meetings with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Secretary John Kerry and US AID's Gayle Smith. The IMF suspended loans and the World Bank suspended direct aid to Mozambique after learning the country hid more than $1 billion in debt. The Fund requested an audit of Mozambique's debt before resuming lending. Mozambique's debt is equal to 86% of the size of its economy and grew 144% between 2010 and 2014."These are emergency meetings in a time of crisis," noted Eric LeCompte, the executive director of the religious development coalition Jubilee USA. LeCompte serves on UN experts groups that focus on sovereign debt. "We have great concern for how this crisis impacts people living in one of the world's poorest countries."In 2013, international banks loaned Mozambique $800 million to build tuna fishing boats, but more than $500 million of those funds may have been used to purchase military equipment. The banks loaned an additional $600 million for naval equipment that was not disclosed to investors and international financial institutions. In Mozambique, concerns grow that these monies were secured in ways that violated budget transparency and parliamentary approval laws.According to the United Nations, Mozambique is the world's ninth poorest country. More than half of its population lives in poverty. Mozambique paid approximately $169 million in debt service in 2014, more than triple what it paid in 2011. According to research from Global Financial Integrity, the country loses an average of $243 million each year to crime, corruption and tax evasion."Audits are important government accountability tools for citizens," stated LeCompte. "We also need to see improved regulation in the global financial system that encourages budget transparency and promotes responsible lending and borrowing."Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 550 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA builds an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA has won critical global financial reforms and more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people. http://www.jubileeusa.org
Nigeria as a nation has had its fair share of insecure times, when hoodlums, bandits and dreaded criminals threatened the lives of citizens.

File photo: Some armed robbers arrested by men of the Nigerian Police Force.

Below are 5 of the most notorious criminals in Nigeria's history. We begin the count down from 5.

5. Baddo of Ikorodu/ Godogodo

The number 5 position is jointly shared by two notorious criminals who for too long terrorized Lagos state, Baddo and Godogo.

Baddo was infamous for molesting children and women, with robbery as part of the crimes that made him dreaded within Ikorodu.

Baddo of Ikorodu

For too long, this notorious criminal terrorized residents of Ikorodu and there seemed to be nothing the police could do to keep him behind bars, for the police would always release the deadly miscreant some days after they apprehend him. This continued until sometime in June when the police released him after a brief stay in their custody.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Notorious militant leader, 4 others arrested by Navy

The residents of Ikorodu reportedly mustered courage lynched Baddo and set him ablaze, they will have no more of his terror.

On his part, was a prominent armed robber in the South-western part of Nigeria who eluded security operatives over the years, killing and miming many who he came in contact with.

Abiodun Egunjobi, alias Godogodo

Abiodun Egunjobi popularly known as Godogodo, rose from being a slum boy to being the leader of a gang that defied all reasons, struck with precision, killed without mercy and terrorised Lagos residents and others within the south-west region.

The one-eyed assassin

Reports suggest that before his arrest on August 1, 2013, Godogodo, also known as the one-eyed assassin, gave the Lagos state police command so much headache for 14 years, so much so that on the day he was arrested, the command erupted in joy: at least its men would be safe from his guns.

READ ALSO: Super Eagles star Ogenyi Onazis robbers ARRESTED!

Originally from Ogun state, Egunjobi was on the wanted list of the police for over 10 years and the way he managed to evade the police still remains legendary. In fact, he was at a time, on the top of the most wanted list of the command with several police commissioners assigning the toughest of cops on his trail.

Godogodo allegedly went for operations with a bag containing 10 fully loaded AK 47 rifles with 30 rounds of ammunition each and as such, he was fully prepared in terms of weapons on his back.

It was gathered that Godogodo used to tell his gang members that he would never be arrested alive and had vowed to go down with as many policemen as possible on the day he is unable to escape arrest. '

This vow was later found to be real, as anti-robbery detectives recovered several loaded AK47s, each with 60 rounds of live ammunition, from different parts of his residence, including the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, sitting room on the day of his arrest.

He was so good at disguising his criminal activities that even his wife and family members never knew what he was into. He had six houses in different locations including Lagos, Ogun and Ondo States, and never stayed in a particular location for more than a month.

4. Derico Nwanmama

Okwudili Ndiwe also known as Derico Nwamama was dubbed the king of the underworld in the south-eastern region of Nigeria.

Derico Nwamama

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Popular comedian and family robbed at gun point

According to reports, Derico was a street urchin who grew in a dreaded gang leader, one whose name sent tremor to the hearts of many within the eastern region.

Traders and residents of Onitsha, the commercial capital of Anambra state were the ones who felt his scourge the most.

According to reports, Derico Nwamama had killed over 100 people including 25 police officers whose lives he mercilessly wasted. He was a master of countless bus robberies and will not blink twice before pumping his hot lead bullets into the beating hearts of hapless victims.

There is a legend that after his successful raids, he would boast and declare himself invincible. Derico seemed to have placed a lot of faith and confidence in the charms prepared for him by the traditional witch doctors.

Prior to his being crowned king of thieves in Anambra, there was a Chiejina who was described as the deadliest armed robber in the whole state. Dericos father too was from Aguleri and in no time, the paths of the two met and they became very good friends and colleagues in the armed robbery business.

However, their friendship would not last for long as bloody arguments soon broke out between the two of them over the scope and nature of executing their operations. Both of them were at the peak of their strengths and they were equally feared all over the region.

The brutality of Derico soon proved too toxic for Chiejina, and during a violent argument over their mode of operation and leadership, Derico blasted Chiejina to an early grave with a volley of bullets. After the death of Chiejina, Derico became the undisputed emperor of terror in the land.

In May 2001, the Anambra state police command launched the Operation Derico which was aimed at capturing Derico and his gang members at all cost. Some of Derico's men were arrested in the police offensive, but Dericoa was still elusive as he kept operating with reckless abandon, robbing, killing and kidnapping innocent Nigerians.

Some arrested members of Derico's gang

READ ALSO: While Nigerians are suffering, lawmakers received N6.78 billion in one year  Report

With the police and other security forces unable to bring Derico Nwamama and his terror regime to a close, the onus fell on the Bakassi Boys, the militant wing of the Anambra Vigilante Services (AVS), a local vigilante group set up to curb crime and criminality in the Sout East.

The group also know as the Bakassi Boys, were at the forefront of the hunt and capture of Derico Nwamama. On Tuesday, July 3, 2001, the reportedly invisible Derico was nabbed on his way to Onitsha from Agbor, ostensibly on one of his missions.

Bakassi boys made a great show of Derico's arrest, parading round Onitsha with rapturous applause, and cheers of the many who for too long had been oppressed.

There were requests by the Nigerian police to have Derico handed into their custody, however, it all proved abortive, as the Bakassi boys served justice to the criminal in their jungle justice style.

Derico was beheaded in an open square, with the Bakassi boys rendering a performance like non had ever seen before within the eastern region where they operated.

3. Shina Rambo

Shina Rambo is one name that has refused to go away especially from the brains of those who witnessed the nightmare of this criminal.

With a name that reminds one of the movie "First Blood" starring Sylvester Stalone as John Rambo, Shina Rambo made a dreaded name for himself, launching attacks that made even the police force fear to battle him.

It is fabled that Shina Rambo will rob a full highway with his gang, shooting sporadically like a soldier at war. There are stories that say he was killed in operation, however, some other accounts say he died like an ordinary man.

RCCG Pastor claims he is Shina Rambo

It is believed that the policemen who killed him did not even know that it was Shina Rambo. He was on his way to Lanrewaju Motors to buy a Pathfinder SUV when he was apprehended by the police on the Ojota New Garage Long Bridge, asserts Olusegun Kokumo Adaralese Raji known as Okuta, one of the armed robbers that terrorised the country for about 20 years.

Rambo was not the one driving when the police stopped him and his gang, they discovered a lot of money in a cartoon in the trunk of the Datsun car.

When they started questioning him on the possession of such huge an amount, an argument ensued and he attempted to disarm one of the policemen.

READ ALSO: Police apprehends Lagos most wanted kidnapper who is a pastor

It was one of the policemen at the other side of the road who shot Rambo down. They were able to get him because he was not with his charms. He was free of charms since he was not going for operation.

As this was going on, the driver of the vehicle had jumped inside the canal and made his escape. The police just dragged his body into their vehicle. They first carried his corpse around and later dumped him into the canal when it was dark,  Okuta narrated to National Mirror.

With several legends about Shina Rambo, there is a certain man of God who actually is Shina Rambo, having given his life to Christ.

Okuta however insists that the RCCG pastor parading himself around as Shina Rambo is a counterfeit, stressing that the police authorities were irked by their not knowing that Shina Rambo was the one killed.

2. Dr Oyenusi

On the 8th of September, 1971, Doctor Ishola Oyenusi, a notorious Nigerian robber was executed, his is name forever etched in the history of Nigeria as one of the most violent armed robbers, a criminal who unleashed boundless terror on many Nigerians.

By the early 1970s, just after the end of a bloody civil war, cold-hearted robber Ishola Oyenusi who called himself Dr Oyenusi, terrorized all of Lagos, Nigerias largest commercial centre.

Oyenusi was no ordinary bandit, he was wicked and had all the self-confidence in the world to go with it. His arrogance was also legendary. In 1970, he was arrested and handcuffed by a police officer. As the policeman was ordering him around, Oyenusi blasted him and thundered: "People like you dont talk to me like that when I am armed. I gun them down."

This robber was so feared that when the famed movie director, Chief Eddie Ugbomah made a film titled The Rise and Fall of Dr Oyenusi in 1977, there was no one bold enough to come forward to act the role of the armed robber because they feared his members would strike.

Ugbomah had no other option but to act the role himself with the feature film depicting the senseless violence of armed robberies and the absolutely atrocious manner by which lives of innocent Nigerians were snuffed out.

Afetr shooting the movie, Ugbomah received a letter from thieves who invaded and looted his provision store, carting away all they could. In the letter, they promised to return his goods if he would only stop shooting the film in which he exposed the support received by the armed robbers from their godfathers and even high-ranking officers in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

The stubborn Ugbomah called their bluff and went ahead with the 16mm-flick, he would later produce many other films such as Death of a Black President (1983), Esan (Nemesis), The Mask and Vengeance of the Cult in 1985.

Crowned emperor of robbers in the 1970s, Oyenusi was described as the first celebrated armed robber in Nigeria. He is regarded by some as the pioneer of conventional armed robbery in Nigeria.

Oyenusi was reportedly nabbed by the Nigerian police in March 1971, after he organized a robbery in which $28,000 (value as at that time) was stolen.

Although the first public execution of robbers had taken place in April 1971, that of Oyenusi and his criminal allies was a special case and the Lagos government reportedly took time to prepare the grounds at the Bar Beach. A combined team of police officers and soldiers struggled to contain the surging crowd of thousands of excited spectators.

At about 9.15 am, a team of Lagos city council workers came to the execution arena with empty mock coffins which they calmly laid behind the execution stand. Obviously, they were there to make fun of a man who had sent so much terror into their hearts.

About half an hour later, eight robbers were led to the execution stand, though faced with death, Oyensui smiled all through the proceedings; he sure was expecting what he got.

1. Aninih

Unarguably Nigeria's most dreaded criminal, Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini was a Nigerian bandit who terrorised Benin city in the 1980s along with his sidekick Monday Osunbor.

Anini in the hospital after being injured and apprehended.

Anini was dreadfully called The Law or Ovbigbo. He migrated to Benin at an early age, learned to drive and became a skilled taxi driver.

Reports suggest that he became known in Benin motor parks as a man who could control the varied competing interests among motor park touts and operators.

Anini is widely recognized as a driver and transporter for gangs, criminal godfathers and thieves. He created a gang which included, Monday Osunbor, Friday Ofege, Henry Ekponwan, Eweka and Alhaji zed zed or Zegezege who was never captured.

They started out as car hijackers, bus robbers and bank thieves. Gradually, he extended his criminal acts to other towns and cities far north and east of Benin.

It is echoed in some quarters that on one mission which eventually went south, Anini drove from Benin to Lagos with reverse.

There are claims that the complicity of the police triggered Aninis reign of terror in 1986. In early 1986, two members of his gang were tried and prosecuted against an earlier under-the-table agreement with the police to destroy evidence against the gang members.

According to reports, this incident, and Aninis view of police betrayal, spurred retaliatory actions by dreaded underworld lord.

In August, 1986, a fatal bank robbery linked to Anini was reported in which a police officer (Nathaniel Egharevba) and others were killed. That same month, two officers on duty were shot at a barricade while trying to stop Aninis car. During a span of three months, he was known to have killed nine police officer.

Investigations reveal that 18 civilians were murdered by Anini's armed gang who successfully robbed 12 banks before the rescue team of six senior police officers led by DIG Parry Osayande arrived in Bendel state.

Anini's gang confidently robbed banks in day light and threw money at women in crowded markets as a show of bravery to earn sympathy and popularity.

After they were apprehended, Anini's syndicate was allowed to speak and indeed they spoke to Nigerians. They were put in the military hospital in Benin and journalists were invited to interview them from time to time for public consumption.

They were interrogated thoroughly and the Ministry of Justice, Benin prosecuted the case in the tribunal.

Anini and members of his gang were found guilty having been successfully prosecuted to conviction. They were handed death sentences by a firing squad.

Source: Legit.ng
"How much this guys don give their parents": Reactions as fans Of BBNaija's Brya...
In Yorubaland, it is believed that kings do not die but ascend to heaven to meet God thus final resting places of Yoruba kings used to be shrouded in secrecy.

On a visit to Ife in September, Legit.ng gathered that out of the 50 Oonis of Ife that have passed on, only the burial sites of four are known. And we got the rare opportunity to see and capture in photos the final resting places of these four past Ooni of Ife.

READ ALSO: Dolapo Oni and Prince Sijuade mark 1st anniversary

Check them out:

1. Ooni Adelekan Sijuwade Olubuse 1

Ooni Adelekan Sijuade Olubuse 1 final burial site

He is the first Ooni to reign in Ile Ife after the end of the Ekiti Parapo war. He reigned from 1894-1910. He was the first Ooni to have travelled out of his Ife domain to Lagos and this made all Yoruba obas, on his way to Lagos, vacate their stool as he passed through their towns.

While in Lagos even the colonial masters dared not look him in the eye.

READ ALSO: Osun state is reputed for cultural heritage, and hospitality

2. Ooni Adekola Ajagunlawarika

Ooni Adekola Ajagunlawarika's resting place

He was the 47 Ooni of Ife and from the Akui ruling house. He was an Ooni-elect for only two months, June-July 1910.

3. Ooni Adesoji Aderemi

Late Ooni Adesoji Aderemi final resting place

He became the Ooni of Ife in 1930. He was crowned on September 25, 1930 and ruled for 50 years, till 1980). Ooni Adesoji Aderemi was the 49 Ooni and the first literate one. He made modernist policies for the growth and development of Ife Land and the Yoruba Nation.

Late Ooni Adesoji Aderemi

He was a minister in the Nigerian government from 1951 to 1955 and the first indigenous governor of Western Nigeria. He died on June 24, 1980.

READ ALSO: Exclusive: Meet Yeyemoolu, woman who married 51 husbands

4. Ooni Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II

Ooni Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II burial site

Ooni Okunade ascended the throne of the Ooni of Ile-Ife on December 6, 1980 and was on the throne of this great royal institution for an uninterrupted period of 35 years. He was the great grandson of Ooni Adelekan Sijuwade Olubuse I. He died on July, 28 2015. He is succeeded by Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

Late Ooni Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II

Source: Legit.ng
Mrs Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has disowned the companies that allegedly pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering in court on Thursday, September 15, 2016, saying the claims by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are mere lies meant to destroy her reputation.

The Nation reports that Patience Jonathan stated this through her media aide, Yemi Akinbode, saying she has been forced to explain the exact situation to the public concerning the scandal surrounding the $31.7 million allegedly traced to her.

Patience Jonathan said she does not trust the representatives of the companies that pleaded guilty to money laundering

"That Mrs Patience Ibifaka Jonathan is laying claim to ownership of a whopping sum of $31.7 million dollars fund recovered by EFCC is a complete fallacy. Mrs. Jonathan does not own and has never owned such amount of money. The reason for this lie is best known to the EFCC.

"That another sum of $20 million dollars has been traced to Mrs. Patience Ibifaka Jonathan, is again, another falsehood aimed at hoodwinking the public against Mrs. Jonathan.

"That a further sum of $5 million dollars has again being traced to another account of Mrs. Patience Jonathan. This is also a fallacy.

"That Mrs. Patience Jonathan opened accounts in the names of cooks, drivers and artisans. This is perhaps the biggest falsehood to the knowledge of EFCC," her statement said, adding that she does not trust the representatives of the four companies who pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering earlier in the day.

READ ALSO: Frozen $31.4m: Jonathan's kinsmen angry with patience

The report said her lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole, would help her appeal the validity of the representatives of Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited.

Oyewole said: "This is a clear evidence of the desperation of the prosecution to pull down the former First Lady and confiscate her hard-earned money."

The statement further quoted Mrs Jonathan as saying: "This is an irony. I was the one who went to court for the repatriation of my confiscated money when I realised that the EFCC and its co-travellers were playing politics with this issue after I had come out publicly to say that the said money belongs to me and that I have all evidence to prove the sources of my money.

READ ALSO: Style wars: Patience Jonathan vs Diezani Alison-Madueke

"Up till this very moment, EFCC has refused to interrogate or invite me for questioning, while the agency has continued to detain Dudafa under heavy armed security guards.

"The biggest twist in court on Thursday (yesterday) was that the fourth to seventh defendants pleaded guilty to all the 15-count charges.

"It is clear that these unknown faces were agents of the EFCC, who have been stage-managed and tutored to come to court to complicate the case as a strategy to confiscate my money."

Mrs Jonathan denied being a director, shareholder, promoter or participant in any of the four companies that pleaded guilty, and that she was the sole signatory to all the accounts, contrary to the fabrication that she used her driver and cook as proxies, the report said.

Ibrahim Magu, chairman of the EFCC

The former first lady further denied ever receiving any money from any unknown sources into her accounts.

She said her accounts were opened in order to facilitate her travel overseas particularly for medical treatment, sundry purchase for herself and her late mother Mrs Charity Oba (Mama Sisi).

She said she had asked Waripamo Dudafa to open the accounts for her, but he went to open them in his companies names rather than her name.

READ ALSO: CACOL wants Patience Jonathan to explain hotel ownership

The statement added: "She immediately complained about this anomaly to Hon Dudafa and the bank officials, Demola Doledeoku and Dipo Oshodi came back to the villa with forms to change and convert the said accounts to the personal name of Mrs Jonathan.

"This was her firm request which the bank officials promised to effect immediately and she duly completed account conversion forms and signed the mandate forms as a the sole signatory, but as it would appear, the said bank officials did not change the account names despite her request."

Source: Legit.ng
President Muhammadu Buhari seems prepared to rescue local governments from the stranglehold of states and their governors so that they can continue to function as the closest to the people as he says he will support any constitutional amendment for that purpose.

The president said this when he receiving the leadership of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) on Thursday, September 15, 2016, in Abuja.

President Buhari expresses his support for freedom of local governments in Nigeria

President Buhari said a constitutional amendment was urgently required to clearly define the relationship among the three tiers of government.

There had been arguments from many Nigerians that the local governments had been rendered ineffective by the state governments which have taken over major parts of their finances.

READ ALSO: 9 quotes from Buhari's speech today at the recession meeting

Buhari described the frosty relationship between states and local government as a very serious constitutional problem, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

"The relationship between the three tiers of government is not a very nice one, especially that between the local governments and the states.

"The states feel like they own the local government, if they are of the same party. It is worse if they are not.

"This is a very serious constitutional problem and unless there is absolute clarity and transparency, the relationship will continue to be exploited against the interest of the ordinary people of the country," Buhari said while advising the ALGON executives to hold consultations with their people and lawyers with a view to presenting a bill that will seek a constitutional amendment to free the councils from the stranglehold of the states.

READ ALSO: 7 big mistakes that led to economic recession

Buhari added: "This will limit the damage they can do to you. The quicker you do this the better, so that you can help your people much more,"

The statement said the president acknowledged the request by ALGON for the release of $3.2 billion wrongfully deducted by the federal government for the final settlement of foreign debts in 2005.

Buhari said the government recognised the judgment debt but that the timing of the request for its repayment was wrong because of the current economic situation in the country.

Acting ALGON national president, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Karaye, presented a six-point demand to Buhari.

The demands included the repayment of the debt and the need to ensure the sovereignty of local government administration in the country.

READ ALSO: States deserve more allocation than FG - Tambuwal

The union expressed its full support for the presidents programmes on improving security, anti-corruption campaign and economic revival.

Source: Legit.ng
Two women are confirmed dead after an express train slammed into their car at Surrey Hills station in Melbourne. Their car was struck after becoming stuck on the level crossing just before 4pm yesterday.

Two women have been killed when their car became trapped on a Surrey Hills level crossing. #9News https://t.co/pjUUIlDosc  Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) September 14, 2016

Though earlier reports suggested that the women, aged 71 and 73, had purposefully navigated around a closed boom gate, police are now clarifying that they do not believe this to be the case.

They didnt go around the boom gates at all, acting sergeant Glen Whitehead told the Herald-Sun,

The motor vehicle has come across, was on the train line and then the boom gate has come down behind.

The driver has been unsure of what to do from there and as a result the train travelling through, an express train, has then collided into the motor vehicle.

The vehicle was thoroughly crushed by the train after being dragged for approximately 100 metres, and it took emergency services several hours to determine how many people had been in the car when it was struck. The womens bodies were removed from the vehicle at approximately 6pm.

Trains were delayed by approximately an hour after the incident, and services have resumed at mostly normal capacity this morning.





Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Luba Grigorovitch told The Age that this ought to prove that the Union Road level crossing should be removed as a priority.

The Rail Tram and Bus Union is calling on Metro to take these horrible fatalities seriously and enforce speed restrictions of 65km/h on this piece of track, she said.

This would roughly halve the stopping distance and, in future, save a life.

Source: The Age.

Photo: 9 News.
Poker Shootings: One Killed in Wyoming, Two Take Plea Deal in Michigan

September 15, 2016 Mo Nuwwarah Editor

Poker has garnered a bit of negative press in recent headlines in two separate parts of the United States in connection with a pair of shooting deaths.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, 77-year-old Larry Rosenberg shot three people, one of whom died, FOX News reported. Rosenberg was apparently angry about "frequent" poker games running in the common area of the senior living facility where he resided. Rosenberg was one of a few residents upset with poker games that ran as often as three times per week at the 62-and-older facility.

"His problem really was that damned poker gambling," a friend of Rosenberg told police, according to Fox News. "That was all he complained about."

Rosenberg later killed himself when confronted by police.

In Saginaw, Michigan, two men accepted plea deals 18 months after an attempted robbery of a poker game left one dead and three arrested. Jesse Bobian and Jason McGowan will each serve prison time, the former getting a 13-year sentence and the latter an undetermined one. They conspired to rob a poker game along with two associates, one of whom, Ramon Vasquez, was shot dead in the incident. The fourth man, Christopher Talkington, testified against Bobian and McGowan in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Image courtesy of Jean-Pierre Ceppo/Freeimages.com

Be sure to complete your PokerNews experience by checking out an overview of our mobile and tablet apps here. Stay on top of the poker world from your phone with our mobile iOS and Android app, or fire up our iPad app on your tablet. You can also update your own chip counts from poker tournaments around the world with MyStack on both Android and iOS.
When Indian motorcycle buyers are still barely getting acquainted with Cafe Racer style motorcycles, it was a surprise when Hero MotoCorp unveiled the Splendor Pro Classic at 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, as the worlds largest motorcycle maker (by volume) was never known to launch products for niche segments.

Not that they had to spend big money in designing the Pro Classic, but the strictly-textbook motorcycle-maker always focused on churning out massive volumes with every product, and this addition in Splendor series does not seem to be intended for more profit.

There are only three Cafe Racer style motorcycles in India as of now, including Hero Splendor Pro Classic, and each of them is pricier by far and powerful than the next, from bottom up.

While the other two are really capable of provoking a race on the streets, being one of the least powered motorcycles in the world we thought there is no way Splendor Pro Classic can, until we were inadvertently proven otherwise.

So whats really the deal with the new Splendor in town? It is undeniably the best looking bike in the affordable segment, giving a great opportunity for young-at-heart commuters to travel in style without hurting their pockets.

Other than Splendor Pro Classic, it is probably safe to say that most of other options in the lowest end of affordable motorcycles were either born too mundane or have outlived their charm. The Pro Classic also makes for an attractive second bike, for commutes and errands through dense city traffic, given its half-a-lakh price tag which would mean quite less if you have a giant power machine for weekend fun.

In detail about the Pro Classic, it is essentially the same Hero Splendor Pro underneath, including engine, chassis, suspension, brakes and wheels. Whats changed is a small list of components enough to alter the bikes identity. Major changes include new U-shaped handlebar, that end like clip-ons do, new seat structure, change in ride & overall height, and the traditional Cafe Racer cowl at the rear which is not a storage box even though the nameplate reads Hero Splendor.

Other design highlights include chrome finished front & rear mud guard, chrome coated round headlamp, chrome treated rear view mirrors, retro indicators & tail light, and orange reflectors. The bike is offered in full black and solid maroon / red body colours.

Whats odd is the retained fuel lid, which Hero should have replaced with a suitable retro-classic cap. And there is also a lot of gap between this rectangular cover and the tank. Its parts like this that mess with the overall finesse. Further, lack of rear set foot pegs also comes as a bummer, as the posture feels a bit awkward having the legs bent at just a little less than 90 degrees when the torso must lean forward without a choice.

Splendor Pro Classic is powered by 97.2 cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine with OHC (Over Head Camshaft), that produces 8.36 PS max power @ 8,000 rpm and 8.05 Nm peak torque @ 5,000 rpm, linked to 4-speed gearbox (all up). The engine feels just as smooth and linear as it does on standard Splendor Pro, and manages 50 kmph quite easily and 80 kmph if the road is free of hurdles. The problem with reaching high speeds with a Splendor is the poor brakes. Hero could have offered disc brake upfront, but the already limited selling machine would have become more expensive. But it is not a big task to get a disc brake retro-fitted on a Splendor.

Power is sent to 18 inch spoke wheels, shod with 2.75 inch (roughly 70 mm) section width CEAT Secura tyres at both ends, with varying load indexes. The tyres were really grippy and did not behave like a purely economical set.

The bike weighs 109 kg (with self start), which is 3 kg lesser than Splendor Pro, and has fuel tank capacity of 11 litres. Compared to the latter, Splendor Pro Classic is 35 mm shorter in length, 20 mm shorter in height and has 21 mm more ground clearance at 180 mm.

As said before, Hero Splendor Pro Classic is a great second-bike and a pretty cool city rider if you dont usually ride with a pillion. Ex-showroom Delhi price of Splendor Pro Classic is Rs. 50,500.

Why would you buy Hero Splendor Pro Classic:

Looks

Exclusivity

Price

Mileage

Value for money

Easy to maintain

Why would you not buy Hero Splendor Pro Classic:

No room or quick conversion to carry a pillion

Too underpowered to be a Cafe Racer

Poor braking
Some loss of memory is often considered an inevitable part of aging, but new research reveals how some people appear to escape that fate. A study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators examines a remarkable group of older adults whose memory performance is equivalent to that of younger individuals and finds that certain key areas of their brains resemble those of young people.

The study published in The Journal of Neuroscience is the first step in a research program aimed at understanding how some older adults retain youthful thinking abilities and the brain circuits that support those abilities. The program is led by Bradford Dickerson, MD, director of the Frontotemporal Disorders Unit in the MGH Department of Neurology and Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, MGH Department of Psychiatry, who are co-senior authors of the new study.

While most older adults experience a gradual decline in memory ability, some researchers have described older adults -- sometimes called "super agers" -- with unusually resilient memories. For the current study, the MGH team enrolled adults ages 60 to 80 -- 17 of whom performed as well as adults four to five decades younger on memory tests, and 23 with normal results for their age group -- and 41 young adults ages 18 to 35.

"Previous research on super aging has compared people over age 85 to those who are middle aged," says Alexandra Touroutoglou, PhD, MGH Neurology, co-senior author with Dickerson and Barrett. "Our study is exciting because we focused on people around or just after typical retirement age -- mostly in their 60s and 70s -- and investigated those who could remember as well as people in their 20s.

Imaging studies revealed that these super agers had brains with youthful characteristics. While the cortex -- the outermost sheet of brain cells that is critical for many thinking abilities -- and other parts of the brain typically shrink with aging, in the brains of super-agers a number of those regions were comparable in size to those of young adults. "We looked at a set of brain areas known as the default mode network, which has been associated with the ability to learn and remember new information, and found that those areas, particularly the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex, were thicker in super agers than in other older adults. In some cases, there was no difference in thickness between super agers and young adults," Touroutoglou says.

Barrett, who is also University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, adds, "We also examined a group of regions known as the salience network, which is involved in identifying information that is important and needs attention for specific situations, and also found preserved thickness among super-agers in several regions, including the anterior insula and orbitofrontal cortex."

Critically, the researchers showed not only that super-agers had no shrinkage in these brain networks but also that the size of these regions was correlated with memory ability. One of the strongest correlations between brain size and memory was found in an area at the intersection of the salience and default mode networks. Previous research has shown that this region -- the para-midcingulate cortex -- is an important hub that allows different brain networks to communicate efficiently. "We believe that effective communication between these networks is very important for healthy cognitive aging," Touroutoglou says.

Understanding which factors protect against memory decline could lead to important advances in preventing and treating age-related memory loss and possibly even various forms of dementia, says Dickerson, who is an associate professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. "We desperately need to understand how some older adults are able to function very well into their seventh, eight, and ninth decades. This could provide important clues about how to prevent the decline in memory and thinking that accompanies aging in most of us."
Norway is the only country to have implemented a "search and destroy" strategy against LA-MRSA among pig herds to date. A study of the strategy's effect shows that pig farm workers are the principal source of infection among Norwegian herds, a transmission route that was previously unidentified.

The study analysed epidemiological data collected while handling LA-MRSA in Norwegian herds of pigs, from the first discovery in 2013 until 2015. In addition, the researchers performed genetic testing of bacterial isolates from all individuals identified with LA-MRSA since 2008, and they collected samples from all animals, people and pig farm environments that were affected by outbreaks in 2013 and 2014. These findings show that pig farm workers are the principal source for the introduction of LA-MRSA in Norwegian herds of swine. This transmission route was previously unknown.

"This is an important discovery and herds must be monitored if they are to remain free of MRSA, particularly in countries where there is little or no import of live pigs," says Petter Elstrm, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

The strategy's goal has been to prevent LA-MRSA from being introduced and spread among Norwegian herds, thereby preventing pig herds from becoming a major source of MRSA dissemination to the general population.

The strategy has been effective and any further transmission from animals or humans in the affected farms to the general population has not been detected. Recommendations about who should be tested for LA-MRSA before contact with livestock have been issued to prevent transmission from farm workers to pigs.

"MRSA rarely causes severe infections among otherwise healthy people but a rising incidence of MRSA in the population will contribute to an increased infection burden for vulnerable patients in the health services," says Elstrm.

Surveillance continues

Since 2014, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute have continuously monitored all pig herds in Norway, in close collaboration with the swine industry, and this surveillance will continue.

"Our strategy of slaughtering pig herds where LA-MRSA bacteria are detected plus farm disinfection was developed in a close collaboration between the authorities and swine industry. It is an excellent example of the "One Health" approach," says Elstrm.

More research data

An ongoing study is analysing data on the effect of each control measure within the strategy, but the present article shows that the Norwegian LA-MRSA strategy has so far been a success. Norway is currently the only country that has managed to stop these bacteria from establishing among pig herds, thereby preventing further dissemination to the general population and the health service. In other countries with a low MRSA prevalence, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, the spread of LA-MRSA among pig herds contributed to a significant increase in MRSA prevalence in the population.

The study was a collaboration between the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the State Serum Institute in Denmark. The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The most frequently prescribed oral antidiabetic drug metformin significantly affects metabolic pathways. This was reported by scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen together with colleagues from the German Diabetes Center (DDZ) in Dusseldorf. The underlying study was conducted with further scientists of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD). These results have now been published in the journal 'Diabetes'.

Metformin is a widespread oral medication to increase insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). According to a number of studies, it additionally reduces the risk of cardiovascular complications. Last year, a team led by Dr. Rui Wang-Sattler discovered that metformin intake lowers the levels of the harmful LDL cholesterol by activating the AMPK protein complex. Dr. Wang-Sattler is head of the "Metabolism" research group in the Research Unit of Molecular Epidemiology at the Institute of Epidemiology II at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen. Her group aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie the activity of metformin.

Metformin intake changes metabolite profiles in population-based KORA* study

In the present work, the interdisciplinary team of scientists was able to explain a further feature of the drug: "Our results show that metformin also modulates the body's nitrogen and urea metabolism," first author Jonathan Adam summarizes.

In close collaboration with Dr. Stefan Brandmaier and other colleagues, he examined the metabolite profiles (353 small molecules) of KORA participants. The researchers compared T2D patients treated with metformin (a total of 74) with those not being treated with metformin (115) and looked for differences in the distribution of metabolites in the blood. They subsequently confirmed the findings in samples of more than 1500 participants.

Amino acid levels provide a crucial hint

Changes in the amino acid citrulline concentration caused by metformin intake were particularly significant. The amino acid citrulline (named after Citrullus vulgaris, the watermelon, where it is found in large quantities) showed significantly lower levels in samples of T2D patients treated with metformin than in untreated ones.** The researchers propose that this is a further consequence of metformin's AMPK activation. "Our analysis indicates that the activation of the AMPK pathway by metformin affects nitrogen and urea metabolism through a further enzyme***, which thus lowers the citrulline levels," reports Rui Wang-Sattler.

Accordingly, the scientists suspect that the additional intake of citrulline could have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system in patients being treated with metformin. As a follow-up study, the team plans to analyze the metformin-associated effects on other central metabolic pathways, such as the citric acid cycle.

Further information:

* Key topics of the KORA studies are issues regarding the genesis and progress of chronic diseases, particularly cardiac infarction and diabetes mellitus. Risk factors from the area of health-related behaviour (such as smoking, nutrition, and physical activity), environmental factors (including air and noise pollution) and genetics are investigated for this purpose. From the point of view of care research, issues of the utilization and costs of healthcare are examined. Overall, the KORA research is intended to serve the development of new approaches in the area of chronic disease prevention and the improvement of healthcare.

** Further examinations on a model system indicate that this effect goes beyond the blood and also continues in muscles and fat tissue.

*** AMPK regulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase, called eNOS for short. eNOS is crucial for the synthesis of citrulline from arginine, which releases NO. NO has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system by widening vessels.
Researchers at VIB and Ghent University have discovered an important mechanism of sepsis, an overreaction of the body's immune system to an infection. In this condition, the brain is unable to curb an inflammatory response, causing organ failure or 'septic shock'. This scenario is the most frequent cause of death in intensive care units. As it turns out, information about infections is passed to our brain via extracellular vesicles, small particles in brain fluid. These insights will be published in the leading scientific journal EMBO Molecular Medicine and might give rise to new strategies to treat sepsis and even other inflammatory conditions.

In sepsis, acute inflammation is associated with low blood pressure and the formation of blood clots, causing the organs to stop working. While the root is an infection, similar inflammatory responses can occur in the case of physical harm, such as severe burns or injuries caused by traffic accidents. All these conditions are classified under the generic term SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome). While doctors can sometimes treat the underlying infection with antibiotics or provide artificial support for vital functions, no real treatment for SIRS or sepsis has been developed so far.

New blood-to-brain communication

The VIB-Ghent University research project, led by professor Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke, explored an underrepresented research field: the biological function of extracellular vesicles. It was long believed that these small structures in biological fluids were released from cells to rid them of cellular waste. However, the scientists proved that inflammation in the blood signals the brain's choroid plexus, the part that produces brain fluid, to release extracellular vesicles which transfer the inflammatory signal to the brain.

Prof. Vandenbroucke (VIB-Ghent University): "When trauma or an infection occurs, a specific part of the brain detects abnormal blood levels or the presence of foreign substances such as bacteria. Consequently, extracellular vesicles are released containing vital information about the body's condition. These vesicles then travel through the brain fluid to eventually reach the central nervous system and alert the brain. In brief, we found a new way of blood-to-brain communication that is detrimental in septic shock."

Missing link

The findings can be seen as the 'missing link' between an infection and a -- sometimes life-threatening -- full-body inflammation. The importance of these results was further illustrated by the research team's successful blockage of vesicle secretion in mice using an inhibitor of vesicle production. This suggests that, in time, inflammatory diseases such as sepsis could be treated this way in humans as well.

Prof. Vandenbroucke (VIB-Ghent University): "Our data show that the frequently occurring cytokine TNF, which is a substance released upon the occurrence of inflammation, also stimulates the release of extracellular vesicles. One of the next steps is to investigate the therapeutic potential of changing the process of extracellular vesicle release. All of this strengthens our hope in further exploring the links between vesicles and inflammation."
With one billion stars mapped in a thousand days, European researchers have shown that they are not afraid to tackle the most daunting tasks. The work was carried out by 450 researchers from 25 European countries, including around a hundred scientists from France, mainly at the CNRS, Observatoire de Paris and Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, with major participation by the French space agency CNES. Using the Gaia spacecraft, launched on 19 December 2013, scientists have catalogued the position of 1.15 billion stars, and in addition measured the velocity and distance of two million of them relative to the Sun. ESA and the European consortium DPAC are releasing the mission's first findings on September 14. The announcement represents the most precise and detailed sky survey ever carried out.

The Gaia spacecraft both rotates and orbits around Earth, while surveying the sky with its two telescopes. Equipped with 106 CCDs forming the equivalent of a camera with a resolution of a billion pixels, it surveys 50 million stars per day, each time carrying out ten measurements, which represents a total of 500 million data points per day. This huge amount of information has been used to draw up a catalog of the positions in the sky of 1.15 billion stars. The precision ranges from 0.5 to 15 milliarcseconds (a milliarcsecond is equivalent to the angle subtended by a 1 euro coin at a distance of 4,000 km).

Including 200 million more stars than initially planned, the catalog will enable researchers to compile valuable statistics about various types of bodies, which would be impossible without such a huge survey. For instance, the catalog contains data for 250,000 quasars, as well as for 3,000 Cepheid and RR Lyrae variable stars. The Gaia mission has provided the light curves of the variable stars, in other words, the changes in their brightness, which will help scientists to shed light on the physical processes governing these stars.

The positions of a subset of two million stars were also compared with measurements carried out 23 years earlier by ESA's Hipparcos mission. The difference was used to calculate the velocity and distance of these bodies relative to the Solar System. Collection of the catalog data ended in September 2015. However, since Gaia continues to gather information, the researchers intend, in similar fashion, to compare the future positions of stars with those given in the catalog. By the end of 2017, they should therefore have obtained the velocity and distance of all one billion stars.

French organizations have played a leading role in the mission, and are represented in the consortium by around a hundred researchers, engineers and technicians. They take part in the many tasks essential to the success of the Gaia mission, such as organizing the ground-based observations needed to process the data, providing ephemeris data for the Solar System, carrying out daily observation of the Gaia spacecraft using optical instruments (in order to know its position and velocity to a very high degree of precision), validating data processing, etc.
An international team of scientists and conservation experts has discovered that the critically-endangered Hawaiian crow, or 'Alala, is a highly proficient tool user, according to a paper published today in the scientific journal Nature.

For decades, another species -- the famed New Caledonian crow -- had baffled researchers with its remarkable tool-using skills. These birds, which only live on the remote South Pacific island of New Caledonia, use tools to winkle insects and other prey from deadwood and vegetation, exhibiting an astonishing degree of dexterity. The big question was why they, but apparently no other members of the crow family ('corvids'), had evolved such technological prowess. But without other tool-using crow species for comparison, the New Caledonian crow remained a puzzling oddity.

There are over 40 species of crows and ravens in the world, and many of them -- especially those living in remote tropical locations -- remain poorly studied. "This raises the intriguing possibility that there are some undiscovered tool users out there," explains the study's lead scientist, Dr Christian Rutz, from the University of St Andrews, UK.

"We had previously noticed that New Caledonian crows have unusually straight bills, and wondered whether this may be an adaptation for holding tools, similar to humans' opposable thumb," Rutz elaborates. By searching for this tell-tale sign amongst some of the lesser-known corvid species, he quickly homed in on a particularly promising candidate for further investigation -- the 'Alala.

Following a population crash in the late 20th century, the 'Alala is now sadly extinct in the wild. In a last-ditch effort to preserve the species, the remaining wild birds were brought into captivity, to launch a breeding programme. "Later this year, in collaboration with our partners, we will be releasing captive-reared 'Alala on Hawai'i Island, to re-establish a wild population," says Bryce Masuda, co-leader of the study and Conservation Program Manager of San Diego Zoo Global's Hawai'i Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

Masuda was excited when the St Andrews scientists got in touch with his team: "We had occasionally seen birds using stick tools at our two breeding facilities, but hadn't thought much of it." The St Andrews and San Diego teams quickly agreed to conduct a collaborative project, to examine the tool-using skills of 'Alala under controlled conditions.

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"We tested 104 of the 109 'Alala alive at the time, and found that the vast majority of them spontaneously used tools," says Masuda. Current evidence strongly suggests that tool use is part of the species' natural behavioural repertoire, rather than being a quirk that arose in captivity, according to Rutz: "Using tools comes naturally to 'Alala. These birds had no specific training prior to our study, yet most of them were incredibly skilled at handling stick tools, and even swiftly extracted bait from demanding tasks. In many regards, the 'Alala is very similar to the New Caledonian crow, which my team has been studying for over 10 years."

Experts have applauded the 'tour de force' of controlled experiments. "Most studies in our field investigate just a handful of subjects, so it is truly mindboggling to see an entire species tested," comments Professor Thomas Bugnyar, a corvid expert at the University of Vienna, Austria, who was not involved in the study.

Dr Sabine Tebbich, an expert on animal tool use, also based at the University of Vienna, is similarly impressed by the scope of the study: "It was important that the authors took on the extra challenge of investigating how the behaviour develops in juvenile 'Alala. Their results show that the species has predispositions that allow chicks to 'discover' the behaviour independently, without ever observing tool-proficient adults." Interestingly, study co-author Dr Richard James, Director of the Centre for Networks and Collective Behaviour at the University of Bath, UK, could demonstrate through extensive computer simulations that it is unlikely that a single bird once had a smart idea, which subsequently spread across the captive population through social learning.

The discovery of a second tool-using crow species finally provides leverage for addressing long-standing questions about the evolution of animal tool behaviour. "As crow species go, the 'Alala and the New Caledonian crow are only very distantly related. With their last common ancestor living around 11 million years ago, it seems safe to assume that their tool-using skills arose independently," explains Rutz. "It is striking that both species evolved on remote tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean that lack woodpeckers and ferocious bird predators -- perfect conditions, apparently, for smart crows to become accomplished tool users!"

According to Douglas Myers, President and Chief Executive Officer of San Diego Zoo Global, the study marks an important milestone for the long-running 'Alala recovery programme: "This is a wonderful example of how scientific research can contribute to conservation efforts. The discovery that 'Alala naturally use tools is of great significance, especially at this critical stage of our recovery efforts, as it provides completely unexpected insights into the species' ecological needs. After more than 20 years of hard work, we are finally ready to release birds. I am confident we will manage to bring this iconic Hawaiian bird species back from the brink of extinction."

In 1964, world-renowned primatologist, Dr Jane Goodall DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, provided the first detailed report of tool use in wild chimpanzees. Her landmark paper, published in the journal Nature, categorically refuted the long-held idea that only humans are gifted tool users. Two years later, along with Hugo van Lawick, she described in Nature the first recorded observation of the use of rock tools by Egyptian vultures to open ostrich eggs.

Goodall is excited about the 'Alala study: "I love learning about the discovery of tool use behaviours in other species of animals. This latest finding is especially  wonderful. With two tool-using corvids, the well known Galapagos finches, and one vulture in the list of tool using birds, we can now make comparisons with avian and primate tool using. Each of these discoveries shows how much there is still to learn about animal behaviour, and it makes me re-think about the evolution of tool use in our own earliest ancestors."

But Goodall cautions: "Let this discovery serve to emphasise the importance to conserving these and other animal species so that we can continue to learn ever more about the range of their behaviour before they vanish for ever in the 6th great wave of extinction. We owe it to future generations."
In a World View opinion column published in Nature, a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher calls for animal-human embryo research to proceed - but only with strong animal protections in place. So-called "chimera" research raises the hope of producing human organs in genetically modified large animals, such as pigs and sheep, offering a potential solution to the persistent shortage of human organs for transplantation.

Insoo Hyun, PhD, associate professor of bioethics, urges such research to proceed only after "knowing the right and wrong ways to treat sentient beings according to complexities of their attributes."

Hyun's recommendations appear in the journal's September 15th issue and come a week after the National Institutes of Health closed a month-long public comment period on proposed new regulations, widely expected to be adopted, that would lift a moratorium that currently forbids federal funding for chimera embryo research.

For decades, research has taken place on animal-human chimeras (after a Greek mythological figure with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent), without much controversy in the United States, such as in the case of mice transplanted with human cancer cells. However, concerns have arisen about research using human pluripotent stem cells, the focus of the current NIH moratorium. These cells are made from skin or blood cells which are genetically modified to act like embryonic stem cells that can form any adult cell types including human organs.

Hyun's recommendations come in response to concerns that the transfer of human stem cells into animal hosts would result in an animal with a human organ with at least partially human moral status, especially if the central nervous system is involved. He writes, however, that "The moral status of humans is not automatically assured by our genetic composition or the physical arrangement of our cells. Rather, it is sustained by a complex of mental traits " which cannot develop in such chimeras.

He notes that chimera studies that involve sentient animals are already tightly regulated via the US Animal Welfare Act and other national and international research policies. He adds, however, that since "the transfer of human stem cells could produce unpredicted effects on the resulting chimeras' equilibria and capacities for suffering, it is crucial that qualified veterinary staff and researchers monitor experiments" and if necessary, apply swift, humane care.

Under the NIH's pending proposals, an internal steering committee would provide guidance on chimera research proposals, an approach consistent with new professional guidelines for stem cell research offered by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, which themselves are based on an advisory report which Hyun helped draft.

In addition to protecting animals, Hyun notes that "[g]rounding the ethics and regulation of human-animal chimera research in anything other than animal welfare would invite serious practical and philosophical difficulties." He points out that for example, one argument used against transferring human stem cells into animal embryos is that this research is not overseen by animal research committees when it is limited to test-tube experiments. But, he says, the "challenge for these critics  is to explain why animal embryos containing human cells deserve serious consideration of their moral status - enough to potentially rule out their use - when standard human embryos can be used in other projects."

The World View column in which Hyun's piece appears is described by Nature as a "must-read weekly rapid response opinion column, which offers senior figures and commentators a platform to discuss events that affect the world's scientific community."
In June 2015, when the cameras on NASA's approaching New Horizons spacecraft first spotted the large reddish polar region on Pluto's largest moon, Charon, mission scientists knew two things: they'd never seen anything like it elsewhere in our solar system, and they couldn't wait to get the story behind it.

Over the past year, after analyzing the images and other data that New Horizons has sent back from its historic July 2015 flight through the Pluto system, the scientists think they've solved the mystery. As they detail this week in the international scientific journal Nature, Charon's polar coloring comes from Pluto itself -- as methane gas that escapes from Pluto's atmosphere and becomes "trapped" by the moon's gravity and freezes to the cold, icy surface at Charon's pole. This is followed by chemical processing by ultraviolet light from the sun that transforms the methane into heavier hydrocarbons and eventually into reddish organic materials called tholins.

"Who would have thought that Pluto is a graffiti artist, spray-painting its companion with a reddish stain that covers an area the size of New Mexico?" asked Will Grundy, a New Horizons co-investigator from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and lead author of the paper. "Every time we explore, we find surprises. Nature is amazingly inventive in using the basic laws of physics and chemistry to create spectacular landscapes."

The team combined analyses from detailed Charon images obtained by New Horizons with computer models of how ice evolves on Charon's poles. Mission scientists had previously speculated that methane from Pluto's atmosphere was trapped in Charon's north pole and slowly converted into the reddish material, but had no models to support that theory.

The New Horizons team dug into the data to determine whether conditions on the Texas-sized moon (with a diameter of 753 miles or 1,212 kilometers) could allow the capture and processing of methane gas. The models using Pluto and Charon's 248-year orbit around the sun show some extreme weather at Charon's poles, where 100 years of continuous sunlight alternate with another century of continuous darkness. Surface temperatures during these long winters dip to -430 Fahrenheit (-257 Celsius), cold enough to freeze methane gas into a solid.

"The methane molecules bounce around on Charon's surface until they either escape back into space or land on the cold pole, where they freeze solid, forming a thin coating of methane ice that lasts until sunlight comes back in the spring," Grundy said. But while the methane ice quickly sublimates away, the heavier hydrocarbons created from it remain on the surface.

The models also suggested that in Charon's springtime the returning sunlight triggers conversion of the frozen methane back into gas. But while the methane ice quickly sublimates away, the heavier hydrocarbons created from this evaporative process remain on the surface.

Sunlight further irradiates those leftovers into reddish material -- called tholins -- that has slowly accumulated on Charon's poles over millions of years. New Horizons' observations of Charon's other pole, currently in winter darkness -- and seen by New Horizons only by light reflecting from Pluto, or "Pluto-shine" -- confirmed that the same activity was occurring at both poles.

"This study solves one of the greatest mysteries we found on Charon, Pluto's giant moon," said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute, and a study co-author. "And it opens up the possibility that other small planets in the Kuiper Belt with moons may create similar, or even more extensive 'atmospheric transfer' features on their moons."
Women and minorities may be less likely to receive treatment for stroke, according to a study published in the September 14, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Even though the clot-busting treatment for stroke called tPA improves recovery, some people who are eligible to receive the treatment are not getting it," said study author Steven R. Messe, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "We wanted to find out what factors were associated with lower likelihood of treatment, which may help us find ways to improve tPA use in the future."

For the study, the researchers looked back at more than eight years of hospital records from across the country of people with an ischemic stroke who arrived at the hospital within two hours after the start of stroke symptoms and had no documented reasons that they could not receive the treatment. The treatment, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), can be used only for ischemic strokes, which are caused by blood clots. It cannot be used for hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by bleeding.

Of the 61,698 people in the study, 15,282 people, or 25 percent, did not receive the treatment within three hours. Treatment rates improved over time, with 45 percent of those eligible receiving treatment from 2003-2005 compared to 82 percent from 2010-2011.

After accounting for other factors that could affect treatment, including stroke severity, the researchers found that women and minorities were less likely to receive treatment. Women had 8 percent higher odds of not receiving treatment than men. While women made up 50.6 percent of the total study group, they made up 50.1 percent of those receiving treatment. African-Americans had 26 percent higher odds of not receiving treatment than whites, while those of other races had 17 percent higher odds of not receiving treatment than whites.

Other factors associated with under treatment included older age and less severe strokes. "More research is needed about why these potential disparities exist and how they can be addressed," Messe said.

People who were treated at hospitals certified as stroke centers were more likely to receive treatment than those at hospitals without the certification, with those at primary stroke centers having nearly twice the odds of receiving tPA.
The Lancet published a review of the progress made in addressing, as lead author David Molyneux calls it, the chronic pandemic of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

LSTM's Senior Professorial Fellow David Molyneux worked with Dr Dirk Engels, who heads up NTDs for the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr Lorenzo Savioli of the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance, to put together the review.

The authors looked at the progress made in terms of the donated medicines which are used in mass drug administration (MDA) interventions, which represent something in the region of one billion treatments a year. They also highlighted some of the challenges that need to be addressed to ensure the massive impact of NTDs is fully mitigated.

Professor Molyneux said: "It is testament to how far we've come that NTDs have been included in United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and are now recognised as true markers of poverty. But there is still no recognition of the true level of mortality associated with this particular group of diseases. Around 12 thousand people died as a result of the recent Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leonne and Liberia, but during the same period of time at least 10 times that many people died as a result of NTDs."

The paper frames the progress made in the field of NTDs against the challenges that remain to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. These include those of a biological and socioeconomic nature as well as environmental issues such as security, conflict and extreme climate change, the latter also having an impact on the vectors of many of these diseases.

"It is important that we see continued investment into the research of NTDs," continued Professor Molyneux. "We need new drugs to combat resistance and better diagnostic tools in order to identify and monitor these diseases. However with around $3 Billion in donated drugs available, what is vital is the commitment of endemic countries to provide the relatively small amounts of health spend that will ensure these drugs reach those most in need, ending the cycle of disease and poverty that has perpetuated this chronic pandemic."
For more than 20 million years, the ups and downs of diversity in terrestrial large mammals were determined by primary production, i.e. net production of plant biomass. This pattern changed with the onset of the ice ages. The reason for this is likely the beginning of human impact on nature, according to a team led by Dr. Susanne Fritz at Senckenberg. The findings were published recently in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Based on 14,000 fossils, the scientists reconstructed the diversity of terrestrial large mammals and compared it with data on the biomass production of plants during the same time period.

Whether used as food, fire wood or fodder for domestic animals  mankind would not be able to survive without plants, and we use them in manifold ways. But what impact does this use have on the evolution of mammals? The answer can be found in a recent study that correlates the biomass of plant resources with the diversity of large mammals, i.e., the number of genera of ungulates, carnivores, apes and elephants. For 20 million years, from the early Neogene approximately 23 million years ago until the Pleistocene started around 2 million years ago, this rule applied: The larger the amount of biomass produced by plants, the higher the diversity of terrestrial mammals that evolved. And of course, the reverse is true as well: A decrease in biomass production was accompanied by a decrease in the number of different mammals, explains the studys lead author, Dr. Susanne Fritz of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre.

Fritz and her team are the first to confirm this correlation on such a large spatial and temporal scale  for North America as well as for Europe. The onset of the ice ages (Pleistocene) put an end to this, as since then the species diversity in North America and Europe is correlated to other environmental conditions. This is the exact point in time when humans appeared on the scene in these regions and presumably began to extract biomass from the nutrient cycle. But the abrupt change in pattern also concurred with another event: Large mammals such as mammoths, cave bears and Saiga antelopes underwent a mass extinction in the study areas. Whether humans or climatic changes were responsible for this remains a controversial question to date.

The diversity of mammal species in Europe and North America today is much lower than in the past. For example, Europe now hosts a mere 51 species of large mammals in 27 genera; 10 million years ago, there were 130 to 200 genera. As documented by our study, humans at least contributed to the fact that the diversity of species and genera was never able to recover after the mass extinction. Today, only Africa and Asia still host any significant numbers of large mammal species, says Dr. Christian Hof, also a scientist at Senckenberg and the studys co-author. Nowadays, humans extract up to 30 percent of the biomass from the global nutrient cycle  and the trend is rising. However, it is difficult to ultimately evaluate what this means for the future of speciation in large mammals.

The farther back we travel back in the past, the fewer traces we find of the animals that lived in those days, which makes it difficult to directly compare correlations between the rather extensive time period we examined and the situation today. However, it is clear that in the world dominated by humans certain ecological rules, such as the correlation between large mammal diversity and plant biomass, no longer apply in the same way as they used to do for millions of years. The consequences of the ever increasing human impact are therefore unique in geological history and difficult to predict, Fritz sums up.

For the study, the scientists evaluated more than 14,000 fossils from North America and Europe. These fossils represent over 1,600 different species of large mammals from approximately 1,500 sites. They cover the period between 23 and 1.8 million years ago. The results were subsequently compared with data on the primary production of plants from the same time period, which could be deduced from fossilized plant remains. In terms of temporal extent, this constitutes the largest set of data analyzed in this context to date.

The study is an international collaboration project of researchers from the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research (Senckenberg Gesellschaft fur Naturforschung), the Goethe University Frankfurt, the University of Helsinki (FIN), Brown University and Stony Brook University (USA), the University of Bristol (UK) and Leipzig University. A constituent workshop for all project participants was held at the Synthesis Center (sDiv) of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig.
Deep in the oceans exist some of the world's oldest and most mysterious sea canyons and mountains, or seamounts. Formed millions of years ago by extinct volcanoes and sediment erosion, sea canyons and seamounts are biodiversity hot spots -- home to many rare and endangered species.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today applauded President Obama's action to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

Themonument, more than 100 miles southeast of Cape Cod in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, is home to undersea canyons and seamounts that comprise fragile and largely pristine deep marine ecosystems and rich biodiversity, including important deep sea corals, endangered whales and sea turtles, other marine mammals and numerous fish species.

The monument designation comes after significant engagement with local communities and fishermen.

"The United States is a leader in ocean stewardship and marine conservation," said Secretary Pritzker. "This designation follows extensive engagement with various stakeholder groups and ensures conservation of important marine species and recognizes the strong economic and cultural value of fishing in the region. From sea level rise to ocean acidification to warming ocean temperatures, climate change is affecting our nation's fisheries and fishing communities. Now, it is more important than ever to protect these valuable resources."

"Today's designation will help protect the unique geology and biodiversity of these important underwater features and wildlife species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world," said Secretary Jewell. "This critical marine area, which serves as important habitat for pelagic fish species, corals, whales, sea turtles, sea birds and other species, will now be protected and preserved for future generations, serving as an important natural laboratory for research and enhanced understanding of the impacts of climate change on our oceans."

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument includes two areas: one that includes four undersea mountains -- Bear, Mytilus, Physalia, and Retriever; and an area that includes three undersea canyons -- Oceanographer, Lydonia, and Gilbert that cut deep into the continental shelf. The combined area is approximately 4,913 square miles. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will manage the monument.

These areas are home to deep-sea coral ecosystems with rich biodiversity and unique species. Additionally, these geographic features result in oceanographic conditions that concentrate pelagic species, including whales, dolphins, and turtles; and highly migratory fish such as tunas, bullfish, and sharks. A large number of birds also rely on this area for foraging. The purpose of the proposed monument designation is to protect these fragile and largely pristine deep-sea habitats, and species, and ecosystems. Designating the monument ensures continuing and expanded protection of the area for future generations.

Both areas have been the sites of active scientific exploration, investigation, and discovery by oceanographic researchers. The New England seamounts have been found to have many rare and native species, several of which are new to science and known to live nowhere else on Earth. Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's research vesselOkeanos Exploreridentified 15 species of coral in the area that had not been previously reported.

Commercial fishing, with the exception of a seven-year phase out for existing permits of the red crab fishery and the American lobster fishery, and other resource extraction activities will be prohibited within the monument boundaries. Additionally a 60-day grace period is in effect to ensure an orderly transition for all fisheries (other than red crab and American lobster) that are prohibited in the monument. Noncommercial fishing, such as recreational fishing, will be allowed in the expansion area by permit, as will scientific research.

Today's announcement is made by the President under the authority of the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law that has been used by 16 presidents starting with President Theodore Roosevelt to protect national treasures such as the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, the C & O Canal, and Colorado's Canyons of the Ancients. President Obama has used this authority granted by Congress now 27 times to protected hundreds of millions of acres of public lands and waters -- more than any other President -- and has preserved sites that help tell the story of significant people and extraordinary events in American history.
Like many predators, the fringe-lipped bat primarily uses its hearing to find its prey, but with human-generated noise on the rise, scientists are examining how bats and other animals might adapt to find their next meal. According to a new study, when noise masks the mating calls of the bat's prey, tungara frogs, the bat shifts to another sensory mode -- echolocation.

Echolocation is a way of sensing objects and movement by scanning the environment with high frequency sounds and evaluating the reflections. Studying the ability or inability of animals to shift sensory modes could be important in understanding how to protect threatened or endangered species.

The work appears this week in the journal Science.

Mike Ryan, a professor of integrative biology at The University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study, says the bats are doing something similar to what we do at a noisy party. Amid all the conversations, we can turn our attention to one speaker and tune out the rest.

"If there's just one person talking and it's quiet, all we have to do is listen with our ears," says Ryan. "But if there are more and more people talking, we have to be looking at them to figure out what each person is saying. So we have to recruit this other sensory channel we have, our eyes, to help us figure out what we're hearing."

In this case, the bats are shifting from detecting one kind of sound -- the low frequency mating calls produced by the frogs -- to the high frequency sounds emitted by the bat to navigate and hunt with echolocation. Unfortunately for the frogs, when they produce mating calls, they're really sending two signals: the sound intended to attract females and the movement of their vocal sacs, which inflate quickly like a balloon.

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The researchers speculate that predators that can shift their sensory mode will do better in noisy environments, and this in turn might alter the long-term success of specific predator and prey species.

"Our study ties together behavior, sensory ecology and conservation," says Dylan Gomes, the lead author who conducted the research during an internship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. "As sources of anthropogenic noise continue to expand, animals will ultimately have to face noise in one way or another."

Research into the effects of human-generated noise on animal behavior has primarily focused on birds and whales, says Gomes, who is now a Fulbright scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. The impact of noise on bats, however, is a relatively new field of study.

The team used two robotic frogs that precisely mimic the calls and vocal sac expansion of the tungara frog. The robofrogs were placed inside a flight cage with the fringe-lipped bat. One robofrog played the frog's distinct mating call, with the other playing the call and expanding its robotic vocal sac. When the researchers played a masking noise over the call, the hunting bat's echolocation activity increased and it more often attacked the frog emitting both signals than the frog emitting just mating calls. Without the masking sound, the bat attacked both frogs equally.

"We show how animals can adapt to increased noise levels by making use of their other senses, which has important implications for other species that try to find prey, avoid predators or attract mates in human-impacted environments," says Wouter Halfwerk, a professor at VU University Amsterdam and a former postdoctoral researcher in Ryan's lab.

Halfwerk helped design the experiment and was Gomes' co-adviser. Smithsonian Tupper fellow Inga Geipel, who specializes in echolocation and studies how bats navigate and hunt in the rain, contributed her technical expertise to the research. The study was carried out under the guidance of STRI staff scientist Rachel Page, and Ryan, a long-time STRI research associate. Page worked previously as a graduate student in Ryan's lab.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
If you bottle up a gas and try to image its atoms using today's most powerful microscopes, you will see little more than a shadowy blur. Atoms zip around at lightning speeds and are difficult to pin down at ambient temperatures.

If, however, these atoms are plunged to ultracold temperatures, they slow to a crawl, and scientists can start to study how they can form exotic states of matter, such as superfluids, superconductors, and quantum magnets.

Physicists at MIT have now cooled a gas of potassium atoms to several nanokelvins -- just a hair above absolute zero -- and trapped the atoms within a two-dimensional sheet of an optical lattice created by crisscrossing lasers. Using a high-resolution microscope, the researchers took images of the cooled atoms residing in the lattice.

By looking at correlations between the atoms' positions in hundreds of such images, the team observed individual atoms interacting in some rather peculiar ways, based on their position in the lattice. Some atoms exhibited "antisocial" behavior and kept away from each other, while some bunched together with alternating magnetic orientations. Others appeared to piggyback on each other, creating pairs of atoms next to empty spaces, or holes.

The team believes that these spatial correlations may shed light on the origins of superconducting behavior. Superconductors are remarkable materials in which electrons pair up and travel without friction, meaning that no energy is lost in the journey. If superconductors can be designed to exist at room temperature, they could initiate an entirely new, incredibly efficient era for anything that relies on electrical power.

Martin Zwierlein, professor of physics and principal investigator at MIT's NSF Center for Ultracold Atoms and at its Research Laboratory of Electronics, says his team's results and experimental setup can help scientists identify ideal conditions for inducing superconductivity.

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"Learning from this atomic model, we can understand what's really going on in these superconductors, and what one should do to make higher-temperature superconductors, approaching hopefully room temperature," Zwierlein says.

Zwierlein and his colleagues' results appear in the Sept. 16 issue of the journal Science. Co-authors include experimentalists from the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics, and two theory groups from San Jose State University, Ohio State University, the University of Rio de Janeiro, and Penn State University.

"Atoms as stand-ins for electrons"

Today, it is impossible to model the behavior of hightemperature superconductors, even using the most powerful computers in the world, as the interactions between electrons are very strong. Zwierlein and his team sought instead to design a "quantum simulator," using atoms in a gas as stand-ins for electrons in a superconducting solid.

The group based its rationale on several historical lines of reasoning: First, in 1925 Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli formulated what is now called the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two electrons may occupy the same quantum state -- such as spin, or position -- at the same time. Pauli also postulated that electrons maintain a certain sphere of personal space, known as the "Pauli hole."

His theory turned out to explain the periodic table of elements: Different configurations of electrons give rise to specific elements, making carbon atoms, for instance, distinct from hydrogen atoms.

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The Italian physicist Enrico Fermi soon realized that this same principle could be applied not just to electrons, but also to atoms in a gas: The extent to which atoms like to keep to themselves can define the properties, such as compressibility, of a gas.

"He also realized these gases at low temperatures would behave in peculiar ways," Zwierlein says.

British physicist John Hubbard then incorporated Pauli's principle in a theory that is now known as the Fermi-Hubbard model, which is the simplest model of interacting atoms, hopping across a lattice. Today, the model is thought to explain the basis for superconductivity. And while theorists have been able to use the model to calculate the behavior of superconducting electrons, they have only been able to do so in situations where the electrons interact weakly with each other.

"That's a big reason why we don't understand high-temperature superconductors, where the electrons are very strongly interacting," Zwierlein says. "There's no classical computer in the world that can calculate what will happen at very low temperatures to interacting [electrons]. Their spatial correlations have also never been observed in situ, because no one has a microscope to look at every single electron."

Carving out personal space

Zwierlein's team sought to design an experiment to realize the Fermi-Hubbard model with atoms, in hopes of seeing behavior of ultracold atoms analogous to that of electrons in high-temperature superconductors.

The group had previously designed an experimental protocol to first cool a gas of atoms to near absolute zero, then trap them in a two-dimensional plane of a laser-generated lattice. At such ultracold temperatures, the atoms slowed down enough for researchers to capture them in images for the first time, as they interacted across the lattice.

At the edges of the lattice, where the gas was more dilute, the researchers observed atoms forming Pauli holes, maintaining a certain amount of personal space within the lattice.

"They carve out a little space for themselves where it's very unlikely to find a second guy inside that space," Zwierlein says.

Where the gas was more compressed, the team observed something unexpected: Atoms were more amenable to having close neighbors, and were in fact very tightly bunched. These atoms exhibited alternating magnetic orientations.

"These are beautiful, antiferromagnetic correlations, with a checkerboard pattern -- up, down, up, down," Zwierlein describes.

At the same time, these atoms were found to often hop on top of one another, creating a pair of atoms next to an empty lattice square. This, Zwierlein says, is reminiscent of a mechanism proposed for high-temperature superconductivity, in which electron pairs resonating between adjacent lattice sites can zip through the material without friction if there is just the right amount of empty space to let them through.

Ultimately, he says the team's experiments in gases can help scientists identify ideal conditions for superconductivity to arise in solids.

Zwierlein explains: "For us, these effects occur at nanokelvin because we are working with dilute atomic gases. If you have a dense piece of matter, these same effects may well happen at room temperature."

Currently, the team has been able to achieve ultracold temperatures in gases that are equivalent to hundreds of kelvins in solids. To induce superconductivity, Zwierlein says the group will have to cool their gases by another factor of five or so.

"We haven't played all of our tricks yet, so we think we can get colder," he says.

This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Army Research Office, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
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After thousands of people spoke up about a government advisory board's recommendation to kill the 45,000 wild horses and burros currently in federal holding facilities, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finally responded. On Wednesday, the agency said it has no current plans to kill the animals and that it has not yet formally replied to the advisory board's proposal. It will do so at its next meeting, which is set to take place in the next few months.

The BLM will "continue its current policy of caring for unadopted or unsold wild horses and burros" and will "not sell or send any animals to slaughter," Tom Gorey, a spokesman for the bureau, said in an email to Reuters. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is counting the announcement as a win for the animals - but is celebrating with caution. "We're very happy to hear that the agency is not currently considering euthanasia or slaughter for these horses and burros, but until there is a written, formal response to the board, we just want people to hold the agency accountable," Gillian Lyons, wild horse and burro program manager for the HSUS, told The Dodo.

Dodo Shows Odd Couples Kitten Isn't Sure About His Pittie Brother  At First

The HSUS has been urging humane fertility control methods, such as a vaccine, to control the wild horse and burro population, but alleges that the BLM has ignored these recommendations for over 20 years. This is because there's competition for this valuable ranchland. "Under the Department of Interior's 'multiple-use' principles, only so much cattle, so much wildlife, and so many wild horses are allowed on federal lands," Laura Moretti, author of "History of America's Wild Horses. Mestengo. Mustang. Misfit. America's Disappearing Wild Horses" wrote. "The wildlife is 'paid for' by hunters' licensing fees. Cattle are 'paid for' by the meat industry: $1.35 per head per month to graze the public domain. Horses, on the other hand, take up one 'Animal Unit Month' (AUM), but no one is paying their way. Each horse removed from the West frees up another AUM for cattle or sheep or game antelope."

The BLM has adopted out more than 230,000 wild horses and burros since 1971, and the BLM says that "[m]any of those animals have become excellent pleasure, show, or work horses." But some - at least 1,700 that we know of - end up in the slaughter pipeline, a recent investigative report discovered. The BLM sold horses to a Colorado rancher who in turn sent those horses to Mexico to be killed. The feds have made a mess by rounding up wild horses in the first place.

"If there is any 'emergency,' it is one of the BLM's own making," the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) said in a statement. "The BLM has failed to adequately reduce or eliminate private livestock grazing despite record drought conditions, and stubbornly refused to implement large-scale humane birth control programs for wild horse and burro population control, as recommended in 2013." A 2013 report by the National Research Council found that "the management strategy of removing free-ranging horses and burros from the range leaves the animals that remain on the range unaffected by density-dependent population processes." The population growth is therefore "not regulated by self-limiting pressures, such as lack of water or forage," the report said. "[T]his allows horse, and possibly burro, populations to grow at an annual rate of 15-20 percent. "

Now there are two good options for how to manage the horses the agency has rounded up over the years, according to Lyons. "Knowing what they know, and what they've known for a while, our view is that they made this commitment, they have to care for the horses they've put in holding facilities," Lyons said. "It's costly, but it's their responsibility." Lyons also said that there are areas where the horses have disappeared that could be feasible areas for the horses in holding facilities to be released. "The humane advocacy groups stand ready with this alternative," Lyons said. "The crux of the issue is we just don't want the horses removed from the range anymore."

But this fiscal year, the BLM kept with the old method, and still rounded up and removed wild horses and burros even though the study shows that this actually makes the wild population grow. In total, the BLM reports that so far this year, it removed 2,452 horses and burros from the wild, as opposed to just 715 who were treated with birth control and set free.

So, while this week's announcement is good news, until there's a promise to ensure the safety of the horses and burros and a viable plan for their future. "The BLM has come to the right decision in rejecting a recommendation for the mass killing of up to 45,000 captured wild horses and burros," the AWHPC said. "However, the public will be watching carefully and will not be fooled." Lyons, likewise, urges everyone to keep their eyes on the BLM. "There's a worry that if we all get quiet right now, they could change their mind," Lyons said.

Wild horses roaming free in Wyoming | Shutterstock

The Dodo will continue to follow this story as the BLM responds to the board's recommendation.
The last puppy born in his litter didn't look anything like his brothers and sisters.

His family, who lives in the Philippines, loved him just the same and named him Emyu.

It became apparent to Emyu's owner, Faye Salvador, that Emyu was born with some sort of birth defect.

Faye recognized the familiar shape Emyu had as one she had seen on the internet.

Short spine syndrome is a rare, congenital anomaly that causes shortening of the spine and ligaments, elongated front legs and hocked rear legs. These dogs usually have no tail or a bobbed tail. As previously reported by the Dodo, it is thought to be caused by inbreeding.

We now know that these dogs can live long and healthy lives. The oldest known dog with short spine syndrome recently passed away at the age of 14. The remaining dogs - there are 17 known to be living now, including Emyu - range in age from 2 to 12.

I happen to be quite familiar with short spine syndrome because I have a dog named Cuda who has it. I adopted her six years ago when she was a puppy who was given away by a backyard breeder. She is happy and pain free, and looks like Emyu and the others.
A rescue dog who gained international attention when his heartwarmingly happy adoption photo went viral has been given one more reason to smile.

Family Stops At Nothing To Help Their Great Dane Run

Diggy was adopted from Detroit Dog Rescue in June by his new dad, Dan Tillery of Michigan. Not long after, however, he was thrust into the middle of a legal battle for the right to stay in his new forever home.

As it turns out, Tillery's hometown of Waterford Township has breed-specific legislation (BSL) on the books - ordinances prohibiting pit bulls from living in the community. After seeing Diggy's viral pic, police determined that he was of that banned breed and therefore had to go.

Tillery wouldn't be parted from Diggy that easily. He, along with Detroit Dog Rescue, contended that the dog wasn't a pit bull, but rather an American bulldog. A vet later determined that to be true.

Presented with that, a court this week decided to drop the case. Diggy could stay!
An Ontario resort used as a getaway for Toronto artists since the 1960s has hit the property market.

The Bridgewater Retreat near Tweed, which for many years operated as the Schneider School of Fine Arts, is listed for $1.19 million.

That price includes six pristine acres, 16 guest cabins, two artists studios and two log cabins from the 1800s on the Skootamatta River about two hours and 15 minutes from Toronto.

But you cant put a number on the history of the property that quite literally sits on a gold mine, said vendor Steve Collins, who is selling up for health reasons after 10 years of enjoying what he describes as a profound connection with the resort.

He said he still finds bits of gold on the land that was first settled in 1859 in the Ontario gold rush. Five thousand people settled there for 10 years.

But the entire community burned to the ground, save the church and school that were made from the local marble. Those nearby buildings still stand, said Collins.

He and his wife Marie bought the place, which was renamed Bridgewater in the 1990s, for about $500,000 in 2007. She had a background in the hospitality business. He had worked in construction and renovations.

I saw this place in a magazine one day and jokingly said, Heres the next place were going to buy, and the next thing I knew we were racing up here. We just fell in love with the property, Collins said.

But it was run down, and the first year they didnt even really open although a few guests, who knew the Bridgewater, were allowed to come and stay while the work was going on.

Much of the last decade has been spent landscaping the property and upgrading the buildings.

Its been a joy. Weve met a lot of people. Its going to be hard to leave, said Collins.

The Bridgewater was founded by Mary and Roman Schneider, who immigrated in 1950 after surviving concentration camps.

The property was bush when they acquired it in 1962 from the Price family. Theres a Price Conservation Area adjacent to the Bridgewater.

Mary, a successful artist, taught in nearby Madoc for a couple of years, before the couple, along with some friends, founded their own school.

They had a great vision. Its set up so well. Its just six acres of land but it seems like 16 and weve got 735 ft of riverfront here with a rock gorge and a sand beach, said Collins.

The Schneiders spent winters in Toronto planning summer arts programs. They bought the two log cabins, had them dismantled and moved to the site.

The 16 cedar guest cabins were purchased as kits from British Columbia and assembled locally.

The Schneider School of Fine Art, which was renamed the Bridgewater in the 1990s, had three studios, one of which the Collins have turned into their home on the property.

Among the artists who spent time there was Jack Henry Pollock, a fixture on the Toronto arts scene with a namesake gallery and a reputation for spotting new talent.

Others include Carl Schaefer, a Canadian war artist, who studied with Group of Seven members Arthur Lismer and J.E.H. MacDonald; Adrian Dingle, a painter, who also illustrated comic books; and Dorothy Stevens, a painter and print maker known for her images of factory workers from the First World War.

The Collins have continued to attract artists. But the Bridgewater has also hosted wellness, yoga and writing retreats. Among its visitors were many tourists from abroad, said Collins.

A lot of people come from all over the world. They just want a taste of Canada. People visit Toronto and think thats Canada. Im kind of glad to host Canada-in-the-woods here, said Collins.

He says hes grateful to have been the Bridgewaters caretaker.

I always knew it was just a place we were looking after. You think you own something but we dont get to take it with us. Ive been grateful to be the caretaker and I feel like a huge part of the place, he said.

The couple put the property on the market last fall but there wasnt much interest, says their Century 21 realtor Tom Wilkinson.

He specializes in selling resorts and has listed properties far from his Haliburton office.

They can be tricky to sell, he said. But the Bridgewaters history is unique.

Its a gorgeous setting. The river runs down the edge of the property. You can actually still pan for gold in the river, said Wilkinson, adding that all these years later, the property retains the mineral rights there.

Collins has built lovely walking paths throughout the retreat.

Theres a lovely river walk. You cant help but relax. Rivers are great for that anyway. It really does wash away all your cares. Its just a very relaxing place, said Wilkinson.

An illness that confined Collins to the hospital for two months this year, forced the Bridgewater to cancel its bookings this season.

He hopes the new owners will be arts lovers.

Mary Schneiders easel and art supplies remain at the Bridgewater. Sometimes her rocking chair moves, said Collins. But theres nothing spooky or scary there.

Theres a real energy in this property and its all good energy, he said.

I didnt realize how spiritual I was til I took over the place.

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HALIFAXAt the auto dealerships in southwestern Nova Scotia, its not unusual for a fisherman to mark the purchase of a new truck by presenting the successful salesman with a fresh lobster.

Claude Bourgeois, sales manager at Tusket Ford, has been eating a lot of lobster lately.

Its hard to stay slim, jokes Bourgeois, who says sales in August were the highest theyve been in six years  thanks to the booming lobster industry.

We are definitely selling more trucks. It doesnt matter if its us or Dodge or Chev. They all seem to be doing pretty well right now . . . There doesnt seem to be as much price negotiations. The (fishermen) are buying high-end.

And its not hard to see why.

The industry across the Maritimes moved into high gear last year, and has gained momentum since. Amid growing demand for the tasty crustaceans, fishermen have been hauling in record catches that are commanding the highest prices in more than a decade.

Aside from $65,000 trucks, the fishermen are also buying new boats  if they can.

The order books are full and many yards are booked for a couple of years out, says Tim Edwards, executive director of the Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association. Theyre busier than theyve been in at least 10 years, maybe 12.

Part of the reason why boatbuilders cant keep up is a growing demand for longer, wider, more complex boats, typically worth between $500,000 and $750,000.

The latest generation of vessels include so-called live wells designed to carry lobster in freshly circulated seawater. The tanks keep the lobsters healthy, which means theyre worth more at the dock.

These fishing boats, which can travel farther and carry more, cant be built fast enough, Edwards says.

Its a nice situation for the industry right now.

The market for lobster has been getting a boost from the weak Canadian dollar, growing demand from China and a shift in consumer tastes toward processed meat in everything from lobster rolls to lobster macaroni and cheese.

And then theres the Beyonce Bounce.

In February, U.S.-based seafood chain Red Lobster said its sales surged 33 per cent on Super Bowl Sunday, a boost attributed to the Beyonce song Formation, which alludes to her taking a man to Red Lobster after sex.

Lobsters are so hot theyre being stolen: A trailer loaded with frozen lobster was stolen from a processing plant in Grand Anse, N.B., in July, six months after more than 2,100 kilograms of premium-grade lobster were stolen from an ocean pen near Cape Sable Island, N.S.

In P.E.I., fishermen are currently getting about $6.75 a pound for fresh, market lobsters. Thats a long way from the $3 per pound they were getting during the global economic meltdown in 2008-09.

Earlier this spring, when supplies were running low, lobsters from P.E.I. were fetching $8.50 per pound at the wharf, says Craig Avery, president of the 1,300-member P.E.l. Fishermens association.

Theres good incomes, good catches and good prices, he says. All of those things are driving people to go out and get new equipment. Theyre spending their money. Everybody is a winner.

Avery, a lobster fisherman for 40 years, says the weak Canadian dollar has helped boost exports to the United States  where 80 per cent of Canadas lobsters are sent  and a determined effort to entice Asian consumers is also paying off.

Our association has spent a lot on marketing, says Avery, who has been to China three times on trade missions. Youve got over a billion people there. Its really pushing up demand.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clutched an East Coast lobster for a photo op in China to promote the fact that the Alibaba Group  Chinas online equivalent of Amazon.com  is now selling Canadian lobsters through its e-commerce website.

China has been the main improvement in the market, says Bernie Berry, president of the Coldwater Lobster Association.

However, there are stormclouds on the horizon, says Berry, whose group represents Lobster Fishing Area 34 (LFA 34) in southwestern Nova Scotia  the biggest producer of lobster in Canada.

Earlier this month, the European Union announced it would again review a proposal from Sweden to ban lobsters from the U.S. and Canada because they are considered an invasive species. Canada and United States typically export about 30 million pounds of live product to Europe every year, says Berry.

God forbid if we lost that market, he says. Thirty-million pounds. You dont just snap your fingers and relocate.

The lobster business remains the most lucrative fishery in Canada, producing almost $1 billion in commercial landings in 2014. The 10,000 licensed enterprises in Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces employ about 30,000 harvesters.

In 2015, 82,700 metric tonnes of Canadian lobster was exported, generating $2.03 billion in revenue, according to federal figures.

Berry says the 950 lobster licence holders in LFA 34 are looking forward to a banner season, which opens next month in some areas.

The more than 3,000 fishermen and deckhands in the area scooped up about 60 million pounds of lobster last year at prices averaging between $6.60 and 6.70 per pound, generating about $400 million in landed value, he says.

Everybodys happy, says Ashton Spinney, a longtime lobster fisherman and co-chairman of the lobster committee for LFA 34.

Theres a lot of new equipment and everything is busy, busy. The economy is healthy. Thats what we want. When fishermen make money, they spend it.

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WATERLOO, ONT.The Canadian government will use its purchasing heft to help young companies scale up by focusing on awarding contracts to homegrown startups, the federal innovation minister said Thursday.

The government is in a very unique position. We are the largest purchaser of goods and services, we really are a marquee customer for a lot of these companies, said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development in an interview with the Toronto Star.

So how can we use government to really help invest in some of these technologies, some of these innovations, some of these ideas and become a customer for them? When we become a customer for them they can go abroad and brag about doing business in Canada.

The minister provided an update at the Waterloo Innovation Summit Thursday on the governments consultations for its innovation agenda, which is expected to be revealed in next years budget.

In addition to leveraging the governments purchasing power, the agenda will also focus on investing in talent and research as the primary paths to put Canada on the map as a global innovation hub.

He believes the government has a crucial role to play in funding early-stage research in fields considered too risky for private sector investment, despite the calls of some in the tech sector who say the best thing a government can do for entrepreneurs is to get out of the way.

Scaling up companies beyond early growth stages has been a major stumbling block in Canadas tech sector. While Canadians start more than 70,000 companies each year, only about five per cent of those businesses go on to become high-growth companies, with 20 per cent growth in three consecutive years, Bains said.

The vast majority are not achieving those levels of growth and are not growing at the scale they ought to so they can be globally competitive and export-oriented, he said.

Canada can do better.

The consultations also involved studying models of government-backed innovation in countries such as Israel, Germany and South Korea. In some of those countries, governments use their purchasing power to help companies scale, he said.

The Liberals have also earmarked $800 million over the next four years to help fund innovation networks and clusters. While there are many incubators and accelerators in communities of all sizes across the country, Bains said the government recognizes that it cannot spread its funding too thin.

Instead, he envisions three to five opportunities where Canada has the potential to compete globally.

We have heard from Canadians that targeted, high-value investments will have greater impact than spreading ourselves too thin, he told the audience in Waterloo.

That means we need to make strategic choices.

Bains said in an interview that means that each hub will have to make a compelling pitch to the government in order to receive funding.

The minister called on the business sector to invest more in research and development as well as talent development. But the private sector has been reluctant to spend since the recession in an era of global economic uncertainty.

He said now is the time to invest in talent and technology specifically because the country is locked in a period of low economic growth.

If we want to grow the economy and create good middle class jobs then everyone needs to step up.

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Walt Disney Co. said the Zika virus isnt hurting its theme-park business in Orlando, Florida, disputing concerns raised by an analyst.

The virus is having no real impact on cancellations or future bookings, a Disney spokeswoman said Thursday in an interview. The comments reiterated those of Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, who said on an Aug. 9 earnings conference call that the virus wasnt hurting business.

Disney was responding to BTIG LLC analyst Rich Greenfield, who said in a research note Thursday that Floridas Zika outbreak may be causing vacationers to reconsider plans to visit resorts including Disney parks in Orlando. Greenfield cited a 5,000-person survey earlier this month by CivicScience, a Pittsburgh-based consumer polling firm, which found that about half of roughly 800 people planning trips to the area said they have cancelled or decided not to visit Walt Disney World due to the threat of the virus.

Disney, based in Burbank, California, is the worlds largest theme-park operator. Greenfield has been recommending investors sell the stock since December 2015. With growth at Disneys ESPN network slowing and the film studio and consumer unit facing tough comparisons, the company is relying on the parks to drive growth in fiscal 2017, he wrote.

Attendance Numbers

While the survey suggests travellers have Zika fears, its not clear that will show up in Disneys attendance numbers, Greenfield wrote.

Given how meaningfully the cancellation/deferral rate appears to be, this is clearly a key question Disney should be pushing management to talk about, he wrote.

Disney shares rose 0.3 per cent to $92.50 in New York trading. The stock is down 12 per cent this year.

Disney has been handing out free mosquito repellent in its Orlando parks and hotels since Aug. 28.

The virus is spreading rapidly through the Americas. The number of infected people in continental U.S. rose to 3,176 through Wednesday, including 70 cases in Orange County, Florida, where Orlando is located, according to figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Health Department.

Miami Cases

While the vast majority of cases have involved travellers to more severely affected countries, at least 71 people got the virus from mosquitoes in the U.S. Health officials have traced most of the locally transmitted cases to two areas in Miami and have warned pregnant women to avoid those neighbourhoods.

Since the first Miami cases were confirmed in late July, officials and local agencies have been working with hotel operators to reassure business executives that the city is a safe destination for travel.

We have heard of a handful of cancellations of small meetings that happen within hotels, especially for the latter part of this year and maybe for next year, Rolando Aedo, executive vice president at the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in an interview.

Seeking to alleviate some of those concerns, the agency is using webcams to allow event co-ordinators to observe the citys business activity in real time. For the most part, its business as usual, Aedo said.

The impact of the Zika outbreak on Starwood hotels in South Florida has been a bit sporadic, with some properties seeing cancellations and others not at all, said Bruce Hicks, spokesman for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which owns brands such as W and Sheraton. Starwood properties in South Florida also have been taking steps to protect guests such as removing water that could be mosquito breeding grounds and providing guests with insect spray along with guidance on protecting themselves, he said.

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Walmart Canada says it will start informing its Manitoba customers today that all 16 stores in the province will not accept Visa as of Oct. 24.

The move comes as the retail giant and the credit card company remain locked in a battle over merchant fees.

Walmart pledged in June that it would stop accepting Visa at its more than 400 Canadian stores, saying it pays more than $100 million in fees annually for customers using credit cards.

But the retailer took only a small step toward fulfilling that June pledge when it dropped the credit card from its three locations in Thunder Bay, Ont., on July 18.

Visa, the countrys largest credit card firm, shot back by encouraging Walmart customers to use their cards at the more than 5,200 stores in Thunder Bay that accept Visa.

Visa said it had offered Walmart one of the lowest rates for any merchant in the country but the retailer wanted more.

If it had given in, Visa said, Walmarts merchant fees would have been lower than those charged to local grocery markets, pharmacies, convenience stores, charities and schools.

When the battle first erupted, the Retail Council of Canada called on the federal government to intervene to mandate lower fees for all merchants.

A spokesman for Finance Minister Bill Morneau said he was waiting to receive a report on the matter before deciding how we can ensure this market stays competitive in the future.

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The Plough and the Stars

Written by Sean OCasey. Directed by Sean Holmes. Until Sept. 18 at the Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E. canadianstage.com or 416-368-3110

In the second scene of Sean OCaseys famous Irish history play The Plough and the Stars, a meeting of the Irish Citizen Army takes place outside a Dublin pub and excerpts from a real speech by Irish nationalist Patrick Pearse can be heard. When war comes to Ireland she must welcome it as she would welcome the Angel of God!

Later in that scene, three ICA soldiers, one carrying the Irish tricolour flag and another the ICAs signature banner of a plow set against the Big Dipper constellation (the Starry Plough), decree that Ireland is greater than a mother and Ireland is greater than a wife.

In stories of war, nations are often referred to as females to be defended and protected, while real people (often women) are left to fend for themselves amid the violence and devastation that conflict creates.

But its upon these characters that OCasey spends much of his attention in The Plough and the Stars, one of the most commonly produced plays in Ireland: the ones who dont necessarily choose to give up their lives for the independence of Ireland but are lost anyway.

The story follows a group of Dublin citizens living in a tenement building, overcrowded and full of illness, on the verge of the 1916 Easter Rising, a doomed nationalist rebellion lead by the ICA that began Irelands revolutionary period and ended with freedom from British rule (except for Northern Ireland).

There are no heroes or villains  even the Irish soldiers suppressing the revolution joke, sing songs and show sympathy to the plays main characters, who are sympathetic but certainly not saints  which is partly why the play caused riots when it premiered in 1926.

OCasey doesnt seem to criticize the idea of independence, just the means of getting it, ending with sadness and loss that overwhelmingly affects the already marginalized.

Sound familiar? Sean Holmes directs this fiercely contemporary production from Irelands Abbey Theatre, beginning a North American tour with this Toronto stop at the Bluma Appel Theatre. His approach, which was part of the theatres celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, is quite radical compared to the costume drama treatment The Stars and the Plough usually gets in its home country.

In a contemporary setting and on a bare-bones set designed by Jon Bausor  featuring a tenement highrise of metal scaffolding, a backdrop of green construction mesh, overhead fluorescent lighting and a few mismatched pieces of ratty furniture  the characters deliver their lines toward the audience almost as much as they speak to each other.

It feels less like the story is unfolding before our eyes and more like it is being self-consciously retold and re-performed (and seemingly on a budget the characters could afford).

Not that Holmes production isnt esthetically impressive, it is; especially with Paul Keogans lighting and Philip Stewarts sound design, which transform the scene transitions into bold, thumping, foreboding interludes.

A subtle added touch is the soft silhouette of the Big Dipper in the background, which mirrors the modern Starry Plough flag design. The use of modern musical equipment for impromptu cabaret-like performances also juxtaposes the freedom of modern expression with the austere Irish independence tunes and marching bands of the play, while underscoring the importance of music in Irish national identity.

Holmes production has a self-aware and cynical tone that emphasizes the one in the original script, beginning with a quiet rendition of The Soldiers Song by Mollser, a tenement child dying of tuberculosis (played by Rachel Gleeson, sister to Game of Thrones Joffrey, Jack Gleeson), who promptly coughs up blood onto her lyric sheet. That likely wasnt the grand finish that a few members of the opening night audience, singing along and even standing at attention, were expecting.

But theres plenty of humour to mine in OCaseys characters, particularly the clownish drunkard Fluther (David Ganly), who has a great scene with a prop beer can; the tenement gossip Mrs. Gogan (Janet Moran); and the antagonistic rivalry between the idealistic socialist Young Covey (Ciaran OBrien) and the elderly Uncle Peter (James Hayes).

Ultimately, the tragedy of Jack Clitheroe (Ian-Lloyd Anderson), an ICA commandant, and his wife Nora (Kate Stanley Brennan), and especially the bitter Bessie Burgess (Hilda Fay), resentful of the republic movement while her son fights on behalf of Britain in the First World War, are what dominate OCaseys story.

Though resisting contemporary comparisons is virtually impossible, without in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of Irish history The Plough and the Stars can leave you with the message that war is bad and violence destroys innocent lives, which is obviously far from revolutionary.

But if it takes another 26 years for a production from Dublins Abbey Theatre to return to Toronto, dont let this limited run pass you by.

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OTTAWAOn a spring night in 2009, Supreme Court of Canada Justice Thomas Cromwell donned a wig, feather boa and a sequined costume, stepped out onstage with as part of a trio called The Supremes.

They danced and sang Love the Law to the tune of Baby Love (by Diana Ross and the other Supremes).

They brought the house down  an audience of former Supreme Court of Canada law clerks who were, by then, lawyers, law profs or judges themselves. His partners in crime: fellow top court judges Rosalie Abella and Louise Charron. For the women it was a reprise of an act theyd staged instead of a speech not long after their 2004 appointments.

For Cromwell, a rookie on the court, it was a moment when his two loves  music and law  came together. And it displayed an essential characteristic: a refusal to take himself too seriously.

At the end of the number we took off our wigs, and everybody saw who it was and they saw that it was Cromwell, and they went nuts, said Abella. What matters is he was game. This is a grown-up jurist and that says a lot about him. Hes thoughtful, and thorough, and thoroughly professional, but he also has a wonderful mischievous sense of humour.

In an interview Wednesday with the Star to mark his Sept. 1 retirement from the countrys top court, the soft-spoken Cromwell laughs easily, cracks one-liners. He calls himself the unfiltered olive oil on the high court that didnt go through a parliamentary committee screening after Stephen Harper appointed him in 2008 to the Supreme Court.

He is surprised that legal observers were surprised by his decision to retire after just eight years on the top bench, at age 64. He could sit until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Many thought he might have been the next chief justice of Canada after Beverley McLachlin retires in 2018. Cromwell says his health is good, there are no family illnesses compelling him to leave now, and its nothing to do with the stress or workload at the court  it was always his plan to retire around age 65. Im leaving before I have to, but Im not leaving before my time.

He steers away from questions on how best to fill the big judicial vacancy he leaves, saying he is still a judge. Freedom of speech will perhaps be mine one day, but today is not that day.

Still, he has pertinent observations as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau moves to replace him.

On whether his replacement should be bilingual Cromwell says the Liberal government has already decided it is a requirement for the job. The only thing I would say is, I think any judge of the court would find it an advantage to be able to deal with cases in the language in which they are presented. Simply because it is simpler (. . .) youre reading original material.

Cromwell crammed to study French, the year before he took a job as executive legal officer to former chief justice Antonio Lamer from 1992-1995. He continued French lessons after he returned to Nova Scotia, while he was on that provinces appeal court and during his whole time on the Supreme Court.

Born, raised and educated in Kingston, he graduated with law degrees from Queens and later Oxford universities. But his first degree was a bachelor of music in organ and choir direction. He earned the highest academic credential possible from the Royal Conservatory. Then, doubtful he had enough talent, he applied to law school. Music was my first love but I decided that it didnt really love me back, he says.

After practicing law in Toronto, he moved to Nova Scotia to teach at Dalhousie University. In 1997, he was named to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal by the Liberal government of Jean Chretien. More than 11 years later, prime minister Stephen Harper selected him to replace Michel Bastarache and fill the seat on the nine-judge bench court that, by custom, is reserved for Atlantic Canada.

Trudeau tossed aside that convention and invited applications from across Canada to the dismay of the legal community in Atlantic Canada.

Asked whether the notion of regional representation is outdated in an era of career mobility such as Cromwell has had, he bristled: I think that anybody in Nova Scotia would consider me a Nova Scotian, as do I.

To my knowledge nobody in the region has ever questioned my credentials as an Atlantic Canadian, he added, before declining comment because obviously that is a matter thats very much in the public debate and potentially could be the subject of litigation.

Cromwells nomination to the Supreme Court of Canada was Harpers first. His time on that bench spanned a tumultuous period in the courts relationship with the Harper government. The court overturned several of the Conservative governments policy and legislative initiatives. Critics say in doing so the judges tossed aside precedent such as when they decriminalized prostitution and assisted suicide, and rewrote the Constitution, such as in reference cases on Senate reform and Supreme Court appointments.

Cromwell says headlines that called the court the unofficial opposition to the government were a media-driven interpretation of what was happening.

We gave lengthy written reasons explaining what we were doing, so I cant reprise all that. But I think that the court is always in a position of having from time to time to say no to Parliament. Thats our constitutional duty that was given to us by democratic officials; it wasnt some sort of power grab on the part of the courts, so I just dont really accept that narrative at all. (. . . ) I believe and I certainly hope others believe it exhibited its impartiality and its independence as it always has and I hope always will.

Legal academics describe Cromwell as one of the top courts best generalists  someone who excelled not in one particular area of law but in many.

University of Ottawa law professor Carissima Mathen says Cromwell had an ability to drill down to the essence of an oral argument and capture whats at its heart. During the hearing in the landmark Carter case that led to the courts striking the criminal ban on doctor-assisted dying, Cromwell got the federal government basically to admit the then-prohibition against assisted suicide prolonged peoples suffering, she recalled. That really encapsulated a lot of what was at issue in this case. He was so soft-spoken, it was always very genteel but there was this steel behind it.

The same clarity appears in his rulings.

Dalhousie University law professor and former dean Kim Brooks persuaded Cromwell and his teaching buddy, Federal Court of Appeal Justice David Stratas, to come back and teach an intensive version of a legal writing course they taught at Queens.

I use his judgments as a model of how to write cleanly and elegantly. He is just a beautiful writer, says Brooks. Pull anything, and the first couple of paragraphs will just be wonderful. Hell do a nice job of setting out the key issue or the central story of that particular case and he does it in an elegant way that kind of draws the reader in, but without drama. You just feel like youre being brought along the path without the embellishment of a storyteller, she adds. You almost dont notice that youre reading.

As for rulings that could have a lasting impact, Mathen and others point to a unanimous 2012 decision Cromwell wrote that granted legal standing to a group of downtown eastside Vancouver prostitutes to challenge the criminal laws against prostitution.

Osgoode Hall law dean Lorne Sossin says it liberalized the idea of standing, and provided a much more public-interest view of who gets to come before the courts and assert rights.

Sossin says Cromwells ruling that found parts of Canadas money-laundering law unconstitutional took a strong position on the importance of preserving the solicitor-client relationship and protected a lawyers duty to keep their clients confidences.

However, Sossin predicts Cromwells real legacy will be seen in his advocacy of and passion for improving access to justice  a project Cromwell pursued throughout his legal and judicial career.

Cromwell developed the first formal code of ethics for judges in Canada. He chaired a CBA task force on court reform and steered a massive nationwide report on improving access to justice.

So far, it has led to the establishment in all provinces, except New Brunswick, of committees with all players at the justice table trying to work through implementations of the recommendations.

Cromwell calls it a work in progress.

Sossin calls it the most ambitious attempt to come to terms with access to justice issues not just in the courts but generally in how people get their disputes resolved. It really is a signature achievement of his time on the court.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, head of the Canadian Judicial Council, has asked Cromwell to continue his work as chair of the massive access to justice project, that he took on at her request years ago. He said hes excited to carry it forward.

As for other plans, he hopes perhaps a law firm will ask him to join as an adviser, though he says hasnt had any discussions and wont until he has left the court. Hes not very interested in leading public inquiries unless there is a compelling public service reason to do so. And hes daring to think he might play music again. The question is whether I have the self discipline, he says, smiling.

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Once in a blue moon, or maybe a bit more often than that, someone who should know better offers the prime minister of the day some strikingly flawed advice.

Such is the case of Brian Mulroneys recommendation that Justin Trudeau personally take charge of the controversial Energy East pipeline file.

In a speech in Calgary this week, the former Tory prime minister offered his successful negotiation of a watershed free-trade agreement with the United States in the late 1980s as the template Trudeau should borrow to advance TransCanadas pipeline plan.

What we now need for an exceptional, cohesive effort to make the most of our resource base is a similarly clear commitment from the top, led by the prime minister, with a unique, high-quality organizational structure drawing expertise from across Canada, and a genuine partnership that will spearhead expansion of our resources, expedite infrastructure construction and bolster a broader diversification of our resources, the former Tory prime minister told his Alberta audience.

It should be said at the outset that this is advice offered in good faith. At a time when most were still sneering at the notion that Trudeau could become prime minister, Mulroney was talking up his potential.

As opposed to other prominent Energy East backers  such as former Quebec premier Jean Charest who was at one point on contract as a consultant to TransCanada  Mulroney has no financial connection to the project. (He does toil in a law firm that, like its competition, is always on the lookout for more energy industry clients.)

Mulroney is not the first to call on Trudeau to jump in front of the pipeline parade and, given the travails of the National Energy Board in dealing with Energy East, he will not be the last.

On Friday the three-member NEB panel tasked with vetting the plan to link the oilsands to the Atlantic coast belatedly recused itself amidst enduring questions as to its independence.

In hindsight, that should have happened as soon as news surfaced earlier this summer of private meetings between panel members and parties such as Charest, whose interests were vested in the project.

The next panel will be made up of members hand-picked by the Trudeau government rather than legacy Conservative appointees. That should go some way to restore credibility to the process. Further down the road, it would make a pro-Energy East NEB recommendation harder for Trudeau to dismiss.

But for pipeline proponents, the latest developments also offer an opportunity to once again try to prod Trudeau himself into action. Mulroney, for one, should know better than to flog that particular horse.

The current prime minister does have an enviable amount of political capital. But then, so did former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard when he took on the role of chief lobbyist for the shale gas industry in Quebec a few years ago. Not only did Bouchard fail to advance the argument. He also left a lot of his credibility on the battlefield.

And then, the dynamics of a top-down prime ministerial effort to rally support for a pipeline in the name of nation-building would be more akin to the ill-fated constitutional rounds that took place on Mulroneys watch than to the trade negotiations that led to the FTA and NAFTA.

If there is one former prime minister who should know the limits of the persuasive powers of a top-down policy consensus, it should be Mulroney. He and his government succeeded twice in securing unanimous provincial support for two successive constitutional accords.

Within a year of the negotiation of the Meech Lake accord in 1987, premiers of a different constitutional persuasion had replaced Mulroneys allies in New Brunswick and Manitoba. And no amount of establishment support from virtually every quarter of Canadian society could salvage the subsequent Charlottetown accord from the fury of voters.

Back when Mulroney and the premiers set out to proactively redress Quebec constitutional grievances, the sovereignty movement was at low ebb. These days it is similarly at a loss for an issue with enough popular traction to restore its momentum.

Anyone who is close to the Quebec scene can testify that a show of federal force on Energy East could be the answer to the sovereigntist prayers for optimal conditions for a return to power of a majority Parti Quebecois government and  perhaps in time  another shot at referendum.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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OTTAWAKevin Garratt, the Canadian man suspected of espionage and detained by China since 2014, has returned to Canada, the Star has confirmed.

His father, Ross Garratt, said he learned Wednesday night from another of his sons that Kevin would be coming home, and said he is back in Canada now.

Im feeling very good about it, said the elder Garratt, who added he knew very little about his sons journey, other than he was expected to fly Wednesday night via Tokyo, and believed he was now in Vancouver.

A family friend said Garratt was tired and resting with family in Canada.

The Garratts Beijing-based lawyer, James Zimmerman, and Sean Robertson, an official with the Canadian embassy in Beijing, escorted Garratt from China to Canada, Zimmerman told the Star.

The family appreciates the strong, persistent efforts of the Canadian government to secure Kevins release, said Zimmerman.

A statement issued by the family said a Chinese court had reached a verdict and that Garratt was deported. But it is not yet clear what exactly the Chinese court concluded.

Garratts release is a boost for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently returned from an official trip to China where he said he raised Garratts case with Chinese leaders in Beijing.

The Liberal government announced this week Premier Li Keqiang would visit Canada later this month.

In a statement issued after Garratts return to Canada, Trudeau said: We are delighted that Kevin Garratt has returned safely to Canada and is with his family once more.

We remain deeply impressed by the grace and resilience of the Garratt family, especially Kevin and (his wife) Julia.

Garratt and Julia, of Vancouver, had lived in China since 1984. They ran a popular coffee shop on the border of China and North Korea.

Arrested in August 2014, they were accused by Chinas state security bureau in the border city of Dandong of stealing state secrets and spying. Julia Garratt was later released in February 2015. Kevin Garratt was formally charged this past January.

Their arrest shocked the family, coming not long after Canada had accused China of hacking into Canadian government computers, an allegation China adamantly denied.

The family has long denied all allegations that Garratt was spying. Their son Simeon said when his parents werent serving customers, they helped locals practice English and raised money for humanitarian aid sent to North Korea through a charity they helped set up.

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OTTAWABorder officials warn a cyberattack on their facial recognition or fingerprints databases could result in barring innocent travellers from Canada  or letting the wrong people in.

In documents prepared for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale in November, Canada Border Services Agency officials said they need to keep pace with emerging security vulnerabilities to systems governing who can enter the country.

The agencys growing use of biometric data  such as fingerprints, facial recognition, and retinal scans  was cited as an example.

A malicious cyberattack, for example, could infiltrate the back-end of a biometric identification system and produce false acceptances and/or rejections, reads the document, obtained by the Star under access to information law.

Such attacks could disrupt border traffic flows and compromise the integrity of border controls. CBSA must protect Canadians from increasingly complex safety and security threats and continue to advance security monitoring in all technologies.

Its an extreme example that would require sophisticated hackers, but CBSA noted that cruder methods could still cause chaos. A denial of service attack  where a network is overwhelmed with traffic  could lead to unavailability of essential services.

Picture a busy border crossing when the CBSAs network collapses, for instance.

A spokesperson for CBSA said that the agency employs both physical and technical security to protect its data centres, networks, and applications.

Aside from the security risk, the agency also noted in the documents that Canadians are putting greater pressure on governments and companies to protect their privacy and prevent unauthorized uses of personal information.

Since 2013, Canadian immigration officials have been collecting biometric information from anyone applying for a temporary residence visa. Every year, approximately 355,000 people from 30 countries provide Canadian officials with fingerprint records and a digital photograph, according to the documents.

But that number could grow.

Goodales office is being asked to provide guidance on the expansion of the initiative, which would extend the mandatory biometric requirement to all temporary visa applicants and permanent resident applicants  excluding U.S. citizens.

The program does not extend to Canadian citizens, and Goodales office said it would be premature to speculate whether the federal government will one day explore that option. Citizenship and Immigration Canada, however, said there are no current plans to extend mandatory biometric screening to Canadian citizens.

(But) it is important to underline that the government is committed to upholding every Canadian citizens constitutional right to enter, remain and leave Canada, said Scott Bardsley, a spokesperson for the minister, in an email to the Star.

The protection of privacy and the effectiveness of these tools are central objectives ... It is essential that these information systems be designed for robust operability and resilience to cyber-attacks before they are deployed at the border.

Bardsley noted that CBSA is working with the federal privacy watchdog, who has expressed concerns about the increasing collection of biometric data, on the expansion project.

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Major changes are in the works for the iconic Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in the national capital, and the public isnt thrilled.

The elegant, French-style chateau, within steps of Parliament Hill, is in the early stages of a makeover with plans to add as many as 200 long-term stay suites, and also plans to add an exterior courtyard and 427 underground parking spaces.

Commissioned in the early 1900s by the Grand Trunk Railway, the building has long been designated a national historic site and is now owned by Larco Investments Ltd., while the hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

What do you think?

Public consultations will take place at a later date, but since the owners released images depicting the contemporary upgrades  what they call a modern interpretation of the heritage character of the Chateau with a vocabulary of Indiana Limestone, glass and copper  a backlash has already exploded in social media.

The boxy design has drawn comparisons to the Lord of the Rings Mordor  a computer game known for its cubed esthetic called Minecraft  and with prisons.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson tweeted that the expansion falls under the category back to the drawing board!

In an emailed statement to the Star he wrote that he would like to see a more cohesive design between the old and new architecture and he hopes that the owner of the Chateau Laurier will conduct public consultations with both residents and city councillors, before submitting his proposal to the city.

Even some who initially raved about the project, seem to have turned against it with the public backlash.

In a media release, Ottawa city councillor Mathieu Fleury called it an exciting project that introduces captivating architectural design to this important site for our capital city, while highlighting its important heritage value and location near the Parliament Buildings, Majors Hill Park, as well as the ByWard Market.

But he later backtracked. On Twitter he clarified that he was happy with parking garage demo but from initial community feedback, design needs a rethink.

Toon Dreessen, president of the Ontario Association of Architects, was more sympathetic to the situation the designers found themselves in, saying that the Chateau Laurier presents a challenging place to work. This is because it is both surrounded by a number of iconic architectural sites and is also cherished and loved by so many people.

But he does believe the renovations provide a great opportunity to correct some things. Specifically, the current five-storey parking garage.

Theres no question that demolishing the parking garage is a great idea, especially on this site, and that it has enormous potential to do tremendous good, Dreessen said. The challenge, of course, is that in altering conceptual views of the building and the urban fabric, the building has to recognize how its going to impact future generations and collective cultural memory.

Though the public backlash has been swift and decisive, the director of development at Larco Investments Ltd., Art Phillips, is standing by its design.

We recognize that any time we make change its a very sensitive issue, and especially when you deal with a structure like the chateau. Everybody views it as their building. If wed gone through this process and had no reaction from the community Id be more concerned because thats telling me they have no interest in the Chateau Laurier. Whereas now when I look at social media I know people have a passion.

The addition was designed by Toronto-based Architects Alliance, which Phillips said was selected from firms across the country.

They (Architects Alliance) acknowledged the importance of the chateau and the significance that it played within the Parliament precinct, he said, adding, The approach has been very sympathetic.

While Don Herweyer, manager of urban development review for the City of Ottawa, wrote in an email to the Star that the City of Ottawa does not have specific rules related to the character of an addition to the Chateau Laurier, he did add that the city uses Parks Canadas Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada to evaluate alterations to designated heritage buildings.

He specifically referenced Standard 11 of that document, which states: Conserve the heritage value and character defining elements when creating any new additions to a historic place or any related new construction. Make the new work physically and visually compatible with, subordinate to and distinguishable from the historic place.

Dreessen said that the application of this standard can be seen in the additions to the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Before shovels hit the ground in the fall of 2017 the chateau design will have to gain approval from the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa.

If everything goes to plan the new suites are expected to be ready in 2020.

There was no immediate word on cost of the project.

With files from Canadian Press

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Liver specialists and drug safety experts are disappointed with Health Canada for not going further to address safety concerns around acetaminophen, the ubiquitous painkiller found in Tylenol and hundreds of other products.

On Thursday, Health Canada announced new labelling rules for acetaminophen, stemming from a safety review published last year.

The changes include clearer instructions that emphasize the importance of using the lowest effective dose and heeding the maximum daily dose  defined by Health Canada as 4 grams per day, or eight tablets of extra-strength acetaminophen.

Packages will now have to include the words contains acetaminophen in bold, red text, as well as warnings not to take acetaminophen products for more than five days to treat pain, or three days for fever.

They will further warn Canadians not to mix acetaminophen with alcohol if they consume three or more drinks per day. Childrens liquid products will also now be required to include calibrated dosing devices.

The changes are effective immediately for any new acetaminophen products that come onto market. Drug companies that already have acetaminophen products on store shelves have 18 months to update their labels.

Health Canadas announcement comes two-and-a-half years after the Star started investigating acetaminophens safety profile in Canada.

Acetaminophen is extremely safe when taken as directed, and more than four billion doses are sold to Canadians every year.

But larger amounts  especially when combined with alcohol  can be dangerous and acetaminophen is currently Canadas leading cause of serious liver injuries.

Drug safety experts have long called for tighter rules around acetaminophen  but Thursdays changes, some say, dont go far enough.

Its underwhelming, said Dr. David Juurlink, a drug safety researcher with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Its difficult to argue that any of the measures that they are implementing are bad; theyre all good ideas. But theyre not going to accomplish very much.

Acetaminophen is one of Canadas oldest and most popular painkillers, found in 445 products currently sold to Canadians  everything from Tylenol (the brand that popularized the drug) to NyQuil, NeoCitran and prescription drugs like Percocet. The drug can be easily purchased at any corner store or gas station, sometimes in 100 or 200-pill quantities.

But drug safety experts say the painkiller, if introduced today, probably wouldnt be approved as an over-the-counter drug by modern-day regulators.

This is because acetaminophen has an alarmingly narrow therapeutic window  meaning the dose that hurts is dangerously close to the daily dose recommended on pill bottles.

While doctors have an effective antidote for treating overdoses, patients who dont realize theyve overdosed  or wait too long before seeking help  can suffer serious or fatal liver damage.

In September 2015, the Star obtained an internal report from drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, which found that between 2000 and 2011, an average of 68 Canadians died every year because of acetaminophen.

The Star also obtained internal Health Canada reports, in which experts urged the regulator to lower the drugs daily recommended dose from four grams to 2.6 grams.

Other recommendations included restricting bottle sizes, removing acetaminophen from opioid combination products, and requiring a prescription for high dose products like Extra Strength Tylenol.

None of these measures were a part of Health Canadas announcement on Thursday.

According to senior medical advisor, Supriya Sharma, this is partly because new research has since emerged, casting doubt over the effectiveness of reducing acetaminophen package sizes to prevent suicide attempts.

Three technical discussions were also held following the 2015 acetaminophen safety review, which included mostly industry groups and drug manufacturers, as well as patient groups.

Health Canada heard very strongly from patient groups like the Arthritis Society, which opposed limiting the daily maximum dose or restricting access to extra-strength formulations of acetaminophen, Sharma said.

Industry groups were also opposed to such changes.

This was the most extensive consultation on the safety of an over-the-counter drug Ive seen in 30 years, said Gerry Harrington, vice president of policy with Consumer Health Products Canada, which represents over-the-counter drug makers. And the outcome, I think, reflects exactly the feedback (Health Canada) got. I think its the right outcome for consumers.

But Dr. Constantine Karvellas disagrees. At the University of Alberta Hospital, the critical care physician is tracking acute liver failure cases and roughly 75 per cent are caused by acetaminophen.

He considers acetaminophen-related liver injuries a series public health problem and questions what kind of impact the labeling changes will have.

Im a little bit disappointed, Karvellas said. I would have liked to have seen a lowering of the maximum daily dose, as well as more inquiry into the possibility of limited packaging or limited sales.

For Dr. Joel Lexchin, a drug safety researcher and professor emeritus with York University, he believes these latest changes are a good start.

But the drug safety researcher is disappointed not to see stricter rules around how acetaminophen is advertised. He would also like to see reductions in packet sizes and daily dosages.

Lexchin voiced these opinions during Health Canadas technical discussions, which he participated in last year. But hes not overly surprised to see that Health Canada chose not to adopt the more drastic proposals.

Im not discounting what theyve done but I think they could have done a lot more, he said. Overall, when it comes to drug safety, Health Canada has a culture of slow incremental change. Theyve never taken any serious dramatic steps in improving drug safety.

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TRACADIE-SHEILA, N.B.Parents searching for their missing son watched in shock as he fled the house of an elderly neighbour who had allegedly kidnapped him, New Brunswick police said.

Tracadie RCMP Sgt. Marc Beaupre said the boy, who is under 10, was lured from his backyard by a man who lives a few houses away.

The kid was able to break free from the suspect and was recovered by his parents, he said.

His parents were looking for him. He was not responding to any calls they were making . . . they were able to see him running away from the residence of the suspect.

A 71-year-old man appeared in Tracadie provincial court this week on charges of kidnapping, assault and unlawful confinement. Beaupre said the suspect was known to police, although he wouldnt say how.

Beaupre said the boy had been told to stay on the familys property in an urban area of Sheila, N.B., but was drawn away around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

We know that the kid was riding his bicycle, was yelled at by the individual . . . and after that the kid was lured into the residence, said Beaupre. For some reason, something happened within the residence and the kid was able to break free.

The parents noticed within minutes that the boy, who was not known for wandering off, had gone missing, Beaupre said.

The kid broke free prior to any other crimes being committed . . . . We believe that the kid was not in any sort of way abused by the individual, he said. We dont know exactly what the intentions were of the individual, hes not co-operating too much with the police.

Beaupre said the family knows the man charged in the case. Police are not releasing the name of the man, to protect the boys identity.

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It's big news that Doug Ford and his late brother Rob have a book - Ford Nation: Two Brothers, One VisionThe True Story of the Peoples Mayor -- hitting the shelves in November.

HarperCollins, a major publisher, is promoting it as the real story behind the Fords' tumultuous years at Toronto city hall.

Following his death on March 22, 2016, it became apparent just how many lives Rob Ford had touched," said Jim Gifford, HarperCollins editorial director of non-fiction, in a news release. "The outpouring of support, when people lined up for hours at city hall to pay their respects to a man they admired, was touching and illuminating. Unfortunately Rob became gravely ill while we were working on the book, and he insisted we finish what we started, drawing on a number of sources. We are looking forward to bringing this remarkable story to the legions of Ford supporters.

Doug Ford warned at a news conference that the Gifford-helmed account will scorch the Fords' critics. Theres no one thats going to be untouched, he told reporters Tuesday, singling out targets including the lying Toronto Star."

Gifford might be a Ford fan now but, according to his Twitter feed, he was, not so long ago, a Ford critic. A recent scrollback revealed almost a dozen posts referencing one or both Fords in unflattering, sometimes caustic terms, including a demand that Rob Ford quit as mayor.



"Why are the idiot Ford brothers trending again," he tweeted on June 25, 2014. "Just shut up already."

That day a poll showed Rob Ford gaining on Olivia Chow in his comeback bid for the mayoral campaign. Months later, cancer forced him to bow out and his brother took his place, eventually finishing second to John Tory.

On May 30, 2013, near the start of the crack scandal, Rob Ford tweeted: "The important work of my office carries on. Calls are being returned and emails are being responded to. #RespectForTaxpayers #TOpoli"

Gifford tweeted back to him: "@TOMayorFord: I am a taxpayer. Please resign."

In November 2012 as Rob Ford faced possible removal of office over an alleged conflict of interest, Gifford tweeted: "Anyone else hoping Rob Ford gets booted out of office tomorrow? Would be happy if he couldn't be at the Argos victory parade."

His postings about the Fords started before Rob was elected mayor. On Sept. 11, 2010, six weeks before Ford's big win, Gifford tweeted: "This would be the best time to go to Rob Ford's house. With a bullhorn." Ford had just released his transportation platform, vowing to cancel the Transit City light-rail plan in favour of subways and to tear out streetcar lines.

Another tweet appeared to call Rob Ford "useless" and his mayoralty an "embarrassment."

Gifford replied to the Star's request for comment: "The comments were made years before I met the Fords. They have a complex and compelling story to tell."

A short time after the Star reached out many of the Ford-related tweets, including the "idiot Ford brothers" one, began disappearing.

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A truck driver is facing very serious charges after four people were killed in a fiery 12-vehicle crash on Hwy. 400, back in June, Ontarios Provincial Police say.

According to Sgt. Kerry Schmidt of the OPP, the transport truck driver surrendered to police.

He described the crash as absolutely preventable.

The crash claimed the lives of three generations of women from the same family: 5-year-old Isabela Kuci; her mother, Valbona Vokshi, 35, and grandmother Xhemile. A friend told the Star that the three were headed back home after spending the day at Canadas Wonderland.

Maria Lipska, a 27-year-old Seneca College student, was just days away from graduation when she died in the fiery collision.

Around 9:50 p.m., emergency crews arrived to a post-collision fire on the highway near the Finch Ave. exit that consumed the trailer of one transport truck, and two other vehicles. Schmidt told media at the scene that the vehicles were crumbled and burnt beyond recognition.

I dont think its anything Ive seen before, said Schmidt, who described the scene as unbelievable.

Sarbjit Singh Matharu, 35, from Winnipeg, has been charged with four counts of criminal negligence causing death, and one count of negligence causing bodily harm.

Police say that the investigation is still ongoing.

With files from Geoffrey Vendeville and Fakiha Baig.

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Krista Wylie knew it had to be awfully hot at her childrens school when they kept coming home for lunch. It wasnt the midday cuisine that lured them from eating at school, but the air conditioning in their Toronto home.

Maddie, 13, and Bennett, 9, both attend Runnymede Junior and Senior Public School. They are among thousands of sweaty, weary students who roasted in classrooms across the city during an unusually long back-to-school heat wave that finally broke Wednesday.

Both children refilled their water bottles constantly, had trouble concentrating and complained of exhaustion, says their mother.

Did my kids come home and throw up? No, says Wylie, co-founder of a campaign called Fix Our Schools. But did I hear lots of stories of kids vomiting? Yes I did.

Things got so bad at one Toronto school that a teacher went out and spent $500 of her own money on an air conditioning unit for her classroom, which she said hit temperatures of more than 30C and left kids feeling faint.

We were all dripping, lethargic, Jill Donald, a French teacher at Wilkinson Junior Public School, told CBC News this week.

I think if parents knew that their kids were that hot, they wouldnt want them to come to school, she said.

In the end, it wasnt effective at cooling the room, said Ryan Bird, spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board.

Its my understanding she returned (the air conditioner) when it didnt do what she anticipated, he said.

TDSB staff are not permitted to purchase units for classrooms or offices because of safety and electrical concerns, he added.

Wylie says Fix Our Schools heard from parents around the city complaining about sweltering conditions.

But she called it a tough dilemma because there are many more pressing concerns among schools across the province in chronic disrepair. And fixing structural problems has to come first.

We agree with school boards on how theyre prioritizing the money theyve been given, Wylie added. But she said its important to ensure all new buildings and additions provide a working environment thats conducive to learning and teaching.

Problems that surfaced in the heat wave are just another sign of a system overlooked for too long, leaving Ontario schools with a repair backlog totalling $15 billion, says Wylie.

Two years ago, she said, her son Bennetts classroom was so cold at one point that his teacher turned it into a teachable moment and had kids (clad in winter coats) learn to use thermometers. The reading: 12C.

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario complained last week that heat and humidity were taking their toll on teachers and kids, and urged the province to make school infrastructure a priority.

But Education Minister Mitzie Hunter said its up to school boards to address it. The province gave schools $1.1 billion for fixes and upgrades this summer, she said.

At the Toronto Catholic board, which has a $1-billion repair backlog, spokesperson John Yan said fixing a roof or a boiler comes well ahead of something like air conditioning because you have to choose what truly affects the safety of the kids.

Both Toronto public and Catholic boards have many old schools that dont have the electrical systems or architecture to accommodate window units.

Investing in air conditioners for a few weeks of hot weather in June and September is not in the cards at the TDSB either, which faces $3.4 billion in repairs, said Bird.

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When investigative reports documenting problems at the State Veterans Home at King first appeared, my primary emotion was one of frustration that it took so long for the stories of these veterans and their families to be heard. I had been trying for many months to get the administration or the legislature to investigate what I was hearing about conditions at King, but it was not until the investigative stories in the Capital Times were about to appear that either of them took any action.

The newspaper articles documented many of the same kinds of issues I have been hearing from veterans, family members, and past and present employees there, including unsanitary conditions, antiquated beds and equipment and chronic understaffing that resulted in a decline in patient care. The story told of residents who cant get to the toilet on their own having long waits for assistance, which can leave them having to sit in their own waste. Photos showed basins of yellow water with unsafe levels of lead contamination, and at one point a water heater was contaminated with the bacteria that causes Legionnaires Disease. And more than a dozen residents and staff interviewed for the story described some King residents being snowed, heavily drugged with painkillers and left in a zombie-like state. Several family members charged that the poor treatment their loved ones received at King contributed to their deaths.

Even more concerning was that many of the people interviewed were afraid to come forward publicly for fear of retribution. This is certainly consistent with the constituents who have contacted my office, nearly all of whom did not want to be identified because they were afraid of the consequences. That veterans, family members and employees at King would be forced to tolerate these conditions in a climate of fear is appalling and unacceptable.

Its not that King suffers from a lack of resources. In fact, as the story documents, millions in federal dollars flowing to the veterans homes are being diverted from them to pay for salaries and administrative costs and to keep the state veterans trust fund solvent. It certainly appears that King is being filled nearly to capacity with patients who have increasingly demanding needs for care, in order to generate the most federal money possible.

As the stories appeared, Republican leaders in the legislature called for a state audit of King, and Gov. Scott Walker announced that the Department of Health Services would investigate. While its high time for action to address the situation at King, the fact is that they have known there were problems there for many months, and they failed to act until now.

In March 2015, when I shared what I was hearing about King with the Division of Quality Assurance at the Department of Health Services, their response was that We have determined that no member suffered a negative outcome and so no further action can be taken by us at this time. When I requested the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to investigate last October, I was forwarded a letter of denial from the Department of Veterans Affairs that called the allegations untrue and harmful. And I have discussed the situation at King directly with Gov. Walker on two separate occasions. No action was taken until the Capital Times story was about to appear.

Im glad that Gov. Walker and the chairs of the Joint Audit Committee have finally joined me in calling for an audit at King. But its shameful that they ignored the complaints of our veterans when I alerted them 18 months ago and failed to take action until bad publicity forced them to act. Thats why I have called for the federal Veterans Administration to investigate King, so that independent investigators can get to the bottom of the problems there.

The veterans who sacrificed so much for us deserve the best possible care, and its time to make sure they get it.

Democrat Julie Lassa, Stevens Point, represents the 24th state Senate District.
The intended beneficiaries of a project unveiled Wednesday arent even taxpayers. Politicians including Mayor John Tory presented Cell 2, the second, 9.3-hectare phase of a coastal wetland created in Tommy Thompson Park. It provides a marshy home for endangered species like the Blandings turtle, above, rare birds, and more. Senior restoration manager Ralph Toninger said each log and rock was placed by hand: Its been 10 years in the making.

Going to the birds

On Mayor John Torys watch, Toronto is going to the birds  and the frogs, turtles, butterflies, and rabbits.

On Wednesday a flock of wild politicians unveiled Cell 2, the second phase of a constructed coastal wetland project on the Leslie Street Spit.

Wetland home

The area spans 9.3 hectares on the spit, providing marshy home for rare birds, endangered turtles, fish, rabbits, insects and other animals in the shadow of the CN Tower.

Built by hand

As senior restoration manager Ralph Toninger explained, the whole area was carefully designed and purpose-built for the animals. Every log and rock in the wetlands ponds was placed by hand.

A project like this doesnt arise easily, Toninger said. Its been 10 years in the making.

Reused rubble

The Leslie Street Spit is itself a man-made landscape. When major projects like Torontos subway tunnels were dug, the city needed somewhere to dump the dirt so it started building the spit. The earth beneath Mayor Torys feet during Wednesdays unveiling came from what is now the basement of Scotia Plaza.

Artwork in landscaping

I didnt foresee myself doing wetland work under the shadow of the CN Tower, Toninger said. Its the worlds only globally-recognized human-built coastal wetland.

He said design crews worked with local fishermen to help create ponds that would suit the kind of fishing theyd want to see on the spit.

Thats the real artwork, he said.

Partnering for the project

Toninger said the wetland project is a partnership between the all levels of government, PortsToronto and Coca-Cola Canada.

The wetland cells were built with muddy sediment dredged up from the mouth of the Don River, said PortsToronto CEO Geoffrey Wilson, creating an ideal habitat for a wide variety of migratory and local birds.

Secret urban wilderness

When we look at why Toronto is repeatedly named one of the most livable cities in the world, its because of places like this, Tory said.

I would venture to say that most people who live in Toronto dont even know this exists, he said.

Building back to history

The Leslie Street Spit area was once the Ashbridges Bay marsh, one of the largest coastal wetlands on the great lakes. It was an important home for many species, and a vital stopping point on many avian migration routes, Toninger said.

Its important that they know there are people with the farsightedness  to make sure places like this are preserved, Tory said.

They can come down here and bird watch or just chill out. Its all part of living in a big city  there must be places for people to do that, he said.

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The Ontario judge leading a far-reaching review of provincial police oversight stressed Wednesday that his examination is independent, leaving him free to take a critical lens to a system critics say in dire need of overhaul.

The public remains concerned that the current police oversight system needs strengthening. This is why we are here tonight, said Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch at the first of 18 public consultations planned across the province within the next three months.

Against the backdrop of high-profile cases of police-involved fatalities in Canada and across North America, calls for changes to police oversight in Ontario have reached a fever pitch, while public trust in police has sunk.

Facing mounting calls for increased accountability and transparency from provinces police watchdogs, the Ontario government earlier this year tapped Tulloch, the first black judge named to Ontarios highest court, to review the provinces three oversight organizations.

Among them is an institution that has come under fire in recent months: the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the independent police agency that probes serious injuries or deaths involving police.

High-profile police-involved deaths of black, mentally ill men, including the fatal shooting of Andrew Loku in July 2015, have lead to heated protests calling for changes to the agency.

In March, when the SIU cleared the unnamed officer of criminal wrongdoing in the case, demonstrators from Black Lives Matter protested outside Toronto police headquarters for two weeks. Just last month, the group demonstrated outside the SIUs Mississauga headquarters, demanding changes to the broken watchdog.

At Wednesday nights public meeting, Etobicoke resident Sudeep Verma said he is concerned the SIU may not be truly independent, expressing a common criticism that too many of the watchdogs investigators are retired police officers.

Its like having a second opinion when you go to the doctor, Verma said. You want a second opinion not from the same clinic, but from one thats an arms length away.

In the five months since Tulloch was appointed, he has met with stakeholders including legal groups, police and families of people killed by police.

Karyn Greenwood-Graham, whose son Trevor was shot dead by Waterloo Regional Police in 2007, met with Tulloch alongside other family members of people killed by police.

He listened, made notes and asked pertinent questions, Greenwood-Graham said. I am cautiously optimistic.

Among the biggest criticisms of the SIU is that its secretive about its decision-making; Tulloch has been instructed by the government to prioritize the issue of SIU transparency.

Following the completion of every investigation, the SIU director writes a report summarizing the case and explaining why criminal charges were or were not laid. However, the report can only be seen by Ontarios attorney general, and is considered a confidential document  despite the fact that the law governing the SIU does not state the reports are secret.

Typically, the public is informed of an SIU decision via a brief news release  a practice that means the SIU lags behind some other provincial oversight bodies that release much greater amounts of information about their investigations.

Another criticism of the SIU is that it does not name the officers involved in its investigations unless criminal charges are laid. Victims of fatal police encounters are similarly not named unless next of kin provides consent.

Critics say this naming policy creates a dangerous scenario where an unknown citizen can be killed without public knowledge, or where an anonymous police officer can kill a civilian without their identity ever being known.

Former Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin wrote two comprehensive reports examining problems within the SIU, ranging from allegations of pro-police bias to inherent problems within its legal framework to serious issues with transparency.

He told the Star earlier this year that he believes little action was ever taken by the province on his reports because of strong police opposition.

Tullochs review will also examine two other provincial police oversight agencies: the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, which handles public complaints, and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, which hears police discipline appeals and complaints about police services boards.

The final report containing all recommendations must be delivered to the attorney general by March 31, 2017.

Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca

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The authors of a new report say they know where to find the money Toronto needs to expand its transit system. Its in the citys parking lots.

The report, to be released Thursday by the Toronto Region Board of Trade, argues that reallocating revenue from the Toronto Parking Authority, as well as accelerating public-land sales and raising the citys self-imposed debt ceiling, could raise almost $1 billion for transit projects.

The multi-pronged plan would require the TPA, which is a city agency, to stop using public funds to build new lots. The agency retains a quarter of its net income each year to pay for new parking facilities, according to the report, and has about $120 million stashed away for expansion. The reports authors estimated that if the money were redirected to transit, it could provide the city with $30.5 million a year.

Brian Kelcey, a consultant who co-wrote the report, said its not in the public interest for the city to use municipal funds to create more parking. With roughly 41,000 parking spaces, the TPA is the largest municipal parking provider in North America. Meanwhile, the city has an estimated $11 billion in unfunded public transit projects.

From a standpoint of using public resources, building more public transit should obviously be the priority for this money, over building public parking, Kelcey said.

Under the boards proposal, the TPA could still expand, but would have to find a private partner to fund it.

Lorne Persiko, president of the TPA, said Wednesday that he couldnt comment on the report because he hadnt seen it. But he argued that public parking is critical for economic development and expanding it is necessary to meet the needs of new local businesses.

Public transit is great for many purposes, but a lot of people still do use their car to shop and do business. Thats the need we fulfill, he said.

The report also proposes accelerating municipal land sales by bundling together development rights above TTC stations with the sale of nearby TPA parking lots.

The report estimated that selling rights above six to eight TTC stations and nearby lots could generate one-time revenue of $199 million, plus $10 million in annual tax revenue.

Perhaps most controversially, the report also recommends raising the amount of debt the city is allowed to take on.

The current limit set by council states that the city can use no more than 15 per cent of its property tax revenue to service debt each year. The board report recommends increasing the limit by applying the 15 per cent rule to all city revenue sources, something that Kelcey said is standard in other cities.

He said doing so would increase the amount of debt Toronto could take on by 30 to 50 per cent, which he argued would be essential to financing multiple expensive transit projects.

This fall, city council is set to debate new revenue tools to raise funds for transit and other priorities. Mayor John Tory has so far said he would support a new tax on hotel rooms.

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The union representing Childrens Aid Society workers in Peel Region says its prepared to strike this weekend after rejecting a final offer it received late Wednesday night.

The deadline for a lockout or strike is shortly after midnight on Saturday. But Local 4914 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 435 childrens aid workers in the cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the town of Caledon, said it wont strike before 12:01 a.m. on Sunday.

No talks are currently scheduled. CUPE 4914 president Sonia Yung said the unions main points of contention are the working conditions and safety of its members.

Workload has always been an issue, Yung said. It comes down to one word, which is respect. Respect of workers as individuals, the energy and the effort that they put into what they do.

The two sides met Wednesday for about 12 hours with the help of a provincially appointed mediator. After what Yung described as the most productive of at least 10 meetings, she said she was surprised when the Childrens Aid Society tabled what it called a final offer around 10 p.m.

She said the unions bargaining team reviewed the offer and decided unanimously to reject it. Their previous contract expired March 31.

We are disappointed that our final offer was not accepted and we were not able to reach an agreement, Rav Bains, CEO of the Peel Childrens Aid Society, said in a statement. We feel we have put forward a fair offer which includes salary increases in each of the three years as well as improvements to other benefits and working conditions. While we would like to be able to give our employees more, our funding remains constant at a 2 per cent increase each year and this severely constrains our financial flexibility.

Yung said the union wants modest improvements to wages and benefits, but that the two sides werent far off from agreement on financial issues.

Most of the issues arent things that would cost a great deal of money. They really are about the working environment, she said.

In 2014, the Ontario Association of Childrens Aid Societies released a series of recommendations to reduce physical and emotional harms caused by unsafe circumstances for childrens aid workers across the province.

It highlighted a survey in which 27 per cent of childrens aid workers reported they had experienced assault, while 45 per cent reported a threat to themselves or their families. More than two-thirds reported verbal or written abuse against themselves or their families and nearly half said theyd experienced secondary trauma because of violence affecting a co-worker or child.

The Peel Childrens Aid Society said a potential strike would impact its level of service due to a reduced workforce. It added, however, that its contingency plan would still entail qualified and experienced staff responding to child protection concerns, but that the most urgent situations would be prioritized.

For example we will be conducting all investigations where a child might be at immediate risk, attending court and supporting open cases, Bains stated.

The Peel Childrens Aid Society has had an average of 405 children and youth in care since last year.

We dont want to disrupt the service and the supports that we provide on a daily basis to the children and families of Peel Region, Yung said. People have put a lot of effort and energy into establishing those relationships with their families. They have gained their trust. The last thing we would want is for that to be eroded.

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More than half of the 6 million refugee children under the mandate of the United Nations have no access to school just as the refugee school-age population is exploding by 600,000 a year, a new report says.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report, only 50 per cent of refugee children around the world have access to primary school education, compared with a global average of more than 90 per cent.

As these unschooled children grow older, the gap becomes even more startling: only 22 per cent of refugee teens go to high school compared to 84 per cent globally and just 1 per cent attend university, compared to 34 per cent around the world.

By educating tomorrows leaders, be they engineers, poets, doctors, scientists, philosophers or computer programmers, we are giving refugees the intellectual tools to shape the future, says the 48-page report to be released in Geneva Thursday.

If we neglect this task, we will be failing to nurture peace and prosperity. Education provides the keys to a future in which refugees can find solutions for themselves and their communities.

The report comes in advance of world leaders gathering next week at the UN General Assemblys Summit for Refugees and Migrants and U.S. President Barack Obamas Leaders Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis.

The report will serve as the backdrop to the summits discussions to set targets and secure aid funding to ensure every school-age refugee receives a quality education.

This represents a crisis for millions of refugee children, Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement. Refugee education is sorely neglected, when it is one of the few opportunities we have to transform and build the next generation so they can change the fortunes of the tens of millions of forcibly displaced people globally.

Grandi said the refugee school-age population grew by 30 per cent in 2014 alone, which means an average of at least 12,000 additional classrooms and 20,000 extra teachers are needed each year.

There are now 65 million displaced people around the world, including 21 million outside of their native countries. Eighty-five per cent of these refugees are hosted in poor developing countries.

Before the conflicts in Syria, 94 per cent of the countrys children attended primary and lower secondary schools. However, by 2016, only 60 per cent of children had access to school there, leaving 2.1 million children and teenagers without an education, said the report.

In neighbouring countries, only 39 per cent of school-age refugee children and adolescents were enrolled in primary and secondary schools in Turkey, 40 per cent in Lebanon, and 70 per cent in Jordan. It means nearly 900,000 Syrian refugee kids in the region are not in school.

Although both Jordan and Lebanon introduced a double-shift system at schools in September, funding is still not fully committed by the international community, threatening to undermine the progress.

Given the average length of displacement for a refugee in a protracted situation currently stands at 20 years, the report calls for donors to transition from a system of emergency to multi-year and predictable funding that allows for sustainable education planning and programming for refugee kids and youth.

As the international community considers how best to deal with the refugee crisis, it is essential that we think beyond basic survival, said Grandi. Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return.

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Top environment ministry officials had serious concerns that a plan to clear-cut log a swath of the boreal forest near Grassy Narrows, Ont., would release mercury into the already contaminated area, according to internal government emails in recent years.

Yes, logging introduces Hg (mercury)! one scientist wrote to a colleague. In another email, the former director of the branch that oversees scientists charged with monitoring Ontarios environment observed that no one is tracking the downstream implications of the logging plan.

Despite these worries, the ministry in 2014 rejected a request by Grassy Narrows First Nation for an environmental assessment of the potential impact of the 10-year logging plan. That plan is on hold pending a court challenge by Grassy Narrows. As part of the challenge, email exchanges between ministry officials obtained by Grassy Narrows through a freedom of information request have been entered by the community as evidence in court.

Grassy Narrows Chief Simon Fobister Sr. is baffled and upset with the situation.

Its disturbing that internally they would acknowledge (that clear-cut logging releases mercury) amongst each other, but when we request an environmental assessment that they would refuse it, said Fobister, an applicant in the court challenge.

The public release of the emails also come around the same time as a new scientific report stating that adding any more mercury to the already mercury-laden area near Grassy Narrows First Nation would be irresponsible and shameless.

Grassy Narrows, a community of roughly 1,500, has already had a long and painful legacy with mercury. Between 1962 and 1970 a Dryden, Ont., paper plant dumped 10 tonnes of the potent neurotoxin in the English-Wabigoon River. The site of the plant, now under different ownership, is 100 km upstream. The people got sick with symptoms like tremors, loss of muscle co-ordination, slurred speech and tunnel vision, and still suffer today.

Clear-cut logging has been linked to creating higher mercury levels in fish. Heres how it happens: Mercury gets released into the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants and incinerators and later rains down in forests where it gets trapped in the soil. But when a forested area is clear-cut (a large number of trees in one area are uniformly cut down), mercury can run off into lakes and rivers, where its potency gets magnified in aquatic life and travels up the food chain.

A 2005 Canadian research study looking at nearly 40 lakes in Quebec found all the walleye and pike in lakes near a clear-cut boreal forest had mercury levels above the World Health Organization limit for safe human consumption, compared to only 18 per cent in lakes where nearby forests have not been logged. This study is likely the most comprehensive study on the association between watershed disturbance and fish mercury levels, according to a ministry of natural resources response filed as part of the ongoing court case.

The author of that study, Universite de Montreal professor Dr. Richard Carignan, writes in a recent report prepared for Grassy Narrows First Nation and filed as part of the court challenge that there is a clear risk of increased mercury contamination following clear-cut logging in the forest around Grassy Narrows, which is called the Whiskey Jack forest. He has called for a site-specific study.

These issues were the subject of a series of emails among provincial ministry officials over the last few years. The Star attempted to contact all email authors. None responded.

Yes, logging introduces Hg (the chemical symbol for mercury)! writes government research scientist Dr. Satyendra Bhavsar in a June 2012 email exchange with colleagues that discusses mercury levels in fish near Grassy Narrows. The scientist added: Do we have funding to conduct this study (I would love to explore) as this question itself is a research project on its own??!!!

More than one year after the scientist asked to study the issue further, Rachael Fletcher, manager of bio-monitoring at the environment ministry, remarked in an August 2013 email exchange that getting Bhavasars research project off the ground has been a slow process though and we havent quite managed to get it up and running yet.

Environment ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler declined to answer any questions about the internal emails, citing the ongoing legal case.

Kate Jordan, a spokesperson for the natural resources and forestry ministry, which created the logging plan for the Whiskey Jack forest, told the Star that the plan follows best practices set out in Ontarios forest management Stand and Site guide to ensure any disturbance of the site is minimized.

The guide, approved in 2010, has been criticized by scientists for being insufficient.

Jordan also pointed to a masters thesis that came to a different conclusion and did not find a link between clear-cut logging and mercury levels in fish.

In a 2014 response to Grassy Narrows First Nations request for an environmental assessment, the natural resources ministry acknowledged (the) potential for forest management activities to result in mobilization of terrestrial mercury into aquatic systems is well-documented and a serious concern.

Ian Smith, the director in charge of overseeing environmental monitoring, noted in a 2013 email exchange that logging increases mercury mobilization and nobody is tracking the downstream implications. He again brought up government monitoring in another email chain in December 2014  just days after Grassy Narrows request for an environmental assessment was rejected.

His email came as a response to a ministry-wide daily issues alert that shared a Toronto Star story about the rejection. The story included a comment from an environment ministry spokesperson that said constant monitoring by the province would ensure any mercury migration is limited.

Note the monitoring is of soils and not the aquatic ecosystem. Just curious  were we approached by EAAB (Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch) for any input to the decision re: impacts on mercury in fish? Smith wrote.

The response to Smiths question, if there was one, was not included in the emails filed in court.

As part of an ongoing investigation into mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, the Star has reported on a recent government-funded scientific report commissioned by Grassy Narrows that cautions mercury levels in sediments and fish downstream are still dangerously high. These persistently high levels of mercury suggest the metal is still leaking into the river system, the report found, adding that its impossible to know where the ongoing leak is coming from because the province has not monitored the river around Dryden since 1980.

In another recent scientific report, also prepared for Grassy Narrows as part of the court case, Donna Mergler concludes that mercury poisoning occurs at low levels previously thought harmless.

Any increase of exposure to this already sensitive community to mercury contamination from sources, such as mining, logging and reservoirs, would further compound the harm to the health and well-being of the present and future generations, said Mergler, an environmental scientist at Universite du Quebec a Montreal.

She adds: It would only add toxic insult to toxic injury to further expose this population to mercury.

With Star files

Jayme Poisson can be reached at (416) 814-2725 or jpoisson@thestar.ca

David Bruser can be reached at (416) 869-4282 or dbruser@thestar.ca

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At Parris Island in South Carolina, the Marine Corps oldest and most famous training centre, the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion was called the Thumping Third  a nickname it earned through drill instructors reputation for dishing out physical abuse.

They see it as a badge of honour, like they were the only real Marines, said Kate Germano, a retired lieutenant colonel who oversaw training of women at Parris Island.

But in that atmosphere, a recent report from the Marine Corps found, a drill instructor under investigation for calling a Muslim recruit a terrorist and ordering him into a running clothes dryer where he was burned on his arm and neck, was kept in his job. The instructor later slapped, abused and harassed another Muslim recruit who jumped to his death from the barracks.

Now a widening Marine Corps inquiry into the death and other hazing at Parris Island  and of the chain of command that allowed it to happen  has identified 20 enlisted Marines and officers, including many in the 3rd Battalion, for potential criminal charges. The lieutenant colonel in charge of that battalion, the colonel in charge of all training at Parris Island, and his sergeant major have been relieved of their command.

And with possible prosecutions looming, the Marine Corps is grappling with how to continue to foster the Jarhead culture that prizes toughness while also safeguarding recruits and rooting out bigotry.

Leaders have called the problems in the 3rd Battalion an anomaly, noting that regulations forbid instructors from laying hands on recruits or even calling them anything but their name. But many in the ranks have defended harsh treatment during training as a rite of passage that recruits must pass before taking on a job that can be gruelling and terrifying. Anyone who cant hack it, they say, should find other work.

Its called becoming a Marine! We all went through it. Marine Corps basic training is hell on earth as it should be, one Marine veteran, echoing the sentiments of many, said in a comment beneath a Marine Corps Times article on the hazing.

Even after basic training, a long, hallowed culture of physical and verbal battering awaits Marines who join infantry units. New arrivals, called boots, are often harassed and harangued by their seniors to toughen them for combat.

Still, in light of the abuses at Parris Island, that hardening process is receiving more internal scrutiny.

When Americas men and women commit to becoming Marines, we make a promise to them, the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. Robert B. Neller, said in a statement after the investigations were released. We pledge to train them with firmness, fairness, dignity and compassion. Simply stated, the manner in which we make Marines is as important as the finished product.

According to the Marine Corps report, which was reviewed by The New York Times, in summer 2015, a drill instructor, whose name has not been released, made a Muslim recruit do push-ups in a shower, telling him it was his job to root out spies. The instructor then said that the 6-foot recruit needed to dry off and ordered him into a clothes dryer.

After running the dryer for 30 seconds, the instructor asked whom the recruit was working for, the report found. When the recruit replied nobody, the instructor ran the dryer again, then asked the recruit his religion. The recruit, who had started crying, replied Islam. The instructor ran the dryer for a longer time, then asked the recruit if he was still a Muslim. When the recruit said yes, the instructor ran the dryer again.

In November, after completing basic training, the recruit reported the abuse and the Marine Corps started the investigation. But commanders at Parris Island allowed the instructor to continue training recruits.

In March a 20-year-old Muslim, an American of Pakistani heritage named Raheel Siddiqui, was placed in the instructors platoon. Siddiqui, who was valedictorian of his high school class in Michigan, struggled to adjust, and a week after arriving said he was suicidal. He eventually said he was no longer suicidal, and was allowed to continue training. According to the report, the instructor thought Siddiqui was feigning illness to get out of training.

On March 18, Siddiqui gave a note to the instructor before breakfast, asking to go to sick call because he coughed blood a few times last night and completely lost his voice and can barely whisper. The instructor yelled at Siddiqui and made him do sprints the length of the barracks, which are known in the Marine Corps as squad bays.

Siddiqui, crying, collapsed, holding his throat, at which point the instructor slapped him in the face, loud enough that it could be heard throughout the squad bay.

According to the report, after being hit, Siddiqui got up, ran out of the barracks and jumped into a stairwell, falling nearly 12 metres. He was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Investigators ruled his death a suicide but noted a pattern of abuse and hazing in training as well as an absence of oversight and supervision at various levels of command, a Marine Corps official said.

The instructor and other drill instructors involved were immediately removed from their positions. Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon, who was in charge of the 3rd Battalion, was removed a few days later for his actions in the clothes dryer investigation, a Marine spokesman said.

And the battalion commanders boss, Col. Paul D. Cucinotta, who was in charge of all training at Parris Island, and his senior enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Deabreu, were removed in June.

The report has identified 20 people for punishment, which could include formal admonishment, nonjudicial punishment or criminal charges.

The Marines note that the Corps trains nearly 40,000 recruits a year and has fewer than 50 substantiated cases of hazing annually. Drill instructors are given days of training on regulations and taught how to discipline troops without physical or verbal abuse. All instructors are told the story of Ribbon Creek, where a drunken staff sergeant took his platoon on a punitive night march through the swamps near Parris Island in 1956, and six recruits drowned.

The Marine Corps has announced a number of fixes, including putting more junior officers in with platoons to observe training. It has also made suspension mandatory for any Marine being investigated for recruit abuse.

Many of the reforms announced by the Marines are already on the books and not being enforced, said Germano, who was relieved of her command at Parris Island in 2015, after a controversy that involved her push for more resources and better training for female recruits. She is now the chief operating officer of the Service Womens Action Network, an advocacy organization.

You can make all these rules, but Parris Island still has a permissive culture, she said. Its like they have this tradition and they are afraid they will ruin it if officers get too involved.

The reputation of the Thumping Third was well-known when she commanded a sister battalion, she said, but leaders, rather than curtail it, rewarded the 3rd Battalion with the newest barracks.

The culture was allowed to flourish, Germano said. There is a hands-off approach. There is a belief that officers dont make Marines, Marines make Marines, and so a lot of times, the leaders are not in the squad bays at night, or in all the places they need to be.

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In Kalamazoo, Michigan, a city besieged by poverty and state aid cuts, Mayor Bobby Hopewell had few options left. The city had already thinned the ranks of the police force and halted work on aging infrastructure, only to keep spending millions more than it brings in.

Then, in July, he landed an unheard-of lifeline. William Johnston, the husband of billionaire Ronda Stryker, and William Parfet, whose great grandfather founded Upjohn Co., agreed to give the city $70.3 million, a first step toward creating a $500-million endowment that Kalamazoo will use to put an end to chronic budget shortfalls and pay for a property-tax cut aimed at drawing residents to the 76,000-person city.

The state of Michigan has not helped us, Hopewell said. A philanthropic approach might make sense.

More than seven years after the U.S. emerged from the worst recession since the Great Depression, cities are turning increasingly to charity, if only for modest relief from pressure caused by swelling pension debts, declining populations and limits on their ability to raise taxes.

After Detroit in 2013 became the biggest city ever to go bankrupt, private donors stepped in to help keep the citys art collection from being auctioned off and shelter retired city workers from potentially devastating cuts to their pension checks. Flint, Michigan, reeling from a lead-tainted water supply, received philanthropic aid. Even relatively well-heeled cities, including Los Angeles, Jacksonville, Florida and Boise, Idaho, have boosted staff devoted to raising money for parks, libraries and schools.

Like all cities, there are definitely limited resources, said Dawn Lockhart, who was named Jacksonvilles director of strategic partnerships this year. There is unlimited demand placing an incredible amount of strain on both nonprofits and on the city.

Nowhere has pushed it quite as far as Kalamazoo, a city 225 kilometres west of Detroit where more than a third of the residents live in poverty.

Since 2009, the city has cut about $12 million from its general fund, which had operating revenue of almost $53 million in the 2016 budget year, city documents show. Thats resulted in the elimination about 120 jobs over the past five years, which means it may take residents longer to pay a bill or receive approval for a new building, said City Manager Jim Ritsema.

The initial $70-million donation, to be used over three years, will be used to close Kalamazoos budget deficit and lower the general city property tax by about a third over that time. If the city succeeds in increasing the endowment to between $300 million and $500 million, officials plan to cut taxes even more.

Thats the only strings that have been attached to this: to do greatness for everyone, Ritsema said.

Parfet and Johnston did not respond to requests for comment.

The donations could help pay for city improvement projects that have been on the shelves without funding, such as lead pipe removal, roadwork, public art, or entrepreneurial programs, Mayor Hopewell said.

Kalamazoos donation is quite unusual, because its being used to solve a budget deficit instead of underwriting specific civic projects, said Robert Collier, chief executive officer of the Council of Michigan Foundations, which is made up of philanthropic organizations in the state.

The financial needs are high for cities in Michigan, where the state constitution limits their power to raise and collect real-estate taxes. And with the state contending with its own financial strain, lawmakers cut revenue-sharing to municipalities by about $5.5 billion between fiscal 1998 and fiscal 2016, according to an April report by Great Lakes Economic Consulting, a nonpartisan group based in Eaton Rapids. The impact has rippled out to cities including Flint and Detroit, said Daniel Greer, a member of the Michigan Municipal Leagues trustees.

We all face the same problems, said Greer, who is a city council member for Jackson, Michigan.

Private money has helped to fill the breach. Foundations or philanthropy groups in Michigan donate about $1.5 billion a year to various organizations, said Collier.

Kalamazoo could solve its budgetary problems without relying on donors, said city commissioner Matt Milcarek, although it would be political challenge. He said it should still pursue instituting a city income tax, a step that voters have rejected twice, in case the endowment is unable to be fully funded or its investments do poorly.

You could fix the structural problem with an income tax so youre never at a crisis point, and you could still take donations and use the foundation for additional new growth and projects and all the aspirational stuff, he said.

With money scarce, even mundane civic works have been scaled back. When Milcarek moved to Kalamazoo in 2008, he said the city used to the pave roads and streets and replace trees that the city cut down.

Now, a tree comes down and nothing gets planted in its place, he said.

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A police officer responding to a reported armed robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who had pulled from his waistband a BB gun that looked practically identical to a police weapon, authorities said Thursday.

Because the officer is white and the boy was black, the case has brought comparisons with the 2014 fatal shooting in Cleveland of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who had been playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation centre. Columbus police are early in their investigation but say the differences in the Wednesday night shooting of Tyree King and the Cleveland case are stark.

The only thing similar in nature is the age, race and outcome, Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said. The facts are not similar, and that must be reiterated.

Officers investigating the armed robbery report on Wednesday east of downtown Columbus spotted three males who matched the descriptions of the suspects, authorities said. Two of the males ran away when officers tried to speak with them.

The police chased the pair into a nearby alley and tried to take them into custody. Thats when Tyree pulled out a gun with a laser sight, and one officer fired his weapon, hitting the boy repeatedly, police said.

Tyree died at a childrens hospital. Authorities identified the officer who fired as a nine-year veteran of the force named Bryan Mason.

Police records show Mason in 2012 shot and killed a man who was holding another man at gunpoint. Officers said the armed man had refused orders to drop his weapon.

A message seeking comment was left with the head of the police union representing Mason.

At a news conference Thursday, police Chief Kim Jacobs displayed a photo of what she called a replica of the BB gun Tyree had.

Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon, she said. As you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you.

Mason has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, per department protocol, Jacobs said.

An attorney for Tyrees family called for a fair and independent investigation into the boys death. Attorney Sean Walton declined to discuss any previous interaction Tyree had with police, but he emphasized Tyree didnt have any violent criminal history. He said the family believed Tyree being involved in an armed robbery would be out of character.

Tyree played football and was in the young scholars program at school, Walton said. He also had a slight build and, if anything, was on the small side for his age, the attorney said.

Authorities said it was unclear if the shooting was caught on surveillance or cellphone video. Columbus police dont use body cameras.

Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther appeared to choke up as he called for the community to come together to help ensure children remain safe. He questioned why an eighth-grader would have a replica of a police firearm.

There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets, Ginther said. And a 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence.

Neighbourhood resident Chris Naderer said he was home at the time and heard someone break fencing in his backyard, then saw an officer chasing two young black men and heard several gunshots.

I just think it was bad circumstances that he had a gun, Naderer said.

The male who had been with Tyree was interviewed and released pending further investigation, police said. They provided no further information about him.

Police said additional suspects were being sought as the shooting and reported robbery remained under investigation.

The police chief said it was too soon to draw comparisons between Tyrees death and Tamirs death.

In Tamirs case, a 911 caller reported someone pointing a gun at people near a recreation centre, and a rookie officer shot Tamir almost immediately after his police cruiser stopped nearby. The caller had said the person was likely a juvenile and the weapon was probably fake, but the call taker never passed that information to the dispatcher of the responding officers.

A grand jury concluded the officer and his partner reasonably believed it was a real gun and their lives were in danger, prosecutors said. The officers were cleared of wrongdoing.

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Nearly 30 years after it stopped producing power, Dairyland Power Cooperatives nuclear energy plant in Genoa is entering the final stretch of decommissioning.

Earlier this year, Dairyland turned over the license for the La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor to a private company under contract to remove the facility adjacent to Dairylands Genoa coal-fired plant.

The project is expected to cost about $85 million. As of last year, Dairyland had about $94.7 million in its nuclear decommissioning trust fund.

Brian Rude, Dairylands vice president for external and member relations, said the project, while expensive, will eliminate a major liability for the La Crosse-based cooperative.

As long as the buildings still exist there are always regulatory threats, especially, which result in higher costs. And of course we get no revenue, Rude said. So getting rid of the building will simplify our life, streamline it, and hopefully hold down future costs for our members.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting Tuesday on plans for the final decommissioning, which is expected to take about two years. The agency is also considering a request to redraw the site boundaries, which now include Dairylands neighboring coal plant and large swaths of nearby land.

The contractor, LaCrosseSolutions, is a subsidiary of EnergySolutions LLC, a nuclear waste-disposal company based in Salt Lake City.

According to plans filed with the NRC, LaCrosseSolutions will dismantle the compound of buildings on the site and ship contaminated materials to the companys disposal site in Clive, Utah. An estimated 95 percent of the waste will be concrete rubble and other components that will be put in containers and trucked to a rail loading facility in Winona, Minn.

Company spokesman Mark Walker said most of what remains at LACBWR should be class A waste, the lowest level of contamination. Any material found with higher levels of radiation will be sent to a hazardous-waste site in Texas.

Under the agreement, Solutions will remove everything down to three feet below ground and return the clean site to the La Crosse-based utility. Exposure to radiation at the cleaned site must be below the NRCs acceptable level of 25 millirem per year from a single source.

For comparison, the exposure from a chest X-ray or a round-trip flight to Europe is about 10 millirem.

This is really pretty minor, said Professor Jeff Bryan, who teaches nuclear chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Its about a thousand times lower than what is known to cause any kind of damage.

Marlayna Vaaler, who is overseeing the project for the NRC, said most decommissioned plant sites have levels closer to 10 millirem.

Most sites weve successfully decommissioned dont even come close, she said.

As the license holder, LaCrosseSolutions will answer directly to federal regulators rather than to Dairyland, said Cheryl Olson, who manages the plant and the dry cask fuel storage site for Dairyland.

It just makes more sense to get the middle man out of the picture, she said. Theyre the experts.

Most of Dairylands licensed nuclear operators took retirement incentives once the spent fuel was removed four years ago, leaving only Olson and one other nuclear engineer on staff.

Vaaler said the license transfer also provides better assurance that the work will be completed.

Its not just Dairyland thats going to come down on them, she said.

This is only the second such license transfer authorized by the NRC. EnergySolutions has used the same arrangement to decommission the Zion nuclear station in Zion, Ill.

Vaaler said she expects it will become a more common model as the nations aging fleet of nuclear plants are retired.

The tractor reactor

Built for the federal government by Allis Chalmers, the 50-megawatt plant was dubbed the tractor reactor and intended to serve as a demonstration facility. It was turned over to Dairyland for $1 and began operation in 1967.

The plant was shut down in 1987 when it became too expensive to operate a tiny but still heavily-regulated plant. (During its lifetime, LACBWR generated just more than 4 gigawatt hours of electricity. Thats about 0.05 percent of what Xcel Energys Prairie Island nuclear plant generated last year alone.)

Believing the federal government would honor its obligation to take possession of the spent fuel by 1998, Dairyland chose to keep the 333 uranium rods under water inside the plant.

Why would you move the fuel twice if you didnt have to? Rude said.

Dairyland finally sued the federal government for breach of contract in 2004, receiving $37.6 million in damages. Meanwhile it was costing the utility upwards of $6 million to maintain the shuttered facility.

The nuclear reactor vessel was removed in 2007 and taken to a burial site in South Carolina. In 2012, after six years of planning, the spent fuel were encased in dry storage casks that will remain in Genoa until the government opens a long-term storage facility.

Dairyland retains responsibility for the fuel, at a cost of about $2 million a year, and has filed a second suit against the government for breach of contract.

As long as the fuel is on site, were never done, Rude said.
With less than eight weeks before Election Day, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are locked in a tight contest, with both candidates still struggling to win the confidence of their respective bases, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds.

Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has the support of 46 per cent of likely voters nationwide, to 44 per cent for Trump, the Republican, including those who said they were leaning toward a candidate. Looking more broadly at all registered voters, Clinton holds a wider edge, 46 to 41 per cent.

In a four-way race, Trump and Clinton are tied at 42 per cent each. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, has the support of 8 per cent of likely voters, and the Green Party nominee, Jill Stein, takes 4 per cent.

The third-party candidates draw their strongest support from younger voters. Twenty-six per cent of voters ages 18 to 29 say they plan to vote for Johnson, and another 10 per cent back Stein. A little more than one in five political independents say they will vote for one of the third-party candidates.

Discontent with the major party candidates is widespread. Among those who say they intend to vote for Trump or Clinton, slightly more than half express strong support. The rest say that they harbour reservations about their candidate, or that they are simply voting to thwart the other nominee.

Overall, just 43 per cent of likely voters describe themselves as very enthusiastic about casting a ballot in November. Fifty-one per cent of Trumps supporters say they are very enthusiastic about voting; 43 per cent of Clintons supporters say they are very enthusiastic.

The race has clearly grown tighter in recent weeks. National polling averages show that Clintons margin over Trump has narrowed from eight points in early August to two points today.

Clinton found herself under attack last week for suggesting that half of Trumps supporters held views that made them deplorables, and for her campaigns attempts to conceal her pneumonia diagnosis. The Times/CBS News poll was conducted from Sept. 9 to 13, so many of those interviewed were aware of the controversies.

Trump hired new campaign leadership in mid-August and has been more disciplined in his public statements. His poll numbers have been steadily rising.

Clinton continues to outpace Trump among women, non-whites and younger voters, while Trump leads among whites, 57 to 33 per cent.

Among white women, the candidates are virtually tied: 46 per cent for Clinton and 45 per cent for Trump.

Clintons support is notably strong among college graduates, particularly whites. She leads by 11 points among white likely voters with a college degree; if polling holds, she would be the first Democrat in 60 years to win among this group.

This is the first Times/CBS News poll of the election cycle to include a measure of likely voters. The nationwide telephone survey reached 1,433 registered voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. To achieve a sample that reflected the probable electorate, these voters were weighted by their responses to questions about voting history, attention to the campaign and likelihood of voting.

With Clinton sidelined by illness this week, Trump has vigorously pressed his case. He promoted a new plan to support working parents on Tuesday, and released a partial account of his medical status on Wednesday during a taping of The Dr. Oz Show.

Poll participants expressed ambivalence about the need for more information on the candidates medical histories. For each candidate, just 45 per cent of registered voters said they wanted to see more medical records released. (Questions about Trumps and Clintons medical records were asked starting on Sunday afternoon, after news broke that Clinton fell ill at a ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.)

Johnsons showing of 8 per cent support in this poll will make it difficult for him to qualify for the first presidential debate, on Sept. 26. Under the rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a candidate must reach an average of 15 per cent support in five major news media polls, including the Times/CBS News poll. Another poll included in the average used by the commission, the Washington Post/ABC News poll, had Johnson at 9 per cent support last week.

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WASHINGTONArctic sea ice this summer shrank to its second lowest level since scientists started to monitor it by satellite, with scientists saying it is another ominous signal of global warming.

The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado said the sea ice reached its summer low point on Saturday, extending 4.14 million square kilometres. Thats behind only the mark set in 2012, 13.39 million square kilometres.

Centre director Mark Serreze said this years level technically was 10,000 square kilometres less than 2007, but thats so close the two years are essentially tied.

Even though this year didnt set a record, we have reinforced the overall downward trend. There is no evidence of recovery here, Serreze said. Weve always known that the Arctic is going to be the early warning system for climate change. What weve seen this year is reinforcing that.

This years minimum level is 2.56 million square kilometres smaller than the 1979 to 2000 average. Thats slightly smaller than the size of Ontario and Quebec combined.

Its a tremendous loss that were looking at here, Serreze said.

It was an unusual year for sea ice in the Arctic, Serreze said. In the winter, levels were among their lowest ever for the cold season, but then there were more storms than usual over the Arctic during the summer. Those storms normally keep the Arctic cloudy and cooler, but that didnt keep the sea ice from melting this year, he said.

Summer weather patterns dont matter as much as they used to, so were kind of entering a new regime, Serreze said.

Serreze said he wouldnt be surprised if the Arctic was essentially ice free in the summer by 2030, something that will affect international security.

The trend is clear and ominous, National Center for Atmospheric Research senior scientist Kevin Trenberth said in an email. This is indeed why the polar bear is a poster child for human-induced climate change, but the effects are not just in the Arctic.

One recent theory divides climate scientists: Melting sea ice in the Arctic may change the jet stream and weather further south, especially in winter.

What happens in the Arctic doesnt stay in the Arctic, Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said. It looks increasingly likely that the dramatic decrease in Arctic sea ice is impacting weather in mid-latitudes and may be at least partly responsible for the more dramatic, persistent and damaging weather anomalies weve seen so many of in recent years.

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ISTANBULThe Syrian government has not granted the United Nations a single permit to bring aid to the besieged city of Aleppo as part of a ceasefire that took effect this week, a senior UN official said Thursday.

Stalled convoys, seeking to ferry food for tens of thousands of people, have quickly become a symbol of the wider challenges linked to the ceasefire effort even as fighting has sharply eased over the past days.

Opening channels for humanitarian access is a key provision of the ceasefire plan brokered by the United States and Russia, which are on opposing sides of the war. But the wrangling over the aid  now stuck on the Syrian-Turkey border  has led to questions over achieving the broad goals of the accords, beginning with widespread humanitarian relief.

We could go today. Were not ... The permits have not been given, Jan Egeland, chairman of the Syrian humanitarian task force, told reporters in Geneva.

We hope to go tomorrow, to eastern Aleppo, he said, referring to a rebel-held area that has been under siege by government forces for more than a month. Aleppo, however, is just one of many areas cut off from aid and other assistance.

Not a single permit is in the hands of our people, Egeland added.

The 40 trucks  carrying rice, wheat, and other items  can go at a moments notice, he said.

The ceasefire began Monday and has largely held in key areas of the country. The reduction in violence has given civilians some respite.

But as the killing subsides, the focus has turned toward the blocked aid.

If the level of conflict is down, there is no reason, no excuse, for not being able to deliver, the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said Thursday.

Are we disappointed? he said. Of course we are.

Both UN officials laid blame on the Syrian government, which requires layers of permission at the senior and local levels. Aid convoys are often required to display permits at each armed checkpoint into besieged areas.

Since 2011, troops at roadblocks have removed nearly 45 tonnes of medical supplies from aid convoys, according to the World Health Organization. These include antibiotics, mental health medication and kits to treat burns or help deliver babies.

The United Nations insisted Thursday that the government would not be allowed to pick through any of the aid items headed to Aleppo, about 65 kilometres south of the Turkish border.

Once the trucks begin to move, they will not be harassed, de Mistura said. No saying: We will take out that medicine, and we will take that food.

Nearly half a million people have been killed in the years-long civil war, and millions more have been displaced or marooned in embattled areas.

Also of concern was safety along the Castello Road, the only way in and out of eastern Aleppo. Under the agreement, Castello Road would become a demilitarized zone and humanitarian corridor.

Government troops control the highway, but opposition groups are also stationed nearby.

The journey from the Turkish border to Aleppo is not an easy one, David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Thursday. Security is a major concern, and road conditions are poor.

Despite the accord, it was unclear Thursday if either the government or opposition groups planned to withdraw.

The Russian military, which backs Syrias government, said Thursday evening that Syrian troops had pulled back from the road but that opposition fighters had failed to do the same, the Associated Press reported.

Just a few hours earlier, nearby rebels said they had not withdrawn but that neither had Syrian troops.

The troops should have withdrawn from Castello Road (on Thursday morning) and the rebels, too, said Zakaria Malahiji, political officer of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group.

But the regime troops have not left their positions, and neither have our guys, he said. Because they do not trust that the regime wont advance if they retreat from their positions.

The quarrelling over the road prompted de Mistura to urge the United States and Russia to influence the respective warring parties. The United States has backed some rebel groups and worked with the opposition, while Russia is allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Possible friction between Moscow and Washington also cast doubts on the broader attempts to keep the fighting in check.

In Moscow, a spokesman for Russias Defense Ministry accused the United States of not fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

The spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, told the Interfax news service that rebel troops continued to fire artillery at government forces and had not separated themselves from units loyal to a former affiliate of Al Qaeda that both the United States and Russia have deemed a terrorist organization.

Konashenkov also complained about statements by U.S. officials doubting whether Russia would fulfil the terms of the ceasefire.

Theres an impression that the goal of Washingtons curtain of words is an intention to hide the fact that it is not fulfilling its obligations, above all the separation of units of the moderate opposition from the terrorists, Konashenkov said.

A possible next step in the ceasefire would co-ordinate U.S and Russian attacks against militant factions including Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, and the former Al Qaeda militia, now called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

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Since the inception of medicare in Canada, opinion polls in all parts of the country consistently show a vast majority of Canadians believe in equal access to health care based on need, not ability to pay.

Yet this is precisely what is at stake in the Charter challenge against medicare taking place in the B.C. Supreme Court this week. Dr. Brian Day, one of the founders of the Cambie Surgery Centre, is contesting restrictions on doctors working in the public health system from also charging extra fees that would be paid for privately  out-of-pocket by patients or through private health insurance.

Far from defending the constitutional right to timely care for everyone in Canada, Days Charter case  not the one he talks about in the press, but the one actually being argued in the B.C. Supreme Court  shows no concern for the rights of those who are ineligible for, or cannot afford private health insurance or private care.

It defies belief to dress up a fight that, if won, would undermine the public health care system, as heroic. Yet, from the outset of the Cambie Surgery case, Day has insisted he is defending the constitutional rights of all Canadians to timely health care.

Unfortunately, that is far from the case.

In recent interviews, Day has decried a public health care monopoly that prevents patients from extricating themselves from the pain and suffering of waiting lists. Hes drawn parallels to unjust laws outlawing same sex marriage, safe injection sites, and assisted suicide.

But what exactly are Days lawyers arguing in court this week?

Theyre invoking section 7 of the Canadian Charter  our right to life, liberty and security of person. They are using section 7 as a basis for striking down B.C.s ban on private health insurance, extra-billing by physicians and other limits on private care.

In other words, this case is about doctor billing practices and not about Canadians Charter rights to improved patient care.

The gap between how the vast majority of Canadians understand the right to health care and Days reading of the Charter is readily apparent. Days lawyers have been clear theyre not arguing that the section 7 creates a positive right for patients to receive a certain quality or timeliness of publicly funded health care. Far from it.

Just like Dr. Jacques Chaoulli in his challenge to Quebecs ban on private insurance a decade ago, Days lawyers are not arguing the B.C. government is constitutionally obliged to do more to improve the public system in order to safeguard the Charter rights of all patients waiting for care.

No, Day claims section 7 makes it unconstitutional for governments to place any limits on private health insurance or private care that might make it harder for those who can afford it to jump the public queue.

To be clear, a successful outcome for Day and Cambie Surgery would be Charter protection for billing practices that have been proven to actually undermine the public system.

In Days Charter universe, that ideal of access to health care irrespective of ability to pay is turned on its head. Instead, we face the spectre of a right to health care based on wealth.

No one should fall through the cracks in circumstances where their life or security of person is at threat. This is a right they should have whether or not they can pay for private care.

Day insists he is fighting for the rights of every one of us who might find ourselves languishing on a public waiting list. But if that were true, he would be asking the courts to order Canadian governments to address inadequacies and inequities within the public system.

Day would not be calling for the courts to strike down the public system, but to make it better. This is the Charter right to health care that the vast majority of Canadians want and deserve.

Lets hope that the courts are listening to us and not to Day.

Martha Jackman is a professor of constitutional law and member of the Centre for Health Law Policy & Ethics at the University of Ottawa. She represented the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in the Chaoulli case.

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If Ontario Conservative leader Patrick Brown thinks he has an easy road ahead of him leading up to the 2018 provincial election, then he may be in for a bit of a shock.

Thats because despite the Conservatives having led in the polls since he became party leader more than 15 months ago, Brown is staring at a series of major internal issues that threaten the notion the Tories will cruise to victory in the next election.

These issues include a simmering revolt among local riding associations over how they are treated by Brown and senior party officials, a serious shortfall in party fundraising, the growing presence of Doug Ford, and the continuing fallout from Browns flip-flop on the new sex-education curriculum.

Indeed, the easy times for Brown are over.

As the party faithful see it, though, it shouldnt be that way. For them, winning the Oct. 4, 2018, election should be a breeze given the scandals that continue to dog the Liberal government under Premier Kathleen Wynne. There is also the conventional belief that a time for a change campaign following 15 straight years of Liberal rule will resonate with voters.

In interviews with local party officials over the summer, a picture of a party filled with internal strife and growing questions about Browns leadership emerges.

First, social conservatives within the party who backed Browns leadership campaign in 2015 are furious with his flip-flop on the new sex-education curriculum. In the days just before the Sept. 1 Scarborough-Rouge River byelection the Tories sent out 13,000 letters signed by Brown vowing to scrap the controversial curriculum if elected in 2018. But after days of criticism, Brown insisted he never saw the letter and said he in fact would keep the current curriculum.

Now the social conservatives arent sure where Brown stands on any of the issues that matter to them and some are saying they no longer trust him.

Worse, the entire sex-ed controversy left a clear image of Brown as a leader out of touch with what his own office is doing.

Second, many local riding associations are furious with Brown and his key people over what they term bullying, threats and a growing rift between the grassroots and the party executive.

In particular, their discontent is directed at Bob Stanley, executive director of the Ontario Conservative Party, and Babu Nagalingam, a senior Toronto-area organizer and adviser for Brown. Local executives say they are told by Browns people that Babu IS the Tory party.

A regional vice-president in the Golden Horseshoe area says its getting very ugly out there and spoke of Browns failure to reach out to local leaders, of not even being told when Brown was coming to the area, of gag orders and threats being made to riding executives over nomination proceedings and fundraising efforts.

Also, riding executives are furious that the provincial headquarters is keeping funds owed to the local ridings. At least one Toronto riding association is still owed $8,000 by the party dating back to 2015. The association spent the money to host a fundraising dinner for Brown during his leadership campaign. The money was to be repaid, but never was. Riding officials met over the summer with Stanley and Nita Kang, director of special projects, to find a solution, but Stanley simply asked the riding to forgive the $8,000. The riding needs the money to cover operating costs and to build its campaign war chest.

In addition, some Eastern Ontario riding association presidents wrote to Brown earlier this year with complaints about money and his stand on such issues as a carbon tax to fight climate change.

Third, Brown has failed to wipe out the partys debt, which is still almost $5 million. Local officials speak of supporters chequebooks being closed and of being able to draw barely a handful of people to local fundraising events that Brown headlines. Besides dealing with the debt, the party needs millions of more dollars to run the 2018 campaign.

Fourth, while visions of Donald Trump dance in his head, Doug Ford has vowed (threatened?) that he will be running politically within the next year. Ford may run for the Tories in Etobicoke, but Brown should be more worried that Ford is ultimately aiming at his job as party leader. Ford has been taking a bigger and bigger role in the party, having co-chaired the successful Scarborough-Rouge River byelection win. He wont stop there.

Brown must act decisively in the coming weeks to clear up the messes he has created or has left to fester.

If he fails to do so, the 2018 election may be far more interesting than anyone expects.

Bob Hepburns column appears Thursday. bhepburn@thestar.ca

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Conservative MP and party leadership contender Kellie Leitch doesnt really want a conversation on Canadian values. The callous Leitch, who has been insisting lately that we consider a values test for prospective immigrants, simply wants to boost her brand by playing to racist and xenophobic fears of some Conservative party supporters. Modern conservative groups keep questioning immigrants values because they know their liberal political opponents, who are prone to the same prejudiced scapegoating, will struggle to condemn them.

Many have criticized Leitchs proposal by saying it is impractical, since no one person or group can define or determine Canadian values. Thats a nice idea, but in practice we know the values our politicians attempt to sell us are a reflection of our colonial, white, British, monarchical heritage. There are such things as Canadian values, and they explain how our politicians have been peddling a fear of foreigners for the last 150 years.

Suspicion of all immigrants who are not white, or are not members of the former British Empire, is a Canadian value. Canadas founding prime minister, John A. Macdonald, argued that Chinese immigrants to Canada were unfit to vote because they exhibited no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations. Macdonald didnt need to cloak the authority of the state in the language of wanting a conversation about immigrants, as Leitch does today. In his time, there was no conversation to be had.

Assurances that we no longer live in the 19th century are beside the point. Every politician from Macdonald to Leitch has been able to bank on significant support by distinguishing between British or Canadian values and those of everyone else. Yes, even many newer immigrants echo these suspicions of outsiders customs or beliefs. They may hail from countries that our government is wary of. The pressure on these newcomers to conform  to validate the wisdom of the system that chose them, to scrutinize those who come after them  must be overwhelming.

Of course, all of this is only possible because of another fundamental Canadian value: erasure. Our modern mythology suggests that indigenous people were never here, or that if they were, their values and customs gave way to a superior British way of life. Our history books and our educational resources for prospective new Canadians have little to say about the values and traditions of indigenous people. British colonialism made outsiders of people who had been here for thousands of years, and cast their values aside.

Thats how a white man in a red coat who carries a weapon and patrols stolen land has come to symbolize the enforcement of Canadian values. We are taught to honour the force Mounties used to Anglicize this land, to view the guy in red as a symbol of honour and patriotism, no matter what despicable crimes he carries out. The values of dominance and separation enforced by the modern RCMP, and the Canadian Border Services Agency, are not universal or self-evident  they are steeped in centuries of racism, colonialism, and white supremacy.

Leitch may not win her leadership contest, but the fact her naked appeal to prejudice can still spur debate in this country says it all. Polls suggest a majority of Canadians agree with Leitchs call to screen immigrants for good values. Few of us really care about the content of the questionnaire. What we care about is our very Canadian right to demand that immigrants be questioned, scrutinized, and weighed against the comfort and well-being of those already established here.

Conservatives are more likely to support the traditional dominant values openly. It was Leitch who announced a 2015 Conservative campaign proposal to create a barbaric cultural practices hotline. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has cast himself as being far more progressive on immigration and cultural issues, had little to say about the Macarthyist snitch line  Trudeau and his party had quietly voted in favour of a Conservative law called the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act only four months before the election.

Maybe one day, we will be able to have genuine conversations about human values that transcend not only borders, but so many other ideological barriers we still use to divide one another. For the moment, the state and its actors keep pretending there is something especially benevolent about being Canadian, and the culture wars continue.

Desmond Cole is a Toronto-based journalist. His column appears every second Thursday.

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Re: Police board member questions officer's pot shop, Sept. 12

Re: Landlord called cops, Emery says, Sept. 10

Police board member questions officer's pot shop, Sept. 12

Another example of the constabulary turning a blind eye to its own. Why dont they just complete the motto. Its really: To serve and protect ourselves.

Living On Inc. sells products that do not comply with the law. I disagree with the law regarding edibles, and hope this may be a catalyst for fixing the law. But as cops say, The law is the law.

The argument that the business is ethical is beyond laughable. I have no qualms with providing marijuana for medical reasons, as would anyone who has seen people dying or suffering needlessly.

However, Const. Phil Edgar could easily abuse his police powers against a competing business that is selling the exact same (currently illegal) products. How is that not a conflict of interest?

Even if he is not involved in police actions against other dispensaries, how will the Durham police enforce the law against other unlicensed dispensaries and leave one of their own alone?

I feel bad for Const. Edgar needing a second job to supplement his meager cop salary, to pay for his homes and luxury cars. But it begs the question: If hes pulling in so much money, why does he still need to be a cop?

The optics are not pretty.

Justin Laflamme, Toronto

Landlord called cops, Emery says, Sept. 10

Marc Emerys Cannabis Culture store, has been raided several times by police over the summer clampdown, and he has been arrested 28 times for pot related offenses. Terrible fellow. Yet a Durham police officer who was involved in a yet-to-be-opened cannabis retail store has had no problems.

I guess it depends who you know, eh?

Edward A. Collis, Burlington

(Correction - Sept. 30, 2016: The above letter was edited from a previous version that mistakenly referred to a Toronto police officer who was involved in a yet-to-be-opened cannabis retail store.)



Many of us wonder about the delays with regard to the legalization and distribution of marijuana? Its apparent now that its to allow former government cronies and law enforcement officers to get a firm financial stronghold in the industry before opening it up to the ordinary unconnected schlubs searching for a good business opportunity.

Richard Kadziewicz, Scarborough

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Re: School kids could use a lift, Sept. 9

School kids could use a lift, Sept. 9

The sad faces of Edward Keenans children mirroring his own gloomy expression caught my attention on the front page of last Fridays paper. I could not help but compare their reactions to a bus shortage with the children I met some years ago in Uganda on the first day of school.

Those children were turned away from school because they did not have any shoes or were prevented from attending because they were need to care for their infant siblings at home. They stood watching the lucky ones who lined up to enter classes with broken windows and missing doors where they would likely sit two to a desk and may or may not have a teacher. Many of these children had already walked many miles before dawn to gather firewood or carry home heavy containers of water.

What I especially noticed about all the children I encountered was their smiles and how content they seemed to be. They understood that school was a privilege and not something they were entitled to.

For Canadian children, it is their right to attend school. Perhaps, as parents, we should help our children differentiate between privilege and entitlement and try to model resilience, patience and good humour when the unexpected happens and our expectations are disrupted.

Sharon M. Abbey, St. Catharines

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As the U.S. State Department continues to talk with Qatar and the UAE about massive U.S. expansion by Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, the big three U.S. airlines have just one principal goal: They want the three Mideast airlines to stop operating fifth freedom flights to the U.S.

Fifth freedom rights allow airlines to fly between two foreign countries.

"Our biggest concern is flights outside the Gulf, flights from outside the gulf region to the U.S.," American (AAL) CEO Doug Parker told reporters Wednesday.

So far, the big three U.S. airlines -- American, Delta (DAL) and United (UAL) -- "are encouraged by what we're hearing from the State Department {which has} engaged in consultation with the UAE and Qatar," Parker said.

Parker's remarks, in a press briefing at an annual commercial aviation summit staged by airline trade organization Airlines for America, marked the first time the big three carriers have so specifically defined their goals in the talks.

The State Department met for informal talks with UAE officials on July 18 and Qatar officials on July 25. More talks are expected.

The talks came after a year and a half of lobbying by the three airlines, their unions and their lobbying group, the Partnership for Fair Skies, which said the three Gulf carriers have received about $50 billion in subsidies -- which the Gulf carriers have denied.

Open Skies agreements, which enable the Mideast Three to fly to cities throughout the U.S., were generally intended to assure that U.S. carriers could fly to foreign countries and the foreign countries' airlines could serve the U.S. so that commercial air traffic could flow freely between two countries.

The agreements didn't envision a subsidized airline flying a dozen daily U.S. flights, with the vast majority of passengers flying to a foreign airline's hub simply to connect to a third country.

The three Gulf carriers have continued their rapid U.S. expansion, despite the ongoing talks.

At the moment, the Gulf carriers operate just one fifth freedom flight to the U.S., an Emirates flight between Milan and New York.

It is particularly galling for the U.S. carriers that last month the General Services Administration decided Emirates should carry U.S. government employees who fly between New York and Milan.

Even though American, Delta, United and Alitalia all fly daily between New York and Milan, GSA awarded the 2017 contract to JetBlue (JBLU) , which does not fly any trans-Atlantic routes but does have a code share with Emirates, enabling the contract award. In a codeshare agreement, airlines sell seats on one another's flights and share revenue.

Parker said he is "disappointed by the award {and} disappointed that the flight exists."

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Ford Motor (F) were higher in pre-market trading on Thursday despite an investigation by Indonesia's tax office.

The probe comes after a local newspaper alleged that the Dearborn, MI-based automaker modified seven-seater Everest model vehicles into 10-seater vehicles before importing them and later changing them back to seven-seaters for sale, Reuters reports.

The modification was meant to help Ford pay a lower tax rate, the newspaper claimed. Seven-seaters are taxed 40%, whereas 10-seaters are taxed just 10%.

"We have always strictly complied with all Indonesia government regulations and policy, including all import-related tax and customs requirements, related to each of our Ford vehicles officially marketed and sold in the country," a Ford spokesman told Reuters.

(This stock is held in the Dividend Stock Advisor portfolio. See all of the holdings with afree trial.)

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B-.

Ford Motor's strengths such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, attractive valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: F

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author.
Bekkum Library will be sponsoring a Kubb Team during Westbys Leif Erickson Day Tournament on Oct. 8. Wouldnt it be great to have two teams: Kids plus an Adult team? There are usually 3-5 players to a team, with 3 playing at a time. The Library will cover the entry fee for our teams. Would you like to try your arm? Call Jess or Cindy at 634-4419, or stop by the library.

This week has been exciting for me as I attended two events focused on building small businesses and strengthening communities. The Wisconsin Small Town Downtown Forum was held in LaFarge last Wednesday, and I attended with Bekkum Library Board member, MaryEllyn Mattison Doerr. It was great to see that Westby was also represented by our Mayor Danny Helgersen. We heard inspiring presentations by Organic Valley Chief Operating Officer, Louise Hemstead, about their scrappy beginnings and the multi-million-dollar business and largest Farmers Cooperative in North America that they have become. Hemstead emphasized the importance of the early coop members commitment and local communities support in helping them achieve their success. Dr. DeLine spoke of his decision to start a practice in LaFarge, and how eager the community was to welcome him and his family. DeLine later merged his clinic with VMH and began the now nationally known Center for Special Children that operates out of the LaFarge Clinic. We also heard about LaFarge Main Street planning efforts and the Village Recreation Center on reclaimed flood land. The presenter emphasized the importance of strategic planning that resulted in a document that will guide the Villages future decisions. Carol Persons, Board member of Lawton Library of LaFarge, gave a talk that was especially relevant to us regarding the vision, hard work and community support that resulted in the newly expanded library. After those presentations, we were able to attend small discussions facilitated by various rural development organizations, from Wisconsin Main Street, Rural Partners, UWEX and the USDA. I particularly enjoyed the session I attended with Mayor Helgerson: Glass Half Full or What Does Change Look Like Here?

The following Thursday, MaryEllyn, Kris Strand and I attended the Winding Rivers Library Systems workshop with Pat Wagner: Library Support for Small Business development. Over the next year, I will meet with local business owners to identify any support mechanisms we can provide for them. Attending the Westby Revitalization Workshop sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 27 will be a first step on this path.

Rumble and Read Club has been on hiatus in September, but we will resume this after-school program on Tuesday Oct. 4. All 1st-4th graders are welcome to attend, 3:30-5 p.m.

Potter passion is alive and well in Westby! Have you read the new Harry Potter Short Stories? J.K. Rowling has introduced Pottermore Presents: Short Stories from Hogwarts. These stories have been released in digital format only, and the Bekkum Library Kindles have them. In order to check out a Kindle, you must be a Westby patron over 16 and have an account in good standing. Library Staff will go over usage of the device when you check out.

Visit us at the Vernon County Fair: Bekkum Library will be staffing the Vernon County Libraries Booth at the Fair on Sunday. We will be in the VMH Expo Center. Drop in and find out what your library has for you any time during the Fair! Kids-play a game and win a prize.

New Materials

Books: A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears; The Hawaiian Quilt by Wanda Brunstetter; The Longest Road by Adina Senft; Until I Love Again by Jerry S. Eicher; A Beautiful Funeral by Jamie McGuire; Rough Trade by Todd Robinson; The Dread Line by Bruce DeSilva; Downfall by J.A.Jance; Apprentice in Death by J.D. Robb; Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen; Winters Child by Margaret Coel; Rushing Waters by Danielle Steel; The Jealous Kind by James Lee Burke; Liars Key by Carla Neggers; We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly; Crash and Burn by Fern Michaels; Hell Fire by Karin Fossum; Always a Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller; Frostline by Linda Howard; Curls 2: versatile, wearable wraps to knit at any gauge by Hunter Hammersen; The Complete Surprise: Knitting Elizabeth Zimmermanns surprise jacket by Cully Swansen.

Audiobooks: The Book that Matters Most by Ann Hood;

DVD: The Jungle Book; The Nice Guys; Marvels Captain America
Bayer AG (BAYRY) and Monsanto Co. (MON) will have an army of legal advisers to aid in what is expected to be arduous legal battle to clear U.S. and other competition authorities around the globe in completing their recently announced $66 billion merger.

The biggest hurdle may be that the DOJ and other regulators can't view this acquisition in isolation. This deal is only one of four pending blockbuster mergers under review in the ag chemical space. Besides the Syngenta deal, the DOJ is also considering Dow Chemical Co.'s (DOW) planned $130 billion acquisition of DuPont Co. (DD) and it will soon have before it the Agrium Inc. (AGU) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT) . The DOJ on Aug. 31 also filed a lawsuit to block Deere & Co.'s (DE) $190 million acquisition of Precision Planting LLC from Monsanto in order to preserve competition in the market for high-speed precision planting systems in the U.S.

Dow Chemical is a holding in Jim Cramer's.Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells DOW? Learn more now.

Farm and consumer groups have already lined up to oppose Bayer's move including the National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. "The merger between Bayer and Monsanto marks the fifth major deal in agriculture in the last year."

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the agriculture merger wave on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

That the merger is predicted to close at the end of 2017 also shows that the parties know they will have to endure a long review with regulators. However, the companies predict that they will ultimately win approval. The deal has a $2 billion reverse breakup fee that would be due to Monsanto if regulatory approval can't be obtained. At only 3% of the transaction value that's a fairly standard termination fee for the target--a sign the company didn't demand a high level or protection against the deal's rejection by regulators.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday the companies acknowledged that they will have to make divestitures but refused specify which units are likely to be sold to win regulators' approval. "We don't want to preempt a regulatory discussion," said Bayer CEO Werner Baumann.

Baumann conceded there have been numerous published reports predicting divestitures that will have to be made, most notably in the cottonseed area.

According to a report authored by antitrust lawyers Maurice Stucke and Allen Grunes at the Konkurrenz Group last month, without a divestiture the merger would violate a 2007 DOJ order by reuniting Monsanto with the Stoneville brand, which it was forced to divest to Bayer as part of the Justice Department's approval of Monsanto's acquisition of Delta & Pine Land Co.

For the most part, however, Baumann said the companies' product and geographic footprints are complimentary and the areas where they directly complete are limited.

Bayer and Monsanto officials didn't directly address whether they would consent to behavioral conditions to address small seed companies' complaints about difficulties they face licensing genetically modified traits developed by the major seed companies.

The company officials also said they intend to make a voluntary filing for approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in U.S., a government panel charged with reviewing foreign acquisitions of U.S. assets for national security risks.

Bayer is being represented by Sullivan & Cromwell LPP while Monsanto has enlisted a high-powered lineup of antitrust lawyers from multiple firms, all of whom have advised the company in one capacity or another for years. Arnold & Porter LLP is lead antitrust firm for Monsanto. Monsanto is also receiving input from at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP; Paul Hastings LLP; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

--David Marcus contributed to this story.

EDITORS' NOTE: A version of this article was originally published by The Deal, a sister publication of TheStreet that offers sophisticated insight and analysis on all types of deals, from inception to integration. Click here for a free trial.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) were declining on heavy trading volume mid-Thursday afternoon after federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the company's practices, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York and Northern District of California are looking into illegal account openings that led to the bank being fined $185 million last week.

UBS trimmed its price target on shares of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo to $44 from $45 earlier today due to the review, reiterating a "sell" rating," the Fly notes.

The firm said that the regulatory investigation will be a headwind to the company's deposit and fee revenue growth.

Wells Fargo will face higher compliance costs and will most likely shift to new metrics and less aggressive cross-selling, UBS said, the Fly reports.

More than 38.08 million shares of Wells Fargo have traded hands so far today vs. the 30-day average volume of 19.09 million shares.

(Wells Fargo is held in Jim Cramer's charitable trust Action Alerts PLUS. See all of his holding with a free trialhere.)

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and attractive valuation levels. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: WFC
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Boeing (BA) were advancing in mid-afternoon trade on Thursday as the company challenges the Danish Ministry of Defense over its choice to purchase Lockheed Martin's (LMT) fighter jets rather than Boeing's, Reuters reports.

The Danish government favored Lockheed's F-35 planes over Seattle-based Boeing's Super Hornets based on what Boeing called a "flawed evaluation process."

Debbie Rub, Boeing's VP, said that the company believes the evaluation process "inaccurately assessed the cost and capability" of the two jets, Reuters noted.

The aircraft manufacturer has submitted a request for the ministry to supply all materials related to the decision.

Peter Christensen, Denmark's defense minister, confirmed that Boeing would be able to access all the requested information, according to Reuters.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C+.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and generally higher debt management risk.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: BA
09/14/2016

By Ed Brennen

Studying immigration in the Czech Republic this summer didnt really align with Mary Joens chemical engineering major. And that was just fine with the sophomore from Beverly.

For Joens, participating in the study-abroad program Summer School of Migration in Prague, led by Assoc. Prof. Jana Sladkova of the Psychology Department, is what the college experience is all about: the opportunity to explore diverse interests in ways that may never come along again.

I had been following immigration issues at home and abroad in the news for a while, and the course seemed like a great opportunity to take a closer look from a new perspective, says Joens, one of seven UMass Lowell students who participated in the six-credit course.

It was my first time studying abroad, and it was a fantastic experience, adds Joens, who was able to fulfill general education requirements with the course. It definitely added much more nuance to my ideas of immigration and the refugee crisis in particular.

This is the third time that Sladkova, a native of Prague whose research focuses on migration, has led the three-week program. It is run in partnership with the Czech Republics oldest higher education institution, Charles University, founded in 1348.

Migration is such a huge issue around the world, and this enhances what the students learn because they are, in a way, immigrants for three weeks, says Sladkova, whose students compared and contrasted the current issues of migration in the United States and the Czech Republic, examined case studies of particular migrant groups and explored the integration of migrants into their new communities.

The course also featured lectures from Charles University faculty, who shared new research on migration that Sladkova says was not yet available to the public.

It was incredible to actually see the research being carried out right now and the current effects of the refugee crisis, says Matt Laraba, a senior psychology major from Lowell.

Senior psychology major Elizabeth Mason enjoys the view of the city during the study-abroad course 'Summer School of Migration in Prague.'

In 2015 alone, more than a million migrants and refugees, primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, crossed into Europe, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. While countries like Germany, France and Italy have accepted the most immigrants, a divide has been created in the European Union over how best to deal with the crisis.

In the Czech Republic, students noted a somewhat vocal (and familiar) skepticism of open immigration.

Given the current political divide in the U.S. regarding immigration policy, I would say the mood in the Czech Republic seems very clear, says Elizabeth Mason, a senior psychology major from Billerica. Many professors openly described the country as being xenophobic. The rest of Europe, however, seems to have different views, resulting in a political divide.

Students classroom lessons were complemented by several daylong excursions, including visits to the Arabic community of Teplice and the Vietnamese community of Potucky. Students also attended a ballet performance at Pragues National Theater and a classical music performance at the historic Smetana Hall and enjoyed a cruise on the Vltava River.

It was absolutely amazing to see all the history, says Laraba, who traveled on his own through Germany, France and the Netherlands for a week before joining the course in Prague. It was nice being with the small class because it gave us more time to ask questions and have one-on-one discussions.

Students agreed that most difficult part of the trip was the language barrier, which made having Sladkova by their side all the more helpful.

It was nice having Jana there because she not only gave us ideas of where to go, but she also gave us the freedom to explore on our own, Laraba says.

Its an exhausting trip, but in a good way, Sladkova says. Its a joy to share the country with the students.
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Regulators fined Wells Fargo $185 million last week for a scheme in which employees created up to 2 million accounts that customers did not authorize. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors have launched an inquiry into aggressive sales tactics at Wells Fargo after revelations that thousands of its employees secretly created accounts customers didnt ask for to meet sales goals, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investigation, which is being conducted by the U.S. attorneys office in New York, is preliminary and may not produce charges, said one person familiar with the matter. That person said that the banking giant had been served with subpoenas, but that the prosecutors have not decided whether the case warrants criminal or civil charges.

The investigation escalate an already embarrassing episode for San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.

Regulators fined the bank $185 million last week for a scheme in which employees created up to 2 million accounts, for services such as credit cards and savings accounts, that customers did not authorize. In some cases, the employees took money from an established account to create a new one. Some customers were then hit with assorted fees for accounts they didnt know they had, the regulators charged.

The activity peaked in 2013 and mostly occurred in the Southwest part of the country, company officials have said.

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf speaks at the Bay Area Council Outlook Conference on May 17, 2016 in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

How probable is it that you would have a firm-wide, multiyear scheme involving thousands and thousands of people that senior leaders werent aware of? said Jordan Thomas, a partner at Labaton Sucharow and a former Justice Department trial lawyer.

I think the smart money is that some senior leaders were aware, and it is for that reason that prosecutors are apparently making an inquiry, he said.

Wells Fargo fired 5,300 workers for improper sales push. The executive in charge is retiring with $125 million.

Wells Fargo has apologized to customers and said it would end the aggressive sales goals critics say pushed employees to break the rules. The company said last week it had dismissed 5,300 employees over five years for creating the unauthorized accounts, including some managers.

On average 1 percent [of employees] have not done the right thing, and we terminated them. I dont want them here if they dont represent the culture of the company, John Stumpf, the companys longtime chief executive, said in an interview Tuesday with The Washington Post.

Wells Fargo CEO pledges to stamp out bad behavior. I feel accountable.

Stumpf is expected to testify before the Senate Banking Committee next week on the affair.

Wells Fargo has long cultivated a reputation for staying out of the regulatory headaches that have dogged some of its biggest competitors. That reputation is now at risk as lawmakers, regulators and even Wall Street analysts question how one of the countrys largest banks could have allowed such behavior to fester for years.

The federal investigation also comes a year after the Justice Department said it would more aggressively pursue cases against individual company executives, not just corporations. For years, prosecutors endured criticism for not doing enough to prosecute high-level executives for financial misconduct, particularly in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Wells Fargo case, legal experts say, is an opportunity for federal officials to reflect that new focus.

Wells Fargo declined to comment, and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York could not be reached for comment. The Wall Street Journal, which earlier reported the existence of an investigation, said the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, where Wells Fargo is based, is also investigating the matter. A spokesman for that office declined to comment.

To build a case against a company executive, prosecutors would have to show they knew there was a plan to create false accounts to drive up sales, said Brandon L. Garrett, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Even if it appears that the executive purposefully attempted to avoid knowing about the fraud, prosecutors may be able to build a case, Garrett said. They dont have to participate if there is willful negligence, he said.

Wells Fargo has been the countrys largest bank by market value for years, but lost that perch to JPMorgan Chase this week as its stock price plummeted. It has fallen about 8 percent since regulators announced the $185 million fine.
Sometimes you start to read a book and the stories are so good that you just have to learn more about the author who wrote the stories. That is what happened to me when I was reading Tumbleweed Tales by Marion Grimsrud Nereim. She wrote about growing up in the early 1900s, with many of the stories set in Westby. The stories were written with such vivid detail and wonderfully descriptive words that I could almost put myself right next to her in the story she was telling. So who was the gifted storyteller?

Marions daughter, Anne Nereim Benson, sent me a copy of the book thinking that perhaps we would like to reprint one of her mothers stories. And we will. But first, lets find out more about Marion.

Marion Jewell Grimsrud was born June 14, 1904, in Dawson, Lac qui Parle County, Minn., the daughter of Richard M. Grimsrud and Adela J. Michelet. Marion was named after Robert Marion LaFollette, governor of Wisconsin from 1901-1906. The Grimsrud family was very interested in politics and the Governor was much admired by the family.

Marions father, Richard Magnus Grimsrud, was the son of sten Larsen Grimsrud and Lisbet stensdatter Grimsrud who immigrated from yer, Oppland, Norway in 1858 and settled in Coon Valley. Marions mother, Adella Johanne MIchelet, was the daughter of Johan Michelet and Johanne Johannesdatter Kvrnstuen. Marion was the granddaughter of one of Coon Prairies early immigrants, Jacob Post Michelet.

Marions parents were married in Chaseburg, Wis., on Dec. 17, 1902, by the Rev. Halvard Roalkvan. The 1905 Minnesota Territorial and State census, shows the family living in Lac qui Parle County, Minn. In 1909 the family would move back to the farm in Westby that belonged to Adellas father, John Michelet. The family would grow to include Carol Naomi (Connie), Aikyn Frances Genevieve, and Richard Michelet Grimsrud.

Marion attended Westby High School and graduated as the salutatorian in 1922. Her nickname was Mimi. The following is recorded under her name: What political reforms will be brought about when I take my seat in Congress. Lofty goals in 1922 but Marion was extremely intelligent, well-read and determined. She spent her freshman year at University of Wisconsin, Madison, and then went on to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., where she graduated in 1927.

The St. Olaf College yearbook records under Marions name: She has a quietness of manner augmented by grim ambition. She was a reporter for the college newspaper and a contributing editor to their literary magazine. She became a biology teacher and taught at Fairmont, Minn., and Westby High School for a short time. She loved writing and earning money so during her high school years in Westby she contributed to the La Crosse Tribune, earning 7 cents a column inch.

Her father, Richard Magnus Grimsrud, was well educated, having graduated from Drake Law School in Des Moines, Iowa, although it is said he never practiced law. He was appointed U.S. Postmaster for Westby for two terms in 1936 and 1940 and served until 1945. Her mother, Adella, also well educated, was an accomplished pianist with a fondness for songs by Stephen Foster. According to Adellas granddaughter, Anne Benson, Adella enrolled both Marion and Naomi in public speaking classes, piano and art lessons. Anne says, My mother (Marion) was an excellent artist. She drew people in pencil so you could tell who they were. She could draw a plant and shade it so it looked three dimensional.

Marion married Dr. Theodore Julius Nereim at Our Saviors Church in Westby on June 30, 1931. Dr. Nereim was born Nov. 18, 1903, in Aurora, Ill., the son of Thomas and Liva Nereim. His work as a doctor took them to various places, including Whitehall, Wis., and Baraboo, where he was a doctor at Badger Ordinance Works. Dr. Nereim was President of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians and Vice Chair of the staff at Madison General Hospital. They would build a home in Mt. Hoerb, Wis.. Dr. Theodore Nereim died in Mt. Hoerb, Wis., on April 13, 1983. Marion Jewell Grimsrud Nereim died in Waunakee, Wis., on July 11, 1997. Both are buried at Coon Prairie Cemetery.

In the forward to Marions book, her daughter, Anne Nereim Benson, writes: Westby was my mothers hometown for all of her childhood except for the very beginning. Coon Prairie was the area to which Jacob Post Michelet, her great grandfather came when he left his home in Norway, drawn by stories of people settling in the new land and wanting to be among them. Technically he probably wasnt a pioneer. He lived in a large house built in the very beginning of what was to be Westby. But his child was among the first to be buried in the Coon Prairie Cemetery, and my mother always referred to him as her pioneer ancestor.

Marions words, My early years passed with the complete freedom of tumbleweeds rolling in the wind. I did not know about war or atomic bombs. She said most of her stories were true but sometimes with a few enhancements, as any good Grimsrud and Michelet would do. Apparently the Grimsruds and the Michelets were all fabulous storytellers. Without a doubt, Marion was also.

You can contact WAHS at 608-634-4788 to leave a message or email us at westbywihistory@gmail.com

Join us next week for one of Marions stories.
Vanguard Group Chairman Jack Bogle, during an interview at The Washington Post in 1997. One Bogle innovation, the owned-by-the-customers structure, means that Vanguard isnt focused on increasing profits and paying cash dividends. (Todd Cross/The Washington Post)

You dont often see the terms Wall Street and forgoing profit in the same sentence.

But a decision made by the Vanguard mutual fund house decades ago to forgo profits is a key reason that index funds are now a multi-trillion-dollar factor on Wall Street and continue to gobble up market share.

The idea that forgoing profit can be good business is an important lesson that we should all take from the recent celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Aug. 31, 1976, launch of what is now known as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund.

That fund, pushed by Vanguard founder Jack Bogle, was designed to mimic the S&P 500, not to outperform it. A fund that replicates an index is much cheaper to run than an active fund, which needs to hire analysts and managers and engage in extensive research to try to outperform the index.

Now, to the forgoing profit part.

Unlike a mutual fund house owned by profit-seeking shareholders, Vanguard is owned by the investors in its mutual funds. These holders (who include my family and me) dont have any meaningful ownership privileges  we dont get cash dividends, for example, and have no say in choosing Vanguards leadership.

But the owned-by-the-customers structure, another Jack Bogle innovation, means that Vanguard isnt focused on increasing profits and paying cash dividends. Instead, Vanguard plows its profits back into the business by reducing the fees it charges shareholders.

Its a question of allocating those profits to Main Street rather to Wall Street, Bogle told me in a telephone interview. The profits go to the funds investors, not to the managers.

Consider these amazing cost-reduction numbers.

In the first year after its launch, Vanguard says, its newly established S&P fund charged investors 0.43 of one percent of their average balance as a management fee, plus a $6 annual charge.

This means that if you had $10,000 in the fund, Vanguard charged you $49 a year  a $43 management fee plus the six-buck annual charge.

The current fee for a $10,000 investor: $5, with no annual charge. Thats right, the fee today is almost 90 percent below what Vanguard charged 40 years ago for the same-size investment.

If you have less than $10,000 in your account, your fee is 0.16 percent. For someone with a $3,000 balance  the minimum required to open an account  the fee is $4.80 a year, and no annual charge. Thats more than 60 percent less than the $12.90 it would have cost in 1976.

Because an index fund charges investors less than active funds do, it will outperform the average actively managed fund. The more that Vanguard cut index fund fees, the higher the funds climbed in shareholder-return rankings, and the more money poured in. Its whats known as a virtuous cycle.

Pressure from Vanguard has forced other firms to offer low fees to compete. For example, Fidelity, owned by its employees and its founding Johnson family, told me that its index funds charge less than the equivalent Vanguard funds. Fidelity says it charges 0.09 percent (as opposed to Vanguards 0.16) for holders with less than $10,000 in its S&P 500 fund, and 0.045 percent (as opposed to Vanguards 0.5) for accounts with more than $10,000.

What this means, of course, is that the forgoing-profit model has saved billions of dollars not only for Vanguards index investors, but also for index investors in other fund companies.

One final note: Even though index funds are my biggest individual stock holdings, theres a lot to be said for well-managed relatively low-cost active funds. Both Dan Wiener, editor of the Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors newsletter, and Fidelity spokesman Vince LoPorchio told me about active funds that have outperformed their benchmarks for extended periods.

But for people without the time, inclination or skill to pick individual stocks or funds, index funds offer a cheap, simple, efficient alternative. So millions of people have profited from Vanguard forgoing profits. Isnt life interesting?
Its not easy to replicate the skill or success of the late Agatha Christie. Her books, with their charming sleuths, twisty plots and imaginative assortment of criminals, have sold some 2 billion copies  a figure that may be outmatched only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

But 40 years after Christies death, Sophie Hannah (Little Face, The Carrier), authorized by the protective Christie estate, has stepped into the Queen of Mysterys shoes, for the second time. Her first reboot, Monogram Murders (2014), was a three-corpse foray that resurrected Hercule Poirot, Christies beloved Belgian detective. Poirot appears again  if less prominently  in Closed Casket, along with Hannahs creation, Poirots sidekick, Scotland Yard detective Edward Catchpool. Published to coincide with what would have been Christies 126th birthday, the book captures the essence of the originals without being a slavish imitation.

[Agatha Christies own words deepen mystery of the Queen of Crime]

"Agatha Christie: Closed Casket: A New Hercule Poirot Mystery" by Sophie Hannah. (William Morrow)

The setting is classic Christie. Lady Athelinda Playford, the elderly author of successful childrens books, has pleaded with Poirot and Catchpool to come to Lillieoak, her elegant Palladian manor in Ireland. Once the pair arrive, Playford gives a dinner party that culminates in a dramatic announcement: She has drastically changed her will, cutting off her children. An inevitable gruesome murder quickly ensues. And were off. In the days following, the people in the house party are interrogated by the two detectives. Each person is offered as a suspect as everyone tries to track down the perpetrator.

Narrated by Catchpool, the book moves along suspensefully if at times predictably. Catchpool is a dutiful observer, but Poirot is of course the more striking character, with his droll commentary and endearingly fussy personality. The book suffers from his relatively low profile here. When the dapper Poirot does make his appearance with his egg shaped head, shiny shoes and of course the immaculate mustache, he is true to the Poirot we know. With his slightly Frenchified English, he searches the house, opining: That is more productive than looking for the needle in the hay, As always, he is ahead of his companion in snapping up details ignored by everyone else.

The author Sophie Hannah. (Philippa Gedge Photography)

The plot is carefully spun out. Clues emerge, but the case remains perplexing. At the heart of the puzzle is why Poirot and Catchpool have been invited to this dinner in the first place. Had Lady Playford anticipated  or possibly instigated  the murder? As Poirot and Catchpool suss out the evidence, Christie aficionados will delight in the familiar repartee and the intricate deduction of the solution.

But as endearing as it is, Closed Casket lacks the special charm of the originals and the liveliness of Hannahs original. There isnt enough quirky interplay between Poirot and his assistant, or more simply, enough Poirot. As the bow-tied detective gathers the suspects for his grand revelation in the drawing room at Lillieoak, readers will be wishing they had heard more from the self-proclaimed great detective and his little grey cells.

Brigitte Weeks is a former editor of Book World.
On my desk, next to a P.G. Wodehouse coffee mug filled with pencils, I keep a lapel button that reads: Life? Of course I have a life. Its a life filled with books. As it happens, you wont find a better precis than that of Robert Gottliebs splendid memoir Avid Reader.

During a six-decade career as an editor and publisher, Gottlieb shepherded into print a few titles you just might have heard of, including Joseph Hellers Catch-22, Toni Morrisons Beloved, John le Carres Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Robert A. Caros multivolume life of Johnson (Lyndon, that is), and the autobiographies of Lauren Bacall, Bill Clinton and, not least, Katharine Graham.

"Avid Reader: A Life" by Robert Gottlieb (FSG)

Born in New York City in 1931, the only child of a lawyer and schoolteacher, Gottlieb explains that from the start, words were more real to me than real life, and certainly more interesting. As a boy, he reread favorite volumes in Arthur Ransomes Swallows and Amazons series as many as 50 times each. As a teenager and college student, he was what collectors call a completist. What was the point of reading only some of a writers work? In the summers I would sweep straight through a writer chronologically, one year, Conrad; the next, Cather. He devoured the seven volumes of Prousts In Search of Lost Time in seven days. A twerpy-looking bookworm, he disliked the outdoors, loved dance and theater and was afraid to fly. In the words of his first wifes roofing-contractor father, If I had a son like that, Id take him out and drown him like a sick kitten.

[Blanche Knopf: The complicated woman behind a powerful literary brand]

Gottlieb attended Columbia University during the heyday of Lionel Trilling and Mark Van Doren and then spent a couple of years at Cambridge University in England. When he returned home, he went looking for a job  by now he was a married man with a small child, though he still looked about 16 (and was carded at liquor stores well into his 30s). Through a series of flukes, he was eventually hired as an assistant to Jack Goodman, the head of Simon and Schuster. When Goodman died at age 47, the company fell into disarray, and Gottlieb  through hard work and a gift for friendship  gradually emerged as the firms new powerhouse editor.

While working at S&S in the 1950s and 60s and then at Knopf from 1968 to 1987, Gottlieb favored superior popular fiction and high-end commercial nonfiction. Whatever the genre, he aimed to publish only the best books and, in particular, those about which he felt personally impassioned. He once defined the publishers role as essentially the act of making public ones own enthusiasm, and his own enthusiasms were impressively diverse, ranging from Rona Jaffes sex-and-the-city classic The Best of Everything to Michael Crichtons science-fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain to Barbara Tuchmans panoramic A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century.

However, Gottliebs otherwise catholic taste didnt extend to innovative or experimental fiction; works such as William Gaddiss JR, he writes, seemed to me more constructs than novels.And sometimes, he admits, his usually sound judgment let him down: He mentions that he rejected Larry McMurtrys Lonesome Dove and John Kennedy Tooles A Confederacy of Dunces, both of which would win Pulitzer Prizes.

The author Robert Gottlieb (Richard Overstreet)

In a prefatory note, Gottlieb emphasizes that its ones successes one tends to remember. Perhaps so, yet this mental tic unavoidably skews Avid Reader toward triumphalism: In these pages the account of one blockbuster follows another in a colorful procession of bestsellers. But of the 20 or 30 books Gottlieb personally edited each year, were there none he deeply cherished that never found an audience or that even now deserve to be rediscovered? The brilliant failures, the idiosyncratic minor classics, the good, solid novels by dependable mid-list authors  these are essential to a healthy literary culture, and it would have been good to hear about some of them. That said, Gottlieb does contend that Something Happened is Joseph Hellers finest novel.

[Review: The Whole Harmonium: The Life of Wallace Stevens]

For all his declared bookishness, this near legendary editor reveals himself to be as much a people person as an avid reader. In his memoirs final chapter, Gottlieb concludes that he has always been happiest when part of a relatively small group of congenial, like-minded people with whom I share a common goal. More than that, he quite literally regards numerous writers and publishing colleagues as family, as the people he vacations with and invites to Thanksgiving dinner. As a result, Gottlieb overuses phrases like after close to fifty years, still a dear friend and indispensable colleague and I went on working with her for more than twenty years, and loved her until she died. Sincere sentiments, no doubt, but a few such air kisses go a long way.

That said, Gottlieb frankly calls Roald Dahl a pain to work with and daringly describes publishing diva Blanche Knopf as a tiny woman who looked as if she had gone straight from Dachau to Elizabeth Arden. No wonder everyone was scared of her. He notes, too, that Katharine Hepburn and Susan Sontag shared the same ruthless determination, the same sense of privilege, the same get-out-of-my-way stride.

In 1987, Gottlieb left Knopf to oversee the New Yorker, which he ran for five years (until being replaced by the flamboyant Tina Brown). While in charge, he hired Washington Post reporter David Remnick, who would in due course take over as the magazines editor. Since 1992, Gottlieb has again worked for Knopf on a part-time basis, usually editing manuscripts by old friends or big-ticket items such as Bill Clintons autobiography (to which he devotes several pages). Just as important, he has also reinvented himself as a literary journalist, reviewing dance performances and editing anthologies of jazz criticism, as well as producing a wonderful, unlikely book about Charles Dickenss 10 children.

Despite my few cavils, Avid Reader will be avidly read by anyone interested in the publishing world of the past 60 years. After all, not since Max Perkins worked with Hemingway and Fitzgerald has there been a more admired editor than Robert Gottlieb. His has been, he would admit, a privileged and enviable life, which is really just another way of saying that it has been a life filled with books.

Michael Dirda reviews books on Thursdays in Style.
All the world may be a stage, as Shakespeare proclaimed, but the saying rings especially true for Washington theaters that persuade embassies to sponsor shows.

The level of sponsorship can vary widely  from a home country wine-and-cheese reception to a fully funded commission  but as the fall arts season opens this month, at least three area theaters are clearly benefiting from being so close to Embassy Row.

The countries and their three respective shows  Canada (Come From Away at Fords Theatre), Spain (Cervantes: The Last Quixote at GALA Hispanic Theatre) and Sweden (I Call My Brothers at Forum Theatre)  also demonstrate the very different diplomatic reasons foreign governments support theatrical productions.

Fancy a summer vacation in Newfoundland? Thats one idea officials at the Embassy of Canada hope theater patrons come away with after seeing Come From Away. Before the musicals Sept. 7 opening, donors and other VIPs were treated to a dinner reception at the embassy, just a few blocks away on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Newfoundland and Labrador tourism board created a slide show for the occasion, and journalists attending the musical on press night each received a list of ideas for travel stories, such as touring the islands historic lighthouses or experiencing the culinary delight of fresh-caught cod in St. Johns.

It may be no coincidence that several characters in Come From Away are encouraged to kiss a (stuffed) codfish onstage. The musical recounts the extended layover that more than 6,000 airline passengers experienced in Gander, Newfoundland, in the wake of the Sept. 11. 2001, terrorist attacks. As a result, Come From Away is low on drama but tugs hard on your heartstrings, as residents from the town feed, clothe and entertain the plane people.

In addition to funding the reception, the embassy is supporting the Broadway-bound musical by sharing media contacts with Fords Theatre and providing discount codes to Canadian expatriates who live in the Washington area, an embassy spokeswoman said.

When you walk through the halls of the embassy  and even at events outside the embassy  you can hear people are saying to one another, Have you seen Come From Away yet?  said embassy spokeswoman Christine Constantin.

The diplomatic boost seems to be paying off  Fords has already announced an extension through Oct. 16. Then its off to Toronto, where Come From Away will run from Nov. 15 through Jan. 8 before beginning Broadway performances in February.

The Canadian government has actually backed the show since its premiere in Seattle, where the consulate hosted a Gander Day and flew in the towns mayor. Diplomats are eager to support the musical, not only because writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein are Canadian, but also because they revel in its depictions of Canadians as people who will bend over backward to aid their neighbors to the south.

Theres so much here that showcases the close relationship between the U.S. and Canada, Constantin said. Americans who see the show can see themselves in the story.

Other embassies support plays for reasons that seem a bit less mercenary. Since 2009, the Embassy of Spain has collaborated with GALA, a Spanish-language theater in Columbia Heights, to produce a show every year. Given that this year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Cervantes, the embassy was able to secure additional support from the Spanish cultural ministry and Accion Cultural Espanola.

Working with Madrid-based producer David Peralto, GALA commissioned a play about Cervantes from Spanish playwright Jordi Casanova and brought over a creative team that has had great success at GALA in the past.

Director Jose Luis Arellano took home a 2016 Helen Hayes outstanding director award for his work on Yerma, a drama that racked up nine nominations. Both he and Peralto attended the ceremony and flew back to Spain ecstatic about collaborating again on The Last Quixote, a fictionalized riff on the authors feud with fellow dramatist Lope de Vega. (The play runs through Oct. 2.)

This is so crazy and so amazing for us, Peralto said. It is a real bridge, a one-of-a-kind collaboration. . . . I think this is one of the most important events that has been done during this 400th anniversary anywhere [all] over the world.

While the Spanish diplomats, Peralto and GALA work together to choose their collaborations, other embassies take a more organic approach to sponsorship, stepping in only after a Washington arts organization decides to program a work with foreign ties. A few recent examples include the Danish Embassy sponsoring a reception for Imagination Stages The Little Mermaid, which was more true to Hans Christian Andersens story than to the Disney movie, and the Irish Embassy inviting actors from Studio Theatres production of Moment to celebrate the 100th anniversary of The Rising, a fight for Irish independence.

Perhaps no embassy staff member has committed to learning the local theater scene more than Linda Zachrison, one of eight Swedish cultural ministers working around the world. Since arriving in Washington last year, she has become a connector and a mover and shaker, and she has shared Swedens philosophy of cultural diplomacy at Forum Theatre.

Mostly, it is the theaters that make the production choice, and thats very important, Zachrison said. Our support is completely based on their own artistic decisions. We might offer suggestions on Swedish play writers or specific productions, or a collaboration around the opening, like a reception. Im working as a matchmaker, in a way.

Zachrison found out that Silver Springs Forum Theatre was staging I Call My Brothers, by Swedish writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri, only because she happened to be talking to Matt Torney, the Belfast-born associate artistic director of Studio Theatre. It happened that Zachrison was already partnering with the National Book Festival to bring Khemiri to Washington. Now, in addition to reading from his latest book at the festival, Khemiri is scheduled to participate in a talkback at Forum on Sept. 21 and to give a talk at the House of Sweden on Sept. 22.

Zachrison is thrilled by such synchronicity, but also realistic about what goodwill efforts can be accomplished when she brings Swedish artists to the United States.

Tourism is not my first priority, but my department focuses on promotion of Sweden, she says. We are sent out to be the connections between Swedish arts and culture and the world. My job is to ask, How can we work together? How can we help each other? That is the only successful way. Not to push, but to listen and try to be creative.


The dish sparking conversation at Capitol Hill Crab Cakes: the crab fries, smothered with a spicy house remoulade and sprinkled with ivory crab meat. (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post)

Capitol Hill Crab Cakes chef and owner Horatio Davis, who grew up on Capitol Hill, has found a home for his restaurant concept in Anacostia. (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post)

In a neighborhood still searching for a dining identity, some in historic Anacostia have raised an eyebrow at a newcomer that goes by the name of Capitol Hill Crab Cakes.

The name confuses me, muttered a Yelp reviewer. Where is the Anacostia pride?

Its a legit question, and Horatio Davis has a compelling answer: The chef and owner behind this crab-heavy carryout grew up on Capitol Hill, but not the part with million-dollar rowhouses, tasting-menu restaurants and markets selling vine-ripened tomatoes for $3 a pound. Davis recalls the floor shaking at his grandparents house near RFK Stadium whenever the Redskins found the end zone. He remembers how he lost his mom to the drug culture around Potomac Gardens, the Capitol Hill housing project that was swallowed up in the crack epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s.

It wasnt the greatest living situation, but those are the people I grew up with, Davis explains.

Davis wanted to bring a piece of his childhood to Anacostia, a neighborhood that has experienced its own share of hardship. Located in the same community that his father once called home, Capitol Hill Crab Cakes is a small sign of progress, but one tinged with the memories of a less-hopeful time. To my mind, the name has depth, feeling and poetry, if also a poor sense of direction.

But as any English major will tell you, you cant survive on poetry. Davis opened Capitol Hill Crab Cakes late last year after fine-tuning his crab-cake concept as a pop-up at festivals and markets. He conducted his shellfish R&D while also serving as executive chef for the Alibi Club, the ultra-secret, ultra-exclusive downtown retreat where the worlds most powerful men feel the need to hide from their wives.



The main item on the menu: the jumbo lump crab cake, which tastes clean and fresh with a dash of biting mustard and a hint of grassy parsley. (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post)

As a result of Daviss research and refinement, Capitol Hill Crab Cakes feels like a fully formed concept from the outset. A journeyman chef who trained at LAcademie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Davis uses crab in a wide variety of dishes, a shrewd approach that avoids wasting the pricey and perishable meat. Aside from the 5- to 6-ounce cakes, the menu features a crab grilled cheese, a spicy crab-and-shrimp roll, even a Caprese crab cake sandwich.

The chefs wittiest statement, though, is a plate dubbed the Anacostia surf and turf, which pairs a jumbo-lump crab cake with a fried chicken breast. (It used to be an airline cut, but Davis switched for budgetary reasons.) The dish nods to the deep-fried tradition of Anacostia carryouts while simultaneously elevating the neighborhoods dining options with a riff on a steakhouse classic. Its a shame the kitchen fumbled the preparation of my plate: The crab cake glistened with grease, and the chicken required a generous application of hot sauce to compensate for its dehydrated meat.

Its a shame, I say, because the kitchen is usually reliable. When I had ordered a jumbo-lump crab cake on an earlier visit, the fat puck of shellfish flesh had picked up just enough oil and color to activate my saliva glands. I cant vouch for the percentage of jumbo lump in the cake  though I spotted plenty of plump, juicy pieces  but I can testify to its flavor: clean and fresh with a dash of biting mustard and a hint of grassy parsley. Davis confided that he adds a rather unorthodox ingredient to his crab cake (I swore to take the secret to the grave), but I couldnt actually detect it after two attempts. Maybe you can?

The first time I visited the carryout, when I opted to dine at one of the few tables, some customers in line were carrying on about the crab fries. I could relate. I had already secured a container of the coated fries, smothered with a spicy house remoulade and sprinkled with ivory crab meat. The appetizer first hypnotized my eyes, then put the moves on my palate. I surrendered like the prey animal.



One of the many dishes that uses crab at Capitol Hill Crab Cakes: the spicy shrimp-and-crab roll. (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post)

Some of the other crab preparations just cant compete with those saucy, smothered fries. My spicy crab-and-shrimp sandwich suffered from a split roll that was griddled without a lick of butter, adding a bitter edge to the bite. The Caprese dresses up a traditional crab cake sandwich with tomato, mozzarella and basil mayonnaise, and it would have impressed me had the thing not essentially disintegrated, the crab meat crumbling through my fingers like wet sand.

Have a shellfish aversion? You can still dine here. Chicken assumes a number of different forms, mostly the fried variety. Oversauced bar wings will never taste the same after you bite into Daviss version, each salty, crispy and bony segment a validation of the kitchens fry skills. My favorite fried bird part, however, was a rugged length of boneless thigh meat tucked into a potato bun and drizzled with an innocuous-looking sauce that proved so hot it could have branded cattle. The chef has dubbed this mouthwatering bite the Marion Barry fried chicken sandwich, which seems perfect. Its just as irrepressible as the late politician.

In ways both subtle and obvious, Capitol Hill Crab Cakes has had to meet Anacostia where it is. Youll conduct business through the small portal of a bullet-proof partition, often forced to repeat yourself to the person on the other side of the glass. Everything comes packaged for takeout, even if youd prefer to eat in the white-washed dining room rather than have the steam trapped in your container degrade dinner. And perhaps most important, the blue crabs are not local. Davis says hell buy shellfish from anywhere, whether the Gulf of Mexico or Indonesia, if the price is right.



Chef and owner Horatio Davis grew up on Capitol Hill, but opened his first restaurant in Anacostia. (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post)

I cant afford to stay in business in Anacostia selling Maryland blue crab, Davis says.

I guess locals could view this as another slap  a place called Capitol Hill that cant afford to serve Chesapeake blue crabs in Anacostia  but I think theres another way to interpret Daviss efforts. Capitol Hill Crab Cakes has been built for the long haul, a tasty carryout that plans to grow right along with the community.


This flowered skirt worn by a little girl enslaved in Virginia will be on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane)

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has nearly 37,000 artifacts, each of which had to be acquired, authenticated and registered in a database. Then, the staff pored through the vast collection to choose 3,000 especially significant items and install them in the cavernous building. To understand the scope of such an endeavor, we traced the odyssey of one small object  a flowered skirt worn by an enslaved African American girl born in Loudoun County, Va.  from acquisition to installation. It was quite a pilgrimage for the little garment and required the assistance of dozens of people.



Joyce Bailey donated the collection of the Black Fashion Museum, which was acquired by her mother, Lois K. Alexander Lane, to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In that collection was a little flowered skirt. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Acquisition

Lori K. Alexander Lane, who established the Black Fashion Museum, wearing a dress she made. (Courtesy of Susan McNeill and the estate of Robert H. McNeil)

Usually, an item is authenticated before it is acquired. But the skirt had already found a home in the collection of the Black Fashion Museum. The small institution, which

operated in Harlem and the District, was the brainchild of Lois K. Alexander Lane, who crisscrossed the country asking people to comb through their attics for clothing made by African Americans. She was determined to let people know the contributions African Americans had made to the fashion industry, says her daughter, Joyce Bailey, who donated the collection to the NMAAHC in 2007, after Alexander Lanes death.

Among the more than 2,000 items of clothing and accessories were sparkling evening gowns, colorful Broadway costumes and a simple georgette dress made by a seamstress who would change history: Rosa Parks.

But curator Nancy Bercaw was searching for something that would remind visitors of the humanity of those who were enslaved. The collection had a few articles of clothing worn during slavery, and among them she found an adorable little skirt made for a young girl. Somebody really pretty carefully put together that skirt, she says.

Descendants of historic African Americans reflect on their family member's life achievements and their decision to donate their relics the to new Nation Museum of African American History and Culture. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Authentication

The Black Fashion Museum had passed on little information about the skirt: The name of the woman it had belonged to (Lucy Lee Shirley), her birth and death dates and locations (1854 in Leesburg, Va.; 1929 in Harrisburg, Pa.), and a Polaroid of the skirt. Authenticating it wouldnt be easy. As museum cataloguer Katie Knowles says, Its not a Renoir painting; its a skirt from the 1800s.

[]For a while she was a name and a status -- enslaved. Now we know more

Knowles, a textile expert, determined that, although it was altered later, the material and construction did indicate that the original skirt dates from about 1860: It is in the style of the era. The fabric is typical  a linen and cotton blend patterned with small red, purple, blue and tan flowers. It was hand-sewn with a whipstitch using natural thread.

A Harrisburg, Pa., city directory lists Lucy Lee Shirley as a dressmaker on James Street in 1908.

But did it belong to an enslaved girl named Lucy? While researchers thought it was likely Shirley was born enslaved, they could not definitively link her to slavery in Loudoun County, where records listed several enslaved Lucys born around 1854.

Museum cataloguer Kamilah Stinnett had more luck on the Harrisburg end. Through findagrave.com, she found a headstone in an African American cemetery there that almost precisely matched the birth and death dates. She also found a Lucy Lee Shirley in address directories from Harrisburg beginning in 1900. And census records showed a Lucy Lee Shirley, who was born in Virginia, living in Harrisburg in 1910 and 1920.

A lot of time when youre doing historical research on enslaved men and women, its really hard to find information. So the fact that  there is something of a paper trail of her was exhilarating, Stinnett says.



An index card that came in with the skirt showed it originally had a matching top. The outfit appeared in The Black Book in 1974. (Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane)

As with many museums of its era, the Black Fashion Museum used a card catalogue system. The NMAAHC uses a digital database. (Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane)

Documentation

While the Black Fashion Museum used a 1980s-era catalogue of index cards and Polaroid photos, the NMAAHC relies on a much more detailed digital database, called the Museum System. Each item is first registered with basic information. Then cataloguers describe the object physically and add context and metadata. Photographers create digital images of the item, so every item will have both a digital record and a digital surrogate in the database. As staffers glean more information about an artifact, including from oral traditions, they can add it to the record. Right now it tends to be more of the dry documentary history, but Im really hoping it will spark more stories, Bercaw says. After review, the record is made available online. Because so many of the items came from the public and not everyone will be able to visit the museum, Bercaw says, its really important that people have access to these objects and to the stories.



Part of an elevation drawing for the NMAAHCs Slavery & Freedom exhibit. (Ralph Appelbaum Associates.)

Installation

Curators decided to include the skirt in a section of the Slavery and Freedom exhibit called The Nurturers, which will highlight objects symbolizing work, life and enslavement. The skirt will represent life. People would take these skills and this knowledge that they had and use it to produce objects of love for the people that they did love, Bercaw says.

A mount drawing for the display case that would hold the skirt. (Ralph Appelbaum Associates)

The staff had to carefully consider how to display the fragile item, which bears the marks of time in stains and holes and worn patches. We try not to make everything look pristine, but we want to make sure its stable enough so it can survive as long as possible, Knowles says. Rather than hanging the skirt on a mannequin-like device called a Dorfman form, conservators suggested mounting it on an angled support panel to reduce stress on the threads.

The exhibition installation team then set up the display case based on plans drawn up by the exhibit designers, showing where the objects, images and text should go and how they should be mounted. The exhibition label text, written by the curators, focuses on the care that went into crafting the skirt. That, Bercaw thinks, is the exhibits most important story. Peoples ability to continue to love when people are constantly sold and being taken from them is something that I can never quite get over.

Elizabeth Chang is an articles editor for the magazine.

E-mail us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.

For more articles, as well as features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit The Washington Post Magazine.

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The Post's Krissah Thompson moderates a conversation between Courtland Cox, head of the SNCC Legacy Project, and Erika Totten, a co-creator of D.C.'s branch of Black Lives Matter. (The Washington Post)

Erika Totten, 33, co-creator of the District Black Lives Matter group, and Courtland Cox, 75, head of the SNCC Legacy Project, joined Post staff writer Krissah Thompson for a Facebook Live discussion. In the 1960s, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee went South to register African Americans to vote. It was dangerous work. Black Lives Matter has sparked a national debate on policing. This is an edited excerpt on voting.

Krissah Thompson: Some in the Black Lives Matter movement are saying that they may not vote [in 2016] to show their dissatisfaction with their choices. How does that sit with Mr. Cox?

Courtland Cox: You know, I think how we accumulate power is probably the most important currency that we can get. I want to quote Dr. King, who said that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. And, you know, what we face at the end of the day is people using power against us, economic, police and political power. ... So I think that you have to ask yourself, Im not going to be involved, and then what? What does that get you?

Erika Totten: Our two-party system is corrupt and is not something that serves us anymore. And thinking about voting the lesser of two evils, there are many people that feel Im just not going to vote for evil at all. But what I am going to do is how to impact and change my community on the ground level. ... So I am not about shaming black people that choose not to vote. ... When we do vote and ... hope for someone to make changes for us, not much happens.

Krissah

Thompson: And what do you all think about the new museum opening on the Mall?

Totten: To be able to walk into a space that is expansive and intentional, thoughtful that really talks about our history of being black in this country, its really important. ... Its really powerful.

Cox: I am really surprised that its right next to the Washington Monument. ... I not only want my conscious self to have it, but my unconscious self. I want it to be part of my being.

For the full video: http://bit.ly/2cm3lGl

The full conversation is at:

https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost/videos/10154073298392293/


Some of the descendants of Lucy Lee Shirley. At center is Shirleys great-grandson Lewis Douglass. On each side are his children, David Douglass and Lori Anne Douglass, who are Shirleys great-great grandchildren. Shirleys great-great-great-grandchildren are Ella Douglass, bottom left, Edward E.J. Douglass, top left, and Darwin Trey Davis III. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Who was Lucy Lee Shirley?

According to the scant information passed along to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, she was an African American woman who was born in Leesburg, Va., in 1854, died in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1929, and once wore a little flowered skirt.

The museum substantiated the basics of Shirleys life when it decided to feature her skirt in its Slavery and Freedom exhibit. As I worked on a story about the skirt, I became intrigued by her and turned up more details  as well as living descendants who didnt know that one of their family heirlooms would be featured in the Smithsonians newest museum.

[]A humble skirt worn by an enslaved child finds a place in history.



Lois K. Alexander Lane, founder of the Black Fashion Museum, modeling one of her own creations in 1932. After Alexander Lanes death, her daughter, Joyce Bailey, donated the collection to the NMAAHC. Among the items were a few articles of clothing from the era of slavery, including Lucy Lee Shirleys skirt. (Courtesy of the estate of Lois K. Alexander Lane)

To aid a reporter, Bailey looked through Alexander Lanes book, Blacks in the History of Fashion, and provided the clue that helped locate Shirleys descendants. The book included a photo of Lori Douglass modeling a dress made by Lulu Hayes and her mother Lucy Shirley and lent to the museum by Cornelia Douglass. (Courtesy of the estate of Lois K. Alexander Lane)

We are so honored that our familys history will forever be a part of Americas history, said Shirleys great-great-granddaughter, Lori Anne Douglass of New York, who recalls seeing the skirt as a teenager and being told that her grandmothers grandmother had been born a slave. Neither she nor other relatives, however, knew any details about Shirleys childhood, and though there are Loudoun County records from the 1850s that list several enslaved children named Lucy (there were probably more, because not all slave holders registered births), it is difficult to connect them to Lucy Lee Shirley because there are no last names and the dates do not match exactly.

But Lucy Lee Shirley shows up in the pages of history as an adult, and these appearances tell a story as moving as the one conveyed by the skirt she once wore. What follows is an abbreviated account pieced together by an amateur genealogist.

The first possible record of Lucy Lee Shirley I could find, and the only one in Virginia, is an 1882 Loudoun County marriage certificate for a John N. Shirley and a widow listed as Lucy Claggett (Lucy A. Lee)  though again the age is a bit off. The couple were married by the Rev. William Robey, a free African American who had been ordained as a minister and who taught black children in Leesburg before and after the war.

When or why Shirley left for Harrisburg is unclear, but such a move is not surprising. A onetime stop on the Underground Railroad in a state that was early to emancipation, Harrisburg already had a sizable free black population at the end of the war and offered employment and educational opportunities.

This skirt, worn by Lucy Lee Shirley when she was enslaved as a child, will be displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane)

The family must have been living there before 1893, because in June of that year one of the Harrisburg newspapers described the funeral of 9-year-old Robert Shirley, whose death was a severe shock. The article, which listed Roberts parents as the Rev. John and Mrs. Lucy Shirley, said he was the brightest pupil in his class, and that his fellow students sang his favorite hymns in a feeling manner in a church filled to the utmost capacity.

There was a March 21, 1899, item noting that John Shirley, who says he is a preacher of the gospel, had been charged with assault and battery on his wife, who testified that she was treated shamefully and chased out of the house in the dead of night in her night clothes. The next day, he was acquitted and the costs were placed on the prosecutrix.

In 1900, there was an obituary for another child, 11-year-old Naomi, also bright and popular and taken suddenly. This obituary made clear that John was no longer residing at the home and mentioned Naomis sister and Lucys daughter, Lulu Shirley, who was living in Long Branch, N.J.

Throughout the years, there were frequent references to Lucys involvement at the Harris AME Zion Church, such as her membership in the Perseverance Club. The papers also occasionally mentioned her other children: Cora, who would marry and move to Maryland, Frances and Lloyd.

When Lucy died after a long illness in 1929, the papers revealed that she froze her husband out of her will, leaving him $1 and her children Frances, Lloyd and Cora, $1,650.

Its remarkable that a woman born into slavery  described variously as a caterer, housekeeper, servant and dressmaker; who may have been widowed once; who apparently had a violent husband; who was a mother of six and lost at least two young children  seems to have supported several children alone for years, and was able to educate herself and her family, contribute extensively to her church and leave her children more than $23,000 in todays money.

What could account for Lucy Lee Shirleys accomplishments, besides her obvious grit? Perhaps it was her acquaintance with the Rev. Robey. Or perhaps it was living in Harrisburg. There are stories of people who are that successful because of determination, because they were living in the right place and the right time, and because they made certain alliances, certain connections, that enabled them to succeed, says Edna Greene Medford, a professor of history at Howard University.

That certainly seems to be the case for Lucy Shirley. And success didnt stop with her.



A family photograph of Lucy Lee Shirleys daughter Cora Handy, who was the mother of Cornelia Douglass. (Courtesy of Lewis Douglass)

A photograph of Cora Handys husband and children after her death. Cornelia Douglass is second from left in the back row. (Courtesy of Lewis Douglass)

Lucy Shirleys daughter Cora Handy would become a teacher.

One of Cora Handys daughters, Cornelia Douglass, would work as an administrator in the New York state unemployment insurance office.

Cornelia Douglasss son, Lewis Douglass, would become a New York Supreme Court Justice.

And both of Lewiss children, Lori Anne Douglass and David Douglass, would become partners at law firms.

When he was given some details about Lucy Shirleys life, David Douglass said it reminded him of his grandmother Cornelia, who was this extraordinary, strong woman who did these amazing things. Cornelia was also the descendant who had the foresight to share the skirt with posterity, first in 1974s The Black Book, a historical scrapbook of African American life, and then with the Black Fashion Museum, which later donated it to the Smithsonian.

And now, in 2016, the skirt and some of Shirleys descendants have come almost full circle: David Douglass, a K Street lawyer, is raising a son and daughter in Silver Spring, Md.  just a few miles from the museum where their great-great-great-grandmothers skirt will go on display as a tender relic of love and persistence. 

Elizabeth Chang is an editor for the magazine.


Civil Rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis (D-GA) (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

I first learned there was an effort to establish a national museum dedicated to preserving African American history and culture during my first term in Congress after being elected in 1986. My colleague Rep. Mickey Leland (D-Tex.) discovered that the most recent legislative efforts had run aground a few years earlier because of an attempt by Rep. Clarence Brown (R-Ohio) and Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) to take the project to Wilberforce, Ohio. Mickey resurrected the idea and asked me to co-sponsor it in 1988.

I have loved history ever since I was a boy. It started when I was so young. To celebrate Carter G. Woodsons innovation  then called Negro History Week and now called Black History Month  my teachers would ask us to cut out pictures in magazines and newspapers of famous African Americans, such as Rosa Parks and George Washington Carver. Growing up in Alabama near Tuskegee Institute, reading about Carver and Booker T. Washington, attending Fisk University later with its world-class art collection and Jubilee Singers who had sung for Queen Victoria, I knew the power of legacy. Mickey did not have to ask me twice. I was on board to push the museum bill through.

Unfortunately, he was killed in a plane crash less than a year later. So the baton was passed to me. I introduced the museum bill in every session of Congress for 15 years. I got it through the House in 1994, but Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) mounted a filibuster against the bill. My Senate partners asked to meet in my office one day. They said, John, we have the votes to get this through the Senate, but we just dont have anything to trade Jesse. That push did not lead to passage, but I had gotten closer than I ever had before.

Giving up on dreams is not an option for me. Optimism is essential to the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence, so hope in the face of challenge is the only alternative I see. I knew that if I was persistent and consistent, I would at least play my role well in this effort, but at most I could win a victory for humanity.



Two blood-splattered Freedom Riders, John Lewis (left) and James Zwerg (right) stand together after being attacked and beaten by pro-segregationists in Montgomery, Alabama. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)

Wilson Baker, with back to camera, public safety director, warns of the dangers of night demonstrations at the start of a twilight march in Selma, Alabama, Feb. 23, 1965. At right is John Lewis of the Student Non-Violent Committee. Lewis led about 200 young blacks about three blocks then returned to a church. (AP Photo) (Anonymous/AP)

So I continued to introduce the legislation in every session of Congress and worked to find a way to get the bill through. Ultimately, I made a key alliance with Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Rep. J.C. Watts (R--Okla.). The bill won passage in the House and Senate and was signed into law in 2003 by President George W. Bush. My final drive to the finish line was the completion of a dream first launched by visionary supporters of black Civil War veterans exactly 100 years ago.

On May 24, 1916, the National Memorial Association held a meeting in Washington at 19th Street Baptist Church, a nearly 180-year-old congregation still in existence today. Its members discussed the creation of a beautiful building they hoped to establish on the Mall. Their goal was to commemorate the deeds American [N]egroes wrought for the perpetuation and advancement of the Nation, celebrating their contribution to America in military service, in art, literature, invention, science, industry and other areas of life. On this Sept. 24, exactly 100 years and four months later, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will finally open in Washington, D.C., prominently placed at the foot of the Washington Monument .

Millions of black men and women built this country through hard labor, sacrifice and suffering, through creativity and ingenuity, sheer willpower and enduring faith. They have fought in every war and defended the principles of democracy knowing they would not share in the victory. They did this not because they anticipated any benefit, but because they believed in something greater than themselves. That faith in the unseen and their ability to make a way out of no way is a demonstration of the character it took to build this nation, and that is why this museum deserves a prominent space among the memorials to the founders of this country.

People know so little about African American history. We want to try to hide nearly 400 years of history from ourselves, as though it will somehow disappear if we never mention it. But all around us we see pockets of the past erupting before our very eyes.

Some people thought that the hostility and angst around issues of race, for example, no longer existed in America, to the degree that they actually believed we were living in a post-racial society. Why? Because we spent the latter part of the 20th century burying any discussion of a racial divide and refusing to admit that antagonism was still festering beneath the surface in our society. We vilified people who suggested race could be a cause of conflict, believing our denial would somehow make the problem go away.

But the upheavals in our society today demonstrate that avoiding the truth is impossible. Covering a wound without treating it with medicine first only makes it fester and increases the danger of infection. Actually, it is confronting the truth that leads to liberation from our past. Yes, it may require an adjustment in our thinking, but in the final analysis the truth can lead to only one conclusion: We are one people, one family, the American family. We all live in one house, the American house, the world house. It will lead us to see the divine spark that resides in each and every one of us and is a part of the entire creation. It will lead us to see that we are more alike than we are different, that we are not separate, but we are one. That is why this museum can have a healing effect on our society.

Beauty is truth, truth beauty. That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Those are some of my favorite words by John Keats, and they resonate so clearly in this case. Only the truth has the power to lead us to the beauty we seek in our democracy. Only then can we build a Beloved Community in America.

Our Declaration of Independence declares each and every one of us has a divine legacy that nothing and no one can take away. So much of the American story is the legacy of our attempts to realize that truth through democracy, and almost all of our conflict has been founded in the foolhardy ambition to try to subvert that mission. Once we push the haze of myth away, we will see the truth of ourselves in each other. When we see ourselves in each other, then injustice and oppression are not so easily perpetrated.

Let the truth speak to our hearts and minds. Let this museum share the complete, unvarnished truth, without whitewash or avoidance, without sweeping the discomforting parts in some dark corner or under a rug. Let the curators and directors create ingenious ways to expose ourselves to ourselves so we can light the way to a more inclusive, truly democratic society.

Ultimately the African American story is a collection of some of the most inspiring stories in human history that demonstrate the invincible nature of every human spirit. It is the story of those who were denied equality but who laid down their lives in every generation to redeem the soul of America. When the history books are written in future generations, Dr. King once said, the historians will have to pause and say, There lived a great people  a black people  who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization. 


In 1852, Joseph Trammell was a free black man living in the slave state of Virginia, but he needed papers to prove it. He carried those papers in this metal box that he made himself. (Alex Jamison)

Elaine Thompson is the keeper of her familys stories. Its been that way for decades. The former high school English teacher and civil rights activist, 83, can trace her lineage to the 1700s, to Samuel Thompson, who was free before the Civil War and the wealthiest black man of Loudoun County.

On both sides, Thompsons ancestry is filled with men and women who were free before Emancipation. They worked hard, kept loved ones close and built a way for their progeny in the state that would become the heart of the Confederacy.

She has kept much of this history in her home office, in files tucked into the drawers of a wooden desk that sits below long bookshelves weighted with such authors as David Levering Lewis, Taylor Branch, Annette Gordon-Reed and Barack Obama. A historian, shes there on the bookshelf, too, with In the Watchfires: The Loudoun County Emancipation Association, 1890-1971.

For years, in one of those drawers among the files sat a small tin box that belonged to her maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph Trammell. Inside the box was proof of his freedom, papers certified by the Loudoun County clerk that the then-21-year-old, who bore a small scar on his forehead and a longer one  six to seven inches  on his left wrist, was indeed a freeman. The year: 1852.

Traveling without those papers could mean being re-enslaved, or if you were born free, kidnapped into bondage for the first time.

Trammell made the box to protect his papers and his life, Thompson said. She speculated that he probably was free before 1852, because his name appeared on an earlier petition to have freemen removed from Loudoun County. Virginia required freemen to leave the state unless they legally requested to stay. Joseph Trammell stayed, most likely because of family, Thompson believes.

For generations, that freedom tin has passed from one hand to the next. Thompson got it from the daughter of her now-deceased Aunt Molly, a woman who lived into her 90s.

She wanted me to have it, Thompson said of the tin. She wanted me to preserve it. And I wanted to, but then when I started, I said, What am I going to do with this? Even though people in the family are interested in family history, I just couldnt decide who to give it to.

I said it needs to be in a place thats safe, somewhere it will be cared for. This museum, well, thats the place for it.

Which explains how Joseph Trammells freedom tin, after traveling across more than a century, from one descendants hand to another, is artifact 2014.25 at the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Thompson went online and completed a form set up for people who thought they had something of historic value and wanted it considered for the 19th Smithsonian museum.

Curators came running.



I knew in my heart that so much of the history was in the basement, trunks and attics, said Lonnie Bunch, the museums founding director. (Paul Holston/AP)

This is how its been in the nine years that a team of curators, museum specialists and others has been working to fill a museum that itself was once a distant hope. The lobbying for it began in the early 1900s, and Smithsonian officials are not being hyperbolic when they say it is a museum that was a century in the making, which is also the name of an exhibit on the subject.

Finally, it is fact, a deep footprint on the Mall, its doors opening months before the Obamas leave the White House.

African American history is our history, the website notes, meaning a nations. The point is underscored by the prime location, steps from the Washington Monument and where, through the frames of the museums glass walls, you can stare in the direction of Jefferson and Lincoln and ponder all of what America has been  and, Smithsonian officials hope, imagine what this country can still become.

Inside the museum are markers of a nations racial history and bloodied path to democracy: from the remnants of a slave ship to a slave cabin to a segregation-era train car and shards of glass from the 16th Street Baptist Church of Birmingham, Ala., where four little girls were killed on a September Sunday morning not so long ago.

The museum also honors the road of a people struggling and striving and, in so many cases, soaring to places where they were never meant to be. A Tuskegee airplane hangs from the ceiling, Chuck Berrys Cadillac gleams, and everywhere you turn are stories of excellence and achievement and a culture at the center of a nation. But when items were still in the talking stages, one of the questions was: What was left to be collected? There were African American museums across the country, the Smithsonian already had its own artifacts, universities had historical papers and singular art collections, and on and on.

Founding director Lonnie Bunch believed there was plenty undiscovered and pledged that a museum would open with 30,000 artifacts in its possession. I knew in my heart that so much of the history was in the basement, trunks and attics, Bunch said on a recent morning in his offices in the Capital Gallery Building in Southwest Washington.

The goal was not to just collect to collect, he said, but to collect in a focused way to make sure you could tell the story of women in business, or you could tell the story of enslavement.

The way to do it was to help people realize how crucial their story was, no matter how small, to understanding the whole narrative of African American history. So people really felt that giving was about legacy, the way to kind of honor those on whose shoulders they stand.

The museum that started with zero artifacts is approaching 37,000. About 3,000 will be in the inaugural exhibition.

Here is the house that Bunch, his staff and a nation built.

(Erin Patrick O'Connor,Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

In assembling a team, Bunch looked for balance, the right kind of collaborative tension. He needed those who had worked at the Smithsonian and those who had not. He needed seasoned staffers and younger ones at the dawn of their careers. And mostly he wanted people who saw and believed in the museums mission above all else, above their egos and their ambitions.

What I really was looking for were people who recognized that this was bigger than they were, said Bunch, who was most recently the director of the Chicago Historical Society. That this was not about them. If you came to this job because it was going to make your career, thats not who I wanted. ... It was a family coming together.

Because this would also be true: It was going to be difficult, weighted with the uncertainty of fundraising, lifted by a demanding vision and faced with the profound challenges inherent of a reckoning between a nations past and its present. And if they did it right, it could help the country reach higher ground.

How do you speak honestly about the brutalities of slavery in a country in which many dont know that it was enslaved hands that built the White House? How do you show the unvarnished truth about the legacy of families being ripped apart, or the murderous terrorism of Jim Crow? Who could view Emmett Tills casket  also in the museum  without its echoes ricocheting through the deaths of a Trayvon Martin, a Jordan Davis, a Tamir Rice?

It would be a living museum, not one engaged with the past with cool detachment. The facts of our collective past are meant to educate and offer context to our decidedly non-post-racial nation as it wrestles with its future.

The work would be filled with discovery, excitement and disappointment, success and roadblocks, sometimes massive, sometimes just hiccups.

Like the day Bunch left the Smithsonian Castle, heading to his new office, then at LEnfant Plaza. The door was locked. Nobody in management or security knew who he was. He returned to that locked door and was wondering what to do.

And along comes a brother who is the maintenance guy, and hes pushing this cart and he has a crowbar, Bunch says. So I broke into our first offices.

Correction : The last night of Andrew Goodman, one of the three civil rights activists murdered in Neshoba County, Miss., in 1964, was misspelled on a previous version. This version is correct.

1 of 23 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The African American experience, in photos View Photos The Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture showcases the arc of the black experience. Caption The Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture showcases the arc of the black experience. 1905: Pictured, from left: Della F. Stevens (1876-1950), Charles T. Stevens (circa 1878-unknown), Eliza Bradshaw Stevens (circa 1857-1938), Eva E. Stevens (circa 1885-unknown), William A. Stevens (circa 1880-unknown), Florence E. Stevens (1894-1985) and Elsie J. Stevens (circa 1887-unknown). Henry Stevens Sr. (circa 1797-1908), born into slavery, hid his four children in Missouri caves during the Civil War. After Emancipation, Stevens became an independent farmer in Linn Creek, Mo., where the children and grandchildren in this photo thrived. Courtesy of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture Wait 1 second to continue.

Museums are in the narrative business. Its their job to tell stories. Curators are its choreographers, the folks who understand the required intimacy between the story and the right artifact, who coordinate the waltz between the telling and the showing.

Just like we are shaped by DNA, we are shaped by historical memory, Bunch said. What artifacts do is, yes, they stimulate memory, but maybe more importantly what they do is humanize grand issues, so that you are not engaging with slavery, but an individual. And so one of the challenges of any history museum is to be able to talk at a macro level but to have you feel at a micro level. And thats what I think artifacts allow you to do.

The work has been assisted by a scholarly advisory committee. The legendary scholar John Hope Franklin was chair until his death in 2009. It was Franklin always in Bunchs ear during meetings, urging him to have the courage to tell the unvarnished truth and to know here was an opportunity to educate and to make change.

The process is collaborative. Curators meet regularly to present their finds and make the case for why they belong in the collection.

Artifacts have arrived many ways. The museum had a wish list for some, such as a slave ship and slave cabin; some have been purchased, such as the fur-collared green velvet dress Lena Horne wore in a scene for the 1943 movie Stormy Weather; and some donations have come through the museum-sponsored Save Our African American Treasures events across the country. The Smithsonian couldnt visit every attic or garage, sort through every trunk or closet, so it issued a call.

And the people responded.

Bobbye Booker Coleman remembers the day in West Medford, Mass., when her mother sent her to the attic to retrieve a set of paintings. The then-teenager found them, four oils on canvas rolled up, worn and time-battered.

At 73 , the retired assistant professor who last taught at Spelman College can still hear her mothers words as Coleman unfurled the works of her uncle, Earle W. Richardson, who was born in New York and struggled as an artist during the Harlem Renaissance. He was her mothers older brother, not an unknown artist  a few institutions have his work  but significantly lesser known than others.

A self-portrait of Earle W. Richardson (Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Bobbye Booker Coleman and Mr. Jackie Coleman,  Earle Richardson)

I just always remember her saying, If he had lived he would have been famous,  Coleman said.

Her mother told of Richardsons work with the Works Progress Administration, how he and fellow artist Malvin Gray Johnson had submitted proposals to the federal government for a set of murals for the 125th Street Library, but that Johnson suddenly fell ill and died. Within a year, Richardson was gone, too. Hed been stricken with a fever, the mother told her daughter, and jumped out a window to his death.

Richardsons mother was so upset that shed gone through their home cutting up as much of the artwork as she could. His sister, Alleyne Richardson Booker, salvaged other works and kept them until that day she sent her daughter to the attic.

What Coleman, who went on to earn a doctorate in early childhood education, learned later from another scholar was a story of romance and tragedy: Johnson and Richardson had been lovers, and his suicide, it was believed, was an act of grief.

Like her mother, Coleman held on to those paintings.

But it wasnt those works that she brought to a Save Our African American Treasures event in Houston, where she now lives. She brought a family Bible and other elements.

When Coleman mentioned that she was Richardsons niece, curator Tuliza Fleming  known among staff for her ability to persuade reluctant art owners to donate works  told Coleman shed heard of him and wondered if the next time she was in Houston she could visit.

Fleming loves to tell Richardsons story, which speaks to his humanity. Artists who are African American have often been pigeonholed as black artists. Theyve had to struggle to be able to self-identify, as opposed to having an identity imposed on them, she said.

Richardsons work, a self-portrait, has been restored. And Coleman believes theres something providential in it all.

I want to give these things to the world, she said. I want him to be appreciated, because he was a gifted artist, because he was struggling, because he was gay, he was black. Its just a beautiful story in and of itself.



A personalized pigskin wallet embossed with Harry T. Moore. Moore and his wife were killed when their house was bombed on Christmas day, 1951 in Mims, Fla. (Alex Jamison)

That Christmas holiday in December 1951, when Juanita Evangeline Moore traveled to her home town of Mims, Fla., from Washington, she knew something was wrong.

Life had always been dangerous for her family because of her parents work on behalf of equal pay for black teachers, voting rights and anti-lynching efforts. In fact, they had been fired from their education jobs, and her father went on to become an organizer with the NAACP.

That December day, when she was 21, fresh out of college and working her first job in the District, Moore had expected to see her parents and her older sister. They always met her at the station.

This time it was her aunt and uncle waiting. The house had been bombed on Christmas, they told her, which also happened to be her parents 25th wedding anniversary. Her father was dead, her mother hospitalized. They went directly to the hospital. Nine days after the blast, Moore and her sister, Anne, or Peaches, as they called her, stood by their mothers bedside as she took her last breath.

Even now the story of the Moores is not as well known as others. This was four years before Emmett Till, and later Medgar Evers, and Andrew Goodman and James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner.

When Evangeline Moore heard of the Smithsonian museum, she needed no prompting. For decades she had not spoken of the murders, but with the help of her advocacy, in 2004, the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park opened in Florida. A replica of their home has also been built on the grounds, which includes the site of the original house.

Spencer Crew, the first African American director of the National Museum of American History, is a guest curator for the NMAAHC. He and staff curator William Pretzer went to see Moore after she reached out to the museum. Moore wanted what had been recovered from the explosion transferred from the Florida museum to the Mall: a wallet, a watch and a locket.

Its the meanness of spirit that gets to you, and the lack of concern, or feelings of humanity of others, Crew said about the bombing and the era of terrorism. It really gets to you. Its one of the hard things about doing this history.

Crew added: The stories are important to remember. ... It reminds you of how hard it was to be an African American in this country for such a long time. ... Im hopeful that it will give people a more accurate sense of things. A greater understanding, sympathy and empathy. ... And also to see how other people stepped up and collaborated. Not to focus on the viciousness, but to focus on how you find connection.

At 24, Darren Pagan, who works for the Department of Defense, is trying to find his way through all of that. The Moores are his great-grandparents. He and his father buried Evangeline Moore last October. She was 85 .

She experienced so much loss, he said of his grandmother, who struggled with anxiety and depression but was determined to make sure her parents sacrifice was remembered.

Its a story that I want people to know about it, but I dont want the moral of the story to be about how much damage an act of hate can do to a family, Pagan said. Its more about perseverance and being willing to fight for things that you believe in.

Everything my great-grandfather fought for, Im able to benefit from it.

As Simone Manuel, the first African American woman to swim to Olympic gold, was finishing her race in Rio de Janeiro, Marie Goines was calling to her husband.

Come look at this, come look at this.

William Goines made his way to the television.

I hadnt seen the start of the race, and I had no idea she was African American until the end, said Goines, or retired U.S. Navy Master Chief William H. Goines.

I am so overjoyed to see them breaking through.

In 1962 he was breaking barriers of his own as the nations first black Navy SEAL.

Growing up outside Cincinnati, Goines taught himself to swim. In the era of segregation, the white high school in Lockland had a pool, but not the black one. In a nearby town, African American children swam on Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon.

They would blow a whistle and wed have to get out, Goines said. They would drain the pool to get it ready for the whites.

When segregation was ending, his home town filled the public pool with rocks and gravel.

One of retired U.S. Navy Master Chief William H. Goiness patches. (Smithsonian Institution. National Museum of African American History and Culture)

He turned 80 this month, lived a good life, he said as he sat in his Virginia Beach home. Hes been married 51 years to a woman he adores, and hes still occasionally helping to recruit for the SEALs.

He wrote to the Smithsonian a few years ago about the SEALs, and retired Army Col. Krewasky Salter, a guest curator with 25 years of military service, got in touch and eventually paid him a visit.

Goines told Salter he could choose from his Navy SEAL artifacts. Among Salters bounty was a board known as Tools of the Trade, an unofficial gift given to retiring SEALs by their colleagues. The board has an array of weapons, from a knife to bullets to a grenade.

Goines retired in 1987 after 32 years of service. The ending was a lot easier than the beginning.

To understand the conflicting duality of black soldiers is to understand, at the most fundamental level, what it has meant to be African American. After World War II, for example, black soldiers were violently attacked, some slain in uniform by whites who believed that they should not wear it or that they were acting too uppity, demanding equality, stepping out of their social place.

I went through some things that were not right, Goines said. He doesnt dwell on the ugliness of the past, but he hasnt forgotten.

The SEALs did well by him, he said, though they caught hell traveling in the South in the early 60s. Once, when they piled into a restaurant and were seated at tables throughout the place, Goines was refused service. Our officer told everybody to just stop what they were doing and to get back on the bus, Goines recalled. Everybody got up without [complaining]. And we went down the road and bought some sandwiches.

In Washington, in his office, Salter also thinks about those black military men and women who came before. He has collected the museums first Medal of Honor, that of Korean War hero Cornelius Charlton. Salters fathers jungle boots from the Vietnam War era are also in the museum. Tony L. Salter served more than 34 years in the Army, retiring as a command sergeant major.

My service is easy compared to their service because they served and were patriotic in a nation that was not ready to embrace what they were offering, which was their life, Krewasky Salter said.

Reading the stories about these guys, he began, then paused to steady the emotion that was overtaking him. Its an exciting time and a humbling time, and it makes you reflect. And you think, Should the nation be further than it is in some respects?

Descendants of historic African Americans reflect on their family member's life achievements and their decision to donate their relics the to new Nation Museum of African American History and Culture. (Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

The late morning sunlight pours into the open kitchen of Dan Evanss Northwest Washington home, but its Evans who is the rooms brightest light. Hes eager to talk about his mother, Laura Fitzpatrick (her maiden name), and the day he attended a local Treasures event.

Before she became a registered nurse, a wife and a mother of four, Fitzpatrick was an amateur photographer possessed with passion and guided by instinct. They led her to be a chronicler of black life in Brooklyn during one of the most pivotal periods in the nations history.

From 1938 to 1948, as the Great Migration was unfolding, she kept her camera close and took pictures of her group of friends for a decade, capturing their lives, from childhood to adulthood, elementary school to high school, puppy love to marriage, going off to first jobs and to war.

But Fitzpatrick didnt stop there. From the time she started, at age 10 or 11, she wrote detailed captions on all her pictures. There are 500, her son said, and the museum has more than 300.

She loved taking photos and loved taking photos of people in all kinds of settings, said Evans. She was capturing the styles. You see them as children, at play, later on as they start to court each other. You see them later on as Mr. and Mrs.

Fitzpatrick essentially turned the rooftop of the apartment building where they lived into a studio.

She showed the pride in African Americans, that they were really fortunate and happy to be north and have an opportunity to achieve. ... Her work showed the pride that they had in moving forward, Evans said.

Its the simple humanity that has mesmerized visual curator Rhea Combs, who revels in the works she has gathered, including the family photographs of the famous Scurlocks, who made a name for themselves photographing African Americans in the nations capital during the 20th century.

Said Combs of Fitzpatrick: Its just a remarkable collection by someone who just instinctively captured a part of history.

Evans knew he had something special, and he knew his mother was an extraordinary woman, a brilliant woman. He donated the accordion camera that his grandmother had bought for his mother, an only child, who died in 1987 at age 59.

At the Treasures event he attended in Washington in 2014, he pulled out three photos, which curators thought were interesting. Did he have more?

Then I pulled out an album of 45 pictures with the captions, and they got really excited. Then I told them how many I had. And they wanted to know if they were all captioned and detailed, and I told them yes.

He called his siblings. Here was confirmation of what theyd always known  that their mother, the nurse and wife, and also a documentarian, had been extraordinary. And now the world would know, too.

Paul Gardullo is searching for the right place in the museum for a certain artifact. The museum only recently attained The Friendship Quilt, and preparation can take many months.

The quilt, said Gardullo, who has been with the museum since 2007, would fit well in the museums family history section.

It holds within its seams the story of family and community, and maybe something of a miracle.

The quilt is from Home Baptist Missionary Society, First Baptist Church of Sonora, Calif. And in it is part of the story of African Americans in the West. In 1884, churchwomen gave the quilt to the Rev. Andrew Judson Sturtevant and his wife, Ella, who were moving away. Stitched on it are more than 100 names of congregation members. Among them are the names of several black congregants. It was an integrated church in an integrated community.

Some of those names belonged to members of the Sugg family, which had its roots in slavery back East. William and Mary Elizabeth Sugg were each brought to California by their masters. William Sugg came from North Carolina, Mary Elizabeth Snelling from Missouri. They met after each had attained their freedom. They married in 1855.

Their modest home eventually grew into a three-story house with seven bedrooms. They had 11 children, and while William ran a livery business, his wife turned part of the home into a boarding house. Many of its original features remain, along with some furnishings, and the house is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Vernon Sugg McDonald, a grandson and onetime journalist, lived in the home until the 1980s. Vernon and his family had been close friends with a white family, the Brennans. When Vernon fell ill, Robert Brennan bought the home. Vernon lived there until his death in 1982. The Brennans, who said Vernon was family to them, have spent years restoring the home.

Sylvia Alden Roberts, author of Mining for Freedom: Black History Meets the California Gold Rush, has been studying African Americans out West for decades. The Sugg house is the jewel in the crown of history in the West, said Roberts, who knows the Brennans and the Sugg story well.

Recently, the story took another dramatic turn when Sherri Camp, of Topeka, Kan., connected with Roberts. After decades of digging, Camp found pension records and a death certificate that led her to Julia Snelling. It turns out that Snelling is five times Camps great-grandmother. Snelling was also Mary Elizabeth Suggs mother.

Camp and several family members visited Sonora this summer.

Ive been doing genealogy for 28 years, said Camp.

It turns out that before Julia Snelling was taken West, two of her children were sold. Camp is the descendant of one of the sold daughters. I have sadness and I have joy all at the same time, Camp said.

Her family story, as for so many African Americans, is one of severed bloodlines, lost across time and oceans of hurt. But Camps line, in an amazing way, is being stitched back together.

Like the names sewn into a quilt that, more than a century ago, symbolized the promise of a nation and, at long last, has come to rest within the walls of the Smithsonian.

Marcia Davis is an articles editor for the magazine.
Stop harumphing, travelers. The airline industry is much healthier today than a decade ago. Fares are down, on-time arrivals are up and JetBlue has free WiFi.

Its a great time to fly, said Nick Calio, president and chief executive of Airlines for America, a trade association that represents some of the major airlines.

The group held its fourth annual summit in Washington this week, with such A4A members as American, Southwest, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines in attendance. Experts from the field discussed the state of the industry as well as new developments cleared for landing. Here are some highlights:

Fares are falling. Prices dropped 6 percent in the first half of 2016 and have plunged 12 percent since 2010. Flying is as affordable as ever, Calio said. Customer satisfaction is following the opposite trajectory  rising to a 10-year high. In an Ipsos Public Affairs survey of more than 3,000 people, 80 percent of respondents said they were satisfied or greatly satisfied with their flying experience last year. Transportation Department statistics support these findings. The agency noted significant improvements in such categories as on-time arrivals, lost luggage, passenger bumps and customer complaints. However, Calio credits the decrease in delays to reduced air service and schedule padding, not greater efficiency.

[If your flight is canceled, is your airline obligated to get you to your destination?]

Americas air traffic control system is as outdated as the rotary phone. Industry leaders are begging the Federal Aviation Administration to modernize the technology. They say the antiquated system is affecting schedules and routes, especially in such congested markets as Atlanta, New York and Chicago, and could stunt expansion. For example, the flight from New York to Washington took an hour a decade ago; the travel time is now 80 minutes. You are going to get to a point where you cant grow air travel, said Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly. Support for air traffic control modernization is unanimous. (Note: Delta is the lone holdout on a privatization plan.)

 Airlines are entertaining. On JetBlue, passengers aboard an Airbus A321S can now choose from more than 100 DirectTV channels; its other aircraft offer 36 channels. The carrier is also spreading free onboard WiFi service to its entire fleet. Alaska Airlines has introduced locally sourced food and beverages, including meals by Seattle chef Tom Douglas, microbrews, Washington-state wines and, yes, Starbucks.

DIY luggage-tagging is trending. JetBlue is experimenting with self-tagging kiosks: Simply print, affix and check. The airline is installing machines at select airports, such as New Yorks John F. Kennedy International and San Juans Luis Munoz Marin International. Alaska Airlines offers a similar service and is also testing electronic bag tags. During check-in, the passenger uses the carriers mobile app to update the reusable plastic tags, with screens similar to those on e-readers. In addition, customers on eligible flights can print out tags from home. The goal is to make this as easy as possible, said Joseph Sprague, Alaskas senior vice president of communications and external affairs. You just drop off your bag and go to security.

[Airline computer outages like Deltas are bound to repeat themselves. Heres what to know.]

Security lines are flowing again. After the spring debacle that caused thousands of passengers to miss their flights, the Transportation Security Administration, with the airlines assistance, has improved the process. The agency is replenishing its ranks following a years-long attrition of its workforce. It is also stepping up PreCheck outreach with pop-up and mobile enrollment sites. In addition, many airlines allow their frequent-flier members to redeem their points or miles for PreCheck status. TSA Administrator Peter Neffinger said that 1.6 million people participated in the trusted-traveler program in 2015; the number has more than doubled over the year. You can get an appointment within 14 days, he said. TSA is also partnering with American and Delta on a pilot project involving automated screening lanes and computed tomography scanners at select hubs. The innovations  automated belts that redirect bags requiring additional scrutiny, larger bins outfitted with radio frequency ID tags, cameras that snap photos of the bags exterior and are linked to X-ray images of its contents  could reduce wait times by 30 percent. Neffinger said he hopes to install 60 new lanes by years end.

Startling fact of the day: 20 percent of an airline ticket price is earmarked for taxes.

Best bite of the day: The cookies decorated with the A4A logo, a star formed by five brightly colored planes.

More from Travel:

Around the world in 20 days: How to visit seven countries in one 21,623-mile adventure

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Enrolling in Global Entry involves time, money and personal information. Its worth it.


A view of Marseille, France, from hills overlooking the city and the Mediterranean Sea. (Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy Stock Photo)

Its always been Paris. Paris has always been the star, the setting of novels, of films, of television programs, of vacation fantasies. But Marseille, Frances next-largest city, is the setting of Netflixs first French production, an eight-episode political drama, starring Gerard Depardieu, that was released earlier this year.

Watching Marseille isnt likely to send you rushing to look up the price of flights. It depicts a dark  many would say cliched  version of its namesake French city as violent and corrupt, and the mayor (Depardieu) has a cocaine habit. These stereotypes of Marseille as troubled by drugs and smuggling are old; see the 1971 American film The French Connection.





But viewers of the new series might also notice the very

un-Paris-like beauty of this diverse city on the Mediterranean, especially in the beautiful shots taken from above. Even when two burglars speed away from a jewelry store smash-and-grab on a motorcycle, they disappear up one of the citys many picturesque, steep and narrow streets.

Travelers interested in separating fact from fiction will find a city that is as friendly to the eyes as to the camera  actually, its just plain friendly. Marseille, which was one of the host cities for this years European soccer championship, has made significant investment over the last several year to attract more visitors, and the city they see is far more enjoyable than its reputation might suggest.

But all publicity is good publicity, its been said, and the Netflix series has created a buzz about Marseille, says Mustapha Kachetel, owner of Le Femina Chez Kachetel, which serves cuisine from the Kabyle region of Algeria. I see it every day at the tables because I have people coming of all nationalities.

Founded in 1921, it is one of one of many excellent North African restaurants in Marseille, which has long been a magnet for immigration from around the Mediterranean, particularly Frances former North African colonies.

Here, the specialty is a couscous made from barley rather than the more typical wheat semolina, stewed with vegetables for three hours and served with different types of meat. The recipes, Kachetel says, come straight from his great-grandmother: Hes the fourth generation of his family to run the restaurant, and the fifth is preparing the dining room for dinner as we talk. The colorful decor is of his own design, including his own photographs as well as ceramics and other objects from Algeria covering all the walls.

I have children who I saw 15, 20 years ago with pacifiers who arrive now with their fiance or their wife or their children, says the longtime restaurateur.

Nowhere is the recent investment in Marseille more apparent than in the view from the Quai de la Port, a few blocks away.

Look across the water, and youll see a pair of historic forts with crenellated walls guarding either side of the entrance to the harbor. The one on the right, the 17th-century Fort Saint-Jean, has been connected by bridges to the recently constructed Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (MuCEM). The striking museum building, a cube of glass set inside an intricately lacy concrete shell, was the capstone of Marseilles preparations for its year as a Capital of European Culture (a European Union designation) in 2013.



Olive-oil soaps are some of the citys artisanal offerings. (YAY Media AS/Alamy Stock Photo)

A woman lounges and takes notes in the Old Port neighborhood. (Emma Jacobs / )

The museums core exhibition traces common practices across early civilizations around the Mediterranean, such as wine-making and bread-baking. Temporary shows this summer included a comprehensive survey of Picassos folk influences; exhibitions this fall include art and objects related to the history of coffee, as well as works by young Albanian artists.

The Quai de la Port is at the heart of the citys Old Port neighborhood (a modern, larger harbor a short walk away has taken over the industrial activity and is also the stopping point for a number of cruise lines). Mornings, you can still browse stalls selling freshly caught fish including, on one day this summer, a small shark. Youll also see the new, futuristic-looking stainless-steel canopy defining a pavilion that hosts concerts and performances and, on occasion, the venerable French tradition of labor demonstrations.

Its just a block up from the waterfront to the Palais de la Bourse, the monumental former stock exchange building. Dating from 1860 and the reign of Napoleon III, it plays the role of City Hall in Marseille but now is home to the Chamber of Commerce.

Head up the hills above the harbor, and you can get lost in the citys oldest neighborhood  the Panier, or breadbasket, which today is home to many artists studios and restaurants. Or take a bus around the opposite side of the harbor to St. Victor, a dense neighborhood where new restaurants and boutiques mingle with examples of the regions older traditions.

One of these is the Musee du Santon. Tucked away on a side street and not heavily publicized, this museum holds a fascinating collection of santons  little saints  figurines for Christmas creches in the tradition of Provence. In addition to the traditional manger scenes, they include bakers in aprons, women in traditional skirts, fishermen and shepherds who have all stopped work and come down from the hills to see the newborn son of God in his manger.

The museum also has a collection of creches from around the world, collected by the master santonnier Marcel Carbonel, who was inducted into the French Legion of Honor shortly before his death in 2003.

The workshop of the company he founded is next door to the museum. Still owned by his descendants, Santons Marcel Carbonel produces 130,000 clay santons a year, including animals and other pieces including cradles and pigeon coops. Each is painted by hand using colors produced in-house. A few of the decorators, many of whom work from home, have been painting santons for more than three decades.

Because everything is done by hand, its difficult, said the workshops director, Michel Barbaudy, adding that it can be challenging to find new employees interested in doing this painstaking work.

The amount of labor that goes into the santons means theyre not cheap; the smallest figures start at about $15, and the largest, about seven inches tall, with much more detailed painting, can cost more than $100.

Down the street, Marseilles oldest bakery, La Four des Navettes (founded in 1871) , continues another tradition  baking navettes, the little canoe-shaped cookies. They are a little bland, but the bakerys orange and anise-flavored canastrelli are light and delicious.



The Marseille Cathedral, a national monument, looms behind the 17th-century Fort Saint-John. (Art Kowalsky/Alamy Stock Photo)

From the harbor, visitors can take a boat ride out to see the historic Chateau dIf  probably best known to Americans as the fortress that imprisoned the fictional main character of The Count of Monte Cristo. Its difficult to reconcile Alexandre Dumass description of a gloomy fortress standing on a black and frowning rock with the light-colored stone structure shining brightly in the sun, rising from the turquoise water.

It seems the chateau is another aspect of Marseille that defies its reputation.

Jacobs is a multimedia journalist based in Paris.

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The National Trust Tours brochure for its upcoming Odyssey of Ancient Civilizations  a seven-night cruise through Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece  advertises an all-inclusive itinerary. And indeed, the $4,195 price for an ocean-view stateroom covers meals, tours and enhanced services, such as a flight insurance policy.

But a closer look at its catalogue suggests that one or two items are left out of the prominently displayed price. Taxes are an additional $440 per person and are subject to change, the brochure notes next to an asterisk below the rates. Purchasing the package also requires a $20 National Trust for Historic Preservation membership fee. And the $4,195 price, the most prominently displayed rate, is technically unreservable if you want to sign up now, since you missed a summer deadline to qualify for a $1,000 per person early booking discount.

Meg Annacone-Poretz, an associate director for National Trust Tours, says taxes and other fees are separated from the base price because tours are priced out more than a year in advance, and certain fees are subject to fluctuation. Further, her group would honor the $4,195 for the cruise even now, since her organization has the authority to extend deadlines for special rates. She says her membership organization doesnt typically get complaints about its prices, likely because the additional costs are clearly stated and not hidden in fine print.

[When travel companies sell their mailing lists, junk mail becomes an unwanted souvenir]

An informal survey of tour brochures and interviews with tour operators indicates that National Trust Tours pricing is not out of the ordinary. Yet complaints about gotcha rates for similar packages are few.

I found a catalogue advertising a 10-day Amalfi tour for a special price of $3,195 through AHI Travel, a Chicago tour operator. But theres an asterisk, and in the fine print, the company notes that it doesnt include a value-added tax of $295 per person.

Another seven-day Cuban Discovery tour package from Minneapolis-based tour operator Go Next notes that it doesnt include airfare between home and Miami, passport fees, a Cuban visa fee of approximately $75 and Cuban departure tax. Its brochure, published online, doesnt even list a price.

AHI Travel did not respond to an interview request. Robyn Hawkinson, a product manager for Go Next, says her companys prices arent listed on its Cuba brochure because pricing fluctuates based on the time of year, the hotel patterns and the number of days of our programs. Its visa fee, which is set by another party, can also change, she says.

The federal government clamped down on airfare pricing with a 2012 full fare price rule for airline tickets and its considering creating similar rules for hotel rates. But what about tours advertised through brochures? Turns out theres little, if any, regulation.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has the authority to regulate how tours are promoted, has taken no recent actions and issued no guidance to tour operators. In a 1983 policy statement, the agency said it would find an act or practice deceptive if there is a misrepresentation, omission, or other practice, that misleads the consumer acting reasonably in the circumstances, to the consumers detriment. Frank Dorman, an agency spokesman, said that the agency couldnt comment on whether brochures that display taxes in small print are legal or not.

[Hotels are happy to accommodate guest requests  up to a point]

But if anyone feels an ad is deceptive or misleading, theyre encouraged to file a complaint with the FTC, he added.

Separating taxes and fees from the base price or not displaying a price runs contrary to the industrys best practices, says Gina Dolecki, a spokeswoman for the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA). Her organizations ethics policy requires members to conduct business according to a set of professional standards which include representing all facts, conditions and requirements relating to tours and vacation packages truthfully and accurately. USTOAs ethics rules describe truth in advertising as quoting prices which are totally deliverable  including accurately identifying facilities, accommodations and services.

But truth can be relative. Theres no government requirement that advertised tour prices contain all mandatory fees, says Rodney Gould, an expert on tour-operator law at the Lincoln, Mass., law firm Smith Duggan Buell & Rufo.

They can break the price down into individual components, he says. A lot of alumni organizations and nonprofits advertise tours that dont include airfare.

While listing a price without the mandatory fees can make the tour look cheaper than it is, Gould says the organizations running the tours are not overly concerned about their rates looking high. Alumni associations have reasonably expensive tastes  theyre older, pretty well established and they pay a lot for their trips, he says. Rather, Gould says he believes that they do it that way because theyre allowed to, and because their competitors do, although he conceded that not listing a price at all was unusual.

Since there are no broadly enforced standards in tour pricing, buyers must beware, experts say.

[If your flight is canceled, is your airline obligated to get you to your destination?]

Andy Ridgway, a marketing manager for Palo Alto, Calif-based tour operator Criterion Travel, says even reputable tour operators try to lure their customers with what is often referred to as from pricing. Many operators designate just a couple of cabins for an eye-catchingly low lead-in price, and those probably get snapped up early, leaving only the higher-priced categories available, he says. The more deceptive ones add fine print with fees, taxes and clauses that prices are subject to change.

Ridgway recommends waiting until you have a full price for the tour before agreeing to a purchase, as opposed to making a decision about a tour or cruise based on a brochure price. Thats not what you want and its not what any reputable tour operator would want, either.

None of us are interested in a bait-and-switch, even if it means better revenue for a single program, he says. By far, our best prospects are an organizations past travelers.

Elliott is a consumer advocate, journalist and co-founder of the advocacy group Travelers United. Email him at chris@elliott.org.
Peregrine Adventures has a sale on two October itineraries in Spain. One of them  the Essence of Spain trip  departs Barcelona, home of La Sagrada Familia basilica. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

This week's best travel bargains around the globe.

Land

The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch, in Wyomings North Platte River Valley, has a last-minute package with savings of 20 percent. The Fall Colors Harvest Escape starts at $878 per person and includes accommodations in the lodge; spa treatment; all meals and drinks, including cocktail receptions; yoga sessions; and taxes. Valid for two or four nights through Sept. 25. Info: 307-327-5284, brushcreekranch.com.

Peregrine Adventures has a sale on two October itineraries in Spain. The Essence of Spain trip, which departs Barcelona on Oct. 7, starts at $4,279 per person double, a savings of $756. The 12-night package, which ends in Madrid, includes accommodations, select meals, guides, minibus transport, all activities and taxes. The seven-night Trails of Andalucia package, which departs Seville on Oct. 2 and travels to Granada, starts at $1,717 per person double, a savings of more than $300. Info: 855-832-4859, peregrineadventures.com.

The Opal Collection, a group of 15 resorts in Florida and New Yorks Adirondacks and on the Maine Coast, is offering a free fourth night. Rates and dates vary by property. For example, a four-night stay in mid-October at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, starts at $977, including taxes and fees  a savings of $326. Book by Sept. 30. Info: 866-258-7247, opalcollection.com/offers.

Sea

AmaWaterways has savings of up to 40 percent on select Christmas market cruises on Europes Danube River. For example, a seven-night cruise sailing from Nuremberg, Germany, to Budapest on Dec. 16 starts at $1,740 per person double, plus $168 port charges  a savings of $1,159. Info: 800-626-0126, amawaterways.com.

Air

Southwest has a sale on nonstop flights to U.S. cities , the Caribbean and Mexico. For example, the round-trip fare from BWI Marshall to Providence, R.I., starts at $128, with taxes; other airlines charge from $191. Restrictions vary by destination. For most domestic destinations, travel through March 18, except for Fridays and Sundays. Holiday blackout dates apply; 14-day advance purchase required. Book by Sept. 19 at southwest.com.

Package

CheapCaribbean.com has a sale on packages to such tropical destinations as St. Lucia, Curacao and the British Virgin Islands. For example, five nights at the Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort, an all-inclusive resort in St. Lucia, starts at $1,129 per person double, down from $1,849. Price includes round-trip air from Washington and taxes, though some booking fees may apply. Book by Oct. 15. In Curacao, five nights at the Sonesta Kura Hulanda Village & Spa start at $859, down from $1,559. Book by Oct. 31. Travel dates vary by property, but are typically through mid-December. Info: 800-786-0435, cheapcaribbean.com.

Save $300 per person on select 2017 departures of Friendly Planet Travels Enchanting Ecuador tour. The nine-day trip starts at $1,899 per person double and includes round-trip airfare from Miami to Quito; eight nights in five hotels; 15 meals; sightseeing tours with entrance fees, including an Amazon rain forest tour with a naturalist; all ground transportation, including a train ride from Ibarra to Salinas; airport transfers; and taxes. Priced separately, round-trip air from Washington to Miami starts at $127. Book by Oct. 4. Info: 800-555-5765, friendlyplanet.com.

 Carol Sottili, Andrea Sachs


At the Gibbon Experience in northwest Laos, zip-lines connect some of the tallest treehouses in the world. (Felipe Rodriguez Vasquez)

During our honeymoon, my wife strapped herself to a steel cable, kissed me goodbye and threw herself off the side of a mountain. I watched as she disappeared into the jungle mist, leaving only her scream.

Then it was my turn.

I clipped my roller to the zip-line, took a running start and flew high above the canopy as the forest plummeted below. It felt like horizontal BASE jumping. The adrenaline rush turned into wide-eyed wonder as I burst through the fog and glided gently through the open window of a childhood fantasy: a towering three-story treehouse built 150 feet up in the branches of a mammoth strangler fig tree overlooking the rain forest.

Welcome home, said my smiling wife.

Were Tarzan to dream up an eco-tourism adventure, it would probably look a lot like the Gibbon Experience in northwest Laos. During a three-day, two-night journey, youre led deep into the remote jungle of the Bokeo Nature Reserve by guides from the surrounding hill tribes. After climbing up a series of twisting mountain trails, you fly over the rain forest on a heart-stopping network of zip-lines  some of which are suspended 500 feet above the forest floor and span more than six football fields. At the far end, you hike up again to continue crisscrossing the canopy on this sky-high superhighway.





At night, you sleep in some of the tallest treehouses in the world  thatched, open-air observatories surrounded by panoramic views of the forest and a symphony of birds. The only way in and out of your airborne abode is via zip-line: You run off a ridge in the forest and gain enough momentum to soar in on one line, then jump out and let gravity carry you on another. Women from nearby Hmong and Lamet villages fly in your fire-cooked meals each night. Every morning, you wake up, slide on a harness and essentially toss yourself out of a 15-story building.

Not only is this exhilarating adventure one of the most unforgettable experiences in Southeast Asia, its also one of its most effective conservation concepts. As people from all over the planet swoop in to sleep and play high up in the trees, theyre helping to protect a critically endangered primate: the Laotian black-crested gibbon.

Due to decades of deforestation and illegal hunting, this sprawling nature reserve between Burma (also known as Myanmar) and Thailand is home to one of the last remaining populations of this rare creature. In fact, the subspecies was long believed to be on the road to extinction when Jean-Francois Reumaux, a French teacher with a passion for forest preservation, traveled from the Laotian capital, Vientiane, to the Bokeo region about 20 years ago. He spent a month living in the jungle and climbing trees to search for the elusive animals.

I finally got close enough to film them, and when I showed the footage to anthropologists in Europe, they didnt think it was real, Reumaux told me over the phone. So I told them they should come to the canopy and see the gibbons for themselves.

Thus the idea for a sustainable monkey business was born.



The viewing platform at one of the Gibbon Experience treehouses  all of which are within earshot, if not sight, of the endangered primates. (The Gibbon Experience)

Over the next several years, Reumaux and a small team of local carpenters and climbers began building seven vertiginously tall treehouses linked by narrow footpaths and a 9.3-mile network of zip-lines  all within earshot of the gibbons haunting hoots. As backpackers started flying in, the organization convinced the Laos National Assembly to set aside the surrounding 525 square miles of rain forest as a federally protected nature preserve  an expanse thats nearly eight times as large as the District.

Today, the project employs 142 canopy guides, cooks and treehouse builders. By offering villagers a more-lucrative alternative to poaching, logging and slash-and-burn farming, the organization has turned some of the gibbons former predators into their full-time protectors. The Gibbon Experience pays 25 armed forest guards  the only ones in Laoss national parks  to patrol the rain forest and protect it against poachers.

Reumaux says Bokeos gibbon population has risen to its highest level in decades. Clouded leopards and Asiatic black bears are making a big comeback, too, he said.

Im glad I didnt know that last detail as my wife and I began our adventure by bumping along dirt roads in the back of a pickup truck with five other backpackers. After a two-hour drive through the jungle from the Gibbon Experiences headquarters in Houayxay, we arrived at the Hmong hill tribe village of Ban Toup, where we met our guides, Phad and Si, who gave each of us a safety harness, zip-lining gloves and a warm Beerlao.

Itll taste better in the treehouse, Phad joked. Soon, we were off, but not before Phads extended family came out of their thatched huts to hug him goodbye and see us off with shy smiles.

We hiked into the mountains and were quickly engulfed in a riot of twisting vines, studded palm leaves and massive banyan trees. Two hours and one banana-leaf-wrapped baguette lunch later, we couldnt climb any higher.



The extended family of Phad, center, a guide, assembles to wish zip-liners well on their journey. (Eliot Stein)

Who wants to fly? Phad asked.

My wife shot up her hand. After a crash course in how to zip  legs up, lean back and squeeze the strip of worn bicycle tire that serves as a brake  she was gone, tearing at 40 mph through the canopy and losing her baseball hat in the process.

Just as I strapped in and prepared for my first flight, Phad whispered one more helpful hint to me: Dont look down. It turns out that, despite five years of professionally soaring through the sky while dangling on a wire, Phad is absolutely terrified of heights.

I always close my eyes, he admitted. But you should be okay!

I was, until I shot a glance downward and caught sight of my tiny shadow racing across the treetops hundreds of feet below. I screamed as loudly as I could until I sailed safely into Sis arms on the far platform.



The only way in and out of the treetop abodes is to fly through the forest on a zip-line. (Felipe Rodriguez Vasquez)

Ten 500-meter trust falls later, our group was perched in the branches of our nest for the night, each quietly admiring the architectural marvel. Never mind the rooftop solar panels, suspended bedroom balconies and sweeping 360-degree views, the highlight of our sky-high home was hidden behind a curtain in the bathroom: an open-air shower where cool rainwater shoots down from the ceiling, washes over you and then drains through wooden floor slats and falls 150 feet into the rain forest below.

About two hours later, as the sun was beginning to set, we heard a faint howl in the forest and perked up. Gibbons? Nope  room service.

Two women wearing embroidered hill tribe dresses were flying in our fire-cooked dinner. While one woman spread a platter of mushrooms, chicken and cabbage on the living room table, the other strung mosquito nets over our mattresses and duvets.

Your bedrooms are ready, she said quietly, before plunging off the first-floor platform and disappearing into the dusk.

We ate on squat stools and swapped travelers tales while nursing our warm Beerlaos. Long after the feathered chorus of bulbuls, drongos and kingfishers had quieted and there were no more card games to play, we retired into our net-covered mattresses for the night to listen to the chirping cicadas and mysterious squawking that lay just beyond the reach of our flashlights.

Its hard to oversleep in the jungle, especially when your home sways ever so subtly in the breeze. Phad and Si swung in just after dawn to lead our droopy-eyed group through a series of bamboo-lined trails. When we landed back in the treehouse, breakfast was waiting for us in the living room. In addition to rice, stew and piping-hot coffee, there were fresh omelets made from the bag of eggs that Si had carried as he tore through the forest the previous day, never cracking a shell.

We whizzed across 11 more zip-lines on the second day  some more successfully than others. Whenever gravity left us dangling short of the far platform, wed each have to turn around in midair to pull ourselves, arm over arm, toward land while the rest of the group cheered: Cmon, monkey!

Between flights, Phad led us quietly through the dense bamboo groves in hopes of spotting wildlife. As Si silently dug up clay-colored roots as part of our lunch, Phad pointed out sambar deer tracks and matted paths made by wild pigs.

But what of the elusive gibbons? Theyre very hard to see, Phad admitted while he and Si boiled the roots to make eyepoppingly strong jungle tea in the treehouse kitchen. Much easier to hear in the morning.



One of the real stars of the show, a male Laotian black-crested gibbon, climbs a tree in the Bokeo Nature Reserve. (Felipe Rodriguez Vasquez)

On our final day in the forest, our patience paid off. With dawn burning off the early-morning mist, an eerie, ascending whooping sound echoed through the canopy and jolted us out of our mosquito nets. We leaned over the treehouse railing, quietly scanning through the clouds to find the source of the distant siren call.

Finally, there was a response. Somewhere, deep in the jungle, a second gibbon started hooting back to the first. We listened, completely captivated, as the back-and-forth notes blossomed into a duet.

Theyre singing to each other, Phad said. Husband and wife.

Just as soon as the song started, it fell away. We never did catch sight of the gibbons. By the time the mist cleared, they were long gone, swinging away together through the trees.

Stein is a Berlin-based writer and guidebook author.

More from Travel:

Around the world in 20 days: How to visit seven countries in one 21,623-mile adventure

In Luang Prabang, Laos, Lao New Year is drenched in color  and water

Three yogis take on Thailand
Robert White, the Democratic nominee for an at-large D.C. Council seat, has been chosen by party officials to fill the vacancy left by Vincent B. Oranges early resignation. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

D.C. Democratic Party officials on Thursday appointed Robert White to the at-large city council seat vacated by Vincent B. Orange, who resigned in August with five months left in his term to take a job leading the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.

[Vincent Orange resigns from D.C. Council after fury over Chamber of Commerce job]

White, 34, gets his early start on the council just before it returns from its summer recess next week. Party leaders said the choice was a no-brainer since White already defeated Orange in the June Democratic primary and is expected to cruise to victory in the November general election.

In a low-key affair with little drama and discussion, White won in a 43-2 vote of the party activists who make up the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

We have upheld the vote that was cast in the primary, said council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large), who chairs the Democratic Party.

Robert White thanks members of the D.C. Democratic State Committee after they voted to appoint him to fill a vacant seat on the council, at Catholic University. (Fenit Nirappil/The Washington Post)

Anita Shelton, one of the few dissenters, objected to not being able to present herself as a candidate. The longtime Ward 1 activist had pitched herself as a placeholder so White could focus on campaigning.

Previous votes on appointing interim at-large council members featured multiple candidates and heated party meetings, but Oranges resignation was the first to happen after a primary election. Party leaders said their obligation was to back the will of Democratic voters.

I will not let the stain of a process contaminate you because I believe in you and I believe in your integrity, said Shelton, shaking Whites hand after the committee vote.

In an interview before the vote, White said an early appointment to the council would help him gain valuable experience and seniority before starting a full term.

Every new member of the council, no matter how much policy or legislative experience you have, will have a learning curve, said White, a former aide to Attorney General Karl A. Racine and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D). With the opportunity to overcome that curve, I would be even more ready with a stronger legislative package in January.

[How Robert White, a political novice, unseated a longtime D.C. political giant]

The council has big items on its agenda this fall.

One of its top priorities will be voting on a proposal to mandate one of the most generous paid family leave bills in the country. Details  such as the source of funding and length of leave time  are still under negotiation.

White said he would push for the most robust and realistic program but he declined to discuss details of what that would look like. He pointed to his personal experience with family leave as a new father of a 2-month-old daughter and husband of a federal government employee with few family leave benefits.

White also declined to take a position on the Fair Scheduling Act to require major employers to provide more predictable work schedules to hourly workers. White said he was still studying it.

[Have that baby  paid family leave isnt coming to D.C. soon]

As a council member, White said he would prioritize education, affordable housing and workforce development issues, and would take on the troubled job training program as one of his first acts of oversight.

At times, he may also find himself at odds with his predecessor, who already frowned on the prospect of White taking his old seat.

Oranges new job as president and chief executive of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce places him at the helm of an organization fighting labor-friendly legislation he had championed as a council member, including the Fair Scheduling Act.

Originally, Orange planned to simultaneously lead the Chamber and serve on the council as chair of the committee overseeing businesses and regulations. But he resigned after a maelstrom of criticism from fellow council members and others that such dual roles would amount to a flagrant conflict of interest, even though its legal for council members to hold second jobs.

Orange has said he would refrain from lobbying his council colleagues, and ethics officials are finishing an opinion outlining restrictions on his political activities after leaving office.

Orange also has more than $80,000 in debt from his unsuccessful reelection bid, according a late-filed campaign finance report. He did not respond to requests for comment.
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said Thursday that one of her top law-enforcement priorities this fall will be closing a loophole that allows criminals in the nations capital to cut off their GPS monitoring devices without fear that doing so could send them back to jail.

Bowser (D) said she would propose a law to make tampering with any GPS device a crime, citing a case profiled this year in a Washington Post investigation.

Antwon Pitt, a convict with a long record of sexual misconduct while in prison, was found with a disabled GPS monitoring device last year in a D.C. library. But a judge allowed Pitt to remain free, and Pitt raped and beat a college professor in her Hill East home days later.

The loophole regarding GPS devices dates to a 2014 decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals. In that case, the court ruled that only criminals explicitly required to wear GPS devices by judges or the U.S. Parole Commission could be compelled to keep them on. The devices, however, had become a common sanction of a different federal agency responsible for supervising offenders in the District.

Bowser said her proposed law would make it a crime to remove any GPS device required by any custodial or supervising agency of the Districts convicts.

Pitt, now 22, is shown in a mugshot from an arrest in Prince Georges County in Oct. 2015. (Courtesy of the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office)

Enforcing our GPS system will make D.C. safer by ensuring we hold accountable those who do not meet the commitments of their release, Bowser said. These monitoring devices are intended to supervise the conduct of a person who is on probation or parole . . . and to reduce any incentive they may have to violate the conditions of their release or to commit any new crime.

[How an accused rapist kept getting second chances from D.C.s justice system]

The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, which is empowered by Congress to monitor convicts in the District, was responsible for Pitt when the rape occurred last year.

The director of that agency did not immediately respond to an email or a phone call Thursday seeking comment about the proposed law. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office also did not immediately respond.

Control of the criminal justice system in the nations capital is split between federal and local officials. Local D.C. police make arrests and local politicians write criminal codes, but federal prosecutors, federal judges and federal prison officials handle much of the rest.

Tensions have flared recently between the two sides, with outgoing D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier citing the Pitt case in calling the system broken.

D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), who chairs the councils Judiciary Committee, said that to implement Bowsers proposal, the city would also have to address privacy issues related to the many juveniles now under GPS monitoring.

But he added that the Pitt case is something that should never happen.

Pitts latest criminal act occurred after he was released from the Coleman federal prison complex in Florida last year, where he served 24 months in the robbery of a woman and the assault of a D.C. police officer.

Pitt came under FBI investigation in Florida after he repeatedly exposed himself and masturbated while threatening to rape prison nurses and corrections officers, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The FBI turned over the findings of its investigation to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida, which failed to prosecute him. He was released and put on a bus back to the District, where days later he was fitted with a GPS bracelet by the supervising agency.

[Inmate who threatened to rape nurses in prison put back on bus to D.C. ]

Within two months of his release, Pitt had cut off his GPS bracelet and failed to attend court-ordered therapy sessions. On Sept. 30, a D.C. police officer, who was investigating a complaint of drug use in the downtown Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, found Pitt in the bathroom with synthetic drugs and the cut-off GPS bracelet in his backpack.

A magistrate judge denied a prosecutors request to jail Pitt for violating the terms of his supervised release. Days later, Pitt committed the rape. Pitt, now 22, was convicted in June of all eight charges stemming from the attack. His sentencing has been postponed until the end of October.

Last March, Pitt was also indicted on three charges related to the drug arrest in the library, including tampering with a detection device. That case is pending, according to court records.

The appeals case that opened the GPS loophole was filed by Jeffrey Hunt, who was on parole in the District after a robbery conviction in 1982. In 2012, while being supervised by a Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency officer, he was told to wear a GPS bracelet after he tested positive for alcohol and violated conditions of his release. Hunt cut off the bracelet, was charged with tampering with a GPS device and convicted. He appealed his conviction, arguing that under D.C. law it was not a crime to cut off a GPS bracelet unless the court or the U.S. Parole Commission specifically ordered an offender to wear it as a condition of release.

Bowser is urging a permanent fix. This attack certainly has been discussed throughout her neighborhood, and lessons learned from it will help us make our system safer, she said.

William Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office, said in a statement that federal prosecutors have been working with the mayor and the D.C. Council on the issue and that prosecutors are reviewing Bowsers proposed legislation.
Gardendale, Ala., high school biotech teacher Justin Ingram readies his classroom before school begins in August. A new study says the U.S. is headed toward a serious teacher shortage. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

The United States is facing its first major teacher shortage since the 1990s, one that could develop into a crisis for schools in many parts of the country, according to a new study by the Learning Policy Institute, an education think tank.

The shortfall is a result of increased demand for teachers as schools reinstate classes and programs axed during the Great Recession. It has been compounded by a dramatic decrease in the supply of new teachers entering the profession. Enrollment in teacher-preparation programs dropped from 691,000 in 2009 to 451,000 in 2014, a 35 percent decline, according to the study, A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand and Shortages in the U.S.

Our analysis estimates that U.S. classrooms were short approximately 60,000 teachers last year, Leib Sutcher, the studys co-author, told reporters Tuesday ahead of the studys release. Unless we can shift these trends, annual teacher shortages could increase to over 100,000 teachers by 2018 and remain close to that level thereafter.

[Think teachers arent paid enough? Its worse than you think.]

The impact of the teacher shortage on students, according to the studys authors, will be schools having to cancel courses, increase class sizes and teacher-pupil ratios, or hire underprepared teachers.

Although nearly every state has reported teacher shortages to the U.S. Department of Education, the problem is much more pronounced in some states than others. But across the country, the shortages are disproportionately felt in special education, math and science, and in bilingual and English-language education.

Regardless of the state, students in high-poverty and high-minority schools are typically hit hardest when there are teacher shortages. In 2014, on average, less than one percent of teachers were uncertified in low-minority schools, while four times as many were uncertified in high-minority schools, the study showed.

Teacher attrition  the number of teachers leaving the profession for a variety of reasons  remains high and is the single-biggest contributor to the shortage, according to the report. Nearly two-thirds of the teachers who leave the profession do so before retirement age and cite dissatisfaction with their job as the reason. Addressing the job-dissatisfaction issues could help avert a teacher crisis.

In times of shortage, policymakers often focus attention on how to get more teachers into the profession, but its equally important to focus on how to keep the teachers we do have, Sutcher said. Reducing attrition in half, from eight percent to four percent, would virtually eliminate overall shortages.

[From 2015: Study finds far fewer new teachers leaving the profession than previously thought]

Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the Learning Policy Institute and one of the studys co-authors, pointed out that teachers make about 20 percent less than other college graduates and that teacher salaries have lost ground since the 1990s. That despite increased teaching hours and less time for classroom preparation.

In more than 30 states, a mid-career teacher heading a family of four is eligible for government assistance, she said.

Darling-Hammond recommended increased pay, compensation packages that could include housing and child care, and forgivable loans as some of the ways to improve teacher retention.

The study, based on federal data sets and more than a year in the works, received acclaim from powerful political figures on the education front.

This research underscores the importance of offering effective incentives to keep our best teachers in the profession, contributing their expertise to help others, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement.

Former education secretary and South Carolina governor Richard W. Riley concurred.

The teaching workforce is so critical to our future, and what we see here is the data we need to help us move forward with thoughtful, effective strategies, he said.

An accompanying report, Minority Teacher Recruitment, Employment, and Retention: 1987 to 2013, looked specifically at the effort to increase the number of minority teachers in schools.

Teacher turnover is especially high in poor and disadvantaged schools, said Richard Ingersoll, that reports author. What the data tell us is that we need to focus on more recruitment of minority teachers but also more retention of minority teachers if we ever want to have the teaching force look like the student population in schools.

Although compensation was a factor for minority teachers, it wasnt the only one, Ingersoll said.

We need to work on working conditions, he said. Among the key conditions that drive out minority teachers are a lack of autonomy and discretion in the classroom.
School Board President Jennifer George and former Superintendent Carol Williamson listen to a concerned citizen during a meeting of the Queen Anne's County School Board, on May 4, 2016. Williamson was ousted but now has a top state-level education job. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

A popular Eastern Shore school superintendent who was ousted after a political shift on her communitys school board is stepping into one of Marylands top education posts.

Carol Williamson, who for eight years was superintendent in Queen Annes County, east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, has become Marylands chief academic officer and deputy state superintendent for teaching and learning. She joins the senior leadership team of State Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon, who was a long-serving superintendent in Talbot County, Queen Annes neighbor to the south.

Carols knowledge, experience and leadership ability make her the perfect choice for chief academic officer, Salmon said. Her number one priority has always been whats best for students. We are so fortunate to have her join our team as we work to strengthen schools throughout the state.

Williamson left Queen Annes on June 30 after a three-member school board majority  then in office 14 months  decided not to renew her contract earlier this year. She had been superintendent since 2008 and part of the school systems leadership for more than two decades, including as associate superintendent and assistant superintendent.

[Furor on Marylands Eastern Shore as critics seek to oust school board majority]

Angela Holocker, center, principal at Malapeake Middle School, responds to a vote during a meeting of the Queen Anne's County School Board in Centreville, Md, on May 4, 2016. The board rejected a motion to offer a one year contract to former superintendent Carol Williamson. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Williamsons backers packed Board of Education meetings, demanding to know why she was being let go. They argued that Queen Annes was a strong school system headed in the right direction with rising graduation rates.

They called the decision to let her go secret, sudden and unjustified and launched an unsuccessful effort to get the Maryland State Board of Education to remove the three board members who voted against Williamson.

[State officials decline to remove school board members who ousted superintendent]

Williamsons supporters lauded her hiring at the state level. She will work on instructional policies in such areas as curriculum, assessment and special education with the states 24 school systems, including the one she used to lead.

They couldnt have picked a better person, said Mark Cascia, a former Queen Annes school board president who spoke out on her behalf during the turmoil. She really cares about her job, she takes it seriously and she puts everything into it.

Susan Sweitzer, a parent who started a petition that supported removing the three board members who ousted Williamson, said the former superintendents selection for the state job is telling.

Its sad that Queen Annes County didnt realize what they had, Sweitzer said. The state obviously feels shes good enough for a high-ranking state job.

The board majority said little about its reasons for not reappointing Williamson, but some members hinted at stagnant academic achievement and a shortage of minority teachers.

Two members of the majority voting bloc said this week they are glad Williamson found a new post. The third, Jennifer George, the board president, did not respond to a request for comment.

Things have a way of working out, board member Annette DiMaggio said. Our county now has a superintendent who is working collaboratively with our board members, teachers, staff and vendors, and Dr. Williamson has a new position that is a wonderful pinnacle to her long and distinguished career in education. Everything worked out for the best for all parties.

Board member Arlene Taylor, vice president, said its time for everyone to move forward. Scripture says old things are passed away, behold all things are made new.

As deputy state superintendent, Williamson heads the office of teaching and learning, which oversees areas including curriculum, assessment and accountability, early childhood education, special education, and college and career readiness.

[Maryland names former Eastern Shore schools chief as state superintendent]

She fills a job that opened when Jack R. Smith became interim state superintendent after state superintendent Lillian M. Lowery left last year. In February, Smith was selected as schools superintendent in Montgomery County, the states largest district. Salmon was tapped for the top state job in May.


Carl Johnson, left, served as a Tuskegee Airman. (Courtesy of Carl Johnson)

He wasnt sure he would graduate.

When cadet Carl Johnson returned to Tuskegee Institute in Alabama after a two-week bout of appendicitis, the 12 black airmen of his class had already earned their wings from the Army.

I was positive they were going to eliminate me, said Johnson, who is now 90 and lives in Northern Virginia. Dozens of other students in the final class had already washed out of the program, the premier training ground for African American pilots, navigators and bombardiers in the segregated military of the 1940s. I had a weekend pass for Atlanta. When I came back, they said they were looking for me. The general who was head of the command had been there in Tuskegee. They told them about this last cadet they had.

I was the last cadet at Tuskegee. I was the last Tuskegee Airman to graduate.

The year was 1946, which made him too late to serve in World War II. But he still joined a legendary squadron of highly skilled and disciplined fighters who flew more than 1,000 missions in Europe and North Africa amid open skepticism of white officers. Dozens died protecting bombers from enemy fire.

The bomber squadrons they escorted called the Tuskegee Airmen red-tail angels for the red-painted tails on their airplanes. The Germans, he said, called them black bird men.

One of their planes, the Spirit of Tuskegee, is on display at the Smithsonians new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opens Sept. 24.

But it would take years for the black pilots to be recognized as war heroes. And when they returned home, they had to fight another battle against segregation and bigotry.

[Thurgood Marshalls interracial love: I dont care what people think. Im marrying you.]

For Johnson, who served in Korea and Vietnam, that battle began when he arrived at a train station in Fort Worth with his orders to report to Tuskegee. He was 18 years old.

The Army had issued Johnson and 14 other black cadets train tickets for sleeping cars, known as Pullmans, for the 24-hour trip from Texas to Alabama.

The station master told us: No, you dont get a Pullman. You have to go in coach,  Johnson recalled. One of my classmates, a fellow a little older, he said, No, we are not getting on the train until we get a Pullman. 

But they told us, You get on the train or you are going to go to jail. We ended up in coach.

Johnson and his fellow cadets were given seats behind the engine. The Army had also issued meal tickets, but the black cadets were denied use of the dining car. Riding hours on the train with no food, they were ravenous.

We got to New Orleans, and the train stopped for a little while, Johnson recalled, and one of the fellows in our group  originally from New Orleans  he was able to get us some food and got back on the train.

They arrived in the middle of the night at the station outside Tuskegee.

It was a little station, with one side for blacks and one side for whites. The training officer who came to pick us up looked at us and said, You are a sorry bunch of misters. And we were sorry-looking because we had sat behind the engine all the way from Fort Worth. The smoke from the train came in the windows. We didnt have air conditioning in those days. It was a pretty long train ride.

At Moton Field, which had been built between 1940 and 1942, the Army conducted its experiment to see whether Negroes could be trained to fly in war.

The Army Air Corps sent in uniforms, books and parachutes, Johnson said. The Tuskegee Institute, the historically black university founded by Booker T. Washington, was under contract to provide rooms, food, hangars and flight instructors.

Johnson remembers the base was segregated and so was the town. I dont think I ever went in the town of Tuskegee more than once or twice, Johnson said.

Johnson was a young cadet as the airmen whod fought overseas returned.

Now they are recognized as heroes, Johnson said. The Tuskegee combat returnees never even mentioned they had shot aircraft. I never heard them do any bragging at all, not one bit. I never learned about what they had done until much later. I knew they were good pilots because I flew with them.

I was a pretty good pilot myself, he added.



Carl Johnson, 90, is reflected in a display of his military medals, which hang in a frame at his home in Ashburn, Va. He flew combat missions in Korea and Vietnam during 31 years as an aviator. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Johnson spoke about his military service at the dining-room table of his home in Ashburn, Va., about 50 minutes west of Washington. His wife, Nancy Johnson, 87, was in the kitchen doing a newspaper crossword puzzle. They have a son, 57, and a daughter, 54.

Tall and reserved, Johnson pulled out an album, flipping through pages that display photos of him in his Tuskegee flight helmet, goggles and flight jacket. Another shows Johnson standing with a group of cadets, a student officer and a flight instructor in front of a plane. He has carefully saved his important papers, including an Army Air Forces Training Command certificate showing that he completed the pilot course in October 1946.

He is a quiet, accomplished man who still drives and helps take care of his wife.

Johnson was born in Bellaire, Ohio, where he grew up right across the river from Wheeling, W.Va. His high school was integrated and so was the campus at Ohio State, which he attended until he was drafted. He wanted to be a pilot, even in a military that viewed blacks as inferior warriors. And he began training at Tuskegee just as World War II was ending and the black aviation unit was about to be disbanded.

[He tried to check out a Robert E. Lee book from the library. He got jailed instead.]

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman made history by ordering the desegregation of the U.S. Armed Forces. But much was left unchanged.

A lot of the states ignored that, Johnson remembered.

At a base in Enid, Okla., Johnson shared a room with a supply sergeant because there was no place for a black pilot to live.

He eventually joined the Ohio National Guard. They had one black unit. They didnt have any blacks anywhere else in the division except in our battalion. It was all black. The commanding officer was black.

Johnson made a career out of being an Army aviator. Over the next 31 years, he flew in the Korean War and commanded an aviation battalion consisting of seven companies in Vietnam.

He received a Distinguished Flying Cross and 10 Air Medals, which he keeps pinned in neat rows in a golden frame in his home office.

I got the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in Vietnam. We had units on the ground who were being attacked, Johnson said. I was called for artillery fire. We were flying over where everything was taking place. I could see tracers coming around.

Then he stops. That is as animated as he gets about risking his life.

He still stays in touch with a few Tuskegee Airmen. But many have died.



Retired Gen. Colin L. Powell pays tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen in the Capitol Rotunda, where they were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 for their military service. (Michel du Cille/The Washington Post)

In 2007, Johnson and other Tuskegee Airmen were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Johnson was among 300 black aviators, most of them in their 8os, who gathered in the Capitol Rotunda to receive recognition for their service.

You showed America that there was nothing a black person couldnt do, said former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, a retired Army general who served as the countrys first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

President George W. Bush acknowledged the terrible racism that all the Tuskegee Airmen had endured.

For all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities. . . . I salute you for your service to the United States of America, Bush told them.

The commander in chief saluted them. And Johnson and the other aviators got to their feet and saluted back.
THE DISTRICT

Georgetown sexual assaults investigated

Four recent sexual assaults on women in the Georgetown area of Northwest Washington may be linked, according to D.C. Police.

The incidents happened between Aug. 3 and Monday. In at least one case, the assailant was armed with a knife. In another case, the attacker was wearing a dark-colored mask.

In the most recent assault, police said, a woman was walking at about 10:40 p.m. in the 1300 block of 35th Street NW when a man came up behind her and groped her while exposing himself. Police said he then exposed himself to another person as he fled.

 Dana Hedgpeth

Man is sentenced

in shooting of girl, 7

A D.C. man who inadvertently shot and wounded a 7-year-old girl in Southeast Washington in April was sentenced to seven years in prison, prosecutors said.

About 9:30 p.m. on April 8, Michael Wiggins, 27, fired four shots at a family member he had been feuding with in the 2900 block of Knox Place SE, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement. One shot hit the girl in the chest. She had been returning home with her family from an outing at Chuck E. Cheeses. She was transported to a hospital, eventually making a full recovery, the statement said.

Wiggins pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced to seven years, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Justin Wm. Moyer

VIRGINIA

Man shot at hospital

had multiple wounds

A man suffering from an apparent mental health crisis who charged a sheriffs deputy at a Fairfax County hospital wielding a signpost and was shot died of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, a state medical examiner said Thursday.

But one month after Giovanny Martinez, 29, was shot at Inova Fairfax Hospital, officials have yet to answer crucial questions about the care and handling of a man who sought police help earlier in the day because he wanted to kill himself.

Martinez approached a Fairfax County police officer on Aug. 15, saying he wanted to take pills and die, his family said detectives said. Martinez was taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation, police said. Hospital staff determined that Martinez was not in a mental crisis and released him, police said. Soon after, he had the apparent breakdown and began wielding a signpost.

Police said Martinez struck a guard with the post. Security workers called 911 and Fairfax County Sheriffs Deputy Patrick McPartlin, an 18-year veteran, responded because he was at the hospital guarding a patient.

McPartlin ordered Martinez to drop the signpost, police said. When Martinez continued to approach, McPartlin retreated and then opened fire. Martinez later died at the hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Tracy J. Connell has declined to comment on Martinezs care or the reasons for his release, citing federal health privacy laws.

Fairfax County

is fined by EPA

Fairfax County will pay a $64,450 penalty for violations at 15 locations in the county where gasoline, diesel fuel or motor oil were stored in underground tanks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week.

The county failed to test the soundness of equipment used to detect leaks from pressurized underground lines connected to the tanks at the sites, officials said.

 Antonio Olivo

Three wounded by

gunfire in Manassas

Three people were wounded by gunfire Wednesday night in Prince William County, police said.

The incidents happened around 7:30 p.m. in the 9800 block of Maury Lane in Manassas, according to the Manassas City Police. A juvenile, a man and a woman were struck by gunfire, police said. They were taken to hospitals for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

 Dana Hedgpeth
Gov. Larry Hogan pauses to greet Boulder, who has lymphoma, and his owner Lori Gross after signing an executive order that renews the state's Council on Cancer Control on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Brian Witte/AP)

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, in remission from non-Hodgkins lymphoma for nearly a year, said Thursday that he has one remaining chemotherapy maintenance treatment, after which,hopefully, Ill be done with it forever.

Hogan (R) shared the information after appearing with health leaders from across the state, including his oncologists, to release Marylands Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan and sign an executive order to continue the states fight against cancer.

Officials described the plan as a road map for doctors and other health professionals on cancer prevention, treatment and early detection. It offers goals and strategies on topics such as reducing cancer disparities, reducing tobacco use and second-hand smoke, improving the nutrition of Marylanders and enhancing the quality of life of cancer survivors.

[Hogan as advocate: I never expected to be in this position.]

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Maryland, responsible for more than 10,000 deaths each year, said Howard Haft, deputy secretary for public health services in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced on Sept. 15 that he remains cancer-free, with one more treatment scheduled. Hogan made the announcement after signing an executive order that renews the state's Council on Cancer Control. Hogan was diagnosed in June 2015 with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (YouTube/GovHogan)

Haft said the states cancer mortality rate has improved from third-highest in the nation between 1989 to 1993 to 31st-highest from 2009 to 2013, the most recent data available.

Thursdays event was part of World Lymphoma Day. Hogan said that in support of the Lymphoma Research Foundation, the gubernatorial mansion in Annapolis, known as Government House, will be lit in red Thursday night.

The governor announced his diagnosis in June 2015, after doctors found dozens of tumors throughout his body, including his groin, neck and abdomen.

He underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatments for 18 weeks. In November, tests showed he was in remission.

Since then, Hogan has been getting monthly chemotherapy treatments, which he describes as a little booster. A scan taken a few weeks ago showed no sign of cancer, he said Thursday. Im feeling great.

Having the personal experience myself has opened up my eyes to what people go through, Hogan said, wearing a closeshaved haircut that he chose to keep after his hair started to grow back in last year. I was always concerned about the issue, but I understand it from a whole new perspective.
Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Thursday that he is paying close attention to the child abuse allegations in Prince Georges County schools.

In response to a question about the allegations from reporters, Hogan said his office reached out to County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) on Wednesday but has yet to hear back.

Hogan said he is hesitant to interfere with what is happening on a local level, but we are paying close attention to it, trying to make sure some action is being taken.

[Parents question delay in probe of alleged molestation of child on school bus]

Parents in Prince Georges recently learned that authorities are investigating whether a bus aide molested their 4-year-son last November. Earlier this year, a school volunteer was indicted on 270 counts of child pornography involving at least 23 victims.

The investigation also comes on the heels of federal officials ending the school systems oversight of the countys $6.4 million Head Start program, following incidents of corporal punishment and humiliation of students.
Michael Higgs wanted to pump some fight into the 50 or so Donald Trump supporters who packed the second floor of an office rowhouse in Rockville, the Republican Partys outpost in deep-blue Montgomery County.

We have a lot of angry people on the left. A lot of anger out there these days, said Higgs, chairman of the county GOP. That makes it tempting, he said, to avoid talking politics with friends or neighbors, or even planting a yard sign.

Dont be cowed, he urged.

Its more important than ever for people to see that theyre not alone, especially here in this liberal stronghold of the Peoples Republic of Montgomery County, said Higgs, a genial telecommunications attorney whose work in Larry Hogans 2014 gubernatorial campaign helped him land him a post as deputy director of the state Department of Assessments and Taxation.

Never forget, theres 124,000 registered Republicans in this county. So anytime you think youre the only guy in your neighborhood, youre not.

Dwight Patel at Montgomery County GOP headquarters in Rockville. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)

Its actually 121,474 on the rolls of the registered, according to the latest Board of Elections data,surrounded by 376,934 Democrats (not to mention 142,004 independents) who have thrived over the last quarter century as the GOP shifted rightward and the county grew more diverse.

No Republican presidential candidate has carried Montgomery since Ronald Reagan, who eked out 50.1 percent in 1984. Rep. Connie Morella (R-Md.) was gerrymandered out of office by Democratic state lawmakers in 2002, and the last Republican on the County Council, Howard Denis, was unseated four years later.

On this recent evening, though, in this room, an enthusiastic cross-section of the Trump coalition came together  largely white, north of 40, and voicing a mix of disillusion, anxiety and anger over the direction of the country.

[Many Trump supporters dont believe his wildest promises, and dont care]

They took different paths to supporting Trump, but most converge around illegal immigration and border security, the belief that Democrat Hillary Clinton must be stopped, and that their candidate is the prescriptive for a political establishment rotten with insiderism and corruption across both parties.

The meeting drew from right-wing movements that have found a harbor in Trumps candidacy. There was John OMalley, 62, a 9/11 truther who believes the attacks were the work of rogue elements inside the U.S. government. He said he is drawn to Trump because the New York billionaire has indicated a willingness to reopen the investigation into the events of that day.

OMalley, a retired Pentagon and Food and Drug Administration research analyst who ran for the Montgomery County Council in 2014, was also there to represent Maryland 20/20 Watch, a tea party offshoot. He distributed applications for election judge posts in Baltimore City, saying there could be massive voter fraud at the polls.

Seated off to the side was Brad Botwin, by day a senior official in the Commerce Departments Office of Technology Evaluation. On his own time, he is founder and director of Help Save Maryland, listed as a nativist-extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its history of hostility to illegal immigrants. He has said the listing is baseless.

In a July blog post, Botwin assailed Montgomery police chief Tom Manger for lax enforcement of immigration laws that he said has led to a surge of gang-related violence in the unnaturally diverse communities of Montgomery Village and Gaithersburg. His site carries commentary calling Casa de Maryland, the immigrant advocacy group, Marylands Number 1 Illegal Entity, and sells stickers with a bright red slash across the Casa logo.

[Latest Trump plan: 5 million targeted for deportation]

Botwin enlisted volunteers to staff campaign booths at county events this fall. We dont take any crap from anybody, right? he told a couple of interested high school students. Were Trump people.

Higgs, whose nomination to Marylands Public Service Commission stalled last year after Democratic lawmakers objected to some old tweets (newsflash Illegal alien immigrants now to be referred to as #UndocumentedDemocrats), said that while the party has no formal relationship with Help Save Maryland, the organization is a welcome presence.

Brad has a great group, those guys do good work, said Higgs. We have a lot of the same stances on a lot of the issues.

Although Trump won 55 percent of the statewide vote in Marylands Republican primary, he captured only 39 percent in Montgomery, edging Ohio Gov. John Kasich by 1,700 votes. A few people at the meeting in Rockville the other night reflected some of that ambivalence.

Dwight Patel hopscotched from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and then Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) before making his peace with Trump. Even now, he says he would be happier with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the top of the ticket.

Like Donald Rumsfeld said, You go to war with the Army you have, and not the one we wish we had, said Patel, 44, an architect and the county partys second vice chair.

Larry Eisenberg, a tax and pension attorney who lives in Gaithersburg, said hed long been uneasy about speaking out on politics, repelled by the sense of moral superiority he encountered from Democrats. But he came to the meeting with his wife, Jessica Brede, a CPA and tax partner in a wealth advisory firm, as curious conservatives who believe it is important that Clinton be defeated. Trumps raw rhetoric is not a concern.

Gaffes dont matter, said Eisenberg, 58. I know exactly what hes trying to say. . . . I think it is very important that we have a rational immigration system. Thats not a racist comment. We have a constitutional right to determine who becomes a citizen, and that includes those who support our constitution and whose primary allegiance is to the United States.

[What happens when a sitting GOP governor says he wont vote for Trump]

Ruth Melson, a fixture in the 65-year-old Montgomery County Federation of Republican Women, was there also, none too pleased that Hogan, the states increasingly popular governor, has declared Trump unfit for office and has vowed not to vote for him this fall.

I think its terrible. The Republican leader of the state saying hes not supporting his presidential candidate. No excuses for it,  said Melson, a retired Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation official and longtime Trump admirer, who lives in Garrett Park. New York City would be slums without Donald Trump, she said.

For about 90 minutes, Higgs walked through some of the basics for the fall campaign, including phone banks and the Sept. 26 debate watch party, which he promised would be Huuuuge. He also put out a call for surrogate speakers, volunteers who have the gift of gab but can also sort of keep it in check.

As the session wound down he addressed the elephant in the room  that barring an astonishing reversal, Marylands 10 electoral votes will not be a factor in Trumps strategy. A Washington Post-Survey Monkey poll of the states likely voters shows him trailing Clinton by 30 points.

Talking candidly here  Maryland may not be on their final vote strategy, Higgs said, meaning that the group should not count on heavy support from the national campaign.

Higgs tried to end on an upbeat note, telling the faithful on Crabbs Branch Way they could still have an impact by making calls and bus trips into bona fide battleground states like Pennsylvania, hooking up with other county organizations and going door-to-door.

Were going to do everything we can to get Maryland in play, he said, and move those polls in the right direction.
D.C. police will be required to confirm with dispatchers that they have turned on their body cameras when they respond to a call or interact with citizens, a change ordered this week because an officer who fatally shot a man Sunday did not activate his camera until after he fired.

The mandate comes as authorities continue to investigate the death of 31-year-old Terrence Sterling, of Fort Washington. Sterling was shot early Sunday after police said he crashed his motorcycle into a cruiser. Officers in the car were responding to a report of the motorcycle being driven erratically, police said.

The officer who shot Sterling should have turned on his body camera at the beginning of the pursuit or at the initial interaction, authorities have said.

The new policy, formally announced at a news conference Thursday, is part of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowsers sweeping effort to address crime in the District.

Last year, D.C. police began equipping all of its patrol officers with the cameras after Bowser (D) proposed purchasing 2,500 cameras at a cost of more than $5 million. So far, about 1,300 of the cameras have been put on the officers. Bowser said she hopes to have the remainder of the cameras deployed by the end of the year.

Ensuring that officers remember to switch on the cameras, especially as they are rushing to answer a call, has been a challenge for police forces nationwide. Having both the officer and the dispatcher verbally confirm that a camera is on provides another level of assurance, Bowser said at the news conference.

We have given the police officers a new tool. We have to do everything we can to make sure that new tool is being deployed properly, she said. Bowser added the new policy will serve as a reminder for the officers, especially for those who have been on the force for years and who must now become accustomed to flipping the camera switch.

On Thursday, Peter Newsham, the Districts interim police chief, said that over the past 30 days, officers activated the cameras about 55,000 times, recording about 11,000 hours of footage. Newsham said that in that time, there were 10 incidents in which officers failed to turn on the cameras when they should have.

The change is expected to take effect by the end of the week. It will be read at roll calls and included in dispatch newsletters that are emailed to all officers.

The fatal incident began about 4:20 a.m. Sunday when officers got a call about the motorcycle in the Adams Morgan area. Later, police saw the motorcycle near Third and M streets in Northwest. Police have said in a statement that one officer was trying to exit the passengers side of the marked car to stop Sterling. But at that point, according to police, Sterling intentionally drove the motorcycle into the passenger door and the officer fired his weapon.

Police have not publicly identified the officer. Both officers in the cruiser  the shooter and the driver  have been put on administrative leave, Newsham said. The chief declined to talk further about the incident because it is under investigation.

[Motorcyclist fatally shot after striking police cruiser]

Our number one goal in this particular case is to find out exactly what happened, Newsham said.

Bowser said footage of the aftermath of the shooting was forwarded to the U.S. attorneys office as part of the investigation. City officials have asked any witnesses to call 202-727-9099.

Sterlings father, Isaac Sterling, declined to comment earlier this week and said the family was dealing with our grief right now and working to plan Sterlings funeral.

Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
A D.C. man who inadvertently shot and injured a 7-year-old girl in Southeast Washington in April was sentenced to seven years in prison, prosecutors said.

[Washington man pleads guilty after shooting 7-year-old girl returning from Chuck E. Cheeses]

At around 9:30 p.m. on April 8, 27-year-old Michael Wiggins fired four shots at a family member he had been feuding with in the 2900 block of Knox Place SE, the United States Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement. One of the shots hit the girl, who was returning home with her family from an outing at Chuck E. Cheese, in the chest, and she was transported to a hospital, eventually making a full recovery, the statement said.

Wiggins, who pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault while armed and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence last month, was sentenced to seven years followed by five years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
A dual Dutch-Turkish national pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Washington to providing material support to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a U.S.-designated terrorist group active in Afghanistan.

Irfan Demirtas, also known as Nasrullah, 58, faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 30. U.S. authorities agreed not to pursue additional charges in a four-count indictment dated Dec. 8, 2011.

I didnt do anything intentionally knowing they were a terrorist organization, the white-bearded Demirtas said Thursday, speaking through a translator. Demirtas remained seated at the plea because of a medical condition that his attorney said made it too painful for him to stand during the 90-minute hearing.

Demirtas admitted that between January 2006 and May 2008, he provided funds to IMU leader Tahir Yuldashev and was present when he made threats against Americans, Assistant Federal Defender Mary C. Petras told District Judge Randolph D. Moss.

U.S. authorities alleged that Demirtas was raising money, recruiting fighters and fomenting terror across Europe and the Middle East, then-acting U.S. attorney for the District Vincent H. Cohen Jr. said in a statement when Demirtas was extradited to the United States in July 2015.

[European man extradited to D.C. to face charges of funding terrorism]

Federal authorities in court cited letters found in Demirtass residence in the Netherlands appointing him the IMUs European-based fundraiser when the group was actively battling Afghan and U.S. forces and videos of IMU leaders allegedly thanking him for money and making threats to Germany, the United States and the Netherlands.

The United States designated the IMU a foreign terrorist organization on Sept. 25, 2001, and the group has allied itself with the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Yuldashev was killed in a U.S. drone strike in August 2009.

Demirtas was arrested in May 2008 and held in France, where he was sentenced to eight years in prison for related activities on Jan. 8, 2013.

French prosecutors said Demirtass France-based network sent at least $390,000 to the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, with more than half earmarked for jihad.

Demirtas was returned to the Netherlands and released in July 2013, but he was arrested again in Germany in January 2015 based on a 2012 U.S. warrant. He was extradited to the United States.

Original U.S. charges included providing resources to terrorists and receiving military-type training as well as a firearms charge, which carried a mandatory 30-year prison term.

Demirtass attorneys said that he will ask to serve his sentence in the Netherlands and seek credit for time served in France.
A man suffering from an apparent mental health crisis who charged a sheriffs deputy at a Fairfax County hospital wielding a signpost and was shot died of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, a state medical examiner said Thursday.

But one month after Giovanny Martinez, 29, was shot at Inova Fairfax Hospital, officials have yet to answer crucial questions about the care and handling of a man who sought police help earlier in the day because he wanted to kill himself.

[He sought help, but ended up dead. A family wonders: Why?]

Martinez approached a Fairfax County police officer on the afternoon of Aug. 15, saying he wanted to take pills and die, his family said detectives said. The officer was alarmed, and Martinez was taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation, police said.

Staff at the hospital determined that Martinez was not suffering from a mental crisis and released him, police said. Soon after, he had the apparent breakdown and began wielding a signpost at a bus stop on the grounds of the Falls Church hospital.

Police said that hospital security workers responded and that Martinez struck a guard with the post. Security workers called 911, and Fairfax County Sheriffs Deputy Patrick McPartlin, an 18-year veteran, responded because he was at the hospital guarding a patient.

McPartlin, who was trained to handle people suffering mental crises, ordered Martinez to drop the signpost, police said. When Martinez continued to approach, McPartlin retreated and then opened fire multiple times, police said. Martinez later died at the hospital.

Martinezs family members said in an interview that they wonder how a man who had sought help could end up dead, and questioned why the hospital did not hold him. They said he had struggled with his mental health in recent months.

Hospital spokeswoman Tracy J. Connell has declined to comment on Martinezs care or the reasons for his release, citing federal health privacy laws. She did release a document showing that Virginia Department of Health inspectors conducted an unannounced inspection in response to an unspecified complaint related to Martinez's case, but could not substantiate the complaint.

"The results show that all of the medical assessments, diagnostics, treatment and discharging care plans were consistent with regulatory compliant healthcare," a statement by Connell read.

Maj. Ed OCarroll, a Fairfax police spokesman, said this week that police could not answer those questions because they did not have health records from the hospital.

Our focus is on the criminal investigation, he said. Search warrants are forthcoming to obtain that information.

OCarroll did provide a better timeline of events, showing that Martinez was held at the hospital for at least four hours and probably longer.

Martinez approached the police officer saying he wanted to kill himself shortly before 2 p.m. on Aug. 15, police said. By 4 p.m., the officer had left Martinez in the care of the hospital. OCarroll said Martinez was discharged between 8 and 10 p.m. on Aug. 15.

Police had previously said Martinez was escorted to the bus stop by security workers, but OCarroll said this week that Martinez asked hospital staff for assistance in locating the bus stop and that staff pointed out its location to him.

McPartlin, the deputy who shot Martinez, was involved in a previous fatal encounter at the Fairfax County jail in 2015. He was one of six sheriffs deputies who wrestled with, restrained and used a Taser on Natasha McKenna, 37, who died afterward.
Zakieya Avery will be sent to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital, not a prison, after a judge ruled she was criminally insane in the killing of two of her children. (N/A/Family Photo)

A Maryland judge ruled Thursday that Zakieya Avery, a 31-year-old woman who called herself a demon assassin, was criminally insane when she killed her two youngest children in 2014 during what she believed was an exorcism.

The ruling  holding that Avery was not criminally responsible for the attacks  means that she will be sent to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital, not a prison.

Avery showed little emotion after the finding and did not look up as she was led out of the Montgomery County courtroom.

Several family members in attendance expressed visible relief. It is bittersweet, Kaliha Brooks said afterward. We still lost the children. But we are happy to know my cousin will get the help she needs.

On Monday, Avery admitted in court that she killed her 18-month-old son, Norell, and 2-year-old daughter, Zyana, and tried to kill her 5-year-old daughter, Taniya, and 8-year-old son, Martello.

On Monday, a defense attorney for Zakieya Avery played this video in a Maryland courtroom, hoping to bolster his argument that in 2014, when Avery killed her two youngest children during a bloody exorcism, she was insane. (Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office)

The horrifying violence  carried out in the early hours of Jan. 17, 2014, in a Germantown townhouse by Avery and her roommate, Monifa Sanford  drew national attention. The women attacked the children with a serrated paring knife, stabbing the youngest more than 20 times, because they thought the killings would cleanse the children of demons and send them to heaven.

Avery, who has a history of mental health issues, put forward a defense through her attorney this week that she was not criminally responsible at the time of the attacks, leading to the bench trial over whether she was criminally insane.

Her mission and plan were quite convoluted, disjointed and elaborate, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann said Thursday. I find her statements inconsistent with a rational brain.

The inescapable conclusion I draw, he added, is that she believed she was providing for her childrens salvation. What rational normal-thinking human being could possibly conclude that their children would be better off dead than alive?

Under Maryland law, Avery could be released from a psychiatric hospital if she is deemed to not be a risk to herself or to others. McGann seemed leery of such a move, noting that about a month before the crimes, Avery quit taking her psychiatric medication  apparently because she thought God had cured her.

Someday the defendant will be asking this court to release her from a psychiatric institution, McGann said. If the only guarantee this court has that Ms. Avery wont slaughter other children in the future is her compliance with a strict regimen of anti-psychotic medication, I dont foresee that day when this member of the court will take that risk.

After police took Avery and Sanford into custody on the day of the attacks, the women spoke openly about their beliefs in demons and exorcisms  statements that were at the core of mental health issues that had to be sorted in their cases.

[Can one suspect be insane but the other not?]

Later in 2014, each woman was evaluated independently at the states Clifton T. Perkins forensic psychiatric hospital in Jessup. The big legal questions turned on what their mental state was at the time of the crimes. Were they so delusional they didnt know their actions were wrong? And was their mental illness so severe that it overran any rational thoughts, leaving it impossible for the women to conform their conduct to the requirements of law.

The state doctors concluded that the answer for Sanford on both fronts was yes. They designated her not criminally responsible. A Montgomery judge agreed at a hearing in January 2015 and ordered Sanfords confinement at Perkins.

But the doctors reached a different conclusion on Avery, saying that she knew what she did was illegal because, among other factors, she took steps to evade consequences  by running out the back of her townhouse  after the crime.

But Averys attorney, Brian Shefferman, challenged that opinion and retained two defense experts.

The only way to understand her actions in this case is to factor in her mental illness, her delusional belief that her children were being possessed by demons, one of those experts, psychiatrist Neil Blumberg, testified in court. She clearly at the time thought that this was the proper and moral thing to do.

[Mother pleads guilty to killing her two children]

Its a tragic case, Shefferman said after the judges ruling Thursday. I think the judge made the right call. She belongs in a hospital, not a prison.

McGann spoke from the bench for 20 minutes  outlining Marylands criminal insanity statutes, Averys past mental illness, her descent into complete madness, and the brutality she and Sanford showed in the killings.

Arriving at a legal insanity ruling is a two-step process in Maryland, McGann noted. First, the courts must determine whether a person committed the crime. If so, and if the defendant raises the insanity defense, the courts must determine whether that defense is valid.

The bar the defendant must clear to show insanity is preponderance of the evidence, which is a lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A defendant must prove that it is more likely so than not so, McGann said.

He keyed in what motives were absent in the Avery case. Among them: Avery had no apparent anger problems and no resentment toward the children, and she wasnt high on hallucinogenic drugs. To her, demon possession and exorcisms became a very real motive, McGann said.

He spoke about Averys belief that demons can enter people through their eyes, penetrate their souls and, without an exorcism, can pull people to hell.

McGann read from writings that police found inside Averys townhouse. The women had written love notes to imagined spouses, made dark apocalyptic assertions, wrote a grocery list for a demon assassin party and advanced general comments on society.

McGann recited one of the entries that covered the president and first lady being shape shifters, the antichrists messenger as the pope, a plan for the world, tracking devices and the hidden occult, the whore of Babylon and the beast of Babylon.

In court, McGann also spoke of how the children died. As young as Norell was, the judge said, he instinctively mustered the strength to fight his mother. This was evidenced by defensive wounds on his tiny hands and fingers.

What delusional thinking overpowered Ms. Avery to cause her to choke Zyana unconscious, and then [stab] her pristine chest 13 times?

McGann also wondered what distorted thoughts caused Avery to stab the older children after they were awakened by the stabbing of their siblings.

I find that Ms. Averys ritualistic, albeit barbaric, attempt to rid her children of demons, is powerful evidence of her lack of rational thinking, McGann said.
The General Services Administration is selling the Sugar Grove Station, a 122-acre faciilty that was closed by the Navy last year. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post)

Buyers will have a second shot at scooping up a picturesque weekend getaway just three hours outside the nations capital at a bargain price.

Sugar Grove Station, a former Navy base on 122 acres between the Allegheny Mountains and the south fork of the Potomac River in West Virginia, is back on the market, after a deal to buy it fell through this week.

Officials with the General Services Administration put the base, complete with its 80 single-family homes, a football field, bowling alley and fire station up for auction in February. With an opening bid of $1 million, it was quite the deal for legions of weary house hunters in high-priced markets such as D.C.

In July, officials announced they had accepted a bid for $11.2 million and expected the sale to be completed within 60 days.

But that all changed this week, according to GSA spokeswoman Sherrie Taylor, when the unidentified buyer was unable to complete the transaction.

A tour group heads to check out a three-story dormitory-style housing building at Sugar Grove. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post)

In glossy brochures, GSA officials noted the propertys church-like stillness. Sugar Grove, they wrote, delights the eye and rests the nerves.

That was partly because of its location, in the middle of the 13,000-square-mile area known as the National Radio Quiet Zone, where all radio communications are restricted. Translation: Cellphones are virtually useless.

[Your dream home may be this former Navy base in West Virginia ]

For years, the base served as the Navys ear  gathering communications from planes, ships and stations throughout the world. But documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed its other role  as one of 10 signals-intelligence activity designators used by the National Security Agency to collect international cellphone location information and other data.

Just a little more than a mile away from the base, an array of giant parabolic dishes sits on a mountain ridge. They are obscured by thick forest cover. Suffice it to say, they are not included in the sale.

[Heres how you can bid on Sugar Grove Station]

GSA officials said they will now auction the property through a sealed-bid competitive sale. In this instance, an opening date for bids will be set, most likely in November. Bidders will be asked to mail in their bids and bid deposits. On the appointed date, all bids will be opened and the highest bidder will be named. Taylor said officials are still trying to settle on a price.

Want to get a look at the property? An open house is likely to be held in mid-October.

Officials estimate that it will cost about $4.6 million a year to maintain the property.

For nearly a half-century, the base served as an anchor for the tiny towns that dot rural Pendleton County  7,471 residents spread out over nearly 700 square miles. In an area where good jobs are hard to come by or require a one-hour trip over winding mountain roads, the loss of civilian jobs with their benefits and health coverage was deeply felt.

Sugar Grove Station had flirted with closure several times throughout the years, but somehow the military  no doubt with a helpful push from Robert C. Byrd, who was a powerful U.S. senator  always found it a new mission.

But that was not to be the case this time around. The Navy had begun to consolidate its operations, and the base was shuttered last year.

The GSA has floated many ideas for what Sugar Grove Station could become: corporate retreat, university, spa, movie studio or mountain resort.
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of an Amtrak passenger train that collided with three disel engines in Essex, Md., in this Jan. 4, 1987, photo. (Fred Kraft/Associated Press)

Early this year, a railroad worker who had just been briefed on his duties for the day was discovered in a restroom, dead from an overdose of illegal prescription drugs. In the months that followed, tests conducted after three railroad accidents resulted in six employees testing positive for drugs.

Testing in 2016 has shown that nearly 8 percent of workers involved in rail accidents were positive for drug use, including marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, benzodiazepine, OxyContin and morphine, according to internal federal documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The number of post-accident drug-positives was the highest since the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) began keeping records in 1987 and three times greater than it was 10 years ago.

Overall, the number of railway workers  including engineers, train crew and dispatchers  who tested positive for drug use in random tests soared 43 percent last year, the documents show. The number rose to 256 last year from 2014.

After rail accidents in 2014, no one tested positive for drugs, and just two people did last year. With more than three months left in this year, 16 rail workers have shown positive in post-accident tests.

Railroads transported 565 million passengers and 14.2 million carloads of freight last year. Their workers rank among the most heavily drug-tested employees in the country, faced with drug screening before they are hired, random on-the-job testing and another round of testing every time they make a significant mistake.

But after several years in which heroin and illegal opioid use has increased in the general population, there is hard evidence that the use of those and other drugs may be on the rise in the railroad industry.

Faced with the initial positive test results, federal regulators began sounding an alarm this spring. This month, the heads of all of the nations freight and passenger rail lines were summoned to Washington for a closed-door session to deal with a crisis that federal officials fear has put workers and train travelers at risk.

Officials from the FRA, National Transportation Safety Board and the Office of National Drug Control Policy spelled out their concerns and asked the railroads to help them address the growing problem.

This week they had a similar private session with railroad unions.

Weve discussed in depth the kind of data that we are seeing, the uptick in positive post-accident tests, the significant rise in positives in our random testing pool, FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg said in remarks prepared for the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee on Thursday. We are seeing a trend going in the wrong direction, and we must address it immediately.

[Deaths from opioid overdoses set a record in 2014]

The popularity of illegal prescription drugs and heroin has increased dramatically in recent years, with some analysts suggesting that efforts to crack down on illegal prescriptions have encouraged addicts to use heroin instead.

A record 28,647 people died from heroin and prescription opioid use in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and opioids caused more than 6 in 10 overdose fatalities. The CDC said deaths by powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl rose by more than 80 percent. Overall, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses in 2014, the CDC said.

Despite drug testing protocols, transportation workers are as susceptible to trends as the rest of society. The U.S. Department of Transportation drug-tests about 7 million people who hold commercial drivers licenses, as well as railroad and transit workers, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

In the past five years, the DOT tests have shown sharp increases in use of amphetamines and natural opiates.

Among the railroad workers subject to random testing, however, the approximately 50,000 tests each year had shown no appreciable increase since 2009. Then they shot up by 43 percent last year. Whats more, the number of railroad workers found to be positive for drugs in the aftermath of rail accidents jumped dramatically this year.

We know that the country is struggling with an opioid epidemic  and there is no reason why our industry would be immune from an epidemic affecting the entire country, Feinberg said. Workers who are struggling with addiction need, and deserve, our help. Workers who are intoxicated on the job are a danger to themselves, other workers, passengers, and anyone else who may cross paths with a train.

Among the estimated 25,000 railroad workers who repair train engines and rail cars, FRA testing found that alcohol use was five times higher than among railway workers who performed other tasks.

Railroad drug testing is limited to about 120,000 workers who are considered safety sensitive  those whose performance puts lives at risk. The train-repair workers and about 70 percent of the 37,000 workers who maintain track beds and railroad right-of-ways are not required to undergo the same drug testing.

Alarmed by the overall increase in drug use, Feinberg in May finalized a new rule that would require maintenance of way workers, as the track workers are known, to undergo the same random drug testing as other workers.

The railroads, however, are resisting the proposed rule, which is scheduled to take effect April 1. They have petitioned to delay the testing for an additional 14 months, contending it will require training supervisors on the signs and symptoms of drug use.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR), which joined regional railroads, railroad construction and transit firms in petitioning for the extension, said the freight railroads it represents would meet the April 1 deadline for testing maintenance workers it employs.

This is an issue that is evident throughout todays society that requires attention, and the freight rail industry is ready to work with the FRA to further enhance the safety of the nations rail network, AAR spokesman Ed Greenberg said.

Freight railroads not only comply with federally mandated drug and alcohol testing regulations, but go beyond those measures with stringent railroad-specific programs, Greenberg said. That said, the freight rail industry recognizes the seriousness of this situation and will work together with the FRA to make the rail system even safer, including supporting the expansion of testing to include items such as synthetic opioids.

Officials said Feinberg views any delay in implementing the rule as unacceptable.

The FRA and the railroads it regulates have been in the forefront of drug testing since 1987, when an Amtrak train collided with three Conrail freight locomotives linked together just north of Baltimore.

The engineer and 15 others on the Amtrak train were killed; 174 other people on the trains were injured.

Investigators determined that the engineer of the Conrail train and his brakeman had shared a marijuana joint as they made their way from the rail yard. The engineer, Ricky Lynn Gates, was convicted on state and federal charges and served four years in prison. In 1993, he told the Baltimore Sun that smoking marijuana was the cause of the crash and that it was not the first time he had done it on the job.

The FRA moved quickly in the aftermath of the crash to implement a drug-testing program for railroad workers. Less than four years later, Congress took the next step, requiring drug testing for safety sensitive workers in all industries regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The State Department has paid or approved 90 claims for a total $11 million in reparations from France to former World War II prisoners who were carried to Nazi death camps in French trains  the first French reparations paid to Holocaust survivors living in the United States, officials said Thursday.

The payments apply to Holocaust survivors who were deported from France to concentration camps on stifling trains operated by the state-owned French railway, SNCF, or, if the survivors have died, to their spouses or heirs. It is the first French compensation to Holocaust survivors who settled in the United States as well as Israel, Canada and other countries that havent had a reparations agreement with France.

Its also the first World War II reparations program to include heirs considered to be standing in the shoes of people who died before receiving compensation for the atrocities they or their spouses endured, State Department officials said.

In many ways, this is belated justice for the worst crimes in history, said Stuart Eizenstat, the State Departments special adviser for Holocaust issues. But it also underscores a long relationship with France.

SNCF was paid to transport 76,000 Jews and other prisoners, usually with no food and only a bucket for a toilet, to Nazi camps. All but about 2,000 were killed.

[Video: On a French train to Auschwitz, a daring leap for survival]

While the French government has paid more than $6 billion in Holocaust reparations since 1948, including to deportees, those payments previously covered only French citizens and those of four countries that had bilateral agreements with France.

More than 700 claims have been filed under a 2014 agreement between the United States and France in which the French government pledged a total $60 million for the deportations carried out by SNCF, officials said. In exchange, the U.S. government agreed to ask courts to dismiss any U.S. lawsuits against SNCF or the French government.

U.S. Jewish groups and aging Holocaust survivors have pushed for French reparations since at least 2000, both through class-action lawsuits and state and federal legislation. However, their cause gained political traction in 2010, when survivors began protesting SNCF and a company in which it holds a majority stake, Paris-based Keolis, as they pursued state and federal rail projects. Survivors said SNCF and Keolis shouldnt be awarded U.S. contracts supported by their tax dollars until they had been compensated.

So far, Eizenstat said, 29 Holocaust deportees have received $204,000 each, while 11 spouses of those who died in Nazi concentration camps or before 1948 are receiving $51,000 each. Spouses of Holocaust victims who died in or after 1948  the start of Frances own Holocaust reparations fund for French citizens  will receive $750 for each year that the survivor lived after 1948.

Because so many Holocaust survivors and their spouses have already died, Eizenstat said, most of the claims received in the first round between November 2015 and May came from heirs.

An estate will receive what the deportee and their surviving spouse would have been eligible for, Eizenstat said.

We made the argument [to the French government] that they were standing in the shoes of people who would have been eligible before they died, he said.

The amount of the payments was determined based on how many people the U.S. government estimated would be eligible for the $60 million, officials said.

SNCF officials have apologized to Holocaust victims but have said the railway was forced to transport them after Nazi Germany occupied France and took control of the railroads in 1940.

Pressure on French officials increased after U.S. Holocaust survivors and their families began protesting SNCFs pursuit of high-speed rail projects in California and Florida. Keolis, the company majority-owned by SNCF, operates Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter trains in Northern Virginia and the commuter rail line in Boston.

Keolis lost out to a lower bidder on a contract to operate two Maryland commuter rail lines and wasnt successful as part of a team of companies that bid on the states light-rail Purple Line project.

Eizenstat said a team of nine State Department staffers is reviewing an additional 600 or so claims and on Thursday opened a second round of applications due Jan. 20. He said a handful of claims were deemed ineligible, such as those on behalf of French nationals or Holocaust victims who were imprisoned in France but werent deported on SNCF trains.

If the second and perhaps a third round of applications doesnt use up the $60 million that the French government paid to the United States in November, those who have already received payments would receive more, he said. All of the $60 million, as well as interest accrued on the fund, will be paid out, Eizenstat said, noting that the State Department has waived quite considerable administrative costs.

Eizenstat said payments have been made to Americans and Israelis, as well as non-Jewish Canadian and American airmen who were deported after being caught behind enemy lines.

[Purple Line bidder draws scrutiny for parent companys Holocaust history]

While the U.S.-French settlement was intended to prevent future lawsuits, three Holocaust survivors filed a class-action federal lawsuit against SNCF in 2015 seeking reparations for people they say were left out of the bilateral agreement. The lawsuit is pending as a judge in Chicago considers SNCFs motion to dismiss the case. The U.S. government has supported SNCFs motion.

Harriet Tamen, a New York lawyer representing what she says are more than 1,000 international Holocaust survivors and their families in the lawsuit, said the agreement provided no reparations for people who lost both parents in Nazi camps. Others arent eligible, she said, because their parents werent married when one of them was killed.

We have clients who lost both parents, their brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, and they get nothing, Tamen said Thursday. This isnt justice.

Other clients, she said, have been unable to provide what she said is unreasonable documentation that the State Department is requiring as part of the application, including 1930s-era marriage licenses from Europe or proof of being an heir to a parent who died without a will.

State Department officials said no claims have been rejected for lack of documentation. They said State Department reviewers are allowing claimants to use other records to bolster their case, including synagogue records, tax documents and Social Security records.

Were caretakers of this program, said Lisa Grosh, the State Departments legal adviser on the agreement. We need to make sure the money is going to the appropriate people.

Information about how to apply for compensation is available at www.state.gov/deportationclaims or by calling 202-776-8385.
RICHMOND -- Virginias highest court on Thursday refused to find Gov. Terry McAuliffe in contempt of court over his efforts to restore voting rights to felons.

Republican legislative leaders recently filed a contempt-of-court motion against McAuliffe (D) after the governor announced that he had individually restored rights to 13,000 felons and was working to do the same for a total of more than 200,000.

McAuliffes action came in response to a July ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court, which threw out a blanket clemency order that he had issued in April. The governor has described his latest move as a way to comply with the courts order while addressing an issue of basic justice.

But in a motion filed in court two weeks ago, Republicans argued that the practical effect of McAuliffes workaround is the same as the original, sweeping clemency order that the state Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.

Without comment Thursday, the court denied the motion.

I am pleased that the Supreme Court has dismissed the case Republicans filed in their latest attempt to prevent individuals who have served their time having a full voice in our society, McAuliffe said in a written statement. Restoring these Virginians civil rights is morally the right thing to do, and we will continue to move forward via a process that is in full compliance with the courts July 22nd ruling and the precedent of previous governors. It is my hope that the courts validation of the process we are using will convince Republicans to drop their divisive efforts to prevent Virginians from regaining their voting rights and focus their energy and resources on making Virginia a better place to live for the people who elected all of us to lead.

Republican leaders did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Virginias highest court on Thursday turned down a request from Republicans to find Gov. Terry McAuliffe in contempt of court over his efforts to restore voting rights to felons.

The ruling clears the way for McAuliffe (D) to continue a fast-paced effort to grant clemency to 200,000 violent and nonviolent felons. It also gives McAuliffe at least a temporary win in one of the most bitter battles of his administration, in which he has repeatedly called Republicans racists while the GOP has accused him of administrative bumbling and violating the law.

I am pleased that the Supreme Court has dismissed the case Republicans filed in their latest attempt to prevent individuals who have served their time having a full voice in our society, McAuliffe said in a written statement. It is my hope that the courts validation of the process we are using will convince Republicans to drop their divisive efforts to prevent Virginians from regaining their voting rights and focus their energy and resources on making Virginia a better place to live for the people who elected all of us to lead.

[Virginia Republicans go back to court to fight governor on felon voting]

In a written statement, Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said the contempt motion was completely baseless.

And Im glad the Supreme Court dispatched it so quickly, Herring said. Governor McAuliffe is doing the right thing in giving these Virginians back their voice and their vote and I hope the legislature will join the effort.

Republican leaders indicated that they were done fighting McAuliffe in court but that they would take up legislation early next year that could rein in the governors clemency push.

We are disappointed by todays news but respect the Supreme Courts order, House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said in a written statement. Throughout this process, our goal was to hold Governor McAuliffe accountable to the Constitution and the Rule of Law. The governor stretched the bounds of the Virginia Constitution and sought to expand executive power in a manner we viewed as inappropriate and reckless.

The General Assembly must now review the Constitutions provision governing felon voting, Howell added. The current provisions of the constitution are vague, vulnerable to executive overreach, and insufficiently transparent. Several proposals have already emerged and we expect others to come forward.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment (R-James City) has proposed legislation that would automatically restore voting rights to nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences and paid any restitution, court costs and fees. McAuliffe and other Democrats have compared the payment requirement with a modern-day poll tax, although as recently as 2013, Senate Democrats sponsored and unanimously supported a bill that also required that those debts be paid.

Virginia is one of a handful of states that permanently disenfranchise felons. The state constitution, however, gives the governor authority to restore the right to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office. But previous governors had taken a more measured approach to clemency than McAuliffe.

With a gospel choir and large crowd assembled on the Capitol steps in April, McAuliffe issued an executive order that restored voting rights to more than 200,000 felons who had completed their sentences. Because felony disenfranchisement hits African Americans disproportionally harder  1 in 5 African Americans in Virginia cannot vote, according to the Washington-based Sentencing Project  McAuliffe said his sweeping order blotted out the last vestige of Jim Crow-era segregation.

Republicans were incensed that the order included violent offenders and those who had not yet paid restitution to crime victims.

The GOP said McAuliffes move was really a bid to add Democratic voters to the rolls ahead of Novembers presidential election, when the governors close friend and political ally Hillary Clinton will be on the ballot.

Adding to the controversy was the administrations botched implementation of the order; the governors office mistakenly restored rights to 132 sex offenders still in custody, as well as to several convicted killers on probation in other states.

Contending that the governor had overstepped his authority by restoring rights en masse rather than individually, GOP legislative leaders filed a lawsuit  and won. In July, the Supreme Court of Virginia threw out his blanket clemency order. Because 13,000 of the 200,000 felons already had registered to vote, the court ordered the state to again put their names on its list of banned voters.

In August, McAuliffe announced that he had restored voting rights to the 13,000 felons, and was in the process of doing so for all 200,000.

The difference between McAuliffes original action and his later approach is largely procedural. Instead of simply announcing that any felon whose sentence is complete is eligible to vote, the administration is mailing each person a notice to that effect.

In their contempt motion, Republicans unsuccessfully argued that McAuliffes new approach had the same effect as his original order.
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), shown in January, is a sponsor of legislation that would grant federal recognition to six Indian tribes in Virginia. (Steve Helber/AP)

A House committee has advanced a bill that would give federal recognition to six Indian tribes in Virginia, bringing them one step closer to the end of a multi-year fight for acknowledgment of their place in the nations history.

Legislation granting federal recognition of the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Monacan and Nansemond tribes can now go to a full vote in the House and Senate, where it has stalled in the past.

The House Natural Resources Committee voted 23 to 13 last week to recognize the Virginia tribes as part of a package of bills that, if successful, will give Congress the ultimate authority to recognize tribes. The executive and judicial branches currently hold that authority.

There are more than 500 federally recognized Indian tribes, and many had to navigate an expensive and time-consuming administrative process through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs

Federal recognition confers certain benefits on tribes; they become eligible for housing, education and health-care funding. Indian tribes need to meet several criteria and must rely on historical documentation.

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), a sponsor of the House bill, said he wants Congress to decide whether to recognize tribes, because it would carry the force of law.

His goal is to protect the identity of tribes whose ancestors played a critical role in the nations history, Wittman said. Virginia tribes made it possible for the first permanent English settlement in America to succeed when others failed, he said.

One reason the tribes have not been formally recognized by the federal government is because they made peace with England before the country was established and never signed formal treaties with the U.S. government, according to Wittman.

These tribes shouldnt be denied federal recognition because of one-size-fits-all requirements that fail to account for circumstances beyond their control, he said. Federal recognition isnt just a tribe priority  its a Virginia priority. And I will keep fighting until the federal government rights this wrong.

Wittman, who is running for governor, noted that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and past governors from both parties have supported federal recognition legislation. U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia have also pushed for Senate passage.

[A renowned Virginia Indian tribe finally wins federal recognition]

Although the six Virginia tribes are officially recognized by the commonwealth, they have faced roadblocks to federal recognition because of gaps in official records.

In the hope of winning political support, the six tribes gave up the right to open casinos or other gambling ventures.

Last year, the tiny Pamunkey tribe east of Richmond, which claims Pocahontas as an ancestor, became the first tribe in Virginia to win federal recognition.
Geneva Reed-Veal, left, mother of Sandra Bland, sits with her daughter Shavon Bland in the family's attorney's office in Chicago on Thursday. Sandra Bland, 28, died in a Texas jail last year. (Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press)

TEXAS

$1.9 million settlement in jailed womans death

The family of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman who died in a Texas jail last year, said it has reached a $1.9 million settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed in federal court.

Geneva Reed-Veal, Blands mother, filed the lawsuit against the trooper who arrested Bland, the sheriffs department and the county about a month after authorities said her daughter was found dead in a Waller County jail cell.

Reed-Veal, who revealed the settlement to the ABC 13 news channel in Texas, said that as part of the agreement, the county jail would make a number of changes, including improving staff training and adding emergency nurses at the jail.

Attorneys for Waller County said in a statement Thursday morning that a potential settlement agreement has been reached, but is not yet final.

Blands death in July 2015 prompted national protests.

She was arrested during a traffic stop that turned confrontational. Video footage of the traffic stop showed Trooper Brian Encinia ordering Bland out of the car when she questioned his request that she put out her cigarette. After Bland refused, the trooper opened the door, trying to pull her out of the car and threatening her with a stun gun.

Authorities declared Blands death in a county jail to be a suicide. Encinia, the trooper who arrested Bland, was indicted earlier this year on a perjury charge and later fired.

 Mark Berman

FLORIDA

Ex-convict charged in mosque fire

The Florida man charged Wednesday with setting fire to the mosque where Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen worshiped has a criminal history that includes arrests for armed robbery and battery, and a theft conviction for which he served four years in prison, records show.

Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, is accused of setting a blaze that burned a 10-foot hole in the Fort Pierce Islamic Center around midnight on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He has been charged with arson, a first-degree felony, with a penalty enhancement for hate crime. Schreiber is being held without bail.

Schreiber has a string of criminal offenses dating back to 2003 that have landed him in prison at least twice, according to records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Police have taken Schreiber into custody on a variety of charges over the years, ranging from armed robbery to domestic violence to trespassing, records show. A half-dozen cases have ended in convictions, some of them on reduced charges.

Leaders from the Fort Pierce Islamic Center said they started receiving violent threats after reports revealed that Omar Mateen and his family sometimes attended the mosque. Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June, killing 49 people in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Surveillance video released by authorities showed a man with a bottle of liquid and paper in his hand touching off a fire at the mosque around midnight on Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday, then fleeing on a motorcycle.

 Derek Hawkins

NAVY

2 in Singapore indicted in Navy bribery scandal

Two former executives of a Singapore company that supplies ships have been indicted in a wide-spanning bribery scandal involving its chief executive, nicknamed Fat Leonard, and high-ranking U.S. Navy officials.

Former Glenn Defense Marine Asia executives Neil Peterson and Linda Raja, in an indictment unsealed Wednesday, are accused of submitting false claims to the Navy totaling more than $5 million.

CEO Leonard Francis is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to bribing Navy officials with more than $500,000 in cash, prostitutes, luxury hotel stays and a staggering amount of other gifts in exchange for classified information.

Franciss company  which has provided fuel, food and other services to Navy ships in Asia for two decades  overbilled the Navy by more than $34 million, according to court documents.

Peterson was the companys vice president for global operations, and Raja was its general manager for Singapore, Australia and the Pacific Isles. The defendants were arrested in Singapore and are awaiting extradition to the United States.

Sixteen people have been charged in the case. Among them are 11 current or former U.S. Navy officials, including an admiral who pleaded guilty in June, becoming the first active-duty U.S. Navy flag officer convicted in federal court.

 Associated Press
BRITAIN

Nuclear plant financed by Chinese is approved

The British government on Thursday gave the go-ahead for a Chinese-financed nuclear power station, two months after Prime Minister Theresa May balked at the deal.

The $24 billion nuclear plant, known as Hinkley Point C, will be the first built in Britain in decades. David Cameron, the former prime minister, had pushed hard for the project during his tenure.

But days after May took over from Cameron in July, she announced a fresh review of the plan.

The pause called into question whether the new prime minister would allow Hinkley Point to go ahead. China responded with veiled threats that scuttling the project would endanger the countries growing ties.

On Thursday morning, Downing Street announced that the project would proceed, but with new conditions.

Ministers will impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britains critical infrastructure, which will include nuclear energy and apply after Hinkley, it said in a statement.

The plan has drawn criticism, for its cost and over concerns that giving China a stake in Britains energy infrastructure leaves Britain vulnerable to a country whose geostrategic interests are hardly aligned with its own.

But whatever the reservations of May and her team, Hinkley Point may have been too far along in the planning for her to cancel the project.

China is an investor in Hinkley Point, not the builder. That task has been left to the French power utility EDF, with the Chinese kicking in a third of the cost.

 Griff Witte

UKRAINE

Both sides allege cease-fire violations

Rebels and government troops both reported violations of a cease-fire declared in eastern Ukraine at midnight on Wednesday as French and German foreign ministers were visiting the country in a bid to shore up a crumbling peace deal.

Rebels on Tuesday declared a unilateral cease-fire, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the following day that Ukraine had agreed to observe the truce.

But Russian state television on Thursday quoted rebel officials as saying that their forces came under mortar fire earlier in the day. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian military spokesman said that three service members were wounded and that rebels violated the cease-fire six times.

The February 2015 Minsk agreement helped end large-scale battles between the Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops, but smaller clashes have continued.

A day after meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault traveled to Ukraines east on Thursday.

Speaking outside the city of Slovyansk, Steinmeier voiced hope that the truce would hold and help pave the way for progress on political aspects of the Minsk agreement.

 Associated Press

China launches second space station: China has launched its second space station in a sign of the growing sophistication of its military-backed program. The Tiangong-2 was carried into space atop a Long March 7 rocket. Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain aboard for a month. Chinas first space station officially went out of service this year.

Wing flap confirmed to be part of MH370: A wing flap that washed ashore on an island off Tanzania has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian officials said. The flap was found in June. An analysis by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading the search for the plane, has confirmed that the part was from the aircraft, the agency said. The aircraft vanished March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard.

Ex-Guantanamo detainee reportedly awakens from coma: A former Guantanamo Bay detainee reportedly has awakened from a coma that resulted from a hunger strike over his unhappiness about being resettled in Uruguay and his demand to be moved to another country. A Uruguayan government liaison said Abu Wael Dhiab had come out of the coma. A doctor said that Dhiab was extremely dehydrated after 11 days without water but that his vital signs were generally good. The Syrian man, released in late 2014 from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could not return to his war-torn homeland and was taken in as a refugee by Uruguay along with five other freed detainees.

 From news services
The Office of Research Integrity investigates falsification of data, such as manipulating the results of DNA analysis, shown here under UV light in an agarose gel. (Wong Maye-e/AP)

A small government office that monitors misconduct in biomedical research is in turmoil, jeopardizing oversight of billions of dollars in grants to universities and other institutions around the country.

Six of the eight investigators in the federal Office of Research Integrity have signed a letter hinting that they may leave, a move that could hobble federal efforts to detect data manipulation and other misconduct by laboratory researchers. The offices new head has filed personnel actions against the two division directors she inherited and installed a new deputy to supervise the entire staff.

In a letter to Karen B. DeSalvo, acting assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, the six investigators wrote: We need your help. We request that [your offices] leadership investigate the situation . . . before there is further deterioration of staff morale and all or most of the investigators need to be painstakingly replaced.

Falsification, fabrication and modification of data remain a problem for the scientific community. In a 2009 study in the journal PLOS One, about 2 percent of scientists admitted they had committed one of those three acts, and as many as 33.7 percent said they had used other questionable research practices. In surveys that asked about their colleagues behavior, scientists reported much higher rates of misconduct, according to the article.

The consequences of such deceit can be magnified when subsequent research builds on published articles that contain false data.

[At NIH, one woman says gender bias has blocked promotions]

The conflict at ORI, first reported in Science magazine, appears to stem from the Dec. 28 arrival of Kathryn M. Partin to head the office, which had been without a permanent director for about two years. Partin and her staff members, many of whom have been there for years, almost immediately began to clash. One of the issues they disagreed about was Partins suggestion that investigators spend more time looking into allegations of plagiarism, which had previously not been a major focus of their work, said John Dahlberg, who retired as a deputy director of ORI last year and has been following the controversy.

The disagreement is not in whether it should be done or could be done; its in how much attention is going to be paid to meeting the legal requirements, Dahlberg said. From there, Dahlberg and others said, the conflict has mushroomed into an ongoing personality clash that pits Partin against the investigative staffers and members of the offices other unit, which educates researchers about responsible biomedical research.

She doesnt like for anyone to tell her that they disagree with her, said one person in the office, who like everyone besides Dahlberg spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. Were not angry. Were afraid.

A spokesman for the office said that Partin and DeSalvo declined to comment on what are primarily personnel issues because of limitations imposed by the federal Privacy Act.

Forensic sleuths

ORI investigators are the forensic sleuths of the arcane world of biomedical research. They scrutinize images, pull information off hard drives and pore over notebooks, looking for misconduct that was committed intentionally or recklessly by researchers who sometimes use subterfuge to produce the results they want.

The investigative craft takes years to learn well, said Dahlberg, who spent 23 years in the office. All eight investigators  six staff members and two contractors  hold PhD or MD degrees. One is 85 years old.

While the 24-year-old unit is an obscure part of the vast HHS, it is responsible for all of the biomedical research grants handed out by the eight agencies that constitute the U.S. Public Health Service. Most of the money is distributed by the National Institutes of Health, which gave out nearly $24.5 billion in fiscal 2015. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also handed out $618 million in research grants in the same period, and agencies such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration support research as well.

[Patient safety issues prompt leadership shake-up at NIH hospital]

Nicholas H. Steneck, an expert on research integrity, said that despite its small size, ORI is recognized around the world as the most important oversight agency of its kind, mainly because of the huge amount of money it oversees.

ORI publishes its findings, including the names of scientists who have engaged in research misconduct, in the Federal Register and online. The offices reports can be a death sentence for the careers of scientific researchers, who often rely on grant money to do their work. And because the investigators typically must prove deliberate or reckless misconduct, the legal standards they must meet are high. The office relies on preliminary investigations by integrity officers stationed at institutions that receive the grants but often must review and redo the integrity officers work, Dahlberg said.

The work is slow and painstaking, but the investigators have caught some elaborate trickery. Working with the medical school, they reported this year that a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York used Photoshop to falsify 38 images. The work had been supported by money from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In one of ORIs better-known cases, a Vermont researcher was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in 2006 for falsifying information in 15 federal grant applications and as many as 10 journal articles.

People out there are misusing federal money and deceiving the scientific community, and were the only ones who can stop them, one ORI investigator said.

New focus

But the office has been criticized as inefficient  it makes only 10 to 15 findings of misconduct a year  and has suffered some setbacks. A case against the laboratory of high-profile scientist David Baltimore was overturned in 1996, and an accusation against Robert Gallo, co-discoverer of the virus that causes AIDS, was dropped in 1993 after a four-year investigation.

Plagiarism, however, has not been a major part of ORIs work. Although it does look into some plagiarism cases, ORI has not made a plagiarism finding since 2013. Partin told Science magazine that comments from the research community endorse her idea of taking a fresh look at plagiarism.

ORI made news in 2014 when David Wright, the director at the time, quit and blasted the HHS bureaucracy in a resignation letter that called it profoundly dysfunctional. In the letter, obtained by ScienceInsider, Wright called his post the very worst job I have ever had and said the bureaucracy left him offended as a taxpayer.

It is not clear whether Partin was brought in to clean house at ORI and how far the conflict extends beyond the typical difficulties that can arise when a new chief takes over an organization full of established staff members. Partin arrived after a long tenure as a research-integrity officer at Colorado State University and brought her acting deputy, Scott Moore, over from the National Science Foundation.

In their letter, dated May 10, the investigators said they were shocked that Partin has in such a short time apparently concluded that she cannot work with either of the two division directors or that she believes it likely and possibly best that they both leave ORI.

One of the division heads declined to discuss the situation and the other did not return telephone calls to her office.

Partin told Science magazine that researchers and integrity officers from other organizations find the offices staff accessible but would like cases closed more quickly, and that they need more guidance on some technical issues related to their investigations of allegations of research misconduct.

It would take some time to replace the expertise of staff members if there were an exodus, said Steneck, an emeritus professor of history at the University of Michigan and founder of the World Conference on Research Integrity.

I know whats going on, said Steneck, who also has worked as a contractor at ORI. I know a lot of the people, and its a very unfortunate situation. I wish they could get together and work their way through this and keep on with the experience they have.
Former Arizona Gov. Rose Mofford meets with President Barack Obama in 2009 before the president boarded Air Force One in Phoenix. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Rose Mofford, Arizonas first female governor and a shepherd for the state during a period of political turbulence, died Sept. 15 at a hospice center in Phoenix. She was 94.

She had a fall on Aug. 31, but the immediate cause has been determined, former spokeswoman Athia Hardt said.

Mrs. Mofford, a Democrat known for her signature platinum beehive hairdo, served as governor from 1988 to 1991. She was the elected secretary of state when she took over for Republican Gov. Evan Mecham, who was impeached and removed from office by the GOP-led legislature. Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor.

Mrs. Mofford did not run for governor in 1990. She was succeeded by Republican Fife Symington, who resigned amid a real estate scandal in 1997. His fraud conviction was later overturned.

Mrs. Mofford was a Democrat in a traditionally Republican state who was revered by members of both parties. She was the first of four female governors to lead the conservative state over the next two decades. She was followed by Republican Jane Dee Hull, Democrat Janet Napolitano and Republican Jan Brewer.

Mrs. Mofford came close to the governors office once before. She had been appointed secretary of state and was serving in that post when Democratic Gov. Wesley Bolin died in 1978. She was not eligible to succeed him because she had been appointed, and Attorney General Bruce Babbitt became governor.

The daughter of Austrian immigrants, Rose Perica was born in the mining town of Globe, Ariz., on June 10, 1922. She was class president of her high school and a champion softball player.

At 18, she became a secretary to the state treasurer and within a decade was executive secretary to the state tax commission. She was let go several years later, she said, because a commissioner felt it was better to have a man in that job.

She spent two years as business manager of Arizona Highways magazine and then spent 22 years in the office of the Arizona secretary of state.

Her marriage to T.R. Lefty Mofford ended in divorce. They had no children.

CORRECTION: The first name of Mrs. Moffords former spokeswoman Athia Hardt was incorrectly reported as Athie. Hardt said the cause of death was erroneously reported as a fall. She said the cause has not been determined. The story has been revised.
ILLINOIS

Alleged gang leaders in racketeering trial

Six purported leaders of the Hobos street gang went on trial Wednesday in a case that is expected to provide a rare look inside the criminal activity fueling gun violence in the nations third-largest city.

Prosecutors say the defendants murdered, maimed and tortured their way into controlling the most lucrative drug markets on Chicagos South Side. The trial is the biggest of its kind in recent city history, and testimony is expected to last for months.

Federal prosecutor Patrick Otlewski told jurors that the men, who are charged with racketeering, are an all-star team of the worst of the worst who terrorized the city.

Beau Brindley, attorney for alleged Hobos boss Gregory Chester, told jurors that his client struggled against all odds to survive in what he called the cauldron where these men grew up without opportunities. He acknowledged that Chester sold drugs to acquaintances but said he had nothing to do with running a gang.

Among the defendants is alleged Hobos hit man Paris Poe, who prosecutors say killed a government witness in 2013, shooting the man 25 times at close range while his stepchildren, ages 4 and 6, screamed in the back seat of a car. The 4-year-old later told investigators that the Boogie Man had attacked them, according to court filings.

Security was heavy at federal court in downtown Chicago. The judge ordered jurors names be kept secret to ensure they are not subject to intimidation. U.S. marshals have said they are investigating reported threats against several probable witnesses.

Poe, Chester and four other co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they each face up to life in prison.

 Associated Press

FLORIDA

Arrest in fire at mosque

A man has been arrested in connection with the arson fire early Monday at the Florida mosque where Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen occasionally worshiped, authorities announced Wednesday. The suspect was not immediately named.

The St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office said emergency crews responded to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce shortly after midnight and extinguished the flames that were coming from of the mosque.

Authorities said Monday afternoon that the suspect is thought to be a white or Hispanic male who pulled up to the site about 11:40 p.m. on a Harley Davidson-style motorcycle, wearing jeans and a military-style boonie hat.

Surveillance video released to the public shows what appears to be a motorcycle driving by the area minutes before midnight. It appeared that the man was carrying paper and a bottle filled with liquid, police said.

 Lindsey Bever

Man held over suspected plot to rob shop on 9/11 anniversary: A New York man has been arrested for plotting to rob a store around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in which he planned to wear traditional Muslim attire and display a fake bomb, federal officials said. Juneal Ali, 29, was arrested by police on Tuesday and charged with attempted robbery and conspiracy, a complaint in Manhattan federal court said. Prosecutors said Ali plotted to rob a store in the Bronx that offers money order and check-cashing services.

Transient accused of attack on police at gas station: A 44-year-old transient has been jailed without bond after two Phoenix police officers were seriously injured when a car plowed into them at a gas station in an incident that officials denounced as an intentional targeting of police. A judge ordered Marc LaQuon Payne jailed on multiple counts. One officer suffered injuries that included a broken leg. A second had bruises and a concussion. A third officer jumped out of the way but suffered minor injuries during a scuffle with Payne.

 From news services
URUGUAY

Fasting ex-detainee slips into a coma

A former Guantanamo prisoner on a hunger strike slipped into a coma Wednesday, said a doctor in Uruguay, where the ex-detainee was taken in as a refugee nearly two years ago but has been demanding to move elsewhere to reunite with his family.

Abu Wael Dhiab was unconscious and extremely dehydrated when paramedics arrived at the apartment where he is staying in Montevideo, said Julia Galzerano of the Medical Union of Uruguay, who was treating the former prisoner from Syria. The doctor said she was told Dhiab had gone 12 days without water.

Dhiab was being treated at an apartment in keeping with his wishes not to be hospitalized during his protest.

He drew international attention by hunger-striking during his 12 years of occasionally confrontational confinement at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was released from Guantanamo in December 2014 but could not return to his homeland and was allowed to resettle in Uruguay.

Dhiab had grown increasingly disgruntled in the South American country and launched the hunger strike to pressure the government to allow him to join his family in Turkey or to go to another country.

Rangers in South Africa's biggest wildlife park are killing about 350 hippos and buffalos in an attempt to relieve the impact of a severe drought. (Dolf van Zuydam/AP)

Christian Mirza, the former prisoners liaison with the Uruguayan government, said officials have been working at the highest levels to find another country to accept him.

The 45-year-old Syrian was one of six freed Guantanamo prisoners taken in by Uruguay as a humanitarian gesture by then-President Jose Mujica. While the others settled in, Dhiab has struggled.

 Associated Press

SOUTH AFRICA

Park to kill 350 hippos, buffaloes amid drought

Rangers in South Africas biggest wildlife park are killing about 350 hippos and buffaloes in an attempt to relieve the effect of the regions most severe drought in more than three decades.

The numbers of hippos and buffaloes in Kruger National Park, about 7,500 and 47,000, respectively, are at their highest level to date, according to the national parks service. Officials plan to distribute meat from the killed animals to poor communities on the parks perimeter.

The drought has left millions of people across several African countries in need of food aid.

Hippos and buffaloes consume large amounts of vegetation, and many animals are expected to die anyway because of the drought, said Ike Phaahla, a parks service spokesman.

The hippo species in Kruger park is not defined as endangered, though it faces threats from poaching and human encroachment elsewhere in Africa. There are large populations of buffaloes in parts of the continent.

 Associated Press

Turkmenistan removes age cap for president: Turkmenistans lawmakers adopted constitutional amendments that pave the way for a lifelong presidency for the incumbent leader. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has ruled the former Soviet republic since 2006, when he succeeded Saparmurad Niyazov, who had been granted a lifelong presidency. Turkmenistans parliament and Council of the Elders voted to extend the presidential term from five to seven years and to do away with the 70-year age limit for the head of state.

Britain and Argentina agree to Falklands measures: Britain and Argentina have agreed to lift restrictions affecting the Falkland Islands, in a thawing of ties between the former wartime enemies. After meetings in Buenos Aires, the two sides agreed to remove all obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development of the islands and to increase the number of flights between the Falklands and Argentina. Argentina lost a 1982 war with Britain after Argentine troops seized the archipelago.

Date set for Assange questioning in rape case, Sweden says: Swedish prosecutors said an official from Ecuador will interrogate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on their behalf next month in the South American countrys embassy in London. The Swedish investigators will be allowed to be present and ask follow-up questions through the Ecuadoran official. Assange is accused of rape in an investigation stemming from his visit to Sweden in 2010. He denies the allegations and has avoided extradition by seeking asylum at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London.

British nurse who contracted Ebola cleared of charges: A British nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone has been cleared of misconduct charges. The Nursing and Midwifery Council said three allegations against Pauline Cafferkey, who was accused of concealing her elevated temperature from officials when she returned to London in December 2014 after a stint in West Africa treating Ebola victims, had not been proven. An elevated temperature can be an early sign of infection. Cafferkey, 40, became critically ill with Ebola shortly after her return and recovered after treatment in an isolation unit.

 From news services
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' awards gala where she took aim at rival Donald Trump, saying that Trump spews "bigotry and hate." (Victoria Walker/Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' awards gala where she took aim at rival Donald Trump, saying that Trump spews "bigotry and hate." (Victoria Walker/Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

If Democrats want to beat Donald Trump, they need to get past the freakout stage and get to work.

In a sane and just world, this presidential race would be a walkover. Commentators would already be sketching out their postmortem analyses of an all-but-certain Hillary Clinton victory. Pare the contest down to its essentials: A former senator and secretary of state, eminently qualified to be president, is running against a dangerous demagogue who has never held public office and should not be allowed anywhere near the White House. Ought to be case closed.

But its not. Clintons big lead in national polls following the party conventions, which approached double digits, has shrunk to about two points  far too close for comfort. Trump has gained ground in swing-state polls as well. If the election were held tomorrow, Clinton would probably win. But Nov. 8 is many weeks away, and the recent trend line is hardly in her favor.

Why has the race tightened? Ive heard a lot of theories, but Im not sure I really buy any of them.

[Greg Sargent: Donald Trump is a racist conspiracy theorist. Dont let him lie his way out of it.]

Trumps current set of handlers  campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and chief executive Steve Bannon  have done a better job than their predecessors of keeping their candidate from committing acts of self-destruction. They have gotten him to use a teleprompter more, rant and rave less, and sometimes go as long as 48 hours without spewing idiotic vitriol on Twitter. These are no small accomplishments.

Conway bravely goes on the cable shows every day and tries to explain the unexplainable. Sometimes she is made into a liar by her own candidate, as happened Wednesday when she denied that Trump would release any medical records on The Dr. Oz Show, only to see him do just that a few hours later. Pretty much every time she appears, she has to pretend that one or another of Trumps nonsensical issue positions makes sense  or, on many issues, that he even has a settled position. But she is unfailingly patient, polite and nonthreatening.

Clinton, meanwhile, has been through a rough patch. Just as it seemed she might be getting past the latest hubbub over her emails, she told backers at a fundraiser that half of Trumps supporters fit into a basket of deplorables. Then she felt wobbly at Sundays 9/11 commemoration and later disclosed that she has pneumonia.

And by the way, Im well aware that Trump has said worse things about the voting public; there is video of him opining that half of Americans are freeloaders. Im also aware that in a larger sense there is no real comparison between Clintons serious, inclusive, fact-based campaign and Trumps noxious stew of bigotry, resentment and juvenile fantasy.

[Dana Milbank: Trumps new hotel offers everything he claims to hate]

Voters have been informed of Trumps ignorant and outrageous statements, his real and potential conflicts of interest, his bankruptcies, his hucksterism, his untempered temperament and all the other factors that make him unthinkable as a president. Coverage by the news media brought all this information to light. Dont blame the media for the fact that many people say they plan to vote for him anyway.

Instead, if you want to stop Trump, focus on the fundamentals  and get busy.

1 of 57 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail View Photos The Democratic presidential nominee hits the road after her partys national convention. Caption Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Nov. 9, 2016 Hillary Clinton speaks in New York while her husband, former president Bill Clinton, applauds. Melina Mara/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Ordinarily, this would be a tough election for any Democratic candidate to win. That is because, historically, a party that controls the White House for two terms in a row has difficulty winning a third. In addition to that headwind, nearly 70 percent of Americans say they believe the country is on the wrong track  an ominous sign for the incumbent party.

Trump, with his soaring unpopularity and general flakiness, is no normal candidate. Many voters  including many Republicans  obviously believe that while it may be the GOPs turn to take the helm, it will never be Trumps turn. Still, there are those who have real doubts about Trump but may still vote for him because they want change.

But the Democratic Party has structural advantages in a presidential year, as Barack Obama so vividly demonstrated. The partys coalition of women, young people, African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics has growing weight in the electorate. Trumps base  older, whiter, more male  is a shrinking portion of the overall vote.

And the electoral map favors Democrats, giving Clinton more paths to victory than Trump. If she wins Florida, its over. Same if she wins Ohio. And she could even lose both and still get to 270.

Angst doesnt help. Energizing the Democratic Partys reliable voters, especially in crucial states, can make all the difference.

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.
Mike Mullen, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Sam Nunn, a former Democratic senator from Georgia, are co-chairs of the Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward North Korea, which was sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations.

North Koreas accelerating nuclear and missile programs, including its recent nuclear test, pose a grave and expanding threat to security, stability and peace in Asia and the rest of the world. This threat affects close U.S. allies  South Korea and Japan  and U.S. personnel and facilities in the region. In the coming months and years, it will create increasing danger for the United States. It is likely that the next president will face a North Korea that has gained the capability to strike the United States with nuclear weapons.

The Obama administration has succeeded in strengthening U.S. alliances in Asia and deterring a war, but, like its predecessors, has failed to change Pyongyangs assessment that defiance is preferable to conciliation. It is clear that the next president will have to sharpen Pyongyangs choice: offer greater benefits for cooperation and promise greater costs for continued defiance.

The Washington Post's Anna Fifield reports on North Korea's fifth nuclear test and what it means for the region and one of Kim Jong Un's few remaining allies, China. (Jason Aldag,Anna Fifield/The Washington Post)

For the past several months, we have led a task force to assess the state of U.S. policy toward North Korea and to propose a new comprehensive strategy for the region.

Our goal  and most of the worlds goal  is a stable and nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, at peace in the region and with the world. To achieve that, the worlds leading nations must come together as never before to address North Koreas nuclear and ballistic missile programs, prevent it from spreading nuclear and missile technology to dangerous actors, and address its unconscionable human rights record. We do not seek to promote conflict  we seek to promote peace.

We make four principal recommendations, to be implemented in parallel:

1. Addressing the North Korean threat must be a front-burner issue for the United States and China. China can help get North Korea back to the negotiating table by working with the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia on both diplomatic and economic approaches that will help restart negotiations with North Korea. To encourage China to participate, the United States should offer a new dialogue on the future of the peninsula that includes discussion of the disposition of U.S. forces. This dialogue should coordinate planning in the event of a crisis and convey that it is not U.S. policy to cause the collapse of the North Korean regime.

2. New and genuine incentives should be offered for North Korea to participate in substantive talks. These talks would include the possibility of a comprehensive deal in which North Korea, South Korea and the United States  supported by China  signed a peace agreement that would finally end the Korean War and gradually normalize relations in exchange for complete nuclear disarmament and progress on human rights. A new diplomatic approach could potentially freeze North Koreas nuclear and missile programs and lay the groundwork for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

3. Further steps must be taken to increase economic sanctions that more severely restrict the regimes funding sources. The Obama administration laid a foundation for this with the strong sanctions recently achieved by the U.N. Security Council with the support of China and Russia. We recommend creating a standing multilateral mechanism to coordinate the implementation of Security Council resolutions. This should be facilitated by the sharing of intelligence, coordinating enforcement operations and distribution of resources donated by partners outside the region. Strictly enforcing the new Security Council sanctions, including the mandate to inspect all North Korean cargo and apply serious economic pressure, can help curb criminal activity from the regime, and, most important, prevent the spread of nuclear and missile materials and technology. Current enforcement of sanctions is far too lax.

4. The United States should secure its interests and those of its allies against the North Korean nuclear and missile threats by expanding U.S.-South Korea-Japan cooperation and strengthening its joint deterrence profile. The Pentagon should step up its work with U.S. allies to build the capacity necessary to enhance deterrence on the peninsula, enforce sanctions and impede North Korean missile programs. Expanded naval capacity will be needed to interdict North Korean vessels, detect submarine activity and intercept North Korean missile launches.

If Pyongyang refuses to negotiate, the United States and its allies should judiciously apply new military measures to deny North Korea the benefit of its actions and to strengthen deterrence against military attacks. This can include the United States, South Korea and Japan jointly signaling that future North Korean aggression would be met with an active and proportionate self-defense response, including inside North Korea.

We also recommend that the United States and its allies jointly build the capacity to intercept all missiles originating from North Korea with a range-payload capability greater than existing Scud missiles (approximately 1,000 kilometers)  whether they are declared to be ballistic missile tests or civil space launch vehicles.

These responses to North Koreas continued defiance of U.N. resolutions will not be easy and are not without risk. We do not support a policy of inducing a collapse of the North Korean regime, and these steps will have to be carefully implemented.

North Korea continues to commit unconscionable crimes against its citizens. We recommend working through the United Nations to increase pressure on North Korea to abide by internationally recognized standards for human rights, including by suspending North Koreas credentials.

North Korea presents one of the most dangerous international security challenges facing the world. In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a group of foreign diplomats that his country will never allow war or chaos on the peninsula, a statement that seemed to apply to all parties. The United States and China have a shared and vital national interest in preventing this from occurring. The time to act on that interest is now.
In the walls of the cubicle there were three orifices. . . . Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building. . . . For some reason they were nicknamed memory holes.

 George Orwell, 1984

Documents inconvenient to the regime went into the Ministry of Truths slits and down to enormous furnaces. Modern tyrannies depend on state control of national memories  retroactive truths established by government fiat. Which is why Russias Supreme Court recently upheld the conviction of a blogger for violating Article 354.1 of Russias criminal code.

This May 2014 provision criminalizes the rehabilitation of Nazism. The bloggers crime was to post: The communists and Germany jointly invaded Poland, sparking off the Second World War. The secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact have gone down one of Vladimir Putins memory holes.

The pact was signed Aug. 23, 1939. On Sept. 1, Germany invaded Poland. Sixteen days later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Poland was carved up in accordance with the secret protocols, and less than a year later Soviet occupiers were conducting the Katyn Forest Massacre of 25,700 Polish military officers, officials, priests and intellectuals.

Although in 2009 Putin denounced the pact as collusion to solve ones problems at others expense, last year he defended it as Stalins means of buying time to prepare for the Nazi onslaught. This fable is refuted by, among other facts, this: Stalin did not prepare. When Germanys ambassador in Moscow informed Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov that their nations were now at war, a stunned Molotov asked, What have we done to deserve this?

The Russian Supreme Courts Orwellian ruling was that the blogger denied facts established by the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal. The tribunal convicted leading Nazis of waging aggressive war against, among others, Poland, but, in an act of victors justice, made no judgment against the Soviet regime, representatives of which sat on the tribunal. This accommodation to postwar political reality was necessary to enable the tribunal to function, which was necessary for civilizing vengeance. The tribunal ignored, but did not deny, the patent fact of Soviet aggression.

The Russian courts ruling is a window into the sinister continuity of Putins Russia and the Soviet system that incubated him. So, if the former secretary of state who aspires to the American presidency has time to read a book before Jan. 20, she should make it The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times. It is a study of the volatile nostalgia of a man seething with resentments acquired as a KGB operative  a devoted officer of a dying empire  during the Soviet Unions final years. It is a pointillist portrait painted with telling details that should cause sobriety to supplant dreams of happy policy resets with Russia.

As a senior security official in post-Soviet Russia, Putin kept on his desk a bronze statue of Iron Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police and terror apparatus. At Putins May 7, 2000, presidential inauguration, a choir sang a composition written in 1836 to celebrate a soldiers death in the war against Poland and rewritten in Soviet times . . . to remove the homage to the tsar. For Putin, the choir sang the Soviet verses. There was the 2006 assassination in Moscow, on Putins 54th birthday, of the troublesome journalist Anna Politkovskaya. (Asked about the frequent deaths of anti-Putin journalists, Donald Trump breezily said, I think that our country does plenty of killing.) And the 2006 poisoning in London of Putins antagonist, Alexander Litvinenko, using radioactive polonium 210.

Domestically, Putins managed democracy is Stalinism leavened by kleptomania, as in the looting of the energy giant Yukos. In foreign policy, Putins Russia is unambiguously and unapologetically revanchist. The Soviet Union was likened to a burglar creeping down a hotel corridor until he finds an unlocked door. Putin, who found Crimea unlocked (when he honeymooned there in 1983, it seemed a magical, sacred place to him, writes Myers), is pushing on the door of what remains of Ukraine.

The Democratic presidential nominee fundamentally misread Putins thugocracy, and her opponent admires the thug because at least hes a leader. As the Russian bloggers fate demonstrates, Putin practices what Orwell wrote:  Who controls the past, ran the Party slogan, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. 

In early 2015, the Pew Research Center conducted a poll that looked at American views of the conflict in Ukraine. Respondents were asked whether they had favorable or unfavorable views of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Adam Taylor,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

Back in the day, some analysts prophesied a convergence between the Soviet Union and the United States, two industrial societies becoming more alike. In our day, there is indeed a growing similarity: In both places, post-factual politics are normal.

Read more from George F. Wills archive or follow him on Facebook.
Peter Bergen, a vice president at New America, a professor at Arizona State University and CNNs national security analyst, has reported from Afghanistan frequently since 1993.

When Hamid Karzai took power in Afghanistan soon after 9/11, aided by U.S. diplomats and Special Forces, he was celebrated in the West as a new kind of Afghan leader: He wasnt a warlord with thousands of fighters at his beck and call but a cosmopolitan diplomat who was fluent in English and several other languages. He was the scion of an illustrious tribe that had long ruled Afghanistan, and he rose above the countrys often fractious ethnic politics. American menswear designer Tom Ford even called Karzai the chicest man on the planet because of his habitual, distinctive ensemble of colorful cape and astrakhan fur hat.

When Karzai left office in 2014, he was widely derided as the mayor of Kabul, and he had exhausted the patience of key U.S. officials with his continual, public criticism of Americans, whom he described as demons when he met with ordinary Afghans. Karzai also presided over one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and members of his family had vastly enriched themselves during his tenure.

Was Karzai a bridge-building president, as he was first portrayed, or was he a wily pol adept at playing the great game of Afghan politics but inattentive to his chance to become his nations George Washington? Or was he always a bit of both? And what of his brothers, such as Ahmed Wali Karzai, the de facto ruler of southern Afghanistan: Was he a drug-dealing plutocrat, as was rumored? Or was he the glue that kept the south together, as many CIA and U.S. military officials believed? And was his other brother, the blustery businessman Mahmood Karzai  Afghanistans version of Donald Trump  a big-time crook or a bona fide entrepreneur just trying to make something of his country?

Joshua Partlow, The Washington Posts former bureau chief in Kabul and now bureau chief in Mexico City, does a splendid job of tracing the history of President Karzai and his sprawling family in A Kingdom of Their Own. He digs deep into the puzzles presented by their stories and through them tells the larger tale of Afghanistan, from the excitement of the first years after the overthrow of the Taliban to the poverty and corruption that continue to afflict the country today. Interestingly, Karzai himself did not drink from the great spigot of the tens of billions of dollars in aid that gushed into Afghanistan during his tenure, living instead what Partlow describes as an almost ascetic life and rejecting many of the perks of his position.

Yet Partlow shows that Karzai also tolerated the greed of his family members who became extraordinarily rich  sometimes at the expense of both ordinary Afghans and American taxpayers. He also ignored the massive electoral fraud that helped keep him in office. Karzai emerges as a paradoxical figure, a crafty politician who held together an enormously complex country without enriching himself and who presided over the first peaceful transition of power there in centuries.

For many American generals and diplomats, Karzai was a maddeningly mercurial leader and at times infuriating. Yet he had to navigate the constantly shifting vagaries of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. Partlow points out that by the time the Afghan president left office, he had been lectured on military operations by twelve ISAF commanders from seven different countries. Hed received the American presidents messages from five U.S. ambassadors. Add to that the fact that almost all U.S. soldiers and diplomats serving in Afghanistan were on one-year tours, and its not surprising that the mordant cliche about the Afghan war was so accurate: It wasnt a 10-year war, but a one-year war fought 10 times.

Then there were the various, and often competing, U.S. theories of what to do in Afghanistan: no nation building in President George W. Bushs early years, followed by full-blown nation building in the later Bush years. There was a counterterrorism-only policy in the first Bush term, followed by a fully resourced counterinsurgency campaign in the early years of the Obama administration. There were competing tensions even within American counterinsurgency practice. Part of the theory emphasized the need to better connect local Afghans to their central government, but at the same time U.S. officials invested considerable energy in trying to root out corruption in the central government. This raised the question: Why were we bothering to connect local Afghans to their corrupt central government? It was enough to give anyone whiplash.

Despite the fact that the Afghan war has been Americas longest, its surprising how few really good books about it exist. There have been memoirs by diplomats and soldiers, some interesting, others less so; but there have been very few well-written, deeply reported, well-balanced and interesting accounts of what transpired during Americas longest war. Partlows is one of them. The Karzai family is a big one, and occasionally reading about its saga becomes like reading a fat Russian novel with a bewildering variety of relatives who are sometimes hard to follow. A family tree would have helped readers navigate this better, but this a minor quibble.

President Karzais brother Ahmed Wali was arguably the most important leader in southern Afghanistan, and since that is the heartland of the Pashtuns  who for centuries have dominated Afghan politics  that made Ahmed Wali one of the most important politicians in the country. That position of power put him on the payroll of the CIA, but rumors constantly swirled that he was a major beneficiary of the heroin trade, the most successful of Afghanistans few exports. Partlows reporting largely dismantles that notion; investigations by the U.S. military of these claims came up empty, and instead American officials are quoted saying that Ahmed Wali always provided the best intel, which in southern Afghanistan, the heart of Taliban country, was what really mattered to them.

Also, why would you engage in the illegal drug trade when the perfectly legal bonanza of American military contracting was open to you? NATO intelligence officials estimated that Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan, which at one point was the busiest airport in the world, needed $1 billion worth of goods every year to operate and that the Karzais and another important local family supplied 95 percent of those goods. Ahmed Wali alone was estimated to be making $250 million a year from his various businesses, despite the fact that he never admitted to owning any companies or even drawing a salary. As Michael Kinsley once observed about Washington, The real scandal isnt whats illegal, but whats legal. In the Wild West of post-9/11 Afghanistan, Ahmed Wali could make tens of millions of dollars without breaking the law.

There was never any hard evidence tying him to the drug trade, but Ahmed Walis role as the de facto leader of southern Afghanistan still put him in harms way. In July 2011, a disgruntled member of his security team assassinated him. When President Karzai was told the news, a longtime aide had never seen him appear so shaken.

Partlow provides a telling portrait of the collapse of Kabul Bank, which turned out to be the biggest Ponzi scheme in Afghanistan. The bank was the countrys biggest, and many ordinary Afghans entrusted their savings to it, but it also acted as an ATM for the Afghan elite, who took out loans that were, for all practical purposes, gifts.

As it became clear that Kabul Bank was failing in 2010, the Afghan Central Bank started to try to bail it out to the tune of $852 million, a staggering sum for one of the worlds poorest countries. Karzai told bank regulators to blame the Western media for the story, and he believed that the catastrophe was an American conspiracy to destabilize his government and oust him from the palace. Partlow describes the bank meltdown as the defining scandal of the Karzai government because it was a glaring example of how the greed of a small cabal of relatives and political and business cronies had stolen from both poor Afghans and the U.S. government. . . . After the Kabul bank fiasco it was harder to make the case that we were fighting for something worthwhile or paying to build something that would last.

President Karzais brother Mahmood owed the bank more than $30 million but paid back only about $5 million, according to a forensic audit by Kroll, a New York-based corporate investigations firm. Mahmood colorfully told the New York Times that the Kroll audit was a piece of puke. (In the its a small world category, in their previous incarnations, both of President Karzais brothers as well as many other members of his family worked as busboys, waiters and managers at the Marriott hotel in Bethesda, Md.)

When Karzai took over the leadership of Afghanistan, he took on one of the toughest jobs in the world. For centuries, Afghan leaders who preceded him had either involuntarily left office in a coffin or had gone into exile. Karzai handed power over to Ashraf Ghani, his successor, without bloodshed. That alone is a real achievement. He also kept Afghanistans warring ethnic factions from embroiling the nation in the kind of brutal civil war that wracked it in the mid-1990s. And Karzai oversaw some real advances in Afghanistan  for instance, its booming telecom sector and its vastly reduced child mortality rate. Balanced against that is the fact that, according to the authoritative index maintained by Transparency International, Afghanistan today is ranked 166 out of 168 countries on the corruption scale.

Karzai contributed to a culture where widespread electoral fraud was commonplace, and so his record as president is a mixed one. On some levels, he really was the George Washington of Afghanistan, a man who was personally not on the take and was able to bring together his countrys factions and create a peaceful transition of power. But on other levels, he was just another pol who looked the other way as members of the elite looted the country and members of his party tampered significantly with the electoral system. During the 2009 presidential election, observers estimated that at least 800,000 votes out of 3 million cast for Karzai were fraudulent.

We probably have not heard the last of Hamid Karzai. According to the New York Times, in his new house  a stones throw from the presidential palace  he is receiving some 400 visitors a month, more than when he was president. Karzai is only 58, and his appetite for the great game of Afghan politics seems undiminished.
NASA scientists may have noticed a wobble in Earths axis Tuesday morning. Harry Reid, the irascible top Democrat in the Senate, had shown contrition.

The day before, Reid had attacked the integrity of Republicans, including the majority whip, John Cornyn, suggesting they were doing the bidding of the billionaire Koch brothers.

But Tuesday, Reid began his daily remarks to the Senate by declaring that I want everyone to know that my criticism of the senior senator from Texas is not based on anything dealing with his character, his integrity.

Cornyn rose to express his gratitude.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, the feel-good moment was over. A McClatchy reporter asked Reid about his remorse and Reid said with great irritation that he hadnt apologized. He didnt ask for an apology, and he didnt expect an apology, Reid snapped.

Being Harry Reid means never having to say youre sorry. The former boxer and cop, retiring in January, is departing the Senate the way he led it: with ferocious partisanship and explosive language.

On the same day he gave his non-apology to Cornyn, he also suggested that Donald Trump is fat: Take a look at this character thats running for president. . . . Hes not slim and trim. He brags about eating fast food every day.

In the same news conference, Reid offered some violent imagery to describe Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) as she negotiated a spending package with Republicans: You could put a gun to her head right now and she cant tell you what theyre trying to come up with.

Just before returning to Washington from his summer break, Reid sat down with the Reno Gazette-Journal, saying it was crazy of Patricia Smith, whose son was killed in Benghazi, to blame Hillary Clinton. He also described Rep. Joe Heck, the Republican candidate to succeed him in the Senate, as the most fraudulent person hes known in 50 years of politics.

And Reid defended the false allegation he made in 2012 that Mitt Romney had not paid taxes for 10 years. Id do it again, Reid said. He reasoned that its one of his strengths to tell the truth, then added, Maybe not the truth  its how I feel.

Ive enjoyed covering Reid and will miss him when hes gone. His wild rhetoric made for good copy and caused his aides indigestion. But in this Age of Trump, I also wonder whether Reids style  insults, insinuations and sometimes false allegations  helped to clear the way for worse.

To be sure, Trump is a uniquely Republican problem, created by years of GOP coddling of extremists. But I cant help thinking Reid is one who deserves some blame for the deterioration of discourse that numbed the country to Trumps vulgarity.

Reid has suggested that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, with whom he must work every day, agrees with Trumps view that women are dogs and pigs. Hes accused Republicans of being drunk with power, puppets, amateurish and cowards who are led by crazies.

George W. Bush, in Reids telling, was a loser and a liar who betrayed the country. Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was a hack and a fraud, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas an embarrassment, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff incompetent, his own aides fat, and the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission unethical, prevaricating, a treacherous miserable liar, a first-class rat and a tool.

Reid got in trouble for praising Obama as a light-skinned African American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one. He described diminutive Senate colleague Chris Coons (D-Del.) as my pet. He described Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as a snake oil salesman. He likened opponents of Obamacare to defenders of slavery.

Long before Trumps campaign, Reid said that I dont know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican. He joked to an Asian audience, One problem that Ive had today is keeping my Wongs straight. He has instructed the American Bar Association to get a new life, advised a reporter to get a brain and asked another journalist whether she spoke English, suggesting she turn up your Miracle Ear.

Reid shows no sign of easing into retirement. He walked onto the Senate floor Wednesday with wooden cane and, peering at his speech through black horn-rimmed spectacles, proceeded through his daily denunciation of the Republicans. He accused them (the party of Trump, whose pal is Putin) of trying to establish an oligarchy. From there he went on to host a photo op where he derided news photographers as a mob and to hold a news conference where he accused Senate Republicans of a ploy. The bile was bountiful  and it was only lunchtime.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
BALTIMORE COUNTY authorities are reviewing three years worth of rape cases in the wake of allegations they were given short shrift by police. It is clearly important to determine whether the cases were properly investigated and justice was done. But Baltimore County is not alone in Maryland in posting higher-than-average numbers of rape cases judged to not meet the legal standard for prosecution. It is important to examine whether, as some suggest, the states rape laws are overly restrictive in requiring an element of force.

Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson has promised to take a fresh look at the rape cases deemed unfounded that formed the basis of a recent article questioning his departments handling of sexual assault victims. County Executive Kevin Kamenetz (D) also has asked for a detailed investigation. BuzzFeed News reported Sept. 8 that Baltimore County police labeled 34 percent of cases unfounded  the national average is 7 percent  and faulted the thoroughness of the investigations, which it examined after the county opened its files. The case of one woman, according to the report, was closed without detectives realizing the accused assailant had previously been arrested for rape. According to police, the woman said she didnt want to prosecute and thats why the case was categorized as unfounded.

Authorities stressed that unfounded doesnt mean that a woman fabricated an assault  generally a rare occurrence  but that there is a lack of the legal elements that constitute a crime under Maryland law. We take every victim at her word, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County police told BuzzFeed, but saying no is not enough to support a rape charge. The states rape law requires not only a lack of consent but also force or the threat of force.

Advocates for rape victims pushed for changes in the law to make clear that a victim of sexual assault is never required to physically resist an assailant, but they werent able to gain traction in the General Assembly. Even though a 2010 decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals established that force may exist without violence, advocates believe there is confusion and that lack of clarity results in less vigorous prosecution of rape cases. That Montgomery and Prince Georges counties, according to BuzzFeed, also greatly exceed the national average for unfounded cases, with rates in the double digits, suggests the critics may be right. No matter what Baltimore Countys fresh look reveals about its specific cases, the General Assembly needs to give new attention to this matter.
The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

Even Donald Trump is capable of posing interesting questions, and he asked one of this elections most important when he declared: What the hell do you have to lose?

He was specifically addressing his query to African Americans, but its something all Americans should think about. And the latest report on incomes released Tuesday by the Census Bureau suggests that the vast majority of Americans, including African Americans, have a great deal to lose if the progress the country has made since we began our recovery from the Great Recession is endangered by a candidate whose policies are, depending on the day, quite radical, entirely unpredictable or simply incoherent.

It was a bonus for Hillary Clinton that the Census report appeared on the same day that President Obama offered a passionate and entertaining plea for her election in Philadelphia. Who could blame him for noting that across every age, every race in America, incomes rose and the poverty rate fell, that the typical household income of Americans rose by $2,800, which is the single biggest one-year increase on record and that 3.5 million people were lifted out of poverty, the largest one-year drop in poverty since 1968?

He wasnt exaggerating. The median household income hit $56,516 in 2015, an increase in real terms of 5.2 percent from 2014, and the gains of Americans with lower incomes were bigger than those of the well-to-do. We have a long way to go to ease our inequality problems, but we havent seen broadly shared income growth like this since the late 1990s, when, as Clinton would point out, her husband was president.

As to Trumps specific inquiry to African Americans, their incomes were up 4.1 percent. The poverty rate among African Americans, while still far too high, fell from 26.2 percent in 2014 to 24.1 percent in 2015.

Speaking at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia, President Obama questioned why "working folks" would want Republican Donald Trump to be their "champion." (The Washington Post)

One of the big lessons is that driving down unemployment rates increases the bargaining power of wage earners. But some of the good news was the result of specific government policies.

The proportion of the population that lacks health insurance is now down to 9.1 percent. Did Obamacare have something to do with this? We are conducting an experiment (at the expense, shamefully, of lower-income Americans) that allows us to answer this question. In states that fully adopted Obamacare, meaning that they expanded Medicaid, the proportion of uninsured stood at 7.2 percent. In states that refused the Medicaid expansion, the uninsured percentage stood at 12.3 percent.

Of course Obamacare can use repairs and improvements, as Obama and Clinton have both said. But the repeal crowd (including Trump) threatens to throw millions of our fellow citizens off health insurance again. Those Americans have a hell of a lot to lose.

The standard rap from the right is that government programs dont ease poverty. Oh yeah? As Jason Furman and his colleagues at the Presidents Council of Economic Advisers pointed out, redistributive measures such as the earned-income tax credit and the child tax credit lifted 4.8 million children out of poverty. Those children also have a hell of a lot to lose if such benefits were trimmed  and more families could be helped if they were expanded.

And lets go back to the big income gains among the 40 percent of Americans who earn the least. In the case of the poorest 10th of the population, incomes were up by 7.9 percent. Its too early to know the full effect of big state and local increases in the minimum wage, but both Furman and Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, pointed to minimum-wage hikes as a factor in rising incomes among the less well-paid. Again: government policies matter.

This campaign has been one large collection of diversions and sweeping claims about the country, in Trumps words, being a hellhole, and were going down fast.

Actually, were neither a hellhole, nor are we going down fast. On the contrary, the good statisticians of the Census Bureau have painted an accurate picture of a nation that is getting better but still has more work to do. Should blue-collar voters risk blowing the gains by taking a flyer on Trump? Obama had something useful to say about this on Tuesday: He spent most of his life trying to stay as far away from working people as he could. And now this guy is going to be the champion of working people? Huh?

That Huh? may be the most eloquent word spoken about Trump all year.

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
From Buenos Aires to Hiroshima, President Obama has spoken of the harm done abroad as a result of his predecessors foreign policy decisions.

The most recent instance occurred during his visit last week to tiny Laos, where he reviewed the destruction wrought by U.S. bombing of that country during the wars in Southeast Asia nearly half a century ago. Countless civilians were killed, he lamented.

Republican critics in this country have derided these apology tours, but thats not fair. Obama has generally stuck to passive-voice formulations, as he did in Laos, and avoided explicit apology.

Still, the moralizing comes through, which raises a question: Just how different is Obamas conduct from that of the past presidents whose judgments he reviews today?

Obama said the U.S. air campaign in Laos  aimed at North Vietnamese communists who were illegally using the neutral country as a supply route to South Vietnam  not only caused massive collateral damage, it was also a secret war, whose full scope is not widely known even now.

Adjusted for the greater precision of modern weaponry, you could say something similar about the nontransparent U.S. campaign of drone strikes against suspected terrorists that Obama is conducting around the Middle East today, at the cost  minimized but unavoidable, the administration says  of many innocent civilian lives.

In March in Argentina, Obama noted the anniversary of a 1973 military coup, calling the Nixon and Ford administrations initial acceptance of the junta a case of betrayed American ideals, in which the United States was slow to speak out for human rights. He offered disclosures of U.S. classified documents about the period as a form of penance.

One wonders what archives will eventually reveal about Obamas own tolerance of the brutal military regime in contemporary Egypt, which took power in a 2013 coup, and which the United States, after a brief suspension, supplied with more than a billion dollars in military aid  made possible by an administration waiver of human rights conditions in U.S. law.

The New York Times analysis of Obamas Laos speech appeared on Page A8 of its Sept. 8 edition. On Page A9, a headline read: Pressing His Asia Agenda, Obama Treads Lightly on Human Rights. The accompanying article explained how, in dealing with the dictators of China, Vietnam and, indeed, Laos, Obama played down their repressive rule for the sake of other diplomatic goals.

Page A10 carried the claim by Turkeys authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Turkey and the United States were readying joint military action against the Islamic State in Syria. That might or might not pan out  Erdogan has blown smoke about such matters before. But Erdogan had just met with Obama, after which the latter praised Turkish cooperation against the Islamic State, said the two leaders had discussed ways in which we can further cooperate in that regard  and glossed over Erdogans nationwide crackdown on political opponents in the wake of a failed July coup against him.

Obama must believe that U.S. national security requires him to make these trade-offs, or that his course will minimize civilian deaths, and maximize human rights, over the long run. Or all of the above.

In other words, he must be telling himself exactly what his predecessors during the Cold War (and Harry Truman at Hiroshima) told themselves.

Susan E. Rice, the presidents national security adviser, framed the presidents retrospective comments as an effort to face and acknowledge our history, by noting points of departure from the United States overwhelmingly positive global role.

Perhaps, but the clear implication of Obamas expressions is that the U.S. effort to stop the Soviets from accumulating global power and influence was often unjustified in view of the costs.

When discussing the bombing of Laos, for example, the president was evaluating part of a wider struggle, Vietnam, that he had already publicly labeled a quagmire that ultimately . . . weaken[ed] us.

Fair enough. Still, at the time of Vietnam  and the Argentine coup, and the revolution in Cuba  U.S. presidents considered the nuclear-armed Soviet Union, not implausibly, as a mortal threat to us and our allies. Well never know what, say, Latin America would be like today if the United States had done nothing to stop Cuban attempts to spread revolution during the Cold War, though the current chaos in Venezuela suggests a possible outcome.

Today, Obama seeks to work with the likes of Erdogan against the Islamic State even though he believes the terrorists do not threaten our national existence, as he put it in his January State of the Union address.

Erdogan certainly seems like the lesser of two evils  but Obamas policy is nevertheless one of many moral compromises during his tenure, including his fateful decision not to intervene militarily in Syria.

Someday Obama, too, will face historys judgment. Meanwhile, he ruminates on the doleful impact of his predecessors choices, seeking to communicate a certain humility about his country.

Less intentionally, he communicates a certain lack of humility about himself.

Read more from Charles Lanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Seized objects made of ivory are displayed during a press conference of the Office for Customs Investigation Berlin-Brandenburg in Berlin on Sept. 9. (Paul Zinken/European Pressphoto Agency)

The Sept. 6 editorial End the appetite for ivory correctly said that the worlds plummeting elephant population is a direct result of our misguided desire to own ivory. As the Great Elephant Census shows, if we dont act now, elephants wont be alive in the wild for much longer. Because governments alone cannot solve this problem, President Obama called for a whole-society National Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking. The U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance is helping to lead the response, working with a unique coalition of nonprofit organizations, companies, foundations and the U.S. government to close off markets and reduce the purchase and sale of illegal wildlife products in the United States. And we are working closely with our nonprofit members to organize demand reduction efforts across the country.

But this strategy depends on whether consumers put their wallets in line with their values and make informed purchasing choices. We must all do our part to end the scourge of wildlife trafficking.

David J. Hayes, Washington

The writer is chair of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance and a former deputy secretary of the interior.
Once upon a time, I thought the repudiation of white supremacists was the easiest layup in U.S. politics. Not for the Trump campaign.

Asked recently whether he considered former KKK leader David Duke deplorable, Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence said he was not in the name-calling business. Earlier this year, Donald Trump was posed a similar question and claimed, incredibly and repeatedly, I dont know anything about David Duke. In a particularly revealing campaign moment, Trump was asked to repudiate the anti-Semitic death threats made by some of his followers against a reporter. I dont have a message to the fans, Trump said.

The fans, no doubt, regard this as the gotcha game of a politically correct press. Even if this is true, an initial reluctance to condemn some of the very worst people in U.S. politics conveys a message. Several years ago, researchers developed an Implicit Association Test  a sort of computerized blink test measuring how subjects associate positive and negative words with people of different races. The immediate reaction of a politician to the KKK is a kind of political blink test. The right response is revulsion. And there has generally been a Grand Wizard exception to the prohibition on name-calling.

For a politician on the right, this is an entirely costless Sister Souljah moment. The repeated refusal to seize it conveys an impression of calculation. It indicates a strategy of no enemies to the right.

For some of us, this raises the hardest moral and emotional issue of the current campaign. The Republican nominee came to prominence feeding fears of Mexicans, migrants and Muslims. He refuses to engage in the normal moral and political hygiene of repudiating extremism. I dont believe that anything close to half of Trump supporters are motivated by racism. But they are willing to tolerate a level of prejudice that should be morally unacceptable in a presidential candidate.

Why is this such a problem? Because racial prejudice is not one problem among many in American history. It is the sin that nearly destroyed us. It is a special category of wrong. It is not sufficient to say: I agree with Trump on 90 percent of the issues  on tax reform and energy policy and criminal-justice issues  but dissent on the 10 percent involving systematic religious discrimination, forced expulsion, war crimes, the demonization of refugees and the general dehumanization of the other. These matters are foundational.

History has little sympathy for those who supported Stephen Douglas for his views on tariff policy or internal improvements while playing down his belief that the rights of minorities should be determined by the majority. As Abraham Lincoln saw it, America fought at Gettysburg and Antietam over the most basic questions  how to define the protections and promise of a great republic, as well as the duties we owe to each other as human beings. This remains the central issue of politics  the source of its nobility when it serves human dignity, and a source of dishonor when it reflects baser motives. It is not possible to build the greatness of this nation  this shining example in the conscience of humanity  while forgetting or undermining its deepest ideals.

A refusal to aggressively confront a racially tinged extremism has been taken as a source of validation by white nationalists. They feel emboldened. Duke reports being overjoyed that Trump has embraced most of the issues that Ive championed for years. No presidential candidate is responsible for the views of all their supporters. But at least since the 1960s, conservative leaders have felt a responsibility to actively oppose and discredit those elements of the right that identify Americanism with ethnic purity and spin conspiracy theories of Semitic control. Opposing these long-standing tendencies of right-wing nationalism is part of what conservative intellectual and political leadership has meant for decades. The current vacuum of such leadership at the top of the Republican ticket is taken as a cultural signal by both the perpetrators and objects of prejudice.

Or so I would argue. Other Republicans I know and like find my viewpoint morally problematic, because it helps enable the election of Hillary Clinton and the nomination of liberals to the Supreme Court, which would result in irreparable harm to the country. It is a dispute causing a crisis of self-definition among conservatives, straining and rupturing friendships across the movement. That is another legacy of Trump, who will be known for the wounds he leaves behind.

Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook .


Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) speaks at debate on Joint Resolution 114, which authorized President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq, on Oct. 11, 2002. The resolution passed in the House 295 to 133 and in the Senate 77 to 23. (Senate TV/Getty Images)

It was hours before Sen. Hillary Clinton would vote in 2002 on whether to give President George W. Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq. She had been advised by her husband and many close associates to vote yes. Now, at the last minute, she met with a group of church leaders, joining hands in silent prayer, insisting that she remained undecided.

What I saw was her asking a lot of probing questions, a lot of concern about would this be effective, said Andrew Shapiro, Clintons foreign policy adviser at the time, referring to the days leading up to her decision.

In the end, however, the New York Democrat crossed party lines and voted for the authorization to use military force. It would take her years to acknowledge that the decision was misguided, eventually calling it my mistake. But it was little surprise to many who watched her evolution as a hawk over her years as a first lady and then as a senator.

For years, Clinton has blamed Bush for misleading her into voting for the resolution. But an examination by The Washington Post found that her decision was based as much on advice from her husbands advisers as from Bush administration officials. There were also significant gaps in her fact-gathering, most notably her apparent failure to read a classified analysis that other senators cited in voting against the resolution.

[How Hillary Clinton made the tough call to back the 2011 bombing of Libya]

The path to Clintons decision was paved by her evolving sense of presidential power, forged during years in which she played a bigger role than widely realized in pushing her husband to intervene militarily in the Balkans, Iraq and Kosovo. She continued that path when she advocated intervention in Libya as secretary of state.



First lady Hillary Clinton listens as President Bill Clinton speaks about a U.S. missile strike against Iraq before attending church in Washington on June 27, 1993. He pronounced the strike a success but said he regretted that civilians were killed. (Greg Gibson/Associated Press)

Clintons actions provide a window into how she might conduct herself as president, balancing countless calls for action to prevent global crises against risking the lives of American troops.

Fourteen years later, Clintons decision is a heated issue in her presidential campaign against Republican Donald Trump, who said at a Sept. 7 forum that her vote and other hawkish actions show that she has a happy trigger. Clinton responded that force is her last resort, even as she acknowledged that she regrets the Iraq decision. (Trump has repeatedly said he opposed the resolution, but fact-checkers have determined that he favored it at the time Clinton voted.)

Once branded dovish because of her antipathy to the Vietnam War, Clinton had watched from her front-row White House seat what happened when presidential power was left unused as masses died in Rwanda and initially in the Balkans.

As she saw the benefits of intervention, her views of executive power expanded. She argued that a president should have latitude to launch military missions because, as she starkly put it in justifying her 2002 vote, sometimes a president has to do what he thinks is right no matter what anyone else says. She embraced an approach to military force that in many cases argued for using it  rather than regretting not doing so.

Clinton declined requests to be interviewed for this article. Her campaign also would not say whether she read the classified report about Iraqs purported weapons of mass destruction or provide names of opponents with whom she consulted, other than citing the meeting with church members.

Instead, Jesse Lehrich, her foreign policy spokesman, noted in a statement that Clinton considered the Iraq vote one of the hardest decisions of her life  one she anguished over exhaustively and, of course, one she came to regret in the end.

Stopping the bloodshed

A soft rain fell on April 22, 1993, as the first lady attended the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The Clintons had just settled into the White House, and their new national security team was already facing a humanitarian disaster in the Balkans, scene of one of the bloodiest European conflicts since World War II.



President Bill Clinton, along with Bud Meyerhoff, left, chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Council, and Elie Wiesel, founding chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, prepare to light an eternal flame during the dedication ceremony for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington on April 22, 1993. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Guest speaker Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning Holocaust survivor, urged President Clinton to try to stop the mass killings that came to be known as ethnic cleansing. We must do something to stop the bloodshed, he said.

Hillary Clinton later said the speech was one of several by Wiesel that deeply influenced her thinking about the use of American force. She watched as her husband delayed action in the Balkans, and then, a year later, as he did not intervene in response to reports of a genocide in Rwanda that killed an estimated 800,000.

She was with her husband when Wiesel later admonished him for Rwanda, telling the president, We could have prevented that massacre.



President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton listen to a Rwandan woman speak about surviving the massacre there during the 7th Millennium Evening at the White House on April 12, 1999. The Clintons and Elie Wiesel led the discussion. (Tim Sloan/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

In 1995, as the White House sought to recover from the domestic failure of Hillary Clintons health-care plan and a Republican takeover of Congress, the president faced new pressure to act in the Balkans after 8,000 people were killed in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.

Some of the presidents aides feared that he had an aversion to intervention, given the downing of two Black Hawk helicopters and the loss of 18 troops in Somalia in October 1993. They came to view the first lady as a conduit who would push her husband to take military force.

Assistant Secretary of State Richard C. Holbrooke  long an advocate of U.S. action in the Balkans  turned to the first lady for help persuading the president. He warned her that Bosnia was a cancer on the presidency,  said Derek Chollet, a speechwriter for Holbrooke, who died in 2010.

Hillary Clinton later said she became convinced that selective airstrikes are the only way to stop the genocide. After the president authorized the strikes, she credited intervention for a peace accord, which she observed as an emissary to Bosnia.

Extraordinary threat

In early 1998, Hillary Clinton faced the press corps in the White Houses Map Room. Reporters had been focused on allegations that her husband had had an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

Hillary Clinton chose this moment, for the first time in such a public setting, to take on Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi leader was without conscience, having used weapons of mass destruction on his own people, she told reporters, referring to an attack on Kurds a decade earlier. We are facing an extraordinary threat from this man. Something will have to be done.

Iraq had been a festering issue for President Clinton. In the wake of reports that Hussein was behind an unsuccessful effort to assassinate former president George H.W. Bush, the president in July 1993 ordered the launch of 23 cruise missiles on Baghdad. Tensions escalated further when a U.N. report blamed economic sanctions for the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children, but U.S. officials shifted the blame to Hussein.

Amid reports that weapons inspectors were being blocked from key sites, a group of neoconservatives who would later play top roles in the George W. Bush administration pushed for regime change. Congress in October 1998 passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which called for Husseins removal. Hillary Clinton would repeatedly cite the legislation as part of the rationale for her Iraq War vote four years later.

After signing the legislation, President Clinton ordered bombers to Iraq in mid-November 1998. But he turned the planes around in midflight after Hussein suddenly promised cooperation.

On Dec. 15, 1998, the Clintons flew from Israel back to Washington to face a likely impeachment vote related to the Lewinsky scandal. National security adviser Sandy Berger and Bruce Riedel, one of his deputies, accompanied them.

While the president rested, Hillary Clinton conferred with his aides about rescheduling the attack on Iraq.

The president was in his bedroom suite, sleeping, and Mrs. Clinton was sitting with Sandy Berger and myself, Riedel, then the National Security Councils senior director for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, said in an interview. She was listening quite avidly and taking it all in, and at one point or another we started saying, What if we get another last-minute Saddam dodge? As I recall it, she said, You cant let him do that again; you need to pull the trigger. 

Riedel often discussed foreign affairs with the first lady. The most force-averse person in the Clinton administration was the president, he said.

Hillary Clinton, by contrast, was among those who were encouraging the president not to let Saddam Hussein off the hook this time. . . . She was not in the chain of command, but she was among his most important advisers. A great deal of the memos Sandy sent to the president, she got a copy as well.

Berger, who died in 2015, said in an oral history for the University of Virginias Miller Center that he, too, never doubted Hillary Clintons influence. I often thought in the morning I heard some echoes of Hillary in something he said, Berger said, referring to the president.

Deep influence

Operation Desert Fox was designed as a four-day attack on 100 sites, mostly aimed at Husseins power structure. Weapons inspectors heeded U.S. warnings to evacuate.

I have no doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again, President Clinton told the nation as the attack was launched, referring to suspected weapons of mass destruction.

After waiting for the bombing to end, the House impeached the president, but he survived because the Senate did not convict him, and Hussein survived as the bombing stopped.

A few months later, as Hillary Clinton prepared to run for the Senate, she and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, traveled to Africa. One night, in a phone call with her husband, the couple discussed a proposal to back bombing in Kosovo, which many Republicans opposed. President Clinton was hesitant, but his wife was certain.

I urged him to bomb; I supported him, Hillary Clinton told Talk magazine at the time. You cannot let this go on at the end of a century that has seen the major holocaust of our time. What do we have NATO for if not to defend our way of life?

Shortly after returning from Africa, the first lady hosted Wiesel at a White House event, The Perils of Indifference, which focused on the lessons of the Holocaust. Clinton made clear that the lesson for her was to be more willing to use force. Many of us in this room have personal experiences that are much more recent and fresh, about what it means to face that evil and that indifference today, she said, citing her travel to trouble spots.

Clintons role in her husbands foreign policy continued. In 2000, she attended a White House session with the president and his national security aides to discuss Husseins latest moves. Kenneth Pollack, the NSC director for Persian Gulf affairs at the time, said in an interview: Clearly her husband felt he wanted her there. She would be there, she would give him advice, sometimes with us in the room. She asked really smart questions.

Hillary Clinton hailed the intervention in Iraq as a success. But U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who had tried to forestall bombing, later wrote that Desert Fox ushered in a four-year period without inspections and without a dialogue with Iraq.

Seeking advice

As Hillary Clinton prepared to be sworn in as a senator in 2001, her husbands administration handed over Iraq policy to President-elect George W. Bush. Bush and his aides suspected that Hussein had used the absence of inspections to escalate a weapons of mass destruction program, and they studied the possibility of an invasion.

The Bush administrations planning on Iraq escalated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Hillary Clinton was at the U.S. Capitol when she learned about the mass casualties at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The senator soon urged Bush to provide $20 billion to rebuild New York. The president agreed, and a gratified Clinton said, Ill stand behind Bush for a long time to come.

That pledge was tested a year later as the president urged Congress to grant him the authority to attack Iraq. Despite nearly universal support for intervening in Afghanistan, where Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was sheltered, the Iraq resolution encountered opposition from various leading Democrats, who said that Hussein had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks and that it would give Bush too much latitude.

As Hillary Clinton considered whether to support the resolution, her husband publicly endorsed regime change, as he had in 1998.

Many of Hillary Clintons advisers had been top officials in her husbands administration. Pollack, her husbands former aide, had just published a book, The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq. Clinton asked him to visit her.



Sen. Hillary Clinton, a member of the Armed Services Committee, questions Gen. John P. Abizaid, back to camera, on Capitol Hill during a hearing about Iraq on Nov. 15, 2006. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

After Pollack stressed Husseins dangers, Clinton asked him about the Iraqi leaders intentions.

I just remember being forced to say to her, Im sorry, senator, I wish I knew the answer to that. No one other than Saddam Hussein knows the answer,  Pollack recalled.

Riedel, the former NSC aide who had often consulted with Clinton, said he believed at the time that war with Iraq was insane. He was convinced that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

But Riedel said he did not talk directly to Clinton, instead conveying his views to Berger, who was advising the senator and thought that Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

In her public comments, Clinton strongly suggested support for Bush.

I agreed then with President Clinton, Hillary Clinton said on Sept. 15 on Meet the Press, referring to her husbands effort to oust Hussein. I agree with President Bushs emphasis on this issue.

I cant imagine that we wont give Bush the authority, she said.

Sorting facts

Bush called Clinton to the White House on Oct. 8, 2002, three days before the vote. His public arguments included a stream of later-discredited claims, including that Hussein had weapons capable of killing millions.

After Clinton left the White House, she took a call from national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Clinton later cited this conversation as evidence that the Bush administration misled her. As she told it in a 2006 interview with the Atlantic, Condi Rice called me and asked if I had any questions. I said, Look, I have one question: If the president has this authority, will he go to the United Nations and use it to get inspectors to go back into Iraq and figure out what this guy has? 

Yes, thats what its for, Rice responded, according to Clinton.

Rice declined to comment, but her spokeswoman, Georgia Godfrey, said via email that Rice never would have suggested that the Authorization would be limited to getting inspectors in.

Clinton, like every other senator, was invited to read classified intelligence reports in a secure room on Capitol Hill.

The report had caveats  absent from an unclassified version  that led some senators to doubt the administrations case. Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), who chaired the Intelligence Committee, pleaded with colleagues to read the document before voting.

Clinton has left the clear impression that she did not read the full report. She said in a 2008 interview on Meet the Press that she was briefed by its authors and that not very many people read the whole thing. When The Post asked a campaign spokesman to say definitively whether she read it, he pointed to Clintons 2008 statement.

Graham, who voted no, said in an interview that he remains frustrated that so many senators did not read the report. Im not sure if Senator Clinton read that or not; if she did, it apparently wasnt sufficiently persuasive, he said.

Some Clinton aides said they were uncertain until the end how she would vote. But her inclination to support Bush was so well known that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who was trying to rally opposition, made no effort to change her mind, a former Kennedy aide said.

Clinton has cited as reasons for her support her gratitude for Bushs financial support for New York, her expectation that the vote would reopen inspections and her underlying belief in strong presidential authority. She has also cited the advocacy of Clinton administration officials and the legacy of the Iraq Liberation Act. She has rejected suggestions that reading the full National Intelligence Estimate would have made a difference, noting that some who read it voted for the resolution.

On Oct. 10, 2002, Clintons Senate speech harked back to her husbands 1998 attack on Iraq, even as she stressed her hope for a diplomatic solution.

Left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons, she said.

The Senate approved the measure 77 to 23, with Democrats favoring it 29 to 21. The two other opponents were an independent and a Republican. The House also voted in favor.

The drumbeat for war mounted. The Bush administration said Hussein still refused to allow adequate inspections, and an invasion threat had not resolved the issue. Bush launched the attack in March 2003, sending more than 100,000 U.S. troops to Iraq.



Lt. Col. Brian Mennes gives Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) a tour through an Army base in Baghdad on Nov. 28, 2003. (Dusan Vranic/Associated Press)

A year after the vote, Clinton defended it on CNN, citing grave threats to the United States.

But the basis of her decision was soon undermined. In October 2004, a U.N. team led by Charles Duelfer reported that weapons of mass destruction stocks do not exist.

Clinton contacted Pollack, a voice that had urged her to vote for war.

So, Ken, what happened to the weapons of mass destruction? she asked, as he recalled it.

Im as mystified as you are, Senator, Pollack said he responded.

In 2008, as Clinton sought the Democratic presidential nomination for the first time, her pollster found that most voters would react negatively if she acknowledged that her vote was a mistake. She refrained from using the word, even as her primary rival, Barack Obama, attacked her vote.

She now characterizes her vote as a painful but valuable lesson.

It is imperative that we learn from the mistakes, she said earlier this month. We must learn what led us down that path so that it never happens again. I think Im in the best possible position to be able to understand that and prevent it.

Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites contributed to this report.
Former U.S. secretary of state Colin L. Powell takes part in an onstage interview with Aspen Institute President Walter Isaacson, left, at the Washington Ideas Forum on Sept. 30, 2015. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Donald Trump is a national disgrace and an international pariah who gave voice to a racist movement to question President Obamas citizenship, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell tapped on his keyboard.

Hillary Clinton, he typed in an email to another friend, is a greedy, not transformational figure who messes up everything she touches because of her hubris and has a husband still, well, entertaining bimbos while she is away.

Former vice president Richard B. Cheney and his daughter are idiots flacking their new book, and the Iraq War was mishandled from the get-go by the Defense Departments top officials.

Other than that, the retired general and statesman wrote in one exchange, alls well with the Powells.

That probably was not the case Wednesday, as the respected former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff became the latest chess piece in what appears to be nothing less than a full-bore attempt by the Russian government to embarrass the American body politic.

The Powell disclosures  more than two years worth, ending last month  were posted on a site that analysts have linked to the Russian government.

They come as the FBI is probing the extent to which Moscow is carrying out an unprecedented digital campaign to potentially undermine confidence in the political process here.

The nations top national security officials warned Wednesday that the United States is prepared to respond to whoever is behind the hacks of political organizations such as the Democratic National Committee.

Nobody should think that theres a free pass, said Lisa Monaco, President Obamas adviser on homeland security and counterterrorism, when asked at a Center for Strategic and International Studies conference about the hacks linked to Russia.

A Powell spokeswoman attested to the authenticity of the emails. We have confirmed that the general has been hacked and that these are his emails, Peggy Cifrino said. We have no other comment at this time.

Powells emails were posted on a once-obscure Web site, DCLeaks, which appeared in mid-2016 to publish material hacked from top-ranking officials and their influence agents. The site claims it was launched by American hacktivists who respect and appreciate freedom of speech, human rights and government of the people.

But analysts at cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect who have scoured the site say that its registration and Web hosting data align with a known Russian military intelligence hacker group dubbed Fancy Bear.

The Powell emails were assembled and posted under password protection Tuesday night. BuzzFeed and the Intercept led the way, and reporters found an unvarnished reflection on the 2016 election, U.S. war efforts in Iraq, attempts by Powell to dissociate himself from Clintons use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, and a plea from one of Obamas former Cabinet members that Powell join the race for president.

Trump receives the brunt of Powells harsh words, but a 2014 email to a Democratic donor about Clinton is the definition of damning with faint praise:

I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect. A 70-year person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still d-----g bimbos at home (according to the NYP). The reference presumably is to a story in the New York Post.

But Powell reserved his greatest disdain for Trump.

Of the birther movement, which Trump led earlier this decade by publicly questioning whether Obama was born in the United States, Powell said its underpinnings were clear.

Yup, the whole birther movement was racist, Powell wrote to journalist and former aide Emily Miller on Aug. 21. Thats what the 99% believe. When Trump couldnt keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim.

In another email to Miller on Aug. 21, Powell scoffs at Trumps apparent effort to reach out to African Americans in recent weeks and says Trump takes them for idiots.

He is at 1% black voters and will drop. He takes us for idiots, Powell wrote. He can never overcome what he tried to do to Obama with his search for the birth certificate hoping to force Obama out of the presidency.

Powell endorsed Obama in both of his campaigns.

He expressed sympathy for Clinton about repeated investigations by congressional Republicans into the deadly attacks on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya. He called it a stupid witch hunt in an email to his successor at State, Condoleezza Rice.

But he bristled at attempts by Clinton and Democratic officials to compare his use of private emails while in the office to her use of a private server.

I have told Hillearys [sic] minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try, he wrote in May to Democratic consultant Vernon Jordan. The media isnt fooled and she is getting crucified. The differences are profound and they know it.

In another email he added: Everything [Clinton] touches she kind of screws up with hubris.

On other subjects, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation haunted Powell.

He and Rice exchanged several emails in which they disparaged former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

On June 9, 2015, after Rumsfeld claimed he had always been skeptical about U.S. efforts to promote democracy in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, Rice emailed Powell, saying caustically, If Don and the Pentagon had done their job (after claiming the rights to lead postwar rebuilding  things might have turned out differently). Don should just stop talking. He puts his foot in his mouth every time.

The next day, Powell sent an email praising the magnificent job comedian Jon Stewart had done in a skit on Rumsfeld.

Don needs to stay out on the shore, he wrote.

On Aug. 28 this year, Powell turned his ire on Paul D. Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary who was one of the architects of the Iraq invasion, after an interview with Der Spiegel in which Wolfowitz blamed the State Department for bungling the occupation by disbanding the Iraqi army and firing Baathists from government jobs.

Are you going to call Paul and tell him he is a f-----g liar? Powell wrote to Larry Wilkerson, his chief of staff. It wasnt State, it was the President and the guy who reported to Paul. . .

In the past few months, DC Leaks also has posted caches of emails from retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, who until recently was the supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe.

It has also leaked material from the Republican Party and George Soros, a billionaire philanthropist who supports liberal causes.

Releasing emails from Powell, however, was seen as an effort to jack up media interest, analysts said.

They have to find personalities and content which will cause journalists to take interest, said Rich Barger, chief information officer at ThreatConnect, which has analyzed the DCLeaks site and links to Russian organizations.

Powell has been hacked before. In 2013, a Romanian hacker known as Guccifer hacked his personal email account and released some material, including correspondence that suggested a possible romantic link with a Romanian diplomat. Powell denied having an affair with her.

Included in the latest emails was one from Obamas former veterans affairs secretary Eric Shinseki, who after Trumps Super Tuesday victories wrote to ask Powell to jump into the Republican primary.

I worry at what is happening to your proud and distinguished Party, Shinseki wrote.

Powell forwarded the message to an aide with a one-word reply: Sigh.

His response to Shinseki was a little more diplomatic.

Cmon Ric. I would be 80 upon my first months in office, he wrote, adding, I cant carry the burden of the GOP. They left me years ago.

Callum Borchers, Carol Morello, Robert Samuels and Vanessa Williams contributed to this report.
Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz arrives at a press conference in Warsaw on Sept. 15, 2016, given by the commission investigating the 2010 presidential plane crash. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images)

Poland's investigation into the 2010 plane crash in Russia that killed President Lech Kaczynski was thrust back into the spotlight Thursday, as a government commission asserted that flight recordings were manipulated in possible attempts to mask the cause of the tragedy.

Kaczynskis twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, 67, is now the leader of Polands governing Law and Justice party and has dressed in black since his brothers death. Critics say the new inquiry is motivated by his desire for revenge and belief in a vast conspiracy that led to his brother's death.

An investigation under the previous government found that the crash was caused by pilot error in heavy fog at Smolensk airport, where the Polish delegation was traveling for a joint memorial with Russia marking the massacre of Polish officers by Soviet agents during World War II.

Reports on leaked transcripts from recording devices in the cockpit indicated that Kaczynski's entourage had pressured the pilots to land despite the poor conditions.

[Wounds from crash have not healed]

The crash of the Tupolev aircraft, operated by the Polish air force, killed all 96 people on board, including Kaczynskis wife, Maria Kaczynska, and many senior military and political figures.

On Thursday, a new Polish commission to review the crash said that black box recordings recovered from the accident had been manipulated and shortened, with several seconds of audio missing.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said there was irrefutable proof of falsifications, manipulations and obfuscation of the truth.

Poland's government is expending tremendous effort in a painful reexamination of the crash. Investigators earlier this week confirmed that they would exhume the bodies of most of the victims, including Kaczynski and his wife, to search for clues to foul play.

Comprehensive post-mortem examinations . . . will be important for determining the injuries of the victims and the causes of their deaths, as well as reconstructing the final moments of the disaster and its causes, Polands national prosecutor said in June.

The commission, formed in March, is not tasked with naming alleged culprits, Macierewicz said. But he has indirectly accused Russia of sabotaging the plane, and former prime minister Donald Tusk, now president of the European Council, has been accused by political opponents of intentionally botching the initial investigation.

Five Polish officials, including a former aide to Tusk, are on trial for alleged negligence in planning the flight.

In 2012, Jaroslaw Kaczynski told Tusk in parliament that he bore 100 percent of the responsibility for the catastrophe.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday called accusations against Russia irresponsible and provocative and said the Polish side should produce evidence before engaging in speculation.

These are very serious things, she said.

The accusations of a vast government coverup and rogue Russian air-traffic controllers read like a thriller.

And, in fact, top Polish officials last week attended the premiere of a blockbuster film called Smolensk, which follows a crusading Polish reporter debunking official explanations for the accident. The plot points to sabotage.

Before we were forbidden to ask who was behind the [World War II] murders by the Soviets, one of the characters says in a publicity clip for the movie. "Today we are afraid to ask what really happened in Smolensk."

The films director, Antoni Krauze, called the movie a protest against the manipulations with the truth.

President Andrzej Duda, a former member of Kaczynskis party, and Prime Minister Beata Szydlo attended the premiere at Warsaws National Opera House, along with family members of the crash victims, including Kaczynski.

Read more

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world


Anwar Sawan, 45, provides arms and supplies to militias in Misurata, Libya, that are combating the Islamic States Libyan affiliate in the coastal city of Sirte. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

The room where Moammar Gaddafis bloodied body once rested is now cluttered with dusty boxes, and the freezer that held his sons corpse is long gone.

But the Libyan dictator and the forces unleashed by his death five years ago still drive Anwar Sawans life.

Hours after Gaddafi and his son were killed in the uprisings that shook the Arab world, Misuratan fighters brought their bodies to this battle-hardened city like trophies.

The corpses spent the first night in Sawans familys house, burnishing his revolutionary credentials. Today, his own home, a transformed shipping container, is a support center for the citys militias and their quest for influence.

Saved inside his canary-yellow phone are hate messages from Gaddafi loyalists who believe that Sawan played a role in the deaths and knows their leaders secret burial place.

Were coming to get you, you bastard, reads one.

In a nation where violence sets the cadence, Sawan is one of its virtuosos. Involved in nearly every conflict that followed Gaddafis death, he has helped fuel his country's chaotic trajectory  from the rivalries and dysfunction that emerged after four decades of authoritarian rule to the struggle afterward for power, oil and territory.

Ive entered every war since 2011 with the same enthusiasm, declared Sawan, a sharp-nosed, 45-year-old former business executive with a raspy, commanding voice.

For Misuratas militias, among Libyas most powerful armed factions, he buys guns and ammunition, most left over from Gaddafis stockpiles, bulletproof jackets, food, and water  anything that will give them an edge over their tribal, regional and political rivals.

Since May, Sawan has supplied weapons to militias combating the Islamic States Libyan affiliate in the coastal city of Sirte, 120 miles east of here. Backed by U.S. airstrikes, the fighters have pushed deep into the center of the militants stronghold, delivering a blow to their aspirations of widening their caliphate into North Africa.

[Inside the brutal but bizarrely bureaucratic world of the Islamic State in Libya]

But in Sawans post-Arab Spring world, there are always more battles to fight, more enemies on the horizon.

We have other Gaddafis in Libya today, he said.



Boxes fill Anwar Sawans house, where the bodies of longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi and his son were held after the men were killed in 2011. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

Funneling weapons

On a recent night, a white Toyota pickup parked inside Sawans compound was filled with metal boxes of bullets and rows of mortar shells stacked like cucumbers in a supermarket.

Earlier in the day, Sawan had driven to the capital, Tripoli, as he often does. With cash collected from sympathetic Misuratan business executives and the militias military command, he visited people he described as war merchants who trade in the remnants of Gaddafis arsenal and the illicit smuggled weaponry that flooded the country after his demise.

On this trip, he said, some people donated boxes of bullets from their personal stockpiles.

Five times a week a truck like this goes to Sirte, said Sawan, bearded and dressed in a tan traditional gown and cap.

How long will the ammunition in the truck last?

Three hours, he said, half-jokingly. Our fighters waste a lot of bullets.

Five years ago, Sawan owned an aluminum smelter and an animal-feed factory. Like many Libyan professionals, he picked up a gun and joined the revolution. Misurata, Libyas third-largest city, became a major battleground, with intense clashes and daily shelling between the rebels and Gaddafis loyalists. Backed by NATO airstrikes, the rebels took the city in May 2011.

On Oct. 20, 2011, Gaddafi and his son Mutassim were killed in Sirte, and Misuratan fighters brought their bodies to a militia barracks here. Outside, crowds demanded to see the corpses. The local military council wanted a doctor to conduct a forensic examination to prove their identity, and Sawan offered his family house.

People respected my house, he said. And nobody would have the courage to enter someones house.

The next day, the bodies were taken to a market area, where they were displayed in an industrial freezer for three days.

Over the next months and years, as Libya atomized into factional violence, Sawan found his true calling. He joined Misuratas militias as they fought tribes sympathetic to Gaddafi in the city of Bani Walid and rival militias in Tripoli.

Wherever our fighters are, I go and support them, said Sawan, who had flown to the southern city of Sabha a day earlier to deliver supplies to other Misuratan factions.

[U.S. Special Operations troops aiding Libyan forces in battle against ISIS]

The container where he lives is fitted with cushions, carpets and WiFi. On most nights, it serves as a war room of sorts, where supporters of the militias in Sirte help Sawan procure and dispatch supplies to the front and exchange news of the campaign against the Islamic State.

I will marry and have children only when Libya becomes stable, Sawan said.

Youll be 80 years old, a friend seated nearby quipped.



Anwar Sawan checks the loading of ammunition to be shipped to the militias fighting against the Islamic State in Sirte. Five times a week a truck like this goes to Sirte, Sawan says. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

Navigating the factions

Koranic verses, handwritten in large, curvy script, cover the walls of the container. A T-shirt pinned up in one corner is a tribute to the prophet Muhammad, emblazoned: I  Muhammad.

Its not just an indication of Sawans devoutness. It reveals his political leanings. He supported a loose coalition of pro-

Islamist militias, mostly from Misurata, known as Libya Dawn, that attacked Tripolis airport and seized large areas of the capital in the summer of 2014. Protected by the militias, a self-appointed Islamist-led government took control of Tripoli, while a rival government ruled in the east.

Now, a Western-backed unity government, brokered by the United Nations in December, is also asserting authority.

The Misurata military council coordinating the fighters in Sirte has aligned itself with the unity government, which is led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj. But Sawan has not, revealing a rift within the militias.

The international community brought him to power, Sawan said. They forced him on us.

But the biggest threat for Sawan, of more concern than the Islamic State, is Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a military strongman whose forces control swaths of eastern Libya.

The general, who lived in exile in Northern Virginia for two decades, does not support the unity government and is going to keep Sawan in business for a long time.

Hifter is the new Gaddafi, Sawan said.

Pointing to a corner of his container, he added, Youll soon see Hifters body here.

[A former CIA asset has become a U.S. headache in Libya]

The Misurata council is increasingly wary of Sawans influence with their militia commanders and his outspokenness against the unity government.

Anwar is a showman, said Brig. Gen. Mohamed al Ghasri, spokesman for the councils military operations. He likes to appear that hes at the center of everything. In fact, hes just an ordinary guy.



Friends of Anwar Sawan hang out in the container that is home for Sawan. On most nights, it is a war room of sorts, where supporters of the militias help Sawan coordinate supplies and exchange news about the fighting campaign. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

Hit him with a stick

A slim man walked into Sawans container, his face solemn. A militia commander had been injured fighting the Islamic State in Sirte. Shrapnel from a mortar hit him in the face, Mohammed Gilwan said. He is still alive.

Sawan picked up his phone and called to see whether the militia needed more weapons. The truck outside would head to Sirte at dawn.

If the West sent us ammunition, we would have finished Daesh a long time ago, he said after he got off the phone, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

The fight for Sirte, Sawan hopes, will give Misurata greater influence in a region where much of Libyas oil is produced. He said a plan is being discussed to leave 1,000 fighters to protect and secure the city. And what if Sirte, a rival of Misurata, doesnt want the militias? The city, after all, is Gaddafis home town, where his tribe remains dominant.

Whoever liberates Sirte should protect it, Sawan said. If they didnt want the Misuratans there, why didnt they liberate their own city?

Gilwan, who was Gaddafis personal cameraman in the late 1980s, noted that when the Misuratans helped liberate Sirte in 2011, they agreed to hand over the city to its residents. But the residents allowed Gaddafis loyalists, and later the Islamic State, to retake the city.

We will not make the same mistake again, Gilwan said.

What will unite Libya is force and money, Sawan said. Its like bringing up a child. You give him nice clothes and toys, but when he makes a mistake, you hit him with a stick.

Gaddafi used the same strategy to control Libya.



Friends of Anwar Sawan at his home. The Misurata council is increasingly wary of Sawans influence with their militia commanders and his outspokenness against the unity government. (Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post)

Despite upheaval, no regrets

Once, Sawan said, Gaddafis relatives offered him $25 million for the location of the dictators grave. Sawan turned them down.

I said, once you bring your elders and wise men and you say, We are responsible for what Gaddafi did in the last 40 years, then I will give you his body, Sawan recalled. But they told me, We are not responsible for what Gaddafi did. 

Misuratan community leaders have kept the graves location a secret, worried that their militia fighters would desecrate the site or that Gaddafis followers would make it a shrine, like their Vatican, Gilwan said, as Sawan nodded in agreement.

Misuratans say eight people witnessed Gaddafis burial. Was Sawan among them?

Even if I knew, I will not tell anybody, Gilwan said. Everybody who witnessed Gaddafis burial, they swore an oath not to tell anybody.

Sawan refused to be drawn into the conversation.

Moments later, he walked outside to inspect the ammunition in the truck, his phone tucked into his pocket. Although his life revolves around war and is in constant peril, he doesnt regret the uprisings that upended his country, possibly for years to come.

Said Sawan: The worst day today is better than any of the good days under the Gaddafi regime.

Read more:

Two of her daughters joined ISIS. Now shes trying to save her two younger girls.

The story of a girl married at 11 tracks the horrors of Yemens war

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Syrians evacuated from Fuaa and Kafraya, two Shiite villages under rebel siege, are welcomed by pro-government forces as they arrive in Jibrin, on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo.

Dec. 19, 2016 Syrians evacuated from Fuaa and Kafraya, two Shiite villages under rebel siege, are welcomed by pro-government forces as they arrive in Jibrin, on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo. George Ourfalian/AFP/Getty Images

The Syrian government has not granted the United Nations a single permit to bring aid to the besieged city of Aleppo as part of a cease-fire that took effect this week, a senior U.N. official said Thursday.

Stalled convoys, seeking to ferry food for tens of thousands of people, have quickly become a symbol of the wider challenges linked to the cease-fire effort even as fighting has sharply eased over the past few days.

Opening channels for humanitarian access is a key provision of the cease-fire plan brokered by the United States and Russia, which are on opposing sides of the war. But the wrangling over the aid  now stuck on the Syria-Turkey border  has led to questions over achieving the broad goals of the accords, beginning with widespread humanitarian relief.

We could go today. Were not. . . . The permits have not been given, Jan Egeland, chairman of the Syrian humanitarian task force, told reporters in Geneva.

We hope to go tomorrow, to eastern Aleppo, he said, referring to a rebel-held area that has been under siege by government forces for more than a month. Aleppo, however, is just one of many areas cut off from aid and other assistance.

Not a single permit is in the hands of our people, Egeland said.

[Fewer foreign recruits reaching Islamic State territory]

The 40 trucks  carrying rice, wheat and other items  can go at a moment's notice, he said.

The cease-fire began Monday and has largely held in key areas of the country. The reduction in violence has given civilians some respite.

But as the fighting subsides, the focus has turned toward the blocked aid.

If the level of conflict is down, there is no reason, no excuse, for not being able to deliver, Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, said Thursday.

Are we disappointed? he said. Of course, we are.

Both U.N. officials laid blame on the Syrian government, which requires layers of permission at the senior and local levels. Aid convoys are often required to display permits at each armed checkpoint into besieged areas.

Since 2011, troops at roadblocks have removed nearly 50 tons of medical supplies from aid convoys, according to the World Health Organization. These include antibiotics, mental health medication and kits to treat burns or help deliver babies.

The United Nations insisted Thursday that the government would not be allowed to pick through any of the aid items headed to Aleppo, about 40 miles south of the Turkish border.

Once the trucks begin to move, they will not be harassed, de Mistura said. No saying: We will take out that medicine, and we will take that food. 

Nearly half a million people have been killed in the years-long civil war, and millions more have been displaced or marooned in embattled areas.

[75,000 Syrians are trapped near Jordans border. Satellite images show some are dying.]

Also of concern was safety along Castello Road, the only way in and out of eastern Aleppo. Under the agreement, the highway would become a demilitarized zone and humanitarian corridor.

Government troops control Castello Road, but opposition groups are also stationed nearby.

The journey from the Turkish border to Aleppo is not an easy one, David Swanson, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Thursday. Security is a major concern, and road conditions are poor.

Despite the accord, it was unclear Thursday whether either the government or opposition groups planned to withdraw.

The Russian military, which backs Syrias government, said Thursday evening that Syrian troops had pulled back from the highway but that opposition fighters had failed to do the same, the Associated Press reported.

Just a few hours earlier, nearby rebels said that they had not withdrawn but that neither had Syrian troops.

The troops should have withdrawn from Castello Road [on Thursday morning] and the rebels too, said Zakaria Malahiji, political officer of the Aleppo-based Fastaqim rebel group.

But the regime troops have not left their positions, he said, and neither have our guys, because they do not trust that the regime wont advance if they retreat from their positions.

The quarreling over the highway prompted de Mistura to urge the United States and Russia to influence the respective warring parties. The United States has backed some rebel groups and worked with the opposition, while Russia is allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Possible friction between Moscow and Washington also cast doubts on the broader attempts to keep the fighting in check.

In Moscow, a spokesman for Russias Defense Ministry accused the United States of not fulfilling its obligations under the cease-fire agreement.

The spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, told the Interfax news service that rebel troops continued to fire artillery at government forces and had not separated themselves from units loyal to a former affiliate of al-Qaeda that both the United States and Russia have deemed a terrorist organization.

Konashenkov also complained about statements by U.S. officials doubting whether Russia would fulfill the terms of the cease-fire.

Theres an impression that the goal of Washingtons curtain of words is an intention to hide the fact that it is not fulfilling its obligations, above all the separation of units of the moderate opposition from the terrorists, Konashenkov said.

A possible next step in the cease-fire would coordinate U.S. and Russian attacks against militant factions including the Islamic State and the former al-Qaeda militia, now called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

Andrew Roth in Moscow, Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul and Louisa Loveluck in Chicago contributed to this report.

Read more:

10 new wars that could be unleashed as a result of the battle against ISIS

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama urging him not to pardon Edward Snowden, asserting that the former National Security Agency contractor carried out the largest and most damaging leak of classified information in U.S. history.

The letter emerged on the same day that the panel unanimously voted to adopt a classified report on Snowden that, according to a three-page unclassified summary, portrays him as a disgruntled employee whose leak caused tremendous damage to national security.

Snowden, 33, gave large numbers of sensitive files to journalists in 2013, an action he said he took out of concern that government surveillance programs were operating in violation of the U.S. Constitution. He said the public had a right to be informed of the programs so it could engage in debate about the proper scope of such surveillance.

[Read the unclassified summary of the Intelligence Committees report on Snowdens disclosures]

On Wednesday, a coalition of human rights groups launched a campaign to urge Obama to pardon Snowden before he leaves office. Snowden was charged in June 2013 with espionage and felony theft of government property. And the letter comes on the eve of the release of an Oliver Stone movie that portrays Snowden sympathetically.

He is living in Russia under a grant of political asylum.

The intelligence panel rejected arguments that Snowden acted out of conscience and insisted that he should be held accountable for his actions. In their letter, the lawmakers reminded Obama that he had said in a news conference in 2013, I dont think Mr. Snowden was a patriot.

In short, they wrote, we agree with you. Mr. Snowden is not a patriot. He is not a whistleblower. He is a criminal.

The lawmakers faulted Snowden for leaking material rather than reporting his concerns about surveillance overreach to oversight officials, such as the committee or inspector general. They said he began his massive download two weeks after a spat with a supervisor.

[Read the letter from intelligence officials urging Obama not to pardon Snowden]

The vast majority of the documents he leaked had nothing to do with programs that affected privacy and civil liberties, they said, but pertained to military and intelligence programs of great interest to Americas enemies.

They said that Snowden failed basic annual training for NSA employees on a key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which included explanations of the privacy protections related to PRISM  another program whose details were revealed as a result of Snowdens leaks.

Ben Wizner, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who represents Snowden, slammed the committees letter and report summary. Theres no there there, Wizner said.

Theyve been using the same rhetoric about damage to national security for three and a half years and have produced absolutely no evidence of concrete harm, he said. If they had any evidence that any individual had come to harm, that would have been on the front pages of the newspapers.

The first document to emerge from the leaks revealed a secret program of bulk collection of data on Americans phone calls. That program had been launched by President George W. Bush and retained by Obama. It had been operating with the approval of a federal court that oversees classified surveillance programs. And the intelligence committees, as well as some lawmakers on other committees, had been briefed on it.

There is no oversight body that a whistleblower can go to when a program has been comprehensively approved by all three branches of government, Wizner said. The only avenue is to find a way to bring the public into the conversation, which [Snowden] did by releasing information to journalists.

The committee asserted that Snowden stole 1.5 million sensitive documents. But senior intelligence officials have couched it as probably downloaded, cautioning that they do not know for sure how many he took.

The committees classified report is 36 pages, with 230 footnotes, but must remain secret to avoid causing further harm to national security, the summary stated.

Read more:

Activists press Obama to pardon Edward Snowden
Hours after reaching an agreement on Syria last Friday with Secretary of State John F. Kerry and clearing the final deal with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wandered the halls of their meeting venue in Geneva, waiting for Kerry to get the okay from Washington.

In a secure room upstairs, a frustrated Kerry was on hold. Already deep into a conference call with President Obamas top national security team, he was waiting for the Defense Department to locate its legal counsel to sign off on one of the many provisions of the accord that Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter was questioning.

[Syria has not granted a single permit to aid besieged Aleppo, says U.N. official]

Obama, who did not attend the principals meeting, ultimately approved the agreement, and a news conference was held at midnight, Geneva time.

But beneath the politics and diplomacy of the deal  which began with a cease-fire Monday, to be followed, if it succeeds, by coordinated U.S.-Russian counterterrorism airstrikes  the prospect of military-to-military cooperation does not sit well with the Defense Department.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confer in Geneva on Sept. 9 at the end of a joint news conference following their meeting to discuss the crisis in Syria. (Kevin Lamarque/AP)

There is a trust deficit with the Russians; it is not clear to us what their objectives are, Gen. Joseph L. Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday. They say one thing, and we dont necessarily see them following up on this.

[As Russia reasserts itself, U.S. intelligence agencies focus anew on the Kremlin]

That mistrust resides most deeply in Carter, who officials familiar with the Russia negotiations said almost single-handedly delayed Fridays final agreement with his repeated questions during the conference call. A representative for Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, voiced little objection during the principals meeting, officials said.

But Pentagon officials acknowledged widespread concern that Russia will not live up to its end of the deal, and they fear that the U.S. military will be blamed for problems or the failure of an initiative it does not fully support. Many are still smarting from criticism and derision over an earlier program to build up an army of U.S.-trained Syrian fighters that repeatedly stumbled and ultimately was abandoned.

Kerry and other proponents of the agreement say that they are similarly wary of Russian intentions but that they do not see another way to stop the civil war in Syria, while retaining focus on what the administration views as the far more important battle against the Islamic State and without a major U.S. intervention that Obama has repeatedly rejected.

Whats the alternative? Kerry asked in an interview with NPR this week. The alternative is to allow us to go from 450,000 people whove been slaughtered to how many thousands more? That Aleppo gets completely overrun? That the Russians and [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad simply bomb indiscriminately for days to come, and we sit there and do nothing? Thats the alternative to trying to get this done, if America is not going to go in with their troops  and Americas made the decision were not going in with our troops.

Amid reports of internal administration clashes, and after a terse and somewhat grudging initial Pentagon statement saying that we will be watching the Russians to make sure they comply, the White House said Wednesday that Obama is not looking for a bunch of people that have the exact same opinion.

But the president, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, is entirely confident that once hes made a decision, that he can count on the members of his team to execute that strategy with excellence.

After commending Kerry for the deal, Carter said at a Wednesday news conference in Austin, We in the Defense Department will play whatever role we have with our accustomed excellence.

Although many Republicans, and some Democrats, have criticized Obama for years for his reluctance to become involved in Syrias domestic combat  and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has accused him of not listening to his generals  it is the generals who have been most averse to a direct role in the civil war.

[How Russian special forces are shaping the fight in Syria]

Dempsey was throwing himself under a bus in front of every idea that came out, said a senior administration official, referring to former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin E. Dempsey, whom Dunford replaced last fall. The Defense Department got the Iraq part, but it was the Syria thing  even the counter-ISIL part  that they didnt want. My theory is that everyone in DOD understands Iraq, and they dont understand Syria. ISIL is an acronym for the Islamic State.

But military leaders share a deep-seated skepticism about whether the United States can change the course of the Syrian conflict at this stage, or, more broadly, can bring about lasting change anywhere in the Middle East.

During the months-long negotiations with Moscow that led to last weeks U.S.-Russia agreement, the Pentagon argued against more intervention and a diplomatic deal.

Any collusion with Russia has just made the long-standing reluctance to intervene worse, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Under the cease-fire terms of the deal, Russia is responsible for ensuring that the Syrian air force stops attacks against opposition forces and civilians, and the United States has pledged to do the same with those opposition groups it backs. If violence is substantially reduced for seven consecutive days  a period that began Monday night  and humanitarian aid begins to reach besieged communities, U.S. and Russian military and intelligence officials will establish a Joint Implementation Center.

There, they will share intelligence about the location of the two groups they both agree are terrorists and ineligible for a cease-fire: the Islamic State and the former Jabhat al-Nusra, which has renamed itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of Syria) and claims to have severed ties with al-Qaeda. U.S. and Russian officials will discuss and agree on legitimate targets and determine which country is best situated to launch airstrikes against them.

U.S. military officials are working internally on ways to develop potential Front targets in areas where U.S. aircraft have not been recently active.

Officials from the U.S. Central Command, the European Command, and Dunfords office, along with the Pentagons intelligence shop, are among those working out the details of how the Center would operate, including personnel, logistics and how to obtain the surveillance information required to support the expanded air campaign.

Commanders are keen to ensure that operations with Russia would not divert planes or other assets from current operations targeting the Islamic State, and that Russia would follow rules in its use of target information.

They are concerned about providing some legal protection to the Pentagon in the case of, for example, Russian aircraft striking a civilian target. To mitigate that risk, one possibility under consideration is a system in which the United States would develop a target, Russia would approve it and the United States would take the strike, and vice versa.

Its not clear whether Russia, whose airstrikes have hit hospitals and civilian areas, will shift to using precision munitions in the jointly agreed strikes.

Under a measure lawmakers inserted into the defense appropriations bill after Russias military incursion into Ukraine, military-to-military cooperation with Russia is prohibited unless the defense secretary waives its provisions, notifies Congress and explains why the waiver is in the United States interest.

Congressional aides said the House and Senate armed services committees thought that such notification should have taken place last fall, when Washington signed a deconfliction memorandum with Moscow to ensure that their separate air operations against the Islamic State in Syria would not run into each other. The committees chose not to challenge a Pentagon assertion that the agreement was a safety issue and did not fall under the waiver requirement.

Following the new cease-fire and coordination deal, aides said, lawmakers have already requested waiver information from the Pentagon but have not yet received an answer.

Pentagon lawyers have determined that establishment of the Joint Implementation Center would trigger the notification and waiver requirement, although the Defense Departments legal counsel, during last Fridays conference call with Kerry, indicated that it did not have to be immediate.

Pentagon lawyers are still exploring whether and when, during the planning stage, notification has to take place. Some military officials are asking, for example, whether they are permitted to talk to the Russian military as they make plans to open the center.

Late Wednesday, a Pentagon statement said that senior Defense Department civilians and military officers had held a video conference with their Russian counterparts about ongoing in-flight safety to avoid accidents and misunderstandings in the air space over Syria.

The meeting, the statement emphasized, was not part of separate discussions taking place on the possible stand-up of the joint integration cell.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff and William Wan contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated who took part in a White House meeting on U.S. negotiations with Russia. It was a representative for Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not Dunford himself.

Read more:

10 new wars that could be unleased as a result of the one against ISIS

U.S. is trapped between its allies ambitions in Syria

As its proxies advance in Syria, Turkey warns Kurds to pull back
Deltan Dallagnol, a prosecutor investigating the massive Petrobras corruption scandal, speaks at a news conference in Curitiba, Brazil, in which charges were announced against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Geraldo Bubniak/European Pressphoto Agency)

Prosecutors on Wednesday announced new charges against Brazils most prominent politician, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, accusing him of controlling a multibillion-dollar corruption ring centered on state oil company Petrobras.

Lula was the commander of the scheme, prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol said at a news conference.

The charges could be a devastating blow for the charismatic former union leader known simply as Lula, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and transformed his country with generous social programs that helped tens of millions of Brazilians escape poverty.

Brazilians had known that Lula was under investigation, and police had recommended charges against him last month for allegedly accepting improper renovations to a seaside apartment. But Wednesdays allegations were far more serious, putting him at the center of the worst corruption scandal in the country in decades.

Prosecutors said in the indictment that after assuming power in 2003, Lula decided to create a structure to buy political support and created a cushion of illegal funds to fuel future campaigns for his Workers Party. Lula was charged with passive corruption, involving a scheme in which $26 million worth of bribes and favors was provided to politicians, political parties and business executives.

Brazilians had already known that Lula was under investigation, but Wednesdays allegations were far more serious, putting him at the center of the worst corruption scandal in the country in decades. (Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images)

The Petrobras scandal caused $12 billion in losses to the company and contributed to Brazils severe recession. The investigation into the scandal  dubbed Car Wash  has left the countrys political class reeling.

Lula was the conductor of this big orchestra formed to loot the resources of Petrobras and other public organs, Dallagnol said. Lula was the common and necessary link between the party and the government scheme.

The allegations come just weeks after Dilma Rousseff, Lulas protege and successor as president, was removed from office in an impeachment trial for breaking budget laws. Although she was not accused of personal enrichment, the public fury over the Petrobras case contributed to her ouster.

Prosecutors also said Tuesday that they were accusing Lula of money laundering, alleging that he had benefited personally to the tune of $1.1 million from the furnishing and renovation of a seaside penthouse apartment in Sao Paulo state that they said was acquired for him, and the transport and storage of gifts he had received during the eight years he governed Brazil.

The indictment includes additional charges against Lulas wife, Marisa, and executives of an engineering firm who were accused of giving gifts to the former president in return for favors.

In a statement, Lulas lawyers, Christiano Martins and Roberto Teixeira, said that no evidence had been presented that Lula had commanded the Petrobras scheme.

For Operation Car Wash, Lulas crime was having been president of the Republic, the statement said. The lawyers also denied that Lula and his wife owned the seaside apartment in question.

Lula faces the risk that a warrant for his arrest could be issued by Sergio Moro, the crusading judge who has been at the forefront of the investigation.

If that happens, it would be the culmination of an extraordinary downfall for the former president and his party. During 13 years of Workers Party rule, Brazils economy expanded as it rode a global commodities boom, and more than half of its 200 million citizens joined a new lower middle class.

But in the past two years, Brazils economy has sunk into recession and leading figures from the Workers Party and its political allies have been jailed in the Petrobras scandal.

In July, a court in Brasilia also accepted charges against Lula of obstructing justice in the Petrobras investigation. He has maintained his innocence.

Despite everything, Lula had retained some of his former popularity and had been expected to be a leading candidate in the presidential election in 2018.

Read more

In Brazil, Rousseffs suspension looks like the end of an era

How Brazil, the darling of the developing world, came undone

How Brazils ruling party lost the workers

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world




The last thing 19-year-old Kerry Stoutenburgh said to her longtime boyfriend, Luke Carquillat, before she died from a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria Fowleri was: "I love you."



"And I said, 'I love you too, lovey,' " Carquillat, 20, tells PEOPLE. "And then she was gone."



Stoutenburgh was swimming in Maryland's Conowingo creek with Carquillat and her family in August when the amoeba  found predominantly in warm freshwater rivers or in soil  went up her nose and eventually traveled to her brain. Days after returning home to New York, she began complaining of headaches and sensitivity to light.



"We were with Kerry's cousins and she jumped from a bridge into the water like eight times. She's usually good at keeping her nose closed and blowing out," Carquillat says. "But one time she complained the water got up her nose. The doctor later said in that moment her fate was sealed."



Stoutenburgh's condition dramatically declined in the days after she went swimming. When she began to hallucinate and babble gibberish, Carquillat knew he had lost his "soul mate."



"I promised her I would be with her until the end and that I'd do anything for her," says Carquillat. "What Kerry and I had was a fairy tale. I stayed with her until the very, very end. Like I said I always would."





Boyfriend of 19-Year-Old Who Died From Brain-Eating Amoeba Speaks Out: 'I Lost the Love of My Life'| Death, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories



Doctors were unable to determine what was causing Stoutenburgh's erratic behavior before declaring her brain dead on August 30. When a culture came back the next day confirming a Naegleria Fowleri diagnosis, she was taken off of life support.





Boyfriend of 19-Year-Old Who Died From Brain-Eating Amoeba Speaks Out: 'I Lost the Love of My Life'| Death, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories



The couple met while attending high school in Kingston, New York. After graduation, they lived in an apartment together a block away from Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. Stoutenburgh was a student at Brooklyn College studying to be a cinematographer.



"She started studying communications, but I encouraged her to follow her love of movies," says Carquillat. "She was the type of person who would yell at the TV screen  not because of something somebody did, but because of the way it was produced."



"She was brilliant, she captured things that other people didn't. She saw the world differently."





Story continues

Boyfriend of 19-Year-Old Who Died From Brain-Eating Amoeba Speaks Out: 'I Lost the Love of My Life'| Death, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories



Carquillat is finishing a movie project that Stoutenburgh started earlier in the summer.



"She had a GoPro and she was making a film of our trips to Brighton Beach, she focused mostly on landscapes," he says. " She loved films more than anyone I have ever met. Our favorite thing to do was to lay around watching movies and videos."





What You Need To Know About Naegleria Fowleri, the Brain-Eating Amoeba





And while Stoutenburgh shot the ocean, Carquillat, a photographer, filmed her.



"I have so many pictures and videos of Kerry, she was perfection to me, she was beautiful and I loved being with her," he says. "All that love made me want to capture photos of her. Her subtle facial expressions when she was filming  I'll always remember those moments."





Boyfriend of 19-Year-Old Who Died From Brain-Eating Amoeba Speaks Out: 'I Lost the Love of My Life'| Death, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories



In Stoutenburgh's last days, Carquillat refused to leave her side.



"One of the reasons Kerry loved me was because I was always very strong for her if she was scared," he says. "When her head started pounding and she felt woozy, she got so scared, she had no idea what was going on, so I stayed with her."



"And then she started to lose her mind  crying and then going back to normal constantly and speaking incoherently and screaming and crawling on the floor."





Boyfriend of 19-Year-Old Who Died From Brain-Eating Amoeba Speaks Out: 'I Lost the Love of My Life'| Death, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories



Stoutenburgh's family held a wake for her at a church in Kingston a week after she passed.



"We were supposed to live a long life and have a family and now it's all gone," says Carquillat. "I got to experience true love for two years and I'm so grateful, but I lost the love of my life."



"And now, I have to be strong for Kerry  because that's what she loved most about me. And I can't let her down."
The 4-year-old Ohio boy photographed in a car with two adults who had allegedly overdosed on heroin is now living in a new home, PEOPLE has learned.



Last week, East Liverpool, Ohio, police posted two shocking photos to Facebook showing the boy's grandmother, who previously had custody of him, and her friend passed out in the front seat of the car with the boy wide awake in the back seat. In a lengthy caption, police said they posted the photos to "show the other side of this horrible drug."



Now, the boy is living with his great-aunt and great-uncle in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Columbiana County Court Administrator Dane Walton tells PEOPLE. On Monday, the pair filed a motion to gain custody of the boy and the judge granted the request.



In the caption for the photos, officials wrote they publicized the pictures hoping the child's "story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody."









Ohio Boy Pictured in Photos Showing Alleged Heroin Overdose in Car Gets New Home| Crime & Courts, True Crime, Substance Abuse, True Crime



PEOPLE has chosen to blur the child's face and is not linking to the Facebook page.



 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.



The grandmother, Rhonda Pasek, 50, pleaded not guilty to charges of endangering children, public intoxication and not wearing a seat belt. Information on whether she has retained a lawyer was unavailable. The driver, James Acord, 47, pleaded guilty to endangering children, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and slowing or stopping in a roadway.



Officials' decision to release the photos has been met with both positive and negative comments, but local authorities previously told PEOPLE that they "feel fully justified and vindicated in what we did."



However, Pasek's sister condemned the decision, telling NBC News that the city "humiliated my family and humiliated that little boy."



"They could have blurred his face and they didn't. And now they're taking him away from my sister. I'm not condoning what Rhonda did, but what they did to her and what theyare doing to her grandson is too much."



The woman added that she and Pasek were raising the 4-year-old and his little brother because Pasek's son and his girlfriend weren't capable of caring for the boys.



"It's the old story," she told NBC. "No education. No jobs. My sister has fought for two years straight to get this child."
With everyone from Taylor Swift to the European Commission having their say on the 'value gap' argument, new research commissioned by international labels body IFPI shines a timely light on the ever-changing face of music consumption.

Key takeaways from IFPI's "Music Consumer Insight Report 2016" include the news that one-third (32 percent) of under-25-year-olds worldwide now pay for a music streaming service -- a rise of almost 40 percent on the previous year's total. When it comes to all internet users, aged between 16 and 64, the number is 18 percent, up from 15 percent in 2015.

The report, carried out by Ipsos Connect, who surveyed over 12,000 respondents in 13 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany and Japan, also states that nearly half (48 percent) of all internet users pay for music in some way, whether it be through purchasing a CD or download or subscribing to a service like Spotify or Apple Music. Meanwhile, over 80 percent of people who hold music subscriptions said that, in addition to streaming, they also purchase music in other formats, be it vinyl, CDs or downloads.

South Korea, Sweden and Mexico are identified as the most popular (per population) markets for subscription services, with about four in every ten people paying for a music subscription. In the U.S. and U.K., the number was around two in every ten; in Japan around one in every ten.

Despite the growth in licensed music consumption, copyright infringement has not gone away, with more than a third (35 percent) of respondents admitting to accessing illegal content in the past six months. Of those people, stream ripping is the fastest growing form of infringement, with 3 in every 10 respondents admitting to the practice, rising to almost half (49 percent) among 16-to-24-year-olds.

Search engines are also continuing to direct large numbers of traffic to unlicensed content, with a quarter of those polled (23 percent) saying that they use Google to get "free" music -- of which two-thirds explicitly searched for pirated content.

Story continues

In line with previous years, YouTube remains the world's most popular music service, with over 80 percent of its users saying that visited the site primarily for music. The number climbed to 93 percent among 16-to-24-year-olds.

Further insight into YouTube's user base was provided with the -- not entirely unexpected -- revelation that the vast majority of its traffic (over 80 percent) visited the site to access content that they are already familiar with, rather than discover new music or artists.

Commenting on the research findings, IFPI chief executive Frances Moore said that there were many positives for the music industry to take away from the research, but that it also "highlights the dominant position amongst music services of YouTube."

"Yet YouTube can get away without remunerating fairly artists and producers by hiding behind 'safe harbour' laws that were never designed for services that actively engage with and make available music enjoyed by the vast majority of its users," she went on to say.
NBC Sports Philadelphia

The big hit eluded the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series against Astros lefty Framber Valdez, who was filthy. Was he, perhaps, too filthy? Here's what the Phils had to say about Valdez' curious mannerisms on the mound. By Corey Seidman
William Howard Taft is a truly unique American figure who led two branches of government, was a wrestling champion and the youngest Solicitor General in American history.

640Taft

Born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Taft seemed headed toward a distinguished legal career before his ambitions shifted to politics. Taft succeeded Theodore Roosevelt in 1909 as the 27th President, only to lose a bitter re-election bid in 1912. But eight years later, Taft became Chief Justice of the United States.

Here are some interesting facts about one of the biggest figures, physically and politically, of the early 20th Century.

1. Taft was a big guy. He was a heavyweight wrestling champion at Yale, for starters. He stood about 6 feet tall and weighed 243 pounds when he graduated from college. He struggled with his weight and may have weighed more than 330 pounds as President. But he was at his college weight at the time of his death.

2. His career goal was to be a Supreme Court justice. Tafts father was Alphonso Taft, a distinguished judge; Taft himself was appointed a Federal circuit judge at 34.

3. Taft is the only former U.S. Solicitor General to become President. Five Solicitors General eventually joined the Supreme Court, with Elena Kagan as the most-recent example. Taft was Solicitor General in the Benjamin Harrison administration, at the age of 32.

4. Tafts wife may have motivated him to seek a political career. Historians believe Helen Nellie Herron saw a broader career for her husband beyond a series of judicial appointments. Roosevelt entrusted Taft with key tasks and saw him as the best choice as his successor in 1908.

5. President McKinley brought Taft into the national political arena. McKinley asked Taft to head a commission overseeing the new acquired Philippines Territory 1900 and he soon became Governor General.

6. Taft eventually held his own fathers job in the Cabinet. Alphonso Taft was briefly Secretary of War in 1876. His son, William Howard Taft, was Roosevelts Secretary of War after leaving the Philippines. Taft and James Monroe were the only two Presidents to serve as Secretary of War.

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7. Taft had been offered Supreme Court seats several times before becoming President. McKinley and Roosevelt both wanted Taft on the high court, but Taft turned down the nominations for various reasons.

8. The Taft presidency didnt end well. For starters, Taft became his own man and veered away from Roosevelts policies, which alienated Roosevelt and led to the bitterly fought 1912 election. Historians give Taft mixed marks overall as a chief executive.

9. Taft went back to the law and finally joined the Supreme Court. After leaving the White House, Taft taught at Yale Law School and he was named by President Warren Harding to the Supreme Court in 1921. He was Chief Justice until he retired, shortly before his death at the age of 72 in 1930. After joining the Court, Taft reportedly wrote that, I dont remember that I ever was President.

10. Taft wasnt stuck in the White House bathtub. Constitution Daily looked at the whole bath tub myth in detail back in 2012. While Taft was a big guy, he had a special tub put in the White House before he became President. The myth started decades later. But despite his distinguished career, many people best remember Taft because of the bath tub myth.

Recent Taft Stories on Constitution Daily

Clearing up the William Howard Taft bathtub myth

Baseball team flunks history with Taft mascot pick

William Howard Tafts truly historic double-double
A year after putting out an open call for proposals to rethink American high school, the XQ Institute is awarding a total of $100 million to 10 schools to pursue their ideas.

The organization, which announced the winners on Wednesday, tasked schools with developing new approaches to high school in the 21st century. The Super School Project was funded by the Emerson Collective, which is led by Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Nearly 700 school teams submitted applications. Ten, including both charter and public schools, were chosen to receive $10 million over the course of five years.

These are their ideas:

Take Virtual Reality Field Trips

There will be fewer limitations on field trips at Washington Leadership Academy in the District of Columbia, as the school plans to use virtual reality and holographic modules to take students out of the classroom.

Treat report cards like a GPS

Instead of a traditional report card, each student at Vista Challenge High School in San Diego will have a personalized Learning Positioning System indicating a roadmap of their academic growth. Their curriculum will be globally focused, as students consider world challenges and try to solve them at the community level.

Use a floating classroom

Students at New Harmony High in Venice, La., will learn about rising sea levels and coastal erosion on a learning barge in the Gulf of Mexico and at the New Orleans Superdome, where they will conduct research with teachers and scientists.

Bring the school to the homeless shelter

In Los Angeles, RISE High will bring classes to homeless shelters and foster care centers, creating a city-wide campus that educates students in the ways and at the places that work best for them. RISE will also develop a mobile resource center that travels to students if theyre unable to visit a brick-and-mortar location.

Story continues

Establish local partnerships

Brooklyn Laboratory High School will aim to connect its students with the businesses, universities and artistic opportunities in the area, taking advantage of the tech triangle in Brooklyn, N.Y. The school also plans to develop a teacher training model and residency program to share its progress as the program develops.

Focus on design thinking

Design-Lab High in Newark, Del., wants to bring a research-and-development framework to education with the goal of preparing students for life after high school. The proposal focuses on an academically rigorous loop of learning that will encourage students to learn and improve in all areas of their study. Students in ninth and 10th grade will take on an apprentice role as they work with students in 11th and 12th grades, Education Week reported.

Turn the school into the communitys green hub

With the goal of combating environmental injustice, the Furr Institute for Innovative Thinking in Houston, Texas, wants its students to become green ambassadors in the community. The school plans to give students time to leave school to learn more about issues of their choosing, from nutrition to immigration law.

Develop a curriculum from a museum

About 250,000 cultural and historical museum artifacts will form the basis of the curriculum at Grand Rapids Public Museum High School in Grand Rapids, Mich., which plans to make classrooms out of places in the community. Students will be co-taught by field experts, scientists and researchers as they take on what the school is calling the largest river restoration project in the United States.

Collaborate with artists and scientists

Powderhouse Studios in Somerville, Mass., will designate a support team for all students that includes a social worker, curriculum developer and personal project manager. As students collaborate with local artists and scientists, the school aims to foster year-round learning in an environment that looks more like a research community than a traditional high school.

Personalize education

Summit Elevate in Oakland, Calif., wants to personalize education by letting students narrow their area of study and work on specific projects catered to their interests. Students will use a new digital platform to track their progress and work with mentors in educational or professional fields.
The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.

College is a costly investment, but out-of-state students at some public schools can pay a lot less.



[Explore 12 tuition-free colleges.]

Among the 10 schools where out-of-state students pay the lowest tuition for the 2016-2017 school year, the average was about $7,909.

That's significantly lower than the average among all 334 ranked schools that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, at $21,377. To compare, the average in-state tuition among public universities was $9,130 for 2016-2017.

[See the 2017 top-ranked public colleges and universities.]

Alcorn State University in Mississippi tops the list of cheapest colleges for out-of-state students, charging them $6,552 for 2016-2017. Following closely behind was Minot State University in North Dakota, where students pay $6,568 .

Half of the 10 schools with the lowest out-of-state tuition are based in the Midwest, while the remainder are in the South and West. North Dakota, Minnesota and Texas each had two schools on the list.

[Discover tips on paying for college.]

A few of the colleges on the list -- including Minot State University and Bemidji State University in Minnesota -- were also among last year's least expensive colleges for out-of-state students.

Below is a list of the 10 public institutions that charged out-of-state students the least for the 2016-2017 school year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.

* RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its ranking category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.

Story continues

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find tuition data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The tuition cost data above are correct as of Sept. 15, 2016.

Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com.


The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.

College is a costly investment, but out-of-state students at some public schools can pay a lot less.

[Explore 12 tuition-free colleges.]

Among the 10 schools where out-of-state students pay the lowest tuition for the 2016-2017 school year, the average was about $7,909.

That's significantly lower than the average among all 334 ranked schools that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, at $21,377. To compare, the average in-state tuition among public universities was $9,130 for 2016-2017.

[See the 2017 top-ranked public colleges and universities.]

Alcorn State University in Mississippi tops the list of cheapest colleges for out-of-state students, charging them $6,552 for 2016-2017. Following closely behind was Minot State University in North Dakota, where students pay $6,568 .

Half of the 10 schools with the lowest out-of-state tuition are based in the Midwest, while the remainder are in the South and West. North Dakota, Minnesota and Texas each had two schools on the list.

[Discover tips on paying for college.]

A few of the colleges on the list -- including Minot State University and Bemidji State University in Minnesota -- were also among last year's least expensive colleges for out-of-state students.

Below is a list of the 10 public institutions that charged out-of-state students the least for the 2016-2017 school year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.

School name (state) Tuition and fees (2016-2017) U.S. News rank and category Alcorn State University (MS) $6,552 89 (tie), Regional Universities (South) Minot State University (ND) $6,568 RNP*, Regional Universities (Midwest) Gordon State College (GA) $6,761 RNP, Regional Colleges (South) University of Texas of the Permian Basin $7,866 93, Regional Universities (West) Central State University (OH) $8,096 RNP, Regional Colleges (Midwest) Southwest Minnesota State University $8,336 RNP, Regional Universities (Midwest) Bemidji State University (MN) $8,386 115 (tie), Regional Universities (Midwest) New Mexico Highlands University $8,650 RNP, Regional Universities (West) Dickinson State University (ND) $8,918 43, Regional Colleges (Midwest) West Texas A&M University $8,959 91, Regional Universities (West)

*RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its ranking category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.

Story continues

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find tuition data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The tuition cost data above are correct as of Sept. 15, 2016.





More From US News & World Report


18 tweets that sum up how people feel about the iOS 10 update

18 tweets that sum up how people feel about the iOS 10 update

Last nights Apple iPhone update totally rocked our worlds with its back-to-school iOS 10 makeover. Basically, iPhone has been working out all summer; shes ready to show off her fall look and ask us to Homecoming. We accept!

The old iOS had stuffy apps like Stocks and Find Friends that after years of owning an iPhone, wed never actually used. But not anymore! iOS 10s doing her own thing, and its pretty great. Not only can you delete those annoying Apple apps, you can use the new system to keep track of where you parked your car, and send sketches and cute drawings in iMessage! And of course, the most important update news youre dying to hear: there are, in fact 72 new emojis. Our favorites include the row of diverse and multi-gendered surfers, the addition of the rainbow flag, and the single-parent family emojis. Were loving this evolution!

With an update this transformational, its no wonder that people took to Twitter to share their feelings. And we mean ALL the feelings. Here are the best Tweets about iPhones newest revamp.

How we all feel about finally deleting Stocks:

I've never been so happy to delete something as I am deleting the Stocks app. Dreams do come true. #iOS10 pic.twitter.com/DQcaSs3loU  Felecia Wellington (@fdwellington) September 13, 2016

The unforeseen benefits of the send music feature.

Now that iOS 10 lets you text music, I've started sending various friends a daily Carly Rae Jepsen jam.  Robert Kessler (@robertkessler) September 14, 2016

Some people offered their critiques

In iOS 10 you can like texts, which leads to some brutal own potential pic.twitter.com/yESSF3kgiz  Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) September 14, 2016

Tim Cook: "Sinners! You're all sinners! None of you are clean! From Hell's heart I bring you iOS 10. This is what you deserve, you filth!"  Pixelated Boat (@pixelatedboat) September 14, 2016

Others were just plain unimpressed.

so far my favorite feature of iOS 10 is that my phone is now 200 degrees  Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) September 13, 2016

How about those emojis though?

Well someone learnt how to contour #iOS10 pic.twitter.com/cZI4tICYT9  What Girls Want  (@girlydose) September 14, 2016

But still, no waffle.

One of the most noticeable changes: the gun emoji is now a squirt gun.

Apple has taken away 2nd amendment emoji rights #iOS10 pic.twitter.com/J3428gTMex  David Leavitt (@David_Leavitt) September 14, 2016

What if i want to tweet guns and roses with emoji? Water guns and roses?? #ios10  Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRlley) September 14, 2016

The squirt gun emoji in iOS 10 is still lethal, you just need a $90 adapter that turns water into bullets.  Funny Or Die (@funnyordie) September 13, 2016

wild how Americans are mad that Apple took away their guns #iOS10  mamoudou n'diaye (@MamoudouNDiaye) September 13, 2016

For some people, change is hard.

Yall are talking about iOS 10 and I've been clicking 'Remind me later' for iOS 9.3.5 for months  The Friendly Asshole (@FriendlyAssh0le) September 14, 2016

We will forever miss you, slide to unlock #iOS10pic.twitter.com/NToYFNpdQy  Sarah  (@Saro_FM) September 14, 2016

Really hard.

RT if this was you when you first installed #iOS10! pic.twitter.com/eaPqR5HHlY  Amplify (@thisisamplify) September 14, 2016

I don't want IOS 10 can Apple just chill I feel like I just updated my phone from another stupid update  bella (@BellaAshlynn) September 14, 2016

We guess thats just a part of growing up.

Damn, the dancing emoji girls are growing up so fast pic.twitter.com/KfKiHa32Hs  John Noob (@johnn0ob) September 14, 2016

The post 18 tweets that sum up how people feel about the iOS 10 update appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Even With Advancements, Tesla Vehicles In Autopilot Mode Still Susceptible To Accidents

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / In May of this year, the driver of a Tesla Model S in Florida was involved in a fatal car accident. What is more troubling beyond the tragic death of the motorist, is that the vehicle in question was equipped with autopilot technology that was designed explicitly to lower the chances of a car accident.

Anyone living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth or Houston area, who has driven a vehicle with a self-driving option that they believe malfunctioned and led to a car accident, should contact 1800 Car Wreck to discuss their case with an attorney.

But the death of the Tesla car owner in Florida, which led to a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation, shows that more research may be needed into the self-driving car technology to see how future crashes can be avoided.

Tesla Autopilot Technology

All Tesla vehicles equipped with the Autopilot mode have four standard features:

Radar -- The long-range radar system has a range of 525 feet.

Ultrasonic Sensors -- There are 12 ultrasonic sensors built around the entire vehicle that emit high-frequencies that can detect objects within a 16-foot range.

GPS -- Provides speed limits, maps and current location.

Camera -- A forward-facing camera mounted on the rearview mirror that acts as a visual backup to the radar system. Camera is hardwired into the vehicle's computer system that also includes image-recognition.

Tesla Autopilot Accidents

Williston, Florida -- On May 7, 40-year-old Joshua Brown, an Ohio native, died when his 2015 Tesla Model S crashed into an 18-wheeler. The car accident occurred at around 3:40 p.m. on U.S. 27 to the west of Williston.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol report, Brown's vehicle was traveling eastbound in the outer lane of U.S. 27. The 18-wheeler tractor-trailer driven by 62-year-old Frank Baressi, was headed west on the same highway.

Story continues

As the truck began making a left turn to join NE 140th Court, the Tesla Model S veered across the divide and run underneath the tractor-trailer.

After sliding all the way under the truck, the Tesla Model S then skidded in an eastward direction, hit the south shoulder of the highway, and crashed through several fences before hitting a power pole.

The vehicle then spun counter-clockwise, and finally came to a stop approximately 100 feet south of the highway.

The entire top of the Tesla was torn off on impact, and Brown was pronounced dead at the accident scene. Baressi, however, was not injured.

In an interview with the Associated Press (AP), Baressi said that he had heard the sound of a Harry Potter film playing on a DVD player in Brown's car, and implied that Brown's attention was diverted, because he was watching a movie.

Although a portable DVD player was found in the Tesla Model S wreckage, authorities have not disclosed whether driver distraction was a contributing factor in the car accident.

What is known, however, is that Brown had engaged the Tesla's Autopilot mode, which should have alerted him to the oncoming truck. Several days after the crash, however, Tesla released a statement on its official blog saying that the sensor system was compromised by the bright light of that day, and could not detect the 18-wheeler as it made its turn.

Tesla's statement also said that once the vehicles collided, the Autopilot took over and tried to accelerate the vehicle through the obstacle, which is why the car drove underneath the 18-wheel truck. Upon impact, the entire top section of the Tesla Model S was sheared off.

Although this was the first known car crash fatality related to a vehicle in self-driving mode, the NHTSA was prompted to investigate the accident to determine whether driver error or failure of technology was the major factor in the accident. The NHTSA continues to investigate the accident, and has not yet released its findings.

Bedford, Pennsylvania -- On July 1, another Tesla car crash occurred on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near the Bedford exit.

According to a report filed by the Pennsylvania State Police, Albert Scaglione  who was driving  and his son-in-law Tim Yanke, were headed east on the highway in a Tesla Model X, when the vehicle lost control, struck a guardrail on the right shoulder, then careened into a concrete median. The Tesla Model X then rolled over and slid to a stop on its roof in the center of the eastbound lane.

At that point, flying debris from the Tesla's crash struck a westbound 2013 Infiniti G37, driven by Thomas Hess, a resident of West Chester, Pa. Hess and the passenger in his vehicle managed to avoid injury, but there was no report on the condition of Hess's vehicle.

Scaglione told a responding police officer that he had engaged the Autopilot mode prior to the car accident, although this statement was not confirmed by Tesla, whose software is designed to receive instant information whenever a Tesla car owner is involved in an accident.

State Police trooper Dale Vukovich, who was one of the responding officers, said that Scaglione would probably be issued a ticket for driver error, but did not specify the exact violation.

In response to Scaglione's assertion that he had engaged his Tesla Model X's Autopilot, Tesla issued a statement that read in part, "We have no data to suggest that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the incident. Anytime there is a significant accident, Tesla receives a crash detection alert."

The statement also said that the company had reached out to Scaglione, but had not received a reply.

To determine whether the Autopilot was engaged, Tesla would need access to the digital systems inside Scaglione's vehicle. The NHTSA has said it is investigating this car accident.

Reasons Auto Experts Are Worried About Tesla Car Accidents

Although the sample size of Tesla car accidents directly related to possible issues with Autopilot mode is small, car experts are still worried about the implications, and here are some reasons why:

Slows Reaction Time -- The Tesla Autopilot mode is specifically designed to take much of the burden off the driver, and shift it to the sensors and cameras, which may offer a false sense of security to a driver, and slow the reaction time in which the driver can take manual control of the car in the event of a system failure.

Remains a Beta Product -- Despite the fact that the Tesla Autopilot mode is in wide use, the technology is still in what the industry terms 'beta mode,' which means that the software that controls the sensors and cameras involved in car accident avoidance will still undergo future evolutions to improve performance.

In fact, every time a Tesla owner engages Autopilot, an acknowledgment box appears that reads in part, "The Autopilot is an assist feature that requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times," further adding that the driver should maintain control of the vehicle at all times.

Requires Constant Monitoring -- Although self-driving technology is made to work without a driver needing to do anything other than activate it, studies have shown that these systems create a belief in drivers that they should not be actively monitoring the technology at all times. That belief is echoed by James Sayer, project manager of a U.S. Department of Transportation program known as the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Deployment Program.

"When you provide a level of automation that controls a vehicle," he said, "the vast majority of time, they [drivers] may get to the point where they are no longer monitoring as well as they should because they're gaining all of this experience when the system is working properly."

Legal Action

If the Tesla Autopilot mode is shown to have failed during the fatal Florida crash, the family of Josh Brown may have the grounds for a lawsuit against the car-maker.

An attorney retained by the Brown family said in an AP interview earlier this month that the family was waiting to read the results of the NHTSA investigation before deciding whether to file suit against Tesla.

Tesla is in a unique position among car-makers, because it is self-insured, meaning that a lawsuit with a large jury verdict could mean trouble for the company's future.

The company acknowledged this fact in an SEC filing in May, just days after the crash that cost Brown his life: "Product liability claims could harm our business and financial condition," the company statement read.

Tesla does not carry reinsurance coverage, which would limit the amount of money the company would have to pay from its own funds. Despite its recent financial success, Tesla is still considered a 'start-up,' not a major car-maker on the level of GM or Toyota.

But for the Brown family, a personal injury lawsuit against Tesla related to product liability may be warranted if the final NHTSA report reveals that the primary factor that caused the accident was a failure or defect in the Autopilot mode.

And beyond the Tesla case, anyone living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area or in Houston, who has driven a vehicle with a self-driving option that they believe malfunctioned and led to a car accident, should contact a personal injury lawyer to evaluate the situation.

Only a lawyer can determine if a car company bears responsibility for a car accident that caused pain, suffering, medical expenses, and a loss of wages.

Media Contact

Lucy Tiseo

1800 Car Wreck

Phone: 800-779-6665

Email: lucy.tiseo@ewlawyers.com

Connect with Eberstein & Witherite on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+

source: http://1800carwreck.tv/1800-car-wreck-explains-reasons-auto-experts-worried-tesla-car-accidents.html

SOURCE: 1-800-Car-Wreck via Submit Press Release 123
The critically endangered Hawaiian crow can use sticks to deftly fish for food that is out of reach, according to a new study. The discovery means there are now two known tool-using species of crows.

"The Hawaiian crows are incredibly good at using tools," said lead study author Christian Rutz, a biologist at the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom. "What we see is similar to the really skilled tool handling in New Caledonian crows."

Until now, New Caledonian crows had been the only corvid (a group that includes crows, ravens and rooks) species known to use tools. These birds have become famous for their expert ability to fashion hooks from sticks to snag larvae and insects from crevices in logs or branches. [Creative Creatures: 10 Animals That Use Tools]

Rutz had studied the New Caledonian crow for more than a decade. In one paper, published in the journal Nature in 2012, he and his colleagues showed how the birds have physical characteristics that enable their tool control: straight bills and very large eyes with a large field of binocular vision.

Rutz told Live Science he wanted to look for other birds that shared these features, thinking those traits could be preadaptations for tool use. That led him to the Hawaiian crow, also called the alal? (pronounced AH-la-la).

The one problem was that the birds had been declared extinct in the wild by 2004. (Just 131 are alive today.) So Rutz got in touch with San Diego Zoo Global, a nonprofit organization that operates the San Diego Zoo and was breeding the 'alal? in captivity in Hawaii. People at the captive breeding facility told him they had sometimes seen the birds use sticks but didn't think much of it.

"I immediately booked my flight to Hawaii," Rutz said.

Tool testing

Even in his first pilot experiments, Rutz said it was clear that the birds could very dexterously handle tools. They would swiftly pick up a stick, discard it if it was not good enough or trim off the edges, and use it for foraging.

Story continues

"It was mind-blowing to see these birds that hadn't had any specific training start doing these extraction tasks I gave them," Rutz said.

He and his colleagues conducted experiments at two breeding facilities with a total of 104 birds. They gave the crows puzzles where bait was tucked into crevices in a log, so it would be in sight but out of reach. The researchers found that 78 percent of all the birds and 93 percent of the sexually mature birdsspontaneously used sticks to fish for the food.

The team also gave the same puzzles to Hawaiian crows that had been raised away from the tool-using adults. Even without any adult example to follow or training from humans, the birds started picking up sticks and learning to use tools by trial and error, which suggests there is a genetic component to the species' special ability.

There are no reported sightings of these birds using tools before they went extinct from the wild. And while scientists have recently discovered 700-year-old stone tools crafted by monkeys, there's not really any opportunity to do bird archaeology in this case; the 'alal? tools are made from plants and are thus perishable.

The researchers will likely have to wait until groups of the captive-raised birds are released into the wild to confirm that the species uses tools under natural conditions.

New member of the tool-using club

Considered a mark of high intelligence, tool use was once thought to be a defining feature of humans, but that notion has been dismantled as the list of tool-inventing animals gets longer.

Egyptian vultures use rocks as anvils to open ostrich eggs. Woodpecker finches of the Galapagos use twigs to get grubs from trees. Orangutans make whistles out of leaves. Capuchin monkeys in Brazil use stone tools to crack open cashew nuts. And chimpanzees use twigs to fish for termites  a behavior that primatologist Jane Goodall first described in 1964.

"With two tool-using corvids, the well-known Galapagos finches and one vulture in the list of tool-using birds, we can now make comparisons with avian and primate tool using," Goodall said in a statement about the new study. "Each of these discoveries shows how much there is still to learn about animal behavior, and it makes me rethink about the evolution of tool use in our own earliest ancestors."

Rutz said that having two corvid species that naturally make tools is exciting because it may shed light on why this ability evolved.

New Caledonian crows and Hawaiian crows likely learned to use tools independently. (The species' habitats are separated by a large swath of the Pacific Ocean, and their last common ancestor lived around 11 million years ago.) But both bird species evolved on remote tropical islands, which have quite an unusual set of ecological conditions, such as reduced competition for prey and lower predation risks, Rutz noted. Without the constant need to be on the hunt for food or scanning the sky for predators, birds can focus more on experimenting with objects, he said.

The new findings were reported online today (Sept. 14) in the journal Nature.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Move over, Metallica. My dudes are here to steal the show from you old grumps.

While most of you were wasting away your weekend watching Netflix or going apple picking, these three future stars were impressing a bunch of olds while rocking out to a Metallica medley at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.

The clip, which was originally uploaded to Facebook by Catherine Rose, has racked up more than 10 million views since Sunday. Rose explains in the comment section that the boys' parents are being careful about revealing the names of these three talented bros, but considering how metal they are, we're sure they'll rebel against that soon.

Hitchhiking snake goes on the ride of a lifetime

Neil deGrasse Tyson insists his children investigate the tooth fairy

Girls are tougher than gods in the trailer for Disney's 'Moana'

'Jeff's Table' showcases the majesty and artistry of toasting frozen waffles
Multan (Pakistan) (AFP) - At least four people were killed and more than 100 injured when two trains collided in central Pakistan early Thursday, officials said.

The accident occurred when the Karachi-bound "Awam Express" passenger train rammed into a goods train that had stopped after running over a man near the city of Multan.

Rescue workers used metal-cutting equipment to try to reach injured passengers still trapped in the mangled wreckage, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

Mohammad Javed, 35, a shopkeeper who lives near the site of the crash said he had been woken up by "a huge blast".

"I thought that some bomb had exploded," he told AFP.

"I came out of my house and saw a passenger train had piled up on a goods train. I heard people crying in pain and many lying outside the train.

"Survivors and locals were pulling out wounded people who were stuck in the wreckage."

Local state-run rescue service spokesman Abdul Jabbar told AFP that more than 100 people had been hurt.

Railway official Saima Bashir blamed the accident on the passenger train driver, saying he failed to heed a red signal that went up after the goods train had stopped.

Cranes and ambulances filled the area as troops also raced to the scene to help.

Rescue official Khalid Hussain 28 people had been taken to hospital, while scores more were treated on the spot.

A three-day public holiday for the festival of Eid ul-Adha ended on Wednesday, and many Pakistanis are returning from their family homes to the cities where they work.

Train accidents are common in the country, which inherited thousands of miles (kilometres) of track and trains from former colonial power, Britain.

The railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

Last November, 19 people were killed in southwestern Baluchistan province after a train's brakes failed and it sped down the side of a mountain.

In July 2015, at least 17 people were killed when a military train fell into a canal after a bridge partially collapsed.
Aden (AFP) - Forty people were killed in fighting between Shiite Huthi rebels and pro-government forces around southwest Yemen's main city of Taez, military sources said Thursday.

Colonel Sadeq al-Hassani, spokesman for the loyalist forces, told AFP that 27 Huthis and 13 pro-government fighters were killed as a rebel offensive aimed at reimposing a siege of the city was repelled on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, five Huthis and allied rebels were killed when loyalists backed by Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes and artillery fought off a rebel assault in the nearby Kahbub area, pro-government officials said.

AFP could not independently verify the tolls and the rebels rarely acknowledge their losses.

The Kahbub fighting centred on a mountainous area overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.

The area is guarded by forces from the coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government after rebels seized the capital Sanaa.

Yemen's conflict has since killed more than 6,600 people, most of them civilians, and displaced at least three million others, according to the United Nations.

Fighting has intensified since the collapse in early August of UN-mediated peace talks held in Kuwait.
Brexit gets lots of attention, but it will take more than two years to unfold, and its not the risk Europe needs to be most worried about at the moment. These are the five most immediate risks Europe faces today.

1. Central and Eastern Europe

Austria is poised to elect the E.U.s first far-right head of state in a little less than three months. Its an important symbolic moment, even if Austrias presidency holds little real power. Brussels thought it had dodged a bullet in May when ultra-rightwing candidate Norbert Hofer lost the presidency by a little less than 31,000 votes to the Green candidate. But technical flaws in the counting process led the countrys Constitutional Court to rule that the election must be run again. When Hofers party first entered a coalition government in 1999, E.U. institutions imposed diplomatic sanctions against the country. Now polls show Hofer ahead, and theres nothing Brussels can do about it as political extremism goes mainstream in multiple E.U. countries.

Central and Eastern European countries have generally refused to fall in line with Brussels redistribution plan for Syrian refugees. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in particular has been quite outspoken against refugees, throwing up barriers to keep them from crossing into his country. On Oct. 2, Hungary will hold a referendum on whether voters in Hungary want their government to abide by Brussels burden-sharing plan as required by E.U. rules. Newsflash: they dont. That spells more trouble for European unity.

(BBC)

Read More: These 5 Facts Explain Angela Merkels Tough 2016and Tougher 2017

2. Portuguese Economy

Of the original PIIGSthe unfortunate acronym used to describe Europes most beleaguered economies Ireland is the only one out of the economic woodhouse. Spain and Italy are too systemically important for Eurozone members to do anything but help them muddle along, and Greece is a political and economic basket case that Brussels has all but written off as a sunk cost. Portugal, on the other hand, is in a financially precarious situation, and it has the potential to divide Europe even further. After a three-year, $88 billion bailout rescue package, Portugal remains stuck with a 11.1 percent unemployment rate and government debt nearing 130 percent of GDP. Put another way, Portugal is comparable to Greece in both total GDP as well as per capita GDP. But another bailout for a cash-strapped southern European country would trigger an uproar across E.U. capitals, plenty of whom are busy fending off challenges from their own nationalist parties.

Story continues

(Financial Times, Eurostat)

Read More: These 5 Facts Show Things in the U.S. Arent as Bad as They Seem

3. Italian Referendum

Italy, another of the PIIGS, has had 63 governments in 71 years. By this metric, it is one of the most dysfunctional democracies in the world. But Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has a plan. To minimize political turnover, Renzi has proposed a slew of constitutional reforms that drastically simplify the countrys legislative process, making it easier to form stable governments. He has put these constitutional proposals to a referendum, slated to take place in the coming couple of months. But by vowing to resign if the referendum fails to pass, Renzi has fallen into the same trap as the U.K.s David Cameron. Rather than a referendum on the merits of the proposed constitutional changes, it will become a referendum on Renzi himselfand his popularity is currently hovering at around 25 percent. Renzi still has a decent chance of pulling this out, but most opinion polls project the referendum to fail narrowly. Renzis resignation would plunge the Eurozones third-largest economy (and the worlds eighth-largest) into political turmoiland pull the rest of Europe along with it.

(BBC, The Independent, The Economist)

Read More: These 5 Facts Explain the Decline of Once-Dominant Parties like South Africas ANC

4. Turkey

By harboring 2.7 million displaced Syrians on their side of the Aegean, the immediate future of Europe is highly dependent on a shaky agreement with a non-E.U. member, and one with a decidedly authoritarian streak. In the immediate aftermath of the July 15 failed coup attempt, Turkeys political factions banded together in support of democracy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a welcome respite from the countrys usually divisive politics. But as Erdogan continues his crackdown on all those he considers threatsmore than 40,000 individuals have been detained, punished and/or imprisonedthat honeymoon is drawing to a close. Political opponents have slowly started criticizing the Turkish president for his strong arm tactics, and their voices will only grow louder. Europe needs a politically-stable Turkey to live up to its end of the migration deal. If Europe isnt careful, it may be the domestic politics of Turkey that does in the European project.

(UNHCR, New York Times)

5. Germany

When the rock of Europe is included in a roundup of the top risks facing the E.U., you know the continent is in trouble. German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces backlash from the continuing rise of Alternative for Deutschlandthe far-right anti-E.U., anti-Islam partyahead of federal elections scheduled for the fall of 2017. For the first time ever, people are seriously asking whether Merkel will want to run for reelection; just 46 percent of Germans think that she should. The rise of anti-establishment parties in Germany makes navigating the domestic politics of the country a challenge; the rise of anti-establishment parties across the rest of Europe make maintaining European unity in the face of a lengthening list of challenges near impossible. Angela Merkel might well have the worst political job in the world.

And after all that comes Brexit. Its a good time to be a political scientist; its a bad time to be a European politician.

(Deutsche Welle)
The sense of smell can sway a homebuyer when it comes to spending time in a space during an open house. When preparing a home for sale, homeowners need to remove the sources of bad odor first. Bad smells that deter buyers include cooked food, home appliances, clothing and shoes, pets, smoke and mold -- even dusty air vents can cause put a stank face on homebuyers.

It's important for home sellers to be honest with themselves about the smells curating in their home and take care of the root cause of the stink, rather than simply masking the smell.

Once the source of the bad odor has been addressed, home sellers should make sure the space smells clean during open houses.

But a clean smell and a deodorized smell are two different things. Pulling out scented candles and plug-ins or preparing baked cookies may smell nice to some, but others may think you're masking a smell or could find the scent appalling. Even worse, the scent could distract the buyer's ability to make a decision.

[Read: 7 Smells Homebuyers Hate.]

First, take the time to clean the entire home from top to bottom to make a huge impact in the scent of your home. By cleaning regularly, a home seller is staying on top of stale, musty air that can linger in the home.

Hate cleaning? Try turning it into a fun task by turning up the music, getting all family members involved and coming up with a desirable reward. Maybe it's giving the kids an allowance, maybe it's buying that pair of shoes you've had your eye on. Use whatever reward necessary to motivate the cleaning process and eventually you'll be able to change your habits about the way you clean, which improves the home's overall smell.

Next, plan on using one clean, simple fragrance in the home. A 2013 study by Eric Spangenberg, now the dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California-Irvine, found shoppers spent an average of 31.8 percent more money in a home decor store when it was scented with a simple orange scent, rather than a blend of scents. The study, conducted while Spangenberg was dean of the College of Business at Washington State University, recommends using simple scents such as:

Story continues

Citrus. Citrus fruits like lemons and oranges smell fresh, and they're a more durable fruit with longer-lasting scents that are particularly fragrant.

Herbs. Using scented herbs can also bring a refreshing, familiar smell to the nose. Instilling rosemary, thyme or basil in the home when selling, especially in the kitchen, will create a warm and welcoming feeling for buyers.

Vanilla. There is something about vanilla that makes the room feel cozy. Grab a vanilla candle or make your own scent using vanilla beans or extract. You can use almond or mint extract to bring in a fresh scent as well.

Green Tea. Refresh your mind with a crisp, lively aroma of green tea that is used to help restore harmony.

Pine and cedar. Pine and cedar are two fragrant trees that can be used to create a complex aroma, these are especially nice to use during the holidays and winter months.

These scents are easier to sort out, less distracting, and thus more conducive to spending. When deciding what scent works best for your home, take a cue from your location. For example, you can use pine and cedar for a house in the woods, but not at the beach.

[See: 13 Photography Tips When Shooting Your Home to Put It on the Market.]

One of my favorite scents, as home stager, to use throughout a home is citrus cilantro, which comes in a variety of products that diffuses the scent. Consider using products like these in the home:

Candles. Wax or oil-based candles strategically placed around the home can quickly freshen up the air in the room. Remove candle wrappers or choose ones that can be easily displayed with other decor, or that a seller can place inside other decorative pieces to hide the candle. Just remember the candles are lit -- don't put them in a place where they can easily be knocked over.

Reed diffusers. This is a great product to use in a bathroom. The scented oil is released into the air through reed sticks over time. However, a reed diffuser can get overpowering in small rooms, and should be replaced when the smell dissipates.

Simmer pots. A simmer pot can easily make the home smell amazing. To use this product, mix a few scented ingredients with water, then place them in a pan on the stove. Try this before your next open house.

Deodorizing disks. These will stop bad smells in smaller places like in a shoe closet, in the laundry basket or under your sink.

Potpourri. Potpourri is a mixture of dried petals and spices that can be placed in a bowl or small sacks around the home to freshen up the air.

Oil plug-ins. There are a number of products on the market that you can plug into an electrical socket to dispense aromas into the air. The scented oil releases throughout thirty days, so place this in the entryway and hallways to welcome buyers into each space.

[See: Current Design Trends That Will Date Your Home.]

Of course, whatever scent you decide on, remember to first find the source of any bad odors. If you can't detect anything -- which most sellers can't because they're so use to the smell -- then recruit a friend to take a whiff.

Tori Toth is a celebrity home stager, best-selling author and lifestyle expert. As the founder of The Stage 2 Sell Strategy, she focuses on simple home staging solutions that transform homes to make them show-worthy.
The sense of smell can sway a homebuyer when it comes to spending time in a space during an open house. When preparing a home for sale, homeowners need to remove the sources of bad odor first. Bad smells that deter buyers include cooked food, home appliances, clothing and shoes, pets, smoke and mold -- even dusty air vents can cause put a stank face on homebuyers.

It's important for home sellers to be honest with themselves about the smells curating in their home and take care of the root cause of the stink, rather than simply masking the smell.

Once the source of the bad odor has been addressed, home sellers should make sure the space smells clean during open houses.

But a clean smell and a deodorized smell are two different things. Pulling out scented candles and plug-ins or preparing baked cookies may smell nice to some, but others may think you're masking a smell or could find the scent appalling. Even worse, the scent could distract the buyer's ability to make a decision.

[Read: 7 Smells Homebuyers Hate.]

First, take the time to clean the entire home from top to bottom to make a huge impact in the scent of your home. By cleaning regularly, a home seller is staying on top of stale, musty air that can linger in the home.

Hate cleaning? Try turning it into a fun task by turning up the music, getting all family members involved and coming up with a desirable reward. Maybe it's giving the kids an allowance, maybe it's buying that pair of shoes you've had your eye on. Use whatever reward necessary to motivate the cleaning process and eventually you'll be able to change your habits about the way you clean, which improves the home's overall smell.

Next, plan on using one clean, simple fragrance in the home. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Retailing by Eric Spangenberg, now the dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California-Irvine, found shoppers spent an average of 31.8 percent more money in a home decor store when it was scented with a simple orange scent, rather than a blend of scents. The study, conducted while Spangenberg was dean of the College of Business at Washington State University, recommends using simple scents such as:

Story continues

Citrus. Citrus fruits like lemons and oranges smell fresh, and they're a more durable fruit with longer-lasting scents that are particularly fragrant.

Herbs. Using scented herbs can also bring a refreshing, familiar smell to the nose. Instilling rosemary, thyme or basil in the home when selling, especially in the kitchen, will create a warm and welcoming feeling for buyers.

Vanilla. There is something about vanilla that makes the room feel cozy. Grab a vanilla candle or make your own scent using vanilla beans or extract. You can use almond or mint extract to bring in a fresh scent as well.

Green Tea. Refresh your mind with a crisp, lively aroma of green tea that is used to help restore harmony.

Pine and cedar. Pine and cedar are two fragrant trees that can be used to create a complex aroma, these are especially nice to use during the holidays and winter months.

These scents are easier to sort out, less distracting, and thus more conducive to spending. When deciding what scent works best for your home, take a cue from your location. For example, you can use pine and cedar for a house in the woods, but not at the beach.

[See: 13 Photography Tips When Shooting Your Home to Put It on the Market.]

One of my favorite scents, as home stager, to use throughout a home is citrus cilantro, which comes in a variety of products that diffuses the scent. Consider using products like these in the home:

Candles. Wax or oil-based candles strategically placed around the home can quickly freshen up the air in the room. Remove candle wrappers or choose ones that can be easily displayed with other decor, or that a seller can place inside other decorative pieces to hide the candle. Just remember the candles are lit -- don't put them in a place where they can easily be knocked over.

Reed diffusers. This is a great product to use in a bathroom. The scented oil is released into the air through reed sticks over time. However, a reed diffuser can get overpowering in small rooms, and should be replaced when the smell dissipates.

Simmer pots. A simmer pot can easily make the home smell amazing. To use this product, mix a few scented ingredients with water, then place them in a pan on the stove. Try this before your next open house.

Deodorizing disks. These will stop bad smells in smaller places like in a shoe closet, in the laundry basket or under your sink.

Potpourri. Potpourri is a mixture of dried petals and spices that can be placed in a bowl or small sacks around the home to freshen up the air.

Oil plug-ins. There are a number of products on the market that you can plug into an electrical socket to dispense aromas into the air. The scented oil releases throughout thirty days, so place this in the entryway and hallways to welcome buyers into each space.

[See: Current Design Trends That Will Date Your Home.]

Of course, whatever scent you decide on, remember to first find the source of any bad odors. If you can't detect anything -- which most sellers can't because they're so use to the smell -- then recruit a friend to take a whiff.





More From US News & World Report


From Seventeen

When you're under 18, it isn't always easy to sit back and watch as the rest of the country chooses the future president. And according to a Seventeen poll, nearly half of you feel that because you can't vote, you have zero effect on the election. "No one asks what I think," says Kyung Mi, 17, from Honolulu, HI. But your opinion does matter!

"Young people have always led the fight for change, from registering voters in Southern states during the Civil Rights movement to helping organize the Black Lives Matter movement today," says Sarah Audelo, political and field director at Rock the Vote.

"Social justice and college affordability are being discussed this presidential cycle - and young people are the force behind that." In other words: You have serious power. Now here's how to use it.

Your new poll goal: Volunteer at your local voting center. Some states, including California, Ohio, and Illinois, have student poll-worker programs that let you check in voters and distribute ballots on Election Day. Consult your local Board of Elections to see how you can pitch in. Bonus: Certain states will even pay you!

"I'm with VOYCE (Voices of Youth in Chicago Education), which raises awareness of issues that are important to me, such as education and racial justice. Recently we met with state legislators about a bill to end the school-to-prison pipeline [where zero-tolerance policies push kids into the prison system]. I love that my voice can be heard." Jamara, 15, Chicago, IL

Take a cue from the Nozell sisters, Emma, 16, and Addy, 18, and use social media to amplify your voice. Their Twitter account @PrezSelfieGirls got the candidates' attention.

Addy: We live in New Hampshire, where politics is pretty much a state sport. Our parents dragged us to see the candidates, so we decided to make it fun and try to take selfies with them.

Emma: By listening to the candidates, I started learning a lot, like what Common Core is. All of my friends are on social media, so we thought it would be a great place to share info with everyone.

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Addy: People were learning about the election from our posts. A friend of my mom's didn't even know every candidate's name! It was pretty awesome when the candidates started hearing about us. Hillary Clinton met with us privately three times, and Donald Trump came over to us and said, "Let's get that selfie."

Emma: We've endorsed Hillary Clinton. Now we'd like to get selfies with the vice presidential candidates - and maybe One Direction, too.

Addy: It's nice to have fun, but it's even better when you can make a difference.

Volunteer at your fave nominee's campaign offices - they're everywhere. Pitch in as much as your schedule allows and get a backstage peek at the process: You might put up signs or call people to remind them to vote. If random phoning sounds stressful, ask if you can do something social-media related - older people might not have those skills. Check out your pick's Web site for more info.

Skip your Frappuccinos for a week and give any saved-up cash to the politician(s) you support instead. (Every dollar helps - just ask Bernie Sanders!)

Start with your parents. Research recently published in Social Science Quarterly found that when students bring home assignments or start discussions about the election, parents pay more attention to campaign news and may even be swayed on issues. So homework FTW!

Let's be real - you won't be Snapchatting with the next president. But the person who's elected at the local level to represent you will take your calls and read your e-mails. "Equal pay is important to me -- a woman should make as much as a man," says Arianna, 16, from Denver, CO. "I set up a meeting with my state senator to discuss it face-to-face. I can't vote, but I still have influence." Find your representative at house.gov.

In some states, 17-year-olds are allowed to vote in the primaries if they'll be 18 by the general election. But the fact that not all states are on the same page with this has some teens bummed out. "I'm concerned that so many voices are being left out of political conversations that affect everyone," says Anna, 17, who is part of Vote16SF, a group of San Francisco, CA, teens working to expand voting rights and lower the voting age. Want to join the cause? Check out fairvote.org or youthrights.org.

We teamed with Bow & Drape to give your #OOTD a political theme. Seventeen readers can get 15 percent off this sweatshirt using code LIT16.

Illustrations by Serge Seidlitz

This article originally appeared as "Can't Vote? How You Can Still Make a Difference" in the August 2016 issue of Seventeen. Subscribe to the digital edition here.

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lehman brothers

On September 15, 2008 investment banking giant Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, becoming the largest bankruptcy by asset value.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers set off shockwaves throughout global markets and economies.

The Dow dropped over 500 points, a 4.4% fall, in one day. The US economy was well on its way to recession. People were even questioning the future of capitalism.

It's hard to sum up the impact of that day, but the judge in Lehman's bankruptcy proceedings  James Peck  described the overwhelming fear of the moment fairly well.

In his decision to allow Lehman to let Barclays purchase its core US assets for $1.3 billion (for reference, all of Lehman's assets were worth over $600 billion prior to the bankruptcy), Peck laid out just how momentous the case was. According to reports, Peck declared in open court:

"I have to approve this transaction because it is the only available transaction. Lehman Brothers became a victim, in effect the only true icon to fall in a tsunami that has befallen the credit markets. This is the most momentous bankruptcy hearing Ive ever sat through. It can never be deemed precedent for future cases. Its hard for me to imagine a similar emergency."

While "victim" may be a bit dubious to some given that Lehman executed the trades and decided to hold the assets that lead to its downfall, the bankruptcy did, however, become a wake up call to other banks and the government that drastic measures needed to be taken in order to save the financial system.

People stand next to windows above an exterior sign at the Lehman Brothers headquarters in New York in this September 16, 2008 file photo. September 14, 2009 marks the one year anniversary of the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers. Picture taken September 16, 2008. REUTERS/Chip East/Files (UNITED STATES BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT ANNIVERSARY) - RTR27S6Z

The "tsunami" term was a fairly common phrase during that hectic time, even Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld used it to describe the collapse of his firm while defending himself from the New York Comptroller in 2009.

Three days later, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke went to Congress with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which came to be known at the bailout of the rest of the banks.

Story continues

The Fed slashed rates all the way down to zero, the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, spiked to historic levels, and two presidential administrations worked for years to repair the damage from the crisis.

As Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid wrote in a note to clients on Thursday, the market has come a long way since the Lehman collapse. Bond yields are significantly lower as central bank buying through quantitative easing has driven up prices in the market. Reid notes that the 10-year yield on the day of collapse was 3.389% compared to just 1.698%.

In addition, Reid noted the huge comeback for stocks and massive changes in commodities.

"At the other end of the risk spectrum, the S&P 500 at 2,126 now is up a whopping +102% in total return terms in the 8 years," said the note. "In commodity markets Gold has risen from $787 an ounce to $1323 an ounce now, or +73% while WTI Oil has more than halved from $101 per barrel to the current $44 per barrel level."

There are still issues, US GDP growth remains sluggish, and the impact from the massive central bank actions have not yet worked themselves through the economy.

Certainly the Lehman bankruptcy was not the beginning of the "tsunami" nor was it the end, but may be the crest of the wave that made everyone realize just how rough the crash was going to be.

NOW WATCH: KRUGMAN: The richest Americans should have a tax rate over 70%





More From Business Insider


Should parents ask their childs permission before posting images online? [Photo: Getty]

Running through the sprinkler in the nude, first trip to the potty, reluctantly dressed as a carrot for a school play. Another day, another embarrassing childhood picture posted to social media. Obviously children cant give their consent to Mom and Dad sharing images theyd really rather forget, but what happens when they grow up?

Oversharing parents, beware: An 18-year-old from Austria is actually suing her parents for posting embarrassing and revealing photos of her on Facebook for the past seven years.

As reported by The Local, the anonymous young womans lawyer, Michael Rami, claims her parents have nonconsensually shared around 500 images to their 700 Facebook friends of their daughter doing everything from getting her diaper changed to potty training.

Rami said he was seeking financial compensation for his client as well as a court order for her parents to take the pictures down.

He believes if he can prove the photos have violated her rights to a personal life, she could win the case, which is scheduled for November.

They knew no shame and no limit and didnt care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot  every stage was photographed and then made public, the young woman told The Local.

After her parents denied her request to delete the images, she decided to take things further and sue them. Im tired of not being taken seriously by my parents, she said.

Her dad argues that since he took the photos, he owns them and has the right to use them publicly.

The law on posting images of children on social media varies widely across Europe. In France, which has the strictest controls, anyone who posts a photograph of someone without their consent can face a fine of up to 45,000 (around $50,000). This would apply to parents publishing images of their children too.

In the U.K., a recent survey by Nominet found that the average parent will have posted 1,498 pictures of their children on social media by the time the child turns 5.

Story continues

The same survey also revealed that 85 percent of parents had not reviewed their Facebook privacy settings in more than a year, and 79 percent wrongly believed strangers could not see pictures of their children.

Vicki Shotbolt, CEO and founder of the Parent Zone, commissioned by Nominet to conduct the study, said, As this research shows, getting to grips with the privacy settings of our favorite social networking sites isnt easy, but parents could cause future embarrassment for their children  or worse  if they dont take care. With children growing up in an increasingly digital world, we need to ensure we are one step ahead of possible risks and dangers and have a good understanding of how to avoid them.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
A 6-year-old North Carolina girl who was abducted Wednesday has been found alive, and a suspect has been charged with kidnapping, police said.

Stefanny Lenneth Lopez-Castro, of Wilmington, was allegedly kidnapped by registered sex offender Douglas Edwards, 46, who lives in the area, according to police.

Read: Days After Release From Prison, Brock Turner Officially Registers as a Sex Offender

Edwards has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, but police say more charges are likely.

He was convicted of a first-degree sex offense in 1996, according to the registry, and his victim was 6 years old. Edwards was released from prison in 2012, according to the database.

Castro was found in a heavily wooded area just two miles from her home Thursday morning, police said in a press conference. Police refused to comment on reports that the girl was found tied to tree.

New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon was emotional during the press conference, even pausing to hold back tears, saying, I have a granddaughter that age. Its personal when its in our community and this type of stuff normally doesnt happen.

Castro was reportedly kidnapped on Carolina Beach Road Wednesday at about 4:50 p.m., police said. Cops believed she was abducted and released a description of the suspect.

The FBI was quickly called in, as well as the Child Abduction Rapid Response team, and an Amber Alert was issued for Castro, police said. Helicopters and search teams were used to scour the area.

Police also said they had the suspect under surveillance all night and that he was picked up Thursday morning, but no other information was given on how he was captured.

McMahon said authorities were able to "beat the odds" and find Castro because of teamwork between agencies and "people giving them information."

We could not have done it without everybody working together, FBI agent Stanley Meador said. We had a great outcome.

Story continues

Castro has been reunited with her family, according to police, and is doing well.

Read: Killer's Confession in 1989 Murder Reveals Gruesome Details in 11-Year-Old Boy's Death

"I understand that this young womans family is a family of deep faith and I know that I speak for those in many law enforcement communities and many that we represent in this area to say that our prayers have been answered, District Attorney Ben David said. Its fortunate that this young woman was found alive and is now with her family.

Edwards is set to appear in court Thursday afternoon, according to officials.

Watch: Drunk Mother Lets Her 3 Children Get Tattooed By Sex Offender, Cops Say

Related Articles:
On Sept 14, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Aegion Corporation AEGN, the global leader in infrastructure protection and maintenance.



Looking back at Aegions second-quarter results, the company reported adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share, which plunged 34% year over year. Aegions second quarter was more challenging than expected because of several short-term factors, that will potentially affect in the second half as well.



The company does not expect additional project activity to make up for the short-term second-quarter issues, which means adjusted 2016 EPS will likely fall below the projected 2015 results. The two biggest changes that led to revised full-year outlook were, first, a dramatic slowdown of work releases from oil and gas customers since the wildfires in Western Canada. While the customers may increase the rate of these work releases in the coming months, Aegion remains conservative based on the increased uncertainty in the market.

Second, the winding down of the energy services upstream work, part of the downsizing in central California and the decision to exit the Permian Basin, given difficult market conditions, negatively impacted second-quarter margins more than anticipated. It is likely to hurt margins in the near future again.



Nevertheless, Aegion remains confident that the tailwinds in the N.A. municipal pipe rehabilitation market, an improving U.S. midstream market and execution of the Appomattox contract will build positive momentum in 2016 and 2017. The company expects improved earnings in second-half 2016 despite ongoing challenges in the energy markets.



Aegion recently completed three small international acquisitions  two of which were in the second quarter. First, the company invested approximately $3 million to acquire the remaining international legal rights not covered when it purchased the Latin America operations back in 2012. Aegion now has access to an additional 72 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Story continues

Second, it invested $3 million to obtain the CIP business of LMJ, a long-term licensee in Denmark, for the in situ form CIPP products. Denmark is an attractive market for contract activity with steady investment by local municipalities and a favorable outlook. The company plans to leverage its expertise and scale in the Netherlands to compete more effectively and grow in the Danish market.

Finally, Aegion acquired Concrete Solutions in July for $6 million, a long time New Zealand certified applicator of the Tyfo Fibrwrap technology. These acquisitions will bolster Aegions results.



Aegion is poised to benefit from rising order pattern and new contract wins. Recently, it announced a $12 million multi-year CIPP project award in Chicago. On the pressure pipe side, the company continues to market its broad portfolio of solutions to rehabilitate aging and deteriorating pipelines. The company is actively working on the large pressure pipe projects announced last quarter in West Palm Beach, FL, using in situ main CIPP and in Valley Forge, PA, with Tite Liner.



In January, Aegion announced the 2016 restructuring actions to downsize its exposure in the upstream oil markets and reduce consolidated costs. The company estimates approximately $1.5 million of additional pre-tax charges during second-half 2016.



Backlog in Aegions Energy Services plummeted 33.8% year over year to $178 million during second-quarter 2016 mainly resulted from the downsizing of its upstream operations. Backlog in the upstream market went from $68 million at Jun 30, 2015, to $31 million at Jun 30, 2016.

As anticipated, a portion of the backlog decline was also in the West Coast downstream market, reflecting a slowdown in turn around activity in second-half 2016 and the absence of additional work. The company expects that backlog comparison for the remainder of the year will also be affected by the upstream downsizing.



Aegion Corporation carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



Some better-ranked stocks in the industry include Argan, Inc. AGX, Gibraltar Industries, Inc. ROCK and United Rentals, Inc. URI. These three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



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Amsterdam (AFP) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei Thursday unveiled thousands of mobile phone pictures of refugees at his newest exhibition, saying it aimed to speak with "one voice" for those who have fled to Europe's shores.

Entitled #SafePassage, the exhibition in Amsterdam's Foam museum of photography features images snapped by Ai since December, during visits to refugee camps in France, Greece, Israel, Syria and Turkey.

It also includes sculptured marble lifebuoys and a marble surveillance camera, which Ai said represent the "struggle between the individual and the structures put in place to dominate society".

"I want to show my position" on the refugee crisis, Ai told journalists and art experts gathered for the exhibition's launch at Foam, situated in the heart of the historic city's canal belt.

"In many cases I wanted to give people one voice," he said of the photographs, which are often composed of sequential shots of refugees coming ashore, while others see him posing for a selfie with smiling migrants in a camp.

The soft-spoken, bearded Ai said: "When I saw women come to shore on a boat, it really made me suffer knowing that I couldn't help."

He added: "Our incapability to protect their basic rights, humanity, human dignity... that makes me feel very, very sad."

Ai, China's most prominent contemporary artist, helped design the Bird's Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics. But his works have often fallen foul of China's authorities, and in 2011, he was detained for 81 days.

Part of the exhibition showcases Ai's experiences while under tight surveillance by the Chinese government. He eventually moved to Berlin after Beijing returned his passport in July 2015, having confiscated it for four years.

- Political 'refugee' -

Ai, who now regards himself as a political refugee in Germany, has taken a close interest in migrants' plight since visiting the Greek island of Lesbos in December 2015.

Story continues

"If you have, not willingly, had to give up your home, your family, then you are a refugee too," Ai said.

He caused a stir in February after posing for India Today magazine on a Lesbos beach as Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose tiny body was found lying face down on a Turkish beach last September, an image that reverberated around the world.

The 59-year-old went on to wrap some 14,000 life jackets discarded by migrants around Berlin's Konzerthaus theatre.

In Vienna in July, the Chinese artist floated 1,005 life jackets in a pond at the city's Belvedere palace.

Now a regular visitor to Lesbos, Ai plans to create a refugee memorial on the island.

More than one million people made the journey to Europe in 2015, the majority fleeing war in Syria and the Middle East, and a further 208,000 have come since January, according to UN figures in June.

In one room of the exhibition, Ai displays pictures showing a listening device concealed in an electrical socket found during a visit to China, as well toy pandas stuffed with documents leaked by fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden.

An explanation on the wall says the pandas refer to a metaphor for the Chinese secret police.

The #SafePassage exhibition runs until December 7.
Beirut (AFP) - Twenty-three civilians including nine children were killed in air strikes on a town in eastern Syria held by the Islamic State jihadist group on Thursday, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it did not know whether Syrian regime or Russian warplanes carried out the strikes on Al-Mayadin in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

A US-Russian brokered truce in force since Monday does not include areas where IS is present.
By Phil Stewart and Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For Pentagon officers who cut their teeth during the Cold War, the prospect of U.S. battlefield cooperation with Russia in Syria is not only uncomfortable. It's also unprecedented. Against that background, the reactions of U.S. military officials range from caution to outright skepticism over a Geneva-based "joint integration center" that may soon bring together American and Russian militaries to discuss shared targets for the first time since World War Two. "There are challenges with this. There is a trust deficit with the Russians," acknowledged General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, even as he voiced support for the initiative at a forum on Wednesday. U.S. officials past and present voiced concerns about the initiative, underscoring the Pentagon's long-public criticism about the way Russia had been waging war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and over Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense who specialized in Russia, warned of dangers ahead. "Conducting joint operations with the Russian military is fraught with political, military and potentially legal risk," Farkas told Reuters. Under the deal, the United States and Russia are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not party to the truce. If the truce holds, coordination could even start on Monday. At that point, Russia and the United States could, in theory, gradually begin using the joint integration center to share targeting information. Officials stress the Geneva-based JIC would not be similar to JOCs, the joint operation centers typical in war zones, like Iraq, replete with classified computer systems and giant television screens that show live feeds from armed drones carrying out strikes. U.S. intelligence officials also have voiced concerns about sharing precise information on the positions of U.S.-backed rebel forces, given that Russia has targeted them in the past. "The Russians aren't using precision-guided munitions in Syria, which gives them a perfect excuse to say, 'Sorry, we weren't aiming at your guys'," said one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. CIVILIAN CASUALTIES Working with Russia on targeting could risk linking Washington to any Russian misconduct. Other U.S. officials publicly sought to play down those concerns this week, with one Obama administration official saying: "While we may share information on that threat, Russia remains fully responsible for the conduct of its operations." There also is a legal hurdle. U.S. officials say Defense Secretary Ash Carter would need to issue a waiver to a U.S. law that puts strict limitations on U.S. military cooperation with Russia. Carter, a fierce critic of Moscow, was skeptical of military coordination with Russia during internal Obama administration discussions. He has publicly backed the agreement and said on Wednesday the ceasefire, if implemented, would ease suffering. "We in the Defense Department will play whatever role we have (in the process) with our accustomed excellence," he said. Advocates for the initiative say the international community has run out of good choices in Syria's war, in which more than 400,000 people have died and more than 11 million people have been displaced. "This whole war is the search for the least bad options," sad Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former supreme commander of NATO, supported the effort, even though he was not optimistic. "The odds are low of this working out, given competing if not opposing (agendas). But it is worth a try given the dire humanitarian situation," Stavridis told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton and John Walcott; Writing by Phil Stewart; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Howard Goller)
Alphabet Inc.s GOOGL Google is reportedly appointing Flint Waters, the chief information officer (CIO) of the state of Wyoming.

According to reports, Waters is expected to step down from the state service on Sep 23 and join Google for Work team in early October. Hewill play an advisory role, helping local and state governments migrate to Google products, especially the cloud.

Waters Days as Wyoming CIO

Waters has been Wyomings CIO for five years and led a number of cloud migration projects. Waters headed Wyomings migration from state-owned data centers to Google and Azure-based cloud.

He also led the development of the Wyoming Unified Network, which is a network of fiber lines that connects important cities in the state and provides broadband access of 200 Kbps per student to school districts across the state.

Recently, Wyoming collaborated with Google for Work partner Agosto to upgrade from Google Apps for Government to Google Apps Unlimited. The upgrade will provide the state unlimited drive storage, advanced reporting and auditing capacities and additional administrative features.

Googles Clever Choice

Wyoming is one of the early adopters of Googles Apps for Government and the first state to adopt cloud-based products. All these happened under Waters leadership that helped the state to evolve as a centralized IT agency.

Google has put its trust in Waters capabilities when it comes to leading cloud migration projects. Given his earlier proactive role in aiding the migration of Wyoming to the cloud, he has emerged as the best pick for the new role.

ALPHABET INC-A Price

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Currently Google is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company. Some better-ranked stocks include Facebook, Inc. (FB), LinkedIn Corporation (LNKD) and Yirendai Ltd. (YRD) each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

Interested in IPOs? Check out the special edition of Zacks Friday Finish Line below, where Editor Maddy Johnson and Content Writer Ryan McQueeney interview Kathleen Smith of Renaissance Capital about the IPO market in 2016 (see part two here).

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Amazon.com Inc.'s AMZN founder, chairman, chief executive and president, Jeff Bezos, has again hit the headlines. According to Forbes, he is now worth $65.8 billion, which makes him the third richest person in the world and the second richest in America.



What Drove Bezos Fortunes?



On Tuesday, Warren Buffett, CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) lost $1.3 billion as the fallout of Wells Fargo's fake account scandal. The bank has been fined a combined $190 million by the California and federal regulators as it was alleged of illegally opening millions of unauthorized accounts to meet their aggressive internal sales goals. As a result, the banks stock dropped 3% in the trading session.



The scandal dealt a huge blow to Buffett, who owns two million shares of Wells Fargo. Also, Berkshire Hathaway owns 10% of Wells Fargo, making up the bulk of Buffetts wealth. Moreover, Buffett has been donating generously recently, decreasing his net worth. Currently, Buffett has a net worth of $65.5 billion, which is down by $300 million from Bezos.



Secondly, an 8% rise in Amazons share price over the past week also earned Bezos the third place on the esteemed list. Its second annual Prime Day earlier this month aimed at boosting off-season sales and rake in more Prime members became the best sales day ever for the online retailer, leading to a solid surge in the share price.



The wealthiest person in the world continues to be Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with a net worth of $78 billion, followed by Zara founder, Amancio Ortega, who holds a net worth of $73.1.



Conclusion



While Buffett has been sitting atop the list of the richest in America for long, Bezos rise is more recent. Bezos entered the celebrated list in 1998 with a net worth of $1.6 billion, while Buffett found his way into it way back in 1982, with a net worth of $250 million.



Last May, Jeff Bezos was on the list of the worlds top 10 richest people, with a net worth of $40 billion.



Amazon continues to see revenue growth and generate robust cash flow quarter upon quarter (discounting seasonal variations). Investors continue to believe in Amazons prospects, especially its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services and Amazon Prime, which have been increasingly adding subscribers.



But uncertainty regarding its investment plans and the probability of continuing losses still prevail.



So, it will be interesting to see whether Amazons continued success pushes Jeff Bezos further up the list of the worlds wealthiest.



Amazon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Story continues

AMAZON.COM INC Price

AMAZON.COM INC Price | AMAZON.COM INC Quote

Stocks To Consider

Some better-ranked stocks in the technology sector are Stamps.com Inc. STMP, Autobytel Inc. ABTL and PetMed Express PETS, each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



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Electric utility major, American Electric Power Co., Inc. AEP will sell four of its natural gas and coal-fuelled power plants to a newly formed joint venture (JV) between private equity firms The Blackstone Group L.P. BX and ArcLight Capital Partners LLC (ArcLight). The deal has a total value of $2.17 billion and is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2017.

The four power plants  Lawrenceburg Generating Station, Waterford Energy Center, Darby Generating Station and Gen. James M. Gavin Plant  located in the states of Ohio and Indiana, have a total capacity of 5,200 megawatts (MW).

We note that the sale is in sync with the companys Jan 2015 decision to look for alternative strategies, even sell-offs if required, for the optimal use of its power plants.

AMER ELEC PWR Price

AMER ELEC PWR Price | AMER ELEC PWR Quote

Details of the Deal

As far as the financial gains from the deal are concerned, management expects it to add $1.2 billion after-tax cash to American Electrics balance sheet, excluding repayment of debt associated with these assets and transaction fees. The company also expects an after-tax gain of approximately $140 million from the sale, subject to inventory true-ups, income tax and other adjustments.

The sale is subject to regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and federal clearance pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Currently management is exploring strategies of investing the proceeds from the transaction in its business and plans to discuss the details on American Electrics annual day, scheduled for Nov 1, 2016. These strategies may include reinvestment in regulated businesses, including transmission, renewable projects, additional debt retirement and share buybacks.

Our View

Independent U.S. power companies have been taking a beating as cheap natural gas price, rising demand for renewable energy and energy conservation initiatives continue to plague the wholesale electricity market. Forward wholesale electricity prices for 2017 in the largest U.S. grid dropped 24% in the past three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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We believe that the deregulation of the electricity market is another cause of concern for companies operating in this space and this, along with the aforementioned factors could have been the reason American Electric was compelled to sell its assets.

Also, this divestiture is in line with American Electricitys strategy of transitioning itself from a wholesale electricity provider to a fully regulated, premium energy company.

In this context, it should be noted that as energy companies rush to shed their power plants, private equity firms are moving in to purchase them. For instance, private equity firm Starwood Energy Group Global recently agreed to buy NextEra Energy Inc.s NEE stake in two Pennsylvania-based power plants for $760 million this July. Similarly, Carlyle Group had acquired Entergy Corp.s ETR Rhode Island State Energy Center for $490 million last year.

Stocks to Consider

American Electric, Blackstone, Entergy Corp and NextEra Energy currently sport a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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(Spoiler alert: the entirety of the season 6 premiere of American Horror Story is spoiled below. You have been warned.)

What exactly is the premise of season 6 of American Horror Story?

Yes, the rumors were true, in a fashion. The season is called My Roanoke Nightmare, a take on the haunted-house series you see everywhere on the cable dial these days. Except in this one, famous people play famous people, re-enacting something that may or may have not taken place in a very old house in North Carolina.

The title would suggest a connection to the legend of the Roanoke colony, an early attempt by the English to establish a permanent settlement in present-day North Carolina. Through one episode, the connection between the show and that legend remains unclear, however.

Now, to the nitty gritty. Below, youll find our live blog/recap for the season 6 premiere of American Horror Story.

9:59 p.m. ET: FX has thoughtfully scheduled The Purge: Anarchy before tonights AHS premiere. There are people getting shot and ending credits full of edgy shots of the American flag and guns and bloodstained money. Apropos!

10:01 p.m.: Ryan Murphy walks out in front of a Mercedes, because someone has to pay for this horrorshow, and introduces the premiere.

Also Read: 'American Horror Story 6' Premiere Leaves Fans Bewildered

10:02 p.m.: All of our favorite cast members are here to introduce My Roanoke Nightmare. Yup, its about the Roanoke Colony! Sort of!

10:03 p.m.: Ryan Murphy saw those local news reports about that Knockout game. Yogi Shelby (Lily Rabe) and her beau Matt move to Los Angeles, when Matt is set upon by a gang using the knockout game for initiation, and gets knocked out  she loses the baby she is carrying. They are apparently being played by Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr. in a re-enactment. Layers within layers.

Also Read: The Evolution of Donald Glover, From YouTube Star to 'Atlanta' (Videos)

10:07 p.m.: Shelby and her beau move into what is basically a murder house in North Carolina. They bid on the hulking wreck that was built in 1792. Shelby has doubts, as one does about anything that is old and in the South. Her husband does not.

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10:13 p.m.: Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson are making love, and hear some freaky-deaky noises. They think its just hillbillies who were outbid for the creepy murder house. Sarah Paulson-Shelby thinks hail is human teeth and not ice. Matt, turns out, is a traveling salesman who spends a lot of time in Raleigh, two hours away.

10:19 p.m.: Sarah Paulson is drinking rose and chopping vegetables and sees a pair of adult twin girls walk creepily through her house. Girl, get out of the house. This feels like a throwback to the first season of AHS in which everyone screamed GET OUT OF THE HOUSE at Connie Britton for the entire 13 episodes. She does get out of the house, but only to go in the hot tub outside like a fool, where she is promptly almost downed by a female-seeming spirit.

10:30 p.m.: Matt finds a dead pig on the grounds. He buries it and sets security cameras up, and then asks his sister Lee (re-enacted by Angela Bassett, confessional character played by Adina Porter of True Blood) to keep an eye on Shelby. Lee is addicted to opiates, a sad tale that feels like it wouldnt really wind up in a haunted house show, but hey, you gotta fill an hour somehow.

10:36 p.m.: Angela Bassett-Lee is hanging on her sobriety by her teeth, but Sarah Paulson-Shelby is drinking like a fish. So thats not going to work out well, particularly when Lee asks Shelby to not drink in the house. Meanwhile, surprise! Spooky things are happening at night, like a wine bottle rolling into Lees room. The two women are too busy arguing to notice the commercial break sneaking up on them.

10:42 p.m.: Torch-bearing maniacs are on their way to the house. Angela Bassett-Lee is too awesome for every character weve seen this far. She and Sarah Paulson-Shelby hear noises in the basement and investigate. Turns out to be just a TV on, playing a home movie of some kind Which turn out to be some sort of monster. Maybe. Or maybe a guy in a pig mask. The power goes out, and Cuba Gooding Jr.-Matt rushes over to the house from Raleigh.

10:46 p.m.: We still dont really know whats happening, but theres an ad for upcoming FX/BBC miniseries Taboo, starring Tom Hardy, which looks genuinely interesting, and worthy of note.

10:52 p.m.: According to Matt, locals and neighbors do weird stuff all the time to drive out new property owners and swoop in and take the property for cheap after driving down the property values. And apparently the reason Matt and Lee and Shelby dont pack up and leave is that they spent all their money on the house and have nowhere they can really go if they dont stay. Shelby does pack up and leave, though, in the car. Theres no shame in getting the hell out of the way, Lily Rabe-Shelby intones before Sarah Paulson-Shelby hits someone with the car.

10:54 p.m.: The woman Shelby hit with her car miraculously gets up and staggers off; Shelby runs after her into the woods and promptly gets lost, because shes alone in the woods at night and you dont even have the sun to figure out cardinal directions and that sort of situation really sucks, especially if youre fleeing a murder house and hit someone with your car and then find creepy string art installations in the trees, like Shelby does.

Shelby then sees a guy who looks like hes missing his scalp and the episode ends. Roll credits on the American Horror Story season 6 premiere.

10:56 p.m.: Mark this date down in history, folks: An FX drama finished several minutes earlier than the hour.

Related stories from TheWrap:

'American Horror Story' Season 6: What We Know Ahead of the Premiere (Photos)

'American Horror Story' Season 6 Promo Scares Up the Creepiest Doll Ever (Video)

Evan Peters' Own American Horror Story: Watch Actor Squirm Over Season 6 Questions (Video)
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on unless youre seen the premiere of American Horror Story Season 6.

FX did not make it easy to figure out the theme of American Horror Story Season 6 even after releasing 24(!) teasers. But during Wednesdays highly anticipated premiere, we finally learned the theme, and got a glimpse into the latest twisted world of AHS.

The theme of Season 6 is My Roanoke Nightmare, and will likely reference the Mystery of Roanoke aka the Lost Colony, which saw 117 people disappear in 1590. It became a popular fan theory after set photos leaked on TMZ, with one showing the word Croatoan, the name of a nearby Native tribe, carved into a tree. The premiere, simply titled Chapter 1, takes a true-crime documentary format, featuring interviews with a couple (AHS vet Lily Rabe returns!) that moves to a secluded North Carolina home to find  what else?  horror in their own home.

Rabe plays Shelby, who is portrayed by Sarah Paulson in the reenactment of the interview. Cuba Gooding Jr., who starred along with Paulson in AHS creator Ryan Murphys The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, also joins as her husband, Matt (played by Andre Holland in the interviews), in the reenactments. And yes, it is amusing to see Marcia Clarke and O.J. Simpson hold hands.

At the start of the episode, Shelby and Matt seem like the perfect couple with perfect lives. In fact, Shelby just recently got pregnant. But on one night, tragedy strikes: theyre attacked in a random gang hit, and Matts orbital socket is broken. He requires surgery and, whether it be because of the attack itself or the stress afterwards, Shelby loses the baby.

Traumatized, they decide to leave the city in favor of the country. They find an old, large house, and beat a, well, less-sophisticated group (which includes Chaz Bono) of people in an auction to buy it, blowing just about all of their savings in the process. Matt is thrilled with their find, but Shelby immediately feels off.

Story continues

(A creepy old house. In the middle of nowhere. And the wife already has a bad feeling about it, for no discernible reason. Horror tropes, here we come!)

Matt, ever rational, figures Shelby might just be shaken up from the loss of their child. Later, when the two are having sex, they hear guttural (dare I say demonic?) growling from outside. Matt braves the yard to find that someones torn it apart, and a piece of trash even flies toward his head. Again, logical, he assumes that its the act of racists, as it is the south, after all. He also guesses its likely retaliation on the part of the hillbillies they beat to win the house.

But later, when Matts away at work (which he often is), it begins to hail  or at least, so Shelby thinks. She goes outside to see teeth raining from the sky and, understandably, is a little freaked out. When Matt comes home, however, the evidence is gone. Matt convinces her that it was just ice, and Shelby felt pretty full of s. Teeth dont just fall from the sky, right?

When Matt goes away on business, though, it gets even spookier. Wandering the hallways of their house alone, Shelby sees two women walk past. She yells Hello? Is anyone there?, and when no one answers her calls, she heads to the yard and relaxes in their outdoor tub. Thats when several hands appear, pushing her head underwater and trying to drown her.

Matt rushes home, where the cops have already been. Theyre not taking Shelby too seriously  she gave a wild story, and the officer asks Matt if Shelby drinks. Matt is offended by the officers implications, but when inside with his wife, admits that the story doesnt exactly make sense. Shortly after, though, he finds a dead pig left at their home (a Saw homage, perhaps?), and he takes action.

He smartly rigs the place with cameras that he can check remotely, but thats not enough. He brings in his sister, Lee, to stay with Shelby  and oh, is Lee fun. Played by AHS vet Angela Bassett in the reenactments, and by Adina Porter in the interviews, Lee is an ex-cop who always thought that yoga instructor Shelby was too phony for her brother, as Shelby puts it. But Lee seems to have a troubled past shes running from herself.

After she was injured on the job, Lee became addicted to prescription painkillers. She was high on her shift when she got a call about a serial rapist, and chased him down. When she confronted him after an action-packed chase, he shot himself in the head, and as Lee sees it, justice is served. But a fellow officer discovered she was on drugs, and she was fired. If thats not enough, her husband divorced her, and took custody of their daughter with him.

Right off the bat, Lee and Shelby dont get along, and the strange occurrences dont help matters. When Lee finds Shelby pouring a glass of wine, Lee asks her not to drink while shes in the house, as shes still struggling with her sobriety. And just a bit later, an empty bottle of wine rolls into Lees room as she tries to sleep  and she immediately accuses Shelby.

What better to distract the two bickering sisters-in-law than a strange noise in the basement? Lee heads down to investigate the weird development, with Shelby in tow. There, they find an eerie home video of a scared man in a forest who happened upon a shirtless man wearing a pigs head.

Meanwhile, checking the security system remotely, Matt sees people with torches and knives heading into the house. He calls the police, but knows that, even 100 miles away, hell get there faster. As he drives back, Lee and Shelby spend a tortuous 20-30 minutes hiding in the basement, paralyzed by noises upstairs. When they emerge, its to a horrifying sight  the house is filled with childlike stick figures, hung throughout the air. Its all very Blair Witch Project.

Later, Lee and Shelby show Matt the video. Matt, again, is convinced its the work of the hillbillies. Shelby showed the video to the police, and believes they wont be much help  but Lee, formerly on the force herself, urges her to let authorities investigate.

Thats not enough for Shelby. She shocks Matt by fleeing, driving away without explanation. Theres no shame in getting the hell out of the way, she rationalizes. In her hurry, she hits a woman (AHS regular Kathy Bates) on the road. Panicked, she runs out of her car to help, but is unable to find the old woman.

And now its really Blair Witch. Searching for the woman, she finds herself lost in the woods, where she comes across the same stick figures that were erected in her home. The episode ends as a man, whose head is bloodied and disfigured, walks toward her as she screams in horror. And thats when Wes Bentley, an AHS regular as well, emerges from the shadows.

In its sixth season, many worried about AHS, even in its anthology format, staying fresh. But this new documentary take is a new, exciting spin, and one things for certain: the premiere of Season 6 looked nothing like other seasons.

But theres still plenty left to wait for. Fan favorite Evan Peters has yet to show up, and neither has Lady Gaga, who, despite confirming her return, wasnt in the closing credits. We didnt even get an opening credits sequence. Its only the first episode, though. Will you be returning to Roanoke?

What did you think of the premiere? Let us know in the comments below.

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Washington (AFP) - He urged extremists to kill in the name of Allah. But Jesse Morton says he's now a different man, countering in Washington the very same ideology that brought him in the shadow of Al-Qaeda.

A Pennsylvania native who got out of prison just a year and a half ago and now conducts research at George Washington University, Morton had a rough childhood.

His mother beat him, and no one else cared for him. He lost trust in society. He left home at the age of 16, lived on the street and sold drugs.

"I had no sense of belonging or American identity, I was seeking something, anything," said Morton, 38, recalling those early days.

But his is a redemption story: He offers a rare glimpse into the recruitment of a jihadist who eventually found his way back into mainstream society from radical Islam.

Morton converted to Islam when an ultraconservative Muslim friend asked him to recite a few words in Arabic -- words whose meaning he did not know -- during a standoff when they were surrounded by police.

Those words were the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith in which one declares "there is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet."

"I recited them and we didn't get in trouble (with the police) so I thought, 'Wow, this is like magic,'" Morton said.

Some time later, during a stay at a prison in Richmond, Virginia, he learned to become a "real Muslim."

"In one sense, it was indoctrination from above, in another sense, it was me seeking out something and finding... meaning inside of this worldview," said Morton, who continues to practice his Muslim faith, although he has renounced extremism.

During his jihadist days, he frequented the Islamic Thinkers Society, a group that is an offshoot of the Al-Muhajiroun extremism that seeks to restore an Islamic caliphate.

Back then, he said, he had "direct contact" with Abdullah al-Faisal, a radical Jamaican imam who spent four years in prison in London. He recruited people to his cause outside mosques.

Story continues

"We were looking for lions," Morton recalled.

Morton got out prison shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks -- which he praised at the time -- and took the name Younus Abdullah Muhammed.

In late 2007, he co-founded "Revolution Muslim" which would relay Al-Qaeda messages online.

Among the Islamic radicals who ended up being influenced by the group was Colleen LaRose -- also known as "Jihad Jane" -- an American woman arrested in late 2009 as she was plotting to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who was targeted for drawing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

- Turning from homegrown jihad -

Police went on high alert in 2009, when Revolution Muslim threatened to kill the writers of popular animated satirical series "South Park" for an episode that featured the Prophet Mohammed in a bear suit.

In early 2010, Morton fled to Morocco, where he was arrested by the FBI in October 2011 after a stint in Moroccan jails.

Education was the key to his turn from the path of jihadist thinking.

While held in solitary confinement, a guard let him visit the prison library at night. Morton says he read a lot, including Enlightenment writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

"I started to realize that these principles are universal, humanist," he said, adding that they "allow people to be free."

- Informant -

The FBI was keen on obtaining intelligence from Morton's extremist past and his contacts in that world, so he cooperated with the US federal police agency from his cell.

"They made me realize that they were only protecting the public and not waging a war against Islam," Morton said, adding that his contributions led to a "very successful series of counterterrorism operations."

Thanks to his collaboration, Morton only served less than four years of his 11.5 year prison sentence. His recruitment by George Washington University was a first in the United States.

His life story is instructive, said Lorenzo Vidino, who heads the university's program on extremism.

Morton was "not only somebody who radicalized himself, but also somebody who was radicalizing and recruiting other people," Vidino said.
By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - Americans blame political gridlock in Washington for the country's declining economic competitiveness and hold both Democrats and Republicans responsible, a Harvard Business School study released on Wednesday found.

The study noted that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a rate of about 2 percent since 2000, well below the 3 to 4 percent average in the prior half-century. It said a range of factors including a complicated corporate tax code, tangled immigration system and aging roads contribute to the slow growth.

The study contends that factors including a growing wealth gap, declines in productivity growth and a rise in the number of working-age people neither employed nor seeking jobs show that the U.S. economy is becoming less competitive.

A majority of the school's alumni surveyed said they believed the U.S. political system was hurting the economy. That view crossed party lines, with 82 percent of Republicans, 74 percent of independents and 56 percent of Democrats agreeing.

"Only a minority of members of either party felt that their own party was acting in a way that supported economic growth," said Jan Rivkin, a professor at Harvard Business School and co-author of the report.

The survey did not ask whether respondents preferred Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Some respondents worry that neither candidate for the White House could overcome gridlock in Washington, Rivkin said, adding "Anyone elected into the current system would face pressure toward paralysis."

A concurrent survey of the general public found smaller, but still significant, numbers blaming the political system for a languishing U.S. economy.

Some 49 percent of Republicans, 38 percent of independents and 26 percent of Democrats at large said politics were hurting growth.

The study contends partisan gridlock is preventing the federal government from tackling structural problems facing the U.S. economy, and suggested steps to address that gridlock. Among them: Changing rules that allow lawmakers to "gerrymander" districts to ensure one party's dominance; reforming campaign finance; setting term limits in the House and Senate, and eliminating party control of the federal legislative process.

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The study comes a day after the Census Bureau reported median household income surged 5.2 percent last year to $56,500, its highest since 2007.

The surveys included responses from 4,807 alumni of Harvard Business School from May 3 through June 6 and 1,048 members of the general public polled June 10-26. The public survey had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points, margin of error does not apply to the alumni survey as it was not a random sample.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Andrew Hay)
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada can improve its anti-money laundering rules regime, an international group that monitors the worldwide laundering of illicit cash said on Thursday, calling into question the effectiveness of the country's financial intelligence agency. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Canada had strong anti-money laundering measures in place and rules to combat terrorism financing that had achieved good results, but needed to make further improvements to be fully effective. It said the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC), was hampered by the fact that it is not authorized to request information from the firms that it monitors. It noted, however, that FINTRAC had co-operated effectively with law enforcement agencies. "The Canadian authorities have achieved some success in combating money laundering, notably when conducting law enforcement efforts with the support of FINTRAC's analysis. These are not entirely in line with the money laundering risks that Canada faces and, overall, the recovery of proceeds of crime appears to be relatively low," FATF said in the report. FINTRAC issued its first ever penalty against a bank in April, fining the unnamed lender C$1.1 million ($834,000) for failing to report a suspicious transaction and various money transfers. It had previously leveled fines against multiple credit unions totaling just C$676,795, over a swath of issues from the failure to submit suspicious transaction reports (STRs) to a failure to determine whether a client is a politically exposed foreign person (PEFP). Its U.S. equivalent, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has by contrast fined a dozen banks and one credit union more than $500 million over the last five years. The FATF report also criticized the fact that lawyers in Canada, unlike financial institutions and other professionals, are exempt from the obligation to report suspicious transactions, allowing them to use trust accounts to move around money for clients without notifying regulators. "The lack of coverage of these professions is a significant loophole in Canada's AML framework and raises serious concerns. Legal persons and arrangements are at high risk of misuse for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes and that risk is not satisfactorily mitigated," it said. An internal report prepared for Canada's anti-money laundering watchdog last year found that lawyers are the second most likely profession after entrepreneurs to face money laundering charges. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham, editing by G Crosse)
Tim COOK with fake AR glasses

Apple continues to stockpile talent in augmented reality, an area that CEO Tim Cook has said is "incredibly interesting", as it looks like the company is working on some kind of display or technology that shows computer images superimposed on top of the real world.

This month, Apple hired Zeyu Li, who had worked at Magic Leap, the secretive augmented reality startup, for over a year. He's "interested in deep learning, VR, AR, driverless car," according to his LinkedIn profile.

In June, Yury Petrov started as a research scientist at Apple. Previously, he had worked at Oculus, Facebook's virtual reality platform, and taught at Northeastern University. "I am a specialist in experimental psychology, human vision, optics for head-mounted displays, brain imaging, and mathematical methods of signal processing and analysis," according to his LinkedIn summary. (Virtual reality immerses viewers in a 360-degree computer-generated world, while augmented reality simply superimposes images on the real world.)

Apple has a team of hundreds of staff building prototypes of potential headset configurations, the Financial Times reported in January.

Apple's hiring spree in this area really kicked off in May 2015, when it bought AR startup Metaio, an augmented reality startup. Metaio's CEO, Thomas Alt, still works at Apple, but he recently changed his focus from engineering to strategic deals. He is now a "director of procurement," according to his LinkedIn profile.

Meanwhile, iOS app developer Steven Troughton-Smith revealed that Apple has included several references to a "HeadMountedDisplayRenderingTechnique" in a key framework.

Apple should ape HoloLens; app platforms are their thing  leave VR to others. This has been in SceneKit since iOS 9 pic.twitter.com/kArfYIIHDI  Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) September 15, 2016

For sure, they should be working on an augmented reality computer before a car. The advances in SceneKit in iOS 10 seem designed for it  Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) September 15, 2016

If Apple is indeed working on an AR device, it'll have a lot of competition. Google kicked off the commercial AR field with Glass, and the company hasn't entirely given up on the concept, although there are continued signs of disarray in the latest version of the project. Plus, Google is a big investor in secretive AR startup MagicLeap, Microsoft has HoloLens, and Snapchat is quietly working on its own AR glasses.

Story continues

Know anything about Apple's AR project? Email the author at kleswing@businessinsider.com

NOW WATCH: These secret codes let you access hidden iPhone features





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Apple's ( ) iPhone 7 plus is sold out in all colors worldwide. The jet black version of the iPhone 7 is sold out. It does appear that demand for the larger screen sized iPhone with the dual lens camera is seeing stronger demand than expected. The phone was supposed to be for sale in stores tomorrow but now that won't happen. Apple is reassuring fans that it is trying to get supply to stores as soon as possible. The feds are now looking into Wells Fargo ( ) and the fake accounts scandal. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into Wells Fargo and the millions of sham accounts that were opened at the bank to generate fees. The Los Angeles times reports federal prosecutors in San Francisco and New York are in the early stages of an investigation that could lead to criminal or civil charges. Amazon ( ) founder Jeff Bezos swaps places with Warren Buffett as the world's third richest person. Buffett has lost net worth due to his holdings in Wells Fargo.
Firdaus Rahman was the lead actor in Apprentice. (Photo: Clover Films)



Apprentice, the critically acclaimed film about a hangman and his protege, has been selected as Singapores entry in the foreign language category at the 2017 Academy Awards.



According to Hollywood trade magazine Variety, the movie was selected by the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), which is part of the Media Development Authority.

Its a huge honour and I am very thankful that the Singapore Film Commission has selected Apprentice as Singapores entry to the Oscars.



We have been very encouraged by the response to the film in Singapore and around the world, and this news comes as another big boost for us, said the films 32-year-old director Boo Junfeng, who is currently attending the Toronto International Film Festival.



SFC director Joachim Ng said: Apprentice explores complex and sensitive themes while preserving an honest insight to the characters internal conflict and emotions. We believe the film will resonate with international audiences following its successful world premiere at this years Cannes Film Festival.

Apprentice appeared in the Un Certain Regard selection at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it received a standing ovation.

It will screen at film festivals in cities such as Toronto, Busan, and London. The movie has also been released in countries like the United Kingdom, France and China.

Singapores contender for the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film category this year was 7 Letters, an anthology of short films celebrating Singapores 50th anniversary of independence. Featuring contributions by several directors including Boo and Eric Khoo, it did not earn a nomination.



The Oscars ceremonies are typically held in February or March, with nominations announced in January.
Jerusalem (AFP) - An Arab Israeli lawmaker has caused an uproar after describing ailing Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres as covered "head to toe" in Palestinian blood.

Former Israeli president and prime minister Peres, 93, remained in serious condition Thursday, according to his doctor, after suffering a major stroke two days earlier.

As messages of concern and wishes for his recovery flowed from public leaders at home and abroad, MP Basel Ghattas posted on his Facebook a scathing attack on the veteran leader's record in the conflict with the Palestinians.

Peres, he wrote in Arabic, was one of the "strongest pillars of the Zionist colonialist settlement project and one of the most despicable, cruel, radical and long-living."

Arab Israelis -- who represent about 17.5 percent of Israel's population -- are the descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Although they are citizens of the Jewish state they largely identify as Palestinians.

Peres, who became director general of the nascent defence ministry at just 29 years old, once hawkishly rejected any compromise with hostile Arab states.

He said he became a dove after 1977, when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Jerusalem, leading to the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty.

"Our blood covers him from head to toe," wrote Ghattas, a member of the Joint List Arab coalition.

"Let us... remember his real essence as a tyrant and a direct administrator of the crimes and war crimes carried out against our rights."

Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo accords.

But he was also an early backer of Israeli settlement in the West Bank after its occupation in the 1967 Six Day War.

He was Israel's foreign minister in 1996 when the Jewish state shelled a United Nations compound at Qana village, in Lebanon, killing 105 civilians in what a UN report ruled was a deliberate attack.

Story continues

Another Arab MP, of the Arab-Jewish leftist Meretz party, took Ghattas to task for his comments.

"The majority of Arab society thinks otherwise," Issawi Freij told the Ynet news site. "Ghattas won the support of a minority."

"The things he said have no place in society and should be condemned," Freij said.

"These things seriously hurt the Arab population of the country."

Yariv Levin, of the governing right-wing Likud party and who serves as tourist minister, went further, calling Ghattas "a provocateur of the worst kind."
Ariana Grande joined On Air With Ryan Seacrest Wednesday morning and was not having any of the host's probing about her relationship with Mac Miller.

Ariana Grande Confirms Relationship with Mac Miller

Seacrest asked about Grande supposedly confirming her relationship with Miller on Instagram recently, to which she replied, "Is that what I did? Is that what Instagram means to you now? OK world let's go."

Seacrest went on, saying, "I'm just reading I haven't seen it." And when asked how he segued onto that subject, he said it was just on his list of questions to ask.

Mac Miller Talks Ariana Grande, Donald Trump, Making the Soulful Celebration of Women & Love 'The Divine Feminine'

The two exchanged some back and forth before Grande said, "It's too early for this kind of tea. It's too early man... If I post something that's what I'm willing to share at the moment. But it doesn't mean that you Ryan Seacrest with millions of listeners are entitled to more information."

It's possible, though, she was just waiting to confirm the relationship with Ellen, which she seemed to do later in the day.

Watch a portion of Grande's interview here:
By David Schwartz

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona yoga instructor accused of letting boys as young as 11 fondle her breasts at a bar mitzvah party was acquitted of all charges on Wednesday, court officials said.

Lindsey Ann Radomski, 33, was found not guilty of 18 misdemeanor charges in Scottsdale, Arizona, city court stemming from the incident involving seven boys at a suburban Phoenix home in March 2015.

The six-member jury deliberated for three hours before issuing the not guilty verdict on 10 counts of public sexual indecency and indecent exposure following a seven-week trial, officials said.

A judge then immediately cleared Radomski of the remaining counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and disorderly conduct. In Arizona city courts, those misdemeanor accusations are handled by judges, not juries.

Im just incredibly happy its over  thank God, Radomski told reporters outside the courthouse following the verdicts.

She had faced up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Radomski was arrested last year after the boys' parents told police she exposed her breasts at a poolside gathering attended by about 100 people.

She later was accused of inviting seven boys aged 11 through 15 to touch her breasts while she was in a bedroom at the house after becoming intoxicated and being sent there to sleep it off.

Radomski had admitted to detectives that she exposed her breasts, but she told them that she did not remember other details "due to her intoxicated state."

(Editing by Sharon Bernstein and Leslie Adler)
By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) - A Florida man who investigators say posted anti-Islamic material on social media was arrested on Wednesday on charges of setting fire to a mosque attended by the gunman who committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, police said.

The case is being prosecuted as a hate crime under Florida law, and the suspect, Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, faces at least 30 years in prison if convicted of committing Monday's arson attack, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

Schreiber is accused of starting the blaze that heavily damaged the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, a place of worship for gunman Omar Mateen before he shot 49 people to death and wounded 53 others at a gay nightclub in June.

Mateen himself was killed by law enforcement officers at the end of the shooting in Orlando, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of the Atlantic coast town of Fort Pierce.

Fire erupted at the mosque at about 12:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, coinciding with one of the holiest of Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, and authorities immediately branded it an arson attack.

No one was inside the building at the time, but the blaze forced the congregation to hold prayer services elsewhere.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office told reporters afterward that surveillance video showed a man riding up to the building on a motorcycle, getting off the bike and approaching the mosque with a bottle of liquid and papers moments before flames erupted.

At a news conference announcing an arrest on Wednesday, Sheriff's Major David Thompson said Schreiber owns a motorcycle like the one seen in the video. Thompson said tips from the public led investigators to the suspect and his home in nearby Port St. Lucie, where a search turned up additional evidence tying him to the crime.

An examination of Schreiber's social media account also uncovered "multiple anti-Islamic posts and comments," Thompson said. He did not elaborate.

Story continues

But a Facebook page apparently belonging to the suspect - established under his name with photos resembling his booking photo - include a message posted on July 12 that said "ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS" written in capital letters with several mispellings.

Schreiber was arrested without incident on Wednesday while walking along a sidewalk in Fort Pierce, Thompson said.

Schreiber, who was being held without bond, was still being questioned by police following his arrest. He was expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday. It was not clear if he had obtained legal representation.

He has been charged with arson, and his status as a "prison release re-offender" qualifies him for a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 30 years if convicted. And as a "habitual felony offender" whose criminal record includes armed robbery, Schreiber also would be eligible for a life term, police said.

Federal authorities are also investigating the fire for any potential violations of federal law, U.S. officials said.

The Fort Pierce Islamic Center has reported numerous threats of violence and intimidation since it was identified publicly as Mateen's place of worship. In June a motorcycle gang circled the property and shouted at its members, and in July a Muslim man was beaten outside the mosque.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese, Bernard Orr, Bill Rigby and Simon Cameron-Moore)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Ashanti Gold Corp. (AGZ.V) ("AGZ" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a formal option agreement for the Anumso Project in Ghana (the "Project") with Goldplat PLC ("Goldplat"), following upon a Letter of Intent announced on July 13, 2016.

AGZ has the right to earn 75% of Goldplat's interest in the Project by expending US$3.0M on exploration over 2.5 years. An initial 51% interest will be earned through expenditure of US$1.5M in the first 18 months, which starts with and includes a 6 month review period where AGZ can elect not to continue with the earn-in option, after which AGZ is obligated to either expend US$1.5M on the Project or pay the deficiency to Goldplat. An additional 24% interest can be earned through expenditure of an additional US$1.5M in the following 12 months or pay the deficiency to Goldplat.

The government of Ghana has a carried 10% interest in all minerals and mining concessions in Ghana, thus the 75% interest in Goldplat's 90% interest will reflect a 67.5% net interest for AGZ. AGZ will be the operator of the exploration and development program during the option period. Upon completion of its earn in rights, AGZ and Goldplat will form a joint venture whereby each party will contribute proportionally to the Project's development, or have its interest diluted. If either party's interest is reduced to 10%, that interest is then converted into a 1.5% net smelter return royalty (the "NSR") which the other party can purchase by paying US$100,000 for each 0.1% of the NSR.

The Anumso Gold Project is a 29.63 km2 Mining Lease within two blocks that cover  5 km of strike length of the well-known Birimian series auriferous Tarkwaian Banket strata within the highly productive Ashanti Belt of Ghana. This portion of laterally continuous Tarkwaian conglomerate strata has produced gold for over 100 years from the colonial Ntronang Mine 7 km to the east and from artisanal miners in more recent years. These same beds are famous in the southern Ashanti Belt for gold produced from the Iduapriem and Teberebie mines of AngloGold Ashanti and the Tarkwa and Demang mines currently in production by Goldfields. The Anumso - Ntronang area is the only location outside of the Tarkwa vicinity where gold has been mined from Banket conglomerate. Gold in these rocks is considered similar to that in the conglomerate-hosted gold deposits of the ~2,800 million year old Witwatersrand of South Africa, except these rocks are younger, being approximately 2,115 million years old. For more information, please see press release dated July 13, 2016 (under Gulf Shores Resources Ltd.).

Grant of Incentive Stock Options

AGZ also announces that, pursuant to its Incentive Stock Option Plan, it has granted incentive stock options to directors, officers and employees of the Company to purchase up to an aggregate of 210,000 common shares in the capital stock of the Company. The options are exercisable on or before September 15, 2018 at a price of $0.48 per share.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

ASHANTI GOLD CORP.

"Tim McCutcheon"

Tim McCutcheon

CEO

For further information, please contact:

Ashanti Gold Corp.

2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street

Vancouver BC, V6E 2K3

Phone: 604-638-3690

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes "forward-looking statements", including forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and are considered forward-looking information for the purposes of Canadian Securities laws. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. There is no assurance the Company will be successful in raising the funds necessary to earn any interest in the Project, that the Company will be successful in maintaining tenure to the Project due to political or legal changes that are at the discretion of the Ghanaian government, that historic drill results will be verified by the Company, or that any economic resource will be located within the Project.

SOURCE: Ashanti Gold Corp.
Over 23,000 people have signed a petition calling for Australian conservationist and television presenter Steve Irwin to feature on the countrys currency.

Known as the Crocodile Hunter, Irwin died 10 years ago this month after being injured by a stingray while filming a documentary in Queenslands Great Barrier Reef. Kyle Ryan, one of the petitions founders, called for Australians to pay our respects to the all time greatest Australian bloke, Steve Irwin. Lets make a change for something in the history of our country.

Irwins face has already appeared on Australian currency once, in a 2009 series of dollar coins commemorating Inspirational Australians. However, the petitions founders updated its Change.org page yesterday outlining their plans to create a design for the AUD$100 note, and have also created a Facebook page to gain support for the cause.

The Royal Australian Mints official policy is that in general, coins in circulation in the Commonwealth country will not feature individuals other than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family. However, the Mint also makes allowances for rare circumstances and has invited supporters to submit a written proposal to have Irwins face featured on another commemorative coin.

In an interview with News Corp Australia, Irwins daughter Bindi said It is such an honor that Dad is being considered to be remembered forever on Australian currency. His legacy will continue to inspire us all, he truly changed the world.
Meet Newman Otas, the miracle baby boy born in international waters just hours after his family was rescued from an overcrowded rubber boat at sea.

Read: What a Flybaby: Woman Gives Birth During Flight From Dubai to the Philippines

"The birth went quite well," said Sarah Giles, the Doctors Without Borders midwife who delivered the baby. "It was a pretty normal birth under really extraordinary circumstances."

According to Doctors Without Borders, Newman's Nigerian parents, Otas and Faith, were travelling across the Mediterranean Sea with their two older children, ages 7 and 5, who were sick at the time of the birth.

Faith said she had been having contractions for three days, but it was not until she boarded the rubber dinghy with her family that she felt the baby coming: "I was very stressed on the rubber boat, sitting on the floor of the boat with the other women and children. I could feel my baby moving. He would move down and then move back up again."

Another midwife involved with the birth, Jonquil Nicholl, said, " I am filled with horror at the thought of what would have happened if this baby had arrived 24 hours earlier in that unseaworthy rubber boat."

She said there were sick children and people vomiting on the 140-passenger boat, which could have threatened the health of baby Newman had he been born on the dinghy. The boat was also filled with sea water and diesel fuel  a dangerous combination that can cause the skin to burn.

Luckily, the passengers travelling from Libya were discovered by rescue ship Aquarius.

Read: Twins Conjoined at the Heart Are Separated in Miracle Surgery: 'The Outlook Is Extremely Optimistic'

Within 24 hours, baby Newman was born on international waters, aboard the rescue ship.

"They came off the ship as a family  mother, father, three children  which is really nice," Giles told the Associated Press. "The mother and baby are great."

Story continues

Watch: Toddler Who Survived Under Capsized Boat Reunites With Rescuers: 'You Saved Our World'

Related Articles:
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - China-based internet company Baidu has received a permit to test its self-driving cars in California from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, as the race to introduce driverless automobiles accelerates.

Baidu, which unveiled its autonomous vehicle in China last December and has been steadily increasing its investments and partnerships in the sector, has already tested on Chinese roads and highways.

California is seen as a crucial testing ground for autonomous vehicles due to technological innovations being developed in Silicon Valley, where many car companies and start-ups operate research labs to develop self-driving technology.

Baidu said it would begin testing in California "very soon."

"Being able to do road tests will greatly accelerate our progress," Jing Wang, general manager of Baidu's autonomous driving unit, said in a statement.

In April, Baidu opened an office in Silicon Valley and said it plans to have over 100 researchers and engineers working there by year's end.

With its California DMV permit, Baidu becomes the 15th company to receive approval from the state. Others with the permit include traditional automakers such as Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Ford Motor Co, as well as technology firms including Alphabet's Google, and Chinese electric vehicle start-up Faraday Future.

In August, both Baidu and Ford jointly invested $150 million in Velodyne, a Silicon Valley maker of laser-based sensors that are a key building block for self-driving cars.

A flurry of well-funded Chinese tech firms, including Alibaba, have poured money and resources into the automotive sector, with many launching new electric car start-ups, some of them based in California.

Faraday Future was awarded approval to test its cars in California in June.

(Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Alan Crosby)
Sept 15 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp, the world's largest gold producer, said on Thursday Argentina's San Juan province announced a temporary suspension of operations at the company's Veladero mine.

The suspension came as the company plans further inspections of the mine's heap leach area, where precious metals are extracted from the ore.

A pipe in the heap leach area was damaged on Sept. 8 when it was struck by a large block of ice, resulting in a leak, the company said.

Barrick said it does not expect any material impact to Veladero's 2016 operating outlook.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
(New throughout, adds spokesman comment, production forecast, details of spill, previous accident)

By Susan Taylor

TORONTO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp said on Thursday that operations at its Veladero mine in Argentina were temporarily suspended by the government after a "small quantity" of processing solution that contains cyanide leaked outside a processing area.

The solution flowed over a berm surrounding the leach pad where gold is processed after a pipe was damaged on Sept. 8 by a large block of ice that rolled down a valley slope, Barrick said.

The affected ground and other material was collected and returned to the pad, said Barrick spokesman Andy Lloyd. "We are working with authorities to confirm the volume estimate," he said.

There is no material impact expected on the mine's operational forecast, Barrick said in a statement. The Toronto-based company has forecast annual output of 580,000-640,000 ounces of gold.

Barrick said it will start work on Thursday with authorities from San Juan province to confirm the facility's safety.

No solution from the pipe reached any water diversion channels or water courses, and the impacted area has been remediated, the company said. The incident posed no threat to the health of workers, communities or the environment, it added.

Last year, Barrick was forced to temporarily stop pumping cyanide solution used in the leaching process at Veladero after a spill in September. Tests later showed that the spill, caused by a defective valve, did not contaminate local water supplies.

(Additional reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Jeffrey Benkoe)
(Story refiles to change day of Potash/Agrium deal in paragraph 21 of September 14th story to Monday from Tuesday)

By Greg Roumeliotis and Ludwig Burger

NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer clinched a $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds company Monsanto on Wednesday, ending months of wrangling with a third sweetened offer that marks the largest all-cash deal on record.

The $128-a-share deal, up from Bayer's previous offer of $127.50 a share, has emerged as the signature deal in a consolidation race that has roiled the agribusiness sector in recent years, due to shifting weather patterns, intense competition in grain exports and a souring global farm economy.

"Bayers competitors are merging, so not doing this deal would mean having a competitive disadvantage," said fund manager Markus Manns of Union Investment, one of Bayers top 12 investors.

Grain prices are hovering near their lowest levels in years amid a global supply glut, and farm incomes have plunged.

But the proposed merger will likely face an intense and lengthy regulatory process in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the European Union and elsewhere. Hugh Grant, Monsanto's chief executive, said Wednesday the companies will need to file in about 30 jurisdictions for the merger.

Competition authorities are likely to scrutinize the tie-up closely, and some of Bayer's own shareholders have been highly critical of a takeover that they say risks overpaying and neglecting the company's pharmaceutical business.

If the deal closes, it will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.

What the newly-formed company would be named is unclear.

Grant said on Wednesday's media conference call that the future of the Monsanto brand has not yet been discussed, but the world's largest seed company is "flexible" about the name going forward.

The transaction includes a $2-billion break-up fee that Bayer will pay to Monsanto should it fail to get regulatory clearance. Bayer expects the deal to close by the end of 2017.

Story continues

The details confirm what a source close to the matter told Reuters earlier.

Baader Helevea Equity Research analyst Jacob Thrane, with a "sell" rating on Bayer, said the German company was paying 16.1 times Monsanto's forecast core earnings for 2017, more than the 15.5 times ChemChina agreed to pay for Swiss crop chemicals firm Syngenta last year.

He also said there was uncertainty over what the combined company would look like as regulators might demand asset sales.

Bernstein Research analysts said on Tuesday they saw only a 50 percent chance of the deal winning regulatory clearance, although they cited a survey among investors that put the likelihood at 70 percent on average.

"We believe political push-back to this deal, ranging from farmer dissatisfaction with all their suppliers consolidating in the face of low farm net incomes to dissatisfaction with Monsanto leaving the United States, could provide significant delays and complications," they wrote in a research note.

Bayer said it was offering a 44-percent premium to Monsanto's share price on May 9, the day before it made its first written proposal.

It plans to raise $19 billion to help fund the deal by issuing convertible bonds and new shares to its existing shareholders, and said banks had also committed to providing $57 billion of bridge financing.

Bayer shares rose 0.3 percent to 93.55 euros. Monsanto's were up 0.6 percent at $106.76.

ONE-STOP SHOP

Bayer's move to combine its crop chemicals business, the world's second-largest after Syngenta AG, with Monsanto's industry-leading seeds business, is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals tie-ups.

The German company is aiming to create a one-stop shop for seeds, crop chemicals and computer-aided services to farmers.

That was also the idea behind Monsanto's swoop on Syngenta last year, which the Swiss company fended off, only to agree later to a takeover by China's state-owned ChemChina.

U.S. chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont plan to merge and later spin off their respective seeds and crop chemicals operations into a major agribusiness.

And on Monday, Canadian fertilizer producers Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc and Agrium Inc agreed to combine to navigate a severe industry slump, but the new company's potential pricing power may attract tough regulatory scrutiny.

The Bayer-Monsanto deal will be the largest ever involving a German buyer, beating Daimler's tie-up with Chrysler in 1998, which valued the U.S. carmaker at more than $40 billion. It will also be the largest all-cash transaction on record, ahead of brewer InBev's $60.4 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch in 2008.

Bayer said it expected the deal to boost its core earnings per share in the first full year following completion, and by a double-digit percentage in the third year.

Bayer and Monsanto were in talks to sound out ways to combine their businesses as early as March, which culminated in Bayer's initial $122 per-share takeover proposal in May.

Antitrust experts have said regulators will likely demand the sale of some soybeans, cotton and canola seed assets.

Bayer said BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and JP Morgan had committed to providing the bridge financing.

BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are acting as lead financial advisers to Bayer, with Rothschild as an additional adviser. Bayer's legal advisers are Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Allen & Overy LLP.

Morgan Stanley and Ducera Partners are acting as financial advisers to Monsanto, with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz its legal adviser.

(Additional reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington D.C., and Karl Plume and P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago.; Editing by Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
It took $66 billion  the largest all-cash transaction in history  for German biotech giant Bayer to win control over Monsanto, the global seed market leader. The takeover creates a very unique  and to some, very unsettling  kind of corporate beast, one tasked with feeding billions as temperatures rise and farmlands shrink.

If the merger goes through  and thats a very big if, given that both EU and American regulators are likely to carefully scrutinize the deal  the new firm would corner more than a quarter of the world market for seeds and pesticides. In the United States, it would control some 58 percent of cottonseed sales. According to Vox, the new company would be the largest agribusiness in the world, selling 29 percent of the worlds seeds and 24 percent of its pesticides.

That puts one firm in a pole position to influence, and potentially control, how the world feeds itself. Regulators are likely to investigate whether the merged company will be too big and able to squeeze farmers and shoppers at the price register. And it comes as the rest of the agribusiness industry is also consolidating, in part to counteract slumping commodity prices due to the economic slowdown in China, which trickles down and forces farmers to spend less on supplies.

The specter of greater market power for firms that make the seeds that many poor farmers need to buy each spring before planting is sparking panic in the developing world.

It will lead to concentration of power and will result in market distraction. This is the third such merger of seed majors in recent times. This will leave only three players in the global market and will have a cascading impact on Indian agriculture, N. Prabhakara Rao, President of the National Seed Association of India, told the Hindu newspaper.

But the merger could be the future of the industry. Low food prices have left smaller firms unable to innovate, forcing more consolidation of resources.

Story continues

Monsanto isnt immune to these pressures. The company for years relied on profits from the weed-killer known as Roundup, which went hand-in-hand with crops resistant to the product, called Roundup Ready crops. But weeds in the United States are developing a resistance and the company, based in Missouri, is scrambling to find a better product. Monsanto even tried to buy rival Syngenta but the latters CEO Michael Mack said the $45 billion bid fell woefully short.

And the Bayer-Monsanto marriage is just the latest in a string of combinations in the industry. Dow Chemical and Dupont agreed to combine their crop science divisions last year; the deal still hasnt been approved by regulators. U.S. regulators signed off on a deal for China National Chemical Corporation to buy Swiss seed company Syngenta for $43 billion. Just last week, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Agrium merged in Canada.

These mergers are fueled by the need for increased research and development budgets. Agribusinesses are trying to develop crops that are resistant to climate change as temperatures around the world grow hotter and rainfall grows more erratic. Theyre also going to have to feed a lot more people; by 2050, projections show there will be 9 billion people living on the earth. This means there is going to be less area to farm.

To others, these kinds of merger are just excuses to corner the market.

The attempted takeover of Monsanto by Bayer is a threat to all Americans. These mergers boost the profits of huge corporations and leave Americans paying even higher prices, Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a statement. Not only should this merger be blocked, but the Department of Justice should reopen its investigation of Monsantos monopoly over the seed and chemical market.

Whether the Bayer-Monsanto deal will succeed remains to be seen. It could be especially difficult in Europe, where the use of genetically-modified seeds  Monsantos bread and butter  is widely frowned upon.

We expect significant antitrust and political hurdles and assign 50 percent probability of deal completion, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts Jeremy Redenius said in a research note.

Photo credit: SEAN GALLUP/Getty Images
Bayer AGs $66 billion purchase of Monsanto (NYSE:MON) is facing a nearly unprecedented wall of regulatory and political scrutiny that investors and analysts believe will eventually kill the biggest merger of 2016, the FOX Business Network has learned.

On the front lines of the deals sales pitch: Bayer AGs chief executive CEO Werner Baumann and Hugh Grant, the CEO of Monsanto. Part of Bayers strategy in acquiring Monsanto is to create a global behemoth in the production of crops through so called genetically modified organismsa technology that can mass produce food at a relatively low cost.

But the so-called GMO business is controversial and Monsanto  the biggest GMO producerhas faced a wave of protests from consumer advocates who believe these types of crops lead to severe health problems for those who consume them. Meanwhile because of the size of the combined entitythe acquisition itself was priced at $66 billion-Baumann and Grant have the difficult, and some would say, impossible task of trying to convince a myriad of regulators and politicians in the U.S., Canada, the European Union and even Brazil that the deal should be approved.

Already investors are skeptical: shares of Monsanto which are trading at the $104 per share level just a day after the announcement, far below the $128 a share price Bayer has offered. The lackluster price action is a sign that investors believe both CEOs ultimately will fail at gaining regulatory approval.

Indeed, the regulatory issues are complex. The European Union Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager said in June that the agency would look into whether such a large company would constitute a monopoly and raise seed prices to the detriment of farmers and ultimately consumers. The European Union, for example, also opened up antitrust cases involving two other potential deals, Dow Chemicals (NYSE:DOW) proposed merger with DuPont (NYSE:DD) and ChemChinas acquisition of Syngenta (NYSE:SYT).

Story continues

U.S. regulators are expected to look at similar issues, especially if Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wins the November election. Clinton is seen as someone who will push for tighter regulations against corporations than her GOP challenger Donald Trump through the Justice Departments anti-trust division that monitors such mergers, and the Federal Trade Commission. Congress could also hold hearings on the deal given the politics surrounding GMOs.

First off I find it hard to believe that any representative of Congress will say anything positive about this (deal) before the election, said Jonas Oxgaard an analyst from Bernstein Research during an interview with FOX Business. Secondly if Hillary Clinton becomes president then the odds of this deal going through are low.

But even some Republicans are poised to try and scuttle the deal. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee, and one of the Senates most conservative members, said in a statement: The transaction has the potential to result in a significant loss of competition and reduced incentives and ability to innovate, thereby raising prices and reducing consumer choice. I will encourage the DOJ or FTC to closely scrutinize the transaction and will consider whether a hearing is necessary to fully explore the competition issues raised by so much consolidation in such a short time.

Now that a deal has been announced, Bayer will likely face the brunt of the protests and political pressure about its new business model, analysts and investors say. Indeed Oxgaard says the GMO issue could be a deciding factor for regulators on whether they will approve the transaction. I dont think it will be a major talking point throughout the investigations, Oxgaard said. But it will probably cloud and influence the mind of the regulators decisions.

During an interview with the FOX Business Networks Liz Claman, Bayer CEO Baumann, who would be the chief executive of the new combined company, said he was confident he and his new colleagues at Monsanto will be able to overcome any regulatory issues and complete the deal by late 2017.

We are very confident that we will be able to get this transaction to a close and respond to the regulatory questions we are going to have, he said.

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It has been an exciting few months for the beauty industry, with models such as Taylor Hill and Bella Hadid being snapped up for major campaigns with Lancome and Dior respectively. But what can we expect for this season? Here are three muses set to achieve big things for Fall/Winter 2016.

Kaia Gerber

Kaia Gerber's star is definitively on the rise. Last week the 15-year-old daughter of Cindy Crawford sent ripples through the fashion world once again when she was revealed as the new face of Marc Jacobs Beauty for 2017. The details are strictly under wraps, but the fashion house has released one photo of the genetically blessed teen sporting a bold orange wig and double blue eyeliner stripes, so expect the campaign to be a creative one.

Hailey Baldwin

Hailey Baldwin is cementing her reputation as one of the hottest models on the scene with a new makeup range for the Australian beauty brand ModelCo. The limited-edition line of color cosmetics, named 'Hailey Baldwin for ModelCo', was inspired by the 19-year-old's own collection of "signature go-to beauty products." Hailey has promised an affordable, accessible range with slick packaging and formulas including "filter-esque hues," suggesting she is incorporating her social media prowess into the collection. Beauty fans will have to wait until November, when the collection launches, to find out.

Noemie Schmidt

If you're not yet familiar with Swiss actress Noemie Schmidt, that could be about to change. The star was unveiled as the face of Rochas's new fragrance back in May, but her new role has since been shrouded in mystery. Interparfums, which owns the Rochas brand, has yet to reveal the name of the scent, but Schmidt is set to front its new campaign from January 2017, so here's hoping the upcoming months provide more clues.
Brussels (AFP) - A Belgian zoo on Thursday finally named a baby giant panda three months after its birth, calling it "Tian Bao", which means "Treasure of Heaven" in Chinese.

The name was chosen by the panda's keepers at Pairi Daiza wildlife park outside Brussels after an online survey online, in which Tian Bao received the most public votes.

The cub's mother, Hao Hao, and her mate Xing Hui were loaned to Belgium from China for 15 years in February 2014 to mark Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the kingdom.

There are about 1,800 freely roaming pandas left in the world, with about 400 in captivity, mainly in southwest China. The species has a notoriously low birthrate.

The name Tian Bao received 40 percent of the vote in the online survey, beating Xing Hao ("Good Star"), Ou Xing ("Star of Europe"), Hua Li ("China and Belgium") and An Tuan ("United Peace").

Previously, the baby panda was just referred to asaby P".

Chinese ambassador to Belgium Qu Xing and Belgian Environment Minister Marie-Christine Marghem both attended the official naming ceremony, which falls on the same day as the Chinese mid-autumn festival.

A plaque was unveiled bearing the cub's new name in both Chinese and Latin characters -- while the animal was also named an honorary citizen of the town of Brugelette, 50 kilometres (30 miles), where the zoo is located.

The panda cub was born on June 2 to much fanfare, after Hao Hao was artificially inseminated twice in February with the sperm of Xing Hui.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature on September 4 upgraded the giant panda's status from "endangered" to "vulnerable", following decades of conservation work in China.
By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - The benefits of dark pools, where investors can trade shares anonymously, outweigh the risks, an analysis from Britain's markets watchdog said on Thursday.

Dark pools, which feature in Michael Lewis's best-seller book "Flash Boys", have come under fire from some financial experts who say they are poorly regulated and that traders working in them do not always get the best price for customers.

In January, Barclays and Credit Suisse banks settled federal and state charges in the United States that they misled investors in dark pools. The European Union, meanwhile, is introducing a cap on trading in dark pools from January 2018.

However, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said its analysis showed dark pools could provide important benefits.

Some investors like using dark pools because other players cannot see when they are executing larger orders. On public exchanges, traders can see a large order going through, and so can move the price against the investor conducting it.

Trading in Europe's dark pools hit nearly 100 billion euros (75 billion pounds) in June, the highest on record, according to Thomson Reuters Market Share Reporter. This is still only a fraction of overall equity trading turnover, though, which reached 2.3 trillion euros in the same month.

Dark pools execute orders using prices from public exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as a reference.

A major criticism of dark pools is that some of the prices in them are "stale," meaning they lag those on public exchanges. That matters because trading venues are legally required to offer "best execution" to customers, though sometimes a stale price can be better for the investor than an updated one.

In the first analysis of its kind in Britain, the FCA said "stale" bid and offer prices existed in every dark pool it sampled in Britain and their prevalence had risen to just over 4 percent of dark trades in June 2015 from 3.36 percent in 2014.

Story continues

On peak days, stale trades can top 10 percent, it added.

The FCA analysis also found that high-frequency traders, or those who use computer algorithms to nip in and out of markets at ultra fast speeds, were on the profitable side of stale trades in 96 percent of cases.

However, it estimated the cost to investors from stale prices was just 4.2 million pounds ($5.5 million) a year, a fraction of the 4.9 billion pounds average daily order book trading on the LSE.

"Overall, we find that the costs associated with inferior reference prices are small, and do not outweigh the useful service dark pools provide to market users by providing price improvement and reducing price impact," the analysis said.

Last week a group of asset managers and banks teamed up with the dark pool unit of the LSE's Turquoise arm.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Mark Potter)
As the threat of the Zika Virus spreads, it is important to know how to protect yourself and how not to get scammed by products claiming to offer protection when they are actually not very useful.

Since 2015, sales of products claiming to protect users from Zika are up 650 percent. The Doctors examine a slew of items on the market including a bracelet that many pregnant women in Florida are buying and wearing believing that it will shield them from mosquitoes and the possibility of contracting the virus. The Doctors say these bracelets do not cover enough of your skin, making them highly ineffective in warding off insects.

The Doctors note some questionable buzz words that products use to entice buyers into a false sense of security, including the words: safe, safe for kids, safe for adults. ER physician Dr. Travis Stork also points out that Vitamin B patches and essential oil stickers, which some claim can protect from mosquitoes, are not proven to be effective.

Watch: Zika Virus Might be Scarier than We Thought

So what does work to fend off mosquitoes, which can carry the Zika Virus? According to The Center for Disease Control and The Environmental Protection Agency, products with DEET, Picardin, oil of lemon eucalyptus and Permethrin  which is used in protective clothing  are most effective. Dermatologist Dr. Sonia Batra recommends that when applying both sunscreen and insect repellent to put on the sunscreen first and then layer on the repellent.

In case you need a Zika refresher, the virus is spread through mosquito bites, unprotected sex with someone who is infected, a pregnant infected mother to her fetus and  though unlikely  a blood transfusion. The virus can cause the brain defect microcephaly in unborn babies and had been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder that can cause muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.

Watch: Are You Safe from the Zika Virus?

Zika symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis, muscle pain and headache.

For more information on the virus, visit the CDCs Zika website.
By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Big fish and other large ocean creatures face higher risks of extinction than small ones, overturning a 500 million-year pattern and indicating that human hunting is to blame, scientists said on Wednesday. Fossils from five mass extinction events, most recently when an asteroid struck the Earth 65 million years ago, showed that small marine animals were slightly more likely to be wiped out than big ones in the pre-historic cataclysms, a study published in the journal Science said. By contrast, large modern fish such as tuna and sharks, as well as mammals including whales and seals were more likely to be on a global "Red List" of endangered species than small fish and molluscs. Modern threats "are dominated by large body size. The past extinction events are not," Jonathan Payne, of Stanford University, who led the study told Reuters. "This kind of effect hasn't happened before in the ocean ... in half a billion years," he said. He said the findings were evidence that human hunting was the dominant threat to marine life. "STILL TIME" U.N. reports say the Earth risks a "sixth mass extinction", driven on land by people clearing forests to make way for farms and roads, as well as by pollution and hunting. Climate change will add to the risks, on land and in the oceans. The Red List, run by scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, says between 24 and 40 percent of ocean creatures are now vulnerable to extinction. Even so, the oceans have escaped hunting on a scale blamed for wiping out land creatures such as the woolly mammoth, the cattle-like aurochs, the Tasmanian tiger and the dodo. "Until relatively recently, humans were restricted to coastal areas and didn't have the technology to fish in the deep ocean on an industrial scale," co-author Noel Heim of Stanford wrote in a statement. Of large modern ocean creatures, only Stellers' sea cow, which grew up to 9 meters (30 feet) in length, has been driven to extinction by hunting, in the 18th century. That meant there was still time to avert extinctions. "The good news is that it's not going to happen right away," Payne said. "We have the opportunity to change." Most whaling has been banned since the 1980s. Last month, U.S. President Barack Obama expanded a protected area off Hawaii to ban commercial fishing from 582,500 square miles (1.5 million sq kms) of the Pacific Ocean. (Reporting by Alister Doyle; editing by Ralph Boulton)
signet ceo mark light

In 2008, a dozen women employed by Sterling Jewelers sued the company. They're alleging sexual discrimination at the highest levels.

The matter, once argued in contractually mandated private arbitration proceedings, has now evolved into a class-action lawsuit, with the trial beginning in October 2017.*

Sterling is a division of Signet Jewelers, which owns Zales, Kay Jewelers, and Jared's Galleria. Class members can include women who were sales associates, department managers, assistant managers, or store managers at a Sterling retail store in the 13 years since October 16, 2003. It's a potential class of about 44,000, filings related to the case show; already, more than 10,000 have joined.

That's not all. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission separately filed a gender-discrimination suit against Sterling a few months after the initial complaint. An aspect of that case  whether the EEOC conducted enough of an investigation before suing  has made its way to the US Supreme Court.

In its annual report, the company can't say how much it'll have to pay if it loses, but it has told shareholders that if it loses, it will be "required to pay substantial damages."

It's another headache for Signet, which over the past year has fought off accusations of diamond switching and deceptive sales practices. The company's share price has fallen by half in less than a year.

In a statement to Business Insider, the company said that it has created opportunities for "many thousands of women" and that it "stands by its core values of fairness, opportunity, integrity, and respect."

"We have taken the allegations of pay and promotions discrimination raised in this case seriously and investigated them thoroughly; they are not substantiated by the facts and do not reflect the culture of our company," a representative wrote in an email. "We will continue to defend the company against these unjustified legal claims, which misrepresent our deep commitment to, and history of, equal opportunity."

Story continues

The claim

The plaintiffs claim they were paid and promoted less than their male colleagues. They also accuse executives of regarding "women at Sterling as little more than sexual opportunities to exploit," according to redacted arbitration documents.

The claim, however, does not include sexual harassment.

Here's a bit from the claimants' motion for a class action:

"As the substantial record plainly reveals, this evidence of conduct demeaning toward women originates with the CEO, DVPs, and VPROs and is perpetuated by similar conduct exhibited by DMs throughout the company. ...

"The conduct has occurred in settings that are public and private, ranging from banter in hallways and elevators to interactions within Sterling stores and at the mandatory annual meeting of all company managers held in Orlando, Florida.

"This behavior includes frequent references to women in sexual and vulgar ways; groping and grabbing women; soliciting sexual relations with women, sometimes as a quid pro quo for employment benefits; creating an environment at often mandatory company events in which women are expected to undress publicly, accede to sexual overtures and refrain from complaining about the abusive treatment to which they have been subjected. It has even included sexual assault and rape."

Zales

Arbitration documents describe a situation in which women in various states of undress entertained members of senior management poolside at a company meeting. They say they were subject to comments about their clothes and bodies. In one specific case, a woman who complained says she was told she was "rehashing old news" and ignored.

In response, the company has argued that the claimants have not sufficiently proved they worked in a hostile environment, filings show.

This is contrary to what James Outtz found. He was the president of Outtz and Associates, a consulting firm brought on to do a report on Sterling's culture ahead of the arbitration proceedings.

Outtz wrote that sexual advancements created a "climate and culture at Sterling in which female employees and their work are devalued when compared to male employees."



In a response sent to Business Insider after the publication of this story, the company said Outtz testimony was rejected by the arbitrator and that the harassment allegations were only included to "paint a negative and false picture of the company."



It also said:

"The fact is, many of the allegations were brought to Sterlings attention for the first time during the current litigation, and some appear to date back more than 25 years. The company has processes in place for receiving and investigating such allegations, and we wish that anyone who had a workplace concern back then had used those processes, so that we could have investigated their concerns and responded appropriately."

Some allegations have been investigated and addressed, the company said, while others related to consensual relationships among people who never raised concerns with the company.

'Highly protected'

In arbitration documents, one claimant said she was fired in 2006 after refusing to dance with a manager during a 2005 managers' meeting.

When she wanted to discuss the incident, as well as her termination, she said the manager had words for her (from the motion for class action):

"He said: '[Y]ou will not win a sexual harassment or wrongful termination case against Sterling.'

"He said, 'Sterling is highly protected [...] we have our own resolution program, which means you cannot hire an attorney.'

"He continued to tell her: 'You're not going to win.'"

That remains to be seen. But 10 years later, she's about to have her day in court.

*A previous version of the story stated that the trial will begin in October 2016. It will begin in 2017.





More From Business Insider


PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Motorcyclists are 26 times more likely to have a fatal accident per mile driven than those in passenger vehicles and while motorcycle fatalities were down by 2% nationwide in Pennsylvania they rose slightly. Philadelphia car accident lawyer Rand Spear in a podcast available on YouTube says increasing popularity of motorcycles plus inexperienced riders may be creating the trend.

Fatalities for car occupants have declined 30% since 1997 while the fatality rate for motorcycles has increased 122%. Auto accident attorney Spear says there are many factors that may explain the difference. "I think there's greater popularity for motorcycles among, let's say weekend warriors, who are riding these very fast bikes known as pocket rockets. They are less experienced riders who are riding too fast. About 34% of the deaths were from speeding."

"Other problems include a lack of a universal helmet law. There really should be a federal law in my opinion but, unfortunately, there's not. Only 19 states have these laws," Spear says. In 2015 in Pennsylvania there were 179 motorcycle fatalities, 48% or 86 of these riders were not wearing helmets. Of the 332 bikers that were not killed in the crashes, 217 were wearing a helmet, almost two-thirds of the riders. New Jersey requires helmets when riding a motorcycle. Pennsylvania only requires helmets for motorcyclists 21 and younger.

"You need to wear a helmet. It makes too much common sense to wear a helmet but you know some people are going to continue riding motorcycles without them. It's very unfortunate. The statistics speak for themselves and it's just crazy to be driving around in this day and age without a helmet," Spear says.

Spear says he rides a motorcycle and has some suggestions for other riders. "Be very careful of cars turning left in front of bikes. They make up 42% of all crashes; almost half of the crashes are from cars making a left-hand turn in front of the bike. Keep an eye on the wheels of the car. You can't always tell just by looking at the car what their intentions are so if you can look at the wheels so you can anticipate turns like that."

Story continues

"Never ever ride between an active traffic lane and parked cars, not just because of the dangers of doors opening, but because pedestrians step out between cars. For that and a million other reasons you just don't want to be there, that's a very dangerous area."

Spear says most accidents involving vehicles and motorcycles are the fault of the vehicle drivers. "Sixty percent of car crashes with motorcycles are the fault of motorists. It's the motorists who have to pay attention. Look twice before you turn. Always be aware of bikers and their proximity to your car. Give them more room than if you would if it was a car near you. Stay away from the motorcycles. They stop faster and they have more reasons to stop quickly. Fully signal your turn and lane changes and check your blind spots."

If you or a family member are injured in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, contact Philadelphia car accident lawyer Rand Spear today at 888-373-4LAW or through his website for a free consultation. You can discuss what happened, how the law may apply and your best options for obtaining compensation for your injuries.

source: http://randspear.com/2016/09/12/bikers-seek-fun-find-trouble-says-philadelphia-car-accident-lawyer-rand-spear/

SOURCE: Rand Spear the Accident Lawyer via Submit Press Release 123
From Esquire

When Bill Murray's not acting on the big screen, he's busy crashing parties, popping out of cakes, and showing up to bars with Wu Tang Clan to serve nothing but tequila shots. This weekend, he's taking his skills to Greenpoint, where he's going to pour out some cold ones for some very lucky patrons.

Photo credit: Giphy

This Friday and Saturday, starting at 7pm each night, Murray will take full control of the bar at 21 Greenpoint, which is co-owned by his son, Homer Murray. Lines will probably be out the door and around the street, but if you manage to get in, be prepared to drink a lot of tequila at the hands of good ol' Bill.

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COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Boeing <BA.N> formally challenged a decision by the Danish government to pick Lockheed Martin's <LMT.N> F-35 fighter jet over its own Super Hornet, saying on Thursday the choice was based on a "flawed evaluation process".

Boeing said it had submitted a request to the country's ministry of defense that would require it to provide all materials related to the procurement evaluation and decision announced in June.

"We believe the ministry's evaluation of the competitors was fundamentally flawed and inaccurately assessed the cost and capability of the F/A-18 Super Hornet," said Boeing vice president Debbie Rub.

In May, Boeing challenged the Danish government's recommendation to buy 27 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, questioning data which suggested its Super Hornet fighter jet was a more expensive option.

Denmark's Defense Minister Peter Christensen confirmed that Boeing would get access to the requested information.

"I note that we had a very thorough and transparent process before the Danish choice of fighter jet. This led to a broad political agreement," Christensen said in an email.

A ministry report in May evaluating each fighter jet candidate was based on data estimating that the Super Hornet would have a service life of 6,000 flying hours, while Boeing thinks the right figure for Denmark is 9,500 hours.

The report also concluded that the total cost of the F-35 jet is 42.2 billion Danish crowns ($6.4 billion) while the Super Hornet would cost 60.6 billion crowns.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Copenhagen (AFP) - Boeing accused the Danish government Thursday of overseeing a "fundamentally flawed" process to replace its fleet of fighter jets which saw the US defence giant lose out to competitor Lockheed Martin.

In June, Denmark decided to replace its ageing fleet of F-16s with 27 US-built Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters in a deal valued at 20 billion kroner (2.69 billion euros, $3.02 billion).

Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter's Typhoon model were also in the running for the order, which had been debated for over 10 years.

"We believe the ministry's evaluation of the competitors was fundamentally flawed and inaccurately assessed the cost and capability of the F/A-18 Super Hornet," Debbie Rub, a Boeing vice president, said in a statement.

The company had submitted a request for the defence ministry to provide "all materials related to the fighter procurement evaluation and decision announced in June," it said.

"We're taking this step because there's too much at stake for Denmark and, potentially, other countries considering the Super Hornet," Rub said.

She described it as "the first step toward bringing a formal legal challenge."

Boeing said it had voiced concern earlier this year over the Danish evaluation process, in particular with a government estimate that "the Super Hornet would cost up to twice as much as detailed in US Department of Defense budget documents."

Danish Defence Minister Peter Christensen said it was "natural" that only the company behind the winning bid would be happy with the outcome of the process.

"I note that we have had a very thorough and transparent process," he told Danish news agency Ritzau.

Denmark is one of nine partner countries, that also include Britain, Canada and Turkey, who are helping pay for the futuristic F-35A fighter jet's development.

The country expects to take delivery of the F-35s between 2021 and 2026.
GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana has cut its 2016 economic growth estimate to 3.5 percent from an earlier projection of 4.2 percent, an official in the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. Deputy Secretary for Macroeconomic Policy in the Ministry of Finance Kelapile Ndobano said the economy is expected to grow 4.1 percent in 2017, down from an estimate of 4.3 percent presented by the finance minister in February. Ndobano said the government expects Botswana to post a budget deficit of 4.1 percent of GDP in 2017. (Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Joe Brock)
By Natalia Scalzaretto SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday dismissed corruption charges against him as a fabrication and said he was being framed to stop him from running for the presidency in two years time. Still Brazil's most popular politician despite involvement of his Workers Party in the massive Petrobras graft scandal, Lula cried and laughed as he dismissed charges that could lead to his arrest and end his political career. "Prove I committed one act of corruption and I will walk to the police station and hand myself in," the gravelly-voiced Lula said at his first public appearance since he was formally charged on Wednesday. Prosecutors charged him with corruption and money laundering for allegedly taking bribes disguised as favors from an engineering firm implicated in the sprawling bribery and political kickback scheme at Petrobras, the state-run oil company. Tears came to Lula's eyes as he recalled going hungry as a child before he rose to become a union leader, founded Latin America's most important leftist party, and was elected as Brazil's first working-class president. The 70-year-old Lula was a hero to many poor Brazilians during his 2003-2010 government, which helped to raise more than 30 million people out of poverty. Lula said he would collaborate with prosecutors because he had committed no crime, and he pleaded for respect for his wife, who has also been charged in a case involving a luxury apartment in the coastal resort of Guaruja that prosecutors allege was given to Lula as a bribe by construction company OAS. Lula has not ruled out a presidential bid in 2018; polls show he would beat other candidates in a first round but lose a runoff. However, a criminal conviction would bar him from running for eight years. With its former treasurer in jail and other party members under investigation in the Petrobras scandal, Lula's party is expected to suffer big losses in mayoral races next month. Some analysts predict the party could lose half of its majors. Lula was charged two weeks after his hand-picked successor Dilma Rousseff was removed from office in an impeachment trial that was driven by discontent with her management of the economy, now in its second year of recession. "The damage to the Workers Party is enormous. The creator and the creation are being systematically demolished," said Thiago de Aragao, a partner at Arko Advice consultancy. Lula's fate is now in the hands of crusading anti-corruption Judge Sergio Moro, who has until Monday to decide whether to indict the former president. Earlier on Thursday, Moro sentenced a friend of Lula's, rancher Jose Carlos Bumlai, to nine years in jail for a fraudulent loan to the Workers Party that was allegedly repaid with a lucrative Petrobras drillship contract. Brazilian media reported that police are investigating the Workers Party governor of Minas Gerais state, Fernando Pimentel, for facilitating loans by the national development bank BNDES to finance projects in Argentina and Mozambique by Brazil's largest builder, Odebrecht, when he was a minister in Rousseff's government. Construction magnate Marcelo Odebrecht is serving a 19-year prison sentence for bribery, money laundering and organized crime for his part in the Petrobras scheme in which billions of dollars were siphoned off overpriced contacts with Petrobras. (Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Leslie Adler)
(Recasts to focus on corruption probe, impact on banks)

By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Marcela Ayres

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The impact of Brazil's biggest corruption scandal on bank balance sheets still requires attention from policymakers even though the risk to the sector is manageable, a senior central bank official said on Thursday.

Part of a 26 percent surge in loan-loss provisions among Brazilian banks in the 12 months through June stemmed from potential losses related to the investigation known as "Operation Car Wash," said Anthero Meirelles, a central bank director in charge of oversight.

At a presentation of a semi-annual report on financial stability, Meirelles said policymakers continue to monitor potential effects from the probe, which has lasted 29 months and ensnared Brazil's largest state-controlled firms and some of the nation's biggest engineering groups.

So far, banks in Brazil have mitigated the risk of growing interdependence between engineering firms, suppliers and services companies involved in the scandal by lending more prudently and asking for more guarantees from borrowers.

"We do still hold the same view: that the Car Wash situation remains a risk, although a risk that the banking system has the ability to manage," Meirelles told reporters in Brasilia.

The Car Wash scandal - which unveiled a decade-long graft ring by which builders won contracts with state firms through an extensive web of bribery - has led to a number of large firms, including Grupo OAS SA, to enter bankruptcy protection.

The scandal also accelerated the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff last month.

Nevertheless, the country's banking system remains highly resilient to an adverse credit event, even under some extreme scenarios, the report said. A series of simulation exercises found that banks could absorb massive default-related losses, at the cost of a decline in profitability, the report showed.

Fallout from the scandal has made it harder for banks to predict trends in defaults amid an uncertain political and economic outlook. Defaults are near all-time highs, offsetting the benefits stemming from rising borrowing costs and prudent loan-loss provisioning for banks.

An index of banking and financial shares trading in the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange gained the most in 10 days on Thursday, adding 1.8 percent to 6,120 points. The index is up 42 percent this year.

(Additional reporting by Camila Moreira in Sao Paulo; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alan Crosby)
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's Samarco Mineracao SA will be able to resume iron ore mining operations should co-owners Vale SA and BHP Billiton Plc come through with promised investments, Mining and Energy Minister Fernando Coelho said on Thursday. Samarco had operations halted last November, when a tailings dam at the mine burst and unleashed a mud flow that killed 19 people, left hundreds homeless and polluted a major river. Coelho told reporters in Rio de Janeiro that power utility Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA has told the government that it is interested in retaining control of three power dams whose operating licenses could be auctioned off in the second half of next year. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Anthony Boadle)
By Sergio Spagnuolo CURITIBA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors charged ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday with being the "boss" of a vast corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras, in a major blow to the leftist hero's hopes of a political comeback. It was the first time that Lula, still Brazil's most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party, was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro , as the company is officially known. Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told a news conference that Lula will be charged with corruption and money laundering for leading a kickback scheme that caused an estimated 42 billion reais ($12.6 billion) in losses to Petrobras shareholders and tax payers. "He was the conductor of this criminal orchestra," Dallagnol said during a detailed presentation of the investigation. "The Petrobras graft scheme aimed at keeping the Workers Party in power by criminal means." Lula's lawyers said prosecutors lacked evidence to back up their accusations which were part of political persecution to stop him running in the 2018 election. "This Lula-centered farce was trumped up as an affront to the democratic state and intelligence of Brazilian citizens," one of Lula's lawyers, Cristiano Zanin, told reporters in Sao Paulo. Dallagnol stopped short of saying investigators would seek an arrest order for Lula, who became a hero to many poor Brazilians during his 2003-2010 government. The two-year-old Operation Carwash anti-corruption investigation, based in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, has uncovered how political appointees named by Lula's Workers Party and its allies handed overpriced contracts to engineering firms in return for illicit party funding and bribes. The scandal helped topple the Workers Party from power last month by crushing the popularity of Lula's chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff. She was impeached by Congress on unrelated charges of breaking budget rules, amid rising anger over her handling of Brazil's worst recession since the 1930s. Dallagnol said that Lula, because of his control of the machinery of the Workers Party and the Brazilian government, was the central figure in the scheme. Prosecutors allege that the charismatic former union leader had personally received some 3.7 million reais ($1.11 million) in bribes, including a luxury apartment on the coast of Sao Paulo from one of the engineering and construction firms at the center of the bribery scandal, OAS. Lula has denied ownership of the three-floor condo in Guaruja. Lula's case will go before crusading anti-corruption Judge Sergio Moro, who has jailed dozens of executives and others involved in the scheme. Former first lady, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, has also been charged. Lula has separately been indicted by a court in Brasilia for obstruction of justice in a case related to an attempt to persuade a defendant in the Petrobras scandal not to turn state's witness. BLOW TO LULA MYTH Lula, 70, has not ruled out running again for president in 2018, but a criminal conviction would bar him from being a candidate for the next eight years. His fall, as well as that of the leftist party he founded in 1980, has been dramatic. A one-time shoeshine boy and union leader who led massive strikes against Brazil's military dictatorship, contributing to its downfall, he was elected the nation's first working class president in 2002 after three failed campaigns. Wildly popular with Brazil's poor, Lula's social policies helped yank millions out of poverty and into the middle class, and he left office in 2010 with an 83-percent approval rating and an economy that grew at a blistering 7.5 percent. But two years ago, as the Petrobras probe became public, prosecutors began to slowly put Lula in their crosshairs. Many prosecutors and investigators say they cannot imagine such a powerful figure was unaware of the institutionalized corruption and political kickbacks taking place at Petrobras and other state-run companies. Marcos Troyjo, a former Brazilian diplomat and co-director of Columbia University's BRICLab in Rio de Janeiro, said he thinks Wednesday's charges are the first of many Lula will be facing in the coming months. "That means the Workers Party, which may have thought it would move comfortably into the opposition after Dilma's impeachment, will confront extreme challenges," said Troyjo. "It's certainly the beginning of the end to Lula's presidential aspirations for 2018." Recent polls have shown that despite the investigations targeting Lula and the Workers Party, he would be a favorite to win the next presidential election. "But these charges are likely too big a blow to the political myth of Lula, to the candidate Lula and to the Workers Party as a whole for that to happen," Troyjo said. (Reporting by Sergio Spagnuolo; Writing by Anthony Boadle and Brad Brooks; Editing by Andrew Hay and Bill Rigby)
Paris (AFP) - He's brilliant and charismatic and should be one of Jamaica's heroes up there on the pedestal with Usain Bolt and the reggae and dancehall stars who stand in the long shadow of Bob Marley.

But Jamaica has trouble embracing the novelist Marlon James, even after he won one of the world's top literary prizes, the Man Booker, last year, the first Caribbean writer to do so since V S Naipaul 45 years ago.

The reason is simple. "I'm a batty boy," James told AFP, using the derogatory island slang for gay.

In Jamaica homosexual acts are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Ragga stars like Buju Banton have called for the murder of gay men, and a string of horrific killings a few years ago prompted rights groups to brand it the "most homophobic place on earth".

Yet James argues that "Jamaica has come a long way" since. And he hopes the international success of his book, "A Brief History of Seven Killings" -- which turns on an attempted assassination of Marley in 1976 -- will help.

"It is still a very homophobic country, though it has evolved for the better in a lot of ways," he said. "Which doesn't mean I feel totally safe."

When the US-based writer returned in glory earlier this year to give the Bob Marley lecture at his old alma mater, the University of the West Indies, "people were really supportive but there was still a Facebook page saying, 'Should a homosexual be talking about Bob Marley?'"

- 'Inciting hatred' -

"You can imagine what the comments on it were like... The trouble is I know who put up the page. It is somebody who works in the arts, yet she's still a flipping homophobe, and has no problem inciting hatred.

"She said at one point, 'I read the book and I thought it was good, but should this batty boy...'"

What cheered him however was being invited to talk to the university's gay student association.

Story continues

"I was so stunned we had one. Even if there was one I would never have gone," said 45-year-old James.

Ten years ago riot police had to fire on a mob who chased a gay student through the campus, and in 2012 security guards at the island's University of Technology beat up a man who had sought refuge from a similarly homophobic crowd.

Violence is never far away in James' "A Brief History of Seven Killings". Critics have called the book a virtuoso evocation of the dark days of the late 1970s, when rival political factions fought on the streets of Kingston, with the CIA arming gangsters to unseat the socialist Michael Manley -- who Marley supported.

- Cold War battle -

"Jamaica became another Cold War battleground," James said, "and as elsewhere the US ended with some very strange bedfellows."

But rather than stop his story at the failed attempt to kill Marley, who was shot in the arm and carried the bullet to his grave, James -- who also wears his hair in dreadlocks -- became fascinated with what happened to the gunmen afterwards.

"These men for the most part vanished. There are rumours about what happened to them -- who was shot, whose throat was slit, who was hung... Jamaicans made an effort to destroy them and make sure they never existed. Of course that fired my imagination," James said.

"I had no idea that two people involved in the Marley assassination became instrumental in bringing crack to America. So I followed the gun and murder and drug trail, and the CIA and the Cold War" right to 1991.

"The whole writing of this book was crazy. The very first paragraph that I wrote is now on page 458. I wanted to write something quick, brief and brutal," he added.

But the book ended up at nearly 700 pages. "It is some crazy shit," James laughed, "that breaks every rule, so don't ask me why it works. But it does."
(LONDON)  Britain gave the go-ahead on Thursday for a $24 billion nuclear power plant, ending weeks of uncertainty that strained ties with China and France but also signalling a more cautious approach to foreign investment in critical infrastructure projects.

The government of new Prime Minister Theresa May said it would proceed with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England, approving French utility firm EDFs plan to build Britains first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash

It also set out a new investment policy designed to give it greater control over future deals when foreign states were involved in buying stakes in critical infrastructure.

May, who became prime minister after the Brexit vote, stunned investors by putting the nuclear project on hold in July  just hours before a contract was due to be signed  saying she needed time to assess all aspects of the project including national security concerns.

Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the governments agreement, Greg Clark, business minister, said in a statement.

Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.

The government said it would be able to stop the sale of EDFs controlling stake before or after completion of the project, under the new safeguards. EDF said it had agreed with the government to retain control of the project.

EDF, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN)  the projects state-backed Chinese investor  and business lobby groups welcomed the decision to proceed.

We are very happy the British government has approved the project, CGN said in a statement, adding that the company could now work with EDF as planned to provide Britain with a safe, reliable, sustainable source of low carbon energy.

Story continues

Mays decision in July to review the project came little more than a month after Britons voted to leave the EU in a referendum that forced the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron  whose administration gave the initial go-ahead to the plan.

The Brexit vote, and the resulting economic uncertainty, cast doubt on the future of major British infrastructure projects. It also threw a spotlight on Britains trade relations with China and other big economies outside Europe.

The two new reactors at Hinkley Point, in southwest England, would provide around 7 percent of Britains electricity, helping to fill a supply gap as the countrys coal plants are set to close by 2025.

Britain has committed to pay a minimum price for the power generated by the plant for 35 years. Critics of the deal had expected the government to try to renegotiate the price, which they say was set too high before oil prices fell, dragging energy costs lower.

But the statement on Thursday said the price had not changed for the energy.
* UK ends weeks of uncertainty, smoothes Chinese, French ties

* Sets new policy for investment in critical infrastructure

* Britain will be able to block sale of EDF's controlling stake

* Project offers insight into how UK could operate post-Brexit (Adds reaction)

By William James and Kate Holton

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Britain gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion nuclear power plant on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty that had strained ties with China, which will help pay for it, and France, which will build it.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government signalled it would take a more cautious approach in future over foreign investment in big infrastructure projects than her predecessor David Cameron.

But ultimately, after stunning Paris and Beijing by putting the deal on hold in July after May took office, it agreed to go ahead with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England. Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades will be built by French state-controlled utility firm EDF, backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash.

The deal is part of a recovery of the global nuclear power industry following a slump caused by the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The government drew fire for approving it without renegotiating the price British consumers will pay for electricity. The opposition Labour Party supports the project in principle but says its guarantee to pay a minimum of roughly double the current market price for electricity for 35 years is a rip-off.

May's government said a new investment policy would give it greater control over future deals when foreign states are involved in "critical infrastructure", a departure from the more open approach pursued by Cameron.

May inherited the deal from Cameron, who quit as prime minister after losing Britain's referendum to stay in the EU. In one of her first acts, she put the project on hold, hours before a contract was due to be signed, saying she needed time to assess it.

"The government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power stations for a generation," business minister Greg Clark told parliament on Thursday, setting out changes to the deal and British policy on foreign infrastructure investment.

Story continues

"These changes mean that while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works always in the public interest," he said.

Supporters of the project said Britain needed to protect its relations with major economies after voting to leave the European Union, and show it was open for business.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the decision while Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said it continued the strategic partnership between the two countries.

VERY HAPPY

Under the new plan, the government will be able to block the sale of EDF's controlling stake before or after completion of the project - a proviso it said it would apply to significant stakes in all future nuclear projects. EDF said it had agreed with the government to retain control of the project and would sign the deal "in the coming days".

China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) - the project's Chinese state-backed investor - and business lobby groups also welcomed the decision on Hinkley.

"We are very happy the British government has approved the project," CGN said in a statement.

The two new reactors at Hinkley Point are scheduled to be running by the middle of next decade and provide around 7 percent of Britain's electricity, helping to fill a supply gap as the country's coal plants are set to close by 2025.

Critics have focussed on the guaranteed price for electricity, which they say does not reflect falling energy prices since the deal was drawn up, or anticipated declines in the costs of rival clean technologies like wind and solar power.

"It is extraordinary that they have not reviewed the price per unit of power," said Barry Gardiner, the opposition Labour Party's energy spokesman.

The deal also affirmed the government's commitment to replace its old nuclear power stations. Nearly all of Britain's eight functioning nuclear plants will have to shut down by 2030.

Environmental lobby groups, some opposition political parties, and a former board member at EDF said that was a mistake.

"The decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point is a bad choice for both France and the UK," former EDF board member Gerard Magnin told Reuters. Magnin resigned from the board in protest at the company's nuclear strategy before a vote that narrowly approved the project.

"By concentrating technical and financial means in this investment on both sides of the channel, the respective governments and EDF will deprive their citizens and small companies of the opportunities for jobs and innovation that would come from inventing the 21st-century energy world."

INVESTMENT POLICY

The decision to go ahead with Hinkley goes some way to respond to concern that May, a former interior minister, was less receptive to foreign investment, particularly from China which has plans to invest billions in British infrastructure.

According to a former colleague, ex-business minister Vince Cable, May had expressed wariness at the "gung-ho" attitude that Cameron took towards courting Chinese investment.

Addressing those concerns, the government said it would take a "special share" in future nuclear projects to ensure that significant stakes could not be sold without its consent.

Simon Taylor, academic director of the Master of Finance Programme at Cambridge University, said he thought the policy was largely cosmetic.

"The UK really needs investment in infrastructure. There are very few nuclear operators around the world. Most are already seeking to invest in the UK and so it's not clear who they would regard as unwelcome, beyond Russia," he said.

CGN plans to make a number of investments in British nuclear power including the building and operating of a new station with EDF at Bradwell-on-Sea, southeast England. Bradwell would be a Chinese-led project, using Chinese reactor technology.

The government also said it was introducing broader rules to increase scrutiny of the national security implications of foreign ownership and control of critical infrastructure, including the need for continuous government approval of foreign owners and a review of takeover rules. It did not specify what sort of projects would be included.

A source close to CGN said it was not concerned by the new ownership rules and planned to move ahead with Bradwell project and another minority investment, in the development of a new power station at Sizewell, in eastern England.

Horizon, a nuclear new build group in Britain owned by Japan's Hitachi's, said it too was "entirely comfortable" with the new approach.

China's Xinhua news agency, which offers a reflection of official thinking, welcomed the decision albeit with a thinly-veiled criticism of the delay.

"Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development," it said in an editorial published on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Karolin Schaps, Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Geert De Clercq and Richard Lough in Paris; Writing by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Pravin Char)
By William James and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Britain gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion nuclear power plant on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty that had strained ties with China, which will help pay for it, and France, which will build it. Prime Minister Theresa May's government signaled it would take a more cautious approach in future over foreign investment in big infrastructure projects than her predecessor David Cameron. But ultimately, after stunning Paris and Beijing by putting the deal on hold in July after May took office, it agreed to go ahead with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England. Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades will be built by French state-controlled utility firm EDF, backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash. The deal is part of a recovery of the global nuclear power industry following a slump caused by the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan. The government drew fire for approving it without renegotiating the price British consumers will pay for electricity. The opposition Labour Party supports the project in principle but says its guarantee to pay a minimum of roughly double the current market price for electricity for 35 years is a rip-off. May's government said a new investment policy would give it greater control over future deals when foreign states are involved in "critical infrastructure", a departure from the more open approach pursued by Cameron. May inherited the deal from Cameron, who quit as prime minister after losing Britain's referendum to stay in the EU. In one of her first acts, she put the project on hold, hours before a contract was due to be signed, saying she needed time to assess it. "The government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power stations for a generation," business minister Greg Clark told parliament on Thursday, setting out changes to the deal and British policy on foreign infrastructure investment. "These changes mean that while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works always in the public interest," he said. Supporters of the project said Britain needed to protect its relations with major economies after voting to leave the European Union, and show it was open for business. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the decision while Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said it continued the strategic partnership between the two countries. VERY HAPPY Under the new plan, the government will be able to block the sale of EDF's controlling stake before or after completion of the project - a proviso it said it would apply to significant stakes in all future nuclear projects. EDF said it had agreed with the government to retain control of the project and would sign the deal "in the coming days". China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) - the project's Chinese state-backed investor - and business lobby groups also welcomed the decision on Hinkley. "We are very happy the British government has approved the project," CGN said in a statement. The two new reactors at Hinkley Point are scheduled to be running by the middle of next decade and provide around 7 percent of Britain's electricity, helping to fill a supply gap as the country's coal plants are set to close by 2025. Critics have focused on the guaranteed price for electricity, which they say does not reflect falling energy prices since the deal was drawn up, or anticipated declines in the costs of rival clean technologies like wind and solar power. "It is extraordinary that they have not reviewed the price per unit of power," said Barry Gardiner, the opposition Labour Party's energy spokesman. The deal also affirmed the government's commitment to replace its old nuclear power stations. Nearly all of Britain's eight functioning nuclear plants will have to shut down by 2030. Environmental lobby groups, some opposition political parties, and a former board member at EDF said that was a mistake. "The decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point is a bad choice for both France and the UK," former EDF board member Gerard Magnin told Reuters. Magnin resigned from the board in protest at the company's nuclear strategy before a vote that narrowly approved the project. "By concentrating technical and financial means in this investment on both sides of the channel, the respective governments and EDF will deprive their citizens and small companies of the opportunities for jobs and innovation that would come from inventing the 21st-century energy world." INVESTMENT POLICY The decision to go ahead with Hinkley goes some way to respond to concern that May, a former interior minister, was less receptive to foreign investment, particularly from China which has plans to invest billions in British infrastructure. According to a former colleague, ex-business minister Vince Cable, May had expressed wariness at the "gung-ho" attitude that Cameron took towards courting Chinese investment. Addressing those concerns, the government said it would take a "special share" in future nuclear projects to ensure that significant stakes could not be sold without its consent. Simon Taylor, academic director of the Master of Finance Program at Cambridge University, said he thought the policy was largely cosmetic. "The UK really needs investment in infrastructure. There are very few nuclear operators around the world. Most are already seeking to invest in the UK and so it's not clear who they would regard as unwelcome, beyond Russia," he said. CGN plans to make a number of investments in British nuclear power including the building and operating of a new station with EDF at Bradwell-on-Sea, southeast England. Bradwell would be a Chinese-led project, using Chinese reactor technology. The government also said it was introducing broader rules to increase scrutiny of the national security implications of foreign ownership and control of critical infrastructure, including the need for continuous government approval of foreign owners and a review of takeover rules. It did not specify what sort of projects would be included. A source close to CGN said it was not concerned by the new ownership rules and planned to move ahead with Bradwell project and another minority investment, in the development of a new power station at Sizewell, in eastern England. Horizon, a nuclear new build group in Britain owned by Japan's Hitachi's, said it too was "entirely comfortable" with the new approach. China's Xinhua news agency, which offers a reflection of official thinking, welcomed the decision albeit with a thinly-veiled criticism of the delay. "Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development," it said in an editorial published on Thursday. (Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Karolin Schaps, Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Geert De Clercq and Richard Lough in Paris; Writing by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Pravin Char)
FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - A European Union naval force deployed in the Mediterranean should turn back migrant boats after they leave Libya and prevent them from reaching Italy, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday. Italy is on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis, taking in more than 400,000 refugees over the past three years, many of them saved from rickety boats pushed out to sea by people smugglers based in north Africa. The European Union launched Operation Sophia in 2015 in response to the crisis, with a mandate to disrupt the people trafficking networks and destroy smugglers' boats. Johnson said part of the mission's work was to return boats back to shore after they had put to sea. "I think personally (the boats) should be turned back as close to the shore as possible so they don't reach the Italian mainland and that there is more of a deterrent," Johnson said, speaking alongside his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni. "I think I am right in saying we have turned back about 200,000 migrants," Johnson said, before a nearby diplomat hastily corrected him. "Sorry, saved, saved. Thank you. We have saved 200,000 migrants and turned back 240 boats." It is illegal to turn back migrant boats once they reach international waters and a U.N.-backed government in Libya has not invited European ships into its territorial waters, saying this would undermine its own state-building efforts. It was not immediately clear in what context the boats mentioned by Johnson were turned back to land. There was no immediate comment from Operation Sophia officials in Rome. Johnson was in Italy for talks about Britain's decision to abandon the European Union. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Keith Weir)
Florence (Italy) (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Thursday said he favoured turning migrant vessels back towards Libya as a "deterrent" measure that would take the immigration heat off Italy.

"We are determined in the UK to help Italy. We recognise this is a European problem," Johnson told a joint press conference with Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni in Florence.

Johnson noted that British vessels HMS Diamond and HMS Enterprise were participating in the Rome-based EU military taskforce dubbed Operation Sophia, launched in 2015 with the aim of neutralising refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean.

Johnson said Operation Sophia was designed "to help turn back some of these boats ... and I think personally they should be turned back as close to the shore as possible, so they don't reach the Italian mainland and they are more of a deterrent effect" to other vessels bent on heading for Italy from north Africa.

- 'Turned back .. sorry, saved' -

"I think I'm right in saying we turned back 200,000 migrants, sorry saved, saved 200,000 migrants, so I do think it's the right approach," insisted Johnson without specifying which migrants he was referring to.

HMS Enterprise was involved in a rescue operation to save 750 migrants off Libya on Thursday, the Italian coastguard said.

Italy is right in the front line for migrants seeking a new life in Europe having since 2014 seen some 450,000 people reach its shores.

According to Italy's interior ministry, nearly 128,400 migrants have arrived via the Mediterranean since the start of the year -- a five percent jump over the same period last year.

Many board rickety, makeshift boats in the hopes of reaching the Italian island of Lampedusa some 300 kilometres away.

UN envoy Martin Kobler said in an interview published Thursday that some 235,000 are ready to make the dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy.

"We have on our lists 235,000 migrants who are just waiting for a good opportunity to depart for Italy, and they will do it," Kobler told Italian daily La Stampa.

Story continues

The Operation Sophia ships can only board traffickers' vessels if they enter international waters, which they never do, and are often end up on rescue missions for migrants trying to make their way towards the Italian coast.

The EU force cannot enter Libyan territorial waters without a formal request by the UN-backed Government of National Accord which is trying to extend its shaky authority from Tripoli to the rest of the country.

Gentiloni reiterated the issue was a problem for Europe as a whole and not just Italy and would be addressed at Friday's EU summit in Bratislava.
By Maja Zuvela

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - British American Tobacco intends to acquire the tobacco assets of Bosnian holding firm Fabrika Duhana Sarajevo (FDS) from a regional government in the country, the company said on Thursday.

The transaction, being carried out indirectly via a fund, CID Adriatic Investments (CID), is part of attempts by Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation to plug a hole in its budget by privatising state-owned enterprises.

Austrian-based CID bought the government's 39.9 percent stake in FDS using financing provided by BAT and said it would make a later bid for the remainder of the company at the same price, also using BAT financing.

"Upon successful completion of CID's takeover offer for the remaining shares of FDS, British American Tobacco will enter into exclusive negotiations for the potential purchase of certain tobacco assets of FDS," BAT said in a statement.

An official involved in the deal said it had been structured so BAT would not need to take possession of FDS's non-tobacco assets, which include banking and real estate operations.

The sale of the government's stake will net it 42.7 million Bosnian marka (18.4 million pounds). CID will later offer the same price of 83.5 marka per share for the remainder of the company.

The remainder of FDS is owned by local subsidiaries of Austria's Raiffeisen Bank and Italy's UniCredit SpA, as well as investment funds and small shareholders.

BAT already owns tobacco plants in Serbia and Croatia.

The deal was hailed by Federation Prime Minister Fadil Novalic as a vindication of the government's privatisation strategy, though the largest opposition party SDP said the deal lacked transparency.

FDS' shares were trading at 65.98 marka on Thursday, up 3 percent on Wednesday's close. The company has a market capitalisation of 81.98 million marka.

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela; editing by David Clarke)
Brown & Brown of Connecticut, Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO, recently acquired the assets of Kronholm Insurance Services, Inc. Terms of the deal remained undisclosed.



Kronholm Insurance provides lawyer professional liability solutions, court bonds, committee of sale coverage, long-term care and related commercial and personal lines products. The company, which has annualized revenues of $2.5 million, has been serving the legal community in Connecticut and Rhode Island for more than three decades.



This acquisition will help Brown & Brown gain from Kronholm Insurances expertise in the legal professional liability insurance. On the other hand, Kronholm Insurance stands to benefit from the acquirers expanded product offering.



Brown & Brown remains focused on enriching its portfolio by adding companies that complement its operations. This marks fifth acquisition by Brown and Brown this year and the first one in the third quarter. In June, Brown and Brown acquired Morstan General Agency, Inc. The insurance broker closed 10 acquisitions with revenues of $159.5 million in 2015. The companys strategic buyouts are well supported by its strong liquidity position.

BROWN & BROWN Price

BROWN & BROWN Price | BROWN & BROWN Quote

The insurance broker did not witness any earnings momentum over the last 30 days. Nonetheless, we expect the latest buyout as well as recent initiatives to raise optimism and induce analysts to raise their estimates, thereby resulting in a possible rank upgrade. Brown & Brown presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Acquisitions are a well-accepted strategy among insurers for ramping up growth. This month, First American Financial Corporation FAF entered into an agreement to acquire RedVision Systems, Inc. The buyout will enable the property and casualty insurer to further expand its industry leading position in title and property data. Last month, Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL announced its decision to acquire United Guaranty Corporation and AIG United Guaranty Insurance Limited from the parent company, American International Group, Inc. AIG, for $3.4 billion. The buyout will enable the acquirer to expand its private mortgage insurance business.

Story continues

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This is destined to be the first presidential election to be determined, not by which candidate voters like, but by which candidate voters hate. Its not a question of who you support, but whether youre a #NeverTrump or #NeverHillary fan. While strange, thats not the strangest aspect of this election cycle.

For the first time I can remember  and Ive been around longer than Im willing to admit  corporate executives and business leaders are openly displaying their utter contempt for the candidate they love to hate.

All good intentions notwithstanding, Im way too cynical to believe theres not a smidgen of peer pressure, approval-seeking, grand-standing and disingenuous self-promotion going on here, especially among the anti-Trump crowd. In some circles, youre almost an outcast if you dont openly declare your hatred for Donald Trump.

From my purview here on the far left coast, business leaders are generally reluctant to show open disdain for the Democratic candidate, lest they be labeled a card-carrying member of what Hillary Clinton calls the basket of deplorables, meaning Trump supporters who are racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.

It should come as no surprise that few CEOs are willing to risk losing customers by being branded a [fill in the blank]-ist or -ic in these politically correct times. While the Republican nominee has plenty of executives in his basket of deplorables, only a handful  Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens and Peter Thiel, to name a few  are rich and powerful enough to admit it.

Its telling that, in a recent TV interview, noted tech journalist Kara Swisher came right and said that everybody she talks to  and she knows pretty much everyone whos anyone in Silicon Valley  is against Trump. Except Thiel, that is. Now you know why the examples Im about to serve up are all #NeverTrumps. It isnt me.

Citing Trumps immigration reform policy  notably the wall hes promised to build between the U.S. and Mexico to keep illegal immigrants and drug traffickers out  Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz said he feels compelled to pledge $20 million in an effort to defeat the Republican nominee. He apparently likes inclusiveness  as long as it doesnt include Trump.

Story continues

Serial entrepreneur Amit Kumar actually launched a #NeverTrump voting app that determines which of your contacts are in battleground states and automatically sends them messages reminding your buddies to get out and vote on election day.

Why did he do it? Kumar considers Trump an existential threat to immigrants like he and his wife. Never mind that they both became U.S. citizens the legal way, which Trump supports. Wonder if all the PR his startup Trimian is getting from promoting the app has anything to do with it. Nah.

Back in July, 145 tech elites came out against Trumps candidacy in an open letter that made no mention of Clinton whatsoever. Again, they seemed motivated primarily by Trumps stance on immigration and non-PC rhetoric. Never mind Silicon Valleys well-documented white-maleness and age discrimination issues. Hypocrisy at its best.

One venture capital firm, CRV or formerly Charles River Ventures, has apparently taken this to extreme, adding a bright red overlay to their homepage with F-Trump in bold white letters, although they were more explicit about it. While that may seem remarkably low brow for a VC firm, there might be more to it than you think.

The VC game has become highly competitive and it isnt easy for a relatively small, early-stage firm like CRV to get attention and gain access to hot opportunities. A particular issue is that the firm is based in Cambridge, Mass., while the vast majority of highly coveted deals are on the opposite coast.

Two years ago, the company made a strategic move to rebrand as CRV  presumably, as I would guess, to hide the Charles River reference and promote its Silicon Valley branch, even though it has just four partners there. The firm also appears to be trying to make a name for itself as an immigrant-friendly investor. Aha.

In a recent TV interview, general partner George Zachary said that half the firms portfolio companies are founded by immigrants. He also said that they came up with the idea for F-Trump during a strategy meeting. Funny how this PR campaign just happens to align perfectly with their rebranding effort. Coincidence? I dont believe in coincidences.

Look. Americas immigration system has been broken for decades. Trumps policy deals with national security, illegal drug trade and resolving the problem of millions of undocumented workers in low-paying jobs. As I see it, that has nothing to do with what all these business leaders seem to be up in arms about. But then, looks can be deceiving.

Is it possible that smart CEOs and VCs cant tell the difference between legal and illegal immigration? Doubtful. Much of this anti-Trump rhetoric, in my opinion, is a load of disingenuous nonsense. Its duplicitous and hypocritical. Its more hateful and divisive than anything Trump has said. These people shouldnt be looking at Trump. They should be looking in the mirror.

Related Articles
It's been two months since Cain Velasquez returned to action at UFC 200, where he stopped Travis Browne via TKO in the first round. He had been sidelined due to injuries for a year prior to the fight with Browne. So who is next for the two-time former UFC heavyweight champion?

Although he or Fabricio Werdum would be a logical choice to challenge current champ Stipe Miocic for the belt in his next defense, Velasquez and Werdum could end up rematching each other.

If Stipe doesnt want to take a break, I want him next, Velasquez said on this week's edition of UFC Tonight.

TRENDING > Donald Cerrone Draws New Opponent for UFC New York

What if the champion does want to take some time off, as Velasquez has heard?

If he does want to take a break  I heard he might (not) want to fight again (until) 2017  if thats the case, the only fight that I would want, and the only fight that makes sense right now, is to fight Werdum in December. Id want to fight Werdum in December.

The last time Velasquez was heavyweight champion, it was Werdum that upset him and took the belt. The two met in the UFC 188 main event on June 13, 2015, in Mexico City, where Velasquez struggled with the altitude. Werdum went to Mexico City well before he was required to in order to acclimate. It paid off, as he submitted Velasquez via guillotine choke midway through the third round.

That is a fight that Velasquez wants back, so if Miocic wants to take a bit of a break, Velasquez wants his revenge.

This one (with Werdum) is personal, said Velasquez. I could just sit around and wait, (but) if Werdum wants to fight in December, lets make it happen.

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Sept 15 (Reuters) - Tobacco giant Reynolds American Inc said it appointed John Boehner, a former House Speaker and a known smoker of the company's Camel cigarettes, to its board.

Boehner retired from Congress last year after serving for four years as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was known to be a heavy smoker during his time on Capitol Hill.

When Boehner left last year, incoming speaker Paul Ryan said he had to "detoxify the environment" in his predecessor's old office. Ryan famously quipped that the office smelled like a hotel room or rental car that had been smoked in. (http://reut.rs/2cY9zjb)

Boehner's appointment comes at a time when the tobacco industry is fighting a growing tide of regulation and taxes over its products, including those seen less harmful such as e-cigarettes.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government took wide-ranging steps to crack down on e-cigarettes and cigars, which are growing in popularity among teens, and banned sales to anyone under age 18.

Reynolds American, which also makes Newport menthol cigarettes, said Boehner will join the board as a Class 2 director, and serve on the board's corporate governance, nominating and sustainability committee, effective immediately.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
From Esquire

If I recall, there was some confusion a couple of weeks back on the definition of "pay-to-play." For example, if someone contacts an aide to a prominent politician and asks for something, and then doesn't get it, that's not "pay-to-play," no matter what the "optics" make it look like in the "narrative." Of course, if, say, a state attorney general gets a campaign contribution and then calls off an investigation of a scam that the contributor may have been running, that's a little closer.

And then there's this thing, which comes out of the evidence bomb that The Guardian dropped Wednesday on the head of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, as reported by The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Citing leaked documents gathered during a now-shuttered investigation into the governor's campaign, the Guardian U.S., an arm of the British newspaper, reported that Harold Simmons, owner of NL Industries, a producer of the lead formerly used in paint, made three donations totaling $750,000 to the Wisconsin Club for Growth between April 2011 and January 2012. Simmons' donations were made before and after Republicans approved two laws helpful to the industry - one in January 2011 and the other in June 2013. The 2013 measure was inserted in a budget bill in the middle of the night despite warnings about its constitutionality. The documents confirm earlier reports that Walker solicited millions of dollars for Wisconsin Club for Growth, a group then run by R.J. Johnson, one of his top campaign advisers. The Guardian story says Walker was even warned him in an email about potential "red flags" with Simmons, who died in 2013, including a magazine story that described him as "Dallas' most evil genius."

Lead paint? Jesus, we can all agree that lead paint is a bad thing, right? (Julius Fcking Caesar knew lead paint was a bad thing, but he didn't know why.) You take money from people who make lead paint and then you make it easier for them to duck responsibility for the poisoning of your state? Apparently, not.

Story continues

For instance, in an overnight meeting in June 2013, Republicans on the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee inserted a provision into the budget long sought by the lead paint industry that was meant to block lawsuits pending against them by 171 children sickened by lead paint. But in July 2014 a federal appeals court ruled that a lawsuit by one of those children could continue despite the 2013 state law. The boy who suffered lead poisoning can sue a half dozen major manufacturers of paint used on the Milwaukee house where he lived, based on a theory approved in a controversial 2005 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled. In an interview Wednesday, the boy's attorney, Peter Earle, said he was "trembling with rage" at the news of the contributions by the industry, saying that they were meant to block claims by "the most vulnerable among us." He said that Republican leaders in Wisconsin had benefited from industry money and then acted to try to retroactively block lawsuits by children harmed by lead paint.

Jesus, these people

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Montreal (AFP) - An international donor conference closed in Saturday on a $13 billion fundraising target for the fight to eradicate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030 -- cheered on by Bono, Bill Gates and political leaders.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hosting the fifth triennial Global Fund replenishment conference to fight against these diseases, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a half dozen heads of state also in attendance.

A concert featuring R&B artist Usher and indie band Metric was to be held in the evening to wrap up the two-day event.

"There is destruction that we have to stop. Bombings and war in Syria and elsewhere," Bono told conference delegates at the start of the second day.

"But there is also the slower, more grinding destruction that happens still in clinics where people queue up to get the last and worst news of their lives: HIV/AIDS," he said.

The U2 frontman and co-founder of the nonprofit group ONE that works to reduce poverty and disease in Africa quipped that the term replenishment "brings to mind a very cozy image of myself and Bill Gates in our robes sipping our green tea and waiting for our oxygen facials."

But he also recalled the personal sacrifices and losses of those fighting in the trenches against these diseases, while praising political leaders who have stepped up to help.

"This amateur boxer," he said of Trudeau, who boosted Canada's pledge by 20 percent to $600 million, "is a professional fighter on behalf of the values of the Canadian people. He's throwing some knock-out punches at these three diseases.

"It's who we all should be, in fact. It's not just who you are. It's who we all should be."

Created as a public-private initiative, the Global Fund has so far spent $30 billion on programs to fight the three deadly diseases around the world, with most of it going to Africa.

It has been credited with helping to save 22 million lives and preventing 300 million infections over the past decade as it pursues a UN target of eradicating AIDS by 2030 and the other diseases even sooner.

Story continues

But it needs to raise another $13 billion to fund its operations over the next three years through 2019.

"We have the knowledge and tools to end HIV, TB and malaria by 2030," Ban said. "Let us work together to make this world healthier and better. I count on your strong commitment and leadership."

- 'The tipping point' -

Global Fund executive director Mark Dybul commented: "We are on the right side of the tipping point."

"But the thing about tipping points is they can go in either direction, and these next three years will be absolutely essential to maintain the trajectory to get to the end of TB and malaria and the control of HIV," he said.

A failure to do so now risks these diseases coming back stronger and in a drug-resistant form -- a worrying possibility, which world leaders are set to debate at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

If drug resistance grows, the costs of treatment would soar. The average cost of treating tuberculosis, for example, could jump from $400 per patient now to $15,000 for a drug-resistant version, said Dybul.

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance, said Ban, "threatens our response to all three diseases" and represents a "global health threat."

He called on the Global Fund to join this fight too.

"We are the generation that can keep these diseases under control," Dybul said.

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation has contributed a total of $1.6 billion to the Fund since its inception, touted simple measures taken to stem the spread of disease, such as forming youth clubs where boys and girls learn how to avoid contracting HIV.

He also heralded scientific breakthroughs, including new insecticides, longer-lasting vaccines in the fight against malaria, as well as new diagnostic tools and drug regimens to identify and treat tuberculosis.

"We still have a lot of work to do to end these epidemics," Gates said. "But I am optimistic that we can get there. A key critical reason for this is that we have science on our side."

While more than 100 countries have received assistance from the Fund, in excess of 70 percent of its spending has gone to African countries, according to Global Fund figures.

Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda have received the most.

In Montreal, President Macky Sall of Senegal, Mali's Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Alassane Ouattara, the president of Ivory Coast, reiterated the urgency of saving lives.

"Disease knows no borders," said Sall.

Early pledges have already brought the Fund to within 85-90 percent of that objective, spokesman Seth Faison told AFP.

The United States, which has provided nearly one-third of the total funding so far, has pledged an additional $4.3 billion. The second biggest donor, France, announced in June it would provide $1.2 billion, maintaining its current level of commitment.

It was followed by Germany, which is pledging $900 million, and Japan at $800 million.
(Adds regional details, forecast)

By Andrea Hopkins

OTTAWA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Sales of existing Canadian homes fell in August, notching the fourth straight monthly decline, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Thursday in a report that suggested Canada's long housing boom has begun to slow.

The industry group said sales fell 3.1 percent in August from July, the largest monthly drop in nearly two years, as a tax on foreign buyers in Vancouver sent buyers to the sidelines and doused activity in Canada's most expensive market.

Actual sales, not seasonally adjusted, were up 10.2 percent from August 2015, while CREA's Canadian home price index was up 14.7 percent in August compared with the year before, reflecting the blockbuster pace of activity prior to the slowdown.

In a separate report, CREA also revised down its forecast for sales and prices in 2016 and 2017, suggesting Canada housing boom peaked in early 2016 and has begun to cool.

CREA said the drop in sales activity in August was driven in part by a sharp decline in British Columbia as the provincial government imposed a 15 percent property transfer tax on foreign buyers of homes in Vancouver.

By contrast, sales in Ontario, the other large market, have held steady in recent months near record levels and have yet to show signs of cooling, the report showed.

"Single family homes sales were already cooling before the new land transfer tax on foreign home buyers in Metro Vancouver came into effect," Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist, said in a statement. "The surprise announcement of the new tax caused sales to brake hard."

Real estate groups and developers had largely opposed the tax on foreign buyers, but a voter backlash against wealthy investors, mostly from mainland China, had put pressure on government to do something to cool price appreciation in the already expensive market.

In its quarterly forecast, CREA said it projects national sales activity to rise 6.0 percent in 2016 and average prices to climb 10.1 percent to C$487,800 this year. That forecast is slightly below one made three months ago, when a 6.1 percent gain in sales and a 10.8 percent rise in prices was projected.

It also trimmed its forecast for 2017, projecting a 0.6 percent decline in national sales and a 0.2 percent dip in prices. In June CREA had forecast sales to rise 0.2 percent in 2017 from 2016 and prices to be inch up 0.1 percent from 2016.

(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Alistair Bell)
By Andrea Hopkins OTTAWA (Reuters) - Sales of existing Canadian homes fell in August, notching the fourth straight monthly decline, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Thursday in a report that suggested Canada's long housing boom has begun to slow. The industry group said sales fell 3.1 percent in August from July, the largest monthly drop in nearly two years, as a tax on foreign buyers in Vancouver sent buyers to the sidelines and doused activity in Canada's most expensive market. Actual sales, not seasonally adjusted, were up 10.2 percent from August 2015, while CREA's Canadian home price index was up 14.7 percent in August compared with the year before, reflecting the blockbuster pace of activity prior to the slowdown. In a separate report, CREA also revised down its forecast for sales and prices in 2016 and 2017, suggesting Canada housing boom peaked in early 2016 and has begun to cool. CREA said the drop in sales activity in August was driven in part by a sharp decline in British Columbia as the provincial government imposed a 15 percent property transfer tax on foreign buyers of homes in Vancouver. By contrast, sales in Ontario, the other large market, have held steady in recent months near record levels and have yet to show signs of cooling, the report showed. Single family homes sales were already cooling before the new land transfer tax on foreign home buyers in Metro Vancouver came into effect, Gregory Klump, CREAs chief economist, said in a statement. The surprise announcement of the new tax caused sales to brake hard. Real estate groups and developers had largely opposed the tax on foreign buyers, but a voter backlash against wealthy investors, mostly from mainland China, had put pressure on government to do something to cool price appreciation in the already expensive market. In its quarterly forecast, CREA said it projects national sales activity to rise 6.0 percent in 2016 and average prices to climb 10.1 percent to C$487,800 this year. That forecast is slightly below one made three months ago, when a 6.1 percent gain in sales and a 10.8 percent rise in prices was projected. It also trimmed its forecast for 2017, projecting a 0.6 percent decline in national sales and a 0.2 percent dip in prices. In June CREA had forecast sales to rise 0.2 percent in 2017 from 2016 and prices to be inch up 0.1 percent from 2016. (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Alistair Bell)
Montreal (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the successful integration of immigrants into society requires efforts by all Canadians, as the country prepares for another wave of Syrian refugees.

"If we are going to have success stories of Syrians in Canada everyone has to be involved," Trudeau said during a talk with the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, at the Global Progress Summit in Montreal.

During the panel discussion, Khan praised Canada as "beacon" among industrialized nations for its positive treatment of immigrants.

He noted Canada's rush to welcome more than 30,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the country's civil war since last December.

Over the coming months, Ottawa is hoping to bring in another 20,000 refugees from Middle East camps.

Khan suggested that US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States only serves to bolster the position of the Islamic State group fighting to seize territory in Syria and Iraq.

"Donald Trump is playing into the ISIS narrative by saying Muslims can't fit into the US or the West," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

Joking during the panel discussion, the Muslim mayor of London, who heads to Chicago and New York next as part of a five-day tour, also said he decided to visit North America now in case Trump is elected and makes good on his Muslim ban pledge.

Regarding the next leader of Canada's neighbor and biggest trading partner in January, Trudeau said: "I look forward to working with whomever the American people choose as their president."

"Who can believe him (Trudeau)?," retorted Khan, provoking laughter from the audience.
A dog was nearly killed when a man being chased by police allegedly threw 17 bags of heroin over a fence at a doggy day care in Denver, the owner said.

Police identified the suspect as Cristian Manuel Ramirez. Ramirez was allegedly dealing drugs near 14th Ave and Speer Blvd. when cops gave chase. At one point, an officer saw him throw something over a fence, according to Denver7.

Read: Man Arrested for the 16th Time After He Allegedly Licked a Man and Tried to Bite Officer

A video caught the whole scene on camera.

Garret Bishop, the owner of Bark and Play, where the heroin was thrown, said his employees noticed what had happened within seconds.

The dog was acting more lethargic than usual and we took the dog as a precautionary [measure] and got the dog the care that she needed, said Bishop.

Laura, the dogs owner, said she couldnt process the fact that her dog, Charlie, ate heroin and was at work when she got the call.

The employee saved her life," Laura told Denver7. "I know she'd be dead. I'm really happy she's not because [Bark and Play workers] were so fast-acting."

Bishop told InsideEdition.com that heroin is not uncommon in the community, but that hes never heard of something like this happening.

Read: Murder Suspect With Air Jordan Neck Tattoo Snaps Handcuffs And Escapes Custody During Interrogation

"If you want to do drugs, you can do drugs. If you want to ruin your life  if you want to sell drugs to people, sell drugs to people that want to do drugs, you're ruining their life. They chose it  my dog didn't choose it," said Laura.

Denver police said Cruz remains in jail.

Watch: Police Find Suspect Asleep in Dryer During Drug Raid

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Captain Marvel is poised to break ground for Marvel Studios as its first movie starring a female superhero. Details for the film are still being ironed out - but here's what is known so far.

THE MAIN DETAILS

Brie Larson, hot off her best actress Oscar win for 2015's Room, will step into her new role: Carol Danvers. Larson is the only person officially cast for the film, which is set for a March 8, 2019 release. No director has been set, but sources said in June Marvel Studios was on the hunt for a female helmer, with names being bandied about including Niki Caro (Whale Rider, McFarland, USA) and Jennifer Kent (The Babadook). There is a script from Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve, who co-wrote Pixar's Inside Out. For her part, Larson has been getting into the role - sharing photos of her reading comics and posting Captain Marvel memes fans have created.

WHAT'S THE STORY?

There's no plot synopsis yet, but in the comics Carol Danvers is an Air Force pilot whose DNA is fused with an alien's thanks to an accident, granting her super strength and the power of flight. Screenwriter Perlman has said she wants to avoid comparisons to Green Lantern with the origin story. (The DC hero was also a fighter pilot who gained his powers after an encounter with an alien.) The film comes out just two months before the still untitled Avengers 4 - so expect a mid-credits scene setting that up.

WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR MARVEL  AND HOLLYWOOD

Rival DC and Warner Bros. is beating Marvel to the punch with its own female-toplined blockbuster, Wonder Woman, which hits theaters 15 months earlier in June 2017. Comic book observers have expressed hope that films like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel can end the conversation that has plagued Hollywood for years - "Can a female-driven superhero movie succeed?" Female-starring comic book movies have had a rough history. Supergirl (1984) is the worst-reviewed superhero movie of all time. Catwoman (2004) and Elektra (2005) were not much better received. These failures have made Hollywood skittish about greenlighting female-driven comic book movies - and Captain Marvel has a shot at helping dispel the notion among Hollywood execs that these are risky prospects.

Follow Heat Vision on Facebook and Twitter for more from Captain Marvel. This page will be updated as we learn more.
LONDON  U.K. production company Catalyst Global Media has attached writer Chris Boyle, a frequent collaborator with Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy, to its rock-and-roll movie The Hype, about a notorious public-relations stunt.

The film, which starts in late 1969, tells the true story of how a charismatic rock-band manager, Dave Robinson, joins forces with one of Jimi Hendrixs former roadies to hatch and execute the Brinsley Schwarz Hype. The two men set out to present an average folk band, Brinsley Schwarz, whose usual venues are bars, as the next big thing, climaxing in a concert supporting Van Morrison at leading New York rock-venue Fillmore East. They invite the worlds top music journalists to witness what they hope will be a public-relations triumph, but it turns into a disaster as the bands performance fails to live up to the hype.

The action ricochets between London, Ireland, New York and Toronto, with an ensemble cast of colorful characters that includes a seductive heiress, a belligerent U.S. promoter and a planeload of drunken journalists.

The film is based on the book No Sleep Till Canvey Island by Will Birch, who is consulting on the project, and Warner Music Group is a partner on the film. The pic will feature a soundtrack appropriate to the period.

The film revels in the possibility of human dreams and the wafer-thin line that exists between triumph and abject disaster, according a statement from Catalyst, which was set up last year by Charlotte Walls, Al Hardiman and Gideon Lyons.

Hardiman told Variety that the film would be a comedy of errors with a similar tone to American Hustle or Get Shorty.

Walls said of the story: The power of the sheer possibility of that human experience and that determination is something that audiences will be able to hook into.

She says of the central character: At the heart of this story is this very enigmatic, slightly flawed businessman who means well and is always aiming to get to his destination, but is always 20% off course. So he never quite gets what he wants. He has all these projects that are very outlandish, but he is very charismatic and beloved, so the people around him all get sucked into believing the hype.

Boyles feature film The Pilgrimage is in development with Michael Fassbender and Conor McCaughan at DMC Film. Boyle is represented by Troika.
Sister Wives TV star Kody Brown is taking his case to Washington, as his attorneys have filed a last-ditch Supreme Court appeal in Browns plural family case.

FILE - In this file publicity photo released by TLC on Nov. 22, 2010, Kody Brown, center, poses with his wives, from left, Robyn, Christine, Meri and Janelle, in a promotional photo for the reality series,

On Monday, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley filed a request for the high court to take Browns appeal. Since 2010, Brown and his four Sister Wives have starred in a reality show on the TLC network that documents their lifestyle in Utah and Nevada.

Brown has been in court trying to determine if there is a constitutional right to his plural family lifestyle. Brown is legally married to one woman and also spiritually married to three other women at the same time. Two years ago, Brown and his attorneys won a significant victory in a federal court in Utah.

Before that in 2011, Brown sued the state of Utah after episodes of Sister Wives were shown on TLC, and Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman threatened to prosecute Brown under the states anti-polygamy laws. Brown and his family moved to Nevada in reaction to the threat from Buhman. Then, Buhman adopted policies that would exempt the Brown family from the Utah law.

A federal judge, Clark Waddoups, handed Browns cause a big victory when he struck down part of a Utah state law making it a crime to cohabit with another person if the partners werent legally married to each other. The state of Utah then appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which overturned the decision made by Waddoups. A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled the case as moot, since Brown didnt face prosecution from Utah County.

After failing to get the full Tenth Circuit bench to hear Browns appeal, Turley filed paperwork with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, arguing that the case was about Browns constitutional rights.

The panel ruled entirely on mootness grounds and did not address the merits of the constitutional violations committed in the case, Turley argued on his blog. The Tenth Circuit did not reach any of the constitutional violations of religious freedom, equal protection, due process, or free speech. Instead, it ruled that the district court should have dismissed the case after Buhman announced, in the middle of litigation, that he no longer intended to prosecute the Browns and others similarly situated.

Story continues

Our Supreme Court correspondent, Lyle Denniston, analyzed the likely appeal in the case for us in August.

Denniston noted that Brown, his family, and their legal counsel contend that all cohabitating adults live under the continual threat of prosecution and remain labeled as felons under the [Utah] law. But the barriers to the Courts acceptance of this particular case remain steep.

The Justices tend to leave undisturbed lower court rulings that are so closely tied to specific facts. Only if the Justices see the procedural issues the Browns will raise as intriguing is the case likely to be taken on for a decision, he wrote.
woman man boss worker coworker office team group talking job

Your boss isn't always going to sing your praises from the rooftops, even if they like you.

They tend to demonstrate the fact they're impressed in other ways.

Namley, giving you more work.

Ultra Mobile CEO David Glickman, who has 135 employees across three continents, says that bosses tend to involve their very best employees in side projects.

However, they're not just taking advantage of your talents. In fact, according to Glickman, if they're a good manager, they most likely have your best interests in mind.

"While your manager may see your competency and smarts firsthand, they can't promote you without buy-in and support from others," he tells Business Insider. "By putting you on projects that involve other teams, they are helping you build your own support for future promotion."

Great bosses want to set their best employees up for success  which means giving them the challenges and opportunities that allow them to prove their worth.

No one wants to get loaded with extra work. Still, before you start complaining, it's important to consider the possibility that your manager is really just subtly trying to give you the chance to shine and advance your career.

NOW WATCH: At Sam Adams, its OK to tell your boss f--- you





More From Business Insider


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Smaller swap-dealing firms may get a one-year reprieve from oversight as the chairman of the agency that regulates the U.S. derivatives market on Thursday urged delaying the planned expansion of a requirement determining which dealers must register with the federal government.

Since 2012, any dealer with more than $8 billion in swap activity has been required to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which subjects it to stricter federal oversight. That swap activity value in dollars, known as the "de minimis" threshold, is now poised to fall to $3 billion by the end of 2017.

CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad said the planned drop will force dealers to begin tracking their activity from Jan. 1 to determine if they would need to register.

The three commission members must vote to make the delay official.

"Today, I am announcing that I will recommend to my fellow commissioners a one-year extension of the date on which the swap dealer de minimis threshold is scheduled to drop," Massad said at a conference on derivatives.

"Given its importance, a delay is the sensible and responsible thing to do, and doing it now will provide much-needed certainty to market participants."

Massad said the commission already deals with millions of transaction records, and there was concern about data quality.

This is because the CFTC cannot always identify market participants, there are duplicate records, and it does not have reliable data for non-financial swaps such as those involving agricultural products.

He said lowering the threshold would only capture about 1 percent more in swap activity.

"I know that many smaller banks are concerned that they would be required to register if the threshold were to fall," he said. "Swap activity is not a large part of their overall banking activities. So we should look closely at who would be required to register if the threshold were lower, and the benefits of imposing registration versus the costs."

The commission should delay the threshold drop, he said, until it has set capital requirements for swap dealers and assessed the effectiveness of rules that were recently passed on collateral for uncleared swaps.

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
As Chance The Rapper prepares to open his Magnificent Coloring World Tour in San Diego on Thursday night, he announced one more reason to attend: fans will be able to register to vote at the show. Partnering with the NAACP, Chance will be encouraging fans to register as part of a new campaign dubbed #staywokeandvote.

Chance the Rapper is an artist whose music praises and lifts up our common humanity, and whose call for action speaks to the yearning of this moment, explained NAACP President Cornell William Brooks. This year, more than it has in a generation, we must use the power of our voices and our votes and exercise our sacred right to vote.

No stranger to the White House, the move builds on Chance's history of backing political causes he believes in. Stephen Green, director of the NAACP Youth & College division explained why he believed Chance was the right artist to align with by saying: Chance the Rapper is a unique artist whose independence is a reflection of our millennial generation, who for the first time match the number of baby Boomers in the electorate. Were pleased to join with Chance and the millions of young people who this year to become passionate activists and agents of change this year.

Tickets for select dates on the tour are still available here.

Continue Reading On Complex
[Photo: Getty/Paul Morigi]

Chelsea Clinton is stepping in to campaign for her mother Hillary Clinton after the presidential candidate was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday. And just as the campaign continues, so does the sexist coverage of both candidates.

This time, Chelsea got caught in the crossfire when a Daily Mail article shamed her for missing her daughters first day of preschool because she was campaigning in North Carolina. To top it off, Hilary was also thrown under the bus for choosing to stay at home and not be with her grandchild.

Hilary was also unable to join Charlotte or watch baby Aidan (Chelseas three-month old son) because she is recovering at her home in Chappaqua, the article says.

Thats right, the first female major-party presidential nominee whos running to become the President of the United States was unable to babysit her grandson because she was recovering from pneumonia. Let that sink in.

[Photo: Getty/XPX/Star Max]

The article then notes that it was Chelseas husband Marc Mezvinsky who dropped off Charlotte at school with a nanny.

It has been a difficult summer for Mezvinsky, who was forced to shutter one of his hedge funds, writes the article.



This comes directly after mentioning that though Hillary was not there on Tuesday, she paid the family a surprise visit on Sunday. You know, after she appeared to collapse during a 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero and had to drop by her daughters nearby apartment to recuperate.

The remainder of the ultra-sexist piece goes on to talk about Mezvinskys hedge fund Eaglevale Partners which manages $330 million as well as the $10 million New York City apartment he and his family moved into.

The difference between the articles mentions of the Clinton women and Mezvinsky couldnt be more stark. But instead of showing that Chelsea had neglected some motherly duty of hers, it only reinforced the sad notion that that no matter how successful you are, women will still be judged on their role as a mother.

Story continues

[Photo: Splash News]

To add insult to injury, were going to guess that Donald Trump never dropped his kids off at school either and has publicly said that he wont do anything to take care of them" so why is the media so focused on Hillary and Chelsea? Its 2016 Daily Mail. Perhaps its time for this sexist nonsense to come to an end.

What do you think? Let us know by tweeting to @YahooStyleCA.
NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Chesapeake Energy Corp's effort to avoid having to pay $438.7 million, including interest, to investors in a bond dispute.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan let stand a July 2015 ruling requiring the payout, after the natural gas company waited too long to tell bondholders of its plan to redeem their debt six years early.

The appeals court agreed with bond trustee Bank of New York Mellon Corp that holders of Chesapeake's 6.775 percent notes maturing in 2019 were entitled to a special "make-whole" price because of the early redemption.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
(Adds Chesapeake comment, other details, byline)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Chesapeake Energy Corp's effort to avoid having to pay $438.7 million, including interest, to investors in a bond dispute.

By a 3-0 vote, a panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the payout was justified after the natural gas company had waited too long to tell bondholders of its plan to redeem $1.3 billion of their debt six years early.

The court agreed with bond trustee Bank of New York Mellon Corp that hedge funds and other holders of Chesapeake's 6.775 percent notes maturing in 2019 were contractually entitled to a special "make-whole" price because of the early redemption.

"To hold otherwise would frustrate the noteholders' legitimate expectations regarding their rights," the court said.

The May 2013 redemption was intended to help Chesapeake reduce a debt burden that the Oklahoma City-based company had accumulated under Aubrey McClendon, then its chief executive, and offset natural gas prices that had sunk to a decade low.

"We are disappointed with the ruling and will continue to pursue our legal options," Chesapeake spokesman Gordon Pennoyer said. "We were prepared for this potential outcome and have reserved the liquidity to address it."

The payout comprised $379.7 million of contract-based damages, plus roughly $59 million of interest. That compared with the about $100 million that Chesapeake had hoped to distribute in "restitutionary" damages.

Bank of New York Mellon acted as trustee on behalf of investors such as Ares Management LLC, Aurelius Capital Management LP, P. Schoenfeld Asset Management LP and Taconic Capital Advisors LP.

The bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Thursday's decision upheld a July 2015 ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan.

McClendon died on March 2 when his vehicle slammed into a concrete bridge abutment in Oklahoma. A medical examiner in June ruled the fiery crash an accident.

The case is Chesapeake Energy Corp v. Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-2366.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Bill Trott)
Beijing (AFP) - China launched its second space lab Thursday, official media said, as the country works towards setting up its own manned space station by 2022.

The Tiangong-2 blasted off just after 10:00 pm (1400 GMT) "in a cloud of smoke" from the Gobi desert, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

State television CCTV broadcast images of the Long March-2F rocket's engines igniting in tandem before slowly lifting into the air and exiting the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, leaving a long trail of flames in its wake.

The 8.6 tonne Tinagong-2 -- or Heavenly Palace-2 -- will initially orbit at a height of around 380 kilometres (240 miles) above earth, Xinhua cited Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, as saying.

It will then move slightly higher to allow the Shenzhou-11 mission to transport two astronauts to the facility, where they will stay for 30 days.

Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out research projects related to in-orbit equipment repairs, aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, atomic space clocks and solar storm research.

Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program, said Tiangong-2 also aimed to verify technology involved in the construction of the space station.

"It has the basic technological capacity of a space station," Zhou said.

"Once the space lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station," he said, adding this could start in as early as 2017.

In April 2017, China's first space cargo ship Tianzhou-1 will be sent towards the space lab, providing fuel and other supplies.

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe.

It hopes to have a crewed outpost by 2022.

China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011 and ended transmissions in March this year. It is expected to fall back to Earth in the second half of 2017.

Story continues

Beijing sees its military-run space programme as symbolising the country's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

The nation's first lunar rover was launched in late 2013, and while it was beset by mechanical troubles it far outlived its expected lifespan, finally shutting down only last month.

But for the most part China has so far replicated activities that the US and Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

As well as building a Chinese space station, it intends to eventually put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon.

It announced in April it aims to send a spacecraft "around 2020" to orbit Mars, land and deploy a rover to explore the surface.
Montreal (AFP) - A Canadian man arrested in China two years ago on charges of spying and stealing state secrets has been freed and is back home in Canada, his family said on Thursday.

Kevin Garratt was detained in 2014 along with his wife, Julia Dawn, who was later released on bail, in the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, on the border with North Korea.

Before their arrests, Garratt and his wife, both Christians, had run a coffee shop in Dandong and were active in helping send humanitarian aid to impoverished North Korea.

Garratt was deported from China on Thursday after a court in Dandong ruled on his case on Tuesday, his family said in a statement.

"Kevin... has returned to Canada to be with his family and friends," the statement said.

"The Garratt family thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers, and also thanks the many individuals who worked to secure Kevin's release."

The family asked for respect of its privacy "in this time of transition," saying it would release more information in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed Garratt home, praising his family's "grace and resilience," especially that of Kevin and his wife.

"We are delighted that Kevin Garratt has returned safely to Canada and is with his family once more," Trudeau said in a statement.

"The government of Canada has been seized of this case at the highest levels," he added. "We want to thank consular officials who work behind the scenes every day in support of Canadians abroad."

The detention had raised tensions between the two countries.

The Garratts were arrested a week after Canada accused China of hacking, prompting accusations that Beijing was investigating them in retaliation.

A number of Christian organizations -- especially South Korean -- in Dandong are actively assisting North Korean refugees who have illegally crossed the border.

In late August, Trudeau said he had "highlighted" Garratt's case in meetings with Chinese leaders during a state visit to China.

Story continues

However, he stressed the aim of the visit was to establish a "strong, stable relationship and ongoing dialogue" with Beijing.

Following his trip, Trudeau said that the "hot and cold" nature of relations between the two sides was over and that ties had been "revitalized."

Garratt's release comes less than a week before Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang is set to visit Ottawa.

Canada's second-largest trade partner after the United States, China has strongly pushed Canada to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Canada said in August it would apply.

The United States and Japan -- the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively -- have declined to join.

China's foreign ministry said the Intermediate People's Court in Dandong had ruled on Garratt's case on Tuesday.

"China is a country ruled by law," it said in a statement, adding that Chinese judicial organs had handled the case "according to law" and had guaranteed Garratt's legal rights.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart that China opposes "unhelpful" unilateral sanctions on North Korea but will work within the United Nations to formulate a necessary response to its fifth nuclear test. China has expressed anger with North Korea for its largest nuclear test to date last week, but has not said directly whether it will support tougher sanctions. China has said it believes sanctions are not the ultimate answer and called for a return to talks. Wang told Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida that China opposed the nuclear test, and that it is willing to work with other permanent members of the UN Security Council to "come up with a necessary response to the new changes to the situation on the peninsula", China's Foreign Ministry said late on Wednesday. "With all sides focused on the authoritative channel of the Security Council, China opposes unilateral sanctions that are unhelpful to resolving the issue," the statement paraphrased Wang as saying, without elaborating. A U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, met Japanese officials on Sunday and said the United States may launch unilateral sanctions against North Korea, echoing comments by U.S. President Barack Obama last Friday. Japan's Foreign Ministry said Kishida said the nuclear test was unforgivable and a direct, grave threat to Japanese security, and asked China for a constructive response as a responsible permanent member of the Security Council. China is isolated North Korea's most important diplomatic backer and biggest trading partner, but frustrated with repeated nuclear and missile tests it has signed on to increasingly tough UN sanctions and insisted it is complying with them. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo; Editing by Nick Macfie)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Thursday it welcomed Britain's decision to approve the construction of a part Chinese-invested nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in southern England.

China hopes that with the hard work of China, Britain and France, Hinkley Point and other subsequent nuclear cooperation projects can proceed smoothly as fast as possible, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government said it would proceed with the Hinkley Point C project, approving French utility firm EDF's (EDF.PA) plan to build Britain's first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by $8 billion (6 billion) of Chinese cash.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Thursday it welcomed Britain's decision to approve the construction of a part Chinese-invested nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in southern England. China hopes that with the hard work of China, Britain and France, Hinkley Point and other subsequent nuclear cooperation projects can proceed smoothly as fast as possible, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. British Prime Minister Theresa May's government said it would proceed with the Hinkley Point C project, approving French utility firm EDF's plan to build Britain's first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
LONDON (Reuters) - The Chinese company set to invest $8 billion (6.03 billion pounds) in the Hinkley nuclear plant welcomes Britain's decision to go ahead with the project and is not concerned by new rules around future foreign investment in the UK, a source close to the deal said.

The government of Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier on Thursday it had given the go ahead for French firm EDF to build Britain's first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by an investment from China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN).

It said, however, it would impose greater control over future deals when foreign states were involved in buying stakes in "critical infrastructure".

"They welcome the government's decision, they're very happy with it and it enables them to proceed with investment in and development of new nuclear stations in the UK," the source said, on the condition of anonymity.

"They are not concerned by it," the source said, of the future rules.

(Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee (right) with his wife Sun Ho (left) arriving at the High Court before the CHC appeal hearing. (Photo: Sharlene Sankaran/Yahoo Singapore)



Six City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders were at the High Court on Thursday (15 September) to appeal against their convictions for misappropriating church funds.

CHC founder Kong Hee, his deputy Tan Ye Peng, ex-secretary of the management board John Lam, ex-board member Chew Eng Han, and ex-finance managers Sharon Tan and Serina Wee appeared before a panel of three judges to argue against their conviction and jail terms ranging between 21 months and eight years.

The prosecution for the case is appealing for longer deterrent sentences for the six, who were found guilty on charges including criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts in October last year. They were convicted for misappropriating $50 million in church funds to aid the pop music career of Kongs wife, Sun Ho.

Ex-secretary of CHCs management board John Lam (right) (Photo: Sharlene Sankaran/Yahoo Singapore)



Ho and members of the church attended the hearing on Thursday. Clad in a white blouse and black jacket, Ho, known for her China Wine hit single, sat quietly in the public gallery and listened intently during the proceedings.

Appearing before Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin and Justices Woo Bih Li and Chan Seng Oon, Kongs lawyer, Edwin Tong, said that his client is innocent and argued that the pastor had not acted dishonestly.

Tong said that the eight years jail term for Kong was excessive and added, He had not gained anything and there was no intention by him or the other accused persons to cause a loss (in the churchs building fund).

The lawyer pointed out that his client was especially meticulous when it came to the budget for his wifes album. The cost of the album was decided by the US-based producer of the album, Tong added.

Story continues

Former CHC board member Chew Eng Han (Photo: Sharlene Sankaran/Yahoo Singapore)



Earlier on, Lams lawyer, Kenneth Tan, said that his client was being used to facilitate the fraud without Lam knowing about it.

Tan argued that his client was a volunteer with the church and did not have inside information of the plans to siphon money from the church to aid Hos music career. He added that his client thought that the money taken from the churchs building fund was being invested in Xtron, a music production company, and Firna, a glass maker.

He honestly thought that the bonds were genuine investments with risks. Investments with a lot of risk are still a genuine form of investment, Tan said.

During the hearing, there was a light-hearted moment after Tan addressed the court for three hours in the morning, which prompted the prosecutors to request for the court to grant a break for the transcriber. In response, Judge Chao quipped: Maybe we can have a ten-minute break and say some prayers.

The trial will resume on Friday (16 September).
Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs up as she boards her campaign plane in White Plains, N.Y. (Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Donald Trump and his campaign seem convinced that Hillary Clintons comments last week at a fundraiser calling half his supporters a basket of deplorables is a damaging gaffe they can capitalize upon.

But after a brief and limited apology, Clinton and her campaign have doubled down upon the core of the argument, sparking some political commentators to wonder if the gaffe was actually a trap that Trump walked into.

On Sept. 9, Clinton said, To just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic  you name it. That weekend, she issued a statement expressing regret for saying half his supporters fit into that camp.

But since then, both Clinton and her top surrogates have kept at the deplorables theme, even as Trump and his team have relentlessly hit her on the comment as proof she is out of touch.

I have said Donald Trump has run a deplorable campaign, Clinton said in a radio interview with Tom Joyner that aired Sept. 15, her first day back on the campaign trail since she revealed she had pneumonia on Sept. 11. She vowed to keep calling out the bigotry and hateful rhetoric on the trail.

Clinton also mentioned that former KKK leader David Duke and other white supremacists support the GOP nominee. His running mate, Mike Pence, wouldnt even call a former KKK leader deplorable, Clinton said, referring to a CNN interview in which Pence was asked about Clintons comments and would not concede that description of Duke.

These kinds of questions to Pence and Trump are a boon for the Clinton campaign.

Republican political strategist Liz Mair said the comments force attention on the more unsavory people who support Trump. A lot of voters are only just now tuning in, so they may not be aware of the fact that David Duke, various KKK organizations, the alt-right en masse, Vladimir Putin, and other foreign authoritarian enemies of America  people who really are deplorable  are supporting Trump, Mair said.

Story continues

Clintons surrogates are also not backing down from the line. Her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, said in a Sept. 13 speech in Michigan that hes happy to be on a ticket with somebody whos not afraid to call out bad behavior. He used the word deplorable several times. If you cannot call out bigotry, if you cannot call out racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant  if you cant call it out and you stand back and youre silent around it, youre enabling it to grow, he said.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has continued to rail against Clinton over the comments. Earlier this week, the campaign released an ad featuring Clintons statement, running it in several swing states. And Trump told a crowd of his supporters, You cant lead this nation if you have such a low opinion for its citizens. He has included the deplorables issue in nearly every speech since, and his advisers think its a winning argument for him because it paints Clinton as elitist and out of touch.

Weve heard for months, from some pockets of liberal media, that Trumps message is dark  yet it is Hillary who, on the weekend of 9/11, in a room full of rich elites, chose to insult half of America as either bigoted trash or desperate, jobless, dead-end folks while Mr. Trump continues to take his message of hope to the masses, Trump senior adviser A.J. Delgado told Yahoo News.

Donald Trump speaks to the Economic Club of New York. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

But the Clinton campaign has arguably used the word deplorable even more than Trump has. The campaign released an ad using his own past statements against him, making a supercut of Trump asking how stupid people are. The Clinton campaign then released another ad with the footage of Pence refusing to call Duke deplorable.

Half might not be the right number, but it aint far off, said former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a surrogate for the Clinton campaign. Should she bash the electorate? Probably not. Is she going to lose votes over it? I doubt it very much.

Its also unclear if Clintons comments were unintentional, as she used the phrase deplorables in an earlier interview with an Israeli TV station (though she didnt peg half of Trumps supporters in that category then).

Sometimes what happens, and what happened here, is we get into a campaign fundraiser, were fired up and to them you say some obvious truths, but sometimes you might go a little bit overboard, said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. But its obviously true that the candidate is deplorable and many people who support him are deplorable.
It was really only a matter of time before Donald Trump shed the guise of concerned statesman and returned to form by mocking Hillary Clinton for her pneumonia-related fainting spell last weekend. Its only really remarkable that the Republican presidential nominee lasted as long as he did.

When a dehydrated Clinton became overheated and needed help reaching her car over the weekend at an outdoor event commemorating the 9/11 attacks, Trump was initially silent, and then mostly limited his comments on her health to statements suggesting he wished his rival a speedy recovery and a quick return to the campaign trail.

Related: Trump Flip-Flops on Health Records, Claims He Weighs 236 Lbs.

It was, in truth, a surprising show of finesse from the usually unsubtle Trump campaign. By getting out of the way and allowing the story to be about Clinton rather than about Trumps reaction, the story bedeviled the Democrat and her campaign staff for several days.

By Wednesday night, though, after Clinton announced she'd return to campaigning the next day, Trump could no longer restrain himself. At an indoor rally in Canton, Ohio, the GOP nominee began talking about the rigors of the campaign trail, and about the temperature of the room where the rally was taking place.

It is hot, and it's always hot when I perform because the crowds are so big, Trump said. These rooms were not designed for this kind of a crowd. He continued, I don't know folks  you think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this? I don't know. I don't know. I don't think so. I don't think so.

Related: Powell Email Leak Shows Reluctance to Attack Trump

The comment was a clear reference to Clintons fainting episode over the weekend, but just in case anybody missed it, Trump later added, In all fairness, shes lying in bed getting better and we want her better, we want her back on the trail, right?

The image of Clinton lying in bed is of a piece with the regular attacks Trump leveled at his Democratic rival prior to last weekend. He has regularly claimed, despite a complete lack of evidence, that she takes lengthy breaks from the campaign trail because of a lack of stamina.

Story continues

The comments came hours after Trump apparently disclosed details about his own health to the controversial television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz during the taping of an episode of the surgeons television program that is scheduled to air today.

After conflicting statements from his campaign staff about whether or not he would provide details about his health, the 70-year-old junk food candidate produced what he said was a letter from his personal physician and a sheet of test results from Lenox Hill Hospital during the taping of the broadcast.

Related: NY Attorney General vs. Trump: Is It a Personal Vendetta?ba

The full details of what Trump revealed to Oz were unclear Thursday morning, but in an interview on Fox and Friends, Trump claimed that at 6'3" he weighs only 236 pounds. In a clip from the interview with Oz, Trump discussed the rigors of the campaign trail and said, I feel as good today as I did when I was 30.

Also on Wednesday, Clinton released a new letter from her personal doctor recounting the treatment of a minor bacterial pneumonia infection that was diagnosed last week. In the letter, Dr. Lisa Barnack said that an earlier opinion pronouncing Clinton healthy and able to serve as president had not changed.

My overall impression is that Mrs. Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia, she said. She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Amanda Becker GREENSBORO, N.C. (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton got back on the campaign trail on Thursday after taking three days off for pneumonia, and the Democratic presidential candidate faced a more challenging political landscape, with Republican rival Donald Trump rising in opinion polls. Senior Clinton aides said they always expected the race to the Nov. 8 election to be close. But it was clear from a raft of new polls that Trump had halted a summer swoon after taking steps to give a less freewheeling, more polished performance on the stump. Clinton, 68, appeared in good health on a visit to her campaign plane's press cabin while flying to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a rally where she sought to refocus her campaign on the plight of the working class - which has turned out to be a potent theme for Trump. Leaving the stage to the tune of James Brown's "I feel good," Clinton told reporters she kept her pneumonia diagnosis last Friday quiet, telling only senior staff, because she thought she would be able to "power through" the illness and keep campaigning. "From my perspective, I thought I was going to be fine and I thought that there was no reason to make a big fuss about it," she said. On Sunday, Clinton nearly collapsed while leaving a ceremony marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York. Her illness coincided with a mini-surge by Trump, who has drawn even or taken a slight lead in national polls. Polls in battleground states where the race is likely to be decided showed Trump now leading in Iowa, Ohio, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina. Following her appearance in North Carolina, Clinton was scheduled to appear at a Washington dinner. Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said the candidate and her aides expected the contest to be close. "We always expected the race to tighten up, we still feel like were in a strong position with organizational advantage in Florida and Ohio," Podesta told reporters on Thursday. "They call these states battlegrounds for a reason." In a speech at the New York Economic Club, Trump stuck to his script, avoiding the more improvisational style that has produced a cornucopia of controversies. Trump pushed a package of tax cuts he said would help power the U.S. economy to an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent. The New York businessman said his goal would be 4 percent growth, a target originally championed by Republican primary rival Jeb Bush. Trump said the growth would generate 25 million new jobs. His economic package resurrected a decades-old debate on whether tax cuts can generate sustainable growth. But the overarching impression left by his speech was one of Trump talking about substantive issues and avoiding the frivolous. Bob Shrum, a Democratic strategist who managed 2004 candidate John Kerry's unsuccessful campaign, said Clinton remained the favorite to win the White House, with demographic changes favoring her over Trump, who is heavily reliant on white voters. What has hurt Clinton, Shrum said, is not the time taken off from the campaign trail but rather her decision to keep her diagnosis secret until forced to disclose it - which reinforced a perception among voters that she has a penchant for secrecy. "Fairly or unfairly, what this was taken as was more evidence that she was not transparent and thats what hurts her," Shrum said. "She been far more transparent than Trump but she hasnt gotten any credit for it." Democrats have sought to pressure Trump to release his tax returns, but the Republican has said he will not release them until a federal government audit has been completed. Clinton has released her tax records. With the candidates' health in the spotlight, Trump, 70, on Thursday released details of a recent physical examination, a day after Clinton released specifics on her medical condition. Trump's campaign said the results of his physical showed the fast-food fan has normal cholesterol with the help of a statin drug, weighs 236 pounds (107 kg) and has normal blood pressure. In a not-so-subtle slap at Clinton, the Trump campaign said his medical report showed he "has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States." Trump also appeared on the "Dr. Oz Show" to discuss his health in an interview with host Mehmet Oz, a surgeon. Top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri said "one upside" of Clinton's unplanned break was the chance to "sharpen the final argument Clinton will present to voters in these closing weeks." "Our campaign readily admits that running against a candidate as controversial as Donald Trump means it is harder to be heard on what you aspire for the country's future, and it is incumbent on us to work harder," Palmieri said in a statement. Trump backers on Capitol Hill said they were heartened by the tightening race after a call on Thursday morning with his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who mapped out what the campaign was doing. She promised a more policy-driven approach from Trump in the race's final stretch. "The poll numbers are just looking phenomenal as you move away from registered voters to likely voters," Republican U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold of Texas said. (Additional reporting by Alana Wise and Ginger Gibson in Washington and Emily Stephenson in New York; writing by Steve Holland)
By Amanda Becker GREENSBORO, N.C. (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton got back on the campaign trail on Thursday after taking three days off for pneumonia, and the Democratic presidential candidate faced a more challenging political landscape, with Republican rival Donald Trump rising in opinion polls. Senior Clinton aides said they always expected the race to the Nov. 8 election to be close. But it was clear from a raft of new polls that Trump had halted a summer swoon after taking steps to give a less freewheeling, more polished performance on the stump. Clinton, 68, appeared in good health on a visit to her campaign plane's press cabin while flying to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a rally where she sought to refocus her campaign on the plight of the working class - which has turned out to be a potent theme for Trump. Leaving the stage to the tune of James Brown's "I feel good," Clinton told reporters she kept her pneumonia diagnosis last Friday quiet, telling only senior staff, because she thought she would be able to "power through" the illness and keep campaigning. "From my perspective, I thought I was going to be fine and I thought that there was no reason to make a big fuss about it," she said. On Sunday, Clinton nearly collapsed while leaving a ceremony marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York. Her illness coincided with a mini-surge by Trump, who has drawn even or taken a slight lead in national polls. Polls in battleground states where the race is likely to be decided showed Trump now leading in Iowa, Ohio, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina. Following her appearance in North Carolina, Clinton was scheduled to appear at a Washington dinner. Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said the candidate and her aides expected the contest to be close. "We always expected the race to tighten up, we still feel like were in a strong position with organizational advantage in Florida and Ohio," Podesta told reporters on Thursday. "They call these states battlegrounds for a reason." In a speech at the New York Economic Club, Trump stuck to his script, avoiding the more improvisational style that has produced a cornucopia of controversies. Trump pushed a package of tax cuts he said would help power the U.S. economy to an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent. The New York businessman said his goal would be 4 percent growth, a target originally championed by Republican primary rival Jeb Bush. Trump said the growth would generate 25 million new jobs. His economic package resurrected a decades-old debate on whether tax cuts can generate sustainable growth. But the overarching impression left by his speech was one of Trump talking about substantive issues and avoiding the frivolous. Bob Shrum, a Democratic strategist who managed 2004 candidate John Kerry's unsuccessful campaign, said Clinton remained the favourite to win the White House, with demographic changes favouring her over Trump, who is heavily reliant on white voters. What has hurt Clinton, Shrum said, is not the time taken off from the campaign trail but rather her decision to keep her diagnosis secret until forced to disclose it - which reinforced a perception among voters that she has a penchant for secrecy. "Fairly or unfairly, what this was taken as was more evidence that she was not transparent and thats what hurts her," Shrum said. "She been far more transparent than Trump but she hasnt gotten any credit for it." Democrats have sought to pressure Trump to release his tax returns, but the Republican has said he will not release them until a federal government audit has been completed. Clinton has released her tax records. With the candidates' health in the spotlight, Trump, 70, on Thursday released details of a recent physical examination, a day after Clinton released specifics on her medical condition. Trump's campaign said the results of his physical showed the fast-food fan has normal cholesterol with the help of a statin drug, weighs 236 pounds (107 kg) and has normal blood pressure. In a not-so-subtle slap at Clinton, the Trump campaign said his medical report showed he "has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigours of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States." Trump also appeared on the "Dr. Oz Show" to discuss his health in an interview with host Mehmet Oz, a surgeon. Top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri said "one upside" of Clinton's unplanned break was the chance to "sharpen the final argument Clinton will present to voters in these closing weeks." "Our campaign readily admits that running against a candidate as controversial as Donald Trump means it is harder to be heard on what you aspire for the country's future, and it is incumbent on us to work harder," Palmieri said in a statement. Trump backers on Capitol Hill said they were heartened by the tightening race after a call on Thursday morning with his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who mapped out what the campaign was doing. She promised a more policy-driven approach from Trump in the race's final stretch. "The poll numbers are just looking phenomenal as you move away from registered voters to likely voters," Republican U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold of Texas said. (Additional reporting by Alana Wise and Ginger Gibson in Washington and Emily Stephenson in New York; writing by Steve Holland)
Cody Garbrandt is undefeated. He's 10-0 as a professional mixed martial artist, including winning all three of his UFC fights in 2016. He's finished four of his five UFC opponents by way of TKO or knockout, including the highly regarded Takeya Mizugaki and Thomas Almeida.

His credentials are impeccable.

After taking out Mizugaki in less than a minute at UFC 202 in August, Garbrandt believes he deserves the next shot at UFC gold. Next up, he wants a fight against UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. In his mind, he is the next fight for Dominick Cruz.

In my mind, that's my next fight. I think in Dom's mind, he has to get ready for it. I truly believe I'm next in line for the title shot.

TRENDING > Daniel Cormier Irate if Jon Jones Fights with Interim Belt on the Line

But does the UFC feel the same? Garbrandt discussed the possibility of the fight with Cruz, when it could happen, and more with the media during the UFC 203 event on Sept. 10 in Cleveland, Ohio.

(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)

Follow MMAWeekly.com on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Stephen Colbert's monologue on Wednesday focused on the Colin Powell email leak.

He called it a "huge story that reinforces what I believe is the central message of the 2016 election: Never use email."

Colbert addressed the "real bombshells" contained in the emails, like Powell's opinions on presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Powell called Trump a "national disgrace" and an "international pariah." But Colbert doesn't think that's entirely accurate.

"He's also an international disgrace and a national pariah," the host said of Trump.

The Late Show host agreed with Powell that insulting Trump publicly won't help anything. "It's true, you cannot stop Trump by calling him stupid," said Colbert. "He's like Forrest Gump, OK? He was big in the '90s, somehow acquired a fortune and runs longer than anyone thought he could. The only difference is Forrest Gump went to Vietnam."

Powell's comments on Clinton, meanwhile, were characterized by Colbert as "either a backhanded compliment or a front-handed insult." He read an excerpt in which Powell describes Clinton as having "a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational."

Bill Clinton didn't get away unscathed either, Colbert pointed out. Powell reportedly referred to him as "a husband still dicking bimbos at home."

"Wow, dicking bimbos," said Colbert, joking that the accusation sounds like the "worst Dave Matthews song ever."

Read more: Stephen Colbert Calls Clinton's Pneumonia "Lunghazi" and Interviews Cartoon Hillary
The bankruptcy of Koreas Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd is causing ripple effects for importers bringing goods from Asian factories to U.S. malls by creating a shortage of trailers to move ocean-shipping containers on U.S. roads.

The worlds seventh-largest container carrier has more than 500,000 containers, and many already are clogging up ports and truck yards, tying up trailers that cannot be used to handle other cargo. That is beginning to worry freight handlers at U.S. West Coast ports and is the first sign of knock-on effects from the failure of Hanjin.

The problem stems from Hanjins shortage of cash, which has stranded $14 billion of cargo owned by companies such as HP Inc , Home Shopping Network and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Much of the cargo is on more than 100 ships at sea because cargo handlers, tug operators and ports are refusing to work with Hanjin unless they get paid up front.

A lawyer for the shipper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Terminal operators in the California ports of Long Beach and Oakland are not taking back empty containers. Many in the industry doubt Hanjin will pay storage costs, and a growing number of empty containers and the trailers they sit on are stranded.

If its not fixed in the next couple of weeks, I think youll see a huge ripple effect across the industry, said Weston LaBar, executive director for the Harbor Trucking Association in Long Beach, California.

LaBar said there are thousands of Hanjin containers on trailers out of circulation, and the uncertainty surrounding Hanjin appears to be pushing truckers to lock in trailers from his organizations pool.

We doubled in bookings this morning, LaBar said. We have availability, but were getting to the point where we may be leased out for our chassis.

Shipping executives said there is ample supply of shipping containers, but trailers are limited. The West Coast ports previously have experienced brief shortages even when the stream of trade is functioning normally.

Story continues

The Hanjin collapse has exacerbated the problem.

At GSC Logistics Inc, Chief Executive Officer Scott Taylor said he is stuck with nearly 80 empty Hanjin containers on trailers, racking up charges for cargo owners, that his company processed recently and could not return to a terminal operator at the Port of Oakland.

If it says Hanjin on the side, theres no place for it to go right now, said Taylor.

Grocery chain Kroger Co told Reuters it has 880 shipping containers tied up on Hanjin ships. The companys lawyer, Ron Leibman, on Friday told a U.S. judge who is overseeing Hanjins U.S. bankruptcy case that Kroger does not expect to be able to return the containers once it receives its products, creating a headache and added costs for the company.

Empty containers were sitting on trailers, said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation. This is causing problems with the terminal operators and truckers who need the equipment to haul full containers, he said.

Karen Vellutini, a vice president at Devine Intermodal, a trucking company in West Sacramento that services the Port of Oakland, said she expects the availability of trailer chassis to become a problem as the holiday season nears and as more Hanjin ships arrive in ports and unload containers.

Were not seeing it yet, but its inevitable, Vellutini said. This problem is going to compound.

In Southern California, shipping industry executives are discussing setting aside a staging area where truckers could drop off empty containers to free up trailers, said Mario Cordero, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, which regulates carriers, terminal operators and ports.

They are trying to address what could be even a greater crisis as these numbers mount, Cordero said.

If those chassis get all occupied, or a good percentage of them, where the containers are just sitting on them with nowhere to deliver, that disrupts the supply chain, Cordero said. We are certainly reaching the level we are concerned.

The commission is monitoring prices to make sure fees for leasing trailers do not become excessive amid the Hanjin problems, Cordero said.

Vellutini of Devine Intermodal said cargo owners could resort to buying the containers they are holding to clear up any legal uncertainty around them and to return chassis.

People are waiting for the dust to settle to decide if theyll buy and get into the used container business.

(Writing by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, additional reporting by Tom Hals, Nandita Bose, and Jessica Resnick-Ault; editing by Peter Henderson and Cynthia Osterman)
Bogota (AFP) - Colombia's FARC rebels are set to vote on a historic peace agreement with the government to end more than a half-century of conflict before giving up their armed struggle in favor of politics.

Guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are converging on a camp in southern Colombia for their 10th national conference, the first time they will discuss peace instead of fighting during such an event.

It is scheduled for September 17 to 23 in an area called El Caguan, the Marxist group's Switzerland-sized stronghold during the continent's oldest rebellion, which began as a peasant uprising in 1964 and still boasts 7,500 armed fighters.

"It will be a democratic event that will show the route to follow," tweeted FARC leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez.

He agreed to the peace deal with the government on August 24 after nearly four years of negotiations that took place in Cuba after three previous attempts were aborted in 1984, 1991 and 1999.

Arriving from Cuba at the conference site in the vast Yari plains several hours from the town of San Vicente del Caguan, Jimenez underscored the event's importance.

"Everything we are now doing will help us achieve our goals," he said, stepping off a helicopter provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to the guerrilla media outlet Noticias Nueva Colombia.

If the conference approves the peace deal, the FARC leader will sign the agreement with center-right President Juan Manuel Santos on September 26 in the Caribbean port of Cartagena.

- From war to peace -

Some 200 FARC delegates, including 29 members of the general staff and delegates elected by the rank-and-file, will decide on whether to approve the agreement to end a conflict that drew in other leftist guerrillas, extreme right-wing paramilitary groups and criminal gangs, leaving at least 260,000 dead, 45,000 missing and some 6.9 million displaced.

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Arriving in El Caguan, guerrilla commander Pastor Alape said that "at the other (conferences), we talked about war plans, and at this one, processes and initiatives toward peace, toward strengthening democracy in Colombia."

The conference is set to mark another first: FARC leaders will be meeting not in secret, but with the authorities' full support in the presence of around 900 people, including 50 guests and some 350 journalists from around the world.

This "last conference of our armed organization will ratify the peace accords and endorse the FARC's transformation into a legal political movement," Alape said, announcing the conference shortly after the negotiations produced the deal in a 297-page document covering the rebels' demobilization, a transitional justice system and reparations for victims, among other topics.

- Symbolically important -

The conference is set to take place in a brick building the guerrillas hastily constructed amid tall grass, according to a video the FARC posted on Twitter.

Ariel Avila of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation said ratification should proceed smoothly.

"Nearly 90 percent of the FARC already accepts the agreements," he said. "That basically means 10 percent must be convinced during the conference."

Political scientist Frederic Masse agreed.

"There is no doubt about that, but the event is very important symbolically," said Masse, a professor at Bogota's Externado University.

He called the conference "the end of a cycle," but said FARC leaders will still have to ensure the movement's "cohesion," explaining the peace deal's "scope and limits" to the skeptical.

The peace agreement must still be approved by Colombian voters in a referendum on October 2 -- a step Santos insisted on to ensure the full legitimacy of the process.

Recent opinion polls put the "Yes" vote ahead by some 40 percentage points.
A worker controls a tapping of a blast furnace at Europe's largest steel factory of Germany's industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG in the western German city of Duisburg December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender/File Photo

Industrial production fell 0.4% in August, and manufacturing reversed a gain in the prior month, according to the Federal Reserve.

Capacity utilization slipped to 75.5% from 75.9% during the prior month, the Fed's data showed.

Economists had forecast that industrial production fell 0.2% while factories used 75.7% of their capacity, according to Bloomberg.

"A decline in the August ISM manufacturing production index below the key 50 level for the first time since December 2015 and a 0.6% drop in factory production worker hours" pointed to a drop in manufacturing output, according to Wells Fargo's Sam Bullard in a preview.

The manufacturing sector has struggled to completely recover from a slowdown induced by weaker foreign demand and the strength of the US dollar.

The utilities index dropped to -1.4 from 1.7. It's still up year-on-year given demand for air conditioning during the summer.

Mining output increased for a fourth straight month, by 1%, extending the streak it's been on following its prolonged downturn.

NOW WATCH: We went inside Elon Musk's futuristic Tesla factory filled with over 150 robots





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KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo will form an interim government that includes opposition members, as part of a deal to set up new elections and break a political impasse, Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said. The announcement came after backers of President Joseph Kabila and some opposition members agreed on Wednesday on the timing of those elections, a question that has caused more than a year of debate and led to violent protests and arrests. However, most major opposition parties are boycotting the talks. They see them as part of Kabila's plan to justify staying in power beyond the end of his mandate in December, when he is due to step down under the constitution. "The government will be redone. We will put in place a government that we will co-manage between the presidential majority, the opposition and civil society," said Mwamba, who is representing Kabila's political supporters in the talks. It was unclear which opposition members would become part of the new government. Opposition leaders this week walked out of talks on the timing of the presidential election. The vote had been set for November, but the authorities now say it cannot be held before next July. The opposition had insisted the presidential election should be held next. The government said local elections should come first, which would probably delay the presidential vote further. The government and a group of opposition parties agreed on Wednesday the presidential vote would be combined with legislative and provincial elections, although no specific dates were set. Local elections will come later. "This opens the way to a calendar that will mention the exact date of the handover of power between the old president of the republic ... and the newly elected president," said Vital Kamerhe, one of the leading negotiators for the opposition. Despite the apparent advance in the negotiations, efforts to broker a peaceful exit from power for Kabila, who has led Africa's leading copper producer since the assassination of his father in 2001, remain fragile. Congo has never experienced a non-violent transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960. Diplomats and observers fear the crisis could trigger a repeat of civil wars that killed millions of people between 1996 and 2003. (Reporting by Amedee Mwarabu; Writing by Joe Bavier and Edward McAllister; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Larry King)
A woman's desperate 911 call from inside the home of her abductor led to the arrest of a man who turned out to be a serial killer, cops in Ohio said this week.

According to Ashland police, the call came Tuesday from inside the home of Shawn Grate, where a kidnapped woman managed to partially untie herself from ropes used to restrain her.

Read: Trump Supporter Arrested for Setting Pulse Nightclub Killer's Mosque on Fire

"Ive been abducted," the woman said in the 911 call as Grate, 40, allegedly slept nearby her. "Please hurry."

The woman told police that Grate had rigged his bedroom door to make noise if she tried to escape. When asked if she was bleeding, the woman told them "Not anymore."

The woman said the suspect had a stun gun and that she'd known him for about a month and a half.

The kidnapping charge includes a specification that Grate had allegedly abducted her "to engage in sexual activity."

At a press conference, Ashland Chief David Marcelli said the woman was subsequently found at a home that was supposed to be unoccupied. Grate was also arrested at the home Tuesday morning.

Two dead bodies were also found in the home, cops say.

Read: Mom Sought Out Men to Rape 10-Year-Old Girl Before Her Gruesome Murder: Cops

One of the victims was Stacey Stanley, a 43-year-old Huron County woman whose family said had been missing since September 8 after she got a flat tire near the home where her body was found.

Police have yet to identify the second body in the home or release Stanley's cause of death. Officials say Grate later led them to a third body in neighboring Richland County.

Richland County Prosecutor Bambi Couch Page said Grate confessed that he had killed a woman in June at a house that was destroyed by fire that month, according to the Mansfield News Journal.

Grate was charged in Ashland County on Thursday with two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping. Records in Rockland County showed he has not yet been charged as of Thursday.

Story continues

Grate remains in custody at the Ashland County Jail.

Watch: Heartbroken Mom of Murdered 13-Year-Old Remembers Daughter

Related Articles:
BEDMINSTER, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / CorMedix Inc. (NYSE MKT: CRMD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases, and POETIC, The Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators Consortium, a group of 10 top tier academic medical centers, developing new promising pediatric cancer therapies are pleased to announce a joint development agreement focused on the oncologic applications of CRMD-005, a proprietary formulation of Taurolidine, as a potential treatment for rare orphan pediatric tumors, including neuroblastoma and osteosarcoma.

Randy Milby CEO of CorMedix and Tanya Trippett, M.D. Co-Founder and Executive Director of POETIC announced the signing of an agreement to develop novel therapies for rare orphan pediatric tumors, including neuroblastoma and osteosarcoma. This effort will start with pre-clinical studies, gene mapping, and cellular gene network analysis of the anti-cancer mechanisms of Taurolidine in vitro and in animal models.

The program will involve collaboration with a number of NCI Cancer Centers that are part of the POETIC group including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), Weill Cornell Medical Center, Alberta Children's Hospital, and other top tier cancer centers of excellence.

Pre-clinical development will be led by Dr. Aru Narendran, Alberta Children's Hospital in Canada. Dr. Narendran offered his perspective, "We are excited to pursue further defining Taurolidine's potential role in pediatric malignancies, especially in refractory and resistant cell lines as well as define which drugs make sense to best combine with Taurolidine for planning future clinical studies."

"Taurolidine's mechanism of action involves a variety of important steps which include the induction of cellular apoptosis, the inhibition of angiogenesis, the down regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as decreasing tumor adherence and an enhancement of immune mediated anti-tumor activity. Our goals are to better elucidate Taurolidine's mechanism effects and leverage its history of safety to maximize its anti-neoplastic potential in an intelligent and efficient manner."

Story continues

"Our overall aim is to identify pathways and mechanisms by which Taurolidine exerts its anti-tumor effects in pediatric oncology at the cellular, animal, and ultimately human level." explained Dr. Tanya Trippett, MD. Randy Milby continued, "CorMedix is pleased to advance jointly with the POETIC Consortium a comprehensive Protocol for the Evaluation of Taurolidine in Preclinical Studies for Refractory Pediatric Malignancies."

About POETIC

The Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators' Consortium (POETIC) was founded in February 2003 by Dr. Lia Gore at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Dr. Tanya Trippett. POETIC is composed of ten large academic medical centers in North America with a major emphasis on comprehensive cancer care and research that provide the collaborative and research strength needed to complete intensive phase I and II studies. Each of the institutions is uniquely suited to complete early studies in the pediatric and adolescent populations. POETIC's assets include membership in NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, on-site NIH- funded pediatric and/or general clinical translational research centers (CTRCs/CTSAs), and active collaborations with developmental therapeutics programs for adults at a majority of its member institutions. The availability of strong basic science and translational research programs at the institutions allows focus on the development and evaluation of new therapeutic strategies for patients with cancer and related disorders. POETIC's pediatric oncology studies focus on the biologic basis for anti-cancer therapy, and in particular, attempt to explore and evaluate new agents and novel combinations of therapies early in clinical development.

About CorMedix

CorMedix Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory disease. The Company is focused on developing its lead product Neutrolin, a novel, non-antibiotic antimicrobial solution designed to prevent costly and dangerous bloodstream infections associated with the use of central venous catheters. Such infections cost the U.S. healthcare system approximately $6 billion annually and contribute significantly to increased morbidity and mortality. Neutrolin is currently in a Phase 3 clinical study in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis via a central venous catheter. The company is planning to conduct its second Phase 3 study in patients with cancer receiving IV parenteral nutrition, chemotherapy and hydration via a chronic central venous catheter, subject to sufficient resources. If successful, the two pivotal studies may be submitted to the FDA for potential approval for both patient populations. Neutrolin has FDA Fast Track status and is designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product, contributing to potentially accelerated FDA review and up to 10 years of market exclusivity upon potential U.S. approval. It is already a CE Marked product in Europe and other territories. CorMedix is also seeking to unlock additional value for its taurolidine-based technology by establishing collaborative partnerships in oncology and medical device applications. For more information visit: www.cormedix.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or CorMedix's prospects, future financial position, financing plans, future revenues and projected costs should be considered forward-looking. Readers are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from projections or estimates due to a variety of important factors, including: CorMedix's ability to enter into, execute upon and maintain collaborations with third parties for its development and marketing programs, including the collaboration with POETIC; the results of studies regarding Neutrolin conducted by us and others; the cost, timing and results of the planned Phase 3 trials for Neutrolin in the U.S.; obtaining regulatory approvals to conduct clinical trials and to commercialize CorMedix's product candidates, including marketing of Neutrolin in countries other than Europe; obtaining additional financing to support CorMedix's research and development and clinical activities and operations; the risks associated with the launch of Neutrolin in new markets; CorMedix's ability to maintain its listing on the NYSE MKT; the risks and uncertainties associated with CorMedix's ability to manage its limited cash resources; the outcome of clinical trials of CorMedix's product candidates and whether they demonstrate these candidates' safety and effectiveness; CorMedix's ability to identify and enter into strategic transactions; CorMedix's dependence on its collaborations and its license relationships; achieving milestones under CorMedix's collaborations; CorMedix's dependence on preclinical and clinical investigators, preclinical and clinical research organizations, manufacturers, sales and marketing organizations, and consultants; and protecting the intellectual property developed by or licensed to CorMedix. These and other risks are described in greater detail in CorMedix's filings with the SEC, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from CorMedix. CorMedix may not actually achieve the goals or plans described in its forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on these statements. CorMedix assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

For Investors & Media:

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.

jdrumm@tiberend.com

(212) 375-2664

Janine McCargo

jmccargo@tiberend.com

(646) 604-5150

SOURCE: CorMedix Inc.
Vern Landavazo, whose 13-year-old daughter, Lauren, was fatally shot on September 2, has been thinking of his daughter's last words ever since, as told to him by a witness in the hospital: "My daddy is my pastor."



Landavazo struggled to ascertain the meaning of the words  he is not a pastor. But while taking a walk last Sunday, it dawned on him that Lauren wanted to deliver a message, one that stemmed from the open-heartedness and spirit of inclusiveness with which she lived her life.



"Her message is to make change," Landavazo tells PEOPLE. "And to make the only good out of this is to open our hearts, reject divisions. We as human beings spend so much times dividing ourselves with religion and politics and [ethnicity] and [she] rejected those."



Landavazo tells PEOPLE his faith and community support are helping him get through the tragedy, when Lauren and her friend, Makayla Smith, were shot while walking home from school. Lauren died from gunshot wounds while Makayla was taken to a local hospital where she recovered and was released, authorities tell PEOPLE.



 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.



Two days after the shooting, authorities arrested Kody Lott, 20, who allegedly confessed to the shooting while being questioned, police told PEOPLE.



In his confession, Lott allegedly told authorities he shot the two girls "after talking to the devil," according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. He allegedly confessed he committed the crime because he was attracted to Lauren and was angry he didnat have a girlfriend.



"Kody stated he planned the events and was upset the local media called the incident 'senseless'," the affidavit continues. "[He] stated the incident wasn't senseless because he planned and thought it out after talking to the devil about it."



Lott is charged with one count of murder, one count of aggravated assault and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon. He is being held on a $4 million bond. He has not yet entered a plea and has been assigned a public defender, Jim Rasmussen, but PEOPLE was unable to immediately reach Rasmussen.





Story continues

A 'Social Butterly'

Landavazo says the outpouring of support his family has received from the community and Lauren's friends has been overwhelming.



"She was a social butterfly," Landavazo tells PEOPLE. "She must have known that she had a limited amount of time and she squeezed everything in and that's the sense you get from anybody that truly knew her."



Lauren, according to friends, enjoyed spending time with other neighborhood kids and their families.



"Lauren absolutely loved [walking home from school]," Kenya Daughtry, a family friend and neighbor, told PEOPLE. "She was always, always happy."



Landavazo says, "[Even now] her friends want to come over and have a sleepovers in her room. We thought briefly about moving but how could we possibly leave?"





Forgiving the Suspect's Parents

Landavazo tells PEOPLE he made a point of contacting Lott's parents.



"I reached out to his father. I told him who I was and that my family does not blame him," he says. "No parent ever wants their child to be involved in a tragedy in any way.



Landavazo continues, "I was almost immediately struck with grief for that family. We have tremendous support that those people are not going to get. I ask [the public], on behalf of our family, to please keep that family in your prayers."



On Sept. 8, Lauren's funeral took place at a local church. Landavazo says he was touched by the number of people there.



"We know there are dark days ahead, like her birthday in a few weeks," Landavazo says. "But we have to stay focused [and open] people's hearts."
So, Darkwing Duck is set in an ~alternate~ universe, and your childhood is so confused

So, Darkwing Duck is set in an ~alternate~ universe, and your childhood is so confused

Lets state the facts: Darkwing Duck is a spinoff of DuckTales (its far superior, in our not so humble opinion, we will fight you on this). After an episode of DuckTales aired where Launchpad McQuack plays a secret agent named Double-O Duck, a Disney exec liked the idea so much that he asked writer Tad Stones to take a crack at it.

And thus was born Darkwing Duck, the super hero cartoon we all deserve.

darkwinglaunchpad

But heres the rub: Apparently, Darkwing Duck isnt a spinoff at allbut set in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! AN ALTERNATE DUCKBERG!!

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the creator of Darkwing Duck, Tad Stones, scrambled our brains a bit with this clarification.

Because Launchpad appeared in DuckTales and we used Roboduck as the Superman character, the hero who gets all the glory as opposed to Darkwing, fans try to connect the two realities. They are two different universes in my book. We work in the alternate Duckiverse.

Okay, first of all Duckiverse is the best term weve ever heard. Literally ever. Add that to your lexicon immediately so that we can also use it without sounding bonkers. Despite setting the record straight, Stones noted that he isnt really a big fan of straight records at all.

It drives fans crazy, but I was not a huge fan of continuity, says Stones. I grew up with Silver Age continuity with the comics. Yeah, I know Lois Lane doesnt know Clark Kent is Superman. She suspects something. Jimmy Olsens his pal. He went to high school with Lana Lang. The basics everybody knew. But there was really no arc or change. Every time you picked up a comic, you knew where you were starting.

Were still trying to process this. We spent our lives thinking Darkwing Duck was just an extension of DuckTales and that Launchpad was just saving his mad piloting skills for adventures with Darkwing!

Story continues

giphy

But really, the best way to clear up our confusion is definitely to bring Darkwing Duck back, right? We would totally love to veg out in front of a new season of our favorite feathered hero even if we have to come to terms with the fact that everything we that we knew about him was a LIE.

Stones is definitely up for a re-boot, but unfortunately he wont be writing it.

You want to do Darkwing for 2017 or 18. Not for 25 years ago, so the show should be different and should have a different life to it. I was writing animation when The Simpsons debuted and really shook things up. Now we have plenty of writers who have never known a world without The Simpsons. So its just a different situations and a different sensibility at a granular, genetic level almost. You want that sensibility even though you are doing something that is nothing like The Simpsons, but just how broad to go with a gag. How non sequitur. Thats what I want to see.

Fair enough, but we reeeeally want a return to the #Duckiverse (make this hash tag happen, people!).

The post So, Darkwing Duck is set in an ~alternate~ universe, and your childhood is so confused appeared first on HelloGiggles.
A familiar twosome has booked a return trip to Salem.

Days of Our Lives vets Christie Clark and Austin Peck are set to reprise their roles as Carrie and Austin in early 2017, Soap Opera Digest reports.

RELATEDDays of Our Lives: Kassie DePaivas Leukemia Diagnosis Pauses Eve Encore

Clark, who has portrayed the role of Carrie on and off since 1986, last appeared on Days in 2012. Days of Our Lives is the gift that keeps on giving for me, she said in a statement. Thirty years of fun, drama and love in the afternoon!!

RELATEDGeneral Hospital: Tyler Christopher Not Returning, as Contract Talks Crumble

Peck, whose initial Days run spanned 1995-2002, last returned to the NBC soap for a year-long stint in 05. The character of Austin, however, was seen again from 11-12, portrayed by Patrick Muldoon. Both Muldoon and Clark exited when the characters of Carrie and Austin left for Switzerland.

No further details are known about the length of their return or the storyline that brings them back.

Have at it, Days fans: Are you excited to see Carrie and Austin again?

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This Is Us Review: Yes, Parenthood Fans, It's Safe to Cry Again

Trump Praises 'Fantastic' Matt Lauer, Lets Fallon Mangle His Mystery Mane

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At least one person was killed and dozens others were injured in a tourist boat explosion off Bali on Thursday, September 15. BBC and The Associated Press said the person killed was German. The Gill Cat 2 boat exploded after leaving Balis Padang Bai town for the Gili Trawangan island. Thirty-five foreign passengers and four crew members were onboard at the time of the blast. This video shows the situation at the Padang Bai port after the blast. Credit: Facebook/Dex De
By Ryan Parker, The Hollywood Reporter

The Marvel Cinematic Universe just got a little bit bigger.

Someone spliced footage from Deadpool into this summer's Captain America: Civil War, and the results are delightful. The 45-second clip is so good that Deadpool himself (actor Ryan Reynolds) shared the video on his social media pages.

Related: Batman Shows Off New Suit in Justice League Photo

The scene is set at the airport where the battle among superheroes takes place in Civil War. In this case, Spider-Man is paired with Deadpool, who is superimposed from his opening scene where he is siting near the freeway, waiting for the bad guys to pass so he can jump down and unleash chaos.

Lines from Spider-Man are mostly from the scene in Civil War where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) visits Peter Parker (Tom Holland) at home in an effort to recruit his talents.

Related: Ryan Reynolds Shares Fan-Made Deadpool 2 Poster

Still, it all works here in the back-and-forth fan clip.

Credit for the work is given to Redditor /u/riceandnori.

Deadpool: Watch a Trailer:
By William James and Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion (18.1 billion) nuclear power plant on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty that had strained ties with China, which will help pay for it, and France, which will build it.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government signalled it would take a more cautious approach in future over foreign investment in big infrastructure projects than her predecessor David Cameron.

But ultimately, after stunning Paris and Beijing by putting the deal on hold in July after May took office, it agreed to go ahead with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England. Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades will be built by French state-controlled utility firm EDF (EDF.PA), backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash.

The deal is part of a recovery of the global nuclear power industry following a slump caused by the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The government drew fire for approving it without renegotiating the price British consumers will pay for electricity. The opposition Labour Party supports the project in principle but says its guarantee to pay a minimum of roughly double the current market price for electricity for 35 years is a rip-off.

May's government said a new investment policy would give it greater control over future deals when foreign states are involved in "critical infrastructure", a departure from the more open approach pursued by Cameron.

May inherited the deal from Cameron, who quit as prime minister after losing Britain's referendum to stay in the EU. In one of her first acts, she put the project on hold, hours before a contract was due to be signed, saying she needed time to assess it.

"The government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power stations for a generation," business minister Greg Clark told parliament on Thursday, setting out changes to the deal and British policy on foreign infrastructure investment.

Story continues

"These changes mean that while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works always in the public interest," he said.

Supporters of the project said Britain needed to protect its relations with major economies after voting to leave the European Union, and show it was open for business.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the decision while Chancellor Philip Hammond said it continued the strategic partnership between the two countries.

VERY HAPPY

Under the new plan, the government will be able to block the sale of EDF's controlling stake before or after completion of the project - a proviso it said it would apply to significant stakes in all future nuclear projects. EDF said it had agreed with the government to retain control of the project and would sign the deal "in the coming days".

China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) - the project's Chinese state-backed investor - and business lobby groups also welcomed the decision on Hinkley.

"We are very happy the British government has approved the project," CGN said in a statement.

The two new reactors at Hinkley Point are scheduled to be running by the middle of next decade and provide around 7 percent of Britain's electricity, helping to fill a supply gap as the country's coal plants are set to close by 2025.

Critics have focussed on the guaranteed price for electricity, which they say does not reflect falling energy prices since the deal was drawn up, or anticipated declines in the costs of rival clean technologies like wind and solar power.

"It is extraordinary that they have not reviewed the price per unit of power," said Barry Gardiner, the opposition Labour Party's energy spokesman.

The deal also affirmed the government's commitment to replace its old nuclear power stations. Nearly all of Britain's eight functioning nuclear plants will have to shut down by 2030.

Environmental lobby groups, some opposition political parties, and a former board member at EDF said that was a mistake.

"The decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point is a bad choice for both France and the UK," former EDF board member Gerard Magnin told Reuters. Magnin resigned from the board in protest at the company's nuclear strategy before a vote that narrowly approved the project.

"By concentrating technical and financial means in this investment on both sides of the channel, the respective governments and EDF will deprive their citizens and small companies of the opportunities for jobs and innovation that would come from inventing the 21st-century energy world."

INVESTMENT POLICY

The decision to go ahead with Hinkley goes some way to respond to concern that May, a former Home Secretary, was less receptive to foreign investment, particularly from China which has plans to invest billions in British infrastructure.

According to a former colleague, ex-business minister Vince Cable, May had expressed wariness at the "gung-ho" attitude that Cameron took towards courting Chinese investment.

Addressing those concerns, the government said it would take a "special share" in future nuclear projects to ensure that significant stakes could not be sold without its consent.

Simon Taylor, academic director of the Master of Finance Programme at Cambridge University, said he thought the policy was largely cosmetic.

"The UK really needs investment in infrastructure. There are very few nuclear operators around the world. Most are already seeking to invest in the UK and so it's not clear who they would regard as unwelcome, beyond Russia," he said.

CGN plans to make a number of investments in British nuclear power including the building and operating of a new station with EDF at Bradwell-on-Sea, southeast England. Bradwell would be a Chinese-led project, using Chinese reactor technology.

The government also said it was introducing broader rules to increase scrutiny of the national security implications of foreign ownership and control of critical infrastructure, including the need for continuous government approval of foreign owners and a review of takeover rules. It did not specify what sort of projects would be included.

A source close to CGN said it was not concerned by the new ownership rules and planned to move ahead with Bradwell project and another minority investment, in the development of a new power station at Sizewell, in eastern England.

Horizon, a nuclear new build group in Britain owned by Japan's Hitachi's , said it too was "entirely comfortable" with the new approach.

China's Xinhua news agency, which offers a reflection of official thinking, welcomed the decision albeit with a thinly-veiled criticism of the delay.

"Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development," it said in an editorial published on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Karolin Schaps, Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Geert De Clercq and Richard Lough in Paris; Writing by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Pravin Char and Peter Graff)
Screen Shot 2016 09 15 at 6.10.53 PM

Deutsche Bank shares are crashing after The Wall Street Journal reported that it has been asked to pay $14 billion to resolve a probe into mortgage securities.

Deutsche Bank shares slumped in after-hours trading in New York, falling more than 7%.

The report, from Aruna Viswanatha, Jenny Strasburg and Eyk Henning, said the US Justice Department proposed a "preliminary" figure for Deutsche Bank to settle a series of mortgage-securities probes.

The number is far beyond Deutsche Bank's own expectations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Deutsche Bank said in its second quarter earnings that it had 5.5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in litigation reserves set aside.

Deutsche Bank said it expects to settle the matter at a much lower amount.

The bank said in a statement:

Deutsche Bank AG (XETRA: DBKGn.DE / NYSE: DB) confirms that it has commenced negotiations with the Department of Justice in the United States (DoJ) with a view to seeking to settle civil claims that the DoJ may consider in connection with the banks issuance and underwriting of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and related securitization activities between 2005 and 2007. The bank confirms market speculation of an opening position by the DoJ of USD 14 billion and that the DoJ has invited the bank as the next step to submit a counter proposal.



Deutsche Bank has no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the number cited. The negotiations are only just beginning. The bank expects that they will lead to an outcome similar to those of peer banks which have settled at materially lower amounts.

NOW WATCH: Things are getting worse for Wells Fargo and now the FBI is getting involved





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(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) is nearing a deal to sell its British insurance business Abbey Life Assurance Co to Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX.L), a person close to the matter told Reuters.

Britain's largest consolidator of closed life funds is planning to raise 800 million pounds ($1.1 billion) to fund the purchase, which will be finalised in the next couple of weeks, the person said.

Phoenix Group Holdings and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

The German lender began weighing the sale of Abbey Life in October last year, attracting interest from Swiss Re AG (SRENH.S) unit Admin Re, Phoenix and Legal & General Group Plc (LGEN.L) among others, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

In March, the Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation into Abbey Life's treatment of long-time life insurance customers which could result in compensation payments to policyholders or fines for the British insurer.

Abbey Life, which was bought by Deutsche Bank for 977 million pounds in 2007, is valued at about 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion), sources told Reuters in June.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; editing by David Clarke)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) to pay $14 billion to settle an investigation into its selling of mortgage-backed securities, Germany's flagship lender said on Friday.

The claim against Deutsche, which is likely to be negotiated in several months of talks, far outstrips the bank's and investors' expectations for such costs.

While it is yet to become clear what the final payment will be, if it were to be as high as $14 billion, this would be a severe strain for Deutsche's fragile finances and would likely further rock investor confidence in the bank.

"Deutsche Bank has no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the number cited. The negotiations are only just beginning. The bank expects that they will lead to an outcome similar to those of peer banks which have settled at materially lower amounts", Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Friday.

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the department's demands.

In a similar case, rival Goldman Sachs (GS.N) agreed in April to pay $5.06 billion to settle claims that it misled mortgage bond investors during the financial crisis. [nL2N17E0XB]

That settlement included a $2.39 billion civil penalty, $1.8 billion in other relief, including funds for homeowners whose mortgages exceed the value of their property, and an $875 million payment to resolve claims by cooperative and home loan banks among others.

Deutsche Bank's settlement will comprise a different list of recipients, a source close to the matter said, adding that the lender had already settled some claims three years ago.

Citigroup agreed in 2014 to pay $7 billion to resolve a U.S. government investigation into shoddy mortgage-backed securities the bank sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, capping months of negotiations, during which the government demanded $12 billion.

In late 2013, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle claims that it defrauded U.S. government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, America's biggest providers of housing finance, into buying $14.2 billion in mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis.

Story continues

Deutsche was once one of Europe's most successful players on Wall Street. Like many of its peers, it has since faced a slew of lawsuits that often trace back to the boom years before the crash. Its litigation bill since 2012 has already hit more than 12 billion euros.

Claims filed by individuals, companies and regulators against Deutsche, outlined in the bank's 2015 annual report, relate to mis-selling of subprime loans and manipulation of foreign exchange rates or gold and silver prices. Other lawsuits are for the rigging of borrowing benchmarks Libor and Euribor, used to set the price of mortgages and derivatives.

In July, Chief Executive John Cryan said he hoped to close the four largest remaining litigation cases this year.

These are the mortgages and FX cases, an investigation into suspicious equities trades in Russia and allegations of money laundering. [nL8N1AD0QY]

Deutsche Bank's overall legal provisions stood at 5.5 billion euros at the end of the second quarter.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, editing by G Crosse and Bernard Orr)
FRANKFURT, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Deutsche Bank to pay $14 billion to settle an investigation into its selling of mortgage-backed securities, Germany's flagship lender said on Friday.

The claim against Deutsche, which is likely to be negotiated in several months of talks, far outstrips the bank's and investors' expectations for such costs.

"Deutsche Bank has no intention to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the figure cited. The negotiations are only just beginning. The bank expects that they will lead to an outcome similar to those of peer banks which have settled at materially lower amounts", Deutsche Bank said.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze, editing by G Crosse)
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The family of Stacey Stanley, one of the three women whose remains were recovered Tuesday as a result of a desperate 911 call placed by an allegedly abducted woman, is remembering her as a devoted mother who turned her life around following a years-long struggle with heroin.

Argil Stanley, Staceys uncle, tells PEOPLE that his 43-year-old niece was a very loving person with a big heart who enjoyed dancing and singing. She was reported missing on September 8.

She loved her two little dogs and adored her kids  [and] she was just a normal girl, Stanley says. Everybody loved her  [and] she didnt deserve this.

Police in Ashland, Ohio, received a 911 call Tuesday from a woman alleging she had been abducted by a man shed met a month earlier. As her alleged captor slept, the caller was able to lead authorities to the abandoned house where she was allegedly being held against her will.

Investigators have charged Shawn Grate, 40, with one count of abduction. Additional charges are expected to be filed in the coming days, authorities tell PEOPLE.

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.

After arresting Grate, who is homeless, detectives searched the remainder of the deserted residence and the surrounding area and found the bodies of three women. At this point, police have only identified Stacey Stanley as one of the three deceased victims.

It is a sad situation, especially the way she died, Argil Stanley says. She was beaten to death. The cops said she was unrecognizable from the beating. (Police have not confirmed Staceys cause and manner of death.)

Stanley says Staceys extensive family is in mourning and has been going through a lot of hurt the last two days. Relatives were gathering this afternoon to plan Staceys funeral, and a candlelight vigil is planned for Thursday evening in Ashland from 6:30 p.m. until midnight.

Story continues

Argil Stanley says his niece made the decision to conquer her demons more than six months ago.

She was a heroin addict and had been fighting her addiction for years, Stanley tells PEOPLE. She had been off of the stuff the last six months and was living with sister, going to work every day. She was sober and was taking care of herself. She had reclaimed her life.

Grate is being held without bail at the Ashland County Jail. He has not been charged with Stanleys murder, and does not appear to have legal counsel. Grate had yet to enter a plea or appear in court.
A relaxer marketed as a product that would make hair instantly thicker and fuller, reversing damage from day one, has allegedly done just the opposite, according to two women who tried it and are now suing the manufacturer, LOreal, for their subsequent scalp burns and hair loss.

The product in question, Softsheen Carson Optimum Amla Legend Relaxer Kit, which touts itself as being no-lye and containing Amla oil from India, allegedly changed the lives of the plaintiffs.

When Dorothy Riles used the product as intended  it left her with bald spots, as well as burns and then scabs on her scalp, notes the class-action suit, filed Sept. 14 in U.S. District Court by the Los Angeles firm Geragos & Geragos. Riles was then forced to wear a wig for the first time in her life to cover her injuries, the suit contends. To date, she continues to struggle with thin, unhealthy, and damaged hair as a result of her use of the product.

Another plaintiff, Sharon Manier, claims she experienced scalp irritation from the relaxer, followed by hair loss, and that she now wears hairpieces and takes costly vitamins to help foster regrowth.

The suit alleges false advertising, fraud, negligence, and other claims of misrepresentation against LOreal. And it seeks damages of an amount to be determined by the court  which, when looking at past cases, could easily be in excess of $100 million, attorney Ben Meiselas of Geragos & Geragos tells Yahoo Beauty.

Meiselas adds that his office has been bombarded with literally hundreds of phone calls from other women who have experienced product reactions similar to those of Riles and Manier. They began coming forward as soon as the lawsuit was filed, Meiselas notes, adding, That data tells us well be in the range of several thousand others coming forward.

A LOreal spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Yahoo Beauty, but told BuzzFeed, We do not believe the allegations in this lawsuit have merit. For more than 100 years, LOreal has been committed to the safety of its consumers.

Story continues

But the litigation  reminiscent of the recent class-action lawsuit against Wens low-lather conditioners  further claims that LOreal has known for years that its product is dangerous and defective, both because of its many toxic ingredients and the host of consumer complaints on the Internet, including LOreals own web pages, which report that the relaxer has caused reactions including hair loss and breakage, as well as scalp irritation, blisters, and burns.

On Amazon, consumer reviews were mixed, with some noting it worked well and many others complaining of hair loss, intense burning, continual breakage, and even being traumatized. In 2013, one reviewer noted, I would love to sue this company!!!

At the root of the suits claim of fraud, Meiselas explains, is the way the company targeted consumers who were likely seeking a healthy, natural way to relax their hair. What was really striking about this case is that LOreal is trying to co-opt the mysticism of the gooseberry [Amla] oil, which many beauty bloggers say is great, he says. They use it to hook and lure unsuspecting consumers, when it contains only trace amounts and is listed as the last ingredient. Its mixed in with a dangerous cocktail of ingredients, he adds, including hexylene glycol and butylene glycol, known to cause skin and lung irritation, plus the relaxing agent, sodium hydroxide  also known as lye.

These chemicals cause serious damage to the hair itself by making it weak and prone to breakage, according to the relaxers (creamy crack) section of a green product guide published by the organization Black Women for Wellness. However, these chemicals dont stop there; they can cause serious burns around the face and scalp (and any other body part the chemicals come in contact with), permanent scarring and blindness. Also, these chemicals serve as a gateway chemical: a chemical that makes it easier for other chemicals to get inside our body through burns and sores. Furthermore, recent studies linked long-term use of relaxers to early puberty in girls and fibroids in African American women.

Popular blogger Curly Nikki recently took the Amla oil itself to task, noting that its typically derived by soaking the dried fruit in another oil, such as coconut or sesame seed, creating more of a botanical infusion, and that because its high in vitamin C it can dry out hair.

Adding insult to injury, the suit notes, is how LOreal has gotten celebrities including Tracee Ellis Ross and even Michelle Obama to promote the Amla Legend line.

The actual effects of the product present a sad contrast to LOreals claimed expertise [a]s a leader of the multiethnic hair care industry, the suit says, as well as to its brand imagery, featuring celebrities such as Beyonce and Kelly Rowland.



Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f210891%2fdisneyquinoa

There's one golden rule to gumbo: It's not good, unless it's really, really bad for you.

Disney recently came under fire after the company posted a video titled, "Princess Tianas Healthy Gumbo." The recipe included such non-traditional, healthy ingredients as quinoa and kale  and Louisianans everywhere just weren't having it.

SEE ALSO: This man's Disney princess cosplay is almost too magical to behold

All across social media, people lambasted the otherwise magical company for its terrible gumbo appropriation. Not only did the company include nutritious ingredients (the horror!), it further failed to start the recipe with a roux.

I just heard about the #disneygumbo... with the kale and quinoa and tomatoes and chili powder in it. #gumbostrong pic.twitter.com/oncOSS2H4A  DJ Soul Sister (@djsoulsister) September 14, 2016

"For a healthy gumbo, try loading it up with kale!" -said no one from Louisiana ever. #GumboStrong  Savoie's Sausage (@SavoiesSausage) September 14, 2016

Disney can give us stereotypical characters, bad Louisiana French and bad accents but don't mess with the gumbo #gumbostrong #disneygumbo  Prairie des Femmes (@AshleeMichot) September 14, 2016

They might as well call it GumboGate #gumbostrong  Shelby Landry (@shelbyelandry) September 14, 2016

Favorite comment about the Disney "gumbo" fiasco: "Bowl of lies and deceit"  #butreally #gumbostrong  Allison Ellzey (@allison_ellzey) September 14, 2016

By Tuesday night, Disney took down the recipe from where it was posted on multiple channels. Thankfully, folks who still want a taste of Disney gumbo  whether to consume or mock  can still follow the recipe below. Facebook user David Hilbun made a video that included the original Disney recipe, as well as clips of people's righteous (and sometimes justified) social media outrage.

Do not mess with Louisiana, folks. They will come after you with Twitter pitchforks and Facebook ammo. It doesn't matter that you're the most magical company on Earth.

When you attack Gumbo, you attack Louisiana. They will wish upon a star for your destruction.

BONUS: Can you find the hot dogs amongst the Instagrams?
(Reuters) - U.S. discount retailer Dollar General Corp said it plans to hire 10,000 employees by mid-October, boosting its headcount by nearly 9 pct to support its expansion efforts as it looks to protect its turf amid fierce competition.

The company said on Thursday it would hire full-time and part-time employees, including for permanent sales floor positions such as store managers, lead sales associates and store associates.

The news comes two weeks after bigger rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would cut 7,000 back-office jobs to focus more of its resources on the sales floor.

Dollar stores operators such as Dollar General and bigger rival Dollar Tree Inc are locked in an intense battle against each other as well as big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart to win over shoppers.

Dollar stores have eaten into the market shares of their big-box rivals in recent years, helped by aggressive expansion, improving product assortment and low prices.

Dollar General operates more than 13,000 stores in the United States and has laid out plans to open 900 stores this year and about 1,000 more in 2017.

The retailer had about 113,400 full-time and part-time employees as of Feb. 26. It has hired 42,000 employees since 2008, or an average of about 5,200 each year.

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
(SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic)  A Dominican woman who says she was wrongly classified as a man and held with male inmates for 10 hours in a Miami prison filed a U.S. federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging negligence and civil rights violations.

The filing comes three years after Fiordaliza Pichardo was arrested at Miamis international airport on what attorneys say was a decades-old drug trafficking charge that was later dismissed. The $5 million suit names the Miami-Dade Corrections Department as a defendant.

Pichardos lawyers say she was initially booked as a female at the Metro West Detention Center but medical staff examined her and reclassified her as a man because they determined she had non-traditional male characteristics. Lawyers say Pichardo was then placed with 40 male inmates in an open cell where she was allegedly taunted and sexually harassed.

Miami-Dade Corrections spokeswoman Chandra Gavin said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

Pichardo, who is married and has three children, was 50 years old at the time of the incident in November 2013.

She was humiliated, attorney David Kubiliun told The Associated Press. The officials acted with deliberate indifference by failing to protect her rights.

Kubiliun said he did not know what the prisons medical staff meant by non-traditional male characteristics.

We believe that those words were used as a cover-up to their unlawful actions, he said. We are in the process of finding out what those motivations were.

Pichardo is a former government official who was elected in 2010 as city council member in Bonao, a town north of the capital of Santo Domingo. Kubiliun said she traveled to Miami in 2013 for the birth of her third grandchild and had previously visited the United States without incident.

___

Associated Press writer Danica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
donald trump

Donald Trump on Thursday slammed the pastor who interrupted him onstage during Wednesday remarks at a Michigan church.

In a telephone interview with "Fox and Friends," the Republican presidential nominee accused the pastor of the church in Flint, Michigan, of planning to come onstage to cut off his remarks when he addressed her congregation on Wednesday.

"When she got up to introduce me she was so nervous, she was shaking," Trump said. "And I said, 'Wow this is sort of strange.' And then she came up. So she had that in mind. There was no question about it."

He added: "She was so nervous. She was like a nervous mess. And so I figured something was up. Really."

Several minutes into Trump's remarks at Bethel United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Rev. Faith Green-Timmons reminded the real-estate mogul that the event was intended to focus on the water-crisis recovery in Flint, where state cost-cutting measures resulted in lead contamination in the city's water supply.

"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done for Flint, not to give a political speech," Green-Timmons said.

"Oh, OK, OK, OK, that's good," Trump said. "Then I'm going to go back on to Flint."

NOW WATCH: 'She had that in mind': Trump slams the pastor who interrupted him in Flint





More From Business Insider


trump pastor

Donald Trump on Thursday released a letter from his doctor summarizing his latest physical examination as the health of the two major-party presidential nominees has taken center stage in the campaign.

Trump's physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, wrote that Trump was in "excellent health."

Bornstein added that Trump was hospitalized only once in his life  to have his appendix removed when he was 11 years old.

Trump's doctor of more than 30 years listed the Republican nominee's height as 6-foot-3 and weight as 236 pounds.

"Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, who is setting records for number of events, size of crowds, and breadth of travel on the campaign trail, determined in light of increased scrutiny of candidates' health, it was important to have a detailed physical examination for all the various standard tests attributable thereto," the Trump campaign said in a news release.

The campaign added the exam took place on Friday, before Hillary Clinton's health episode on Sunday that recentered the public's focus on the candidates' health.

"All of the detailed results are enclosed," the campaign said. "We are pleased to disclose all of the test results, which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States."

The Manhattan billionaire taped an interview with TV's Dr. Mehmet Oz to discuss his health. That interview is set to air Thursday. Clinton, along with her running mate, Tim Kaine, released letters from their doctors describing their health on Wednesday. Clinton's doctor said she was physically fit to serve as president.

Read the full letter for Bornstein below:

Donald Trump medical records

NOW WATCH: Trump released a summary of his medical record  heres what it says





More From Business Insider


Donald Trump

Donald Trump started his week avoiding any mention of Hillary Clinton's recent health episode.

That all appeared to change Wednesday night.

Speaking at a rally in Ohio, Trump began needling Clinton over her "stamina," an issue he has raised for months.

"You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this?" he rhetorically asked the crowd, noting how hot it was in the venue. "I dont know. I dont think so."

Clinton was seen on video struggling to stand and walk after her campaign said she overheated at a Sunday memorial event marking the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Her doctor later released a statement saying the Democratic presidential candidate's fatigue was related to a previously undisclosed pneumonia diagnosis.

In a Thursday morning interview with New York radio host Fred Dicker, Trump continued to press the issue, again making note of Clinton's "stamina."

"Well, I just don't know," he said when asked if she had the stamina to campaign through election day in November. "But for this, you need tremendous stamina."

Trump's campaign, which has avoided the topic as well, also appeared to take a swipe at Clinton when releasing a summary of Trump's physical from his doctor Harold Bornstein.

"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results, which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States," the Trump campaign said in a news release.

Trump's mid-week behavior appeared to represent a shift from when he refused to talk about the topic. For instance, during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump repeatedly dodged questions on the subject.

The health of both candidates has taken center stage after Clinton's Sunday episode. Both candidates have released letters from their doctors describing their fitness for office, as both Clinton, who is 68 years old, and Trump, who is 70, are among the oldest nominees to seek the presidency.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: Trump released a summary of his medical record  heres what it says





More From Business Insider


Donald Trump is in "excellent physical health" and has the "stamina" to serve as president, his doctor said in a letter released Thursday by the GOP nominee's campaign.



The campaign said in a statement that Trump underwent an examination last Friday by his longtime personal physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein of New York City.



"Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, who is setting records for number of events, size of crowds, and breadth of travel on the campaign trail, determined in light of increased scrutiny of candidates' health, it was important to have a detailed physical examination for all the various standard tests attributable thereto," the statement said.





Donald Trump's Doctor Says He's in 'Excellent Physical Health' and Has the 'Stamina' to Serve as President| 2016 Presidential Elections, Health, politics, Donald Trump, Hillary Rodham Clinton



"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of President of the United States."







Bornstein's letter said Trump has been hospitalized only once, when he had an appendectomy at 11, and also revealed the results of his lab tests.
By Sinisa Dragin and Radu-Sorin Marinas MAHMUDIA, Romania (Reuters) - Birds and fish are slowly but surely returning to a part of Romania's picturesque Danube Delta that was drained by dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the 1980s but has been returned by local communities to its natural wetland state. With the help of the WWF environmental charity and funding from the European Union, some 900 hectares around Mahmudia, once drained to create farmland, have been reconnected to the region's network of channels and lakes. Heavy earthmoving equipment was used to create new waterways - a boon not only for fishermen in one of Europe's poorest communities, but also for local tourist companies offering bird-watching trips. "A lot of birds have migrated to the area and one doesn't need any more to travel long hours to go to other lakes and spot the birds," said Mahmudia deputy mayor Ion Meuta. Some 300 bird species make their home in the 600,000-hectare Danube Delta, including pygmy cormorants, white-tailed eagles and glossy ibises. Egyptian white pelicans arrive every spring, and Arctic geese migrate here to escape the harsh winters of Northern Europe. According to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority, the area - a UNESCO heritage site - is the third most bio-diverse in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands. A decade-long fishing ban has been imposed to protect the endangered wild sturgeon, a species more ancient than the dinosaur. "The sturgeon is the Delta's emblem," said breeding farmer Marilena Maereanu. "Last year I released 15,000 starry sturgeons into the Danube. In six or seven years they will start reproducing." (Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Ducati North America CEO Jason Chinnock

There are few brands in the world of motorcycles more sought after than Ducati.

Known for its line up of exotically styled, high performance motorcycles, Ducati has certainly captured the imagination of American consumers with 14% sales growth in 2015.

In fact, the US is Ducati's top market  ahead of its homeland of Italy.

The man in charge of the historic Italian marque in the US is Ducati North America CEO Jason Chinnock.

Chinnock, a long-time Ducati-guy, rejoined Ducati North America as CEO in January after a couple of years at fellow Audi-owned brand Lamborghini.

Recently, Chinnock spoke with Business Insider about the Ducati and his career in the motorcycle and automotive industries.

On what Ducati stands for

According to Chinnock, the Ducati brand stands for three things: style, sophistication, and performance.

"When someone sees a Ducati, it must be unmistakably a Ducati," Chinnock said about the style conveyed by his company's bikes.

As for sophistication, Chinnock believes Ducatis are more than just an engine, two wheels, and a seat. "It's about the engineering and the technology that allows riders have a great experience," Chinnock said.

And then there's performance. It's the element for which Ducati is most famous.

"The brand is rooted in racing and performance is something that comes quite naturally to us," he said. "Our aim is to build an emotional connection between the motorcycle and rider."

On where Ducati is headed

While Ducati is best known for its sport and super bikes, the legendary Italian marque is set to explore a different segment of the market.

"The cruiser market is new to us, but it's the single largest market opportunity for us in North America," the chief executive said. The cruiser market has traditionally been dominated by American and Japanese brands such as Harley-Davidson, Indian, Yamaha, and Honda.

According to Chinnock, the cruiser market represents around 115,000 bikes annually and the brand would be very pleased with just one or two percent of that pie.

Story continues

"It'll bring new people to the brand," Chinnock added.

Ducati 1299 Panigale S Anniversario 55

The bike chosen to take Ducati into this new frontier is the new XDiavel. While cruisers aren't necessarily known for the kind of fire-breathing performance synonymous with Ducati, Chinnock assured us that the new XDiavel "doesn't compromise the company's performance reputation."

On his time at Lamborghini

In 2013, Chinnock left his position as Ducati North America's sales and marketing development director to become a marketing manager at Lamborghini. He spent nearly three years at the supercar maker before returning to Ducati.

The executive told us that his time at Lamborghini was time well spent.

"I picked up the automotive industry's attention to detail and high level of professionalism," Chinnock told us. "In addition, it also allowed me to view Ducati more from the perspective of a consumer and gather new ideas for how to elevate the brand."

On his time in the US Army

After graduating from Colorado State University, Chinnock served as a tank pilot in the US Army. According to Chinnock, his time in the Army instilled within him an added sense of discipline and team focus.

Ducati XDIAVEL

"It was an invaluable experience for someone between the age of 18-21," he told us. "It helped me mold my drive and determination with an understanding that there was a whole world out there and that I could do anything I set my mind to."

On the possibility of an electric Ducati

A couple of years ago, Harley-Davidson unveiled an electric motorcycle called the Project LiveWire. But Ducati isn't quite ready to jump on that bandwagon yet.

Citing the sentiments of Ducati's Global CEO Claudio Domenicali, Chinnock said that Ducati will go electric "when the technology is at a point where we can deliver an experience commensurate with the spirit of the brand."

NOW WATCH: This super slick 3D-printed motorcycle is like nothing youve ever seen





More From Business Insider


Manila (AFP) - Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament Thursday, in explosive allegations against the Philippine president.

The self-described assassin testified under oath that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people between 1988 and 2013 on Duterte's orders -- one of them an alleged kidnapper fed alive to a crocodile.

Others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said has left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre called the allegations "lies and fabrications", adding Matobato "is obviously not telling the truth".

Duterte aides said the government's Commission on Human Rights had already investigated the allegations but did not file charges while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony "mere hearsay" of "a madman".

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Matobato recounted a 1993 death squad mission that was unintentionally impeded by the vehicle of an agent of the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation that was blocking a road on the southern city of Davao.

The agent ran out of bullets and was wounded in a shootout before Rodrigo Duterte, the Davao mayor at the time, showed up armed with a submachine gun, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off.... He emptied two Uzi magazines on him."

- 'Like chickens' -

Story continues

"I didn't kill anyone unless ordered by Charlie Mike," he said, telling the senate it was the death squad's coded reference to city mayor, referring to then-mayor Duterte.

Matobato's testimony fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind the killings of more than a thousand petty criminals, including minors, in Davao, where he was mayor for most of the past two decades.

"Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis" between 1988 and 2013, said Matobato, adding they also killed Duterte family foes and an "international terrorist".

"The people of Davao were being slaughtered like chicken," he said, adding he lied to his wife about butchering chickens when she saw his blood-spattered shirts.

"I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that," Duterte spokesman Martin Andanar said, adding that the government's human rights commission investigated the allegations but did not file charges.

Duterte, who took office more than two months ago, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill thousands of criminals.

He has rejected calls by the United States, the United Nations and rights groups to stop extra-judicial killings.

Matobato said he received orders to kill either directly from Duterte or from active-duty Davao police officers assigned to the mayor's office who were also part of the death squad.

- 'Disembowelled bodies' -

"The officers told us ordinary killings won't do. They are sadists," he said, describing how the victims were strangled.

"Then we'd remove their clothes, burn the bodies and chop them up," Matobato said, adding that he had personally killed "about 50" people.

Some victims were disembowelled and dropped at sea, while others were left on Davao streets with rusty handguns planted in their hands to simulate a gun battle, he added.

The boyfriend of Duterte's sister, along with Davao broadcaster and Duterte critic Jun Pala, four bodyguards of a local rival, and two enemies of Duterte's son Paolo, now Davao vice mayor, were also killed, Matobato added.

"I will not dignify with an answer the accusations of a madman," Paolo Duterte said, calling the allegations "mere hearsay".

President Duterte has denied ordering Pala's 2003 Davao ambush but has described him as an extortionist and a "rotten son of a bitch" who "deserved it". The UN and rights watchdogs roundly denounced his comments.

De Lima said the rights body later dug up several skeletons of unidentified people at the Davao quarry.

She said the hitman's testimony would be referred to the Philippine Ombudsman, although she acknowledged sitting presidents are immune from prosecution and could only be removed through impeachment.

Matobato said the death squad "tortured" him when he asked to leave the group in 2013, telling his bosses he was "too old" for it and wanted to look for a proper job.

He was admitted to the justice department's witness protection programme but left to go into hiding when Duterte won the presidency, Matobato added.

Asked why he left the death squad, he replied: "I am bothered by my conscience."
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) - Women who enter menopause before age 45 are more likely to have cardiovascular problems and to die younger than women who enter menopause later in life, according to a new analysis. The findings suggest that age at menopause may help predict women's risk for future health problems, said lead author Dr. Taulant Muka, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. "Women with early onset of menopause may be a group to target for proactive cardiovascular prevention strategies," Muka told Reuters Health in an email. One in 10 women enter so-called natural menopause by age 45, Muka and colleagues write in JAMA Cardiology. Natural menopause is when the ovaries spontaneously reduce or cease production of certain hormones, like estrogen. Menopause can also be brought on by surgery and other medical issues. Muka's team looked at data on more than 310,000 women who had participated in a total of 33 studies published since the 1990s. Comparing women who had their last period before age 45 to those who entered menopause at age 45 or older, the researchers found women with earlier menopause had a 50 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease, which can cause chest pain, heart attacks and strokes as plaque builds up on the walls of arteries. Women who entered menopause before age 45 were also about 20 percent more likely than women with later menopause to die from cardiovascular disease (including heart attacks and strokes). Women who entered menopause early were also 12 percent more likely to die of any cause while researchers were tracking them, compared to women who entered menopause later. In a second analysis comparing women who entered menopause before age 50 to women who entered menopause between ages 50 and 54, the later-menopause group had a reduced risk of deadly coronary heart disease. Muka said the timing of menopause may influence the risk of heart disease and other health problems through hormones. Additionally, he said, menopause may be a sign of overall aging. "Our results indicate that menopause might be a critical period to evaluate womens risk for future cardiovascular events and that it may be an appropriate time to introduce interventions to reduce the risk," said Muka. For example, he said, women who enter menopause early may want to work on controlling their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other factors affecting their heart health. Women in Western populations enter menopause at an average age of 51, write Dr. JoAnn Manson, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and Teresa Woodruff, of Northwestern University in Chicago, in an editorial accompanying the new analysis. Professional societies agree that women with early menopause should be considered for hormone therapy - if eligible - to manage symptoms and protect bone and vascular health, Manson and Woodruff write. "The recognition that women with early reproductive decline constitute a population at increased vascular risk provides important opportunities for early intervention in terms of both risk factor modification and, when appropriate, hormonal treatment," they note. The new analysis aligns with a July study in the journal Menopause that found women who start their periods later and have later menopause are more likely to reach age 90 than those whose reproductive milestones come at earlier ages. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2d2Rwat and http://bit.ly/2d2RRtQ JAMA Cardiology, online September 14, 2016.
The world is still vulnerable to a potentially catastrophic asteroid strike, according to President Barack Obama's chief science adviser.

NASA has made substantial progress in finding the asteroids that pose the biggest threat to Earth, but there's still a lot of work to do, said John Holdren, director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"We are not fully prepared, but we are on a trajectory to get much more so," Holdren said today (Sept. 14) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, during a discussion of the agency's planned Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). [Images: Potentially Dangerous Asteroids]

Holdren cited the February 2013 meteor explosion over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk and the 1908 Tunguska airburst as reasons to take the asteroid threat seriously.

The Chelyabinsk strike, which injured about 1,200 people, was caused by an object that is thought to be about 65 feet (20 meters) wide. The Tunguska event was much more powerful; a space rock perhaps 130 feet wide (40 m) exploded over a mostly unpopulated region of Siberia, flattening 800 square miles (2,070 square kilometers) of forest. Both strikes caught the world completely by surprise.

"We know that this does happen," Holdren said.

Strikes such as the Chelyabinsk impact are thought to happen once every hundred years, he added, while Tunguska is regarded as a once-in-1,000-years event.

But, Holdren said, "if we are going to be as capable a civilization as our technology allows, we need to be prepared for even those rare events, because they could do a lot of damage to the Earth."

"This is a hazard that, 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs succumbed to," he added. "We have to be smarter than the dinosaurs."

ARM can help educate us, Holdren said. In late 2021, NASA aims to launch a robotic probe toward a near-Earth asteroid; the current target is a 1,300-foot-wide (400 m) rock called 2008 EV5, but thats not set in stone, agency officials said.

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After it arrives at the asteroid, the spacecraft will pluck a boulder off its surface and then fly along with the space rock for a while, investigating the potential of a deflection strategy known as the "enhanced gravity tractor." (The standard gravity-tractor method calls for nudging a potentially hazardous asteroid off course over the course of years or decades, using the subtle gravitational tug of a tag-along robotic probe; this effect will be "enhanced" by the addition of the boulder's mass.)

The probe will then head back toward Earth, eventually placing the boulder in orbit around the moon. Astronauts aboard NASA's Orion space capsule will visit the purloined rock in the mid-2020s, agency officials have said.

The $1.25 billion ARM mission should help researchers learn more about asteroids and the resources they possess; demonstrate many of the technologies needed to get astronauts to Mars (which NASA aims to do before the end of the 2030s); help the agency practice human operations in deep space; and hone some of the skills that will be needed to deflect a potentially dangerous asteroid one day, Holdren said.

"The asteroid-retrieval mission makes sense in about five different ways," he said.

While smaller asteroids can do great damage on a local scale, experts think that space rocks must be at least 0.6 miles (1 km) wide or so to threaten human civilization. NASA scientists estimate that they have found at least 90 percent of these mountain-size, near-Earth asteroids, and none of them pose a threat for the foreseeable future.

Gravity tractors aren't the only possible defense against incoming asteroids. For example, dangerous space rocks could also be knocked off course by "kinetic impactors" (a series of spacecraft that slam into them). Some researchers have also proposed destroying asteroids with nuclear bombs; this is usually regarded as a last-resort strategy, to be used with space rocks that are discovered too late to deflect via gravity tractors and/or kinetic impactors.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Celebrities Get the Chance to Sample EarthWater Products at Emmy Gift Suite

HOLLYWOOD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / EarthWater Inc. www.EarthWater.com a manufacturer of high alkaline mineral infused beverages announced today the Company has accepted an invitation to be served and gifted at Doris Bergman's 7th Annual Style Lounge & Party Celebrating Emmy Season. Bergman's lounge & party will play host to over 100 of Hollywood's including Emmy Nominated actors, former Emmy winners, presenters, stylists and industry VIPS.

The "68th Primetime Emmy Awards" will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast live from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, September 18 (7pm-11pm EDT on ABC TV). Jimmy Kimmel host and executive producer of the Emmy-winning "Jimmy Kimmel Live," ABC's longest-running late-night talk show. Now in its 14th season, "JKL" has previously earned five Emmy nominations in the Outstanding Variety Series Talk category, Writing for a Variety Series, and Variety, Music or Comedy Series nominations. This marks Kimmel's second time as host of the Emmys. Prior to 2016, he presided over the "64th Primetime Emmy Awards" in 2012.

EarthWater Chairman, CJ Comu stated, "We're delighted to be back with the Stars, offering our special gift of EarthWater Products in the Swag Bag for the Celebrities. We are proud to produce a natural product that can help detox and remove heavy radicals all while delivering much needed micro nutrients to the body." Comu added, "EarthWater products have ZERO Chemicals, Colors, Carbohydrates, Contaminants, or Sugar. Our products are designed to help people by putting some valuable trace minerals into the body, as well as oxygen into the blood stream to Replenish, Rehydrate and Recover for the next day. Best wishes to all the Nominees."

Some of the nominees new to the nominations emerged this year such as: Aziz Ansari in "Master of None," Thomas Middleditch in "Silicon Valley," Ellie Kemper in "Unbreakable" Kimmy Schmidt, and Tracee Ellis Ross in "black-ish." In addition, previous three-time Emmy winner Laurie Metcalf (for her supporting role on Roseanne) emerged a multiple-nominee: in the lead comedy category for "Getting On," as well as for her comedic guest work in "The Big Bang Theory" and her dramatic guest work in "Horace and Pete." Contenders for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Limited Series or Movie category include twice-nominated Sarah Paulson in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" (as well as in American Horror Story: Hotel), and first-time nominees Tom Hiddleston in "The Night Manager," Courtney B. Vance and Cuba Gooding, Jr. in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," and Kirsten Dunst in "Fargo."

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About EarthWater Inc.

EarthWater Inc. www.EarthWater.com is a manufacturer of high alkaline mineral infused beverages under the brands FulHum www.DrinkFulhum.com and ZenFul www.DrinkZenful.com of a Mineral-Infused High Alkaline Beverage which is a 100% natural, proprietary blend of organic Fulvic and Humic complexes mined from deep within the earth's surface. For more information - please call; 972.764.5252 or email info@earthwater.com.

SOURCE: EarthWater Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp. (EGX.V) (the "Company"), announces that on application by the Company, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has made an interim order that provides for, among other things, the calling and holding of the annual general and special meeting (the "Meeting") of the Company's shareholders and holders of stock options that carry the right to purchase common shares of the Company pursuant to the Company's stock option plan. The Meeting will be held on Friday, October 14, 2016 at Suite 700, 595 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia at 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time).

At the Meeting, the Company's shareholders and stock option holders will be asked to, among other things, consider and to pass a special resolution approving the acquisition by Odin Mining & Exploration Ltd. ("Odin") of all of the Company's outstanding common shares and stock options, by way of a statutory plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act. In accordance with the amended and restated arrangement agreement dated September 9, 2016 and the plan of arrangement, at the effective time of the Arrangement, the Company's shareholders will receive common shares of Odin and the Company's stock option holders will receive stock options of Odin, all as more fully described in the joint news releases of the Company and Odin dated August 3, 2016, August 4, 2016 and September 12, 2016. Information about the Arrangement, related transactions, and Odin will be described in the Company's notice of the Meeting and management proxy circular (the "Circular") dated September 14, 2016. The Company expects to mail the proxy materials for the Meeting to the Company's shareholders, stock option holders and holders of outstanding common share purchase warrants on or about Wednesday, September 21, 2016. The record date for voting by the shareholders and option holders is September 6, 2016.

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The Arrangement special resolution must be approved by (i) at least 66 % of the votes cast by the Company's shareholders; and (ii) at least 66 % of the votes cast by shareholders and option holders voting together as a single class either in person or by proxy at the Meeting.

The Company's board of directors has unanimously determined that the terms of the Arrangement are fair and reasonable to the Company, its shareholders, option holders and holders of warrants, and unanimously recommends that the shareholders and option holders vote in favour of the Arrangement by special resolution at the upcoming Meeting. The Company's board of directors obtained a fairness opinion prepared by M Partners Inc., which will be attached to the Circular as a schedule. The board also considered a number of other factors in making its determination, which are more fully described in the Circular.

For more information about the Arrangement, please see the Company's Circular, the Fairness Opinion attached to the Circular, and other proxy materials, which will be available for review on SEDAR on or about September 21, 2016.

About Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.

Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp. is a Canadian exploration and mining company focused on its gold and copper mineral properties located in the Province of Zamora-Chinchipe in southern Ecuador. The Company has completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment of its Santa Barbara Gold and Copper Project dated May 29, 2015, and is currently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EGX." For additional information, please visit us at www.ecuadorgoldandcopper.com.

For further information please contact:

Heye Daun

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Telephone: +1-604-687 2038 (Vancouver Office)

Email: hdaun@ecuadorgoldandcopper.com

Cautionary Note

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws.

SOURCE: Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.
Texas indie-rock outfit Eisley are not letting recent changes get in the way on their new track "Defeatist," their first release in over three years.

Prior to the recording of their upcoming fifth LP, due in early 2017, the band faced a lineup change that saw the departure of two core members of the group. This led to guitarist/vocalist Sherri DuPree-Bemis assuming frontwoman duties in 2015. Although the song is not necessarily about DuPree-Bemis taking on the new role, the lyrics provide ample motivation to face the challenges that come with it.

Say Anything 'Six Six Six' Song Premiere: Max Bemis Talks Ambitious New 'Hebrews' Album

"It's about belonging to something bigger than yourself and not letting your own insecurities trip you up from having everything that you want," Dupree-Bemis says.

There are more changes in the band than just the lead vocals though. The production is more nimble, with a light guitar melody weaving around the band's distinct heavy percussion and driving bass lines. DuPree-Bemis' vocals are delicate and sincere, evoking the inner battle illustrated in the lyrics.

"'Defeatist' is about fighting for something or someone you love with passion and devotion, no matter the cost," DuPree-Bemis says. "When you know someone is worth fighting for, you fight till the death."

Despite the tighter sound, Eisley have not lost any of their edge. This seamless transition to the band's new iteration can be partially credited to the album's producer Will Yip, who has worked with similar heart-on-their-sleeve artists such as Circa Survive, Balance & Composure and Lauryn Hill. With Yip's guidance, the band appears to have maintained their wholehearted intensity while adding hints of a more palatable pop sound.

May the 4th Be With You: Remembering the Bizarre 'Star Wars' No. 1 Disco Hit

Details on their upcoming album will be arriving soon, but it is expected for release in early 2017 via Equal Vision Records. In the meantime, the band is currently touring the U.S. with The Dear Hunter. Tickets and tour dates can be found on their website here.
Recaptured drug lord Joaquin

A judge will hear the US extradition case against Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Monday, September 26, the kingpin's lawyer said on Wednesday.

A judge from the 13th district criminal court in Mexico City will review two appeals filed by Guzman's legal team in June to block the extradition requests approved by the Mexican foreign ministry in May, the lawyer, Jose Refugio Rodriguez, told AFP.

According to both Rodriguez and a source who spoke with Mexican newspaper El Economista, the session will consist of a final review of all the evidence by the judge, who will then decide whether to approve the extradition.

"The judge can make a decision  or not  right there and then, but usually in these cases he takes time to analyze it," Rodriguez told AFP, noting that a ruling could take "days or weeks."

If the judge approves it, Guzman's legal team would then have 10 days to appeal the decision to a higher court, which Rodriguez  who has said he could take the case all the way to Mexico's supreme court  would no doubt do.

In May, the Mexican government approved extradition requests from US District Courts in West Texas and Southern California, which have indicted the Sinaloa cartel chief on money laundering, drug trafficking, and murder charges.

Also in May, Guzman was suddenly transferred to a jail outside Ciudad Juarez, and despite an order to send him back to the prison in central Mexico that he broke out of in 2015, he remains there.

El Chapo Guzman fake escape story prison photo

After the kingpin's jailbreak last year, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto asked the country's attorney general to expedite the extradition process against Guzman, who is believed to have guided his cartel to the top of the narco hierarchy over the last two decades.

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But, despite reports of rifts within Guzman's legal team, it's likely that they can continue to drag out the legal process.

The kingpin's lawyers still have the ability to file appeals in the case, and for each appeal "that the defense attorneys will file, under the Mexican extradition treaty, they have to hold a judicial hearing ... which takes a lot of time, Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the US DEA, told Business Insider earlier this year.

The sides involved have given a variety of estimates for the amount of time it will take for this process to run its course.

A US government official has told AFP that it could be completed before the end of this year, while Rodriguez has said that the legal wrangling could last for years. Vigil told Business Insider earlier this year that it could take anywhere from six months to over six years  an estimate backed up by previous extradition cases against similar kingpins.

"I don't think he's going to be extradited for at least another year," David Shirk, a professor at the University of San Diego and director of the school's Justice in Mexico program, told Business Insider in September, prior to the announcement of Guzman's latest court date.

NOW WATCH: 1 YEAR LATER: Heres what may come next for 'El Chapo' Guzman





More From Business Insider


elon musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk just shared his biggest epiphany of 2016.

In an interview with Y Combinator's Sam Altman, Musk said the most striking realization came to him while he was overseeing the engineering of Tesla cars in the company's Fremont, California, factory.

"The biggest epiphany I've had this year is that what really matters is the machine that builds the machine, the factory," he said. "And that this is at least two orders of magnitude harder than the vehicle itself."

Tesla uses 580 giant robot arms to assemble the Tesla Model S and Model X cars. But Musk is focused on automating even more of the manufacturing process as he looks to ramp up production.

Earlier this year, he said that Tesla was "hell-bent on becoming the best manufacturer on earth." Considering Tesla has had its share of production problems, this shift in strategy was no doubt welcomed by those looking to buy a Tesla vehicle.

tesla factory robots

However, there's now concern that Tesla's one factory won't be able to handle the automaker's consumer-friendly Model 3, which is slated to roll out at the end of 2017 or early 2018, on top of assembling the Model S and Model X.

My colleague Matt DeBord has gotten into the weeds about this, pointing out that the Fremont plant has the capacity to assemble 500,000 vehicles annually, but it's only producing a fraction of that. Tesla's 2016 goal is to ramp up production to 100,000 cars.

But keep in mind that there are roughly 400,000 preorders at this point for the Model 3, which is on top of Model S and Model X production. That's a pretty tall order for Tesla's one factory.

Musk knows he needs to be faster.

"Actually, our speed on the line is incredibly slow," he told Altman. "I think we are ... in terms of the extra velocity of vehicles on the line, it's probably about, including both X and S, it's maybe five centimeters per second. This is very slow."

Musk added that he's "confident" Tesla can get a twentyfold increase of that speed, but we'll have to wait to see how Model 3 production goes.

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NOW WATCH: 7 mind-blowing things Elon Musk believes





More From Business Insider


The most dynamic scene of Oliver Stones film careercertainly the most electrifyingly bonkers speech hes ever shotcame in 1991s JFK. Its as old as the crucifixion, a military firing squad, Donald Sutherland rants, laying out the conspiratorial case for the military-industrial complex assassinating the president. Cutting between Sutherlands minutes-long monologue and sterling black-and-white footage of generals meeting in smoke-filled rooms, the sequence is a bravura display of paranoid filmmaking; the kind of work that means Stone is still being approached to make movies like Snowden, another tale of conspiracy at the heart of government in theaters this week. So its strange that his latest feature feels so devoid of both passion and paranoia.

Snowden is probably the most competent film Stone has made in a decade. It does a perfectly serviceable job retelling the story of Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who leaked classified information about global surveillance programs and sparked an international conversation about government access to information in a digital age. But if you want a deep dive into the Snowden case, theres already Citizenfour, Laura Poitrass Academy Award-winning documentary that rigorously lays out the Snowden story. The substantial, proven details that drive the story of Snowdenthe fact that the government can and has been spying on people through their cameras, phones, and computers for yearsshould be the spark to light Stones touchpaper. Instead, hes delivered a solid, watchable biopic that utterly lacks the over-the-top flourishes that once made his films so compelling.

Stone has never imitated the staid, fact-oriented style of most biopics. Some of his best works (JFK, Nixon, and even Any Given Sunday, his take on the NFL) have taken real stories of shadowy abuses of power and blown them up to operatic proportions. But he had less fun with W., his George W. Bush opus that had a strange, chummy affection for its protagonist, and in recent years hes seem lost, making a pointless Wall Street sequel in 2010 and the grimy, unmemorable drug-runner drama Savages in 2012. The Oliver Stone of the 90s, who had such a good grip on the distrust of his post-Vietnam generation, might have done great work with his latest film. But the Stone of recent years, who has struggled to remain relevant in a more understandably fearful post-9/11 America, didnt seem to know what to do with Snowdens fascinating life and career.

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Still, hes lucky to have Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the title role. Affecting a flat, croaky monotone and a shifty, withdrawn posture, the actor still manages to find some charm in the character, making the movies 140-minute running time much more bearable. Gordon-Levitt is best when hes playing loners and weirdoes; his Snowden recalls the grumpy gumshoe of the high-school drama Brick, or the type-A dream-thief in Inception. He gave it his all as French acrobat Philippe Petit in last years The Walk, but his incessant exuberance for death-defying stunts came off as mostly creepy; as Snowden, where that same intensity is instead directed inward, hes somehow alluring.

Recommended: Hollywood Has Ruined Method Acting

Because of that, you can see what the documentarian Poitras (here played by Melissa Leo) saw in Snowden as a filmmaking subject, and why the journalists Glenn Greenwald (a hilariously mean Zachary Quinto) and Ewan MacAskill (a grandfatherly Tom Wilkinson) almost instantly took Snowden at his word when he handed over reams of encrypted NSA data. Stone, who also co-wrote the film with Kieran Fitzgerald, cuts between Snowden dramatically handing over the data to journalists in 2013 and the ups and downs of his career in the intelligence community. The former has real stakes, but like any true story its hampered by viewers already knowing the outcome; the latter is seriously meandering.

Snowden feels trite in its efforts to depict Americas ensnarement in the creepy web of online spying.

Theres the spine of a great story in Snowdens national service, beginning with an abortive attempt to join the Marines (he was discharged after breaking his legs during training), then switching to a promising career in the CIA. Snowden has its hero bump into spies who range from wildly unethical (Timothy Olyphant as a slick field agent) to staunchly principled (Nicolas Cage as an inspirational teacher at the academy). Rhys Ifans stands out as Snowdens mentor, Corbin OBrien, who is occasionally sinuous but more often happy to justify the agencys creeping surveillance techniques as a necessary sacrifice for national safety. Though he quits the CIA out of ethical disgust, Snowden eventually becomes an NSA contractor, forever part of the swirling maw of tech experts paid to keep the nation safe.

Snowden does well to portray how middle managers in the intelligence community might come to these rationalizations; its just surprisingly even-handed for the typically skeptical Stone. The film feels irredeemably trite in its efforts to depict Americas ensnarement in the creepy web of online spying. As Edward realizes the reach of the NSAs warrantless wiretapping, and its constant email surveillance, Snowden zooms out to horrendous CGI maps of glowing strings connecting people around the world, like some off-brand Windows 95 demo. At one point, as Edward has sex with his girlfriend Lindsay (Shailene Woodley), he eyes the gazing webcam of their open laptop with sweaty terror as the film blurs and fractures. These B-movie moments are supposed to help justify Snowdens later decision to betray his country, but onscreen theyre blandly ineffective.

Recommended: Donald Trump, Sex Pistol

Woodley is perhaps the most under-served: A relatively stalwart presence at Snowdens side, Lindsay puts up with a lot from him (he cant talk about his job, appear in any pictures she takes, or really ever be cheerful about anything). In return, shes handed the bulk of the storys most boring material, designed to humanize a hero that Stone has already decided to canonize (the film literally ends with an audience giving Snowden a standing ovation). Its Snowdens scenes with the journalists, and his more subtle flickers of horror on the job at the NSA, that make him seem worth rooting for. Much of his personal life is just cruddy Hollywood padding for a movie that should be lean, angry, and focused. Stone used to be fearless in both the stories he told and the way he told them: Now, it seems, hes just the former.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Empire roars back next week with the premiere of its third season (Sept. 21, 9 p.m. ET/PT) with an episode titled "Light in Darkness."

As fans will recall, season two ended with plenty of questions. Hakeem was left alone at the altar, Lucious and Anika had married and the bride and Rhonda were fighting on the roof when someone fell. And, in the midst of establishing his streaming service, Lucious was busy fending off his half-brother Tariq, who is leading a federal task force investigating the music mogul.

To give fans a taste of what's in store musically next week, Billboard today premieres "Need Freedom." The soulful social commentary track features Jussie Smollett (Jamal) and was written by Empire's new supervising music producer, Rodney Jerkins.

Timbaland Exits 'Empire' as Songwriters Rodney Jerkins & Ester Dean Sign On: Exclusive

Calling to mind Marvin Gaye's seminal "What's Going On," "Need Freedom" was born out of a song written for rapper character Freda Gatz. "It started as 'Free Freda,' says Jerkins, "as she's locked up in jail. But once I sat down with Jussie, we started talking about everything going on in the country."

"I recorded this exactly seven days after Philando Castile was shot," continues Smollett. "Between the shootings of Castile, Alton Sterling, at the Pulse in Orlando and the police officers in Dallas - not to mention the other numerous killings oer the last couple of years - it was like we couldn't breathe. What are we doing as a people, a nation; what messages are we sending to the next generation. Then this song came."

Adds Jerkins, "So we ended up with two versions of the song for the show, 'Need Freedom' and 'Free Freda.'"

Listen to "Need Freedom" here:

It's all in keeping with Empire's renewed focus this season on the intense family dynamic that turned the series into a pop culture phenomenon, and ratings leader, during season one. There's also a push to integrate more of what's happening in the real world within the storylines.

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"Even though it was written for the show, 'Need Freedom' is a song that sets the tone," says Shawn Holiday, senior VP of A&R for Columbia Records. "We think it's important to shed more light on social issues and want Empire to be a part of that."

Watch Jussie and Rodney in the studio here:

Exactly one week away from @empirefox season premiere. We have new music... And it truly means something. Honored to work with a great... my brother @rodneyjerkins. #NeedFreedom premieres tomorrow on billboard.com and avail to download this Friday. #Empire -- enjoy. #AllLove

A video posted by Jussie Smollett (@jussiesmollett) on Sep 14, 2016 at 5:46pm PDT

"This show is about family in every single element of the word," echoes Smollett. "Yes, it's about the music industry but it's more about what we go through as a blood family, an American family. The good and bad that every family goes through. All that comes into play this season."

"Need Freedom" will be available on iTunes tomorrow (Sept. 16).
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's second-highest court confirmed on Thursday Thomson Reuters <TRI.TO> 2012 settlement with EU antitrust regulators over its securities identification, or Reuters Instrument Codes (RICS).

Morningstar <MORN.O>, a competitor of Thomson Reuters that provides mutual funds data, research and analysis, asked the court to overrule the agreement with the European Commission in 2014, saying Thomson Reuters continued to abuse its dominant position by not allowing competitors to provide a comparable service of real-time data streams.

"The General Court concludes that the commitments proposed by Thomson Reuters were correctly assessed as being capable of resolving the concerns raised by the Commission and that the latter therefore did not commit a manifest error of assessment in accepting those commitments," the Luxembourg-based General Court said.

EU anti-trust regulators opened an investigation into the Reuters Instrument Codes in October 2009. The Commission was concerned customers of the information and news provider were locked in indefinitely because replacing the Reuters Instrument Codes was too costly to rewrite or reconfigure software applications.

The Commission agreed to a Thomson Reuters plan to grant licenses to its clients to enable them to use RICs to retrieve data from competitors' real-time data feeds.

However, Morningstar has argued that competitors remained unable to offer a comparable and competing service.

"The General Court observes that Thomson Reuters offered its customers and third-party developers the possibility to set up mapping tables between the RIC codes and the symbol system used by the new provider, with the result that the modifications to be made to the applications are not excessively costly," the court said in a statement.

"Those commitments therefore represent a genuine improvement for Thomson Reuters customers since, in the absence of the need extensively to modify IT applications, they do not face prohibitive costs during a possible switch of providers," it said.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Robin Emmott)
Luxembourg (AFP) - An EU court on Thursday upheld a decision by Brussels to freeze the funds of Ukraine's ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych as well as those of a son and top aide.

The General Court, the second highest in the European Union, upheld the sanctions EU states imposed on the three from March 2015 until March this year over misappropriation of funds before he fled Ukraine.

The court said nonetheless it annulled the sanctions for the initial period from March 2014 until March 2015.

However, an EU official told AFP the court's decision meant Yanukovych, his son Oleksandr Yanukovych and Andriy Klyuyev "remain subject to the EU asset freeze."

The court said the initial EU case for sanctions rested only on one letter from the prosecutor general's office in Ukraine, which it added "did not provide any detail of the specific acts the three Ukrainians are alleged to have committed."

But it said the European Council, which groups the member states, later relied on a number of letters from the Ukrainian authorities that "provide sufficient proof of the fact that, when the freezing of funds was extended in March 2015, those individuals were the subject of criminal proceedings relating to misappropriation of public funds or assets."

It concluded: "The General Court of the EU confirms the freezing of funds of three Ukrainians, one being Viktor Yanukovych, former President of Ukraine, for the period from 6 March 2015 until 6 March 2016."

The court's decision can still be appealed within the next two months to the Court of Justice, the highest in the European Union.

The sanctions over misappropriation of funds against Yanukovych, his son, top aide and a few others are up for renewal in March next year.

Yanukovych fled to exile in Russia hours after his ouster by pro-European protesters in February 2014. His flight was followed weeks later by the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea and a bloody separatist uprising in pro-Moscow regions of eastern Ukraine.

In a separate case, the European Union on Thursday extended by six months, until March, sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian individuals over the conflict in Ukraine.

The blacklist of travel bans and asset freezes against nearly 150 people is in addition to sweeping economic sanctions against Russia's defence, financial and energy sectors that have infuriated President Vladimir Putin.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU's second-highest court on Thursday upheld financial sanctions imposed on Ukraine's ousted president Viktor Yanukovich, who fled the country in 2014 after a popular uprising. Yanukovich, who fled to Russia, challenged the European Union's sanctions, imposed in response to allegations of embezzlement and financial wrongdoing, in the General Court. The court's action, which took effect in March 2014, meant he and his son lost access to funds they hold in European banks. The court said it confirmed the freezing of funds from March 2015 to March 2016. But Yanukovich won his challenge against sanctions from March 2014 to March 2015 because EU governments did not provide enough proof of wrongdoing, basing the measures only on a letter from Ukraine's prosecutor, the court said. The European Union has extended the sanctions until March 2017. Yanukovich's lawyer said the former president would also appeal against the extension, which the court is also expected to rule on. "These decisions represent a significant victory for our clients," lawyer Joe Hage said. "They show that the basis for the sanctions is flimsy." An EU official rejected that, saying the ruling "confirmed the solidity of EU sanctions policy." All the Yanukovich funds remain frozen and the annulment for 2014/15 amounts only to a technicality, according to a person familiar with the judgment. Typically in such cases, any interest payments due are paid into a frozen account. Interpol has put Yanukovich on the international wanted list at the behest of Kiev authorities, although Moscow is not expected to extradite him. Yanukovich has denied any involvement in corruption. He can appeal against the ruling to the EU's top court within the next two months. (Reporting by Robin Emmott in BRUSSELS, Jack Stubbs in MOSCOW; editing by Francesco Guarascio and John Stonestreet)
By Noah Barkin and Alastair Macdonald BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Shaken by Britain's decision to leave the European Union, the leaders of its other 27 countries meet on Friday to try to inject new momentum into their ailing communal project amid deep-seated divisions over migration and economic policy. The Brexit vote in June ended more than half a century of EU enlargement and closer integration. Long seen as a guarantor of peace and prosperity, the bloc is now struggling to convince its citizens that it remains a force for good. Years of economic and financial crisis have pushed up unemployment in many member states, while a spate of attacks by Islamist militants and a record influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa have unsettled voters, who are turning increasingly to populist, anti-EU parties. "After the vote in the UK the only thing that makes sense is to have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation," European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters in Bratislava on the eve of the meeting. "We must not let this crisis go to waste." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said earlier this week the EU was in an "existential crisis". Despite the pressure to lay out a new vision, leaders have played down expectations of real breakthroughs in the Slovak capital, in part because of intractable differences on the biggest issues, notably how to handle the influx of migrants. Instead they are expected to focus on areas where there is common ground, pledging closer defense cooperation, bolstering security at the EU's external borders and boosting the capacity of an EU investment fund meant to generate growth and jobs. 'SCARCITY OF COMMON GROUND' The aim is to present more concrete proposals at a summit in March of next year that coincides with the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding Rome Treaty. But some officials admit in private that major initiatives may not be possible until elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany are out of the way by late 2017. At a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Thursday, French President Francois Hollande, who is widely expected to lose power next spring, said the first priority must be to bolster security along EU borders and against external threats. Merkel said the meeting in Bratislava must demonstrate that the EU was capable of "reacting together to the weaknesses" of the bloc. Europe's dominant leader in recent years, Merkel now finds herself under mounting political pressure at home because of her welcoming stance towards refugees one year ago. In a sign of her waning power, she has failed to convince eastern European countries like Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and summit host Slovakia to accept refugee quotas. These countries, known collectively as the Visegrad, are demanding that the European Commission be reined in as a consequence of the Brexit vote. Mujtaba Rahman of political risk consultancy Eurasia said the summit may only end up advertising "the scarcity of common ground" among the EU-27 and the weakness of its most important leaders Merkel, Hollande and Italy's Matteo Renzi. Renzi has said he will step down later this year if he loses a referendum on constitutional reform. The leaders are not expected to discuss in any detail their looming divorce negotiations with Britain, which are likely to hang over the bloc for years, sapping resources, attention and threatening further divisions. (Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald, Francesco Guarascio; Writing by Noah Barkin; editing by John Stonestreet)
Paris (AFP) - The EU is to examine the impact that German chemicals giant Bayer's $66-billion plan to buy US seeds firm Monsanto would have on the European market, officials said Thursday.

The deal, announced Wednesday, would create one of the largest firms in the global agribusiness sector and, at 58.8 billion euros, would mark the largest-ever takeover by a German firm.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the EU needed to ensure that the huge tie-up, which needs regulators' approval, would not create a monopoly that could hurt farmers and consumers.

"What is important for us is that post-merger farmers have choice, that as a farmer and also a consumer, that they can choose different kinds of seeds, that they are not locked in with just one producer and one set of pesticides," she said.

"What we will look at will be the situation post-merger," Vestager told a news conference in Paris.
By James Mackenzie and Rupam Jain KABUL (Reuters) - Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized new authorities giving the U.S. military greater freedom to fight Taliban insurgents, saying they were a further erosion of the country's sovereignty. In an interview, Karzai, who continues to exert considerable behind-the-scenes influence on Afghan politics, also called on the Islamist militant movement to be more realistic in demands that have hampered progress in peace talks. His comments on American involvement in the war were at odds with the government of his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, which has welcomed U.S. political and military support. "How could the U.S. president authorize U.S. troops to launch attacks on their own in Afghanistan?" Karzai said, referring to Barack Obama's June decision to alter the rules of engagement for the American military. "Don't we have a government here? Aren't we a sovereign country?" The new authorities, which U.S. officials say were agreed with the Afghan government, affect ground operations where U.S. troops provide support to Afghan forces as well as air combat, and Karzai has long been critical of U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan, be they by fighter jets, helicopters or drones. He would ban them altogether, even though the Afghan armed forces, struggling to contain the insurgency, say they could not cope without support from the skies and want more. The former leader's opposition reflects broader unease among Afghans who believe innocent people have been killed in air attacks targeting militants, unease that may grow with new powers granted to the U.S. military. The U.S. says its air strikes support Afghan operations and it takes extreme care to avoid civilian casualties, despite incidents such as the bombing of a Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital in Kunduz last year in which 42 people died. Calling Afghanistan the victim of a 21st century version of the "Great Game" between competing powers on the 19th century borders of British India, Karzai blamed the United States and Pakistan for "a war that is not ours". TALIBAN MUST BE REALISTIC However, he added that he wanted to reshape the partnership between Kabul and Washington, not end an alliance which brought him to power over a decade ago and still ensures billions of dollars in aid and military support each year. Karzai was succeeded by Ghani two years ago. "I want to be allies with the United States, I want to be partners with the United States," he said. "But it must be a partnership, not a master-and-slave relationship. "We must remain the owners of this house, the United States of America, a guest." As for the Taliban, Karzai said he saw little change in tactics since the death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike on Pakistani soil in May. He appealed to the Taliban "as fellow Afghans to recognize that this is their country" and to break free of the influence of Pakistan, which despite frequent denials, is blamed by Afghanistan for supporting the insurgency. "I would call on the Taliban to be free from foreign influence - in this case Pakistan, the Pakistan intelligence and military," Karzai said. He added that they had to be more realistic in their demands to make peace talks possible. "When they say that foreign forces must leave first and then we will talk, then I tell them that if they keep waiting for that, a lot of Afghan blood will be shed," he said. COUNTRY "NEEDS TO REGAIN CONFIDENCE" Despite suspicions among some close to the government that he wants to destabilize Ghani, Karzai said he expected the U.S.-backed government to serve its full five-year term. This is even though parliamentary elections and a special "loya jirga", or gathering of Afghan leaders and elders, have not materialized as scheduled within the first two years. "The government should know that no one is going to ask them to go away. We want them to complete their term, we want them to complete the five years," he said. "But the country needs a voice, the country needs to regain its confidence." To do that, he called for a loya jirga. "The loya jirga is an expression of authority of the Afghan people. Things must return to the ownership of the Afghan people," said Karzai, who has a deep network of political connections throughout the country. "It's an institution for a time of crisis and we are in crisis." The 58-year-old dismissed suggestions that such a gathering, including opponents and allies of the government, could undermine stability and weaken an administration that has struggled to overcome internal rivalries. Adding to the challenges, the Taliban have stepped up their insurgency, while thousands of young people, unable to find work, prefer to risk a perilous journey to seek a better life in Europe. "The loya jirga is an expression of authority of the Afghan people. Things must return to the ownership of the Afghan people," Karzai said. (Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
Montevideo (AFP) - A former Guantanamo inmate resettled in Uruguay but demanding to be reunited with his family has resumed a hunger strike after coming out of a coma, his doctor said Thursday.

Jihad Diyab, a 45-year-old Syrian, went into what doctors called a "light coma" Wednesday after more than 20 days of refusing food and liquids.

Dr Julia Galzerano said Diyab came out of his coma, then removed the IV tube through which health workers had been administering fluids.

"We saw him today. We examined him and explained what would happen if he removed his hydration tube. He listened very politely," she said, describing his condition as stable.

Diyab is being treated at his residence in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo after being transferred from hospital on Saturday, his second hospitalization in a week.

He began his hunger strike in a Venezuelan prison, where he was detained after leaving Uruguay undetected and showing up at the Uruguayan consulate in Caracas, demanding to be taken to his family in Turkey.

Venezuela deported him back to Uruguay, which he accuses of failing to do enough to reunite him with his family.

Diyab was one of six former Guantanamo inmates resettled in Uruguay as refugees in 2014, part of a deal with the United States aimed at helping close the controversial prison.

The six men have had a running dispute with the Uruguayan government over housing and living allowances.

Uruguayan authorities say they are trying to bring Diyab's family to Montevideo, but he says he would not be able to support them there 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.

The six 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 Alisa Tang and Beh Lih Yi

BANGKOK/JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At all the peace talks Joji Felicitas Pantoja attended in the conflict-troubled Philippines island of Mindanao, coffee was served to put people at ease.

But Pantoja soon realised talking about peace wasn't enough in communities unable to address basic needs like food and health, sparking an idea to use coffee as a vehicle for change.

Setting up "Coffee for Peace", Pantoja worked with Mindanao farmers to revitalise an industry long abandoned for cash crops like rubber and bananas - and her farmers' earnings tripled.

"Peace is not just the absence of war ... if we don't address the economic aspect, it's not complete," Pantoja, 56, a self-described peacebuilder, said by Skype from Mindanao.

Across Asia women like Pantoja are re-examining society's problems through a business lens, playing a more leading role than women in other regions in harnessing the power of markets to tackle poverty and social ills, according to the first experts' poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of the world's 45 biggest economies found the Philippines was the country where women fared best when taking into account representation in leadership roles in social enterprises and the gender pay gap.

In fact five other spots among the top 10 ranking in the poll of nearly 900 experts in social enterprise were in Asia - Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand.

Russia, Norway, and Canada rounded out the top 10, while Brazil came last and the United States fared badly in the perception poll due to concerns women are paid less than men.

Women interviewed across Asia described a fairer playing field and higher drive to put compassion over valuation as the reason women are doing so well as social entrepreneurs.

COMMUNITY FOCUS

Overall the online poll, conducted between June 9 and July 15 in partnership with Deutsche Bank, the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (GSEN) and UnLtd, foundations for social entrepreneurs, found 68 percent of experts said women are well represented in leadership in social enterprises.

Story continues

A study by Deloitte in 2015 showed that women hold only 12 percent of the world's board seats while data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union shows women account for about 23 percent of all national parliamentarians.

However only 48 percent of experts said women in social enterprises were paid the same as men, with the United States particularly concerned on this issue.

"Whereas men want to be like Mark Zuckerberg, women want to do well for the community," said Peetachai "Neil" Dejkraisak, who founded a rice social enterprise called Siam Organic with a female business school classmate.

"They are more compassionate and want a meaningful life ... Social entrepreneurs are inherently driven by improving people's lives, lifting people out of poverty. Women social entrepreneurs are better at doing this than their male counterparts."

Neil and Pornthida "Palmmy" Wongphatharakul began work on Siam Organic as business school students, not setting out with the aim of building a business seeking to improve society.

"The social impact was tied into the business model - the better the business, the more impact for the farmer," said Palmmy.

With Thai rice farmers earning about $12 per month per acre, they decided to home in on the U.S. market and innovations - mainly the organic purple "Jasberry" rice, high in antioxidants - to boost farmers' earnings and win health-conscious customers.

The company now works with 1,000 farmers and sold about 100 tonnes of its specialty rice in 2015 to Thai and U.S. buyers - and its farmers earn an average of $180 per month per acre.

"My objective has always been whatever you do, you always have to help the farmers you promised to help. When a decision comes along, you put the farmers first," said Palmmy, 31.

DUPED MAID TAKES LEADERSHIP ROLE

Indonesian former domestic worker Heni Sri Sundani never imagined she would become a social entrepreneur, using education to empower children and families in Indonesian villages.

From an impoverished farming family, in 2005 she went to Hong Kong as a maid to support her family but discovered her recruiter kept half her salary, inspiring her to use any spare time to study for a degree in entrepreneurial management.

She returned home six years later with a degree and started offering free classes to children through her Smart Farmer Kids in Action movement, teaching science and also modern farming.

As the movement grew to include over 1,000 students in eight villages, she began charging a small fee to help cover running costs but most parents, who are farmers, could not afford it.

So she created another community programme to help the farmers sell their products online and introduced eco-tourism, boosting their incomes so they could pay for schooling.

"We hope these children stay and empower others in the villages to become educated farmers. We don't want them to go to big cities to become exploited labourers or end up becoming human trafficking victims," said 29-year-old Sundani.

"People I met were amazed what a woman like me can do. More women started to join me because a woman is not just a housewife," she said, adding she raised money via crowdfunding.

Malaysian Mastura Rashid realised it was not enough to give free food to the poor when she was a volunteer handing out meals to homeless people in Kuala Lumpur as this was not sustainable.

So she started working with urban families who earn under $250 a month last year, selling their home-cooked traditional coconut rice and spicy shrimp paste dish "nasi lemak" to office towers and petrol kiosks under "The Nasi Lemak Project".

"We want to help the poor by giving them direct access to the market. Malaysians love to eat, there is no other better product than nasi lemak," Mastura, 26, said.

Mastura said Malaysia's emerging social entrepreneur scene is competitive but a level playing field for women like her, unlike traditional businesses where women face discrimination.

Her project has received grants from two government-linked agencies set up to encourage innovation and startups.

"I don't see gender bias in social entrepreneurship - in politics or marriages, perhaps yes. There is no discrimination towards me as a woman social entrepreneur," Mastura added.

(For the full results of the 2016 poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs go to poll2016.trust.org)

(Reporting by Alisa Tang @alisatang in Bangkok, and Beh Lih Yi @behlihyi in Jakarta, editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
By Astrid Zweynert LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain's role as a pioneering country for social entrepreneurs could suffer as it prepares to leave the European Union after decades of the government actively promoting business leaders seeking to do good, experts said. A Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of experts in the world's 45 biggest economies ranked Britain third after the United States and Canada as having the best environment for entrepreneurs using businesses to help tackle social problems. From The Big Issue newspaper sold by homeless people and ecotourism attraction the Eden Project to Divine Chocolate, a company co-owned by cocoa farmers in Ghana, Britain's social enterprise sector has grown rapidly in 20 years. Britain launched a social enterprise strategy in 2002, the first social impact bond in 2010, introduced social investment tax relief and brought in a law in 2013 calling for all public sector commissioning to factor in social value. But economic uncertainty after Britain's decision to leave the EU poses significant financial and operating challenges for the sector, said Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, a membership organisation for social enterprises. "While there is no blueprint to know what will happen after Brexit we can expect there will be less government support, financially and in terms of policy, because there will be some economic contraction," Holbrook said. The Thomson Reuters Foundation poll, carried out in partnership with Deutsche Bank, the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (GSEN) and UnLtd, foundations for social entrepreneurs, found Britain came seventh when experts were asked if government policy supports social entrepreneurs. South Korea, Singapore topped the list with France tied with Chile in third place followed by Canada and the United States. In Britain government records identify about 70,000 social enterprises - loosely defined as ventures combining business with social purpose - employing nearly one million people. But leaving the EU could bring new challenges such as delays on public sector contracts - a source of income for larger social enterprises - and social businesses may find it harder to borrow money amid financial uncertainty, Holbrook said. MOMENTUM SLOWING? In Britain, as elsewhere in the world, public funds have come under increasing pressure from shrinking economic growth, making governments more aware of the potential of social enterprises to promote a more equitable and sustainable society. Nigel Kershaw, executive chairman of the Big Issue Group, said the sector had grown since the 1990s out of co-operatives and community enterprises wanting to use business to create social change. Growing demand from the government to buy services from charities has also boosted the sector, Kershaw said, a factor he said he expects to continue despite Britain's EU exit. The poll found that selling to government was one of the main challenges faced by the growing sector. The Big Issue, one of Britain's best-known social enterprises, was formed in 1991 as a business solution to a social crisis and inspired street papers in more than 120 countries. "It's about finding sustainable business solutions that are making a difference to people's lives throughout the U.K. in a time when we need a more innovative way of doing business," Kershaw said. GOVERNMENT ALLY But despite Britain's leadership on social entrepreneurship, experts in the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll ranked Britain only 27th when asked if social entrepreneurship was gaining momentum, while Canada and the United States ranked top. Experts said the sector could be impacted if the new government of Theresa May does not provide the same level of support enjoyed by social entrepreneurs in the past two decades. A decision to move responsibility for the sector from the Cabinet Office - a department at the heart of government - to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport set alarms bells off. "There is a danger that the needs of social enterprises, social investors and mutuals will be sidelined," Holbrook said. Britain's model of government support for social enterprise has caught the attention of other governments, aware of the power of using business to help social problems, experts said. In Malaysia - which came 9th in the overall ranking and 10th when it came to government support - Prime Minister Najib Razak last year allocated 20 million ringgit (3.77 million pounds) to boost the number of social enterprises to 1,000 by 2018 from around 100. As part of the plan it set up the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) which provides training in setting up a business, how to access funding and networking opportunities, along with competitions and outreach. "It's been a tremendous help to get this type of government support," said Su Seau Yeen, founder of Simply Cookies, a social enterprise based in Kuala Lumpur that trains single mothers to bake in a kitchen where they can bring along their children. By contrast Australia ranked 36th on government support with experts saying the sector needed coordinated government support. "It's a hot-button issue right now and there is a strong sense that there's not a lot of government support," said Jo Barraket, a professor and director of the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. (Reporting by Astrid Zweynert; Additional reporting by Pauline Askin in Sydney; Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories)
The celebrities can take a deep breath. Jimmy Kimmel says most of TV's biggest stars will be spared from his caustic wit at the Emmy Awards on Sunday.

"There are a few that maybe should be a little bit worried, but for the most part everyone can relax," Kimmel told ET.

WATCH: The Emmy Nominations Are In!

Among those who are safe are the newly broken up Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston.

"I think it's a little bit weird when somebody goes through a breakup and suddenly they're on camera and everyone's making fun of them," Kimmel explained. "It's a strange thing -- one of the strangest things about Hollywood."

ET caught up with Kimmel as he got decked out in a tuxedo to help roll out the Emmy red carpet outside The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host is looking svelte ahead of the big show, and he revealed his slim-down secret to ET.

"I decided, 'You know what I'll do? I'll stop eating on Monday and Thursday and we'll see how that goes," Kimmel joked. "I spend all day online looking at recipes."

WATCH: RuPaul Reacts to Surprise Emmy Win

Inside the theater, we got a look at where the stars will be seated. The Modern Family cast is tight-knit group, sitting together, while Amy Schumer has a seat up front. Beyonce will be nice and cozy in the second row as she hopes to win an Emmy for her visual album, Lemonade.

The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live from The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles Sunday on ABC.

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ET was with the father-daughter duo of Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson on their first red carpet together as co-stars at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Deepwater Horizon.

"He's such a phenomenal actor," Hudson gushed to ET on Tuesday. "Taking aside that he's my dad, I get to work with Kurt Russell! It's kind of awesome."

WATCH: Kate Hudson Tells Jenny McCarthy Being 'Abandoned' By Her Biological Father Bill Hudson Was a 'Blessing'

The film, inspired by the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that took place on April 20, 2010, honors the brave men and women whose heroism saved many on board during the world's largest man-made disaster.

"Is it special to work with your family? Yeah, it is," Russell told ET. "And I'm looking forward to that in the future."

Russell helped raise Kate and her brother Oliver after their biological father, Bill Hudson, split from their mom Goldie Hawn in 1982. Russell and Hawn have been partners since 1983.

"I look forward to really working more with him," Hudson said.

WATCH: Kate Hudson on Her First Time Acting With Dad Kurt Russell in 'Deepwater Horizon'

The two could get another shot at sharing the screen together soon if all goes according to plan.

"Kate and I are involved in a project," Russell said. "The fact that it's family, maybe Goldie [Hawn] would play a part in it at some point. Hopefully, I'll be talking to you in a couple of years about it."

Deepwater Horizon, also starring Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich and Gina Rodriguez, hits theaters Sept. 30.

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We saw the Kapoors at the RK Ganpati Visarjan program. Ranbir accompanied the senior Kapoors as they set out to carry on the 60 year old tradition started by their late grandfather. However, unfortunately for the Kapoors, the weather and the huge crowd collected there played spoilsport to all the fun and festivities.

A video of the Kapoors allegedly lashing out at the media is making the rounds. However, Rishi Kapoor spoke exclusively to Pinkvilla saying that it was not he who misbehaved with the media but it in fact was the other way round.

The senior Kapoor said, I feel it is very unfair, what the news channels have shared everywhere. First of all we have no PR. We never invite anybody. You yourself come to my Ganpati. However, we give ample time to the press to do all what you have to do, in front of the Ganpati murthy. We do this Ganpati not for publicity but have been doing it for the past 64 yrs. My grandfather started this tradition. There have always been thousands and thousands of people coming to see this Ganpati of RK. They came to see Ganpati, not us. Over 64 yrs they have been coming to see the immersion. When the Ganpati leaves RK studio, everybody is excited."

Recommended Read: Oops! Rishi Kapoor feels son Ranbir is playing pranks behind his back!

He added, "However, this evening there was heavy rainfall. There were so many people and so much media. We have not called them. It is impossible when there is so much rain and public (to not lose your temper). When we are respecting God, these small time journalists poke the damn camera on your face.

He further said, Because Ranbir was also there everybody got so excited. I dont blame them, but they misbehaved with me. If I have indeed slapped them why dont you show the clip of me slapping? I was behaving like the Mumbai police, trying to monitor the situation. They have misinterpreted it that I misbehaved with the media! You come because you know we are important and you are giving me bull** saying that I have hit you? They say Ranbir hit them, Ranbir would not hit a fly, how would he hit them?

Well, what do you think of that?
By Saeed Azhar and Anshuman Daga SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Private banks in Singapore are sharing with local police the names of clients embracing an Indonesian tax amnesty, three banking sources told Reuters, a move that could undermine the amnesty and damage the banks' business with their biggest client pool. Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), a police unit that deals with financial crime, told banks last year they must file a suspicious transaction report (STR) whenever a client took part in a tax amnesty scheme, the sources told Reuters. After initial resistance from the banks, worried they might lose clients, that message was reinforced this year by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's central bank, when Indonesia launched a tax amnesty aimed at wooing back some of the cash its wealthy citizens have stashed in Singapore, the sources said. "We are filing the STR and hope others are doing it, too," said one senior private banker when asked about clients responding to the Indonesian amnesty. "Banks have filed STRs," said another banking source, adding that clients should not be informed about the filing. After the Reuters story was published, the MAS confirmed in a statement that it has advised banks in Singapore to encourage their clients to use tax amnesty programs to regularize their tax affairs. "Banks are required to adhere to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standard of filing a suspicious transaction report (STR) when handling tax amnesty cases, similar to the practice in other jurisdictions," it said late on Thursday. The FATF is a global body that conducts regular evaluations of countries' anti-money laundering standards. The MAS said that participation in a tax amnesty program, in and of itself, would not attract criminal investigation in Singapore. "The expectation for an STR to be filed on account of a client participating in a tax amnesty program should therefore not discourage clients from participation." Police in Singapore declined to comment. Singapore, where Indonesians hold an estimated $200 billion in private banking assets - 40 percent of the island's total private banking assets - made tax evasion a money-laundering offence in 2013. It is toughening up the implementation of the law after an investigation into state-backed fund 1MDB in neighboring Malaysia exposed how some of its banks failed to impose robust controls on suspicious money flows. The STR requirement on suspected tax crimes is part of that process. "The moment the client tells you he's participating in the amnesty, you have a suspicion that the assets with you are not compliant, and so you have to report to the authorities," said a senior executive at a Singapore-based wealth manager. "In light of the toughening regulatory environment, banks need to conduct more proactive checks on the effectiveness of their internal controls and procedures," said Wilson Ang, a partner in the Singapore office of law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Reuters spoke to several other senior private bank officials who confirmed the STR filing requirement, but declined to comment further. Ken Dwijugiasteadi, the head of Indonesia's tax office, said: "I haven't heard of such information, but if true, it is the Singapore's government's matter. It becomes my matter when someone joins the tax amnesty." EXTRA SCRUTINY The Singapore police website says it has used STR filings to detect financial crime. That means if there is any evidence of wrongdoing from these filings, authorities can further probe clients or banks. The fear of such scrutiny could deter Indonesians from considering the amnesty, which runs to March 2017 and has so far had a tepid uptake. The Indonesian tax office said 393 trillion rupiah ($30 billion) of assets had been declared as of Sept. 13, of which at least 30 trillion rupiah were in Singapore. "I don't think Indonesians there are afraid," said Dwijugiasteadi. "A lot of Indonesians in Singapore have already joined the amnesty." Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said late on Wednesday the central bank's modeling suggested the amnesty would secure just 11 percent of its targeted revenue this year. Indonesians are among the biggest investors in Singapore's property market and use banks there to invest in currencies or regional stocks, encouraged by the strong legal framework and security of the Asian financial center. Many moved money to Singapore after attacks against ethnic Chinese businesses in Indonesia in 1998, when economic problems triggered riots and the fall of the Suharto government. The increased tax scrutiny in Singapore comes just ahead of the publication of a report on the island nation by the FATF. One of the FATF guidelines states that a financial institution needs to report suspicious transactions when it suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a client's funds are proceeds of a criminal activity such as tax evasion. OngAng Ai Boon, director of the Association of Banks in Singapore, said the lobby group had told banks that amnesty programs were a useful tool for individuals to regularize their tax affairs with their local tax authorities. The association did not comment on the new filing requirements. "If there's a red flag and we ignore it, that's our problem," the second banking source said. ($1 = 13,190.0000 rupiah) (Additional reporting by Gayatri Suroyo in JAKARTA and Michelle Price in HONG KONG; Editing by Lisa Jucca, Will Waterman and Alex Richardson)
By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Cod Satrusayang BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Thursday defended his country's rights record since he seized power in a 2014 coup, saying he acted to end months of political instability. Thailand has faced a deepening rights crisis since the coup with political activity and peaceful gatherings banned, say activists. Military courts have been used to try national security cases, including cases involving civilians, and relations with some western countries, including the United States, have frayed. "Those who evoke human rights and democracy, look at what happened in the past," Prayuth said in a speech at Bangkok's Government House, days before he travels to New York to attend a session of the U.N. General Assembly. "Foreigners have to understand what we're going through... Every country has gone through rough times. We're just a little late. Don't tell us that we abuse rights, you also abuse the rights of others. You create problems too." Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy is slowly recovering from the events of 2014, when months of street protests and the coup almost brought economic activity to a standstill. Since then, dozens of junta critics have been held incommunicado in military detention, although the exact number of people detained remains unknown. During a U.N. Human Rights Council review of Thailand in May, foreign governments expressed concern over the deteriorating rights situation in Thailand. Prayuth, a former army chief, said he took control of the country in an attempt to calm months of political crisis. He has repeatedly said he does not want to hold on to power longer than 2017 when a general election is expected to take place. The military government on Monday said it will prosecute cases concerning national security and royal insult in civilian courts instead of military courts, a change a rights group said was "window dressing" before a U.N. review. Thailand's defense minister also spoke at Government House on Thursday and said bombings in Thai tourist towns last month were not linked to Muslim separatists, contradicting an earlier police statement. (Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Nick Macfie)
By Alisa Tang BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Tun Tun Win and his co-workers from Myanmar thought life was fine at the Thammakaset chicken farm in central Thailand, where they reared hundreds of thousands of birds for export to the European Union. The migrants clocked 20 hours a day for 40 days straight, shoveling litter and culling the sick among the birds as they grew from chicks to poultry for slaughter. Then 10-hour days for three weeks cleaning the warehouse-sized coops at the Thammakaset chicken farm in Lopburi province. And finally they got three days off. All that work for what they figured was a fair wage: nearly $7 a day, with free rent and electricity. "We thought our employer was a nice guy because he gave us rooms, and we didn't have to pay rent," Tun Tun Win said. "We stayed for free, and we got our money." More than 3 million migrants work in Thailand, the vast majority from neighboring Myanmar, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many are exploited on farms and in factories across the country, facing an uphill battle for compensation and justice against multi-tiered corporate supply chains, rights groups say. That's if they even know they're being exploited in the first place. It was a smartphone and a Facebook post that opened Tun Tun Win's eyes to the severity of his work conditions - and led to a landmark lawsuit pitting migrant workers against a corporation at the top of the food chain. The case highlights widespread ignorance among both workers and employers about labor rights, and workplace norms seen as violations in the closely scrutinized global supply chain. It all began last year after Tun Tun Win bought a new phone, and a "chicken doctor", one of the farm's veterinarians, introduced him to social media. Lying in bed next to his wife one night, he saw a post about tuna plant workers from Myanmar who had been overworked and underpaid. They had received more than $1 million in an unprecedented settlement in March. The Facebook post by the local non-profit Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) inspired Tun Tun Win and 13 co-workers to take action. In a lawsuit filed at a labor court earlier this month following unsuccessful negotiations with the company and local authorities, they are demanding $1.3 million in compensation and civil damages. The suit alleges forced overtime, unlawful salary deductions, passport confiscation and limited freedom of movement. Crucially, the action is against both Thammakaset and the buyer of the farm's poultry - agricultural giant Betagro, which exports food worldwide. "TEST CASE" Andy Hall, a prominent British human rights activist in Thailand who has consulted on several cases involving migrants, said the litigation was an important test case. "We're trying to hold Betagro responsible for the system of contract farming," he said. "If we can, it will have huge implications for contract farming and the responsibility of corporate supply chains across Thailand." Part of the workers' evidence includes pictures snapped on Tun Tun Win's phone and shared on Facebook, including time-stamped cards - one showing a worker clocking in on May 24 at 6:54, out at 17:00, in again at 19:02, then out at 5:37. That's a total of 20 hours and 41 minutes. In an interview, Thammakaset owner Chanchai Pheamphon said he had not fully understood the requirements under Thai law and agreed he had underpaid staff as well as illegally deducting rent and utilities from their daily wages. But he denied charges of forced labor or limiting employees' freedom of movement, and said he planned to file a counter defamation suit against the workers and MWRN. "I'm now facing bankruptcy," he told Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that a decision by Betagro to halt business with Thammakaset amid the controversy had forced him to shut his 1.6 million-chicken, three-farm operation and lay off nearly 100 employees. "This NGO (MWRN) wants more money for these 14 workers, but what about the 100 others?" he said. "The world has already found me guilty, and they have stopped buying my goods. They've already sentenced me to death." Betagro, one of Thailand's largest meat producers and exporters, also denied the workers' allegations. "There were no violations of human rights or anything resembling forced labor, as defined by the law on prevention and suppression of human trafficking," it said in a statement. Other than the statement, Betagro did not respond to email and phone requests for an interview. ABUSE AND IGNORANCE Supply chains for goods such as food, clothing and electronics usually begin in countries with the cheapest labor. Thailand has been at the center of scores of reports of slavery and human trafficking, with migrants from Myanmar suffering the worst exploitation. In the face of mounting scrutiny of supply chains, Thailand has strengthened laws to crack down on labor exploitation, while other countries have passed legislation to address abuses abroad. Britain's 2015 Modern Slavery Bill requires businesses to disclose actions taken to ensure their supply chains are free of slave labor. In February, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, banning imports of goods made with forced labor into the United States. Yet at the lowest rungs of supply chains, rights groups say many businesses such as Thammakaset fall short of global standards - even if owners like Chanchai defend working practices. He said staff voluntarily worked nights to rack up bonuses. "We paid them to work during the day, but we didn't forbid them from working at night," he said, adding that they chose to sleep in hammocks in the room next to the chicken warehouse. "They play on the Wi-Fi, then go and look at their chickens. They don't have to work, but they just might think that if they raise the chickens well, they will get more money." Flipping through a bound file of documents, Chanchai showed photos of the workers drinking at a restaurant and swimming, and of the low fence around his farm that he said proved they were free to come and go as they pleased. He said he deducted $2 from their $8.60 legal minimum daily wage for rent, drinking water and electricity, and made cuts such as a 14 cent fine for not picking up dead chickens. With the fines collected, he would buy a gold necklace for a raffle at the workers' year-end party, he said. Hall, the rights activist, said the workers were told if they did not work overnight, they would face salary deductions - a charge Chanchai denies. Commenting on the 14 cent deduction for not picking up dead chickens, Hall said: "That is illegal. Any deduction from the salary is illegal. He has acknowledged that he has unlawfully deducted money from them." Hall added that it was common for employers and officials to rationalize violations, revealing a mindset in which only the most extreme conditions or acts - such as putting workers in chains - constituted crimes. "These people just don't understand that what they're doing is abuse," he said. "They don't think of it as forced labor or modern-day slavery. They don't understand how people could level such allegations against them." (Reporting by Alisa Tang @alisatang, additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat, editing by Timothy Large. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
By Esha Vaish

(Reuters) - UK commercial property values fell less sharply in August than the month before, a closely-watched index showed on Thursday, suggesting concerns about the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union on the sector may be easing.

Overall property values for UK commercial assets fell 0.65 percent year-on-year in August, the IPD real estate index, compiled by MSCI, showed on Thursday.

This compared with a 2.8 percent fall in July, which was the biggest slide since March 2009 and reflected a sharp drop in market confidence after the June 23 vote.

The UK property market was a focal point for investor uncertainty in the days after the referendum, and at one point more than 18 billion pounds ($24 billion) worth of commercial property funds were suspended from trading.

Fears that firms might move jobs to Europe, particularly in financial services, and return leased office space, along with concerns of a slowdown in retail spending, hit investment in the sector and demand for properties.

However, with the market showing signs of settling down, some of the suspended retail property funds have reopened.

Fund manager Columbia Threadneedle said on Monday it planned to lift the suspension in trading of its UK retail property fund, which would make it the third to do so.

MSCI data showed on Thursday that total returns from UK commercial property slipped 0.1 percent in August, compared with a drop of 2.4 percent in July.

The IPD real estate index is one of Britain's most widely watched commercial real estate data surveys, and tracks all sectors including retail and office property.

The August index was based on data from 3,307 property investments with a total capital value of 46.4 billion pounds, it said.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)
By Clement Manirabarusha BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - A former army officer and his family were killed in a grenade attack on their home in Burundi, a government official said on Thursday, the latest episode in political violence that has plagued the central African country for more than a year. Burundi's crisis has broadly followed political lines, but experts fear the violence could revive ethnic rivalries in a nation torn apart by a 12-year civil war pitting Hutu rebels against a Tutsi-led army that only ended in 2005. Dismas Bashirahishize, a pro-government former officer, and his wife and child were killed when a grenade was hurled into their house on Wednesday, the governor of Bururi province in the south of Burundi, Christian Nkurunziza, told Reuters. Local residents said it may have been staged because of Bashirahishize's links to the government. "It was believed he was revealing names of political opponents to the police and administration to be arrested and tortured," said one resident, who asked not to be named. There was no immediate official comment on the reason for the attack. The governor said two armed people carried out the attack on Wednesday afternoon. Sporadic violence has gripped Burundi since April 2015 when incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, prompting protests and leading to often deadly clashes with police. He then won a disputed election in July. Opponents said a third term breached the country's constitution and the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended a previous civil war. A constitutional court ruled he could run. At least three rebel groups though have launched an armed resistance against him and tit-for-tat killings of government officials and opposition figures have continued unabated. At least 450 people have been killed, while the violence has also uprooted about a quarter of a million Burundians, who have fled mostly to neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda. In a separate incident, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye told Reuters a soldier who was in custody for questioning committed suicide using a grenade. Police said he found the weapon during the interrogation procedure. Opponents of the government say people held for questioning are often tortured and killed, a charge officials deny. (Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Edmund Blair and Alison Williams)
By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The family of a black motorist found hanged in her Texas jail cell after being held in police custody following a traffic stop has reached a $1.9 million settlement in a wrongful death suit against law enforcement, their lawyer said on Thursday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County Jail, run by the local sheriff, will pay the family of Sandra Bland, Chicago-based lawyer Cannon Lambert said in an interview.

The county jail will also step up staff training and inmate monitoring, and have a nurse or emergency medical technician available for all shifts as part of the settlement, he said.

"This is the beginning, not the end," said Lambert, who added that Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, had insisted that jail reform be included in the settlement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it had not settled litigation regarding Bland and was not a party to any agreements between the plaintiffs and Waller County defendants.

Lambert said that in the settlement, the Department of Public Safety, whose liability is capped by state statutes, will pay $100,000 and the jail will pay $1.8 million.

Bland, 28, was found dead in her cell three days after her July 2015 arrest, with a trash bag around her neck. Critics said race was a factor in her being pulled over while driving, and for her arrest, which they said was sparked by the trooper escalating tensions.

The Waller County Sheriff's office said an agreement had been reached but was not yet final. It said the deal's details were still confidential.

"The Waller County defendants also emphasize they vigorously deny any fault or wrongdoing, and the potential settlement does not involve any such admissions," it said in a statement.

Bland was pulled over in her car on July 10 by then-state trooper Brian Encinia for failing to signal a lane change in Waller County, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. She was charged with assaulting an officer.

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The Department of Public Safety faulted Encinia for his conduct during the stop and later fired him. A dashcam video showed him shouting at Bland and failing to answer her when she asked repeatedly why she was being arrested.

Shortly after the incident, Bland's family filed the wrongful death suit against Encinia, the Waller County sheriff's office and her jailers. They also questioned an autopsy report that described her death as a suicide by hanging.

Encinia has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge of lying in the arrest report he had written of the incident.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)
FBI Director James Comey participates in a session at the Intelligence and National Security Summit in Washington Sept. 8. (Photo: Gary Cameron/Reuters)

FBI chief James Comey said his practice of placing a piece of tape over his personal laptops webcam is an everyday safety step that others should employ.

The bureau head recommended the webcam tape during a Sept. 14 appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies conference. The precaution is not merely an idiosyncrasy, he said, but a security measure no different from using an alarm system or locking a car.

When asked if he tapes over his cameras at home, Comey replied, Heck yeah, heck yeah. And I also  I get mocked for a lot of things, much mocked for that  but I hope people lock their cars. I dont have my own car that I drive, but Im sure we lock our FBI cars. Lock your doors at night. I have an alarm system. You have an alarm system? You should use it. I use mine.

After The Hill newspaper flagged the recommendation, which subsequently went viral, critics brought up the discrepancy between the FBI directors concern for his personal privacy and alleged disregard for that of others.

In April, Comey revealed that he had taken up the habit of placing tape over his laptops camera. The disclosure did not go unnoticed because the FBI was in the midst of a fight with Apple over access to encrypted information about the tech companys users. The debate hit its peak when Apple refused to help the bureau unlock the iPhone of the slain terrorist in the San Bernardino, Calif., shooting.

There have been instances in which hackers have tapped into webcams on private citizens personal devices to spy on them. But some privacy activists accused the FBI leader of hypocrisy. After all, he had said, absolute privacy would interfere with law enforcements mission to keep the public safe.

Its not crazy that the FBI director cares about personal security as well, Comey said. And so I think people ought to take responsibility for their own safety and security. And theres some sensible things you ought to be doing, and thats one of them.

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Government institutions, he continued, have taken similar steps to safeguard the privacy of their employees.

You go in any government office, he said. We all have little camera things that sit on top of the screen. They all have a little lid that closes down on them. You do that so people who dont have authority dont look at you. I think thats a good thing.
Geneva (AFP) - Fewer than half of the world's some six million refugee children are in school, making them five times less likely to get an education than the global average, the UN warned Thursday.

A full 3.7 million school-aged refugee children have no school to go to, the UN refugee agency said in a report.

"This represents a crisis for millions of refugee children," UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement, urging international action to get the children back to school.

His comments came ahead of the first-ever UN summit on refugees and migrants, to be held in New York on September 19, and which will be followed the next day by a pledging conference for new offers of aid to refugees hosted by President Barack Obama.

"As the international community considers how best to deal with the refugee crisis, it is essential that we think beyond basic survival," Grandi said, pointing out that refugees on average are displaced for about 20 years.

That, he said in the UN report, "is more than an entire childhood."

"Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return," he stressed.

Thursday's report, which compares UNHCR data on refugee education with data from UNESCO on global school enrolment, showed that only 50 percent of the world's refugee children have access to primary education.

That compares to a global average of more than 90 percent.

"And as these children become older, the gap becomes a chasm," it said, pointing out that only 22 percent of teens living as refugees attended secondary school.

That compares with a global average of 84 percent.

As for university, only one percent of refugees attend, compared to 34 percent globally, the report showed.

- Soaring refugee numbers -

Thursday's report said efforts by UNHCR and others to enrol more refugee children in school were being overshadowed by soaring numbers of newly displaced people.

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While the global number of school-aged refugees remained fairly stable at around 3.5 million during the first decade of the 21st century, it has swelled on average by 600,000 children and adolescents annually since 2011, it pointed out.

In 2014 alone, the school-aged refugee population swelled by 30 percent, UNHCR said, stressing that at this rate an additional 12,000 classrooms and 20,000 teachers are needed each year to cover the refugee needs.

The fact that a full 86 percent of refugees are hosted in developing countries that are often already struggling to educate their own children complicates things further, Thursday's report said.

More than half of the world's refugee children not attending school live in just seven countries: Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey, it found.

The situation in war-ravaged Syria meanwhile shows how a conflict can quickly reverse positive education trends, the report said.

Before the country's devastating conflict began five and a half years ago, 94 percent of Syrian children attended primary and lower secondary school.

By June of this year, only 60 percent were in school, leaving 2.1 million children and teens without access to education, according to UN figures.

At the same time, nearly five million Syrians have fled to overstretched neighbouring countries where access to education is difficult.

The UN estimates nearly 900,000 Syrian refugee children are not in school.
There are bad movies, and then there are worse movies, and then there are full-bore misfires such as Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? Loosely based on Aristophanes Lysistrada  the 2,000-year-old Greek play that previously has inspired everything from a Wild West movie musical (1955s The Second Greatest Sex) to an undeservedly short-lived Broadway extravaganza (Lysistrada Jones, a.k.a Give It Up!) to a Spike Lee Joint (Chi-Raq)  writer-director Matt Coopers smutty, smarmy farrago plays like the sort of wink-wink, nudge-nudge B-movie flotsam that might have amused habitues of Deep South drive-ins during the 1970s.

The level of humor is established early on when the audience is informed that everything will unfold in a small Texas town where the population is 6,969. (No, really.) Cooper evidences a colossal amount of tastelessness in launching his plot by having a grade-schooler swiping a handgun from his fathers closet to impress a classmate, then inadvertently wounding a crosswalk guard. Its difficult to forget how many times such a tragedy has unfolded in real life, and pretty close to impossible not to feel uncomfortable as this misadventure is played for laughs.

Actually, Jenna Keeley (Andrea Anders) doesnt think the near-fatal gunplay is funny at all. Indeed, shes so upset that she attempts to convince her husband Glenn (Matt Passmore), a fellow who likes to hunt and loves to own guns, to give up his weapons for the sake of his family and society at large. Not surprisingly, Glenn refuses to have anyone, even his wife, limit his right to bear arms. One thing leads to another, through a series of complications that are meant to be funny, but arent, and Jenna eventually succeeds in uniting other wives and girlfriends in town in her campaign to withhold sexual favors from men who arent willing to disarm.

When it isnt straining for cheap laughs with horny guys, alluring wives and girlfriends, stereotypically sex-obsessed Hispanics, and blustering gun-culture extremists (at one point, an NRA-type offers to provide hookers for sexually frustrated townsmen), Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? relies on veteran supporting players to make fools of themselves. Cloris Leachman shamelessly panders as a randy golden-ager whose foul-mouthed quips about fellatio, vibrators, and other naughty bits are meant to elicit giggles, while John Heard, cast as the towns sheriff, suggests that bashing a shark with a bar stool in Sharknado really wasnt the low point of his career.

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To say anything else about this debacle, or the people for whom it provided an easy paycheck, would be needlessly unkind.

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The Vessel reunites Martin Sheen and Terrence Malick (here in an executive producer capacity), although their first collaboration in 43 years is, tonally and thematically, less Badlands than the filmmakers subsequent The Tree of Life. A spiritual fable about a man compelled to shoulder the burden of his communitys grief and hope, Cuban-American writer-director Julio Quintanas feature debut has an understated formal loveliness that helps offset its more heavy-handed allegorical inclinations. Shot in both English and Spanish-language versions (which, despite a one-minute runtime difference, are otherwise identical), this muted, moving small-scale tale of sorrow and faith will strike a chord with both the churchgoing crowd and aficionados of Malicks contemplative, theologically predisposed cinema.

In an unidentified Puerto Rican coastal village, residents continue to mourn the deaths of 46 children who, 10 years prior, were swept out to sea when a giant wave crashed into their schoolhouse. In response to this tragedy, women still wear black and refuse to give birth to new kids, and no one attends the church of Father Douglas (Sheen), a white-bearded man of the cloth who, like his congregation, suffers silently, waiting for an inspiring celestial sign. The only person somewhat immune to this oppressive misery is Leo (Lucas Quintana), who devotedly cares for his unwell mother Fidelia (Jacqueline Duprey)  whose mental state went screwy after the tidal wave struck  and who, upon hearing that best friend Gabriel (Hiram Delgado) is leaving town, generously presents him with a refurbished motorcycle.

On the night of Gabriels departure, the two accidentally fall into the roiling ocean, and the following morning are dragged out by fishermen, dead. Leo, however, awakens from his (supposedly permanent) slumber three hours later  a duration of time meant to evoke the three days and nights Jesus spent in the grave. His resurrection is viewed as a miracle by both Father Douglas and the townsfolk, including Soraya (Aris Mejias), the beauty whom Leo has long pined for, and whos still struggling to get over the demise of her husband. Their conviction that Leo has been touched by God  leading one man to steal his shirt button and feed it to his dying donkey, in order to heal him  is reinforced by writer-director Quintana, who repeatedly suggests Leos connection to Christ, from the sight of his shoe nailed to a wooden plank, to a circular wound on his foot, to his sudden interest in doing carpentry work on a makeshift boat.

The Vessel tells its story in distinctly Malick-y terms, with Leo providing narrative details and ruminative thoughts via pensive narration over close-ups of the villages unhappy and adrift citizens, and rapturous widescreen panoramas of men set beneath enormous clouds, engulfed by heavenly (and, when underwater, hallow-ish) light, and in silhouette against the dusk sky. Hanan Townshends soundtrack, combining Spanish guitars and organ music with choral singing, further aligns the film with Malicks own recent output as it underscores the materials religious underpinnings, almost to a fault (during its middle passages, Quintanas aesthetics feel so oversaturated with from-on-high import that, no matter how breathtaking his tableaus, they weigh the proceedings down).

Nonetheless, the casts lived-in visages  captured in rich hues by cinematographer Santiago Benet Mari, here doing his best Emmanuel Lubezki impersonation  convey a desolation and yearning for salvation thats palpable. Sheen in particular brings gravity to a role that, like the rest, is deliberately underwritten, as The Vessel, for better and worse, is less interested in complex human drama than in biblical metaphor. First embraced as proof of His existence, then shunned for his questionable divinity, Leo eventually endeavors to get his boat afloat with the aid of a rainbow-quilted sail that (as with Fidelias white, and Sorayas red, dresses) contrasts with the local womens funeral garb. As both Leo and his craft serve as the twin vessels referred to by the films title, the characters late actions beget personal, familial and communal rebirth, just as Quintanas clever climactic plotting results in an affecting vision of Gods presence and mysterious-ways purpose that makes amends for any preceding, less graceful gestures.

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The parents of bullies in one Wisconsin town might take a hit to their pocketbooks if their children dont change their ways. The Doctors discuss a new ordinance that is giving fines to parents if their kids bully.

The town of Shawano passed the anti-bullying ordinance following a school shooting that stemmed from bullying. It requires that the parents of kids of who are caught harassing others will be given a 90-day warning. If the bullying continues, the parents will be charged $366 and a second offense will land the parents with a fine of $681. The ordinance applies to bullying in real life and online.

Watch: Bullied Teen Gets Dramatic Makeover

With bully victims 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims and half of all suicides among young people related to bullying, The Doctors question if fining the parents is the right decision and ask if a financial burden placed on the family might exacerbate an already potentially volatile home life? In most cases, bullies are being bullied by others in their life.

Psychotherapist Dr. Mike Dow believes that if there is monetary value placed on bullying it could help to stop further problems by forcing the parents to become more involved. Dermatologist Dr. Sonia Batra, like many of our Facebook readers we polled, believes that a fine might add yet even more stress to an already complicated situation. She believes that instead of a fine, that some sort of counseling should offered to help with the bullying issue.

Watch: One Man Went From Bullied to Buff

Where do you stand? Should the parents of bullies be forced to pay up? Tells us your thoughts!
Hillary Clinton's personal physician says the 68-year-old is "fit to serve as president" despite her recent bout with pneumonia.

Read: Guess Trump's Weight! Republican Candidate Reveals Health Stats on 'Dr. Oz'

Dr. Lisa Bardack, a physician in Mt. Kisco, New York, released a statement Wednesday, saying: My overall impression is that Mrs. Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia. She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.

The doctor also confirmed that Clinton takes medicine for a thyroid condition, as well as blood thinner Coumadin.

On Thursday, Donald Trump's doctor, Harold N. Bornstein, released a letter to The Washington Post detailing the billionaire's own medications, including a statin to lower his cholesterol. He is also described as "overweight."

On Wednesday, Trump appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to discuss his medical assessment. Trump said he weighs 236 pounds, according to audience members who attended the taping Wednesday.

The 70-year-old, who stands at 6 foot 3 inches, admitted to Dr. Oz that he would like to lose "15 to 20 pounds."

After the taping, Trump took potshots at his Clinton's stamina at a rally in Ohio Wednesday night.

He said: Do you think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this?

He then added: She's lying in bed getting better and we want her better. We want her on the campaign trail.

His audience lapped it up. However, earlier in the day, at a church in Flint, Michigan, he began to slam Clinton and was interrupted by the pastor.

"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," Reverend Faith Green Timmons of the Bethel United Methodist Church told Trump.

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Trump hit back at the reverend on Fox & Friends Thursday morning.

Read: Melania Trump Confirms She '100%' Went Through Correct Legal Process to Become U.S. Citizen

Something was up because I noticed she was so nervous when she introduced me. She was a nervous mess, Trump said.

Trump also responded to the leaked emails in which former Secretary of State Colin Powell called him a "national disgrace."

I was never a fan of Colin Powell, Trump tweeted Thursday.

Watch: Artist Uses Tractor to Write Get Well Message to Hillary Clinton in Field: 'You Must, You Can'

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By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson

(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said on Wednesday that all of the company's small-car production would be leaving U.S. plants and heading to lower-cost Mexico, drawing another rebuke from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"We will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States," over the next two to three years, Fields told Wall Street analysts at an investor conference hosted by the automaker.

Trump, campaigning in Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday, called Ford's decision "horrible." He has criticized Ford's Mexican investments for more than a year and vowed to pressure the automaker to reverse course if elected.

"We shouldn't allow it to happen," Trump said.

Fields has previously responded to Trump's criticism by saying that as a global company Ford must compete by making solid business decisions.

Earlier this year, Ford said it would invest $1.6 billion in Mexico for small-car production to start in 2018.

During contract talks in 2015, Ford confirmed that it would move Focus and C-Max production out of its Wayne, Michigan, plant in 2018. The United Auto Workers Union said at the time that Ford planned to build the next Focus in Mexico.

A source briefed on the matter said the shift of production to Mexico was expected to take place next year before the start of the 2018 model year.

In April, Ford reiterated that it was planning to build two new vehicles at the Wayne plant beginning in 2018. Analysts have said they expect Ford to build a new Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup there.

Fields said that Ford planned to shift a majority of its small car production around the world to low-cost countries by 2019, which could affect Ford's Western European car production.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said in April that it would realign North American plants to emphasize truck and Jeep production over car output. The changes are expected to be completed by early 2018.

Story continues

Both automakers are making the moves because U.S. consumers have turned away from traditional sedans and hatchbacks to SUVs and pickup trucks.

The United Auto Workers has said the number of auto assembly jobs would not decline because workers would be busy making SUVs and pickup trucks.

However, UAW President Dennis Williams has said there was a risk that if gasoline prices rose again above $4 per gallon as in mid-2008, consumers might once again favor smaller cars.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe)
By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's 2017 financial performance will decline from this year as it increases spending on "emerging opportunities" like self-driving cars and other costs rise, the No. 2 U.S.-based automaker said on Wednesday. Ford, like most of its chief rivals, is seeking ways to profit as the industry moves toward self-driving vehicles and ride-sharing. The company is taking a cautious path on this course, its chief executive, Mark Fields, indicated in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday. Ford stock fell 1.9 percent to close at $12.14. Also, Ford Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said all of the company's small-car production will be leaving U.S. plants and heading to lower-cost Mexico over the next two to three years. Last week, Ford lowered its 2016 pretax profit forecast to $10.2 billion from at least $10.8 billion because of a charge in the third quarter for an expanded vehicle recall. Ford said it "plans to achieve cost efficiencies averaging $3 billion annually between 2016 and 2018 and is adding new processes like zero-base budgeting to further its business transformation." This will "offset the vast majority of costs being added to strengthen Fords business," but will not be enough to offset higher regulatory and vehicle development costs for what it calls emerging opportunities, such as electric vehicles. Ford disclosed its outlook ahead of presentations later in the day to Wall Street analysts at its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. It will incur regulatory costs largely linked to tougher fuel economy and vehicle emissions standards as well as safety requirements worldwide, Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts. Shanks also said one of the "substantial headwinds" for the 2017 outlook is higher commodity costs in North America, where Ford derived about 90 percent of its second-quarter profit. Shanks said Ford will pay a supplemental dividend of 40 percent to 50 percent of 2016 net income, as it did in March this year, if it reaches some financial targets and if no recession is seen on the horizon. The automaker said automotive capital expenditures will rise to 5.6 percent of automotive revenue in 2018, from 4.9 percent in 2016. It will decline after 2018, Ford said. Most of the capital allocation will be for vehicle development and be returned to shareholders. Ford said it will be able to maintain cash from automotive operations at or above $10 billion in a downturn and continue to pay regular dividends. In July, Shanks said the automotive sales boom in the United States since the 2008-2009 downturn was over, but that sales would not crater as they did during the last recession. But if they do, Ford could break even if industry sales in North America fell to 11 million vehicles in 2017 and if they were at least 11 million in 2018. Ford's costs for layoffs would be about $500 million in 2017, one-fifth of what it cost in 2007, to compensate idled workers if U.S. sales were hypothetically to decline by 40 percent. Ford shares were down 25 cents at $12.13 on Wednesday afternoon. The stock has not recovered since it fell more than 8 percent in late July when it said the industry was going into a gradual decline. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Joseph White and Jeffrey Benkoe)
LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Foreign investment in Britain's Hinkley Point nuclear project, which was approved by the government on Thursday, is a vote of confidence in the country, business minister Greg Clark told parliament.

"We do want to attract overseas investment into this country. It is a vote of confidence in this country that investors are working with us to have this major upgrade of our infrastructure," Clark said.

Earlier, Britain gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion nuclear power plant, ending weeks of uncertainty that strained ties with China and France but also signalling a more cautious approach to foreign investment in critical infrastructure projects.

(Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Three months ago, voters in the United Kingdom decided to withdraw from the European Union. Now, some supporters of the planned withdrawal are calling loudly for a quick, sharp break with the EU.

Last June, 52 percent of the voters agreed on a proposal for Britain to cancel its EU membership. That membership made Britain part of a political and economic alliance with 27 other countries.

The voters decision to cancel  or exit  the membership is known as Brexit.

The official process to leave the EU takes two years. It begins when the British government invokes Article 50 of a treaty. Britains new prime minister, Teresa May, has repeatedly said she plans to delay invoking Article 50.

But hard Brexit supporters say the government should act quickly  before the end of the year. Those supporters note that the British stock market is strong, and that numbers related to jobs and sales are high. In other words, the British economy is doing well.

On Sunday, leading Brexiters formed a group to pressure the government to start the exit process. The group is called Change Britain. Organizers say it aims to deliver the UKs referendum result in the most effective way.

Politics and the prime minister

Prime Minister Teresa May campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU. Now, she is walking a political tightrope.

Some people in her Conservative Party want to make sure Britain breaks completely with the EU. If Britain does not, those party members might revolt.

At the same time, Britains trading partners want the country to remain a member of the EU Single Market. They are pressuring the prime minister to find a way to stay close economically to the rest of Europe.

Relationship with EU

One of the Brexit supporters in Mays government is Iain Duncan Smith. He said last week that the EU bloc is currently a complete mess.

Duncan Smith worries that the longer Britain delays the exit process, the closer the country will remain to the EU.

Several leading Brexiters in the government spoke privately with VOA. They worry the prime minister might try to negotiate a deal between Britain and the EU. The deal would enable Britain to stay in the EU Single Market. But, Brexit supporters fear, the deal would probably require Britain to accept migrants and provide financially to the EU budget.

International concerns

The international community is also speaking out about Brexit.

Last weekend, Japans Foreign Ministry took an unusual step. It published a paper on the effects of the Brexit vote. The paper urged Britain to keep full access to the Single Market. And, it said the government should let British businesses offer jobs to EU nationals without restrictions. Japanese businesses are major employers in Britain.

The Japanese arent the only ones who are worried.

American bankers also believe a hard Brexit would be bad for their investments and businesses. They have already created plans to move workers from London to Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris or Frankfurt.

Brexit boom?

But Brexiters do not believe withdrawing from the EU will affect their economy poorly.

They point to the countrys currently strong economy, calling it a Brexit boom. The situation, they say, shows Britain will continue to do well on its own, outside the EU.

But many economists say it is too soon to judge the economic results of Brexit. One reason, they say, is that Britain has not yet withdrawn from the EU. But they warn the longer-term signs are not good.

Rupert Pennant-Rea is a former deputy governor of the Bank of England. He says the strongest clue of what Brexit might mean for Britain comes from international financial markets.

In a story in the Financial Times newspaper, he noted that all the currency markets show British assets are worth less than they used to be. Land, property, companies, bank deposits, government debt  everything in the UK has been marked down against the rest of the world, he wrote.

Conservative Party leader and former government minister John Whittingdale rejects talk about economic dangers. He says people who do not like Brexit are just looking for problems. Wittingdale told Britains Sunday Telegraph newspaper that delaying Brexit gives opponents time to try and stop the process.

Those opponents  called Remainers  still hope Britain won't withdraw from the EU. They are waiting for the result of legal challenges to the Brexit vote.

But legal experts say those challenges are very unlikely to succeed.

Im Mario Ritter.

Jamie Dettmer reported this story for VOA News. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

_________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

invoke  v. to make use of a law or a right

tightrope  n. a tightly stretched rope or wire high above the ground that a performer walks on, especially in a circus. The word is often used figuratively to describe a dangerous or uncertain situation in which you have to be very careful not to make mistakes

revolt v. to act in a way that shows that you do not accept the control or influence of someone or something

boom n. a rapid increase in growth or economic success

migrant  n. a person who goes from place to place, usually for economic reasons

access  n. a way or getting near or close to something; permission or the right to enter

challenge  n. a refusal to accept something as true, correct, or legal
Parking your hard earned money in stocks based on top-line growth and increasing profit numbers might be a good option. But choosing stocks based on cash flows can be far more rewarding. This is because, even a profit-making company can face cash troubles and end up filing bankruptcy. But a company with solid cash flow can endure any market mayhem.



In fact, cash indicates a companys true financial health. It holds the key to its existence, development and success. It offers the flexibility to make decisions, the means to make potential investments and the fuel to run its growth engine. Moreover, cash indicates that profits are being channelized in the right direction.



Cash moves in and out of any business, but it is net cash flow that explains how much money the company is actually making. A positive cash flow indicates an increase in the companys liquid assets, which provide the means to meet debt obligations, shell out for expenses, reinvest in business, endure downturns and finally return wealth to shareholders. On the other hand, a negative cash flow indicates a decline in the companys liquidity and in turn lowers its flexibility to support these moves.



Yet, positive cash flow alone is not sufficient to predict a companys future growth. A company can consistently grow only when this positive cash flow is rising. Because, increasing cash flow helps management to efficiently handle finance, operations and investing activities.



Screening Parameters:



To find out stocks that have seen increasing cash flow over time, we ran the screen for those whose cash flow in the latest reported quarter was at least equal to or greater than the 5-year average cash flow per common share. This implies a positive trend and increasing cash over a period of time.



In addition to this, we chose:



Zacks Rank 1: No matter whether market conditions are good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Average Broker Rating 1: This indicates that brokers are also highly hopeful about the companys future performance.



Current Price greater than or equal to $5: This sieves out low-priced stocks.



VGM Score of B or better: This score is also of great assistance in selecting stocks. Importantly, this scoring system helps in picking the winning stocks in their individual industry categories.



Here are five of the eight stocks that made it through the screen:



Stamps.com Inc. STMP, based in El Segundo, CA, provides Internet-based services for mailing or shipping letters, packages or parcels anywhere in the U.S. The stock has a VGM score of B. With a decent earnings surprise history, the company remains a solid pick. It exceeded estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 61.42%.



Ducommun Inc. DCO, headquartered in Carson, CA, manufactures components and assemblies principally for domestic and foreign commercial and military aircraft, and space programs. The company came up with an earnings surprise of 21.43% in the second quarter ended Jul 2, 2016 and has experienced a rise in estimates over the past two months. Ducommun has a VGM score of A.



Argan, Inc. AGX, headquartered in Rockville, MD, through its subsidiaries, offers a full range of services to the power industry including the engineering, procurement and construction, commissioning, operations management, maintenance, project development and consulting services. Also, the company provides telecommunications infrastructure services, integrated fabrication, construction and plant services through its subsidiaries.



Argan has a VGM score of A. It came up with an earnings surprise of 84.29% in the fiscal second quarter ended Jul 31, 2016 and its estimates for the current fiscal year has moved north.



Gibraltar Industries, Inc. ROCK , with a VGM score of B, is a leading manufacturer, processor and distributor of metals and other engineered materials for building products, vehicular and other industrial markets. The company is headquartered in Buffalo, NY. With a decent earnings surprise history, the company remains a solid pick. It exceeded estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 74.53%.



Hallador Energy Company HNRG, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sunrise Coal, LLC, is engaged in the production of coal in the Illinois Basin for the electric power generation industry. The company is headquartered in Denver, CO and has a VGM score of A.



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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.



Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.



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Shares of Wells Fargo & Company WFC has lost around 6.8% since the announcement of the $190 million penalty pertaining to opening of unauthorized banking accounts, last week. Moreover, this San Francisco, CA-based banking giant has been facing a number of challenges lately.



A probe related to Wells Fargos sales practices has been initiated by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices in Manhattan and San Francisco. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Notably, the company has temporarily suspended cross-selling of its financial products to customers via call centers.



Further, per Moodys Investors Service, the rating unit of Moody's Corp. (MCO), Wells Fargos reputation will see some serious damage. Moodys noted, [T]he regulators revelations are highly disturbing; they highlight that Wells Fargos vaunted cross-selling capabilities were inflated, its incentive structure had led to pervasive inappropriate practices, and its retail banking sales process lacked adequate and effective oversight. As such, the implications of this announcement are credit negative. Nonetheless, the rating agency did not change its rating for the company.



Additionally, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee plans to hold a hearing over the matter. Wells Fargos CEO, John Stumpf and other top executives have been asked to testify. Also, calls for Stumpfs resignation are gaining strength.



This Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold) stock, which was once considered to be one of the safest banks in the U.S., has been witnessing downward estimate revisions over the last 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 and 2017 has fallen nearly 1% and 1.9%, respectively.



However, it is not advisable to avoid bank stocks right now as the possibility of another Fed rate hike should make them perform better.



Selecting Winning Bank Stocks



With the help of the Zacks Stock Screener, we have zeroed in on four bank stocks with a market capitalization of over $2 billion. Further, all these stocks sport highly desirable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Here are the top four bank stocks that meet the criteria:



Headquartered in Dallas, TX, Comerica Incorporated CMA is a banking and financial services company. This Zacks Rank #1 stock, with market capitalization of $8 billion, has been witnessing upward estimate revisions over the last 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 and 2017 has increased nearly 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively.



Hancock Holding Company HBHC, headquartered in Gulfport, MS, is a bank holding as well as financial holding company. This Zacks Rank #1 stock, with market capitalization of $2.5 billion, has been witnessing upward estimate revisions over the last 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 and 2017 has surged nearly 22.8% and 5.5%, respectively.



Associated Banc-Corp ASB, based in Green Bay, WI, is a bank holding company providing various banking and nonbanking products and services. This Zacks Rank #2 stock, with market capitalization of $3 billion, has been witnessing upward estimate revisions over the last 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 and 2017 has jumped nearly 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively.



Chicago, IL-based MB Financial Inc. MBFI provides financial services to small and middle market businesses and individuals. This Zacks Rank #2 stock, with market capitalization of $2.8 billion, has been witnessing upward estimate revisions over the last 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 and 2017 has increased nearly 3.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Story continues





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By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former Bankrate Inc <RATE.N> executives failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that they fraudulently manipulated the consumer financial information provider's results to meet Wall Street forecasts.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan on Thursday said the SEC may pursue all its claims against former Chief Financial Officer Edward DiMaria, and all but one claim against former Director of Accounting Matthew Gamsey.

Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The SEC accused New York-based Bankrate, which reached a $15 million settlement last September, and the executives of using questionable accounting to boost revenue and understate expenses for the second quarter of 2012.

It said that in once instance, DiMaria threatened to "rip (the) head off" Bankrate's top credit card executive if $500,000 of improper revenue were not booked, while Gamsey reacted to an instruction to book that sum and $300,000 of insurance revenue by writing "seriously  oyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."

The SEC also said DiMaria sold $2 million of Bankrate stock at prices inflated by the improper accounting.

Both defendants said the accounting entries were immaterial and that the SEC did not show they intended to commit fraud.

But Woods said it was premature to infer that DiMaria was "merely pushing" his employees to portray Bankrate's performance in the best positive light.

"DiMaria's alleged conduct crosses the line from corporate officers' common practice of taking affirmative action to meet revenue, earnings, or profit estimates, to consciously, falsely creating the appearance that Bankrate was meeting its targets when he knew that was not the case," Woods wrote.

The judge also highlighted SEC allegations that Gamsey asked others to defend improper accounting entries, and lied to Bankrate's auditor about what he knew.

Story continues

"Although DiMaria may have been the one pulling the strings, through his alleged actions Gamsey sought to make the alleged scheme succeed," Woods wrote.

Woods dismissed an SEC claim that Gamsey obtained money or property through the alleged misstatements.

The SEC did not respond to a request for comment.

The case is SEC v. DiMaria et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-07035.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby)
Four men between the ages of 23 and 26 were arrested in connection to a case of mischief by fire involving the use of Molotov cocktails, the Singapore Police Force said on Wednesday (14 Sept).

The police said they received a call requesting assistance at St James Power Station, a popular nightlife spot, early on Tuesday (13 Sept) at 2.25am.

Officers responding to the call found fragments of broken beer bottles and soot near the entrance, and on-scene investigations revealed that four bottles filled with petrol were believed to have been lit and thrown by three unknown men. No one was injured.

The men were also spotted fleeing the scene after the incident.

According to the police, the first suspect was arrested within 20 hours. The incident is believed to have been an act of revenge arising from a previous dispute between one of the suspects and a staff at St James Power Station.

All four suspects will be charged in court on Thursday. The police are also looking for a Tay Kai Long, Daryl, 26 (pictured below), to assist with investigations.

Anyone with information on Tay Kai Long, Daryl can come forward and contact the Police at 1800-255-0000. You can also submit the information online at http://www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
Correction appended Sept. 16, 2016

Renho Murata was selected this week to head the Democratic Party, Japans main opposition, paving the way for her to potentially become the countrys first female prime minister. Here are four things to know about her.

She became a Japanese citizen at age 17.

Murata was born in Japan in 1967 to a Japanese mother and Taiwanese father, but Japanese law at the time only passed citizenship through a childs father. She chose to become Japanese in 1985 when the law changed. Supporters have said that her experience will allow her to foster a discussion about diversity in an island that has experienced cultural change in recent years. I will have more discussion within the party about how Japan can promote such values as diversity and coexistence, she said after being elected to her new position on Thursday.

The issue has also caused complications. Japan bars citizens from holding dual citizenship, but Murata has continued to hold Taiwanese citizenship despite criticism. She said recently that she has filed paperwork to give it up.

Her chances at becoming PM are slim  at least for now.

Murata would be first in line to become Prime Minister if her party takes the reigns in Tokyo. But the chances of a Democratic Party takeover remain slim as current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remains solidly popular. A recent poll showed Abes Liberal Democratic Party  which has dominated postwar Japanese politics  with 40% support compared to just 8% for the Democrats, whose last premiership, by Naoto Kan, was marred by the Fukushima disaster and economic decline.

Shes one of three female politicians to take prominent positions in Japan this year.

Women are significantly underrepresented in Japanese government holding only 15% of seats in parliament and Abe recently acknowledging that he would not be able to fill 30% of management roles by 2020 as he had previously aimed to accomplish, according to a New York Times report.

Story continues

But supporters hailed Muratas rise as a sign of potentially changing times. Yuriko Koike became the first female governor of Tokyo in July, and Tomomi Inada was appointed the countrys Defense Minister in August.

She has personality.

Japanese politicians tend to be stolid and dull, but Murata is different. Political observers say she was helped by charisma that party leaders hope will liven up the party. She was a model and television host before being elected to parliament in 2004. And, now, she has 400,000 followers on Twitter.

Correction: The original headline of this story misstated that Murata was Japans first female opposition leader. She is the first female leader of the Democratic Party.
PARIS (Reuters) - The French government on Thursday welcomed Britain's decision to approve the construction of a nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in southern England by French utility EDF.

"This marks a major milestone in Franco-British industrial and energy cooperation," French Economy minister Michel Sapin said in a statement.

The 18 billion pound project, that will be part financed by the Chinese, has divided opinion in France at a time when EDF's finances are stretched already by the absorption of loss-making nuclear plant builder Areva.

Sapin called the project "good news" for the French nuclear industry and said it would showcase its nuclear technology globally.

(Reporting by Matthias Blamont; editing by Richard Lough)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Some 23,000 irregular migrants arrived in Italy in August, the European Union's border agency said on Thursday, most crossing the Mediterranean on what has become the main immigration route into Europe. The vast majority of the 117,900 people who arrived in Italy this year came by boat from Libya. The Frontex agency said the numbers were similar to those in 2015. Rescuers pulled some 650 migrants to safety and recovered five dead bodies from boats in difficulty off the coast of Libya on Wednesday, Italy's coastguard said. Greece was the main point of entry for refugees and migrants in 2015, when some 1.3 million people reached the European Union, triggering bitter and unresolved disputes in the bloc over how to handle the influx. Since Turkey agreed to prevent people from setting sail for Greece from its shores, the numbers taking that route have fallen dramatically. Frontex said some 3,430 people reached Greek islands from Turkey last month, only about three percent of the number in August, 2015. "However, August also saw a first noticeable monthly increase since the EU-Turkey statement came into effect," Frontex said. "In July, the number of detections stood at 2,030." Those taking the Greek route tend to be from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Iraq, while the Italian route is dominated by Nigerians, Eritreans and Bangladeshis, Frontex said. The EU is working with African countries to step up returns and has said it will make aid conditional on keeping a lid on migration to Europe. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; editing by Andrew Roche)
The sixth season of American Horror Story debuts on Sept. 14, but FX has kept the storyline so deeply under wraps that the team marketing the show had to devise a fan experience that would excite returning devotes and lure new viewers even as it remained spoiler-free.

FX Networks VP of integrated promotions Kenya Hardaway told outside producers to focus their promo pitches on a work of virtual reality. And after reviewing many bids, she decided to go with a concept presented by Swedish-American design firm North Kingdom that featured scenes inducing vertigo and claustrophobia, and included masked faces along with characters from the shows past.

They understood the spirit of what we were looking for, she says.

The VR event had its premiere run at Comic-Con in July, where FX constructed an immersive experience for fans inside a dark, ominous-looking silo. Unlike most virtual reality rides, which are a solitary experience, this one was communal, accommodating several viewers simultaneously.

We were able to build [in] connectivity, says North Kingdom executive creative director Daniel Ilic.

In general, VR is an individual experience, but we were able to build [in] connectivity. North Kingdoms Daniel Ilic

The Comic-Con room included five black beds arranged in the shape of a pentagon. Each participant was asked to lie down, and hospital sheets were placed over their bodies, masking identifiable features. The prone adventurers wore VR headsets that received signals from hidden computers, transporting them into a terrifying, immersive five-minute-long horror show  a journey that took them among some of the series creepiest characters and scariest moments.

To create those moments, Ilic and his team opted for a photo-realistic presentation, instead of using live-action images; elements of the shows production design, such as a medical laboratory or hotel corridor, were integrated into CG settings. For the introduction of such icons as Twisty the Clown and the nun from Coven, actors were dressed in the authentic costumes of those characters and captured in a full 3D scan. Those scans were then converted into models and animated.

Story continues

During the testing phase, Ilic and his team tracked subjects as they interacted with the CG environment, allowing those controlling the experience to make real-time adjustments to everything from color palette to visual cues in order to direct viewers attention to key focal points. They relied on common phobias to trick participants into feeling such sensations as heat and vertigo.

Thats the beauty of VR, says Ilic. Everything takes place in the mind.

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'American Horror Story' Season 6 Premiere: Theme Finally Revealed

Poll: Which 'American Horror Story' Season Is Your Favorite?

Cinematographers Weigh Pros, Cons of Large-Format Cameras for Tentpole Movies
Plans to make Internet connections easier to get in Africa were hurt this month when a rocket exploded in the U.S. state of Florida. The rocket belonging to the company SpaceX was carrying a communications satellite for the social media network Facebook.

Facebook had planned to use some of the satellites coverage to bring Internet service to people in countries south of the Saharan desert. Facebook and Google are working on other ways to bring Internet access to Africa, but it will be some time before they are ready.

Faiz Bashir heads FlexiSAF, an education technology company in Abuja, Nigeria. He says Internet access is too costly for most Nigerians.

If you want very good Internet, its very expensive. Usually only big companies and rich people can afford that, he said

The International Telecommunication Union says about 25 percent of people in Africa will use the Internet this year. That is more than last years rate of 20 percent. But it is still the lowest rate in the world.

Facebook provides Internet service in Africa

Three years ago, Facebook said it would try to bring Internet access to more people in Africa and other areas of the world. Mark Zuckerberg, who leads Facebook, talked about the plan in a Facebook video.

Our plan is to make basic Internet services affordable, so that everyone with a phone can join the knowledge economy.

One part of that plan began in Nigeria in May. It is called Free Basics. Anyone with a smartphone can see some health, education, weather, job search and other sites -- including Facebook  at no cost.

Bashir says it is easier now for him to communicate with family members in isolated areas of the country.

Free Basics is now available in 48 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Facebook also offers a service called Express Wi-Fi. People can pay to use the Wi-Fi.

Facebook planned to expand its services, but then came the setback of September 1st.

The social media network has faced several setbacks

USLaunchReport.com released a video showing the explosion of the SpaceX rocket.

It was not the only problem Facebook has had this year as it tries to give more people access to the Internet. In February, R.S. Sharma, the head of Indias telecommunications agency, announced new rules that make it harder for Facebook to offer its Free Basics service in the country.

No service provider shall charge differential pricing on the basis of application, platforms or websites or source, he said.

Differential pricing means charging two prices to different groups for the same service.

The rules pleased some Internet activists who believe companies should not be able to decide what websites a person can see.

It is not known how many new Internet users the Free Basics plan has created. A group called The Alliance for an Affordable Internet looked at who was using the plan -- and of others that offer free Internet access -- in eight countries. Research manager Dhanaraj Thakur says the group found that 88 percent of the users were not new to the Internet.

Thakur says people were using Free Basics to visit Facebook and other websites but were using their data plans to watch videos.

Facebook says it wants to help everyone in the world go online. Last month, it announced a successful test of a solar-powered drone, or unmanned aircraft. It is designed to stay in the air for weeks, providing Internet service to rural areas.

Google is also helping rural people get access to the Internet by using large balloons floating high above the earth.

It is not known if Facebook plans to launch another satellite.

Im Jonathan Evans.

VOA Correspondent Steve Baragona reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. Pete Heinlein was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

expensive adj. costly

basic adj. not including anything extra

affordable adj. able to be bought without too much money

isolated adj. far away from other things, separated from others

Wi-Fi n. a wireless connection available over short distances

differential pricing n. giving a different price to two or more groups for the same service

data plans n. a plan in which a person pays an amount of money to receive a set amount of data over the Internet

solar adj. have to do with, or provided by the sun
George Clooney is weighing in on the current political climate in the United States, and arguing that what the country needs right now is unity.



"I feel as if we need to get away from the divisiveness that we're stuck in right now and the fear that we're playing off of," the Money Monster actor tells Chris Wallace on this Sunday's episode of FOX News Sunday.



Growing up as a Democrat in conservative Kentucky, Clooney says he witnessed his share of political divisiveness. "But it wasn't as contentious and there wasn't the idea that once one party got power that nothing was going to happen from the other side, that they were going to just stop things cold," he explains.



The actor says he finds today's partisan politics "frustrating" and worrisome, adding, "I think that's dangerous." Clooney notes that pundits on both sides of the aisle have expressed similar frustrations, including conservative political analysts like William Kristol, right-wing commentator Charles Krauthammer and conservative author George Will.









WATCH: George Clooney Gives 1.1 Million Dollar Award For Humanitarian Efforts



"It's a very funny thing, odd for me to be on the same side of an issue as Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer and George Will and people like that. And usually we're not on the same side," he says.



The actor also spoke about battling the corruption in South Sudan through his organization The Sentry, which recently released the results of its groundbreaking investigation into Sudanese war profiteering.



"It's a fairly rich country in a strange way," Clooney explains. "They have a lot of oil. They have mineral rights. They have a lot of things that they  there's some gold. The people aren't getting any of that money, you know. There's so much of this money that's going out of the country and not to the people, the people who deserve it."
Kennedy Cobble has beaten cancer not once, not twice, not even three times. The 24-year-old, originally diagnosed with osteosarcoma, has been diagnosed with cancer on four separate occasions in her life and fought off the disease each time.



"I kept thinking, 'This is the last time.' " Cobble tells PEOPLE. "But then something else kept happening. I had to focus not on the negative possibilities of the outcome of my cancer, but on pushing through."



And now the resilient Suwanee, Georgia, resident is living her life to the fullest. Cobble is a University of North Georgia junior studying to become a teacher; she drives a modified hand-controlled car to a part-time gig teaching local elementary school kids; and she's an advocate and spokesperson for CURE Childhood Cancer, a nonprofit that raises money for critical pediatric cancer research equipment.



"This world has given me so many second chances and now it's my turn to give back," explains Cobble. "For so much of my life, everything was focused on me and my cancer and my recovery  and I'm grateful  but now it's my turn to help other people.



"This disease doesn't define me."





Georgia College Student and 4-Time Cancer Survivor Pursues Passion to Teach: 'This Disease Doesn't Define Me'| Cancer, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories, The Daily Smile



Doctors diagnosed Cobble with the rare bone cancer at the age of 14  she had been complaining of leg pain for months and an MRI revealed a big mass the size of a grapefruit on her tailbone.



"At the time, I didn't understand what was going on, but everyone around me was so upset," she says. "I thought I'd go through treatments and life would go back to normal. It took me awhile to realize that wasn't the case. I realized life would never be normal again when they told me I wouldn't walk again."



She went through seven weeks of radiation and nine months of chemotherapy before having part of her spine, sacrum and pelvis removed and replaced with titanium rods, screws and bolts.



And the then teenager's battle was only beginning.





Story continues

Georgia College Student and 4-Time Cancer Survivor Pursues Passion to Teach: 'This Disease Doesn't Define Me'| Cancer, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories, The Daily Smile



Cobble's doctor, Bradley George, says it is "quite difficult" for kids and teens to overcome osteosarcoma  especially when it metastasizes.



"About 25 percent of the kids' [cancer] will recur," George, a pediatric oncologist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, tells PEOPLE. "Kennedy has had a lot of complications. She really is a remarkable young woman and a fighter."



In August 2007, Cobble's cancer spread to her right lung, which she had partially removed, but three months later, it spread to her pulmonary artery. Doctors removed her entire lung.



For two years, Cobble underwent surgeries to revise broken spinal rods and to remove her sacrum. When her cancer spread once again, this time to her leg, doctors removed her knee, tibia and femur and replaced them with titanium rods.



"Once you have long recurrence, it becomes harder and harder to get rid of the tumor," explains George. "A lot of kids would have given up because unfortunately statistics show that most kids don't survive, but Kennedy always wanted to try new things and push herself.



"She was hell-bent on surviving."





Georgia College Student and 4-Time Cancer Survivor Pursues Passion to Teach: 'This Disease Doesn't Define Me'| Cancer, Medical Conditions, Real People Stories, The Daily Smile



Cobble now walks with a cane (and sometimes a wheelchair), but she isn't letting cancer tell her what she can and cannot do.



"I'm inhibited, sure, I can't run fast or walk, but I love kids and art and I'm using that passion to better my community," she explains. "I'm going to be a teacher one day."



Jacquie Parker, Cobble's supervising teacher at Lyman Hall Elementary, says her mentee is an "absolute role model to her students."



"Who better to give a pep talk about perseverance?" Parker tells PEOPLE. "Students see she has not let the disease keep her from doing what she wants to do in life  teach.



"The lives she touches as a teacher may very well be the future researchers who help cure cancer."
* German banks have up to $100 bln of ship loans -financiers

* Shipping industry slump could land them with big losses

* Lenders want to sell their debt but there are few buyers

* Graphic on global shipping slide: http://tmsnrt.rs/2cq2WWj

By Jonathan Saul and Andreas Kroner

LONDON/FRANKFURT, Sept 15 (Reuters) - German banks are struggling to recoup tens of billions of dollars of loans as a global shipping industry slump hits them hard.

The lenders - among the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years - are behind up to a quarter of the world's $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans, three shipping financiers told Reuters.

This would make them collectively more exposed than banks from any other single country in terms of outstanding debt to the sector.

These institutions are now grappling with a near decade-long slump of parts of the shipping sector since the 2008 financial crisis that is also hurting European peers, such as Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland.

"German banks account for close to $100 billion of shipping debt out of a world total of around $400 billion," said Dagfinn Lunde, who spent more than a decade as head of shipping at Germany's DVB Bank until the end of 2013.

The same estimates of German bank exposure and total sector debt were made by two other shipping finance executives, who declined to be named, citing the confidentiality of their business dealings.

Lunde, now a board member of Norway's Maritime and Merchant Bank, said German lenders had been "throwing money" at the sector when shipping business was brisk. "When the values tumbled, they were left with massive exposure to toxic debt."

As worsening conditions in the shipping sector leave some shipowners unable to meet payments, it is unlikely that many banks will see a full return on their investments. This could leave them having to sell down their debt at a discount to distressed buyers or to write off some of their loans.

The shipping difficulties come at a time when European banks are already bogged down by a sluggish economy and face tough capital demands from regulators which are eroding profitability.

Story continues

SHIPPING 'IMPLODING'

Segments of the shipping industry are suffering their deepest downturn ever as international trade slows. Around 90 percent of world trade is transported by sea.

South Korean container line Hanjin, which filed for receivership on Aug. 31, is the latest casualty in a crisis exacerbated by a glut of ships, many of which were built before the financial crisis when the global economy was healthier.

"It seems like the shipbuilding and ship finance sectors are ... imploding," Anthony Gurnee, chief executive of ship operator Ardmore Shipping Corp, told an industry conference in London last week.

His comments echo remarks made by Stefan Ermisch, the chief executive of shipping finance specialist HSH Nordbank, who recently described the shipping sector as "on the floor".

Before the financial crisis, when a dry bulk ship or oil tanker could earn over $200,000 a day, German banks were among the most prominent financing players. Such vessels now command around $10,000-$15,000 a day.

Banks' exposure varies widely across German lenders such as Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and state-backed lender NordLB. Part of the risk stems from exposure to closed investment funds - called KG houses - which bought ships and leased them to big shipping companies.

Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on its shipping finance activities and plans.

"For German shipowners, Hanjin is bad news as for them a large company falls away with which they can charter their ships," Oliver Faak, global head ship and aircraft finance at NordLB, told Reuters.

He warned the outlook for the oil tanker market was worsening. "Many shipping companies have ordered tankers that are now being delivered. Supply is rising but the demand hasn't changed."

OFFLOAD DEBT

Bankers said the scale of the lenders' potential losses from the loans now depended on how strict the European Central Bank would be in forcing them to tackle the problem.

In June, people familiar with the matter said the ECB had launched a review of banks' shipping finance, raising concerns among lenders that they may be required to set aside more capital to cover possible losses.

A regulatory source familiar with ECB policy said the review was an initial step. The ECB is currently analysing the data and will likely take further measures afterwards, said the source, adding: "The ECB suspects some European banks use too optimistic models to calculate the value of shipping loans and ships."

The ECB declined to comment.

In the meantime, banks are trying to offload some debt.

Sources have told Reuters RBS is trying to sell its Greek shipping business, which is valued at around $3 billion, as well as up to $500 million of a separate portfolio of Turkish shipping loans.

NordLB said in August it was selling a $1.5 billion portfolio of shipping loans to KKR Credit, part of private equity firm KKR, and a sovereign wealth fund.

But one of the three shipping financiers said there were few buyers. "The market is awash with distressed debt. Once again the banks will be stuck."

Nicholas Tsevdos, managing director of Ocean Way Navigation, a London-based shipping investor and asset manager, said the outcome of RBS efforts to sell off its shipping exposure was among the test cases being watched.

"If they fail to get buyers for the full books, it is not a great incentive for others to do the same," said Tsevdos, whose firm has advised on bank financing deals in recent months.

NordLB said earlier this year it aimed to cut its overall shipping exposure to 12 to 14 billion euros ($16 billion) within the next three years from 19 billion euros at the end of 2015.

NordLB's Faak said the banks would achieve "reduction targets because they have to reach them".

"The only question is, at what price?"

($1 = 0.8903 euros) (Editing by John O'Donnell and Pravin Char)
By Jonathan Saul and Andreas Kroner

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German banks are struggling to recoup tens of billions of dollars of loans as a global shipping industry slump hits them hard.

The lenders - among the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years - are behind up to a quarter of the world's $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans, three shipping financiers told Reuters.

This would make them collectively more exposed than banks from any other single country in terms of outstanding debt to the sector.

These institutions are now grappling with a near decade-long slump of parts of the shipping sector since the 2008 financial crisis that is also hurting European peers, such as Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).

"German banks account for close to $100 billion of shipping debt out of a world total of around $400 billion," said Dagfinn Lunde, who spent more than a decade as head of shipping at Germany's DVB Bank until the end of 2013.

The same estimates of German bank exposure and total sector debt were made by two other shipping finance executives, who declined to be named, citing the confidentiality of their business dealings.

Lunde, now a board member of Norway's Maritime and Merchant Bank, said German lenders had been "throwing money" at the sector when shipping business was brisk. "When the values tumbled, they were left with massive exposure to toxic debt."

As worsening conditions in the shipping sector leave some shipowners unable to meet payments, it is unlikely that many banks will see a full return on their investments. This could leave them having to sell down their debt at a discount to distressed buyers or to write off some of their loans.

The shipping difficulties come at a time when European banks are already bogged down by a sluggish economy and face tough capital demands from regulators which are eroding profitability.

SHIPPING 'IMPLODING'

Segments of the shipping industry are suffering their deepest downturn ever as international trade slows. Around 90 percent of world trade is transported by sea.

Story continues

South Korean container line Hanjin, which filed for receivership on Aug. 31, is the latest casualty in a crisis exacerbated by a glut of ships, many of which were built before the financial crisis when the global economy was healthier.

"It seems like the shipbuilding and ship finance sectors are ... imploding," Anthony Gurnee, chief executive of ship operator Ardmore Shipping Corp (ASC.N), told an industry conference in London last week.

His comments echo remarks made by Stefan Ermisch, the chief executive of shipping finance specialist HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL], who recently described the shipping sector as "on the floor".

Before the financial crisis, when a dry bulk ship or oil tanker could earn over $200,000 a day, German banks were among the most prominent financing players. Such vessels now command around $10,000-$15,000 a day.

Banks' exposure varies widely across German lenders such as Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) and state-backed lender NordLB [NDLG.UL]. Part of the risk stems from exposure to closed investment funds - called KG houses - which bought ships and leased them to big shipping companies.

Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank declined to comment on its shipping finance activities and plans.

"For German shipowners, Hanjin is bad news as for them a large company falls away with which they can charter their ships," Oliver Faak, global head ship and aircraft finance at NordLB, told Reuters.

He warned the outlook for the oil tanker market was worsening. "Many shipping companies have ordered tankers that are now being delivered. Supply is rising but the demand hasn't changed."

OFFLOAD DEBT

Bankers said the scale of the lenders' potential losses from the loans now depended on how strict the European Central Bank would be in forcing them to tackle the problem.

In June, people familiar with the matter said the ECB had launched a review of banks' shipping finance, raising concerns among lenders that they may be required to set aside more capital to cover possible losses.

A regulatory source familiar with ECB policy said the review was an initial step. The ECB is currently analysing the data and will likely take further measures afterwards, said the source, adding: "The ECB suspects some European banks use too optimistic models to calculate the value of shipping loans and ships."

The ECB declined to comment.

In the meantime, banks are trying to offload some debt.

Sources have told Reuters RBS is trying to sell its Greek shipping business, which is valued at around $3 billion, as well as up to $500 million of a separate portfolio of Turkish shipping loans.

NordLB said in August it was selling a $1.5 billion portfolio of shipping loans to KKR Credit, part of private equity firm KKR (KKR.N), and a sovereign wealth fund.

But one of the three shipping financiers said there were few buyers. "The market is awash with distressed debt. Once again the banks will be stuck."

Nicholas Tsevdos, managing director of Ocean Way Navigation, a London-based shipping investor and asset manager, said the outcome of RBS efforts to sell off its shipping exposure was among the test cases being watched.

"If they fail to get buyers for the full books, it is not a great incentive for others to do the same," said Tsevdos, whose firm has advised on bank financing deals in recent months.

NordLB said earlier this year it aimed to cut its overall shipping exposure to 12 to 14 billion euros ($16 billion) within the next three years from 19 billion euros at the end of 2015.

NordLB's Faak said the banks would achieve "reduction targets because they have to reach them".

"The only question is, at what price?"

($1 = 0.8903 euros)

(Editing by John O'Donnell and Pravin Char)
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f20985%2f99e65dbf992d4adb9505362d4a9636a6

While ants may be an excellent source of protein, they're not exactly the perfect addition to salt and vinegar chips.

Emily Wagoner, a high school student, recently visited a Pita Pit in Beaverton, Oregon, where she purchased a bag of Miss Vickie's sea salt and vinegar flavored chips. Everything seemed normal, but then Wagoner discovered that the chips were actually covered in dead ants.

SEE ALSO: This woman's complaint about a worm in her lettuce escalated hilariously

never go to pita pit ever OMFG literal dead ants all over my chips and I thought it was seasoning so I ate them pic.twitter.com/hOjfH5RPZE  Emily Wagoner (@eWags10) September 13, 2016

Wagoner explains that she thought the black specks on her chips were just seasoning, but she was very wrong. They were definitely dead ants.

I ate dead ants today hbu  Emily Wagoner (@eWags10) September 14, 2016

Initially, Wagoner says the restaurant offered her a free bag of chips.

@jocelyngorman yes!! they didn't even say sorry they asked if I wanted another bag of chips  Emily Wagoner (@eWags10) September 13, 2016

But shortly after tweeting about the mishap, Pita Pit reached out to Wagoner on Twitter in an attempt to remedy the situation.

@eWags10 Whoa! Can you DM us with the location you encountered this at?  Pita Pit (@PitaPitUSA) September 14, 2016

According to Cosmopolitan, Pita Pit offered Wagoner a $50 gift certificate. But she was not pleased with their compensation because of how the restaurant initially treated her.

Wagoner also told Cosmopolitan that she wants proof that Pita Pit is taking real action against the chip company Miss Vickie's, and claims the $50 gift card "just seems insulting."

Mashable has reached out to Wagoner for additional comment and to Frito-Lay, Miss Vickie's parent company, for comment.

Bonus: Corgi butts in slow motion
The United States is just one of many countries trying to increase its influence in Southeast Asia. Japan and Russia are also trying to increase trade, diplomatic and military relations with countries in the area.

China has been Southeast Asias largest trade partner for many years. Now other countries, including Japan, are trying to increase their trade in the area. Over the past three years, Japan has invested more in ASEAN countries than in China and Hong Kong.

Titli Basu is an expert on Southeast Asia. She says the decision by the United States to increase its influence in the area, and the increase in Chinas economic and military power, is the reason Japan is focusing on the area.

She said the arrival of China as a major power has made Japan really impatient to redefine its role in the Asia-Pacific security order."

Japan is working to increase trade as well as security and diplomatic ties.

However, experts are concerned that tensions in the area will increase as other nations try to increase their influence.

Richard Bitzinger is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. He says countries like Russia, China and the U.S. are all trying to cooperate and to compete with each other.

Theres a lot of places where two countries -- Russia-China, China-the United States -- find lots of opportunities and common interests that make them want to cooperate," he said. "At the same time there are a lot of places where they collide and compete.

Russia is only now beginning to try to increase its influence in the area. It is selling arms to Vietnam and making energy exploration deals.

Lo Chih-cheng is a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan. He says Russia is reacting to rising U.S. influence in Asia.

He said, during the past few years, Russia has been preoccupied with events in Europe. Now, the country is trying to balance what it sees as U.S. influence in the region, says Lo.

Leaders of Asian nations are working to keep tensions from becoming conflicts. Bitzinger says the possibility of accidental conflict is a growing concern.

He says more advanced weapons are flowing into the region. Added to that, he says, are long-running disputes such as the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Experts worry even small disputes could quickly grow into a war.

Im Christopher Jones-Cruise.

VOA Correspondent Bill Ide reported this story from Beijing. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

focus  v. to direct your attention or effort at something specific

collide  v. used to describe situations in which people or groups disagree or are very different from each other

preoccupied  v. thinking about something a lot or too much (often + with)

region  n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way
From Seventeen

Walking into the hair salon, every girl feels that mix of terror and excitement. Excitement, because you're going to do something sick to your hair that will (hopefully) look beautiful and amazing, and terror, because it could all go horribly, horribly wrong if your tresses are put in the wrong hands.

Joanna Huang experienced the worst case scenario of this situation, walking out of a salon in Taiwan with a totally botched ombre, BuzzFeed reports. She asked her colorist for a unicorn 'do, showing him a couple Pinterest AF pictures to copy, but the results were NOT what she expected.

Photo credit: Facebook: poppyohoh

Photo credit: faxingzhan.com

In an attempt to dupe the flawless waves in the pics, Huang's stylist gave her a perm, which Huang thought was a little ~weird~. She told BuzzFeed News, "I didn't think the perm was necessary. But I didn't want to say anything because I thought it would turn out fine."

Photo credit: Joanna Huang via BuzzFeed

Then the stylist bleached her already permed hair (those poor strands have been through so much) and this was the outcome:

Photo credit: Joanna Huang via BuzzFeed

Some pink hair dye, nine and a half hours, and $170 later, this was the final result:

Photo credit: Joanna Huang via BuzzFeed

So not *exactly* what she asked for.

To cover the disastrous outcome, Huang asked for the top layer to be dyed black again, which, thankfully, turned out super cute.

Photo credit: Joanna Huang via BuzzFeed

After this crazy experience, Huang told BuzzFeed: "I probably won't be doing anything to my hair for some time." We don't blame you, girl.

Follow @Seventeen on Instagram!

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From Esquire

"All despots bribe. The people bribe and brutalise. Who told them to exercise authority? They were made to live, to listen, and to love. Someone has done them a great wrong. They have marred themselves by imitation of their inferiors. They have taken the sceptre of the Prince. How should they use it? They have taken the triple tiara of the Pope. How should they carry its burden? They are as a clown whose heart is broken. They are as a priest whose soul is not yet born. Let all who love Beauty pity them. Though they themselves love not Beauty, yet let them pity themselves. Who taught them the trick of tyranny?"

-Oscar Wilde, 1900.

Old Oscar was wrong about that last part. Tyranny is not a trick you learn. Tolerance of-and, alas, submission to-tyranny is not a trick you learn. It is a reflex in all of us. To call it a trick is like calling breathing a trick, or flinching. Everyone has in him the potential to be a tyrant or to be subservient in their admiration of one. Mr. Madison knew that, and that's why he famously wrote in Federalist 55 that, "Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob."

It was an impolitic thing to write, probably a gaffe as those are defined today, almost as bad a gaffe as pointing out in public that the racists and xenophobes among us are deplorable. When Hillary Rodham Clinton dealt in this uncomfortable truth last weekend, the elite political media exploded, but she was not wrong. The reaction was primarily fueled not by the racists and xenophobes themselves, but by everyone else, who knew that, through their atrophied attention to their obligations as citizens in a democratic republic, they had enabled the racists and xenophobes and surrendered their birthright as Americans to a wish for a tyrant.

It is now popular to opine that, had the Democratic Party nominated someone else for president, then Donald Trump already would have been crushed as an electoral force. Watching the events of the last month leads me to the opposite conclusion. Had the Republican Party nominated someone more dedicated to the hard work of demagoguery, someone more committed to the craft of being a dictator, instead of the scatterbrained dilettante currently campaigning as a performance piece, that candidate would be even money to defeat anyone the Democrats put up in opposition.

Story continues

Photo credit: Angelo Merendino/Getty

A substantial portion of this country wants someone not to govern, but to rule, to defeat the imaginary enemies they have concocted so as not to bestir themselves to resist the forces that actually are working against their interest. For the balance of this election cycle, and largely due to the presence in it of this ridiculous man and his ridiculous campaign, the American people have proven themselves profoundly unworthy of being called citizens.

Look at what has happened just today. Donald Trump first says that he will release his medical records on a television doctor show. Then he says he won't. Then he does share some information with the television doctor show. That this is completely insane on its face will not appear anywhere in the accounts of the day because, in its deepest heart, the elite political press knows that this is the kind of thing for which many of its customers secretly yearn: an entertaining autocrat, Juan Peron and Evita all wrapped up in one man.

And then there are the ongoing revelations about the way that the same candidate has conducted his private business. His foundation seems to exist solely for him to be seen as doing good works using other people's money, essentially laundering his charity. David Farenthold of The Washington Post has been presenting the prosecution's case on this, day after day. And on Wednesday, in Newsweek, journalist and author Kurt Eichenwald presented an extensive brief in support of the notion that the Republican nominee for president is so entangled with foreign investors that he never can be extracted again.

Let's just pick one rotten cherry from Eichenwald's reporting.

But for the Trump Organization, Qaddafi was not a murdering terrorist; he was a prospect who might bring the company financing and the opportunity to build a resort on the Mediterranean coast of Libya. According to an Arab financier and a former businessman from the North African country, Trump made entreaties to Qaddafi and other members of his government, beginning in 2008, in which he sought deals that would bring cash to the Trump Organization from a sovereign wealth fund called the Libyan Investment Authority. The following year, Trump offered to lease his estate in Westchester County, New York, to Qaddafi; he took Qaddafi's money but, after local protests, forbade him from staying at his property. (Trump kept the cash.) "I made a lot of money with Qaddafi,'' Trump said recently about the Westchester escapade. "He paid me a fortune."

This likely will occasion another spasm of impotent introspection on the part of our elite political media on the topic of, "Why doesn't any of this stick?" But few of the members of that media will dare to look at the real answer, which is that there is a substantial constituency for what Trump has been peddling and that the elite political media has been pandering to that constituency every day since Trump became a genuine phenomenon. The racism is offensive and the economic insecurity is a dodge. Americans are bored with their democracy and they don't have the democratic energy to do anything about it, so they'll settle for an entertaining quasi-strongman. When they decline, democracies get the dictators they deserve. A country mired in apathy and lassitude gets a dictator who can't even put in the hard work of becoming very good at it.

It has become popular among many people, particularly on the left, to blame the failings of The Media for the rise of El Caudillo del Mar-A-Lago, but that is not entirely accurate. There has been great journalism done during the campaign. Farenthold, certainly, is going to have to clear some room for some new hardware on his shelves next spring. Eichenwald has now done his bit, and likely will do more. The local Florida newspapers have dug relentlessly into Trump's activities in that state, especially his involvement with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, and they've become so frustrated that their work has been like shouting down a well that they've taken to shaming the elite political press with editorials. This is the way journalism is supposed to be done. But very little of it seems to have filtered up into the coverage of the campaign.

Photo credit: Matthew Busch/Getty

There may be a number of reasons for this. Having spent a lot of time around newsrooms, I suspect that territorial bureaucratic nut-cutting may have a lot to do with it. But that journalism is out there for everyone to read and, take it all in all, it renders ludicrous the notion that Donald Trump even is running for president, let alone that he might win. During the run-up to the Iraq War, there were sources you could find that were shooting holes in the case being made for the invasion-the BBC, AFP, the McClatchy crew in Washington. But that reporting didn't filter up into the elite political media either, and we now see what happened because of that. This, I fear, is the same history repeating itself.

But the truth is that the facts are out there if anyone wants to make the effort and find them. (The elite political media makes this harder by its curious reluctance to let these stories fully inform its coverage of the campaign.) That's our collective job as citizens, and to do it requires a collective national will that no longer may be in us. With every new poll that is released, I comfort myself with the knowledge that Donald Trump is not willing to put in the hours to be a competent authoritarian, which is cold comfort, I know, but you take what you can get.

That cannot be said of the next guy to try it, and there will be a next time, because the basic tectonic plates beneath our democracy have shifted so as to make the next guy inevitable. The mechanics of tyranny are not a magician's prestige, the third part of a trick in which the lady is reassembled or the rabbit brought back to the hat. The mechanics of tyranny are primal in all of us, and vestigial in very few. They are reflexes, like breathing or flinching. We engage them without thinking. In fact, that's the very best way to do it.

Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page.

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Donald Trump

The polls have moved markedly in Donald Trump's favor in the past month. And now everybody who doesn't want him to be president is trying to figure out why  and whether he will keep gaining.

Obviously, it's been a rough few weeks for Hillary Clinton, and most of the poll analysis has focused on how she has hurt herself and what she can do to improve her position.

But here's the thought that's making me nervous: What if the shift in the polls is more about Donald Trump campaigning better?

Specifically, what if it's about the fact that he brought in a reasonably competent campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, on August 17, started listening to her advice, and became somewhat less self-destructive and more on message?

For example, Trump has resisted the temptation to talk extensively about Clinton's pneumonia, instead staying focused on the "basket of deplorables" comment that he and his team clearly believe works to his advantage. He has gotten more attention for his positive policy messages. He even pulled off a nonembarrassing meeting with the president of Mexico.

Most important, he has so far avoided a repeat of the sort of episodes that seemed to be most damaging to him in the campaign: his attacks on low-profile people on the basis of religion or ethnicity, such as those against Khizr Khan and Gonzalo Curiel.

These of course are all very low bars I am describing Trump as having cleared, and he has continued to make various outrageous statements and face various scandals.

But low bars might be the right measure for the "Can Trump win?" question.

For most of this campaign, Trump has been polling just a few points behind Clinton despite running a comically inept campaign. What if running a merely somewhat inept campaign is good enough for him to catch up?

It might seem as if it's too late. Trump has done a lot over the past 15 months to cement negative images in many voters' minds, and most of that damage is irreversible.

Story continues

But a hallmark of Trump's career has been successful switching from vitriolic insult to cordial dealmaking. He fires Omarosa and then hires her back. You can even see it in his tweets  he rails against the "losers and haters" but then he also wishes them well, and he even says he sees potential in them.

Losers and haters,even you, as low and dumb as you are, can learn from watching Apprentice and checking out my tweets-you can still succeed!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2013

Trump won't win over anywhere near a majority of the voters he has alienated, but his strange charisma positions him to win over more than most similarly outrageous candidates would be able to.

Trump also seems to be benefitting from a growing disconnect between media and political elites in New York and Washington and most white voters over issues of race.

I think this disconnect is arising mostly from a substantively laudable place: a greater focus on white privilege and an accurate sense that aggrieved whites are often upset about declining racial privilege, which is not good cause for sympathy.

But I worry this normative judgment is bleeding into a positive one, causing some Democrats and some media commentators to underestimate, for example, how much a claim that half of Trump voters are "deplorable" bigots is likely to upset white voters who are strongly resistant to the idea their friends and family  or themselves  are racist.

Trump's numbers with nonwhite voters are dismal and likely to remain so. But approximately 72% of the November electorate will consist of non-Hispanic whites, and his message is clearly at least acceptable to a majority of white voters  more voters than Republican insiders thought would warm to it in the primaries, more than Democrats thought would go for it in the general election, and more than most pundits thought it could attract in either.

If Trump gets enough votes from whites, he can win the election.

One way he could do that is by being modestly less outrageous, thereby winning back some college-educated whites who have been telling pollsters they are preparing to abandon the Republican nominee in record numbers, offsetting the unusual strength Trump has already generated among non-college-educated whites.

It's entirely likely that Trump's poll rise will stop. The factors I'm describing above might not be so important, and Clinton's numbers might bounce back when she gets back on the campaign trail and back on message. Trump has been this close in the polls before, and so far the equilibrium of this race has had him narrowly but clearly behind.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton climbs into her van outside her daughter Chelsea's home in New York, New York, United States September 11, 2016, after Clinton left ceremonies commemorating the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks feeling

The debates could also matter. Historically, they don't seem to have mattered much, but historically the candidates have been more evenly matched in qualification and debating skill.

I think Trump's roughest moment of the past month politically was at last Wednesday's Commander-in-Chief Forum. Half an hour of questioning on foreign policy brought a lot of outlandish and off-message statements out of him. Three 90-minute debates under much more pressure from Clinton could bring out many more.

He could be needled into greater self-destructiveness again, especially if he is upset about how Clinton criticizes him during the debates.

Finally, we are in uncharted territory in the sense that one major-party campaign is likely to have a far more developed ground game for Election Day than the other. I would expect this to help Clinton outperform her baseline, but I have no idea whether the effect is large or small.

The question Business Insider global editor-in-chief Henry Blodget keeps asking me is whether Trump is likely to win. I still think the answer is "no." But honestly, I'm a lot more nervous than I've been during the campaign.

NOW WATCH: Clinton just released a brutal ad linking Trump to white supremacists





More From Business Insider


Being beautiful has not always been in Halle Berry's favor.



The X-Men actress spoke with W for the magazine's October cover, and opened up about how she once had to beg Hollywood to take her seriously.



"Just because someone looks a certain way doesn't mean that they are spared adversity," Berry, 50, said, adding, "Adversity does not discriminate."



In the beginning of her career, the actress admitted she was reluctant to "play the gorgeous girl." She explained, "I came from the world of beauty pageants and modeling and right away when people heard that I got discounted as an actor." She added, "I took on roles early on that really didn't rely on my physical self at all and that was a good way to sort of get some credibility within my industry."







For example, Berry said she worked hard to convince Spike Lee she could play a "crack ho" in one of her breakout roles in Jungle Fever. "Spike Lee wanted me to read for the part of his wife and I read that part fine enough, but then I said to Spike, 'You know I really am eyeing this crack ho role, can you please let me audition for that?' And he said, 'No, no I don't see you as the crack ho.' "





WATCH: Halleas Changing Looks!



After some more convincing, which involved washing off her makeup during the audition, Lee reconsidered. "And it was an amazing way to start my career, playing a crack ho being directed by Spike Lee," Berry said. "It was major for me.a



She also had to fight for another major role, her Oscar-winning turn in Monster's Ball. "[Director] Lee Daniels didn't want to see me read. He was actually disgusted by the thought. He thought there's no way and my argument to him was, just because someone looks a certain way doesn't mean that they are spared adversity. I thought, 'My looks haven't spared me one hardship or one hurt moment or one painful situation. So please, you know, give me a shot at this.'



Ultimately, Berry told Daniels, "I often think it's more interesting when you see someone that looks a certain way struggle in ways that you wouldn't think they would be struggling with." The argument worked and Berry got the role. "That sort of changed the course of my career in so many ways," she adds.
By Tom Hals

(Reuters) - A lawyer for Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd , the failed South Korean container carrier, said on Thursday a U.S.-bound vessel was held "hostage" by disputes over payments, adding to the struggles in getting $14 billion of cargo off its ships stranded at sea.

"There is no clear visibility yet on what will happen with this business," Hanjin lawyer Ilana Volkov said at a hearing, when asked by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood whether Hanjin was liquidating.

Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container line, filed for bankruptcy last month, leaving more than 100 ships and their cargo at sea and threatening to snarl U.S. freight traffic as the year-end shopping season approaches.

Some ships chartered to Hanjin have been sold and more are up for sale.

Last week, Hanjin said a Korean judge authorized $10 million to pay tug operators, ports and cargo handlers to unload four of its U.S.-bound vessels.

Since then, the Hanjin Boston, Hanjin Greece and Hanjin Gdynia have begun to unload. But the fourth ship, the Hanjin Jungil, remains at sea off the coast of California, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

"Were negotiating with every service provider and they are saying 'I'm not going to let this ship berth,'" said Volkov at the Newark, New Jersey hearing. "My client is being held hostage."

She told the court that the Korean court had postponed hearing Hanjin's request to authorize another $50 million that would allow at least four more Hanjin ships to unload U.S. cargo.

Hanjin still has at least 10 U.S.-bound ships, although Volkov said some ships may not have picked up U.S.-bound cargo.

Cargo owners such as consumer products maker Dorel Industries Inc (DIIb.TO) and the U.S. unit of musical instrument maker Yamaha Corp (7951.T) complained they were the hostages.

They said they were forced to make additional payments to get their cargo or were forced to retrieve it from the wrong location.

"This could destroy American businesses," said Alan Brody, a lawyer for Yamaha Corp of America.

Story continues

Darren Azman, an attorney for Bermuda-based container owner Textainer Group Holdings Ltd (TGH.N), said Hanjin rejected leases on its 20,000 containers but failed to return the boxes to Asia as required.

However, the judge balked at Azman's suggestion that Textainer could force cargo owners to pay to return Hanjin's containers to Asia to get their goods.

"I will do whatever I can to stop you," said Sherwood.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, editing by Peter Henderson and Bernard Orr)
London (AFP) - Tackling the toughest issues of Britain's exit from the European Union should not happen before the end of 2017, former European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said on Thursday.

The UK voted its way out of the EU in a June referendum but the official divorce proceedings cannot begin until Britain starts procedures, through triggering Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will not begin the formal process before 2017, while Van Rompuy said negotiations on the toughest issues will have to wait until after elections in France and Germany.

"Before the German elections and before there is a new German government, no serious negotiations will take place," Van Rompuy told the BBC Radio 4 "Today" programme.

"You can always start with more technical matters but the hard core -- the difficult topics -- will be tackled after the constitution of the new German government. That will be October-November," he added.

The French election will be completed in April or May next year.

The most challenging issues on the negotiating table will likely be how Britain can achieve its aim of restricting migration from the EU, while maintaining access to the single market.

Van Rompuy, a former Belgian prime minister, said the EU would seek a deal of mutual benefit but "red lines" would stand on key areas.

"There are huge economic interests but there are also red lines. It is very well known that freedom of movement is one of those red lines," he said.

The former EU chief said that while the bloc did not feel it had to "punish" the UK, it would not want to encourage any of the remaining member states to leave.

Van Rompuy's comments came on the eve of a summit of the remaining 27 EU member states in the Slovakian capital Bratislava. The meeting is aimed at creating a roadmap for the bloc without Britain.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar, completed a two-day visit to Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize winner met separately with President Barack Obama and United States congressional leaders.

They spoke about her countrys move towards democracy and U.S. economic sanctions on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

It was Aung San Suu Kyis first visit to the U.S. as state counselor and foreign minister  a position she took after her party won in elections last November. Myanmars constitution bars her from serving as president because her husband and children are foreigners.

[President Obama:] So if you predicted five years ago that Aung San Suu Kyi would now be here, sitting as the duly elected representative of her country, many people would have been skeptical. But its a good news story in an era in which so often we see countries going in the opposite direction...

Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi met on Wednesday. He said Myanmar is experiencing a remarkable social and political transformation.

The president expressed readiness to lift economic sanctions on the country. Those sanctions were ordered to punish the governments failure to honor the results of the 1990 elections. Obama can cancel the measures without congressional action.

The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business...

Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the end of the sanctions. She said that while Myanmar has made progress in its move towards democracy, more remains to be done. She said the biggest test may be uniting the ethnic groups that are in that country.

"Unity also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important."

Members of Congress expressed mixed reaction to Obamas plan to lift the sanctions.

The president acted unilaterally in a way that was unfortunate, said Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. Gardner, a Republican, chairs the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

With the lifting of sanctions and a new investment law expected in the coming weeks, Aung San Suu Kyi asked American businesses to invest in Myanmar.

I expect you businessmen to come to our country to make profits so that they can make profits for us, as well.

Some human rights leaders say it is too soon to lift sanctions on Myanmar. They say the government's human rights record is not good with religious minorities, mainly the Rohingyas.

The White House says Aung San Suu Kyi has made a lot of progress on human rights concerns, since her party came to power.

Im Dorothy Gundy.



Cindy Saine and Jeff Custer reported on this story for VOANews.com. Dorothy Gundy adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

de facto  adj. used to describe something that exists but that is not officially accepted or recognized

sanctions - n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc.  usually plural

skeptical  adj. having or expressing distrust about something

era  n. a period of time that is linked with a particular quality, event, person

transformation - n. a complete or major change in someone's or something's appearance, form, etc.

prosperity  n. the state of being successful usually by making a lot of money

resources  n. something that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

unilaterally - adj. involving only one group or country

unfortunate - adj. having bad luck
The political system is hindering economic development in America.

This was a key finding in Harvard Business Schools study on competitiveness. Professors, led by Michael Porter, found the political system was actually a key cause in hindering the economic development of the US.

Im an economist and the last thing I thought I would end up doing when I got into this project was to actually start deeply studying the political system, Porter told Yahoo Finance. But weve now concluded thats where the root cause of where America is today. We have a lot of strengths. We are very dynamic. We have tremendous people. We have a lot of assets. Were just stalled.

Porter explains that while the US political system was once the envy of many nations, it has become increasingly a liability over the last two decades.

Political system as an obstacle

Today, we believe that our political system is now the major obstacle to progress on the economy, especially at the federal level, according to the report.

Legislation enacted by Congress has declined over the decades, with the number of laws unacted by the 112th and 113th Congresses at historic lows. And many bills are passed purely for political benefit and are never signed into law.

Source: Harvard Business School Competitiveness Project

Decline in trust for political leaders

Meanwhile, trust for political leaders has declined significantly over the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, according to the report. In 1958, three out of four Americans trusted their government. Today less than one in five trust their governments to do the right thing, the report explained.

Source: Harvard Business School US Competitiveness Project

Polarization

Lack of trust can also be seen among citizens. Based on 10 survey questions in the report measuring the political values of Republicans and Democrats, differences in political ideology have widened markedly over the last 20 years.

Source: Harvard Business School US Competitiveness Project

And given rising dissatisfaction with the major parties, Gallups party affiliation poll finds that Americans who identify themselves as Independents have now grown to account for the largest percentage of Americans (42%), versus Democrats (28%) or Republicans (28%). This reflects a declining confidence in parties, according to Porter. Favorability ratings have declined to below 40% for both parties for the first time since Gallup began collecting data in 1992.

Story continues

The 2016 presidential election is leading more Americans to hold extreme views of the opposing party, according to the report, as American party members use words like afraid, angry, and frustrated to describe each other.

Building fear

Instead of building bridges and respect for other citizens viewpoints, the presidential candidates have too often appealed to Americans worst fears, according to the report.

Michael Porter and his team point out trade as a good example of this, where divisive rhetoric surrounding the evils of trade has confused the voting base.

Meanwhile, political rhetoric has also increased anti-business sentiment, according to the report. Eighty-two percent of Sanders supporters and 69% of Clinton supporters believe corporations make too much profit. Meanwhile, Republicans who support Trump are less prone than the average Republican to think corporate profits are fair.

Given such political attacks on businesses, the ability to build consensus on sensible policies to address key economic weaknesses in America is set back, Porter writes in the report.

Were just not moving, Porter says.Its not that were bad. Its not that were idiots. Its just that were not moving. And when you get to the root causes of that, it it actually comes down to the political process. We cant agree to move ahead. We cant compromise. And everything important in the economy involves compromise. Theres no one ideology thats correct.

As the report lays out, much of what happens in the US government has been more focused on scoring political points than on taking steps that will benefit the average citizen.

While results for the citizens are next to nonexistent, the parties themselves and other actors involved in the political system are thriving in terms of funding, media coverage, and attention, the report highlights.

For more on the study, please see below:

Harvard professor identifies the worst nightmare in America right now

Harvard study singles out a game-changing economic opportunity: TAX REFORM

Theres a silver lining behind the dark clouds hanging over US businesses

Harvard Business Dean tells us what this huge 5-year study is all about

Harvard Business Dean: The post-crisis monetary policy is running out of runway

How improved infrastructure could end Americas vicious cycle of poverty

Some companies have taken the next obvious step to filling jobs that sit vacant

Theres one piece of tax reform that would have a real impact with little resistance

Americas outdated education system isnt producing the workers companies need



Revitalizing small businesses is key to drive Americas economic growth
Ryan Germick

When Ryan Germick and his team first saw Sabrina Brady's submission to the Doodle 4 Google contest in 2013, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"It was a Doodle about her best day ever, and it was the day her father came back from military duty," Germick told Business Insider. "It was a really touching Doodle and tears were just pouring out of everyones eyes."

Brady's design, called "Coming Home," won the contest that year. It's that kind of emotional connection Germick looks for in the winning Doodle every year, and what he'll look for when submissions start pouring in for this year's contest.

The 2016 Doodle 4 Google contest launches Wednesday at 12 p.m. EST. Contestants can enter online or by mail and the contest is open to all students grades K-12. This year's theme will be "What I see for the future..."

Doodle 4 Google Logo

Germick said the theme is a reflection of what Google tries to be as a company: careful about the impact it has on the future and thoughtful about how Google's technology can improve people's lives. The company tries to provide some guidance to

motivate and inspire young artists, but doesn't want to be too prescriptive or limiting in its guidelines.

When it comes time to judge the drawings, Germick said he's not looking for the best artist in the bunch with the best rendering skills. Instead, he's looking for the same connection he had with Brady's drawing in 2013.

"Were looking for, first and foremost, an emotional resonance," Germick said. "Were looking for something that when you see it, before you even think about it, it just hits you and makes you feel something. This is about being able to express your humanity and your individual interests and passions through a piece of artwork."

But artists do have to keep in mind what will work on the page. Doodles are shrunk down significantly, Germick said, so an extremely detailed piece may not work. While most submissions consist of kids printing out the logo and "going to town" with crayons and markers, he said, sometimes students will create their own version of the logo, like last year's winner: High school student Akilah Johnson created a Doodle

Story continues

entitled "My Afrocentric Life" where the logo was made out of braided hair.

Doodle 4 Google

The Doodle 4 Google contest has been running every year since 2008, and like year's past, this year's winner will receive big prizes:

A $30,000 college scholarship

A $50,000 Google for Education grant for his or her school

An Android tablet

A Chromebook

A t-shirt printed with the Doodle on it

A trip to Google headquarters to meet the Doodle team

The visit from the winner is one of Germick's favorite parts of the contest.

"All the finalists that we ever meet, these are the quirkiest, coolest, smartest, most creative kids, so its just great to meet them," Germick said. "It gives you hope for the future generation that they persevered through the distractions and the difficulties of childhood to create a really beautiful piece of artwork and get all the way to the top of their group."

Germick also had a tip for this year's contestants: Be an individual.

"Dont worry about looking over the shoulder of your classmate and see what theyre drawing and try to conform," Germick said. "The point here is to really be yourself and express yourself and share your unique vision."

NOW WATCH: This country doesnt have Google Street View, so they created Google Sheep View





More From Business Insider


By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A California man was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for his role in what prosecutors said was the largest mortgage modification scheme ever prosecuted, involving more than 30,000 homeowners defrauded out of $31 million.

Dionysius Fiumano, a former sales manager at Irvine, California-based Vortex Financial Management Inc, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Keenan in Manhattan, who said the harm to victims had been "enormous financially and emotionally."

"This was a callous scheme and really a heartless one," Keenan said.

Fiumano, who was also ordered to pay nearly $20 million in restitution, was one of five people charged in connection with the scheme, and the only one to go to trial. A federal jury found him guilty in May on conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

In court, Fiumano, 45, blamed his employers, saying they were "deceptive from the outset," but said he nonetheless felt shame for any role he had in harming homeowners.

"I apologize to anyone and everyone who was hurt," he said.

Prosecutors said Fiumano was the general manager of sales at Vortex, also known as the Professional Marketing Group, a company that offered to help struggling homeowners persuade their lenders to agree to modify the terms of their mortgages.

While at the company from 2011 to 2014, Fiumano oversaw a staff of 60 salespeople and perpetrated a scheme to defraud homeowners who were seeking to take advantage of government mortgage relief programs, prosecutors said.

He instructed his salespeople to lie to consumers nationwide about what the firm would do for them in order to get homeowners to pay thousands of dollars each in fees in exchange for minimal or no mortgage modification services, prosecutors said.

The scheme, which resulted in over 30,000 consumers paying the firm $31 million, began coming undone in 2013 when the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program began investigating. The firm closed in 2014.

Story continues

Fiumano was arrested in August 2014 along with two other individuals, in what prosecutors have said is the largest mortgage modification scheme ever to result in criminal charges.

Beyond Fiumano, four individuals have pleaded guilty in connection with the case, including the company's co-owners, Ped Abghari and Johnny Linderman. They have yet to be sentenced.

The case is U.S. v. Abghari et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-cr-00518.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Julie Bowen: 7.5 million Famous for: Modern Family

Forbes has released their annual list of the highest paid actresses in the world of TV. As youd expect, its dominated by American talent, though the actress who makes by far the most money is Sofia Vergara, the Colombian-born star of Modern Family. Check through the images above to find out who joined her in the top ten. [Image credits: Getty]
Colin Powell's leaked emails revealed harsh statements about both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and now the presidential candidates are reacting.



The Republican presidential candidate took to his medium of choice, Twitter, to respond to a leaked email that had Powell calling him a "national disgrace" and an "international pariah."



"I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!" he wrote.





I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better! a Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2016











Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Respond to Leak of Personally Scathing Colin Powell Emails| 2016 Presidential Elections, politics, Colin Powell, Donald Trump, Hillary Rodham Clinton





Meanwhile, Clinton said during a phone interview on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, that she related to Powell's email scandal but wouldn't comment on the remarks he made about her.



"I have a great deal of respect for Colin Powell, and I have a lot of sympathy for anyone whose emails become public," she said.



She continued, "I'm not going to start discussing someone else's private emails because I've already spent a lot of time talking about my own."



Among the 30,000 emails reportedly obtained by the website DCLeaks.com is an August 2015 message cited by CNN where Powell dinged Clinton by writing, "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris."





Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: Flashback Moments, 1979 a 1992



He also dissed the Democratic presidential candidate by referring to her as older than she actually is.



"A 70-year person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still d--kng bimbos at home," a leaked email read, according to the New York Post. Clinton is 68.



Powell also placed responsibility on Clinton for the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.



In an email to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Buzzfeed reports Powell called Benghazi a "stupid witch hunt."



"Basic fault falls on a courageous ambassador who [thought] Libyans now love me and I am ok in this very vulnerable place," he allegedly wrote in the December 2015 email, referring to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, one of four Americans killed in the incident.



He reportedly continued, "But blame also rests on his leaders and supports back here. Pat Kennedy, Intel community, DS and yes HRC."
If you only read one thing: Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail today after a three-day absence to recover from her pneumonia diagnosis. Aides said she used the time to sharpen her message to voters for the final push to Election Day. Her speech in North Carolina today will focus on what has been at the core of who Hillary Clinton is as a person and the mission of her campaignhow we lift up our children and families and make sure that every child has the chance to live up to their God given potential, communications director Jennifer Palmieri said. The campaign readily admits its having trouble getting its message across when running against a candidate like Donald Trump.



Trump is set to deliver a comprehensive economic speech today in New York City, aides said, as he seeks to combine his various economic proposals into a coherent plan. Trump aides offered a preview, except they spent the 15 minute call pushing back on criticism of Trumps calls to reform trade agreements and hold China accountable as a currency manipulator rather than providing any details. Trump has yet to outline a fiscally stable economic plan. The components of what he has already released would dramatically cut revenues through tax cuts, while expanding outlays on everything from childcare to infrastructure and massive military rearmament.

2016 is the year late night is taking sides, Richard Zoglin writes on the cover of this weeks magazine. Speaking of late night, Trump is set to tape an appearance with Jimmy Fallon Thursday, while Clinton will appear on the show on Friday.

Bill Clinton has lost some of his juice. Trump gets cut off. And Melania says she immigrated legallyon an H-1B visa, of the type her husband wants to curtail.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

In the 2016 Election, Distrust Cuts Both Ways

Trump and Clinton lead race to the bottom on transparency, TIMEs Michael Scherer writes

Story continues

The New Politics of Late Night

In a wild election with a ripe orange target, comics are ditching balance and taking sides, TIMEs Richard Zoglin writes

Meet the Pastor Who Prays With Donald Trump

Paula White recounts her time with Trump to TIMEs Elizabeth Dias

Bill Clinton Is No Longer the Closer

Democrats cast the former president as a B-team surrogate with limited value on the trail [Politico]

Powell Emails Were Leaked on a Site Linked to the Russian Government

Messages critical of Trump, Bill Clinton [Washington Post]

Sound Off

It is hot and it is always hot when I perform, because the crowds are so big, these rooms were not designed for this kind of crowd. I dont know folks, do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?  Donald Trump alluding to Clintons health at a rally in Ohio

Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, not give a political speech.  Rev. Faith Green Timmons, the pastor of the Bethel United Methodist Church, cutting off Trump as he spoke in Flint, Mich., Wednesday

Bits and Bites
Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail on Thursday after recovering in her Westchester home from a bout of pneumonia, four days after becoming weak and dehydrated at a 9/11 memorial service.

Before a crowd in Greensboro, N.C., she appeared in fine health, speaking energetically through much of her speech, and she used her illness to refresh a familiar campaign theme that had fallen by the wayside in recent weeks: her work on behalf of children.

As you may know, I recently had a cough that turned out to be pneumonia, Clinton told the audience. I tried to power through it, but even I had to admit that maybe a few days of rest would do me good.

People like me, were lucky. When Im under the weather, I can afford to take a few days off. Millions of Americans cant, she continued. For millions of moms and dads, if they get sick theres no backup. Theyre on their own, arent they?

Clinton caused a scare on Sunday at the 9/11 memorial in lower Manhattan when she left early after becoming dehydrated. A video showed her wobbling in front of her van and needing support from two Secret Service agents. She was diagnosed with non-infectious pneumonia last Friday, but did not disclose her illness.

A note from Clintons doctor, Lisa Bardack, said the candidate has been recovering nicely and recommended to take an antibiotic for 10 days.

In Greensboro, Clinton told the crowd that with 54 days until the election, she wanted to end her campaign the way she began, by focusing on families and kids. She recalled her work on behalf of the Childrens Defense Fund shortly after graduating law school. As First Lady, she played a leading role in the Childrens Health Insurance Program.

Her speech was a return to a milder and less combative Clinton, who in recent months has been sharpening her attacks against Donald Trump and repeating that he is unfit to serve as President.

Story continues

She was self-deprecating about her public image, admitting as she has several times before that she is hardly the master campaigner her husband Bill Clinton is. When it comes to the public service, Im better at the service part than the public part, she said. I confess Ill never be the showman my opponent is. Thats O.K. with me.

She did mention Trump, however, chiefly criticizing his recently announced family-leave plan  which only provides unemployment benefits for six weeks for women  saying it should provide support for men as well. Senator Tim Kaine, her running mate, also criticized Trumps plan earlier on Thursday for not providing sufficient benefits.

Polls in North Carolina show Trump and Clinton in a virtual tie, four years after Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney defeated Obama there. Trump has gained on Clinton in recent polls and is edging her out in several key swing-state polls.

When we go to the polls this November, the real choice isnt between Democrats and Republicans, Clinton said. Its about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four years of our lives.
From ELLE

My 14-year-old-daughter forced me to watch the Miss America pageant Sunday night. Punishment. She was running her fingernails down the chalkboard of my feminist maternal soul. I send her to a top-notch, single-sex school so she can reap the girl power benefits of women's education, and still she gravitates toward princesses, pink, and pageants. I try not to judge.

Sunday night she grabbed the remote and with one eyebrow raised in challenge asked, "Is it okay if we watch Miss America, mom?"

I responded through clenched teeth, "Sure, kiddo."

Then we slipped through the looking glass to a place where patriotism is straightforward and star-spangled; where heels are high and stomachs flat; where women are genuinely talented but never threatening; and where we are invited to scrutinize impressive contestants on surface attributes to determine who is most fit to represent our ideal version of America.

Actually, not that dissimilar to an election.

Photo credit: Donald Kravitz/Getty

As my teen blithely watched perky twenty-somethings strut for judges Mark Cuban and Gabby Douglas, Secretary Hillary Clinton was facing scrutiny of her literal fitness for the American presidency. Earlier that day, after becoming woozy during a September 11 memorial event, Clinton nearly collapsed. Initially the campaign claimed she'd overheated. But it was a pleasant, mild day in New York City, so the incident set off a full-fledged war of amateur medical conjecture until the Clinton campaign came clean and clarified she had been diagnosed with pneumonia a few days earlier. At best, Clinton's team committed an unforced error by failing to disclose the illness, closing ranks around her private, tough-it-out-approach, and allowing her to retire to a private apartment instead of a medical facility on Sunday afternoon. The campaign knows their candidate is dogged-however unfairly-by concerns about trustworthiness, and these choices around her illness handed ammunition to the opposition.

Story continues

Then we slipped through the looking glass to a place where patriotism is straightforward and star-spangled; where heels are high and stomachs flat; where women are genuinely talented but never threatening.

But men have shown frailty while serving as president-why should it matter if HRC is physically fallible as well? George H.W. Bush fainted and vomited in Japan in 1992, and it did not render him unfit for the presidency. New evidence suggests Ronald Reagan may have been suffering from early Alzeheimers in his final years. FDR governed through war and depression from the confines of a wheelchair. Woodrow Wilson ceased acting as president after suffering a stroke, ceding decision-making authority to the First Lady, his wife Edith Wilson. President Harrison died within a month of taking office, likely having caught the flu at his own inauguration. We do not think of men as inherently unfit for the American presidency because of any of their individual illnesses.

It might be a Miss America problem.

Clinton speaks often of the glass ceiling, but the metaphor assumes structural barriers stand in the way of possibilities women can see for themselves. Structural barriers do stand in the way, but the metaphor doesn't account for the breathtaking imagination deficit affecting many American women. In their book, It Still Takes a Candidate, political scientists Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox find that even the most accomplished women are substantially less politically ambitious than their male counterparts. Even when women have resumes with twice as much experience, they are far less likely than men to deem themselves qualified to run for office.

When we see women's bodies we do not see bodies that are fit for office, we see bodies fit for bikinis, evening gowns, and sparkling crowns.

It is not just a self-image problem. From girlhood to adulthood, we rarely nurture political ambition in women. Teachers, mentors, and political parties are far less likely to recruit, fund, or even mention the idea of running for office to girls and women. When we see women's bodies we do not see bodies that are fit for office, we see bodies fit for bikinis, evening gowns, and sparkling crowns.

Miss America is about expectations and dreams. It is about what little girls see when they look in the mirror. I have dragged my own daughter on campaign buses since she was a toddler. She has met women who wield power in its many different manifestations from courtrooms to classrooms to television studios. And yet, even she is starry-eyed at the thought of a tiara, sash, and an arcane title.

Photo credit: Getty

I suspect Hillary makes the decision not to reveal her illness, not to rest, not to say she needs a break, because she knows how easy it is to label her as weak. We so rarely suggest that girls might be able to lead, we are not sure what women's leadership looks like. We haven't mentioned that women's leadership will include having the flu now and then.

If Hillary Clinton is elected president, we will still assume women look better in bikinis than boardrooms.

During the question and answer segment of the Miss America pageant, Miss Arkansas was asked: "Hillary Clinton, what do you think?" "If you're trying to be leader of the free world," Miss Arkansas answered, "everything you say and do matters, and all of your actions are held to a higher standard. And unfortunately, the media does love to sensationalize everything, and it's hard to tell what is truth and what is truly scandal  both of these candidates have done a great job in competing"

Photo credit: Getty

The contestant did not mention the historic nature of Clinton's candidacy, nor her connection to Arkansas. She might easily have noted that no matter what one's political position, it is exciting that the country may be just weeks away from electing the first woman President of the United States. No matter what her political affiliation, this was a chance for a little "girl power" uplift: the would-be first woman president is a kind of "Miss Arkansas." I wondered if she even knew of Clinton's connection to the state. Instead, she advised Mrs. Clinton to hold herself to a higher standard in all matters of speech and action. Fifteen minutes later, Savvy Shields of Arkansas was crowned Miss America 2017.

Sunday night's pageant left a bitterness in the back of my throat.

I maintain my long-running and well-documented skepticism of Clinton's candidacy. It is a skepticism rooted in the particularity of her politics, not the generalities of her gender. I want to offer robust critiques of her campaign and, someday, of her administration while maintaining the ability of my daughters, my nieces, and students to emerge undeterred, even inspired, by her leadership. (It is the same tension I've held relative to President Obama.)

If Hillary Clinton is elected president, we will still assume women look better in bikinis than boardrooms, but this expansion of the imaginative possibilities for women's bodies and voices matters. Women will lead and falter. They will get sick and need to rest. They should tell the truth about it and run for president anyway. And we should tell our girls to run, and run, and run, and run. And not just in high heels and bikinis.

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The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard EVP/Group Publisher Lynne Segall was honored Thursday (Sept. 15) as one of four executives to join the Sales Hall of Fame at min's annual Awards for Marketing & Sales Excellence. Media elite gathered to celebrate this year's winners, recognizing outstanding achievements in moving magazine media forward, at a lively breakfast at the Yale Club in New York City, hosted by Upright Citizens Brigade performer Connor Ratliff.

Introducing the "unofficial Mayor of Hollywood," The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard's Co-President and Chief Creative Officer Janice Min spoke of her "amazing partner" Segall: "One of the greatest things about Lynne is what a fan she is of content. She is the first person to send a full detailed report about what she likes and what she doesn't like. She is the biggest news gatherer and also the best advocate for what we do."

Taking the stage following a video tribute that described her with one word -- unstoppable -- and included words from Jimmy Kimmell (in drag), Segall spoke of the recent reinventions of both brands, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, thanking Min, John Amato, co-president of The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard Media Group, as well as her former boss, Dave Murphy formerly of the LA Times and currently CEO of Novus Media Inc.

"I've been very fortunate in my career to have mentors and bosses that have seen something in me and given me the runway to do what I do, with the limitations being only my imagination. We're all very fortunate in this room to work for brands that have spent decades building a relationship with their audience, because at the end of the day, that's really what we're representing," she said. "We engage our readers in print and digital and social and video, because they really want to be attached to the content that our editors produce, and they see themselves in these brands. What we own is very precious. Our business has morphed in many ways, and we know that it's more competitive than ever before, but there's no limitation in the ways that we can drive revenue."

Other honorees joining Segall in the Sales Hall of Fame included Jack Essig, SVP, Publishing Director and Chief Revenue Officer for Hearst Men's Group at Hearst Corporation; Christine Guilfoyle, SVP and Group Publisher, SHAPE of the Meredith Corporation; and Howard Mittman, Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer of GQ. The inductees of the first-ever Marketing Hall of Fame included Liberta Abbondante, SVP of Consumer Marketing at Hearst Magazines; Bob Cohn, Senior Consumer Marketing Director at Bonnier Corporation; Michael Monroe, VP of Marketing and Head of Re:think at The Atlantic; and Maya Draisin, Associate Publisher and Head of Marketing at Wired Media Group.

Several other special guests on hand to distribute awards included Michael Clinton, President of Marketing and Publishing Director at Hearst Magazines, Kim Kelleher, Publisher and CRO at Wired Media Group, John Reese, VP of consumer marketing at Bonnier and Bill Mulvihill, VP of Sales at The Atlantic.

See a full list of honorees here.
Hong Kong (AFP) - Hong Kong Airlines said Thursday it had bought nine Airbus aircraft for a catalogue price of $2.31 billion, seeking to bolster its Asian network as an expanding Chinese middle class takes to the skies.

The Hong Kong-based airline, which serves a wide range of mainland Chinese cities as well as international routes, said the nine A330-300 aircraft would cover a wide range of destinations in Asia.

"Today's announcement underscores our plan to operate an extensive regional network in Asia," Hong Kong Airlines president Zhang Kui said in a statement published Thursday.

"The A330's flexibility also allows us to further deploy these aircraft to some long-haul routes in the future," Zhang said.

Hong Kong Airlines was established in 2006 and operates an all-Airbus fleet made up of 11 A320s and 22 A330s.

Its international destinations include Bangkok and Osaka, and it will be launching a route between Hong Kong and Auckland, New Zealand in November of this year.

The purchase comes as China was on Tuesday predicted to become the world's first trillion-dollar aviation market, with mainland Chinese residents travelling by air in ever greater numbers.

China is expected to add more than 6,800 new aircraft to its commercial fleet worth $1.03 trillion by 2035, US manufacturer Boeing said in its annual China Current Market Outlook Tuesday.

Passenger traffic is estimated to increase 6.4 percent annually in China over the next 20 years as the country reforms its economy to rely more on consumption and the service industry to drive growth, Boeing said.

A quarter of Boeing's deliveries over the last three years were to Chinese airlines, it says.

Boeing, maker of the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner, competes with Europe's Airbus for global dominance in the aircraft market.

Airbus in March started construction on a new facility to deliver wide-body planes in China while Boeing has reportedly submitted to the Chinese government plans for a factory in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
Hong Kong journalists covering violent protests in the rebel Chinese village of Wukan said they were detained and beaten by police as state press slammed "foreign media" for stoking the tensions.

Wukan, a 13,000-strong fishing village in the southern province of Guangdong, became a symbol of resistance against corruption after a mass uprising over allegedly illegal land grabs propelled it onto global front pages in 2011.

Lin Zulian, who played a key role in those protests, was detained in June and sentenced to three years in prison last week.

Chinese authorities said they had detained 13 residents Tuesday for "disturbing public order", which triggered a new round of protests.

Online footage running in Hong Kong local media and reported to be filmed by villagers showed them throwing bricks and stones at police with riot shields. Images also showed bloodied villagers, with reports police had fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Law enforcement officers were "hitting the villagers, even the old", wrote one resident, Zou Shaobing, on a micro-blog.

Reporters were also then targeted.

A reporter from Hong Kong's liberal Ming Pao newspaper told local broadcaster Cable TV a group had broken into a villager's house where he and another two Hong Kong reporters were on Wednesday evening.

"At least 20 people knocked on the door, broke it down and requested us to kneel down. One of the reporters didn't manage to kneel down and was shoved to the floor. Another reporter was punched and I was slapped twice," the unnamed male reporter said.

They were then taken to the local police station for interrogation, he said, where they were asked about how they had entered the village, who they had contacted and were asked to write a letter promising not to visit the area again.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper said its reporter was one of the others detained at the villager's home.

"The Post is highly concerned about the incident and condemns the detention of journalists," the newspaper said.

Story continues

- 'Beaten and removed' -

Two other Hong Kong reporters were stopped just outside Wukan and were held in a police station for around five hours where they had their phones investigated and fingerprints recorded.

One of them told AFP that they had to sign forms admitting they were conducting "illegal reporting" and that they would never do so again in the area.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association called on the city government to investigate and ensure journalists working on the mainland were protected.

It said that at least five journalists and photographers from Hong Kong had been "beaten and removed from their hideout in Wukan".

The reporters had been held for six hours before being released and returned "unwillingly" to Hong Kong, the statement added.

The Global Times, closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party, blamed foreign press for interference.

It said "unscrupulous media" had "encouraged, planned and organised the chaos (in Wukan)" but that local police had not resorted to violence.

The newspaper said life in Wukan had now "returned to normal".

Ming Pao reported that villagers had been offered 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) for information on "foreign forces".

AFP journalists said access to the village had been blocked by police Tuesday.
PARIS (Reuters) - The new legal framework for future foreign investment in British nuclear projects will have no impact on the Horizon project, its chief executive said. Horizon, a nuclear new build group in Britain owned by Japan's Hitachi's <6501.T>, plans to build at least 5.4 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity across two sites in Britain. Britain on Monday gave the go-ahead for an 18 billion pound Franco-Chinese project to build two nuclear reactors in Hinkley Point but said that after Hinkley, the government will take a special share in all future nuclear newbuild projects. This will ensure significant stakes cannot be sold without the government's knowledge or consent, it added. "It is not a surprise to us. The UK have just brought themselves into line with other international regulations," Horizon chief executive Duncan Hawthorne told Reuters, adding that Canada and the U.S. have the same controls on foreign ownership of nuclear facilities. "I do not think it impacts our project at all," he said. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
The House passed a bill Thursday to bar President Barack Obama from moving any detainees from the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay. The legislation cues up a veto showdown with the White House just as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who supports Obamas push to close Guantanamo, faces tightening polls and a shrinking election calendar.

The bill, which passed 244-174, would block the federal government from spending any money on detainee transfers until the end of the calendar year, or until the president signs fresh defense funding into law.

The bills effect, if not its central goal, is to explicitly deprive Obama of one of his last options to whittle down Guantanamos current population by transferring detainees to other countries. The GOP-controlled Congress is attempting to run out the clock on Obamas pledge as a candidate to shutter the detention facility.

For the president, this is about keeping a campaign promise, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement Thursday. For us, this is about keeping Americans safe.

The White House has already vowed to veto the bill should it pass the Senate, arguing that Congress is once again impeding the commander in chiefs ability to conduct national security.

Moreover, by purporting to prohibit all transfers of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay, the bill would in some circumstances violate constitutional separation of powers principles, the White House said in a statement Tuesday, recommending a veto.

Throughout Obamas tenure, Congress has thwarted the administration by passing legislation barring officials from moving detainees to the United States, or constructing or modifying facilities to hold the detainees on U.S. soil, rather than in Cuba.

But it has not yet barred transfers altogether. The Obama administration has made a renewed and aggressive push to ship out detainees who have received the go ahead from national security agencies; the biggest single transfer yet was Aug. 15, when 15 detainees were sent to the UAE, leaving 61 detainees at Gitmo.

Story continues

The latest Guantanamo bill and the veto pledge reinject the controversial debate over closing the facility into the 2016 race, putting Clinton, Obamas first secretary of state, in the difficult position of taking sides. With high public anxiety over national security, Republicans see Guantanamo as a winning issue, and have sought to get candidates on record regarding transfers.

For the GOP, the transfers show Obama is putting politics before national security, because the detainees could go back into the fight against the U.S. and its allies.

Republicans also seized on reports Thursday that two more detainees released from Guantanamo and transferred to other countries during the Obama administration were believed to have returned to terrorism in the first two months of 2016, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Shortly after the legislation passed, the National Republican Senatorial Committee used that news to hit New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat whos running to replace Sen. Kelly Ayotte in the upper chamber. Ayotte is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in 2016 and one of Obamas loudest critics on Guantanamo.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina, another threatened GOP incumbent, tweeted:

By releasing #Gitmo detainees back into the fight, we continue to stack the deck against our own security interests.  Richard Burr (@SenatorBurr) September 15, 2016

But the reality of Obamas record is a bit different.

Of the 161 detainees freed from Guantanamo by Obama since he took office, a total of nine, or 5.6 percent, are confirmed to have reengaged with militant groups, according to ODNI.

By comparison, Obamas predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush, released far more detainees from Guantanamo with far less scrutiny. Of the 532 detainees freed by Bush, 113, or 21.2 percent, have turned to terrorism, ODNI says.

THOMAS WATKINS / Staff
By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L) on Thursday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by former Bernard Madoff customers who accused the British bank of fuelling his massive Ponzi scheme by ignoring red flags and encouraging "feeder funds" to invest with him.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said a federal law governing securities fraud cases prevented the plaintiffs from bringing their class-action claims against HSBC's U.S. unit. She also said she lacked jurisdiction over claims against the HSBC parent and non-U.S. affiliates.

Jason Zweig, a lawyer for the customers, declined to comment because he was reviewing the decision. HSBC spokesman Rob Sherman declined to provide immediate comment.

The customers filed the lawsuit in December 2014, after a federal appeals court said the trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC lacked standing to sue HSBC, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and other banks he accused of aiding Madoff's fraud.

In their complaint, the customers said HSBC sold structured financial products that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to Madoff through feeder funds.

They also said HSBC looked the other way when encountering signs of fraud, to help sate its "unquenchable thirst" for fees.

The customers said their accounts with Madoff were not "covered securities," barring them from pursuing their case, because the con man had total discretion over their money.

But the judge said the customers expected Madoff to invest their cash in covered securities, which are traded nationally and listed on a regulated national exchange, to achieve the "extraordinary" returns for which he had at the time been known.

"That plaintiffs had no control over which particular investment strategy Madoff undertook or specific securities he purchased does not obviate the fact that plaintiffs were seeking, directly or indirectly, to purchase covered securities," Swain wrote. "Accordingly, plaintiffs' claims are barred."

Story continues

Madoff, 78, pleaded guilty to fraud in March 2009, three months after his scheme was uncovered. He is serving a 150-year prison term. The trustee, Irving Picard, has recouped roughly $11.2 billion for former Madoff customers.

The case is Hill et al v HSBC Bank Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-09745.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
Linn-Benton Community College has shut off water to eight sinks at its facilities in Linn and Benton counties due to high lead levels that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agencys standards.

They were pretty much handwashing sinks, not that someone couldnt get a drink of water out of them, said Dale Stowell, college spokesman.

For example, two of the sinks were in bathrooms at LBCCs downtown center in Lebanon, Stowell said.

Five of the sinks were located on the Albany campus, and one was in a basement classroom of the Benton Center in Corvallis.

LBCC tested 171 water sources where people might draw drinking water, Stowell said. If you could turn the handle on and fill something up, we tested it, he added.

Test results were returned on Wednesday and the sinks were shut off the same day.

The sinks with high lead levels will remain shut off until they are replumbed and retested in the coming weeks, said Dave Henderson, LBCC vice president for finance and operations.

That should cost an estimated $5,000 to $10,000, and funding will come from the maintenance budget for emergency repairs, Stowell said.

The college decided to test its water after reports of lead issues at other educational facilities, Henderson said.

Stowell said LBCC wasnt required to test for lead, unlike K-12 schools in Oregon.

But given what was going on, with results in older buildings, we thought this was a good idea for us.  This was something we needed to know so we could take care of it, he added.

Henderson said the issues will be relatively easy to fix. Temporarily turning water off at the sinks until we can address this issue wont cause any hardships or disruptions, he said.

The testing, which cost about $3,400, was done using EPA guidelines, which call for the water to remain stagnant in the lines for at least eight hours.

K-12 school districts began testing lead levels in their drinking water statewide after a scare earlier this year in the Portland School District. In August, the State Board of Education adopted rules requiring school districts and public charter schools to develop plans that include lead tests, and to report test findings and information on ongoing monitoring to the public within five days of receiving the results.

The Albany and Corvallis school districts found that a number of water sources at their schools contained elevated lead levels.

Lead can get into drinking water when service pipes that contain lead corrode, according to the EPA. Structures built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes and fixtures, the agencys website states.

Young children, infants and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead, and even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in behavior and learning problems and other issues.

Adults exposed to lead can suffer from increased blood pressure, hypertension and other cardiovascular effects, decreased kidney function and reproductive problems, according to the EPA.
Humana Inc. HUM recently joined forces with Oak Street Health to provide proactive care that is tailored to suit the needs of its Medicare beneficiaries. Under the deal, four primary care practices will be added to Humanas Medicare Advantage Plan networks in Indiana and Michigan. These new primary care practices would ensure better quality of care and help patients to take care of their own health and well being.

Notably, the four practices are in addition to the two practices that Humana gained from Oak Street in 2015, when the duo teamed up for the first time. These newly added practices include a care team comprising doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and medical records experts to keep notes of developments. It also comprises a care team for maximum face-to-face time with members to keep track of their health issues. A care manager has been appointed to assist patients in connecting with community resources. The practices also extend the scope of visiting any of the care centers without a prior appointment and receiving consultation on the same day.

Other than these services, Oak Street Health will offer aesthetically beautiful and spacious community rooms for patients to assemble for daily events and classes. Staff familiarity with the members Medicare Advantage insurance would be an added advantage.

Oak Streets primary care practices, when combined with Humanas certain advanced Medicare Advantage plans, would ensure premium quality of health care services for patients. The cases and the issues that emerge during the process would be dealt by the companies on a regular basis to minimize the risk of compromising with the patients health.



Management at Oak Street has expressed optimism about the alliance with Humana. The insurers command on outstanding health care experience is expected to largely benefit the patients Fort Wayne and Detroit and also help Oak Street to expand operations in Indianapolis. On the other hand, Oak Streets assistance ensures added strength to Humanas already solid Medicare history.

Currently, Humana has 1.7 million individual Medicare Advantage members and 200,000 commercial members treated by 48,200 primary care providers in more than 900 value-based relationships across 43 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. In addition, roughly 61% of Humana individual Medicare Advantage members are in value-based payment relationships. The company further plans to have 75% of individual Medicare Advantage members in value-based payment models by the end of 2017.

HUMANA INC NEW Price

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Zacks Rank and Stocks To Consider

Humana presently carries Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Investors interested in the same industry can also consider stocks like UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH, WellCare Health Plans Inc. WCG and The Joint Corp JYNT. These stocks also carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly warned that an influx of refugees threatens his country  but apparently Hungarys businesses could actually use an injection of newcomers. According to Economic Minister Mihaly Varga, Hungary is facing an urgent labor shortage, with about 50,000 empty jobs that need to be filled.



And state officials are happy to welcome foreign workers to fill those roles  with only one small caveat: They should have a similar cultural and historical background to Hungarians, Varga told Hungarian newspaper Heti Valasz.



The remarks read like a thinly-veiled code for non-Muslim. If looking for labor, Hungary might have turned to the hundreds of thousands of desperate asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan who turned up on the border last year  especially the 177,130 people who officially applied for asylum. Instead, many of them were greeted with water cannons, tear gas, and a razor wire fence.



In fact, Orban, riding a wave of popular support, has doubled down on his anti-refugee stance, refusing to comply with EU refugee quota guidelines and drawing criticism from NGOs, the U.N., and other European governments. In July, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch slammed Hungary for breaking all the rules for asylum seekers. Earlier this year the European Commission threatened to fine member countries like Hungary who dont step up to help with a fair share of the refugee influx.

Next month Hungarians will vote in a referendum on whether or not to follow the EUs rules and allow any more refugees to resettle in the countryand its looking like anti-immigrant sentiment is winning.



Yet, for foreign investors, doing business in Hungary is looking a lot less attractive these days. There are job openings across many industries, including the always in-demand IT and technology sectors, as well as the manufacturing and restaurant industries.

Right now in many places there is a shortage, not just of those with specific skills, like welders, or machinists, chefs or waiters, but also semi-skilled workers who are on production lines and who over time can be trained to increase their skills, the vice president of a Hungarian manufacturing association told EuroNews in July.



Even McDonalds is having trouble hiring. Usually known for bottom-of-the-barrel wages, it recently rolled out a generous incentive package in Hungary that includes free housing and perks to entice workers.



Hungarys paradox is a familiar game of hot and cold that plays out around the world: sometimes, countries that vehemently eschew immigration actually have a structural, economic need for newcomers willing to work for low wages.

Story continues

France and Spain have been dealing with a similar backlash against Muslim immigrants after supporting a guest worker program for decades that imported North Africans to work seasonally in agriculture. The U.S. has gone through multiple waves of anti-immigrant sentiment against Mexicans, even though Mexican immigrants were once welcomed to fill needed jobs through the Bracero program, and still are an important source of labor in the the U.S. economy.



Hungary has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, according to the World Bank. It also has some of the lowest incomes in the EU.



So while the Hungarian economic minister might hope to draw workers from neighboring countries with similar backgrounds, its unlikely to be a very attractive option economically. In fact, its not just Hungary thats facing a labor drought  other Eastern European nations have the same problem.



The reason? Many of their own more get-up-and-go citizens have gotten-up-and-gone, taking advantage of the EUs freedom of movement to search for better wages and a higher standard of living. According to the countrys statistics agency, at least 420,000 Hungarians were working abroad in 2014 and the number has likely risen since then.

At least one European leader thinks that Hungarians shouldnt reap the travel benefits that come along with EU membership so long as the Hungarian government refuses to help with its share of the migrant crisis.

In an interview with German daily Die Welt earlier this week, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn pointedly recommended that Hungary should be excluded temporarily, or if necessary, forever from the EU.



Hungary is not far away from issuing orders to open fire on refugees, he said.

Photo credit: DAN KITWOOD/Getty Images)
Montevideo (AFP) - A former inmate at the US Guantanamo military prison who was resettled in Uruguay has slipped into a coma after a lengthy hunger strike, a medical worker told AFP Wednesday.

Jihad Diyab, a 45-year-old Syrian, has been in and out of the hospital in Montevideo since launching a hunger strike more than three weeks ago to press his demand to be reunited with his family in Turkey.

"He is in a light coma, we are hydrating him, he was very dehydrated," said Julia Galzerano, a physician who is part of the medical team taking care of Diyab at his apartment in the capital, said in a telephone interview.

She explained that the coma designation means that he "does not have a neurological problem" and has "almost normal vital signs."

At the moment the team is only giving him fluids and Diyab has asked not to be taken to a hospital facility, said a spokeswoman for the human rights commission of the Uruguay Medical Union, which is caring for the former prisoner.

In Uruguay, a person on a hunger strike can be medically assisted only under a voluntary request or if the person loses the capacity to make decisions.

Held in Guantanamo for 12 years without charge, Diyab was released in 2014 from the US-run military prison in Cuba to Uruguay along with five other former inmates, under an agreement with Washington.

The ex-prisoner has repeatedly shown his desire to leave Uruguay. He fled to Venezuela, seeking help in reuniting with his family in Turkey, but was jailed at the headquarters of the secret police.

Diyab insists he cannot financially support his family in Turkey while living in Uruguay.
NEW YORK  Seeking to bolster his policy bona fides, Donald Trump presented more details about his economic plan during a Thursday speech here, suggesting his policies will spur historic growth that would not only cut the federal debt but pay for both the large tax cuts and new federal spending hes proposing.

Trump told the Economic Club of New York that he would set the U.S. economic growth goal at 4 percent annually  or roughly double the annual rate the U.S. has experienced in recent decades. And, going off script, the Republican presidential nominee suggested his proposed mix of tax cuts, curbs to federal regulations and plan to renegotiate trade deals might help the economy surge even higher.

My great economists dont want me to say this, but I think we can do better than that, Trump said of the 4 percent growth goal.

That growth target echoed the one previously offered by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, one of Trumps vanquished primary rivals who also launched his White House bid with a pledge of 4 percent growth. At the time, critics argued that the president doesnt have enough sway over the economy to keep such a promise.

During his Thursday speech, Trump echoed many of the policies he presented at a major economic speech last month in Detroit. The celebrity businessman turned political candidate said a new focus on Americanism over policies that promote globalism would be the driving factor behind growth under his presidency, which he estimated would create 23 million new jobs over the next decade.

Donald Trump speaks at the Economic Club of New York in Manhattan. (Photo: Seth Wenig/AP)

Among other things, Trump cited the cost savings of asking foreign allies like Germany, Japan and Saudi Arabia to pay for their own security, breaking away from years of international alliances. He said that money could be used to rebuild decaying American infrastructure. And repeating a regular line of his stump speech, Trump said he would either renegotiate trade deals like NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership or exit the agreements altogether.

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Everything that is broken today can be fixed, and every failure can be turned into a great success, Trump said. Jobs can stop leaving our country and start pouring in. Failing schools can become flourishing schools. Crumbling roads and bridges can become gleaming new infrastructure. Inner cities can experience a flood of new jobs and investment. And rising crime can give way to safe and prosperous communities.

All of these things, and so much more, are possible, he added. But to accomplish them, we must replace the present policy of globalism  which has moved so many jobs and so much wealth out of our country  and replace it with a new policy of Americanism.

At the same time, Trump trashed his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, painting her economic proposals as based around tired and failed ideas.

Members of the Economic Club of New York listen to Donald Trumps proposals. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

In Hillary Clintons America, we have surrendered our status as the worlds great economy, and we have surrendered our middle class to the whims of foreign countries, Trump insisted. Not one single idea she has will create one net American job, or create one new dollar of American wealth for our workers. The only thing she can ever offer is a welfare check.

Trump also said he would cut nondefense spending, though he said he would exclude entitlement programs, which are expected to be the leading driver of federal spending over the next few decades. Trump has regularly promised to make sure Americans get their Social Security checks, but he has not offered many details of how he would protect entitlement plans or pay for them.

Indeed, Trump has remained vague about how exactly he would pay for his economic proposals, which include a proposed $4 trillion tax cut as well as a new childcare plan he unveiled earlier this week. At one point he instructed the audience, which was made up of some of New Yorks top finance and corporate leaders, to simply go to his campaign website and read the plan for themselves. Just look at the math, the GOP nominee claimed. It works.

The speech came as Trump has tried to recast his campaign as a softer, more policy-oriented endeavor in recent weeks as he attempts to win over voters skeptical of his reputation as a loose cannon.

Donald Trump speaks to the Economic Club of New York. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

Over the last month, the GOP nominee has shown a new dedication to staying on message  relying on the teleprompter, a device he used to mock his rivals for using  at nearly every public appearance. But on Thursday, technical difficulties nearly derailed Trumps speech when his teleprompter didnt display when he took the stage.

The candidate awkwardly tried to kill time, making small talk about improving polls as he waited for the machine to come to life.

Its always a lot of fun when you come up and the people dont have the teleprompter working, but thats OK, he finally said, an edge of irritation in his voice. Luckily, I brought some notes.

A few minutes later, after he stiffly read from those notes, the machine began to work  which inspired Trump to pause and boast to the audience that he had seamlessly transitioned from his notes to the words on the screen. But he was still irked by the bumpy beginning.

As he sat down for a question-and-answer session with a supporter after his remarks, Trump noticed a worker coming to remove the machine from the stage and asked what had happened. Turning to the audience, the GOP nominee announced, Hes a little late, right?
International Business Machines CorpIBM recently announced a partnership with Tekes, a Finland-based funding agency. The partnership will enable Finland to make use of cognitive computing technology offered by Watson Health.

Watson Health will help doctors to provide better treatment in the country as well as boost the business ecosystem and innovation related to healthcare in the country.

Advantage Finland

We note that the collaboration will help Finland in many ways. Some of the probable outcomes of the partnership are opening of start-ups, improved opportunities for Finland based companies to grow globally and digitalization of the healthcare sector, which will benefit both small and large companies associated with the field.

Per the deal, Finnish doctors and researchers will collaborate with Watson Health researchers, engineers, data scientists and designers to develop innovative healthcare solutions and applications. This will lead to advancement of research and development and innovation in the country.

IBM is planning to set up a Watson Health Center of Excellence in the country along with a Nordic Healthcare Competence Center and a National Imaging Center of Excellence, both of which will be the first of their kind outside the U.S. IBM intends to employ 150 people in these healthcare centers in the near future.

Finlands University of Jyvaskyla has been collaborating with IBM Watson for sometime now and the results have been encouraging. Moreover, the focus on digitalization as well as digital services is helping the university to innovate using IBMs technology.

Our Take

With cognitive computing gradually gaining traction in the healthcare segment with its capability to diagnose diseases accurately, IBMs Watson Health has huge growth opportunity in healthcare applications. We believe IBM will continue to pursue similar kind of collaborations that will help in expanding its global presence in the long haul.

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INTL BUS MACH Price

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The Hague (AFP) - Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court on Thursday put big business and politicians on notice of a greater focus on environmental destruction and illegal land grabs as possible crimes against humanity.

In a new ICC internal policy, chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office would "give particular consideration" to crimes committed by or resulting in "the destruction of the environment, the illegal exploitation of natural resources or the illegal dispossession of land".

The landmark move was hailed by environmental and rights activists who said it could act as a strong deterrent to big business and corrupt politicians around the world.

"No western company wants to be accused of crimes against humanity through obtaining mining concessions in Asia or Africa," lawyer Richard Rogers, who has filed a case at the ICC against land grabs in Cambodia, told AFP.

Outrage has grown worldwide over the plight of villagers and indigenous people being thrown off land sold to logging and mining companies, as well as agribusiness.

The non-governmental organisation Global Witness said millions had been dispossessed around the world. And they calculate that at least three people a week are killed defending their lands.

The ICC move "shows that the age of impunity is coming to an end", said its executive director Gillian Caldwell in a statement.

"Company bosses and politicians complicit in violently seizing land, razing tropical forests or poisoning water sources could soon find themselves standing trial in The Hague alongside war criminals and dictators," she added.

Helen Brady, senior appeals counsel in the prosecutor's office who chaired the policy's working group, told AFP the ICC was "not adding new crimes" to those already set out in its guiding Rome Statute.

"What we're acknowledging is an emphasis, or an expanded focus by this office... on these crimes that are committed by means of this destruction of environment or dispossession of property".

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-'21st century' challenges-

This focus -- along with prioritising crimes against children, gender-based violence and cultural destruction -- will "move the ICC to become an international criminal court for the 21st century and beyond", she added.

It "does send a powerful message and is something that could be listened to by would-be perpetrators", Brady said.

Based in The Hague, the ICC began work in 2002 to prosecute the world's worst crimes where domestic courts are unwilling or unable to act.

A total of 124 countries and territories have so far signed up to the Rome Statute.

Prosecutors have opened full investigations into 10 cases, all in Africa apart from Georgia, seeking to gather the evidence to bring charges. There are also nine preliminary probes going on, the step before a full inquiry.

There are also six ongoing trials.

But the Rome Statute does also "cover crimes which can be committed in peacetime" such as the forcible removal of people from their lands, said Brady.

Lawyers already filed in 2014 a large dossier to the prosecutor's office asking her to open an investigation into land grabs in Cambodia.

Some 850,000 people are believed to have been forced off their land in the past 15 to 20 years, as plots of Cambodian land have been sold off to foreign companies often from China and Vietnam, said Rogers.

The new emphasis at the ICC will send "a message to these kleptocracies around the world who have stayed under the radar for such a long time", said the lawyer with the London-based firm Global Diligence LLP.

"These type of crimes like environmental destruction are some of the great challenges of our age," he added.
WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it has held "very productive discussions" with authorities in China and Saudi Arabia about them contributing to $5 billion to $6 billion in additional bilateral gap financing needed for Egypt.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a news briefing that he expected to the Fund's board to meet in the next few weeks to consider a $12 billion financing program for Egypt.

"There were, at the G20 leaders summit, very productive discussions with China and Saudi Arabia" regarding contributing to the gap financing," Rice said. "We are helping to secure the necessary financing, and progress is being made." (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit has been filed against Yirendai Ltd. ("Yirendai" or the "Company") (YRD). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between May 11, 2016 and August 24, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm prior to the October 25, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased shares of Yirendai during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member.

According to the complaint, during the Class Period, Yirendai made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that the Company was experiencing increasing fraud related to customer applications for its loan products; that the implementation of new anti-fraud regulations by the Chinese government could have a negative impact on Yirendai's performance; and that as a result of the above, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. On August 24, 2016, Bloomberg reported that China imposed limits on peer-to-peer lending and placed a new regulations cap on individual borrowing at 1 million yuan. When this information was announced, shares of Yirendai fell in value, causing investors harm.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.

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Contacts

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - India's government sent mixed messages on Thursday whether it wanted a weaker rupee, with Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying she had not told a reporter the government was discussing a devaluation but stopping short of an outright denial.

"I had no conversation on devaluation of any currency with any news correspondent. Any quotes/mentions referring to me on this topic baseless," Sitharaman said in a tweet in response to reports that her department had called for a devaluation.

The finance ministry, which has a far more central role in economic policy, denied that any discussion on a devaluation had taken place.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Krishna N. Das)
Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesia will in November become the first country in the world to export wood products to the European Union meeting new environmental standards in a move aimed at bolstering transparency and curbing illicit logging.

Officials from the European Union and Indonesia unveiled measures Thursday to ensure timber exports to the trade bloc, valued at roughly $1 billion a year, are sustainable and harvested within the law.

Indonesia is one of the world's largest timber exporters but the sector is plagued by criminality and corruption, and vast swathes of tropical rainforests have been felled for sale on the black market.

From mid-November special licences issued by Jakarta will certify the legality of timber products destined for the EU such as pulp, plywood and furniture.

Indonesia has achieved great progress in bringing its forest sector under control and improving transparency," Putera Parthama, a senior official from Indonesia's forestry ministry, said in a statement.

"We have met the high certification standards of the EU.

This assurance system, developed over years of negotiations, will be independently audited to ensure the timber is legally sourced and meets environmental standards.

Once the agreement takes effect from November 15, timber exports from Indonesia that do not carry this certification will be prohibited from trade within the EU.

Consumers in Europe can soon purchase wood products knowing they come from audited factories and forests, EU Ambassador to Indonesia Vincent Guerend said in a statement.

Indonesia supplies the EU with one-third of its tropical wood products, with Germany and the Netherlands the largest importers in the bloc.

Jakarta hopes the pact will help it double timber exports to the EU to the tune of $2 billion a year.

It's is the first country to meet these standards but the EU is negotiating similar agreements with 14 other countries, which together provide the continent with 80 percent of its timber imports.
By Gayatri Suroyo

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's tax office will investigate Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google for suspected unpaid taxes from billions of dollars worth of advertising revenue, a senior finance ministry official said on Thursday.

Muhammad Hanif, head of the specials cases branch in the tax office, said Google's refusal to cooperate after it was sent a letter in April requesting to be allowed to examine the company's tax reports had raised suspicions.

He told a news conference that the probe would not be launched until the end of the month at the earliest.

PT Google Indonesia, incorporated in 2011, said it was complying with the government.

"We continue to cooperate fully with local authorities and pay all applicable taxes," a Google Indonesia spokesman said in an emailed response to questions.

The government had also asked to examine the tax reports of the Indonesian offices of three other U.S. Internet based companies - Yahoo (YHOO.O), Twitter (TWTR.N) and Facebook (FB.O).

Those three companies have complied, officials said.

Yahoo and Google have formed Indonesian limited liability companies, while Twitter and Facebook operate branches of their Asia-Pacific offices in Indonesia.

The government believes these companies owe income and value added tax on billions of dollars of revenue they generate from advertising in Indonesia, the tax office said.

Hanif said Google's Indonesian entity was only allocated around 4 percent of the total revenues generated from the country, and it was this amount that was taxed, which he described as too small and "unfair".

The communications ministry had estimated the value of digital advertising in Indonesia at about $800 million last year. The ministry said all of it was untaxed.

There was no immediate explanation for the wide discrepancy of the two agencies' estimates for digital advertising revenue.

Indonesia is facing a sizeable revenue shortfall this year as the resource-rich country can no longer rely on commodity-related income.

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In a separate development, the tax office said it is checking whether Ford Motor Co (F.N) had avoided paying appropriate taxes, after a local newspaper reported that the U.S. car maker modified imported Everest model vehicles sold in Indonesia to pay a lower tax rate.

If the car maker is proven to have caused state losses, it may have to pay back taxes of up to four times the amount it owed, according to Indonesian law.

"We have always strictly complied with all Indonesia government regulations and policy, including all import-related tax and customs requirements, related to each of our Ford vehicles officially marketed and sold in the country," a Ford spokesman said.

Ford announced in January it is closing all operations in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, where it held less than a 1 percent market share.

(Additional reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Alexander Smith)
Infiniti QX30

Back in early 2015, I got my hands on the Audi Q3, the smallest crossover SUV in the automaker's lineup. I liked it, but I also found it perplexing.

Since then, I've sampled a few other small crossovers, but none have punched my "this is weird" button quite like the Q3, which struck me as an oddly squashed-down interpretation of luxury SUV-ness.

And then the Infiniti QX30 landed in my driveway at Business Insider's test center in suburban New Jersey.

Infiniti occupies an unusual place in my luxury imagination in any case. We also recently sampled the Q50 sedan, and as with most other Nissan and Infiniti vehicles (Infiniti is Nissan's luxury brand), it took me a couple of days to warm up to it. Infinitis almost never grab me by the lapels and shake hard, they don't set off a tuning fork at the core of my being, and they don't paste endless smiles on my face.

But they're actually great cars, for the most part, and as luxury brands go, Infinitis are a bit more snazzy than Acuras or Lexuses (although both brands have pushed the design envelope in the past half decade). When I see one, I say, "Ah! Flamboyant!"

The QX30 is no exception. The vehicle is actually based on a Mercedes GLA, sharing both an engine, transmission, and interior elements. But it still has a groovy, swoopy, exterior that sets it apart from the GLA, which has a more stately, Teutonic vibe.

To Infiniti ... and beyond?

Infiniti QX30

A couple of years ago, when I lived in Los Angeles, I needed to buy a new ride, and I looked seriously at a few Infinitis. I was leaning toward the G37 sedan, which appealed to me because it had rear-wheel-drive, so it compared with a BMW 3-Series, but minus the questionable German car's reliability. (I didn't buy the G37 because I moved back to the New York area and got a Prius.)

So I've always understood how Infinitis work their strange magic on me. But that doesn't make the strangeness go away.

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My test car was a $44,000 pre-production vehicle, a well-optioned 2017 QX30 Premium all-wheel-drive crossover that starts at about $37,000 base. It came in "Magnetic Red," with a "Graphite Leather" interior, and LED headlights. It's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine cracked out a respectable 208 horsepower, all channeled through a sort of balky 7-speed automatic transmission (it seems to get lost in the lower gears) that I didn't much like, but got used to.

Infiniti QX30

I got used to the whole car, really. Over a week, I ran errands, drove to New York City from New Jersey, and squired my children around. The QX30 has three driving modes: Eco, Sport, and Manual (the last gives you the opportunity to flick through the gears using the paddle shifters).

The driving isn't stupendous or arresting, and because the QX30 is relatively small compared to other luxury and near-luxury crossovers, the ride is far from plush. I also couldn't develop much of a sense of the AWD system, largely because the weather was perfect and roads were dry. It felt surefooted. But obviously it isn't optimized for any kind of rough rolling.

Deeply nice

But it's a nice place to spend time, with an infotainment and navigation system that's up-to-snuff with the segment. The Bose 10-speaker audio system that our tester came with delivered a listening experience that was right in line with what we've come to expect from Bose: not overwhelming or rapturous (Bowers & Wilkins it isn't), but never muddy nor wimpy.

Cargo capacity was fine, although a trip any longer than a weekend would stress the QX30. The back seat also wouldn't be comfortable for more than two medium-sized adults. But then again, small crossovers like this aren't meant to be family haulers; rather, they appeal to affluent empty nesters, young folks with a bit more disposable income, and people who want a nice second car that isn't a sedan.

Infiniti QX30

Our QX30 was also optioned out  for a little over $2,000  with a suite of "Technology Package" features, including intelligent cruise control, lane-departure warning, emergency braking, and a cool "around view" monitor that creates an overhead image of the vehicle on the infotainment screen. This came in handy for parking maneuvers.

What's the point of this car?

Infiniti QX30

I know what you're thinking: This car sounds like it didn't do that much for me, beyond providing somewhat upscale basic transportation. Why not just buy a Nissan Rogue and save several thousand bucks?

That's a valid question, and one that many upscale buyers of crossovers might ask themselves. But in my experience, you do get a little extra something, even in the most modest premium SUV packages. The leather is stitched a bit better, the audio resonates more nicely, the plastic is nicer plastic, the paint job is 10% more luminous. Bottom line: you get what you pay for.

You could certainly argue that you might get what you overpay for with the QX30. The Audi Q3 is cheaper, in the base version, as it the BMW X1. And the Mercedes GLA that the QX30 borrows from is also less expensive.

In the end, however, I decided that I wouldn't mind owning the QX30, even if it cost me more than a competitive vehicle. But the real realization I came to is that the compact luxury crossover segment is itself what's baffling me. Maybe a guy like me should just move up to the QX50, a larger crossover from Infiniti.

More money. Less confusion.

NOW WATCH: All the best features of Bentleys $229,000 SUV





More From Business Insider


Breaking with a century of tradition, the influential Union Leader of New Hampshire declined to endorse the Republican nominee for President late Tuesday, calling Donald Trump a buffoon.

The newspaper, venerated in the swing state of New Hampshire and a staple of the countrys conservative publications, has endorsed the Republican nominee for more than 100 years. But in a new editorial, the Union Leader launched a withering attack against Trump and endorsed Gary Johnson, the libertarian candidate for President.

The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon, Joseph W. McQuaid, the Union Leader publisher, wrote of Trump in the editorial. He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives.

The Union Leader did not back Trump in the primary, choosing instead to endorse New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who finished sixth in the contest with just 7% of the vote. The endorsement didnt stop Trump from winning the primary with 35%. After Christie later endorsed Trump, McQuaid said he regretted his endorsement.

Voters leaning toward Trump are understandably fed up with the status quo, of which Clinton is a prime example, McQuaid wrote. But they kid themselves if they think Trump isnt pretty much a part of that status quo as well, or that he is in any way qualified to competently lead this nation.

Clinton has a slim lead over Trump in New Hampshire polls, edging him by two points in a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll. Johnson captures a sizable 15% of independent-minded New Hampshire voters, and the Union Leader endorsement could help him take more votes from the Republican nominee.
Clubland is by nature ephemeral, but the dance-music community took a crushing blow on Sept. 7 when Fabric, one of Britain's best-known and most popular nightclubs, had its license revoked by London's Islington Council in the wake of the drug-related deaths of two 18-year-olds earlier in 2016. The club, which opened in 1999, helped spawn the careers of Disclosure, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and many others.

"For a country like the U.K. that has had such a big impact on dance music around the world, it's going to destroy the scene," says Three Six Zero's Maren Brombeiss, who manages DJ Sasha. That sentiment was echoed throughout the dance-music community with Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers and Pete Tong all expressing dismay at the decision. "Fabric changed my life," Skrillex tweeted. "There are so many records I would never have made if it wasn't for that club."

To Save Fabric Club and Nightlife, Dance Music Culture Must Unite: Op-Ed

A petition opposing the closure has attracted 160,000 signatures, while Fabric co-founder/director Cameron Leslie, 43, will appeal the decision and vows to fight it with "every bone" in his body.

"If this action can happen against Fabric -- a well-run operation that has always taken the challenge of the nighttime economy head-on -- then it can happen to anybody," Leslie tells Billboard. He vehemently contests the council's verdict that "a culture of drug use exists ... which the existing management and security appears incapable of controlling" at the club, which regularly hosted the world's biggest dance-music artists and welcomed 7,000 people through its doors every weekend. (The council declined to comment on an ongoing case.)

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The closure comes at a time when British venue operators are under increasing pressure from licensing restrictions and spiraling costs and local taxes. In the last decade, the number of U.K. nightclubs has fallen from 3,144 to 1,733, according to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, with notable London clubs that have shuttered in that time including Cable, Dance Tunnel, Madame Jojos and Plastic People. The picture is similarly bleak when it comes to the live-music sector, where the number of "grass-roots" venues in London has slumped from 136 to 88 since 2007, according to the Music Venue Trust.

Leslie says "out of step" licensing regulations are also to blame for the decline of London's nightlife economy and that the laws "need to rapidly start changing. Venue operators are looking at the landscape and thinking, 'I don't want to be a part of this anymore.' "

DJs React to Fabric Nightclub Closing: Skrillex, Disclosure & More

There are also fears that the closure of popular licensed nightclubs will simply drive the U.K. dance scene further underground, forcing fans to attend unlicensed premises far removed from the relative safety of venues like Fabric and London's 1,600-capacity Ministry of Sound, which have trained medics and security staff on-hand.

Leslie says that the closure of Fabric has already cost 500,000 pounds ($660,000) and resulted in 250 staff members losing their jobs. To help with the legal costs of fighting the council's decision, the club has launched a fundraising appeal that has received backing from across the music industry. "It is going to take strategic lobbying and negotiating to change attitudes," says Association for Electronic Music co-founder Ben Turner. "Now the fight is to get Fabric back open, and then change the laws so club owners are better protected."
Around 11 p.m. on July 25, Restituto Castro received an anonymous text message asking him to leave his house in northern Manila and go to the corner of the MacArthur Highway. Just hours earlier, the new Philippine President, 71-year-old Rodrigo Duterte, had given his first State of the Nation address, in which he vowed to destroy the countrys illegal drug trade by any means necessary. We will not stop until the last drug lord  and the last pusher have surrendered or are put either behind bars or below the ground, if they so wish, he said.

Castro, 46 and a father of four, was neither a drug lord nor a pusher. He never bought shabua local name for methamphetaminefor himself. Too poor to become a proper usershabu starts at $31 a gramhe purchased the drug on behalf of his friends in exchange for a bump or two. He always had a hard time saying no to his friends, says his wife Merlyn. But even dabbling with meth didnt sit well with his life as a family man and his work as a chauffeur for a nearby hotel, so Castro promised to stop cadging recreational hits before he became dependent. According to his cousin, Castro told them his next drug run would be his last.

So it was. A single bullet to the back of his head that night made Castro one of the first of the 3,000-plus Filipinos killed so far in Dutertes brutal war on drugs. According to figures provided to TIME by the Philippine national police, 1,506 people had been killed in police operations as of Sept. 14, just over two months since Duterte took office. The rest were likely killed by vigilantes who may have been inspired by Dutertes wordsdeaths the authorities say they are investigating. We shouldnt jump the gun and say that theyre automatically extrajudicial killings, such that extrajudicial means it has the badge of the government, says Kris Ablan, assistant secretary at the Presidential Communications Office.

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Nobody can claim to be surprised. The carnage is exactly what Duterte promised. All of you who are into drugs, you sons of bitches, I will really kill you, he said before his election. While he was President-elect, Duterte offered medals and cash rewards for citizens who shot dealers dead. Do your duty, and if in the process you kill 1,000 persons because you were doing your duty, I will protect you, he told police officers on July 1, the day after his inauguration. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful, he was quoted as saying to another crowd that day.

Executing people for nonviolent drug-related offenses, inside or outside the law, is common in this part of the world. According to a report by drug-policy NGO Harm Reduction International, the only countries other than Iran and Saudi Arabia known to have executed drug traffickers since 2010 are all in Asia: China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia. Yet the wanton ferocity of Dutertes war eclipses those of his regional neighbors. The U.S.by far Manilas most important allymight wish that Duterte shift his focus to an encroaching China or the Philippine economy. But the new Presidentwho made his reputation as a tough-on-crime mayorseems unlikely to be swayed: This fight against drugs will continue to the last day of my term.

That day is six years away.

When Duterte made the eradication of crime the cornerstone of his campaignpledging to kill 100,000 criminalshe earned an emphatic victory, bagging 38% of the vote in a five-candidate race. People really feel insecure and unsafe, says Camilo Montesa of the Manila office of the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, an NGO dedicated to conflict resolution. Law and order is just one of many chronic national ailments, including poverty, corruption and civil rights abuses. But Dutertes singular focus on drugs has struck a chordwith reason. The U.S. State Department cites 2011 U.N. figures for methamphetamine use in the Philippines, the latest available, as having the highest abuse rate in East Asia at 2.1% of the adult population ages 16 to 64. Duterte once even vowed to kill his own children if he caught them using drugs.

Thats how he talks. On the campaign trail, Duterte joked that he should have been first in the 1989 rape of an Australian missionary in Davao, where he spent 22 years as mayor, and publicly branded his daughter as a drama queen after she revealed that she had been raped. The statements were seen as salty speech, not evidence of an ungoverned mind. His boast of the 1,700 suspected criminals killed by death squads when he was mayorcorrecting, on live television, allegations that the number was 700created no uproar. He compares the killings under him to police violence in the U.S.: Theyre shooting blacks there, he said during a press briefing. Whats the difference between America and the Philippines? Nothing.

Dutertes choicest insultson of a bitchhas been deployed against the Pope (for clogging Manila traffic during a visit in January), the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines (whom he also derided as gay) and, most recently, President Obama, for wanting to broach the drug war with Duterte. Obama responded by canceling a planned meeting between the two leaders at the Sept. 68 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

Duterte quickly expressed regret at his strong comments, though he later insisted he had not directed the vulgar phrase specifically at Obama. But in a reflection of how critical Manila is to the U.S.s geopolitical influence in Asia, Obama still met Duterte briefly before the summit dinner and later downplayed the Philippine leaders coarse language. I dont take these kinds of things personally, said Obama. I think its just a habit, a way of speaking for him.

As an American colony for nearly five decades until 1946, the Philippines has always had a complex relationship with the U.S. While 92% of Filipinos reported a favorable attitude toward the U.S. in a recent Pew poll, anti-Americanism surfaces from time to time. In the early 1990s, Manila shut down U.S. bases in the country, and it wasnt until 2014, during the administration of Benigno Aquino III, Dutertes predecessor, that the two governments signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which rebooted the U.S. military presence. Both need each other, says Carl Thayer, an expert on Southeast Asia at the University of New South Wales. The U.S. cant stand up to China in the South China Sea if the Philippines is kicking one of the legs out from the stool thats defending its sovereignty. And Duterte, likewise, cant really stand up to China unless the U.S. is backing him. But on Sept. 13, Duterte said the Philippines would forgo joint patrols with the U.S. in the South China Sea and called on his militarywhom he urged to focus on terrorism and drugsto buy hardware from China and Russia.

A week after Duterte took office, a poll conducted by Philippine research firm Pulse Asia showed that an astonishing 91% of Filipinos had a high degree of trust in him. Among them are people like Ray Antonio Nadiera, a 33-year-old maintenance worker in the countrys second largest city, Cebu, who says that by the time Dutertes campaign is over, all the addicts will be straightened out. In Manilas Pasig Line district, local resident Jaime Co says, The people killed are the dirt of society. What Dutertes doing, his war on illegal drugs, is right. Its good.

But some are appalled at the forces that have been unleashed. Were on a slippery slope toward tyranny, says Philippine Senator Leila de Lima. Whether its state-sanctioned or not, I would say at the very least all of these killings are state-inspired. Her sentiment is echoed by the human-rights community. In June two U.N. representatives condemned Dutertes incitement to violence, not only against drug dealers and criminals but also against journalists. Dutertes response was, F-ck you, U.N. More recently, he called the U.N. very stupid for criticizing his war on drugs, threatened to pull his country out of the organization and declined a meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Laos summit.

Dutertes authoritarian leanings have become increasingly pronounced. In August he threatened to declare martial law if the judiciary obstructed the anti-drug campaign. In Septemberusing a terrorist attack in Davao as justificationhe declared a state of lawlessness in the country, which he then ratcheted up to a state of national emergency, a status that could give the military policing powers.

This is going to damage democracy and the rule of law as we know it, says a Philippines-based human-rights campaigner, who requested anonymity out of safety concerns. This notion that you can solve all your problems just by killing people will only have a detrimental effect in the long run. Global advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also denounced the slaughter and called on Duterte to change both his rhetoric and his policies. Hes unlikely to listen. I dont care about human rights, believe me, Duterte has said. There is no due process in my mouth.

At 2 a.m. on a recent Saturday in Manilas south, Jenny, a young woman, stands in a crowd of about 50 people surrounding her neighbors house. Gunshots were heard just over an hour ago, and the police have emerged to announce that the occupant, a man named John Paul, has been killed. Its like a death penalty is handed out without due processDuterte gave free rein to the police, she says. They say if suspects fight back, they can kill them, but people are getting killed without a fight.

The police say any killings by them have been in self-defense. And they applaud Duterte, who has promised to die for them as long as they do their duty. This is the first time that the President or the administration are really focused on eradicating illegal drugs, says a senior police official, who asked not to be identified. The support of the President makes it very encouraging for the law enforcer.

The poor in the barangaysas the smallest units of municipal organization in the Philippines are calledpay the highest price. In these impoverished communities, children play beside open sewers, families often share one room, and, for a few people, shabu is an escapeboth psychologically and financially. A lot of the people involved in the drug market have no other opportunity for income, so a lot of that money also goes to support families in communities, says Clarke Jones, a researcher at the Australian National University who studies the Philippine prison system and the drug trade within it.

Rightly fearing for their lives, Filipinos are surrendering in droves. More than 700,000 people have turned themselves in to the authorities for drug-related offenses since Duterte took office, according to police data. Rehabilitation is an option for only a few thousand, owing to the scarcity of government-approved centers. Other than the grave, that leaves prison, which even by Philippine standards is a special kind of hell. On a recent visit to Manilas Las Pinas City Jail, TIME estimated that about 50 men were sharing a 3-by-3-m cella nationally ubiquitous scenario thanks to nearly 16,000 arrests over the past 10 weeks. Many had been there for more than a month.

The President is unapologetic about his grim campaign and its fallout. Rich or poor, I do not give a sh-t, Duterte said at a recent press conference. My order is to destroy. With reporting by KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ and RAMON ROYANDOYAN/MANILA 
By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) - Britain should keep full access to the European Union's internal market after it leaves the bloc, even if it restricts immigration from the EU, a senior German lawmaker told Reuters.

Norbert Roettgen of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, who chairs the Bundestag foreign affairs committee, is one of five European experts who proposed that post-Brexit Britain join a new "continental partnership".

"It is in the interests of both the EU and Britain to keep the damage as light as possible after Brexit and relations as close as possible," Roettgen told Reuters.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a "unique deal" allowing Britain to secure trade agreements on good terms while limiting immigration. That is a combination repeatedly ruled out by EU leaders, who say free trade is only possible with free movement of people.

But Roettgen sketched out a vision for a Europe of three circles, with the euro zone at the core, then the other EU states, and finally non-EU states belonging to the "continental partnership", which would give them internal market access.

States in this third circle would join EU trade agreements with third-party countries.

As a condition for membership of the partnership, countries would need to accept the free movement of capital, goods and services - but could be exempt from the free movement of people, the fourth of the EU's so-called "four freedoms".

Roettgen said this third circle could be an option not just for Britain, but also for countries like Switzerland and Norway, and even Ukraine and Turkey. That could resolve the issue of Turkey's EU accession ambitions.

"We need a defined framework for the EU neighbourhood," he said, adding that he believed the model would be attractive to the British government even if it would still need to contribute to the EU budget.

"The hard Brexiteers will certainly reject this. But I think the majority of British politicians will accept such payments as the price for access to the internal market," Roettgen said.

Story continues

Punishing Britain for leaving the EU to ward off the threat of other countries leaving the bloc made no sense, he added.

"First of all, there is not one EU country in which serious thought is being given to leaving the EU. And even if that were the case, it would be wrong to build the EU as a house in which one is imprisoned," Roettgen said.

(Writing by Paul Carrel, editing by Larry King)
By Astrid Zweynert LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday that ending diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa was within reach if countries spent more on healthcare which would ensure their people stayed healthy, and boost their economies. In an exclusive blog for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Kenyatta credited international donors for helping Africa to make "tremendous gains" in fighting these diseases, which in the 1990s killed millions of people on the continent every year. But more investment from African governments was needed, he said. "We are at a point where we can defeat these diseases and end them as public health threats," Kenyatta wrote. "To achieve that, we must invest more. We must commit ourselves more." In the last decade, HIV-related deaths in Africa have halved to 790,000 in 2014, while malaria deaths fell 54 percent between 2000 and 2013, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But these diseases remain a threat with malaria alone killing an estimated 437,000 African children before their fifth birthday in 2013, the WHO says. Through its partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which was set up in 2002 to raise money to tackle these epidemics, Kenya has been able to save 300,000 lives, Kenyatta said. Kenya has pledged $5 million to the Global Fund for its next funding cycle, he added. The Global Fund, a public-private partnership, is seeking $13 billion from international donors for its 2017 to 2019 funding cycle at a conference due to begin on Friday in Montreal, Canada. If Kenya and other developing countries are to meet the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal to end these epidemics by 2030, they need to strengthen their health systems, experts say. "We all must come together and contribute to create enough impetus against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and other health concerns that continue to devastate our people," Kenyatta wrote. In Kenya, 37 percent of healthcare is funded by patients, 35 percent by donors and 28 percent by the government, the government says. (Reporting by Astrid Zweynert; Editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories)
For more news videos visit Yahoo View.

You cant really be more barbaric and more savage , Issoufou Yahaya, a political analyst at Niamey University in Niger, told The Wall Street Journal.



Yahaya is referring to Abubakar Shekau, the former leader of Boko Haram, the Islamic States largest subsidiary outside the Middle East.

"Hes the pinnacle of barbarism, Yahaya continued.

After pledging loyalty to ISIS in 2015, Boko Haram, also designated as the West Africa Province by ISIS, embarked on a new campaign headed by Shekau. But the extreme violence and tactics of Shekau made even ISIS leaders express their disappointment.

(Former Boko Haram leader Abubakar ShekauAP)



Accusing the Muslim establishment of corruption and perverting Islam, Boko Haram under Shekau had sent children suicide bombers on missions to mosques and crowded markets. Those who refused to join Shekaus cause were considered legitimate targets  including Muslims.

Shekaus strategy didnt go unnoticed by ISIS leaders.

In the August edition of their newspaper, ISIS referred to another Boko Haram commander: Abu Musab al-Barnawia, as the new governor of Boko Haram while simultaneously making no mention of Shekau.

Meanwhile, the displaced Shekau accused his successor of apostasy, and claimed that ISIS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been deceived.

Since the alleged split, there have been rumors of deadly skirmishes between the two. One AFP source claimed that after an attack on Shekau-controlled areas, fighters loyal to al-Barnawia would tell villagers that Shekaus forces had derailed from the true jihad.

As far as the effects of the fracturing go, Yaroslav Trofimov of The Wall Street Journal writes that it could signal a weakening of the organization in the interim. This, in addition to the advances of regional forces supported by European and US advisors, may turn the tide against Boko Haram.

(Nigerian soldiers hold up a seized Boko Haram flag after liberating Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015.Reuters/Emmanuel Braun)

However, should al-Barnawia manage to absorb Shekaus faction, it could signal a shift of Boko Haram prioritizing their targets from Muslims to the Christians that reside in the region. About 40% of people in Nigeria, Africas most populated country, identify as Christian, while around 69% of those in neighboring Cameroon, where Boko Haram is also active, identify as such.

Story continues

In an announcement, al-Barnawia claimed his forces would be booby-trapping and blowing up every church  and killing all those we find from the citizens of the cross.

But the difficulty in garnering support for this campaign will be immense. Al-Barnawias faction would not only have to fight against Nigerian forces aided by coalition advisors, but would either have to battle or recruit those who remain loyal to Shekau.

Shekau was in control of territory and of the wealth, Barnawi wont be able to acquire the resources that Shekau already controls  and the way these guys operate is they always go to where the resources are, Atta Barkindo, a Nigerian insurgency specialist at the SOAS University of London, explained to The Wall Street Journal.

So far, Barkindo believes that Shekaus forces are the more formidable group, however, this may change if al-Barnawia manages to receive support directly from ISIS. But considering that the self-proclaimed caliphate faces an incoming coalition-led siege, and has been losing territory and crucial sources of revenue in recent months, this may prove to be unfeasible.

NOW WATCH: The US Army is sending Apache attack helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq

More From Business Insider
Porlamar (Venezuela) (AFP) - Left increasingly isolated by a crushing political and economic crisis, Venezuela will seek the support of old friends when it hosts a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement this weekend.

Leaders from the 120-nation group, which was founded more than 50 years ago amid the Cold War, will gather Saturday and Sunday on the Caribbean island of Margarita, where Venezuela will take over the movement's rotating presidency from Iran.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be hoping to show he still has plenty of allies despite the catastrophic situation he faces at home: a brutal recession that has unleashed shortages of food and medicine, coupled with mounting pressure from the center-right opposition for a referendum on removing him from power.

"I will make the most of the presidency of the movement to continue speaking out against this pro-imperialist right, which is on its knees for imperial interests," said the leftist leader, who accuses his opponents of plotting a "coup" against him with US backing.

Besides moral and rhetorical support, Venezuela, an OPEC member and home to the world's largest proven oil reserves, will notably be seeking backing for its campaign to slash abundant global crude production in a bid to raise prices.

But as the event kicked off Thursday with a meeting of foreign ministers, Maduro looked isolated as never before on the international stage, including in his own region.

On Wednesday one-time allies Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay announced they had stripped Venezuela of the rotating presidency of Mercosur, a South American regional trading bloc.

A furious Venezuela said it refused to recognize the decision.

- Influence plunging with oil -

Venezuela's former largesse with its oil wealth once ensured it staunch loyalty from countries that benefited.

But as crude prices have plunged since mid-2014, Venezuela's economy has tanked, and its international influence along with it.

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Embattled and unpopular at home, Maduro has nowhere near the international clout once enjoyed by his predecessor and mentor, the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, who led the country from 1999 until his death in 2013.

The summit comes at a particularly tense moment.

On Friday, Venezuelan electoral authorities are due to announce the timeline for the final stage of the opposition's recall vote drive.

Maduro's opponents are planning the latest in a series of protests to keep up the pressure.

Political analyst Milagros Betancourt said it would be hard for Maduro to pull off his mission for the summit -- "to make people think there's nothing happening here."

That is getting increasingly difficult.

Seeking to combat the long lines that have become a daily reality for Venezuelans, Maduro has put the army in charge of food distribution. But the shortages have triggered looting, riots and violent crime.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called the situation a "humanitarian crisis."

"The country isn't up to hosting this summit. It will be low-level because of insecurity and shortages," said Betancourt.

"What (Maduro) is really seeking is a very expensive photo op that seeks to hide the grave internal crisis and international isolation," said Kenneth Ramirez of the Central University of Venezuela.

The government has not said how many leaders will attend.

- Possible protests -

Founded in 1961 to represent countries resentful of being squeezed in the power-struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Non-Aligned Movement has struggled in recent years to remain relevant in a post-Cold War world.

Venezuelan opposition leaders condemned the summit as a marginal event that will cost millions of dollars the government can ill afford.

The speaker of the opposition-majority legislature, Henry Ramos Allup, dismissed it as a "meeting of dictators."

"They're putting on a show that is a joke to hungry Venezuelans," said fellow opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

Margarita island has been the scene of anti-government protests. Dozens of people were arrested there earlier this month after Maduro was greeted by pot-banging demonstrators during a visit.

The government has deployed more than 14,000 police and soldiers to the region in a bid to contain any unrest near the summit.
Ramat Gan (Israel) (AFP) - Former Israeli president and Noble Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres saw "real improvement" on Thursday but remained in serious condition after the 93-year-old suffered a major stroke, his doctor said.

The country has been on edge over the condition of the elder statesman, Israel's last remaining founding father, after he was admitted to hospital on Tuesday feeling unwell and suffered a stroke with internal bleeding while there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, criticised by Peres in recent years, visited the hospital on Wednesday night, saying "we feel some relief... because this evening he is better than he was yesterday evening".

He could not enter Peres's room in intensive care and was given a briefing outside due to the sensitivity of his condition.

Peres's personal physician and son-in-law Rafi Walden told AFP on Thursday that "there is another real improvement today," describing his condition as serious but stable.

He said it was likely his condition would remain that way in the coming days.

Peres was still breathing with the help of a respirator, but was able to respond when his sedation was lessened as he had the previous day.

He has not been able to speak due to being intubated, Walden said.

"He squeezes the hand and he moves his legs," he said. "Definitely these are indications that he is listening and is responsive to our calls."

- 'Patriarch of peace' -

Peres has held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister. He was president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo accords.

The former hawk turned dove is widely respected both in Israel and abroad, regularly meeting world leaders and celebrities in recent years, seemingly charming them along the way.

In March, he met supermodel Naomi Campbell at his Peres Center for Peace for an event related to International Women's Day.

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On the same day, he met visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.

While doctors saw cause for optimism in his improvement, they also noted that he remained at risk.

"The fact that he responds is an excellent start, but there are still numerous possibilities for complications related to his hospitalisation in intensive care," Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon involved in his treatment, told Israel's Channel 2 television.

"It is an environment that is not natural for a human being and which can create complications."

There have been statements of concern from across the political spectrum as well as from the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, who called Peres "a patriarch of peace and progress."

- Exercise, good wine -

In January, Peres was hospitalised twice for heart trouble.

In the first instance, the hospital said he had suffered a "mild cardiac event" and underwent catheterisation to widen an artery.

He was rushed to hospital a second time days later with chest pains and an irregular heartbeat.

Peres has sought to maintain an active schedule despite his age, particularly through events related to his Peres Center for Peace.

When leaving hospital on January 19, Peres said he was keen to get back to work.

"I'm so happy to return to work, that was the whole purpose of this operation," he said.

Peres once confided that the secret to his longevity was daily exercise, eating little and drinking one or two glasses of good wine.

He once hawkishly rejected any compromise with hostile Arab states, but said he was converted after 1977, when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Jerusalem, leading to the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty.

Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to what was then British mandatory Palestine when he was 11.

He joined the Zionist struggle in the 1940s and while hitchhiking met David Ben-Gurion, who would become Israel's first prime minister.

Peres became director general of the nascent defence ministry at just 29 years old.

Beyond his accomplishments in the public eye, he was also seen as a driving force in the development of Israel's undeclared nuclear programme.
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government will meet on Sept. 26 to decide the date of a national referendum over whether to accept or reject a constitutional reform passed by parliament, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Thursday. Previously, the prime minister said the referendum would be held between Nov. 15 and Dec. 5. Speaking in an interview with RAI state TV, Renzi said the date would be set during a Cabinet meeting in 11 days time. The future of Renzi's government may hinge on the outcome of the referendum over the government's flagship reform, which aims to reduce the role of the Senate and rein in the powers of regional governments. Opinion polls suggest the outcome is currently too close to call. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Agnieszka Flak)
By Isla Binnie ROME (Reuters) - Emerging from an underfunded school system into a bleak jobs market, Italians turning 18 this year at least have one birthday treat to look forward to -- 500 euros ($562.10) from the state to spend on cultural items such as books, concerts and movies. The 290-million-euro scheme is the brainchild of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who says he wants the new adults to feel part of the world's biggest cultural patrimony. Critics, however, see it as a political stunt like other bonuses and handouts which they say Renzi has offered instead of a coherent policy to make Italy's chronically weak economy more competitive. Renzi, who originally promised the bonus after Islamist attacks in Paris last November, said on Thursday the bonus would be available from October. Beatrice Hirsch, from the northern city of Turin, was looking forward to seeing how the money can be spent. "We hardly ever go on school trips," she said. "I will try to go to the cinema or the theater, or subscribe to magazines and newspapers." From Thursday, cultural institutions can start to sign up and those of the roughly 570,000 Italians and non-native residents born in 1998 who have already blown out 18 candles can request an online ID. When Renzi announced the scheme, it was widely criticized as a means to woo new young voters. "Young people don't sell themselves for a handout," Beppe Grillo, founder of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, wrote on his blog, slamming the "decrepit" state of schools in Italy. According to Eurostat, Italy spent proportionately less on education than any other European Union country in 2014. Alberto Bagnai, economic policy professor at the University of Chieti-Pescara, said Renzi could find better uses for the money, especially after an earthquake that killed almost 300 people last month in central Italy. "Unfortunately, there are bigger problems right now, just think of reconstruction after the earthquake or a whole series of infrastructure works that are not being done," Bagnai said. Tax cuts of about 80 euros a month for low earners have not sent them shopping as Renzi hoped, and weak domestic demand helped stall output growth in the second quarter. Rome native Valentina Marazza, who turns 18 this month, said she was pleased money was being dedicated to the young, even though she would prefer not to be told how to spend it and thought it might have been better to favor lower earners. "It is a first step, like a chink of light in investment for young people," she said. "I think it's right to give the money to 18 year-olds because turning 18 is an important moment." There is no suggestion the scheme will be repeated for those who turn 18 next year. (Editing by Catherine Evans)
Photo: Getty Images

Yes, you read that right. It was Ivana, not Ivanka, who turned heads at the Dennis Basso show Tuesday. She wore a black and white patterned dress that was skin tight and fell right around mid-thigh, proving that shes still got it. She styled her blonde hair in her signature big bouffant and wore pink lipstick and a little too much eyeliner, if you ask us, but that is also the norm for Trumps first wife. She carried a small handbag and donned black studded pumps. Ivankas mom capped off the outfit with chunky earrings and two strands of pearls around her neck.

Its usually Ivanka who gets the attention for her style. Just a few months ago, the dress Trumps daughter wore to the RNC sold out right after she tweeted the details (it was only $183!).

Photo: Getty Images

Ivana told reporters she was there to support her friend, but she wasnt even wearing Bassos designs; her dress was Roberto Cavalli.

The point she was trying to make was that she was not a politician, so dont bother her with questions about Trumps campaign. But, of course, reporters had to ask, and she was actually perfectly fine talking politics at a fashion show. I think the Mexican people and all the immigrants are perfectly fine, she told one reporter. They are good workers and good people, but they have to come here legally, they have to speak at least a little bit of English and pay their taxes, she continued, supporting her ex.

According to Basso, shes been to every one of his shows since his first in 1983. Her children have come as well. OK, so she is a good friend.



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How not to maximize recovery funding
Ivanka Trump at a campaign event in Aston, Pa., on Tuesday. (Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters)

Donald Trump decided this week to roll out an ambitious and expensive plan to help working parents raise their kids, which was remarkable for several reasons.

The first is that Trump seemed to have come up with the entire thing on impulse, as if, having spent many months repulsing American parents with his mockery of women and the disabled, he thought maybe he could wipe the slate clean with a tax credit.

The second is that, once again, the candidate who praised Planned Parenthood from the stage of a Republican debate demonstrated that he has only the most tenuous ideological connection to the party hes borrowing. Leave aside all the stirring up of racial resentment, and Trump turns out to be about as much of a conservative as Cher.

But to me, the most remarkable thing about Trumps foray into social policy is the central role played by his 34-year-old daughter Ivanka, whom Trump credited with having inspired and helped design the plan, and who spoke alongside him at the rollout in Pennsylvania.

According to my former colleagues at the New York Times, Ivanka said implementing the policy would be one of her top priorities after her father took office. Which ought to make Mike Pence wonder what part of the portfolio she intends to share with him.

By now it should be clear to all of us that Ivanka and the other Trump kids are looking at the American presidency as another potential family holding, much like the pageant business. And that tremor youre feeling in the mid-Atlantic isnt a minor earthquake.

Its Thomas Jefferson spinning violently in his grave.

Before we get to the Framers, though, lets look at more recent history. The adult children of presidential candidates  from George W. Bush to the Romney boys and now Chelsea Clinton  have often played supporting roles as strategists and surrogates. Theres nothing novel about that.

And in a few, well-known instances, family members have taken on governing roles, too. Robert Kennedy served as attorney general and his brothers chief confidant, which prompted Congress, in 1967, to pass an anti-nepotism law that prevents family members from holding Cabinet posts.

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Bill Clinton told voters they would get two for the price of one when he ran in 1992, and he honored that promise by handing the job of health care reform to Hillary  a move that infuriated Republicans. (And as I wrote in May, Hillary has vowed, oddly, to put Bill in charge of economic expansion.)

But in these cases were talking about the singular, highly visible role of a sibling or a spouse. And were talking about presidents who had been in politics long enough to accumulate coteries of other close and talented advisers.

Trump doesnt have real political advisers, which is why hes already cycled through three campaign regimes this year. Near as I can tell, he has children and lackeys, and not a whole lot in between.

Last month, two giants of my industry, the New York Times Tom Friedman and the Washington Posts Bob Woodward, got into something of a gentlemans debate over the Trump kids. Friedman wrote that they should be ashamed of their dads exploitive, populist campaign. Woodward accused Friedman of violating the zone of privacy normally afforded the families of nominees.

Probably no ones been a more outspoken defender of politicians privacy than I have, but in this case Woodward was applying old rules to a new game, and he was entirely wrong.

Anyone who sat through the grim elegy for America known as this years Republican convention should have come away understanding that the Trump kids arent family in any traditional sense. They are the platform of Trumps candidacy.

That convention made clear that Trump has effectively cast aside the entity known as the Republican Party  whose leaders largely stayed away, in any event  and replaced it with his family brand. The primetime speeches that would normally have been delivered by rising stars in the party were instead given by Ivanka and Donald Jr. and Eric and Tiffany.

If Trumps campaign is the closest thing weve seen in presidential politics to a reality show, then its not so much The Apprentice as it is The Osbournes or Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Youd be crazy to think that the Trump kids wouldnt dominate his inner circle in the White House, just as they have in Trump Tower.

Ive never met Ivanka Trump. I wouldnt be surprised to find that shes a person of real substance and a terrific mother to boot. The children of other powerful and wealthy New Yorkers (Chelsea Clinton included) seem to think shes great, so theres that.

But heres what you can learn from reading her very thorough Wikipedia page. Shes a model and designer of jewelry and shoes who worked briefly for someone else before joining her fathers business, where somehow she managed to claw her way to one of the companys top posts in record time.

Shes filled in on her fathers show, The Apprentice, and hosted the Miss Teen USA pageant, which her father owns. Theres also the cameo on Gossip Girl.

Somehow the section on government and public policy seems to have been overlooked. Theres nothing there about any of that.

So why are we supposed to find it reassuring that Ivanka will make affordable childcare one of her top priorities  or that she has priorities at all? What, exactly, qualifies her to make and enact policy? What does she know about Congress or the vast federal bureaucracy?

Its one thing to say the Trump children make their father seem more human or more likable. Its another to believe they should govern the country.

Which brings me back to Jefferson. He, more than any of the Founding Fathers, harbored an abiding fear of monarchism, the idea that by embracing a federal government we might inevitably slide back toward hereditary rule. For more than 200 years, through massive expansions of federal domain, we defied his darkest suspicions.

But here we are, not quite eight years removed from a second Bush presidency, choosing between the wife of a former president, on one hand, and a business-minded entertainer who will entrust the West Wing to his children on the other.

The former should make us wonder about the long-term health of our democracy. The latter should terrify us.

Let Ivanka Trump run for office if she thinks she can govern. Shed be a great candidate and maybe even a very good senator or governor.

Until then, she and her siblings should stick to hotels and pageants.
(Adds details about OfficeFirst portfolio, background)

FRANKFURT, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Real estate company IVG will list its core activities after negotiations about a sale of its office portfolio to private equity firm Blackstone collapsed, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

One person, who declined to be identified, said the group of hedge funds that owns IVG had turned down Blackstone's offer of about 3.3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) for the asset, named OfficeFirst.

IVG's supervisory board was meeting on Thursday to finalise the decision, the other person said.

OfficeFirst manages a commercial property portfolio worth 3.25 billion euros, the bulk of IVG's assets, including The Squaire office development at Frankfurt airport.

IVG went through insolvency proceedings in 2013 after cost overruns at its Squaire premises made debt levels unsustainable.

OfficeFirst and IVG's owners - funds including York Capital, Anchorage and Davidson Kempner - would be looking for proceeds of between 700 and 900 million euros from an initial public offering (IPO), two sources told Reuters last month.

OfficeFirst is looking for a stock market valuation of about 1.5 billion euros, the sources said at the time.

Since a revaluation of OfficeFirst's properties in late 2015, its current enterprise value stands at 3.25 billion euros, with equity accounting for about 1.25 billion euros and debt for the rest. ($1 = 0.8900 euros) (Reporting by Kathrin Jones and Arno Schuetze; writing by Harro ten Wolde; editing by David Clarke)
Jay Z and writer-illustrator Molly Crabapple teamed up with the New York Times to condemn the War on Drugs in the form of an op-ed video that is part history lesson, part call to action.

Starting with the 1971 Nixon administration and going up to present-day Colorados legalization of marijuana, Jay Z (Shawn Carter) explains the inequality and contradictions inherent in Americas relationship with policing drug use with statistics and observation of political movements and his own life.

Rates of drug use are as high as they were when Nixon declared this so-called war in 1971, Carter says. 45 years later, its time to rethink our policies and laws. The war on drugs is an epic fail, he concludes.

According the description given by the New York Times, the multimedia project was initiated by Dream Hampton, the filmmaker and a co-author of Jay Zs book Decoded. Hampton is part of a group called Revolve Impact that connects artists and influencers to community organizers. She wanted to make a project inspired by Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. In the book, the author asks, Why were white men poised to get rich doing the very same thing that African-American boys and men had long been going to prison for?

The project was written and narrated by Carter, illustrated by Crabapple, produced and directed by Jim Batt and Kim Boekbinder with sound design by Boekbinder. Hampton is also credited as a producer.

Watch the video below:

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John Boehner has found a new job.

The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has been elected to serve on the board of directors of Reynolds American, the parent corporation of the countrys second-largest tobacco company.

Reynolds American announced the move Thursday in a news release, in which it also said Jean-Marc Levy, an executive-in-residence at the IMD Business School in Switzerland would join its board. The company owns cigarette brands like Newport, Camel, Pall Mall and Natural American Spirit.

Boehner, who resigned the speakership and his seat in Congress last fall amid pressure from more conservative House members, will serve on Reynolds Americans corporate governance, nominating and sustainability committees.

The new role makes sense for Boehner, who is a smoker and was among the top recipients of campaign donations from the tobacco industry while in Congress. In the 2010 election cycle, for example, he received nearly $50,000 from people and PACs associated with tobacco companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Amman (AFP) - After years of self-imposed political exile, Jordan's influential Muslim Brotherhood is gearing up to compete in next week's general election aiming to reestablish its role as a major parliamentary force.

The vote comes as Jordan -- a key Western ally long lauded for its relative stability -- finds itself under pressure from neighbouring conflicts and ruffled by domestic issues, including stubborn unemployment and growing radicalisation.

Brotherhood officials and analysts say the September 20 vote will pose a key test of the ability of the state to hold a fair election and of its willingness to accept a result that may boost the Islamists.

"All we want are credible elections that truly represent the will of the people, irrespective of how we will be represented in parliament," the Brotherhood's second-in-command Zaki Bani Rsheid told AFP.

"Jordan must make the most of this occasion... to rebuild citizen confidence in the electoral process and state institutions."

The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Brotherhood, was once the largest party in parliament, winning 22 out of 80 seats in 1989.

But the Brotherhood itself has been weakened in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Authorities consider it an illegal organisation because its licence was not renewed in line with a law on political parties adopted in 2014.

Dozens of Brotherhood offices have been shut this year.

The IAF boycotted elections in 2010 and 2013 in protest at the electoral system, which it said weakened parties in favour of tribal and other pro-government candidates.

Its decision to take part in next week's election after Jordan amended the electoral law in March is seen by analysts as a test and a way of regaining influence after years of ostracism and infighting.

"The Brotherhood wants... to secure seats in parliament in order to rebuild its legitimacy and renew contacts with the government," said Oreib Rentawi, head of Al-Quds Centre for Political Studies.

Story continues

- Mounting crises -

Although it has avoided the violent upheaval of some Arab states since 2011's wave of popular uprisings, Jordan has a growing list of issues that could spark insecurity.

A key member of a US-led coalition battling jihadists in Syria and Iraq, Jordan is, according to the UN, home to more than 600,000 Syrian refugees. Amman puts the number at 1.4 million.

Unemployment is running at 14 percent and last month the International Monetary Fund approved a $723 million three-year line of credit to Jordan to support economic and financial reforms.

Amman instituted some reforms following Brotherhood-led protests, including amending its electoral law to allow political parties to submit lists and reserving 15 seats for women.

But the IAF wants further change, including a constitutional amendment to allow parliament to choose a government, rather than having the king name a prime minister, as is currently the case.

Rentawi said he expected the Islamists to win 20 out of the 130 seats in next week's election.

Mohamed Abu Romman, a researcher at the University of Jordan's Centre for Strategic Studies, agreed and said the vote could be a "dangerous test" for King Abdullah, who may find his parliament bolstered by Brotherhood allies keen on more reform.

A good showing for the Brotherhood's political wing would leave authorities facing a choice between unpalatable reform or a "confrontation" with the Islamists, Abu Romman said.

At the same time, the government needed to restore some public trust after several votes dogged by allegations of impropriety.

"The public is sceptical due to recent experiences and the acknowledgement by authorities themselves that there has been large-scale (electoral) fraud" in the past, Rentawi said.

- 'Popularity test' -

The Brotherhood's grassroots popularity has not always translated to influence in a parliament that possesses only limited legislative clout, and for which the majority of candidates are likely to be loyal to the royal court.

It faces a potential rival from within in the form of the breakaway Muslim Brotherhood Association, which the government authorised last year to compete in elections.

And there is also the group's ambiguous association with other country branches, including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed as an extremist group in many Arab states.

Rentawi believes next week's vote is a "test for the Brotherhood's popularity".

For analyst Labib Qamhawi, however, allowing the IAF to gain more seats could further destabilise the kingdom -- something the royal court may not countenance.

"The state won't allow free elections like in 1989," Qamhawi said. "It cannot take the risk since it's going through a delicate period. A strong parliament disrupts power."
Brussels (AFP) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday he opposed his predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso's decision to work for Goldman Sachs because of the firm's role in the global financial crisis.

Barroso's appointment in July as a non-executive chairman and advisor at the US investment bank has caused a furore in the European Union, with French President Francois Hollande deeming it "morally unacceptable".

"What did I say? I repeat: 'No problem for him to take a job in a private bank, but not that one," Juncker told an interviewer from YouTube in Brussels.

He said he made the remarks "because Goldman Sachs was one of these outfits which contributed, wittingly or unwittingly, to the emergence of this enormous financial and economic crisis during the years 2007, 2008 and 2009."

Juncker also said he considered Barroso to be an "honest guy" and a "friend."

Barroso headed the European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation EU, from 2004 to 2014, overseeing membership for several former communist states in eastern Europe, the response to the global financial crash and the ensuing eurozone debt crisis.

When he was hired in July, Goldman Sachs said that Barroso's arrival was "nothing to do with the outcome of the Brexit vote," the shock June British decision to quit the EU.

At the time, the Commission said Barroso did not have to inform Juncker about the job because he had been through an 18-month "cooling-off" period since leaving and it was safe to assume he no longer had access to privileged information or influence.

But it added he would still be bound by EU rules of professional secrecy.

In a U-turn in the last week, Juncker launched an ethics probe into the appointment and said Barroso would be now treated at the Commission as a simple lobbyist rather than with the pomp and protocol due a former president.

In a letter to Juncker dated Tuesday, Barroso accused Brussels of discrimination and deplored claims that "the mere fact of working with Goldman Sachs raises questions of integrity," denying he had been hired to lobby for the bank.
When Kid Cudi took shots at Kanye West with a long string of passionate tweets Wednesday afternoon, he had to expect the outspoken MC was going to fire back -- and 'Ye wasted no time putting him on blast.

During Wednesday night's Saint Pablo Tour stop in Tampa, Florida, Yeezy abruptly stopped the music in the middle of "I Don't Like" to address Cudi directly:

"Kid Cudi, don't ever mention 'Ye name. I birthed you. We all dealing with that emo shit all the time -- me, Pat, Don C. Don't ever mention 'Ye name. Don't try to say who I can do songs with. You mad 'cause I'm doing songs with Drake? Ain't nobody telling 'Ye who to do songs with! Respect the God!"

Kanye West talks some shit to Kid Cudi pic.twitter.com/Wl0mU7C8Ly

- Only Hip Hop Facts (@OnlyHipHopFacts) September 15, 2016

Kanye West signed Cudi to his G.O.O.D. Music label in 2008 after hearing the MC's first official full-length project, the A Kid Named Cudi mixtape. Cudi left the label in 2013.

Kanye's full rant about Kid Cudi (via: @AlaskasVeryOwn) pic.twitter.com/IFKFgYoKRF

- Only Hip Hop Facts (@OnlyHipHopFacts) September 15, 2016

At his Wednesday night concert, 'Ye said he felt "disrespected" by Cudi's recent tweets: "You know how many people wish they could be signed to G.O.O.D. Music, get they life changed? Have that opportunity? Never forget that. I'm so hurt. I feel so disrespected. Kid Cudi, we're two black men in a racist world. I wore skinny jeans first. I got called names before you, bruh. Why y'all got to come at me? This ain't the end of the Malcolm X movie. I'm out here fighting for y'all: creatives, artists, independent thinkers. Don't never mention my name in a bad manner. None of y'all!"

Earlier in the day, Kid Cudi used Twitter to express his frustration with other hip-hop artists, writing, "I've been loyal to those who haven't been to me and that ends now. Now I'm your threat."

Story continues

Kid Cudi Calls Out Kanye West & Drake: Read His Passionate Tweets Here

Cudi specifically called out 'Ye and Drake, saying, "These n---as dont give a f--- about me. And they aint f---in with me."

Cudi is readying his sixth studio album, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'. Since the spring, he has released a few tracks from the upcoming LP, including "The Frequency," "All In" and "Goodbye."
Not surprisingly, Kanye West doesn't take Twitter slams lightly.

After rapper Kid Cudi called out both West and Drake in a few choice Twitter posts on Wednesday, implying that the two don't write their own music and employ multiple songwriters, West fired back with his own passionate onstage rant at his concert in Tampa, Florida.

In the middle of performing his song "I Don't Like," West, 39, abruptly stopped the music to put Cudi on blast.

NEWS: Kanye West Deals With a Fan Trying to Climb 'Saint Pablo Tour' Floating Stage With Wave of His Hand

"Kid Cudi, don't ever mention 'Ye name," he said as the audience cheered. "I birthed you! We all dealing with that emo sh*t all the time .... Don't ever mention 'Ye name."

"Don't try to say who I can do songs with," he added. "You mad 'cause I'm doing songs with Drake? Ain't nobody telling 'Ye who to do songs with! Respect the God!"

Kanye West signed Cudi to his G.O.O.D. Music label in 2008, but he left in 2013. The two collaborated on multiple songs together, including hits "Paranoid" and "All of the Lights."

"I'm so hurt. I feel so disrespected," West continued on Wednesday. "Kid Cudi, we're two black men in a racist world. I wore skinny jeans first. I got called names before you, bruh. Why y'all got to come at me?"

"I'm out here fighting for y'all: creatives, artists, independent thinkers," he added. "Don't never mention my name in a bad manner. None of y'all!"

Story continues

Kanye's full rant about Kid Cudi (via: @AlaskasVeryOwn) pic.twitter.com/IFKFgYoKRF  Only Hip Hop Facts (@OnlyHipHopFacts) September 15, 2016

Drake also appeared to address Cudi's diss in a more light-hearted way at his own show on Wednesday in Oakland, California, cracking, "Boy, you getting way too high, you need to cud-ittttt."

Drake's response to Cudi in Oracle Oakland - "You need to Cud-itttt" #Drake #KidCudi pic.twitter.com/rlTWHTim0s  Daniel Creev E (@CreevESeven) September 15, 2016

The latest beef started when Cudi, 32, publicly took shots at the two rappers earlier in the day.

"Everyone thinks they're soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them," the "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper tweeted. "The fake ones won't be lasting too much longer. I'm the one they worry about cause they know I don't give a f**k about the corny sh*t they do."

"My tweets apply to who they apply," he continued. "Ye, Drake, whoever. These ni**as dont give a f**k about me. And they ain't f**kin with me. ... I've been loyal to those who haven't been to me and that ends now. Now I'm your threat."

Everyone thinks they're soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them  The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016

My tweets apply to who they apply. Ye, Drake, whoever. These niggas dont give a fuck about me. And they aint fuckin with me.  The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016

NEWS: Drake Calls Out Meek Mill at Concert -- 'He's Dead Already'

West and Cudi have been notably close in the past. In January, West accused Wiz Khalifa of stealing his "whole sh*t from Cudi" when he went on his own infamous Twitter rant against the "See You Again" rapper.

Getty Images

Watch below:

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15 Sep - Her half-sister may be representing Sweden instead of the Philippines in the upcoming Miss Earth 2016, but actress KC Concepcion stated that she will support Cloie Syquia all the same.



As reported on PEP News, the actress, who has been very involved in helping Syquia with her pageant preparation, stated that despite being in Sweden for a long time, the 22 year-old still has the habit of a Filipina - which includes taking the pageant game seriously.



"In Sweden, they will still compete even if the contestants are less than 15 people. It's very different. I think Latinos and Filipinos are very serious about pageants, but it's not that prestigious in Europe," she said.



And since Syquia is half-Filipino, Concepcion believes that she still has the dedication of a Filipino lass.



"She knew how much we love beauty pageants and it really changes lives," she added.



Concepcion, however, stated that she will not pressure her sister into doing what she thinks is best for her, saying, "I only will pray for the best. What's meant for her will be for her."



(Photo Source: KC Concepcion Instagram)
Every production of Fiddler on the Roof -- the 1964 musical turned 1971 film turned school and community theater classic -- starts the exact same way: the mournful fiddle solo that (spoiler alert) runs through the entire show. Then Tevye, the poor milkman born in Sholem Aleichem's 1894 stories Tevye and His Daughters, begins explaining its title: "A fiddler on the roof...sounds crazy, no?"

At a recent Wednesday matinee (Aug. 24), Michael C. Bernardi stood near the edge of the stage at the Broadway Theatre, reciting the monologue. As the understudy of the current revival directed by Bartlett Sher (with five-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein in the starring role), Bernardi was ever-so-slightly stiff. He'd played Tevye before, but that was in a summer stock production in Plymouth, Mass. -- not Broadway, where most nights he was Anatevka's innkeeper. The pressure, for his first and probably only performance, was not insignificant. Still, he finished the speech, stamped his foot and declared what the audience would soon see is Fiddler's defining principle: "TRADITION!"

"Let's just say I feel 10 pounds lighter!" Bernardi said, laughing over the phone a few days after the show. "I looked at the show for so long as this big ring of fire, and then after jumping into it, realized it was just a wonderful hot tub."

The relief wasn't just of an actor making it through their first star turn on the Great White Way (which, after quickly shaking off the nerves, he did with aplomb). Bernardi's late father, Herschel Bernardi, endures as one of Fiddler's most memorable stars, having played Tevye 702 times during the show's initial run and reprised the role for the 1981 revival. Herschel even helped bring -- 30 years before Gwen Stefani and Eve -- the Fiddler on the Roof cast recording to No. 138 on the Billboard 200 in 1967. For that opening stomp, Bernardi was wearing the same brown leather boots his father wore each night as Tevye -- stepping into his shoes both literally and figuratively for one performance only, and completing a narrative so poetic Aleichem himself would be impressed.

"Throughout my life, the memory of my father has filled me with an incredible amount of inspiration, mixed with a deep sense of loss and incompletion," says Bernardi, whose father died in 1986, when he was just 19 months old. "I've been nervous about this for months, and subliminally for my entire life. But to be standing on that stage and really feeling that connection with audience, feeling those laughs, and feeling that I was telling the story of Fiddler on the Roof on a Broadway stage...a peace came over me."

Bernardi didn't always aspire to follow in his father's footsteps. Growing up in Los Angeles, he was instantly drawn to acting -- but shied away from musicals. "The truth is, for many many years, I wanted to separate myself from my father's career," he says. "So I was really into Shakespeare, and Tennessee Williams, and Eugene O'Neill -- just like a rebellious kid, saying, 'I'm nothing like my parents and I'm going my own way.'" After studying at SUNY Purchase and not finding great success in Hollywood, an invitation to star in that summer stock production (at Plymouth's Priscilla Beach Theater) from a former mentor arrived at just the right moment. "You get to a certain age, and realize you've been basically swimming upstream," he adds. "You realize, 'Oh right -- I am my mother's son. I am my father's son.'"

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Of course, Fiddler itself is about exactly that -- the push and pull between parents and children and those forces completely outside their control, as Tevye struggles to secure his daughters' futures in a fast-changing world. "It was designed to take a humanistic view of a foreign culture," says Bernardi of the show, which has been arguably among the greatest forces (alongside Seinfeld and Barbra Streisand) in normalizing Jewish culture in America. "It really did win the hearts and minds of so many when it came to the acceptance of the Jewish people."

The show centers on immigration -- an issue that's only become more fraught since Sholem Aleichem (and Bernardi's ancestors and, for that matter, this writer's) took the trip that began where Fiddler ends: from the train to the boat to America. "As much as I love the fact that Fiddler can be so relevant today, it breaks my heart that Fiddler is so relevant today!" says Bernardi. "Yeah -- it's the immigrant experience. Like, that applies to other immigrants. Religious oppression exists today, displaced peoples exist today. I hope that the show can serve as a blueprint for the cultures that are under fire now -- I would love to see a work of art that hits the heart of zeitgeist surrounding the Muslim experience in America, for example."

Ultimately Bernardi's "homecoming," as he calls it, sums up the show's themes -- identity and culture, family and (of course) tradition -- to mark another chapter in a story that's as fundamentally American as it is Jewish. Fittingly, in Sher's production, Fiddler begins and ends with Tevye in modern dress, reading Aleichem's story out of a book. "I love about setting it up as someone looking back at his ancestors," says Bernardi, "At the end, everything is falling apart, we're leaving Anatevka -- this practice of Judaism is forcing us to leave another home. In that moment of losing everything, the fiddler appears and plays the same line the play begins with, but pauses before the last note. Dah dun dun dun dun... That second to last note begs the question: do we keep playing the song? Ultimately, the only thing that really unites all sects of Judaism -- Hasidic and Reform and people forgetting to light half the menorah candles -- is the culture and the art, the things that have survived through all the oppression. We're always asking: do we continue playing the song, or not? That second to last note is everything.

"But every time I get to that part of the show, no matter how tired I am or distracted I am, I stop and think, 'Of course, yes.' I need that final note. This music must survive. Even if I'm just playing a little part of it."
Talk about pushing the envelope.

As expected, Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Karlie Kloss, and more big names all walked the Marc Jacobs spring 2017 show at New York Fashion Week on Thursday, but they still managed to shock thanks to the designer's in-your-face choice of get-ups.

The models all wore multi-colored dreadlocks piled high on top of their heads along with bright ensembles -- complete with thigh-high socks and dangerously high platforms -- evocative of rave culture.

PICS: Kendall Jenner Takes Over the Runways

Check out 20-year-old Kendall's fierce runway strut.

Getty Images

BFFs Gigi and Kendall had some fun posing backstage together, with Gigi, 21, rocking a patchwork coat.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Kloss, 24, sported a camouflage peplum top.

Getty Images

But it's 19-year-old Bella who had the raciest outfit by far, exposing her nipples in a sheer white dress underneath a bedazzled coat.

Getty Images

Thankfully, Bella proved to be a pro in her precarious heels, after taking a tumble at the Michael Kors spring 2017 runway show on Wednesday. Though after taking a closer look at the gigantic platforms the models were walking in on Thursday, we totally wouldn't have blamed her.

As always, mama Kris Jenner couldn't be prouder of her model daughter.

"Kendall, this is everything!!!!!" the momager tweeted on Thursday. "@kendalljenner walking for @marcjacobs today! #NYFW #marcjacobs #proudmama."

WATCH: Kendall Jenner's Model Squad Calls Themselves the 'Super Natural Friend Group'

And despite all those big names, the dreadlocks were clearly the star of the show. The colorful hairstyle was inspired by the signature look of Matrix director Lana Wachowski, who also served as the face of the brand in January.

Story continues

"This season's ad campaign represents a series of connected events; a visual narrative," Jacobs Instagrammed alongside a pic of 51-year-old Lana in January. "It is a personal diary of people who have and continue to inspire me and open my mind to different ways of seeing and thinking."

As for the actual hair in the show, it was created by an Etsy seller named Jen from Palatka, Florida, who was approached by famed hair stylist Guido Palau. Jacobs sent a picture of Lana to Palau, who in turn spent weeks searching on the Internet for a seller who could provide her the hair in a variety of different colors, Palau tells New York magazine.

Jen and her daughter ended up hand dying over 12,500 yards of yarn in 300 different shades just for the show.

ET spoke to Lana's sister, 48-year-old Lilly Wachowski, in April at the GLAAD Media Awards, less than a month after she came out as a transgender woman. Lilly acknowledged how important the support is that she received from Lana, who herself came out as a transgender woman in 2012.

"Even the simple act of being. She pushed all these fence posts out and, so in a lot of ways, I was just following in her footsteps," Lilly said of her sister. "It was almost like she had her snowplow out and all these channels started opening up for me."

"I say, you have to be true to yourself," Lana herself told ET exclusively at the Jupiter Ascending premiere in February 2015. "When you encounter people, whether they're racists or they're homophobic or their transphobic, what you realize is that those people are actually more controlled by social convention than you are."

"In a way, once you accept who you are, you are will always be more free than they are," she continued.

Watch below:

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Nairobi (AFP) - As Kenya prepares to close the world's largest refugee camp, a rights watchdog said the repatriation of Somalis from the sprawling Dadaab camp is based on misinformation and violates international standards.

Human Rights Watch, which interviewed scores of people in the vast camp last month, said Thursday that many Somalis are returning home involuntarily, only to face danger, persecution and hunger.

Kenya wants to close the vast camp housing some 263,000 Somali refugees in north-east Kenya by November, insisting it is a security threat and a drain on national resources.

"Many refugees ... say they have agreed to return home because they fear Kenya will force them out if they stay," said the HRW report after interviewing around 100 people at the camp.

Refugees spoke of intimidation by the Kenyan government, lack of information on ways of remaining or on conditions in Somalia, as well as fears of losing a $400 repatriation cash grant if they wind up being deported at the end of the year.

"The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn't giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia," said HRW's refugee rights director Bill Frelick in a statement.

"There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary."

The Kenyan government dismissed the report, however.

"I have looked at the report, which is full of falsehoods with the sole purpose of fundraising using the crisis yet the refugees are not going to benefit from it," said interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka.

Njoka said 100 refugees "purportedly" interviewed by HRW was a small sample compared to the more than 30,000 Nairobi says have already relocated since a voluntary return programme began in 2014.

An estimated 18,000 have returned this year -- 10,000 since the announcement of the camp's closure.

Story continues

"It is totally false that the Kenyan government is coercing the refugees to go back to their country. We are working with UNHCR and the Somalia government to take them back to safer areas of Somalia," said Njoka.

"They are just out to malign the whole process for their own selfish benefit, this is a process that is being carried out transparently and with the consent of the refugees themselves."

- 'Fear and misinformation' -

The HRW said Kenya's repatriation programme, "fuelled by fear and misinformation, does not meet international standards for voluntary refugee return," set out in a 1951 international Refugee Convention.

Since sending troops into neighbouring Somalia in 2011, Kenya has come under repeated attack from Shabaab, East Africa's long-time branch of Al-Qaeda, Islamic State's rivals.

Nairobi has taken a hardline position, claiming Dadaab acts as a terrorist training ground for Shabaab Islamists, and has publicly and repeatedly said it would remove all Somali refugees from the country by the end of the year.

"The Kenyan government needs to make clear that Somalis who don't feel that they can go back to Somalia right now are still going to be welcome in Kenya," HRW researcher Laetitia Bader told AFP.

"They need to give Somali refugees an option," she said, adding the United Nations had a responsibility to provide reliable information to the refugees on what they were going back to.

"Right now they're not doing that," she said.

The vast majority of residents of the Dadaab complex of camps close to the Kenya-Somalia border fled Somalia's more than two-decade-long conflict. Many remain fearful of returning to a country where insecurity remains rife.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Russia agreed that the Syrian cessation of hostilities that began on Monday had largely held and should be extended for another 48 hours despite sporadic violence, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. The cessation of hostilities, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, went into effect on Monday night. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry and Lavrov had spoken by telephone earlier on Wednesday and agreed it was worth extending the truce. Under the deal, the United States and Russia are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not party to the truce. "There was agreement that as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding, and violence is significantly lower in comparison with previous days and weeks," Toner told a briefing. "As part of the conversation they agreed to extend the cessation for another 48 hours," he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict through contacts on the ground, said no deaths from fighting had been reported in the first 48 hours of the truce. "This recommitment will initially be for 48 hours, and, provided it holds, the U.S. and Russia will discuss extensions, with the aim of achieving an indefinite extension to lower the violence," Toner explained later. He said Russia needed to use its influence over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to ensure that humanitarian aid was delivered to besieged communities under the agreement. "We haven't seen the humanitarian access yet so we're still continuing to assess this, talking to the Russians," he said. "We're pressuring them to pressure the Assad regime." Two aid convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, that were headed for the city of Aleppo have been held up since crossing the Turkish border, according to United Nations and other officials. The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Tuesday the United Nations was waiting for Damascus to issue letters authorizing the aid deliveries, which are desperately needed in Aleppo, the scene of Syria's fiercest fighting in recent months. The U.N. has estimated that well over half a million people are living under siege in Syria. The five-year-long civil war in Syria has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than 11 million people have been displaced. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Paul Simao, Toni Reinhold)
Once again Keshet International is bringing a new reality format to the Mipcom/MipTV markets after a promising launch in Israel. Following previous unscripted entries like Rising Star and Boom!, this time Keshet will be shopping new adventure reality format Welcome To The Wild to international buyers next month at Mipcom.

The first season, Welcome to the Wild: Amazon, was produced and aired by Keshet Israel. The show, in the vein of The Amazing Race and Survivor, already has been renewed for a second season, which will be set in a different exotic location.

The first season followed 18 contestants  divided into 3 teams  as they embarked on a wild journey along natures craziest and longest obstacle course  the Amazon River. At each leg of the race, a challenge inspired by the ancient culture of a different hidden tribe reveals itself.

The producers explain how Welcome to the Wilds format differs from other shows in the genre. Rather than running through a city or only briefly hearing the host describe the culture, contestants get to learn about the terrain through fast-paced missions and challenges that are inspired by the terrains culture and mythology. They get to see the place through the eyes of those who live there and immerse themselves in many different aspects of the worlds most intriguing locales.

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Kim McGuire, who portrayed tough girl Mona "Hatchet-Face" Malnorowski opposite Johnny Depp in the John Waters musical comedy Cry-Baby, has died. She was 60.

McGuire, who had been living in Naples, Fla., died Wednesday, her friend Suzy Hixson reported on a GoFundMe page that has been set up to help the actress' husband, Gene Piotrowsky. The Twitter account of the late Waters regular Divine also posted the news.

In Cry-Baby (1990), Waters' cult follow-up to Hairspray, McGuire played the knife-licking, facially contorting Hatchet-Face, one of the group of delinquents known as The Drapes. When a judge in a courtroom scene apologizes to her for her face, she replies, "There's nothing the matter with my face. I got character!"

Read more: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016

In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin called Hatchet-Face a "hideously contorted floozy" who is "too frightening to be funny."

In casting materials for the role, Waters said that he wanted an actress for Hatchet-Face with "the body of Jayne Mansfield and the face of Margaret Hamilton  [and] nobody, but nobody, gives her grief."

A native of New Orleans, McGuire also appeared opposite Malcolm McDowell in Disturbed (1990) and had a regular role in 1992 on the short-lived David Lynch ABC series On the Air. She left Hollywood in the late 1990s to practice law.
By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's chief executive shared kisses and posed for selfies with young people on Thursday, in a live YouTube broadcast meant to soften his image as an aging man shut away from Europe's crises. Sitting in a studio decked out as a colorful apartment, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took questions from three German, French and Polish budding video stars, one with more than a million followers on YouTube. Juncker admitted he had little interest in social media but denied he was above ordinary people. "I'm not a movie star. Have I kissed you?" Juncker told his Polish interviewer. "Why not now?", he said, standing up to kiss him on the cheek. Juncker has faced accusations in European media that he drinks too much and, as a 61-year-old smoker, is in no shape to run an EU executive overseeing legislation affecting 500 million Europeans. A Twitter hashtag #AskJuncker set up for the broadcast was peppered with anti-EU comments. Juncker denied he had a drinking problem in a separate interview with the French newspaper Liberation on Tuesday, saying he sometimes stumbles in public because of a car accident in the 1980s. The subject did not come up in the hour-long YouTube broadcast. Wearing a purple tie, relaxed and sharing jokes in English, French and German, Juncker said was dealing with a range of issues, from the rise in militant attacks in Europe to corporate tax evasion. He also spoke emotionally about his father, a veteran of the second world war who died this year. Juncker said young people needed to defend the idea of a united Europe. "My father was obliged to serve in World War Two. He experienced the lack of Europe ... Today it is a question of the future (of Europe)," Juncker said to a question from YouTube celebrity Jonas, a 19-year-old German with more than a million followers on YouTube. (Reporting by Robin Emmott, editing by Larry King)
By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The prosecutor of alleged war crimes in the 1998-99 Kosovo conflict vowed on Thursday to work "fairly, vigorously and without fear" in an investigation which could implicate some of the country's top politicians. In his first news conference after being named to the job this month, David Schwendiman said it was too early to rule in or out any suspects. A 2011 report for the Council of Europe tied leading Kosovo figures  notably President Hashim Thaci  to gruesome crimes against Serbs, including trade in organs harvested from prisoners of war. Thaci denies wrongdoing. "There is more to say, more to come before everything is in place to allow me to make formal charging decisions," Schwendiman said. The new Hague court, called the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, is being set up after pressure from the European Union on the Kosovo government to confront allegations of war crimes committed against ethnic Serbs by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). It will operate under Kosovo law, but use international judges and prosecutors. Registrar Fidelma Donlon said Thursday the court was hoping to "commence judicial activity" in the first half of 2017, adopting rules of procedure and evidence before Schwendiman could bring charges against any suspect. The court is still in the process of appointing the judges who will determine those rules, she said. Forces of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic were accused of massacring Kosovo Albanian civilians in a counter-insurgency campaign in the former Serbian province before they were driven out by NATO air strikes and the KLA in 1999. Former members of the KLA are seen by many of the now independent state's ethnic Albanian majority as freedom fighters. "I am not talking about who, what or when ... I will not mention who is on or off the table" prosecutor Schwendiman said on Thursday. "I don't take instruction from anyone." The Hague is home to a number of international courts. The Kosovo allegations fall outside the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court, making the new chamber necessary. Milosevic and several other Serbs have been prosecuted for war crimes in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, and some Serbs accuse legal authorities in the Hague of being biased against them. (Writing by Toby Sterling and Anthony Deutsch; editing by Andrew Roche)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Snowden (Photo: TIFF)

By Vladimir Kozlov, The Hollywood Reporter

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has praised Oliver Stones Snowden, which is opening in Russia on Thursday.

Peskov was quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying that the movie, centered on NSA leaker Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is top quality.

Related: Snowden Film Review

[It has] a brilliant script, and, what is most important, it is nearly a documentary, he said. This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn what actually happened. Its a must-see.

Peskov added that he would recommend to people in Europe and the U.S. to watch the movie.

Earlier this month, RIA Novosti reported that Snowden, who has lived in exile in Russia since the summer of 2013, appears in the movie in a cameo and that the version to be released in Russia is four minutes longer than that slated for release in the U.S.

Related: Oliver Stone on Edward Snowden: America Is Fed Bull- and We Buy It (Q&A)

However, it hasnt been revealed what exactly the four minutes cut from the U.S. version contain.

The script of the movie, written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald, is loosely based on Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherenas book Vremya spruta (Time of the Octopus) and British journalist Luke Hardings nonfiction book The Snowden Files.

Snowden: Watch a trailer:


Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has praised Oliver Stone's Snowden, which is opening Thursday in Russia.

Peskov was quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying that the movie, centering on NSA leaker Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), is "top quality."

"[It has] a brilliant script, and, what is most important, it is nearly a documentary," he said. "This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn what actually happened. It's a must-see."

Peskov added that he would recommend people in Europe and in the U.S. watch the movie.

Earlier this month, RIA Novosti reported that Snowden, who has lived in exile in Russia since the summer of 2013, appears in the movie in a cameo and that the version to be released in Russia is four minutes longer than that slated for release in the U.S.

However, it hasn't been revealed exactly what the four minutes cut from the U.S. version contain.

The script for Snowden, written by Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald, is loosely based on Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena's book Vremya spruta (Time of the Octopus) and British journalist Luke Harding's nonfiction book The Snowden Files.

Read more: Toronto: Under the Milky Way Picks Up 'The Student' for North America
Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson at the Toronto International Film Festival (Entertainment Tonight)

Hes Mr. Jimmy, the boss of the ill-fated oil rig Deepwater Horizon. Shes Felicia Williams, the wife of chief technician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) whos petrified to discover an explosion is threatening the lives of the 126 people on board the vessel.

Deepwater Horizon marks the first acting collaboration between Kurt Russell and stepdaughter Kate Hudson. Even though they share only one fleeting moment together, it is a scene 20 years in the making.

Related: Peter Berg Defends Portrayal of Oil Workers as Heroes in Deepwater Horizon

Russell told Yahoo Movies Tuesday at the Toronto International Festival that he actually wanted Kate, whom he raised with wife Goldie Hawn, to take a role in 1996s Escape From L.A., his eye-patched action hero Snake Plisskens follow-up to the the 1981 classic Escape From New York.

I wanted her to play the female ingenue, Russell said of the role of Utopia, which eventually went to A.J. Langer (My So-Called Life). And so did [writer-producer] Deborah Hill and [director] John Carpenter. [Kate] decided not to do it. This was before she started. She made her decision. That role, in a movie that Pas starring in, maybe not. And she talked it over with Goldie, she talked it over with me, and she ended up saying, Nah, I guess this isnt the way to start.'

Hudson started instead in quieter films like 1998s Desert Blue and 1999s 200 Cigarettes, though it was Cameron Crowes 2000 coming-of-age drama Almost Famous that launched her career and earned her an Oscar nomination. She had been pretty careful and we had tried to help her be careful about how she started, Russell said. We knew she was going to do it.

Thats because the actress, now 37, developed a fascination for filmmaking while visiting her parents sets in the 80 and 90s. Its a completely different experience, youre just a kid. Youre in the way, Hudson said. Most kids get bored on set. But I loved watching how to make movies from very early. So I always wanted to be there.

Story continues

She remembers going on productions like Overboard (1987) and Winter People (1989), but there are a couple others that standout. Like Russells Big Trouble in Little China (1986). It was Halloween time, and John Carpenter and my dad  everybody brought their kids  and they hid candy all over the set of Big Trouble. And if you remember Big Trouble, those sets were awesome. So having a scavenger hunt there was really cool.

Related: Kurt Russell Talks Tango and Cash Reunion in Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Hudson loved watching Ron Howard, who directed Russell in the 1991 fireman drama Backdraft. I just remember what a kind director he was, and how focused, she said. Backdraft was so intense. We had to hide behind the trucks when theyd shoot certain things and my dad was up there with all the [protective] gel on and things are blowing up all over the place. And Ron was as calm and collected and as focused as anybody Ive ever seen in a situation like that.

Kurt Russell in Deepwater Horizon (Lionsgate)

Russell and Hudson were approached separately to appear in Deepwater Horizon, but they were able to talk about the script before both signing on. Russell said he even pitched director Peter Berg and team an additional scene that would bring their characters together. I said, You do understand that we have an opportunity here? I gave it my best, couldnt sell it.

The films content is intense and tragic, but the New Orleans shoot was a happy, family affair. Not only did Kate bring sons Ryder and Bingham down with her, but her brother Oliver Hudson, also an actor, was in town shooting Foxs Scream Queens, and brought his kids as well. Russell had all of his grandkids in one place, a rare occasion for a showbiz family. It was pretty special, he said.

Kates kids have typically been bored when visiting her film sets. Usually if youre my kids, youre like, Mom, it was great to see you, Im gonna go. I dont want to be here. Im out. But she noticed a difference while in Buffalo shooting this summer shooting the Thurgood Marshall biopic Marshall.

Ryder, now that hes 12, is starting to love it, she said. On Marshall he was watching the monitor, he was talking to the director [Reginald Hudlin]. I could see him watching, he would ask all of these questions. And the guys would show him different lenses and stuff. I was like, Uh-oh.'

Sounds like the family business could be growing.

Deepwater Horizon opens Sept. 30.

Watch our Role Recall interview with Kurt Russell:




By Lin Taylor LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For Ahmad al-Rashid, fleeing from his home in Aleppo, northern Syria, to Iraq in 2013 was the safest choice he had. But after two years as an aid worker there, and watching the situation deteriorate, al-Rashid decided to leave for Britain. "[Iraq] itself was in a crisis, it got worse and worse. Syria and Iraq were the same - so being a refugee in Iraq was just like being in Aleppo," he said at a media briefing organized by aid group Oxfam UK. Around 3.8 million refugees and asylum seekers fled from one conflict zone to another last year, according to an Oxfam report published on Thursday. Using data from the United Nation's refugee agency (UNHCR), Oxfam found that around 16 percent of the world's refugee and asylum seeker population had fled to countries also in conflict, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen. "The fact that so many people flee conflict only to end up in another country that's troubled by insecurity shows the lack of options many refugees have," Mark Goldring, Oxfam CEO, said. For example, war-torn Yemen, one of poorest countries in the Middle East with some two million internally displaced people, hosts refugees from other conflict-ridden nations such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, and even Syria, Goldring said. GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY The Oxfam report comes a week before U.S. President Barack Obama hosts the first U.N. summit on refugees in New York where he is expected to urge leaders to do more to help refugees in countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Kenya and Jordan. Like many Syrian refugees, Yasser Al Jassem had no intention of fleeing when war broke out in 2011, preferring to die in Syria while opposing President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Al Jassem left the capital Damascus where he worked, and returned to his home village near Aleppo to volunteer as an ambulance driver, pulling people from the rubble after a bombing or air strike. But in 2014, Islamic State militants marched into his village in northern Syria and executed his brother. Now, Al Jassem said, he was wanted by both government forces and the Islamist fighters, also known as ISIS. "My parents and my wife asked me many times, 'Please move to another country that's safe,'" Al Jassem said. It took months of convincing before Al Jassem finally decided to leave Syria and seek asylum in Britain. A record 65.3 million people were uprooted worldwide last year, many of them fleeing wars only to face walls, tougher laws and xenophobia as they reach borders, according to the UNHCR. "While there has been some effort to welcome refugees, the overall trend has been around deterrence, containment and outsourcing," said Maya Mailer, Oxfam UK's head of humanitarian policy. "The right to claim asylum is being eroded. And in part, it's because the richer countries aren't sharing the responsibility." Al Jassem said it took months to travel through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Calais in France, before finally arriving in the northern English city of Manchester, where he now lives with his wife and two-year-old daughter. While grateful for his new life, Al Jassem said he dreams of returning home to be with his friends and elderly parents. "When I think of Damascus, I feel very sad. Could I ever go back to Damascus? I don't want to stay in Europe. I just want a safe place for [a short while] and we'll go back to Syria. I love my country." (Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Katie Nguyen.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian issues, conflicts, global land and property rights, modern slavery and human trafficking, women's rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
college student reading

The State University of New York system voted Wednesday to remove questions about criminal history from applications to its schools, Syracuse.com reported.

The vote by the largest public university system in the US  with nearly half a million enrolled students  follows a push to "ban the box" at colleges and universities across the nation.

SUNY cited a study that found that while about 3,000 of its applicants answer "yes" on questions about felony convictions, only about 1,200 go on to complete applications, according to Syracuse.com.

In May, the Department of Education urged colleges and universities to remove questions about criminal history from applications.

The recommendation, described in the new report "Beyond the Box: Increasing Access to Higher Education for Justice-Involved Individuals," says colleges should remove the barriers to higher education for the "estimated 70 million citizens with criminal records."

"We believe in second chances and we believe in fairness," Secretary of Education John King Jr. said at a press conference, according to a release from the White House. "The college admissions process shouldn't serve as a roadblock to opportunity but should serve as a gateway to unlocking untapped potential of students."

In unveiling the report, the Department of Education referred to a 2015 Center for Community Alternatives study that found that 63% of college applicants with felony convictions begin applications but do not finish them. Those numbers closely align with the findings at SUNY. Among all applicants, however, only 21% of applications go unfinished.

While 35% of colleges in a recent survey, highlighted by The Atlantic's Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, acknowledged they had denied applicants because of their criminal history, experts argue that the questions themselves could intimidate and deter applicants from even completing the process.

Story continues

Vivian Nixon, executive director of College and Community Fellowship, which helps formerly incarcerated women attain higher education, spoke of the damaging effect questions asking about criminal history could have on applicants.

"There's a chilling effect for many students," Nixon told Lantigua-Williams. "They interpret the questions as, 'I'm not going to get in because I have a felony.'"

Though the US contains just 5% of the world's population, the country accounts for 20% of the global incarcerations  the highest percentage in the world, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Prison incarceration also disproportionately affects men of color; one in three black men can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, according to a report from the Sentencing Project.

NOW WATCH: A police officer who went undercover as a prisoner says the inmates shared this troubling trait





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In Denial, out Sept. 30, the actor, 46, plays historian Deborah Lipstadt, who was sued for libel in 1996 for calling author David Irving a Holocaust denier; in the British legal system, the burden fell on her defense team to essentially prove that the Holocaust happened.

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Putins Liberal Opponents

Russia votes on Sept. 18 to elect members of its State Duma, or lower house of parliament. Experts predict the vote will deliver a firmly pro-Kremlin Duma, as liberal opposition parties have been systematically repressed since disputed elections in 2011 sparked protests against President Vladimir Putin. Even so, some liberal candidates are trying to make their mark.

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Laurene Powell Jobs

A year after announcing she'd give away $50 million to innovative schools, Laurene Powell Jobs is doubling down on her offer.

Powell Jobs, the president of the Emerson Collective charity and widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, announced on September 14 that her education initiative, XQ: The Super School Project, will split up $100 million in grant money between 10 unique schools around the US.

Since the initiative's open call last September, XQ received nearly 700 proposals for how to redesign the modern high school.

"We were trying something new, and when you try something new you don't know where it's going to lead and how it's going to unfold," Powell Jobs told USA Today.

After a year of review, XQ narrowed the list of 696 schools down to just 10 that will receiving $10 million apiece XQ is calling them "Super Schools."

"Every Super School is different," the XQ website states, whether it's in the school's use of technology, collaboration, scheduling, or physical space." But together, the schools confront a wide range of challenges and leave few opportunities unmet."

Here's the list of winners, in no particular order:

Design Lab High, Newark, Delaware

Opened in August 2015, Design Lab High treats education like an exercise in Research & Development. Students learn, build, tinker, and explore problems through prototypes, podcasts, and enriching field trips in virtual reality, XQ explains.

FURR Institute for Innovative Thinking, Houston, Texas

At Furr High School, lessons from environmental and nutritional sciences underpin students' education. The large public high school structures many courses in the style of university seminars, and students partner with nearby college students to work on research projects dedicated to improving environmental sustainability.

Challenge High, Vista, California

Personalized learning strategies are typically best implemented in small schools. Challenge High has 2,600 kids, but students there get detailed plans for their four years and work in "immersive technology-rich environments." That technology allows them to pursue challenge-based learning that follows the standards set by the UN Sustainability Goals.

Story continues

Brooklyn Lab, Brooklyn, New York

Even in New York City, students can miss out on cutting-edge learning and major career opportunities. Brooklyn Lab charter school connects students to industry experts, universities, and artists to get families involved with the new economy, XQ states.

Grand Rapids Public Museum High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan

XQ states that "the museum is the school and the community is the classroom" at this high school, where a quarter of a million cultural artifacts are available to both students and the surrounding community. The school also calls on scientists and field experts to supplement teachers' lessons and get kids thinking about the world outside their hometown bubble.

New Harmony High, Venice, Louisiana

New Harmony's central learning space will sit on a moored barge, XQ explains, and other classrooms will reside in the Mississippi Delta. Students can do internships in offices, labs, and on fishing vessels to learn about climate change. The goal is to prepare kids for adult life by placing them directly in the environment where many will soon be spending their working hours.

Washington Leadership Academy, Washington, District of Columbia

Smack-dab in the nation's capital, the charter school provides low-income students with the opportunities to use MakerSpaces, experience international travel in virtual reality, and get visits from real-world professionals. XQ says holographic instruction is also in the works.

Summit Elevate, Oakland, California

For their XQ proposal, Summit Public Schools joined forces with California College of the Arts (CCA), design firm Gensler, Silicon Schools Fund, Oakland Unified School District, and the Office of Mayor Libby Schaaf to launch Summit Elevate. Students in the program drive their own education and get completely personalized learning with help from technology and advisors.

Powderhouse Studios, Somerville, Massachusetts

A nonprofit working with Somerville public schools created a high school modeled after the animation company Pixar. The school emphasizes creativity, research and development. Each student will have access to a support team made up of a social worker and personal project manager. Kids can work year-round and collaborate with local artists and scientists to realize big projects.

RISE High, Los Angeles, California

Proposed charter school RISE High was designed to accommodate homeless youth and those in the foster care system, who are 87% more likely to drop out of high school. RISE will exist in multiple locations, each of which will come with transportation services to help give kids rides to school. Students will learn through projects and get competence-based assessments that focus on what they learn, not how much time they spend in a classroom.

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Detroit lawsuit

A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and other state education officials paints an abysmal picture of schooling within the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD), the state's largest public-school district that serves nearly 50,000 students.

Filed on behalf of seven black and Latino students who attend five of the lowest performing schools in Detroit, the suit describes "slum-like conditions" at the schools, "lacking the most basic educational opportunities." They also serve more than 97% low-income students of color.

Because of these conditions, the suit argues, students remain "separate and unequal" and can't attain "the level of literacy necessary to function," in addition to proficiency in other subjects. As such, the suit alleges the district violates their due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

"For years, classrooms and campuses have been unable to satisfy minimal state health and safety standards, let alone deliver basic education," the suit reads.

Neither the office of the governor nor the Michigan Department of Education responded to Business Insider's requests for comment. A spokesperson from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget said it doesn't respond to pending litigation.

Specific allegations in the suit range from a lack of teachers and supplies to classroom temperatures that induced fainting and vermin infestations.

For instance, none of the plaintiffs can take his or her books home from school, making homework nearly impossible. Many students at the schools must also share books, often damaged beyond readability. Some books are even older than the students reading them, according to the suit.

Detroit lawsuit

Detroit lawsuit

Many schools also lack basic supplies, like paper, pencils and even toilet paper, the suit alleges. Wealthier schools in the area either donate these items, or teachers purchase them out of pocket, according to the suit.

Story continues

The suit also alleges a deficiency in clean and safe classroom space to accompany the dwindling supplies. As many as 50 students sit in some classrooms, elbow-to-elbow or on the floor, according to the suit. As a result, classrooms, with either no or minimal air conditioning, can reach as hot as 90 degrees. At Hamilton Academy, a charter school attended by one of the plaintiffs, excessive temperatures caused students and teachers to vomit and faint during the first week of this school year, according to the suit.

In one fourth-grade classroom in a school not attended by any of the plaintiffs but still within the district, a leaking hole in the ceiling created "the lake," as students and teachers refer to the area in their classroom surrounded by yellow caution tape.

Detroit lawsuit

Aside from general disrepair, mice, cockroaches, and mold plague classrooms, bathrooms, and other areas of the schools, the suit alleges. At Hamilton, teachers keep Raid on their desks. Students also routinely find bullets, sex toys, and used condoms around the school, according to the suit.

Detroit lawsuit

Hiring and maintaining an adequate teaching staff also poses a problem for the district, according to the suit.

Last year, the seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher at Hamilton left the school due to frustration about class size and lack of support. After a few failed attempts finding a replacement, the "highest performing" eighth-grade student took over teaching both grade levels, the suit alleges.

"As a direct result of the State's failure," the suit says, proficiency rates at the plaintiff's schools hover around zero for all subjects. Students often struggle to write complete sentences, let alone essays or longer assignments. In one instance, an eleventh grader asked how to spell the word "the."

Despite recent attempts at reform, Detroit schools suffer from some of the worst test scores and graduation rates in the country, not to mention crushing financial difficulty. The new suit comes just eight months after Detroit teachers staged a massive "sickout" during President Barack Obama's visit to the city to call attention to the unsafe and unhealthy conditions across the district.

In June, Snyder, Michigan's governor, signed a $617 million bailout which split the system in two districts: one for tax collection and another for educating new students. Of the funds, $467 million went toward paying off operating debt at the former and $150 provided the start-up cost for the latter, debt-free district.

The package, however, had its critics.

Detroit school board president Herman Davis told The Detroit News at the time that the legislation eliminated "the rights of kids in Detroit to an equal education" and was "messing around with things like uncertified teachers and taking technology out of the classroom."

The suit against Snyder and others does allege that allowing non-certified instructors to teach inflamed the already problematic environment within DPSCD.

The plaintiffs seek relief in the form of classes focused on bringing students up to proficiency, literacy screening to prevent them from falling behind in the first place, and state monitoring of the district as well as reimbursement for costs associated with the suit.

NOW WATCH: Here's footage of Brock Turner leaving jail after serving half of his 6-month sentence





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Monrovia (AFP) - A Liberian newspaper editor was arrested Thursday after republishing an article from Britain's Daily Mail website that alleges the president of Equatorial Guinea is a cannibal.

On Sunday the British tabloid posted an article about longtime President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo alleging the strongman skinned opponents alive and ate their testicles, brains and livers.

The New Democrat reprinted certain elements of the piece by journalist Thomas Burrows on its Wednesday front page, attracting the ire of the information minister.

Festus Poquie, editor of the New Democrat newspaper, was then detained by plain-clothed police and locked in a cell for several hours before his release on Thursday afternoon.

"The Liberia National Police can confirm that its Crime Services Division is holding a conversation with a senior Editor of the New Democrat, Festus Poquie," a police statement sent to AFP read.

Liberia's information minister Eugene Nagbe had already contacted the country's press union to complain about the article and demand action be taken against the New Democrat.

"Considering that the conduct of the publisher of New Democrat marks a most dangerous departure from the principles of professional journalism, we demand and insist that the paper be penalised," read a letter signed by Nagbe.

The Press Union of Liberia described his arrest as "an act of intimidation against the freedom of press in Liberia," at a moment of high tension between the media and the government.

Earlier this month journalist Jallah Grayfield lodged a complaint with police after alleging she received intimidating texts from a junior minister, while the government shut down two radio stations known for their critical stance on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf this summer.

Reporters Without Borders said the public had "a right to hear all opinions, even those that are critical and irritate the current government," following the case of the minister.

Obiang, who heads sub-Saharan's Africa's third largest oil producer, is the continent's longest serving leader and has served since taking power in a coup in 1979.

Equatorial Guinea is regularly tagged as one of Africa's most corrupt and authoritarian states.
LibertyGlobal plc. LBTYA, one of the largest cable TV providers in the world, has reached a long-term agreement with Netflix Inc. NFLX wherein the latter will be allowed to offer its content on the formers cable network. The service will be available in 30 of the countries Liberty Global operates in, starting from the Netherlands and gradually expanding to other regions. Notably, Liberty Global already offers Netflix content to U.K. customers via Virgin Media  a company that was acquired by Liberty Global in 2016.

A New Trend

Cable TV providers like Liberty Global and Comcast Corporation CMCSA have been facing considerable challenges from the over-the-top (OTT) video streaming business model which has led to increased cord cutting in recent years. Notably, people have been shifting toward unbundled packages, dumping the expensive cable TV plans. However, we may see increased partnerships between cable TV operators and OTT service providers in the future. Interestingly, this is Netflixs second collaboration with a cable operator, after Comcasts X1 video system deal in July this year.

The Bottom Line

Combining Netflixs attractive content with its own cable TV system will help Liberty Globals cable TV services gain more viewers. Moreover, such a partnership will prove beneficial to Netflix as well. The OTT market is slowly becoming a much contested space as an increasing number of telecom operators are coming up with video streaming services like Verizon Communication Inc.s VZ Go90. Thus, we believe that this partnership is a win for both companies.

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Tripoli (AFP) - Libya's oil company on Thursday announced an "immediate" resumption of oil exports from two of the key ports captured this week by forces opposed to the country's UN-backed unity government.

The United States, for its part, insisted that oil revenues are deposited with the central bank in Tripoli.

Forces led by a controversial general, Khalifa Haftar, who backs a rival administration in eastern Libya, seized four ports in the country's so-called "oil crescent" this week and handed them over to the National Oil Company (NOC).

Their capture was a blow to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which relies on oil revenues and has struggled to assert its control over the country.

The seizure of Zuwaytina, Brega, Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra oil terminals was the latest escalation of the turmoil that has gripped Libya since the 2011 revolution which overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

"Exports will resume immediately from Zuwaytina and Ras Lanuf, and will continue at Brega," NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla said. "Exports will resume from Al-Sidra as soon as possible."

Since the capture of the terminals, Sanalla has vowed to oil double production from Libya, which with an estimated 48 billion barrels holds Africa's largest oil reserves.

The US special envoy for Libya, Jonathan Winer, in a telephone interview from Washington, told AFP no action would be taken against oil exports if the proceeds are paid into Libya's central bank.

"The oil that is exported has to be exported according to lawful contracts with the proceeds going into the central bank of Libya whose main offices are in Tripoli," he said.

"If oil were to be diverted... the US will seek to enforce UN Security Council resolutions.

"If the government of Libya (GNA) asks for support again, the international community is likely to provide that support," the US envoy said.

Story continues

"However, if the oil is going in the government's revenues and the government supports that, there is no action for the international community to take."

The prospects of a resumption of Libyan oil exports has fanned concern on the international oil market about a global supply glut and overproduction that have hammered prices for more than two years.

Oil prices rebounded slightly Thursday after tanking the previous day, although gains were capped by US stockpiles data as well as the prospect of rising output in Libya and Nigeria, dealers said.

- Haftar has 'upper hand' -

The NOC considers itself loyal to the GNA, but also to the country's internationally recognised parliament, which supports Haftar's forces and has refused to grant the GNA a vote of confidence.

Libya has only managed to export a few tankers of crude in recent months, with efforts to revive the industry thwarted by jihadist attacks and political turmoil.

"We can raise production to 600,000 barrels per day within four weeks and to 950,000 bpd by the end of the year from around 290,000 bpd at present," the NOC chief said.

However, this would depend on "receiving essential funds from the budget and on the oil crescent ports and the closed pipelines in the southwest being opened and kept open".

Libya has been wracked by turmoil, with rival administrations and militias vying for control over the past five years.

Under a UN-brokered accord signed in December, the GNA started work in the capital earlier this year but has since struggled to assert its authority.

And by capturing the oil ports, Haftar has consolidated his position.

"Haftar now has the upper hand," said Mattia Toaldo, a Libya expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Haftar, 73, who sees himself as Libya's saviour after driving jihadists out of most of the country's second city, Benghazi, is the most powerful backer of the eastern administration.

Parliament head Aguila Saleh on Wednesday promoted Haftar from the rank of general to field marshal.

The offensive in the oil region came as pro-GNA forces backed by US air strikes pressed a months-long campaign to expel the last Islamic State group jihadists from the coastal city of Sirte, their former North African bastion.
Loving and American Pastoral have locked in prime slots at the 2016 Hamptons International Film Festival, screening as the opening and closing night films, respectively.

Writer-director Jeff Nichols will open the festival with Loving, which tells the real-life story of interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving as they fight for the right to live as a family in a segregated town. Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga lead the cast of the Focus Features film, set for release Nov. 4.

Ewan McGregors adaptation of the Philip Roth novel, American Pastoral, closes the festival with a look at an all-American family whose illusions are shattered when a high school athlete turned successful businessman and his former beauty pageant wife discover their daughter has been accused of a heinous crime. McGregor, Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Connelly star in the film, to be rolled out for release by Lionsgate beginning Oct. 21.

Every year the festival aims to bring topical, timely and entertaining programming to our audiences, and both of our Opening and Closing Night films fit this bill, said HIFF Executive Director Anne Chaisson.

The 24th Hamptons International Film Festival runs over Columbus Day Weekend, Oct. 6-10, in East Hampton, New York. News of the opening and closing films follows on the heels of the fests announcement of the competition slates, with Edward Norton set to receive this years career award.

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Sao Paulo (AFP) - A former shoeshine boy and steelworker who became one of Brazil's most popular presidents, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is now facing a downfall that is just as spectacular.

Prosecutors have accused the charismatic leftist of masterminding a massive corruption scheme at state oil company Petrobras -- charges he dismissed Thursday as a "soap-opera intrigue" aimed at sidelining him from presidential elections in 2018.

Lula, as he is known to all Brazil, left office in 2011 as a blue-collar hero who presided over a watershed economic boom and helped lift tens of millions of people from poverty.

Brazil's first democratically elected leftist since the end of its 1964-1985 military dictatorship, he was so widely admired as president that Foreign Policy magazine called him a "rock star" and his US counterpart Barack Obama once referred to him as "the man."

Known for his charisma and common touch, Lula's popularity in Brazil and the success of the economy during a period of high commodity prices helped him ride out numerous corruption scandals.

When he stepped down after two terms, he basked in 80 percent popularity ratings.

But the march of time has not been kind to him -- or to his hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, who was stripped of the presidency on August 31 at the conclusion of an impeachment trial on unrelated charges of budget irregularities.

Their Workers' Party is floundering from the Petrobras scandal, the impeachment battle and the country's worst recession in decades.

Lula chalked it up to a plot by Brazilian elites to "destroy" him and his legacy.

- Poverty to power -

Lula grew up in deep poverty, the last of eight children born to a family of farmers in the arid, hardscrabble northeastern state of Pernambuco.

He had little formal education as a boy, quitting grade school to help his family get by.

When he was seven, his family joined a wave of migration to the industrial heartland of Sao Paulo state, where he worked as a shoeshine boy and street vendor before becoming a metalworker.

Story continues

He rose to become president of his trade union less than a decade after joining.

He was the force behind big strikes in the 1970s that challenged the military regime. And in 1980, he co-founded the Workers' Party, first standing as its candidate for president nine years later.

He made three unsuccessful presidential bids from 1989 to 1998, each time chipping away at the establishment parties and the idea that a poor, uneducated labor leader could never be president of Brazil.

The fourth time, in 2002, he succeeded, taking office on January 1, 2003.

- Glory days -

Lula soon calmed market fears of a radical surge to the left by adopting fiscally responsible policies, dark suits and a calm, pragmatic approach.

He also had the good fortune to preside over a so-called golden decade for Latin America, when a rising China's ravenous demand for raw materials propelled the region's economies to a historic period of growth.

Brazil's economy hit an impressive 7.5 percent growth pace in 2010, his final year in office.

Despite a series of scandals in his first term -- most notably a congressional vote-buying case that felled his chief of staff -- Lula coasted to re-election in 2006.

He became a star of the emerging-markets boom of the 2000s, reinforcing alliances across the world's developing nations.

Constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms, he cemented his legacy by helping Rousseff into power.

- Possible comeback? -

But his post-presidential life has been fraught with difficulties. In October 2011 he was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and successfully underwent chemotherapy.

He has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of a presidential comeback in 2018.

Polls place him among the top contenders for the elections.

But Lula is an increasingly divisive figure, loved by his leftist, working-class base but loathed by those better off.

With prosecutors calling him the "supreme commander" of the sprawling Petrobras graft scheme, he now faces the threat of watching the election from jail.
Sao Paulo (AFP) - Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended himself against corruption charges Thursday, saying the case against him was an attempt to destroy him politically ahead of 2018 elections.

Speaking a day after prosecutors accused him of masterminding a massive pay-to-play scheme at state oil company Petrobras, the popular leftist said Brazilian "elites" were plotting his downfall along with that of his recently impeached successor, Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff, who was convicted in the Senate on unrelated charges of accounting irregularities, was replaced on August 31 by center-right President Michel Temer, her vice president-turned-nemesis.

Lula said both cases aimed to sideline the powerful Workers' Party he co-founded in 1980.

"Like a soap-opera intrigue, they created an epilogue: They elected Temer, removed Dilma from office... and now they want to destroy Lula's political life," he said, flanked by supporters at a news conference in Sao Paulo.

Lula, a former shoeshine boy and steelworker who remains a hero to many poor Brazilians, presided over eight years of prosperity from 2003 to 2011.

The boom turned to bust under Rousseff, and Brazil is now stuck in its worst recession in 80 years.

But Lula recalled how social programs launched during his administration helped tens of millions of Brazilians escape poverty.

"I'm proud to have created the largest left-wing party in Latin America," said Lula, 70, wearing a red Workers' Party shirt beneath a gray blazer.

Tearing up, he said he considered his greatest accomplishment to be that even poor Brazilians "can walk with their heads held high."

The gravel-voiced, charismatic leader is still seen as potential come-back material in Brazil -- or was until recently.

Polls show him to be a favorite for returning to power in the next presidential elections in 2018.

But his political project is in turmoil after Rousseff's impeachment and his own legal troubles.

Story continues

- 'Supreme commander' -

The charges allege that Lula and his wife received the equivalent of 3.7 million reais ($1.1 million) in bribes.

Among the allegations is that Lula received a beachside apartment and upgrades to the property from a major construction company, OAS, which was one of the players in the Petrobras scheme.

The allegations are not new but now go before Judge Sergio Moro, head of the Petrobras investigation, who will decide whether to accept them, forcing Lula's case to trial.

Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol singled out Lula -- who was president during much of the time that Petrobras was being systematically fleeced by a network of corrupt executives and politicians -- as the scheme's "supreme commander."

Lula challenged prosecutors to prove his alleged crimes.

"I'm not above the law. When I break the law, punish me," he said.

"Prove my corruption and I will go hand myself in to the police."

In the scheme, Petrobras, Brazil's biggest state company, gave over-inflated contracts to other big firms, such as OAS and construction rival Odebrecht.

The network also involved high-ranking politicians who took bribes from the contractors, sometimes for their own gain and sometimes to fill party coffers to fund election campaigns.

Dozens of politicians and some of Brazil's richest businessmen have been charged or convicted.

The investigation is hugely popular among Brazilians fed up with runaway corruption, and the fallout has been widespread.

Several close allies of Temer, the new president, are now being investigated by prosecutors in the Petrobras case.

- Crumbling legacy -

Lula was hailed internationally for combining business-friendly economic policy with social-welfare programs that helped fight centuries of deep-rooted inequality in Brazil.

He also was key in winning hosting rights to the 2014 World Cup and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which finished on August 21 -- South America's first.

But his legacy and power base are rapidly crumbling.

The Workers' Party, which dominated Brazilian politics for 13 years, is now in peril.

A conviction would dash Lula's hopes of running for a third term in 2018.

He has already been charged with attempting to obstruct investigations in the Petrobras case, a probe dubbed "Operation Carwash."
Lupita Nyong'o's latest fashion shoot took place at the location she knows best -- her family's village in Kenya.

With her native East African land in the background, the Queen of Katwe star glows on the October issue of Vogue magazine while donning a gorgeous Chanel floral frock, Vernon Francois headwrap and Cathy Waterman earrings.

I shared my home with @VogueMagazine so they could share my home with you. #LinkInBio for more. @QueenOfKatweMovie A photo posted by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:10am PDT

WATCH: Lupita Nyong'o Shows Off Her Flawless Beatboxing Skills

The breathtaking spread, which also features Nyong'o gracefully leaping through a field in a flowy Chloe dress and Christian Louboutin sandals, was shot by Mario Testino.

Mario Testino/Vogue

In her accompanying interview with the glossy, the 33-year-old actress shares an important piece of advice from her 12 Years a Slave director, Steve McQueen: "You have to go back to the beginning, to when you saw your first film or dressed up, and remind yourself what the purpose is, why you got into the profession, because you get seduced by the obvious."

For Nyong'o, that purpose is using her star power to reshape the way the world sees itself, and to "change the narrative."

RELATED: Lupita Nyong'o Tells Elmo She Loves Her Skin

"Being able to use my platform to expand and diversify the African voice, I feel very passionate about that," she explains. "It feels intentional, meaningful."

Mario Testino/Vogue

"The European sense of beauty affects us all," she continues. "I came home from college in the early 2000's and saw ads on TV with a girl who can't get a job. She uses this product. She gets her skin lighter. She gets the job. The lording of lighter skin is a common thing growing up in Nairobi. Being called 'black mamba.' The slow burn of recognizing something else is better than you."

Story continues

Flash forward to present day, and Nyong'o is happy to see women of all different skin tones and sizes breaking down the barriers of what it means to be beautiful. She says she's especially inspired and thrilled to see Alek Wek, a "dark as night" model from South Sudan, light up the runway, with people celebrating and embracing her true beauty.

Getty Images

NEWS: Lupita Nyong'o Talks Shaving Her Head, the Oscars Curse and Industry Discrimination

"Alek Wek changed how dark people saw themselves," she dishes. "That I could do the same in a way for somebody somewhere is amazing. There is no point in getting your picture taken if it doesn't move somebody. Right?"

And now, being a Hollywood fashion and beauty icon herself, that's exactly what Nyong'o plans to do.

"I want to create opportunities for other people of color because I'm fortunate enough to have a platform to do that. That is why Eclipsed and even Queen of Katwe are so important, to change the narrative, offer a new lens on African identity," she reveals, later adding that as an African actress, she's always "looking to develop great projects" and "searching for characters who are full of life, complicated and indelible in their pursuits and in their needs."

"I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society and how they may view that," she continues. "I realize that with what I shared at the Essence awards."

WATCH: Lupita Nyong'o Is 'Fantasizing' About Motherhood

At the Essence Black Women Luncheon in February 2014, Nyong'o admitted she wasn't always confident, mainly due to the color of her skin

"I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin," she said at the time. "And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned."

Following Vogue's announcement that Nyong'o was their new cover girl, the Oscar winner took to Instagram on Thursday to share her excitement, posting an emotional video of herself opening up a box with the magazine inside.

NEWS: Lupita Nyong'o 'Disappointed' With Oscars' Lack of Diversity

"I have a secret that I can finally share," she captioned it. "Guess who came to see me back home in Kenya?!"

I have a secret that I can finally share Guess who came to see me back home in Kenya?! A video posted by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:00am PDT

LOVE. Thank you @VogueMagazine, @MarioTestino, @TonneGood, @VernonFrancois, @DilokritBarose, @TeamID. #QueenOfKatwe A photo posted by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:05am PDT

WATCH: Lupita Nyong'o Shares Gorgeous Bikini Pic From Luxury Retreat in Bali

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It was a textbook case of competing values. The need for vibrancy and growth vs the desire to preserve the historic came head to head when Chabad at the University of Wisconsin sought permission to demolish an old house on its property.

No one could say how the City of Madisons planning commission would finally decide the motion. Chabad bought the vacant, decaying structure in 2012 with the intention of removing it to make room for an expanded student center on the adjacent property. Standing in Madisons National Mansion Hill District, the two-story Queen Anne style structure was not landmarked. But the Gage House was built in 1883 and held some historic interest, prompting objections to its removal.

Years of discussions between Chabads campus reps Rabbi Mendel and Henya Matusof, local and city historic preservationists and area neighbors followed the motion. Finally, after many architectural revisions to the proposed expansion of Chabad House that would satisfy zoning requirements and other concerns, the issue came up for a vote on August 29, shortly before the start of the new school year.

Both sides presented, each arguing the merits of their position. While some bemoaned the loss of a historic home to new construction, neighbors spoke of Chabads stabilizing presence, an oasis of family values and spirituality in the middle of a rowdy, chaotic campus setting. It was finally the remarks by studentssome who waited four hours for their turn to speakthat moved the members of the commission to put their support behind Chabad. By evenings end, when the ayes and nays were registered, all but one voted in favor of the recommendation.

Samantha Kerstein, at senior at UW, recalled her anxiety when she arrived as a freshman from Philadelphia. Wisconsin was a long way from home. I didnt really know anyone at all and when I got here I found Chabad. Chabad for me was not just a place where I could explore my Jewish heritage and culture but a place where I felt at home. Mendel and Henya both made me feel safe, secure, comfortable, and they really helped me get through that time.

Her sentiments were echoed by other students. Zachary Erlichman, another senior, spoke of the bond students form with Mendel and Henya and their young children right on campus. Mendel taught me leadership, how to foster a community. I think these are all really important qualities that we dont get to focus on as undergraduates as much; we dont get to think of some of these bigger questions while were figuring out which midterm we have that week.

Though members of the commission expressed profound regret at the loss of a historic resource, they noted the unusual circumstances of this case that set it apart from the routine business of new construction for profit. The Matusofs were seeking permission to build a family center, not for their own self-interest, but as part of their mission, in the service of Madisons campus community.

This has been a difficult decision, said Alder Sheri Carter. Theres always a justification for demolishing our historic buildings. Theres always going to be someone saying that this is going to be for the greater good. But I was moved by Rabbi Mendel and his statements and comments, and the students who came and talked about their support for this, so Im going to throw caution to the wind and support this motion.

The decision allows Chabad to remove the house and build a Tudor-style extension that will be, in the words of one alderman, a stabilizing and far superior building as an extension to the Rohr Family Chabad House at 223 Gilman. The new construction will give students 10,000 sq feet of space over the current 4,000, with an assembly hall large enough for 250, a commercial kitchen and other facilities. Construction is set to begin this fall, as the $3.5 million campaign, which kicked off with a lead gift by the Goodman Foundation and the Rohr Family Foundation, meets its target.
A barrage of economic data this morning did little to wow investors. All three major averages (^GPSC, ^DJI, ^IXIC) started the day slightly higher.

Consumers scaled back spending last month as they bought fewer cars and other goods. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell 0.3%. Thats more than economists were expecting.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing for first time unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 last week to 260,000 according to the Labor Department.

The plot thickens at Wells Fargo

Federal prosecutors are reportedly probing Wells Fargo (WFC), the latest development in the scandal over the creation of 2 million accounts Wells customers didnt authorize. US Attorneys in New York and California have issued subpoenas to the bank, according to published reports. Are criminal or civil charges likely?

New love for Apple

Shares of Apple (AAPL) have surged nearly 10 percent this week on optimism over pre-orders for the iPhone 7. Apple says the iPhone 7 Plus is already sold out globally, as is the jet-black version of the regular version. Will this new love for the stock last?

Why Americas competitiveness is lagging

A new study by Harvard Business School says political dysfunction is to blame for problems including a complicated corporate tax code, a broken immigration system and poor infrastructure. What are the solutions to address the lack of shared prosperity?

Stocks to watch

Twitter (TWTR) is upping its streaming game. Starting today, it will live-stream the first of 10 Thursday night NFL games, which its making available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and the Xbox One. The social media firm is struggling to boost engagement and ad revenue.

Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI) shares surged in early trading after the biotech firm revealed that a late-stage trial of its eye treatment showed promising results of lowering fluid pressure within the eye.
Making a Murderer subject Brendan Dassey should be released while the government appeals his overturned conviction, according to papers filed Wednesday by Dasseys attorneys.

The lawyers also note that Dassey has been working on his crochet skills.

In papers filed in federal court in Wisconsin, Dasseys lawyers argue that Dassey  whose conviction was overturned by the court in August  is unlikely to be convicted in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach again; that he poses no flight risk; and that he has displayed good behavior during his decade in custody.

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': Wisconsin to Appeal Brendan Dassey's Overturned Conviction

In August, federal magistrate judge William E. Duffin, granted Dasseys writ for a petition of habeas corpus, finding that Dasseys imprisonment was unlawful because his confession to the murder of Teresa Halbach was involuntary. Duffin gave the state 90 days to appeal the decision, after which Dassey would be released if the state did not act.

Earlier this month, attorney general Brad Schimel filed a notice of appeal, stating, We believe the magistrate judges decision that Brendan Dasseys confession was coerced by investigators, and that no reasonable court could have concluded otherwise, is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law.

In Wednesdays filings, attorneys for Dassey, now 26, contend, The injury inflicted on Brendan Dassey by further detention  the continuing loss of the basic liberty enjoyed as a matter of right by every citizen of this country  is irreparable.

Also Read: 'Making a Murderer': Steven Avery's Lawyer Hints at Brendan Dassey Decision

They also claim that its in the publics interest to release Dassey.

In light of the Courts well-justified doubts, responsibility for the Halbach murder cnn no longer be placed on the shoulders of Brendan Dassey, the filings continue. He is not the person who belongs in prison for this crime.

Story continues

The attorneys add that, in nearly a decade in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Dassey has only been hit with two disciplinary infractions, and that he has never attempted escape, assaulted anyone or possessed any weapons in the facility.

Also Read: Brendan Dassey Will Finally Go to Wrestlemania, Thanks to Porn Company

He spends his days reading, engaging in correspondence with family and friends, listening to the radio, watching television and  recently  attempting to learn how to crochet a blanket.

Dasseys attorneys are suggesting that he stay in a family-owned trailer with his mother during the first three months of his release, after which he would move into an apartment and begin participating in educational, vocational and therapeutic services.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Related stories from TheWrap:

'Making a Murderer': Wisconsin to Appeal Brendan Dassey's Overturned Conviction

'Making a Murderer': Steven Avery's Lawyer Hints at Brendan Dassey Decision

'Making a Murderer': Brendan Dassey Retrial May Hinge on Teresa Halbach Family Decision
(This version of the Sept. 14 story has been corrected to clarify findings from the U.S lawsuits in paragraph 7) KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian democracy group Bersih said on Wednesday it would hold a protest rally calling for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak to allow an independent investigation into the financial scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said the rally would be held on Nov. 19. "Bersih believes not protesting is not an option. Malaysians must stand united and take a strong stand against this grand corruption and the failure of our institutions," Maria told reporters. More than 200,000 people marched through the streets in August 2015 in a similar rally organized by Bersih, which draws the bulk of its support from Malaysia's ethnic Chinese minority, calling for Najib's resignation. 1MDB is a state fund Najib founded in September 2009 to invest in strategic property and energy projects. Najib was the chairman of 1MDB's advisory board until recently. U.S. prosecutors filed civil lawsuits in July alleging that over $3.5 billion was defrauded from 1MDB. The Wall Street Journal has reported that global investigators believed more than $1 billion entered Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razaks personal bank accounts, much of it from 1MDB. The U.S. filings referred to an unnamed high-ranking official who received some of the misappropriated funds. A source familiar with the investigations has told Reuters that the unnamed official is Najib. Najib has denied any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Nick Macfie)
By Colleen Jenkins

(Reuters) - The man charged with setting fire to a Florida mosque attended by the gunman in a deadly Orlando nightclub attack told police he was embarrassed by his actions and did not intend to hurt anyone, according to an arrest report released on Thursday.

Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, was arrested on arson and hate crime charges on Wednesday, three days after police say he began the blaze that badly damaged the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce on one of the holiest Muslim holidays, as well as the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. No one was injured.

Schreiber, who has a prison record, confessed he set the fire but would not reveal what accelerant he used, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said in its arrest affidavit.

During an interview with detectives, he made statements about "Islamic extremists," the affidavit said. His Facebook page also included anti-Muslim rhetoric, including a July post that said, "ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMINALS," according to police.

The blaze forced the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce congregation to relocate prayer services for Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The mosque was a place of worship for gunman Omar Mateen before he killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in June at a gay nightclub in Orlando, about 100 miles (160 km) away.

Mateen was killed by law enforcement officers at the end of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. He told police in a 911 call that he had pledged allegiance to the head of the Islamic State militant group, but investigators do not believe he had assistance from outside organizations.

Schreiber faces at least 30 years in prison if convicted of committing the arson attack. A judge on Thursday denied him bail, the Palm Beach Post reported. Jail records did not indicate whether he has a lawyer.

The sheriff's affidavit said surveillance video showed a man arriving by motorcycle at the mosque late on Sunday. A few moments after he walked toward the building, he was seen running away as a large flash of light came from the structure.

At a news conference announcing Schreiber's arrest, Sheriff's Major David Thompson said the suspect owns a motorcycle like the one seen in the video. Thompson said tips from the public led investigators to Schreiber's home in nearby Port St. Lucie, where a search turned up additional evidence tying him to the crime.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.)
A model walks Marc Jacobss Spring 2017 runway in New York City. Photo: Getty Images

Just when you thought there was no part of the 90s left to repackage for a new generation, along comes Marc Jacobs with a sublime Lady Miss Kier meets Ani DiFranco (especially circa her August 1997 Spin magazine cover) collection. While most of the population in the 90s was layering thermal leggings under ripped jeans and proudly sporting their flannel, another chunk was reliving the 70s, with bell bottoms, striped socks, and colorful patches.

Manhattans Hammerstein Ballroom was decorated with what looked like a million hanging tiny lightbulbs, resembling a starry night, and once that house music started blaring through the speakers and out stepped the first model, with an insane mass of (fake, possibly maybe #problematic) pastel dreadlocks atop her head, a heavily embellished Victorian-inspired silver jacket, satin hot pants and  continuing the height fetish of last season  uber-high platform Mary Janes/boots that buckled all the way to the calf, well, it was obvious that last seasons somber mood was no longer in play.

So Marc was clearly in a playful mood, and the number of places he took us throughout the 53 looks was astounding. There was a bit of the Japanese Lolita look, but it was more of a throwback to the then hard-to-find FRUiTS street-style looks than a nod to their modern counterparts. Babydoll dresses in lace, sequins, heavy taffeta, and cotton florals also had a slight kinderwhore vibe without it being too obvious. There were silver leather jackets and trousers, all with pin-thin proportions, meant to hug the body like a second skin. Shiny pastel satin made into hot pants, maxi coats, and bomber jackers wouldve made Cher Horowitz weak at the knees.

But what all this melange of influences and inspirations had in common was the fact that together it captured the essence of that other time Marc reigned supreme, the early 2000s, when he was the golden boy of fashion and had first launched his (now defunct and sorely missed) Marc by Marc Jacobs collection, as well as being the newly appointed creative director of Louis Vuitton.

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Yes, we had seen the satin hot pants before, in his Marc Spring 2004 collection, in which models wore with metallic knee-high boots. The patchwork suede pieces are an ode to the iconic Louis Vuitton Spring 2002 collection, which also featured the signature Vuitton monogrammed bags, decorated with appliques of woodland creatures by the artist Julie Verhoeven. Verhoeven returned this season, and this time her patches covered striped sweatshirts (that also brought to mind that ONE winter when Gap did really amazing striped sweaters that everyone in fashion still remembers, you know the ones), as well as boots and, of course, backpacks.

Only a few designers can get away with being this self-referential, and Marc has certainly earned the right. As such, this really seemed like a collection of his favorite things, but also a bit of an ode to the youthful spirit of Marc by Marc. We saw it in the Army green cotton jackets with big black buttons, in the striped socks worn thigh-high, in the satin bomber jackets, the skinny jeans with kooky patchworks, the florals, the stripes, the fur trims, the oversize green and orange long-sleeve polo shirt with contrasting white collar, the hot pants hot pants hot pants!

The combination of wild and demure, the fact that when this collection hits the stores the tomboys can shop next to the drag queens, next to the ladies who lunch.  Fashion is supposed to be fun, and its about escapism, and when watching the news becomes more and more depressing with each passing day, who doesnt want to throw on a pair of leather boots with tube-sock trompe loeil details and dance around the house? Groove is in the heart, baby!



Yahoo Style is live from #NYFW! Keep it here for your front row view of the best looks and buzziest moments of New York Fashion Week.


Hillary Clinton, Mark Cuban, and Bill Clinton

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban vigorously defended the Clinton Foundation against allegations of "pay to play" that have swept up headlines in recent months.

In a recent interview with Business Insider, the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank" said the media is missing what he considered to be the two most important questions regarding the foundation. Those two questions, he said, would provide much more clarity about the situation.

The first question, he said, is "What's the market for [former President Bill Clinton's] speeches?"

"I know how much I get paid," Cuban said. "I can get $250,000 for a speech if it's a big organization. And I'll ask for more if you're making my ass travel somewhere f----- up."

He said that if Clinton were engaging in a pay-to-play, he'd be asking for a lot more than market value for those speeches and engagements on behalf of the foundation.

"If you're doing pay for play, you better get a whole lot more than the market value for the risk you're taking," he said. "Why hasn't anybody asked the question?"

The second, he said, is asking what the former president's "sales pitch" is.

"What's the sales pitch? Why are they giving you the money?" he asked.

Cuban was recently searching through WikiLeaks for information on Qatar, he said, and stumbled upon one of Hillary Clinton's leaked emails.

That email was from Cherie Blair, who runs a foundation for women and is the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and it was focused on how Qatar's young crown prince, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, wanted to build an international profile as a fighter for global food security. Blair wanted to set up a meeting between Hillary Clinton and the crown prince. The former secretary of state agreed to meet.

"So that's what, that's not unusual," Cuban said. "Who has the best brand in the world or global brand for dealing with health initiatives? Bill Clinton."

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Cuban added that if he wanted his daughter to have a great global brand regarding the issue, there's no doubt enlisting the former president's services would be the best course of action.

"That's what he's selling!" Cuban exclaimed. "No one asks what he's selling. I mean, it's perfect for Business Insider: 'Learn from the Bill Clinton sales pitch for the Clinton Foundation.'"

The billionaire called Republican nominee Donald Trump and his foundation the "perfect contrast" to the Clintons.

Whether the dealings of the Clinton Foundation while the current Democratic nominee held her post at the State Department are controversial comes down to whether a "premium" was paid.

"If there's no premium, then either the guy's an idiot or there's no pay for play," Cuban said.

Mark Cuban

The latest allegations of impropriety against the foundation came after Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog organization, published emails that it said proved Clinton gave donors special access to the State Department while she was running it.

Clinton in July denied such allegations, and her campaign chairman dismissed them in an August statement.

"The foundation has already laid out the unprecedented steps the charity will take if Hillary Clinton becomes president," campaign chair John Podesta wrote.

Multiple outlets' editorial boards have called for Clinton to cut ties with the foundation, and Trump has seized on the foundation controversy in his attacks against the former secretary of state.

Trump's foundation is embattled in its own pay-to-play controversy regarding a 2013 campaign donation it made to a group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was considering whether to pursue fraud allegations against the defunct Trump University.

Bondi did not pursue the investigation.

Trump was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine to the IRS over the $25,000 donation. The Washington Post found that the foundation did not list the contribution in its tax filings, and Trump later reimbursed the foundation for the donation. A Trump Organization senior vice president told The Post that it was "an honest mistake" that the contribution wasn't properly listed.

On Thursday, Donna Shalala, the president of the Clinton Foundation and the former secretary of health and human services, told CNN that the foundation does "magnificent work" and that "there was a process set up to make sure their lines were not crossed" while the former secretary of state was in power.

But, Shalala added, "when she's president," the foundation would have to "actually eliminate any aspect of conflict of interest."

Cuban endorsed Clinton at a rally in Pittsburgh, his hometown, in July. He called Trump a "jagoff"  a demeaning slang term frequently used in western Pennsylvania  during the event. Cuban has ripped Trump repeatedly on social media in recent months.

Earlier in the cycle, Cuban expressed interest in serving as either Trump's or Clinton's running mate before souring on the real-estate magnate's candidacy. In a tweet last month, he wrote that he knew there "was no chance" that being picked as a running mate would have happened.

NOW WATCH: 'PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE': James Carville goes on an impassioned rant in defense of the Clinton Foundation





More From Business Insider


Mark Cuban and Hillary Clinton

The Hillary Clinton campaign is "horrible" at "driving the [media] conversation" and "sucks at spin," billionaire businessman Mark Cuban told Business Insider in an interview this week.

The owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who backs the former secretary of state, was defending Clinton over a series of controversies, which included her use of a private email server, allegations of "pay to play" against the Clinton Foundation, and her recent health episode.

Cuban said all of those controversies, which have flourished in the media, are media-made issues.

"There's always going to be opposition, no matter who it is, in order to combat that opposition," he said. "You've got to have good spin, good [public relations]. It's the same as in sports."

"The Clinton staff sucks at spin and at anticipation and driving the message or driving the topics, driving the conversation," he continued. "Horrible at it. Horrible."

Cuban called Clinton's campaign "great at policy" and "great at the things that matter and the stuff that you really want to truly understand."

"But when it comes to the stuff that you know it's going to drive the headline porn, they are just not great," he added.

Cuban quote 03

In recent days, Clinton has faced questions about how transparent she's been about her health. The former secretary of state was captured on video struggling to walk on Sunday as she left a 9/11 memorial event in New York City early. Her campaign later said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier and would take some time off the campaign trail to recover.

Clinton is set to return to the trail on Thursday.

Cuban said he understood how the media could use the incident as a proxy for her transparency about health, and added the campaign could've "minimized" the situation "a whole lot more than they did."

"She gets sick, she gets sick, but again it's not disaster because when it's been a week it works itself out," he said. "There's no disaster here. The quantity of coverage is more a reflection of filling time than anything else, because again, now you've got to cover the response."

Story continues

"And they could've minimized it a whole lot more than they did, but that's another example of the campaign staff not having a clue," he concluded. "But it's a shame for that to be the deciding factor in this election."

NOW WATCH: Why you won't find a garbage can near the 9/11 memorial





More From Business Insider


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge ordered a Maryland woman who killed two of her children in what she called an exorcism committed to a psychiatric hospital on Thursday, a prosecutor's spokesman said.

Zakieya Avery, 31, of Germantown, pleaded guilty this week to killing her 1-year-old son and daughter, 2, in January 2014 during a ritual she believed would drive evil spirits out of their bodies. Two of her other children were also injured.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann ordered Avery held indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital after declaring her not criminally responsible, the spokesman said. The "not criminally responsible" finding is Maryland's version of not guilty by reason of insanity in other states.

Avery had pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. The two slain children were stabbed and strangled.

Avery's housemate, Monifa Sanford, was ordered committed to a psychiatric hospital last year after pleading guilty to her involvement in the killings.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Dan Grebler)
* Final bids were due on Wednesday for Hong Kong, China assets

* Carlyle teams up with CITIC, TPG with Wumart; Sanpower also bids (Adds details of McDonald's plans)

By Denny Thomas and Elzio Barreto

HONG KONG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Fast-food giant McDonald's Corp has received final bids from at least three groups for its China and Hong Kong outlets, with global private equity firms Carlyle Group and TPG Capital separately teaming up with Chinese partners for the business worth up to $3 billion, sources told Reuters.

Carlyle has joined with Chinese state conglomerate CITIC Group, while TPG has teamed up with mini-market operator Wumart Stores on their separate bids for the 20-year franchise, said the sources, who declined to be named.

Real estate firm Sanpower Group, which owns British department store House of Fraser, also made an offer for the assets, one of the sources said. The company has previously said it was teaming up with Beijing Tourism Group.

Based on the final bids, McDonald's may end up working with the unlikeliest of franchise partners. Both iron-ore to financial conglomerate CITIC and real estate to technology group Sanpower have little experience in the restaurant business.

Illinois-based McDonald's announced in March it was reorganising its Asian operations, bringing in partners as it switches to a less capital-intensive franchise model.

Reuters previously reported that the company had hired Morgan Stanley to run the sale of about 2,400 restaurants in China and Hong Kong.

The CITIC-Carlyle team is seen as the front runner to win the auction, one of the sources said.

Carlyle and TPG have taken on only minority stakes in the bidding vehicles as McDonald's has said it prefers long-term partners, whereas buyout firms typically cash out after a few years.

Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group, which is McDonald's current China partner, and China Cinda Asset Management Co Ltd were previously in the running, though it was not clear if they had made final offers by the close of bidding on Wednesday.

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The planned deal comes at time when fast food operators including McDonald's and arch-rival Yum Brands are recovering from a series of food-supply scandals in China that have undermined their performance.

Some analysts have said teaming up with local partners will help foreign fast food operators to navigate supply issues.

Foreign firms can also have problems dealing with government and finding suitable real estate, said Alex Wong, a director at Ample Finance Group.

"With the involvement of Chinese partners, it will make thing easier," he said.

Earlier this month, Yum, best known for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands, agreed to sell a $460 million stake in its China unit to investment firm Primavera Capital and an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

TPG and Carlyle declined to comment on their final bids, while CITIC, Wumart and Sanpower didn't return requests for comment during a holiday in mainland China.

McDonald's reiterated a previous comment that it is making progress in finding a long-term partner for the assets.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas and Elzio Barreto; Additional reporting by Donny Kwok and Tris Pan; Editing by Will Waterman)
Medtronic plc MDT is ardently strengthening its foothold internationally even amid severe macroeconomic pressure. The companys recent launch of the Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) System in Japan is one significant step forward under this initiative.

According to Medtronic, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) recently approved this product launch along with its reimbursement. Reveal LINQ ICM will be available in Japan immediately after this release.

We note that Reveal LINQ ICM is currently the smallest insertable heart monitor available in the market. This system helps in detection and treatment of irregular heartbeats that may be related to unexplained fainting. The insertion of the system involves minimally invasive procedure.

Price

Price | Quote

The system claims to be MR conditional as patients inserted with this system can even undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), if needed. According to Medtronic, this system will also be helpful in detecting cryptogenic stroke (stroke of unknown cause).

We believe that the launch of Reveal LINQ ICM in a country like Japan is a major development for Medtronics Cardiac Rhythm & Heart Failure (CRHF) business. Data show that nearly 200,000 patients suffer from episodes of syncope (unexplained fainting) in the country with 20% to 30% of these cases defying explanation. Further, 243,000 cases of ischemic strokes have been recorded annually out of which 20% to 40% are cryptogenic (as per modern stroke registries and databases). Taking this into consideration, Reveal LINQ ICM is likely to witness high uptake in the nation.

Reveal LINQ is present in the U.S. market and has demonstrated strong revenue growth over the recent past. The company's last reported financial results also reveal encouraging numbers for the Reveal LINQ monitor. In fact, the companys Diagnostics business within CRHF grew in the low double digits during the first quarter of fiscal 2017, buoyed by strong market acceptance of the Reveal LINQ insertable loop recorder.

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We also take a note that to tap into Japans broad population base, Medtronic is focusing on expanding in the country. This is clear from the companys impending product launches in the nation. Apart from Reveal LINQ ICM, we also look forward to the launch of Claria MRI CRT-D system (along with CRT pacing) and Visia AF in Japan.

Currently, the stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked medical products stocks worth considering instead over the short term are GW Pharmaceuticals plc GWPH, Lantheus Holdings, Inc. LNTH and NuVasive, Inc. NUVA. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Meek Mill is mourning the death of his 21-year-old cousin, Angelo Colon, who was fatally shot late Tuesday night in South Philadelphia on a violent night when three other men were also gunned down and six were wounded by gunfire. "Damn Lo! Watching my family die to these philly streets!," Mill wrote in an Instagram tribute to Colon that featured a smiling picture of his cousin. "Probation is the only thing that got me tied to come coming back here so frequent!! My mission is to save my family from these streets and change the mindframe of all my lil cousins growing up in it!!!!"

Damn Lo! Watching my family die to these philly streets! Probation is the only thing that got me tied to come coming back here so frequent!! My mission is to save my family from these streets and change the mindframe of all my lil cousins growing up in it!!!! #RIPLO hurt me to see you in this same spot lifeless!

A photo posted by Meek Mill (@meekmill) on Sep 14, 2016 at 12:06am PDT

Meek Mill's 'Dreamchasers 4' Could Arrive in September

The death put Mill in a reflective mood, as evidenced by a subsequent Instagram in which he chronicled a conversation from June with his cousin about ending violence in which they agreed on the phrase "put the gunz down."

The moment you say "put the gunz down" and try to do the best for yourself is when things never go right! That's why I have a hard time telling these young kids not to protect themselves in a environment surronded by evil! Omelly last text "stay on point out there" #restuplo

A photo posted by Meek Mill (@meekmill) on Sep 14, 2016 at 4:44am PDT

Philly.com reported that shortly before 10 p.m. on Tuesday police responded to a report of shots fired and when they arrived they found Colon shot in the head outside a takeout restaurant; he was pronounced dead at the scene. An unnamed 27-year-old man who was with Colon was also found shot several times in the legs at a local hospital and listed as in critical but stable condition. Capt. James Clark said a burgundy-colored vehicle had drive by Colon and the other man and someone inside had opened fire. "Either or both of them were the target. Probably both," said Homicide Captain Clark.

Story continues

Meek Mill Talks Drake Beef, 'Dreamchasers 4' & More

On Thursday morning (Sept. 15) Mill posted a somber pic of a coffin in a tribute to Colon.

I'm from a hood of broken dreams.... Shots fire yellow tape on the scene it's spooky as Halloween! #RIP2alltheyoungsoldiers #culture

A photo posted by Meek Mill (@meekmill) on Sep 14, 2016 at 8:37pm PDT
A young woman who won a competition on Instagram is taking the modelling world by storm [Photo: Instagram/@jesbloem]

Post a selfie, get a few likes, repeat. You might think sharing endless photos to social media is just something to pass the time, but for one young woman uploading a picture of herself to Instagram has lead to her hitting the big time in the modelling world.

Last year, Jessie Bloemendaal, 20, was just a normal teenager hanging out with her friends and posting selfies online, but fast forward a year and shes walking the runway for some of the worlds biggest designers and being hailed as one of the breakout stars of NYFW.



According to Vogue, its Instagram that Jessie can thank for her overnight success after winning a modelling competition with Micha Models run on the social networking site last year.



And since then shes joined the fashion A list. The 20-year-old made her debut modelling haute couture for Valentinos Spring 2016 collection, going on to walk for Maison Margiela, Iris van Herpen, and Fendi.



Walking the runway for Victoria Beckham at NYFW [Photo: Instagram/@jesbloem]

Just this week the 511 model has been on the catwalk at NYFW walking for superstar designers such as Proenza Schouler, Prabal Gurung, Victoria Beckham, and Vera Wang



She was even chosen to close the show at Alexander Wang, which is a huge deal for any model.



This is my first New York season. I did Europe before, but this is so different, she told Vogue.



You hear everyone talk about the city, how its this different world, then you enjoy it for yourself.



Closing the show for Alexander Wang at NYFW [Photo: Instagram/@jesbloem]

Next Jessie hopes to take the world of fashion campaigns by storm.



Every model wants to get a campaign, be on a billboard, or walk a big show - its everyones dream, but it takes time, she said.

Nice brows! [Photo: Getty]

So next time your other half groans when you upload yet another selfie, tell him the story of Jessie Bloemendaal. Admittedly the odds of the same thing happening to you might be 8 billion to 1, but hey, it happens.

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Has social media helped your career? Let us know your stories @YahooStyleUK

Fashion Week SS17: All The Celebrity FROW Action

Fashion Week SS17 Highlights: Every Show, FROW And Model Moment Worth Knowing About
Every year the Memphis Grizzlies play a nationally televised game on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day to honor the late activist leader. This year will mark 50 years since Kings assassination outside a Memphis motel room, and to commemorate his lifelong work in the civil-rights movement, the Grizzlies have partnered with the National Civil Rights Museum to create the MKL50 Pride uniform. Memphis will sport their new digs for the first time on MLK Day against the Chicago Bulls.

The color scheme and piping on the shorts looks similar to the old Vancouver Grizzlies uniform, but every feature on the uniform is inspired by an aspect of MLKs life. The historic Lorraine Motel, where MLKs assassination took place, inspired the color aesthetic of the uniform. The aqua color accent replicates the doors on the Lorraine Motel rooms; the piping on the shorts is drawn from the walkways and balconies; the Memphis font imitates the exact font on the Lorraine Motel sign. The jersey is a unique unification of the Grizzlies and its most iconic landmark.

Sleeves always seem to rear their ugly head when teams unveil a pride uniform. However this pride uniform is sleek enough to overcome the dreaded sleeves. Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Chandler Parsons, Mike Conley and co. should look pretty good donning these new jerseys.

.@memgrizz will participate in a day of service to celebrate Dr. King's legacy on MLK, Jr. Day. #MLK50PRIDE pic.twitter.com/tq8z2oJxaN  Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) September 14, 2016

(Via NBA.com)
* Vote follows losses for Merkel's CDU in eastern state

* Further slump risks deepening rifts on migrant policy

* Federal election is due in September next year

By Madeline Chambers

BERLIN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Still reeling from a state election rout which unleashed a party row about her open-door migrant policy, Angela Merkel's conservatives are bracing for further losses in the Berlin city vote on Sunday.

The chancellor's decision a year ago to open German borders has hit her popularity and dominated the campaign, boosting support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD)party.

Polls show the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) may be able to drop Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) as coalition partners in the capital's assembly.

Merkel, cheered by 2,500 conservative supporters at a recent rally in the leafy western suburb of Lichterfelde on a sunny evening, knows what is at stake, especially as it is only a year unril the next federal election.

Since the CDU was pushed into third 10 days ago by the AfD in the eastern state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, her conservative CSU allies in Bavaria have blamed Merkel personally and demanded a migrant cap, which she rejects.

And while she has no obvious rival, the losses have raised questions about whether she will even run for a fourth term in 2017.

Merkel defended her policy, appealing to Berlin's openness.

"Berlin, its whole history, the success of what was West Berlin, its openness has served it well and must be preserved," she said, stressing the humanitarian duty to help war refugees.

Since the fall of the Wall, 27 years ago, Berlin has transformed itself from the front line of the Cold War into a trendy capital, attracting artists and start-up entrepreneurs although it accounts for only 4 percent of the German economy.

WORRIED VOTERS

Many CDU voters say they are worried about the crisis which saw about 1 million refugees enter Germany last year. Some 80,000 arrived in Berlin, a city of 3.5 million. Voters are focused on the cost, integration and security.

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"Merkel made a mistake letting everyone in. She will pay the price and so will Germany, our children," said Moritz Daul, 48, who will nonetheless vote CDU. He said Merkel's days were numbered but she was the best chancellor candidate for now.

Merkel's problem was very evident at the rally on Wednesday.

Up to 30 hecklers booed, whistled and yelled "Merkel must go". One, sporting a German eagle on his T-Shirt and the slogan 'Wir sind das Volk' ('We are the People'), said he would vote AfD.

The slogan was coined by East Germans protesters before the end of Communism and has since been adopted by the anti-Muslim PEGIDA group,

The AfD, which has won seats in nine of Germany's 16 states, has successfully played on immigration fears. Berlin candidate Georg Pazderski has said: "I favour educating these people (immigrants) but not integrating them. We must prepare them for going back."

An INSA poll this week put the CDU on 18 percent in Berlin, down more than five points from the 2011 vote and only four points ahead of the AfD.

The SPD - which is in coalition with Merkel at the federal level - is expected to remain the biggest party in Berlin and aims to form a coalition with the Greens and radical Left. They are led by printer Michael Mueller, who acknowledges he falls short in the "glamour" stakes compared with his party-loving predecessor Klaus Wowereit who dubbed Berlin "poor but sexy".

Carsten Koschmieder, political scientist at Berlin's Free University, predicted further damaging splits between the CDU and CSU if voters reject conservatives in Berlin.

"Critics of Merkel will get louder while her supporters in the CDU will blame (CSU leader) Horst Seehofer for using destructive rhetoric," he said.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico's head of criminal investigation, who has faced a probe into his handling of the investigation of the disappearance of 43 students, resigned but was given another government job.

Attorney General Arely Gomez accepted the resignation of Tomas Zeron as director of the Criminal Investigations Agency, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The move comes two weeks before the second anniversary of the 2014 tragedy, which has caused international outrage while President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration has faced criticism at home for failing to resolve the case.

Gomez "recognized the efforts" of Zeron as head of the agency and "wished him success in his personal and professional projects," the statement said.

Pena Nieto later named Zeron as "technical secretary" of the National Public Security Council, in a government statement saying it was a "recognition of his actions" and experience in previous jobs.

The statements did not say why he quit the attorney general's office.

But parents of the missing students had called for his resignation over his conduct in the investigation into the disappearance of the 43 trainee teachers in the southern city of Iguala on September 26, 2014.

In April this year, the attorney general's office opened an internal investigation into Zeron's handling of a crime scene.

A federal government official told AFP that the inspector general's investigation is "ongoing."

The internal probe was launched after foreign experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights questioned the way a charred bone fragment linked to one of the 43 students was found in a river in October 2014.

They slammed Zeron's conduct, saying his failure to make a written report about the visit went against the "minimum international standards of investigation."

The commission's team also said medical reports show that a suspect who led Zeron to the river had injuries that strongly indicated he was tortured.

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Zeron has vehemently denied any misconduct.

The bone belonged to the only student whose remains have been positively identified.

The authorities say the students were abducted by corrupt police officers who handed them over to the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel, which allegedly killed them.

Experts have repeatedly voiced doubts about the government's assertion that the cartel burned the bodies at a garbage dump before throwing the remains in a river, saying such a huge funeral pyre was implausible.

In September 2015, Zeron insisted that at least a "large group of students" was burned at the dump but that he could not "confirm that it was all 43."

Representatives of the students' families could not be reached for comment, but the parents scheduled a news conference for Thursday to discuss Zeron's resignation.

Local human rights organizations had issued a statement on behalf of the parents in April, saying that Zeron should be sacked "to allow an investigation into obstruction of justice."
Mexico City (AFP) - Parents of 43 missing Mexican students expressed outrage on Thursday after the top investigator in the case was promoted despite criticism over his handling of the unsolved two-year-old tragedy.

President Enrique Pena Nieto appointed Tomas Zeron as technical secretary in the National Security Council on Wednesday, shortly after he resigned as director of the Criminal Investigation Agency at the attorney general's office.

Parents of the students had demanded Zeron's resignation since April, when independent experts questioned his conduct in the investigation into the disappearance of the trainee teachers on September 26, 2014.

The experts from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights questioned the way a charred bone fragment linked to one of the students was found in a river in October 2014, criticizing Zeron for failing to make a written report about the discovery.

The attorney general's office also opened an internal investigation into Zeron's handling of the case.

"It's shocking that after he is put under investigation, they still reward him with a higher position," Mario Gonzalez, father of missing student Cesar Manuel, said at a news conference.

Cristina Bautista, mother of Benjamin, said Zeron's new job shows that he is Pena Nieto's "friend" and that the president "continues to lie to us."

"The president is protecting him and giving him a prize for creating the 'historic lie,'" she said.

Former attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam had presented his conclusions in the case in January 2015 as the "historic truth."

Murillo Karam said at the time that there was "legal certainty" that corrupt officers in southern Guerrero state handed the students to a drug cartel, which killed them, incinerated their bodies at a garbage dump and tossed the remains in a river.

But the independent experts rejected those conclusions, saying there was no scientific evidence such a massive fire could have taken place.

The attorney general's office has since backed off its initial conclusion, with Zeron himself saying in September 2015 that while a "large group of students" was burned at the dump, he could not "confirm that it was all 43."

The students' fate remains a mystery. Only one was positively identified through the found bone fragment.
By Gabriel Stargardter MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has proposed liberalizing his country's drug laws, privately asked California lawmakers visiting Mexico about a state measure to legalize recreational marijuana, a state legislator said on Thursday. A delegation of California Democratic lawmakers visiting Mexico talked for an hour on Wednesday with Pena Nieto about trade and the state's border with Mexico. During the meeting, Pena Nieto brought up the November ballot measure without getting into details, California state Senator Ben Allen said in an interview. "But they're clearly paying close attention," he added. If California votes to create a legal cannabis market, it would place great pressure on Mexico, which is mired in combating its vast drug-trafficking networks, to follow suit. There was no mention of the California marijuana initiative in the presidency's report on the meeting, and Pena Nieto's office did not immediately respond to request for comment. Pena Nieto has said the United States and Mexico should not pursue diverging policies on marijuana legislation and in April proposed a bill to allow Mexicans to carry up to an ounce of marijuana has stalled in Congress. California's proposal would allow people over 21 years to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for private use and establish a system to license, regulate and tax sales of cannabis. Recent polls show a majority of Californians favor legalizing marijuana. Four U.S. states plus the District of Columbia already allow recreational use for adults. Voters in several more states, including the southern border state of Arizona, will consider similar legislation in November. Long regarded as a conservative on drug policy, Pena Nieto has modified his stance since he took office in 2012, reflecting growing Latin American disenchantment with the war on drugs. A bill to legalize medical marijuana remains in Congress. Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said he eventually expects Mexico to be swayed by the fiscal opportunities of regulated cannabis, which he believes could earn California around $1 billion a year in tax revenue. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Mezzi Holdings Inc. ("MEZZI" or the "Company") (TSX-V: MZI, FRA: 0MZ) is pleased to announce the Company has closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement ("The Offering") by issuing 9,359,000 units for a total of $935,900. The final tranche of the offering is expected to close shortly and is expected to be fully subscribed.

The private placement is not expected to result in the creation of any new control persons or a change of control.

The Company had previously announced a non-brokered private placement (August 25th, 2016) consisting of the issuance of up to 17.5 million units (the "Units") at a price of 10 cents per unit for gross proceeds of $1.75 million. Each unit consists of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will be exercisable into one additional common share (the "Warrant Share") of the Company at $0.15 per Warrant Share for a period of one (1) year from closing of the private placement.

The Warrants will also include an acceleration clause that, at management's discretion, may force the exercise of warrants if the Company's share price trades at $0.25 or higher for ten (10) consecutive trading days.

Certain insiders of the Company may acquire securities under the private placement. Any such participation would be considered to be a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101. The transaction will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 as neither the fair market value of any shares issued to or the consideration paid by such persons will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

The common shares and warrants issued to subscribers of the private placement will be subject to a statutory four-month hold period. Finders' fees may be paid and finder's warrants may be issued to arms length finders in connection with this private placement, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.

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The Company intends to use the proceeds from the private placement for general working capital purposes, for celebrity marketing campaigns, for temporary store locations and for the production of additional inventories.

About MEZZI BRAND GROUP

MEZZI Brand Group is a Vancouver-based consumer accessory brand management company. We believe that great brands are built one great product and one valued customer at a time. We have gathered a group of young talented experts ranging from accessory design, product development, marketing, branding, e-commerce, digital media and PR to build and scale our millennial-customer focused brands. A well-defined, strategic philosophy and clear mission statement promotes and protects MEZZI Brand Group's most valuable assets  our brands  MEZZI Smart Luxury, Capital Eyewear and MLine Cases.

For further information please contact:

Mr. Keir Reynolds

CEO

Tel: (778) 998-9242

Email: keir@mezzi.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Keir Reynolds

Chief Executive Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

SOURCE: Mezzi Holdings Inc.
Manufacturing activity across the mid-Atlantic picked up sharply in September, as new orders indicated expansion and hiring forecasts remained promising.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its index of general business activity covering the regional factory sector rose to 12.8 from 2.0 in August -- for the second consecutive positive reading for the first time since August of last year. In July, the gauge stood at -2.9. The flat line separates expansion from contraction.

The reading surged above expectations; economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a reading of 0.0.

The Philadelphia Fed's report is one in a monthly string of factory surveys conducted by regional Fed banks, meant to provide snapshots of the manufacturing sector's health ahead of the Institute for Supply Management's national reading.

Across the Philadelphia region, demand picked up markedly this month and sent a gauge of new orders up to 1.4 from -7.2 in August.

Meanwhile, firms continued to cut payrolls. The survey's employment index remained negative for a ninth consecutive month, though improved to -5.3 from -20.0 in August, the worst print this year. The Fed bank said more factories reporting a decrease in employees in September -- 17% -- exceeded those reporting an increase -- 12%.

But the survey suggests producers predict currently soft conditions won't linger. An index of future business prospects fell to 37.5 in September from 45.8 in August, but remains slightly above its average reading over the past 12 months, and nearly 50% of the firms expect increases in activity over the next six months. More than half of firms expect increases in new order and nearly 34% said they anticipate to expand employment over the next six months while 9% expect to reduce it.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

Related Articles
A missing North Carolina girl has been found alive, PEOPLE confirms.



Stefanny Lopez-Castro was reported missing by her family last night when a man on a black moped allegedly abducted her from her mobile homes front yard, according to a New Haven County Sheriffs Department press release.



The 6-year-old was found alive Thursday morning in a wooded area less than two miles from her home, authorities said at a press conference. She had been chained to a tree, a witness told local media.



She has been transported to a local hospital where she is being treated. She is doing well, Sheriff Edward McMahon said at the press conference. He declined to comment on whether she had been harmed.



We beat the odds today, McMahon said.



On Wednesday, an Amber Alert was issued when Stefannys family said they witnessed a man take her while she was playing outside with her younger sibling, authorities said at the press conference.





 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.

Douglas Edwards, 46, of Wilmington has been taken into custody, McMahon said. He was picked up in New Hanover County Thursday morning and has been charged with first-degree kidnapping.

Edwards has a history of sexually assaulting children. In 1996 he served 16 years for indecent liberty with a minor and a first-degree sexual offense. Edwardss victim was 6 years old at the time, according to the Public Department of Safety.

Edwards has not yet entered a plea and not yet been given a bond.
By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Missouri lawmakers on Wednesday overrode Governor Jay Nixon's veto of a bill requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification in order to cast a ballot in the state starting in 2017, after this year's presidential election. The Missouri Senate voted 24-7 for the override on the heels of a 115-41 House vote earlier in the day. A two-thirds majority was required in both chambers for the override. The bill would take effect in 2017 if voters in November pass a state constitutional amendment in support of the law. That is necessary because the Missouri Supreme Court ruled 10 years ago that such a law violated the existing state constitution. A spokesman for Nixon, who vetoed the bill in July, did not immediately return a call seeking comment after the vote, but the governor previously decried the law as disenfranchising voters. Courts in recent months have blocked voter ID laws passed in several states with Republican-led legislatures after civil rights groups argued the measures were discriminatory against poor and minority voters. Under the Missouri bill, voters will need to produce a driver's license or other government identification with a photo at the polls in order to vote. Residents without such an ID can now show another current identifying document, such as a utility bill or check, to vote. Voters without a photo ID can still vote if they sign an affidavit swearing to not having that type of identification. However, election officials can take their picture and steps must be taken to get a photo ID for later use, with the state covering the cost. Supporters of the bill said it brings integrity to the voting process and will help prevent fraudulent votes. "Why not have more certainty in the election process?" Republican Rep. Justin Alferman, the bill's main sponsor, said in a statement before the vote. Opponents of the bill, however, have said the law disenfranchises young, minority and low-income voters who may not have government-issued IDs. Those voters are often Democrats, according to opponents. "Putting additional and unwanted barriers between citizens and their ability to vote is wrong and detrimental to our system of government as a whole," Nixon said in his letter explaining the veto. (Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, editing by G Crosse)
By Kevin Murphy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Missouri lawmakers pushed through bills on Wednesday eliminating the need for permits to carry concealed weapons and requiring voters to show a photo identification before casting a ballot, overriding Democratic Governor Jay Nixon's vetoes of the bills.

Both votes by the Republican-controlled state House and Senate reached the two-thirds majority required to enact legislation over the governor's veto.

The weapons bill abolished a state law requiring a permit, training and background checks for people who want to carry a concealed weapon in the state.

The House voted 112-41 to override Nixon's veto and the Senate voted 24-6.

Supporters of the bill said it will make the state safer by allowing more residents to carry firearms in self-defense, while still banning certain criminals and mentally incompetent people from having a gun.

In vetoing the bill in July, Nixon said the measure struck an extreme blow to sensible safeguards against gun violence.

Earlier on Wednesday, the state Senate voted 24-7 and the House 115-41 to override Nixon's veto of a bill requiring voters to produce a government-issued ID instead of less official identification such as a utility bill or bank check.

The bill would not take effect until 2017, after this year's presidential election, and only if voters in November pass a state constitutional amendment in support of the new law. That is necessary because the Missouri Supreme Court ruled 10 years ago that such a statute violated the existing state constitution.

Courts in recent months have blocked voter ID laws passed in several states by Republican-led legislatures after civil rights groups argued the measures were discriminatory against poor and minority voters.

In Missouri, voters without a photo ID can still vote if they sign an affidavit swearing that they lack any type of identification. However, election officials can take their picture, and steps must be taken to get a photo ID for later use, with the state covering the cost.

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Supporters of the bill said it will help prevent voter fraud.

"Why not have more certainty in the election process?" Republican Representative Justin Alferman, the bill's main sponsor, said in a statement before the vote.

Opponents had argued that the ID requirement places an undue burden on young, minority and low-income voters who tend to support Democratic candidates.

"Putting additional and unwanted barriers between citizens and their ability to vote is wrong and detrimental to our system of government as a whole," Nixon said in explaining his veto.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Simon Cameron-Moore)
Designed to Increase Awareness of Maui's Only Luxury Tour Operator, While Simplifying Client Communications

MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / ML Capital Group (MLCG), the parent company of Platinum Tours Maui (PT Maui), is continuing its publicity campaign for PT Maui with the launch of an innovative new website that reflects the 5-star tour operator's leadership status in Maui's luxury travel market, highlighting key points of distinction while also simplifying customer interaction.

The new site, at www.platinumtoursmaui.com, is designed to not only capture the superior experiences and lifelong memories that PT Maui offers its guests, but also to ensure optimum search ranking results for travelers seeking 5-star tour experiences.

"There are a large number of tour operators on Maui, but none that rival PT Maui's dedication to true, luxury experiences," said Kevin Bobryk, CEO, ML Capital. "Ensuring that the public face of the brand, its website, reflects this stature is key to leveraging digital channels to drive increased bookings and inquiries from our target market of high-net-worth individuals."

The website details some of PT Maui's proprietary and unique excursions, from fine dining with award winning chefs to destinations that simply cannot be accessed by other tour companies. The website also includes the launch of a Maui-focused blog, focused on an insider's view of high-end experiences on the island.

"The website, combined with our impending social media campaign and major publicity events, will ensure that PT Maui is top of mind for discerning travelers," said Bobryk. "Everyone that visits the site will now see that PT Maui is a different sort of tour company. It's Mercedes, not mini-vans. Haute-Cuisine, not boxed lunches."

The site also launches PT Maui's "online concierge" service, which allows travelers and potential guests to provide their information and be contacted, at their convenience, by the company's guest services team for assistance with any and all trip and excursion planning, from airport transfers to once in a lifetime experiences.

Story continues

Safe Harbor: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions.

ML Capital Group

Investor Relations

Email: info@mlcginc.com

Phone: (786) 313-3206

SOURCE: ML Capital Group Inc.
When Ibrahim Kamara was fighting with Islamic extremists in northwest Syria, there was one person he wanted to reach out to: his mother. The British teenager recorded a video for her on his cell phone, another jihadi fighting alongside him told media outlets, but she never saw it. Ibrahim was killed in an air strike, another European son or daughter lost to a violent ideology that lures vulnerable youngsters to their deaths and appears immune to government efforts to counter it.

The love shared by mother and child, however, did not desert Ibrahim during his short time on the front. That powerful bond is now being used as a weapon to combat radicalization, in a continent reeling from a wave of ISIS-linked attacks. A course devised by Edit Schlaffer, an Austrian sociologist, for troubled regions like Kashmir is now taking off in cities across Europe, aiming to put mothers on the front line of the battle against Islamic extremism.

On a recent July morning, the first British graduates of the Mothers Schools, which Schlaffer runs through her Vienna-based NGO, Women Without Borders, gathered at the town hall in the city of Luton in England. Over 10 weeks, 45 women had attended sessions on subjects like monitoring Internet access, better communicating with teenagers and identifying signs of radicalization in children. We as mothers are so close to our children, we have to bring sense into the world, and we have to start with our children [and] guide them through these troubled times, Schlaffer told them. Mothers will make this world safe for us all.

Read more: Inside ISIS: A TIME Special Report

Ibrahim Kamaras mother Khadijah took the train from her home in the seaside town of Brighton to attend one session during the course. She spoke to the women about her journey of anger, hurt and denial after Ibrahim left and was killed in Syriaa powerful warning of what could happen if mothers were blind to the signs of radicalization. Its been an eye-opener, said Rozina Jarral, 39, who wanted to learn how to better relate to her 13-year-old son. The most surprising fact, she says, is how ISIS has used the Internet to promote its extreme ideology and recruit fighters. I didnt realize about social media and how that could lure children in. What I took away from it was how to create a loving, caring environment at home, to keep the communication going, because when there are arguments at home they will want to go outside, and that is where people could take advantage.

Story continues

After the graduating class received their certificates, Schlaffer was on the move again. She can be a hard woman to pin down, as she darts between European capitals, organizing courses and giving lectures on her prescription for a crisis that has baffled governments and security services. As dozens die in terrorist attacks in Europe and the flow of fighters to Syria continues, anyone offering a panacea is in great demand.

Schlaffer devised the Mothers School course in 2013 after a project in Tajikistan, where women told her about their concerns about the growing influence of Wahhabism, an extreme branch of Sunni Islam. She conducted a survey of 1,000 people to find out how strong an influence a parent can be, and designed a course based on the findings. The courses were then rolled out across Pakistan, India, Indonesia and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Over 1,500 women have since graduated. But Schlaffer said she never dreamed of doing the same work in Europe.

Yet the continent is far from immune to the forces of extremism. Up to 4,294 Europeans have travelled to fight with radical groups in Syria and Iraq, according to the latest figures from the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in the Hague. Many have returned radicalized; at least five of the men who killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 and two of the extremists who murdered 32 people in Brussels in March had spent time with Islamist militias in Syria. Attacks claimed by ISIS in France and Germany over the summer have also added to a continent-wide sense of unease. We have always worked in countries of crisis and transition, and all of a sudden [we have] this crisis of identity in Europe, Schlaffer says. And mothers, who spend so much time with their children, are so strategically placed to serve as a buffer between radical influences and those who are targeted.

Read more: These 5 Facts Explain Why Europe Is Ground Zero for Terrorism

Luton, a commuter town just north of London, was not chosen at random as the first British location for Mothers Schools. It has been the subject of lurid headlines branding it a hotbed of extremism over its links to the July 2005 London bombings and another foiled terror plot. When 12 members of one Luton family left to go and live in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria last year, attention fell on the potential for radicalization among the citys 50,000-strong Muslim population.

The course there is funded by a government-backed program, Prevent, designed to combat radicalization. Its effectiveness came under fierce scrutiny in August, when it emerged that Kadiza Sultana, a London schoolgirl who travelled to Syria in 2015 with two friends, had been killed there. Lawmakers and Muslim groups have been particularly critical of Prevents onus on schools and other public bodies to report signs of extremism to authorities. Labour MP Rushanara Ali accused Prevent of stigmatizing Muslims, while the Muslim Council of Britain called it counter-productive. Britains Security Minister Ben Wallace told TIME that Prevent is about safeguarding people of all faiths and backgrounds and argued that it was right for teachers to monitor their pupils for extremism in the same way they support children who are at risk of child abuse or domestic violence.

But such feelings of mutual mistrust between governments and Muslim populations have been one of the many barriers to forging successful strategies to combat ISIS propaganda. Different nations across Europe have widely differing approaches, with some viewing potential recruits and returned fighters from a criminal perspective, while others focus on community-led prevention and rehabilitation.

So the Mothers Schools could be seen as an attempt by the U.K. to pursue a less securitized and more inclusive approach to the issue. Nico Prucha, a research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization at Kings College London, says that this kind of outreach program can be an effective way to target the community without alienating it, but cautions that a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to succeed. We need to see what resonates in which local community, he says, adding that this is also the approach taken by ISIS in seeking recruits. There is not a unified message. It is always about personalization and getting a package that suits you.

Many of the attendees at the Mothers Schools in Luton said they had not been aware that it was part of a broader effort by the government to stem the flow of British youngsters heading to Syria. In the community, if you go and say, Were trying to stop radicalization, then not many women would come, explains Fatima Begum, a local community organizer who was one of the two Luton trainers. So we had to think of a strategic way of selling itits an English course, and its a parenting course.

Plenty of neighboring countries are figuring out how the course works for them too. Mothers Schools have also taken place in Belgium and Austria this year. The next school is in Macedonia, then Germany and France later in 2016. Also in the pipeline are Fathers Schools and emergency schools in refugee communities across Europe. The women in Luton spoke enthusiastically about the confidence the course had given them. When my husband speaks to me disrespectfully, now I say, Never talk like that in front of the children, said mother of three Jubera Aktar. She also keeps a close eye on the home computer, regularly asking her children what they look at online.

But there is anger too. One of the women attending the graduation stood up and simply held aloft a cell phone. On it was a video of a politician urging people not to blame all Muslims for the actions of a few, a viewpoint she clearly wanted to share with the non-Muslims at the ceremony. The recent terrorist attacks have led to a rise in Islamophobia and strained relations between communities that threaten to further alienate young Muslims. The ongoing row in France over banning full-cover swimwear that adheres to strict Islamic dress codes, and attempts to limit the wearing of full-face veils in Germany are just two examples. These mothers will do everything in their power to keep their children safe, but the prejudice of others is out of their hands.
The much awaited biggest all-cash deal has eventually been signed, after Monsanto Company MON accepted Bayer AGs BAYRY buyout offer worth $66 billion, inclusive of debt. The U.S. seed behemoth asserted that Bayers grouping would unlock the next tranche of opportunities and growth for its business.

Bayers latest $128 per share offer was accepted as a signature deal after years of consolidation contest in the global seeds, traits and agricultural chemical industry.

Sluggish global economy, lower investments in agricultural inputs, volatile weather patterns and sturdy competition in grain exports have been putting pressure on Monsanto. Moreover, on Jun 29, 2016, the company reported lackluster third-quarter fiscal 2016 earnings owing to several turbulences like litigation & environmental issues, tax-associated problems in Argentina, the nonoccurrence of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Companys deal and increasing regulation in certain niche markets.



Hence, declining Bayers offer would have put Monsanto in a lesser competitive position within the industry, where rivals such as Syngenta AG SYT, The Dow Chemical Company DOW, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company DD and ChemChina, all are heading toward collaboration.



The German drug and crop chemical maker Bayers fourth-time revised bid is at a premium of 19.9% over the closing share price of Monsanto on Sep 14. Monsantos stock gained 0.6% to $106.76 as of Sep 14, 2016 on grounds of the aforesaid deal broadcast.

MONSANTO CO-NEW Price

MONSANTO CO-NEW Price | MONSANTO CO-NEW Quote

Lets see if the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock benefits further in the near term on the back of higher investor confidence. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Both companies look forward to successfully closing the transaction by 2017. However, we anticipate them to face regulatory hurdles from the antitrust authorities. Since, alliances between these major companies would give rise to just a few global players within the industry, the regulatory authorities would examine the Monsanto-Bayer deal in details, before giving any green signal.



However, Bayer has pledged to reimburse a higher break-up fee of $2 billion to Monsanto, in case there is a deal blockage due to regulatory turmoil.



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After watching with my 3-year-old the scene in Peter Pan when Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys encounter the Native American tribe in Neverland, my daughter asked, Are they bad guys? She told us she thought they had mean faces and just looked like bad guys. My husband tried to explain that they werent bad, just misunderstood, but something about this moment flipped my gut. Under no circumstances would my child judge the quality of a person based solely upon external features. And deeper still, I worried, Am I unintentionally raising a racist?

I worried that even at her young age, she has been programmed to believe in the false image of the mean man with dark skin. She is constantly asking me, Who is the bad guy here? as if she has some instinctive need to pinpoint his location exactly so she can keep a watchful eye.

Its not an uncommon desire, really. I see it in my students during debate or in their argumentative essays. It seems that, for a typical 16-year-old, a person is either pro-choice or pro-life, pro-death penalty or anti, Team Kimye or Team Taylor. There is only black and white. In 11 years of teaching, Ive seen near riots and actual riots break out based on which side of town students live, who said what on Twitter the night before, or which students have the right to use which bathroom. Teenagers, and toddlers apparently, are constantly in search of the other.

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I am especially disheartened, as are many Americans, when I consider the events of this past summer alonebombings, riots, shootingsevery bit of which derive from a need to identify and destroy the other, or, at the very least, a refusal to understand each others perspective. Then there is the presidential campaign with Donald Trump proclaiming the other as the source of many societal ills.

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Arguments abound regarding laws to pass and policies to implement as solutions to these issues. And while passing bills might feel like a solutionand in some ways it would bepolicy can only go so far in changing habits and perception. The only surefire solution to developing tolerance and openness to the perspectives of others is through educating young people.

I believe that the problem is not what is taught in schools, but how it is taught. It is not enough to simply offer curriculum about the ills of racism, homophobia, or bullying, and then expect lasting results from students who are entrenched in cultural beliefs that are reinforced by society. How can it be a surprise that a number of Americans lean toward authoritarian ideals when, according to Marzano Learning Sciences Center, an educational consulting and research group located in West Palm Beach, Florida, 58 percent of class time in K-12 schools is used for lecture with the teacher delivering content? Or that a number of Americans choose to ignore facts and reason when only 6 percent of class time is used for cognitively complex tasks? In a 2012 Center for American Progress student survey, one third of American 12th-graders said they engaged in class discussions only two times a month or less, suggesting that the majority of 17- and 18-year-old American public-school students (young adults coming upon voting age) rarely spend time engaging in dialogue during the school day. The current state of American politics is not surprising when the countrys youngest citizens are given few opportunities to engage in critical thinking and discussion. In order to counteract these trends, it is essential for educators to provide exploratory opportunities for students to not only think about the experiences of other people, but to also challenge their own inherent belief systems through experiential learning.

Just because the fish didnt look like he deserved to live, he still did.

A couple of years ago, I taught a freshman English course in a suburban-rural school district with 32 students, 30 of whom were 15-year-old boys. I tried passionately to teach the need to walk a mile in another mans shoes, as extolled by Atticus Finch, yet I continued to overhear racist and homophobic comments. One student even said, Thats what guns are for when I asked the class how they dealt with people who held different beliefs than they did.

As brilliant as Atticus Finch may have been (pre-Go Set a Watchman), my students could not relate to a lawyer in 1930s Alabama. These young men loved to hunt and fish. They loved guns and a survivalist mentality. I realized that if I wanted to get them to think about another persons perspective, I first had to relate to theirs. So I began by teaching Elizabeth Bishops poem, The Fish, from the voice of a speaker who catches an old beat-up fish, respects the fishs fight for its life, and lets it go. Next, I called the local Cabelas, a hunting and fishing store, and asked for a fisherman to come discuss the poem with my students and to fillet a fish he had caught so my students could have a memorable experience to connect to the process of analyzing a poem. The fisherman took his role seriously; we spoke several times over the phone about the poem and his own process for analyzing it before he arrived. After his visit, my class read the poem again.

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On the surface, it might seem ridiculous that an English teacher could possibly attack prejudice by teaching about fishing, but hear me out. The fisherman happened to be a poet. Not an actual poet, but he approached his work as a poet would. He explained an undying respect for nature and an appreciation for the right to life for all beings. He told stories about letting fish and deer go because of a look in their eye. He talked about the need for everyone, especially everyone with a gun, to respect the life and needs of other creatures. And the same student who insinuated that guns were meant to rid the earth of the other said this about the poem during the second reading: Just because the fish didnt look like he deserved to live, he still did.

Ive also seen how experiential learning can change the way students view the perspectives of others. For the past three years, I have taken my mostly white, upper-middle-class sophomore English students from a suburban-rural school district to the local ESL Newcomer Academy in the neighboring urban district. I am required by my curriculum to teach these students how to argue about global issues, and it seemed nearly impossible for them to do so without having a conversation with a human being who had firsthand experience with some of those issues. Each year we spend a day at a school with refugees and immigrants from around the world. Inevitably the students bond with one another, and my students often tell me that it is the best educational experience they have ever had.

I will focus on cultivating a culture of learning and respect that is focused on human beings.

This past year, it was my students, not me, who invited the Newcomer kids to share their stories at my school. So what began as a field trip has turned into an ongoing exchange of students who would not otherwise ever encounter each other in a real-life setting. But getting to this point has been rocky at times. I have had parents and students express concern for their safety because they could encounter Muslims and Africans during the trip. Occasionally, a student will refuse to go. But more often than not, the experience is overwhelmingly positive for all the students involved. Even if the students do not create lasting friendships, they still create lasting memories of positive interactions with other human beings and learn that they often have more in common with the other than they might have believed.

For years I have taught texts by non-Western authors, and I sometimes have students hang around after class to tell me that these books spoke to them, but the positive response I receive each year from the students who engage in this exchangea real life experienceis overwhelming. Reading a book about the experiences of someone from another culture can be powerful, but interacting with a human being from another culture is even more so. And yet, many schools make less and less time for field trips and other authentic learning experiences such as these.

Recommended: Why Is Donald Trump Jr. Talking About the Media 'Warming Up the Gas Chambers'?

Ive had similar success in the past when asking guests to come speak to students. During my first year of teaching in the midst of a Holocaust unit, I hosted a local Holocaust survivor who came to share her story. Prior to our guests arrival, one student with Nazi-sympathizing leanings made a veiled threat of hurting or attacking the survivor when she came to speak. After much deliberation, the student was allowed by the school administration to attend the presentation. The survivor told her story in such excruciating detail that all the students in the room were on the edge of their seats by the time she finished. I was surprised and deeply moved when the student who made the threat walked up to her after she told her story, shook her hand, and thanked her for coming. He changed his behavior, proving that the power of a real experience can change a persons mindset, no matter how entrenched his beliefs may be.

So how can educators and parents retaliate against black and white thinking and the need to create enemies in the other? For my classroom and me, I will focus on cultivating a culture of learning and respect that is focused on human beings and not just content. I will provide authentic opportunities for my students to grow as people, and I will challenge them to do so, even when they are reluctant. And as for my 3-year-old daughter, I will demand the same for her at home and from her school. The future may be quite grim otherwise.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
JONATHAN SEGAL FAIA

Bad news for car owners: Developers in more U.S. cities are reducing the amount of parking spaces included in new projects as local authorities seek to encourage the use of mass transit and free up space for parks, housing or other uses.

In San Diegos Little Italy neighborhood, architecture and development company Jonathan Segal FAIA ruffled feathers of nearby residents after it revealed plans to build an eight-story, 35-unit apartment complex with no parking spaces. Without the added costs of a garage, the studio units of around 400 square feet apiece would be more affordable, the firm said.

Its the future. Theres a strong demand for people who want to rent units that are efficient, said developer Jonathan Segal, noting that digging underground parking lots for the building would drive up costs and take away space that could be used for more housing.

Each car takes up about 350 square feet of parking space, including access lanes, he said. Without these costs, he estimates rents will be $1,300 to $1,500 a month, barely half that of comparable apartments nearby.

At the condominium across the street, residents raised concerns about the lack of parking lots during a meeting with the developer last week.Susan Keating, a resident who was present at that meeting, said most of the concerns centered on the possibility these micro units might be rented out to people who still drive and they might drive round and round the block looking out for parking more than for pedestrians.

Property developers must adhere to zoning codes that typically include providing a minimum number of parking spaces for a certain amount of space used by tenants. But cities such as New York and San Francisco have been leaders in removing or reducing parking requirements in recent years as part of efforts to curb traffic congestion and encourage more people to use mass transit. Now smaller cities and even some states are following suit.

Nashville is considering proposals to convert parking facilities to housing or other uses. In Oregon, the Transportation Planning Rule requires state, regional and local jurisdictions to reduce parking spaces per capita and improve opportunities for alternatives to the automobile.

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Advocates for the removal of parking requirements say they drive up housing costs unnecessarily. In downtown and inner-city projects where buildings cover entire lots, developers have to build costly underground or multistory parking garages.

Researchers in Miami and Los Angeles have found the reduction of parking requirements lowered construction costs significantly and spurred development of homes in areas previously deemed unprofitable. Earlier parking requirements had compelled developers to build fewer units than the total permitted because it was too expensive to build the required parking spaces.

Los Angeles in 1999 allowed developers to convert vacant commercial buildings downtown into housing and exempted them from parking requirements. The Adaptive Reuse Ordinance accounted for 75% of the 9,200 housing units built between 2000 and 2010, according to Michael Manville, assistant professor at UCLAs Department of Urban Planning, who surveyed these developments and compared them with ground-up housing projects that were still subject to parking requirements.

When cities remove parking requirements, developers build more housing with less parking, often in buildings and neighborhoods they had long ignored, Mr. Manville said.

To be sure, reducing or removing parking requirements still gives developers the leeway to supply parking spaces creatively. Rather than dig costly underground garage spaces on-site, some provide parking lots off-site, while others rent existing spaces at nearby garages.

Even so, developers looking to build fewer parking lots often face pushback from the incumbent residents who fear heightened competition for on-street parking when residents who own cars move in.

And in some cities, the deep-rooted habits of residents are still a big influence on parking. Developer D4 Urban LLC successfully leased mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments adjacent to a rail stop in Denver with a 1:1 ratio of parking space to unit, but noted that post-occupancy surveys show that residents still want ample parking spaces.

While there is a menu of options for residentsUber, light rail, bicyclepeople still endeavor to own a car to get to the mountains, said Chris Waggett, chief executive of D4 Urban, adding that future projects with bigger apartments will revert to the more-typical 1:1 parking space to bedroom ratio.

There is an emotive connection to the car that residents have, but its different when you talk to commercial tenants. Commercial-property owners are far more willing to reduce their ratios, Mr. Waggett said.

The post More Developers Kick Parking Lots to the Curb appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.
By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - The mother of a Reuters photojournalist killed in Somalia in 1993 wants a film about her son's life to empower others to strive to change the world. "My great desire is that this film will be a spark to ignite a movement of young people and the young-at-heart to believe they have a role to play in changing the world around them," said Kathy Eldon, mother of Dan Eldon and the film's producer. "The Journey Is The Destination," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday, chronicles the final three years of Dan Eldon's life during which he fell in love, raised money for refugees, drove across Africa to deliver it and became a photojournalist. "The Eldon family are miraculous to me," said director Bronwen Hughes. "They have taken this story of their son and transformed it into a movement for global positive change." The British-American photographer joined journalists on an assignment to cover a civil war and famine in Somalia and the UN-mandated and U.S-led mission to secure humanitarian relief. After scores of civilians were killed and wounded in a U.S. bombing that was targeting Somali warlords, journalists documenting the aftermath were attacked by a mob. Eldon and three other journalists were killed. He was 22. Kathy and Dan's sister Amy founded the Creative Visions Foundation after Eldon's death to build on the efforts of activists using media and art to cause social change. The film drew heavily on journals Eldon kept, a collection of which his family published after his death. "Dan had left us a visual map to the way to tell his story and I determined that had to be the visual language for the film," Hughes said. The film, which does not yet have distribution, stars Ben Schnetzer as Dan, Maria Bello as Kathy, and Kelly Macdonald as Amy. A Reuters memorial book commemorating the lives of its journalists killed on the job paid tribute to Eldon and the two other Reuters journalists who died that day: television sound recordist Anthony Macharia, 21, and photographer Hos Maina, 38, as well as Associated Press photographer Hansi Krauss, 30. "Eldon had been nicknamed 'The Mayor of Mogadishu' because of his outgoing, friendly manner," it says. Mark Wood, who was the news agency's editor-in-chief at the time, called it "one of the saddest days in Reuters history." (Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Chris Reese)
By John O'Brien SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Since its inaugural race in 2008 the Singapore Grand Prix has gained a reputation for being the toughest challenge in Formula One, providing drivers with an extreme test of endurance in the trickiest conditions. Raced under floodlights on a tight, 23-turn 5.065-km street circuit in downtown Singapore, the 61-lap trawl in tropical heat just north of the equator has been won by three men -- Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. The exclusive triumvirate is made up of world champions, suggesting only the very best can master the Marina Bay circuit, but four-times winner Vettel believes luck can play as large a part as skill. "It's a race I have enjoyed but it's always very long," said the German who triumphed last year. "You can be lucky or unlucky with the safety cars, which is not what you hope for as a driver, you prefer it to be fair and square," added Vettel who also won the race from 2011-13. "If it plays in your favour then you take it and if it works against you, it's quite annoying but that's the nature of a street circuit," he told reporters on Thursday. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was second behind Vettel a year ago and is hoping to go one better on Sunday, said there was no escape from the stifling heat in the cockpit and drivers got little respite for the duration of the race. "It's similar in heat and humidity to Malaysia but you're surrounded by just the city and a lot of concrete so it's the one race I feel where you open your visor to get some air and you're not getting any reward for that," the Australian said. "It's just heat and stale air. In Malaysia there's a bit of circulation, even though it's hot you get a bit of a breeze but here, no. It's a track that you can't. "If you come here unprepared then you can't luck into a good result. You've got to come ready to go." Finn Valtteri Bottas said drivers needed maximum concentration to ensure they survived unscathed. "Physically at least it is the toughest race. Mentally, I think it feels a bit like Monaco. It's very intense and needs to be zero mistakes," the Williams driver explained. (Editing by Tony Jimenez)
By John O'Brien SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo missed out on victory in Monaco this season when a botched pit stop handed Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton the win but the Australian is hoping the streets of Singapore will be paved the gold he was denied in Monte Carlo. The Marina Bay Street Circuit's 23-turn layout presents drivers with similar challenges to Formula One's most famous track with its high downforce and slow pace giving Red Bull and Ferrari an opportunity to compete on level terms with Mercedes. "It's obviously the next closest track to Monaco, so we look at it as a chance to try and get the victory I am after this season," Ricciardo, who finished second from pole in Monte Carlo, told reporters on Thursday. "Since Monaco, a lot of things have been working better with the team...I have left races feeling a lot happier," he added. Ricciardo came second behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in Singapore a year ago as Mercedes struggled and after securing three podiums in the last four races, the Australian has been installed as one of the favourites for Sunday's grand prix. "Let's see," he said. "I am not going to put too much pressure on myself or the team for this weekend but deep down we want to win. "I believe we are a group of winners, so if there is a bit of pressure on us to try and get it done this weekend then I think we will thrive off that." Ricciardo also shed some light on his quirky celebration of drinking champagne from his shoe following his recent podium finishes, drawing inspiration from a group of Australian "fishermen and surfers" who introduced him to the 'shoey'. "I think it's just a bit of fun now, everyone's enjoying it," the 27-year-old added with a grin. "If the sparkling wine is cold, then it tastes good. Normally on the podium, it's cold so you don't get all the flavours but if it's warm, then you get the sweat and all that through it... but the cold taste kills the bad stuff. "So if I win then yeah, I will do it again but probably not for a second or third now." Ricciardo is third in the drivers' standings on 161 points after 14 rounds, behind the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton (250 points) and Nico Rosberg (248) with seven races remaining. (Editing by Clare Lovell)
(Corrects second paragraph to say Johnson remains a Blackstone adviser)

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Veteran technology dealmaker David Johnson has joined Glilot Capital Partners, which specializes in enterprise software and cyber security technology, the Israeli venture capital fund said on Wednesday.

Johnson remains a senior adviser to private equity firm Blackstone Group LP, where he was previously a senior managing director. He also is a former lieutenant to Dell Inc founder Michael Dell.

Johnson played a key role in Blackstone's exploration of a bid for Dell in 2013, pitting him against his former boss and private equity firm Silver Lake, which eventually took the computer maker private for $24.9 billion.

He was also involved in other Blackstone deals, such as the acquisition of Chinese information technology outsourcing company Pactera in 2014 for more than $600 million.

Johnson was not immediately available for comment.

During his more than three years at Dell, Johnson oversaw about 20 acquisitions that included the 2009 purchase of Perot Systems Corp for $3.9 billion.

Dell sold information technology services provider Perot to Japan's NTT Data Corp in March at a loss, for $3.05 billion.

(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
With more wet weather this week Tampa Bay communities are keeping a watch on their swollen sewer systems.

In the past month, nearly 200 million gallons of partially treated sewage have been released into the bay.

St. Petersburgs aging sewer system is responsible for more than half of that staggering amount.

Heavy rains from Hurricane Hermine over-burdened most Pinellas County sewer system sending the runoff into the bay.

Pinellas County commissioner started the process of creating a county-wide sewer system task force.

People walking along Bayshore Drive in Petersburg say that is welcome news.

"This is the lifeblood of our entire community," said Saint Pete resident Luke Proctor. "Without the actual ocean and bay, then we havent got anything. It should be the number one priority in my opinion.

The Florida shorebird alliance believes the sewage releases into the bay are killing sea birds. Forty-seven black skimmer birds form a tracked colony of 115 have suffered convulsions and died in the past few weeks.
New York police are no longer investigating the attack in which a Muslim womans clothing was set on fire as a hate crime, authorities said Wednesday.

Police ruled out a hate crime after suspects in the case were linked to similar assaults on other non-Muslims in New York.

The hijab-wearing woman was standing outside a Valentino store on Fifth Avenue Saturday when she felt heat on her left side and noticed her blouse was on fire. She patted out the flames and looked up to see a man standing near her with a lighter. The flame reportedly left a quarter-sized hole in her blouse, according to the NYPD. The department initially investigated the incident as a potential hate crime.

Upon further investigation, police found that at least three other women were threatened with fire by the same suspects on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The three other women were not wearing clothing that would identify them as Muslim, police said.

The motivation for these crimes is not considered to be bias-related at this time, police said.

Police obtained surveillance footage of the suspect. No arrests have been made in the case.
Longtime NASCAR driver Robby Gordon's father and his stepmom were found dead Wednesday in their home in Orange, California, PEOPLE confirms  though it's unclear how they died.



Local authorities have not ruled out the possibility of either double suicide or murder-suicide, a police spokesman tells PEOPLE. A cause of death has not been determined.



Gordon told The Orange County Register he thinks he knows what happened, but declined to say more until he spoke with the coroner.



Gordon's father and stepmother  Robert "Baja Bob" Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57  were found dead Wednesday afternoon after officers responded to a 911 call around 5 p.m. about two dead bodies, Orange police Lt. Fred Lopez says.



"This is devastating," said a tearful Robby, 47, according to the Register. "He taught so many, and I want everyone to know what a good man he was."



One of Robby's three sisters just had a child, according to the paper.



 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.



A rifle was discovered in his parents' home, Lt. Lopez says, and there are no suspects at this time.



Autopsies were completed Thursday for both Sharon and Robert, Lopez says.



A neighbor discovered the Gordons' bodies in an upstairs room after being unable to reach them by phone, according to the Register. Robby said his father had missed a doctor's appointment Wednesday, triggering concern.





Praying for friends @RobbyGordon @BeccyGordon and the Gordon family during this difficult time. Hope they find strength and support. a Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) September 15, 2016





aBajaa Bob Gordon was an off-road legend and a proud dad.

Prayers for @RobbyGordon, @BeccyGordon and family. a Mike Joy (@mikejoy500) September 15, 2016





Neighbors remembered Robert, himself a racer, as a "very nice, down to earth guy" and the two as "a super sweet couple," the Register reports.



"I feel very sad," one neighbor said, according to USA Today. "Everyone here will be very sad."



PEOPLE was not immediately able to reach Robby or the Orange County coroner for comment.



"The truth will come out," Robby said in a statement, according to the Register.



Robby raced in NASCAR for more than 20 years, ending in 2013. He now races in an off-road series he founded.



 Reporting by HARRIET SOKMENSUER
Celebrated Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, whose 2012 film No received an Academy Award nomination, was among a group of select artists who made waves at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, securing one of the festivals few big dealsin the eight-figure rangewhen Fox Searchlight came on to distribute the Natalie Portman-starring Jackie. Larrain debuted that film in Venice, but it isnt his only project at TIFF this year, with biopic Neruda bowing to rave reviews. Reuniting the director with No star Gael Garcia Bernal, the film also stars Luis Gnecco as the eponymous Pablo Neruda, a poet, activist and iconic figure of Chilean culture.

In the Deadline video exclusive above, Gnecco discusses his process in inhabiting a figure taken into the realm of myth and cultural legend, and his anxieties in approaching the role. For me, [the biggest challenge] was how to give a voice to this character, because many people had an idea of what Neruda was in Chile, Gnecco says. It was hard because I felt I was going to be criticized, whatever way I choose.

Speaking to his repeated collaboration with Larrain, and Larrains rising status in the industry, with Jackie emerging as another conceivable Oscar contender, Bernal touched on the continued necessity of films that invent, challenge and take ample risks. Thats why we should be doing films, and the way films should be done nowadays. It has to be a risk, it has to be challenging, Bernal suggests. Because if we dont do it, then we should just go and have a coffee. Its more relaxing.

To watch the conversation with Larrain, Bernal and Gnecco, click on the video above.

Videos produced by Neil Hansen/Route Eleven, camera work by Meaghan Gable and Ida Jokinen. Special thanks to Image Skin Care Canada, Calii Love, Commune, Dan Gunam, and Silverline Studios.

Related stories

Natalie Portman On 'Jackie': "She Took This Real Control Over Her Family's Story" - Toronto Studio

Story continues

Rising Star 'Jackie' Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim Also Runs NBC's 'Today'? How Did That Happen?

Multiple Larrain Storms In Oscar Forecast With 'Neruda' & 'Jackie'
Netflix's gambit to throw a wrench into the comeback of Relativity Media could be costly. On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles heard arguments on whether the streaming company should pay more than $1.2 million in legal fees to the film studio and its leader, Ryan Kavanaugh. The judge took the matter under submission but appears to be leaning toward ordering a fee reimbursement. And the tab could grow.

Back in May, after the bankruptcy judge had approved Relativity's reorganization plan, Netflix insisted it had the contractual right to stream the Zach Galifianakis comedy Masterminds and the Kate Beckinsale horror film The Disappointments Room the following month.

That represented a problem for Relativity because both of those films weren't coming out in theaters until later in the year. The studio had worked out an agreement with its creditors and reduced $630 million in debt on expectations of a theatrical release and then, and only then, downstream distribution. Netflix's move, likely aimed at escaping tens of millions in future licensing payments, was "putting at risk the successful reorganization," Relativity's lawyers told the judge at the time.

On May 27, Wiles rejected Netflix's contention that the dispute should be arbitrated and offered a harsh opinion about Netflix's "bad faith." Wiles ruled that Netflix had an obligation to resolve contractual issues before the confirmation and that Netflix's arguments were "irreconcilable" from its past position that Relativity's films had to be theatrically released under its license agreement to qualify as quality material that its users would want to see.

Netflix appealed the judgment, but on Tuesday, a U.S. District Court judge affirmed Wiles' finding and determined his court had jurisdiction over the matter.

Meanwhile, as the "prevailing party" in litigation, Relativity brought a motion for its attorneys' fees per the contract between the two companies. In response, Netflix argued that fee-shifting wasn't appropriate under bankruptcy code, that Kavanaugh wasn't really a prevailing party and that the lawyers on the opposing side - some of whom were making more than $1,200 per hour - were asking for too much.

Story continues

"Netflix thus claims it is not obligated to reimburse at 'Caddilac Escalade' rates under the License Agreement, without regard to the context of this litigation and the Chapter 11 proceedings as a whole," stated a Relativity response brief. "As Netflix would have it, it has to reimburse only for the 'Honda Civic' level of lawyering."

Relativity's lawyer, Richard Wynne at Jones Day, said at today's hearing that Netflix's challenge was an "extremely important case to the company" and that attorneys had to work quickly with not much preparation. He said Relativity isn't simply trying to "stick it to Netflix" but added, "They took a flyer on trying to destroy the company."

Kavanaugh's own attorney commented that for this "$40 billion cap company" - referring to Netflix - "there was only upside" in attempting to sink Relativity. He thought that should be a factor in the judge's decision to award fees as the contract between the companies contemplated.

Wiles, who has repeatedly commended the debtors' lawyers for doing a fine job, appeared to be on Relativity's side. "The truth of the matter is the vehicle you need depends on where you are trying to get," Wiles said. "This case required high expertise."

Wynne told the judge the studio also intends to seek additional fees for the appeal. Relativity's attorney joked, "I'm sure if we get to the Supreme Court, we'll be talking about a Chevy Truck."

UPDATE 9/22: It's not over. With the clock ticking, Netflix has filed a notice that it will be appealing the bankruptcy judge's refusal to let it immediately stream Masterminds and The Disappointments Room to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

The appeal will give the federal appellate circuit an opportunity to weigh the boundary between bankruptcy matters and arbitration clauses in contracts.

Netflix states in its notice that the "order of the District Court refusing to compel arbitration, and otherwise affirming the order of the Bankruptcy Court, incorrectly holds that the dispute is a 'core' matter," which the streaming company argues is in contradiction with legal precedent.
Getty Image

The Oakland Raiders have been publicly, desperately trying to leave their home stadium for years now, and now it looks like they may finally be ready to do just that. A special council in the Nevada state legislature has approved a plan to give $750 million of public money for a stadium to be built to house the Raiders. If completed, it would be the most public money ever used to build a stadium.

Near the end of August, owner Mark Davis coyprighted the term Las Vegas Raiders for the purpose of merchandising while releasing renderings of the proposed $2 billion stadium, and boy, it seems like they really liked the pitch in Carson City. The panels vote precludes any sort of public referendum that the actual citizens of Las Vegas or Nevada could vote on, so the only remaining obstacle between the Raiders and Vegas is a vote among the NFLs owners, which will take place in January.

Related Links:





Nothing we say in this space will probably convince you regarding the use of hundreds of millions of public dollars to build stadiums that only produce profit for a very few private citizens, no matter where you stand. Well simply reiterate that $750 million in taxpayer money is set to be used to build a stadium, and not a single ordinary taxpayer had any say in the matter.
Hernando County deputies fatally shot a 69-year-old man Thursday afternoon.

Authorities are investigating the deadly shooting that happened in Weeki Wachee.

Incident happened at home in Enclave subdivision

Person shot, died at local trauma center

Deputy and sergeant placed on administrative leave



It occurred shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday on Ridge Top Loop in the Enclave subdivision.

Hernando County deputies say Joseph Schlossers home health care aid called 911 to report he was suicidal.

A deputy and sergeant responded to the scene.

"They tried to speak with him to no avail. And then they attempted less lethal and that also did not work," said Denise Moloney with Hernando County Sheriffs office.

Shots were fired, and Schlosser was taken to a local trauma center and pronounced dead.

Neighbors and friends say Schlosser was sharp mentally, but struggled physically.

"I wasnt surprised. He lived a life of pain," said friend Patricia Sala.

Sala said Schlosser served his country as a Vietnam War veteran and worked for years as a police officer.

Schlossers friends say he was married but home alone at the time.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was notified and is investigating.

The deputy and sergeant have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Next Graphite, Inc. (OTC PINK: GPNE) ("Next Graphite," "GPNE" or the "Company"), a graphite exploration/development stage company in the African Republic of Namibia, is pleased to announce the signing of a Farm Out agreement (the Agreement) with CKR Carbon (CKR) for its Aukam graphite project. Under the terms of the Agreement Next Graphite will allow CKR to earn up to 63% interest in the License and the Project upon completion of (i) investing $1.1 million in cash; or (ii) the completion of the plant and infrastructure set up; and (iii) government authorization to begin commercial operations. CKR has spent $400,000 to date on the project.

The Farm Out agreement also specifies that CKR make quarterly payments for a total of $180,000 ($85,000 paid to date) during the Farm-Out period, which began on June 8, 2015 (on signing of the Joint Venture Agreement) and ends when CKR has earned up to 63%, as outlined above. Should the Farm-Out Period need to be extended beyond the time in which CKR has invested its $1.1 million, Next will continue to be paid $25,000 per Quarter [or pro-rata for a partial Quarter] until (i) the completion of the plant and infrastructure set up; and (ii) government authorization to begin commercial operations. In addition, in the case where the Farm-Out period is extended, and the revenue stream from graphite sales is less than $100,000 per month, CKR will loan Next Graphite $25,000 per quarter.

In the event any material is sold at any time, any realizable amount from net proceeds of sale of the material shall be distributed to the parties in the following proportions: 63% to CKR and 37% to Next. The JV currently has a Letter of Intent to supply up to 5,000 metric tonnes of graphitic material grading between 40 and 50% Cg (carbon as graphite) over the course of the next year (see Next Graphite News Release dated March 24, 2016).

"The signing of a comprehensive Farm Out agreement with our JV partner is an important step in defining our milestones for the next 12 months," said Cliff Bream, CEO of Next Graphite. "Our upcoming joint activities include a feasibility study to determine the extent of graphitic material we have underground, and continuing to add material to our stockpile, first for upcoming sales of pre-processed graphite and then for sale as processed graphite once our plant is up and running. We are entering a very active period in our project, and we are excited."

About Next Graphite, Inc.:

Next Graphite, Inc. is a development stage company targeting the growing global graphite production industry with the Company's Africa-based Aukam Graphite Project. The Aukam Graphite Mine was established in 1940 in the current Republic of Namibia and produced USD $30 million of graphite at today's prices. The site is located on approximately 96,000 acres (34,082 hectares) in southern Namibia close to the port city of Luderitz and is estimated to contain a significant amount of high grade, vein type graphitic material.

The property hosts three underground adits that were mined periodically between 1940 and 1974. Five dumps from the historical mining occur on the property and 73 samples from the lower three dumps were assayed and averaged 42% Cg. Next Graphite's joint venture has completed a bulk-sampling program at Aukam, and the joint venture has a letter of intent to sell the graphitic material produced during the program. Findings to date have reinforced Next's intent to put the historical mine back into production. The Company is working to transition from its current exploratory license to a full mining license and build a new graphite processing facility. Next's joint venture in Namibia maintains high safety and environmental standards and has a comprehensive strategy of social engagement.

For more information, please visit: www.nextgraphite.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements are based upon the current plans, estimates and projections of Next Graphite Inc.'s management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning market and industry segment growth and demand and acceptance of new and existing products; any projections of sales, earnings, revenue, margins or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; uncertainties related to conducting business in Africa, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: business conditions in Africa, general economic conditions; geopolitical events and regulatory changes, availability of capital, the Company's ability to maintain its competitive position and dependence on key management. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

CONTACT:

Paul DeRiso

ir@nextgraphite.com

(925) 465-6088

SOURCE: Next Graphite, Inc.
London (AFP) - Having achieved his ambition of a Brexit vote, Nigel Farage will leave the UK Independence Party (UKIP) that he co-founded in 1993 in a precarious position when he hands over the reins Friday.

Britain's departure from the European Union had been the 52-year-old former trader's dream ever since setting up the party after leaving the Conservatives in 1992 following the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, which deepened European integration.

"Everything I've done in politics revolves around the referendum, absolutely everything," he told AFP during the campaign.

Farage spent the last 24 years undermining European institutions and mocking its leading lights, a mission that culminated with the June 23 vote that saw Britain vote to leave the EU.

He announced his decision to step down as party leader -- a position he has held almost uninterruptedly since 2006 -- a week later, explaining that "my political ambition has been achieved."

- Energetic survivor -

Farage was born in 1964 to an affluent family in Kent, southeast England. His father was a stockbroker and an alcoholic and his parents divorced when he was five.

He was educated at one of England's top private schools, Dulwich College in London, before becoming a commodities trader.

Farage's first brush with death came in 1985 when he was hit by a car after a night out, suffered serious head and leg injuries and had a cancerous testicle removed months later.

Once recovered, he married his nurse, and the couple had two sons. Following their divorce in 1997, Farage married second wife Kirsten Mehr, a German, with whom he has two daughters.

His most recent scare came in May 2010 when a light aircraft in which he was campaigning on election day crashed on take-off after a banner got caught in a propeller, but he escaped with broken bones and a punctured lung.

Farage's political destiny was cast with the co-founding of UKIP in 1993, and with his election to the European Parliament in 1999, aged 35.

Story continues

He became UKIP's leader in 2006 before standing down in 2009 and then being re-elected the following year, stamping his charisma and anti-establishment humour on the party as it soared in popularity.

With the party's image and Farage becoming intertwined, and with the Brexit vote achieved, UKIP now faces a vacuum of leadership and identity.

Despite his high profile, Farage failed in six bids to become an MP in Britain's parliament, dogged by accusations he was an ill-tempered populist who appealed to racists.

Failure to win election to the House of Commons allowed Farage to spend more time behind enemy lines in the European Parliament, railing against the "corrupt" and "undemocratic" EU.

- 'Smokes and drinks too much' -

Much of Farage's appeal lies with his "everyman" image, the result of many hours spent swilling pints of ale down the pub, cigarette in hand.

Voted "Briton of 2014" by the Times as UKIP swept the board in European Parliament elections, Farage maintained a high-profile before the referendum, but he was kept out of the official campaign, which feared his brand was too divisive.

Only Boris Johnson in the official "Leave" campaign was able to command such media attention, while Farage hammered away at the issue of immigration, a cause of concern to more moderate Brexit supporters.

Criticism peaked when he unveiled a poster of refugees under the phrase "Breaking Point".

The Brexit vote helped vindicate some of Farage's methods, but they came at a price.

"He smokes and he drinks too much," his wife complained.

"During the referendum I said I wanted my country back ... now I want my life back." Farage said in his resignation speech.

Although withdrawing from front-line politics, Farage vowed to watch Brexit negotiations "like a hawk".

He also hinted at another career as an international speaker after addressing a Donald Trump rally in the United States, where he called Brexit a victory for "the little people, for the real people".
Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Niger is increasingly becoming a target for Boko Haram attacks, as the Islamists come under sustained military pressure in Nigeria while reeling under a leadership struggle, analysts said Thursday.

Despite a decline in the frequency of attacks this year in northeastern Nigeria, the experts warned of escalating raids across the border, especially in Niger.

"Niger's southern border with Nigeria represents a relatively soft flank for Boko Haram, particularly in its eastern stretches," Roddy Barclay, intelligence analyst at consultancy firm Africa Practice, told AFP.

"The porous national border is under-policed and adjoins some of the most insecure territories in northeastern Nigeria."

IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC) said Boko Haram carried out 22 attacks into Cameroon, Chad and Niger in 2014 and 62 in 2015, when it aligned with the Islamic State group.

There were 41 cross-border attacks this year until the end of August with Niger bearing the brunt of the violence, including a raid on a military base near the southeastern town of Bosso in June in which at least 26 soldiers were killed.

"Before Boko Haram allied with the Islamic State, it did carry out cross-border attacks outside their core territory of north eastern Nigeria," said Matthew Henman, head of IHS JTIC.

"But since 2015, the number of cross-border operations rose dramatically as the group retaliated against the West African coalition fighting to defeat them."

Henman said the Bosso attack -- and subsequent strikes against government and other military targets in the region -- indicated a shift in Boko Haram to IS methods.

This focused "less on the indiscriminate killing of fellow Muslims and more on targeting regional security forces".

IS announced in August that Abu Musab al-Barnawi -- the son of Boko Haram's founder Mohammed Yusuf -- had replaced Abubakar Shekau as head of the group, which now styles itself Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Story continues

Barnawi has criticised Shekau for the indiscriminate killing of fellow Muslims: at least 20,000 people have been killed in northeast Nigeria in a wave of raids, suicide attacks and bombings since 2009.

The shadowy Shekau has maintained he is still in charge but there have been recent reports of clashes between rival factions in the north of northeast Nigeria's Borno state, near Lake Chad.

JTIC said it still expected attacks on civilians from the Shekau camp to continue, while those aligned with Barnawi would conduct operations against the military and government.

The upsurge in attacks in Niger was an indication Boko Haram may have already begun to regroup, contradicting the military's version that it was on the run and struggling, Henman told AFP.

He also said the jihadists' aim appeared to be to undermine the Multi-National Joint Task Force of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, which is operating in the Lake Chad region against them.

- Overstretched military? -

The regional force, whose deployment has been long delayed, depends on coordination and cooperation between countries not known for working together or sharing mutual trust -- and Boko Haram could play on that, said Henman.

"IS has been very good at picking apart alliances and coalitions, pitting allies against one another. They will try to sow discord in that coalition," Henman said.

Nigeria is facing security threats on multiple fronts: Boko Haram in the northeast; ethnic violence in the central region; Biafran separatists in the southeast; and oil rebels in the south.

"The military build-up (in northeast Nigeria) can't be sustained indefinitely", even if the threat in the Niger delta does not develop, he added.

While Nigeria boasts one of the largest armies in Africa, Barclay warned that fighting multiple fronts could expose political mismanagement and corruption in the military and undermine recent gains.

"The military technically has the resources to operate on two fronts," Barclay said. "But it risks becoming stretched and seeing some of its internal dysfunction exposed," he said.

"Any shortfalls in discipline, management and logistics are likely to be accentuated."
Lagos (AFP) - A top aide of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan pleaded not guilty Thursday to money laundering charges linked to the former first lady, as he appeared in a Lagos court.

Jonathan's special advisor on household and domestic matters Waripamo Dudafa is accused with two others and four companies of laundering millions of dollars in stolen public funds.

Former first lady Patience Jonathan claimed last week in a letter to Nigeria's anti-graft agency that she is the rightful owner of the over $15 million in multiple bank accounts, according to Nigerian news agency Sahara Reporters.

She told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that she had been withdrawing the money from the accounts to pay for her overseas health expenses.

The accounts were frozen in July, and she is arguing that the EFCC is trying to "harass or harangue her and short-change her of her personal funds in breach of her fundamental human rights".

The seizure of funds is "illegal, unlawful, wrongful and prejudicial" according an application she submitted to the federal high court in Lagos on Thursday demanding the release of the money.

Two other men pleaded not guilty along with Dudafa, while the representatives of the four companies pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and forgery. The trial is adjourned until September 27.

Anti-corruption campaigners said the Nigerian government should investigate the ex first lady, who has attracted attention from anti-graft agencies and activists in the past for her vast personal wealth.

Debo Adeniran, head of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders organisation, said she had "guts" to claim the money is hers.

"I only hope the present government will have the political will to pursue a trial to the end," Adeniran said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated Jonathan in elections last year, has launched a wide-ranging campaign against corruption targeting key members of the previous regime.

Story continues

The focus on officials from the former ruling party has led some critics to claim Buhari is using the anti-graft crackdown as a way to target and silence political foes.

Former national security advisor Sambo Dasuki is currently facing a slew of charges over allegedly bogus arms deals in which money meant for military procurements to fight Boko Haram was diverted for political purposes.

Meanwhile, Jonathan's cousin Robert Azibaola is also standing trial for allegedly stealing millions in public funds.

But despite the arrest of his key confidants, Jonathan has yet to be charged with any offence.
By Ange Aboa ABIDJAN (Reuters) - There will be no cancellation or reselling of Ivory Coast's 2016/17 cocoa contracts, the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) said on Thursday, reacting to the sharp drop in prices early this week sparked by its demand for exporters' paperwork. The CCC in a memorandum distributed last week gave exporters in the world's largest producer six days to supply documentation for export contracts. Failure to furnish the documents, which include proof of a counterparty, would see the contracts cancelled and resold, it said. The news caused prices in London and New York to plummet to multi-month lows, as some traders believed that reselling the contracts would lead to the cocoa reaching the international market quicker. "There will not be any cancellation of contracts or reselling of contracts," Djibril Fadiga, the CCC's deputy managing director responsible for sales, told reporters following a news conference in the commercial capital, Abidjan. "There is no risk to the system," he added. Fadiga had earlier said there would be no impact on next season's government-guaranteed farmer price, which is based on the average price of forward sold cocoa. Exporters said last week that the CCC had taken the step after realising that small, domestic operators had purchased contracts for the 2016/17 season, which opens in October, without securing prices with off-takers. World prices have since dropped and left those exporters unable to execute the contracts, they added. A finance ministry official and five exporters last week told Reuters that 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes worth of cocoa contracts could be resold, and some international firms were already preparing to pick up bargains. [nL8N1BL2KE][nL8N1BP4CL] Ivory Coast forward sells between 70 and 80 percent of its anticipated cocoa crop in order to guarantee a stable price for farmers. It had already auctioned 1.1 million tonnes of the 2016/17 crop by July. The West African nation, which controls roughly 40 percent of global supply, produced a record crop of around 1.8 million tonnes of beans during the 2014/15 season. (Writing by Joe Bavier; editing by Jason Neely and Elaine Hardcastle)
By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday awarded its first contracts to buy weather data from commercial satellite operators, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said. NOAA chose privately owned GeoOptics Inc of Pasadena, California and San Francisco-based Spire Global Inc to participate in a trial program to supplement data from U.S. civilian weather satellites with commercially provided alternatives. GeoOptics contract is worth $695,000. Spires is for $370,000. NOAA is turning to private companies to test if the agency can improve its weather forecasts and warnings by adding environmental data from commercial satellites. NOAA manages the nations fleet of civilian weather satellites. This is the first NOAA purchase of space-based, commercial weather data for the purpose of data demonstration, NOAA spokesman John Leslie said. GeoOptics and Spire have until April 30 to deliver data to NOAA from their satellite constellations. Both networks detect weather systems by measuring variations in how GPS radio signals cut through the atmosphere, a technique known as radio occultation. In a statement, NOAA said the trial run is "a necessary first step to considering sustained operational use of new commercial weather data." A report on the project is expected in early 2018. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Bill Rigby)
Tom Ford makes a return to the big screen with his new film Nocturnal Animals starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon.

The film is an adaptation of the novel Tony and Susan written by Austin Wright. It tells a love-strained story of a woman (Amy Adams) whose life starts to mirror the sadistic novel her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) wrote and dedicated to her. While she (Adams) is terrified by the violence and torture written about her, she admits to doing something horrible to him. This divorced couple will uncover dark-truths about themselves and one another in their twisted love-affair.

In his review for Variety at the Venice Film Festival where the film premiered, critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that Ford doesnt just recycle pulp  he aestheticizes it by taking it dead seriously. He strives to turn pulp into art.

The film took home the Grand Jury Prize Award at the 2016 Venice International Film Festival and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The cast also includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Karl Glusman, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough and Michael Sheen.

Nocturnal Animal is set to open in select theaters Nov. 18 and expand nationwide Dec. 9.

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By Jack Kim and James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea will have enough material for about 20 nuclear bombs by the end of this year, with ramped-up uranium enrichment facilities and an existing stockpile of plutonium, according to new assessments by weapons experts. The North has evaded a decade of U.N. sanctions to develop the uranium enrichment process, enabling it to run an effectively self-sufficient nuclear program that is capable of producing around six nuclear bombs a year, they said. The true nuclear capability of the isolated and secretive state is impossible to verify. But after Pyongyang conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test last week and, according to South Korea, was preparing for another, it appears to have no shortage of material to test with. North Korea has an abundance of uranium reserves and has been working covertly for well over a decade on a project to enrich the material to weapons-grade level, the experts say. That project, believed to have been expanded significantly, is likely the source of up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of highly enriched uranium a year, said Siegfried Hecker, a leading expert on the North's nuclear program. That quantity is enough for roughly six nuclear bombs, Hecker, who toured the North's main Yongbyon nuclear facility in 2010, wrote in a report on the 38 North website of Johns Hopkins University in Washington published on Monday. Added to an estimated 32- to 54 kilogram plutonium stockpile, the North will have sufficient fissile material for about 20 bombs by the end of 2016, Hecker said. North Korea said its latest test proved it was capable of mounting a nuclear warhead on a medium-range ballistic missile, but its claims to be able to miniaturize a nuclear device have never been independently verified. [nL3N1BL1ND] Assessments of the North's plutonium stockpile are generally consistent and believed to be accurate because experts and governments can estimate plutonium production levels from telltale signs of reactor operation in satellite imagery. South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo this year estimated the North's plutonium stockpile at about 40 kilograms. But Hecker, a former director of the U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory, where nuclear weapons have been designed, has called North Korea's uranium enrichment program "their new nuclear wildcard," because Western experts do not know how advanced it is. PAKISTAN CONNECTION Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies said North Korea had an unconstrained source of fissile material, both plutonium from the Yongbyon reactor and highly-enriched uranium from at least one and probably two sites. "The primary constraint on its program is gone," Lewis said. Weapons-grade plutonium has to be extracted from spent fuel taken out of reactors and then reprocessed, and therefore would be limited in quantity. A uranium enrichment program greatly boosts production of material for weapons. The known history of the uranium enrichment project dates to 2003, when the North was confronted by the United States with evidence of a clandestine program to build a facility to enrich uranium with the help of Pakistan. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in his memoirs that A.Q. Khan, the father of that country's nuclear program, transferred two dozen centrifuges to the North and some technical expertise around 1999. "It was also clear that the suspected Pakistani connection had taken place, as the centrifuge design resembled Pakistan's P-2 centrifuge," Hecker said in a report in May. Hecker reported being shown around a two-story building in the Yongbyon complex in November 2010 that a North Korean engineer said contained 2,000 centrifuges and a control room Hecker called "astonishingly modern." By 2009, the North had likely acquired the technology to be able to expand the uranium project indigenously, Joshua Pollack, editor of the U.S.-based Nonproliferation Review, has said. North Korea has not explicitly admitted to operating the centrifuges to produce weapons-enriched uranium, instead claiming they were intended to generate fuel for a light water reactor it was going to build. Despite sanctions, by now North Korea is probably largely self-sufficient in operating its nuclear program, although it may still struggle to produce some material and items, Lewis said. "While we saw this work in Iran, over time countries can adjust to sanctions," he said. (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
About 15 people showed up Thursday morning at the Tampa office of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to demand an investigation into her alleged ties to a donation from Donald Trump.

Trump Foundation sent Pam Bondi $25,000 in 2013

Donation came when Bondi was reviewing suit against Trump University

IRS fined Trump Foundation earlier this year for donation

Bondi, Trump say there is no connection, attacks are politically motivated

RELATED: Florida GOP mum on unfolding Bondi-Trump scandal Trump seeks distance from donation to Bondi



Bondi has faced allegations of bribery and misconduct involving a donation from the Republican presidential candidate.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation sent a $25,000 check just days after Bondi's office told a newspaper that it was reviewing a lawsuit against Trump University filed by Eric Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York. Bondi's office never sued Trump, though she denies his donation played any role in that decision.

On Thursday, the small group of protesters spoke about the need for federal intervention in the case before going inside to the front desk of Bondi's office. Bondi was not in the office at the time.

The call for the federal investigation came the same day that Schneiderman disclosed that his office has been investigating Trump's charity to determine whether it has abided by state laws governing nonprofits.

It was first reported in June that Bondi personally solicited the money during a 2013 phone call that came after her office received complaints from former students claiming they were scammed by Trump's namesake get-rich-quick real estate seminars.

A Democratic Florida congressman, Ted Deutch, is among those calling for a Justice Department investigation.

"If he had no qualms about allegedly throwing money at the judicial system in Florida to make his legal problems go away, it raises a broader question of what kind of president would he be," Deutch said.

The Republican presidential candidate later paid a $2,500 fine over the check from his foundation, because it violated federal law barring charities from making political contributions.

In a letter that all 16 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, ranking member John Conyers of Michigan said federal investigators should determine whether the 2013 donation and Bondi's decision not to join the New York lawsuit violated federal bribery or tax laws.

"This fact pattern indicates that these payments may have influenced Mrs. Bondi's official decision not to participate in litigation against Mr. Trump," Conyers wrote. "A number of criminal statutes would appear to be implicated by this course of conduct."

Bondi has endorsed Trump's presidential bid and has appeared with him this year on the campaign trail.

She has said the timing of Trump's donation was coincidental and that she wasn't personally aware of the consumer complaints her office had received about Trump University and the Trump Institute, a separate Florida business that licensed the Trump name and curriculum.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has balked at the attacks, saying it is clearly politically motivated. Bondi has said repeatedly there was no connection between Trump's contribution and her decision not to prosecute.

In addition to a demonstration today, a complaint dated Aug. 22 has been filed with the Hillsborough County State's Attorney to investigate.

Hillsborough County State's Attorney Mark Ober, a Republican, has requested that Gov. Rick Scott select a different state attorney investigator because of his close relationship with Bondi.
North Korea is ready to "counter-attack" in the face of ongoing "provocation" from the United States, its foreign minister said Thursday amid a spike in tension caused by Pyongyang's latest nuclear test.

"The Korean people have indicated that we are ready to wage a counter-attack against provocation by enemies," Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho said at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Venezuela.

The warning comes after two US supersonic bombers flew over South Korea on Tuesday in a show of force following North Korea's fifth and largest-ever nuclear test last week.

Ri said the nuclear tests were needed to counter "threats" from Washington.

"It was inevitable that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would use the option of nuclear armament after having done everything to safeguard national security in view of constant threats from the United States," he said through an interpreter.

He called nuclear tests part of a "legitimate" defense policy to counter US military exercises on the peninsula.

US troops have been present in South Korea since the Korean War (1950-1953), which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty -- meaning the two neighbors technically remain at war.

Currently, South Korea hosts some 28,000 US troops.
Paris (AFP) - As Britain greenlights its first new nuclear power plant in more than 20 years, experts diverged Thursday on the role of nuclear energy in the quest to cap global warming at less than two degrees Celsius.

The broad challenge in meeting that goal -- the cornerstone of the Paris Agreement inked in December by 195 nations -- is decarbonising the world economy as quickly as possible.

"We need a global transition to primarily zero carbon energy sources by mid-century," said Rachel Cleetus, lead economist and climate policy manager for the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Along with other think tanks and advocacy groups sounding the climate change alarm, the UCS is not a champion of nuclear power.

But with fossil fuels still accounting for 80 percent of total energy consumption, they say, the splitting or fusing of atoms -- despite concerns about cost and safety -- still has a role to play.

"The fewer options on the table, the greater the challenge," said Jim Williams, director of the US Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP).

The consensus among experts trying to map that transition "is that it will be harder to meet climate goals without nuclear energy in the mix," he said by phone.

Today, 31 countries have nuclear power plants accounting for just under eleven percent of global electricity generation.

A dozen of them depend on nuclear for at least a third of their juice, including France (75 percent), along with Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine (50 to 55 percent).

In the US that figure stands at about 20 percent, as in Britain -- not counting the newly approved Hinkley Point plant, set to come on line in 2025.

Solar and wind capacity have expanded rapidly worldwide, as costs have plummeted. And several new technologies for storing the energy they generate show huge promise for rapid deployment.

But renewables still only account for a thin slice of overall energy production.

Story continues

"Nuclear power is needed in conjunction with renewables to meet our obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Juan Mathews, a visiting professor at the Dalton Nuclear Institute of the University of Manchester.

- 100 percent renewables -

At the same time, global warming is accelerating more quickly than predicted, and its consequences are being felt more sharply, added Cleetus.

"The scope and impacts of climate change -- including rising seas, more damaging extreme weather events, and severe ecological disruption -- demand that we consider all possible options for limiting heat trapping gas emissions," she told AFP.

Not all climate and energy experts, however, are convinced that nuclear is crucial for keeping a lid on global warming.

"In fact, it's a barrier," said Tom Burke, chairman of London-based E3G, a climate change think tank.

"It takes away capital from things that would deliver faster, cheaper and smarter low carbon electricity systems," he told AFP.

It also runs counter, he added, to a wider trend towards decentralised, flexible power generation.

For climate analyst Martin Kaiser of Greenpeace International, "the only feasible and secure way to keep global warming well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degree Fahrenheit) is a massive swing towards renewables."

A "100 percent" renewable energies revolution is still possible, he insisted.

For Williams, potential climate catastrophe trumps the risks associated with nuclear power -- radioactive waste, accidents such as happened in Fukushima and Chernobyl -- only with strict regulatory oversight in place.

He highlighted the contrast between gold-standard Switzerland and China, which has 30 nuclear plants built or under construction, and another 20 in the pipeline.

"China has relatively understaffed and undertrained regulatory authorities -- that is worrisome," he said.

"Would I live next to a nuclear power plant if I thought that was really important to mitigate climate change?", he added.

"In the first case (Switzerland) I would, but in the second I wouldn't."
nypd attack cleaver

A man was shot after attacking a New York police officer with a meat cleaver outside Penn Station in New York City on Thursday, a police spokesman said.

Two officers are being treated for injuries. The victim of the attack has a 6-inch laceration on his face where the attacker slashed him, and is in serious condition, ABC7 New York reported.

Another officer was being treated for a graze wound from the ensuing shooting. Both officers are expected to survive.

The attack reportedly began when officers approached the knife-wielding man while responding to a call. According to NYPD chief James O'Neill, the man refused to put down his weapon and got into an altercation with the officers. He fled as officers attempted to use a Taser on him.

Police reportedly shot the suspect multiple times, and he was taken to a local hospital. He is in critical condition, according to ABC7.

Law-enforcement officials identified the attacker as Akram Joudah, a 32-year-old New York resident who has been arrested 15 times before, NBC4 New York reported.

Witnesses immediately crowded the area surrounding the Midtown Manhattan commuter hub and posted photos and footage of the scene to social media.

The FBI is sending Joint Terrorism Task Force agents to the scene as a precaution, NBC4 reported.

Four other officers were taken to the hospital to be evaluated for trauma, according to NBC4.

Fox Exclusive video obtained of man with butcher knife being shot by nypd in front of Manhattan mall. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/Tdh2RRZ12I  Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) September 15, 2016

8-9 Shots fired and 3 people taken away in ambulances; 1 is allegedly a police officer West 32nd Street NYC pic.twitter.com/dOBw1WMwBw  Christopher N. Okada (@ChrisOkada) September 15, 2016

NOW WATCH: Clinton just released a brutal ad linking Trump to white supremacists





More From Business Insider


By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and other U.S. multinationals will face new curbs on tax loopholes under a rule imposed by Washington on Thursday, part of a scramble among governments worldwide to bolster their corporate tax bases.

Acting shortly after a European Union grab for billions of dollars in back taxes from Apple, the U.S. Treasury said it was tightening restrictions on companies' use of foreign tax credits to reduce what they owe in U.S. taxes.

"We are closing another tax loophole that contributes to the erosion of our tax base," Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark Mazur said in a statement.

The fight for multinational tax revenues escalated on Aug. 30 when the EU ruled Ireland was giving improper state aid to Apple in the form of a deal for low taxes. The EU ordered Apple to pay Ireland 13 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in back taxes, prompting U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to express concern the EU ruling could undermine the U.S. tax base.

Analysts have speculated whether Apple would be able to cut its U.S. tax bill by claiming foreign tax credits for its extra tax bill in Ireland.

Under normal circumstances, U.S. companies can reduce the taxes they owe the U.S. government by the value of the tax credits they claim for taxes paid abroad on foreign profits. No U.S. tax is due on those profits until they are brought into the United States, or repatriated.

The new rule will prevent companies faced with back tax bills from "splitting," a strategy that allows companies to bring foreign tax credits into the United States without repatriating the income from which they were derived.

Apple had no comment on Treasury's tax notice. The technology giant is not the only U.S. company in the crosshairs of EU state aid investigations.

Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) has been ordered to pay up to 30 million euros ($33 million) to the Dutch state, while Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) are under investigation by the EU's executive arm.

Story continues

The new rule was likely to ratchet up transatlantic tensions over corporate taxes while eliminating one more strategy U.S. companies can use to cushion the blow from increasingly aggressive EU tax collection efforts.

The tax notice specifically cited European Union state aid investigations as a risk to U.S. revenues.

The Treasury had no comment on whether its notice would have an impact on Apple directly, but a spokesperson said the notice applies to all companies required by a foreign government to pay additional taxes, including those hit by state-aid cases.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Howard Goller)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will convene a meeting with world leaders to discuss the global refugee crisis at a United Nations gathering next week, the White House said on Thursday. "There are too few countries around the world that are bearing a significant burden in the form of hundreds of thousands, and in some cases even millions, of individuals who fled their home country to avoid violence," White House spokesman Josh Earnest. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Susan Heavey; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama announced the creation of a new marine reserve in the Atlantic on Thursday as Washington hosted a major world summit on protecting the planet's oceans.

Obama addressed the first day of the Our Ocean conference, where ministers and envoys from some 90 countries met with environmental experts to announce conservation measures.

Building on two previous annual meetings, delegates brought plans to protect the marine environment from pollution, overfishing and the effects of climate change.

And they heard Obama's announcement of the 4,913-square-mile (12,725-square-kilometer) Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

This is an area in the Atlantic off the coast of New England with three deep undersea canyons and five submerged mountains, home to rare deep-sea coral and whales.

Commercial fishing will be restricted in the area, where scientists have warned that warming ocean temperatures are a threat to stocks of salmon, lobster and scallops.

"I grew up in Hawaii. The ocean's really nice there," Obama said.

"If we're going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then we're going to have to act, and we're going to have to act boldly."

The new reserve follows Obama's recent expansion of the huge Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off Hawaii, and 20 other countries are to declare new areas.

"These are problems we can solve. And part of the power of conferences like this is to insist on human agency, to not give in to hopelessness," Obama said.

"Nature's actually resilient if we take care to just stop actively destroying it. It'll come back."

Britain was one of the first to show its hand, announcing a plan to double the area of protected ocean around its far-flung overseas territories.

Fully protected marine reserves are to be set up around the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific and St Helena, Tristan da Cunha and Ascension in the South Atlantic.

Story continues

The plans impose a permanent ban on commercial fishing in an additional one million square kilometers (386,100 square miles) of ocean, according to Britain's Foreign Office.

Meanwhile, the Global Environment Facility, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Blue Moon Fund and the Waitt Foundation announced $48 million to help developing countries create and expand tropical marine reserves.

Delegates hope that by 2020, 10 percent of the world's oceans will become protected reserves, with fishing and oil exploration banned or tightly restricted.

And American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio unveiled a new crowd-sourced technology, Global Fishing Watch, to help concerned people track illegal fishing by satellite.

- Ocean protection -

The conference was hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who hopes the Our Ocean summits that he pioneered will continue after he leaves office next year.

The first Our Ocean summit was held in Washington in 2014, followed by Valparaiso in Chile last year. Next year's meeting will be hosted by the European Union.

"I think Kerry will continue to be a champion of the oceans because this is his strong passion," UN Environment Program executive director Erik Solheim told AFP.

"But they have also institutionalized it, the EU and Malta will host it next time ... This is gaining speed in so many different ways now."

Kerry recalled that at the previous summits, nations from across the world committed to designate over six million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of ocean.

Kerry said over two days the delegates would announce 120 preservation projects and $2 billion in new funding to protect more than two million square kilometers of sea.
Obamas female staffers utilized a meeting strategy that is shine theory at its finest

Obamas female staffers utilized a meeting strategy that is shine theory at its finest

As we all sadly know, getting ahead as women in the workplace is not easy  especially when womens ideas are often ignored until a man says the same thing. And of course, he gets all the credit.

But thats where shine theory comes in.

Shine theory refers to the practice of viewing successful women as friends and inspiration, leading women to lift each other up, rather than treat each other as competition.

tinaamy

We can practice shine theory in our own lives when we recommend our female friends to jobs, promote their accomplishments on social media, help them with their job applications, etc.

Shine theory belongs in every workplace  and Obamas female staffers have executed one of the finest examples of shine theory ever.

President Obama Holds Cabinet Meeting At White House

As noted by The Cut, when President Obama first took office, his senior staffers and cabinet were mostly men. Thankfully, there is now an even amount of men and women top aides  but that likely stems from the incredible actions taken by his female staffers.

Yesterday, the Washington Post published an article detailing the work lives of women in the White House. Anita Dunn, formerly the White House communications director, told the Post:

If you didnt come in from the campaign, it was a tough circle to break into.

And other staffers explained that they would have to ask men to include them in important meetings. So when they finally got into the meetings, what did they do?

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 3: U.S. President Barack Obama convenes a National Security Council meeting in the Situation Room of the White House to discuss the situation in Ukraine, on March 3, 2014 in Washington, DC. Tensions continue to rise as Russian military forces occupy the Crimea region of Ukraine. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)

The female staffers used a strategy they called amplification. This meant that any time a woman in the room made an important point, another woman would repeat it and mention the name of the woman who originally authored the idea. The repetition forced male staffers to acknowledge the point and prevented them from claiming it as their own.

GENIUS.

President Obama Delivers Remarks In The East Room Of White House

A former Obama aide who spoke to the Post anonymously added:

Story continues

We just started doing it, and made a purpose of doing it. It was an everyday thing.

And it truly made a difference. She continued to say that President Obama noticed, and started to call on more women aides during the meetings.

Girl power and #squadgoals.

The post Obamas female staffers utilized a meeting strategy that is shine theory at its finest appeared first on HelloGiggles.
By Jeff Mason and Timothy Mclaughlin WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi called on Wednesday for the lifting of economic sanctions against her country, and President Barack Obama, in their first White House meeting since she became leader, said the United States was ready to do so. "It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that the people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government," Obama said with Suu Kyi beside him in the Oval Office. The trip by Suu Kyi, 71, who like Obama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, capped a decades-long journey from political prisoner to national leader after her party won a sweeping electoral victory last year. With Suu Kyi no longer an opposition figure, Washington has been weighing a further easing of sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, as Obama looks to normalize relations with a country shunned when it was ruled by a military junta. "We think that the time has now come to remove all the sanctions that hurt us economically," Suu Kyi said, noting that the U.S. Congress had supported her country by backing sanctions in the past to apply pressure for democratic reforms. As Suu Kyi arrived for the meeting, the White House issued a statement saying it would reinstate Myanmar to the Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, which provides duty-free treatment for goods from poor and developing countries. Myanmar was removed from GSP benefits in 1989 following pro-democracy uprisings a year earlier that were brutally suppressed by the ruling military junta. Myanmar will be back in the program on Nov. 13, U.S. officials said. Reinstating those benefits, combined with lifting sanctions, "will give the United States, our businesses, our non-profit institutions greater incentive to invest and participate in what we hope will be an increasingly democratic and prosperous partner for us in the region," Obama said. After visiting the White House, Suu Kyi met with some members of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol. She was to return there on Thursday for meetings with House and Senate leaders from both parties, although not Paul Ryan, the Republican House speaker. Ryan's aides said he had a scheduling conflict. Some members of Congress have expressed concerns about change in Myanmar and its human rights record. They have introduced at least two pieces of legislation seeking to give lawmakers some influence on the process of easing sanctions. Republican U.S. Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented after meeting with Suu Kyi that while the new administration brought hope to Myanmar, he remained committed to efforts to protect its oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority. For Obama to lift sanctions, he would need to issue an executive order ending the national emergency declaration on Myanmar, first issued in 1997, which underpins sanctions, and revoke previous country-related sanction orders. A senior administration official said the removal of sanctions would not apply to military-to-military assistance. In a statement on Myanmar, the State Department said that several restrictions would remain in place, including barring visas for military leaders. 'NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO' The United States eased some sanctions against Myanmar this year to support political reform but maintained most restrictions with an eye toward penalizing those it views as hampering the democratically elected government. The sanctions announcement drew swift condemnation from rights groups, which said it forfeited leverage on Myanmar's military. "Lifting restrictions on doing business with Burma's military and its corporate enterprises, as well as the friends and cronies who been enriched by their decades of rule, is not the right thing to do," said John Sifton, deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch. "It benefits largely them, and few others, and certainly not the people of Burma in general." Suu Kyi has been criticized for doing too little to address the plight of the Rohingya, some 125,000 of whom have been housed in temporary camps since violence in 2012. Myanmar law does not recognise the Rohingya as one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups, making them stateless. Seen as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, they are deeply disliked by many in Myanmar. "We want to make sure that everybody who is entitled to citizenship is accorded citizenship as quickly and as fairly as possible," Suu Kyi said. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized what he described as Suu Kyi's "dismissive" reaction to concerns he had raised about her country's record on human trafficking. "I plan to pay very close attention to her government's efforts to prevent innocent human beings from being trafficked and sold into forced labour and sex slavery," the Republican said in a statement after a breakfast meeting with Suu Kyi and Vice President Joe Biden. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Patricia Zengerle, Roberta Rampton and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)
African media rights organisations have called for internet access to be recognised as a human right and for African governments to stop shutting off the internet when it suits them and cutting off freedom of information to citizens. There have been 16 recorded internet shutdowns in Africa in the first half of 2016.

AFEX members in Grahamstown, South Africa

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) held its 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Grahamstown, South Africa, recently. The AGM was preceded by a two-day capacity building training workshop on Digital Rights Advocacy for AFEX member organisations, as a follow up to a similar workshop held in Accra, Ghana, in January 2016, for African freedom of expression and media rights organisations.

The two-day capacity building training was held on the sidelines of the 20th edition of the Highway Africa Conference, organised by the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa with the theme: The Internet and the Media  Celebrations, Reflections and the Future. The Highway Africa Conference is the largest annual gathering of African journalists in the world.

The objective of the AFEX workshop was to build the capacity of African freedom of expression and media rights organisations to enable them to more effectively promote and defend freedom of expression and human rights on the continent, especially in the online and digital environments.

The training was motivated by the need for the AFEX network to increase its engagement in digital rights advocacy in Africa amidst increasing incidents of internet or social media shutdowns; continuing attacks on journalists online and offline, accompanied by impunity for such crimes against journalists and other human rights defenders; as well as the need to safeguard of freedom of expression in Africa as a necessary corollary to democratic consolidation.

As part of its participation in the Highway Africa Conference, AFEX presented two sessions, the first being a panel discussion on the topic: Confronting the Media Sustainability Challenge in Africa at a parallel workshop on the first day of the conference. The second was another panel discussion at a plenary session on the second and final day titled Hands Off Our Internet: Internet Regulation and Journalism in Africa.

AFEX resolutions

AFEX member organisations in attendance at the AGM and the training, observed that internet shutdowns have become a common and regular instrument adopted by several African governments to stifle free speech during important national events, particularly elections.

They cited the findings contained in a report issued by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), a leading centre for research on ICT policies in Africa. The report indicated that there have been 16 recorded incidents of internet shutdowns during the first half of 2016 (January to June). AFEX members described the trend as very worrying.

In particular, they cited some of the latest examples of such incidents as taking place in Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Tunisia, Mali, with the latest being Gabon.

AFEX members added that these countries have shut down the internet during general elections, protests or other national events and that in all these incidents, the free expression rights of citizens have been violated as they are deprived of the right of access to information, in addition to interference with other human rights.

AFEX members endorsed efforts by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, to get State actors and the private sector to work closely together to ensure the existence of a free and open internet.

Internet access as a human right

However, they expressed concern that access to the internet has yet to be officially recognised by the United Nations as a human right, despite resolutions by UN bodies guaranteeing freedom of expression, the right to privacy and other human rights online.

AFEX Members therefore called on the UN to expedite processes at the level of its General Assembly to formally pronounce internet access a human right given its centrality to the exercise and enjoyment of human rights online as well as to development.

They commended UNESCO for proclaiming September 28 of every year as the International Day for Universal Access to Information, noting that African leadership, both at the level of governments and civil society, led to the proclamation of the day.

AFEX Members called on African governments to take advantage of the first official celebration of the day later this September to guarantee their citizens access to information. They called on countries that are yet to adopt access to information laws to do so as a matter of urgency while those which already have such laws were urged to take measures to ensure their effective implementation.

Digital rights

The members reaffirmed the commitment of AFEX to Digital Rights and Freedoms as well as the safety of journalists in Africa and resolved to campaign against internet shutdowns across the continent.

A new Steering Committee was elected during the General Meeting to lead AFEX over the next two years. Members elected included Edetaen Ojo, executive director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA) in Nigeria, as chairperson of the Steering Committee. Other elected members are: Gilbert Sendugwa of the African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) in Uganda; Tuver Wundi of Journaliste en Danger (JED) in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Sulemana Braimah of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

AFEX members also admitted three new members into the network, namely, the International Press Centre (IPC) in Nigeria; the Institute for Media and Society (IMS), also in Nigeria; and the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), based in South Sudan.

Other members represented at the AFEX meeting were Human Rights Network for Journalists in Uganda (HRNJ), the Centre for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP), the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).

AFEX is a continental network of prominent freedom of expression organisations across East, West, Central and Southern Africa that are members of the Toronto-based global network IFEX.

Source: africafex.org .
Ohio police fatally shot a 13-year-old boy after he pulled out what later turned out to be a BB gun during an alleged robbery, police say.



Officers in Columbus said two teens fled the scene when they responded to a report of an armed robbery Wednesday on the city's east side, according to a statement from police. A victim told the officers a group approached him with a gun and demanded money.



"Officers followed the males a and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," police said. "One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times."



The teen, identified as Tyree King, died later at Children's Hospital.







After the shooting, investigators recovered "what appeared to be a handgun," police said. But, "upon further inspection, it was determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser sight."



 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.



No one else was injured and another person was questioned and released in connection with the incident.



The officers involved will "receive mandated psychological support counseling," as is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings, according to the Columbus Division of Police.



The officers will also have the option of taking "leave time to assist in recovery from a traumatic experience."



The fatal shooting is still under investigation.



The shooting comes nearly two years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by police in Cleveland who mistook his toy, replica gun for a firearm.
Chicago (AFP) - An officer responding to a robbery report shot dead a 13-year-old boy in Columbus, Ohio, after he drew what turned out to be a low-powered air gun, police said.

The Columbus Police Department said it was investigating the late Wednesday death of Tyree King, the latest in a string of shootings of African Americans by law enforcement that have fueled protests and national debate about policing tactics in US cities.

It marked the 13th police-involved shooting in Columbus so far this year, five of which have resulted in deaths of suspects and another that killed an officer, according to officials.

King was pronounced dead at Nationwide Children's Hospital after being shot multiple times after he pulled out a BB gun during a confrontation in an alley, a police statement said.

Officers were dispatched after a report of an armed robbery involving multiple suspects who allegedly approached the victim, one of them brandishing a gun and demanding money.

The officers spotted three males who fit the suspects' description, but two of them fled as the officers approached them.

The officers followed the two to an alleyway "and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," police said.

"One of the officers shot and struck the suspect multiple times."

The other suspect was not injured, nor were any of the officers. Police are still searching for the other suspects.

"Crime Search Unit detectives processed the shooting scene and collected what appeared to be a handgun. Upon further inspection, it was determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser sight," police said.

BB guns have small ball munitions, typically made of steel with copper or zinc coating.

- 'Identical' to police weapon -

"Officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon," police chief Kim Jacobs said at a news conference Thursday.

"It turned out to not be a firearm... that fires real bullets. But as you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you."

Story continues

Mayor Andrew Ginther said the incident was a "call to action for our entire community."

"Why is it that a 13-year-old would have nearly an exact replica of a police firearm on him in our neighborhoods? An eighth grader involved in a very, very dangerous conduct."

Jacobs urged calm, promising to investigate the case "thoroughly," and said that a grand jury would decide whether criminal charges should be filed against the police officer who shot the boy dead.

The officer was identified as Bryan Mason, a white, nine-year veteran of the department who had recently been assigned to the neighborhood where the incident took place.

He has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation, in accordance with local rules.

The police involved in the incident were not equipped with body cameras and no images of the confrontation have yet to emerge.

"Some of the officers on the scene were very disturbed" because of the boy's age, Jacobs said.
Paris (AFP) - French riot police fired teargas and stun grenades Thursday in clashes in Paris with angry opponents of labour reforms, in the latest outbreak of violence over the controversial new laws.

Four demonstrators and 15 police were hurt -- including two officers who sustained burns due to Molotov cocktails -- as tens of thousands rallied against the law forced through by the Socialist government.

Police used water cannon and tear gas as protests also turned violent in Nantes in western France, one of at least 10 provincial cities which saw rallies.

"The violence is unacceptable," said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, noting that police had arrested 62 people across the country, 32 of whom were kept in custody.

Authorities said some 78,000 people rallied overall nationwide, including 13,000 in Paris. Organisers put numbers across France at around 170,000, saying 40,000 protested in Paris.

The law aimed at loosening France's notoriously rigid employment laws was forced through in July after months of often violent protests. In all 620 police have been injured since the protests started, said Cazeneuve.

It notably makes it easier to fire workers during downturns and for bosses to negotiate directly with employees on working time.

As well as the protests, scores of flights in and out of the country were also cancelled as air traffic controllers went on strike to protest the law.

"We will show them that, law or no law, we will always stand against them," Francois Roche, a member of the hardline CGT union demonstrating in Marseille, told AFP.

Turnout nationwide was far lower than at the first rallies earlier this year which saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets.

One of the focal points Thursday was the eastern city of Belfort, where the government is locked in a battle with train-building giant Alstom over the future of a locomotive factory threatened with closure.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city, chanting "Alstom is Belfort, Belfort is Alstom".

Story continues

Belfort's history is intertwined with that of Alstom, which produced its first steam train there in 1880. The plant now assembles high-speed TGV train locomotives.

Last week, Alstom had announced it would close the plant due to a lack of orders and move production to a site 200 kilometres (120 miles) to the north.

The prospect of up to 400 job losses is deeply embarrassing for the Socialist government eight months ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, in which high unemployment is expected to be a key issue.

- Signature Socialist reform -

Aviation authorities had advised airlines serving Paris airports to cancel 15 percent of their flights Thursday over the air traffic controllers strike.

Low-cost airline Ryanair said it had cancelled scores of flights to or through France.

The new labour law -- one of the few major reforms of President Francois Hollande's tenure -- aims to bring down France's unemployment rate of around 10 percent.

Opponents, however, see the measures as an erosion of workers' hard-won collective bargaining rights.

Such was the opposition to the changes on the left, including from within the Socialists' own ranks, the government had to force through the bill without a vote, causing a deep divide within the ruling party.

"The biggest loser from this law is Francois Hollande," Jean-Claude Mailly, leader of Force Ouvriere trade union, said Thursday.

The violence unleashed by the reforms peaked on June 14, just four days after the start of the Euro 2016 football championships in France, when around 40 people were hurt and dozens arrested.

CGT leader Philippe Martinez has appealed to workers to continue "fighting tooth and nail to stop it (the law) crossing the threshold" of their companies.

Hollande, who has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election next year, had hoped for a signature reform to boost his dire approval ratings.

Currently, around four out of five French voters oppose him standing for a second term.
Jerusalem (AFP) - A Palestinian at the wheel of a car when police fired on it, killing a passenger, was charged with manslaughter Thursday after prosecutors said his erratic driving made officers shoot.

Ali Nimr was driving in east Jerusalem in the early hours of September 5 with his cousin Mustafa Nimr when he tried to evade a police spot check and ignored orders to stop, according to the charge sheet, obtained by AFP.

Police said at the time they feared that the driver was trying to run them down in a deliberate attack and they fired at the vehicle, killing Mustafa who was in the passenger seat.

The shooting took place in Shuafat Palestinian refugee camp where police were conducting an unrelated search for weapons.

Violence since October has killed 223 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, one Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Israeli forces say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Police subsequently found that Nimr was not seeking to ram them but they said his wild driving made police suspicious and he was therefore responsible for his cousin's death.

"The accused drove while he was drunk and under the influence of dangerous drugs, with the deceased sitting next to him," said the charge sheet filed in Jerusalem magistrates court.

"The officers at the roadblock signalled repeatedly with their flashlights to the accused to stop and called on him to halt in Hebrew and in Arabic."

It said the police fired two sponge-tipped bullets at the car windscreen but still it did not stop.

"The accused broke through the police roadblock at high speed and did not stop," it said.

It was then, the prosecution said, that the officers felt that their lives were endangered and opened live fire.

"As a result of the fire the accused was hit along with the deceased who died at the scene as consequence of a gunshot wound to the head," the charge sheet said.

The justice ministry unit that probes police conduct opened an inquiry, as is routine when civilians are killed.

Story continues

The prosecutors were however adamant that blame for the killing rested with Ali Nimr.

"The recklessness and negligence of the accused... caused the death of a person," they wrote.

He was charged with negligent manslaughter, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving while intoxicated.
Shares of the worlds third largest pizza delivery company, Papa Johns International, Inc. PZZA hit a 52-week high of $78.10 on Sep 14. However, the company ended the days trading a trifle lower at $77.77. Notably, year to date, the stock has returned over 39%.



Papa Johns reported upbeat second-quarter 2016 results on Aug 2, wherein both earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Notably, the company has been posting positive comps both in the domestic as well as international markets over the past several quarters. Going forward, the company is expected to maintain comps growth on the back of its focus on menu innovation and value offers.



Also, the pizza delivery chain raised its earnings guidance for 2016 and now expects earnings in the range of $2.35 to $2.45 per share, up from $2.30 to $2.40 expected previously. Meanwhile, North America system-wide comps are projected to rise 3% to 5%, up from 2% to 4% previously.



Moreover, on Aug 19, Papa Johns paid a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share, a 14% increase over the previous payout of 17.5 cents, to stockholders of record as on Aug 8. We believe that the dividend hike reflects the companys strong cash position and solid balance sheet and should bolster investor confidence and thereby improve its market position.

Price and Consensus

Price and Consensus | Quote

Notably, large scale international expansion has been the backbone of Papa Johns operations of late. Currently, the company has more than 1500 international restaurants, with over 350 restaurants across 16 Latin American countries.



Recently, the company revealed plans to expand further in Mexico and has inked a restaurant development agreement with Orquest Foods, whereby it plans to build 60 restaurants during the next eight years.



Before signing the deal in Mexico, the company inked restaurant development agreements in Russia, Spain, the Netherlands and also debuted in Israel, all in the first half of 2016. The company intends to launch its 5000th restaurant globally by the end of 2016.



Meanwhile, Papa Johns efforts to remove artificial flavors and synthetic colors from the entire menu are commendable and should appeal to health conscious customers. Further, the companys heavy investments in technology-driven initiatives like digital ordering and development of applications continue to boost revenues.



Also, re-franchising a large chunk of its system will reduce the companys capital requirements and facilitate earnings and ROE expansion.



However, Papa Johns has considerable international presence and is therefore highly vulnerable to fluctuations in exchange rates. Further, higher costs and a soft consumer spending environment in the U.S. restaurant space raise concerns.



Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider



Papa Johns currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other well-performing companies in this sector include Del Taco Restaurant, Inc. TACO, Dennys Corporation DENN and Wingstop, Inc. WING, all carrying the same Zacks Rank as Papa John's. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



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Feeling overwhelmed. Paris Jackson hit back at online bullies in an emotional video that she posted and then deleted on Instagram on Wednesday, September 14.

PHOTOS: Famous Celebrity Families

In the video, which was uploaded to YouTube by a fan, the daughter of the late Michael Jackson was in tears as she talked about being harassed by haters.





I dont understand how there can be so much hatred in the world right now, the 18-year-old said. Ive tried sticking up for myself. Ive tried the whole blocking the haters thing, not reading the comments, Ive tried a lot of things. Ignoring it. But its hard.



PHOTOS: Celebs Fight Back on Twitter

Explaining that she tries to be open and nice to everybody she meets, the teen said she doesnt understand why shes such an easy target.

When I was 14 I got so much hatred that I tried to kill myself and I took, like, a two-year break from social media and then people asked me to come back, to make my Instagram public again, so I did. And nothing changed! she continued. Im just tired of it. Im just really, really tired. And, I mean, I know Im not the only one.



The only daughter of the late King of Pop and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe, Jackson stayed at a residential facility in Utah in June 2013 after her suicide attempt. She revealed in February this year thatshe attends AA meetings.

In her video, Jackson mentioned Justin Bieber, who deleted his Instagram account in August after bullies picked on his new flame,Sofia Richie, and he got into a war of words with his ex Selena Gomez.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Feuds: The Biggest Ever

Justin Bieber went into a downward spiral because everybody that he dates gets so much hate, Jackson said. I have known his girlfriend, Sofia, since I was like 12 or 13. Shes one of the sweetest girls in the world and people are telling her to kill herself! I mean were human beings, man! We got hearts and brains and feelings, and when you say damaging things like that to people, it fks em up.

Story continues

Jackson also referenced Bieber in a tweet on Wednesday, writing, I dont blame Justin for deleting his Instagram account. The type of harassment I see on my account daily is enough to make someone suicidal.

She ended her video by apologizing for the rant, adding, its some stuff that Ive been holding in for a long time. Years.

Jackson later deleted the video, but posted a picture of herself shortly afterwards with the caption, Looks like Im the villain now. Didnt know defending myself was a crime. My dearest apologies. Guess my careers over lolol.

i dont blame justin for deleting his instagram account. the type of harassment i see on my account daily is enough to make someone suicidal  Paris Jackso (@ParisJackson) September 14, 2016
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence took on Obamas economic policies and why he sees a Trump Administration boosting growth of the U.S. economy and the job market.

Pence weighed in on the key factors under the Obama Administration he sees as stifling U.S. economic growth.

The avalanche of regulations, higher taxes, Obamacare, the war on coal has been crushing the vitality out of this economy and weve seen the results. I mean we have the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression, Pence told the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo.

On the other hand, Pence suggested under a President Trump, U.S. manufacturing would rebound.

I have every confidence youre going to see manufacturing come roaring back in America and were going to make America a more hospitable place to make cars and build things, but were also going to have smarter and tougher trade deals that will cause American companies to think twice about making the kind of decisions that Ford (NYSE:F) announced yesterday.

Pence explained why, along with tax and trade reform, he sees reigning in regulations as a top priority of a potential Trump Administration.

When Carrier announced that they were pulling up stakes and taking 1,400 jobs from the state of Indiana earlier this year, I had the folks in my office that run that company and they told me that part of it was that all of their competitors were already in Mexico, Pence continued, But the other part they said was that avalanche of regulations, the Department of Energy. In their business alone Maria, there were 50 new rules in the last two years, rules come out about the size of a phone book for a company.

Pence then weighed in on why he sees Obamacare as one of the worst regulations for jobs.

On the small business level Maria, Obamacare is a job killer. Ive lost count of the number of small business owners in the state of Indiana, and as Ive traveled around this country as a candidate for vice president, who have told me they will not hire that 50th employee, they stop at 49, and thats to avoid the additional strictures that come under Obamacare.

Story continues

But Pence said a President Trump would repeal Obamacare.

Were going to repeal Obamacare in its entirety, were going to bring forward the kind of health care reform Donald Trump will describe in the weeks ahead that will build on free market principles and on allowing states to innovate and reform Medicaid that we started to do in Indiana.

Pence outlined why he sees trade reform as a necessity as well.

We support free trade, we understand that exports support jobs in the United States, imports lower the cost of goods for the American people, we recognize all that. But the simple truth is that 20 years on into NAFTA, its been a much bigger winner for our neighbors to the south than its been for the American worker.

Related Articles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pentagon spokesman said on Thursday he did not have "intelligence or facts" to indicate the Syrian army has begun withdrawing from Castello Road, a step needed to allow the delivery of humanitarian supplies to eastern Aleppo. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook made the remark in a news briefing shortly after a Russian general said the Syrian army had begun a staged withdrawal of troops and vehicles from the road. Eastern Aleppo is blockaded by government forces. (This version of the story corrects the word 'of' to 'or' in the second line.) (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
A year ago, when Donald Trump began to confiscate the primaries, a network news chief made this admission to me: We do not yet know how to cover a career sociopath but we will figure it out. A year later, confronting the final seven weeks of the campaign, he admits he still hasnt figured it out, nor have his competitors.

Trump continues to hijack the news cycle, taking shrewd advantage of the haphazard way Americans now get their news. Voters no longer watch television news or read newspapers (remember them?). The younger demo cant even depend upon Jon Stewart anymore (Comedy Central was once their favored news source). The most important repository of news lies buried in Facebooks algorithms and its trending topics, which John Oliver facetiously calls the multiplatform content generation distribution network.

This week a major new entry in the news business was scheduled to make its debut but  oops  there was a glitch. Vice News Tonight, which was supposed to awaken a new generation of TV viewers to its daily HBO show, has delayed its launch to October 10  the eleventh hour pre-election. The show, like everything Vice does, has been billed as a game-changer; Shane Smith, the boss of Vice, can sometimes rival Trump in terms of hyperbole. On Vice News Tonight, correspondents clad in T-shirts and jeans will roam the set (no anchor desk) and signal viewers when and how to access on digital devices an array of graphics or data related to each story.

Will it be transformative? Its a more daunting challenge than people might realize, Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News, told the Los Angeles Times. Vices newly unfurled program of documentaries, also on HBO, are smart and informative, but, contrary to advance billing, stay close to traditional docu formats in style and structure. We think we can add a lot of value by helping people understand the world, explains Josh Tyrangiel, Vices EVP Content. In the present news environment, thats going to take a lot of work.

Story continues

One challenge: The old-fashioned concept of equal time has been demolished by the Clinton-Trump campaign. Now the argument has shifted to false balance  whether reporters are distorting facts in their futile effort to provide two sides to every story. Is there a way to provide balance in depicting Trumps Mexican foray, for example? All this liberates Facebook to pick up Trumpian fantasies, landing the news cycle in click-bait heaven. At least its trending.

In past generations, newspapers were depended on to convey the nuances as well as the news, but their fate is reflected in the fact that the Newspaper Association of America is changing its name to the News Media Alliance. The American Society of Newspaper Editors is now the American Society of News, as reported in the New York Times (which still calls itself a newspaper). The Times itself is fiercely cutting its staff and placing ever greater emphasis on digital coverage and videos of occasionally marginal quality.

The broadcast networks, meanwhile, are also stressing digital growth in an effort to re-energize the aging audience for network news. The three half-hour network news shows are locked in a fierce competition for the dwindling audience, putting their promotional emphasis on original reporting. David Muir, ABCs 42-year-old anchor, boasts in his interviews how many millions of miles he travels, as though being peripatetic itself would earn viewer trust. The reality is that none of the network anchors inspire the confidence of a Walter Cronkite, though the stoic Lester Holt now leads the ratings battle.

An appropriate metaphor for the problems facing TV news coverage is the convulsion within Fox News, long a billion-dollar profit center for Rupert Murdochs empire. The expulsion of Roger Ailes has triggered a $20 million settlement with Gretchen Carlson that may prove a forerunner of other rich settlements. A Facebook algorithm even picked up a bogus click-bait story that Megyn Kelly had come out in support of Hillary Clinton; it was quickly pulled.

Damn those errant algorithms!

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ran a death squad during his two decades as mayor of Davao City, unleashing it on political opponents as well as criminals, an alleged member of the squad testified in a Senate hearing on Thursday.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the hearing  part of an inquiry being conducted by Senator Leila de Lima  that he conducted at least 50 operations during his time with the death squad and witnessed Duterte order killings himself, the Associated Press reports.

Duterte has been dogged by allegations of extrajudicial killings during his 22 years as mayor, and has adopted contradictory stances on them, officially denying involvement while also boasting that he was responsible for 1,700 deaths as opposed to the 700 documented by human-rights groups.

Read next: The Killing Time: Inside Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes War on Drugs

The allegations have now followed him into the countrys highest office, and been renewed thanks to his merciless war on drugs in which over 3,000 people have been killed since July. The drug war is the primary focus of de Limas inquiry, in which Matobato testified on Thursday. Dutertes spokesperson Martin Andanar refuted Matobatos testimony, saying previous government inquiries into Dutertes mayoral tenure yielded no evidence of wrongdoing.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Matobato also said Duterte had ordered a hit on de Lima herself, when she visited Davao in 2009. The Senator, who previously served as Secretary of Justice and chaired the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, has been the Presidents staunchest critic since he took office at the end of June this year.
By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Philippines is firmly committed to its alliance with the United States but will not be lectured on human rights and treated like a "little brown brother," the country's Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Thursday. Speaking in Washington after recent remarks by the Philippines' outspoken new President Rodrigo Duterte that have strained relations with the United States, Manila's main ally, Yasay said some of Duterte's remarks had been misunderstood. He said Duterte had explained that his call for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces from the southern Philippines was only a temporary measure to keep them out of harm's way while Philippine forces undertook an offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants. Yasay also said Duterte's opposition to joint maritime patrols with the United States concerned the Philippines' "exclusive economic zone," not joint patrols within 12 nautical miles of its coast. The latter patrols, aimed at preserving the territorial integrity of the Philippines, "must continue, because this is our commitment to the United States," Yasay said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. The Philippines and the United States share concerns about China's pursuit of broad claims in the South China Sea, which overlap with those of Manila and other neighbors. Washington and Manila agreed earlier this year on joint patrols in the South China Sea and a Pentagon spokesman said three had been conducted from March until July. Yasay rejected criticism of Duterte's war on drugs, in which thousands have been killed, saying that Philippines would never condone illegal killings, and said relations with Washington should be based on mutual respect. "I am asking our American friends, American leaders, to look at our aspirations," he said. "We cannot forever be the little brown brothers of America. ... We have to develop, we have to grow and become the big brother of our own people. "You (have to) manage it correctly. You do not go to the Philippines and say 'I am going to give you something, I am going to help you grow, but this is the check list you must comply with - we will lecture you on human rights'." Yasay stressed that Duterte was "firmly committed to keep and respect alliances, including that with the United States." He said Manila was "not at this point in time" prepared to sit down and discuss its territorial disputes with China bilaterally, given that the two sides differed on what the framework for any such discussions should be. Duterte's abrasive and sometimes contradictory comments, including calling President Obama a "son of a bitch," have caused anxiety in Washington, where the Philippines has been seen as an important ally in standing up to China in Asia. Yasay did not address testimony in the Philippines senate earlier in the day from a self-confessed hit man who said Duterte issued assassination orders while mayor of a city where activists say hundreds of summary executions took place. Asked to comment on this testimony, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, Anna Richey-Allen, reiterated past comments that it was "deeply concerned" by reports of extrajudicial killings "by or at the behest of government authorities." "We strongly urge the Philippines to ensure its law enforcement efforts comply with its human rights obligations," she said. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish)
(Adds statement from Pimco lawyer)

By Jonathan Stempel

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co accused former star bond fund manager Bill Gross of leaking confidential bonus data and exercising "bad faith" in pursuing a $200 million lawsuit over his sudden departure from the firm in September 2014.

In a court filing dated Tuesday, Pimco said Gross admitted to having revealed 2013 compensation data to a Bloomberg News columnist after leaving Pimco, as part of his "sad obsession" with attacking the firm he co-founded and his former colleagues.

Pimco said Gross should be ordered to turn over materials it is entitled to see and be sanctioned for dragging his heels.

It cited, as an example, Gross' alleged failure to turn over emails about his exit from Pimco with the chief executive of his current employer, Janus Capital Group Inc, which Pimco said it uncovered through a subpoena to Janus itself.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE, said Gross' "egregious misconduct" supports its argument that it would have had "good cause" for terminating his employment.

In his lawsuit filed last October, Gross claimed that Newport Beach, California-based Pimco forced him to resign so it could distribute his bonus to others.

Patricia Glaser, Gross' lawyer, in a statement on Wednesday said Pimco's "off-topic insults and baseless accusations" an were an attempt to deflect blame from its own misconduct.

"The only party trying to play 'hide the ball' is Pimco," she said.

Both sides are expected to appear in the California Superior Court in Santa Ana on Sept. 16.

Pimco said Gross' disclosures to the columnist at Bloomberg, which competes with Reuters News, included data for one-time Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian, his successor Douglas Hodge and Daniel Ivascyn, who succeeded Gross as chief investment officer.

It also said that Gross admitted to giving compensation details to eight or nine managing directors prior to leaving Pimco.

That revelation included a note to recipients, "let's get our fair share in December," according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the note.

Story continues

Gross denied that Pimco had a right to take any adverse action over the disclosures, according to Tuesday's filing.

Pimco's lawyer, David Boies, said in a statement that "evidence of misconduct" and the unresolved disputes may leave the firm with "no choice but to bring claims against Mr. Gross for his improper actions."

Gross is worth $2.4 billion according to Forbes magazine, and has pledged to donate proceeds from his lawsuit to charity.

At Pimco, he built the flagship Pimco Total Return fund into the world's largest bond fund. Gross now runs the much smaller Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund.

The case is Gross v. Pacific Investment Management Co et al, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 2015-00813636.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Leslie Adler)
By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co accused former star bond fund manager Bill Gross of leaking confidential bonus data and exercising "bad faith" in pursuing a $200 million lawsuit over his sudden departure from the firm in September 2014.

In a court filing dated Tuesday, Pimco said Gross admitted to having revealed 2013 compensation data to a Bloomberg News columnist after leaving Pimco, as part of his "sad obsession" with attacking the firm he co-founded and his former colleagues.

Pimco said Gross should be ordered to turn over materials it is entitled to see and be sanctioned for dragging his heels.

It cited, as an example, Gross' alleged failure to turn over emails about his exit from Pimco with the chief executive of his current employer, Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS.N), which Pimco said it uncovered through a subpoena to Janus itself.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), said Gross' "egregious misconduct" supports its argument that it would have had "good cause" for terminating his employment.

In his lawsuit filed last October, Gross claimed that Newport Beach, California-based Pimco forced him to resign so it could distribute his bonus to others.

Patricia Glaser, Gross' lawyer, in a statement on Wednesday said Pimco's "off-topic insults and baseless accusations" an were an attempt to deflect blame from its own misconduct.

"The only party trying to play 'hide the ball' is Pimco," she said.

Both sides are expected to appear in the California Superior Court in Santa Ana on Sept. 16.

Pimco said Gross' disclosures to the columnist at Bloomberg, which competes with Reuters News, included data for one-time Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian, his successor Douglas Hodge and Daniel Ivascyn, who succeeded Gross as chief investment officer.

It also said that Gross admitted to giving compensation details to eight or nine managing directors prior to leaving Pimco.

That revelation included a note to recipients, "let's get our fair share in December," according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the note.

Story continues

Gross denied that Pimco had a right to take any adverse action over the disclosures, according to Tuesday's filing.

Pimco's lawyer, David Boies, said in a statement that "evidence of misconduct" and the unresolved disputes may leave the firm with "no choice but to bring claims against Mr. Gross for his improper actions."

Gross is worth $2.4 billion according to Forbes magazine, and has pledged to donate proceeds from his lawsuit to charity.

At Pimco, he built the flagship Pimco Total Return fund (PTTRX.O) into the world's largest bond fund. Gross now runs the much smaller Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund (JUCAX.O).

The case is Gross v. Pacific Investment Management Co et al, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 2015-00813636.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Leslie Adler)
By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co accused former star bond fund manager Bill Gross of leaking confidential bonus data and exercising "bad faith" in pursuing a $200 million (150.8 million pounds) lawsuit over his sudden departure from the firm in September 2014.

In a court filing dated Tuesday, Pimco said Gross admitted to having revealed 2013 compensation data to a Bloomberg News columnist after leaving Pimco, as part of his "sad obsession" with attacking the firm he co-founded and his former colleagues.

Pimco said Gross should be ordered to turn over materials it is entitled to see and be sanctioned for dragging his heels.

It cited, as an example, Gross' alleged failure to turn over emails about his exit from Pimco with the chief executive of his current employer, Janus Capital Group Inc, which Pimco said it uncovered through a subpoena to Janus itself.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE, said Gross' "egregious misconduct" supports its argument that it would have had "good cause" for terminating his employment.

In his lawsuit filed last October, Gross claimed that Newport Beach, California-based Pimco forced him to resign so it could distribute his bonus to others.

Patricia Glaser, Gross' lawyer, in a statement on Wednesday said Pimco's "off-topic insults and baseless accusations" an were an attempt to deflect blame from its own misconduct.

"The only party trying to play 'hide the ball' is Pimco," she said.

Both sides are expected to appear in the California Superior Court in Santa Ana on Sept. 16.

Pimco said Gross' disclosures to the columnist at Bloomberg, which competes with Reuters News, included data for one-time Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian, his successor Douglas Hodge and Daniel Ivascyn, who succeeded Gross as chief investment officer.

It also said that Gross admitted to giving compensation details to eight or nine managing directors prior to leaving Pimco.

That revelation included a note to recipients, "let's get our fair share in December," according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the note.

Story continues

Gross denied that Pimco had a right to take any adverse action over the disclosures, according to Tuesday's filing.

Pimco's lawyer, David Boies, said in a statement that "evidence of misconduct" and the unresolved disputes may leave the firm with "no choice but to bring claims against Mr. Gross for his improper actions."

Gross is worth $2.4 billion according to Forbes magazine, and has pledged to donate proceeds from his lawsuit to charity.

At Pimco, he built the flagship Pimco Total Return fund into the world's largest bond fund. Gross now runs the much smaller Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund.

The case is Gross v. Pacific Investment Management Co et al, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 2015-00813636.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Leslie Adler)
Its been over a year since NASAs New Horizons flew by Pluto, snapping high-resolution photos of the dwarf planet and its largest moon Charon. In addition to showing the erstwhile planet in all its glory, the images also revealed several intriguing features on the surface of its largest moon, which, at half the diameter of Pluto, is the largest satellite relative to its parent in the Solar System.

In the photos taken by the spacecraft during its flyby last July, two features stood out on Charons surface  a canyon system that stretches more than 1,000 miles and a large, reddish blotch on the north pole that is unlike anything seen anywhere else in our solar system.

full-res-charon

Photo: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

After poring over images and other data gathered by New Horizons for over a year, a team of researchers now believe they have solved the mystery of how the weird red spot came to be. As scientists explain in a new study published in the journal Nature Wednesday, the polar coloration comes from Pluto itself.

As the paper explains, Pluto is continuously leaking methane from its atmosphere in all directions, some of which gets trapped by Charons gravity.

The methane molecules bounce around on Charons surface until they either escape back into space or land on the cold pole, where they freeze solid, forming a thin coating of methane ice that lasts until sunlight comes back in the spring, lead author Will Grundy, a New Horizons co-investigator from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, said in a statement.

Once this happens, methane ice quickly sublimates away but heavier hydrocarbons remain, which, stuck to Charons surface, are converted by sunlight into a thick, sticky, red-colored residue known as tholin. This process, repeated over millions of years, is what gives Charons poles its unique red spot.

Story continues

Who would have thought that Pluto is a graffiti artist, spray-painting its companion with a reddish stain that covers an area the size of New Mexico? Grundy, said. Every time we explore, we find surprises. Nature is amazingly inventive in using the basic laws of physics and chemistry to create spectacular landscapes.

And this is far from the only surprise Pluto has in store for us.

In a separate study recently published in the journal Icarus, a team of researchers describe the detection of low-energy X-rays from dwarf planet.

The discovery, made using NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, marks the first time X-rays coming from an object in the Kuiper belt  a cold, icy region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune  have been detected.

pluto_chandra

Photo: X-ray: NASA/CXC/JHUAPL/R. McNutt et al; Optical: NASA/JHUAPL

Before our observations, scientists thought it was highly unlikely that wed detect X-rays from Pluto, causing a strong debate as to whether Chandra should observe it at all, co-author Scott Wolk of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a statement. Prior to Pluto, the most distant solar system body with detected X-ray emission was Saturn's rings and disk.

According the researchers, the intensity of X-rays being emitted by Pluto cannot be explained solely by the interaction of solar wind with Plutos escaping atmosphere, which is less comet-like than previously imagined. Perhaps interplanetary magnetic fields are somehow directing more solar wind particles than expected into the region around Pluto, or maybe Pluto has a much wider and longer tail of gases trailing it than New Horizons detected.

It likely means that Pluto significantly perturbed the solar wind, and causes it to wrap around itself and focus into a long downstream tail, where it mixes with Plutos escaping atmosphere and makes X-rays, the researchers said.

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President Barack Obama listens during one in a series of meetings discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden, in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama listens during one in a series of meetings discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden, in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

This week, We the People is proud to launch The Candidates and the Constitutiona series of episodes in which we will compare the statements and proposals of the two major presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, to the text and history of the Constitution. We begin with Article II, which outlines the qualifications, powers, and duties of the President of the United States.

Also this week, the National Constitution Center celebrates Constitution Daythe civic holiday that commemorates the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. This years festivities will be held on Friday, September 16, at which time the Center will unveil its new Interactive Constitution app for iOS and Android. Citizens can download essays about every clause of the Constitution and learn what the leading scholars on both sides agree about, and disagree about, their history and meaning today.

Joining We the People to kick off our special election series are two scholars who contributed essays to the Interactive Constitution.

Michael Ramsey is the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation Professor of Law and Director of International and Comparative Law Programs at the University of San Diego School of Law.

Christopher Schroeder is the Charles S. Murphy Professor of Law and Public Policy Studies, and Co-Director of the Program in Public Law, at Duke University Law School.

This show was engineered by David Stotz and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Lana Ulrich and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on Facebook and Twitter.

We want to know what you think of the podcast! Email us at editor@constitutioncenter.org.

Story continues

Please subscribe to We the People and Live at Americas Town Hall on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

We the People is a member of Slates Panoply network. Check out the full roster at Panoply.fm.

Despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more.

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Podcast: The Constitution at Guantanamo Bay
By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police arrested 13 activists on Thursday who were protesting oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands at the U.S. Department of the Interior, the agency responsible for auctioning rights to drill.

The protesters from groups including Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network and Native American communities are part of a wide ranging "Keep It in the Ground" network.

The network has grown after a report published in the journal Nature in early 2015 saying 80 percent of the world's remaining oil, gas and coal has to be left in the ground if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided.

"We don't want any more lease sales in Alaska offshore," said Faith Gemmill from Arctic Village, Alaska, a place of about 150 Gwich'in Native Americans. "We see the impacts of climate change every day. The ground in Alaska is literally melting beneath our feet, communities are crumbling into the ocean and need to be relocated," she said.

The protesters had aimed to deliver to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell a petition to stop lease sales that they say was signed by 1 million people.

U.S. environmental law provides for mixed use of public lands, including recreation and resource development.

Energy companies that drill on U.S. lands say they produce oil in a more environmentally friendly way than some oil that is produced in countries like Canada or Venezuela.

The threat of environmental protests has stopped or delayed several U.S. oil and gas lease sales at venues across the country this year.

The Interior Department will conduct an online lease sale on Sept. 20, a move the activists say was forced by their actions over the last year. The department "respects the right of citizens to express their views in a peaceful and lawful manner," spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw said.

Besides protests of lease sales, Keep it in the Ground activists have also built a movement against the Dakota Access pipeline, a duct that would bring crude from North Dakota to the Gulf Coast states.

Story continues

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president, has said she would be tougher than President Barack Obama on drillers on public lands. Her energy plan would raise fees and give renewable energy like wind and solar an even playing field with oil and gas to develop on the lands. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, wants to increase oil and gas drilling.

Erich Pica, the president of Friends of the Earth, one of those who got arrested, said environmentalists would hold Clinton, if elected, to her promises.

"We won't be afraid to hold her accountable, we will push, cajole, protest during the next four years. If we don't get what we want we can always support another Bernie Sanders-type challenger to emerge in the next primary," Pica said.

Senator Sanders, who challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination, supports legislation to keep oil and gas in the ground.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chris Reese)
At a Thursday press conference, Ohio officials said the BB gun a 13-year-old boy pulled out before being fatally shot by a police officer following an alleged attempted robbery could have easily been mistaken for a real firearm.



"Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon," Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said at the press conference, holding up a photo appearing to show a BB gun. "It turns out not to be a firearm, but as you can see, it looks like a firearm that can kill you."



Tyree King, 13, was fatally shot by the officer in an alley on the city's east side Wednesday night after authorities chased him and another boy from the scene of an alleged attempted robbery.



"Officers followed the males a and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," police said in a statement. "One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times."





Police: BB Gun of Ohio 13-Year-Old Fatally Shot by Police Looked Like Real Gun| Crime & Courts, Death, Murder, Shootings, True Crime, True Crime



King died later at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Investigators searched the area and found what appeared to be a handgun but was later "determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser site."



It is unclear whether King was involved in the alleged robbery.



Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther called the death "troubling" and described the incident as a "call to action for our entire community."



"Why is it that a 13-year-old would have nearly an exact replica of a police firearm on him in our neighborhoods," he said at the press conference. "An eighth grader involved in very, very dangerous conduct in one of our neighborhoods."



 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.



Jacobs identified the officer who killed King as Brian Mason, a nine-year veteran of the force.



She added that Mason has been placed on administrative leave and police previously said in a statement that the officer would "receive mandated psychological support counseling."



Following a police investigation, Jacobs said, a prosecutor and grand jury are expected to determine whether Mason will face criminal charges.



She added that, during their investigation, officials would look into King's "mental state" regarding his alleged involvement in the robbery.



"I know that some of the officers at the scene were very disturbed about the fact that here we are, out at this time of the night chasing armed 13-year-olds," she said.



It is unclear whether any of the boys allegedly involved had real firearms.



The shooting comes nearly two years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by police in Cleveland who mistook his toy, replica gun for a firearm.



Jacobs said at the conference that it is too early to compare the shooting deaths.



"We don't have enough facts to know anything how this relates to any other shooting, including Tamir Rice's," Jacobs said. "That's why we do an investigation."
By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) - A white Ohio policeman responding to reports of an armed robbery fatally shot a 13-year-old black boy after he pulled out what appeared to be a weapon that was later determined to be a BB gun, police said on Thursday.

Tyre King was shot multiple times in an alley when he drew what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband during a confrontation with officers on Wednesday in Columbus, the state capital, police said.

"We consider it a tragedy when something like this happens," Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said at a news conference. "This is the last thing any police officer wants."

Jacobs identified the officer who shot King as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran. Mason was placed on temporary administrative duty, pending an internal investigation. Police identified the victim as Tyree King.

The family said in a statement released by a Columbus law firm that it retained to investigate the shooting that "numerous witness accounts are in direct conflict with the officer's version of events."

The family also said reports of King's actions before the shooting were allegations only at this point and called for an independent investigation.

The family is obviously distraught by the murder of Tyre," attorney Chanda L. Brown said in the statement, which described Tyre as a typical 13-year-old boy who was active in football, soccer, hockey and gymnastics. "They are shocked and indicate the actions described by the police are out of his normal character."

King's death comes nearly two years after the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was black, by a white Cleveland, Ohio police officer who was responding to reports of a suspect with a gun in a city park.

An investigation revealed that Rice, who died a day after the shooting, had been seen holding a replica gun that shoots plastic pellets.

Rice's death became a rallying point for the Black Lives Matter movement and one of a number of deaths that led to nationwide demonstrations against the use of excessive and sometimes deadly force against minorities, especially young black men, by police officers.

Story continues

On July 5, police shot dead 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while 32-year-old Philando Castile was fatally shot by police in St. Paul, Minnesota, a day later.

In King's death, detectives retrieved the weapon from the scene of the shooting and later determined it was a BB gun, which shoots small round pellets, with an attached laser, police said.

'WHEN HE RAN, THE COPS SHOT HIM'

"It looks like a firearm that could kill you," Jacobs said, as she held up an image of the same type of BB gun.

The incident began just before 8 p.m. EDT on Wednesday when police responded to reports of an armed robbery. The victim told officers that a group of males had demanded money, threatening him with a gun, police said.

A short time later officers found three males, including King, matching the descriptions of the suspects, police said. While attempting to question them, King and another male fled into an alley.

Police followed and Mason shot King after he pulled what appeared to be the handgun from his waistband, police said. King was transported to the Nationwide Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The second male who ran into the alley was interviewed by police and released. Additional suspects were being sought.

The Columbus Dispatch newspaper identified the second male as Demetrius Braxton, 19, who told the newspaper in an interview that he was with King for both the robbery and the shooting.

"I was in the situation. We robbed somebody, the people I was with," Braxton said, according to the Dispatch.

Braxton told the paper that following the robbery the suspects were chased by police.

"The cops said to get down. We got down but my friend (King) got up and ran," Braxton said. "He started to run. When he ran, the cops shot him."

Braxton told the paper that King was shot four or five times, asking "Why didn't they tase him?"

A grand jury will ultimately decide whether the officer should face criminal charges, the police chief said.

The hashtag #TyreeKing was among the most used on Twitter in the United States on Thursday morning and Columbus officials called for calm during the investigation.

"These are crushing circumstances for everyone," Columbus Councilman Mitchell Brown said. "Let the process work."

(Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Amy Tennery in New York and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Laila Kearney and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Diane Craft)
London (AFP) - Two Polish officers have joined British police in the town of Harlow where a Polish man was killed in a possible hate crime incident last month, police said on Thursday.

They are being deployed in the Essex town for a week to reassure local people following a surge in reported attacks against foreigners since Britain's vote to leave the European Union, which was driven in large part by concerns about immigration from within the bloc.

"There are two Polish police officers accompanying our officers. They are wearing police uniforms but they have no police powers, they have no powers of arrest," a spokesman for Essex Police told AFP.

Poland has urged London to protect Poles living in Britain, of whom there were about 831,000 in 2015, following the Brexit vote on June 23.

Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski flew to London along with Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak this month after two Poles were attacked outside a pub in Harlow, northeast of London, on September 4.

The assault followed the murder of 40-year-old factory worker Arkadiusz Jozwik, known as Arek, in the same town on August 27.

Six teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of Jozwik's murder and released on bail, although police have yet to decide whether the incident was a hate crime.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker referenced the attacks in his annual State of the Union speech on Wednesday, warning that they threatened fundamental European values.

"We Europeans can never accept Polish workers being harassed, beaten up or even murdered on the streets of Essex," he said in Strasbourg, to applause.

He added: "The free movement of workers is as much a common European value as our fight against discrimination and racism."

Juncker's comments provoked criticism from Harlow MP Robert Halfon, who said he resented the implication that Essex was full of murdering racists.

"The vast majority of people are horrified as to the tragedies that have occurred. Harlow residents and the Polish community have rallied together," he told the BBC.

"So what he has said, rather than help the situation has made things much worse."
By Umberto Bacchi LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than three quarters of Europeans sympathize with Syrian refugees coming to their countries, a poll found on Friday, challenging reports of growing anti-immigration sentiment across the continent. Ireland topped the poll of European countries that are most supportive of Syrian refugees with 87 percent of people interviewed there showing sympathy for them, while Slovakia ranked bottom. The Ipsos MORI survey also showed that less than a third of the roughly 12,000 people polled across 12 EU countries believe refugees are a risk to national security despite a number of recent attacks involving migrants. "These findings show that Europeans have not lost their hearts," said David Miliband, CEO of International Rescue Committee (IRC), an aid organization which commissioned the poll. The survey comes as Europe grapples with its worst migration crisis since World War Two. More than one million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere reached Europe last year. Syrians made up 28 percent of the 2015 arrivals, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. Of the people polled, 30 percent said one of their top three concerns was that refugees posed a security threat. The survey was published as anti-immigration parties make gains in several EU countries. Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that her liberal migrant policy contributed to a humiliating state election rout on Sept. 4, where her Christian Democrats (CDU) finished third behind the surging anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Nationalist, anti-immigration parties are also leading opinion polls in France and the Netherlands ahead of general elections next year. "At a time when toxic rhetoric has found its way into the political mainstream, there is a clear call here for governments to combine compassion with competence in responding to the refugee crisis," Miliband said in a statement. "The refugee crisis is a human tragedy but it does not need to become a political disaster". (Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Katie Nguyen. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
From Esquire

The resistance to the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline goes on at the construction site, where a perilous ceasefire seems at the moment to be holding. But a real victory for the resistance came far from the construction site, at a farm in Wausau, Wisconsin.

The Wausau Daily Herald brings us the tale.

The North Dakota Pipeline Co. resolved its lawsuit against James and Krista Botsford Tuesday. It agreed to pay $82,600 for the couple's attorney and release the easement on their land near Grand Forks, N.D. James Botsford feels vindicated. "This is a total victory," he said.

The issues in North Dakota now are about water rights, and ancient treaties, and ground sacred to the indigenous peoples of the prairie. But the Botsfords beat the pipeline company on the issue that has animated Jane Fleming Kleeb and a number of the farmers and ranchers who rallied together to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline, the continent-spanning death funnel and conservative fetish object. The issue is how state governments hand their power of eminent domain over to private interests-like, say, pipeline companies.

The Botsfords were prepared to fight the lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court if it went that far. They refused to accept a deal with Enbridge Energy Co. to allow construction of the Sandpiper Pipeline through their land. The proposed 616-mile pipeline was slated to run from western North Dakota across Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge's subsidiary, North Dakota Pipeline Co., sued the Botsfords in late 2015 to use their land for the Sandpiper. The company claimed eminent domain, which was granted to it by the state of North Dakota. Eminent domain allows governments to take private property for public use, so long as the land owner is fairly compensated.

The Botsfords refused to be bought off. They refused to be bullied on the land or in the courts. And they walk away with $82,600 and their land remains untouched. This is a powerful political moment because, as Jane Kleeb relentlessly points out, both progressives and libertarian conservatives-to say nothing of small landowners-agree on the abuse of the eminent-domain power in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London.

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[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related Story" customtitles="Things Getting Ugly Over a South Dakota Pipeline" customimages="" content="article.48486"]

This is in no way to minimize the concerns of the Native peoples who have thrown their bodies in front of the machines and the guard dogs. But, among us distant white-eyes, this is a big, honking deal.

Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page.

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(WASHINGTON)  Creating the Atlantic Oceans first marine national monument is a needed response to dangerous climate change, oceanic dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices, President Barack Obama said Thursday.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. Its the 27th time that Obama has created or enlarged a national monument.

If were going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then were going to have to act and were going to have to act boldly, Obama said at a State Department conference. More than 20 countries represented at the meeting were also announcing the creation of their own marine protected areas.

Monument designations come with restrictions on certain activities. The White House said the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a seven-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. Others, such as whiting and squid harvesters, have 60 days to transition out. Recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.

Supporters of the new monument say protecting large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. Fishermen worry it will become harder for them to earn a living as a result of Obamas move.

This is deplorable, said Grant Moore, president of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermens Association, in describing the designation.

White House officials said the administration listened to industrys concerns, and noted the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies. Obama said helping oceans become more resilient to climate change will help fishermen.

Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts, said his company will survive, but the changes designed to address some of the industrys concerns dont sway him about the merits of the monument.

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Weve been fishing out there for 35 years, Williams said. Its a big blow to us.

Obama said the world was asking too much of its oceans. He said the investments the U.S. and other nations were taking with new marine protected areas were vital for their economy and national security, but also vital to our spirit. He noted that he had spent his own childhood looking out over the ocean shores and being humbled by the endless expanse.

I know that in a contest between us and the oceans, eventually the oceans will win one way or the other, he said. So its up to us to adapt, not the other way around.

In all, the Atlantic Ocean monument will include three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. It is home to such protected species as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemps ridley turtles. Expeditions also have found species of coral found nowhere else on earth.

Environmental groups pushed the effort to designate the new monument and sought to make the case it was as important to be good stewards of the ocean as it was the land and air. They described the monument, located about 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, as one of the least fished areas in the U.S. Atlantic, which is part of why it was chosen.

Their efforts proved persuasive with a president who is also looking to establish his own legacy as a protector of the environment. Obama noted that he has protected more land and water through monument designations than any president in history.

Associated Press writers Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
Down 10.4% year-to-date, the CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust (FXB) , which tracks the British pounds movement against the U.S. dollar, is easily one of this years worst-performing currency exchange traded funds.

Much of FXBs bearishness is attributable to speculation about Brexit, Great Britains departure from he European Union, and the subsequent June vote that shocked global financial markets confirming that Britain will in fact depart the EU. FXB is lower by nearly 7% over the past three months and is confronting headwinds beyond Brexit.

SEE MORE: Currency-Hedged U.K. ETFs for Improving Earnings, Depreciating Pound

Last month, the Bank of England pared its benchmark rates to a record low 0.25% from 0.5% and anticipates it will further bring it down toward zero ahead, the Wall Street Journal reports. The BOE also revived its government bond-buying program, which has been on pause since 2012, along with purchasing corporate bonds as well.

Trending on ETF Trends

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FXB could again be in focus in the coming days amid a spate of important economic data points out of the U.K.

Unemployment data is forthcoming and Thursday will feature a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee. While the Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at 0.25%, there will be considerable interest in this weeks economic data, according to OptionsExpress.

SEE MORE: Brexit Continues to Drag on Pound ETF, Sends GBP to Three-Decade Low

Looking ahead, many expect the Bank of England to enact more accommodative measures to help bolster the economy. In the post-Brexit environment, Martin Weale, one of the bank of Englands long-time hawks, is even beginning to turn dovish on their policy outlook.

Story continues

Some ETFs have the potential to benefit from the sliding pound, namely currency hedged funds such as the Deutsche X-Trackers MSCI United Kingdom Hedged Equity ETF (DBUK) , iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF (HEWU), WisdomTree United Kingdom Hedged Equity Fund (DXPS).

The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) , the largest US-listed U.K. ETF, is not a currency hedged product.

Looking at the three month continuation chart, we see that the Pound has continued to trade in a fairly tight range since the results of the EU referendum. The 20 day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the 50 day SMA have converged. Both of these moving averages are now serving as a support level around the 1.3160 level, adds OptionsExpress.

For more information on Brexit, visit our Brexit category

CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust
Britain's Prince Charles led ceremonies Thursday honouring the sacrifices of thousands of New Zealand soldiers during the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago in northern France.

"Standing in this peaceful scene today it is hard to imagine that a century ago this was an infernal, blasted wasteland," Charles said in the town of Longueval alongside New Zealand's Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Jean-Marc Todeschini, France's junior minister for veterans' affairs.

The Caterpillar Valley cemetery in Longueval recalls "how much France owes to its allies," Todeschini said.

"There were 128,000 New Zealanders who left their island to come and fight in France alongside the Allies in a spirit of brotherhood that would manifest itself in the heart of the trenches, in the heart of the horror," he added.

The Battle of the Somme, which started on July 1, 1916, took a brutal toll on New Zealand's 15,000-strong division in the country's first major engagement on the Western Front.

During the offensive, which involved the use of poison gas shells and relentless artillery fire, 2,000 of the New Zealand Division died and nearly 6,000 men were wounded.

More than 1,500 were killed in September and October alone. Some 1,200 have no known grave and their names are inscribed on the memorial in Longueval.

"Measured against the enormity of this suffering and sacrifice, our presence here today may seem small and insignificant," said Prince Charles, who was wearing a New Zealand army uniform for the first time since being appointed a field marshal in the force last year.

"Yet we gather with pride and humility to remember the service of all who fell or were injured here."
Prince Harry is following in his mother's footsteps.

The young royal visited Mildmay Mission Hospital in East London last Friday, the same hospital where his mother, Princess Diana, kissed an AIDS patient.

WATCH: How Prince William and Harry Continue to Honor Princess Diana's Legacy 19 Years After Her Death

Diana famously visited the hospital in 1989, shaking hands with an AIDS patient before kissing him on the cheek. The Princess' contact with the patient without wearing gloves went a long way in reducing stigma against the illness at the time.

"HIV does not make people dangerous to know," Diana was famously quoted. "You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it."

Harry's quiet visit to Mildmay marks a follow-up to the one he made last December, and the latest in his effort to fight AIDS.

In July, the royal, who turns 32 on Thursday, spoke at the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.

WATCH: Prince Harry Gets Tested for HIV in Facebook Live Video

"When my mother held the hand of a man dying of AIDS in an East London hospital, no one would have imagined that just over a quarter of a century later, treatment would exist that could see HIV-positive people live full, healthy, long lives," he said. "It is time for us to step up and acknowledge that stigma and discrimination still act as the greatest barrier to us defeating this disease once and for all."

See more in the video below.

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An impressive collection of Prince's friends and famous fans will pay tribute to the late artist at an all-star concert in St. Paul, Minnesota next month. Stevie Wonder, Christian Aguilera, Chaka Khan, John Mayer, Tori Kelly, Morris Day and the Time are all confirmed to perform at what's being billed as "The Official Prince Tribute." The show will be held at the Xcel Energy Center on October 13th.



Other performers at the event include Anita Baker, Doug E. Fresh, Bilal, Mint Condition, Judith Hill and Liv Warfield. Keyboardist Morris Hayes, a longtime New Power Generation member, will lead that ensemble along with members of 3rdEyeGirl for performances of all songs.



"The family is extremely excited to provide an opportunity for the world to participate in the tribute for our brother Prince," Princes sister Sharon Nelson said in a statement.

"Many fans and friends all over the world wanted to have the chance to honor, memorialize and celebrate this incredible man," added the musician's friend and advisor L. Londell McMillan. "We're thrilled we were able to make this happen."

Tickets for the tribute go on sale via Ticketmaster on Monday, September 19th at 10 a.m. CST. The organizers have created the Twitter handle @PRNTRIBUTEOCT13 for official updates about the event.

Wonder spoke with Rolling Stone shortly after Prince's death to share why the artist lived up to his royal name. "Prince was so inspired, and so inspiring," he said. "He was kind, he was disciplined and he knew where he wanted to go. He was able to make big transitions. If Michael [Jackson] was the King of Pop, Prince should be the Emperor. Prince fought for his artistic freedom. He didn't allow anyone or anything to get in his way. By following his own path, Prince took music to a whole other place, like the Beatles did. He wanted to change the way things were, like Marvin Gaye did. When you do that, you have to be very sure of yourself."



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By Ronnie Cohen (Reuters Health) - Assistance from a nurse, an occupational therapist and - in a novel approach, a handyman - made it easier for low-income seniors to perform tasks, like dressing, that are essential for independent living, a new study shows. Moreover, the study found the innovative program for homebound elderly lifted depression in more than half of participants, researchers reported in Health Affairs. Lead author Sarah Szanton conceived the idea of adding a handyman to a team visiting older adults in Baltimore during the 2008 recession, in response to a call for grant proposals to put Americans back to work. Szanton, a nurse-practitioner and a professor at the Johns Hopkins schools of public health and nursing in Baltimore, spent years making house calls to low-income, homebound seniors and frequently found their environmental challenges just as pressing as their health challenges. She routinely saw shaky banisters, poorly lit stairways and slippery bathtubs without grab bars. She watched one woman whose legs no longer supported her weight crawl on all fours to answer the door. Szanton didnt get the economic-stimulus grant. But she did win a grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation for her program with the handyman called the Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders, or CAPABLE. Participants included 234 Baltimore residents, mostly women and almost half living alone. They were at least 65 years old, eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid and unable to perform at least four of eight activities considered essential for daily living. The activities included dressing, walking across a small room, using the toilet, bathing and grooming. The average cost of the five-month program, which ran from 2012 through 2015, was $2,825 for each participant, according to the report. At the start of the program, participants had trouble performing half of essential daily activities. By the end of the study period, 75 percent of participants had improved their ability to perform essential living functions, and 65 percent improved their performance on related tasks, such as shopping and managing medication. Home hazards decreased from an average of more than three to a little more than one, and symptoms of depression improved in 53 percent of participants. The program began with participants identifying their goals, like being able to climb their stairs, take a bath or shower. CAPABLEs built entirely around what the person wants to do to age in their own home, Szanton said. For one woman, a deacon in her church who could no longer hear, the program paid for a $35 personal-sound amplifier. She looked at me and said, If I had 10,000 tongues, and they could all speak at once, I couldnt praise the CAPABLE program enough,  Szanton said. Another participant, Mary Knox, a 78-year-old grandmother, also praised the program in a phone interview. The program bought her a heating pad and containers to hold her clothes so she wouldnt have to climb into her attic to store them. The nurse recommended that she quit coffee to reduce incontinence and suggested she take her pain medicine at night so it wouldnt make her tired during the day. The occupational therapist taught her exercises to strengthen her muscles and reduce her pain, and the handyman installed a bathtub grab bar and changed a cracked mirror on her closet door. Anything they thought would be dangerous they took care of, Knox said. Anything that was in their power to help me they did. Theyre just so patient with me. She feels better and is better able to care for herself and her young grandchildren. Dr. David Reuben, chief of geriatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Reuters Health the programs benefits were clear. He was not involved with the study. The innovation makes a lot of sense, he said. Some peoples needs are better met with a handyman rather than with pills. But, he said, the question remains: who should pay for a handyman for low-income seniors? The really good news is that Medicare has been investing in some of these newer models, and clearly they are thinking outside of the box, he said. The question is how to scale them, and thus far, they havent had a good solution for that. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2bNpHjv Health Affairs, online September 7, 2016.
The trustees of the State University of New York voted on Wednesday to completely remove long-standing questions about past felony convictions from its general application starting with the fall 2018 admissions cycle, a decision that could have ripple effects across academia. The change affects 64 colleges in the statewide system that enrolls 442,000 students each year and received 310,000 applications for the 2015 academic year.

This is a historic moment because SUNY is the first university system in the country to reverse its decision to screen for criminal history and remove the question from its admissions application, said Emily NaPier, the director of justice strategies at Center for Community Alternatives, which has been petitioning SUNY to make this change for about a decade. [This] will open the doors for thousands of qualified applicants around the state who previously would have been deterred by the inquiry into their past.

SUNY, the largest public university system in the country, joins the ranks of 61 public and private colleges and universities that have committed to phasing out questions advocates believe discourage prospective candidates with criminal records from even applying to schools. But once enrolled, students could be asked about their criminal histories while applying for campus housing or for entry into specialized academic or training programs.

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Todays policy revision is a milestone achievement for SUNY, one that positions our university system as a leader in what has become a national movement to expand access and educational opportunity for individuals with a felony history, said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher in a statement.

Earlier this year, the White House launched the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge, which asks institutions to eliminate the use of criminal histories in evaluating a candidates academic potential. So far, the signatories represent 172 campuses, serving 1.8 million students, according to the Department of Education.

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By signing the pledge, Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said in a statement, colleges are leading the way by committing to expand educational opportunity for all. We are better off as a country if we help those who have gotten off track get back on a pathway to success by giving them a fair chance to successfully reintegrate and lead productive lives in our society. One in five Americans, some 70 million people, have a criminal record, according to the Department of Justice.

According to DOE, 66 percent of colleges and universities collect criminal justice information for all prospective students. A seminal study by the Center for Community Alternatives found that that close to two-thirds of applicants with a felony criminal offense record ended the SUNY application after being asked about their criminal history (compared to 21 percent of all applicants). But most experts and the statement from DOE conclude that The research that does exist suggests that colleges and universities that admit students with a criminal justice history do not have higher crime rates than those that do not.

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But questions about criminal histories will not disappear entirely. A press release from SUNY announcing the decision stated that Students will be asked to declare a prior felony conviction post-admission and only when they seek campus housing or participation in clinical or field experiences, internships, or study abroad programs.

Some studentssuch as those who are registered sex offenderswould be required to identify themselves to local police, who would then inform campus authorities of their enrollment. In other instances, students with felony convictions would be barred from certain degree or certificate programs in fields like teaching and health management because of legal and industry requirements.

Nevertheless, the change could be quite significant for the 25,000 people who leave New York State prisons each year. According to the governors office, an estimated 40 percent recidivate within three years of their release. But higher education has proven an effective tool in reducing recidivism rates.

There is no statistically significant difference in the crime rates between schools that do not ask prospective students about their criminal history and the schools that do pose that question.

This weeks decision is the result of a long process. After significant media coverage and a recommendation from the states bar association, activities began to simmer on SUNY campuses. In April, hundreds of SUNY student senators passed a resolution to support banning the box across all SUNY institutions. In May, the SUNY board of trustees held a public hearing on the issue, where student senators spoke and formerly incarcerated advocates lead by the advocacy group Education from the Inside Out Coalition offered testimony based on their experiences trying to further their education after serving time in prison.

Heres a chance for SUNY to get it right, and to have their policies lineup with the data and the research, said Glenn Martin, founder and president of the advocacy organization Just Leadership USA. The disproportionate effect of the criminal justice system on people of color serves as a surrogate for race and class discrimination.

Recommended: Why Is Donald Trump Jr. Talking About the Media 'Warming Up the Gas Chambers'?

During the academic committees deliberations the day prior to the vote, Joseph Porter, vice chancellor for legal affairs and general counsel since 2015and widely credited with shepherding this change for over a yearpresented the resolution by reminding the room that The purpose of SUNY, its fundamental mission, is to provide the people of New York, with the broadest possible access, to education.

Porter continued by saying that, as a component of that fundamental mission, SUNY has an obligation, as a public university, to provide these individuals with a higher education to reduce recidivism and provide an opportunity to remake their lives. He made a point of emphasizing the impact on applicants of color who served their time but still encounter difficulty accessing SUNY campuses even after theyve filled their sentences.

Members of the SUNY academic committee and a handful of trustees who joined the meeting heard about similar public institutions that have eliminated the box from applications, like the University of California, the University of Wisconsin, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, its sister system the City University of New York, and neighboring Rutgers in New Jersey.

I think we are seeing the beginnings of a trend of walking away from these kinds of practices, said Barmak Nassirian, director of policy analysis at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, which includes SUNY.

Activists are continuing to press the issue. The Education from the Inside Out Coalition has helped draft legislation to bar colleges statewide from asking about criminal history. That proposal, known as the The Fair Access to Education Bill (S969/A3363), is currently under consideration by committees in both houses of the New York State Legislature.

NaPier, from the Center for Community Alternatives, was audibly happy about the decision when we spoke. We hope that other colleges and universities across the country will follow SUNYs example and make the right decision to stop asking these harmful questions, she said.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Anibal Camacho stood in a soupy-hot central Florida backyard on a recent Wednesday, making calls from his Puerto Rican-area code cell phone. Papi, someone in Puerto Rico is calling! someone on the other end of the line called out.

Camacho left the island two years ago seeking better schools for his grandchildren in the United States, but he never gave up his old phone number. It gives him something to chat about with fellow Puerto Ricans in Florida when he makes his pitch: Can you help volunteer for Hillary Clinton?

We will have good participation in Osceola County, said Camacho, debriefing under a palm tree after a sweaty couple hours making calls for Clinton. Donald Trump doesnt have knowledge of the Hispanic culture and working people culture. We Puerto Ricans dont like his comments.

In Floridas I-4 corridor where presidential elections can be won or lost, Puerto Ricans like Camacho have been arriving by the tens of thousands every year, fleeing economic crisis at home. Spanish-speaking kids are filling up the local Little League rosters and island-style beans and fruit juices are stocking up the aisles in local supermarkets. Many arrive without a plan, sleeping in friends and families homes, hotels, or even park benches. Camachos family came over several years ago, and now hes joined them for good.

As American citizens, Puerto Ricans can register to vote as soon as they arrive on the mainland. That fact is helping to boost Latino voter registration in the Sunshine State. Turnout in November among Floridas Hispanics is expected to grow by 20% compared with 2012, according to data from National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. Hispanics are causing Florida to each passing presidential cycle look more and more like blue state, said Fernand Armand, a Democratic pollster in the state.

What is happening in Florida is happening nationwide, albeit at a slower speed. Swing states across the country will see record numbers of Hispanic voters this election. In 2012, 16.8% of the eligible voting population in Nevada was Hispanic, and today its 19%, according to data by the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for American Progress. In Arizona it was 22.6%, now its 24.4%. Nationwide, white voters will make up 68.8% of eligible voters this year, compared with 70.7% just four years ago 2012, due in large part to higher minority birthrates. Its a steady, irreversible trend that does not bode well for Republicans, whose volatile standard bearer has been turning off the United States fastest growing demographic.

Story continues

Migration of minorities to new battleground states is making matters more complicated for Republicans. Black voters from New York and Illinois are moving south to states like Georgia, which is inching toward swing-state status and where polls shows a tight contest between Clinton and Trump. Much of the Puerto Rican growth in Florida is made up of older retirees from New York or New Jersey who were born in the states or arrived decades ago.

Whether or not the Clintons campaign can convince Hispanics in Florida to turn out to vote in large numbers could decide the election in November. The campaign has made a major investment in hiring Puerto Rican organizers, targeting local neighborhoods and businesses and drafting local community leaders. Hispanics registered to vote eight times faster than whites in the last four years in Osceola County, and five times faster in Orange County, Orlando. The campaign is advertising on Spanish-language television and radio and plans to be in newspapers soon. Its a natural base for us, says Simone Ward, the state director for Clintons Florida campaign.

Restaurants like the Melao Bakery in Kissimmee show the shift. Biblical excerpts hang on the wall alongside sumptuous Puerto Rican beach scenes, as new arrivals from Puerto Rico stream in for home-style pleasures like mofongo or alcapurrias. They are ideal targets for the Clinton campaign, leading Clinton volunteers to often set up outside the restaurant, along with nonpartisan voter registration groups like Mi Familia Vota and the National Council of La Raza. Inside the bakery, locals trade tips for jobs and talk politics. When it comes to Trump, the talk is more bad than good. He goes against the American constitution, Lesbia Feliciano, a server who was born in Puerto Rico said of Trump, shaking her head. Im voting for the woman.

Clinton herself has made a concerted pitch to Puerto Ricans, dispatching her campaign aides to the island and making campaign stops in Florida towns like Kissimmee. Many still remember when Hillary Clinton rode in a caravana, a pickup truck blasting music through the suburbs of San Juan before she won the Puerto Rican primary in 2008, and acknowledge her ties with the community in New York. The Clintons have been very good in Puerto Rico, said Rafael Benitez, a volunteer for the campaign.

Trump, meanwhile, has done himself few favors. His comments about Mexicans are not well-appreciated in enclaves like Osceola County, and the Clinton campaign has replayed Trumps primary debate line, we speak English, not Spanish, in digital media and messaging. Trump and the Republican Party have made relatively few of the traditional campaign outreach efforts in central Florida, while the Clinton campaign has more than 50 offices and hundreds of staff.

The Puerto Rican migration, however, is not the only change that has been happening in the state, and there are some crosscurrents that could blunt their impact. At the same time that Hispanics are arriving in the state and turning 18 in greater numbers, older white retirees and Trump supporters continue to stream into Florida, partially offsetting the Democrats gains. Clinton cannot afford to run a campaign that is only about Trump: her favorability among Hispanics fell in August from 71% to 55%, according to a Washington Post/ABC poll, and she has spent little in recent advertising nationwide on motivating Hispanic voters.

A recent poll shows that Clintons support among Hispanics is lower than Obamas was in November 2012. In Florida, she has support of 53% of Hispanics, according to a Univision poll, compared with 60% for Obama. She is ahead at 68% in the polls in Arizona, compared with 74% for Obama.

Obama succeeded in encouraging high turnout rates among Hispanics in 2008 and 2012 of close to 50% of eligible voters, but non-whites still tend to vote at much lower rates than whites. The changing racial composition is an important part of whats going on, but what won the election for Obama is the turnout among blacks and Hispanics, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. Clinton is aiming to turn minorities out at the polls at levels comparable to Obama, but that may not be easy.

Meanwhile, Republicans are registering voters at a faster rate than Democrats in Florida, cutting the Democratic advantage in active voters from 535,000 in 2012 to 258,000 today, according to figures compiled by the Associated Press. Republicans made similar gains in North Carolina and Arizona. Some of those gains, however, reflect Democrats who have long voted Republican and are now officially changing their registration.

As the Clinton campaign makes the rounds, a third faction funded by the conservative Koch brothers named the Libre Initiative has sought to win over new Spanish-speaking arrivals with libertarian positions on tax policy and regulations. A small but well-oiled crew, they knock on doors and hosts food drives in predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhoods in central Florida. Church visits accompany lectures on free-market principles. The outreach begins at job fairs in Puerto Rico, where staff hand out phone numbers. Some new arrivals make a Koch-brothers funded English class their first stop from the airport, where they come with luggage in hand.

The groups Spanish-speaking canvassers are armed with iPads and savvy targeting apps and go door-to-door asking questions like a mirror image of a presidential campaign. Obamacare is failing in Florida, according to one question, so do you think its just for people to pay taxes for something that doesnt work? Will big government solve our problems or peoples liberty to make their own opportunities?

Though the group says it is making inroads, Trumps name at the top of the ticket has damaged conservatisms reputation for many Latinos. The Libre Initiative, which has not endorsed Trump, does not register any new Latinos voters. Most of them would likely vote for Clinton. Its hard for people to say, Well Im going to back someone that doesnt seem to support me, said David Velazquez, who is directing the Koch brothers efforts in Florida.

Still, if Republicans face an exodus of Hispanics, Trumps comments about Mexicans immigrants being criminals and his stand-off with Univision reporter Jorge Ramos are not helping. Violeta Burges Lugo, who will vote for Clinton in November, recalled being a Republican when she first arrived from Puerto Rico, but no longer. They dont treat minorities well, Lugo said, cooling off over an iced tea in a Panera Bread after registering voters near Orlando, Florida. I dont have anything for the Republican Party if they dont have anything for me.

As for Camacho, he says he has blocked out news on Trump now that he has committed to helping Clinton. We have a saying in Spanish: Palabras necias oidos sordos, he said. When people say things without sense, you are deaf to what they say.
Ted Harbert has been a fixture in network TV since Laverne & Shirley was topping the Nielsen rankings.

The chairman of NBC Broadcasting said Thursday he will step down next month after five years at the Peacock and 12 years at Comcast overall, where he started in 2004 running E! and Style channel, after a previous stint at NBC. Hes closing out an executive career that began at ABC in 1977. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke, in announcing Harberts exit, praised the exec for his encyclopedic knowledge of the television business, creative instincts and enthusiasm. Harbert spoke with Varietys Cynthia Littleton about his long run at two of the Big Three and whats next.

Why are you leaving?

Ive been working on this for a while with Steve. The Emmys on Sunday mark the end of my 40th season in TV. Thats been sticking in my mind for a while. I think its a good time to go out. Ive loved every second of it. I cant believe the wonderful things Ive been able to do. Im grateful to Steve (Burke) for bringing me to New York to run these NBC divisions. It was like the senior year of my education in television.

Whats next? Are you retiring or do you want to keep active in the industry?

I have no idea what form my contribution to TV might take next. Im most excited about not knowing. Ive never not known. There was one two-week period after (then NBC chief) Jeff Zucker let me go in 2003 that I didnt know, and fortunately (Foxs) Dana Walden and Gary Newman picked me up at Fox as a producer. But other than that Ive always known what my deal was. Now I need to learn how to off into the unknown.

What were the biggest problems that you dealt with at NBC after Comcast took over in 2011?

The owned television stations were not in good shape. The former management had analyzed the local TV business and decided it was not a good business and therefore stopped investing in it. It showed in the ratings and morale. We hired Valeri Staab out of KGO-TV San Francisco. She gets all the credit. We now have a totally different owned television stations division. We didnt have much going on in the first-run (syndication) business other than Maury (Povich) and Jerry (Springer). Steve Harvey came along and worked. In our affiliate relations division, we had the very difficult job of getting our affiliates to share their retrans dollars with us. Now almost all of them are on that program.

Story continues

Whats it been like to work for a broadcast network owned by a cable giant?

Being a broadcast company that is owned by a big cable company doesnt mean there isnt conflict some time  youre not always going to have the same interests. But in the end Brian Roberts will always say to Steve Do the right thing for NBC. There is zero big-foot feeling of Youll do this because were the owner. Thats not how its run and Ive been there at other companies where that is not the case.

What made you pursue a career in TV?

I was 11 years old and I found out (a neighbor) worked in TV helping to pick shows. I said I want that job. ABC was my favorite network. I bugged him and bugged him. I went in for an NBC apprenticeship job and didnt get it. Finally, he calls me in July 1977 and tells me (ABC) has a six-month temporary job in the feature film division. I did coverage on a lot of movie scripts and I did a lot of filing. After six months, I went in sheepishly to the boss, Lou Ehrlich, and said Am I gone? He said Aw, shut up and go back to your desk. It was the luckiest break that any person could get.

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Despite all the breathless headlines to the contrary, the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump isnt really that close right now. A series of recent polls have showed a tightening of the popular vote, with the occasional survey showing Trump actually ahead. However, for a couple of reasons, its not actually all that helpful to look at national polls and try to draw conclusions about how things will stand when the polls close on Nov. 8.

First of all, for better or for worse, the U.S. does not hold a national election. A successful presidential candidate can actually win the presidency with fewer total votes than an opponent because of the way the Electoral College works. George W. Bush did it in 2000, and John F. Kennedy, arguably, did it in 1960. Its not really that complicated. Landslide victories for a Republican across the Deep South, for example, yield just as many electoral votes as one-point victories for a Democrat in states like New York, California and the Pacific Northwest.

Related: With Clinton Campaigning Again, Trump Renews Attacks on Her Health

So even when the Real Clear Politics polling average shows Clinton ahead by just 1.8 percent nationally, and barely clinging to a 1.1 percent lead over Trump if third party candidates are included, it doesnt indicate that the election is close to a coin flip at this point. In the fall of 2012, President Obama was polling just 0.4 percentage points ahead of Mitt Romney on average, and he went on to win the presidency comfortably, with 332 electoral votes to Romneys 206.

None of this is to say that Trump cant win the presidency. He can. The respected FiveThirtyEight.com election forecast model puts the odds right now at a little better than one-in-three. But the truth is that he faces a very challenging path to get to the 270 electoral votes he needs.

At the University of Virginias Center for Politics, Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley continue to argue that Clinton has by far the easier road to election, postulating what they refer to as Fortress Obama that Trump would have to conquer in order to find his way to the Oval Office.

Story continues

There are 359 electoral votes worth of states (and Nebraskas Second District) that voted for Obama at least once, they write. Indiana, which Obama carried in a fluke in 2008, is already gone, which knocks Clintons total down to 348, where we have her right now.

Related: Libertarian Gary Johnson Scores a Major Victory in His White House Bid

The fortresss outer ring of defenses  the Leans Democratic states  is made up of Florida (29 electoral votes), Iowa (6), Nevada (6), North Carolina (15), Ohio (18) and two electoral votes from congressional districts in Maine and Nebraska, they continue. If Trump can break through in all of those places, he gets to 266  four short of the majority he needs. He would need one other state, coming from the Likely Democratic column  places like Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Trump is losing in those six states by an average of six points in the RealClearPolitics polling average, and Clinton has led 109 of 119 polls conducted in those states, combined, since last summer (Trump led just four, and there were six ties).

Again, this doesnt mean a Trump victory is impossible. Its just unlikely. Writing at FiveThirtyEight.com today, David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report lays out a credible scenario under which Trump could snatch victory from Clinton in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote.

Should Hillary Clinton be sleeping easy? No. Shes facing about a 1-in-3 shot of losing to a man who the vast majority of the American people believe in unqualified to serve as president. But to say that the race is really neck-and-neck at this point seriously overstates the current state of play in Trumps favor.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Rachel Martin will join NPRs flagship morning drive program, Morning Edition, solving the riddle of which member of the public-broadcasters staff will fill a spot soon to be vacated by longtime co-host Renee Montagne.

Martin, who has been host of NPRs Weekend Edition Sunday, will join Steve Inskeep and David Greene, who will head to the outlets NPR West offices in Culver City. Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPRs Brazil correspondent, will take over as weekend Sunday host starting in January.

The personnel moves arent to be taken lightly. Morning Edition, along with All Things Considered, are two of public radios most listened-to programs. NPR in July announced Montagne would step down from Morning Edition after the November elections and transition into a special correspondent focused on long form reporting. The show saw its overall audience grow 26% as of August compared to the year-earlier period, according to Nielsen. In contrast, the total increase in listeners for news/talk stations during morning drive was just 15%.

Martin will start her hosting duties at Morning Edition in early December. Greene will begin hosting from NPR West in January. And Garcia-Navarros first day on Weekend Edition Sunday with the programs Sunday, January 8 broadcast.

Rachel Martin will build on the networks mission to deliver the sharpest news, insight and storytelling at Morning Edition, said Sarah Gilbert, the shows executive producer, in a statement. Rachel is a brilliant journalist and a uniquely accomplished host, possessed of superb range and a mastery of every format from long-form storytelling to live broadcasting.

Martin has held posts covering national security, religion and Europe for NPR, and was a member of the team that launched the experimental morning-news program The Bryant Park Project in New York. Greene, a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun, has covered the White House beat and served as a Moscow correspondent for NPR. Garcia-Navarro has worked from Israel and Baghdad for NPR.

Story continues

Morning Edition debuted on November 5, 1979 and its reporting has won prizes including the George Foster Peabody Award and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. Weekend Edition Sunday launched on January 18, 1987.

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Sleep problems and gloomy daydreams may worsen the symptoms of a rare psychiatric disorder that causes people to feel as though they are "unreal," a new report of one man's case suggests.

In the report, researchers in the United Kingdom looked at sleep problems and daydreaming habits in a man with a disorder called depersonalization-derealization disorder, which makes the person feel disconnected from the real world. It turned out that, the worse he slept on a given night, the more severe his symptoms were the following day.

Moreover, repetitive and negative daydreams that the man experienced on some days were also linked to worsened psychiatric symptoms. [Daydreaming Again? 5 Facts About the Wandering Mind]

The new findings suggest that some of the symptoms of the disorder may be treated by addressing the persons sleep problems and daydreaming in therapy, the researchers wrote in the study, which was published in August in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Feeling unreal

Between 1 and 2.4 percent of the population may have depersonalization-derealization disorder, according to a 2013 study that was published in the journal BMC Psychology. People with the condition may have the persistent feeling that they are observing themselves from outside of their bodies. They may also feel as though the things around them are not real, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Traditionally, psychiatrists don't consider that sleep problems are a potential contributor to the symptoms of dissociative disorders, but the new study suggests that perhaps such problems should be considered, and addressed with treatments, Dr. Matthew Lorber, acting director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told Live Science. Lorber was not involved in the study.

The patient in the new study was 24 years old, and had experienced trauma during his childhood that included an assault. Dissociative disorders are usually rooted in severe past trauma, the researchers noted.

Story continues

At the start of the study, the researchers assessed the man's mental health and told him what exactly the study was going to involve. During this initial meeting with the researchers, the patient told the researchers that he often had vivid dreams, and that his sleep patterns were irregular.

Then, for 40 days, the researchers texted the man six times a day with questions about his psychiatric symptoms, mood, sleep quality and the frequency of his daydreaming experiences, and recorded his replies. [5 Things You Must Know About Sleep]

They found that the symptoms of his disorder were worse on those days that followed nights when he had not slept well.

Good daydreams, bad daydreams

Moreover, his symptoms were also worse on the days that the man experienced negative daydreams. In contrast, when his daydreams were more positive, his symptoms did not get worse, according to the study.

Previous research has also suggested that there is a link between daydreaming and the worsening of this disorders symptoms, but the new study shows that only daydreams with negative, and not positive, content may affect these symptoms, the researchers said.

The new findings are in line with some other research, which has suggested that improving sleep quality in people with dissociative disorders may help to improve their symptoms, the researchers said.

However, Lorber said that more research is needed to test the new findings in a larger number of patients.

Originally published on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.

Today, Im going to outline a plan for American economic revival  it is a bold, ambitious, forward-looking plan to massively increase jobs, wages, incomes and opportunities for the people of our country.

My plan will embrace the truth that people flourish under a minimum government burden, and it will tap into the incredible unrealized potential of our workers and their dreams.

Right now, 92 million Americans are on the sidelines, outside the workforce, and not part of our economy. Its a silent nation of jobless Americans.

Look no further than the city of Flint, where I just visited. The jobs have stripped from this community, and its infrastructure has collapsed. In 1970, there were more than 80,000 people in Flint working for GM  today it is less than 8,000. Now Ford has announced it is moving all small car production to Mexico.

It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldnt drink the water in Mexico. Now, the cars are made in Mexico and you cant drink the water in Flint.

We are going to turn this around.

My economic plan rejects the cynicism that says our labor force will keep declining, that our jobs will keep leaving, and that our economy can never grow as it did once before.

We reject the pessimism that says our standard of living can no longer rise, and that all thats left to do is divide up and redistribute our shrinking resources.

Everything that is broken today can be fixed, and every failure can be turned into a great success.

Jobs can stop leaving our country, and start pouring in. Failing schools can become flourishing schools. Crumbling roads and bridges can become gleaming new infrastructure. Inner cities can experience a flood of new jobs and investment. And rising crime can give way to safe and prosperous communities.

All of these things, and so much more, are possible. But to accomplish them, we must replace the present policy of globalism  which has moved so many jobs and so much wealth out of our country  and replace it with a new policy of Americanism.

Under this American System, every policy decision we make must pass a simple test: does it create more jobs and better wages for Americans?

If we lower our taxes, remove destructive regulations, unleash the vast treasure of American energy, and negotiate trade deals that put America First, then there is no limit to the number of jobs we can create and the amount of prosperity we can unleash.

America will truly be the greatest place in the world to invest, hire, grow and to create new jobs, new technologies, and entire new industries.

Instead of driving jobs and wealth away, America will become the worlds great magnet for innovation and job creation.

My opponents plan rejects this optimism. She offers only more taxing, regulating, more spending and more wealth redistribution  a future of slow growth, declining incomes, and dwindling prosperity.

The only people who get rich under Hillary Clintons scheme are the donors and the special interests.

In Hillary Clintons America, we have surrendered our status as the worlds great economy, and we have surrendered our middle class to the whims of foreign countries.

Not one single idea she has will create one net American job, or create one new dollar of American wealth for our workers. The only thing she can ever offer is a welfare check. Our plan will produce paychecks, and theyre going to be great paychecks for millions of people now unemployed.

In the course of this campaign, I have travelled all across this country and Ive met the most amazing people. Every day, Ive seen the goodness and character of our country, and brave citizens proudly fighting through hard times and difficult circumstances.

In many parts of our country, the hard times never seem to end. Ive visited cities and towns in upstate New York where half the jobs have left and moved to other countries.

Politicians have abandoned these places all over our country and the people who live there.

Worse still, politicians have heaped scorn and disdain on these wonderful Americans. My opponent described tens of millions of American citizens as deplorable and irredeemable  how can Hillary Clinton seek to lead this country when she considers its citizens beyond redemption?

The hardworking people she calls deplorable are the most admirable people I know: they are cops and soldiers, teachers and firefighters, young and old, moms and dads, blacks, whites and Latinos  but above everything else, they are all American. They love their families, they love their country, and they want a better future.

These are the forgotten men and women of America. People who work hard but dont have a voice.

I am running to be their voice, and to fight to bring prosperity to every part of this country.

Too many of our leaders have forgotten that its their duty to protect the jobs, wages and well-being of American workers before any other consideration.

Im not running to be President of the world. Im running to be President of the United States  and as your President, I will fight for every last American job.

We are the nation that tamed the West, dug out the Panama Canal, won two World Wars, and put a man on the moon.

Its time to start thinking big once again.

Thats why I believe it is time to establish a national goal of reaching 4% economic growth.

In working with my economic team, weve put together a plan that puts us on track to achieve that goal. Over the next ten years, our economic team estimates that under our plan the economy will average 3.5% growth and create a total of 25 million new jobs. You can visit our website to see the math.

This growth means that our jobs plan, including our childcare reforms, will be completely paid-for in combination with proposed budget savings.

It will be deficit neutral. If we reach 4% growth, it will reduce the deficit.

It will be accomplished through a complete overhaul of our tax, regulatory, energy and trade policies.

Right now, under Obama-Clinton policies, the economy grew only 1.1 percent last quarter  that translates to millions of lost jobs.

This is the weakest so-called recovery since the Great Depression.

Over the last 7 years, the economy grew only 2.1 percent, the slowest period in seventy years. Had the economy grown under Obama at the same rate as Reagan, it would have meant 10 million more jobs.

Perhaps most shockingly, 1 in 6 men aged 18-34 are either in jail or out of work.

Meanwhile, another 2 million Hispanic-Americans have been added to the ranks of those in poverty.

On top of it all, the Obama-Clinton policies have doubled the national debt. It took more than 230 years for the United States to accumulate its first $10 trillion dollars in debt  it took President Obama only eight years to add another $10 trillion.

Now, it would be one thing if that money had been used to completely rebuild our nation, our military, and our infrastructure.

Instead, the opposite happened. We doubled our debt and, in return, we have dilapidated infrastructure, failing schools, a badly depleted military, and another 14 million people who have left the workforce.

Never has so much money been spent so poorly.

But were going to turn that all around. Heres how.

It begins with bold new tax reform.

As outlined in Detroit, our tax plan will greatly simplify the code and reduce the number of brackets from 7 to 3. The 3 new brackets will be 12, 25 and 33, but low-income Americans will pay no income tax at all  in fact, our plan will remove millions and millions of workers from the income tax rolls entirely.

By lowering rates, streamlining deductions, and simplifying the process, we will add millions of new jobs.

In addition, because we have strongly capped deductions for the wealthy and closed special interest loopholes, the tax relief will be concentrated on the working and middle class taxpayer. They will receive the biggest benefit  it wont even be close.

This is a working and middle class tax relief proposal.

The tax relief for these workers will be expanded by my childcare proposals that I have worked on with my daughter, Ivanka.

These proposals are a central element of our comprehensive tax reform and economic growth plan.

Families will be able to fully deduct the average cost of childcare from their taxes, including stay-at-home parents. Because this deduction is capped, it will disproportionately benefit working and middle class families. The less you make, the larger a share of your income you can exclude from taxation.

Parents will also be able to enroll in tax-free dependent care savings accounts for their children or elderly relatives. Low-income households will benefit from both an Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit  in the form a Childcare rebate  and a matching $500 contribution for their savings accounts.

A married couple earning $50,000 per year with two children and $8,000 in child care expenses will save 35% from their current tax bill.

A married couple earning $75,000 per year with two children and $10,000 in child care expenses will receive a 30% reduction in their tax bill.

By contrast, someone earning $5 million will receive virtually no change in their tax bill at all.

One of our greatest job creation measures is going to be our 15% business tax rate  down from the current 35% rate, a reduction of more than 40 percent. An explosion of new business and new jobs will be created. It will be amazing to watch.

We will also allow U.S.-based manufacturers to fully expense the cost of new plants and equipment.

On top of that, we will bring back trillions in business wealth parked overseas and tax it at a 10% rate. Some people say there are $2 trillion dollars overseas, I think its $5 trillion. By taxing it at 10% instead of 35%, all of this money will come back into our country.

We will turn America into a magnet for new jobs  and that means jobs in our poorest communities.

Next, comes regulations.

One of the keys to unlocking growth is scaling-back years of disastrous regulations unilaterally imposed by our out-of-control bureaucracy.

Regulations have grown into a massive, job-killing industry  and the regulation industry is one business I will put an end to.

In 2015 alone, federal agencies issued over 3,300 final rules and regulations, up from 2,400 the prior year. Every year, overregulation costs our economy $2 trillion dollars a year and reduces household wealth by almost $15,000 dollars.

Ive proposed a moratorium on new federal regulations that are not compelled by Congress or public safety, and I will eliminate all needless and job-killing regulations now on the books.

This includes eliminating some of our most intrusive regulations, like the Waters of The U.S. Rule. It also means scrapping the EPAs so-called Clean Power Plan which the government itself estimates will cost $7.2 billion a year. This Obama-Clinton directive will shut down most, if not all, coal-powered electricity plans in America. Remember what Hillary Clinton said? She wants to shut down the miners, just like she wants to shut down the steel mills.

Were going to put our great miners and steel workers back to work.

Energy reform is central to our plan as well

According to the Heritage Foundation, by 2030, President Obamas energy restrictions will eliminate another half a million manufacturing jobs, reduce economic output by $2.5 trillion dollars, and reduce incomes by $7,000 dollars per person.

Hillary Clinton wants to go even further, and her plan could cost the economy $5 trillion dollars.

A Trump Administration will lift restrictions on all sources of American energy production. According to the Institute for American Energy Resources this will:

increase GDP by more than $100 billion annually

add over 500,000 new jobs annually

increase annual wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years

increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by almost $6 trillion over 4 decades

increase total economic activity by more than $20 trillion over the next 40 years.

In addition, we will streamline the permitting process for all energy infrastructure projects, including the billions of dollars in projects held up by President Obama  creating countless more jobs in the process.

Finally, comes trade  the foundation for everything

Americas annual trade deficit with the world is now nearly $800 a billion a year  an enormous drag on growth.

Between World War II and the year 2000, the United States averaged a 3.5% growth rate. But, after China joined the World Trade Organization, our average growth rate has been reduced to only 2 percent.

Predatory trade practices, product dumping, currency manipulation and intellectual property theft have taken millions of jobs and trillions in wealth from our country.

It is no great secret that many of the special interests funding my opponents campaign are the same people profiting from these terrible trade deals. The same so-called experts advising Hillary Clinton are the same people who gave us NAFTA, Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization, the job-killing trade deal with South Korea, and now the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The verdict is in. All of the special interests that the media race to for comment have been proven wrong about every single deal theyve promoted  every lie and every prediction has crashed upon the rocks of reality.

Our manufacturing base has crumbled, communities have been hollowed out, wages have declined, and households are making less today than they were in the year 2000.

I have proposed a detailed plan to reform our trade policies and bring vast new jobs and wealth to America. This includes the following steps:

Im going to direct the Secretary of Commerce to identify every violation of trade agreements a foreign country is currently using to harm our workers. I will use every tool under American and international law to end these abuses, and I will use our greatest business leaders and finest negotiators  and I know who you are, many of you are in the room.

We are going to start with NAFTA, which is causing so much damage to our country. We will entirely renegotiate NAFTA into a deal that will either be good for us or will be terminated until a brand new and productive deal can be signed.

We are also going to keep America out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Next, I am going to instruct my Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator, and to apply tariffs to any country that devalues its currency to gain an unfair advantage over the United States.

I am going to instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to bring trade cases against China. Chinas unfair subsidy behavior is prohibited by the terms of its entrance to the WTO, and I intend to enforce those rules.

If China does not stop its illegal activities, including its theft of American trade secrets and intellectual property, I will apply countervailing duties until China ceases and desists.

Just the single action of enforcing intellectual property rules alone would add millions of new American jobs. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, improved protection of Americas intellectual property in China would add 2 million jobs a year to the United States every single year.

We are going to stop the outflow of jobs from our country, and open a new highway of jobs back into our country.

Here is how the plan adds up

We are proposing a $4.4 trillion tax cut that will score as $2.6 trillion under a dynamic growth model, which is how taxes should be scored. This includes the childcare plan.

Our economic team has further modeled that the growth-induced savings from trade, energy and regulation reform will shave at least another $1.8 trillion off of the remaining cost.

That leaves around $800 billion dollars. This money can all be saved through simple, common sense reforms. If we save just one penny of each federal dollar spent on non-defense, and non-entitlement programs, we can save almost $1 trillion over the next decade  again this is spending that does not touch defense, and that does not touch entitlements.

If our plan exceeds the 3.5% ten-year growth average, then our jobs proposal will actually reduce the deficit. Savings will be compounded by the fact that people who are currently receiving unemployment or welfare will finally be able to find jobs.

This is the most pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-family plan put forth perhaps in the history of our country.

This is what our new future will look like

I am going to lower you taxes; I am going to get rid of massive amounts of unnecessary regulations, on business and in your life; Im going to unleash American energy; Im going to repeal and replace Obamacare; Im going to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court who will follow the Constitution; Im going rebuild our depleted military and take care of our vets; Im going to save your 2nd amendment; Im going to stop illegal immigration and drugs coming into our country, and yes, we will build the wall [Mexico will pay]; and Im going to renegotiate our disastrous trade deals, especially NAFTA  and we will only make great trade deals that put the American worker first.

And we are going to put our miners and our steelworkers back to work.

We will rebuild our roads, bridges, tunnels, highways, airports, schools and hospitals.

American cars will travel the roads, American planes will soar in the skies, and American ships will patrol the seas.

American steel will send new skyscrapers into the clouds.

American hands will rebuild this nation  and American energy, harvested from American sources, will power this nation. American workers will be hired to do the job.

We will put new American metal into the spine of this country.

Jobs will return, incomes will rise, and new factories will come rushing back to our shores.

We Will Make America Wealthy Again.

We Will Make America Strong Again.

And Will Make America Great Again.

Thank you, and God Bless!
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Humanitarian aid is due to be delivered to Aleppo on Friday following a withdrawal of combatants from a contested road leading to the city on Thursday, a Syrian rebel official said. "Today the withdrawal is supposed to happen, with aid entering tomorrow. This is what is supposed to happen, but there is nothing to give hope," Zakaria Malahifji, of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters. The delivery is part of a U.S.-Russian agreement that includes a ceasefire that took effect on Monday. The army and rebels have accused each other of numerous violations, though the overall level of violence has reduced. Russia, said on Wednesday it was preparing for the Syrian army and rebel fighters to begin a staged withdrawal from the Castello road. But neither side had started its withdrawal on Thursday morning. There was no comment from state media or the army about the proposed withdrawal. Malahifji, Fastaqim's political officer, said rebels were prepared to withdraw but were worried that the other side would take advantage of such a move. "There is great fear because the regime exploits every opportunity," he said. Government forces seized control of a section of the Castello Road in July, part of its effort to fully encircle the opposition-held eastern half of Aleppo. "If the regime withdraws 500 meters, east and west (of the road) ... then the guys will be able to withdraw a bit," Malahifji said. "But the regime is not responding. The guys can see its positions in front of them." A Syrian military source said on Wednesday that armed groups had violated the ceasefire 15 times in the Aleppo area in a 24-hour period. (Reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
With a return to their "red" side, Red Velvet also return to the top of the charts thanks to their latest release Russian Roulette.

Red Velvet & Bobby Kick Off K-Pop's Wave of September Releases

As opposed to showing off their "velvet," ballad-leaning tendencies like on "One of These Nights" earlier this year, the cutesy-quirky girl group went in a synth-pop direction for their Russian Roulette EP with its title track bringing them to a new peak on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart.

"Russian Roulette" debuts at No. 2 on World Digital Songs, marking the best entry for the quintet to date. The girls had previously charted as high as No. 3 with their 2015 singles "Ice Cream Cake" and "Dumb Dumb." While those aforementioned 2015 releases brought straight-forward, in-your-face bubblegum, "Russian Roulette" brings a different flavor, incorporating 8-bit- and arcade-inspired sounds into the mix. The new The group brings repetitive, nearly robotic-like hooks that are just as addicting as their past bangers.

Russian Roulette also brings the K-pop outfit to the World Albums chart, where they debut at No. 2 on the chart. So far, Red Velvet has sent all of their EPs and albums to the chart including 2016 EP The Velvet (which peaked at No. 8), 2015 EP Ice Cream Cake (No. 2) and their first full-length album The Red from 2015 (which reigned at No. 1).

Red Velvet Talk First U.S. Performance, Their New Member: Exclusive

It's also a new peak for the group on the Heatseekers Albums chart where the EP starts at No. 18. The Heatseekers chart sees much less K-pop entries compared to World Albums and the new peak indicates promise in an increasingly interseted U.S. audience. Previously, the group had sent both Ice Cream Cake and The Red releases to the tally, both of which peaked at No. 24.

Watch Red Velvet bring "Russian Roulette" to life in the live performance below:
ROME (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled some 650 migrants to safety and recovered five dead bodies from boats in difficulty off the coast of Libya on Wednesday, Italy's coastguard said in a statement. On the frontier between Europe and Africa, Italy is the focus for hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, packed into rickety boats by smugglers. An Italian navy ship, a vessel run by private rescue group MOAS and the Irish military ship James Joyce went to the rescue of six boats, the coastguard said. The James Joyce recovered the five bodies. The exact causes of the deaths were not yet known, a coastguard spokesman said, but the migrants often "travel in inhuman conditions, more than 100 people packed into dinghies that would be suitable for a few dozen". The spokesman said he could give no further details about the migrants' nationalities. People smugglers have taken advantage of a breakdown of order in Libya to use it as a launch pad for their business less than 500 km (310 miles) from the Italian island of Sicily. (Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Riot police and unions clash in Paris in protest against labor law French riot police officers are surrounded by flames during a demonstration against the controversial labor reforms of the French government in Paris on September 15, 2016.(Karine Pierre)

Protesters throwing planks of wood and Molotov cocktails clashed with Paris police firing tear gas and dispersion grenades on Thursday, as unions staged a last-ditch bid to dismantle a labor law that weakens their power.

While thousands of union activists marched peacefully through the French capital chanting about workers' rights and capitalist abuses, sporadic violence broke out between helmeted riot police and small groups of protesters.

At least six people were injured and five were arrested, according to the Paris police headquarters. Reporters for the Associated Press saw one protester with his face covered in blood and several people hit by police grenade pellets. One officer suffered leg burns after protesters tossed bottles containing flammable liquid at a cluster of riot police.

The protest was part of a day of nationwide labor actions against a law adopted this summer that allows employers more freedom to extend workweeks and lay off staff.

A series of strikes and huge protests against the law earlier this year frustrated tourists, stained France's image and reflected poorly on President Francois Hollandes government.

The government hopes the measures will make France more competitive by encouraging hiring and investment. Unions say it damages hard-won worker rights. (AP)

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Rose McGowan wrote former Charmed star Shannen Doherty a letter of support during her battle with breast cancer, and blamed truly vile Hollywood for any rivalry they may have had in the past.

As young women we were pitted against each other for societys pleasure, McGowan wrote in an Instagram post, featuring an illustration of the two actresses. The rules of Hollywood engagement brainwashed into us were truly vile. The men & brainwashed women in our business made it so we couldnt be friends, I regret that.

McGowan starred as Paige Matthews in Charmed after Dohertys character left the show in 2001 following alleged on-and-off set tensions with co-star Alyssa Milano. McGowan also addressed Dohertys bad girl behavior in her post, calling out the media for merciless shaming.

Also Read: Rose McGowan Is Sick to Her Vagina Over Donald Trump and the Media

The Bad Girl Shaming you received at the hands of the media was merciless, she added. Global media shaming is real AF, as you know. F them all & their machine, too. You cast a long shadow over my life. We were both cast in a fake real life role, that of the Bad Girl. I had to prove I wasnt as bad as you or Id get the axe, too. But we were never the bad ones, it was them., the Beige Brained White Dudes in Charge. Well f them. Damn them for fing with our minds & careers just because their misogynistic belief systems couldnt sanction two strong females in a traditionally subservient role- actress. I refused to give them the cat fight they so wanted.

McGowan continued to slam Hollywood in the letter, adding that the industry tried to crush the two actresses because they were a different breed. And because they both broke through those barriers, McGowan sent Doherty strength during her battle with cancer.

Also Read: Rose McGowan Slams Caitlyn Jenner's Woman of the Year Award

Two boss young women that scared the faux-liberals in provincial Hollywood, for that sin we got burned at the media stake, egged on by Hollywood who believe the press they start, she wrote. There was a strongly inferred threat of me being blacklisted in tv as Id been in film. Instead of understanding that we were a different breed, they tried to crush us, but they couldnt. I send you strength.

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Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Her battle with the disease was made public when she sued her former business management firm after her health insurance lapsed, TMZ reported.

Last month, Doherty admitted the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, calling for chemo and radiation. At the Stand Up to Cancer event last week, Doherty looked healthy and her doctor stated that chemo was nearly finished.

See McGowans Instagram below.

Related stories from TheWrap:

Rose McGowan Says 'Wussy' Agent Fired Her for Criticizing 'Bullst' Adam Sandler Movie Role

Rose McGowan on Why Rolling Stone Drove Her From Hollywood, Directorial Debut: I'm Done Selling My Sexuality
Admiral Kuznetsov Russian aircraft carrier

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the US should be flattered that Russia plans to deploy their only aircraft carrier, the 26 year-old Admiral Kuznetsov, off Syria's coast for its first combat deployment.

A successful deployment of a full-blown aircraft carrier represents the kind of sophisticated military task only a first-rate world power can pull off, and that seems to be exactly what Russia hopes for.

Much like their 2015 salvo of cruise missiles fired from the Caspian sea into Syria, the event will likely serve as a commercial for Russian military exports  one of the few bright spots in Russia's ailing economy.

The deployment will seek to present the best and brightest of Russia's resurgent military. The Kuznetsov, which has suffered from a litany of mechanical failures and often requires tow boats, will stay tight to Syria's shores due to the limited range of the carrier's air wing.

The air wing, comprised of only 15 or so Su-33s and MiG-29s and a handful of helicopters, does not even have half of the US Nimitz class carrier's 60 plus planes.

Furthermore, the carrier lacks plane launching catapults. Instead, the carrier relies on a ski-jump platform that limits how much fuel and ordnance the Russian jets can carry.

Even so, the Russian jets aboard will be some of the latest models in Russia's entire inventory, according to Russian state-run media. The bombs they carry will be guided, a sharp departure from Russia's usual indiscriminate use of "dumb" or unguided munitions which can drift unpredictably when dropped from altitude.

Su33 kuznetsov

Russian media quotes a military source as saying that with the new X-38 guided bombs, "we reinforce our aviation group and bring in completely new means of destruction to the region." The same report states the bombs are accurate to within a few meters, which isn't ideal, but an improvement.

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Indeed, the Kuznetsov's entire flight deck will function as somewhat of a showroom for Russian military goods. China operates a Soviet-designed carrier, as does India. Both of those nations have purchased Russian planes in the past. A solid performance from the jets in Syria would bode well for their prospects as exports, even as India struggles to get its current crop of Russian-made jets up to grade.

"Despite its resemblance to the land-based version of the MiG-29, this is a completely different aircraft," Russian media quotes a defence official as saying of the MiG-29K carrier-based variant.

MiG 29K aircraft INS Vikramaditya indian navy aircraft carrier

"This applies to its stealth technologies, a new system of in-flight refueling, folding wings and mechanisms by which the aircraft has the ability to perform short take-offs and land at low speeds."

But the Russian jets practice on land bases that simulate the Kuznetsov, and any US Navy pilot will tell you that landing on a bobbing airstrip sailing along at sea is an entirely different beast.

One thing Russia's upcoming carrier deployment does have going for it will be having the world's premier naval and carrier power, the US, at least nominally aligned with them in a recently brokered cease-fire.

NOW WATCH: Watch Russian warplanes fly dangerously close by a US Navy ship





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By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia is pushing for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a draft resolution next week endorsing a Syria ceasefire deal agreed by Moscow and Washington, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday. The deal reached on Saturday aims to put Syria's peace process back on track. It includes a nationwide truce that started at sundown on Monday, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed five documents, which they said would not be publicly released. However, France called on Washington to share details of the deal on Thursday. Churkin said Russia was working on a draft Security Council resolution that would endorse the deal. When asked if the deal would need to be annexed to such a resolution, he said: "We don't know yet." "We're working on it ... I think we need to adopt it on the 21st (of September), this would make sense," Churkin told reporters. The 15-member Security Council is due to hold a high-level meeting on Syria next Wednesday during the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Kerry and Lavrov are expected to attend, diplomats said. Syrian government forces and rebels had yet to withdraw from a road needed to deliver aid to the city of Aleppo on Thursday, threatening the Russia-U.S. peacemaking effort as the sides accused each other of violating a truce. (Additional reporting by John Irish; Editing by Paul Simao)
By Polina Devitt MOSCOW (Reuters) - A spill of waste originating from a metallurgical plant in Russia that turned a river blood-red posed no threat to people or wildlife, an executive at the plant's operator said. Pictures of the crimson water in the Daldykan river, in the Arctic Circle, quickly went viral over social media, and green campaigners said the incident highlighted how industrial development posed a risk to the environment. Sergey Dyachenko, Chief Operating Officer of Nornickel, formerly known as Norilsk Nickel, which operates the plant, said the red color was caused by iron salts, a waste product from production at the plant, although it can also occur naturally. "There is no danger for fish and people," Dyachenko told the Reuters Investment Summit at the Reuters office in Moscow. "We hope that it will not happen in future." Russian state environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor told Reuters it was still conducting checks into the incident and would reach conclusions about the possible damage once test results are ready after Sept. 19. Alexei Kiselyov, an official at Greenpeace Russia, said iron salts are a mildly toxic reagent and it was impossible to say if there was damage to local fauna without investigating the site. "The results of the tests are needed," he said. Dyachenko said the company had been replacing several kilometers of aging pipe which carries waste -- known as tailings -- from the firm's plant to a reservoir where waste is stored. At the start of this month, workers were fitting the final section of a new pipe. Before connecting it, they injected water into the pipeline to clean it out. They built a temporary dike to contain any leakage, but the work coincided with unusually heavy rain last week which caused the dike to overflow, allowing water with iron salts to enter the river, turning it bright red, Dyachenko said. As of Sept. 8, pictures circulated by Greenpeace showed that the river appeared to have returned to its normal color, although ground around it was still red. "Now the company will be replacing and cleaning up the soil," Dyachenko told Reuters. More than 80 years ago, prisoners from Stalin's labor camps built the first metal smelter in Norilsk city, where temperatures can drop to 55 degrees Celsius below zero (-67 degrees Fahrenheit). The city has acquired a reputation as one of the most polluted settlements in the world. Nornickel says it has been implementing a program to improve the ecology of the city and its surroundings since 2103. The replacement of the tailings pipeline was completed at the start of this week, Dyachenko said. "Today in effect, Nornickel has completed a major project which will draw a line under all the historical pollution incidents," Dyachenko said, adding the new pipeline had a polyethylene lining which would prevent all leaks. (Reporting by Polina Devitt, Diana Asonova, Katya Golubkova, Christian Lowe, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Svetlana Burmistrova; editing by Peter Graff)
There's nothing romantic going on between Ruth Wilson and Joshua Jackson. The 34-year-old actress shot down reports of a rumored romance in a Vanity Fair interview which was published on Wednesday.

"It's boring gossip," Wilson told the magazine of reports that she's dating her co-star on Showtime's The Affair.

NEWS: Joshua Jackson Pitches His Ideas for a 'Dawson's Creek' Reunion!

Romance rumors began swirling after Wilson was spotted with 38-year-old Jackson at a New York City restaurant in August, but the outing was strictly platonic.

"You can tell from that photo that we're friends. I just sort of go, 'All right, well, whatever, I have to keep answering.'"

"If you want an answer about whether we're dating or not, 'no' is the absolute truth," Wilson continued. "We all go out a lot. We're four Irish-Catholic actors who happen to be on a show together, and that means we like a drink and we like to have a good time. So all four of us go out."

WATCH: Katie Holmes Awkwardly Answers Who's the Better Kisser: James Van Der Beek or Joshua Jackson?

Jackson is back on the market after ending a 10-year relationship with The Infiltrator actress, Diane Kruger, in July. The exes have remained friendly since the split, and were recently spotted hugging as Jackson dropped Kruger off at Los Angeles International airport.

WATCH: Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson 'Not Back Together' Despite Recent Sightings

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The two men who stormed the Dancing With the Stars stage to protest Ryan Lochte's involvement on the hit ABC show are standing behind their actions.

Barzeen Soroudi and Sam Sotoodeh, who were detained and held overnight for trespassing after ambushing the embattled Olympic swimmer during Monday's DWTS season 23 premiere, spoke with reporters after being released from jail on Tuesday, and defended their protest.

"Our purpose is to get the message out that Lochte is a coward, a liar, and under Brazilian law, a criminal," Sotoodeh, 59, told numerous media outlets, referring to the scandal surrounding Lochte's false report of being robbed at gunpoint at a Rio de Janeiro gas station during the Olympic Games in August.

WATCH: Ryan Lochte Gives Heartfelt Thanks to His 'DWTS' Family After Protester Incident: 'I Have Gotten So Much Love'

Both men stated that they had no intention of physically harming Lochte, calling their action a "non-violent protest." Sotoodeh, who was tackled by security, criticized DWTS for its handling of the situation.

"I don't understand why the people there did that. I wasn't even going towards Lochte, I was going in a different direction," he argued, claiming that the incident left him with bruises on his arms and back along with neck pain.

WATCH: What Viewers Didn't See When Ryan Lochte Protesters Stormed 'Dancing With the Stars' Stage

According to Soroudi, 25, the men were protesting ABC and the Walt Disney Company for "choosing Lochte to represent Americans."

"Yes, he did receive gold medals, but what he did in Rio did not represent Americans well," Soroudi added.

According to the two men, they both attended the Rio Olympics and claim that Lochte's accusations of robbery caused a social "climate change" that led to Americans becoming "targets."

"The Brazilians felt insulted and it became very difficult for Americans there," Soroudi said.

Story continues

WATCH: Ryan Lochte Talks 'Very Big Mistake' in Rio, 'Dancing With the Stars': Everyone's 'Blowing This Way Out of Proportion'

"I want the world to know, I want America to know, that we don't take what he did lightly," he continued. "He embarrassed Americans on the world's stage and this was our form of protesting."

Soroudi went on to say that he has no regrets about his protest, even though it meant spending a night in jail, adding that he "wouldn't mind going back."

The LAPD told ET that Sotoodeh and Soroudi did not have tickets to the show's taping. After their arrest, the men were booked for trespassing, and transported to Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, California, where they were held overnight. The protesters were released from police custody at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, with a court date set for Oct. 4.

WATCH: Cheryl Burke Says Ryan Lochte Injured His Ankle When 'DWTS' Protesters Stormed the Stage

According to Lochte's dance partner, two-time champ Cheryl Burke, the swimmer's ankle was injured during the incident as security tackled the protestors. Despite Lochte being disheartened by the event, Burke said they are trying to move forward and focus on the coming weeks. However, she admitted that it "will probably take us a few weeks to put this incident behind us."

See what Lochte told ET following the DWTS drama in the exclusive interview below.

Related Articles
For generations and across many cultures, parents have swaddled babies -- something the American Academy of Pediatrics says can effectively aid in calming infants and promote sleep, when done correctly. That can mean precious shut-eye for parents, too, improving quality of life for all in the home.

More recently, however, researchers and clinicians have begun to unravel the wrap-and-tuck technique that turns infants into baby burritos. "It can be safe, but it can also be dangerous -- it depends on how you do it," says Dr. Corinn Cross, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics and pediatrician at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

In May, a meta-analysis of four previous studies evaluating swaddling and the risk of sudden infant death syndrome -- or SIDS, where a baby's death can't be explained despite a thorough investigation -- grabbed many headlines, but provided little clarity on swaddling risks. "If you swaddle a baby, the risk of SIDS is slightly increased compared to if you don't swaddle a baby. However, for most babies, it's fine," said Dr. Rachel Y. Moon, co-author of the analysis published in the journal Pediatrics and a SIDS researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, in an email. However, she added: "The studies included in the analysis were very different -- they defined swaddling differently and did their analyses differently -- so it's hard to make conclusive statements." Moon, fellow researchers and clinicians not involved in the analysis say more study is needed.

[See: How to Promote Safe Sleep for Your Infant.]

The most important thing for parents who plan to swaddle is to lay the baby on his or her back, experts say -- something that's suggested whether babies are swaddled or not to reduce the risk of SIDS, which is the No. 1 cause of death for infants a month to a year old. There are about 3,500 total sudden unexpected infant deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; that includes about 1,500 babies who die of SIDS, as well as infants who die from unknown causes or accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed. Once the baby shows signs of being able to roll, Moon says, parents should stop swaddling; this typically occurs between 2 and 4 months.

Though much still remains unknown about swaddling risks, some experts say what is becoming increasingly clear is the need to better outline proper swaddling technique and present parents with an alternative. In a recent blog post for Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Dr. Amy Nathan, a neonatologist and medical director of the Perinatal Institute, laid out numerous safety concerns involving improper swaddling -- enough to make a bleary-eyed new mom or dad's head spin. Among those were swaddling too tight around the chest, swaddling too loosely -- such that the blanket becomes unraveled -- using a heavy blanket (light is recommended), swaddling once the baby can roll and swaddling too tight around the legs or hips due to concern about the risk of hip dysplasia.

"The hip joint is a ball and socket, and the socket part of it is not finished developing when a baby is born," Nathan says. "With tight swaddling, when the legs are straight, the head of the thigh bone doesn't fit correctly in the socket, and therefore over time the socket may develop too shallow or in a misshapen arrangement." Adds Cross: "If you're consistently binding those hips, then you can end up creating this hip dysplasia -- where ... the hip is outside the socket."

Though she said it's an individual decision, Nathan suggests parents consider a sleep sack as an alternative to swaddling.

[See: 10 Ways to Make Your Childbirth Easier.]

While the AAP doesn't take a position on swaddling -- offering instead guidance to do it correctly -- Cross herself used a sleep sack rather than swaddling her three children, now ages 4 to 7, when they were infants. "If you've never seen it, it's basically a big sack, you put the kid in, you zip it up -- the arms stick out, the heads stick out, the feet are zipped in," she describes. It's a cross between a blanket and pajamas -- the baby essentially wears his or her blanket. Some have fastener strips with Velcro that can be used to secure a baby's arms. Parents sometimes complain that babies are able to break free. However, even if they do, the Velcroed strips don't ride up around the baby's face, as a blanket could, Cross says. The strips can be secured or removed as babies get older so they can move their arms.

Experts say when it comes to getting a baby comfy for bed -- swaddled or not -- less is definitely best. Following suit, the movement toward improving sleep safety for infants has tossed just about everything out of the crib save the mattress.

"When we decided to put children back to sleep on their backs, that really reduced our SIDS rates -- so we had a lot less infants dying suddenly in their sleep. We also realized at that time that having all the pretty things we put in the crib -- like the bumpers, the pillows, the blankets -- all of those could basically entangle the child, they could suffocate the child," Cross says. "So we really tried to get all of that stuff out. The issue with swaddling is now you're introducing a blanket back into the crib." That's not a problem if you're skilled in the art of swaddle, like the well-trained nurse who does it with speed and ease, tucking all the corners with precision, Cross says. But she says new parents often struggle to swaddle correctly, and even if they do get it down, it's often not consistent across caregivers, other family like grandparents or babysitters. Cross says that can make it easy for a baby to become unswaddled, leaving a loose blanket -- a potential suffocation or entanglement hazard -- lying in the crib.

"There's no reason not to swaddle, if you're doing it correctly and you stop by around two to three months of age," Cross says. But given the potential for user-error, she still advises parents consider a sleep sack. Whatever parents decide to do, Nathan recommends getting babies used to a consistent routine from their first days, so they rest easier.

Experts, too, caution against going too far in pooh-poohing swaddling without more data on potential risks. That's because in addition to still being viewed as safe when done properly, it provides an option to soothe a fussy baby to ensure everyone in the home gets rest. Clinicians say ensuring babies get ample rest is an important safety concern in itself, since sleep-deprived parents are more likely to make mistakes, and parents' lack of rest can inhibit the care infants receive.

[See: 10 Things No One Tells You About Breast-feeding.]

"It's a personal decision," Nathan says of swaddling. "If [parents] use those guardrails of doing it in the proper way and not doing it past when the baby rolls over, I still think it is acceptable."

Michael Schroeder is a health editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at mschroeder@usnews.com.
In what may be a truce in a longstanding battle, the Telemundo network has agreed that the 2016 Latin American Music Awards will be covered by a SAG-AFTRA agreement.

Its the first time that a nationally broadcast award show produced for the Telemundo network has been covered by SAG-AFTRA, which has been in the midst of a bitter unionization battle this year with the network.

The awards show will be televised from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Oct. 6 and produced by CMS Productions for Telemundo.

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris said, This is an important step. I applaud Telemundo for moving in the right direction by ensuring fair wages and working conditions for its performers during this years Latin American Music Awards. As the network increases production and reaches record audiences, we look forward to continued progress.

The most recent firefight came on Aug. 26, when SAG-AFTRA aired a 30-second commercial highlighting the double standard that exists between English-language and Spanish-language talent at the networks parent company, NBCUniversal. Telemundo and Comcast refused to air the Spanish-language spot during the networks live broadcast of the Premios Tu Mundo awards, but other Spanish-language stations in Miami, New York and Los Angeles ran the ad.

Telemundo said in response last month that the ad did not pass legal standards for issue-based advertisement and said that it supported employees right to join and not to join a union. It has opposed SAG-AFTRAs call for recognition as the bargaining rep and urged SAG-AFTRA instead to hold a secret ballot election.

Telemundo did not immediately respond Wednesday. The performers union asserted that Spanish-speaking performers at Telemundo are paid less than half of their English-speaking counterparts at NBC and dont receive health benefits, residuals or other basic protections that are routinely provided to English-speaking performers at its sister network.

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This is a win for the performers on this program and we are thrilled that Telemundos Latin American Music Awards will be covered by a SAG-AFTRA agreement, said SAG-AFTRA national executive director David White. We encourage NBCUniversal and Telemundo to continue to work with SAG-AFTRA to ensure equal protections for Spanish-language performers throughout the Telemundo production universe.

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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff

Salesforce just bought another company, its third this month, after spending $4 billion on acquisitions over the past year.

Salesforce's latest acquisition is Gravitytank, a Chicago-based consulting agency. The deal was announced through Gravitytank's website.

A Salesforce representative confirmed the transaction but declined to disclose the price.

Gravitytank is slightly different from the types of companies Salesforce has been scooping up lately, which were mostly in the tech software and artificial intelligence spaces.

According to its website, Gravitytank is an "innovation consultancy" with a more than 60 people, a third of whom are teaching at universities. It primarily offers branding advice to its clients and has done work for Frito-Lay and Goodyear previously. The company was founded in 1999.

In any case, it's an interesting move given how most tech deals of this scale are done to acquire engineering talent.

It's also a sign that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff won't stop his record-high acquisition spree anytime soon. During his most recent earnings call, Benioff hinted that the buying spree would most likely continue through the end of the year.

"This M&A window, I talked about that I think on the last call, openly in the press, seems to have opened for the year," he said. "I think it will probably close, probably at the end of this calendar year. But it's been incredible time for us to acquire some phenomenal assets."

NOW WATCH: NASA just took these incredible images of mysterious rock formations on Mars





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Ever since Shah Rukh Khan announced the release of his upcoming film Raees, fans have been eagerly waiting for its release. After the delay in the film's release there has been very little news from their quarter. To the fans' surprise director Rahul Dholakia gave them an Eid treat by sharing a dialogue from the film on Twitter.

Chalo eid pe film Nahi, Ek Chhota sa dialogue hi Sahi:

"Gussa shaitaan Ka Hunar hai, issliye haraam hai" #raees @RaeesTheFilm #EidMubaarak  rahul dholakia (@rahuldholakia) September 13, 2016

We wonder if Shah Rukh will himself be mouthing the dialogues. This is the only official input that has come from the filmmakers after the teaser release in July 2015.

Also starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, the film will have Shah Rukh playing the role of a bootlegger.

While the period crime drama pushed its release date to avoid a clash with Salman Khan-starrer Sultan it is now all set to clash with Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kaabil on 26 January, 2017.

With such powerful dialogues we really can't wait to see more from the film.
You know that old saying about working with children and animals? It mustve been bouncing around Hollywood actor Same Neills head for quite some time after he was brutally mocked by 13-year-old co-star Julian Dennison on live TV.

The veteran Jurassic Park actor buried his head in his hands when the shows presenters Matt Baker and Alex Jones quizzed Julian during an interview to plug their new movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Sam Neil

To be honest, Id never heard of Sam, the cocky kid explained when asked how he felt when landing the part alongside the 69-year-old Jurassic Park star. I did search him up on Google, looked on his Wikipedia and I saw that he was in Jurassic Park and Im like ah cool.

Have you seen Jurassic Park? asked Matt Baker, in a bid to get the conversation back on track. Julians brilliant reply: Ive seen about half of it  fell asleep.

Ouch.

samneil2

Viewers were instantly charmed by the funny 13-year-old, and took to social media in droves to praise his performance, with one fan calling him beyond cool.

#theoneshow this kid with Sam Neil's not shy #Jeez  Ryan Molloy (@rmolloy786) September 14, 2016

The kid on The One Show is beyond cool! ????"hadn't heard of Sam Neill" Whaaaaa????! #theoneshow #verycool  ????Hello???? (@Lizzie63) September 14, 2016

Precocious child actor KLAXON #TheOneShow  Catherine (@Catfinkle) September 14, 2016



Julian also had the audience hooting with laughter at an unenthusiastic quip about balancing his schoolwork with his acting. Er, yeah school, he said hesitantly. Yeah, they support me and they help me with work.

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Im going to take the last three years off acting to concentrate with school.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople, the story of a manhunt sparked when Julian and Sams characters go missing in the New Zealand bush, is out in cinemas on Friday.

Judging by his One Show performance, Julian is definitely one to watch.
DUBAI (Reuters) - A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh's management of the haj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes toward Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom. Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be seen as a reference to Iran, added that the orderly conduct of the pilgrimage this year "is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom". The remarks carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Wednesday evening follow an escalating war of words between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia since a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage a year ago in which hundreds of pilgrims, many of them Iranians, died. SPA quoted Prince Khaled as telling journalists his message to the Iranian leadership was "I pray to God Almighty to guide them and to deter them from their transgression and their wrong attitudes toward their fellow Muslim among the Arabs in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and around the world". "But if they are preparing an army to invade us, we are not easily taken by someone who would make war on us." "When we desire, and with the help of God Almighty, we will deter every aggressor and will never relent in protecting this holy land and our dear country. No one can defile any part from our country if any one of us remains on the face of the earth." No top Iranian leader has called for war with Saudi Arabia, something neither country wants. But last year's haj disaster, and the execution in January of dissident Saudi Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, triggered months of scathing Iranian criticism of the kingdom. Riyadh broke off relations with Tehran after its embassy there was attacked by Iranians protesting against Nimr's death. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards promised "harsh revenge" for Nimr's death. Iran blamed the 2015 haj disaster on Saudi incompetence, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sept. 5 said some of the Iranians who died had been "murdered" by Saudi Arabia. He said Muslims should not let Saudi rulers escape responsibility for "crimes" he said they had committed in Arab conflicts. (Reporting by Mostafa Hashem, Noah Browning; Editing by William Maclean, Robert Birsel)
By Paul Carrel and Michael Nienaber BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, defended Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy on Thursday and urged her conservatives to stop bickering over the issue ahead of Sunday's Berlin city vote. A battle over migration between Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), has escalated since the CDU suffered a heavy election defeat in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern this month. Merkel's decision a year ago to open German borders has hit her popularity and is again dominating campaigning ahead of Sunday's election in Berlin, boosting support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Germany took in around a million migrants last year - an influx that hurt Merkel and raised questions about whether she will even run for a fourth term in 2017. "So far, there is no one in Germany who has received one euro less for his family or his children because refugees have come here," Schaeuble, Germany's longest-serving lawmaker, told television station ZDF in an interview. Schaeuble accused the AfD of fuelling fears. "We haven't cut one euro, people are just talked into believing this," he said. "The burqa is not the biggest problem in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," he added of the state, where unemployment is running at 11 percent, far above the national average of just over 6 percent. Schaeuble said the debate over migration was fuelling anxiety in Germany. "If we manage to solve this problem, the CDU and CSU, then we will also be able to stop the rising insecurity in the population," he said. Schaeuble, who turns 74 on Sunday, said he would stand for parliament in next year's federal election. He said his decision was not a signal that he could be a chancellor-in-waiting or that he would necessarily remain finance minister. CSU leader Horst Seehofer has pushed for a cap of 200,000 immigrants per year. Merkel has repeatedly ruled out any such limits. Schaeuble said a European solution to the migrant issue was needed. This involved securing the bloc's external borders, agreeing migration deals with countries like Turkey and distributing refugees across Europe. Such a solution was taking shape, if slowly, he said. "If I calculate a reasonable distribution across Europe, then 200,000 out of a million is not an inappropriate share for Germany, it's rather a little high," he said. (Editing by Andrew Roche)
From Esquire

In November 2005, South Park aired the infamous in which Stan joins Scientology. Along with Tom Cruise locking himself in a closet and Stan becoming the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, the episode includes segments explaining the actual Scientology doctrine, which involves dictator of the Galactic Confederacy Xenu bringing his people to Earth and killing them with hydrogen bombs.

South Park didn't have to do much to make fun of this batshit cult founded by a science fiction author. They simply explained the basis of the religion with the caption: "What Scientologists Actually Believe."

Anyway, the episode caused some controversy among noted Scientologists like Tom Cruise, who allegedly threatened to back out of his Mission: Impossible III contract if the Viacom-owned Comedy Central ever aired the episode again.

Among other enraged Scientologists was Isaac Hayes, who happened to voice the character of Chef on the series. Following the episode's first airing, Hayes publicly left the show in anger, saying in a statement, "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends, and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins."

Matt Stone clarified at the time that Hayes indeed left the show because it made fun of Scientology.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related Stories" customtitles="What Will South Park Predict in Season 20?|South Park Is Back and Taking on Kaepernick" customimages="|" content="article.48574|article.48552"]

"This has nothing to do with intolerance and bigotry and everything to do with the fact that Isaac Hayes is a Scientologist and that we recently featured Scientology in an episode of South Park," Stone said.

But according to a new oral history of the first 20 years of South Park, this might not have been the case. As Stone tells The Hollywood Reporter, they didn't show Hayes the episode before it aired because they didn't want him to be held accountable. After it aired, Stone said he came to them on behalf of Scientology to pull the episode. Four months later, he left the show. As Hayes's son tells The Hollywood Reporter:

Story continues

Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park; someone quit South Park for him. What happened was that in January 2006 my dad had a stroke and lost the ability to speak. He really didn't have that much comprehension, and he had to relearn to play the piano and a lot of different things. He was in no position to resign under his own knowledge. At the time, everybody around my father was involved in Scientology - his assistants, the core group of people. So someone quit South Park on Isaac Hayes' behalf. We don't know who ... My father was not that big of a hypocrite to be part of a show that would constantly poke fun at African-American people, Jewish people, gay people-and only quit when it comes to Scientology. He wouldn't be that hypocritical.

This wouldn't be shocking, considering the lengths Scientology has gone to protect itself. Earlier this month, reports circulated that Katie Holmes could come forward as early as next year to spill details about Scientology and her marriage to Tom Cruise after signing a contract of silence after her divorce.

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Scott Eastwood loves the ladies, and the ladies love him.

The handsome 30-year-old actor recently appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, airing Thursday, when he confirmed he was single, and also had no issue discussing his racy underwear habits. When DeGeneres gifted him with her signature boxers bearing the show's logo, Eastwood admitted that he had already put them to good use.

"I am wearing it," Eastwood said. "I've never been on your show before. I got here and I got off the plane and I didn't have any underwear, or wasn't wearing any underwear, but now I have underwear."

PICS: Celebrities In Their Underwear

"Long night in New York ..." he joked when asked why he chose to go commando on his flight.

Eastwood also had some fun with his fellow guest, Jimmy Kimmel, when the two walked around the Warner Bros. lot to play a live version of "Who'd You Rather?," in which random people were asked who they, ahem, preferred.

Not surprisingly, the Suicide Squad actor overwhelmingly got the vote, but not before teaching Kimmel a thing or two about giving a sexy smolder.

WATCH: Shia LaBeouf Says He Almost Got Scott Eastwood's Part in 'Suicide Squad'

ET spoke with 48-year-old Kimmel on Wednesday about his big gig hosting the Emmys this Sunday, when he revealed that nominee Tom Hiddleston was safe from any onstage quips about the British actor's recent highly publicized split from Taylor Swift.

"I think it's a little bit weird when somebody goes through a breakup and suddenly they're on camera and everyone's making fun of them," Kimmel exclusively explained to ET. "It's a strange thing -- one of the strangest things about Hollywood."

Watch below:

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New Delhi: Amazon is improving its foothold in India and the American e-commerce giant could be the second biggest player after Flipkart in the online retail market by 2019, says a new Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.

India could also become Amazon's second largest market (after the US) as it plans to invest $5 billion in its India business, the report released on Tuesday said.

"For last couple of months, Amazon India gross sales are higher than that of Flipkart standalone (excluding Myntra)," it added.

"We now expect Amazon's GMV (gross merchandise value) market share to improve to 37 per cent by 2019 from 21 per cent in 2015 and expect it to be close No 2 behind Flipkart," the report said.

While revenues are relatively small to Amazon's global scale, Amazon India could generate $81 billion in GMV and $2.2bn in operating profit by 2025.

Most of Amazon's gains have come at the expense of Snapdeal and other sellers, not Flipkart, according to the report.

Flipkart still remains the market leader in India and "even in terms of customer satisfaction, reports indicate that it remains the leader, ahead of both Amazon and Snapdeal", according to the report.

Amazon has been able to benefit from global brand and establishing reliability of service among consumers, concentrating on offering superior customer service and wider assortment of products.

Amazon has also tied up with Vakrangee, a franchisee with strong presence in rural/underdeveloped areas to fortify its rural presence at relatively lower investments.

As of June this year, Amazon is already active in more than 1,000 outlets, with plans , to increase to 75,000 outlets by 2020, the report noted.

Alibaba is looking to enter into the Indian e-commerce market by early next year as a more direct entry, despite it having investments in PayTM/Snapdeal.

"We note that similar to Amazon, Alibaba likely considers India as the next big market apart from its home market and is looking to gain traction there," the report said.
MILTON, ON / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Caseo, an SEO company in Milton, Ontario, Canada, has been in business for two years now. They are proud to announce that, since updating their website, they have experienced exponential growth. In fact, in January 2015, they had just five clients, which has now grown to 60. As such, in the two years since they have started, they have experienced 1600% growth.

Todd Foster from Caseo says: "The growth we have experienced is nothing short of unprecedented. Even we could not have hoped to do this well. We really want to thank all our clients for their continued trust and support, and we look forward to many more years of positive business relationships."

Caseo offers SEO (search engine optimization) services across the Ontario region, including Toronto. Besides SEO, they also work with their clients on a range of other issues. These include web development, pay per click management, conversion rate optimization, social media marketing services, and even promotional materials. As such, they offer a full service to those who want to boost their online presence. Full details about the work that they do can be found at https://caseo.ca/ontario/seo-toronto/.

One of the areas they specifically focus on right now is social media marketing. In fact, as part of their own website redesign, they have included their own social media channels in an effort to demonstrate the strength of this type of marketing. "Social media is one of the most important tools available for businesses today," adds Todd Foster. "It offers them a way to promote their business, grow their brand, sell their products, and engage their customers. Social media is also a very strong crowd sourcing tool, enabling a business to get direct input from customers and build greater brand loyalty."

More details about the social media marketing services offered by Caseo are available through https://caseo.ca/our-services/social-media-marketing/. Specifically, they enable businesses to engage in relationship marketing, backed by excellent stats to allow for monitoring. They encourage any business to use the contact form provided on their website to find out what they can do for them. A representative from Caseo will reply to any email within two business days.

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Contact Caseo:



Todd Foster

2898784798

todd@caseo.ca

192 Main St East

SOURCE: Caseo
BELGRADE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A tender for a 25 percent stake in Serbia's loss-making, state-owned pharmaceutical company Galenika has attracted only one valid bid, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.

Serbia has promised to sell, shut or slim down unprofitable state firms to fulfil the conditions of a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, but bidders for generously-staffed, indebted companies have been hard to find.

Of three bids submitted for the company, which has debts of $220 million, only the one submitted by a Russian-British consortium for the minimum asking price of 7 million euros was valid, a state privatisation commission said.

Other state companies for which Serbia is seeking buyers include the RTB Bor copper mine and the Resavica coal mine.

The consortium of Britain's Frontier Pharma and Russia's Petrovax Pharm promised to keep 700 jobs at Galenika's plant, the Economy Ministry said. The government has not yet decided whether to accept the bid or open talks with the consortium.

In April, Serbia sold its Zelezara Smederevo steel mill to China's Hebei Iron & Steel Group for 46 million euros.

Of Galenika's $220 million debt, $50 million is owed to commercial banks and the rest to the state. A proposed $8.7 million sale of Galenika to Valeant failed in June 2013.

($1 = 0.8896 euros) (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Thomas Escritt and Mark Potter)
Any substantive negotiations regarding how the U.K. should leave the European Union are not likely to take place at least for another year, said the former president of the European Council.

Herman Van Rompuy told BBC Radio 4s Today program that he thinks the more serious talks would likely begin only after Germany has gone to the polls and formed a new government next September.

Previously, British Prime Minister Theresa May has told the country that her government would not activate procedures under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty  which officially dictates how an E.U. member state should withdraw from the union  before next year.

Read More: These 5 Facts Explain Why Brexit Could Lead to a U.K. Breakup

Van Rompuy denied that there are wishes within the E.U. to punish Britain for choosing to leave, but characterized Brexit, the result of a referendum on June 23, as political amputation.

There are huge economic interests, but there are also red lines, he added, naming the freedom of movement by citizens of E.U. countries within the union as one example.

Read More: The Worst of the Brexit Fallout Is Still to Hit the U.K.

The former Prime Minister of Belgium, who led the European Council between 2009 and 2014, suggested that the main reason for the referendum result lies in Britain, and that the country had not many friends anymore.

His comments come as leaders of the other 27 E.U. members states are set to discuss the organizations future in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.

[BBC]
Women in burqas and those wearing surgical masks should refrain from concealing their faces in public, the Philippine president's mayor daughter said Thursday, describing the measure as aimed at preventing attacks.

Sara Duterte, mayor of Davao and daughter of firebrand leader Rodrigo Duterte, made the remarks as police hunt for the suspects -- seen on CCTV wearing face masks -- behind a bombing this month that killed 15 in the southern city.

"It would be a good security practice to disallow garments that cover the faces in public places," the mayor said in a written statement.

"These garments include hats, sunglasses, face masks, mouth masks, burqa, face paint, and other similar things."

She said she understood the concerns of Muslim women who are required by their religion to cover up.

"May I suggest that you wear the hijab which shows your face or cooperate with the security personnel and show your face if you are wearing the burqa," the mayor said.

Muslim women in the majority Catholic nation usually favour a hijab, which covers only the hair, over the face-concealing burqa, though it is growing in popularity.

"The general welfare of the majority takes precedence over religious tradition. While it is true that these garments are not disallowed by law, we discourage their use in public places," the mayor added.

Surgical masks are commonly worn by commuters in Asian cities, to block out pollution, or sometimes to stop the spread of illness.

Since the deadly blast in the bustling market in Davao on September 2, which led to the president declaring a "state of lawlessness", the city has introduced checkpoints and armed security at key establishments.

The government has blamed the attack on local Islamic militants.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Sienna Resources Inc (SIE.V) (HRJ1.F) (OTC Pink: SNNAF) wishes to announce that Sienna Resources has now been cleared by FINRA and now fully quoted on the OTC Markets under the new symbol SNNAF.

Jason Gigliotti, President of Sienna Resources Inc. stated, "We are now fully quoted on the OTC Markets. This will enable our USA shareholders to be able to see a live quote which will create far greater transparency on the trading. We have had a large amount of interest from individuals located in the USA since announcing our Clayton Valley Deep Basin Lithium Brine Project and we felt it was prudent to have a full quote for those shareholders. We are also very pleased to hear that our neighbour, Pure Energy has had more success drilling on their recent deep drill program. It was the deepest drilling to date and ended in brine at depth. Considering Sienna's property is located in the deepest sections of this basin, we are very optimistic about our planned future work program."

We are also very fortunate to be able to engage GeoXplor who have the most intimate knowledge of Clayton Valley. The GeoXplor team have been instrumental with the development and discovery regarding the lithium brine deposit that Pure Energy Minerals Limited has, and we look forward to utilizing their experience and expertise to develop our "Clayton Valley Deep Basin Lithium Brine Project." GeoXplor has proven to be the preeminent Clayton Valley lithium brine discovery team. We are very excited to start up our program as Sienna is located in the deepest sections of the basin that holds the only lithium development in Nevada

Sienna's "Clayton Valley Deep Basin Lithium Brine Project" is located directly between and bordering Pure Energy Minerals Limited and Lithium X Energy Corp. The "Clayton Valley Deep Basin Lithium Brine Project" is located in parts of the deepest sections (refer to the map) of the only lithium brine basin with a producing operation in North America (Albemarle's Silver Peak Mine).

Story continues

To view an enhanced version of Clayton Valley Deep Basin Lithium Brine Project Map, please visit: [http://www.accesswire.com/uploads/SIENNA91516.jpg]

John Rud M.Sc. Geologist and a Principal of GeoXplor Corp states that "We look forward to working with the Sienna team as their project is located in the deepest sections of the Clayton Valley Basin, the only producing lithium brine basin in North America, with no company to date, testing these deeper sections. Their (Sienna's) efforts in this regard is something we are very excited about".

President Jason Gigliotti will also be presenting at the MoneyShow in Toronto on September 16 and 17 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This show is a well-attended show that features many fund managers and individual high net worth investors. Please feel free to come ask questions in person.

If you would like to be added to Sienna's email list please send an email to info@siennaresources.com or our twitter account at @SiennaResources

Contact Information

Tel: 1.604.646.6900

Fax: 1.604.689.1733

www.siennaresources.com

info@siennaresources.com

"Jason Gigliotti"

President, Director

Sienna Resources Inc.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE: Sienna Resources Inc.
Heres your ceasefire. Syrian government and rebel forces are due to pull back from their positions along the critical Castello road in Aleppo on Thursday, allowing humanitarian aid convoys to begin entering the bloodied and besieged city by Friday. But so far, no ones moving. And it looks like both sides are waiting for the other to go first.

Even if they pulled back, the first convoy of 40 U.N. aid trucks slated to enter the city remains stuck in Turkey. The international bodys Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said Thursday that the Syrian government has yet to issue facilitation letters that would to allow the convoys passage into Aleppo.

Prime time players. Earlier this week, the Russian army moved some troops into position along Castello road in preparation for the rebel/government withdrawal, but in an embarrassing moment, two officers came under heavy fire while giving a briefing on live television. FP has footage of the gunfight, and the confused officers, here.

Things seem to be going well enough in the overall ceasefire for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to agree Wednesday to keep it going. The AP got its hands on more details of the agreement Wednesday, most of which is consistent with other small leaks by officials.

Washington to Moscow, cooperating because they have to. Its clear that most people in Washington are pretty wary of Russias intentions in Syria, as comments from a variety of military and civilian officials spelled out Wednesday. Speaking at an event hosted by the Institute for the Study of War, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel, said theres a trust deficit between the two sides, and it is not clear to us what their objectives are, in Syria. The Russians say one thing and then they dont necessarily follow up on that.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter  no fan of the deal in Syria  added during a speech in Austin, Tx., weve got a ways to go to see whether the ceasefire be implemented, but if it is, it will mean that Russia gets on the right side of things in Syria, not on the wrong side, and thats good news.

Story continues

The new, old Cold War. Washingtons spy agencies are playing catch-up big time with Russia, an intel official tells the Washington Post. The new effort involves clandestine CIA operatives, National Security Agency cyberespionage capabilities, satellite systems and other intelligence assets, officials said, describing a shift in resources across spy services that had previously diverted attention from Russia to focus on terrorist threats and U.S. war zones. Washington has been scrambling to rebuild its Russia-focused capabilities that atrophied over the past 15 years, as all eyes were on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Same old story in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has long been a corrupt place, FPs David Francis writes, and the United States has nothing to make it better. In fact, its made it worse, according to new findings released Wednesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. In its first Lessons Learned report, the watchdog agency concluded that the American presence in Afghanistan since 2001 helped grow corruption by injecting tens of billions of dollars into the local economy with poor oversight and broken contracting practices. SIGAR also found the United States partnered with corrupt Afghan players.

Remember these guys? Congress is back, however briefly, before taking October off to prep for the presidential and congressional elections in November, and the Senate Armed Services Committee has invited the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Hill Thursday to discuss long-term budgetary challenges. Therell be 16 stars perched atop shoulders at the table, including Army Chief Gen. Mark Milley, Navy CNO Adm. John Richardson, Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, and Air Force Chief Gen. David Goldfein. Its all happening at 9:30 a.m. and livestream is here.

Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley

Korean peninsula

Theres no end in sight for North Koreas nuclear weapons ambitions with experts estimating that Pyongyang now has enough fuel to make 20 bombs. Reuters polled nuclear experts, who told the wire service that the Norths production capability has expanded thanks to the end of international constraints on its plutonium production and a growing indigenous uranium enrichment program. Going forward, the Hermit Kingdom is expected to be able to produce enough fuel for an additional six nuclear weapons every year.

South Korea may be quietly inquiring whether the United States would be willing to share control of some nuclear weapons, in order to cope with the threat of North Koreas growing nuke ambitions. Asahi Shimbun says a source well-versed in U.S.-South Korea relations told the paper that U.S. officials asked if theyd be interested in re-deploying nuclear weapons to the South and giving Korean officials joint control of them. The U.S. removed all of its nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991. American officials were reportedly cold to the suggestion and didnt want to entertain it for fear of destabilizing the region.

France

Faced with an onslaught of attacks both directed and inspired by the Islamic State, France is trying its hand at deradicalization. The Washington Post reports that France is opening a dozen deradicalization centers throughout the country aimed at helping those who want to leave the life of Islamist militancy behind. The voluntary 10-month course offers a civics and patriotism-heavy curriculum with instruction in French culture and history. Critics, however, doubt that the centers will be effective and accuse the government of improvising unproven strategies.

Syria

Theres a push underway to grant the next Nobel Peace Prize to Syrias White Helmets, according to the New York Times. A handful of celebrities have signed onto a petition urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to grant the prestigious Peace Prize to the White Helmets, also known as Syrian Civil Defense. The volunteer group works to help rescue civilians trapped under the rubble of airstrikes carried out by Russian and Assad regime aircraft. So far, celebrities like George Clooney and Aziz Ansari have signed the petition.

Iraq

Iraqs factions are preparing both for the battle to retake Mosul and the battle for the remains of the Islamic States caliphate. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kurdish forces are trying to seize as much territory from the jihadist group as possible as leverage in negotiations for greater independence from Iraqs central government in Baghdad. For the moment, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani appears to be heeding calls from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to reign in Kurdish advances. But the towns and villages the Peshmerga have captured around Mosul could be used to bargain for more oil revenue or referendums on joining Kurdistan.

Technology

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced on Wednesday that Austin will be getting its own Defense Innovation Unit (Experimental) or DIU(X) office, which he set up last year to function as the Pentagons in-house effort to reach out to the private sector and stay on top of emerging technologies. The DIU(X) Austin office will have a comparatively light footprint compared to the Boston and Silicon Valley offices, renting offices in an existing technology incubator and employing troops from the local National Guard and Reserve, according to Breaking Defense. The Pentagon says its teeing up $65 million to invest in another 22 agreements for the DIU(X) program.

Army

The first woman to try out for the Special Forces after the Pentagon lifted a ban on women in ground combat roles failed to finish the course, according to a scoop from the Washington Times. Officials arent saying what caused the unnamed enlisted soldier to flunk the grueling Special Forces Assessment and Selection course. A number of reasons  from quitting, to injury to being removed by instructors  could explain her leaving the course.

Photo Credit: Ensar Ozdemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
"Thank you to everybody who was there for me when I was going through depressed times. I dont know man, Im so thankful. With no record label we just traveled the world," Skepta said today as he accepted the widely respected Mercury Prize (awarded to the year's best album from United Kingdom and Ireland).

The surprise win over names like Radiohead, David Bowie, and Laura Mvula reflected grime's recent emergence in mainstream culture in recent years. Skepta was sure to give a nod to fellow grime nominee Kano: "Kano did this for us and the love is there. Kano love you for life man."

The awardwhich includes past winners James Blake, Alt-J, and grime forefather Dizzee Rascalhad received plenty of coverage for its first posthumous nomination of David Bowie's Blackstar. While Bowie was widely considered the favorite for the award, judge Jarvis Cocker explained: "We as a jury decided that if David Bowie was looking down on the Hammersmith Apollo tonight, he would want the 2016 prize to go to Skepta."

If you haven't already, listen to Skepta's award-winning Konnichiwa below.

Continue Reading On Complex
Invisicare Enhances the Delivery of Topical Medical Marijuana in New Product Line

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (SKVI), developers of patented Invisicare polymer delivery systems, announces it has licensed the exclusive world rights to its topical and transdermal cannabis products formulated with Invisicare to CannaSkin, LLC, a cannabis product licensing company with international contacts in the medical marijuana industry.

CannaSkin has the exclusive license to manufacture, market and sub-license Skinvisible's new cannabis products. Their targets will initially include facilities in the 25 US jurisdictions currently approved for medical marijuana as well as Canada and Israel where there is a great demand for cannabis products supported by science.

Skinvisible will utilize its patented skin delivery system Invisicare to formulate and deliver high-quality topical cannabinoid products containing CBD and THC. CBD has proven to have many therapeutic effects and it does not produce the "high" associated with THC. Cannabinoids have been used to treat many skin conditions, from acne, eczema, psoriasis, skin cancer, to anti-aging, due to their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Skinvisible's Invisicare technology allows for the superior binding of these products to the skin, a controlled release of the cannabinoids both topically and transdermally, as well as providing patent protection.

"We are excited to enter into the emerging global cannabis market with CannaSkin, an extremely qualified partner in the cannabis industry," said Terry Howlett, President of Skinvisible. "Skinvisible will bring a new era of cannabis products; ones supported by science and patents. Our objective is to provide superior products with many options for medical marijuana consumers."

There is rapid growth in the number of legalized marijuana jurisdictions in the USA and internationally and with that, revenues growing at an exponential rate. According to AcrView Market Research, legal US cannabis sales are projected to increase by 25% in 2016 to $6.7 billion.

Story continues

About Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals is a R&D company that licenses its proprietary formulations made with Invisicare, its patented polymer delivery system that offers life-cycle management and unique enhancements for topically delivered products. Invisicare holds active ingredients on the skin for extended periods of time along with controlling the release of actives. Kintari Int. Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary markets its cosmeceutical and OTC products.

www.skinvisible.com

www.invisicare.com

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains 'forward looking' statements within the meaning of Section 21A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties associated with an emerging company. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of risk factors discussed in Skinvisible, Inc. reports on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including, but not limited to, a report on Form 10Q for the period ending June 30, 2016).

Contact:

Doreen McMorran, Skinvisible Inc.

info@skinvisible.com

Phone: 702-433-7154

SOURCE: Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Washington: As the global agricultural sector races to consolidate, Bayer AG's $66 billion all-cash deal to acquire Monsanto Co will test growing political and consumer unease in the United States and abroad over the future of food production.

Bayers pesticide-focused agricultural business has few overlaps with Monsanto's dominant seed franchise, according to the companies' executives. Still, marrying two of the world's top farm suppliers at a time when rivals are also merging is fueling concern over reduced competition in the $100 billion global market.

Monsanto and Bayer "have chosen to do a deal in the year of merging dangerously," said David Balto, a former policy director at the US Federal Trade Commission. "They are in for a tough time."

US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has called a hearing next Tuesday to scrutinize the wave of consolidation. Farmers in Iowa, the Republican senator's home state, are worried that seed and chemical costs are rising while grain prices are near their lowest levels in years. Farm incomes have plunged.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who recently ended a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, called the deal "a threat to all Americans."

"These mergers boost the profits of huge corporations and leave Americans paying even higher prices," he said.

Senators Mike Lee and Amy Klobuchar, the two top antitrust lawmakers, also expressed concern. "The transaction has the potential to result in a significant loss of competition and reduced incentives and ability to innovate, thereby raising prices," said Lee, a Republican from Utah.

Monsanto agreed to sell itself to Bayer for $128 per share in cash, yet its shares hovered around $107 Wednesday, reflecting investor uncertainty about regulators. Bayer has agreed to pay Monsanto a $2 billion breakup fee if the deal is thwarted.

The German company aims to create a one-stop shop for seeds, crop chemicals and computer-aided services to farmers.

That was the idea behind Monsanto's swoop on Syngenta AG last year. The Swiss company fended off that offer only to agree later to a takeover by China's state-owned ChemChina.

US chemicals giants Dow Chemical Co and DuPont plan to merge and spin off their seeds and crop chemicals operations into a major agribusiness.

If all these deals close, three companies would control nearly 70 percent of the world's pesticide market and 80 percent of the US corn-seed market.

In addition, Canadian fertilizer producers Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc and Agrium Inc said on Monday they agreed to merge, sparking questions of whether regulators will sign off on the new company's potential pricing power.

Inevitable scrutiny

It has been a tough year for aggressive mega-deals. Antitrust authorities have challenged agreements ranging from oilfield services mergers to health insurance buyouts. Other regulators have cracked down on deals that aid tax avoidance or risk harming national security.

The Monsanto and Bayer deal, which would be the largest-ever all-cash acquisition, faces intense and lengthy regulatory processes in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere, experts said.

"This merger is not a slam dunk," said Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute.

Hugh Grant, Monsanto's chief executive officer, told reporters the companies will need to file in about 30 jurisdictions.

Monsanto and Bayer have had "initial contacts with regulatory agencies describing what this combination would be about," Bayer Chief Executive Officer Werner Baumann said on an investor call, and "received encouraging feedback."

The value of assets Bayer is willing to divest is to be revealed by next week, when details of the merger agreement become public, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Areas of potential overlap include some soybeans, canola and cotton seeds.

Bayer's share of the US cotton seed market sits at 38.5 percent, while Monsanto is 31.2 percent, according to data compiled by the Konkurrenz Group.

"I would have to say this: I think there will be some concern from the growers because of the consolidation," said Craig Brown, a vice president of the National Cotton Council of America. Brown said the council had taken no formal position on the proposed deal.

Tough year

US antitrust enforcers will look at more than product overlaps, said Moss.

"People don't get the enormous impact that these deals can have on innovation markets. You need more innovators in there battling it out so that you actually do produce new technology for farmers, she said.

The deals would leave farmers facing a duopoly in seed (Bayer/Monsanto and Dow) and two big firms in chemicals (Syngenta and Bayer/Monsanto), she said.

In terms of the US, corn seeds and traits market, according to Morgan Stanley Research, a merged Dow and DuPont would have about a 41 percent market share, while a merged Monsanto-Bayer would have about 36 percent. In soybean seeds and traits, the group estimated a merged Dow/DuPont would have about 38 percent. Monsanto-Bayer would have 28 percent.

The US political landscape, after the November federal election, also will influence these ag-related deals.

Maurice Stucke, formerly in the Justice Department now with the Konkurrenz Group, called it highly unlikely that Obama administration antitrust enforcers, who have knocked down a long list of big mergers in concentrated industries this year, would make the final decision on Bayer-Monsanto.

"Merger reviews of this complexity would take six to nine months," Stucke said. "This would be the first major test of the new administration."
Not long after Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia announced a plan to atone for the schools active participation in slaverywhich included the 1838 sale of 272 slaves, which kept the school financially afloatthe descendants of those slaves are now calling on the school to do more. Beyond the proposed monument and admission preferences, they are asking the university to partner with them to raise $1 billion to finance a reconciliation project. The group first raised $115,000 in seed money, which was the amount Georgetown received for the slave sale.

Their effort to extend the conversation beyond DeGioias statement is fitting, as it is worth remembering that the relationship between the slave economy and Americas academies did not stop at the sale of human beings. That continuing transaction is one of the points underlined by the research of Craig Steven Wilder, the foremost expert on the topic and the author of Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery and the Troubled History of Americas Universities.

Georgetown was founded in 1789 by John Carroll, the first Catholic Bishop in the U.S. As noted by Wilder in his chapter War and Priest: Catholic Colleges and Slavery in the Age of Revolution in Slaverys Capitalism: A New History of American Economic Development, members of the Catholic clergy relied on the profits from several plantations for funding of church and campus alike. For the first 40 years of Georgetowns existence, the college was tuition free, with the help of the funds provided by the slavery economy.

And the history of the Catholic Church and Georgetown University is hardly unique, as the colonial-era Protestant Church similarly invested and profited from a thriving slave economy while building institutions of higher learning based upon American Indian and African slavery. Many American universities were also built with the use of slave labor, and enslaved people were instrumental in the maintenance and daily upkeep of American college campuses.

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Slaves were a ubiquitous presence on college campuses. As one Yale chronicler stated it was common custom of the times to own Negro and Indian slaves. . . Such slaves were used to attend the personal needs of the president, rectors, governors, faculty, students and campus grounds.

College presidents, many of whom were also slave owners, used slaves as personal attendants and as house servants to maintain the presidents mansion. Harvard president Increase Mather (from 1692-1701), used an enslaved man gifted to him by his son Cotton Mather, to run errands for the college. Harvard president Benjamin Wadsworth (1725-1737) brought his slave Titus, who lived with his family, to the college and bought a Negro Wench two days before arriving on campus. Benjamin Franklin, founder of the College of Philadelphia; the first eight presidents of the College of New Jersey (Princeton); and Georgetown presidents Fathers Louis William Valentin DuBourg (1796-1798) and Stephen L. Dubuisson (1825-1826), as Wilders research highlights, all acquired and used slaves for their own personal service during their tenure as the top college administrator.

Some faculty and students had their own personal servants as well. When a group of Harvard scholars and students came together about a decade ago to research the universitys historical involvement with slavery, they found that the Massachusetts school was home to many slaves during the 18th century, like Ciceely, a slave owned by Professor of Hebrew Judah Monis.

Campus chores were in abundance and enslaved people were burdened with the most arduous tasks, as according to Wilder:

In the mornings, the professors and scholars needed wood for fires, water for washing, and breakfast after morning prayers in the chapel. As students ate, their rooms were cleaned, chamber pots emptied, and beds made. Multiple meals had to be produced every day in the kitchens. Ashes needed to be cleared from fireplaces and stoves, and floors needed sweeping. Clothes and shoes were cleaned and mended. Fires were lighted and maintained. Buildings wanted for repairs, and servants were impressed into small- and large-scale projects. There were countless errands for governors, professors, and students.

In many ways, campus life echoed life on the plantation, as excess workers would be hired out to college-town locals, as demonstrated by a Dec. 19, 1826, advertisement from Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) that read:

Negroes For Hire. WILL be hired out for the coming year on Saturday the 30th instant before the Court House door, in Lexington, Twenty Likely Negroes, belonging to Washington College: consisting of Men, Women, Boys and Girls: many of them very valuable. Bond with good security will be required, to bear interest from the date if not punctually paid. Terms more particularly made known on the day. Saml MD. Reid, John Alexander, committee.

(When hiring out slaves proved less profitable, Washington College, like Georgetown would, sold slaves to recoup some of its loses.)

The enslaved population on college campuses also endured physical and emotional abuses. They were often conscripted into entertaining students, or terrorized by them. For example, enslaved people at the University of North Carolina were often subjected to so-called pranks that in at least one case in 1811 involved students running wild while attacking their servants. They endured whippings, dismemberments, brandings, secret sales that disrupted family units and sexual assault. This resulted in emotional trauma, leading some to commit suicide.

Slavery is a horrible and painful chapter of American history, the legacy of which continues to haunt the nation. While some would rather ignore it, we must no longer deny its reality or its effects. As DeGioia, speaking to the Georgetown University community stated, we cannot do our best work if we refuse to take ownership of such a critical part of our history . . . We must acknowledge it. Indeed, the full depth of slaverys contribution to early American academia must be openly acknowledged for truth and reconciliation to be fully achieved.

The Long View

Historians explain how the past informs the present

Arica L. Coleman is the author of That the Blood Stay Pure: African Americans, Native Americans and the Predicament of Race and Identity in Virginia and chair of the Committee on the Status of African American, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Historians and ALANA Histories at the Organization of American Historians.
A new bipartisan report by the House Intelligence Committee depicts former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden as a serial exaggerator and fabricator who only began downloading highly classified documents after being reprimanded over a workplace spat with his bosses.

The highly damning report, which accuses Snowden of doing tremendous damage to national security, was released by the committee late Thursday  the day before the release of a new Oliver Stone movie about the case that portrays its subject as a courageous whistleblower who exposed frightening and illegal surveillance by the U.S. government.

It also comes the same week that Snowdens supporters mounted a public campaign to win him a pardon from President Obama, allowing him to return from Moscow without facing a criminal prosecution that could result in years behind bars. It is a request that the White House has already rejected. (All members of the panel separately signed a letter urging Obama not to pardon Snowden.)

Edward Snowden is no hero  hes a traitor who willfully betrayed his colleagues and his country, said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the committee chairman. He put our service members and the American people at risk after perceived slights by his superiors. In light of his long list of exaggerations and outright fabrications detailed in this report, no one should take him at his word.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the panels ranking Democrat, told Yahoo News that the report was the product of a two-year investigation of Snowdens conduct that uncovered new details about his theft of government documents. I learned things, this was quite exhaustive, Schiff said in a telephone interview. The thing that leapt out to me  and Im glad we can now disclose it  is that the vast majority of what he took had nothing to do with civil liberties. They were military and defense documents, he said, that harmed national security.

Snowdens lawyer, Ben Wizner, immediately denounced the release as a dishonest report that attempts to discredit a genuine American hero. After years of investigation, the committee still cant point to any remotely credible evidence that Snowdens disclosures caused harm, he said. The truth is that Edward Snowden and the journalists with whom he worked did the job that the House Intelligence Committee was supposed to do: bring meaningful oversight to the U.S. intelligence community. They did so responsibly and carefully, and their efforts have led to historic reforms.

Story continues

Glenn Greenwald, one of the first journalists to receive documents from Snowden, immediately ridiculed the report on Twitter: BREAKING: Government officials dislike those who expose their illegal surveillance and trigger global debate about their surveillance. (For his part, Snowden mounted his own rebuttal on Twitter, disputing some of the reports connections and suggesting that the report was designed to discourage you from going to see the Stone movie.)

The full 36-page report by the committee remains classified, although Schiff said the panel intends to ask the office of the director of National Intelligence to declassify it so it can be made public. But a three-page executive summary released by the panel seeks to recast the narrative that has been shaped by Snowdens supporters and is expected to gain wide exposure through the Stone movie. Significantly, however, the executive summary makes no claim that Snowden was a spy or an agent of influence of Russian or Chinese intelligence, as some former U.S. intelligence officials have alleged.

Perhaps the most surprising new claims in the report relate to Snowdens work history as an NSA contractor and, before that, as a CIA employee. Snowden was repeatedly counseled by his managers regarding his behavior at work, the report states. It asserts that in June 2012, Snowden became involved in a fiery email argument with one of his supervisors about how computer updates should be managed. Snowden then copied a NSA senior executive several levels above to the email thread  an action that earned him a swift reprimand from his contracting officer for failing to follow the proper protocol for raising grievances through the chain of command.

It was two weeks after that, the report states, that Snowden began his massive downloading of classified documents from NSA computers. The timeline in the report would seem to undercut one of the episodes portrayed in the Stone movie: The film suggests that Director of National Intelligence James Clappers false testimony to the Senate  denying that the NSA collected information about American citizens  was among the motivations that prompted Snowden to act. (The film shows Snowden watching the testimony in disgust.) In fact, the report points out, that testimony by Clapper was given in March 2013  nine months after Snowden began downloading his material. (In one of his Twitter rebuttals, Snowden calls the reports claims false and appears to claim his initial downloads were authorized.)

The report summary also disputes Snowdens contention that he was careful about the government documents he leaked, giving only a select portion to responsible journalists so they could screen them and make sure those that were released did not do any actual damage to national security.

Snowden insists he has not shared the full cache of 1.5 million classified documents with anyone; however, in June 2016, the deputy chairman of the Russian parliaments defense and security committee publicly conceded that Snowden did share intelligence with his government.

The intelligence committee has carried out multiple reviews to assess the damage caused by Snowdens disclosures, according to the report. Even by a conservative estimate, it says, the U.S. Government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and will eventually spend billions, to attempt to mitigate the damage Snowden caused.

Disputing Snowdens contention that he was a whistleblower, the committee said that it found no evidence that Snowden took any official effort to express concerns about U.S. intelligence activities  legal, moral, or otherwise, noting that he never took his purported concerns about government surveillance to any oversight officials within the U.S. Government, despite numerous avenues for him to do so. (Snowden has said that he knew that any such protests over highly classified programs would have been shut down before they saw the light of day.) The report also asserts that Snowden failed basic annual training for NSA employees on conducting overseas surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and then complained the training was rigged to be overly difficult.

Finally, the report accuses Snowden of misleading his colleagues and compromising their privacy. To gather the files he took with him when he left the country for Hong Kong he obtained his colleagues security credentials through misleading means, abused his access as a systems administrator to search his co-workers personal drives, and removed the personally identifiable information of thousands of IC [Intelligence Community] employees and contractors, the report states.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African state prosecutors will approach the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to challenge Oscar Pistorius' six-year murder sentence after failing with a similar bid at a lower court, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Thursday. State prosecutors, led by advocate Gerrie Nel, will file an application to appeal on Friday, NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told Reuters. Judge Thokozile Masipa dismissed a request by state prosecutors to appeal Pistorius' sentence last month, saying she was not persuaded that there was a reasonable prospect of success at another court. Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on appeal last December. He had initially received a five-year sentence for manslaughter in 2014. The jail term was less than half the 15-years sought by prosecutors, who said Pistorius had shown no remorse for the 2013 shooting. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Joe Brock)
Johannesburg (AFP) - Prosecutors in South Africa said Thursday they would launch a new legal push for a tougher sentence for Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who was jailed for six years for murdering his girlfriend.

The National Prosecution Authority said it will file papers on Friday to seek permission to appeal against the term handed down by a High Court in July.

"I have been advised by the prosecutors that they are filing their papers tomorrow petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal," NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told AFP.

He did not give details of the grounds for the appeal.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel last month argued in court that the six-year sentence -- less than half the minimum 15-year sentence for murder in South Africa -- was "shockingly lenient".

The prosecution is directly petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal following last month's rejection by the High Court of their application for permission to appeal.

Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013, saying he mistook her for a burglar when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.

He was originally convicted of a lesser charge of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter, in 2014.

But an appeals court upgraded his conviction to murder in December last year.
By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept 15 (Reuters) - SpaceX on Thursday said efforts to develop and certify a space taxi for NASA are not being slowed by an investigation into a launch pad fire that destroyed its rocket and a $200 million Israeli communications satellite.

Boeing Co and SpaceX, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, are building spaceships to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, a $100 billion laboratory that flies 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is looking to turn over crew transport to SpaceX and Boeing before the end of 2018, breaking a Russian monopoly. SpaceX is aiming for its first test flight to the station in 2017.

"We're full-steam head for certification. We're still trying to remain on schedule," Abhishek Tripathi, director of certification for SpaceX, said during a webcast panel discussion at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference in Long Beach, California.

"I know what I need to do in the next day and in the next month," Tripathi said, adding that his work is not being affected by the accident investigation.

SpaceX, with oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration, is working to figure out why one of its Falcon 9 rockets burst into flames on Sept. 1 as it was being fueled for a routine prelaunch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The blaze destroyed the communications satellite, owned by Israel's Space Communication Ltd, which was scheduled to be carried into orbit two days later.

SpaceX has not yet disclosed how much damage was done at its primary launch site.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said on Wednesday the company was hoping to resume flights in November at a second, nearly complete launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, adjacent to the Air Force base.

The company, which has a backlog of 70 missions for NASA and commercial customers, worth more than $10 billion, also flies from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX on Thursday said efforts to develop and certify a space taxi for NASA are not being slowed by an investigation into a launch pad fire that destroyed its rocket and a $200 million Israeli communications satellite.

Boeing Co and SpaceX, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, are building spaceships to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, a $100 billion laboratory that flies 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.

NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is looking to turn over crew transport to SpaceX and Boeing before the end of 2018, breaking a Russian monopoly. SpaceX is aiming for its first test flight to the station in 2017.

Were full-steam head for certification. Were still trying to remain on schedule, Abhishek Tripathi, director of certification for SpaceX, said during a webcast panel discussion at an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference in Long Beach, California.

I know what I need to do in the next day and in the next month, Tripathi said, adding that his work is not being affected by the accident investigation.

SpaceX, with oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration, is working to figure out why one of its Falcon 9 rockets burst into flames on Sept. 1 as it was being fueled for a routine pre launch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The blaze destroyed the communications satellite, owned by Israels Space Communication Ltd, which was scheduled to be carried into orbit two days later.

SpaceX has not yet disclosed how much damage was done at its primary launch site.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said on Wednesday the company was hoping to resume flights in November at a second, nearly complete launch pad at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, adjacent to the Air Force base.

The company, which has a backlog of 70 missions for NASA and commercial customers, worth more than $10 billion, also flies from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
elon musk spacex rockets GettyImages 111667809

Two weeks ago Thursday, a SpaceX rocket burst into a fireball during a routine launchpad test and destroyed Facebook's $200 million Amos-6 satellite.

No one was hurt, but SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said this accident is "the most difficult and complex failure" his company has ever seen.

Despite an ongoing internal investigation into the fireball, whose root cause remains elusive, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said on Tuesday the company will only be "down for about 3 months" before resuming the launch of Falcon 9 rocket missions.

"We're anticipating getting back to flight ... in November," Shotwell said during a Sept. 13 satellite industry panel in Paris, which writer Irene Klotz reported at Reuters.

But some spaceflight experts are not convinced it's possible or advisable for SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 launches so quickly. There are 70 planned; together they're worth about $10 billion.

"It is hard to see how SpaceX could fly Falcon 9 by November, especially since they have [publicly] stated that they don't have a root cause established," Wayne Hale  an engineer, rocket accident investigator, and a former NASA space shuttle director  told Business Insider in an email.

"The last failure investigation I worked on took 3 months to come to a preliminary conclusion as to root cause and several more months for the company to put corrective action in place as well as eliminate other potential causes," he said.

Tory Bruno, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance (a SpaceX competitor), has also previously told Reuters: "It typically takes nine to 12 months for people to return to flight. That's what the history is."

Hale noted it's possible SpaceX could resume launching rockets in a few months "if the root cause were definitely determined very soon and corrective action is easy and swift," he said, but "that is unlikely in my experience."

"I wish them well, but being schedule driven is not an effective way to handle a failure investigation," he said (emphasis ours).

Story continues

Business Insider asked SpaceX representatives for clarification on Shotwell's comment, including whether or not it would press forward before an investigation concludes.

"We expect to have identified and resolved the cause of the anomaly before launching. We will return to flight when we can safely and reliably do so, with approval of the [Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)]," they wrote in an email to Business Insider.

"We will launch from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in that timeframe, and Vandenberg [Air Force Base in California] will also be available for customers. Can't confirm yet which we will launch from first."

We shared Hale's comments with SpaceX prior to publication, but the company did not address them.

The company has also not disclosed the amount of damage to Space Launch Complex 40  the Cape Canaveral, Fla. launchpad where the Falcon 9 blew up on Sept. 1. (One source indicated to Business Insider that the damage would be considerable.)

SpaceX still intends to launch its brand-new Falcon Heavy launcher  capable of lifting the weight of a battle tank into space  in early 2017, according to writer Stephen Clark at Spaceflight Now.

A internal investigation

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

Previously, a spokesperson at SpaceX told Business Insider in an email that the aerospace company has rounded up "around 20 people" for a core investigation team.

"[M]ore than half are representatives from FAA, NASA, US Air Force and industry experts," he said, adding that the "FAA has a formal role and vote on the investigation team."

Leading the entire group is Hans Koenigsmann  SpaceX's vice president of mission assurance.

"[W]e believe he is the best person to do so," the spokesperson said. "We are collaborating very closely with the participating agencies, sharing raw data and providing access to meetings."

The representative declined to provide the company's images and video of the incident.

The new team's composition appears to be much different from the one that looked into SpaceX's rocket launch failure on June 28, 2015. For that accident  in which a Falcon 9 rocket blew up in mid-flight  the company enlisted 11 of its employees and one FAA employee, and the group never made its findings public.

The US government allows closed-door rocket mishap investigations like this through a special federal law, though with some oversight by the FAA.

As Dan Leone wrote at SpaceNews in August 2015, following SpaceX's previous failure, the company reportedly told him:

"[C]ompany-led investigations are standard operating procedure when it comes to launch 'mishaps,' which are legally distinct from launch 'accidents' under U.S. federal law. A mishap, SpaceX said in its legalese-laden communique, involves 'no third-party loss, no flight line deviation, and no loss of life.'"

But not all is hunky-dory within the federal government about such a setup, as Samantha Masunaga and Melody Petersen reported for the Los Angeles Times:

"In June, NASAs Office of Inspector General said that having SpaceX do its own investigation 'raises questions about inherent conflicts of interest.'

The internal investigation could leave out contributing factors that 'may not be fully addressed to prevent future failures,' the watchdog warned."

In a sworn June 2016 testimony about overseeing commercial space companies like SpaceX, George Nield  the FAA's associate administrator for commercial space transportation  said the agency follows its mandate to keep red tape to a minimum for rocket-launching businesses:

"[W]hile the FAA has licensed or permitted over 280 launches, there have never been any fatalities, serious injuries, or significant property damage to members of the public. ... [T]he National Space Policy directs federal agencies to, among other things, 'minimize, as much as possible, the regulatory burden for commercial space activities and ensure that the regulatory environment for licensing space activities is timely and responsive.'"

NOW WATCH: Watch the dramatic moment SpaceX rocket explodes





More From Business Insider


MADRID (Reuters) - Donana National Park, part of southern Spanish wetland used by 6 million migratory birds, could dry out completely unless the Spanish government tackles the threat of dredging, mining and intensive farming, a report said on Thursday. The World Wildlife Fund said Spain was failing to safeguard the 54,000 hectare (209 square mile) site, which stretches along the Guadalquivir River at its estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Andalusia. "The Donana wetland is at a crossroads. Poor management and over-extraction of water are causing Donana to dry out and the area now receives only 20 percent of its natural water input," WWF said in the report. The group called on Spain to eliminate what it said are 1,000 illegal wells and 3,000 hectares of illegal farming fields, and cancel dredging of the Guadalquivir River to protect and recover the park's water sources. The Spanish government said authorities were fully committed to protecting the national park. "All the necessary measures to put an end to overexploitation of Donana's wetlands and solve water shortages in the region are being implemented," the Spanish agricultural and environment ministry said in a statement. The WWF appeal came after the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO warned last year that Donana could be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger if Spain did not make a "permanent and unequivocal commitment" to abandoning a plan to deepen the Guadalquivir river. UNESCO gave Spain until Dec. 1 this year to present a report on Donana's conservation and comply with demands including an end to the river's dredging and a full assessment of the risks of reopening a mine site belonging to Grupo Mexico. Donana park boasts a diverse ecosystem of lagoons marshlands, scrub woodland, beaches and sand dunes and is home to fallow deer, wild boars, European badgers and endangered species including the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian Lynx. (Reporting by Paul Day and Jesus Aguado; editing by Dominic Evans)
Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of Tata Sons, had some interesting points to make on how the group is different from a conglomerate, and why divestment decisions are harder for the Tatas to make.

In an interview to group portal Tata.com, Mistry had this to say: It isuseful to note that the way in which a diversified business group such as Tata adds value is different from conglomerates or private equity funds. Tata as a business group, when compared with private equity firms, has distinct advantages as well as some drawbacks. From a nurturing perspective, the Tata brand, developed over 15 decades, adds huge value to our companies. This also makes exits more difficult as the Tata group has a deeper commitment to stakeholders and the brand cannot be transferred. (Italics ours)

Mistry was obviously irritated by calls from outside experts seeking a quicker pace of change in the group, by pruning losing businesses faster.

He said: It was clear to me relatively early that one needed to confront the challenging situations facing some of our businesses, and ultimately this would entail hard decisions on pruning the portfolio. But I have learned through experience that if you want to do the right thing by all your stakeholders, there are no shortcuts.

"There will always be external influencers and so-called experts, who may be motivated by immediate transactional gains, goading us on to churn our portfolio. It is important that we develop our own prognosis based on knowledge and context, keeping all stakeholders in mind. We should not be afraid of taking tough decisions for the right reasons, with compassion.

Two points emerge from viewing the above statements together.

First, the Tatas will be slower to change than was the case under Ratan Tata, who could, all by himself, choose to sell off Tomco or buy Corus and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and invest in a Nano. Under Mistry, the process may be slower, but surer, since he is an inheritor of the Tata mantle, and not born into it.

Second, Mistry seems to differentiate between a diverse business group and a conglomerate  with the former being glued together by a group identity, and the latter being linked only by a holding company and shareholdings.

Since Mistry says the Tatas have to behave differently from an unemotional private equity firm, what we could speculate on is how the Tatas would have acted had it been a conglomerate or a private equity-led group.

As Mistry himself pointed out, cash flows and debt profiles across the group were not something to worry about; the problem lay in how this cash flow and debt was distributed.

He said: Over the last three years, the gross debt across the group has increased by about 2 percent per annum in US dollar terms, while cash and equivalents have grown at over 10 percent, leading to a reduction of 3.3 percent in net debt in the same period. As of March 2016, the group had a net debt of about $24.5 billion. Capex has been on average $9 billion in each of the last three years. In the financial year 2016, cash from operations reached $9 billion a year and exceeded the capex.

"At the group level, therefore, the aggregate debt is not something I feel concerned about. In fact, such aggregations at the group level could mislead, as the companies which have high cash generation, capex and debt are not all necessarily the same, and resources of different companies are not fungible with one another, as they are distinct legal entities with different shareholders.

Right now, the cash flows come largely from two companies - TCS and Tata Motors (mostly Jaguar Land Rover). The debts are concentrated in five companies - Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Communications and Tata Teleservices. The remaining debt is manageable within the companies that hold them (See table)

A private equity player, if he were running the Tatas, would clearly separate the stars from the dogs, the cash cows from the question-marks, to use the Boston Consulting Groups matrix of separating businesses based on potential. Stars are businesses likely to boom and grow market share in future, cash cows are what they seem to mean (profitable, but not likely to grow much), dogs are losers, question-marks are those businesses where you cannot clearly see the future. They may have high market shares and low profits, or both low market shares and low profits, but other unknowns that could change the future.

TCS, which is high on margins and low on debt, is surely a star, and could have a bright future. There is little doubt it is vital to the conglomerate. Probably overwhelmingly so. A refusal to chop deadbeat businesses will slow down TCS, for the group depends too much on TCS cash flows to fund its other businesses. This needs to change, for TCS is in a cutting-edge business, and needs to grow both scale and acquire technology. It cannot remain a labour arbitrageur; it has to make more margins from high-end consulting to take on the IBMs and Accentures

JLR is both a star and a question-mark. The JLR part of the business has growth and profit potential in developed markets, China and emerging markets like India where new millionaires are being made every day. But the Indian part of the business is a question-mark; the commercial vehicles (CV) business is surely a future star when road-building improves CV offtake, but the cars business is struggling. A private equity investor will probably decide to hive off the Indian car business and either sell it or buy a good foreign car-maker to drive a technologically advanced business. The car business cannot work with a CV-led culture.

Tata Power is probably a plodder, but will ultimately not lose money. It can stay in the portfolio, and seek diversifications into related business and reduce debts slowly.

Tata Steel Europe is a dog, while Tata Steel India is a profitable enterprise. The global operations clearly need to be at least partially hived off, and Mistry has begun the process by putting the UK assets on the block.

Tata Teleservices is a question-mark. The group faces a double-or-quits decision. With DoCoMo wanting its money back, the Tatas  with low market share  have to do one of two things: seek a merger with the only available player (Telenor), or invest several thousand crores to build the business from the ground up in difficult competitive conditions. A private equity investor would probably urge a sale, or big ticket merger.

The easiest businesses to decide on are the consumer-facing businesses like Titan, Voltas and Tata Beverages, which are profitable, and do not need more capital from the group for expansion or growth.

Indian Hotels, too, will ultimately need capital, but it could presumably achieve its cash flows and profits by hiving off some of its hotels abroad or in India.

Broadly speaking, the Tatas have to reduce the number of businesses they are in, by hiving off the cash guzzlers and investing in the winners.

Regardless of whether Mistry thinks of the Tatas as a conglomerate or just a business group with larger social commitments, this is the direction he has to take.

The other way to think of the Tatas is both as a business group and a conglomerate. The business group would comprise companies that are core to the groups identity and self-purpose. The conglomerate parts would be companies that may not carry the Tata name, but can be acquired or divested purely for business reasons.

Data contribution by Kishor Kadam
Netflix is officially a Spike Lee joint.

The streamer has placed a 10-episode series order for Shes Gotta Have It, a contemporary remake of Lees 1985 seminal debut feature film. Lee will direct all 10 half-hour episodes and serve as an EP with his producer-wife Tonya Lewis Lee.

The project had originally been eyed at Showtime.

RELATEDAlison Brie Lands Lead in G.L.O.W., Netflixs 1980s-Set Wrestling Comedy

The series, similar to the film, centers on Nola Darling, a Brooklyn-based artist in her late twenties struggling to define herself and divide her time amongst her Friends, her Job and her Three Lovers: The Cultured Model, Greer Childs; The Protective Investment Banker, Jamie Overstreet; and Da Original B-Boy Sneakerhead, Mars Blackmon. Casting is underway.

Lee issued the following statement regarding the Netflix pickup:

SHES GOTTA HAVE IT Has A Very Special Place In My Heart. We Shot This Film In 12 Days (2 Six Day Weeks) Way Back In The Back Back Of The Hot Summer Of 1985 For A Mere Total of $175,000. Funds That We Begged, Borrowed and Whatnot To Get That Money. This Is The 1st Official Spike Lee Feature Film Joint And Everything That We Have Been Blessed With In This Tough Business Of Film All Have Been Due To SGHI. Now With The Passing (August 8th) Of The 30th Anniversary, Its A Gift That Keeps On Giving. We Are Getting An Opportunity To Revisit These Memorable Characters Who Will Still Be Relevant And Avant Garde 3 Decades Later. With All That Said It Was My Wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, Producer In Her Own Right,Who Had The Vision To Take My Film From The Big Screen And Turn It Into An Episodic Series. It Had Not Occurred To Me At All. Tonya Saw It Plain As Day. I Didnt. We Are Hyped That NETFLIX Is Onboard With This Vision As Nola Darling, Mars Blackmon, Jamie Overstreet And Greer Childs DO DA DAMN THANG Now, Today In Da Republic Of Brooklyn, New York.

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Recent national poll data released Thursday shows Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, overtaking his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Clinton has seen her lead wither following a bout of pneumonia, which has kept her sidelined from the campaign trail. Also not helping her numbers are the negative comments she made toward Trump supporters while speaking at a fundraiser in New York last week. The Democratic candidate said, You could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables.

Steve Hilton, former strategy director for ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron, joined the FOX Business Networks Varney & Co. to weigh in on how Clintons remarks could impact her White House bid.

Its certainly the worst moment of her campaign. The thing is, when I saw that comment, my immediate reaction was wow thats unbelievable. But of course its not unbelievable; weve gotten completely used to it because weve had this for years from the left. If you disagree with them youre not just wrong, youre morally inferioryoure evil. But the new thing is that its not just the left doing it. Youre getting it from the right as well, Hilton told Stuart Varney.

Hilton explained how this trend is comparable to the situation in the United Kingdom during the Brexit vote, which took place in late June.

You saw the Conservative establishment vilifying other Conservatives. You have people like David Cameron and George Osborne, my former colleagues in government, saying those kinds of things about members of the Conservative Party and Conservative supporters who happened to disagree with them over Brexit, he said.

When asked why he thinks more voters will come out to support Trump in the 2016 election, Hilton said:

In Trump, they see someone who really might change thingsYouve got people whove given up on politics coming back in to vote because they really believe that change might finally happen.

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A deserted cliff. Lightning appearing out of nowhere. A mysterious lady all dressed in white. Netflixs latest original program, Meridian, is spooky, confusing, and only 12 minutes long.

Thats because although Meridian is available on the streaming service worldwide, it was made not for Netflixs 83 million subscribers, but for algorithms and their programmers.

Its a weird story wrapped up in a bunch of engineering requirements, said Chris Fetner, the companys director for content partner operations. Netflix produced Meridian as test footage to evaluate anything from the performance of video codecs to the way Netflix streams look like on 4K TVs.

And now, the company is giving the film away for free, so that others can do their own tests with it, be it hardware manufacturers, codec developers or even competitors like Amazon and Hulu. Netflix is using a Creative Commons license for the release of Meridian, which is new for an industry that isnt used to sharing a lot of resources. They are in the business of exploiting content, not of giving it away, Fetner said.

But for Netflix, its just par of the course. Thanks to its Silicon Valley DNA, Netflix has long collaborated with other companies on cloud computing-focused open source projects. Now, it wants to nudge Hollywood to do the same  and Meridian is only the beginning.

Why Netflix is releasing tools that will help iTunes

This week, Netflix is also open-sourcing a set of tools tackling a common problem for studios and video services.

In a global media business, Hollywood is often producing dozens of versions for each movie. Not only do different markets require different subtitles, but there are also airline versions that come without riskier scenes, local content requirements like the need to pixelate all full-frontal nudity in Japan, dubbed versions and more.

Maintaining all of those versions isnt just very resource-intensive, its also prone to lead to errors  like the time when Netflix thought it was getting a movie for its viewers in Germany. It was labeled as the German master, said Fetner. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be dubbed in Portuguese for Brazilian audiences. It probably wouldnt have been a great experience for our members in Germany, he quipped.

Story continues

That mishap was not an isolated incident. More often than not, switcheroos like this actually happen because of some error in the processing pipeline that can potentially affect large parts of a studios catalog, explained Fetner.

Netflix wants to solve problems like these by using the Interoperable Master Format (IMF), an emerging standard for exchanging master files between studios and services like Netflix. In essence, IMF combines the raw video file with a set of instructions that tell Netflix which parts it needs to omit in which regions, and when it needs to use which audio files. We used to get baked cakes, said Fetner. With IMF, we get all the ingredients.

IMF has been developed as a standard by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and some studios have started to use it in recent months. However, Fetner acknowledged that still only a small percentage of all movies delivered to Netflix are in the form of IMF files. Part of the reason is that there are no widely available tools for the format yet, which is why Netflix is building and giving some of them away now  even if these efforts also benefit competitors.

One example: Netflix is now releasing a tool that will help studios convert IMF masters to files suitable to be delivered to Apples iTunes store. The studios that give us content have a lot of other business problems to solve, said Fetner. Helping them integrate IMF into their workflows will ultimately also benefit Netflix, he argued, even if it also means helping iTunes as well. Today, Apple doesnt support IMF, he said. The content owners have to support that business case.

Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

This kind of thinking is new to Hollywood. In Silicon Valley, companies have long realized that rising tides often really do lift all boats. Open source has become a key business practice throughout large parts of the tech industry, and Netflix has been participating in the exchange of ideas and code for quite some time. Over the years, Netflix has released more than 150 open source projects.

Its worth noting that not everyone in the open source world loves Netflix. Hardcore open source advocates dont like that Netflix is using DRM for its streaming service, and the Free Software Foundation even briefly asked its supporters to boycott the company. But for the most part, the industry has embraced Netflixs open source efforts. Software based on Netflix open source code is now used by major companies including Yelp, Yahoo, IBM and Microsoft.

Many of Netflixs projects center on various aspects of cloud computing. Netflix has long run most of its operations in the cloud, and over time shared open source code to analyze data, optimize the performance of cloud-based servers and even monitor the security of a companys cloud infrastructure.

Increasingly, the company is looking to bring the same spirit to Hollywood. In June, Netflix released an algorithm called the Video Multi-Method Assessment Fusion (VMAF) as an open source project. VMAF has helped Netflix to figure out which video codecs work best for its service based on real-world viewing tests. Now, it wants to help others do the same, and in turn improve the tool with additional data.

The drone didnt deliver, so Netflix rented a helicopter

And then there is Meridian. Its the third time Netflix has produced such test footage, but the most ambitious project to date. Meridian is 4K HDR video shot with 60 frames per second with a peak brightness level of 4000 nits and Dolby Atmos audio. In other words: It pushes the boundaries on all specs fronts, and includes a number of visuals that can trip up encoders. There is, for example, old, grainy footage with lots of noise, as well as cigarette smoke, fog, moving objects in the background and other sources of visual noise.

Netflix teamed up with a number of partners for Meridian, including Sony, Dolby and Red Studios, and also didnt take any production shortcuts. For one scene, the company tried to record a driving car with drones, but the result just wasnt quite right  so Netflix got a helicopter instead. You need content that is representative of how movies are made today, said video algorithms director Anne Aaron.

The industry has largely been relying on a small canon of test footage, said Aaron, which can be a problem if you want to test video codecs and other software thats meant to support catalogs of tens of thousands of titles. Thats especially true for some of the existing openly licensed footage, which largely consists of animated fare produced with a very small set of animation software. Which leads to blind spots, explained Aaron. Encoders can be highly tuned to encode Big Bucks Bunny.

Meridian may be produced with algorithms in mind, but Netflix subscribers can still enjoy the title as well. The company has made a habit out of including test footage in its regular catalog to see how it performs in real-world conditions. Viewers seem to be loving it, jokingly comparing some of the older test footage clips to classics like Citizen Kane in their reviews, and making fun of the titles picked by engineers for playback testing. This is the best one yet, wrote one reviewer. The action! The excitement! The 23.976 frames per second!

For her part, Aaron can hardly wait to see how Netflixs viewers are going to respond to Meridian. There is gonna be a season 2 if this works well, she joked.

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[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Wednesday night's midseason finale of Suits, "P.S.L."]

For anyone wondering whether Pearson, Specter, Litt could be saved in its current iteration on USA's Suits, that question was clearly answered in Wednesday's midseason finale. After spending most of the current season trying to get her firm back and then defending an innocent death-row inmate, Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) made the moral decision to leave it all behind and head to Chicago for a fresh start with her on-again, off-again flame Jeff Malone (D.B. Woodside).

In real life, actor Gina Torres had asked to leave the series in order to spend more time in L.A. (Which may explain to viewers why Torres booked an ABC pilot this past development season despite Suits' continued run on USA.) Behind the scenes, the producers had been strategizing that exit for two seasons - but it didn't quite pan out the way they had originally hoped.

To find out more about the deadly storyline that almost was, where Jessica's exit leaves the firm and what's next for Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Louis (Rick Hoffman) without their partner and mentor, THR caught up with creator and showrunner Aaron Korsh.

At what point was the decision made for Jessica Pearson to leave the firm?

Toward the beginning of season five, Gina expressed that due to personal stuff going on in her life she needed to be in L.A. more. We formulated a plan at that point to try and gracefully exit her from the show. She said at the time that if Suits were shot in L.A. she'd be on it forever, and if I had my way she'd be on it forever. But we tried as best we could to require her in Toronto as little as possible during season five and in season six we were just going to ratchet her episodes down. She ended up getting a pilot, and part of the requirements of having her be the lead in that was for us to not have her in first [position] for the back six [episodes] of this season. So her exit ended up being in episode 610. Her pilot ended up not getting picked up, but at that point we had the storyline sort of locked.

Story continues

When you were crafting Jessica's exit, did you want to leave the door open for her return or did you consider something more dramatic like killing her off?

It was out there that Gina had taken this pilot, so people knew that if the pilot went, there was a good chance she'd be leaving. In my mind, Jessica was going to make this decision to go off into the sunset with Jeff Malone, and that father Larry Marsden (Colin Glazer), who was a little bit crazy and accosted Rachel and got broken on the stand, was going to bring a gun and go nuts and kill her. I didn't think we were going to see it; we were going to hear about it. It was going to shatter everyone and we were going to do a two-year time jump afterwards.

The inspiration for that partly came from M*A*S*H*. When Henry Blake - the Colonel (McLean Stevenson) - left that show, they had an emotional goodbye for him that was incredible. And then 10 minutes later, it came out in the OR that the Colonel's plane was shot down. It was so emotional; you never forgot that. I thought that would be a twist you wouldn't see coming. You might have seen that Jessica was going to choose to leave, but not her death on top of it. It would have been baked into the show - this guy already went nuts on Rachel and he'd paid off a witness  he was an unstable character.

What changed?

The network didn't want that to happen and they kind of let me know that. They've always been good at being collaborative and supportive and hearing me out on something I wanted to do if I felt very strongly about it. But we were so under the gun with timing that I didn't really feel like planning two endings. When we got into the writing of the episode, we just decided to let her have a happy ending. And it does absolutely leave the door open for her to come back. The door was still open for her to come back because we do flashbacks; they're in the DNA of the show. But I don't feel like we give happy, unfettered endings in Suits that often, so it was sort of unexpected to end episodes eight, nine and now 10 with a happy ending.

[Readmore: 925771]

Where does this leave the show when it returns for the back half?

We're picking up right where we usually do, where we left off. Had we gone with that other ending we would have picked up years later; it would have been too devastating not to. But as it is now, all of these characters have a lot going on. Mike has to figure out what he's going to do. Harvey, Louis and the firm have to figure out what they're going to do logistically and who's going to run the place. In addition to that, what are they going to do when the woman who has kept them from sort of killing each other all these years leaves? The last six is about that - to some degree it's about people figuring out what they're going to do in this time of change and uncertainty. Then hopefully at the end of it, we land on something that gives us somewhat of a paradigm for moving forward for next season.

What does Harvey and Louis' relationship look like without Jessica as a buffer, and are you looking for anyone to replace that kind of figurehead?

We aren't really thinking in terms of casting someone to replace that figurehead at the moment, but there's no doubt she was a buffer. They're sort of forced to self-buffer. Metaphorically speaking, it's like what do you do when you leave your parents' house? Each of them, over the course of the next few episodes, behaves as you would expect them to behave, but also not as you would expect them to behave. They're going to have to figure it out, and hopefully they can.

At this point, there are two engaged couples. Is a wedding in store?

There could be, but we haven't gotten that far yet. I don't have a preference on who yet. ... We're writing them one at a time, even though we have a rough road map. There are other things that are more pressing right now, whereas something like a wedding gets figured out more naturally and falls in place. We have to see what we have room for and what we can do.

In terms of Mike's prison release, Frank Gallo (Paul Schulze) is technically getting out in five years. Should Mike and Harvey not be worried about his retribution?

Yes, they probably should be. I don't know that we're still going to be on the air at that point so let's just pretend that our guys will live happily ever after. (Laughs.) It's possible that Frank Gallo will take retribution on them in five years. They did the best they could with what they had. Five years is a long time and you never know what's going to happen. Someone else might take up Frank's revenge mindedness. They at least bought themselves peace of mind for the next five years.

Mike declined a return to the firm in the finale. Does that make it harder to write scenes with Mike and Harvey together?

Mike said no, but Harvey told him to take a few days and think about it. When Mike brought it up to Rachel, he didn't know what he was going to do. Harvey isn't a guy that takes being said no to lightly or easily. That question has not been dropped. But it's a struggle for Mike, because when Mike gave that speech to the jury about having a gift and he was wasting it, he meant that stuff. He got out of prison early and he doesn't want to just go back to corporate law. He wants to try and help people. Unfortunately, he's a convicted felon. It's not going to be that easy for him to help people. So that's his struggle.

Was Harvey and Donna (Sarah Rafferty) holding hands at the end of the episode a hint that their relationship is back on the table, or was that more an act of friendship and solidarity?

It remains to be seen. I try to be super cagey with the Darvey stuff because any answer I give I just get in trouble. And I prefer to let what we do speak for itself. Harvey lost an important figure in his life and I love the way they did that last scene. It was very intimate. We're not going to completely ignore it going forward, but it remains to be seen what kind of effect it's going to have on their relationship.

Do you have anything to add?

As much as you'd imagine it would affect Harvey to lose Jessica, it affects me that much to lose Gina Torres. I cannot imagine a better combination of talent and attitude and work ethic and professionalism. There's no person you would want to work with more - she is such a class act, I can't express that enough. The Suits family onscreen and off are going to miss her terribly, and we hope to have her back from time to time.

Suits returns for the second half of season six in 2017.

What did you think of the finale? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @amber_dowling
Days after Reliance Jio launch and ahead of the biggest spectrum auction that starts on 1 October, the Indian telecom space has seen the biggest merger yet - of the wireless operations of Reliance Communications with Aircel.

The merger will create a giant telco with a net worth of Rs 35,000 crore and asset base of Rs 65,000 crore. As the telecom space once again starts buzzing with action, here's a low down on what the deal means:

What is the deal all about?

RCom and Aircel's majority owner, Malaysia's Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), has signed definitive documents for the merger of their Indian wireless businesses. RCom and Aircel will hold 50 percent each in the new company. The board of the new company will have equal representation from the two sides. MTS (Sistema) will continue to hold 10 percent stake in RCom with no presence on the board. In November last year, RComm had announced the takeover of the telecom business of Indo-Russian venture Sistema Shyam (brand name MTS) in a deal valued at Rs 5,000 crore ($730 million). As part of the deal, Sistema Shyam is holding hold about 10 percent stake in RCom.

What are the details of the merged entity?

As noted earlier, the merged entity will have a net worth of Rs 35,000 crore and asset base of Rs 65,000 crore. It will hold 451 MHz of spectrum pan-India -- Aircel's 187.6 MHz, Sistema Shyam's 39.4 MHz and Reliance Communication's 224 MHZ. This forms 19.3 per cent of total spectrum. According to RComm, this is the second-largest spectrum holding among all operators and spreads across 448 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands.

It will have a customer base of about 194 million, including 110 million of RComm and 84 million of Aircel ranks. According to CNBC-TV18, this will be the second largest with others being Airtel's 250 million, Vodafone's 198 million and Idea's 175 million.

The TV channel said in revenue market share, the combined business will trail Idea with 10 percent share compared with Idea's 20.1 percent. Airtel and Vodafone will have revenue market share of 31.6 percent and 22.6 percent. In other words, the merged business will overtake Idea Cellular Ltd in terms of subscription numbers although it will still lag in terms of revenue. An RComm press release says it will rank among the top three operators by revenues in 12 important circles.

As far market shares are concerned, RComm has 9.8 percent, Aircel 8.5 percent and Sistema 0.7 percent.

The new company will have a debt of Rs 28,000 crore, equally divided between the two groups. This, however, excludes the spectrum payment liability of Rs 6,000 crore. The companies estimate the net present value (NPV) of capital expenditure and operating expenditure synergies at Rs 20,000 crore.

The new entity will be renamed and re-branded. It will be managed by an independent professional team under the supervision of the board, the press release said. It will also be listed at a later stage. The deal is expected to close in 2017.

What are the managements saying?

"We expect this combination to create substantial, long-term value for the shareholders of both Reliance Communications and Maxis (holding arm of Aircel), given the benefits of wide-ranging spectrum portfolio and significant revenue and cost synergies," said RComm chairman Anil Ambani in the press release.

Meanwhile, Maxis sees the merger as its commitment towards the Indian market. "Since acquiring Aircel in 2006, Maxis has invested in excess of Rs 35,000 crore into Aircel, making this one of the largest foreign investments into India, not only in the telecom industry but across all sectors," the Malaysian company said.

"The magnitude of this investment, and the further equity commitment in support of this deal, are underpinned by Maxis' belief in the long term growth potential of both India and the Indian telecom sector," it added.

Both the companies have committed to infuse more funds into the merged entity once the merger is completed sometime next year. They have also said they are in talks with international investors.

What is the impact on RComm and Aircel?

According to the statement, RCom will continue to own and operate its high growth businesses in the domestic and global enterprise space, data centres, optic fibre and related telecom infrastructure, besides owning valuable real estate.

Most importantly, the deal will help Reliance Communication - the most leveraged listed telecom player in India - cut its debt by Rs 20,000 crore ($3 billion), or more than 40 percent of its total debt, said a report in Reuters. Aircel's debt will fall by about Rs 4,000 crore.

As of end-March, Reliance Communications had net debt of Rs 41,362 crore. Closely-held Aircel had Rs 18,500 crore debt as of 2013, Reuters report said citing rating agency ICRA.

What is the significance of the deal?

For one, the merger is a much speculated, awaited one. Both the companies had entered into non-binding talks in December 2015. Since then there have been intense speculation about the realisation of the deal.

More than that, it signals that consolidation is gathering pace in the Indian telecom space, where with the launch of Reliance Jio has intensified competition.

What are the experts saying?

Though the deal has many synergies between the two companies there are concerns about the financial strength of the merged entity in the face of the heightened competition.

The move will increase the subscriber base of Reliance Communications, which is positive for the company, Chandan Taparia, analyst with Anand Rathi Financial Services has been quoted as saying in this report in the Financial Express.

Market expert Prakash Diwan said on CNBC-TV18 that the deal is unlikely to bring much relief to the debt issues of Reliance Communications. The merged entity will continue to be cash strapped for some more time, at least for 3-5 years. Meanwhile, SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com said the valuation at which RComm is likely to sell its tower business, Reliance Infratel, is what will make a difference for the company. Reportedly, the company is in talks with Canadian fund Brookfield to sell a significant stake in Reliance Infratel at a valuation of $2.5-3 billion.

However, Mobis Philipos of the Mint newspaper raises the most pertinent question. What will happen to the merged entity if no deal fructifies with international investors?

"...Unless the company clears the air about the debt that will sit in the new entity and how it plans to infuse equity, there is little reason for investors to get excited about the merger announcement," he says in the article.

Until things become clearer, as Jigar Shah, chief executive at Maybank Kimeng Securities India, tells Reuters, one can only say, "It is just another way of surviving."

"They can become better only if the two partners bring further cash into the business and they buy a reasonable amount of 4G spectrum," he says.

With PTI & IANS

Disclosure: Firstpost is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited.
Grocery retailer SUPERVALU Inc. SVU seems to be in a state of doldrums at the moment. The company, which has seen its stock price plunge 16.6% over the past one month and nearly 31.6% on a year-to-date basis, carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) today. Whats going on with this consumer staples stock? Lets find out.

Whats Wrong with SVU?

The grocery business is highly competitive and fragmented. Thus, as more companies are entering into the fray as well as expanding their presence, it is becoming tough for the existing players to retain their market share. Further, deflationary environment in food products and depleting footfalls at the supermarkets are causes of concern for these grocery chains.

SUPERVALU even announced a guidance cut for its EBITDA for fiscal 2017. The supermarket chain now anticipates EBITDA to decline 5% year over year, compared to a dip of 1.5% anticipated previously.

SUPERVALU INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

SUPERVALU INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | SUPERVALU INC Quote

SUPERVALU cited lower than expected sales in the Retail and Save-A-Lot segments in second-quarter fiscal 2017 as the reason for its soft guidance. Higher competition in the grocery business as well as a challenging sales and retail environment led to the decline in sales in the retail business of the company. Moreover, the Save-A-Lot segment is impacted negatively due to deflationary environment as well as unfavorable comparisons with the previous year.

The cumulative effect of these factors is expected to affect the top line in second-half fiscal 2017. The company also anticipates the comparable sales in the second quarter to be lower than the first quarter.

Following the subdued outlook, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has been trending downwards, underscoring the negative sentiment among analysts covering the stock. Evidently, the estimate for fiscal 2017 and 2018 has dropped 3.0% and 4.3% to 65 cents and 66 cents, respectively over the past 7 days.

Story continues

Apart from this, SUPERVALU is experiencing lower revenues due to declining fees from the companys Transition Services Agreements (TSAs) with Albertson's LLC and New Albertson's, Inc. which may result in lower profits in the future. Further, pharmacy headwinds as a result of lower managed-care reimbursement rates may put pressure on margins. .

Bottom Line

As a prudent investment strategy advises one to exit underperforming stocks at the right juncture, we suggest you to do the same with SUPERVALU, before it burns a hole in your portfolio.

Nonetheless, one can count on better-ranked stocks like Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. CALM, The Kraft Heinz Co. KHC and Ingredion Inc. INGR, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Mahmoud Bitar, bearded, earnest and twinkling, stares at the camera in one of his rare English-language videos. Hes here to tell you about Syria and why everything you think about it is wrong. And hes gonna make you laugh. The video  simply titled Im Syrian!  makes light of the people who asked Bitar if he can work a smartphone (yes) and drives the point home: Refugees arent here for your money or food; they just want to live somewhere that isnt exploding.

The 22-year-old mohawked Syrian comedians brand can be summarized as wry outsider. He appears on Talk Show Arabic, the first Arabic -language show for Sveriges Radio, the Swedish public broadcaster, and the first on the channel that isnt straight news. Bitar is a crucial element of a new public sphere for refugees, says Daniel Ahadi, a lecturer at Simon Fraser University whos studied ethnic media in Sweden. Theres a difference between watching satellite television from Syria or Iran and listening to something local, because local radio creates a sense of community. For an immigrant navigating a new landscape, listening to Arabic spoken about Sweden, their new home, is powerful. Which is why Bitar, a YouTube star and Instagram presence, has a small but devoted group of fans  84,336 subscribers on YouTube and 191,000 on Instagram. Like him, many of the commenters and likers of his work are Syrian refugees who havent seen home since 2012.

Bitars route to Sweden was a long one. A once-aspiring actor in Aleppo, he went to Turkey after war broke out, spending a month in Egypt, where he found the language barrier difficult. (The dialect of Arabic in Egypt is distinct from Syrias.) Bitar was able to return to Turkey for two years, where he acted on a Syrian serial in Dubai, and then lit out for Greece in 2015, flying on from there to Sweden. The whole time, he recorded his journey on social media. Stockholm, known for its hospitality, was the goal. But the current crisis has stunted Swedens warm welcomes a bit: In January, it instituted unprecedented identification checks on the bridge border with Denmark in order to keep more people from walking in cold. Now Bitars brother is in Lebanon, his mother in Turkey, his father in Germany and his sister in Egypt. His hope is that they can all reunite here soon. We can get a house, he tells me, and all be together.



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For now, he has Ibrahim Basha Nurulez, an editor and producer for the show who makes rap videos with Bitar. Nurulez, also Syrian, sits with us throughout the interview, helping to translate and telling me about their rap projects  which are not silly, he explains, showing me a video with upward of 150,000 views on YouTube in which he and Mahmoud rap in Arabic about the dizzying, upsetting dislocation of being a refugee. The two met in Greece and became friends online.

Nurulez and Bitars familiarity with each other translates to a kind of colloquial sensibility in their work. Thats crucial, says Ahadi, an immigrant himself: Its all war and destruction and tanks on the street. But any sense of normalcy in relation to ones identity, language or homeland can go a long way. Media aimed at immigrant communities keeps migrants updated on things that dont make it on international news: bus drivers strikes, celebrity gossip, legislative maneuvering. It can make an immigrants homeland less imagined and more quotidian.

But Bitar and his copresenter, Syrian journalist Rowa Alkhatib, are focused not on the homeland but the new home. Emigres can listen to Bitar and Alkhatib hold forth on networking and how goddamn difficult it is to get a drivers license in Sweden. The show is not political, stresses producer Helen Almqvist. Bitar was a controversial choice for the program after he got famous for a YouTube video in which he warned would-be migrants that Sweden isnt all that great. Its obviously tongue-in-cheek  he literally picks Euros off a money tree  but he got flak after uploading it. All my videos were in Arabic, but that one was in English, Bitar says. It was a joke! But new people who didnt know me, they got shocked. Almqvist, however, was into the vibe and the drastic and fun way Bitar had documented his journey from Syria via social media, and she decided to put him on the Arabic-language comedy talk show Sveriges had outsourced to Massa Media, her company. Though Almqvist declined to share figures on the number of listeners the show has gotten since its April 1 debut, Sveriges as a whole says 75 percent of the Swedish population tunes in to the network at least once a week.

Public radio has been a very white space and a very Swedish space, Ahadi says. Its quite an achievement, not just for the Arabic or Syrian community, but for the immigrant community in general. Bitars made a lot of unexpected milestones since leaving Syria, including an appearance at this years Cannes film festival at an event highlighting refugee-created media. Next up? He wants to tackle Swedens most beloved cultural stronghold  and write a song for Eurovision.

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Stockholm (AFP) - US and Dutch authorities are seeking $1.4 billion in fines from Telia to settle probes into alleged bribes by the Swedish telecoms operator in the Central Asian state of Uzbekistan, Telia said Thursday.

It said the proposals for the settlement did not go into much detail "but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately USD 1.4 billion" (1.25 billion euros), the company said in a statement.

The probes were opened in March 2014 into alleged payments made to an Uzbek firm for the purpose of obtaining a mobile operating licence as well as a 26 percent stake in the Uzbek operator Ucell.

"I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility," board chairwoman Marie Ehrling said in a statement.

According to Telia officials, the company began operations in the former Soviet republic in 2007 via a Dutch holding company.

Netherlands-based Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, which was involved in a related case, earlier this year agreed to pay $835 million to settle US and Dutch charges it paid massive bribes to get into Uzbekistan's telecommunications market.

Some of the funds transited through US accounts, and according to the US Department of Justice, ended up with a "relative" of former Uzbek president Islam Karimov for mobile phone licenses and frequencies.

US officials declined to identify the relative involved in the VimpelCom case, but Karimov's eldest daughter Gulnara Karimova was placed under house arrest two years ago as she was under investigation for corruption.

Anti-corruption group Transparency International has said in a report that Karimova "is suspected of receiving more than $1 billion worth of shares and payments from mobile phone companies in exchange for her influence."

Ehrling said Telia was cooperating with the US and Dutch probes, but that the company "will now have to analyse the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities."

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Ehrling added that "our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high."

She later told Swedish public radio that the amounts being sought by US and Dutch authorities "... shows that the cost of acting badly is expensive."

The head of TeliaSonera, as the company was then called, resigned in 2013 after an external review ordered by the company directed "serious criticism" at shortcomings in the Uzbekistan investment, although he rejected accusations of corruption.

Telia's shares slid 1.1 percent in morning trading in Stockholm.
By Tom Perry and Tom Miles BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia said the Syrian army had begun to withdraw from a road into Aleppo on Thursday, a prerequisite for pressing ahead with international peacemaking efforts as the government and rebels accused each other of violating a truce. An organization that monitors the war also said the Syrian army had begun moving away, but insurgent groups in Aleppo said they had not seen the army withdrawing from the Castello Road, needed to allow aid deliveries into the city, and would not pull back from their own positions near the road until they did. The Pentagon said it could not confirm reports of a withdrawal but U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the ceasefire was holding "by and large", adding both Washington and Moscow believed it was worth continuing. But there were growing accusations of violations by each side, with a Syrian military source saying the rebels were responsible for dozens of breaches including gun, rocket and mortar fire in Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Latakia. The rebels said Syrian army jets had struck in Hama and Idlib, and used artillery near Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said it had documented attacks by both sides, and that despite widespread calm between rebels and the army, the first civilians had been killed since the truce began on Monday. Two civilians killed on Thursday were children in government-held areas, one in Aleppo and the other in Syria's southwest, it said. In addition, air strikes against Islamic State militants in the town of al-Mayadin near Deir al-Zor had killed at least 23 civilians, it said. Control of the Castello Road is divided between the government and rebels who have been battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad for more than five years. It has been a major frontline in the war. "The Syrian army ... began the staged withdrawal of vehicles and personnel from the Castello Road to ensure the unimpeded delivery of aid to eastern Aleppo," said Lieutenant-General Vladimir Savchenko, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre in Syria in remarks broadcast on state television. The Observatory said the army had started to withdraw from positions on the road, but that Russian troops, whose air force has helped Damascus blockade rebel-held Aleppo, had replaced it. An official in an Aleppo-based Syrian rebel group said late on Thursday the army had not pulled back. "There is no withdrawal by the regime from the Castello Road," Zakaria Malahifji, of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters. U.N. WAITS FOR PERMITS The U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the United States and Russia were expected to manage the disengagement of forces from the road, but criticized Damascus for failing to provide permits needed to make aid deliveries to other areas. The U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said both the rebels and the government were responsible for delaying aid deliveries into Aleppo. "The reason we're not in eastern Aleppo has again been a combination of very difficult and detailed discussions around security monitoring and passage of roadblocks, which is both opposition and government," he said. In other areas, de Mistura was categorical about blaming the Syrian government, saying it had not yet provided the proper permits. The Syrian government has said all aid deliveries must be conducted in coordination with it. France, which backs the opposition, became the first U.S. ally to publicly question the deal with Moscow, urging Washington to share details of the agreement and saying without aid for Aleppo, it was not credible. About 300,000 people are thought to be living in eastern Aleppo, while more than one million live in the government-controlled western half of the city. Two convoys of aid for Aleppo have been waiting in no-man's land to proceed to Aleppo after crossing the Turkish border. If a green light was given, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the first 20 trucks would move to Aleppo and if they reached the city safely, the second convoy would then leave. The two convoys were carrying enough food for 80,000 people for a month, he said. The United States and Russia have backed opposing sides in the Syrian war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced 11 million from their homes, and created the world's worst refugee crisis since World War 2. Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the war, has been a focal point of the conflict this year. Government forces backed by militias from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon have recently achieved their long-held objective of encircling the rebel-held east. MOSCOW CRITICIZES WASHINGTON Russia's intervention a year ago in support of Assad has given it critical leverage over the diplomatic process. Its ally, Assad, appears as uncompromising as ever. He vowed again on Monday to win back the entire country, which has been splintered into areas controlled by the state, an array of rebel factions, the Islamic State group, and the Kurdish YPG militia. Washington hopes the pact will pave the way to a resumption of political talks. But a similar agreement unraveled earlier this year, and this one also faces enormous challenges. Russia's deputy foreign minister Gannady Gatilov said talks could resume at the end of September, but this was rejected by George Sabra, an opposition negotiator, who said conditions on the ground were not yet good enough. The United States and Russia are due to start coordinating military strikes against Islamic State and a group formerly known as the Nusra Front if all goes to plan under the deal. But Russia said on Thursday the United States was using "a verbal smokescreen" to hide its reluctance to fulfill its part of the agreement, including separating what it called moderate opposition units from terrorist groups. The defense ministry said only government forces were observing the truce and opposition units "controlled by the U.S." had stepped up shelling of civilian residential areas. Rebels say Damascus has carried out numerous violations. While the general lines of the agreement have been made public, other parts have yet to be revealed, raising concerns among U.S. allies such as France, which is part of the coalition attacking Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The State Department said it was not ready to publish the pact but would discuss it in detail with partners on the sidelines of next week's U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York. Separately, a U.S. official said its detailed provisions include establishing two checkpoints on the Castello Road to be operated by the Syrian Red Crescent and allowing all Syrians to leave Aleppo on the road, including opposition forces with weapons. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was confirming details first reported by the Associated Press. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Angus McDowall, Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis in Beirut, Maria Kiselyova and Jack Stubbs in Moscow and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Janet Lawrence and James Dalgleish)
Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - At a rundown park near the frontlines in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a fragile truce has brought out visitors to see the last animal left at a makeshift zoo -- "Happy" the monkey.

The 22-year-old hamadryas baboon has been a much-loved attraction at Sabil park in the western portion of the city for years.

But the conflict since March 2011 that has split Aleppo between government control in the west and its rebel-held east has taken its toll on Saeed, whose name is Arabic for "happy".

"He's not as happy as he was before the war. He used to be cheerful and happy but now he seems old, and he's sad because he doesn't get visitors like before," said Abdullah al-Jaghal, his 52-year-old keeper.

Sabil park was once a major draw for residents of Aleppo, a former economic powerhouse that has been ravaged by the country's five-year conflict.

Its mini-zoo included other monkeys and peacocks that are now all dead.

As violence has raged across Syria, residents have stayed away for fear of the rocket and homemade missiles fired by rebels in eastern Aleppo, which itself is regularly targeted in government air strikes.

The park bears some scars of the war, including a small pit left by a rocket impact, and the fighting has traumatised Saeed.

"Whenever Saeed hears the sounds of shelling or gunfire, he gets scared and tries to climb to the highest point in the cage," said Jaghal, who has cared for the monkey for the 18 years it has lived at the park.

"He's afraid of loud noises and when he gets scared, it takes him a long time to calm down again."

Even in the context of war, Saeed's enclosure is grim -- a yellow-painted circular cage with nothing inside but a dirt floor sprinkled with remnants of food, including dried scraps of bread.

He walks around it with a chain and a small padlock around his neck, as adults and children watch him with interest.

"Our families have been coming since childhood to Sabil park to see Saeed and watch his acrobatics," said 35-year-old Bassam Primo, as his daughter handed the monkey a carton of juice.

Story continues

"But with the war, he's gotten sick, and his wife died. After that he started to isolate himself and stopped interacting with visitors," he said.

Throughout the violence which has killed over 300,000 people and displacing half of Syria's population, Primo kept visiting Saeed, often feeding him apples.

"But I found him depressed and sad," he said.

With the start of a truce negotiated by Russia and the United States, Sabil park was once again full this week, particularly as the lull coincided with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holidays.

Street vendors hawked goods to families enjoying a chance to walk without fear, while children crowded around Saeed's cage and called out his name.

Asma Deeb, an English teacher, said she was glad Saeed had survived.

"We've lived through tough times in Aleppo... and Saeed lived through them with us," the 36-year-old said.

"I was afraid that he would die of hunger or be hit by shrapnel from a shell."

But she winced at the children around his cage trying to provoke a reaction, and said she was saddened by his confined habitat.

"He has brought us happiness for 20 years... but his place is not here, his place is in his homeland in Africa, and I wish he'd be able to go back there so he could be happy."
CityTarget

Target is planning on opening hundreds of mini stores  a strategy that hasn't been successful for the retailer's rival.

CEO Brian Cornell says that Target's future involves hundreds of smaller, "flex-format" locations, reports Bloomberg.

Target has quietly opened 23 smaller stores, called CityTarget and TargetExpress locations, in major cities across the US. The retailer plans to open nine more smaller locations by the end of this year, and at least 16 more in 2017.

These smaller stores measure less than 50,000 square feet, compared to the traditional Target stores' range of 80,000 to 160,000 square feet.

They also have a different approach to stocking shelves, with locations adjusting their selections to fit the needs to local, urban customers. For example, Bloomberg reports Cornell said that Target's New York City location will focus on baby and kids products, as the store will be in a family-centric neighborhood.

CityTarget

Other product tweaks in smaller locations include smaller pack sizes to better fit the needs of urbanites taking public transportation and items that appeal to local tastes, such as Red Sox merchandise in a Boston location.

The smaller urban locations also have the secondary benefit of helping the retailer compete with Amazon, creating pickup points in cities for online orders.

Walmart tested similar smaller store concepts, with Walmart Neighborhood and Walmart Express.

In early 2014, the budget retailer said that it would double the growth of its smaller stores, with plans to open up to 300 small stores that year. However, early this year, Walmart announced it was closing all 102 Walmart Express outlets.

NOW WATCH: How 2 brothers turned a virtually indestructible cooler into a half-billion-dollar brand





More From Business Insider


TORONTO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Toronto Dominion Bank has sold home improvement financing assets to financial technology company Financeit and Concentra, a provider of services to credit unions, the buyers said on Thursday.

While the size of the deal was not announced, Financeit and Concentra said TD's assets had a book value of about C$339 million ($257 million).

Under the terms of the deal, Concentra bought about 45,000 TD loans, and more than 800 merchant dealers were assigned to Financeit.

Founded in 2011, Financeit is a free-to-use platform that helps businesses offer financing options to their customers from any device. It operates in the home improvement, vehicle and retail industries.

Concentra says its services reach more than 80 percent of credit unions in Canada.

Earlier this week, TD said it planned to acquire Albert Fried & Co, a New York-based broker-dealer, to expand its presence in the U.S. prime brokerage sector.

($1 = 1.3169 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by John Tilak; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
Two technology heavyweights lent their names to a campaign announced today in New York to ask President Barack Obama to pardon Edward Snowden.

Steve Wozniak, Apples co-founder, and Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, have listed their names in support of a presidential pardon for the whistleblower, joining the likes of George Soros, as well as actors like Daniel Radcliffe and Susan Sarandon. The full list of supporters names can be seen on a new website, PardonSnowden.org.

The campaign which calls on Obama to pardon Snowden while hes still in office is spearheaded by the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. Snowden himself appeared via video link from Russia, where he lives, at the press conference.

Anthony Romero, the national director of the ACLU, said that a presidential pardon of Snowden would be good for the United States; he acknowledged that Snowden did break the law but that there were mitigating circumstances that tilt the scales of justice away from punishment.

Edward Snowdens case presents one for President Obama to use the presidential power of pardon proudly and unequivocally, in recognition of one of the most important acts of whistleblowing in modern history, Romero said. By standing up for the privacy rights of his fellow citizens individuals who had no idea that the government had assumed such extraordinary and invasive powers in secret Edward Snowden should be thanked, and not punished.

Romero also spoke about what happened after Snowden leaked documents that revealed U.S. government surveillance programs.

Weve seen tech companies over the last several years enact significant encryption programs that protect the privacy rights of their customers, he added.

Snowden also emphasized the importance of computer security.

Id like to applaud the technologists, our scientists and leaders who, since the history of mass surveillance broke, have sought to resist this new and accelerating trend of overreach into our private lives, Snowden said, adding: Reliable uncompromised encryption is our only effective means for keeping our lights on and our roads open.

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While Romero and others called for Snowden to be pardoned before Obama leaves office, during questions from the media, Snowden resisted directly asking to be pardoned himself.

I wouldnt presume to instruct or direct the president in any way, Snowden said, when asked what hed like President Obama to do. As Ive said before, this is not a question thats for me to answer.

Snowden concluded by emphasizing that he gave the documents he leaked to journalists, who made the editorial decision of what to publish, and reiterated that the decision of whether or not he is pardoned is not his to make.

I do not myself ask for pardon and I never will, he said.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger

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Patanjali is now in trouble with a home-grown giant over advertising battles. The spat is over the company's advertisements for its honey products, which has been contested by Dabur.

Dabur had earlier complained to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) about Patanjali's advertisement claims on honey which it thinks contains 'misleading' and 'unsubtantiated' claims on purity, according to this report in Economic Times. The report says Baba Ramdev company has been pulled by the ad regulator now.

Patanjali has, through its advertisements, laid claim to its honey as being 'Purity ki Double Guarantee', according to the ET report. However, Dabur, which has a dominant share of the Rs 600 crore branded honey market, filed a case against the firm's advertising claims to the ASCI. Acting upon the complaint, the ASCI has directed Patanjali to either 'withdraw or modify its advertisement', says the report.

However, Patanjali has claimed that its honey product goes through hundred tests based on BIS and FSSAI guidelines. The company says that ASCI has no experts on board to verify Dabur's complaints against its honey and has gone to court against the regulator.

The controversies surrounding Patanjali's advertisements is nothing new. The ASCI had pulled up the firm in July for running "misleading" ad campaigns that disparages competitors products. The ASCI said had then said that Patanjali Ayurved "unfairly denigrates" products of its rivals in the advertisements, according to a PTI report.

The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) found that Patanjalis claim for its Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil that rival makers are selling mustard oil "adulterated with oil made by solvent extraction process with neurotoxin containing Hexane", was not substantiated. "Also, the claim is grossly misleading by exaggeration," the ad regulator said in its list for the month of April, 2016, in which it upheld 67 complaints against several companies.

Besides, Patanjali also failed to substantiate its claims for Patanjali Fruit Juice, where it had claimed rival brands as "expensive juices containing less pulp".

According to the regulator, the ad was accompanied by reference to the prices of other branded juices and "by implication unfairly denigrates the entire class/category of fruit juices".

Similarly, it also failed to substantiate its claims in the ad for cattle feed Patanjali Dugdhamrut as "other companies mix 3 to 4 per cent urea and other non-edible things in their cattle feed."

ASCI also held Patanjali Ayurveds ads for toothpaste Patanjali Dant Kanti as misleading as it did not substantiate claims of it being effective against pyorrhoea, swelling and bleeding of gums, yellowing of teeth, sensitivity and bad breath and provides a natural shield against germs. When contacted, a Patanjali Ayurved spokesperson said the company is looking into the details and exploring legal options in this matter.

In May this year, ASCI had rapped Patanjali Ayurved for "false and misleading" claims in its various advertisements, including its hair oil and washing powder brands, while issuing list for month of March.
A 13-year-old boy who was later found to be carrying a BB gun was shot and killed by police responding to an armed robbery Wednesday night in Columbus, Ohio. Tyree King died at a local area childrens hospital about half an hour after he was shot multiple times in the citys Olde Town East neighborhood, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

A spokesman for the Columbus Division of Police told the Dispatch officers spoke to the robbery victim, who said several young men, including one with a gun, approached him and demanded money.

People Killed by Police in the US | Graphiq

Officers then found and confronted three men on a nearby street, with two of them running away. King was one of the young men and police later said he pulled from his waistband what was later determined to be a BB gun affixed with a laser sight. King was then shot by an officer.

Police were called to East Broad and 18th streets, and found the three young men on Hoffman Avenue. A witness who lives on Hoffman Avenue told The Dispatch he heard someone knock over a gate in his backyard, and he later saw police chasing two men in an alley and then heard three to five gunshots.

The name of the officer who shot King has not been revealed and neither has the name of other young man who was fleeing with King. Police said the other suspect with King was interviewed and released and that other suspects are being pursued, the New York Daily News reported.

While details are scarce, Wednesday night's shooting draws similarities to Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who was playing with a pellet gun when a Cleveland police officer shot him in broad daylight in November 2014.

Rice's shooting at the time was part of a spate of high-profile police killings of black males. It was not immediately clear what King's race is or the race of the police officer who shot him.

Local NBC affiliate WCMH reports the officer who fired at King is a nine-year veteran who had recently transferred to the zone where the shooting took place and that all the officers involved will receive psychological counseling.

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(FRANKFURT / TEL AVIV)  Mobileye broke ties with Tesla Motors because the Silicon Valley firm was pushing the envelope in terms of safety with the design of its Autopilot driver-assistance system, Mobileyes chairman said on Wednesday.

It is not designed to cover all possible crash situations in a safe manner, Amnon Shashua, who is also chief technology officer at the Israel-based maker of collision detection and driver assistance systems, told Reuters.

No matter how you spin it, (Autopilot) is not designed for that. It is a driver assistance system and not a driverless system, he said in an interview.

The safety of Autopilot, which helps drivers stay in lanes and steer on highways, was thrust into the public spotlight after a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S driver using the new technology in May. Tesla said in a blogpost after the accident that neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.

A Tesla spokeswoman said Wednesday the company had never described Autopilot as an autonomous technology or self-driving car.

Since the release of Autopilot, weve continuously educated customers on the use of the features, reminding them that theyre responsible to keep their hands on the wheel and remain alert and present when using Autopilot, the spokeswoman said. Drivers must be prepared to take control at all times.

However, drivers using Autopilot were able to take their hands off the wheel at highway speeds for several minutes at a time. YouTube videos proliferated soon after the systems launch last fall showing Tesla drivers driving hands-free, prompting Musk to express concern about drivers doing crazy things. The company in January said it was modifying the system.

On Sunday, Tesla said it would update Autopilot to make it more difficult for drivers to ignore warnings to keep hands on the wheel and other changes that Musk said would probably have prevented the fatality in May. Musk said Sunday as drivers became familiar with the system, they tended to ignore audible warnings to retake the wheel.

Story continues

Still, Musk said the revised system will allow a drivers hands to be off the wheel for up to three minutes while following a car at highway speeds.

Shashuas comments escalate an unusually public rift in an industry where suppliers and automakers rarely speak ill of each other in public. After Mobileye announced its break with Tesla in July in the wake of the fatality, Tesla said in a statement that Mobileye could not keep pace with Teslas product changes.

Our parting ways was inevitable, Musk told a press conference in late July.

Shashua said the company had reservations about the mixed messages from Tesla about Autopilot  both boasting of its capabilities while cautioning that drivers needed to keep their hands on the wheel  especially after watching Teslas response to the Florida crash.

Long term this is going to hurt the interests of the company and hurt the interests of an entire industry, if a company of our reputation will continue to be associated with this type of pushing the envelope in terms of safety, he said.

The company counts as customers 27 automakers for its collision detection systems, which represent around 70 percent of the current market.

Tesla and Musk have also said the Florida death was the first known fatality involving a car operating on Autopilot in 130 million miles of driving, and have contrasted that to the average of one death every 60 million miles of driving by vehicles worldwide.

(Additional reporting by Paul Lienert and Joe White in Detroit and Alexandria Sage in San Francisco; Editing by Greg Mahlich and James Dalgleish)
In July, automotive tech company Mobileye, which had provided parts for Teslas Autopilot assisted-driving system, announced that it was ending its relationship with the carmaker. Now Mobileye says it parted ways with Tesla because Autopilot was pushing the envelope in terms of safety.

Autopilotwhich steers the vehicle more actively than other automated safety systems like automatic braking, steering assist, or adaptive cruise controlhas come under heavy scrutiny following a fatal May 2016 crash during which the system was in use.

Despite attempts by Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk to assure owners, regulators, and safety experts that the feature is safe, Mobileye now tells Reuters that the company was sending mixed messages that Autopilot was something that it wasnt: an autonomous driving product.

For example, Mobileye says Tesla boasted about Autopilots autonomous capabilities, while also telling drivers they must keep their hands on the wheel at all times.

Drivers in China recently claimed that Tesla sales people were openly marketing the car there as self-driving, resulting in at least one crash involving a Tesla owner who says he took his hands off the wheel while driving because he believed Autopilot would control the car. Following that incident, Tesla cleared up the language on its Chinese site to remove references that might imply Autopilot is the same as autonomous driving.

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The Future of Transportation: The Promise of a Post-Driver Life

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Consumer Reports' Guide to Self-Driving Cars

It is not designed to cover all possible crash situations in a safe manner, Amnon Shashua, chairman for Mobileye, tells Reuters. No matter how you spin it, (Autopilot) is not designed for that. It is a driver assistance system and not a driverless system.

Story continues

In response to Mobileyes belief that the company is pushing the safety limits with the feature, a rep for Tesla tells Reuters that the company has never described Autopilot as an autonomous technology or self-driving car.

Since the release of Autopilot, weve continuously educated customers on the use of the features, reminding them that theyre responsible to keep their hands on the wheel and remain alert and present when using Autopilot, the spokeswoman said. Drivers must be prepared to take control at all times.

After the potential Autopilot connection to the fatal crash was revealed in June, Tesla announced it was taking steps to ensure the safety of drivers who use Autopilot.

In July, Musk said the company wouldnt disable the function, but would instead increase efforts to educate owners on how the system works and what to expect when using it.

A lot of people dont understand what it is and how you turn it on, Musk said, noting that the carmaker would publish a blog explaining the function soon. The feature is set to off by default until a driver activates it.

Musk stressed at the time that the feature, which launched last fall, was simply a beta feature.

It says beta specifically so people do not become complacent, Musk said, adding that disclaimers provided to drivers are written in super plain language.

Just this week, the company said it would issue an update to Autopilot making changes to the way in which drivers must keep their hands on the wheel and improvements to the onboard radar systems ability to detect surroundings through rain, fog, or dust.

Still, the Associated Press reports that the carmaker is facing renewed scrutiny in China after a news report suggested a man killed in a January crash had been using the Autopilot feature.

Mobileye says Tesla was pushing the envelope in terms of safety [Reuters]

Teslas Autopilot system under scrutiny in fatal China crash [The Associated Press]





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BANGKOK (Reuters) - Last month's bombings in Thai tourist towns were not linked to Muslim separatists, Thailand's defense minister said on Thursday, contradicting the police. There has been a series of bomb attacks in the central and far south, including coordinated bombings in tourist towns in August that killed four Thai people and wounded dozens, including foreigners. Analysts say separatist insurgents in the country's three southern Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani bordering Malaysia were behind the attacks. Tourist towns in the central south have for years been spared any spill-over of violence from the deep south and analysts say the government is loath to blame the coordinated bombings on southern Muslim insurgents because of fear of damaging tourism in the predominantly Buddhist country. So far, two suspects have been arrested in connection with the tourist-town attacks. "Even though the arrested suspects were from the southern provinces this is not an expansion of the insurgency and not related to southern violence," Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said at an event outlining the military government's achievements since a May 2014 coup. His comments contradicted a police statement last month linking the tourist town attacks to separatists in the far south. Thailand and Malaysia on Friday agreed to consider building a border wall to combat transnational crime and smuggling. More than 6,500 people have died - the majority of them civilians - since 2004 in fighting between Malay Muslim rebels and Thai security forces stationed in the area. Violence in the three southern provinces had decreased by 60 percent since the junta took power, Prawit said. (Reporting by Cod Satrusayang; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Nick Macfie)
From ELLE

As a potent bit of mom-shaming, this one hit me square in my rage place: "Chealsea Clinton Misses Daughter's First Day of School" was an actual headline that ran today in an actual online publication.

I am very ready for this election to be over h/t @ParkerMolloy pic.twitter.com/rG8YQ2yJIp - Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) September 14, 2016

I hope 10 million working parents just pushed back their chairs and went "Oh hell no."

Yes, yes, they did. Chelsea, it seems, spent yesterday morning in North Carolina campaigning for her mother, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (She's a bit under the weather, you may have heard.) Back in New York, it was little Charlotte Mezvinsky's first day of preschool, and her father, Marc, along with a nanny, dropped the almost-two-year-old off.

I don't think I've ever seen an article about a father "missing" his child's first day of school.

I suppose we could start with the fact that Chelsea is being singled out for "missing" a first day of school, instead of being celebrated for doing her job as a key campaign strategist for the Democratic nominee for president. This is a pretty familiar trope: Working moms are always juggling, aren't we? Balancing our professional and domestic responsibilities? And when the two conflict-as they sometimes do-and we are forced to choose, well then, as the metaphor goes, a ball is dropped. In this case that ball was Charlotte. How will she ever know she is loved?

Second, I could point out that I don't think I've ever seen an article about a father "missing" his child's first day of school. What gets noticed are the times they do show up, when they "take time out" from a busy work schedule to squeeze in the first-day photo op. Good for them. I mean that sincerely-it's great when a parent can drop off their child at school.

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It should be noted that the Daily Mail seems to have changed its headline to the pithy yet lyrical: "It takes a village! Chelsea Clinton's husband Marc and their nanny take Charlotte to her first day of preschool - which she misses to campaign for her sick mom."

"Chelsea's husband Marc"? I'm sorry, I think you mean Charlotte's father Marc. In this case, I don't think it does take a village. I think it takes a working parent or two, with the help of reliable childcare, to make sure a two-year-old is deposited at a licensed facility for a few hours of supervised play.

This is a dance that working parents do every day. They spend countless hours looking at schedules, texting each other and the people, paid or otherwise, who help care for their children, to make sure someone is always there. None of us wants special recognition for doing our jobs and fulfilling our responsibilities as caregivers, but we definitely don't want to be shamed for occasionally having to make difficult choices.

I know I got myself into this situation. I used my ovaries while also earning a paycheck.

Ok, that's a lie. I'd like a round of applause and a huge raise, but I also know I got myself into this situation. I used my ovaries while also earning a paycheck. At a job that I love and am deeply proud to do. There are difficult and overwhelming moments but I am deeply grateful to have them. Now if Ivanka could just do something about paid family leave.

Here's the real bind: I spend more energy than I care to admit trying to convince everyone around me that I'm both mother enough and professionally focused and ready to go. I reply to every last email, often before 6 a.m., and when something does take me away from my desk at an inopportune time, I make jokes by way of apology. Do you guys think it's funny that I called my kid an asshole for getting the stomach flu? It is. It's hilarious.

I also know that no one likes a bad mother, so when people ask me if it's hard to be away from my kids all the time (and they do ask me this) I say "It's so so hard." What I want to say is: "Boy do I love not spending every waking hour with them." Missing my children while doing my job-and then coming home to them-is a delightful combination.

Sometimes being a good parent means knowing when not to show up. Deep, I know.

Let me tell you another thing I've learned: The biggest moments between a parent and a child are rarely the ones we put on Instagram. First days of school are important, but third days can be a much bigger deal. That's the day your son realizes he has to come to that strange room every day for the next year. And he freaks out. Three weeks in is big as well. That's the day he finally makes a friend and tells you about it. Six months in, when he tells you how much he loves his teacher, that's one you'll always remember. I will miss some of those moments, but I will be there for a lot of them.

Here's another thought: What if Chelsea Clinton didn't think it was a good idea to be there on the first day of school? Maybe Charlotte is a little something like my son was at age two, and has an epic, heart stomping meltdown when forced to separate from her mother in an unfamiliar place. (My kid had to be peeled off me, screaming "Don't leave me," as I sobbed. Do you know how ludicrous it sounds when you say "I know you're going to love it here" while ugly crying?)

Maybe Chelsea and Marc decided together that Charlotte would feel stronger and braver if her father dropped her off. Sometimes being a good parent means knowing when not to show up. Deep, I know.

I missed my daughter's first day of school this year. That's because it happened to be on my son's first day of school and I could not physically be in two places at once. Perhaps once I achieve the ability to bifurcate, I will be parent enough. Until then, I am very fortunate to have people who can help.

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By Arno Schuetze and Ron Bousso

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - At least three leading chemical companies are set to vie for BP's (BP.L) stake in Chinese petrochemicals joint venture SECCO which could fetch more than $2 billion (1.51 billion pounds), sources close to the process said.

Offers for the 50 percent stake, the British oil and gas company's largest investment in China, will be submitted in the coming days, the sources said.

SK Chemicals Co Ltd , a pharmaceutical unit of South Korea's SK Group; Austrian plastics group Borealis (BESGR.UL), owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund IPIC and oil and gas company OMV (OMVV.VI); and privately-owned Switzerland-based chemicals company Ineos [INGRP.UL] are set to bid for the asset, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information isn't public.

At least one other company is considering entering the bidding round.

BP's partner in the joint venture, state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) , has a right of first refusal. It has said it is discussing the conditions put forward by BP, but has made no decision.

BP and the three potential bidders declined to comment or were not immediately available to comment.

SECCO, a venture formed in 2001, produces ethylene and propylene, which are used to make resins, plastics and synthetic rubbers.

BP, like other of the world's top oil companies, is in the midst of a divestment drive in order to focus its business and boost cash flow in the wake of the halving of oil prices since mid-2014. It is planning sales worth $3-$5 billion this year.

The company has sold more than $50 billion of assets since a deadly explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

BP has sold several assets to Ineos in recent years, including the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland as part of a $9 billion sale of the olefins and refining business Innovene in 2005.

(Additional reporting by Denny Thomas in Hong Kong; Editing by Mark Potter)
The head of Mexicos top criminal investigation agency, who played a key role in the 2014 investigation into the disappearance of 43 students in the city of Iguala, has stepped down, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Attorney Generals office.

Reuters reports that the statement did not give a reason for Tomas Zerons resignation. However, a 2015 independent review panel heavily criticized his handling of the investigation. The Attorney Generals office also began its own review of Zerons conduct in April 2016.

The students, all of them teachers-in-training, are believed to have been abducted by corrupt local police from the buses they were traveling to Mexico City in. According to a heavily-contested government report, they were then handed over to a prominent drug cartel, which subsequently killed them. Allegations that federal police also played a role are now being probed.

The disappearance of the students has sparked huge protests in Mexico.

Writing on Twitter, Vidulfo Rosales, a lawyer for the parents of the students, said he hoped Zerons resignation wasnt reason to stop investigating what happened. The resignation came too late, he said, We want an investigation, not impunity.

[Reuters]
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Sept 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Comptroller of the Currency on Thursday defended capital requirements and other standards for banks and said they have made the institutions more competitive coming out of the financial crisis.

Speaking at an evening event at Harvard University, the comptroller, Thomas Curry, whose agency regulates national banks, said it would be a poor time to relax rules, as some have suggested.

"Now is not the time to change course," said Curry, according to his prepared remarks.

He cited improvements to bank balance sheets such as that Tier 1 common equity is now about 13 percent of risk-weighted assets, up from 9 percent in late 2008, while the leverage ratio is now at 9.3 percent, about a third higher than in 2008.

Against foreign banks, "The high standards here in the U.S. have made our banks stronger in absolute terms and in comparitive terms, " Curry said.

In August, the Bank of England eased a broad measure of capital adequacy for banks to help avoid crimping the flow of credit after the vote in June to leave the European Union. (http://reut.rs/2alqlXk)

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Cambridge, Mass.; Editing by Bernard Orr)
New Delhi: The proposed merger of Reliance Communications with Aircel to form a new entity, with a new brand name, may be he best piece of news for everyone concerned in the telecom space. This move not only announce the beginning of much-needed consolidation in Indias crowded telecom sector, but also allows the merged entity to corner a fifth of the wireless subscribers in India. And come in a neck and neck race with Vodafone.

According to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report, the merged entity will have 19.1 percent share of the market by subscribers, the same as Vodafone and behind Bharti Airtel's 24.9 percent. In terms of revenue market share though, the merged entity will have a tad short of 10 percent share of the market.

The merger will help the two companies get economies of scale to deal with increasing competition in the market, something the two standalone entities were finding tough. The merger also means that the new entity would have a little over 15 percent spectrum share, according to BoAML.

The creation of the new entity will first involve RCom demerging its existing cellular business, which has around 100 million subscribers. Other businesses, including tower assets, will continue to remain with RCom. The wireless unit will then be merged with Aircel.

RCom and Aircels Malaysia-based promoters Maxis Communications Berhad will hold 50 percent each in the new venture, with equal representation on the board. RCom had earlier merged with Sistema JSFCs Indian operations  MTS  under which the Russian company holds a 10 percent stake in RCom.

The earlier move on MTS is also a smart one, since it provided a window for the Russian telecom major to exit India in its independent business while continuing to hold a 10 percent stake in one of the world's fastest growing telecom markets.

The proposed merger of RCom and Aircel is good for all parties concerned, but for consumers, like you and me, the merger really signals no discernable change in the near future. In fact, the arrival of Reliance Jio is a bigger factor which will impact the Indian telecom market besides consumer behaviour and pricing going forward.

India is a crowded telecom market where spectrum and network costs come to about 30-40 percent of each telecom operators operating costs; for smaller telcos, this may even be higher. This results in tough operating condition for telecom companies  some of the worlds most successful telcos like Vodafone and homegrown Bharti Airtel are also struggling with considerable debt on their balance sheets due to unviable cost scenario. The only way forward is market consolidation so that ultimately only 4-5 strong telecom companies are in the fray against over a dozen now. The proposed merger of RCom and Aircel will be a step in this direction.

Sachin Salgaonkar and Karan Parmanandka of Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients that on completion of the deal (expected to take 6 to 9 months), the wireless entity would be the fourth largest in terms of revenues (10 percent share), and would have spectrum market share of 15.2 percent.

They pointed out that as per RCom, the transaction would reduce its debt by Rs 20,000 crore (includes spectrum liability obligation) and Aircel's debt by Rs 4,000 crore. We await more clarity on the debt treatment on the call. The company expects to achieve opex synergies estimated at NPV of Rs 20,000 crore ($3bn). The new company would remain unlisted for now, but may look to list at a future date. We note that RCom has been losing revenue market share and going forward we would expect the same trend persisting for the wireless business given lack of strong brand, lower capex investments and expected increase in market competition post Jio launch.

Another analyst said that the merger will enable RCom to prevent loss of GSM subscribers in markets where it could not renew its 900 MHz license. These include Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal. In some other markets like Orissa, RCom will be able to use spectrum in 1800 & 900 MHz band for 3G/4G by moving its GSM subscribers into Aircel's 1800 MHz spectrum. The merged entity will be able to have 10 MHz of continuous spectrum in four markets for improved 3G download speeds (Bihar, J&K, Kolkata & Orissa).

This analyst said the merger will also derisk RCom from the imminent license expiry (most of RCom's 800/1800 MHz licenses are expiring in the next five years and Aircel's licenses have another 9 to 10 years).

Despite all the good news about this merger, concerns persist. According to this piece in Mint newspaper,

the all-important detail of how much equity the two companies plan to bring in to the merged entity is not known. "Unless the merged entity is well capitalized, its future is bleak," the paper noted.

The debt burden of the two standalone entities is also causing concerns among analysts. This piece in the Hindu Business Line notes that the merged entity will carry a debt of nearly Rs 28,000 crore  RCom and Aircel will each contribute half that amount into the debt pool. "In addition, the new operator will be liable to pay about Rs 6,000 crore to the Centre for the spectrum bought by RCom in the previous auction. The new operator will have assets worth Rs 65,000 crore and a net worth of Rs 35,000 crore."

Retiring debt should be a priority for the merged entity.
Satin Rouge director Raja Amaris traditional yet interesting fourth feature Foreign Body follows the first months in France of Samia, a young illegal immigrant who ran away from her brother, an abusive man and Islamist radical she informed on in the aftermath of the Jasmine Revolution. Rather than retracing the inevitable obstacle course any refugee has to face (finding a roof, escaping the police, etc.), Amari focuses on her heroines inner turmoil and confronts her with a troubling waltz of desires. A terrific cast is Foreign Bodys major asset, with Sarra Hannachi (Child of the Sun) superbly playing the lead character alongside the always elegant presence of Hiam Abbas (of Lemon Tree and The Source) as the half-maternal, half-Pygmalion figure. Add to this such a timely topic and the film has the right ingredients to play well internationally.

To set foot in France, Samia had to cross the Mediterranean Sea on a makeshift boat that sank before the movie starts. Our first contact with her is pretty visceral, as we hear the long breath she inhales after having nearly drowned. The message is clear: Samia is a survivor. How she makes it to Lyon, we wont know. Indeed, how Samia feels matters more to Amari than what she does  a philosophy the director seems to share with her character, who often makes impulsive decisions, even if they leave her situation feeling even more precarious.

For instance, Samia could have stayed awhile at Imeds apartment and welcomed his help to find her a job. After all, Imed (Salim Kechiouche, Blue is the Warmest Color) is an old acquaintance who really seems to care about her. But Imed is also Samias detained brothers friend, which means that deep down, he may share the same backward misogyny. So despite the risk of being stopped by police, Samia wanders the streets, stopping wherever her instinct tells her. This is how she winds up entering a brasserie in a cosy neighbourhood. While the unusually kind owner offers her a coffee, she notices a stylish middle-aged woman hanging a small ad on the wall. Freshly widowed, Mrs. Berteau (Abbas), who lives just next door, needs a full-time hand to go trough her deceased husbands belongings. A few seconds later, Samia is at her door, insisting until she gets the job.

At first glance, the foreign body of the films title seems to refer to Samia, who had to leave part of who she was on the other side of the sea. But Amaris attention focuses as much on her two side characters. First, Mrs. Berteau, whom everyone addresses with great respect: She lives in a vast and comfortable apartment, wearing only designer clothes that underline her graceful silhouette. But soon enough we understand that this aura is actually a reflection of her husbands status, rather than her own. Before him, I was nothing, she confides in one of those rare moments when she stops being Mrs. Berteau to become Leila again: a restless woman who must have once resembled Samia, and who resurfaces more and more often since her young compatriot moved in.

Meanwhile, Imed also struggles to adapt to his new reality. We learn that in Tunisia, he was part of a very rigorist religious group. Now, in France, he is torn between his traditional values and his fascination for Samia. Meeting Mrs. Berteau, the first person to treat him like a gentleman, confuses him even more.

In composing this group portrait, Buried Secrets director Amari relies upon an efficient but relatively conventional dramaturgic arsenal: the beginning of a love triangle; the classic makeover session, during which a pop-eyed spectator will discover the princess under the rags; and so forth. Less subversive than her voluptuous debut, Satin Rouge, and perhaps a bit too bashful to reveal everything its protagonists have to hide, Foreign Body mostly ignores the flesh to capture sensations. (The camera relies a bit too much on the handheld aesthetic to convey the characters confusion.) Still, the most intense scenes are also the most carnal, as when, alone in a shabby bar, Samia surrenders to the dance, or in Leilas living room, when her undulating body rivets her two partners like a magnet. Those are the most memorable souvenirs of a film that inevitably calls to mind another portrait of a beautiful, young and bold immigrant, featuring an impressive newcomer: Danielle Arbids Parisienne, with Manal Issa.

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A dysfunctional father-son relationship unexpectedly improves after the teenager commits an atrocious crime and turns to dad for help in Fernando Guzzonis striking second feature, Jesus. The intense drama-thriller explores the generational gulf between adults who grew up under Pinochets dictatorship and modern-day youth living in a world with no moral compass. Already a director to watch since his narrative debut, Dog Flesh  a portrait of a former torturer under Pinochet  won San Sebastians New Directors Prize in 2012, Guzzoni stands out as one of Chiles most exciting new voices.

Eighteen-year-old Jesus (Nicolas Duran, No Filter), born and raised in Santiago, probably behaves like a lot of kids of his age, less interested in finishing high school than in dancing in his amateur K-pop band, picking up girls, or getting wasted with his buddies and having random sex. But one of his hobbies is more specific to the region he lives in: watching narco execution snuff movies with his pals. That only partly explains his behavior on a drunken night when he and his friends find an unconscious boy in a park and beat the hell out of him, leaving him for dead.

The next day, Jesus learns on the news that the kid, a young homosexual, is in a coma, and police are searching for those responsible, probably a neo-Nazi group. He immediately turns to his best friend, Pizarro, one of the perpetrators. They reassure each other and end up having sex, but his new lover soon betrays him, informing the most frightening member of their gang that Jesus is considering surrendering to the police. Now hunted by the authorities and by his former friends, Jesus has no other choice than to seek the counsel of his estranged father Hector (Alejandro Goic, Dog Flesh, The Club). A widower whose work takes him far from home, Hector almost doesnt know his son anymore. Positioned as a raw coming-of-age story, Jesus takes on a thriller edge as the viewer is left to wonder if police will identify the teen, and how his far will his father go to protect him.

Superbly lensed in a jittery chiaroscuro by Uruguayan cinematographer Barbara Alvarez (The Headless Woman), Jesus investigates the darkest side of adolescence, raising a number of moral questions without providing easy answers. The top-notch cast is the icing on the cake, with Goic stoically embodying Chiles hopes and failures while young Duran mesmerizes with his stunning androgyny.

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Jacob Tremblay insists Hollywood fame hasn't changed the 9-year-old a year after he and co-star Brie Larson screened Lenny Abrahamson's Room, which would go on to become an awards darling, at the Toronto Film Festival.

But he has changed; he's gotten older. "I don't think I really changed. I mean, I changed in age. But I think I was just really excited to come back here again," Tremblay on Thursday said during a Burn Your Maps press conference at the Toronto Film Festival a year after Room earned the People's Choice Award here.

The Canadian actor won a Critics' Choice Award and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his breakout performance in Room. The 2015 awards season also allowed Tremblay to rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.

"I don't feel like a different person. But I'm really excited to do this and celebrate, and do all this press for our new movie," Tremblay said. He is promoting Burn Your Maps, directed by Jordan Roberts and also starring Vera Farmiga and Virginia Madsen.

Tremblay plays an 8-year-old American convinced he's a Mongolian goat herder. He played with goats and horses during the film shoot, which had Canada's Alberta province doubling as Mongolia.

"Goats are really cute, especially little ones. But they do smell a little bit," the young actor told the Toronto presser. Tremblay also recounted riding a horse without a saddle. "If you do that, it kind of hurts, if you know what I'm saying," he told reporters.

Co-star Farmiga said connecting on the Burn Your Maps set with Tremblay was easy. "He's a very open little dude. He just wants to have a good time," she explained. "He's a very savvy young actor, very deep, in touch with his emotions," Farmiga added.

Director Foster paid tribute to Tremblay for not cutting corners when time constraints meant the low-budget indie needed to speed up production. "To his unbelievable quality, he was not capable of phoning it in. When I was running out of time and I needed him to do it, he wouldn't [phone it in]," Foster recalled.

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The Toronto Film Festival continues through Sept. 18.

Read more: 'Room' Star Jacob Tremblay Geeks Out on Social Media After Meeting A-Listers
Splattered with the Korean aesthetic of troglodytic violence and blighted by irredeemable characters, Kim Sung-soos Asura: The City of Madness is a stygian crime thriller that casts a jaundiced eye at South Korean regional politics. The cesspool of venal humanity does exert grisly fascination, and those who can contain their moral disgust will become invested in the antihero (Jung Woo-sung, Cold Eyes)  a crooked cop caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Following its festival debut at Toronto, the picture should pound its way into Asian genre niches.

In Indian mythology, Asuras are demigods consumed by negative passions, perpetually fighting each other. This couldnt be a better allegory for the protagonists, whose thirst for money and power turn the world into a living hell. The film expands the trend set by nationwide hits The Unjust, Inside Men, and A Violent Prosecutor, which depict politicians and lawmakers as more thuggish than gangsterish. As helmed by action veteran Kim, ( Musa the Warrior,Flu) Asura is grubbier and more pessimistic than those movies. Its also a dark rebuttal to Kims 90s gangster films Beat and City of Rising Sun, which glorified brotherhood among small-time hoods, and propelled Jung to stardom.

The films sole locale is the fictional city of Annam, which, in an apt establishing shot, recalls a dusty favela. However, with the evacuation of they citys U.S. Army base, its shantytown is marked for re-development. Avaricious mayor Park Sun-bae (Hwang Jung-min) wants the lions share of profits. His rivals, of course, wont stand for it, waging a turf war on all fronts.

At the center of the maelstrom is the self-demeaning Detective Han Do-kyung (Jung), who acts as the mayors enforcer. When he botches up an order to dispatch a claimant who filed a lawsuit against Park, hes blackmailed by prosecutor Kim Cha-in (Kwon Do-won, The Wailing) and his special investigation squad to bite the hand that feeds him. Not that Kim is a crusader of justice: hes just beholden to his superior, Oh, whos in the pockets of Parks enemies. In fact, Kim couldnt be a smarmier embodiment of chicanery, dangling a fake payout in front of Han to entice him, then resorting to torture when all else fails.

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Hans vacillation is not swayed by conscience, but rather by uncertainty over whos more dangerous to betray. His decision is complicated by the fact that his wife, whos hospitalized for a terminal illness, is Parks half-sister. He doesnt love her, but hes pricked by guilt over his own heartlessness. Since he has neither morals or sentimentality, his final adversary remains unpredictable till the end, providing the film with jittery tension throughout.

In a sardonic puncturing of hierarchical Korean mentor-protege protocol, an abrasive dynamic unfolds between Han and Sun-mo (Ju Ji-hun), a rookie cop who gradually edges his senior out to become Parks right-hand man. Hans futile macho rage at being dissed is exacerbated by the upstarts reckless gambits to impress the boss, intensifying the films dog-eat-dog hysteria.

Though Park fans their rivalry like baiting roosters in a cockfight, his deviousness is not enough to fend off his opponents or push through his money-grubbing schemes. As his corruption and felonious deeds come home to roost, he blows his top like the other protagonists, pushing everyone over the edge in a way that justifies the title City of Madness. The Grand Guignol finale, set with morbid irony in a funeral parlor, provides the kind of Grindhouse catharsis thats inevitable, if unoriginal.

To paint its sordid picture of Korean officialdom, Kims directorial style is as blunt and effective as the way in which Hans stooge intimidates the claimant: by knocking his teeth out with a hammer. Parks vulgarity and cockiness are on display in a scene in which he struts around with his bare buttocks exposed while negotiating with a gang leader. Hans stress and rage include his constant bombardment of cussing and outbreaks of violence. When he has a meltdown, the catastrophic multiple car-crash he sets in motion is a flaming, nerve-jangling spectacle that amplifies his spiritual wreckage.

As Kim and his cronies tighten the screws on Han while his usefulness to Park dwindles, Hans complete lack of options sum up the tragedy of a small-time player in an evil, broken world. If one feels a flicker of pity for him, its due in no small part to Jungs willingness to ditch his usual cool-dude pose. With eyes hollowed out like coal pits and face puckered with world-weariness, Jung conveys the souls damnation with electrifying physical presence.

While this film may mark Jungs transition from star to character actor, Hwang, whos been at the top of his game in a succession of hits like Ode to My Father, Veteran and The Violent Prosecutor shows signs of slacking. Although the versatile actor would never phone in a performance, theres no sophistication or shading in Parks vileness.

Tech credits are solid if devoid of flair. Production designer Jang Geun-yeong favors gritty realism over of stylish noir, supplying run-down locations where the dirt and odor seem to cling to the characters. Lee Jae-jins score employs a low thrumming bass of hissing discord.

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Roadside Attraction has acquired the drama Lady Macbeth out of the Toronto Film Festival, Variety has learned.

The movie, directed by London stage veteran William Oldroyd, isnt based on the famous Shakespeare character but is an adaptation of Russian writer Nikolai Leskovs 1865 novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk. Florence Pugh (The Falling) plays the title character: a 19th century young bride sold into marriage to a middle-aged man.

The indie, which received strong reviews, had several distributors circling it since Toronto began, until Roadside closed the deal.

Lady Macbeth was produced by Fodhla Cronin OReilly. The script was adapted by Alice Birch.

Protagonist Pictures Vanessa Saal and Mike Goodridge handled the deal.

Although the Toronto market has been moving at a glacial pace, some deals are finally starting to close, as distributors have now seen all the pictures are deciding which movies to add to their slates.

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The trial of two Chinese Uighurs accused of a deadly Bangkok shrine bombing was postponed for a second time Thursday as the court again failed to find a suitable translator for the suspects.

The August 2015 bombing left 20 dead in the centre of the city in an unprecedented attack on the junta-ruled nation.

The two accused, Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed, were scooped up by Thai police in the days after the bombing and have been held in military custody ever since.

Both deny the charges.

Thursday's delay added a fresh layer of farce to a case that has been marked by official obfuscation, with police unable to offer a convincing motive for the attack, according to analysts.

More than a dozen ethnic Chinese tourists were among the dead when explosives -- apparently left in a backpack -- detonated in a Hindu shrine popular with tourists last year.

The blast came weeks after Thailand's junta forcibly repatriated 109 Uighurs to China, where rights activists says the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority face cultural and religious repression.

The timing prompted speculation that the attack was part of a revenge plot against a country which had been a key transit hub for Uighurs as Thailand's military leaders have grown closer to Beijing.

Thai authorities have rejected the theory and insist the attack was in retaliation for a crackdown on a people-smuggling gang.

On Thursday a court-appointed translator -- a female Uzbek immigration detainee -- was turned down by both defendants.

"I can understand (the Uzbek) translator... but not well," Yusufu told the military court in English.

The military prosecutor had earlier refused a translator provided by the defence, according to a judge, who told the court that "the case is a security matter... so the court provided a translator from immigration (detention centre)."

"The court will seek a new translator and postpones the case to October 13 and 14," the male judge, who can not be named, added.

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The case was first delayed in August when the translator for the accused, another Uzbek national, fled after he was hit with drug possession charges.

Sirojiddin Bakhodirov accused police of planting drugs on him as punishment for helping Thailand's Uighur community -- a charge officers denied.

"Getting proper translation is a serious matter and not easy for any court," Sam Zarifi, of the International Commission of Jurists, told AFP.

"But this is a very high-profile case for the Thai government and they've had months to prepare so it's unclear why they can't provide the necessary translation, while the suspects are being held without a trial."

Prosecutors accuse Mohammed of placing the bomb inside a backpack at the shrine and say Mieraili was involved in transporting the device.
trevor noah on donald trump viral rant comedy central

Trevor Noah delivered a smackdown on Donald Trump in a rapid-fire and profanity-laden video posted online.

In what "The Daily Show" host calls a "Viral Rant," the South African-born comedian explained why he has had enough of Trump's take on immigrants and minorities.

"The greatest country in the world is the country that accepts people who come in from everywhere in the world, Mr. Donald Trump," Noah said. "And I know you think that half the country is a basket of deportables. Yeah, I said it, 'deportables,' not 'deplorables.' But the good people of America know the greatest country in the world is the country where you can come in and create anything.

Noah then went on to explain that Apple cofounder Steve Jobs was the son of a migrant.

"You know what came from Syria? The iPhone came from Syria, Donald Trump," Noah said. "The same iPhone you tweet s--- about the refugees on. Every time you tweet with those fat, little fingers of yours, you should be saying thank you to them for giving you that same phone."



Noah continued to hammer away at Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan, asking how he intends to to do that when the country is already great.

"The fact that a South African could be sitting in this chair that was once run by an American and can be telling you all of this," he pointed out. "This proves how great this country is."

Noah also reminded the candidate, "You got your wife from a foreign country, Mr. Donald Trump."

The host then ended his tirade with one more point on Trump's view of minorities.

"You have a problem with people of color," he said. "Maybe, you should look in the mirror, a--hole, because you have the most color of all."

Watch the full "Viral Rant" below:



Trevor Noah DESTROYS Donald Trump in this #ViralRant pic.twitter.com/bsRdVXn7b3  The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) September 15, 2016

NOW WATCH: Watch a Flint pastor interrupt Trump for giving 'a political speech rather than thanking the church





More From Business Insider


Bastia (France) (AFP) - Five men went on trial in Corsica on Thursday over a mass beach brawl on the French Mediterranean island last month that reportedly began after tourists took pictures of Muslim bathers.

The violence in Sisco, in the island's north, left five people injured, prompting the mayor of the village to ban the Islamic burkini swimsuit initially thought to have been at the centre of the row.

Around 100 police were deployed to quell the August 13 clashes between locals and families of North African origin from another part of the island.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the court in Bastia on Thursday to support two local men facing charges over the incident alongside three brothers of Moroccan origin.

Only one of the three brothers was present in court, the other two telling their lawyers they feared for their safety following several anti-Islam demonstrations and attacks on the island.

The clashes came amid heightened tension in France after a string of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, including the July 14 massacre in the southern city of Nice when a Tunisian ploughed a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people.

In Corsica last December, angry protesters vandalised a Muslim prayer hall and trashed copies of the Koran after an assault on firefighters that was blamed on local youths of Arab origin.

Sisco is one of around 30 French towns that have moved to ban the burkini, though the country's top administrative court has suspended the move in most cases.

But the Council of State allowed Sisco to keep its burkini ban, saying it was justified on public order grounds -- even though prosecutors ruled out any connection between the beach brawl and the full-body swimsuit.

Sisco's mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni described the court's ruling as "a relief for me and local people".

He has told AFP that he brought in the ban because he "risked having deaths on my hands".
Truman Capotes Brooklyn: The lost photographs of David Attie Brooklyn, 1958. (Photo: David Attie)

Truman Capotes Brooklyn: The Lost Photographs of David Attie, currently on view at the Brooklyn Historical Society through opens July 2017, features the recently rediscovered work of the late photographer. David Attie studied with Alexey Brodovitch, who also trained Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, and who first acquainted the artist with Truman Capote. Introducing this lost work to the public now, reveals an intriguing set of relationships and illuminates a particular moment in Brooklyns history.

Decades after the photographers passing, his son, Eli Attie, came across a manila envelope simply marked Holiday, Capote, A3/58. Inside were negatives and contact sheets taken by his father that hed never seen before. The unprinted negatives helped to fill in the story of the start of Atties successful career, and the surprising role that Truman Capote played in launching that career. The photographs were originally shot for Holiday magazine, which was publishing Truman Capotes 1958 essay on living in Brooklyn. At Capotes request, Attie was hired to illustrate the essay.

Ultimately four of Atties photographs were published as part of the Holiday magazine spread. The remainder some 800 negatives from the Brooklyn shoot  were gathering dust. Among these were extraordinary portraits of Capote and W.E.B Du Bois, and images of the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, once home to artists and writers, which has long since changed with the times. Many of these images were published for the first time last year in the Little Bookroom re-issue of the Capote essay Brooklyn: A Personal Memoir.

Now BHS is digging even deeper: with the help of Atties son Eli Attie, and widow Dotty Attie, the institution hosts the first show to include Atties original Brooklyn prints including the portraits of Capote and Du Bois. Also on display are three original prints of photographic montages that Attie created to illustrate the publication of Capotes novella Breakfast at Tiffanys; two original, signed Capote letters about that project; and an assortment of David Atties contact sheets with his original grease pencil markings. Of the 40 prints exhibited, 18 were prints by David Attie himself, which were discovered by his family members, and 22 are archival ink-jet prints from Atties original negatives. (BHS)

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Truman Capotes Brooklyn: The Lost Photographs of David Attie is on view through July 2017 at the Broooklyn Historical Society in New York City.

A reissued volume of Truman Capotes essay, Brooklyn: A Personal Memoir  With the lost photographs of David Attie, was published by the Little Bookroom in 2015.

Join Eli Attie, in conversation by Randy Kennedy of the New York Times, as he recounts his discovery that Truman Capote, the budding literary star, championed the work of David Attie, the photographer who illustrated his seminal essay, Brooklyn: A Personal Memoir, on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

Following the discussion, actress Mary-Louise Parker reads from the essay, an ode to the Brooklyn Heights of a bygone era. Following the program, BHSs exhibition of Truman Capotes Brooklyn: the Lost Photographs of David Attie will be on view, showcasing original images of Capote, W.E.B. DuBois and scenes of Brooklyn daily life in the late 1950s.

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr
Sending a strong message to property developers for taking buyers for a ride, the Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up real estate developer Parsvnath Buildwell and asked the realty firm to deposit Rs 12 crore.

The money has to be deposited with the apex court over the next one month.

The Supreme Court also rejected the plea of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission asking for a stay. The court instead directed the company to refund money to 70 buyers whose flats were not delivered at its "Exotica" project in Ghaziabad.

The court has also asked buyers if they would accept rent and interest for having paid the builder money for booking their flats.

The consumer court last month had asked Parsvnath to refund the money with interest to buyers, but the company said it won't be able to pay the amount.

The company's Exotica project faced trouble after the Ghaziabad Development Authority cancelled the company's revised construction plan.
Greensboro (United States) (AFP) - Donald Trump branded a US pastor a "nervous mess" Thursday a day after she shut him down as he criticized White House rival Hillary Clinton, prompting a sharp rebuke from the Democratic nominee.

Trump had traveled to the suffering Michigan city of Flint in part to learn about how it has dealt with a major public health crisis prompted by the lead contamination of its drinking water.

But when the Republican presidential hopeful arrived at Bethel United Methodist Church, a predominantly black congregation, he turned political, assailing Clinton for having "failed on the economy, just like she's failed on foreign policy."

"Everything she touched didn't work out. Nothing," Trump said.

As he spoke, Reverend Faith Green Timmons walked over, her hands clasped, and interrupted him.

"Mr Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not to give a political speech," Timmons said in a low voice.

"Oh, oh, oh, OK," Trump said, appearing somewhat flustered before shifting his remarks to conditions in Flint.

On Thursday, Trump told Fox News that he felt "something was up" when Timmons introduced him.

"Everyone plays their games, it doesn't bother me," Trump said, suggesting Timmons might have had a political motive for stepping in.

"She was so nervous, she was like a nervous mess," Trump said.

Clinton herself had been sidelined by a bout of pneumonia for three days this week. But on Thursday she returned to the campaign trail in North Carolina, where she weighed in on the Flint affair.

"He called her a nervous mess," Clinton noted to reporters after a campaign rally in Greensboro. "That's not only insulting, it's dead wrong."

Timmons "is a rock for her community in trying times," Clinton said. "She deserves better" than Trump's criticism.

Trump insisted on Fox that those at the church had been welcoming.

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"What really made me feel good, the audience was saying, 'Let him speak, let him speak.' The audience was so great," he said.

Trump clearly has been more disciplined on the campaign trail in recent weeks, following a year of pointed rhetoric that has antagonized many.

But his criticism of the pastor -- 11 days after he visited a black church in nearby Detroit and courted African-American voters -- highlights his willingness to stray from that regimen in order to push back against perceived affronts.
Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel could have a new title to add to his resume if Donald Trump wins the presidency: Supreme Court justice.

According to a new report from Huffington Post's Ben Walsh, Trump has told Thiel that he will nominate the billionaire tech investor to the Supreme Court if he becomes president.

Huffington Post cites a person close to Thiel as the source of this report, but Thiel's spokesman Jeremiah Hall denied the rumor, telling Business Insider: "Peter hasn't had any conversations about a Supreme Court nomination and has no interest in the job."

Trump's press secretary, Hope Hicks, told Business Insider that there's "no truth to this whatsoever."

Thiel, who cofounded PayPal and venture capital firm Founders Fund, has been an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump during this election season and spoke at the Republican National Convention this year. Thiel has so far been the biggest name in Silicon Valley to support Trump and is also a delegate for California's 12th Congressional district.

There is currently one vacancy on the Supreme Court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, and Stephen Breyer are also approaching or are over the age of 80 and are likely to leave the court before the next presidential term is up.

NOW WATCH: Apple is announcing a new iPhone on September 7  here's what you're getting





More From Business Insider


Washington (AFP) - Less than two weeks before their first debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a very tight race for the White House, a national poll showed Wednesday.

The CBS News/New York Times survey found Clinton had just a two-point edge (46 to 44 percent) over her Republican rival in a two-way matchup among likely voters. Among registered voters, the Democratic nominee was five points ahead, at 46 to 41 percent.

When third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein were included, the race was tied among likely voters -- at 42 percent each -- while Clinton had a slight edge (41 to 39 percent) among registered voters.

A Quinnipiac University poll out a day earlier, on Wednesday, found that results were too close to call when third party candidates were included, with Clinton at 41 percent and Trump at 39 percent.

The CBS/NYT poll also found diminished voter enthusiasm, with Democrats less enthusiastic about voting now than a month ago, while Republicans have kept a steady level of enthusiasm.

A total of 64 percent of registered Democratic voters said they felt at least somewhat enthusiastic about voting -- a drop from 77 percent in August -- and just 38 percent said they were very enthusiastic, down from 47 percent a month ago.

Trump voters specifically were more enthusiastic than those supporting Hillary -- with 45 percent of the billionaire real estate investor's backers saying they felt very enthusiastic about voting, compared to 36 percent of the former top US diplomat and first lady's supporters saying they felt that way.

Among Republicans, 43 percent said they were very enthusiastic, and a total of 68 percent said they felt at least somewhat enthusiastic.

And a gender gap is still apparent between the two candidates, with Trump securing a double-digit lead ahead of Clinton among men, while she has a similar margin over him among women.

Trump faces continued struggles to gain support among African American voters, though he has an advantage over Clinton among whites.

White voters lacking a college degree gave Trump a strong show of support -- 58 percent -- while Clinton led Trump among white college graduate voters.

Among white college graduates, only 29 percent backed Trump, 48 percent supported Clinton, but 21 percent said they would vote for someone else or stay out of the polling stations come Election Day, on November 8.
The biggest surprise in the economic policy speech Donald Trump delivered in New York on Thursday wasnt in his list of tax breaks, spending increases or his promises of amazing economic growth. No, the most unexpected element of Trump new plan is that someone on Team Trump, whether the candidate himself or his economic advisers, appears to be listening to its critics for a change.

Earlier in the campaign, Trump released a proposal so extravagant in its promises of tax cuts and economic growth that even the most charitable analysts had to concede that it would add something on the order of $10 trillion to the federal deficit over a ten-year period.

Related: Is the Race Tied? Why Trump Isnt Really That Close to Winning

The plan Trump announced on Thursday is dramatically less profligate. There hasnt been time for independent experts to fully analyze its effects, but on first glance economists said that it would at least not be as damaging to the country as Trumps original proposal.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office and now head of the conservative non-profit American Action Forum, sounded encouraged -- mostly -- by the changes he saw in the Trump plan.

It shows they took the budget criticism seriously, he said. It seems like a much more serious effort to make the numbers add up.

However, he conceded, Im still not convinced that it adds up.

The plan Trump unveiled Thursday comes with a claim by people identified as Trump economists that it would conservatively boost growth to 3.5 percent per year on average over the next 10 years.

Far from being conservative, most mainstream economists view that promise as wildly optimistic.

Related: The Billionaire's Daughter Quietly Shaping the Trump Campaign

The Trump plan collapses the current income tax system into a three-rate structure (12, 25, and 33 percent) while greatly increasing the standard deduction and capping itemized deductions at $100,000 per person or $200,000 for a married couple. Combined with sizeable child care tax deductions, the plan would result in zero tax liability for many low income households. It could also potentially raise the tax bill for wealthy people who rely on large tax deductions, but the details were not immediately clear.

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The plan would also slash business taxes from 35 percent to 15 percent, and would apply a 10 percent tax to companies repatriating earnings from overseas. Business would be allowed to immediately write off investments in plants and equipment.

The plan would treat carried interest as regular income, eliminating a loophole that allowed wealthy investment managers to pay an artificially low income tax rate. However, it appears to leave in place an even bigger loophole by treating pass-through income from a corporation as business income. This would enable business owners to shelter massive amounts of income from taxation.

Trump also pledged a major decrease in regulation of business activity including, oddly, a promise to eliminate food safety requirements that cover farm and food production hygiene, food packaging, food temperatures.

Related: With Clinton Campaigning Again, Trump Renews Attacks on Her Health

He included his usual tirade against trade deals and his promise to unleash the American energy industry, despite the fact that the country is producing its own energy at record rates already.

Finally, he proposed what he called a Penny Plan that would reduce all non-defense discretionary spending by one percent every year for ten years.

Economist Leonard Burman, director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington, said that the campaign had not released enough information for his organization to do a serious analysis of the Trump plans effect on tax revenue, but he was skeptical about the promises of economic growth and, particularly, about the campaigns ability to make its numbers add up after promising not to touch military spending, Medicare or Social Security.

Its going to be a real challenge, Burman said drily. Hes eliminated all the biggest programs.

Holtz-Eakin, of the American Action Forum, was a little more inclined to charity.

He praised the focus on growth, saying, I thought it was, number one, a clear and sharp contrast of a candidate who believes growth is an imperative with the Democrats, who have given up on growth.

Related: Powell Email Leak Shows Reluctance to Attack Trump

However, he was skeptical of Trumps promises of economic growth more than doubling under his plan and dismissed out of hand the promised 1 percent per year reduction in non-defense spending for the next decade. Theres no way, he said.

Like many conservative economists, he is also deeply unhappy with Trumps anti-trade positions. Theyre bad. Terrible, he said. The damage done to the economy through Trumps plans to impose tariffs and otherwise restrict trade would offset much of what Holtz-Eakin sees as the good effects of the tax and regulatory changes. The trade stuff is an unambiguous negative, he said.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Donald Trump Jr. made an apparent Holocaust reference while attacking the media for being what he called Hillary Clintons number one surrogate.

Without the media, this wouldnt even be a contest, but the media has built her up, Trump Jr. said in a radio interview on Thursday, according to CBS Philadelphia. Theyve let her slide on every [discrepancy], on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of this thing. If Republicans were doing that, theyd be warming up the gas chamber right now.

His father, Republican nominee Donald Trump, often says something similar. But in elder the Trumps hyperbolic formulation, hed be getting the electric chair if he acted in certain ways, such as dropping foul language on the campaign trail.

Later Thursday, Trump Jr. told NBCs Katy Tur that his gas chamber remark was a reference to corporal punishment and not Naziism.

Trump Jr. tells @KatyTurNBC that his gas chamber comment is referencing corporal punishment, not in any way anti-Semitic.  Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) September 15, 2016

The Clinton campaign was unmoved.

Donald Trump Jr.s recent comments invoking the use of gas chambers to make a political attack show just how insensitive, divisive, and reckless the Trump campaign is, Sarah Bard, director of Jewish outreach for the campaign, said in a statement. The bottom line is this  offensive references to the Holocaust are never acceptable, especially from a Presidential campaign.

Clinton herself has tried to tie Trump to extremist movements, arguing that the moguls team is led by people who propagate racist viewpoints.

[Trump] is taking a hate movement mainstream, Clinton said in an interview late last month. Hes brought it into his campaign. Hes bringing it to our communities and our country. Trump, she said, has courted white supremacists and is very much peddling bigotry and prejudice and paranoia.

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Last week, Clinton said Trumps supporters belong in a basket of deplorables, calling them racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.

In response, Trump Jr. shared an image that featured themselves and other members of team Trump alongside a popular white nationalist symbol.

But that wasnt the first time the younger Trump stirred controversy for his fathers campaign.

In March, Trump Jr. gave a 20-minute interview to the host of a radio show that promotes a philosophy that is pro-White. Trump Jr. later said he was unaware of the hosts white nationalist views.

Had I known, I would have obviously never done an interview with him, Trump Jr. told Bloomberg Politics.
Republican presidential nominee has plans for the economy. And theyre HUGE, if maddeningly vague and often untethered from fiscal reality.

Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, Trump outlined an economic blueprint he said would slash taxes and rejuvenate the economy, generating 4 percent annual GDP growth. That would be more than double the average growth this century. He also reiterated his plans to unleash fossil fuels and cut back on government regulation, both of which he says will further spur economic activity.

My great economists dont want me to say this, but I think we can do better than that, he said of a 4 percent growth goal Thursday.

He then promised to add 25 million jobs to the economy over the next 10 years. Some perspective: according to Bloomberg, the most jobs ever created over such a period was 24.4 million added in the 10 years ended in March 2001. In the last decade, the United States has created 7.7 million jobs.

Trump also talked up his plans to slash taxes and somehow also trim the debt. Trump has promised three income tax brackets of 33 percent, 25 percent and 12 percent, down from seven brackets and a currently top rate of nearly 40 percent. He also wants to slash the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from about 35 percent now. In total, this would amount to $4.4 trillion in tax cuts.

He said these cuts would be offset by economic growth, But independent analysis has shown that tax cuts of that magnitude, unless offset by spending cuts hes already ruled out, would increase the U.S. debt by trillions.

Trump also said he would eliminate taxes altogether for millions of low-income Americans while leaving social benefits like Social Security and Medicare untouched.

Our plan will produce paychecks, and theyre going to be great paychecks for millions of people now unemployed, he said.

Trumps speech was met with immediate skepticism. Its going to be very hard to achieve 3.5 percent growth on a sustained basis for any presidential candidate, Gennadiy Goldberg, a strategist at TD Securities in New York told Bloomberg, pointing to challenges both at home and abroad. There have been a lot of barriers to that kind of growth  potential growth has come down, the barriers being a mature business cycle and weak global demand.

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The GOP nominee also said he would ensure every trade agreement adds to GDP growth; in the past, he has promised to tear many of them up. He also said he wants to create a modern regulatory framework to cut red tape. He also promised he would be unleashing an energy revolution, though he failed to note that the United States in the last eight years has already unleashed just such a revolution, becoming an oil and natural gas exporter for the first time in decades.

His plans, which puzzled most economists  Oxford Economics, a British forecasting firm, estimates his proposals would cut $1 trillion a year from the U.S. economy  definitely riled up environmentalists.

The only thing associated with his campaign that remotely resembles alternative energy are the flames from the dumpster fire that is Trumps energy policy  and those are obviously unhealthy to be around, Sierra Club Political Director Khalid Pitts said.

Photo credit: SPENCER PLATT/Getty Images
Its time to anticipate Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office in just the sort of fashion such a scene demands  a comic strip. In TRUMP, the Presidency, OZY explores how a President Trump might make America great again. Watch for our latest installment every Thursday.

In this first volume  Congress, Youre Fired  President Trump precipitates a constitutional crisis after the Senate refuses to confirm his rather unorthodox pick for the Supreme Court.

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Related Articles
As many as 1,702 prisoners died in jails nationwide in 2014, according to this reply by the ministry of home affairs to the Lok Sabha (Parliaments lower house) in August 2016.

While 1,507 (89 percent) died of natural causes, 195 (11 percent) died of unnatural causes, such as suicide, execution, murder by inmates, deaths due to assault by outside elements, death due to firing, deaths due to negligence/excess by jail personnel and others, said another home ministrys statement released to the Lok Sabha in March 2016.

Deaths in prisons increased 28 percent between 2011 and 2014, up from 1,332 to 1,702. While 21 percent more prisoners died of natural causes over four years to 2014, deaths from unnatural causes more than doubled from 88 cases in 2011 to 195 in 2014.

The administration and management of prisons is primarily the responsibility of the state governments.

Prisons in Uttar Pradesh reported more natural deaths (300) than any other state, followed by Punjab (218) and Madhya Pradesh (122).

Over four years to 2014, Uttar Pradesh reported a 6 percent increase, Punjab a 114 percent increase and Madhya Pradesh a 47 percent increase in natural deaths.

Odisha prisons reported a 1,367 percent increase in unnatural deaths over four years, rising from three in 2011 to 44 in 2014. After Odisha, the largest number of unnatural prison deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh (23), West Bengal (21) and Karnataka (15) that year.

Tamil Nadu, which lead the unnatural-death ranking in 2011, saw a 67 percent decline in 2014, from 15 to five.

Indian prisons at 117 percent of capacity

Indias jails held 418,536 prisoners at the end of 2014.

Uttar Pradesh (88,221), Madhya Pradesh (36,433) and Bihar (31,295) had the highest number of prisoners, according to this March 2015 home ministry reply to the Lok Sabha.

Indias prisons are 117 percent over capacity, or almost 62,000 inmates more than they have space for.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli prisons are the most overcrowded, at 231 percent of capacity, followed by Chhattisgarh (159 percent), Arunachal Pradesh (127 percent) and Delhi (122 percent).

Nagalands prisons are filled to 69 percent of capacity, followed by Tripura (58 percent), Lakshadweep (56 percent) and Daman and Diu (44 percent).

Most Indians in prisons abroad in Saudi Arabia

There are 6,804 Indian nationals in foreign prisons, according to this May 2016 answer in the Rajya Sabha, the largest number in Saudi Arabia (1,696), followed by United Arab Emirates (1,143), Nepal (859) and Kuwait (434).

As many as 49 Indian nationals have died in foreign jails since 2013, according to this May 2016 external affairs ministry statement to the Lok Sabha.

More Indians (13) died in Pakistani prisons than any other country; 11 died in Saudi Arabia and six in Bangladesh.

(Grocchetti is a multimedia journalist and has a BA degree from Napier University, Edinburgh.)
A suspect has been arrested in the torching of the Pulse nightclub shooter's former mosque, and he's reportedly a fan of Donald Trump.

The St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office announced at a news conference that Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested without incident Wednesday afternoon in connection with the arson that destroyed the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce Sunday.

Read: Ohio Woman Protests Outside Mosque, Gets Welcomed with Smiles and Hugs

A Facebook page that appears to belong to the 32-year-old features multiple conservative fringe news posts that are critical of Islam and supportive of the Republican nominee.

According to Major David Thompson of the sheriff's office, tips from members of the community, along with surveillance video from businesses and homes, linked Schreiber to the crime.

In surveillance footage released to the public in the hours following the blaze, a man on a motorcycle can be seen approaching the mosque before a flash is seen. The man then flees.

A search warrant was obtained and a search of Schreibers house was conducted that revealed Schreiber owns a motorcycle consistent with the surveillance video footage, said Thompson said at a news conference. Other evidence collected also linked Schreiber to the arson."

Schreiber was charged with arson and with committing a hate crime.

As a hate crime, the second-degree felony of arson is enhanced to a first-degree felony and carries a possible 30-year prison sentence. He was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail without bond.

Watch: Orlando Gunman Omar Mateen Was Caught On Hidden Camera in 2012 Documentary

In a statement, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said "Schreiber is known to law enforcement and as such qualifies as a prison release re-offender that would impose a 30-year minimum mandatory sentence. He also qualifies as a habitual felony offender and could ultimately be sentenced to life in prison."

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Earlier this week, Thompson addressed the conspicuous time of year for such an act. It came exactly three months to the day after the massacre at the club.

In addition, Sunday marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as well as the start of Eid al-Adha, which is among the holiest of Muslim holidays.

"We all know the implications of the date and the time of year this is, the 9/11 anniversary. Is that related? Certainly that is in the back of our minds," he said.

Watch: Orlando Gunman Omar Mateen Was Caught On Hidden Camera in 2012 Documentary

Omar Mateen killed 49 people when he opened fire inside an Orlando gay nightclub in June. He was shot and killed following an hours-long standoff with police.

Mateen was among the members of the Fort Pierce Islamic Center. The mosque also once counted among its members Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, an American who killed several Syrian government soldiers in a 2014 suicide bombing in Jabal al-Arbaeen after joining the Taliban.

In June, Fort Pierce Islamic Center officials told WPEC that threats of violence against the mosque had escalated.

Watch: Orlando Gunman Omar Mateen's Father Seen Smiling Behind Hillary Clinton at Rally

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Beirut (AFP) - Turkish air strikes in northern Syria in late August killed 24 civilians, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, accusing Ankara of failing to properly identify the target and pro-Kurdish forces of grouping fighters together with civilians.

Activists had said at the time that the air strikes on August 28, in the early stages of Turkey's campaign in Syria, killed civilians. But Turkish state media said that 25 "terrorists" were killed.

HRW said that 24 civilians, including six children, were killed. Between 10 and 15 fighters deployed among the civilians were also killed, it added.

Turkey has always insisted it is doing the utmost to avoid civilian casualties in Syria and at the time issued a statement saying claims that civilians were targeted or hit in the August 28 air strikes "do not reflect reality".

"Available information suggests that both sides could have done more to minimise civilian loss of life, as required by the laws of war," HRW said in a statement.

It said that according to residents, Turkish aircraft struck Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) "who had just disembarked from military vehicles among residential buildings in which about four dozen civilians had sought shelter from nearby fighting."

Artillery shelling then resulted in additional casualties. The attack took place near the village of Suraysat, about 12 kilometres (7 miles) south of Jarabalus, which had been taken by pro-Ankara fighters from jihadists on August 24.

The SDF is a US-backed grouping of Syrian rebel forces still dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Turkey regards as a terror group.

The deaths "could have been avoided if the SDF fighters hadn't positioned themselves among buildings filled with civilians and Turkish forces had made a better effort to determine whether civilians were there," said Ole Solvang, HRW deputy emergencies director.

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The rights group said the SDF should not have positioned their forces in the residential compound "without having first relocated the civilians to another area."

Meanwhile, it is not clear that "the Turkish military took adequate steps to determine the extent to which civilians might be at risk in the attack," it added.

The attack came on the fifth day of Turkey's unprecedented air and ground campaign in Syria which began on August 24 and is aimed at dislodging both Islamic State (IS) jihadists and YPG fighters from the area.
(Reuters) - Two people were in jail in Georgia on Thursday for calling 911 with fake reports of clowns trying to lure children into a van, according to police and local media, as claims of such sightings spread to a third Southern state.

Police in South Carolina, North Carolina and now Georgia have been on alert in recent weeks, chasing reports of people dressed as clowns and exhibiting creepy behavior. Most cases have not been substantiated, but accounts of costumed characters trying to tempt children with candy or cash rattled residents and prompted increased patrols.

The Troup County Sheriff's Office responded on Wednesday to a report of people dressed as clowns standing outside a white van. Deputies found the van at the scene but no signs of any costumes, the sheriff's office said in a statement on Thursday.

Questioned by investigators, Brandon Jerome Moody, 26, admitted he was aware of recent complaints of clowns in the area and had fabricated the sighting that he called into emergency operators, the statement said.

The sheriff's office said Rebecca Moody, 27, Brandon's sister-in-law according to local media, also called 911 with a false report.

Sheriff James Woodruff told the LaGrange Daily News that the two alleged the clowns were trying to get children to come inside the white van.

Both face misdemeanor charges of obstruction of an officer and unlawful conduct during a 911 call. Jail records on Thursday afternoon listed them as current inmates and did not indicate whether they have lawyers.

"We have zero tolerance for anybody calling in false reports," Woodruff told the LaGrange Daily News.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Editing by David Gregorio)
An explosion on a tourist boat near the Indonesian island of Bali on Thursday has left two people dead and 13 other foreigners injured, according to police.

Reuters reports that the dead were an Indonesian and a Dutch national.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a blast in the speedboats engine occurred shortly after it set sail from the popular holiday island.

The explosion happened five minutes after the boat departed, local police chief Sugeng Sudarso told AFP, adding that the vessel was only about 650 ft. from port when the incident occurred.

The cause of the explosion is still unclear, but police said the bomb squad is investigating the incident, according to AFP.

The boat was carrying 35 foreign passengers and four crew members when it left eastern Bali for the island of Gili Trawangan, a popular tourist destination.

Preliminary information from police indicated that the injured passengers included nationals from Australia, the U.K., Germany, Portugal and South Korea, reports AFP.

Authorities have not yet released the identities of the two people who were killed, but AFP cited police saying that one was a woman and that she died from head injuries.

[AFP]
By Ayesha Rascoe and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday joined more than 20 countries in creating 40 new marine sanctuaries around the world to protect oceans from the threat of climate change and pollution. President Barack Obama designated the first U.S. marine reserve in the Atlantic Ocean: 4,913 square miles (12,724 square km) known for underwater mountains and canyons off the coast of New England. Britain said it would double the area of ocean under marine protection around its overseas territories to about 2.5 million square miles (6.5 million square km), an area greater than the landmass of India. The various sanctuaries, unveiled at a high-level conference in Washington, limit commercial fishing, oil and gas drilling, and other human activities that affect ocean ecosystems. Altogether, countries at the two-day oceans conference will announce new sanctuaries covering nearly 460,000 square miles (1.19 million square km) of ocean, an area around the size of South Africa. The area designated by Obama includes canyons as deep as the Grand Canyon in Arizona and underwater mountains higher than any in the United States east of the Rockies, according to Environment America, a federation of state-based environmental advocacy organizations. Environment America said it and other groups were pushing for Obama to designate more land-based national monuments before leaving office in January. Obama, who recalled body-surfing in the Pacific Ocean while he was growing up in Hawaii, called the pledges at the conference a "pretty good down payment" but said bolder international action was needed. "The notion that the ocean I grew up with is not something that I can pass on to my kids and my grandkids is unacceptable, it's unimaginable," Obama told the conference. Last month, Obama expanded a massive reserve off the coast of Hawaii, the world's largest such protected area, as he works to cement his environmental legacy. He traveled to the remote Midway Atoll in the reserve, and told the conference what it was like to snorkel among purple and orange coral as endangered monk seals sunned themselves on nearby rocks. "I saw it. It was right there, evidence of the incredible power of nature to rebuild itself, if we're not consistently trying to tear it down," Obama said. Opponents of the new Atlantic reserve have said it threatens the commercial seafood industry in the region. Obama said it was designed to respect the fishing industry's role in the region's economy and history. Britain's announcement was made by British Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan, who said fully protected marine reserves are to be set up around the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific, and St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha and Ascension islands in the South Atlantic. This will involve the permanent closure of around 520,000 square miles (1.3 million square km) to commercial fishing, Duncan said. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has championed environmental causes for years, called for action by world leaders and communities to protect vital marine ecosystems. "Warming waters, acidification, plastic pollution, methane release, drilling, overfishing and the destruction of marine ecosystems like coral reefs are pushing our oceans to the very brink," the Oscar-winning actor said. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Andrew Hay and Alistair Bell)
(Adds details of hearing, quote from members of Congress)

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A congressional panel will hold a hearing on Sept. 22 to look at the fate of U.S. fuel efficiency rules through 2025 amid growing concerns from automakers.

An auto trade group representing General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG has said with lower gasoline prices it would be difficult to meet the requirements. Sales of less fuel-efficient trucks and SUVs have risen as gas prices have fallen.

U.S. regulators must decide by 2018 on whether the 2022 through 2025 model year requirements are feasible or should be changed.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing Thursday that will include testimony from U.S. regulators and auto trade groups.

"We need to know if these standards are impacting vehicle choices, raising prices, and most importantly whether they are pushing low-income consumers out of the car-buying market altogether," said Representatives Michael Burgess and Pete Olson, both Republicans of Texas, in a joint statement.

In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automakers have the technology to meet aggressive mandates to hike fuel efficiency by 2025, but the fleet-wide improvement will not be as great as the Obama administration once forecast because buyers are switching to pickup trucks and SUVs.

When the Obama administration first outlined its goal of boosting average fleet fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon in 2011, regulators forecast that 67 percent of vehicles sold in 2025 would be cars.

Since then, gasoline prices have plummeted and truck and SUV sales have surged. The agencies forecast cars will be between 48 percent and 62 percent of the mix. Regulators now estimate the fleet will average 50 to 52.6 mpg in 2025.

Automakers are not required to achieve the target average. Instead, the government's complex scorekeeping system allows them to hit different targets for different sizes of vehicles - with larger trucks and SUVs allowed to achieve lower targets than small cars.

Cars and trucks account for 42 percent of total U.S. oil consumption, or about 8 million barrels a day.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressional panel will hold a hearing on Sept. 22 to look at the fate of U.S. fuel efficiency rules through 2025 amid growing concerns from automakers. An auto trade group representing General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG has said with lower gasoline prices it would be difficult to meet the requirements. Sales of less fuel-efficient trucks and SUVs have risen as gas prices have fallen. U.S. regulators must decide by 2018 on whether the 2022 through 2025 model year requirements are feasible or should be changed. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing Thursday that will include testimony from U.S. regulators and auto trade groups. "We need to know if these standards are impacting vehicle choices, raising prices, and most importantly whether they are pushing low-income consumers out of the car-buying market altogether," said Representatives Michael Burgess and Pete Olson, both Republicans of Texas, in a joint statement. In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automakers have the technology to meet aggressive mandates to hike fuel efficiency by 2025, but the fleet-wide improvement will not be as great as the Obama administration once forecast because buyers are switching to pickup trucks and SUVs. When the Obama administration first outlined its goal of boosting average fleet fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon in 2011, regulators forecast that 67 percent of vehicles sold in 2025 would be cars. Since then, gasoline prices have plummeted and truck and SUV sales have surged. The agencies forecast cars will be between 48 percent and 62 percent of the mix. Regulators now estimate the fleet will average 50 to 52.6 mpg in 2025. Automakers are not required to achieve the target average. Instead, the government's complex score keeping system allows them to hit different targets for different sizes of vehicles - with larger trucks and SUVs allowed to achieve lower targets than small cars. Cars and trucks account for 42 percent of total U.S. oil consumption, or about 8 million barrels a day. (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
By Ankur Banerjee

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd formally recalled 1 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in the United States, replacing or refunding the flagship phones, whose susceptibility to catching fire has damaged the image of the Korean powerhouse.

Samsung received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the United States, including 26 reports of burns and 55 cases of property damage, the company said as it announced the recall in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The recall is a costly setback for Samsung, which was counting on Galaxy Note 7 to bolster sales as rivals such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) launch new devices. The scale of the recall is unprecedented for Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker.

Samsung said on Thursday that new Note 7 replacement devices will be available at most retail locations in the United States no later than Sept. 21.

Earlier this month, Samsung said it would recall all Note 7 smartphones equipped with batteries it found to be fire-prone and halted their sales in 10 markets, denting a revival of the firm's mobile business.

While recalls in the smartphone industry do happen, including for rival Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the nature of the problem for the Note 7 is a serious blow to Samsung's reputation, analysts have said.

The CPSC said on Thursday that consumers should immediately power down and stop using the recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has asked airline passengers to switch off and unplug the recalled Note 7s during flights.

Some 2.5 million of the premium devices worldwide need to be recalled, Samsung said. Some analysts say the recall could cost Samsung nearly $5 billion in lost revenue this year.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said he might change his proposal to allow tens of millions of U.S. pay TV subscribers to ditch costly set-top boxes and access video programming online.

At a Senate hearing on Thursday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler defended his revised proposal, which is scheduled for a final vote on Sept. 29. The plan, announced last week, lacks some of the most controversial aspects of the original proposal unveiled in January but includes a new licensing body to ensure that pay-TV companies do not enter into anti-competitive agreements.

The plan is aimed at ending the cable industry's long domination of the $20-billion-a-year set-top box market and lowering prices for consumers. Nearly all pay-TV subscribers lease the boxes from their cable, satellite or telecommunications providers at an average annual cost of $231.

Those fees have jumped 185 percent since 1994, while the cost of televisions, computers and mobile phones has dropped 90 percent, the FCC has estimated.

Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat on the five-member commission and the key swing vote on the set-top box issue, told the hearing that she had some "some problems" with the provision to create a licensing body and wondered whether the commission has the legal authority to do so.

Wheeler said he would work with her to address her concerns and that he was open to making changes.

Wheeler's plan has drawn fierce opposition from television and content providers, including AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.

A group representing organizations including the Screen Actors Guild and Motion Picture Association of America said this week that the plan included an "unworkable de facto compulsory licensing regime that requires creators to allow their work to be shared across multiple platforms without compensation."

Senator Bill Nelson, the senior Democrat on the Commerce Committee, told Wheeler on Thursday that he also had problems with the proposal. "If we stay on the present course, I fear the FCC's actions to promote set-top box competition could be tied up in court and hamstrung for years," Nelson said.

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Wheeler initially proposed open standards for set-top boxes, allowing companies to re-imagine the delivery of video content. The new proposal grants device makers the ability to integrate cable companies' apps.

Cable companies have previously expressed concerns that rivals like Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc could create devices or apps and insert their own content or advertising in cable programming.

The new rules would require companies covering 95 percent of U.S. TV subscribers to comply by September 2018.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday registered a case in connection with the murder of Bihar journalist Rajdev Ranjan, an official said.

The CBI took over the case from Siwan police which said Ranjan's killing was part of a premeditated conspiracy.

Ranjan was shot dead in May in a busy market place near the Station Road in Siwan district of Bihar.

Ranjan was the Siwan bureau chief of Hindi newspaper Hindustan, a part of the Hindustan Times Media company.

The state government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising two Deputy Superintendents of Police, three Inspectors and five Sub-Inspectors to trace the killers.
By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would bar any transfers of detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military prison while President Barack Obama is president or until he signs a new defense policy bill.

The measure passed by 244 to 174, largely along party lines, with all but four Republicans backing it and all but 12 of Obama's fellow Democrats opposed.

The White House has promised to veto the measure. It also faces tough odds in the Senate, where it would need Democratic support as well as Republican backing to progress.

Obama vowed that he would close the controversial detention center at the base in Cuba as he first campaigned for the White House in 2008.

He has failed to keep that promise, facing opposition, mostly from Republicans but also some Democrats, in Congress.

Advocates for closing the prison say it costs too much to operate, contravenes U.S. values by holding prisoners, all Muslims, for years without trial, and serves as a propaganda tool for militant groups.

Republicans say Guantanamo is an important tool in the fight against terrorism. They say prisoner transfers are a security threat, pointing to reports that some of the hundreds released during the prison's 15-year-long history have returned to the battlefield.

The U.S. government said on Wednesday that two more militants released from Guantanamo had returned to fighting. Washington has confirmed that a total of nine ex-detainees have rejoined militant groups since Obama took office, according to a report by the Office of Director of National Intelligence.

Obama has recently accelerated releases, fueling concerns by prison supporters that he might use his executive powers to close it altogether before leaving office in January.

The United States opened the Guantanamo detention facility in 2002, months after the Sept. 11 attacks by Islamist militants on New York and Washington, to hold what it described as foreign terrorism suspects. Most have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation.

Story continues

There are currently about 60 prisoners at the base.

The bill would stop transfers only until Obama leaves office in January or signs a new National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill setting defense policy. Obama has threatened to veto versions of the bill passed by the House and Senate this year.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by James Dalgleish)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.N. climate negotiators should let governments that have yet to ratify the Paris accord to curb global warming - including the EU nations - have a say in drafting the rules to implement it, the co-chair of the talks said on Thursday. The European Union was a prime mover behind the success of last autumn's Paris climate talks but is now a laggard in ratifying the agreement it produced. New Zealand diplomat Jo Tyndall's suggestion would allow the EU to join in thrashing out how the agreement will operate over coming next decades. "A legal fix, a decision will need to be taken to ensure that countries are not penalized because their domestic processes might take a little longer," she told Reuters. In an effort to incentivize nations to ratify the agreement, at present only those that have done so have a say in deciding how it will work. In what European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described as a blow to the EU credibility, the bloc could end up watching from the sidelines when the threshold of 55 nations responsible for 55 percent of man-made emissions is reached for the pact to take effect. The EU's reversal from being the key broker clinching the deal, Juncker said in his annual State of the Union speech on Wednesday: "makes us look ridiculous". Under current rules, the European Union as well as each of the nations it spoke for in Paris must deposit their ratification documents with the U.N. simultaneously, so the EU is only ever as fast as its slowest member. So far only three states - France, Hungary and Austria - have ratified the agreement. In Paris last December, nearly 200 countries agreed on a binding global compact to slash greenhouse gases and keep global temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius. "There is a strong desire to find a balance between inclusiveness, if we do have early entry into force," Tyndall said. "But at the same time keep the incentives there to get people to ratify and join the agreement." With China and the United States, the world's two biggest emitters, formally ratifying it this month, some experts predict it could even come into force before the next round of climate talks in November in Marrakesh. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; editing by John Stonestreet)
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights commission said on Thursday it was concerned by intimidation of civil society activists, harassment of journalists, sexual violence and other rights abuses in South Sudan. Officials from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan were speaking at a news conference in Juba the day after the editor of a prominent newspaper in the five-year-old nation said his publication had been shut down by the authorities. Fighting erupted in South Sudan at the end of 2013 between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former deputy Riek Machar. A peace deal signed in 2015 proved shaky and fresh clashes flared again in the capital in July. Machar has since left the country. Yasmin Sooka, who led the U.N. commission team, listed concerns that included "the diminishing space for civil society which includes intimidation and harassment of its members", adding that many activists have fled abroad. She cited worries about media freedoms "and the continued intimidation and harassment of journalists", alongside concerns about restrictions on the U.N. mission UNMISS and aid organizations that prevent them reaching the needy. Fighting has left many in the oil-producing nation of 11 million people, already one of the world's poorest, in desperate need of food and support. Sooka also cited "the ongoing impunity and lack of accountability for serious crimes as well as human rights in South Sudan, without which lasting peace cannot be achieved." The government insists it does not condone rights abuses and deals with perpetrators. However, both sides in what was an ethnically fueled conflict have been accused of actions that could amount to war crimes. Sooka also voiced concerns about "the escalation of sexual violence against women and girls, perpetrated by armed men in uniform." Members of the commission, established in March 2016 to report on the rights situation since war flared in December 2013, said they met senior government officials, and proposed "the establishment of the hybrid court" to deal with abuses. The United States and Britain, both big donors, have said they support African Union plans for a hybrid court to try war crimes committed during the conflict. Such a court could include lawyers and jurists selected by the international community. (Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Ralph Boulton)
By Susan Heavey and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another U.S. Republican senator has moved closer to re-election while keeping some distance from Donald Trump, and experts say this suggests the party's presidential candidate may be having little down-ballot impact, at least at the primary stage. Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire still faces a tough general election challenge on Nov. 8 but she crushed a pro-Trump, Republican challenger in a primary contest on Tuesday, winning close to 80 percent of the vote. Ayotte has refused to endorse Trump although, like a number of Republicans, she has said she will vote for him. Some Republicans, such as Ohio Senator Rob Portman, have endorsed Trump but excluded him from their campaigns. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won her primary in August although she had said she did not know whether she would vote for Trump. Trump, a New York businessman who has never held elected office, at first criticized Ayotte. Then he changed course early last month and endorsed her, along with fellow Republicans House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain. With Ayotte's victory, all incumbent Republican senators running for re-election have won their primaries this year. This is not uncommon but it is unusual for so many senators to hold their party's presidential nominee at arm's length. U.S. senators serve six-year-terms. One-third of the 100-member Senate faces voters every two years. The outcome so far shows some voters are distinguishing this year between Trump and the rest of the ballot, said Nathan Gonzales, editor of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter. "His impact has been less dramatic than what was initially expected, but there is still time for things to get worse for the Republican Party," Gonzales said in a telephone interview. At a time when Republicans in presidential primaries basically rejected everybody from the status quo, they are not doing that in Senate or House primaries, Norman Ornstein, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said by telephone. Republicans are still worried that voters who do not like Trump will not turn out to vote for other Republicans in the general election on Nov. 8, Gonzales said. "Is there a Trump drag (on down-ballot candidates)? There doesn't appear to be much of one," said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the non-partisan Cook Political Report. Ohio's Portman, who has not appeared with Trump on the campaign trail, easily beat his primary opponent and has opened up a lead over his Democratic challenger in the general election. McCain and Ryan have had very public differences of opinion with Trump but they also prevailed in their primary races. Ayotte beat a field of four challengers in New Hampshire, receiving nearly 80 percent of the vote, according to election results posted online by the state. She must still take on Democratic New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan in the general election. Ayotte was leading Hassan by 52 percent to 44 percent in a Sept. 6-8 NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll, according to the website RealClear Politics. "I think you probably have a lot of people in the primary who were not going to pay as close attention to what she was saying about Trump," Ornstein said of Ayotte. "In the fall it may be a different matter, as certainly Maggie Hassan is going to try to tie her to Trump. (Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Jonathan Oatis and Paul Tait)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a broad $10 billion water projects development bill that will help Flint, Michigan, deal with a long-running problem of lead contamination in the city's water supply. The Republican-majority Senate voted 95-3 in favor of the bill, which contains $100 million in loans and grants to states with health emergencies related to lead or other contaminants in public drinking water systems. Lead is a neurotoxin that can cause developmental and behavioral problems, especially in children. The bipartisan vote came after months of difficult negotiations in the Senate but there still was no indication that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives would approve such legislation and send it to President Barack Obama to be signed into law. "The people of Flint have waited for years" for help from Washington, Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan said in an interview. "Every month or more delay is simply unacceptable." Peters said he and other members of the Michigan delegation were in talks with the House on a way forward but he could not say for certain a deal would be reached. Some conservatives have expressed reservations about the need for more federal aid. In April 2014, Flint switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The corrosive river water caused lead to leach from city pipes into drinking water, creating both a health and political crisis. Residents of the city, which has a population of 100,000, on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order bottled water or water filters to be provided. Six employees from Michigan's health and environmental departments face criminal charges related to the tainted water. The Senate measure sets $70 million in subsidies to help finance an estimated $1 billion in water infrastructure projects across the United States, including in Flint. Another $20 million would be funneled through the Environmental Protection Agency for lead-reduction efforts. The aid to Flint would be paid for by saving $300 million from phasing out a government program helping automakers develop higher-efficiency standards. (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Bill Trott)
Between 1961 and 1975, tens of thousands of U.S. military helicopter pilots, crew chiefs, gunners and medics spearheaded U.S. efforts to secure the 67,000 square miles of South Vietnam. They ultimately lost to the North Vietnamese. Now, a half-century later, they are fighting once again. This time, their ranks thinned by age, they are fighting for a more modest piece of territory: five square feet in Arlington National Cemetery. Once again, they are losing. This time, the enemy is the U.S. Army.

Vietnam has long been known as the Helicopter War. The distinctive thump-thump of UH-1 Huey choppers is seared deeply into the memories of Vietnam veterans, and even many Americans who only heard it on the evening news or recall it from Apocalypse Now. It was where the Army rolled out its notion of air mobilityskies full of helicopters rushing troops to the front, plucking them from trouble, rescuing the wounded, and bringing home the dead.

About 12,000 U.S. military helicopters spent 7.5 million hours above Vietnam, flying 2 million missions. The aviation units were the sole combat element of the U.S. Army that did not come apart under the stress of the war in Vietnam, Neal Sheehan wrote in A Bright Shining Lie, his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1988 classic about the war. The Army airmen never cracked.

A total of 5,086 choppers, about 42%, were destroyed by enemy fire, bad weather, mechanical snafus and the other bad hands war routinely deals those sent to fight it. The toll among those who flew for a living: 2,002 pilots killed and 2,704 crew chiefs and gunners dead. Thats about 7% of the 58,000 American troops killed in Vietnam. But along the way, they helped rescue more than 90,000 woundedmore than half of them Americanand saved untold thousands of lives.

I was a combat medic, and I can give you a long list of guys who are alive today solely because of medevacs, Steve Bird says. He spent 1968 in Vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry Division. He witnessed the valor of the chopper crews that July near the Ho Chi Minh trail when his 110-soldier company stumbled into a North Vietnamese regiment of about 700 troops. The GIs spent two days pinned down as rescue choppers made repeated tries to come to their rescue amid enemy fire before finally getting them out.

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The enemy killed 14 U.S. troops, and wounded six others, including Bird, who took a round in his left shoulder. In all the chaos and even controversy of that war, I had a mission that was pure, clean, and simplego rescue the wounded, says Art Jacobs, who was wounded aboard his Huey while trying to save Bird and his buddies on his third try. For as long as I shall live, flying medevac was perhaps the finest thing I have ever done, adds Jacobs, 70, of Brentwood, Tenn.

Four months later, Bird would be rescued by helicopter again, following a second wounding. I cant find words, he says, to express what those guys did for us.

As the arc of the Vietnam-era pilots lives heads to the far horizon, the 15,000-member Vietnam Helicopters Pilots Association (VHPA) believes the bravery of their comrades killed in that war (10% of whom are buried at Arlington) deserved recognition in the nations most-revered burial ground. VHPA began pushing for a memorial two years ago. It promised the Army it would pay its $6,000 cost, as well as setting up a trust fund to maintain it in the future.

Despite the Vietnam War being described as the Helicopter War and the UH-1 Iroquois Helicopter being recognized as the iconic symbol of the war, no specific memorial exists, anywhere, strictly honoring helicopter pilots and crew members who died while serving in combat, UPI Vietnam war correspondent Joe Galloway, told the Army in a letter advocating its approval of the Arlington monument (officially nicknamed the Iroquois, the UH-1 came to be known as the Huey, after its original designation as the HU-1). For all the right reasonslocation, numbers of interred helicopter pilots and crew members buried in commonality-of-service without regard to military branch, honor and service, no other military cemetery is suitable for placement of a memorial monument honoring the service of Vietnam helicopter pilots and crew members.

Bob Hesselbein spent 681 hours flying AH-1 Cobra gunships over Vietnam in 1972. As VHPAs former president, the 64-year-old has led the fight for what he calls a small and humble tribute to his lost brothers. Their proposed 4-by-3-foot Barre granite monument would stand atop a 5-foot base. In September 2014, the pilots group (later to join forces with the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Members Association, made up largely of the crew chiefs and gunners who kept the warbirds flying and protected in flight) formally sought Arlingtons approval.

But the Armys Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery deadlocked 3-to-3 on the proposal (a seventh member was MIA when the vote was taken) in March 2015. The three Vietnam veterans on the panel split: Max Cleland, a former Georgia senator and VA head who lost three limbs in Vietnam, and Thomas Kelley, who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry there, supported the monument due to the disproportionate loss of life compared to the number of lives these pilots saved in the Vietnam conflict, according to the panels minutes. James Peake, who earned a Silver Star in Vietnam before becoming an Army doctor and leading the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2007 to 2009, and two others opposed it, saying Arlington should not become a monument park.

The panels stalemate ended up on the desk of John McHugh, then the Army secretary, who had come to the Pentagon following 18 years in the House (including 16 on the armed services committee, and 14 co-chairing the House Army Caucus). In July 2015, he told Cleland (the advisory panels chairman at the time) that he had disapproved the petition for the Vietnam helicopter monument.

The prime directive for the cemetery is to do everything it can not to initiate an action that would displace an otherwise-eligible veteran, McHugh told TIME on Thursday. On a very tough decision, that philosophy and unwritten rule was the determining factor.

Arlington, where more than 400,000 have been interred since 1864, has only enough land for burials until the mid-2030s, the Army says. That makes every square foot of its 624 acres precious (a pending proposal to add 38 acres could give Arlington another 20 years worth of room). Space wasnt a concern until these recent theaters of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, says McHugh, a Republican who left the Armys top civilian job last October, after more than six years in the post. There was a period I was attending three funerals a day for the fallen, and you have to be very mindful of what the future may bring.

While memorials are sprinkled throughout Arlingtons sacred grounds, ranging from the well-known (the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) to the largely forgotten (the Argonne Cross) to the jarring (the Confederate Memorial), there have been few added in recent years. The last two, both ordered by Congress, acknowledge World War IIs Battle of the Bulge (2002) and Jewish chaplains (2011).

The Armys formal refusal has been a bitter blow for the proud men (and they were all men) who flew helicopters in Vietnam. The best and the brightest might be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but based on its management, they dont work there, Hesselbein, of Madison, Wis., says. Id say 1,000 deathsnot casualties, but deathsper square foot is worth a monument5,000 dead in five feet. They argue that there is space unsuitable for burials because of tree roots or underground utility lines where their memorial could rest.

It also has upset veterans like Bird who are indebted to their rescuers. Were dealing here with pencil-pushing bureaucrats who have no fricking clue what theyre doing, says Bird, of Groveland, Mass. And he doesnt buy the Armys justification. Theres memorials all over that damn cemetery for every Tom, Dick and Harry cause that you can think of, Bird says. And these jerks in the Army are giving them a hard time over a few square feet? Its preposterous.

Arlington officials say their emphasis is to honor individuals, not groups, even if its in the form of a so-called memorial marker placed without a body underneath. The most important monument at that cemetery are the individual headstones, Patrick Hallinan, a one-time Marine who used to run Arlington and is now in charge of all Army cemeteries. He added that the Army doesnt want to surrender even five square feet. Any space that we would designate for that purpose could still be used in the future for burial or for memorial marker for someone thats missing, he told Congress Sept. 8. I understand that, Hey, its only five feet, but five feet is a grave site.

Bird, despite his 69 years, retains a young grunts disdain for authority. They found a place in Arlington to bury Ruth Bader Ginsburgs husband, because she is a Supreme Court justice and wants to be buried there, he says, referring to the 2010 interment of Martin Ginsburg (the Obama Administration made the decision). Theres going to be guys rolling over in their graves when they find out shes in the ground there, he predicts. They can find a spot for that guy, but they cant find a spot for a memorial like this?

While the Army rejected the memorial, it did approve the VHPAs gift of a 20-foot red maple to replace a dying tree on the cemetery grounds. It was planted last year. The service also said the group could have a 12-by-18-inch plaque near the tree honoring their service. The chopper crews have declined to seek the plaque, at least for now, while they seek a congressional reversal of the Armys decision vetoing the monument. A bipartisan group of 26 lawmakers is pushing to do just that.

Hesselbein and his fellow pilots seem resigned to whatever remembrance they get. Vietnam did not turn out well, and its kind of an embarrassment to the great military history of the United States, he says. Theyre just hoping we all die.
Chinese state media on Thursday welcomed Britain's approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear plant but attacked "China-phobia" in London, after new conditions were attached to the mammoth project.

"Finally, London has made a welcoming move by giving the go-ahead order to a key nuclear power plant program after it was suspended over some fictitious 'national security' concerns about Chinese investment," the Xinhua news agency said in a signed commentary.

China has a one-third stake in the French-led project in southwest England, which eventually is meant to deliver seven percent of Britain's electricity needs for 60 years.

Critics say the arrangement could give China the power to plunge Britain into darkness, and the new British government of Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review of the project in July.

It finally gave the green light on Thursday, but added provisos to ensure it can intervene to stop any sale of the Hinkley stake held by French power group EDF, and to wield more control over future nuclear projects.

"Of course, the British leader's misgivings make little sense," the Xinhua commentary said, speculating that May was pandering to domestic critics.

"Had the program gone under, all sides were to lose dearly, while China-Britain relations could have been tossed into uncertainty," it said, while warning that future problems are inevitable as Hinkley Point is built.

"Therefore, let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development."
Jammu: Curfew remained in force on Thursday in Rajouri town of the district after members of two communities indulged in stone-pelting following rumours of an alleged sacrilegious act.

Police said situation is under control in the border district of Jammu and Kashmir, where curfew was imposed last

night after tension prevailed.

Rajouri district magistrate Shabir Ahmed Bhat said that camel meat was recovered from some passengers in a commercial vehicle which led to spread of rumours, following which clashes erupted in some parts of Rajouri town, prompting the district administration to impose curfew to avoid any loss of life and property.

However, he said that there was no incident of sacrilege.

"Curfew remains imposed in Rajouri town. The situation is tense but under control. There were some incidents of damage to business establishments and heavy stone-pelting during the night," Johny William, who is in charge DIG range Rajouri-Poonch, told PTI.

On Wednesday night, Army was also called in view of the simmering tension.

An investigation has been initiated into the incident by the police, under SSP Rajeshwar Singh.
By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Jailed former Nigerian state governor James Ibori's convictions remain valid despite evidence a British police officer took bribes during the investigation of his case, Britain's state prosecution agency said on Thursday. Ibori, who as governor of oil-producing Delta State from 1999 to 2007 was one of Nigeria's most powerful men, is serving a 13-year sentence in a British prison after pleading guilty in 2012 to 10 counts of fraud and money-laundering. He is the most senior Nigerian politician to have been held to account for the corruption that has blighted Africa's most populous nation for decades, and his jailing was hailed as a high point in the international fight against graft. But the case has become an embarrassment for Britain since one of Ibori's associates, convicted money-launderer Bhadresh Gohil, alleged that the judicial process was tainted because prosecutors had covered up evidence of police corruption. Authorities initially denied everything and charged Gohil with perverting the course of justice, but that prosecution was abruptly dropped in January. In May, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had found "material to support the assertion that a police officer received payment in return for information". After an internal review of the case lasting months, the CPS said on Thursday that while the material "should have been disclosed to the defence", that did not call into question the validity of the convictions of Ibori, Gohil and others. Ibori's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gohil's lawyer said he could not comment for legal reasons. Court proceedings on the confiscation of Ibori's assets are still dragging through the courts, and lawyers for Ibori and Gohil could use the next court hearing to challenge the findings of the CPS review. Ibori first came to the attention of British police in 1991, when he was working as a cashier at Wickes, a home improvements chainstore in London, and was caught stealing from the till. After returning to Nigeria, he became involved in politics. As governor of Delta, he amassed a huge fortune and became a power-broker in the PDP party then ruling the country. The charges to which Ibori pleaded guilty amounted to the theft of about $80 million. Prosecutors said that was only part of his total booty, which was kept hidden via a complex web of shell companies, offshore accounts and front men. During his sentencing in 2012, the court heard that he had enjoyed a lavish lifestyle involving foreign properties and a fleet of luxury cars. At the time of his arrest, he had been trying to buy a $20 million private jet. (Editing by Andrew Roche)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it was "unacceptable and outrageous" to claim that opposition to settlements was tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

Netanyahu has accused the Palestinians of seeking a state with "no Jews" and declared in a video released last week that this could be described as "ethnic cleansing."

"I am disturbed by a recent statement by Israel's prime minister portraying those who oppose settlement expansion as supporters of ethnic cleansing," Ban told the Security Council during a meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"This is unacceptable and outrageous."

Ban asserted that Israel's policy of building housing on land earmarked for a future Palestinian state was illegal and called for an end to Israeli rule over Palestinian territories.

"Let me be absolutely clear: settlements are illegal under international law. The occupation, stifling and oppressive, must end," he said.

More than half a million Israelis have settled in Palestinian territories under a policy that Ban said was "diametrically opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state."

Over the past two weeks, Israel has advanced plans for another 463 housing units to be built in four settlements of the West Bank.

Ban quoted Israeli data as showing that since April, there had been the highest number of construction starts in three years, confirming the Israeli push on settlements.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, hit back at Ban, saying he should direct his criticism at the Palestinians.

"Instead of directly condemning Hamas and its building of terror tunnels, and instead of investing time and resources in ensuring that the Palestinians end their incitement, the secretary general chooses to condemn Israel on a regular basis," he said in a statement.

Story continues

The council meeting was held amid reports that Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had ordered ministry employees and military officials to boycott UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov over his criticism of Israel's settlement policies.

Mladenov last month told the council that Israel had launched a "surge" in settlement activity, ignoring the recommendations of the diplomatic quartet that called for a halt to settlements.

The quartet is comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully, who holds the council presidency this month, said Lieberman's decision was "deeply counter-productive" and that Mladenov was "doing the job we all asked him to do."

The United Nations has been struggling to find a way to re-start the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been comatose since a US-led diplomatic effort collapsed in April 2014.
United Parcel Services Inc. UPS recently announced its plans to hire around 95,000 seasonal workers for this years holiday season. Each year, UPS hires additional employees during the holiday season to cater to the sharp incline in package volumes. Holiday season will commence from November this year and continue through Jan 2017.

Holiday Hire Details

The company is expected to appoint personnel for both full-time and part-time positions for the holiday season. The various positions include package handlers, drivers and driver-helpers. Interestingly, being hired to work seasonally can also result in being offered a full-time position at United Parcel. In fact, the companys Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Abney, was himself a part-time employee once. Moreover, three other executives, who are currently part of United Parcels management committee, had initially started working with it as part-time employees. Notably, the company has hired more than 37% of the holiday season package handlers for full-time positions between 2012 and 2014.

United Parcel offers a range of benefits to its employees. These include good salary packages, healthcare and retirement benefits. Furthermore, at certain locations the companys part-time employees who attend college are also eligible to receive up to $25,000 in tuition assistance. This is part of the companys Earn and Learn program. The company invests a lot of time and effort in training its employees to ensure their development and to offer one of the best customer services in the industry.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

United Parcel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock from the wider transportation sector is Copa Holdings SA CPA with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Some other well-ranked stocks in the sector inlcude ANA Holdings Inc. ALNPY and SkyWest Inc. SKYW. Both these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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Tripoli (AFP) - The US envoy to Libya has said Washington will support the resumption of oil exports from the politically divided country if revenues go to the UN-backed unity government.

"The key is that oil won't be diverted to anyone else other than the... recognised government of Libya," Jonathan Winer told AFP on Wednesday, referring to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

Winer was speaking from Washington after forces loyal to a rival authority in eastern Libya seized four key ports in the country's so-called "oil crescent" this week and handed them over to the National Oil Company.

On Thursday, the NOC announced an "immediate" resumption of oil exports from two of those ports.

"Oil needs to be produced throughout the country to generate the revenues necessary to pay for salaries for the Libyan people to have the government be able to function and to be able to" provide services, Winer said.

The oil "has to be exported according to lawful contracts with the proceeds going into the central bank of Libya whose main offices are in Tripoli," he added.

"If the oil is going in the government's revenues and the government supports that, there is no action for the international community to take," he said.

But "if oil were to be diverted towards any particular group, new bank accounts to be set up, oil being sent to parties who have not had contracts for the oil already... the US will seek to enforce UN Security Council resolutions," Winer said.

If the GNA asked for international support to prevent oil from being exported, he said, the international community was "likely to provide that support".

Libya has been in turmoil, with rival administrations and militias fighting for control of the oil-rich country since the 2011 revolt that ousted longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The unity government has been working in Tripoli since March, but has struggled to assert its control over the country, which with an estimated 48 billion barrels holds Africa's largest oil reserves.

Story continues

US warplanes are supporting pro-GNA forces in a battle to expel the last Islamic State group jihadists from the coastal city of Sirte, previously their North African stronghold, west of the oil crescent.

The jihadists seized Sirte in June last year.

"The US does not want Libyans fighting with other Libyans," said Winer. "We want Libyans to unite to fight the security threats."

"We think it's the right thing for the Libyans to talk rather than to fight with one another," the US envoy added.
kgb 1

After extensively focusing on the War on Terror both at home and abroad, it seems that the USs spying capabilities against Russia have taken a drastic hit.

In a major directional shift, a senior US intelligence official interviewed by The Washington Post claimed that although terrorism was a top concern, the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had now prioritized Russia on their list of intelligence priorities  the first time since the collapse of the USSR.

The US officials stated that while their respective intelligence agencies focused on other matters for the last several years, Russia had been upping its intelligence and military capabilities. Russias international moves over the past two years, such as its annexation of Crimea and interference in Syria, have caught the US off-guard and served to highlight how far the US's intelligence capabilities have slipped in regard to monitoring Moscow.

During the USSRs heyday, US spy agencies had allocated at least 40% of their manpower to monitor the Soviet regime. US intelligence agencies now devote approximately 10% of their budgets towards Russia, and an intelligence official asserts that they are playing catch-up big time.

According to the Posts source, in order to address this issue, the US also plans on increasing and reallocating their intelligence assets so that it returns to a status similar to that at the end of the Cold War. This would include mobilizing clandestine CIA operatives, cyber-espionage capabilities, and satellite systems.

cia

But getting to that level of operational capability would be difficult, explained one of the many intelligence officials interviewed for the Post's report. The dozens of recruits that are currently training to perform espionage operations against Russia have a limited knowledge of the Russian language. Overall, the training and shifting of recruits and operatives will take years.

Story continues

It is a pipeline process, one of the former officials said to the Post. It will be years before they can be used operationally.

And during the time it takes to train and shift the US's intelligence capabilities against Russia, the US remains greatly outnumbered by Russian operatives.

The counterintelligence operation that [Moscow] runs against the US Embassy measured in the thousands, Michael McFaul, a Stanford University professor and former US ambassador to Russia, told the Post. It always felt, especially sitting in Moscow, of course, that we were in a counterintelligence and collection battle that was an asymmetric fight.

CIA Director John Brennan recently addressed Russia's "exceptionally capable and sophisticated" infiltration abilities.

"I think that we have to be very, very wary of what the Russians might be trying to do in terms of collecting information in a cyber realm, as well as what they might want to do with it," Brennan explained on CBS.

NOW WATCH: Hackers can take over an entire network with this tiny $35 box





More From Business Insider


SPRINGFIELD, VA / ACCESSWIRE / September 15, 2016 / Versar, Inc. (NYSE MKT: VSR) announced today that its long-term joint venture with Johnson Controls Federal Systems was awarded two new Task Orders for work at McLaughlin Air National Guard (ANG) Base, housed at Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV and at New Castle ANG Base in Delaware.

The Government recently completed a Phase II Engineering Planning Study of the Defense Logistic Agency's (DLA) Energy Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant (POL) facilities that identified 26 deficiencies at McLaughlin ANG Base and 17 at New Castle ANG Base. The $2.6M firm fixed price task order award at McLaughlin ANG Base is to complete the existing designs and execute repairs required to correct the deficiencies. The $1.8M firm fixed price task order award at New Castle ANG Base is to provide all labor, material, equipment and transportation necessary to execute the various repairs. Both task order awards will be completed by Versar's Engineering and Construction Management Group.

Tony Otten, Chief Executive Officer of Versar, said: "These two Task Order awards are important wins for our long-term joint venture with Johnson Controls Federal Systems and establishing our team's expertise in DLA's POL/Fuel Facilities Upgrade and Repair Program."

VERSAR, INC., headquartered in Springfield, Virginia, is a publicly-traded global project management company providing sustainable value oriented solutions to government and commercial clients in the construction management, environmental services, and professional services market areas.

VERSAR operates the following websites: www.versar.com and www.versarpps.com.

Find out more about VERSAR at

https://twitter.com/VersarInc

https://www.facebook.com/VersarInc

http://www.linkedin.com/company/38251

This news release contains forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties described herein and in Versar's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ended June 26, 2015, as updated from time to time in the Company's periodic filings. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Versar does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

Story continues

Contact:

Karin Weber

M&A, Investor Relations Manager

Versar, Inc.

(703) 642-6706

kweber@versar.com

Robert Ferri

Robert Ferri Partners

(415) 575-1589

robert.ferri@robertferri.com

SOURCE: Versar, Inc.
Dana Majhi, the tribal man who decided to carry his wife's dead body on his shoulders for a 64 km stretch from a hospital in Kalahandi to his village, after being denied a hearse, enraged the nation and to some extent, evoked a sense of pity and sympathy among the people.

Talking to ANI, Majhi said that he had no money and the hospital authorities refused to help him. However, after walking for 13 km, some media people collected money to help him. He arranged for an ambulance with that money.

After walking for 13 km, some media ppl gave me money and then I could arrange for an ambulance: Dana Manjhi pic.twitter.com/xJYan4k0NK  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

The case didn't stop there. Moved by his plight, it grabbed the attention of the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. As the incident made headlines and images of Majhi walking with the corpse went viral, the Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa sent a donation to the family.

Majhi said that when he went to drop his daughters at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), the institute's founder told him that the king wanted to meet him.

Came to drop my 3daughters at KISS,the founder informed that Bahrain's king wanted to meet me&covered my Embassy of Bahrain visit costs:Dana  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

According to a report by Hindustan Times, he was at the embassy of Bahrain on Thursday to collect a cheque of Rs 8.87 lakh sent by the ruler. This cost was covered by the king, Majhi told ANI.

Majhi was accompanied by one of his sobbing daughters during his long walk while carrying his wife's body. His 12-year old daughter accompanied him till some local reporters spotted the duo and arranged for an ambulance.

KISS has offered to provide education to his three daughters. It is a residential school for tribal children, reported The Times of India.

KISS admitted the students after a number of tribal organisations of Kalahandi district, including Biswabasu Sabar Samaj, District Tribal Society requested the KISS authority to take educational responsibility of Majhi's daughters.

Bahrain's empathy towards Majhi is not new or sudden. According to an earlier Firstpost piece, Bahrain's PM Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa sent a donation to help Majhi.

After reading about his plight in a local newspaper, Akhbaar Al Khaleej, the prince was so moved that "he could not just stand by and do nothing about such suffering." Khalifa then contacted the Indian embassy in Bahrain and offered to make a donation.
By Ian Simpson

(Reuters) - The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican bid to have Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe held in contempt for his continued effort to restore voting rights to about 206,000 felons.

The high court said it would not require McAuliffe to prove that he is complying with its July 22 ruling that struck down his initial blanket attempt to restore felons' voting rights.

The one-page order also said justices would not let Republican legislative leaders seek more documents through a discovery process.

McAuliffe's efforts to restore voting rights to felons is seen as a possible aid in tipping Virginia, a swing state in the Nov. 8 presidential election, toward Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Opinion polls show her leading Republican candidate Donald Trump in the state.

Republican legislative leaders this month filed a contempt motion against McAuliffe. It came after McAuliffe said he had restored voting rights to almost 13,000 felons on a case-by-case basis after the state Supreme Court blocked his blanket clemency effort.

In a statement, McAuliffe said he was pleased by the court's decision. "Restoring these Virginians civil rights is morally the right thing to do," he said.

McAuliffe has said his original order would move Virginia away from lifetime disenfranchisement that hits African-Americans particularly hard.

Many of the convicts who benefited were African-Americans or Latinos, two groups that have voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates in the past. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, won Virginia in 2012 and 2008.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Central European countries are expected to make joint proposals at Friday's EU summit and their most important goal is to help Bulgaria in its efforts to protect its border with Turkey in the migration crisis, a top Hungarian minister said on Thursday. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, Janos Lazar, said "Europe's future" would be decided on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. "The V4 countries will probably take a joint stance in Bratislava ... and are expected to make joint proposals," Lazar told a news conference. "The focus of these will be on strengthening the legitimacy of nations (within Europe.)" Lazar also said the Visegrad group believed that a joint European army should be set up, and Frontex should be strengthened. (Reporting by Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f210993%2fgettyimages-562903045

There have been many important food debates fought in the past in Australia. Like demanding to bring back the old Shapes biscuits. Or politicians "squaring off" over the origins of the Chiko roll.

Now there's #StopTheStack. It's a vitally important campaign to end the practice of chicken parmigiana being stacked on top of the chips (or fries) at restaurants and pubs around Australia.

SEE ALSO: Two iconic Australian ice-creams merge, birthing the Golden Gaynetto

The campaign was started by Pilbara News journalist Tom Zaunmayr, who's fed up with chips getting soggy, thanks people stacking a crumbed chicken steak in all its cheesy glory, on top of it.

"Well I really do love chicken parmas, as all self-respecting Aussies do, but have found myself constantly frustrated with pubs putting the parma on top of the chips for years," he told Mashable Australia via email.

"More and more of them are doing it with steak too and don't even get me started on that. Having discussed this in depth with mates I soon found there would be a lot of support for a campaign to stop this moral outrage, and given my other pet hate of people complaining about things but doing nothing about it I figured hell, let's give it a crack."

The response to #StopTheStack has been "overwhelmingly positive" so far. It's an "issue which hits close to home for many Australians" after all, said Zaunmayr.

One fellowpublican has argued that a change in plating will result in increased cost or fewer chips, which Zaunmayr doesn't "buy for a second" he said.

"Most people are well and truly on board with the message and the support has been humbling. I've always wanted to make a difference in the world and I can think of no more important issue than making parmas great again," he said.

"The internet has proven time and time again that people power can achieve great feats, well this could be its greatest feat to date. This is democracy in action. The townspeople have spoken."

Story continues

STOP THE STACK.

Image: Getty Images

As for what the perfect parmigiana should look like, Zaunmayr insists that the parmigiana should take up the majority of the plate and that you don't win friends with salad.

"The parma should take pride of place across two thirds of the plate, with the chips piled up on the other third. If you insist on salad you can cram it in between the parma and chips or put it in a bowl on the side. This is pub food after all, it doesnt have to look good, it just has to go well with a tall frothy," he said.

Maybe one day we'll have world peace. And maybe one day we'll get a properly arranged chicken parmigiana in Australia's pubs too.
Sept 15 (Reuters) - Walmart Canada will stop accepting Visa Inc cards at its 16 stores in the province of Manitoba starting on Oct. 24, a spokesman said on Wednesday, raising the stakes in a high-profile fee dispute.

Manitoba was "most ready" for not accepting Visa cards, he said, without elaborating on why the province was chosen.

In a rare example of talks between a major retailer and credit card company spilling out in public, Walmart said in June it had been unable to agree with Visa on an "acceptable fee" and would no longer accept the company's credit cards unless it got a better deal.

Visa cards may be banned in more stores if the companies cannot reach an agreement, the Walmart spokesman said, though he did not say which ones.

"We're committed to continuing negotiations with Visa, and we are still hopeful to reach an agreement."

The rejection of Visa in Manitoba would follow the retailer's decision in July to stop accepting Visa cards in three Ontario stores - a step that would be mirrored across the country, Walmart had said at the time.

Walmart has over 400 stores in Canada.

The negotiations do not affect the U.S. stores of parent Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Sunil Nair)
(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's Canadian unit will stop accepting Visa Inc cards at 16 stores in the province of Manitoba starting Oct. 24, a company spokesman said on Wednesday, raising the stakes in a high-profile fee dispute in the country. Manitoba was "most ready" for the move on Visa cards, Wal-Mart spokesman Alex Roberton said, without giving any details on why the province was chosen. Wal-Mart Canada stopped accepting Visa cards in three Thunder Bay, Ontario stores in July and said the step would be mirrored across the country. The retailer, which has over 400 stores in Canada, added that the decision will not affect Wal-Mart stores outside the country. In a rare example of talks between a major retailer and credit card company spilling out in public, Wal-Mart said in June it had been unable to agree with Visa on an "acceptable fee" and would no longer accept the company's credit cards unless it got a better deal. Visa cards may be banned in more stores if the companies cannot reach an agreement, Wal-Mart spokesman Roberton said, though he did not specify which ones. "We're committed to continuing negotiations with Visa, and we are still hopeful of reaching an agreement." Visa spokeswoman Connie Kim said Walmart's decision to limit Visa acceptance in Manitoba was "disappointing." "We know from our experience in Thunder Bay that consumers want the option to use the payment method of their choice when shopping  including at Walmart stores," she added. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Sudarshan Varadhan in Bengaluru and Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Sunil Nair and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
The cast of black-ish filmed their third season premiere at Walt Disney World in August  "our big family vacation episode" as executive producer Jonathan Groff describes it  but one star is already a Disney MVP.



Jenifer Lewis, who plays outspoken Grandma Ruby on the ABC hit sitcom, also voices the role of Flo in the Cars movies. And she stole scenes in 2009's The Princess and the Frog as wise Mama Odie.



(Lewis, 59, is a former Broadway performer with powerhouse pipes  for proof, watch the clip above!)



Shooting at the Florida theme park gave the cast new opportunities to explore  and reminisce about past visits.







"My favorite Disney memory is the first time I went on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster," says Miles Brown, who plays the Johnson family's youngest son, Jack. "Or Expedition Everest because I did not know anything that was going to happen. Or meeting Mickey. I had a little dance battle with him."



For Marsai Martin, who plays Jack's twin sister Diane, it's all about the Hollywood Tower of Terror. "That one was a little scary," she says. "It took me months to get on that ride!"



Season 3 of black-ish kicks off Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Donald Trump is not over having awkward moments.



The Republican presidential candidate was chastised by a Flint, Michigan pastor about politicizing his visit to her church on Wednesday.



Trump gave his speech after he toured Flint's water treatment plant.



Addressing a crowd of about 70 African-American voters at the Bethel United Methodist Church, Trump attempted to tie-in Flint's economic decline to trade deals supported by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.







In a video posted on YouTube, Rev. Faith Green Timmons is seen walking onstage and interrupting Trump.



"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not to give a political speech," she said.



"Oh, oh, oh, OK, that's good," Trump replied. "Then I'm going back on Flint."



Trump didn't go into detail on specific policies he would pursue to improve Flint's water quality.



"I can only say in the strongest of terms that we can fix this problem. It's going to take time, it's amazing the damage that's been done," Trump said. "But we'll get it fixed anda it will be fixed quickly, if I'm elected, and effectively and Flint will come back. Most importantly, we'll bring jobs back to Flint."



Trump's tour of the Flint's water facility lasted about 20 minutes, according to The Detroit News".



On Wednesday, Trump also found time to sit down with host Dr. Mehmet Oz to reveal the results of a recent physical.



Trump, 70, revved up the crowd as he handed over two pages of test results after being questioned by the television physician in an interview to air in full Thursday.
US-led coalition airstrikes continued to hit ISIS targets in northern Iraq in the first half of September, as Iraqi ground forces reportedly prepare to launch operations to retake the terrorist group's biggest remaining city, Mosul.

On September 12, three strikes hit an ISIS headquarters building that Operation Inherent Resolve officials have said was also used as a chemical-weapons facility.

In those strikes, part of which are shown in the GIF below, "U.S. F-15Es, A-10s, B-52s, F-16s, and Marine Corps F-18Ds destroyed more than 50 points of interest, removing a significant chemical threat to innocent Iraqis," a US Air Force Central Command official told Business Insider by email.

"Intelligence indicated that Daesh converted a pharmaceutical plant complex into a chemical weapons production capability, using chlorine or mustard gas," the US Air Force Central Command official told Business Insider, referring to ISIS by another name.

"This represents another example of Daeshs blatant disregard for international law and norms."

mosul iraq us airstrikes

Chemical-weapons facilities in Mosul were targeted by the US-led coalition earlier this year, around the time US special-operations forces captured Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar, who worked on chemical and biological weapons under Saddam Hussein and became known as ISIS' "emir" of chemical and traditional weapons manufacturing.

In Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, the highly regarded science facilities of the city's university were one of the most valuable spoils taken by ISIS when the group captured the city in summer 2014.

By spring 2015, dozens of scientists and engineers working for the terrorist group had set up shop on the university's labs and workspaces, building chemical bombs and suicide vests, The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2016.

"The University of Mosul is the best Daesh research center in the world," an Iraqi general told The Journal at the time. "Trainees go to Raqqa, [Syria], then to Mosul university to use the existing facilities."

Story continues

See video of the September 12 strike below:

NOW WATCH: GREEN BERET: Why our strategy against terrorism is making things worse





More From Business Insider


By Anna Ringstrom and Kate Holton

STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) - European fashion retailers blamed the weather for below-forecast figures on Thursday as Hennes & Mauritz <HMb.ST> sales were hit by a hot second half of August and Britain's Next <NXT.L> discounted stock in July after a warm winter and cold spring.

Shares in the companies fell on the figures, underlining the challenge faced by retailers which source most of their clothing from Asia months before it hits the shelves, making it hard to respond to unpredictable weather and fast-moving fashion trends.

Zara-owner Inditex <ITX.MC>, by contrast, copes better because it can whisk the latest trends from runway to stores in a matter of days from its factories in Europe. The Spanish company, whose shares were unchanged following its rival's figures, is due to report its half-year results on Sept. 21.

Next shares were down 4 percent at 1324 GMT and H&M also slipped 4 percent, dragging Britain's Marks and Spencer <MKS.L>, which fell 2.4 percent, and German online fashion retailer Zalando <ZALG.DE>, down 1.4 percent.

H&M, the world's second-biggest clothing retailer after

Inditex, said local-currency sales in August rose 7 percent, missing average analyst forecasts of 13 percent.

The Swedish firm, which makes most of its sales in Europe, said the month got off to a strong start but sales were hit in the second half of August by hot weather in most of its markets.

Societe Generale analyst Anne Critchlow estimated H&M's comparable sales shrank 2 percent in the month and predicted a continued decline in its operating profit margin.

"Weather was certainly unhelpful across northern Europe, being too warm for the launch of the transitional autumn/winter ranges at full price and this has continued into September," Critchlow said.

The overall clothing market in Germany, H&M's single-biggest market, was down 3 percent in August, according to Textilwirtschaft industry data.

Story continues

H&M said net sales in the last three months totaled 49 billion crowns ($5.8 billion), up from 46 billion in the same period a year ago but below a forecast 50 billion. It reports full third-quarter results on Sept. 30.

'CHALLENGING AND VOLATILE'

Meanwhile, Next posted a 1.5 percent fall in first-half profit after sales from full-priced goods fell by 0.3 percent, saying trading since July had been challenging and volatile.

Next said it had 30 percent more stock for its summer sale in July than a year ago, after it reported a dramatic fall in demand for clothing and footwear following an unusually warm winter and cold spring.

It said this might lessen later in the year, especially if there is a cold winter.

Next retained its wide full-year guidance for full-price sales to either grow or contract by 2.5 percent and said it expected to have a clearer picture of trading conditions at the beginning of November when it reports its third-quarter sales.

"We will hopefully have a bit of cold weather then and we'll be able to see the reaction to our winter ranges because at the moment it's impossible to read because no one is buying winter ranges," Chief Executive Simon Wolfson told Reuters.

Bernstein analyst Jamie Merriman noted that Next was aiming to increase the proportion of garments ordered with a short lead time to 15 percent in winter, from 10 percent in autumn and only 4 percent in the spring/summer season.

However, she is still concerned, predicting rising input prices after Britain's vote to leave the European Union hit sterling as well as potential pressure on disposable incomes.

Next's Wolfson, who backed Brexit, said consumers did not appear to be affected by the referendum but said retail sales would remain sluggish while real earnings struggled to grow.

Meanwhile, department store chain John Lewis said it did not expect Brexit to hit its sales in the second half after a 4.5 percent rise in the first, including a 2.8 percent increase in fashion sales.

(Writing by Emma Thomasson and Kate Holton; Editing by Alexander Smith)
In a climate where freedom of speech and expression is under attack on numerous fronts, and with even the judiciary refusing to stand up for freedom of speech, the draft Protection of Speech and Reputation Bill, 2016, is a welcome development in expanding this important right. As part of an initiative being spearheaded by Tathagatha Satpathy, a Member of Parliament belonging to the Biju Janata Dal, its a noble effort to re-assert the right to free speech in India. The bill is currently in the draft stage and is open to public comments for further refinement and fine-tuning.

The bill itself aims to re-balance the relationship between the freedom of speech and the right to reputation. Following the judgment of the Supreme Court upholding the constitutional validity of Section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 which criminalises defamation in India, many felt that the balance had tilted dangerously away from the freedom of speech and towards the protection of reputation. Even though the Constitution recognises that the freedom of speech may be limited through reasonable restrictions in the interests of preventing defamation, the Supreme Courts judgment went even further and seemed to make freedom of speech itself subordinate to the right to reputation. Crucially, the court failed to reason why, even if reputation is a sound basis to limit freedom of speech, defamation should necessarily be criminalised for these purposes as a reasonable restriction permitted under the Constitution. This state of affairs, of its own making, does not seem to have dawned on the court as it wonders why persons in power continue to harass critics with criminal defamation cases.

The bill cuts through this flawed and incoherent reasoning of the Supreme Court and aims to create a legal framework that maintains a healthy balance; recognising both the primacy of freedom of speech and the need to have sufficient protection for an individuals reputation as well. To this effect, the bill does two very important things: one, it provides a reasonable procedure for protecting reputation without damaging freedom of speech and two, it decriminalises defamation altogether by deleting Sections 499 to 502 of the IPC.

The two important changes are related to each other.

Criminal defamation is resorted to by parties simply because the regular civil remedy is not considered effective. This is not a reflection of the substantive law of defamation alone. It is a reflection of Indias civil justice system and the enormous delays and backlog that plague it. The weaknesses in the justice system have meant that few people resort to this to claim damages for a legal injury suffered by them. This results in the threat of damages not being a sufficient deterrent to those who cause the injury nor is there a promise of effective remedy to those who suffer such legal injury. It is therefore easier for an aggrieved party to use the blunt instrument of criminal defamation, with the threat of imprisonment and fine for the alleged defamer, even if it doesnt mean that there will be damages paid out to her for such defamation.

Criminal defamation law, as it stands though, is also open to serious abuse. It has been used, and continues to be used, to harass political opposition and have a chilling effect on the criticism of the government and those in positions of power. Initially intended to prevent people from taking the law into their own hands (usually by challenging other to duels unto death in public), criminal defamation law has now become a favoured tool to punish a critic through the process rather than actually deter defamers.

The bill goes some distance in addressing these two inter-linked issues  providing an effective remedy for civil defamation and removing the offence of criminal defamation as an offence from the IPC.

The bill cuts through this flawed and incoherent reasoning of the Supreme Court and aims to create a legal framework that maintains a healthy balance; recognising both the primacy of freedom of speech and the need to have sufficient protection for an individuals reputation as well

Being a bill introduced in Parliament it of course has its limitations. For one, it cant undertake the kind of wholescale reform needed to restore public confidence in the civil justice system. In as much as the bill attempts to provide an effective civil remedy for defamation, it cant make sure that the system as a whole responds to the needs of a litigant for quick and effective justice. It does limit the scope for abuse for instance, by demanding that a suit for defamation be filed in an area where the defendant resides or carries on a business or profession. However, this requires district court judges in India to be alert to the possibility of abuse where a case has been deliberately filed in a court lacking jurisdiction  something that overburdened and ill-equipped judges have not been able to do in other cases.

However, this criticism must not detract from the key innovations and changes proposed in the bill. They are much needed and should be seriously considered by Parliament for passage. Though the history of successfully passed private members bills is not very encouraging, nonetheless given that this is a bill which will have important implications for members of the political class who are likely to face criminal defamation from their political opponents, one hopes that it will be taken up seriously for debate and discussion, if not ultimate passage as a law.

The author is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and views expressed here are entirely personal. He has also assisted in and provided inputs to the drafters of the Protection of Speech and Reputation Bill, 2016 in the initial stages of its conception
Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tells FOX Business his agency is investigating potentially illegal activity at other banks similar to the scam perpetrated against unsuspecting customers at Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

Weve put the entire banking industry on notice that this kind of conduct is completely inconsistent with what it means to be a bank" he said.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay a $100 million fine and $85 million in penalties and restitution after it was revealed thousands of Wells Fargo employees were part of a widespread illegal practice of secretly opening unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts in order to meet sales goals and compensation incentives. In some cases, those fraudulent accounts earned the bank fees which it has agreed to refund to customers.

Wells Fargo announced on Monday that it would eliminate the sales goals and product cross-selling as a result of the investigation. FOX Business reached out to other banks to see if they had similar programs. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) declined to comment. Citi (NYSE:C) did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

The Wall Street Journal reports federal prosecutors in New York and California have subpoenaed documents from Wells Fargo as part of an investigation into potential criminal activity at the bank. Cordray says his agency will cooperate with federal investigators.

Wells Fargo knew in 2011 there was a problem and says it began firing employees five years ago, 5,300 to date, for violating bank policy. But Wells Fargo has refused to comment on what steps it may have taken to stop the illegal activity.

Cordray says investigations will continue, potentially reaching high up the chain of managers. When asked if the investigations could reach Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpfs office, Cordray would not speculate but said, Some of that is still being determined but I think it has been acknowledged by the bank that the firing of the employees included 100s of people who are not front line employees with accounts but people who were managing these people and people who were managing the managers. That goes up the chain a good ways.

Story continues

Wells Fargo declined to comment. Stumpf will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on September 20th in a hearing on the scandal.

Shares of Wells Fargo have lost nearly 10% this month.

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By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) - Toshiba's Westinghouse expects to receive approval from Britain's nuclear regulator for its AP1000 reactor design in the first quarter of next year, it said on Thursday. The approval is a necessary step before the reactor can be used at NuGen's Moorside project in Cumbria, north west England, which is expected to generate around 7 percent of the countrys electricity when built around 2025. "We are on track to achieve GDA (generic design assessment) in the first quarter of 2017," Jeffrey Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president, new plants and major projects, told reporters. All new nuclear plants in Britain need to gain approval from its Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) through its GDA process, which typically takes around four years the ONR said. Westinghouse's AP1000 approval however, has taken much longer since assessment, which first began in 2007. It was paused by the ONR at the end of December 2011 while it asked for some modifications to the design. The approval process resumed in 2014. Benjamin described the reactor design changes made as "minor to moderate". "Ultimately they are changes we are able to live with," he said, adding they related to some mechanical system alterations. Benjamin also said the approval was a vital step needed for NuGen to take a final investment decision Nugen, a joint venture between Toshiba and Engie had said it expected to make a final investment decision on the project in 2018. (Editing by William Hardy)
The United States and Israel have made it official: The two countries signed a new 10-year military-assistance deal on Wednesday, representing the single largest pledge of its kind in American history. The pact, laid out in a Memorandum of Understanding, will be worth $38 billion over the course of a decade, an increase of roughly 27 percent on the money pledged in the last agreement, which was signed in 2007. The diplomatic and military alliance between the two countries is longstanding: Even prior to this week, Israel was, according to the Congressional Research Service, the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. In many ways, Wednesdays deal seemed predestined.

Yet, its also ironic. Barack Obama has a notoriously cold relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuas my colleague Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantics April cover story, Obama has long believed that Netanyahu could bring about a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict that would protect Israels status as a Jewish-majority democracy, but is too fearful and politically paralyzed to do so. Nonetheless, Obama will leave office having out-pledged all of his predecessors in military support to the country Netanyahu now runs.

Aid to Israel is among the only static issues of this U.S. election season. While the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has made somewhat mixed statements on the Israel-Palestine conflict, he has also made strongly worded promises to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Israel. For her part, the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, has consistently touted her support for Israel, including during her time as secretary of state.

Voters, however, have more mixed views on this kind of support. While more than 60 percent of Americans were more sympathetic to Israel than the Palestinians in a 2016 Gallup poll, sympathies differed along partisan lines, with around half of Democrats being more sympathetic to Israelis versus nearly 80 percent of Republicans. In a separate Brookings poll, roughly half of Democrats who responded said Israel has too much influence on the United States government. Boycott, divest, and sanction movements, which call on organizations in the United States and abroad to cut their financial ties with Israel, have long been popular on college campuses, although somewhat marginal; this year, however, they got a boost from the Black Lives Matter movement, which included statements against Israels treatment of Palestinians in its recently released policy platform.

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In general, young Americans are far less sympathetic toward Israel than their older peers: A 2014 Gallup poll found that only half of those aged 18 to 34 favored Israel in the Israel-Palestine conflict, compared with 58 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds and 74 percent of those 55 and older. Bernie Sanders, who was extremely popular among young people during the Democratic primary season, controversially criticized Israel, winning applause and cheers from the audience at one debate for saying, If we pursue justice and peace, we are going to have to say that Netanyahu is not right all of the time.

All of this creates an odd backdrop for a historic military-spending deal. No matter how bad the relationship between the two countries top leaders, no matter who gets elected to the White House, no matter how loudly some voters voice their opposition or how charged the underlying ideological debate: The United States has pragmatic reasons to keep providing large sums of money for Israels military.

There are straightforward explanations for why this particular deal got done. Politically, the spending package was partly a response to the nuclear deal that the United States and other world powers finalized with Iran in July of last year, and which Obama hailed as cutting off Irans pathway to nuclear weapons for more than a decade. Netanyahu was harshly critical of that agreement, which he called a historic mistake that would ease sanctions on Iran while leaving it with the ability to one day get the bomb. Even with the deal in place, and taking the nuclear-weapon capability of Iran off the table at least for the next 10 to 15 years, there are still considerable destabilizing activities that Iranians are pursuing in the region that are not consistent with U.S. or Israeli interests or objectives, said Melissa Dalton, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The new money is an attempt to pacify Israeli concerns about continued threats from Iran, she added.

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The money is also an attempt to satisfy congressional Republicans. The Obama administration reportedly asked Netanyahu to get Lindsey Graham, the head of the Senate foreign-affairs appropriations committee, to agree to the deal. After it was signed, though, Graham released a statement indicating that Congress would not necessarily adhere to the pre-determined funding levels. I find it odd the [Memorandum] only allocates $500 million for missile defense starting in 2018, he wrote, especially given provocative Iranian behavior [and] improved Iranian missile technology. While this may be the U.S.s biggest-ever military-aid deal, the GOP has pushed for even greater spending.

It is a foreign-policy deal seemingly immune to the electoral politics around it.

Defenders of the deal would say its necessary. Dalton described the uptick in spending as a natural extension of the long-standing relationship between the United States and Israel, as well as close ties between those countries and their peoples. She described the fraught neighborhood surrounding Israel: war-torn Syria to the northeast, Hezbollah-influenced Lebanon to the north, and an Islamist insurgency in Egypts Sinai to the south, all of which help explain the historically high promise of $5 billion in missile funding over the next 10 years. As National Security Advisor Susan Rice said at the signing ceremony for the deal, This MOU is not just good for Israel, its good for the United States. Our security is linked. When allies and partners like Israel are more secure, the United States is more secure.

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The deal also directs more money back toward the United States. It eliminates a provision in the previous aid agreement that allowed Israel to spend 26 percent of its Foreign Military Financing on weaponry and other resources produced within Israel, rather than in the United Statesa provision intended to help Israel build its own defense industry. Now that Israels defense industry has developed, Dalton said, that money will go toward purchases benefitting the defense industry in the United States.

While the United Statess new Memorandum of Understanding with Israel is historic in its own right, its most remarkable in its apparent inevitability: It is a foreign-policy move seemingly immune to the electoral politics around it. At the end of the day, were electing people to make judgments based on the information and the advice that the receive, Dalton said. One of the inputs to that process, certainly, is popular opinion. But I dont think it should be the sole determinant of foreign policy. In its own way, thats a good explanation of why Americas aid to Israel is so big: Military spending does not go up or down in direct relationship to votes or even the news cycle. In this case, it was a record set as if it were on an unstoppable trend line.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
New Delhi: The Delhi government on Thursday reached out to the city's religious institutions for help in dealing with the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya under 'One Delhi Campaign' aimed at seeking support from all quarters of the society, including political parties, to check spread of the diseases.

Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra said the campaign has received a "phenomenal" response.

"After offering prayers tomorrow, there will be an announcement of fighting with diseases and mosquitoes together at all mosques of Delhi Waqf Board," Mishra tweeted.

Besides, at Gorishanker temple at Chandni Chowk, appeal will be made to the people to deal with the vector-borne diseases, the minister said.

"Religious institutions like Gauri Shankar temple, Tilak Nagar Gurudwara, Jama Masjid, Orthodox church have all come forward to help spread awareness about the diseases.

"The religious institutions will be making special appeals to public and request for their support to ensure that these vector-borne diseases can be curtailed," Mishra told reporters in New Delhi.

He said the campaign has also received support from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation.

Volunteers of Art of Living will be visiting households across Delhi to create awareness and help in the fogging drive.

He, however, said he was still waiting for a response from DPCC president Ajay Maken or any Congress leader and appealed to them to join hands together under the campaign.

Several prominent celebrities like Amjad Ali Khan, Birju Maharaj, Shubha Mudgal, Swapan Sundari among others have also pledged their support for the campaign.

The minister said market associations across Delhi which include prominent markets like Chandini Chowk, Karol Bagh, Nehru Place, Sadar Bazar, Kashmiri Gate have come forth to join the 'One Delhi Campaign' and will help in cleanliness drive in these areas.

Hotel associations like the Paharganj Hotel Association have also extended their support for the campaign and have already initiated the awareness drive.

He said, "The 'One Delhi Campaign' is above politics, allegiances and personal interests. Delhi belongs to all of us and we must serve it together.
LIMA (Reuters) - A wildfire burning in the Peruvian Amazon that has charred some 20,000 hectares (49,421 acres) of rainforest and destroyed crops planted by indigenous communities was raging toward a national park and another protected area, authorities said on Thursday. Firefighters battled hot-spots spanning 20 kilometers (12 miles) along the Ene River in the jungle region of Junin, said Julio Jeri, an official with Peru's forest service SERFOR. He said the first rainfall in weeks did not appear to have contained the blaze. Some 14 hectares of native croplands have been destroyed and protected areas for the Ashaninka Amazonian tribe and the Otishi National Park were in the fire's path, he said. About a tenth of the Amazonian rainforest is in Peru. Less rain due to climate change and last year's El Nino weather pattern have made the Amazon drier than usual, scientists have said. The fire likely started over the weekend as indigenous farmers were burning debris to prepare lands for planting, Jeri said. Forest officials became aware of the fire on Monday. No injuries or deaths had been reported by Thursday. The region is sparsely populated and villages did not appear to be in harm's way, Jeri said. Climate change likely increased the risk of wildfires spreading rapidly in the region, said SERFOR director Fabiola Munoz. "The forest is very dry in that area. It hadn't rained for several weeks," he said. "We're worried it might go further." (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
Image courtesy: AP

Russian cyber espionage group Tsar Team (APT28), a.k.a Fancy Bear, opened the Pandoras box by hacking World Anti-Doping Agencys (WADA) Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database.

The hackers made public the confidential medical data, naming the American athletes who have been given a leeway to use some of the banned drugs on the grounds of medical exemptions. The list includes the names of high profile athletes like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Simone Biles, etc.

WADA has confirmed that its database has been hacked, while the Russian government has ruled out any possibility of their involvement in the hacking. However, the news was welcomed with enthusiasm in Russia, who faced a huge setback at the Rio Olympics this year, after hundreds of their athletes were denied participation following a massive doping scandal.

Simone Biles, whose name was featured in the list for taking Ritalin, responded to the allegations saying that she has been using the said drug since childhood, as she suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the same was approved under WADAs therapeutic exemptions. Biles had a phenomenal Olympics debut in Rio, bagging five medals, including four gold.

Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of nothing that Im afraid to let people know.  Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 13, 2016

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams issued a statement, explaining that therapeutic use exemptions is a standard practice, and that she hasnt flouted any rules.

I am one of the strongest supporters of maintaining the highest level of integrity in competitive sport and I have been highly disciplined in following the guidelines set by WADA, she said.

As the hackers have threatened to release more names, the hashtag #WADA has been trending on social media, with a majority of the people expressing their shock over the matter, arguing whether therapeutic use exemption is fair or not.

Story continues

#WADA decides for whom doping is allowed & for whom it isnt. For US athletes its fine. No politics here whatsoeverhttps://t.co/MeE1WGnGie  Robin Monotti (@robinmonotti) September 13, 2016
Officials say the father of singing group The Willis Clan has been arrested and charged in a child rape investigation.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says in a new release that agents arrested Toby Willis of Ashland City on Friday in Greenville, Kentucky, where he had gone to avoid officers.

The Willis Clan's 'Fair Weather Love': Song Premiere From TLC Family

The release says the 46-year-old, who starred with his family on TLC's The Willis Family reality show, was charged with one count of rape of a child and was being held without bond on a fugitive from justice warrant. It was not known whether he has a lawyer who could comment on the case.

The TBI says an investigation that began Aug. 29 found information that Willis, who is originally from Chicago, had a sexual encounter with an underage female about 12 years ago. The family's TLC reality show focuses on their musical group, The Willis Clan, which includes 12 Willis children.

The Willis Clan reached the quarterfinals of America's Got Talent in 2014. Their album Chapter Two - Boots debuted on the Bluegrass Albums chart in May 2015 at No. 6 before peaking at No. 2 the following April. Heaven debuted on a number of charts in June 2015, peaking at No. 2 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 8 on Independent Albums and No. 157 on the Billboard 200 chart.
This woman shared pics of herself shaving her face to spread awareness about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

This woman shared pics of herself shaving her face to spread awareness about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

As women, were often bombarded by messages telling us how were supposed to be and what were supposed to look like, and it can be overwhelming.

The idea of embracing yourself for who you are isnt easy, but one woman is giving us all the confidence after she bravely shared her own truth to help others feel less alone.

A photo posted by Tina-marie Beznec (@fightagainst.fat) on Jun 24, 2016 at 10:06pm PDT

As Cosmopolitan UK reports, Tina Marie Beznec, who has an Instagram and Facebook page called Fight Against Fat, opened up on popular Australian blogger, Constance Halls Facebook about her struggle with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

Hi my name is Tina and I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, she wrote.

As well as depression, anxiety, infertility, weight gain, hormonal imbalances, bloating, abdominal pains, acne, cysts, increased risk of cancer and everything else, a lot of woman [sic] including myself have to deal with facial hair! Do you know how UNFEMININE this can make a woman feel?!? she continued.

A photo posted by Tina-marie Beznec (@fightagainst.fat) on Jul 9, 2016 at 8:53pm PDT

According to the Office of Womens Health, between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 women of childbearing age has PCOS, which is a condition that can affect a womans menstrual cycle, ability to have children, hormones, and appearance. It has been linked to developing several risky health conditions, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, heart disease, anxiety, and depression.

The 26-year-old included a series of images showing what she goes through to combat her unwanted facial hair, in hopes of spreading a very important message:

Hey Hun! You'll probably never read this but it's worth a try lol I would love for you to share this photo and my spiel... Posted by Fight against Fat on Saturday, September 10, 2016

Story continues

Ive always been super self conscious about it, but really just have to put this out there because I want [to] create more awareness around this syndrome and how much it can impact someones life especially if they dont know they have it, she says.

When you see someone who is overweight, has bald patches, or a woman who has facial hair DO NOT JUDGE. You never know what a person is going through and its unfair to put someone into the lazy and unhealthy category without knowing their story, Tina Marie continued.

A photo posted by Tina-marie Beznec (@fightagainst.fat) on Sep 16, 2015 at 4:19pm PDT

Tinas words couldnt have come at a better time  September is actually PCOS Awareness Month. While others DGAF and graciously rock their body hair, its also totally okay for Tina Marie not to be down with hers. We give her props for being transparent about what she goes through.

A photo posted by Tina-marie Beznec (@fightagainst.fat) on Aug 27, 2016 at 11:54pm PDT

We applaud you, Tina Marie and THANK YOU for your bravery and honesty!

The post This woman shared pics of herself shaving her face to spread awareness about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome appeared first on HelloGiggles.
From Country Living

There are always plenty of unique vintage treasures to be found at our Country Living Fairs, but at our most recent fair in Columbus, Ohio, vendor Rosalie Zingales of Studio Rouge and Hanky Blanky stumbled across something amazing.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Rosalie Zingales

A woman with a baby in a stroller was shopping in Rosalie's booth. While looking at the baby, Rosalie noticed an embroidered "eternal" calendar in a frame, sitting in the back of the stroller. As she looked closer, she was shocked to find that she recognized the calendarit was the exact same one she had sewn for her mother as a teenager. "As I looked at it, I got dizzy [and] felt a little lightheaded," Rosalie wrote in an email. "I could be certain it was the one I had embroidered! I felt it...every stitch, every color was in my memory. I felt it! I even knew the frame it was in."

Photo credit: Courtesy of Rosalie Zingales

Rosalie asked the woman where she had purchased the framed calendar, and was told she had found it at a lemonade stand near the entrance. Rosalie quickly found her way to the lemonade stand to quiz the owner on where she had found the embroidered art. The answer? It was purchased at a yard sale in Ohio. "I am from Ohio, and sold it when I had a yard sale as I was moving to New York some 30 years ago," wrote Rosalie. "It may have changed hands a few times, but wowI was stunned."

Even better? Rosalie had unearthed a photograph from 1975 of her stitching the calendar just last year, while cleaning out her mom's house.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Rosalie Zingales

So did Rosalie try to buy back her sampler from the lady with the stroller? "Actually, I didn't even think to buy it back," she said. "I was just so stunned! I was happy for her to have it. And I did keep another one from my Mom's house that I had stitched, so I was happy!"

The moral of the story? What goes around, comes around!

Looking to uncover some vintage gems of your own? Join us at the Country Living Fair in Columbus this weekend, September 16-18, 2016. Get more information here.

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United Nations: Demanding that the Security Council find ways to reverse the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, India has accused the UN committee on Taliban of allowing the terror group's leader Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada to escape responsibility.

Criticising the functioning of the Council's committee that was supposed to take actions against the Taliban, India's Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal said on Wednesday, "The fact that the leader of Taliban  a proscribed entity  is not yet designated as a terrorist individual remains a mystery to us."

"Is it now the thinking that leaders of proscribed entities will not be held accountable for the deeds of the listed groups that they head," he asked during the Council debate on the Afghanistan.

"Is this how we now intend to address one of the most serious threats to international peace and security?"

The effective implementation of the Security Council sanctions against terrorist organisations "is absolutely essential for it to serve as a strong deterrent to the listed entities and individuals," he said.

Akhundzada took over the leadership of the Taliban terror group after succeeding Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Mansou, who was killed by a US drone strike.

Lal also accused the UN committee that deals with sanctions against the Taliban of covering up its inaction under a veil of secrecy to avoid its members having to be held accountable.

The body is known as Committee 1988 for the number of the 2011 Council resolution on sanctions against the Taliban.

Queries about the committee's August 8 meeting were met with "deafening silence", he said.

"This appears to be one more instance of the secrecy practiced in the subterranean universe of the Security Council which has now enshrined the principles of anonymity and unanimity to ensure lack of accountability to Member States."

Without directly naming Pakistan, Lal criticised it for sheltering the terrorist organisations creating mayhem in Afghanistan.

"Groups and individuals that perpetrate violence against the people and the Government of Afghanistan must not be allowed safe havens in Afghanistan's neighbourhood," he said.

"While the Afghanistan government has made efforts to combat terrorism, others have callously looked the other way when Afghanistan is targeted by the Taliban, Haqqani Network, Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Lakshar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed," he added.
Paris (AFP) - The world should prepare for a "global epidemic" of microcephaly, a condition which restricts head growth in foetuses, as the Zika virus takes root in new countries, researchers said Friday.

Scientists from Brazil and Britain said they had found additional evidence that Zika is what causes the often debilitating disorder, a link already widely accepted in medical circles.

In a study conducted among newborns in Brazil -- hardest hit by a joint outbreak -- nearly half of 32 infants with microcephaly had traces of Zika virus in their blood or cerebrospinal fluid, the team reported.

None of 62 infants born with normal heads tested positive for Zika in their blood.

This "striking association", the researchers wrote in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, led them to "conclude that the microcephaly epidemic is a result of congenital Zika virus infection".

If this is the case, "we should prepare for the epidemic of microcephaly to expand to all countries with current (local) Zika virus transmission and to those countries where transmission of the virus is likely to spread," the team wrote.

"We recommend... that we prepare for a global epidemic of microcephaly and other manifestations of congenital Zika syndrome."

The researchers also proposed adding Zika to a category of congenital infections known to happen before or during birth. The list includes toxoplasmosis, syphilis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, HIV and herpes.

Zika is a virus spread mainly by mosquitoes, but in rare cases via sex.

In most people, including pregnant women, it is benign with mild or no symptoms.

- No cure, no vaccine -

But in an outbreak that started mid-2015, it has been linked to microcephaly and rare, adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which can result in paralysis and death.

More than 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika, mainly in Brazil, and more than 1,600 babies have been born with microcephaly since last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Story continues

There is no cure or vaccine.

The researchers said theirs was the first study to compare children with microcephaly to a "control" sample of healthy children -- two controls for every malformed baby.

Using a control group is a way for scientists to test the impact of a single variable -- in this case Zika infection -- between two groups that are otherwise as similar as possible.

Eighty percent of women who gave birth to babies with microcephaly had been infected by Zika while pregnant, the team found -- compared to 64 percent of mothers who delivered healthy offspring.

This meant a very high percentage of pregnant women overall had been infected in Brazil's Zika epidemic area.

These were preliminary results, the team said, with findings on another 400-plus babies included in the study to follow later.

Interestingly, the team found that not all infants diagnosed with microcephaly had abnormalities show up in brain scans.
ray dalio

Bridgewater Associates  the world's largest hedge fund, with $150 billion in assets under management and 1,700 employees  says it is "bloated" and will "improve efficiencies" of its non-investment teams.

The firm made the announcement in a letter sent to clients on Thursday that was obtained by Business Insider.

Bridgewater's leadership team told its employees in a town hall Thursday that it would be laying off employees and overhauling its organizational structure and technologies in its Technology, Recruiting, Facilities, and Management Services team.

The team writes that this move is "coming at a time when our fundamentals are very strong" but that rapid growth of its non-investment units in the past five years has resulted in areas that "became bloated, inefficient, and bureaucratic."

"The new management leadership is now digging into the areas of inefficiency to improve them," the team writes. "Naturally that will involve some significant changes to people, processes, and technologies."

The leadership team notes that under normal conditions it would not be notifying its clients of this change but is doing so "because we have recently experienced distorted reporting in the media" and want to provide the "real story." This is a reference to earlier reports this year from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, which Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio publicly expressed issues with.

You can read the full letter below. It's signed by Dalio, co-CIO Bob Prince, co-CIO Greg Jensen, co-CEO Eileen Murray, president David McCormick, and co-CEO Jon Rubinstein.

"Dear ,

In a town hall meeting with employees today, we conveyed to the company that we will be conducting a renovation to improve efficiencies at Bridgewater, especially in the non-investment areas such as Technology, Recruiting, Facilities, and Management Services.

In the past, we made these sorts of internal changes privately and wouldn't have bothered telling you about them as you won't be directly affected. However, we decided to bring them to your attention because we have recently experienced distorted reporting in the media about what is happening at Bridgewater, so we want to provide you the real story.

Story continues

To be clear, this renovation is coming at a time when our fundamentals are very strong: Our investment process is better than ever, our financial position is rock solid, our key employees who built the firm wouldn't want to work anywhere else, and our clients remain confident in us (as expressed in their collectively investing $22.5 billion in new money since 2015). We are making these changes as a part of the ongoing process of constant improvement that has been the key to our success over the past 40 years.

Background

As you know, about a decade ago, our assets under management were growing rapidly and Bridgewater's leadership faced a choice: to remain a boutique or become an institution. To institutionalize Bridgewater meant building out areas of the company that a boutique doesn't have or only modestly has, such as Security, Technology, HR, Facilities, Legal, etc. Building out those areas required us to hire a lot of people.

As a result, we grew dramatically. In 2003 Bridgewater had 150 employees; in 2011, when we began our management transition, we had 1,100; now we have 1,700. About 70% of this growth in headcount was in our non-investment areas. As one might expect, some of these areas became bloated, inefficient, and bureaucratic. As you know from dealing with us, we want to have pervasive excellence.

To deal with this situation, earlier this year, we realigned our management team to help push through needed improvements. These changes included Ray temporarily stepping back into active management of the firm as co-CEO, joining the existing senior management of Eileen Murray (co-CEO, who has been helping lead the company since 2009) and David McCormick (President, who has likewise been helping lead since 2009). We also brought in Jon Rubinstein as a co-CEO and made some other management changes. An added benefit of this shift was that it allowed Greg Jensen (who has been at Bridgewater 20 years) to devote his full attention to his role as co-CIO along with Ray and Bob Prince (who has been here for 30 years). These shifts in management roles were consistent with our plan to figure out how to best transition the leadership of the company over 10 years. (We are now 5 years into that plan.)

The new management leadership is now digging into the areas of inefficiency to improve them. Naturally that will involve some significant changes to people, processes, and technologies. As mentioned, the vast majority of this renovation will be in the non-investment areas that have seen the most growth to make them more effective in supporting our investment and client service areas.

As always our evolutionary process will be imperfect, iterative, and transparent, and it will make us more efficient.

What is of paramount importance is our sticking to the culture that has led to our excellent results. It is best summarized in the following sentence: We want meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical truth and radical transparency. Transparently bringing problems to the surface and regarding them as intolerable might lead some people to wrongly conclude that we have more problems than organizations that don't transparently bring problems to the surface. Our employees and our clients understand that this difference is essential to our success. It is also through this radical truth and transparency that they have learned to trust our integrity as well as our abilities.

As always, if you have any questions, let us know.

With appreciation for your understanding,

Ray, Bob, Greg, Eileen, David, and Jon"

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Jerusalem (AFP) - The world's oldest man turned 113 on Thursday and the Holocaust survivor living in Israel readied for the Bar Mitzvah he was denied a century ago, his family said.

Yisrael Kristal, an observant Jew from Zarnow in what is now Poland and currently living in the port city of Haifa, was born on September 15, 1903, three months before the Wright brothers' first successful powered airplane flight.

Guinness World Records in March recognised him as the world's oldest man.

While he turned 113 on Thursday under the Gregorian calendar, his family will celebrate the birthday at the end of September according to the Hebrew calendar, his daughter Shula Koperstoch told AFP.

The festivities will include a Bar Mitzvah that will come 100 years late.

The Bar Mitzvah is one of the most important ceremonies in the life of a Jew.

Usually marked at 13 for boys and 12 or 13 for girls -- a Bat Mitzvah in that case -- it marks the transition into someone responsible for their actions.

Kristal was unable to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in 1916 because his mother had died three months earlier and his father was a soldier in the Russian army at the time of World War I.

"My father is religious and has prayed every morning for 100 years, but he has never had his Bar Mitzvah," his daughter said.

Around 100 family members will attend, with the date and location being kept secret to avoid Kristal having to contend with a crush of journalists, she said.

Asked about his health, Koperstoch said only: "He is ageing."

After World War I, Kristal moved to Lodz where he worked in the family confectionary factory, married and had two children.

But his life was disrupted when the Jewish quarter of the city became a ghetto under Nazi occupation during World War II and Kristal was sent to the infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Around 1.1 million people, most of them European Jews, perished in the camp between 1940 and 1945 before it was liberated by Soviet forces.

Story continues

His wife and two children died but Kristal survived, weighing just 37 kilos (81 pounds) at the end of the war.

He then moved to Israel, where he has lived for over six decades. He re-married, had a son and opened a sweet shop.

He is four years younger than the world's oldest woman, Emma Morano, an Italian who turns 117 in November -- meaning she was born in the 19th century.

The previous oldest man, Yasutaro Koide of Japan, died in January at the age of 112.

Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997, was the oldest verified person ever -- passing away in France aged 122 years and 164 days.
union square

To the dismay of many New Yorkers, the L train will shut down for repairs starting in 2019.

The MTA is exploring alternative options for commuters during the 18-month-long hiatus of the subway line, which runs from Brooklyn to Manhattan and east to west down 14th Street. As one of the few subways that travel between the two boroughs, the L Train serves 300,000 people daily.

One idea is banning cars from 14th Street, transforming it into a zone only for pedestrians, cyclists, and buses.

The street, which goes through Union Square, is a major thoroughfare in the city. Temporarily banning cars would open up more space for people who don't commute by car  in other words, about 70% of New Yorkers.

New York City is now conducting a study to see if the ban would be viable, according to The Daily News. The MTA has also mentioned other options to ease public transit during the shutdown, like adding shuttle buses and ramping up service on other nearby trains.

It's not certain yet whether the ban will actually happen or to what extent. If it did, it would follow on existing efforts to make the city more pedestrian-friendly. During Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, cars were permanently banned from streets in Times Square, Herald Square, and Union Square in 2010. The city also temporarily bans cars from certain streets every year on Earth Day.

Other major cities around the world are also instituting car-free zones, mainly in efforts to curb pollution. Madrid, for example, plans to kick cars out from its city center  an area that covers about 500 acres by 2020. Paris banned cars from the streets surrounding its major landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral, in 2015; and as of July 2016, all Parisian drivers with cars made before 1997 are not permitted to drive in the city center on weekdays. Copenhagen introduced pedestrian zones in the 1960s, and car-free zones slowly followed over the last half-century.

Story continues

If even for just 18 months, the ban in NYC would certainly prioritize people over cars.

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By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - More designers at New York Fashion Week broke out of the industry's long-established mode of showing clothes meant to be worn in six months' time by sprinkling wear-now fall looks among catwalk presentations largely focused on next spring.

"Instant gratification, that is the mantra of a whole generation of people, and when they see it they want it, and we are going into the fall season so it makes a lot of sense," said Roseanne Morrison, fashion director at trends forecaster The Doneger Group.

Deconstructed shirts with ruffles, off-the-shoulder or asymmetrical, were a favorite on the runway, along with layering, bold stripes, checkerboard patterns and floral prints.

Bright yellow, Kelly green, cobalt and hot pink were in vogue, along with exaggerated pant legs, bell sleeves, jumpsuits and slouchy silhouettes.

Marc Jacobs' spring-focused show at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Thursday was all glitter and glam as dreadlocked models strutted in mini dresses, embellished satin shorts and platform shoes.

In an enclosed area outside his Madison Avenue store, Ralph Lauren showcased a buy-now fall collection that included embroidered Native American-inspired motif jackets, cowboy hats and sparkling gowns.

Shows at the semiannual event have steadily become more elaborate as designers seek unusual settings to get the most attention for their collections.

"It gives designers an opportunity to break through the noise and to showcase their products in unique ways," said April Uchitel, chief brand officer at online marketplace Spring.

Tom Ford returned to New York Fashion week with a celebrity-packed show for fall at the recently closed Four Seasons Restaurant, where guests were served dinner. He paired belted jackets and leopard-print and multicolor fur coats with leather and tweed skirts.

Tommy Hilfiger transformed a pier at Manhattan's South Street Seaport into a carnival to launch his nautical-inspired, buy-now TommyXGigi collaboration with model Gigi Hadid.

Story continues

Carolina Herrera chose The Frick Collection museum on Manhattan's Upper East Side to introduce spring looks that included strapless gowns in denim, gingham, tulle, lace and brocade.

Design duo Badgley Mischka eschewed the runway entirely for their first collection since taking back ownership of their brand from Iconix Brand Group. They showed their clothes in a movie titled "Storm," in which platinum-haired models paraded in a surreal Arctic landscape.

"It's not just about the clothes," said Kyle Anderson, market and accessories director at Marie Claire magazine. "There are a lot of other aspects that people have to consider and make sure they are among what everyone is doing now in the industry." (Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard Chang)
New York Fashion Week wrapped up on Wednesday with an all-American finale from brands including Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors.

Ralph Lauren, who hit the headlines earlier this week when it was revealed the house would join the growing coterie of brands adopting the 'see-now-buy-now' retail concept, took the Wild West as his main inspiration for Spring/Summer 2017. "I have always been inspired by the rugged beauty and romance of the American West," the designer explained. "My September collection is imbued with that spirit, but reinterpreted in a modern glamorous way for the woman whose style is both personal and luxurious." The result was a triumph of fringed leather jackets, luxe ponchos and slouchy maxi dresses covered in bold, Aztec-style patterns.

Michael Kors is another brand transitioning to see-now-buy-now, but the designer doesn't seem to be losing sleep over it, judging by the joyful aesthetic of his colorful collection. A flirty series of ladylike patterned dresses, demure bikinis and flared midi skirts covered in summery florals was combined with a slouchier vibe, in the form of an oversized sweatshirt bearing the slogan 'Love', leaving us in no doubt that optimistic dressing is set to be a major trend for the next season. And it wasn't just the Americans feeling giddy -- Canadian designer Jason Wu's collection for Hugo Boss was equally as festive, focusing on the simple, classic lines the house is known for but adding more than a dash of merriment thanks to a vibrant color palette of royal blues, corals and sea greens.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  September 15, 2016  Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Restaurants, part 2, includingPapa John's International Inc. (PZZA),Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK),Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG),Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), Noodles & Company (NDLS).

Industry: Restaurants, part 2

Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/90582/restaurant-stock-initiatives-on-track-time-to-invest

According to the National Restaurant Association, 2016 could well be the seventh consecutive year of real sales growth in the restaurant industry. Notably, the industrys sales account for 4% of the U.S. GDP. Meanwhile, restaurateurs expect to counter comps and traffic issues with strong sales, digital initiatives and by adapting to shifting consumer preferences.

Taking the past trends and growth prospects of the industry into account, we highlight a few positives of investing in the restaurant space:

Improving U.S. Economy : An improving U.S. economy and employment picture, along with rising consumer confidence, has contributed to slow but steady recovery in the restaurant industry. Though the decline in oil prices raised concerns of a global deflation and an economic slowdown, it is in fact driving consumer spending, which accounts for over two-thirds of U.S. economic growth. Thus, stepped-up economic activities, improving business conditions, renewed optimism as a result of housing recovery and mounting consumer confidence are expected to keep investors confidence high in the rest of 2016.

Various Sales Building Strategies : Endeavors to augment sales by targeting higher footfall and improvising on the menu are reaping benefits. Having stabilized their financial positions, restaurant operators are continually striving to add new items to their menu in order to cater to the ever-changing palates of customers while enhancing food presentation. Some of the notable restaurateurs here are Papa John's International Inc. (PZZA) and Jack in the Box Inc. ( JACK).

Story continues

Another initiative undertaken by the food chains is re-imaging of stores, which has received overwhelming response from guests. Notably, reimaging of stores helps to create an appealing and differentiated concept that helps the brand connect better with guests, especially millennials.

Meanwhile, restaurant companies like Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG have started offering loyalty programs at their outlets to enhance value dining. Loyalty programs help retain old diners while bringing in new ones, which drives traffic.

On the other hand, industry players like Brinker International, BJ's Restaurants and Red Robin Gourmet are rolling out prototypes and smaller restaurant chains to augment value and drive traffic, which in turn lowers construction and occupancy costs but boosts return on invested capital. Notably, smaller prototypes also accelerate growth in non-traditional locations.

Modern Technology, Digital Ordering & Delivery Gain Precedence : The digital wave has hit the U.S. fast casual restaurant sector as an increasing number of restaurateurs are deploying technology to enhance guest experience. While smartphone apps attract consumers, video menu boards in quick-service restaurants and tabletop devices speed up sales and ensure convenience. Further, restaurant operators rely on social media for promotions.

Additionally, the worlds largest coffee shop operator, Starbucks Corp. ( SBUX) has secured a leading position in leveraging its mobile and digital assets and loyalty and e-Commerce platforms to create more revenue streams.

Meanwhile, in order to capitalize on the increasing demand for their products, a few players in the industry like Noodles & Company ( NDLS) are offering off-premise catering programs. These programs are especially designed to serve a large number of customers at their homes, offices or at any other venue.

Meanwhile, Starbucks has initiated a food and beverage delivery service through its employees at New Yorks Empire State building last October. The company also began testing food and beverage delivery in collaboration with Postmates in select areas of Seattle last December.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  September 15, 2016  Zacks Value Investor is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. To listen to the podcast, click here: (https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/231341/embrace-the-stock-market-panic)







Embrace the Stock Market Panic



Welcome to Episode #9 of the Value Investor Podcast.



Every week, Zacks value stock strategist and the Editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio service, Tracey Ryniec, talks about all things happening in the value stock universe, including her top stock picks.



This week, Tracey discusses the recent stock market panic sell off and how panic selling can create buying opportunities for value investors.



She ran a screen looking for stocks that were down more than 5% in the last week but that also had P/Es under 15 and were Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold).



4 Value Stocks That Have Gotten Cheaper



1. Delta Apparel Inc. (DLA) has fallen 6.8% in the last week. It has a forward P/E of 11.6

2. Koppers Holdings (KOP) declined 6.4%. It has a forward P/E of 14.6.

3. Gold Fields (GFI) lost 5.6% in the recent sell off. Its forward P/E is 12.4.

4. Sunstone Hotel (SHO) was the largest decliner, falling 8.5%. Its forward P/E is only 10.4.



Additionally, there was one industry that really stood out in the stock screen as the worst performing industry over the last week.



Tracey will tell you what it is and if you can find some stock deals there.



What else do you need to know about buying value stocks during a stock market panic?



Tune in to this weeks podcast to find out.





Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of the Insider Trader and Value Investor services. You can follow her on twitter at @TraceyRyniec and she also hosts the Zacks Market Edge Podcast on iTunes.







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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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By Charlotte Greenfield and Rebecca Howard WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand court on Thursday found a man guilty of exploiting Fijian workers in the country's first human-trafficking conviction. The case brought to light the darker side of New Zealand's immigration boom and represented a shift in focus by authorities who have been criticized for not taking a hard enough line on exploitation of migrants. Faroz Ali, a 46-year-old Fijian citizen with New Zealand residency, was found guilty of people trafficking offences after promising 15 Fijian workers well-paid jobs in New Zealand, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which investigates immigration offences. The workers paid NZ$4,000 ($2,900) to Ali in "administration fees" and were told they would earn up to NZ$900 a week to pick fruit. Instead, they only got one-month visitor visas and low wages. Ali made more than NZ$100,000 from the scheme, the ministry said. "It is the first conviction of that type in New Zealand," said Pete Devoy, an assistant general manager of border operations at the ministry, who led the team that investigated the case. Record immigration numbers and a shortage of workers in the low-wage agriculture and horticulture sectors have raised the risk of immigrants being exploited, activists say. "It is definitely going on but to actually convert it from anecdotal evidence into something substantive to actually take to trial or prosecute is really difficult," said Peter Mihaere, chief executive of anti-people trafficking organization Stand Against Slavery. The U.S. State Department said in its annual report on human trafficking that New Zealand needs to do more to get high-level criminal convictions. The maximum sentence for people trafficking in New Zealand is 20 years in prison and a fine of up to NZ$500,000. Ali is scheduled to be sentenced in October. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Rebecca Howard; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Its now obvious to everybody that not everything is fine with the collegium system. Its internal problems  lack of transparency, arbitrariness in decision-making and personal prejudices overwhelming collective judgement  which were talked about in hush-hush voices have come out in the open after Justice J Chelameswars protest letter to Chief Justice TS Thakur.

Justice Chelameswar, a member of the collegium, pointed to the opaqueness in the functioning of the five-member body while demanding that records of its deliberations be maintained to register dissent, if there is any. He has been backed by former members of the collegium such as Justice Lodha and other senior members of the legal fraternity. For an institution locked in a bitter battle with the executive over the power to make appointments in the higher judiciary, the development comes as an embarrassment. It not only snatches away the high moral ground the judiciary seeks to occupy in the debate but also makes the case of the executive seeking more say in the appointments sound more reasonable.

The primacy of the judiciary in such appointments, though mentioned nowhere in the Constitution, has been established in the second and third judges cases of 1993 and 1998. The executive has not been pleased with the curtailment of its power and has been trying to reassert itself from time to time. It had managed to bring the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act to replace the closed collegium system with a more transparent, broad-based system. But fiercely guarding its turf, the Supreme Court rejected it. Since then, both institutions have been in a tug-of-war.

For the sake of institutional independence and sanity, its always good to keep politicians away from the judiciary. Its the same way the military should be kept free of political influence. Politics has a way of corrupting everything it touches. But how does the judiciary defend itself if insider voices expose its weaknesses and it does not appear honest and clean in its conduct? There have been charges of rampant nepotism in selection of judges and other lapses by the collegium for many years now. That the collegium operates in non-transparent manner, overruling even its own, is also well-known.

What stops it from getting its own house in order? If news reports are to be believed, CJI Thakur is yet to respond to Justice Chelameswar. The judiciary is yet to come up with any idea to make itself appear cleaner. While the chief justice has gone public about the shortage of judges in the country and how it is affecting justice delivery, he has not so far suggested ways to make the collegiums system better. No wonder the executive finds stronger ground to involve itself in appointment of judges.

Those running the collegium tend to forget the fact that their own credibility is at stake. As is the case with all institutions of the democracy they are finally accountable to the general public. They have made themselves unaccountable. This can be perceived as arrogance. While the judiciary is already making the legislature and the executive uncomfortable with its acts if overreach, activism and interference in policy matters, it is increasingly making its moral position weak by acts of indiscretion in its own case.

As cases keep piling in courts  more than three crore at last count  and a situation of scarcity in justice delivery stares at the ordinary masses due to shortage of judges, its time the judiciary lifted itself out of the mess it has got itself in. CJI Thakur would do well to look within and bring in correctives. He can begin with responding to Justice Chelameswar.
Chinas biggest search engine Baidu, Inc. BIDU yesterday launched its new privacy app 'DU Caller' that will utilize Apple's new CallKit on iOS 10.

Aimed at the U.S. and India markets, the new app will have a number of security features to help users prevent identity theft.

Cailin Tang, Director of International Products at Baidu's Global Business Unit stated, DU Caller will fully leverage Apple's new CallKit on iOS 10 to give users much more transparency and control over their phones."

Features Galore

The app will automatically recognize unknown numbers before they are picked up and help users avoid telemarketers and scammers. It will also enable users customize spam tolerance and block unwanted callers.

Users can also make calls directly from the app. Android users will get an added facility to record and playback calls.

BAIDU INC Price

BAIDU INC Price | BAIDU INC Quote

Our Take

The launch makes sense for Baidu as smartphones are increasingly being used as a payment mode, thereby necessitating enhanced security and privacy. Even Baidu has its own payment app known as Baidu Wallet. The app offers payment, money transfer and wealth management services.

About Baidu

Beijing-based Baidu is a Chinese-language Internet search provider. The company conducts its operations principally through Baidu Online Network Technology Co., Ltd., a network of third-party websites and software applications.

Further, the company offers Japanese search services, including web search, image search, video search, and blog search capabilities. It also offers online marketing services to its customers directly and through other distribution networks.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Currently Baidu is a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company. Some better-ranked stocks include Facebook, Inc. FB, LinkedIn Corporation LNKD and Yirendai Ltd. YRD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

Interested in IPOs? Check out the special edition of Zacks Friday Finish Line below, where Editor Maddy Johnson and Content Writer Ryan McQueeney interview Kathleen Smith of Renaissance Capital about the IPO market in 2016 (see part two here).

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US actor and environmental campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio has turned his focus on illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 35 percent of the global wild marine catch (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)

Miami (AFP) - American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio unveiled Thursday a free technology that allows users to spy on global fishing practices, in a bid to curb illegal activity in the oceans and rebuild imperiled fish stocks.

The technology, known as Global Fishing Watch, was officially released to the public during the Our Oceans Conference hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

"Today, this unprecedented technology is available to everyone in the world. I encourage everyone to go check it out," DiCaprio told the conference.

"This platform will empower citizens across the globe to become powerful advocates for our oceans."

Available at GlobaFishingWatch.org, the technology aims to offer a crowd sourced solution to the problem of illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 35 percent of the global wild marine catch and causes yearly losses of $23.5 billion, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Overfishing is also a growing problem worldwide, with about two thirds of fish stocks in the high seas either over exploited or depleted, said the FAO.

Some of the planet's largest fish, including tuna and swordfish, are below 10 percent of their historical level.

Using satellite technology combined with radar aboard boats, the platform allows people to zero in on areas of interest around the world and trace the paths of 35,000 commercial fishing vessels.

"It gives the public an opportunity to see what is happening, even out in the middle of the ocean," said John Amos, president and founder of SkyTruth, one of three partners in the project along with Google and Oceana.

"We need the public to be engaged to convince governments and convince the seafood industry that they need to solve the problems of overfishing," Amos told AFP.

"If you can't see it and can't measure it, you are not going to care about it and it is not going to get solved."

Story continues

- DiCaprio-funded -

The project has cost $10.3 million over the past three years to build, with $6 million of those funds contributed by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in January.

In order the make the data available for free, Oceana and its partners negotiated a deal with the satellite company Orbcomm to use its three-day old data, which is described as "near real-time," along with historical records.

Although the delay means that any criminals won't be nabbed instantaneously, advocates say the technology will open the world's waters to public watchdogs in a way that has never been done before.

"We think it is going to have a lot of impact, first of all just the deterrent effect of vessels knowing that we could see them if they are doing something they are not supposed to be doing," Savitz said.

"You can look at an area you are interested in, zoom in and see what data we have."

- Possible uses -

For instance, users could zero in on a marine protected area and see if any boat tracks have crossed into waters where they should not have been.

One could scan the map for any evidence that large vessels are fishing in areas that are reserved for small-scale fishermen.

Vessels can be tracked by name or by country, or by traffic inside exclusive economic zones.

The paths of ships are visible, including zigzag paths that could indicate vessels are avoiding shore to offload their catch on to other ships undetected, or that other illegal operations or human rights abuses may be under way.

Savitz said some capacities may be beyond the ability of the average Internet user, but that experts are available via the website to help with specific questions.

Future versions of the technology may even include tagging data for marine animals, so that the paths of whales and sharks and other fish might be visible alongside the vessel activity, she said.

Currently, Global Fishing Watch does not include every vessel, only those that broadcast data from the Automatic Identification System, collected by satellite and terrestrial receivers and meant mainly as a safety mechanism to avoid collisions.

Many of the world's largest fishing vessels are required by the International Maritime Organization to use AIS.

AIS can be turned off if the boat operator is doing something illegal, but Savitz said that such an on-off action would likely be apparent by tracing the boat's appearing and disappearing tracks.

Already, the government of Kiribati has used Global Fishing Watch data to unmask illegal fishing in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, declared off-limits to commercial fishing on January 1, 2015.

The owners of the vessel had to pay a $1 million fine and also made a "goodwill" donation of another $1 million grant, Oceana said.
From Esquire

Better late than never, Mr. Robot finally feels like a show that lives up to its brilliant first season. And a depressing, claustrophobic episode leading up to this season's finale concludes with the reunion we've been waiting on for 11 episodes.

But before we get there, Sam Esmail slows down the thrilling pace from last episode for some patient, dramatic scenes. In Detective DiPierro's plot, we begin in the hospital, where she's been taken after a Dark Army assassin tried to kill her, Darlene, and Cisco. There, she learns China has bailed out eCorp for $2 trillion, which kind of throws a hitch into their entire investigation. Understandably bummed out about that, DiPierro goes home to hang out with her Amazon Echo, which I'm not sure is product placement or just another critique of DiPierro's sad life.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related Stories" customtitles="'Mr. Robot' Has Finally Become the Show We Deserve|Here's a Tip For Enjoying Mr. Robot Season Two" customimages="|" content="article.48417|article.48247"]

Say what you will about Angela's glazed, shell shocked character-at least she's pretty consistent. With Angela, you can always rely on her asking the wrong questions. And she does so again. After telling Elliot in the last episode that she's coming clean about everything, she's abducted and taken to some hellish suburbia. Sprinklers fire off in the distance, dogs bark, an ice cream truck blasts its merry tune, and Angela is placed in a dark room with a fish tank where some child with a copy of Lolita asks a series of Blade Runner-esque, vintage RPG aptitude questions. Finally she's met by Whiterose, the Dark Army leader, who hints that the secret organization was behind what happened to Angela and Elliot's parents. Whiterose continues to allege that these deaths served some sort of greater good. But, instead of asking what the hell this means, Angela asks to go home.

Story continues

Meanwhile, Elliot is lucid dreaming (?) and ends up following around Mr. Robot as Mr. Robot typically follows around Elliot (are you following?). With Elliot (maybe?) watching, Mr. Robot decodes a message that eventually leads them to a random street corner with an idling cab. Sitting in a cab, he's joined by someone who appears to be Tyrell Wellick, the man who's been blamed for the fsociety hack and who Elliot believes is dead and who has (maybe) been calling Joanna Wellick.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related Stories" customtitles="WTF? Okay, 'Mr. Robot'|Was the 'Mr. Robot' Sitcom Intro Genius or...Not?" customimages="|" content="article.47767|article.47539"]

Anyway, Tyrell (?) tells Elliot that they need to be careful (fucking obviously). He says their "partners have proven to be very influential" and acts like everything's cool. Elliot, naturally, loses his goddamn shit and starts banging on the cab glass, demanding the driver tell him if he can see Wellick (?). This, honestly, is a valid question, given that he's imagined himself in his mom's house for half of this season when he was actually in jail. (Remember that? Don't worry, it doesn't matter now anyway.)

But, who actually is this? Is it Tyrell (see the best lightened screen grab I could get in Fig. 1 to the left)? Is it another split part of Elliot's personality? My theory, which could be totally wrong, is that when Elliot killed Tyrell, he invented another fictional reality (like prison) to protect himself. Whenever he calls Joanna, he does so with this new Tyrell side of his personality. His dealings with the Dark Army are all done as Tyrell.

Most of what "Tyrell" says in this scene is useless. But, what's more interesting is how he says it. Does Tyrell's voice sound weird here? Does it kind of have a hint of Christian Slater in there? Or am I just being crazy?

We'll find out next week.

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Two things are exploding in the mobile world right now: iPhone 7 sales and Galaxy Note 7 units. The former is hazardous to your wallet, while the latter might put your life in danger. Samsung was forced to recall its 2016 flagship phablet after a few dozen units went up in flames. It announced the painful recall just a few days before Apples iPhone 7 event, effectively putting a temporary halt to sales.

Its best weapon against the iPhone 7 Plus is currently on pause, and it might never recover. And it turns out that Samsungs fear of the iPhone, and of the iPhone 7 in particular, is what may have caused this whole disaster.



DONT MISS: Apple confirms all iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 Jet Black models are sold out

When its all good and done, Samsung will probably never really tell us how many Galaxy Note 7 units exploded. It will probably not even reveal whats wrong with the faulty battery packs either, although it will have to provide some information to regulatory bodies in Korea, and maybe other countries.

So far Samsung said that initial findings revealed that the anode and cathode come in contact in some of these batteries, which isnt supposed to happen in any battery. This leads to overheating and explosions.

And reports said that its a Samsung subsidiary, Samsung SDI, that made all these faulty Galaxy Note 7 batteries.

So, how is it possible that a company like Samsung makes such a terrible mistake? After all, the Galaxy Note 7 isnt its first phone, and the battery wasnt just invented yesterday.

It probably all boils down to this: Samsung is still very afraid of Apple. And its very afraid of iPhone. And its probably particularly afraid of the iPhone 7.

Samsung hurried to launch the Galaxy Note 7 a full month ahead of the iPhone 7, and the decision may have affected quality control checks. Samsung also wanted a much bigger battery in a slim phone, so that battery life would potentially be a major differentiating factor between iPhone and Galaxy Note. The only way to ensure battery life is more than decent for Samsung is to go for bigger capacity. The company is nowhere near Apple when it comes to optimizing the internal components and the software to offer better battery life without significantly bumping up capacity.

Story continues

You dont have to agree with me. But thats pretty much what battery experts implied when talking to the Korea Herald about Samsungs worst Galaxy scandal in history.

Ultra-thin walls separating combustible components is whats making phones explode after overheating. If the separators fail, a chemical reaction can quickly escalate out of control, the Herald noted.

The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together, Samsungs Koh Dong-jin told reporters in Korea. Koh also said that a tiny error in manufacturing caused the problem.

If Koh's argument is right, that makes Samsung SDI a third-rate company, Korea Electronics Technology Institute former director Park Chul Wan said. But it does not appear to be a simple battery problem.

Park lead the next-gen battery research center at the Institute. He added that the kind of manufacturing error Koh is talking about is unimaginable for top-notch battery makers with adequate quality controls.

There was no choice but to make the separator (between positive and negative anodes) thin because of the battery capacity,'' Lee Sang-yong said. Lee is a professor at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology who worked more than 10 years at LG Chem. Thicker walls would add safety, but they might not prevent overheating issues.

Even with a small manufacturing mistake, if there had been enough elements to ensure safety, it would not explode, Doh Chil-Hoon told the paper. It is a roundabout way of admitting weak safety.

Doh, who runs the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institutes battery research division says that the push to increase battery power was part of the problem.

The Galaxy Note 7 has a 3,500 mAh battery thats one of the highest, if not the highest, capacity battery we've seen in a phone, according to IHS Markit Technology analyst Wayne Lam. He says that the issue comes from weak controls in manufacturing rather than poor or unsafe design.

You have two different trajectories, with Samsung packing in more energy density, versus Apple, trying to trim it down by optimizing everything else, Lam said, adding that the two rivals are constantly locked in this arms race of improving and one-upping.

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Ingram Micro Inc. IM is making significant progress in the fast growing cloud computing market. The company recently announced the availability of its Cloud Marketplace in Brazil through which its channel partners and professionals can avail the required cloud services. First launched in North America, Cloud Marketplace received favorable response and is now available in 19 countries globally.



Featuring Microsofts MSFT Office 365 via the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace will be extremely beneficial for channel partners as it will enhance the customers overall support experience and accelerate the growth of its cloud businesses.



Moreover, it will broaden Ingram Micros capabilities as a cloud solution provider, thereby helping it to capitalize on the increasing opportunities in the cloud computing market. It will also be a good source of monthly recurring revenues for Ingram Micro.



The Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace has more than 200 cloud-based solutions from over 70 vendors, which include salesforce.com CRM, VMware VMW and AVG Technologies.



According to Diego Utge, vice president & chief executive of Ingram Micro Brazil "Cloud adoption in Brazil continues to grow rapidly, with more SMBs shifting their current IT infrastructure to a cloud-based model to improve their time-to-market and overall competitive stance." He added "The availability of the Cloud Marketplace now provides our partners with greater capability to effectively sell cloud solutions while identifying and exploiting new business opportunities."



Ingram Micro's initiative comes at an opportune moment as cost benefits of cloud computing are compelling companies to engage in massive information technology restructuring and upgrades.



Further, according to IDC, Brazil is witnessing a huge demand for cloud services. Public cloud services in 2015 were valued at $645 million. Moreover, the same is projected to increase to $1531 million by 2018, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.4%. We expect this to work in favor of distributors like Ingram Micro.



Separately, the company recently announced that the users of its Cloud Marketplace in Mexico can now avail Dropbox, Cirius and BitTitan services as well. This takes the total number of cloud solutions accessible through Ingram Micro in Mexico to approximately a dozen.



Ingram Micro has been striking distribution deals with a number of original equipment manufacturers, thus expanding its product portfolio. Moreover, Ingram Micro's exposure in cloud computing products is expected to remain its key growth driver.



Though Ingram Micros high debt burden is a concern, we remain fairly optimistic about its strategic relationships with network giants such as Juniper Networks Inc., Cisco and International Business Machines Corp.



Story continues

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Pandora, days after announcing that it had struck deals with two of three major labels, the world's largest umbrella of independents Merlin, and many others -- "a watershed moment for us," CEO Tim Westergren tells Billboard -- the digital radio giant has now pulled the curtain back on the first of two product launches expected from the Oakland-based company this year.

Pandora One, the $4.99-per-month ad-free subscription the company has offered since 2009, is now Pandora Plus. Many things stay the same between each, including the price and simple interface of the app.

But One has added a key feature for flyers and subway riders: offline listening. "Enough to go from San Francisco to New York," says Chris Becherer, the product vp who gave Billboard a brief preview of the new features. Four stations are saved automatically (only when your phone is on wifi, unless you tell it to suck them up over cellular data), and switched to if signal is lost. (Users can't set the amount of storage space the app uses.) The four playlists are the three most-recent and most-listened-to stations on your account and Thumbprint Radio, generated in part by the thumbs up that users give songs as they listen.

Pandora's free version (where the vast majority of its listeners are) has also gotten an important new feature: the option to watch a video ad to receive "a bundle" of song skips and rewinds. These limitations on listening were, until recently, required of Pandora, due in part to the way it licensed its music in the U.S. Now that its deals with the music industry's major stakeholders are in place, it can experiment. Since video ads are the most valuable to advertisers, and since Pandora's 78.1 million monthly listeners have to watch the whole ad to get their skips, its new ad product will "be a very important part of our business," Westergren says. A promotion last fall that saw advertisements removed from the service for one day cost the company about $2.5 million, according to a Billboard estimate.

The new features will roll out to users over the coming months.

Westergren was confident about converting its many, many free listeners to this new paid tier -- expect a big marketing push for Pandora Plus. "ts something we'll put in front of a hundred-million people -- and we know a lot about these people," Westergren says. "We have a really effective marketing mechanism. We're not talking about buying a billboard."

And that other product? The company plans to launch a $9.99-per-month streaming service to compete with Spotify, Apple Music, et al., by the end of the year. Though Westergren maintains his company's entry into the 'full-featured' streaming world will be fundamentally different -- "something you've never seen before," he says. Given the stout competition it will have with Spotify and Apple Music, it needs to be.
"90 percent of Karnatakas subdivisions of districts recorded deficit rainfall in August."

"Karnataka was 16 percent short of normal rainfall between 1 June and 5 September, 2016."

"Karnatakas four zones  south and north interior, the southern Malnad region and the coast  recorded a 39 percent deficit in rainfall."

According to a report in The Economic Times report, Karnataka has 35 tmcft of water in four reservoirs as compared to Tamil Nadu which has 49 tmcft in two reservoirs.

The Indian Express also reported that the deficiency meant that the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka  Krishnaraja Sagar, Harangi, Hemavathi and Kabini  have together received only 114.66 thousand million cubic (tmc) ft of water until the end of August, about half the normal 215.70 tmc ft.

The government of Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court to secure the interests of its farmers in the Thanjavur region, who mostly grow paddy from August to January, said The Indian Express report.

Paddy, according to an ORF report, is a major cause for the water dispute. Besides it being a water-intensive crop, growing paddy means incentivisation for farmers from the government  so much so that farmers in both sides of the dispute grow it. In Tamil Nadu, paddy fields are grown downstream, which means that it requires a lot of water, according to this report in The Caravan that also added that Karnataka farmers are deserting sugarcane farming and taking to paddy cultivation (when compared to sugarcane, paddy utilises less water)

According to The Hindus report, the average drop in ground water across Tamil Nadu has been 0.34 metres/year in the past five years. The report estimates that such an alarming rate of depletion may be because of the states agricultural practices. Of all the sown land in the state, almost 32 percent is sown with rice. Look at it from another angle, almost 12 percent of the states total area is just rice crop.

Rice crop is extremely sensitive to water shortages. Farmers usually aim to have flooded conditions in their field to ensure the cultivation of the crop.

According to another report in The Hindu, about 5,000 litres of water is required to produce just one kg of rice. However, The Guardian argues that 2,500 litres of water is sufficient for one kg.

TS Sudhir argues in this Firstpost article, "The samba crop (a form of paddy) is spread over four to five months, from September to January and needs at least 90 tmc feet of water." He further quotes a farmer as saying that the delta soil cannot be used to grow millets and there is no other option but to grow paddy.

The aforementioned ORF report also said that with PDS selling rice at a lower price than other crops, the demand for it becomes high, thanks to its consumption as well. And so, water for irrigation becomes an issue. Unless the political class in Tamil Nadu finds a better way to manage water and crop patterns  or employing the resources it has such as ground water  the situation will be till then locked in an impasse.
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S.-based start-up Ripple, a provider of blockchain-based cross-border payments technology for banks, said on Thursday it has raised $55 million in a second round of funding. Blockchain is the underlying technology in digital currencies such as bitcoin and has become one of the hottest innovations in the financial services world. The company has raised a total of $93 million over the last two years, said Chris Larsen, Ripple chief executive officer and co-founder, securing funding from new investors including Standard Chartered, Accenture, SCB Digital Ventures, the venture arm of Siam Commercial Bank, and SBI Holdings. "We have a ton of resources now that will allow us to continue to grow," said Larsen in an interview with Reuters. "The team is now about 135 people. And we're aggressively growing, especially in our integration and engineering groups." Existing Ripple investors include Google Ventures, venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz, IDG Capital Partners, and AME Cloud Ventures. Ripple aims to ultimately enable the exchange of value as seamlessly and quickly as exchanging information. It reduces the cost of settlement by enabling banks to transact directly, optionally using the digital asset Ripple. Larsen said with Ripple's technology, it takes three to five seconds to transfer a cross-border payment, compared with three to five days under the current international payment system. The company also announced it has added several banks to its payments network. Standard Chartered, Westpac, National Australia Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Siam Commercial Bank, and Shanghai Huarui Bank are now among the global banks that have adopted Ripple to improve their cross-border payments. "Siam Commercial Bank is excited to take a pioneering role in investing and piloting money transfers through Ripple's network," said Thana Thienachariya, executive committee chairman of Digital Ventures, a unit of Siam Commercial Bank. "Our participation makes SCB the first Thai commercial bank to move forward with remittance and other use cases with blockchain." Ripple's global network includes 15 of the top 50 global banks, 10 banks in commercial deal phases and more than 30 bank pilots completed. "The real problem in the world is that we have a series of siloed networks: the U.S. system does not interact with the European system, or China's system, and that's what we're trying to solve," said Ripple's Larsen. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
It looks like a Star Trek Bird of Prey, and acts like a drone that terrorists cannot escape: A new military aircraft thats powered by the sun and can conduct missions without landing for 45 days.

Airbus Defence and Space calls the new drone the High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), but its been dubbed the Zephyr. Whats a pseudo satellite? It has satellite-type capabilities like extreme surveillance but is on demand with the flexibility and versatility of an unmanned aircraft.

Unlike a satellite, the Zephyr can be landed, modified with alternative tech, and quickly re-launched to provide different capabilities as required.

The Zephyr could fly without landing to provide the military with non-stop high- resolution imagery for a remarkable month and a half, and it could give teams accuracy down to 6-inch resolution.

Flying at about 12.5 miles high at a fixed location, Zephyr can see over 250 miles to the horizon and provide imagery in excess of 386 square miles.

In addition to providing high bandwidth communications, the drone could gather data over these vast areas and equip forces with persistent, real-time, enhanced level of detail actionable data. This sort of capability could prove particularly handy for special operations teams.

What does it look like?

Star Trek, a show where starships are regularly featured, just had its 50th anniversary. Folks have been describing the look of this futuristic drone as similar to the Klingon Bird of Prey.

While the Zephyr wont be flying in space, it can get awfully close. The drone can reach heights higher than 70,000 feet. At those heights you can see the curvature of the earth.

How high is that? For starters, if youve taken a commercial aircraft, then youve flown half as high as this drone.

The legendary aircraft, the U2 or Dragon Lady, regularly flies those extreme heights, skimming space and sky.

At these heights, the new drone can very easily evade tough weather conditions, jet stream winds, and air traffic while also reducing risk of detection and maximizing the ability to surveil great swathes of enemy activity on the ground.

Story continues

The Zephyr S has a 74-foot wingspan, yet is lightweight. Light enough to be launched by hand.

How does it work?

This aircraft harnesses solar power to fly during the day. Using sunlight, it also recharges its lithium ion batteries. The batteries then power night flying. Since the Zephyr does not rely on fuel, it is not limited by how much fuel it can carry, like other UAVs.

Five warfighters working together can launch the lightweight drone from flat ground. After it has been launched, the same team on the ground can operate it. Warfighters can currently use the Zephyrs control station to fly it over a range of up to 250 miles. But it can also be remotely operated by a team located anywhere in the world.

The drone is equipped with an antenna that allows it to communicate, and satellites can help relay commands to the Zephyr from operators at anywhere on the ground.

The Zephyr is designed to be autonomous so it can also fly itself without an operator directing its every move. With its remarkable endurance, it could be launched from Yuma in the United States and then collected weeks later in Afghanistan at the completion of its mission after several weeks.

Warfighters can deploy the Zephyr to provide persistent eyes in the sky to track enemy movements. The drones camera could provide real-time video and reveal adversary activities and movements.

In addition to surveillance, Zephyrs could be used for things like missile detection, navigation and C4ISTAR [Command Control Communications Computers Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance] relay.

Whats next?

There are two military variants underway: Zephyr S and T (twin). The larger size of the Zephyr T vehicle enables it to accommodate payloads heavier payloads with higher power demands.

The Zephyr solar-powered drone family was originally built by Qinetiq and is now in further development with Airbus Defence and Space.

The Zephyr 8 prototype could reach full operational capacity next year. This current Zephyr prototype can carry HD Optical / IR Video, NIIRS 6 imagery, AIS, Narrowband mobile comms such as Tetra and 100 Mbps broadcast.

Future versions could involve a larger platform with more payload capacity. It is expected going forward it could carry sophisticated NIIRS 8 imagery, RADAR, LIDAR, ESM/ELINT electronic surveillance, and broadband communications.

Testing and development will continue. The Zephyr has already flown safely for over 900 hours. The company states it holds three world records including the endurance record of 14 days. In recent tests, it has even operated at 70,740 ft, circling the Yuma desert.

Allison Barrie consults at the highest levels of defense, has travelled to more than 70 countries, is a lawyer with four postgraduate degrees and now the author of the new book "Future Weapons: Access Granted" covering invisible tanks through to thought-controlled fighter jets. You can click here for more information on FOX Firepower columnist and host Allison Barrie and you can follow her on Twitter @allison_barrie.

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Well, the reviews are in and the experts  including Yahoo Finances own David Pogue  think Apples (APPL) new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are, well, pretty great.

Not Earth-shatteringly, brain-meltingly, 15-minute guitar solo, Oh my God, you have to get this thing! great. Just, you know, pretty great.

Basically, the consensus seems to be that if you have the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, theres little reason for you to make the upgrade. If youve got an older iPhone, though, youll want to move up to the 7 and 7 Plus. In essence, the companys biggest moneymaker hasnt surpassed its competitors as much as its merely caught up to them.

Thats not exactly the kind of news investors are too eager to hear. After all, consumers, at least in theory, want an iPhone thats significantly better than the one they already have. And if the rumors are to be believed, that will happen when we get the 10th anniversary iPhone in 2017.

Unexpected gains from a competitors misfortune

Normally, this kind of critical reception to the latest iPhones might spell trouble for Apples sales and also Apples stock.

But the company might have lucked out thanks to some key enhancements to the iPhone 7 and the fact that Samsungs Galaxy Note7 is being recalled due to its batteries catching fire problems. Samsungs Note7 is facing a major recall.

In just the past week, Apple shares have rocketed 10% to a 9-month high.



Samsungs challenges should benefit Apple, RBC analyst Amit Daryanani said. Given the backdrop of subdued expectations for the iPhone 7, we think there is potential for Apple to surprise on the upside given share gain potential.

It also seems that initial concerns that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus wouldnt perform as well in their first week as their predecessors may have been overblown. In fact, both T-Mobile and Sprint are reporting strong pre-order numbers for both the 7 and 7 Plus. The carriers actually say that pre-orders for the 7 and 7 Plus are higher than they were for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

Story continues

Dont get us wrong, the iPhone 7s camera is a big upgrade

Lets start with how Apple might be able to squeeze extra money out of its latest handsets. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus both include 12-megapixel rear cameras. But the 7 Plus adds a second telephoto lens for zooming in your subjects. Thats a rather large benefit for 7 Plus buyers.

Sure, previous versions of the big-screen iPhone have come with their own exclusive camera features; the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus both offered optical image stabilization while their smaller counterparts were left with software stabilization. However, this is the first camera improvement that consumers can easily see and physically use.

The ability to zoom in on a subject while still retaining the same kind of clarity youd see while taking a normal shot is a huge benefit for users, especially when you consider that previously zooming in on a subject meant that it would become pixilated and unrecognizable.

The iPhone 7 Plus new telephoto lens improves its ability to zoom in on subjects.

To get that feature, though, you have to step up from the standard iPhone 7 to the iPhone 7 Plus, which carries a $120 premium.

As RBCs Daryanani explains in a research note, We see the dual lens camera option as something that could shift users more towards the larger form factor, which has a $120 higher [average selling price] versus the standard model.

And it looks as though thats exactly whats happening, as online pre-orders for the iPhone 7 Plus are already sold out.

Whats interesting is that, this could have gone in a completely different direction, due to the fact that Apple raised the minimum amount of storage on its base phone models. Previously, Apple sold its phones with just 16GB of storage. Users who wanted more storage had to plunk down an extra $100. And seeing as how 16GB of storage is a paltry amount in todays mobile world, a number of iPhone consumers were opting to swallow that price increase for more space.

With the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the base storage capacity is 32GB, double what you got with other iPhones. So there might not be as much of a reason for consumers to upgrade to a higher storage capacity.

According to Daryanani, though, the improved camera on the iPhone 7 Plus could help offset any loss Apple might experience in terms of consumer upgrades.

But dont underestimate the impact of Samsung

The biggest gift to Apple, however, might just come from its largest rival: Samsung. In case you havent heard, Samsungs Galaxy Note7 received heaps of praise when it debuted in August. The only problem, well, is the reports that it could explode and catch fire.

The fire has become such a problem that not only is there a global recall of the handset, but its now banned from being used on flights. Even New Yorks Metropolitan Transit Authority has banned the phone on its subways and buses.

Samsung is issuing a recall of its Galaxy Note7 smartphone

Whats more, Samsung still doesnt have a definitive timeline for when the Note7 will go on sale again. Considering the Note7s closest competitor is the iPhone 7 Plus, consumers may simply choose to skip waiting for the phone to come back to market and go with the iPhone.

So while the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus arent rapture-inducing super phones, theyre have enough going for them to make them winners for Apple and its investors.

More from Dan:

Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
Samsung is not in a very good place right now. The company is in the midst of a global recall of its latest flagship phone, the Galaxy Note 7. As we're sure you've read by now, some Note 7 models shipped with faulty batteries that have been found to explode while charging. The explosions have so far caused personal injury to some users and extensive property damage for others. We've seen stories of Note 7 fires engulfing a parked Jeep in flames and even burning down one family's house. Most recently, an exploding Galaxy Note 7 started a vehicle fire while the car was driving down the road.

The South Korean smartphone giant is taking a huge financial hit as a result of the recall, and its image has been tarnished as well. Of course, these will ultimately just be temporary setbacks; time heals all wounds and people forget about gadget gaffes pretty quickly  see Antennagate, Bendgate and every other "gate" for examples. So what's coming from Samsung next year, when all the fuss over the Note 7 has long since been forgotten?

MUST SEE: Youve never seen an iPhone that looks like this

Samsung has two flagship launches each year. In the first half, the company updates its Galaxy S lineup and in the second half, the Galaxy Note lineup is updated. With the Note 7 launch behind us, sort of, attention is now beginning to turn to next year's Galaxy S8, which Samsung is undoubtedly eager to launch as it looks to put the Note 7 debacle behind it.

We've seen a few reports that have begun to paint a picture of what we might expect from next year's Galaxy S8. One of the more recent claims is that the phone will come in two sizes just like the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, but both the 5.1-inch model and the 5.5-inch version will feature curved displays. Another report stated that the S8 series could be among the first smartphones to feature 4K ultra HD displays.

Now, a new report out of China on Thursday morning states that the new Galaxy S8 models could be powered by a new Samsung Exynos 8895 processor. According to the report, which comes from a Weibo user (via WccfTech) who has posted a few leaks in the past, the new chipset will be clocked at 3.0GHz but will be more energy-efficient than any previous Samsung processor. It will also apparently improve image processing by as much as 80% compared to this year's Exynos model.

Story continues

If accurate, this sounds great on paper  but we should all bear in mind that specs on paper don't always translate in real-world usage. As we know all too well, Apple's iPhone 6s from last year is still faster than Samsung's brand new flagship smartphones despite paling in comparison on paper.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
An up-scale restaurant in the posh surrounds of Park Street in Kolkata has done it again. Reminding us, how urban aplomb and sophistication is quite the norm in our society, Mocambo, a fabled restaurant on the Kolkata high street reportedly denied entry to a cab driver, because he wasn't dressed 'appropriately'.

Dilashi Hemnani, a woman who was visiting Kolkata, said in a Facebook post that went viral, that she and her cab driver, Manish were denied a table at the Mocambo restaurant as the restaurant staff did not approve of the way he was dressed. Hemnani recounting the incident from 9 September, called the restaurant "racist" alleging that the staff first pointed out at Manish's clothes as apparently being below the standards of what they deemed fit for a fine dine restaurant.

Later, when she tried to confront them on whether there was a written rule about a specific dress code, the restaurant alleged that Manish was drunk and hence could not be invited into the restaurant. On last check, the post had 36,000 reactions, over 8,400 comments and it had been shared over 34,000 times.

Meanwhile, Hemnani's evocative post has prompted a campaign to knock the restaurant off Zomato as various users have re-rated their previous reviews and requested others to do the same, while many others panned the restaurant for its elitist approach. This had a considerable effect on the restaurant's Zomato rating as a Facebook user pointed out through a screenshot they had posted on 13 September.

However, on the last check, the restaurant was back on the rating of 2.8 amid allegations from several users that many negative feedbacks were being taken down from the page.

As the restaurant drew ire on social media and various media organisations picked up the incident, the 60-year-old restaurant finally felt bound to respond and clear 'their side of the story' on Tuesday. However, much to the disappointment of netizens, the response letter was much like a standard PR response. It certainly lacked as much as a hint of an apology, and arguably, some sincerity.

The first paragraph is firmly dedicated to recounting the much touted "old world charm" and nostalgia the restaurant is often associated with. Further down, towards the end of the second paragraph will one get a sense that the letter is indeed a response to, or at least an attempt to, address a grievance of some sort.

In a classic hands-off response, the letter neither refutes the occurrence of such an incident, nor accepts responsibility. It does however promises an enquiry into the incident and a "followup action" on the "revelation of the truth."

Also, it would be unfair not to mention that Mocambo's management lists out a battery of things that the restaurant deplores as the grounds of discrimination between fellow human beings. But interestingly enough, words like 'class', 'financial status' or 'language', does not feature on that list, which would have been relevant to the incident in question.

It is instructive to note here that since the restaurant had no official presence on social media platforms, many rude responses were posted by impersonators that further aggravated the netizens' ire towards the restaurant, according to a report in The Indian Express. These fake responses, which can be seen as an attempt to further malign the image of the restaurant, prompted team Mocambo to take to social media with a response.

But the management's response, posted after considerable delay and perhaps deliberation, also failed to pacify the cybernauts possibly because it lacked the warmth and sincerity befitting the situation. A slew of angry reponses erupted within hours of the post being published. However, some patrons also took a sympathetic view and praised the food and services from their previous visits.

Also, the restaurant's response given to various media outlets were eerily different from the above Facebook post where they claim that "Mocambo's policy has been and still is not to discriminate" .

According to News 18, the head steward Sean Sams said, "We never said he was drunk. He was not neatly dressed and not clean... We have allowed under privileged people to have dinner here before. People have come here earlier with their drivers and maids."

The restaurant's owner Siddharth Kothari told NDTV "His clothes were not clean," he said. "People with shorts and slippers come all the time but if a guest is not clean, others may complain. Drivers, domestic help often come with employers. That's not an issue."

However, according to Vagabomb this is what the restaurant said, "Just wearing one pant and shirt... He was having roadside food and just standing, not in proper state of mind. He was not acceptable in our fine dining restaurant... We've such high standard guests coming here, it's a fine dining restaurant, we cannot have such a roadsider coming and sitting here."

That these responses reek of a typical elitism, perhaps doesn't make it a fair case of discrimination according to Mocambo's policy.

Well, this is what Hemnani had to say about her experience. "I'm sorry you don't deserve a fine human like Manish bhaiya sitting and eating in your racist restaurant."
New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that there was no "logjam" or "blame game" in the transfer and appointment of judges to the high courts and it was on the job.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice AM Khanwilkar that the delay was happening because the process for filling the vacancies in the High Courts which had arisen seven years back started late.

Telling the court that the process for filling the vacancies in the high courts should start six months before a vacancy actually arises, he said: "There is no blame game."

"There is no logjam in the system. It is like a race, you start early. You reach in time," he told the bench pointing out that the high courts were "pretty much delayed" in initiating the process for filling the vacancies which in cases started five years, six years, even seven years after they arose.

At this, Chief Justice Thakur said that with eight judges, Chhattisgarh High Court was functioning with one-third of its sanctioned strength being vacant.

"It is an arduous process ... it (recommendation) come to us and after that it should go forward and not get stuck-up," said Chief Justice Thakur, wondering why there was so much delay in clearing the names sent by apex court collegium.

Rohatgi told the bench that recommendation for appointments for Allahabad, Chhattisgarh and Kerala High Courts have been cleared. He told the court that the names of three judges for Chhattisgarh High Court have been cleared.

He also submitted to the court in a sealed cover a detailed report from the central government on the status of various appointments that were forwarded to the government by the collegium.

The Attorney General said that in Allahabad High Court vacancy that arose seven years back is being sought to be filled up now. He said that recommendations were pending with the government since February.

He noted that recommendations regarding Allahabad High Court that came to the government in February have been examined but others that came in May, June, July that are under process and there was a delay in respect of them.

As he sought two weeks time to report on further progress, the court directed the listening of matter on 30 September.
In a shocking incident which brings back horrific memories of the infamous 2012 Delhi gangrape, two teenaged girls were allegedly gang raped by five boys in Delhi's Aman Vihar on Thursday.

According to CNN-News18, the two girls were sitting in a park with their male friends when they were attacked by the five culprits.

Four of the accused have been nabbed by the police while one of the accused is absconding. The accused might be minors, according to the police.

An ANI report said that the two male friends of the victims were also beaten up by the accused when they tried to protect the girls. They sustained minor injuries and have been admitted to a hospital.

ANI also reported that the two victims are aged 17 and 18.

Speaking to CNN-News18, BJP leader Kiran Bedi started the blame game over this incident and lashed out at the AAP government. "Where is the governance? Where is administration? Nothing is isolated. Today, the politics of Delhi is diseased," she said.

A total of 40 rape cases were registersd in the Aman Vihar area in 2014.

New Delhi has never been a safe place for women.

On 24 July this year, a 14-year-old Dalit rape victim who was repeatedly sexually assaulted and was forced to drink a corrosive substance, died at a hospital. "The girl was fed a corrosive substance which completely destroyed her internal organs and she died a very painful death," Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal had said.

In October last year, a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler and a five-year-old girl were gang-raped in New Delhi in separate incidents. The two-and-a-half-year-old was raped by two men in west Delhi's Nangloi area. In the other case, police in east Delhi had arrested three men allegedly involved in the gangrape of the five-year-old and had booked them under various charges dealing with gang rape, kidnapping and provisions of POCSO Act.

In December 2014, Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav had raped a woman executive after she had dozed off on the back seat of the car.

On 16 December 2012, six persons, including a juvenile, had brutally assaulted and gang raped a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi. Thirteen days after the assault, the victim was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for emergency treatment, but succumbed to her injuries.

With inputs from agencies
Puducherry: The Puducherry unit of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) on Thursday announced its support to the bandh called by several tamil outfits in Puducherry, on Friday, to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka in the wake of Cauvery row.

"The BJP will extend its support to the bandh being observed in the Union Territory tomorrow to condemn the against the violence against Tamils in Karnataka," President of the Puducherry unit of BJP V Saminathan in a release said.

"The Congress government in Karnataka is ignoring and dishonouring the Supreme court order to release water to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry," he said.

More than 30 Tamil fringe outfits including Tamizhar Desiya Iyyakkam, Makkal Vazhuvurimai Iyakkam and Tamizhaga Makkal Vazhuvurimai Katchi had announced a 12-hour bandh in Puducherry on 16 September to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka.

Protests by Kannada groups had turned violent on Monday with two persons getting killed in police action, including one in firing, in Bengaluru.

Vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu registration were also torched and damaged even as commercial establishments owned by Tamils were targeted in Karnataka.

In Tamil Nadu, restaurants owned by Kannadigas and vehicles bearing Karnataka registration were attacked by fringe outfits in some places on 12 September.
"Listen to the mustnts, child. Listen to the donts. Listen to the shouldnts, the impossible, the wonts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me..... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.  Shel Silverstein, American author/cartoonist, who had won two Grammy awards, never visited Lucknow but said what he generally observed all his life.

With the floodgates of fresh political possibilities having been thrown open by the ongoing feud within the ruling Samajwadi Party, anything can happen. Anytime.

The UP chitchat bazaar is already sizzling with all kinds of hypotheses, speculations, surmises, assumptions and presumptions.

Here are five selected possibilities that appear to be doing the rounds even in the corridors of power in Lucknow:

Possibility number 1: Nothing much would happen. Knowing Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadavs continued hold over his kith and kin as we do, both Chacha Shivpal Singh Yadav and Bhatija Akhilesh Singh Yadav will bow down to listen to the fatwa of the patriarch. And, perhaps, both, the feuding chacha and bhatija are getting prepared mentally for receiving fatherly/brotherly scolding at the proposed close-door family meeting in Lucknow.

Should this happen, the chacha might get back his prize portfolios and the bhatija his presidentship of the state unit of the party. There would be smiles all over again. No more bruised ego and no further acrimony. No, not any more at least until elections.

Possibility number 2: The chacha might get back his portfolios but the bhatija might not become president of the state unit of his party again. In this case, the bhatija will limp along as chief minister as always with a bruised and battered ego. And the chief ministers image as a bechara baalak (good but a helpless boy) shall live on.

Possibility number 3: The chief minister might choose to go ahead with his rebellious mindset. He may refuse to return the coveted portfolios to chachaji. And he may never agree to restore chief secretaryship to Deepak Singhal, come what may.

In this scenario, the chief minister might threaten to put in his papers. And should the situation further demand, he may even drive down to the Raj Bhavan unnoticed to hand over his resignation letter to the governor, plunging the state into political uncertainty, if not chaos.

Can you imagine would happen next from here on in the run-up to elections?

Possibility number 4: You never know, the circumstances might force netaji to become chief minister of UP for the fourth time. He may not like it but so what. Such situations dont give you any exit route.

Already reeling under the pressure of anti-incumbency, the Samajwadi Party may not, in this purely hypothetical scenario; find itself fit enough to cope up with the jolt given by a rebellious son.

Like it or not, its Akhilesh Yadav  and not anybody else -- who has been the partys poster boy during the past four and a half years. And its Mulayam Singh Yadav  and nobody else  who controls the votes which the Samajwadi Party has been getting all these years. Indeed, the party would find itself placed between the proverbial two horns of a dilemma: Akhileshs face versus Mulayams votes. They know they can only choose one over the other to their peril. They do need both the face and the votes in the election year.

Possibility number 5: Coming to terms with seriousness of the predicament, the patriarch would prefer to buy time for the tempers to cool down on both sides.

Remember, both Shivpal and Akhilesh have been hurt. And nobody is a winner. If the chacha has lost his coveted portfolios, the bhatija too has lost his presidentship of the party. And, as far as the former chief secretary is concerned, he can be forgotten as an expendable commodity. In politics, bureaucrats happen to be easy scapegoats. No tears please.

Away from the bazaar of speculations in this battle-scarred Lucknow, a Shakespearian saying comes to mind: We know what we are, but not what we may be.

True. Everything from men to mindsets undergoes changes. In fact, change is the only thing that doesnt change. Only God knows how things would finally shape up. Lets stop speculating. For once.
It is often said that the patriarch of the first political family of Uttar Pradesh and the Etawah chieftain Mulayam Singh Yadav has no match in creating twists and turns in political stories that he scripts. In decades past, such twists have floored individuals as eminent as former presidents, former prime ministers, chief ministers of various states and even foreign dignitaries.

With such a pre-eminent record of handling near-impossible situations, the creation of an elaborate script to strengthen the rising son could hardly be a surprise. What has been evolving in Uttar Pradesh over the past one week has been interpreted differently as a clash of egos between Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and senior minister Shivpal Yadav, with fringe involvement of other family and non-family characters. But what has emerged slowly is a conscious effort to assert the decision-making ability of Akhilesh Yadav, with of course, a consistent back-up from father Mulayam. The emergence of other factors is purely coincidental.

It is pertinent to go back in time a little. That it would be best suited for the Samajwadi Party to face the 2017 Assembly election with Akhilesh Yadavs face had in fact been adopted as a resolution last year itself. Prior to that in December 2015, songs, jingles and slogans with Akhilesh in the forefront had been prepared and had started appearing across the state and even in Mumbai in subsequent months. Since then, it has not been a question as to who will lead the party in 2017 election. The decision had the blessings of Mulayam and consent of all others.

Needless to say, the significance of this decision has never been lost on Akhilesh who has increasingly started sounding more confident, bordering on being aggressive, when talking to mediapersons or addressing meetings or rallies. He remarks now include an element of satire bordering on taunt on all occasions, whether the target is opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, bureaucrats or the media. A certain reservation, however, is noticeable when it comes to either the Congress or the Bahujan Samaj Party.

On many occasions, when Mulayam has publicly chided him for not properly handling bureaucracy or elements in the party, there has been no obvious visible reaction by Akhilesh ever, almost indicating that he expected these remarks from his father. On being asked to react, he would just wave it away by saying the father will always be father.

On the other hand are the political preparations for 2017. Establishing a caste and community matrix, strategic placing of people in government and other establishments for affecting a conducive impact on Samajwadi Partys prospects, the lining-up of individuals from tehsil to police station level, village outreach and, finally, identifying candidates, is largely Shivpals responsibility. Even though Akhilesh has inducted many loyalists in the party at various levels, the final decision rests with Mulayam.

The distribution of work and responsibility, thus, is very clear. However, there has been no dearth of media reports and political gossip that there were four (or four and a-half) chief ministers in the state, indicating that the Chief Minister was too junior in age or experience to come in the way of decisions taken by seniors or elders in the party. However, all political decisions taken by Akhilesh have had the support  obvious or otherwise  of Mulayam, yet it was a section in the party itself that gossiped about the so-called inefficiency of Akhilesh in running the administration.

The rumours had to be scotched assertively, the question was about the right time. And what could be better than creating a situation wherein it appeared that Akhilesh had become mature enough to curb the wings of his all-powerful Chacha Shivpal?

It is in this context that all related developments need to be viewed.

Former Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan retired in March this year and Shivpal was said to be pitching for Deepak Singhal as the new incumbent. Ranjan was given a three-month extension till the end of June, as Akhilesh wanted.

Mukhtar Ansaris party Qaumi Ekta Dal wanted to merge itself with Samajwadi Party but it did not happen despite Shivpals very obvious efforts to make it happen. It was said that Akhilesh had his way.

Two ministers Gayatri Prajapati and Raj Kishore Singh were dismissed despite being labelled as Mulayam or Shivpal loyalists. It was said to be Akhileshs bold step.

Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal was removed from his post on 12 September despite being Shivpals choice. Round went to Akhilesh.

Shivpal was made UP president of the Samajwadi Party, meaning that he would devote more time and energy into poll preparations than running the important ministries over which he presided.

Shivpal was divested of the charge of important ministries and left with some minor departments only. It was in keeping with his responsibilities as state party president but was publicised as Akhileshs retaliation.

And as these events unfolded from 12 to 14 September, all members of the family suddenly decided to travel to different destinations. Mulayam came to Delhi, Shivpal went to Saifai, Akhilesh went around his business as usual. If there was actually a difference of opinion among family members, the best way would have been to talk it out in one of the many bungalows of the three located within a kilometre of each other in Lucknow. Yet, an elaborate show was made of flights, special aircraft, late night meetings, early morning calls and so on.

Suddenly, the Samajwadi Party was back in the news with a bang that befitted a major political upheaval. Media headlines that were being grabbed by rallies of Mayawati, roadshows by Rahul Gandhi and deserters beeline towards the BJP were wiped out in one fell swoop by the assertion that Akhilesh was the boss, having had the courage to even outsmart Shivpal.

The postscript always read that all decisions  everything  had the consent of Mulayam Singh Yadav. It goes without saying that as the date of election announcement draws closer, it will be Akhilesh who will dominate the political discourse in newspapers, TV, roadside gatherings and community discussions. It does help that people consider him a better choice than Sheila Dikshit, Mayawati and an unnamed person in the BJP. But still, why take chances?
Senior PDP leader Tariq Karra on Thursday announced his resignation from the party and Parliament, accusing the PDP of being a collaborator with the RSS.

"The PDP has become a collaborator for fascist RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)-governed BJP," Karra told reporters in Srinagar.

A report in Greater Kashmir said that the resignation has come as a protest against the massive unrest in the Valley. I am resigning from the basic membership of PDP as a mark of protest against civilian killings in Kashmir, quoted him as saying.

CNN-News18 also reported that the veteran PDP leader has cited the government's "heavy handed" approach in handling of the current unrest as the reason behind his resignation.

Elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014, Karra was a close aide of the late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and was one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). A heavyweight in Kashmir Politics, Karra had at one point defeated former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister in the Lok Sabha elections from Srinagar, the later's first electoral defeat since he joined politics three decades ago, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Karra had been very vocal and expressive about his dissatisfaction in the past too, ever since the new government came to power in Kashmir. He had, on previous occasions, indicated that he has been mulling resigning from the party.

"I am very closely watching the situation and even protesting and agitating on it within available means. As and when I would feel that all other available means have failed in restoring peace and tranquility in the state and normalizing the situation, I would not hesitate to quit as Member Parliament," a report in Kashmir Reader from August this year quoted him as saying.

Karra had always opposed the idea of a PDP-BJP alliance and made his dissent known earlier also. According to a report in India Today, Karra had said that the alliance did not give anything apart from "broken promises" to the party, stating, it was an unnatural alliance in the first place and should not have been forged in the first place.

He had even skipped Mehbooba Mufti's oath taking ceremony over differences with chef minister about ministerial berths.

The resignation comes as the Kashmir Valley is battling months of the deadliest unrest it has suffered in six years. A total of 86 persons were killed and 11,500 injured in the ongoing unrest that started on 9 July a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed.

With inputs from IANS
In an unforeseeable twist to the Samajwadi Party family feud, Shivpal Yadav on Thursday night tendered his resignation from the UP cabinet and quit as Samajwadi Party's state unit president, a post to which he was appointed just two days ago, according to ANI.

After meeting SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, he gave his resignation from all the posts of party and government to UP CM Akhilesh Yadav.  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

His son Aditya and wife Sarla have also stepped down from all official positions they held within the party and government, according to CNN News-18. However, neither Akhilesh nor Mulayam have given a nod to the resignations so far. ANI also reported that Akhilesh Yadav has rejected the resignation of Shivpal from the government.

According to CNN-News18 ground, Shivpal Yadav's supporters have started gathering at Kalidas Marg in Lucknow outside his official residence and raising slogans in his support.

While political pundits continue to read between the lines and predict a possible outcome to the internal strife in the Yadav clan, this move is certainly being seen as a surprise.

Shivpal Yadav took the decision after a meeting with his elder brother and party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Shivpal also briefly met his nephew and UP Chief Minister earlier in the evening on Thursday after which he sent his resignation to Akhilesh Yadav.

SP's Shivpal Yadav met UP CM Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, meeting got over in 15 minutes. pic.twitter.com/aoONynrqAo  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

The development is being seen as a rebuff to all possibilities of coming together of the once powerful minister and his nephew, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Earlier in the day, Shivpal had ruled out quitting the ministry and said it was immaterial which posts he held as a minister.

SP became mired in controversy after an open fight broke out between CM Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav and broadcasted the fissures within the family.

Earlier reports had said that SP leaders were trying to reach a compromise. Ramgopal Yadav, SP national general secretary and Mulayam's cousin, had met Akhilesh in Lucknow on Thursday in a bid to defuse the situation after the CM stripped his uncle and cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ramgopal, who is known to be close to Mulayam's son Akhilesh, had told reporters before the meeting.

"He (CM) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal). Some misunderstanding has taken place and there is nothing more to it," he said.

He had asserted that there is "no crisis" in Samajwadi Party.

"Many times some decisions are made due to which people feel that there is some problem in the party. There is nothing like that. This happens in all parties in different situations," Ramgopal had said.

But despite Ramgopal's assurances, Shivpal's resignation shows there was clearly a crisis in the Samajwadi Party.

After meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday, Shivpal had told him that he was being painted as a villain despite following orders. Shivpal, who is the younger brother of Mulayam, had reached Delhi to meet the party chief at his official residence. In his over four-hour-long meeting, Shivpal had told Mulayam that in the past four-and-a-half years, he has followed the party supremo's directions despite having a difference of opinion on certain issues, according to PTI.

Sources close to Shivpal had said he gave examples that as a senior minister in the Akhilesh government, he never publicly opposed the decisions taken by Akhilesh or Mulayam even though he may have expressed a difference of opinion to them in private.

Later talking to reporters, Shivpal, however, had rejected suggestions that there were differences within the party and the Yadav family. "Neither I nor Netaji (Mulayam) is angry. We all are happy... There are no differences," he said.

With inputs from agencies
After India made its statement at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing Pakistan of the illegal occupation of Kashmir, both the countries have engaged in a war of words accusing and counter-accusing each other of human rights violations.

Pakistan responded to India's statement stressing that Kashmir was not a part of India  the UN high commissioner for human rights visit will help end the culture of impunity that exists in India-occupied J&K (IoK) where human rights violations are rampant". The latest upsurge was triggered by the extra-judicial execution of a 22-year-old Kashmiri on 8 July. It is characteristic of oppressive regimes to label those struggling for their rights as terrorists, said Pakistani ambassador to the UN, Tehmina Janjua, to the UNHRC. Claims of restraint shown by India are preposterous, she added. The fact that India has not yet agreed to the high commissioner's visit showed that it had something to hide, Pakistan claimed.

India exercising its Right of Reply (RoR) responded to Pakistan by stating that Pakistan uses terrorism as a state policy under the garb of human rights and systematically violates the human rights of its own people, including in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The country has no hesitation to use air-power against its own people and, therefore, it was no surprise that Pakistan had failed to convince the international community to secure a seat at the HRC, India said. The current violence was sustained by cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The high casualty figure of Indian security forces show the restraint that they have displayed in difficult circumstances.

All of us are prepared to help if the creators of this monster wake up to the dangers of what they have done to themselves, India told the council.

Pakistan, in turn, used its RoR to respond stating that India has insulted the intelligence of the council with their usual twisting of historical facts and traditional Indian pattern of obfuscation and denial. It invited the Indian delegation to admit to the heavy presence of Indian special forces in the region, as well as the indiscriminate use of pellet guns aimed directly at civilian protesters. Since 1989, 98,000 people have been killed in IoK. Can the Indian delegate deny that the UN has called for the holding of an impartial plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of Kashmiri people, Pakistan asked.

India, after this, used its second and last RoR and rejected Pakistans misuse of the council to make "tendentious" references to the "internal matter of the Indian state of J&K. Pakistan has sponsored cross-border terrorism since 1989, India accused. Referring to the country as the "gravest risk for stability in the region, India said that many countries had asked Pakistan to stop acting as the epicentre of terrorism. Pakistan is characterised by authoritarianism with corroded institutions and engaging in massive human rights violations, including in Balochistan. The country must take action against terrorists who have perpetrated violence against their neighbours and are now roaming freely with impunity, India told the council.

Pakistan, didn't let go off its chance to use its second RoR and responded to India's second RoR statement. It was an unrealistic hope that India will accept that Kashmir is an international issue and that the "terrible situation in Kashmir flows from the nature of Indian occupation" .

Accusations of trouble being fomented from outside is at complete variance with facts on the ground, Pakistan said. Calling Burhan Wani a youth leader Pakistan said that more than 2,00,000 people had attended his funeral despite a curfew. Kashmiri leaders have repeatedly made it clear that they will accept nothing less than their right to self-determination, Pakistan claimed.

The volley of accusations stopped only after both countries had exhausted their rights to respond to each other.
Denpasar: A foreign woman was killed and 14 other foreigners injured Thursday when a blast erupted in the engine of a tourist boat that had just departed the Indonesian island of Bali, police said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion on the speedboat and police said the bomb squad had been deployed to investigate. However Indonesia has a poor maritime safety record and there have been similar incidents in the past where no foul play was detected.

Authorities said the woman killed on the boat, which was heading for the nearby holiday island of Gili Trawangan, was a foreigner but that they were verifying her identity before releasing more details.

The 14 injured passengers included nationals from Portugal, Germany, Australia, South Korea and Britain, according to preliminary information from the police.

The boat was carrying 35 passengers, all of whom were foreigners, and four crew, and had just left Padang Bai port in eastern Bali on Thursday morning when the blast occurred.

"The explosion happened five minutes after the boat departed," local police chief Sugeng Sudarso told AFP, adding the vessel had been about 200 metres (yards) from the port.

"One female passenger died from head injuries."
New York: Hillary Clinton is "healthy and fit to serve" as US president, says her doctor, as the Democratic campaign released updated medical information. The health and fitness of the two major-party candidates has remained a central focus of the race.

A two-page note by Clintons doctor aimed to reassure voters she is in good overall health coming off a pneumonia diagnosis and a near-collapse over the weekend while she was getting into her vehicle.

Over many months, Republican nominee Donald Trump, 70 has sought to raise questions about the health of Clinton, 68, and his supporters have asserted that she is hiding something about her health (her aides have denied this).

A master showman, Trump used Clinton's near-collapse to surprise the Dr Oz Show studio audience on Wednesday by revealing the results of a recent physical exam. During the taping, Trump handed Dr Mehmet Oz a one-page summary of the exam, which was conducted by Dr Harold N Bornstein last week.

"Bornstein is the same hyperbolic doctor who previously said Trump would, if elected, be the healthiest president in history," quipped CNN.

The synopsis did, however, show Trump is overweight and takes a statin, which is a type of drug that lowers cholesterol.

After three days recuperating at home in Chappaqua, Clinton will return to the campaign trail on Thursday with an appearance in North Carolina. She is facing one of the most severe tests of the campaign, with polls showing her losing ground nationally and in key battleground states.

"The underlying reasons behind her pre-Autumn fade have always been lurking in the shadows... Clinton is still queasy about electoral politics as a profession, grinds it out because its the only path to power, is allergic to most media and, in general, does the bare minimum required to get by," observed Politico.

"This is not a formula for a happy-warrior candidacy, and it is exceptionally dangerous at a time when her enemies (with a big assist from the Democratic nominee) have driven her unpopularity down into Trump-ian depths," added Politico.

The political news magazine said the tempering of Trump's volatility  with a reassurance that he can actually govern  is the key to unlocking the only path to victory Trump really has: Winning Florida and sweeping through the Appalachians and upper Midwest. "The most significant inroads Trump has made have been in Michigan and Wisconsin, where Clintons once-commanding leads have shrunk to low single digits," it reported.

Trump at 70, if he prevails would be the oldest newly elected president, eclipsing Ronald Reagan, who was 69 when he took the oath of office in 1981. Clinton, who turns 69 next month, would be the second-oldest.

Age is one reason that health has emerged as a campaign issue with the US media latching on to the statistic that beginning with Bill Clintons election in 1992, the past three presidents were first elected in their 40s or 50s.

In comparison, except for Rajiv Gandhi, most Indian prime ministers have been older veterans. Moraji Desai was 81 years old at the beginning of his term, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was 71, Manmohan Singh was 71, IK Gujral was 77, PV Narasimha Rao was 69. Narendra Modi is comparatively young at 63.

Many US presidents have endured illness and infirmity while in office. Democrat Franklin Roosevelt died in office in 1945. Republican Dwight Eisenhower suffered a heart attack. Reagan underwent cancer surgery. John Fitzgerald Kennedy suffered from a series of medical issues, but no condition seemed to cause him more distress than his chronic lower back pain.
Washington: Melania Trump has released a letter from her immigration attorney aimed at settling questions about whether she properly followed immigration law when she came to the US in 1996.

"I am pleased to enclose a letter from my immigration attorney which states that, with 100 per cent certainty, I correctly went through the legal process when arriving in the US," Melania, wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, tweeted on Wednesday, with a photo of the attorney's letter attached.

"It has been suggested by various media outlets that in 1995, Melania Trump illegally worked as a model in the US while on a visitor visa. Following a review of her relevant immigration paperwork, I can unequivocally state that these allegations are not supported by the record, and are therefore completely without merit," CNN quoted Melania's lawyer, Michael J. Wildes as saying.

"Contrary to published reports, she never worked in the US in 1995 because she was never in the country in 1995," Wildes wrote, citing immigration documents that demonstrate that Trump's first entry to the country was in 1996.

The controversy over Trump's immigration history began in August when the New York Post re-published photos from an old photoshoot she had done in the 1990s, which seemed to place her in New York City in 1995, despite her claims that she had arrived in 1996, CNN noted.

Critics questioned the timeline Melania had provided for her immigration history and whether she had obtained proper legal status.
On 4 August, a day after Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda was appointed the ninth Prime Minister of Nepal, Firstpost wrote:

...whether or not he acquiesces (to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's invitation) and makes India his first foreign destination as prime minister  a gesture that is more symbolic than anything, but significant in terms of shaping perceptions  remains to be seen. So too does the matter of whether or not Prachanda chooses once again to review the 1950 India-Nepal treaty. How he deals with the Madhesis issue will also be a key indicator in predicting the trajectory of India-Nepal relations.

As it turned out, Prachanda's first foreign destination in his second stint as prime minister is India and that visit begins on Thursday. On his four-day itinerary (15 to 18 September) are a stay at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, a whistlestop visit to Shimla, a trip to the Patanjali Yogpeeth and its industrial units in Haridwar, and of course, a meeting with Narendra Modi. While the meeting of prime ministers will arguably be the most significant and keenly-followed part of the visit, the Shimla leg is equally interesting, albeit for very different reasons.

Prachanda is set to visit the some of the projects (including the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri damn) by Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), which happens to run the Arun-3 (900 MW) project in Nepal. A long-delayed project, Arun-3 lost World Bank funding in 1995 and the project had since been shelved. During Modi's 2014 Nepal visit, however, new plans for the project were finalised, with India and Nepal signing a project development agreement.

According to PTI, Prachanda's delegation for the India visit includes Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak, lawmakers, senior government officials, mediapersons and representatives of the business community.

The sorts of agreements likely to be signed will be developmental, cultural or educational in nature. After all, it's not as though Modi and Prachanda will sign a defence treaty with China as the target.

So what can we expect?

In a teaser for NDTV's Walk the Talk, Prachanda is seen describing the India-Nepal relationship to Shekhar Gupta as 'very unique', and adding, "Now the time has come to create the atmosphere for understanding and closer relations." He goes on to state that his predecessor KP Oli's 'one-sidedness and ego-centric, self-centric psychology' had a role to play in the deterioration of bilateral ties.

The general perception is that while Prachanda intends to improve relations with India  or at least manage them better than Oli did, he will do so on his own terms. Those last four words are important given the backdrop of Prachanda's relationship with India, as articulated by Hindustan Times: "...of deep discord followed by friendship, of suspicion followed by collaboration, of a sense of betrayal followed by renewed partnership between the two sides."

Public pronouncements like 'there is no connection between my India visit and the matter relating to the Constitutional Amendment' and that 'no controversial agreement' will be signed with India, back up this sentiment.

However, they need to be examined a little closer.

First, the Constitutional Amendment part. Considering the bitterness of the Madhesi protests, followed by Kathmandu's anger at New Delhi's apparent 'meddling in Nepal's sovereignty' and the subsequent 'economic blockade', a statement like this sends out the message to Nepal that Prachanda's regime will not be weak in the face of external interference. For India, the matter is all but closed, with most of Nepal's political forces (with the exception of Oli's UML) now in agreement over the need for amendment. And so, it's unlikely that the topic was going to feature too heavily in bilateral discussions anyway.

Second, the 'no controversial agreement' part is another win-win. At home, Prachanda sends out the message that he has the nation's interest at heart and will not lose sight of it, come what may. To India, the point is moot. The sorts of agreements likely to be signed will be developmental (hydroelectric projects, infrastructure financing or relating to post-2015 earthquake rehabilitation), cultural (media cooperation and the like) or educational (university tie-ups or scholarships) in nature. After all, it's not as though Modi and Prachanda will sign a defence treaty with China as the target. So, everyone's a winner.

The general perception is that while Prachanda intends to improve relations with India  or at least manage them better than Oli did, he will do so on his own terms.

The unsurprising surprise on the menu?

China is likely to come up in discussions. It's inevitable. However, with Prachanda's long-professed desire to enjoy warm relations with both India and China and the fact that this visit gives India and Nepal a chance to rebuild their ties, neither party is likely to delve too deeply into the China issue or try to convince one another of a future course of action. As US diplomats are known to say, "It is what it is".

It's not entirely implausible, however, that Pakistan that could be the subject of a lot more discussion. Why? Setting aside the fact that Nepal has almost nothing to do with Pakistan in a bilateral sense, both countries are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc). And there's a Saarc Summit coming up in under two months (9 and 10 November) in Islamabad.

It may be recalled that the Saarc Summit in Kathmandu in 2014 was paralysed by Modi and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's near-refusal to even acknowledge each other (publicly). Saarc, as a whole, has fallen victim to the India-Pakistan spat. The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) has flattered to deceive (for want of a gentler phrase). Most of the agreements signed between the eight-nation bloc remain on paper alone. And that's without even factoring in the latest development in the South Asian soap opera.

Pakistan has always been vocal in international fora about its perceptions of Kashmir  to whom it belongs, what it suffers, who is to blame etc. It's only in recent times that India has taken to these very fora to voice its complaints against Pakistan for fomenting terror in the region, supporting militancy in Kashmir and Islamabad's human rights violations in Balochistan. The latter is a very recent development  popping up most notably a month ago (to the day) during Modi's Independence Day speech at the Red Fort.

If the equation between New Delhi and Islamabad wasn't vitiated enough, these developments have resulted in a further deterioration of ties. After the warm meeting with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, Modi will be keen to have an equally feel-good meeting with Prachanda, wherein some agreements (favourable to Nepal) can be signed, possibly in exchange for Kathmandu's cooperation, if not support, at the Saarc Summit. And with Afghanistan and Nepal on board, there's a chance Pakistan could be further isolated in Saarc.

By appearing to be the only one standing in the way of the bloc's progress, the perception of Pakistan will worsen internationally, to India's benefit. Schadenfreude does after all, play a major role in international relations.

And with Saarc in mind, don't be surprised if a Modi meeting with Maithripala Sirisena is right around the corner. For now though, he must focus on winning back the trust of Nepal.
Manila: Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament Thursday, in explosive allegations against the Philippine president.

The self-described assassin told a Senate hearing that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people over 25 years on Duterte's orders  one of them fed alive to a crocodile.

Many of the others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said has left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Duterte's spokesman said the allegations had already been investigated without charges being filed while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony "mere hearsay" of "a madman".

Matobato said that in 1993, he and other members of the death squad were on a mission when they approached a Davao road blocked by the vehicle of an agent from the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation.

A confrontation led to a shootout that left the agent wounded and out of bullets. Rodrigo Duterte, the Davao mayor at the time, then arrived on the scene, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. Jamisola (the justice department official) was still alive when he (Duterte) arrived. He emptied two Uzi (submachine gun) magazines on him."

"I didn't kill anyone unless ordered by Charlie Mike," he said, telling the senate it was the death squad's coded reference to Duterte, who was then mayor of the southern city of Davao, using the phonetic alphabet.

Residents used to refer to Duterte as CM, standing for city mayor.

'Like chickens'

Matobato's testimony fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind a death squad that killed more than a thousand people in Davao, where he was mayor for most of the past two decades.

"Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis," said Matobato.

"The people of Davao were being slaughtered like chicken," he said, adding the death squad killed mainly criminal suspects and personal enemies of the Duterte family between 1988 and 2013.

Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, said he doubted that the then mayor could have ordered the killing of 1,000 people.

"I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that. The Commission on Human Rights already investigated this a long time ago and no charges were filed," he said.

Another spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the allegations needed to be properly scrutinised.

"Whatever testimonies, statements that the chairperson (of the Senate committee) are saying, we will have to have a proper investigation regarding that."

Duterte, who took office more than two months ago, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill thousands of criminals.

Matobato said the death squad received orders either directly from Duterte or from active-duty Davao police officers assigned to the mayor's office.

Many of the victims were abducted by members of the group who introduced themselves as police officers, then taken to a local quarry where they were killed and buried, he added.

"The officers told us ordinary killings won't do. They are sadists," he said, describing how the victims were strangled.

"Then we'd remove their clothes, burn the bodies and chop them up," Matobato said, adding that he had personally killed "about 50" people.

'Disembowelled bodies'

The bodies of other victims were disembowelled and dropped at sea, while others were left on Davao streets, their hands made to clutch a handgun, he added.

One of the victims was a foreign man suspected of being an "international terrorist", another was the boyfriend of Duterte's sister.

One was Davao broadcaster Jun Pala, who constantly criticised Duterte, four were bodyguards of a local rival, while two were enemies of Duterte's son Paolo, who is now Davao vice mayor, Matobato said.

In response, Paolo Duterte called Matobato's testimony "mere hearsay". "I will not dignify with an answer the accusations of a madman."

President Duterte has earlier denied ordering Pala's 2003 Davao ambush but described him as an extortionist and a "rotten son of a bitch" who "deserved it". The comments were roundly denounced by the UN and rights watchdogs.

De Lima said the rights body later dug up several skeletons of unidentified people at the Davao quarry.

She said the Senate committee's findings would be referred to the Philippine Ombudsman, although she acknowledged sitting presidents are immune from prosecution and could only be removed through impeachment.

Matobato said the death squad "tortured" him when he asked to leave the group in 2013, prompting him to surrender to the justice department's witness protection programme.

However Matobato said he left the programme and went into hiding when Duterte won the presidency.

Asked why he left the death squad, he replied: "I am bothered by my conscience."
In today's world, women need tech  and tech needs women.

These words shared by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in her recent Facebook post was the gist of the innovative Women in Product community event.

Over 350 women from the tech industry attended this conference. With the idea of Bringing together women who build, the purpose of this meet up was to have women in product management to learn from one another.



This event by women, for women had a pretty impressive line-up, with industry heavyweights like Frederique Dame, Product and Engineering Manager at Uber, Deborah Liu, Facebook director of product management for monetization, Julia Hartz, Co-Founder and CEO at Eventbrite and many others. From all different backgrounds, the speakers shared their inspiring stories and exchanged ideas and actionable advice to strengthen their products and leadership skills.

As to how Women in Product came to fruition, Product Managers (PMs) from Facebook would often host a series of dinners for women PMs throughout the industry. It was a great opportunity to connect, and build a community. During one of the dinners, there was a discussion on who would attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. The women realised that there was no such event for Product Managers and the rest is history.

The inaugural event was held at San Francisco, where participants got to interact with industry leaders for free. Sheryl Sandberg has been a leading voice in creating more communities like these for women through LeanIn.Org, a global community committed to empowering all women to achieve their ambitions.

In case you wish to know what would ensue in the Women in Product event, heres a TED talk by Sandberg where she gives three powerful pieces of advice to women to reach the top of their professions.


Washington: In a trove of newly leaked emails, former Secretary of State Colin Powell calls Donald Trump "a national disgrace" and suggests his own Republican Party is "crashing and burning."

Powell also laments Hillary Clinton's attempt to equate her use of private email at the State Department with his.

The emails, posted on the website DCLeaks.com and first reported by Buzzfeed News late Tuesday, offer insight into the unvarnished opinions of the respected retired Army general who was secretary of state under President George W Bush. The messages run from March 2015 through last month.

Powell, 79, did not respond Wednesday to a phone message or email seeking comment. He earlier told BuzzFeed that he does not deny the emails' authenticity.

In the emails, Powell said he stayed relatively quiet during the rise of Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. "To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him," Powell said.

To a former aide he writes, "No need to debate it with you now, but Trump is a national disgrace and an international pariah."

He also criticised Trump for backing the false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

"All his lies and nonsense just pile up," Powell wrote. "I just go back to the unforgivable one. Trying to destroy the President elected by the American people with his fictitious investigation into this source of birth. Absolutely disgraceful."

Powell, a Republican, also suggests frustration with the state of the nation's politics.

"We all need to start voting for America and not our parties," Powell writes. "Trump is taking on water. He doesn't have a GOP philosophy or even a Conservative philosophy. We need a revolution and it will begin with the GOP crashing and burning up its current form."

DCLeaks.com has been alleged to be an outlet for hackers tied to the Russian intelligence groups. The website, which says it intends to expose the misuse of political power, has previously released emails from other Washington political figures.

The release of Powell's emails is the latest in a string of leaks that appear intended to influence the 2016 presidential election. The FBI is investigating how thousands of Democratic National Committee emails were hacked and released, an embarrassing breach that Clinton's campaign maintains was committed by Russia to benefit Trump.

Powell's leaked messages include his thoughts on Clinton's lingering email woes. He criticised Clinton aides for tying him into the controversy over the Democratic nominee's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Powell has acknowledged using a private email account with both senior US officials and for back-channel communications with foreign dignitaries. Clinton used a private email server located in the basement of her New York home.

Powell wrote that he had told Clinton's "minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try." In another spot, he declared of Clinton that "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris."

The messages contain comments that reflect that he, too, sought to use private email as a way to avoid creating documents retained by the government. Decrying "friggin record rules," Powell wrote that he "saw email more like a telephone than a cable machine."

Congressional Democrats have seized on the use of a private email addresses by Powell and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a foil for Republican attacks on Clinton. By suggesting that he didn't view work conducted via private email as a permanent government record, Powell could offer those Democrats additional ammunition.

In May, Powell messaged with a former colleague as the State Department's inspector general prepared to release a report critical of both his and Clinton's use of private email to conduct government business.

"Wow, I didn't follow rules," Powell wrote. "I only revolutionised the information system in the entire State Department. ... I think I'll bash the Department tomorrow. Fifteen years later they come up with this. ... Thanks Hillary."
Sydney: A wing flap that washed ashore on an island off Tanzania has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian officials said on Thursday.

The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had previously said it was highly likely to have come from the missing Boeing 777. An analysis by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, subsequently confirmed the part was indeed from the aircraft, the agency said in a statement.

Several pieces of wreckage suspected to have come from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on 8 March, 2014.

The wing flap brings to five the number of pieces of debris the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has determined are almost certainly, or are definitely, from Flight 370. Another piece of wing found a year ago on La Reunion Island, near Madagascar, was positively identified by French officials.

Search officials expect more wreckage to wash up in the months ahead. But so far, none of the debris has helped narrow down the precise location of the main underwater wreckage.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau anticipates search crews will complete their sweep of the 120,000-square kilometer (46,000-square mile) search zone in the Indian Ocean off Australia's west coast by December.

Meanwhile, oceanographers have been analyzing the wing flaps from La Reunion and Tanzania in the hope of identifying a possible new search area through drift modeling. But a new search would require a new funding commitment, with Malaysia, Australia and China agreeing in July that the $160 million hunt will be suspended once the current stretch of ocean is exhausted unless new evidence emerges that would pinpoint a specific location of the aircraft.

Earlier this week, relatives of some of the passengers on board the plane met with officials from the transport bureau and asked that more potential debris found around the Indian Ocean be examined. The families believe those items may help provide clues to the plane's location.
Manila, Philippines: A former Filipino militiaman testified before the country's Senate on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings and acknowledged he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including a man who they fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao city.

The Senate committee inquiry was being led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June. Duterte has accused de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.

The hearing was briefly halted so senators could discuss how to provide security for Matobato because of the explosive nature of his allegations.

"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Matobato said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Duterte's time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of real evidence.

There was no immediate reaction from Duterte, who has denied any role in extra-judicial killings when he was the longtime mayor of Davao and after he assumed the presidency in June.

Matobato said the victims in Davao allegedly ranged from petty criminals to people associated with Duterte's political opponents, and included a wealthy businessman who was killed in central Cebu province because of a feud with Duterte's son over a woman.

Some of the victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three unmarked graves, he said, adding some were disposed of in the sea with their stomachs cut open so they would not float and would be eaten by fish right away.

"They were killed like chickens," said Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection program.

He left the program when Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed.
The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was proclaimed as 16 September in 1994 by the UN General Assembly. The day was selected to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

The theme for Ozone Day 2016 is Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united. It recognises the collective efforts of the parties to the Vienna convention and the Montreal Protocol towards the restoration of the ozone layer.

What was the Montreal Protocol?

The Montreal Protocol is an international agreement signed in September 1987 by 24 countries and the European Economic Community at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. It is designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. The treaty was subsequently amended in 1990 and 1992.

The agreement called for the parties to phase out the use of chloro-flouro carbons (CFCs), halons and other man-made ODCs.

According to the Department of the Environment and Energy of the Australian government, the Montreal Protocol sets binding progressive phase out obligations for developed and developing countries for all the major ozone depleting substances.

What was the Vienna Convention?

In 1985, representatives of 43 states concluded the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in Vienna. Although the members agreed to cooperate by means of systematic observations, research and information exchange in order to better understand and assess the effects of human activities on the ozone layer, the Convention did not specify how to reach the goal.

The focus was to lay down a framework to encourage cooperation through research and exchange of information. The hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica was also detected in 1985.

Since then, the ozone layer depletion has become a matter of concern.

What is the status of the ozone layer now?

According to a report by The Telegraph, researchers from the University of Leeds and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, have confirmed the first signs of an increase of ozone.

Science journal reports that some observations indicate towards the healing of the Antarctic ozone layer. It also states that the average size of the ozone hole has shrunk more than 1.7 million square miles since 2000.

The ozone layer is expected to recover in response, albeit very slowly, the reasearchers wrote. According to a CNN report, the researchers estimated that the ozone-depleting gases peaked in 1990s but have been declining ever since.

Another study published by researchers from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says that the recovery is entirely due to political determination to phase out the man-made CFC gases destroying ozone.

It also claims that the ozone layer is on the track to recovery. Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014 says that "Without the Montreal Protocol and associated agreements, atmospheric levels of ozone depleting substances could have increased tenfold by 2050."

However, the hole is expected to be permanently closed by 2050 now. The Telegraph quoted Professor Susan Solomon of MIT as saying, We can now be confident that the things weve done have put the planet on a path to heal.
Fringe-lipped bat . Credit: Alexander T. Baugh

Like many predators, the fringe-lipped bat primarily uses its hearing to find its prey, but with human-generated noise on the rise, scientists are examining how bats and other animals might adapt to find their next meal. According to a new study, when noise masks the mating calls of the bat's prey, tungara frogs, the bat shifts to another sensory modeecholocation.

Echolocation is a way of sensing objects and movement by scanning the environment with high frequency sounds and evaluating the reflections. Studying the ability or inability of animals to shift sensory modes could be important in understanding how to protect threatened or endangered species.

The work appears this week in the journal Science.

Mike Ryan, a professor of integrative biology at The University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study, says the bats are doing something similar to what we do at a noisy party. Amid all the conversations, we can turn our attention to one speaker and tune out the rest.

"If there's just one person talking and it's quiet, all we have to do is listen with our ears," says Ryan. "But if there are more and more people talking, we have to be looking at them to figure out what each person is saying. So we have to recruit this other sensory channel we have, our eyes, to help us figure out what we're hearing."

In this case, the bats are shifting from detecting one kind of soundthe low frequency mating calls produced by the frogsto the high frequency sounds emitted by the bat to navigate and hunt with echolocation. Unfortunately for the frogs, when they produce mating calls, they're really sending two signals: the sound intended to attract females and the movement of their vocal sacs, which inflate quickly like a balloon.

The researchers speculate that predators that can shift their sensory mode will do better in noisy environments, and this in turn might alter the long-term success of specific predator and prey species.

"Our study ties together behavior, sensory ecology and conservation," says Dylan Gomes, the lead author who conducted the research during an internship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. "As sources of anthropogenic noise continue to expand, animals will ultimately have to face noise in one way or another."

Research into the effects of human-generated noise on animal behavior has primarily focused on birds and whales, says Gomes, who is now a Fulbright scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology. The impact of noise on bats, however, is a relatively new field of study.

The team used two robotic frogs that precisely mimic the calls and vocal sac expansion of the tungara frog. The robofrogs were placed inside a flight cage with the fringe-lipped bat. One robofrog played the frog's distinct mating call, with the other playing the call and expanding its robotic vocal sac. When the researchers played a masking noise over the call, the hunting bat's echolocation activity increased and it more often attacked the frog emitting both signals than the frog emitting just mating calls. Without the masking sound, the bat attacked both frogs equally.

"We show how animals can adapt to increased noise levels by making use of their other senses, which has important implications for other species that try to find prey, avoid predators or attract mates in human-impacted environments," says Wouter Halfwerk, a professor at VU University Amsterdam and a former postdoctoral researcher in Ryan's lab.

Halfwerk helped design the experiment and was Gomes' co-adviser. Smithsonian Tupper fellow Inga Geipel, who specializes in echolocation and studies how bats navigate and hunt in the rain, contributed her technical expertise to the research. The study was carried out under the guidance of STRI staff scientist Rachel Page, and Ryan, a long-time STRI research associate. Page worked previously as a graduate student in Ryan's lab.

More information: D. G. E. Gomes et al. Bats perceptually weight prey cues across sensory systems when hunting in noise, Science (2016). Journal information: Science D. G. E. Gomes et al. Bats perceptually weight prey cues across sensory systems when hunting in noise,(2016). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf7934
The head of House Judiciary Committee is calling for a vote on a bill co-authored by him and U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho that would limit the number of refugees allowed into the United States.

Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte put out a news release Tuesday after Secretary of State John Kerry told him that the Obama administration plans to raise the ceiling on the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. from 85,000 this fiscal year to 110,000 for the 2017 fiscal year, and to bring in more refugees from Syria.

Goodlatte said the U.S. must remain compassionate toward refugees but that the program is in need of reform.

"Unfortunately, President Obama unilaterally increases the number of refugees resettled in the United States each year and gives little thought as to how it will impact local communities," Goodlatte said. "The President also continues to ignore warnings from his own national security officials and plans to bring in even more Syrian refugees over the next year."

The Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act that Goodlatte and Labrador, who is vice chairman of the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee, co-authored would set that ceiling at 60,000 refugees a year, and while the president could request an increase Congress would have to approve it. It would also let states and communities opt out of the refugee program, prioritize some claims of religious persecution in deciding who to allow into the U.S. and require some tightening of security and screening. The bill passed House Judiciary 18-9 in March but hasn't come to a full House vote.

"Given that the Obama administration continues to tune out the American peoples concerns on this issue, its time for Congress to take up this legislation so that the refugee program works in their best interest," Goodlatte said.

The issue of refugee resettlement in general has gotten greater attention in the U.S. and worldwide due to the millions of people who have been displaced by the civil war in Syria, with some Republicans supporting more limits on refugee resettlement  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called late last year for a ban on Muslims entering the country, a stance he has since modified to temporarily suspending immigration from countries where terrorism is a major threat  and some Democrats calling on the U.S. to let in more Syrian refugees than we are.

Twin Falls and Boise are the two refugee resettlement sites in Idaho, and a movement to close down the refugee center in Twin Falls, which is run by the College of Southern Idaho, started last year after news came out that some Syrians could be among the refugees to be resettled in Twin. A ballot measure to close down the refugee center died after failing to get enough signatures this spring, but the issue came back to the front burner locally in June after news came out about a 5-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted at the Fawnbrook Apartments by three boys from refugee families.
Drivers  The Twin Falls Senior Center needs drivers to deliver meals to homebound seniors in Twin Falls Monday through Friday, and the routes take an hour or less to complete. Commitment is based on your availability. Volunteers must be 18 years of age with their own car, and have proof of liability insurance and a background check. Drivers receive 54 cents a mile fuel reimbursement. Information: 208-734-5084.

Volunteers  The Senior Companion Program at the CSI Office on Aging needs volunteers, age 55 and older, to assist homebound seniors by providing friendly visits and transportation as needed. Information: Marisol, 208-736-2122, or toll free, 800-574-8656.

Volunteers  The Foster Grandparent Program at the CSI Office on Aging has openings for volunteers, age 55 and older, to read to children ages 2 to 9 and assist with their academic and social skills. Placements are available throughout the Magic Valley in Head Start programs and public elementary schools. Information: Marisol, 208-736-2122 or toll free, 800-574-8656.

Volunteers  The Fifth Judicial District CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Program is seeking community volunteers to become advocates for abused children. Advocates receive training and support to investigate, report, monitor and advocate for children involved in the child protection system. Advocates are needed in all eight counties of the district, but it is critical to the program to recruit volunteers in the Mini Cassia area. Information: Tahna, 208-735-1177.

Drivers  The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteer drivers for its Road to Recovery program in Twin Falls. Volunteers will drive patients to and from medical treatments. Commitment is flexible. Information: 1-800-227-2345.

Volunteers  Hospice Visions Inc. is looking for volunteers to visit with patients and their families, do minor home modifications such as grab bars, and also volunteer Light Touch Massage therapists, hair dressers, meal assist volunteers, and to play music and games with hospice patients. Volunteers are needed with licensed certified therapy animals to love our hospice patients in their own homes or assisted living centers. Hospice Visions is looking for volunteers interested in doing art projects with patients or filming and creating a Life Legacy Video, or to take someone to the store, run an errand or out for a drive. Veterans can become a Vet-to-Vet Volunteer and visit with other veterans. Volunteers are also needed to assist with fundraising events and provide office assistance. Information: Nora at 208-735-0121 or nwells@hospicevisions.org.

Volunteers  St. Lukes Home Health and Hospice is looking for new volunteers to join its team to share compassion and care and increase the quality of life for patients and their families. The program is designed to offer companionship and socialization to patients as well as respite and support for the caregivers. Information: Marie Sharp, 208-814-7603 or sharpm@slhs.org.

Volunteers  The Twin Falls Senior Center has a ladies group (The Crazy Quilters), who are looking for individuals to put finishing touches on quilts as a group while socializing. The group meets from 9 a.m. to noon every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. All quilt project proceeds are given to the Twin Falls Senior Center. Information: 208-734-5084.
BURLEY  An electrical fire in an attic Wednesday evening left a Burley family displaced for the night.

Burley Fire Chief Shannon Tolman said the home at 1659 Miller Ave. is owned by Samuel Briano.

No one was injured.

The call came into the fire station just before 6 p.m. Firefighters came in through the front door and saw flames in a vent. The firefighters tore some ceiling out to make sure the fire was doused.

It was caused by an electric short in the ceiling, Tolman said.

The fire was under control in five minutes, he said, and firefighters were done by 7 p.m.

There was no smoke damage to the home because the fire was contained in the ceiling. The damage was limited to the dining room area.

The family had to leave the home because the firefighters cut off the electricity and gas to make sure it was safe.

The family had a place to stay so Red Cross was not called.

There were no smoke detectors in the home so the fire department donated detectors to the family.

Im really glad it didnt happen in the middle of the night with no smoke detectors in the home, Tolman said. Sometimes with attic fires they can burn and burn with no smoke inside the house and then the ceiling just drops down on you.
TWIN FALLS  When Abi Sanford heard about a new after-school group for teenagers, she jumped at the chance to apply.

During the programs first meeting Tuesday, the 15-year-old told the group shes super excited about the offering at the College of Southern Idahos Herrett Center for Arts and Science.

I really like learning about things, especially things that will make me a better person, she said.

The Herrett Center launched a new 12-week program this fall for teenagers. The After School Teen Community for the Humanities will meet for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

The free program  open to students in ninth through 12th grades  is funded by an Idaho Humanities Council grant.

It will focus on the humanities, including discussions about south-central Idahos history, archaeology and culture.

Herrett Center education coordinator Laura Browarny described the format of sessions as a guided chat. Its very much not like coming to class, she said.

Its also a chance to help teenagers develop life skills such as good communication and being respectful of others opinions.

Teenagers will delve into topics such as the internment of Japanese-Americans following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Some topics to be discussed, Browarny said, often arent covered in school or are glossed over.

Its important for students to have differences, she said. Were going to learn how to speak respectfully about these tough topics.

Teenagers will hear presentations from guest speakers. Theyll also go on field trips, including to the Minidoka National Historic Site, Massacre Rocks State Park, Idaho Museum of Natural Historys archaeology collection, Jerome County Historical Society, Stricker Ranch and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum.

The 11 participants had to apply to get into the program.

Its considered an extracurricular activity that will be a good addition on their resumes, Browarny said.

The program culminates with a reception Dec. 2, where students give tours of the Herrett Center to their friends and family.

Before the first session Tuesday, Browarny said she was excited to meet the teenagers. Weve got a really diverse program coming in, she said.

She expected the first gathering would be quiet and awkward as students met for the first time.

Students hail from across the Magic Valley, and represent Twin Falls High School, Canyon Ridge High School, Xavier Charter School and Lighthouse Christian School. A few are homeschooled or enrolled in virtual academies.

Browarny moved from New York City to the Magic Valley nearly a year ago. She was hired as the Herrett Centers education coordinator.

She started looking at ways to reinvigorate or start new programs.

A lot of the Herrett Centers programming is geared toward younger children or adults, she said. The high schoolers seem to be the missing piece.

She wanted to create a program to fill that gap.

On Tuesday afternoon, seven teenagers made name tags for their tables out of thick, colorful paper. Bowls were set out with carrots, popcorn and cookies.

The time was spent mostly on ice breakers, talking about what community means and what falls under the category of humanities.

One participant is from China and has spent about five years in the United States. Others in the group have lived in the Magic Valley for most or all of their lives.

Elizabeth Newland, 14, told the group she has been in Idaho for three years after living in Ohio and Florida. Her mother saw an announcement about the teen program.

Browarny explained the purpose of the program to the teenagers and what theyd be talking about.

Were mostly going to hang out and talk about what it means to live in southern Idaho, she said, and how to shape its future.

Browarny told the group she hopes it will be a safe place to share opinions. Were going to practice having an open mind.
BOISE  Seniors at Idahos public high schools will start receiving news this week on whether theyve been accepted to the states public colleges and universities.

The Idaho Board of Education launched its direct admissions initiative in 2015. Its focused on boosting the rate of students who continue their education beyond high school.

The Direct Admissions program is a recognition that Idahos high school graduates are ready for college, board executive director Matt Freeman said in a statement Wednesday.

We want students and their families to know that the Board and our colleges and universities believe in them, and were excited to help make the decision to further ones education a little easier and keep talented students in our state.

After last years letters went out, the states colleges and universities saw increased interest from Idaho high schoolers.

And initial reports from campuses this fall indicate a statewide increase in resident freshman students.

Direct Admissions letters are being mailed nearly two months earlier than in 2015 due, in part, to changes in the federal financial aid process.

Students and their families can start filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in October, using figures from 2015 tax returns.

To coincide with direct admissions mailing, the board also released an enhanced version of its website, NextSteps.Idaho.gov.

Seniors and their families can access information about what to do with acceptance letters. And students in grades 8-12 can learn about career options, how to earn college credits while in high school, financial aid and planning for their future.
TWIN FALLS  Hollywood stuntman Eddie Braun, who, within days, will attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon, held a press conference Wednesday to answer questions about the upcoming stunt.

What time will the rocket be launched?

The launch is set for Saturday but without a scheduled time. If conditions are right, the launch could happen as early as Friday or as late as Sunday. No live broadcast is planned, and there will be no advance announcement of the countdown. It will take four hours for enough steam to build up for rocket to launch.

What will I be able to see?

Not much, unless, by chance, you happen to catch sight of the rocket in flight. Both the launch and landing sites are on private property. The private event will be attended mostly by film crews and staff.

Idaho State Police will be patrolling Idaho Highway 50 near the Hansen bridge to keep traffic moving. ISP electronic reader boards will be in place reminding people not to trespass on private property. Parking will not be allowed on the highway, on the bridge or in the right-of-way. Sheriffs Offices in Jerome and Twin Falls counties plan to step up patrols on the rural roads.

How fast will the rocket go?

The steam-powered rocket will reach a speed of 430 mph.

How high will the rocket go?

The rocket will run out of steam about 3.9 seconds into the jump, which should put it at 2,200 feet over the canyon. On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration gave the jump official clearance.

How far will the rocket go?

The rocket will cross the canyon at an angle, and Braun will have to clear 1,600 feet to land safely  the same distance that Evel Knievel attempted to clear. How far the rocket actually travels will depend on the wind.

From whose property will the rocket be launched?

The Evel Spirit will launch from Kelly Klostermans property in Jerome County.

Where will the rocket land?

If all goes as planned, the rocket will fall to the ground on Chuck Coiners farmland in Twin Falls County.

What if something goes wrong?

Emergency crews will be on hand in the landing zone and in the canyon.

Who is Eddie Braun?

Braun, 54, is a stuntman who lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Braun has a wife and four children, ages 12 to 19, and has been a professional stuntman in television and films for more than 30 years.

Will Braun retire after this stunt?

Braun says the jump will signify the beginning of the end of his stunt career.

Why is Braun making this jump?

Braun says this jump is to pay homage to Evel Knievel, who inspired him to become a stuntman.

I get a chance to fulfill the dream of my hero, Braun said.

The jump is also a love letter to his children, he says. If he can achieve his goal with integrity, it will encourage his kids to push through any obstacle to go after their own goals.
TWIN FALLS  The Times-News received an outstanding news team award Thursday from the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

Reporters Julie Wootton, Alex Riggins and Nathan Brown were recognized during a ceremony at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. The event was a kickoff for Hispanic Heritage Month.

The award was for coverage of Jerome resident Guadalupe Eudabe and her family as they searched for answers after her 2-year-old son, Damian Garcia Eudabe, was hit and killed by a pickup in September 2014 outside the familys home.

Her story was told in the Times-News 2015 special reporting project on Jeromes growing Hispanic population, El Nuevo Jerome, and through coverage of court proceedings.

Wootton and Brown learned about Eudabe and her family while knocking on doors in Jeromes Stoney Ridge subdivision to interview residents for El Nuevo Jerome. They relied on volunteer interpreters to communicate with Eudabe.

Without the reporting teams persistence  hours spent meeting people and building trust  we might never have made contact with Eudabes family or gained such intimate insight into the accidents effects in the Stoney Ridge neighborhood, said Enterprise Editor Virginia Hutchins, who led the El Nuevo Jerome project.

Riggins, who speaks Spanish, communicated with the family while he covered the court case in the following months.

Wendell resident Bernave Avila-Romero was charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death. He was arraigned Aug. 31, 2015, almost a year after Damians death on Jeromes 21st Avenue East.

Prosecutors dropped the case against Avila-Romero in January. Sergio Garcia, the 2-year-olds father, told the Times-News that month that prosecutors said there wasnt enough evidence.

Jerome County Prosecutor John Horgan failed to respond to numerous questions by reporters, so its unclear whether his office intends to pursue new charges.

In May, the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs visited Eudabe during a visit to Jerome to gauge how schools, government agencies and nonprofits are reaching out to the Hispanic community.

Other award recipients during Thursdays ceremony were Irma Morin (The Martha A. Torrez Humanitarian Award), Norma Pintar (The Zerelda Quintana Mujer del Ano Award), University of Idaho President Chuck Staben (Amigo del Ano), Jamie Delavan (Amiga del Ano) and Deni Hawkins of KBOI 2News in Boise (Reporter of the Year).
The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:

After a late-summer surge, the Obama administration has met its goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016. The Republican House Freedom Caucus considers that 10,000 too many, preferring to stop resettling Syrians until the administration can assure no terrorists or individuals with radical sympathies or views will be admitted.

Such fears are largely misplaced. Few, if any, classes of travelers to the U.S. face greater scrutiny. Nevertheless, the process for admitting refugees from Syria can be tightened. And at least as important, the process of integrating them into American life can be improved.

To see how, its worth revisiting who these newcomers are and how they have made it here. Three-quarters have come via the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which selected them from among the most vulnerable people languishing in refugee camps. Indeed, four-fifths of this years arrivals have been women and children; nearly half are under 18. That said, the possibility remains that some of the rest might be Islamic State recruits such as those who have blended into the refugee masses flowing toward Europe.

But consider the months-long gauntlet they would have had to run  including face-to-face interviews with officers from the Department of Homeland Security, medical exams, screening through intelligence databases, and case referrals back in Washington. A terrorist leader looking to infiltrate operatives into the U.S. could no doubt find easier ways.

No screening process is foolproof, of course  especially, as FBI Director James Comey has pointed out, when youre dealing with people fleeing a war zone. Homeland Security needs more Arabic speakers to conduct interviews, and once refugees have arrived in the U.S., law enforcement and intelligence agencies could look harder for signs of radicalization and other trouble. The possibility that some newcomers might do harm exists among all immigrant groups, after all.

Its also essential that the U.S. ensure that all the newcomers are successfully integrated, especially with the nation increasingly polarized by their arrival. For starters, the State Department needs to step up its efforts to ensure that local stakeholders are consulted on resettlement targets.

The U.S. planned to resettle 85,000 refugees from around the world this fiscal year, up from 70,000 the previous year; Secretary of State John Kerry just announced that next year, the U.S. proposes to admit 110,000. But funding for refugee assistance hasnt kept up, in part because its based on past admissions. Considering the traumas Syrians have experienced, especially the children, more support is needed for mental health care and remedial education. Both the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services should begin collecting comprehensive data about which strategies and programs work best.

The benefits of such efforts flow both ways: Refugees go to the considerable strain of moving to the U.S. because they seek opportunities to work hard and improve their lives. Thus, they can be a boon to their new communities  creating jobs, stabilizing shrinking school districts, revitalizing blighted neighborhoods, and helping communities thrive.

On the other hand, consider the costs of denying entry to any more Syrian refugees. It would feed Islamic States narrative that the U.S. is anti-Muslim, and weaken Americas global leadership. Set next to the nearly half-million Syrian refugees the United Nations says need to be resettled over the next three years, 10,000 is a pretty modest figure. Set against the more than 3 million refugees the U.S. has admitted since 1975, it seems very small indeed.
MP Fouad al-Saad, member of the Parliamentary Democratic Gathering bloc, has called on the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) bloc to forgo their planned street rallies on 28 September and 7 October to pressure political parties to respect the National Pact in order to elect a president and appoint senior military officials.

Saad said the FPM should be focusing on achieving its objectives through consensus and compromises rather than seeking for solutions in the streets which could cause chaos.

Jebran Bassil, FPMs leader, claimed that they would topple the government with the rallies and said other parties should join them to uphold the partnership and the National Pact. The 1943 National Pact is an unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state based on Christian-Muslim partnership.

Saad accused Bassil of hiding behind the constitution and the Christian rights to shoot, with the support of Hezbollah, at everyone who disrupts the election of General Aoun as a president. He pointed out that Christian rights start with electing a new president; however, it doesnt end by doubting the Christianity of the Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji. The latters term has ended in the military but the cabinet cant agree on whether to extend it or not. Meanwhile sources have also stated that Hezbollah is yet to decide on taking part in the street rallies.

MP Saad warned that escalating tensions will not make Michel Aoun president and Prime Minister Salam will continue to steer the affairs of the state until a president is elected.

Lebanon has been without a president for more than two years and the situation has raised concerns that it could lead to a failed state as there are no signs of political parties reaching a consensus to elect a Maronite Christian as president.
Germany closed its embassy, consular services and schools in Turkey on Thursday until September 16 as a precautionary measure because of fears of reprisals after Der Spiegel in its Tuesday issue published a cover photo of President Erdogan with the heading The Dictator and A country loses its freedom.

Ankara reacted through spokesman Tanju Bilgic of the Foreign Ministry who described it as an extremely provocative issue meant to create a negative perception, not only about Turkey but also Islam.

The featured picture of the Turkish president showed him wearing sunglasses with the reflection of two mosques on it. The minarets of the said mosques were distorted into lifting-off rockets thereby triggering strong criticism.

Bilgic condemned the newspapers attempts to smear a president democratically elected and stressed that the Tuesdays issue is a new manifestation of the distorted and prejudiced mindset that aimed to corrode the countrys image after the July 15 coup attempt that led to a major crackdown on alleged loyalists of Fethullah Gulen.

Berlin has not commented on the matter. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have soured over the past months.

The closure of the German embassy, consular services and schools is linked to information about a contingency attack, according to Bild. This is not the first time the Germans have closed the embassy. Back in March, the school and embassy was closed following a terror threat warning that was not conclusively verifiable.
Abraham Verghese, MD, professor of medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, was awarded a National Humanities Medal, the White House announced.

President Barack Obama conferred the medal at a White House ceremony Sept. 22.

Abraham Verghese is not only an exemplary clinician, he is an exemplary humanist, said Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Every day in the classroom, he teaches his students that professions such as medicine benefit from an understanding of the human condition. We are so proud that his breadth of scholarship has been recognized with this honor.

Inaugurated in 1997, the National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nations understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities subjects, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities website. As many as 12 medals are awarded each year.

The organization said Verghese received the medal "for reminding us that the patient is the center of the medical enterprise. His range of proficiency embodies the diversity of the humanities; from his efforts to emphasize empathy in medicine, to his imaginative renderings of the human drama."

I am humbled and excited by this honor, said Verghese, who is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor. The names of previous recipients include writers I most admire. Its a wonderful affirmation of a path that in the early years I wasnt sure was the right path, even though it was one I felt compelled to follow.
The US government on Tuesday lifted economic sanctions imposed on Cote dIvoire in 2006 by the former president Georges Bush, citing advancing democracy in the West African nation in the last few years.

The President (Obama) determined that Cote dIvoires advances in restoring peace and democracy and developing its political, administrative, and economic institutions represent significant improvements since President Bush declared the national emergency in 2006, the US Department of State said in a statement.

According to the statement, the West African country had made great progress since the political crisis of 2010  2011. The US said it was optimistic of lasting peace and inclusive prosperity in the Ivory Coast.

Cote dIvoire is continuing the vital work of national reconciliation and security sector reform, which includes professionalizing its security forces and reintegrating former combatants and refugees, the Department of State noted.

We will continue to support the people and government of Cote dIvoire in their efforts to strengthen the countrys democratic institutions and to pursue economic reforms that will ensure long-term development and shared prosperity for all Ivorians, the statement concluded.

The French-speaking West Africas largest economy is expected to post an average growth of 7.4 percent between 2017 and 2020 after reaching 8.5 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said.

The GDP of the worlds top cocoa grower expanded by 8.6 percent in 2015, the IMF said.
Thousands of pro-Ali Bongo supporters took to the streets in Gabons capital Libreville on Wednesday to support the incumbent president after his re-election in the August 27th polls was contested by his main challenger Jean Ping.

The group that comprised members of the Youth Union of the Gabonese ruling Democratic Party (PDG) marched peacefully in the streets of the capital accompanied by anti-riot police.

Claims have been made against us, challenging the election of our candidate Ali Bongo Ondimba. Our first duty is to prove that these allegations are baseless and then we will also show elsewhere there have been unclear things which are reproachable to our opponents, Faustin Boukoubi, the secretary general of the PDG was quoted by local media as saying.

Dispute over the elections result has led to riots that resulted in the killing of at least six people by security forces and had brought an unwelcomed international scrutiny for the country.

The African Union said it plans to send observers to help Gabons constitutional court with the legal complaint lodged by opposition leader, Jean Ping who accused President Ali Bongo of rigging the August 27 elections to his favor.

Jean Pings appeal is asking to authorize a recount of a province that is Bongos stronghold, but has said he has no faith in the judicial body because of its ties to the Bongo family.
Credit: Robert Kraft/public domain

Engaging in fantasy play could benefit creative thinking in children suggests a study presented today at the British Psychological Society's Developmental Psychology Section annual conference.

Lead researcher Dr Louise Bunce of Oxford Brookes University said: "A growing body of research is investigating the influence of children engaging in fantasy on their development. We wanted to test whether children who engage in fantasy play are more creative. This is because, theoretically, playing in make-believe worlds requires imagination to conceive of the world differently to its current reality, which is also necessary to think creatively."

Dr Bunce and her team interviewed 70 children aged 4-8 years old to assess the extent to which their fantasy play involved :

pretending in a way that mirrored real-life (e.g. having a tea party or pretending to be a teacher)

pretending in a way that involved events that were improbable in reality (e.g. fighting a lion and being unharmed or going to school in a helicopter) or

pretending in a way that involved impossible events (e.g. going to wizarding school or playing with an elf).

The children also completed three creativity tasks. In the first task children had to think of as many things as possible that were red, in the second task they had to demonstrate as many ways as possible of moving across the room from A-B, then the third task asked them to draw a real and pretend person. In the first two tasks children received points for the number of responses they gave and how unique those responses were. Their drawings were rated for their level of creativity according to two judges.

As the researchers expected, analysis revealed that children who reported higher levels of fantastical play also received higher creativity scores across all three tasks, although the findings were stronger on the first two tasks than on the drawing task.

Dr Bunce said: "The results provide evidence that engaging in play that involves imagining increasingly unrealistic scenarios is associated with thinking more creatively, although at the moment we don't know the direction of this relationship. It is possible that children who enjoy fantasy play are subsequently more creative, and it's equally possible that children who are more creative subsequently engage in more fantasy play."

"None the less, these results provide encouraging evidence for parents and teachers who could consider encouraging children to engage in fantasy play as one way to develop their creative thinking skills."

The BPS Developmental Psychology Section annual conference takes place from the 14 to 16 September at the Hilton Belfast, 4 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 3LP.

Explore further How play impacts language learning in toddlers

Provided by British Psychological Society
Last Friday was Rebecca Hertzog Burns' birthday. She turned 2. She says that's her age, though she's really 27. After a relapse in her fight with acute myelogenous leukemia, Burns received a stem cell transplant on Sept. 9, 2014, through an infusion of umbilical cord blood from a baby boy.

By her way of thinking, she and her immune system were reborn that day. "My new birthday," says Burns, who has been in remission since.

The treatment she received at the University of Kansas Hospital falls within a broad spectrum of care called immunotherapy. It is the hot topic, the "it" word, in addressing cancer. While doctors report success combating several types of cancer through different versions of immunotherapy, KU clinicians say some of the most remarkable stories arise in the treatment of blood cancers.

Deadly forms of leukemia and lymphoma, which commonly strike young adults such as Burns, are now managed, and in many cases vanquished, using treatments unavailable just a few years ago.

"In 26 years of practice, this is absolutely the most optimistic I've ever been," said Joseph McGuirk, medical director of KU's blood and marrow transplant program. Patients from around the world travel here to take part in experimental trials.

"It's not hyperbole at all to say we're in the middle of a revolution in cancer therapy," he added.

The idea behind immunotherapy is to coax a patient's own body to attack cancer cells. The way of doing that - in short, by harnessing the immune system to do the work that cancers don't let it do - differs from patient to patient, from cancer to cancer.

For former President Jimmy Carter, suffering from an advanced melanoma that many thought would kill him, the key may have been a "checkpoint inhibitor" drug with the brand name Keytruda.

Carter last year stunned the globe when he announced that his immunotherapy treatment, combined with radiation and surgery, eradicated tumors that had developed in his brain and liver.

Immunotherapy isn't new, but it's getting a lot of attention now for a reason, said McGuirk, a soft-spoken physician reluctant to trumpet medical breakthroughs before they've been proven to work.

"We've reached this critical mass where, kaboom, all of sudden (immunotherapy) has taken off like a rocket," he said.

National news media are jumping aboard, largely because of Carter's success. The U.S. government and drug companies pour billions of dollars into research, and clinical trials underway at KU and hundreds of other facilities have produced strong data.

By itself or in combination with other treatments, immunotherapy is being credited for putting some terminal cancer patients - but far from all - in remissions that can last for years.

Some of the drugs being developed block a mechanism, the immune checkpoint, that cancer exploits to keep the immune system at bay. Other treatments remove from patients millions of disease-fighting cells, reconfigure them in a lab and infuse them back into their sick owners.

The hope is for these so-called T-cells to do the job they're meant to do.

KU clinicians credit immunotherapy as one of the treatment paths that has allowed more blood-cancer patients to enjoy extensive remissions than ever seen before. The final blow to their disease is often an allogeneic stem cell transplant, which can rebuild the immune system from scratch.

Still, many patients don't respond to these treatments.

For them, conventional steps such as chemotherapy and radiation remain potential lifesavers. But in those treatments' quest to attack all cells they can get, and not only cancer cells, their side effects usually are much harsher than immunotherapy's.

Others warn that too much hype around immunotherapy could steal attention and funding from those more traditional strategies and other promising treatments.

"Through the history of oncology, there are periods in which something gets really hot and everyone gets excited that it's the answer," said Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

"The immunotherapy treatments being developed are here to stay. But I worry about research and money shifting away from other approaches."

The Kansas City Star chose to look at immunotherapy - and tell a story of hope - through the lives that converge on the third floor of the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion in Westwood.

It's where McGuirk works with blood-cancer outpatients. Many of them, running out of options, have joined clinical trials that made them immunotherapy test cases.

None of the patients in this story is out of the woods. But at least their bodies are fighting.

-

In the spring, a dying Artesha Singleton of Kansas City traveled to a St. Louis hospital to see if she might qualify for an experimental trial.

No, you're too sick, a physician told the leukemia patient. Return to Kansas City and find a hospice program. You've got a few months.

She's only 27. That she relies on Missouri Medicaid for coverage doesn't help.

"I think the way they treated her was pretty monstrous," said Haylie Colby, a social worker at KU's Westwood clinic.

Singleton was diagnosed at Truman Medical Center just last summer. She has a 2-year-old son. When she returned from St. Louis, she spent three days crying in her bedroom.

All of the approved therapies for Singleton were exhausted. Rounds of chemotherapy had no effect. "What do we do next?" asked Shaun De-Jarnette, the quality management coordinator at KU's blood and marrow transplant unit, or BMT.

The team overseeing Singleton's case knew that the drug manufacturer Pfizer was testing a product not yet on the market: inotuzumab ozogamicin. Though not an immunotherapy drug, it might reverse Singleton's deathly slide enough for her later to benefit from a stem cell transplant.

"We were desperate and asked Pfizer to give it to us," said physician Leyla Shune. "For free."

Under a provision that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls "compassionate use," Pfizer agreed.

Inotuzumab ozogamicin saved her. And with her cancer in remission, Singleton became a candidate for a transplant that would turn her immune system into that of a newborn baby's. (As of Sept. 9, her immune system was just a week old.)

Resting in her hospital bed before the procedure, which took less than an hour, Singleton said, "I feel wonderful."

Her aunt Regina Roberson was at her side. "It's been a bumpy, bumpy ride," Roberson said. "But the treatment we found here is working. She's living proof."

In June, the New England Journal of Medicine reported encouraging findings on Pfizer's investigative drug. The treatment led to "complete remission" in 80 percent of trial patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Chemotherapy alone produced that result in only about 30 percent of patients.

KU's McGuirk said similar success is being found in an immunotherapy drug called Blincyto, which put patient Emily Fox's leukemia in remission.

Fox, who has worked with cancer patients as a nurse, was diagnosed in February with cancer of her own. At the BMT unit, "from the first day they were telling me, 'We're going to get rid of that cancer,' " said Fox, 28. "I believed them."

But McGuirk cautions against overconfidence. False hope helps nobody dealing with cancer, whether it's a patient or members of the clinical team who still see too many lives lost.

"Immunotherapy is hit or miss," McGuirk said. "We've got a long, long way to go."

And it's expensive. Patients whose insurance requires that they pay 20 to 25 percent out of pocket could spend $25,000 or more for a year of treatment on drugs such as Opdivo, approved for both melanoma and lung cancer.

Leonard Saltz of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York last year told a meeting of oncologists: "As someone who worries about making cancer care available to everyone and minimizing disparities, I have a major problem with this. These drugs cost too much."

-

"There are so many kinds of immunotherapy," said Mitch Schwarz, 24, of Blue Springs. "I've done two."

The first didn't work. Relapsing in 2014 in his bout with blood cancer, Schwarz for a month wore a backpack that contained immunotherapy medicine. The solution traveled through a tube to his chest.

But the treatment wasn't achieving the desired result. Schwarz's immune system wasn't recognizing the cancer cells as a threat to be devoured. When the treatments succeed, it's "like Pac-Man," said McGuirk.

KU doctors ultimately directed Schwarz to a clinical trial in Seattle, where he underwent a brand of treatment called CAR T-cell therapy. "It was either this or certain death for me," he said.

Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, which kill cells both good and bad, Schwarz's treatment in Seattle was customized to get his body to target just the bad cells.

His blood was drawn and disease-fighting T-cells were taken to a lab for "gene editing." The re-engineered cells were returned to his body and, if the therapy worked, they would attach to malignant cells and start punching.

The treatment has put Schwarz's cancer in remission and, like the others, he became ready for a stem cell transplant.

"I'm 115 days out of that transplant, so my immune system is that many days old," he said last week at the Westwood clinic. He visits weekly to have blood work done.

The results so far look encouraging, his doctors said.

"It's exciting," Schwarz said. "My cells are working. I hope they fight like hell."

-

A former Kansas City area resident now living in Fayetteville, Ark., Burns returned to the KU Cancer Center in late August for her two-year checkup.

Everything looked good.

For lunch that day, Burns spoke to a group of three dozen hospital directors and benefactors about the leukemia that developed when she was 20.

She thought she had it licked once but relapsed in 2014, right after boyfriend Tanner Burns told her father about plans to marry her.

She told her boyfriend he couldn't propose until she was well. Her voice trembled recalling that story. "It really broke my heart," she said.

Introducing Rebecca Burns to the group, McGuirk called her story "absolutely miraculous."

Slides of her recovery after her transplant showed her clowning with the BMT staff. "Some of these nurses are my closest friends," she said.

She continues to post her progress in a journal on the website Caring-Bridge.org, where sick persons can keep their loved ones updated.

In a recent entry she noted: "Pray for my overall health and wellness ... This battle is far from over!"

She's only 2, after all.

As for her and Tanner, they married in July.

Explore further Immunotherapy benefits relapsed stem cell transplant recipients

2016 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Health care providers and insurers agree that it's in everyone's best interest to refer women for genetic testing if their family history of breast or ovarian cancer puts them at higher risk. What they don't agree on is what should happen before testing, specifically whether women need to be advised by a certified genetic counselor or someone with similar training before the test is ordered.

On the one hand, obstetrician-gynecologists say that counseling patients about hereditary cancers of the breast, ovaries, uterus and other reproductive organs is part of their normal routine, as is counseling pregnant patients about prenatal genetic testing. As licensed physicians, they are considered competent to provide this type of care.

"This is what we do," said Dr. Mark DeFrancesco, the immediate past president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, noting that most physicians have been taking family histories since medical school. "There are simple-to-understand criteria for who should be considered for genetic testing, and it usually has to do with whether you or someone in your family has had cancer."

DeFrancesco recalled a patient whose mother, grandmother and maternal aunt all had breast cancer, but the insurer required she see a genetic counselor before testing would be approved. In such cases, "it will take a few extra weeks to get tested, and she might decide not to bother," he said.

DeFrancesco said genetic counselors have an important role to play after testing has been done to help patients who test positive for a genetic mutation understand the results.

In a statement released last December, the physicians group said it opposed such a restriction and warned that it limits patients' access to care.

Insurers sometimes take a different view, although their rules vary. Two national insurers, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, require women to receive counseling by a certified genetic counselor or other professional trained in cancer genetics before they will approve coverage for tests that look for mutations in two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, that increase the risk for breast, ovarian and other cancers.

UnitedHealthcare began requiring genetic counseling for BRCA tests in January. The insurer allows physicians to do the counseling themselves if they attest they're qualified to do so, said Dr. Lee Newcomer, senior vice president for oncology and genetics.

Cigna made counseling a requirement in 2013 for BRCA and colorectal hereditary cancers and a heart condition called Long-QT. In July, the company expanded the list to include all hereditary cancers. Cigna generally requires physicians to get additional training in cancer genetics in order to meet its counseling requirement, said Dr. Jeffrey Hankoff, Cigna's medical officer for clinical performance and quality.

BRCA mutations increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 by between 45 and 65 percent. They account for 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers. BRCA mutations raise women's risk of ovarian and other cancers as well. There are other known genetic mutations that also increase a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancers, but they are less commonly tested for.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of medical experts, recommends that women with a family history of breast, ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer be screened to determine if they're at increased risk for BRCA mutations and referred for genetic counseling and testing, if indicated.

Under the health law, women with insurance aren't responsible for paying anything out of pocket for the testing and counseling recommended by the task force if it's performed by in-network providers.

The health law coverage requirement didn't drive Cigna's BRCA genetic counseling decision, said Hankoff.

"We had concerns that people were having testing ordered that didn't appear to need it and probably didn't understand it," Hankoff said. In addition, "Too often the wrong tests were being ordered."

For example, a woman whose sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer and tested positive for a specific mutation doesn't need a genetic test that looks for all hereditary breast cancer mutations, Hankoff said. She only needs to be tested for the specific mutation that her sister has.

Genetic counselors, meanwhile, try to walk a middle line in the debate. To become certified, people complete a master's degree program that encompasses both classroom study and clinical training in genetics, ethics and the psychosocial aspects of helping families through diagnosis and the decision-making process, among other things. Certification by the American Board of Genetic Counseling is typically required in order to practice.

"There are a lot of complexities with genetic testing," said Mary Freivogel, president-elect of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, who practices in the Denver area. "A lot of [OB-GYNs] don't have the time or interest to do this well."

With the number of genetic tests growing by leaps and bounds, meeting the demand for counseling can be a challenge, experts agree.

Physicians don't necessarily get it right. For one thing, they often aren't great at taking family histories, neglecting to gather information about the men in a family, for example, or factoring in close relatives who died at a young age, said Robert Smith, a cancer epidemiologist who is vice president for cancer screening at the American Cancer Society.

"Not everybody has a set of family members that allow for the elevated risk to be obvious," Smith said. "There's a lot to be said for having a specialist do it."

Explore further New study for women with family history of breast, ovarian cancer

2016 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The sense of touch may play a more crucial role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than previously assumed. Doctoral researcher Eliane Deschrijver has published study results showing that individuals with ASD may have difficulties determining which tactile sensations belong to the actions of another person.

Many individuals with ASD are over- or under-sensitive to sensory information. Some feel overwhelmed by busy environments such as supermarkets; others are less sensitive to pain or dislike being touched.

Large-scale queries in the scientific literature have reported that the severity of daily social difficulties of individuals with ASD is strongly related to their sensitivity to touch, more so than to their visual or auditory sensitivities. To determine why this is the case, Eliane Deschrijver and her colleagues investigated how the brains of individuals with and without ASD use self-touch to understand touch sensations in the actions of others.

Prof. dr. Marcel Brass clarifies: "We think that the human brain uses the sense of self-touch to distinguish one's self from others. When I perform an action that leads to a tactile sensation, for instance by making a grasping movement, I expect to feel a tactile sensation that corresponds to this. If my own touch tells me something else, the tactile sensation probably belongs to the other person and not to me. The brain can thus effectively understand others by signaling tactile sensations that do not correspond to the sense of self-touch."

In a series of experiments with electro-encephalography (EEG) conducted at Ghent University, the scientists showed that the brain activity of adults with ASD differs from that of adults without ASD while processing touch.

The research showed that the human brain of individuals without ASD indicated very quickly when a tactile sensation does not correspond to the sense of self-touch. This means that the human brain is able to signal that a tactile sensation of a finger that touches a surface does not correspond to self-touch.

This process differed in the brains of adults with ASD, however. Their brains signaled to a lesser extent when the external touch sensation did not correspond to their own touch. Those individuals that experienced stronger sensory difficulties showed a stronger disturbance of the neural process, while they were also the ones that experienced more severe social difficulties.

"It is, to my knowledge, the first time that a relationship could be identified between the way individuals with ASD process tactile information in their brain, and their daily social difficulties. The findings yield a novel and crucial link between sensory and social difficulties within the autism spectrum," concludes Eliane Deschrijver.

"These findings primarily lead to a better understanding of the complex disorder, and of associated difficulties. It is still too early to draw conclusions on the impact of interventions. If the results can be confirmed in future studies of other groups with ASD, such as (young) children, they could provide a target for optimizing treatment," says Dr. Wiersema.

Explore further Mouse study suggests autism is not just a disease of the brain

More information: Eliane Deschrijver et al. Action-based touch observation in adults with high functioning autism: Can compromised self-other distinction abilities link social and sensory everyday problems?, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (2016). Journal information: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Eliane Deschrijver et al. Action-based touch observation in adults with high functioning autism: Can compromised self-other distinction abilities link social and sensory everyday problems?,(2016). DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw126
A Duke team has mapped the distinct patterns of brain activity that correspond to seven different emotional states. The brain anatomy presented here is an average of data from 32 study subjects. Credit: Philip Kragel, Kevin LaBar, Duke University

As you relax and let your mind drift aimlessly, you might remember a pleasant vacation, an angry confrontation in traffic or maybe the loss of a loved one.

And now a team of researchers at Duke University say they can see those various emotional states flickering across the human brain.

"It's getting to be a bit like mind-reading," said Kevin LaBar, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. "Earlier studies have shown that functional MRI can identify whether a person is thinking about a face or a house. Our study is the first to show that specific emotions like fear and anger can be decoded from these scans as well."

The data produced by a functional MRI hasn't changed, but the group is applying new multivariate statistics to the scans of brain activity to see different emotions as networks of activity distributed across areas of the conscious and unconscious brain.

These networks were first mapped by the team in a March 2015 paper in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. They identified seven different patterns of brain activity reflecting contentment, amusement, surprise, fear, anger, sadness and neutrality.

To build these maps, they had put 32 research subjects into the scanner and exposed them to two music clips and two film clips that had been shown to induce each of the seven emotions. The subjects also completed self-report questionnaires on their mood states for further validation.

Analytical software called a machine learning algorithm was then presented with some of the subjects' data and tasked with finding a pattern that concurred with each emotional stimulus. Having learned what each of the seven states ought to look like, the algorithm was then presented with the scans of the rest of the study group and asked to identify their emotional states without knowing which emotion prompt they received.

LaBar said the model performed better than chance at this task, despite differences in brain shapes and arousal levels between subjects. "And it proved fairly sensitive," he said.

The latest study, appearing Sept. 14 in Plos Biology, followed up by scanning 21 subjects who were not offered stimuli, but were encouraged to let their minds wander. Every thirty seconds, they responded to a questionnaire about their current emotional state.

"We tested whether these seven brain maps of emotions occurred spontaneously while participants were resting in the fMRI scanner without any emotional stimuli being presented," LaBar said.

Data for the whole brain was collected every 2 seconds and each of these individual scans was compared to the seven patterns. The team examined the scanner data for the ten seconds previous to each self-report of mood, and found that the algorithm accurately predicted the moods the subjects self-reported.

LaBar said another source of validation is the indication that there's a significant signal of anxiety at the beginning of each subjects' data as they enter the confined, noisy MRI for the first time. "That's what you'd expect to see for most people when they first enter the machine."

In a second group of 499 subjects being scanned for the Duke Neurogenetics Study, the researchers had them rest in the scanner for nearly 9 minutes, and then asked them how depressed and anxious they felt after the scanning session. "We found that the cumulative presence of our 'sad' emotion map, summed over time, predicted their depression scores, and the cumulative presence of our 'fear' emotion map predicted their anxiety scores," LaBar said.

This larger group was also tested for personality measures of depression, anxiety, and angry hostility. Again, the maps for depression and anxiety closely mirrored these measures. "We also showed that the cumulative presence of our 'angry' emotion map predicted individuals' angry hostility traits," LaBar said.

Aside from being an interesting proof of concept, LaBar thinks these new maps of emotional states could be useful in studying people who have poor insight into their emotional status, and might be used in clinical trials to test the effectiveness of treatments to regulate emotions.

LaBar says their conclusions about characteristic networks of brain areas governing emotional states also challenges prevailing theories about how emotions are formed. He adds that a Finnish team led by Lauri Nummenmaa has made similar maps of emotional networks from their brain scanning studies.

In further research, the Duke group will be pursuing a better understanding of the timing of emotional states and the transitions between them, as these may be relevant for understanding affective disorders.

Explore further Brain structure reveals ability to regulate emotions
MRI scans of patients with radiation necrosis (above) and cancer recurrence (below) are shown in the left column. Close-ups in the center column show the regions are indistinguishable on routine scans. Radiomic descriptors unearth subtle differences showing radiation necrosis, in the upper right panel, has less heterogeneity, shown in blue, compared to cancer recurrence, in the lower right, which has a much higher degree of heterogeneity, shown in red. Credit: Pallavi Tiwari

Computer programs have defeated humans in Jeopardy!, chess and Go. Now a program developed at Case Western Reserve University has outperformed physicians on a more serious matter.

The program was nearly twice as accurate as two neuroradiologists in determining whether abnormal tissue seen on magnetic resonance images (MRI) were dead brain cells caused by radiation, called radiation necrosis, or if brain cancer had returned.

The direct comparison is part of a feasibility study published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology today.

"One of the biggest challenges with the evaluation of brain tumor treatment is distinguishing between the confounding effects of radiation and cancer recurrence," said Pallavi Tiwari, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve and leader of the study. "On an MRI, they look very similar."

But treatments for radiation necrosis and cancer recurrence are far different. Quick identification can help speed prognosis, therapy and improve patient outcomes, the researchers say.

With further confirmation of its accuracy, radiologists using their expertise and the program may eliminate unnecessary and costly biopsies Tiwari said. Brain biopsies are currently the only definitive test but are highly invasive and risky, causing considerable morbidity and mortality.

To develop the program, the researchers employed machine learning algorithms in conjunction with radiomics, the term used for features extracted from images using computer algorithms. The engineers, scientists and physicians trained the computer to identify radiomic features that discriminate between brain cancer and radiation necrosis, using routine follow-up MRI scans from 43 patients. The images were all from University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

The team then developed algorithms to find the most discriminating radiomic features, in this case, textures that can't be seen by simply eyeballing the images.

"What the algorithms see that the radiologists don't are the subtle differences in quantitative measurements of tumor heterogeneity and breakdown in microarchitecture on MRI, which are higher for tumor recurrence," said Tiwari, who was appointed to the Department of Biomedical Engineering by the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

More specifically, while the physicians use the intensity of pixels on MRI scans as a guide, the computer looks at the edges of each pixel, explained Anant Madabhushi, F. Alex Nason professor II of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve, and study co-author.

"If the edges all point to the same direction, the architecture is preserved," said Madabhushi, who also directs the Center of Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics at CWRU. "If they point in different directions, the architecture is disruptedthe entropy, or disorder, and heterogeneity are higher. "

In the direct comparison, two physicians and the computer program analyzed MRI scans from 15 patients from University of Texas Southwest Medical Center. One neuroradiologist diagnosed seven patients correctly, and the second physician correctly diagnosed eight patients. The computer program was correct on 12 of the 15.

Tiwari and Madabhushi don't expect the computer program would be used alone, but as a decision support to assist neuroradiologists in improving their confidence in identifying a suspicious lesion as radiation necrosis or cancer recurrence.

Next, the researchers are seeking to validate and the algorithms' accuracy using a much larger collection of images from across different sites.

Explore further Computerized tissue image analysis reveals underlying genomics of ER+ breast cancer
First Business House opens in Georgia

Georgia is introducing a completely new model for effective state-business relations by opening the first Business House, which will unite more than 600 state services needed for the business community.Soon business people and legal entities can visit the new Business House or go online and access the services via a new electronic platform.This is a revolutionary project that will significantly change the landscape for state-business relations, said Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili today at the opening of the new business centre, located in Tbilisis Ortachala district.The Georgian authorities have laid the foundation for building the first Business House in Georgia.The new centre will provide the following services:State property management and privatisationNatural Resources LicensesConstruction permissionsEnergy projectsAgriculture assistance state programsProduce in Georgia servicesPartnership Fund servicesKvirikashvili said the Business House will improve the quality of services offered to the business community, will make it easier to do business in Georgia and reduce service time and costs.The idea to establish a Business House was part of the Governments four-point reform agenda that aimed to support Georgias developing economy. Overhauling the governance system was one of the major four reforms the Government introduced to stimulate Georgias investment environment.Opening the Business House was the first step forward in improving and simplifying business processes in Georgia, said Kvirikashvili.We are starting to implement the Governance reform, which is an important part of our four-point reform agenda. I hope this project will further improve the business climate in Georgia. The Business House will significantly reduce corruption-related risks in Georgia, he said.The Business House concept was created based on the needs of the business community.Spaces inside the Business House were divided into several areas including immediate service area, general service area and consultation service area.The space was a one-stop place for all business-related queries and it offered new services as well as existing services.One of the new services is a Once Only tool, in which business people provide their information to the public administration only once. Their information will be saved on a universal database so any time they visit a state institution, their data can be quickly and easily accessed from the Business House, thus removing the need for clients to reenter their details.Other commercial services will also be available such as banks, legal advice, real estate assistance and more.About 250 people will be employed at the new Business House, which will have the capacity to provide more than 600 services to about 1,200 customers daily.
EBRD invests in Turkeys leading ventilations producer

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides a loan of 5.5 million euros to Systemair-HSK, the Turkish subsidiary of the Sweden-based Group Systemair AB, engaged in the development, production and marketing of ventilation products and solutions, the bank reported.The Banks financing will be used to build a greenfield site for air ventilation products in the Izmit region. The new facility will help Systemair-HSK increase its operational efficiency and enhance capacity to manufacture products compliant with European and international standards. It will also serve as the companys regional hub, including for exports to the Middle East and the Balkans, the report said.Systemair-HSK is one of the largest air ventilation companies and a leader in the air handler market in Turkey.The EBRD started investing in Turkey in 2009 and currently operates from offices in Istanbul, Ankara and Gaziantep. Some 98 per cent of the Banks investments in the country are in the private sector and about half of them are in projects that promote the sustainable use of energy.To date, the EBRD has invested over eight billion euros in Turkey through some 200 projects in infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, industry and finance. It has also mobilised about 17 billion euros for these ventures from other sources of financing.
No quorum at the Parliaments last session

By Messenger Staff

On Wednesday, the Parliament of Georgia failed to hold the last plenary session due to the lack of quorum, as only 30 lawmakers appeared out of the 150-seat legislative body.The necessary number of Members of Parliament (MPs) for a quorum was 76.Parliament Chair David Usupashvili has apologized to the Georgian people for the disruption, as the legislative body should have discussed and voted some important topics, among them the voting for three nominees for the Supreme Court Judge.I hope we will elect a Parliament on October 8 which will honesty fulfill its responsibilities from the first day to the last one, Usupashvili said.The Presidents Parliamentary Secretary Anna Dolidze said Parliament has failed to discuss the election of the judges for the Supreme Court for the sixth time due to the absence of lawmakers. This indicates towards the attitude of parliamentary political forces to the court system,Parliaments Vice-Speaker Manana Kobakhidze said there was nothing special and surprising in todays disruption of the session, as political parties were engaged in pre-election campaigning.Its quite hard to gather MPs in the pre-election period as many of them are involved in pre-election campaigning. The regalement also says the legislative body must suspend activities one month before the elections, which is not a random note, Kobakhidze said.The current Georgian Parliament, which is the eighth in the history of independent Georgia, was elected through the 2012 October Parliamentary Elections.The United National Movement opposition party has boycotted Parliament sessions since June this year, after an incident in the western Samegrelo region when opposition supporters were beaten by those of the ruling party.The UNM said they would not have attended any sessions until the incident is properly investigated.Lawmakers presence at the legislative body has always been a problem in Georgia, which is quite shameful and indicates towards a lack of responsibility from MPs.It means some of them do not realize their duties to the people and are solely interested in having a good salary and other benefits.There must be very strong approach to such issues. Such lawmakers must get as much salary as they deserve taking their presence into account or be somehow punished if he/she very frequently misses sessions without a genuine excuse.It is regrettable that some parties still name such people in their party and majoritarian lists which have no experience and knowledge of how to behave within the legislative body.
One is famed for their decades worth of poetry, prose and queer activism, and even has their work featured in an HBO series.

One just received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for a work in which he contemplates American history, the African-American experience, Brooklyn life and fatherhood.

In a rare opportunity, Missoula residents can hear two poets of their stature, Eileen Myles and Gregory Pardlo, next Friday for the Montana Book Festival's keynote reading.

Festival director Rachel Mindell thought they'd make a "dynamic and exciting pairing" for the keynote.

Both poets, through their writing and other activities, are "engaging with the world" in a way that contradicts cliches of poets as lofty or isolated, she said.

Myles' work explores "what it means to be a queer writer and an activist," she said, with a career that stretched back through the 1970s and 1980s in New York. Myles revisited that time period in an autobiographical novel, "Chelsea Girls," which was reprinted last year alongside "I Must Be Living Twice: New and Selected Poems." Pardlo, meanwhile, engages with "what it means to be a writer of color" and like Myles is a teacher.

Both engage with "the contemporary world in language that's accessible," Mindell said.

***

Myles spent a semester in Missoula in 2010 as the University of Montana's Visiting Hugo Writer, and has expressed fondness for the city and her time here. She was scheduled to speak just before the HBO series "Transparent" drew even more attention to the writer. In the second season on the series, showrunner Jill Soloway based a lesbian poet character on Myles and the show uses her actual poetry.

Myles, who was born in Boston and raised working class, is well-known for charismatic readings of her work and her activism: She ran for president in 1992 as a write-in candidate.

"She's radical with how she writes about gender, and the natural world simultaneously," said Prageeta Sharma, a professor in the University of Montana's Creative Writing Program and a published poet.

A Myles poem about a tree "can also be about the idea of the female poet writing about her own sexuality into the poem, and thinking about her lesbian identity, her notion of queerness, her idea of poetic tradition," Sharma said.

Sharma knows both Myles and Pardlo from time living in New York, and will introduce them at the keynote on Friday, Sept. 23.

Regarding the formal qualities of Myles' work, Sharma said she has mastered a columnar form of poetry, with often only a few words per line that extends down the page.

"They make you pause," she said, mimicking a speaker directly addressing the reader.

***

In 2014, Pardlo released "Digest," a collection of poems on Four Way Books. The small-press publication received major notice when it was selected for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The judges described them as "clear-voiced poems that bring readers the news from 21st century America, rich with thought, ideas and histories public and private."

Pardlo also won an NAACP Image Award, and is now teaching at Rutgers University's creative writing program and working on an essay memoir collection for Knopf.

Pardlo was already scheduled to come to Missoula as part of a Humanities Montana grant to fund Pulitzer poetry programming, and the festival reached out to partner with them. While here, Pardlo will visit local schools and lead a workshop.

Sharma said the Pardlo's award-winning collection does take the form of a digest or compilation.

"It's a kind of summary of what he gathers as a poet, thinking about African-American history, thinking about African-American poets he's writing to  he's writing after them, or for them."

Those poets and writers include Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison and Gayl Jones, often in the form of Pardlo inhabiting their characters. He writes also frequently of being a new father, and of his own relationship with his father, and life in Brooklyn, his adopted home.

In several sections, labeled "improvisations," he begins with a quote from a philosopher that he uses much like a prompt, she said, and then swerves into away into his own direction.

"He's setting up what our mind does when we're responding to something aphoristic or intellectual," she said.

"It's a digest of both a document and maybe the possible stories and poetic gestures one can have through a contemplative, procedural exploration of text," Sharma said.

Both Myles and Pardlo are thinking deeply about poetic tradition, she said, and looking for ways to write their own part in it.
This is going to start off sounding a lot like Im bragging, but bear with me  I actually have a point.

Ive taken four fishing trips to New Zealand, trudging through ankle-twisting tussocks on a stream that shall remain nameless and over boulders in gushing Kiwi rivers too numerous to identify.

There was a fly-out on a float plane out of Iliamna, Alaska, to a remote stream where fat salmon-eating brown bears far outnumbered anglers.

Another fly-out to a wilderness river in British Columbia where the bush pilot needed to avoid stumps on the landing strip.

Ive hopped boulder to boulder down a steep cascade in the Broadwater River to catch brookies hand over fist where I bottomed out in what could only be described as quicksand. After sinking waist deep, I had a mental picture of someone coming along and finding my fishing hat resting on top of the muck with just a few air bubbles percolating to the surface.

I could go on, but Id better get to the point.

In all my travels and fishing outings near and far, the most serious injury I ever incurred was a bout of shin splints from trying to keep up with my fishing partner in New Zealand, whose walking pace increases in direct proportion to the number of fish he spots rising.

That all changed on July 14.

I dont want to over-dramatize my predicament; its not as if my life was in any danger. But it provided a life lesson.

It was my last day of two weeks of vacation and I arrived at the access point on the Blackfoot River before anyone else. Neither another car nor angler in sight  normally what I would term "perfect."

It was a great morning of fishing for cutthroats rising to caddis and pale morning duns. Once Id had my fill in the uppermost reaches, I started back toward the access with the idea of hitting just a couple of favorite holes on my way back.

As I approached that first hole  just above some rapids  I was scanning the river surface for rising fish. Still on the bank, I stepped on a rock like Id done a million times. But this time the rock gave way, followed by my ankle.

I heard the sickening snap  I can still hear it  and immediately knew I was in trouble. Looking down, my foot was basically dangling from the bottom of my leg.

I laid down on the bank and got my wits about me; I was surprised it didnt hurt worse, as bad as it looked. After 20 minutes or so of beating myself up for not bringing my cellphone, I couldnt see a boat on the river and remembered that I owned the lone car in the parking lot when I started out. Sure, it was the Blackfoot and if I stayed there long enough a boat was sure to drift past. But what if it didnt?

I called for help, but with the rapids so nearby I realized no one could hear me over the roar of the rushing water. The only real danger, I feared, was if I had to remain there overnight. So on my hands and knees, with the bad leg in the air behind me  discarding my fly rod and vest against my better judgment  I started downstream to get past the rapids to a place where I might be heard.

Perhaps a half-mile and a couple hours later, I got to the calm water where the rapids tail out. I yelled again for help and sure enough, a guide with two clients heard me and responded as quickly as they could. Im sure I mustve ruined the rest of their afternoon, as they remained with me until Life Flight arrived. I am forever grateful.

As it turned out, I had multiple fractures in my ankle that required surgery and a good deal of hardware. Ill be fine  eventually  and, at 57, I have no intention of curtailing my fishing addiction.

But the experience hammered home the point that circumstances can change in an instant. I love the solitude and beauty I encounter when Im alone with the river, but a couple of things will change.

When Im able to get out again, Ill carry a GPS device in my vest that will allow me to summon help in the event its needed. A cellphone signal is frequently not available in places I prefer to fish.

And second, Ill make sure I let someone know where Ill be and when I expect to return. As soon as I can, Ill let them know Ive made it home.

Taking some small precautions will allow me to enjoy even more that peace I find only when in nature.
A course titled Gun Safety Class for Personal Protection and Concealed Weapon Permits is scheduled with NRA-certified instructors Nate Martin and Scott Giesick from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Deer Creek Shooting Range near Missoula.

This one-day course will concentrate on the safe handling, storage and use of handguns suitable for personal protection. The class will also cover selecting a personal firearm, concealed weapon permits, gun safety and shooting skills. The class will include both classroom and shooting range sessions.

Graduates will receive a certification qualifying them to apply for concealed weapon permits under Montana law. Class size is limited to the first 14 registrants. Pre-registration is required. Tuition is $100 per student. Students should be 16 years or older, although concealed weapons permits are not issued to people under age 18.

For more information or to register, call Martin at 406-207-4160 or Giesick at 406-493-2302; register at practicalshootinginstruction.com or email at shootingMT@yahoo.com.

Missoulian Staff
Montanas prisons and jails are over capacity. What changes in statute and/or funding at the state level  if any  do you think are necessary? If no changes, why not?

Crime rates arent increasing in Montana. The overcrowding of prisons and jails is largely due to longer stays and increased recidivism, and a large percentage of those cases involve folks with mental health and substance-abuse issues. The Legislature has begun addressing the problem, by initiating the first comprehensive analysis of our criminal justice system in 20 years and, in 2015, passing a jail-diversion bill that funds outreach to those vulnerable populations  in Missoula, that has resulted in detention beds for those in acute mental crises and a mental health provider for the county jail. I advocate for continuing these programs.

Has the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adequately guided the states hunting and fishing concerns, or does the Legislature need to give the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks more specific direction regarding topics such as land acquisition, wildlife management, predator control, and bison?

FWP is guided by scientific principles in its work to protect and manage wildlife and habitat. The department is on the job day in and day out, all year, while the Legislature meets every other year. Politics may well be a science, but its a far cry from wildlife biology, and giving the Legislature more oversight on FWP smacks of needless micromanagement.

The 2015 Legislature did a grave disservice to hunters and anglers in Montana when it prevented FWP from spending the money it was allocated, via license fees and Pittman-Robertson funds, on Wildlife Management Areas and public access purchases.

Many Montanans depend on the extraction of fossil fuels for jobs, yet there is a strong demand for clean and renewable energy in the region, especially since prices for the latter are falling. How do you propose to help workers in the coal, oil and natural gas industries find jobs in this new economic landscape?

I think its important that we have resources in place to help displaced workers, no matter the industry theyre in. That would include job training and placement programs, as well as transition help for their families and, by extension, their communities. But as we lose industries, we need to create new ones in their place to keep those high-paying jobs in the state. In the case of Colstrip, there are promising proposals in geothermal, wind, and compressed-air power that would use existing infrastructure to deliver renewable energy across the West, and we would be wise to invest in that future.

According to Montana University System records, as recently as 1992, the state funded 76 percent of the university system. Now, though, state support has fallen to 40 percent, which means tuition funds 60 percent of the system  putting higher education out of reach for some Montana families. Do you as a legislator have a responsibility to help and if so, how? If not, why not?

We absolutely have a responsibility to help. Education funding is a mess at both the state and federal levels, and college graduates are leaving school with unprecedented debt levels and meager job markets. Were already diversifying options for students with projects like the expansion of the Missoula College, but we also need to make sure that our residents can afford to attend higher education. Im all for brainstorming ways to make this happen, but ultimately we need to commit to lowering in-state tuition and finding the means to fund it. We did it before, and we can do it again.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

We need to grow new industries that provide high-paying jobs. Several years ago, I worked with the Montana Film Office to launch Epic Montana, a YouTube channel showcasing our incredible outdoor lifestyles. Those short films generate tourism, but the most gratifying benefit for me has been working with dozens of filmmakers from all across the state, a number of whom have leveraged their work on our platform into higher-paying jobs. I am simply amazed at the level of filmmaking talent we have right here, and this experience has convinced that we can make Montana a global powerhouse in outdoor filmmaking.
Montanas prisons and jails are over capacity. What changes in statute and/or funding at the state level  if any  do you think are necessary? If no changes, why not?

Im convinced were treating symptoms, not causes, of increased incarceration rates. A reason behind increased incarceration rates, in my opinion, is hopelessness created by poverty, lack of high wage income and excessive government regulations. People who see decent opportunities, raised by strong families to pursue successful careers, are less likely to commit crimes than those who see little hope in their future. Implementing policies where Montana businesses are not excessively regulated or taxed, will assist private businesses to increase good-paying jobs. Strengthening families and creating greater job opportunities will inspire self-respect and success, reducing hopelessness contributing to current criminal activity.

Has the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adequately guided the states hunting and fishing concerns, or does the Legislature need to give the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks more specific direction regarding topics such as land acquisition, wildlife management, predator control, and bison?

I strongly support maintaining/increasing access to public lands and waters, collaborating with private landowners for additional access. I dont condone selling/ ransferring public lands. MFWC could be more effective guiding the FWP. As an unelected board, appointed by the governor, their decisions are often driven by political bias which shouldnt be accepted. FWP has an image problem with many true sportsman groups and Montana landowners. FWP needs to communicate/collaborate with these groups at the same table, working to improve access. Id encourage MFWC to create a dynamic, meaningful conversation between sportsmen and Montana land owners.

Many Montanans depend on the extraction of fossil fuels for jobs, yet there is a strong demand for clean and renewable energy in the region, especially since prices for the latter are falling. How do you propose to help workers in the coal, oil and natural gas industries find jobs in this new economic landscape?

Developing Montana energy is critical, creating a vibrant Montana economy. More than 80 percent of Montanas energy comes from fossil fuels. We must wisely develop/use all energy resources available in Montana. Under Gov. Steve Bullocks (Democratic) plan, hundreds of good-paying fossil fuel industry jobs were lost in Montana in 2016. A climate of customer service in Helena is needed to assist fossil fuel industries in gaining permits in a reasonable time frame. Waiting years for permits is unacceptable. Alternative energies  hydro/wind/wolar  are important industries to develop, but should not receive preferential treatment over other energy sources.

According to Montana University System records, as recently as 1992, the stated funded 76 percent of the university system. Now, though, state support has fallen to 40 percent, which means tuition funds 60 percent of the system  putting higher education out of reach for some Montana families. Do you as a legislator have a responsibility to help and if so, how? If not, why not?

The question of post-secondary education rises above funding levels. Perhaps a better question is: Does our current post-secondary system prepare our young adults for current and emerging private sector jobs? If the MUS wants and expects to thrive, they should focus on conversations with private sector industries, identifying skills and competencies they require. Employers are willing to invest time and capital assisting students with obtaining an education, and accompanying skills, supporting their businesses and jobs for graduates. Education must be useful and marketable, or many young people will continue to graduate with too much debt and too little job opportunity.

What do you regard as the most urgent problem facing Montana, and how do you propose dealing with it?

Declining economic prosperity for Montanans.

 High-wage jobs  Montanans deserve a vibrant economy, to move us from 49th in the country in income. Current policies are robbing Montanans of economic prosperity.

 Excessive taxation  Bullock vetoed multiple tax relief bills in 2015.

 Skyrocketing health care costs  Obamacare, supported by Bullock, has produced annual, double-digit premium increases.

 Out-of-control government spending  The Bullock administration (with Democrats) added more than $300 million in new spending in 2016-17.

Focusing on 21st century job skills, reducing the impact of taxation and controlling the rate of spending in Helena are common-sense solutions.
Mountain Water roundly dismissed Missoula's request for a transition period as flawed to the core," according to their response with Missoula County District Court.

Responses from the Carlyle Group, Mountain Water Co. and its employees were filed last week, with unanimous disapproval of the citys request that it receive Mountain Water documents and help from their employees to facilitate a smooth transfer.

Mountain Water called the request a thinly-veiled attempt to begin taking possession of Mountain Waters water system before the city pays one penny of just compensation into court."

Under the law, payment precedes possession, the response, drafted by Garlington, Lohn & Robinson of Missoula and Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, stated.

The response said the city unjustly asked the court to turn over essential documents, operations and employee services before paying for the utility, according to the Montana Code Annotateds statute on condemnation, a statute Carlyle called so simple that it hardly needs explication.

That statute says, according to the Montana state website, upon payment into court of the amount of compensation  assessed either by the commissioners or by the jury, the condemnor is authorized  to take possession of the property and use and possess the property.

Carlyle and Mountain Water argued in their responses that Missoula is trying, with its request for a transition period, to effectively take over the utility without paying Carlyle the $88.6 million owed.

Concern that the city could back out of the condemnation during such a transition, or become unable to pay for the utility during the transition, fueled Carlyles issue with what they called a free look.

The statute, Carlyle said, does not allow for any sort of possession beyond a simple relinquishment of possession followed by the city taking control of the water company.

An August Missoulian article on the citys request said they asked Mountain Water employees to cooperate with the city, and educate city officials with regard to operations and management of the water system. In addition, the city asked for all relevant business records and access to the water system so that the city is ready to take over operations upon payment of the money.

The response from Mountain Water employees, who are represented as a separate group from Mountain Water in the case, said they do not wish to be caught in the position of providing what has been deemed confidential information in a protective order regarding how Mountain Water operates, before the sale has taken place.

Mountain Water, which said it wasnt speaking for its employees, said the court should not mandate any Mountain Water employees perform any work, create or compile any information, provide any education, or offer any other assistance to the city.

Carlyles response cited a March 2015 trial, in which Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Bender said the city already had a plan for how it would run the system, with or without Mountain Water employees, rendering a transition period facilitated by current Mountain Water workers, unnecessary.

The city is asking the court to ignore the protective order  because the terms are no longer convenient for the city, Carlyle wrote. If the city wants to follow the law and pay the assessed fair value of the water system into court, then and only then, may it take possession.

The city has until Tuesday, Sept. 20, to respond.
A state rule home builders used to drill multiple wells for subdivisions violates the Montana Water Use Act, according to the Montana Supreme Court.

The justices ruled 6-1 on Tuesday that the so-called exempt well loophole granted unfair access to limited water supplies in some of the states most popular regions. The regulation had allowed about 3,000 small wells a year to be drilled since 1993, with 78,000 more anticipated by the end of the decade.

The Supreme Court majority agreed with state District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock that a previous rule from 1987 more accurately followed the guiding Montana Water Use Act. It allows property owners to drill wells drawing under 35 gallons a minute for personal or agricultural use without a DNRC permit.

The 1993 rule confused matters by limiting combined appropriations of wells that were all plumbed together  but exempted small wells that werent connected.

Under the 1993 rule, a clearly allowable subdivision with 100 homes could be plotted and 100 wells could be drilled if they werent manifolded together and were all under 35 gallons per minute, said Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director John Tubbs. Now the test is limited to no more than 10 acre-feet a year in a combine proposal. The usual amount for a homesite is 1.5 to 2.5 acre-feet.

Subdivisions in Ravalli, Gallatin, Missoula and Lewis and Clark counties took advantage of the exemption, leading to struggles with older residents who saw their wells and springs run dry.

The exempt well loophole has amounted to a giveaway of our limited water resources, plaintiff Polly Rex of Horse Creek Water Users wrote in an email. The state Supreme Court really sent a message to the DNRC and other stakeholders, reverting to a better rule that doesnt threaten existing water right holders.

The Missoula-based Clark Fork Coalition sued DNRC to end the exemption in 2010 after failing to negotiate a new rule with the agency. Two sessions of the Legislature also proposed changes that didnt make it past a governors veto.

DNRC opted not to challenge the district court decision, but the Montana Association of Realtors, Montana Building Industry Association and Montana Well Drillers Association took the case to the Supreme Court. Missoulas Mountain Water Co. joined the Clark Fork Coalition supporting the 1987 rule.

Realtors association chief executive officer Taylor Oldroyd said he couldnt predict what the Montana Legislatures response to the Supreme Courts opinion might be.

Exempt wells have served Montanans for years, and the detailed scientific studies conducted have determined that even concentrated exempt wells have little adverse impact on ground water and stream flows, Oldroyd wrote in an email.

The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology examined groundwater supply and connection to surface water in some of the most controversial basins in Montana, including the Four Corners area of Gallatin County and the North Hills north of Helena, both areas that have seen significant growth in recent years. Overall, the good folks at Montana Tech were unable to find the huge impacts from well use predicted. In fact, in the North Hills, well use accounted for only seven percent of groundwater withdrawals.

Legislators may offer their own version in the session that begins in January. The Water Policy Interim Committee is scheduled to discuss a bill draft on the definition of combined appropriation next month.
Missoula resident Michael Fitzgerald feels like hes living next to an operating motel after a businessman bought the home next to him in 2013 and started renting it out on Airbnb.

I dont know who the owner is, he said. I have strangers now, smoking pot, I mean, they look into my patio.

I have no recourse.

He strongly supported the Missoula City Councils amendment to a tourist homes ordinance revoking registration of a tourist home, excited at the prospect of real regulation around his neighbors business.

That amendment, sponsored by Ward 3 representative Gwen Jones, gave the city the right to revoke the tourist home registration for one year, if three infractions of city law occurred in a 12-month period. The tourist home operator could appeal the revocation.

The Land Use & Planning Committee passed the amendment Wednesday morning, along with others updating the tourist homes ordinance, deciding on final registration costs and settling on the role of the city in regulating the businesses  or not-quite businesses.

Jones also proposed the city publish a list of registered tourist homes on its website, to let neighbors know if an operation in their area was registered or not, as well as allowing operators to advertise their official registration.

Mike Haynes, development services director, thought the list was a good idea, and said the cost to his department would easily offset the benefit of making that information public.

It would be good information for neighbors, Haynes said. Wed be happy to publish that list as public record.

Being able to see if his neighbor had registered with the city was important, Fitzgerald said, since calling the police could lead to a revocation of the operators registration for a period of time, if complaints of noise or illegal activity were founded.

Ward 4 representative Jon Wilkins saw Fitzgeralds plight as proving a point he brought up throughout the meeting  that single-family residential neighborhoods shouldnt have to put up with what he sees as a commercial operation.

I see loopholes in this thing that would allow it to escalate, he said.

Ward 4 representative John DiBari proposed a limit of two tourist home registrations in a residential district per person. That would prevent a landlord running a tourist home business out of several homes around the city.

Wilkins sponsored a short-lived amendment to DiBaris motion preventing two tourist homes to be operated next to each other in a residential district.

Its kind of arbitrary, to have such a regulation as this, City Attorney Jim Nugent said, adding it puts people at an unfair disadvantage if they happen to live next to an existing tourist home.

Wilkins withdrew the amendment, but made it clear he wanted to prevent single-family residential neighborhoods from becoming places of business. The worst-case scenario would be a block lined with homes that have different occupants every few weeks.

Several council members offered support to Wilkins agenda, but werent sure how to better address the issue.

One of my biggest concerns with this is cutting into the housing market, Ward 6 representative Michelle Cares said.

DiBari proposed a motion to establish an initial registration fee at $50 and annual renewal at $25, which passed.

Some sort of penalty for noncompliance is needed, Wilkins argued. He suggested a fine if tourist home operators dont register within six months of the ordinance passing.

Ward 6 representative Marilyn Marler agreed.

After a certain point its kind of dumb not to have teeth in it, she said, but thought the council should revisit the issue after a year or two of voluntary registration.

Jones suggested operators present proof of insurance when they register, something Ward 3 representative Emily Bentley said was micro-managing staff.

I really think were overstepping our role here on City Council, Bentley said.

Jenny Dixon, a tourist home operator, agreed, saying insurance is essential for running a tourist home, as the homeowner is liable if a guest is injured while renting.

But she had trouble finding the right insurance for a tourist home, eventually switching insurers and paying almost double her monthly rate. Airbnb offers insurance through its website, but its the only one to do so, Dixon said.

Its such a new use, even insurance companies are confused, she said. I think insurance for these is extremely important. I dont know if its the citys job to regulate that.

The council agreed to ask development services to inform operators of their liability when they registered and encourage them to obtain insurance.

The principle motion of the meeting regarded language changes by Tom Zavitz, with Development Services Planning, based off previous discussion and approved by Nugent.

The ordinance was updated to avoid confusion with long-term rentals under Montana law, as well as adding registration requirements, including a valid lodging facility tax permit and a valid public accommodation license.

Those changes passed with no amendments.
GREENOUGH  Here, it's strange to see a school bus pull up.

"It's surreal," said Sunset School teacher Toni Hatten, "because we never thought we'd get a bus."

This fall the one-room school, which is tucked in Greenough half a mile east of The Resort at Paws Up, has its highest enrollment in 10 years: nine students. That's five kindergartners, two second-graders, one third-grader and one fourth-grader.

And on the first day of school, Sept. 6, the students got to ride a big yellow school bus to Sunset  the first time in the school's history.

It's not directly tied to enrollment, however.

"We had some kiddos that couldn't get to school," said Missoula County superintendent of schools Erin Lipkind. "If you have kids that can't get to school because their parents can't drive, you're not meeting your obligation."

On Tuesday, Lipkind went before the county commissioners, asking for approval of school districts' budgets.

For Sunset, that included an increase in the transportation fund due to the added bus route. The school contracted with Majestic Bus Service.

"It alleviates some barriers students had now that they have transportation," Hatten said. "There are kids in this area who want to come to school here. Why transport them to a school 20 or 30 miles away when there's a school within 6 miles?"

***

The school used to contract with parents who drove their kids to Sunset every day, allowable by state statute. Parents would get reimbursed after the semester.

"But that doesn't help them in the today," Hatten said.

It also helped that Sunset's school board enforced boundaries. In previous years  "and I was as guilty of this as anyone with my kids," Hatten said  Greenough students would hop on the high school bus headed to Seeley Lake to attend elementary school.

"We lost a lot of kids that way," she said.

Seven of the school's nine students this year live in Greenough, and take the bus. The other two are out-of-district. That's a spike from five years ago, when Hatten had one student.

"When we were at one, there was some talk outside our district of why do they need this school," she said. "But the voters of Greenough decide whether they want to support the school with their taxes, and they do. They've never suggested otherwise."

The school bus conversation began after a Greenough parent said they wanted their child to go to Sunset, but they couldn't get them there. "What am I supposed to do?" the parent asked.

"We were always told it would be too expensive," Hatten said of the school not having a bus before.

Then they figured out that if they adjust school hours  pushing start time to 8:20 a.m. and the end of school to 3:18 p.m.  Sunset can piggyback onto Potomac's school bus route. Potomac starts at 7:50 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., so Sunset fits in between.

Because Sunset only pays for its section of the route, and gets partially reimbursed by the state and county, the annual bill comes out to $5,000.

"It's safe, and parents don't have to put their kids on the highway in a private vehicle when a bus is much safer," Hatten said.

***

Enrollment has roller-coastered over the years. Its high was 26 students in 1967. There's been a steady decline ever since. Enrollment has been in the single digits since 2006.

"When Paws Up suffers from an economic downturn, so does Sunset," Lipkind said, since some parents of Sunset students work at the luxury resort.

Three bus stops were squeezed in for Sunset students, though only two are being used at the moment: Blanchard Creek Road and Ninemile Prairie Road.

Sunset had three seventh-graders last year, but they didn't return this fall.

That's pretty common. Hatten never knows quite what she'll get.

Last school year, she started with a kindergartner, second-grader, third-grader, fifth-grader and seventh-grader. She ended with a kindergartner, two second-graders and three seventh-graders.

At that point, she got a teacher's aide to help out with the age gap. This year, aide Kathy Stevens helps Hatten split the kindergartners from the primary grades for part of the day.

"We do as much as we can together," Hatten said. "Logistically, you have to. But it's important for cooperative learning to take place. What's always impressed me is whoever the older kids are ... they're amazing at working with the younger kids."

Everyone hopes the bus helps attendance. Anecdotally, Hatten said she's already seen a difference.

"Last semester we had such an attendance issue," she said.

Hatten's not sure exactly why school enrollment is on the rise, but she said it could have something to do with getting the school's name out there, reaching out to parents and inviting Paws Up to get involved with the school.

The bus route is expected to continue beyond this school year. Hatten is hopeful the school bus will attract other Greenough families who were questioning where to send their kids.

"What an exciting beginning," she said.
A logging sale along Lake Koocanusa that won U.S. District Court approval in July was blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just days before it was to start this week.

The project would have allowed logging on 8,845 acres along the east side of Lake Koocanusa, 15 miles east of Libby. It would have rebuilt or maintained 175 miles of logging roads, built nine miles of new road, added nine miles of previously closed trail to motorized use and added 13 miles of unofficial, user-created roads to the Forest Service road network. The work was spread throughout a 92,000-acre area of the Libby Ranger District.

The Forest Service's plans to clearcut lynx critical habitat were in direct violation of a binding 9th Circuit precedent on this issue, so we are pleased but not surprised that the appellate court stopped this massive timber sale, said Michael Garrity of Alliance for the Wild Rockies, which sued to block the project. That the Forest Service could possibly even consider such a massive logging project in an area in which only 1 percent of the remaining old growth exists in small, isolated stands defies law and logic.

The judges injunction warned that they were speeding up the hearing of the appeal, and any request for an extension of time to file a brief is disfavored. The full case should have its hearing in February 2017. The project was scheduled to start on Thursday.

A U.S. District Court ruling in July approved the project over AWRs objections. A coalition of environmental, recreation, and timber groups collaborated on the project. Robyn King of the Yaak Valley Forest Council and one of the collaborative stakeholders said she was convinced the project was meeting both landscape and community needs.

When we first got involved in that project, we didnt like it at all, King said. We participated actively in collaboration as allowed by NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act that governs U.S. Forest Service projects). Thanks to our input, the plan changed, and thats how its supposed to work. It created a diverse landscape, reduced wildfire fuels, created outdoor recreation opportunities, provided for timber harvest and looked after the wildlife issues.

Garrity argued the project failed to properly consider effects on endangered or threatened species such as Canada lynx, grizzly bear and bull trout.
The operating budget of the University of Montana took a 3 percent hit from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year  but most of UM's other pots of money have grown.

Money specifically earmarked for travel research is up 15 percent, loan and endowment dollars are up 5 percent, and independent enterprises such as those supported by student fees are up 2 percent, according to a budget summary posted on the Montana Board of Regents' website.

"Overall, the university actually has got more money this year than it had last year," said Mike Reid, vice president of finance for UM.

The Board of Regents is taking up budgets for the campuses and hearing early enrollment estimates at meetings Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Billings. The discussions are broadcast from a live video stream available at mus.edu/board/default.asp.

Last fall, UM President Royce Engstrom held a budget forum to announce the university would need to make personnel cuts to shore up its finances. He estimated it would need to cut 52 faculty positions, including 25 open lines, and make 149 non-faculty reductions.

The budget on the regents' agenda shows where the personnel cuts actually took place  and where they didn't. In fact, contract faculty expenses went up a hair at 0.62 percent, from $47.55 million to $47.86 million.

"In all the reductions made last year, there was not one tenure-track faculty eliminated," Reid said.

Contract professionals also grew  at some 3 percent from $9.13 million to $9.4 million.

However, the money spent on graduate assistants dropped 22 percent, from $4.18 million to $3.26 million, according to the report.

"Other salaries" plummeted 43 percent, from $1.69 million to $957,082. Reid said he believes adjunct faculty account for a portion of the "other salaries."

Contract administrative costs went down 2.87 percent, from $6.27 million to $6.09 million.

***

Other large changes in the budget include a 33 percent decrease in communications, which include postage and mailing, telephones, long distance charges, and related equipment.

Plant funds, set aside for construction or major capital improvements, are up 42 percent from the previous year. Reid said the cost includes renovations in the Liberal Arts building and also building Missoula College.

But he said the change in plant funds from year to year doesn't represent a trend; it represents the current construction projects taking place on campus.

"It can swing drastically from year to year," Reid said.

***

Enrollment estimates also are on tap at the regents' meeting this week.

UM is one of the campuses that has struggled to attract students in recent years, seeing an enrollment decline on the main campus of 20 percent since 2010.

The university is hoping to at least hold steady from last fall, when the president put enrollment at 10,915 full-time equivalents.
LOLO  Where does Lolo Creek go?

Once that was a question for Lewis and Clark to explore. Now its more a puzzle for residents along U.S. Highway 12 to ponder as the landmark waterway consistently disappears in late summer. On Wednesday, about 50 people came to the Voyage of Discoverys old campsite, Travelers Rest, to learn about a new exploration of Lolo Creeks hidden qualities.

The creek has been drying up in many years when it hadnt before, said Bobbie Bartlette of the Lolo Watershed Group, which organized the gathering. Wed like to understand the reason for that, and what we can do about it. Is it climate change, water usage, growth in the community?

The volunteer organization put together a request to Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to research the water question. Of the 11 proposals submitted, Lolos ranked No. 1. Thats brought a long table full of scientists to town to begin several years of research on the creeks behavior.

We need to find the places where something interesting is going on, and try to figure that out, explained Camela Carstarphen of the Butte-based Bureau of Mines and Geology. Despite its name, the bureau spends much of its time studying the states landscape to learn how farmers, ranchers, communities and the natural environment use the states groundwater.

Carstarphen said initial studies show the creek near its headwaters pushes about 18 cubic feet of water per second downstream. After its picked up most of its tributary streamflows, Lolo Creek hits 35 cfs. By the time it reaches Travelers Rest, thats shrunk to 1.5 cfs, and this year, disappears altogether before it reaches the Bitterroot River. Bureau work teams are drilling several new test wells in strategic places to get a better picture of how both the surface and groundwater move through the drainage.

That helped attract the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to do a pilot study of its own. DNRC is charged with developing a statewide surface water study, and Lolo work will be the training ground over the next five years.

Were trying to capture a low-flow year  looks like we kind of got it this year  a medium-flow and a high-flow year, said DNRCs Aaron Fiaschetti. We put in a lot of gauges this summer. Well start the study this October.

That study will produce a water budget  a picture of where Lolo Creeks water comes from, when it comes, and where it gets used. The work feeds into the Bureau of Mines and Geology groundwater investigation, which has the job of explaining why those whats, whens and wheres take place.

And those studies depend on research done by a couple of programs based at the University of Montana, including the state climate office and the geosciences department. State Climatologist Kelsey Jensco will gather decades of past precipitation and temperature data and future forecasts to reveal what water supplies come in from above. Hydrogeologist Payton Gardner will tease out the chemical fingerprints of isotopes and cosmic ray traces that reveal where the rain and snow joined the underground aquifer, how long its been down there and how fast it moves from place to place.

Meanwhile, the private Clark Fork Coalition has been teaming with the U.S. Forest Service in rehabilitating old logging roads around the headwaters of Lolo Creek. That work erased 13 miles of road this summer, and restored seven miles of mountain streams that were formerly too sediment-clogged for fish to use.

Once the pile of information gets big enough, the studies might point to ways irrigators could be more efficient in their farming needs. It could help Lolo residents decide where and when they might need a fourth water well to serve their community. It could produce drought management plans similar to a system pioneered by the Blackfoot Challenge that keeps farms and ranches functioning in the Blackfoot River drainage.

We dont know what the results are going to be, Lolo Watershed Group member Michele Landquist said. But we hope to add some tools to our toolbox.
Nearly every weekend of this summer, I have ventured up into the heart of the Great Burn. Heart Lake. Dalton Lake. Cache Creek. Goose Lake. North Fork Fish Creek. West Fork Fish Creek. This area is no Glacier National Park; you may see five cars at the trailhead, not 300. But the Great Burn offers more than just solitude.

The other weekend I descended off the Stateline Trail with a group of volunteers for the Great Burn Study Groupa group that had championed stewardship projects in this wild area for over 40 yearsonly to find a moose bathing in a lake. This is not uncommon. The Great Burn provides exceptional habitat: few roads, few people, exposed alpine meadows, ancient cedar forests; its the last unprotected link in a chain of wilderness areas and national parks from Banff to the Frank Church in central Idaho. But there is no guarantee that the Great Burn will stay the way it is.

It has been 106 years since the 3-million-acre fire burned across Idaho and western Montana on a weekend in 1910. Entire towns burned to the ground, and relics of this historic, catastrophic fire remain. Lewis and Clark traversed the ridgetops on the southern edge of the Great Burn; Native Americans used this land for hunting and foraging for 10,000 years without the sound of motorized power. Located 25 miles west of Missoula as the crow flies, this 252,000-acre proposed wilderness is a gem in the northern Bitterroot. You cant see it from Interstate 90, nor from anywhere in the Missoula Valley. Its looming, straddling the Montana-Idaho border south of Lookout Pass and north of Highway 12.

The proposed wilderness is in administrative limbo, managed to be designated in the future as capital W wilderness by Congress, but it doesnt have any form of permanent protectionat least not yet. We need to protect this unique landscape so future generations of Montanans can witness the subtle beauty, solitude, and outstanding wildlife habitat of the Great Burn.

The upcoming Nez Perce-Clearwater and Lolo national forests plan revision will revisit their formal wilderness recommendations for this area, leaving an uncertain future for the Great Burn. Threats to the wild character of the area come from all sides: pressure on the Lolo to cut more wood to feed mills, motorized vehicles venturing further into the backcountry, and the uncertainty of managing our public lands in the face of climate change. A recent record of decision released by the Nez Perce-Clearwater for their travel management plan upholds the wilderness character of recommended wilderness areas on their foresta win for the Burn, and for the local communities. According to Headwaters Economics, wilderness nets communities in the vicinity of $400 per year higher income than areas without. While wilderness is not a silver bullet, it can contribute to a more diverse economic base in rural areas.

On one of my adventures several weeks ago, I awoke on the shores of Dalton Lake. Through my tent I heard a cobbling of hooves on rock. Mountain goats scaled the rocky crags, white specks in a stunning alpine landscape. The huckleberry bushes were tacked with white fuzz, goat hair snagged in the brush. On this outing in the Great Burn I saw more goats than humansas we move forward into the 21st century, I would like to see places like the Great Burn protected so my children can experience what a truly wild place feels like.
The University of Montana has budgeted for a 6.6 percent drop in enrollment for the 2017 fiscal year, which began July 1, according to a presentation to the Montana Board of Regents on Wednesday.

UM budgeted for 10,409 full-time equivalent students, including those at Missoula College. The figures are preliminary.

The Commissioner of Higher Education's staff said enrollment across the Montana University System is "slightly up" over last fall and will support the budgets proposed by the campuses, including UM.

At the meeting in Billings, the regents talked about enrollment, heard an update on state support for higher education, and took up the $1.54 billion system budget for the 2017 fiscal year.

Chuck Jensen, deputy commissioner for administration and finance, said it was critical to point out the University of Montana had made progress in aligning its budget with its enrollment projections.

Its really important to note that in the two fiscal years from FY15 to FY17, this campus has made a significant reduction in their operating expenses, Jensen said, citing more than $10 million in cuts.

Enrollment started slipping at UM in 2011 and the campus so far has not been able to reverse the decline.

Official enrollment figures were not available at the meeting for any campus. They take a census on the 15th day of classes when fees are due, and most campuses are only in their 12th day.

Tyler Trevor, deputy commissioner of planning and analysis, said the commissioner asked him to pull preliminary enrollment data together for the regents meeting. While he said he was confident the data supports "the validity of our operating budgets," he isn't convinced the figures are accurate because the enrollment target is still moving.

Before the budget discussion, Regent Martha Sheehy asked Trevor to direct her to the document that showed the enrollment estimates for each of the branches. She said she understood the preliminary nature of the information.

"Where do I look to find the numbers that we're close to?" Sheehy said.

At this point, Trevor said, the estimates include "too many stipulations for the average person to digest." However, he said the regents would receive more details when they discussed the budget. During that portion of the agenda, they received the numbers each campus had budgeted for the fiscal year.

Montana State University in Bozeman is planning on an enrollment increase of 3.4 percent for a total of 14,412 full-time equivalent students, including Gallatin College students.

***

At the meeting, the regents moved the Montana University System budget for approval Thursday.

Over the past decade, higher education has seen strong state support, Trevor said. Commissioner Clayton Christian said former Gov. Brian Schweitzer and current Gov. Steve Bullock have backed higher education, as have legislators, so this state is in a different financial position than many others.

We have increased state revenue, something only three other states have managed to do in that same period of time, Christian said.

At one point, state support had fallen to 32 percent of the cost of higher education, and the board wanted to get closer to 50 percent, he said. State support now sits at about 40 percent, although its at 50 percent for resident students.

The budget the regents will formally vote on Thursday is $1.54 billion and up 6 percent from the 2016 fiscal year.

Regent Bill Johnstone said he wasnt comfortable that the regents could only vote up or down on such a large item. Hed like to ensure the university system is providing adequate need-based aid and he hopes to take a closer look at that issue and tuition in the future.

It does represent one of the most important decisions were asked to make every year, Johnstone said of the budget.

Regent Sheehy said she was heartened to hear the campuses were aligning their budgets with their enrollment  and living within their means. At the same time, she wanted the regents to be able to systematically discuss other significant items.

In particular, she wanted to know whether campuses were on track with enrollment and if the plan put forward for Missoula last fall was on track.

Are we on the right course with respect to growth? Sheehy said.

In response, President Royce Engstrom said UM is taking a number of steps to strengthen enrollment. Its new vice president for enrollment management, Tom Crady, is revising operations in recruiting and admissions, for one.

UM is being more aggressive in strategic, non-resident markets, and it has launched an effort to improve customer service, he said. The campus also is evaluating its curricula and adjusting offerings.

When you are in Missoula for the November meeting, we would like to give you a more complete, detailed view of some of those efforts and how theyre progressing at that time, Engstrom said.

The board reconvenes at 8:15 a.m. Thursday. A live feed of the meeting is available at mus.edu/board/meetings/2016/Sept2016/Sept2016.asp.
Police reports

BLOODY MAN

A 22-year-old man was taken to the hospital at 1 a.m. Thursday after showing up at a home bleeding. Police were called to the 1700 block of Longfellow where the man was bleeding from his face, had scratches, and wore a bloody shirt. The man was unable to tell police was happened.

FELONY DRUG ARRESTS

Police were called to the parking lot at Front and Montana at 4 p.m. Wednesday after a caller reported two people in a green Ford using drugs. Officers approached the vehicle and while speaking with the occupants smelled marijuana through the open window.

Police said the driver, Cassandra Latray, 25, of Butte, admitted to having marijuana in the car. An officer opened the passenger door and discovered syringes, a spoon, and what police believe to be morphine and meth.

The passenger, Nicholas Johnson, 23, of Butte, was arrested and charged with felony possession of dangerous drugs, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, and violating probation. Latray was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor for dug possession and a misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia.

DRIVER ARRESTED

Police stopped a car on the 700 block of Arizona street just before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after a driver ran a red light. Officers discovered the driver, Zane Henderson, 20, of Butte, had warrants for his arrest from Silver Bow and Jefferson counties. Henderson was arrested and charged with driving without a valid license or insurance and criminal contempt.
Two medical experts on Wednesday gave opposing testimony in the deliberate homicide trial of a Texas man facing multiple charges in connection with a shooting spree southeast of Butte in November 2015.

Dr. Loretta L. Bolyard, a clinical psychologist based in Butte, testified for the defense that Tony Dwade Sawyer, in her opinion, was under extreme mental distress at the time of the alleged crime on Fish Creek Road.

The 48-year-old faces charges of deliberate homicide and two counts of attempted deliberate homicide in Butte district court. Butte-Silver Bow County prosecutors say he shot and killed Joe Powers, 37, of Whitehall and wounded two other men in the remote, mountainous terrain about 13 miles outside Butte.

Prosecutors did not rest their case against the Texan on Wednesday; however, the defense and state each called expert witnesses to accommodate their schedules.

Bolyard detailed her findings from several assessments and three interviews with the Sawyer, testifying that he and Steve Drury, one of the surviving victims, met as inmates in Texas and forged a pretty close friendship.

Drury assured Sawyer he could find work in the Whitehall area. After he arrived by bus Nov. 2, Bolyard testified that the defendant told her he quickly learned Drury was a big-time drug dealer, and observed him moving around a lot of money and making several methamphetamine drops.

Sawyer also admitted meth use twice before the shootings on Fish Creek Road. And his efforts to avoid or get away from Drury  from his perspective  were untenable, Bolyard testified.

He believed he would be killed. He felt stuck, she said.

During deputy county attorney Michael Clagues cross-examination, Bolyard said it wasnt her place to determine if Sawyer was telling the truth. The prosecutor pressed her, asking if she made efforts to corroborate her findings by reviewing documents and speaking to the two surviving victims.

Bolyard testified she believed Drury and Hunter Smith were unavailable.

Did you call me and ask? queried Clague.

I did not, she replied.

Dr. William Stratford, a Missoula-based psychiatrist, then took the witness stand, piercing holes in her testimony. Like Bolyard, he met with Sawyer during his incarceration in the county jail, administered tests and had access to the police case file.

The mistake she made was to assume (Sawyer) was telling the truth, Stratford testified, adding that he could make no predictions about a defendants future behavior or advocate what happened in the past.

Clague asked the witness if he took issue with Bolyards report.

She believed him, he replied. She seems to be an advocate for what he says. She and I dont have the skillset to know what went on.

Stratford agreed the events of Nov. 3, 2015, were stressful, but that Bolyards advocacy was not sound because there are different stories of what occurred that night.

In earlier testimony Wednesday, Hunter Smith of Whitehall told jurors he was knocked to the ground after Sawyer shot him, and then fired at Powers and Drury.

I didnt move. I was scared. It was bam, bam, bam  it was fast, Smith said of the shots fired that snowy night.

The 43-year-old, who is hearing-impaired, recounted how he and Powers used meth before the four men drove Drurys Chevy Equinox to shoot skeet about 4 miles from Drurys house. Smith also recalled Drury took along a 9mm handgun.

Deputy County Attorney Ann Shea asked what happened as the men drove up Fish Creek Road.

This is where my friend died, said Smith, who was overcome with emotion.

Sawyers trial resumes Thursday morning with the jury visiting the crime scene on Fish Creek Road. Presiding Judge Brad Newman granted a defense motion to assist jurors in evaluating the evidence heard at trial.

Before recessing jurors Wednesday afternoon, the judge said cones or flags will be placed at the scene to designate where shell casings, a handgun and Powers body were found. The jury will hear no testimony, argument or evidence during the view.

The prosecution and defense will argue the significance of the jury view when the trial resumes, Newman said.
DEER LODGE  The home in which a local handy man murdered Beverly Giannonatti and her son Greg last October will be the site of an estate auction on Sunday.

High-quality tools, lawn and farm tractors, pickups and cars will be on the auction block at 86 Larkspur Road north of Deer Lodge, said Bobby Roshon of Roshons Auction Service in Rollins.

Its definitely one of the nicest collections of tools weve had the privilege of selling, Roshon said.

David Wayne Nelson pleaded guilty last week in Deer Lodge District Court to two counts of deliberate homicide. A plea agreement calls for theft and obstruction of justice charges be dropped in exchange for two life sentences. District Judge Ray Dayton ordered a presentence investigation be completed before Nelson is sentenced.

Charging documents indicated Nelson, then 53, beat Greg Giannonatti, 57, to death with a hammer in the bathroom, then strangled Beverly, 79, with a piece of electrical wire.

The murders occurred after the younger Giannonnatti confronted Nelson about the disappearance of 1,700 ounces of silver worth $26,000 from the Giannonatti home off Beck Hill Road, seven miles north of Deer Lodge, on Oct. 21. Court records said Nelson sold the silver to Grizzly Gold and Silver in Missoula.

Nelson told investigators he was working in the bathroom a couple of days later when Greg Giannonatti confronted him and hit him in the face. Nelson said he grabbed a hammer and hit Giannonatti behind the left ear, causing him to fall, whereupon Nelson hit his victim two to five more times.

At that point Beverly Giannonatti entered the bathroom. Nelson grabbed her and threw her against the wall, causing her to hit her head on what is believed to be the vanity, as she fell to the floor, the affidavit read. He then grabbed a length of electrical wire and used it to strangle Beverly.

Nelson loaded the bodies into the back of Beverly Giannonattis truck and covered them with a tarp. He threw the hammer in the Clark Fork River and drove up Old Stage Road, where he deposited the bodies near Gold Creek, covering them with sticks and logs. Nelson eventually led authorities to the bodies.

Beverly Giannonatti had lived in the home with her husband, Bill, until they separated and she moved into Deer Lodge, where she owned several rental properties. Greg Giannonatti also lived in town. Bill Giannonatti died in late August 2015 and left the house and properties to his son.

Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard said the Giannonattis were renovating the home for Beverly to move back into at the time of her disappearance. The house is expected to go on the market some time after Sunday's auction.

Nelson was on probation after serving a prison term for a 1998 robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping in Ravalli County. He was released from the state prison in Deer Lodge in January 2015.

The status remains unknown of a 25-pound bar of gold reportedly seen by a housekeeper in the home on Larkspur Road before the murders.

Roshon said therell be two auctioneers on hand Sunday to move things along. The estate auction starts at 9 a.m. Proceeds will go to unspecified family members.

For more information on the auction go to www.bobbyroshon.com.
Giving credit where credit is due, one should commend the Governors MDC Transition Planning Advisory Council for their good work in moving the MDC clientele from the current institutional setting at MDC, into a more community-based setting as instructed by SB 411. Signed and approved by the Governor, SB 411 came about as an alternative method of managing the population at MDC, and continuing to keep the population safe with effective and efficient policy changes.

However, hearing of some of the recommendations from the Governor-appointed commission on MDC, it would seem appropriate to remind the good people of Boulder, and Jefferson County, that the 2015 Legislature voted to close MDC, NOT ABANDON BOULDER. The main objective of SB 411 may have been to close MDC, but another important objective of the bill sponsor was to repurpose the campus in Boulder, protect jobs, and thus the economy of Boulder. The good citizens from this community should be asking a lot more questions. The promise of a couple of four-bed units, and a bribe to Boulder of $500,000, to go quietly into the night, falls way short of what you deserve from the State of Montana. Looking at other abandoned, state-owned properties like Warm Springs and Galen, the Legislature should not sit idly by, potentially subjecting the buildings, and Boulder, the same fate of disrepair and abandonment. Im guessing if the people of the community are willing to stand up for themselves, they will find friends in the 2017 legislative session that would be willing to help. Friends could be as close as your local legislators, who certainly want the best for your community and the State of Montana.

It would also seem appropriate to remind the citizens of Boulder that the Governor just signed a 20-year, $25 million lease agreement for forensic overflow from the Montana State Hospital, without any legislative approval or oversight. The Mayor of Boulder, Jefferson County Commission, and the Citizens of the community should be asking real pointed questions as to why this economic and employment opportunity was not considered for the Boulder community. Knowing the proposed costs of remodeling what is left at MDC, and cost of remodeling Galen, I would suggest renovation costs as an excuse for not considering Boulder, doesnt hold water.

Given the good work of the Council in transitioning the clientele out of MDC, I would hate to see the final chapter of the Council, chaired by the Governors budget director, tainted for lack of legislative and community input. The good citizens of Boulder, and the State of Montana, have to know that the State has done everything possible to help with this transition. I would suggest the Governor pay close attention to these recommendations. The apparent lack of input, or consideration of all possibilities, puts the success or failure of this endeavor squarely on the back of the Governors office.
Stewart Edward White (1873-1946) was a famous sportsman and writer who hunted, camped and traveled in the North American wilderness, sometimes for months at a time. He was a good friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, who said White was the best man with both rifle and pistol who ever shot at Roosevelts rifle range. Major Townsend Whelan, in his book, The American Rifle, said White was one of the best game shots in the world

But like many avid hunters, Stewart Edward White, had no use for steel traps. In his book, Wild Geese Calling, he writes, But where Len  and John  thought only in terms of fur, and stopped at that, Sally saw too vividly a picture of a living creature, struggling, panting, broken-legged, wild with terror, held fast hour after hour, even day after day  Sudden clean death she could accept, for she was no sentimentalist. But to wake up, winter nights, and think of small, frantic, broken-legged, gnawing creatures, dying by inches in the snow!

Some people today wish to favorably compare hunting and trapping. They would have us believe that if you hunt you should support trapping. But for many decades hunters have rejected this association. Experienced and ethical hunters know the profound difference between carefully positioning ourselves for a clean, humane shot that preserves the amount and quality of the meat and trappings random gamble of setting a trap that wont be checked for hours or days only to then reveal an unwanted bird or pet or an animals foot. Instead of associating hunting with trapping, a much closer similarity exists with trappings resemblance to putting out poisoned bait.

I ran a trapline for a few years and have hunted for 60 years. I know the difference. Vote yes for I-177.

 Bob Stone, Polson

(Editor's note: Initiative 177 generally prohibits the use of traps and snares for animals on any public lands within Montana and establishes misdemeanor criminal penalties for violations of the trapping prohibitions.)
In response to Bob Brown's guest opinion: In 1964, I cast my vote for Lyndon Johnson because I believed the lies told by the Democrats that Barry Goldwater, as president, would incinerate the entire world with the atom bomb.

Subsequently, Lyndon Johnson gave us the Vietnam war. In 1963, we had 16,000 troops in Nam, and by 1968, we had 500,000. Ultimately, a waste of 58,000 young men's lives, billions of dollars and more than a million Vietnamese killed.

A Hillary White House will give us a "pay to play" administration. The AP reported 16 foreign governments donated $170 million to the Clinton Foundation during Clintons term as Secretary of State. No doubt they expect no favors with Hillary as president. The AP reported that 85 donors of $156 million to the Clinton Foundation later had meetings with Secretary of State Clinton.

With Hillary Clinton in the White House, you will have the best president money can buy.

Do you really plan to vote for a crook? Trump may brag, but Clinton lies.

 Ed Hostettler, Billings
Many things slide under the radar where state government is concerned. Some are so egregious they need to be brought into the light of day and fully examined.

One such event is the Montana Department of Commerce granting a Montana tourism contract to a Wisconsin firm with little or no experience in destination or tourism marketing, even though several Montana firms applied for the contract and had the necessary credentials to do the job. This contract is for $7 to $9 million in Montana tax dollars a year.

Lets look at the known facts. A deadline had been set for applications and was known by all parties for months. A few hours before the deadline it was extended to allow for all parties to have time to submit the application.

The extension alone is not terribly troubling until you realize that the Jennifer Pelej, the Department of Commerce Bureau Chief, who is heavily involved with awarding this contract, just happens to have a cousin who is a VP account supervisor with the Wisconsin firm Hoffman York. Suddenly the plot thickens, but it gets worse.

To get the contract, a company must go through three extensive evaluations. After the first two the Montana company, Brickhouse from Great Falls, was the point leader. However, after the third round Brickhouse suddenly received failing scores in all seven categories and Hoffman York got superior rating in all seven. One of the categories is understanding of the Montana brand. How is it possible that a Wisconsin company with no presence in Montana knows more about Montana than a Montana company?

In order to qualify for the contract, Hoffman York formed a small partnership with a Montana company, Shortgrass, in order to have someone to attend meetings in Helena.

I am sure there is more to be revealed about this contract but at best it stinks of blatant cronyism when an out-of-state company gets a contract this large even though they have no experience in the field. Why werent Gov. Steve Bullock and Commerce Director Meg OLeary paying closer attention to this process? Were they complicit in allowing this to happen? I believe honest answers to the citizens of Montana are required from our leaders. No more cronyism and favoritism with our tax dollars.
Christina is a name with English, Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Roman roots that was very popular during the 1970s, but even more so in the 1980s, when it secured the average rank of No. 18.
Rooted in the word for the plant, Heather is an English name. It ranked No. 3 among girls born in 1975 and served as the No. 7 most popular girl name for the entire decade.
The 1970s was the most popular era for Kimberly, as it held the average rank of No. 6, but this English name actually secured its peak rank in 1967, when it took the No. 2 spot.
Michelle, the French form of Michael, held the average rank of No. 5 during the 1970s, but topped out in 1972, when it was the second most popular name among girls.
Angela, a name of English, Greek, Latin and Roman origin, nearly topped the charts during the 1970s, as it was the sixth most common name among baby girls.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  For book lovers on the Friends of the Musser Public Library board, selling books to help support the Musser Public Library is a meaningful task.

Piles upon stacks of childrens, mystery, romance, and other books stretched across an auditorium room at the Muscatine Community School District Board office Wednesday night waiting to be sorted and lined up before being sold, collected and taken away to their new homes.

Nicole Willits, the president of the Friends of the Musser Library board, said the books to be sold in the fourth annual book sale were at least 75 percent community donated.

Such a huge amount of material they are willing to turn over to us so that we can fund the childrens programming at the library, Willits said.

The community members who donated books, DVDs, CDs, audio books, records, and other items made this sale bigger than ever before at about 75,000 items. Willits said the largest sale previously was around 35,000 items. Part of the added material were childrens books from the closure of Washington Elementary School and many other childrens books from the community.

Its been surprising in the best way possible, she said.

The book sale helps the Friends board support the library with 100 percent of the funds generated by the sale going back into childrens programming, the summer and winter reading programs, and staff development.

While Willits said all programming at the library is excellent, one of her main goals is to fund the childrens programs and assist childrens librarian Betty Collins with organization of instructional events.

The childrens programming, I think, is exceptional so the importance of what we can do to fund them really allows Betty to structure through creativity, she said.

Staff development funding, Willits said, helps the library be able to send staff to learn about new programs or other information that can help the library grow.

Having something in the coffers allows us to be incredibly flexible to let them (the library) shape and grow how they want to, she said.

A successful event, she said, would raise around $2,000.

When we have big events, good turnout really bolsters us for the whole year, Willits said.

The book sale will be held from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, at the Muscatine School Board Office, 2900 Mulberry Ave. For more information email www.friendsofmusserpubliclibrary@gmail.com.

The book prices on Friday night will be 50 cents for childrens books, $1 for paperbacks, $2 for hardbacks, and $3 for coffee table books and the large hardbacks. Discounts start Saturday morning and are usually half-off by 10 a.m. This year the sale will also include a bulk buy at $20 for a paper bag to fill with books.

We want to promote having books in peoples hands, we love the library, we love what theyre able to do, Willits said.

The board members also love to read, she said, so having the inexpensive book sale is also exciting for them.

Its a big labor of love, she said.
COLUMBUS CITY, Iowa  The Columbus City United Methodist Church building is 150 years old this year, and the congregation is celebrating on Sunday, Sept. 18. There will be a Sunday service at 10:30 a.m., a slide show of past church events and members over the years, music by the Cunninghams of Grandview, a catered meal at noon with freewill donation, and reminiscing after the meal.

All are being invited to the event, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the erection of the building still being used. It was placed on ground donated by early town leader Wesley Garner. The building is one of the oldest churches still holding regular services in Louisa County.

There is another near anniversary. The congregation of the church began meeting south of town around 1840, before there was a Columbus City, so this year is the 176th anniversary of this Methodist group.

There have been additions and remodeling over the years, and the building was raised and a basement put under it about 100 years ago, just before World War I. More recently a handicapped entry was added. Through all the changes and with pastors and congregational members changing over the decades, the old church still continues to serve its members.
WAPELLO, Iowa - The Henry County community of Winfield will apparently receive a letter of support from the Louisa County Board of Supervisors for its new swimming pool proposal, but no financial help.

Winfield Mayor Chris Finnell made the financial plea Tuesday to the board, explaining the pool would provide a service to the entire area and not just Winfield residents.

Were working on a pool proposal for the community, he said, pointing out the school and fire districts both extended into Louisa County and many Morning Sun area residents were also expected to use the facility.

Finnell said the pool and adjoining bathhouse would likely cost around $1 million to construct, with about 40 percent expected to come from identified grants, local city and county governments, Winfield Community Development Group and other sources.

We have good community support, Finnell told the board.

Finnell said the aging current pool operated by the local country club had deteriorated, prompting the city to begin looking at replacement. He said the new pool would be located near the current facility.

Supervisor Chair Paula Buckman agreed the proposal sounded good, but pointed out the board had not financially supported similar efforts and facilities inside Louisa County.

We did not make a contribution to Wapello (when it built a new pool in 2014), she said, adding the county also did not provide any operating funds for the pool in Columbus Junction.

I think we would have a lot of people in the county upset, she continued.

Finnell indicated he was not surprised by the decision, but said the supervisors could still help with the project.

Could I get a letter of support? he asked.

Buckman assured Finnel she would provide one.

In other action, the board agreed to continue providing a $7,500 allocation to the Great River Housing Trust Fund (GRHTF), which is affiliated with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission (SEIRPC), Burlington.

Dan Eberhardt, SEIRPC Regional Planner II, who oversees the GRHTF provided the board with a packet showing a five-year overview of the fund.

He said nearly $3 million had been spent on housing projects in Louisa, Lee, Des Moines and Henry counties over the past five years.

Weve done a lot of good things up this way, he said, explaining the trust fund had helped provide owner-occupied rehabilitation, down payment assistance, development assistance, upper story housing and project-specific financing.

Although the overview did not break out individual county figures, it did show that over the past five years, the GRHTF has supported 118 rehabilitation projects, 78 down payment assistance projects, five development assistance projects, two construction financing projects and one miscellaneous financing project.

The supervisors agreed to continue providing $7,500 to the fund.

Eberhardt said support from the counties would help with a $70,000 local match for a $270,000 request to the Iowa Finance Authority.

In final action, the board:

 Approved plans for an overlay project of County Road G40 between Letts and Fredonia;

 Signed a letter of approval for the master matrix proposed by Lone Tree Pork, LLC #1 for an animal confinement facility northwest of Conesville;

 Met with county treasurer Vicki Frank and learned she did not support additional hours for her office because of security and staffing issues.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  The Muscatine Planning & Zoning Commission met Tuesday night and approved two projects to move forward to the full City Council including a proposed subdivision of property owned by Muscatine County and approval of a new flood plain map.

Muscatine County submitted a combined preliminary/final plat for a 5.24 acre, one-lot subdivision at 3500 Harmony Court. This is part of the long term planning discussions by the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors who have taken action recently to dispose of some county owned real estate and buildings.

There were some residents who attended the meeting and were concerned about the additional traffic on Fulliam Avenue, Andrew Fangman, city planner, said. The Houser Street-Fulliam Avenue intersection has been a trouble intersection for some time.

The approval of the subdivision by the City of Muscatine is necessary for the sale of the property after the Board of Supervisors accepted a purchase offer from a developer.

The second item to move forward concerned the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the area protected by the Island Levee that were recently issued by FEMA. The maps must be made an official part of the City of Muscatine Floodplain Regulations in order for residents and businesses to be eligible to continue and/or purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.

A public hearing and first reading of the ordinance will be conducted at the City Council meeting at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Residents within the Muscatine School District overwhelmingly approved continuation of the Physical Plant & Equipment Levy (PPEL) program that has benefited students, parents, faculty and staff over the last 30 years.

The current program expires in 2020 and the Muscatine Schools Board of Education sought a 10-year extension which would allow the board to continue long range planning.

Despite a light voter turnout last Tuesday, the extension passed with 79.67 percent of the vote. Only 488 votes were cast with the proposal receiving 388 yes votes and 99 no votes.

The 10-year facility plan that is being developed by the district includes several projects that the PPEL funds will be used for. Some of the projects that are in the planning stages are a new gymnasium entrance at the high school along with updated physical education facilities, Phase 3 and 4 of the MHS Renovation Project which includes new science classrooms, the 1:1 computer initiative for grades 6-12, and infrastructure needs such as new roofing, HVAC systems, and security upgrades.

PPEL creates a special revenue fund that the school district can use to help pay for the purchase of equipment and maintenance of buildings, grounds, and other infrastructure. The fund cannot be used for salaries, travel, classroom materials, or other printing or media services.

Some of the most recent infrastructure projects that have utilized PPEL funds are the new Jefferson Elementary school and the new wing at Muscatine High School. The boiler at West Middle School was also replaced out of this fund.

The voter PPEL rate will remain at $1.10 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. A Board PPEL which does not have to be approved by the voters is at 33 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.
Old team: Green Bay Packers

The Chargers signed Hayward to a three-year, $15.3 million contract, which is an absolute steal. San Diego downgraded at safety this offseason, replacing Eric Weddle with Dwight Lowery, but Hayward represents a significant upgrade at cornerback that should leave the secondary in good shape.
Important stuff you won't get from the liberal media! We do the surfing so you can be informed AND have a life!
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 []
South Africas top 10 brands are MTN, Vodacom, Sasol, Standard Bank, Woolworths, FNB, Absa, Nedbank, Investec and Mediclinic.

South Africas top brands, which contribute not only to the countrys economy, but to the image they portray when doing business internationally, were unveiled on Thursday.

Brand South Africa and Brand Africa Finance hosted the breakfast announcement, which took place in Houghton, Johannesburg.

Brand Finance calculates the values of the brands in its league tables using the Royalty Relief approach. This approach involves estimating the likely future sales that are attributable to a brand and calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for the use of the brand- which is what the owner would have to pay for the use of the brand  assuming it was not already owned.

The report releveled that the total value of the Top 50 brands increased 3% from R373 billion in 2015 to R384 billion this year.

MTN remains the most valuable brand despite losing 32% of its brand value due to some of its reputational challenges.

Woolworths  which stands at number five -holds the strongest brand position with an increase of 21% in brand value.

Telecommunication  Telkom has seen the greatest increase in brand value following the integration of Business Connexion and improved performance on the retail side with good ratings on Value for Money and Customer Satisfaction according to the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi).

The increase in brand value sees Telkom move from 23rd position last year to 17th in 2016.

Interestingly, many of the top 10 brands from 2015 have retained their positions in 2016 except for Woolworths which has moved to fifth place, and Absa which has moved to seventh.

Brands seeing a significant increase in value include Investec (27%) and WesBank (27%).

Two new brands have entered the Top 50. Country Road, now owned by Woolworths  which enters at 31st place with a value of R4.64 billion and Growthpoint enters at 50 with a value of R1.47 billion.

SABMiller holds the most valuable portfolio amounting to R29.67 billion with four of its brands standing amongst the countrys top 50: Castle, Carling Black Label, Hansa Pilsner and SABMiller.

SABMiller is followed by Firstrand with three brands (FNB, WesBank and RMB) valued at R23.12 billion.

Brand South Africas CEO Dr Kingsley Makhubela congratulated the Top 50 corporate brands saying, South African commercial brands are a key component of a strong nation brand and how this is experienced by both domestic and international audiences.

Commercial brands are key messengers in positioning the country competitively. At the same time, we express our appreciation to all other corporate brands in the country for your contribution to the growth and development of South Africa, said Makhubela.

Chairman of Brand Finance Africa, Thebe Ikalafeng said the story of the Top 50 corporate brands is a good story for the South Africa Nation Brand as well as the continental story.

Many of these brands have footprints on the continent and this bodes well for perceptions about business on the continent, their ethics, governance and commitment to social upliftment.

Newly appointed Director of Brand Finance Africa, Jeremy Sampson, said the more competitive the market, the more important it is to have a strong brand, leverage it to its full potential and measured and monitor at all times.

Brands are increasingly the major assets of companies, yet does anyone have an idea of their true value? Marketing is no longer a nice to have it can be the difference between success and failure, added Sampson.

More on the top brands

Hisense is the top-selling TV brand in South Africa  heres its most popular model

Most reliable car brands in the world for 2016

The computer and smartphone brands which South African techies trust

Most valuable tech brands in South Africa
President Jacob Zuma was recently interviewed by Chinese journalist Tian Wei on the CCTV-News programme World Insight.

The interview formed part of its coverage of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou.

The interview was aimed at gaining insight into how South Africa  the only African country in the G20 group  could contribute to the summit.

Many commentators slated Zuma after the interview, arguing that he humiliated himself and South Africa and showed a lack of understanding of core economic issues.

Peter Bruce, Editor-in-Chief of Business Day and Financial Mail, said Zuma should not have accepted the interview.

He is simply not able to hold an English conversation on, say, aspects of industrialisation at any length, said Bruce.

Moneyweb editor Ryk van Niekerk called the interview cringeworthy, adding that it underlines his lack of understanding of the challenges facing the South African economy.

If it wasnt such a massive embarrassment for South Africa, it would have been funny, said van Niekerk.

This is not the first time Zuma has shown a lack of knowledge.

The list below details what the South African President has said in recent years, and how it compares with reality.

I think of all the regions of the world, [Africa] was the only one which was totally colonised and stayed there for a long time without Africa doing its own things. It was only in the decade of the sixties that they began to get their independence.  CCTV-News World Insight interview.

It is debatable whether Ethiopia was ever colonised, but what is not debatable is that many African countries gained independence long before the sixties. Egypt gained independence in 1922, Ghana in 1957, Liberia in 1847, and Libya in 1951, to name a few.

As a government in South Africa we have in fact done a lot of job creation, trying to invest, trying to encourage the private sector.  CCTV-News World Insight interview.

Actions by the Zuma government, including replacing Nhlanhla Nene with Des van Rooyen and continued concerns regarding Treasury, has created an uncertain economic environment which chased investors away and weakened the rand. This, in turn, has slowed economic growth and job creation.

This continent is the biggest continent in the world. All continents put together will fit into Africa.  Speaking to the business community.

Asia is the largest continent by area, at 43.8 million square kilometres. Asia also has the largest population, with over 4 billion people. Africa is a distant second, with an area of 30.3 million square kilometres and a population of just over 1 billion people.

It [a shower] would minimise the risk of contracting the disease [HIV/AIDS].  Zuma speaking at the Johannesburg High Court after he had sex with his HIV-positive rape accuser.

The South African HIV Clinicians Society made it clear that showering or bathing will not prevent HIV transmission.

Spending money on buying a dog, taking it to the vet and for walks belonged to white culture and was not the African way  Zuma said in a speech in KwaZulu-Natal in 2012.

Caring for a dog cuts through all cultures and races, and the backlash caused by his statement resulted in an apology from the President.

Democracy is the brainchild of the ANC  President Jacob Zuma reminded Parliament in November 2015.

Athenians established what is generally held as the first democracy in 508507 BC, thousands of years before the ANC was formed.

How could you vote for people who do not know whether they are coming or going? Theyve got nothing except their voices. They are smaller, theyve never ruled any country. Theyve got no experience.  Zuma addressing ANC supporters at the Mbombela Stadium in 2016.

The ANC was voted into power in 1994 without having any experience in ruling a country.

The full CCTV-News World Insight interview with President Jacob Zuma

More on Jacob Zuma

How Zuma broke the rand

Treasury has nuclear bomb which guarantees the end of Zuma: Report
With over 700,000 customers in 15 countries the Taxify cab-hailing app is one of the fastest growing transport platforms in Europe and Africa.

The free smartphone app seamlessly connects people to reliable drivers, eliminating call-centres, long waiting periods and ridiculously high fares.

Since its relaunch in South Africa earlier this year, Taxify has experienced an impressive 100% month-on-month growth rate.

2016 has also seen the launch of Taxify in other African countries, including Kenya with more to follow.

Were connecting passengers to reliable rides and believe that treating drivers better is the only way to serve our riders better, Taxify spokesperson said.

According to Taxify, their drivers earn an average 10% more than those of their competitors.

We want to support local entrepreneurs to make money by taking less commission and in turn they earn more per trip while being one of the cheapest rides for customers.

Since entering the South African market earlier this year, weve quickly grown Taxify to one of the top transport apps in the country. Proving our point  sometimes less is more.

The rates for the month of September in both cities are lower than any other competitor yet drivers still earn more by having lowered our commissions as well.

Taxify is based on a business model similar to other cab hailing apps, with its own private drivers. Riders can pay their fare using cash, debit card or credit card.

Encouraged by their success in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Taxifys plans to roll out in all other major hubs in South Africa are well underway.

The Taxify Rider App is available for download on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

Receive R150 off your first trip by entering the Promo Code MBBZA. Apply the promo code after adding your bank card payment.

The transport industry has been broken for decades, and we believe that technology can do better.

Our mission is to provide people convenient, reliable and affordable rides in cities around the world, Taxify spokesperson added.


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         2013 .         9          .    .
I am supporting Mariko Yamada in her bid for the California State Senate, District 3. Mariko is a fearless advocate for all of us, and she demonstrated that fact over and over again when she represented us in the state assembly for six years. But her record of advocacy on behalf of regular folks like you and me didnt start a few years ago. Her passionate advocacy has spanned her entire adult life.

Always fearless, always direct, and never stepping back from a difficult fight, Mariko has given a voice to the voiceless, has given real hope to the disenfranchised and, most of all, has instilled in so many of us a very strong belief that, if we stand together and tell the truth, we can make a difference. Her unwavering support for the issues that bind us has been evident throughout her four decade career of fighting the good fight, all the while forging partnerships in public service, partnerships that make a difference.

As a policy maker, Mariko has worked tirelessly to protect the health of our communities, our neighborhoods, our families, and our environment. She has been a strong advocate for public education, health and human services, and working women and men. She has championed the needs of seniors and the availability of affordable long-term care.

Yes, Mariko has consistently served her community with hard work and determined effort, but whats most impressive to me is her unquestionable integrity. She never makes a decision based on the political expediency or the political correctness of the issue at hand but, rather, how the particulars will impact those she represents. And she never takes a walk to avoid a difficult vote.

In short, shes driven by an ethical commitment to do the right thing rather than whats easiest or safest. Shes courageous.

As we strive to return to government that is truly of the people and by the people, we need people like Mariko Yamada in the California State Senate. Please join me in voting for her. And, please, spread the word.

Dean Vogel

Davis
PETALUMA -- Police are warning Petaluma businesses that several people may be passing counterfeit $100 bills this week.

Officers started receiving reports of the counterfeit bills on Saturday when businesses in the Petaluma Outlet Mall and Petaluma Plaza Shopping Center said they accepted the bills.

A total of eight businesses had been identified as victims as of this afternoon, police said.

One suspect is described as a white man between 20 and 25 years of age, 6 feet tall and 185 to 200 pounds with blonde hair.

Another suspect is a described as white woman in her 20s, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 110 pounds with long blonde hair.

A third suspect is described as a black man in his late 30s, 6 feet tall and 220 to 245 pounds with a shaved head. He was wearing a teal-colored striped shirt.

The suspects may be driving a dark gray Dodge Durango with California license plate number 7KSL003. The SUV may be rented.

Anyone with information about the circulation of the counterfeit bills is asked to call the Petaluma Police Department at (707) 778-4373.
Toby Willis, father of the talented musical group The Willis Clan, was recently arrested on charges of child rape for an event that occurred at least twelve years ago. Willis is currently being held without bond until his next court hearing on Tuesday.

According to ABC 7 Chicago and Tennessee court documents, the young victim of Willis was a relative between the ages of nine and twelve. Brenda Willis attorney, Bill Speek, released a statement on behalf of his client:

I was shocked and devastated by the revelation of events leading to Toby Willis arrest. As these are very trying times for the Willis family, I kindly ask all to respect our familys privacy. As a mother of twelve, my first priority remains with my children and helping them through this traumatic event. We are cancelling all appearances for the foreseeable future to focus on the children and their wellbeing. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We have, and will continue, to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials and ask that you direct all inquires regarding Toby Willis case to the District Attorneys office who have our complete support.

***Out of respect for the family, especially the victim and the many minors that are among The Willis Family, we will not name the victim or share any more details regarding the events that led to Toby Willis arrest. We will update our readers as to any conviction and/or sentencing that may occur, but, regardless of the stance other outlets take, the writers at NashvilleGab have agreed to do our part in protecting the victim and her/his younger siblings. Thank you for your understanding.***
As part of our continuing dialogue with Russia, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, met today with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Alexander Grushko.

They discussed ways to increase transparency and risk reduction, following up from the agenda of the last Ambassadorial meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) on 13 July 2016.

Ambassador Vershbow welcomed Russias expressed interest in transparency and risk reduction. NATO has a firm and long-standing commitment to these issues.

He informed Ambassador Grushko that Allies have carefully considered the proposals presented by Russia at the last meeting of the NRC.

The Deputy Secretary General confirmed that NATO stands ready to take our dialogue forward, in line with the decisions taken at the Warsaw Summit.

There is no change in NATOs policy towards Russia. Our practical cooperation remains suspended following Russias aggressive actions against Ukraine. At the same time, we decided to keep channels of political dialogue open.

The Alliance also remains open to the use of military lines of communication to address the critical issues we face.

The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, looks forward to discussing these issues and next steps with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in the near future.
Haiti PM Ariel Henry: The leader of a political party was murdered in the republic

Armenia MFA expresses condolences to South Korea over Seoul tragedy

Seoul receives more than 3,700 missing persons reports after crush

Armenian Defense Ministry: Private received fatal gunshot wound

Toivo Klaar: I emphasised the European Unions continued strong engagement in the peace process

Arrested for assaulting Speaker Pelosi's spouse faces charges

Major crush in Seoul: There are victims

Britain needs air defense in connection with war in Ukraine

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
YEREVAN.  Zhoghovurd newspaper has learned that the draft of the amnesty, which will be declared on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Republic of Armenias (RA) independence, is ready, according to the daily.

But it has not yet been clarified when it will be sent to parliament for approval. The intent to declare amnesty will be made public probably on September 21 [i.e. the day of the anniversary], and a special session of parliament will be convened to discuss the draft. It is believed that this could happen in the next two weeks.

On the other hand, there are rumors already in the judicial sector that the adoption of the RA Law on Amnesty may be put off one or two months, due to the stormy developments taking place in the political arena [of Armenia] in recent days, wrote Zhoghovurd.
The global challenges pertaining to refugees and migrants, climate change, and the war in Syria are the major topics that will likely figure prominently in this years high-level week at the United Nations, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a press conference at Headquarters in New York, previewing activities that will take place at the annual session, UN reported.

We will seek progress in resolving protracted conflicts and rising tensions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. We will strive to continue the momentum towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, our plan of action for peace and prosperity on a healthy planet, he said.

He also noted that they would pay special attention to problems which that they could still face and situations which could arise in the future.

But amid the whirlwind, three challenges stand out, he said at the press conference.

First, he said, the international community must come together in a spirit of shared responsibility for the worlds refugees and migrants.
The Youth Parliament, which is under the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic National Assembly (NKR/Artsakh NA), on Wednesday hosted international law expert, Professor Otto Luchterhandt from the University of Hamburg, in Germany.

Professor Luchterhandt delivered a presentation, entitled Azerbaijans Blitzkrieg against Artsakh, and International Law, the NKR NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The German scholar noted that despite having no international legal recognition, the Artsakh republic fully meets all the criteria for defining a country, and it has proved its vitality all through the years of its independence.

Otto Luchterhandt stressed that the fundamental principles of international law apply to all subjects of international relations, regardless of their status of recognition. He added that, with the war it unleashed against Nagorno-Karabakh in April, Azerbaijan has flagrantly violated several fundamental principles of international law, especially the principle of non-threat and non-use of force.

In Professor Luchterhandts words, the four-day war in April was an act of aggression by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh, and the entire accountability for this aggression falls squarely on the political leadership in Baku.
YEREVAN.  Karen Karapetyan, who on Thursday chaired his first Cabinet session as the Prime Minister of Armenia, spoke about the fight against corruption as well as the natural gas and electricity prices in the country (PHOTOS).

He also gave instructions with respect to the tax and social domains, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informed from the session.

I order the State Revenue Committee so that all businesses carry out [their] tax obligations in orderly, unconditional manner, Karapetyan noted, in particular.

Subsequently, the newly appointed PM instructed that the natural gas and electricity tariff policies are reviewed.

What is this about? [Its about] reducing the socially vulnerable stratas [gas and electricity] tariff to a maximum, on the account of other [gas and electricity] consumers.

[Its about] ensuring the tariffs stimulatory impact on businesses, especially on agriculture and the processing branches [of economy].

[But] all this should not be done at the expense of the state budget, but solely at the expense of businesses that provide this service.
YEREVAN.  There can be no progress in the Karabakh conflict without implementing the agreements that were reached in the summits that were held inthe Austrian capital city ofVienna, and in Saint PetersburgRussia, with the participation of representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan told about the aforementioned to reporters, after Thursdays Cabinet meeting.

In his words, this is the reason for the absence of news on negotiations.

The arrangements on strengthening the ceasefire regime and expanding the powers of the OSCE [i.e. the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] monitoring group have not been implemented, stressed Kocharyan. Progress [in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process] is impossible without them.
YEREVAN.  The Madrid Principles on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were allowing time, but Baku did not use it.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan stated the above-said to reporters, after Thursdays Cabinet meeting. He noted this commenting on the recent statement by Ambassador James Warlick, US Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, with respect to handing over territories to Azerbaijan, in exchange for the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. In Kocharyans words, however, Warlick said nothing new, and he just repeated what is written in the Madrid Principles.

But, as per the Armenian deputy FM, after the aggression which Azerbaijan unleashed in early April, the time has come to think seriously about the basis of the Karabakh peace talks.

At the time, postponement of the referendum in Karabakh was a concession by Armenia, within the framework of the Madrid Principles, noted Shavarsh Kocharyan. The [OSCE Minsk Group] mediators grounded this postponement on that, allegedly, the Baku authorities need time to prepare the [Azerbaijani] people to the idea that Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan.

[But] they [i.e. the Azerbaijanis] used this time for the opposite objective. And [this] means that all previous agreements should be seriously reconsidered.
Hayk Sekhilyan who received serious spinal injury during April war currently needs a treatment, which the Red Cross rehabilitation center cannot provide. In an interview with the NEWS.am Hayk said that now he walks with crutches, which is, as the doctor said, is the maximum they could have given. " Now I am at home. I need to go to the Red Cross again starting from Monday to continue my treatment. The doctors say here they cannot do more, "said Hayk Sekhilyan.

Haik was injured in the morning of April 4. He was immediately taken to Stepanakert, then to Yerevan, where he was operated on. On 18 April he was moved to the Red Cross. Hayk Sekhilyan served in the Armed Forces for 10 years.
YEREVAN.  The Armenian side has drawn the United Nations (UN) High Commissioners attention several times on the gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as a result of the hostilities which Azerbaijan had unleashed in April.

Tigran Balayan, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia (RA MFA), stated the above-said commenting, at the request of Armenian News-NEWS.am, on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights statement Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, had delivered an opening statement at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council.

In his remarks, he also reflected on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

My Office has had no access to the conflict situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, including since the events of April 2016. Consequently, conflicting claims of human rights violations cannot be verified, and the plight of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people and refugees has not received the kind of human rights scrutiny that it deserves, Al Hussein had stated, in particular.

Balayan noted that the Armenian side has called upon the UN High Commissioner to impartially assess Azerbaijans inhumane acts committed against the Armenian military and civilians.

We are convinced that a targeted comprehensive assessment will become a factor that deters Azerbaijan from taking similar actions, the Armenian MFA spokesperson added.

In his remarks, the RA permanent representative reflected on the observations in the report on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressing regret that an assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh by the Office of the High Commissioner has not taken place till now, and reaffirming the RAs readiness to fully support and contribute to the visit to Nagorno-Karabakh by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tigran Balayan also noted. But the consent of all the parties involved in the conflict is necessary to carry out the visit. And it is apparent as to which party hinders this process, to this day.

As reported earlier, Davit Babayan, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Presidential Spokesperson, on Wednesday informed about the NKR authorities readiness to cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The plan of Jean-Claude Juncker, which envisages the EU to have a "common military force " with a headquarters in Brussels , caused an alarm among the countries which are in the first line of the Eastern Europe - in the neighborhood of Russia , writes The Times.

Yesterday the President of the European Commission introduced the defense of the European security through the lens of his project, as relaunching the EU, after the UK referendum held in June, writes the article. " Europe can no longer afford to piggy-back on the military might of others, said Juncker in Strasbourg during his 50-minute speech addressed to the European Parliament. We have to take responsibility for protecting our interests and the European way of life.

Eastern European countries, led by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia , and supported by Poland, criticize this plan, since the EU army will undermine NATOs control over the "Russian aggression", which is an experienced protection for Europe, reports the Times.

The Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics spoke against the programs that might create competition for the NATO in a time period, when the countries should concentrate their efforts in the Baltics and Poland to strengthen the presence of NATO in order to counter the strengthened Russia led by Vladimir Putin, reports the paper.

We take a very sceptical view on the idea of creation of an EU army, he said. We do not see the mechanism on how you make decisions on the deployment of an EU army The European parliament? We are not at a point where national parliaments would be willing to authorise this.
YEREVAN.  In 2016, more Iranians are visiting Armenia than expected, and additional resources will be provided to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to print new visas.

The respective decision was made at Thursdays Cabinet meeting of the Government of Armenia.

Given the track-record of previous years, issuance of around 180 to 190 thousand visasprimarily to Iranian citizenswas expected for the current year.

But after the lifting of international sanctions on Iran in the summer of 2015, visits from Iran to Armenia have sharply increased, reaching 47 percentin the first seven months of the current year.

As of August 10, a visa-free regime has been set for Iranian citizens. Consequently, the demand for visas will reduce. But, still, additional resources are needed for current needs, even until the end of the year.

A growth in visits is observed also with several countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Armenia.
YEREVAN.  Acting Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan on Thursday received US Ambassador Richard Mills; and newly appointed military attache of the US Embassy in Yerevan, Colonel Bruce Murphy.

First, Ohanyan congratulated to new military attache, and wished him success in his work activity, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The acting defense minister highly appreciated the level of Armenian-American relations in the defense sector. He also expressed confidence that Colonel Murphy will continue the work of his colleagues, and use his professional track-record to further develop and deepen Armenian-American defense cooperation.

Subsequently, the interlocutors discussed several matters of mutual interest within the framework of Armenian-American collaboration in the defense sector.
During the excavations in Armenias Aghtsk village, stone sarcophagi with relics have been found in the sepulcher of the Armenian kings of Arsacid dynasty, dating from 4th century AD.

Deputy Director of the Scientific Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Armenian Ministry of Culture, archaeologist Hakob Simonyan told the aforementioned to journalists on Thursday.

According to the Armenian historians Faustus of Byzantium and Movses Khorenatsi, at the instigation of his priests, Persian king Shapuh II stole the relics of the ancient Armenian kings from Ani-Kamakh (capital of Armenia Minor located on the shore of Euphrates, center of nomadic Armenia) to conquest Armenia. However, the Armenian troops battered the Persians and returned the relics of the Armenian kings, which according to the legend, were reburied in sepulcher in Aghtsk.

In the archaeologists words, no human relics were found during the excavations carried out in the territory of Aghtsk earlier and the story about the stolen relics of the ancient kings was considered as a myth.

In 2015, new expedition started working here, and stone sarcophagi with relics were found under the altar of the chapel and stone slabs. The scientists first thought that the sarcophagi related to the Hellenistic Age, but one of them has a cross inscribed on it. Considering that only clean bones were found in the sarcophagi, the scientist supposed that these were the relics of the reburied Armenian kings which were once stolen by the Persians.
YEREVAN. - The membership to the EU requires from Armenia to effectively develop business and not look for geopolitical controversies.

Armenias Acting Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan said the aforementioned in the parliament on Thursday.

In his words, the accession to the EAEU in no way cancels the opportunities for profitable trade with the EU. The republic remains the beneficiary of the GSP+ preferential regime, according to which 6300 items of goods can be exported to the EU by zero customs duties and 350 items by significantly reduced duties.

Mr Poghosyan isnt listening to me. Listening no longer seems to be beneficial for him, whereas Im already speaking about the European Union, Minasyan said, turning to MP Tevan Poghosyan, who is against the Eurasian integration. Armenia has similar GSP regimes with Switzerland, Canada, Japan and Norway. Another question is to what extent the Armenian entrepreneurs take advantage of all this, the Acting Minister said.
YEREVAN. - The Armenian legislation doesnt ban foreign online casinos to operate in the country but the demand concerning their licensing remains unchanged.

First Deputy Minister of Finance Pavel Safaryan said the aforementioned in the parliament on Thursday, introducing the draft amendments to the Law on Licensing.

Foreign online casinos and games with cash prizes already operate in the republic. However, the Armenian authorities decided not to block them but only demand from them to get licensed like the local ones.

Under the bill, starting from 1 June 2017 the licensing process for the online casinos will be as stringent as for ordinary ones.
In the 1970s, Camille Billops and James V. Hatch began inviting friends and students into their New York City loft to record public conversations with visual artists, writers, poets, actors and musicians.

During this time, they also acquired a trove of books, manuscripts, photographs and art. Now, roughly 40 years later, this vibrant multimedia collection has become one of the largest and most comprehensive private gatherings of African American art and culture in the world.

This week, Emory opens a major exhibition, Still Raising Hell: The Art, Activism and Archives of Camille Billops and James V. Hatch, drawn from the Camille J. Billops and James V. Hatch archives in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

The exhibit, which runs Sept. 15 through May 14 in the Schatten Gallery of Emorys Robert W. Woodruff Library, will explore themes related to creativity, social justice and community, art and activism, and the importance of history and memory.

An opening reception was held Thursday evening.

Widely considered to be one of the most important collections of materials related to 20th-century African American theater, art history and African American artists, the Billops-Hatch archives are long overdue for public exploration, according to exhibition curator Pellom McDaniels III, who serves as curator of the Rose Librarys African American collections.

For more than 50 years, Camille Billops and James Hatch have been stewards of African American history and memory, McDaniels says.

This exhibition accounts for their tremendous efforts to preserve materials related to the development of the arts as a form of expression, and as a medium for speaking truth to power for African Americans, he says.

The exhibition also explores the lives and careers of the dynamic couple and their relationships with artists such as Owen Dodson, Benny Andrews, Norman Lewis, Vivian Browne and Faith Ringgold, McDaniels adds.

Archive rich in African American art, culture

With much of it now housed at Emory, the Billops-Hatch collections contain over 13,000 slides of work by African American artists; 4,000 black and white photos documenting writers, performers and visual artists; a library of more than 10,000 books and periodicals; written materials including doctoral dissertations and letters; and an array of ephemera.

The archive also includes more than 1,000 African American-authored published and unpublished play scripts (dating back to 1879), hundreds of theater programs, and more than 1,500 audio and video interviews conducted with artists, writers, poets and others involved in creative endeavors.

Together, Billops, a filmmaker, artist and activist, and Hatch, an author and theater historian, collected these materials over the past 50 years and began donating a significant portion of their Hatch-Billops Archives in New York City to Emory in 2002. With its home in the Rose Library, the collection is accessible to students, faculty, researchers and the public.

Featured items in the Emory exhibition include photographs, books, original artwork, play scripts, theater posters, exhibition programs and related ephemera.

A selection of audio and video interviews that Billops conducted for Artist and Influence, a journal of black American cultural history published by the Hatch-Billops Archives from 1981-2012, will run on multimedia kiosks in the exhibition. Additionally, a short documentary about Billops and Hatch will show continuously.

Many of the artists included in the Billops-Hatch exhibition have also placed their papers with the Rose Library, including Gylbert Coker, Whitney J. LeBlanc, Walter A. Simon, Mildred Thompson, Ed Bullins, Owen Dodson, Paul Carter Harrison, Pearl Cleage, Delilah Jackson and Barbara and Carleton Molette.

Butterfly exhibit honors black artists

As part of the exhibit, area artists were invited to help create the Billops-Hatch Butterfly Project, a visual origami art installation conceived in honor of Billops and Hatch.

The project presents a floating array of 250 original origami butterflies intended to represent deceased black artists  many of whom were friends of the couple  who have ascended from the physical world onto another plane. This ascension is represented by the butterflies, which appear to float skyward above the exhibition.

The butterflies were constructed from a variety of materials, including copies of 1960s-era Negro Digest journals. As visitors enter the exhibit and look upward, they see the print from various articles folded into butterflies as well as the unique covers of each journal.

In addition, the project includes individual showpiece butterflies created from material from the studios of three Atlanta artists. The materials were derived from art shows, figure studies and even casual doodles to be folded into butterflies, creating remixes of their original work.

Participating artists include Arturo Lindsay, professor emeritus at Spelman College and a renowned international artist whose work focuses on African spiritual and aesthetic retention; Afua Richardson, a musician and comic book artist who was recently selected as the pencil artist for Marvel Comics World of Wakanda Black Panther spin-off, created by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxanne Gaye; and Emory PhD student Fahamu Pecou, an acclaimed visual artist and rapper primarily known for work that engages themes of African spiritual practice, hip hop, and African American history.

An online exhibit launches with the opening of the Billops-Hatch Exhibition. An illustrated print catalog of materials from the Billops-Hatch archives, with a selection of essays by McDaniels and others, also will be available.

Related events include "Call and Response: Contextualizing African American Presence in American Theater" on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in White Hall, Room 208, featuring distinguished local and national scholars addressing the issue of the presence and influence of African Americans on performance arts and theater.
During a volatile election year, politics emerged as a focal point at Emory Universitys 35th annual Carter Town Hall  a lively conversation held at the start of the fall term between first-year students and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Carter served as a state senator, Georgia governor and 39th president of the United States before embracing his current role as an acclaimed global humanitarian and founder of The Carter Center, an affiliate of Emory dedicated to "waging peace, fighting disease and building hope."

But through his enduring relationship with Emory, the 91-year-old statesman has also served another important role  engaging in the lives of faculty and students as University Distinguished Professor, a position hes held since 1982.

During introductions that acknowledged Carter, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and new Emory University President Claire E. Sterk, Ajay Nair, senior vice president and dean of Campus Life, observed that Emory is well-known for its incredible professors."

In my experience, the best professors always have diverse interests  Professor Carter exemplifies this, Nair said, noting Carter's contributions as an author and poet, Habitat for Humanity homebuilder, Sunday school teacher, Naval officer and peacemaker.

For decades this man with a deep and abiding faith has been a teacher and role model for the Emory community, Nair said.

We seek to emulate his tireless commitment to serving humanity, his candor, his quiet courage and his unflappable grace in confronting challenges on the world stage.

Questions and answers

The question-and-answer forum was the focus of the evening, and Carter joked about the great trepidation and hesitation he felt responding to some of the hundreds of student-submitted questions.

Their queries ranged from what technological advancement hes found most entertaining ("television," which Carter noted he did not have until he had been in the Navy for several years) to what advice he would give his 18-year-old self if he could travel back in time ("Stay out of politics!" the former president quipped.)

But thornier questions about politics and global affairs loomed large.

Responding to a question about how this presidential election will shape the future of American politics, Carter said he believes the country is the most divided it has been since the Civil War, but still offered hope for improvement.

"We just have to remember that our country is resilient. We have always had down through history the ability, when we make serious mistakes like slavery, or the segregation years, or the failure to let women have the right to vote and so forth  we have always been able to correct our mistakes," he said.

After lamenting that "America is approaching the status of an oligarchy" due to the influence of money in politics, Carter urged young people to help create change.

"I think we have reached a nadir, or low point, in political integrity and basic values in our country, and I hope all of you will join with the rest of us in trying to correct that in the future," Carter said.

Asked what issue young people should focus on given all of "the challenges facing our world today," Carter stressed peace and human rights, in particular "discrimination against women and girls."

He listed a series of examples, from female genital mutilation and arranged marriages to campus sexual assaults, and gave a frank assessment of why such abuses continue: "Most men don't give a damn" because they benefit from sexism.

"Those kinds of human rights violations are things you can address personally, just within the sphere of influence that you have individually," Carter urged.

A unique classroom

For the roughly 1,300 Emory students in attendance, the town hall presented a unique classroom  a chance to absorb the firsthand perspectives of a world leader, who served long before most were born.

Ive always seen his face in textbooks, so to have this opportunity is kind of unbelievable, said Jeremy Prince, an Emory College student.

Carter McCormick, a masters of public health student at Rollins School of Public Health, admitted that he had sprinted straight from the classroom to secure a ticket to the forum.

Since he was named after the former president, it was an opportunity McCormick simply couldnt pass up.

My mother always admired him  hes her favorite former president, especially for the work he went on to do after he left office, he said. And being in public health, I find the work hes done inspiring.

McCormick acknowledged that he had submitted six questions  tweeting out #CarterMeetsCarter and was thrilled to have the former president address his query about how higher education can respond to political action and social movements.

Carter answered by reminding students that their college years offer unprecedented freedom to decide what kind of person you want to be."

"This is a time in your life when you set a pathway that you will probably follow without much deviation for the rest of your life," he said, noting the opportunity to interact with and learn from diverse faculty and fellow students.

"I urge you to let the institution in which you are blessed to enroll give you the hope and the dream and the expectation of a wonderful, very productive, honest, peace-loving life filled with love."

Sharing wit and wisdom

Emory College student Inaara Padani found it pretty amazing that as college students we have the chance to hear from a former president who has had so many experiences and so much advice to share with us.

In fact, thats exactly what she asked Carter in one of about a dozen questions chosen for him to answer: Whats the best piece of advice youve ever been given?

In response, Carter smiled. Tell the truth, he responded. That sounds like a very simple element for life, but its extremely difficult under various pressures to modify what you know to be fact.

To prove the point, he told of a time that his mother, the famed Miss Lillian, was pressed by a reporter to learn if her son had ever told a lie.

She responded that Carter was basically a truthful person who may have told a white lie every now and then, and the reporter pounced on it as an admission. But his mother  who didnt especially enjoy interviews  was quick to point out that a white lie wasnt always a bad thing.

When the reporter asked what she meant, Miss Lillian observed, You remember when you came to the door and I said I was glad to see you and you looked very nice?

After the roar of laughter subsided, Carter elaborated. When the truth means something to you or to another person, tell the truth.
For four days before orientation began, 60 first-year Emory College students met with professors, administrators and mentors for an in-depth introduction to the science and technology fields they intend to pursue.

The STEM Pathways pre-orientation program is designed to give guidance and support for students who are the first generation in their families to attend college, or who are in identity groups that are underrepresented in technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. The program, new this year, replaces and builds upon the legacy of two previous pre-college programs that boost both students and Emory.

The students gain a deeper understanding of the wide array of opportunities available within Emory Colleges liberal arts curriculum, as well as developing a personal action plan for their academic careers, with sessions on study skills and developing a five-year plan.

Emory, meanwhile, continues to grow its diverse community of student scholars, many of whom will fill the one million new STEM jobs that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts by 2022  just two years after the students earn their undergraduate degrees.

We know that going into these areas of study it will be very rigorous, so we want to break down as many barriers as possible, so all of our students are successful, says Julie Loppacher, an associate director in the Office for Undergraduate Education who helped develop the program curriculum.

STEM Pathways is a continuation of the Hughes Undergraduates Excelling in Science (HUES) and Getting a Leg Up at Emory (GLUE) programs that closed with the end of their grant funding last year.

Emory College of Arts and Sciences is funding the new program, which organizers expect to grow in the coming years as it builds on its own, and previous program, successes.

Students in the program have year-round access to other participants, mentors and professors.

Most of our STEM students say they want to become doctors, but they have no idea of all the professions available to them, all the research possibilities that exist, says Andrea Neal, an assistant director in Emory College and director of the summer EPIC program at the School of Medicine.

With Emory College very committed to this, our students are going to get a glimpse of all that is open to them prior to them even taking an Emory course, Neal says.

Mentoring and support

KMani Blyden, from Acworth, Georgia, is one of the students eager to explore his options. He expects to be a surgeon someday because of the hands-on work it requires.

STEM Pathways, too, has been a hands-on experience that lets him consider clearly the pressures that are coming, without feeling that pressure now.

The relationships are crucial to the program, he says. This is a more relaxed way to meet and talk among ourselves, meet mentors and professors, and really get an idea of whats ahead.

Tracy McGill, a senior lecturer in Chemistry, is teaching two sections of Chemistry 141 this fall, to about 160 students.

She chose to kick off the semester with the STEM Pathways students because they arrive with such enthusiasm about Emory, she says, and are eager to discover what their path in the sciences will be.

Meeting the faculty that will be teaching their classes is such an integral component to the program for us and for them, she says. We get a jump start on building our learning community and can really build on the passion of this engaged group of students.

The mentors, older students who are also underrepresented minorities studying STEM fields, are also important in showing the array of coursework and majors available.

Junior Samantha Tall, for instance, is a psychology and linguistics major. She learned from the GLUE program that studying the humanities, while also taking the tough science courses, could set her apart when she applies for medical school.

Im the one telling them they can pursue their passions and still be in medicine, Tall says. I share that I shadowed medical research, and being in the lab is how I figured out I want to do more work with patients. Without resources like this program, you dont always hear that.

Opening new doors

Cora MacBeth, the assistant dean for the sciences at Emory College, says she is encouraged by such conversations, since they show first-year students the breadth of careers available and how a liberal arts education can get them there. The experience also helps create a continuum of students who will shape the program.

Next year, that means it will be Brianka Rainford giving the advice. This year, the first-year student from Durham, North Carolina, was busy taking in the idea that her plans of being a cardiothoracic surgeon might be, amazingly, limited.

Studying human health, she has learned, could mean working to prevent diseases instead of treating them.

She is also interested in studying psychology to understand medical behaviors after hearing about the first-year seminar with neuroscientist Gregory Berns, who has authored several studies looking at brain-imaging data and behavior research in dogs.

Pathways solidified some of what I already knew and gave me specifics on the broad ideas I had about studying a science, Rainford said. Its opened new doors I didnt know existed.
Nigerians have been urged by the Defence Headquarters, to ignore the recent threat by terrorist group Boko Haram, against President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Army Chief.

Dismissing the threat as a joke and void of substance, the Acting Director Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, said the military had dealt with the insurgents in such a way that they had migrated to the cyberspace to make empty threats.

He said the latest video by the insurgents was an attempt to remind Nigerians that they once existed; and that their latest attempt only showed how weak the militants had become.

He said, "We don't have any comment. We know what we have done, and what we are planning to do. The only place they have agenda for now is the social media.

"The only ground the Boko Haram can go to hide and pretend to be alive is the social media because it is everybody's home.

"The so-called video is an attempt by the remnants to remind us that there were once some Boko Haram elements.

"The issue of the threat to capture PMB is a complete joke and a dream of the century. Therefore, the entire clip should be ignored as everybody is appreciative of our feat against Boko Haram.

"It is not just an empty threat; it is a threat that has no substance at all. It is a senseless threat from their imagination. Nigeria should simply ignore it."


There was wild jubilation in Imo State, yesterday by residents as over five thousand militants laid down their weapon in line with the Federal Government's peace talk with the armed groups at the Government House, Owerri.



The epic event, which attracted all the traditional rulers in the state and other stakeholders, saw the militants confess to various killings and bombing of oil installations in the state.



Governor Okorocha had earlier instituted the Disarmament Committee following series of disturbances in the oil-rich communities of Ohaji/Egbema which involved killing, kidnapping, cult activities, armed robbery and militancy.



The State Deputy Chief of Staff, Engr Kingsley Uju, who headed the committee, disclosed that the committee, on the advice of the state governor, Rochas Okorocha, had setup the committee to resolve the crisis in the restive area.



The militants, led by their leaders confessed and renounced militancy and other crimes perpetrated by the group.



One of the leaders, Jibaa Chikere, popularly known as "Banga", in his confession said that his group, the Niger Red Squad had blown up pipelines belonging to over five oil companies among other nine companies in the area.



According to Banga "We have killed ourselves in our community for the sake of oil companies that has neglected us; we submitted our weapon in 2011 and nothing had happened since then, but since the governor has pardoned us today, we will stop the killing and embrace peace."



Another leader, Modestus Gift popularly known as "No Mercy", while surrendering his arms, said that his group had taken up arms because the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and oil companies in the area had abandoned them, leaving them without power and good roads.



He further revealed that his group was threatening to blow up another pipeline in the state before they succumbed to the disarmament committee setup by Governor Okorocha. Another cult leader also present is named Abaziem Obioma popularly known as "Motor".



Governor Okorocha, while granting a state pardon to the militants, urged them to embrace the peace move initiated by the state government and completely abstain from crime.



The militants swore an oath performed by the State Attorney-General, Barr. Miletus Nlemedum before the presence of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Taiwo Lakanu, Commander 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Brig.-Gen. Kay Ishaku and other sister security agencies in the state.






Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has slammed the PDP for once again asking President Buhari to resign, calling the former ruling party a shameless irritant which is bent on distracting the government from its rescue mission and returning the country to ''Egypt''.

''We are on a rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma, and the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts. But we are not deterred,'' Lai Mohammed said in a statement released today via his Special Adviser, Segun Adeyemi

According to Lai Mohammed, if the PDP had understood the meaning of shame, it would never have dared to even make a single comment on the same economy that it did everything to kill. ''While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.



Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari Administration which is left to pack their mess. PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation,'' he said.



Mohammed said what the PDP has consistently put up as a vibrant economy under its watch was nothing but a bubble that was buoyed by massive corruption and chronic incompetence, an economy in which someone without any known means of earned livelihood would boast of $31.5 million! ''They keep saying we should stop talking of the past, yet the past will not stop rearing its head.



They keep saying we should no longer refer to the past, but how can we forget so soon that our foreign exchange reserves plummeted from $62bn in 2008 to $30bn by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of $114 per barrel in 2014.



By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from $60 billion in 2008 to $120 billion in 2015. The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we won't repeat the mistake.



Take the excess crude account which fell from about $9bn in 2007 to about $2bn in 2015. The argument that it was the State Governors that depleted the account does not hold water since there were Governors in place when the account was being built up. Worse still is the fact that up to $14bn in revenues from Nigerian LNG remains unaccounted for and indeed until the Buhari Administration came to office, State Governments never got any allocations from this source of funds which properly belongs to the Federation Account. The naked fact on the revenue front is that there was just a failure of leadership.



This was compounded by the non-transparent uses of funds. We are all witnesses to the sacking of a Central Bank Governor because he raised an alarm about $20 billion that had gone missing. We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDP's watch, with $15 billion stolen from the defence sector alone.



Perhaps most painful is that because of the way funds (about $322m) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, we now have to accept conditionalities before our stolen assets are even returned to us,'' he said. Mohammed said one of the achievements that the PDP has been touting is that it reduced the nation's national debt. ''However, at the time that we were earning such large revenues from oil, we only managed to double our external debt from $5.6 billion to $10.7 billion between 2011 and 2015.



The case of domestic debt was even worse, almost tripling from N888 billion to N2.1 trillion in the same period. Even these figures mask the extent of unpaid obligations to contractors and the huge plethora of uncompleted projects on which money continued to be spent without visible results. Payments to contractors stopped several years ago while not a single dollar was contributed to the Joint Venture activities.



Over N4.5 trillion was spent on fuel subsidy in just two years under the PDP! Despite a recent oil boom, Nigerians are indeed all victims of the dilapidated and decrepit infrastructure. The economy that the Buhari Administration inherited was certainly in dire straits, if the huge amount of salary arrears that were being owed at various tiers of government is anything to go by. If, after earning so much resources and increasing the total debt stock, our governments were not able to meet salary obligations, sometimes for up to seven months, then something was definitely wrong somewhere and if this is not evidence of a collapsing economy, one wonders what it is.



Indeed, it was not so long ago that the fuel subsidy regime almost bankrupted the country. Through credibility and commitment to good governance, the current administration has managed to save up to N1.4 trillion that would have been spent on subsidies for PMS. Moreover, the daily demand for PMS has halved from 1600 trucks a day to 850 trucks a day.



If we could achieve such savings, then clearly the petrol sector which was and remains a huge source of foreign exchange demand was not being well managed. It is also important to point out that the poor security situation in the North East has had ripple effects on the economy.



Apart from the dislocation of daily lives, there was extensive loss of agricultural production arising from the fact that our citizens in that zone could not go to their farms not to talk of planting and harvesting produce. Yet, in just a space of about 15 months, the Buhari Administration has liberated this region from the clutches of Boko Haram, which is now left to release meaningless videos when it could no longer carry out spectacular attacks,'' he said.



He added that the government will continue to welcome constructive criticism, it had nothing to learn from a party that was in charge of the nation's affairs at a time of plenty, but ended up frittering away the commonwealth, looting the nation blind and setting the stage for today economic crisis, which the Buhari Administration is working tirelessly to put an end to.
19:23

Asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party was squirming in its seats because of his release, former RJD MP Shahabuddin said that he was not perturbed with the Bihar government challenging his bail in the Supreme Court, adding that he would follow the apex courts orders like any other common citizen.





Speaking to reporters, Shahabuddin expressed ease at the development, saying that he does not believe anyone is truly against him.





"I am not different from any other ordinary citizen who has to follow the orders of the court and I will comply with whatever the decision is," he said.





Talking about the controversy of him being spotted with alleged sharpshooter Mohammed Kaif, who is currently embroiled in charges over the murder of journalist Rajdev Rajan, Shahabuddin defended Kaif, saying that he had done nothing wrong and that no charges against him were proven.





"Why can't I have a picture with him (Kaif)? You are calling him a shooter now because of a small disagreement he had in his locality. He works on daily wages and earns 10,000 rupees. He takes care of his entire family on that meagre sum. He does not have the time or the means to go around extorting people," the former parliamentarian stated.





Shahabuddin added that the BJP is clearly troubled with his release.





"BJP has a problem with my release. Why is it so bothered with me? Why will a political party have a problem with my release? Clearly they are worried because they are losing their grip in Bihar," he said.
It is my great pleasure to announce that Erika Check Hayden has accepted our offer to become the next director of the Science Communication Program at UC Santa Cruz. Erika was selected from a highly competitive search. She brings great skills and talent to this role, with 15 years of experience in science journalism across print, digital and multimedia formats. Erika began her career as a science writer at Newsweek, then moved to cover biomedical science at Nature, first as a correspondent, and for the last decade as a senior reporter. Her recent work on the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which included boots-on-the-ground reporting in Sierra Leone supported by a fellowship from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, was riveting; it received multiple awards. And Erika is no stranger to UC Santa Cruz. Since 2010, she has been a lecturer in the Science Communication Program, focusing on new digital modes of communication in science journalism. She has taught in a variety of science journalism workshops and other programs around the nation. Erika will be teaching again this fall, and then taking over as director on January 1.

I want to thank the search committee, including the chair, Doug Kellogg (MCD Biology), the other faculty members, Christina Ravelo (Ocean Sciences) and Anthony Aguirre (Physics), and our two outside members, Ken Doctor (former UC Santa Cruz Foundation President and noted media analyst) and Kathleen Wong (a SciCom alum and Principal Publications Coordinator for UC Natural Reserves System). The committee did a great job identifying top candidates; I appreciate their efforts.

Finally, the campus has benefited from the vision, teaching, and stewardship of outgoing Science Communication Director Rob Irion. For the last decade, Rob kept the program fresh and vital as the landscape for science journalism changed tremendously. Rob has been a forceful advocate for science journalism at the national level, an outstanding mentor for our students, and a tireless fundraiser for the program. I hope to announce a major outcome of the philanthropic efforts he has spurred in the next few weeks. I am grateful for his fantastic work over the last decade and wish him well as he returns to journalism full time.
Bangladeshi designer Bibi Russell, who works closely with Indian artisans for her fashion creations, foresees a bright future for khadi -- a fabric that Mahatma Gandhi used as a symbol of protest against the British Raj -- provided it is "contextualised" and is in sync with current tastes. "Khadi is the fabric of the future. It keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer, it uses hand and human resources from step one till finish. What it needs is contextualisation in modern times," Russell told IANS in an e-mail interview from Dhaka. The designer is excited about showcasing her latest collection at the seventh edition of India Runway Week September 16-18 and said khadi would be the focus of the range. "The collection that I will be showing is 100 percent khadi and 100 percent Rajasthani. Rajasthan is a goldmine for all sorts of culture and art. It is also the largest producer of woollen khadi or 'ooni' khadi as they call it," she added. What about jute that is found in abundance in Bangladesh? "Jute is the pride of our nation. (Nobel laureate Rabindranath) Tagore's Amar Shona Bangla, meaning Our Golden Bengal, has been adapted as our national anthem and has been inspired by jute, which turns golden when ripened. Because of the use of nylon and polyfibres, jute and other natural fibres took a hit. We are still the leading exporters of jute. "And, gladly, there is a general awareness spreading in the population, through the youth, which is proving the undeniable superiority of natural fabrics." Popular for her flamboyant personality, and quirky, bohemian fashion style, Russell is also a former international model who worked for different magazines including Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar. Her modelling stint also saw her take part in fashion shows when she worked with names like Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani until 1994. What made her leave modelling and pursue a career in fashion designing? "The modelling industry gave me a lot of exposure, experience and understanding of fashion, culture and art of countries around the world, and I would not replace that time of my life with anything else. When I returned home, to Bangladesh, though, I saw the poverty that had struck my nation and was too touched to go back and work on anything else," she said. The designer said she finds a "certain beauty in poverty and it is the people". "I love my craftspeople, and craftspeople around the world. This is my dream, that was a bonus," she added. Russell says "fashion for development is an accurate description" for her work and adds that her inspiration comes from the craftspeople. "All my outfits are beautifully handmade by skilled craftspeople. My work shows joy in a positive way, in which I see craftspeople... That is why all my inspiration comes from the craftspeople and I salute them," said the designer, who was born in Chittagong, Bangladesh. (Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in) --IANS dc/rb/vm/sac ( 518 Words) 2016-09-15-13:22:02 (IANS)
BD India received the FICCI Award for Preventive Care at the 8th Annual Healthcare Excellence Awards. The flagship program that garnered industry recognition is its Central Line Care Management Program, which focuses on saving lives from hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). It was recognised for the innovative triad approach: the three Ts of Tracking, Training, and Technology. This line of working not only minimized infections, but it also shortened patients' length of stay as well as saved money for both patients and healthcare organizations. "We are honored to receive this recognition from FICCI. This validates our commitment towards clinical practice innovation in today's healthcare scenario. Our commitment, at BD, is to develop a culture of safety not just in device design, but also across the healthcare continuum and provide the safest possible solution to our customers," said Varun Khanna, Managing Director of BD-India. The FICCI Healthcare Excellence Awards aim at felicitating organizations and individuals for their efforts towards operational excellence, innovatively adopting and inventing technologies and processes for India, and improved healthcare delivery. Supported by the Quality Council of India, they hold a position of prestige, and have emerged as the definitive recognition for contribution to healthcare in the country over the years. The Preventive Care category asked that entrants be able to demonstrate measurable parameters through which the program had made an impact. "Attention to simple preventive strategies by healthcare professionals can help us together improve patient outcomes. Going ahead, we hope to expand the program in scope and impact, especially against the backdrop of the robust healthcare need and demand in the country. We see this as a part of the company's vision of advancing the world of health," said Vishal Taneja, Business Director at BD-Medical. Despite surveillance and in-house teaching programs, HAIs continue to be a major concern in most hospitals. There is a constant challenge of escalating central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), surgical site infections (SSI), and multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDRO). This puts tremendous pressure on the patient, doctors, the medical system, and society as a whole, with the increased disease burden. Prolonged hospital stays, disability, and mortality are some of the effects of HAIs, besides the mental, social, emotional, and economic burden on the patient and family members. "The joint effort with BD for the line care management program brought promising results with slow decrease in the unit average CLABSI rates. The chief drivers of this change were team approach, a continuing education program, and a strong and committed leadership. Continued surveillance, along with sound infection control programs, not only led to decreased healthcare-associated infections but also better prioritization of resources and efforts to improving medical care. We strongly suggest that hospitals facing such concerns should get initiated into similar joint ventures wherein audits and corrective actions are taken on a regular basis and work together to culminate into a win-win situation with better delivery of care and a reduction of HAIs," said Dr Amit Kumar Mandal, Director, Pulmonology, Sleep and Critical Care, Fortis Hospital, Mohali. HAIs affect 7-12 percent of patients admitted in hospitals globally, as per the World Health Organization. In India, this incidence has been alarmingly pegged at 11-83 percent. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also says that middle and low-income countries have a 2-3-fold higher frequency of ICU-acquired infections than high-income countries. Newborns have a 3-20 times greater risk of getting HAIs in these countries than in high-income ones. Device-associated infections are said to be 13 times higher than in the US. (ANI)
Elaborate secuirty arrangements have been made for immersion procession of Ganesh Idols tomorrow, to mark the end of 10-day long Ganesh festival. Top police offier said here today that in addition to over 1,200 closed circuit TV (CCtv) cameras keeping a watch on the city, 113 additional cameras have been installed in verious places in the en-routes of Ganesh Visarjan. Addtional forces have been deployed in parts of the city along with city police forces. Road traffic has been diverted for the smooth procession of Ganesh Idols. Several road would be closed for vehicular traffic. Ganesh Road and Kelkar Road will remain closed from 1000 hours while Bajirao Road, Kumthekar Road and Shastri Road will remain closed from 1200 hours. Jangli Maharaj Road, Karve Road, Fergusson CollegeRoad, Bhandarkar Road, Pune-Satara Road and Prabhat Road will remain closed for traffic from 1600 hrs onwards, sources added. UNI SP/ST NV SDR RJ RAI1550 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-932981.Xml
While most teenagers these days have their sights set on the latest cellphone models, a brother-sister duo in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district has donated their scholarships to a society and a school for constructing a toilet. This is not the first time that Memoona Khan and Aamir Khan have been helping other children, as earlier, they had helped a school in their locality get an electricity connection. "The girls told me that in their school they have only one toilet. So, I constructed a toilet for them with my scholarship and pocket money. In this, my brother also supported me. I gave my scholarship and pocket money to the principal through the district education officer," Memoona said. She added it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' that had motivated them to construct a toilet in the school. This deed of the siblings has become something of a saving grace for students of the Maharani Laxmibai School, which earlier had to make do with just one toilet. "One day, Memoona Khan of Central School came and saw that we here were facing problems. Students are more here and one toilet is inadequate. Then, she constructed a toilet with her scholarship money. Now, we all are very happy," said Anjali, a student of the school. Less than a third of India's 1.2 billion population has access to sanitation and more than 186,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, according to the charity WaterAid. The United Nations said in May that half of India's people defecate in the open-putting people at risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid. Last month, Prime Minister Modi in his Mann ki Baat address lauded Mallamma Sannaningamma Bagalapur, a class 10th student, who staged a protest for a toilet in her home in Karnataka's Koppal district. "In Karnataka's Koppal district, a 16-year-old resorted to hunger strike for a toilet in her house. As the family was facing financial constraints, gram panchayat president Mohammed Shafi extended the incentive and got the toilet constructed. See how the girl and Mr. Shafi have found a solution to the problem," the Prime Minister said. (ANI)
When the activists found the reptile, it was bleeding from its neck. The snake is now being treated at a veterinary hospital.

"The python underwent treatment. Injections were administered to it and all its wounds were cleaned. A surgery was also conducted. After the treatment, the snake is in a better condition now. It is a matter of happiness," said Manas Behera, a resident of the district.

The python will be released in a forest once it recovers completely. (ANI)
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will begin a three-day state visit to India from Thursday at the invitation of his Indian counterpart President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dahal's visit to India is his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office for the second time as Nepal's Prime Minister on August 4 this year. A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement said that Dahal will be accompanied by a high-level delegation. During his visit, Dahal would hold talks with the Indian leadership. He will also visit the Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project, a concrete gravity dam on the Satluj River in Himachal Pradesh. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supplies 1,500 megawatts of power. Prime Ministers Modi and Dahal will meet for delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on September 16. That meeting will be followed by a signing of bilateral agreements and the issue of statement to the media. Among the dignitaries expected to call on the Nepal Prime Minister are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Power Minister Piyush Goyal. Prime Minister Dahal would also call on President Pranab Mukherjee. His visit to India is expected to provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, as well as seek ways to strengthen the age old, close and friendly ties between the two countries in diverse sectors, the MEA statement said. As Dahal visits India from Thursday, he has host of issues lined up to deal with, but cementing bilateral ties with New Delhi is high up in his agenda. He has been warned by his predecessor K.P. Sharma Oli, who is the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), not to sign any agreement with India that could jeopardise Nepal's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. (ANI)
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will arrive here this afternoon on a four-day visit, his first bilateral engagement with New Delhi after assuming office for a second time on August 4. With substantial agenda on table and positive signals from the new government in the Himalayan neighbour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Prachanda would be sitting for formal talks tomorrow. The issue of the Madhesi people's concern over the provisions of the new Constitution and India's developmental projects in that country besides trade and commerce would be the focus of the discussions between the two leaders. India's ties with its Himalayan neighbour had come under severe strain after a month-long border blockade last year during the ethnic Madhesi people's protest against the new Constitution which, they held, was not just to them. The then Oli government had accused India of imposing an ''unofficial'' blockage on the landlocked nation to put pressure on his government to accept their demand for more political rights. However, India had been denying all these charges and telling the Nepal's Government that it could not expect peace in the country by ignoring the concern of a large section of its people. Mr Prachanda, has, however, said that he was going to India with a positive mind and his endeavour would be to a lay a "strong foundation'' for mutual trust between Kathmandu and New Delhi. The Nepal prime Minister would begin his official engagement tomorrow with reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan and avisit to the Gandhi Memorial. He, thereafter, will receive External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj before sitting with the Prime Minister for formal talks. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister for Coal and Power Piyush Goyal will also meet the Nepal Prime Minister in the evening which will be followed by his call on President Pranab Mukherjee and his participation in a joint business event. Ahead of his visit, he held a meeting with Nepal Chambers of Commerce and discussed their trade and business related issues with India. He assured the business leaders that the issues raised by them would be given high priority during his talks in New Delhi. Nepal is heavily dependent on India for fuel and other essential supplies. Mr Prachanda will go to Himachal Pradesh on Saturday to visit Nathpa Jhakhri hydro power plant. He will leave for his country on Sunday afternoon.UNI NAZ SHS SS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-934175.Xml
Around 70 home buyers have sought a refund after the company failed to deliver possession of the flats on schedule.

In May this year, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) had asked Parsvnath Developers to refund the amount paid by 70 home buyers in its Parsvnath Exotica project in Ghaziabad with 12 percent interest for delaying the project.

Parsvnath Developers had moved the apex court against the apex consumer commission's order asking it to refund the money to 70 buyers along with interest.

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and C. Nagappan also declined to pass any order asking GDA to reconsider the issue.

"If refund allowed to these buyers, floodgates will be opened with all buyers seeking refund," Parsavnath Developers told the Supreme Court.

In an earlier hearing, Parsvnath Developers told the court that it will take another year to complete the project. (ANI)
Two Telugu teachers abducted in Libya a year ago have been released, with their families heaving a huge sigh of relief. Anxiously waiting and praying for their safe return for more than a year, the families of the two teachers were excited as the news of their release was broken by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday. "I am happy to inform that T. Gopalakrishna (AP) and C. Balaram Kishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since July 29, 2015 have been rescued," she tweeted. Gopalakrishna and Balaram Kishan were teachers at the University of Sirte and were abducted by Islamic State (IS) terrorists while they were on their way to Tripoli airport to return to India. The news brought cheers to the families on Ganesh Nimajjanam, which culminates the 11-day festival. The family members distributed sweets and thanked the government of India. Kalyani said her husband spoke to her over phone on Wednesday night and informed her that he was released safely. "Gopalakrishna spoke briefly to inform me that he has been released and safe," she said. Gopalakrishna, an assistant professor at the University of Sirte, belongs to Tekkali in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, while Balram Kishan, an English professor, also works at the same university and hails from Telangana's Karimnagar district. The family members of the two teachers said they were yet to receive an official word as to when they will be returning home. They were among four Indians kidnapped by IS on the same day. Two of them were released a few days later. Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar, hailing from Karnataka, had returned safely following their release. Meanwhile, Telangana Minister for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Affairs K. Tarakarama Rao thanked Sushma Swaraj over release of the two engineers. "Thanks very much madam.#Respect," he tweeted. --IANS ms/in/vm ( 313 Words) 2016-09-15-12:59:59 (IANS)
8 Mechanised Infantry (7 PUNJAB) is celebrating its Platinum Jubilee at Khasa, Amritsar from September 15 to 17. The battalion was raised on May 5, 1941 at Meerut Cantt. Since its inception, the battalion has participated in many major military operations, pre and post Independence, including The Second World War (Burma Campaign), Op Polo -1948 (Hyderabad Police Action), 1965 Indo-Pak War and 1971 Indo- Pak War. The battalion has the honour of being decorated with three Theatre Honours to include Burma, Punjab and East Pakistan and four Battle Honours to include North Arakan-1944, Buthidaung-1944 and Ngyake Dauk Pass -1944, Dograi (Ichhogil) - 1965. The battalion has also served in UN Peace Keeping Mission in Sudan and Eritrea. A host of events would be organised to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of this decorated unit. The highlight of the event would be the 'Ceremonial Parade' and a Special Sainik Sammellan during which First Day Cover would also be released. UNI XC KS SV AS1401 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-934306.Xml
Informed sources, however, said this was part of efforts by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to operationalise more air bases in the Northeast region to act as a counter to China.

"A Sukhoi SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft landed at the Agartala airport this morning. It departed soon afterwards," Agartala Airport Director S.D. Barman told reporters.

"This is a part of routine peace-time training activity, nothing else," Defence Ministry spokesman Group Captain Amit Mahajan told IANS on the phone from Shillong.

The IAF had, in August 2010, deployed its first SU-30 squadron in the northeast at Tezpur in Assam. In March 2011, it raised another Sukhoi squadron at the Chabua airbase, also in Assam.

On August 19, three SU-30s had touched down at the upgraded Pasighat Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh.

Barman said that there are eight airports in the region, besides a few ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh where the SU-30s can land.

--IANS sc/sm/sac

( 196 Words)

2016-09-15-14:39:57 (IANS)
The deceased were identified as Gayatri Gadekar (27) and her children Savata (2) and Nandini (4), police said.

Gayatri, a mother of three children, yesterday hanged Savata and Nandini from the roof of thehouse and later she took the extreme step.

The incident came to light, when Sonu, her third child, returned home. The reason behind the extreme step was yet to be ascertained.UNI VKB NV SV AS1405

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A five-member delegation of both tribal-based opposition Indigenous People's Front of Twipra (IPFT) left for New Delhi today to press for their longstanding demand of separate 'Twipra land' within Tripura. The delegation led by IPFT General Secretary Mayber Kumar Jamatia is scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram to pursue the demand of separate state elevating the status of Tripura tribal areas autonomous district council (ADC). Before leaving for Delhi, IPFT had organised protest rallies and demonstration in 44 locations of the state including Agartala yesterday in favour of their demand and also persuaded the government to ensure CBI probe into clash between tribal and non-tribal at Agartala on August 23 last. Mr Jamatia alleged that except CPI-M all other parties have been demanding for CBI probe or independent Inquiry into the incident by any central government agency. But the Left Front government did not agree with and has been desperately trying to establish innocent tribals as criminals in the name of magisterial Inquiry. "During the meeting with Mr Rajnath Singh, we shall apprise him about the communal clash in Agartala demanding independent Inquiry by the centre besides, the instances of under development of tribals in Tripura and the need of separate state for indigenous people," Jamatia stated. IPFT has been fighting for introduction of inner-line permit in Tripura to protect the tribals, recognition of tribal language Kokborok in the 8th Schedule of the Constitutions, reservation of 50 per cent seats for the tribals in the 60-member Tripura assembly. Meanwhile, opposing IPFT's demand of separate Twipra land, another tribal based opposition party Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) president B K Hrangkhwal said separate state for tribals is not justified rather empowerment of ADC is more reasonable. The INPT, which opposes the separate state demand, would organise a six-hour sit-in-demonstration in Delhi and meet the central ministers in the first week of December. "We would highlight our demands during our New Delhi Abhiyan. We have taken this decision at our central working committee meeting held here on Tuesday," Hrangkhwal said. He said that the INPT would organise a mass campaign during the next two months in support of its demands across the state. The INPT would hold a meeting with its four frontal organisation leaders on September 22 to make successful the upcoming party programme.UNI BB KK SV AN1439 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-934234.Xml
Dr Subhash Chandra Parija, Director, JIPMER who officially launched Karaikal Health Education Talks, today said through All India Radio, JIPMER will reach the mass population and spread health awareness.

Dr Parija said JIPMER's health education activities are focused towards holistic health promotion and through these programmes healthy behaviors among individuals are aimed at, to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and to achieve a positive lifestyle.Health Education Talks of JIPMER are aired through All India Radio since July 2016.UNI PAB AE SB 1604

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Normal life was expected to be hit, albiet in Cauvery Delta districts, as the Tamil Nadu farmers associations havecalled for a dawn-to-dusk bandh tomorrow with the backing of almostall the opposition parties on the vexatious cauvery issue. The support for the bandh kept increasing with more organisationsand political parties extending their support.. Apart the DMK, PMK, MDMK, the Left Parties, VCK , TVK and the TMC, today the Congress party too pledged its support to the bandh, being organised to get the due share of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu on the basis of the final award of the Cauvery disputes tribunal, besides constitution of the Cauvery Management Board. The bandh was also to condemn the violence unleashed on Tamil peopleand their properties during the recent bandh observed in Karnataka to protestagainst the release of cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu as per the Supreme Courtorder. More than 50 buses and lorries were torched in Karnataka during the bandhand the general strike in Tamil Nadu tomorrow was also demand adequate protection to Tamil speaking people in Karnataka and their properties. The VCK led by Thol Thirumalavan said his party would organise rail roko agitations across the State tomorrow and he would personally lead the agitation in Chennai city, while DMDK President Vijayakanth had announced that his party would observe a fast to condemn the attack on Tamils in Karnataka. . The Tamil Nadu government has made elaborate security arrangements anddeployed police personnel in all vulnerable places to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh, which has the backing of the Opposition and various organisations. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to his Tamil Nadu counterpartJ Jayalalithaa urging her to provide adequate security to Kannadigas in Tamil Naduduring the bandh. MORE UNI GV KSR1640 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-934741.Xml
The authorities have evacuated panic-stricken villagers from Patrapara to safer places in Balrampur District in north Chhattisgarh after a villager was trampled to death by a herd of dozen elephants. According to reports, Kunwar Sai (55), who went to a nearby forest yesterday to collect mushrooms, was encircled by a herd of 12 wild elephants before being trampled to death. It took more than six hours for the forest guards to retrieve the mutilated body of Kunwar from the custody of the jumbos with the help of villagers. Apprehending further attack by the wild elephants, who are camping in the nearby forest for last three days, the authorities have evacuated all the villagers from Patrapara and keeping a close watch on the pachyderms. Recently, two people were trampled to death by wild elephants in the forested Raghanathpur area in the district, the sources added. UNI SS BDG SB AS1633 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-934415.Xml
Nagaland Minister of PHE Tokheho Yepthomi has said implementing the 33 per cent women's reservation in the Town and Municipal Council elections would be a decisive factor, which would benefit Naga Peoples Front (NPF) in the 2018 Assembly elections. Speaking at the induction programme of former Congress workers from Dimapur III Assembly Constituency, which had merged with NPF, at Dimapur yesterday, Tokheho said "Civic body polls would be semi-final for the NPF party in the state if political arrangement does not take place and assembly election is to be held in 2018." He said once the women quota is implemented, the outcome of the civic body elections would also strengthen the party. In this regard, Tokheho informed that the cabinet would be holding a meeting soon to chalk out the process to conduct the civic polls and to notify on the dates. The Minister, welcoming the newly inducted members into the party urged them to uphold the party's principles. "If we are strong in Dimapur we can also strengthen the party outside the district," he added. He urged the party workers to acknowledge and take note of NPF president, Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu, who had stood by the party's principles during the time of crisis. "During my 24 years of public service, I have seen Dr Shurhozelie, who has not changed the party, but maintained the party principles," Tokheho said. He also appealed to the party workers to support the present leaders, saying "Legislators and party together we are a family." UNI AS KK SW SB AN1639 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-934361.Xml
'Deputy c-in-c' of National Socialist Council of Adivasi (NSCA) Binod Gowla, was arrested by security forces from Hatoka in East Karbi Anglong district of Assam today. Based on an information from Army intelligence unit, troops of the Red Horns Division carried out a operation that led to the assest of Gowla and one cadre of NSCA. One 7.65 mm pistol, grenade and ammunition were recovered from the duo who had been carrying out extortion and unlawful activities. NSCA is one of the fringe outfits which has been harassing locals and is involved in extortion, a defence statement said here. Meanwhile, based on intelligence input about NDFB(S) terrorists in West Daisamguri in Chirang District, a joint operation was launched by Army with Assam Police in the wee hours today. In the operation a locally trained terrorist of NDFB(S), Hwbtasad Brahma was apprehended along with one pistol and ammunition. UNI SG KK SW AS1558 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-934488.Xml
The 69th Raising Day of the Western Command, the frontline operational command of the Indian Army, was celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervour at its Headquarters, Chandimandir, a defence release said here today. Western Command Chief of Staff Lt Gen I S Ghuman laid a wreath at the Veer Smriti to pay homage to the martyrs. Wreaths were also laid by other senior officers of the command. Large number of officers JCOs and Jawans were present on the occasion. The Command was raised in 1947 as Delhi and East Punjab Command with HQ at Delhi was re-designated 'Western Command' in January 1948. The genesis of Western Command was forged on the anvil of one of the most challenging trans border migration of human population. In 1954 the HQ of the Command moved to Shimla. After the Indo-Pak conflict of 1971, Northern Command, with its HQ at Udhampur, was carved out of Western Command to assume operational responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir. Later, HQ Western Command moved to its present location at Chandimandir in 1985. Ever since its raising, Western Command which has the glorious history of having participated in all the major conflict both on the Western and Northern frontiers, has carved a niche for itself - replete with saga of bravery, grit and determination. With 'Ever Westwards' being its clarion call, the Western Army was instrumental in blunting the Pakistani aggression in 1947, 1965 and 1971, and subsequently carrying the battle into enemy territory. Its formations and units have participated and distinguished themselves, winning a large number of gallantry awards including eleven Param Vir Chakras. Western Command has time and again, provided succour to the civilian population. Be it be during natural calamities, undertaking counter terrorist operations or participating in Nation building activities, troops of the Command have always been in the fore front in providing aid to civil authorities. UNI DB SB BD1653 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-934714.Xml
Himachal Pradesh government today removed Kullu Deputy Commissioner Hans Raj Chauhan showing his annoyance over delay in take-over of Raghunath shrine. An official statement said Deputy Commissioner Kullu, Hans Raj Chauhan, who is IAS officer of 2008 batch, will be replaced by 2010 batch IAS officer and Special Secretary Public Works Department Yunus. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has already sought reply from the state on earlier transfer of Mr Yunus from post of Deputy Commissioner Una. The court has taken cognisance of media report that the state was soft on the mine mafia and shuffling the daring officers. On July 25, state council of ministers decided to take over temple and form a Trust of Sultanpur, Kullu followed by issuance of notification by the DC Kullu on July 26, giving a week's notice to Kullu MLA Maheshwar Singh to handover all temple properties, including movable and immovable. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh has announced in a public meeting at Banjar in Kullu recently that Chauhan will face removal for inaction on the direction of state council of ministers. Addressing Congress party public meeting at Banjar on September 12, the Octogenarian Chief minister without naming Mr Hans Raj Chauhan observed that such an officer should not remain on the sensitive post who took a week's time to follow the government order. Mr Singh was referring to delay in takeover of Raghunath shrine on the behest of the DC as now the court has stayed the government action following Mr Maheshwar Singh's petition in the court. Maheshwar Singh and his son Danvender Singh, in their petition, have asserted that the temple is their private property and is maintained by the MLA, who is the chief caretaker, and cannot be taken over under the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act 1984. The State government also decided to shuffle Deputy Commissioner Kangra Ritesh Chauhan, who is a 2005 IAS officer, and would be replaced by the 2010 batch IAS officer CP Verma, presently serving at Special Secretary Home here. Mr Chauhan is likely to be join on central deputation along with Commissioner of Shimla Municipal Corporation Pankaj Rai as the matter is pending with the state.UNI ML RSA SB RAI1645 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-934461.Xml
AAP Punjab Convener Gurpreet Ghugi faced heavy protests and wrath of the Sikh nationalists for hurting religious sentiments by comparing holy Panj Pyaras (five beloved ones) with his party leaders from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Yesterday, Sikh nationalists had rejected the lame apology rendered by the AAP Convener and confronted him while he was addressing a gathering in the city of Tracy, California. Calling upon Sikh religious institutions to take notice of statements, sloganeering Sikh nationalists called Ghugi a 'traitor' and 'follower of RSS ideology'. In a telephonic message, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, attorney at Low (New York) and legel advisor to Sikhs for Justice, said the AAP convener Gurpreet Ghugi while addressing a gathering in Amritsar on September 4 stated that "if first of the Panj Pyaras came from Lahore, the second one was from Uttar Pradesh and Guru Gobind Singh did not question that why they came from outside Punjab. How can anyone question Kejriwal coming from Delhi and others from Uttar Pradesh?". Earlier Ghugi on a national TV openly credited Punjab police for paving the way for cultural programmes by eliminating Sikh nationalists during the decade of 90s, he added. "AAP Convener Ghugi was one of the prime members of the team constituted in 1990's by then DGP K P S Gill to hold cultural programmes in the villages of Punjab to divert the public attention from ongoing police abuses against Sikh nationalist," Panuu stated. "AAP convener first praised Punjab police for extra judicial killing of Sikhs and then disrespected holy Panj Pyaras. We will not allow AAP, Congress or SAD leaders who undermine Sikh religious identity and values to run their political campaigns in America." "Since Ghugi failed to tender unconditional apology to Sarbat Khalsa appointed Jathedar Jagtar Singh Hawara, we will mobilise Sikhs to confront Ghugi across America with protest rallies." SFJ International Policy Director Amardeep Singh Purewal said, "Freedom seeking Sikhs will not lend their shoulders to AAP for riding to the corridors of power by hurting the sentiments of the community." The protest against Ghugi in California is a wake call for AAP which till today enjoyed unconditional backing from Khalistan supporters in America and Canada. The protest rally was spearheaded by rights group 'Sikhs For Justice' (SFJ) which has earlier scuttled the North American visits of Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh and had also filed case against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Badal for promoting and protecting Punjab police officers responsible for extrajudicial killing of Sikhs.UNI XC DB SW BD1742 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-934745.Xml
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij today ordered cancellation of leave of all doctors, dentists, paramedical staff and other officials of the Department, till further orders to control the spread of Dengue and Chikungunya. In a statement here, Mr Vij said the incidence of Dengue and Chikungunya is increasing in the districts of the state, adjacent to Delhi. He said in Delhi, Chikungunya and Dengue were spreading like an epidemic, therefore, he cautioned the people in the state to take preventive measures before commuting between Delhi and the state. He also directed the senior officers of the department including Additional Chief Secretary P K Mahapatra to take appropriate measures to check the spread of chikungunya and dengue. He also stressed the need for launching an educational drive to make the people aware of preventive measures for the viral fever.UNI DB RSA AE AN1740 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-934810.Xml
In a statement, the CBI said that it was alleged that the accused, in a criminal conspiracy with others, had illegally collected Rs. 565 crore (approximately) from poor investors after fraudulently promising them high returns without any permission from regulatory bodies.

The CBI claimed that in pursuance of that, the accused allegedly committed cheating and criminal misappropriation of public funds. (ANI)
The CPM today urged the state government not to permit the London-based multi-national company, the Tayoto Susho Sugar Trading Limited to establish sugar refinery factory in Krishna Patnam in Nellore district as it would be detrimental to the interest of the local sugarcane farmers.CPM state Secretary P Madhu, in a letter to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, which was released to the media here today, said according to reports he received, the TSSTL is planning to establish Rs 450 crore sugar refinery factory in Krishna Patnam. If it happens so, the TSSTL would plunder agriculture wealth of the state, he feared.The CPM leader explained that there are 29 sugar factories in the state and they are producing 1.20 crore quintals of sugar. The sugarcane, being produced in the state is sufficient to the local sugar factories. If the TSSTL is permitted, several multi-nationals including, the Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Nestle and Cadburys would buy sugar from the TSSTL directly in huge quantity besides Wall Mart, Spencers and Reliance would enter agreements with the TSSTL to buy sugar in bulk. If that is happened, the local sugar factories are forced to close their units which would affect over two lakh sugarcane farmers and several lakhs agriculture workers.The government is telling that the TSSTL, if established factory here, would generate 600 employment and provide indirect employment to 1,000 people. But, it would affect the livelihood of lakhs of families, the CPM leader feared and urged the government not to permit to the TSSTL to set up factor here.He said the government constituted Sudhakar Chowdary committee to recommend suggestions for the development of Sugar sector and the committee had already submitted its report. Mr.Madhu asked the government to disclose the recommendations and convene a joint meeting with sugarcane farmers and the managements of sugar factories to sort out the problems. UNI DP AE SB 1830 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0431-934983.Xml
Mr Prachanda, who arrived on a three-day state visit to India, will be accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan followed by laying of wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's Samadhi.

This is Mr Prachanda's his first trip abroad after assuming office.

The Nepalese Prime Minister and Mr Modi will address joint media briefing after delegation level talks.

MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing that India would like to know the priorities of the new government in Nepal. UNI MK RSA SB 1955

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-935237.Xml
Vice President Hamid Ansari today left for Venezuela to attend the Non-Aligned Summit being held on September 17-18. ''Reaffirming the solidarity of the developing world. VP Ansari departs for Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit," the spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry Vikas Swarup tweeted.Dr Ansari will lead the Indian delegation at the 17th NAM Summit being held at the Venezuelan island of Margarita. .The last NAM summit was hosted by Iran in 2012.NAM today comprises 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and two from Europe.There are 17 countries and 10 international organisations that are observers at NAM, which came into being 55 years ago when leaders of 25 developing countries met at the 1961 Belgrade Conference.India, one of the founding members of the movement, hosted the 7th NAM Summit in 1983 in New Delhi. UNI AR PY 2017 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-935276.Xml
A ceremonial Border Personnel meeting (BPM) on the occasion of "Mid Autumn Festival of China'' was conducted today at the Chinese side in Chushul and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Eastern Ladakh. The Indian delegations were led by Brigadier R S Raman and Col B S Uppal and Chinese delegations by Senior Colonel Fan Jun and Colonel Song Zong Li respectively. Mid autumn festival was celebrated by exchange of greeting and good wishes and saluting the National flag of China by both the delegations members. This was followed by the ceremonial address by both delegation leaders and reaffirming the mutual desire of improving relations at functional level at the border. Thereafter a cultural programme showcasing vibrant Chinese culture and traditional grandeur was organised. Both the delegations interacted in a friendly and cordial environment. The delegation parted amidst bonds of friendship and commitment towards enhancing the existing cordial relations and maintaining peace along the LAC. Both sides also sought to further build on the treaties and agreements signed between the governments of the two sides to maintain peace and tranquility along the LAC. (ANI)
Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha has written a letter to Punjab Assembly Speaker Dr Charanjit Singh Atwal, demanding privilege motion against Congress MLA Tarlochan Singh Soond and other Congress MLAs for their shameful acts. In statement here today, Mr Valtoha said Mr Soond and other Congress MLAs used defamatory language against him and concocted a false story blaming me of using foul and objectionable casteist remarks in a bid to cover up his own sins. He said by committing such a sin the Congress MLAs have breached my special privilege in the house. He said despite of feeling sorry for his shameful act Mr Soond created a false story of caseist remarks in the media to cover up his sin and Congress MLAs also supported him in this cover up act. He further said that he is a Amritdhari Sikh, who lives his life as per teaching of Sikh Gurus and respect all religions and casts. He cannot even think of using any caseist remarks against any community. The SAD MLA said during the ongoing session shoe hurling at ruling party chairs by Congress MLA Tarlochan Soondh has lowered the dignity of the house. He said all MLAs are deeply hurt and saddened by this shameful act of the Congress MLA. He further said Congress MLAs had made a mockery of the rich traditions of the Vidhan Sabha. He asked Congress MLAs to explain why they had resorted to drinking sessions of scotch and whisky, eating chicken and meat in the august house. There are also reports that some Congress MLAs sharing vulgar video clips between themselves which needed to be investigated. "All these incidents prove that the Congress party is deeply frustrated by its inability to rise to the expectations of the people", he added. Condemning this act of Congress MLAs, Mr Valtoha said Speaker Dr Charnjit Singh Atwal who also remained the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is known for his dignity, fairness and transparency, but the Congress MLAs even lowered the dignity of the Chair of the Speaker by throwing books and paper rolls on the chair and using derogatory language against Hon'able speaker. Commenting on the remarks made by Capt Amrinder Singh about him, he said he is a Amritdhari Sikh who lives his life as per teachings of Sikh Gurus. He asked Capt Singh to get Congress MLAs treated by doctors who made merry by drinking scotch whisky besides resorting to jokes and singing sessions in the temple of democracy.UNI DB PY GC2147 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-935230.Xml
Newly-appointed Samajwadi Party (SP) Uttar Pradesh chief Shivpal Singh Yadav on Thursday resigned from the state cabinet as well as from all the posts of party held by him. Shivpal tendered his resignation to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after meeting his elder brother party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the state capital. Mulayam today summoned Shivpal, who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, and held closed door meeting with him to defuse the situation. Shivpal later met Akhilesh at his official residence, but the meeting lasted only 15 minutes. Earlier on September 13, Akhilesh stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with his uncle as the party's state unit chief. Shivpal, the younger brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav, could be seen completely powerless as Akhilesh kept the PWD portfolio with himself, while Avdhesh Prasad had been given the charge of Irrigation and Flood Control department and Balram Yadav, the additional charge of Revenue and many other departments, currently being held by Shivpal thus, bringing down the number of ministries held by him from ten to just two. Earlier in the day, party national general secretary Ramgopal had met the Chief Minister and claimed that "Akhilesh is not angry with anyone and the decision of Neta ji (Mulayam) is final in the party." He said that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding" even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh. Earlier, Shivpal Yadav had reportedly announced the party's first list of 142 candidates for the 2017 polls. Disagreements between Akhilesh and his uncle have been reported on several occasions, including on the choice of official to be appointed as the state's chief secretary after Alok Ranjan's term ended, and the postponement of Qaumi Ekta Dal's merger with Samajwadi Party. (ANI)
Obama made the remarks after meeting with Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the Oval Office, a move taken to mend broken relationship between the two countries.

Though Myanmar was formerly known as Burma, the U.S. government still uses it referring to the country.

"In part because of the progress we've seen over the last several months, I indicated after consulting with Daw Suu that the United States is now prepared to lift sanctions we've imposed upon Burma for quite some time," CNN quoted Obama as saying.

"It is the right thing to do in order to ensure the people of Burma see the rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government," he added.

Though he did not specify precisely which sanctions would be lifted, but said the relief would come "soon."

Obama also announced that Washington would add Myanmar to a roster of developing countries granted special trade status, allowing duty-free import of some 5,000 products.

Meanwhile, a senior administration official said that some sanctions including a longstanding arms ban would remain on Myanmar in order to ensure that the military remains a partner in the democratic transition. (ANI)
A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh's management of the haj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes towards Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom.Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be seen as a reference to Iran, added that the orderly conduct of the pilgrimage this year "is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom".The remarks carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Wednesday evening follow an escalating war of words between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia since a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage a year ago in which hundreds of pilgrims, many of them Iranians, died.SPA quoted Prince Khaled as telling journalists his message to the Iranian leadership was "I pray to God Almighty to guide them and to deter them from their transgression and their wrong attitudes toward their fellow Muslim among the Arabs in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and around the world"."But if they are preparing an army to invade us, we are not easily taken by someone who would make war on us.""When we desire, and with the help of God Almighty, we will deter every aggressor and will never relent in protecting this holy land and our dear country. No one can defile any part from our country if any one of us remains on the face of the earth."No top Iranian leader has called for war with Saudi Arabia, something neither country wants.But last year's haj disaster, and the execution in January of dissident Saudi Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, triggered months of scathing Iranian criticism of the kingdom.Riyadh broke off relations with Tehran after its embassy there was attacked by Iranians protesting against Nimr's death. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards promised "harsh revenge" for Nimr's death.Iran blamed the 2015 haj disaster on Saudi incompetence, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sept. 5 said some of the Iranians who died had been "murdered" by Saudi Arabia. He said Muslims should not let Saudi rulers escape responsibility for "crimes" he said they had committed in Arab conflictsREUTERS CJ RAI1135 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-934202.Xml
The theme for this year is "Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on the occasion urged the people to rededicate themselves to democracy and dignity for all.

"The implementation of the goals must be underpinned by a strong and active civil society that includes the weak and the marginalized. We must defend civil society's freedom to operate and do this essential job. On this International Day of Democracy, let us rededicate ourselves to democracy and dignity for all," Ban Ki-moon said.

The Government agencies and non-governmental organizations across the globe are holding various activities and events to promote democracy.

The UN General Assembly had decided in November 2007 to observe 'International Democracy Day' every year on September 15. (ANI)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said today that it was crucial an upcoming European Union summit, the first since Britain voted to leave the bloc, addressed the EU's weaknesses with a plan for reforms.Britain's Brexit vote sent shockwaves through the European Unions long deemed by many voters to be overly bureaucratic and unresponsive to their concerns, while energising the continent's anti-immigration, eurosceptic parties."It is now about applying an agenda for Bratislava that makes clear we are determined to react together to the weaknesses, to the tasks we face," Merkel told reporters in Paris after meeting Hollande ahead of tomorrow's summit.Hollande said Britain's vote to divorce with the EU had triggered a crisis that threatened bloc's very existence and pressed on the 27 member states due in the Slovak capital to establish a calendar and road-map for reforms.Security would be one of three key themes under discussion in Bratislava, he said."The first priority is security ... our border security, our security against external threats," Hollande said.Germany and France have outlined plans to deepen European military cooperation as Britain's departure removes one of the biggest obstacles to stronger EU defence in tandem with NATO.Merkel said France and Germany would ask the Council to pursue their proposals but added: "We want to work inclusively so all of the 27 member states should of course have the opportunity to take part and to decide on things together."She said an answer was needed on migration, with some people coming to Europe for economic reasons, rather than as political or war refugees. "We need to be able to protect our external borders and we of course need to jointly take responsibility on that."EU Parliament President Martin Schulz said in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel published today that it was imperative EU members talked with one voice."As soon as the Brits have determined their strategy for talks with the EU, we will be confronted with a unified British line. That must not then meet with an un-unified EU because there are certainly people in London who would like to play us off against each other and that would be fatal for the EU," Schulz was quoted as saying. REUTERS SDR BD1840 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-935072.Xml
The chief of the Russian army's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara today for talks on military cooperation and Syria, Turkish officials said, reflecting a warming of ties in the past few weeks.Russia and Turkey have backed opposing sides in Syria, with Moscow supporting President Bashar al-Assad while Ankara backs rebels fighting to oust him. Relations hit a low last November, when Turkey downed a Russian war plane near the Syrian border.But ties between Moscow and Ankara were largely restored last month. A Syrian ceasefire deal brokered by the United States and Russia could meanwhile change the dynamics of the conflict, raising the prospect of joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups by the former Cold War foes."They discussed the Syria conflict and military cooperation," a Turkish official said of Gerasimov's meeting with Turkish military chief Hulusi Akar, declining to be named because details of the talks were not made public.Turkey launched its first major military incursion into Syria three weeks ago to try to push back Islamic State militants from its border and prevent Kurdish militia fighters from gaining ground in their wake.Ankara now faces a difficult diplomatic balancing act if it is to win international support for the more permanent "safe zone" cleared of militants it wants on its border. Russia has in the past said any such incursion would be illegal.REUTERS SDR PM1915 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-935140.Xml
Britain gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion nuclear power plant today, ending weeks of uncertainty that strained ties with China and France but also signalling a more cautious approach to foreign investment in critical infrastructure projects.Prime Minister Theresa May's government said it would proceed with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England, approving French utility firm EDF's plan to build Britain's first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by 8 billion dollar of Chinese cashIt also set out a new investment policy designed to give it greater control over future deals when foreign states were involved in buying stakes in "critical infrastructure".The project offers an insight into how Britain could conduct relations with the world in a post-Brexit era. May, who became prime minister after Britain's EU referendum, stunned Paris and Beijing by putting the deal on hold in July - hours before a contract was due to be signed - saying she needed time to assess all aspects of the project including national security concerns."The government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power stations for a generation," business minister Greg Clark told parliament today, setting out reforms to the deal and British policy on foreign infrastructure investment."These changes mean that while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works always in the public interest," he said.The government said it would be able to block the sale of EDF's controlling stake before or after completion of the project, under the new safeguards - a proviso it said it would apply to significant stakes in all future nuclear projects.French state-controlled EDF said it had agreed with the government to retain control of the project and would sign the deal "in the coming days".China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) - the project's Chinese state-backed investor - and business lobby groups also welcomed the decision on the Hinkley deal, which is part of a gradual recovery of the global nuclear industry following a slump caused by the 2011 Fukushima disaster."We are very happy the British government has approved the project," CGN said in a statement.May's decision to review the project came little more than a month after Britons voted to leave the EU, which forced the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron whose administration gave the initial go-ahead to the plan.The Brexit vote, and the resulting economic uncertainty, cast doubt on the future of major British infrastructure projects. It also threw a spotlight on Britain's trade relations with China and other big economies outside Europe.The two new reactors at Hinkley Point are scheduled to be running by the middle of next decade and provide around 7 percent of Britain's electricity, helping to fill a supply gap as the country's coal plants are set to close by 2025.CRITICAL REACTIONBritain has committed to pay a minimum price for the power generated by the plant for 35 years.Critics of the deal said the government should have renegotiated the price, which they say was set too high before oil prices fell, but the statement today said the price had not changed for the energy."It is extraordinary that they have not reviewed the price per unit of power," said Barry Gardiner, the opposition Labour Party's energy spokesman.The deal also affirmed the governments commitment to replace its old nuclear power stations - nearly all of Britain's eight functioning nuclear plants will have to shut down by 2030.Environmental lobby groups, some opposition political parties, and even a former board member at EDF said that was a mistake."The decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point is a bad choice for both France and the UK," former EDF board member Gerard Magnin told Reuters. Magnin resigned from the board in protest at the company's all-nuclear strategy ahead of a vote that narrowly approved the project."By concentrating technical and financial means in this investment on both sides of the channel, the respective governments and EDF will deprive their citizens and small companies of the opportunities for jobs and innovation that would come from inventing the 21st-century energy world."INVESTMENT POLICYThe decision to go ahead with Hinkley goes some way to easing concerns that May, a former interior minister, was closing the door to foreign investment, particularly from China which has plans to invest billions in British infrastructure.According to a former colleague, ex-business minister Vince Cable, May had expressed concern at the "gung-ho" attitude that Cameron took towards courting Chinese investment.Addressing those concerns, the government said it would take a "special share" in all future nuclear construction projects to ensure that significant stakes could not be sold without its consent."This is not out of kilter with the way that things go on in other major economies around the world," said Martin Young, Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets. "It's more of a safety net, a backstop, than anything else."CGN plans to make a number of investments in British nuclear power including the building and operating of a new nuclear power station with EDF at Bradwell-on-Sea, southeast England. Bradwell would be a Chinese-led project, using Chinese reactor technology.The government also said it was introducing broader rules to increase scrutiny of the national security implications of foreign ownership and control of critical infrastructure, including the need for continuous government approval of foreign owners and a review of takeover rulesIt did not specify what sort of projects would be included.CGN said it was not concerned by the new ownership rules and planned to move ahead with the Bradwell project and another minority investment, in the development of a new power station at Sizewell, in eastern England.Horizon, a nuclear new build group in Britain owned by Japan's Hitachi's, said it was "entirely comfortable" with the new approach.China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, however China's Xinhua news agency, which offers a reflection of official thinking, welcomed the decision albeit along with a thinly-veiled criticism of the delay."Let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development," it said in an editorial published today.REUTERS SDR PR1919 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-935167.Xml
China said today it welcomed Britain's decision to approve the construction of a part Chinese-invested nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in southern England.China hopes that with the hard work of China, Britain and France, Hinkley Point and other subsequent nuclear cooperation projects can proceed smoothly as fast as possible, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.British Prime Minister Theresa May's government said it would proceed with the Hinkley Point C project, approving French utility firm EDF's plan to build Britain's first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by 8 billion dollar of Chinese cash. REUTERS AKC BD2017 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-935332.Xml
German right-wingers and asylum seekers clashed in an eastern town, police said today, in the latest sign that the mood towards migrants is deteriorating around a year after they started arriving in Germany in large numbers.About 80 young men and women, mainly Germans from the right-wing scene who had been drinking beer, gathered in central Bautzen, some 50 kilometres northeast of Dresden, yesterday evening and chanted the town belonged to Germans, police said.Opposite them stood a group of around 20 unaccompanied minors -- meaning they are younger than 18 -- who are seeking asylum in Germany."Police were called at around 20.50 and told that two groups were going at each other ... attacking each other verbally and by throwing bottles, wooden slats and other such things," Uwe Kilz, head of Bautzen's police force, told a news conference.The incident comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel faces widespread criticism for an open-door refugee policy that saw around one million migrants arrive here last year, pushing down her approval ratings and boosting support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).Merkel said earlier today that Germany needed "viable solutions" to integrate refugees into the workforce faster.Police formed a chain to separate the two groups and used pepper spray and clubs after asylum seekers threw bottles, wooden slats and other objects at officers.When the asylum seekers left, they were followed by the group of Germans and even after being separated by police both groups headed towards a shelter, into which the asylum seekers then fled.Police told the 32 young asylum seekers who were in the home not to leave the building. An 18-year-old Moroccan in the building showed cut wounds on his arms but it is not yet clear where those came from, police said.The criminal police have launched a probe on grounds of suspicion of breaching the peace and grievous bodily harm.In February a shelter for asylum seekers was set ablaze in Bautzen, with several spectators applauding and some hindering the work of firemen. REUTERS AKC BD2055 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-935383.Xml
A UN human rights commission said today it was concerned by intimidation of civil society activists, harassment of journalists, sexual violence and other rights abuses in South Sudan.Officials from the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan were speaking at a news conference in Juba the day after the editor of a prominent newspaper in the five-year-old nation said his publication had been shut down by the authorities.Fighting erupted in South Sudan at the end of 2013 between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former deputy Riek Machar. A peace deal signed in 2015 proved shaky and fresh clashes flared again in the capital in July. Machar has since left the country.Yasmin Sooka, who led the UN commission team, listed concerns that included "the diminishing space for civil society which includes intimidation and harassment of its members", adding that many activists have fled abroad.She cited worries about media freedoms "and the continued intimidation and harassment of journalists", alongside concerns about restrictions on the UN mission UNMISS and aid organisations that prevent them reaching the needy.Fighting has left many in the oil-producing nation of 11 million people, already one of the world's poorest, in desperate need of food and support.Sooka also cited "the ongoing impunity and lack of accountability for serious crimes as well as human rights in South Sudan, without which lasting peace cannot be achieved."The government insists it does not condone rights abuses and deals with perpetrators. However, both sides in what was an ethnically fuelled conflict have been accused of actions that could amount to war crimes.Sooka also voiced concerns about "the escalation of sexual violence against women and girls, perpetrated by armed men in uniform."Members of the commission, established in March 2016 to report on the rights situation since war flared in December 2013, said they met senior government officials, and proposed "the establishment of the hybrid court" to deal with abuses.The United States and Britain, both big donors, have said they support African Union plans for a hybrid court to try war crimes committed during the conflict. Such a court could include lawyers and jurists selected by the international community.REUTERS AKC VN2219 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-935488.Xml
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki today accused authorities of pressuring a local TV channel to stop the broadcast of an interview with him, saying it was a case of state restrictions on media freedom.Opponents of President Beji Caid Essebsi have accused him before of trying to concentrate power in his hands, six years after an uprising ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.Marzouki, one of Essebsi's most ardent critics, said in a statement that officials had pressured local Attessia TV not to air the interview. He did not give details, but his spokesman said officials threatened to cut public advertising.Attessia chief executive Moez Ben Gharbia also said the channel was pressured by officials, and a local journalist union condemned what it said was government pressure tactics."Officials in the presidency and the government exercised pressure on the TV channel not to air the interview with Marzouki," Ben Gharbia said in statement.The presidency denied the accusations."We defy any journalist or producer of Attessia TV or journalist union to prove that the presidency pressed to prevent the interview," said Noureddine Ben Ticha, a senior political adviser to Essebsi.Since its 2011 revolution ousted Ben Ali, Tunisia has been praised as a model of democratic transition in a region troubled by violence and rights violations. One of the Arab world's most secular nations, it now has free elections and a modern constitution.But rights groups say some of the practices and abuses of the past still linger, such as police torture and state corruption. REUTERS AKC VN2243 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-935507.Xml
North Korea's Foreign Minister said today the country was ready to launch another attack against the "provocations" of the United States, whose bombers this week flew over South Korea in a show of solidarity with its ally after Pyongyang's latest nuclear test.North Korea set off its most powerful nuclear blast to date this month, saying it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile and ratcheting up a threat that its rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain.Two US B-1 bombers flew over South Korea on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from the North."The people of Korea are ready to stage another attack against the provocations of the United States," said Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho during a speech at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement countries in Venezuela that was translated into Spanish.Seoul has also said North Korea was ready to conduct an additional nuclear test at any time.North Korea's latest test has launched a fresh push by the United States and South Korea for more sanctions. Pressure for further sanctions was "laughable", North Korea has said, vowing to continue to strengthen its nuclear power.REUTERS AKC VN2242 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-935509.Xml
The Syrian Army has begun a staged withdrawal of troops and vehicles from the Castello road, RIA news agency cited Lieutenant-General Vladimir Savchenko, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre in Syria, as saying today.Savchenko said opposition forces were yet to pull back from the road. Government troops had done so to ensure the delivery of humanitarian supplies to eastern Aleppo, RIA reported. REUTERS AKC VN2328 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-935547.Xml
MANILA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte admitted Monday night that he "purposely" skipped the meeting between the Southeast Asian leaders and United States President Barack Obama in Vientiane, Laos last week.

"The reason is not that I am anti-West. The reason is not (that) I do not like the Americans. It's simply a matter of principle," Duterte said in a speech in presidential palace.

During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits in Vientiane last week, Duterte's spokesmen said the President failed to attend the ASEAN-U.S. meeting because he was not feeling well due to migraine attack.

Duterte's first attendance to an international meeting since he assumed the presidency on June 30 was hounded by controversy.

His expletives against Obama prompted the latter to cancel their bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting.

In the same gathering during the East Asian Summit, Duterte veered away from the prepared speech and instead talked about the massacre perpetrated by the American forces against the Filipino Muslims in southern province of Sulu in 1906, which he described as human rights violation.

Duterte criticized U.S. for its supposed human rights violations after Washington raised concern on the reported extrajudicial killings of suspected drug personalities in the Philippines amid the government's war on illegal drugs.
The graphics shows China will launch the Tiangong-2 space lab from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert at 10:04 p.m. on Sept. 15. (Xinhua/Qu Zhendong)

JIUQUAN, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will launch its Tiangong-2 space lab from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi desert at 10:04 p.m. Thursday as part of an increasingly ambitious space program that aims for a manned space station by around 2022.

Engineers have begun injecting propellant into the Long March-2F T2 rocket, which will carry Tiangong-2 into space, said Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office, on Wednesday afternoon.

"All systems are ready for lift-off," she said.

"The launch of Tiangong-2 will lay a solid foundation for the building and operation of a permanent space station in the future," she said.

She said China's manned space program has now entered a "new phase of application and development."

Once in space, the 8.6-tonne Tiangong-2 will maneuver itself into an orbit about 380 kilometers above Earth for initial on-orbit tests.

It will transfer to a slightly higher orbit about 393 kilometers above Earth, a height at which the future Chinese space station will operate, before the Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship ferries two male astronauts into space to dock with the lab in mid-to-late October.

The two astronauts will work in Tiangong-2 for 30 days before reentering Earth's atmosphere.

In April 2017, China's first cargo ship, Tianzhou-1, will also be sent into orbit to dock with Tiangong-2 and provide it with fuel and other supplies.

Wu said experts will verify and evaluate key technologies involved in on-orbit propellant resupply and equipment repairs as well as that related to long-term stays in space by astronauts.

They will also use the lab, which is designed to operate for at least two years, to conduct space science experiments on a relatively large scale compared to China's previous efforts.

Measuring 10.4 meters in length and 3.35 meters in maximum diameter, Tiangong-2 is much like its predecessor Tiangong-1, which was launched in 2011, but its living quarters and life support facilities have been improved to allow for longer stays by astronauts.

Originally built as a backup for Tiangong-1, it can enable two astronauts to live in space for up to 30 days and is capable of receiving manned and cargo spaceships.

Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out key experiments related to aerospace medicine, space physics and biology as well as on-orbit equipment repairs in areas such as quantum key transmission, space atomic clock and solar storm research.

More than 40 space science and application experiments will be conducted aboard Tiangong-2.

"The number of experiments carried by Tiangong-2 is the highest so far of all manned space missions," Wu said.

Its payload includes POLAR, a collaboration between Swiss, Polish and Chinese institutions to study gamma ray bursts.

The space cold atomic clock, which scientists say only loses one second about every 30 million years, is expected to make future mobile navigation more accurate.

Also piggybacking on the Tiangong-2 launch will be a micro satellite that will orbit close to the space lab.

Wu said China will share the fruits of its development in its manned space program with all countries, especially developing countries.

Earlier reports said Tiangong-2 will also carry three experiments designed by the winners of a Hong Kong middle school design contest.

According to Wu, Tiangong-2 is China's first space lab "in the strict sense."

Its predecessor, Tiangong-1, which docked with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and undertook a series of experiments, was mainly tasked with verifying technology involved in space docking and serving as a platform for a limited number of scientific experiments, Wu said.

Tiangong-1 ended its data service earlier this year.

According to Wu, Tiangong-1 is running at an orbit about 370 kilometers above Earth and descending 100 meters every day. It is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere in the latter half of 2017.
VIENTIANE, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Construction of a historic railway linking Lao capital Vientiane to the Chinese border over a distance of 427 km is expected to begin in December this year, an official in charge said here Wednesday.

Agreements with six Chinese construction companies and six consultancy firms will be finalized next month which will pave the way for the commencement of construction at the end of 2016, said the official.

Director of the Laos-China Railway construction project and Director of the Lao National Railway Company, Koung Souk-Aloun, told Lao state-run online newspaper Vientiane Times Wednesday, "We have already signed an agreement with one Chinese construction company last year, and we will sign agreements with the other five Chinese construction companies and consultancy firms next month."

Meanwhile, the international trade publication Global Construction Review reported that the China Railway Group had won a 1.2 billion U.S. dollars contract to build a large section of railway through Laos. The group's announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week drew a thumbs up from rating agency Moody's, which said the win would help it gain more business traction in Laos.

An official ground-breaking ceremony for the project took place in Vientiane in December last year to mark the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. However, more work remains to be done including compensation for those affected by the project and demarcation of the precise route the railway will take.

Koung said compensation payouts to the owners of land and other property on the railway route would be completed this year.

Detailed demarcation of the project corridor for various planned stations was also needed before construction could begin, he said.

The planned single track with a 1.435-meter standard-gauge rail network would have 33 stations, of which 21 would be operational initially, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

There will be 72 tunnels with a total length of 183.9 km, representing 43 percent of the project's total length. The line will also have 170 bridges of 69.2 km, accounting for 15.8 percent of the rail route.

Passenger trains will travel at a speed of 160 km per hour, while the speed of rail freight will be 120 km per hour.

The railway in Laos will link with the track in Thailand to form part of the regional rail link known as the Kunming-Singapore railway, covering a total distance of some 3,000 km.
LONDON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- E-cigarettes may have helped about 18,000 people in England give up smoking in 2015, according to a study released Wednesday by the University College London (UCL).

Researchers at the UCL Health Behaviour Research Centre analyzed data from the Smoking Toolkit study, and data on the percentage of smokers who set a quit date with Stop Smoking Services.

As more people used e-cigarettes, more people successfully quit smoking last year in England, according to the study. But the authors still said there was no evidence e-cigarettes prompted more people to try and quit.

Around 2.8 million people in Britain use e-cigarettes. Although they are the most popular smoking cessation aid in Britain, the most effective way to quit smoking remains through prescription medication and professional support, according to the study.

"England is sometimes singled out as being too positive in its attitude to e-cigarettes. These data suggest that our relatively liberal regulation of e-cigarettes is probably justified," said Professor Robert West from UCL.
BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- As Mid-Autumn Day draws near, Chinese people are observing the holiday with new twists on the traditional mooncake.

In southwest China's Sichuan Province, the museum of the pre-historic Sanxingdui Ruins made mooncakes in the shape of its iconic bronze masks.

Some of the 3,000 cakes are the traditional yellow color, while the rest are green and tea-flavored.

The Sanxingdui Ruins in Guanghan City, some 40 kilometers from the provincial capital of Chengdu, are believed to be remnants of the Shu Kingdom that suddenly disappeared some 3,000 years ago. Listed among China's top 10 archaeological findings of the 20th century, the ruins offer strong evidence of the diverse origins of Chinese civilization.

According to Lin Wei who works at the museum, people were calling to ask how to get their hands on the distinctive mooncakes. "Someone even asked, jokingly, if the mooncakes taste like bronze," said Lin.

Lin told Xinhua that the mooncakes are not for sale. "Some of the mooncakes will be given for free to users who have followed our Sina Weibo or WeChat accounts," he said.

Less than ten days after the mooncakes debuted, the museum's Weibo followers had grown by a third to reach 344,763.

Lin is happy with the results.

"We didn't expect so many people to like them," Lin said. "We will make more next year for sale."

"Our stereotype of a museum is a place for serious learning," Lin said. "Now we want to change that and convey our culture through creative products."

In north China's Hebei Province, local civil servants have come up with their own novel mooncake design.

On Wednesday, 35 children in the Gexin community of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, learned to make mooncakes bearing the "socialist core values," a set of ideals advocated by the Communist Party of China.

"Traditionally we inscribe characters on the mooncakes to describe its filling or express blessings," said Shen Jie, a community civil servant. "Then we thought, why not tell children the core values this way to get them interested?"

They ordered a mould with the characters for the core values, including "prosperity and democracy," "civility and harmony" and "freedom and equality."

Children were told stories about Mid-Autumn Day and asked to share their own understanding of socialist core values.

"My child is also a student," said Wu Shouwei, who works in a local pastry shop and taught the children how to make the mooncakes. "The activity is interesting and meaningful."

These mooncakes are also not for sale. "They will be given to elderly people who have no family and those in nursing homes," Shen said.

Even in the remote Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, people are clamoring for unusual variations on the traditional pastry.

"We made mooncakes with glutinous nut cake as the filling," said Adil Memetura. He and his company made more than 50,000 of the mooncakes, which have completely sold out.

When Adil was young, his father sold glutinous nut cake, or qiegao, for a living. Following in his father's footsteps, Adil founded a company in Changsha in central China's Hunan Province after his college graduation to produce the popular Xinjiang snack.

On Monday, Muslims in China began celebrating Corban Festival, also known as Eid al-Adha or the feast of the sacrifice, a three-day event centered around a large feast of lamb.

"Corban is close to Mid-Autumn Festival this year," Adil said. "We gave out mooncakes to Muslims outside a mosque in Changsha for free, so they could taste the flavor of their hometown."

Mid-Autumn Day, the 15th day of the eighth month on China's lunar calendar, falls on Thursday this year. The festival has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years to mark the harvest during the autumn full moon. It is also an occasion for family gatherings featuring lanterns, solving riddles and, of course, mooncakes.

"We created a big qiegao mooncake that is 718 grams," Adil said. "It is our wish that families can sit around it and share the cake, enjoying their moment together."
by Xinhua writer Gu Zhenqiu

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior UN official lauded China's great efforts to carry out the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), voicing his belief that "China can also set an example on how to advance on the various SDGs in a balanced and integrated manner."

Wu Hongbo, the UN under-secretary-general for the economic and social affairs, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that "China has made great efforts in implementation, linking the 2030 Agenda with domestic mid-and-long-term development strategies."

The 2030 Agenda, including its 17 SDGs, is a top priority for the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, which opened here Tuesday in a universal push for its timely and efficient implementation.

The Agenda, approved by world leaders in September 2015, serves as the blueprint for the global development efforts for the years leading up to 2030.

This year marks the beginning of the global efforts to implement the SDGs, Wu noted. "At present, we are at a very early stage on the implementation of the SDGs."

Despite this, China was one of 22 volunteering countries that presented the first national reviews at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July, he said, referring to the UN event to share experiences among member states on the SDGs implementation. "Being among the very first countries to present such a national review shows a commendable effort, and demonstrates a strong commitment to the new Agenda."

"China has made great efforts in implementation, linking the 2030 Agenda with domestic mid-and-long term development strategies," he said. "A domestic coordination mechanism for the implementation has been established to guarantee the implementation."

"Great efforts has been made to publicize the 2030 Agenda nationwide in order to mobilize domestic resources, raise public awareness, and creating favourable social environment for the implementation," he said.

For instance, China's 13th Five-Year Plan, which defines the development concept featuring innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development, was reviewed and approved in March 2016, he noted.

The government has already released the Position Paper on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which reflects China's views on the principles, priorities, policies and progress made in the implementation of the 2030 agenda.

"China will also issue its national plan of implementing the 2030 Agenda this year and share its development experience with other countries," he said.

"I greatly appreciate China's strong support for the United Nations and for its unwavering commitment to multilateralism," Wu said. "China was instrumental in reaching the agreement on the SDGs and its leadership has been essential to bringing us to where we are today."

"As one of the leading world economies, China will remain as an example of success in combating poverty at home and promoting inclusive growth," he said. "It can also set an example on how to advance on the various SDGs in a balanced and integrated manner."

"At the international level, the UN also counts on China, as a partner, to help other developing countries implement this Agenda," he said. "I hope China will continue to support capacity building and technology facilitation, mobilize international financial resources, aid and trade to help implement the SDGs abroad."

Meanwhile, the senior UN official also spoke highly of the crucial role of China's Belt and Road Initiative in promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

"The implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs depend critically on the concrete actions taken at global, regional, national and sub-national levels," he said. "We need to bring together governments, the private sector, civil society, the United Nations system and other actors, mobilizing all available resources."

"In particular, we need to strengthen all forms of international cooperation for sustainable development," he said. "In this regard, the Belt and Road Initiative, as a large-scale regional cooperation for development, can play an important role in making great contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda."

China launched in late 2013 the initiative of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, collectively known as the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Belt and Road run through the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, he said, adding that some 65 countries are along the Belt and Road, accounting for about 60 percent of the world population, 30 percent of the world gross product, 40 percent of the world trade, and more than 50 percent of the global population under the extreme poverty line.

"The essential spirit of the Belt and Road to promote win-win cooperation, common development and prosperity, peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, and mutual understanding and trust, conforms to the basic values of the 2030 Agenda," he said.

The five priority areas for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, namely, policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond, have inextricable links to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

For example, facilities connectivity, including infrastructure investment, can play a crucial role in achieving the first Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty, he said, adding that infrastructure investment can improve economic productivity, boost economic growth, and increase employment and earnings for the poor people.

"Indeed, jointly building the Belt and Road is to push forward the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, not only for the countries along the Belt and Road, but also for the rest of the world," Wu said.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama signed on Wednesday an executive order that terminates the national emergency declared with respect to Cote d'Ivoire and lifts the economic sanctions on the African country.

Obama determined that Cote d'Ivoire's political and economic advances represent "significant improvements" since former U.S. President George W. Bush declared the national emergency in 2006, State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said in a statement.

Obama's action highlights the "great progress" that Cote d'Ivoire has made since the crisis in 2010-11, Toner said, adding that the United States is "optimistic" about the prospects for lasting peace and inclusive prosperity in the African country.

In a separate statement, Ned Price, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said challenges remain as Cote d'Ivoire continues to "tackle difficult land reform issues and works to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are felt throughout the Ivoirian population."
HARARE, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's cabinet has rejected a proposal by finance minister to cut salaries and bonuses for civil servants as part of measures to contain a ballooning public sector wage bill gobbling 97 percent of state revenues.

Information Minister Christopher Mushowe said Wednesday the cabinet rejected the proposal in July and that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa disregarded this when he announced the measures while presenting the mid-term budget speech in parliament last week.

Among other measures, Chinamasa proposed a reduction in salaries and allowances for civil servants, taxation of allowances, suspension of bonuses for two years and retrenchment of 25,000 civil servants as part of cost-cutting measures to revitalize the economy.

Chinamasa also proposed to cut the number of embassies and consulates, a reduction in foreign allowances and to review class travel arrangements for senior government officials including ministers and legislators.

"The President and cabinet want to assure the civil servants, farmers and the public at large that these proposed measures are not friendly operative," Mushowe said.

Mushohwe said it was expected that the clarification would put to rest anxieties that may have arisen within the civil service, farming community and public at large.

Chinamasa warned that government could soon fail to raise enough money to pay salaries to its workers if urgent measures are not put in place to arrest ballooning expenditure.

According to Chinamasa, the measures were expected to reduce employment costs to around 60 percent of total revenue by 2019 from the current 97 percent.

Zimbabwe's government is operating in a tight fiscal space marked by dwindling revenue inflows.

Economic growth forecast for 2016 has been cut to 1.2 percent from the initial 2.7 percent due to poor performance in agriculture, the mainstay of the economy.
FRANKFURT, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Wednesday fell for the fifth consecutive day, slipping by less than 0.1 percent and closing at 10,378.40 points.

Nervousness among investors grew ahead of Fed rate meeting next Wednesday, investment analyst Wolfgang Albrecht of Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg told Handelsblatt.

German chemicals and health care giant Bayer announced the acquisition of U.S. seeds company Monsanto on Wednesday for more than 66 billion dollars, which made Bayer the most traded share of the day with a turnover of 561.83 million euros (around 632 million U.S. dollars).

The electric utilities company RWE topped the list of risers with an increase of 1.52 percent, followed by HeidelbergCement and Beiersdorf which added by 0.97 percent and 0.83 percent, respectively.

Germany's largest airline Lufthansa plunged the most by 2.05 percent,followed by E.ON and Linde.
COPENHAGEN, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Two more cars were set ablaze late on Tuesday and in the early hours of Wednesday in a series of car arsons that plagued the Danish capital since mid-August, local media reported.

One car was burnt in the Amager district and the other was set on fire several hours later in Noerrebro district, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau.

"Both cars are completely destroyed, and we are investigating the fires as arson," Copenhagen police spokesman Carsten Reenberg was quoted by Ritzau as saying.

The latest fires followed three consecutive nights of arson cases, in which 18 vehicles have been set on fire. And the number of burnt cars has risen to more than 50 since August 21, when the first car fire was recorded.

Copenhagen police arrested on Aug. 24 a 21-year-old man, who was thought to be behind some of the fires.

Neighboring Sweden has also suffered from similar arson cases since July.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday highlighted the global plight of 65 million refugees and the need to help them, his push for entry into force of the Paris climate change accord and the "worsening war in Syria" during a rare full, formal news conference at UN headquarters in New York.

"The international community must come together in a spirit of shared responsibility for the world's refugees and migrants," he said, recalling the figure of 65 million refugees as the highest since World War II.

"More countries must re-settle more people who have been forced from their homes," the UN chief said. "More countries must recognize the benefits of migration. And everyone, everywhere, must stand up against the animosity that so many refugees, migrants and minority communities face."

He said a major gathering next Monday, preceding the annual General Debate of the UN General Assembly opening Tuesday -- where world leaders descend on New York for a week every year -- "marks a major step forward" in the fight against xenophobia, discrimination and racism, subjects he repeatedly deplored during the 45-minute meeting with reporters.

Ban said Monday's special session is called the Summit on Refugees and Migrants. He took the occasion to welcome the International Organization of Migration into the UN family to join the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN refugee agency, in fighting xenophobia, another topic he returned to several times.

"The refugee and migration challenge is one we can, and must, tackle together," Ban said.

The majority of those refugees are fleeing the civil war in Syria, which broke out in March 2011.

On climate change, the secretary-general said he was using "every opportunity to push for the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement before the end of this year," which coincides with the end of his term as UN chief.

He praised China and the United States, "the world's two largest emitters," for acceding to the Paris climate accord last week. "This was a major step forward," he said.

"Now we need just 28 (more) countries, representing 16 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, to cross the necessary threshold," Ban said, adding that next Wednesday he will "host a special summit event at which countries can deposit their ratification instruments with me, as required by the Paris Agreement."

"I urge all countries to show the world their commitment without delay," Ban said.

The third major concern voiced was the Syria conflict.

Despite all other fighting, "none is causing so much death, destruction and widespread instability as the worsening war in Syria," he said.

However, he welcomed the .reinstatement of the cessation of hostilities accord reached between Russia and the United States for a seven-day window to provide humanitarian access. But he said UN personnel on the ground were forced to hold up the first 20-truck convoy from heading into contested areas for lack of safety assurances from warring parties.

"The United Nations is positioned to utilize this crucial opportunity to immediately deliver vital humanitarian assistance to Aleppo and other besieged and hard-to-reach locations throughout Syria," Ban said. "It is essential that intra-Syrian negotiations resume so that Syria's long-suffering people feel a real change in their daily lives."

"Major countries with influence have a duty to use their influence and seize this latest opportunity to pursue a political solution to end this catastrophic conflict," he said.

Ban noted that this year's week of high-level meetings will be his last as secretary-general. His replacement has not yet been chosen.

"It has been a decade of progress and setback alike," he said, calling adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the establishment of UN Women, "among the high points."

At the same time, he said the inability to resolve several protracted conflicts "has been a source of tremendous pain."

While Syria's plight -- and that of its refugees -- was the most frequent topic brought up in the session, concern was also voiced on situations involving Colombia, Cyprus, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, and the Middle East's most persistent problem, between Israelis and the Palestinians, with no new developments.

However, the secretary-general did announce he was going this Saturday to Montreal to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and others at the fifth Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and that on Sept. 26 he would visit Cartagena, Colombia, for the signing of the peace agreement between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army to end the decades-long conflict.

"The United Nations will be there to help implement the agreement, and will give the people of Colombia our full support as they chart a new path for the country," he said. "This achievement shows what is possible through patient and painstaking diplomacy."
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through the end of the year.

The UN body reaffirmed its readiness to consider withdrawing the operation and transitioning to a future UN presence there following a proposed mid-November review of situation on the ground in the West Africa country.

A new resolution, unanimously adopted by the 15-nation UN body, gave a green light to the extension of the UNMIL mandate through Dec. 31 and decided that the authorized ceilings of the UN mission's military and police components should remain at 1240 and 606 personnel, respectively.

Affirming its readiness to consider the withdrawal of UNMIL and transition to a future United Nations presence, the Security Council recalled its request that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conduct an assessment mission to Liberia to provide recommendations by Nov. 15, including an update on the proposed modalities regarding the transfer of the regional quick reaction force.

UNMIL was set up in 2003 by the Security Council to bolster a ceasefire agreement after a civil war in Liberia killed almost 150,000 Liberians -- mostly civilians -- and forced some 850,000 others to flee to neighboring countries.

Briefing the Council in late August, Farid Zarif, the special representative of the secretary-general and head of UNMIL, said many Liberians are concerned about the prospect of the UN mission's withdrawal and potential lack of UN support during the October 2017 presidential and legislative elections.

"There is a consensus among national actors that the next elections will be a critical test for Liberia's stability, democracy and development," Zarif said.

The UN envoy emphasized that both the government of Liberia and the international community must not lose sight of the still arduous path to sustainable peace in the country and the region, which "will require long-term robust engagement by all concerned, particularly by this august Council."
CHICAGO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed mixed Wednesday, with wheat and corn futures rising slightly while soybean prices falling.

The most active corn contract for December delivery added 1.75 cents, or 0.53 percent, to 3.3175 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery rose 2 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 4.03 dollars per bushel. November soybeans edged down 1.25 cents, or 0.13 percent, to 9.4275 dollars per bushel.

Corn prices rose after dropping sharply in the previous session, buoyed by rainfall in the U.S. Midwest which has prevented some farmers from getting into fields to harvest the grain.

Wet weather also is expected to douse the Farm Belt next week, with forecasts for regular showers sparking concerns that above-normal precipitation will stall the progress of the nation's combines.

Wheat prices also advanced after falling on Tuesday, bolstered by a weaker dollar and short-covering by investors. Prices for the grain brushed 10-year lows in August, prompting some investors to cast off bets on falling prices amid speculation the market has fallen far enough.

Uncertainty about Argentina's plans for soybean exports limited the decline in soy futures.

Argentina's government is mulling over postponing a tax cut planned for next year on soy exports, cabinet chief Marcos Pena said on Tuesday, as a recession in Latin America's third largest economy eats into fiscal revenue.

Markets slumped earlier this week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased its estimate of a record-large U.S. soybean yield by more than expected. The USDA also forecast a record-large U.S. corn crop this year.
LONDON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday launched here its first detailed report of global energy investment, with China singled out for praise.

In the first detailed analysis of investment across the global energy system, the IEA reported that global energy investment fell by 8 percent in 2015, with a drop in oil and gas upstream spending outweighing continued robust investment in renewable energies, electricity networks and energy efficiency.

Total investment in the energy sector reached 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2015, down from 2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2014, according to the IEA's World Energy Investment 2016 report.

The new annual report provides a comprehensive and detailed picture of the current investment landscape across fuels, technologies and countries.

It shows that the energy system is undergoing a broad reorientation toward low-carbon energy and efficiency but investment in key clean energy technologies needs to be further ramped up to put the world economy on track for climate stabilisation.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, told Xinhua in an interview: "China's investment is mainly in the power sector, but China also becomes the largest investor for renewable energies across the world. As such it is a very complimentary number; it shows the Chinese commitment towards climate change and tackling air pollution.

"There is a political commitment and this is the answer in terms of putting the money in low carbon technologies. Renewable energy, energy efficiency but also it is nuclear power as well."

With energy supply spending of 315 billion U.S. dollars, China was the world's largest energy investor, thanks to robust efforts in building up low-carbon generation and electricity networks, as well as implementing energy efficiency policies.

Birol said: "China became last year the largest energy investor and this is mainly coming from the renewable energies followed by other sources. China is the largest investor of solar, largest investor in terms of wind technology and also a major investor in terms of hydro power. For renewable energies China is the champion energy investor."

Investment in the US's energy supply declined to about 280 billion U.S. dollars, falling nearly 75 billion U.S. dollars because of low oil prices and cost deflation, representing half of the total decline in global energy spending.

The Middle East and Russia emerged as the most resilient regions to spending cuts, thanks respectively to lower production costs and currency movements. As a result, national oil companies accounted for 44 percent of overall upstream investments, an all-time high.

Renewable energy investments of 313 billion U.S. dollars accounted for nearly a fifth of total energy spending last year, establishing renewable energies as the largest source of power investment.

While spending on renewable power capacity was flat between 2011 and 2015, electricity generation from the new capacity rose by one third, reflecting the steep cost declines in wind turbines and solar photo voltaic. The investment in renewable power capacity in 2015 generates more than enough to cover global electricity demand growth.

Birol said: "These changes have significance for energy security and climate change. Especially for low carbon technologies they show me that government policies can work to provide direction for investment in the markets but much more is needed to meet our climate goals."

He added: "After 2015 and 2016 we may see three years in a row, oil investments are declining. We have never seen, in the history of oil, that the investments for oil have declined three years in a row. We expect there will be a decline in 2017."
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy to Afghanistan on Wednesday highlighted challenges facing the Asian country due to decades-long violence and instability, stressing that avenues for peace there must be explored with utmost urgency and seriousness.

"As one of the world's most aid-dependent countries, it will be difficult for Afghanistan to achieve self-reliance as long as there is conflict," Tadamichi Yamamoto, the special representative of the UN chief to Afghanistan, said while briefing the UN Security Council on the current situation in Afghanistan.

"Conflict diverts resources, which would be better spent on developing Afghanistan and helping its people," he said. "Peace is therefore a requirement."

Yamamoto, who is also head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), underlined the need to resolve political tensions between two senior leaders in the government to ensure that it is stable.

"No effective policies are possible if the government is internally divided," he said, noting that tensions had surfaced, with public criticism by Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah about what he viewed as the incomplete implementation of the political agreement of 2014.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto noted that the two leaders have met several times since then to try to identify the issues and to seek solutions and said efforts are still underway and further meetings are expected.

He called on the leaders to show to the people of Afghanistan and to the international community that they are able to govern effectively. He also welcomed the recent signature by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani of the legislative decree for electoral reform.

"The political agenda must progress constructively, political stability must be maintained; and the elections must take place," he said, telling the 15-nation UN council that the second anniversary of the 2014 political agreement that established the National Unity Government draws near, the political oppositions have increasingly challenged the legitimacy of the government.

VOLATILE SECURITY SITUATION

The UN envoy, while drawing attention of the council to the volatile security situation within the country, expressed concern that the toll extracted by violence on civilians continues to increase.

"Nowhere is this trend more apparent than for children, among whom there has been an 18 percent increase in casualties, with 388 children killed in six months," he said.

Health and social systems in Afghanistan can also face further strain as the number of people newly displaced by the conflict is being added to by a massive increase in the number of Afghan families returning back from Pakistan, he said.

"If current trends continue, Afghanistan will have to meet the needs of at least one million people on the move," Yamamoto said, adding that unless urgent measures are taken, thousands of families could suffer due to the upcoming winter season.

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT

In his briefing, Yamamoto also touched upon some positive developments in Afghanistan.

In particular, the UN envoy welcomed President Ghani's comprehensive, long-term approach to tackling corruption, which seeks to develop the architecture needed to prevent corruption, as well as hold those responsible for corruption to account.

He also acknowledged the Afghan government's continued progress on other reform and mutual accountability commitments, in particular preparing for the country's National Peace and Development Framework and successfully negotiating a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

Talking about the upcoming Brussels Conference on development in Afghanistan, Yamamoto called on the Afghan government to "seize this opportunity" that meeting will offer.

At the same time, he also welcomed the government's plan to hold a side event at the coming conference to spotlight the challenges facing by the country's women who were widowed by the longstanding conflict.

Yamamoto said that the country has an opportunity to build on its achievements of the past 15 years and move towards stability and self-reliance.

"With effective government and the continued support of the international community it has every chance of succeeding," he added.
This file photo taken on September 11, 2016 shows US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton waving to the press as she leaves her daughter's apartment building after resting on September 11, 2016 in New York. Hillary Clinton fell ill at a 9/11 memorial event on Sunday. (AFP/File Photo)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- As Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was scrambling to quell speculations about the U.S. Democratic candidate's health, a survey released on Wednesday found half of registered voters believe that Clinton gave false information about her health to the public.

Only 29 percent of voters think Clinton has given accurate information on her personal health to the public, while 50 percent think the opposite, according to the poll conducted by the Morning Consult polling company.

The share of voters who say that Clinton's health is below average or very poor increased from 26 percent in August to 41 percent now, said the survey.

Meanwhile, 37 percent of voters think Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has given false information on his personal health to public, despite the fact that Trump was recently bogged down in controversy surrounding his brief medical report that stated that he would be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

It was later disclosed that the doctor who wrote the only public documentation about Trump's health spent five minutes writing the report.

Clinton's campaign acknowledged on Monday it mishandled public concerns about her medical condition and said additional medical details of Clinton, 68, would soon be released.

The offer to release more medical details came after weeks of blunt refusal to do so and was the latest step for the campaign to quell long-time speculation about Clinton's health that climaxed on Sunday after she was videotaped being helped into a van while her feet appeared to be dragging on the ground.

Clinton on Sunday morning abruptly left a 9/11 memorial in New York and her campaign initially told reporters that Clinton had been "overheated."

Soon a video shot by a witness surfaced online, in which an apparently ailing Clinton struggled to steady herself and had to be helped by two Secret Service agents into her van.

About 90 minutes after the episode, Clinton emerged and waved to onlookers.

Almost five hours after the release of the video, the Clinton campaign released a statement from Clinton's physician which read that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday and left the memorial after becoming dehydrated and overheated.

The Clinton campaign did not disclose the diagnosis until the episode on Sunday.

While Republicans seized on the secrecy surrounding Clinton's medical record to attack her, even Clinton's allies criticized the Clinton campaign on Monday for lack of transparency.

"Antibiotics can take care of pneumonia," wrote David Axelrod, U.S. President Barack Obama's senior adviser on Twitter. "What's the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems?"

Both Clinton and Trump campaigns had pledged to release more information about the nominees later this week.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A newly leaked trove of emails by Colin Powell on Wednesday offered a rare glimpse into how the former U.S. secretary of state actually view U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic counterpart Hillary Clinton.

In the emails, first posted by DCLeaks.com, Powell called Trump a "national disgrace" and an "international pariah" in June during his online communication with a former aide, and in another exchange with Condoleezza Rice, his successor at the U.S. State Department, both of them joked about Trump's understanding of what a presidency would carry.

"If Donald were to somehow win," wrote Powell in a June 23 email to Rice, "by the end of the first week in office he'd be saying 'What the hell did I get myself into?'"

Powell and Rice, both Republicans, had so far not endorsed Trump in this election cycle.

According to NBC News, Powell on Wednesday confirmed to the TV network that the emails were authentic, adding that "the hackers have a lot more."

Meanwhile, Powell also unloaded on Clinton, expressing his frustration within his inner circle about himself being tied to the controversy surrounding Clinton's email practice during her stint at the State Department.

"I warned her (Clinton) staff three times over the past two years not to try to connect it to me. I am not sure HRC even knew or understood what was going on in the basement," Powell wrote to a business partner.

In another exchange, Powell also criticized Clinton's steps to handle her defense, saying that she should have merely told everyone "honestly what she had done and not tie me to it."

The New York Times reported in August that Clinton told federal investigators that Powell told her to use personal email at a dinner gathering during her three-and-half hour interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents last month.

According to NBC News, Powell's office later responded to Clinton's claim by remarking that "General Powell has no recollection of the dinner conversation."

However, Powell did write Clinton an email memo "describing his use of his personal AOL email account for unclassified messages and how it vastly improved communications within the State Department," according to an early statement by Powell's office.

Related:

Half voters think Hillary Clinton gives false health information: poll

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- As Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was scrambling to quell speculations about the U.S. Democratic candidate's health, a survey released on Wednesday found half of registered voters believe that Clinton gave false information about her health to the public.

Only 29 percent of voters think Clinton has given accurate information on her personal health to the public, while 50 percent think the opposite, according to the poll conducted by the Morning Consult polling company. Full story

Hillary Clinton to resume campaign Thursday after pneumonia treatment: campaign

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who has been staying at home since swooning at a 9/11 memorial ceremony due to pneumonia, will return to campaign trail on Thursday, her Campaign twittered Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Israel on Wednesday signed an unprecedented new military aid deal that will give the Israeli military 38 billion U.S. dollars from fiscal year 2019 to 2028.

The new 10-year deal, which constitutes the single largest pledge of military assistance in U.S. history, includes 33 billion U.S. dollars in Foreign Military Financing funds and an unprecedented 5 billion commitment in missile defense assistance.

The new deal, known as a Memorandum of Understanding, will succeed the current 30 billion U.S. dollars deal signed in 2007, which expires at the end of fiscal year 2018.

The deal was signed at the U.S. State Department by Israel' s acting national security advisor Jacob Nagel and Thomas Shannon, U.S. Under Secretary of State. U.S. President Barack Obama's national security advisor Susan Rice was also present at the ceremony.

The new deal is "just the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security of the State of Israel," Obama said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This commitment to Israel' s security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the State of Israel," Obama added.

The U.S. President also called for more efforts to advance a two-state solution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the "deeply troubling trends on the ground that undermine this goal."

"The only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine," he said.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the U.S. aid package to his country as a "historic deal."

"This agreement will ensure an unprecedented security assistance to Israel over the next decade," Netanyahu said in a Hebrew video address about an hour before the signing ceremony in Washington.

The new deal came after months of negotiations between the United States and Israel, which have been at odds over the Iran nuclear deal.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Current World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim is the only candidate that has been nominated as the bank's next leader, the World Bank announced Wednesday, paving the way for him to serve a second term.

As announced on Aug. 23, the period for submitting nominations for the top position of the World Bank Group closed at 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) Wednesday evening, the World Bank said in a statement.

In accordance with the procedures previously announced, the executive directors of the World Bank will meet with Kim in Washington, D.C., "with the expectation of completing the selection process by the 2016 Annual Meetings" in October, the bank said.

Kim became the 12th president of the World Bank on July 1, 2012 and his current term expires on June 30, 2017. Before this post, he served as president of the famous U.S. academic institution Dartmouth College.
HAVANA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and Vietnam held a business forum in Havana on Wednesday aimed at expanding economic and trade collaboration between the two nations.

Vietnamese Economy and Planning Minister Nguyen Chi Dung led a delegation to attend the forum, accompanied by entrepreneurs from the sectors of tourism, transportation, industry, logistics services, telecommunications and trade, among others.

At the forum, Nguyen praised Cuba's new foreign investment law as it favors the settlement of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the Caribbean island.

While acknowledging that bilateral relations are still very limited, Nguyen said that this entrepreneurial forum would help boost Vietnamese investment and bilateral trade, and that Hanoi encourages its nationals to enter the Cuban market.

Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca expressed his hope that the two countries would expand their cooperation.

He said the relations between Hanoi and Havana are "special and strategic", adding that important negotiations were under the way for Vietnam to help develop the Cuban industrial and renewable energy sectors.

On Thursday, the Vietnamese delegation is scheduled to visit the Special Development Zone at the port of Mariel, 50 km west of Havana, which is considered to be a focal point for investment and exports to Cuba and the future main gate of exports and imports.

Hanoi and Havana have maintained diplomatic relations since 1960 and Vietnam is Cuba's second largest trading partner in Asia, after China.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistanis have spent over 4 billion U.S. dollars to buy animals for sacrificing on Islamic festival of Eid held on September 13-15, across the country.

The Eid became the biggest economic activity of the year in the country during which about 2,600,000 cows and bulls were purchased which cost a net amount of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, Samaa News reported Wednesday.

People also spent approximate 1.153 billion dollars on the purchase of about 4 million goats.

From the cattle markets across the country, people bought about 800,000 lambs and 3000 camels for about 151 million dollars.

With the purchase comes in additional amount of expenditure on butchers for slaughtering the animals.

Pakistanis collectively spent about 690 million dollars on sacrificing cows and bulls, whereas the butchers charged a collective 225 million dollars for slaughtering lambs, goats and camels.

Furthermore, transporting the animals from the markets to the houses cost altogether 47 million dollars to people whereas food for the animals collectively cost 35 million dollars.

The report quoted local sources from the cattle markets across the country for compiling the figures.

Muslims slaughter animals, normally goats, sheep, cows and camels on the Eid al-Adha festival on the 10th day of the 12th month of Islamic calendar every year.

After slaughter, the meat from the sacrificed animal is divided into three equal parts. The family keeps one third of the meat, another third is distributed among the relatives, friends and neighbors while the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.
BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies participating in the ongoing Argentina Business and Investment Forum expressed their optimism about future bilateral relations and commercial prospects.

The forum, attended by around 1,900 national and foreign business leaders on Sept. 12-15, is a pillar of Argentina's strategy to regain status in the international business community.

The forum "not only has an institutional character, it also focuses on entrepreneurship and practical issues," said Yang Shidi, a representative from the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).

"This seems to be a very positive signal from the new government to foreign investors," he told Xinhua.

The Argentine government and companies alike should "continue making efforts to make these initiatives come true," including the simplification and reduction of bureaucracy as a "very useful step for Argentina to receive foreign investment," he added.

CSCEC, one of China's most important construction firms, has been in Argentina for two years undertaking a number of projects, including a major irrigation project in the province of Entre Rios.

Zhou Zhecheng, a representative from China's heavy machinery manufacturer Sany Group, told Xinhua that "Argentina is a large country with good opportunities for companies from China and other countries."

"We are trying to assist with local projects, especially in housing. We want to establish a plant for pre-fabricated panels. We are negotiating with the province of Buenos Aires to help with housing construction," he said.

China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner and the main importer of the country's agricultural products.

On Tuesday, Argentine President Mauricio Macri extended a broad invitation to those wanting to invest in the third-largest economy of Latin America.

"Your presence in this forum shows your help for the new phase our country is beginning. A phase of sanity, of respect for the rules, where we seek to improve day by day with clear objectives and perseverance to achieve them," said Macri.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Macri said China is of "enormous importance" and "complementary" to his country and his administration will work to promote reciprocity and increase Argentina's export of greater value-added goods to China.

"We hope the talks will lead to mechanisms so that, based on this relationship, Argentina can balance the scales with more labor intensive products and at the same time find ways to generate greater tourism flows between Argentina and China," he said.

"China needs to work on its food security and Argentina is a very good partner for that. Argentina needs more energy and China is a very good partner for that," he noted.

"Argentina needs to significantly improve its infrastructure and China has been very successful in building new infrastructure. This complementarity should work very well," said the president.

Although the International Monetary Fund has predicted Argentina's economy will contract by 1.5 percent in 2016, Macri's government is determined to seek investment to drive public works, modernize infrastructure and reverse social anger at the rising cost of public services and stagnating salaries.
HAVANA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Cuba is expected to boost economic cooperation between the two sides, Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez said.

Li will visit Cuba later this month, following his participation in the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly and an official visit to Canada.

"It will be a very important visit and a great step in bilateral relations. It will require all of our government's attention and without doubt it will be very successful," Rodriguez said recently.

Li's tour will be the first official visit to Cuba by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic ties 56 years ago.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca recently told reporters that the visit will boost joint efforts to expand cooperation into new areas.

"During the premier's visit, a number of important economic cooperation agreements will be signed," said Malmierca.

The two sides are expected to sign cooperation deals in areas such as technology, renewable energy, industry and environmental protection.

"Chinese investments in our nation are starting to blossom and we have a joint strategic vision for the future," he added.

China is Cuba's second largest trade partner.

Related:

Chinese premier to attend UN conference, visit Canada, Cuba

BEIJING, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will attend the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly and pay official visits to Canada and Cuba.
BRASILIA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- President of the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) Rui Falcao said on Wednesday that accusations against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are "another episode of persecution" and an attempt to stop Lula from running for president in 2018.

On Wednesday, investigators accused Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2010, of leading a vast corruption ring at Brazilian oil company Petrobras.

According to the charge sheet, the former president owns an apartment in the coastal city of Guaruja, near Sao Paulo, which was renovated for free by OAS, a construction company involved in the corruption ring. It also alleges that Lula owns an undeclared property in Atibaia, a municipality in the state of Sao Paulo.

Investigators estimate Lula received benefits worth 3.7 million reais (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars) from OAS in total.

Lula's wife, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, president of the Lula Institute Paulo Okamotto, and five OAS executives were also accused.

At a press conference, Deltan Dallagnol, a federal prosecutor, said that "Lula was the high commander of the Petrobras corruption scheme" and accused his government of facilitating massive bribery and corruption.

According to the prosecutor, without Lula, the corruption ring would have been impossible. "This was a scheme of the government and the political party. There is evidence that PT party leaders enriched themselves with money embezzled from Petrobras," said Dallagnol.

In response, Falcao said: "We were awaiting this accusation, it had been expected. The process of trying to punish Lula and his future ban (as candidate) is predictable. We do not understand the reasons."

"If there is a minimum of justice, this accusation cannot be listened to. It is more than proven that...Lula was never the owner of the apartment and never used his position for illegal benefits. This is another episode of persecution," said the politician.

According to Falcao, this is all part of a process without evidence but with a clear objective to remove Lula as a presidential candidate.

In a post on his Facebook page, Lula said he had never owned the apartment in Guaruja.

"Since January 30, 2016, Lula has made public the documents that prove he is not the owner of any apartment in Guaruja," read the post.
WELLINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government on Thursday welcomed the opening of a major new Fonterra dairy hub in China and thanked Chinese authorities for supporting the project.

Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew said the Fonterra Ying Hub in Ying county, Shuozhou city of Shanxi province in north China, represented a significant investment in Ying county.

"Once fully operational, the hub will farm up to 30,000 cows, of which 16,000 will be milking cows," Goodhew said in a statement.

"Across the hub's three farms, almost 400 local people have been employed and around 85 percent of the farm feed is sourced locally," she said.

The hub complemented other activity in the area that would boost local capability and the local economy.

"I would also like to express my thanks and gratitude to the Ying County local government and villagers. Without their ongoing support, this milestone would not have been achievable," said Goodhew.
CARACAS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela Wednesday criticized a decision by members of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) to veto its turn to take over the presidency of the South American trade bloc.

"This decision by the triple alliance of Argentina, Paraguay and ... Brazil violates the legality of the organization," Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodriguez posted on Twitter.

Rodriguez also said the government would soon respond to the veto in further details.

Mercosur is a sub-regional bloc established in 1991 to promote free trade and the movement of goods, people, and currencies. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Mercosur's other four members claimed that Venezuela violated the bloc's principles by jailing opposition members and agreed to jointly head the bloc in the next six months.

They also set Dec. 1 as the deadline for Venezuela to "comply" with the bloc's regulations, or face suspension.

The Venezuelan government said leaders of the right-wing opposition have been handed jail terms for inciting violence in anti-government protests.

Uruguay's presidency of Mercosur expired at the end of July, sparking conflicts within the trade bloc.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday called on the international community to continue supporting Afghanistan in its efforts to seek peace, stability and development.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks at an open meeting of the UN Security Council on the current situation in Afghanistan.

Wu welcomed the Afghan government's efforts to promote national reconciliation and economic development, but acknowledged that the country still faces grave challenges.

He said that achieving national reconciliation is essential for progress and called on the international community to support the process.

Terrorism is an enormous threat to the efforts to build a stable country and capacity-building must be promoted to overcome it, he said.

He also said that good governance, with the participation of the Afghan people, must be bolstered, and that all parties should defuse tension and advance the peace process.
NEW DELHI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian nationals held captive in Libya for over a year have been rescued, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.

The two Indians - T. Gopalakrishna from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and C. Balaramkishan from the neighboring state of Telangana - were among four Indian teachers at Libya's Sirte University who were abducted by Islamic State militants near the city of Sirte in July 2015.

While two of them were freed days after the kidnapping, Gopalakrishna and Balaramkishan were held captive by the militants for over a year.

"I am happy to inform that T. Gopalakrishna (AP) & C. BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued," she tweeted this morning.

The four teachers were abducted at a checkpoint near the city of Sirte, hometown of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, while they were on their way back to India.

Most of Sirte fell to Islamic State in May last year. In July 2014, a group of 65 Indian nurses were trapped in fighting in Libya. However, the nurses, who had been working in various hospitals in that country, safely returned to India in August that year.

In June 2014, some 40 Indian construction workers were kidnapped in the violence-hit Iraqi city of Mosul, but their fate is still not known.
BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The latest data on China's property market reveals symptoms that will need more than deleveraging measures, analysts said.

The growth of real estate investment in August was 0.1 percentage point more than the January-July period despite slowing growth in land sales, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

New home prices in 100 surveyed cities continued to rise for the 16th-consecutive month in August on a month-on-month basis, according to data compiled by the ChinaIndex Academy.

Concerns have been raised over the excessive issuing of loans, which fueled the recent increase in record-breaking land deals and panic home buying in several cities, which Zhang Dawei, chief analyst wit Centaline Property, termed as "irrationalities."

Improving deleveraging would be a plausible move to cool the market, but Ma Jun, chief research economist at the People's Bank of China (PBOC), called for discretion.

"Abrupt deleveraging could shoot down the growth rate and hurt employment," Ma said, adding that a balance must be struck between short-term and long-term to ward off a crisis.

The government and personal leverage rate of China is not high when viewed internationally, so the short-term task is to curb and stabilize the growth in China's general leverage rate, according to Yi Gang, deputy governor of PBOC.

Deleveraging alone is unlikely to defuse tensions in the property market, while developing the real economy and cutting back reliance on the real estate are now essential, said Fan Xiaochong, vice president of Sunshine 100, a developer focused on second- and third-tier cities.

August lending data released by the central bank suggests that more than 600 billion yuan in mortgage loans was issued, an increase of more than 100 billion yuan from a month earlier.

Despite the substantial increase, lenders see the mortgages, a relatively small portion of the all lending, to be at a safe level as a lot of countries have a ratio of between 40 to 50 percent, said PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan earlier this year.

When looking at the Chinese economy as a whole, deleveraging will not necessarily channel resources toward strengthening the weak links, said Huang Zhiling, chief economist of the China Construction Bank.

China's property market has become increasingly diversified, with major cities reporting record prices and smaller cities struggling to shift the glut, Sheng Laiyun, NBS spokesperson, said Tuesday.

While stabilizing the growth in leverage rate, targeted efforts must be made to avoid property bubbles in first- and second-tier cities, said Chen Sheng, executive director of China Real Estate Data Academy in Shanghai.

Chen said everything boils down to developing new industries to create new pillars for the economy.
by Xinhua Writer Wu Qiang

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Dalai Lama' s recent terrorist-sympathizing remarks have again shocked the world, and provided for those in the West who used to exchange backing him for selfish political gains a chance to see the monk's true colors.

The fugitive Tibetan religious leader is now in France for a six-day visit "to promote Tibetan culture, language and ecological protection," as he has claimed.

While traveling in the European country, he urged talks with the Islamic State extremists, saying talks are "the only way" to end bloodshed in Syria and Iraq without explaining how that is possible.

It is not the first time the monk has made such a highly controversial remark, which has been savagely criticized in Europe and the wider world.

His call for Europe to take in refugees without conditions has also irritated many in the continent, who blame him for being purely hypocritical and totally devoid of common sense. That provides a good enough reason for Paris to shun him.

It is reported that no high ranking French officials, including President Francis Hollande, have plans to meet him. His itinerary was restricted to Paris and Strasbourg, while his audiences were limited to local residential Tibetans, some lawyers and religious leaders, as well as a small number of lawmakers.

Although the Dalai Lama has for long claimed to have abandoned politics and only focus on protecting the Tibetan culture, language and ecology, he devoted his visit to France to mainly spreading his political ideas in a bid to maintain influence.

In an interview with AFP, the Dalai Lama said the purpose of his visit was to meet people rather than shaking hands with the country's leaders.

But if one compares the Dalai Lama's current visit with his previous visits to France, it is easy to see his influence in the West has shrunk rapidly.

It is worth noting that the Dalai Lama, who has been living in India for decades, has never uttered one word about the rampant poverty in that country. On the contrary, he has often caused division and trouble in the Himalayan region and helped stunt economic and social development there.

Moreover, despite his repeated denial, the Dalai Lama has been trying to split Tibet from China.

It is never a secret that some Western politicians have treated the Dalai Lama as a tool to criticize China over its Tibetan policy so as to score cheap political points at home. With his shocking comments, the monk has become for them more of a political burden than an asset. It is also a fine opportunity for the Western governments to start thinking about what kind of relations they should have with the Dalai Lama in the future.

The choice between backing a separatist and terrorist-sympathizer and working with China on the basis of respecting its territorial integrity is not that difficult to make after all.
KABUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have killed 62 suspected insurgents across the country since early Wednesday, the country's Defense Ministry said on Thursday morning.

"In past 24 hours, the ANSF conducted several anti-terrorism operations to clear some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan, killing 62 armed insurgents and injuring 15 others," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates.

The raids were launched in Ghazni, Paktia, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Ghor, Laghman and Kapisa provinces, according to the statement.

The joint Afghan forces supported by Afghan army's artillery and air force also discovered and confiscated rounds of light and heavy ammunition, the statement added.

In one operation, 11 insurgents were detained by the Afghan army and police in Chardara district of northern Kunduz province, the statement said.

It also confirmed the loss of five Afghan army personnel during the raids and as a result of separate attacks within the same period.

The violence has been on the rise since the drawdown of foreign forces over the past two years as the Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by anti-government fighters.

The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments.
HANOI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam imported some 12.6 million tons of steel in the first eight months of 2016, up 27.3 percent year-on-year, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on Thursday.

The country spent nearly 5.3 billion U.S. dollars on steel imports, up 2.1 percent year-on-year during the period, reported Vietnam Investment Review (VIR).

According to the MoIT, China's mainland accounts for some 60 percent of Vietnam's total steel import volume and some 56 percent of total import value, followed by Japan, South Korea, China's Taiwan and Russia.

The domination of Chinese steel imports in Vietnam was attributed to price competitiveness of China's steel, which stands 10 percent lower than that of domestic producers, reported VIR.

Statistics by Vietnam Steel Association showed that from January to August, Vietnam produced some 11.5 million tons of steel, up 29 percent year-on-year while consuming 9.54 million tons of steel, up 29.3 percent year-on-year.
GAZA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli air force hit three targets in the Gaza Strip Thursday morning, with no casualties reported.

Local sources told Xinhua that the three raided sites are located in the east, north and northwest, and one of them is the training site of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas east of Gaza City.

Israeli public radio reported that the Israeli air force attacked the Gaza Strip in response to the firing of a mortar shell in western Negev overnight Wednesday.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement saying that "the IDF holds Hamas responsible for what happens in the Gaza Strip and will continue to act sternly to ensure the safety of southern communities."

On Aug. 21, the Israeli air force launched five raids on the Gaza Strip in response to the launch of a rocket from Gaza into southern Israel, without causing casualties.
by Chenchen Shen and Huang Heng

SMITH VALLEY, the United States, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Suffering from its fourth straight year of drought, Smith Valley in Northern Nevada, a former crop-rich area, is now full of withered grass. However, an alfalfa crop field here continues to flourish despite its depressing surroundings.

Supported by a Chinese nanotechnology all-natural soil amendment, farmers here were talking and laughing one morning after a successful cut.

Even though exact data of the hi-tech materials for saving water and nourishing crops would have to be confirmed weeks later in a lab, crop advisor Ralph Nuti said in the field, "I can tell from the appearance that these alfalfa with Nanotech are better."

The impact of climate change and water scarcity has brought extreme drought to California, Nevada and other western states in the United States, forcing California to order a mandatory statewide 25-percent water reduction in 2015.

Earlier this year, an American engineer Ted Venners found a solution to use less water for the same amount of crops: ZG NanoSim, a soil-improving material based on nanotechnology and created by Dr. Shi Changxu, the "Father of Material Sciences" in China.

"Nanotechnology is a system of making micro materials very small and then they will usually have 8 sides holding together like a honey comb," Venners told Xinhua. "Therefore, they are able to hold the water better and hold the nutrients in it, so you do not lose the water in the ground and the water does not evaporate that fast."

By helping lock water, fertilizers and nutrients inside the soil or sand, ZG NanoSim could substantially reduce water evaporation and drainage, while increasing fertilizer absorption by plants.

In March, an America team led by Nuti started a NanoSim test on an alfalfa crop in Smith Vally. He worked with the Chinese team and designed the test: they divided a 5-acre alfalfa field into 12 test plots with four control groups. Thursday was the time for the first official cutting.

"The purpose of the test was to demonstrate that we could produce the same amount of alfalfa with 30 percent less water," Venners said. "In addition, we found that there is more nutrition and more value in the alfalfa than the ones without the Sims. There was a 10 to 30 percent increase in protein."

"The NanoSim particles, when they hold water in the soil, it gets nutrient in that water, when it stores that water, it stores that nutrient," Nuti added.

Alfalfa is the major crop in Smith Vally. Growing alfalfa requires plenty of water, however, the average rainfall in Smith Vally is only 77 mm to 102mm per year, far less than that of the Western United States, which is 400 mm to 500mm.

As an all-natural product, ZG NanoSim looks just like fine sand. Farmers apply the NanoSim into the soil before planting the seeds. Experts suggest reapplying the Sim annually by spread the product on the field and then fully water it to let them get into the soil.

Venners' team also tested this product on residential lawns in Las Vegas for eight months. Rick Grant, application specialist for Sims, was trained by the Chinese team and supervised the lawn test.

"We want to see how would this product holds up when the temperature is consistently over 100 Fahrenheit (38 Centigrade)," Grant said, "and the result is with 50 percent less irrigation."

In August, University of Nevada, Las Vegas also started a lawn test on campus.

Meanwhile, Venners' team is preparing for more tests and aims to introduce the Chinese Nanotechnology to more American farms.

"This product is something that we really need. Nevada is the driest state in the Unites States. California and Nevada both have extreme droughts going on. We also have a lot of agriculture inside both states," Grant Anderson, who is in charge of the business development on Venners' team, told Xinhua.

"With record-breaking temperature, and our rainfall is not getting any better, we really need a solution that can help all of these farmers to save their farms and grow their products."
The Tiangong-2 stands with its carrier rocket on the launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 9, 2016. China's second space lab Tiangong-2 is scheduled to be put into space between September 15 and 20, according to the office of China's manned space program. (Xinhua/Yang Zhiyuan)

JIUQUAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is ready to launch the Tiangong-2 space lab, according to an official with China's manned space program on Thursday.

"Following our preliminary preparation, examination and review tests, all systems and equipment are in position for the mission," said Guo Zhonglai, deputy chief of the Planning Department of the center.

China will launch the space lab from northwest China's Gobi desserts at 10:04 p.m. Thursday, the most recent stage in its increasingly ambitious space program, which is aiming for a manned space station by around 2022.

On Wednesday afternoon, engineers started injecting propellant into the Long March-2F T2 rocket, which will carry Tiangong-2 into space.

Slight breeze and clouds and a suitable temperature have been forecast for lift-off on Thursday night, said Yin Jie, director of the meteorological office of the center.

"Preparations on the Long March-2F T2 rocket are complete," said Liu Feng, vice chief designer of the rocket.

Tiangong-2 is in good condition and well linked to the space application system, said Zhu Zongpeng, chief designer of the space lab.
File photo taken on May 2, 2014, shows a boy waiting for ophthalmic test in Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Li Jing)

CAPE TOWN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The South African government has denied claims that it has introduced compulsory DNA testing requirements for newborns.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) said Wednesday it has noted a hoax article on social media purported to emanate from an interview with Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba about the introduction of compulsory DNA testing requirements for registration of new births.

"We wish to categorically state that no such interview was ever conducted by the minister with what appears to be a fake website," DHA spokesperson Thabo Mokgola said.

He said the department will utilise official communication platforms to create awareness around any changes in policy should there be such pronouncements, including those made by the DHA.

"To provide clarity on the matter, in 2014, we announced new Births and Deaths Regulations. In cases of children born out of wedlock, we have been aware of cases where single mothers get involved in relationships with non-South African men and approach Home Affairs offices to record these persons as fathers of their children even if they are not the biological fathers," the spokesperson said in a statement.

This is then used by such persons to address the DHA for permanent residence status in the country due to the right that children have to be cared for by their parents, he said.

To this end, and where such a circumstance arises, the DHA now requires the results of paternity tests, and this is applicable to non-South Africans, Mokgola said.

Similarly, where there is an application by a third party to substitute his particulars as the father of a child and to effectively remove the recorded father's name in the birth certificate, the regulations now provide that a paternity test must be submitted by the applicant, according to Mokgola.

Mokgola added that in instances where the parents of a child born out of wedlock are both recorded in the system but their status is unmarried, and if they wish to change their marital status on the child's profile, the law provides that this may be done without a requirement of a paternity test.
LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The UK government on Thursday said that it had confirmed the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will go ahead following a new agreement with French company EDF.

The latest move came two months after the new government called for a review of the nuclear program.

British Secretary of State for Business Greg Clark said in a statement that the government had decided to give the green light to the country's first nuclear power plant in two decades but added that new measures would be taken to enhance security.

The Hinkley Point C plant, to be co-built by China General Nuclear Power Corp., which has a one-third stake, and French state-owned company EDF, would help address Britain's future energy demands.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A 77-year-old man living at a senior housing complex in Wyoming, the United States, on Wednesday shot three people before turning the gun on himself, killing one victim and himself, police said.

The gunman, identified as Larry Rosenberg, shot one victim inside the Heritage Court Apartment and other two outside the building, said Dan Long, spokesman for the Cheyenne Police Department.

He turned the gun on himself as police officers approached, the Cheyenne Police Department posted on Facebook. He has been declared dead.

No motive was disclosed for the shootings. Some people who knew Rosenberg said he had grown distant recently.

"He started getting more and more distant, complaining about the facility and about people and just kind of pulling away, isolating himself more and more," said Margaret Rosso, whose 80-year-old mother lives at the same complex.

Multiple shootings are rare in Cheyenne, Wyoming's capital city, with a population of just over 60,000. According to the local police department annual report, the city police handled six homicide cases last year.
File photo taken on Oct. 18, 2010, shows medical workers on Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark waving goodbye to local people in Kenya as they left for Tanzania. (Xinhua/Zha Chunming)

DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A team of five Chinese doctors has been sent to Tanzania's northwest Kagera region to help save the lives of survivors of the Saturday earthquake which killed 17 people and injured scores of others, said a statement from the Chinese embassy in Dar es Salaam.

The statement issued by the Office of Public Diplomacy and Press Section of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania said the doctors included specialists in women, children as well as a surgeon and a general doctor.

On Tuesday, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Tanzania and the business community contributed about 700,000 U.S. dollars and other relief supplies to help the survivors.

Among donors at the event, the Chinese Embassy pledged 50,000 US dollars and Chinese companies doing business in Tanzania also pledged about 70,000 U.S. dollars.

The money was used to buy tents, food and medicines that were transported to Kagera region and the Chinese doctors were expected to arrive late Wednesday or Thursday morning, the statement said.

An earthquake, measuring at a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale, hit the Tanzania's Kagera region on Saturday. It left 17 people dead and over 200 injured, while thousands of houses were damaged.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (C) arrives to attend the 11th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Vientiane, Laos, Sept. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday that his country will no longer participate in joint patrols with the United States in the South China Sea, describing such patrols as "a hostile act."

On Monday, Duterte said that U.S. special forces in southern Philippines should leave.

Such decisions and remarks by Duterte showed signs of subtle changes in the relationship between Manila and Washington.

Duterte's spat and confrontation with the U.S. began from the recently-concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

On Sept. 5, Duterte said before flying to Laos to attend the summit 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 U.S. President Barack 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.

"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," Duterte said, using the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bitch."

Duterte expressed regret over the remarks the next day, but the damage was done. His expletives against Obama prompted the latter to cancel their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting.

In the same gathering during the East Asian Summit, Duterte veered away from the prepared speech and instead talked about the massacre perpetrated by the American forces against Filipino Muslims in the southern province of Sulu in 1906, which he described as human rights violation.

Furthermore on Tuesday, Duterte abandoned the hidden rule that the Philippines always buys weaponry from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Instead he announced that he was thinking of buying weapons from China and Russia, and would dispatch experts to the two countries for on-the-spot investigations.

Duterte's recent remarks illustrate the new Philippine president's intent to keep a distance from America in a bid to maintain balance between his country's relationships with the U.S and China.

According to analysts, the reason Duterte wishes to uphold an independent foreign policy is to avoid getting entangled in a possible U.S.-China confrontation, or even worse, being crushed in a conflict between the two giants.

Duterte believes being too close to the U.S. is as equally dangerous as being too close to China, analysts say. He aims to take the middle route between the two powers to avoid irritating both while reaping the benefits of a balanced relationship.

However, keeping a distance from its American ally doesn't necessarily entail conflict. The core interests between the Philippines and the U.S. remain.

The Philippines and the U.S. signed three vital defense treaties - the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951, the Visiting Forces Agreement in 1999, and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2014.

The Philippine foreign affairs ministry, defense ministry and armed forces have all recently reiterated the validity of the three pacts. Duterte himself also promised before his inauguration that the Philippines would continue to maintain the treaties.
LUSAKA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of Zambia's major media outlets on Thursday.

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has prodded lawmakers to use their time in the National Assembly to interpret the country's amended constitution and make it clear for all Zambians.

The amended constitution has caused furor, with some saying its ambiguity on many issues was a source of concern. (TIMES OF ZAMBIA)

-- The African Union (AU) has congratulated Zambian President Edgar Lungu and his vice Inonge Wina on their successful inauguration.

AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma also commended Lungu for emerging victorious in last month's general elections. (DAILY MAIL)

-- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed that it will investigate allegations of crimes against humanity by the country's main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and his vice Geoffrey Mwamba.

The two opposition leaders were reported to the ICC last month by a local law firm following the politically motivated violence that broke out in some parts of the country after the declaration of President Edgar Lungu as winner of the August 11 general elections. (DAILY NATION) Enditem
RAMALLAH, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A prominent Palestinian peace architect and peace negotiator with Israel said Thursday that he is in favor of annulling the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Ahmed Qurei, also known as Abu Alla, a former prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), said in a televised interview that he is in favor of annulling Oslo Accords "because the previous and the current Israeli governments trampled the agreement."

"The Israeli governments had turned the agreement into a meaningless one," said Qurei, who was one of the agreements' architects together with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and late leader Yasser Arafat in 1993.

Arafat and late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the historic peace agreement, the Oslo Accords, in the White House on Sept. 13, 1993.

"It's the right of all parties to wonder whether the agreement is still valid or not," Qurei said. "The two-state solution is not over yet, but currently, the Israeli position is the worst ever since the signing of the agreement."

Under the interim Oslo agreement, the two sides were supposed to negotiate a permanent status in September 1999.

The sides held a round of talks later at Camp David but failed to reach an agreement.

Also on Thursday, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator and the secretary general of Palestine Liberation Organization, told "Voice of Palestine" radio that Israel is the one which annulled the Oslo Accords.

"Israel, which ended the Oslo Accords by talking about dates that it had never committed itself to, annulled the accords by its policies against the Palestinians, mainly the expansion of settlements."

The last direct peace talks between the two sides, sponsored by the United States, collapsed in April 2014, after nine months of futile efforts.

The talks failed due to deep differences over settlement, security and borders issues.
LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The British government on Thursday gave the green light to the multi-billion U.S. dollar Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, but attached new measures to ensure the country's security.

The latest move came nearly two months after the new government surprisingly halted the project and called for a review of the nuclear program.

The Hinkley Point C plant will be co-built by China General Nuclear Power Corp., which has a one-third stake, and French state-owned company EDF.

An official statement said the British government had decided to approve the country's first nuclear power plant in two decades following a new agreement with EDF, but added that new measures would be taken to enhance security.

"Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation," it said, noting that a new legal framework will be imposed for future foreign investment in Britain's critical infrastructure, including nuclear energy.

The statement stressed that the British government will be able to prevent the sale of EDF's controlling stake prior to the completion of construction.

Existing legal powers, and a new legal framework, will mean that the British government is able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational, it said.

But the statement did not mention the role of Chinese investment in the power plant, a 18-billion-British-pound (23.6-billion-dollar) project that will be built and mainly funded by EDF.

The plant is expected to benefit the British economy by creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships, and billions of pounds will be invested into the economy of southwestern England.

According to the statement, the British government will take a special share in all future nuclear projects after Hinkley, which will ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the government's knowledge or consent.

"Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy, and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security," said Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy.

Once completed, the Hinkley Point C power plant will provide 7 percent of Britain's electricity needs for 60 years.
JAKARTA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has deployed 22,107 soldiers, police and firefighters as well as 24 aircraft to extinguish forest and agriculture fires in western parts of the nation, the disaster agency said here on Thursday.

The attempts are carried out as the country is experiencing the peak of dry season (in September) which provides favorable condition for the spread of fires, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the national disaster management and mitigation agency,

Satellite Terra and Aqua from NASA on Thursday detected 260 hotspots in the country with 240 of them in Borneo Island, Sutopo said.

"The activity of slash-and-burn practice during land clearing for new plantation and farming remains rampant," he told Xinhua via phone.

The spokesman said that the measures to put out the fires are undertaken though land and air by dropping waters and creating artificial rains.

Three other helicopters have also been on standby to support the efforts, he added.

Indonesia suffered the biggest ever forest fires in 2015 with 2.61 million hectares land burned, resulting in huge impacts on health and economic activities.
RAMALLAH, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A World Bank (WB) report has warned that the finances of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) remain fragile and that the year's financial gap may amount to 600 million U.S. dollars.

"The PNA's finances remain fragile with declining budget support leading to a projected financing gap of about 600 million U.S. dollars in 2016," said the WB report, which was published on its website on Wednesday and will be presented to an ad hoc liaison committee next Monday.

However, the report said that over the last decade, the PNA's fiscal consolidation efforts managed to cut deficit by 15 percent of its gross national product (GDP), hailing it as an achievement rarely seen in other places around the world.

It said that the prolonged period of slow economic growth has resulted in persistently high unemployment and stagnation in the average income of the Palestinian citizens.

"The economy will not be able to reach its potential without a peace resolution but meaningful steps can avoid further deterioration," said the report, adding that a policy-level meeting for development assistance to the Palestinian people will be held on Sept. 19 in New York.

"The economy has also not been able to create enough jobs, resulting in stubborn unemployment rates reaching 27 percent in 2016 (18 percent in the West Bank and 42 percent in Gaza)," the report said in its executive summary.

Marina Wes, the World Bank's country director for West Bank and Gaza, said: "The Palestinian economic outlook is worrying with serious consequences on income, opportunity, and well-being."

"Not only will it affect the Palestinian Authority's (PNA) capacity to deliver services to its citizens, it may also lead to wider economic problems and instability," she said in a statement.

The World Bank report said that the international donor support is a must to maintain the PNA's budget-cutting achievements and stave off crisis, adding that in the short term, donors' support and in particular budget support "is essential to avoid a fiscal crisis leading to wider economic problems."

"The PNA's actions will not be enough to fully close the gap, particularly since local borrowing opportunities are now largely exhausted," the report said.

It said that the Palestinian economy would remain hobbled as long as the conflict with Israel continued.

The report made particular mention of Gaza, saying that of 3.5 billion dollars pledged by donors reconstruction following the 2014 war, less than half had so far been disbursed.

"The situation in Gaza is of great concern and the conditions required for post-reconstruction sustainable economic growth are not being put in place," said Wes.
BRATISLAVA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Brexit won't be high on the agenda of the European Union (EU) informal summit to take place here on Friday, according to several Slovak experts.

Bratislava will host the leaders of all EU-member states excluding British Prime Minister Theresa May.

"British political membership is a dead matter now, despite the fact that Britain will still be technically working in the EU for some years to come. The summit will present a discussion between the remaining 27 member states about what Union are we in," noted Vladimir Bilcik of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association.

Political analyst Juraj Hrabko said it was logical Britain wasn't taking part in the summit.

"The remaining 27 EU countries adopted a declaration on holding the event shortly after the Brexit referendum in late June, when everyone was expecting that the process of Britain's exit from the EU would be rather swift," explained Hrabko.

According to former Slovak Finance Minister Ivan Miklos, it appears Brexit supporters didn't have any strategy.

"Brexit won't be resolved during the Slovak presidency and will linger throughout the next few presidencies as well," stressed Miklos.
by Xinhua writer Liu Chang

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Finally, London has made a welcoming move by giving the go-ahead order to a key nuclear power plant program after it was suspended over some fictitious "national security" concerns about Chinese investment.

The British government said on Thursday that it has approved the Hinkley Point nuclear power station, a 23. 8-billion-U.S.-dollar joint venture by Chinese and French investors. It will be Britain's first nuclear power facility in two decades.

The project is widely considered a significant program for both China and Britain, especially at a time when both sides have vowed to stay committed to promoting and reaping from the "Golden Era" of their bilateral relations.

During the plant's planned 10-year construction period, it will create 25,000 new job opportunities, according to EDF, the project's French contractor. Once up and running, it will substantially upgrade Britain's energy supplies and provide a vital solution to the country's electricity needs.

But let us not forget that the program, despite its various benefits for all parties, was once on the brink of being killed by groundless worries that China's investment would be a threat to Britain's national security.

Had the program gone under, all sides were to lose dearly, while China-Britain relations could have been tossed into uncertainty.

In order to reassure Beijing of its sustained willingness to maintain the two countries' bilateral ties on the right track, British Prime Minister Theresa May has earlier dispatched a special envoy along with a letter to the top Chinese leadership to express her hope of strengthening cooperation with China on trade and business, along with other global issues.

While attending the Group of 20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou earlier this month, the British leader reiterated her willingness to strengthen partnerships with China.

However, in spite of the approval, China-phobia sentiments continue to hover and could possibly introduce more troubles as construction of the project gets underway.

It is reported that while announcing the go-ahead, Theresa May has also promised "significant new safeguards" to make sure that investment from China does not threaten national security.

Of course, the British leader's misgivings make little sense. She may be saying this to appease domestic objections to the program, yet her remarks reflect a fact that some Westerners still harbor strong misunderstandings of China and its investors, and the mutual trust between China and Britain needs to be further enhanced.

Now that the decision has been made, it is expected that new problems will emerge in the future if we consider the complexities of the program. A spirit of sincere cooperation and partnership is much needed.

Therefore, let us hope that London quits its China-phobia and works with Beijing to ensure the project's smooth development.
PHNOM PENH, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Moon cakes are hot-selling in Cambodia on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival on Thursday as many Cambodian people are of Chinese descent.

A variety of moon cakes were on sales in many shops and supermarkets in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, and drew crowds of customers.

Mom The, marketing executive of locally well-known Apsara Bakery, said the Mid-Autumn Festival was the best-selling time of the year.

"Since Monday this week, many Cambodians with Chinese descent and Chinese people have flocked to shops to buy moon cakes," he told Xinhua. "This is a creed, they believe that their worship to the moon will bring them fortune and happiness."

According to the figures of the Chinese Association in Cambodia, more than 700,000 Chinese descendants are living in Cambodia. On this occasion, they worship the moon and eat moon cakes together with their family members.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, or the lunar worship, is one of the four most important festivals in China, which is celebrated each year on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar when the moon is full. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Sept. 15.

Moon cakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy.
Photo taken on Sept. 10, 2016, shows incineration site of spoiled wheat flour at the Tori-Avame landfill site, 30 kilometers north of Cotonou, Benin. (Xinhua)

COTONOU, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were killed and 76 others injured in an explosion that occurred on Sept. 8 at a dump site in Tori-Avame, some 30 kilometers from Benin's capital, Cotonou, according to Secretary General to the Presidency Pascal Koupaki.

Addressing the press in Cotonou on Wednesday, Koupaki said the tragedy occurred due to professional negligence and violation of laid down regulations.

"Preliminary investigations show the operation was fraudulent for two reasons; first, the absence of necessary approval for the activities that were being conducted, non-respect for the procedures for destruction of spoiled goods and finally the operation was not secured against possible risks," he said.

Koupaki said the government had sacked three senior officers, including the concerned region's police chief, for neglecting their duties, something that led to the tragedy.

Besides this punishment, he continued, the government had instructed the justice minister to accelerate judicial inquiry and open cases against anyone who might have been involved in the tragedy.

Residents of Tori invaded Tori-Avame dump site to collect bags of spoiled flour which were being burnt by a team comprised of the national police and the gendarmerie, under the supervision of a judicial officer and a representative of the customs authorities.

Immediately after the departure of the team from the dump site, hundreds of local residents rushed to the site to take away the flour, but the explosion occurred soon after.
LAGOS, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Thursday slammed the opposition's "irresponsible" outburst asking President Muhammadu Buhari to quit.

In a statement made available to Xinhua in Lagos, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, criticized the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which on Thursday called on Buhari and his team to return Nigeria to its state of booming economy before they assumed office in May, 2015.

The statement called the former ruling party a "shameless irritant" which is bent on distracting the government from its rescue mission.

The minister said while the government will continue to welcome constructive criticism, it had nothing to learn from a party that was in charge of the nation's affairs at a time of plenty, but ended up frittering away the commonwealth, looting the nation blind and setting the stage for today economic crisis, which the Buhari administration is working tirelessly to put an end to.

Mohammed said what the PDP has consistently put up as a vibrant economy under its watch was nothing but a bubble that was buoyed by massive corruption and chronic incompetence, an economy in which someone without any known means of earned livelihood would boast of 31.5 million U.S. dollars.

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves plummeted from 62 billion dollars in 2008 to 30 billion dollars by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of 114 dollars per barrel in 2014, said the minister.

By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from 60 billion dollars in 2008 to 120 billion dollars in 2015, he said.

"The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we won't repeat the mistake," he added.

"We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDP's watch, with 15 billion U.S. dollars stolen from the defense sector alone," Mohammed said.
GUANGZHOU, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A leading Chinese nuclear power company, China General Nuclear Power (CGN), welcomed the British government's approval of the Hinkley Point C power plant Thursday.

"We are delighted that the British government has decided to proceed with the project. We will continue to work with our strategic partner French EDF to develop nuclear power projects at Hinkley Point, Sizewell and Bradwell, and provide safe, reliable and sustainable low-carbon energy for the U.K.," CGN's spokesman Huang Xiaofei told Xinhua

The U.K. government said it had confirmed the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will go ahead following a new agreement with the French company EDF.

With total investment of 18 billion British pounds, Hinkley Point C will be the first nuclear power plant in the U.K. for more than 20 years. It will provide 7 percent of electricity for the country.

According to an agreement between the Chinese and French company, a CGN-led Chinese consortium holds a one-third stake in the project.

The regulatory approval by the British government is a historic step and a stepping stone for Chinese nuclear companies to gain market access to developed economies.

Two months ago, the British government surprisingly halted the project and called for a review of the program. CGN said in July that it respected the British government's decision, and they have been fully committed to providing safe and reliable energy for Britain.

"CGN is very glad and fully capable of providing technical support and contributing its experience to the Hinkley Point project," said He Yu, company chairman.

Chinese nuclear companies will also greatly benefit from cooperating with partners with advanced technology and valuable experience, he said.

"There is great market potential for nuclear power in the global market," said Yang Maochun, deputy director of international cooperation at CGN.

There is global demand for over 200 nuclear power stations, he said.

CGN is the world's fifth largest nuclear power provider in terms of operating capacity. It has cooperated with EDF for over three decades, the company said. h According to an agreement between CGN and EDF, the Bradwell project plans to use the Hualong One design, China's third-generation nuclear reactor design, after the technology passes British regulatory inspections.

Two power projects using the technology started construction in eastern Fujian Province and southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last year.

Several countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Turkey and Kazakhstan, have shown interest in the Hualong One design, CGN said.

"Every step we make in nuclear program in Britain will have an exemplary effect. Emerging markets will further cement their confidence in the Hualong One design," Huang said.
NAIROBI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan dosen't want neighboring countries like Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia to be contributors to a 4,000-strong protection force proposed to be deployed to the war-torn nation, a presidential spokesperson has said.

Ateny Wek Ateny told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday that regional countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc that proposed the idea of the protection force had conflicting interests in South Sudan.

"We have not rejected the protection force but rather that the troop contributing countries must be not within the borders," Ateny said.

The IGAD proposed the deployment of the protection force following renewed fighting in July between South Sudan's rival army factions. The regional bloc groups countries like Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia that neighbour South Sudan.

"We don't want Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. These are countries that have direct interests and this will bring them into conflict," Ateny said without mentioning Kenya.

In August, the UN Security Council voted to allow the deployment of the African protection force to beef up the already existing 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan in protecting civilians and key installations.

The July fighting between forces led by President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former First Vice President Riek Machar, Kiir's long-time rival, killed at least 300 people and displaced thousands to neighbouring countries.

Ateny also said that the UN Security Council should involve the South Sudan government in discussions about the armaments for the protection force before its deployment.

South Sudan had initially rejected the proposal of the protection force but later accepted it amid pressure from the international community.

In another development, the UN Security Council on Wednesday called on South Sudan to take immediate steps to facilitate the deployment of the protection force after its delegation concluded a fact-finding mission in the country.

South Sudan has been torn by a civil war between factions of Kiir and Machar which erupted in December 2013 and left tens of thousands dead.




Xiao Jianguo (L), deputy director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and Noriyuki Shikata, counsellor of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, shake hands during the fifth round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs held in Hiroshima, Japan, Sept. 15, 2016. China and Japan reached an agreement on speeding up the negotiation process on the air and maritime contact mechanism between the defense ministries of the two countries in the fifth round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs held here on Wednesday and Thursday. (Xinhua/Hua Yi)

HIROSHIMA, Japan, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Japan reached an agreement on speeding up the negotiation process on the air and maritime contact mechanism between the defense ministries of the two countries in the fifth round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs held here on Wednesday and Thursday.

The two sides agreed to devote themselves to safeguarding the peace and stability in the East China Sea.

They also agreed to hold the sixth round of expert panel consultations as soon as possible and continue to push forward the exchanges between the defense ministries of the two countries.

China's Ministry of Public Security and the Japan Coast Guard will continue cooperation in cracking down on transnational crimes, including smuggling, human smuggling and drug trafficking.

The China Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard agreed to give full play to the role of the existing contact mechanism and strengthen their exchange of information and personnel.

The two sides exchanged views on their sea-related policies and laws and agreed to continue carrying out dialogues in this regard.

They agreed to launch as early as possible a platform for carrying out dialogues between experts of the two countries on management of marine rubbish and to conduct a joint investigation on marine rubbish in 2017.

The two sides affirmed the importance of an early signing of a bilateral maritime search and rescue agreement and agreed to maintain communication in this regard.

They also exchanged views on the principle of consensus on East China Sea issues and agreed in principle to hold the six round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs in China within the year.

The China-Japan high-level consultations on maritime affairs were set up in January, 2012, with the first round of talks held in May of the same year in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reacts during a meeting of the National Political Council of the Worker's Party in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sept. 14, 2016. (Xinhua/AGENCIA ESTADO)

BRASILIA, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- President of the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) Rui Falcao said on Wednesday that accusations against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are "another episode of persecution" and an attempt to stop Lula from running for president in 2018.

On Wednesday, investigators accused Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2010, of leading a vast corruption ring at Brazilian oil company Petrobras.

According to the charge sheet, the former president owns an apartment in the coastal city of Guaruja, near Sao Paulo, which was renovated for free by OAS, a construction company involved in the corruption ring. It also alleges that Lula owns an undeclared property in Atibaia, a municipality in the state of Sao Paulo.

Investigators estimate Lula received benefits worth 3.7 million reais (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars) from OAS in total.

Lula's wife, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, president of the Lula Institute Paulo Okamotto, and five OAS executives were also accused.

At a press conference, Deltan Dallagnol, a federal prosecutor, said that "Lula was the high commander of the Petrobras corruption scheme" and accused his government of facilitating massive bribery and corruption.

According to the prosecutor, without Lula, the corruption ring would have been impossible. "This was a scheme of the government and the political party. There is evidence that PT party leaders enriched themselves with money embezzled from Petrobras," said Dallagnol.

In response, Falcao said: "We were awaiting this accusation, it had been expected. The process of trying to punish Lula and his future ban (as candidate) is predictable. We do not understand the reasons."

"If there is a minimum of justice, this accusation cannot be listened to. It is more than proven that...Lula was never the owner of the apartment and never used his position for illegal benefits. This is another episode of persecution," said the politician.

According to Falcao, this is all part of a process without evidence but with a clear objective to remove Lula as a presidential candidate.

In a post on his Facebook page, Lula said he had never owned the apartment in Guaruja.

"Since January 30, 2016, Lula has made public the documents that prove he is not the owner of any apartment in Guaruja," read the post.
Photo taken on Sept. 13, 2016 shows a scene of the session "Investing in Argentina: A Global Perspective" during the Argentina Business and Investment Forum at the Kirchner Cultural Center, in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies participating in the ongoing Argentina Business and Investment Forum expressed their optimism about future bilateral relations and commercial prospects.

The forum, attended by around 1,900 national and foreign business leaders on Sept. 12-15, is a pillar of Argentina's strategy to regain status in the international business community.

The forum "not only has an institutional character, it also focuses on entrepreneurship and practical issues," said Yang Shidi, a representative from the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).

"This seems to be a very positive signal from the new government to foreign investors," he told Xinhua.

The Argentine government and companies alike should "continue making efforts to make these initiatives come true," including the simplification and reduction of bureaucracy as a "very useful step for Argentina to receive foreign investment," he added.

CSCEC, one of China's most important construction firms, has been in Argentina for two years undertaking a number of projects, including a major irrigation project in the province of Entre Rios.

Zhou Zhecheng, a representative from China's heavy machinery manufacturer Sany Group, told Xinhua that "Argentina is a large country with good opportunities for companies from China and other countries."

"We are trying to assist with local projects, especially in housing. We want to establish a plant for pre-fabricated panels. We are negotiating with the province of Buenos Aires to help with housing construction," he said.

Image taken on July 29, 2015 and provided by Electroingenieria S.A. (ELGIN) company shows workers receiving materials from the vessel that transports the first machines for the preliminary construction works of the dams "Nestor Kirchner" and "Jorge Cepernic", in the port of Punta Quilla, Santa Cruz province, 2,810 km away of Buenos Aires city, capital of Argentina. (Xinhua/ELGIN)

China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner and the main importer of the country's agricultural products.

On Tuesday, Argentine President Mauricio Macri extended a broad invitation to those wanting to invest in the third-largest economy of Latin America.

"Your presence in this forum shows your help for the new phase our country is beginning. A phase of sanity, of respect for the rules, where we seek to improve day by day with clear objectives and perseverance to achieve them," said Macri.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Macri said China is of "enormous importance" and "complementary" to his country and his administration will work to promote reciprocity and increase Argentina's export of greater value-added goods to China.

"We hope the talks will lead to mechanisms so that, based on this relationship, Argentina can balance the scales with more labor intensive products and at the same time find ways to generate greater tourism flows between Argentina and China," he said.

"China needs to work on its food security and Argentina is a very good partner for that. Argentina needs more energy and China is a very good partner for that," he noted.

"Argentina needs to significantly improve its infrastructure and China has been very successful in building new infrastructure. This complementarity should work very well," said the president.

Although the International Monetary Fund has predicted Argentina's economy will contract by 1.5 percent in 2016, Macri's government is determined to seek investment to drive public works, modernize infrastructure and reverse social anger at the rising cost of public services and stagnating salaries.
An Indonesian woman signs on a board during an awareness campaign on the World AIDS Day in Jakarta, Indonesia, during the World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 2013. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain)

NAIROBI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's National AIDS Control Council (NACC) decried rising HIV infections among those aged between 10 and 24 in the country.

NACC program officer, Jacqueline Dache, told Xinhua that this age segment currently contributed 46 percent of all new HIV infections.

"The girls are especially vulnerable as they account for roughly two thirds of all infections among adolescents and young people," Dache said during a Reproductive Health Workshop organized by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a U.S.-based NGO.

Dache said that 51 percent of all new adult HIV infections were contributed by those under the age of 24, adding NACC was implementing programs that target adolescents and young people.

"This cohort needs to be empowered so that they make the right decisions to prevent them from getting infected," Dache said.

She said the lack of job opportunities for the youth and the rising school drop-out rates contributed to the high infection rates.

"Schools provide protective environment that reduces chances of young people engaging in risky behavior," she added.

Other causes of high HIV infection rates include alcohol and drug abuse as well as mother to child transmission.

AHF Kenya Country Director, Dr Wamae Maranga, said that adolescent girls and young women living with HIV in Kenya faced barriers to accessing adequate health services.

He also said that unauthorized disclosure of students' HIV status in learning institutions served to enhance the high levels of HIV stigma.
BRATISLAVA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU)'s response to migration flows, a key point of the informal EU leaders summit here on Friday, is still a divided issue which requires compromise to solve, said local experts.

This topic has divided EU member states for more than a year. The biggest countries, such as Germany, France or Italy, support proportional relocation of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. However, the V4 countries -- Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary -- refuse this approach.

According to Czech economist Petr Lebeda, the key problem for the V4 countries lies at the symbolic level.

"It is important to find alternative solutions in tackling migration. If a country accepted less migrants, they should be, for instance, more involved in the aid for third countries, which are transit routes for migrants," explained Lebeda.

Slovak parliamentary foreign affairs committee chairman Frantisek Sebej agreed with this position.

"The EU can't leave the entire migration issue only on the shoulders of countries that are exposed to heavy migrant flows, such as Greece and Italy; it has to tackle the issue together," stressed Sebej.

Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Juncker in his State of the Union speech called on Slovakia, as the presiding country, to overcome the differences among member states in terms of migration.

Slovak Foreign Affairs State Secretary Ivan Korcok said he understood the complicated position of Slovakia, which strongly refuses the quotas, but as a presiding country it should find a compromise solution.

"Although in the issues of mandatory quotas and relocation the views aren't unified, Slovakia accepts Juncker's message, but it will be difficult to overcome these differences," added Korcok.
A full solar power vehicle is presented during a ceremony held by Chinese renewable energy company Hanergy Holding Group in Beijing, capital of China, July 2, 2016. Hanergy launched four full solar power vehicles at the ceremony on Saturday. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday launched here its first detailed report of global energy investment, with China singled out for praise.

In the first detailed analysis of investment across the global energy system, the IEA reported that global energy investment fell by 8 percent in 2015, with a drop in oil and gas upstream spending outweighing continued robust investment in renewable energies, electricity networks and energy efficiency.

Total investment in the energy sector reached 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2015, down from 2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2014, according to the IEA's World Energy Investment 2016 report.

The new annual report provides a comprehensive and detailed picture of the current investment landscape across fuels, technologies and countries.

It shows that the energy system is undergoing a broad reorientation toward low-carbon energy and efficiency but investment in key clean energy technologies needs to be further ramped up to put the world economy on track for climate stabilisation.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, told Xinhua in an interview: "China's investment is mainly in the power sector, but China also becomes the largest investor for renewable energies across the world. As such it is a very complimentary number; it shows the Chinese commitment towards climate change and tackling air pollution.

"There is a political commitment and this is the answer in terms of putting the money in low carbon technologies. Renewable energy, energy efficiency but also it is nuclear power as well."

With energy supply spending of 315 billion U.S. dollars, China was the world's largest energy investor, thanks to robust efforts in building up low-carbon generation and electricity networks, as well as implementing energy efficiency policies.

Birol said: "China became last year the largest energy investor and this is mainly coming from the renewable energies followed by other sources. China is the largest investor of solar, largest investor in terms of wind technology and also a major investor in terms of hydro power. For renewable energies China is the champion energy investor."

Investment in the US's energy supply declined to about 280 billion U.S. dollars, falling nearly 75 billion U.S. dollars because of low oil prices and cost deflation, representing half of the total decline in global energy spending.

The Middle East and Russia emerged as the most resilient regions to spending cuts, thanks respectively to lower production costs and currency movements. As a result, national oil companies accounted for 44 percent of overall upstream investments, an all-time high.

Renewable energy investments of 313 billion U.S. dollars accounted for nearly a fifth of total energy spending last year, establishing renewable energies as the largest source of power investment.

While spending on renewable power capacity was flat between 2011 and 2015, electricity generation from the new capacity rose by one third, reflecting the steep cost declines in wind turbines and solar photo voltaic. The investment in renewable power capacity in 2015 generates more than enough to cover global electricity demand growth.

Birol said: "These changes have significance for energy security and climate change. Especially for low carbon technologies they show me that government policies can work to provide direction for investment in the markets but much more is needed to meet our climate goals."

He added: "After 2015 and 2016 we may see three years in a row, oil investments are declining. We have never seen, in the history of oil, that the investments for oil have declined three years in a row. We expect there will be a decline in 2017."
A staffer checks a fiber-optic cable at Latamfiberhome Plant in Duran, Guayas province, Ecuador, on Aug. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Santiago Armas)

by Xinhua writer Mao Pengfei

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Many more Latin Americans are plugged into the Internet than ever before, according to a study released this week by a United Nations agency.

Between 2010 and 2015, the percentage of Latin American households connected to the Internet nearly doubled, to 43.4 percent, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reported earlier this week.

That matters immensely to the digitalization of the economy of Latin America, a region that is still struggling to develop, and that can no longer rely on its abundance of natural resources to drive growth, especially at a time when the price of raw materials on the international market is notably low.

"We cannot wait for commodities prices to rise again," the director of ECLAC's Production, Productivity and Management Division, Mario Cimoli, told a regional technology conference held in San Jose, Costa Rica on Monday and Tuesday.

"It is necessary for countries to increase their productivity, and that can only be achieved by digitalizing the economy and productive business activities," added Cimoli.

As one of Latin America's leading trade partners, China has been helping the region do just that through both private- and public-sector ventures.

China's leader in telecommunications, Huawei, has been providing solutions to regional telecom services for 18 years, and also offers training and scholarships to Latin America's next generation of techies.

E-commerce giant Alibaba has expanded to the region, making life easier for connected consumers, and web behemoth Baidu is launching a support and mentoring scheme for Brazilian tech startups as it continues to drive its expansion strategy in the country.

Less than a month ago, China's ambassador to Ecuador, Wang Yulin, was on hand to help inaugurate the country's first fiber optics factory, built in the coastal province of Guayas with Chinese cooperation.

The new plant is part of Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa's push to expand Internet access by laying down more fiber optic cables. His government has already connected 32.8 percent of all households by laying down 66,000 kilometers of cables.

The plant, named Latamfiberhome, is the result of a joint venture by Ecuador's Holding Telconet and China's Fiberhome Technologies.

"With the infrastructure ready, we only need to begin using the plan to set up the brilliant future which awaits us," said Holding Telconet's Executive President Tomislav Topic.

"Starting from today, we will be able to export fiber-optic cables made in Ecuador, with Ecuadorian talent and manpower as well as Chinese technology," said Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas.

The plant is projected to manufacture 1 million kilometers of fiber-optic cable a year once it is fully operational in 2019.

Ecuador, which currently imports cables worth around 15 million U.S. dollars a year, estimates that it will export cables worth 20 million dollars a year. This joint venture will provide the telecommunications services and high technology to be needed by Latin America.

Baidu, China's web giant, "is launching a support and mentoring scheme for Brazilian tech startups ... to identify salable ventures in the country," Brazil-based technology reporter Angelica Mari wrote Monday in ZDNet.

Through the program, Baidu aimed to give startups a boost with its "experience, traffic, and connections within Brazil and internationally," wrote Mari.

What's in it for Baidu? A "10 percent stake in the capital of the companies selected in the program," she said.

Global telecommunications technology and equipment provider Huawei, which has 18 years of experience in the Latin American market, has helped regional telecom operators expand their businesses as it has grown its own.

The company has been working closely with top local telecom operators like VIVO and TIM in Brazil, Claro in Peru, Movistar in Mexico and Tigo in Paraguay to provide consumers with customized terminals and favorable mobile service packages.

Helping lower prices has been key to expanding Internet access, according to ECLAC's report.

"In terms of affordability, while in 2010 the cost of contracting a fixed broadband service of 1Mbps (megabits per second) represented about 18 percent of average monthly income, by early 2016 that figure had fallen to 2 percent. Affordability also increased significantly for users of prepaid data packages. In several countries, these packages lasting 30 days cost less than 2 percent of income," the UN agency said.

In Colombia, Huawei provides customized telecommunications technology service to main local mobile telecom carriers; in Brazil, six out of seven 4G mobile networks were constructed by the company.

Huawei has also begun to partner with local universities and governments to promote research and innovation.

In 2014, Huawei provided two cloud computing systems to facilitate education development in northern Brazil, offering platforms for online teaching and information sharing.

In a meeting this July with Argentinean President Mauricio Macri, Huawei's chairwoman, Sun Yafang, said her company was considering more investments in the country and is planning to open a Training Center.

The center would initially aim to train some 500 employees, local partners and industry collaborators, and potentially expand into a research and development facility for Latin America, similar to the ones Huawei has in Germany, Sweden, Britain, France, Italy, Russia, India and China.

Huawei famously runs "Seeds for the Future," an educational program that has provided college students around the world, including in Latin America, with scholarships to study information and communications technology.

ECLAC's report, titled "The State of Broadband in Latin America and the Caribbean 2016," was presented at the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies, held Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 in San Jose.
Photo taken on March 8, 2016 shows the model of a nuclear power plant of China's State Nuclear Power Technology Cooperation (SNPTC), which will be installed with China's own CAP1400 technology, at The 3rd International Nuclear Power Plants Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. (Xinhua/He Canling)

LONDON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The British government on Thursday gave the green light to the multi-billion U.S. dollar Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, but attached new measures to ensure the country's security.

The latest move came nearly two months after the new government surprisingly halted the project and called for a review of the nuclear program.

The Hinkley Point C plant will be co-built by China General Nuclear Power Corp., which has a one-third stake, and French state-owned company EDF.

An official statement said the British government had decided to approve the country's first nuclear power plant in two decades following a new agreement with EDF, but added that new measures would be taken to enhance security.

"Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation," it said, noting that a new legal framework will be imposed for future foreign investment in Britain's critical infrastructure, including nuclear energy.

The statement stressed that the British government will be able to prevent the sale of EDF's controlling stake prior to the completion of construction.

Existing legal powers, and a new legal framework, will mean that the British government is able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational, it said.

But the statement did not mention the role of Chinese investment in the power plant, a 18-billion-British-pound (23.6-billion-dollar) project that will be built and mainly funded by EDF.

The plant is expected to benefit the British economy by creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships, and billions of pounds will be invested into the economy of southwestern England.

According to the statement, the British government will take a special share in all future nuclear projects after Hinkley, which will ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the government's knowledge or consent.

"Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy, and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security," said Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy.

Once completed, the Hinkley Point C power plant will provide 7 percent of Britain's electricity needs for 60 years.
HOUSTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and three others were injured late Wednesday in a drive-by shooting in northeast Houston, the largest city in the U.S. state of Texas, police said Thursday.

The shooting occurred around 11:56 p.m. Wednesday (0456 GMT Thursday) near the Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston police said.

A young woman was found dead at the scene, while the three injured, all male, were sent to a nearby hospital for medical treatment and their conditions are not clear.

Currently, the police have no information on the suspects or the vehicle they were in at the time of the shooting.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.




Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (2nd R) attends the 6th meeting of BRICS senior representatives on security issues in New Delhi, India, Sept. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Ming)

NEW DELHI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Inida pledged on Thursday to further promote cooperation among the BRICS nations, and discussed issues such as cyber security, energy security and anti-terrorism.

When attending the 6th meeting of BRICS senior representatives on security issues, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said that leaders of BRICS nations reached consensus on furthering BRICS cooperation when they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China's eastern city of Hangzhou earlier this month.

China is ready to make joint efforts with other BRICS nations to make the upcoming BRICS summit in India's Goa a success and inject new dynamism into the BRICS cooperation, he added.

As the BRICS' chairman next year, China will make good preparations for the BRICS summit and meetings of senior representatives on security and foreign ministers of BRICS nations, said Yang.

When meeting representatives from BRICS nations for the security meeting, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the BRICS nations are playing an increasingly constructive role in international affairs.

He expressed his belief that the BRICS summit in Goa could yield practical results and cement friendly relations among the BRICS nations so as to enhance the influence of developing countries and emerging economies.

The BRICS nations group Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Also on Thursday, Chinese State Councilor Yang met with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The Chinese state councilor said development of bilateral ties between the two countries have maintained good momentum.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Modi held talks at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, setting the direction for the development of bilateral ties for the next phase, Yang said.

"China is willing to join hands with India to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and friendly exchanges, and properly handle sensitive issues in order to push forward the development of bilateral ties in the right direction and promote Asia's development and prosperity."

Yang said BRICS has witnessed 10 years of fruitful cooperation among its member states, and China will fully support India's efforts to host the BRICS summit in Goa successfully.

For his part, Doval said as neighbors and the largest developing countries in the world, India and China have great potential for cooperation.

India is willing to boost political communication, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote cooperation and coordination with China within the framework of G20 and BRICS so as to press ahead with common development and safeguard common interests of the two countries.
A staffer checks a fiber-optic cable at Latamfiberhome Plant in Duran, Guayas province, Ecuador, on Aug. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Santiago Armas)

by Xinhua writer Mao Pengfei

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Many more Latin Americans are plugged into the Internet than ever before, according to a study released this week by a United Nations agency.

Between 2010 and 2015, the percentage of Latin American households connected to the Internet nearly doubled, to 43.4 percent, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reported earlier this week.

That matters immensely to the digitalization of the economy of Latin America, a region that is still struggling to develop, and that can no longer rely on its abundance of natural resources to drive growth, especially at a time when the price of raw materials on the international market is notably low.

"We cannot wait for commodities prices to rise again," the director of ECLAC's Production, Productivity and Management Division, Mario Cimoli, told a regional technology conference held in San Jose, Costa Rica on Monday and Tuesday.

"It is necessary for countries to increase their productivity, and that can only be achieved by digitalizing the economy and productive business activities," added Cimoli.

As one of Latin America's leading trade partners, China has been helping the region do just that through both private- and public-sector ventures.

China's leader in telecommunications, Huawei, has been providing solutions to regional telecom services for 18 years, and also offers training and scholarships to Latin America's next generation of techies.

E-commerce giant Alibaba has expanded to the region, making life easier for connected consumers, and web behemoth Baidu is launching a support and mentoring scheme for Brazilian tech startups as it continues to drive its expansion strategy in the country.

Less than a month ago, China's ambassador to Ecuador, Wang Yulin, was on hand to help inaugurate the country's first fiber optics factory, built in the coastal province of Guayas with Chinese cooperation.

The new plant is part of Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa's push to expand Internet access by laying down more fiber optic cables. His government has already connected 32.8 percent of all households by laying down 66,000 kilometers of cables.

The plant, named Latamfiberhome, is the result of a joint venture by Ecuador's Holding Telconet and China's Fiberhome Technologies.

"With the infrastructure ready, we only need to begin using the plan to set up the brilliant future which awaits us," said Holding Telconet's Executive President Tomislav Topic.

"Starting from today, we will be able to export fiber-optic cables made in Ecuador, with Ecuadorian talent and manpower as well as Chinese technology," said Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas.

The plant is projected to manufacture 1 million kilometers of fiber-optic cable a year once it is fully operational in 2019.

Ecuador, which currently imports cables worth around 15 million U.S. dollars a year, estimates that it will export cables worth 20 million dollars a year. This joint venture will provide the telecommunications services and high technology to be needed by Latin America.

Image taken on July 29, 2014 shows visitors viewing telecommunication products during the exhibition ICT of Huawei, in Panama City, capital of Panama. (Xinhua/Mauricio Valenzuela)

Baidu, China's web giant, "is launching a support and mentoring scheme for Brazilian tech startups ... to identify salable ventures in the country," Brazil-based technology reporter Angelica Mari wrote Monday in ZDNet.

Through the program, Baidu aimed to give startups a boost with its "experience, traffic, and connections within Brazil and internationally," wrote Mari.

What's in it for Baidu? A "10 percent stake in the capital of the companies selected in the program," she said.

Global telecommunications technology and equipment provider Huawei, which has 18 years of experience in the Latin American market, has helped regional telecom operators expand their businesses as it has grown its own.

The company has been working closely with top local telecom operators like VIVO and TIM in Brazil, Claro in Peru, Movistar in Mexico and Tigo in Paraguay to provide consumers with customized terminals and favorable mobile service packages.

Helping lower prices has been key to expanding Internet access, according to ECLAC's report.

"In terms of affordability, while in 2010 the cost of contracting a fixed broadband service of 1Mbps (megabits per second) represented about 18 percent of average monthly income, by early 2016 that figure had fallen to 2 percent. Affordability also increased significantly for users of prepaid data packages. In several countries, these packages lasting 30 days cost less than 2 percent of income," the UN agency said.

In Colombia, Huawei provides customized telecommunications technology service to main local mobile telecom carriers; in Brazil, six out of seven 4G mobile networks were constructed by the company.

Huawei has also begun to partner with local universities and governments to promote research and innovation.

In 2014, Huawei provided two cloud computing systems to facilitate education development in northern Brazil, offering platforms for online teaching and information sharing.

In a meeting this July with Argentinean President Mauricio Macri, Huawei's chairwoman, Sun Yafang, said her company was considering more investments in the country and is planning to open a Training Center.

The center would initially aim to train some 500 employees, local partners and industry collaborators, and potentially expand into a research and development facility for Latin America, similar to the ones Huawei has in Germany, Sweden, Britain, France, Italy, Russia, India and China.

Huawei famously runs "Seeds for the Future," an educational program that has provided college students around the world, including in Latin America, with scholarships to study information and communications technology.

ECLAC's report, titled "The State of Broadband in Latin America and the Caribbean 2016," was presented at the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies, held Sept. 12 and Sept. 13 in San Jose.
JUBA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations team formed to monitor and report on human rights situation in South Sudan on Thursday called on the African Union (AU) to expedite the process of forming a hybrid court to try perpetrators of rights abuses in the war-torn country.

The UN-backed South Sudan Commission on Human Rights concluded a seven-day mission to South Sudan, with a call for speedy formation of the hybrid court, and establishment of a truth commission by the South Sudanese government.

The setting up of the hybrid court by the AU is part of the terms of the August 2015 peace agreement, which aims to end more than two years of civil war in the South Sudan.

The three-member UN team held meetings with South Sudan's officials on critical issues of accountability, and said the officials indicated their wiliness to cooperate with the AU on the establishment of the hybrid court.

The team said it will come out with a full report about rights violations during the civil war.

It expressed concerns for the diminishing work space for civil society members and journalists as well as restrictions placed on the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

It was deeply concerned by the ongoing impunity and lack of accountability for serious crimes, human rights abuses against civilians, and the slow progress on the implementation of the provisions of the August 2015 peace pact.

"The reason they continue to happen is because of impunity and there is a real need to establish a mechanism to ensure accountability," said Yasmin Sooka, head of the team.

South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and at least two million displaced.

The peace agreement signed in August 2015 failed to end renewed clashes between rival army factions that erupted in July.
CAPE TOWN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The South African government is committed to the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Program (REIPPP), the Presidency said on Thursday.

"The Presidency wishes to clarify that all the Independent Power Producer Programmes, namely renewable energy, coal and gas and any other determinations made by the Minister of Energy are and remain government policy, and are supported by the Presidency," said Presidency spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga.

The Presidency issued the statement amid concerns raised in the public domain that the government would abandon the REIPPP.

Last month, reports surfaced that state-own electricity utility Eskom Chairman Ben Ngubane had written a letter to Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, stating that the utility will no longer sign purchase agreements without engagement over the matter, saying its board had concerns about the REIPPP and there was a need for the government to look at all the implications for Eskom and its future.

President Jacob Zuma has taken note of the concerns raised in the public domain about confusion or doubt that may have been created about the program, said the spokesperson.

Recent public statements, which may have cast doubt on government's commitment to the IPP (Independent Power Producer) programme, are not government policy and do not reflect the position of government on the matter of renewable energy," Ngqulunga added.
GENEVA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- With 9,640 people killed and 22,431 injured in eastern Ukraine since the conflict began in mid-April 2014, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned Thursday that the situation is not showing any signs of improving.

Citing a new report produced by its local office in Ukraine and covering the period from mid-May to mid-August this year, the human rights office warned that the disregard for the protection of civilians by both sides of the conflict continues to severely shake those trapped in conflict-affected areas.

"While the situation has improved since the ceasefire was restored on September 1, the situation along the contact line remains deeply unstable, as demonstrated by the incidents which took place last weekend. In fact there is a real risk that a new outbreak of violence could happen at any time," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein in a statement.

"The escalation of hostilities along the contact line over the summer was a sharp reminder that the situation in eastern Ukraine deserves much more attention," he added.

This upsurge in violence is reflected by a 66 percent increase in the number of conflict-related civilian casualties in the period under review.

During those three months, 28 civilians lost their lives, with a further 160 sustaining injuries.

Over half of total casualties resulted from shelling across the contact line, with many also killed or wounded by mines, explosive remnants of war and booby traps.

These worrying trends are the result of the close proximity of government forces and armed groups at the contact line, the report found.

Those civilians living within the conflict-area not only lack protection but also access to basic services including humanitarian aid, it warned.

"Additional efforts are needed to find a lasting solution to this crisis and put an end to the suffering of the civilian population," Zeid noted.

"Human rights and justice are what people need, not further deaths and more intense hatred and destruction," he concluded.

The report, produced by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, is the 15th of its kind.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were killed and several others injured in three separate road accidents in Pakistan on Thursday, local Urdu media reported.

The Samaa News reported that five people were killed when their vehicle plunged into a cannal in Ghotki district of the south Sindh province.

The deceased were members of the same family who were coming back to their home after spending Eid holidays with relatives.

In a separate incident, five people were killed when a car hit into a trailer in Jahanian area of the east Punjab province.

Police said that the crash happened due to the negligence of the trailer driver.

In another incident, three people were killed and several others injured when a train hit a passenger van at a railway crossing in Rawalpindi district of Punjab.

Police said that that the crossing was not closed for the road traffic when the accident happened.

The accident resulted in the suspension of road and railway traffic until the rescue teams came and cleared the track.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday took "another significant step" towards building a manned space station around 2020 with the successful launch of its second experimental space laboratory, U.S. space experts said.

"The launch of Tiangong-2 demonstrates China remains committed to human spaceflight and to the goal of building a space station in low earth orbit," Gregory Kulacki, senior analyst and China project manager at the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, told Xinhua.

"The launch ... will help the Chinese space program further develop the technological capability to achieve that goal in the not too distant future," Kulacki said.

Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, the first Chinese-American to be commander of the International Space Station, hailed Tiangong-2 as "another significant step" for China's human spaceflight program.

"I understand that Tiangong-2 is more advanced than Tiangong-1, and that the next crew (to be launched in October) will stay there for a month," said Chiao, also the first Chinese-American to perform a spacewalk.

"I anticipate that Tiangong-2 will test more advanced life support systems, as well as cargo ship docking and station refueling. This will set the stage for the launch of China's core space station module in 2018."

Chiao, who has visited China's space centers over the years, was impressed with the advances China has made, and revealed he has "good relationships" with several of the Chinese national astronauts.

"China is moving in a very deliberate and orderly fashion to advance their space capability," he said. "I think the technology is good, and they are moving to get more operational experience through Tiangong-2, before the beginning of space station construction."

Both Kulacki and Chiao highlighted the importance of international cooperation in space exploration.

"It is encouraging that China intends to solicit international participation in its space station project," Kulacki said.

"And my hope is that the United States and China will, at an appropriate time in the future, find a way to cooperate in the peaceful exploration of space instead of competing to turn it into a battlefield."

What Kulacki was referring to was a prohibition introduced in 2011 by the U.S. Congress that banned NASA, the country's space agency, from almost all direct interactions with China.

China was also barred from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to objections from the United States.

Chiao stressed that international cooperation on human spaceflight is a common point of interest that helps improve overall relationships.

"The International Space Station is a great example of that," he said. "Many nations came together to build the amazing facility, and we are working together to further science. This helps to improve overall relations between the member countries."
KIGALI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The world should pass an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances, which would represent the most significant global action to reduce climate change since the adoption of the Paris Agreement.

Rwanda made the call on the occasion of marking the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer Thursday.

More than 1,000 international leaders and ozone preservation and low carbon development experts are expected in Rwanda next month for the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, known as MOP28.

The MOP28 will take place from Oct. 6-14 at the Kigali Convention Centre.

Participants will discuss an amendment to the Montreal Protocol which, if passed, will result in the early phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) -- strong greenhouse gases used mainly in refrigeration, solvents, propellants and aerosols with a high global warming potential.

A successful amendment to the protocol would signal the international community's commitment to practical action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement -- limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, and the more ambitious target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Vincent Biruta, Rwanda's Minister of Natural Resources said in a statement Thursday that his government looks forward to welcoming all Parties to the Montreal Protocol to Kigali in the spirit of international cooperation.

"We are pleased to see so many countries supporting an ambitious amendment, and are confident that it will be passed when we meet in Kigali in October. Rwanda stands ready to work with all Parties to find common ground and make the amendment a reality," Biruta said.

The Montreal Protocol is a global agreement that protects the ozone layer by phasing out the production of substances responsible for ozone depletion and climate change.

There has been a 98 percent reduction in ozone depleting chemicals globally thanks to the Montreal Protocol, and the ozone layer is now healing and expected to recover by 2050.
BEIRUT, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The efforts of Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam "to govern under increasingly difficult circumstances" were commended Thursday by UN officials, according to a statement by the UN office.

The Ambassadors of the five permanent Security Council members and the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon also called on "all Lebanese parties to work responsibly in the national interest, to enable government institutions to function effectively," it said.

The ambassadors of China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon met this morning Salam and reaffirmed their strong support for the continued stability and security of Lebanon, the statement stressed.

It added that the ambassadors and the Special Coordinator expressed their deep concern over the 27-month vacancy in the presidency of Lebanon.

They reaffirmed their call on all Lebanese leaders to put aside their differences in the broader interest of Lebanon and its people to proceed with the presidential election, the statement said.
RIGA, Sept. 15(Xinhua)-- The Latvian parliament will discuss citizen's initiative to prohibit selling agricultural land and forest to foreigners.

The initiative on Thursday was submitted to the parliamentary Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee which will review it and submit a draft decision on the issue to the parliament.

A petition calling for a ban on selling land to foreigners has gathered over 10,000 signatures on the public initiatives website and therefore the parliament has an obligation to consider it.

The petition was initiated by MP Armands Krauze of the Union of the Greens and Farmers.

The ban on selling land to citizens of foreign countries was proposed in order to protect local farmers who cannot compete with large Danish, German and other European agricultural enterprises in terms of prices and possibilities to attract funding, Krauze said.

The MP noted in his application that the initiative is intended to ensure that Latvia's agricultural and forest lands remain in Latvian citizens' possession and to stop these land properties from being "sold out to foreigners and multinational investment funds." Krauze has urged the parliament to call a referendum on the issue.

The ministries of agriculture and economics said they did not support the initiative as Latvia must observe its international commitments.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Tanzania on Thursday handed over assorted food items, medicines and tents to Kagera earthquake victims.

"The donation came from various Chinese companies, the embassy and Chinese community," said Zhang Biao, political counselor from the Chinese Embassy in Dar es Salaam while handing over the donation.

Major General Salum Kijuu, Kagera Regional Commissioner, commended the Chinese government for the support, which, according to him, is a great relief to the affected families.

Kijuu said that all the donation received will be distributed to the affected people while begging for more support to rebuild the region.

He also called upon those who will be able to start reconstructing their houses to get advice from construction experts before doing so to avoid future quake damages.

"As per expert's reports, earthquake will continue to happen in Kagera even for the years to come because the region has been passed by the Rift Valley. What we need to do is to adhere to the geological expert advice especially in construction," Kijuu noted

An earthquake, measuring at a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale, hit the Tanzania's Kagera region on Saturday. It left 17 people dead and over 200 injured, while thousands of houses were damaged.
MOMBASA, Kenya, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan prosecutors on Thursday arraigned the widow of the slain Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo in court, charged with links to an attack on a police station.

Haniya Said Saggar was arrested on Wednesday as part of investigations into the attack on Sunday by three women on a police station in the port city of Mombasa. The trio was killed by police at the scene while two officers were injured.

The Director of Public Prosecution said Saggar was directly connected in the Sunday attack.

Police say they have intercepted communication between Saggar and one of the slain women attackers, Ramla (Tasnim) Abdirahman Hussein, who was also the mastermind of the attack.

Police say the two were in communication prior to the attack and there was financial transaction between them.

"We are investigating whether she was receiving funds to support terrorism activities in the country," an unnamed senior investigation officer told Xinhua in Mombasa.

State prosecutor Eugene Wangila said Saggar was allegedly involved in a wide terrorism network, adding that they were trying to complete the investigation within two weeks before she can stand trial.

Mombasa Resident Magistrate Emmanuel Mutunga directed that the accused be remanded in police custody until Friday.

Saggar's husband Rogo was gunned down in the coastal region in 2012 when he was facing charges of weapons possession and being a recruiter for the Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.

Saggar's arrest brings to four the number of women detained over the weekend attack.

The court on Wednesday directed three Somali women refugees suspected of habouring the three assailants in Mombasa to undergo health and psychiatric examinations. Defence lawyers, Ababukar Yussuf and Chacha Mwita, have however dismissed the application, terming it as baseless and infringement of their clients' fundamental rights.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Sunday attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on Al-Shabaab, which has staged several bloody attacks in Kenya in recent years.
DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities on Thursday appealed for the release of eight drivers kidnapped on Wednesday by rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The rebels known as Mai Mai on Wednesday burnt to ashes eight trucks from Tanzania and four others from Kenya, and kidnapped all drivers demanding a ransom of 4,000 U.S. dollars from each driver.

Reports said the armed rebels kidnapped the drivers at Namoya in Kivu province in the DRC.

Mindi Kasiga, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the governments of Tanzania and DRC were doing all they could to ensure that the drivers were released alive and returned to Tanzania.

She said reports from DRC indicated that the hostages were being held in a forest where they were being threatened to be killed if the money was not released within 24 hours.

She said two of the kidnapped drivers managed to escape and they were helping the Tanzanian government to get all details of the kidnap.

She also urged Tanzanians to study the situation of countries that they intended to travel to for businesses to avoid finding themselves in difficult situations like what has happened in the DRC.

Mai Mai rebels are armed forces based in North Kivu and South Kivu bordering Rwanda. They are led by warlords and supported by traditional tribal elders and village leaders.

Last year, eight Tanzanian Muslim clerics were kidnapped in the DRC and were later rescued following joint efforts by the governments of Tanzania and DRC.
DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania has released 4 million U.S. dollars for importation of vaccines for infants to offset shortages in the country, a senior official said on Thursday.

Ummy Mwalimu, Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Children and the Elderly, said the Treasury has already released the money for the importation of the vaccines that will last for six months.

"The money is part of 8 million dollars annual budget that the government allocates into vaccines for infants," she told a news conference in the country's political capital Dodoma.

The minister said Tanzania has had a shortage of three of the seven vital vaccines for infants during the past few weeks, forcing the government to act promptly.

She mentioned the vaccines, which were in short supply, as Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), oral polio vaccine (OPV) and Tetanus Toxid (TT).

BCG is primarily used to prevent the infants from contracting tuberculosis while OPV and TT are used to prevent poliomyelitis and tetanus, respectively.

Mwalimu said the government has already ordered for the vaccines through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and that it expected to receive a consignment of million doses of BCG on Sept. 28.

She added that the government will receive 2 million doses of polio vaccines on Sept. 19 while some 1.24 million doses of tetanus will be received on Sept. 26.
TEHRAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sweden is seeking active presence in Iran's information and communications technology (ICT) market, Swedish Minister of Housing and Digital Development Peter Eriksson said here on Thursday.

Eriksson said Swedish investors are ready to participate in different sectors in Iran, particularly the ICT industries.

The remarks came at his meeting with Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.

Vaezi said Iran welcomes Swedish investments along with the transfer of digital technologies to the Islamic republic.

Iranian scientists are ready to cooperate with their Swedish counterparts to promote the ICT projects in the country, he said.

Iran's state and private sectors plan to invest an equivalent of 16 billion euros (17.86 billion U.S. dollars) in ICT in the next five years, the minister said.

One fourth of the investment would come from the government, with the rest from the private sectors, he said.

Iran encourages and facilitates foreign investment in ICT, he added.
A pastry displays the moon cake after baking at a Chinese restaurant in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 14, 2016. Moon cake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

by Xinhua Writer Wang Xue

CAIRO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- For Song Lina, a Chinese mother of a six-year-old boy and owner of a popular restaurant in Cairo, capital of Egypt, the Mid-Autumn Festival has "a special meaning" this year as traditional mooncakes are served for the first time at her restaurant.

Waking up in the early morning, she has been busy all day preparing this special Chinese dessert, mooncakes, for the traditional festival of get-togetherness.

Falling this year on Sept. 15, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls yearly on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar when the moon is full, as a special occasion for family reunion.

The joyful festival is celebrated with family dinner gatherings under the fullest and brightest moonlight while sweet homemade mooncakes stuffed with different kinds of nuts are served.

"I have been in Egypt for 11 years," Song told Xinhua, adding that "the Mid-Autumn Festival always recalls my childhood memories, when I spent the evening with family and ate the nut-stuffed mooncakes, so this year I've decided to make the dessert myself to serve my Chinese customers here."

Taking a pallet of hot and savory mooncakes out of the oven, the lady said that she bought all the ingredients from the Egyptian local markets and that every single piece was baked by her own family "with the best wishes."

"Surprisingly, I have sold thousands of those mooncakes till now and the dessert has not only been welcomed by Chinese customers but also popular among Egyptians as well," Song added excitedly.

Pastry cooks make moon cakes at a Chinese restaurant in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 14, 2016. Moon cake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

At Song's Ruyi Fang restaurant in Cairo's Maadi district, Nada Tarek, an Egyptian girl, came to buy mooncakes. The girl turned out to be a student of Cairo University majoring in Chinese language.

Tarek told Xinhua that she learned in class about the Mid-Autumn Festival and she was really curious about the mooncakes, so she came to buy some to share with friends during the traditional Chinese reunion occasion.

"Stuffed with nuts and dried fruits, the dessert really looks nice and tastes good," the young woman said after taking a bite of a mooncake.

"Similar to the Chinese culture, we Egyptians also value our families, so I hope all the Chinese people living in Egypt feel at home," she said.

For Han Peng, a Chinese young man who works at the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, spending the festival away from home makes him work harder.

"The growing Chinese-Egyptian relations urged more Chinese youth including myself to come to Egypt in search for opportunities, and the projects supported by both governments really give young people a large space for career development," Han told Xinhua.

"I really miss home," the young man continued, explaining that he has been in Egypt for about two years and a half and his Chinese Tianjin TEDA company will organize a dinner gathering for its entire Chinese staff in Egypt for the traditional festival.

"A dinner party and mooncakes will make everybody happy and forget about homesickness," he said with a smile.

As the pleasant full-moon evening was approaching, Song was still busy chopping, boiling, steaming and grilling the food at her restaurant whose little yard smelt just like a Chinese mom's kitchen.

"Besides mooncakes, we also serve typical Chinese cuisine, such as smoked chicken, fried shrimps and Chinese lamb chops. This festival is about sharing and reunion and I really hope my costumers will spend a nice evening in my kingdom," Song said, referring to her restaurant.

"With mooncakes for the first time in my restaurant, this year's festival is really more like a traditional one," she told Xinhua.
TEHRAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Russia are working on opening a joint bank in a move to help strengthen their currencies and boost their mutual trade, Bahram Amirahmadiyan of the Russia-Iran Friendship Society said on Thursday.

"Currently, there is no Russian bank in Iran, and the Russian currency is not very well known on Iran's market," Amirahmadiyan was quoted as saying by Press TV.

"Also, opening Russian banks in Iran will lead to more currency operations and the strengthening of Russian ruble," he said.

The same holds true for Iranian rial in Russia, he said, adding that "that's why we are waiting impatiently for this initiative to go ahead."

The idea of establishing joint Iran-Russia bank was put forward in October 2014, when head of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi said that Iran and Russia were planning to establish a joint bank to multiply bilateral trade and bypass sanctions against the Islamic republic's banking sector.

The establishment of possible Iran-Russia bank would open a new chapter in bilateral trade relations that could break the domination of Western currencies over bilateral financial exchanges, Asgaroladi said.

On Monday, Amirahmadiyan said that Iranian and Russian traders prefer to carry out their trade operations in their national currencies, which can also widen and improve economic cooperation between the two countries.

"At the moment, all banking operations between Russia and Iran are carried out in U.S. dollars or euros. It's very inconvenient, because all these operations are controlled either by the EU or the U.S. central banks," he said.

"Also, the key problem in the way of increasing the volume of trade between the two countries is the lack of a single joint banking mechanism. The Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce is actively working on opening a joint Russian-Iranian bank," Amirahmadiyan was quoted as saying.
China's space lab Tiangong-2 roars into the air on the back of a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Sept. 15, 2016. (Xinhua Photo)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday took "another significant step" towards building a manned space station around 2020 with the successful launch of its second experimental space laboratory, U.S. space experts said.

"The launch of Tiangong-2 demonstrates China remains committed to human spaceflight and to the goal of building a space station in low earth orbit," Gregory Kulacki, senior analyst and China project manager at the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, told Xinhua.

"The launch ... will help the Chinese space program further develop the technological capability to achieve that goal in the not too distant future," Kulacki said.

Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, the first Chinese-American to be commander of the International Space Station, hailed Tiangong-2 as "another significant step" for China's human spaceflight program.

"I understand that Tiangong-2 is more advanced than Tiangong-1, and that the next crew (to be launched in October) will stay there for a month," said Chiao, also the first Chinese-American to perform a spacewalk.

"I anticipate that Tiangong-2 will test more advanced life support systems, as well as cargo ship docking and station refueling. This will set the stage for the launch of China's core space station module in 2018."

Chiao, who has visited China's space centers over the years, was impressed with the advances China has made, and revealed he has "good relationships" with several of the Chinese national astronauts.

"China is moving in a very deliberate and orderly fashion to advance their space capability," he said. "I think the technology is good, and they are moving to get more operational experience through Tiangong-2, before the beginning of space station construction."

Both Kulacki and Chiao highlighted the importance of international cooperation in space exploration.

"It is encouraging that China intends to solicit international participation in its space station project," Kulacki said.

"And my hope is that the United States and China will, at an appropriate time in the future, find a way to cooperate in the peaceful exploration of space instead of competing to turn it into a battlefield."

What Kulacki was referring to was a prohibition introduced in 2011 by the U.S. Congress that banned NASA, the country's space agency, from almost all direct interactions with China.

China was also barred from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to objections from the United States.

Chiao stressed that international cooperation on human spaceflight is a common point of interest that helps improve overall relationships.

"The International Space Station is a great example of that," he said. "Many nations came together to build the amazing facility, and we are working together to further science. This helps to improve overall relations between the member countries."
BAGHDAD, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and 13 others wounded on Thursday in two bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua.

A roadside bomb ripped through a marketplace in Shaab district in northeastern Baghdad, leaving two people killed and five wounded, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, eight people were wounded in another roadside bomb blast at a crowded park in al-Madain suburb in southeastern Baghdad, the source said.

The attack occurred at the park where dozens of families were gathering to relax and enjoy the holiday of the religious festival, or Eid al-Adha.

The four-day annual festival of Eid al-Adha is also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the spiritual peak of the annual pilgrimage or Hajj in Arabic, when pilgrims on Sunday descend from the hill of Arafat to the nearby holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for most of the suicide attacks targeting areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 691 Iraqis and wounded 1,016 others in August across Iraq, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S. that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.
NAKHON SAWAN, Thailand, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Colored lights decorated dragon swam among crowds in a shrine, a young woman in goddess costume offered incenses to the moon... This is the unique way that people in Nakhon Sawan of Thailand celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival on Thursday night.

Nakhon Sawan, which is over 200 km north of the capital Bangkok, is a province famous for its dragon dance culture as it is home to many people of Chinese descent.

The local dragon team decorated their dragons with colored lights, which make the dragon showed in the Chao Por Chao Mae Na Pha Shrine shrine brilliantly, especially when it went indoors.

The traditional style shrine itself is decorated with purple lights.

"We added fashionable lights here to combine with the traditional rituals, which make this year's celebration quite special." Said Thanakom Jongjira, governor of the Nakhon Sawan province.

In the meantime, 16-year old Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul dressed like Guanyin, an East Asian bodhisattva or known as the "Goddess of Mercy", made her debut and offered incenses to the goddess statue and to the moon, which is a custom followed by many Thais of Chinese descent during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Tassayaporn was selected to play Guanyin during the festival and also in the coming Spring Festival earlier 2017 by a local cultural committee.

Only well-behaved local women who are under 20 years old can attend the contest, while 20 women, from 16 to 20, attended it this year.

According to Meng, a member of the committee, Selecting a young woman to play Guanyin is a local custom that has been passed down through generations.

"People used to arrange someone's daughter to be Guanyin before, but since the local community gets bigger and bigger, there has to be a contest to make it fair for all." Men said.

These actives attracted many people to join in the celebration and take pictures and selfies with the dragon and the Guanyin.

"I feel a sense of belonging here, as I came to the celebration of this kind since a young age," said Nitiruj Jittichaiyawong, " I am proud of my hometown as these traditions have been passed down through generations and I want our children and grandchildren to keep them as well."
HAVANA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cuba is set to host the first regional meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Zika as its experiences in preventing the virus are an important reference for the continent, said the PAHO representative in the island, Cristian Morales, on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, Morales said Havana will host the first PAHO meeting on Zika on Oct. 20-21, in order to address regional challenges regarding this virus with experts and health authorities from across the Americas.

"Cuba's response to this outbreak is an example for many nations of the region. Its capacity to battle Zika with different health and government strategies is very important for the organization as an effective way of dealing with this widespread virus," he added.

Morales highlighted the island's leadership in international PAHO forums regarding a virus that has caused "tension" in different public health systems throughout the Americas.

The event will be chaired by PAHO director, Clarissa Etienne, while envoys from of all member nations, including the United States, will participate in the meeting along with over 40 international experts and researchers on Zika.

Alberto Duran, the national epidemiology director at the Ministry of Public Health, said only 33 cases of Zika have been detected in the nation, one of the lowest rates in the continent.

"We continue to carry out strategies to prevent the spreading of Zika or any other virus transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito such as dengue, yellow fever or chikungunya," said Duran.

Earlier this year, President Raul Castro ordered a nationwide campaign to prevent the virus from coming into the island, deploying 9,000 active soldiers to carry out fumigation duties.

According to Duran, no cases of dengue or Zika have been reported in Cuba since July.
Gopee-Scoon: Govt to pursue Cuban market

The Cuban market is of particular interest. Many of you will join me as we participate in the 2016 Havana International Fair (FIHAV) which takes place next month. We are actively seeking to ensure the establishment of a line of credit to support our countrys exports to Cuba. Gopee-Scoon was speaking at the launch of the Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) 2017 yesterday (Wednesday) at the House of Angostura, Eastern Main Road, Laventille.

Referring to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowleys address to the nation last Sunday (September 11), in which he said it is about seizing opportunities and creating a more acceptable and sustained standard of living for all, Gopee-Scoon declared that TIC 2017 presents a perfect platform to do so.

TIC 2017 will be held from July 6 to 9, 2017 at the Centre Of Excellence, Macoya. Registration information can be found at http:// ttma.com/tic/ These types of conventions are very relevant in todays economic climate and particularly for our country, as we seek to increase revenues from the non-energy sector...

I wish to reaffirm the (Governments) commitment...to assisting manufacturers to penetrate new markets; beyond CARICOM, via implementation of a national export strategy, trade facilitation, negotiation of market access, trade diplomacy and Government to Government arrangements. The Trade Minister argued that while external factors are largely outside of our control, a lot can be done to strengthen TTs capabilities.

TT must become known for its world class products. We must focus on standards and the production of zero-defect products.

We must work together to make the Trinidad and Tobago brand synonymous with quality and reliability, she said.

The TIC is a production of the TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA), whose President, Dr Rolph Balgobin, said the theme of the upcoming 18th edition of TIC is From TT to the World and the experience that is TIC epitomises this philosophy.

TIC is not just about finding customers, but also about finding investors and helping to match capital with opportunities...

TIC2016 attracted over 300 international buyers and with over 10,000 business attendees over the four-day period. In the past 17 years the TIC has facilitated over $600 million in trade and fostered lucrative business connections, Balgobin stated.
Business groups slam Govt, Opposition on Fatca

The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago said TT is on the brink of being demoted to the periphery of the global financial system, largely due to inaction on the part of politicians on both sides of the political divide. The former Government had ample opportunity to pass this legislation during its tenure, and the current Government has also had more than a year to ensure that this important piece of legislation was properly vetted, reviewed and passed. While AmCham was mindful of limited, if any, consultation with stakeholders, it says there is still enough time to complete deliberations and ensure passage of the Bill before September 30.

The foregoing is critical since there has as yet been no indication that an extension of time is being contemplated by the US Government. AmCham was referring to Finance Minister Colm Imberts stated intention to formally request an extension of the deadline from US authorities, to ensure TT has enough time to pass and enact the relevant legislation.

Non-compliance with FATCA has wide-reaching consequences, including the possible implementation of a 30 percent withholding tax on business with US banks and the loss of correspondent banking relationships.

AmCham noted that the latter could, in turn, lead to difficulties in conducting credit card transactions and wire transfers, among other things. The TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Chamber) also expressed deep concern about the matter yesterday, saying while it appreciates stringent scrutiny of the Bill it was wholly dissatisfied that Government now has to seek an extension.

Meanwhile the Bankers Association of TT (BATT) explained that the Bill provides the framework for financial institutions to comply with both FATCA and TT law, by reporting to the Board of Inland Revenue on the personal and financial information of US persons who are subject to US tax laws.
Tourism business data survey underway

Launched last Wednesday, the Business Data Survey of the ministrys data collection initiative is being conducted by tourism enumerators.

The Tourism Baseline Survey project, launched this past Jan uary, is a key part of the ministrys efforts to establish primary indicators to determine the overall performance of the tourism sector and the impact of Ministrys policies and programmes.

The business data collection exercise is expected to be completed within three months and is being implemented through the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Ministry of Tourism.

Noting that statistics play a critical role in informing its decision- making processes, the ministry said, We are increasingly called upon to make policy choices on the basis of sound evidence.

In this regard, the provision of timely, accurate and consistent statistical facts, enable us to manage the local tourism sector more prudently. During her meeting with the enumerators, Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe emphasised the importance of establishing a database of key tourism statistics for various segments of the industry.

The minister also said, The intent of the Ministry of Tourism is to ensure better planning and development of tourism policies and programs that are evidenced- based and established on market intelligence information.

Regarding the actual collection of business data, Cudjoe thanked the primary stakeholders in accommodation, ground transport, tours and sightseeing and restaurants for their ongoing contribution to the development of the tourism sector.

One important outcome of the overall project is the formation of specific tourism business development policies and programs to increase/improve entrepreneurship within the tourism sector and to encourage stakeholders to share their expertise and knowledge with the ministry during the process, Cudjoe stated.

The minister commended the young persons who were specially trained as enumerators to conduct face to face interviews with the stakeholders, thanking them for their interest and passion in assisting the tourism sector to reach its full potential.
Petrotrin looks to Ghana for oil BOST

On August 23, 2016, Petrotrins President, Fitzroy Harewood, met with Chairman of Ghanas Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), Ernest Benjamin Essamuah; and Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR)/BOST, Kwame Awuah-Darko.

This meeting, and a tour of Petrotrins Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, took place during the same week (August 21 to 26) that BOST/ TOR met with senior officials from another state-owned enterprise - the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC).

This visit was a follow-up to Rowleys official visit to the West African nation of Ghana during which, on May 9, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the TT and Ghanaian governments.

NGC and BOST subsequently signed their own MOU in Port-of- Spain on August 24, which will see NGC use its gas and gas pipeline expertise to the mutual benefit of NGC/TT and BOST/Ghana.

However, Petrotrin and BOST are still in discussions about signing their own MOU, but focused on oil; Ghana has two major oil fields, the second of which was commissioned on August 18.

Business Day sought further details on this development from Petrotrins Senior Manager, Strategy and Business Development, Imtiaz Ali.

Responding via email, Ali said BOST was given a tour of the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery. BOST is responsible for the operations of the TEMA refinery in Ghana and are contemplating some upgrade works.

Regarding the MOU discussions, he told Business Day, Possible areas of cooperation include technical assistance, supply of crude and purchase of refined products including swaps of crude for products.

Ali also said Petrotrin is very likely to sign an MOU with BOST but could not say how soon this might take place.

Asked about which aspects of Ghanas emerging oil sector Petrotrin would be most interested in, Ali replied, At this time Petrotrin would be looking for opportunities for crude supply from Ghana and sale of refined products to Ghana.

As reported in the September 1, 2016 Business Day article NGC: Internationalising business, the oil produced in Ghana is exported without ever reaching the shores of Ghana, using a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

This means Ghana sees little benefit other than the revenues that come back to the country through the monetisation of its oil.

With this in mind, Business Day asked if Petrotrin was considering lending its expertise to establishing onshore refineries in Ghana.

Yes, if requested, Ali responded.

While talks are more advanced between NGC and BOST, with a return visit by NGC officials to Ghana likely in the coming months, Petrotrin must first sign an MOU before any official visits are up for consideration.

We will sign-off on the MOU and take a more detailed look at opportunities. If it is warranted, we may decide to send teams, Ali said.

Business Day also asked if by the sale of refined products to Ghana, Petrotrin was referring to crude oil shipped from that country to Trinidad or from oil Petrotrin acquires otherwise.

Ali stated that the sale of products will be from Petrotrins overall product pool.

NGCs Ghana/BOST plans are surely welcome news to stakeholders, especially in light of what Rowley described as persistent shortages in natural gas supplies to Point Lisas, which have resulted in sustained losses to some of the businesses there and significant curtailment in revenues to the Government.

Similarly, one expects that Petrotrins discussions with BOST about being welcomed but even more so because of the potential revenue earnings, as Government intervenes to restructure the companys $20 billion debt, which becomes due shortly, and to reorganise the company, as announced by Rowley during his address to the nation last Sunday (September 11).

The PM also said, Government intends to sit down with the OWTU to engage in deep and far reaching discussions on the way forward for Petrotrin and Trinmar.

It remains to be seen how Petrotrin will be re-structured but one expects that this will include further talks with BOST/Ghana.
Chamber calls for changes to labour legislative framework

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce has taken up the call and has been very proactive and vocal in advocating for modernisation of the labour legislative framework. So said its president, Robert Trestrail in his most recent editorial in the Chambers Contact magazine.

He said a Joint Chamber Grouping made up of the Energy Chamber, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries and the Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce, has been meeting with the Ministry of Labour in consultation and dialogue as part of the national tripartite effort to share their views on the need for change, the approach to change and the substantive content of the changes and their implications for business and employment relations.

Trestrail added that the Joint Grouping continue to participate in these consultations in good faith although we have expressed concern regarding not being privy to the contents of the pre-election Memorandum of Understanding between the Labour Movement and the Peoples National Movement (PNM).

The Chambers president said he understood that it remained a priority for employers to treat with the underlying cause of dysfunctional labour relations, including legislation, education, communication and trust.

Our goal is not to put a plaster on a sore, nor are we aiming for a superficial quick fix in the labour environment. We will however to strategically use the tripartite conversations, members workshops and other communication avenues with our members, to encourage positive changes in employment relationships and culture in our society, said Trestrail.

He also said flexibility, productivity and a decent work environment were key ingredients in pursuit of our national watchwords  Discipline, Production, and Tolerance.

In his editorial he said the change in government last year coincided with steep energy prices decline, foreign exchange shortfalls, business closures, downsizing and consequent retrenchment. The labour movement, as expected, took a strong stand to shelter workers from this perfect economic storm.

The Chambers president said, We believe that as a business community and as a nation we ought to take the current circumstances as a golden opportunity to act for the greater and more sustainable good for all of Trinidad and Tobago.

In the Chambers mission as put by the president, he reminded all that it is the Chambers role to be the champion of business in the development of a strong and sustainable national economy, and that is why the business group has always focused on promoting the development, competitiveness and sustainability of local business.

Trestrail said, There is danger in having a visceral reaction to the current economic circumstances in which we, as a Nation, find ourselves.
Quality can stand with rest of world says chocolate maker

Business Day was able to sample one of the companys products, its 65 per cent cocoa content chocolate bar. Immediately you can tell this is not your average bar. The aroma is immediately stronger, heady. The taste is reminiscent of a darker chocolate, less sweet. Under the brand name, House of Arendel, the company also produces a 72 per cent cocoa content bar, along with varieties of its chocolate containing inclusions of pineapple, fudge and guava. Trotman said experiments are currently taking place with a passion fruit flavoured chocolate. There is also drinking chocolate and cocoa nibs,

We have a cocoa bean that is rich and there are things that we can say and express that people from other countries cannot, said the chocolate maker.

But creating chocolate was not Trotmans first thought. When he bought his plantation in 1998, there were already other fruit crops and spices growing there along with the cocoa and Trotman was initially only interested in growing short crops, particularly hot peppers. Producing chocolate was the outgrowth of a process of experimentation and early on, he decided that the company he runs with his wife and four children would do chocolate differently. Not only would their approach be artisanal and sensitive to the environment, but the philosophy behind it would be to create added value through exploring the bean as Trotman puts it.

He explained his philosophy further in terms of the Caribbeans history.

In the Caribbean, we so often think of ourselves as consumers in the 90s and 2000s. In the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, we very much saw ourselves as producers. We thought that we could have changed the world, that we could have made an impact that our ideas mattered, that we were people who could have global impact despite our size. We have in a sense become consumers. We are consumers of culture. We are consumers of other peoples products. We are consumers of ideas and we are not seeking to produce as much.

Trotman said he wanted his company to be a producer, creating high quality chocolate and cocoa taste sensations that could compete with any other product around the world as opposed to being content to imitate what was already out there.

Only when we are creative, only when we are innovative that value is created and the products become desirable, said the chocolate maker

He said part of the challenge of creating an artisan brand of cocoa was getting people to understand the companys value proposition.

You cannot sell people something that they do not value, he said.

Again, through experimentation, Trotman told Business Day that the company found that its customers valued a local product which was made at international standards and was customisable.

Commenting on moves to revitalise the cocoa industry, Trotman said while the initiative was laudable, several realities had to be considered.

What do we mean by revitalise? When you look at numbers, our land mass means that we will be a niche player. Very often, people refer to a time in the early 1900s when Trinidad was the third largest producer of cocoa. As it is now, there are countries with significantly more land mass than us involved in cocoa. Our land mass dictates that even if we became super-efficient, our output by volume will always be niche. So I would define revitalisation, not just in terms of getting the amount of cocoa produced but we have to look at quality as well. We produce one of the best cocoas in the world and we have to hold on to that.

The overall trend of cocoa farms becoming less productive over the years while their owners grow older also had to be reversed Trotman said. This would mean getting younger people involved in the cocoa industry and this was likely to be hard if they could not see a way to support a lifestyle that met their families needs and also allowed them to turn a profit.

We would have to solve the problem of fixed farm income. Part of this would be to generate more revenue locally for the bean, said the chocolate maker. Once revenue is generated and that value is added, we then need to solve the problem of properly compensating everyone along the value chain. This would allow farmers to produce quality product while at the same time encouraging youth to become involved as a business enterprise.

The chocolate maker also spoke about unique problems he encountered as a manufacturer both in Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago, particularly with regional travel, which he found to be prohibitively expensive. He noted that in Europe, travel between larger distances was available at a fraction of the cost.

The House of Arendel brand is available at the Shop at Normandie, Herb and Health at Gulf City Mall, Fresh in Maraval and the National Trust on Sackville Street.
Waste management  we all have a part to play

Organisations are increasingly looking at their business practices; their operations, products and services. Not only do they receive numerous calls for change from organisations such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, or groups of eco-warriors, but also from the United Nations, CARICOM, the European Union, to name a few. Recognition that our current way of life poses a threat to us and our planet has led to global agreements on action to prevent future environmental damage. Such agreements include the Montreal Protocol, the Rio Declaration, and the Kyoto Protocol.

Environmental risks cannot be ignored, they are now as much a part of running a successful business as product design, marketing, and sound financial management. Poor environmental behaviour will have an impact on the business and its finances. Punishment includes fines, increased liability to environmental taxes, loss in value of land, destruction of brand values, loss of sales, consumer boycotts, an inability to secure finance, loss of insurance cover, contingent liabilities, law suits, and damage to corporate image.

Accounting is affected by environmental pressures on the business. Initially, there are pressures felt in external reporting, but environmental issues cannot be dealt with solely through this disclosure. Environmental issues need to be managed before they can be reported on and this requires changes to management accounting systems.

Many businesses overestimate the cost and underestimate the benefits of improving environmental practices. Management accounting techniques can distort and misrepresent environmental issues, leading to managers making decisions that are bad for businesses and bad for the environment.

This leads to a failure to enhance customer value, while increasing the risk profile of investments and other decisions with long-term consequences.

For management accounting to contribute to improving the environmental performance of organisations it has to change. Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) is an attempt to integrate best management accounting thinking and practice with best environmental management thinking and practice.

Businesses in the Caribbean have had to adjust to government polices to address environmental concerns. In a bid to continue to position itself as one of the worlds most green-focused countries, Guyana banned the importation and use of Styrofoam earlier this year. Styrofoam waste makes up about 2-5 per cent of the waste stream in Guyana, primarily used in the food service industry.

Guyanas Department of Natural Resources and the Environment has already begun implementing serious measures to address waste management and promote biodegradable materials.

Most recently, cosmetics giants have been in the spotlight as governments in the US and UK move towards banning the use of microbeads in their products. Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic that have been used to remove dry cells from the surface of skin. However, studies have found that they are tiny enough to pass through water filtration plants and therefore end up in lakes and rivers. This contributes to the growing amount of plastic waste in the ocean that is entering the food chain and harming fish and other marine life.

With mounting criticism of their uses in their products, many brands have begun phasing out their use in response despite an official ban not being in place (yet). LOr?al has said it will be looking for natural alternatives (for example mineral particles, fruit seeds) that can provide the same effectiveness and safety as before which of course will impact on their product innovations.

The pursuit of environmental quality management via the development of an Environmental Management System (EMS) can only be achieved if environmental audit is a concomitant feature of such a system. In this respect the organisation becomes self-regulating and the undertaking of environmental audits on a regular basis provides the platform for organisations to adopt a self-critical and analytical posture as part of their routine organisational management processes. Organisations should be striving to achieve an integrated environmental strategy underpinned by the same type of culture that is required for the successful operation of a programme of total quality management (TQM).

EMS and TQM share the focus upon continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence. Such organisations pursue objectives that may include zero complaints, zero spills, zero pollution, zero waste and zero accidents. Information systems need to be able to support such environmental objectives via the provision of feedback - on the success or otherwise - of the organisational efforts in achieving such objectives. This approach to environmental quality management requires the development of environmental performance measures and indicators that will enable a comprehensive review of environmental performance to be undertaken. Many - if not all - total quality management accounting techniques can be modified and effectively adopted to help manage environmental issues.
What gives?

The external stakeholders may include existing and potential clients. The provision of gifts to such clients requires the gift giver to take a number of areas into consideration, including:

 The reason for giving the gift;

 The nature of the relationship with the client;

 The budget allocated to the procurement of the corporate gift;

 Is it a potential client or existing client?

 Are there any special considerations to take into account in the procurement of the gift? This includes the clients religious beliefs, customs, background, and any other consideration that may add to the distract from the value of the gift;

 What is the gift policy of the person or organization receiving the gift? Many organizations, have existing gift giving and receiving policies that present stated guidelines in terms of the nature of the gift, cost prohibitions, and other areas for consideration. Such policies also exist internationally, and adequate research must be undertaken prior to undertaking same. For example, in some countries, like Singapore, government employees are strictly forbidden to accept corporate gifts. Essentially, the important element is to research the country and customs before procuring and presenting a corporate gift.

 If giving the gift to an International client, more detailed research and planning needs to be undertaken. It is important to understand the cultural background, customs and traditions of the corporate client, so that you do not create unintentional offense. Understanding International taboos related to gift giving is a useful place to start off your research. For example, if you are presenting a gift to a potential client from China, a clock should not be presented as in Mandarin Chinese, the word for clock is zhong. The pronunciation is the same as another Chinese word, written differently, that can mean death or the end or finish of something or to arrange for the burial of deceased parents or an elder. Other items that are associated with funerals are: straw sandals, white candles and joss sticks (incense). Avoid these gifts if possible. Similarly, in some Latin American Countries, giving a gift that looks like a knife, should not be offered as it may be considered as severing the relationship.

 The use of corporate logos is an essential consideration with the presentation of the corporate gift. It is advisable to use the corporate brand with discretion, as the brand is an extension of the organization and should be treated with a level of discernment, as such, logo gifts should be of good quality and standard. This ties in to the reason for giving the gift, as you would not wish for your gift to be construed as merely an extension of a corporate advertisement.

 When receiving a gift, one should always attempt to accept the gift gracefully, with both hands, if the presenter of the gift is before you. If you have received the gift by delivery, it is a good gesture to call to confirm the receipt of the gift, and to thank the sender. It is important that you also understand your own corporate guidelines pertaining to gift giving and receiving to guide your management of the process. If the gift received is beyond the organizations code for acceptance, it is your responsibility to refuse the gift graciously with an attendant note as to why the gift may not be accepted.

Nicole Dyer Griffith is trained and certified with the European School of Protocol, and can be contacted at 221- 0199 or ndgccmarketing@outlook.com.
Not another mis-step

As of March 2015, more than 90 countries including Trinidad and Tobago gave a commitment in principle to the automated exchange of tax information. In fact our country appears to have given the undertaking of first exchanges by 2017. What is the Global Forum and why should we be concerned?

Tax evasion and the need for effective international cooperation have been placed as an important item on the political agenda in the last decade or more. Indeed, the G20 countries have given this a lot of attention. While admittedly the international community has made progress against tax fraud and evasion, it was considered necessary to guarantee that the progress which was made thus far lead to full transparency and effective exchange of information for tax purposes. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes founded in 2000 and restructured in September 2009 included non-OECD economies, is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation of the standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. These standards are mainly revealed in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004, which has been incorporated in the UN Model Tax Convention. It addresses tax evasion, tax havens, offshore financial centres, tax information exchange agreements, double taxation and money laundering. The forum works under the auspices of the OECD and G20. In 2000 it had published a blacklist of 35 tax havens, but by 2009 the list had shrunk to zero. In September 2009 to make it a more effective and open body and it was mandated to put in place a robust and in-depth peer review mechanism. The aim is to safeguard the commitments jurisdictions made and to respond in particular to the G20 call for rapid and effective implementation of the standards of transparency and exchange of information.

All members of the Global Forum as well as jurisdictions pertinent to the effort of the forum are reviewed which is embarked on in two phases. During Phase 1 reviews, evaluation of the quality of a jurisdictions legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information. In Phase 2 reviews, each essential element is rated as compliant, largely compliant, partially compliant, or non-compliant. In addition, a jurisdiction that has completed both Phase 1 and Phase 2 reviews is given an overall rating, judging the general level of compliance with the standard.

Given the serious nature of the work and the backing both of the G20 and OECD failure to conform is not viewed as a choice. Although the Forum has no ability to levy sanctions retaliation by individual countries or grouping of counties certainly is possible if a country is considered not to be cooperating with, not having the legal framework in place (a la FATCA), providing information, or has been given a non-compliant rating after review. Let us learn the lessons from FATCA and address our international commitments to being ready for Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and all other international commitments. Let us debate the issues and ensure that our peoples interest is firmly secured and not rush to pass legislation at the last minute. What really are our representatives doing?
The price of ageing

This piece of information is important since it signals that Trinidad and Tobago was, since then, one of those countries that fall within the developing world that possesses an ageing population. Data from the CSO for 2011 placed the elderly population of Trinidad and Tobago at 13 percent or 177,676 persons over the age of 60, with 9% over the age of 65. The UN World Population Prospects (2008) forecasts that the percentage of persons in Trinidad and Tobago, aged 60 and over, is projected to be 17.7% in 2025, and that percentage is expected to grow to 30.1% in 2050.

The international community, recognizing the importance of addressing the issue of ageing, did so in the following manner. The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing was the framework established by the international community in 2002, as a blueprint for national responses to ageing populations. This was followed in 2007, by the countries that agreed to the Madrid plan the adoption of the Brasilia Declaration, which reaffirmed the commitment of member States to spare no efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all older persons, work towards the eradication of all forms of discrimination and violence and creating safety nets for older persons to exercise their rights. A third meeting was then held in San Jose Costa Rico in 2012. The main objective of that meeting was to appraise the measures that governments had put in place towards their commitment to the Brasilia Declaration and the Madrid Plan of Action. The question is: what have we done to implement the recommendations?

There are issues of affordable health care, protection from abuse, the loneliness experienced by too many old people, and the need for accessible, interesting programmes to encourage healthy, active ageing. There are implications for funding old age pensions, which are of importance to the future viability of the National Insurance Board. There are also changing medical and service requirements that we must address.

In 2012 we had a National Ageing Policy which spelt out 11 objectives, including the availability of reliable safe and accessible scheduled transport for seniors; the availability of housing that is affordable, safe and accessible; access to affordable health care and to recreational facilities; more meaningful participation of the elderly, and the preservation of dignity and independence.

These are all laudable, but one wonders, set against the backdrop of a significant fall in government revenues, if the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services will be given priority. It appears that the signal has been sent, this idea of meaningful participation and dignity and independence of the elderly will be sacrificed for the greater good of the young. The recent decision to stop Gate to the citizens over 50 who have paid taxes for their most of their lives was loud, clear and unilateral.

The economic value of the collective group of over 50s appears not to be appreciated or given much prominence, Notwithstanding the existence of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, former Central Bank Governor, Ewart Williams, and other banking officials, economists and national planners including Gerry Hospedales, Dr Terrence Farrell, Dr Karl Theodore, Ken Julian and so many of our senior citizens who contribute yeoman service to our country. Have they disregarded the needs of the very grouping they belong? We need to be reminded that we need to link changes in consumer demand that occurs with an ageing population including increased demand for relevant health care and services, goods that address the needs of the aged, as part of new non-energy investment thrust that can provide increasing returns as this age cohort increases in size.

It is incumbent on us to develop a national plan that seizes on the potential backward and forward linkages. Government incentives, foresight and direct involvement are needed now and can provide the first mover example that in many respects our private sector needs to get more involved. Admittedly, some work has started but much more is required. In this regard, the use of independent assessment of policies we have and are implementing could assist us to be more effective and efficient. We should not wait, as we did with FATCA, until the last minute to plan, engage, discuss and implement. The budget is a good place to send the right signals that our citizens lives, those who have served us for all their lives, should be treated with respect and dignity. After all we all will someday complete the circle of life.
Suspect remains in custody

Persad was shot dead just as he entered his home after a day spent searching for his daughter. Police officers yesterday combed several areas in forests near to Persads house for clues. As the search was in progress, several curious villagers looked on. Shivani was found and rescued by police on Tuesday and a 25-year-old man arrested.

Police sources said that the man remains in custody, as officer continue to interrogate him.

Last week Wednesday, the teenager left for her Rio Claro East Secondary School but never returned home. Prior to her disappearance Shivanis parents were confronted by the 25-year-old man to start a relationship with the teenager.

Police said that the detained man insists he is a friend of Persads family. Relatives of the murdered man yesterday demanded justice as they called on the police to work diligently to bring charges against his killer.

Persad was described as a hard-working family man whose life revolved around his family of three children and wife Rehana Singh. Vishnu would be laid to rest today following a funeral service at the house of mourning. Police detectives from the Homicide Investigations Bureau (Region III) are continuing investigations.
SRP shot

Scipio felt a burning sensation to his back and left shoulder and alerted his colleagues via cell phone. When officers arrived on the scene they found Scipio on the ground. He was conveyed to the Port-of- Spain General Hospital where he was treated and warded in stable condition. Scipio had complained previously about threats to his life.

Yesterday Senior police officers visited Scipio at his hospital bedside.
Teen raped by HIV positive Father

According to police, at about 2.30 pm on Tuesday the teens father asked her to accompany him to a house near to her aunts home. Once inside, the placed a gun to the teens head and raped her. The teen was later taken to the district police station where a report was made. She was medically examined by a district medical officer.

The man was later arrested and remains in custody as investigations continue.

Police sources told Newsday that the man fathered a child during one of his frequent trips to Venezuela. He is also said to be a prime suspect in the thriving illegal arms and ammunition smuggling trade between both countries.

Police yesterday searched the suspects home but nothing illegal was found.

Newsday understands that the victim is expected to undergo counselling by officers of the Police Services Victim and Witness Support unit. Yesterday the victim remained at her aunts home but was making arrangements to return to Venezuela and said that she did not wish to remain in this country. It is understood that Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard will be approached on the matter and charges are expected to be laid against the 57-year-old suspect.
Budget Day Sept 30

Though not unprecedented, it is the first time in recent decades the fiscal package will be presented on a Friday. Budget Day has normally been on a Monday. While there is no fixed day for the Budget presentation in the Standing Orders, the rules do state there must be at least three clear days before the Leader of the Opposition responds. This means this is due to take place on October 6, or the Thursday after the Budget is delivered.

In coming days, Imbert is expected to report on the outcome of a tax amnesty which is due to end tomorrow. The Ministers Parliament announcement came as economic matters loomed large over yesterdays session of Prime Ministers Questions, the final for the Parliamentary session. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the outstanding 50 per cent balance in backpay owed to police officers, fire officers and prisons officers will be paid.

The balance will be paid in 2017, Rowley said in reply to a question from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. In total, the outstanding sum has been estimated to be about $2.5 billion. The Prime Minister did not comment on a previous statement by Imbert in which the possibility of allocation of state houses was raised, nor did he comment on the question of the issuing of bonds.

Also, in reply to another question, Rowley said Cabildo Chambers on St Vincent Street will in future house offices for the Parliament.

He said this plan has reduced the proposed $600 million Red House restoration budget to $295 million. Work begins on October 1 and is due to be complete in 2018. The Prime Minister also said a statement will be made on the renegotiated terms and conditions of the billion-dollar Mitsubishi plant project. Rowley accused the former Government of failing to protect taxpayers interests in relation to the Las Alturas housing project at Morvant. He said the former Government did not go after the contractor responsible for the Las Alturas project fiasco. That housing development  which has been given a price tag of about $80 million  saw no party held liable in court.

Rowley told Parliament, a former Attorney General asked the Housing Development Corporation to hold its hand on court action pending a second legal opinion on the matter. He gave no further details but said the problems at towers H and I of the project came to a head in 2012. The project has been traced back to 2002.
Police not responsible

On the contrary, Ag ASP Grant said that for this year alone, 545 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition have been removed from the hands of criminals.

He said the police can only do that which it is empowered to do and other agencies must play their part in the fight against crime.

Grant said that for 2016, the TTPS embarked on a violence reduction strategy in keeping with policies laid out in its Operational Plan 2016.

He relayed that the strategy involved the sharpening of key units responsible for the seizure of firearms, investigations into the trade as well as their prosecution.

Grant also explained that the target for the period January 1 to date, for the seizure of firearms as stipulated by the Ag Commissioner of Police, Stephen Williams, is 690. The TT Police Service has seized thus far, 545 firearms and 16,671 rounds of assorted ammunition. He said 128 revolvers, 263 pistols, 64 shotguns, eight sub machine guns, 26 rifles, eight air rifles, 40 homemade shotguns, four trap guns and other items deemed as firearms which include flare guns, were seized.

He added that 187 rounds of 12-gauge cartridges, 62 12 gauge cartridges, 807 rounds of .38, 294 rounds of .45, 244 rounds of 9mm, 1,276 rounds of 7.62, 6,654 rounds of .22, 1,516 rounds of 5.56, 14 rounds of .35, 11 rounds of .380, 33 rounds of .32, 53 rounds of .25, 230 rounds of .270 and 4,432 rounds of .40 ammunition were seized.

For the comparative period of January 1 to September 14, 2015, 450 firearms and 6,575 rounds of assorted ammunition were seized which represents a 32 percent increase with respect to firearms seized and 153.6 percent increase in ammunition seized. Information and intelligence coming to the TT Police Service is that most illegal firearms and ammunition in Trinidad and Tobago originate from the South American mainland and then North America.

Grant said the TTPS success in the removal of illegal firearms and ammunition could not have been accomplished without the cooperation and hard work of field patrol officers, divisional task forces and criminal investigation department officers. He noted that increased patrols in crime hot spots have helped to restore the publics confidence in the TTPS. Asked why more illegal firearms and ammunition have not been seized, Ag ASP Grant said the TTPS can only do its part and relies on information and intelligence received from other security agencies.

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is not responsible for our borders and our coastlines.

We rely on information and intelligence to find these firearms and ammunitions and to take them off the street, Grant said. In an address to the nation on Sunday last, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley urged the TTPS to up the ante in its fight against crime especially since billions of dollars are given to National Security (including the TTPS).

In May, Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon said that a specialised advisory team had been set up to design an appropriate framework for the proposed Border Protection Unit.

The team comprises experienced professionals in the security and management discipline, Dillon said. In addition to retired Ag CoP James Philbert, the team comprises Fitzroy John (chairman)  a retired Comptroller of Customs and Excise; Kent Moore  former Group Captain of the Air Guard and Coast Guard and Ramesh Lutchmedial Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Efforts to reach Minister Dillon for a comment yesterday proved futile.
Boat ride brawl victim gives her side

McDonald could be seen in the video, which she said did not reflect the full story, on the other woman, raining blows with a cellular phone in a Cocorite parking lot after the boat docked.

A Point Fortin woman told another newspaper that she was the one being kicked, cuffed, stomped on, and hit over the head with the cellular phone in the viral video.

Kelly-Ann Ramlal said that she suffered a fractured chest plate, swollen face, knees, head and bruises to her back, arms, chest and thighs.

Ramlal, 28, said she was also suffering blurred vision. She underwent treatment at the Point Fortin District Hospital.

Ramlal said she knew the woman who assaulted her.

McDonald, an entrepreneur, said she only retaliated after Ramlal yanked at her hair while she (McDonald) was attempting to leave the carpark for home.

She said Ramlal was speaking to her friend who was seated in her (McDonalds) car but because she was anxious to go home, she asked that they end their conversation.

She then looked to me and said, Relax yourself, you rolling in a Matrix. McDonald said she retorted and then began to drive off, but not before Ramlal came to her side of the vehicle and began yanking her hair.

I felt my hair yanked violently and I was pulled out of the vehicle by my hair. My feet got stuck in the side of the car door and it ripped my entire nail out of my toe, McDonald said.

McDonald, who also intends to pursue legal action against her aggressor, said she received a blow to her face, followed by a bite on her cheek and other parts of her body.

She said her friends came to her assistance but she and the other woman were still fighting and they fell to the ground.

McDonald said she honestly believed Ramlal to be her friend, whom she always respected.
Trini Muslims must wait

Their families in Trinidad were devastated by the news, one of the detainees told Newsday from Caracas yesterday afternoon.

We need our Governments diplomatic intervention with the Venezuelan authority to expedite this matter and come to a decision, the prisoner said adding that he and the other men are very depressed as they have heard no reason for these delays in the case being decided upon.

The court is telling us one thing and doing another. For the first two years, they accused us of terrorism.

When they realised there was no evidence of terrorism they changed it to espionage. It is just games, he insisted.

The men were all asked to plead to the lesser charge of espionage, but have not done so. Our lawyers are trying to say this was wrong and our embassy official tried to talk to her (the judge). But she said that she could not make a decision and they sent us back (to prison). The detainees lawyers believe, he said, that no decision was given because exposure of their case will be bad publicity for Venezuela during the current Non-Aligned Movement summit which began in Margarita on Monday and ends on Sunday.

Once the judge can make a decision, the detainee said, things should improve. Even if they want to say we are guilty and there is no evidence to prove us guilty, he said, they will still have to free us because we have already been here for two and half years and you can say we have already served time, innocently. Asked about their situation, he said, they are denied consular visits from the TT Embassy and have to wait to meet with embassy officials at court hearings.

That is a violation of their human rights, he said. When anyone is sick - there are ailing persons among the five - the detainee said, they are allowed to see a doctor.

The five Trinis are Wade Charles, Dominic Pitilal, Asim Luqman, Andre Battersby and Leslie Daisely.

There is no medicine. We depend on family and relatives in Trinidad to help us. We live with food shortages all the time. Sometimes, when they bring in food, they bring pork and we do not eat pork. So we starve. Water and lights go out for days. You cannot begin to understand how bad it is. To date they have not been charged. Under Venezuelan law, a judge who heard the preliminary case must determine whether or not the five should be formally charged.
Carmona vows to join crime fight

Speaking at the funeral service yesterday for 29-year-old security officer, Vijay Maraj, at the Chapel of Clive Allen Funeral Services, Eastern Main Road, Guaico, Sangre Grande, Carmona said he has been involved in criminal law all his life, but this was murder most foul.

He said Maraj, who was the brother of one of his drivers, Adesh Maraj, was a young man who had hopes and dreams, all of which would now be placed on a shelf.

The light went out of a young mans life, a young man who had hopes and dreams, but most of all, a young man who had a fathers love, a mothers love, a brothers love, a sisters love.

At the end of the day we mourn not only physically, but we mourn collectively, the loss that this family will have to endure for the rest of their lives. Carmona said he was no stranger to hurt, pain and anguish in this community as he had many a trip to the Sangre Grande Magistrates Court to preside over various matters.

I do care, I will always care because I see the evil that men do. We must not lose hope because of what has happened, continue to be a nice person ...continue to have faith because there are far more good people in this land than there are evil, the President said.

Marajs uncle, Dennis, said his nephew was a young man gone too soon. When we look at our tiny twin islands, it is happening every day. Murders are now 317 up to yesterday I believe it was. This is a wake up call for all of us, but are we playing our part? Maraj was shot and killed during a robbery last Saturday night at the Cantonese Superstore, Eastern Main, Road, Maturita. Three other persons were also wounded during the robbery.
Find my daughters killer

I want to get some answers from the police, she said, adding that since Sumiyyas passing on Saturday, there has been no word on where the bullet came from and who is responsible for the killing. The Davis family lives at Mandela Drive Carapichaima.

Sumiyyas father, Herdis Taylor, said he has nothing further to say on the matter. However he said he is fed-up with media reports regarding his daughters killing.

Villagers and neighbours refused to discuss the matter.

Up to press time yesterday, neither officers at the Freeport Police Station or the Homicide Department were able to speak about any new developments in the case.

Teachers and students of the ASJA Girls High School, where Sumiyya attended, remain numb.

Sumiyya was shot in the hip while in her bedroom studying.

She died later at the Chaguanas Health Facility.
Fire at Arouca Govt School

Newsday understands that the fire broke out on the schools compound between the hours of 9 and 10 am, and the Fire Services were immediately contacted.

When contacted, an official at the Ministry of Education confirmed yesterday that there was a fire at the school and students were sent home.

We know that T&TEC and the Fire Services were on the schools compound this morning (yesterday) and they have launched an investigation into what was the cause of the fire. The official continued, There was no damage to the building and there were no injuries reported. It is too early to say what exactly took place, but both services are working on the incident. However, the school supervisor is monitoring the situation. The official also indicated that the schools principal will be in contact with parents of students to inform them when school will resume.
New paediatric oncology nursing programme launched

The one-year programme, the first of its kind in the region, is a collaboration between the Nursing School, SickKids-Caribbean Initiative and First Caribbean International Bank.

The first batch of students has a complement of 13 nurses, four of whom are from Trinidad and Tobago, the host island. The others are from Jamaica, St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Bahamas.

The programme, which began on September 5, focuses primarily on capacity-building among nursing personnel in the treatment of cancer and blood disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia.

It features a clinical practicum and internship Addressing the gathering, visiting paediatric oncologist Dr Victor Blanchette, said the Sick Kids-Caribbean Initiative was a collaborative effort between seven different medical and academic institutions in the six Caribbean territories and The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada.

He said since the launch of the project, some eight years ago, the success rate for children with cancer has increased exponentially.

Just over 50 years ago, a diagnosis of acute leukaemia in a child meant almost certain death. Today, in Canada, over 85 per cent of all such children are cured of their cancer following treatment with drugs that kill cancer cells and, in some cases, radiation therapy, he said.

In endorsing the initiative, Heath Minister Terrence Deyalsingh expressed hope that the programme will bolster treatment for children afflicted with cancer and blood diseases.

However, in a speech delivered by Principal Medical Officer Dr Clive Tilluckdharry, Deyalsingh again lamented the shortage of nurses in the country.

The most recent information indicates that the Regional Health Authorities have a vacancy rate of 31.1 per cent amongst nursing personnel.

That is equal to 2,146 vacant posts of registered nurses and enrolled nursing assistants, Deyalsingh said.
CDA racks up $1.8M in bad debts

This information is contained in the Auditor- Generals report into the CDAs financial statements for the year ended September 10, 2010.

The bad debts for the authority are listed in the report under the category of administrative expenses.

No bad debts were reported by the Authority in 2009, under the then Peoples National Movement government.

The Auditor-General also indicated there was an overdraft in the general ledger account in the sum of $178,000 which was not shown separately as a liability in the financial statement as required by the International Accounting Standards 1.

Approval for this facility from the Finance Minister, who was Winston Dookeran at that time, was not produced.

In 2009, the CDA reported a gross profit of $19,195 and a loss of $3,100.

In 2010, the authority had a gross profit of $21,658 and an operating loss of $5,467.

From 2009 to 2010, the CDAs revenue increased from $24,580 to $27,987.

Most of that revenue was derived from tenancy income in Chaguaramas, which increased from $19,081 to $21,479 from 2009 to 2010.

Former CDA chairman under the PP, Danny Solomon, currently serves as an Opposition senator.

A recent report claimed that Solomon could be replaced in the Senate as a result of matters pertaining to the CDA during his tenure.
La Brea oilspill: Nicole on the case

I, in fact, conducted my own investigation, the minister said during Question Time.

The spill has reached as far as the shoreline. Olivierre said as part of the normal protocol, several agencies were engaging the situation including the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Environmental Management Authority and Petrotrin in order to ascertain the source. She said Petrotrin is employing natural mechanical clean-up operations and contractors had been hired. However, residents have complained about the engagement of some of these people.

The Senate paid tribute to Angus Albert Khan, a former senator who once worked as an administration manager at Tesoro and who served as a TT ambassador to the US in the NAR administration.

Independent Senator Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir described Khan as a pioneer in the sector of oil and gas. Also during Question Time, Olivierre said a US$9 million fraud case involving an unsanctioned transfer of funds from a National Energy Corporation (NEC) account held at First Citizens Bank remains pending. The funds were sent to entities in Antigua, Boston in the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In March 2016, a UAE court ruled in favour of the NEC.

However, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi is appealing, said the minister.

In a print advertisement published in May 2015, the NEC said the money, about $60 million, went to three countries: Antigua, the US and the UAE. It said the money had been recovered from recipient Steadroy CO Benjamin & Co of Antigua, WI, as it had not yet reached the bank account of the recipient. The sum here was about $24 million.

The NEC said in 2013 a settlement was reached with Central International Company LLC, Bank of America Boston, USA, after civil proceedings were initiated in October, 2011, and mediation proceedings in 2012 with First Citizens Bank. The sum settled was about US$6 million.

In relation to the UAE, where about US$20 million was sent to Andrew James Thomas Newman Inc, in October 2011, the NEC retained a law firm in Dubai  Ince & Co Middle East LLP  to seek its interest.

In 2011 and 2012, the NEC engaged high commissioners to the UK and Uganda to seek their assistance with the recovery of the funds. It did not give further details on the potential role of Uganda diplomats.

In 2013, the Public Prosecutor in Dubai indicated that the money should be returned to NEC after the completion of his countrys due process. In May, 2014, criminal charges were brought against the Dubai recipient for money laundering.

In August, 2014, civil proceedings were brought against the recipient by National Energy. November, 2014, saw a judgment in default of appearance and a three-year sentence handed down against the individual.

The Public Prosecutor advised that the funds would be returned by the Central Bank of the UAE.
AG: UNC dead scared of FATCA

Why is this Opposition so mortified and afraid of information of assets and bank accounts in the United States of America coming to the attention of TT authorities? he asked. As Government MPs thumped their desks, Al-Rawi added, Why pray tell? I cannot for the life of me...understand the fright I am seeing in Members opposites eyes. Al-Rawi explained that the recently signed inter-government agreement (IGA) with the US specifically provides that the US would give disclosure...that the Government of TT would be facilitated with disclosure that is given...

that TT will give disclosure and the US would be facilitated with that disclosure. Reiterating that Cabinet notes from May and October 2013, demonstrate the former Peoples Partnership (PP) government understood the implications of FATCA, had no issues with the Finance Minister being designated as a competent authority and knew it breached several existing laws, Al-Rawi said the population could not listen to this Jekyll and Hyde behaviour from the Opposition.

Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad- Bissessar rejected Al-Rawis reciprocity arguments, countering that no Opposition member has anything to hide. Reiterating the Oppositions commitment to the JSC and that it was prepared to work to pass the bill by September 30, Persad-Bissessar declared, This whole thing is gamesmanship...

and if you want Russian roulette...the Russian roulette came from the Government side. She claimed Government did not want the Oppositions position on the bill to be advanced, so the debate on the bill was terminated.
Garcia: Las Alturas Commissions use of Errata dangerous

The Commissions Errata (a list of corrected errors) was issued to President Anthony Carmona and then read aloud in the Lower House yesterday by Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley. The Errata, dated September 12 and signed by CoI chairman, retired Justice Mustapha Ibrahim, was supplied to media houses by Parliament.

While the original report said that under Garcia Buildings H and I were built in an unsuitable area and then earmarked for demolition, the Errata said, It was under his stewardship that Buildings H and I were proposed to be built in an area unsuitable for development and were recommended for demolition.

Two hours later, Garcia in a statement condemned the Commissions use of the Errata to correct the official record saying it is a most dangerous development that must be condemned in the strongest terms.

He said the Commission issued the Errata after being threatened with a lawsuit by himself for publishing damaging and misleading falsehoods.

Garcia said the Commissions derogatory remarks about him in its report of August 30 were highly publicised. However he had refuted these findings as irrational and unreasonable and the result of a political witch-hunt, and he had threatened to file for judicial review.

Having been caught-out, the Commission has now rushed to publish its Errata, by which they now seek to correct their falsehoods by changing the very findings that the former Managing Director was about to challenge.

In so doing, the Commission is acting as a law unto itself. By its actions the Commission has demonstrated that it is hell-bent on preventing the former Managing Director from obtaining redress from the Courts, as is his constitutional right.
Serbia seeks closer ties with TT

Ambassador Zoran Vujic, Special Envoy for UN Affairs and Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the UN, said the talks revolved around ways of further developing economic and political relations between Serbia and this country, especially as TT was one of several countries which failed to recognise Serbias unilateral declaration of independence eight years ago.

He said Serbia also wants improved relations with the rest of the region and Port-of- Spain was his first stop in the approach to the region. Vujic left Portof- Spain yesterday evening to return to his post at the UN in New York. In the next few weeks he will again embark on another trip to the Caribbean.

Enjoying high priority in the discussions with the Foreign Ministry officials was the progress of Serbias bid for membership of the European Union, which Vujic expects to be granted in the near future, and this countrys failure to recognise Serbias unilateral declaration of independence.

Vujic said he saw no obstacles to developing relations between the two countries because Serbia and TT enjoy good co-operation at the UN and the two countries share some of the same risks and threats including that of international terrorism
Donald Trump Jr: Hillary wants to shut down PA energy production to benefit Saudis

CANONSBURG, Pa.  Donald Trump Jr. defended Pennsylvanias coal industry from former President Bill Clinton in a Wednesday appearance in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Article by Ezra Dulis

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, the son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump praised energy production jobs, which have kept the state afloat since the countrys late-2000s recession, as important to national security as well as economic growth.

Trump lit into Bill Clintons recent comments mocking coal workers. The former president called them coal people, said they believe global warming is a Chinese hoax, and taunted their work as outdated and obsolete. Breitbart News Charlie Spiering reported on Clintons remarks at a Pennsylvania rally last week:

He argued that coal workers should realize that the industry was dying and that it was time to focus on solar panels and windmills. Coal employment peaked in 1920, coal production peaked in 1950, he said, adding, Climate change is real and were going to have to change our energy source.

Trump defended the relevance of coal workers: When we talk about electric cars, hey guys, theyre coal-powered cars, he said.

If theres been a boom in Pennsylvania, its because of natural gas. Your Democratic governor wants to take credit for that, but guess what? Hillary Clinton wants to shut those things down. She wants to be beholden to Saudi Arabia, who writes her $25 million checks.

Trump continued this line of attack, arguing that preserving the U.S. energy industry is a national security issue.

Thats not just common sense, its not just energy independence, its not just jobs and tax base, its national security, he said. To be able to take care of ourselves and make sure were utilizing the resources that weve been blessed to have  I mean, were the natural gas capital of the world. And yet, shed want to shut that down so that we can write checks to countries that hate our guts and hate our values and hate everything about us. Thats not gonna happen on our watch.

Asked about his fathers chances of winning Pennsylvania  which has not gone to a Republican presidential candidate since 1988  Trump touted local efforts like the Southpointe office celebrating its grand opening on Wednesday. He said a strong get-out-the-vote effort would come from people on the ground speaking to the union voters. Yes, the union bosses, theyve been bought and paid for by the DNC for generations. But the actual workers, the working-class men and women of this country, those are the people who are going to break party lines.

Theyre gonna come and vote for Trump, because, you know what? They want to see common sense infused back into politics, back into government. Theyre sick of seeing everyone around DC and all the zip codes around DC being the richest in the country while they suffer.

Read more at: Breitbart.com

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J P Nadda holds high level review meeting on Dengue and Chikungunya in Delhi

New Delhi, Thu, 15 Sep 2016 NI Wire

J P Nadda holds high level review meeting on Dengue and Chikungunya in Delhi & NCR Assures all support of Central Government

J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare chaired a high level meeting to review the status of Dengue and Chikungunya in Indian with a special focus on Delhi and NCR, with senior officers of the Union Health Ministry, officials from National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Medical Superintendents of Central Government hospitals such as AIIMS, DR. RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Safdurjung, and officials from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (HFW), Shri K B Agarwal, AS (HFW) and senior officials were also present during the meeting.

Taking stock of the situation, Shri Nadda was briefed on the recent upsurge in the cases of Dengue and Chikungunya in Delhi, NCR and other States. It was apprised that since January 2016, there have been 17 review meetings (including 3 Video Conference with States). Also, 11 Advisories have been issued to all States. Government of India has requested to all States/UTs to declare Dengue as notifiable disease for improving reporting and for taking preventive measures in the affected areas. The Health Ministry has also initiated several awareness programmes through print and electronic media and issue advertisements for controlling these diseases. Intensive IEC campaigns have been launched to enhance the level of awareness regarding the promotive and treatment protocols of Dengue and Chikungunya.

Assuring that there is no cause to panic, Shri Nadda said that the Ministry has sought a detailed report from the Delhi Government on the recent death cases reported due to Chikungunya. The Health Minister further said that the Ministry is working very closely in coordination with the Delhi Government and the Union Health Ministry has already provided all logistical and technical support to the Delhi Government in terms of surveillance and diagnostic kits to strengthen their efforts in addressing Dengue. Shri Nadda said that he has spoken to the Delhi Health Minister Shri Satyendar Jain and assured him all support. Shri Jain has assured that all adequate measures shall be taken.

The Health Minister assured that there is no shortage of drugs and testing facilities to counter this recent upsurge. He further added that the doctors have been advised to strictly follow the protocols with Ministry also providing training to health workers to ensure timely implementation of various activities that need to be undertaken for vector control. The representatives from the Central government hospitals informed that there was no shortage of beds, drugs, testing facilities etc., to treat the incoming patients.

Noting that community participation and empowerment are the most crucial areas in prevention of vector diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya, Shri Nadda urged people not to panic and maintain high levels of hygiene and sanitation in the surrounding areas. The Health Minister pressed on the need to start rigorous awareness campaigns regarding the preventive steps to be taken by the people in their communities. He further urged people to rely on the symptomatic treatment for Chikungunya and consume lots of liquids as the disease is generally non-fatal. He mentioned that the Ministry has launched India Fights Dengue mobile application that has all the relevant information needed for control of the disease. He also suggested awareness activities to be taken up in schools, colleges and various localities with the help of the school administration and the RWAs.

The Health Minister directed the officials to be alert over next few months and to gear up activities and measures to be taken for awareness generation, prevention and control of Chikungunya so as to effectively address the situation, and not allow it to escalate. The Union Health Minister also asked the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) of the Health Ministry, Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporations to further coordinate their awareness activities towards this end.

Source: PIB
India-Afghanistan Joint Statement during the visit of President of Afghanistan to India

New Delhi, Thu, 15 Sep 2016 NI Wire

The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani was warmly welcomed on his working visit to India on 14 & 15 September 2016. During the visit, he held discussions with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and will be received later yesterday by Rashtrapatiji.

Meeting President Ghani, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi fondly recalled his visits to Kabul and Herat in December 2015 and June this year, respectively. The Prime Minister mentioned that he cherished both the warm reception he had received during those visits and the fruitful discussions then and in his other meetings with the President in Tehran (May 2016) and Tashkent (June 2016).

Both leaders expressed their happiness at the close and regular consultations between India and Afghanistan at all levels, which have served to guide their strategic partnership and strengthen all-round cooperation.

Recalling that India-Afghanistan bilateral development cooperation has assisted Afghanistans own efforts for successful political, security and economic transitions, the two leaders noted with happiness the recent completion of major milestones such as Parliament Building and the Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam. The President stressed the significance of the Prime Ministers assurance conveyed during the joint inauguration of Storay Palace on 22 August 2016 via a video link that 1.25 billion people of India firmly stand with their Afghan brothers and sisters.

The Prime Minister reiterated Indias abiding support for a unified, sovereign, democratic, peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. He conveyed Indias readiness to consider further requirements of Afghanistan for capacity and capability building in spheres such as education, health, agriculture, skill development, empowerment of women, energy, infrastructure and strengthening of democratic institutions. To this end, the Prime Minister offered that, as a close neighbour and friend of Afghanistan and its people, India would allocate a sum of USD 1 billion. The Prime Minister also proposed to supply world class and easily affordable medicines from India and cooperation in solar energy through mutually agreed instruments.

The two leaders discussed the regional situation and expressed grave concern at continued use of terrorism and violence in the region for achieving political objectives. They agreed that this phenomenon presented the single biggest threat to peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond. Stressing that elimination of all forms of terrorism, without any discrimination, is essential, they called upon the concerned to put an end to all sponsorship, support, safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists, including for those who target Afghanistan and India. Both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to counter terrorism and strengthen security and defence cooperation as envisaged in the India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement.

It was agreed that the Strategic Partnership Council headed by the External Affairs Minister of India and the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan will meet shortly, review the recommendations of the four Joint Working Groups dealing with diverse areas of cooperation and impart further guidance.

The leaders expressed satisfaction over signing of the Extradition Treaty, the Agreement on cooperation in civil and commercial matters and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Outer Space during the Presidents visit. It was also stressed that expeditious implementation of the trilateral agreement involving Afghanistan, India and Iran, signed in May 2016, using Chahbahar will augment connectivity within and of the region. In this context, the leaders appreciated the recent decision taken by the three countries to convene a joint forum involving important stake holders, including from business and industry.

Both leaders welcomed intensification in the interaction involving India and Afghanistan with regional and other countries and international organisations to foster peace, stability and development in Afghanistan. They appreciated, in particular, the outcome of the India-Iran-Afghanistan trilateral consultations and looked forward to the resumption of India-US-Afghanistan consultations in New York later this month. The Prime Minister conveyed to the President that India would continue to engage with the international community to assist the Government of Afghanistan in all possible ways.

In this context, the leaders underscored the significance of the Amritsar Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA) on the forthcoming 4 December, as well as the Brussels Conference on 5 October. They noted that the choice of Amritsar underscored the value of restoring connectivity and was in consonance with this years theme for HoA: Addressing Challenges, Achieving Prosperity. It also underscores that India and Afghanistan remain committed to the expeditious realization of seamless two-way connectivity between South Asia and Central Asia.

The Prime Minister invited the President to grace the inauguration of the Amritsar Ministerial. The President accepted the invitation. The President will highlight to senior Indian industry and trade captains the economic opportunities and potential of Afghanistan. He will also deliver an address to a select gathering of strategic experts at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on 'Fifth Wave of Political Violence and Global Terrorism.'

Source: PIB
Ghantaa posters create history with its trend on social media!

Bollywood, Thu, 15 Sep 2016 NI Wire

Marathi movie Ghantaa posters take social media by storm!

It is quite common nowadays for Bollywood Trailers and posters to garner fan following and attention on social media eventually leading for it to trend on the given platforms.

Yesterday for the first time a Marathi movie garnered that same attention from a nationwide audience! The motion poster of the upcoming Marathi movie Ghantaa started trending in India last night and trended at the top spot for quite some time.

Soon after fans started pouring in their best wishes and compliments for the movie. The motion poster is actually an innovative and fun video that gives audiences a sneak peek into the laugh riot the movie is going to be.

Actor Amey Wagh who stars in the movie said, It is an honour to be a part of a project that has gone on to create history! I couldnt believe it when I heard about the trend as it was unheard of for any Marathi movie to have achieved this feat. But it feels good that our hard work has paid off and fans are loving our motion poster.

Presented by Dashami Studioz, Brahmapura Pictures and Yellow Inc, 'Ghantaa' stars Amey Wagh, Aroh Welankar and Saksham Kulkarni. It is produced by Shloksmit Films and directed by Shailesh Shankar Kale.

The movie is slated to release on 14th October 2016.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Features And Release Date Get Revealed

New Delhi, Thu, 15 Sep 2016 NI Wire

On one hand, the South Korean tech giant, Samsung is dealing with the battery failure encountered by its highly hyped - Galaxy Note 7. And on the other, it is busy rolling out one flagship after the other.

The latest buzz hints at Samsung Galaxy S8, which is the successor of Galaxy S7. Sources say that device is up for launch and is likely to pioneer a dual camera, one with 12MP S5K2L2 camera and the other with 13MP sensor made by Sony.

Though there is still time for the smartphone to make its first appearance, the stage is already set and speculations have gone high. Samsung has so far released a pleasing line with its Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, and Galaxy Note 7. And now, the whole attention is going to be on the Galaxy S8, which is touted as the gen next device.

The Release

Samsung is keeping the release details of its Galaxy S8 under wraps but it is heard that the device will most likely release in February 2016 or maximum by March 2016. Samsung has a ritual of launching its Galaxy S devices, whether the Galaxy S5, S6 or S7. It usually unveils them at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The event is anticipated to be organized next year amid February 27 and March 2, and looking at Samsungs tradition, we can expect the Galaxy 8 to get released in this period only.

Features & Specifications

Updating on the features and specifications of the Galaxy S8, it has been learnt that the device will come with 5.5-inch AMOLED screen which will be backed by 4K display (806 ppi pixel density) and would also possess an iris scanner.

It is further stated that Samsung Galaxy S8 will also have dual-rear camera as we mentioned in the beginning of this article. The cameras will have 12MP S5K2L2 sensor and 13MP sensor made by Sony on the front and for selfies, the device will have 8MP camera. It is notable that the Galaxy S7 and the Note 7 both had 12MP primary sensor and 5MP selfie camera.

Other rumors suggest that this device from Samsung will have two models, one variant will have 5.1-inch screen while the other will have 5.5-inch screen. Both the variants are said to have edge screens.

It is notable that earlier released Samsung Galaxy S7 sported a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen which had 1,440x2,560 pixels (577 ppi pixel density). It came powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. It ran on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and was decked with 32/64GB internal memory which was further expandable up to 128GB through microSD card.

It had 4GB RAM, and the camera had 12MP primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture, 1.4 m pixel size, phase detection autofocus, 26mm lens, OIS, LED flash, 1/2.5" sensor size and a 5MP front-camera with f/1.7 aperture and 22mm lens. The device was powered by a 3,600mAh battery.

From what we have gathered so far, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has some promising upgrades and we really look forward to its launch!
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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Advocate-General, Melchior Wathelet, contested the courts ruling on December 10, 2015 -which partially annulled the Morocco-EU Agricultural Agreement- on grounds that the Polisario is not entitled to defend the commercial interests of the population of the Sahara.

The ECJs Chief Advocate General challenged, in an opinion piece, the courts ruling, explaining that the Polisario front is not a legitimate organization for contesting the Morocco-EU trade agreements. Hence, the ruling should be revoked.

Wathelet contested the validity of the Polisarios legality to plea at the ECJ, saying that the Polisario is not recognized by the International community as a representative of the commercial interests of the population of the Sahara, although it is considered as a party in the political process to find a solution to the conflict over the Saharan provinces.

He noted that the bulk of the Saharan provinces are under Moroccos control, save a sparsely populated area east of the security wall, which the Polisario claims to control although it is considered under the 1991 cease-fire agreement as a buffer zone.

Morocco protested against the ruling and challenged its legality, while the EU appealed the decision. A final ruling is expected in three to six months.

The opinion is not binding but opinions of the ECJs advocate generals are followed in the majority of cases by the court.
Morocco has expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia by condemning the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which was recently adopted by the US House of Representatives to allow the victims of 9/11 to sue the government of Saudi Arabia  putting lawmakers on a collision course with the White House.

Targeting and stigmatizing the states- that are friends of the United States- undermine international efforts, included those led by the US, against terrorism, Moroccos foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Kingdom of Morocco, which condemns all forms and manifestations of terrorism, spares no effort in support of the fight led by the international community against this calamity, adds the statement.

The voluntary commitment of states to the international fight against terrorism and violent extremism should be fostered, says the Moroccan foreign ministry.

The statement notes that the Arab States of the Gulf have undertaken military and financial measures in support of international counterterrorism efforts, underlining that the recently adopted bill will undermine this international endeavor.

The White House has hinted strongly it will veto the measure. Obama has lobbied fiercely against it, arguing it could both strain relations with Saudi Arabia and lead to retaliatory legislation overseas against U.S. citizens.

Besides Morocco, several Arab States, including the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expressed deep concern over the law.
Morocco has rejected an initiative put forward by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, whereby the UN takes over the works to asphalt the Guegarat road on the borders with Mauritania, Moroccan news outlets reported.

In an attempt to avert a resumption of hostilities between the Royal Armed Forces and the Algerian-backed Polisario separatists, the UN proposed completing the remaining phase of the asphalt paving of the Guergarat road beyond the security wall in the southernmost tip of the southern provinces.

The UN has already voiced concerns over a return to arms in the Sahara after the Polisario violated the cease-fire agreement by introducing armed fighters in the buffer zone in a desperate attempt to prevent Morocco from paving the road. Morocco undertook the road asphalting works after it launched a successful police and customs operation to clear the area from all sorts of illegal commercial activities.

The UN proposal, which was relayed on Innercity blog, aims to replace Moroccan authorities in completing the road paving. In return, the Polisario will be asked to withdraw its armed men from the vicinity of the road.

In a recent interview with the Moroccan news agency, Moroccos Permanent Representative at the UN headquarters in New York, Ambassador Omar Hilale, said the Royal Armed Forces are showing restraint while remaining vigilant and prepared to defend the homeland against any threat. The Moroccan diplomat said that a large number of Security Council members denounced the violation of the Military Agreement No 1 and the calls to resume hostilities on the backdrop of the road construction in Guergarat by Moroccan authorities.

The diplomat recalled that Morocco explained to the Security Council the nature of the anti-smuggling operation in Guergarat and the need for building a 3km-long road in that area to safeguard Moroccos security.

The road is key to monitoring the area, which was turned by criminal networks into a venue for engaging in all sorts of illegal commercial activities, including the trafficking of arms, drugs and humans, he said, noting that the asphalting of that road was undertaken in coordination with the MINURSO and Mauritania.
Head of Libyas Unified National Oil Corporation (NOC) Wednesday announced immediate exportation of the Libyan oil following capture of oil crescent by General Khalifa Haftar forces despite threats of sanctions by western powers supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA), reports say.

chairman of the NOC Mustafa Sanalla visited Zueitina; one of four oil terminals seized over the week-end by the Libyan National Army (LNA.) During the visit, he pledged a spike in the oil production. The production according to him could rise to 600,000 barrels per day, from 290,000 barrels at present.

But to meet that expectation, Sanalla said technical work must be done in order to lift force majeur.

Oil terminals at Ras Lanuf and Sidra have been damaged.

The NOC head welcomed the move by the LNA and its godfather House of Representatives (HoR) which placed the four oil terminals seized over the week-end in the hands of the oil institution.

I hope this marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation and coexistence between Libyas factions, as well as an end to the use of the blockade as a political tactic, he added.

The export of the oil is likely to meet roadblocks as western powers backing the GNA have condemned the seizure of the oil crescent and threatened to take actions against any sale of Libyan oil occurring outside the GNAs authority.

Washington, Paris, London and Berlin fear the move could further weaken Prime Minister Serraj and his cabinet already stumbling on several fronts. UNSMIL head Martin Kobler Tuesday in a briefing to the UN Security Council also warned of greater divisions in Libya which may toss the country into more chaos.

Serraj himself on Wednesday called for talks following the loss of the oil crescent.

I call on all sides to halt provocative actions and sit down urgently at the same table to discuss a mechanism that would enable us to get out of this crisis and put a stop to the conflict, he said.

I am not prepared to rule one part of Libya nor to lead a war against another part.
Spanish security authorities Wednesday announced the arrest in the city of Manresa, Catalonia, of a Moroccan national suspected of promoting Islamist ideology on social media, reports say.

The Spanish interior ministry did not disclose the identity of the arrestee but indicated that he was active on several social media platforms where he disseminates indoctrination messages as well as radicalization strategies of the Islamic State group.

His arrest was made possible thanks to cooperation with Moroccos Directorate of Surveillance of the National Territory, the ministry indicated.

The man, qualified as violent and unbalanced, has over the past months multiplied contacts with a deportee from the IS battle front in Syria and Iraq, and asked for counselling on propaganda activities on social media, the ministry said.

The ongoing investigation has also helped to dismantle an active social media used for the promotion of Islamist messages.

Two other Moroccan brothers were arrested in July in the city of Girona, in Catalonia. The men aged respectively 32 and 22 were charged for belonging to IS.

Spanish authorities hold them for channeling funds to the terrorist group while using fake identities, reports say.
Not the coyote in question. Photo: David C Stephens/Getty Images

A North Stamford, Connecticut, girl has the best excuse for getting her parents to drive her to school every day: She says three coyotes followed  and one almost attacked  her on her way home from the bus stop after school this week.

The 12-year-old girl, Navya Sharma, told the Stamford Advocate she saw the pack of three coyotes quietly trotting along in the woods, matching her pace as she took her route home from the bus stop. She kept calm, but then, Sharma says, one broke free and came after her. It had that look in his eyes that it doesnt like me, Sharma told the Advocate. He was like 10 feet away from me. He was faster than I thought. I didnt know what could happen. I didnt know why it wanted to attack me, if it didnt like me or it was starving or it felt in danger.

I saw his teeth, she added. I ran. Sharma made it to her driveway safely, and has since studied up on coyote-defense tactics (making loud noises, etc.) in case she encounters them again.

But Stamford has been having a problem with these predators lately, and officials are considering bringing in a trapper. The sighting of a very mangy-looking coyote forced elementary-school kids indoors last week, and the animals have been blamed for the recent disappearance of a beloved miniature poodle.

The New York areas great coyote (well, coywolf) invasion appeared imminent last year, especially in the city, with reports of coyotes napping in backyards and unwinding at neighborhood bars. This August, workers have spotted a pack in an industrial park in Astoria, which would be a first for Queens, as the boroughs previous coyote resident was a rebel loner who lived in Railroad Park, near the LIRR tracks in Jamaica. That coyote family apparently has five pups (though people had seen eight siblings at first, so three likely died) and three adults: the mom, dad, and, this being New York, the nanny. The pack keeps stalking the area near La Guardia Airport, which, honestly, they can have.


Hes pro Ivanka, so he has to be pro all women. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Its been difficult to reconcile the Ivanka Trump we feel we know  the poised, intelligent fixture in New York society  with her fathers alt-right-endorsed, circuslike campaign. But on Wednesday Ivanka showed shes inherited at least one unfortunate trait from her father: his habit of making up facts that suit the situation, regardless of what the reality may be.



The day should have been a triumph for Ivanka. After her Republican National Convention speech, she drew criticism for eloquently calling for paid family leave, affordable child care, and equal pay  a policy position that bears no relationship to her fathers rhetorical record or stated policy interests, as New Yorks Rebecca Traister put it. While it apparently took weeks of convincing, this week Donald Trump actually did roll out a family-leave policy that includes six weeks of paid leave for new mothers. He told a crowd in Iowa that Ivanka had been pushing so hard for it, and imitated her, saying, Daddy, Daddy, we have to do this.

Trumps child-care plan has its flaws; specifically, the funding mechanism for maternity leave doesnt make sense, and it would benefit the middle and upper-middle classes more than the poor. However, even critics had to acknowledge that it is better than the typical Republican family-leave plan, which is no plan at all.



Then Ivanka was dispatched to promote the plan (and her lifestyle brand focused on #WomenWhoWork). While shes done many interviews on her fathers parenting skills and general belief in womens empowerment (or at least, his daughters empowerment), it turns out she was unable to handle the pressure of talking policy specifics.



Tuesday night on Fox News, she told Megyn Kelly, Theres no policy on Hillary Clintons website pertaining to any of these issues, child care, elder care, or maternity leave or paternity leave, for that matter. As Think Progress points out, there are actually three pages on Clintons website that detail her plans for expanding family leave and access to quality child care, and shes been talking about those issues from day one of her campaign.



Wednesday on Good Morning America, Ivanka altered her attack on Clinton, saying, Respectfully, Hillary Clinton has been around for decades, and theres no policy benefiting either mothers or fathers in terms of paid leave.

Co-host Amy Robach noted that Clintons plan calls for 12 weeks of paid leave for both mothers and fathers. We have not been in public office for the last several decades and she has, Ivanka responded. She could have instituted some of those policies in that role and has not done so.

Then Ivanka assured Robach that the Trump Organization offers paid maternity leave to all of its thousands of employees. And also adoption leave, she said. So its a great thing.



During her decades in positions of power, Clinton did back one significant family-leave policy: the Family and Medical Leave Act, which her husband signed into law in 1993, despite Republican opposition. Ivanka should be familiar with the law, which only offers 12 weeks of unpaid leave, because its actually the only reason many Trump Organization employees get time off when they have a child. The Huffington Post looked into Ivankas claim on GMA, and employees at various Trump properties said the company complies with FMLA but offers no paid leave. A company spokeswoman said the Trump Organization offers an industry leading 8-week paid parental leave policy at some properties, but declined to say which ones.

Ivanka decided to cap off a tough day by chatting on the phone with Cosmopolitan. Apparently she was expecting a fluffy magazine piece, but Prachi Gupta surprised her by asking serious questions about the Trump campaigns proposal  like, for starters, why not include paternity leave? Ivanka responded:



This is a giant leap from where we are today, which is sadly, nothing. Both sides of the aisle have been unable to agree on this issue, so I think this takes huge advancement and obviously, for same-sex couples as well, theres tremendous benefit here to enabling the mother to recover after childbirth. Its critical for the health of the mother. Its critical for bonding with the child, and that was a top focus of this plan.

Since Ivanka brought up same-sex couples, Gupta went with that:



OK, so when it comes to same-sex 

So its meant to benefit, whether its in same-sex marriages as well, to benefit the mother who has given birth to the child if they have legal married status under the tax code.



Well, what about gay couples, where both partners are men?

The policy is fleshed out online, so you can go see all the elements of it. But the original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth.



So I just want to be clear that, for same-sex adoption, where the two parents are both men, they would not be receiving special leave for that because they dont need to recover or anything?

Well, those are your words, not mine. [Laughs.] Those are your words. The plan, right now, is focusing on mothers, whether they be in same-sex marriages or not.

Ivanka clearly wasnt going to give a satisfying answer, so Gupta moved on to a question about Donald Trumps 2004 comment that pregnancy is certainly an inconvenience for a business.

 Its surprising to see this policy from him today. Can you talk a little bit about those comments, and perhaps what has changed?



So I think that you have a lot of negativity in these questions, and I think my father has put forth a very comprehensive and really revolutionary plan to deal with a lot of issues. So I dont know how useful it is to spend too much time with you on this if youre going to make a comment like that. My father obviously has a track record of decades of employing women at every level of his company, and supporting women, and supporting them in their professional capacity, and enabling them to thrive outside of the office and within. To imply otherwise is an unfair characterization of his track record and his support of professional women. So the policies at our company reflect that, and the diversity of our workforce, from a gender perspective, and in all perspectives, reflects that. So my father has been a great advocate for the women in the workforce, and thats part of why he recognized that reform is so necessary.

Why does Ivanka think merely quoting her father constitutes negativity? As she revealed in her next answer, she cannot accept the idea that her dear old dad may have made some sexist comments in the past. (Let alone during this campaign, and sometimes involving her.)



I would like to say that Im sorry the questions  youre finding them negative, but it is relevant that a presidential candidate made those comments, so Im just following up.

Well, you said he made those comments. I dont know that he said those comments.



This is quoted from an NBC [interview] from 2004. I definitely did not make that up. I do want to talk to you a little bit beyond the plan, as well 

I think what I was  theres plenty of time for you to editorialize around this, but I think he put forth a really incredible plan that has pushed the boundaries of what anyone else is talking about.

Next Ivanka was asked about how the plan would be paid for, and halfway through her answer she suddenly remembered there was somewhere she had to be. Im going to jump off, I have to run. I apologize, she said, getting off the phone.



Its like you cant actually accept Donald Trumps long, documented history of sexism and Ivankas claim that hes even more pro-mom than Clinton without your brain short-circuiting.


Photo: BFA

Emma Watson  she of Feminist Book Club fame  spoke at the UN in 2014 in support of her HeForShe gender-equality initiative. In her speech, Watson quoted Hillel the Elder, a famous Jewish leader, by saying, If not me, who? If not now, when?



For reasons unclear, Ivanka Trump posted an Instagram with the quotation from the 2014 event a few days ago, misattributing the quote to Watson herself. Im sure Watson would have liked to have come up with this old proverb, but, uh, she didnt.

Misattributing: must run in the family.
Ivanka Trump on Good Morning America on Wednesday. Photo: Ida Mae Astute/ABC

The widely held belief that entrepreneur Ivanka Trump is her fathers best public spokesperson was tested this week during her tour in support of his new child-care and maternity-leave proposals. In a series of interviews, Ivanka, whos regularly been praised as the smart, poised, appealing Trump, and who certainly gave the glossiest speech of the Republican convention (in which she argued for policy reform supported by Democrats), had trouble under even mild scrutiny of her dads proposals, and instead revealed herself as just as defensive and dishonest as her father.

On Wednesday, Ivanka spoke with Prachi Gupta of Cosmopolitan. When Gupta asked how Trumps plan, which would federally mandate six weeks of maternity-leave coverage  and only maternity-leave coverage  would benefit same-sex couples, Ivanka could not answer, maintaining only that it is designed to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth. When Gupta followed up by clarifying that in the case of same-sex adoption where both parents are men, they wouldnt receive leave because they dont need to recover, Ivanka became defensive, noting those are your words, not mine, even though they had in fact been a version of her words.

When Gupta next asked about comments Donald Trump made in 2004 about pregnancy being an inconvenience for employers, Ivanka became irritated. I think that you have a lot of negativity in these questions, and I think my father has put forth a very comprehensive and really revolutionary plan. Trump did not seem to notice that Gupta had asked a question about a negative comment her father had made about the very issues they were discussing, nor did she care. Instead she described him as a champion of women and suggested that to imply otherwise  by citing his actual words  is an unfair characterization of his track record. When Gupta pressed her further, Ivanka simply began lying. On child care specifically, there are no proposals on the table  Hillary Clinton laid out, four months ago, an ambitious set of proposals on child care that include capping child-care expenses at 10 percent of household income and raising the pay of child-care providers  He really took ownership of this issue. Ivanka then appeared to cut the interview short.

If only shed shortened her considerably friendlier Good Morning America interview earlier in the day, before making the odd choice to attack one of Clintons true sweet spots: economic policies to benefit working women and families.

On GMA, Ivanka was also asked to respond to criticism that the plan her father introduced on Tuesday would only cover new mothers, not fathers. I think we took a giant leap forward with the plan, said Ivanka. Respectfully, Hillary Clinton has been around for decades and theres no policy benefiting either mothers or fathers in terms of paid leave. She touted her fathers late-in-the-game policy proposal as an example of taking leadership on this and argued that certainly [Clinton] had opportunity to have a concept like that.

When GMAs Amy Robach pointed out that in fact Clinton has developed such a concept, and that her plan calls for twice Trumps proposed paid time off at a higher pay rate for mothers, fathers, and other family members grappling with child care and illness, Ivanka shrugged off this detail. We have not been in public office for the last several decades and she has, she said of Clinton. So she could have instituted some of those policies in that role and has not done so.

Ivankas approach on GMA was at least more honest than the whopper of a statement shed delivered the previous evening on Fox News, when she claimed that Theres no policy on Hillary Clintons website pertaining to any of these issues: child care, elder care, or maternity leave or paternity leave for that matter. But it was still creepy, dishonest, and hypocritical, and invites a brief examination into the history of paid family-leave policies  and Hillary Clintons and Donald Trumps engagements with them.

In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in General Electric Co. v. Gilbert that the failure to cover pregnant women was not discriminatory. Two years later, Congress responded by enacting the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and amending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which made it illegal to fire or refuse to hire an employee because of pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions.

But while firing someone for pregnancy was unlawful, failing to keep their job open after a maternity leave remained A-okay. Activists began to work toward implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act, which would protect jobs through necessary family leaves. The FMLA was first introduced in Congress in 1985 and was twice passed, only to be vetoed twice by Republican president George H.W. Bush. When Bill Clinton entered the White House in 1993, it was the first piece of legislation that he signed.

It was a great step forward, said Ellen Bravo, the director of the Family Values @ Work Consortium and a lifelong advocate for economic policies that benefit working women and families. But FMLA had, and still has, grave limitations. First, it does not guarantee one penny to employees who take leave; it simply protects their jobs. And thats only if theyre lucky; FMLA covers only those whove been at a company for over a year, and then only if they have worked for more than 1,250 hours at a location that has more than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. That leaves out 40 percent of the workforce, Bravo said, adding that other shortcomings include its narrow definition of what constitutes family, and its failure to cover time off to care for those with routine illness. And again: It is unpaid, making time off economically impossible for most Americans.

More recently, thanks to activists working on behalf of better family policies, some states have begun to implement their own paid-leave programs to account for pregnancy, newborn, and post-adoption care, the need to care for ailing family members, or for workers to simply care for themselves. California passed its paid-leave bill in 2002; New Jersey followed in 2008, Rhode Island in 2013, and New York passed it just this year. Each states approach differs slightly, but involves pooling money so that workers can draw a portion of their wage.

In 2013, New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut partnered to propose a federal program called the Family Act that would mandate 12 weeks of paid leave to workers for the birth or adoption of a child, or the serious illness or injury of an immediate family member. The benefit would equal two-thirds of their usual wages, capped at around $1,000 a week, more than three times the average weekly benefit of $300 that Donald Trump is proposing for maternity-leave pay, according to his website. That bill is still making its way through Congress, with no Republican co-sponsors.

Ivankas suggestion that through all of this, Hillary Clinton could have instituted some of those policies  and has not done so is deeply misleading at best and mendacious at worst.

It is true that while in the Senate from 2001 through 2008, Hillary Clinton did not make paid family leave the law of the land. It is also true that  though Ivanka didnt mention this  one of Hillarys least inspiring moments as a future presidential candidate came in a 2014 interview in which CNNs Christiane Amanpour asked if paid maternity leave should be mandated in the U.S. Clinton replied that eventually, it should be, but was dubious about it happening on a federal level anytime soon, since, she said, she didnt think, politically, we could get it now. Clintons answer was a flub, though a prescient one: Comparing paid-leave mandates to minimum-wage increases, she argued that the state-by-state battles would have to be won before we try to take it to the national level. Thats about as far as Ivankas claims about Clintons record on family policies go before they peter out into calculated dishonesty.

In both 2003 and 2005, Clinton co-sponsored a proposed expansion of FMLA to protect workers at companies with over 25 employees; in 2007 to 2008, she and Chris Dodd co-authored a provision that expanded FMLA benefits for families of wounded military personnel, and in 2008 she cosponsored Jim Webbs Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act. As a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2007 and 2008, Clinton called for a program that would provide $1 billion in grants to states to implement paid-leave programs. It was a less robust and less effective plan than the one shes put forth this cycle, but, contra Ivanka, it was certainly a concept that had occurred to her. She was also promising, as a candidate in 2008, to make the federal government provide paid family leave to its employees, a move Barack Obama actually made in 2015. During her 08 campaign, Clinton called for an easing of FMLA restrictions, which would cover an additional 13 million workers; she also wanted to guarantee paid sick days on a federal level.

In this years election cycle, family-leave and early child-care policy proposals have been at the center of Clintons campaign, and she has signaled that she would make these policies central to her presidency by appointing paid-leave and subsidized child-care experts Ann OLeary and Heather Boushey as the co-executive director and chief economist on her transition team. One thing thats really heartening about Hillarys commitment is that she has chosen as top staff two people who have a long history of advocacy around these issues, said Bravo.

Ivankas father, whose policy ideas she is touting as leadership, has taken a very different approach to these issues. In 2004, he made the remarks that Gupta cited in her Cosmo interview, claiming that while pregnancy may be a wonderful thing for the woman  a wonderful thing for the husband, its certainly an inconvenience for a business. And  an inconvenience for a person that is running a business. In 2011, he reportedly screamed youre disgusting at a lawyer who needed to take a break from a deposition to pump breast milk. And in late 2015, while conceding that certainly there are a lot of people discussing paid-leave policy, you have to be careful about mandating it because it could damage the nations competitive standing.

Trump has also said that parenting is the purview of women, which could explain why his proposed plan applies only to mothers. Theres a lot of women out there that demand that the husband act like the wife, Trump said in a 2005 interview on the Opie and Anthony Show, but assured the hosts that no, I dont do that when asked if he changed diapers. The same year he told Howard Stern, I wont do anything to take care of [his kids]. Ill supply funds and shell take care of the kids. Its not like Im gonna be walking the kids down Central Park.

Even on Tuesday, Trump was clear that his vague interest in paid-maternity-leave and child-care policies did not originate with him. He credited it all to his daughter, describing her as the Veruca Salt of work-life conflict: Daddy, Daddy, we have to do this! Trump quoted his 34-year-old daughter as demanding of him.

Bravo criticized Trumps proposals as being too narrow in scope, too short a time, offering too little money, and taking that money from other people who need it. She noted that other people besides birth mothers  including fathers, same-sex couples, non-partnered people  need time to care for children and family members and themselves. She cited the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that 12 weeks was the minimum time that caretakers should be with new children, and added that Trumps benefit plan, modeled on and drawn from unemployment compensation, would be far too little for families to depend on. Unemployment is already totally inadequate as it is, she said. It excludes too many people and is insufficient, so pilfering it to claim youre providing paid maternity leave is hardly the solution.

Bravo likes the Clinton campaigns current plan, which promises 12 weeks of family and medical leave to men and women of any family configuration, and aims to replace two-thirds of their regular wages. She said that those who are advocating for more expansive programs in states around the country are hoping to expand the parameters of a federal bill even further.

Its crucial to note, per Ivankas interest in what each candidate has done about paid leave over the past several decades, that while Donald Trump has not held public office, he has occupied a leadership role in the private sector  precisely the position from which a person could have instituted paid-leave policies. His campaign has, as recently as mid-August, refused to address whether it provided paid leave to its employees. Of nine former Trump employees who were willing to speak to the Daily Beast in August, only one was able to recall any maternity leave offered by Trump, and remembered it as unpaid.

Ivanka has claimed this week that the Trump Organization offers fully paid leave for all of the companys thousands of employees, but a Huffington Post investigation found that workers at Trumps Soho, New York, and Miami hotels had not been offered paid maternity leave but rather unpaid leave in accordance with FMLA.

On Wednesday, the Trump Organization offered New York a statement similar to the one provided to the Huffington Post, claiming that The Trump Organization is incredibly proud of the family friendly environment it fosters throughout its portfolio. Not only does the Trump Organization have an industry leading 8-week paid parental leave policy, but we also strive to meet the individual needs of parents upon returing [sic] to the work place in order to facilitate a health work-life balance.

The statement was attributed to Deirdre Rosen, senior vice-president of Human Resources at the Trump Organization. When I asked the publicist through whom the statement was sent when the policy had been instituted, and whether it covered all Trump employees, she replied, It covers all Trump employees and is all inclusive for both men and women. It also covers parents of recently adopted children as well. Again I asked when it had been implemented. Unfortunately we have no further comment regarding this matter was the reply.

A failure to confirm when this paid-leave policy was announced means that it could be a long-standing Trump Organization benefit that has gone strangely unreported for the year that hes been in the presidential race and of which many of his employees are unaware, or that it could have been implemented Wednesday morning.

Either way, the policy is significantly less robust than the family-leave policy in place at the Clinton Foundation, which, according to an email from chief communications officer Craig Minassian, provides employees 12 weeks of fully paid leave if they are primary caregivers and six paid weeks if they are secondary caregivers. Men and women choose who is primary and who is secondary, an expansion since 2015, when Chelsea Clinton said in an interview that the foundation offered mothers 12 weeks of paid leave and fathers two weeks. Chelsea, reportedly a close friend of Ivankas until recently, argued last year that We have to live up to our own programming and policy agenda by assuring parents are supported.

Thats quite a concept.
Anything involving Miriam Margolyes.





Edited at 2016-09-15 03:19 am (UTC)

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this list should be all miriam, tbh.

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She is one nutty lady

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came here to make sure she's on the list. smh!!!

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she's a gem.

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I love when she was on with Matthew Perry

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i discovered these recently and have watched them about 10 times. she is amazing!

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EAT SHIT JESSICA ITS CARROT

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Never4get

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U Fake U Fake, in an interview I read Orlando likes broccoli best u r a loser u dont know Orlando, eat shit and dieeeee



LMAO iconic

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the fly incident with steve carell

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mark wahlberg was just rude and obnoxious

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mte he was embarassing

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mte so cringe

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He was repulsive and the misogyny he displayed while speaking about his daughters vs how he treats his sons was sickening. I wish someone would've called him out on that but I guess everyone had their hands full micromanaging his offensive sloppy drunk ass.

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I love him and I hate that James Corden is trying to jack his style...

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Corden is a HACK.

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mte ugh it pisses me off

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Graham is a natural and genuinely seems to be a fan of his guests when he compliments them (or maybe it's his acting training)



Corden is a loud try-hard

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ia I don't follow either v closely but I think it's obvious when you compare them. James Corden can be cute but seems like he wants the attention in some of his carpool vids, versus graham is more about letting guests do their thing or helping them shine

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Corden fucking wishes

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Corden wishes he was even a tenth as funny as Graham Norton.

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tbh i like the mark wahlberg ep for how clearly uncomfortable michael fassbender is and how sarah silverman shut him down while he was getting too obnoxious.

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I love how Sarah Silverman just completely rolled with it. I would have been freaked out, he was really handsy.

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Sarah Silverman was perfect the way she handled him throughout the show. She kinda threw both Mark and Fassbender off their game at times.

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Great post!!



I rewatch the fly incident like once a month lmao

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the episode where bill murray, matt damon, and the earl of grantham all got fucking wasted. they arrived drunk and got more drunk. it was incredible.

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didn't they end up drinking something out of Paloma Faith's shoe? iconic

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yes. yes they did lmfao.

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oh my god

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your icon is basically pornographic O_O

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lol. yup. i have mixed feelings on all of them, but, that ep was hilarious.

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lmao yes! that was Iconic

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So fucking good! My fave part is Bill's story about peacing out during the press tour to visit another country

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Yes! I love when one of them just leaves to go to the loo

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YES. I think that may have been one of the first GN episodes I'd ever seen and I was absolutely cackling the whole time.

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Lmao I lost it when they started cry laughing at Hughs pink lips and jumper. You could tell they thoroughly enjoyed their time on that couch. Matt even said so

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lmao that was a GREAT episode. Matt flipped people over in the Red Chair and looked so gleeful lol and then Hugh went on it and got flipped too.





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awwww the emma one :(

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How is the entire Mickey Rourke/Jessica Biel ep not on here?



That shit was crazy.



I also love when Ioan Gruffud called up some girl and asked her out in Welsh for an audience member.

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That episode was super uncomfortable to watch. Even Graham was skeeved out.

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Graham handled it really well tbh.



Like Mickey Rourke wanted to put handcuffs on Jessica and Graham was like "No, do me instead."

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There was a really good story about shooting Velvet Goldmine in this episode. Apparently Todd Haynes didn't yell "Cut" loud enough for so Ewan Mcgregor and Senor Bale kept going on with the sex scene only to realize everyone had packed up and left.

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Omg lol

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omg i will never forget that one guy on the red chair who told a story about how he was an electrician and there was like a distress call about a dog chewing on wires that got electrocuted and when he asked the owner what the dogs name was they were crying and said 'sparky'

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this whole ep is amazing

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graham is a legend, his show is so funny and celebs always just seem so much engaging/interesting on it than other talkshows because he's great at pacing and timing without trying too hard



oh and "eat shit and die, jessica" is fucking CLASSIC

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The best is the entire Adele, Miranda, and Jack Whitehall episode tbh

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i was about to comment the same thing!

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omg that one is so good

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yes! they were all so much fun

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yeah that one is genuinely good, there's like a warm-hearted feel to it or something.

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This is my favourite too!

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the one where she talks about her poncho flying up? Unreal.

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A classic. They were so funny together

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I went to the filming of the one BEFORE that, and when they announced the guests for that week, the whole audience were like "awwww" because that sounded amazing (and it was!).

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Yes yes yes. That is my favorite chat show episode of anything ever.

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I love that interview with RDJ and Jude.

Now I just need a third Sherlock movie

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aw, can't remember if it was you or another user who linked me but i loved that one

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It was me.

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Their chemistry is so awesome.

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Nope, the Orlando Bloom EAT SHIT AND DIEEEEEE!!! interview should be number 1. ICONIC.

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I don't know who she is but she sounds like an asshole... like I just skimmed this articleon Polanski's arrest in Switzerland: "I had no idea if he would ever be released. And of course the children found it very upsetting. But I dont want to talk about it because its his story, not mine. All I will say is that I think it made me less spoiled. Maybe before I had become a little too used to the good things in life. But this showed me that you cant always have good moments. You have to pay the price.
I think blaming Lochte for the police going after other Americans who were breaking the law

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so the police weren't going after other americans who were breaking the law... wut.. idgi

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Lochte's lies make it hard for honest American swindlers to get away with crimes.

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"changed the climate" in Rio



damn, the scientists have been wrong all this time. lock ha up!

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Lmao

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Well. That is certainly some creative logic.

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Stay on topic

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This anti-whiteness echo chamber!

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lmao which post is this in? the last three posts about this have so many comments, i wanna know which i need to go to and catch up lol





alksjfdalsjdf LMFAO i just found it oh my god people are doing the most



Edited at 2016-09-16 01:14 am (UTC)

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they believe the Lochte case was responsible for their relative being caught breaking the law in Brazil and being arrested.



no it's your relative's fault for breaking the law, lmao wtf is this? team nobody



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ikr there are a lot of things to be mad at lochte for but this isn't one of them

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LOL me tbh

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hahahah

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LOL

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LMAO

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this well on to being iconic gif tho. lmaooo.

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I so wish she would give that pesky reporter a big middle finger. Lmao!

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lol

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Literally what the fuck? I was here for the protesting, but not under these pretenses. Meanwhile, everyone is forgetting Brazilians who were actually hurt by this.

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mte

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This post should be deleted. It's damangong to what we were trying to accomplish!

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#accomplished #ontopic You've created a meme and that is all anyone could ever hope for.

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That's exactly what TMZ and white media wants; to invalidate the reasons why anyone should be protesting Lochte's tantics.

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Have some compassion

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stay on topic.

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lmfao

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lmao, all y'all were on their side and they were ONLY mad because their dunmass cousin got arrested. lmao agian, I can't.



Y'all were like YAASSS STANDING UP FOR BRAZLIALIANS and really they were like "uwu, what about the poor Americans"



I love it.

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TIME, THE ULTIMATE TRUTH TELLER

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Stay on topic please

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~~EVERYONE I DON'T LIKE DESERVES TO BE BEAT TO DEATH~~~~

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When tho?? nobody was on their side per se, everybody was happy because people protested against him but nobody said it was because they supported brasilians, they said it was because he made americans look bad.

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i read the thread after it happened and no one (or hardly anyone) was going "yaaassss standing up for brazilians" it was more like "yaaaaasssss sticking it to lochte."



and it doesn't make the ontders sanctimoniously lecturing other ontders about fake violence hyperbole look any less dumb tbh.

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you seem very dense tbh there wasn't a single comment saying that lmao people were happy someone did something after Lochte pretty much got rewarded for being a pos. No one knew their motivation at the time.

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but people were still pleased that someone was at least against lochte, for whatever reason



you seem very happy that they didn't actually care about brazilians though that whole first paragraph about doing it for Americans had already been posted on ONTD: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/103319556.html but people were still pleased that someone was at least against lochte, for whatever reasonyou seem very happy that they didn't actually care about brazilians though

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screaming @ how this comment backfired on u

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what does that have to do w/ lochte tho...?

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eh if it's true then both locthe and this guy's relative suck

but i don't doubt it's a story made by lochte's team to make the protesters look "evil" and paint him as a "victim".

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mte. lochte is still trash

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Yep, this doesn't really change anything.

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Did they not actually get charged with anything? If they haven't then yeah, the whole thing was definitely staged.

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they were charged with trespassing I believe

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Ia. It's way too convoluted to not be.

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OT but can someone help me find a link for last night's finale of Masterchef? can't find it anywhere.





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stay on topic

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knew this was coming.

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i didn't watch it. but I kinda want to spoil myself because I don't care for anyone on there.

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There's a MC post that was posted and someone put the links in the comments, sis!

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These posts are always golden. The comments baptize me.

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Let's see if if can live up to the mess that was the first post. It already has potential.

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Well nightcrawler is already doing the most.

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The holier-than-thou people have already arrived on their high horses

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LMAO oh my god so these two were like ~LET'S PROTEST LOCHTE BECAUSE IF NOT FOR HIM OUR FAM WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CAUGHT DOING ILLEGAL SHIT~ and not for any social protest or to support Brazil? They're just as stupid as Ryan

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Meh, I want Lochte called out until he disappears from the public eye (if only), but these two sound about as stupid as he is.

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either way Lochte will be entirely forgotten in a few months...tops

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The Permian Basin has become so hot that some oil companies are starting to stay away, instead looking at frontiers that are less picked over.

BP is one such company. The British oil giants CEO Bob Dudley said that land in the Permian has become too expensive, and instead he is looking to expand operations in Argentina, where the vast Vaca Muerta shale basin offers appetizing opportunity.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV from Buenos Aires, Dudley said BP is planning on acquiring more assets in the Vaca Muerta. And it isnt just the enormous potential from the oil and gas reserves in the shale basin, but also the friendly policy put forth by the new Argentine government led by President Mauricio Macri. Im really encouraged by what I see, Dudley said. Theres a lot of future here. BP has a joint venture with Bridas Corp.  BP owns 60 percent of Pan American Energy LLC and Bridas controls the other 40 percent. BP will expand its presence in Argentina through this JV.

Argentina is quickly becoming one of the few countries that has achieved shale development outside of North America. One of the biggest incentives the government has offered is regulated oil prices, set at levels higher than the international price. Several of BPs peers are already drilling in the Vaca Muerta, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell. Related: The Worst Oil Crisis Ever? IEA Sees Unprecedented Decline In Investment

The state-owned YPF said that it would need investments totaling about $200 billion to fully exploit the Vaca Muerta.

Exxon said earlier this year that it might spend more than $10 billion in Argentina, building on several pilot projects. The investments would span decades. I am very encouraged by the changes that have occurred here in Argentina, with the change in government, Exxons CEO Rex Tillerson said in June. More and more companies are starting to build up their presence in Argentina.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, land prices are shooting through the roof. SM Energy recently spent more than $39,000 per acre for land in the Permian, which some are calling the hottest zip codes in the industry. That is pricing out some companies and forcing many to look elsewhere. With West Texas saturated with drillers, Argentina stands to benefit.

By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
TRIPOLIOnly a day after the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA) took over Libyas key oil ports to the dismay of Western powers trying to gain support for a Government of National Accord (GNA), the recently reunified National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya has announced that it will start exporting 600,000 barrels of oil per day in just four weeks.

Late last night, the NOC also announced that it will ramp up production and exports to 950,000 barrels per day before the end of the year. Thats up from the approximately 250,000 bpd the country is exporting right now.

The announcement follows the seizure, two days ago, of four major oil terminals by the forces of the LNA, led by General Khalifa Haftar. The LNA managed to take control of the ports of Sidra, Ras Lanuf, Zuetina and Al-Brega in a military operation that resulted in zero casualties.

In a statement late last night, NOC head Mustafa Sanallah said: "We welcome statements from the Libyan National Army allied with House of Representatives and the president of the HoR, Aguila Saleh, that the ports should be placed under NOC's control."

Our technical teams already started assessing what needs to be done to lift force majeure and restart exports as soon as possible."

LNA spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Mesmari told a press conference earlier yesterday that the army has nothing to do with the oil facilities and will hand them all over to the reunified NOC to operate and resume production freely.



HoR head Ageela Saleh has already given the NOC authorization to make arrangements with their international partners, its companies and affiliates to start operations. Saleh pledged that nothing would be allowed to obstruct these operations.

Those who hinder and obstruct the export of Libyan oil have caused great suffering in the lives of Libyans, and what the army did [in taking over the ports] is a common public and formal demand, Saleh said.

Until recently, Libya had two rival National Oil Companiesone in the capital Tripoli, and the other in eastern Benghazi. Recently, the NOCs reunited, bringing Tripoli NOC head Mustafa Sanallah together with Benghazi NOC head Naji Al-Mogherbi. The HoR has approved Sanallah as the legitimate head of the NOC.

The Bigger Picture: Geopolitics & the Glut

Unfortunately for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA)and to the particular dismay of an array of Western governments (particularly the UK, Italy and the US)--General Haftars move indicates that he has solidified a great deal of power. Related: What Is Holding The Electric Car Market Back?

That the takeover of Libyas ports was done without any casualties, essentially means that it was done without a fight. The Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG), under the control of Ibrahim Jadran, largely retreated at Haftars request, quickly dispersing of any financially based loyalty these tribal militia previously held for Jadran.

But the West is not pleased, despite the fact that the NOCs are now united and by all accounts, the oil is now going to start flowing through the export terminals.

The PFG had been holding Libyan oil exports hostage for more than two and a half years, even before the birth of the GNA. But Jadran is now irrelevant; his tribal bridges have been burnedso too, his ability to block exports and play politics with oil--thanks to General Haftar.

Whats happened here is that Haftars move has unified a great deal of Libyan politics overnight. The fears that one or another faction in Libya will announce a new war to liberate the oil terminals have already largely subsided.

By the hour, it is growing increasingly unlikely that anyone is going to challenge Haftars move. The General has already handed over the ports to the NOC, which has accepted the takeover definitively, so the entire operation has a significant sense of legitimacy that will be difficult to challenge, try as certain forces might.

The Italian Foreign Minister came out with a statement yesterday attempting to downplay Haftars port takeovers by suggesting that the operation was conducted by Sudanese and Chadian rebels. Related: Bad News For The Bakken As Obama Administration Blocks Pipeline

General Haftar, 74, is a former Ghaddafi military man who turned against Ghaddafi in the late 1980s when he was in the United States (well let the reader connect the dots). Haftar returned to Libya during the revolution, fighting against Ghaddafis forces. He then launched a war against radical Islamic fores that were assassinating military officers in Benghazi, and went on to become one of the key forces fighting back radical Islamic militants in Libya. Thats exactly his beef with the GNA, which Haftar claimed from the beginning had taken on radical forces he was fighting in the east.

The US and other Western nations have called on Haftar to withdraw from Libyas oil terminals, saying that the government in Tripolithe GNAis the sole steward of the countrys oil.

It might be confusing for many to hear these statements, given that for the first time in years, Libyas oil terminals are not being held hostage. Its also surprising, given that General Haftar has already handed the terminals over to the legitimate National Oil Company.

The Western plan to install a Government of National Accord has failedand when theres less chaos, theres less opportunity for lucrative oil deals. With everything flowing properly through a unified NOC, there will be rules to follow.

Politics aside, for the markets it means were about to add 600,000 bpd to the oil supply glut in four weeks time, and another 350,000 bpd by the end of the year, if all goes as planned. Until now, Libya (along with Nigerian militants and Canadian wildfires) has been helping to keep the oil supply and demand balance from tipping further into the glut.

By Moutaz Ali in Tripoli for Oilprice.com

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An economy in ruins

More than five years of armed conflict has had a catastrophic impact on the Syrian economy. National GDP has plummeted to less than 50 percent of pre-conflict output, and according to recent figures, the total economic loss to date amounts to 275 billion USD  around five times the countrys 2010 GDP. As violence continues in several parts of the country, especially in the pre-conflict commercial powerhouse of Aleppo, Syrias economic downfall can be expected to continue.

The extreme damage to the economy is due to a combination of a 25 percent drop in overall population, the displacement of half of all Syrians, a steep drop in economic activity, capital flight, massive destruction of infrastructure and productive capacity, as well as the loss of 25 million school years for Syrias children, which will reduce labour productivity for the coming generation. Furthermore, large segments of the Syrian business elite that initially remained confident in the future of the country have lost faith and divested their assets and relocated to neighbouring countries.

Such an economic impact is not only affecting the Syrian population at present, but will be felt for decades, if not generations. If the war ended this year, it would take 10-15 years before Syrias per capita GDP would return to pre-conflict levels. And as the violence is expected to continue well into the future, total long-term economic costs could reach up to 1 trillion USD  nearly 20 times the 2010 GDP. One vital economic sector that has been hit extremely hard is the agricultural sector. Fighting has destroyed irrigation systems and other infrastructure, depleted water supplies, ruined soil conditions, obstructed trade and caused massive displacement of the farming population. This came on top of Syria suffering yet another drought with cumulative rainfall in 2013-14 being less than half of the long-term average. As a result, Syrias wheat production has dropped 30 percent compared to pre-conflict levels and made the country highly dependent on cereal imports to mitigate growing food insecurity.

There is however some positive news for Syrias agricultural sector. Among them is a programme recently adopted by newly-appointed Prime Minister Imad Khamis government prudently designed to support the agricultural production. This includes government donations for home agriculture and measures to facilitate domestic food production in addition to potential micro-loans for rural women to further revive the sector and catalyse local growth.

Another extremely important sector for the Syrian economy is that of hydrocarbons. In 2011 Syrias oil production stood at 400,000 barrels per day but due to heavy fighting over territorial control with oil fields this has now dropped to a daily production of only 15,000-25,000 barrels, with a substantial part extracted and sold by various armed non-state groups. The Syrian army and its allies are, however, currently seeking to regain full control of the countrys hydrocarbon resources and the associated infrastructure, especially in central Syria.

In eastern Hama governorate, pro-government forces backed by Russian airstrikes in late July took control over parts of a key oil pipeline east of Salamiyah. North-east of Palmyra in Homs governorate, fighting is taking place around the gas facilities of Arak while airstrikes regularly target the IS-held oil town of Sukhna. Related: What Is Holding The Electric Car Market Back?

At the Mahr and Jazal oil fields and Shaer gas fields north-west of Palmyra, pro-government ground forces backed by airstrikes are additionally fighting off IS militants in order to increase the daily production. While these efforts will likely only have a minor short-term economic impact, they could prove crucial in the long-term goal of restarting the countrys oil production and benefiting the overall Syrian economy.

(Click to enlarge)

Syrias hotspot in the struggle for control of hydrocarbon sites

A helping hand

Since the Russian military intervention in September 2015, the battle fortunes of Bashar al-Assads government have seen a significant reversal. This has brought relative stability to many government-controlled parts of the country and has also allowed for initial steps of economic reconstruction, a process in which Assads foreign allies Russia and China are set to play a key role.

The economic cooperation between Syria and Russia stretches back decades and several Russian corporations have contracts in Syria from before the conflict. According to the Moscow Times these were already worth around 20 billion USD in 2011, and it is a number certain to rise in the future.

Several recent high-level visits to Moscow by the Syrian president himself, his minister of foreign affairs and other government officials have, for example, involved discussions about Russian companies including Gazprom, Soyuzneftegaz, Lukoil and Zarubezhneft getting further involved in Syrias oil production.

Arms exports have also been a key Russian business interest closely tied to the Syrian government. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russian arms sales to Syria totalled 4.7 billion USD from 2007-2010. The Moscow Times estimated active bilateral arms contracts at 4 billion USD in 2011 alone, including MiG-29 fighter jets, Pantsir surface-to-air missiles, tanks, artillery systems and anti-tank weapons.

Russia has also played a key role in Syrias monetary system. Since 2012, Russia has been printing Syrian pounds and flying them to Syria to allow the government to pay public sector salaries in spite of rapidly declining reserves. Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin has channeled billions of dollars to the Syrian government to prevent a financial collapse.

Eager to cash-in on its massive support for the Assad government, Russia will likely not only seek to replenish the Syrian armys weapons stockpiles after the conflict, but also seek to ensure a favourable position come the time of distribution of reconstruction contracts in several sectors.

In addition to Russia, China will likely also play a key role in Syrias post-conflict economic recovery. Although Chinese oil workers were pulled out of Syria in 2013 due to escalating violence, the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation still holds shares in two of Syrias largest oil producers: The Syrian Petroleum Company and Al-Furat Petroleum Company, while Sinochem also holds substantial shares in various Syrian oil fields. Related: Worlds Most Expensive Oil Project Could Finally Come Online

Chinas role in Syrias economic recovery will, however, not be limited to the oil sector. In December, China offered Syria 6 billion USD worth of investments in addition to 10 billion USD worth of existing contracts, as well as a significant deal signed between the Syrian government and Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to rebuild Syrias telecom infrastructure as part of Chinas 900 billion USD Silk Road infrastructure initiative.

China has also been a major exporter of weapons systems to the Syrian government. In the 1990s China was selling Syria ballistic missiles technology and from 2006-2010 the Peoples Republic was Syrias fifth-largest provider of conventional weapons. Chinese exporters have also been linked to Syrias chemical weapons programmes. In terms of overall trade, in 2010 China was the largest source of imports to Syria.

Aiming to defend these economic interests, Chinese officials recently announced plans to increase humanitarian support for the Syrian people as well as military support for the Syrian government in the fight against terrorism. In mid-August the Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of Chinas Central Military Commission, Guan Youfei, arrived in Damascus and pledged to expand Chinese military support for the Syrian government, likely including both training and military hardware deliveries.

Backed by military commitments to President Assads rule, Russia and China have doubled down on their existing business interests in Syria and thus further positioned themselves to play a key role in the future recovery of several sectors in the devastated Syrian economy.

By Global Risk Insights

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The bankruptcy wave thats been washing through the U.S. oil and gas industry is far from over, according to a fresh report by debt specialists at Debtwire. But there is some good news, as well, for a change: the speed of this wave is slowing down, which means the number of companies troubled deeply enough to file for bankruptcy protection is on the wane.

Debtwire estimates that at least 135 E&Ps are at a high risk of going under. The list includes Comstock Resources with a debt load of $1.2 billion, W&T Offshore with debts of $1.4 billion, EXCO Resources, which owes its creditors $1.2 billion, and Chesapeake Energy with $14 billion outstanding.

This, however, is a decline on Debtwires January list of companies at risk, when there were 180 E&Ps on it.

On the one hand, this could be seen as good news, interpreted as a sign of the improving environment in oil and gas thanks to the price rebound from the February trough of under $30 a barrel. In support of this interpretation, Bloomberg reported in late August that M&A activity in the sector had started to improve, with deals worth $11 billion in total announced in July alone.

On the other hand, however, the reason that bankruptcies in U.S. oil and gas are slowing down could be the simple fact that there is a finite number of companies that can go bankrupt, and most of them already have or are about to.

In February, we wrote about a Deloitte report that warned bankruptcies in U.S. oil and gas could this year exceed the levels seen during the Great Recession. The total debt of U.S. and Canadian energy companies at end-2015 was calculated by Alix Partners at $353 billion. Things havent improved that much since then, despite the price rebound and the increase in drilling rigs taken by many as a cause for optimism, despite the fact that virtually every added rig immediately weighs on oil futures prices. Related: Geopolitical Oil Glut: What Happens When Libya Exports 600,000 bpd in 4 Weeks?

E&Ps are still in deep trouble, and they are not the only ones: so are their lenders. According to Moodys, investor losses from defaulting companies since 2015 have been the greatest among all oil industry downturns so far. The rating agency has estimated, based on an analysis of 15 company defaults, that creditors only got an average of 21% of the face value of what theyd lent to the companies. This compares with a historical average of 58.6% for all previous downturns.

Between January 2015 and July 2016, as many as 90 E&Ps went under, with their combined debt calculated at $66.5 billion, according to Haynes and Boone. That makes an average of about $740 million in debt per company. This is debt that the companies that sank could not repay. Now, some of the ones at risk owe more than a billion and oil prices seem to be stuck around the $50 mark with no prospects to continue climbing towards $60. Its a pretty safe bet that there will be more bankruptcies, but also possibly major changes in ownership.

Distressed corporate debt attracts a certain type of investor like nothing else. Investors who deal in private equity and who know that sooner or later, the oil industry will recover simply because at some point the glut will be over for sure. So, this type of investor is spending generously on the distressed debt of E&Ps, with the latter short of many options but to sell the debt to any buyer that happens to be around, and at any price they offer. The situation were seeing right now in oil and gas is basically sell or die, a veritable classic Western plot.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Goldman Sachs has been extremely pessimistic about the oil market over the last year and a half, and the latest from their head of commodity research, Jeff Currie, is no exception. According to Currie, crude will continue to trade within the US$45-50 band over the next 12 months. Any improvement above US$50 is highly unlikely.

The analyst noted that the primary reason for the gloomy forecast is the simple lack of any upside potential for oil at present. He also suggested that the market may have already balanced itself at the current price levels, comparing the overall environment to that in the early 1990s when a barrel of crude sold for US$20.

Currie told Bloomberg that OPECs meeting in Algeria, scheduled for September 27, when the cartel will discuss a potential freeze with Russia, will not have any notable impact on oil prices, whatever the outcome. Shale, he said, has taken the upper hand, because production in the shale patch can be ramped up or reduced much quicker than conventional oil. This development, according to Currie, has taken much of the leverage that previously was at the disposal of conventional oil producers.

Curries remarks come on the heels of the latest Oil Market Report of the International Energy Agency, which warned that the growth in demand for crude will be slower than previously forecast this year. The IEA added that the supply will continue to be excessive through the end of the first half of 2017 at least.

Of course, a lot of this supply will continue to come from the current top producers globally, but there may be additional barrels coming from Libya as well, which will certainly aggravate the glut and possibly drag prices down below US$45. Nigeria is also putting a lot of effort into resolving its problems with Niger Delta militants, and although success remains highly uncertain, it is still a possibility.

In light of this, Curries forecast can actually be seen as cautiously optimistic.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The latest

Milwaukee's best LGBT bar, 2017

For the second year in a row, upstart Hamburger Mary's has edged LaCage to be named as Milwaukee's best LGBT bar. And, after moving from Bay View to Walker's Point in November, opening in a larger location, readers seemed to love Mary's even more.
Why Conjoined Syrian Twins Nawras and Mou'az Were Condemned to Death

By Franklin Lamb, a volunteer with the Lebanon, France, and USA based Meals for Syrian Refugee Children Lebanon (MSRCL) which seeks to provide hot nutritional meals to Syrian and other refugee children in Lebanon. http://mealsforsyrianrefugeechildrenlebanon.com . He is reachable c/o fplamb@gmail.com.

Pauper's Cemetery, Najha, Syria, September 13, 2016.



MSRCL will arrange for the twin's grave to have a proper headstone and base.

(Image by Franklin P. Lamb) Details DMCA



One-month old conjoined twins Narwas and Mou'az Al-Hashash died needlessly this month in a Damascus hospital because they were the innocent victims of what International Humanitarian Law defines as War Crimes.

The boys are buried in an unmarked pauper's grave near the town of Najha, approximately 30 miles south of Damascus as their story...one among countless hundreds of other needless deaths here...begins to fade as more senseless tragedies are reported.

Illegal siege warfare entrapped the twins as it did the entire civilian population of Hammouria in the rebel stronghold of East Ghouta, near Damascus. This area was hit with chemical weapons in August 2013 and a specialist from the Mayo Clinic's Campus in Minnesota, USA has speculated that "environmental conditions" could be one reason the boys were joined in the womb and that perhaps the mother of Narwas and Mou'az had been affected by inhaling particles from the chemical weapons three years ago.

To whatever degree one might be inclined to credit the Mayo medical specialist's interesting thesis, it is irrelevant to the boy's needless death because chemical weapons were not the immediate cause of the boy's death. Other war crimes and regional proxy politics were.

Referring to the conjoined twins Nawras and Mou'az Al-Hashash, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) issued a post-death press release: "The official authorities approved the evacuation of the babies to be done the next day (7/24/2016), but the medical staff who were supervising the case inside Ghouta at Zahra Hospital refused to allow them out." Zahra Hospital disputed this version of the events and denied they delayed the conjoined twins travel for emergency medical assistance. Dr. Mohamad Katoub, advocacy manager for the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) told the Wall Street Journal that Syria's Foreign Ministry was responsible for the ultimately fatal delays. The ministry was "looking for a medical solution that matched its political interests and trying to secure medical treatment for the twins in a country with friendlier relations with Syria," he said.

Whichever version of events one credits, the fact is that for 17 days Nawras and Mou'az were denied escape from besieged East Ghouta for lifesaving medical help although all the relevant political decision makers, as well as the UN Security Council were fully aware that surgery abroad was absolutely necessary to save the boys. More than one concerned medical group, including the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) made myriad arrangements to save the boys with surgery abroad. SARCS made an agreement with the Italian Association Terre des Hommes , which has an office in Damascus, for the babies to be admitted to Rome's "Bambino Gesu" Hospital to perform the surgery. London's Great Osmond hospital was also prepared to do the surgery, as well other medical centers contacted by SAMS, MSRCL, and others.

On 8/12/2016 when the boys were finally allowed to leave East Ghouta's Zahra Hospital and come to Sinan Hospital in Damascus, for the next nearly two weeks they were not allowed to be moved abroad. As a foreseeable result of this denial to receive emergency medical help abroad, conjoined twins Narwas and Mou'az died needlessly on August 24th. The World Health Organization told this observer that it took days of negotiations to evacuate them to Damascus from East Ghouta and that the boys ran out of time as the political negotiations lagged. During the morning of 8/24/2016, Dr. Katoub issued a statement advising that "Nawras and Moaz passed away this early morning. The whole world couldn't have the permission to evacuate them."

Next to the boys' small concrete slab, the Meals for Syrian Refugee Children Lebanon (MSRCL) left the boys, their grieving family and the Syrian public a sketch of the precious ones drawn by Syrian artist Akram Abo Alfoz . A copy of which this observer obtained from Dr. Mohammad Katoub, a Syrian humanitarian, who along with his colleagues at the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) had for weeks pleaded the twins' petition to save their lives. They had arranged for the twins' life-saving surgery abroad but unfortunately these and others pleas were in vain.

There remain conflicting reports about why it took almost three weeks for the boys to be evacuated. Dr. Bakr Abu Ebrahem, who delivered the twins, told The Wall Street Journal :"If these were two boys born in Damascus, they could have been taken out within 48 hours to another country. But only because they were born in the Ghouta, they have delayed."

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Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli

House Republican Leader Mike McLane

Salem, Ore.  Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day) responded to yesterdays September revenue forecast update with the following statement:

While weve experienced recent economic growth, our state budget is not on a sustainable path. Hidden within the robust state employment average and breezy rhetoric about the strength of our economy is the stark reality of extreme poverty and chronic joblessness in rural areas where families are struggling to make ends meet. Were facing $68 million in lost revenue next biennium, and a projected $153 million less in 2019-2021. With slower growth expected in the years to come, its time for the legislature to tighten its belt and start spending within our means so working Oregon families and small businesses dont pay the price.

Salem, OR  House Republican Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) issued the following statement regarding yesterdays revenue forecast:

Right now, Oregons economy is holding steady. However, there are some indications that things are beginning to slow down in other states around the country. Because our state is so interconnected with national and international markets, our government should proceed with caution. Now is not the time for significant policy changes that would not only produce uncertainty but could have a chilling impact on our private sector.
Samsung's recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates.

Announcing the recall on September 2, Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging at 60 per cent capacity to help minimize risks of overheating.

But it is urging owners to keep the phones turned off until they can get them replaced, beginning September 19.

The Note 7 debuted to rave reviews in August thanks to its speed, new software features and not least the estimated nine hours it would run between charges.

ALSO READ: Samsung Note 7 tragedy: Everything you need to know

But all that power comes at a price: users began reporting the phones were catching fire or exploding, in one case incinerating the SUV it had been left in.

Aviation authorities in the US, Australia and Europe have urged passengers not to use or charge Note 7s while flying and not to put them in checked baggage. On Monday, Canada issued an official recall.

Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president, said in announcing the recall on September 2 that an investigation turned up a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s that was very difficult to identify. The end of the pouch-shaped battery cell had some flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating, he explained.

That kind of manufacturing error is unimaginable for top-notch battery makers with adequate quality controls, said Park Chul Wan, a former director of the next generation battery research center at the state-owned Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

Samsung and other experts should search for factors outside the battery cells that could have led to overheating, he said.

"If Koh's argument is right, that makes Samsung SDI a third-rate company," Park said. "But it does not appear to be a simple battery problem."

Time also is a factor in marketing and making the phones.

In 2015, Samsung moved up its unveiling of its new Galaxy Note model to August from September, seeking a leg up on Apple's September iPhone upgrades.

Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping pace with demand for the Note 7.
According to a report by Korea Herald, Samsung might have to push out the Galaxy S8 ahead of its scheduled launch. The South Korean company is undergoing a critical period in the history of its smartphone business. The Note 7 fiasco might leave a lasting impact on the company's image as well as stocks.

With damage control underway, the company is looking forward to bring the sales back on track. According to Kim Sang-pyo, an analyst at the KB Investment & Securities, "Regardless of the sales resumption, an earlier launch of a new quality flagship model seems to be the most realistic solution to dealing with the current recall crisis."

Samsung Galaxy S8 is the next big launch from Samsung and the company will try its best to launch it before time to curtail the damages to the profitability of the mobile business division.



ALSO READ: Samsung Note 7 tragedy: Everything you need to know

The Galaxy S8 series has already been spotted under the codename 'Dream' and 'Dream2', which carry the model numbers SM-G950 and SM-G955 respectively. The numbering falls in line with the predecessor, Samsung Galaxy S7 which was numbered SM-G930.

The new phone is rumoured to take the Apple-route with the next flagship by removing the 3.5mm headphone jack to probably replace it with a single USB-type C port.

Since there is no official report regarding the early release, the news should be taken with a grain of salt. Traditionally, Samsung releases the Galaxy S flagship during the Mobile World Congress, held in the month of February every year.



ALSO READ: Apple iPhones receive massive discounts prior to Indian festive season




The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
The Eastern Regional President of the Ahamadiya Muslims Mission of Ghana, Alhaji Mustapha Boateng has expressed optimism that Ghanaians will not fight over choosing who to lead the nation during December 2016 elections.



Alhaji Mustapha Boateng popularly known as Alhaji Chocho, in expressing that optimism said, we should ensure that those we are going to give the jobs to or vote for can do the job and this does not call for a fight.



The Chief Executive Officer of Chocho Industries expressed this in an interview in the United Kingdom with UK based Ghanaian Journalist, Kwaku Owusu Frimpong, during the 50th Anniversary of Jalsla Salana.



Jalsla Salana is an Annual National Convention of the Ahamadiya Muslims Mission in the World where Ahamadiya Muslims from all walks of life converge.



Alhaji Boateng explained that Ghanaians are understandable and they will not fight over choosing who to lead them. We are going to look for a job for someone and that does not mean we should fight but we should look and vote for someone who can do the job.



He added that it will not make sense to fight for those we [voters] are looking for the job so I am sure there would be no skirmishes in the elections.



Leaders must serve



The prominent industrialist counseled leaders in the country to serve the people instead of seeking power and hoping to be served.



The elderly, leaders and dignitaries must serve the people. The important people in the society must serve the people and that shows respect. There should be truthfulness in the country, Alhaji Mustapha Boateng added.



Advice to the youth



Alhaji Chocho said the youth should be calm and patience in life because life is not about rushing to achieve earthly things in life.



They should look at their childhood periods. They should look at since they were children and they will agree with me that, whatever has happen to them is not their might and wisdom but a power behind. That is the power behind life and what will make that power profitable is for them to be patients and have hope in God.



He explained that experience has shown that when you rush in life, you can fall into a trap so the youth should be patience because patience has the support from God.



This years event, which took place at Oak Farm Hampshire in UK, brought together thousands of Muslims across the world. Significantly, amongst the invited renowned speakers was Ghanas Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu.



The Ahamadiya Muslims Mission provides various forms of projects for humanity across the globe. One significant aspect of the sect is Humanity First that undertakes several humanity-oriented programs such as the Gift of sight, provision of water for sub-Saharan Africa provision of accommodation for the destitute, among others.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Proteins inside bacteria fluoresce in colors that reflect their differing genetic make-ups caused by rapid lab-generated mutations. The differences help researchers sort them into evolutionary trees. Credit: Georgia Tech / Rob Felt

Remnants of extinct monkeys are hiding inside you, along with those of lizards, jellyfish and other animals. Your DNA is built upon gene fragments from primal ancestors.

Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made it more likely that ancestral genes, along with ancestral proteins, can be accurately identified and reconstructed. The researchers' insights could also help scientists use ancient gene sequences to synthesize better proteins to battle diseases.

For some 20 years, scientists have used algorithms to compute their way hundreds of millions of years back into the evolutionary past. Starting with present-day gene sequences, they perform what's called ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) to determine past mutations and figure out the genes' primal forerunners.

But ASR algorithms have faced logical criticism. Species based on those primal genes are long extinct, and scientists can't travel back in time to observe mutations that have happened since. So, how can anyone find any physical benchmark to verify and gauge ASR?

Time travel substitute

A team of researchers led by Eric Gaucher, an associate professor at Georgia Tech's School of Biological Sciences, did it by building an evolutionary framework out of myriad mutations. Then they benchmarked ASR algorithms against it  no time machine required.

Their results have shored up confidence that the widely used algorithms are working as they should.

"Most of them did a very good job  98% accurate," Gaucher said of contemporary algorithms' ability to compute ancient gene sequences. Their determination of proteins encoded by those sequences was virtually perfect.

Gaucher, research coordinator Ryan Randall and undergraduate student Caelan Radford published their results on Thursday, September 15, 2016, in the journal Nature Communications. Their research has been funded by the NASA Exobiology program, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) and the National Science Foundation.

"With the help of ASR, we can now actually build those ancient genes in the laboratory and express their encoded ancient proteins," Gaucher said. "And we can do it with confidence." In a separate project, his lab is computing ancient proteins that were very effective in blood clotting 80 million years ago, in hopes of using them to fight hemophilia today.

Holographic tree branches

Ancestral sequence reconstruction is like making a family tree for genes.

The many twigs and branches at the treetop would be sequences from species alive today. Shimmying down the tree, called a phylogeny in genetics, you would find their common ancestors, millions of years old, in the lower branches.

There's a caveat; none of the lower branches exist any longer. They vanished in the extinction of the species bearing those genetic sequences.

ASR computes them back into place using algorithms based on scientific models of evolution. It's like replacing missing branches with holographic duplicates.

Ryan Randall (R) and Caelan Radford hold up cultures of lab bacteria with mutated proteins fluorescing in various colors. Credit: Georgia Tech / Rob Felt

Algorithm horse race

The accuracy of those evolutionary models has been a historic sticking point. And doubts about the algorithms based on them linger in some circles that hold on to an old, tried-and-true algorithm.

So, Gaucher and researcher coordinator Randall pitted the contemporary model-based, or "maximum likelihood," algorithms in a race against the generic, or "parsimony," algorithm.

"Parsimony follows the simplest notion of evolution, which is that very little mutation occurs," Randall said. The models behind contemporary "maximum likelihood" algorithms, by contrast, are laced with filigree details.

For the race, Randall made a track of sorts by putting a gene sequence through multiple mutations to construct a real-life phylogeny. She used methods that closely mimicked natural evolution, but that were much, much faster.

Rainbow racetrack

In cells, enzymes called polymerases aid in DNA duplication. They work very efficiently, but their rare mistakes are the most common source of mutations, and Randall took her lead from this.

"We used a polymerase that is error-prone to speed up mutations, and speed up evolution," she said.

The genes used at the starting point of the lab evolution made a protein that fluoresced red when placed in bacteria. As significant mutations arose, the proteins began changing color. Bacteria containing green fluorescing proteins popped up among the red ones.

Randall divided bacteria with major mutations into new groups, creating branches in the phylogeny, as she went. Many mutations produced new colors  yellow, orange, blue, pink  and Randall ended up with a gene family tree in rainbow colors.

Show me the phenotype

The colors reflected not only new gene sequences but also new phenotypes  the actual proteins they produced, the organism's working molecules.

"What counts is phenotype," Gaucher said. "When you analyze DNA strictly by itself, it ignores the context, in which that DNA is connected to phenotype," he said.

Georgia Tech researcher Ryan Randall created an evolutionary tree by rapidly generating mutations of a fluorescing protein and laying out diverging pathways of their strains. Then she ran ancestral sequence reconstruction algorithms back down the tree to benchmark them. The ASRs proved highly accurate. Credit: Georgia Tech / Ryan Randall

DNA can mutate and still encode the same amino acids, protein's component parts. Then the mutation has no real effect. But when mutations cause DNA to encode different amino acids, they're more significant.

A worthy test of ancestral sequence reconstruction algorithms must therefore include phenotype. And Randall took this into account when selecting mutated proteins.

"I selected for variants to purposely make it hard on the algorithms to infer the phenotypes," she said. The race ensued, and the algorithms got limited information to infer the evolutionary tree's many dozens of past mutations.

A sure bet

Though the tried-and-true parsimony algorithm performed well, maximum likelihood performed better. "Even though it got the same number of residues (DNA sequences) wrong as parsimony, the incorrectly inferred sequences were still more likely to encode the right phenotypes," said undergraduate student Caelan Radford, who analyzed the experiment's statistics.

The margin of error was so tiny that it would not interfere in the determination of past species.

The experiment's outcome was not too surprising, because prior simulations had predicted it. But the researchers wanted the scientific community to have physical proof that feels trustier than proof from a computer. "It's a computer algorithm. It will do what you will tell it to do," Gaucher said.

Short history of ASR

Doubts about ancestral sequence reconstructionand maximum likelihood algorithms in particulargo far back. The idea of performing ASR first came up in 1963, but it didn't get started until the 1990s, and back then, researchers battled fervently over wide-ranging methods.

"People would come up with the craziest notion as to why one model was best," Gaucher said. "They'd say, 'Well, if I simulate this weird mode of evolution along these branches here, my algorithm will work better than your algorithm."

The parsimony algorithm was a way of reigning in the chaos that grew out of a lack of data in evolutionary models at the time. "When the model is wrong, 'maximum likelihood' fails miserably," Gaucher said.

But, now, a multitude of data and analysis give scientists a great picture of how evolution works (and it's not a parsimony principle): For ages, nothing moves, then change bursts forth, then things stabilize again.

"You get this quick evolution, so lots of stuff works and lots of stuff fails, and the stuff that works then goes on and kind of maintains its status and doesn't change," Gaucher said. By confirming the high accuracy of the algorithms, the Georgia Tech team has also corroborated the validity of current evolutionary science they're based on.

Explore further Peptide mutants may help to identify vulnerability in tumor cells
What appears to be a ghostly creature moving through space is actually the first-ever video footage of a larval bonefish. The video can be viewed below.

The video was captured by Louis Penrod, one of a team of Florida Tech students and researchers led by Dr. Jon Shenker on a trip to the Isle of Youth, Cuba, this summer.

This video shows the leptocephalus ("slender head") larval stage of a 50- or 60-days-old bonefish drifting in the ocean. The researchers will determine the exact age of this and other "leptos" caught in Cuba by reading the daily growth rings on their otoliths, or ear bones  a painstaking process that will take months to complete.

The big question Shenker and his team are working to answer is where bonefish in the Florida Keys come from. Shenker says these elusive and endangered game fish may well be spawned in Cuba, or even further up in the prevailing ocean currents in the Caribbean, before ending up in Florida. The fish's migration path highlights the need for conservation of the fish not only in Florida waters but the entire region where they spawn and grow into adulthood, Shenker says.

Shenker recently told Fly Life magazine, "This data will be a great help in the analysis of genetics and connectivity, particularly in understanding the role of Cuban bonefish populations in the Florida Keys fishery." Shenker works closely with the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, a non-profit game fish conservation organization that seeks to understand and address the causes of game fish decline in certain areas.

Explore further Project Bay Bones investigates bonefish decline
US actor and environmental campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio has turned his focus on illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 35 percent of the global wild marine catch

American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio unveiled Thursday a free technology that allows users to spy on global fishing practices, in a bid to curb illegal activity in the oceans and rebuild imperiled fish stocks.

The technology, known as Global Fishing Watch, was officially released to the public during the Our Oceans Conference hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

"Today, this unprecedented technology is available to everyone in the world. I encourage everyone to go check it out," DiCaprio told the conference.

"This platform will empower citizens across the globe to become powerful advocates for our oceans."

Available at GlobalFishingWatch.org, the technology aims to offer a crowd sourced solution to the problem of illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 35 percent of the global wild marine catch and causes yearly losses of $23.5 billion, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Overfishing is also a growing problem worldwide, with about two thirds of fish stocks in the high seas either over exploited or depleted, said the FAO.

Some of the planet's largest fish, including tuna and swordfish, are below 10 percent of their historical level.

Using satellite technology combined with radar aboard boats, the platform allows people to zero in on areas of interest around the world and trace the paths of 35,000 commercial fishing vessels.

"It gives the public an opportunity to see what is happening, even out in the middle of the ocean," said John Amos, president and founder of SkyTruth, one of three partners in the project along with Google and Oceana.

"We need the public to be engaged to convince governments and convince the seafood industry that they need to solve the problems of overfishing," Amos told AFP.

Overfishing is a growing problem around the world, with about two-thirds of fish stocks in the high seas either over exploited or depleted

"If you can't see it and can't measure it, you are not going to care about it and it is not going to get solved."

DiCaprio-funded

The project has cost $10.3 million over the past three years to build, with $6 million of those funds contributed by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in January.

In order the make the data available for free, Oceana and its partners negotiated a deal with the satellite company Orbcomm to use its three-day old data, which is described as "near real-time," along with historical records.

Although the delay means that any criminals won't be nabbed instantaneously, advocates say the technology will open the world's waters to public watchdogs in a way that has never been done before.

"We think it is going to have a lot of impact, first of all just the deterrent effect of vessels knowing that we could see them if they are doing something they are not supposed to be doing," Savitz said.

"You can look at an area you are interested in, zoom in and see what data we have."

Possible uses

For instance, users could zero in on a marine protected area and see if any boat tracks have crossed into waters where they should not have been.

One could scan the map for any evidence that large vessels are fishing in areas that are reserved for small-scale fishermen.

GlobalFishingWatch.org allows people to trace the paths of commercial fishing vessels and make sure boats haven't strayed into marine protected areas

Vessels can be tracked by name or by country, or by traffic inside exclusive economic zones.

The paths of ships are visible, including zigzag paths that could indicate vessels are avoiding shore to offload their catch on to other ships undetected, or that other illegal operations or human rights abuses may be under way.

Savitz said some capacities may be beyond the ability of the average Internet user, but that experts are available via the website to help with specific questions.

Future versions of the technology may even include tagging data for marine animals, so that the paths of whales and sharks and other fish might be visible alongside the vessel activity, she said.

Currently, Global Fishing Watch does not include every vessel, only those that broadcast data from the Automatic Identification System, collected by satellite and terrestrial receivers and meant mainly as a safety mechanism to avoid collisions.

Many of the world's largest fishing vessels are required by the International Maritime Organization to use AIS.

AIS can be turned off if the boat operator is doing something illegal, but Savitz said that such an on-off action would likely be apparent by tracing the boat's appearing and disappearing tracks.

Already, the government of Kiribati has used Global Fishing Watch data to unmask illegal fishing in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, declared off-limits to commercial fishing on January 1, 2015.

The owners of the vessel had to pay a $1 million fine and also made a "goodwill" donation of another $1 million grant, Oceana said.

Explore further Ships flagged for illegal fishing still able to get insurance, study finds

 2016 AFP
Martin Vetterli, President of the National Research Council of the SNSF, has been lobbying for open science for years. "You can't simply command it to happen", he says. As a researcher at EPFL, he discloses all his own raw data.

What does 'open science' mean to you as a researcher?

At the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL, we traditionally make all our published papers freely available online. We also provide all the associated data and source codes. In this manner, all our results can be reproduced by other research groups.

Researchers are already drowning in papers today. How can they hope to keep up if everything is going to be made freely available?

With open science, the exact opposite will happen. Publishing an article on this basis means that all data is documented clearly. Every step in our work that led to a result is described so that others can comprehend it. This means that, overall, fewer papers will be published, while their quality will rise at the same time. It will also make research more transparent.

How exactly do you go about this?

We still publish in the traditional journals. But even while we're submitting the paper, we put all our data on our server. As soon as the article is accepted, we also place it on free online access.

Shouldn't a researcher have the right to keep his laboratory recipes to himself?

Certainly not in my field, the computer sciences. And maybe the same should apply in other fields too. 350 years ago, we moved from the age of alchemy into chemistry. The alchemists simply claimed that they could produce gold according to a secret method. There was no possibility of checking their claims systematically. You could choose to believe them, or not. But all that changed with the onset of chemistry. We began to publish our methods. That was the moment when modern science was born. If we do things differently today, then we're returning to an age of alchemy.

Of all the publications that have resulted from SNSF funding, only 40 percent are freely available. As President of the Research Council, are you OK with that?

No. I'm frustrated. We are much too slow. Today, the Swiss taxpayers pay three times. First for the actual research, secondly for their subscription to the specialist journals where it's published, then thirdly for open access. This means the publisher profits twice. That's truly shameful. We can't tolerate it.

So what are you doing about it?

The SNSF is developing a strategy in tandem with Swissuniversities. We want to reach a point where all papers are available on open access, without our having to pay a further fee for them. We hope that we can conclude an agreement with the publishers so that researchers in Switzerland can get automatic open access.

How do you want to achieve this?

If Switzerland as a centre of research is able to present a united front, then we can go to the publishers and say: Either you do a deal with us now, or the Swiss research community will boycott you. That will be difficult, of course. But the Netherlands have managed it. And they've been successful.

Is Switzerland ready for such a step?

The whole situation is rather complicated. The many different researchers active in Switzerland have different interests. We're still finding it a little difficult to coordinate all these interests.

Couldn't the SNSF simply compel researchers to publish their data only in open-access journals?

That's not so simple, because in some cases it would be bad for their careers. Researchers have to endeavour to publish in journals that are best suited to their results. It's also our goal to further the careers of our researchers, not to hinder them.

Why doesn't EPFL found its own specialist journal?

A specialist journal of our own would be a very good idea. But it's not something that we can make happen on a top-down basis. It has to come from the research community itself. If a community decides to leave the traditional path, it will happen. But I'm not the person to decide that. Such a process would require a cultural shift among researchers.

Have researchers elsewhere already gone down that path?

Yes. Together with other researchers, the famous mathematician Timothy Gowers at the University of Cambridge has founded the journal 'Discrete Analysis'. It's a virtual journal. The editorial board can concentrate solely on peer-reviewing because the papers submitted are managed by an external company. The costs amount to about ten francs per manuscript. So it's a hundred to a thousand times cheaper than publishing in a traditional journal.

In 2012, an article in Nature showed that 47 of 53 important cancer studies were not reproducible. How is that possible?

To be fair, we have to admit that research is more difficult in some fields than in others. In medicine, for example, you only have a small amount of data because you're dealing with real people. That means that there are often problems with both statistics and reproducibility.

Nevertheless, the reproducibility crisis also affects other areas, such as biology, where you can choose your volume of data more freely.

I've heard well-known professors claim: "The other group couldn't reproduce that because they're not as good as us". There are indeed people who have a real knack  they can work with organisms so well that their experiments succeed, while others can't reproduce them. Nevertheless, I think that it's a weakness, because the goal of science is absolute reproducibility.

Isn't it just that people are cheating?

This can happen, but it's certainly not the norm. Here we also have to remember that researchers are in competition with each other. A bit too much competition today. The resulting pressure makes researchers feel compelled to publish their work, even when it's inadequate.

So is competition bad for research?

No, I wouldn't put it as simply as that. In science, we have always been keen to be the first to discover something. That's how we make progress in research, by being cleverer and better than the others. It's part and parcel of research that we compete against each other.

So what's the problem?

Today, it's particularly difficult for young people to become real researchers. Fifty years ago, we still had the leisure to think differently about the world and to generate new ideas. Today, research has become a business. The general public, politicians and the private sector think that you can pour money into research at one end, and get useful results out of the other end shortly afterwards. But of course it's not like that. Research needs time and space if people are going to be able to think creatively.

But researchers have it good at EPFL, don't they?

This is not just a Swiss matter. Research is global. And there are several alarming phenomena. In certain Asian countries, for example, researchers' wages depend on the specialist journals in which they publish. That's a dubious practice, because it almost encourages dishonest behaviour.

And does this have an impact on Switzerland as a centre of research?

Yes. Young researchers feel under pressure to publish. They'll turn the material for one article into three articles, because it looks better on their publication list. We also see this in requests for peer review. There's been a huge increase in recent years. The whole system is being swamped. And quality considerations naturally get left behind.

How can open science improve the current system?

If we shift to open science, then we'll produce fewer, but better-quality papers. And they can be reviewed quicker because everything is documented.

You're the next EPFL president. What concrete measures are you planning so as to promote open science there?

In those research fields that have already taken major steps into open science, I want to promote a research culture in which other fields are encouraged to join them. We're providing an online tool for this. It allows researchers to upload their data easily and let others see it. Third parties can then check it. But this tool is also intended to promote collaboration between different research fields. In the environmental sciences, for example, people aren't necessarily accustomed to dealing with large volumes of data. Here, the mathematicians or computer scientists could help them out.

How can you convince young researchers about the value of open science?

I tell them: The most important thing for your career is that your work has a big impact. If you place your data online, your work will become more visible and people will also trust you. And that will help your work to have a bigger impact. I can't compel them to embrace it. It's something they have to realise by themselves.

Explore further New gold standard established for open and reproducible research
Larkmead School. Credit: CC-BY-SA-2.5,2.0,1.0

Young African-Americans from some of the country's most disadvantaged neighborhoods are drawn to for-profit post-secondary trade schools, believing they are the quickest route to jobs. But a new study co-authored by a Johns Hopkins University sociologist finds the very thing that makes for-profit schools seem so appealinga streamlined curriculumis the reason so many poor students drop out.

Studying 150 black youth from some of Baltimore's lowest-income neighborhoods, researchers found that young people who attended for-profit institutions ended up in more debt and with fewer job prospects than they might have had they attempted two-or-four-year nonprofit schools. The findings, which shed new light on what attracts students to for-profit institutions and why they struggle to complete certifications, were set to be published online today and will appear in the October print edition of the journal Sociology of Education.

"The quick jump into for-profit schools really precludes other options that might be less costly and have a bigger return," said co-author Stefanie DeLuca, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins. "These young people are vulnerable to the flashy ads for these schools and lured in by how quickly they could get jobs."

DeLuca and co-author Megan M. Holland, an assistant professor of educational leadership at the University at Buffalo-SUNY, found most of the young people in their study, 53 percent, pursued occupational certification at for-profit trade schools.

These for-profit schools offer occupational training programs in fields like cosmetology, auto mechanics, computer networking and phlebotomy. Most students who enroll in these programs are very low-income, and studies show the number of disadvantaged students choosing for-profit programs is increasing.

In Baltimore, the researchers interviewed 150 people in 2010. They were 15 to 24 years old and grew up in neighborhoods with poverty rates exceeding 50 percent and with African-American populations of at least 80 percent. When they were born, most lived in high-rise public housing and were on public assistance. Half of them grew up with one or both parents suffering from addictions and about the same number had a parent who had been incarcerated.

These young people had very grounded career expectationsmost hoped to find working-class jobs as police officers, construction workers, administrative help, truck drivers and nursing assistants, the researchers found. And because of their family and financial circumstances, they wanted to get these jobs as soon as possible.

For-profit trade schools appealed to their desire to get quickly to work, DeLuca and Holland found. With little to no career counseling in high school, the authors found the young people researched education options on their own and relied heavily on information they heard during TV commercials for for-profit schools, which emphasized the short duration of their programs.

Although most of the for-profit trade programs lasted less than two years, they were expensive and, unlike nonprofit schools, didn't allow undecided students to switch courses of study once a program was paid for upfront. Once enrolled, the young people tended to realize they'd committed to occupations they either weren't qualified for or didn't enjoy. They dropped out, or hopped from one program to another, or tried taking several programs at a time, racking up debt and increasing chances they would quit it all before earning certification.

Of the young people who enrolled in a for-profit college, only 31 percent earned certification by the time the study ended.

Although completion rates at community colleges were even worse, the students who chose for-profit colleges racked up more debt and their loan default rates were much higher, the study found. In Baltimore, the cost of attending the two most popular for-profit schools, Brightwood College (formerly TESST College of Technology) and FORTIS, was two to four times that of attending the most popular community colleges, the study found.

"Some of these students might have been better suited for a two-year community college, which is a lot less expensive, or some could have gone straight into a four-year program," DeLuca said. "This is about how young people in some of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods are trying to navigate the transition to a career with very little information."

Explore further New for-profit medical schools springing up across US

More information: "Why Wait Years to Become Something?" Low-income African American Youth and the Costly Career Search in For-profit Trade Schools, Published online before print September 15, 2016, soe.sagepub.com/content/early/  40716666607.abstract Journal information: Sociology of Education "Why Wait Years to Become Something?" Low-income African American Youth and the Costly Career Search in For-profit Trade Schools, Published online before print September 15, 2016, DOI: 10.1177/0038040716666607
Israel's Shavit 2 (Comet) rocket carried the Ofek-11 (Horizon) satellite into orbit on Sept. 13, 2016. Israeli media report that the satellite is malfunctioning. Credit: Israeli Ministry of Defence

Israel launched a Shavit2 rocket from its facility at Palmachim airbase on Sept. 13. The launch was the 10th one for the Shavit rocket system, which had its initial launch in 1988. The launch and delivery were successful, but Israeli media is reporting that the payload, the Ofek-11 satellite, is malfunctioning.

The Ofek-11 satellite in Tuesday's launch is an optical imaging satellite, basically a spy satellite, operated by the Isreali Ministry of Defence. It operates at an altitude of 600 km. It's orbital path is designed to pass over Israel's region 6 times per day, allowing the Ministry of Defence to focus on targets of interest in their nation's region.

Officials involved with the launch have successfully contacted the satellite. Amnon Harari, head of the Defence Ministry's Space Department, told the Times of Israel that it was "not clear that everything was in order," hours after the launch.

Doron Ofer is CEO of the Israel Aerospace Industries' Space Division, the company that makes the Shavit rocket. He told the Times of Israel that due to the satellite's path, and the rotation of the Earth, the satellite can only be contacted a few times per day. This complicates efforts to correct the satellite.

"We have downloaded some figures, and we are now checking them. It's not functioning exactly the way we expected, and we don't know what it's status is," Ofer said. "We are now working to stabilize it, but it will take some time because of the small amount of communication we have with it when it comes in our area."

The Ofek-11 will be the 11th satellite that provides intelligence to the Israeli forces, but not much is known about its exact capabilities. For obvious reasons, the Israeli Defence Ministry is keeping things secret.

It is widely believed that this newest satellite is among the world's most advanced satellite recon systems. It's enhanced imaging system purportedly collects images at a ground resolution of 0.5 meters from its 600-Kilometer orbit.

The Ofek-11 surpasses its predecessor, Ofek-9, launched in 2010, which had only a 0.7 meter resolution. The Ofek-10 was a radar imaging satellite launched in 2014 to capture all-weather, day and night images at a resolution less than 1 meter. The overlapping nature of Israel's satellite system eliminates any gaps in their ability to monitor their region.

Two weeks ago, Israel had another failure in its satellite efforts, though that one was much more catastrophic. The Amos-6 civilian communications satellite was going to be Israel's largest satellite to date. However, the SpaceX rocket tasked with taking Amos-6 into orbit exploded on its Cape Canaveral launch pad.

Israel is the 8th country in the world to develop their own orbital launch capabilities. They launched their first satellite, the Ofek-1, aboard the maiden flight of their Shavit-1 rocket in 1988. Including that first launch, Israel has attempted 10 launches, and has been successful 8 times. All of those have been Ofek satellites, operated by the military.

All but one of Israel's Ofek satellites have been launched by Israel's Shavit-1 and Shavit-2 rockets. The lone exception is Ofek-8, also known as TecSar, launched aboard the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

Explore further Israel launches new spy satellite
One of my favorite Woody Allen lines is, "I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens." Death ...
CAMBRIDGE  Residents in southern Washington County who are affected by PFOA contamination had many questions, ranging from where it came from to how to get their wells treated, at a forum about the issue Wednesday.

About 75 people came out to Cambridge Central to get an update on the PFOA contamination that has affected White Creek and Cambridge.

Concentrations of the chemical, which was used in nonstick coatings such as Teflon, have been found in 165 wells that were sampled in Washington County. Thirty of them had levels of PFOA above the Environmental Protection Agencys threshold of 70 parts per trillion. A total of 79 had readings lower than that limit and 52 had no presence of PFOA. Results are pending for four wells.

Prolonged exposure to the chemical could result in risk of cancer, birth defects or problems with the liver, immune system and thyroid, according to the EPA.

The chemical has been found in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh, and the state in May reached a settlement with the Saint-Gobain and Honeywell companies to clean up the contamination found in the Hoosick Falls area and pay for the cost.

Environmental officials are trying to determine why PFOA, which is known formally as perfluorooctanoic acid, is spreading into Washington County.

We cant say definitely: its the plant site, its the river, its other disposal sites in this area or its all of the above, said Mike Ryan, assistant director of the Division of Environmental Remediation.

Investigators began their work in the Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh areas and have been moving out from there.

PFOA contamination also has been emanating from landfills in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh. Officials are also looking into reported illegal dumping sites in those two communities, according to Ryan.

DEC has been sampling the Hoosic River in multiple locations. Ryan said the DEC wants to take river samples when the water is low to get a better sense of contaminants.

Residents can call to get on a list to have their wells tested, according to Charlotte Bethoney, region chief with the state Department of Healths Bureau of Environmental Exposure Investigation.

Some residents wanted the state to test everybody in a 10-mile circle around Hoosick Falls. That is not practical, according to Bethoney. She said the DEC has limited manpower and there are only a small number of laboratories that are equipped to test for PFOA.

Were trying to approach this strategically, she said.

Ron McEvilly of White Creek said he had called to request that his well be tested and was told that he was on the wrong side of Route 22.

Youre telling me its right there. I should at least be able to get a test, especially with children and a breastfeeding mother, he said.

If residents want to test their wells immediately, Bethoney said they would have to pay the cost, which can be upwards of $400.

State Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, said that is not acceptable.

As a representative of this area, I believe theyre entitled to a test, and not on their own dollar, she said.

People who are close to the contaminated sites should have priority, according to Little.

I think we can all understand if youre miles away, you may have to wait. When youre this close, for the state to say we dont have the resources, is just not acceptable, she said.

I think the more people have heard here tonight, the more frightening it is to them, Little added.

Little also said if the PFOA outbreak had happened in a major city, it would be costing the state a fortune. She promised that she would work in the Senate to provide additional resources.

Residents were also concerned that New York state has set its PFOA exposure threshold at 70 parts per trillion. Vermont has set a maximum level for children at 20 parts per trillion and New Jersey is at 14 parts per trillion.

New York modeled its guideline after the EPA standards, according to Jim Bowers of the Department of Health.

I cant speak to what other people in other states have done, he said. Bowers said the level is set based upon what health effects have been seen in studies on rodents. The level where health problems were observed was 110,000 parts per trillion. Environmental officials extrapolated that to humans and built in safety cushions based upon vulnerable populations such as lactating women and infants.

He pointed out that humans already have a certain amount of PFOA in their body just through exposure to things in the environment.

There are hundreds of thousands of chemicals that we live with on a daily basis, he said.

White Creek Town Board member Lance Wang said the DEC should be installing filtration systems  regardless if residents levels of PFOA are above or below the 70 parts per trillion threshold.

Should we say that the standard of our PFOA (contamination) is zero, he said.

Bethoney said that if residents have been tested and have a level of PFOA, regardless of whether it is above or below the 70 figure, they can receive a filtration system.

Wang said that is a positive step.

Originally, we were led to believe that we couldnt if we werent at the 70 amount, she said.
FORT EDWARD  A little more than a year ago, Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure was one of just two full-time employees in his office.

Things are much different these days, after the county was one of five sued for inadequate legal representation to the indigent, a lawsuit that was settled in 2014. Mercure has a lot more company in the public defenders office, with what was a staff of two full-timers and seven part-timers now a staff of eight full-time employees and three part-timers.

The lawsuit required that the county improve its public defense for the indigent in criminal courts and Family Court, forcing changes and bringing in new faces in addition to a move to a new office for the public defender. And with the county part of a case study on public defender caseloads, more changes are likely down the road.

Although it was embarrassing for the county to be sued for inadequate representation, over issues that occurred before Mercure was appointed public defender in 2009, the settlement has been helpful for the county and his office, Mercure said.

The state has committed to giving the county an additional $640,000 in 2016 and 2017 (total between the two years) to improve legal services for the indigent, in addition to annual aid that all counties receive for public defense. The funding has allowed the creation of stipends for lawyers to get to night and weekend arraignments, and the addition of secretarial positions to assist lawyers.

The county has also created an office to oversee the assignment of lawyers to cases the Public Defenders Office cannot handle, such as ones where its lawyers have conflicts of interest. Former Assistant Public Defender Tom Cioffi has been hired to run that office and oversee training for court-appointed lawyers.

The transition to a busier office, which is being overseen by the state Office of Indigent Legal Services, is only beginning. In May, Mercure and his staff began attending arraignments in all criminal cases to ensure defendants had representation, a service that arose out of the lawsuit and is being carried out in most other counties as well.

Mercure said his staff is dealing with an increase in cases as lawyers are required at arraignments and financial standards for assigned counsel are changed so more people qualify. Caseloads in 2016 are on pace to nearly double the number from 2014.

Caseloads are still a huge issue. We still have too many cases. The caseloads are too high for public defenders across the state, Mercure said.

He has been able to bring in and retain some experienced lawyers to serve as assistant public defenders, such as Michael Martin, Elan Cherney and Barry Jones.

The progress among counties that were sued  Washington, Suffolk, Ontario, Onondaga and Schuyler counties  is being watched locally and statewide.

Im in constant contact with ILS. They were just here last week, Mercure said Wednesday.

Patricia Warth, the Indigent Legal Services lawyer who is overseeing compliance by the defendant counties, said Mercures office has made tremendous strides in professionalizing the office since the lawsuits settlement.

In addition to adding staff, the Washington County agency has quickly adapted to the additional arraignment requirements, she said.

They have done a tremendous job in a very short amount of time in addressing the need for counsel at arraignment, she said. Our experience the past year has been that the public defender and ACP (assigned counsel provider) are fully committed to complying with the settlement.

Argyle Supervisor Robert Henke, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said the public defense service has improved and the requirements of the lawsuit settlement have worked out fairly well, particularly since the state has paid for the changes.

When they stop paying for it, its going to be a whole different ballgame, he said.

The fact that the counties that were sued have been given hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funding while others struggle to keep up with increasing caseloads has not sat well with some, including Warren County. Public Defender Marcy Flores has asked for more staff, but the bill would be paid by county taxpayers, to the chagrin of county supervisors.
When jazz drummer Sherrie Maricle was in college in New York City, shed head over to the nightly jam session at Blue Note.

This one guy would say things like, Hey, honey, you can play if you take your top off, she remembered. I didnt even let it bother me. All I have to do is get up and play, and that will change peoples attitudes.

In the years since, Maricle has built an influential career through her work with Diva Jazz Orchestra  founded by jazz legend Stanley Kay  the Diva Jazz Trio and the quintet Five Play.

As leader of the Divas for much of its 24 years, Maricle has led a generation of jazz musicians, making her one of the most influential women in the industry.

And that is one of the reasons Lake George Jazz Festival organizer Paul Pines was drawn to the Diva Jazz Orchestra for this weekends lineup, which also includes Charenee Wade, Tizer featuring Karen Briggs and the Amina Figarova Sextet.

Pines said when developing a lineup, he generally notices a theme as he considers acts.

In this particular festival, I started with the idea of celebrating strong women in jazz, he said. My life is full of strong women: I have a mother-in-law who at 92 is still directing shows; my wife sings and directs and is a very strong presence; my daughter is in New York acting and writing her own web series; my mother had been a violinist with a trio who worked her way through law school playing with an all-girl band.

But my experience has always been that strong women in the arts are exceptional and do exceptional things, and Ive always had an appreciation for that, he said.

Thats not to say Pines only chose the women in the lineup because they have a Y chromosome. They are, he stresses, every bit as talented as the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, the Edmar Castaneda Trio and the Gary McFarland Legacy Ensemble with Dick Oatts, who round out the performances Saturday and Sunday in Shepard Park.

The Diva Jazz Orchestra is known as one of the top jazz orchestras in the world, he said.

The group was created after Kay  manager and back-up drummer for the Buddy Rich Band  saw Maricle perform.

He thought she was one of the strongest drummers hed heard, male or female, then the idea occurred to him: Maybe there are other women out there that strong, Pines said.

Kay created the Divas, a big band orchestra playing arrangements of the American songbook, joining some of the past quarter-centurys most talented musicians  male and female.

One of his (Kays) things: Music has no gender: If you dont see it and just hear the music, you would love it just like you would anything else, Maricle said. You let the music speak for itself.

Amina Figerova, who is playing Sunday afternoon, grew up in Azerbaijan, listening to jazz and Motown.

Sometimes I had no idea who was behind the music, male or female, or who were the musicians, she said. It didnt matter to me.

Figerova said she has heard about women being treated different from their male counterparts, but hasnt experienced such discrimination.

Pines, who owned the Tin Palace Jazz Club in New York City in the 1970s, said he has seen the role of women in the genre evolve.

When I started my jazz life in New York, it was rare to see women leaders, he said. In the jazz world, traditionally, institutionally, women have not been powerful. That has changed.

Maricle decided at age 11 she was going to be a jazz drummer, after seeing Buddy Rich perform.

I ran home and told my mother I wanted to be a jazz drummer and thats all I ever wanted to do, she said.

Throughout her career, she recalls people saying ridiculous things to her  snide comments about keeping up a tempo, female club owners saying they never hire women  but said she was so driven, she didnt let such things bother her.

Its ridiculous in the grand scheme to think there would a difference between a woman and a man playing jazz, she said. You let the music speak for itself.
Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

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End-Times Prophecy Watch: Islam Aligning With Russia in Unholy Alliance

Radical Islam and Russia are converging in a deadly and dangerous unholy alliance. In my upcoming new book (due out September 20), Unholy Alliance: The Agenda Iran, Russia, and Jihadists Share for Conquering the World, I uncover some of these dangerous trends and detail solutions that our nations leaders must take. This continues the in-depth analysis of radical Islam we began in the #1 New York Times bestseller Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Cant Ignore.

Article by Jay Skulow

A change has recently occurred in U.S. policy toward the Middle East, as we have begun to withdraw from the region under President Obama. According to Ryan Crocker, dean and executive professor of the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University and a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Pakistan, we are now seeing the lowest ebb since World War II for U.S. influence and engagement in the region.

The United States has substantially withdrawn its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and has, for the most part, chosen not to involve itself in the civil war raging in Syria, due to the Obama Administrations foreign policy decisions. This departure has created a vacuum in the Middle East, a void waiting to be filled by some other country.

Our enemies no longer fear us and our allies dont trust us.

Power abhors a vacuum. As Crocker explains, [I]f you look at the heart of the Middle East, where the U.S. once was, we are now goneand in our place, we have Iran, Irans Shiite proxies [e.g., Hezbollah], Islamic State [i.e., ISIS] and the Russians.

Strangely, some Muslim sects that normally war with one another are even joining forces in some of these unlikely alliances.

For example, Shia Iran is supporting Sunni Hamas because they both want to see Israel wiped off the face of the planet. Eager to spread its vision of Islamic revolution throughout the Islamic world, Iran has been strategically expanding its reach through proxy terror organizations ever since it overthrew the Shah in 1979 and established the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the same time, Russias activity in the Middle East has greatly increased as our former Cold War foe attempts to regain a foothold in the region and assert control over lucrative oil resources.

As Iran seeks to fill the vacuum and oppose American interests around the world, it has cultivated an alliance with Russia, a nation led by a former Cold War intelligence officer who dreams of returning Russia to its Soviet-level influence in the region and throughout the world.

This is not shocking to even the most rudimentary student of world history. We recognize human nature, and we know how evil works.

If the United States is unwilling to sacrifice and stand up against dictators and terrorists, then the dictators and terrorists will work together to ensure more people around the world are oppressed, and they will oppose the United States at every turn.

When we show weakness, they show strength. When we withdraw, they advance. When we lack strategy, they execute their strategy. And let there be no doubt, this will result in more terrorist attacks, more aggression, more lives lost and a reshaping of the world order.

Nowhere is the unholy alliance between Russia and Iran more clearly displayed than in their partnership with Syrian president Bashar alAssad against the rebel forces attempting to overthrow his regime. Both Russia and Iran have supported Assads regime as part of a strategic alliance. Iran and Russia share one goal in Syriato keep the Assad regime in power. In July 2015, Iran and Russia rapidly and significantly increased their political and military cooperation.

Ultimately, if Russia and Iran continue to fight for the Assad regime in Syria, the result will be an expansion of Irans influence in Syria. This expansion will further destabilize the Middle East by placing Iranian forces in Sunni-Arab lands as well as on the border with Israel, expanding the Iranian hegemon, and strengthening Russias presence in the region at the United States expense.

One thing is clear: When the United States fails to lead, enemies of freedom will fill the vacuum and do everything they can to spread terror and oppression.

This is not just a matter of geopolitical gamesmanship between global superpowers. Real lives are on the linethe lives of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East, women and children, and innocent people of all ethnicities and nationalities. But as history has also made clear, in a globalized world, terror and chaos are not contained in one region. What happens there will impact our lives here in the United States as well.

But all hope is not lost. The United States and our allies can defeat this wave of aggression and terror. As the former prime minister of Great Britain Benjamin Disraeli regularly stated, Forti nihil difficilenothing is too difficult for the brave. But time is running out.

This is excerpted and adapted from #1 NY Times Bestselling author Jay Sekulows newest book, Unholy Alliance: The Agenda Iran, Russia, and Jihadists Share for Conquering the World.

3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter Gods presence 3) Hear Gods voice clearly! Go deeper!

Has God called you to be a leader? Ministry Today magazine is the source that Christian leaders who want to serve with passion and purpose turn to. Subscribe now and receive a free leadership book.
















Gaza terrorists launched an attack on southern Israel on Wednesday night, with mortar fire reaching the Eshkol Regional Council district. At least one mortar shell exploded in an open area of the region, but local residents were unaware of the impending attack and thus were taken completely off-guard. The Red Alert incoming air raid system failed to activate and warn the area residents that shelling or a rocket attack had been launched. Miraculously, no physical injuries were reported, nor was there any significant property damage. Arab media report that Hamas terrorist leaders are evacuating their headquarters in anticipation of a retaliatory attack by Israel Defense Forces in response to the shelling.

Its not yet clear which terror group was responsible for the mortar fire, but the Israeli government has said repeatedly that the Hamas rulers of Gaza are held responsible for every action that takes place within the borders of the enclave.

























IAF jets hit 3 Hamas targets in northern part of Strip; military says it holds ruling terror group responsible for all attacks from Palestinian enclave





The Israeli Air Force struck a number of targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday-Thursday, in response to an earlier mortar shell fired from the Palestinian enclave that landed in southern Israel.

The military said Israeli jets struck three targets belonging to the Hamas terror group, which rules the Strip. The strikes were all carried out in northern Gaza, the IDF said in a statement.









The mortar shell fired from Gaza earlier landed in an open field in the Eshkol region, causing no injury or damage. As Israels alert system identified that the projectile was bound for an unpopulated area, no siren was sounded in the region.





The IDF said it holds Hamas responsible for any attacks emanating from Gaza. The military routinely responds to such launches with strikes inside the Palestinian territory.









The Gaza mortar fire came as most of the Israeli publics attention was focused on the countrys northern borders, as for the third day in a row errant rockets from the fighting in Syria landed in the Golan Heights.

































Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he has never seen tensions on the Korean peninsula as high as they are today and he called on the Security Council to take urgent action to prevent "provocative actions" by North Korea.









Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, told a news conference that U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power has already begun work with key council members including China on a new U.N. resolution, which is expected to strengthen sanctions on North Korea.





He said it's urgent that the council unite, "show firm resolve" and commitment, and not lose time in sending a strong message to the authorities in Pyongyang that their nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches are unacceptable and must stop.





North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test last Friday and has launched more than 20 ballistic missiles this year, part of its program aimed at improving the delivery system for nuclear weapons.





"The level of tension on the Korean peninsula has gone much, much higher," Ban said. "Never in the past I have seen such kind of heightened tension on the Korean peninsula."





"So it is very important that the United Nations Security Council should be united and take urgent actions to prevent, first of all, for the provocative actions by DPRK," he said, using the initials of the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

































Two U.S. supersonic B-1 Lancer strategic bombers flew over South Korea on Tuesday morning in a show of force and solidarity with its ally amid heightened tension following North Korea's fifth nuclear test on Friday. The two bombers conducted a low-altitude flight over Osan Air Base in South Korea, which is 77 km (48 miles) from the Demilitarised Zone border with the North and about 40 km (miles) from the South's capital Seoul. The scheduled fly-over was delayed from Monday due to weather conditions in Guam, where the bombers are stationed. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said heavy crosswinds prevented the jets from take off.

































There is a well-documented history of the U.S. government supplying weapons and arms to both friends and foe for political purposes and for profit. In addition to publicly known global arms deals to U.S. political allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, revelations about the rise of ISIS indicate that U.S. arms and military trainees have been a critical factor in the rise of the terror group From 2006 to 2011 the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ran a gun smuggling operation into Mexico to ostensibly dismantle Mexican drug gangs, accomplishing the precise opposite, however, in what has affectionately become known as Fast and Furious In a publicly available video testimony an ex-Chicago gang member describes how crates of fully automatic firearms would regularly be found in alleyways and backstreets of urban Chicago at the early hours of the morning, giving free, illegal weapons to the gangs of Chi-Town, which is now often referred to as Chiraq because it is a war zone.

He refers to it as a diabolical plot, a plan, affecting only low-income areas, pointing out that many of the firearms being found were class-3 automatic firearms, which can only be purchased at certain retailers under intense federal scrutiny. He notes that criminals arent allowed to buy firearms in the first place, yet the guns are everywhere, so where are they coming from?

Chicago has some of the strictest gun restrictions in the United States with some of the highest rates of gun violence. Gang members are not buying them legally, and the police are pulling guns off the street on a daily basis, so where are they coming from?





Something doesnt add up.
























































































































































An expert in post-harvest losses at APHLIS Dr Bruno Tran said this at the launch of APHLIS+, an advanced form of APHLIS in Accra.

According to the Daily Graphic, the Northern Region with a total of 20,411 tonnes recorded the highest loss, followed by the Upper East and Volta Regions which recorded 13,000tonnes and 8,983tonnes respectively.

Meanwhile the Ashanti, Eastern and Western Regions had losses of 3,292, 2,660 and 2,360 tonnes of losses.

The Greater Accra and Upper West regions recorded losses of 2,237 and 778 respectively, with the Brong Ahafo and Central Regions recording the least losses of 734 and 639 respectively.

READ ALSO: Powering the Ghanaian oil palm industry

Dr Tran said the figure represents 18 percent of the countrys annual maize production.

He attributed the losses to the poor drying methods adopted by the farmers. He said most farmers failed to dry their maize thoroughly before storage. This he said leads to insects attacking the maize.
Speaking on Accra FM Pamela Djamson-Tetteh said they are all concerned about job security so they have put in measures to prevent any retrenchment for now.

The Public Utilities Workers Union (PUWU) has earlier argued that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact would have a negative impact on the ECG.

This has led to series of demonstration and strikes by the members of the Union.

The government is set to lease ECG to a private company for 25 years as part of the second compact of the Millennium Challenge Account signed by the Government in August 2014.
Speaking to Accra-based Citi FM Prof Ocquaye said the demand for the demolition is unnecessary.

Some senior lecturers at the University of Ghana are demanding a statue of "racist" Gandhi be pulled down.

Professor of African and Gender Studies at the University of Ghana, Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Dr Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, and Dr Obadele Kambon, a research fellow and Editor-in-Chief of the Ghana Journal of Linguistics wrote the petition.

READ ALSO: Concerns of lecturers will be considered

The online petition is addressed to the members of the University of Ghana Council and the chairman Kwamena Ahwoi.

The statue was erected on June 14 this year at the recreational quadrangle; it was donated by India's president Pranab Mukherjee when he visited the campus.

Since then there has been agitation from many students, alumni and Ghanaians over the statue being on campus.

Meanwhile, the University of Ghana has indicated that it will consider the petition if they present it to the University of Ghana Council.

Director of Public Affairs at the University, Mrs Stella Amoa, in an interview with Pulse.com.gh explained that the university is an academic community that encourages intellectual debates.
93 Days chronicles events in Nigeria after Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian diplomat, was diagnosed of Ebola shortly after he travelled into the country.

Despite pressure from the Liberian government for his release, Dr Adadevoh was firm in her decision not to allow Sawyer out of the First Consultants Medical Centre in Lagos.

After tests for other diseases proved inconclusive, Dr Adadevoh ordered tests for the Ebola virus which eventually came back positive. Her colleagues recall her going on the internet to print out any information about the virus she could find; which she later distributed to the staff and put in place strict quarantine controls to halt the spread of Ebola. She also insisted for the provision and use of protective clothing.

She and some others at the hospital were subsequently infected by the virus.

Played by veteran Nigerian actress, Bimbo Akintola, Adadevoh is portrayed as a professional and a mother who died in the line of duty.

READ ALSO:

One of the films most emotional scenes is a phone conversation with her son to wish him a happy birthday while she was on her dying bed. Dr Adadevoh died shortly after that call with her son. Seven others died including Patrick Sawyer.

Dr Adadevoh was celebrated in Ghana as well with a memorial service, attended by President Mahama, held in her honour. Although she spent much of her life in Nigeria, she did not forget her roots in the Volta Region.
READ ALSO: Nigerian stabbed to death over stolen tooth brush

Police say the suspect, Cynthia Nubuor said she left the deceased, Achi Ogu, who is a Nigerian, in her room for work Thursday at about 12 noon after he had forcibly had sex with her.

According to her, she left a note asking him to lock her room when he wakes up from his sleep and ready to leave.

The Adentan Police said they received a distress call at about 8:30pm that a man has been found dead in a room in the said community.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), Ing Owura Kwaku Sarfo, has given an assurance that workers of ECG will not lose their jobs under the concession agreement to bring on board private participation in the management of the company.

PRESENT THE PRESENT TO OWN THE FUTURE - REV EMMANUEL ASANTE

NPP BLASTS MAHAMA OVER WILD PROMISES

The opposition NPP yesterday went to town, almost stripping President John Mahama and the ruling NDC naked regarding their failed promises.

NANA, PREZ PICK UP FORMS

President John Mahama and presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, yesterday made a major move towards their bid to contest in the December 7 presidential poll.

RESULTS OF 321 BASIC SCHS FROZEN

BIG PARTIES RUSH FOR FORMS

MAHAMAS PROMISED TRACTORS TO COST GH50.5M

It will cost the central government about GH50.0 million to supply a minimum of 10 tractors to every one of the 216 districts in the country to boost agriculture, B&FT analysis has revealed.

GREL TO BUY 19,500 TONNES OF DRY RUBBER AS IT ENGAGES 3,000 LOCAL RUBBER FARMERS

The Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) is confident of purchasing approximately 19,500 tonnes of dry rubber from over 3,000 farmers in the Western, Ashanti, Eastern and the Central regions by close of 2016 production year.
President Mahama on Wednesday began a three day campaign tour of the Greater Accra region.

He took his campaign tour of the Greater Accra Region, to the Abossey Okai spare parts dealers in the Ablekuma Central constituency.

President Mahama earlier toured some parts of Accra. He visited the Kaneshie market, Agbogloshie, Osu and Adabraka with his campaign message of Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana.

President John Mahama is optimistic God will see him through the December 7 elections because he has done a lot to merit a second term.
A statement issued by the group and signed by the Convener, David Asante said the rally to be held at the Central Business District  Okaishie drug lane will afford the opportunity to recapture events and review the fight for credible, free and fair transparent election slated for December, 7.

It said,  Indeed, it has been an eventful year during which LMVCA has led efforts to protect the integrity of the electoral process. These efforts have reaped significant gains, some of which will be outlined during the rally.

Below is the full statement:

LMVCA HOLDS RALLY AT OKAISHIE DRUG LANE

The LMVCA is organising a rally on Friday, September 16, 2016 at Okaishie drug lane at 1pm. The rally is to commemorate the one year anniversary of the demonstration to demand a credible voters register in 2015.

On the 16th September 2015, the Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) in collaboration with the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), Movement for Change the NPP, PPP PNC and other civil society groups, held a demonstration to present a petition to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to demand a credible voters register for the 2016 elections.

The peaceful demonstration was disrupted when the police and security operatives charged unarmed, non-violent civilian demonstrators with guns, batons, hot water cannons and tear gas, leading to several degrees of casualties. One of the demonstrators, Mr. Justice Adzakumah, lost one eye as a result of the brutalities meted at the demonstrators by the police.

Thus, in commemoration of that fateful day when a peaceful demonstration was marred by the brute force of the security operatives.

LMVCA is therefore calling on all democracy-loving Ghanaians to attend this rally for a progress report on the demand for a credible free fair open and transparent election. Indeed, it has been an eventful year during which LMVCA has led efforts to protect the integrity of the electoral process. These efforts have reaped significant gains, some of which will be outlined during the rally.

With less than three months to Election Day, LMVCA wishes to reiterate its unrelenting commitment to ensuring transparency and fairness in the electoral process. The future of Ghanas democracy hinges on the 2016 elections. LMVCA will therefore unveil a line-up of activities, leading up to Election Day, aimed at strengthening democracy in Ghana and improving the electoral process.

Speakers at the rally include Hon. Kenndy Agyapong, David Asante, Sammy Awuku, Abu Ramadan, Hopeson Adroye, Ibrahim Adjei, Justice Adzakumah, Charles Owusu and Owusu Bempah
READ ALSO:NDC manifesto

Addressing party supporters during his campaign tour at Ngleshie Amanfrom in the Greater Accra region, the president said: "There is a saying that God recognizes our good works even if humans do not. I know that God recognizes our hard work and this gives me confidence that the NDC would win this years election. It is also God who gives power to whom it is due.

"You can never force your way to power unless it is given to you from above. We were at the Supreme Court for almost a year, because some people contested the 2012 election. Although this wasted our time we have achieved a lot within just three years. I know God is on our side and we shall win this years election.

READ ALSO:Election 2016

READ ALSO:Election 2016
Mills was our kinsman and he became the president. Some people criticized and attacked him until till he died. And some of the NDC people themselves thanked God that Mills died, is that not strange? And after his death they came back here to tell us to replace him with another person from the Central region. After all that they go about provoking us that if Mills had not died, the NDC wouldnt be in government today....It appears as though they deliberately pushed him to the seat so they can commit the wrongs behind him," he said.

READ ALSO: Election 2016

Dr. Nduom urged the people of the Central region to vote against the NDC in the December 7 election because they treated the late law professor unfairly.

Many Ghanaians and particularly, the opposition New Patriotic Party [NPP] have over the years mounted pressure on the government to make public the cause of President Mills death after alleging he was killed.

Posters of late President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills with imprint Who Killed Atta Mills? subsequently emerged at the NDC Campaign launch in Cape Coast last month.

The opposition NPP believed President Mahama who was then vice to Prof Mills must be interrogated for the death of his former boss.

READ ALSO: NDC

But Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mr Allotey Jacobs has said that President Mahama is innocent and knows nothing about even the sickness which killed Prof. Mills.
The residents, mainly traders, and artisans made this known during the Institute of Economic Affairs #IWantToKnow Campaign.

The #IWantToKnow Campaign is aimed at getting questions from the average Ghanaian on the street on what they would want to ask the presidential candidates if they had the chance to meet them.

The campaign was rolled out live in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi on Friday, September 9, 2016, where the team was at the main Kumasi market to solicit from the people what they would want to ask their various presidential candidates.

Sister Abena, a trader at the Kumasi central market said she would want to know the plans the various flagbearers have for the National Health Insurance which she believes is collapsing.

For Hajia Zenaabu, also a trader at the Kejetia market, any politician who fails to fulfil their promises will be taught a great lesson.

We dont anyone who will promise something and not fulfil. If you do so, we will come and beat you at the Flagstaff House for you to return home, she fumed.

Madam Akos, a trader at the Kumasi market said: My business is collapsing, people cannot buy. We are in a serious situation.

A driver at the Bantama market who appeared to have lost all hope wondered if the various flagbearers were truly concerned about the welfare of Ghanaians, or is only interested in making vague promises ahead of the elections.

Another concerned market woman said: What I want them [flag bearers] to know is that all the promises they have made so far are yet to be fulfilled. They said free education, but it is not free. We have a pile of rubbish at this market; KMA comes to collect money to clear the waste, but they end up not doing that, she lamented.

A nursing graduate also demanded to know what plans and policies the presidential candidates have for nurses who are yet to be posted after graduating several years from training institutions.

The campaign team made stopovers at strategic trading centres at Kumasi, where T-shirts and other paraphernalia were distributed to the teeming crowd who were excited to receive the team.

Ahead of the December polls, several of the presidential candidates have already begun making campaign promises, with many becoming the subject of controversy.

The New Patriotic Party flagbearer had recently promised a 1-village-1-dam policy to boost agriculture, but opposition groups have argued that it is not feasible.

The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has also promised to implement what it calls a progressive free tertiary education policy, with many arguing that it is a replica of the NPPs much hyped free SHS policy in the 2012 elections.

With the access to education, healthcare, and employment being major challenges in Ghana, politicians have managed to couch the best campaign promise regarding those issues.

But residents in Kumasi believe such promises will mean nothing if they do not reflect meaningfully in their living conditions.

Meanwhile, the #IWantToKnow Campaign will also be live in Accra and Ho, Karen Hendrickson, Director of Advocacy and Programmes at the IEA has said.

She added that the IEA is hoping to reach and interact with a wider audience as the campaign will be using the various social media platforms to propagate its message.

Pulse Ghana will be bringing you a live Facebook broadcast of the subsequent events in the various regional capitals.
He said the NDC has no deep attachment to the principles necessary to drive the promises they give. To them, politics is all about ways and means. Nothing to do with actually making lives better.

But addressing chiefs and members of the Ga Traditional Council on Thursday, the president said the claims by the NPP are baseless.

I was directly involved in writing the manifesto for the NDC and so I know everything that is in that manifesto because I participated. People did not just write it and bring it to me; I participated in writing that manifesto.

So, when somebody says we have plagiarised their manifesto, I dont think he understands plagiarism. Plagiarism is if you steal from a known document and put in another document. But there is no document known as NPP manifesto that we know about so how can we have plagiarised from a document that does not exist? If that document exists, produce it today, he said.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The victim, Godwin Oyia, was killed at about 10:40am today, after being trapped in his home at No 5 Aborishade close, Lawanson, Surulere.

Investigations carried into the case by the Agency's emergency response team at the scene of the incident revealed that a boiling ring being used in the last room on the top floor of the house led to the fire which quickly engulfed the whole building, according to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

Sadly, Oyia was burnt to death in the room where the fire had started.

Although the whole of the top floor of the building was completely torched, the lower floors were salvaged by the combined efforts of LASEMA, Red cross, the Lagos State Fire Service and Itire division of the Police Force. Oyia's corpse has since been recovered and handed over to the Police.

ALSO READ: Two cheat death in fuel tanker accident
Acting Manager of the station, Mr Chris Nwigwe, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Onisha that the incident occurred at about 1.40 a.m.

Some armed men tried to attack the staff on duty but only succeeded in burning down the Star Times building, he said, adding that no life was lost in the attack.

An eyewitness said that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was planted at the security post of the station, while tyres were set around the premises to set the station ablaze.

There was a gun duel between the armed men and policemen who are manning the office.

They managed to burn down the Star Times office while the fire was later put out with the help of people around.

This type of incident has never happened, the source said.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Sam Okaula, who visited the scene with the Anti-Bomb Squad to evacuate the explosive device, confirmed that three suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.

He said that investigation had begun to unravel the reason for the attack.

Okaula lauded policemen manning the office for their bravery, saying that their quick intervention prevented loss of lives and destruction of more property in the attack.

He warned people against taking laws into their hands, and assured that the police would get to the root of the incident.

Those who take laws into their hands should be ready to face the repercussion, he stressed, adding that the suspects would be prosecuted in court after investigation was concluded.
Nzimande made this known while speaking to representatives from student unions around the country, announcing the move and urging future university applicants to consider taking Witchcraft as a course of study.

There is a lot like how they fly in that winnowing basket. Imagine if we learn that skill; it will eradicate traffic jams and everyone will just get in their basket and fly. It also means we will not be importing fuel anymore.

The Minister further invited renowned witches to make an appointment with his office so they can have their skills tested and those outstanding would then be hired as lecturers.

He also invited witches from across the continent to take advantage of the new course, promising them permanent residents permits.

A male wizard in South Africa

Photo Credit: Witches and Wizards.com

I spoke to the Minister of Home Affairs, , and he agreed to issue witches from outside South Africa with permanent residence permits.

I heard Malawi and Zimbabwe have an impressive collection of witches. We are hoping they will heed the call.
The 28-year-old unemployed suspect, Jubril Aja, confessed to stealing the water taps from a mosque after being arraigned on a one-count charge of stealing.

The court heard that the accused stole the taps on September 11 from the Allahu Walidu Central Mosque at Sunday Farm Estate, Dopemu, Agege, Lagos.

The prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu, said, The accused came into the mosque with the pretext to pray. He sat at the water side pretending to do ablution and removed two installed tap heads, packaged them inside his bag and took to his heels.

When a worshiper got to the tap to wash before entering the mosque for prayer, he discovered that the tap heads had been removed again and he raised alarm.

The accused was given a hot chase and apprehended. When he was searched, those stolen items were recovered.

The accused reportedly confessed to the theft of all the missing taps in the mosque, an offence which contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Section 285 provides that the accused will be facing up to three years in jail if convicted of the crime.
Malam Lawal Danrokal, a Deputy Director of the agency in the state, made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

Danrokal said that the partnership was to curb preventable diseases responsible for 70 per cent deaths in children.

According to him, most of the deaths occur due to diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, HIV/AIDS, measles and malnutrition, which are preventable.

These are diseases you can prevent without necessarily going to the hospital.

We are, therefore, partnering with UNICEF to enlighten people about the diseases, the cause agents and simple ways to prevent them.

He noted that most of the hard-to-reach communities had no health facilities and often had to travel very far to access healthcare services.

The NOA official said the 1, 300 communities were spread across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.

The official said that so far, the agency had reached out to 266 of the communities in Giwa, Soba, Birnin Gwari, Kauru, Ikara, Zaria, Zangon Kataf, Kachia, Kudan, Kajuru and Lere local government areas.

He said that no fewer than 8,781 people, comprised of 5, 209 female and 3, 572 male, were educated on basic health care in the 266 communities.

Danrokal said that most of them claimed that it was the first time government officials visited them.

He added that the community dialogue would continue, until all the identified communities were enlightened on basic hygiene necessary to prevent diseases.

Danrokal also said that in the course of the visits, the team identified distance and bad terrain as some of the causes limiting access to health facilities in rural areas.

Similarly, we also realised in the course of the dialogue that ignorance, negative traditional and misconception of religious limitations have hindered demand for health services.

Also, some men do not allow their women to be seen by male health personnel, while others erroneously believe that HIV virus could be contacted through immunisation.

This reduced proper demand for antenatal care and immunisation in some communities.

For others, the fear of toilet disease infections, and the negative belief that HIV can be contracted through the use of toilets, made some communities resistant to toilet use.

He said that follow up awareness activities would be organised targeting the identified barriers.
Ogbeh made this known in Abuja on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 during a meeting with officials of VICAMPRO, an indigenous Agro Company investing in production of Irish Potatoe.

The minister further said that the consumption of rice in the country was rising and that a lot of people were not aware that the rice had some degree of arsenic

The minister also stressed that consuming rice in large quantity on a regular basis was a bit of health risk, adding that substituting it with potatoes would be a welcomed development.

ALSO READ:
The clash took place Monday near the village of Toumour, near Lake Chad and the Nigerian border, an area that has plagued by violence from the Islamist militant group and is under an extended state of emergency.

Boko Haram took the nearby town of Bosso in early June, in an attack that killed 32 soldiers and was the deadliest Boko Haram assault in Niger since April 2015. Since then, Chad has sent troops to help Niger wage a counterattack.

Fighting began on Monday morning when the army fell into an ambush, the statement said, adding that six soldiers were also injured and two militants were captured.

"The Boko Haram fighters were trying to prevent people from praying to mark the feast of sacrifice," said Laouan Boukar, a resident of Toumour, referring to the important Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha that was on Monday.
The troops also captured one terrorist while clearing out Boko Haram hideouts around Jororo and Tombaeji villages in the Geidam Local Government Area of the state.

This was disclosed via a statement released by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman.

The statement reads:

The ever vigilant troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have continued their routine operations maintaining vigilance to prevent further actions by the Boko Haram terrorists in their respective areas of operations.

Following reported observed activities of remnants of Boko Haram terrorists around Jororo and Tombaeji villages in Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole carried out a clearance operation within the area in the early hours of Wednesday 14th Sept. 2016.

The fighting patrol team sent, came into contact with Boko Haram terrorists elements around Gajire village during which there was a firefight that lasted for about 15 minutes.

The gallant troops overpowered the terrorists and killed 4 of them and captured 1 alive. The victorious troops also recovered 2 General Purpose Machine Guns (GMPG), 2 AK-47 Rifles and 144 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition from the terrorists.

In addition, they also recovered 2 KASEA branded motorcycles. The troops have continued to patrol the general area in search of possible remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists that might be hibernating in the area.

ALSO READ:3 times Boko Haram has threatened Buhari
The sect, in a video released on Tuesday, September 13, threatened to capture Buhari.

The militarys comments were made by Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar on Wednesday, September 14.

It was the same video they used in 2014; this time around, they removed Shekau from it. This is cut and paste of an old video to make it look like new. Anything is possible in technology, Abubakar said.

The only ground the Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) can go into and hide and pretend to be alive is the social media because it is everybodys home without tracing the source.

I believe the issue of the group is near ending by the special grace of God, The video is a complete sign of weakness and poses no threat to us. The so-called video is an attempt by the remnants to remind us that there was once Boko Haram elements. Empty vessels make the loudest noise.

Issue of threat to PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) is a complete joke and the dream of the century, therefore the entire clip is a washout. Everybody is appreciative of our feat against BHT, no doubt about it and they know too.

We reiterate our total commitment and resilience in stamping them out, people shouldnt be deceived by their use of photoshop, he added.

ALSO READ:3 times Boko Haram has threatened Buhari
I still believe that unless we get to the root cause of poverty and inequality, which are really the evidences and symptoms of corruption; you can talk of fighting corruption all the rest of your life and very little is going to happen," Kukah said.

Continuing, Kukah said: Sending people to prison will only be useful if it puts bread on the table of the people.

He chided the current administration for antagonising he past administration saying: "I think that people must understand that you take power to solve problems not to agonise."

ALSO READ: Catholic Bishop asks President to stop blaming GEJ for recession
The youths who hail from Warri South-West Local Government of Delta state, called on Buhari to order the commencement of work on Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Escravos.

According to them, the resumption of work on the EPZ, will create jobs, and go along way to boost the economy.

The leader of the group, Chief Patrick Bigha, said the zone will create jobs for over 5 million youths who will be engaged from the construction to the completion phase.

An excerpt of the letter which was obtained from Leadership reads: It would be recalled that during the ground breaking ceremony performed by former president Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday March 26, 2015, the drivers of the project did say that the project will engage 150,000 work force at the construction level and 5,000,000 work force at the completion of the project. No doubt this is a project that will reduce unemployment to minimum bearing if not totally eradicate unemployment in this part of the country.
In a statement issued by the country director of the foundation, Professor Yemi Ola, the body noted that President Muhammadu Buhari has returned the key to good governance back to Nigerians who must now leverage it to demand accountability from the current and subsequent administrations.

The statement stressed that the previous models whereby those in office dictated the national direction without input from the populace had resulted in the demise of too many promising initiatives and that the Change Begins With Me has promises to thrive as a national movement.

The statement reads in full:

We must now as conscientious Nigerians improve the way we do things so that those in office have no option than to follow the dominant mindset and prevailing national attitude that would arise from such.

The less than optimistic reception to this campaign from a few quarters is understandable considering that many Nigerians have never known of a well articulated national ethos for their entire lifetime. Those who have such mindset must, however, realise that this is an opportunity they must snap up as there may not be another government that would leave citizens with the initiative for change in the immediate future.

By cashing in on this invitation to drive the change Nigeria needs, we would be able to set standards for those in public office in accordance with the personal benchmarks we are willing to impose on ourselves in our individual capacities. The major task, therefore, is for us to do critical stock-taking that will ensure we upgrade our national psyche to beat even the best of global standards.

We, therefore, urge Nigerians to leverage on the Change Begins with Me campaign and use the changes in their personal lives to set agenda for the three tiers and three arms of government. They must insist that those in government, being Nigerians too, must not act of live at variance with what is applicable to other citizens.

We however task those in government to be prepared to implement the kind of change citizens are willing to implement at a personal level based on the suggestions by the campaign. Our citizens have high and demanding standards that are capable of turning the fortunes of the nation around when implemented with commitment.

Similarly, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Nigerians to embrace the re-orientation campaign launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that Buratai spoke at the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, United States of America.

Usman said the presentation was titled: Nigerian Army Challenges and Priorities in the Ongoing Operations against Boko Haram Terrorists and Other Threats to Peace and Security.

He said the presentation at the centre was part of the Army chiefs programme on his official visit to the US.

Usman said Buratai emphasised the fact that the fight against terrorism was one that concerned the entire global community and not only the countries.

He said the chief of army staff talked about addressing the issues of insecurity in Nigeria at the strategic, tactical and operational levels as well as the challenges in tackling the threat of terrorism.

Buratai enumerated the Presidential strategic directive of relocating the Military Command and Control Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri, which was followed by the directive of defeating the insurgents by the end of December 2015.

He spoke about the involvement of neighbouring countries, as well as provision of necessary arms and logistics, assisted in the defeat of the terrorists.

 Buratai maintained his stand to undertake and sustain the current level of operations to ensure complete defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists.

The aim is in ensuring the safety and freedom for all abducted persons and creation of favourable environment that would permit the return of all refugees and internally displaced persons to their original home, he said.

Buratai , Usman noted, also informed his audience of the Armys commitment to developing capacity through local training and international collaboration in the provision for equipment, training support, equipment maintenance, intelligence and respect for human rights.

He said Buratai sought the support and understanding among all cooperating agencies and international partners for a collective action against Boko Haram terrorists.

Usman said a roundtable discussion was held on Nigerias counter-terrorism efforts and issues surrounding human rights abuses by Nigerian troops.

Usman said eminent personalities including senior retired military officers, policy makers and other top government officials participated in the discussions.

He said participants at the forum included director of the Centre, Dr J Peter Pham, Ambassador Philip Carter III and Former Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Engagement AFRICOM, Serah Margon.

Other participants include, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch, Ambassador Clarence Cook, Chair of the Ballard Group LLC, Ms Lesley Anne Warner and House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms Morgan Vina.

The list also include Policy Analyst, US Committee on Foreign Relations and Colonel Chris Wyatt, Director of African Studies and US Army War College.
Usman gave the assurance on Wednesday during her visit to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.

She said that the new management would also consider the host communities where ports were situated in rendering Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Usman said that,  the opportunities would encourage a level playing field for every Nigerian that is qualified.

She said that she knew many qualified Lagosians would apply when NPA brings out the job advertisement.

We embarked on this visit of the Western Ports which included the need for us to visit the monarch and intimate him of what we are doing in NPA right now.

Severally, we intend to have a very good relationship with all states and communities and link up with monarchs,  NAN quotes Usman as saying.

She however, pledged to sustain the new managements interaction with monarchies to improve their performance.

In his response, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, urged the new Managing Director of NPA to continue to exhibit more determination to enable her achieve tremendous success during her tenure.

A leader needs the support of followers to achieve success and I am sure that if you encourage transparency in your operations, success will be achieved, NAN quotes Akiolu as saying.

The Oba of Lagos, however, urged Usman and her team to work harder and have trust in God.
The union made this known in an eight-point communique issued at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Ilorin, Kwara.

A copy of the communique which was signed by NUATEs General Secretary, Mr Olayinka Abioye, was made available to newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, had on Sept. 6, told newsmen that there was no going back on the concession of the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt Airports.

Abioyes communique faulted the plan to concession the four airports which it described as the cash-cow out of the 22 airports owned by the Federal Government.

The NEC in-session therefore calls for immediate stoppage of the concession of Nigerian airports to avoid industrial crisis that may arise as the government has failed to carry along stakeholders on this germane matter, he said.

He urged the aviation agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), to improve the welfare of their workers.

Abioye also advised government to appoint a substantive managing director for NAMA and restructure its directorates in consonance with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

On the state of the economy, the communique advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to take more concrete steps toward alleviating poverty across the nation.

The NEC in-session sympathises with the government over the continued slide to recession of the nations economy but encourages it to remain focused in its quest for nation building.
IYC noted that it was appropriate for the body to apologise to the army, adding that the military was in the operation to rid the area of crime.

National president of the group, Elvis Donkemezuo, commended the military and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, for introducing the ongoing operation in the area.

Donkemezuo who deplored the high rate of piracy in the area added that the operation was to rid the region of criminal elements.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his government is working to bring the Niger Delta militancy to an end.

President Buhari made the comment on Monday, September 12, 2016 after observing Eid prayers in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State.
Uduak Etim Thomson was arrested along with four other Niger Delta criminals, according to the Navy.

This was disclosed by Navy spokesman, Commodore Christian Ezekobe via a statement.

The statement reads:

As part of efforts to eliminate unwholesome activities perpetuated by criminals in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Navy has arrested one of the top leaders of a group which goes by the name Bakassi Strike Force (BSF).

The suspected Militant Mr Uduak Etim Thompson aka SANGATA was arrested on 12 September 2016 at his hideout in Calabar by a joint team from Nigerian Navy Ship VICTORY and Defence Intelligence Agency.

The gang was alleged to have particularly attacked market women on September 4, 2016 at Oyorokoro community.

These arrests bring to fore the commitment of the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies to stamp out the menace of criminal brigandage in the region.

Investigation into these untoward activities have commenced and the perpetrators will be handed over to prosecuting agencies for further action.
This is contained in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, in Abuja.

It said that it had arrested one of the top leaders of a group called Bakassi Strike Force (BSF), adding that nabbing the suspected was part of efforts to eliminate unwholesome activities by criminals in the Niger Delta.

The suspected militant, Mr Uduak Thompson aka SANGATA, was arrested on September 12, 2016 in his hideout in Calabar by a joint team from Nigerian Navy Ship VICTORY and Defence Intelligence Agency, it said.

The statement recalled that some top members of the BSF had earlier been arrested.

In a related development, the patrol team deployed by Naval Outpost (NOP) Ikuru has arrested four suspected sea robbers, who were alleged to be responsible for several attacks and robbery incidents.

According to the statement, they carry out these attacks at Oyorokoro, Ataba, Kaa and Oyorokoro communities in Andoni Local government area of Rivers.

The gang was alleged to have particularly attacked market women on Sept. 4, 2016 at Oyorokoro Community.

These arrests bring to fore, the commitment of the NN and other security agencies to stamp out the menace of criminal brigandage in the region.
Mrs. Jonathan said the anti-graft agency is plotting to take her hard earned money, adding that those who pleaded guilty to the fraud allegations were not authorised by the companies.

A statement issued by her media aide, Chima Osuji, reads: This is a clear evidence of the desperation of the prosecution to pull down the former First Lady and confiscate her hard-earned money.

It is an irony that it was the former First Lady who went to court for the repatriation of her confiscated money when she realised that the EFCC and its co-travellers were playing politics with this issue after she had come out publicly to say that the said money belongs to her and that she has all evidence to prove the sources of her money. Up till this very moment, the EFCC has refused to interrogate or invite her for questioning.

The biggest twist in court on Thursday was that the fourth to seventh defendants pleaded guilty to all the 15 counts. It is clear that these unknown faces were agents of the EFCC, who have been stage-managed and tutored to come to court to complicate the case as a strategy to confiscate her money.

Mrs. Jonathan had earlier asked the EFCC to lift the restrictions on her bank account, so she can take her $31.4m.

She said the money was for her medical bills and other expenses.
For today, September 15 2016:

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

PDP asks President Buhari to quit over poor performance

Fuming at what it called crass ineptitude and lukewarm attitude of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to quit office along with his cabinet members.

Government reviews 2017 fiscal plan to check recession

As part of measures to check the nations economic recession, the Federal Government is to review its 2017 fiscal plan recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) but yet to be submitted to the National Assembly.

Government to sack agents collecting hajj fares

The Federal Government may abolish the use of agents to transport and provide other services to intending pilgrims to Mecca.

THE VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Return economy to Jonathans era and resign, PDP tells Buhari

KANOThe Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has called on the Federal Government to seek the advice of economic experts in tackling the current economic crisis in the country.

More death of cancer patients imminent

LAGOS Thousands of cancer patients are currently facing death nationwide, following a breakdown of all the radiotherapy machines at treatment centres in the country.

Alleged N18bn fraud: EFCC declares ex-Katsina gov, Shema, wanted

ABUJA The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, last night, declared wanted former Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, over alleged diversion of N18 billion from the local government joint account. READ MORE

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Economy: Sanusi, Kukah give Buhari wake-up call

The Federal Government got yesterday another wake-up call on the economy.

Ex-minister set for grilling over $1.092b Malabu Oil deal cash

Former Petroleum Resources Minister Dan Etete is set to visit the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer questions on the controversial Malabu Oil Block (OPL 245).

EFCC declares ex-Governor Shema wanted

Former Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema has been declared wanted for alleged mismanagement of N74.6billion. READ MORE

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

EFCC declares ex-governor wanted for alleged N76bn fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared wanted the immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Mr. Ibrahim Shema, over an alleged N76bn fraud. READ MORE

Fayose disagrees with Tambuwal, Mimiko on restructuring

Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal on Wednesday opposed the calls for the restructuring of the country, but advocated that the states should get higher revenue allocations than the Federal Government.

Ignore Boko Harams threat to capture Buhari, says DHQ
Shettima gave the advice at a workshop on the Media/Military Relationship, jointly organised by the 7 Div. Nigerian Army and the Borno council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday.

He said that the military must also begin to take the media into confidence in some of its operations to avoid speculations.

He recalled that the American media delayed report on the visits of President Barrack Obama to troops on frontline zone, based on an understanding with the security agencies.

I have asked myself many times that, why it is those in developed countries, Presidents and other leaders will go to places like Afghanistan and Iraq to meet with their soldiers at the battle fronts.

However, such visits would not be instantly reported by media houses like the CNN, BBC, New York Times, Aljazeera, Reuters, AFP and other media establishments.

Reports about these visits would mostly be made public only days after the visit of the Presidents, he said.

He added that reports would be published when the media was sure that the safety of the Presidents at the front lines in Afghanistan would not be compromised.

A lot of us have heard how the CNN reported meetings between President Obama and troops in battle fields, only days after such visits.

The International media completely shielded Prince Harry when he was fighting as a soldier and member of the British troops in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2008.

He was only reported 10 weeks into his deployment after leaving dangerous point in Afghanistan. Let us now compare this with a classical situation in Nigeria.

When President Goodluck Jonathan was said to be planning to visit Chibok in 2014, the trip was instantly revealed by virtually all Nigerian media houses.

The visit was supposed to be a secret one in order not to compromise the safety of the President, given the strength of the Boko Haram at that time.

What was it that made the International media conceal President Obamas and Prince Harrys visits to Afghanistan.

What was it that made our major media houses to act differently by revealing President Goodluck Jonathans planned visit to Chibok.

The governor said that he later realised that the American security agents had good working relationship with and reposed confidence in the international media houses, hence the development.

The International media establishments are told well about the plan and requested to give blackouts or delay report instead of real time.

If you compare that strategy with our case, it becomes clear that we mostly try to hide important steps from the Nigerian media.

We try to beat the media by keeping our plans away from them, with a wrong notion that our journalists do not have the capacity to know that which we hide from them.

The worst assumption any News-Maker can ever have is to assume that any journalist lacks the capacity to find out what is being kept away from the journalist.

In the relationship between the newsmaker and the journalist, the Newsmaker mostly wants to be the one to give out what he wants the journalist to know.

On the other hand, the job of the journalist is not to just to report what the newsmaker tells, but also to be more curious about what the newsmaker didnt tell."

What the newsmaker doesnt want to tell and why he doesnt want to tell. This is always the mindset of a good journalist.
Timi Frank, the APC acting national publicity secretary in a statement on Thursday, September 15, 2016, said the PDP was not in tune with reality.

He dismissed the call saying most Nigerians still believe in the leadership of President Buhari and the APC.

Describing the PDP as a degraded carcass, the APC spokesman urged Nigerians to disregard comments from the opposition party.

"I think it is shameful and unheard of for the degraded PDP carcass to call for Mr President's resignation," Frank said.

"It is clear that PDP is not in tune with what is happening all over the world," he added.

He urged members of the National Assembly to urgently treat the current economic recession as a matter national importance by making recommendations to the executive for the sake of ordinary Nigerians.

Mr Frank restated the commitment of the APC towards ensuring the well-being of Nigerians despite the country's economic situation.
The APC also advised the PDP to apologize to Nigerians for its reckless economic policies.

The ruling partys comments were contained in a statement released by National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni.

The statement reads:

The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is drawn to the latest ridiculous demand by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari returns the country to the voodoo economics and reckless fiscal policies the country was subjected to during the immediate-past PDP administration.

The PDP faction by its demand to return the country to the years where looting of the public treasury was the order of the day, has taken its orchestrated plot to deflect attention from the economic mess it left behind to new insensitive and shameless heights.

Instead of this charade by the PDP, we advise the PDP and their cronies to apologize to Nigerians and tow the path of honour by returning public funds stolen under its watch.

While the PDP attempts to fraudulently re-write history and misrepresent facts on its misrule of the country, Nigerians are traumatized on a daily basis on disclosures of the startling level of pillage of the countrys commonwealth perpetuated under its watch.

Instead of saving for the rainy day, past PDP administrations and their cronies literally looted the public treasury blind, using the loot to build luxury hotels and other properties, stashing loot in farmlands and hidden bank accounts.

While the APC led administration is open to and welcomes positive and constructive contributions on resolving the countrys economic challenges, the Party assures Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is already employing all legitimate and innovative means to restore the countrys battered economy back to health in the quickest possible time.

The results of the fiscal and economic agendas embarked by the President Buhari administration to tackle the effects of the countrys diminishing crude oil revenues, falling value of the Naira and resuscitate the economy will be evident soon.

The APC appeals for patience and cooperation from Nigerians as the President Muhammadu Buhari administration works assiduously to pull the country out of the present hardships and restore the country on the path growth in all facets.
The PDPmade the comments via a statement released by spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

The statement reads:

The crass ineptitude and lukewarm-attitude of this APC government is no longer tolerable, and therefore, we are calling on President Buhari and his team to return Nigeria to its state of booming economy before they assumed office in May, 2015, and then quit immediately to allow other capable leaders recover our ailing economy.

For instance, recall that about three airlines, local and international, like some banks, have suspended operations and sent their staff on indefinite leave due to poor state of Nigerias economy.

Nigerians are aware that the PDP government invested heavily in most of our airports in the country that resulted to obvious facelift and improved operations through remodelling, construction of new airports, refurbishing and equipping of the local and international airports to meet best practices in the Aviation Industry.

But the APC administration has frittered away all the good policies and programmes which the PDP put in place, thereby crumbling the aviation sector in the country among other catastrophes it has caused.

What Nigerians want from this administration are results, simple! And not resorting to throwing tantrums on the PDP at every given opportunity. Our call for the President to return the country to how he met it in 2015 is justified on the following grounds: A bag of rice was N7,000 and now it is above N20,000; a mudu of beans was N150 and now N500; one US Dollar was trading for N197 but now over N400; a litre of fuel was N87 but now N145; cost of transportation and other services have skyrocketed.

Given our observation since the inception of this government, they have nothing to offer and as such, quitting will be a solution because nobody can give what he/she does not have. APC has failed.

The PDP calls on Nigerians to recall President Buharis purported body language at the beginning of his administration and reiterated that governance is a serious business and not about someones body language and de-marketing strategies of Mr. President while globetrotting.

When this government came to power in May 2015, riding on the achievements of previous PDP administration, President Buharis handlers and his party, the APC, claimed it was his body language that brought some positive changes the country was witnessing at that time; so we want to know what are the results of the so called body language.

There is no better time than now to make this call for the President to return the country to how he met it and quit, or right away quit for a more experienced team to take over.
Kyari was reacting to accusation made by the PDP that the postponement of the poll was aimed at manipulating the outcome by the ruling APC.

He told newsmen in Maiduguri on Wednesday that the postponement was inevitable.

Up till Wednesday, INEC was ready for the election because I spoke with INEC chairman who was already in Benin and he said there was no going back.

He (chairman) said that INEC can only shift the election if there was strong and tangible reasons for that, Kyari said.

He added that the commission was forced to shift the election after seeing some evidence from security agents.

But unfortunately, the reasons given by the police and the State Security Service (SSS) were so strong that within a short while INEC began to see some semblance of planned attack.

So INEC had to cave in and postpone the polls, I remember that even the police had made arrangement to mobilize 23, 000 personnel for the polls before the last minutes shift, Kyari said.

The senator noted that it was sad that some politicians were accusing the government of collaborating with INEC to shift the polls for political gains.

The election was postponed due to the security situation and not because of any political reason. I do not think it was because the APC could not win.

Like I said, the postponement cannot affect the outcome or give advantage to the ruling APC as being alleged by in media reports, he said.

Kyari recalled that the 2015 elections were postponed and the outcome was not affected.

You will remember that even last years elections were postponed by weeks and the outcome was not affected.

Whatever you do in election matter, it will not affect the outcome because the people have already made up their minds, he said.

The INEC committee chairman, who represents Borno North in the National Assembly, also defended the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on the prevalence of inconclusive elections.

Yakubu is a man of integrity and a first class technocrat, so the issue of inconclusive elections is not peculiar to him.

Even in 2011 there were inconclusive elections, we just forget so soon; last year elections in Imo State were inconclusive and that was when Prof. Mahmud Jega was INEC chairman, he said.

Kyari said that attention was being focused on inconclusive elections now because they were hapening in bye-elections rather that during general polls.

He attributed the reason for rising cases of inconclusive elections across the country on the desperation by politicians to win at all cost.

We now have two strong parties; the APC and the PDP who are almost at par in terms of strength.

Some politicians are now desperate, sometimes employing violence to disrupt elections leading to inconclusiveness.

INEC has no choice but to declare election inconclusive once election materials are hijacked and elections disrupted on a large scale.

Of course this has to do with election guidelines which must be adhered to by INEC, he said.

The senator also defended INEC decision to declare elections inconclusive rather than declare one of the candidates winner in an election marred by violence.

INEC cannot disregard election guidelines and declare wrong candidate winner of an inconclusive election because it had a reputation to protect.
The PDP had earlier told Buhari to return the economy to the state that former President Goodluck Jonathan left it, and resign.

According to Mohammed, what the past administration projected as economic progress, was just a smoke screen.

Mohammed said We are on a rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma, and the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts. But we are not deterred.

While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.

Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari Administration which is left to pack their mess.

PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation."

Adding that They keep saying we should stop talking of the past, yet the past will not stop rearing its head. They keep saying we should no longer refer to the past, but how can we forget so soon that our foreign exchange reserves plummeted from $62bn in 2008 to $30bn by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of $114 per barrel in 2014.

By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from $60bn in 2008 to $120bn in 2015.

The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we wont repeat the mistake.

Take the excess crude account which fell from about $9bn in 2007 to about $2bn in 2015. The argument that it was the State Governors that depleted the account does not hold water since there were Governors in place when the account was being built up.

The minister also said Worse still is the fact that up to $14bn in revenues from Nigerian LNG remains unaccounted for and indeed until the Buhari Administration came to office, State Governments never got any allocations from this source of funds which properly belongs to the Federation Account.

The naked fact on the revenue front is that there was just a failure of leadership. This was compounded by the non-transparent uses of funds. We are all witnesses to the sacking of a Central Bank Governor because he raised an alarm about $20bn that had gone missing.

We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDPs watch, with $15bn stolen from the defence sector alone.

Perhaps most painful is that because of the way funds (about $322m) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, we now have to accept conditionalities before our stolen assets are even returned to us.
This is contained in a communique signed by Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, President of CBCN, at the closing ceremony of Second Plenary session of CBCN in Akure.

According to the communique, destruction of lives and properties is not the solution to make their grievances known to the government.

We condemn in totality the vandalism and destruction of oil installations in the Niger Delta region as well as destruction of lives and properties in other regions in the country.

Government has no excuse not to cater for its citizens and opposition parties should not run down the government but support the advancement of this country.

We are calling on the Federal Government to tackle the roots of every problem, Kaigama said.

Kaigama, however, called on the Federal Government to create jobs for the unemployed youths, take steps to revive the economy and diversify it in a productive way.

He further called on all tiers of governments to be prudent in their expenditure and reduce waste.

The bishop regretted the high rise of violence and human rights abuse in the country, urging all Nigerians to imbibe sanctity of people, especially women and children.

We assure President Buhari of our prayers and support and giving him honest advice for the good of our country, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme coincided with the thanksgiving service of Retired Justice Sotonye Denton-West of Federal Court of Appeal to commemorate her 70th birthday.

Speaking with NAN, she expressed her belief that peace and justice should reign in Nigeria.
ALSO READ: Varsity shuts down five illegal study centers in Lagos

The director of Media and Publicity, Malam Ibrahim Sheme, revealed that the government's endorsement was equally beneficial to three other universities running a similar programme.

The approval was communicated to the commission via a statement issued by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The three universities include the University of Uyo, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and University of Maiduguri.

ALSO READ: Varsity to partner with National Assembly to promote girl child education
The Shia Muslim who says he fled with his family from the Taliban last year, told Reuters that the perils of repeated attempts to smuggle his way across the English Channel had persuaded him to give up on the idea.

"My life is more important than England," said the 19-year-old, who is learning French at the camp's makeshift library. "It's become too dangerous, so we've ended up seeking asylum here."

Called "the Jungle", the camp and its inhabitants are at the centre of a political debate that has intensified since Britain's vote to the exit the European Union and before France's wide-open presidential election next April.

Fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, an overwhelming majority of migrants have arrived in Calais in the belief they will have a better life in Britain than on the European mainland.

With unemployment roughly half the French rate of almost 10 percent, jobs are relatively plentiful in Britain and many hope friends and family already there will help them to start anew.

Thousands have therefore used the northern port city for making clandestine attempts to reach Britain, which lies only about 35 km (22 miles) across the water.

Often this involves trying to stow away on trucks taking the ferry to the English port of Dover, or cutting through security fences to clamber aboard trains using the Channel Tunnel.

Most of the attempts end in failure, and a number of migrants have died in the process.

To be sure, many of the 7,000-9,000 migrants in the camp nestled behind sand dunes still target the lights along Britain's southern coast visible at night.

But interviews with migrants, charities inside the camp and local officials reveal a shift in the ambition of others, due partly to the tough security measures blocking their path and a French initiative to persuade them.

"A few months back, when you asked people about whether they wanted to go to England or stay put in France, a majority would answer England. That's now changing," said Stephane Duval, who heads a state-run shelter built with shipping containers within the camp.

"FRANCE IS THE FUTURE"

The EU's failure to draw up a coherent response to the broader migration crisis has invigorated anti-immigration, euro-sceptic parties across the bloc including France's own far-right National Front.

With most opinion polls showing the National Front leader Marine Le Pen winning the first round of the presidential poll, though not a run-off, the deeply unpopular President Francois Hollande is under pressure to shut down the Calais camp.

Earlier this year his government sent in bulldozers to clear the camp's southern half. Now Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve promises to dismantle the rest, though no time-frame has been set.

Meanwhile, Britain is to finance a new security wall along a one-km stretch of the Calais port's approach road, a move that some critics say echoes U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's talk of a wall along the Mexican border.

At the same time, almost 150 reception centres have been built nationwide and teams of social workers deployed to the Jungle and other improvised camps including in the capital Paris to persuade migrants to file asylum requests.

Asked what message the social workers were taking to migrants in the Jungle, a spokesman for the Pas-de-Calais area said: "The border at Calais is closed. France can welcome you in reception centres. Go there, rest and reflect on what you want from life. And this could be a life in France."

An increasing number of migrants now recognised Calais was a dead-end, the spokesman said, with more than 5,000 opting to head to a reception centre in the past year. "Previously we had more places in reception centres than applicants. Now we have more requests than available places," he said.

Immigration has already become a hot election campaign issue. Portraying himself as tough on migrants in his quest for a return to the Elysee palace, former President Nicolas Sarkozy says Britain should open an asylum centre on its territory to deal with the Calais migrants.

Interior ministry data shows migrants filed 80,075 requests for asylum in France in 2015, up 24 percent on the year before. No breakdown on where those requests were made is provided, but charity workers in the camp said they too see the shift in ambitions.

Anne-Lise Coury, an aid worker with Medecins Sans Frontieres, said that for many migrants it was tough to accept Britain was beyond reach. "They are feeling increasingly frustrated. Many are considering other options, but we see increased levels of depression in the camp," she said.

Standing outside a run-down caravan, Sajjad said it was a meeting with a social worker that persuaded him to give up on his British dream. Four months ago he went to the local immigration office and filed his request for asylum.
Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said the rally would be held on November 19, 2016.

"Bersih believes not protesting is not an option. Malaysians must stand united and take a strong stand against this grand corruption and the failure of our institutions," Maria told reporters.

More than 200,000 people marched through the streets in August 2015 in a similar rally organised by Bersih, which draws the bulk of its support from Malaysia's ethnic Chinese minority, calling for Najib's resignation.

1MDB is a state fund Najib founded in September 2009 to invest in strategic property and energy projects. Najib was the chairman of 1MDB's advisory board until recently.

U.S. prosecutors filed civil lawsuits in July alleging that over $3.5 billion was defrauded from 1MDB.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that global investigators believed more than $1 billion entered Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank accounts, much of it from 1MDB. The U.S. filings referred to an unnamed high-ranking official who received some of the misappropriated funds.

A source familiar with the investigations has told Reuters that the unnamed official is Najib.
On Monday, Hollywood actor George Clooney and rights activist John Prendergast released detailed research on South Sudanese corruption compiled by their watchdog group The Sentry.

Later, the pair met with President Barack Obama at the White House to share their concerns and on Wednesday the State Department endorsed the report and warned that Washington could take action.

"The Department of State is pursuing measures it can take to deter corruption by South Sudanese officials," its spokesman Mark Toner said.

"We are working closely with The Sentry to ensure the information it has collected is used to that end."

But it has been deeply disappointed by the country's descent into chaos and civil war between President Salva Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar.

"While leaders have been pillaging government coffers, international donors including the United States have remained steady supporters of the South Sudanese people," Toner said.

"And we are deeply disappointed that their leaders... have failed to put aside personal power struggles and individual enrichment for the good of their people."

The result of a two-year inquiry, The Sentry's report details how Kiir and rebel leader Machar profit from a three-year conflict that has driven 2.5 million people from their homes and left half the population dependent on food aid to survive.

The "key catalyst" of the war was "competition for the grand prize -- control over state assets and the country's abundant natural resources," notably its oil, it said.
Finding Peace of Mind: Discover These Five Places in Europe to Unwind
Heart of America Group plans to transform an almost 90-year-old office building in downtown Moline into an upscale, 107-room boutique hotel that the developer believes will continue the downtown's momentum.

The Moline-based hotel and restaurant company, owned by Mike Whalen, is acquiring the 5th Avenue Building, 1630 5th Ave. Heart of America will redevelop it into a hotel, possibly a Marriott brand, Whalen said.

He said the project will include a food/beverage component, meeting rooms, a banquet facility and other amenities. "We bought the Sears building, Barnett Fireplace, next door a few years ago, and we'll work to integrate that into the hotel plans," he said.

It is a transaction that intertwined two Quad-City developers: Whalen and Rodney Blackwell with the City of Moline, which negotiated the deal, and also required sign-off by another downtown hotel developer.

"We're very excited about the project moving forward. It's going to be a cool building," said Whalen, whose Heart of America headquarters is just blocks away in a former warehouse it renovated on River Drive.

According to city documents, Heart of America Hotels LLC is purchasing the building from Blackwell's Fifth Avenue Block LLC for about $1.8 million, a price city staff helped negotiate.

Whalen said he the overall investment will be between $18 million and $20 million.

"That building was an architectural gem when it was built in 1929," said Whalen, whose latest Quad-City project was Elmore Marketplace on Davenport's Elmore Avenue.

The 5th Avenue development agreement, which city officials said began almost two years ago, involved the building's sale as well as other provisions to be awarded to Blackwell, developer of Moline's Kone Centre office tower.

At its committee of the whole meeting Tuesday, Moline aldermen approved a series of actions that now must go to council next week for final approval. The agreement includes these components:

In exchange for Blackwell selling the Fifth Avenue Building, the city agrees to extend a loan Blackwell's Financial District Properties company has for Kone Centre until June 30, 2017. It was to expire Dec. 31.

The city also amends the Kone Centre development agreement to lift the restrictions that the top-floor residential units must be sold. This will allow Blackwell to rent or sell the high-end apartments. Currently, two units are completed and one is sold, but five are awaiting completion.

The city approves the 5th Avenue Building purchase agreement, which includes an assignment clause allowing the city to assign all rights to a new purchaser.

Heart of America would purchase the building and redevelop it into a nationally branded hotel or independent boutique hotel, possibly one of its own brands. It also would be responsible for relocating the office tenants from the building, preferably in Moline.

The city would provide $4.6 million in tax increment financing incentives to Heart of America, which would be paid upon completion of the hotel.

"It was interesting, all the different parties," Mayor Scott Raes said. "The building was owned by Blackwell. You had a developer headquartered in Moline (HOA) that had never done a hotel in Moline. And at the time, we had made an agreement with Mike Amin that we wouldn't negotiate any agreements with another hotel until after The Element opened."

The Amin Group is the developer behind The Element, the extended-stay hotel being built in the future Amtrak train station, now known as The Q.

According to Ray Forsythe, the city's economic development director, the development agreement with Amin restricted the city from offering incentives to any other hotels in downtown within one year of the Element's opening.

In an email, Forsythe said city staff met with Mike Amin and Heart of America ''to make sure Amin was comfortable with the deal."

The Element is expected to open in May. Heart of America can open its new hotel in May 2018 or 12 months from the Element's opening, whichever is sooner, Forsythe said.

Raes said the project is a huge win for Moline. It also will include leasing 105 parking spaces in the city-owned parking garage behind the 5th Avenue Building, he said.

"Ray Forsythe just came back from a development conference in Atlanta, where they said 'what you want now is a four-star hotel' because it brings higher property taxes, hotel/motel taxes. ... And now we have one," Raes said.
Part biopic and part editorial, Oliver Stones Snowden often is thought-provoking. At other times, its slow-going, and its two-hours-plus running time feels overstuffed with extraneous material.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden first is depicted walking along with a Rubiks Cube in his hands. The puzzle is an identifier for documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo, Prisoners) and journalists Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto, Star Trek Beyond) and Ewan MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson, Selma,) who meet with Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel room. There he is filmed while he provides details of his past, his discoveries and his motivation.

Snowden is a former computer professional who worked for the CIA and also was a contractor for the U.S. government. He copied and leaked classified National Security Agency information, and brought to light surveillance programs operated worldwide.

He shares these documents in the hotel room and tells, on camera, why he chose to leave behind his entire life to go public with what he knew (he remains in Russia).

Anyone who has watched Citizenfour, which earned the Oscar for Best Documentary for 2014, will recognize the meeting that Stone recreates. He then takes the audience back to Snowdens academic and military training, including his education in the CIA (if the guy who plays Snowdens NSA supervisor looks a little familiar, its because hes Scott Eastwood, son of Clint Eastwood).

We watch as Snowden meets Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley, The Fault In our Stars) who, because of the secrecy involved, does not know as much as she would like about his intelligence gathering. Always fearful and distrustful, Snowden finally makes the decision to steal classified information and share it globally.

The movie is overly long. Its impossible not to compare it to Sully, playing in a neighboring theater. The brevity of Sully makes it far more focused than Snowden, which wanders into unnecessary sequences  in particular a sex scene and several sequences with characters that could have been omitted  that add nothing to the film except extra minutes.

Gordon-Levitt does a great job as Snowden (this will be especially noticeable during a transition to the real Snowden at the end of the film,) depicting Snowdens calm, thoughtful demeanor. The real Snowden says, I think the greatest freedom Ive gained is that I no longer have to worry about what happens tomorrow, because Im happy with what Ive done today.

Is Snowden a traitor or a hero? He remains as controversial a character as does Stone himself. Hes a puzzle for viewers to tackle on their own.
FREEPORT, Ill.  If it weren't for two security guards blocking the front gate with their Chevrolet Avalanche and a distinct smell, nobody would know marijuana was growing inside this nondescript warehouse.

In Grown Farms, one of the states 19 medical cannabis cultivation centers, began growing product 14 months ago this week. On Tuesday, owners opened their doors to members of the media  who were required to wear coveralls and not allowed to touch anything  for the first time.

Tours must be coordinated through the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Officials from both agencies, including the director of the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, were on site for a tour this week  the first made available to the Times.

Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, or GTI, operates a grow house in Rock Island, but a tour has yet to be arranged. The 45,000-square-foot facility off Andalusia Road employs 30 people and is the only cultivation center in Illinois State Police District 7, which includes Rock Island, Henry, Mercer and Knox counties.

In Grown Farms, the only site of its kind in Stephenson County and Illinois State Police District 16 near the Wisconsin border, currently grows its plants in a 3,000-square-foot building and employs 12 people. The company also built an 80,000-square-foot facility next door on its 20-acre property and has plans to expand its business there once the states patient count grows.

As of Sept. 7, 10,033 patients, including 74 younger than 18, have been approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health to buy marijuana.

All-natural product

In Grown Farms is similar to other cultivation sites in the state, except for its all-natural production process, which sets it apart. It's the only facility in the state that produces rosin, the purest form of oil extracted from the plant, without using any solvents, state officials confirmed.

Specifically, plant employees use a 6-ton hydraulic press to flatten the harvested flower and squeeze out its potent concentrate.

Its the purest, cleanest process known to man to extract the medicine, said Larry Kiest, the CEO and president of In Grown Farms, who led the tour.

And it's their claim to fame.

Jack Campbell, who took over as director of the state medical cannabis pilot program in June, witnessed the practice in action for the first time on Tuesday.

I just really found it fascinating that they can extract it, and really keep it that pure, said Campbell, a former Sangamon County sheriffs deputy who now regulates and oversees the entire industry. And we're happy they have a process that keeps it safer for the patients."

A two-person team then blends the rosin with locally harvested raw honey, which the business packages and sells in a five-teaspoon jar.

We definitely sell flower for inhalation, but we focus as much as possible in this facility on producing products that are very healthy for patients," said Kiest, whose grow house also produces marijuana-infused coffees, teas, balms and capsules.

While the building contains about 100 different strains in stock, In Grown Farms currently is growing 12 varieties in two separated climate-controlled rooms.

Every two weeks, the growers harvest 65 to 155 plants  clones sprouted from two mother plants. Each plant, which remain in the flower rooms for eight to 10.5 weeks, contain 2-6 ounces of usable cannabis.

From there, its dried, cured and hand trimmed before its taken to the in-house commercial kitchen.

Once its tested at an independent third-party laboratory for pesticides, solvents, mold, fungus and bacteria, the product is shipped to dispensaries throughout the state, not including Natures Treatment of Illinois in Milan.

Team effort

Jordan Seward, a 25-year-old Rockford native and graduate of Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California, is the head grower. He calls the work fulfilling.

I really get a lot of reward from knowing that something I touched will help the well-being of people who consume it, said Seward, who works closely with Beth Nagle, the plants herbalist.

Kiest, the Ottawa-based entrepreneur who controls 100 percent of the company, said his team comes from a variety of professional backgrounds.

"We do an enormous amount of research, and once we think we know, then we have to prove it, and once we've proven it, then we can really dial in where we need to go," he said.

It's a learning experience for everyone involved.

Jeff Cox, the programs bureau chief in the state Department of Agriculture, also accompanied the tour. Cox previously served as an assistant states attorney.

It was a big change for me to go from prosecuting criminal cases to the administrative side of regulating something that used to be a criminal offense, he said.

Today, state officials, who have access to the sites surveillance cameras at all times, will conduct their weekly inspection of the facility.

Reflecting on his first year of work under Illinois' stringent watch, Kiest said he first saw the venture as a lucrative business move.

"Anybody that thinks this is a get-rich scheme, they're sorely mistaken," he said. "But if you believe in helping your fellow mankind, thats where the payoff really is in this program."
Davenport police have arrested a third man in connection with the Aug. 18 stabbing death of Romane Lee Nunn Sr., in LeClaire Park.

Terrell Gary Bloch, 45, of Davenport, was taken into custody about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 100 block of East Columbia Avenue.

Bloch was being held without bond Wednesday night in the Scott County Jail.

Two other men already have been charged in Nunns murder. William Earl Crawford, 42, and Durell Ryan Parks Jr., 34, both of Davenport, each are charged with first-degree murder and willful injury in connection with Nunns death.

Nunn, 29, of Davenport, was an Army veteran and had served two tours of duty in Iraq.

Davenport police were dispatched to LeClaire Park at 8:21 p.m. in response to a stabbing that occurred as scores of people were in the park playing the popular game Pokemon Go. Police said many of those playing heard the commotion and looked up from their electronic devices to witness the attack.

Police said they had many witnesses to the incident who were happy to provide statements that have helped lead to the arrests.

Witnesses told police that Crawford and other folks moved from the parks pavilion toward Nunn and an altercation took place where he was stabbed and beaten, according to preliminary hearing testimony Aug. 30 from Davenport Police Sgt. Shawn Roth, supervisor of the departments major case unit.

Some of the witnesses knew Crawford by name, while others were able to pick him out of a photo lineup, he testified.

More than one witness also said Crawford had a knife in his hand and that he approached Nunn and asked him Are you Roman? or "Are you Romane? Roth testified.

Witnesses also reported that Nunn was stabbed in the chest, he testified.

Preliminary autopsy results revealed that he died from a wound to his main heart artery.

Crawford later was found walking in the 1100 block of Harrison Street. He had blood on his shoes, Roth testified.

Nunn was taken to Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport, where he died.

District Court Judge Mark Fowler ruled after Crawfords hearing that there was enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Parks opted to waive a preliminary hearing.

Both Crawford and Parks are scheduled to be arraigned in Scott County District Court on Sept. 22.

No dates have been set for Blochs preliminary hearing or arraignment.

According to Iowa Department of Corrections electronic records, Bloch was released from parole June 9, 2014. He had been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison on Dec. 29, 2000, after pleading guilty to a charge of first-degree burglary. In accordance with that agreement, a charge of first-degree robbery, that had occurred Aug. 22, 2000, was dismissed.
Davenport and Scott County officials have worked through the differences that prevented some vendors from participating in Tuesday's food truck event.

The Scott County Department of Health notified city officials Monday that only vendors with mobile permits could participate in Tuesday's gathering in Bechtel Park because it was not recognized as an "event."

Four out of the 10 vendors that previously signed up to participate did not have the proper certification, prompting city officials to work feverishly to find a solution.

As a result, staff asked the city's aldermen Tuesday to add a declaration to Wednesday's council meeting calling the third and fourth legs of the pilot program "events" to avoid future hiccups.

In consultation with the county, City Administrator Corri Spiegel said the county and state will honor the city's declaration, which will allow popup vendors without mobile permits, such as those found during Farmers Market, to participate in the program moving forward.

"The simple version is that we had a different interpretation of what an 'event' means," Spiegel said.

Scott County Health Department Director Ed Rivers talked with state health officials, who said as long as the city calls it an "event," the county and state will recognize it, Spiegel said.

Spiegel thanked the Downtown Davenport Partnership, Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce, Scott County Board of Supervisors and County Administrator Mahesh Sharma for working through the issues.

Although its sophomore effort did not operate as smoothly as the opening Tuesday with all the surrounding drama, budget analyst Mallory Merritt said the first two Tuesdays have blown away the city's expectations.

In its debut, Merritt said the city conservatively estimated more than 250 customers for the three vendors that participated.

The most recent Tuesday offering did substantially better.

Even with only six vendors participating, the city once again conservatively estimated more than 500 customers. Four of the vendors sold out of food. Two of those vendors and an additional two reported record sales.

When breaking down the sheer quantity of food, Merritt was even more amazed.

"One vendor alone reported selling 80 pounds of pulled pork, 30 pounds of Cuban pork, 25 pounds of ribeye, 140 pounds of french fries, and it goes on," Merritt said.

Other vendors reported 400 burrito and taco entrees and 250 grilled cheese sandwiches. A different vendor reported 105 selling sandwiches.

A food truck in its first day of business reported selling 60 hamburgers.

With the first two events wildly successful, Merritt said additional dates could be added on Fridays in October. In the event these dates are added, the city will have to add the dates to a future council agenda for them to be considered an event.

"If we have events on Fridays, all we have to do is do what we did tonight, and we're fine," Spiegel said.
DES MOINES  Evan McMullin wants voters to reject the notion they would be wasting their vote by supporting a third-party candidate in this years presidential election.

McMullin, a conservative independent and former CIA counterterrorism and intelligence official, traveled through Iowa on Thursday, conducting media interviews and greeting campaign volunteers in an attempt to spread awareness of and support for his presidential campaign.

McMullins presidential bid is at best a long shot. But he  like other third-party candidates Gary Johnson, a Libertarian, and Jill Stein of the Green Party  is courting the significant percentage of voters who say they are dissatisfied with their choice between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

We have been sold the lesser-of-two-evils argument by the parties for a long, long time. And I believe that degrades the value of our votes, McMullin said Thursday in an interview with the Quad-City Times Des Moines Bureau. Our votes are our voices. And I believe that we need to stand for good, stand for good leadership with our voices. Because if we dont, we wont get it.

A Catholic clergyman was quoted the other day saying, Keep in mind that if you vote for the lesser of two evils, youre still voting for evil. So I just think that weve got to vote our conscience in these elections.

McMullin, who worked in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia in the years shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, describes his ideology as original conservatism founded in individual liberty. He said is anti-abortion, supports gun ownership rights and believes the U.S. should show strong military leadership in the world but engage and enlist allies so the country is not always on the financial hook for participating in overseas conflicts.

McMullin just jumped into the race five weeks ago, but he thinks his candidacy can impact the election. He said he thinks he can win his home state of Utah and potentially influence the final results if Clinton and Trump wind up locked in an electoral tie in the other states.

In the case of an Electoral College tie, the president is chosen in the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state getting one vote.

In two recent polls on the race in Utah, McMullin received 9 percent of the vote. While that is better than he fares in most other states  in some, polls do not include him among the choices  it is well behind Trump at roughly 40 percent and Clinton at roughly 25 percent and just behind Johnson, who is at slightly more than 10 percent.

McMullin said he joins the two-thirds of American voters who say they are not satisfied with the choices of presidential candidates, according to recent Pew Research national polling. He called Trump a true authoritarian and a true threat to our democracy and said Clinton also would do enormous damage to this country.

I think theyre both terribly corrupt, and we need better in this country. We really need better, McMullin said. Thats what we hope to offer in this election.
In less than two weeks, Campaign 2016 enters a new phase: Election 2016.

On Sept. 29, Iowa voters will be able to begin casting ballots in the state, starting a 40-day clock that runs through Election Day.

Beginning that Thursday and for nearly six weeks, campaigns will frantically chase early votes, which have increasingly made up a larger share of the electorate.

In fact, if 2016 looks anything like 2012, more than 4 in 10 Iowa voters will cast their ballots before Nov. 8 even arrives.

At the top of the ticket, where Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are vying for the presidency, that early vote will be a crucial factor in deciding who wins Iowa's six electoral votes.

Democrats have typically been better at Iowa's early-vote chase, something that's served as a hedge against the Republicans' usual advantage on Election Day.

Both political parties say, however, theyre going to maximize every option this election cycle to capture early voters. Iowans can cast votes early by mail or at satellite stations, which will be announced later this month.

"Were leaving no voter unturned, Lindsay Jancek, a spokesperson for the Republican Party of Iowa, said. "This year, were more aggressive."

They will have to be to turn around what happened four years ago. In 2012, Barack Obama swamped Republican Mitt Romney by 140,000 early votes in Iowa, enough to overcome a smaller Election Day deficit to win the state by 92,000 votes overall.

It was a strategic victory on the ground that forced a change in thinking among Republicans.

Two years ago, with a heavier focus on early voters and a different electorate, the GOP was able to turn the tables. Joni Ernst lost to Bruce Braley in early votes, but by only 24,000. That, coupled with a huge Election Day margin, sent the Red Oak Republican to a 94,000-vote win in the hotly contested U.S. Senate race.

In this election year, when so little has been predictable, the race for the early vote is hard to handicap.

A relatively small number of requests have been submitted so far.

Still, Democrats, who boast of 33 field offices across the state, say theyve been focused for months on organizing for the push.

Hillary Clintons presidential campaign says it has been recruiting volunteers and building an organization, with much of it aimed at maximizing the window of opportunity for voting.

Weve been building it with the mindset that really the lights are going to come on on Sept. 29, and we have to be ready to perform, said Kane Miller, the state director for Clintons campaign. And I have every confidence that were going to be ready to.

The campaign says it has been especially targeting millennials (adults 35 and under), as well as women and minorities, seeking to find ways to overcome whatever hurdles there are to voting.

The effort is part of a deeply rooted investment that can't be done on the fly, they say.

You cant just come in late with some staff or some volunteers and try to throw some things together and throw a bunch of hot sauce on it and hope that it works, Miller said.

Democrats think they have a grassroots advantage over the GOP. Throughout the campaign, there have been questions about how much the Trump campaign has been investing in organization.

Republicans in Iowa dispute the idea that, when campaigns and party structures are put together, they are at any organizational disadvantage to the Democrats.

They say they are investing more in a ground game than in 2012, and they're putting the lessons of two years ago to good use.

"We were more aggressive in 14 than we were in 12, so we're building our model off of 2014," Jancek said.

The GOP has been pointing for months to its larger turnout in the presidential caucuses in February as proof of an energized base of support. Jancek also says the party's voter registration edge, which has grown since the summer of 2012, is significant.

Earlier this month, there were 34,000 more active Republicans registered to vote than Democrats. Four years ago, at this point, the GOP had an 18,000 voter registration edge, although that was nearly eliminated by Election Day after a strong registration effort by Obama and the Democrats.

Republicans also say this year is different because they are better at convincing people to vote early, not just request a ballot.

Two years ago, 94 percent of Republicans who requested absentee ballots used them. For Democrats, the return rate was 88 percent. That meant thousands of requests that went unused.

"It's very easy to hand out absentee ballots," said Judy Davidson, chair of the Scott County Republicans and a member of the state central committee. "The crucial part of the equation is returning them."

In Scott County, an important county in this year's election, the return rate for Republicans was 97 percent, she said.

Ben Foecke, who is the executive director of the Iowa Democratic Party, acknowledged the GOP's improved performance in 2014. But he said Democrats have prepared for this cycle, too, including making sure ballots are returned.

Fewer mail pieces have gone out asking people to request ballots. That could cut down on the number of people who ask for ballots during the summer but forget they made the request and fail to return them.

He, too, said that no body is being spared in the effort.

"We have a lot more staff on the ground focusing on this effort," he said.
MUSCAITINE, Iowa  The newly formed nominating committee held its first meeting Wednesday night, and voted to recommend the reappointment of Brandy Olson to the Civil Service Commission.

The four-person subcommittee was created to select members of boards and commissions, subject to the approval of the city council, and was approved at the Thursday, Sept. 8, City Council meeting.

The subcommittee includes at-large Council members Santos Saucedo and Scott Natvig, Mayor Diana Broderson, and the city administrator or appropriate staff member.

Stephanie Romagnoli, the human resources manager for Muscatine, was the staff member speaking for the Civil Service Commission. She said her experience with Olson has been positive.

"Brandys been a commissioner for 12 years, and she has done a fantastic job," Romagnoli said.

She, Natvig, and Saucedo voted yes, and Broderson voted no.

Broderson said she had heard concerns from citizens about Olson having a conflict of interest because she works for Muscatine Power and Water, but Olson assured her that utilities do not fall under the category of conflict of interest.

While the members of the committee said the process may feel rushed, Romagnoli said the Civil Service Commission will need a new member within the next month due to an appeal, and Saucedo and Natvig said the appointment was the correct choice.

Olson has served two terms previously on the Civil Service Commission, and she said she appreciated the nominating committee's action.

"Thank you for getting this process started," she said.

Andrew Fangman, the city planner, was present to discuss the Zoning Board of Adjustment vacancy, and said the board would soon have a second vacancy. The committee chose to wait, and hope for more applicants, as at least one of the appointees needs to be female to fulfill gender balance.

The committee also plans to reexamine the application forms for board and commission member applicants. A draft for the commission to discuss is planned for the next meeting.

The nominating committee plans to hold its next meeting at 12 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12.

A request to approve an appointment to the Civil Service Commission is on the agenda for the City Council meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
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Mike Salter enlisted in the Navy in 1961 and spent 10 years in the service, including making five trips to Vietnam aboard the USS Comstock.

At age 74 and still active in the community, including being a member of the Scott County Sheriffs Departments Volunteers in Police Service, Salter broke bread Wednesday with 89 other Vietnam veterans, four World War II veterans and one Korean War veteran who are taking the first Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., that is mostly for Vietnam veterans.

Sponsored by Hy-Vee, the company held a dinner for the veterans Wednesday at their store on East Kimberly Road in Davenport.

Im really looking forward to it, said Salter, who grew up near Ottumwa, Iowa, but spent almost 30 years in California. He moved back to Iowa about 20 years ago. I want to see all the monuments, but I really want to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Ive seen the traveling memorial, but I want to see the one in Washington, he said.

Todays Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities is the eighth sponsored by Hy-Vee since 2010, and the 37th flight since 2008 when the program began, said Debbie Geisler, Quad-Cities Marketing Director for Hy-Vee.

Veterans will fly to Washington where they will spend the today touring military monuments and take part in a special service near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

As each veteran was escorted into the dinner, the band from Davenport's Sudlow Middle School played the appropriate anthem for the branch of the military in which the veteran served.

Since its inception, more than 3,000 area veterans have taken the Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities to Washington to visit the nations war memorials.

Allan Goarcke, 64, of Davenport, grew up on a farm near Elwood, Iowa. He enlisted in the Army when he was 18. He then found himself in Da Nang, Vietnam.

It was something to do, Goarcke said with a chuckle during Wednesday's dinner.

Never having been to Washington, Goarcke said he was curious to see whats out there.

Ive heard a lot about the Wall, and I want to see it, said Goarcke, who retired after working 30 years at Alcoa Davenport Works.

Being a veteran today is a lot different than being a veteran then, he said. People today come up and thank you for your service.

Among the four World War II veterans taking todays flight is Durwood Fogle, 89, of Rock Island.

Fogle said that in 1944, he left his home in Doniphan, Missouri, at age 18 and came to the Quad-Cities to work at Farmall. I got a call from home, and they said the Army wanted me, so I had to go back home, he said.

Fogle laughs a little about his service. The war ended when he was at Camp Maxey, Texas, a World War II infantry training camp at Powderly, Texas. They were put on a train to Portland, Oregon, and then spent 30 days on a ship to Okinawa.

Fogles job in Okinawa was dispensing paychecks to the men. The island was completely devastated, he said. There was nothing left.

When he left the Army, Fogle returned to his job at Farmall, from where he retired.

Im really looking forward to this trip, he said. Ive never been to D.C.

Fogles stepdaughter, Angie DePaepe, of Moline, said Fogle is as active as he looks.

He couldnt go on an earlier flight because he was having cataract surgery at the time, DePaepe said. But hes in good health and very active. He went turkey hunting last year and got one. Hes looking forward to getting his turkey permit.

The veterans and their guardians will return to the Quad-Cities at 9:30 p.m. The public is invited to welcome them home at the Quad-City International Airport in Moline. The airport will provide free parking passes to anyone who attends.
He has earned 28 merit badges during his 12-year Scouting career. He has held such leadership positions as quartermaster, scribe and Order of the Arrow representative.

His accomplishment in serving his community was to improve the look of the fire hydrants in Matherville, Illinois. Hoexters team of seven used wire brushes to remove old chipped paint from 13 hydrants in the town. They also gave the hydrants two new coats of paint and cleared the area around them.
Authorities are investigating the death of 20-year-old man last week at a Moline gym.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson said Jonah Snyder, of West Seneca, New York, suffered cardiac arrest last Thursday following a workout at The Black & The Brave Wrestling Academy, a camp run by WWE superstar Seth Rollins.

He (Snyder) wasnt able to keep up, but he kept trying to fight through it, Gustafson said.

Trainers urged Snyder, a former University at Buffalo student, to take a break and called 911 when they realized something wasn't right.

After the ambulance got there, his heart rate slowly went down, and they never got him back," Gustafson said.

First responders urgently rushed Snyder from QC CrossFit, 3800 River Drive, to Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus, in Silvis. An autopsy was performed the following day in Rockford, but preliminary results were inconclusive, he said.

Specimens taken during the autopsy will undergo toxicology and histology examinations, which could take weeks to complete.

Im trying to figure out what happened in the days and hours prior to his death, said Gustafson, who noted Snyder was living in Davenport.

When asked to comment on the incident, Rollins, whose real name is Colby Lopez, directed the Quad-City Times to his academy's statement, which was released Wednesday on Twitter.

"It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our student, Jonah Snyder," the statement read. "Jonah loved professional wrestling."

According to the release, Snyder "abruptly fell ill" following a brief fitness drill with his classmates on the first night of the academy's seventh session.

Lopez and friends launched the program, which offers a 12-week crash course in professional wrestling, in August 2014.

The statement also featured the following excerpt from Snyder's essay that accompanied his application submitted to the wrestling school:

"I live, breath (sic), sleep, and eat wrestling. It's in my blood. I want to learn it so I can travel the world putting a smile on people's faces. I wanna give them hope or something to believe in."
Why does Mike Pence keep getting himself into such deplorable situations?

Donald Trump's vice-presidential nominee went on CNN on Monday evening, trying to make hay from Hillary Clinton's calling half of Trump's backers racists and other "deplorables." But the appearance backfired when Pence declined to label former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke "deplorable," saying, "I'm not in the name-calling business."

Duke expressed satisfaction with Pence's appearance. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, in an exquisite Freudian slip, said Tuesday morning on CNN that Pence should call Duke deplorable, "so that he doesn't get headlines saying, 'Mike Pence will not say Donald Trump [sic] is deplorable.' "

Later Tuesday, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, issued a statement urging Republicans to call Duke the D-word.

But Pence, appearing before the cameras with House GOP leaders at Republican National Committee headquarters, said he had no wish to amend his description of Duke.

Pence allowed that the white nationalist is a "bad man" whose support "we do not want." But, he repeated, "I'm not in the name-calling business," he said, because "civility is essential" and "I'm also not going to validate the language that Hillary Clinton used."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and the other leaders nodded as Pence said these words. Perhaps they understand why a white supremacist is deserving of "civility" at a time when Trump has dispensed with such niceties for everybody else -- and why it's name-calling to identify Duke as "deplorable" but not to call him a "bad man."

Such awkward positions have become routine for Pence since joining Trump on the ticket. I've always thought him an honorable and amiable man, and I accept his friends' assessment that he took the job in hopes of changing Trump. Instead, it seems that Trump has changed him.

There was Pence, once a hawkish conservative, joining Trump last week in praise of Vladimir Putin, calling him "a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country." (Maybe that has something to do with Putin being a dictator?)

There was Pence last month joining Trump in spreading conspiracy theories, declaring on talk radio that "we've got to get to the bottom" of whether an Iranian scientist was killed because of "the revelations in Hillary Clinton's email." The executed scientist, Shahram Amiri, had outed himself.

There was Pence in July, retreating from his support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, embracing Trump's border wall and saying Mexico will "absolutely" pay for it. That same month, Pence, who once called Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the country "offensive and unconstitutional," declared himself "very supportive" of suspending immigration from countries with terrorist influences.

The vice-presidential nominee has picked his battles with Trump. He declined to join Trump in asking Russia to hack Clinton's email, or in raising doubts that President Obama was born in the United States. Pence endorsed both Ryan and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their primaries when Trump wouldn't.

In this, he is very much like the man he stood with at the RNC on Tuesday, Ryan, who has condemned Trump for his "textbook" racism, for an "anti-Semitic" and "ridiculous" tweet, and for his praise of Putin.

But as polls show Trump cutting Clinton's lead, Ryan swallowed any misgivings Tuesday morning and embraced the ticket almost as enthusiastically as Pence had. "We feel the wind at our backs," said Ryan, introducing Pence, his former congressional colleague, as "the next vice president."

Indeed, Pence and the House leaders made it plain at their joint session Tuesday that they were wholly and unreservedly embracing Trump.

Reporters crowded into a stifling RNC lobby where the party displays memorabilia of party greats and not-so-greats (a portrait of Abraham Lincoln shares equal billing with a photo of RNC Chairman Reince Priebus) and listened to GOP leaders recite Trump's slogan:

Steve Scalise (La.), the majority whip, saw "people all around the country excited about this optimism that their ticket, the Trump-Pence ticket, is giving to making America great again."

Kevin McCarthy, of Calif., the tongue-tied majority leader, detected "a lot of excitement as [Pence] travels across the country with a number of members joining him in the future of making America great again."

Pence accepted their accolades and thanked House Republicans for "rallying to the cause to make America great again."

A reporter asked Pence about Ryan's earlier criticism of Trump. Pence dismissed the occasional "differences of opinion," saying "our goals are identical."

That's increasingly true -- because Pence and other Republicans have embraced Trump's goals.
Sometimes, one thinks that U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk might be one of the few sensible folk in Congress, then he again does something dumb. His latest misstep is a puffery email sent to Illinoisans describing legislation hes co-sponsoring to stop future ransom payments to Iran. This evidences his right-wing overreaction to another myth perpetrated by conservatives and Donald Trump that a $400 million payment to Iran was ransom for release of imprisoned Americans.

Myths and facts about the $400 million payment to Iran:

 Myth: Payment was ransom

 Fact: Its partial legal settlement of a decades old dispute with Iran about a failed arms deal dating to 1981

 Myth: Settlement wasnt revealed to public

 Fact: Settlement with Iran was announced back in January

 Myth: In August, Hillary Clinton improperly dismissed settlement as old news

 Fact: It wasnt improper, it really was old news reported on by Fox News and the Wall Street Journal in January

 Myth: Sending cash to Iran smacks of money laundering

 Fact: International sanctions against Iran dictated the payment is made in cash, but not dollars, so it was made in foreign currencies, as reported by CNN and Reuters.

Chalk up more distortions of the facts in order to discredit President Obamas Administration and another fumbled ball by both Sen. Kirk and Donald Trump.

William D. Seaver

Milan
SPRINGFIELD  Three downstate Illinois Republican senators are moving up in their partys leadership ranks following state Sen. Matt Murphys resignation.

The Palatine Republicans departure from his position as deputy minority leader led to the promotion of Sen. Dave Luechtefeld of Okawville, who will fill the post until he retires in January at the end of his current term.

Taking Luechtefelds spot as one of four assistant minority leaders will be Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet, who moves up from the position of minority whip. That makes room for Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington to take Roses former post.

The Illinois Senate Republicans announced the changes Thursday, the day Murhpys resignation became effective. He departed for a job with a lobbying firm.

Dave is a tireless fighter for the needs of southern Illinois, while also demonstrating his leadership skills and ability to see the state as a whole, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said in a prepared statement. Dave and I began our careers as freshman seatmates on the floor of the Illinois Senate. With this appointment, he will end his career as my seatmate.

Luechtefeld expressed gratitude for the appointment.

As Illinois continues to face many difficult challenges in the months ahead, I am hopeful that  I can contribute in a new way in meeting those challenges, he said in a statement.

Luechtefeld wont earn the $20,649 stipend normally associated with the position, according to an announcement from Radognos office.

A statement from Roses office said he plans to use his new position to continue being a voice for Republicans in budget negotiations. He was part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers that negotiated a stopgap budget that Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law June 30.

Rose noted that Murphy also was a key participant in those discussions.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois State Board of Education is in the early stages of crafting legislation that would prohibit school districts from dropping students from their enrollment rosters for failing to meet minimum academic and attendance standards.

Under current state law, districts can deny enrollment for one semester to students 17 and older who in the previous semester failed to earn at least a D average or were absent more than 20 percent of the time without valid excuses. Because students are required to attend school only until they turn 17, the existing policy could increase the chances that at-risk students will drop out, state education officials say.

Thisll be an effort on our part to prevent these students from being pushed out of the system, Amanda Elliott, the state boards co-legislative director, told board members Wednesday during the first day of a two-day meeting in Springfield. Theres been a lot of conversations over the last couple of years and a lot of legislation thats been filed, and we think that this is an important component of that conversation.

State Superintendent Tony Smith said the proposal is in line with other efforts the board has made in recent years.

It resonates with conversations weve had at the board for the last year and a half about ways to connect and hold on to kids and not be pushing kids out, Smith said, so the fact that there are some areas in the law that make it possible seems in conflict with the position the boards taken.

Officials said school districts should be encouraged to provide services to those students to help them stay in school and graduate.

While the Illinois School Code gives districts the ability to deny enrollment based on attendance or academic performance, its unclear how widely the practice is used. Thats something board staff is researching.

Sarah Hartwick, the state boards other co-legislative director, told board members that the proposal is in its infancy, and the board still needs to have discussions with school administrators, teachers and others in the education community.

A spokesman for the Illinois Association of School Administrators couldnt be reached Wednesday for comment.

Elliott said the new proposal dovetails with a statewide school discipline overhaul that takes effect Thursday.

The new law, sponsored by state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, is aimed at reducing the racial disparities in how suspensions and expulsions are meted out and cutting down on their overall use.

Among other changes, the law prohibits schools from suspending a student for more than three days unless his or her presence is an ongoing threat and all other options have been exhausted. School boards also are required to provide detailed justifications for suspensions and expulsions.

Lightford couldnt be reached Wednesday for comment.

Constantly suspending and expelling the very kids that need to be in school is one of the most counter-productive practices of our education system, she said in a statement on her website. We need to keep young people in school learning how to succeed and off of the street corner learning how best to end up in prison.
NATION

Mofford, ex-governor of Arizona, dies at 94

Rose Mofford, Arizona's first female governor and a shepherd for the state during a period of political turbulence, died Thursday, a former spokeswoman said. She was 94.

Mofford was injured in a fall and went to a hospice facility last month where she died, former spokeswoman and longtime friend Athia Hardt said.

A Democrat known for her signature beehive hairdo, Mofford served as governor from 1988 to 1991. She was the elected secretary of state when she took over for Republican Gov. Evan Mecham, who was impeached and removed from office by the GOP-led Legislature. Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor.

Clinton returns to campaign trail

Back on the campaign trail, a reflective Hillary Clinton said Thursday her three-day, doctor-mandated break gave her new perspective on why she's running to be president. She vowed to close her campaign against Donald Trump by giving Americans "something to vote for, not just against."

Clinton made no apologies for keeping her pneumonia diagnosis from the public until a video emerged showing her stumbling and being supported by aides. She also repeatedly sidestepped questions about when her running mate Tim Kaine was informed.

An upbeat Clinton walked onstage at a rally in North Carolina to James Brown's song, "I feel good." She said that while sitting at home this week was "pretty much the last place I wanted to be," the time helped clarify how she wants to close her campaign against Trump.

Trump outlines economic plan

Donald Trump outlined his vision for managing the nation's economy as president on Thursday, promising that his plans to lower taxes by $4.4 trillion over a decade and cut regulations would lead to booming growth, create millions of jobs and even cut into the nation's budget deficit.

"My plan will embrace the truth that people flourish under a minimum government burden and will tap into the incredible, unrealized potential of our workers and their dreams," Trump said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York.

The Republican nominee said his plans would raise the nation's economic growth rate to at least 3.5 percent, well above its current rate of about 2 percent, and create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years.

WORLD

D-Day flag goes to Dutch museum

An American flag that flew on the stern of the boat that carried the first U.S. troops to Utah Beach on D-Day traveled by Chinook helicopter on Thursday to its new temporary home at the Netherlands' National Military Museum.

The fragile flag was greeted by an honor guard and dignitaries that included a group of American World War II veterans.

Dutch businessman Bertram Kreuk, who bought the 48-star flag at an auction in Texas for $514,000, has loaned it to the museum.

Witness: Duterte ordered killings of 1,000

A former Filipino militiaman testified before the country's Senate on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings, and acknowledged that he himself carried out about 50 deadly assaults as an assassin, including a suspected kidnapper fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao del Sur province.

Rights groups have long accused Duterte of involvement in death squads, claims he has denied, even while engaging in tough talk in which he stated his approach to criminals was to "kill them all." Matobato is the first person to admit any role in such killings, and to directly implicate Duterte under oath in a public hearing.

The Senate committee inquiry was led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June. Duterte has accused de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.

Matobato said Duterte had once even issued an order to kill de Lima, when she chaired the Commission on Human Rights and was investigating the mayor's possible role in extrajudicial killings in 2009 in Davao. He said he and others were waiting to ambush de Lima but she did not go to a part of a hilly area  a suspected mass grave  where they were waiting to open fire.
The South Dakota Well Drillers Association is has announced it is offering scholarships totaling $ 10,000 to be divided between five deserving students.

There will be one $4,000, one $3,000, and three $1,000 scholarships awarded.

Association officials say they recognize the need for educational advancements at all levels of the industry and seek to support students pursuing their educational goals.

Applicants must be a resident of South Dakota or a relative of an individual employed by a Member Company in good standing of the SDWDA. Applicants must be a full-time student who has successfully completed their freshman year at an accredited South Dakota University or Technical School with a declared major in an area of study related to the water well/groundwater industry.

Applications must be received by Dec. 1. Go to sdwda.org or contact Dennis Duvall, Committee Chairman by email at: dennis@dakotaenv.com. Include your mailing information in your e-mail.
Nick Tilsen of Porcupine, a Lakota housing activist, was one of three people arrested and charged with a felony in North Dakota on Wednesday in connection to ongoing protests against the Dakota Access pipeline.

Authorities say Tilsen was among three people who attached themselves to construction equipment in order to stop progress on the controversial pipeline.

Tilsen is the founder and executive director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, a grassroots organization working to build a sustainable community of energy-efficient homes on 34 acres of land in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He could not be reached for comment.

Im proud of him, said his brother, Mark K. Tilsen Jr., adding that, Nick Tilsen is an upstanding member of the Oglala Lakota community. He wants to live in a post-petroleum future, and thats what he has devoted his professional life to. This is an act of activism on his part, so we can have clean drinking water  as well as to stand up to the corporate myth that we need oil to live.

If it is built, the $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline will pump nearly half a million gallons of light crude oil from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota across South Dakota and Iowa to its existing oil networks in Illinois. It is currently routed near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, whose tribal members have protested the pipeline as a potential threat to ancestral lands and drinking water from the Missouri River.

Officials from the Texas company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, say it is safe, and they said Tuesday they have no plans to slow or halt its construction.

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, law enforcement officers in Morton County were dispatched to a Dakota Access pipeline construction site north of Almont, N.D., near Exit 120 of Interstate 94. The spot is roughly 40 miles west of Bismarck, and 73 miles northwest of the Oceti Sakowin and Sacred Stone protest camps in Cannon Ball.

When they arrived at the construction site, Morton County authorities found Tilsen and two other individuals, whose names have not yet been released, secured to construction equipment to block its use.

Tilsen had wrapped his arms around one of the hydraulic piston of an excavator and linked his hands within a thick PVC pipe, a device commonly used by demonstrators and referred to by law enforcement as a sleeping dragon. According to Rob Keller, spokesperson for the Morton County Sheriff's Department, officers had to cut through the PVC pipe to remove Tilsen from the excavator.

Tilsen was arrested on a felony charge of reckless endangerment and three misdemeanors: criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of government functions. Morton County officials stated that though Tilsen was arrested on Wednesday, his formal charges would not be filed until today. Possible sentences for reckless endangerment include the maximum punishment of five years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines.

Officers also arrested five other individuals in separate protest-related incidents on Wednesday.

The Morton County States Attorneys office will pursue felony charges against the protesters who attached themselves to equipment due to the seriousness of the crime, said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier in a statement released on Wednesday. Law enforcement officers are put in a dangerous situation when freeing these individuals.

According to Keller, there have been a total of 66 arrests in Morton County over the last few months in relation to the ongoing protests against the Dakota Access pipeline.

The departments of Justice, the Army, and the Interior issued a joint statement on Sept. 9 asking Dakota Access to voluntarily pause all construction within 20 miles east or west of Lake Oahe, north of Cannon Ball, N.D. The construction area where Tilsen and others were arrested does not fall within that zone.

The idea that is being sent out there is construction has halted. It hasnt, Mark Tilsen said. The pipeline is still being built.

As proposed, the Thunder Valley community development will draw its drinking water from the Mni Wiconi rural water system, whose source is the Missouri River. The Dakota Access pipeline is planned to cross the Missouri River, posing a threat to drinking water for many communities if it were to rupture, according to those opposed to the project.

Cecily Englehart, spokesperson for Thunder Valley, released the following statement in reaction to Tilsens arrest.

We as an organization firmly oppose any projects that contribute to the continuation of chronically destructive development projects in Native communities and stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Wind Cave National Park is seeking volunteer hunters to help reduce the park's elk herd and hopefully combat a fatal disease later this year.

But it won't be an easy hunt, requiring a long hike and a sharp eye with a rifle.

The joint project between the National Park Service and South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department is an effort to reduce the elk population in the park and address the high rate of Chronic Wasting Disease in that population. Roughly 50 volunteers will be needed to work in teams with park officials to shoot the elk. The operation is scheduled to start in mid-November.

Volunteer hunters will be chosen through an online lottery system and will work in the park as an official volunteer for a 5-day work week. They will need to be skilled shooters and be able to hike 10 miles with a 70-pound backpack.

On the first day, volunteers will have to demonstrate they are capable of shooting a minimum of 3 out of 5 shots into an 8-inch circle at 200 yards using their own firearm and non-lead ammunition.

Officials at Wind Cave believe their elk population is roughly 550 head, but the population target for that area is only 232 to 475 elk. A recent U.S. Geological Survey estimates about 9.5 percent of the Wind Cave Elk heard have chronic wasting disease.

Our scientists believe the density of the parks elk population and CWD are related, Wind Cave Superintendent Vidal Davila said in a press release. We will be following the herds health over the next several years to determine if the reduced density of elk lowers the prevalence of CWD in the park. Every animal taken during this operation will be tested for CWD.

In past years NPS has used helicopters to push elk from Wind Cave National Park into Custer State Park through an open section of the boundary fencing. That operation has brought mixed results. While it has allowed for Wind Cave to remove some elk, some of those elk have remained along the boundary fence on the Custer State Park side and refuse to disperse through Custer State Park.

If an animal shot during this current program does not have CWD, the meat will be donated to Feeding South Dakota and distributed across the state. Also, volunteers who work an entire week on the effort will be eligible to receive some of the elk meat.

Four volunteers will be needed each week for the operation; each day, two teams will be formed consisting of a National Park Service team leader and two volunteers.

Anyone wishing to submit an application can do so through the state's website at apps.sd.gov/gf79license/login.aspx.

Applications will be accepted through Sept. 28.

As people fill out the application, they have to understand that this is difficult work that includes several hard days in the field under strenuous hiking and weather conditions, Davila said.
One of the most dangerous and drastic proposals on the November ballot is Amendment V. This would take all party labels off our primary and general election ballots and would create a "jungle primary" somewhat like California's muddled system.

Amendment V would make our elections far less transparent by eliminating all party labels except in the presidential race. Ironically, the race for president is the only one where virtually everyone already knows the party affiliation of the major candidates.

When we're dealing with "down ballot" races like School and Public Lands or the Public Utilities Commission, even well-informed voters may not be familiar with the candidates or their party affiliation. Amendment V assumes that every voter had done extensive research before going to the polls. That's just not realistic.

Supporters of Amendment V sing the praises of Nebraska's non-partisan Legislature, which has no party caucuses. Apparently, the Nebraska Legislature functions well, but Amendment V goes far beyond the Cornhusker experience by making primary and general elections for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and every other state and local office strictly non-partisan.

Right now, both major parties are guaranteed a candidate for every office in the general election, unless they can't find one. Independents and third parties, like Libertarian and Constitution, can also get on the November ballot fairly easily with petition signatures. Amendment V seriously restricts our right to vote by taking all this away.

This year, California has an open U.S. Senate sear for the first time in 24 years as long-time incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer is retiring. While South Dakota leans Republican in most elections, California has become strongly Democratic. Due to their new "jungle primary" system, they face a choice between two Democratic women in November. No other names will be on the ballot. Polls show that California Republicans are disgusted and many won't bother to vote in that contest. While the "jungle primary" was supposed to improve voter turnout, this year it did the opposite and voter turnout was down.

In South Dakota, a "jungle primary" would often give us a general election choice between two conservative Republicans. Even in elections for major offices, every Democrat, independent, Libertarian and swing voter would be disenfranchised. The June primary, which always has a much smaller turnout than the November general election, is the only place where a diverse choice of candidates would be likely.

Amendment V is heavily promoted by out-of-state interests and 76 percent of the contributions to support this measure as of the June primary had come from out of state. Paid circulators were used to get this proposal on the ballot. There has been no grass roots movement to wipe out party labels and create a "jungle primary" here. South Dakotans are being used as the guinea pigs for a destructive political experiment.

Like it or not, America has a two-party system. The people we send to Washington will be members of a partisan Congress. If we eliminate party labels and blindfold our voters, elections will be more heavily controlled by wealthy kingmakers. Elections will be decided by pure name recognition, not by a debate of ideas.

Please join me in voting "no" on Amendment V.
A proposal by a bipartisan panel has the potential to shed more light on campaign contributions in South Dakota while cutting out the middleman.

Now, businesses, labor unions and other organizations that want to contribute to a candidate for a statewide office can only do so by funneling money through a political action committee, or PAC, which then makes the contribution to the candidate.

It is a system that seems to mostly favor PACs and their officers, who can use the funds as a way to curry favor with the candidates. It also makes it difficult for the public to learn what organization is contributing to a candidate unless one has experience at finding and translating campaign-finance reports.

The system also allows businesses, labor unions and others to donate as much as $10,000 apiece to as many PACs as they please or can establish for the candidate.

It appears the proposal would allow the same organizations to contribute directly to the candidates but not limit them to what individuals can contribute, which is $4,000 a year to a gubernatorial candidate and a $1,000 a year to a legislative candidate.

This possible proposal and others are the result of a panel assembled by Secretary of State Shantel Krebs that has three Democrats, including Linda Lea Viken of Rapid City, and Tony Venhuizen, the chief of staff for Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard. It is charged with looking at the state's campaign-finance laws and introducing legislation in the upcoming session.

The panel also discussed changing reporting requirements, especially as they concern lawmakers who contribute to their peers, establishing an independent review board to rule on campaign-finance complaints, and whether lawmakers can use campaign contributions for personal reasons once they leave office.

The panel will continue to fine-tune its proposals before they are considered by the Legislature and other state government entities like the Board Of Elections.

So while there is a long road ahead for campaign reform and those who will ultimately decide on it could be among the beneficiaries of the current system, it is nonetheless gratifying to see that Krebs is leading an effort to hopefully make the process more transparent and the candidates and their contributors more accountable.

As we all know, money talks in politics. The problem is that the public rarely hears about it until after the election if at all.
Moscow court extends detention of five defendants in large corruption case

MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI, Yevgeniya Sokolova)  The Moscow City Court has extended detention of five defendants who are charged with corruption in relation to criminal case against Vyacheslav Gaizer, former head of Russias Komi Republic, RAPSI learned in the court on Thursday.

Nineteen people are defendants in the case, including Gaizers deputy Alexei Chernov, Igor Kovzel, Chairman of the Republican State Council, and Konstantin Romadanov, Deputy Chairman of the Komi government. This August one of the people related to the case, Anton Faerstein, died in detention.

Detention of entrepreneur Vladimir Malyarov has been extended until December 19. Romadanov, as well as entrepreneurs Mikhail Khruzin, Igor Kudinov and Valeriy Veselov will remain in jail until December 20.

On Wednesday detention of Gaizer himself has been extended until December 19.

Gaizer was charged in relation to two counts of bribery and one count of fraud. Earlier, various media have reported that Gazier made a deal with investigators, but his lawyer does not confirm this information.

Earlier, the Investigative Committee reported about thwarting the activity of a criminal group led by the head of the Republic of Komi, Vyacheslav Gaizer.

Gaizer pleads not guilty. Several high-ranking officials have been arrested in the fraud and organized crime case, as well as several business people that the Investigative Committee called finance technologists.

During 80 searches in Komi, St. Petersburg and Moscow, the Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service confiscated over 60 kg of jewelry, 150 watches worth $30,000 to $1 million each, over 50 stamps and seals from offshore corporations, and financial documents legalizing over 1 billion rubles ($14 mln) in stolen money transferred to the offshore zone.

Investigators have also opened a criminal case on money laundering against Gaizer.

On September 30 of 2015, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to relieve Gaizer of his duties because of loss of trust.
Apple Russian subsidiary complaint in dispute over watchbands set for October

MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI)  The 9th Commercial Court of Appeals is to review on October 27 complaint lodged by Apple Rus, Apples subsidiary in the country, seeking to dismiss a decision of the Central Directorate of the Federal Customs Service (FCS) with regard to classification of Apple Watch products the company imports to Russia, the court records read on Thursday.

On June 21, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed the plaintiffs claim seeking to overturn preliminary FSC decision to classify watchbands of Apple smart watches as a separate imported commodity.

According to Apple Rus lawyers watchbands should be classified under the same Customs Commodity code as Apple Watches, since they were not a separate item, but a watch component; however, FCS insisted that watchbands were not functional components of the core devices and therefore should be classified under a code most appropriate for such merchandise.

The court supported FCS decision having found out that the respective Customs Commodity code covered all kinds of bands and wristlets designed to bear watches on wrists.

On May 17, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed the Apple Rus claim against another FCS decision of November 13, 2015, with regard to the classification of smart Apple Watch products not as data transmitting devices exempt from duties, but as ordinary watches subject to import duties at up to 10%. The company took the appeal to a higher court, but lost its claim, as the court of appeals upheld the lower courts ruling.
Imam accused of justifying terrorism to stay under house arrest

MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI, Evgeniya Sokolova)  The Moscow City Court has upheld the extension of the house arrest term for Moscow imam Makhmud Velitov, who is charged with justifying terrorism, RAPSI learned in the court on Thursday.

On August 25, the Butyrsky District Court of Moscow prolonged Velitovs house arrest until October 27.

Velitovs lawyer asked the court to release his client from house arrest because of Velitovs disability.

On September 23, 2013, Velitov, being a council chair and imam of a religious organization, made a public speech justifying activity of one of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami terrorist organizations members during a prayer in a Moscow mosque, according to the Investigative Committee. This organization has been banned by Russias Supreme Court.

As follows from the conclusion of a forensic examination, the imams speech contained a set of psychological and linguistic features of justifying terrorist activities, the investigators statement reads.

According to defense, Velitov performed a religious ritual allowed by canons of Islam regarding a deceased Muslim.

Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Party of Islamic Liberation), founded in Jerusalem in 1953, is banned in several Arab and Central Asian countries. Russia's Supreme Court banned the group from operating on the territory of the country in 2003, describing it as a terrorist organization.

Hizb ut-Tahrir members are regularly arrested by the police across Russia, mainly in big cities in central Russia, the Volga region and Siberia. Also, there are many supporters in Crimea, which rejoined Russia last spring.
FSB employees suspected of receiving $77,000 from Turkish construction company

MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  Two employees of the Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested in a fraud case are suspected of receiving 5 million rubles from the Turkish construction firm Esta Construction, attorney Dagir Khasavov told RAPSI on Thursday.

According to the lawyer, suspects in large scale fraud pertaining to a foreign company are Karen Krayukhin and Vlad Novikov, current and former FSB employees. Investigators on Friday plan to file a motion with the Moscow Garrison Military Court to detain them, Khasavov added.

Investigators claim that Esta Construction has been fined over 37 million rubles ($570,000) for violation of migration legislation. The companys lawyer in order to avoid payment of the fine asked the suspects for help in the termination of the case for 5 million rubles ($77,000).

Esta Construction is a contracting company established by Bahattin Demirbilek in Moscow in 2006 and operating as a general contractor and project designer in international construction market, the firms website says.




Telecoms giant VimpelCom ex-head arrested in absentia in bribery case

MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) - The Syktyvkar City Court in Russias Komi Republic has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Mikhail Slobodin, former head of Russias telecommunications giant VimpelCom, in a bribery case involving republics officials, the courts representative told RAPSI on Thursday.

The court ordered detention of Slobodin, who earlier has been put on the federal wanted list, for two months from the date of his arrest.

Defendants in the case are Slobodin, Chief Managing Director at Renova Group holding Evgeny Olkhovik and CEO of T Plus Company, a subsidiary of Renova Group holding, Boris Vainzikher.

According to Vladimir Markin, the Investigative Committees official spokesman, investigative authorities in Russias Republic of Komi have initiated a criminal case against some former and acting managers of Kompleksnye Energeticheskiye Sistemy (KES) company, of which T Plus is the legal successor, on suspicion of large-scale bribery.

Investigators believe that between 2007 and 2014 the suspects bribed the officials currently involved in the criminal case against the Republics ex-head Vyacheslav Gaizer with money and other assets.

The total amount of funds transferred as money reward made over 800 million rubles ($12.3 million), Markin said earlier.

Investigators claim that Olkhovik and Vainzikher have received 177 and 89 million rubles ($2.7 million and $1.4 million) in bribes respectively during their management in the Kompleksnye Energeticheskiye Sistemy from 2007 to 2014 and transferred the money to the accounts of affiliated companies.

On September 7, Olkhovik and Vainzikher were put in detention for two months upon court order.




Russian lawmakers propose tightening penalties for animal abuse

MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI)  A Just Russia party lawmakers have submitted a package of bills to the State Duma toughening punishment for cruelty to animals, party leader Sergei Mironov told journalists on Thursday.

Amendments are proposed to the Russian Criminal Code and Administrative Offences Code.

Presently, administrative liability for animal abuse is stipulated in certain territorial entities of the country. Under the bill submitted by A Just Russia party, administrative liability for such crimes if they are not resulted in injuries or death of an animal would be established at the federal level.

As for criminal liability for animal cruelty, current legislation provides punishment only for injuring animals or cause death by acts done from molester motives, for reasons of greed, with the use of sadist methods or in the presence of minors. Such offenses are punishable by up to 2 years in prison only if they have been committed by a group of people or an organized gang, either if the crime was collusive, according to Mironov.

The second draft law proposed by the MPs specifies the term injury and introduces criminal liability for organizing and carrying out fighting involving animals as well as for setting some animals on others entailed their death or injury.

The bill also stipulates that cruelty resulted in the animals injury or death would be punished with prison terms of up to 6 years.
I am compassionate, yet realistic  my husband is a hunter and fisherman. I heard outrageous lies when approached by a trapper at his booth at a recent fair saying that animal rights people are trying to outlaw hunting and fishing and Initiative 177 is just to get a foot in the door.

This man is a proud trapper who sells his services to ranchers who want to get rid of coyotes, wolves and foxes. I asked him about the domino effect of killing these predators, i.e., being overrun with mice and voles, and he kills those too. Sadly, this person seems to truly believe what he says and stated he has been trapping since he was 10 years old.

For those who are concerned about trapping, please realize that trappers can still trap on private land. Public land is for everyone to enjoy and not have to worry about their child or pet being caught, mutilated and/or killed in a trap  and being helpless to save them. I took a class to learn how to release my dog if he became trapped and realized I could never free him in time, especially from a conibear trap.

I am compelled to include my concerns about the indiscriminate deaths caused by trappers: species that are endangered and non-target victims of the trapper's actions. In closing, as mentioned above, my husband is a hunter and maintains that trapping is not fair chase. There is nothing sporting about setting a trap and baiting it.

Amy Greer,

Corvallis
DARBY  The reigning champions of Darby Rodeo Associations wild horse racing team are gearing up for another round of rodeo this weekend  and hoping to grow into fancy new cowboy hats from their official sponsor.

Devyn Hundley and Peyton Rall are both 10 years old and attend school in Darby  within walking distance of the recently enhanced rodeo grounds.

Were kind of best friends at school and best friends at everything, Peyton said. Thats why we do well.

Devyn added, We try our hardest in all the events, plus its really fun.

The two, along with Peytons brother Avery, won the three-man little kids wild horse racing event at last years bronc and barrel rodeo. They proudly wear the shiny buckles they earned as well as new cowboy hats from their sponsor, Double H Hats.

Its kinda cool either way, Peyton said. Even if we dont win this weekend, we still get a prize with these hats.

Peytons mom, Janine Shook, works with Cal Ruark to organize kids events at the rodeo grounds. Last year, the wild horse race was a hit, she said. Everyone loved watching the little kids compete along with the older riders so we decided to do a full-blown kids rodeo this year.

Shooks roster is already full, with aspiring cowboys and cowgirls signed up to compete in events like bareback riding, bull riding, saddle bronc riding on Shetland ponies and dummy roping. She also has open events for kids younger than 7 to participate on Saturday in mutton busting and a chicken scramble.

Its a great opportunity to get kids involved in rodeo, Shook said. Having the new sky boxes and this arena helps the town of Darby a lot and we want it to be fun for everyone who comes.

The Darby Rodeo Association, in cooperation with The World Class Bucking Horse Association, are jointly presenting the 2016 Bronc Bustin and Barrel Burnin Rodeo on Saturday, Sept. 17. The junior rodeo starts at 1 p.m. and the event winners will get to compete in front of the rodeo crowd for the main event beginning at 6 p.m.

The draw is that were bringing in top-of-the-line saddle bronc riders to go head-to-head, organizer Cal Ruark said. But the difference is we have a team approach for both the riders and the horses. We have the best horses from all over the Western United States and Canada coming in teams of three. So there will be four judges at the bucking events  two to judge the riders and two to judge the horses. Team captains can see how the night is going  which riders are riding well and which horses are bucking, and match them up for the best showing. Weve got quite a large pool of money for the winnings and the horse owners will have a chance at the money as well. It really incentivizes everyone in the best way to provide the best action-packed show for the crowd.

The rodeo will be sandwiched by pre- and post-events, Ruark said. The pre-event party will be catered by Moose Creek Barbecue and will be a fundraiser for the arena. For $20, people can meet-and-greet the bronc riders and enjoy great music and food.

The post-event will be an awards ceremony where we present saddles and belt buckles, he said. So for the kids who compete, somebody is going to wake up Sunday morning with their head all swelled up and a 5-pound buckle hanging off their waist. Its a little cowboys dream come true, but it is well deserved. It takes tough kids to compete. Those Shetland ponies may be little, but they are honkey and they can buck.

Both Peyton and Devyn are aspiring bronc busters because theyve watched their fathers compete in rodeo events.

Ive wanted to do this since I was 2 years old, Devyn said. Im really excited.
Privacy Policy

RealChoice is a BlogSpot blog. You get whatever privacy you get when you post on a blog. As Blogmistress of RealChoice, I do not collect information on my users or those who post comments. I will delete spam and offensive comments, and thoroughly cooperate with law enforcement, as I did in the case of Ted "Operation Counterstrike" Schulman, if people make terroristic threats on my blog.



So fight nice, kids.


Guwahati: A total of 1913 horns of the total 2018 rhino horns stored in various treasuries of Assam have been examined so far, as the Rhino Verification Committee completed checking Barpeta treasury on Friday Wednesday.

So far the Rhino Verification Committee (RVC) examined rhino horns in Golaghat (1193), Tezpur (56), Mangaldoi (59), Nagaon(550) , Morigaon (22) and on Wednesday Barpeta(22).

In Tezpur a box said to have contained three rhino were not checked yet as the box was found with missingkey while Nalbari treasury has one rhino horn.

The committee said that the conditions of the rhino horns of the Barpeta treasury are in not goodcondition as dampness from the old treasury building have damaged most of the rhino horns.

"Three of the horns are in soiled condition and the composition of them could not be ascertained from the FSL test. The sample of them have been sent for DNA test," the committee said in a statement.

Barpeta treasury contains horns from the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary.

The committee will finally check the Guwahati treasury on Thursday which contains 99 rhino horns.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, September 15 : Security forces nabbed three hardcore militants in Assam's Karbi Anglong and Chirang district on Thursday.

Based on information from Army intelligence unit, troops of the Red Horns Divison carried out operations in general area Hatoka in East Karbi Anglong district of Assam along with police.

The swift and surgically executed operation led to the apprehension of Binod Gowla who is the SS Deputy C-in-C and one cadre of National Socialist Council of Adivasi (NSCA).

One 7.65 mm pistol, grenade and ammunition from recovered from the duo who had been carrying out extortion and unlawful activities.

NSCA is one of the fringe outfits which has been harassing locals and is involved in extortion.

The recent successful operations by the Army have managed to stem the rise of any fringe group in Karbi Anglong.

On the other hand, based on intelligence input about NDFB(S) terrorists in West Daisamguri in Chirang District, a joint operation was launched by Army with Assam Police in the wee hours of 15 September.

In the operation a locally trained terrorist of NDFB(S), Hwbtasad Brahma @ Darga @ Jathi (age 20) was apprehended alongwith one pistol and ammunition.

Individual was allegedly carrying out extortion on behalf of NDFB(S) & forwarding details of potential extortion targets to senior leaders of the group in Myanmar.

He has also been involved in providing Weapons & Ammunition to terrorists of NDFB(S).

The success will further weaken the extortion chain of NDFB(S).
KATHMANDU, Sept 15: The Department of Civil Personnel Records has unveiled the number of civil service employees who have not submitted their property details in the current fiscal year.

The number of those civil personnel failing to present their property details in the current fiscal year is put at 4,848.

Presently, the Civil Service consists of 82,421 employees and of them, only 77,573 have furnished their property detail to the respective offices, according to Department Director Rajendra Prasad Parajuli.

The submission of details of property owned by individuals holding the public host is legally mandatory. The existing Prevention of Corruption Act in Nepal has incorporated a provision that demands the property details of the government employees within 60 days of the beginning of the new fiscal year.

The name list of those civil employees not abiding by the Act will be send to the National Vigilance Center for further action, he said.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is authorised to slap a fine of Rs 5,000 on a civil servant failing to submit the property details on time.

This year, civil service employees were given time till September 13 to submit the property details. RSS
Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj (right) receives Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as he arrives in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, September 15, 2016. Dahal is on a four-day visit to India. Photo: AP

KATHMANDU, NEW DELHI, Sept 15: India is likely to offer Nepal's new prime minister help building an east-west railway line and better access to its ports on his first visit this week, as it tries to regain ground lost recently to China.

Prachanda, a former Maoist rebel commander, has chosen New Delhi as his first foreign stop, seeking to rebalance ties that chilled under his pro-China predecessor. K.P. Oli had sealed trade deals that sought to reduce landlocked Nepal's economic dependence on India.

"Relations with India have become frosty for some time. I want to remove the bitterness," Prachanda told reporters on Tuesday evening in Kathmandu, adding India now "wants to help Nepal, which is in difficulties."

Nepal has yet to complete a political transition after a decade-long insurgency and weeks of deadly street protests that brought down the monarchy nearly a decade ago.

A new republican constitution is still a source of rancour for southern plains people who mounted a five-month border blockade that ended earlier this year.

The country's last government said the fuel and trade embargo had the tacit backing of India - a charge New Delhi has denied.

Prachanda said that, on his four-day trip starting on Thursday, the two sides would discuss the railway line stretching from Mechi in east Nepal to Mahakali in the west that India will help build.

An Indian railway official said the project that runs parallel to Nepal's 1,030 km (640-mile) east-west highway has been talked about in the past, but that the two countries are now discussing financial terms.

"The plan is to push forward immediately with this project. It's a big development project," said the official involved in preparations for the visit. The mountainous country has only one short rail line from Jaynagar on the Indian border to Janakpur.

Another possible project, Prachanda said, was a hydro-electric power plant that could be built with Indian grant aid.

VYING FOR INFLUENCE

Nepal is one of several South Asian countries where India and China are vying for influence. India has long considered the country of 28 million people as a natural ally based on their close historical ties and long open border.

But China has gained a foothold, rapidly building roads and hospitals while there was little progress on long-standing Indian proposals for hydro-electric plants and trade and transit corridors that became mired in political disputes.

It is part of a broader push by China into South Asia, including a $46 billion economic corridor across India's neighbour and rival Pakistan and investment in a port in Sri Lanka, where a Chinese nuclear submarine docked in recent years.

Under Oli's government, Nepal signed a deal to extend China's Tibet rail network to Kathmandu, created special economic zones for Chinese firms and sealed a long-term agreement for petroleum imports, alarming New Delhi.

In July, Oli stepped down after months of stalemate over the new charter, which experts said underlined the vulnerability of governments in Kathmandu that take a stridently anti-India line.

Prachanda may have chosen to come to Delhi first for that reason, they added.

"It is the politicians' understanding that without keeping India in good humour they cannot remain long in power," said Guna Raj Luitel, editor of the Nagarik daily.

RECALIBRATION

India is still Nepal's biggest trade partner, donor and supplier of essential goods, as well as the only source of fuel for the impoverished country that is struggling to recover from two earthquakes last year that killed 9,000 people.

"The previous government very definitely coordinated with China more explicitly than earlier governments. That was a response to the border situation and sent a message to New Delhi," said one Western diplomat, referring to the blockade on the border that ended in February.

Prachanda is making "a deliberate recalibration away from what the previous prime minister planned, which was a closer relationship with China", the diplomat added.

Nepali media said Chinese President Xi Jinping had put off a visit planned for October due to lack of progress on Nepal's part on the projects agreed between the two countries.

Nepal's foreign ministry denied any cancellation but gave no date for the visit.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying would not directly confirm that Xi's October visit to Nepal had been cancelled, but said instead that exact dates had not been set.

"The term 'cancelled visit' is not very accurate, because the two sides are maintaining communication on high-level bilateral exchanges through diplomatic channels," Hua told a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

The Annapurna Post said Beijing was particularly unhappy about Nepal's tardy progress on its One Belt, One Road initiative, Xi's signature project to build out infrastructure and establish new trade routes across the region.

"Nepal should have moved faster on these projects as they are in our long-term interest. By now we should have submitted concrete proposals to the Chinese side on them," Mahesh Maskey, a former Nepali envoy to China, told Reuters.
Kathmandu, Nepal: leading the 125 member jumbo Nepali delegation, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has left for New Delhi of India on a four-day state visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi onThursday.

Prime Minister Dahal is accompanied by his spouse Sita Dahal, Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak and among other leaders and civil servants are also accompanying the Prime Minister Dahal. The Nepali delegation left for New Delhi on flight number 205 of Nepal Airlines Corporation.

To bid farewell the the Prime Minister Dahal, Speaker Onsari Gharti, Deputy Prime Minister duo Bimalendra Nidhi and Krishna Bahadur Mahara, ministers, chiefs of constitutional bodies, Chief Secretary, high-ranking government officials and chiefs of three security bodies were also present at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

A squad of Nepal Army fired salvo while seeing him off at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Dawn, September 10, 2016

PAKISTANaS Foreign Office says Pakistan is adeeply saddeneda by the execution in Bangladesh last week of Mir Quasem Ali. Mir Quasem was found guilty in 2014 by a Bangladeshi court of torture, multiple murders and arson. He was sentenced to death after what Pakistan describes as aa flawed judicial processa .

But why is Pakistan so worried about the integrity of Bangladeshas judicial process? And why does our government care so greatly about the death of another countryas citizen a one accused of heinous crimes? The answer: when it comes to Bangladesh, Pakistan remains chained to its past.

Abstract concern for human life cannot explain why the FO expressed such strong feelings. Certainly, the death sentences passed on countless people around the world meet with complete indifference. Those horrors have not elicited even a murmur of protest from Pakistanas civil and military establishments. In fact, the killing of Pakistanas own citizens in foreign lands meets with silence. Think of the long list of Pakistanis beheaded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for drug smuggling after being tried there by kangaroo courts.

Rather than try to defend war criminals, Pakistan must normalise relations with Bangladesh.

As for the fairness of the judicial process in Bangladesh, Amnesty International and other leading human rights organisations had already raised serious concerns about the process under which war crimes are being handled. These include denying defence lawyers adequate time to prepare their cases, and arbitrarily limiting the number of witnesses they could call upon. But Pakistan can scarcely accuse Bangladesh of unfair trials because its own judicial system has even shakier legs.

In contrast to Bangladeshas a where the war crimes trials are held before a civilian court a Pakistani civilians accused of waging war against the state are tried behind closed doors by military courts. Further, they are not allowed to engage a lawyer of choice, nor allowed access to military court records. This is entirely inconsistent with modern ideas of judicial propriety.

Mir Quasemas trial and subsequent death sentence matter to Pakistan only because he was formerly the head of the pro-Pakistan Islamist militia Al Badr. Together with Al Shams and Razakar, Al Badr worked closely with the Pakistan Army in its futile but brutal effort to suppress the 1971 rebellion that shattered a united Pakistan, turning East Pakistan into a free Bangladesh.

Mir Quasem was not alone. Since December 2013 five prominent Bangladeshi Islamists have been hanged for war crimes. Irrespective of what these militia leaders may have actually done in 1971, Pakistanas establishment feels it must stand by them because of its ideological fixation on the two-nation theory.

The two-nation theory a as I was taught in school a was, of course, critical to creating Pakistan. Let us look at its two key premises: First, that Muslims and Hindus are fundamentally incompatible and must therefore live apart from each other with Pakistan as the homeland for Muslims. Second, that Muslims form a single nation a the ummah a one that is robust enough to withstand local variations of sect, language, culture, and tribe.

The first premise does not need debate or further evaluation now that Pakistan and India are separate nations and have gone their own respective ways. The population of Hindus left in Pakistan has dwindled to about one or two per cent and continues to decrease. Being a tiny, oppressed and scared minority, they have no role in public life.

The second premise must be judged in the light of events during 1971. There is also the ongoing bloody conflict between the Pakistani state and jihadist groups like TTP, Al Qaeda and Islamic State. Further afield, Pakistanas poor relations with both its Muslim neighbours a Afghanistan and Iran a shows that Islamic solidarity just isnat enough. Fratricidal wars across the Middle East, the recent declaration by Saudi Arabiaas head mufti that Iranians are not Muslims, and the growing Saudi-Israeli alliance, suggest that the ummah is a doubtful concept.

Nevertheless, even after the two-nation theory became defunct after 1971, it goes to Pakistanas credit that it was able to rapidly reinvent itself. While doing so, it discovered to its surprise that it could exist a and even thrive a without taking recourse to the ideas that had brought it into existence.

Present-day Pakistan continues to pay lip service to pan-Islamism. But in fact pure pragmatism and the priorities of nation-building are shaping its behaviour more and more, making it a more normal nation. Example: CPEC enthuses the Pakistani establishment enormously in spite of China being a communist state with a clear aversion to Muslim practices.

It is time to put the two-nation theory behind us. While it created Pakistan, no harm can come if it is dispensed with now. Nation states do not need theories in order to exist. Argentina or the Netherlands, for example, have no national ideologies. However, in their own ways, both are prosperous and stable countries.

Pakistan needs to escape a time warp. It must understand that India was not responsible for the differences of race, language, and culture between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. Like incompatible twins born within the same womb, we had little chance of staying together for very long. Under the additional stress of misgovernance, the relationship broke down. India midwifed Bangladeshas birth by cutting the cord that joined us; it did not create the incompatibility. The union had already disintegrated by the time of Zulfikar Ali Bhuttoas reported remark where he famously said idhur hum udhur tum.

Looking to the future, for Bangladesh it is important not to be locked into the particularities of its birth circumstances. Hanging aging war criminals may bring satisfaction but cannot bring peace, stability and democracy. Instead, it is time to close a chapter filled with pain and sorrow, and then move on.

Pakistan needs to do far more than Bangladesh. As a starter, it must no longer allow young Pakistanis in schools to be filled with wildly distorted versions of history. These ignore the horrors West Pakistan inflicted upon the Bengalis. Rather than defend war criminals or deny what happened in 1971, Pakistan should seek to normalise relations with Bangladesh. Truth and reconciliation is what is needed.

The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad.
Christopher Walken will receive the Grand Honourary Award at Sitges 2016 this year. A stellar career whose highlights include iconic performances in The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, and countless other films, will grace the festival with his presence next month to accept this great honour (and yes, I will be asking him to dance).

This great news comes on the heels of a flurry of screening announcements. Closing the festival will be Juan Carlos Medina's The Limehouse Golem, a Victorian serial killer tale starring Bill Nighy and Olivia Cooke. Other recently added titles from Europe and the Americas include Alice Lowe's fantastic Prevenge; The Untamed, a monster movie of a different colour from Mexico, and Raw, the best cannibal film in years. Nacho Vigalondo will bring his own flair for the monsterous with Colossal, and the latest in genre films making a spash on the circuit, including Swiss Army Man, Blair Witch, The Untamed, Are We Not Cats, and the amazing Under the Shadow.

For the Asian sections, Stephen Chow's bizarre yet charming The Mermaid will screen, along with Sion Sono's strange and ethereal The Whispering Star. Also in the monster movie vein will be Anno Hideaki and Higuchi Shinji's Shin Godzilla, and for fans of Manga, Ohtomo Keishi's Museum brings the famous story to cinematic life. And for fans of Johnnie To, there's a documentary about his creative process in Johnnie To's Vision & Craft.

And have we mentioned screenings of The Greasy Stranger? Pet? The latest from Terrance Malick and Werner Herzog? A Monster Calls? A documentary about iconic director Brian de Palma?

If anyone needs to find me in early October, I'll be pretty much living in the cinemas of Sitges. For full listings of the films being screened, check out the link below.
The phrase greatest actor of his/her generation, is one that gets tossed around very often, and as with any hyperbolic description of this kind, some are more deserving of this praise than others. But the great, towering actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was one who, much more often than not, powerfully and persuasively made the case for being eminently worthy of this title.

Hoffmans abrupt and untimely demise at the age of 46 in 2014 tragically cut short a brilliant career that contained as much future promise as proven accomplishment. However, even at that young age, Hoffman built a lasting legacy, captured on film by his extremely talented actor, director, and crew collaborators, that will serve as infinitely rich inspiration to all who enjoy them, whether they be aspiring actors, filmmakers, or regular film fans.

This legacy is celebrated in the Museum of the Moving Images 16-film retrospective The Master: Philip Seymour Hoffman, screening from September 16 through October 2. This series concentrates on many of the key performances that showcased his immense talent and cemented his industry acclaim. The screenings will also be accompanied by guest appearances by a number of filmmakers, actors, and writers he collaborated with, such as Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York), Laura Linney (The Savages), John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), and others. The series will also include clips from other films not included in the retrospective, to give a fuller sense of the tremendous range and variety of his screen work.

Although Hoffman made some memorable appearances in huge Hollywood franchises such as the Mission: Impossible and Hunger Games movies, his most significant and acclaimed performances were in the kinds of smaller and more intimate, auteur-driven films that this retrospective concentrates on. This includes what is probably his most fruitful and lengthy collaboration, with director Paul Thomas Anderson, with whom Hoffman made five films, three of which screen in the series: Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and The Master (which will screen in 70mm).

Other series highlights include: Spike Lees 25th Hour, the brilliant post-9/11 drama cited by many critics as one of the best films of this century so far; Bennett Millers Capote, for which he won his only Oscar; the series opener Jack Goes Boating, Hoffman's sole directorial effort; the little-seen true-life crime tale Owning Mahowny; Sidney Lumets final film Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead; and Anton Corbjins A Most Wanted Man; Hoffmans final leading role.

The Master is a most fitting title for this retrospective; many of Hoffmans performances were virtual master classes in acting. Hoffman immersed himself in the characters he inhabited with a fearlessness, lack of vanity, and dedication to his craft that was often no less than stunning. Even when he appeared in some big Hollywood blockbuster, or in a movie that overall seemed less than worthy of his great talent, you never got the impression that he was phoning it in or just cashing a paycheck; he had too much respect and reverence for the art and craft of acting for that. This fine series gives viewers the opportunity to celebrate Hoffmans talent for conveying the full gamut of humanity, with all its ugliness and beauty, to his appearances on screen, as well as mourn the further great performances that will never be.

Below are full details of the retrospective, for more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Museum of the Moving Images website.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent, an actor and director whose performances were always immersive and electrifying. He was beloved in the film and theater world, and his untimely death in 2014 at age 46 took away the promise of so much great work to come. To honor his legacy, Museum of the Moving Image will present The Master: Philip Seymour Hoffman from September 16 through October 2, a retrospective featuring sixteen films, including his directorial debut Jack Goes Boating; Capote, for which he won an Academy Award for Leading Actor; and The Master, Magnolia, and Boogie Nightsthree films he made with Paul Thomas Anderson. The screenings will be accompanied by guest appearances and clips from other work, to showcase his astonishing versatility. Actress Laura Linney will introduce the September 17 screening of The Savages, the deeply moving independent drama directed by Tamara Jenkins; writer John Patrick Shanley will introduce Doubt on September 24; other speakers to be announced.



Philip Seymour Hoffman had an uncanny ability to disappear into a role yet at the same time to invest his performances with such complexity, depth, and empathy that they always felt deeply personal, said Chief Curator David Schwartz. Drawn to playing highly flawed characters, he was able to seem at once larger than life and recognizably imperfect. In over 60 film performances, the boldness of his choices was always breathtaking.



Almost all of the sixteen films will be presented in 35mm. In addition to Paul Thomas Anderson, Hoffman worked with many notable actors and directors including the legendary New York director Sidney Lumet (Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead); Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York); Bennett Miller (Capote); playwright and director John Patrick Shanley, Meryl Streep, and Amy Adams (Doubt); Mike Nichols and Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilsons War); the late English director Anthony Mingella, Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow (The Talented Mr. Ripley); Spike Lee (25th Hour); and many others. All of these films are included in this series. A full schedule with descriptions is included below and posted online.



Special thanks to Mimi ODonnell.



SCHEDULE AND DESCRIPTIONS

All screenings take place in the Sumner M. Redstone Theater or Celeste and Armand Bartos Screening Room at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue in Astoria, New York. Tickets are $12 ($9 seniors and students / $7 youth ages 317 / free for Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels, free for Silver Screen members and above). Advance tickets are available online at http://movingimage.us. Ticket purchase may be applied toward same-day gallery admission.



Jack Goes Boating

With Bob Glaudini (playwright and screenwriter), Beth O'Neill (producer), Brian Kates (editor), Therese DePrez (production designer), Mott Hupfel (director of photography), Curtis Smith (first assistant director), Avy Kaufman (casting director), and Peter Saraf (producer) in person

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 7:00 P.M.

Dir. Philip Seymour Hoffman. 2010. 89 mins. DCP. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega. For his impressive directorial debut, Hoffman adapted this lovely, affecting play produced by the off-Broadway Labyrinth Theater Company (where he served as Artistic Director). In the story of a quartet of working-class New Yorkers, Hoffman is a loner limo driver who enters a tentative romance. There's a dreamy aspect to the film, said Hoffman. It's really emotional; it's not analytical. These people are being pulled by their emotional life. Whether it's a psychic pain or a true desire and hope for something else, they're all looking to be relieved of whatever burden they've been carrying...that's the journey we take with them.



The Master

Presented in 70mm

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2:00 P.M.

Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson. 2012, 144 mins. 70mm. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams. As the thundering, charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd, Hoffman reveals the characters magnetic power and manipulative charm, in one of his most complex and electrifying performances. Joaquin Phoenix is the rootless naval WWII vet who falls under Dodds spell after arriving home. A magnificent cinematic achievement, The Master is one of just a few films in recent decades photographed in 70mm. Tickets: $15 with discounts for seniors, students, and Museum members at select levels.



The Savages

Introduced by Laura Linney

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 5:00 P.M.

Dir. Tamara Jenkins. 2007, 113 mins. 35mm print from the Academy Film Archive. With Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco. Hoffman gave some of his best and most underrated performances in relatively low-budget independent films, such as Tamara Jenkinss deeply moving and comical The Savages. Hoffman plays a self-absorbed Buffalo college professor who must team up with his sister, a struggling playwright, after their fathers mental health starts to deteriorate. As Manohla Dargis wrote in The New York Times, There isnt a single moment of emotional guff or sentimentality...the film caused me to periodically wince, but also left me with a sense of acute pleasure, even joy.



Boogie Nights

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2:00 P.M.

Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson. 1997, 155 mins. 35mm. With Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Standing out in the swirling disco haze of Paul Thomas Andersons epic saga of the California porn industry of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hoffman gave a performance that marked him as a truly great screen actor. He is an awkward, repressed boom operator hopelessly enamored of Mark Wahlbergs porn star Dirk Diggler.



Owning Mahowny

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 5:00 P.M.

Dir. Richard Kwietniowski. 2003, 104 mins. 35mm. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, John Hurt. Based on the true story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history, Philip Seymour Hoffman is at his best as a mild-mannered bank manager with a nasty gambling habit and a job that gives him access to a $20 million account. Of his resemblance to the films real-life inspiration, author Gary Ross said Philip somehow managed to assimilate the psychic essence of Mahowny, a yawning emptiness that nothing except gambling was able to fill.



Almost Famous

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 7:15 P.M.

Dir. Cameron Crowe. 2000, 122 mins. 35mm. With Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Philip Seymour Hoffman. In Cameron Crowes lovingly detailed self-portrait of an underage rock journalist, an endearing but clear-eyed valentine to a world of trashed hotel rooms, long bus rides, groupies, and greedy businessmen, Hoffman is the movies heart and soul as the iconoclastic music critic Lester Bangs. As Crowe said, Hoffman soaked in the mannerisms and gregarious sharpness of Lesters wit.



Capote

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 7:00 P.M.

Dir. Bennett Miller. 2005, 114 mins. 35mm. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener. Novelist and nonfiction writer Truman Capotes investigation of the shocking murder of a Kansas family, which resulted in the classic book In Cold Blood, is the basis of Bennett Millers exquisitely wrought drama, the film that earned Hoffman his Academy Award. As Roger Ebert observed, Philip Seymour Hoffman's precise, uncanny performance as Capote doesn't imitate the author so much as channel him, as a man whose peculiarities mask great intelligence and deep wounds.



Doubt

Introduced by John Patrick Shanley

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2:00 P.M.

Dir. John Patrick Shanley. 2008, 104 mins. 35mm. With Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis. When Sister Aloysius suspects wrongdoing at St. Nicholas school, her concerns about Father Flynns relationship with a black altar boy set into motion a course of actions in which the pursuit of truth is clouded by doubt. John Patrick Shanleys adaptation of his own play is a magnificent ensemble piece that earned Academy Award nominations for all four of its lead actors.



Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman in person

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 4:00 P.M.

Dir. Charlie Kaufman. 2008, 124 mins. 35mm. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams. Obsessed with his mortality, and with his personal life falling apart, playwright Caden Cotard builds a massive set reconstruction of New York City for an upstate production. In this dazzlingly ambitious directorial debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), the lines between reality and art dissolve. Hoffman anchors the films mind-bending conceits with a profound and moving portrait of an artist driven by a quest for deeper truth.



Happiness

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 7:00 P.M.

Dir. Todd Solondz. 1998, 134 mins. 35mm print from the Academy Film Archive. With Jane Adams, Jon Lovitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Todd Solondzs darkly comic, incisive, and unsettling exploration of the underbelly of suburban New Jersey features an astonishing performance by Hoffman as a sexually deviant loner who pleasures himself on phone calls to random women. Perhaps only Hoffman could have brought such tenderness and pathos to this role.



Magnolia

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 7:00 P.M.

Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson. 1999, 188 mins. 35mm. With Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman. In the midst of Paul Thomas Andersons masterful epic of interlocking lives in Southern California is Hoffmans deceptively simple, lovely performance as a hospice nurse attending to Jason Robardss former quiz show host Earl Partridge. Hoffman brings almost magical sincerity to the scene in which he says "I know this sounds silly, like this is the scene in the movie where the guys trying to get ahold of the long-lost son, you know, but this is that scene. And I think they have those scenes in movies because theyre true, you know?



Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2:30 P.M.

Dir. Sidney Lumet. 2007, 117 mins. 35mm. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an overextended broker who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke) into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is the store owners are Andy and Hanks actual mom and pop. The great director Sidney Lumets final film is a bracing, energetic modern-day noir.



25th Hour

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 6:00 P.M.

Dir. Spike Lee. 2002, 135 mins. 35mm. Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman. As a doleful English teacher, Hoffman stands out in the outstanding ensemble for Spike Lee's film, which was the first major movie to acknowledge the September 11th attacks. Adapting David Benioffs novel, Lee captures the somber atmosphere of life near ground zero with a story set over the course of a tense day in which a convicted drug dealer (Edward Norton) tries to make peace before going behind bars.



Charlie Wilsons War

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2:00 P.M.

Dir. Mike Nichols. 2007, 102 mins. 35mm. With Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Om Puri. In this ever-timely based-on-truth story of secret government dealings in Soviet-era Afghanistan, Hoffman earned an Academy Award nomination for his thrilling performance as brilliant maverick CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. As played by Hoffman, Gust is a sheer force of nature and intelligence, a son of blue-collar immigrant parents and at odds with his Ivy League colleagues.



The Talented Mr. Ripley

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 4:00 P.M.

Dir. Anthony Minghella. 1999, 139 mins. 35mm. With Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Half charm, half poison, and rich enough to dispense with the former whenever he likes, Freddie Miles is every friend-of-a-friend you cant stand, is how film critic Tim Robey describes Hoffmans snobbish character in Anthony Minghellas sun-drenched and sinister adaptation of the Patricia Highsmiths novel. Matt Damon plays Ripley, a young man sent to Italy to track down playboy millionair Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law.)



A Most Wanted Man

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 7:00 P.M.

Dir. Anton Corbjin. 2014, 122 mins. 35mm. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Daniel Bruhl. Based on John le Carre's novel, A Most Wanted Man is a contemporary thriller about an immigrant who turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill-gotten fortune. In his final starring role, Hoffman gives one of his best, and most unlikely, performances as a German intelligence officer. John le Carre was initially skeptical about the casting. "For the first few minutes of listening to him, I thought 'Crikey.' Then, gradually, he did what only the greatest actors can do. He made his voice the only authentic one, the lonely one, the odd one out, the one you depended on amid all the others."
There is a lure to the film camera that is almost primal.



It draws you in, ever closer, a potent combo of machine and magic. Pressed against your ear and cheek, the click-whir miracle of celluloid is god calling you home. It is your religion. This is the gospel of the camera buff. They may call you an amateur. But you have drive and ambition. You see, taste and feel it, cutting at the Steenbeck, creating worlds, now becoming god yourself. Then there is the projector, with its great clatter, giving truth with light. And perhaps that truth isn't real. Perhaps it is just movie magic and obsession. It is of a reel, and nothing more. Yet at times, the hope and joy that propels these projections is needed even more than truth itself. Such veracity for hope steps out into the spotlight and becomes truth because it must. That is real, then, isn't it?



This is the psychology behind Operation Avalanche, a bold and inventive love letter to cinema via faux-documentary, tomfoolery and the faking of the moon landing.



In January 2013, Matt Johnson and his small team of filmmakers from Toronto arrived in Park City with their first feature The Dirties. A highly intelligent, hilariously bromantic school shooting faux-documentary, The Dirties took Slamdance by storm, winning top prizes there before going on to catch the eye of Kevin Smith, who helped release it to the world. As feature debuts go it is unique; lightning in a bottle. It is something that reads like it shouldn't even work and then draws you in with its sheer exuberance and ingenious meta filmmaking.



For those that have not seen it, The Dirties is streaming on Netflix. In the film Matt Johnson plays a high school geek named Matt Johnson who makes a movie with his friend Owen Williams (played by Owen Williams) about killing the school bullies who they have dubbed the 'The Dirties'. Not satisfied with their class movie, Matt wants to go one step further with the sequel. This time they will kill the bullies for real. They will walk into school and shoot them dead. They'll even wear t-shirts that say 'We are just here for the bad guys' so as not to scare everyone else. The film's greatest strength other than disarming you with its film geeky sense of humor is that it is an acute study on mental health and what it means to be media obsessed, yet not media-literate.



Johnson and company's sophomore effort, Operation Avalanche, is essentially The Dirties 2.0.

But how can you replicate lightning in a bottle? You can't. But you can build off of its character arcs, and mature its themes. Because as it turns out the movie about a school shooter wasn't the movie about the loss of innocence, it's this one, about the faking of the moon landing.



Again, Matt Johnson plays Matt Johnson. Owen Williams plays Owen Williams. Again, this is a faux-documentary. But this time they aren't high school nerds in the 2000s, they're the best and brightest from top Ivy league schools, recruited by the C.I.A. in 1967 to form what is their A/V program. Determining that Stanley Kubrick is not in fact a Commie spy, the boys want to now spearhead 'Operation Zipper', which will put men inside of N.A.S.A. to find the Soviet mole that seems to be feeding space race secrets to his comrades back at the Kremlin. Johnson believes that fellow agents posing as scientists will be seen coming from a mile away, so he proposes they go in as a documentary crew making a film about the Apollo missions for television.



Along with cameramen Jared Raab and Andrew Appelle -- who are, yes, shooting the very movie we are watching -- the boys begin their mission at N.A.S.A only to find out a much bigger and startling truth: They can't put a man on the moon by 1969. They don't have the tech. The best they can do is have a manned craft orbit our lunar body a couple times and come home. Even worse, it looks like the Soviets could get their first. This, they fear, will result in the U.S. losing the cold war once and for all.



Johnson doesn't miss a beat, deciding that he will take it upon himself to make a new mission, 'Operation Avalanche', in which the C.I.A. works with N.A.S.A to fake the moon landing. Since the days of Georges Melies and A Trip To The Moon, filmmaking and space travel have been inextricably linked. Johnson believes that based on this kind of movie magic alone, this, the purest of fantasies, will surely work. The astronauts will really go to space, they'll just feed back some video of an already filmed landing on a sound stage. But how do you fake the moon landing?



Joined by Agent Boles (played by co-writer Josh Boles), Operation Avalanche then becomes a swinging little road movie, a 16mm home cam trip across the great 48, on the hunt for moon-like locations, with a stop off at Sheperton Studios, to unlock the movie secrets of the magicians behind 2001: A Space Odyssey.



Like in The Dirties, the Johnson that we see here is an amateur filmmaker who takes the role of god in his production. The same kind of glee and tenacity which leapt across each frame in his first film is present here, but it is shaded by something perhaps even more insidious than that of a school shooter: Johnson is climbing the company ladder. He is an obsessive, an egoist. He wants to become a company man of high mark.



What then when their little conspiracy making gets entangled in an even bigger conspiracy? Because if their faking of the moon landing fails, then the C.I.A. will shoot down Apollo 11, blame the Soviets, and most likely kill Johnson and company. Mystery men begin to show up outside their sound stage. Williams has no patience for this. He has a wife and young son at home. He lives in fear. Johnson's plan seems more insane than ever.



As the stakes get higher, the film gradually morphs into something much darker than initially expected. At first, a goofy story about a couple of upstart misftis giving something their all, Operation Avalanche then becomes a heady treatise on the end of the age of optimism, mirroring a wide breadth of American 60s cinema and the disillusioned society it reflected. This is where the need for joy and hope begins to outweigh the crushing reality of the moment; Where the lie makers succumb to even bigger lies.



This is also where Operation Avalanche becomes harder to describe and analyze without giving direct correlation to The Dirties, and even more so to film history itself.



This is also the part of the review, where, surprise, surprise, I reveal my bias towards Johnson and his filmmaking gang outta Toronto. I love what they do with aplomb. It connects with me on a very deep level, and they'd have to fuck up pretty bad to sever that connection. This is film geek to film geek kind of stuff. If you aren't a cinephile than mileage may vary on just how much you enjoy Operation Avalanche, because about half my joy of watching this comes from knowing these guys are making a movie about movies; it comes in callbacks and inside jokes to The Dirties and the fabulously complex cinematic lineage both Johnson Joints are built from. As such, Operation Avalanche is meta-narrative at its most colossal and dangerous. This is a movie about 'Reel Emotion'.



Is to be a movie lover than to wear rose colored glasses? And are we ourselves as critics, at the end of the day, more media-obsessed than media-literate, and possibly ashamed of it. Burying such shame in our reviews, we then cite that a movie like this is inspired by such eclectic works as RKO pulps, Roger Corman productions, Sydney Lumet movies, old newsreels, early Coppola docs, the actuality plays of Allan King and the anti-monoform works of Peter Watkins... and, yes of course, the cinema of Stanley Kubrick.



We believe... I believe this kind of sheer information will save us... will save me from being found out as a fraud. The meta stakes are high. What does the mirror show me this time? That I am not writing this review for the sake of talking about a product's viability. I am writing this review for myself, in a vortex filled with fear and film. For all I can do is speak my truth... I am not really a critic, I am someone who writes about life by writing about film. This review is one written by a rambling man who grew up as a boy that used movies as a way to understand the world around him...



And what is this movie but one made by a group of people who are like me... For this is the movie that takes childhood dreams and through effects wizardry manifests them right up there on the screen; this is the movie that has its director Matt Johnson, playing Matt Johnson the director, getting an autograph from Stanley Kubrick.



Operation Avalanche is a love letter to cinema, yes, but it is also a warning on the obsessive nature inherent in filmmaking, made by a collection of creators who can only counteract concerns that they've gone too far by going even further. What happens when you feel that you've all but lost that innocence of childhood, that will of pure imagination, that keen curiosity of the amateur to the hubris of the narcissistic ego? Perhaps all you can do is embrace it for merely what it is: the darkest spot on an infinite projection of light and shadow.



The message then becomes: Pick up the camera. Keep filming.



This review was published in slightly different form during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Operation Avalanche begins its North American theatriucal run Friday, September 16th.

Operation Avalanche Director(s) Matt Johnson Writer(s) Josh Boles

Matt Johnson Cast Matt Johnson

Owen Williams

Josh Boles

Jared Raab
Richard Finn Gregory's The Boers At The End Of The World (in its native Afrikaans: Boere Op Die Aardsdrempel) was the finest South African documentary of 2015, and easily made my Springbok Cinema list of the country's best work. Following a rapturous local run, which culminated in three Golden Horns at this years South African Film and Television Awards, this obscure South African delight is finally available worldwide, and we finally have a full review to celebrate.

A century ago, following bitter defeat to the British in South Africas Second Anglo-Boer War, cohorts of Afrikaans families - boer descendants of Dutch-speaking early settlers - left their African roots for Argentina. There they found refuge and a fresh start in Patagonia, an arid and remote landscape eerily reminiscent of their homeland. There too theyve sustained their archaic langage and pastoral culture, marooned, for a hundred years. A century later, this remarkable documentary brings their unique community to light, and captures a profound homecoming sure to stir even the stoniest heart.

Despite essentially bearing sad witness to the inveterate erosion of their Afrikaans oasis, The Boers At The End Of The World is an unabashedly uplifting experience. Rather than dwell on demise, much like the boer zen we hear from several characters, the film celebrates life and legacy, and offers up a trifecta of intellectual stimulation, emotional satisfaction, and sumptuous beauty. Linguists are still publishing academic papers on the communitys archaic Afrikaans; the cathartic homecoming will swell the most cynical soul; and the film is an exquisite sensory experience, absolutely deserving of its SAFTA accolades for cinematography, sound, and editing.

Long-term readers may recognize the story from previous coverage; we first began watching the project in early 2014, when its short-form proof-of-concept - The Last Boers Of Patagonia - went viral in South Africa. We've continued watching as both the local film industry and crowdfunding community embraced the project, bringing the story to feature-length fruition. A one-man-show for much of it's production, Gregory demonstrates varied prowess behind the camera, and it's exciting to hear that he has a narative feature brewing next.

Gregory is himself a South African of English descendent, which could well have been a sensitive point in selling such quintessentially Afrikaans history, given the colonial atrocities that precipitated this tale. However, his obvious devotion to the project clearly won the trust of the Patagonian Afrikaner community, and also seemingly enabled him to attract phenomenal Afrikaans talent for post-production.

Ronelle Loots is a busy Afrikaner editor who has worked on at least three recent award-winning productions - Durban Poison, Four Corners, and I, Afrikaner - and the musical team of Louis Nel and Rian Zietsman - better known as the Afrikaner musicians behind local rock bands Taxi Violence and Beast - produced a sublime soundtrack that fuses traditional Argentine and Afrikaans influences (and in so doing, I might add, reveal that the serendipitous similarities between these worlds extend beyond landscape and pastoral lifestyle).

Documentary filmmakers tend to maintain a distance from their subjects, and indeed the short-form Last Boers Of Patagonia was a traditional hands-off documentary, observationally introducing the Dickason family's charismatic patriarch and his small community of Afrikaner family and friends. The feature-lenegth Boers At The End Of The World, however, is undeniably imbued with a more personal - more involved - touch.

There's a sense that Gregory has become entwined in the community, perhaps inevitibly given the warm welcome, and that the work itself has become a reinvigorating catalyst of sorts. The filmmakers in fact contributed to two important community developments that are captured in the film: a visit by an Afrikaans linguistics professor and his colleagues, to interview speakers and document their unique Afrikaans; and the reunion of the Dickason family with their ancestral roots and long-lost family in South Africa.

In some documentaries, the fingerprints of filmmakers on the tale itself can be cause for concern, particularly when subjects are contentious or vulnerable. In the case of Boers however, the very telling of their story just is the antidote to their diminshment by disconnection and obscurity. The ripples from this film have already reconnected lost communities to their roots, families to each other, and a fading language to its thriving source. The Boers At The End Of The World isn't just an interesting, heart-warming, and beautiful documentary; it's good work that has made a difference.

In recognition of our site's long-sustained interest in this project, the filmmakers are offering a 20% download discount to ScreenAnarchy readers for the next week (until September 21). Take advantage of the deal, and be uplifted by the film.

Download it at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/boersfilm

Use the 20% ScreenAnarchy discount code: anarchy20
Opening with the eponymous girl locked in a cell and counting upwards to a thousand, The Girl With All The Gifts may as well be ticking off the sheer number of zombie films that a fan of the genre is 'forced' to contend with in these days of The Walking Dead.

In actuality, twelve year old Melanie is being gathered for daily school lessons, dressed prisoner's duds while strapped to a wheelchair along with her classmates in neat rows, all equally restrained. Halfheartedly walking through a memorization exercise, a teacher (hint: not one of the good ones) mutters under her breath, "content is not really relevant, is it?" This is a thesis that screenwriter Mike Carey (adapting his own novel) and director Colm McCarthy clearly want to shatter into a million pieces. For indeed, the zombie movie has new places to go and new ideas to explore: Consider the The Girl With All The Gifts in stride with South Korea's Train To Busan, argues that fast zombies (being all the rage) have evolved to the point where they are here stay, where a good filmmaker can have his protagonist and eat him too.

While I have not had the pleasure of watching the second season of BBC's gangster drama "Peaky Blinders" nor the supernatural 2010 drama Outcast, it is very clear that McCarthy knows when to put something in the frame and when to leave it out. Rare is the movie in this genre that is not only patient in its world-building, but also handsome in its photography. (28 Weeks Later... springs to mind, and it shares a grace note or two with this film in the idea that social progress should be never be managed by the military.)

In The Girl With All The Gifts, The UK (and by extension, the world) has been infected with a fungus that elevates hunger beyond consciousness (read: zombies). Like in George Romero's Day of the Dead, there are military enclaves that have survived and are actively working the problem while fences keeps the hordes at bay. Dr. Caldwell (Glenn Close) seems very close to a solution with a small group of children born after the plague that exhibit tendencies of both the 'Hungries' (read: zombies) and normal children. Certain smells in certain circumstances set the children off, preceded by dry heaving and ending in chomping with lower jaw (think Keira Knightly in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method).

The eager and innocent Melanie is the best and brightest of all the children. Clearly she is Caldwell's Bub, only with kinder eyes and a keen vocabulary. Young Sennia Nanua is indeed the gift the movie gives to us. Her character represents our own better natures as human beings - being bright, confident and unfailingly considerate to others. Melanie is the hope that any parent might have for their own offspring and Nanua realizes all of this seemingly effortlessly as perhaps the most capable child actor I have seen in years. This is telling, because not only has child acting come a long way in the past few decades, but Nanua spends a sizable portion of the film wearing a transparent Hannibal Lecter mask covering her blood stained face. Talk about artistic constraint! I cannot wait to see this girl grow up and star in, hopefully, dozens of films, the talent here is staggering.

While Dr. Caldwell wishes to harness Melanie's innards for vaccine development, her more sympathetic teacher (Gemma Arterton) feels chopping up the children is not the answer here. Circumstances come to an inevitable head in the compound, forcing the child, her two competing 'mothers' and a male soldier (Paddy Considine, always great) on a desperate road trip into the infected wilderness.

The intersection in The Girl With All The Gifts of superb character work (talented actors all around engaging in committed performances) combined with a plethora of interested ideas in a very tight package. This feels like the film-version of I Am Legend that filmmakers have struggled with at least three times and all failed in somewhat interesting ways (The best of which, The Last Man On Earth, starred Vincent Price struggling with a very tiny European budget). Subtly blended together with Michael Haneke's Time of the Wolf (of which, Girl shares a key image) and Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men, and you have that heady mix of arthouse and genre which is rare due to the difficulty of calibrating both sensibilities into a satisfying package; on of far less head-shot horror and far more thinking-woman's speculative fiction. I am keen to read Mike Carey's novel to hunt for Matheson-isms.

Name dropping the mysterious boxes of both Schrodinger and Pandora, the film walks the divide between modern science and classic mythology. But addressing, head-on, the stewardship of Mother Earth for the next generation in the midst of divided ideologies, puts the film into a space that is nothing if not ambitious. If its asks one to occasionally suspend credulity in the more pragmatic 'rules' and details of how the Hungries (including Melanie) can smell or not smell, something I could never get a handle on over the course of the film, then so be it. McCarthy has a knack for 'the bomb not going off' style of filmmaking, and the half-a-dozen setpieces are superb. But is the evolution of Melanie's precocious innocence towards self-aware adulthood in the crucible of a terrifying and changing world, that is the engine that drives the film. And it hums.
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Albino redwoods  ghastly pale, stunted versions of the famous tree species that aren't "red" (or even green) at all but instead nearly white  have left arborists scratching their heads since they were first documented in 1866. That is  perhaps!  until now: The San Jose Mercury News has a report on the work of Zane Moore, a UC Davis Doctoral student, who has come to a compelling conclusion about the plants after analyzing albino redwood needles. At odds with preexisting ideas about the white trees, sometimes called "ghosts of the forest," Moore believes the trees could be making a positive contribution to their more verdant siblings.

The albino redwoods, which grow out of otherwise healthy redwoods, lack color due to a genetic mutation. They have no chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plants green and helps them photosynthesize. As many as 400 of them exist in California, the most of them in Santa Cruz. But rather than leaching the strength of healthy redwoods, albino redwoods might instead be absorbing toxins, pulling them out of the soil and helping other redwoods in so doing. They are basically poisoning themselves, Moore suggests to the Mercury News, They are like a liver or kidney that is filtering toxins.

Albino redwoods are parasites," says Emily Burns, director of science at Save the Redwoods League in San Francisco, "and if these sprouts have some sort of a function, thats really cool.

Dave Kuty, a docent at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park who assisted Moore, puts it this way: Maybe the albinos are acting like a sponge  to get the bad stuff out of the soil and the plants... Thats a possibility, but we need to do more research. If it turns at that their hypothesis is correct, perhaps albino redwoods might be cloned and used to clean up waste sites.

Moore will present research at the Coast Redwood Science Symposium in Eureka this week. "With its limited range and high value, the coast redwood forest is a microcosm of many of the emerging science and management issues facing todays forested landscape," a description of that symposium explains. "As new information is collected and new management approaches and treatments tried, it is critical that policies and strategies guiding use and management within the redwood region be reviewed and updated based on objective scientific information."

Related: To Save A 100-Foot Tree, Inner Richmond Couple Consults Planning Commission (And A Shaman)




San Francisco politics are at best unusual, and at worst totally bonkers in a way virtually no other US city could understand. We are reminded of this again today following a Chronicle editorial board meeting with District 11 supervisor candidates, in which everyone was thoroughly amused by candidate Berta Hernandez. The would-be replacement for Supervisor John Avalos laid out some the proposals she has put forth during her bid to become "the first socialist supervisor of San Francisco." Let's take a look, shall we?

First off, Hernandez wants to completely abolish the SFPD  calling them "a bunch of killers," she would instead opt for "unarmed community counselors" keeping order. "Many of the crimes that take place in the city are crimes that attempt to address the economic disparity brought about by the massive siphoning of social wealth into the upper classes of society," she writes on her website. "They should be addressed as economic and social issues, with resources and services paid for by progressive taxation, and not as law enforcement issues."

Up next is housing. Hernandez wants to halt all evictions, limit rent to 20 percent of a tenant's income, and legalize homeless encampments (an issue the city has decided to go the other way on). "Shame on a city that allows the most vulnerable of its residents to be thrown into the streets," she writes.

She also believes that minimum wage should be $40 and hour, and that public transit should be free (an idea we can get behind, and has been proposed before).

With all that in mind it will probably come as no surprise that the Chronicle considers Hernandez a long-shot candidate. Hernandez doesn't, however, and she views her own ideas as necessary. "Somebody has to say it," she told the paper of her policies. "Thats why Im running. Im tired of nicey-nicey-nicey talk.

Related: Supervisor Candidate's Campaign Office Vandalized With Misogynistic Slur
Since adopting her in 2006, Vivian Tsay of Oakland has always loved hiking with her Australian cattle dog mix Cece. Even after Tsay lost Cece for six weeks in the El Dorado National Forest, a time during which she assumed the now 11-year-old dog might be gone forever, Tsay is still glad to have granted her canine companion so much freedom.

"To see all those years of her running through the woods  beaches, rivers, where she was in paradise  I could never take that away from her," Tsay tells SFist by phone, with Cece, now safely home, barking happily in the background. She's just had a bath, but her fur is still covered in sap.

Cece was recovered recently after becoming lost on July 3rd, and dirty fur notwithstanding, she's not much the worse for her time in the woods. That's the thing that shocked Tsay, but maybe won't surprise readers of Jack London or fans of films about lost dogs finding their way through the woods. Although Tsay was frightened for Cece, in fact her dog "was living like a wolf." Tsay speaks for many when she says that "I couldn't turn things around like that for myself. To be in a compromised position and own being wild, and then come back and be so unchanged in her general demeanor? Or even be slightly sweeter?"





Cece has always been attentive on hikes, Tsay maintains, and would follow her closely by voice. But in Cece's old age her hearing is getting worse. Despite being called by Tsay, on a hike to Bassi Falls, Cece bolted and wouldn't answer. "Because of her poor hearing, the loud waterfall, the people filtering in to the waterfall area," Tsay hypothesizes, "that caused [Cece] to become unsettled, and she went rogue. A switch flipped, and she became a little bit of a wild animal, and just wanted to stay away from anything with two legs."

That attitude persisted. Panicked, Tsay searched for Cece, but when she found her hours later, Cece simply walked way and couldn't be found when followed. Finally, Tsay pitched a tent near the falls for the next few days, looking for Cece, putting up signs, and alerting rangers.

And then, in time, Tsay had to go. "At any moment," she recalls, "I would think 'I'm looking at one million trees, and she can be standing behind any of them. It felt so impossible." One report of Cece lead nowhere but gave Tsay a flutter of hope. Time passed, and one day while camping in a different part of the Sierras, Tsay received a voicemail after popping into an area with cell signal. People had seen a dog, likely Cece, several times over the past few days. At that moment, says Tsay, "I felt very much like it was up to [Cece]. She was out there, she was definitely somehow staying a live. It was really up to her to decide [to come home], to bring her wits together and approach someone and come in."

Tsay drove a friend's car to the spot where a family had spotted Cece, and a group of kids led her to the peninsula where they'd last noticed her. "I saw her standing on the beach, crouched down," Tsay recalls. Like before, Cece couldn't be tamed: She took off the one way she could  by swimming, an activity Tsay says she'd never enjoyed. "This is a dog that hates swimming." The unofficial search party followed Cece until the sun went down, and eventually, Tsay drove home to catch a plane to Chicago for a planned trip. "That was a really hard thing to do." Tsay recalls. "It's so difficult to have hope as well as to be able to move forward in your life."

While away in Chicago, Tsay's cousin and her cousin's dog, Captain, came to the rescue. Returning to the wilderness area, Captain found Cece, who was once again skittish, playing more hide and seek. Finally, when Tsay's cousin began feeding Captain, Cece joined in, and Tsay's cousin took the dog into a headlock. And then, a funny thing happened. "The second she clipped on a leash, [Cece] was 100 percent a dog again," Tsay says.

That moment speaks to Cece's adjustment back in Oakland: It hasn't been too challenging. "The first week or so back, she slept a lot, and we were doing meals ever three hours," Tsay says: Cece had lost a third of her body weight, but she's gained that back, as well as most of her energy. "She's super playful, she's even a little more sweet." Tsay thinks. "She acts so much just like a normal dog, her arthritis isn't a problem now and she's, like, less shaky. She's happy to see her dog friends, her kid friends."

Though Tsay still sounds shaken by Cece's temporary loss, and even unsettled by her unexpected return, a friend's advice that proved helpful during the process sticks with her still. "Cece was off there doing her own thing," Tsay likes to think. "We can all only hope to be that free before we die."
The alleged thieves spotted last month stealing mail across San Francisco with what is believed to be a USPS master key remain on the loose, and officials are still investigating just how, exactly, these criminals managed to acquire the key in the first place. What's more, residents in the 94109 zip code  which is believed to be specifically at risk  remain vulnerable as changing all the impacted locks is a massive, expensive, and time-consuming task.

The story first came to light in August when KTVU reported that a pair of suspected thieves had been captured on surveillance video stealing mail from a Van Ness Avenue building. What made the situation so unnerving was that unlike your average package thief, these two had what appeared to be a USPS master key  allowing them to buzz themselves in to multi-unit apartment buildings and open all the mailboxes inside.

Buildings in Japantown, Cow Hollow, and Fort Mason were reported to have been hit by the duo.

We reached out to US Postal Inspector Jeff Fitch of the San Francisco division for an update on the case, and he assured us that investigators are working hard in conjunction with the San Francisco Police Department to find these two. "Our goal is to identify the individuals and arrest them," he told SFist by phone. "These things do take some time."

Fitch assured us that he knows residents in the 94109 zip code are frustrated that the thieving pair haven't been caught, and that he and his office are taking this case extremely seriously. "Right now we're actively investigating this and attempting to catch up with these individuals," he explained before adding that the mere possession of the key is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.

When pressed as to just how, exactly, the key fell into wrong hands, Fitch wouldn't say  noting that how the key was acquired, and whether it is genuine or counterfeit, is part of the investigation.

But as time drags on, those living in the 94109 zip code are still at risk. SFist pressed Fitch on whether or not locks were being changed  a process that KTVU reports could cost at least $200,000  but he would only say that "the Postmaster is assessing that right now" and that "if we were changing the locks we wouldn't announce it either  we try not to telegraph what we're doing security wise."

This is not the first time a lost, stolen, or counterfeit USPS master key has made the news in recent years. The Napa Valley Register reports that one was "lost" in 2011, and The Eastersider reported last year that thieves had likely scored a master key in LA's Silverlake neighborhood.

This fits a pattern of increased mail theft in California identified by Fitch, noting that his agency has seen other instances of master key theft and counterfeiting in the Golden State before. When asked whether or not he believed the suspected criminals pictured above were still actively out there stealing mail, Fitch declined to say. "I don't want to speculate on what they may or may not be up to, but they appear to be very comfortable with what they're doing  while they're drinking coffee," he explained, referencing surveillance video showing the thieves casually carrying coffee cups as they went about their illegal business.

There is a $10,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is behind the recent spate of mail thefts. Anyone with knowledge can call Fitch's office at 877-876-2455, and residents of the 94109 zip code who may have been impacted should email [email protected] directly.

Previously: Thieves Got A USPS Master Key And Are Pilfering Mail Across The City
SIOUX CITY | Soiuxlanders should expect a soggy Thursday.

Billy Williams, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, said areas of Siouxland could see about half to three-quarters of an inch of rain throughout the day.

Sustained showers, he said, may move into the area after 4 p.m. and continue into late Thursday night.

This adds to rain that moistened the area early Thursday. The Sioux Gateway Airport recorded .14 inches of rain as of 7 a.m., while Vermillion, S.D., reported three-quarters of an inch.

No severe weather is expected, but Williams said rainfall could be heavy at times.
SIOUX CITY | A man charged with the fatal stabbing of a Sioux City woman has chosen to have a judge rather than a jury decide his murder case.

Isack Abdinur on Thursday waived his right to a jury trial. District Judge Steven Andreasen will hear the case and issue a verdict.

Andreasen scheduled the trial for Nov. 16.

Abdinur was not asked during his hearing why he wanted Andreasen to hear the case rather than a jury. To make sure Abdinur understood what he was requesting, Andreasen walked through the rights Abdinur would give up by not having his trial heard by a jury, including the right to help choose the jurors and that all 12 jurors -- not a single judge -- would have to agree he was guilty in order to convict him.

"Are you waiving your right to a jury trial?" Andreasen asked when finished advising Abdinur of his rights.

"Yes, your honor," Abdinur answered.

Assistant Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis consented to the waiver.

Thursday's action put a case that has been delayed a number of times on a more certain path to trial.

Abdinur's case was previously delayed for several months while he awaited a mental health evaluation at the state Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.

In July, Abdinur was granted a new attorney after repeatedly refusing to leave his jail cell to meet with his previous attorneys. He is now represented by Jason Dunn, of the Iowa State Public Defender's Office.

Abdinur, 36, has pleaded not guilty in Woodbury County District Court to first-degree murder for the June 23, 2015, stabbing death of Cornelia Stead, 43, at her apartment at 521 W. 16th St.

Police have said Abdinur and Stead were romantic partners who got into an argument. Court documents said that Stead had locked herself in a bedroom during the argument, but Abdinur forced open the door and punched her in the face before getting a knife from the kitchen and stabbing her multiple times.

If found guilty as charged, Abdinur, a native of Somalia whom police characterized as a transient, would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
SIOUX CITY | A Spirit Lake, Iowa, man already facing state charges has now been charged with federal child pornography crimes.

Chuck Juhl, 41, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to single counts of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. His trial was set for Nov. 7.

Juhl was charged under sealed indictment Aug. 24. That indictment was unsealed Wednesday after Juhl's Tuesday arrest.

According to the indictment, Juhl received and possessed pornographic images of minors on a laptop computer from July 1, 2014, to Oct. 16, 2014.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations' Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Juhl in May after a 21-month investigation found that Juhl had bought and possessed child pornography. That investigation began in September 2014.

Juhl pleaded not guilty in June in Dickinson County District Court to 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. There currently is no trial date scheduled in Dickinson County.
PRIMGHAR, Iowa | When O'Brien County Sheriff Michael Anderson retired from office Aug. 31, he left behind a legacy. And a hard act to follow.

At the time of his retirement, Anderson had spent 42 years in the department, 41 of them as sheriff. That made him Iowa's longest-tenured active sheriff and the fifth longest-tenured sheriff in the nation. Anderson had won nine of his 10 elections with no opponent on the ballot.

Two weeks after Anderson's retirement, O'Brien County officials say the transition has been a smooth one. Much of that is due to his successor, Allen Schuknecht, whose appointment follows four decades of service in the department.

"Allen's taking over and being here as long as he has is why it's going so good," said Chief Deputy Bruce Devereaux. "That's worth a fortune."

Schuknecht, 61, has deep O'Brien County roots. He was raised on a farm near the unincorporated O'Brien County community of Germantown and attended school in Paullina. Following his graduation in 1972, Schuknecht immediately enrolled at Western Iowa Tech Community College to study law enforcement.

"I guess I was always interested in it early on," Schuknecht said. "I think it was exciting - there's always something different all the time. I get along well with people, and it's a people profession."

Schuknecht graduated from WIT in 1974 with an associate's degree in police science. He immediately joined the Sanborn, Iowa, Police Department, where he served for two years.

Anderson hired Schuknecht to the O'Brien County Sheriff's Office in December 1976, a month after Anderson won his first election to office. Anderson had been appointed as sheriff in 1975 when previous O'Brien County Sheriff George Sleeper stepped down after nine years in the position.

Schuknecht said his early years on the department were much different than they are today. The staff was smaller, and the department operated without a communications center.

"We all had phones in our houses, and when they called the sheriff, they'd ring the phones in our house," he said.

Schuknecht said the wives of deputies would then contact deputies by radio to inform them of the calls. Since Schuknecht was single at the time, one of the other deputy's wives helped out in contacting him.

The department soon added a communications center. And more innovations followed.

Schuknecht said Anderson, who did web design on the side, served as a valuable bridge for the department into the more technologically demanding 21st century. Anderson built the department's first website.

He was very progressive," Schuknecht said.

Shucknecht said his appointment in September, after four decades of service, was rewarding. He said taking the oath of office was a poignant moment for him.

It was pretty cool to step into the next step, Schuknecht said. It was also emotional.

Devereaux, who worked with both Anderson and Schuknecht for 26 years, said along with being a capable sheriff, Schuknecht is a fun person to be around.

"As bad as I am at telling jokes, Allen is probably the best joke teller I know," he said. "He's got a great sense of humor."

As a lifer in O'Brien County, Schuknecht said what's kept him around so long is an easy question to answer: It's the people.

"It's the everyday contact with the people that I've enjoyed," Schuknecht said. "They're appreciative. ... We've been invited to church services where they've supported us, and it's really gratifying."

Schuknecht said he isnt making any radical changes to the department, since he has been involved with its direction for several years.

However, he said a few new emphases moving forward will include working with the county's new Emergency Management director and scheduling more drills for local departments will be areas of focus moving forward.

Schuknecht, a Republican, is up for election in November but faces no Democratic opponent. Schuknecht defeated Republican opponent Todd Wood, a Sheldon police officer, 80 percent to 20 percent in June's primary elections. If elected, Schuknecht will serve another four years in the position.

Shuknecht currently lives with his wife, Janelle, who he met in high school and married in 1979. They have three grown children.
WASHINGTON -- America has had better weeks than the one just past.

Only days away from the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates convened for what was dubbed the "Commander-in-Chief Forum," sponsored by NBC News and hosted by "Where in the world is Matt Lauer?"

Indeed.

And then there was the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, whose spaceship apparently had just landed in the middle of Earth's 2016. Appearing Thursday on "Morning Joe," he responded to Mike Barnicle's question about Aleppo with, "And what is Aleppo?" Barnicle might as well have said it was an Italian coffeemaker and moved on.

At the forum, we learned that Lauer apparently just got wind that Clinton used a private email server because he devoted fully one-third of her allotted time to questions about the email, which has been investigated exhaustively, including by the FBI, for about two years. Otherwise, we learned that Clinton's top counterterrorism goal is to defeat the Islamic State, which failed to awaken any of the thousands of people who requested an induced coma until after Nov. 8.

From Trump we learned that he built a great company, which was news to us, and that he has a plan for defeating the Islamic State but he's not about to tell anyone because he might win the election and then the terrorists would know that he intends to ask his top generals for a plan.

We also learned, because we've never heard this before, that the U.S.-led Iraq invasion was a mistake that Clinton once favored and that Trump did not, except that he did. But who, pray tell, ever cared what Trump the New York real estate developer thought about our military plans for Iraq? Why not just ask Joe the doorman at 30 E. 76th Street? Or the cashier at Madison Avenue's 3 Guys Restaurant?

Today, let's face it, everybody's against it after they were for it.

Clinton seems to have abandoned even her qualifying trope for voting for the Iraq invasion -- based on the intelligence we had at the time. At the forum, rising from her seat, she simply and solemnly intoned that it "was a mistake."

This was a noteworthy moment, obviously premeditated in anticipation of the question, and seems to have been choreographed to convey statesmanlike buck-stops-here gravitas. A curious choice when speaking to the military audience gathered and an unqualified obscenity to the ears of families whose loved ones perished. Why not use the opportunity to say that as commander in chief, her first order of business would be to ensure no such intelligence failure ever happens again?

Similarly curious was Trump's response outlining his qualifications to command the military: "I've built a great company." For real? He missed an obvious opening to say something thoughtful and original that highlights what he has over his opponent -- a record of dealmaking and negotiation. He had a chance to create a new narrative: If war is a failure of diplomacy, then Trump could say he's uniquely qualified to use his talents to end all wars.

This isn't necessarily so, but it sure beats his usual campaign Big Talk about nukes and nationalistic jingoism. Instead, he essentially finessed the forum by saying so little of substance that no one's the wiser and his supporters can continue to invent whatever fantasy narrative gets them through the night. Including, it would seem, that it's OK for the Republican nominee to blow kisses at Vladimir Putin, whom Mitt Romney long ago, and to much eye-rolling, identified as our greatest geopolitical foe.

Not to Trump, who declared Wednesday that Putin is a far better leader for Russia than Barack Obama has been for the U.S. Never mind that Putin -- former KGB officer, aggressor, oppressor, autocrat and, yes, dictator -- leads in part by ensuring that his opponents cease breathing. Is this really Trump's idea of leadership? What could go wrong?

To distill the week: Clinton proved herself knowledgeable, if foggy, and experienced in public affairs, as well as in artifice and deceit. Trump is a substance-free figment of his own imagination, whose stated reason for running for president is that he thinks he can win. Finally, Johnson is a former governor who stopped smoking pot to run for commander in chief because a crow landed on his shoulder in the New Mexico desert and whispered in his ear that he should.

Missing Romney yet?
Yes, dispatch. I believe I am way too high

STORM LAKE, Iowa -- Joseph Hellers "Catch-22" famously quoted, Just because youre paranoid, doesnt mean theyre not after you.

But when the paranoia is meth-related, then theres probably a good chance they really arent after you and you may need to sleep it off.

Storm Lake police say that 24-year-old Uriel Salcido called police Wednesday morning and said he was being chased by a man with a gun.

A press release issued by the department said Salcido was not sure where he was, but was hiding in a garage. He further advised that the gunman was trying to break into the garage.

Police searched for the armed man and the supposed victim  Salcido  for several minutes before locating Salcido in a garage at 1012 Geneseo St. Police, however, did not find an armed suspect.

The owners of the home where Salcido took refuge did not know him.

Police determined that Salcido earlier had been at a residence in the 1000 block of Witter Street asking for a phone and fled from the residence when given the phone. Police found the phone in his possession.

After further investigation, police determined that Salcido was under the influence of methamphetamine and was delusional.

He was arrested and charged with making a false report to law enforcement, theft, criminal trespass and public intoxication, all misdemeanors.

A pond-ness for lying to police

You know that movie "Parent Trap" where the sisters switched identities? Yeah, this is like that. Except with brothers. And one brother did not consent to the idea while the one that did hid in a pond to avoid authorities.

David Clark, 37 of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, faces a felony charge of escape from custody as well as misdemeanors for providing false identification and interference with official acts.

The Lyon County Sheriffs Office said Clark was involved in a disturbance at Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Iowa, and provided police with his brothers name because Clark had an active felony warrant for his arrest out of Minnesota.

Police soon realized Clark was wanted and attempted to take him into custody. Clark was able to flee on foot. He ran into a pond and concealed himself in foliage surrounding the pond.

Law enforcement officers were able to place Clark under arrest after he spent nearly two hours in the water.
1. Hot! Hot! Hot!

The annual Chili & Salsa Cook-Off is back! Now in its 23rd year, the event allows guests to visit and taste a wide variety of hot chili recipes and zesty salsas. Participants compete for $2,000 cash as well as other prizes. As a taster, you can cast your vote on who has the best eats. There's live music and a zone for kids to partake in crafts and other activities. All proceeds go towards Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland. Join in on the fun at 11 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 17) in Battery Park at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City.

2. Rock 'n' Roar

The incredible Shawn James and The Shapeshifters are returning to Sioux City. This band is easily a favorite among locals with its unique sound and exciting live shows paired with Shawn James' soulful vocals. You'd be doing yourself a favor by checking out this band at 9 p.m. Friday (Sept. 16) at The Chesterfield. Local band Port Nocturnal will be opening the show.

3. Make way for the theater

Local theaters are back with new seasons of shows. Kicking off the fun is the Sioux City Community Theatre's "The Drowsy Chaperone." This "musical within a comedy" features hilarious performances and lots of fun songs that are sure to get stuck in your head by the end of the night. Lamb Theatre will release its season opener "Feathers and Teeth" as well, taking a horror comedy approach instead. Both shows open on Friday (Sept. 16).

4. Six more months

In just six short months, it will finally be St. Patrick's Day! That calls for celebration. Drinks all around! The folks over at Marty's Tap are throwing a Halfway to St. Patty's Day Party for those looking to get in touch with their Irish heritage (or just drink). There's food, raffles and drink specials, and the proceeds go towards the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee. Irish Stranger (formerly Canadian Stranger) will provide the music. See you all at 6 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 17) at Marty's Tap.

5. Walk to support

Help the Alzheimer's Association raise awareness and funds for care by simply walking around Siouxland. The Walk to End Alzheimer's allows you to register for this large event, which has garnered tremendous support over the years. This all-ages, all-ability event begins at 2 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 18) at Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center. Registration begins at 1 p.m.

6. History lesson

There are more people than just students learning at Morningside College. Visitors at the Eppley Art Gallery are greeted with a glimpse of World War II history thanks to the WWII poster exhibit. Open at noon every day except Sundays, the exhibit features classic posters from the State Historical Museum of Iowa. Check out the display before it's gone Oct. 6.
AbbVie Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals in the worldwide. The company offers HUMIRA, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behcet's diseases; SKYRIZI to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults; RINVOQ, a JAK inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients; IMBRUVICA to treat adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and VENCLEXTA, a BCL-2 inhibitor used to treat adults with CLL or SLL; and MAVYRET to treat patients with chronic HCV genotype 1-6 infection. It also provides CREON, a pancreatic enzyme therapy for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; Synthroid used in the treatment of hypothyroidism; Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation; Lupron for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids; and Botox therapeutic. In addition, the company offers ORILISSA, a nonpeptide small molecule gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist for women with moderate to severe endometriosis pain; Duopa and Duodopa, a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel to treat Parkinson's disease; Lumigan/Ganfort, a bimatoprost ophthalmic solution for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) or ocular hypertension; Ubrelvy to treat migraine with or without aura in adults; Alphagan/ Combigan, an alpha-adrenergic receptor agonist for the reduction of IOP in patients with OAG; and Restasis, a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant to increase tear production, as well as other eye care products. AbbVie Inc. has a research collaboration with Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.
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Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.

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GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores for, and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic oil, and bitumen. As of December 31, 2021, this segment had 386 million oil-equivalent barrels of proved undeveloped reserves. The Downstream segment is involved in the transportation and refining of crude oil, blending of refined products and the distribution, and marketing of refined products. It also transports crude oil to refineries by contracted pipelines, common carrier pipelines, and rail; maintains a distribution system to move petroleum products to market by pipeline, tanker, rail, and road transport; and owns and operates fuel terminals, natural gas liquids, and products pipelines in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. In addition, this segment markets and supplies petroleum products to motoring public through approximately 2,400 Esso and Mobil-branded sites. Further, it sells petroleum products, including fuel, asphalt, and lubricants for industrial and transportation customers, independent marketers, and resellers, as well as other refiners serving the agriculture, residential heating, and commercial markets through branded fuel and lubricant resellers. The Chemical segment manufactures and markets various petrochemicals, benzene, aromatic and aliphatic solvents, plasticizer intermediates, and polyethylene resin. Imperial Oil Limited has a strategic agreement with E3 Metals Corp. to advance a lithium-extraction pilot in Alberta. The company was incorporated in 1880 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Imperial Oil Limited is a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
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...
SUNBURY, Pa.

(Sept. 13, 2016)Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK), a Mid-Atlantic food retailer, today announced plans to convert 38 Food Lion supermarket locations to Weis Markets stores. The Company has completed the purchase of these locations operating in the states of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, and plans to complete the conversion process by the end of October."Once the conversions are completed over the next two months, we will have nearly doubled our Maryland store count and expanded into Virginia and Delaware," said Kurt Schertle, Weis Markets' Chief Operating Officer. "Our goal is to build on our advantages as a locally focused retailer that offers a strong combination of quality, value and service. As part of this commitment, we plan to expand variety in every department."Weis Markets is planning to hire more than 2,000 current Food Lion employees. "We are reaching out to the Food Lion associates who work in these stores and look forward to hiring and ultimately welcoming them to our company," continued Schertle. "It's an exciting time for our company as we grow and expand into new territories, and we're grateful to our associates and loyal customers for their continued support."This week, Weis Markets will convert Food Lion units in Cumberland, Frostburg, Owings Mill, Eldersburg and Reisterstown, Maryland and will reopen them on Friday, September 16. In the following week, it will convert Food Lion units in Columbia, Elkridge, Gaithersburg (2) and Mitchellville and with plans to reopen them on Friday, September 23.The newly converted stores will offer a variety of local products in addition to the more than 3,000 Weis brand products, which offer brand name quality at an affordable price. Weis Markets has a long-standing history with local farmers and will continue to partner with local growers to provide shoppers with fresh and affordable food, including a wide selection of organic produce, baked goods, quality meats and fresh dairy items.This is the Company's second major acquisition in 2016. In August, it completed the conversion of five Mars Super Markets in Baltimore County, Maryland. Once the deals are complete, Weis Markets will have increased the number of its operating stores by more than 25 percent and will operate 204 stores in seven states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia.Weis Markets plans to close and reopen each location quickly and efficiently to ensure that customers are faced with little inconvenience. This process is expected to take less than a week for each location. The following is a complete list of former Food Lion store locations Weis Markets intends to convert this fall.15300 Mcmullen Hwy SW, Cumberland, MD17600 Old National Sq Pike, Frostburg, MD9251 Lakeside Boulevard, Owings Mill, MD6375 Monroe Avenue, Eldersburg, MD10 Village Center Road, Reisterstown, MD5896 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia, MD6551 Waterloo Road, Elkridge, MD16567 South Frederick Road, Gaithersburg, MD883 Russell Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD12100 Central Avenue, Mitchellville, MD3261 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD5715 Crain Highway, Upper Marlboro, MD750 Prince Frederick Blvd, Prince Frederick, MD100 Drury Drive, La Plata, MD15789 Livingston Road, Accokeek, MD210 H G Trueman Road, Lusby, MD13300 H G Trueman Road, Solomons, MD45315 Alton Lane, California, MD20995 Point Lookout Road, Callaway, MD19 St. Mary's Square, Lexington Park, MD17232 N Village Main Blvd, Lewes, DE24832 John J Williams Hwy, Millsboro, DE36731 Old Mill Road, Millville, DE19287 Miller Road, Rehoboth Beach, DE219 Marlboro Avenue, Easton, MD505 Meadowbrook Shopping Center, Culpeper, VA540 Culpeper Town Mall, Culpeper, VA905 Garrisonville Road, Stafford, VA2612 Jefferson Davis Highway, Stafford, VA282 Deacon Road, Fredericksburg, VA4153 Plank Road, Fredericksburg, VA515 Jefferson Davis Highway, Fredericksburg, VA736 Warrenton Road, Fredericksburg, VA10871 Tidewater Trail, Fredericksburg, VA10611 Courthouse Road, Fredericksburg, VA10601 Spotsylvania Avenue, Fredericksburg, VA7100 Salem Fields Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA9801 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania, VAFounded in 1912, Weis Markets, Inc. is a Mid Atlantic food retailer operating 166 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia. For more information, please visit: WeisMarkets.com.
The first house to be installed at Greenwell in Hollywood which will house homeless veterans.

Monday, August 22, marked the official placement date of the first home to be used by a homeless veteran to live in while re-establishing their lives at Greenwell in Hollywood. Reaching a milestone such as this is the ultimate example of community collaboration. As this collaborative effort continues, it is just the first step toward helping provide homes for all those who have served us. This small step is just the beginning of the many needed to help end homelessness for our local veterans.Patuxent Habitat for Humanity, Three Oaks Center, Dr. James A. Forrest Technology Center and the Greenwell Foundation reach the first major milestone in their initiative with the help of Dan Orwig, owner of First Rate Construction as he transported the home from the James A. Forrest Tech Center and placed it at Greenwell.The Three Oaks Center has assisted the Greenwell Foundation with refinement of the program to create the overall best environment for the veterans while they live on the nearly 600 acres of landscape.Students at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center spent their 2015-2016 school year building out the exterior of the home.Patuxent Habitat for Humanity has partnered to help finish the interior of the home, and has provided assistance from local contractors. Andy Shizak, owner of Blake Creek Design, John Quirk from A Better Plumber, Austin Davis, Vice President of W.M. Davis, Inc., are the local contractors that have agreed to assist us with the completion of this home. Patuxent Habitat for Humanity is providing direct volunteer support and knowledge about the best building practices for this unique type of home.The Patuxent River Chapter of the United States Navy Supply Corp Association cleared the land to prepare it for the home and the United States Naval Academy Mid-Shipman Engineering Leadership students are designing and building a deck for the home. The local Junior Navy ROTC will plant landscaping that provides both privacy and beauty for the veteran.While Three Oaks Center continues to provide guidance and Patuxent Habitat for Humanity continues to support the efforts to finish this home, students from the Dr. James A Forrest Technology Center will begin construction on the second home. Patuxent Habitat for Humanity continues to provide assistance to our local veterans through our Veterans Critical Home Repair Program. Through this program we have provided critical home repairs to over 17 local veterans, affording them the opportunity to age in place gracefully. We ask that you join in all of our efforts as volunteers, donors or advocates.Community sponsors, SAIC, AMEWAS, GTMR, Inc., J.F. Taylor, Hollywood Lions Club, Northrop Grumman, Precise Systems, Inc., Southernwood Roofing & Siding, Wyle, Elks Lodge of St. Mary's County, Compass Systems, Inc., Toyota of Southern Maryland, Smartronix, Inc., Winter's Heating & Cooling and an anonymous donor have all stood behind this initiative from the beginning. The support of these sponsors has directly purchased the materials necessary to build the first home.
John T. Mitchell poses with his car's "MIERDA" license plate, which the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration recalled in 2011. The plate is the subject of a case in the Maryland Court of Appeals. Sept. 14, 2016. (Courtesy photo from John T. Mitchell.)

ANNAPOLIS

(Sept. 15, 2016)The Maryland Court of Appeals is considering whether the state's Motor Vehicle Administration acted unconstitutionally in recalling vanity license plates sporting a Spanish scatological word.In 2009, John T. Mitchell of Accokeek, Maryland, requested and received vanity license plates from the Maryland MVA that read "MIERDA," a Spanish term that translates to "shit" or "junk."It was not until December 2011 that he received a letter from the Motor Vehicle Administration stating that his plates were issued in error and asking that Mitchell return them."I thought it was a possibility I might get a letter explaining why they wouldn't issue it, but I got the tag in the mail, no issues with it," Mitchell said.Maryland Assistant Attorney General Neil Jacobs, who represented the MVA in the most recent appeal, referred in court to an "Objectionable Plate List" that the MVA maintains. Though not available to the public through the MVA, The Baltimore Sun published the list in 2015, Jacobs said.The list, as published [ github.com/baltimore-sun-data/banned-license-plates/blob/master/full-csv ], contains "MIERDA" as well as at least 13 character combinations that include the word "SHIT" and numerous other variations of the word."It builds over timeAll different combinations of derogatory terms, scatological terms, obscenities that can be created by the manipulation of letters and numbers," Jacobs said in court.Mitchell, who lived in Chile as a child and is a native Spanish speaker, thinks 'mierda' is "perfectly innocuous and a cute word."The word, Mitchell argued, is not obscene under Maryland state law because it does not depict sexual content. While the Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled that "mierda" is not an obscene word, the Motor Vehicle Administration, as an entity of the state, may restrict uses of profanity, even if it is not obscene language."These words can vary based on the language, based on the culture and based on the era we happen to be living in," Mitchell said.Spanish words can have different meanings and uses across the 20 countries in which Spanish is the official language or any region where people speak Spanish. What refers to a drinking straw in Colombia is slang for a marijuana joint in Puerto Rico.The MVA has rejected or banned vanity plates with characters that may appear to identify cars as belonging to government agencies or emergency services. The MVA also imposes logistical restrictions, like how many characters fit on a plate.The issue before the court rests on whether the characters on vanity license plates are government speech, and on the classification of license plates as a public forum.Mark Graber, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said that vanity license plates are "in part the state delivering the message," and that "while the state cannot prevent you from speaking, when the state delivers a message, the state can determine what message the state wants to deliver.""I was a little bit offended that a progressive state like Maryland would be, in my view, violating First Amendment rights," Mitchell said. "The really important principle for me is we can't have the state censoring speech."Mitchell, a First Amendment and copyright lawyer in Washington, D.C., represented himself throughout the case, appearing before an administrative law judge, arguing at the Court of Special Appeals in 2014 ( mdcourts.gov/opinions/cosa/2015/0713s14.pdf ) and delivering oral arguments before Maryland's highest court Sept. 7.The state's highest court is scheduled to confer on Sept. 27, and a decision will follow, on a date chosen at the court's discretion.The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration website states that "The MVA reserves the right to decline a requested message because it has already been issued or because it is objectionable." ( www.mva.maryland.gov/vehicles/licenseplates/personalized-license-plates.htm Despite the MVA request that he return the plates more than six years ago, Mitchell continues to use the plates on his car."I made it a point to have documentation that there is a case ongoing in case a police officer pulls me over and says I need different tags," Mitchell said.
ROCKVILLE, Md.

(Sept. 15, 2016)Scheer Partners, based in Rockville, announced the sale of the 74,000 square foot retail shopping center located at 40845 Merchants Lane in Leonardtown known as The Shoppes of Breton Bay. The property sold for an undisclosed price. Sandra Hunt, Vice president of Investment Sales brokered the transaction and Old Line Bank provided the financing.The seller, Breton Bay LLC, sold the property to SJS-Breton Bay LLC. The property is tenanted by McKay's Market, World Gym, Papa John's, Pet Valu, Hong Kong Buffet, Arby's, Bernies Beauty Salon, Hollywood Nails and Southern Maryland Ophthalmology. The buyer will continue to maintain the property's aesthetic architecture while making some immediate improvements to the landscaping and parking areas.The property is situated on approximately 14 acres and is seven miles from the Patuxent Naval Air Station in St. Mary's County, an $18 billion dollar economic engine and one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Maryland.For a copy of the Maryland property database record for the property as of Sept. 15, 2016, click here
Kristina Rickard was just 15 years old when she started college at the College of Southern Maryland through the dual enrollment program. Since then, Rickard has thrived. Now a physicist for Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR, she has made strides professionally and personally, and has even invented and created a technology to capture energy from sound -- a feat that many people have told her was impossible. Here she shows her home workshop where her efforts began.

LA PLATA, Md.

(Sept. 15, 2016)Kristina Rickard was just 15 years old when she started college. Already a student at Great Mills High School, Rickard began her higher education journey at the College of Southern Maryland through the dual enrollment program.Since that time, Rickard has thrived. Now a physicist for Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR, she has made strides professionally and personally, and has even invented and created a technology to capture energy from sounda feat that many people have told her was impossible.But Rickard is not interested in hearing what others say is impossible.The Lexington Park resident has spent more than a decade on a fast track to successmore if you count the foundation her parents gave her to work hard and be open to new ideasand her time at CSM gave her a leg up when it came to competing for schools and jobs.Brian Hammond, CSM's director of admissions, said stories like Rickard's are exactly what the dual enrollment program is meant to accomplish. "Kristina is definitely a testament to the program," he said.Dual enrollment courses are a critical component in CSM's efforts to provide high school students with the early college experience. CSM has offered early admissions enrollment for high school juniors and seniors since 1980 and the program has evolved over the years. In Fall 2007 the college began waiving 50 percent of its tuition for dual enrolled students, and today, CSM's dually enrolled students are able to take their courses on campus, online, at their high school or virtually using video teleconferencing technology.Rickard is not the only person in her family who has taken advantage of dual enrollment. In fact, all three of her brothers did so, and it was a critical component in their success, says her father, Jeffrey W. Dronenburg Sr. Her oldest brother, Jeffrey Jr., enrolled when he was a senior in high school."It made so much sense because it was absolutely college credit," Dronenburg Sr. said. College credits at CSM are guaranteed to transfer to dozens of Maryland schools, and are accepted at many schools outside the state. "It's a phenomenal opportunity. They can learn in a safe environment with smaller classes, not 250 people in an auditorium.  Real learning takes place in the classroom and it's a real way to kickstart the college experience." From his perspective, the college classes were a great way for his children to gauge what they really wanted to do, and to makes those decisions while still living at home and before they went off to college far away.Rickard was already performing well in high school when she started at CSM, where she took three calculus classes, a college English class, a history class and more. She had finished these classes and had considerable college credit by the time she graduated high school, putting her far ahead of many of her competitors when she applied for the Department of Defense's SMART Scholarship. Winning that scholarship paid her full tuition at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs."There were thousands of applicants for that scholarship, and only seven physicists were selected," Rickard said. She was one of those seven, partly because she had already shown that she was dedicated to school and knew how to succeed in college.Also, she found that she was able to do better in high school because of her experience at CSM. Rickard had been home schooled for a while in elementary school while her family was overseas, and she had enjoyed the ability to learn at her own pace. In high school, taking a class for an entire year felt for her like stretching the material out to suit the school year, rather than learning and moving on. At CSM with a class lasting a semester, she found the pace to be much faster. That helped keep Rickard's interest in the subject, and her good grades in dual enrollment translated to a higher GPA at Great Mills High School.She said she appreciated CSM's smaller class sizes, knowing that in a subject like calculus her classes would have included 300 people at a typical university. "It meant I had a lot less stress and a lot more learning," she said.Hammond said Rickard's experience is what many students report. Dual enrollment allows students to learn what it's like to be on a college campus, as well as how to meet the expectations of professorsall while still under the guidance of their parents and high school resources."This way, they're not just tossed into the pool by themselves," Hammond said. "It's kind of like dipping your toe into the water first and seeing what it's like. They know what they're getting into before they get there."After college, Rickard went to NAVAIR. She has just finished fulfilling a three-year service commitment to work for the U.S. Navy as a civilian in exchange for the SMART Scholarship. And being with NAVAIR has brought that acoustic energy invention to life.The invention has been a dream of Rickard's since she was 15. She and her family were playing a dinner-time game where each of them would take a turn at mentally creating something and then talking about how they would do it. The only rule was that there were no boundariesthey had to come up with the idea first, and then start working out how to make it happen. Each family member had a tendency to talk about things they were interested in and come up with ideas related to that, and for Rickard, it was music."I was a musician and I was learning about speakers," she said. She was gaining an understanding of how microphones workelectricity goes into the speaker and amplifies the sound. She wondered what would happen if the route was reversedsound goes in, electricity comes out. From that dinner table game, an idea was born, an idea that she took to the science fair her senior year.That was when the naysayers showed up.Through extensive research and experiments, during which her parents' living room was packed full of about 30 speakers and her family had to wander the house wearing ear protection, Rickard was able to create proof of concept, which is the main requirement at the science fair. "By the end of the project, I showed that I could reverse the operation of a speaker and I researched how you could charge the batteries. I showed it could work. And it was amazing to me how many people came to my booth at the science fair and said it was not possible.""It was widely accepted that it was impossible but I had proven you could do it," she said.For the next few years, Rickard never let up on her invention. As she was taking classes at CSM, she was always thinking about how the concepts she learned could be applied to it. In Colorado, she kept thinking about it. When she started at NAVAIR, it was at the top of her mind. Then, finally, she had the opportunity to make it happen.NAVAIR has a program called the Innovation Challenge, in which teams of workers get together and have six months to make something new. Rickard found a team of three other people who were willing to see her vision, or at least to try it out and see if they could do it. Once her team was in place, Rickard did her best to step back and let the team work. In fact, she was not the team leader on the project, even though it was her idea."I was too emotionally invested, and I knew that if I was the leader, I would want to push the team in the way I wanted to go instead of the way that the project needed to go. I knew it could mean I had blinders on," she said.Rick Tarr, who works in the technology transfer office at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, said Rickard was a great match for the command's inaugural NAVAIR Innovation Challenge, which is a competitive initiative in which teams of junior employees propose their concepts.NAWCAD is finding opportunities to partner with CSM and other colleges and universities in a variety of ways. In the past, NAWCAD has been able to employ university students to help with inventions like Rickard's. "We have thousands of scientists and engineers solving military problems, and when they do that, they invent things," he said. From there, the Navy works to make sure those inventors are properly compensated and that the products are not solely used in the military, but in the civilian marketplace as well.Tarr said NAWCAD's partnerships with colleges are beneficial to all involved. "We're producing a workforce that is staying in Southern Maryland, like Kristina is doing," he said. "We see CSM as an integral part of that ecosystem."Because of all these pieces in the puzzle, Rickard went from a family game around the dinner table to NAVAIR. Now, after all her dreaming, thinking, researching, experimenting and working, the NavNoiseX exists and is fully operational as a prototype. The invention looks nothing like Rickard expected it to, but it performs exactly as it should and as she said it would in that high school science fair in 2009."The MIT Energy Club vice president was recently asked if acoustic energy harvesting was possible, to which he answered no, and listed several reasons why it was impossible. Well, I took each of his reasons, each of his challenges, and made those excuses into project milestones. And for all the people who said I couldn't do it? I did."
WASHINGTON

(Sept. 15, 2016)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., is being awardedfor modification P00011 to a previously awarded, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-13-D-0010) to exercise option for contractor-owned and -operated aircraft services in support of the Contracted Air Services (CAS) program. The CAS program provides aerial refueling services for Navy, other Department of Defense and government agencies, the Foreign Military Sales program and government contractors. Work will be performed at Norfolk, Virginia (45 percent); Victorville, California (35 percent); and at various locations outside the continental U.S., including Guam, Denmark, Belgium, and the United Kingdom (20 percent). Work is expected to be completed by September 2017. Fiscal 2016 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,710,515 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is being awardedfor fixed-price incentive fee order 0005 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0003) for the manufacture and delivery of 18 AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars for Navy F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. In addition, this order provides for the procurement of two AN/APG-79 AESA radars in support of testing associated with the AESA configuration D upgrade, and one AN/APG-79 radar for the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Forest, Mississippi (48 percent); Dallas, Texas (31 percent); El Segundo, California (13 percent); and Andover, Massachusetts (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2018. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy); and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $63,027,735 will be obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($60,026,415; 95 percent); and the government of Australia ($3,001,320; 5 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The, is the contracting activity., is being awarded afirm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Through Life Support Phase III efforts for 24 Royal Australian Navy MH-60R aircraft for the government of Australia under the Foreign Military Sales program. This effort includes coincidental maintenance activities (inclusive of carried forward unserviceability, over and above maintenance discrepancy corrections, technical directives incorporation, and surge maintenance support), phased maintenance for Phases A, B, C and D, spindle repair, and program management tasking. Work will be performed in Australia (95 percent); Owego, New York (2 percent); Stratford, Connecticut (2 percent); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $28,111,373 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-4 . The, is the contracting activity (N00019-16-D-0062)., is being awarded amodification to a previously awarded, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-14-D-0025) for the procurement of 82 APX-111(V) Mode 5 Combined Interrogator Transponders (CIT) and 154 Mode 5 CIT upgrade kits for the Navy. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York (79 percent); and Austin, Texas (21 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2018. Fiscal 2014, 2015, and 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,154,822 will be obligated at time of award, $716,425 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity.
The Christian Right claims that religious freedom depends on a religious refusal to bake a wedding cake. They also heavily supported laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. The refused wedding cake occurs in a for-profit secular activity. The laws prohibiting same-sex marriage directly interfered with the religious activity of MCC and other inclusive religions.

The Christian right wants to pit LGBT rights against their claimed religious rights. Therefore, it becomes important for the LGBT communities to understand religious freedom issues.

Unpopular opinions need more protection than popular opinions do. Similarly, stigmatized religious minorities need more protection than safe religious majorities do.

At least three religious minorities currently have contested religious freedom issues: Native American religions, Islam, and the Pagan revival. A fourth tradition, Santeria, has recently escaped from interference, at least in South Florida. Like LGBT identity, religious identity lacks outward markers.

Religious minorities face some of the same issues as LGBT people do. People from both groups can pass, and have complex, managed identities with disclosure issues.

Holidays

The Christian calendar forms the basis for the standard U.S. work week and school calendars. Sundays, Christmas, and Easter are never workdays in the standard workweek. This creates problems for religious Jews, Muslims, Pagans, and other non-Christians. Some use their vacation days for their religious holidays. Christians do not have to sacrifice vacation days for their religious holidays. Requesting days off requires either disclosing or lying to follow your religious tradition.

The Native American Religions Traditions and the U.S. Legal Tradition

Some, but not all, Native American Tribes (Nations) historically had socially valued roles in which LGBT people could be comfortable. In 1990, LGBT Native Americans decided to use the English term two-spirit, as a pan-Indian term for these roles.

Many Native Americans today follow traditional religious practices. Three major areas of conflict occur between Native American religions and U.S. culture. First, some Native American religious practices fuse rite and location. Some religious rites can only occur in specific locations, which may lie outside of reservations. If these sites became disturbed or polluted, parts of Native American religion would disappear. Second, some sacred objects such as eagle feathers, involve endangered species. Third, some Native American religious practices involve ritual use of criminalized drugs such as peyote.

The current conflict with the Dakota Access Pipeline Project involves the fusion of rite and location. It will transport oil from North Dakota to Illinois, crossing two rivers. Members of the Sioux (Dakota) Nation charge that the pipeline will pollute those rivers and disturb their sacred sites. The Dakota have set up a Spirit Camp near the Standing Rock Reservation. After months of exchanging legal motions, Dakotas surged onto the construction site on August 16, 2016. Work has stopped on the pipeline.

Supreme Court rulings in the 80s and 90s narrowed earlier concepts of religious freedom. In one case, the Court defined a substantial burden as a fine, an imprisonment, or a benefit denied. The Court excluded pollution of sacred land from their definition of a substantial burden, even if that insubstantial burden caused parts of Native American religion to disappear.

The second case involved two members of the Native American Church. When drug testing found peyote in their system, the two were fired. The ingestion of peyote forms the central rite of the Native American Church, much as Communion does for Catholics.

The Court held that religiously neutral laws fail to violate the First Amendment. In order to avoid First Amendment Issues, the laws have to fulfill two criteria. The law has to apply to all citizens and fulfill a compelling state interest.

These two decisions produced an unusual bipartisan coalition. Congress passed The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993. RFRA refined the concept of strict scrutiny. The government has to prove two things to avoid a violation of the First Amendment. The government, not the aggrieved religion, has the burden of proof. First, the law has to be necessary to further a compelling government interest. Second, the law must be the least restrictive method to achieve that interest.

RFRAs arose from these conflicts between Native American religions and the Federal Government. Now RFRAs form the legal basis of religious freedom law. Hobby Lobby used RFRA to challenge The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Twenty states have passed state RFRAs.

Recently, a Michigan Court ruled that a funeral home could fire a transitioning employee under RFRA. The court held that the government had failed to prove that an EEOC suit was the least restrictive means to enforce its compelling interest in protecting LGBT people from discrimination. While higher courts could reject this ruling, it stands for now.

Santeria

While slaveholders prevented enslaved Africans from maintaining African customs and languages, some did survive. In the Caribbean and Louisiana, more African traditions survived by hiding within another religion. African traditions, beliefs, and practices became embedded inside a Catholic practice. Patron saints masked the god-like African Orishas.

In Cuba, these traditions have the name, Santeria. Cuban migrations have brought this hidden tradition to Florida. Some people into Santeria consider themselves Christians. Others consider themselves to be practicing a traditional African religion.

Santeria has different sub-traditions. While some sub-traditions have LGBT people in leadership positions, others are much less welcoming. Manny Tejeda-Moreno, PhD, a social science researcher focusing on religious discrimination, estimates that about 10 percent of all people into Santeria would identify as LGBT.

Santeria, a minority religion, is associated with a stigmatized group. Some people think of Santeria as a lesser religion, as they think of Africans as a lesser race. Cities enacted laws to bar Santeria practice within city limits. These laws targeted animal sacrifice. The Court decision of 1993 in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v City of Hialeah voided all such laws. After that decision, official harassment ceased.

Santeria can involve ritual animal sacrifices to improve someones relationship with an Orisha. These sacrifices occur rarely. Tejeda-Moreno described this discomfort, It's part of overall hypocrisy of wanting our food packaged without any blood.

Tejeda-Moreno knew of no current cases of discrimination against people into Santeria.

Islam and Islamophobia

Like the largest Christian denominations, mainstream Islam has a bad record on LGBT issues. The Islamic State, Boko Haram, and Al-Qaeda are infinitely worse. Progressive pro-LGBT Muslims do exist, but their number is unknown. Just as LGBT Catholics, Mormons, and Southern Baptists can exist within hostile religious cultures, so can LGBT Moslems. As LGBT people have more reason to flee Syria and Iraq than others do, a higher percentage of LGBT people probably have become refugees than any other group. Most of us have not even thought about LGBT refugee rights.

U.S. bias against Islam probably results from three factors. First, most people in the U.S. lack familiarity with Islam or individual Muslims. Second, many African-Americans have converted to Islam, which many whites perceive as a rejection of U.S. culture. Third, violent, apocalyptic death cults, such as The Islamic State, Boko Haram, and Al-Queda, have claimed that Islam justifies their war crimes. As most of the people that they have killed are Muslim, large numbers of Muslims reject that claim.

A large number of people in the U.S. feel OK about expressing open hostility towards Muslims. They conflate all 1.6 billion Muslims in the world with the miniscule number in the violent, apocalyptic death cults.

People have opposed mosque construction in Wilson, Wis., Newton County, Ga., Murphysboro, Tenn., and other locations. Most attempts to block church construction involve religiously neutral concerns, like parking. In these cases, however, people objected to Islam itself. In Wilson, Wis., a county commissioner asked whether the proposed mosque would train people in the use of weapons. In Murphysboro, a former GOP Governor, Ron Ramsey, asked whether Islam was a religion or a cult. Pat Robertson chimed in, wondering if the Islamic takeover of the US was imminent. Eventually, the County gave permission to build the mosque in Murphysboro.

On May 29, 2015, an armed anti-Muslim demonstration of 200, Rally for Free Speech occurred in Phoenix, Ariz. About the same number of counter-protestors met them. As Arizona allows the open carrying of firearms, all this was legal. The right to free speech protects the demonstration. The display of guns, however, may cross over to harassment and attempted intimidation. That mosque had already publically condemned terrorist violence.

The number of complaints of anti-Moslem work-place discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rose from 330 in 2001 to 880 in 2011.

On Aug. 13, a Queens Imam and his assistant were killed leaving their mosque. A New York Grand Jury indicted Oscar Morel, 35, of Brooklyn for the murder. Police are investigating this murder as a potential hate crime. As of press time, the police have not released a motive.

The Pagan Revival

Paganism supposedly died out, with Christianity replacing it. In the last half century, Euro-American Paganism has begun to revive. The adjective Euro-American distinguishes this revival from living traditional religions.

Generally, Euro-American Paganism has welcomed LGBT members. Tejeda-Moreno estimates that about 20 percent of Pagans would identify as LGBT.

Tejeda-Moreno discussed the results of a survey about Pagans in the workplace. Most Pagans reported a great deal of anxiety about disclosure. Those who had disclosed reported slights such as being invited to Christian centered prayers prior to meals. Insults that are more serious involved praying for the salvation of the Pagan.

Tejeda-Moreno reported, Many Pagans prefer not to disclose in the workplace because they do not want to confront the negative stereotypes of their bosses and other workers. The harassment, at least in South Florida, remains verbal and does not last long.

The Pagan revival has had to fight to gain recognition as a religion. It took a seven-year legal and political battle before the Veterans Administration (VA) allowed pentacles on grave markers of Pagan veterans. Since the VA began to allow these markers, over 100 have been distributed.

Pagans have had to struggle to be recognized as needing prison and hospital chaplains. The progressive state of California only allows paid Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American chaplains in its prison system.

Pagan inmates in California prisons face many problems. Guards and other prisoners harass Pagan prisoners. Guards have placed Pagan inmates into solitary confinement for Pagan practices.

In 2008, Patrick McCollum testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about inmates religious rights. According to McCollum, prison guards refused to take an inmate with cancer to chemotherapy unless he removed his pentacle. The inmate missed chemotherapy. McCollum charged that prison officials tend to view all actions using a monotheistic lens.

When couples with children break up, anti-Pagan bias sometimes becomes an issue in child custody. Courts have declared some Pagan parents to be unfit parent solely based on their religion. Accusations of raising children as Pagans have triggered Childrens Protective Services investigations. In one case, authorities took a child from a Pagan home. They then placed the child in a foster group home that promoted Christianity.

Conclusion

It is not just the refused wedding cake.

Right-wing pharmacists could refuse to dispense PrEP, the morning after pill, or birth control. Right-wing landlords could refuse to rent to unmarried, same-sex, or intra-racial couples. As the Michigan ruling shows, the use of RFRA could justify firing someone for religious reasons.

This twisted use of RFRA could turn back years of civil rights work and not just for LGBT people. The more adept the LGBT political coalitions become in arguing religious freedom issue, the better the chance to defeat the Christian Right in the next chapter.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) provides help to anyone who feels they have been the victim of religious discrimination. Contact 212-549-2500 or www.aclu.org.

While the ACLU is always available, some religious traditions have their own civil rights organization.

If someone feels that they have been a victim of discrimination against Islam, they should contact the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) 202-488-8787 or www.cair.com.

For information on progressive Islam, visit http://www.mpvusa.org/ and http://www.patheos.com/blogs/quranalyzeit/2014/11/15/who-are-progressive-muslims-and-what-do-they-believe.

If someone feels they have been a victim of anti-Pagan discrimination, they should contact Lady Liberty League. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or visit https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/lady-liberty-league/lady-liberty-league . They could also contact 608 924-2216, or The Wild Hunt at http://wildhunt.org/contact.
The 21st International AIDS Conference occurred in Durban, South Africa from July 18 through July 22. It had the theme Access Equity Rights Now.

Out of all the conference papers, African scientists wrote about a third and women the majority. More than 15,000 people from 153 countries attended the face-to-face conference. The virtual conference tweeted 144,000 times. While about 34,000 people visited the conferences website, its Facebook posts reached 726,268 people.

This every-other-year conference not only functions as a major scientific exchange. It also functions as a global meet-up for the HIV communities. Scientists, advocates, activists, and people living with AIDS or HIV (PLWAH) network at this event. Its location ensured that large numbers of PLWAH from Africa could attend.

Conflicting views and priorities emerged at this conference. While elites talk about ending AIDS by 2030, PLWAH lack access to HIV testing, prevention and treatment. Every year about 1 million people die from AIDS, a treatable disease. Globally, about 36.9 million people live with HIV or AIDS. More people, 19 million, are unaware of their HIV positive status, than have access to treatment, 15 million. Millions more at risk of HIV infection in resource-poor countries need access to PrEP, but global funding has begun to shrink.

On July 18, PLWAH, activists, and scientists marched through Durban to dramatize this conflict.

This march demanded the following: Provide full HIV treatment for all PLWAH; Create and maintain fully staffed and functional public healthcare systems; Remove patents from medicines and put medicines in the public domain; End discrimination and criminalization of key groups; and Increase funding for the global AIDS response.

The key groups in demand include gay men, sex workers, transgender women, injection drug users, migrants, and prisoners. Many sessions at the conference linked controlling HIV with decriminalizing these key groups.

The conference frequently reflected concerns similar to those of the march. Sessions described a new conception of human rights emerging from the response to HIV. This conception included a right to health care, rejected criminalization of key groups, and rejected HIV criminalization. While these criminalizing laws reflect cultural norms, they reinforce stigmas. Those stigmas form major barriers to testing and treatment, furthering the epidemic. The HIV epidemic has tragically shortened millions of lives, but the global response to HIV may redefine human rights.

Large numbers of PWLAH live in resource-poor countries, relying on donor funding. While increased access to treatment requires more money, international donors decreased their contributions in 2015. Michael Sidibe of UNAIDS said, Im scared because were seeing  for the first time in five years- a reduction in donor government funding for HIV. International donor funding declined from $8.6 billion in 2014 to $7.5 billion in 2015. Out of 14 international donor countries, 13 have reduced funding.

Jennifer Kates, of the Kaiser Family Foundation, attributed this decline to competing demands such as the refugee crisis and fiscal austerity.

This donor funding primarily provides services to the key groups in resource-poor countries, such as gay men in sub-Saharan Africa. Decreased funding could have devastating consequences for these key groups.

When elites talk about ending AIDS by 2030, it can sound very hollow to the key groups in resource-poor countries. The emergence of this conflict may give those groups a vice.

To get a feel for the 2016 AIDS conference as a meet-up for the global HIV communities, please visit Mark S. Kings video blogs from the conference, Bit.ly/2aD5E9J .

To read a summary of the entire conference, please visit, Bit.ly/2aanjAI .

To read the Kaiser Family Foundations report on donor funding, please visit, Kaiserf.am/2aAPA7c .

Follow Sean McShee on Twitter @SeanMcShee .
(WB) Hillary Clinton's controversial remark that half of Donald Trump's supporters belong in a "basket of deplorables" for espousing bigotry have contributed to a tulmultuous week for the Democratic presidential nominee, but her LGBT supporters insist her comments were accurate.

Clinton made the comments Friday at at high-dollar fundraiser in New York City, saying half of Trump's supporters are desperate for change, but the other half were "irredeemable" people whom she put in another category.

You could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Clinton said to laughter and applause. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic  you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that.

Richard Socarides, a gay New York City Democratic activist and Clinton supporter, said he wasn't present at the fundraiser, but understands why the candidate made the remarks.

"I totally understand where she was coming from," Socarides said. "Trump's entire campaign is based upon fear, anger and prejudice. It is deplorable. I think that's what she meant."

Criticized for their divisive nature, the controversial remarks  as well as Clinton's abrupt departure from a New York City event observing the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks for being sick and her failure to disclose her illness earlier  have led many pundits to say her campaign is facing its most challenging days.

Elizabeth Birch, a former head of the Human Rights Campaign and Clinton supporter present for the remarks at the fundraiser, said they were appropriate.

"Donald Trump routinely appeals to the baser instincts of voters," Birch said. "That is a matter of public record. Hillary Clinton is simply explaining that people who respond to that rhetoric respond to the racist, sexist and homophobic bait. None of this is a mystery."

Following her remarks, Clinton issued a statement seeking to retract her them  at least partially  but indicated the general thrust of her words is correct.

"Last night I was 'grossly generalistic,' and that's never a good idea," Clinton said. "I regret saying 'half'  that was wrong. But let's be clear, what's really deplorable is that Donald Trump hired a major advocate for the so-called 'alt-right' movement to run his campaign and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a champion of their values."

Lane Hudson, a gay Clinton supporter and D.C. Democratic activist, was similarly reluctant to articulate how many Trump supporters fall into the definition of "deplorables," but said the candidate was to right to call them out.

"I can't be sure what percentage of Trump supporters I would put in the 'basket of deplorables,' but I think it's fair game to categorize birthers, white supremacists, sexists, misogynists, xenophobes and homophobes as deplorable," Hudson said. "They do not represent the values of our nation and Hillary does us a service by naming it and shaming it."

Indeed, many polls suggest Clinton wasn't far off in her assessment of Trump supporters who subscribe to bigotry. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published in June found nearly half of Trump supporters describe black people as more "violent" than white people. In May, a Public Policy Polling poll found 59 percent of Trump supporters think President Obama wasn't born in the United States and only 13 percent believe hes a Christian. In February, another Public Policy Polling poll found one-third of Trump supporters in South Carolina would support banning gay people from entering the United States.

But the comments mark a departure for Clinton, who previously said she'd be a president for all Americans.

In her speech accepting the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, Clinton sought to reach out to a broad coalition and pledged to unite the country, not divide it further.

We have to heal the divides in our country, Clinton said. Not just on guns, but on race, immigration and more. That starts with listening to each other, hearing each other, trying, as best we can, to walk in each others shoes.

The Trump campaign has seized on the "basket of deplorables" remark as a gaffe and called on Clinton to apologize. Vice presidential candidate Mike Pence referenced the comments during his speech in D.C. at the anti-LGBT Values Voter Summit, saying they "should be denounced in the strongest possible terms." The Trump campaign has also unveiled a TV ad with a voiceover of Clinton saying the remarks as footage is shown of a diverse group of delegates at the Republican National Convention.

In a speech Monday at a Baltimore conference for the National Guard Association, Trump condemned Clinton for the remarks, saying she insulted "cops and soldiers, carpenters and welders, the young and the old, and millions of working class families who just want a better future."

"These were the people Hillary Clinton so viciously demonized," Trump said. "These were among the countless Americans that Hillary Clinton called deplorable, irredeemable and un-American. She called these patriotic men and women every vile name in the book  she called them racist, sexist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic."

Notably, Trump left out the label of "homophobic" from his recollection of labels Clinton applied to the "basket of deplorables" supporting him.

Charles Moran, a gay Los Angeles-based Republican activist and Trump supporter pledged to him at the Republican National Convention, said he was "shocked but not surprised" over Clinton's comments.

"If this is truly how she feels, she should own it," Moran said. "Her disdain for how half of this country feels about her shows the typical liberal smugness. Obama suffers from it, and so does Clinton. It totally runs counter to her efforts to reach out to disaffected independents and Republicans. Trump's recent surge and the tightening in the polls clearly is getting under her skin."

But criticism of Clinton's remarks has also boomeranged on the Trump campaign. During an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday, Pence declined to say Trump supporter David Duke  a former grand wizard for the Ku Klux Klan  is deplorable.

"I'm not really sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke's name, but Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly," Pence said. "We don't want his support, and we don't want the support of people who think that."

Pressed by Blitzer on whether Pence would call Duke "deplorable," the candidate replied, "No. I'm not in the name-calling business, Wolf. You know me better than that."

Nadine Smith, a Clinton supporter and executive director of Equality Florida, said Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comment was "factual" and attention should be on Trump.

"The bigger question is why isn't Trump being called out for all the high-profile deplorable people he's aligned with?" Smith said. "Trump had to be prodded for days before half-heartedly critiquing David Duke, a white nationalist and former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Pence has refused to say Duke was deserving strong condemnation. An open mike at a Trump rally is a crash course in racial, sexist and homophobic slurs. And data show his voters are hostile toward black, Latino, Muslim and LGBT people. I find that deplorable as well.

Clinton's controversial remarks come as polls show a race in which she once enjoyed a significant lead is now tightening. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Monday found Clinton has support among 40 percent of likely voters compared to the 39 percent who support Trump.

Logan Casey, a transgender research scientist at the Harvard Opinion Research Program, said he nonetheless doesn't think Clinton's "basket of deplorables" will have a significant influence on the presidential election.

"As we get closer and closer to the election, more people are solidifying their existing opinions rather than potentially changing their mind," Casey said. "It's likely that most of the people who were most offended by this comment were already ardent Trump supporters, and were unlikely to vote for Clinton anyway. Trump will likely use her comment for fundraising purposes (and we've already seen an ad come out about it), but the comment alone is unlikely to have any significant impact. Perhaps more importantly, comments like this tend to get pushed aside once the next controversy comes along  which we're already seeing with questions about Clinton's health."
Staged play readings have become popular in South Florida, thanks to the success of the Jan McArt New Play Reading Series at Lynn University in Boca Raton and the Theatre Leagues summer festival of weekly readings.

But, make no mistakes, Lucas Hnaths A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, is not a work in progress and Thinking Cap Theatres production, opening this weekend, is not a staged reading.

Its a full blown production, promised director Mark Duncan. One of our concerns is the name might turn somebody off who thinks its just a reading.

Its perhaps no accident that Hnath, whom Duncan regards as one of hottest young playwrights today, chose the iconic animator and filmmaker as a subject. The 37-year-old grew up in Orlando.

In Hnaths darkly comic examination of ego, Disney gathers together his brother Roy, daughter and son-in-law to read them his latest screenplay.

Hes trying to write the ending of his own story, explained Duncan, and battling against forces to make sure it goes his way. But, throughout the play, you start to see things that dont fit and he tries to cut them out. Its the struggle of writing your own legacy.

Hnath portrays Disney as a sort of King Lear. His struggles and how his decisions and inability to control the circumstances around him affect the entire family.

Sound a little complicated? Dont forget that the play starts out with actors reading the play about Disney writing a screenplay about the end of his life. Throughout, the actors morph into their roles and back in scenes laced with Hnaths quirky and suggestive dialogue. At times, Hnaths writing is reminiscent of Shakespeare and then David Mamet and then Harold Pinter.

Hes gotten the reputation for making it hard on the actors and director. He gives them a puzzle to be figured out. He starts with the words, but thats the trap. There are no stage directions, said Duncan.

He is also quick to remind audiences that the scripts the actors carry around are just props.

The company includes four accomplished actors: Peter Galman as Walt Disney; Jim Gibbons as Roy Disney; Gretchen Porro as Diane Disney Miller; and Alex Alvarez as son-in-law Ron Miller.

Its a Thinking Cap kind of piece, thats for sure, Duncan said.

Thinking Cap Theatre presents Lucas Hnaths A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, Sept. 16  Oct. 2. Performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 at ThinkingCapTheatre.com.
Gaia Map ESA

The first catalogue of more than a billion stars from ESAs Gaia satellite was published today  the largest all-sky survey of celestial objects to date.

On its way to assembling the most detailed 3D map ever made of our Milky Way galaxy, Gaia has pinned down the precise position on the sky and the brightness of 1142 million stars.

As a taster of the richer catalogue to come in the near future, todays release also features the distances and the motions across the sky for more than two million stars.

Gaia is at the forefront of astrometry, charting the sky at precisions that have never been achieved before, says Alvaro Gimenez, ESAs Director of Science.

Todays release gives us a first impression of the extraordinary data that await us and that will revolutionise our understanding of how stars are distributed and move across our Galaxy.

Launched 1000 days ago, Gaia started its scientific work in July 2014. This first release is based on data collected during its first 14 months of scanning the sky, up to September 2015.

The beautiful map we are publishing today shows the density of stars measured by Gaia across the entire sky, and confirms that it collected superb data during its first year of operations, says Timo Prusti, Gaia project scientist at ESA.

The stripes and other artefacts in the image reflect how Gaia scans the sky, and will gradually fade as more scans are made during the five-year mission.

The satellite is working well and we have demonstrated that it is possible to handle the analysis of a billion stars. Although the current data are preliminary, we wanted to make them available for the astronomical community to use as soon as possible, adds Dr Prusti.

Transforming the raw information into useful and reliable stellar positions to a level of accuracy never possible before is an extremely complex procedure, entrusted to a pan-European collaboration of about 450 scientists and software engineers: the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium, or DPAC.

Todays release is the result of a painstaking collaborative work over the past decade, says Anthony Brown from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and consortium chair.

Together with experts from a variety of disciplines, we had to prepare ourselves even before the start of observations, then treated the data, packaged them into meaningful astronomical products, and validated their scientific content.

In addition to processing the full billion-star catalogue, the scientists looked in detail at the roughly two million stars in common between Gaias first year and the earlier Hipparcos and Tycho-2 Catalogues, both derived from ESAs Hipparcos mission, which charted the sky more than two decades ago.

By combining Gaia data with information from these less precise catalogues, it was possible to start disentangling the effects of parallax and proper motion even from the first year of observations only. Parallax is a small motion in the apparent position of a star caused by Earths yearly revolution around the Sun and depends on a stars distance from us, while proper motion is due to the physical movement of stars through the Galaxy.

In this way, the scientists were able to estimate distances and motions for the two million stars spread across the sky in the combined Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution, or TGAS.

This new catalogue is twice as precise and contains almost 20 times as many stars as the previous definitive reference for astrometry, the Hipparcos Catalogue.

As part of their work in validating the catalogue, DPAC scientists have conducted a study of open stellar clusters  groups of relatively young stars that were born together  that clearly demonstrates the improvement enabled by the new data.

With Hipparcos, we could only analyse the 3D structure and dynamics of stars in the Hyades, the nearest open cluster to the Sun, and measure distances for about 80 clusters up to 1600 light-years from us, says Antonella Vallenari from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) and the Astronomical Observatory of Padua, Italy.

But with Gaias first data, it is now possible to measure the distances and motions of stars in about 400 clusters up to 4800 light-years away.

For the closest 14 open clusters, the new data reveal many stars surprisingly far from the centre of the parent cluster, likely escaping to populate other regions of the Galaxy.

Many more stellar clusters will be discovered and analysed in even greater detail with the extraordinary data that Gaia continues to collect and that will be released in the coming years.

The new stellar census also contains 3194 variable stars, stars that rhythmically swell and shrink in size, leading to periodic brightness changes.

Many of the variables seen by Gaia are in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our galactic neighbours, a region that was scanned repeatedly during the first month of observations, allowing accurate measurement of their changing brightness.

Details about the brightness variations of these stars, 386 of which are new discoveries, are published as part of todays release, along with a first study to test the potential of the data.

Variable stars like Cepheids and RR Lyraes are valuable indicators of cosmic distances, explains Gisella Clementini from INAF and the Astronomical Observatory of Bologna, Italy.

While parallax is used to measure distances to large samples of stars in the Milky Way directly, variable stars provide an indirect, but crucial step on our cosmic distance ladder, allowing us to extend it to faraway galaxies.

This is possible because some kinds of variable stars are special. For example, in the case of Cepheid stars, the brighter they are intrinsically, the slower their brightness variations. The same is true for RR Lyraes when observed in infrared light. The variability pattern is easy to measure and can be combined with the apparent brightness of a star to infer its true brightness.

This is where Gaia steps in: in the future, scientists will be able to determine very accurate distances to a large sample of variable stars via Gaias measurements of parallaxes. With those, they will calibrate and improve the relation between the period and brightness of these stars, and apply it to measure distances beyond our Galaxy. A preliminary application of data from the TGAS looks very promising.

This is only the beginning: we measured the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud to test the quality of the data, and we got a sneak preview of the dramatic improvements that Gaia will soon bring to our understanding of cosmic distances, adds Dr Clementini.

Knowing the positions and motions of stars in the sky to astonishing precision is a fundamental part of studying the properties and past history of the Milky Way and to measure distances to stars and galaxies, but also has a variety of applications closer to home  for example, in the Solar System.

In July, Pluto passed in front of a distant, faint star, offering a rare chance to study the atmosphere of the dwarf planet as the star gradually disappeared and then reappeared behind Pluto.

This stellar occultation was visible only from a narrow strip stretching across Europe, similar to the totality path that a solar eclipse lays down on our planets surface. Precise knowledge of the stars position was crucial to point telescopes on Earth, so the exceptional early release of the Gaia position for this star, which was 10 times more precise than previously available, was instrumental to the successful monitoring of this rare event.

Early results hint at a pause in the puzzling pressure rise of Plutos tenuous atmosphere, something that has been recorded since 1988 in spite of the dwarf planet moving away from the Sun, which would suggest a drop in pressure due to cooling of the atmosphere.

These three examples demonstrate how Gaias present and future data will revolutionise all areas of astronomy, allowing us to investigate our place in the Universe, from our local neighbourhood, the Solar System, to Galactic and even grander, cosmological scales, explains Dr Brown.

This first data release shows that the mission is on track to achieve its ultimate goal: charting the positions, distances, and motions of one billion stars  about 1% of the Milky Ways stellar content  in three dimensions to unprecedented accuracy.

The road to today has not been without obstacles: Gaia encountered a number of technical challenges and it has taken an extensive collaborative effort to learn how to deal with them, says Fred Jansen, Gaia mission manager at ESA.

But now, 1000 days after launch and thanks to the great work of everyone involved, we are thrilled to present this first dataset and are looking forward to the next release, which will unleash Gaias potential to explore our Galaxy as weve never seen it before.

Notes for Editors

The data from Gaias first release can be accessed at http://archives.esac.esa.int/gaia

The content of this first release was presented today during a media briefing at ESAs European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain.

Fifteen scientific papers describing the data contained in the release and their validation process will appear in a special issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Gaia is an ESA mission to survey one billion stars in our Galaxy and local galactic neighbourhood in order to build the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way and answer questions about its structure, origin and evolution.

A large pan-European team of expert scientists and software developers, the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium, located in and funded by many ESA member states, is responsible for the processing and validation of Gaias data, with the final objective of producing the Gaia Catalogue. Scientific exploitation of the data will only take place once they are openly released to the community.

Members of the consortium come from 20 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and the UK) as well as from further afield (Algeria, Brazil, Israel and the US).

In addition, ESA makes a significant contribution to the consortium in the form of the Data Processing Centre at ESAC, which, among other tasks and responsibilities, acts as the central hub for all Gaia data processing.
Charon NASA

In June 2015, the cameras on NASAs approaching New Horizons spacecraft first spotted the large reddish polar region on Plutos largest moon, Charon.

Mission scientists knew two things: theyd never seen anything like it elsewhere in our solar system, and they couldnt wait to get the story behind it.

Over the past year, after analyzing the images and other data that New Horizons has sent back from its historic July 2015 flight through the Pluto system, the scientists think theyve solved the mystery. As they detail this week in the international scientific journal Nature, Charons polar coloring comes from Pluto itself  as methane gas that escapes from Plutos atmosphere and becomes trapped by the moons gravity and freezes to the cold, icy surface at Charons pole. This is followed by chemical processing by ultraviolet light from the Sun that transforms the methane into heavier hydrocarbons and eventually into reddish organic materials called tholins.

Who would have thought that Pluto is a graffiti artist, spray-painting its companion with a reddish stain that covers an area the size of New Mexico? asked Will Grundy, a New Horizons co-investigator from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and lead author of the paper. Every time we explore, we find surprises. Nature is amazingly inventive in using the basic laws of physics and chemistry to create spectacular landscapes.

The team combined analyses from detailed Charon images obtained by New Horizons with computer models of how ice evolves on Charons poles. Mission scientists had previously speculated that methane from Plutos atmosphere was trapped in Charons north pole and slowly converted into the reddish material, but had no models to support that theory.

The New Horizons team dug into the data to determine whether conditions on the Texas-sized moon (with a diameter of 753 miles or 1,212 kilometers) could allow the capture and processing of methane gas. The models using Pluto and Charons 248-year orbit around the Sun show some extreme weather at Charons poles, where 100 years of continuous sunlight alternate with another century of continuous darkness. Surface temperatures during these long winters dip to -430 Fahrenheit (-257 Celsius), cold enough to freeze methane gas into a solid.

The methane molecules bounce around on Charons surface until they either escape back into space or land on the cold pole, where they freeze solid, forming a thin coating of methane ice that lasts until sunlight comes back in the spring, Grundy said. But while the methane ice quickly sublimates away, the heavier hydrocarbons created from it remain on the surface.

The models also suggested that in Charons springtime the returning sunlight triggers conversion of the frozen methane back into gas. But while the methane ice quickly sublimates away, the heavier hydrocarbons created from this evaporative process remain on the surface.

Sunlight further irradiates those leftovers into reddish material  called tholins  that has slowly accumulated on Charons poles over millions of years. New Horizons observations of Charons other pole, currently in winter darkness  and seen by New Horizons only by light reflecting from Pluto, or Pluto-shine  confirmed that the same activity was occurring at both poles.

This study solves one of the greatest mysteries we found on Charon, Plutos giant moon, said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute, and a study co-author. And it opens up the possibility that other small planets in the Kuiper Belt with moons may create similar, or even more extensive atmospheric transfer features on their moons.

Reference: The Formation of Charons Red Poles from Seasonally Cold-Trapped Volatiles, W. M. Grundy et al., 2016 Sept. 15, Nature [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19340.html].

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASAs Science Mission Directorate. The Southwest Research Institute, based in San Antonio, leads the mission, the science team, payload operations and science planning. New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.


Trying to decide between going to a coffee lecture program like Re:Co Symposium or making a trip to origin? Why not do both at Lets Talk Coffee? Taking place October 13th through the 16th in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Lets Talk Coffee is part lecture series and part origin trip, all happening in four jam-packed days.

In its 14th year now, Lets Talk Coffee is one of the premiere events bringing coffee lectures to origin countries. Past events have been held in coffee-producing countries like Rwanda, Colombia, El Salvador, and Panama, and have included guest speakers like New York Times columnist Oliver Strand, 2011 World Barista Champion Alejandro Mendez, and Cuatro M Cafes owner Emilio Lopez Diaz.

The theme for this years event is Prospering in the New Reality, and will examine the challenging economic, social, and environmental issues facing specialty coffee in 2016. Discussion topics will include gender equity in the coffee supply chain, the influence of economic consolidation and climate change on the coffee landscape, and the role of responsible sourcing practices in light of scrutinized labor conditions at origin.

This years speakers include Helen Russell of Equator Coffee & Teas, multi-time Mexican Barista Champion Fabrizio Sencion Ramirez, and The Coffeewomans Tracy Ging.

For the final day, Lets Talk Coffee offers an optional field trip to visit a coop and coffee farm in the region of Chiapas. Or, if youre looking for something not coffee-related, there is a tequila field trip available that will tour the Jose Cuervo agave fields and distillery.

For those only able to make one coffee vacation a year, Lets Talk Coffee is the perfect marriage of lecture series and origin trip. For a full list of details, visit Lets Talk Coffees website here.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.
Wasabi plus coffee shouldnt make sense. But at New York Citys year-old Round K, a kitschy Korean coffee bar on the Lower East Side, owner Ockhyeon Byeon has blended two seeming foes into one unique union. After spending two years working as a barista in Florence, Italy, Byeon decamped to Manhattan to launch a caffeine hub modeled after Korean coffee shops from the 1950s. Think a mix of dark and light wood, a smattering of found objects, and retro-looking fixtures.

Aesthetics here pay tribute to the past, with traditional espresso-based beverages pulled on a Victoria Arduino lever machine, in addition to more modern-leaning pour-over optionsall using a rotating selection of coffee from producers in Colombia and Guatemala. But here, an untraditional cup reigns: the house special is a zippy, pale green wasabi latte crowned with art to make you smile.

While Byeon initially thought the marriage of wasabi and coffee would be gross, he realized that when combined with various flavors, wasabi serves to enhance the ingredients around it. He figured the same could hold true with wasabi and coffee.

In order to build his wasabi latte, Byeon first creates a neon green simple syrup to which he adds the plants green paste. He mixes that with whole or soy milk (the latter is suggested), vanilla, and sugar. He froths the mixture, then pours it over a shot of espresso, depicting either a mans face blowing smoke or a grinning cat staring back. Optional side dish? A caramelized onion cake.

Similar to the way a swipe of wasabi serves to enhance the inherent umami in a piece of nigiri (fish and rice), so too does the addition of the spicy horseradish-flavored root in a latte (coffee and milk). Rather than overwhelm a cup, the wasabi adds a peppery bite which brings out the lattes floral notes. For the price of $4.50 per cup, Byeons wasabi latte can be yours, with a side of onion cakebut of course.

Kat Odell (@kat_odell) is a freelance writer based in New York and Los Angeles. Odells forthcoming book, Day Drinking, comes out in 2017 from Workman Publishing. This is Kat Odells first feature for Sprudge.
BRUSSELS, Sept, 15, 2016 (SPS) Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Advocate-General Melchior Wathelet revealed his long-awaited opinion on the EU-Morocco agricultural agreement, finding Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and that the EU-Morocco Association Agreement and the Liberalisation Agreement do not apply to it.

The deal was signed in 2012 and subsequently annulled by the European Court of Justice on the grounds that the people of Western Sahara  occupied by Morocco since 1975  were not consulted and did not consent to trade involving their land and resources. As a result Western Sahara is clearly excluded from any trade deals involving Morocco and other states. The Frente POLISARIO has long drawn attention to the fact that Morocco plunders and exploits the resources of Western Sahara, in violation international law.

Emhamed Khadad, a member of the Secretariat of the POLISARIO, was in Brussels this week to hear the decision. Following the Advocate-General's ruling, Khadad said: "This is an important opinion and reaffirms once again that under international law Western Sahara is not part of Morocco. The POLISARIO looks forward to the Court's final ruling on the matter expected later this year. In line with this effort, the POLISARIO stands ready to work with our EU partners to take all necessary measures to support the resumption of a political process that ensures the rights of the Saharawi people are upheld.

Khadad added: By appealing the decision of the Court, the EU is failing to uphold its international obligations. The EU has both a moral and legal obligation to protect the rights of the Saharawi people in their fight for self-determination and a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Furthermore, it is not surprising to see that France is leading the appeals process as France has consistently obstructed every effort at achieving a political resolution to the conflict in the UN Security Council, as witnessed once again during last Fridays Council meeting. SPS

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The 2015 Little Brown Jug champion, Wiggle It Jiggleit, is returning to the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

The reigning U.S. Horse of the Year will be taking up residency in the LBJ Barn for fans to get an up close and personal look at on Wednesday, September 21 and Thursday, September 22. Members of Team Teague  driver Montrell Teague and trainer Clyde Francis - will be available for autographs and photos from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Thanks to the support of Sugar Valley Farm, who stands Wiggle It Jiggleits sire Mr Wiggles, the first 500 fans to visit will be given a 8 x 10 photo card celebrating the geldings 2015 accomplishments.

Last year, Wiggle It Jiggleit turned in the performance of a lifetime when he was parked on the outside for more than a half-mile and edged a game Lost For Words by a scant nose to take the 70th LBJ in 1:49.3.

Wiggle It Jiggleit has won 35 of 47 career starts and more than $3.6 million. He has quickly become a fan favourite thanks to his gutsy performances and his ownerships willingness to travel. Wiggle It Jiggleit has raced at 15 different tracks in Ontario, Quebec, Ohio, Delaware, New York, Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Fans of the now four-year-old may also get an opportunity of a lifetime. Thanks to the generosity of Team Teague, one lucky bidder will get to ride along with Montrell Teague in a two-seat jog cart when Wiggle It Jiggleit leads the post parade for the first elimination of the Little Brown Jug. The auction will be a part of the Pre-Jug Gala held after the Jugette day card and benefits New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and the Delaware County Fair.

(With files from Little Brown Jug)
This time last year Muscle Baby Doll was riding a seven-race win streak and had just defeated Wild Honey in her Elegantimage elimination. Fast foward one year: the four-year-old trotting mare has just one win in three starts and hasn't seen racing action since May.

Trainer Tony O'Sullivan told Trot Insider that Muscle Baby Doll is finally back on track after a frustrating summer. She's entered to qualify on Friday morning at Mohawk Racetrack, just to the inside of last year's divisional rival Elegant Serenity.

"She had a problem with a splint on one of her front legs," said O'Sullivan. "It flared up and it wouldn't go away, it wouldn't heal itself no matter what we did, it didn't matter so we just backed off with her and let her come to us.

"Right now she seems 100 percent."

A four-year-old daughter of Muscle Mass - Have You Ever, Muscle Baby Doll is owned by F Bellino And Sons LLC of Bronxville, N.Y. She posted a summary of 8-1-2 in 15 sophomore starts, taking her 1:52 mark at The Meadowlands. That track is also the location for what stands at the only major stakes event left on Muscle Baby Doll's calendar.

"All she's got left now is the Breeders Crown. Hopefully we'll just race her in the overnights at Woodbine for the fall and then take it from there...ideally, not race her through the winter and get her ready for her five-year-old year."

O'Sullivan had pegged Muscle Baby Doll as a horse that would adjust well to the transition year going from three-year-old to open stakes competition, feeling he thought "she could probably share in a lot of the big races and maybe even get one of them." As much as it pains him, the trainer admits the time off could be a blessing in disguise.

"Physically she's actually really matured. So maybe the time off wasn't what we wanted but it has done her a world of good. She is certainly a lot bigger and stronger than she was when she raced back in May.

"It's very, very disappointing and not what we wanted but she's young yet. And if she's as good as she can be and has been in the past there's no reason to think she can't have a very effective year next year and maybe even get lucky toward the end of the year and pick up a big piece and make some money and recover a little bit of a wasted year."

Having said that, O'Sullivan is fully aware how tall an order that will be given the division is currently at the mercy of Hannelore Hanover, who the trainer admits is "in a league of her own" right now.
In a ceremony steeped in tradition, leaders of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN) and of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) commemorated a historic signing event today. The revenue sharing agreements, signed by leaders of both groups, finalize the Great Blue Heron Casino's (GBH) transition to a commercial casino and inclusion in the GTA Bundle for OLG's gaming modernization.

Following nearly three years of negotiations and consultations, members of the MSIFN voted unanimously to ratify the agreement with OLG this past July. This vote allowed OLG to add GBH to the GTA Gaming Bundle, which also includes OLG Slots at Woodbine and the OLG Slots at Ajax Downs.

"After hosting multiple consultation meetings with our members in Vancouver, Niagara and right here in Port Perry, MSIFN's Council is delighted to celebrate our achievements with OLG," said Chief Kelly LaRocca. "MSIFN and GBH remain open for business. We look forward to fostering many local partnerships in support of a thriving casino in collaboration with a new operator."

For nearly 20 years, GBH has played an important role in the MSIFN community and the Region of Durham. The casino is the largest employer in the region, employing almost 3,000 people directly and indirectly. Through GBH, MSIFN provides over $236 million annually in local economic benefits.

"Today's ceremony symbolizes the cooperative relationship we have with the MSIFN," said Stephen Rigby, OLG's President and CEO. "We share a focus on job creation, economic development and community building."

OLG expects to announce the successful service provider for the GTA bundle in late summer 2017.

Working with the MSIFN to reach these historic agreements demonstrates the provincial government's commitment to Ontario's First Nations communities.

(OLG)
Officials with the Prince Edward Island Harness Racing Industry Association have issued a notice in regard to entries in the Atlantic Classic Sale.

Please note that entries in the Atlantic Classic Sale are eligible to the stakes listed in the catalogue as confirmed by the consignor. There is no change from previous sales.

For example, if a yearling is listed as eligible to the Lady Slipper or Joe OBrien, then the consignor confirms that it is so.

Again, no change from previous sales.

(With files from PEIHRA)
Kawartha An Worthy, the trotting mare who overcame the odds to not only race but win the O'Brien Award for Canada's Older Trotting Mare in 1996, has passed away at the age of 26.

Purchased by Cedar Valley, Ont.'s Robert Burgess in December 1993 at the tail end of her three-year-old campaign, Kawartha An Worthy (Worthy Bowl - Kawartha Anitra) made a break in her first start for her new connections. It wasn't just any kind of break, she cut herself while on a gallop.

"I later saw the replay of the race and saw she made a break before the gate for no apparent reason," said Burgess in a 1997 Trot interview. "In so doing she clipped herself and sliced a tendon in her left rear leg just above the sesamoid.

"Apparently there was blood all over the place when she got back to the barn and the veterinarian just said she'd make a good broodmare. It was not good news."

Burgess bred his new acquisition to Balanced Image. She had a foal, a colt in April 1995. By September, when the colt was ready to be weaned, she and the injury looked to be in tremendous shape. Burgess considered putting Kawartha An Worthy back into training.

"I'd heard that some mares calm down after having a foal and I hoped that perhaps she might be one of them as she was a hot head on the track," explained Burgess.

She started jogging back for trainer Rocco Auciello in September, and she won her initial qualifier on October 28 at Kawartha Downs in 2:04.2.

"Not long after we started back Rocco called me and said he couldn't believe how easily this mare was getting in shape. It all came so easy that he said in late October she was ready to qualify which was less than two months time. It didn't make sense but there she was."

In her first start back, entered in a $15,000 claimer at Mohawk on November 4, she won by eight lengths in 2:00.2f for driver Kelvin Rose. While consistency remained an issue, she showed flashed of brilliance that kept her on the track instead of the broodmare shed. Auciello continued to work with her, trying to change her attitude and getting her to relax more.

"Gradually, her attitude began to change and I should say that Kelvin's manner of driving helped too," said Burgess.

In July 1996, the now six-year-old Kawartha An Worthy rattled off four straight wins at Woodbine Racetrack in upper conditioned trotting classes. On August 4, she tackled the best older trotters on the WEG circuit and won the Junior Free-For-All in 1:55, a track and Canadian record. Proving that was no fluke, she won the Junior Free-For-All again in September. She competed in the top class in all but one start for the remainder of the year, facing and defeating the likes of Glorys Comet, Impeccable Image, Supergrit, Oaklea Count and Megarama.



Kelvin Rose, trainer Rocco Auciello, Kawartha An Worthy and Robert Burgess Kelvin Rose, trainer Rocco Auciello, Kawartha An Worthy and Robert Burgess

Her 1996 season summary of 11-2-1 from 30 starts and more than $122,000 in earnings garnered Kawartha An Worthy the O'Brien Award for Older Trotting Mare. She was also runner-up in Dan Patch Award voting to CR Kay Suzie, despite never racing in the U.S. that season.

Kawartha An Worthy was retired in June 1997 to the broodmare ranks. That first colt, A Fine Balance won 39 races lifetime and banked more than $133,000. Her next foal, Coldspot was her best performer. A Balanced Image full brother to A Fine Balance, Coldspot was a multiple Ontario Sires Stakes winner at two and banked more than $367,000 over his racing career.

In 2011, two of Kawartha An Worthy's foals raced on the same card -- but on different gaits. Ironically it was her pacing progeny Worth Remembering who emerged victorious that night in the $60,000 final of the Ontario Spring Filly Stakes. Her final foal, Arrakis, is currently racing at Yonkers for Auciello's son Carmen.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Kawartha An Worthy.
Exhibit on St. Thomas More, 16th Century Statesman and Martyr, to Open in Washington

Contact: Joseph Cullen,203-800-4923, joseph.cullen@kofc.org Andrew Walther, 203-824-5412, andrew.walther@kofc.org ; both with Knights of Columbus WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- A unique exhibit, "God's Servant First: The Life and Legacy of Thomas More," will open Friday, Sept. 16, at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. It is the only location where the exhibit will appear in the United States.Photo: St. Thomas More's Crucifix. On display at the "God's Servant First: The Life and Legacy of Thomas More" exhibit at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. Credit: Stonyhurst College, UKThe exhibit includes artifacts never before exhibited in the United States as well as relics of St. Thomas More. More was lord high chancellor of England under King Henry VIII from 1529 to 1532. He sacrificed prestige, influence, and ultimately his life because he refused to betray his religious convictions.Declaring Thomas More the patron saint of statesmen and politicians in 2000, St. John Paul II said More's life and martyrdom offer a testimony that "spans the centuries" and "speaks to people everywhere of the inalienable dignity of the human conscience." The title of the Washington exhibit is inspired by the words believed to be More's last: "I die the King's good servant, and God's first."Organized and sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst, England, the exhibit features over 60 artifacts, most of which are from the Stonyhurst College Collections.Lord David Alton, chairman of the Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst, said, "The exhibition highlights the contemporary relevance of St. Thomas More, particularly in relation to the widespread religious persecution that continues daily in the Middle East, Pakistan, North Korea and many other places across the globe."Patrick Kelly, executive director of the shrine, said, "Even 500 years after his death, Thomas More's example remains thoroughly modern. He is an eloquent example of courageous Christian discipleship, and it is our hope that this exhibit will inspire others to imitate his virtues and his extraordinary fidelity to God and to a well-formed conscience."The objects on display include a first folio by William Shakespeare; a hat owned by More; a religious garment embroidered by Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII; and relics of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher.The exhibit also includes the pectoral cross and saddle chalice of John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States, who was deeply influenced by More's example in his own work to protect the rights of American Catholics in an era of hostility.More was executed in 1535 for refusing to recognize Henry VIII as the head of the Church in England. More and Henry had been friends and even worked together on a treatise in defense of the Catholic faith. As a popular and respected statesman, More's refusal was perceived as an implicit challenge to the legitimacy of the monarch's claims. Bishop John Fisher was executed within a month of More, on the same charge of treason.The 20th-century English writer G. K. Chesterton said More "may come to be counted the greatest Englishman, or at least the greatest historical character in English history. For he was above all things historic.  If there had not happened to be that particular man at that particular moment, the whole of history would have been different."The Saint John Paul II National Shrine is hosting several events in conjunction with this special exhibit, including a lecture, "Thomas More's Life and Legacy: Witnessed through Artifacts," by Janet Graffius, curator of collections at Stonyhurst College, on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 2 p.m.On Saturday, Oct. 1, at 2 p.m., Stephen Smith, chair of the English department at Hillsdale College, and Gerard Wegemer, founding director of the Center for Thomas More Studies at the University of Dallas, will deliver a joint lecture titled "Saint Thomas More, Leaders, and Citizenship."The exhibit will be open daily from Sept. 16, 2016 until March 31, 2017. Additional information is available at: www.jp2shrine.org/jp/en/news/thomas-more-exhibit.html More information can be found at: www.jp2shrine.org/en/news/tm-media.html
Judicial Watch Announces a Special Presentation: 'Clinton Scandal Update  Emails and the Clinton Foundation'

Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch , 202-646-5172WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- In response to the revelations about the pay-to-play scandal tied to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's non-state.gov email system and the Clinton Foundation, Judicial Watch announced today that it will host an educational panel discussion: "Clinton Scandal Update  Emails and the Clinton Foundation."Panelists include author of the New York Times best-seller Clinton Cash and President of Government Accountability Institute Peter Schweizer; Joe diGenova, former U.S. Attorney, Independent Counsel and founding partner of the Washington, D.C., law firm diGenova & Toensing; and Chris Farrell, director of investigations and research at Judicial Watch. Moderator will be Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.Thursday, September 2911 am  12:30 pmJudicial WatchMain Conference RoomSuite 800425 Third Street SWWashington, DC 20024Peter SchweizerAuthor of the New York Times best-seller Clinton CashPresident of Government Accountability Institute.Joseph E. diGenovaFounding Partner, diGenova & Toensing, LLPChris FarrellDirector of Investigations and Research, Judicial WatchTom FittonPresident, Judicial WatchA mult box will be available.*(near NASA headquarters, one block from Federal Center Metro Station)Watch live: www.judicialwatch.org/live
Judicial Watch: New State Department Documents Reveal Top Agency Officials Raised Questions about Clinton Emails in Early August 2013

'Finally, John, you mentioned yesterday requests for Secretary Clinton's emails; may I get copies.'  Margaret Grafeld, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Global Information Services to John Hackett, Deputy Director, Office of Information Programs and Services, August 7, 2013



Documents Reveal that in Early August 2013, State had 17 Freedom of Information Requests relating to requests for Clinton correspondence



Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5172



WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch today released 113 pages of new State Department documents, revealing that in early August 2013, top State Department officials raised questions about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails and the number of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking information about them.



According to the newly obtained emails, in August 2013, State Department officials were aware of 17 FOIA requests relating to requests for Clinton correspondence, including four that "specifically mention Emails or Email accounts." Despite the large number of FOIA requests and growing concern among top agency officials, the State Department did not formally request that the former secretary of state produce the emails on the clintonemail.com server until October 2014.



Included among the 17 FOIA requests was a Judicial Watch lawsuit seeking records pertaining to possible conflicts of interest between the actions taken by Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Bill Clinton's activities. The lawsuit produced 276 pages of internal State Department records revealing that within two days of the deadly terrorist attack on Benghazi, Mohamed Yusuf al-Magariaf, the president of Libya's National Congress, asked to participate in a Clinton Global Initiative function and "meet President Clinton." The records also show Hillary Clinton's staff coordinated with the Clinton Foundation's staff to have her thank Clinton Global Initiative project sponsors for their "commitments" during a Foundation speech on September 25, 2009. The lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Dept. of State (No. 1:13-cv-00772)) was filed on May 28, 2013.



In a 2014 joint expose with the Washington Examiner Judicial Watch's Chief Investigative Reporter Micah Morrison reported:

[F]ormer President Clinton gave 215 speeches and earned $48 million while his wife presided over U.S. foreign policy, raising questions about whether the Clintons fulfilled ethics agreements related to the Clinton Foundation during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.



According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch and released  in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act case, State Department officials charged with reviewing Bill Clinton's proposed speeches did not object to a single one.

MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-new-state-department-documents-reveal-top-agency-officials-raised-questions-clinton-emails-early-august-2013
Er is iets heel griezeligs aan de gang in Nederland. Dat wij geleidelijk aan in een totalitaire 'democratie' wegzinken wordt steeds ...
It's Election season and our editor's mailbox is overflowing. Who do your neighbors support? Read about it here.
A man robbed Freedom Market in Longview on Tuesday night, taking more than $500 from the 14th Avenue business. It was the first robbery at a Longview marijuana retailer since recreational marijuana became legal in Washington.

Footage from a security camera in the store showed a man wearing a dark hoodie and a bandana covering most of his face, pointing an implied handgun at an employee and holding a paper bag out.

Longview Police Sgt. Chris Blanchard said nobody saw a weapon, which may have been concealed in a black plastic bag, but workers did the right thing by treating it as a real weapon. One of the workers hid behind the counter to push an emergency call button for the police, said the marijuana store owner Kathy Nelson said. Nobody was injured.

Theyre shook up. Thats a pretty unsettling thing to have to go through, Nelson said Wednesday. We have a no hero policy. All this stuff and the money is replaceable. Theyre not. We want to put their safety first.

Police are still investigating. Blanchard said the department has been following up on several leads from community members but has been unable to identify a suspect.

When the marijuana stores first opened two years ago, Nelson said owners were worried the stores would be targeted for the cash. While there have been attempts to break in to the glass shop next door and into the store on West Side Highway, its the first time there has been a robbery at a marijuana store in Longview.

Were been at it for two years without any incidents like this, Nelson said.

The suspect was described to be a white male with curly brown hair wearing a black bandana with orange and red flames. He fled the store and head northbound to an alley between Commerce and 15th Avenue, according to a 911 dispatch report.

The Freedom Market opened as usual Wednesday morning. Co-owner Hollie Hillman said the employees are taking paid time off.

Our employees did an awesome job, Hillman said. They did exactly what they were supposed to do. Im just glad nobody got hurt.

Anyone with more information on the suspect should contact Cpl. Jeremy Johnson at Longview police.
Do you know, Alzheimer  dementia generated mental problems with memory, thinking and behavior is interconnected with air pollution? Well, a study conducted by Barbara Maher explored that there is a causal relation between Air pollution and Alzheimer.

The study published in the academic journal titled as  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, stated that that person living in highly polluted areas are more open to the possibilities of suffering from Alzheimer diseases. The extremely dirty areas have abundant amounts of toxic nanoparticles in their atmosphere, and regular contact with those contaminated air can cause Alzheimer.

The co-author of the study, Professor Barbara Maher, from Lancaster University, and her research group took 37 individuals for examining their brain tissue which had lived in air polluted hotspots like Mexico City or Manchester. With the use of microscopic and spectroscopic psychoanalysis, the researcher team found some petite magnetic components from air pollution wedged in the brains, which eventually caused mental issues like Alzheimer.

The tiny magnetic particles located in the human brain is a strongly magnetic, poisonous, mineral, and concerned in the creation of hasty oxygen species including free radicals in the human brain. These particles since a longer period are allied with neurodegenerative issues like Alzheimer. This is for the first time that such detection has been made.

During the publication of the journal, Barbara Maher told,The first thing we did was to make ultra-thin sections of tissue, and we analyzed that using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, a very highly resolved microscope, in Glasgow. We were able to examine those thin sections to identify if these particles were in the cells, their shape, size, and size distribution, and critically also conduct chemical analysis in the microscope to determine that these particles were magnetite.
tech2 News Staff

Google with today's doodle has sent out a strong message to all its users, "the sky's the limit only if you let it". And it sure is an inspiring one, as Google celebrates what would have been the 107th birthday of record breaking female pilot Jean Batten.

Batten was an aviator like no other who took to the skies to make a record breaking journey to fly from England to Australia. This, however, did not come easy. After two failed attempts, Batten finally made her comeback in 1934 by not just completing the flight from England to Australia, but accomplishing the same in record time.

Post this, she garnered plenty of fame when she also became the first woman to make a solo flight across the south Atlantic in 1935. But it was another solo trip with her lucky black cat, Buddy, that made headlines worldwide after flying from England to New Zealand (an even longer journey).

When the wheels of her airplane touched down in New Zealand, Jean Batten claimed that it was the greatest moment of her life and this in turn proves to the world that one should indeed never give up no matter what the odds.

Google on its blog sent out a message to everyone at the end of the post, "Today we celebrate what would have been this pioneering pilots 107th birthday with a reminder to fly fiercely towards our boldest dreams."
Roydon Cerejo

Hewlett Packard (HP) launched its smallest and lightest Elitebook, the Elitebook 2170p today. The new notebook with a diagonal display size of 11.6 inches has a starting weight of 1.31kg. It supports enterprise-class connectivity, security and management features. With up to eight hours of battery life, the HP EliteBook 2170p is also compatible with the common docking stations used across the HP business notebook portfolio for maximum efficiency. The HP Elitebook 2170p is available in India at a starting price of Rs. 69,000.

HP's new Elitebook

The new Elitebook 2170p is designed for mobile business professionals, offering a host of features that make this the ideal choice for professionals on-the-move, said Vinay Awasthi, Senior Director, Product Category, Printing and Personal Systems, HP India. With innovative, reliable hardware designs and predictive software technologies, this notebook will make it easier for customers to keep their businesses running securely and efficiently. The Elitebook 2170p offers a full-sized keyboard with optional backlit capabilities, encased in a rugged design. It also features an optional, integrated HP Mobile Broadband. This business notebook delivers Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) graphics, and is powered by Intels third-generation ultra-low-voltage processor that enables long battery life

The Elitebook 2170p also features:

HP FitTight battery lock

It keeps your battery secure even when your notebook is subjected to shock, drops, or side impacts, reducing the risk of jostling or ejecting the battery.

Laser-precision indicators

New laser-precision indicators are virtually undetectable until the required system function activates them, keeping you informed of your HP business notebooks system status discreetly.

HP DisplaySafe frame

A full, double-shot rubber frame acts as a shock-absorbing barrier that helps protect the display panel from scuffs and scratches caused by shock and vibration or from being packed too tightly in a carrying case. The HP DisplaySafe frame also prevents accidental contact with the keyboard or palm rest when the panel is closed. In addition, HPs new design minimizes any openings between the top and bottom of the notebook for a better fit when it is closed.

Enhanced HP DuraCase

A strong, hybrid magnesium-aluminium chassis designed to withstand physical impact and pressure common in business and enterprise environments. Inspired by aerospace materials and construction for their superior strength-to-weight properties, the HP DuraCase yields a more rigid and robust chassis than previous generations. This translates to protection against damage and lower total cost of ownership for customers.

HP Power Assistant

It extends battery run time while allowing you to reduce energy consumption through a new, simple user interface. HP Power Assistant allows you to conserve power, accurately monitor your reported power needs, and report workforce power consumption.
tech2 News Staff

Dual-cameras in smartphones are becoming a trend and while this arrangement has been around for more than five years, OEMs are finally utilizing the potential of using two lenses. Even Apple launched the iPhone 7 Plus with a dual-lens camera.

Smartphone chip maker Qualcomm wants to keep the new trend going and has announced its in-house dual camera processing technology called Clear Sight. This tech features two cameras, each having its own lens and image sensor. Both the lenses on these cameras have the same focal length, however the image sensor on both the cameras are different. One of the sensors can capture colour while the other can only capture in black in white. This is the same mechanism as the human eye where cones and rods come into play.

While cones can capture colour details they require good amount of light. On the other hand rods are good at capturing light in low light conditions. Utilising the same concept, Qualcomm has used a colour sensor and black and white sensors which are identical, except the black and white sensor cannot capture colour . However the black and white sensors ability to capture light increases three times.

According to the company, when combined, the images offer better colours, better contrast and colour saturation as well as improved low light images. The new tech will be supported on the Snapdragon 820 and 821 however none of the OEMs have utilised the Clear Sight tech as of yet. The only handset in the market that comes close to this technology is the Huawei P9.
The much awaited, DigiLocker mobile app was launched by Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Minister for Information and Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad at the Transport Ministry in New Delhi.

DigiLocker is a digital locker service launched by the Government of India in February 2015 to provide a secure dedicated personal electric space for spacing the documents of resident Indian citizens. It is one of the key initiatives under Digital India Programme, which the Indian government initiated to digitally empower society and knowledge economy, targets the idea of paperless governance.

According to the ministry, DigiLocker will eliminate the use of physical documents, help accessing them anytime, anywhere and able to share online, and avoid forgery. The integration of driving license and registration certificates with the DigiLocker will enable their access through mobile devices, which means citizens need not carry physical copy of Driving License; they just need to install the app. The digital copies of driving license and registration certificate can also be shared with other departments for verification purpose.

Although it is a great initiative by the Government of India to provide a secure centralized document storage and sharing facility. It is interesting to note that fraudsters have been quick to capitalize on this and have ended up creating numerous DigiLocker apps and in order to make it look authentic to their future victims; they have used not just the Indian Prime Ministers photo but also used Indias National Emblem.

Allowing the trend analysis based on previous/ past experiences, it is to be noted that these fake apps might steal your credentials or act as Adware or in worst cases the apps might become the harbinger of Ransomware.

Googles Play store makes use of Google Bouncer, which searches the Android market for apps that could be malicious. However, it allows anyone to publish an app in the Play Store. The fake apps download range is 10,000 to 50,000 whereas original DigiLocker app download range is between 1 lakh to 5 lakhs, which somehow indicates you about the authenticity. Thus, its a message to the users to refrain from such fake apps and download the DigiLocker app, developed by MeitY, Government of India and make Digital India Campaign a real success.

@Technuter.com News Service
Authorities in Guatemala raided the compound of a haredi Orthodox sect living there, separating children from their parents, after allegations of physical and mental abuse surfaced.



Israels Justice Ministry said Sept. 13 that the Central American country had obeyed its request to crack down on the Lev Tahor group, according to Orthodox news website Kikar Hashabbat.



The Guatemalan government suspected the sect of performing child marriages and abusing members, including children.



The Justice Ministry said it was in touch with Guatemalan authorities to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens, including minors, who are members of the group, according to Kikar Hashabbat. The report did not specify how many people are currently members of the group or in what city the compound in question was located.

In June, a court in Guatemala indicted the ex-mayor of a small town for participating in the expulsion of a religious community, after some 230 members of Lev Tahor were forced out of the village in 2014. The expulsion followed religious disputes with its Mayan residents, who are Roman Catholic.



The mayor of San Juan La Laguna, Antonio Adolfo Perez y Perez, was charged with abuse of authority and discrimination and sentenced to house arrest, the local newspaper Prensa Libre reported. He had lost his political immunity on Jan. 14 after he was not re-elected.

Finally, some justice is being done in Guatemala for all the children who've been abused by the Islamized Haredi cult that previously resided in Canada:One of the reports I saw about this case says that Guatemala wisely raised its age threshold for marriage from 14 to 18, making it easier to charge the sect members with child abuse and forced marriage.However, there is a sad bit of related news in all this:Excuse me? What did the guy do wrong? The cult was abusing their welcome and insulting everyone's intellect, and they accuse him of acting illegally? The cult was asking to be thrown out for their contempt, and their behavior was disgusting. It's time to shut down Helbrans's repulsive charade once and for all, and the former town mayor should be acquitted of the charges against him.I'm certainly glad for now that the authorities have acted properly and ensured the cult would be detained. Those facing charges for abuse and kidnapping in Canada should be extradited back there, and also back to Israel, where I'm sure there's charges being filed against them too.Update: according to this article , overlord Helbrans was arrested and many of the children are going to be flown back to Israel. Indeed, the farther away the kids are from that tyrant, the better.

Labels: Canada, dhimmitude, haredi corruption, islam, Israel, Latin America, misogyny, Moonbattery
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Verdict leak: SQ Chy`s wife, son acquitted, 5 jailed

UNB, Dhaka: A court here on Thursday acquitted wife and son of executed war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury while sentenced five people to different jail terms in a case filed over leaking the draft verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that sentenced him to death.



Dhaka Cyber Crimes Tribunal Judge KM Samsul Alam passed the order.



The court acquitted Salauddin Quader`s wife Farhat Quader and son Humman Quader from the charges while sentenced his lawyer AKM Fakhrul Islam to 10 years imprisonment and fined him Tk one crore, in default, to suffer, six months more rigorous imprisonment.



Besides, the court sentenced his manager Mahbubul Ahsan, Fakhrul` s associate lawyer Mehedi Hasan, two staff of the ICT-1 Nayan Ali and Faruq Hossain to seven years imprisonment and fined them Tk 10,000 each, in default, to suffer six months more rigorous imprisonment.



Earlier on August 28, a Dhaka Court deferred its judgment until September 15.



On August 4, Judge of the tribunal KM Samsul Alam fixed August 14 for delivering the judgment after completion of placing arguments in the case.



The court also sent four accused--Fakhrul, Faruq, Nayan and Mahbubul--to jail when they appeared before the court while lawyer Fakhrul`s associate Advocate Mehedi Hasan remained absconding.



On February 15, a Dhaka court framed charges against seven people, including wife, a son and a counsel for executed BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, in the case.



DB inspector M Shajahan submitted a charge sheet to the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court against the seven accused on August 28, 2014.



On October 1, 2013, ICT-1 sentenced BNP standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death after finding him guilty of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during the Liberation War in 1971.



However, some parts of the draft verdict were found posted in the internet several hours before pronouncing the verdict.



Later, showing the copy of the draft verdict, Salauddin's wife and son raised a complaint that the verdict was originated from the Law Ministry.



On October 4, a case was filed with Shahabagh Police Station under sections 57 and 63 of Information and Communication Technology Act.



Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was executed in the Dhaka Central Jail on November 22, 2015.
iPads for lowering anxiety in children before surgery

Life Desk :

Allowing children to use iPads before surgery helped to reduce their anxiety as effectively as pharmacological sedatives

Children were assigned into two groups where one received a sedative while the other received a mobile interactive tool

Post-operative anxiety was measured and found to be similar in parents and children in both groups.

However, the quality of induction of anesthesia, as well as parental satisfaction, were judged better in the iPad group.

Allowing children to use iPads as a tool to distract them before surgery requiring general anesthesia is as effective as conventional sedatives in lowering their anxiety levels. Furthermore, the levels of parental satisfaction and quality of anesthesia induction was higher in children using iPads.

The study was conducted by Dr Dominique Chassard, EPICIME, Hopital Mere Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France, and colleagues and presented at the World Congress of Anesthesiologists (WCA) in Hong Kong.

'Use of iPads or tablet devices can reduce preoperative stress without any pharmacological sedatives in pediatric ambulatory surgery.'

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of midazolam (a sedative used regularly before anesthesia to reduce fear and anxiety) in pre-medication and the effect of age-appropriate game apps (on an iPad tablet) on children aged 4-10 years during and after ambulatory (day) surgery. Anxiety was compared both in children and in parents.

Two groups were formed and children were randomly assigned in each group. The group that had 54 children received midazolam (MDZ) and the remaining 58 children were given the iPad (TAB).

Patients in group MDZ received midazolam 0.3mg/kg orally or rectally, and those in group TAB, were given an electronic tablet (iPAD) 20 minutes before anesthesia. Child anxiety was measured using m-YPAS scale which stands for modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale. Two independent psychologists measured the levels at four time points- 1) at arrival at hospital 2) at separation from the parents 3) during induction and 4) in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU).

Parental anxiety was measured using STAI score which stands for State-Trait Anxiety Inventory score, at similar time points except during induction as they were not present at that point. The quality of induction of anesthesia was ranked from 0 (not satisfied) to 10 (highly satisfied) by anesthetic nurses.

Parental anxiety and children anxiety were measured again finally when children were transferred to the ambulatory surgery ward, 30 minutes after the child received their last dose of nalbuphine anesthetic or 45 min after their arrival in the PACU.

Post-operative behavior changes were assessed using the Post Hospital Behavior Questionnaire (PHBQ) and parents' satisfaction with the anesthesia procedure was also ranked from 0 to 10.

In both MDZ and TAB groups, parents' and children showed same anxiety levels with a similar pattern of evolution. Anesthesia was found to more satisfying in the iPad group by parents and nurses.

Dr Chassard concludes "Our study showed that child and parental anxiety before anesthesia are equally blunted by midazolam or use of the iPad.

However, the quality of induction of anesthesia, as well as parental satisfaction, were judged better in the iPad group. Use of iPads or other tablet devices is a non-pharmacologic tool which can reduce preoperative stress without any sedative effect in pediatric ambulatory surgery."

Source: Medindia
Saudi Prince warns Iran against using force to pursue rivalry

Reuters,Dubai :

A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh's management of the haj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes towards Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom.

Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be seen as a reference to Iran, added that the orderly conduct of the pilgrimage this year "is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom".

The remarks carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Wednesday evening follow an escalating war of words between Shia Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia since a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage a year ago in which hundreds of pilgrims, many of them Iranians, died.

SPA quoted Prince Khaled as telling journalists his message to the Iranian leadership was "I pray to God Almighty to guide them and to deter them from their transgression and their wrong attitudes toward their fellow Muslim among the Arabs in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and around the world".

"But if they are preparing an army to invade us, we are not easily taken by someone who would make war on us."
India, Afghanistan call for end to all support of militants

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani shaking hands during with Indian Prime Miniser Narendra Modi in Kabul.

AP, New Delhi :

India and Afghanistan on Wednesday called for an end to all sponsorship, support and sanctuaries to militants, including those who have committed violence in the two countries.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani did not name Pakistan in their remarks, though they have previously. The neighboring country has been accused of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

India offered a fresh $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan for building capacity in education, health, agriculture, energy and infrastructure, said a joint statement by the two sides. They also signed an extradition treaty.

Kabul has cultivated closer ties with New Delhi in recent years as a balance to Pakistan. Ghani arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a two-day visit.

Modi and Ghani also reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen their security and defense cooperation, but did not give any details. India already has donated three multirole Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan. The two sides also stressed that fast implementation of an agreement among Afghanistan, India and Iran to develop the Chabahar port in Iran would increase connectivity within the region.

India said in May it would invest up to $500 million to develop the Iranian port, which India plans to use for trade with Afghanistan in the absence of a land route through Pakistan.

Meanwhile, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized new authorities giving the U.S. military greater freedom to fight Taliban insurgents, saying they were a further erosion of the country's sovereignty.

In an interview, Karzai, who continues to exert considerable behind-the-scenes influence on Afghan politics, also called on the Islamist militant movement to be more realistic in demands that have hampered progress in peace talks.

His comments on American involvement in the war were at odds with the government of his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, which has welcomed U.S. political and military support
Banks reopen after Eid, markets remain closed

BSS, Dhaka :

Most business establishments, shopping malls and shops remained closed in the city though the banks and other financial institutions reopened today after a six-day Eid-ul-Azha vacation.

The attendance of officials and employees at banks and financial institutions in city's Motijheel area was less than normal and they had to spend time in leisure as the number of service-seekers was poor.

The officials were seen exchanging Eid greetings with one another and their clients. However, normal activities started at Bangladesh Bank.

Uttara Bank Additional Managing Director Mohammed Mosharaf Hussain said though the vacation was for six days, the Eid was celebrated only two days ago and the Eid zest is yet to exhaust.

He said most of the officers and employees attended the banks yesterday, but the transaction was very low for lack of clients.

The number of clients is poor as the shops and business establishments are yet to reopen, Mosharaf Hussain said and hoped that transaction will be increasing gradually and will become normal in the next week.

IFTC Bank Darus Salam Road Branch Manager M Nazmul Islam said there were ordinary clients in the bank today but the number of businessmen was poor. Therefore, the transaction was very low.

In New Market-Nilkhet areas, it was seen that most of the markets and shops were closed.

Businesspeople said it will take one week to reopen the markets and shops fully.
Businesses in Ctg prod policymakers in Dhaka to turn focus to 'their war'

CCC Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin offering munajat at Jamiatul Falah Complex Mosque on Tuesday.

bdnews24.com :

At a luncheon meeting on Sunday with bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi at the port city they spoke of their deprivation and sought the national media's cooperation to reach the policymakers over their problems.

"Those who are doing business in Chittagong are basically in a war," said Md Nader Khan, Managing Director of Pedrollo Group.

"Discussions (over their problems) do not yield anything. They do not reach up to the policymakers," he said during the meeting at a city hotel.

He was echoed by other top businessmen, including Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Mahbubul Alam and its former president Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury.

They said the media can effectively highlight the importance of Chittagong to the policy advisers.

"The immense potential of Chittagong needs to be tapped into," the bdnews24.com editor-in-chief said. "Let's go deep into the issues, discuss the problems with the key stakeholders and try to get the message across to the policymakers."

Apart from the current and former chiefs of Chittagong's apex trade body, the luncheon meeting was attended by International Business Forum's Chittagong chapter President SM Abu Tayyab, Ispahani Group Managing Director Mirza Salman Ispahani, Managing Editor of the Daily Azadi Wahid Malek, former president of Junior Chamber Chittagong Md Niaz Morshed Elite, Albion Group Chairman Md Raisul Uddin among others.

Chittagong's role in Bangladesh economy, the seaport, rail and road connection with Dhaka, investment in education, technology and the media's role were some of the issues that came up during the meeting.

Businesses emphasised immediately raising the port's capabilities, constructing a bay terminal and implementing the Dhaka-Chittagong double rail-tracks project.

CCCI President Mahbubul said developing Chittagong means developing the whole country since it is the business hub of Bangladesh.

"The draft at channel (of the port) near Kattali is around 13 to 14 metres. If a bay terminal is constructed there, lighter vessels will not be required anymore."

He said the premier port needs container-handling equipment.

Speaking about the importance Chittagong holds in the economy, former CCCI chief Amir Humayun said during the British rule, the headquarters of Assam-Bengal Railway was in Chittagong, which was only due to the seaport.

"And now it takes around six hours to go to Dhaka by road. The work on the double rail tracks is yet to complete. Communication would have been much faster if the tracks' maintenance was regular."

He also expressed his dismay about everything being centred in the capital.

"Bangladesh Shipping Corporation's office and all its activities are based here, but its board meetings are held in Dhaka."

CCCI chief Mahbubul agreed. "Many government organisations are forced to meet in Dhaka as the ministers do not want to come here."

On the issue of the container handling at the port, International Business Forum's Chittagong chapter chief SM Abu Tayyab said, "It would take two to three days before to unload shipments. Now it takes seven to 10 days.

"The apparel businesses somehow manage, but the small and medium enterprises of Khatunganj are suffering badly." Ispahani Group's top official Salman Ispahani said the education sector is now seeing a lot of initiatives by the private sector.

He stressed introducing interactive teaching method, which he says will ensure quality education.

The bdnews24.com editor-in-chief agreed and said that investment in education would "give you the best possible rate of return".

The use of ICT can ensure quality education even in remote areas, added Khalidi. "We have created a huge platform, delivering information with accuracy and speed to staggering numbers. Use it, exploit it if need be."

The top businessmen of the port city were handed copies of 'Turning Points: Agenda for 2016', an annual magazine published by bdnews24.com in collaboration with The New York Times News Service.
Mandana Karimi to walk at India Runway Week 2016

Actress Mandana Karimi will walk the ramp at the seventh season of India Runway Week for Kolkata-based brand Studio AV by Gaurav & Nitesh. Mandana will be seen showcasing the collection titled Dhaage on Friday at the Thyagraj Stadium.

Weve put in a lot of hard work and effort - we await this beautiful journey. The collection reveals every ounce of effort and love that has gone into creating something so special. Our designs are a perfect blend of the ethnicity of Indian wear, designer Nitesh Sharaff said in a statement.

The entire collection is handmade in threads with a little bit of zardosi and dabka work to add some glitter. It consists of two different stories of thread-work embroideries- the soft and subtle Parsi embroidery and the colourful splash of threads in Madhubani embroidery.


It was all BB`s fault

`Main culprit is country`s culture of patronage`

Manila Standard :

The $81-million cyber heist that rocked Bangladesh and the Philippine banking system in February this year will not come to a siginificant conclusion if Bangladesh Bank does not resume its internal investigation.

The central bank of Bangladesh, in a way, is the biggest stumbling block to the recovery of the stolen funds. Recent developments suggest an inferior internal system led to a breakdown in the security of the funds held and managed by Bangladesh Bank.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines Maj. Gen. John Gomes can continue pestering local authorities over the return of the money that used to form part of Bangladesh Bank's foreign reserves, but he and his nation will not be able to unlock the mystery in the absence of a thorough investigation. A very reliable source said the brother of a high Bangladesh Bank official was the one in custody of the code to the bank computers when it was hacked. The revealing information partly led to the resignation of the bank governor.

"Then BB aborted its internal investigation. So it has no report to share with the world, its people and to the Philippine government that has been more than generous in helping BB. The least BB can do is give us a report. We washed our dirty linen in the global public. They owe us that report," one banker said.

The theft succeeded clearly because BB was negligent. Had the bank installed enough firewalls and used quality instead of $5 switches, the heist would not have occurred. RCBC external legal counsel Thea Daep agrees. "They stopped their investigation and then their ambassador here, John Gomes, started claiming it was an outside job. But their finance minister said it was an inside job," she said earlier in a statement.

She also questioned BB's decision not to investigate and renew the contract of a US-based investigating company. "Why don't they want to know the truth? Before they ask for help from the Philippine government, it is incumbent upon them to submit a full report to the Philippine government, detailing what happened in Bangladesh," she said. The inside job accusation of Bangladesh's own finance minister by far is the most credible explanation to the cyber robbery. "How can the theft happen if six different BB officials had to place their palm prints on a plate in proper sequence before any order to move funds could happen? We are talking here of people, not computer codes," the first source said. Bank of Bangladesh may think itself as the vicitim of the grand theft but surpisingly, it did not sue the New York Federal Reserve where the money was transferred from. "The answer is because they (NY Fed) had nothing do with the theft. In the same way, Rizal commercial Banking Corp. had nothing to do with the theft. Its issue was with a rogue employee who allegedly was a participant in the laundering of the BB funds. It was all BB's fault and negligence," said the source. "And yet, Ambassador Gomes has the temerity to go around and say RCBC should pay. Looking at it, RCBC was a victim of BB's negligence." A Bangladeshi expert earlier pointed out the weaknesses of BB after the heist. The expert suddenly disappeared and was found days later in a daze and apparently mentally challenged.

"Around March, the finance minister of Bangladesh told media he was sure it was an inside job, and the Bank of Bangladesh Governor and two deputies resigned shortly thereafter. To us, these are clear indications of guilt and negligence," Daep adds. The Philippine banking heist was not the first for Bangladesh. A Dhaka-based journalist wrote in the New York Times on April 11, 2016 that the cyber scam at the Federal Reserve "pales in comparison with the routine plunder of Bangladesh's financial system, including by some of its purported guardians." "Part of the explanation for this is poor governance by the banks' boards, but the main culprit is the country's culture of patronage," wrote Joseph Allchin.

"Some $565 million in asssets are said to have been looted from the state-owned BASIC Bank between 2009 and 2012, yet the scam's suspected mastermind, a former chairman of the bank, wasn't troubled by the anticorruption commission investigating the fraud, reportedly thanks to his political connections. Banking in Bangladesh is beholden to the politicians," he said.
Eid-ul-Azha celebrated with religious fervour

BSS, Dhaka :

The holy Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of Muslims, was celebrated on Tuesday in the country with due religious fervor and zeal.

In the capital, two city corporations of Dhaka-South and North-had arranged all-out management to allow devotees to offer their Eid prayers at over four thousand congregations at Eidgahs, playgrounds and mosques in the capital. Due to inclement weather with heavy rain from the morning, it was not possible for Musullis to offer prayers at open places including

Eidgahs. Most of the jamaats were shifted to mosques that led to hold more than one congregation at maximum mosques in the capital.

However, the main Eid jamaat (congregation) was held at 8.00 am on the National Eidgah adjacent to the High Court.

The jamaat was arranged by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). Special arrangements were made for women and foreign diplomats to offer Eid prayers at the National Eidgah. President Abdul Hamid offered Eid-ul-Azha prayers at the National Eidgah. After the prayer, he exchanged Eid greetings with devotees. Senior Pesh Imam of Baitul Mokarram National Mosque Moulana Mizanur Rahman conducted the jamaat.

Hundreds of devotees including cabinet members, political leaders, judges of the Supreme Court, diplomats, high civil and military officials and educationists offered their Eid-ul-Azha prayers at the National Eidgah Maidan. High security measures were taken surroundings the Eidgah.

Five congregations were arranged at Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. The first one was held at 7.00am, the second one at 8.00am and the third one at 9.00am. The 4th and the 5th congregations were held at 10.00am and 10.45 am. In all congregations, special prayers were offered for unity and integrity of Muslim Ummah, and peace, progress and prosperity of the nation. The prayers were followed by sacrificing of animals.

National flags were hoisted at different government and non-government offices and Bangladesh missions abroad on the occasion.

City streets were decorated with national flags and festoons inscribed with different messages on Eid-ul-Azha. Important public and private buildings have been illuminated in the capital. Improved foods were served to hospitals, prisons, orphanages, safe homes and shelter centers. The Eid congregation at the historic Sholakia Eidgah Maidan in Kishoreganj held at 9.00am witnessed less participation of Musullis than that of previous years due to inclement weather.

Devotees from different parts of the country joined the 198th jamaat at Sholakia Eidgah Maidan. Islamic scholar Moulana M Farid Uddin Mashud conducted the jamaat. Two special trains carried the devotees on Bhairab-Kishoreganj and Mymensingh-Kishoreganj routes. A three-tier security measure was taken in and around Sholakia Eidgah ground. The District Administration deployed members of different law enforcement agencies including three platoons BGB, police and RAB.

Eid-ul-Azha was celebrated in the port city of Chittagong as elsewhere in the country on Tuesday with the spirit of sacrifice, full surrender to the Almighty Allah in line with the inherent teachings of the holy occasion.

About 250 Eid congregations at mosques and open grounds, including M A Aziz Stadium and Jamiatul Falah Mosque, were held under the auspices of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and Chittagong Central Eid Jamaat Committee (CCEJC). Soon after the Eid congregations, the day's ritual- slaughtering of sacrificial animals also done, with peace and festivity.

Two large Eid congregations were held at Jamiatul Falah Mosque premises successively at 7.45 am and 8.15 am while another one was held at M.A. Aziz Stadium at 8.00 am. In Rajshahi city, main congregation of Eid-ul-Azha was held at Shahmukhdum Central Eidgah at 8 am. Muhtamim of Jameya Islamia Shahmukhdum Maulana Shahadat Ali conducted the prayers.

Fazley Hossain Badsha, MP, senior divisional and district level officials and local elites including Deputy Commissioner Kazi Ashraf Uddin offered Eid prayers there.

The second and the third largest Eid jamaats were held at City Eidgah (Tikapara) and at Shaheb Bazar Zero point respectively at the same time.

Over 150 Eid congregations were held at the traditional and temporary venues in Rajshahi metropolis under the supervision of respective Eid jamaat committees while major Eid jamaats were held at Rajshahi University, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi Court Eidgah, Rajshahi Stadium, Shalbagan Eidgah, New Market Jame Mosque, Police Line Math, Upashahar Eidgah Maidan and Rajarhata Jame Mosque.

In Rangpur, the festival was celebrated with due solemnity and festivity on Tuesday.

Rangpur City Corporation in association with the district and police administrations arranged the main Eid-ul-Azha congregations at the Central Collectorate Eidgah at 8.30 am.

Prime Minister's Special Envoy and Jatiya Party Chairman Hussein Muhammad Ershad, State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Mashiur Rahman Ranga, City Mayor Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu, Vice-chancellor of Begum Rokeya University Professor Dr AKM Nurun Nabi and Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hassan Ahmed participated in the main congregation.

The major Eid congregations were held at Keramotia Jam-e-Mosque, Shalbon Mistripara Jam-e-Mosque, Mandalpara Baro Eidgah, Damodarpur Baro Maidan, Satmatha Jam-e-Mosque, Munshipara Eidgah, Kamal Kachhna Baro Jam-e-Mosque, Nasirabad Ekramia Jam-e-Mosque, Mulatol Alia Madrasa, Mahiganj Shahi Jam-e-Mosque and Alamnagar Aftabia Eidgah and between 8.00 am and 9.00 am in the city.

The festival was also celebrated other parts of the country amid similar congregations, prayers and sacrificing of animals.
Verdict leak: SQC`s wife, son freed

Lawyer Fakhrul jailed for 10 years, 7-year each for 4 others

Court Correspondent :

Dhaka Cyber Crime Tribunal on Thursday acquitted the wife and son of executed BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, but convicted five others, including the lawyer of the case, filed for leaking the draft verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that awarded the BNP stalwart death sentence.

Judge KM Shamsul Alam of the court acquitted SQ Chowdhury's wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury and son Hummam Quader Chowdhury from the charges, but sentenced SQ Chowdhury's lawyer Barrister AKM Fakhrul Islam to 10 years' imprisonment with a fine of Tk one crore, in default he will suffer six months more rigorous imprisonment.

Besides, the court sentenced his associate advocate Mehedi Hasan, Hummam's manager Mahbubul Ahsan, two employees of ICT-1 office assistant Faruq Hossain and peon Nayan Ali to seven years' imprisonment each. The four convicts were also fined Tk 10,000 each,

in default, they will suffer six months more in prison.

Judge KM Shamsul Alam declared the verdict on Thursday after deferring the verdict twice as the judgment could not be completed on those two dates. .

Meanwhile, the court sent the four convicts to the prison. They were brought to the court on the occasion. Other convict advocate Mehedi Hasan is on the run since the beginning of the case.

On February 15, the court framed charges in the case against the seven accused, including SQ Chowdhury's wife, son and counsel. DB inspector M Shajahan submitted the charge sheet of the case to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka against the seven accused on August 28 in 2014.

On October 1, 2013, ICT-1 sentenced BNP Standing Committee Member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death after finding him guilty of committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. The verdict was implemented in Dhaka Central Jail on November 22 in 2015.

However, some parts of the draft verdict were found posted in the internet several hours before pronouncement of the verdict. Later, showing the copy of the draft verdict, Salauddin's wife and son raised a complaint that the verdict was originated from the Law

Ministry.

On October 4, the case was filed with Shahabagh Police Station under sections 57 and 63 of Information and Communication Technology Act.
20 fishermen abducted from Sundarbans

Khulna Correspondent :

At least 20 fishermen were abducted by a gang of bandits known as 'Jahangir Bahini' on Wednesday morning from Dhanshiddhirchar area within Chandpai range of the east Sundarbans.

On condition of anonymity, a UP member of

Chila union in Mongla upazila of Bagerhat district said, one week ago at least 30 fishermen went to fishing at Dhanshiddhirchar area within Chandpai range of the east Sundarbans. All on a sudden, a gang of 'Jahangir Bahini' swooping on them beat mercilessly and held 20 fishermen as hostage.

Earlier, on September 9, a separate crime gang known as Sagor Bahini, abducted some fishermen and then released for Taka 12 thousand each, the UP member added.

Lt. M Fariduzzaman, Staff Officer (Operations) of the West Zone Coast Guard said, being informed the news of fishermen abduction, three contingents of Coast Guard from Harbaria, Kokilmoni and Nolian area started drive with a view to rescuing the abducted fishermen.

No abducted fisherman could be rescued till filing this report at 1.20pm, Wednesday.


2 children handed over to families

Staff Reporter :

Two children, who were found on Saturday night at a militants' den in the capital's Azimpur, have been handed over to their respective families.

Pinki, 7, and 10-month-old Ruhi were handed over to their families on Monday, said Yusuf Ali, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Police found three children there during the raid.

Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit captured three suspected female militants during the raid, while a male extremist killed himself.

Besides, five CTTC officials namely Mahtab, Jahiruddin, Lablu, Ram Chandra Biswas and Shajahan Ali were injured in the incident.

Investigators said 14-year-old Tahrim Quaderi alias Rasel, son of dead militant Tanvir Quaderi alias Abdul Karim, had attacked police with knife during the raid.
Sri Lanka stops on-arrival visa

Bangladesh retaliates

Staff Reporter :

Dhaka has stopped issuing on-arrival visa for Sri Lankan nationals retaliating to Colombo's move for halting the same for Bangladeshi nationals on September 7, apparently without any prior information.

A Foreign Ministry official on Thursday said that Sri Lanka did not inform Dhaka before stopping issuance of on-arrival visas for Bangladeshi nationals. In this situation, Bangladesh also has stopped on-arrival visa facilities for Sri Lankan nationals, he said.

"Though Sri Lanka cancelled the facility of on-arrival visa," the official further said, "The Mihin Lanka, a Sri Lankan airline that operates direct flight between Dhaka and Colombo, is still carrying

passengers between the two countries." Officer-in-Charge [Immigration] of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Abdullah Al-Mamun has confirmed about the stoppage of on-arrival visa by both countries.

In this backdrop, Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MoFA] on Sunday summoned Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Dhaka Yasoja Gunasekera to the ministry in an urgent move during the Eid-ul Azha holidays to get a clarification over the issue.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour where Additional Foreign Secretary [bilateral and consular] Kamrul Ahsan voiced Dhaka's dissatisfaction over the issue. He also wanted to know the reason behind the sudden stoppage of visa. In response, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner said she herself did not know. She will inform Dhaka after consulting her Foreign Ministry in Colombo. "I am still trying to figure out the answer myself. I was not given any indication," the Sri Lankan envoy said.

When she was asked whether the on-arrival visa will resume soon, the high commissioner said, "Bangladeshis are always welcome in Sri Lanka. We value Bangladeshi visitors coming to Sri Lanka because more people-to-people contacts help build this valuable relationship."

It was learnt that, the Sri Lankan action came as a surprise to the Bangladesh foreign officials.

Meanwhile, the Daily News of Sri Lanka said: Despite reports that Sri Lanka has ended its visa on-arrival service for Bangladeshi visitors, Controller General of Immigration and Emigration M. N. Ranasinghe said that this is not the case. "There is no change in the policy. Bangladeshis can apply for a visa online or get a visa on-arrival," he said. Controller of Visa and Border Management M. B. Weerasekara, however, stated that the cancellation of the on-arrival visa policy was due to security concerns. "We are not banning them from the country. They can apply for a visa online and receive it in one or two days," he said. The Bangladesh High Commission in Colombo stated that many Sri Lankan citizens are stranded in Dhaka, as they await reconciliation between the two countries.

Some Sri Lankan newspapers, however, reported that Colombo took the decision to check infiltration of IS [Islamic State] militants in the wake of terror threat in the South Asia region. The restriction was also imposed on several other countries, including Bangladesh.


Duterte 'once killed man with Uzi'

BBC Online :

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte allegedly once shot dead a justice department agent with an Uzi submachine gun while serving as mayor of Davao.

The allegation was made by Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed former death squad member, before a Senate inquiry on extra-judicial killings. Mr Duterte, he alleged, ordered him and others to kill about 1,000 criminals or political rivals over a 25-year period. A spokesman for Mr Duterte denied the allegations.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said investigations into the president's time as mayor had gone nowhere. Mr Matobato, 57, said he had been a member of the Davao Death Squad, a notorious vigilante group allegedly responsible for hundreds of killings.

"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," he said. But he also said that Mr Duterte's opponents had been targeted too, including four bodyguards of a local rival for mayor, Prospero Nograles. In 1993, he said his group had injured a justice department agent after a confrontation at a road block.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off," he said. "Jamisola [the justice department official] was still alive when he [Duterte] arrived.

He emptied two Uzi magazines on him." Victims would be shot or strangled, he said, with some disembowelled and dumped into the sea so fish could eat them, or in one case fed to a crocodile. He told the Senate panel he had gone from a witness protection programme into hiding when Mr Duterte became president, fearing for his life.

Mr Matobato also alleged Mr Duterte had ordered the bombing of a mosque in retaliation for an attack on Davao Cathedral in 1993. On this claim, Mr Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, said "I don't think he is capable of giving those orders."

He said the country's Commission on Human Rights had failed to even prove the existence of the Davao Death Squad. Prospero Nograles' son Karlo, a Davao city representative, denied Mr Matobato's account relating to his father's bodyguards. "I don't know what this guy is talking about," he wrote on Facebook.

"I can only suspect that this guy is being manipulated by some people to only serve their own selfish interests." The woman leading the Senate inquiry into extra-judicial killings, Leila de Lima, is a strong critic of Mr Duterte and has been accused by him of having links to the illegal drug trade, something she denies.

At one point, she and an ally of Mr Duterte, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, clashed, with Mr Cayetano questioning Mr Matobato's credibility and accusing him of being part of a plot to unseat the Philippines' president. Mr Duterte became mayor of Davao in 1988, and his tough stance saw crime rates plummet, an approach he has vowed to replicate at national level.

Since his election this year more than 3,000 drug users and dealers have been killed amid international alarm over human rights violations.

But Mr Duterte has dismissed concerns over his drugs policies, calling UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "a fool" and referring to US President Barack Obama as a "son of a whore", something he later said he regretted.
College student killed `by fellow` Feni

Correspondent :

A college student was killed allegedly by his classmates over dealing of some money at Rampur in the district town on Wednesday night.

The deceased was identified as Ripon, 22, a second year student of Nasir Memorial College and son of Imam Hossain Sentu, a van puller. Shahinuzzaman, officer-in-charge

(investigation) of Feni Model Police Station, said Ripon had an enmity with some of his classmates over Tk2,000.

As a sequel to the enmity, some youths called Ripon out of the house over phone and took him to a place nearby around 10 pm. Later, they hit Ripon with sharp weapons, leaving him critically injured.

Hearing his groaning, some locals came to his rescue and rushed him to Feni Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Russia accuses US of failing to abide by deal

BBC Online :

Russia has accused the United States of failing to fulfil its obligations under the truce agreement in Syria.

A defence ministry statement said Washington was using a "verbal curtain" to hide its reluctance to rein in the rebel groups it supports.

The truce has broadly held since taking effect on Monday although the Russian-backed Syrian army and rebels have accused each other of many violations. Meanwhile, the UN has warned there is a "problem" with getting aid into Syria. Special envoy Staffan de Mistura placed responsibility on the Syrian government which, he said, had not yet provided the "facilitation letters" that would allow aid convoys to pass through army checkpoints and reach besieged areas. "We cannot let days of this reduction of violence be wasted by not moving forward," he told reporters in Geneva. The Russian defence ministry insisted that from the very beginning of the truce,

Moscow had been fulfilling its obligations, which includes ensuring that the Syrian air force does not bomb areas held by mainstream rebel forces and setting up checkpoints in divided second city of Aleppo.

It therefore found "confusing" recent comments by US officials that expressed doubts about whether Russia would be able to deliver.

"Only the Syrian army has been observing the ceasefire regime... while the US-led 'moderate opposition' has been increasing the number of shellings of residential quarters," the ministry statement said.

"Moreover, it appears that the 'verbal curtain' of Washington is aimed at hiding the non-fulfilment of the US obligations." The US, it added, had not yet compelled rebels to separate themselves on the ground from allied fighters from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, a jihadist group known as al-Nusra Front until it formally broke off ties with al-Qaeda in July. The move is necessary before the US and Russia can start conducting joint air strikes targeting Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and so-called Islamic State (IS). The Russian defence ministry also stressed that the Syrian army was ready to pull troops back from the Castello Road in Aleppo to ensure the safe movement of humanitarian convoys. Mr de Mistura said the creation of a demilitarised zone along the road, which runs around the north of the city into the rebel-held east, was proving complicated.

Both government and rebel forces are ready to withdraw personnel and weapons at least 500m (1,640ft) away from the road, but they will not begin until they see each other doing the same, according to a monitoring group.

"There is great fear because the regime exploits every opportunity," Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim told Reuters news agency. Mr de Mistura's humanitarian adviser, Jan Egeland, is exasperated at the situation. "Can well-fed grown men please stop putting political, bureaucratic and procedural roadblocks for brave humanitarian workers that are willing to go to serve women, children, wounded civilians in besieged and crossfire areas?" he asked. Later, Mr Egeland said a convoy of 20 lorries carrying food supplies for the estimated 250,000 people trapped in eastern Aleppo had crossed into the buffer zone between the Turkish-Syrian border and would hopefully arrive on Friday.

The big fear is that if no aid gets through soon, the warring parties will grow impatient, and the fighting will begin, reports the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.
Arrest made after fire damages Florida mosque

Al Jazeera News :

A 32-year-old man has been arrested and is facing a charge of arson and hate crime in a fire that heavily damaged a mosque in Florida, according to US authorities.

Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested without incident on Wednesday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late on Sunday at the Islamic Centre of Fort Pierce, said Major David Thompson of the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office. Thompson said Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere. He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

The fire was set late on Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreiber's home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts. A Facebook page apparently belonging to the suspect, established under his name with photos resembling his booking photo, include a message posted on July 12 that said "ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS" written in capital letters with several mispellings.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida (CAIR-Florida), responded to social media posts by Schreiber claiming to be a Jew who was "fighting back".

"He obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation," Ruiz said. Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections.

At the news conference, Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber on Wednesday evening, and he didn't say if Schreiber had a lawyer. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a large hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

There were reports that the mosque had been attended by Omar Mateen, the man who opened fire at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others on June 12.

Mateen, a New York-born resident of Florida, was killed by police. His father is reportedly among roughly 100 people who attend the Islamic Centre of Fort Pierce regularly.

The mosque has reported numerous threats of violence and intimidation since it was identified publicly as Mateen's place of worship. In June a motorcycle gang circled the property and shouted at its members, and in July a Muslim man was beaten outside the mosque.


HSIA employee Faruk held

Chandpur Correspondent :

Police detained Omar Faruk over his alleged assault on a child domestic worker.

Faruk is an employee of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

A team of Chandpur police with the help of Joydevpur police detained

him around 7.00pm on Thursday. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Chandpur Shamsun Nahar confirmed the detention.

Omar Faruk and his wife, Moni Begum, physically tortured the domestic help named Jannnatul Ferdous when they were in Gazipur.

Moni Begum, however, ran away and escaped the arrest though police were trying to detain her in this connection.

A case was filed with the Hymchar Police Station in this connection.
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
Total agricultural losses in the March and April floods are currently calculated at $367 million.

Photo courtesy LSU Ag Center/Bruce Shultz

Damage estimates now counted at $277 million from Augusts catastrophic floods in Louisiana are more than double the expectations that ruminated late last month, according to a report released by LSU Ag Center economists. Combined with north Louisianas own calamitous flooding back in March, Louisianas farmers are expected to suffer a total of $367 million this year.

Much of Louisianas productive commercial farmland resides in Acadiana, which suffered a disastrous proportion of the damage attributed to the August floods which ravaged Louisianas overall economy to the tune of $8.7 billion. Rice and soy, two of the most heavily affected crops, are primarily grown around the southwest Louisiana parishes.

At press time, ABiz had not received the detailed report to calculate Acadiana-specific damages. Based on previous expectations, the damage should be significant.

LSU agricultural economist Kurt Guidry reports that soybean and rice combined for roughly $140 million in damage, a sharp uptick from previous estimates which hovered closer to $90 million.

These impacts will likely create significant financial challenges for many agricultural producers who were already under considerable financial stress resulting from low commodity production in 2015 and low commodity prices in both 2015 and 2016, Guidry told The Advocate.

Back in late August, Guidry and his colleagues predicted total losses of $110 million. At the time, Guidry intimated that the losses could creep closer to $200 based on preliminary reports trickling in from hard hit regions like Vermilion Parish. The most recent numbers exceed Guidry's previously cited fears.

Agriculture commissioner Mike Strain is reportedly headed to Washington D.C. this week to lobby for additional aid.

Read more about the August flood's impact on the farm industry here.
Cayla Zeek Photo submitted

Festival International de Louisiane has announced Cayla Zeek as the Official 2017 Visual Artist. Zeek has created a piece that captures the spirit and joy of the nations largest international music festival.

For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to symbols of birds in storytelling as a tool to foreshadow an event, says Zeek in a release announcing her selection as the Official 2017 Visual Artist. In this particular piece, the Brown Pelican characterizes the southern setting of Festival International de Louisiane and acts as a bearer of the festival to come."

Drawn out from the bird is an offering of diverse flags from the many nations tied to this francophone festival and local community. The playfulness in the figures of this piece encompass the whimsical spirit of music, art, and people - the core ingredients that give Festival International de Louisiane its unique flavor.

Cayla is extremely talented and has created a masterpiece that accurately represents the francophone and international heritage that Festival stands for, says Stephen Gaubert, Festival Internationals Board President.

Zeeks design will serve as the inspiration for the official Festival poster and cloisonne pin.

My eagerness to attend Festival International is something I have felt annually since I went to my first one as a young gal, notes Zeek. I wanted L' ami a plumes de la Fete to represent that feeling of anticipation for this exceptional event.

Zeek is from Lafayette, and graduated in 2015 from the University of Louisiana with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Her art is characterized by mixed media layering process with watercolor, pen, charcoal, acrylic and oil on paper or canvas.

She gathers inspirations from her many travels, birds, childrens literature, mythology, as well as her experiences growing up as a woman in Louisiana. Zeek was the recipient of the Visual Arts Spark Award and Outstanding Student Award from the University of Louisiana as well as other scholarships that have been key in her pursuit of painting.

Her work is shown through many exhibitions hosted at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, and in other galleries in Downtown Lafayette, Breaux Bridge, and New Orleans.

She works as a designer/illustrator and has started growing her own hand-drawn illustration business, Matteas Hand. Zeeks designs are currently carried in stores all over the nation and even in Australia. She is also a Middle School Art Teacher at Ascension Episcopal School where she inspires young minds to get excited about art-making. Her work can be seen at www.matteashand.com and www.caylazeek.com.

L' ami a plumes de la Fete will be on display at La Fete du Festival, a ticketed fundraising event on Friday, Nov. 11, at Warehouse 535 and will be up for silent auction.
The 2015 Project Front Yard Award recipients pose with IBERIABANK Acadiana President Jerry Vascocu and former Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel. Photo submitted

IBERIABANK and the Lafayette Mayor-Presidents Office are calling for nominations for the Third Annual Project Front Yard Awards. The awards are given annually to recognize individuals and organizations in Lafayette who are working to improve the face of the community.

Nominations will be accepted in four categories; Best in Cleanliness, Best in Beautification, Best in Education and Overall Best Project Front Yard Effort.

Project Front Yard is not a department or a team, says Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux in a release. Its an initiative to create awareness. Its important that we recognize those individuals and organizations that enhance our communitys appearance and inspire others to be a part of the movement.

According to Robideaux, the Project Front Yard Awards were created to highlight groups and community members who work tirelessly to improve the face of the community on issues of cleanliness, beautification, and education.

Project Front Yard partner IBERIABANK will host the Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 6, to honor the recipients.

We are excited to have been at the start of a new tradition that continues to recognize and celebrate those in our community who are doing the right thing to create a beautiful Lafayette, says Jerry Vascocu, IBERIABANK Acadiana President. "We look forward to more opportunities ahead and are excited about our community's future."

To be eligible, individual nominees must either live or work in Lafayette Parish and organizations for nomination must be located within Lafayette Parish. The nomination deadline is Sept. 26. More details including the 2016 Project Front Yard Award Nomination Forms can be found at www.ProjectFrontYard.com.

During the Second Annual Ceremony in September of 2015, four awards were given to honor individuals and organizations that embody the mission of Project Front Yard:
Louisiana will borrow up to $400 million from two banks to lessen a state government cash crunch and help keep bill-paying on track at state agencies.

The Bond Commission agreed without objection Thursday to the short-term loans, which will be drawn down as needed and must be repaid by August 2017. Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration, Treasurer John Kennedy and legislative leaders all sit on the commission and agreed to the transactions.

The state's financial adviser, Renee Boicourt with Lamont Financial Services Corp., estimated Louisiana will need to tap into $300 million of the loans by the end of October for cash flow across departments.

The loans, from U.S. Bank and J.P. Morgan, are likely to cost the state at least $1.3 million in interest and other fees  and up to $1.6 million, depending on how much money is borrowed. Proposed repayment of the loans would be in three monthly installments, beginning in June, though some lawmakers hope to pay off the loans earlier.

Louisiana last took out a similar short-term loan nearly 30 years ago, according to Kennedy, though local governments regularly use the approach. The maneuver, state officials say, is needed because Louisiana has fewer reserves to use after years of budget raids.

Tax collections, fees and other payments to state coffers tend to be back-loaded, with most of them arriving in the second half of the state's budget year. Until those payments roll into the treasury, the state usually borrows from its own savings accounts.

But former Gov. Bobby Jindal and lawmakers drained many of those accounts to patch together prior budgets, and that left the state with about $3 billion less in treasury reserves for short-term borrowing.

For example, Senate Finance Chairman Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, noted the state used to have about $300 million in unspent cash that rolled over from year to year. Former Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration identified that cash cushion as a surplus and, with the Legislature's approval, used it to plug holes in the budget.

"That is why we are here today for the most part," LaFleur said. "We blew it all, and we all voted for it."

House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said he expects Louisiana might need to take out a similar cash-flow loan in the next budget year as well. Meanwhile, the Edwards administration is looking for ways to shrink some upfront state expenses.

One of the state's larger early expenses is the payment to the private managers of the charity hospitals, clinics and patient services previously operated by LSU. Edwards' top budget adviser, Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, said the state has been paying 80 percent of its more than $1 billion budget for the privatization deals by October.

"We're going to change that," Dardenne said. "I've notified the partners."
Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes.

What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection?

Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were.

Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property  there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection:

You get to see exactly what will happen to your money

When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor.

Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on.

A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with.

You find out about potential major repairs

Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing.

If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately.

You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on

One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home.

Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly.

You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for

While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best.

This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit.

Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home.

You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price

If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home.

You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price.

You can sell your home faster and for more money

If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are.

In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price.

Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for.

Your home will hold its value longer

As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property.

When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home.

You can make smart decisions about property investments

Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property.

If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal.

There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about.

If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage

If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing.

They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit.

You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors

If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for.

For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money.

You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition

Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building.

You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure.

Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so.

As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process.
President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war?

You voted:
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CARBONDALE  What appears to be an unprecedented amount of campaign cash is flowing through Southern Illinois this election cycle as five House and Senate seats are up for re-election in one of the most contentious political eras in Illinois modern history.

Curious where those millions of dollars are coming from?

On Southern Illinois Universitys campus on Monday, experts will break it all down and demonstrate for voters how they can follow the money trail leading up to the November election.

The public is invited to an event at 5 p.m. at the SIU Carbondale Student Center hosted by the SIU Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and featuring Sarah Brune, executive director, and David Melton, senior adviser, from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

I think for the general voter right now, theyre seeing so many ads whether its on TV or mailers, and you want to understand whos paying for those and where thats coming from, Brune said. That allows the voter to make a more educated decision when they go to the polls.

Brune said the event will highlight information on the several hot races playing out right now in Illinois that are bringing the big bucks to town.

The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform is a nonpartisan public interest group that conducts research and advocates for reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics and encourage integrity, accountability and transparency in government.

The event brings the nonprofit back to its roots, in many ways. The ICPR was founded in 1997 by former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Makanda, a lifelong champion of good government, and then-Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra. It became an independent nonprofit in 2003.

According to the nonprofits website, it was the first organization in the nation to put state-level campaign finance reforms into a searchable, online database, which anyone can utilize by visiting www.illinoissunshine.org.

The event will include a tutorial on how to use the database, where the public can search political contributions, expenditures and other campaign finance information.

Free pizza will be provided at the event for anyone who RSVPs by Friday, which can be done by emailing Cary Day at rsvp@paulsimoninstitute.org.
The Southern Illinoisan reached out to the candidates this past week to talk about the role of the rank-and-file lawmaker when so much power is centralized with the Democratic legislative leadership and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, and discuss in general terms what would be their approach to the job and to tackling the structural budget deficit facing Illinois.

Specifically, the legislative candidates were asked what taxes they could support raising or spending and what they could support cutting in order to balance a budget that is nearly $8 billion in the hole.

The Southern also asked for the candidates positions on what could be described as building-block issues as it relates to the makeup of the General Assembly and the electoral process: redistricting reform, term limits and campaign finance reform. The Southern is providing a summary of their answers broken down by district races throughout the week.

117th House District

John Bradley, Democrat, incumbent

Dave Severin, Republican

Severin

What do you see as the role of the rank-and-file lawmaker?

Severin said he will be the type of lawmaker that will work with and for people in Springfield. He said that in order for the state to pass a budget, we have to get both sides to work together, which he said means the rank-and-file have to work together regardless of what the legislative leadership and governor choose to do.

He said he sees his strength as being able to speak rationally and realistically about the issues. Severin said he understands he cant unjam the stalemate as one person but said he is a work together kind of guy. Severin offers that he would be a better choice than his opponent because he believes that Bradley is beholden to Speaker Mike Madigan.

Just look where his money is coming from, Severin said. I dont have to accuse him. It is facts. You can look where the finances are coming from. The money is coming from Chicago.

Severin is the owner of All Stars-N-Stiches in Benton and president of the Benton grade school board.

Asked how it would be different for Severin in Springfield given that his largest donations are coming from the Republican Party leadership, namely the House Republican Organization, which has received most of its money from Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, Severin said the difference is that his legislative record doesnt show him beholden to Republican Party leaders as Bradleys record shows him tied to Madigan, a claim Bradley has denied.

Of note, Severin does not have a legislative record, but he said that people should take his word on this because thats his character. Im not Rauners boy. Im the 117th districts boy, Severin said. Im fighting for not just the 117th but also the whole state.

Severin said he believes he could do a better job in Springfield than Bradley because he has a track record as a servant and not a politician and never gives up when pursuing a goal. I will fight until there is no more breath in my body when Im working for something, he said. Severin said he mentioned that to someone who told him in return that, given his passion for service, perhaps he should be president of the United States. Well, maybe, he said.

He said that although both sides in this campaign have aired what could be described as negative campaign ads, he believes that some of Bradleys ads against him have crossed the line. He did not think his campaign ads have crossed the line.

In Southern Illinois, we value the safety of our neighbors, friends and families, begins one of the ads by Bradley that Severins campaign has taken issue with. So why would anyone want to weaken penalties for dangerous criminals? Dave Severins biggest supporter wants to let 25 percent of the states prisoners loose into our communities.

This is an obvious reference to Gov. Rauners plan to reduce the prison population by 25 percent over 10 years. The idea of reducing the prison population through a variety of measures including sentencing reform, programs aimed at reducing recidivism, drug courts and making more options available for community sanctions for non-violent offenders is something that is, in the general sense, supported by Republicans and Democrats alike and that the majority of the electorate favors, according to several recent polls.

What taxes could you support raising and/or what spending could you support cutting in order to balance the budget?

While Severin is critical of several of Bradleys budget-related votes, he did not offer up a comprehensive approach to how he would balance the budget, either through raising taxes, cutting programs or a combination of those things. Severin said he is generally opposed to raising any taxes.

If we increase taxes were going to create a bigger woe, Severin said. He said the most responsible way to generate new revenues is to grow the economy. But that is a long-term solution and Illinois budget crisis is imminent.

Pressed further on whether he could support any type of tax increase as part of solving the states financial predicament, Severin said he could not answer that flat yes or no. He said it would depend on the parameters of the proposal. He did not have specifics as to what parameters would make it palatable for him to vote for a revenue-generating proposal. Asked, therefore, what he could support cutting from the budget that is billions of dollars in the hole, he said: I cant tell you off the top of my head.

He added, Im going to be willing to make tough decisions. Severin said he would study the budget closely once hes elected and that hes willing to put in the hard work to make recommendations to balance the budget.

With the Illinois Supreme Court ruling to keep the fair maps amendment off the November ballot, what should happen next?

Severin said he was supportive of the Independent Map Commissions ballot initiative and would be supportive of the General Assembly taking up a proposal to create an independent commission to draw district lines, as the ballot initiative called for.

Do you support term limits for Illinois officeholders?

Severin said he supports term limits. Asked for his policy position on this topic, Severin said, My policy is not to serve for 30 or 40 years like Madigan has done. Asked to be more specific, Severin said he believes that the limit should be three to four terms for a state representative.

Given the rising cost of elections, do you support any type of campaign finance reform?

Severin said that on the area of reforming campaign finance laws, he believes that is something to look at and work together on coming up with solutions. He did not have specific policies he would propose or support changing, but Severin said the amount of money being spent in this election season is ridiculous.

Bradley

What do you see as the role of the rank-and-file lawmaker? (Because Bradley is a member of Speaker Mike Madigans House leadership team, serving as assistant majority leader, and as chairman of the House Revenue and Finance Committee, Bradley also was asked to discuss his role in leadership).

I think first and foremost you have to represent your people and the people of your district and your area, Bradley said.

Bradley said that Southern Illinois has a rich history of terrific legislators in Southern Illinois who have been able to accomplish a great deal of things in Washington, D.C., and Springfield for the area by working across geographic and party lines. I think we both live in their shadow and at the same time strive to grow into their shoes, Bradley said. He said his leadership role should be looked at as a benefit to the area. He noted that in the recent stopgap budget negotiations with Senate and House leaders and the governor, he was the only person in the room from south of Champaign.

I think thats a huge responsibility for all of the people of Southern Illinois, Bradley said. And I take it very, very seriously and I love our area and I do this because I love our area and I want to help try to make a difference.

He continued, Its a big state and there are huge problems which werent created overnight and I want to be part of those discussions and I want to be heard and when Im heard, the people of Southern Illinois are heard.

In recent years, Bradley has been criticized for several controversial budget-related votes hes taken, primarily a 2011 vote in favor of a four-year temporary income tax increase and a 2013 vote in favor of a measure that reduced pension benefits for people already retired or paying into the system as workers. That sessions Senate Bill 1 signed into law by then-Gov. Pat Quinn was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court. Bradley said that although those decisions were difficult he did what he thought was right.

Severins primary attack in this campaign has been that Bradleys loyalties are to Madigan and Chicago Democrats and not Southern Illinois.

To that, Bradley said, I would point out that folks that arent in leadership in both parties are receiving the same criticisms and I think theres a tendency in politics, particularly in this very, very ugly campaign season for those kinds of assertions, whether they be true or not, to be made. Bradley said he has never taken a vote to the detriment of our area.

In this election cycle, Bradley said he has been the victim of a lot of questionable advertising against me. As for the attack ads hes running against his opponent, Bradley said those ads are fair. Its only the ones being run against him that he finds unfair.

Bradley refused to answer specific policy questions related to the attack ads hes running against Severin. He would only repeat in regards to specific policy questions related to the ads that he thinks they are fair. For example, the ad that states Dave Severins biggest supporter wants to let 25 percent of the states prisoners loose into our communities is a reference to Rauners bipartisan efforts to reduce the prison population. But Bradley refused to answer a question about whether he could support any type of prison reforms being proposed by the commission that Rauner created.

Prison reform has been one of the few areas to receive bipartisan support in Springfield aimed at both saving state dollars and coming up with more effective ways to deal with repeat offenders, particularly those serving time for non-violent offenses. While some of the proposals being offered by the commission are more controversial than others, Bradley would not take any questions on the topic about what he might support or oppose in regards to reforms.

Ive got a tough on crime history and voting record and I think the ad is fair, he said.

What taxes could you support raising and/or what spending could you support cutting in order to balance the budget?

Ive made some tough votes over the years and I have a history of not just talking about these things but taking action, Bradley said. Bradley said that ideally, with regards to revenue, he would work with the Republican spokesperson on the House Revenue and Finance Committee to figure out what above-the-line costs the state had such as pensions, health care and money needed to pay down the backlog of bills owed and use whats left to distribute to the major areas of government such as education, public safety and social services. Bradley said he has a history of doing that in the past in a bipartisan fashion and would like to see a return to that era of bipartisan governing.

This is a 50-60 year problem were dealing with, Bradley said. Were not going to dig out of it overnight. And so we need to start turning the ship around and start going in the right direction.

Bradley also said he worked with Rauner in his first months in office to solve the shortfall in the fiscal year 2015 budget when the temporary income tax increase partially reset to a lower level. But Bradley said that bipartisan spirit eroded shortly after that because Rauner took cuts too far and began picking winners and losers. Bradley said some of the losers were John A. Logan College, SIU and the Hardin County Work Camp. So the wheels just kind of fell off after that, he said of Democratic leaders' ability to work with Rauner to solve the budget.

Bradley said he thinks that budget cuts should be made across-the-board in the major areas of government. He did not say what percentage level of cuts he thinks would be necessary or could support. Bradley also said that some areas should be exempted from that. He named K-12 education, veterans services and public safety as areas he would exempt but said his list was not necessarily meant to be exhaustive. There may be others areas that should be exempted as well, he said. Bradley said thats a fairer way to shore up the budget shortfall rather than eliminating some programs altogether.

Bradley said that before he could consider any type of tax increase again, lawmakers and the governor need to take a line-by-line look at state spending.

I dont think we should get into that discussion until weve given a comfort level to people of Illinois that anything and everything has been done to get the state spending under control, Bradley said. Asked whether he felt as though that had been done prior to approval of the 2011 temporary income tax increase, Bradley said, I did what I felt like was the right thing and what had to be done in 2011 at the time.

Bradley said this is a different time and a different situation.

With the Illinois Supreme Court ruling to keep the fair maps amendment off the November ballot, what should happen next?

Bradley said he did not support the Illinois Map Amendments ballot initiative because he said he was concerned that Southern Illinois would not be fairly represented on the independent commission that would have been created. Bradley said would support the General Assembly working to change the process of drawing district lines, and could vote in favor of a measure so long as the process is constitutional and Southern Illinois individuals are fairly represented on the independent commission charged with making the maps.

Do you support term limits for Illinois officeholders?

Bradley said he is generally concerned about term limits. I think you put yourself in a situation where you limit the ability to have a Ken Gray or Clyde Choate or Glenn Poshard, he said of former long-serving lawmakers at the state and federal levels. Bradley said he also looks at examples of county board members and mayors who have served for a long time that he would hate to see forced out of office over term limits. He said he believes that term limits could concentrate too much power with bureaucrats, and would not allow those serving enough time to build critical experience and expertise.

Given the rising cost of elections, do you support any type of campaign finance reform?
Les Winkeler Sports editor Les Winkeler is sports editor and outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Follow Les Winkeler 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

Last week the Winkeler family flew to Florida for a brief vacation.

We flew out of MidAmerica St. Louis Airport  an interesting name since the facility is located between Mascoutah and Lebanon, Illinois.

Our departure was on a beautifully clear morning, certainly an anomaly the last couple weeks. Having grown up in nearby Beckemeyer, I was tickled when the plane roared off the runway heading east, meaning we would fly roughly over my hometown.

(OK, it really doesnt take much to entertain me.)

Actually, I found the first 10 minutes of the flight fascinating. At first it was fun to pick out tiny details  I could actually pick out the homes of relatives as we flew over New Baden, Trenton, Albers, Aviston, Germantown, Beckemeyer and Bartelso.

It became more difficult to pinpoint minor details as the plane gained altitude. But, the ground below me slowly morphed into a life-size relief map of Southern Illinois.

The plane was still low enough that I could monitor our progress by following Interstates 64 and 57.

Soon, we were soaring over Rend Lake. I smiled while noting that the lake is indeed shaped as it appears on maps. Again, using the interstates as markers, I saw Benton, Thompsonville, Harrisburg and Eldorado passing below us.

Then, the Ohio River came into view.

It was strange to peer down at the river and realize it was forming the border of Illinois that I had seen thousands of times on maps. The confluence of the Wabash and Ohio rivers was clearly visible. By now the jet was approaching cruising altitude and it was difficult to determine which block of houses was Elizabethtown or Golconda.

Yet, I felt something approaching pride, or at least, comfort, while gazing at the region called home.

On one hand, the expanse of home was striking. When Jefferson, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin and Pope counties can all be viewed at once  its impressive. Conversely, that perspective made it clear that home is a small corner of the world. It took less than 30 minutes before we had entered Kentucky air space.

The overall view offered still another perspective. It was fascinating to see the blend of woods and water, agricultural fields and urban development. Particularly striking was the fractured nature of the Shawnee National Forest.

Looking down from above it is abundantly clear that the Shawnee is a patchwork, not a monolithic stand of trees.

The things seen from that airplane window werent a revelation. I had an understanding of the geography, the demographics. But, the overview offered a unique perspective. And, perspective is always an asset.
BAMBERG -- Bamberg City Council approved its annual fire service agreement with Bamberg County at its meeting Monday night, but not without dissatisfaction from several council members.

Council members Kathy Schwarting and Robin Chavis expressed frustration that the annual fire service amount of $50,500, which they said has not increased in several years, only covers approximately one-third of what it costs the city to provide fire service in the county.

Bamberg Fire Chief Timmy Taylor, who also serves on the county fire board, provided clarification, stating the funds the county uses for the fire contracts with Bamberg, Denmark and seven other departments in the county come only from the countys fire tax assessment.

Police Chief George Morris weighed in, saying the city should provide services up to the amount of the fire contract for the county and no more. However, Taylor indicated that wasnt possible.

Compounding the issue is the need, characterized as "urgent" by Taylor and Bamberg Fire Department Engineer Steve Barton, to replace the citys aging fire service fleet.

Mayor Blain Crosby appointed Fire Commissioner Rosetta Draper, Schwarting and newly elected Councilman Willie Staley to a committee to conduct a budget study to look for funds for a new fire engine.

Also during the meeting, Schwarting reported she is working on a grant application to the Municipal Association of South Carolina for economic development activities. She said among the activities being considered are a farmers market and a Friday night downtown event. The grant will require a 5 percent match of $1,250 from the town as well as a resolution from council.

Schwarting also discussed a number of complaints she said she had received about the condition of the county hospital property, particularly the modular units. She received the go-ahead from the mayor to approach the county regarding the issue.

Barton reported on a partnership between the fire department and the American Red Cross to install smoke detectors in local homes.

He said the group began installing the detectors in the homes of residents who receive Meals on Wheels services. Barton said the beginning focus is on the older population in Bamberg, as 70 percent of fire deaths in South Carolina occur in ages 65 and older.

Taylor added that the smoke detectors being installed are "10-year" detectors and the batteries cannot be removed.

In other business:

Crosby appointed Staley to serve as insurance commissioner and to also serve on the public buildings and economic development commission and the license commission.
NORWAY -- Enforcement of the town's litter laws and participation in next month's countywide Operation Clean Sweep litter pickup day were discussed at Norway Town Council's Sept. 12 meeting.

Resident Joey Williamson asked council to enforce the litter laws, noting, We need to keep this town cleaner. Everybody needs to do their part, and that includes the town employees, landowners and business owners, too. No business or industry is going to be very interested in a dirty town.

Councilman Michael Singleton agreed Norway needs to be cleaned up, adding that another detriment in the town is "the lack of housing."

Operation Clean Sweep, an initiative to pick up litter throughout Orangeburg County on Oct. 15, will include several "litter zones" in the Norway area, it was noted.

Volunteers are still being sought to participate in the upcoming cleanup, Norway officials said, noting those interested in helping can go to the Operation Clean Sweep website to locate their zone and sign up as a volunteer.

Council discussed including a memo about Operation Clean Sweep on the next water bills.

Also discussed during the meeting was the failure to complete repairs to the Norway Park building by the contractor who was hired to do the work.

The equipment for the penny sales tax project was purchased but was never installed, and the contractor was required to return all of the uninstalled equipment, it was noted.

Mayor Ann Johnson reported that Orangeburg County officials had inspected the park building and agreed that the unused Capital Projects Sales Tax funds may be used to complete the repairs. The project can be completed with the third round of the penny sales tax monies, she said.

Citizen Rose Dukes asked how much money had been spent on the building to date, and she was told the amount had not yet been determined.

In other business, Johnson presented last month's water/wastewater department report, noting, There were no DHEC violations for August, although we are still waiting for the Sanitary Survey results. Both of our water tanks have been repaired.

The mayor also gave an update on Police Chief Scott Ward, who is recovering from surgery on Aug. 19.

"He returned to the doctor, but is still directed to put no pressure on his foot," Johnson said. "Until he returns, the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office will continue to support Norway by patrolling this area.

Coker Fogle of the Norway Beautification Committee reported blueprints for the Main Street landscaping project had been prepared. A meeting with the planner was scheduled immediately following the council meeting, Fogle said. He said the town would begin advertising for bids on the landscaping soon.

Also during the meeting:

Council, at the request of the Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains, approved a resolution supporting passenger trains traveling through Norway.

Johnson reported she spoke with a construction engineer about repairing the back wall of the Willow School, along with leaks in the school's auditorium. She said she and Councilwoman Bonnie Fogle attended a Lower Savannah Council of Governments meeting in Denmark last month and are hopeful that, with help from LSCOG, a grant can be secured to help pay for the repairs.

The mayor announced the Family Dollar Store recently built on Savannah Highway will open on Sept. 29. The grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at the new store at 8 a.m. on Oct. 8, she said.

Coker Fogle suggested placing positive messages about Norway on public billboards. As an example, he offered, Norway, a great place to live!

Fogle announced the Norway Matrons' Club will host a Tour of Homes during the Christmas season. This is a very positive thing for Norway, he said. A lot of people attend this event. This year, it will be held on Dec. 3 and will include an opportunity to visit our museum.

New town limit signs were put up on Sept. 12, it was noted.
Congressman Jim Clyburn says Democrats can win South Carolina, but its going to take strong turnout for it to happen.

The only way we can do that is for counties like Orangeburg to vote heavily to overcome those counties that are going to be going the other way, Clyburn said. We just cant win Orangeburg by one or two thousand votes.

The 6th District congressman spoke Sunday at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Orangeburg County Democratic Partys new headquarters, located at 870 John C. Calhoun Dr.

Clyburn praised President Barack Obamas time in office.

Barack Obama has cut the deficit by 60 percent since hes been in office, Clyburn said. Unemployment has been cut in half.

He said, If people tell you this country is going in the wrong direction, ask them: What is wrong about cutting unemployment in half?

Clyburn spoke of the difference between Republican and Democratic presidents.

If you look at that time from 1980 to now, Republicans have been in charge of the White House four more years than Democrats, he said. However, if you look at the number of jobs that were created under the Democrats as opposed to jobs created under Republicans, you might be surprised to find out theres been 12 million more jobs created under Democrats than under Republicans.

Clyburn said, When you look at job growth, you look at what the economy has been doing, this president has been highly successful.

The facts are what they are. Everybody cant have different facts.

Clyburn called Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump dishonest, saying He has told more lies than anybody in the history of the presidency.

Trump doesnt seem like hes trying to improve, Clyburn said.

He seems to be devolving to as low a level as he can possibly get, he said.

Betty Henderson, chair of the Orangeburg County Democratic Party, said the county is usually one of the most Democratic counties, but theres much work to be done.

Never has an election been this crucial, Henderson said. We cannot take that chance.

She added that this election will determine if the country moves forward or backward.

Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, said voting in this election is a must.

Too many people have sacrificed for us to have the right to vote, he said. If you dont like one of the two candidates  and you dont participate in the process, then its on you.
A Cottonwood Drive teenager called law enforcement after reportedly seeing a clown in his backyard on Tuesday.

In the wake of sightings elsewhere, we've received reports here that turned out to be hoaxes. In this particular case, we went to the address and searched for anyone dressed in this type of clothing, searching the woods and nearby streets yet found no one, Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office spokesman Richard Walker said.

The sheriffs office responded to the call at 2:09 p.m.

The Orangeburg teen told deputies that while he was looking out of his window, he saw a clown standing in the backyard between 2 to 2:07 p.m.

He told deputies that the clown also saw him, so the teen ran to his bedroom and called 911.

A deputy searched the area for the clown, but did not find him.

The teen was able to make contact with his parents. He told the deputy he felt safe staying at his residence until his family arrived.

Reports of seemingly random clown sightings began in the Upstate in late August.

In Greenville, some reported that clowns were trying to lure children in wooded areas.

Earlier this month, Greensboro, North Carolina officers responded to a 911 call from an apartment complex where a witness reported seeing a person wearing a clown mask, red curly wig, yellow spotted shirt, blue clown pants and clown shoes coming out of the woods.

Law enforcement officers responded to the apartment complex, but werent able to locate the clown.

And on Wednesday morning, police in LaGrange, Georgia stated that someone started a Facebook page threatening to dress like a clown and drive a white van to five local schools and abduct children.

Police in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, arrested a man they say filed a false report of a clown sighting this month.
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KevinAlexanderGeorge/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The FBI and federal prosecutors in New York and California have opened an investigation intoWells Fargo days after the bank was fined $185 million dollars for alleged misconduct, according to an official briefed on the investigation.



Further details were not immediately available.



The bank is not commenting on the news, which follows allegations last week that hundreds of thousands of unauthorized deposit accounts and credit cards had been opened or applied for between May 2011 and July 2015 without customers' permission. Some 5,300 employees were fired as a result.



While the investigation is in its early stages, it opens the possibility of criminal charges.



The allegations came to light when the bank was slapped with a $100 million fine from theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal watchdog, on Sept. 8. It was also hit with fines from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for $35 million and the County and City of Los Angeles for another $50 million.



The bank said in a statement at the time that it takes responsibility "for any instances where customers may have received a product that they did not request." Bank officials have also said that they believe all affected customers have been refunded, and sought to downplay the terminations saying that they represented only about one percent of their workforce. Total refunds, the bank said last week, amounted to about $2.6 million.



A portion of the unauthorized deposit accounts generated about $2 million in fees, while a chunk of the credit card accounts generated about $400,000 in fees, according to a CFPB document reviewed by ABC News.



Since then criticism has mounted.



In damage control mode, bank CEO John Stumpf appeared on CNBC Tuesday night before the criminal probe was revealed, where he said that he held himself accountable for the alleged misconduct but said that he did not plan to resign.



"I think the best thing I can do right now is lead this company," Stumpf said.



The Los Angeles city attorney said employees were opening and funding accounts without customers' permission or knowledge in order to "satisfy sales goals and earn financial rewards under the bank's incentive-compensation program."



The bank announced yesterday that by Jan. 1, 2017 it would stop imposing those sales goals on employees. Asked why the goals program wouldn't end immediately, a bank spokesperson told ABC News that it would spend the intervening months to ensure "team members receive fair compensation through the transition."



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
By Azertac





Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an Order to grant Presidential stipends to the students who achieved the highest scores at university admission exams.





Under the Order, the Presidential stipends will be given to 102 students who entered universities with the highest exam scores in 2016-2017 academic year.
By Trend





The US President Barack Obama has congratulated Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.

On the occasion of Eid al-Adha, Michelle and I would like to extend our greetings to Muslims worldwide and our congratulations to those pilgrims who have just performed the Hajj, thereby completing a central tenet of their faith, said Obama in his congratulatory letter.

The Hajj is a powerful demonstration of the ability of millions of people from different cultures and countries to come together in prayer, reflection, and devotion, he added.

In addition to being a time of celebration, Eid al-Adha is a time for charity, when Muslims honor Ibrahims readiness to sacrifice his son by performing their own acts of service, said the US president. I am inspired and humbled by the millions of Muslims in America and around the world who take this moment to provide humanitarian assistance to those less fortunate.

In a time when millions are struggling to find new homes and communities after losing their own to conflict and natural disaster, we are continually reminded of our moral obligation to serve those in need, said Obama. Service, sacrifice, and peacebuilding lie among the shared roots and values of people of all faiths.

On behalf of the American people, we would like to wish a blessed and joyful Eid to Muslim communities around the world, he said.

Eid Mubarak and Hajj Mabrour, added Obama.








By Azertac





President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening ceremony of a new building of school No. 311 in Sabunchu district, Baku.





The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the school and viewed the conditions created here.





Head of Baku City Executive Authority Hajibala Abutalibov informed the head of state about the work done at the school.





The 960-seat three-storey school offers classes in two shifts.





After viewing the school, President Ilham Aliyev met with its staff and posed for photographs with them.
By Azernews





By Gunay Hasanova

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to extend the armistice in Syria for other 48 hours.

"As part of their conversation they discussed and agreed to extend the cessation for another 48 hours, with the goal being that this would last seven days and then we would move to the next step, which is the establishment of the JIC [Joint Implementation Center]," Department of State deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said at a press briefing on September 14.

Previously, Lavrov said that the efforts of Russia and the United States have not been in vain, adding that Moscow thanks the U.S. delegation.

"As you remember, a year ago our proposal to establish coordination was at first met rather chilly by our American colleagues who were ready only for procedures to allow avoiding unforeseen incidents," Lavrov reminded.

"However, as I have already said, in this February our presidents came out with an initiative to make additional efforts in order to, first of all, ensure the sustainable cessation of hostilities," he added.

The two ministers have already met in Geneva on August 26 and on in the Chinese Hangzhou at G20 summit September 4 and 5.

The Chinese meetings were also followed by the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

Russia and the United States announced a new plan aimed at reducing violence in Syria, which includes a new nationwide ceasefire starting at 16:00 GMT on September 12.

The agreement also includes the creation of a demilitarized zone around Syria's Aleppo to deliver humanitarian aid to the city, as well as close coordination of Russian and U.S. airstrikes against Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, and ISIS groups operating in Syria.

Early reports of the renewed ceasefire in Syria indicate that there is some reduction in the level of violence in the country, Kerry said.

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.
By Trend





Iran is still unable to access its revenues from the development of the Rhum gas field, despite that 9 months have already passed since the elimination of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Ali Kardor told Mehr on September 14.

Iran is developing the Rhum gas field jointly with the UK. Ownership of Rhum is shared equally between BP and the NIOC.

The UK deposits Irans revenues from Rhum gas field to a bank account of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), but Iran is unable to access its funds.

Kardor didnt mention how much UK would pay Iran or how much is the current output of the field. The project itself, commenced in 2005, is worth some $656 million.

Gas production from the Rhum field was stopped in 2010 in relation to international sanctions against Iran, however UK announced in 2014 that it resumed gas production from the field and Irans revenues are being deposited to a frozen bank account.

It isn't clear how much is the field's current output, but at its peak, the output capacity is about 8.5 million cubic meters per day. According to the estimates provided by BP, the Rhum field contains 22.6 billion cubic meter of gas.

Iran and P5+1 Group including US, UK, France, China, Russia + Germany reached a nuclear agreement with Iran, which was implemented in January 2016. The agreement eliminated sanctions on Iran.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

About 164,033 pupils will go to the first class in 2016-2017 in the new academic year in Azerbaijan, the Education Ministry reported. As many as 43,397 of them are attending schools in Baku.

The number of pupils that will study in 4,472 secondary schools is 1, 415,242. About 354, 573 people will study in schools, administered by Baku City Education Department.

This year, 29 new schools , including 7 schools by order of the Ministry of Education are commissioning in the country. In this period, 17 schools were repaired, while 384 schools are under renovation.

The building of 10 educational institutions is still going on. Two boarding-school will be overhauled and put into operation soon.

General secondary school education in the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of three levels - primary, general secondary, and full secondary education, and general secondary school education begins with six years of age.

The general secondary school education in the country implemented in schools of general education, special purpose schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, the primary and secondary vocational schools, as well as colleges and schools established under the auspices of higher educational institutions.




Please note that the poems and essays on this site are copyright and may not be reproduced without the author's permission.






Dubais housing market reached its peak performance in 2013 when it was announced the Emirate would host the Expo 2020, fuelling speculation on its impact on job growth and the evolution of tourism, a report said.



Following the outbreak of the Arab Spring in early 2011, traditionally popular tourist destinations in the Middle East like Cairo lost their appeal amid heightened security concerns, addedthe new release titled Bouncing Back On Reinvention by global property consultant Knight Frank.

Dubais safe haven status and world-class hospitality and retail offerings, meant it was well placed to benefit, the report explained.



High profile announcements of new schemes such as the Mohammed Bin Rashid City (a multi-billion dollar mixed-use development) fuelled further confidence in the recovery.



To avoid a market oversupply, new laws introduced by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency controlled the off-plan sales market and construction volumes. Coupled with higher transfer fees and revisions to the mortgage law, this helped to deflate a potential real estate bubble.



With this emerged a new branding strategy to shake off Dubais negative image following the downturn. Known for being the leading financial hub in the Mena region, Dubai positioned itself as the frontrunner of creativity and innovation in the region. Government support in the form of funding resulted in a favourable environment for artists and entrepreneurs.



Art & tech hubs



Specifically designed art hubs and fashion venues like the Al Serkal Avenue and the Dubai Design District offer dedicated exhibition spaces and learning opportunities (e.g. Short Course programmes from the University of Arts London) aimed at strengthening the cities millennial appeal and attracting a young and creative generation.



In early 2016, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with IBM launched the Dubai Digital Entrepreneurship Hub, to support technology start-ups in the emirate. Similar efforts include AstroLabs Dubai, the only Google tech hub in Mena.



Shaping the future of real estate



The industries driving the modern global cities and urban economies are people-centric. With this in mind, corporate agendas are expanding to find an appropriate balance between financial well-being and human well-being.

The role commercial real estate plays in facilitating this is becoming increasingly important, as millennials are attracted to creative work spaces rather than the traditional vertically structured glass and steal towers with cubicles.



To accommodate this developers are rethinking their real estate, the report said, adding that unconventional office styles and open floor layouts with amenities such as coffee bars and outdoor terraces are becoming increasingly popular.



Layering other uses into the urban mix (e.g. fitness amenities) is also becoming a focus for developers in their bid to maximise the attractiveness of their development to both current and future commercial occupiers, according to the report.  TradeArabia News Service
UK-based BMT Fluid Mechanics said it has been appointed by global engineering consultants Aurecon as the wind engineering consultant for The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour, an upcoming mixed-used project from Emaar Properties.



A subsidiary of BMT Group, based in Teddington, the BMT Fluid Mechanics is a leading independent specialist in the fields of wind engineering and computational modelling for the civil construction and oil and gas industries.



The company has regional offices in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, New York and Singapore.



The innovative Emaar tower is being designed by world-renowned architect and engineer, Santiago Calatrava who will also be looking after its engineering work.



Calatrava has chosen global engineering consultants, Aurecon, as the engineer/architect-of-record to collaborate with on a range of design and technical features for the ambitious project.



Dubai creeks striking design includes a distinctive net of steel cable stays that attach to a central reinforced concrete column that will reach into the skies.



At the top of the tower is an oval-shaped bud that will house several observation decks, including The Pinnacle Room, which will offer unprecedented, 360-degree views of the city and beyond. The Tower will also feature VIP Observation Garden Decks that recreate the splendour of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Fully glazed rotating balconies extend outward, rotating outside the skin of the tower, said a statement from BMT Fluid Mechanics.



It will also serve as a beacon of light at night, with a lighting system that will evoke the features of a flower bud, as it seemingly hovers atop the structure, the statement added.-TradeArabia News Service
Genetec, a leading provider of open-architecture, IP security solutions, has unveiled Mission Control, a unique decision support system that will provide security professionals in the Middle East with new levels of situational intelligence, system visualisation, and incident management.



Designed to work seamlessly with Security Center, the companys unified security platform that combines video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) and communications management, Mission Control aims to simplify the operator's tasks and decision-making process when handling routine activities and undesirable situations.



Genetec Mission Control is expected to be available in Q4 2016.



Ideally suited to meet the operational needs of larger, multi-site deployments in markets such as higher education and transportation, Mission Control will give operators a holistic, unified, and map-centric view of their entire security infrastructure. Mission Control will also move beyond the capabilities of traditional security platforms, enabling organisations to manage the entire lifecycle of incidents and situations, from monitoring incoming sensor data and detecting incidents, all the way through to resolution and auditing.



With Mission Control, organisations will be able to define their response strategy and contingency plans in advance. Based on their unique needs and environment, security and operations departments will be able to create incident categories, the multi-layered rules that trigger each, and automate system actions to address them. They can further assign automated workflows and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to incident categories, which are triggered when an incident is detected to guide the response of the operator to ensure compliance with internal and external policies.



"Security systems have been traditionally designed to report events and alarms, leaving it up to the operator to interpret the information and react to situations. However, with the increased complexity of security installations, and the sheer volume of data gathered by the multitude of sensors, it can be difficult for operators to confidently assess complex situations or respond to threats," explained Firas Jadalla, regional director - Middle East and Africa, Genetec.

"Mission Control will allow personnel to take control of undesirable situations by correlating incoming data to detect more complex situations, prioritise larger incidents and threats, and remove emotion from the response by steering operators along the way."



Mission Control gives security personnel a more intelligent view of an incident so they can make informed decisions. This is achieved by ingesting data from thousands of sensors and associated real-time information and qualifying them more intelligently based on the end users operational environment. Once triggered, incidents launch workflows that drive system behavior and guide operator responses through the entire lifecycle of the incident using SOPs. In addition to comprehensive incident management, Mission Control will offer operators the ability to manage both active and historical incidents, run reports for analysis purposes and continuous improvement, as well as for auditing purposes.



To enhance and streamline the operator experience, Mission Control introduces new levels of interaction within dynamic maps, including monitoring live incidents and response management, to go beyond traditional maps that are generally limited to monitoring security devices and singular events. By utilising a map-centric approach to monitoring and command and control, operators will be able to more intuitively visualise the security environment and take appropriate action as warranted. - TradeArabia News Service
Italian high-end watchmaker Officine Panerai, acclaimed for its unique blend of Italian design and Swiss technology expertise, is again demonstrating its commitment to the field of design and art through its participation at Beirut Art Week (BAW) 2016 for the third consecutive year.



In collaboration with Richard Orlinski, one of the bestselling contemporary French artist, Panerai is once again appealing to the regions art enthusiasts by displaying two unique pieces from Orlinskis outstanding Born Wild collection at its boutique in Beirut Souks.



Wild Kong Oil: Orlinskis gorilla rejecting a barrel of oil, Understanding the dangers of pollution, Wild Kong uses his strength to rid the world of this plague

Blue Wild Lion: Triumphant, Orlinskis lion rejoices. Hundreds of facets are tight up to materialise his enriched neck with enough space to give his allure an elegant slender look.



The talented Orlinski has been creating iconic sculptures since 2004 working mainly with modern materials such as resin, aluminum, marble, stone and bronze. His Born Wild concept is bold and colourful, revolves around popular iconography and inspired by Pop Art; it transforms negative emotions into positive vital impulses. Orlinski sculpts to sublimate reality and create living; his artwork is beautiful and timeless, awakening a world of emotions and sensing imagination on design, equally mirrored through the art of watchmaking by Panerai.



Commenting on Panerais participation at Beirut Art Week, Milvin George, regional managing director said: We are pleased to announce our on-going collaboration with BAW, one of the leading art platforms in the region and delighted to harbor Richard Orlinski fascinating sculptures.



Today, Officine Panerai develops and crafts its movements and timepieces in its Neuchatel manufacture, placing technical excellence and exclusive design as its core principals. This partnership with BAW reinforces Panerais commitment towards design and art."



BAW (part of Beirut Art Fair) is opening its doors to artists, collectors, merchants as well as the public art lovers from September 13 to 20 at Solidere Downtown Beirut. Directed by Laure dHauteville, an exhibition curator and former journalist, this original exhibition is expected to welcome over 300 artists with an exclusive contribution from international artists.



This years schedule of BAW is planned to take place in major landmarks of Beirut Town such as Martyrs Square, Beirut Souks, Zaitunay Bay, Saifi Village and Harbour Square. The events activities will be supported by Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism, Municipality of Beirut, Lebanese Tourism Office in Paris, LInstitut Francais du Liban and ESA Business School. - TradeArabia News Service
Syrian government forces and rebels had yet to withdraw from a road needed to deliver aid to the city of Aleppo on Thursday, threatening the most serious international peacemaking effort in months as the sides accused each other of violating a truce.



The aid delivery to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, which is blockaded by government forces, is an important test of a US-Russian deal that has brought about a significant reduction in violence since a ceasefire took effect on Monday.



The UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the United States and Russia were expected to manage the disengagement of forces from the road, but also criticised Damascus for failing to provide permits needed to make aid deliveries to other areas.



France, which backs the opposition, became the first US ally to publicly question the deal with Moscow, urging Washington to share details of the agreement and saying that without aid for Aleppo, it was not credible.



Control of the Castello Road is divided between the government and rebels who have been battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad for more than five years. It has been a major frontline in the war.



Russia, whose air force helped the Syrian government to blockade opposition-held Aleppo this summer, said on Wednesday it was preparing for the Syrian army and rebel fighters to begin a staged withdrawal from the road.



But on Thursday morning, both Syrian government and rebel forces were still manning their positions. An official in an Aleppo-based Syrian rebel group said international parties had told him aid was now due to be delivered on Friday.



"Today the withdrawal is supposed to happen, with aid entering tomorrow. This is what is supposed to happen, but there is nothing to give hope," Zakaria Malahifji, of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters.



Malahifji said rebels were ready to withdraw but worried the government would exploit any such move to stage an advance.



"If the regime withdraws 500 metres, east and west (of the road) ... then the guys will be able to withdraw a bit," Malahifji said. "But the regime is not responding. The guys can see its positions in front of them."



There was no comment from state media or the army about the proposed withdrawal.



The UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said both the rebels and the government were responsible for delaying aid deliveries into Aleppo.



"The reason we're not in eastern Aleppo has again been a combination of very difficult and detailed discussions around security monitoring and passage of roadblocks, which is both opposition and government," he said.



In other areas, de Mistura was categorical about blaming the Syrian government, saying it had not yet provided the proper permits. The Syrian government has said all aid deliveries must be conducted in coordination with it.



About 300,000 people are thought to be living in eastern Aleppo, while more than one million live in the government-controlled western half of the city.



Two convoys of aid for Aleppo have been waiting in no-man's land to proceed to Aleppo after crossing the Turkish border.



If a green light was given, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the first 20 trucks would move to Aleppo and if they reached the city safely, the second convoy would then also leave. The two convoys were carrying enough food for 80,000 people for a month, he said.



The US and Russia have backed opposing sides in the Syrian war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced 11 million from their homes, and created the world's worst refugee crisis since the World War Two.



Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the war, has been a focal point of the conflict this year. Government forces backed by militias from Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon have recently achieved their long-held objective of encircling the rebel-held east.



Russia's intervention a year ago in support of Assad has given it critical leverage over the diplomatic process.



Its ally, Assad, appears as uncompromising as ever. He vowed again on Monday to win back the entire country, which has been splintered into areas controlled by the state, an array of rebel factions, the Islamic State group, and the Kurdish YPG militia.



Washington hopes the pact will pave the way to a resumption of political talks. But a similar agreement unravelled earlier this year, and this one also faces enormous challenges.



Under the agreement, nationalist rebels fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army are supposed to disengage from a group that was known as the Nusra Front until it broke ties with al Qaeda in July and changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.



A Syrian military source said this was not happening. "I believe they want to obstruct the main demand of the Syrian state and leadership, and of Russia - the separation of Nusra from the rest of the organisations, and it appears that this will not happen," the source said.



Jabhat Fateh al-Sham has played a vital role in recent fighting around Aleppo. FSA groups are suspicious of the group, which has crushed several nationalist factions. But they have also criticised its exclusion from the ceasefire agreement.



The US and Russia are due to start coordinating military strikes against the former Nusra Front and Islamic State if all goes to plan under the deal.



But Russia said on Thursday the United States was using "a verbal smokescreen" to hide its reluctance to fulfil its part of the agreement, including separating what it called moderate opposition units from terrorist groups.



The defence ministry said only government forces were observing the truce and opposition units "controlled by the U.S." had stepped up shelling of civilian residential areas.



Rebels say Damascus has carried out numerous violations.



While the general lines of the agreement have been made public, other parts have yet to be revealed, raising concerns among US allies such as France, which is part of the coalition attacking Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.



French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called on the United States to share details of the deal saying that the information was crucial to ensure Islamist militants and not mainstream rebels were being targeted on the ground.-Reuters
Renault, a pioneer of electric cars and a European market leader, has handed over the keys to its 100,000th electric car customer five years since the launch of its first electric car.



The electric vehicle is a Renault Zoe, sold to Mr. Asmund Gillebo, a 41 year old Norwegian. To get the best out of his Zoe, he has been presented with five years of Fortim recharging and 100,000 minutes of recharging time from Grnn kontakt, two local energy suppliers.



In the first half of 2016, Renault sold more than 15,000 electric vehicles (excluding the Twizy), an increase of 32 per cent on the previous year. This success confirms Renaults status as the European market leader, especially for utility vehicles. Indeed, on European roads, one in every four electric vehicles is a Renault. In France, half of all electric cars are Renaults. Renaults main markets for electric cars are France, Norway, the UK, and Germany.



Every year there are more customers for electric cars and Renault is making a major contribution to this with its constant innovation and dedication to developing infrastructure. Our customer satisfaction, which stands at 98 per cent for the Zoe, encourages us to keep pushing onwards, said Eric Feunteun, director of Renaults Electric Vehicle Division.



Renault boasts the most comprehensive range of 100 per cent electric cars on the market, enabling it to meet a variety of needs. The range is made up of the compact Zoe city car, the Kangoo ZE utility vehicle, the compact urban two-seater Twizy (and its utility version, the Twizy Cargo), and the stately saloon the RSM SM3 ZE (the best-selling electric vehicle in Korea).



The Zoe, the best-selling electric vehicle in Europe, dominates the market for electric private cars with over 23 per cent market share. The Kangoo ZE, the leading electric utility vehicle in Europe for the third year running, sets the benchmark for professionals and has won a number of tenders, including the French Post Office, and the French electricity provider ERDF in Norway.



Lastly, with 17,000 models sold, the Twizy is the trailblazer for new ways to get around all over the world, and is extremely popular in car-sharing initiatives in both Europe and North America.  TradeArabia News Service
Antique Bazaar at Four Points Sheraton Bur Dubai has welcomed Hoshiyar Chauhan as its new chef de cuisine.



Chauhan, who was previously the sous chef at the award-winning restaurant, is well versed with the specialties, the regular customers and what it takes to keep this restaurants kitchen running as smoothly as it has over the years.



Promoting Chef Hoshiyar to lead the kitchen of Antique Bazaar is ensuring our customers continue to experience the same tastes and delights as they have for the many years with chef Munna said Amit Kumar, director food and beverage, Four Points by Sheraton, Bur Dubai.



Chauhans love for cooking started at a very young age when his elder brother, also a professional chef, challenged him to compete with in preparing an Indian speciality and Chef Hoshiyars dish won. This determined his professional journey. His first job in a five-Star hotel was in Jaipur in 2000, following which he travelled the shores to Dubai in 2007.



"I'm looking forward to this challenge and to lead the team at Antique Bazaar," said Chauhan. "I'm excited with the opportunity to continue offering Antique Bazaars customers the same great taste and dishes as well as introducing some new ones." - TradeArabia News Service
Turkish Airlines is providing its guests with special fares to the US and Canada this winter.



Valid for travel between October 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017, travellers can purchase tickets from 22 roundtrip flights until October 5, 2016. Flights to the US start for as less as Dh2,600 ($707.6), while those to Canada can be bought for as less as Dh3,470 ($944.4), inclusive of taxes and fees.



The flights to both countries via Istanbul will also come during a period where various holidays and winter festivals are taking place, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, the Christmas Holidays and New Years Eve making them two ideal countries for travellers to spend their winter vacation, the airline said in a statement. - TradeArabia News Service
The worker killed Wednesday at the Williams Opal natural gas processing plant has been identified as Michael Smuin of Kemmerer.

Smuin, 36, was an operator technician and had worked for the company for eight years.

Mike will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues at the Opal plant and across Williams, the company said in a statement. The company grieves his loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Authorities say a pipe burst shortly before Smuin was found dead at the plant in Lincoln County. Smuin was doing routine maintenance when he died.

Officials dont know yet what caused his death.

Preliminary reports suggest that a pipe burst near the deceased, said Haylee McKee, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. An employee on scene also reported a cloud of natural gas. Cause of death will be determined by the coroner.

An investigator from the Wyoming Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been on scene since Wednesday evening. The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office is also conducting an investigation. Messages left at the sheriffs office Wednesday and Thursday were not returned.

The plant was still offline Thursday morning, according to a company spokeswoman.

We have confirmed the integrity of the facility and with OSHAs approval have begun the methodical process of bringing the plant back online, said Walt Bennett, the companys vice president in a statement.

Counseling services are being offered to the plants employees.

Williams Opal confirmed in a statement that there had not been an explosion or fire at the plant Wednesday. Two years ago, a large explosion at the plant ignited a fire that burned for five days. The explosion, on April 23, 2014, forced the evacuation of the small town of Opal. No one was hurt in that incident.
Thursday's letter doesn't disclose any previous health conditions Trump has had, except that his only hospitalization was for a childhood appendectomy.

It cited no family history of cancer or early heart disease, but mentioned no other conditions. Trump's parents lived into their 80s and 90s. His father had Alzheimer's late in life, according to his obituary.
Friday clubs and meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 456 S. Walnut; 7 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 8 p.m,. 328 E. A; 8 p.m., 328-1/2 E. A, closed; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 10 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Douglas: noon, 805 E. Richards, Ste. 1; 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back). Unless otherwise noted, Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: 307-351-1688.

Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 6 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 8:30 p.m., 302 E. 2nd St., Methodist Church. Web site: www.urmrna.org.

Overeaters Anonymous: 10 a.m., 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott. Info: Candace, 359-6225; Rebekah, 320-6779.

Al-Anon Family: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, Ste. 200, 12-24 Club, all ages welcome. Info: 377-7260 or 258-1444.

International Addictions Program: 7 p.m., Calvary Baptist Church, 1800 S. Conwell. Info: 266-5417.

LGTBQ AA/NA: 7 p.m., A 12-Step AA/NA Recovery Group for gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and questioning persons meets at the United Church of Christ, located at the corner of 15th and Melrose. Info: 259-5026.

Gold fever for OLLI

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Casper College is offering residents a chance to get gold fever by signing up for Gold Fever: Miracle Mile (OLLI 5012) a day-long adventure panning for gold, paleo placer gold and diamonds.

The class, led by Rick Messina, will take participants to the Seminoe Greenstone Belt. Any gold found will be divided up among participants, who are encouraged to bring waterproof boots, a panning kit, shovel, 5-gallon bucket, sunscreen, a hat, and lunch. Transportation to the site will be provided by OLLI at Casper College.

The trip will run from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information or to register, contact Vicki Pollock, lifelong learning specialist at 268-2097 or vpollock@caspercollege.edu, or Karen Arnold, lifelong learning specialist, at 268-2099 or karnold@caspercollege.edu.

Constitution Day seminar

First Amendment expert Craig R. Smith, Ph.D., will give the keynote address during the 2016 Constitution Day Seminar at Casper College. The daylong come-and-go event is free and open to the public and will take place in the McMurry Mainstage at the Gertrude Krampert Center for Theatre and Dance.

The seminar will begin at 9 a.m. with the singing of the Star Spangled Banner followed by a welcome and then opening remarks by Erich Frankland, Casper College political science department chair and seminar committee member.

At 9:30, a panel will discuss political campaigning. Scarlett Miller and Elaney Elliott. Members of the Casper College Debate Team, will debate on Campaign Finance at 11 a.m.

Smiths keynote will begin at 1 p.m. followed at 2 p.m. by a panel discussion on Expectations for the Modern American President. Casper College Debate Team members will debate on Political Speech as Free Speech at 3:30 p.m.

VAVOOM ladies night

The 16th VAVOOM (Vendors Avenue Venue Of Organized Marketing) otherwise known as a blast of a ladies night, is 6 to 9 p.m., at the Ramada Plaza Riverside. It is free to attend and for adults only. More than 20 vendors will be offering unique and affordable gifts/products and services. Free entry for grand entry door prize, free first glass of beer, first 50 women in get a free rose, munchies, each vendor offers a door prize upon purchase or booking of a show, music, and fun. For more information, please contact Ann McDaniel at 258-2533 or email anzfunkytown@bresnan.net

Adult Coloring Club

Drop by the Natrona County Library anytime between 2 and 5 p.m., for our Adult Coloring Club. Coloring books and pages will be available for you to turn into works of art. Colored pencils, crayons, and markers also will be provided. Just bring yourself and your friends, and enjoy the afternoon. Call 577-READ ext. 2 or email reference@natronacountylibrary.org for more information.

Celebrate Recovery every Friday

Celebrate Recovery meets at 5:30 p.m. every Friday at Highland Park Community Church, just south of Elkhorn Valley Rehabilitation Hospital on East Second Street. The group starts with a family meal, followed by praise and worship. At 7 p.m., theres either a lesson from Celebrate Recoverys planned curriculum or a testimony by a person who has found recovery through Christ. Then, people go to gender-specific small groups until 8:30 p.m., when dessert and fellowship conclude the evening. Child care is available at no cost. For more information, contact Chris at 265-4073.

Indoor family pool party

The annual Community Recreation Foundations Family Pool Party has been rescheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Casper Family Aquatic Center.

Bring the entire family for a free evening of swimming, games, refreshments, prizes and fun. All facility rules apply; children seven and under must be accompanied by an adult in the water.

For more information or if you have questions please contact the Casper Recreation Division at 235-8383.

Showcase of Stars

Mountain Plaza Assisted Living, 4154 Talon Dr., presents Showcase of Stars at 6 p.m. Come support the residents, staff and volunteers as they showcase their talents for you in an evening of song.

Redstone recital series begins

A pairing of art and music is scheduled for the Casper College RedStone Recital and Gallery Series. The event, which launches the fourth RedStone season, begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Mildred Zahradnicek Gallery in the Music Building.

The exhibition, titled European Visions: Art Inspired by Prague and Budapest, emphasizes the value of world travel as a source of creative inspiration. The exhibitors traveled with the Casper College art history course to Prague and Budapest, Hungary, last spring. The exhibit will remain open through Oct. 14.

At 7:30 p.m. the Casper College music faculty will present a varied recital in the beautiful Wheeler Concert Hall. Music works mostly mirror the European theme of the art exhibition.

A reception will follow each event.

General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and can be purchased can be purchased online at www.caspercollege.edu/events/redstone. Tickets are also available on campus in the Music Building, Room 137, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on the evening of the performance.

Poison Spider park closure

Poison Spider Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Park, near Casper, will be closed for public safety through Friday due to pipeline maintenance in the OHV park.

Poison Spider OHV Park is a 285-acre open play area located 14 miles from Casper. This fee-free area is a popular local destination for off road vehicle enthusiasts.

For more information, contact the Bureau of Land Management Casper Field Office at 261-7600.
A historic Casper watering hole will soon be closing its doors.

The World Famous Wonder Bar will close Oct. 8.

Owner Pat Sweeney confirmed Thursday he was selling the Wonder Bar, along with Poor Boys Steakhouse. Poor Boys will close Oct. 1. All employees will be laid off.

We werent out there pounding the pavement per se, Sweeney said.

But Sweeney said he and business partner Jason Beck had been exploring a potential sale rather than taking out loans to renovate both businesses. Sweeney said the buyers were taking the unusual step of closing the businesses following acquisition.

Most people want an ongoing concern, Sweeney said. But they wanted to be able to jump right into a renovation plan.

Sweeney said he hopes the new owners keep the Wonder Bar alive, though he said he has no idea what their plans are.

Its a key part of downtown, Sweeney, who bought and reopened the bar in 2002, said. The building was constructed in 1914 and the Wonder Bar opened in 1934. Sweeney said it has cycled through about 10 owners over the years.

While Sweeney said he could not disclose the buyers, documents filed with the city of Casper show liquor licenses for both businesses have been transferred to corporations registered to Cole Cercy. Cercys father, Tony, sold Casper manufacturing firm Power Service to a Houston-based company in April for an undisclosed all-cash sum.

Tony Cercy did not respond to messages left at his home and office Thursday. Cole did not immediately respond to an email message and the voicemail on his publicly listed phone number was full.

Sweeney said selling the Wonder Bar and Poor Boys was bittersweet.

The Wonder Bar has been known for famous guests over the years, which Sweeney said include Ernest Hemingway, Dizzy Gillespie and John Wayne. During the bars early years, people could supposedly ride into the bar on horseback and order drinks without dismounting.

What became Poor Boys opened inside the Parkway Plaza Hotel around 20 years ago, Sweeney said, and he helped build the menu from scratch. As for the Wonder Bar, Sweeney was especially proud of the job he and Beck did attracting musical acts and creating what he called central Wyomings only brewery inside the bar.

The brewerys never really been touted or accepted, Sweeney lamented.

He said employees would be kept on for around one week after each business closes to clean the buildings and dispose of food products. Sweeney said he was working with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services to help current employees, especially the managers, find new jobs.

Weve got a good team at both places and we want to make sure that their lives go on, too, Sweeney said. He declined to say whether the laid-off employees would be paid severance.
Private management will assume control of the Casper Events Center starting Oct. 1 assuming City Council approves a contract with Spectra Venue Management at a special meeting next week.

This is a big deal for the city and for the citizens, councilman Steve Cathey said at the council work session on Tuesday.

The plan to privatize the regions largest performance venue began last fall when Spectra reached out, City Manager V.H. McDonald said in March. The city has lost nearly $1 million per year for the last several years operating the Events Center, McDonald said. But the retirement of longtime building manager Bud Dovala was the impetus to explore turning control over to private hands.

In addition to saving money, Spectras potential ability to bring better known acts to Casper given its wider reach drew the citys interest. The national company already manages venues in nearby states including Pueblo Convention Center in Colorado, the Utah Valley Convention Center in Utah and the Sioux Falls Convention Center in South Dakota.

Dovala told the Star-Tribune in June that privatizing operation of the Events Center was a great opportunity for the city.

(Spectras) got a wealth of knowledge in the business, he said. I think theyll land some larger acts.

The city would retain ownership of the building under the proposed deal.

While the deal is intended to ensure current Events Center employees will keep their jobs under Spectras management, Councilwoman Kenyne Humphrey said she had heard many workers were worried about the change.

I think theyre pretty nervous, Humphrey said.

But the citys Leisure Services Director Doug Follick said that Spectra representatives had met with current employees and they had no reason to worry.

They may be nervous, but theyve been spoken to, Follick said.

Dovala noted his concern for employees in the June interview.

I hope the staff is able to stay, Dovala said. Weve got a great, dedicated staff up here.

He said his understanding was that Spectra would use its own general manager but leave the remaining staff intact.

While much of the decision-making appears to be completed, Mayor Daniel Sandoval said the council still wants to receive public feedback.

Whether or not the Events Center should be privately managed  thats a significant question, Sandoval said.

If the contract is approved, council would also need to pass a motion to amend the citys budget to account for the deal.
A Casper woman died Wednesday after her SUV rolled several times near Lusk.

Authorities suspect texting while driving contributed to the crash that killed Kellie Walbridge, 25, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Walbridge was heading east on U.S. Highway 20 when her Buick Rendezvous traveled off the road. She turned back too hard in the other direction, and the vehicle rolled.

The highway patrol says Walbridge was using only the lap portion of her seat belt and was partially ejected. She died at the scene.

Two children in the SUV, ages 2 and 4, were properly buckled into their child seats. They were taken to Niobrara Community Hospital, where they were treated and released.

Walbridge is the 83rd driver to die on Wyoming highways this year.
CHEYENNE  A Cheyenne man who shot three people at the senior citizen apartment complex where he lived, killing a complex employee before he killed himself, wrote a letter before the shooting expressing concern about poker games being held in the complex, police said Thursday.

Cheyenne Police Department spokesman Dan Long called it a letter of discontent but did not disclose further details about what Larry Rosenberg wrote before he opened fire. Detectives have not yet made conclusions about Rosenbergs motive.

Long also said there may have been longstanding animosity between the 77-year-old Rosenberg and the three victims before the shooting Wednesday at Heritage Court Apartments complex.

The complex employee who was killed was identified Thursday as 45-year-old Matthew Wilson. Wounded in the shooting were residents Gregory Gilbert, 65, and Larry Warwick, 74.

Gilbert was in critical condition Thursday, said hospital spokeswoman Kathy Baker. Warwick was no longer listed in the hospitals directory of patients but Baker said she could not provide additional details.

Gilbert was one of the organizers of the poker games held three times a week that bothered some residents, said Mary Eastman, a resident who described Rosenberg as a friendly man who went with her to yard sales.

Long said he could not immediately confirm that Gilbert had organized the games, and he did not know if Wilson and Warwick participated.

Rosenberg gave the letter to another complex resident before the shootings. She left to go shopping, returned to find that the complex had turned into a crime scene, read the letter and gave it to investigators.

Rosenberg fled the complex on a bicycle, Long said.

He shot himself with a handgun about a mile away from the complex as officers approached him.

Rosenberg had past contacts with police but Long said he was unable to provide details.

Detectives on Thursday were conducting additional interviews with apartment complex residents, Long said.
Parents of Midwest students are increasingly concerned about the stress the temporary closure of their school is causing their children and worry it could become permanent.

Several Midwest residents attended Mondays school board meeting to inquire about the districts plans.

Theres got to be something else we can do until December, Susan OBrien told the board. I mean, come on, guys. Thats why youre here.

Justin Marker said winters arrival adds to the worry.

I realize safety is the No. 1 concern on everybodys minds here, especially those of us in Midwest who are looking forward to shifting our kids back and forth just over 100 miles every day in the dead of winter. That brings safety into the light from the parents eyes, Marker said.

Midwest School was closed in May after a gas leak that officials suspect originated from an old oil well near the building. FDL Energy plugged the well responsible for the leak and is monitoring other wells in the area under the guidance of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

About 100 Midwest students are now attending classes in Casper, with high-schoolers using the new Pathways Innovation Center and younger students using the old Westwood Elementary School.

One of those students described to the board the challenges of commuting long distances for school.

I dont like to wake up early in the morning in the dark, said Marco OBrien. .and I cant see my parents.

Marker said while he appreciated the efforts the district has made to provide substitute facilities, that work has not necessarily been adequate.

You have kids that are being taught in the hallways at the PIC (Pathways Innovation Center) Building  do you guys know that? Marker said. We have full access to that building, but the classrooms are overloaded, and then theyre pushing our kids out into the hallways to be taught the classes.

Air quality tests two days after the school was evacuated found benzene at 200 times safe levels, according to a report released Monday. Some areas of the school were also found to be oxygen-deficient.

Officials also noted that they could not guarantee the future safety of students and staff, given ongoing drilling in the area.

It is possible that another events similar to the May 24th incident could occur in the future, a federal regulator wrote in a Sept. 1 letter to local health officials.

Meanwhile, Midwest residents expressed concern the district may not reopen the school at all. Board chairman Kevin Christopherson told residents there were no plans to permanently close the school.

We just want to assure you that we are not making a decision to close that school now. We are not even thinking about it, Christopherson said. Right now we are all looking at how to get in there and make it a rightful school again as soon as possible.

I cant give you a timeline. Ive got to figure it out myself. We know now that we are going to be out of there for at least a semester, but that is not promising anybody that we are going to be in there at Christmas time.

Christopherson noted the safety issues were beyond the districts control.

Its out of our hands. The Natrona County Health Department is working on it hard. Were pushing it as hard as we can, Christopherson said. Anybody whos dealt with government agencies knows that its a slow process.

The Salt Creek Field is one of the oldest in the country. As a result, there are hundreds of former and current wells in the area, with 120 abandoned wells in the 640 acres around Midwest alone, according to state records.

In the early 2000s, Anadarko Petroleum invested hundreds of millions of dollars to revitalize the field, using an innovative CO2 injection process that proved successful in re-pressurizing the reservoirs, making it economical to continue development in the area.

In 2015, Anadarko sold its operations to FDL Energy, the current operator.
FAIRFIELD, Idaho  The property manager for Bruce Willis says the actor is building a private airstrip in Idaho.

Property manager Mike Grbic told The Idaho Mountain Express that Willis is building a dirt runway called Soldier Field Airport about 10 miles east of Fairfield.

Grbic said the 100-foot-wide, 8,500-foot-long runway will be finished in about a month. Documents filed with the Federal Aviation Administration include parking areas for vehicles and aircraft off an access road from U.S. Highway 20.

Some Camas County residents have complained about the project. Writer Judith Freeman said she owns a home near the airstrip and is concerned about the quality of the prairie and its wildlife.

Grbic said Willis wanted to employ locals and hired Galena Engineers and Sluder Construction to create the airstrip.
The Wyoming State AFL-CIO, a group representing labor unions, is endorsing Democrat Ryan Greene for Wyomings only U.S. House seat  highlighting a divide over organized labor between the Democrat and his Republican opponent, Liz Cheney.

While Greene, a welder, supports workers right to organize in unions, gather dues and collectively bargain pay and working conditions with their managers, Cheney has supported the right-to-work cause.

The Wyoming AFL-CIO is headquartered in Cheyenne. It represents 55 labor unions and over 17,000 workers. That includes workers for BNSF Railway, Jim Bridger Plant and Tronox, the worlds largest trona mine outside of Green River.

This (endorsement) tells voters that Wyomings railroad workers, firefighters, steelworkers and electricians stand with Greene, said Greene campaign manager Max Weiss.

But its an open question whether the AFL-CIOs endorsement will sway many Wyomingites.

Wyoming has a relatively low number of workers who belong to unions  just over 7 percent of workers in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That pales in comparison to New York, with nearly 25 percent, and Alaska and Hawaii, both around 20 percent. South Carolina is the lowest, with only 2 percent of its workers represented by unions.

Kim Floyd, executive secretary of the group, said in a statement Greene is a Wyoming worker, unlike Cheney, daughter of the former Vice President Dick Cheney.

As a welder, Greene has worked hand-in-hand with Wyomings organized laborers, Floyd said in a statement. Mrs. Cheney has never worked in Wyoming.

Matt Micheli, the Wyoming GOP chairman, criticized the AFL-CIO in an email, saying: Its no surprise that the AFL-CIO  a group that has endorsed Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton  would endorse Ryan Greene.

Another factor in the endorsement was Greenes positions on public land, according to the statement by the AFL-CIO.

The Union Sportsmen Alliance, part of the group, is active in hunting and fishing issues, frequently lobbying at the Wyoming Legislature for and against bills that affect members.

Greene supports our ability to organize, and he wants to keep Wyomings public lands in public hands, so workers can keep hunting, camping, fishing and hiking  without paying for access, Floyd said.

According to a 2011 story in the Nation, Cheney was involved in a referendum battle over a right-to-work law in Ohio through the Alliance for a Strong America, an advocacy organization. Cheney has additionally been connected to the alliance by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Cheneys campaign manager declined to speak on the record about her current views on labor unions, deferring comments to Micheli, who did not answer the Star-Tribunes question about Cheneys views on unions.

Cheney has earned endorsements from groups representing conservative causes such as the Susan B. Anthony List.
Wyoming lawmakers have an opportunity to put the state firmly on the right path in terms of wind energy.

An influential state legislator has relaxed his insistence on taxing wind power to a point industry says would make new projects financially inviable. Sen. Ogden Driskills recent openness to exempting a large Carbon County project is a welcome shift  if only a first step.

Driskill, a Devils Tower Republican and a leader in the effort to tax wind energy, said he had a discussion with representatives of both Carbon County and Power Company of Wyoming, which is developing the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project near Rawlins.

Those talks convinced him that the project  which is expected to become the nations largest wind farm after construction begins at the end of the year  should not be included in any wind tax increase.

Driskills change of heart is encouraging, but it is only a start on the list of things Wyoming should consider to foster new energy opportunities.

To begin with, Wyoming should not increase taxes on the wind industry for the simple reason that it should not be constructing barriers to doing business in the Cowboy State. Thats especially true now, in this era of declining fossil fuel revenues.

The Sierra Madre project would boast 1,000 turbines and produce energy for Arizona, California and Nevada. During construction and the next two decades, the wind farm would account for $780.5 million in property, energy and sales and use taxes to Carbon County and Wyoming.

Thats not money the state can afford to pass up, and lawmakers know it. Thats why the Joint Revenue Committee is meeting in advance of next years legislative session. Its members are researching taxation and exploring ways to boost state revenue. Here, theyve hit on a significant avenue, and they should pursue exploring ways to encourage new businesses and industries  including wind energy  in the state.

Boosting taxes on wind comes with real dangers. For one thing, it might mean that new projects simply arent built here, and Wyoming would miss out on the jobs and revenue they would provide. That means other states will reap the benefits. Taxing wind at a higher rate also does nothing to protect coal, because a wind project could be  and probably would be  built somewhere more friendly.

Even if developers do manage to complete a wind farm in Wyoming in the face of such obstacles, an increase in taxes would likely deter potential customers who could find better deals elsewhere, in states that dont place such financial pressure on wind farms that choose to do business there.

All this matters a great deal, because the outlook for fossil fuels is changing. Significant energy markets are lining up to purchase renewable energy. Markets are the key. If Wyoming wants to serve those customers, it must provide what they are buying, no matter how relevant traditional energy sources may still be in Wyoming. We need to add diversity to our economy  including within our energy economy.

This is not to say that turbines should march impeded or untaxed across Wyomings pristine and rugged landscapes. Much thought and attention should be paid to protect wildlife and viewsheds. Wind energy producers must be good corporate citizens. And there should be discussion on what happens at the end of life for these massive industrial machines that will dot Wyomings iconic scenery.

There is a smart approach to encourage wind energy and reap the benefits across the state  lawmakers should seize as much of the pie as is possible, not just a sliver.
PHOENIX  The states jobless rate is finally ticking down again after four straight months of gains.

New figures Thursday show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August of 5.8 percent. Thats down two-tenths of a point from July, a figure that matched the August 2015 rate.

But its not because the economy is necessarily growing.

In fact, the private sector lost 1,500 jobs between July and August. That compares with the typical month-over-month gain for this time of year of 16,100.

Government did add 31,100 jobs. But virtually all of those are in public education, representing staffers in universities, community colleges and public schools who were in jobs like cafeteria and janitorial work where they are technically unemployed for the summer even though they expected to be hired back when the new school year began last month.

The unemployment picture is even more complex than that.

Arizonas jobless rate is based on a household survey. Respondents are asked if they are working and, if not, if they are looking for work.

Doug Walls, research administrator for the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, said last months survey showed that fewer people were looking. So theyre not part of the labor force and they dont count as unemployed, allowing the jobless rate to drop.

Walls said its nothing to be concerned about, and that the labor force size can fluctuate from month to month.

But the August figure is still fourth-tenths of a point higher than it was in April.

The states manufacturing sector showed continued weakness, with year-over-year employment now down by 400. The big loser in this category included firms that make computers and electronic parts.

Walls said at least part of this comes down to automation: Companies are able to produce as much with fewer people.

He said this isnt just an Arizona phenomenon, with the United States losing 14,000 manufacturing jobs last month.

Overall, the survey of employers  separate from the household report  showed year-over-year job growth of 2.7 percent. While thats far from the states historic trends, Walls described it as steady and moderate growth.

He also said it is in line with predictions his agency made late last year that the number of people working in Arizona in the first half of 2016 would increase by 2.8 percent.
The choice of Tucson for a Caterpillar Inc. regional headquarters was made with the intent to grow locally for the long haul, a company vice president said Wednesday.

This is not a five-year decision. Its a multi-generational decision, Tom Bluth told a sold-out crowd at the annual luncheon of local economic development agency Sun Corridor Inc.

Earlier this year, Caterpillar announced it would move its Suface, Mining & Technology Division to Tucson with more than 600 executive jobs over the next five years.

Bluth took on a game-show-host persona as he engaged with the crowd of about 600 people Wednesday. He used a padded, throwable Catchbox with an embedded microphone to solicit questions from the audience.

Among the questions: What is the timeline for the new headquarters downtown, south of Interstate 10 and Cushing Street?

Bluth said the hope is to break ground in the next six months.

Others asked about Caterpillars charitable involvement, to which Bluth said the company is very supportive of United Way and wants to identify certain projects in which to make significant investment.

Were eager to find ways to get involved and have an impact, he said.

Bluth informed the crowd that he had enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Arizona and flashed his student ID card to rousing applause.

Several videos were shown, highlighting Caterpillars mining technology around the world, and Bluth pointed out that the design teams for those machines will be the ones relocating to Tucson.

Bluth predicts the mining industry will rebound in the next five to eight years, and Caterpillars consolidation in Tucson will help the company position itself for that recovery.

Weve had separate groups, working autonomously, he said of the design team. Were now bringing those scattered groups together in one place and closer to mining customers.

Caterpillar has a proving ground near Green Valley that opened in 1990, and the design teams ability to see a product tested and to get feedback will improve quality, Bluth said.

He repeatedly commented on how humbled the company is by the communitys reception, and shared anecdotes from employees about the welcome theyve received when someone learns they work for Caterpillar.

About 30 employees have already relocated to Tucson and others will arrive in waves, to accommodate school schedules.

Caterpillar is temporarily housed in a county-owned building at 97 E. Congress St. while the new headquarters is built. The companys signs recently went up on the downtown building.
PHOENIX  State utility regulators will vote Thursday, Sept. 15, on whether to hire an attorney to defend Commissioner Bob Burns from a lawsuit filed against him by Arizona Public Service and its parent company.

The state's largest electric utility is asking Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David Gass to quash the subpoenas Burns issued demanding records of any political spending from both APS and Pinnacle West Capital Corp. Utility officials have said the subpoenas are "evidence of Commissioner Burns' intent to harass.''

Burns needs the support of at least two other members of the Arizona Corporation Commission because, having issued the subpoena himself and not with the consent of the full panel, the commission's own legal staff cannot defend him in the lawsuit.

Whether he will have the votes remains unclear. Commission members Andy Tobin, Tom Forese (who announced Wednesday he will run for state treasurer in 2018), Bob Stump and Doug Little all said Wednesday they are reserving judgment on the matter until the hearing.

But the issue is spilling over into this year's race for the three seats available on the commission.

At a debate Wednesday, Republican candidate Boyd Dunn said the commission not only needs to defend Burns and his subpoena but also to pay for it.

Dunn said Burns is providing an opportunity to try to find out who put $3.2 million into the 2014 race to secure the election of Republicans Forese and Little, and also to set the rules for future disclosure.

Dunn noted that the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature voted earlier this year to alter existing laws to allow some "dark money'' groups to hide their donors from public disclosure.

"The key is whether that affects the Corporation Commission,'' said Dunn, a former Superior Court judge. "The opportunity here, especially with the commissioner being sued himself, is to take the opportunity and get these issues before a court, get clarification as to what the commission can and cannot do, especially with disclosure.''

The other alternative, he said, would be for all Arizona utilities to agree to stay out of future elections.

Burns himself, up for reelection, obviously supports his request for an attorney. And Bill Mundell and Tom Chabin, the two Democrats in the race, also are supportive of the subpoena and getting APS and Pinnacle West to disclose the records.

Chabin said he discounts the changes made in Arizona law by the Legislature shielding some groups from disclosure. "Look at the (state) constitution,'' he said. "It's quite clear the Corporation Commission is a separate branch of government. It's unique in the nation.''

Chabin said there's a good reason for commission-regulated utilities to be required to disclose their political spending.

"You can't buy your electricity from anybody else,'' he noted, as each company holds a monopoly over customers in its own service territory, subject only to charging no more than the commission determines is a fair rate of return. "So aren't you interested in what they spent in an election to elect a commission to set your rates?''

Chabin said Burns is also correct in demanding the books of not just APS but its parent company, saying it could be that company and not the utility that has been spending money to influence races.

Thursday's meeting comes on the heels of Forese announcing Wednesday he does not intend to run for reelection when his term ends in 2018. Instead, he intends to run for treasurer; incumbent Jeff DeWit announced earlier this year he doesn't intend to see another four-year term.

"I have a track record,'' said Forese, who previously was a state legislator. He said his decision not to run for reelection to the commission is unrelated to the turmoil that has surrounded the five-member panel.
Tucson-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems will seek final approval of a bankruptcy sale of its assets to a proposed buyer on Friday, after no competing bids emerged.

Approval of the asset sale would pave the way for SynCardias emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

SynCardia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on July 1 in Delaware, proposing to sell all of its assets to its senior secured creditor in an effort to save the company.

Sindex SSI Lending LLC, an affiliate of Philadelphia-based Versa Capital, purchased about $22 million worth of SynCardias senior debt at a steep discount in June.

Sindex bid $19 million of that debt in a so-called credit bid for SynCardia, plus $150,000 in cash, to buy the company.

The deal was subject to higher and better offers that would have been considered in a bankruptcy auction scheduled for Wednesday, but no competing bids were filed, SynCardia said in court documents filed Tuesday.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath will now consider final approval of the sale to Sindex on Friday.

SynCardia, maker of the worlds only artificial heart approved as a bridge to transplant in the U.S., Europe and Canada, has continued to operate with debtor financing provided by Sindex.

SynCardias shareholders, including local investors, and its unsecured creditors will get nothing from the bankruptcy plan.

Versa specializes in buying and recapitalizing troubled companies. Its portfolio of turnaround projects includes retailers The Wet Seal, Avenue Stores and Black Angus Steakhouses, and manufacturers Bell and Howell and Polartec.

SynCardias temporary Total Artificial Heart evolved from the original Jarvik-7 artificial heart, a first when it was implanted and kept Dr. Barney Clark alive for 112 days in 1982. After failed attempts to bring the heart to market, it was picked up for further development in the 1990s by what was then University Medical Center.
Cabaret is coming to town.

Now, dont shrug your shoulders. This is exciting.

Some musicals bare repeat viewings.

So even if you saw the production Arizona Repertory Theatre did last year.

Or the Winding Road Theatre Ensembles production in 2013.

You want to see Cabaret again.

And you especially want to see the production Broadway in Tucson is bringing our way next week.

Here are four reasons why:

1. This is the Roundabout Theatre Company road show of the Kander and Ebb musical, directed by Sam Mendes and co-directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall. Mendes is behind the 1998 revival of the musical that snagged all sorts of Tony Awards. This 2014 revival, much the same as Mendes earlier one, was nominated for Tonys, as well. The production makes palpable the dark decadence of Cabaret, about 1931 Berlin, when the Nazis were just beginning to assert themselves in Germany. And its relevance seems particularly profound in this ugly election year.

2. The music, from the title tune, to the heartbreaking Maybe This Time, to the chilling Tomorrow Belongs to Me is just downright brilliant. Each tune serves the story and enlightens the audience.

3. The cast includes Randy Harrison as the Emcee (he was one of the stars of Showtimes Queer as Folk). Harrisons Emcee seduces us, flatters us, mocks our square ways  and then makes us squirm with wondering why we fell for him in the first place, said the Chicago Tribune. Andrea Goss Sally Bowles charmed the Houston Chronicle: Goss is magnetic as Sally, a regular girl desperately trying to be anything but average.

4. The reviews:  A harrowing, heartbreaking show that will stay with you long after the bleak finale, said the Houston Chronicle of this road show. Now this is what Cabaret is supposed to be, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer. And this from the Baltimore Sun:  The musical feels doubly meaningful, given the politics and tone of today, with the fresh efforts to single out ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation. Life is a cabaret, all right, but, as this production so powerfully reminds us, your table may not always be waiting.
St. Philips in the Hills Friends of Music is closing out its Summer Sizzler Series on Sunday, Sept. 18, with a blast of jazz from a trio of Tucsons most formidable purveyors of the genre.

The Jason Carder Trio, headed by trumpeter Jason Carder, will perform jazz standards and works from their most recent album, Enough Said, which draws on music that spans the 1500s to 1967 and draws links to the American South. That means that you can expect to hear some soulful blues and common hymns mixed in when they hit the stage at 2 p.m.

Carder, who grew up in Arizona and was an alumni of the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy and University of Miami, teaches jazz at the University of Arizonas Fred Fox School of Music. His trio includes his former Fred Fox colleague Jeff Haskell on piano and saxophonist Brice Winston, who co-owns the acclaimed Tucson Jazz Institute.
WHARTONS CHARGES AGAINST CHIEF JAS. CULLEN FALL FLAT

Witnesses For Signal Editor Fail to Substantiate Allegations  Also Acquitted of Blame In Release of Nick Brown Verdict Cheered

That they believed that Chief of Police James Cullen had used a threatening remark, as charged, to F. J. Wharton, editor of the Tucson Signal, but that it had not been meant in the manner charged, and that it was not a sufficient cause for removal from office, was the verdict given by the city council yesterday evening after a lengthy hearing on the charges preferred by Wharton.

The second charge, that of discharging a prisoner with our permission from the city recorder, was dismissed on motion the City Attorney Dunseath, after former Day Jailer James Sullivan had given testimony that he himself had caused the release of the prisoner.

In announcing the result of the private consultation of the council on the first charge, Councilman O. C. Parker, who presided in place of Acting Mayor Bernard, stated to Chief Cullen that although the council believed that threatening language had been used, they did not believe that it had been intended as taken, but that they wished to reprimand the officer for his course and to request that he not repeat it. Chief Cullen did not make any response to the statement of Councilman Parker, but Attorney Edwin F. Jones, who represented Cullen, said:

The council has a right to express its own opinion in the matter.

QUESTIONS JURISDICTION

The beginning of the hearing was taken up with an extended debate between Attorney Jones and City Attorney Dunseath. Jones objected to the hearing on the ground that the charter provided that the council should hear the charges and that the mayor or acting mayor had no jurisdiction to participate in the trial. He claimed that the part of the mayor in the matter was finished when he had preferred the charges, and that he could not then sit in the trial. He insisted that Chief Cullen had not been properly notified and that the present tribunal as constituted, had no jurisdiction.

In reply to this, Mr. Dunseath insisted that the acting mayor, A. C. Bernard, had a dual role, that of mayor and that of councilman, and that he had a perfect right to vote as a councilman. He declared that Mr. Parker, as presiding officer had the same right.

Mr. Parker then ruled that the case proceed and was upheld by the council. Mr. Jones then entered a formal protest which was taken down by Stenographer Harry Nixon, who reported the proceedings.

Next Mr. Jones had read by Clerk Cowan the answer of Chief Cullen. He denied specifically that he had threatened it kill Wharton and that he had released Brown. He protested against being made to show cause why he should not be removed from office, claiming that the burden of proof was on the people making the charges. Mr. Jones then moved that all of the witnesses be sworn at once and that they then be excluded from the room and after this had been done F. J. Wharton, editor of the Tucson Signal, took the stand.

ADDS TO STATEMENT

His testimony regarding the statement made by Cullen to him at the Orndorff hotel was slightly different from the statement contained in the charges, as pointed out by Attorney Jones, on cross-examination. On the stand he stated that Cullen included the Citizen with the Signal. He stated that Cullen said he had only $300 saved up and that if the Citizen and Signal defeated in that he would kill Wharton. The witness stated that he smelled liquor on the breath of the chief, and that he had his hand in his left hip pocket.

There was considerable sparring between Dunseath and Jones over the admission of evidence as to the knowledge that Wharton might have had about the chief carrying a gun. Wharton was allowed to state finally that he presumed Cullen might have had a gun. He stated that Cullen was left-handed.

VERBICIDE, FOR INSTANCE

There are a thousand ways to kill a fan besides shooting him, Jones insisted. You can talk him to death.

Much laughter was caused when Wharton testified that when he asked Cullen why he did not do his duty, the latter said that he was hampered by Judge Cowan and City Attorney Dunseath, applying discreditable epithets to them.

He didnt smile when he said that, Dunseath asked.

No, Wharton replied.

On cross-examination, Jones brought out that Cullen had included the Citizen and Wharton admitted that he had not quoted Cullen absolutely, but stated that he had mentioned this in his charge. He admitted that he had not mentioned the fact that Cullen had called Dunseath and Cowan named.

You did that in the interests of morals, I suppose, Jones said sarcastically.

HEARD NO THREATS

Mrs. Wharton was the next witness. She stated that she had only heard the end of the conversation and had not heard anything threatening. She stated that Cullen was angry and nervous, but she admitted that he had spoken politely to her. Jones moved to exclude her testimony on the ground that it did not sustain the charged, but it was allowed to stand.

John Kockler, a mining man, rooming at the Hotel Orndorff, testified next and declared that he had heard Cullen say to Wharton:

If you take my bread and butter away from me, Im going to kill you.

He stated that he was inside the hotel near the register desk while Cullen and Wharton were just outside on the sidewalk, close to the wall.

SAFETY FIRST, KOCKLER

He said Cullen did not seem angry. He caused much laughter when he stated that he said to Chauffeur Warner, I had better get out of the way, these gentlemen are going to fight.

He stated that he went to his room and told Dr. Magruder, his roommate, about the trouble. On cross-examination he stated that he was more than ten feet away from the two men.

Attorney Jones called Chief Cullen to take the stand in his own defense. He declared that he had told Wharton not to print statements in his paper about him that were not true, but he absolutely denied that he had threatened the life of Wharton or that he had even mentioned Cowan or Dunseath.

He stated that he was more excited now than he had been that afternoon. He denied that he had made any statements in regard to his financial condition. He stated that they stood at the outside of the sidewalk and not against the hotel.

HEARD NO THREATS

Gus Johnson, the other witness for Cullen, stated that he had been in the hotel office, but had not heard the two men quarrel. He stated that the were standing at the outside of the walk and not against the hotel. He stated that he thought Kockler had left the room and was not in the hotel lobby at the time. After the testimony of Johnson, the case was submitted to the council and by a vote of three to one, Sullener voting no, it was agreed to deliberate privately, with the result that Cullen was found not guilty of the charges.

OTHER CHARGES FALL

The trial on the second charge, that of releasing Nick Brown from the city jail without permission of the mayor or city recorder, came to an abrupt end when former Day Jailer Sullivan testified that it was he himself that released the man.

City Attorney Dunseath tried to make sullivan admit that he had changed his evidence from before the police committee.

Sullivan had said then that he had left Cullen with the prisoner and now he stated that it was Duffy that he left Brown with, Dunseath said.

Jones objected strenuously. You can not attack your own witness, he declared repeatedly.

O. C. Parker sustained the objection. City Attorney Dunseath then moved to dismiss the charges, which was carried.

Councilman Hohusen rose and declared that he had heard Sullivan say that he left Cullen in the room. Jones then protested against Hohusen making such a statement as unjust to Cullen.

He has a right to say anything that he pleases in the council, Dunseath declared.

There was a large crowd present at the hearing and when Councilman Parker announced that all the charges had been dismissed there was loud applause. No other business was taken up and the meeting adjourned.
PHOENIX  Immigrant rights groups are giving up their bid to void the "papers, please'' provision of Arizona's controversial SB 1070 in exchange for some state-issued informal  and non-binding  guidance on how police should enforce it.

In an agreement being unveiled this afternoon, the organizations are dropping their appeal of a ruling last year by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton that there is nothing inherently illegal about the provision in the 2010 law requiring that police officers, when possible, check the immigration status of people they have stopped for any other reason.

Foes had tried to show the law was racially motivated. But Bolton said while it may be that most of the people affected in Arizona are Hispanic, the law itself is racially neutral.

In exchange, the state attorney general's office is issuing an informal legal opinion spelling out for police officers how they can  and cannot  enforce the statute. That will include cautions against racial profiling.

Potentially more significant, it will remind officers that they cannot detain anyone for longer than necessary for the original reason they were stopped.

That means no delay while waiting for a radioed response from federal immigration agencies about whether the person is legally entitled to be in this country. And it also means that even if the person is not here legally, police cannot keep them from leaving while awaiting an immigration officer to come and take custody unless they are under arrest for some state offense.

As an informal opinion, though, it cannot be used to bring actions against police who do not follow the guidelines.

The deal also leaves in place Bolton's 2015 ruling that requires verification of whether someone who already has been arrested is in this country illegally. She said that does not illegally expand the right of police officers to make warrantless arrests as the person already is in custody.

But the state will no longer try to resurrect another provision of SB 1070 aimed at day laborers.

That provision would have made it a crime for someone to stop a motor vehicle on a street and impede traffic in attempting to hire someone to work at another location. It also would have made it illegal for someone looking for work to enter such a vehicle.

Arizona had not been enforcing that because a federal appeals court had issued a preliminary injunction even before Bolton's 2015 ruling.

The groups that brought the lawsuit and agreed to the deal are the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Immigration Law Center.

While the deal announced today ends the last bit of this lawsuit, it does not mean there will be no future battles over SB 1070.

Bolton, in refusing to void the "papers, please'' provision, said only that the law is facially valid because there are ways of enforcing it which do not single out Hispanics or other minority groups.

"Plaintiffs have admittedly not produced any evidence that state law enforcement officials will enforce SB 1070 differently for Latinos than a similarly situated person of another race or ethnicity,'' the judge wrote.

What was not before the judge  and what remains an option  is what attorneys call an "as applied'' challenge, where evidence is presented that a police agency enforces the law in a discriminatory fashion. Attorneys for the challenging groups said they intend to continue to monitor what happens in Arizona and will file a new lawsuit if such discrimination occurs.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich said he hopes the informal opinion being issued by his office ensures that does not happen.

"I don't want any law enforcement official, whether they work for me or another law enforcement agency, to be racially profiling,'' he said. "I don't want law enforcement officials to be unnecessarily detaining people inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.''

Brnovich conceded the opinion has no legally binding effect  and local police agencies can still do what they want. But he said that any department that racially profiles or purposely detains someone without cause is probably breaking the law, opinion or not.

This deal comes nearly two years after the U.S. Department of Justice, which had filed its own lawsuit against SB 1070, dropped its own bid to void that "papers, please'' provision.

That, too, involved a deal: Arizona gave up its efforts enforce another provision that would have made it a state crime to knowingly transport or harbor someone in this county illegally, and made it illegal to "encourage or induce'' someone to come to or reside in Arizona if they have no legal right to be in the country.

With today's announcement, the six-year battle over the divisive law that gained national attention is finally over.

The act's approval by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signature by then-Gov. Jan Brewer drew national attention. It also resulted in demonstrations and boycotts, with officials in the state's tourism industry reporting a loss in the number of conventions and conferences scheduled here.

But it also made Brewer, who had inherited the office the year before after Janet Napolitano quit as governor, a national figure. And it likely helped her win a term of her own in the 2010 election.
PHOENIX  A man convicted of a 16-year-old murder will get a new trial because his attorney wasnt allowed to present certain evidence at an earlier one.

In a split ruling, the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that a jury might not have found Joseph Javier Romero guilty if they heard testimony that questioned the conclusion that shell casings found at the scene of the 2000 murder matched those of his gun.

Appellate Judge Michael Miller said while there certainly was other evidence linking Romero to the crime, it may have been the testimony of the states expert on the casings match  which the defense was prohibited from rebutting  that made all the difference.

Kellie Johnson the chief criminal deputy Pima County attorney, said a decision about whether to retry Romero will depend on whether the Attorney Generals Office, which handled the appeal, decides to seek Supreme Court review.

The case involved the 2000 shooting of Skeets A. Matthews with a .40-caliber gun at a mobile home park in the 1600 block of East Roger Road in Tucson.

But there was nothing further done until 2007 when Tucson police officers found the owners of the cell phone found at the scene. That led them back eventually to Romero as a suspect, especially after they noted he had done time in prison for a home invasion using a .40-caliber Glock pistol.

Evidence presented by prosecutors said that gun was the same one used to kill Matthews.

What the jury did not hear was testimony from Ralph Haber, who the court said was an expert in the field of experimental design. He would have said it was his opinion that forensic firearms identification relies on unscientific standards and methods.

After the guilty verdict, Pima County Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini sentenced Romero to 16 years in prison for Matthews shooting. She separately imposed a consecutive eight-year prison term on drug charges after police found three pounds of cocaine in the trunk of Romeros car when he was arrested in 2010.

Prosecutors asked the appellate judges to leave the verdict intact, arguing there was overwhelming evidence of Romeros guilt, even without linking his Glock to the 2000 shooting.

Miller, however, said its not as clear as that.

The evidence unrelated to the Glock supports the contention that Romero was at the scene, but it is not overwhelming, the appellate judge wrote.

For instance, the eyewitnesses differed as to whether there were two or three men running from the scene, Miller continued. He also noted there were conflicting statements from witnesses on both the make of the truck at the scene as well as the height of the suspects.

On this record, we cannot conclude there was overwhelming evidence that Romero fired the gun that killed the victim, Miller wrote.

Appellate Judge Peter Eckerstrom, who in an earlier ruling had said Romero was not entitled to a new trial, said in this new decision he has changed his mind.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is asking a judge to allow his department to withhold records related to the victim of an alleged sexual assault involving the former UA pharmacy dean.

In a Sept. 8 filing in Pima County Superior Court, Nanos' attorney, Daryl Audilett asked Judge Sarah Simmons to block requests for information by a private investigator working on behalf of Jesse Lyle Bootman.

Last October, Bootman, then dean of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, was indicted on multiple felony charges related to the alleged rape of an unconscious woman in his Foothills home, court records show. He has since been indicted on additional charges of kidnapping and drugging the woman.

Nanos' request says that since a gag order was issued no other records requests have been made for information about Bootman, but his private investigator has instead requested information about the victim.

In an Aug. 11 public records request, Randy Downer Jr., of Inter-state Investigative Services, asked for an index of all contact with the victim by the sheriff's department, saying the information was "essential to mounting an effective defense."

The sheriff's department disagreed.

"The public records request in question is simply designed to dig up 'dirt' on a sexual assault victim," Audilett wrote in the complaint. "The public records request in question is not an appropriate use of the laws surrounding freedom of information."

Audilett was unable to comment to the Star as the case is pending litigation. Downer was unable to discuss the case since Judge Scott Rash issued a gag order in March.

"Mr. Downer, being a diligent private investigator, of course accesses public records constantly as part of his job," Michael Bloom, Downer's attorney, wrote in an email. "An individual or his investigator does not need a 'reason' to access public records."

Joshua Hamilton, one of Bootman's attorneys in the criminal case, also declined to comment because of the gag order.

Dan Barr, counsel to the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, said asking a judge to allow an agency to withhold documents is fairly standard.

This is a "tactic employed by public bodies to discourage people from making requests, and getting the person to drop it," he said.

Typically, the public agency responds directly to the requester, either providing the information or denying it. If the requester is unhappy with the response, he or she has the option to file suit in court to challenge the denial.

It's unclear if Nanos responded directly to Downer's request before filing the complaint in court.
Tucson police arrested a man early Thursday morning, who was wanted in connection with a Sept. 1 stabbing at a northside pizza parlor, authorities said.

35-year-old David Ryan Howe was taken into custody by members of the Tucson Police Department SWAT team at a motel located in the area of Interstate 10 and Starr Pass, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.

Howe surrendered to officers without incident, and was booked into the Pima County jail in connection with felony charges of attempted armed robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a weapon and kidnapping. He was also booked on an unrelated misdemeanor warrant, police said.

He is being held on a $400,552 bond, according to Pima County jail records.

On Sept. 4, Alex Joseph Haider, 18, turned himself into police after media reports of the robbery and stabbing at the pizza restaurant at 3930 N. Flowing Wells Road.
PHOENIX  An assistant attorney general has admitted he deliberately destroyed notes of meetings with representatives of tribes trying to undermine the Tohono Oodham casino in Glendale.

That destruction could undermine efforts by Gov. Doug Duceys administration to stop full-scale gaming at the Glendale casino.

In depositions, Assistant State Attorney General Roger Banan said he was sent to the meetings by Daniel Bergin, director of the state Department of Gaming. Bergin has been opposed to the Tohono Oodham opening the casino at all. And now that its open, he is trying to block full-scale casino gaming there.

Banan said he was tasked with meeting with other area tribes that, for their own reasons, are opposed to the Glendale casino. Those tribal representatives presented a variety of ideas of what Bergin should do to kill the Tohono Oodham casino, he said.

Attorneys for the Tohono Oodham asked Banan for the notes to find out whether Bergin, who subsequently made several moves against the tribe, was being influenced by the other tribes who, as competitors, would want to block the casino.

Banan, however, said they cant have the notes because he destroyed them after briefing Bergin.

He said he no longer considered it necessary to keep them and that the other tribes with whom he was talking wanted the discussions kept secret.

Banan has been required to answer questions from attorneys for the Tohono Oodham Nation about those meetings. But, testifying under oath in his Aug. 23 deposition, and with no notes to refer to, Banan told tribal attorneys he could not recall anything that happened at any of the three meetings.

Attorneys for the Tohono Oodham are suing Bergin in federal court, saying he is illegally blocking their demand the tribe be allowed to conduct Class III gaming at the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino and Resort.

It opened late last year as a Class II facility  which does not require state permission  operating machines that are similar to slot machines. The tribe cannot offer live games like poker and blackjack.

Bergin, in trying to quash the lawsuit, filed a counterclaim arguing that the tribe defrauded the state and voters in 2002 when gaming compacts were negotiated and approved at the ballot box. Bergin contends the tribe deliberately hid its plans for a Glendale casino even as voters were being told there would be no new casinos in the Phoenix area.

But if U.S. District Judge David Campbell believes that Bergin and his agency have not been playing fair in this and other ongoing lawsuits with the tribe, he could unilaterally block the state from making that fraud counterclaim. That would strip the state of its main defense in the litigation, making it easier for the Tohono Oodham to get a ruling in their favor.

Campbell already has raised questions about Bergins actions.

In an order last month, the judge called it troubling that the state gaming regulator would partner with some tribes he regulates to thwart expansion of another. Campbell said there are good reasons for the Tohono Oodham to know what Bergin and Banan were saying to other tribes.

In new court filings Wednesday, Paul Charlton, the lead attorney for the Tohono Oodham, told Campbell that the intentional destruction of the notes leads to several conclusions. Most notably, Charlton said, it suggests that Bergin was taking actions against the Tohono Oodham at the behest of the other tribes.

Charlton said that after Banan met with the other tribes and briefed Bergin, the gaming director sent out letters to gaming supply companies threatening to revoke their ability to do business in the state if they provided equipment to the new Glendale casino.

Charlton said Bergin also sent letters to employees who accepted positions at the casino, and suggested to the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control that it should deny a liquor license for the facility.

Banans destruction of his notes was all the more egregious because they were public records protected by the Arizona Public Records Law, Charlton wrote. As such, Banan knew, or certainly should have known, he had a legal obligation to preserve them.

A spokesman for the Department of Gaming said it would have no response to any matters pending in court.
Pima Community College is holding public forums on its accreditation issues this week, without much notice to the community.

The forums, which were not widely publicized, will focus on what has been done to fix 11 areas of deficiency that left PCC barely able to meet minimum standards for institutional quality.

The sessions are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, Sept 15:

10:30 a.m. to noon  Board room at PCC headquarters, 4905 E. Broadway.

3 to 4:30 p.m.  Maintenance and security center, 6680 S. Country Club Road, Room MS-105

6 to 7:30p.m.  East Campus, 8181 East Irvington Road, Room L-101

Friday, Sept. 16:

8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.  West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road, Room J-G05

10:30 a.m. to noon  Downtown Campus, 1255 N. Stone Ave., Room RV-170

1:30 to 3 p.m.  Community Campus, 401 North Bonita Ave., Room A 109/112.

PCCs accreditor, the Chicago-based Higher Learning Commission, is sending a team to Tucson on Sept. 26-27 to see if an accreditation sanction imposed last year should be lifted.

A similar team in 2014 found problems ranging from a lack of stability in administrative leadership to a lack of proper quality control systems for PCCs educational programs.

Public institutions typically put out news releases when they hold public forums to help spread the word, but PCC didnt do so in this case. A source alerted the Arizona Daily Star on Wednesday that sessions were taking place.

College spokeswoman Libby Howell, who is responsible for media relations and public information, said she didnt see the need for a news release.

Though PCC refers to this weeks events as public forums, the forums were not created specifically for the public but rather, for college employees, Howell said.

The meeting notices were published in a section of the colleges website.

College officials, who planned the sessions weeks ago, decided after the fact to allow the public to attend, she said.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is asking a judge to allow his department to withhold records related to the victim of an alleged sexual assault involving the former UA pharmacy dean.

In a Sept. 8 filing in Pima County Superior Court, Nanos attorney, Daryl Audilett asked Judge Sarah Simmons to block requests for information by a private investigator working on behalf of Jesse Lyle Bootman.

Last October, Bootman, then dean of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, was indicted on felony charges related to the alleged rape of an unconscious woman in his Foothills home, court records show. He has since been indicted on additional charges of kidnapping and drugging the woman.

Nanos request says that since a gag order was issued no other records requests have been made for information about Bootman, but Bootmans private investigator has instead requested information about the victim.

In an Aug. 11 public-records request, Randy Downer Jr., of Inter-state Investigative Services, asked for an index of all contact with the victim by the Sheriffs Department, saying the information was essential to mounting an effective defense.

The Sheriffs Department disagreed.

The public records request in question is simply designed to dig up dirt on a sexual assault victim, Audilett wrote in the complaint. The public-records request in question is not an appropriate use of the laws surrounding freedom of information.

Audilett was unable to comment to the Star as the case is pending litigation. Downer was unable to discuss the case since Judge Scott Rash issued a gag order in March.

Mr. Downer, being a diligent private investigator, of course accesses public records constantly as part of his job, Michael Bloom, Downers attorney, wrote in an email. An individual or his investigator does not need a reason to access public records.

Joshua Hamilton, one of Bootmans attorneys in the criminal case, also declined to comment because of the gag order.

Dan Barr, counsel to the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, said asking a judge to allow an agency to withhold documents is fairly standard.

This is a tactic employed by public bodies to discourage people from making requests, and getting the person to drop it, he said.

Typically, the public agency responds directly to the requester, either providing the information or denying it. If the requester is unhappy with the response, he or she has the option to file suit in court to challenge the denial.

Its unclear if Nanos responded directly to Downers request before filing the complaint in court.

The request (for public records) doesnt violate victims rights laws, and it has nothing to do with this crime or the persons status as a victim, Barr said. The records may not produce anything of value, but what theyre asking for are still public records.
Ithica Police Department(ITHACA, N.Y.)  A 9-year-old battling terminal brain cancer has joined his local upstate New York police department as an honorary officer, allowing him to further his dreams of helping people, his parents said.



On Monday, the Ithaca Police Department welcomed Colin Hayward Toland to the police force, holding an official ceremony where Colin's family, friends and fellow officers witnessed as he was sworn in as a police officer.



Colin was 2 years old when he was first diagnosed with brain cancer in June 2009, his father, Ian Hayward, told ABC News. The family, who was living in Connecticut at the time, was planning a trip to Vermont for Colin's birthday and his parents' 10-year anniversary when all of a sudden he fell ill, Hayward said.



"Things kind of took off rapidly," Hayward said. "One day he was fine, the next he collapsed."



Colin was then taken to Westchester Medical Center for emergency brain surgery, Hayward said. In the months that followed, he underwent two more brain surgeries and several months of high-dose chemotherapy before he went into remission.



Colin was cancer-free for a little over four years, Hayward said, before he relapsed about 20 months ago. Since then, he has undergone three more brain surgeries, the most recent this past May as a "last-ditch attempt" to "buy him a little bit of time," Hayward said.



Colin has been on and off hospice for the past eight months. Last month, doctors told Hayward and his wife, Tamiko Toland, that they "couldn't believe" that Colin was even walking considering how much the cancer had progressed. Once the family realized that Colin's prognosis wasn't looking good, they decided to do everything they could for him, Hayward said. They took him to Hawaii, to the Bahamas and to Camp Sunshine in Maine.



For a better quality of life, the family moved back to Ithaca, where both Hayward and Toland attended Cornell University, Hayward said.



Colin's 12-year-old brother Aidan got to join the action as well, sharing the stage as Colin as he was sworn in and riding in a squad car with Colin and a member of the Ithaca Police Department.



After witnessing protests and violence against police in recent months, Colin "felt an immense amount of empathy" toward the officers, Hayward said, and decided that he wanted to become one. He told his parents that as a police officer, he would "love everyone."



"Colin wants to help people," Hayward said. "He wants to reach out and make people feel okay."



When asked what he wants his role to be at the police department, Colin jokingly said that he would probably be a receptionist, because he "wouldn't be good at catching bad guys," he told his father. Colin also would like to read bedtime stories to inmates, Hayward said.



Colin's favorite part of his swear-in ceremony was the badge he was given, he told local media in Ithaca. But Toland said it's the message the badge represents that means the most to her son.



"He said, 'Everyone should go for their dreams,'" Hayward said, adding that he's "so inspired" by him and his dreams.



Colin's dream came true on Monday, and about 300 people showed up to watch him be sworn in, including 150 fellow police officers and his entire fourth-grade class from Northeast Elementary School, which scheduled a field trip to watch their classmate's moment of honor.



Hayward held Colin's hand as Toland pinned his badge to his uniform, according to the Ithaca Police Department. Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick then announced that Sept. 12 will now be known as "Colin Toland Hayward Day."



Hayward and Toland were "moved to tears" while watching their son be recognized in such a big way, they said.



"When you lose a child to this disease, the one thing I feel parents are concerned or worried about is their child being forgotten or their child being a statistic," Hayward said -- not being able to become whatever it is they wanted to become."



The Ithaca Police Department posted a photo album to its Facebook page titled Officer Colin Toland reporting for duty and even created a customized duffle bag with Colin's name embroidered on it.



Hayward said that his "hope is always there," despite the harrowing ordeal Colin has endured through the years. But, rather than hoping for a cure, he instead hopes to make it through the day.



"It makes life much more manageable as a parent," he said.



The family plans to travel to Orlando this weekend and hopes to take a trip to Niagara Falls in the near future, Toland said.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Sunset bridge construction

Adrian Laguna shaves off some of the styrofoam on a pier cap at the Sunset Road bridge over the Santa Cruz River. The 54 girders are 120-feet long and weigh 120,000 pounds each, said Jason Bahe, the project manager with Pima County. The 720-foot long bridge is expected to be completed in April 2017, Bahe said. The girders sit on top of the pier cap.
PHOENIX  The town of Snowflake may have violated state laws in charging $800,000 to allow a marijuana grower to set up shop in the community, Attorney General Mark Brnovich said.

In a first-of-its-kind ruling under a new state law, Brnovich said it appears the council essentially pulled the number without legal basis. His decision gives the town 30 days to correct the problem or wind up in court.

Brnovichs decision, however, may prove to be a hollow victory for Rep. Paul Boyer, R-Phoenix, who had hoped to stop the facility from going in at all.

The council is free to hold a new vote and enact a legally defensible fee. That, in turn, would give voters a chance to circulate petitions to put the question on the ballot.

At that point the only question would be whether the town gets to collect the tax from the grower. Thats because what Brnovich wrote does not require the town to reconsider the special-use permit it already has granted for the 80-acre site where Copperstate Farming intends to grow medical marijuana.

That does not deter attorney Kory Langhofer, who represents foes of the facility. He contends that the levy the town council imposed on Copperstate is part of a larger illegal act, making the permit to grow marijuana invalid.

It was issued in violation of Arizona law, he said of the town. They basically put the license up for sale.

Doug Cole, spokesman for Copperstate, said the special-use permit is already done and cannot be overturned, no matter the fate of the levy.

He said that Proposition 203, the 2010 voter-approved measure that legalized medical marijuana, limits the ability of local cities and towns to preclude not only dispensaries but also growing facilities as long as they meet other conditions. And Cole said Copperstate complies.

The action by Brnovich comes a day after Fife Symington IV, the manager of Copperstate Farms and son of the former governor, announced his firm had completed acquisition of the existing 40-acre greenhouse that had previously been used to grow tomatoes and cucumbers. Cole said Symingtons father has nothing to do with the new operation.

He said plans are to start with five acres of marijuana planted by the end of the year.

Whether that happens may need to be resolved not by Brnovich but by a Navajo County Superior Court judge who is hearing a lawsuit brought by Langhofer to block what he called the worlds largest marijuana growing facility, which he said is out of character for the rural White Mountains community.
The name sounds like a coffee shop or a hip-hop dance studio. Solid Grindz ...

But this southside restaurant makes Hawaiian plate lunches, the ubiquitous island meal of barbecued meat with white rice and creamy macaroni salad. So, what??

According to co-owner Michelle Mejia, the name actually comes from Hawaiian slang. Grindz is another word for food (as in, "let's go get some grindz"). And solid is, well, good. Mejia owns the restaurant with her niece's husband Tap Gaoteote Jr., who is originally from the South Pacific islands of Samoa.

The two had been operating a food truck Solid Grindz at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base since 2014. (Tap is in the military reserves.) But when Erik Duong of the Snow Peas Modern Asian Kitchen told them he was closing shop to move to New Zealand with his wife, they jumped at the chance to open up a restaurant.

After all, they already knew the space. It was so close to the base, they'd been using it as a commissary kitchen to cook the plate lunches and wings they sold from the food truck. The two signed the papers on August 30 and opened the restaurant at 1402 S. Craycroft Road on Sept. 6. Tap asked friends from Hawaii and Samoa to help man the kitchen.

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The menu right now is a continuation of the goodies from the food truck, but as it gets colder, they'll add heartier fare like oxtail soup and Portuguese sausage. (And as a sendoff to them, they've also kept the pho and pad Thai recipes from Snow Peas on the menu.)

If you go, make sure to order the kalbi beef short ribs with meat butchered from El Vaquero Meat Market nearby, and also the panko breaded Bang shrimp. It's perfectly fried and smothered with a creamy sweet sauce similar to Chinese walnut shrimp. (The mac salad is also choice.)

Solid Grindz' grand opening is Sept. 24. The duo also does catering orders, which would be perfect for Wildcats vs. Hawaii game this Saturday night.

Opening hours are 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Closed on Sundays. Call 867-8040 for more info.
Help India!

By Tanvir Salim,

(Second part of the series),

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The report by the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee on the social, economic and educational status of Muslims across the country was presented to the Indian Parliament in November, 2006. It may have been an eye-opener to many, but for those among us who are aware of the conditions of Indian Muslims; its contents had nothing new to say. Muslims in India rank today among the most backward communities in terms of their economic, social and educational status. By some measures based on economic and social factors they are far behind the Dalits, the erstwhile untouchables, who were not even, granted a place in the Hindu caste hierarchy.

Muslims account for more than 13% of Indias population, yet they make up only 1.7% of the undergraduate-class in the seven Indian Institutes of Technology, Indias version of a technology Ivy League.

This underrepresentation is seen elsewhere too. Among the nations bureaucratic elite, Muslims comprise 3% of the staff in the Indian Administrative Service, and only 1.8% in the diplomatic corps.



Group Photo of Organizers and Visiting Poets on the occasion of Sir Syed Day celebration by AMU alumni in California on 30th October 2010.

It is an acknowledged fact now that Muslims, after living for sixty years in independent India, have been pushed to the bottom of the barrel. This has happened despite the fact that the countrys constitution has guaranteed equal opportunity to all citizens and is obligated to prevent discrimination on the basis of religion, caste and creed. Today, when India is vying to become the next superpower, the dilemma faced by Muslims, is that they have no significant role to play in the glory days of the nation that lie ahead. The Sachar Committee report simply tells us that we are not even on the team. So what should be the next step to correct this problem?

The committees recommendations are encouraging, but there is no guarantee that they will be implemented, and even if they are, those wont be enough to move Muslims up to the next level. We should take steps on our own to ensure that these recommendations are followed upon. We have to seek control of our own destiny. Many initiatives need to be taken and should be undertaken by all who agree to the Sachar report and its proposals on the plight of the Muslims.

Because of its past achievements, and future possibilities, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and its alumni can play a pivotal role in having the Sachar Committees recommendations acted upon. AMU as a university, and its alumni, could well move ahead with such an agenda, care must be taken in their approaches, which would most likely be different towards achieving the same goal.

The premises and intellectual infrastructure of AMU should not be turned into the de-facto platform to raise such issues. AMU is an educational institution and therefore should remain a centre for learning. The time demands it to adhere well to the methodologies that could turn it into a premier university. And so the effort to get the recommendations implemented should be initiated off the campus, by the well-wishers and alumni of AMU.

In no way we want AMU to be hijacked by self seekers, who in the pretext of taking up the Sachar Committees proposals would only aim at furthering their individual causes.

The AMU alumni have generally done well throughout the world. But it is sad to say, barring some exceptions, there are not many among them powerful enough to effect major changes. It is indeed a problem, but fortunately, the core of the problem hints of the solution.

Most of the AMU alumni are generally on the second tier when it comes to leadership responsibilities. The reasons for this are obvious. Due to the Muslim community being deprived in so many ways to begin with, AMU doesnt get to admit the top scholars. And to add to it there are not so many of them available among the Muslims, but only a few who are snapped up by the elite Indian educational institutions. This creates a challenge to begin with at the supply-line of Muslim scholars.

Therefore the first step should be to create an infrastructure, at the ground-level, so that an improvement in the quality of the Muslim college entrants is ensured. We should work at the lower planes, such as in the Mohallas, to improve the quality of what goes in, so that what comes out at the later stage is even better. Only such acts could ensure an uplifting of the community in the broadest sense.

We will have to cherry-pick from the very micro level, in order to spot the brightest and smartest. Going by the axiom that it takes a whole village to raise a child, the AMU Alumni, as denizens of that village, should thus work on raising a few of those children, who will then have the opportunity to be another Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former president of India.

We dont have to, nor should we wait for the government to implement what is in the Sachar Committee Report. From time to time, especially during election periods, the government will do its part. But that will be too late, and probably not enough. We should take our destiny in our hands, so that in future there is no need for specifically appointed committees to study the conditions of Muslims in independent and secular India.

Indian Muslims have spread all over the world. We have to pool our resources and work with a common focus towards the micro and macro-level objectives outlined above. Here in the United States, various alumni associations are working towards such goals. It wouldnt be out of place to mention that the Aligarh Alumni Association of New England has acknowledged the proposals of Sachar Committee Report, and is in the forefront contributing towards the feeder-level, which I believe could be defined as the ground-level or the starting-block. We need others to follow suit. Let the good work begin.

(Tanvir Salim is a Nuclear Engineer by education and training and is presently settled in the United States. He is also the Patron of Ashfaq Husain Ansari Memorial Society in Gorakhpur, India. Can be reached at www.tanvirsalim.com)
Help India!

By A Mirsab, TwoCircles.net,

Hyderabad: In a fresh jolt to Hyderabad police, Additional Metropolitan Session court acquitted all the accused in the case of killing a Home Guard on May 17, 2009. Eight accused were facing trial including five who were killed in a controversial Aler encounter on April 7, 2015 when they were brought to Hyderabad from Warangal prison.

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After the encounter killing of five accused  Mohammed Viqar Uddin, Mohd Amjed, Mohd Zakir,Dr Haneef and Izhar Khan, three other accused  Riyaz Khan, Mohd. Sayeed and Vinod Kumar Sahu were facing the trial.





[File photo: All party meet protest Aler encounter on May 24, 2015 at Hussaini Alam, Hyderabad]



Hyderabad Police had arrested these accused for killing a Home Guard Balaswamy at Falaknuma on the second anniversary of Mecca masjid blast. The case was considered as a Terrorist act by the police and these accused were booked under section  121 (Waging war against nation), 120 B (conspiracy), 302 (Murder), 307 (Attempt to murder) and Sec 16 (Terrorist Act), 18 (Conspiracy of terrorist act) and 20 (Member of a banned organization) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

On Wednesday, Second Add. Metropolitan Session Judge Radha Krishna Murty acquitted these accused from all the charges sighting lack of evidences to prove the case. The prosecution failed to prove charges against accused in the case, the court said while pronouncing acquittal of accused.

These three accused are also facing trial in the case of shooting down a police constable at Khilwat junction in Old City on May 14, 2010 and hence would not be set free immediately.

Speaking with TwoCircles.net Advocate Muzaffar Khan who represented acquitted persons told, As five accused in the case were killed in the middle of the trial, judgment cannot be pronounced against them. But if they would have been alive certainly they too would have been acquitted as prosecution failed deplorably to prove charge.

On asking if this acquittal will have any impact on the Aler encounter investigation, he told, That is up to the investigation officer to decide, he may or may not take this into the consideration but family of accused had raised substantial doubt that they were killed as they were about to be acquitted in this case.

Meanwhile, Majlees Bachao Tahreek (MBT) welcomed acquittal of accused from the case and claimed that all accused were about to be set free due to lack of evidence against them thats why the Telangana State Police killed Viquar Uddin and other four Muslims in a fake encounter who were under Judicial Custody.

Amjed Ullah Khan, spokesperson of MBT said, Mohd Viquar Uddin and other Muslim who were arrested and foisted in number of cases and were denied Bail on concocted stories of some RSS minded Police officers whose only aim is to defame and tarnish the Muslim Youth and Muslim Community.

In view of this judgment, Khan demanded an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court Judge or an High Court Judge in the arrest of innocent Muslims, Aler encounter and those police officers who were responsible for arresting the said Muslim youth.
Help India!

By Amit Kumar, TwoCircles.net

Delhi: Workers from the Tapukara (Alwar district, Rajasthan) plant of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter Pvt. Ltd. will go on an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar from September 19 onwards to fight against the wrongful dismissal of over 3,000 contract workers and 200 permanent workers for protesting against one of their colleagues being beaten up.

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On February 16, a worker was beaten up and held back in the company for forced overtime. When all the workers came to know about it, they demanded an enquiry and action on the accused engineer. However, the workers allege that the company management called the bouncers who aggressively attacked the workers. Soon the police came and lathi-charged the workers, which resulted in serious injuries to a number of workers.

To make matters worse, workers were slapped with serious charges under section 307, 395 etc of IPC and were put behind the bar. Around 3,000 contract workers and over 500 permanent workers were thrown out of their jobs. Over the last seven months, about 350 of these workers have been employed again, but the fate of around 200 permanent workers, and the 3,000 contract workers remains undecided.





Sacked workers protesting outside Jaipur labour department earlier this year.



On 19 February, around 5,000 workers had a rally from Tau Devilal Park, Gurgaon to the Honda head office, and started a sit in demonstration there. Within a day the workers were forced to leave by the police under the pretext of section 144. After that the workers tried to have demonstrations in Tapukara, Alwar, Dharuhera, Jaipur but could not advance because of severe repression by the police-administration. The workers sought justice from the Rajasthan and Haryana government, but there was no response.

Speaking to Twocircles.net, Naresh Mehta, President, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter Kamgaar Union said, Last year in August, we tried to register our union with the Jaipur labour department, but the company got a stay order on the same and the matter is still pending in court. Since then, the workers have been at the mercy of the company officials, he said. We have in the past, protested against the lack of sick leaves, delays in salaries for the contractual labourers and fire-on-the-spot policy. This irked the company and on February 16, their goons along with cops beat us severely, he added. We are not only demanding for action against the accused officials, but also reinstating our previous demands and formation of a registered trade union, he said.

On September 19, Mehta said about 500-1,000 sacked workers will be arriving in Delhi for the indefinite hunger strike and they will be accompanied by trade unions from Delhi and Gurgaon. The group will demand that all suspended and terminated workers be taken back, all the false criminal cases be withdrawn immediately and all trade union rights ensured.
Help India!

By Nityanand Shukla

Ranchi : More than 50 per cent of the land owned by tribals has been acquired for a variety of reasons over the years, displacing and marginalising lakhs of them, besides not compensating them adquately, the head of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Rameshwar Oraon, has said.

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The main woe of the tribals is land acquisition. More than 50 per cent of tribal land has been acquired for setting up industries, mining, irrigation projects and other works, while gradually displacing lakhs of the tribal population, Oraon, who belongs to Jharkhand, told IANS in a telephonic interview from New Delhi, adding: Their plight cannot be expressed in words.

All over the country, tribal land is acquired for economic development, which is wrong. There is a law to protect tribal land but the law is not implemented properly. This is the reason why tribals are being marginalised, Oraon, the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs in the UPA-I government added.

It is a matter of serious concern that tribal people were landlords when the country became independent. Over the years, their condition changed for the worse, Oraon, who quit the Indian Police Service to contest the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, said.

In almost every state there is a provision to protect tribal land. Despite this, lands were acquired, he added.

He cited the examples of the Rourkela, Bhilai and Bokaro steels plants, Ranchis Heavy Engineering Corporation and the Narmada and Sardar Sarovar projects for which only tribals were displaced.

Oraon said not enough has been done for rehabilitating tribal people and they have not been taken care of.

The situation of displaced tribals was the worst in undivided Bihar. Land acquisition hit the tribal community and its culture, he said, adding: When a tribal loses his land he loses his culture and tradition.

There is a big question mark on the survival of the tribal people and culture due to land acquisition in the country.

Oraon also came down heavily on the Raghubar Das-led Jharkhand government for proposing changes in two land acts  the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act in contravention of a central law passed in 2013 that said if tribal land had to be acquired, the consent of the Gram Sabha, or village council, was a must.

The proposed changes in the two acts challenge the act passed by Parliament. As per the changes, land can be acquired without the Gram Sabhas consent and without seeking approval of the Deputy Commissioner, he said.

The proposed changes  through and ordinance  are now pending with President Pranab Mukherjee.

The 2013 act was formulated at a suggestion of the National ST Commission. Tribal land can only be protected if the act is impended honestly. The sad part is that Gram Sabhas have been ineffective in the country. There is need to strengthen the Gram Sabhas, he said.

Oraon also expressed his unhappiness over the ST quota not being filled in central government services, saying that though the ST population increased from 7.5 per cent in 1971 to 8.30 per cent in 2011, their share in central government services is just around five per cent.

The vacant tribal posts in the central government should be filled by launching special drives, said the ST commission chairperson.

He also expressed concern over Jharkhands declining tribal population. It was 32 per cent in 1951, which reduced to 22 per cent in 2001, Oraon said.

He said it was the arrival of outsiders in the state that caused the decline.
Help India!

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net

Srinagar: In a significant move aimed at stopping voices from the Valley from reaching an international stage, Khurram Parvez, a prominent human rights activist was detained at Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi and prevented from boarding the plane to Geneva, Switzerland where he was supposed to attend the ongoing UN Human Rights Council session.

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Despite having invitation, valid visa and other necessary documents, Parvez, who is the chairperson of Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and Program Coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) was initially detained for one and a half hours. Subsequently, he was told that due to orders from the Intelligence Bureau, he cannot travel to Geneva.





Image Courtesy- Khurram Parvezs Facebook account



Despite repeatedly asking for written orders that he was forbidden to leave the country, he was denied the same. And despite repeatedly asking for reasons, grounds or the basis for the decision to disallow his travel, he was not provided the same. He was only orally informed that immigration officers had instructions that he was not to be arrested, but that he should not be allowed to leave the country, said JKCCS president Parvez Imroz in a statement.

It appears that Parvez is not being allowed to travel because he has been  in his capacity as the Chairperson of Asian Federation Against involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and Program Coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS)  highlighting violations of human rights. Preventing him from travelling is an attempt to criminalise the human rights campaign and documentation work which JKCCS has been involved in for the last several years, the spokesperson added.

Parvez along with Mary Aileen Diez Bacalso, Adv. Parvez Imroz, Adv. Kartik Murukutla and Ron de Vera were part of the AFAD & JKCCS delegation which was scheduled to visit Geneva from 14th to 24th September to attend the 33rd UN Human Rights Council session.

The Kashmiri members of the delegation, besides attending the UNHRC session, were also scheduled to brief UN bodies including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly over the last two months.

JKCCS said it considers travel ban as a part of the widespread and systematic violence that the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to face.

It further added that the Indian state seeks to isolate the people of Jammu and Kashmir at all costs, and disallowing human rights activists access to the UN is a part of this attempt to isolate and ensure impunity for violence and denial of human rights.

India has staked a claim to a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, and is presently a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Yet, in absolute disregard to its own laws, it denies Kashmiris basic fundamental rights. The international community, particularly the UN, must condemn the attempts of the Indian State to deny the people of Jammu and Kashmir their right to resist, including through human rights work, and urgently intervene through a UN fact-finding mission in Jammu and Kashmir, the organisation added.

Meanwhile, ruling PDPs Central Kashmir MP Tariq Hameed Karra on Thursday resigned from the party both as basic member and the party lawmaker in protest against the continuing killings in Kashmir.
USA Today reports Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called on President Barack Obama to stop the Dakota Access pipeline after a demonstration by the Standing Rock Sioux nation and allies outside the White House on Tuesday. Sanders is calling for a full environmental and cultural impact analysis. Sanders support comes after a September 9th joint statement from the Departments of Justice, Army and Interior pausing construction near Lake Oahe. Sanders reportedly believes these measures are insufficient, and that the pipeline is dangerous for the environment, water, and is exploitative to Native Americans.

The Standing Rock Sioux nation asserts that the pipeline is a threat to its drinking water supply, and to its sacred cultural sites. Sanders is reportedly confident that the deeper analysis he's asked for will kill the pipeline. There were over 200 anti-pipeline demonstrations in the wake of an internal memo by Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren expressing determination to continue the pipeline project.

Warren's internal memo

Warren's internal memo alleges that the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office did not locate any sacred sites. The Standing Rock Sioux nation asserts that no trained archaeologists have been employed to examine any of the contested sites. Standing Rock hired its own Lakota cultural expert, Tim Mentz, who identified several graves and sacred sites.

When Standing Rock filed an injunction in federal court to protect the site, Dakota Access workers bulldozed the site to prevent its identification. Warren's memo alleges that the pipeline is safe. Standing Rock is understandably skeptical in light of the hundreds of oil spills that have already happened in North Dakota in the last two years.

The previously mentioned joint DOJ statement prohibiting pipeline construction near Lake Oahe also asks that Dakota Access LLC voluntarily pause construction elsewhere, but it has no legal force. Warren's internal memo states his intention to meet with officials in Washington in order to bring the pipeline into operation. Sanders reportedly interpreted Warren's intention as a refusal to halt construction for a new review.

During Tuesday's White House anti-Dakota Access protest Sanders said without Energy Transfer Partners' compliance to halt construction for a new review, further administrative action is needed.

Sanders still popular with Native Americans

Bernie Sanders unprecedented support and inclusion of Native Americans in his Democratic Primary campaign was a beacon of hope for indigenous peoples who overwhelmingly still support the Vermont Senator on the basis of his stance on the environment and indigenous rights. During Tuesday's rally Sanders again asserted the need to transform the US energy system and move away from fossil fuels. Eliminating our dependence upon fossil fuels is critical for the protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples globally.

These rights are articulated in several international legal instruments to which the United States is a signatory. While the US has signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) it has failed in every respect to actually implement it in its domestic law and policy. In fact, the US has and continues to create domestic legal norms with the specific intent of weakening UNDRIP as an international legal instrument for the protection of indigenous peoples' rights.

Why? Natural resources, and the money to be made from them. What so many in the environmental movement fail to understand is that indigenous peoples have always been on the front lines against fossil fuel.

In almost every instance fossil fuels are mined or drilled for in indigenous territories, transported across indigenous territories, and the waste is dumped in indigenous territories. Sanders asserts the US must transform its energy system to renewables like solar and wind. This is critical for protecting indigenous peoples' human rights.
Around China Updated: 2016-09-15 13:05 (China Daily USA)

Jiangsu

Man held over acting indecently

A man in Wuxi city was detained for five days after he acted indecently toward a woman. He said he was angry that his girlfriend was once molested. The 25-year-old man, surnamed Ding, followed a single woman, surnamed Huo, into the elevator of their residential building at about 10 pm recently and acted indecently toward her. Huo struggled against Ding and called her boyfriend for help. Ding was later caught and detained by police. Ding told police that he had behaved in such a way because his girlfriend was molested by another man and he wanted to do the same thing to vent his anger.

China News Service

Chongqing

Police called over financial dispute

A henpecked husband had to seek help from police when his wife said she wanted to divorce him after the latter found he had hidden 1,000 yuan ($154) at their home in the city's Shapingba district last week. Zhang, a businessman in his 40s, told police that as a businessman, he wanted to keep some private savings to entertain his friends and business partners, but his wife always asks him to give all his income to her. Zhang and his wife settled the dispute after police intervention and he promised to no longer keep private savings.

Chongqing Morning Post

Jiangxi

Senior citizen gives free tea to tourists

An 80-year-old man in Huichang county has been providing free tea to tourists for 33 years. Zhou Wenrong started providing free refreshments at a scenic spot near his home when he retired in 1983. He walks 2 km to the spot in the mountains every day after breakfast to provide free tea to tourists. Zhou said he is happy to help thirsty visitors, who are often surprised to be offered free tea, and will continue to do so for as long as he can.

China News Service

Woman's 'marriage' to brother exposed

A woman in Fenyi county attempted to forge her marriage to her elder brother. Surnamed Zhong, the woman wanted to have a second child with her husband in 2013 when the second-child policy had not yet been implemented, and planned a false marriage with her elder brother, who was single, to enable the household registration of her second child. Zhong divorced her husband and married her elder brother in May last year before divorcing him in September. However, the forged marriage was exposed when a man, surnamed Yuan, brought a lawsuit against Zhong and her elder brother, who borrowed 1 million yuan ($149,914) from the man. The court heard the case and judged on Aug 21 that Zhong did not actually marry her elder brother and was therefore not responsible for repaying her sibling's debt.

Jxcn.cn

Guangxi

Women cheated for love, money

A man in Nanning was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan ($750) recently after cheating three women for money and love. Wei Jiaguan, 30, an unemployed resident of the city, made friends with the women on social media networks. From April 2014 to September last year, Wei lived with each of the women and cheated them out of a total of 189,000 yuan.

Gxnews.com.cn

Shandong

Child told to lick teacher's feet

A child in a rural kindergarten complained that his teacher ordered him to lick her feet and say that her feet were cleaner than his. The unnamed child told his grandma he was unhappy that a female teacher said his feet were dirty and told him to lick her "cleaner" feet. The child's parents went to the kindergarten to speak to the teacher, who said she did not force the child to lick her feet, but told him to do so to teach him about hygiene.

Jiaodong.net

Shaanxi

Stray dogs drive neighbors away

An old woman in Xi'an kept more than 10 stray dogs, which seriously disturbed her neighbors and caused three to move away. Surnamed Zheng, the 78-year-old woman lives on the fourth floor of a residential building and kept the dogs in her house. She had four neighbors on the same floor, but three moved out because they said they could not bear the mess, the stench and the noise made by the dogs. The neighbors and real estate management staff asked the woman to give the dogs away, but Zheng refused, saying that she lives alone and needs the dogs, who also need her.

Huashang Daily

Beijing

Man hiding lighter at airport fined

A male passenger who hid a lighter when attempting to board a flight was fined 1,500 yuan ($225). Surnamed Wang, the resident of Fujian province was found by airport security staff at Beijing Capital International Airport to be hiding a lighter before boarding his flight to Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, recently. Wang was educated by police and fined.

Beijing Times

Sichuan

Crocodile falls off fifth-floor balcony

A resident's pet crocodile fell from the fifth floor of a residential building in Zigong. The resident keeps two crocodiles as pets and one of them fell down from the owner's balcony. With help from real estate management staff, the owner caught his pet the next morning and took it home. Fortunately, no one was reportedly injured by the animal.

The Beijing News

Heilongjiang

Man detained for stealing condoms

A man, surnamed Chen, who stole six condoms from a hotel was detained in Qiqihar city recently. Chen, 31, told police he stole the condoms to relieve stress caused by the pressures of his heavy workload. Chen said he felt happy when he saw the condoms and he could not go to sleep without a condom in his hand. He said he entered the hotel to steal the condoms because he was attracted by the beautiful and unique design of the condom packaging.

Life Daily

(China Daily USA 09/15/2016 page6)
Candidates give medical details Updated: 2016-09-15 12:02 By Agencies(China Daily USA)

US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Wednesday moved to show their medical fitness for the White House as Clinton released a letter from her doctor declaring her fit for the presidency and Trump taped a TV segment about his well-being.

Clinton, 68, is healthy and fit to serve as president and is recovering from non-contagious, bacterial pneumonia, her physician, Dr Lisa Bardack, said in a letter about the Democratic nominee's medical condition released by the campaign. Clinton is scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Thursday.

Trump, 70, knows he could stand to lose a few pounds but otherwise is in great health, campaign adviser Sarah Huckabee Sanders told MSNBC on Wednesday after the Republican nominee taped an episode of the "Dr Oz Show" in New York that will air on Thursday.

Former US secretary of state Colin Powell and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton attend a groundbreaking ceremony for US Diplomacy Center in Washington in 2014. Powell is in the news after hacked emails revealed his criticisms of Clinton and opponent Donald Trump. Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Bardack, in her letter about Clinton, wrote: "She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

The announcements came as Clinton spent a third day at her home in Chappaqua, New York, after falling ill on Sunday morning as she left a Sept 11 memorial in New York City. Video footage taken by a bystander showed Clinton collapsing as she attempted to get into a waiting vehicle. Her campaign said later in the day that the former secretary of state had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Sept 9.

Bardack said Clinton's pneumonia was diagnosed after a chest scan that day and she was prescribed a 10-day course of antibiotics.

Bardack said Clinton's cholesterol and blood pressure are within normal ranges. She had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound and shows no signs of developing heart disease, which runs in her family. Clinton takes medication for an underactive thyroid, which has been stable for years, Clarinex for her allergies, a vitamin B12 supplement and the blood thinner Coumadin following a 2012 blood clot in her head.

Since then, Clinton's dosage of Coumadin has "been adjusted as needed according to regular lab testing", Bardack said.

Trump's campaign has said he will release additional medical information to the public in the coming days.

The "Dr Oz Show" on Wednesday released a short clip of its Thursday segment with Trump. In it, Trump gives Dr Mehmet Oz two letters showing the results of medical tests conducted last week. Huckabee Sanders said she did not see the summary Trump showed Oz, but "he self-admitted he could lose a few pounds".

In other campaign news, former Secretary of State Colin Powell revealed distaste for both US presidential candidates.

In an email to Reuters on Wednesday, Powell confirmed the authenticity of the thousands of hacked messages but declined further comment.

In one of the leaked emails, Powell, a Republican, called Trump "a national disgrace" and an "international pariah" who allied himself with racists questioning whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States.

"When Trump couldn't keep that up," Powell wrote in the hacked message, "he said he also wanted to see if the (birth) certificate noted that he was a Muslim. As I have said before, 'What if he was?" Muslims are born as Americans every day."

As for Clinton, Powell said in another email that the Democratic former secretary of state was "greedy" and had "unbridled ambition".

In one of the newly leaked messages, from Aug 21, Powell derided Trump's attempt to attract black voters.

In a July 24, 2014, email, Powell made clear his discomfort with Clinton, writing: "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect. A 70-year person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational"

In another email, Aug. 18, 2015, he wrote, using her initials, that: "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris."

In some of the thousands of messages posted on the website DCLeaks.com, Powell also expressed his displeasure with the Clinton campaign's efforts to equate his use of an AOL email address with her installation of a private server in her home. After it was reported that Clinton had told FBI investigators that Powell had advised her to use a personal address, he lamented that what he called her "minions" were "making a mistake trying to drag me in".
UKs May approves Chinese-invested Hinkley Point nuclear station Updated: 2016-09-16 01:50 By CHRIS PETERSON

UK Prime Minister Theresa May paved the way for improved relations with China by approving the construction of the controversial nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, to be built using French technology with Chinese investment.

China will invest 6 billion pounds ($7.92 billion) in the 18 billion pound project. Conditions of the investment include Chinese technology being used at a new plant at Bradwell-on-Sea in eastern England, and Chinese investment at another plant at Sizewell, on Britains east coast.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the approval is in the interest of all parties.

China General Nuclear Corp said in a statement: "We are delighted that the British government has decided to proceed with the first nuclear power station for a generation. We are now able to move forward and deliver much-needed nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point, Sizewell and Bradwell, with our strategic partner, EDF.

Shortly after taking office in July, May announced that she would freeze the project until she had reviewed it, prompting concerns that refusal to approve the construction would damage relations with China. Mays predecessor, David Cameron, had backed the project.

The United Kingdoms government said it had addressed security concerns with what it called significant safeguards, including a bar on EDF Energy selling its stake unless it had the approval of UK ministers. The safeguards would also apply to future projects.

EDF said the agreement was the culmination of 10 years of planning and preparation.

"EDF intends to sign agreements with the UK government, its Chinese partner CGN and supply chain partners at the earliest opportunity, it said.

"EDF Energy has worked with its Chinese partner CGN for 30 years. Their skill and experience will bring significant benefits to the HPC project, it added.

Analysts said the go-ahead for Hinkley also soothed fears that a rejection of the project might have a negative effect on planned Chinese investment of 40 billion pounds in Britain

China was also eager for the project to go forward because Bradwell would mark the first use of Chinese nuclear technology in a developed economy, necessitating approval by British nuclear standards, which would be vital for further international orders.

Cecily Liu and Lyu Chang contributed to this story.
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HA NOI  Experts have been baffled by losses of Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltds (BSR), which operates the Dung Quat Oil Refinery,as the project received costs and subsidies advantages, said Masami Kojima from the World Bank.

Kojima told a conference on reviewing energy price subsidies in Viet Nam held in Ha Noi on Tuesday that the economic affects of subsidies were not always negative. There are still some popular subsidies in countries with a strong energy market.

For example, subsidies in electricity consumption for people in rural areas and those in urban areas are seen in the EU and North America.

Subsidies also promote the application of renewable energy resources, she said.

However, one of challenges for policy makers was to ensure that subsidies do not harm the market in the long-term.

She added that Dung Quat Oil Refinery is the only oil refinery plant in Viet Nam using local crude oil.

The refinery can compete due to its scale and effective production. In addition, the refinery has been using local crude oil in the country which should have lower production costs than others in Singapore and South Korea. Those countries had to pay to import crude oil and export refined oil.

The refinery has also been given preferential corporate income tax and retained the so-called preferential value, in accordance with the import tariff (3 per cent for petrochemical products, 5 per cent for LPG and 7 per cent for petroleum products).

The refinery enjoyed corporate income tax of zero per cent for the first four years of operation, 5 per cent in the following 9 years and 10 per cent instead of the common 20 per cent in the next 17 years.

The subsidies have been a remarkable support for the refinery. However, the refinery has faced financial difficulties. If the refinery did not retain the preferential value, its total accumulated losses would be more than VN27.6 trillion (US$1 billion) in 2010-14. The subsidies helped reduce losses to VN1 trillion ($500 million) in the period.

She said that the Government should analyze the financial effectiveness of the refinery.

A representative of the National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) said the refinery has transportation advantages. However, they still faced difficulties as they cant decide prices themselves.

Viet Nams market is quite complicated, subsidies should be based on economic, energy security and environmental development criteria, he said.

A representative of the General Directorate of Energy said some of the World Banks data had not been updated.

He said Viet Nam had put efforts into increasing its energy prices.

If we do not increase petroleum prices, our State budget could not cover the losses, the coal selling prices to the electricity sector has also been higher, the representative said.

The World Bank report aimed to support the Vietnamese Government to have better knowledge of energy subsidies as well as the affects of energy subsidy reduction.  VNS
HA NOI  There is an increasing risk that Viet Nams public debt will exceed a national red line, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said in its latest report.

This announcement followed mid-year reports from the Ministry of Finance, which said that the ratio of public debt was close to the National Assembly-set ceiling of 65 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP).

In Viet Nam, public debt includes Government debt, debts underwritten by the Government, and debts incurred by provincial and municipal authorities.

Government debt alone, which is domestically and internationally incurred by the Government and the finance ministry, exceeded a cap of 50 per cent of GDP.

The Voice of Viet Nam (VOV) reported that the inefficient use of the State budget nationwide exposed the risk for public debt.

The VN12 trillion (US$533.33 million) Ninh Binh fertiliser plant of the Viet Nam National Chemical Group in nothern Ninh Binh Province was struggling with annual losses of VN2 trillion.

Operations at the VN7 trillion inh Vu polyester factory, in which the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group held a controlling stake, halted more than a year after it went on stream in 2014. The facility remains idle now.

Ha Nois VN8.77 trillion Cat Linh  Ha ong elevated railway project was expected to be completed last year, yet it has not come into operation even with a hike of nearly VN7 trillion in investment capital.

Investment capital in a project to expand National Highway 5 in the capital city has nearly doubled from VN3.53 trillion to VN6.66 trillion, due to a delay of up to six years in implementation progress.

Implementation costs doubling or trippling initially-estimated levels show inefficiency in public investments. Misspending has caused public investments less reliable, economist Pham Chi Lan told VOV.

The finance ministry also said that there are about 7,000 unnecessary vehicles allocated for civil authorities nationwide. For example, there are some 170 redundant vehicles at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and nearly 60 similar units at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Many ministries, sectors and localities still proposed new vehicle purchases, however.

State-invested enterprises

The State Audit Office of Viet Nam reported last year that many enterprises with State capital still suffered business losses over the last few years.

Among them were the Viet Nam National Shipping Lines, which lost on average VN3.4 trillion every year, and PetroVietnam Construction Corporation, whose annual losses averaged VN3.5 trillion.

Industry insiders said the Government still regularly assists these firms either with capital supplements, or debt wiping, or swapmoves that require it to issue bonds and cause public debt hikes.

Nguyen uc Kien, Vice Chairman of the National Assemblys Economic Committee told VOV: In a normally operating economy, enterprises pay debts themselves. Still in the developing domestic economy where businesses need flexible conditions to develop, the Government must guarantee their loans while they are responsible for debt payment.

The latest MPI data revealed that State budget revenues totaled VN603.70 trillion, while budget spending reached VN715.20 trillion in the first eight months of this year. This meant that overspending amounted to VN111.30 trillion in the period.

Economic uncertainty

Bui Ngoc Son, from the Institute for World Economics and Politics, told VOV that budget collection was likely to miss targets in a context that economic growth prospects remained uncertain.

He hinted at situations where the country had to use new loans to cover old debts in recent years.

Economist Ngo Tri Long said Viet Nam must closely control borrowing sources while enhancing transparency in public investments. It will be vital for the country to crack down on corruption and misspending, he added.

This issue has clearly been recognised at the highest levels, yet whether drastic actions will be taken remains to be seen, he reportedly said.

The Prime Minister said in a recent directive that Viet Nam will temporarily halt granting Government guarantees for loans to new projects next year to ensure a secure level of public debt. Government-backed loans were gradually tightened this year.

National Assembly deputies speaking at a legislature session in Ha Noi in July urged the strengthening of financial discipline in the wake of official reports showing a rise in the budget overspending as well as shortcomings in budget operations.

"The Government has made commitments to ensure public debt sustainability and to rebuild fiscal buffers. It is important that this commitment is now followed through with concrete actions to balance the budget over the medium term," said Sebastian Eckardt, lead economist for the World Bank in Viet Nam at a July meeting.

"Efforts to rein in fiscal imbalances will have to be balanced with reforms to create fiscal space to maintain investments in critical infrastructure and public services, he said.  VNS
The Government will divest its stake in Vinamilk this year.  Photo VNA/VNS

HA NOI  The Government will divest its stake in Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) this year, a senior official from the Ministry of Finance told a press briefing on Wednesday.

Deputy Director of the finance ministrys Department of Corporate Finance ang Quyet Tien said besides Vinamilk, the Government will also sell its stake in nine other leading State-owned enterprises (SOEs) early next year as part of the countrys new economic strategy.

Tien did not reveal details about the Vinamilk divestment, saying that the sovereignty wealth fund State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is preparing the plans to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister soon.

He, however, said the divestment process must be executed carefully to avoid any negative impact on the stock market as investors might focus entirely on Vinamilk. The State ownership in Vinamilk is huge, valued at nearly VN100 trillion (US$4.46 billion), he said.

The Government may choose to sell the stake gradually, in portions that can be easily absorbed by the market, he said, assuring that the sale will be in accordance with the countrys legal regulations and transparent to ensure interests of the State and the investors.

The Government currently holds 45.1 per cent stake in Vinamilk. At present, Vinamilks largest foreign shareholder is F&N Dairy Investment, part of the Fraser and Neave conglomerate, with 11 per cent. The firm is controlled by Thai beer tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who has been making inroads into Viet Nam via his Thai Charoen Corp.

Vinamilk is one of the countrys most sought-after equities and foreign investors have long been interested in Vinamilk thanks to its strong prospects and expansion plans. Vinamilks shares have increased 18 times since the company was first listed in 2006 to VN146,000 per share as of mid-May.

In late June, the board of directors of Vinamilk formally approved the removal of its 49 per cent foreign ownership cap, paving the way for an expected surge of interest from overseas investors in the local company.

Late last year, SCIC unveiled plans to sell the states holding in 10 leading SOEs, which could earn it a total of $3 billion.

The enterprises are Vinamilk, Bao Minh Insurance Corp, Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation and Tien Phong Plastic JSC, as well as Binh Minh Plastic JSC, Vietnam Property and Infrastructure JSC, FPT Corp and FPT Telecom, along with Ha Giang Mineral Mechanics JSC and Sa Giang Import Export Co.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam Competition Authority (VCA) has warned of fraud related to the trading of virtual currency and raising funds through a multi-level practice.

This has led to serious damage and stirred discontent in the public.

VCA said that this type of multi-level trading had high risks, since it was easy to appropriate money from the participants.

VCA said multi-level trading of any services was illegal according to the Law on Competition. Before participating in any multi-level trading, citizens must study the enterprises carefully and should stay away if the companies conduct multi-level trading of services, the authority said.

Bitcoin multi-level trading has made an appearance in Viet Nam, in which investors spend a certain amount of money to participate and buy bitcoins. They are then required to seek new investors to earn commissions, according to VCA. Bitcoin transactions are conducted online with the server located abroad.

VCA said that it was difficult to withdraw real money out of this type of trading system (or the withdrawals were limited to a modest amount).

Risks existed as the operators could easily appropriate money from investors without any commitments or erase data of the investors, leaving behind no basis for claims.

In addition, virtual currency is not a legitimate form of payment in Viet Nam, thus, in case of disputes, investors had no legal ground for their rights to be protected.

Several cases of bitcoin trading frauds were reported recently, in which dozens of billions of ong had unexpectedly disappeared and the victims were left stranded.

The Voice of Viet Nam recently reported that several residents in Central Highlands Gia Lai Province participated in bitcoin trading through the website fxmt4.us, which was introduced as a global bitcoin trading network with multi-level operations. These people were misled by the high commission of up to 144 per cent promised per month.

Fxmt4.us operated smoothly for the first two months with no late payments of commissions. In late June, however, the site was shut down, and in August, the operator disappeared with billions of ong.

The newspaper quoted Nguyen Huy Hoang, deputy head of An Khe Town Polices Department of Economic Crime Investigation, saying that the location of the server could not be determined.

Initial findings revealt that there were some 1,900 accounts on Fxmt4.us and around VN22 billion was appropriated.

The VCA also warned about the multi-level money raising operation, with abnormally high commissions, which was said to be invested in property, hospitality or mining projects, but in fact was just a cover. One the pyramid collapsed, it would be difficult for participants to take back their money.

Residents should keep their eyes open, VCA said. - VNS
What is the situation of current supply and demand balance of the domestic steel industry?

Regarding construction steel, consumption totals are around 7 million tones per year, of which 5 million tones are produced by local plants while the rest are imported. Meanwhile, the total production capacity of construction steel in Vietnam is actually around 12 million tones.

Similarly with steel ingots, production output is around 12 million tones, nearly doubling the domestic market demand.

The domestic steel industry is still not running at its full capacity, due to low domestic demand.

In addition, the industry faces competition from cheap steel products imported from China. Last year, steel imports totaled millions of tones in both completed products and ingots, which impacted market shares as well as the operation capacity of local producers.

However, for steel pile, galvanised steel and cold-rolled steel, domestic consumption is good and so are the export numbers. Vietnamese local producers such as Hoa Sen, Phuong Nam, Nam Kim and ong A show strength in these products and advantages for exports in Southeast Asia region.

Given that the domestic steel industry still fails to run at its full capacity and imports offer heavy competition, do we really need to invest in steel production?

We still have to invest in steel production. People must consider which investments should be made at which stages, which time, in which scale and technologies, in order not only to control the environmental impacts but also to ensure the competitiveness of products.

In the current market, the steel association will not encourage new investments in steel ingots and pipe production because supply is exceeding demand significantly. Investments should be rather poured into improving product competitiveness, reducing wastes and easing impacts on the environment. The association encourages intensive not extensive investments.

For cold-rolled steel sheets, hot-rolled steel and alloy steel, producers can expand investments. We have advantages in those exports.

In the long term, industrialisation is still the path that Viet Nam must take, so the development of the steel industry is indispensable. The thing to consider while developing the steel industry is consumption.

Vietnamese consume around 200 kilograms per head per year, still low compared to the worlds average level of 220-230 kilograms, Chinas 400 kilogram, or Europes 600 kilograme.

That having been said, local steel consumption is expected to rise to 250-300 kilograme per year.

Hence, steel producers must base their estimates on consumption demand and other economic indicatorslike gross domestic product and construction industrial indexfor investment decisions.

Especially, investments should not be scattered, in both capacity and technology, in order to enhance competitiveness.

How can we balance the benefits of importing steel and using locally-produced steel?

The steel industry is faced with inventories at the moment, but the inventories are of several kinds of steel products, while many types are in a shortage.

For products that Viet Nams steel production can meet the local demand, imports should be limited to encourage local production. Trade defense instruments should be considered.

Viet Nam needs to import steel products that the local industry still fails to produce. However, we encourage investments in producing these products.

However, protecting local production by using trade defense instruments remains a short-term measure. Enhancing competitiveness and product quality of domestic producers, these are our greater goals. - VNS

Inbox

VN to build modern steel industry

HA NOI  The master planning of the steel industry must focus on building a modern and sustainable industry, according to Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung.

Dung also asked that global and domestic steel demand be reviewed as the basis of the development of a master plan to 2025 with a vision to 2035, which would aim to restructure the industry, as well as focus on its modernisation and sustainability.

The development of steel production and distribution systems must be in line with the countrys socio-economic development and its international integration progress, Dung said.

Accordingly, the application of advanced technologies would be promoted to improve resources and energy efficiency, along with protecting the environment. Further, scattered production and outdated and energy-consuming technologies would gradually be eliminated.

Dung also asked ministries and authorities to tighten the management of compliance with environmental regulations by the countrys steel companies. Steel plants, which fail to meet the national technical environmental standards, would be strictly handled, even shut down.

Additionally, Dung asked the Ministry of Finance to revise tax policies in order to promote the development of a sustainable industry.

Developing a sustainable steel industry became pressing for Viet Nam after alarm bells were rung following the largest-ever environmental pollution, which struck the central coast, having been caused by Taiwanese firm Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation. - VNS
HA NOI  Four films selected from the FIFA Mons, the Festival of Films about Love of Mons (Festival international du film damour de Mons), are being screened in Ha Noi , yesterday through Saturday, September 17.

The screenings are organized by the Wallonie-Bruxelles delegation, the groups first-ever time to share films on Vietnamese soil.

The film festival will introduce the four best films selected from FIFA Monswhick took place in Mons in Februaryincluding Le Tout Nouveau Testament (The Brand New Testament), La passion dAugustine (Augustines Passion), La fille du Patron (The Bosss Daughter) and Se Dio Vuole (God Willing).

Brand New Testament (Belgium, France, Luxembourg) is a fantasy drama. It reveals the life of God, who lives in an apartment in Brussels that he shares with his meek wife and his 10-year-old daughter Ea, whom he is abuses emotionally and physically. One day, Ea sneaks into his office and discovers how he has been mistreating humans.

Augustines Passion (Canada), tells of a Roman Catholic nun, Mother Augustine, who teaches music in a convent school in rural Quebec in the 1960s, and who fights to preserve her school against the backdrop of the social changes wrought by Vatican II and Quebecs Quiet Revolution.

In The Bosss Daughter (France), Vital is a 40-years old workshop foreman in a textile factory. He falls in love with the daughter of his boss when she chooses him for an ergonomic study, but their relationship attracts the rage and disapproval of everyone.

God Willing (Italy) is a story about Tommaso, a successful, respected cardiac surgeon who also happens to be both arrogant and an atheist. However, Tommasos only son Andrea brings the family together to announce that he wants to become a priest. Tommaso refuses to accept his Catholicism, and is horrified when his wife Carla and daughter Bianca consider it themselves. Tommaso goes undercover while Andrea is absent, on retreat in a monastery, to investigate and bring down the charismatic Father Don Pietro, who he believes has "brain-washed" his son and caused upheaval in his family.

To celebrate the occasion, f FIFA Mons president Andre Ceuterick will attend and share some remarks to the audience, especially on his festivals area of expertise: love.

Love has no border and no limit, thats the reason why we can bring FIFA Mons to many places and receive a warm welcome from local audiences, he said.

We are curious to hear Vietnamese audiences remarks on these four films.

Ceuterick said he admired Vietnamese cinema and has worked with director ang Nhat Minh and Tran Anh Hung. He expected that one day he would have a chance to discover more about Vietnamese cinema and that Vietnamese film will be presented at FIFA Mons next year.

FIFA Mons was launched in 1984 in Wallonie region, Belgium. The festival first took place in 1985 and organised every two years. Some films at the festival focused on a title of love. Up to now, FIFA Mons is one of some prestigous film festivals in Belgium, EU and the world.

The film festival will take place as a celbration of the 20 year anniversary of the Wallonie-Bruxelles delegation in Viet Nam.

The films will be presented to the audience at the Viet Nam National Studio for Documentary Scientific Films, 465 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Ha Noi, free entrance.  VNS
NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan delivers speech at the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo An ang

HA NOI  The National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) raised concerns over the amount of power the draft Law on Foreign Trade gives to the Industry and Trade Ministry.

The law, which was being discussed by the NASC for the first time, is aimed to be a State management tool on foreign trade that ensures transparency and compliance with international law as well as increasing the competitiveness of the economy.

Promulgating the Law on Foreign Trade was necessary to complete the legal framework for foreign trade activities, according to a report delivered by deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu to the NASC meeting yesterday.

At present, there are many legal documents of State management on foreign trade activities. These lead to overlaps in State management and a lack of transparency which causes risks for businesses import/export activities, Tu said.

The draft law regulates administrative management of import-export limitations such as quotas, designating import/export businesses and lists of products banned from imports and exports, he told the meeting.

Many deputies said that the law gave too much power to management agencies.

Deputy Phan Thanh Binh, chairman of the NA Culture, Education and Youth Affairs Committee, said that the draft law focused more on management than development for foreign trade activities.

He also said that the draft law gave too much power to the minister of trade.

The law regulates many kinds of licences and gives a lot of power to the Trade Minister, authorizing him to grant quotas and designate import and export businesses, said Binh.

I did not see any clause mentioning monitoring activities or transparency, he said.

Deputy Vo Trong Viet, chairman of the National Security and Defence Committee, said the law should have tight regulations to ensure Vietnamese import-export businesses dont suffer.

The law would deal with overlaps on import-export procedures, Viet said.

NA Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said that the draft should deal with foreign trade services such as logistics and warehouses.

Chairman of Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said the law should authorise the Prime Minister to halt the import and export of some products.

However, some deputies said that this ability should be given to the Trade Minister after discussions with related ministries and agencies.

Deputy Nguyen Thanh Hai, agreed to the draft laws item of setting lists of import-export ban. She referred to the importing of tonnes of toxic Salbutamol which was sold legally due to vague regulations.

Tonnes of toxic substance were sold but no ministries knew about it or took responsibility. This was very dangerous, she said.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said import-export limitations on some products were good but she asked the law compiler to explain whether concrete lists were mentioned in the law or if the Government could issue lists aimed at protecting businesses.

The NASC agreed with the main points of the draft law on State management of foreign trade activities including management measures, dispute settlement, and measures for foreign trade development.

Most lawmakers wanted the law to reduce power of the Industry and Trade Ministry and increase support of businesses involved in foreign trade. VNS
HA NOI  A year since its inception, the ASEAN Community (AC) has gained encouraging achievements but also faces many challenges, heard a workshop held in Ha Noi yesterday.

On December 31st 2015, the ASEAN Community was officially established with three pillars: the ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

Stressing the achievements of the APSC pillar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, from the Faculty of International Studies of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, cited the implementation of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025, including the development of a reporting and monitoring system with a focus on qualitative analysis and impact assessment.

She noted the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) as a consultative body integral to the ASEAN structure and its role as the overarching human rights institution in ASEAN, the ongoing efforts of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) in promoting reconciliation, conflict management, conflict resolution and peace building in the region, and the official inauguration of the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre Headquarters in Phnom Penh, which serves as the regional centre of excellence in addressing the humanitarian aspects of explosive remnants of war.

In maritime co-operation, she said ASEAN member states underscored the importance of strengthening regional co-operation and promoting mutual trust to ensure peace and security as well as safety of sea lanes, freedom of navigation and over flight and unimpeded commerce through, inter alia, capacity building, exchange of experiences and information, sharing of best practices and co-ordination on cross-cutting/cross-pillar issues.

Another point is co-operation in Non-Traditional Security Issues for the AC, such as human trafficking or animal trafficking and cybercrimes, she said.

Achievements were also made in defence and security co-operation with progress in advancing defence co-operation and promoting dialogue on defence and security matter.

However, she said, maritime co-operation had more constraints than other fields and this was one of the big challenges of the APSC.

These constraints result from differences in national interests and benefits among member states, the impact on national benefits of each country also lead to different points of views in dealing with issues. Meanwhile, maritime co-operation is a very complicated issue that requires the co-ordination of many different co-operation mechanisms from all member States.

Another reason is strong influences from outside countries. A clear example of this is the conflict in the East Sea (South China Sea). For many years, China has been in conflict over sovereignty in the East Sea with member states, including Viet Nam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, she said.

A final ruling was issued by an international tribunal in The Hague in July this year on the lawsuit filed by the Philippines rejected Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea. However, at the 49th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Laos later on July 24, there was not any formal reaction towards the ruling.

This is a failure of the ASEAN member states to solve conflicts in the East Sea, she said.

Another challenge is pressure from outside countries on member states such as China and the US so it would be difficult for ASEAN member states to reach the same point of view in dealing with a big issue, she said.

However, the principle of consensus had stopped some forums from meeting expectations, she said, adding that ASEAN should reconsider the application of the principle of consensus so that it would not be abused for national benefits of member countries.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Khanh, former Director of the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies noted the influence of powerful countries on ASEAN communities in recent years, particularly China and the US.

The influence of those countries had two sides. On one hand, it created motivation for the ASEAN Community to improve its competitiveness. On the other hand, it could cause separation within the community, he said.

To tap new opportunities and overcome challenges, it was essential for ASEAN to strengthen their internal unity and adjust their rules of game, including the principle of consensus.

However, some delegates said that there had not been many changes since the AC was established.

Muhadi Sugiono, a Senior Lecturer from Universitas Gadjah Mada of Indonesia, an expert in ASEAN study, said almost one year after ASEAN Community was launched, most ASEAN people did not feel that there had been any change.

Life goes on normally and the AC does not seem to exist with them. It is a big challenge for the governments of ASEAN member countries to make sure that their people are really ready for an AC, he said.

The AC will come, not very suddenly, but slowly and in stages. ASEAN Governments need to promote and increase awareness of the coming of AC as well as opportunities and challenges that an AC will bring about, he said. - VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived in Hong Kong, the third leg of his official visit to China under the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang, yesterday.  Photo tuoitre.vn

HONG KONG  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived in Hong Kong, the third leg of his official visit to China under the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang, yesterday.

He was welcomed at the Hong Kong international airport by leaders of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, an honourary representative of Hong Kongs Chief Executive, and Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau Hoang Chi Trung, among others.

During his stay, PM Phuc will meet Hong Kongs Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, and receive Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Government Carri Lam.

Later the same day, PM Phuc attended the Hong Kong-Vietnam Business & Investment Forum, expressing his hope that Hong Kong - a leading financial centre of the region and the world  can help with credit mobilisation for Viet Nams development.

He said that Viet Nam would create the best possible conditions for Hong Kong businesses to invest in banking, finance, insurance, maritime transport services, infrastructure, electronic components, support industry, processing and farm produce.

The Vietnamese Government considers your success our success, Phuc said.

Briefing the forum on Viet Nams socio-economic situation, he said the countrys trade turnover has been growing by an average of 15 per cent a year for years, hitting US$330 billion last year.

More than 110 countries and territories worldwide have invested in Viet Nam with more than 21,000 projects with total registered capital of nearly $300 billion, he said.

He highlighted the fact that Viet Nam has engaged to 12 free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Viet Nam -EU agreement.

The country is negotiating four other trade deals, including a free trade agreement between ASEAN and Hong Kong.

The PM also cited the World Banks moving the country up three places in its business climate rankings, noting that the country is striving to be in the top four of ASEAN in 2017.

Viet Nam has a stable socio-political situation and the Vietnamese Government is exerting efforts to build a healthy business and investment climate and streamline administrative procedures, he said.

He briefed the forum on his meetings with Chinese leaders, saying that they reached consensus on strategic orientations to boost bilateral co-operation, focusing on economic and trade links.

Viet Nam and China aim to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion this year, he said, stressing that Viet Nam will be one of Chinas largest trade partners in ASEAN.

Permanent Honourary President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, Jonathan Choi, who is also Chairman of the Hong Kong- Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce, lauded the Vietnamese Governments resolve to boost the countrys economic growth.

Viet Nam plays an important role in development of countries in East Asia and is one of the fastest-growing economies in ASEAN with GDP hitting 6.7 per cent in 2015, he said, describing a large and young workforce as Viet Nams advantage.

According to him, Hong Kong has favourable conditions to promote trade co-operation between China and ASEAN countries.

Choi expressed his hope that Hong Kong and Vietnamese businesses will support each other to make the best use of opportunities afforded by the One Belt, One Road initiative and the Two Corridors, One Economic Belt framework.

Rimsky Yeun, Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, hailed co-operation between Hong Kong and Viet Nam.

He said Viet Nam was Hong Kongs ninth largest trade partner in 2015 with two-way trade reaching nearly $11 billion.

He called on Vietnamese businesses to up co-operation with their Hong Kong partners, and the Vietnamese Government to create good conditions for Hong Kong investors in the country.

Last year, Hong Kong was the sixth largest foreign investor in Viet Nam, Yeun said, reassuring that Hong Kong will continue expandng its investments in the Southeast Asian nation and assist Vietnamese businesses in accessing the Hong Kong market and China.

The forum witnessed the signing of ten agreements and contracts valued at $10 billion between participating businesses.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry also inked deals with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong- Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.  VNS
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation"In 1986, when I was coming of age, Ronald Reagan doubled down on the war on drugs," states Jay Z at the start of a powerful short film titled A History of the War on Drugs.

The visual, which debuted Thursday by the The New York Times, gives viewers a historical lesson, via illustrations, about New York's late-'80s drug epidemic and America's methods of dealing with it.

The film strives to show how the war on drugs became a war on African-Americans, which the video says make up close to 13 percent of the United State population, but comprise 31 percent of those arrested for violating drug laws.

"In the 1990s, incarceration rates in the U.S. blew up. Today we imprison more people than any other country in the world. China, Russia, Iran, Cuba," says Jay Z.

"Even though white people sold and used crack more than black people, somehow it was black people who went to prison. The media ignore actual data to this day. Crack is still talked about as a black problem," he adds.

The film was the brainchild of Dream Hampton, who co-authored Jay Z's book, Decoded, and her work with Revolve Impact, a social impact agency that strives to enact social change through creative campaigns.

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Children celebrate Mid-autumn festival in Kong Plong District, Central Highland Kon Tum Province.  Photo baokontum.vn

HA NOI  State and local officials have granted gifts to children, especially, poor, underprivileged and ill children across the country on the occasion of this years Mid-autumn festival, annually held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar (September 15 this year).

President Tran ai Quang yesterday sent a letter to children nationwide to wish them a warm mid-autumn festival.

In the letter, Quang said he hoped all Vietnamese children would become able citizens to make Viet Nam shoulder-to-shoulder with other countries in the future.

On Tuesday, vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh gave gifts to 95 child cancer patients in the Ha Noi-based K Hospital. She also joined children in folk games and watched music performances with them.

On the same day, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and the For a bright tomorrow fund presented gifts to 70 child patients at the Central Pediatrics Hospital.

In northern mountainous Lao Cai Province, local administration undertook a range of activities including granting gifts and holding a Warm mid-autumn festival night for local ethnic-minority children.

Ly A Chao, a Dao ethnic-minority boy said, Every year when the day is coming, I expect a lot, I expect to celebrate mid-autumn festival with my friends.

Vuong Manh Phu, Secretary of the Communist Youth Union of Bat Xat District, said more than 2,000 children were awarded gifts.

In Sa Pa Town, local children enjoyed the mid-autumn festival on Tuesday night by eating moon cakes and carrying star-shaped lanterns around the town.

In northern Ninh Binh Province, children at the provincial Social Protection Centre received gifts to celebrate the mid-autumn festival from local officials yesterday.

The coastal central Phu Yen Provinces Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Department worked with the local Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital to organise the programme Mid-autumn festival for you for 100 children in the hospital. More than 1,000 gifts were also sent to poor children in the province.

In southern Ca Mau Province, 800 gifts were given to children with disabilities and homeless children.

In Viet Nam, on the full moon night, children join traditional celebrations, including eating moon cake, carrying carp-shaped lanterns, and watching lion dances in streets. VNS
PHU YEN  The Peoples Court of the central Phu Yen Province yesterday sentenced to prison 15 former leaders and executive officials of ong Hoa Distict for violating state regulations on economic management.

Former chairman of the districts Peoples Committee Nguyen Tai, former director of the districts Land Fund Development Centre Nguyen Kich and the centres former deputy director Huynh Ngoc Thang were sentenced 12 years, 10 years and four years in prison, respectively. Former head of the districts Natural Resources and Environment Office Nguyen Ky Tong and former chairman of Hoa Tam Communes Peoples Committee Le Van Hoang were sentenced to 30-month imprisonment.

These ex-officials and leaders failed to abide by state regulations in conducting compensation, land clearance and resettlement for the construction of the Vung Ro Refinery in Hoa Tam Commune between July 2013 and April 2014.

Their violation led to a loss of VN9.2 billion (US$412,000) for the state budget, according to the courts indictment.

Others involved in the case received prison terms of between 18 months and two years.  VNS
WASHINGTON - World Bank President Jim Yong Kim effectively won a second five-year term after nominations to lead the global development bank closed on Wednesday with no other candidates proposed.

The World Bank executive board said in a statement that, following official procedures, it would formally meet with Kim as a candidate "with the expectation of completing the selection process by the 2016 Annual Meetings," which take place on October 7-9.

Kim, 56, a Korean-American medical doctor who has focused the World Bank on programs to reduce extreme poverty, earned solid backing for a second term from the United States, France, Germany, China, and other major shareholders of the bank.

But as with his first nomination in 2012, the bank was criticised from inside and outside for not truly opening the selection process to all comers and not managing it in a fully transparent mode.

Following an unwritten rule, since the World Bank was created in the wake of World War II to help rebuild the global economy, its leader has always been an American chosen by Washington.

In 2012, Kim did face competition when Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also contended for the presidency.

But no rivals surfaced during the three-week nomination period this time around, leaving Kim virtually assured of continuing in the job when his first term ends on June 30, 2017.

In an open letter in August, the 15,000 member World Bank Group Staff Association called for a more open and focused search and selection process that did not repeat "decades of backroom deals which, 12 times in a row, selected an American male."

Kims first term has been marked by his campaign to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030; the banks leadership in a 2014 campaign to halt the deadly outbreak of Ebola in West Africa; and its initial resistance to, and then tentative partnership with, the China-created rival Asian Infrastructure Bank.

But he has also faced rebellion from within the Washington-based bank over an ambitious and still-incomplete restructuring of how the huge organisation manages its poverty-fighting and development programs. Lending for those programs is expected to hit $46 billion this year.

In an employee survey, staff have reported feeling detached from senior management and unsure of the direction of policy.

"Only one in three understand where the senior management team is leading us," the Staff Association said in its letter.

"Even fewer believe that our senior management creates a culture of openness and trust." - AFP
Mirantis today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TCP Cloud. Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, TCP Cloud employs 30 people and specializes in managed services for OpenStack, OpenContrail and Kubernetes. The acquisition will support Mirantis' initiative with Google and Intel to enable OpenStack on Kubernetes by equipping Mirantis to continuously deliver OpenStack to customer datacenters. The combined entity will solve the problem of upgrades, one of the primary burdens of on-premises infrastructure.



"The model for delivering infrastructure employed by traditional vendors is fundamentally misaligned with modern software development patterns. Disruptors of the digital era push new code to production multiple times a day, while traditional enterprise vendors ship infrastructure as packaged software once every few years and require forklift upgrades," said Alex Freedland, Mirantis CEO. "Mirantis empowers enterprises to embrace the new, continuously delivered infrastructure model on their terms. TCP Cloud's technology and expertise helps us accelerate that vision."



"The integration of OpenStack and Kubernetes simplifies deployment and expands enterprise cloud capability," said Jonathan Donaldson, vice president of Software Defined Infrastructure at Intel. "Mirantis' acquisition of TCP Cloud provides a major step forward towards our joint goal of delivering this breakthrough open SDI stack to the market."



Mirantis will integrate TCP Cloud's technology, called MK.20, with Mirantis OpenStack to provide true public cloud experience on customer premises. The design pattern for managing computing infrastructure in MK.20, commonly referred to as managing infrastructure-as-code, is also used today by top public cloud vendors like AWS, Google Compute Cloud and Microsoft Azure to maintain their clouds. Beginning in the next version of Mirantis OpenStack, MK.20 will become part of Mirantis' Fuel software for deploying and managing OpenStack and related open source infrastructure software.



"Mirantis and TCP Cloud share a vision of building open source software, and continuously delivering it to digital enterprises," said Adam Scotnicky, TCP Cloud CEO. "By acquiring TCP Cloud, Mirantis will have increased influence in key open source communities and broader expertise in continuously delivered infrastructure. This powerful combination will help customers like AT&T and Volkswagen build software faster, and emerge as winners in the digital economy."



Mirantis is the top contributor to OpenStack open source project, with the most committers, core contributors, and lines of code contributed to the most recent release, Mitaka. Mirantis is also a top contributor to Ceph, and is quickly emerging as one of the most active contributors to Kubernetes.
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.

Australian killed in South Korea stampede 00:12 It has been confirmed an Australian citizen has been killed in the Halloween stampede in South Korea.

Federal government warned to act quickly on power prices 02:54 The federal government has been warned it must act before the end of November to stop power prices from climbing another 50 per cent next year....

Republic consultation tour set to begin next year 00:31 A republic consultation tour is expected to begin next year, which will officially ask people's thoughts on whether Australia should cut ties...
Ready? Ok! A high school girl and her parents told the Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat in July that they were on the verge of filing a lawsuit demanding that the school district order the Leon High School cheerleader squad to select her (even though she had fallen twice during tryouts).

Incompetent criminal

Boyd Wiley, 47, was arrested in August when he walked into the Putnam County (Florida) Sheriffs Office and, apparently in all seriousness, demanded that deputies return the 91 marijuana plants they had unearthed from a vacant lot in the town of Interlachen several days earlier. Until that moment, deputies did not know whose plants they were. Wiley was told that growing marijuana is illegal in Florida and was arrested.

Gone too far

In another incident of DIY overkill: Police in Centralia, Wash., arrested a unidentified man for reckless burning in August when, trying to rid his apartment of roaches, he declined ordinary aerosol bug spray in favor of making a homemade flamethrower (the aerosol spray fired up by a lighter). He fled the apartment when he realized he might have taken things too far. Firefighters were called, but the damage was minimal.

Not dead yet

Barbara Murphy, 64, of Roy, Utah, is battling the federal government to prove she is still alive. She said Social Security Administration bureaucrats, citing protocols, have been tight-lipped about her problem. Her bank account was frozen, Social Security was dunning her for two years worth of Medicare premiums (since her 2014 death), and warning letters had been sent to banks and credit agencies.
CEDAR FALLS  Four Cedar Falls firefighters who saved a mother and two young children from a burning mobile home in February will receive a state lifesaving award.

Cedar Falls Fire Capt. Derek Brown and firefighters Shane Farmer, Todd Taylor and Troy Purdy will receive the Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor at 3 p.m. Oct. 5 in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Des Moines, according to City Administrator Ron Gaines. He informed Mayor Jim Brown and City Council members Wednesday night.

The award is named for five Waterloo brothers who died together during World War II.

Those firefighters and Fire Capt. Josh Lux, who assisted at the scene and helped nominate the firefighters for the award, received medals from the city at an April council meeting.

The firefighters are being honored for their Feb. 7 actions in a mobile home fire at 2508 S. Union Road, Lot No. 111. Ashley Calfee and her two children, Avery Hundley, then 5, and Mason Hundley, then 3, were rescued from the burning home.

The Sullivan Brothers Award of Valor was established several years ago to honor peace officers and firefighters who perform heroic acts while on duty, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety website.

Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Roxann Ryan and other DPS officials will attend the ceremony, state officials said in a notfication to the city.

According to Cedar Falls Public Safety Director Jeff Olson, police arrived on the fire scene at about 11:45 p.m. Feb. 7. They saw flames on and around the front door of the home and heard people inside yelling. Police officers used compressed air foam units in their cars to push back the flames.

Two firefighters were able to enter the home through a front window and retrieved Calfee. The two children were in the back of the trailer, which was less affected by the flames. Avery Hundley was sheltered in the bathtub while Mason Hundley was in a crib in a back bedroom, Olson said.

Firefighters knocked down the flames and went in a second time to rescue the children.

The three were treated at the scene and taken to area hospitals. The family was present when the rescuers were honored at the April City Council meeting.
OSAGE -- An Osage woman accused of misappropriating funds from the Mitchell County Treasurers Office has pleaded guilty.

Tracey Mooberry, 46, on Tuesday filed a written plea of guilty to one misdemeanor charge of non-felonious misconduct in office.

In her plea, Mooberry admitted to misappropriating funds from December 2014 to May 2016.

Mitchell County Attorney Stan Walk has previously said the money, which was taken from cash tax payments, has been paid back.

Mooberry was also a member of the Mitchell County Conservation Board and the Osage School Board at the time the charge was filed.

She has resigned from both positions.

If the judge accepts Mooberrys guilty plea, she faces up to one year in jail and a $1,875 fine.

Her sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
WATERLOO  After federal firearms charges have run their course, a former Waterloo man is now facing state animal abuse charges for allegedly shooting a dog in October.

Deputies with the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office arrested Charles Brewer Jr., 19, on Tuesday on a 2015 warrant for animal abuse, going armed, carrying weapons, intimidation with a weapon and possession of a firearm by a domestic abuser.

Authorities allege Brewer was armed with a .17-caliber revolver when he went to a home at 812 W. Mullan Ave. on the night of Oct. 5.

One witnesses said Brewer attempted to sell him the gun and then held the weapon to his neck in an attempt to rob him, court records state. A struggle ensued, and the handgun fired twice, killing the family dog.

A person at the scene wrestled the revolver from Brewer, who fled, and officers found the weapon on the porch when they arrived, court records state.

At the time of the shooting, Brewer was on probation and subject to a no-contact order as part of a deferred judgment he received in a domestic abuse case, records state.

Waterloo police filed charges against Brewer the day after the shooting, but he remained at large until March, when he was detained in East Chicago, Indiana.

Federal authorities also filed a charge of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm in connection with the Mullan Avenue incident, and he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison in August. That sentence will be added to any time Brewer faces for violating probation in the domestic abuse case.
DES MOINES  The Iowa Supreme Court is considering whether Iowans may receive monetary compensation for rights violations committed by state government.

The court heard arguments Wednesday on portions of a lawsuit filed by Chris Godfrey, a former state workers' compensation commissioner who claims Gov. Terry Branstad reduced his salary because of political motivations and because Godfrey is gay and an outspoken advocate for gay rights.

The court also is considering whether Godfreys claims should be considered through the judicial branch or the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, which investigates claims of violations of the Iowa Civil Rights Act, which protects categories of individuals, including people who are gay, from discrimination.

Jeffrey Peterzalek, the states assistant attorney general defending Branstad, said a Supreme Court ruling allowing Godfrey to seek monetary damages would set a legal precedent.

Theres nothing in the facts of this case, or in the law of this court, or in the Constitution of this state that supports or compels this court to create a wholly new and unprecedented cause of action for damages, Peterzalek said.

Roxanne Conlin, a former U.S. district attorney representing Godfrey and a former political opponent of Branstad who ran against him for governor when he was first elected in 1982, said the Supreme Court should grant individuals the ability to seek damages to provide constitutionally protected redress.

Conlin said Godfrey also has a claim filed under the Civil Rights Act.

Statutes are at the whim of the Legislature. The Constitution is permanent. It tells us what our rights and duties are, presumably for all time, Conlin said. A claim under the Civil Rights Act "is absolutely not enough to guarantee that these rights would be forever protected.  We should not be relegated to relying on the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

Godfrey was appointed workers' compensation commissioner by Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2006 and was reappointed in 2009 to a six-year term by Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.

Shortly after Branstad, a Republican, was elected in 2010, his administration asked Godfrey to resign. When Godfrey refused, he said the administration threatened and eventually reduced his salary by $39,000.

The administration claimed Godfreys pay reduction was because of job performance. Godfrey disputed that, citing his positive work reviews and workplace ascension.

A Polk County District Court judge dismissed four of the claims; those are the claims being considered by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court at the moment is not considering the merits of Godfreys complaints, only whether he may collect damages. Depending on how the Supreme Court rules, the case could go back to district court for trial.

The court will consider the case before making a ruling. In the past two calendar years, the court has taken anywhere from less than a month to more than nine months to deliver a ruling. The current judicial term ends June 30, 2017.
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man has been arrested on domestic assault charges after police were called to a disturbance and gunfire at his home Wednesday night.

Waterloo police arrested Benjamin Charles Potter, 28, of 5804 Blue Sage Road, for aggravated domestic assault, a misdemeanor. He was released from the Black Hawk County Jail on Thursday morning.

No injuries were reported in the incident.

According to police, Potter had returned from a bar around 9 p.m. and became belligerent, at one point breaking a TV set. He then threatened his fiance with a .357-caliber revolver, she left the house, and he allegedly fired the weapon inside the home, damaging a bedroom wall, court records state.

When officers arrived, Potter emerged from the attached garage holding a firearm, record state. He returned to the garage and then exited with his hands up and was taken into custody without incident.

He was taken to the police station and transferred to a local hospital for a suspected alcohol overdose.
WATERLOO  Fewer students are enrolled in Waterloo Community Schools than a year ago, but enrollment has continued growing during the initial days of classes.

Officials announced 10,272 students were attending the districts 18 kindergarten through 12th grade schools as of Monday, the 12th day of classes. There were 20 more students during last falls initial count, when 10,292 were attending district schools. That was on Sept. 8, 2015, the sixth day of classes.

We are trending very, very neutral on enrollment, which actually is a very positive thing, Superintendent Jane Lindaman told the Board of Education this week.

Tara Thomas, director of school and community relations, said as of Mondays count over 98 percent of our students are here. But the remaining 1.6 percent, were still trying to determine if theyve moved away or arent going to attend this year.

Cora Turner, the districts executive director of student and at-risk services, said she is very excited about the numbers, because they represented only five elementary students from last year who were not yet accounted for and only two at the middle school level. Officials work to determine if students still live in the district or have moved away.

She noted that a count on the Aug. 25, the first day of school, showed 9,498 students enrolled across the district and 10,166 enrolled as of Aug. 31. More are enrolling every day, according to Turner, some because they just moved into the district.

Thats why were still out engaging and trying to locate students, she said. Right now, were really working on our high school population.

One important factor in the lagging enrollment is a smaller than usual kindergarten class. Five years ago, Thomas said Black Hawk County births hit a low point over the preceding decade.

Were down some in kindergarten, but we compensated in other grades, said Lindaman. Overall, the district was up slightly at the elementary and middle school levels with a larger drop at the high schools.

A total of 5,056 students were enrolled in the 11 elementary schools. Six elementaries had fewer students, with five of them dropping from 20 to 41 students. Orange Elementary had the smallest drop, with six fewer students. Five schools had from 12 to 69 more students.

Twelve more students were enrolled at the middle school level. Bunger and Hoover middle schools had 27 and 28 students less, respectively. Central Middle School had 27 more students while George Washington Carver Academy had 40 more.

Enrollment totaled 2,997 at the three high schools, 57 less than last year. There were 68 fewer students at East High School and 15 fewer at West High School. Expo Alternative Learning Center, which includes a number of programs, had 26 more students.
DES MOINES  Evan McMullin wants voters to reject the notion they would be wasting their vote by supporting a third-party candidate in this years presidential election.

McMullin, a conservative independent and former CIA counterterrorism and intelligence official, traveled through Iowa on Thursday, conducting media interviews and greeting campaign volunteers in an attempt to spread awareness of and support for his presidential campaign.

McMullins presidential bid is at best a long shot. But he  like other third-party candidates Gary Johnson, a Libertarian, and Jill Stein of the Green Party  is courting the significant percentage of voters who say they are dissatisfied with their choice between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

We have been sold the lesser-of-two-evils argument by the parties for a long, long time. And I believe that degrades the value of our votes, McMullin said Thursday in an interview with the Lee Enterprises Des Moines Bureau. Our votes are our voices. And I believe that we need to stand for good, stand for good leadership with our voices. Because if we dont, we wont get it.

A Catholic clergyman was quoted the other day saying, Keep in mind that if you vote for the lesser of two evils, youre still voting for evil. So I just think that weve got to vote our conscience in these elections.

McMullin, who worked in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia in the years shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, describes his ideology as original conservatism founded in individual liberty. He said is anti-abortion, supports gun ownership rights and believes the U.S. should show strong military leadership in the world but engage and enlist allies so the country is not always on the financial hook for participating in overseas conflicts.

McMullin just jumped into the race five weeks ago, but he thinks his candidacy can impact the election. He said he thinks he can win his home state of Utah and potentially influence the final results if Clinton and Trump wind up locked in an electoral tie in the other states.

In the case of an Electoral College tie, the president is chosen in the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state getting one vote.

In two recent polls on the race in Utah, McMullin received 9 percent of the vote. While that is better than he fares in most other states  in some, polls do not include him among the choices  it is well behind Trump at roughly 40 percent and Clinton at roughly 25 percent and just behind Johnson, who is at slightly more than 10 percent.

McMullin said he joins the two-thirds of American voters who say they are not satisfied with the choices of presidential candidates, according to recent Pew Research national polling. He called Trump a true authoritarian and a true threat to our democracy and said Clinton also would do enormous damage to this country.

I think theyre both terribly corrupt, and we need better in this country. We really need better, McMullin said. Thats what we hope to offer in this election.
DAVENPORT -- A new poll says that Republican Donald Trump has sprung to an 8-point lead in Iowa.

The Monmouth University Poll, released Thursday, said that 45 percent of likely Iowa voters said they support Trump with 37 percent backing Democrat Hillary Clinton. Another 8 percent back Libertarian Gary Johnson and 2 percent were for Green Party hopeful Jill Stein.

Six percent were undecided.

The poll comes as Trump is closing the gap with Clinton in other battleground states. In some states, polls say he has pushed ahead of her.

In Iowa, the two have been running fairly evenly, according to surveys throughout the summer.

However, this new poll says that Trump has pushed to an even bigger lead than the 2 point edge the Monmouth survey had him at in July.

The poll says that while Trump has seen his support erode among Republicans since then  and Clinton has improved her standing with Democrats  the Republican expanded his edge with independents to 15 points, 44 percent to 29 percent.

The poll also says that while Trump leads among Iowans without a college education, the two are running fairly even among voters who do have a college degree.

That is out of step with other polls, which have typically said Clinton has a decided edge over Trump with college educated voters.

"Iowa is one of the few places where Trump has been able to make inroads among voting blocs that generally support Clinton," said Patrick Murry, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which is based in West Long Branch, N.J.

The Monmouth survey, conducted Sept. 12-14, sampled the opinions of 404 Iowa residents who said they are likely to vote in the election. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the poll says that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is leading Democrat Patty Judge in the U.S. Senate race. Grassley had the support of 56 percent of likely voters, while 39 percent backed Judge, the former lieutenant governor. That is up from a 10 point margin the poll said Grassley held in July.

Most polls in the Senate race have put Grassley's lead at about 7 to 10 points, although a survey from RABA Research, published earlier this week, put Grassley's lead at 13.
CANNONBALL, N.D.  It was a good thing Trisha Etringer remembered to put vinegar in her backpack.

A professor of hers at the University of Northern Iowa, where Etringer is a junior, said it worked to relieve the sting of pepper spray.

So when Etringer ended up on the front lines of a protest at a Dakota Access pipeline construction site, she was able to confirm it worked.

Vinegar is the way to go for a temporary fix, she said.

Etringer, who is pregnant, was pepper-sprayed as she stood with others blocking construction on land the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Nation has said is sacred. The tribe also is worried any leaks in the Dakota Access oil pipeline crossing the Missouri River would devastate the reservations only water source.

Etringer, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, empathized with the Standing Rock Siouxs plight and felt called to action.

I had learned about the Sacred Stone Camp and what was going on up there, she said. Its just something that struck a chord with me.

She and a couple dozen others took a charter bus to the Sacred Stone Camp near Cannonball, N.D., meeting up with more than 100 other Native American nations and hundreds of other protesters on Sept. 2.

The day they arrived, they learned documents had been submitted to a judge indicating part of the grounds were burial sites, sacred to the tribe.

The next day, Dakota Access deliberately bulldozed all these sacred sites, Etringer said. They didnt care.

Etringer said no one planned on being confrontational.

We went to go pray at the first protest site, and when we offer our prayers, we always say Be peaceful, she said. We dont want any violence.

But digging up burial grounds was crossing a line for many.

Then we got word that, basically, they were demolishing the site, Etringer said. A relative and I said, Lets go, lets do this. Were gonna not sit here and let them do that. Our ancestors have been through this. Its years of oppression and centuries of genocide. Were not gonna stand for it.

They joined a group already at the site, staying on the other side of the construction fence, chanting Water is life. Then Etringer and others spotted a woman and her young son. The boy was holding a hand drum.

A hand drum is really sacred with the men of the tribe, like the beat of your heart, Etringer said. It kind of sparked something in me. I was thinking, They (workers) had better not hurt her or that little boy.

Another man followed the woman and boy through the fence and stood in front of a bulldozer, according to Etringer. She said she saw the man being thrown to the ground.

Thats when everything started, she said. We broke down the fence, marched and kept going.

Construction workers were ready with six or seven dogs, many of which were German shepherds, and pepper spray, Etringer said. But the women linked arms, chanting Water is life, and kept walking forward.

After she was sprayed, she said she asked the man if he knew he had pepper-sprayed a pregnant woman.

They got kind of nervous or scared and kind of pulled away, Etringer said.

The protesters celebrated their victory as the workers left. But it would be short-lived, Etringer said. Police showed up and began arresting protesters for trespassing.

Etringer was not arrested, and returned to the Cedar Valley on Sept. 5.

I risked myself to get arrested, but their story needs to be told  it needs to be heard, she said. Were trying to protect peoples water and were getting arrested.

A former assistant manager at Hurricane Grill and Wings in Waterloo, Etringer said the restaurant has agreed to donate 10 percent of sales Friday to the Standing Rock Sioux.

Weve endured these things over the past centuries, she added. Its nothing new to us, but its the first time people are paying attention.
WATERLOO  Friends of the Library will host a two-day book sale this week in the basement of the Waterloo Public Library, 415 Commercial St.

Friends members are welcome to a special preview sale from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at which they will have first access to a huge selection of fiction and nonfiction books, audiobooks, DVDs and records. Members may purchase bags for $4 each and fill them with material. Members will also have access to a special section of the basement to purchase the best merchandise at Friends Used Book Shop pricing.

Friends will receive their admission ticket to the sale from the Friends Used Book Shop located on the librarys first floor. Nonmembers may purchase memberships both days of the sale.

The public and Friends members may also shop from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday when the 4 Bucks-a-Bag Sale resumes. Proceeds benefit special events and programming at the library.
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By Chris Skates

Sep. 12, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY

By Chris Skates Sep. 12, 2016 | 06:03 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Youve heard it before a million times but it bears repeating right about now. Upon signing the Declaration of Independence, Ben Franklin is reported to have said:



We must all hang together now, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately.



Franklins pun was well aimed. The founders were defying the wishes of the King of England, leader of the worlds military superpower at that time. Only by standing together as a unified group, (and only with some perfectly timed divine intervention) did the leaders of the colonial revolt stand a chance.



I attended Red State Gathering last week in Denver. I enjoyed spending some time with Erick Erickson and talking for a bit about things besides politics (but also about politics). I also met a lot of strong, dedicated conservatives. I made a special attempt to talk to as many of them as possible. I even talked to a few of the speakers after they came off stage. There were some areas that divided us to be sure, but there is one thing that unites us. We are scared.



Some may deny it, some may talk about optimism for the future and may even believe it to some extent, but we are scared about whats going to happen two months from now. By that I dont mean that folks think the world is going to end, I mean that after eight years of Obama, and under such poor leadership going forward, they think America will become some form of a European Socialist Democracy.



This columnist is done with the analysis. I am so sick of it I cant put it into words. Since the conventions we have all been trying to choose between a noose around the neck or a pistol shot to the temple with these two candidates. Set aside the enthusiastic supporters of each for a moment. That only leaves two types of voters, those who are #NeverTrump and those who are #NeverHillary. If, after Red State, I could boil all the areas of disagreement between those two factions into a couple of lines it would be these: One group thinks the floor is lower with Hillary as President, the other thinks the floor is lower with Trump. Neither side has embraced or promoted either candidate. So, why cant there be a mutual respect between the two going forward? Why cant we agree to disagree and be fully prepared to lock arms on November 9th, regardless of the outcome, and fight for conservatism together once again?



I ask because thats not whats happening now. I didnt see it so much at the gathering but with the exception of columns yesterday by Erick Erickson and Steve Deace and, thats not the tone that is being struck. Donald Trumps candidacy has done the one thing that I thought would have been impossible after eight years of Barak Obama, he has fractured the conservative movement into pieces. Some may think that a good thinga pruning as it were. But when I look at the demographics of this nation, I cant agree. We can barely win an election now 51% to 49%, we will never win again if we are split apart.



We need more calls for unity. If we cant unify behind Trump so be it. Then lets at least unify around one another, lacking that lets unify around conservatism or better yet, around our shared faith in a creator God.



The first step to us doing that is for both sides to admit something to ourselveswe dont know. Neither side can have any certitude about which candidate will be worse. This is an unprecedented election. Not only does the world seem to be in the midst of massive political and economic upheaval, the throwing off of the Judeo Christian ethic by the larger part of American society is going to have widespread repercussions. All this is happening in an age when information, photographs and even HD video, travel worldwide in seconds. A thousand things could happen to change the course of American democracy while one of these candidates is President and we have no idea how they will respond to those changes. So in light of this volatility can we allow one another some leewaysome grace?



One thing I am confident of, the vast majority of people voting in this election truly want to do whats best for their country. Those who disagree with my conclusions love their country too. That being said, we had darned well better rediscover our commonality. If we dont, in a few more years, Franklins quote wont just be a historical, metaphorical, reference.



Chris Skates is Supervisor of Lab Services at a Midwest utility; he has 27 years of experience in both fossil fueled and nuclear power generation. He is an Adjunct Scholar with The Cornwall Alliance for The Stewardship of Creation. Chris is also the author of dozens of nationally published articles in a diverse collection of publications including magazines like, Turkey Call, Electric Light and Power, American Coal, and Southern Writers. He has extensive public speaking experience on energy, political, and social issues, has presented multiple lectures around the country and has published three novels.
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But, I tried to look away, I really tried to look away from the real Estonia

Then it hit me; I have Cognitive Dissonance and Normalcy Bias and I am unable to associate with the western world in a manifested simplex way

I know that if I expound too far about what we saw in Estonia, that everyone would tune it out from the west. For heaven forbid the truth about something would be accepted at face value

Therefore I will say little of the truth in Estonia and tell you that in general, Estonia is a great place (Does that make you feel better?)

Sveta and I just got back to Russia after a short trip to Estonia. Actually it was Easter and we could not find Easter in Estonia. It was kind of sad and that was the exact tone of the whole trip. Kind of sad

I loved the outside museum (photo below) and found that it was the highlight of the trip. We stayed next to the Old Town of Tallinn and found some wonderful places to eat and saw some neat sights. All in all it was a fun trip, but things happened that bothered me and they hit me to the core of my soul

I guess that I have to say what I think and feel and if I say this one line, then you should know what I mean, The eyes are sad in Estonia, while the smiles cover up the truth!

Anyone who follows me on this website knows that I am a believer in the eyes do not lie and smiles should be real

In my near past, I was very sad at one time when I saw the peoples eyes in Ukraine go soulless and depressed, those eyes came back to life after they removed democratically, a scum of a president (Yushchenko.) I remember that Ukraine was a dead society and this latest elected and almost murdered president (Yanukovych) had brought that life back. Now that Ukraine has once again be democratized and given the shaft by the west, the scum ass president non-elect is a looser called Yatsenyuk (Notice the Ys at the beginning of all names?)

Ukraine is once again becoming a soulless place

Well that is Estonia also and they will not be able to get a respite from it. They are trapped in a western would of hurt and the EU is killing Estonia

I rest my case with the simple fact of the worshiping of Yeltsin as in the first photo. I started laughing when this monument caught my attention as we walked in Tallinn. I had to sit down to catch my breath as I realized the truth about this poor country. Poor in many ways

Yeltsin and Gorbachev are so loved in the west (That is a hint folks!)

Henceforth I am done and most likely will not talk about Estonia much, then again maybe when I am feeling better about life, from getting back to Russia, I will post some photos of what we saw. We saw a bunch and had a whirlwind of a trip

I have to say one thing though: The core of Estonia is farming and I hope that she never loses that core. For that is all that is holding her within the realm of sanity

Now that is all that I can say without going into the really bad and sad stuff that I saw. Sveta and I are people who will walk in all parts of the city and look in all corners. I am a believer that you see everything, just as I do in Russia and what we saw this trip was not very good many times

Drugs, poverty, hate and sadness; Oh My!

Post by Kyle Keeton

Windows to Russia

P.S. I am sure Sveta will disagree with me on most of this and that is fine. Sveta has a wonderful past with Estonia and spent time there as a young person in the Soviet era. I think she even worked in the farms of Estonia, but I know she saw the same things I did and I know she was saddened somewhat by the direction that Estonia has taken in life
Staying out of debt is easier said than done, I know. However, its something you can do, and its something you should be practicing everyday. As Christians, we are in this world, but we are
Canl Bahis siteleri sektoru son derece onu ack ve farkl ozelliklere sahip bir sektordur. Elbette bahis secenekleri arasnda yuksek kazanc getiren alan kuskusuz canl bahistir. Peki, canl bahis nedir?

Canl Bahis Nedir?

Canl bahis adndan da anlaslacag gibi devam eden musabakaya bahis yapmaktr. Bu bahis musabaka devam ederken de yaplabilir olmasdr. Basta futbol olmak uzere voleybol, tenis, hentbol, basketbol, buz hokeyi ve masa tenisi gibi spor organizasyonlarna canl bahisler yaplabilmektedir. Canl bahis siteleri bu oyunlarn hepsine yuksek oranlara bahis yapmanza imkan tanr. En fazla tercih edilen futbol canl bahisleri diger alanlara gore daha fazla on plandadr. Siteden siteye degisen sartlar ve uygulama esaslar soz konusu olsa da kurallar sabittir.

Canl bahisi populer klan ve heyecan katan en onemli ozellikle musabakann basladg ana dek bahis yapabilmedir. Canl bahis icerisinde yer alan secenekler kazanma sansnz da dogrudan arttrmaktadr. Ilk korneri kim kullanr, ilk tac, gol, sar kart, krmz kart gibi futbol musabakas icerisinde olabilecek hemen hemen her seye bahis yaplabilmektedir. Normal bahisegore de son derece yuksek oranda olmas avantajl yonlerini ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim dogru secenek ksa surede kazancl ckmanza etki edecektir.

Strateji ve dogru analizle 90 dakika gibi bir surede anaparanzkatlayabilirsiniz. Tabi bunu basarabilmek icin mutlaka musabakaya dair ayrntlar iyi degerlendirmek gerekir. Soz konusu musabakann detaylarn inceleyip, cezal, sakat oyuncu veya performans dusen takm oyunu gibi detaylar bilmek canl bahiste kazanc belirleyen onemli unsurdur. Guvenilir Canl bahis hem heyecanl zaman gecirmeyi hem de musabakalar takip ederken para kazanmay saglamaktadr.

Canl Bahis Nasl Oynanr?

Bahislerinizi guvenilir sitelerden gerceklestirdiginiz zaman herhangi bir sekilde para cekme de sorun yasamazsnz. Guvenilir bahis siteleri tespit edip sonrasnda da uyelik islemlerini tamamlamanz gerekmektedir. Belirlenen uyelik sartlarn yerine getirip hesabnza da paray aktardktan sonra bahis islemlerini sorunsuz yapabilirsiniz. Peki, canl bahis nasl oynanr?

Oncelikle bahis konusunda mutlaka dogru site arastrmas yapmalsnz. Yapacagnz arastrma neticesinde buldugunuz site uzerinden canl bahisislemlerini gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Bunun icin uye olup, hesaba para atp, canl bahis bolumune girmelisiniz. Sonrasnda dahil olmak istediginiz musabakann saatini ogrenip, gerekli analizleri yapmalsnz. Tahminlerinizi belirledikten sonra karsnza ckacak olan bahis sayfasndan istediginiz hamleyi yapmalsnz. Bahis tutarn belirledikten sonra musabaka baslayacaktr.

Canl bahis diger normal bahis esaslarna gore farkllklar icermektedir. Bunlardan en onemlisi musabakann gidisatna gore islem yapabilir olmaktr.Ayrca musabakann 2. Yarsna gore hamle yapp ayr bir bahisin soz konusu olmas da ciddi avantajdr. Dogru hamle ile sizde istediginiz bahisi yapp kazanc elde edebilirsiniz. Nitekim canl olarak yapacagnz bahis icin mac oncesi raporlara gore hareket etmek onemlidir. Cunku takmlarn durumlarn analiz etmek tahmin gucunu arttracaktr. Misal tamnn en iyi oyuncusu sakat ya da kart cezals ise takmn performansnda dusus yasanacaktr. Buna ek olarak takmn deplasman performans ile evinde ki performans ayr olacaktr. Burada da takmn musabakay nerede yaptgna bakmak gerekir. Bu ayrntlar da iyice analiz ettikten sonra bahsinizi yapp kazanmann keyfini yasayabilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri

Son derece yuksek getiriye sahip bahis sektoru uzun zamandr faaliyet gostermektedir. Cok ciddi rakamlarn soz konusu oldugu bu sektor zamanla sanal ortamlara donusmustur. Elbette guvenli ve bir o kadar da avantajl olan bu siteler cok yonlu frsatlar sunmaktadrlar. Canl iddaa siteleri gerek yeni uyelere gerekse de hali hazrdaki uyelerine bolca bonus frsatlar vermektedir. Yatracagnz tutara gore belirlenen bonuslar site icerisinde rahat hareket etmenizi de saglayacaktr.

Canl bahis sitelerini kullanmadan once mutlaka guvenli olup olmadgna goz atmalsnz. Zira baz kullanclar guvenli olmayan sitelerden yaptklar islemlerden dolay magdur olmaktadrlar. Nitekim guvenli ve sorunsuz hizmet sunan yurt ds site tercih etmek en dogru secenektir. Sektorde uzun yllar faaliyet gosteren siteleri tercih edebilirsiniz. Bu alanda yer alan yabanc siteler musteri memnuniyetine onem vermektedir. Oncelik site kullanclarn sorunsuz sekilde bahislerini yapabilir olmasn saglamaktr. Bahis sitelerinde amac hem daha fazla kullancya hizmet vermek hem de sektorde emin admlarla ilerlemek onceliklidir. Dogru site tercihi ile sizde canl bahislerinizi sorun yasamadan gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Sizler icin hazrlams oldugumuz canl bahis siteleri listesi su sekildedir;

Mobilbahis Tempobet Bets10 Bahigo 1xbahis Betboo Youwin Superbahis

Sralams oldugumuz bu siteler sektorde basarl islere imza atms sitelerdedir. Canl bahis konusunda beklentileri karslayacak olan bu siteler sizlere kolaylk sunmaktadrlar. Bol bonuslu secenekle de sizlere farkl bahis yonlerini sunacaklardr. Sistemsel etki icerisinde her zaman etkin sonuc alabilmek icin surekli olarak faaliyet icerisindedirler.

Canl Bahis Taktikleri

Bahis sektorunun en fazla dikkat edilmesi gereken hususu dogru taktik ve dogru tahmindir. Elbette dogru tahmini yapabilmek icin analizi cok iyi yapmak gerekir. Canl bahis taktikleri arasnda ilk sra analiz gelmektedir. Analiz yapamadgnz zaman basarl tahminlerde bulunmanz pek de mumkun degildir. Cunku bahiste onemli olan konu musabakann analizini cok iyi yaplmas gerektigidir. Canl bahisin ozelliklerini iyi bilmek ve nasl bir hamle yapacagnz bilmek gerekir. Ozellikle riskli maclarda yaplacak degerlendirmeler cok daha onemlidir.

Canl bahis yapacaklarn takip edecegi degerler takmlarn durumlar ile alakal olmaldr. Performans uzerine kurulu bahis sisteminde takm degerlendirmesine iyi bakmak gerekir. Iki takmn son 5 macta nasl bir sonuc ortaya koyduguna bakarak hareket etmek onemlidir. Ayrca hangi takm evinde daha iyi performans sergiliyor diye de ayrca bakmak gerekir.

Analizlerle alakal puan durumlarna da goz atmak cok onemlidir. Puan degerlendirmesinde oncelikle takmlarn ihtiyaclar ile dogru orantl hareket etmek gerekir. Cunku olusturulan performans takmn da durumunu ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim istenilen sonucu elde edebilmek icin tum ayrntlar bilmek gerekir. Takm ici duzenden tutunda da takmn son durumuna kadar her ayrnt onemlidir. Iki takmn birbirleri arasnda ki sonuclar da incelemek gerekir. Burada dikkat edilecek detaylarn basnda maclarda kac gol oldugu ve gollerin hangi dakikalarda atldgdr. Cekismeli gecen musabakalarda bazen goller ilk yarda daha fazla olurken baz maclarda da ikinci yarda daha cok gol olmustur. Iki takm arasnda ki maclarda gollerin cogunlugu ilk yarda geliyorsa buna gore bahis yapabilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Bonuslar ve Kampanyalar

Bahis yapanlar veya yapmay dusununler sitelerin sunmus olduklar frsatlar merak etmektedirler. Cunku siteler daha fazla kullancya erismek icin her donem kampanyalar duzenleyerek kullanc odakl hamleler yapmaktadrlar. Canl bahis bonuslar ve kampanyalar oldukca populer olup, siteler bu konuda adeta birbirleri ile yarsmaktadrlar. Birbirinden farkl ozelliklere sahip olan kampanyalar size frsatlar sunmaktadr. Daha cok kazanma ihtimalinizi arttran bu bonuslar daha cesur olmanza da dogrudan etki edecektir. Nitekim bonuslar sitelerin cekiciligini ve avantajlarn arttrmaktadr. En cok kazandran canl bahis siteleri bedava bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin http://www.milano2018.com/canli-bahis-siteleri-2022/ linkinden yardm alabilirsiniz.

Hos geldin bonusu ile baslayan ve sonrasnda para yatrdkca bonus veren cok sayda site bulunmaktadr. Canl bahis bonusu veren siteler yeni uyelere sunduklar frsatlar farkl kampanyalarla mevcut uyelerine de sunmaktadrlar. Hali hazrda siteyi kullananlarn da bonus frsatlarndan yararlanmalar icin donemsel kampanyalar olusturmaktadrlar. Boylece baska sitelere gidisler olmayacag gibi site de daha keyifli zaman gecirmek mumkun klnmaktadr. Bu tur eklentiler yapan sitelerde musteri memnuniyeti daha fazladr.

Bahis siteleri ozellik ve uygulama bakmndan farkllklar bunyelerinde bulundurmaktadrlar. Verilen bonuslarn olusturulmas ve kullanclar aktarlmasnda yatrlan para miktarlar belirleyici olmaktadr. 1.000 TL yatran bir kullanc yuzde 20 bonus frsat olan bir kampanyadan 200 TL bonus kazanabilmektedir. Yatracag tutar 10.000 TL oldugunda bu bonustutar 2.000 TL olabilmektedir. Gerceklesen ve uygulanan esaslar tamamen donemsel olarak yaplan kampanyalarla alakaldr. Iyi Canl bahis siteleri bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin sitelerin vermis oldugu oranlar takip edebilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Yatrma

Online Canl bahis yapacaklarn merak ettigi konulardan bir digeri de para yatrma islemleridir. Oldukca onemli olan bu konuda hata yapmamak cok onemlidir. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemi sanlann aksine son derece basittir. Oldukca basit ve uygulama esas dogru etki olusturan bu yapda sizde islemi rahatca tamamlayabilirsiniz. Para yatrma konusunda su yolu izleyebilirsiniz.

Guvendiginiz ve herhangi bir sekilde aklnzda soru isareti kalmayan bahis sitesine uye olmanz gerekmektedir. Uyelik islemini sorunsuz sekilde tamamladktan sonra para yatrma islemine gecebilirsiniz.

Kullanacagnz siteye uye olduktan sonra karsnza kullanc ad ve sifresini gireceginiz yer gelecektir. Buraya giris yaptktan sonra site icerisine islemlere devam edebilirsiniz.

Sitede yer alan para yatrma sekmesine tklayp sonrasnda karsnza gelen sayfay inceleyebilirsiniz. Para yatrma bolumunde yer alan ksma ne kadar para yatracagnz yazp devam tusuna basmalsnz.

Yatrmak istediginiz tutar girip sonrasnda da devam tusuna bastktan sonra karsnza kart bilgilerinizi gireceginiz sayfa gelecektir. Kredi kart kullanarak para gondermek isteyenlerin tercih ettigi bu sayfa tum bilgiler girilip islem onaylanmaldr.

Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemini gerceklestirmek icin hesaba havale secenegini de kullanabilirsiniz. Site icerisinde musteri hizmetleri ile iletisime gecerek banka hesap numaralarn ogrenebilirsiniz. Belirtilen IBAN numarasna istediginiz tutar havale edebilirsiniz. Havale ederken acklama ksmna yazlacak bilgilere dikkat etmelisiniz.

Kredi kart veya banka havalesi ile gerceklesen para yatrma islemi sonucunda site hesabnzdan bakiyenize bakabilirsiniz. Bakiyenize gore dilediginiz sekilde bahislerinizi gerceklestirebilirsiniz.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Cekme

Canl bahiste dogru hamleler ve dogru tahminler sonucunda kazandgnz bedeli geri almak isteyebilirsiniz. Kazanclarnz istediginiz banka hesabnza cekebilmek icin uymanz gereken kurallar soz konusudur. Oncelikle bahis sitelerinden para cekebilmeniz icin uye olurken dogru bilgi paylasmnda bulunmanz gerektigidir. Cunku canl bahis sitelerinden para cekme islemi icin kullanc hesab ile talep edilen banka hesap bilgilerinin ortusmesi gerekir. Yani uye olurken verilen bilgi ile banka hesab kime ait ise o bilgiler ayn olmaldr. Bu uygulama sitenin hem kullancsn hem de kendisini guvene alma politikasdr. Ayrca frsatclarn onune gecerek yeni bir uye olusumunun da onune gecmek amac gutmektedir. Uye olan kisi farkl para cekilme talebi verilen hesap farkl oldugunda para cekme islemi gerceklesmeyecektir.

Bahisleriniz sonucunda kazanc elde edebilir ve bu kazancnz da hakknz olarak almak isteyebilirsiniz. Burada son derece basit uygulama soz konusu olurken siteler aras farkl gorunumler soz konusu olabilir. Fakat yine de tum sitelerde uyenin site icerisinde para cekme bolumune girmesi yeterlidir. Burada cekilecek olan tutarn belirlenmesi ve hesap numarasnn girilmesi ile birlikte islem onay gerekecektir. Para cekme taleplerinde sizden gerekli bilgiler istenmekte ve havale islemi istenilen bilgiler esliginde yurutulmektedir. Dogru bilgi paylasmak sorunsuz para cekebilmeniz en onemli kuraldr. Istenilen bilgiler girildikten sonra site sorumlular gerekli kontrolleri yapp herhangi bir sorun yoksa ksa surede hesabnza gerekli paray aktaracaklardr.

Canl Bahis Sitelerinden Para Cekmek Icin Istenen Belgeler

Bahis sitelerine uye olduktan sonra baz kullanclar para cekme taleplerinin karslanmadg konusunda sikayetlerde bulunmuslardr. Bu sikayetlersektorde uzun zamandr bulunan guvenilir bahis siteleri de yer almaktadr. Fakat sikayetlerin dayanaklarna bakldgnda ise islerin tamamen farkl oldugu gorulmektedir. Yasanan bu durum kullanclarn hatal bilgi girmesi ve uyelik bilgileri ile banka bilgilerinin uyusmamas ile dogru orantldr. Birde canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler eksik ya da hatal olarak sunulmus olabilir. Ortaya ckan karsklar neticesinde para cekme talebinde bulunan kisi istedigini alamadg icin sikayetci olmaktadr. Oysa ki istenilen bilgiler dogru ve istenilen evraklar eksiksiz sunulsa para cekme islemi sorunsuz olacak.

Sitelerin para cekme konusunda dikkatli hareket etmesi hilelerin ve illegal faaliyetlerin onune gecmek adnadr. Cunku baz kullanclar farkl bilgiler vererek ikinci hesap acabilmektedirler. Bazen de bilincsizce hatal bilgi girilebilmektedir. Hatal islemlerin cozumu konusunda islem yaptgnz sitenin musteri temsilcileri ile gorusebilirsiniz. Talepleriniz dogrultusunda para cekme islemlerinde ki sorunlar giderilecektir. Canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler listesi su sekildedir;

Kullanc bilgileri ile banka bilgilerini karslastrmak icin kimlik fotokopisi

Banka hesap bilgileri

Ikametgah ve kisiye ait herhangi bir fatura.

Kacak Iddaa

Turkiyede dogrudan bahis yapmak icin resmi kanallar kullanlabilmektedir. Fakat tercih edilen ve oran olarak cok daha fazla frsatlar sunan kacar iddaasiteleri bulunmaktadr. Bu siteler kanunlara aykr sekilde yaplmakta olup, yasal bir dayanag yoktur. Elbette bu sitelerin kurulus merkezi Turkiye olmayp, ds ulkelerdedir ve faaliyetler belirlenen siteler uzerinden yaplmaktadr. Kacak Iddaa oldukca riskli olup, cok dikkatli olunmas gerekir.

Kacak Bahis

Kanunlar cercevesinde istediginiz gibi bahis yapamayabilirsiniz. Bahis yapabilmek icin ya kanuni olarak sorun olmayan ulke dsnda ki kumarhanelere gitmeniz veya kacak bahis sitelerinden islem yapabilirsiniz. Zira bu durum tehlikeli olsa da cok sayda site guvenli sekilde bu alanda hizmet vermektedir. Kacak bahiste oldukca fazla secenek bulunurken yuksek oranda kazanc sunuyor olmas da ragbeti arttryor.

Illegal Bahis

Bahisin bircok alanda yasak oldugu Turkiyede bu alanda cok sayda yabanc merkezli siteler hizmet vermektedir. Illegal bahis sektorunde faaliyet gosteren siteler guvenli hizmet anlays ile kullanclarna frsatlar sunmaktadr. Yurt ds merkezli bu siteler sorunsuz sekilde hizmetlerini surdururken bulunduklar ulkelerde kanunlara uygun sekildedir. Elbette faaliyet noktasnda bulunduklar ulkelerde sorun teskil etmese de Turkiyede faaliyet gostermeleri kanunin yasaklanmstr.

Yasads Bahis

Gerek olusturulan etkenler gerekse de ortaya konulan riskler yasads bahis de oldukca tehlikelidir. Kanunlarn mudahil olduklar bu alanlar da hem kullanclar hem de populer bahis yaptranlar tum riskleri goze almaktadrlar. Fakat yasaklardan uzak sekilde guvenli hizmet sunan siteler de bulunmaktadr. Takipler neticesinde kapatlan sitelerin muhakkak alternatifleri kurularak yollarna devam etmektedirler.

Canl Iddaa Siteleri Nelerdir?

Dunya genelinde kabul gormus cok sayda guvenli hizmet veren populer bahis siteleri bulunmaktadr. Elbette bu siteler dunyann bircok ulkesinde faaliyet gosterse de Turkiyede yasaktr. Sektorde yer alan cok sayda legal iddaa siteleri bulunmaktadr. Herhangi bir kanunsuzlugun olmadg bu sitelerden hzl ve guvenli islem yaplabilmektedir. Tabi bu sitelerde uygulanan oranlar yasal olmayan sitelere gore daha dusuktur. Illegal sitelerin tercih edilme sebeplerinin en onemli etkeni de olusturulan oranlardr. Peki, Iddaa siteleri nelerdir? Faaliyetleri ve uygulama esaslar nelerdir?

Turkiyede faaliyet gosteren yasal iddaa siteleri listesi su sekildedir;

Iddaa

Bilyoner

Tuttur

Birebin

Oley

Nesine

Misli

Iddaa

2004 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslayan Iddaa Spor toto tarafndan kurulmus olup, ilk etapta bayilik seklinde calsmaya baslamstr. Elbette zamanla gelisen teknolojiye ayak uydurarak internet uzerinde de populer bahis severlerin hizmetine sunulmustur. Kuruldugu donemde devletin resmi kurumu olarak faaliyet gosterirken gelinen yeni donemde ozellestirilmistir.

Bilyoner

Turkiyede faaliyetine 2006 ylnda baslayan Bilyoner ilk ozel yasal bahis sitesi olma ozelligine sahiptir. Guvenilir bahis siteleri Turkiyede bunlardr. Ksa surede populer olan site halen faaliyetlerini sorunsuz sekilde surdurmektedir.

Tuttur

Ksa surede adndan bahsettirmeyi basaran Tuttur 2009 ylnda faaliyetlere baslamstr. Guvenilir bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almstr. Gunumuze dek bircok alanda populer bahis yapanlara frsatlar sunarken avantajlar ile de begeni toplamstr.

Birebin

Kullanc odakl calsmalar surdurse de 2011 ylnda sektore giren Birebindiger sitelere gore daha az ragbet gormektedir. Bahis oynamak ise bu sitede oldukca kolaydr. Elbette farkl yaklasmlara sahip olmasndan dolay ilerleyen sureclerde adndan sklkla bahsettirecek gibi gorunuyor.

Oley

2009 ylnda Dogus yayn gruplarnn istiraki olarak kurulmus olup yasal olarak herhangi bir sorunu olmayan sitelerdendir. Bahis siteleri arasnda hzl cks yapms bir sitedir. Oley yapms oldugu yenilikler ile kullanclarn da dikkatini ksa surede cekmeyi basarmstr.

Nesine

Birbirini takip eden surecte Nesine de yine 2006 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslamstr. Yasal bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almay basaran firma ksa surede sevilen ve ragbet goren bir site olmustur.

Misli

2009 ylnda sektore cok hzl giris yapan Misli cok sayda reklam filmi ile on plana ckmay basarmstr. Internet uzerinden hem yasal hem de sorunsuz hizmet veren bahis sitelerinden bir tanesi olmustur.

Canl Bahis Siteleri Kayt ve Uyelik Islemleri

Her zaman populerligini koruyan ve surekli gelisim gosteren canl bahis gun gectikce daha da gucleniyor. Bahis oynamak icin ise sitelere uye olunmas gerekir. Yuksek getirisi ve begeni toplayan faaliyetleri ile cok sayda site bu alanda faaliyet gostermektedir. Elbette sorunsuz sekilde uye olmanz ve faaliyetler gostermeniz de oldukca kolaydr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri dakikalar icerisinde gerceklestirilecek yapya sahiptir.

Uye olacagnz siteyi belirledikten sonra siteye girmeniz gerekmektedir. Girdiginiz sitenin ana sayfasnda uye ol ya da kayt ol bolumu bulunacaktr. Siteler arasnda degiskenlik gosteren bu alanda temel unsurlar bulunmaktadr. Elbette farkllklar olsa da temelinde benzer bilgiler uye olmak isteyen kisilerden talep edilmektedir.

Uye ol bolumune tkladktan sonra karsnza uyelik bilgi formu ckacaktr. Bu formda sizin kim oldugunuzu ogrenmek ve sitenin guvenligini saglamak adna islemler yaplmaktadr. Uyelik formunda yer alan ad soyad bolumunu eksiksiz ve dogru sekilde doldurmalsnz. Sizden bu formda istenen bilgilerin tamamn girmeniz istenecektir. Istenen bilgiler mutlaka dogru ve eksiksiz sekilde olmaldr. Eksik veya hatal bilgi uyelik islemlerinde sorun teskil edebilir. Yine de yanls bilgi girisine ragmen uyelik islemleri tamamlanabilir. Fakat boyle bir yol izleyenler sonrasnda buyuk skntlarla karslasabilirler. Bu skntlarn basnda da para cekme islemlerinde yasanan sorunlardr.

Uyelik islemleri dikkatli ve ozenle doldurulmas gereken yapdadr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri gerceklestirilirken verilen bilgiler site yonetimi tarafndan muhafaza edilmektedir. Herhangi bir sekilde 3. Sahslarla paylaslmas gibi bir durum soz konusu degildir. Bu faaliyetleri surduren sitelerin guven unsurlar arasnda bu nokta onceliklidir.

Bahis sitelerine uye olurken hatal bilgi paylasmnda bulunmak size faydadan cok zarar verecektir. Diyelim ki bilgileri hatal girdiniz ve uyelik onayland. Uyelik tamamlandktan sonra siteye para yatrdnz ve kazanc elde ettiniz. Kazancnz sonrasnda hesabnza almak istediginizde karsnza banka bilgileri bolumu gelecektir. Para cekme talebi gerceklestikten sonra site uyelik bilgileri ile banka hesap bilgileri ortusmez ise paranz alamazsnz. Boyle bir durumla karslasmamak adna bu hususa ayrca dikkat etmelisiniz.
SIOUX FALLS, SD, September 15, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Pancheros Mexican Grill (www.pancheros.com), a fast casual Mexican franchise known for its delicious, better-built burritos, announces the opening of its second South Dakota location on Tuesday, September 13 in Sioux Falls. The latest Pancheros will commemorate its opening with a $1 burrito event on Tuesday, September 20 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.



Pancheros' menu offers flavor-packed selections that range from custom-built burritos to mouth-watering quesadillas. Each unique creation can be made with marinated grilled steak, slow-roasted, seasoned pork carnitas, chili-tamarind marinated chicken or season-marinated veggies. With the help of the restaurant's unique, plastic spatula, "Bob the Tool," ingredients are spread evenly throughout, guaranteeing satisfaction in every bite. Guests wanting more of a kick can choose from any of Pancheros' proprietary hot sauces such as Flavolcano, made with seven different peppers for a smoky feel, or Greenade, made with green chilies and lime for a tangier bite.



"What drew me to Pancheros was the brand's dedication to its food; everything, from the salsas to the guacamole to the fresh-pressed tortillas, is made from scratch," said P.J. Miller, owner of Pancheros Mexican Grill in Sioux Falls. "As Sioux Falls continues to grow, we hope to grow with the city and open a few more Pancheros restaurants in the city's greater area."



The new Pancheros is located at 4824 S. Louise Ave., Sioux Falls, SD. The store will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. To reach the Sioux Falls Pancheros, please call 605-271-2544.



About Pancheros Mexican Grill

Founded in 1992, Coralville, Iowa-based Pancheros Mexican Grill is a fast-casual, fresh-Mexican franchise. Known best for their homemade, fresh-pressed tortillas, Pancheros has set the standard for burritos that don't start from a bag. Along with their amazing burritos, the menu also includes quesadillas, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads. Pancheros currently has 72 locations in the United States and the company plans to have 75 restaurants open across the country by the end of 2016. For more information, visit http://www.pancheros.com.



# # #
Sep 15, 2016 | By Benedict

3DLabPrint, a 3D printable R/C airplane website, has released its latest model: the Messerschmitt Bf 109 H/F, an aircraft used by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The flyable, 1/12 scale, 3D printable model has a wingspan of 40.6 or 35 inches, depending on the version.

Once flown by German World War II pilots, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, commonly called the Me 109, was one of the most capable aircraft of its era, with an all-metal monocoque construction, closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. The fighter plane, designed Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid-1930s, was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. With the aid of a 3D printer and some assembly skills, aircraft enthusiasts can now recreate the 109 H/F at 1/12 scale, as 3DLabPrint has created a fully 3D printable model for the Luftwaffe flyer.

3DLabPrint, an online repository of 3D printable aircraft, lists most of its downloadable items for $20 each, and has also created 3D models for the Spitfire Mk XVI, P51-D Mustang, and other iconic planes. The Me 109, the latest addition to the collection, also costs just $20, and comes with all STL files, Factory files for the Simplify3D slicer, step-by-step video and textual user guides, G-codes, settings for CURA and MatterControl slicers, Scale marking PDFs, and a 3D printable stand.

According to 3DLabPrint, flight characteristics of the 3D printable Messerschmitt Bf 109 are comparable or even better than those exhibited by conventionally built model airplanes. In addition to the 3D printed parts, the only required extras are glue, a brushless motor, an ESC, servos, and a radio system. The model is capable of flying for 7+ minutes at full throttle, at speeds of up to 150 km/h. The plane also has a low stall speed, and is therefore easy to land.

Extensive hi-tech 3D structural reinforcement makes the model very rigid while still maintaining [a] lightweight airframe and exact airfoil even when it is made only from plastic, 3DLabPrint explains. This perfect and exact 3D structure is possible only due to additive 3D printing technology. So welcome to the 21st century of model flyingbe the first at your airfield.

Makers can choose to 3D print either the H version of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the F. The real H variant had larger wings than the smaller F, whose development began in 1939. A model of the smaller F version can be built with a wingspan of 35 inches, as opposed to the 40.6 inch wingspan of the H version.

The model aircraft can be printed on any high-temperature 3D printer with a build volume of 195 x 195 x 150 mm or larger, and a 0.4 mm (0.35 or 0.5 mm also acceptable) nozzle. A heated print bed is recommended, as is PLA filament. Using ABS is not advised. 3DLabPrint has provided a list of R/C components, with makers able to choose between a high performance setup or an eco version, which costs around $30.

The 3D printable Messerschmitt Bf 109 H/F follows the earlier introduction of the 3D printable Messerschmitt Bf 109T airplane earlier this year.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Sep 14, 2016 | By Alec

Big things are happening over in the Dutch HQ of Ultimaker in Geldermalsen. The desktop 3D printing pioneer has just received a 15 million euro loan from the Luxemburg-based European Investment Bank (EIB). The funds will mostly be used to facilitate research projects and to bridge the gap until an even larger seed round that is scheduled for mid-2017. Ultimaker, it seems, is looking to take over the desktop 3D printing world.

In many ways, this is just a new chapter in the success story that is Ultimaker. Since being founded in 2011, the company has grown explosively. Ultimaker started out with three friends, Siert Wijnia, Erik de Bruijn and Martijn Elserman, who were tinkering with open source RepRap 3D printers. As it turned out, there was a huge demand for their custom and very open hardware solutions, and the company quickly began manufacturing countless 3D printers to cope with that demand. But even today, the open source principles are at the core of Ultimaker, and all blueprints are continuously open to the public to allow for DIY improvements.

But this has done little to limit Ultimakers own growth. Today, they are one of the biggest desktop 3D printer manufacturers in the world, responsible for about 25 percent of all 3D printers in their market segment. Ultimaker hardware can be found in the design workshops of Volkswagen, Airbus, Tesla and Apple, and over 2015 their turnover was valued at 30 million (approximately $33.7 million USD).

Though Ultimaker hardware is very suitable for home users, about 70 percent of 3D printers sold go to companies and 20 percent to research institutes  including TU Delft, Hardvard and Yale. Right now, Ultimaker employs around 200 people and their production facilities are located in Zaltbommel, the Netherlands, and in Boston for the American market. Just last year, the company also signed an assembly, distribution and support deal with Fbrc8.

From left: Siert Wijnia, Martijn Elserman and Erik De Bruijn (Image: 3ders.org)

Their success and client range was clear enough to attract the attention of the EIB, the European Unions bank. The EIB typically provides funds to projects that contribute to furthering EU policy objectives, and Ultimakers innovative drive clearly fits in with their vision. The 15 million loan is completely intended for the facilitation of growth and research, and also allows Ultimaker to continue their work in anticipation of an even bigger investment round in mid-2017.

In particular, the funds will help the company better prepare for custom research projects. Many of the parts Ultimaker manufactures are custom-made for professional clients, with development times quickly taking up to a year-and-a-half. In those cases, especially the printhead can be difficult to tackle. Theres thus still a lot of room for improvement in Ultimakers research facilities.

But according to Ultimaker, this EIB loan will also help them prepare for the next phase in their existence. Their main goal is long-term autonomous growth, and they will need a market shake-up to realize it. We can therefore expect a lot from Ultimaker over the next few years.

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

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Tim K wrote at 9/15/2016 12:12:29 AM:Does this mean they will release a printer with color mixing heads (multi input filaments, one output) or multiple extruders, such as kraken water cooled with four input filaments? One can hope...




Sep 15, 2016 | By Benedict

You can do some pretty incredible things with a desktop 3D printer. Every day, we see new ways in which makers use additive manufacturing technology to come up with ingenious solutions to all kinds of problems. But while these consumer-level machines will always hold a special place in our hearts, the kind of technology going into high-end professional and industrial 3D printers is simply on a different levelthere are 3D printers that can print functional circuitry, assembly line 3D printers that can pick up and move their completed prints, and 3D printers that can (theoretically) print forever. Here, in no particular order, are 12 of the most promising high-end 3D printers that could shape the future of additive manufacturing.

High-end 3D printer #1: 3D Systems Figure 4

3D printing process: Stereolithography (SLA)

Available: Unknown

As one of the biggest names in 3D printing, South Carolina-based 3D Systems has a lot of influence over the industry. And when an influential company starts building assembly line 3D printers which use robotic arms to manipulate finished prints, that influence starts to seem pretty exciting. 3D Systems Figure 4 additive manufacturing technology, named after a section of founder Chuck Hulls original 1983 patent for Stereolithography, has already been incorporated into a couple of prototypes: the SLAbot-1, first seen at CES 2016, and the SLAbot-2, which made its debut at the Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) Conference in St. Louis. Customers interested in the 3D printing technology have been encouraged to get in touch with 3D Systems.

Heres what we know about Figure 4 right now: the 3D printer is a modular Stereolithography production system that can be incorporated into manufacturers production lines. Not only can the technology print objects up to 50 times faster than conventional systems, it can also do much more. As demonstrated at CES and AMUG, the Figure 4in its SLAbot incarnationuses robotic grippers to manipulate its printed objects. So when a print is complete, the machine can simply pick up the finished part, moving it aside or placing it in a post-processing area. This allows the 3D printer to commence printing another part without needing a human to clear the print bed.

3D Systems President and CEO Vyomesh Joshi recently gave some important updates on Figure 4. In order to make the equipment fully factory-ready, Figure 4 can now carry out in-line inspections of the parts which it creates, turning the 3D printer into a closed-loop manufacturing system. The system can also generate real-time, detailed reports with go/no-go feedback while carrying out part inspection and measurement. 3D Systems believes that additive manufacturing needs to make the transition from prototyping to production. With its Figure 4 technology, the company could well bring about that transition.

High-end 3D printer #2: HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution

3D printing process: Jet fusion

Available: Late 2016

Although its Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution had been in the works for several years, HP still caused something of a stir when it finally unveiled its first ever 3D printer back in May. Promising to print ten times faster and at half the cost of comparable systems, the Jet Fusion 3D printer looks set to stylishly bring HP into the third dimension of the printing world. The forthcoming 3D printer will print parts at a voxel level (50 microns), and will come in two modes: the HP Jet Fusion 3D 3200 and HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200. The 3200 is suited to prototyping and will be released in 2017, while the 4200 can also handle production of end-use parts, and will be available at the end of 2016.

As part of its Jet Fusion unveiling, HP announced a number of high-profile collaborations and partnerships. Material specialists like Arkema, BASF, and Evonik will all create 3D printing materials for the printers open materials platform, while Materialise, Siemens, and Autodesk have all contributed software expertise to the project. Other major companies such as BMW, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, and Siemens have also partnered with HP in order to use the new 3D printer for various production tasks. This massive extension of HPs partnership ecosystem means the HP Jet Fusion 3D printer is probably going to make a big mark on the industry regardless of whether 3D printing experts rate it highly or not.

Both the 4200 and 3200 3D printers will have a build volume of 16 x 12 x 16 and an x,y print resolution of 1,200dpi. The 4200 will edge the 3200 in terms of print speed and layer thickness, operating at 4,500 cm/hr as opposed to 3500 cm/hr, and offering layer thicknesses of 0.07 - 0.12 mm as opposed to 0.08 - 0.10 mm. HP is part of the 3MF Consortium, and its forthcoming 3D printers will use the industry-backed file format.

High-end 3D printer #3: Stratasys Infinite-Build

3D printing process: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

Available: On request

One of two Stratasys demonstrator 3D printers to be showcased at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago this week, the Infinite-Build 3D printer is raising eyebrows for two reasons: firstly, the machine prints sideways onto a vertical print bed; secondly (and consequently), it can print foreverat least in theory. Freed of the confines of an enclosed print envelope, the Infinite-Build 3D printer prints on a vertical plane for near-unlimited part size, and is therefore suitable for use in the aerospace and automotive industries, where extra-large 3D printed parts are often required.

Although developed and built by Stratasys, the Infinite-Build 3D printer was tailor-made to the requirements of aerospace giant Boeing, one of the aerospace industrys biggest advocates of additive manufacturing technology. We are always looking for ways to reduce the cost and weight of aircraft structures, or reduce the time it takes to prototype and test new tools and products so we can provide them to customers in a more affordable and rapid manner, commented Darryl Davis, President of Boeing Phantom Works. The Stratasys Infinite-Build 3D Demonstrator enables products to be made at a much larger and potentially unlimited length.

Automotive pioneer Ford is also currently evaluating the Infinite-Build 3D printer as it seeks news ways of creating production efficiency, and further manufacturers could soon adopt the unusual 3D printing system as well. While the Infinite-Build printer might move sideways, the radical technological innovation on display proves that Stratasys is very much moving forwards.

High-end 3D printer #4: Stratasys Robotic Composite

3D printing process: FDM

Available: On request

As the second of Stratasys pair of exciting 3D printers currently being showcased at IMTS, the Robotic Composite combines Stratasys advanced extrusion technologies with motion control hardware and PLM software from Siemens. Like the Infinite-Build, the Robotic Composite is built for production, but has also been optimized for the 3D printing of composite parts. 3D printed composite parts are popular in the automotive, aerospace, and oil & gas industries, but their production is limited by geometric limitations and labor-intensive processes. With an 8-axis motion system, the Robotic Composite 3D printer enables precise, directional material placement for high strength parts that require no extra support.

From the sound of things, the working relationship between Stratasys and Siemens will continue into the future as the two companies look to profit from their respective areas of experience. By working closely with Stratasys on motion control and CNC automation, Siemens is helping to create a flexible, multi-function manufacturing workflow that puts 3D printing firmly in the factory, said Arun Jain, VP, Motion Control, Digital Factory US, Siemens. We look forward to continuing to work with Stratasys to build manufacturing solutions that transform industries.

We view the level of factory integration, automation, and performance monitoring potentially offered by these new demonstrators as catalysts for the transformation to Industry 4.0, added Ilan Levin, Stratasys CEO, regarding the Robotic Composite and Infinite-Build 3D printers.

High-end 3D printer #5: Nano Dimension Dragonfly 2020

3D printing process: Inkjet

Available: Deliveries started this year

Nano Dimension, one of many commerical 3D printer companies based in Israel, is making a name for itself as the world leader in 3D printed circuit board technology. Its Dragonfly 2020 3D printer might only have found its way to one company so faran unnamed Israeli defense firmbut it looks as though many more will soon be snapped up by companies who want to manufacture complete, 3D printed circuit boards on-site. The unique 3D printer uses an inkjet deposition and curing system to print professional multilayer circuit boards from highly conductive silver inks.

The highly conductive silver ink made by Nano Dimension is suitable for creating 3D printed circuit boards because Nano Dimension staff have been able to reliably extract 10-100+ nanometer-sized particles of pure silver, which can then be precisely dispersed. The inks sinter at low temperatures and are suited to a range substrates including paper, polymers, and glass.

The rapid prototyping capabilities of the DragonFly 2020 3D Printer for professional 3D printed electronics completely transforms the ways product development teams work, Nano Dimension claims. No more waiting days or weeks for a custom PCB prototype that has to be fabricated offsite. The DragonFly 2020 3D Printer offers the flexibility to print an entire board or just part of a circuit. You can develop the RF and digital sections of the board in parallel, test and iterate on the fly.

High-end 3D printer #6: XJet

3D printing process: NanoParticle Jetting

Available: Unknown

XJet, another highly promising professional 3D printing venture from Israel, raised $25 million in funding from Autodesk and Catalyst CEL earlier this year in order to develop its novel NanoParticle Jetting 3D printer. The new form of 3D printing used by the machine deposits liquid metal from a standard, inkjet-style printing head, making it entirely unlike popular Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) metal printing techniques.

The new 3D printing process being developed by XJet sure sounds exciting, but how exactly does it work? According to the company, the technology uses nano-sized metal particles suspended within a patented liquid formula. This formula can be jetted from standard printing heads, eliminating the need for lasers. When treated with extremely high temperatures, the liquid formula evaporates, leaving behind strong metal components with layer thicknesses of less than 2 micronsa level of detail almost unheard-of in the 3D printing industry.

XJet claims that its NanoParticle Jetting technology is up to five times faster than other metal 3D printing methods, as well as being extremely safe and easy to use. It can be purportedly be used to create 3D printed metal objects of virtually any geometry, and is suited to short-run production of end-use parts. Our support of XJet through the Spark Investment Fund stems from our belief that this technology has the potential to change the future of the additive manufacturing industry, said Eitan Tsarfati, head of Digital Manufacturing and general manager at Autodesk Israel. With such high-profile backing, the future looks bright for XJet.

High-end 3D printer #7: Carbon3D Carbon M1

3D printing process: Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP)

Available: Now (subscription)

Theres a reason why Carbon3Ds revolutionary Carbon M1 3D printer will set you back $40,000 per year. The companys Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) can print high-quality objects up to 100 times faster than other 3D printers. How? CLIP, a photochemical process, works by projecting light through an oxygen-permeable window into a reservoir of UV-curable resin. As a layer-by-layer sequence of UV images is projected, the 3D printed part solidifies and the build platform rises.

Although the CLIP process sounds a bit like SLA or DLP 3D printing, it also uses a unique feature called the dead zone, a thin, liquid interface of uncured resin that lies between the window and the part being printed. Light passes through the dead zone, curing the resin above it to form a solid part. Resin flows beneath the curing part as the print progresses, maintaining the continuous liquid interface. After printing, a part is baked in a forced-circulation oven, setting off a secondary chemical reaction that causes the materials to adapt and strengthen, increasing the Youngs modulus of the part from 250-280 MPa to 3800-4000 MPa. The printer has a build envelope of 144 x 81 x 330 mm.

The M1 3D printer, Carbon3Ds first commercially available 3D printer to use CLIP technology, is available on a subscription-based pricing plan, giving customers access to all necessary hardware, software, support, and training. The yearly fee for the technology is $40,000, which comes on top of an installation and training fee of $10,000. For the first time, its possible to 3D print isotropic parts with mechanical properties and surface finish like injection-molded plastics, Carbon3D claims. No other additive technology delivers the synthesis of fit, form, and function needed to bridge the gap between prototyping and manufacturing.

High-end 3D printer #8: Rize One

3D printing process: Augmented Polymer Deposition (APD)

Available: Unknown

Although startup Rise has only existed since 2014, the company has a wealth of 3D printing experience behind it, listing former Z Corp, Objet, and Revit high-ups amongst its ranks. The company has pooled its collective expertise to develop the Rise One, an industrial desktop 3D printer with a build volume of 300mm x 200mm x 150mm and minimum layer height of 0.25mm, and which requires no post-processing. The 3D printer also uses a patented 3D printing process called Augmented Polymer Deposition, which deposits engineering-grade thermoplastic and jetting selective additives at each voxel (3D pixel) in order to change the characteristic of the material.

According to its creators, the Rize One 3D printer could shake up the industry thanks to its novel approach to support structures and post-processing. While most 3D printed parts need to be treated after printing in order to completely remove support materials, Rize has come up with a new solution. The Rize One prints support parts for an object using Rizium One, an engineering- and medical-grade thermoplastic filament, but between the actual part and its support structures is a layer of Release One ink, deposited from an industrial print head. The Release One ink weakens the bond between the object and the support structure, allowing the supports to be removed easily with ones bare hands.

Post-processing has been 3D printing's dirty little secret, as engineers and additive manufacturing lab managers wrestled with the reality that post-processing parts after 3D printing often doubled the total process time, added substantial costs, and prevented 3D printers from the desktop, said Rize CEO Frank Marangell. Rize One eliminates those sacrifices, opening a world of possibilities for designers and engineers to deliver prototypes and on-demand finished parts much faster and with stronger material than before.

High-end 3D printer #9: Impossible Objects CBAM

3D printing process: Composite-based additive manufacturing (CBAM)

Available: Unknown

Impossible Objects, a 3D printing startup based in Northbrook, Illinois, claims to have created the first composite-based additive manufacturing method that uses fabrics of Carbon Fiber, Kevlar, Fiberglass, and more. And while the company has offered a made-to-order 3D printing service for composite parts for some time now, it is currently developing a range of commercially available CBAM 3D printers that will soon enable businesses to create their own high-strength composite parts.

According to Impossible Objects, its CBAM 3D printing process is capable of printing faster than other manufacturing technologies, while creating parts that are up to ten times stronger than those made with SLM, FDM, and SLA 3D printers. Founder Robert Schwartz even thinks CBAM could be used as an alternative to injection molding.

Could the forthcoming CBAM 3D printer from Impossible Objects have a big impact on the additive manufacturing industry? Some experts certainly think so: The development of an automated, low-cost composite additive manufacturing system could revolutionize the U.S. composite tool and composite end user parts industries, said Lonnie Love, Group Leader of Automation, Robotics and Manufacturing at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Impossible Objects CBAM technology has the potential to revolutionize this market.

High-end 3D printer #10: Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing 3D printer

3D printing process: Unknown

Available: 2017

The Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing, based in Tokyo, has built a prototype 3D printer capable of producing industrial-level molds for use in automotive, aerospace, and other sectors. CMET, a Yokohama-based subsidiary of manufacturer Nabtesco and manufacturer of 3D printers, was one of the leading contributors to the prototype 3D printer, which will reportedly become commercially available by the fiscal year 2017.

According to its developers, the forthcoming 3D printerwhich does not yet have a namecan build 3D printed objects at a rate of up to 100,000 cm3/hr, more than 100 times faster than typical metal 3D printers. The machine can make molds up to 1.8 meters long, 1 meter wide, and 0.75 meters deep. Although little information has been provided by Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing, we do know that the machine alternately deposits sand and some kind of adhesive to build the printed object.

The developers of the Japanese 3D printer estimate that the machine, when used for mass production, could produce 20,000 automotive turbochargers or 3,000 engine cylinder heads per month. Other members of the association, including Nissan Motor, IHI, and Komatsu will evaluate parts 3D printed on the prototype printer.

High-end 3D printer #11: EOS M 400-4

3D printing process: Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS)

Available: Unknown

Chicagos IMTS is currently showcasing the very best in 3D printing innovation from all the industrys major players. International e-manufacturing leader EOS is no exception, having brought its new EOS M 400-4 DMLS 3D printer along for the exhibition. The ultra-fast 3D printing system has a build volume of 400 x 400 x 400 mm, and uses four 400-watt lasers in order to quadruple productivity. According to EOS the DMLS 3D printer can handle even the most demanding requirements of production, and can be easily integrated into existing production environments thanks to its modular design.

The four precise lasers of the M 400-4 each operate in a 250 x 250 mm square, and share an overlap area of 50 mm. The 3D printers multiple lasers give the machine a build rate of 100 cm/h, while high beam and power stability provides high DMLS part quality. In addition, the companys new and patented EOS ClearFlow Technology ensures consistent process gas management for ideal build conditions.

The EOS M 400-4 is a perfect addition to our industrial systems portfolio, said EOS CMO Dr. Adrian Keppler. It shatters the boundaries of manufacturing as it meets the most demanding requirements of our industry partners in terms of efficiency, scalability, usability and process monitoring.

High-end 3D printer #12: Indmatec PEEK Printer 155

3D printing process: FDM

Available: January 2017

Indmatec, a 3D printing company based in Karlsruhe, Germany, is known both for its specialist 3D printing materials and its FDM 3D printers. The companys speciality is PEEK or polyether ether ketone, a thermoplastic polymer that has for some time been earmarked as an ideal material for additive manufacturing. According to Indmatec, the material can be used for vacuum applications and even 3D printed car parts.

Excitingly for admirers of Indmatec and its specialist polymer, the industry has already had a peek at a forthcoming machine from the German innovators. The Indmatec PEEK Printer 155 is an FDM machine capable of printing with PEEK thanks to an all-metal hotend, heated print bed, and enclosed chamber. The 155 has even had a massive cosmetic upgrade, and looks far more professional than its predecessor, the Indmatec HPP 155. We set about trying to make it more attractive, aesthetically pleasing, admitted Robbie Hurst, Sales Manager at Indmatec.

Besides its aesthetic improvements, the forthcoming PEEK 3D printer will be made from higher quality parts, and will utilize an interchangeable nozzle system, enabling users to quickly switch between PEEK and with other materials. The upcoming Indmatec printer will have the same build volume as its predecessor (155 x 155 x155 mm) but another model, tentatively slated for summer 2017, could be on the larger side. The new PEEK Printer 155 will cost between 26,000 and 28,000 ($29,000 - $31,500).

With so many exciting high-end 3D printers being released in the near future, its almost impossible to predict how the market will react. Will 3D Systems and Stratasys succeed in bringing additive manufacturing to the factory floor, or will Carbon3Ds groundbreaking CLIP technology oust all competition? As always, let us know if you think weve missed a potentially future-shaping 3D printer.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Brandon wrote at 9/18/2016 3:59:20 PM:I'm surprised to see you have Impossible Objects on here but not Markforged. I would argue their approach to composite printing is more novel, user friendly, faster and creates far less waste.




Peter Moskowitz in The New Yorker:

On a particularly hot day this August, Tommy Pico explained his approach to the work of poetry. A book-length poem he wrote, IRL, will come out in September, and he had been giving readings and planning events. Pico grew up on the Viejas Reservation, near San Diego. His dad was a chairman of the reservation and often told his son that he was good at his job because he didnt like it. This is how Pico now feels about being a poet. Thats why Im good at reading, Pico told me, as we rode the train from a hair appointment to his apartment, in Bushwick. I dont want to be the one onstage, but thats part of the job.

IRL will be published by the independent press Birds, LLC. Picos next book, Nature Poem, is scheduled for release in May, 2017, from Tin House. Pico, thirty-two, is part of the Kumeyaay nation; he has lived in New York for the past thirteen years. He told me that he uses poetry to square two identities that dont fit together well: being a poor, queer kid from the rez, and being a pleasure-seeking, technology-addicted New Yorker who would rather chase the boys he meets on apps than think about centuries of pain passed from one generation to another. Poetry is also, he said, a way to make people understand just how hard that squaring is. He wants his readers to feel the disjointedness of his life.

More here.
So much to do, so much to see, so much to eat. Can you get it all done this weekend?







Sing Along to Mary Poppins

WHAT: Come one, come all to this magical night at Oakland's waterfront cinema. Filmgoers are encouraged to show up in costume dressed as their favorite character (the penguins!) and sing-along to their favorite songs while the classic film Mary Poppins plays on the big screen. Pre-show festivities include costume contests, games, prizes and more! Start the evening early with dinner at one of Jack London Square's waterfront restaurants, or pick up a quick bite from one of the casual eateries to enjoy during the screening.

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 16, 8:30pm

WHERE: Embarcadero West (Oakland), jacklondonsquare.com





Peace in the Park Returns to GGP

WHAT: The 4th annual Peace in the Park returns to Golden Gate Park this weekend to spread its mission of global unity and world peace. Digging it? This year's lineup features world renowned speakers, world music, visual artists, Tai chi, hatha yoga, life-enhancing seminars, kids activities, exhibits by local non-profits, and meditation experiences where individuals can explore a variety of ways to unplug and unwind.

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 17, 11am-6pm

WHERE: Music Concourse (Golden Gate Park), facebook.com/events





(John Margaretten)

Sound Summit Music Fest. on Mt. Tam

WHAT: Sound Summit returns to the slopes of Mount Tamalpais this weekend for a day of great music with an eclectic lineup featuring Wilco, Los Lobos, Bill Frisell's Guitar in the Space Age, The Stone Foxes, and Matt Jaffe. Charismatic Bay Area radio personalities Murph & Mac (aka Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey) return as the day's dynamic masters of ceremonies, while DJ Andy Cabic will be spinning tunes between sets. Proceeds benefit the Mount Tamalpais State Park by Roots & Branches Conservancy.

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 17, 11am-7pm



WHERE: Mountain Theater, Ridgecrest Blvd. (Mt. Tam), soundsummit.net





A Night at the Drive-In Featuring The Princess Bride

WHAT: On Saturday night, the Anderson Valley Film Society will summon the Dread Pirate Roberts, Inigo Montoya, and Rodents of Unusual Size for an evening of enchantment with The Princess Bride at the Citrus Fair Fairgrounds in Cloverdale. Local fare from Healdsburger, Abbie's Tacqueria, Falafel Fix, and Flour Girl as well as beer and wine from Bear Republic and Mercury Wines will be on hand to make the night complete.

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 17, 6:30pm

WHERE: I Citrus Fair Dr. (Cloverdale), avfilmsociety.org





(Courtesy of Umami)

National Cheeseburger Day!

WHAT: Sunday is National Cheeseburger Day! Celebrate with Umami's delicious Truffle Burger (truffled aioli, house truffle cheese, truffle glaze) or the classic Umami Burger (parmesan frico, shiitake mushroom, roasted tomato, cartelized onion, Umami ketchup) at Umami Burger Oakland, Paolo Alto, SoMa or the Marina.

WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 18, all day

WHERE: Various locations, umamiburger.com





The Really Really Big Book Sale

WHAT: Book lovers, rejoice! The 52nd Annual Fall Big Book Sale the largest used book sale on the West Coast is back next week with over 500,000 books and media (think CDs, DVDs, and even tapes) all for $3 or less. Proceeds support learning & literacy at the San Francisco Public Library.

WHEN:September 21-25, 10am-6pm

WHERE: Fort Mason Center (Pier 3), friendssfpl.org/events/the-big-book-sale





Bounce Around to Crystal Castles

WHAT: Experimental electronic band Crystal Castles, known for their chaotic live shows, will be performing a very special show with Die Antwoord at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium next week in support of their fourth studio album AMNESTY. Check them out.

WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 21, 8pm

WHERE: 99 Grove St. (Civic Center),ticketmaster.com/event/
Chronic asthma is a major health concern for children and adults worldwide. The goal of treatment is to prevent symptoms by reducing airway inflammation and hyperreactivity. Step-up therapy for symptom control involves initiation with low-dose treatment and increasing intensity at subsequent visits if control is not achieved. Step-down therapy starts with a high-dose regimen, reducing intensity as control is achieved. Multiple randomized controlled trials have shown that inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective monotherapy. Other agents may be added to inhaled corticosteroids if optimal symptom control is not initially attained. Long-acting beta 2 agonists are the most effective addition, but they are not recommended as monotherapy because of questions regarding their safety. Leukotriene receptor antagonists can be used in addition to inhaled corticosteroids, but they are not as effective as adding a long-acting beta 2 agonist. Patients with mild persistent asthma who prefer not to use inhaled corticosteroids may use leukotriene receptor antagonists as monotherapy, but they are less effective. Because of their high cost and a risk of anaphylaxis, monoclonal antibodies should be reserved for patients with severe symptoms not controlled by other agents. Immunotherapy should be considered in persons with asthma triggered by confirmed allergies if they are experiencing adverse effects with medication or have other comorbid allergic conditions. Many patients with asthma use complementary and alternative agents, most of which lack data regarding their safety or effectiveness.
Laws crafted by those elected should do most good for most people

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Get key Market Research Reports and Insightful Company Profiles

This study focuses on Chinas Earphones & Headphones Market trends. In the two past decades, the market has been growing at a fast pace.

The dramatic expansions of the manufacturing capabilities and rising consumer consumptions in China have transformed Chinas society and economy. China is one of the worlds major producers for industrial and consumer products. Far outpacing other economies in the world, China is the worlds fastest growing market for the consumptions of goods and services. The Chinese economy maintains a high speed growth which has been stimulated by the consecutive increases of industrial output, imports & exports, consumer consumption and capital investment for over two decades. Rapid consolidation between medium and large players is anticipated since the Chinese government has been encouraging industry consolidation with an effort to regulate the industry and to improve competitiveness in the world market.

Browse Detail Report With TOC @ http://www.hexareports.com/report/earphones-amp-headphones-market-trends-in-china/details

Although China has enjoyed the benefits of an expanding market for production and distribution, the industry is suffering from minimal innovation and investment in R&D and new product development. The sectors economies of scale have yet to be achieved. Most domestic manufacturers lack the autonomic intellectual property and financial resources to develop their own brand name products.

This new study focuses on market trends and forecasts with historical data (2005, 2010 and 2015) and long-term forecasts through 2020 and 2025 are presented.

Browse More Electronics Realted Market Research Reports:

 Global Ferroelectric RAM Sales Market Report 2021  http://www.hexareports.com/report/global-ferroelectric-ram-sales-market-report-2021/details

 Global Blu-ray Dvd Players Market Research Report to 2021  http://www.hexareports.com/report/global-blu-ray-dvd-players-to-2021/details

 Global Home Cinema System Market Research Report to 2021  http://www.hexareports.com/report/global-home-cinema-system-to-2021/details

The primary and secondary research is done in China in order to access up-to-date government regulations, market information and industry data. Data were collected from the Chinese government publications, Chinese language newspapers and magazines, industry associations, local governments industry bureaus, industry publications, and our in-house databases.

Asia Market Info & Dev Co. is one of the leading sources for up-to-date market information and research on the fastest-growing Chinese markets. We have published over 2,000 reports focusing on the Chinese markets, industry forecasts and company profiles. We provide hard-to-find market data and analyses. Our publications are intended to help international marketers identify business opportunities and promote their product sales in the Chinese markets.

About Us:

Hexa Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering industry reports, custom research and consulting services to a host of key industries across the globe.We offer comprehensive business intelligence in the form of industry reports which help our clients obtain clarity about their business environment and enable them to undertake strategic growth initiatives.

Contact Information:

Ryan Shaw

Hexa Reports

Felton Office Plaza,

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United States

Phone Number

1-800-489-3075

Email Us: sales@hexareports.com

Our Website: http://www.hexareports.com

Media Contact

Company Name: Hexa Reports

Contact Person: Ryan Shaw

Email: sales@hexareports.com

Phone: 1-800-489-3075

Address:Felton Office Plaza, 6265 Highway 9

City: Felton

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Country: United States

Website: http://www.hexareports.com/report/earphones-amp-headphones-market-trends-in-china/details
Investigator Resources Limited (ASX:IVR) is a metals explorer with a focus on the opportunities for greenfields silver-lead, copper-gold and other metal discoveries in South Australia.

The Company's priority is progressing the development pathway for the Paris silver project with the preparation of a pre-feasibility study. The Paris Mineral Resource Estimate is 9.3Mt @ 139g/t silver and 0.6% lead, comprising 42Moz of contained silver and 55kt of contained lead, at a 50g/t silver cut-off. The resource has been categorised with an Indicated Resource estimate of 4.3Mt @ 163g/t silver and 0.6% lead for 23Moz contained silver and 26kt contained lead, and an Inferred Resource: 5.0Mt @ 119g/t silver and 0.6% lead for 19Moz contained silver and 29kt contained lead.

The Company has applied an innovative strategy that has developed multiple ideas and targets giving Investigator first-mover status. These include: the Paris silver discovery; recognition of other epithermal fields and the associated potential for porphyry copper-gold of Olympic Dam age; extending the ideas developed at Paris-Nankivel and using breakthrough government Magneto-Telluric surveying to rejuvenate targeting with the Maslins IOCG target as the next priority drill target.


Institutional Briefing Day Presentation

Sydney, Sep 15, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - MNF Group Ltd ( ASX:MNF ) are pleased to provide the Company's Presentation for the Institutional Briefing Day, September 15, 2016.



Why invest in MNF Group



- Credible player in big market



- Future-proof cloud voice network



- Diversified voice services portfolio



- Value-added intellectual property



- Consistent EBITDA growth



- Global growth potential



The Future



Drive Growth and Scale



- Connect voice suite



- Core products



- Network reach



- Market share growth



Next Generation Capability



- OTT services & UCaaS



- Modular capability via API



- Cloud numbering



- Toll free services



- Enhanced network



To view tables and figures, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/33769T4M





About Symbio Holdings Limited





Symbio Holdings Limited (ASX:SYM) is a software company changing the way the world communicates.

Symbio's technology replaces old-fashioned telecom networks with software, making it faster and easier to deliver modern cloud-based communication services, unlocking endless new applications for calling, messaging and phone numbers.

Symbio is the backbone for the global cloud communication industry. Over 500 service providers - from telecom start-ups to the world's biggest software companies - rely on Symbio for the connectivity, quality and expertise they need to solve complex communication challenges.

Headquartered in Sydney, Symbio powers billions of calls and messages each year, owns networks in three countries and employs over 450 staff worldwide.

For more information about Symbio visit www.symbio.global


Partnership with Planet Innovation

Melbourne, Sep 15, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Bluechiip Limited ( ASX:BCT ), a leader in the development of sample tracking technology for harsh environments, today announced the signing of two agreements with Planet Innovation (PI), winner of BRW Australia's Most Innovative Company for the last two years.



Key points:



- Non-exclusive License and Supply agreement



- Master Services Agreement



Mr Andrew McLellan, Bluechiip's Managing Director & CEO, said: "Today's announcement crystallizes a relationship that has grown over the last year.



BCT now has an Australian innovation leader that works with international partners taking a position in our company on multiple fronts. This will allow BCT and its technology to be more rapidly adapted both for our growing pipeline of opportunities and for the partners we already have in place."



Under the Agreements, the parties will jointly pursue projects where PI's development and commercialization capabilities will be used to create innovative solutions that integrate Bluechiip's patented, wireless tracking technology. BCT also gains access to PI's extensive customer network in the medical devices market.



The addressable market for BCT's and PI's combined capabilities address biomedical and other markets that have a broad and rapidly growing need to track, monitor and store samples in cryogenic conditions at temperatures down to -196C.



Principal terms of the agreements:



License Agreement



- Bluechiip grants a non-exclusive license to Planet Innovation to develop products that integrate Bluechiip's technology in the field of systems and devices for the handling, storage or monitoring of medical or biological products or samples. This excludes the field of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) where BCT already has an agreement with Genea Biomedx.



- Bluechiip's sells its technology to Planet Innovation including tags, readers and software.



- Planet Innovation commits to minimum annual development expenditure, alternatively to minimum annual purchasing obligations.



Master Service Agreement



- Bluechiip grants a non-exclusive license to Planet Innovation to develop products that integrate Bluechiip's technology and to sell those newly developed products



- A mutual right for each party to engage the other to develop technology for and on behalf of the other



- Bluechiip retains all rights in its core technology and intellectual property



The agreement with PI is non-exclusive, in line with BCT's previously announced agreements with the Chinese CDC and its trial agreement in the USA auto ID and Data Capture industry.



BCT's only exclusive agreement is with Genea Biomedx in the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) market.



About Planet Innovation:



Planet Innovation exists to develop and commercialize products that have a positive impact on the world. It provides technology innovation, product development and commercialization expertise to companies around the world and focusses on the biomedical and hi-tech industries. Formed in 2009 by Stuart Elliott, Managing Director, and three other globally experienced biomedical executives, PI believes that a commercial focus is the key to successful product development. These 'commercially-focussed' principles have been the cornerstone of PI's rapid growth and success.



Based in Melbourne, Australia, PI employs over 180 dedicated professionals and was rated Australia's Most Innovative Company by the Australian Financial Review in 2016, 2015 and 2013. PI works with both start-ups and multi-national companies including many of the world's largest diagnostic companies.



Further information is available at:

http://www.planetinnovation.com.au





About Bluechiip Limited





Bluechiip Ltd (ASX:BCT) understands that every sample - stem cells, blood, eggs, sperm and other biospecimens - is critical, so our objective is to manage each one with optimal quality in the most efficient way. Bluechiip's advanced management solution is the only one that provides sample temperature with ID in cryogenic environments to. Most importantly, this delivers confidence in every sample.

Bluechiip's unique patented technology is a MEMS-based wireless tracking solution that contains no electronics. It represents a generational change from current tracking methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D), and Radio Frequency Identification. Bluechiip tags are either embedded or manufactured into storage products such as vials or bags. Each product can be easily identified, and critical information such as sample temperature, is detected by readers and stored in the Bluechiip software. In addition to functioning in extreme temperatures, the Bluechiip(R) Advanced Sample management solution can survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting.

Bluechiip's technology has applications in healthcare, including in cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories), pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Other key markets include cold-chain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation.

Bluechiip: Delivering confidence in every sample.
ACAs library of educational tools help members improve their business practices. ACA also holds the most popular industry conferences and offers credentialing for collectors, attorneys, and more. ACAs Training Zone subscription gives agencies access to almost all of our education for one low cost.
The Internal Revenue Service may have inadvertently disclosed sensitive taxpayer information in response to Freedom of Information Act requests in violation of taxpayer rights, according to a new report.

The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, is issued annually to examine whether the IRS is responding properly to FOIA requests. However, the issue has taken on greater importance this year in light of the presidential election, with a Democratic super PAC filing a FOIA request last month with the IRS for copies of Donald Trumps tax correspondence (see Democrats File FOIA Request for Trumps IRS Correspondence). This week, the media company Vice News filed suit against the IRS for failing to respond to a FOIA request for copies of the agencys audits of Trumps tax returns.

For the TIGTA report, auditors reviewed a statistical sample of 60 information requests out of 2,720 FOIA requests and found seven (that is, 11.7 percent) in which taxpayer rights may have been violated. The report acknowledged the IRS properly released thousands of pages from these documents, but taxpayer rights may have been violated because the information requests had some information erroneously withheld. TIGTA also chose a statistical sample of 55 information requests under Section 6103 of the Tax Code, which governs confidentiality and disclosure of tax returns and return information, and found the IRS adequately provided information for all of those requests.

However, with the IRSs tight budget, FOIA requests were delayed. The number of backlogged FOIA requests increased for the third straight year, though TIGTA found that responses to all of the FOIA requests in its sample were issued on a timely basis. There are no statutory timeframes within which the IRS must respond to taxpayers Section 6103 information requests, but the IRS requires its disclosure specialists to provide a status report to the requestors if their requests are not completed within 30 business days. For nine (that is, 16.4 percent) of the 55 Section 6103 information requests reviewed by TIGTA, the IRS took more than 30 business days to provide a status report to the requestor. According to the IRS, the cases identified by TIGTA in which requestors did not hear about the status of their FOIA requests on a timely basis could have been caused by an oversight by caseworkers when completing their reviews.

In addition, disclosure specialists at the IRS inadvertently disclosed sensitive taxpayer information in two instances when they responded to FOIA requests. Finally, based on a sample of 19 information requests received by the IRSs Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division under Section 6104 of the Tax Code, which governs publicity of information from certain tax-exempt organizations and trusts, TIGTA found the information requests were processed on a timely basis and no sensitive information was inadvertently disclosed.

TIGTA made no recommendations in the report, but IRS officials reviewed the report before it was issued and agreed with its facts and conclusions.

The IRS remains committed to openness in government to ensure public trust and to support the ideals of transparency, public participation and collaboration, wrote Edward T. Killen, director of privacy, governmental liaison and disclosure at the IRS. We appreciate your recognition of the positive steps taken by the IRS to operate an effective Freedom of Information Act program and as always, we will continue to work towards improving the processing of information requests in a timely and quality manner. Although there were no recommendations cited in the report, it is important for the public to understand our offices process and release hundreds of thousands of pages during each fiscal year. The cases identified with errors involved the release of 15,660 pages of records. Of those 15,660 pages, only 124 pages had errors in under or over withholding.
(Bloomberg) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has dropped a major tax cut for businesses organized as pass-through entities, including partnerships, from his tax overhaul proposals, according to the latest version of those plans.

The change will make Trumps plan much less favorable for private-equity partners, hedge fund managers and others who receive income from partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations. Such entities dont pay income taxes themselves, but pass their earnings through to their owners, who are taxed at individual rates.

Trump had previously touted the proposal for a 15 percent tax rate on income from partnerships and limited liability companies as a boon for small businessbut many hedge funds, private equity firms and other large-scale businesses also use pass-through structures. Because the current top individual tax rate is 39.6 percent, some high-earning individuals might have gotten a major tax cut under the plan.

Economic Club

A version of Trumps plan released on Thursday, in conjunction with a speech the candidate delivered to the Economic Club of New York, made no mention of the proposed pass-through rate. And Alan Cole, an economist with the Washington-based Tax Foundation, said Trumps campaign told him via e-mail that, going forward, the 15 percent rate only applies to businesses that are taxed as corporations.

Corporations currently pay a top statutory income tax rate of 35 percent. Cole and others at the right-leaning tax-policy group have helped evaluate Trumps tax plan, including by gauging possible changes to it at the campaigns request.

Cole said that Trumps pass-through plan had been criticized by his Democratic competitor, Hillary Clinton. Scrapping the measure gets more revenue without substantial costs to the common good, he said. It also removes an incentive for people to reorganize themselves as pass-throughs to avoid taxesrelabeling income without changing its naturehe said.

Trumps campaign didnt respond to requests for comment. One of his advisers, economist Stephen Moore, told Bloomberg News in August that Trump was considering changes to the pass-through plan to prevent high-income individuals from trying to scam the system.

Working-Class Pitch

During his speech Thursday, Trump sought to portray his plan as beneficial to working-class Americans more than high earners. It wont even be close, he said. By eliminating the 15 percent rate for pass-through income, he removed a major boon for high earners. More than two-thirds of all pass-through income flows to the top 1 percent of tax filers, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning research group.

Clintons campaign kept up its criticism of Trumps proposals. Jacob Leibenluft, a senior policy adviser to Clinton, said the plan would benefit Trump at the expense of millions of hardworking folks across our country who deserve the opportunity at a better future. He also criticized the Republican for not releasing any of his personal tax returns. Clinton has released several years worth.

Trump has said he wont release the returns now because hes under an audit by the Internal Revenue Serviceand that hell release them once the audit concludes. Its unclear whether that will happen before the Nov. 8 election. IRS officials have said theres no rule barring individuals from releasing returns that are under audit. Tax specialists say doing so would subject Trumps returns to public scrutiny that may find issues the auditors have missed.

Carried Interest

The latest version of Trumps plan retains his plan to tax carried interestthat is, the portion of investment profits paid to investment managersas ordinary income instead of at the 23.8 percent rate that applies to capital gains. The effect of that promise, which would increase taxes for many investment managers, had been unclear before Trump scrapped the special rate for pass-through entities. Clinton also proposes to eliminate the carried-interest tax break.

Dynamic Scoring

Trumps campaign on Thursday released additional details of his tax plan, which he called a $4.4 trillion tax cutreferring to the revenue cost of the plan over 10 years. But under so-called dynamic scoring, a method that analyzes the cost of policy proposals by trying to predict their effects on employment, investment and spending over time, Trump said his tax plan would cost $2.6 trillion over a decade. Dynamic scoring is controversial among economists, who disagree on its accuracy.

Our economic team has further modeled that the growth-induced savings from trade, energy and regulation reform will shave at least another $1.8 trillion off the remaining cost, Trump said, leaving about $800 billion in lost revenue over the decade. This money can all be saved through simple, common-sense reforms, he said.

Penny Plan

Trump called for cutting 1 percent of spending on non-defense and non-entitlement programs. Trump has previously expressed support for the so-called penny plan, which calls for repeating such cuts over a number of years. Trump said the cuts would amount to savings of almost $1 trillion over the next decade.

His campaign also filled in some additional details on Trumps plan, which has evolved over the past 12 months. They include:

 Three tax rates to replace the existing seven. They are 12 percent for individuals earning as much as $37,500 and couples earning as much as $75,000; 25 percent for individuals earning between $37,500 and $112,500 and couples earning between $75,000 and $225,000; and 33 percent for individuals earning more than $112,500 and couples earning more than $225,000.

 More than doubling the standard deduction, which is mostly used by middle-class tax filers, to $15,000 for individuals and $30,000 for couples. The current standard deduction is $6,300 for individuals and $12,600 for married couples. The new proposal scales back from Trumps original plan, which had almost quadrupled the standard deductions value.

The campaign provided new details on the childcare affordability plan that Trump released on Tuesday. The plan offers annual deductions to middle-income and high-income parents for average childcare expenses, which vary widely by state and region, and annual rebates to low-income parents of as much as $1,200. The campaign said Thursday that the plan will cover only children under the age of 13.
Is ADHD a Disability?

Yes. Whether you view attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as neurological  affecting how the brain concentrates or thinks  or consider ADHD as a disability that impacts working, there is no question that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers individuals with ADHD. (Likewise, students with ADHD are protected by state and national laws guaranteeing them a free and appropriate public education.)

Adults with ADHD have certain rights that protect them in the workplace. But just what are these rights? How do you make the most of them? Here, we get legal answers from Robin Bond, a Philadelphia-based attorney, who has more than a decade of experience in employment law and who serves as an advisor to the national Attention Deficit Disorder Association.

Are Individuals with ADHD Legally Protected at Work?

For adults, the basic protection is the ADA. This federal law, enacted in 1990 and amended in 2008, forbids companies with more than 15 employees from discriminating against disabled workers and requires these companies to make accommodations for these workers.

The ADA is essentially a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual. The law goes on to state that major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, bending, speaking, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.

There is also a separate section of the ADA that further discusses what is included in the definition of disability under the law by listing the bodily systems that are affected, which include: neurological [and] brain systems

[Free Download: Choosing Your Best Career]

However, the ADA does not apply to members of the armed forces. For employees of the executive branch of the federal government, federal contractors, and employees of programs receiving federal funds, the ADA does not apply. Instead, employees are protected by The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is very similar to the ADA and was the law upon which the ADA was originally based.

Do Employees with ADHD Have Rights if They Work for a Company with Fewer Than 15 Workers?

Possibly, many cities and states have laws that mirror the ADA and cover smaller employers and even independent contractors.

Who Decides if ADHD Is a Disability?

Most often a note from a doctor confirming an ADHD diagnosis and, ideally, noting the kinds of accommodations needed to level the playing field at work will meet this requirement.

Note that the employer is not entitled to request full medical records, just what is needed to verify a diagnosis of ADHD and the need to accommodate it. Not all employers seek this formal confirmation of disability; many simply discuss with an employee the nature of their disability and the limitations they face as a result. This informal conversation would include a discussion of reasonable and effective accommodations.

Is My Employer Required to Provide Every Accommodation I Want?

Not quite. The law requires reasonable accommodations. These are things that dont pose an undue hardship to the employer  things that arent outrageously expensive or burdensome to the business.

[Self-Test: Do I Have ADHD?]

What is reasonable will differ from job to job, but some of the most common reasonable accommodations for ADHD include the following:

 Providing a quiet workspace

 Allowing noise-canceling headphones or white noise

 Working from home some or all of the time

 Taking allotted breaks as needed

 Minimizing marginal functions to allow focus on essential job duties

 Allowing assistive technology (timers, apps, calendars, etc.)

 Adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies

 Reassignment to a vacant position

 Job restructuring

What ADHD Accommodations Are Unreasonable at Work?

It depends on the situation and the size of the company. Whats reasonable to expect from a multinational corporation might cause undue hardship for a small business. Lets say youre not a morning person, and that you say to your boss, I need to come in at 10 a.m., but Ill work until 7 p.m. If the office does all of its business from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., your request probably wont fly. Given the demands of the business, it may not be reasonable. Or lets say that the only way you can stay organized is to have your own secretary. If the company has a firm policy of one secretary for every three workers, that accommodation may also be seen as unreasonable.

Should I Tell My Employer, I Have ADHD. You Have to Give Me Accommodations?

It is up to the individual to reveal their ADHD. Often, you can get what you need without mentioning it. For example, you might say, Im really bothered by noise. I would be more effective and efficient if my office werent quite so close to the copier.

However, an employee must reveal their ADHD to be covered by the ADA. Several courts have already ruled that, in these situations, lack of knowledge of the condition or of how the disability may affect the employee may be used as a legitimate defense for the employer.

Also, an employer or potential employer cannot ask questions about your medical or psychiatric history. The only exception is if an applicant asks for reasonable accommodation for the hiring process. If the need for this accommodation is not obvious, an employer may ask an applicant for reasonable documentation about the covered disability.

What if My Boss Refuses to Provide ADHD Accommodations?

Consider hiring a coach to keep your work on track. And ask the boss again a few weeks later. If that isnt practical or successful, talk with the companys HR department. If that is not helpful and you want to take further action to ensure you receive accommodations, you can bring a claim before the appropriate agency.

If the employees claim is against a private employer with 15 or more employees, contact the federal U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If the EEOC dismisses the complaint or fails to take action within 180 days, the EEOC will issue the employee a right to sue letter, upon request, and then you may file a lawsuit within 90 days of the date of the notice.

If an employee is making a claim against a public entity, such as an arm of a state or local government, you can bring the complaint to the EEOC or the U.S. Department of Justice, which shares enforcement in these situations.

An employee may have up to 300 days to file a charge if there is a state or local law that provides relief for discrimination on the basis of disability. However, to protect the employees rights, it is best to contact EEOC promptly if discrimination is suspected.

To file a charge of discrimination on the basis of disability, contact any EEOC field office, located in cities throughout the United States. To contact the EEOC, call (800) 669-4000 for more information.

Note: Many states and cities have prohibitions against employment disability discrimination and claims can be filed with either a city or state agency.

Should I Document the Whole Story?

Thats a good idea. Carry a notebook, and, when difficulties start, take notes: The boss said Id better not come late to the next meeting, or Jack made fun of my difficulty finding papers. One thing you dont want to do is enter your notes on a company computer  or leave them in your office.

Is the Next Step See You in Court?

Thats the last step. Negotiation is better than litigation and far less costly. The first thing is to sit down with your employer and try to work things out. Thus far, there have been only about a dozen cases in which an employee with ADHD sued his employer  and not one of these suits has been successful for the employee. Of course, the mere threat of legal action may be all thats needed to get an employer to take your situation seriously. No employer wants to be the test case that leads to the first big ADHD employee victory!

Is ADHD a Disability? Next Steps

SUPPORT ADDITUDE

Thank you for reading ADDitude. To support our mission of providing ADHD education and support, please consider subscribing. Your readership and support help make our content and outreach possible. Thank you.
Carl F. Bucherer, the fine Swiss watch manufacturer, is launching a fresh brand campaign with the Indian Supermodel and actress Lisa Haydon. The campaign, shot by celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar, celebrates the mood of the classy and sophisticated timepieces from Carl F. Bucherer and presents Lisa in the same spirit. Lisa Haydon, who has been a brand ambassador for Carl F. Bucherer for the last few years, has been known and praised for her work in the Indian fashion and film industry. Her much appreciated role in the movie Queen garnered her a nomination for the Best Supporting actress at the Filmfare awards, among other accolades.

The background of the strong visual forms a beautiful contrast to Lisa Haydon being photographed: a picture of the brands terroir Lucerne, surrounding Lake Lucerne. Physically painted in a baroque style, the art work pays due reverence to Carl F. Bucherers precious heritage considering the baroque influences in architecture that mark the brands exuberant hometown. Exuding the same international appeal that makes her synonymous to Carl F Bucherer, Lisa comes from a rich lineage born to an Indian father and Australian mother having being brought in India, Australia and USA. Fully dressed in white, the strong modern woman visually stands out from the glowing golden background  a harmonious play with the brands iconic colors. Closely tied with the brands terroir, Lisa Haydon represents what it stands for and the values shared: free spirit, creative power of its origins and savoir-faire.

Sascha Moeri, CEO of Carl F. Bucherer explains: Lisa Haydon has been an absolute delight to work with for the last few years. She embodies our brand philosophy and what our watches stand for, perfectly well. Its very important for our brand ambassador to resonate the same values as our brand does.

Lisa has held Carl F. Bucherer in high esteem for many years, wearing the brands exquisite ladies watches at numerous events. Every time I wear a Carl F.Bucherer watch, I can very much feel the history, the pride, the love and the craftsmanship that has gone in making each piece. Each watch is bespoke and original from the other. I love my Pathos Diva and Alacria for the evening but the ScubaTech is what you can wear almost everywhere. Its a great Swimming watch, its apt for a workout, its quite a useful one. The Campaign is all about capturing the timelessness and sophistication of Carl F. Bucherer timepieces. Through this campaign we have tried to capture the DNA of these beautifully crafted watches. commented Lisa Haydon.

Celebrated fashion photographer, Atul Kasbekar who curated the entire campaign further adds, Bringing together Lisa and Carl F. Bucherer for this special campaign is a match made in heaven. The time pieces have a unique personality which I have tried to capture basis the mood and look with Lisa bringing to life the Made of Lucerne essence that defines Carl F. Bucherer.

It is this source that inspires the Swiss watch manufacturer to create luxury watches of the highest manufacturing quality, best known for skillfully combining passion with an unmistakable style of exquisite refinement since 1888. Made of Lucerne. The campaign will release in India and Middle East via a multimedia approach, which primarily will include print and online advertising as well as videos to be used for social media and at the various points of sale as well.
The newly elected Executive Council of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) met on September 14, 2016. Mr. Sunil Kataria, Business Head - India and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, was elected Chairman of the ISA.

Sunil, as an active member of the Executive Council, has been lending robust support to the ISA while his colleagues from Marketing and Media have been active in different committees of the ISA. On his election as the Chairman of ISA, Sunil said Our focus would be to further strengthen the industry partnerships that we have built over decades and deliver the desired benefit to the advertisers and other stake holders. I am confident that advertisers have promising times ahead. I look forward to working with industry partners and fraternity associations as a team and make this a credible, meaningful and business impacting eco system"

ISA is the only national body giving a voice to advertisers over the last 60 years. It has advertiser members from across industries who approximately contribute to over two-thirds of the annual national non-governmental ad spends. ISA, which is a founder member of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and one of the founders of ASCI, continues to partner with other industry bodies that connect to the advertisers. The ISA played a significant role in formation of BARC and is closely partnering with it towards advertisers getting robust and credible data.The Executive Council and members of the ISA thanked the outgoing Chairman Saugata Gupta for his substantial contribution to ISA. Saugata on his part re-assured ISA Maricos continuous support and participation.

Other members of the Executive Council are:

Mr. Atul Agrawal, Senior Vice President  Corporate Affairs, Group Corporate Communications, Tata Services Limited,

Ms. Anuradha Aggarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico Limited

Mr. Abraham Mathew Alapatt, President & Group Head-Marketing, Service Quality, Financial Services & Innovation,

Thomas Cook (India) Limited

Mr. Narendra Ambwani, Director, Agro Tech Foods Limited

Mr. Ajoy H. Chawla, Sr. Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Titan Company Limited

Ms. Paulomi Dhawan, Advisor, Raymond Limited

Ms. Sonali Dhawan, Brand Director, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Limited

Mr. Chandru Kalro, Managing Director, TTK Prestige Limited

Mr. Sandeep Kataria, Director  Commercial, Vodafone India Limited

Mr. Sandeep Kaul, Divisional Chief Executive  India Tobacco Division, ITC Limited

Mr. Sandeep Kohli, Executive Director  Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Limited

Ms. Beena Koshy, Executive Vice President, Advertising, Digital & Branding, Bajaj Electrical Limited

Mr. Bharat V. Patel, Independent Director, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Ltd.

Mr. Prashant Richard Peres, Director Marketing Chocolate, India, Mondelez India Foods Private Limited

Mr. Ramakrishnan Ramamurthi, Vice Chairman, Joint MD & Group CEO, Polycab Wires Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Samardeep Sunil Subandh, Chief Marketing Officer, Flipkart Internet Private Limited

Mr. Amit Tiwari, Director, Philips India Limited

Mr. Brahm Vasudeva, Chairman, Hawkins Cookers Limited
comScore, in its latest global validation study, has verified the predictive accuracy of Xaxis industry leading data management platform (DMP), Turbine. comScore found Turbine outperforms its benchmark in accurately predicting consumer purchase intent and interests across its proprietary, real-time audience segments.

The result highlights Xaxis understanding of consumer intent and ability to decipher complex in-market purchase signals to increase engagement throughout the consumer journey. Xaxis and comScore plan to work on an ongoing basis continually verifying the veracity and performance characteristics of Xaxis Turbine audiences.

In the study, comScore assessed Xaxis segments for accuracy by validating Turbines audience data against the 1.9 trillion interactions observed by comScores global monthly census. The comScore validation adds an additional layer of value to Turbines proprietary audience segments, ensuring they reach the intended targets across all addressable media including mobile, display, social, online video, connected TV, Internet radio and digital out of home.

Turbine provides Xaxis clients with a true understanding of a consumers position within their consumer lifecycle and enables brands to engage with audiences at precisely the right moment across devices, said Jon Whitticom, VP of Data and Audiences at Xaxis. comScores findings validate our proprietary methods of modelling, scoring and refreshing audience segments in real-time. As we continue to innovate in data science, our ongoing partnership will bring an extra level of rigor to our overall testing and R&D efforts.

One of the greatest opportunities for digital advertisers is to reach their audiences with extreme accuracy and deliver customised messages to both their current and potential customers, said Gian Fulgoni, Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus at comScore. Xaxis is to be commended for its willingness to test their targeting accuracy level. By validating its audience segments against comScores independent third-party data, Xaxis is giving its clients greater confidence that they do indeed reach their desired audiences through accurate targeting capabilities.

The Xaxis advantage is in providing our clients with higher performing and more effective solutions, said Brian Gleason, Global CEO of Xaxis. Were pleased by the results of the study, which has validated the accuracy of our segmentation around the globe, and look forward to working with comScore to continue to push our capabilities to new heights.

Xaxis Turbine DMP continually responds to changes in behaviour patterns inferred from more than 1 trillion non-personally identifiable data points to create proprietary audience segments that can be actioned across all addressable media. Through Xaxis close relationships with the worlds largest media companies, Turbine ingests more audience data than any other DMP in the industry.
Regulatory News:

BONE THERAPEUTICS (Brussels:BOTHE) (Paris:BOTHE) (Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the bone cell therapy company addressing high unmet medical needs in bone fracture repair, fracture prevention and spinal fusion, today announces that it has received a positive ruling regarding the application of the Belgian Patent Income Deduction (PID).

Under this favourable regime, 80% of all revenues from patents relating to its products PREOB and ALLOB plus two other earlier-stage products, MXBTM and JTATM, will be exempt from Belgian income tax. PREOB and ALLOB are currently in phase II and phase III clinical trials for a variety of indications including osteoporosis, delayed-union, spinal fusion and osteonecrosis. The 80% exemption results in a net effective tax rate of 6.8% before incorporation of losses carried forward and tax credits.

The PID regime allows for exemption of 80% of revenues resulting from:

Licensing income received through license agreements under the form of upfront payments, milestone payments, royalties or other payments relating to the granting of a license on the patents for which the ruling was obtained.

Technology embedded royalties integrated into the sales price of products covered by patents for which a ruling was obtained.

Following the notification of a positive ruling on the application of the Belgian PID regime, the Belgian Parliament subsequently approved a new law which has the effect of guaranteeing that Bone Therapeutics would be eligible to benefit from this regime up to 30 June 2021. New legislation is pending that will further align Belgian Law with current OECD directives. This new legislation will apply to patent income resulting from patents requested after 30 June 2016.

Wim Goemaere, Chief Financial Officer of Bone Therapeutics, said: We welcome this ruling which enables Bone Therapeutics to benefit from the highly advantageous PID regime potential licensing revenues received up to 30 June 2021. The Belgian PID regime recognises the importance of encouraging and rewarding innovation by Belgian companies like Bone Therapeutics. We believe schemes such as this are of major benefit to our shareholders and to our ability to continue to invest in the discovery and development of ground-breaking technologies and products which can meet the needs of patients around the world.

About Bone Therapeutics

Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotechnology company specializing in the development of cell therapy products intended for bone fracture repair and fracture prevention. The current standard-of-care in this field involves major surgeries and long recovery periods. To overcome these problems, Bone Therapeutics is developing a range of innovative regenerative products containing osteoblastic/bone-forming cells, administrable via a minimally invasive percutaneous technique; a unique proposition in the market.

PREOB, Bone Therapeutics autologous bone cell product, is currently in pivotal Phase IIB/III clinical studies for two indications: osteonecrosis and non-union fractures, and in Phase II for severe osteoporosis. ALLOB, its allogeneic off-the-shelf bone cell product, is in Phase II for the treatment of delayed-union fractures and lumbar fusion for degenerative disease of the spine, including a minimally invasive therapy for failed spinal fusions. The Company also runs preclinical research programs and develops novel product candidates.

Founded in 2006, Bone Therapeutics is headquartered in Gosselies (South of Brussels, Belgium). Bone Therapeutics regenerative products are manufactured to the highest GMP standards and are protected by a rich IP estate covering 11 patent families. Further information is available at: www.bonetherapeutics.com.

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such persons officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Bone Therapeutics S.A.  Rue Auguste Piccard, 37  6041 Gosselies  Belgium (Europe)  Phone: +32 (0) 2 529 59 90  Fax: +32 (0) 2 529 59 93  www.bonetherapeutics.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006324/en/

For further information, please contact:

Bone Therapeutics SA

Enrico Bastianelli, Chief Executive Officer

Wim Goemaere, Chief Financial Officer

+32 (0)2 529 59 90

investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com

or

For Belgium and International Media Enquiries:

Consilium Strategic Communications

Jonathan Birt, Jessica Hodgson, Lindsey Neville and Hendrik Thys, +44 (0) 20 3709 5701

bonetherapeutics@consilium-comms.com

or

For French Media and Investor Enquiries:

NewCap Investor Relations & Financial Communications

Pierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Nicolas Merigeau, + 33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

bone@newcap.eu
Two Leading Organizations Collaborate on Innovative Program to Reduce Length of Stay and Alleviate Emergency Department Overcrowding

Multi-specialty clinical staffing expert CEP America is expanding its partnership with Swedish Edmonds, located north of Seattle, to offer an innovative program that integrates a new Short-Stay unit, Urgent Care facility and the Emergency Department (ED). This integrated model will leverage the close collaboration between CEP Americas physicians and the Swedish medical team to effectively reduce length of stay (LOS) for patients, optimize bed allocation, and ensure faster admission of patients to help ease ED overcrowding.

The new program integrates the existing ED program, already staffed by CEP clinical staff, and adds the 10-bed Short-Stay unit created specifically for patients who require brief stays for extended observation, but who will not need admittance. This blended model will enable a rapid diagnosis so that patients receive appropriate targeted care, and can be discharged as soon as their clinical conditions are resolved.

We have developed a strong relationship with the providers and leadership of CEP and our concept for the Short Stay unit is a result of creative collaboration between our two organizations that share a common goal of providing extraordinary care for our community, said Jennifer Graves, chief executive, Swedish Edmonds. Together, we are also developing meaningful strategies to alleviate bottlenecks in the emergency care chain, create options that allow for same day access that is cost effective for our patients while ensuring they receive timely, appropriate and effective care.

The new Urgent Care includes a state-of-the-art digital x-ray and a design feature that places workstations with line-of-sight to exam rooms so that providers can easily check on patients. There is also a quickcare consult room for those injuries or illnesses that do not require an exam table. To further increase efficiency for patients, workflow processes have been established so that patients are greeted by a provider, placed in the appropriate room and promptly triaged.

Urgent Care is an important service providing convenient, quality care for those patients with acute illnesses and injuries, said Sherry Barber, director of operations, Primary Care, Swedish Medical Group. With this Urgent Care Clinic, we will reduce wait times for patients as well as ED overcrowding.

The program is also designed to reduce LOS to less than 24 hours for low-acuity patients; about half of the 48-hour maximum observation services time allowed by Medicare to determine whether the patient should be discharged or admitted. With Medicare now closely monitoring time to admit, programs such as this are becoming increasingly important for reimbursement, as well as for patient satisfaction measures.

Working together, CEP America hospitalists (who will serve as the observational gatekeeper) and Swedish Edmonds physicians will utilize best practice and outcomes-based criteria to decrease unnecessary hospital admissions while most importantly ensuring patient care is efficiently given at the right level and the right time.

This is a tremendous opportunity for CEP to support the Swedish medical staff and to provide next level care for the Swedish community, said Denise Brown, MD, vice president of Practice Development at CEP America. We are a solution provider focused on bringing creative, customized, team-based solutions to provide high quality patient care. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Swedish and to bringing better and more efficient care to the community.

Swedish Edmonds is part of Providence St. Joseph Health, a not-for-profit Catholic health care system, with 50 hospitals, 829 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 100,000 caregivers (employees) serving communities across seven states  Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

About Swedish Medical Center

Founded in 1910, Swedish is the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area. It is comprised of five hospital campuses (First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, Edmonds and Issaquah); ambulatory care centers in Redmond and Mill Creek; and Swedish Medical Group, a network of more than 100 primary-care and specialty clinics located throughout the Greater Puget Sound area. In addition to general medical and surgical care including robotic-assisted surgery, Swedish is known as a regional referral center, providing specialized treatment in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer care, neuroscience, orthopedics, high-risk obstetrics, pediatric specialties, organ transplantation and clinical research. In 2015, Swedish provided more than $175 million in community benefit in Western Washington. For more information, visit www.swedish.org, www.facebook.com/swedishmedicalcenter, or www.twitter.com/swedish.

About CEP America

CEP America is an independent physicianowned partnership, focused on delivering exceptional care for patients across the acute care continuum. Since its founding in 1975, CEP America has expanded nationally, delivering integrated services that span urgent, emergent, inpatient, post-acute, and peri-operative settings. Today, CEP America includes over 3,150 providers treating 6.3 million patients a year at over 250 practices. Visit www.cepamerica.com. Follow CEP America on Twitter at twitter.com/CEP_America.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005381/en/

Scott Public Relations

Brenna Harrington, 770-338-035

brenna@scottpublicrelations.com


September and October 2016 will find Electric Imp, a global platform provider for Internet of Things (IoT) secure connectivity and application enablement, speaking at major industry and partner conferences across the United States, Europe and Asia. Electric Imp executives Hugo Fiennes, CEO and co-founder, and Oliver Hutaff, CFO and COO, will share insights and deep expertise at the conferences. They will also join expert panels with executives from Eaton Corporation, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and other industry experts to discuss security in utility-scale energy management, industrial IoT security, and the business behind making things smarter.

The events include:

IoT Design Conference by Electronics Weekly

When: September 15, 2016

Where: CodeNode in London, England

Session: Ruling out WiFi for battery-powered sensors? Maybe you shouldn't...

The IoT Design Conference 2016 will present real-world examples of embedded hardware running secure software and how it transforms new and even existing applications into IoT applications, opening new and exciting business opportunities for OEMs and suppliers.

In Fiennes session, he will share considerations for lightweight sensing in the IoT and provide insight into the demands of a secure, natively cloud-connected edge device. Fiennes will also present an open reference design for a multi-sensor platform.

Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), West Coast Security Forum

When: October 6, 2016

Where: RTI Headquarters Sunnyvale, California, USA

Fiennes joins a distinguished panel of experts from ABB, Belden, Infineon Technologies and Rubicon Labs to discuss The Business Viewpoint of Securing the Industrial Internet. Electric Imp is an active member of the IIC, which is an international not-for-profit consortium setting the architectural framework and direction for the Industrial Internet. The IICs West Coast Security Forum is a complementary public forum that features networking, in-depth panels, expert presentations and live demonstrations.

IoT Security Summit

When: October 17-19, 2016

Where: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Session: October 18 at 13:40, How utilities are changing home energy management.

Fiennes joins industry experts Ron Thompson, Director of Business Development for Innovation/Emerging Markets at Eaton, and Dr. Mark Duvall, Director Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles Power Delivery & Utilization for Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to discuss How utilities are changing home energy management.

The IoT Security Summit is billed as the only conference dedicated to IoT Security, Privacy and Blockchain. Attendees represent business and technology Chief Information Security Officers, technology and business executives from some of the worlds largest corporations.

Demonstrations:

Electric Imp secure IoT solutions for Energy and Smart Buildings showcased at booth 313.

Lux Executive Summit Asia

When: October 18-19, 2016

Where: Tokyo, Japan

Hutaff will share business benefits and customer success stories of disruptive technologies and how they deliver the real-world IoT implementations and their results from IoT. The 2016 Lux Executive Summits are invitation-only events that bring together executives from some of the worlds largest companies, people responsible for innovation, new business development, and corporate strategy at leading multi-national corporations, along with selected leading entrepreneurs, policymakers, venture investors, and financiers.

About Electric Imp

Electric Imp offers an innovative and powerful Internet of Things (IoT) platform that securely connects devices with advanced cloud computing resources. Our mission is to transform the world through the power of connectivity. Electric Imp provides a unique solution - featuring fully integrated hardware, OS, security, provisioning, APIs and cloud services - that dramatically decreases cost and time to market while increasing security, scalability and flexibility. More than 100 companies are using Electric Imps IoT Connectivity Platform as the secure interoperability layer powering commercial and industrial applications involving potentially millions of connected devices.

Electric Imp, founded in 2011, is located in Los Altos, California and Cambridge, England. For more, visit https://electricimp.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006372/en/

Gardner Media Collective

Nina Foley, +1 312-882-7876

nina@gardnermediacollective.com
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ralphs Grocery Company is bringing the ultimate Italian foodie experience to its customers.

From September 14 to September 27, Ralphs stores across Southern California will be inviting customers to experience locally-sourced ingredients and authentic Italian fare as part of the supermarket company's latest foodie event - Savor World Flavor: Taste of Italy.

Taste of Italy will feature samples, recipe ideas, new food products, buy-one-get-one-free offers and events that bring a taste of Italian culture to nearly 200 Ralphs supermarkets from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

Select stores will host educational "Crack the Parm" events. On September 17 at 12 p.m. Ralphs cheese specialists will demonstrate how to crack a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel weighing nearly 80 pounds in the Murray's Cheese departments at the following Ralphs stores:

26901 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo

7140 Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad

380 E. 17 th St., Costa Mesa

St., 32555 Golden Lantern, Dana Point

3455 Del mar Heights Rd., Del Mar

17840 Ventura Blvd., Encino

7257 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

5241 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach

49908 Jefferson St., Indio

5345 Alton Parkway, Irvine

521 W. Foothill Blvd. La Canada

2675 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta

6290 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach

645 W. 9 th St., Los Angeles

St., 260 S. La Brea Blvd., Los Angeles

12057 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

23841 W. Malibu Rd., Malibu

2700 Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach

4700 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey

2555 East Bluff Dr., Newport Beach

10900 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood

19781 Rinaldi St., Northridge

1733 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs

10525 4S Commons Dr., San Diego

11875 Carmel Mountain Rd., San Diego

101 G St., San Diego

5680 Mission Center Rd., San Diego

1020 University Ave., San Diego

14049 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks

10901 Ventura Blvd., Studio City

13321 Jamboree Rd., Tustin

14440 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys

910 Lincoln Blvd., Venice

10861 Weyburn, Westwood

21909 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills

The cracking events will be followed with recipes, tastings and suggestions for enjoying this nutty, savory cheese.

Ralphs continues to expand its internationally-inspired product offerings under the exclusive HemisFares brand, which debuted with the company's first Taste of Italy event last fall. In conjunction with the most current Taste of Italy event, HemisFares will introduce Italian favorites including antipasti jars, flavored oils, gelato, and new pastas and pasta sauces.

Ralphs, along with its parent company, Kroger, will host a national Twitter party at 3 p.m. EST on Saturday, September 17, for customers to learn more about Italian cuisine and culture. To participate, follow @kroger on Twitter.

This is Ralphs' fourth Savor World Flavor event, which has included Taste of Mexico in 2014, Taste of Italy in 2015 and Taste of Spain earlier this year. For more details, including recipes and an easy-to-use, authentic meal planning experience, "How to Eat Like an Italian", please visit www.italianworldflavor.com.

About Ralphs Grocery Company

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 198 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. Last year, Ralphs contributed more than $6 million to support education, hunger relief, women's health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company's stores. Ralphs is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation's largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more about Ralphs, please visit our web site at www.ralphs.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407941

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130715/LA47427LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ralphs-invites-customers-to-savor-world-flavor-with-a-taste-of-italy-300328468.html

SOURCE Ralphs Grocery Company
CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Donna Parks had a sensation of heaviness in her legs for a couple of years  then sharp, stabbing pains began. A vascular surgeon determined that she had peripheral arterial disease, a stealthy but potentially deadly illness that can cause those symptoms  or none at all  in its earlier stages.

Also known as PAD, the disease actually affects many arteries in the body. Most patients with vascular disease worry about stroke or heart attack, but don't realize the disease can have an important effect on the legs, feet and other parts of the body. September is PAD Awareness Month  a time for older Americans to be aware of a common vascular disease that robs many of their independence in their later years.

Because in its early stages peripheral arterial disease can have no symptoms at all, patients tend to be underdiagnosed, said Dr. Daniel Bertges, a vascular surgeon and member of the Society for Vascular Surgery.

A healthy, 50-year-old non-smoker has about a 2 percent chance of having PAD. "But if you have risk factors, such as advanced age, smoking and diabetes," he said, "your chances can be upwards of 30 percent."

The disease is more prevalent with each decade of life. Americans over age 60 have a 5 percent chance of having PAD; those over 70, 15 percent; and those over 80, 20 percent.

"There are different philosophies about when to screen for PAD," Dr. Bertges said, "but generally, if you are 50 or older and diabetic, or a smoker, it is reasonable to ask your doctor about your risk of PAD."

Dr. Bertges, an associate professor at the University of Vermont Medical Center, stressed that patients who have PAD, but no symptoms, should not rush into any surgical procedures.

"The disease is not rapidly progressive and there is generally time to try lifestyle changes, exercise and medications like statins and/or a daily low-dose aspirin," he said.

Some patients with PAD have claudication, leg pain that comes on with walking and goes away after a short rest. But even for those patients, Dr. Bertges stressed taking a "wait and see" attitude.

"There is never an urgency to do a procedure for claudication," he said. "You should have time to think it through."

Those diagnosed with PAD should be sure to follow doctor's orders, though. Left untreated, the disease can lead to open sores that won't heal, or even gangrene. According to the Society for Vascular Surgery, those conditions require immediate medical attention.

But even for people with pain, once they start seeing a vascular specialist, about half of them will stay the same, one in four will need a vascular procedure, and another quarter will improve if they exercise and take their medication.

As for Donna Parks, she eventually received a stent to improve the blood flow in her leg and embarked on a new walking program to get back to the two or three miles she used to be able to walk every day. Watch Donna's story and learn more at the Society for Vascular Surgery website.

Sidebar:

HAVE THESE SYMPTOMS? TELL A DOCTOR

Fatigue or cramping in the muscles of the calf, thigh, hip or buttock that comes on after walking awhile and will go away with rest

Pain in the toes or feet while resting

Feet or toes that appear blue

A wound or ulcer on the toes or feet, often on a pressure point on the foot, that takes two months or longer to heal

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is a 5,400-member, not-for-profit professional medical society, composed primarily of specialty-trained vascular surgeons, which seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research and public awareness. The Society is based in Chicago, Illinois.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/society-for-vascular-surgery-know-the-pad-warning-signs-artery-disease-can-be-dangerous-to-health-300328324.html

SOURCE Society for Vascular Surgery
NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WeiserMazars LLP today announced leadership changes that support the firm's long-term strategic plan and continued growth, with a 9% increase in revenues for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2016 marking the sixth consecutive year of revenue growth.

Effective September 1, 2016, Michael Coletti succeeds James Blake as the Office Managing Partner in New Jersey. James will continue as the firm's Managing Partner and as a member of the Executive Committee (EC). Craig Fine succeeds Andrew Cohen as the Office Managing Partner in Long Island. Andrew will continue to serve on the EC, along with serving clients and assisting with the firm's growth strategy for Long Island. Charles Abraham is appointed as the leader of the Financial Services Group in New York succeeding James Kinney who will continue to provide support for the Financial Services Group growth plans, as well as the Long Island office. Additionally, effective January 1, 2017, Kirk Eldridge will succeed Vincent Burke as the Office Managing Partner in Pennsylvania. Vincent will continue with the firm as a consultant supporting the Insurance practice and the Philadelphia market.

Michael joined WeiserMazars' New Jersey office in 2003 and has over 18 years' experience. A New Jersey resident, Michael built a strong client base in the state along with significant ties to local businesses and charitable organizations. He is a member and contributor to the New Jersey State Society of CPA's, a board member of the Meadowlands YMCA, and is involved in the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations. Michael held leadership positions in various service lines and led several firm projects and initiatives. Dedicated to talent management and growing the firm's New Jersey office, Michael is focused on specific and strategic initiatives that advance WeiserMazars' local visibility.

Craig joined WeiserMazars in 2012 through a strategic merger and has more than 25 years' experience providing business advisory services to clients in Long Island and the New York metro area. Since joining the firm, Craig has played a key role in several firm initiatives. He is the founding member of the Trusted Advisor Group, a network of industry experts focused on manufacturers and distribution business in the NY metro area. A frequent speaker at industry events, he has presented at several local colleges. Craig will focus on growing the firm's Long Island practice through business development initiatives, and will have a role in the firm's external growth vision to increase visibility and market share in Long Island.

Kirk has more than 30 years' experience providing accounting, auditing, and tax preparation and planning services to a wide variety of businesses in the greater Philadelphia area. He has extensive leadership skills and experience, having led initiatives and programs at WeiserMazars and his prior firm. More recently, Kirk has been instrumental in growing WeiserMazars' Pennsylvania office through cross-team collaboration, mentoring and creating a culture of accountability around client satisfaction. He is also involved in all levels of strategic office planning, from big-picture decisions to day-to-day operations. A lifelong Pennsylvania resident, Kirk was involved with and held board seats at several local charities and organizations.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WeiserMazars, Victor Wahba, stated: "Michael, Craig and Kirk are proven leaders with the industry knowledge and experience necessary to oversee the firm's New Jersey, Long Island and Pennsylvania practice groups. They all played a critical role in helping the firm execute its growth strategy, and their unmatched commitment to clients and collegial spirit makes them the perfect candidates to oversee the firm's continued growth in these regions."

Charles, who joined WeiserMazars in 2003, will take over the Financial Services Group, where he has specialized in auditing investment companies, investment advisors and broker-dealers. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPA's (NYSSCPA) and is currently the chair of the NYSSCPA SEC committee. Charles most recently led the Asset Management sub-sector of the Financial Services Group, and provided leadership for various industry seminars, firm initiatives and training programs. In his new role, Charles will focus on the strategic plans for the Financial Services Group.

"The Financial Services Group is one of WeiserMazars' most dynamic and exciting practices," says Wahba. "Charles's outstanding track record of helping clients address complex regulatory challenges made his appointment an easy decision," Wahba added.

About WeiserMazars LLP

WeiserMazars LLP provides insight and specialized experience in accounting, tax and advisory services. Since 1921, our skilled professionals have leveraged technical expertise and industry familiarity to create customized solutions to overcome client challenges. As the independent U.S. member firm of Mazars Group, we have a global reach of 17,000 professionals in more than 75 countries. Locally and internationally, we build lasting relationships with our clients by addressing their particular needs, creating value and optimizing their organizational performance. For more information, visit us at www.weisermazars.com.

For more information, contact:

WeiserMazars LLP

Beth More, 732-205-2012

Beth.More@WeiserMazars.com

Makovsky

Glori Perez, 212-508-9653

gperez@makovsky.com

or

Kiki Tarkhan O'Keeffe, 212-508-9679

kokeeffe@makovsky.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weisermazars-llp-announces-leadership-changes-300328896.html

SOURCE WeiserMazars LLP
PPG officials hosted customers for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the PPG coatings research center in Marly, France, to open a new laboratory and inaugurate an electrocoat (e-coat) aerospace primer pilot operation. This is PPGs second significant investment for an AEROCRON e-coat primer installation, increasing global application capability for customer education.

Like the first PPG e-coat aerospace primer system, which is located near Pittsburgh, the Marly installation will be used for customer application trials and qualifications.

Daniel Bencun, aerospace coatings segment manager for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, joined PPG Marly Manager Pascal Vanhamme in cutting the ribbon and opening the new e-coat laboratory.

"This is a unique capability and a significant asset designed to benefit PPG customers in this region," Bencun said of the Aerocron e-coat primer pilot operation. He thanked the customers who attended for their trust and confidence in PPGs capabilities.

"With keen understanding of its benefits, PPG adapted proven e-coat technology for corrosion resistance from automotive and industrial businesses to meet unique aerospace requirements," Bencun said. He added that the company is committed to dedicating resources for customers to take advantage of this game-changing technology and optimize its efficiencies. "Investments in research and development like this one in Marly are important to e-coat technology adaptation and implementation within the aerospace industry."

During the event, PPG experts demonstrated the Aerocron primer application process and discussed technical achievements and next steps for Aerocron e-coat, describing current U.S. and European aerospace operational systems and future systems planned. They also detailed estimated aircraft operational cost savings for fuel based on the reduced weight achieved by uniform coating thickness with the e-coat primer.
Airmen develop concept for rooftop facility condition assessments

Airmen at Ramstein Air Base have developed a value-added concept utilizing facility assessment vehicles (FAV) for conducting facility condition assessments on rooftops around the Air Force.



This new concept could reduce the risk to assessors who would otherwise be doing roof assessments. The FAVs are equipped with cameras that assessors would manipulate to conduct assessments from the ground. They would also provide data in a more timely manner, significantly reducing evaluation time.



I took the idea and am trying to implement it, which could save the Air Force money and manpower, said Master Sgt. Sherman Armprester, the 786th Civil Engineer Squadron NCO in charge of requirements and optimization civil activities and management program. We went to a contractor and gave them the items that we wanted the FAV to accomplish and they designed it based on our requirements. With the expertise of German innovation, we knew that it would be good. One of the benefits of having it built in Germany is the ease of purchasing needed parts.



Ramstein AB has 1,400 facilities requiring roof assessments over the next year. Armprester formed a small team consisting of Tech. Sgts. Jeffrey Santos, Quentin Rawls and Truman Wages to brainstorm how to best complete the requirement in a safe manner. One of their ideas was to utilize a FAV.



Personally, I think that it is a concept that has merit and can definitely help the Air Force and (civil engineer) units with not only roof assessments but other crafts as well, Armprester said.



The FAVs would be equipped with thermal imaging, infrared, three battery packs, a GPS and a remote control. It could also be configured so that if the remote control stopped working, the GPS would allow it to return to its original departure point on its own.



Heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical, pavements, water, fuels and even heavy equipment crafts could utilize the FAVs. We could literally take out the FAV, scan the necessary area of review and have it return to the office without personnel leaving their desks, Armprester said. Only the operator would have to go in the field.



Armprester added part of the requirements in the structures shop dictates that assessors cannot go on a roof when it is raining or wet. The FAV would potentially be able to fly over and do a quick assessment to find a leak or trouble spot on the roof and then we would be able to repair it at a later date.



By using FAVs, the use of harnesses, lanyards and safety equipment could be greatly reduced. Additionally, the requirement for an additional spotter to do roof assessments would no longer be required, freeing up man-hours for other necessary maintenance activities.



From an electrical standpoint, it could help with verifying linear segmentation of overhead high voltage distribution lines and even help update Geobase records, said Rawls, the 786th CES NCO in charge of requirements and optimization electrical activities and management program manager. Since the FAV has infrared capabilities, it could find hot spots on exterior overhead power lines and (be) used as a preventive measure to minimize unscheduled power outages. A hotspot is like a fault. When you find a hotspot it can grow to a bigger problem which could cause a potential fault and outage.



The Airmen believe the FAV could also locate facility HVAC air leaks or lack of insulation and then close the gaps to save energy costs.



"Although we are at the beginning stages of determining the viability of this idea, we think it has great potential and are excited about the possibilities, said Col. Laura Johnson, the 86th Civil Engineer Group commander. Leveraging this technology will save an incredible amount of time and money, and increase the safety aspects for our Airmen. I am continuously impressed with the innovative ideas our Airmen come up with -- they really are our greatest asset.



The team is currently working to set up a demonstration to show the benefits of the FAV.



Since the FAV is considered a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) it would be governed by many (Defense Department) and government regulations depending on the type of systems and where it will be used, said Brian Skibba, the chief of the airbase acquisition branch at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.



On April 26, 2012, the Air Force issued a series of three Air Force insturctions that govern sUAS training, standardization, evaluation and operations; one of which is AFI 11-502, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training.



There is also a separate process for and use of radio frequencies and evaluation of airspace issues.



As we know, the Air Force has reduced our manning and this would help us become more efficient, said Santos, the 786th CES NCO in charge of requirements and optimization mechanical activities and management program manager. Instead of 10 people doing this job, one person can do it, saving time and resources. Plus, ensuring an operator is certified to operate the FAV can reduce any mishap potential or risks to operations.



The Airmen hope to spread the word of their idea to the Air Force and develop a best practice the service could adopt, saving manpower and money.
At least 12 rebels and three pro-government fighters were killed in fierce battles in southwestern Yemen today, military sources said.

Loyalist forces attacked rebel positions in Kirsh area in Lahj province, killing seven insurgents, said General Fadhl Hasan, who is leading pro-government troops in the area.

We will continue our advance towards Taez (city) to break the siege imposed for more than a year by the Huthi Shiite rebels on Yemens third city, Hasan said.

In Taez province, five Huthis and their allies were killed when loyalists backed by coalition air strikes and artillery fought off a rebel assault in Kahbub area, a loyalist military leader said.

Three pro-government fighters were also killed in the fighting, Colonel Abdulghani al-Subaihi said, in a mountainous area overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea.

The area is guarded by forces from the Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March last year to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadis government after the Iran-backed rebels seized the capital Sanaa.

AFP could not independently verify the tolls and the rebels rarely acknowledge their losses.

Meanwhile, coalition air strikes today hit an intelligence building north of Sanaa, causing casualties, military sources said, without providing a toll.

Yemens conflict has killed more than 6,600 people, most of them civilians, and displaced at least three million others, according to the United Nations.

Fighting has intensified since the collapse of UN-backed peace talks in Kuwait on August 6.
At least six people were killed and more than 150 injured today when a Karachi-bound passenger train collided with a freight train near Multan in Pakistans Punjab province.

The incident took place near Bucch railway station in Sher Shah area.

It occurred when a man reportedly was overrun by a freight train and the driver stopped it to take out the body, said police official Nadir Chattha.

In the meantime, Awam Express heading on the same line collided with the stationary goods train.

The collision wrecked the engine and power van, and overturned four bogies of Awam Express, he added.

The incident left at least six people dead and wounded over 150, out of which 10 were said to be in serious condition, Geo News reported.

Three people trapped inside damaged carriages were also saved, said rescue workers.

A delay was initially observed in response by rescue services due to Eid holidays, according to sources. Relief works were also affected as darkness prevailed in the vicinity.

The passenger train was en route to Karachi from Peshawar.

Meanwhile, authorities have imposed emergency at Multans Nishtar Medical Hospital and Shahbaz Sharif Hospital.

Earlier, railway authorities ordered investigations into the accident.
PM Narendra Modi is probably the most interactive Prime Minister the country has ever had, from being active on social media, religiously connecting with the audience every Sunday via Mann Ki Baat, to travelling the world to spread a few good words about the country. But if you still cant get enough of the Prime Minister, e-commerce websites in India are now selling little cuddly stuffed toy doll of Narendra Modi.

Soft toy company Tickles has hit upon a solution, making Narendra Modi very accessible to kids today by manufacturing a cuddly Narendra Modi doll. The 40cm doll is dressed characteristically like Modi  in an orange kurta, white pyjamas and white jacket, which were listed for sale on e-commerce sites like Flipkart, Amazon India, and Snapdeal.

While Snapdeal and Flipkart are selling the toy doll for Rs 1,365. Where, Flipkart is offering a discount of 52 percent of the Modi doll.

Although, according to Snapdeal, Modi is still Gujarat CM and Prime Ministerial candidate, so the information is a bit dated.

But what is really interesting is the different product description on all three sites. According to a screenshot taken by Huffington Post, the Amazon descriptor was rather amusing: Delight your little ones this year by presenting them with an adorable soft toy. This soft toy into their bedroom will give them endless hours of fun-filled playtime. Crafted with perfection using the finest materials, this Modi stunning soft toy has striking features. Instill a love for wildlife and introduce your children to the world of animals with this furry little plush toy. Features Non-toxic and soft fabric Soft and Cuddly filling Recommended Age Group  3  6 Years Recommended For  Unisex.

Whereas, the description on Snapdeal reads: Narendra Damodardas Modi, popularly known as Narendra Modi is the current Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat and the BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.Narendrabhai Modi is a national leader. Show your support to NARENDRA MODI by flaunting this toy.

This isnt the first Modi doll to create such a stir. Miniatures of Narendra Modi dolls were quite popular in Hangzhou, China this month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Chinese city Hangzhou for the crucial G20 summit for bilateral meeting with the top world leaders on Sunday. Ahead of the holding talks with Xi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was spotted at Hangzhous renowned art district. Yes, Modis visit to China seemed to have attracted attention in the renowned art district.

Miniature models of the Indian Prime Minister are creating quite a stir in the Hangzhous renowned art district. A local artist named Wu Xiaoli has created miniature model dolls ahead of the 2016 G20 summit. The artist has created dolls of 19 leaders apart from Narendra Modi to mark the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. The miniature models of all the world leaders have been created with utmost detailing by the artist, trying to bring in the real personality into the small dolls.

(With Inputs From Various Sources)
Edward Snowden, a former CIA contractor who leaked classified government documents is not a whistleblower, but someone who risked national security and American lives, the White House said, dimming his hopes of a presidential pardon from Barack Obama before he demits office.

There actually is a specific process that is well-established and well-protected that allows whistleblowers to raise concerns that they have, particularly when it relates to confidential or classified information, to do so in a way that protects the national security secrets of the US. That is not what Snowden did, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Edward Snowden is not a whistleblower, Earnest said.

His conduct put American lives at risk and it risked American national security. That is why the policy of the Obama administration is that Snowden should return to the US and face the very serious charges that he is facing, he told reporters yesterday.

Snowden, 33, is accused of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property for leaking sensitive data to the media about National Security Agencys internet and phone surveillance.

He faces at least 30 years in jail in the US, and has been living in exile at an undisclosed location in Russia since June 2013. His residency permit expires next year.

Earnest maintained the long-held position of the US government that Snowden will be afforded the rights that are due to every American citizen in our criminal justice system.

But we believe that he should return to the United States and face those charges, he said, adding that there is no communication between Snowden and the US president.

Im not aware of any conversations or any communications between Snowden and the president, he said.

Snowden, on the other hand, argues that though he leaked secret data, the information have benefited the public as they led to a improvement in privacy protection laws.

Snowden has asked Obama for clemency in an interview with a UK newspaper, saying: If not for these disclosures, if not for these revelations, we would be worse off.

Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing. But that is perhaps why the pardon power exists  for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things, he said.
The United States today signed an unprecedented new security agreement with Israel that will give the Israeli military USD 38 billion over 10 years.

The deal, the largest such agreement the US has ever had with any country, amounts to USD 3.8 billion a year beginning in budget year 2019, compared with USD 3.1 billion the US gave Israel annually under the current 10-year deal that expires in 2018.

This commitment to Israels security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the state of Israel, President Barack Obama said in a statement.

After months of negotiations that took place after a particularly tense time in the relationship amid disputes over the Iran nuclear deal, the memorandum of understanding was signed at the State Department by Israels national security adviser, Jacob Nagel, and Thomas Shannon, the third-highest ranking US diplomat.

Obamas national security adviser Susan Rice, who witnessed the signing, called it a sign of Washingtons unshakable commitment to the security of the Jewish state.

She said the agreements makes clear that the US will always be there for the state of Israel and its people today, tomorrow and for generations to come.

Nagel hailed the agreement as an indication of the rock-solid alliance between Israel and the United States. Israel has no better friend, no more reliable strategic ally, no more important partner than the United States of America, he said.

Everyone can see and feel the special relationship between our countries and our people.

Under the agreement, Israels ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be phased out and eventually all of the money must be spent on American military industries.

Israels preference for spending some internally had been a major sticking point in the deal.

It also includes, for the first time, money for missile defense programs. Under the previous arrangement, Congress approved funds for missile defense separately and on an annual basis.

The new agreement eliminates Israels ability to spend a fraction of the funds on fuel for its military.

In another apparent concession, Israel has agreed not to ask Congress to approve more funds than are included in the deal unless a new war breaks out, said the officials, who werent authorized to discuss the details publicly ahead of a formal announcement and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 - Nominees to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission assured the Senate Agriculture Committee that they will regularly seek input from farmers and keep in mind the impact of regulations on the agribusiness sector.

However, the Democratic nominee, Christopher Brummer, also stressed that it was also important for the agency to consider the risk to the overall economy of failing to police the futures market adequately.

Its absolutely critical that the CFTC both remembers its roots and the importance of agricultural producers to the U.S. economy, said Brummer, a Georgetown University law professor. But he questioned that threats to the integrity of futures markets must be addressed swiftly.

The Republican nominee, former House GOP adviser Brian Quintenz, said the commission had to thoroughly analyze the costs of new regulations to ensure that they correspond to the risks hat are being mitigated. Quintenz is managing principal and chief investment officer of his own firm, Saeculum Capital Management.

Both men promised senators that they would get out of Washington and meet with producers regularly.

Quintenz cited his experience as an aide on Capitol Hill, which included six years as a policy adviser to former Congresswoman Deborah Pryce of Ohio. Referring to the state's farmers, he said: I dont think you get a better sense of their businesses and their pressure and their costs than you do by actually going there and being on the ground with them."

Bummer said, I, too, can commit to getting out and talking to farmers and ranchers and other end-users about their needs.Neither nominee has an agricultural background but both sought to emphasize their past experience with farmers, including Quintenz interactions with Ohio constituents. Brummer recalled helping his grandfather take produce to market from his farm in Virginia.

There are currently two vacancies on the five-member commission.

CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad has taken steps to soothe concerns in the agribusiness sector about a number of regulations that the CFTC is considering or has finalized under the Dodd-Frank law.

Like what you see here? Agri-Pulse subscribers get our Daily Harvest email and Daybreak audio Monday through Friday mornings, a 16-page newsletter on Wednesdays, and access to premium content on our ag and rural policy website. Sign up for your four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription.





Shortly before Thursdays hearing, in fact, he announced that the agency would move to delay for one year a reduction in the minimum value at which entities must register as swap dealers. The threshold was set to fall from $8 billion to $3 billion in January.

Massad acknowledged that small banks were worried that they would have to register under the lower limit, and he said the commission needed to address several issues, including the effect on competition.

Quintenz supported the delay. I fear that if we get that wrong we end up driving providers of those swaps out of the market and of consolidating risk.

Brummer didnt oppose the delay, but he said he was concerned about some potentially risky transactions and those he described as flying under the radar.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., closed the hearing by warning the nominees not to expect an increase in the CFTC budget, something that has long been a priority for the committees ranking Democrat, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, as well as the Obama administration.

Nows not the time. Its not going to happen, Roberts said, citing the slump in the farm economy.

Roberts later told reporters he needed to survey senators before scheduling a vote on the nominations.

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 - EPAs disparate handling of E10 and E15 with regard to fuel volatility regulation is stifling the widespread adoption of E15 and mid-level ethanol blends, says a bipartisan group of seven Midwest governors in a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The letter urges EPA to allow Midwest fuel retailers the ability to offer E15 for 2001 and newer vehicles year-round.

Currently, E10 receives a 1 pound-force per square inch Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) waiver during the summer blending season (from June 1 to Sept. 15), while E15 does not receive the waiver during that time period. The governors say that the inequitable RVP treatment of E10 and E15 has no scientific basis because E15 and higher blends are lower in volatility than E10 when blended with the same base gasoline. Oil companies manipulate Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), a measure of volatility, seasonally specifically to maintain engine reliability.

The unbalanced RVP treatment makes it extraordinarily difficult for retailers in a conventional fuel area to offer E15 year-round as a registered fuel, the governors say.

Today, bipartisan governors from around the Midwest are joining together to strongly urge the EPA to act now to correct the unfair treatment for E15, says Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. EPA has the authority to resolve this regulatory hurdle to give more Americans the choice of a cleaner-burning, lower-cost, higher octane, renewable fuel, and we hope they do so immediately. The letter was signed by the governors of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. To read the letter, click here.

More than 300 fuel stations across the U.S. offer drivers the choice of E15, the governors say, noting that the number is growing as a result of the USDA Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership and industry efforts to expand use of higher ethanol blends such as Prime the Pump.

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) applauded the governors for sending the letter.

EPAs refusal to allow E15, a fuel with fewer evaporative emissions than straight gasoline or E10, to be used from June 1 to Sept. 15 in many parts of the country because of an RVP rule is the primary hurdle to more widespread use of the fuel, says ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings. We applaud these seven governors for urging EPA to extend RVP relief to E15 and higher blends and we will continue to ask Congress to provide for a legislative remedy in the face of EPA inaction.

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In a letter to EPA in December 2015, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) urged the agency to take immediate administrative action to eliminate the regulatory barrier, which is impeding growth in the use of E15 and other higher-level ethanol blends. EPA has stated it does not believe it has the statutory authority to extend the 1 psi RVP waiver to E15. While RFA disagrees with EPAs conclusion on that issue, another option available to the agency would be to simply require lower-RVP summertime conventional gasoline blendstocks for mixing with all ethanol blends.

We just want RVP parity for E15 and E10, so the marketplace and consumers have the freedom to choose the fuel that works best for them, Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen said. EPAs continued inaction on the summertime volatility restrictions is stifling the growth of higher ethanol blends and incorrectly using that as justification to propose lower 2017 renewable fuel standard targets. We reiterate the need for EPA to address this issue.

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lWASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2016  Bayers plan to take over Monsanto is triggering some alarm bells within some of the nations largest farm organizations, and lawmakers are taking note, too.

The $66 billion deal (including debt) that was announced by Bayer and Monsanto Wednesday morning could potentially create the worlds largest crop protection and seed company  if regulators approve.

But first, the deal and its potential impact will undergo intense scrutiny by regulatory agencies around the globe. Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said the companies will need to file in about 30 jurisdictions for the merger, including in the U.S., European Union, Canada and Brazil. The companies also plan to seek approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews foreign-driven purchases of U.S. assets for national security risks.

Bayer and Monsanto officials acknowledged there may be some overlap in their respective portfolios and some divestitures may be required by regulators. But they declined to speculate in advance on which products may have to be sold off in an effort to complete the deal.

In the meantime, U.S. farm organizations are encouraging regulators to take a close look under the hood, especially as other major industry players like Dow and DuPont and ChemChina and Syngenta are also planning to join forces.

"This deal between Monsanto and Bayer comes close on the heels of the proposed Dow-DuPont merger, said Bob Young, chief economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farm Bureau believes the Department of Justice should undertake a close review of the overall business climate that has encouraged these combinations, rather than evaluating them in isolation. Consumers must continue to have fair access to the best technologies and innovation.

"Farmers and ranchers, in particular, are interested in how these deals will impact research and development budgets for companies like Bayer and Monsanto. We depend on access to enhanced technology, and would hate to see agricultural innovation suffer at the cost of business decisions," Young said.

American Soybean Association President Richard Wilkins and National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling also expressed concerns, primarily with respect to how the deal could affect input costs, but also innovation, research and competition in the marketplace.

Bayer and Monsanto officials, meanwhile, told reporters that the acquisition will strengthen research and development and provide more tools for farmers, not fewer.

The way weve always looked at it is that Monsanto has the best seeds and traits portfolio in the industry. and weve always felt that we have the most innovative crop protection portfolio, explained Liam Condon, head of Bayers Crop Science Division. Weve both been making significant efforts in building a digital platform with Monsanto being significantly more advanced than anybody else in the industry.

Both of our companies have a shared vision that if we work across these technologies we can bring innovation to a whole new level. Thats exceptionally compelling and where we see the beauty of this, Condon added.

Bayer noted that the combined company will have an R&D budget of about $2.5 billion, investing almost $1 billion more than the nearest competitor, which would be a combination of Dow Ag and DuPont Ag. (See Bayer's slides at left.)



Theres a huge need to invest more in this space, said Robert Fraley, Monsantos executive vice president and chief technology officer. More investment in R&D drives more innovation and more products for growers that ultimately enables them to compete more successfully and more profitably. The real winner in this transaction is going to be the grower who is going to see more innovation.

Still, the National Farmers Union was extremely critical of a Bayer-Monsanto merger and industry consolidation in general.

Consolidation of this magnitude cannot be the standard for agriculture, nor should we allow it to determine the landscape for our future, NFU President Roger Johnson said in a statement.

For the last several days our family-farm and ranch members have been on Capitol Hill asking members of Congress to conduct hearings to review the staggering amount of pending merger deals in agriculture today. We will continue to express concern that these megadeals are being made to benefit the corporate boardrooms at the expense of family farmers, ranchers, consumers and rural economies, Johnson added.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has called a hearing of the panel for Sept. 20 to look at the consolidation trend in the seed and chemical industries. Johnson, Young and the CEOs of major crop chemical companies are on the witness list, among others. (For the entire list of witnesses, click here.)

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Iowa farmers who I've spoken with are worried about rising input costs, especially in an increasingly weak agriculture economy, the Iowa Republican said in a statement. Todays announcement will only heighten those concerns.

As mergers continue to occur in the seed, agrochemical and fertilizer industries, federal antitrust regulators must be ever more vigilant to ensure a robust competitive environment in this important sector. And, with several proposals under review, its crucial that the antitrust authorities collaborate as appropriate with each other and the Department of Agriculture in their analysis to ensure that competition is preserved for farmers and consumers.

Montana Senator Jon Tester went further, calling on the Justice Department to reject the merger between Bayer and Monsanto because it will reduce competition, suppress innovation and threaten the very fabric of rural life. Note: This story was updated at 8:30 pm.





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By Daren Bakst

Discussions about agricultural policy usually focus on how the federal government should help farmers. However, the other side of the equation is also critical. How does the federal government intervene in ways that makes it more difficult for farmers to farm their land?

Through what seems like an endless number of regulatory obstacles, the federal government is making agricultural production extremely difficult for farmers. Legislators should address these obstacles from Clean Water Act regulations, the Endangered Species Act, to mandatory disclosure of genetically engineered food. While ideally these issues would be addressed right away, the farm bill may be an important vehicle for the necessary reforms.

One of the prime examples of this regulatory problem is the Environmental Protection Agencys and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waters of the United States rule. At issue is the very definition of what waters these agencies can regulate under the CWA.

In many ways, calling these waters waters of the United States is problematic. The CWA covers navigable waters, which is further clarified to include waters of the United States. The precise terminology of navigable waters shouldnt be ignored, which is something both agencies are keen to do.

The rule tries to regulate almost any water imaginable, from certain man-made ditches to ephemeral streams. The vagueness of the rule is also a critical problem. The rule is drafted in such a way that the agencies can make numerous subjective decisions, offering little clear objective guidance for farmers. As a result, it isnt merely the breadth of the rule that is at issue, but now knowing how to comply with the rule that will scare off farmers from engaging in even normal farming activities.

This rule isnt currently being enforced as a result of a stay from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, Congress needs to take action and not expect the judiciary to provide the necessary clarity. Consistent with the plain language of the law and the statutes own stated respect for cooperative federalism, Congress needs to define navigable waters.

This is far from the only CWA issue impacting agriculture. For example, the EPA is addressing water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, where the agency is effectively seeking to regulate agricultural runoff and other non-point sources of pollution (pollution coming from multiple sources over a wide area, as opposed to pollution from a point source that is a specific and identifiable source). The EPA is allocating specific limits of pollution for numerous segments of the Bay by source, including nonpoint sources. The concern is that this could lead to the EPA influencing where farming will be allowed across the country.

Congress should stop EPA micromanagement and allow states, communities and farmers to have significant flexibility as they work together in addressing their unique water quality issues. Congress should clearly prohibit the EPA from regulating, directly or indirectly, non-point sources of pollution.

Also of significant concern is the Endangered Species Act, which was enacted to promote the conservation of species. While there are numerous problems with the statute, there are some underlying flaws that need to be addressed. Society has determined that protecting endangered species is an important goal. A major problem is the costs of achieving that goal are borne by property owners alone, often through severe restrictions on the use of their property. As a societal goal, the costs should be paid by society as a whole. Farmers and ranchers frequently are the property owners bearing these costs.

Regulation is often a great way for government to avoid showing the true costs of its actions. This is precisely whats happening with the ESA. This statute should be changed from a regulatory scheme that constantly tramples on property rights (such as by restricting certain development on private property) to a transparent program where taxpayers foot the bill to achieve the laws objectives. States, many of which already have conservation programs, should be allowed to have a bigger role working in partnership with property owners.

Environmental regulations arent the sole regulatory obstacles. For example, the recent fight over mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food provides an excellent example of another regulatory obstacle and how modern agriculture is being attacked. Regardless of whether the recent passage of a federal national mandate was a wise tactical move to preempt Vermonts mandatory labeling law, any mandate is flawed policy.

Through a mandate, the federal government is now requiring the disclosure of information that isnt supported by the science and has nothing to do with the nutrition or health of the food. These disclosures are misleading to consumers, giving the impression that theres something wrong with agricultural biotechnology and the crops grown by so many American farmers. The regulatory process implementing the law may reduce the harm somewhat, but this is just the beginning of the attack on genetically engineered food.

The preceding examples are just a small sample of the many regulatory obstacles facing farmers and ranchers. These obstacles need to be discussed further and thoughtfully addressed. Our nations farmers and ranchers shouldnt be undermined by federal overreach and a disregard for property rights.

Daren Bakst is a research fellow in agricultural policy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org).

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 - The Standing Rock Sioux Tribes protest against the Dakota Access pipeline has received so much attention that President Obama, while on his recent Asia trip, was questioned about it by a Malaysian student at a press conference.

Obama did not address the legal issues raised by the tribe, but he did say that historically, the way that Native Americans were treated was tragic. In addition, this issue of ancestral lands and helping them preserve their way of life is something that we have worked very hard on.

Two days later, U.S. District Judge James A. Boasberg ruled against the Standing Rock Sioux in its challenge to an Army Corps of Engineers permit that, the tribe said, allowed the pipeline company, Energy Transfer Partners, to disturb sacred grounds.

Despite that decision, however, the Justice Department, the Department of the Army and the Interior Department issued a statement the same day saying they would put a halt to any of the disputed pipeline work on Corps lands in North Dakota. The stoppage will continue until (the Corps) can determine whether it will need to reconsider any of its previous decisions regarding the Lake Oahe site under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other federal laws.

A few hundred miles to the Southwest, another group of landowners in Iowa also got an unfavorable ruling recently.

About a dozen farmers challenging the construction of the 1,200-mile pipeline through portions of their fields lost their bid for an injunction that would have prevented ETP from digging trenches and burying the pipe sections, which are 30 inches in diameter.

A Polk County district judge found that the Iowa Utilities Board acted within its legal authority when it approved the pipeline in March. In his Aug. 29 ruling, Judge Jeffrey Farrell said the public interest and the costs of altering the pipeline route to avoid the affected parcels favored allowing the project to proceed.

But the litigation will continue. One of the plaintiffs, Keith Puntenney, who farms 600 acres in Boone and Webster counties, said he expects the matter to end up in the Iowa Supreme Court.

In an interview Tuesday, Puntenney said he was optimistic that the landowners will eventually win, because Iowa law says farmland cannot be taken for public use, and the pipeline, according to one of the plaintiffs court filings, will have, at best, an incidental benefit to the people of Iowa.

Puntenney said that following Farrells ruling, ETP rushed to install the pipeline on three properties of those who have sued the company. He said the company did not notify county supervisors, who were supposed to be on site.

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Theyre trying to put it in as fast and hard as they can, he said. Puntenney, who is running for the Iowa state senate as a Democrat, also said ETP has conducted work under wet conditions, which makes it impossible to put the soil back the way it was.

Puntenney said he had grown soybeans on the four acres of his land that now contain part of the pipeline, and that the soil will take a long time to recover.

It took 10,000 years to get the soils where they are now, he said, referring to the rich, black earth in west-central Iowa. Its going to take the rest of my lifetime for it to become productive again.

Puntenney, 70, said the right-of-way used for the pipeline was condemned, and he was compensated. He wouldnt say how much he received, only that it wasnt much.

In addition to the damage to his farm, Puntenney says he and the other plaintiffs are concerned about the risk of spills that would foul the 11 major rivers and hundreds of other streams the pipeline will traverse in Iowa.

An ETP spokesperson said the company did not comment on pending litigation.

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Amsterdams Schiphol airport has been granted a Royal designation by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, an award described as the crowning glory of the Dutch hubs centennial celebrations.

The Kings Commissioner of North Holland, Johan Remkes, awarded the royal designation to Schiphol President and chief executive Jos Nijhuis.

Nijhuis said: We are very proud that from now on Schiphol may call itself a royal airport. It is the crowning glory of 100 years of connecting the Netherlands. The airports stature is the work of Dutch pioneers  pioneers with daring and vision, who believed in innovation and progress. We plan to continue their work in the next century, although henceforth in Royal fashion.

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September 14, 2016

Amid a growing war of words between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in particular revolving around the one-year anniversary of the 2015 hajj stampede that killed more than 400 Iranians, Maj. Gen. Yayha Rahim Safavi, special military adviser to Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned against further escalating matters with its regional rival.

In the realm of geopolitics, we have a geopolitical rival in the name of Saudi Arabia, said Safavi, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (1997-2007), during a speech at the Center for International Research and Education of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Either way, in this realm, my recommendation is that we have to improve our relations with Oman, Kuwait and even Qatar. And in our relations with Saudi Arabia, we have to act cautiously. In no way must we move toward the conflict [with the] Saudis.

Safavi said that Riyadh is opposed to Irans current geopolitical strength and blames Iran for its losses in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, countries in which the two are vying for influence. He also cited the various points of contention between the two countries, including reminding the audience that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had been Iraqi President Saddam Husseins biggest financial supporters during the Iran-Iraq War, which according to him was responsible for the deaths of 200,000 Iranians.

The number of Iranians killed in the conflict, one of the longest of the 20th century, is disputed. A parliamentary bill from earlier this year seeking damages from the United States because of its support of Hussein put the number of Iranians killed at 223,000.

Safavi also mentioned the Mina stampede during last years hajj, in which more than 2,000 pilgrims were killed. The high death toll among Iranians and traded accusations prevented Iranians from making the pilgrimage this year.

In calling for restraint, Safavis comments stand out as a rare voice among Irans military commanders. Most remarks by military officials in regard to the Persian Gulf have been over issues involving American spy planes flying near Iranian waters. According to Fox News, three American officials said that on Sept. 10, Iran had threatened to shoot down the planes that were flying a mile outside Irans territorial waters. Despite the threat, according to US officials, Iran did not have missile launchers nearby.
September 15, 2016

For months, Irans hardliners have used the term JCPOA  the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action  to undermine the credibility of President Hassan Rouhani's administration. Over the past couple of weeks, they have adopted the term FATF  the Financial Action Task Force  which according to the Iranian hardliners represents a capitulation of Iranian interests to Western powers. As with the JCPOA, chances are that opposition to the implementation of FATF rules in Iran is based on politics rather than facts. Rouhani's opponents realize that non-compliance with the FATF will limit the economic benefits of the JCPOA and hence undermine the presidents credibility in the eyes of the general public and the business community.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989  to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. Of note, the process for Iran becoming a member was initiated during the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-13).

In May 2010, the government presented the Bill to Fight Terrorism Financing, and the parliament approved it the following month. The legislation then entered the bureaucracy of the Guardian Council, which subsequently sent it to the judiciary for amendments, as it also entailed actions and legal changes in the judicial system. After years of making its way through various bureaucracies, the amended bill was passed by parliament on Feb. 3 of this year. The Guardian Council confirmed the statute March 5. The law obliges the government to exchange data and information according to its international commitments in fulfilling the objectives of this law.

Collaboration with the FATF is not only a crucial step in implementing Iranian law, but also a necessity in repairing banking relations between Iran and the international financial community, especially first-tier international banks that still refuse to engage with Iran. There is no doubt that the post-JCPOA internal climate paved the way for the law's passage and that the statute has empowered the Iranian government to address critical issues in its banking and financial sector.

In its past statements on Iran, the FATF had voiced concern over Irans failure to address the risk of terrorist financing and the serious threat this poses to the integrity of the international financial system. The FATF also urged member states to protect against correspondent relationships when considering requests by Iranian financial institutions to open branches and subsidiaries in their jurisdiction. These and other recommendations by FATF underline why international banks and financial institutions have been hesitant to re-engage with Iran.

Despite Tehrans efforts, the FATF kept Iran on its blacklist after its most recent meeting, on June 24. In a statement, the FATF welcomed Irans adoption of, and high-level political commitment to, an Action Plan to address its strategic deficiencies, and its decision to seek technical assistance in the implementation of the Action Plan. The FATF therefore suspended counter-measures for 12 months in order to monitor Irans progress in implementing the Action Plan. Evidently, if Iran meets its commitments under the plan during that time, the FATF will consider next steps for moving forward.

Essentially, the Iranian government and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) have committed themselves to implementing the Action Plan to address the above-mentioned concerns. Recent announcements by Bank Mellat and Bank Sepah that they will limit hard currency transactions by Khatam-al Anbia, the construction arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), are the first small steps in introducing a new level of compliance in the banking sector. Full compliance with FATF rules would entail that banks not provide financial services to entities that are blacklisted due to criminal, money laundering or terrorist activities.

Consequently, the government and CBI are currently engaged on three distinct fronts: instructing Iranian banks and financial institutions to introduce new compliance protocols; interacting with the FATF and other political bodies to convince them that the countrys banking sector is moving in the right direction; and confronting nonsensical political criticisms from hardliners who are prepared to go to any length to present the Rouhani administration as a failure.

Those political figures who understand what the FATF is about but still want to hurt the administration argue that complying with the FATF is equal to self-imposing sanctions on the countrys banking sector. They argue that the disclosure of information about banking customers and transactions would open the door to further anti-Iran initiatives and potential sanctions. They, however, need to appreciate that Irans reintegration into international trade and financial flows fully depends on implementation of FATF rules and regulations.

In the meantime, and in the light of legitimate sensitivities, Irans Supreme National Security Council has looked closely at the FATF commitments. On Sept. 14, Ali Shamkhani, the council's powerful secretary, announced that the council had reached positive conclusions about the FATF, but that a final decision would be made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It would come as a big surprise if Khamenei rejected the anticipated cooperation with the FATF, which is a logical extension of the JCPOA, which he had approved. One can, however, anticipate some language that will underline his distrust of entities, such as the FATF, dominated by the United States and its allies.

While politicized statements by Rouhani's opponents will continue, similar to the ongoing opposition to the JCPOA, the government will proceed to implement reforms in the banking sector to facilitate the reconnection of Iranian banks with first-tier international banks. A big challenge, however, will be the regulation of Iranian banks that are controlled by semi-state institutions, such as military and revolutionary foundations closely affiliated with the IRGC.

Irans genuinely private banks will be quick to adapt and introduce the needed compliance structures, but governmental and semi-state banks will be slow and will present the government and the CBI with major challenges. The banks and enterprises that are still blacklisted by the United States and the European Union are all part of a complex web of interests, and it will be difficult to fully disentangle their affiliations and to introduce the required levels of transparency and compliance. Given this, Tehran might miss the June 2017 target that the FATF has set before its next assessment, but it is certainly moving in the direction of modernizing its financial sector and complying with international banking standards.
September 15, 2016

It's no secret that Israeli-Palestinian relations have been marred by tension since mid-2014. At that time, the path toward a political solution reached an impasse and negotiations were suspended, leading to nonstop Israeli accusations that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not a partner for peace and that he has been inciting violence against Israelis.

The latest Israeli allegation against Abbas came in a report broadcast by Israels Channel 1 on Sept. 7, claiming that Abbas was an agent for the Soviet KGB when he was a member of Fatahs Central Committee in 1983. According to the report, Abbas code name was "Krotov," and he was recruited during his Ph.D. studies in Moscow and served as a KGB agent in Syria.

The Israeli allegation immediately sparked angry reactions from Palestinians, and many Palestinian officials protested. In a Sept. 8 statement to Agence France-Presse, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said he considered the Israeli accusation part of an Israeli smear campaign against Abbas aimed at weakening the Palestinian position.

Amin Maqbul, a member of Fatahs Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor, The allegations against Abbas are part of an Israeli strategy that takes aim at his national principles. They are also part of a generalized Israeli smear campaign accusing Abbas of not being a partner for peace, unqualified to conduct negotiations with Israelis and not representative of all Palestinians. Surely this campaign against the president, which is based on misinformation, will not affect the Palestinian public's view of Abbas, but actually rally Palestinians behind him.

Israel's most recent allegation against Abbas was not the first. In March, the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon claimed that Abbas children are wealthy, accusing them of involvement in corruption. According to the newspaper, Abbas children own a number of mobile phone and cigarette distribution companies and have built a business empire, with their fathers long incumbency since 2005 helping them to amass fortunes.

Also, in late June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement accusing Abbas of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism, and in July, Netanyahu renewed his attack on Abbas, accusing him of spreading blood libel. On Sept. 10, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz alleged that Abbas was promoting "ethnic cleansing" against settlers in his calls for them to evacuate the West Bank.

The head of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (Masarat), Hani al-Masri, told Al-Monitor, Israeli accusations against Abbas are the product of an Israeli government strategy aimed at pressuring the president before completely eliminating him from the Palestinian scene. It also seeks to blackmail Abbas for more political compromises so as to impose Israeli plans for the transitional solution with Palestinians. All this is delaying the foundation of a Palestinian state and the application of self-rule as an alternative to independence, and to eventually force the Palestinians to resume negotiations with Israel without preconditions.

The accusation that Abbas was a Soviet agent coincides with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Libermans announcement Aug. 27 that he embarked on direct negotiations with Palestinian figures without coordinating with the Palestinian Authority, which can be seen as new Israeli strategy to end Abbas political rule. On Aug. 31, Liberman slammed Abbas and accused him of heading a corrupt regime, calling on Palestinians businessmen to get rid of him.

Hamas has been noticeably silent on the accusations. Al-Monitor contacted a number of Hamas spokesmen who refused to comment without giving reasons.

However, Ahmed Yousef, former political adviser to the deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau, told Al-Monitor, These accusations will pave the way for more in the coming days. Israel wishes to put more pressure on Abbas, and may even consider ousting him, especially since Israel now believes that his political role has come to an end and that it is time to look for someone to succeed him  someone whos more flexible and easily dealt with. Whats remarkable is that Israels allegations against Abbas coincide with an Arab campaign against Abbas, making his situation harder to manage and portraying him as a weak ruler. If Hamas were to back Abbas, it would only do so after he approaches Hamas with a unitary agenda to rally support for the cause against Israel.

Israels allegations against Abbas are reminding Palestinians of those made against former President Yasser Arafat. In January 2002, Israel accused Arafat of ordering the purchase of weapons to fight Israelis.

Also, in October 2015, Netanyahu accused Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, mufti of Jerusalem from 1921-1937, of inspiring the Nazis to embark on the Holocaust during World War II.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Palestinian minister told Al-Monitor, The Israeli propaganda campaign against Abbas will not stop at accusing him of spying for the Soviets, as we have documented information about Tel Avivs plan to end his political career and destroy his reputation in the eyes of the Palestinian public. Whats worse is that the Israeli campaign is being coupled with a wave of incitement against him from neighboring countries  namely Egypt, Jordan and the UAE  that seek to replace Abbas with his archrival Mohammed Dahlan as president. All this gives more reason to believe that there is indeed a conspiracy to get rid of him.

Abbas couldnt have imagined that Israel would one day decide to do away with him, especially after it had imposed him on the international community and the US administration at the expense of his longtime friend Arafat. Abbas appointment as prime minister in 2002 was a prelude to stripping Arafat of his political, security and financial powers before his death in November 2004, which some Palestinians believe was an assassination. In Abbas case, Israel is likely to resort to soft power in the form of a smear campaign before ousting him for good.
September 15, 2016

The mini-crisis over rail maintenance work on the Sabbath has come and gone, and tens of thousands of public transport passengers are probably busy with new concerns. The economic loss of millions of shekels on the day the trains were stopped, Sept. 4, a weekday, have been absorbed in the rubbish bin of taxpayer money. Self-appointed transportation officer Yair Lapid, the eader of the centrist, secular Yesh Atid and who volunteered to drive stranded soldiers to their duty stations on Saturday evening, picked up a few more votes.

The ultra-Orthodox parties were quick to cease fire. With the courts ultimately ruling that the government couldn't revoke past authorizations for conducting maintenance work on Saturdays, they indeed lost the minor battle over the railway. On the other hand, they are scoring point after point in the truly important struggle  between religion and state. They dont have to make much of an effort. Others are doing the work for them: the government, the Knesset, secular Israelis and religious nationalists. A political leader, Lapid, who rose to prominence by demanding that the ultra-Orthodox be required to perform military service like other Jewish Israelis is photographed at the Western Wall, his shoulders covered in a prayer shawl, in a picture worth far more than a thousand words.

Public transportation comes to a standstill on the Sabbath in most parts of the country. Secular Knesset members recently supported a bill canceling the requirement to study core issues  math, English and other nonreligious subjects  in ultra-Orthodox schools, a move that ensures the ultra-Orthodox a never-ending stream of unemployable but disciplined voters. Most young ultra-Orthodox men and women continue to enjoy exemption from military and national service. The Orthodox stream of Judaism has a monopoly on the kosher food certificate industry, which hands out jobs for thousands of inspectors at food factories and in restaurants at taxpayers' expense. The State of Israel only recognizes conversions signed and sealed by Orthodox rabbis.

In The Sabbath and Zionism, the Hebrew essayist known as Ahad Haam, who passed away 90 years ago, wrote, One can say, without exaggeration, that more than the people of Israel kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept them. Indeed, the Sabbath, much like other religious traditions, Jewish holidays and Jewish culture, has served as the glue that binds Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora, although many assimilate or engage in fights with different streams of Judaism and rabbinical courts. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, however, the Sabbath and other religious matters have become kegs of dynamite. These matters divide the Jewish communities in Israel from the Diaspora, split secular and religious Jews, religious and ultra-Orthodox, ultra-Orthodox of European (Ashkenazi) origin and those from Arab states (Sephardic Jews), the Orthodox, the conservatives and the Reform streams of Judaism.

Even the hands of the Supreme Court are tied. On Sept. 12, Chief Justice Miriam Naor mustered her harshest vocabulary to express the helplessness of the states top court in the face of the ultra-Orthodox minority. At a hearing on a petition submitted three years ago demanding that the Western Wall be managed by a multi-denominational Jewish entity, Naor said, Things are being dragged out endlessly, without limits.  A plan was drawn up, regulations were written.  Why isnt this thing coming to an end?

Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, the vice president of the Supreme Court, himself an observant Jew, directed a half-question, half-rebuke at the rabbi in charge of the Western Wall area, Shmuel Rabinovitch, stating, The rabbi has a point of view, but with all due respect, whats to be done with the rest of the public that does not share this view?

The questions presented by the chief justice and the justice, actually directed at the government, were left unanswered, while the ultra-Orthodox continue to dictate rules of conduct by the Western Wall. The disagreement over the right of women to pray as they wish and for non-Orthodox communities to pray at the wall plaza threatens to provoke a crisis in relations between Israel and the strong conservative and Reform Jewish American communities.

The religious wheeler-dealers are patient people. They are careful not to overexploit their good fortune or provoke the secular sector over the edge. On Sept. 7, Aryeh Deri, the interior minister and chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas, said, We have to remember the limits and set priorities. In an interview with an ultra-Orthodox radio station, Deri dared to say, We live in a secular state  indeed, Jewish, but secular. We are not in a Jewish law state. The Messiah has yet to come, and we have not reached the ideal situation in which the entire people of Israel understand the essence of the Sabbath.  Secular Israelis will decide what kind of Sabbath they want.  We will not tell anyone what to do. The ultra-Orthodox leader drew a distinction between Tel Aviv and the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak and his own Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof. Unlike in Tel Aviv, he said, no one violates the Sabbath.

The ultra-Orthodox parties chose not to react, instead keeping mum. They dont need to talk, as others are waging the battle in their stead for religion in the state. Those doing so are not just average any others, but the country's top court. In a June 2013 ruling ordering the Tel Aviv municipality to enforce no-business on the Sabbath regulations, Justice Rubinstein wrote, Tel Aviv is not another country, and it, too, has residents who want to adhere to the significance of the Sabbath, and it is bound by the laws of the state [establishing it] as Jewish and democratic. In short, a city that does not uphold Sabbath regulations is not Jewish enough.

This decision unanimously overturned a ruling by the Tel Aviv District Court from February 2012 ordering the municipality to balance contradicting interests  on the one hand, freedom from religion, freedom of conscience, freedom of occupation and public needs, and on the other, the desire to adhere to traditional values and avoid hurting religious sentiment.

We will not give the upper hand to the theocratic drive of our clerics. We will know how to keep them in their synagogues, Theodor Herzl wrote in his seminal work, The Jewish State. The Zionist visionary warned, In the affairs of state, with all our respect for them, the clerics must not interfere, lest they bring about difficulties at home and abroad. He had no idea how right his prophecy would turn out to be.
September 15, 2016

BAGHDAD  On Sept. 10, commenting on the news that the last batch of Iranian dissidents affiliated with the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) had left Iraq and were heading to Albania in a deal that the United States mediated and the United Nations supervised, the Iraqi government declared it had "closed the book on the Baathist regime."

The last group of Iranians was composed of 280 dissidents. They had lived in Camp Liberty refugee camp in Baghdad since 2012, after the Iraqi government transferred them from Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, along the Iraq-Iran border, in which they had lived for almost three decades.

On Sept. 12, US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his happiness about the MEK members' departure from Iraq and escaping the danger that was threatening their lives there, saying, "Their departure concludes a significant American diplomatic initiative that has assured the safety of more than 3,000 MEK members whose lives have been under threat."

Kerry added, "[Camp Liberty] had on many occasions been shelled. There were people killed and injured. And we have been trying to figure out a way forward.  After steady progress over a period of months, I visited Tirana earlier this year and I discussed with the Albanian government how to assist in facilitating the transfer and the resettlement of the last group of MEK members from Camp Liberty.  Im very proud that the United States was able to play a pivotal role in helping to get this job done."

Every now and then, Camp Liberty, which had sheltered MEK members for four years, would be bombed with mortars and rockets by armed groups close to Iran. For instance, Watheq al-Battat, a leader for the armed faction Hezbollah in Iraq who was reportedly killed in 2014, claimed responsibility for carrying out an attack against the camp in 2013, killing seven people and wounding 100 others.

On Sept. 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's media bureau issued a press statement, expressing the prime minister's satisfaction with the departure of the last Iranian dissidents. The government statement read, "The Iraqi government has completely eliminated the presence of the MEK on Iraqi territory and was able to close this file and close the book on the Baathist regime."

A major burden has been lifted off Baghdad's shoulders after 13 years. The MEK, which Iran-affiliated Iraqi parties call the "Khalq hypocrites," was close to Saddam Hussein's regime and had opposed the velayat-e faqih project, which has had strong ties with the Iraqi governments for 13 years.

Iran exerted great pressure on Iraqi authorities to put an end to the MEK in their country, because the group created a source of concern for Iran's presence and projects there. This is why Baghdad breathed a sigh of relief as it bid farewell to the opponents of velayat-e faqih.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Sept. 11, "The hypocrite terrorists  the MEK  had many conspiracies and committed crimes against the Iranian and Iraqi peoples. This is why their departure helps to spread chaos all around the world. On the other hand, the departure of al-Qaeda, which attacked both the Iranian and Iraqi people, was a good thing. They will be brought to justice sooner or later."

Majed Ghammas, the representative of the Lebanese Shiite Supreme Council to Tehran, told Iranian Tasnim news agency that the MEK's departure from Iraq was "humiliating."

Meanwhile, Fatima al-Zarakani, an Iraqi member of parliament for the State of Law Coalition led by Nouri al-Maliki, told Al-Monitor, "The MEK is a terrorist group. They had great cooperation with the Baathist regime to exterminate the Iraqi people. Their departure from Iraq is a major positive step toward getting rid of the Baathist regime's affiliates in the war against Iraqis.  The MEK has played a negative role in Iraq before and after 2003, as well as it has sought to please the Baathist regime and Iraq's enemies through acts that harmed the Iraqi political process."

However, Maryam Rajavi, the president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, commented on the last Iranian dissidents' transfer from Iraq to Albania and said, "This process is a strategic defeat for the regime in Tehran, where the bells rang marking the start of change [in Iran], attack and crawl operations."

She added, "The conspiracies and schemes to eliminate the MEK were defeated. The velayat-e faqih regime remained, along with its Ministry of Intelligence, its terrorism power and all its spies in Iraq who were hungry for the blood of MEK members, dragging their tails between their legs in shame."

For his part, an Iranian dissident who spent time in Camp Ashraf in Iraq but currently resides in Paris, told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "The suffering the MEK members had to endure in Iraq over the past 13 years cannot be described. But we can describe the steadfastness with which we confronted Mullahs' attempts to annihilate us; we were victorious and the dictatorial regime was defeated."

Of course, the MEK's departure from Iraq after they had been present there for 30 years has eliminated the threat posed against the Iranian regime, since the MEK's proximity to Iranian interests in Iraq could not have been easy for Tehran.

After 2013, Iraq's Shiite governments missed the chance to take advantage of both the presence and the departure of MEK members in strengthening their position vis-a-vis neighboring Iran, thereby enhancing Iraq's national interests in the midst of regional rivalries over Iraq.
September 15, 2016

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Sept. 8 that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have tentatively agreed to hold a meeting in Moscow in a step toward resuming political contacts between the two sides. Peace talks have been stalled since late 2010 due to Israel's ongoing settlement activities in the West Bank and Jerusalem. A date for the meeting has not yet been set.

The PA had set three conditions for the resumption of political negotiations with the Israelis: halting the construction of settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank, releasing the fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and ending the Israeli occupation by 2017.

Israel, which rejected the terms, repeatedly stressed its willingness to resume negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions. On Sept. 6, Abbas claimed Netanyahu requested to postpone the meeting. Israel responded Sept. 7 by publishing on the Israeli government's Channel 1 documents claiming Abbas worked as a KGB spy in Syria during the 1980s. The move naturally angered the PA, according to which such false reports aimed to undermine Russia's efforts to resume the negotiations.

Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee, denied reports that Abbas agreed to sit down with Netanyahu to avoid Israeli plans to marginalize him both politically and on the ground. He said that Abbas agreed to sit down with Netanyahu to show Moscow how evasive Israel is being, as evidenced by Netanyahus reluctance to directly respond.

Majdalani told Al-Monitor that the PA and the Russian leadership reached an understanding whereby the meeting would follow a specific program and achieve concrete results. He added that the Russian leadership confirmed that these are its goals and that it is not seeking to hold a meeting in the interest of public relations, which will fail like the US initiatives that have been biased toward Israel.

Majdalani stressed that the meeting does not aim to replace the French efforts to resume negotiations, but rather is a step to help open doors and persuade Netanyahu to participate in the international conference that the French initiative is calling for, and the Russians have affirmed this position.

Rabah Muhanna, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestines political bureau, told Al-Monitor, President Abbas agreement to sit down with Netanyahu in Moscow is another mistake committed by Abbas in the framework of his erroneous policies.

He went on, These meetings will not reap any fruits for the Palestinian cause, especially since those holding the reins of power in Israel are from the extreme right, which does not believe in peace or in recognizing the Palestinian rights to establish their state and to self-determination.

Muhanna called on Abbas to steer away from this course and head instead toward unifying the Palestinian ranks through the formation of a single leadership based on resistance against Israel.

He pointed out that the pressure on Abbas and the Palestinian people to participate in such meetings has long been applied to lead the Palestinians to waive their basic demands, namely the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the return of refugees to where they were displaced from in 1948. He called on Abbas not to respond to this pressure.

Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, agreed with Muhanna and said that such meetings are useless so long as Netanyahu refuses to stop the settlement activity, recognize the Palestinian state and withdraw to the 1967 borders. He added, President Abbas approval of holding this meeting showed Palestinian flexibility in responding to international peace initiatives.

Barghouti told Al-Monitor that this meeting is unlikely to reap any tangible results, as Abbas will attend it bearing in mind the conditions adopted by the Palestinian Central Council on April 28, 2014. According to these conditions, negotiations shall only take place when settlements are halted, when the fourth batch of prisoners is released and when a time limit for ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is set.

Barghouti called on the international community to place pressure on the Israeli government to abide by international resolutions on the Palestinian issue in order to see progress in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, should they resume.

Previous rounds of negotiations between the two sides had failed to produce any gains for the Palestinians. Saleh Abdel Jawad, a professor of political science at Birzeit University, told Al-Monitor, The people and the Palestinian leadership failed to learn any lessons from previous failed rounds of negotiations.

These failed peace initiatives include the 2003 US Road Map for Peace, the 2007 Annapolis Conference held in the United States and the US-sponsored round of negotiations in 2009.

The Palestinian rights will not be restored through the negotiations that the PA initiated since 1994, and the PA is convinced of this but has no other choice, he added.

Abdel Jawad said that Abbas agreed to sit down with Netanyahu despite the Palestinian preconditions because Abbas is devoted to this course, upon which his policy is based, and he does not want the world to think that he does not want peace by refusing to meet with Netanyahu.

Naji Sharab, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that the Palestinians have no choice but to agree to participate in such meetings. The PA fears that Israel is seeking to take advantage of the fading international interest in the Palestinian cause in the midst of the bloody conflicts plaguing the Middle East, specifically Syria.

He pointed out that some countries that are taking action on Israeli-Palestinian talks, especially France and Russia, are convinced that giving the Palestinians autonomy or linking the West Bank with Jordan and the Gaza Strip with Egypt is the most applicable solution, considering many years of US failure and the Americans current preoccupation with the presidential elections.
September 15, 2016

Prolonging religious holidays to make them long vacations has been an established practice in Turkey.

Religious holidays were seen as opportunities to heal social wounds and settle disputes. But nowadays that practice appears to further deepen existing political and ideological fissures while enabling millions of Turks to hit the roads for short holidays.

At dawn on Sept. 10, the apartments of two Turkish opinion leaders and public intellectuals were raided by police in Istanbul. They have been under detention since the first hours of the nine-day-long Eid al-Adha holidays. Nobody has heard from them. Their lawyers could not find the prosecutor who signed their detention warrants because he was on vacation, and they were not allowed to see their clients.

The detainees are not only neighbors in the same condominium, they are also brothers. The elder brother, Ahmet Altan, 66, is a best-selling novelist, a veteran journalist and the former editor-in-chief of Taraf, the controversial daily that rocked Turkey with sensational news stories on the alleged coup preparations of the military against the Justice and Development Part government during the first decade of the 2000s. The younger brother, Mehmet Altan, 63, is a professor of economics but is better known as a columnist who pioneered the trend called Second Republicans demanding the termination of the First Republic founded by Kemal Ataturk, whose guardian was the military.

Both are household names in Turkey, known for their irreconcilable hostility to anything related to the military.

Yet, a public prosecutor  one of those who orchestrated the unprecedented crackdown in Turkeys recent history  charged the brothers with colluding with the military. With no substantial evidence to prove the brothers' association with the failed coup, the prosecutor brought up an unheard-of charge, accusing the Altans of participating in a coup plot by giving subliminal or subconscious messages in a television talk show a day before the coup attempt.

Subliminal messages!

The Altans lawyers, who had no access to their clients nor to the prosecutor himself, uncovered the brand-new allegation from information the prosecutors office had leaked to the press.

The two brothers are spending the long religious holiday in detention and in unknown conditions. The Turkish media  those that are pro-government propaganda tools under the strict control of authorities and also circumscribed by the State of Emergency  have remained silent about the fate of their well-known colleagues. Some even found this an opportunity to settle scores using pro-government propaganda tools and to engage in vendettas.

As much as there is silence in the media of todays Turkey, there is also an uproar in the world's intelligentsia.

The detentions of Ahmet Altan and Mehmet Altan created an enormous backlash across the world, with hundreds of international intellectuals signing a letter of protest against the Turkish government. At the time of this writing, the number of international intellectual celebrities had reached 217, and the number continues to soar.

The campaign  initiated by Nobel laureates J.M. Coetzee of South Africa, the recipient of 2003 Nobel Prize in literature, and Orhan Pamuk of Turkey, a 2006 Nobel winner  was joined by Herta Muller of Germany, the 2009 Nobel laureate.

The signatories included very prominent literary figures from all around the world. The names of Elena Ferrante, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Hanif Kureishi, Julian Barnes, Elif Shafak and Gunter Walraff are just some among the scores of important pens.

Internationally acclaimed philosophers and sociologists quickly joined in. Among leading intellectuals and academics are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Noam Chomsky  a familiar name for similar campaigns  international heavyweight and octogenarian American sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, renowned French philosopher Etienne Balibar and his Irish colleague Philip Pettit. Many belong to the most prestigious learning institutions in the world.

Names ranging from British movie star Emma Thompson to her compatriot  the well-known playwright Tom Stoppard  and Nick Cave, a big-name musician with millions of fans around the globe, are united in solidarity with the Altans and other prominent Turkish intellectuals and journalists such as Asli Erdogan, Sahin Alpay and Nazli Ilicak, who were arrested during the witch hunt, which continues in the wake of the failed coup.

To bring together so many influential literary, artistic and intellectual heavy guns is no easy task. It serves as a clue to the severity of the repression of intellectuals in Turkey.

It beckons the call: Nobel laureates and prominent intellectuals of the world unite! Unite against the repression of Turkish intellectuals!

Indeed, the British online daily Independent published an article headlined "Novelists fighting for jailed Turkish writer Ahmet Altan is the kind of modern diplomacy we urgently need."

Alessio Colonnelli wrote, With Western leaders failing us, we need great international minds to act. They have a clear vision and an audience of tens of millions of people.

He brilliantly stated, These writers have huge international readerships, with their words translated into [dozens] of languages. Their timely reaction is precisely what has been lacking in the handling of diplomatic and cultural events such as these up until now. We are seeing the direct engagement of our finest minds in addressing brutality on our behalf. We pay for their work, and they speak for us; a personal relationship between writer and reader of the type we used to see regularly until the end of the 1970s.

From Turkey to Egypt, the imprisonment of creative[s] and intellectuals has reached unprecedented levels, read Colonnelli's piece in the Independent  realizing that the governments of those countries are increasingly becoming a burden on the civilized world.

Particularly, Turkey  different from Egypt  is part of the Western world and a member of Western organizations, institutions and alliances. Turning their backs to such irregularities in Turkey for the sake of short-range interests and realpolitik is becoming a shameful act on the part of Turkeys Western friends and allies.

It is getting to be more and more unsustainable. The growing reaction of the international intelligentsia is a glimpse of hope not only for the freedom of Ahmet Altan and Mehmet Altan  who are spending the long holiday in an Istanbul jail  but also for other jailed intellectuals and journalists and for Turkey itself.
Bessemer native Andre Holland -- best known for his roles in the movies "42" and "Selma" and the Cinemax drama "The Knick" -- appears in Season 6 of the FX channel's horror anthology "American Horror Story."

In the new season's first episode, which aired Wednesday night, Holland appeared as Matt, a salesman who, along with his wife, Shelby (Lily Rabe), flees life in LA and moves into an old farmhouse in the country, where they are haunted and terrorized by ghosts past and present, real and imagined.

Holland and Rabe recount their characters' nightmare in a series of documentary-style interviews that appear throughout the episode, while Cuba Gooding Jr. and "American Horror Story" regular Sarah Paulson also appear as Matt and Shelby in the dramatic re-creations of their story.

This year's theme for the Emmy-winning series in "American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare." The show airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Central time on FX.

Holland, who graduated from Birmingham's John Carroll Catholic High School in 1997, previously appeared as sportswriter Wendell Smith in the Jackie Robinson biopic "42" and as civil rights activist and future Congressman Andrew Young in the Martin Luther King Jr. story "Selma." He also was part of the ensemble cast of the Cinemax medical drama "The Knick," playing Dr. Algernon Edwards.

While growing up in Bessemer, Holland started acting when he was 11 years old, appearing in a Birmingham Summerfest production of "Oliver!"

In a 2013 interview with AL.com, Holland credited his parents, Mary and Donald Holland, for leading him into an acting career by encouraging him to explore new and different things.

"It's been quite a journey from Bessemer," Holland said in that interview. "But it all started because my parents insisted that we do everything we could and be exposed to as many things as we could find."
Fair_Park_Swimming_Pool.jpg

At the turn of the 20th century, these swimmers at Fair Park Pool in Birmingham were considered, basically, sex-on-a-stick. (Source: Birmingham Public Library)

It ain't easy being a girl in the best of times. When I was in school, girls had to read Tiger Beat to find out what kind of personality to cultivate if we wanted to date Shaun Cassidy. We had to take home ec. We had to perm our hair. Well, not so much had to. Only if we wanted to look like every other girl ... and Mr. Brady in Season 3 of "The Brady Bunch."

These days, it can be even more difficult for young women. They feel the need to be camera-ready perfect at all times while also being "true to themselves" and not disappointing generations of feminists. And I thought using those little rubber rollers in my Toni Home Perm was stressful.

It's in this atmosphere a girl-fight erupted this week in response to a column penned by Alabama alum Rebecca Walden for the Huffington Post's contributors page. Walden described being traumatized over how young women were semi-dressed at last week's Bama-USC game, urging them to "cover it up."

People weighed in on both sides, with a student writing a response saying Walden's column was "slut-shaming."

I decided I'd throw my 2 cents into the argument after receiving requests from hundreds of readers. So, OK, it was just that one guy. Still, he asked nicely and I feel duty bound to respond - I land firmly, smack-dab in the middle of the road on this one. I can see both sides of this debate.

As a mother of a 23-year-old who is still down at Auburn finishing up a few classes, I have seen my share of butt cheeks jiggling beneath tiny rompers and bosoms that jump out to greet you. I understand where Weldon is coming from. Just this summer, my jaw dropped when I arrived in Auburn and saw the denim shorts Baby Girl was wearing. In public. Turned out, she was trying to get me to buy her some new shorts. It worked. She had five new pair within the hour.

But I can also see the point of the student, Alejandro Tenorio, who says when women continue to "bash each other" over clothing choices, we not only damage self-esteem but play into the blame-female-sexuality culture. It's that culture that resulted in judges giving light punishments recently to two college men found guilty of raping incapacitated women who were apparently so sexy while babbling incoherently and vomiting that the men lost control of their extremities.

I agree it's unfair for girls to have to "cover up" so the boy sitting next to her can maintain control over his adolescent urges. But I also see Walden's point that sometimes young women seem to be dressing for the attention they may draw, from men and other women, and not for themselves.

As one commenter pointed out, there was a time our mothers were scandalized when we wore bikinis ... in the swimming pool. Each generation has standards that are constantly being challenged by the next generation. It's part of life.

Still, it does occur to me that eventually, we will run out of ways to scandalize our parents short of walking around nude. Let's think about this. In primitive times, people began to make items of clothing, not so they would look nice while making duck-lipped selfies, but because those cave floors were cold, y'all. They weren't ashamed of their dangly bits; they just didn't want them getting caught on a limb during the mastodon hunt.

Gradually, people added more clothing. They felt warm. They felt protected. And this was good. Then at some point society decided women, because we were so innately foxy, were required more clothing than men. It got to the point where women's clothing was so restrictive they could no longer walk, or even sit in a chair, so they had to be propped in corners where they could smile and look like sex on a stick while the men figured out how to spend their wives' family fortunes and run the world.

Then, there came a rebellion. Women's clothing gradually got tinier and tinier and tinier until now you're as likely to be greeted by a set of dimpled below-the-belt cheeks as those on someone's face.

Bottom line: We middle-aged women can be scandalized. We can hiss to our male partners: "Did you see how that girl was dressed?!!" as if he needed us to point her out. But these women aren't breaking laws, or even school dress codes. They have the right to dress in ways that make them feel sexy before the time comes when "feeling sexy" is defined as khaki capris and a pair of Aerosoles with little white socks. Oh, wait, that's only me?

Any-hoo, moms, we're just going to have to wait until game-day clothing gets so tiny, the po-po has to arrest offenders for indecency. In the meantime, take comfort in the fact that it won't be anytime soon. Those bleachers are hot, y'all.

Disclaimer: The preceding is a humor column. You know, a bit of levity to brighten cold, dark days filled with commercials about politicians and toilet paper that helps us "enjoy the go." If you fail to chuckle, or even smile, rather than go about your day and letting me go about mine, I hope you will take the time to comment with "This is stupid!" or "Soooo not funny," or my personal favorite, "I hope you get FIRED!!!!!!" If you prefer, mail $2 to a fund to buy me some new khaki capris that make me look like sex on a stick. Find more columns here.
A LaGrange, Ga. man has been arrested in connection with a Sept. 5 killing in Chambers County.

Sheriff Sid Lockhart said Cordamione Decornez Cameron, 22, was arrested today at a LaGrange residence in connection with the shooting death of David Heard, 49.

Cameron is currently being held at the Troup County Detention Facility awaiting extradition to Chambers County on charges of capital murder, first degree robbery and first degree burglary.

Authorities were called to a home Sept. 5 in the 33000 block of U.S. 431 on a welfare check. They found Heard dead inside, dead from gunshot wounds.

Investigators say Heard lived alone at the residence, which is along a heavily traveled highway.

Also assisting in the investigation were Randolph Co. Sheriff's Office, Roanoke Police Department, LaGrange Police Department, Troup Co. Sheriff's Office, Valley Police Department, United States Marshal Service, Chambers County DTF, 5th Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office and the Chambers County Coroner's Office.

Anyone with further information in reference to this case is asked to call the Chambers Co. Sheriff's Office (

334) 864-4333 or CrimeStoppers at

(334) 756-8200.
Ensley Fires

BFRS responded to an abandoned house the 1500 block of Avenue H, where the house was fully involved. Almost simultaneously, another crew was dispatched to a second abandoned home in the 1600 block of Avenue J. (Photos courtesy of Ratcliff_24)

( )

Two people are undergoing questioning after four abandoned structures were burned in Ensley in just a matter of hours today.

The fires began about 3:30 p.m., according to Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service officials, and all took place within 1 1/2 miles of each other.

Birmingham Fire Chief Charles Gordon said this evening the department's new arson detection dog, Alma, was brought to the scene and her handler, Lt. Kevin Friday, is now questioning a man and woman. Gordon said the same car was seen leaving multiple scenes.

The first two started about 3:30 p.m. Firefighters responded to an abandoned house in the 1500 block of Avenue H, where the house was fully involved. Almost simultaneously, another crew was dispatched to a second abandoned home in the 1600 block of Avenue J.

Within the hour, fire crews were then dispatched to a third abandoned structure - that one in the 2600 block of Pike Road. That was a multi-story building, also fully involved. The Pike Road fire was followed by another - about two hours later - in the 2500 block of Bush Boulevard. There were no injuries in any of the fires.

BFRS Lt. Friday said witnesses were able to give investigators a description of the vehicle seen at most, if not all, of the fires as well as the man and woman inside that vehicle. An eyewitness said at least one of them was spotted setting clothes on fire behind one of the houses.

Based on the witnesses descriptions, Birmingham police officers were able to take the suspects into custody. They are at headquarters for questioning.

Friday said Alma, the arson dog, alerted to the presence of accelerant in three different spots at the Avenue H fire, and also alerted at the Bush Boulevard blaze. As for the suspects themselves, Alma "showed interest" in them as well.

"She alerted on both of them,'' Friday said. "We're trying to piece it all together now."
Pamela Miles couldn't believe the violence that occurred outside her front door Wednesday.

A neighbor of the victim, she heard the gunfire while she was taking a shower. The first gunshot caught her attention. Then she heard five more. She thought someone was popping firecrackers at the birthday party nearby.

When she looked outside, Miles said she saw swarms of people running from the scene yelling, "Someone got shot!"

When it was all over, the mother of the child celebrating the birthday was dead, a Childersburg police officer shot in the foot and the child's father -- suspected of shooting the victims -- was shot and injured by another officer, according to news reports and statements from those at the scene.

The shooting is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

The investigation comes at the request of the Childersburg police chief and the Talladega County District Attorney's Office.

"Nothing further is available as the investigation is ongoing," an ALEA press release read.

Talladega County Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore told The Daily Home a mother was hosting a child's birthday party when the child's father showed up for visitation.

The two argued and the father got a gun, shot the mother to death and shot a Childersburg police officer called to the scene in the foot, that report continued. Another Childersburg officer shot and injured the father.

In Childersburg, family members are already starting a candlelight vigil for the victim who was shot and killed. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/UXThc4TeQm  Jonece Starr Dunigan (@StarrDunigan) September 15, 2016

Soon after Miles heard the shots, law enforcement swarmed into the neighborhood. As family members cried and screamed in grief, Miles said her heart started to break.

"She was just over (my) house the other day. She and my daughter are good friends," Miles said. "And now you're telling me she is gone?"

Things started to quite down at the scene after law enforcement left the area.

Family members gathered around a candlelight vigil as they talked about their cousin, their niece, their friend. Even with the home taped off with caution tape, Miles said she can still see the victim playing in the front yard with her children or watching them play in the swimming pool she recently bought them.

"Every time you would see her, she was with her children," Miles said.

Miles is asking the community to come together during this tragic time. Every Sunday, she said a group of residents pray under a tree close to the victim's home. She said most of the participants are older and few young people show up.

"We can't stop this violence until we all pray together and work together," Miles said.

More details will be added to this article as more information is released.
The Alabama Attorney General's corruption unit -- the same group that just took down former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard -- has opened an investigation in Birmingham.

The unit this week asked for and received permission to empanel a special grand jury -- the type used to investigate issues expected to take longer than a typical grand jury would, said Jefferson County Presiding Judge Joseph Boohaker, who signed the order.

The grand jury will convene October 17th, and can continue for months.

Boohaker said he could not talk about the nature of the grand jury's investigation, other than to confirm the document seeking to empanel the jury was requested by the attorney general's special corruption unit.

He said Matt Hart - the lead prosecutor in the Hubbard case and many other corruption prosecutions - came to his office personally to make the request. The document signed by Boohaker did not state a specific area of investigation.

Prosecutor Matt Hart questions witness Minda Riley Campbell during Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard's trial, Ala. (Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP, Pool)

Some close to the Birmingham Water Works Board in recent weeks have said investigators from the state have begun to ask questions about operations there.

Questions have arisen about contracts at the water board, including a contract with Reuben Russell, who was awarded an engineering contract this summer despite having no engineering license nor engineers on staff. Russell had failed to provide even basic information to water works staff attempting to conduct due diligence, but he has been heartily supported by a majority of the board.

Russell this week terminated his contract with the water works. The board was notified of the decision today.

Russell, in an email to AL.com, said he terminated the contract on his own after weeks of controversy. He said it had nothing to do with the investigation.

"I took this action in the best interest of my company. And I took this step with no knowledge that the Alabama Attorney General's Office has, according to media reports, begun an investigation of the water board," he wrote. "I was not asked by anyone to take this step."

Water Works General Manager Mac Underwood said "the only state agency to contact BWWB is the Alabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors," who questioned the Russell contract.

But questions about the Birmingham Water Works Board do not limit any investigation to the water works itself. The board has been the epicenter of political struggles over power and contracts for years, and that has only intensified in the last year.

The Birmingham City Council appoints members to the board, and several have been awash in criticism from those who claim they have used that appointing authority to help friends and associates obtain contracts with the board.

Mike Lewis, spokesman for the Attorney General Luther Strange, said "the Attorney General's Office is unable to comment."

Corrected 2:05 p.m. Sept. 15 to indicate Reuben Russell terminated the contract. Russell quotes added 4:31.
A leak in a major gasoline pipeline running from Houston to New York was discovered late last week in rural Shelby County, about 30 miles south of Birmingham. The operator, Colonial Pipeline, announced yesterday that the total volume spilled was approximately 250,000 gallons.

Here's what we know so far about the spill and response and what lies ahead:

UPDATED at 2:49 p.m. -- State of emergency declared to keep gas flowing: Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal each issued executive orders Thursday to declare states of emergency over concerns about gasoline shortages in areas served by the pipeline.

The orders will allow fuel delivery truck drivers in each state to exceed maximum hours limits established by the U.S. Department of Transportation and prevent gasoline outages. The orders apply only to trucks that are transporting fuel.

Bentley concluded his order by reminding all Alabama residents "it is unlawful for any person within the State of Alabama to impose unconscionable prices for the sale of any commodity during the period of a declared State of Emergency."

Crews are working around the clock to clean it up: Colonial Pipeline spokesman Bill Berry said that a total of 519 Colonial employees and outside contractors are working in shifts to remove the gasoline and remove the spilled material from rural Shelby County southeast of Helena.

There is still gas in the pipeline, possibly still leaking: The leaking pipeline was shut down on Friday after the leak was discovered, but Berry said there may be additional gas still inside the pipeline. The leaking section of pipeline hasn't been excavated yet due to safety precautions, so Berry said the condition of the pipeline and cause of the leak is still unknown.

Crews have installed temporary plugs in the pipeline on either side of the spill location, and gasoline is being extracted from the affected section of pipeline at those blockage sites.

The company says the leak is contained in a mining retention pond: The leak was discovered at an inactive mine site by employees of the Alabama Surface Mining Commission on Sept. 9, and Colonial says most of the gasoline is confined to a retention pond built for the mine.

Colonial is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Cahaba Riverkeeper David Butler to monitor the nearby creeks and streams to make sure none of the gasoline reaches the river.

Butler has praised Colonial's response to the spill and believes that if the weather holds, the gasoline will not reach the river.

Vapors create a safety concern for clean-up workers: Because so much gasoline is confined to a small area, crews have to take precautions to protect themselves from vapors that could be harmful if inhaled or potentially flammable if they reach certain concentrations.

Air monitoring stations have been set up at the site, with safety benchmarks based on thresholds set by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. If fumes reach 10 percent of the concentration levels that would make combustion possible, workers have to leave the area.

Federal authorities restricted the airspace over the spill.

Repairs could come as early as this weekend: Colonial Pipeline's Berry said the company is hoping to be able to dig out the pipeline this weekend.

"We're not going to rush this," Berry said. "It's really kind of a function of what are the environmental conditions and how can we best maintain public safety as well as our worker safety.

"We are anxious to repair the pipeline. This is a significant piece of infrastructure in the United States for supplying petroleum products to airports, to major markets, to minor markets and it's not lost on us that this issue is affecting the supply and distribution system."

The company's Alpharetta, Ga. home office is developing work-arounds to avoid disruptions to the supply chain. According to the spill response information site, gasoline is being diverted to an alternate pipeline which is usually used for products such as diesel, jet fuel and home heating oil.

The spill is in a closed-off, unpopulated area: EPA on-scene coordinator Chuck Berry said the nearest home is about 2.5 miles away, and the spill site is accessible only by dirt roads. Those roads are blocked to non-emergency vehicles.

Some roads have been converted to one-way streets to allow easier traffic flow for response vehicles and trucks carrying spilled material back to a Colonial Pipeline tank farm in Pelham for treatment.

The recovered gasoline could potentially still be used, Berry said, but it would be treated and thoroughly tested before it was returned to the mix.

EPA, ADEM, local EMAs are on the scene: The Unified Incident Command includes personnel from the EPA, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the Pelham Fire Department, Helena Fire Department and other local agencies.

Chuck Berry with EPA said the agency's role is to enforce the Clean Water Act, and make sure Colonial Pipeline meets its obligations under the law. He said so far, they appear to be doing that.

"They have mobilized an army to respond to this spill," he said. "I would say it's been better than adequate."

ADEM will be in charge of enforcing remediation of the spill site and removal of contaminated soil or other materials to return the area to its previous condition.

Volume estimates may be low: The spill estimate was calculated using the best available information, and will likely be updated as the response continues. Chuck Berry with EPA said the most direct way to calculate the volume -- to measure the concentrations of gas in the pond and multiply by the area -- was impossible because of safety concerns over the fumes.

Berry said the volume estimates of the spill will be updated as the response continues.

"The risks far outweighed the reward of reporting additional volumes when it just means you have more material in the same place," Berry said. "It wasn't going anywhere, it wasn't migrating.

"(Increasing the estimated spill amount) would not have changed our response approach, it would not have changed much of what we've done to just drive the number just for the sake of driving the number."
A Georgia man is behind bars after he was stopped on an Alabama interstate and found to be in possession of more than $3 million in cash.

Thomas Shane Randler, 41, of Douglasville, Ga., was arrested on Tuesday, said Senior State Trooper Reginal King. A narcotics agent with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency made the arrest in Marion County.

The traffic stop was made shortly after 3 p.m. on Interstate 22. A search of the Ford Express van Randler was driving turned up $3.767 million as well as a stolen handgun, King said. Marion County sheriff's deputies and Winfield police assisted in the arrest, and Marion County District Attorney Jack Bostick was also involved in the investigation.

Randler is charged with second-degree receiving stolen property. No other information is being released pending the ongoing investigation. Randler's mugshot was not immediately available.
Family members of a woman who has spent 25 years in prison for the kidnapping of Carrie Smith Lawson said they know Karen Lancaster McPherson did wrong, but said they feel she's been punished enough.

McPherson, now 52, went before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles in August. It was the fourth time she's sought parole, and it was the fourth time she was denied parole in the Sept. 11, 1991, kidnapping of Lawson, whose remains have never been found.

Her family is now speaking out for the first time.

"The bottom line is this: I don't disagree that my sister deserved to be punished. Twenty-five years of her life are gone. The man who killed Carrie himself is dead," said Frank Lancaster, Karen's brother and the oldest of the five Lancaster children. "My sister had a minor role in this. I know my sister, and if she had any inclination that there was going to be harm done to Carrie, she wouldn't have done this."

The kidnapping happened after midnight at the home Carrie, then 25, shared with her husband, 26-year-old Earl Lawson, also an attorney. They received a middle-of-the night call from a woman claiming to be a nurse who said a close family member was at the hospital. As the couple left for the hospital, a gunman appeared at their vehicle. Earl Lawson was bound, and Carrie was never seen again.

McPherson's cousin, Jerry Bland, was identified as the main suspect and committed suicide as lawmen surrounded his home. A ransom demand was made, and paid. A search of Bland's property found the majority of the $300,000 paid by her family. Carrie was declared dead two years after her disappearance.

Carrie's family has continued to fight for McPherson to remain behind bars. Carrie's sister, Margaret Smith Kubiszyn, and father, 82-year-old David Smith, were among those present for the most recent parole hearing.

"She was alone with Carrie for a long time when they were holding her and she got to know her and still didn't let her go," Kubiszyn said. "That's always been really hard for me to swallow, that anyone could get to know Carrie and then turn her over to her executioner."

Earl Lawson agrees. Though he hasn't attended any of McPherson's parole hearings, he writes letters against her release.

"The thing I'm still angry about is, based on what investigators have said, she spent a considerable amount of time alone with Carrie with Jerry Bland not around," Lawson said. "She could have released her. She could have done a million different things and she just chose not to. I don't know how a human being does that."

EASILY MANIPULATED

McPherson was the fourth of five children in her military family, the daughter of a special forces serviceman who did two tours in Vietnam and later became an alcoholic. McPherson's mother and brother describe their family as dysfunctional at best.

"He was a very strong disciplinarian, and he talked down to Karen, to all of the kids," said McPherson's mother, Ida Cleveland. "He told them they would never be as good as he was."

McPherson, her family said, struggled emotionally and was drawn to the wrong types of men. She was easily manipulated, including by her cousin Bland.

"He'd had bypass surgery," Cleveland said. "He would call her and tell her everybody had left him and he was by himself. He played on her sympathy."

"He was very influential, very charismatic," Frank Lancaster said. "I don't know the whole story about how Jerry got Karen to do this, but the one I've heard the most often was Jerry put a gun to my sister's face and told her someone in her family would be killed."

McPherson at the time was a married truck driver with a 12-year-old daughter. She had substance abuse issues like many of her siblings, Lancaster said. Weeks before the abduction, Lancaster said Bland invited him and his wife over to swim in their pool, which was a rare invitation. Bland told Lancaster he had a business deal coming up that might interest him.

"He said, 'I can't discuss it right now, but I might be able to use you on this,' " he said. "Jerry was a businessman, so I figured he had some kind of business opportunity I could fit into."

Two weeks later, however, Lancaster, a U.S. Merchant Marine, took an overseas assignment and all thoughts of a joint venture with Bland were forgotten -- until he was watching CNN in his Singapore hotel room and saw photos of his sister and cousin on television in connection with Carrie's abduction.

"I called home, and mom was devastated," he said.

Cleveland said she didn't even know of her daughter's involvement until she was on her way to Bland's funeral.

"We heard it on the radio, and something happened to my mind," Cleveland said. "She had just gone on vacation to Louisiana with her husband. I had just talked to her a couple of days before that."

GUILTY PLEA

McPherson pleaded guilty to the charges against her in record time -- on Nov. 5, 1991, less than two months after the abduction -- and was sentenced to life in prison.

In 1992, she signed a legal agreement with Lawson and Smith's parents that they wouldn't oppose parole after 10 years if she gave them additional information about Carrie's disappearance and death. Under that agreement, she consented to a polygraph, hypnosis and voice analysis, and later met with Carrie's father, David Smith, for about five hours. Her family and lawyers at the time said she passed a polygraph test, but a voice analysis expert told the Smith family she wasn't truthful and they discounted everything said in that interview.

Karen McPherson

In 1994, McPherson sought to withdraw her guilty plea and her attorneys argued she signed a confession under duress and did not have effective legal counsel. She claimed there was an implied threat to take her children and have her husband arrested if she didn't plead guilty. She also claimed she didn't understand the consequences of her plea and that she wouldn't receive any benefit for her cooperation after the plea. Without a plea, however, McPherson would have been tried for capital murder and kidnapping, and potentially eligible for the death penalty.

She has continued to file multiple legal pleadings -- often acting as her own counsel. State prison officials said she declined to be interviewed by AL.com for this story. Both her mom and brother said they've talked extensively about the case with McPherson.

"Her only involvement was taking care of Carrie," her mother said. "She didn't want to do it. She thought she could talk him out of it. He had a .357 that he would hold against her head and say, 'You are going to do this.' "

Lancaster said his sister told him Carrie was frightened, but that McPherson kept reassuring her she wasn't going to get hurt. He said after the first money drop failed, Bland was high on cocaine and very frustrated at the turn of events.

"He was wired up and freaked out," he recalled McPherson telling the family. "Karen tried to release Carrie. Told her to run. Carrie wouldn't run because she didn't know the area and was afraid of the woods."

Bland later told McPherson that "it was over," and for her to go home. He said he would return Carrie to her family and then he was leaving town, they said.

"That's the last thing she ever heard Jerry say," Lancaster said. "She's had nightmares over it for years. She hates it. It tears her up."

Her mother agreed.

"When she got back home that night, she was shaking so bad that bed was even shaking," Cleveland said.

'HEARTBROKEN'

Lancaster said his family has suffered, as well.

"My family hired a psychic to try to find the remains," he said. "We wanted Carrie to have a Christian burial. That's the scar our family carries. I'm heartbroken over it. She had everything going for her."

"The thing I want to get out there is we are no different than millions of families in this country," Lancaster said. "We come from a long line of military members. Our family is not a bunch of ne'er-do-wells and criminals. We're blue-collar, working poor, but we're not out there committing crimes."

He said his sister had never been in trouble before the abduction, and has been a model prisoner for 25 years. Her daughter is now grown, married and has children of her own.

"What more can she give? They've had their eye for an eye, their pound of flesh," Lancaster said. "This is no longer about justice, it's about vengeance. She keeps fighting because the punishment doesn't fit the crime."

Kubiszyn said she doesn't hate McPherson, and actually feels sorry for McPherson's daughter.

"I know she (the daughter) has had a really hard time, and I feel a lot of sympathy for them, but Karen McPherson did get a life sentence and it was a kidnapping that ended in murder," she said. "We do not take lightly the effect that this has had on Karen McPherson's daughter, or the fact that we are asking for the board to keep a mother and grandmother incarcerated and away from her family for five more years."

Cleveland said she will continue to stand by McPherson and visit her regularly as she has since 1991.

"She is my daughter and I love her dearly," she said. "I don't love what she did, but that doesn't mean I don't love her."
A large crowd gathered Wednesday despite unwavering heat at the new downtown gateway to honor a civil rights icon whose roots are in Huntsville.

The City of Huntsville held a dedication ceremony to recognize 94-year-old Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who played key roles in the Montgomery bus boycott and Selma to Montgomery marches that focused America's attention on racism in the South.

Lowery, who is known as the "dean of the Civil Rights Movement," inspired Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, a four-lane roadway from Governors Drive to Pelham Avenue that debuted in April. The Rocket City native attended the event with his three daughters and members of the Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights.

"May this be the beginning of a new era for Huntsville when justice flows down like water," he said.

Lowery grew up on Church Street across from where the

WHNT

-TV Channel 19 studio sits today. He graduated from segregated William Hooper Councill High School in Huntsville and later co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lowery, who now lives in Atlanta, said the roadway named in his honor belongs to the men and women who "went through the caldron of political conflict, political challenge to make this possible."

"Don't you sit there and think it was easy," he said. "There were challenges and objections. There were naysayers and mean-doers who wanted to object and didn't think the city of Huntsville would honor one of its dark-skinned sons, but God moves in mysterious ways."

Shane Davis, Huntsville's director of urban development, said Phase II of the $8 million Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard project is under construction with a target completion date of December. A new greenway extension is also being developed along Fagan Creek.

Crews began enclosing the Fagan Creek channel into a box-culvert earlier this summer. Davis said both the culvert and greenway will be finished by late spring or early summer of 2017 when a new multi-use path to connect Lowery Boulevard to Monroe Street is ready to unveil.

The city recently created a new east-west connector via Pelham Avenue and Davis Circle to provide more connectivity to the Monroe Street roundabout near the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library.

Huntsville City Council President Will Culver said the commemoration of Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard was an important day for the city.

"It's incredible for us because we're blessed to be able to do this for such a special, impeccable man," he said.
An entire city's schools were on alert Thursday because of a text message sent to several students threatening a shooting at a high school.

The threat was directed at Austin High School in Decatur and police said extra police officers were immediately dispatched to the school as well as all other Decatur City Schools campuses.

The text message said there would be a "shooting at 10:15 a.m. in multiple hallways of the school," police said.

No shooting took place.

Police said the increased officer presence will remain in place at all schools for the rest of the day.

Austin High School went into "heightened alert" about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, police said, after a student who received the text brought it to the attention of school officials.

Parents were alerted to the incident via the school's messaging system at 9:15 a.m., police said. Parents were allowed to check their children out of school at that point.

Police said they secured a lead into the source of the text at 9:55 a.m.
The Alabama man charged with spray painting his wife's grave was convicted more than 20 years ago of killing his father, law enforcement said on Thursday.

Christopher Jack Lowrey, 46, of Crossville is free on parole for both a manslaughter conviction in 1993 as well as a 2008 child abuse conviction in Florida, according to DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris.

The charge of desecrating his wife's tombstone has also been upgraded to a felony, Harris said, because of the amount of damage done that is requiring that the tombstone be replaced.

Sheriff investigators are working with the Alabama Department of Pardons and Parole to have Lowrey's probation revoked, Harris said.

According to the announcement from Harris' office, Lowrey's father Jimmy Lowrey was shot in the face in his sleep with a .410 shotgun in December 1992. Christopher Lowrey then dumped his father's body in a field on County Road 111 in DeKalb County. The body was found several days later.

Lowrey was released from prison in November 2007 but was arrested and charged with child abuse in December 2007, Harris said. In November 2008, Lowrey was sentenced to prison in Florida in the child abuse case.

Lowrey was transferred from the Florida prison to an Alabama prison in 2012, Harris said, and released in May 2015 and is on probation.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo  Cecilia held the microphone in her hands. The large headphones covered her ears. The small room that functioned as a community radio station in the bustling Gambela market in the outskirts of Kinshasa was crowded with other street children like Cecilia.

The group had identified this weeks theme of their radio show as violence and abuse in adoptive families  which Cecilia knows a thing or two about. She and her friends did the sound-check, prepared the audio recorders and microphones and the broadcasting began.

People should treat their adopted children like their own, Cecilia started to say into the microphone in a professional matter. When they have a child at home thats not biologically theirs, they shouldnt just consider that child the house slave.

Her fellow young radio reporters nodded and cheered her on. As thousands of people tuned in, 15-year-old Cecilia began to tell her story.

Life hasnt been easy for Cecilia since she was orphaned in 2009. Most of her relatives and older siblings were in Angola, unable to help or support her. Before being able to fully process the sudden loss of her two parents at a young age, Cecilia found herself homeless and in the streets.

Two weeks into her life on the streets, a woman approached her. You are too pretty to be in the streets, she said to Cecilia. Come home with me and Ill make you my daughter.

Thus began Cecilias life as what she described as a domestic house slave. For six years, she experienced physical, verbal and sexual abuse in her adoptive home. She received next to no food compared with the other children in the house and was made to sleep on the floor.

One day, her adoptive mother punched her so badly, she broke her front teeth. This incident was the last straw for Cecilia. That day, she decided to run away and return to the streets, despite the risks presented by such a life.

There are 25,000 children on the streets of Kinshasa like Cecilia and the figures have nearly doubled in the past decade, according to UNICEF.

The urban sprawl of Kinshasa coupled with the high fertility rates in the DRC, have allowed the number of street children in the Congolese capital of more than 10 million habitants to rise as well. In a fragile post-conflict economy, children living on the streets are vulnerable to recruitment as child soldier, for illegal mining work, sexual exploitation or witchcraft.

Without economic prospects or educational opportunities, many children beg for money and food; some hustle for small, exploitative manual jobs carrying things around; and some turn to crime.

From criminals to community workers

Joachim Ambambo, 37, a former street child, isnt afraid to admit he was one of the children that turned to crime. But after spending six years in the juvenile prison, he turned his life around and decided to give back to the community of street children in Kinshasa.

There are many street children in Kinshasa. A lot of them are working and sleeping around Gambela market, Ambambo said.

These children [around the market] are suffering from intense stigma. Tradesmen or people in the market dont treat them nice. Sometimes the police beat them up. If theres a crime in the area, [the street children] are the first suspects.

INTERACTIVE: Exploiting DRCs cobalt kids

Having suffered the perils of being a street child, Ambambo knew one of the most effective ways of making a difference in this community would be to shift perspectives about street children.

He was also aware of the power of radio, and how everyone in Gambela market and beyond tune into to the local radio stations. Thus, in collaboration with the Childrens Radio Foundation, the radio programme Mungongo ya Mwana  meaning The Voice of a Child in Lingala  was born.

Since March 2016, Kinshasa locals now tune into this programme every Sunday and hear the voices of the street children that they pass by every day. The Mungongo ya Mwana project trained 17 broadcasters in 2015  all of whom are street children aged between 12 and 17.

Radio is incredibly cheap and easy to learn, said Clemence Petit-Perrot, a programme director at the Childrens Radio Foundation.

[Street children] can go from nothing to full production in five days. Producing their own radio programme and hearing their own voices on the radio is very empowering for them. It also gives them a different set of new and valuable skills, Petit-Perrot said.

In addition to providing the children with a new skill, radio can create tangible results to improve the daily lives of street children in Kinshasa.

Personal is powerful, added Petit-Perrot. Opinions of people [about street children] who listen to this programme change over the time when they hear the first-person stories from the children. [The listeners] no longer see them as just thieves or prostitutes. Children become citizens and actors rather than a shadow. Even the attitude of the police around the market starts to change.

Through Mungongo ya Mwana, the audience can also begin to see the complex realities behind some of the decisions that these children make.

Radio as a form of rehabilitation

Chloe, a 16-year-old citizen reporter at Mungongo ya Mwana, is a sex worker. Through her access to the radio platform she has been vocal about why she made this decision.

Chloe is one of the rare street children who has a family, but she ran away from home and will never return. Her sister wanted to marry her off to a man many years Chloes senior  but Chloe wasnt having any of it.

Id rather be in the streets and risk being sexually abused than be married to an old man, she said. If I have to, I prefer being a sex worker to being a young wife.

Despite the global rise of the internet, radio remains the most widely available medium of communication globally. Especially in Africa, radio is the first choice of communication [PDF], with more than 80 percent of the population having access to it. Community radios are taking off across Africa and they grew 1,386 percent between 2000 and 2006.

Radio is cheap, portable and can work without electricity, which makes it especially more important in countries without reliable power supply, said Claudia Abreu Lopes, the head of research at Africas Voices, a communications for development charity with a focus on Africa.

Even in the rural or remote areas, almost everyone is using mobile phones, through which they can have access to radio.

More importantly, radio means community, dialogue and a push for social change, Lopes explained.

Community radios act as a hub for information and dialogue. Even the very existence of such initiatives gives people an agency to speak up. When people express dissatisfaction with things freely on a community radio, it can mobilise communities.

Radio training and skills also give women and marginalised groups a new status, added Lopes.

When street children like Cecilia and Chloe speak up their minds and tell their stories on their community radio, they believe the community that they interact with every day starts to see them with a different pair of eyes. That said, once the weekly programme is over, Cecilia, Chloe, and others go back to the streets and their daily realities.

Cecilia is really into fashion. She wants to be a fashion designer one day and create her own brand. Likewise, Chloe wants to go to school and doesnt want to be a sex worker, if she can find a better alternative than being a wife.

Although they cherish the opportunity to become citizen journalists, their educational and economic prospects for the future remain very limited.

READ MORE: Living with Downs syndrome in Kinshasa, DRC

Street children already have a very tough reality. Our community should acknowledge that and should treat us with a particular kindness instead of looking down on us and making life harder, Cecilia concluded, as she finished the weekly show of Mungongo ya Mwana.

She is not sure if she will be able to have a home again one day or go to that fashion school. But at least, she has told her story and got it off her chest.

Didem Tali was an African Great Lakes Initiative Fellow of the International Womens Media Foundation.

Some names and personal details have been changed to protect the identities of vulnerable minors.
Syria is a conflict with no breaks and Assad himself is insulated in its cockpit.

James Denselow is a writer on Middle East politics and security issues and a research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre.

Just before the latest attempt at a ceasefire began, Syrias President Bashar al-Assad visited the newly captured Damascus suburb of Daraya.

Several photo opportunities showed him looking relaxed and tie-less; praying and meeting soldiers. Later the president explained that the Syrian state is determined to retake every inch of Syria from the terrorists  and to rebuild everything that has been destroyed in the past.

Such language is completely at odds with the various Geneva agreements made so far and the statements coming out of Washington and Moscow, yet Assad feels confident enough to make them nevertheless.

Despite the complexity of Syrias sustained conflict, all roads seem to head to the presidential palace and the fundamental question as to the future of the 51-year-old leader.

Notions of any form of transition or Assad standing down appear to be completely off the table as the regimes grinding momentum continues to slowly accrue territory.

What does he think?

Yet, despite Assad occupying such a central position in the conflict there is an absence of more critical explorations as to his thinking.

Too often he is pigeonholed simply as a bloodthirsty dictator  an evil actor who could have walked straight out of a Hollywood script.

Yet, in a sense by simply putting Assad into a murderous dictator box, actors involved in the Syrian conflict fail to understand his motivations, actions and shine a brighter light into the opaque world of his countrys decision-making structure.

So what does Assad think?

Simply calling Assad evil and leaving it at that abrogates a responsibility to better investigate what powers and influence he does and doesn't hold and to reveal the political science that has kept his regime in power. by

We know from his semi-regular longform interviews that he sees himself as carrying the flame of Syrian unity against a conspiracy of foreign actors looking to destroy Syria.

We know that he denies the existence or use of barrel bombs as he does reports of his government blocking aid to Syrian civilians around the country.

We know that his consistent line is that he is fighting against terrorists and his future will be decided by the Syrian people and nobody else.

OPINION: Syrias civil war is a post-factual conflict

Reading between the lines and connecting Assads rhetoric to reality reveals more. The fact that he has been willing to deploy all the repressive tools of the state against the uprising and essentially outsource the defence of the country to Hezbollah, Iranian, Iraqi and Russian forces, while simultaneously encouraging the growth of pro-regime militias, is evidence of the lengths he is willing to go to stay in power.

In retrospect there was only a short gap between the start of the uprising in March 2011 and Assads decision to go all in to preserve his rule.

Disconnected from reality

Syria is a conflict without any breaks and Assad is a leader who is liberated from any doubts as to his actions and the need for justifications.

This liberation is protected by his continued insulation from events and outsourcing of action.

In 2012 we were granted a glimpse into the parallel world of the Assad inner circle when personal emails from his wife, Asma, were leaked.

The emails showed discussions on what handmade furniture from Chelsea boutiques to invest in and what songs the president should download on iTunes.

Assads insulation from actions carried out in his name are increased by the notion of him being a dictator who cannot dictate.

Back in 2011 the then British Foreign Secretary William Hague argued that Assads ability to direct policy was seriously limited by those who surround him and that in fact he was a hostage of powerful relatives.

In Carsten Wielands book, Syria at Bay, an anonymous journalist described Assad as holding the opinion of the person he last spoke to, while his sister, Bushra, once referred to him as stupid and nervous.

Simply calling Assad evil and leaving it at that abrogates a responsibility to better investigate what powers and influence he does and doesnt hold and to reveal the political science that has kept his regime in power.

As Kremlinology looked to uncover the thinking of the Soviet leadership, there is a need for an Assadology to scrutinise the nuts and bolts of the regimes operation.

This is not normalisation, nor does it signify any acceptance as a guaranteed future for Assad.

It is not enough to simply hate Assad, people must seek to understand him, however unpalatable that may seem.

James Denselow is a writer on Middle East politics and security issues and a research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Like Iraq, which boosted the very terrorism it was supposed to neutralise, the war in Libya was a strategic catastrophe.

Britains Foreign Affairs Committee has just issued a scathing report on the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya. The war was launched on erroneous assumptions, the report concludes, while poor planning and a failure to stabilise the country led to state failure and the growth of militant groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL also known as ISIS).

This is painfully reminiscent of the Chilcot Report, released earlier this year, which reached similarly harsh conclusions about Britains performance in the 2003 Iraq War. But while Chilcot was the seventh official inquiry into Iraq, this report on Libya is only the second.

Perhaps the focus on Iraq is justified. The Iraq invasion was clearly unnecessary and launched without United Nations approval. Libya, on the other hand, was backed by the UN and justified by an undeniable need to protect civilians.





True, the country has been in turmoil ever since, but at least we did not commit troops and get sucked into a bloody occupation. David Cameron said as much at the Commons debate following the release of Chilcots report.

Parallels between two conflicts

I believe it was right to intervene to stop [Muammar] Gaddafi slaughtering his people, he told MPs. In that case, we did have a United Nations Security Council resolution  And we did not put our forces on the ground.

But there are more parallels between the two conflicts than Cameron might like to admit. Indeed, reading through the Committees damning conclusions, one wonders if Britain learned anything from the Iraq debacle.

READ MORE: Chilcot lets media off hook for selling Iraq war

To briefly recap, the Libyan conflict began in early 2011 when peaceful protests morphed into an armed rebellion. Gaddafi launched a counterattack and drove the rebels back to the city of Benghazi, where he vowed a crackdown.

This was hailed prematurely as a 'model intervention', a paragon of multilateral humanitarianism. by

Britain, France, and the United States, fearing a civilian massacre, obtained UN approval to intervene militarily. NATO started bombing in March and, by October, the rebels had won and Gaddafi was dead.

This was hailed prematurely as a model intervention, a paragon of multilateral humanitarianism. But the committee report casts doubt on parts of the narrative.

For starters, the idea that Gaddafi would have ordered the massacre of civilians in Benghazi was not supported by the available evidence.

Libyan forces had taken towns in February 2011 without attacking civilians, so why expect a bloodbath in Benghazi? In a speech the following month Gaddafi even offered amnesty to those rebels who surrendered.

Libya expert Professor George Joffe told the Committee that fears of a massacre were vastly overstated. It seems Britain was again taken to war on flawed information.

Minimal security assistance

But, in contrast to Iraq, where the coalition had a substantial troop presence, Libya received minimal security assistance. No international peacekeepers were deployed there, unlike in many other conflicts around the world, and Libyans were left to fend for themselves.

But given that Russia and China did not vote for the UN security council resolution  they abstained  and that only half of NATO members agreed to participate  Germany refused, for example  this was never the multilateral effort it was cracked up to be.

The report criticises Britain, in particular, for poor post-war planning. According to Alan Duncan MP, preparations consisted of fanciful rot based on optimistic assumptions about the countrys future stability.

True, Libya does not have the same sectarianism as Iraq, and it has a much smaller population. But it is still a very complex country composed of many tribes, and there are long-standing tensions between east and west.

READ MORE: 9/11 then and now  terror, militarism, war and fear

Moreover, scores of militias had grown up during the war that had to be demobilised. Why did anyone think such a state of affairs would resolve itself peacefully? The report concludes that the possible growth of extremist groups should not have been the preserve of hindsight.

Experts advised Blair before Iraq that the country was very fragile, too, but of course those warnings were dismissed. In both wars, naivety and ignorance triumphed over prudence and caution, with horrendous results.

Since 2011 Libya has been plagued by relentless violence and political instability. Lawlessness has undoubtedly fuelled the migrant crisis, while human rights abuses have been rife. ISIL has infiltrated the north of the country and might now have thousands of fighters there.

Violence has spread beyond Libya, too, as looted weapons have fuelled further conflict in Mali, Syria, and elsewhere. NATOs war has clearly magnified civilian suffering, defeating the whole point of intervening in the first place. Like Iraq, which boosted the very terrorism it was supposed to neutralise, this was a strategic catastrophe.

Defenders of the Libyan war, like Cameron, point to the fact that western troops never got bogged down there as they did in Iraq. But was the lack of troops really such a good thing? Iraq had a government (of sorts) shortly after the invasion, which worked with allied forces, and, by the time US troops withdrew in 2011, al-Qaeda in Iraq (forerunner of ISIL) had been weakened.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state at the time and now the Democratic presidential nominee, called it an example of smart power at its best. But there was nothing smart about this war. Obama described Libya as his worst mistake and blamed Britain and France for neglecting the post-war situation. That is more like it.

Rupert Stone is an independent journalist working on national security and counterterrorism.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of United States foreign assistance since World War II. And this week it received the largest US military aid package ever signed between two countries. This begs the question: why does Israel, whose per capita income is among the worlds top 20, receive tens of billions of dollars in military support each decade?

The official justifications and reactions by the pundits have come mostly in ready phrases and cliches constricted to the ideological confines of the US-Israel special relationship. The deal is a win-win for both the US and Israel.





It benefits both countries: its a compromise between what Israel asked for, $45bn, and what it settled for in the previous decade $30bn-plus; and it is indispensable for Israels security in a dangerous neighbourhood.

We are also told that the US and Israeli governments have put their differences aside to underline the historic and global US strategic commitment to Israel. And if you had any doubts, the two parties underlined their commitments to the peace process.

But the historic record tells an entirely different story; how those benevolent claims on security, peace, compromise and friendship are false, if not hypocritical and intentionally misleading.

Five fallacies

The first fallacy contends that the deal is a win-win for Israel and the United States. This is rich coming from the pro-Israel lobby that ensured the transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars to Israel both in government and tax-exempt donations.

OPINION: No to partitioning Syria

Lets not talk about how Israel buying US arms with US money is beneficial to Americans; thats just a silly repetition of the White House talking points. Rather, how at the height of the Cold War, Israel might have earned the military and economic subsidies as an active client of the United States against the Soviet Union and its allies in the Middle East and beyond.

Since the end of the Cold War, Israel has been of no tangible strategic benefit to Washington. by

After all, it fought and won wars, and it occupied Arab lands three times its size, forcing Arab autocrats to plead for Washingtons protection, help and mediation.

But since the end of the Cold War, Israel has been of no tangible strategic benefit to Washington. Once a strategic asset, it has now become a burden, even a nuisance.

In fact, the United States kept Israel out of each and every regional coalition it built in the context of its war on terror, or at arms length from any war it fought, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya or elsewhere. So much so that Israeli leaders accused the Bushes, both father and son, of abandoning Israel following the 1991 Gulf War, the 9/11 attacks and the second Gulf War.

Second, comes the claim that almost $40bn in military assistance is needed to preserve Israels security. This is lame at best. Israel has been using US military assistance to preserve and defend its occupation, not its security. If it withdrew from the lands it occupied for decades, these threats, real or imagined, would have been diminished substantially. Remember, Hamas and Hezbollah are the result  not the triggers  of Israeli occupation of Palestine and Lebanon.

Paradoxically, after Israel signed separate peace agreements with Jordan after Egypt  its chief Arab rival  the US provided Israel with more, not less military assistance. Israels latest justification being the Islamic Republic.

Iran nuclear deal

But Iran was totally drained by its 1980s war against Iraq, and by US dual containment in the 1990s. And as of this year, the Iran nuclear deal has put Irans nuclear programme to rest, at least for decades.

If the Obama administration is totally convinced that the deal serves and protects Israel, which happens to be a closet nuclear power, why then augment the military assistance?

The same goes for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) which, like Iran, has never actually attacked Israel, and is being attacked mercilessly by a dozen countries, including the US and Russia.

OPINION: Americas war for the Greater Middle East

Third comes the fallacy that peace comes with strength. You may or may not have seen the memo, but the US and Israel are committed to peace, or more accurately, the Peace Process which was devised by the US to bring peace to the holy land a quarter of a century ago, but never did.

At any rate, the US and Israel have long justified the need to arm Israel, and even render it militarily superior to all its neighbours combined, so that it can make certain compromises and concessions to its neighbours for the sake of peace.

But the record shows that the more Washington militarised and empowered Israel against its Arab neighbours, the less prone it has been to making compromises.

Indeed, one can see a perfect correlation between US military support and Israeli extremism. And some, like General David Petraeus, saw Israeli intransigence fomenting anti-American sentiments that undermine the US in the region.

The fourth fallacy revolves around the idea of the unshakable friendship. Really, whats a little money between friends? Weve established that its not little  Israel received more US assistance during the Cold War, $62.5bn (1949-1996) than Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean combined, $62.4bn.

But what about the friends bit? Setting aside for a moment the fact that states have interests not friends, what is this friendship theyre talking about? Especially, when at no time has a presumed ally ever publicly humiliated US officials in their own country and internationally, as Israeli leaders have done.

Indeed, Benjamin Netanyahu is the embodiment of the phrase with friends like these who needs enemies. He has meddled in the US elections and practically campaigned against President Barack Obama in 2012. Netanyahu and co have not only disagreed but also fought the Obama administration in the media, in Washington and in Congress regarding the peace negotiations, the illegal settlements and the Iran nuclear deal, all the while Obama was making all his arguments based on what he saw as being in Israels best interests.

Its rather disingenuous to claim that assisting Israel despite its intransigence shows maturity in separating Obama-Netanyahu political differences from the US-Israel strategic commitment. In reality, the deal rewards Israel for its intransigence and empowers Netanyahu and the Israeli Right to further militarise, build more illegal settlements and obstruct US strategic interests when it deems it desirable.

If US Secretary of State John Kerry was correct to point out in 2014 that the latest diplomatic attempt could be the last, and its failure will lead to apartheid, the Obama administration has just put the US squarely behind Israels apartheid in Palestine.

Pragmatism or hypocrisy

My fifth and last point is about dishonesty as much as falsehood. I could only shake my head in puzzlement when I read The Guardian, The New York Times, and the Associated Press report from Washington about how the Obama administration has been eager to lock in the agreement before leaving office to help bolster Obamas legacy and undercut the criticism that his administration was insufficiently supportive of Israel.

Has the White House sacrificed sound strategy for cynical politics to leave a legacy?

Wasting tens of billions of US tax dollars to bolster a legacy, further militarising Israel, and triggering another arms race in an explosive region for what? For a legacy? A legacy that underlines US support for a country that continues to dispossess and occupy another people in total disregard of US advice, after a quarter of a century of US diplomacy.

Does all this make Obama a pragmatist, or a hypocrite?

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.
Despite having her toy factory raided by Israeli forces, Hilana Abu Sharifeh will not give up on Yasser and Zeina.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank  In the dead of a cold December night, Israeli soldiers came for Yasser.

They rummaged through the shelves and behind the looms of a darkened factory, searching for the little man, only half a metre tall. They knew he would be easy to spot, wearing his signature black-and-white keffiyeh and olive-coloured military fatigues. Finally, they found him, expressionless and hiding in plain sight, along with a dozen other plush clones.

The brainchild of Hilana Abu Sharifeh, a 32-year-old mother of four, Yasser is among the dozens of toys she designs and manufactures at her small, Tulkarem-based business. His confiscation, along with about 1,700 other toys, baffles Abu Sharifeh to this day.

The soldiers ransacked the whole place, seized fabric and damaged some of the products in the process, she said of the toy factory that her husband first opened in their garage more than two decades ago.

They especially went after Yasser, in his military fatigues, and the keffiyeh looms, Abu Sharifeh told Al Jazeera. They said its because the toys incited violence. The dolls are meant to reflect our culture and heritage, nothing else. In the case of Yasser, he resembles the late President Yasser Arafat.

Rotem Toys, named after a plant that grows in the Mediterranean, had just started to pick up steam when Israeli forces raided the factory. Abu Sharifeh had recently re-branded the toy line, which her husband had to discontinue during the second Intifada. With new designs inspired by Palestinian culture, she was about to kick off a fresh line of high-quality dolls.

The plush toys, made from cotton cloth woven in Hebron, have a signature trademark: They wear clothing made from recycled thobes (traditional Palestinian dresses) and intricate embroidery.

I didnt understand why something like a keffiyeh would incite hatred, she said. For children, these toys are a means to understand and be proud of where they are from. Perhaps the Israelis thought we were selling toys similar to the ones seized a few days prior.

IN PICTURES: Palestinian learns to make recycled art in prison

Abu Sharifeh was referring to a shipment of toys confiscated at the Haifa port on December 9. Israeli customs authorities banned the dolls, which sported keffiyehs and clutched stones, from reaching areas administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely even accused Palestinians of trying to poison the minds of innocent young children with the toys.

In the last quarter of 2015, a new bout of violence erupted, leading to the highest number of casualties since 2005 among West Bank Palestinians, as well as Israeli soldiers, settlers and civilians, according to a recent UN report. Israeli officials blamed the deaths on a Palestinian culture of hate bred by incitement.

Some experts believe that Israel, embarking on its 50th year of occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, no longer tolerates even the most innocuous of Palestinian symbols. The Knesset recently passed an anti-terror law  which applies in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem  that could criminalise flag-waving or slogan-chanting.

The moment symbols are connected to anti-colonial practice, they immediately become a threat, said Ala al-Azzeh, a professor of cultural anthropology at Birzeit University. Its also about controlling the indigenous population  not just physically, but by destroying national identity and collective symbols. The colonial structure is deep enough to go after the seemingly mundane.

For children, these toys are a means to understand and be proud of where they are from. by Hilana Abu Sharifeh, owner of Rotem Toys

In addition to defying Israeli restrictions, Abu Sharifeh is also challenging a trend in the Palestinian territories, where only 19 percent of women participate in the labour force, one of the lowest participation rates in the world. It is a staggering number, considering that female education rates are high, said Ola Awad, president of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

There are very [few] opportunities for women in the limited labour market we have, and there are few incentives for women to join it, Awad said.

Israeli checkpoints between the cities and closures make movement unpredictable, affect womens mobility and discourage them from leaving their home, she added. Couple that with other associated costs, such as daycare for the children, and you can see that the Palestinian woman is paying a high price to work outside of her home.

To get Rotem Toys back on its feet, Abu Sharifehs relatives launched an online crowdfunding campaign to replace what was damaged and confiscated in the Israeli army raid. She also took several training courses on production, leadership and commerce, which helped her to go from selling low-cost toys to manufacturing labour-intensive dolls, many with hand-stitched details.

READ MORE: Museum aims to preserve Palestinian history

She upgraded the toy line to meet safety standards, using only non-toxic raw materials and discarding any clipped-on or glued accessories, beads, wires or small objects that could be choking hazards. Because Abu Sharifeh does not own a store, she uses Facebook to promote her products, manage sales and deliver toys in many West Bank cities. She is also planning to ship internationally.

So far, Rotem Toys has sold more than 4,000 dolls, many with removable clothing and accessories that are inspired by different regions and towns in the West Bank. The Zeina collection comprises half of all sales.

Zeina is the Palestinian girl next door, Abu Sharifeh explained. Her jet-black hair is often parted into a braid or a ponytail. Her outfits change, from the traditional, like a thobe, to the modern  a simple T-shirt with an accessory, like a belt or a hair clip, but always with intricate embroidery patterns.

By contrast, Yasser only has three outfits: military fatigues, pants and a keffiyeh, or a trifecta of a male thobe [a long tunic or shirt], sirwal [a baggy pair of trousers] and qumbaz [a long coat]. Hes also dressed up as Santa during the Christmas holidays.

These days, Abu Sharifeh is preparing to introduce her products to the United Arab Emirates, Holland and Germany. Exporting the toys using the old design, inspired by Disney and Pixar characters, was not possible because of copyright and quality issues. Similar but higher-quality, cheaper goods from China also made it hard to compete on the global market.

To offset some of these challenges, Abu Sharifeh registered Zeina and Yasser as a trademark and started designing the toys herself, turning to a niece and a friend who designs jewellery to help sketch out her ideas.

The factory currently produces 20 toys a day  10 if hand-made stitching is involved  and employs five people, including three women. Cutting and sewing is done on machines, while wrapping and some of the embroidery is done by hand.

But keeping Rotem Toys up and running has been a struggle. The costs of operating the factory are high, and Israels control of border crossings has meant lofty customs fees on the raw materials Abu Sharifeh imports, which are also taxed by the PA.

I dont want my target customer to be from the upper class, she said. But getting taxed by both Israel and the PA drives up the prices. Abu Sharifeh accordingly created a two-tiered pricing system: Toys slated for export will sell for between 100 and 150 shekels ($26-$39), while those sold locally are priced between 75 and 80 shekels ($19-$21).

Its a bit more expensive if hand-embroidery is involved or if specific requirements are needed, Abu Sharifeh said. But at the end of the day, these toys are a small way to support and promote our culture and symbols, which are increasingly facing appropriation.
Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees remain stranded in worsening humanitarian conditions at the border with Jordan, where food is running out and disease is rife, according to Amnesty International.

In a new report published on Thursday, the rights group said about 75,000 Syrian refugees have been cut off from humanitarian aid for two months in an area between the two countries known as the Berm.

Jordan sealed the Rukban and Hadalat border crossings with Syria and severely restricted humanitarian access to the Berm after six of its soldiers were killed in a car bomb explosion near the area on June 21.

The trapped refugees face acute food shortages and have no access to proper healthcare, said Amnesty, which also released video footage and satellite image showing makeshift graveyard sites and a dramatic increase in the number of shelters.

Only one delivery of food aid was made to the refugees early last month, with the food supplies now coming to an end, according to the UK-based group.

READ MORE: Syrian refugees stuck on Jordan border have nothing

A man by the name of Abu Mohamed, who has been living in the informal camp at Rukban for five months, said the situation has been gravely deteriorating.

The humanitarian situation is very bad. The situation of children in particular is very bad. We have drinking water but hardly any food or milk  [it] is awful, he told Amnesty.

As a result of the lack of aid and sanitation, about 19 people have died due to the outbreak of hepatitis in the camp and childbirth-related deaths that could have been prevented, the aid group said.

There are no health services in the camp at the moment, Tirana Hassan, Amnestys Crisis Response director, told Al Jazeera.

We have heard directly from people inside the Berm that at least nine people have died in child birth-related deaths; whether that be women or infant children, as well as 10 people who have died from complications associated with hepatitis.

These are issues that could be dealt with if a full humanitarian response was allowed to continue, she added.

READ MORE: Syrian refugees suffering on Jordans border

Jordan has previously cited security concerns for its decision to seal the border after the June attack, despite the continuing influx of Syrian refugees into the area.

At the Rukban refugee camp, the overall number of shelters rose from 368 a year ago to 6,563 in late July 2016, and most recently increased to 8,295 in September 2016, according to Amnesty.

Satellite imagery also showed two grave sites near the tents of the camp and a dramatic increase in population density.

There are currently some 650,000 Syrian refugees registered by the UN in Jordan, although the Jordanian government gives higher estimates, and Amnesty decried the international communitys failure to address the crisis.

I think everybody [international community]  is subscribing to this fear narrative that is at the expense of their international obligations, said Hassan.

We really cant just point the finger at Jordan on this. The entire situation at the Berm is a snapshot of the global failure of refugees among the international community.

We have seen a paralysis at the international level where states who can afford to take in refugees just refuse, she continued, adding that countries such as the US, the UK and the EU bloc need to start lessening the burden on countries who have thus far borne the brunt of the refugee crisis.

The call for the international community to step up its response comes ahead of several high-level United Nations meetings to discuss the refugee crisis in New York next week.
Joseph Michael Schreiber facing charge of arson and hate crime over incident in US state on anniversary of 9/11 attacks.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested and is facing a charge of arson and hate crime in a fire that heavily damaged a mosque in Florida, according to US authorities.

Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested without incident on Wednesday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late on Sunday at the Islamic Centre of Fort Pierce, said Major David Thompson of the St Lucie County Sheriffs Office.

Thompson said Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere.

READ MORE: Florida mosque set on fire during Eid al-Adha

He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

The fire was set late on Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreibers home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

A Facebook page apparently belonging to the suspect, established under his name with photos resembling his booking photo, include a message posted on July 12 that said ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS written in capital letters with several mispellings.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida (CAIR-Florida), responded to social media posts by Schreiber claiming to be a Jew who was fighting back.

He obviously doesnt know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation, Ruiz said.

CAIR-Florida condemns actions of alleged arsonist: https://t.co/JGAX4Igg00 via @YouTube  CAIR Florida | Council American-Islamic Relations (@CAIRFlorida) September 15, 2016

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections.

At the news conference, Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber on Wednesday evening, and he didnt say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

READ MORE: Orlando shooter complained of anti-Muslim taunts

No one was injured in the fire, which burned a large hole in the roof at the back of the mosques main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

There were reports that the mosque had been attended by Omar Mateen, the man who opened fire at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others on June 12.

Mateen, a New York-born resident of Florida, was killed by police.

His father is reportedly among roughly 100 people who attend the Islamic Centre of Fort Pierce regularly.

The mosque has reported numerous threats of violence and intimidation since it was identified publicly as Mateens place of worship.

In June a motorcycle gang circled the property and shouted at its members, and in July a Muslim man was beaten outside the mosque.
Former president says allegations that he was the mastermind of a huge corruption scheme are pure fiction.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has blasted prosecutors who have accused him of masterminding a massive corruption scheme, saying the allegations are politically motivated.

In an hour-long speech on Thursday, Lula repeatedly insisted that he was innocent and had nothing to do with a kickback scheme centred at Brazils state-oil giant Petrobras.

If they prove I was corrupt, I will turn myself in and be a prisoner, said Lula, who cried and laughed during his address to reporters, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Federal prosecutors accused Lula on Wednesday of being the maximum commander of the Petrobras corruption scheme, and charged the former president, his wife, and several others with money laundering and corruption.

In his first public response, Lula said he was ready to cooperate with prosecutors because he had committed no crime and called charges against him pure fiction aimed at stopping him from running for office again.





Lula is specifically accused of benefiting from renovations at a beachfront apartment in the coastal city of Guaruja in Sao Paulo state. The improvements, valued at about $750,000, were made by construction company OAS, one of those involved in the kickback scheme emanating from Petrobras.

Prosecutors also believe Lula benefited from OAS paying the rent on a storage unit to house gifts that he received while president.

Lula says he visited the penthouse apartment but never owned it.

Brazils president between 2003 and 2010, Lula left office with an approval ratings of more than 80 percent.

However, the Petrobras scandal, recession in Latin Americas largest economy and political turmoil in recent years have hurt his reputation.

Lulas hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, was removed from office by the Senate last month for illegally shifting funds between budgets. Rousseff and Lula have argued that the impeachment push was also politically motivated, a way to weaken their Workers Party.

The next step will be for Sergio Moro, the judge overseeing the probe, to decide whether Lula will stand trial.
Twelve injured in French capital rally as tens of thousands protest nationwide over law many say hurts workers rights.

At least 12 people have been injured in clashes between police and protesters opposing a new labour law in the French capital Paris, in the latest outbreak of violence over the controversial changes that critics say take away workers rights.

The demonstration on Thursday was part of nationwide rallies against the so-called Loi travail law that aims to make it easier for companies to increase working hours beyond the current 35-hour working week and facilitate lay-offs.

Four demonstrators and eight police were injured in the clashes in Paris, in which protesters hurled molotov cocktails and police fired tear gas and stun grenades. Fifteen protesters were arrested.

Police in the capital said around 13,000 people took part in the rally  the 14th demonstration in six months against the legislation, which was forced into law without a vote in July despite a string of massive protests and much political opposition, even from within the ruling party.

According to police, about 78,000 took part in demonstrations across the country. Protest organisers estimated the turnout to be around 170,000.

WATCH: Frances labour reforms  Pro-business or pro-worker?

The new labour law has the stated aim of bringing down Frances unemployment rate, which is about 10 percent.

However, critics see the measures announced by the government of President Francois Hollande as an erosion of workers hard-won collective bargaining rights, saying the changes will enable companies to justify lay-offs by citing economic reasons, such as falling sales or operating losses.

Scores of flights in and out of the country were also cancelled as air traffic controllers went on strike to protest the law. The action prompted aviation authorities to advise airlines serving Paris airports to cancel 15 percent of their flights on Thursday.

A march in the western city of Nantes also turned violent, with police there using tear gas and water cannon against protesters.

One of the focal points was the eastern city of Belfort, where the government is locked in a battle with train-building giant Alstom over the future of a locomotive factory threatened with closure.

READ MORE: Just how powerful are Frances labour unions?

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city after Alstom announced last week it would close the plant due to a lack of orders and move production to a site 200km to the north, which could lead to 400 job losses.

We will show them that, law or no law, we will always stand against them, Francois Roche, a member of the General Confederation of Labour trade union demonstrating in Marseille, told AFP news agency.

The nationwide turnout on Thursday was, however, far lower than at the start of the rallies six months ago, when they brought hundreds of thousands of people on to the streets.

Clashes trigged by the plans for the reforms peaked on June 14, when around 40 people were hurt and dozens arrested.

Union leader Philippe Martinez has appealed to workers to continue fighting tooth and nail to stop it [the law] crossing the threshold of their companies.
Syrian Abu Wael Dhiab, who wants to be reunited with his family in Turkey, found unconscious in apartment in Montevideo.

A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who was resettled in Uruguay has slipped into a coma after a lengthy hunger strike in support of his demand to be reunited with his family in Turkey.

Abu Wael Dhiab, a 45-year-old Syrian, who had gone 12 days without water, was found unconscious on Wednesday by paramedics at his apartment in Montevideo.

He is in a light coma, we are hydrating him, he was very dehydrated, Dr Julia Galzerano, a physician who is part of the medical team taking care of Dhiab, told AFP news agency.





She explained that the coma designation means that he does not have a neurological problem and has almost normal vital signs.

She said Dhiab would remain at his apartment for treatment in keeping with his wishes not to be taken to hospital during his protest.

Held in Guantanamo for 12 years without charge, Dhiab drew international attention by a hunger-strike during his confinement at the US military base in Cuba.

He was cleared for release in 2009 but was only finally freed in December 2014. He was not allowed to return to his native Syria and was instead resettled in Uruguay, along with five other freed detainees.

The ex-prisoner repeatedly expressed his desire to leave Uruguay and fled to Venezuela, seeking help to be reunited with his wife and daughters in Turkey, but was jailed at the headquarters of the secret police.

Since his return to Montevideo, Dhiab had reportedly grown frustrated with a Uruguayan government-appointed nongovernmental organisation that owed him three months of aid, Jorge Voituret, a friend said.

He planned to use the money to buy a telephone and a stove. He is living in an apartment with no heating, and it gets really cold these days, Voituret said about the southern hemispheres winter months.

READ MORE: Hunger striking for dignity in Guantanamo

US President Barack Obama has promised repeatedly to close the prison, but it remains operational, with at least 61 prisoners still incarcerated there.

The prison is the focus of continued condemnation by human rights groups, with repeated calls by organisations such as Amnesty International, the UK-based human-rights organisation, to shut it down.

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has pledged to fill Guantanamo with bad dudes should he win the White House.

Trump has said that he would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding, referring to a method of torture banned by the US government in 2007.
Move aims to cut 187 million tonnes of carrier bags dumped into the countrys waters, clogging up drainage channels.

Jakarta  The Indonesian government has decided to impose a national tax on plastic carrier bags in the hope of reducing waste in the countrys heavily polluted waters.

About 187 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into the countrys waters, placing Indonesia  with a geographically scattered population of 250 million people  second to China.

Posing a significant threat to wildlife, both marine and terrestrial, plastics have clogged up important drainage channels in the Southeast Asian country, leading to severe flooding.

Bottles and food containers are among other plastics similarly posing a threat to marine and human life.

READ MORE: Pollution flows freely in Indonesias rivers

If you could see below the surface, you would see a pile of rubbish of about two to three metres deep. I have to stop every few minutes to clean my boat engine from garbage Guntur, a fisherman in Jakarta, told Al Jazeera.

It has been like this for years. It only makes sense that people call this area rubbish island, because that is the reality.

The plan to reduce mounting levels of polyethylene waste was first introduced last February, when taxes were introduced across 23 Indonesian cities.

Jakarta, the countrys most populous city, was among the selected locations to gain a tax. It received a set rate of 200 rupiahs, or equivalently, 2 cents a bag. Other city administrations were free to charge more or less.

But there is an overarching concern that the governments clean-up operation will be ineffective if people are not taught to reduce their plastic waste trail and to throw rubbish into designated areas.

People are still not aware that they should not throw rubbish into these waters. Thats why we, from the cleaning brigade, always try to educate them and tell them that this is against the law Sahbany, who works as coordinator for the Orange Brigade, told Al Jazeera.

Government leaders say they are determined to cut waste and increase public awareness.

By the end of the year, law enforcement is eager to expand this mandatory fee of 1.5 cents a bag nationwide as well as also levy produces.

READ MORE: Life in Indonesias sinking capital

But protests led by industry leaders against this bill are delaying its enforcement.

A good road map and clear target is urgently needed. The president has announced that Indonesia should be free of waste by 2020. But without a clear programme and agenda on how to achieve this, I believe this plan will definitely fail, Khalisah Khalid, of Friends of the Earth, told Al Jazeera.

Prolonging the initiative means that many fishermen will have to look for fishing grounds much further away from the island.

Environmental campaigners have welcomed the taxation, but complain that the levy is too low and that plastic bags are only one aspect of Indonesias waste management crisis.
Collision kills at least six people and injures more than 150, highlighting problems plaguing countrys railway network.

A Karachi-bound express train has collided with a stationary freight train in Pakistans central Punjab region, killing at least six people and injuring more than 150, according to Geo TV.

The accident occurred about 25km from the city of Multan at about 2:30am local time on Thursday when the Awam Express passenger train crashed into a goods train which had stopped after running over a man crossing the railway track.

TV footage showed rescue officials working around crumpled and overturned carriages in the darkness.

At least four people have been killed and scores others wounded, said Nadir Chattha, local district administration official.

He said several trapped passengers had to be pulled from the wreckage.

A three-day public holiday for the festival of Eid al-Adha ended on Wednesday, with many returning from their family homes to the cities where they work.

Delayed response

There was a delay in the emergency response to the accident due to Eid holidays in the mainly Muslim nation of 190 million people, officials said.

Saima Bashir, a railway official, blamed the accident on the passenger train driver, saying he failed to heed a red signal that went up after the goods train had stopped.

Train accidents are common in Pakistan, which inherited thousands of miles of track and trains from former colonial power, Britain.

The railways have seen decades of decline due to corruption, mismanagement and lack of investment.

Last November, 19 people were killed in Pakistans southwestern Balochistan province after a trains brakes failed and it sped down the side of a mountain.

In July 2015, at least 17 people were killed when a special military train fell into a canal after a bridge partially collapsed.

About 130 people were killed in July 2005 when a train collided with another at a station in Sindh province, and a third train hit the wreckage.
Immigration minister tells Al Jazeera his nation would have no objection to deal but rules out accepting more refugees.

Peter Dutton, Australias immigration minister, says he will have no objection if Nauru accepts New Zealands offer to resettle some of the refugees currently held on the Pacific island.

Speaking to Andrew Thomas, Al Jazeeras Sydney correspondent, on Talk to Al Jazeera*, Dutton said that a deal between Nauru and New Zealand was an issue between Nauru and New Zealand.

When pressed as to whether he would have any objection to a such a deal, he said No, with the qualification that wherever refugees are resettled, New Zealand or somewhere else, they will not be coming to Australia at any point.

READ MORE: Nauru  a place of abuse and desperation

In the past, Australia has appeared to rule out any possibility of refugees held in its regional processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG) being settled in New Zealand, despite New Zealands government offering resettlement places to them.

In February, Dutton was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald daily as saying the New Zealand proposal as brokered by Julia Gillard with Prime Minister Key basically provided people smugglers with a back door into Australia.









In 2013, Scott Morrison, the then opposition immigration spokesman, said resettling refugees in New Zealand would be to put a bit of Kiwi sugar on the table for people smugglers.

On August 10, the Guardian Australia news website published a catalogue of more than 2,000 internal incident reports, some of which detailed instances of sexual abuse of women and children, sexual harassment and violence inside the Nauru prison camp facility.

Giving further details of conditions for asylum seekers in Australias offshore detention network, a former refugee prison camp employee, Natasha Blucher, told Al Jazeera of her relief at seeing the publication of documents leaked from within the system, reporting on alleged human rights abuses against some 442 people who remain on Nauru as asylum seekers.

It was somewhat vindicating because now theres a body of evidence from Nauru, Blucher, a former social worker on Nauru, said of the document leak in an interview from Darwin, in Australias north.

Under Australian law, anyone intercepted while trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to detention centres on Manus Island off PNG or Nauru.

Talk to Al Jazeera will be broadcast on Saturday 17, September, at 04:30 GMT
Eight refugees have filed a complaint over their forced expulsion from Macedonia back to Greece earlier this year.

Eight refugees have taken legal action against Macedonia for forcing them back into Greece after a mass border crossing earlier this year, according to rights groups.

The Germany-based migrant advocacy group Pro Asyl said on Thursday it helped the refugees submit the complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in France on Tuesday.





They were pushed in an informal way into Greece and they did not even have a chance to ask for protection, Karl Kopp, Pro Asyls spokesperson for Europe, told Al Jazeera, describing the refugees as victims of a collective pushback operation.

Pro Asyl identified the claimants as two women and six men originating from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

It will be possible for them to get financial compensation, but the main idea is to prevent others from suffering the same kind of violence in the future, Kopp said, adding, however, that the court process could take a few years.

The German-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) also aided the refugees in submitting the complaint.

FYROMs [Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia] use of push-backs against refugees in transit violates human rights, Wolfgang Kaleck, the ECCHR general secretary, said in a statement released on Wednesday.

READ MORE- Refugees stuck in Idomeni: Questions but no answers

Approximately 1,500 refugees attempted to cross into Macedonia from Greece on March 14 this year before being met by forcible expulsions.

The refugees had been stranded at the tent city of Idomeni on the Greek side of the border.

The Macedonian military apprehended them and forced them back to Greece through improvised holes in the newly constructed border fence, read the statement.

The claimants had no possibility to ask for asylum or to take legal action against their summary deportation from FYROM.

The expulsions signalled a shift across much of Europe toward a tougher line against refugees after more than a million had crossed into the EU the previous year.

Macedonia, which built a razor-wire fence along the border with Greece, has argued that it has the right to protect its borders and denies using excessive force.
Officials rue ineffectiveness of all sides in using ceasefire to allow life-saving supplies to reach Aleppo residents.

The UN has called on the Syrian government to immediately allow life-saving aid into eastern Aleppo, where about 300,000 people are living under siege.

Speaking in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday, Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy, said there were 20 aid lorries ready to cross the border from Turkey into Syria, and make it to Aleppo city where a cessation of hostilities was holding by and large.

The Syrian government promised permits for UN aid convoys before the ceasefire  they have not been received, de Mistura said. This is something that is required to happen immediately.

Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and special adviser to the UN envoy, decried the ineffectiveness of all parties in taking advantage of the truce, saying that aid could reach Aleppo by Friday.





Can grown men please stop putting bureaucratic roadblocks in place to stop aid workers doing their jobs to help civilians  wounded women and children?

Al Jazeeras Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish side of the Syria-Turkey border, said while progress was being made, it could take several days for aid to reach the city.

One of the key issues is access, and one of the main arteries into Aleppo is Castello Road. It needs to become a demilitarised zone before any of that can happen, she said.

Syrian government troops and opposition forces would need to withdraw up to 3km from the road with their heavy weapons. The deal is that both want to do this at the same time because there is no trust.

As the only supply route into the embattled part of Syrias largest city, Castello Road plays a crucial role in ensuring that residents of Aleppo, who are largely dependent on outside aid, can receive food, medical items and other essentials.

Twenty lorries loaded with much-needed food and other aid have been awaiting clearance at the Turkish border since Wednesday for the journey to Aleppo.

Ive urged the Russian government to make sure that they exercise influence on the Syrian government, and also the American side to make sure that Syrian armed groups, they also fully cooperate, Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, said on Wednesday.

INSIDE STORY: Could the latest deal on Syria bring peace?

Under a deal brokered by the US and Russia on Friday, the two countries are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days, before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against ISIL and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front.

On Wednesday, both Russia and the US spoke positively about the truce deal, with the Kremlin saying it raised hopes for a peaceful solution to the crisis.

However, prominent Syrian opposition politician George Sabra said the many violations of a previous truce had undermined confidence in the current ceasefire.

He said it was too early to talk about a resumption of peace talks that were abandoned in April.

Estimated death toll

The Syrian civil war started as a largely unarmed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, but quickly developed into a full-on armed conflict.

De Mistura estimated in April that more than 400,000 Syrians had been killed.

Calculating a precise death toll is impossible, partially owing to the forced disappearances of tens of thousands of Syrians whose fates remain unknown.

Almost 11 million Syrians  half the countrys pre-war population  have been displaced from their homes.
jemaerca/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- As the first woman and first African-American to become the Librarian of Congress - an institution with a lifespan almost as long as the nation itself - Dr. Carla Hayden made it clear in her acceptance speech on Wednesday that she fully grasped the magnitude of the transition.



"People of my race were once punished with lashes and worse for learning to read," Hayden, the former director of the public library system in Baltimore, Maryland said. "As a descendant of people who were denied the right to read, to now have the opportunity to serve and lead in the institution that is the national symbol of knowledge is a historic moment."



Hayden was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on a Bible owned by President Abraham Lincoln in the mezzanine of the Library, which was established in 1800. Her mother Colleen held the book as she recited her oath.



During her tenure leading the Enoch Pratt Free Library system in Baltimore, Hayden made the decision to keep the libraries open even during the April 2015 clashes between police and protesters, which often turned violent.



Even the branch directly across the street from the notorious CVS that was set on fire by vandals kept its doors open.



"I was there, hand-in-hand with the staff, as we opened the doors every morning. Cars were still smoldering in the streets. 'Closed' signs were hanging in storefronts for blocks. But people were lined up outside the doors of the library," she said.



Hayden, who will also be in charge of overseeing the Librarys full transition into the digital age, spoke of her excitement that children all around the country could soon explore one of the Librarys recent acquisitions: the personal collection of Rosa Parks.



"Even in the library of a young girl in Baltimore looking around as her city is in turmoil, that is a real public service," she said. "And a natural step for this nation's library, a place where you can touch history and imagine your future."



"I cannot wait to work with all of you to seize this moment in history," Hayden added. "So let's make history at the Library of Congress together."



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Visiting Kiev, foreign ministers of Germany and France announce Russias commitment on behalf of separatist leaders.

Russia has accepted a unilateral seven-day ceasefire in Ukraine on behalf of the separatist leaders that it has been backing for the past two years.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germanys foreign minister, made the announcement on Wednesday in Kiev where he has been holding talks with the Ukrainian president.

Today we came here with the news that with a commitment from Moscow, which reached us yesterday, starting tonight there will be a ceasefire on the part of the separatists, to start with for seven days, beginning at midnight, he said.





Visiting Kiev with his German counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, Frances foreign minister, said an attempt to revive a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine from midnight could set the scene for agreement next week on further peace moves.

Ayrault said he also expected both sides to sign an agreement next week to withdraw their troops from the lines of conflict in three hotspots.

In the next week we see an opportunity for a new dynamic in the conflict, Ayrault said.

A ceasefire was launched to coincide with the start of the school year on September 1.

It failed to stop all fighting.

We are again at a crossroads, Steinmeier announced on Wednesday.

We see a small sliver of hope in the back-to-school ceasefire  but it is not enough.

If the ceasefire holds and the agreement is signed as expected, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia could meet in New York next week on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN General Assembly.

That could prepare the way for a meeting of the leaders of the four Normandy format countries for the first time since October 2015.

The Normandy format is a set-up approved in France during the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landing in 2014.

The presence of Jean-Marc and Frank-Walter here in Kiev is evidence that the Normandy format works, that we must together force Russia to implement the Minsk agreements, Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraines foreign minister, said.

France and Germany helped broker the 18-month-old Minsk peace deal. Many of its key points, such as holding regional elections and returning control of Ukraines border with Russia to Kiev, have long been stalled.





We understand that to implement the Minsk agreements, to force Russia to implement them, we need a clear idea of the sequence of steps and guarantees of their implementation from Russia, he said.

Russia denies accusations by Ukraine and NATO that it helps the separatists with troops and arms in a rebellion in which over 9,500 people have been killed since spring 2014.

Ayrault and Steinmeier emphasised their support for Ukraine and their rejection of Russias annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014.

Steinmeier said that as the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. did not recognise the annexation, it would not send observers to Russian parliamentary elections planned in Crimea on Sunday.

Making his own separate trip to Kiev, Boris Johnson, the UK foreign secretary, said on Wednesday it was crucial for the West to maintain sanctions against Russia.

Clearly its up to the Russians primarily to make progress on the security side, he said.

But its up to all sides I think in this conversation to make progress together.
Manila, The Philippines  A witness in a Senate hearing on the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines has testified that he was a member of a death squad in the home city of President Rodrigo Duterte, and that the then-mayor himself ordered the killings of crime and drug suspects as well as the bombing of a mosque in Davao City.

Senator Leila de Lima, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, presented on Thursday witness Edgar Matobato, who also claimed that Dutertes son Paolo, now the vice mayor of Davao, had ordered the killing of a businessman in 2014.

Our job was to kill criminals, drug pushers, petty robbers and rapists, Matobato said, adding that his group killed more than 1,000 people between 1988 and 2013.

In a news briefing, Martin Andanar, a spokesman of the president, denied the allegations, saying: I dont think he [Duterte] is capable of giving those orders.

Accusations of madman

In a separate news report, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte also denied the allegations, calling the witness a madman.

What De Lima and this certain Matobato say in public are bare allegations in the absence of proof. They are mere hearsay, Duterte said.

I will not dignify with an answer the accusations of a madman.





In his testimony, Matobato said he was the triggerman of at least 50 of the murders in Davao. In one incident, he said he stabbed one of the accused criminals and pushed him out into the sea.

He also claimed that his group was involved in the killing of a local radio commentator, Jun Pala, who was a critic of Duterte when he was still a mayor.

Matobato also said that following the 1993 explosion that killed six people in Davao Citys main Catholic church, the St Peter Cathedral, Duterte ordered a hit on a mosque in the city.

He said that he was responsible for hurling a grenade at a mosque near a wet market in Davao.

Bury them in quarry

The mosque explosion happened about eight hours after the church bombing. No one was hurt in that incident.

It seems like he wants to avenge the bombing of the cathedral, he said in Filipino, referring to Duterte, who allegedly also gave the order to grab and kill Muslim suspects, and bury them in a quarry.

Duterte served as mayor of Davao for more than 20 years. He last served as mayor in June 2016, when he took over as president of the Philippines.

In May 2015 before he ran for president, Duterte admitted links to the reported Davao Death Squad.

Me? They are saying that Im part of a death squad? True, thats true, he said in a mix of English and Visayan, in an interview with a local television station in Davao.





Duterte was responding to the demands by human-rights groups to investigate more than 1,000 extrajudicial killings in Davao since the late 1990s, when he was also the city mayor.

Reports have linked Duterte and the police force in Davao to the summary executions of alleged drug dealers, petty criminals and even street children.

In 2012, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights recommended to government prosecutors to file murder charges against Duterte.

But prosecutors refused to indict him and only police officers were charged and convicted of neglect of duty.

During the same hearing on Thursday, Ronald Bato, the Philippine police chief, told senators that as of Thursday, at least 1,506 people had been killed in police operations against illegal drugs, while there were 2,035 murders by unknown asssailants that are under investigation.

That brings the total to 3,541 people killed during Dutertes 78 days as president.
Kathryn Kimball used to visit her law professors office hours so often, her name was once mentioned on a final exam.

Now the 29-year-olds name has been mentioned on a Supreme Court justices list.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas selected Kimball as one of his clerks for 2018. She is the first UF alumna in UF Levin College of Laws history to become a Supreme Court clerk, a position normally reserved for private and Ivy League school graduates.

Im highly honored that he selected me to clerk for him, Kimball said. I think it will broaden my understanding of the law.

The Lakeland, Florida, native will begin her clerkship, which will last a year, in July 2018.

About 1,000 people apply for the clerkship every year. Each Supreme Court justice selects four clerks a year, which will normally total to about 36 clerks, but the number was even less because of Justice Antonin Scalias death earlier this year.

When considering law schools, Kimball said she saw the strong alumni network at UF and knew it would open a lot of doors for her in the future.

Im really thankful that I ended up going to UF, she said.

While studying at Levin, Kimball spent the majority of her time in three places: working with Professor Michael Seigel as a research assistant, managing the Florida Law Review as an executive and serving on the law schools honor committee.

Seigel, who died in 2015 after battling cancer, left behind words of endorsement for Kimball, knowing she would achieve great things.

Kimball distinguished herself through her work for Seigel, said Robert Jerry, a former dean of the law school. Before his death, Seigel told Jerry about a letter of recommendation left on his computers hard drive for Kimball.

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We were all beginning to think about the possibility that she might be someone that we all wanted to support for a Supreme Court clerkship, Jerry said.

Jerry attached Seigels recommendation with his own. Kimball later learned that Seigels recommendation was influential to Justice Thomas decision.

Working as the executive editor of the comment section for the Florida Law Review helped her balance work and education, she said. The organizations former adviser, Dennis Calfee, encouraged her to apply for clerkships and other opportunities.

Hes been my cheerleader the whole time, she said.

Calfee, a UF law professor, also wrote to Justice Thomas, recommending Kimball for the clerkship.

Although she was No. 1 in her class, she took time out to tutor other people and help them with courses, Calfee said. Pretty amazing lady.

Before starting her clerkship with Thomas, Kimball will continue working in the tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice as a criminal prosecutor.

Kimball said she wants her efforts to help open the door for more Supreme Court justices to accept UF alumni as clerks in the future.

I hope that it will encourage UF students to realize that theyre just as capable as other students who went to Ivy League schools, and that they shouldnt discount their education, she said.

Roles of a Supreme Court clerk

Review cases

Prepare justices for oral arguments

Conduct research to help draft opinions

Help decide emergency applications like halted prisoner executions

Source: iipdigital.usembassy.gov

@paigexfry

pfry@alligator.org
Eight months after a Gainesville woman seemingly disappeared, a grand jury has charged her ex-boyfriend with first-degree murder.

On Wednesday, the jury indicted Nelson Ariel Armas, a 28-year-old Gainesville resident, for killing Hannah Brim, who went missing Jan. 19, according to a statement issued by Gainesville Police.

Brim, who was 23 years old, was believed to be five months pregnant at the time of her disappearance, according to Alligator archives.

Police have not found Brims remains, but forensic evidence convinced officers she was dead, according to the archives.

GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said police believe Armas was the last person to see Brim alive. He was quickly considered a suspect in the case, Tobias said.

In February, about 150 officers from seven law enforcement agencies  including GPD and the Alachua County Sheriffs Office  searched for Brim in a heavily wooded area of the Orange Heights neighborhood, according to archives. The area is located about five miles from Waldo, Florida.

Armas was already in the Alachua County Jail on charges of an unrelated domestic battery. He was not issued a bond.

Anyone with information on the disappearance of Hannah Brim can contact GPD Detective Tom Mullins at 352-393-7619, CrimeStoppers at 352-372-7867 or text GPDFL plus a tip to 274637.

@ceostroff

costroff@alligator.org

@martindvassolo

mvassolo@alligator.org

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Gainesville Police filed a sworn complaint Wednesday recommending that State Rep. Keith Perry be charged with simple battery and trespassing.

Following a fight Saturday between Perry and another man, GPD filed with the state attorney recommending the charges, GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said. Officers did not see the incident, so the state attorney must decide whether to charge Perry.

GPD released a 30-minute video of the fight, showing Perry striking the man across his neck in the 2200 block of W. University Ave., according to a police report.

Perry, a Republican representing District 21 in the Florida House of Representatives, is currently running for the District 8 seat in the Florida Senate.

The video, which has no audio, shows Perry and the man arguing at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. A taken-down Keith Perry for State Senate sign can be seen on the front porch.

On Wednesday, Perry released a statement apologizing for the incident, saying he only pushed the man when the man made comments to Perrys wife and spat in Perrys face.

While I have the opportunity to bring charges against (the man), I have no intentions of escalating this any further, the statement reads. For anybody offended by my actions I humbly apologize.
Mike Pence will headline a rally about 60 miles south of UF on Saturday.

The Republican vice presidential candidate will speak at the Savannah Center, located at 1575 Buena Vista Blvd., in The Villages, Florida, according to a Donald Trump campaign email. The event starts at 3 p.m., and doors open at 1 p.m.

No posters, banners or signs may be brought into the event, according to the email. There is no dress code, and an ID is not required for entry.

No professional cameras with detachable lenses are permitted, according to the email. No tripods, monopods, selfie sticks or GoPros are allowed.

Christian Sutton, a UF preprofessional pharmacy sophomore, said he plans on making the one-hour drive to see Pence.

The 19-year-old went to a Trump rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the summer and said being near the Republican presidential candidate was breathtaking.

He said he wants to support Trump in any way he can, which includes supporting the candidates vice president.

Pence is a solid running mate choice for Trump, Sutton said, and he said he hopes other UF students attend the rally to learn more about the two.

I just think people should go just to see what the other side says, he said. You should be knowledgeable when you go out and vote.

Up to two tickets can be reserved per person at donaldjtrump.com.

@paigexfry

pfry@alligator.org

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As 101 Cantina faces eviction, a faux memorial will be held Friday to commemorate the Midtown restaurant and bar.

The Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center, located at 2021 NW Fifth Ave., will host the Mexican-themed dinner as part of its free weekly Shabbat meals. It will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Chanie Goldman, a codirector of the center, said the memorial dinner was just a joke. On Fridays, the centers biggest competition for students time is Midtown.

Its not a memorial service to Cantina, Goldman said. But you cant get Mexican (anymore), so come to Chabad. Theres nothing for you in Midtown.

Fara Moskowitz, a 20-year-old UF junior, said there are rumors every year about 101 Cantina closing, so Chabad may be making fun of the restaurants situation to draw more students to its dinner.

Its just a funny way to convince people to not go to Midtown and go to Shabbat instead, the UF family, youth and community sciences student said.

Shane McKenna, a UF alumnus, said he thought it was funny Chabad was giving 101 Cantina a parody memorial.

With all of the money he spent at the bar as a student, McKenna said he found it surprising that, according to court documents, the restaurant faces charges for unpaid rent, late charges, court costs and attorney fees. In court documents, Trimark claims that 101 Cantina's monthly lease is up, while the owners say they have a year left and Trimark has stopped accepting lease payment.

The costs for damages that 101 Cantina owes after potentially vacating, however, didnt come as much of a shock, he said.

Is any of the damage being charged for what they did to my liver? he said.

@Jawosmond

josmond@alligator.org

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If youre not familiar with the term Manic Pixie Dream Girl, let me give you a refresher. The term, coined by film critic Nathan Rabin, is used to describe spirited, quirky female characters (usually written by men) that inspire the brooding male hero to find joy in life. It is an overdone trope that devalues female characters, reducing them to plot tools for the more complexly written male characters.

Theres been debate about MPDG characters in the film and literature world: Is a character an MPDG just because she is quirky? Is it inherently sexist to just lump all quirky women together and label them MPDGs?

The main problem with the existence of the MPDG, however, is that even though a lot of people are aware this trope exists, a lot of straight men still expect an MPDG to walk into their lives and give meaning to their otherwise sad existence.

Some guys will even admit that theyre waiting for their MPDGs. But when they look for partners, they are not looking for people; they are looking for an idea.

Some guys prefer the traditional sundress-wearing, ukulele-playing girl with a heavy fringe and cute glasses. Others want combat boots and multicolored hair, coupled with sharp sarcasm and a penchant for doing illegal things.

Whatever the niche, its counterculture and quirky, and the guys who search for these girls pride themselves on looking beyond superficial hotness. They want girls with personalities, right?

The danger is theyre fixated on an idea, and even though the girl theyve found may fit a lot of their criteria, each girl is still her own person, not an idea. Break that idea, and some guys dont react well.

A classic example of this in film is 500 Days of Summer, starring Zooey Deschanel as the titular Summer Finn and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the man head over heels for her, Tom Hansen. For some reason, even though this film takes the MPDG trope and nitpicks it apart, people still call Summer heartless and praise Tom. But lets look at this closer, shall we?

To Tom, Summer is perfection. Shes quirky, she likes the same music as him and she plays silly games in furniture stores. He thinks hes found the one. But when she breaks it off, suddenly everything he found charming about her is now revolting. He once saw her as an angel, but now shes a devil.

But Summer is not this pastel-colored dream or a heartless b----: Shes a person who is allowed to have her own problems, make her own decisions and have a complex inner life. Tom doesnt see this because the view hes constructed of her is shallow and immature; she either fulfills his needs, or she doesnt.

I have been a Summer. Most of my friends have been Summers. A boy falls for you because he tells you youre different and youre not like other girls. He is intrigued by your differentness and your offbeat personality, but you cant be too weird. You cant step outside of this box hes created for you and stuffed you in, because if you do that, hell call you crazy and call you names and tell you youre betraying yourself.

He thinks he knows who you are. He knows what he wants you to be. Youre either completely his or completely against him.

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Women are worth more than the sum of their fashion accessories and their quirky habits.

We are complex human beings who are allowed to be angry and sad, who are allowed to follow our own dreams without putting others in front of us, who are allowed to be messed up, out of place and concerned with our well-beings.

We are not here for the men who think they can reduce us to the color of our hair or the music we like. We are here for ourselves.

Petrana Radulovic is a UF English and computer science senior. Her column appears on Thursdays.










English News No end to grievances of Military-Veterans unless launch their political party

Alwihda Info | Par Hem Raj Jain - 15 Septembre 2016



Bengaluru, India

Sub:- (i)- OROP is only one and minor issue (ii)- Unless martial deficiency of Indian State is removed Indian Military will never get respect and justice (iii)- Launch of national political party by Military-Veterans, the only solution



----- As happened during 2012 also we have again started getting emails on social media where Military-Veterans are complaining & lamenting that Modi government too has betrayed the armed forces (including in case of OROP) as is evident from one such email circulating such frustration by one of former top brasses of Army as given at:- http://mrinalsuman.blogspot.in/2016/09/bjp-and-soldiering-community-widening_29.html



The response by Military-Veterans to this article of Veteran Maj Gen. Mrinal Suman is also circulating in social media. What is common is that the grievances of Military-Veterans are same as was in 2012. This time also Military-Veterans do not understand that only when a ruler rules for honor and only when martial deficiency of Indian State is removed, then only their grievances & complaints will be addressed (including about OROP). This in a democracy can be ensured only through a national political party which believes in these fundamental principles of governance and unfortunately no existing political party in India believes in these principles.



This was the reason that in 2012 I tried to launch a political party sponsored by Military-Veterans but I was told by Military-Veterans that they may not go for a political party but for a human-right NGO. Hence I started contacting Military-Veterans in 2012-13 and for this I also went from Bengaluru to M.P., Rajasthan and Delhi and met Military-Veterans. But I got the impression that Military-Veterans were depending heavily on coming of BJP / PM Modi in power and especially of former Army Chief Gen V.K. Singh. Therefore Military-Veterans did not take any interest in launching even said HRNGO [which was supposed to first tackle three major martial problems causing huge bloodshed in India and of Indians namely Kashmir (including rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pundits), illegal immigrants from Bangladesh & Pakistan and Naxalism from about one third territory of India].



Now again Military-Veterans have started airing their grievances and laments but they will reach nowhere unless they launch an India level political party (this time no HRNGO). This political party will be like any other political party registered at Election Commission of India but will have first priority to remove martial deficiency of India State as mentioned above and in addition will believe in Federal-Secular-Socialist (Joint-capitalism)-Democratic-Republic policies.



The Military-Veterans should understand that due to present unrest in Kashmir the launch of this political party by Military-Veterans will be greeted and supported immensely all over India because present BJP government and all other political parties in India are not up to the mark and are doing nothing for Kashmir solution (which is nothing but retrieve of PoJK, first by talking to Pakistan and if Pak refuses to handover PoJK on table then retrieving PoJK militarily)



It is hoped that Military-Veterans this time (instead of indulging in their favorite pass-time of complaining & lamenting) will take effective step of sponsoring the launch of a national political party.



Regards



Hem Raj Jain



(Author of Betrayal of Americanism)



Bengaluru, India



Dans la meme rubrique : < > More robots entering people's daily life China sees accelerated development of express delivery sector in rural areas China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
Drilling Wells: Many have been highly critical about the fact that Carrie Tolstedt will get a $124.6 million package of stock, options and restricted shares when she leaves the bank later this year. They argue the former consumer banking head, who stepped down from her role this summer, should be held accountable for Wells having opened more than 2 million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts for its customers between 2011 and 2014, in some cases resulting in those customers incurring fees. Observers ranging from Bernie Sanders to Sheila Bair have suggested that Wells should claw back pay from Tolstedt. Wells' misbehavior led to a $190 million penalty from regulators, but there appears to be no fallout for senior executives so far, which is fueling public outrage. Given the vitriol, some question if Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf, who is being called to testify before a Senate panel on the matter, can do enough damage control to keep his job. It's unclear whether Tolstedt also will testify. In Tolstedt's retirement announcement, Stumpf hailed her as "a standard-bearer of our culture" and "a champion for our customers," with no mention of the pending fine. Wells' spokespeople have said there is no connection between the retirement and subsequent regulatory settlement. The Wells case throws a harsh spotlight on the habit of "managing to the metrics" and there is some speculation that other banks might join Wells in its recent decision to suspend incentive compensation. Tolstedt has been among American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking for more than a decade and ranked at No. 4 in 2015. Tolstedt's successor, Mary Mack, has been listed among our Most Powerful Women in Finance for the past two years, coming in at No. 7 in 2015.

Washington Weighs In: Democratic House Financial Services Committee members Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., are using Wellsgate to oppose the Financial Choice Act, the Dodd-Frank reform bill introduced by committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. Waters and Maloney say the bill would undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by taking away the ability to penalize companies like Wells Fargo for abusing consumers. Separately, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., used the Wells scandal to rally her supporters to help fight bills in Congress that seek to restructure the CFPB. "Wells Fargo proved that giant banks still think the rules don't apply to them," Warren wrote in a fundraising email. "They think they can cheat their customers, stuff their pockets with money, and still walk away."

Merger Market: Centric Bank President and CEO Patricia "Patti" Husic sees recent bank merger activity in her area as an opportunity to poach customers. "It is a constant follow-up," she told American Banker in a wide-ranging interview. "You may hear the comment, 'I'm really loyal to my bank.' One of the first things I say is, 'I appreciate and admire loyalty, but if there ever comes a day that your bank doesn't earn your loyalty then give us a try.' Just being passive and waiting for someone to come through the doors isn't going to get you a bigger share of the market." Centric is based in Harrisburg, Pa., and at least three of its competitors have sold over the past two years: Susquehanna Bancshares, Integrity Bancshares and Metro Bancorp. Husic's strategy of capitalizing on the disruption appears to be working for the $421 million-asset Centric. Its loan book grew by 30% over the past year, while fee income also rose. Husic is a repeat honoree in our Most Powerful Women in Banking rankings.

Next-Gen Business Banking: Digital banking and mobile financial management apps are commonplace for consumers these days. But banks are having to work on getting business customers who still use desktop computers and handle paper checks and cash to go mobile. Mary Burchette, a senior vice president at U.S. Bank, says the effort to win over businesses involves a lot of education. "We try to really work with them and dig into their processes," to show them how they can benefit from improved efficiency, she says.

Next-Gen Bankers: How can you make banking careers more appealing to millennials? Several bank associations are working on that question and trying new tactics to engage with the younger generation. One effort underway entails a series of online videos featuring millennial bankers like Lindsey Riley. "Younger individuals don't always understand the opportunities that arise from being in the banking world," says Riley, a business banker at Reliance Savings Bank in Altoona, Pa., "not only from the standpoint of personal and professional success, but also from the difference you and your bank can make in the community." Rileymade a career switch from teaching to banking three years ago, through the outreach of the Pennsylvania Bankers Association.

Role Call

Pilot Bank in Tampa, Fla., has recruited Rita Lowman, the chief operating officer of C1 Bank in St. Petersburg, Fla., to be its COO. She will run the retail and IT divisions and oversee deposit operations.

Washington Federal in Seattle has added Erin Lantz, a former Bank of America executive, to its board. Lantz now works as the general manager of mortgages at Zillow Group.

Beyond Banking

Rumor Mill: Could Hillary Clinton tap Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg for Treasury Secretary? Politico's Morning Money reports hearing "more and more" about the possibility (early speculation held that Sandberg "probably wouldn't" leave California for that) and says "her star power and historic potential would probably blow away any opposition." Sandberg served as chief of staff to Larry Summers when he held the role in the 1990s. Separately, some are suggesting Trump would nominate PayPal co-founder and anti-Gawker crusader Peter Thiel to the Supreme Court. Washington, Silicon Valley is coming.

Listening Skills: Regardless of your position on Clinton, it's worth listening to this analysis about gender dynamics in American political campaigns. "Campaigning  a process created by men, dominated by men and until recently, limited to men  might subtly favor male traits," says Ezra Klein, Vox founder and former Washington Post columnist. "Male traits like maybe talking over listening." Looking at the Democratic nominees in this race, he adds, Bernie Sanders is a great talker and Clinton a great listener. "This time the listener won, but it felt illegitimate to a lot of people."

Fashion Statement: Media coverage of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has been fixated on her wardrobe, in a way that is wholly unlike the treatment given to her male predecessor. The Times of London even dubbed a chest-accentuating scarlet dress of hers "the boobinator" for showing off what it described as "power cleavage." But May says she isn't going to let it put a damper on her love of fashion.

One Last Thing: Women in the White House are working together to have their voices heard in important meetings with a strategy they call "amplification," whereby women repeat key points voiced by another woman, to credit its ownership and deny men the right to claim it as their own.
A close look at the cybersecurity rules New York State financial regulators proposed this week finds much that is familiar from federal bank guidelines, but a new breadth and depth.

While large banks already have many of the policies and protections described by the Department of Financial Services, some small state-chartered banks, insurance companies, state-licensed lenders and money transmitters are likely to find compliance a challenge.

Things could get messy if other states start coming out with their own cybersecurity rules.

"Just think of the hodgepodge of state breach notification laws. There is a difficulty here if other states impose different standards," said Jeff Taft, a partner in Mayer Brown's Cybersecurity and Data Privacy and Banking and Finance practices.

Another scenario is that New York's rules could become the reasonableness standard for security in the financial industry.

Under the safeguards rule of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act of 1999, "you're required as a financial institution to have a security program that is consistent with what's reasonable in the industry," noted Mercedes Tunstall, partner in the Washington law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. So potentially every bank could wind up having to adhere to the New York rules.

Former DFS superintendent Benjamin Lawsky was the driving force behind the regulation. He set this work in motion in 2014 with surveys of banking and insurance companies, followed by cybersecurity reports and exams that were used in the drafting of the regulation. The drafting was done under the watch of Maria Vullo, who was confirmed as superintendent in June.

The proposal, which is subject to a 45-day comment period, includes rules around data protection, disaster recovery and resilience, security incident response and reporting, network and application security, physical and environmental controls, penetration testing and training, third-party security assessment and monitoring, and many other aspects of cybersecurity.

Part of the New York plan rehashes what's in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council cybersecurity assessment guidelines and the National Institute of Standards and Technology security framework, some of which emerged out of the lessons learned from 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and other disasters. But New York's proposal goes further, especially in the areas of data encryption and authentication.

Protecting 'Nonpublic' Data

A major point at which New York's proposal diverges from the FFIEC's cybersecurity exam handbook is data encryption. The FFIEC requires banks to encrypt "sensitive" data, which generally means customer data and confidential business information, such as documents about an unannounced merger. New York's regulation tells banks to encrypt all nonpublic information, meaning "all electronic information that is not publicly available." Public information is defined as what a bank "has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public from: federal, state or local government records; widely distributed media; or disclosures to the public that are required to be made by federal, state or local law."

So most data would fall under the category of "nonpublic" and therefore need to be encrypted, both at rest and in transit. That's more than has been asked of businesses in the past.

"A lot of institutions have some encryption of data," said Taft, noting that Massachusetts requires encryption of data in transit. "I don't think most companies have encryption for data at rest."

The requirement to encrypt nonpublic data is more specific and explicit than the cybersecurity guidance that exists for banks today, according to Valerie Abend, managing director and head of the U.S. cybersecurity practice at Promontory Financial (until June, she was senior critical infrastructure officer at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).

Banks would have a little time to get their data encryption technology in place, she noted. Bank chief information security officers would get until January 2018 to encrypt all nonpublic data in transit. "Until then, the CISO has to sign off on whatever the compensating control is," Abend said. All nonpublic data at rest has to be encrypted within five years.

Another thing that's noteworthy in the New York plan is the strong recognition of third parties, particularly information security vendors, and the role they play in overall cybersecurity.

New York banks would have to monitor the adequacy of their vendors' cybersecurity practices and set policies around their interactions with vendors that would include, "to the extent applicable," the use of multifactor authentication, encryption, identity protection for customers, cybersecurity audits, and "representations and warranties from the third-party service provider that the service or product provided to the covered entity is free of viruses, trap doors, time bombs" and the like.

This is sure to present a challenge because companies that lack state-of-the-art cybersecurity technology don't know they have viruses or malware on their computers. Even some of the largest and best-protected companies don't know of all the malware that lurks in their networks, due to the rapidly growing sophistication of malware and the one-step-behind nature of antimalware software.

The rule would also require third-party providers to inform banks of any security breach.

Federal regulators already require such notification, but in the New York plan "a third party not only has to tell the institution but potentially provide identity protection services to the institution's customers," Abend said.

New York's proposal is also more specific about the use of multifactor authentication.

"If you look at the FFIEC guidance, multifactor authentication is about taking a risk-based approach and they talk about some of the bigger risks in certain areas," Abend said. "This is more explicit, partly because of the nature of it being a regulation versus guidance."

New York requires an "inherent factor" to be used for authentication, noted Tunstall.

"It doesn't have to be biometrics, though it often is," she said. "It can be things like a thumbprint, a voice imprint, take a picture of yourself now. It's something inherent to you or to the circumstance, an action you take in the moment."

For a lot of banks, following this requirement "will be a challenge, especially for very small entities," Tunstall said.

New York also proposes requiring the preservation of audit trail records for six years, so if there is a cybersecurity event, investigators can look at logs and records to analyze what happened, how it happened, and how such a breach might be prevented in the future. This is a tough requirement because cybercriminals have gotten good at altering logs to delete them or to cover their tracks.

"They're tuned in to the fact that this is something bad guys are doing," Abend said.

Another unique aspect of the New York proposal is it broadly defines information systems that must be protected to include telephone switching and environmental control systems.

"That's super important, because if a bank's telephone system is hacked into and messed with, that's going to be a problem," said Tunstall.

Environmental controls (such as heating and air conditioning systems) are a favorite of hackers. "Environmental controls are relatively dumb systems," Tunstall said. "If you can hack into that you can mess around with the environmental controls, especially where servers are maintained. Then you can cause it to overheat quickly and really mess up the banking system. Those are great inclusions but we don't typically see that in the definitions of the systems that need to be protected."

New York's proposal also drills down into access privileges.

"I spend an inordinate amount of time talking to companies about the importance of identity access management," Tunstall said. "That means you should go through every single role in a company and determine, does that role require access to protected information? If it doesn't, then systems need to be designed in such a way that that person never has access to that information."

Access privileges are also mentioned in the FFIEC guidance, but in a less specific way, she said.

Small Banks Will Feel It

Large banks have most of what the New York regulator calls for already, Tunstsall said, with the possible exception of the authentication requirements.

Smaller entities are likely to have to scramble to meet some of these rules.

"The covered entities go from Citibank all the way down to a two-person licensed lender shop. That's a real range," Tunstall said. "That's why the FFIEC guidance and the NIST standard are not that specific, because the impact on those smaller entities is so high potentially."

Taft agreed with that assessment. "There's a whole host of smaller institutions that don't have anything like this in place and they're the ones that will feel a lot of the burden of it," he said. "I think the banking agencies have traditionally tried to give the banks flexibility, recognizing that what works for Citibank doesn't necessarily work for State Bank Q down the street. This is a one-size-fits-all."

Some of the things smaller banks are likely to find challenging, Taft said, are systems monitoring, the maintenance of log files for six years, and dual factor authentication for cases beyond online banking.

"That's a fairly high technology bar. All this is stuff you can procure, but it's going to have a cost," he said.

Despite all the headaches and challenges, Tunstall said the proposed New York rule is a good move.

"As somebody who does a lot of counseling on cybersecurity I was glad to see this because the specificity is needed, and forcing this conversation to happen is important," Tunstall said. "The FFIEC provides good parameters, there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not specific enough. The same with the NIST cybersecurity framework. I'm happy to see this because it does put the teeth into what those standards and ideals are."

Editor at Large Penny Crosman welcomes feedback at penny.crosman@sourcemedia.com.
Pilot Bank in Tampa, Fla., has recruited Rita Lowman, the chief operating officer of C1 Bank in St. Petersburg, Fla., to be its COO.

Roy Hellwege, Pilot's president and CEO, told American Banker on Wednesday that Lowman will start in the in the newly created position on Sept. 26.

Lowman, C1's operating chief since 2011, will run the retail and IT divisions as well as deposit operations at the $243 million-asset Pilot.

"We've never had anyone that has managed all three of those areas before," Hellwege said.

"Rita fits our culture, in terms of being focused on advocacy and relationships, and she's a proven executive manager of taking small community banks and building them into highly profitable institutions, and her skill sets were perfectly aligned with our needs," Hellwege said.
Washington Federal in Seattle has added a former Bank of America executive to its board.

The $14.8 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that Erin Lantz, general manager of mortgages at Zillow Group, had become a director.

Lantz, 37, worked at Bank of America from April 2003 to 2010, eventually serving as senior vice president of program management, where she led the director-to-consumer purchase home loan business. She joined Zillow in 2010, according to her LinkedIn page.

She is the second person with Zillow ties to recently join a bank board. Earlier this month, the $419 million-asset Anchor Bancorp in Lacey, Wash., tapped Gordon Stephenson, a Zillow director, to join its board.
One wonders if Hillary Clinton will call Gregory Hicks a liar, just as she has called Benghazi parents Patricia Smith and Charles Woods liars for their testimony that she blamed the terrorist attack on an Internet video in front of their sons caskets as their bodies were brought home.

Hicks, a 25-year Foreign Service Office and former chief of station in Libya at the time of the Benghazi attack, gave riveting and damning testimony before Congress on Hillarys lies and criminal negligence in the matter. The last man to speak to Ambassador Christopher Stevens, he has exposed the video lie, documented how he told Hillarys State Department what was happening in real time that fateful night, and how her State Department ignored warnings from Stevens and others about the gathering terrorist storm and the woeful lack of security.

Now retired, private citizen Hicks goes farther, telling Fox News that Hillary Clinton broke laws while condemning four Americans to death at the hands of terrorists:

Just as the Constitution makes national security the Presidents highest priority, U.S. law mandates the secretary of state to develop and implement policies and programs "to provide for the security of all United States personnel on official duty abroad. This includes not only the State Department employees, but also the CIA officers in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012. And the Benghazi record is clear: Secretary Clinton failed to provide adequate security for U.S. government personnel assigned to Benghazi and Tripoli. The Benghazi Committees report graphically illustrates the magnitude of her failure. It states that during August 2012, the State Department reduced the number of U.S. security personnel assigned to the Embassy in Tripoli from 34 (1.5 security officers per diplomat) to 6 (1 security officer per 4.5 diplomats), despite a rapidly deteriorating security situation in both Tripoli and Benghazi. Thus, according to the Report, there were no surplus security agents to travel to Benghazi with Amb. Stevens without leaving the Embassy in Tripoli at severe risk. Had Ambassador Stevens July 2012 request for 13 additional American security personnel (either military or State Department) been approved rather than rejected by Clinton appointee Under Secretary of State for Management Pat Kennedy, they would have traveled to Benghazi with the ambassador, and the Sept. 11 attack might have been thwarted.

Hicks also addressed the claim by Hillary that security at Benghazi was not her responsibility and that she had delegated that task to experts:

U.S. law also requires the secretary of state to ensure that all U.S. government personnel assigned to a diplomatic post abroad be located at one site. If not, the secretary -- and only the secretary -- with the concurrence of the agency head whose personnel will be located at a different location, must issue a waiver. The law, which states specifically that the waiver decision cannot be delegated, was passed after the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa, when deficient security was blamed for that debacle under Bill Clinton's presidency. When asked about security at Benghazi on Sept. 11, Mrs. Clinton has repeatedly asserted her lack of responsibility. Initially, she said that she never read any of the reporting on security conditions or any of the requests for additional security, claiming that she delegated security to the professionals. More recently, she stated that [I]t was not my ball to carry. But the law says otherwise. Sound familiar?

It was Hillarys responsibility to guarantee the security of U.S. diplomatic personnel abroad, a responsibility that cannot be delegated. She failed miserably on both counts and has lied about it ever since. Hillary Clinton that night knew that the video in question had nothing to do with Benghazi. Gregory Hicks told the truth before Congress and was rewarded with a demotion:

We have the testimony of Gregory Hicks, deputy chief of mission in Libya and a foreign service officer for 22 years. He was demoted to desk officer for telling the truth that those in Libya knew it was a terrorist attack from the "get-go," that there was no "protest" or mention of one from anyone on the ground, and that the infamous YouTube video was "a non-event" in Libya

Yet that is what she told the Benghazi parents on the tarmac. Hillary and her State Department has warning, including from Ambassador Stevens himself, that Benghazi was an insecure trap in the face of a growing terrorist threat. As Investors Business Daily editorialized on documents unearthed by Judicial Watch:

The documents describe Libya as hardly the poster child for the Arab Spring, and echo warnings sent to State by Stevens himself. He was aware of an attack on a convoy carrying the British ambassador to Libya and a June 2012 attack where an improvised explosive device blew a hole in the Benghazi consulate wall. Nowhere in the 486 pages is mention of or concern for the effects of a video. On Aug. 8, 2012, Stevens sent a two-page cable to the State Department entitled "The Guns of August: Security in Eastern Libya" and noted a dangerous "security vacuum" in and around Benghazi, as well as the presence of terrorist training camps. He was ignored. The documents reveal that, early on the day after the attack, the Pentagon received intelligence briefing slides detailing that the June 6, 2012, attack was tied to al-Qaida-linked terrorists seeking an Islamic state in Libya and who threatened to attack U.S. interests there. It also said the June 6 attack "came in response to the 5 June (2012) drone strike on senior al-Qaida leader Abu Yahya al-libi." That Sept. 11 was a terrorist attack was known before, during and after it took place. "I personally ... think the (U.S. Africa Command) very quickly got to the point that this was not a demonstration, this was a terrorist attack," Gen. Carter Ham, head of the Command, testified behind closed doors in June 2013 before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. And that, Ham said, was the "nature of the conversation" he had with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey moments before a 30-minute meeting with Obama prior to the president resting up for his fundraising Las Vegas trip.

Hillary Clinton ignore the pleas for added security at Benghazi, the terrorist threat that was building, and then let pleas for a rescue fall on deaf ears. Will she now add Gregory Hicks to her list of Benghazi liars that includes Patricia Smith and Charles Woods?

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
American citizens must have been startled and shocked when a prominent politician, who should know better, informed them with passionate intensity of the existence of "deplorables" in their ranks. No doubt some citizens would like the numbers and identity of them in the absurd "basket of deplorables" to be more precisely stated.

Nevertheless, it is more sensible, important and urgent to concentrate on two particular individuals, Edward Snowden, now in Moscow. and Rachid Kassim, hiding in France. These are deplorables  indeed, too deplorable for words.

The more familiar of the two is Edward Snowden, former intelligence contractor with the National Security Agency (NSA) who has been in Russia since June 2013. He wants to return to the U.S. and is seeking a presidential pardon from President Barack Obama. He is unlikely to receive it but may be satisfied with the publicity of his activities in the film Snowden, released in September 2016 and directed by the controversial Oliver Stone.

In previous films, Stone has demonstrated that he is renowned not for factual accuracy, as the absurd theories about JFK showed in his film on the assassinated president. Nor is he acclaimed for his impartiality or his political astuteness. At one point in 2010, he explained that the reason why people were "fixated" on memorializing the Holocaust was because of the "Jewish domination of the media" and Israel's powerful lobby in Washington, D.C. Elsewhere, he expressed sympathetic thoughts about Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

It is therefore unsurprising to observe inaccuracies in Snowden regarding Snowden's decision to steal government documents before he fled to Hawaii and Hong Kong and Russia. Snowden was proud to have stolen thousands of classified NSA documents, perhaps more than a million, in order to reveal the extensive mass surveillance programs by NSA and GCHQ, the British intelligence agency, that intercepted phone calls and internet traffic. Verizon was directed to hand over all its telephone data to the NSA on an ongoing daily basis. The NSA tapped into nine internet firms to track online communication.

Snowden leaked sensitive information, yet his case was and is controversial because of an inherent conflict. On one side is the argument that U.S. citizens benefited from his disclosure of government intrusion into privacy. On the other is the need for government not to be troubled by intrusion on and danger to national security.

People may differ on Snowden, traitor or hero. What is important in the present context is that his activities have helped a series of processes that have inadvertently led to helping terrorist activity. This results from developments in advanced technology, the use of apps, and the desire for software programs that could be used online or on mobile devices to prevent leaks. One of the most important of these developments has been the development of Telegram, the instant messaging service, highly encrypted and capable of self-destructing, making it impossible to recover messages.

The service was founded by two Russians in 2013 and is listed as "very safe" compared to other devices such as WhatsApp. It sends photos or videos to multiple users and is available to most carriers. It currently claims 100 million users delivering 15 billion messages a day.

Unfortunately, one of those users is Rachid Kassim , a 29-year-old Frenchman from Roanne, a town near Lyon, born of Algerian parents. He has been prominent in recruiting for ISIS and has been responsible for orchestrating a number of terror atrocities  at least four  in France. The most recent plot in which he was involved was the attempt in September 2016 to destroy Notre Dame in Paris.

Kassim was behind the attempts of three young women, aged 19, 23, and 31, to attack the Cathedral using five gas canisters, three bottles of diesel, and a half-smoked cigarette that fortunately did not stay alight. The young women, who pledged allegiance to ISIS, were also charged on September 12, 2016 with plotting to kill public officials.

France, like the rest of the democratic world, has to face the problem of jihadists who use Telegram to prevent intelligence officials detecting their private messages. The terrorists also use YouTube and other outlets to dispense their propaganda. The fundamental problem for law enforcement is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to intercept the chats of users. Infiltrating into extremist chat rooms is extraordinarily difficult. Indeed, Telegram is so sure of its encryption that it has offered a large sum of money to anyone who can get through it.

Kassim has used Telegram to direct people to carry out terror attacks. He is suspected of being behind the murder of the 86-year-priest whose throat was slit on July 26, 2016 in his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. He was linked to the July 14, 2016 truck attack massacre of 86 people in Nice. He is close to the killer, Larossi Abballa, who murdered a police couple in Magnanville, outside Paris, on June 14, 2016. He drew up a hit list of journalists, politicians, and public personalities.

Above all, Kassim has directed hundreds of recruits using encrypted messages. Already France faces a real problem with a database with a security list of 20,000 names, of whom 10,500 are suspected likely terrorists linked to Islamic groups and nearly 30% are women. France, under a state of emergency until the end of January 2017, has increased the number of police, customs and border guards, justice officials, and army units and has increased the power of the police to keep suspects under house arrest.

The courts have been helpful. On December 11, 2015, the Conseil d'etat ruled that detaining suspected jihadists without evidence of a crime does not violate their human rights. It also upheld the extension of the state of emergency.

However, France has been handicapped by rivalry between the DGSI (General Directorate for Internal Security) intelligence service and the police. And the policy of electronically tagging suspected terrorists has not been implanted with the greatest efficiency.

Encryption is a major problem on which the world must combine forces. In this the U.S. must play a major role. The next U.S. president must be less concerned with "deplorables" and more with advancing technology to overcome Islamic terrorists.
Interim DNC chair Donna Brazile had a warning for anyone who might be tempted to peruse the latest leak of hacked DNC documents:

Brazile urged caution for anyone attempting to download the documents, "given the potential malware risks." At the same time, she said the hack was carried out by the Russians, particularly the infamous hacker Guccifer 2.0, the same hacker who released DNC documents right before the Democratic National Convention in July, leading to the resignation of Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz .

I really must give Brazile credit for straying from the Democrat playbook on this one. Democrats havent risen to this level of creative thought in decades (basket of deplorables certainly didnt cut it). If she had wanted to keep the electorate from viewing the contents of the latest leak (and believe me she does), it would have been much, much easier for her to just pull out the well used playbook and warn that anyone who ventures to do so is racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, misogynistic, and to top it off a climate denier.

But given that it is true that the DNC has been the target of some successful  and fruitful  hacks as of late, perhaps some caution is in fact warranted? Maybe Brazile should also warn people to refrain from opening any emails originating from the DNC or from using credit cards to answer any fundraising letters or phone calls from the Democratic Party...? Just to be safe.

Lets see if this is just another ploy to deflect from scandal or if she really has her constituents best interests at heart. Dont hold your breath.
With crime rampant in urban areas, educators and city officials are experimenting with new approaches to steer young black males into constructive behavior and away from gangs. Their main opponent? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which insists on one-size-fits-all solutions.

District of Columbia officials in January 2015 launched a program called the Empowering Males of Color Initiative. From the outset, they faced opposition from the ACLU, which is apparently more concerned with stamping out the evils of sexism than reclaiming the lives of at-risk black boys.

This week, city officials got the upper hand, however, when the ACLU was caught misrepresenting the admissions policy of the districts new all-male Ron Brown Preparatory high school.

Monica Hopkins-Maxwell, president of the ACLUs D.C. chapter, said city attorneys told her on Friday that no girls have applied but that there is no exclusion of girls at the all-male school run by District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), a policy change the ACLU has been seeking for months.

Wrong, the District Attorney Generals office said in a news release reported by the Washington Post. Our office is disappointed that the ACLU has inaccurately characterized the details of that conversation. As DCPS has made clear, they have not made any policy change with regard to admissions to Ron Brown. Contrary to suggestions by the ACLU [the attorney generals office] did not say that the admissions policy had changed, nor did our office say that DCPS has any plans to change that policy in the future.

Oops.

The Empowering Males of Color Initiative, a $20-million citywide project, is intended to boost minority male achievement, according to the Post. Black male urban youths, who are mostly fatherless, account for a wildly disproportionate percentage of crime victims, crime perpetrators, school dropouts, and drug and alcohol abusers in the District and other major cities.

In Chicago, now the murder capital of America, the ACLU handcuffed the police in August 2015 with a lengthy process for every stop they make and an end to stop and frisk. The agreement was reached following the city Democratic administrations cover-up of a video showing the fatal police shooting of a young black man, Laquan McDonald, in October 2014. As the cops obey the ACLU pact by cutting back on routine policing, crime has soared in the Windy City. Since last January, the city has had nearly 3,000 shootings, mostly in minority communities.

In the District of Columbia, beset with its own persistent crime problem, the ACLU has been fighting the city over the Empowering Males of Color Initiative, arguing that it violates the D.C. Human Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

Ms. Hopkins-Maxwell warned that if the city does not abandon males-only programs at the school and elsewhere, the ACLU will exhaust all of our options, including a lawsuit against the city.

The citizens of the District should insist that their elected officials stand up to this threat from a very well funded bully.

Robert Knight is a senior fellow for the American Civil Rights Union.
The pastor at a historically black church in Flint, Michigan stepped in and interrupted a speech by Donald Trump when the candidate began to criticize Hillary Clinton.

Politico:

Hillary Clinton failed on the economy, just like she has failed on foreign policy. Everything she touched didnt work out, nothing, Trump told 50 or so people inside Bethel United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Faith Green-Timmons, an African-American pastor in this predominantly Democratic city, didn't want to hear it and stepped in to stop him.

Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, Green-Timmons said as she approached Trump. Not to give a political speech.

A chastened Trump quickly looked to smooth things over.

OK, thats good. Im going to go back onto Flint, he said, pivoting back to a discussion of the citys troubles with a lead-contaminated infrastructure that has left its water supply undrinkable. Flint's pain is a result of so many different failures.

Trump is attempting to fit Flint's water problem into his broader argument that government incompetency is to blame for most problems and that he will be able to fix things. But as he was wrapping up, a few people seated in the pews had questions.

Youve discriminated against black tenants, one said, seeming to reference a New York Times report detailing how Trump and his father frequently denied African-Americans applying to buy or rent in their buildings.

No, I never, Trump said, as he was leaving.

Flints water crisis drew attention and visits from Clinton and Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary but not from Republicans until Wednesday. But Trumps short-but-messy visit is the latest evidence of the difficulties he faces in making headway with African-American voters, a bloc that has almost completely written him off according to polls showing him winning under 5 percent of the black vote.
Greg Hicks  the former deputy chief of mission for Libya turned whistleblower who was stationed in Tripoli at the time of the 9-11 terrorist attack in Benghazi  appeared on Megyn Kellys show on Fox News to lay out the case that Mrs. Clinton should not be trusted with our national security, as evidenced by what transpired in Benghazi. Ms. Kelly introduced Mr. Hicks by citing his compelling 2013 congressional testimony outlining the security lapses in Benghazi and the repeated calls for increased security that were ignored by then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

But Mr. Hicks was there not to discuss the lax security. He wanted to explain, with two points, how Mrs. Clinton knowingly violated the law and is responsible for what happened in Benghazi, and therefore unqualified to be our commander-in-chief:

[Mrs. Clinton] delegated her legal security obligations to others -- those obligations to protect official Americans overseas and especially in Benghazi. The law says that responsibility rests with the Secretary of State and what happened is our security complement in Tripoli was reduced from 34 to 6 so that when Chris Stephens went to Benghazi we could only let him take two security officers with him (sic) instead of the dozen or more he should have had.

Before he could state his second point, he was abruptly cut off  as is customary with the cable news hostess. After politely addressing her question, he deftly and succinctly made this second and more interesting point that nearly knocked me out of my chair:

[Mrs. Clinton] delegated the decision to divide our personnel in Benghazi between two facilities and that decision cannot be delegated according to the law.

Now, I follow the Benghazi case fairly closely, yet this is the first time I have heard this. Perhaps such information is buried somewhere deep in the Benghazi Committee report; perhaps it is a portion of Mr. Hickss congressional testimony that has yet to be publicly aired. Perhaps I have been living under a rock. But had I been interviewing this courageous man and credible witness with a birds-eye view of the Benghazi story, I would have let him finish his comment, and then I would have followed up: what is the law he references? What is the underlying policy reason that such decisions cannot be delegated? Is this law common knowledge among diplomats and State Department officials, including the secretary of state? Did he know if Mrs. Clinton was aware of this law, and how did he know this? Were others stationed with him in Libya aware of this breach? Did he believe that her decision impacted the massacre in Benghazi and if so, in what ways? Did he believe there was a dereliction of duty by Mrs. Clinton in making this illegal delegation? Has he, in his 25 years of diplomatic experience, ever seen a secretary of state delegate these duties before, and if so, under what circumstances? I could go on.

Yet Ms. Kelly did not delve into his comment at all.

I am as fascinated with his statement and the reasons behind it as I am floored by Ms. Kellys failure to follow up. As is so often the case with Fox talking heads, Ms. Kelly was so absorbed with her own viewpoint that she bypassed this novel information to state what she thought was the takeaway:

I think one of the things that gets lost is that this was a time when there had been two bomb attacks on the consulate in the prior six months, the British and the Red Cross had both pulled out of Benghazi out of security concerns, Ambassador Chris Stephens had been begging for additional security which she did not provide and somehow the Clinton supporters have managed to turn this into you are some sort of conspiratorial hater if you want to talk about Benghazi.

These security issues have not been lost on anyone. This is not the takeaway from Hickss interview. It is common knowledge that there had been security lapses and pleas that were ignored, all of which would have made a difference that fateful night had they been duly addressed. Ms. Kelly even attests to this fact in her introduction of Mr. Hicks. Moreover, the fact that the vast left-wing conspiracy belittles any conversation about Benghazi and the people who discuss it is hardly news.

Mr. Hicks is as authentic as they come. He hasnt sought the limelight like some witnesses. He went on Fox News not to state what we already know, but to lay the legal groundwork for the case that Clintons violation of standard operating procedures and laws that apply to the diplomatic corps  for which she is wholly responsible  nullifies any claim that she is competent to serve as this countrys 45th president.

What is interesting about Hickss comment is that not only does it point to her bungling incompetence as secretary of state, but it is yet another instance of Mrs. Clinton skirting the law and getting away with it.

Whats interesting about Megyn Kellys incompetence is that she was supposedly a litigator for nine years at one of the top law firms in the country. Litigating is, to a great extent, about asking questions that prompt witnesses to speak freely and hopefully reveal useful and probative information. In this case, the witness was forthcoming with something new to the public, yet there was no follow-up from one of Foxs top news personalities  an incisive reporter and experienced former litigator.
Jeremy Corbyn  who could possibly become British prime minister at the next election  felt obliged to write something about the anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday. What he said is outrageous. At least it's outrageous on a certain reading. The problem is, I don't know how else to take it. Indeed, many people have taken it in exactly the same way I've taken it.

Here's Corbyn's short tweet:

My thoughts are with those whose lives were shattered on 9/11/2001 -- and in the wars and terror unleashed across the globe in its aftermath.

It's crystal-clear that Corbyn felt a strong need to politicize these commemorations. And he did so in a particular way.

Let's be clear about that interpretation.

i) Corbyn states that his thoughts are with those whose lives were shattered on 9/11/2001. ii) He then says: and in the wars and terror unleashed across the globe in its aftermath.

What connects the first clause with the second? They must have some kind of connection; otherwise, the whole sentence would be a non sequitur.

Why would a terrorist attack which was the victims blow to the motherland (as Chomsky once put it)  and after which tens of thousands of Muslims celebrated on the streets  have unleashed war and terror across the globe? After all, this was a successful act of terror for al-Qaeda and tens of millions of other Muslims.

That must mean that what followed 9/11  not 9/11 itself!  unleashed terror and war across the globe. What followed 9/11? The intervention in Afghanistan in October 2001 and the Iraq War in 2003. Thus, in a tweet seemingly to commemorate the victims of 9/11, Corbyn couldn't stop himself from pointing the finger at Blair and Bush (plus another 23 states!) and indeed at all Western capitalist powers.

Not surprisingly, many people responded to Corbyn on his own Twitter page. An Andrew HK, for example, said:

Why not just leave it at those mourning victims on 9/11 today? Awful political point scoring, you should be ashamed.

Jonny Will Chambers wrote:

The real terror was unleashed on New York on that very day. Something you seem to have forgotten. Shameful.

It's not in the least bit surprising that Corbyn said what he said. He's on the extreme edge of the socialist left. Even many in his own party, the Labour Party, think this, and that's precisely why they've tried so very hard to get rid of him.

Jeremy Corbyn, M.P. was the chairman of the Stop the War Coalition (StWC) from 2011 until September 2015. A week after his election as leader of the U.K. Labour Party (in September 2015), he announced that he was stepping down from the role. Nonetheless, he also said that he'd continue to support Stop the War.

First things first:

The StWC is not against war  it's against capitalist wars fought by Western imperialist powers. Wars fought by Islamists, Muslims, communists, African states, etc. are never condemned unless  yes, you guessed it  they can be linked to Western dirty deeds.

Thus, Jeremy Corbyn himself is not  repeat: not  a pacifist! (It's a disgrace that certain tabloids and commentators have described him in that way.) Instead, he's a self-described anti-imperialist campaigner whos working within the system he ultimately wants to destroy.

The founders of Corbyns StWC were all members (or former members) of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). (It was only the other day that I saw Corbyn share a platform with SWP and Unite Against Fascism leader Weyman Bennett, who was once charged with conspiracy to commit violent disorder.)

Since we're on the subject of the StWC, it's also worth mentioning the strong connections between its leaders and activists and the Iranian theocratic state. Various StWC leaders have presented programmes for Iran's Press TV channel, along with other Islamist outlets. George Galloway, for example, is also an important leader of the Stop the War Coalition.

One other leader  and a founder  of the StWC (its national officer) is John Rees. (Hes also a founder and leader of the very recent Trotskyist front-group  The Peoples Assembly.) Rees also effectively works for the Iranian state and does its propaganda business via Press TV and the Islam Channel. (Heres a link on John Reess work for the Islam Channel.) Indeed, recently John Rees took part in the infamous press conference held by the Islamist group CAGE in which Britains Jihadi John was both defended and supported.

Stop the War and Jeremy Corbyn are against military intervention in Syria for two main reasons:

i) They are strong supporters of Iran. Iran is a strong supporter of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria. (Here is John Rees saying Don't Attack Iran!''.) ii) Western capitalist states would be carrying out the military intervention in Syria. Therefore that's automatically wrong because, according to Marxist logic, it will be exclusively driven by the inevitable laws of capitalist accumulation and imperialism.

To recap:

Jeremy Corbyn and the Stop the War Coalition are against military intervention in Syria not because theyre against war or against violence. Theyre certainly not pacifists. Indeed, they are Trotskyists and communists who have a strong commitment to what they themselves call revolutionary violence. Whats worse, this also partly explains their tacit defense  and sometimes support  of Islamic terror.
Signs are growing that the Obamacare fiasco could be the factor enabling the GOP to maintain a Senate majority. And, wonder of wonders, the GOP may be intelligently playing the ace in the hole Obamacare dealt it.

According to The Hill:

Eight of the states that will determine the Senate majority in November are likely to see significant reductions in the number of insurers participating in ObamaCare marketplaces. The likely departures of insurers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona and Missouri are pushing the healthcare law toward the center of some of the most competitive Senate races in the country. GOP strategists say Obama-Cares troubles this year are morphing into a perfect storm for their candidates, providing a boost in a year when the party is defending 24 Senate seats.

Since these changes will not be announced until November 1, they may not have an impact on early voters unless a push begins soon by candidates, the party, and PACs to bring this issue to the forefront.

Two phone calls I received over the last week suggest that just such a push may be underway. Last Thursday I was contacted by ProMark Research Corporation. It was a live poll. The pollster first asked favorable/unfavorable questions on Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Trump as well as Richard Burr and Deborah Ross, the candidates for the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina. The survey also asked a three-way vote question on the presidential race (Clinton, Trump, Johnson) and a three-way vote question in the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina. (Burr, Ross, Haugh).

After the horse race questions, I was asked what I thought should be done with Obamacare (expand a lot, expand a little, no change, partial repeal, complete repeal). The follow-up question was whether I would be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who promised to repeal Obamacare in its entirety.

I was then asked a barrage of questions in which a statement was made about Obamacare and I was to respond whether that statement was correct or incorrect. Each statement contained specific numbers on issues such as premium rates, deductibles, the number of state exchanges that have closed, the decline in the number of participating insurers, rising Medicaid costs, etc. For example, one question went something like this: under Obamacare, the premiums for covering the average family have increased to over $17,000 a year while the deductible has risen to $5,700. I told the person conducting the poll that I found the level of detail in the statements such that I doubted that even an experienced health care policy wonk would be comfortable attesting to the correctness of that many highly specific questions without double-checking the numbers.

I suspected at the time I took this poll that it had been commissioned to test the level of knowledge in the electorate in order to craft how a U.S. Senate candidate should address Obamacare in ads and stump speeches.

Then on Monday I received an automated call that advertised itself as a short survey on health care. The male voice said he was a doctor. This one was a "push poll," a call that advertises itself as a poll but is clearly designed to move public opinion rather than collect information. There were three questions  one on the total number of people who lost insurance under Obamacare, one on the total number of people now in narrow network plans that limit their choice of doctor, and one on the total number of people who have lost or will lose the insurance plans they were told they could keep. Each question offered four answers. After the respondent gave his response to the question, the voice told him the correct answer.

For each question, the correct answer was the option that had the highest number of people negatively affected by Obamacare. The recorded voice talked quickly at the end, but I thought I heard that this "poll" had been conducted by Independent Women's Voices. That organization does operate the site Broken Obama Care Promises.
Having followed Hillary Clinton's career, and now having read the September 14 statement of Lisa Bardack, M.D. about Ms. Clinton's condition, I have questions for the doctor.

What is the cause of Ms. Clinton's coughing fits?

What measures have you taken to help her with her coughing?

When she kicked off her September campaigning in Cleveland on Sept. 5 with a coughing fit that lasted about 90 seconds before she was able to talk, and then for the next two minutes her voice was hoarse and weak, what was your reaction, especially given the pattern of coughing over many months? For example, in Feb. 2016, giving a talk at Harlem's Schomburg Center, and in Jan. 2016 in Iowa, and at the Benghazi hearings in 2015?

You state that she had sinusitis in January and has upper respiratory congestion today. Does this mean the upper respiratory problem is chronic? And could this be the cause of the coughing?

Would you expect President Hillary Clinton to suffer from frequent coughing fits during her years in office?

Why is it, do you think, that Ms. Clinton allows herself to become dehydrated so often, with serious consequences, like being unable to stand erect or move her legs, as happened at the 9/11 Memorial event in New York?

Is the problem that you are prescribing a certain amount of fluid intake and she is not complying? What corrective steps did you take to get her to comply following the event in Chappaqua in December 2012, when stomach flu and dehydration caused Ms. Clinton to fall, hit her head, and suffer a concussion, and a blood clot went to her brain? Do you feel that she complied with your corrective steps to stay hydrated? Or is the problem one not of her compliance, but of the viruses and infections she catches that dehydrate her? Or both?

Seven years prior to the December 2012 dehydration event, Stepanie Pincus, M.D. told a reporter in Buffalo, N.Y. that Ms. Clinton fainted backstage while at a speaking event. The doctor said the cause was an acute gastrointestinal illness and that she needed rest and fluids to recuperate. Can you reassure the American public that a President Clinton would not allow herself to become dehydrated to a dangerous degree and that her medical staff will commit to ensuring this?

Is this you at the 9/11 Memorial with Ms. Clinton?

If this is you, were you checking her pulse, and did you know at the time she was dehydrated, or did that realization come later, when she collapsed?

It looks as though the same person is checking something about Ms. Clinton in this photo as well:

Can you explain what is going on with Ms. Clinton in this photograph?

You state that she sometimes needs B-12. What does she need B-12 for? Is it to treat low-energy symptoms?

People magazine reported that pneumonia has struck "several" members of the Clinton campaign staff in Brooklyn, including "those who travel with Clinton." Given that Ms. Clinton's infection is non-contagious, as per your report, would you say that this report in People is meaningless as far as understanding your patient's illness?

The questions many people have about Hillary Clinton's health can be summed up as follows: she sure gets sick a lot, so what happens next?
TSA deputy administrator Huban Gowadia told a House committee that despite promising months ago that no commercial flights to and from Cuba would take off without an armed air marshal, the flights, which began last month, aren't carrying any guards because Cuba has yet to sign an agreement allowing it.

Sen. Marco Rubio was incensed and, along with Senator Robert Menendez, has introduced legislation barring any more flights to Cuba until the Castro regime signs the agreement to allow air marshals on board and agree to inspections of the ten airports in Cuba.

The Hill:

"What it means is that these are now flights that are vulnerable," Rubio said. "There's a reason why we have air marshals on flights, because of the experience of 9/11 ... and you now have flights 90 miles from our shores that could theoretically be commandeered and you could have a repeat of that." Rubio's comments come after TSA Deputy Administrator Huban Gowadia told a House Committee that air marshals would only be on chartered flights between the U.S. and Cuba, because the Castro government hadn't signed a deal to allow U.S. air marshals on commercial flights. The United States started the first commercial flights in decades to Cuba last month. Gowadia said that Wednesday that TSA officials misspoke when they said earlier this year that commercial flights wouldn't start until the security agreement was signed. Rubio added that Gowadia's disclosure is "the latest example of an administration that is so intent on burnishing it's legacy, on getting credit for this opening that they're willing to throw everything else out the window." The Florida Republican, who is running for reelection against Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, wants the Obama administration to suspend any commercial flights to or from Cuba until it signs the air marshals agreement. Though Gowadia noted there's no indication Cuba would reject the agreement, the revelation that it is currently unsigned could add fuel to an ongoing airport security debate. Rubio introduced legislation with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to halt commercial U.S. flights to Cuba until a thorough security review is conducted at all of the island nations 10 airports. The House Homeland Security Committee passed its version of the bill this week. Though Rubio has been a chief critic of the Obama's administration Cuba policy, he argued that his push to suspend commercial flights should be separate from the larger debate over the island country. "You have this situation where theoretically some terrorists can travel from any country in the world into Cuba and then try to come into the United States, commander an aircraft and I don't need to tell you what can happen next," he added. "This is an incredibly dangerous situation."

In this day and age, to allow any commercial flight to any destiniation to take off without an armed guard aboard is idiotic. Of course, the Obama administration was caught in another lie when the TSA witness said they "misspoke" when promising that no flights to Cuba would happen until the Castros allowed air marshals on board.

This is legacy-building by Obama  at the flying public's expense. The administration was so eager to garner another "first" for the president that it is exposing the public to the very real danger that Cuban airports are lacking in security measures and that flights to and from Cuba are sitting ducks for terrorists.

Given the hostility the Cuban government still holds for the U.S., is it wise not to take every conceivable precaution against hijacking? Apparently, the president isn't concerned about it.
A short while ago, I penned an article called "Twice the Citizen" to commemorate the career of a great Army Reserve officer. Here is another stellar Army officer: my West Point classmate, Colonel (ret.) Jeff Williams.

Colonel Williams has had a stellar career, most recently culminated in being the longest serving American in space. According to NASA, he has 534 cumulative days in space, the record for U.S. astronauts. He has under his belt four space missions (one space shuttle and three space station). Also from NASA, he was the first U.S. astronaut to perform three long-term missions to the station. He has performed five spacewalks for a total of 31 hours and 55 minutes spent spacewalking.

Here is a photo of Jeff taken as he returned from his most recent mission as the commander of the International Space Station. Note the USMA Class of 1980 ball cap.

Colonel Williams's career began with mine, back in July 1976 as we both stood on the parade ground at West Point and swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Since that day, Colonel Williams has served in a variety of assignments. His professional biography can be found here. Here are some of the highlights:

As a cadet at USMA, Williams competed on the West Point sport parachute team and also held ratings of sport parachute jumpmaster and instructor. He received his commission as a second lieutenant May 1980 and was designated an Army aviator in September 1981. Williams completed a three-year assignment in Germany where he served in the 3rd Armored Divisions aviation battalion. Following his return to the United States, Williams completed a graduate program in Aeronautical Engineering, and was subsequently selected for an Army assignment at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), where he served in various capacities supporting the Space Shuttle Program. In 1992, Williams attended the Naval Test Pilot School, and subsequently served as an experimental test pilot and the Flight Test Division Chief in the Armys Airworthiness Qualification Test Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Williams retired from active duty in 2007 after more than 27 years of service. Williams has logged approximately 3,000 hours in more than 50 different aircraft. Williams was selected for the NASA Astronaut Class of 1996. In addition to his space flights, he has performed various technical duties in both the space shuttle and International Space Station Programs. He has served in the Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Space Station, and Soyuz Branches of the Astronaut Office, led the development of a space shuttle cockpit upgrade, and completed temporary assignments at Marshall Space Flight Center supporting the test and evaluation of the International Space Station Laboratory Module and at NASA Headquarters in support of legislative affairs. In July 2002, Williams commanded a nine-day coral reef expedition operating from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Aquarius undersea habitat off the coast of Florida. Williams has also served on the space station backup flight crews for Expeditions 12, 19, and 20. So far, Williams has logged more than 362 days in space, including more than 19 hours in three spacewalks.

NASA was also gracious enough to provide links to several photos of Col. (ret.) Williams and his time in space.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums/72157665029194945

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums/72157661964468354.

Here are some of the experiments he has worked on:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1931.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1007.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1257.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/1973.html

Bigelow Expandable Activity Module technology demonstration project.

And 3D printing in space.

As you can see from his bio, pictures and experiments, Colonel (ret.) Jeff Williams, in his service as an Army officer and as a civilian, is, indeed, Twice the Citizen.

Mike Ford is a retired infantry colonel who wishes he were brave enough to ride a controlled explosion of hydrogen and oxygen into orbit.
Nowhere in Pulitzer Prize-winning Eli Saslow's Sunday article on Diamond Reynolds, the Minnesota woman who livestreamed her boyfriend's shooting during a traffic stop on July 6, 2016, does Saslow mention a YouTube video Reynolds posted on July 4, two days before Philando Castile died.

The 9-minute film shows Castile and Reynolds smoking pot, numerous crotch shots, and foul air filling the car  all with her 4-year-old daughter in the back seat. It's hard to watch.

From YouTube:

After the July 6 shooting, Reynolds was praised by many officials and those in the media for remaining calm enough to film Castile's death while her child watched, again in the back seat. Saslow maintains the ruse, depicting Reynolds as a sympathetic figure trying to "move past 10 tragic moments of video."

Within hours after the shooting, Reynolds's video was everywhere. The next day, five innocent law enforcement officers were shot to death in Dallas. Black Lives Matter activists (including leader DeRay McKesson, who, coincidentally, used to work in Human Resources for Minneapolis Schools until 2015, while Castile was employed by St. Paul Schools), the DOJ, Al Sharpton, and President Obama all weighed in, creating a firestorm that led to the slaughter of three more police officers the following week in Baton Rouge.

Just like Dorian Johnson, who made up the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" lie, Reynolds's version of events was accepted prior to investigation. This fueled the rage that resulted in a lot of bloodshed. But you won't see that in Saslow's article. He spins Reynolds from a potential Child Protective Services case into a doting mother.

Here Saslow describes Diamond's frugality and concern for the 4-year-old (Dae'Anna)'s future:

For the first time in her life, she had access to some money: $60,000 from an online fundraiser that a friend had started for her and Dae'Anna, but she was reluctant to even touch it[.] ... She had been using food stamps and trying to spend as little as possible until Dae'Anna would start school and she could go back to work.

Sixty grand and she's using food stamps? Where's the story on this? Ironically, Saslow won his Pulitzer for a series on food stamps in America. Did he include fraud and abuse in this prizewinning expose?

Predictably, lost in the dead zone of white liberal guilt, Saslow does not focus on American taxpayers' hard-earned money funding Reynolds's dope smoking, immoral lifestyle, and child neglect. According to the reporter, she's a victim of the system, and so is her daughter. It's the cops' fault she likes pot and sexing it up in front of her child.

In this next excerpt, Diamond is suddenly concerned with what Dae'Anna witnessed from the back seat during the police encounter on July 6. Incidentally, that video reveals more bad parenting. Instead of shielding and distracting her daughter that day, as any normal mother would when a traumatic event has taken place, Diamond ignores the little girl and never asks if she is okay. She continues to film and talk throughout the incident in a calm and composed, almost contrived manner.

Saslow's touching depiction of Reynolds's motherly connection to her child after the shooting video raises the question: where was Reynolds's maternal concern when Dae'Anna was in the back seat getting high from inhaling second-hand weed smoke on July 4?

From the Washington Post:

They had barely discussed the shooting since that day  not with each other and not with a professional  and Diamond thought maybe that was for the best. But she had gone back over her Facebook video in an attempt to understand exactly what Dae'Anna had witnessed from the back seat, expecting to be unnerved by her daughter's screams. Instead, for the first four minutes of video, Dae'Anna had said nothing, and so Diamond began to wonder: How was that possible? How could anyone, much less a 4-year-old, keep quiet during those four minutes?  Dae'Anna had brought up Castile's name only a few times since the shooting[.]  Once, a few weeks after Castile's death, Diamond had overheard Dae'Anna playing with the action figures and saying something to them about how policemen shoot to kill. She had thought about going in to explain what it meant to be poor and black in Minnesota, but how could she tell a 4-year-old a story with no moral and no solution  a story with no apparent end?

Eli Saslow, a father of three living in Portland, Oregon, is not doing the black community or Reynolds any favors with this propaganda. In fact, he is part of the problem. Why not run a piece on any one of the millions of black mothers and fathers doing the right thing, regardless of their circumstances? Why continue to define deviancy down?

Saslow fails to articulate that being "poor and black" anywhere is not an excuse to engage in illegal activities in front of your child. And burdening taxpayers with food costs while buying dope and hooking up with absentee sperm donors has nothing to do with bad cops.

To top it off, Saslow, like all good liberals, conveniently leaves the "story" open-ended. There is "no solution," he writes. How fortunate for him and his future earnings.

Mr. Saslow's self-serving contention aside, there is a moral and a solution to Reynolds's and little Dae'Anna's plight. A lot of black and white women I know already get it.

Honor yourself, set a good example, and raise your children to be responsible, accountable, and respectful. Women, stop whoring around; men, stop spreading your seed from female to female with no regard to the babies you are creating. Stop blaming, whining, and crying that it's society's fault. Give children a stable family home, and maybe we can fix the majority of problems plaguing our inner cities and our nation, including community-police relations.
The State of the Union speech, delivered to the European Union, made a number of key promises and objectives for the coming years including providing free Wi-Fi, improved cellular and home broadband technologies, and shoring up existing copyright laws. These are bold claims from a union struggling with numerous issues at the present time, including deep divisions between the individual member states including one, the United Kingdom, planning to leave the union in the coming years. However, the European Union is wishing to work together in order to achieve these ambitious projects. There are two main ways that the State of the Union speech addresses the planned changes to the EU zone when it comes to Internet connectivity and online copyright protection.

On the Internet and connectivity side of things, the main reason for improving how easy it is for Europeans to get online is so everybody benefits from this connectivity. There are three legs to this plan and in aggregate, these improvements should generate two million jobs in the European Union. The first is a new 120 million grant destined to provide public, free Wi-Fi around the main centers of public life by 2020. Next, the EU are encouraging next generation, 5G cellular networks similar to how we have seen the American regulators push towards. The ambition here is to deploy 5G networks across most of the continent by 2025 and the thought here is that this new technology will benefit commerce and business. The third leg is to provide every home with 100 Mbps or faster download speeds, as a follow up to an earlier ambition to provide every home with Next Generation Access speeds of over 30 Mbps. The current number of households with access to this speed of connection, as reported in the 2016 EU Digital Progress Report, was 71% so the new mandate faces a stiff headwind.

However, another part of the speech sought to address piracy and copyright issues in the region and here the European Union is seeking to change and improve the existing laws. The first idea here is seemingly to duplicate changes in the German and Spanish laws that were designed to provide journalists, publishers and authors with greater rights. The crux of the matter here is that search engines are required to pay to show an article previews. To date this has resulted in fewer article previews, which has in turn meant fewer clicks and reads of the underlying website, which in turn has caused a drop off in revenue generated by the publisher. This change appears to be counterproductive in two core European Union markets and now may be rolled out across the rest of the region.

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Another change is that the European Union is planning on implementing the Copyright Directive, which requires video platforms use a technology to identify those videos and works that have been agreed with the platforms either to authorize or remove. This will empower the copyright holders and in practice it means that new media businesses, such as Facebook and Google, will need to screen videos before being published to the site to make sure that they are permitted. This in turn will require additional investment from these companies to ensure that they provide the means to filter out whatever content has been deemed not suitable for that platform.

Overall the State of the Union seems to provide both positive and negative influences for the European Union going forward. Planned improvements to connectivity are always welcome as are changes to allow copyright holders to keep their material protected, but rolling out the pay-to-show-article results in search engines policy does seem counterproductive. We will see how things transpire over the coming years.
LeEco had announced the September 21st event quite recently. The company will host this event in China, and judging by the sheer number of Le Pro 3 leaks weve seen lately, chances are well see that smartphone introduced during the event. The event will last for two and a half hours though, so it is quite probable that the Le Pro 3 wont be the only piece of hardware that well see introduced at this event. In any case, the Le Pro 3 leaked the other day, and that leak revealed that two variants of the device are coming, which is something well talk about in a second, lets first check out a new piece of info, shall we.

The company has released a new teaser for the September 21st event, and is using this image to spite Apple. The teaser that leaked today actually comes with the Bigger than bigger tagline, as it refers to the Le Pro 3s battery and battery life. Now, if this is not enough for you, youll get to see a battery in the provided image, and below it is Apples logo, which got squished by the aforementioned battery. Theres even blood in this image, which makes this teaser quite graphical, to say the least. This, of course, indicates that the Le Pro 3 will have an outstanding battery life and wipe the floor with Apples iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus offerings in that regard. Now, this is not the first time that LeEco is taking a shot at Apple, back when the company was called Letv (before the rebranding took place), they actually compared Apple to Hitler, so the new teaser image does not really come as a surprise.

That being said, the LeEco Le Pro 3 is expected to ship in both 6GB and 8GB RAM flavors, and the rest of their internals wont be exactly identical. Both of these devices will be fueled by the Snapdragon 821 64-bit quad-core processor, while both of them will also ship with a 2.5D curved glass on top of their displays. Now, the more affordable variant will sport a 5.5-inch fullHD display, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The 4,070mAh battery will be a part of this package, and a 16-megapixel snapper will be placed on the phones back. The 8GB RAM model will come with 256GB of internal storage, and will sport a 5.7-inch QHD display. The 5,000mAh battery will be included here as well, and two 13-megapixel shooters will be available on the phones back.
The wireless mobile scene in Canada is as restless and expensive as ever. While those in larger cities are used to paying more for their wireless service (due to a lack of competition), those in more regional areas, like Manitoba or Saskatchewan rely on smaller companies, such as Wind Mobile to offer more competitive pricing. The problem with the regional carriers is that they generally do not provide the coverage or services of the Big Three  Rogers, Bell, and Telus.

It was back in December when Wind Mobile and Nokia Networks signed an agreement for LTE deployment. Wind Mobile picked them as their sole network infrastructure and equipment provider. Wind Mobile currently only provides 3G services for both voice and data and yet, it is the fourth largest provider. Wind Mobile is also the slowest network in Canada, so the switchover to LTE will help them gain new customers. Wind Mobile has secured the funds it needs to purchase the equipment and get it installed and ready to go.

Next, we heard that Wind Mobile would have their LTE launching by the end of 2016. They do keep moving forward on this and it could actually happen. Shaw purchased Wind Mobile for $1.6 billion a while back and so far, it has proven to be a wise investment. Last December, Shaw and Wind Mobile claimed they were dedicated to doing what is necessary to improve our network. They tackled problems in Greater Vancouver area and Calgary and moved to Edmonton. Moreover, while their growing LTE network is becoming a reality, there is a lack of smartphones that support AWS-3 spectrum.

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This is where the new LG V20 smartphone comes in. This is a smartphone which is expected to be released next month and is confirmed to work with Band 66. More devices are sure to arrive on the scene, but here we have a premier device ready to work on Wind Mobiles LTE network out of the box. Which will also allow Wind Mobile a few bragging rights to draw new customers to their network with such a high-end smartphone. The LG V20 comes with a 5.7-inch IPS LCD display and a second display on top for feeding you the day, time, and notifications. It has a powerful Snapdragon 820 processor and Adreno 530 GPU, packs 4GB of RAM and expandable UFS internal memory.
In the smartphone game, there are two names that loom larger than anyone else, and they would of course be Apple and Samsung. For years now, the choice for a high-end smartphone thats current and ships with the latest tech has often come down to a choice between either Apple or Samsung. For a lot of consumers, its either an iPhone or a Galaxy S device, but over the past couple of years even more viable alternatives exists for a lot less money. Motorola has been one of them, but have  since their return to the market  focused on doing things differently than the rest of the market. While Apple and Samsung were content to keep on chasing better features, Motorola used a higher level of customization to set themselves aside from the rest, and with the new Moto Z line of devices, theyve taken customization behind just fit and finish and now offer users a way to change what their phone actually does. Its this new line of devices that Motorola is using to take on Apple and Samsung in their new Skip the Sevens campaign.

As part of the campaign, Motorola is urging people to skip the latest cycle of Apple and Samsung devices and to think about what else it is that they need and want from a smartphone. In the below YouTube video, released by Motorola, a group of Apple loyalists which the accompanying blog post from Moto clearly states were not actor, gather in a room and are treated to an iPhone prototype. One that had attachments that offered a bigger battery, a better speaker and a projector all with just a simple snap on to the back of the device. We all know where this is going, and it quickly transpires that this is not an iPhone prototype but a very real Moto Z, along with three of their Moto Mods that the company offers customers looking to extend their phones functionality. Unsurprisingly, the footage chosen by Motorola shows a room full of people pretty impressed with what Motorola had been working on, and lamented the fact that these features werent available for iPhone users.

This is a new ad campaign from Lenovo and Motorola, and one that the firms are pushing heavily. Theres the below video, as well as a raft of full-page ads that will be in magazines and newspapers across the US and elsewhere. For Motorola, this is a way to challenge peoples expectations of a smartphone, and of course, persuade people to pick a new Moto Z instead of one of the Sevens. Whether or not it works, is something only time will tell, but you have to credit to Motorola for trying something big like this.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQcIzfdm8U4
As rumours are flying around about how Samsung will eventually mark safe Galaxy Note 7 devices, it appears the company may be considering a new way to differentiate the old models from the new ones. According to the latest report, Samsung will update the software on newly manufactured Galaxy Note 7 units so that the battery icon will appear as green instead of white in the hope of reassuring Galaxy Note 7 owners, as well as airlines and other companies, that the device is safe to use.

Now although the report claims the battery icon will appear green, its unclear if this will be at all times or only when the device is charging. As well as this, its also unclear if it will appear on devices sold outside of South Korea, or if this will be an exclusive update for this market. This is not Samsungs first efforts at distinguishing the old from the new batch of devices. Only earlier this week did it emerge that the company was planning on limiting the battery charge to 60% on dangerous Galaxy Note 7 models via a change that will be implemented in the next software update. According to Chinese quality inspection authorities, the exploding Galaxy Note 7 units are due to a fault in the manufacturing process of the batteries, which feature a separator between electrodes that appears to be thinner than usual ones, which eventually leads to an explosion if the battery gets too hot when charging.

Over the course of the past week, a number of companies are banning the use of Samsungs latest flagship onboard planes, buses or trains due to the fear of the battery exploding. Obviously, Samsung is trying its best to replace all Galaxy Note 7s and avoid as many device bans as possible while keeping its customers happy, but many are suggesting that the company simply rename the safe device Galaxy Note 7 S as many companies feel its just easier to ban all Galaxy Note 7 devices instead of checking each smartphone to make sure it is safe. However, with over 2.5 million devices manufactured and over 400,000 sold, Samsung still has a long way to go before it can build up its reputation once again and replace all devices.
HTCs flagship lineup for the year 2016 seems to have come full circle and the companys next top-tier smartphone is likely to be set for a market release in the first half of 2017. For now, there are no details as to what we can expect from the HTC 10 sequel, but interestingly enough, recent rumors suggest that the Taiwanese company might want to bring back the ThunderBolt brand for the release of an upcoming flagship phone on Sprints network before years end.

The original HTC ThunderBolt was announced at the beginning of 2011 at CES and was launched in the US through Verizon Wireless as the carriers first smartphone to support 4G LTE as well as simultaneous voice and data over 3G networks with no Wi-Fi connectivity. The HTC ThunderBolt was succeeded by the HTC One X a year later, and HTC continued to identify its newer flagship phones with the One moniker since. Now, a new rumor fueled by an HTC trademark filing has started making the rounds lately, as the company appears to have reserved the HTC Bolt moniker for an unreleased, upcoming product. After HTC filed to trademark the Bolt brand, various media outlets have begun exploring the possibility that HTC might be planning to rename its flagship smartphone series once again, and possibly go back to its roots with the naming scheme of its upcoming top-tier handsets. On the other hand, theres no clear evidence that the HTC Bolt moniker will be attributed to a smartphone or a premium smartphone at that, and it could just as well be reserved for a different type of product or accessory. However, not long after the story at hand emerged, prolific mobile reporter Evan Blass chipped in via Twitter and declared that the mysterious HTC Bolt is coming to Sprint next month, so there might be some truth to these rumors after all.

So to wrap things up, HTC might be working on a new smartphone called the Bolt, which could hit the shelves in the US via Sprint at one point by the end of October. Whether or not this will be the case remains to be seen, and we advise readers to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism at least until more evidence emerges. As a quick reminder and history lesson, the original HTC ThunderBolt launched in 2011 was equipped with a 4.3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 800 x 480, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 1GHz processor coupled with an Adreno 205 GPU, 768 MB of RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, a 1,400 mAh battery, and Android 2.2 Froyo out of the box.
For Samsung, September 2016 is not going to down in the companys history as a positive month. With the torturous Galaxy Note 7 recall ongoing, the South Korean giant continues to suffer. In one weekend alone, the firm lost $20 Billion off of their market value in South Korea, and now, theyre having to shed more dead weight. Earlier this month, Samsung got rid of their printer business, selling it to industry stalwart HP, for a little over $1 Billion. This time around however, Samsung is much more secretive, perhaps because the firm has made a loss after getting rid of just 3 percent of Japans Sharp.

The small stake was picked up by Samsung back in 2013 for $100 Million or so back in 2013, and while that small a stake isnt enough to net them much in the way of returns, its unusual for Samsung to now make a loss on the stake. Especially since Foxconn purchased the firm three years later, seemingly putting an end to the firms money troubles. Companies often pick up a stake in their competitors, especially if the two operate in the same space. Having some sort of insurance, or at the very least a foot in the door is sound business acumen. For a time, it was rumored that Samsungs small stake in the Japanese electronics firm was a baby step towards a possible outright acquisition of Sharp. Of course, that didnt happen and now a Chinese giant owns one of Japans biggest electronics firms. There are no figures to share about the deal, because as the Wall Street Journal reports, Samsung isnt releasing any.

The South Korean firm isnt revealing anything about the deal, not who they sold the stake to or for how much. However, its taken as fact by many that Samsung has had to absorb a loss on this deal, and that the loss wants large, but a blow to the firm nonetheless. Whether or not the Galaxy Note 7 recall has had anything to do with the recent sales of their printer business and now this small stake in Sharp is unclear, but it is likely the printer deal at least had been in the works for quite some time.
Data usage overage fees are always frustrating. Its hard to keep track of how much data youve used in a month, and even with safety measures such as device alerts about data usage, its easy for it to get out of control. Even so, most people cant imagine using 569 GB in a single month, which averages almost 19 GB per day. But thats exactly what Valarie Gerbus, a Tampa, Florida mother of two, was charged for on her Verizon Wireless bill.

The bill came out to a grand total of $9,153, which includes $8,535 in overage charges, as well as a hefty early termination fee that was applied when Gerbus refused to pay the bill and cancelled her service. While she has stated that she will happily pay the ETF, she remains unwilling to pay the overage fees as she claims they are incorrect and doesnt understand how they could even be possible. Her plan includes 4 GB of data per month, and she says that in her time with Verizon she has never exceeded this limit. On July 21 of this year, however, she received a text from Verizon warning her that she was approaching her 4 GB data limit and offering another 4 GB for an additional $20. This seemed plausible at the time because of a wedding that she was attending out of town, which limited her ability to use WiFi, so she purchased the additional data. Less than an hour after the purchase, she was sent another message suggesting she upgrade her plan to 8 GB per month for $20 extra, which she agreed to as a precaution to avoid possible overages. Over the next few hours, she received somewhere between 40 and 50 texts from Verizon telling her to purchase more data, and turned the notification off, assuming it was an error. She did not call Verizon at the time as the issue seemed to be nothing more than a glitch and did not want to be put on hold for a long time while the company sorted the situation out.

Although Gerbus is certain the bill is a mistake, she is concerned with how an unpaid $8,535 wireless bill will affect her credit. After cancelling her service with Verizon, she opened an account with T-Mobile. T-Mobile will reimburse early termination fees for those switching to their service. They also recently changed their pricing structure to offer only a single option, called T-Mobile ONE, which includes unlimited high-speed data, so while it remains to be seen whether the allegedly erroneous charges will be adjusted, its safe to say that she wont have to deal with an issue like this again going forward.
(The Valley, Anguilla)  Over the last two weeks the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, in partnership with the Anguilla National Trust and the University of Roehampton, have deployed three satellite tags on turtles foraging around Anguilla.

This is part of a three year project funded by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature entitled Saving the sea turtles of Anguilla: combining community action with scientific evidence to drive legislative change.

These satellite tags allow us to follow where these turtles are online, and will provide us with critical information on their movements around the island.

The first turtle, a foraging Hawksbill, was named Isaac due to being found in the shallow water close to Isaacs Cliffs. The second and third turtles, tagged on Tuesday at Island Harbour, have yet to be named.

The Department is currently asking the local schools to suggest names for these two ocean travellers, with submissions also being used for subsequent tagging.

During the project it is hoped to tag twenty four turtles, which means all suggestions stand a good chance of being used.

To submit your ideas please message us through Facebook at Fisheries Anguilla, or email us at fisheriesmr@gov.ai
ABC News(COLUMBUS, Ohio)  With 56 days until the 2016 presidential election, ABC News hit the road to talk to voters in the battleground state of Ohio.



Watch it all live here.



This week, the plan was to drive more than 800 miles and visit six Ohio counties  stopping at coffee clubs, college campuses and county fairs along the way. The goal is simple: to hear from voters.



Four years ago, Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in Ohio by less than 2 percentage points. Last week, a Quinnipiac poll had Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a dead heat in the must-win state: Trump 46  Clinton 45. It's anyone's game.



We hope people wont be shy, but will spin the wheel and answer the random questions: "If you could pick anyone to be the next president, who would it be?", "What is the first thing the next president should do after taking office?", "What's the most outrageous thing you've heard this campaign?"



It has been a roller coaster of an election and were going to keep talking about all of it.



Thursday, Sept. 15



On Wednesday, we visited college campuses and talked to students about the upcoming election. Thursday, the plan is to talk to more voters over some coffee and.... yes.... some hot dogs.



The college campuses showcased younger voters' interest in third party candidates as well as stronger support for Clinton and the Democratic Party than we had seen in more rural parts of the state.



A new Bloomberg News poll out this week revealed that about nine percent of likely Ohio voters were still undecided. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson garnered about ten percent of support in the state, according to Bloomberg's poll, and more than double that among voters under 35 years old. We saw this age gap firsthand during our visit to Ohio State and Kent State Universities where Johnson's name came up frequently.

The more traditional party voters on the campuses vocalized concern over the two major party candidates too. Several young Democrats expressed anxiety over Clintons more hawkish foreign policy and Republicans spoke regrettably about Trumps tone and divisive language.

"Im going to vote for Hillary. I know some people may not like that. But to me its one thing to know policies its another thing to have a heart for the human spirit. And one of the things that really showed me that Hillary was president was when she said to a 10-year-old girl that your parents will not be deported. I dont care who you are, where youre from everyone should have their parents, regardless if youre an immigrant or natural born citizen," one young man at Kent State said, reflecting a distinct change in attitude on the subject of immigration from what he had heard during interviews in other parts of the state earlier in the week.



Another student, when asked what the priority should be for the next president on the first day of office, said, "These are the two most unpopular candidates in the history of presidential elections. So theres a lot of healing that needs to be done and a lot of camaraderie that needs to be fostered in the nation."



One young fashion major even had style advice for the two candidates. She said Trump needed a new hairdo and Clinton should be more "edgy."



"Her suits are boring. I like edgy so I think it should be more edgy like form fitting, not inappropriate because you know, that would be negative.... but if it was cute and chic thatll work. Sharp cuts."



Next stop: The 'Utica Coffee Club,' where Democrats and Republicans alike reportedly meet daily to debate. Stay tuned.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
- ROME - The Donana National Park in Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in a humid area of Andalusia that hosts 2,000 animal species, could become the first European park to be declared "at risk" by UNESCO.



The park has lost 80% of its water sources due to dredging of swamps, intensive farming and industrial pollution from mining, said UNESCO, as reported by The Guardian.



If the Spanish government doesn't ban all industrial and dredging activities there by December 1, Spain could become the first European country to have a national park declared at risk, UNESCO said.



Donana National Park is an expanse of lagoons and sandy dunes stretching 540 square kilometres, and it hosts flamingoes, wild horses and the rare Iberian lynx.



The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said the situation in the park has become critical, threatened by more than 1,000 illegal wells dug by farmers.



The Spanish government authorised the search for natural gas in the areas around the reserve and is planning to reopen the nearby mine of Aznalcollar, where in 1998 the country's biggest ecological disaster occurred.



The Seville Port Authority wants to dredge the Guadalquivir River, which feeds the humid area, to allow access to container ships and cruise ships by 2018.



"We hope the Spanish government finally responds to the international community," said WWF spokeswoman Eva Hernandez.



"As a World Heritage Site, it has the responsibility before the entire world to protect Donana," she said.(ANSAmed).
Libya's NOC accepts handover of seized oil ports Exports from Zuetina, Ras Lanuf to resume immediately

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, SEPTEMBER 15 - Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has "accepted handover of the oil ports from the Tobruk forces" that took them from a militia loyal to the UN-backed national unity government in Tripoli at the weekend, the company said in a statement Thursday. "They are secure, and we have been in contact with our foreign commercial partners," NOC said.



"NOC assessment teams have reported that Zuetina and Brega ports are intact, and that Ras Lanuf and Es Sidra were not further damaged during recent events. NOC is therefore lifting force majeure at all Oil Crescent ports. Exports will resume immediately from Zuetina and Ras Lanuf, and will continue at Brega  Exports will resume from Es Sidra as soon as possible." NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla visited Zuetina port on Wednesday and accepted handover of the ports from the Libyan National Army reporting to the House of Representatives in Tobruk, the corporation website said. "Iwant to commend the Libyans leaders and politicians for choosing unity of Libya and reconciliation at this critical juncture," Sanalla said. "The developments of Sunday and Monday had the potential to escalate, with potentially devastating consequences for the nation and our petroleum industry. Instead, we have found a shared interest in letting the oil flow, and the wisdom of that decision needs to be recognized". (ANSAmed).




BEIRUT - The United Nations is "disappointed" that "time is being lost" in delivering humanitarian aid to Aleppo and other parts of Syria, special envoy Staffan De Mistura said Thursday.

The failure of the Syrian government to authorise UN convoys in at least five parts of the country risked wasting the opportunity offered by the ceasefire in place since Monday evening, De Mistura said.

"The reduction of violence is substantial and continues," continued the envoy, while his humanitarian affairs advisor Jan Egeland added that no civilians had been killed for 24 hours. However De Mistura said the fact that no humanitarian aid had yet reached the population was "delporable". Government and rebel forces need to withdraw from the road leading to eastern Aleppo in order for the aid convoy to pass through.
BRUSSELS - Brussels has launched a 'Marshall Plan' for Africa contemplating an initial expenditure of 3.7 billion euros but with an investment potential of up to 88 billion euros in an attempt to tackle the root causes of migration to Europe. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has described the plan as a 'Copernican revolution'. The aim is to promote development, employment and stability in Africa by creating opportunities for EU companies and beneficiary countries. The European Commission hopes to see the plan in place befoe the EU-Africa summit in March 2017. "The investment plan and the Migration compacts are two separate projects acting together because both will help us to manage the migration phenomenon," Mogherini said.

"The Plan will help more in the long term, while the 'compacts' will help in the immediate term," she explained. Meanwhile the EU is tightening controls on its external borders to combat irregular immigration and terrorism. "Every time a person enters the EU they will be registered with place, date and reason for their movement," Commission president Jean Claude Juncker said.

The new European coastguard and border agency is also due to begin operations in mid-October after receiving definitive approval from the European Council on Wednesday.
Emirates presence at Manchester has grown significantly since its first full year of operation[1] , during which it carried just 17,000 passengers from the region. It has since carried over nine million people to the UAE and beyond, with popular destinations including Bangkok, Perth, Singapore and Mumbai.

Testament to the demand from across the North West, as well as Emirates ongoing commitment to the region, the airline announced that a third daily A380 service will be added to the route from 1st January 2017, replacing the existing Boeing 777-300ER, and adding a further 11% capacity.

Emirates SkyCargo continues to go from strength to strength in the region. In contrast to the 450 tonnes carried in 1990, over 22,000 tonnes of cargo is now carried on average from Manchester Airport each year. Automotive, healthcare products and foodstuffs represent the primary cargo transported, with key eastern export destinations for Mancunian businesses including Dubai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg  highlighting the significance of these markets to the local economy.



Laurie Berryman, Emirates vice president, UK, said: Manchester was the second route launched in the UK and it remains just as important to our operations today as it was 25 years ago. Since 1990, Manchester has grown from a small regional airport to a vital gateway for the North of the country, and the demand were seeing for both travel and exports to Dubai and beyond has never been stronger.



To hit the symbolic milestone of one million passengers will be hugely significant for us, and will only strengthen our commitment and contribution to the region. We are the only airline to employ the iconic A380 outside of London, and the launch of the third daily service will allow us to offer even more of our Manchester passengers the exceptional level of service they have come to expect from us.



Stephen Turner, Manchester Airport Groups Commercial Director, added: Were incredibly proud of our relationship with Emirates and how the airline has flourished here over the last 25 years.

The A380 has proved hugely popular with passengers and spotters alike since it started flying into the airport in 2010. The third daily A380 now puts Manchester on a par with London, Paris and Barcelona as some of the only European destinations to have an all A380 service.

Were looking forward to Emirates continuing to grow and celebrating many more milestones at Manchester Airport in the years to come.
Our Simphone Pro communications system makes good on our promise to streamline equipment upgrades, said Mark van Berkel, TrueNorth CEO. All that most owners will have to do is pull out the old system and plug in the new oneno additional wiring or configuration required.

Building on TrueNorths innovative Optelity Cabin Gateway, Simphone Pro has advanced processing power and updated Wi-Fi capabilities. Together these features increase performance and enable the latest technologies. In addition, system purchasers have the option to buy an Optelity Care membership. This membership-based customer support program offers no questions asked returns, and covers all software and hardware upgrades. Simphone Pro owners receive complimentary access to connected.aero, the companys bandwidth maximizing service.

Weve taken advanced processors and technology and updated Simphone Pro to give users even better performance inflight, notes Steve Newell, TrueNorth chief commercial officer. This new system is backed by STCs and is even more configurable than our previous Simphone systems, making it even more adaptable to a variety of mission requirements.

More about Simphone Pro communications system: Simphone Pro is a 4MCU cabin communications system that offers aviation certified Wi-Fi, high fidelity telephony, with a full featured VoIP PBX, enterprise email and seamless connectivity for the latest smartphone and other personal devices. The system has two variants: with and without dual Iridium voice and data channels. Simphone Pro is a simple direct replacement for legacy Simphone products and offers additional Wi-Fi capabilitiesdual band (2.4 GHz/2.5 GHz) simultaneous 802.11 ac, plus standard 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi.

TrueNorths Simphone Pro-motion allows purchasers to upgrade the capabilities of their inflight communications at a reasonable price (MSRP $65,200 standard price for systems with dual voice channels, Pro-motion price $49,600). Simphone Pro purchasers can take advantage of Optelity Care, which covers all hardware and software and TrueNorth badged systems on the aircraft.




These include distribution and payments, airport processes, onboard connectivity, and baggage handling.

The conference will open with two high-level speeches. Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline will set the stage for the conference in a welcome address. Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO, will follow with keynote remarks focused on meeting customer expectations as demand for air travel grows.

Meetingor even better exceedingcustomer expectations is the key to any successful business. Thats challenging. Expectations continuously evolve to become ever more demanding in detail and personalisation. We also know that travellers want a simpler, more transparent shopping experience, faster and more efficient airport processes and reliable connectivity during all stages of their journey. Speed is of the essence. And many of the enablers lie in making even better use of data and technology, said de Juniac.

The 6th edition of WPS will take place in Dubai, 18-20 October with Emirates as the host airline. More than 700 high-level delegates from across the globe are expected to attend.

Highlights:

The Leadership Panel, featuring Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline and Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airport, will discuss the formula for success and financial sustainability

Latest 20-Year Passenger Forecast presented by Brian Pearce, IATAs Chief Economist

The popular CIO Forum will also return for another year, to be joined with an Innovation Day

Presentation of the results of IATAs Global Passenger Survey

Presentation of the results of the IATA New Distribution Capability (NDC) Hackathon in Dubai

The 3rd edition of the Passenger Innovation Awards

Other subjects to be discussed at WPS include: NDC user experience; the One Identity concept for safe, secure and simpler passenger identification; Smart Security; onboard connectivity and new systems for baggage processing.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The agreement between the Armenian Government and opposition on the Electoral Code is definitely positive. It means that the public can witness the cooperation of the opposition and the leadership in the upcoming elections, Head of the Political Institutions and Processes Department of the YSU Faculty of International Relations Garik Keryan said in an interview with Armenpress.

Of course, this agreement is positive, but there are still 7 months left for the elections, and it is difficult to say what developments will occur in the political field. If steps will be recorded which will not be accepted by the opposition and the leadership, we will again have the same picture, he said.

The political scientist said starting from 1990 the results of all parliamentary and presidential elections have not been recognized by the opposition, there has never been a case when the opposition congratulated the leadership. He says we still do not have such a political culture.

The political forces must be judged by their action, rather than words. It is one thing when the political figures, individuals make statements, another thing when they take actions. In other words lets wait and see the action, now there are only words, he said.

The five political parties represented in the Armenian Parliament have signed an agreement of investing control mechanisms in the electoral process.

The agreement provides that the signed voter lists will be promulgated after the elections and cameras will be installed in each polling station.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The revision of gas and electricity tariff policy will be discussed under the supervision of Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan after the Governments session.

After the session the PM asked the Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Robert Nazaryan how much time is needed for presenting proposals on the revision of the policy.

Nazaryan said first of all it is necessary to understand certain principles with the Prime Minister in what direction to go, after that he will be able to say the concrete timeframe, Armenpress reported.

Karapetyan suggested to hold the discussion immediately after the session, and Robert Nazaryan agreed.

Nazaryan also asked the PM to allow the acting Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and the acting Minister of Labor and Social Affairs to participate in the discussion.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan instructed the Public Services Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to jointly discuss and make proposals over the revision of gas and electricity tariff policy.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan refused to give assessments on activity of acting Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

After the Governments session, referring to the news on appointment of Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration Vigen Sargsyan to the FMs post, Kocharyan urged to wait for President Sargsyans decree, after which it will be clear who will be appointed as Foreign Minister, reports Armenpress.

To the question, when will be the Presidents decree, the Deputy FM said:

When the decrees will be signed, we will know. It is the power of the President. In this case, since there are no appointments yet, I will not make any comments, he said.
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In my history of Christianity course, we read a number of challenging writers. Each one I ask students to read with as much sympathy, charity and critical perspective as they can muster. But nothing outrages them  not the writings of Augustine or Erasmus or Luther  more than two or three pages of John Calvin, the Ayatollah of Geneva.
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Singapore has formally launched its updated Government to Business (G2B) interface  CorpsPass  as part of an effort to streamline G2B interactions. Emerging from a previous beta as of September 15th, the rollout of CorpsPass will take place gradually over the course of the next year.

What is CorpPass?

In short, CorpPass will allow businesses to complete a number of actions related to trading, compliance, and finance within Singapore via a unified login. This will replace a previous system where companies were forced to use joint personal and business accounts for the purposes of G2B interaction, exposing important personal information. The new program has been touted as an effective means of mitigating this risk and further streamlining G2B interactions. Primary corporate tasks that will soon be opened to CorpPass include:

Filing corporate taxes

Applying for trade licenses

Applying for business grants

Understanding the Rollout

As with many government services, officials will roll out CorpPass progressively, extending access to an increasing number of entities with time. By the end of 2016, the system will be mandatory for all e-government services currently requiring a SingPass login.

Foreign Entities

Foreign businesses will be permitted to use SingPass for e-government transactions until the end of 2017. Following this date, CorpPass will take over and previous methods of interface will be discontinued.

How to Apply for CorpsPass?

Application for CorpPass is simple and may be completed via the governments dedicated CorpPass website. Prior to the application process, however, it will be important to understand the roles that those within companies will be permitted to play within the CorpPass system. This will likely determine the documents necessary for companies to prepare as shown in the graph below.

Required Documents

Foreign companies seeking to apply for CorpPass should prepare documents that show their registration as a foreign entity within Singapore. Owners of companies, which must be the Registered Officer (RO) of the company, will be required to present identity documents to verify that they indeed are the owners of the entity in question.

Internal e-Service Crossover

Depending on the e-service used, it may be necessary to carry out internal tasks to update to the CorpPass system. The nature of requirements may differ depending on the service in question. It is therefore important to inquire about potential requirements and to ensure that tasks are completed quickly to ensure seamless transition to the CorpPass System.

Implications for Investment

While Singapore is without competition within ASEAN, it is this responsiveness to the business community which allows it to maintain an edge. In the coming months, it will be important for current and prospective investors to learn as much as they can about the CorpPass program in order to utilize its services effectively. In the event that aspects of the program are problematic or can be improved, it is advisable to reach out to authorities as the program is likely to see additional adjustments as authorities fine tune the system to meet the needs of businesses across the city-state.



About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. 

Annual Audit and Compliance in ASEAN

For the first issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the different audit and compliance regulations of five of the main economies in ASEAN. We firstly focus on the accounting standards, filing processes, and requirements for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. We then provide similar information on Singapore, and offer a closer examination of the city-states generous audit exemptions for small-and-medium sized enterprises.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets

The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies  Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included.

An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia

In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements  all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia.
Libyas factions are increasingly restive. Oil terminals are in the hands of Tobruk government general. Street and social media protests attack foreign interference. Tribal leaders fully back Haftar in protecting Libya's assets.

Tripoli (AsiaNews)  Anger is growing among Libyan factions after the United States and five European countries condemned the Libyan National Army (LNA) for seizing the oil-producing crescent region.

Tobruk government-backed General Khalifa Haftar and his forces took over the oil terminals a few days ago. Demonstrations took place yesterday afternoon in Tobruk and Zintan against what protesters call foreign interference. In Zintan, militia leaders have threatened to close again access to the coastal road.

Anti-US protest also hit social media as activists and civilians call for dissent to spread to every corner of Libya. Sources in Benghazi told AsiaNews that many Libyans are angry at the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom for calling on the LNA to pull back from the oil crescent "without preconditions".

For General Khalifa Haftar this has been a boon, as he can use "Western condemnations to gain greater popularity" talking about "national dignity" and rejecting "any American and European interference."

Such a strategy worked well for former leader Muammar Gaddafi who claimed to be the guarantor of national independence and sovereignty against direct or indirect foreign occupation.

Haftar has imposed a ban on oil exports without coordination and permission of the Presidential Council.

Benghazi resident Omar El Ghani told AsiaNews that "ordinary people are very satisfied with Haftars overall behaviour and disappointed with the West".

The Libyan military leader also found full support "against foreign interference" among Cyrenaicas tribal chiefs who criticised the United States and European countries for their condemnation.

In a statement released yesterday, tribal leaders pointed out that whilst respecting "the interests of Western countries in Libya, this does not mean that they have the right to dictate the occupation or the return [of oil wells]". In an official statement, they give their full support to "General Khalifa Haftar and the LNA" who have the right to "protect Libyan assets".

Cyrenaican tribal leaders ask why US and Europe, who are now ready to condemn, were silent when Libyan oil was robbed by Ajdabiya-based militia chief Ibrahim Jadhran as head of the Petroleum Defence Guards (PDG) who had declared the autonomy of the eastern part of the country.

Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril and Colonel Idris Madi also criticised Western interference. The latter hailed the takeover of the terminals as a major victory for all Libyans.

Meanwhile, demonstrations continued this morning following the false news that Italy was planning to send troops after Italian Minister of Defense Roberta Pinotti said that Italy would set up a field hospital in Misrata to treat those wounded fighting against the Islamic State in Sirte. In addition to doctors and medical staff, soldiers would be deployed to protect the facility.

UN special envoy for Libya Martin Kobler warned of the danger that the country might collapse if oil exports are interrupted.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN Security Council on Libya, he also recognized the need to legitimise the General Haftar. "I have always said that Gen Haftar must have a role," said Mr Kobler. "I would like to sit together with him and discuss it."

For his part, Presidential Council Chairman Fayez al-Sarraj today called on all parties to sit down urgently in order "to resolve with courage and responsibility the crisis facing the country," noting that the current situation in Libya is one of the most dangerous." (PB)
by Mathias Hariyadi

A former member of Jemaah Islamiah, a jihadist group linked to al Qaeda, he served six years in prison for involvement in the killing of two policemen. In prison, he underwent a "spiritual conversion". Once released, Ghazali founded an Islamic school to educate terrorists children about moderate Islam and prevent them from developing feelings of hatred towards the state.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  Khairul Ghazalis life went from that of an Islamic terrorist to educator and disseminator of moderate values of Islam.

Ghazali, 51, a former member of an Indonesian jihadist group, he opened a school to educate the children of terrorists, marginalised by society and easy prey to fundamentalism.

The father of nine children began his terrorist career in the 1980s through the influence of Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Baasyir, founder and key member of Jemaah Islamiah, a jihadist network linked to al Qaeda.

After adopting the extremist view of jihad, the group moved to Malaysia, where it raised money to fund training camps and prepare attacks in Indonesia.

Ghazali was arrested in 2010 for his involvement in the shooting at the Cimb Niaga Medan Bank (North Sumatra) in which two policemen were killed. It is during the six years in prison that the terrorist experienced a real "spiritual conversion".

Already during the first three-month trial I had decided in good conscience to leave behind my mistakes, Ghazali told AsiaNews by phone.

He realised the mistake in acting on a wrong view of jihad. "I was very concerned of having committed crimes because of a wrong interpretation of a concept. That is what I wanted to change for the rest of my life. "

From this came the idea of doing something good for others. "In prison, Ghazali said, I realised that the life of my family was ruined because it did not have the main income earner. I realised that I had failed in my first responsibility as a husband and father. With this in mind I decided to leave the past behind and start a new chapter of my life. "

After he was released from prison, the former terrorist decides to build a small pesantren (Islamic school) in Deli Serdang (near Medan, his hometown). The primary purpose was to take in the children of his former fellow terrorist inmates.

"I was concerned that children could develop feelings of hatred towards the state since their fathers had been arrested, and this is always a difficult thing to explain to young people. "

Abandoned by the parent and marginalised by society, these children risk becoming easy prey for extremists. For this reason, "I visit families and I ask mothers if they can send their children to my pesantren, where they are educated and housed, Ghazali explained. I want to take care of them in order to minimise the chances that they fill with feelings of revenge."

At present, the Darusy Syifa pesantren hosts 32 boys: 20 from families of Ghazalis former comrades, and 12 from poor local families. Here, they learn about moderate values of Islam and the correct interpretation of the concept of "jihad", which excludes as its meaning the idea of armed struggle against the infidels.

Khairul Ghazalis activism against Islamic terrorism has led him to publish several books, including Aksi Teror Bukan Jihad (Acts of terror are not jihad) and Kabut Jihad (The fog of jihad).
by Joshua Lapide

Netanyahu had asked for US$ 4.5 billion a year, he got 38 over ten in a single package without any further requests that must be spent on US weapons. Hillary Clinton praises the deal. Meanwhile, illegal Israeli settlement activity can continue.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  The United States has agreed to a ten-year, US$ 38 billion military aid package to Israel. Running from 2019 until 2028, it is the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in US history.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought US$ 4.5 billion, but settled for US$ 3.8 billion each year for the next decade. The current agreement, which expires in 2018, provides for 3.1 billion annual aid.

The new deal comes with certain caveats. Israel cannot make any additional requests except during emergencies. It can only use the money to buy US weapon and not support Israels military industry. The current aid package allowed Israel to spend 26.3 per cent of US military aid on its own domestic defense companies.

Relations have been strained between the two leaders for years, and worsened in March 2015 when Mr Netanyahu appeared before Congress to lobby against the Iran nuclear deal advocated by Mr Obama.

More than 80 per cent of American senators signed a letter in April addressed to US President Barack Obama urging him to reach an agreement on an increased military aid package to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had indicated that he could wait for Mr Obama's successor to secure a better deal.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for US president, praised the deal saying it will "help solidify and chart a course for the US-Israeli defence relationship into the 21st century".

According to analysts, the new deal, in addition to helping Us military industries, will help Israel fight against Hezbollah as the latter has built up a massive arsenal in the Syrian war.

For pro-Palestinian groups, the deal further undermines any peace deal between Israel and Palestine. Talks on an agreement are undermined by Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which are illegal under international law.

By signing, the US has also lost leverage to force Israel to get back to talks. Although Washington has frequently criticised these settlements, it has never been able to get any freeze.
Yesterday the US president held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi in the Oval Office. He praised Myanmars remarkable social and political transformation. He also called for its reinstatement to the generalised system of preferences (GSP). Republican senator is appalled by her [Suu Kyis] dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking.

Washington (AsiaNews)  US President Barack Obama announced that the United States is ready to lift economic sanctions imposed in previous years on Myanmar over its human rights violations.

Obama met yesterday with Myanmars Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi in the Oval Office. After a private meeting, the two spoke to reporters.

Citing that countrys remarkable social and political transformation, the US leader noted that "The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time. Asked by a reporter about the timing for lifting sanctions Obama replied, "Soon."

Earlier, the president sent a letter to Congress saying the administration is moving to restore trade benefits to Myanmar.

Aung San Suu Kyi thanked Obama for being the first president to visit Myanmar, then stressed the importance of lifting sanctions, saying unity also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important.

The US black list includes about a hundred individuals and organisations in Myanmar, mostly connected to the former military junta, who cannot do business with the United States and nations connected with the military.

Lifting sanctions will allow Myanmar to benefit from the generalised system of preferences (GSP), a status that provides tax exemptions to countries if they respect international conventions and rules.

However, Obama's decision left human rights groups wondering because the decision to lift sanctions comes before Myanmar addressed the situation of its marginalised ethnic groups, most notably the Rohingya.

Also, in a statement, Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, said, While we certainly appreciate the work Aung San Suu Kyi has done to ensure a democratic transition in Burma, I am somewhat appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country.

Global Witness, an anti-natural resource exploitation NGO, criticised Obama's move as a major setback for efforts to clean up Myanmar's notoriously corrupt and abusive business environment.


Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "In n a world we could call an orphan, Pope Francis concluded, in this world that suffers the crisis of a great experience of being orphaned, perhaps our help lies in saying Look to your Mother! We have a mother who defends us, teaches us, accompanies us; who is not ashamed of our sins. She is not ashamed, because she is our Mother said Pope Francis at Mass this morning in Casa Santa Marta, on the day when the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows and in which the Gospel of the day brings us to Calvary. All the disciples had fled, except for St John and a few women. At the foot of the Cross is Mary, the Mother of Jesus and some women.

Everyone is looking at her, saying, Thats the mother of this delinquent! That is the mother of this subversive! And Mary heard these things. She suffered terrible humiliation. And she also heard the dignitaries, even some priests, whom she respected, because they were priests, [saying] You who are so good, come down! Come down! With her Son, naked, there [on the Cross]. And Mary had such great suffering, but she didnt go away. She didnt deny her Son! He was her flesh.

Pope Francis recalled that, when he was in Buenos Aires and would visit prisoners in the jails, he always saw lines of women waiting to enter: They were moms. But they were not ashamed: their flesh was there inside. And these women suffered not only the shame of being there  Look at her! What did her son do? -- but they also suffer the ugly humiliation of the searches they had to undergo before entering. But they were mothers, and they went to find their own flesh. And so it was with Mary: she was there, with her Son, with that very great suffering.

Jesus, the Pope said, has promised not to leave us orphans, and on the Cross he gives us His Mother as our Mother: We Christians have a Mother, Jesus [Mother]; we have a Father, Jesus [Father]. We are not orphans! And she gives birth to us in that moment with such great sorrow: She is truly a martyr. With a pierced heart, she accepts giving birth to all of us in that moment of sorrow. And from that moment she becomes our Mother, from that moment she is our Mother, the one who takes care of us and is not ashamed of us: she defends us.

The mystics of the early centuries, Pope Francis said, counsel us to take refuge under the mantle of the Mother of God in moments of spiritual turbulence: The devil cant enter there. He continued, explaining that Mary is a mother, and she will defend as a Mother. The West later took this advice to heart and composed the Latin version of the Marian antiphon: Sub tuum praesidium, under your mantle, under your protection, O Mother! We are safe there, he said.

In a world we could call an orphan, Pope Francis concluded, in this world that suffers the crisis of a great experience of being orphaned, perhaps our help lies in saying Look to your Mother! We have a mother who defends us, teaches us, accompanies us; who is not ashamed of our sins. She is not ashamed, because she is our Mother. May the Holy Spirit, this friend, this companion along the way, this Paraclete or advocate Whom the Lord has sent, make us understand this very great mystery of the maternity of Mary".
Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the US and Russia, inviting them to exert constant pressure on opposing sides fighting each other in Syria to allow the entry of aid into the areas most at risk. 48 hours after the start of the ceasefire, a convoy laden with basic necessities and food to feed 40 thousand people for a month has been blocked on the Turkish border.



United Nations experts say the priority must be the delivery of aid to civilians in endangered areas - including the area east of Aleppo, controlled by rebels - during the lull in the fighting. However, the persistent disagreements between the various parties and concerns about safety are delaying deliveries.



The UN leaders are highly critical of President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government, accusing them of seeking to control the flow of aid into the country.



The ceasefire that started with the Islamic festival of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) is the latest in a series of diplomatic efforts so far rolled out by Washington and Moscow. The goal is to try to stem a five-year conflict that has caused, according to the latest estimates, more than 300 thousand deaths (430 thousand according to other sources) and millions of refugees, creating a unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. More than 4.8 million people have fled abroad, 6.5 million are internally displaced.



The agreement provides for the end of the fighting between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the various rebel groups operating on the ground; jihadist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front are excluded from the truce. The US and Russia are continuing diplomatic work to launch a joint campaign against the latters objectives.



In an official statement the UN secretary general said that "it is crucial to put in place all the safety mechanisms" to ensure the passage of food and basic necessities. Ban Ki-moon appealled to Russia, to use all its "influence" on the Syrian government; similar appeals were made to the United States, so that the Syrian armed groups give their maximum collaboration".



Damascus said they would allow a "coordinated passage" of aid into Aleppo under "its control" and that of the United Nations.



Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group based in London with an extensive network of informants on Syrian territory, reports that there have been deaths and injuries among civilians in these first 48 hours of respite. Russia had earlier spoken of two victims among the army, hit while on patrol on the Castle Road, the road leading to Aleppo.



US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a telephone conversation decided to extend the ceasefire for another 48 hours. "The directive holds," said a spokesman for the American government.



The most tense situation remains linked to Aleppo, the metropolis of the north of Syria, where there are at least 250 thousand people trapped in the eastern sector. Haitham Abo, one of the leaders of the Free Syrian Army, reports that in general "the streets are always empty." However, now people "come and go", you see "children playing in the fields" but markets "remain empty." In the west, in the hands of the government, some photos show young people outdoors in the districts where until two days ago were targeted by mortars.



Local sources said the people are in desperate need of fuel, flour, wheat, milk powder and medicines. From September 13 last two convoys carrying aid have been blocked about 40 km west of Aleppo. The fact is that the road leading to the city is controlled by militias affiliated to al Qaeda.
Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi recently announced an $870 million takeover of its rival The Good Guys. The deal will be funded by a share issue worth approximately $394 million and $500 million in extra debt. Allens Linklaters advised the Muir family (which owns The Good Guys) on the sale.The two businesses will continue to run independently, and The Good Guys will retain its current senior management and support offices. The Good Guys is also expected to get around $15 to $20 million in benefits from the combined firms increased scale.Andrew Muir, executive chairman of The Good Guys, had only positive things to say about the transaction. Joining forces with JB Hi-Fi makes enormous sense from every standpoint. Bringing these brands under common ownership will combine the skill and expertise of two of Australias most respected retailers. The combined company will have the scale and resources to realise the growth aspirations and potential of both brands, he said.The Allens team was led by corporate partners Jon Webster and Robert Pick, as well as senior associate Georgie Korman. The Allens team included lawyers from across the firm, including the competition team (led by Ted Hill) and the banking and finance team (led by Warwick Newell).Richard Murray, chief executive officer of JB Hi-Fi, said that the acquisition would accelerate JB Hi-Fis push into the whitegoods sector. "The acquisition is a very attractive strategic opportunity for JB Hi-Fi since The Good Guys is a highly complementary business which is aligned with our management philosophy and significantly enhances our offering in the $4.6 billion home appliances market".The Good Guys is a specialty retailer of household appliances and consumer electronic goods with annual sales of approximately $2 billion. The company was founded by Ian Muir and grew from a single store in suburban Melbourne to become one of the most successful retail brands in Australia.By Michael Mata
Allen & Overy said that the Federal Governments launch of a specialised fraud and corruption prevention team focused on foreign bribery is a concrete step to back up the governments rhetoric on the issue.



In a statement sent to Australasian Lawyer, Allen & Overys Jason Gray noted that Transparency International and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development have long criticised Australias lack of enforcement on foreign bribery.



Gray, counsel and Australian anti-bribery practice lead for the law firm, also noted that the Government has talked a tough game on foreign bribery.



The rhetoric is now being matched with concrete investment and the first tangible sign of increased investigative tools and resources, he said.



For Australian companies operating in industries and jurisdictions with a high risk for bribery and corruption, it is an opportune time to get ahead of the regulatory curve.



Justice Minister Michael Keenan launched the Perth-based team on 5 September and confirmed that similar teams will be launched in Melbourne and Sydney to investigate foreign bribery.



The teams will be funded by the $15m additional funding from the government to the Australian Federal Police announced in April to tackle complex fraud, foreign bribery and corruption cases.



The Government takes a zero tolerance approach to corruption in all its forms, and Australia is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, Keenan said at the launch of the specialist team in Perth.



The Coalition is committed to ensuring though that we do not become complacent and that this zero tolerance approach to corruption continues, he said.



The Perth-based team is made up of six officers who will form a multi-disciplinarian investigations team targeting foreign bribery, corruption and other serious financial crimes, the Justice Minister announced.



With the Governments intensified focus on foreign bribery, Allen & Overy said that Australian companies face greater scrutiny.



The introduction of specialist teams is the most significant indication to date that Australian companies will face increased scrutiny when it comes to their operations overseas, Gray said.



Its likely the first team in Perth will focus on cases involving the mining and resources sector, particularly mid-tier companies with operations in developing areas of Asia and Africa. These are the most at-risk businesses that may not have previously invested as heavily in risk-based anti-bribery and corruption compliance programs designed to prevent and detect potential violations of law, he said.



According to the London-headquartered firm, the launch of the new teams is only the latest in a trend toward greater enforcement.



The Australian Senate announced an inquiry into foreign bribery last year to assess and improve foreign bribery laws.



In March 2016, the Attorney-Generals Department released a public consultation paper on the introduction of Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) for serious corporate crimes, said the law firm. DPAs involve a prosecutor agreeing not to prosecute a company in exchange for compliance with certain conditions.



It also noted that the Government had expanded its legislative toolkit for prosecuting foreign bribery by introducing new false accounting offences in March this year.


PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal has posted a 24% revenue increase for the just-ended fiscal year.According to a report from Legal Business, revenue for 2015 rose to 59.9m from 48.5m with 56m from UK fee income. Earnings stood at 11m.As the organisation experiences healthy revenue growth, however, it insists that it is not trying to become a standalone law firm.Our strategy is dead simple. It is to offer to clients a legal service that compliments something that PwC is doing, senior partner Shirley Brookes told the publication.We are not trying to be a standalone law firm, it has got to be that complimentary offering  that is our differentiator in the market, she explained. PwC Legal has 10 practice areas which are corporate and banking, cyber security and data protection; dispute resolution; employment; entity governance & compliance; immigration; international business reorganisations; intellectual property, IT and commercial contracts; pensions; and real estate.According to Brookes, all of these practice areas grew in the just-ended financial year. The best-performing areas are pensions, employment, immigration and corporate restructuring, she told the publication.Brookes identified their pension practice thats completely integrated with their tax and actuarial practices concerning structuring pension schemes as their standout performer.The senior partner also told Legal Business that their employment business experienced great growth in the last year.Immigration is one of our flagship offerings and goes from strength to strength. Immigration and our corporate reorganisation are probably our strongest networks in the PwC Legal network because they both play to the strengths of the huge geographical coverage that we've got, she added.The publication noted that PwC Legal has experienced steady revenue growth since the 2013-14 fiscal year when revenue stood at 42.2m.
By Kate Patterson, Visual Science Communicator, Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Lab Research Fellow, 3D Visualisation and

I like deadlines. They punctuate my projects.

Deadlines and deliverables force me to package my projects into consumable chunks, into a product that is necessary for sharing and showing my work and also for reaching my desired audience.

Most of the time I find myself working towards the end goal of creating something visual for someone else to see. Drafts are discarded and design decisions are made quietly and efficiently until, finally a shiny, presentable product emerges.









Kate Patterson





Tell more stories about process



Its with great sadness and regret that some of the most interesting stories that come from the process of creating, rather than from the creation itself are never told. By focusing only on the end goal, its easy to fly past some of the most interesting stories that are embedded in the creative process.

I have always been attracted to behind the scenes or the making of productions. I love documentaries that show the insides of factories. I am quite fond of chocolate coated biscuits, but Im more interested in how they are made. What systems exist to ensure they stack perfectly, such that the imprint of the next chocolate biscuit is not visible? What happens to those few biscuits that get rejected at the quality control step?

Its clear that understanding the process seems to enhance the product. The material difference is that, to me, the biscuit actually tastes better.

The process art movement developed momentum in the mid 1960s

As a concept, process as product is not new. Process art was an art movement that arose in the mid 1960s with an emphasis on the process and act of artistic creation rather than the actual finished work that comes out of it. The Guggenheim Museum and Tate Modern showcase key process art practitioners.









Kate Patterson





When process becomes product

How could this approach be applied to visual science communication? What are some ways to capture and share process as a way to communicate science in new ways?

Scientific concepts and ideas can be woven into the subject matter while critical thinking and design decisions that occur in pursuit of the end goal are the focus. As with the process art movement, the literature that supports this approach to creation is a critical component of the product.

The wildly popular minute physics, with over 3.5M subscribers on YouTube approached this concept with a behind the scenes video. An explainer of how the videos are made, putting a face to the familiar voice and making the maker more visible.









Documenting the process of constructing #MyBase

One such project I am working on, that is (naturally) still in progress, is the construction of a genomics-inspired community artwork.

The artwork, #MyBase is a virtual 3D DNA molecule with a unique design projected on to each base. These gorgeous designs were created by the audience at Genome Gazing, an event I co-produced with Bronwyn Terrill at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, supported by Inspiring Australia, Sydney Science Festival as part of National Science Week 2016.

The motivation for the #MyBase community artwork came through an attempt alter the traditional dynamic of a lecture style event by extending the reach beyond the on-site event.









Kate Patterson





Each person in the audience was given a template in which to create a genomics-inspired design. Some of those volunteered their social media details so they can be notified on the progress of the artwork. They can also participate in an ongoing conversation about their designs, and how they relate to genomics and related concepts.

As a natural platform for documenting the creation of a community artwork, we established a Facebook page to publicly document the process of the 3D DNA build and eventual fly-through, designed to showcase the contributions from the community.









Kate Patterson





This is just one of a plethora of approaches where process becomes product. It is a philosophical approach to creating, but I wonder, in the context of communicating science, who are the audiences most interested in this approach? Are the audiences different to those more inspired by the product? Do they engage more / learn more, can learning objectives be embedded in a way that makes it more memorable?

While ruminating on these questions, you can follow the project here.

Disclosure

Kate Patterson works at The Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

Originally published in The Conversation.
Farmers and growers in Australia have renewed their calls to the Government to abandon its plans to introduce a backpacker tax next year.Horticulture body AUSVEG says that a new report from the Productivity Commission, the Government's independent research body, points out that temporary visas can be an effective response to labour shortages. AUSVEG believes that the tax which could be introduced as early as January will put off backpackers who are a much needed part of the agricultural labour force when extra workers are needed at harvest time.The Commission's report includes a recommendation for the Government to assess the costs of the proposed tax, which would introduce a 32.5% tax rate on working holiday makers on all earnings. Currently backpackers pay no tax on income up to $18,000. As the average backpacker earns $13,300 most do not pay tax at the moment so critics argue the new tax regime will result in a pay cut for workers.'During peak seasonal periods, Australian growers rely on temporary overseas workers to make up for domestic labour shortages, and we welcome the Productivity Commission's findings that these workers are an effective way of filling these shortages,' said AUSVEG chief executive officer Simon Bolles.'Workers who come to Australia under these programmes, including backpackers, ensure that Australian growers can keep feeding our nation. This means that policies which could deter workers from visiting Australia, such as the proposed backpacker tax, threaten the productivity of our industry,' he pointed out.'Backpackers who come to Australia are vital to ensure that Australian growers can keep feeding our nation. This means that policies which could deter workers from visiting Australia, such as the proposed backpacker tax, threaten the productivity of our industry and its ability to satisfy our growing export markets, as well as the health of everyday Australians,' he added.The Government is currently reviewing the policy change and there has been an indication that the rate could be lowered. But Tasmanian Senator Andrew Wilkie described it as an ill-considered revenue measure. 'It will significantly reduce availability of labour for farmers, reduce the number of tourists coming to Australia and encourage tax avoidance,' he said.It is expected to hit regions like Tasmania hard as the island has a disproportionate reliance on seasonal workers and the broader state economy is underpinned by tourism and farmers point out that the proposed introduction is set to hit the harvest season which gets underway in January.Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie said producers are already struggling to prepare for the summer harvest. 'Without backpackers we're going to have rotting, disgusting fruit sitting on the ground,' she added.Her view is backed up by Tasmanian cherry grower Howard Hansen who said that if a decision does not come within farmers will have to leave fruit on the trees. 'Normally by this time of year we're inundated with inquiries, but we're at least 60% down on the amount of inquiries for the time of year. We don't have until the end of the year to have a decision, because it takes people time to come to Australia, they are planning their travel now,' he added.
The facelifted Etios hatchback and sedan see major additions to their safety and equipment list. Heres a variant-wise breakdown of the updated cars

Toyota has just spruced up the sedan and hatchback (Liva) models in its Etios range. The Etios Cross, however, has not been updated. Both cars receive cosmetic updates and a host of additions to their features list. The sedan also gets a new name  Platinum Etios.

Most notable updates to the Etios hatchback and sedan are on the safety front. They now get dual front airbags and ABS with EBD across all variants (earlier available only on the V/VD and VX/VXD variants). Theres a three-point seatbelt for all passengers, and ISOFIX child-seat locks too have been made standard on all variants.

Heres what the variant-wise equipment list on both cars looks like now:

Toyota Platinum Etios

G/GD: Rs 6.94 lakh/ Rs 8.07 lakh

14-inch wheels with full wheel cover

Cooled glovebox

12V power outlet

Height-adjustable driver seat

Rear-seat centre armrest (new)

Keyless entry

Remote fuel lid and tailgate opener

Rear defogger

V/VD (features in addition to those on G/GD): Rs 7.22 lakh/ Rs 8.35 lakh

15-inch wheels with full wheel cover

Electrically adjustable ORVMs with turn indicators

Six-speaker audio system with CD player, USB and Bluetooth

VX/VXD (features in addition to those on V/VD): Rs 7.85 lakh/ Rs 8.98 lakh

15-inch alloy wheels

Front fog lamps

Reverse parking sensors

Electrically retractable ORVMS(new)

Steering-mounted audio controls

Leather-wrapped steering wheel

Facelifted Toyota Etios Liva

G/GD: Rs 5.64 lakh/ Rs 6.94 lakh

14-inch wheels with full wheel cover

Cooled glovebox

12V power outlet

Height-adjustable driver seat

Keyless entry

Remote fuel lid and tailgate opener

Rear defogger

V/VD (features in addition to those on G/GD): Rs 5.88 lakh/ Rs 7.11 lakh

15-inch wheels with full wheel cover

Electrically adjustable ORVMs with turn indicators(new)

Rear wiper and washer

Four-speaker audio system with CD player, USB and Bluetooth

VX/VXD (features in addition to those on V/VD) Rs 6.39 lakh/ Rs 7.53 lakh

15-inch alloy wheels

Front fog lamps

Reverse parking sensors

Electrically retractable ORVMS

Steering-mounted audio controls

Leather-wrapped steering wheel

The pre-facelift Etios sedan and Liva hatchback are still available in their base G variants, but only for the taxi fleet market. The sedan is priced at Rs 6.54 lakh (petrol) and Rs 7.67 lakh (diesel), which makes it about Rs 40,000 cheaper than the facelifted variant. The older version of the Liva hatchback retails at Rs 5.39 lakh (petrol) and Rs 6.69 lakh (diesel), making it Rs 30,000 cheaper than the updated base G variant.

(All prices ex-showroom, Delhi)

Also read:

2016 Toyota Etios: First look

2016 Toyota Platinum Etios, Etios Liva launched
Citroen has been stuck in a rut recently. Even its most creative car, the C4 Cactus , has somewhat failed to live up to expectations. However, it had a few good ideas that have trickled down to the all-new C3.If you grew up in the 2000's like I did, you would remember how the French brand used to stand for super-fast and cheap VTS and VTR models. None of those survived the test of time, but as the company is getting ready to return to the WRC in 2017, so too could hot hatchbacks make a comeback.So far, all we have is a rumor from a British magazine. To make a hot hatch, you need a team of specialist engineers who know a thing or two about fun. Citroen hasn't hired any of those, but we're still hopeful it might happen.French publication Virtuel-Car has put together a couple of renderings of the potential C3 VTS model. It borrows the aggressive fascia from the WRC test prototype, as well as a few elements from the Peugeot 208 GTi.We're not blown away by it, particularly because the world has a lot more sensible hot hatchbacks than it did in the 2000's. If you want a posh car, you buy the MINI Cooper S. If you want something cheap and fun, it's got to be the Fiesta ST. So Citroen really must try something crazy for this project to succeed.There's absolutely no mystery surrounding what might power the rebooted VTS. It's got to be a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with at least 200 horsepower. The 1.6 is found in almost all models made by PSA, so it's well engineered and features a broad torque curve.
Ricky Hayden, 27, was stabbed to death trying to stop a gang of thieves that were stealing a moped outside his home in Chadwell Heath, a residential area in east London. Paul, Rickys father, tried to help and got wounded too, but he survived the attack and is recovering in a hospital.The bike belongs to Bella Tasci, 34, who had built it himself along with his younger brother Perry. He said a gang had been hanging around the neighborhood, and the Hayden family dog had also been slashed in the attack."Everyone at the council is devastated by the news of this horrendous, senseless crime, chief executive of Havering Council Andrew Blake-Herbert said. Our condolences and thoughts are with Rickys family and friends. Our prayers are also with his father who remains in hospital.It looks like bike thieves have hone completely mad these days. And they seem to do so in a city best known for its huge array of surveillance cameras. Even so, they have the courage to stop riders in traffic and scare them away to take their motorcycle, as it almost happened with YouTube vlogger RoyalJordanian recently.Other bastards had the nerve to make a whole scene in an underground parking lot by cutting down the chain and the disc lock on an expensive bike using, wait for it - power tools. And they didnt care that another biker was filming the whole operation and was desperately trying to raise attention over their illegal work. In fact, one of them attacked the poor fellow and threw acid at him.Own a motorcycle and youre afraid it could get stolen? Dont forget to check our guide on how to prevent motorcycle theft . Also, if you see some thugs stealing a bike, its better to film/photograph them and call the police. As this article shows, your life is more precious than a vehicle.
AMG

You'd need Rainman-like abilities to remember the whole current range offered by Mercedes-Benz , and things don't look like they're going to get any simpler in the future. In fact, the German carmaker is even rumored to plan a new brand altogether under which to market its upcoming electric vehicles. For now, though, let's stick to what has been officially confirmed.Over the course of this year, pictures showing a strange E-Class station wagon wearing the usual camouflage began to emerge. There weren't that many features setting it apart from the regular model, but it was enough to know this was something different. And following the reports from early 2016 that Mercedes-Benz was readying a more rugged E-Class T-Modell, it all clicked together.Mercedes is joining a segment pioneered by the likes of Audi A6 Allroad quattro or the Volvo XC70, which is that of station wagons that don't shy away from stepping off the beaten track. Think of them as the only real alternative to SUVs and you won't be too far from the truth.In a press release previewing the company's stand at the Paris show, Mercedes-Benz describes the E-Class All-Terrain like this: "thanks to off-road-based design features, the All-Terrain boasts a powerful and robust look and at the same time stands out from the classic estate. Dynamism and modern luxury are combined with status-enhancing poise and assurance, and follow the current design idiom."We don't know about that, but we can't see why you wouldn't opt for this version if you were going to buy a regular four-wheel-drive E-Class wagon instead. It could get a slight price hike, but we're already in the region of $50,000 cars, so a ten percent premium wouldn't be the end of the world.A spy photo session in July from our men with cameras and long telephoto lenses revealed that Mercedes-Benz is also prepping anversion of this model. It shouldn't really surprise anyone as Daimler has kept the Affalterbach people quite busy lately. However, there's no official word on that at the moment, but if you're in Paris between October 1 and 16, drop by the Mercedes-Benz stand and pop the question yourself.
The traditional mid-September event Moto Guzzi hosts each year managed to gather around 25 thousand fans from all over the world this time which can be considered already a record. Thousands of bikers rode their Guzzis to the plant in Mandello, coming from Europe as well as Australia, China, Japan and the United States.As always, Moto Guzzi opened the doors of its factory and historic museum between 9 - 11 September, for fans to see how their favorite bikes are made as well as have a look at the brands past. The program also included concerts, live music, street food, and even test drives with the companys latest models.Bikers had the chance to ride the current Moto Guzzi range, and More than 700 riders threw a leg over the V7II bikes (Stone, Racer, Special and brand new Stornello), the powerful California 1400 SE Touring, the luxurious Eldorado, the aggressive Audace , as well as the fledgling V9 STI Bobber and Roamer versions.But the true star of the event was the extraordinary MGX-21 , the most spectacular bike produced at Mandello. The model made quite a sensation at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this year in August and was defined by the American public as the fastest bagger ever.One of the most visited locations was the engine assembly line, the very place where Moto Guzzi bikes are born for all markets around the world. Second came the Historic Museum that houses more than 150 motorcycles, from the GP bikes of its origins to the MGS-01, as well as the first Normale model produced in 1921.
The fact that there were more than two parking violation tickets on the dash of this scooter left on a sidewalk in London was a dead giveaway its owner wasnt anywhere around. This basically encouraged a thief to try and snatch it during daytime.Dressed in baggy black clothes and wearing a hood over his head, the thief was using some tools attempting to take off something off of the scooter. Not sure if he was disassembling it piece by piece or he was trying to find a way and start it, but luckily another scooterist passing by observed what was happening.He turned around and approached the man in black asking him what he was doing. The response is almost inaudible, but from his mumble, you can tell he lied about what he was doing. He also claimed he knew the owner and was making him a service of some sort.The good-scooterist filming the scene said he knew the owner too and asked for his name in order to confirm he isnt doing any harm. As expected, the guy said he doesnt know his name and was forced by our hero to leave the area immediately.Good for him for taking attitude in these times when bike thievery is on a continuous way up in London. Usual bike thieves can be easily spotted if you know what to look for.The professional ones usually travel in a pack of three, using scooters that are most probably stolen too. They always wear a full face helmet or an opened one but with a balaclava covering their face. The usual method to take a bike is by cutting down whatever protection the bike has (chains or disc locks), forcing and breaking the steering lock and then pushing it away using the scooters they arrived on.
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian on Thursday ordered Armenian tax authorities to tackle possible tax evasion among large and lucrative companies which he said are widely seen as being in a privileged position.

Holding his first cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Karapetian issued instructions to various ministers and other senior government officials, including Hovannes Hovsepian, the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC).

He said the SRC must ensure an unconditional compliance with tax discipline by large importers and manufactures considered to be unscrupulous and privileged. He did not name any of them.

The newly appointed prime minister also said SRC inspectors should audit small and medium-sized enterprises only in extreme cases.

Mr. Hovsepian, you should take these actions without creating obstacles to businesses, Karapetian told the SRC chief. No inspection must hamper their daily operations.

The Armenian governments tax revenue has increased considerably in the past several years. But it is still equivalent to only one-fifth of Gross Domestic Product, a low figure even by ex-Soviet standards. The modest ratio results, in large measure, from widespread tax evasion, corruption and privileged treatment of entrepreneurs linked to the government.

The IMF and the World Bank have long pressed the authorities in Yerevan to improve tax collection. Karapetians predecessor, Hovik Abrahamian, pledged to make it more efficient and less arbitrary as part of sweeping reforms which he announced in May.

Abrahamian tendered his resignation last week along with all members of his government. The ministers will continue to perform their duties until Karapetian forms a new cabinet and submits its action plan to the parliament for approval. The new premier has not yet shed light on the composition of his cabinet.

Addressing the outgoing ministers, Karapetian said the Armenian ministries of energy and labor as well as state utility regulators should explore the possibility reducing electricity and natural gas tariffs for low-income Armenians and some businesses.

Armenia buys the bulk of its gas from Gazprom, and it remains to be seen whether the Russian energy giant will agree to a price cut. Karapetian ran the countrys Gazprom-controlled gas distribution network from 2001-2010. He managed Gazprom subsidiaries in Russia after unexpectedly resigning as Yerevan mayor in 2011.
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian praised Armenias growing military cooperation with the United States when he met with senior U.S. officials in Yerevan on Thursday.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said Ohanian received the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills, and Washingtons newly appointed military attache in Yerevan, Colonel Bruce Murphy.

A ministry statement said Ohanian highly assessed the level of U.S.-Armenian relations in the area of defense. He expressed confidence that Murphy will contribute to a further development of bilateral military ties, it said.

The statement added that the two sides discussed a number of issues of mutual interest relating to defense and security. It gave no details.

Despite its close military ties with Russia, Armenia has stepped up defense cooperation with NATO and the United States in particular over the past decade. It has contributed troops to NATO-led missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and increasingly participated in multinational exercises organized by the U.S. military in Europe.

As recently as last month, 25 Armenian army sergeants flew to the U.S. state of Kansas to undergo further training as part of U.S. efforts to help Armenia increase the number of its non-commissioned officers serving on a contractual basis.

The Armenian military has been recruiting more contract sergeants as part of defense reforms supported by NATO. The U.S. has been particularly active in helping it train non-commissioned officers in line with Western military standards.

In July, other U.S. military instructors began the first training course in Armenia for Armenian army sappers who are due to participate in multinational peacekeeping operations in the near future. They were specifically trained to detect and defuse improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
15 September 2016 12:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein voiced his regret that the staff of his Office do not have access to Nagorno-Karabakh, the message of September 14 on the organizations website states.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan for over two decades is being occupied by Armenia.

While speaking about the situation of human rights in individual countries in his speech at the 33rd session of the UN Council, the high Commissioner said that the employees of his Office and special commissions of the Council on human rights do not have access to many areas of the world where reports of egregious human rights violations come from.

Governments have the responsibility to uphold their human rights obligations and to respect the standards. But the human rights of all people, in all countries, also require our collective attention, said Zeid Raad Al Hussein. He also added that the Vienna Declaration, adopted in 1993, confirms that: the promotion and protection of all human rights is a legitimate concern of the international community.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
15 September 2016 11:18 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Armenias armed forces have 14 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on September 15.

The Armenian armed forces stationed in Vazashen village of the Ijevan district and on the nameless heights of Berd district opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions located on the nameless heights of the Gazakh and Tovuz districts.

Positions of the Azerbaijani army also underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near Marzili village of Azerbaijani Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district and the nameless heights of the Goranboy, Khojavand and Fizuli districts.

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.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
15 September 2016 13:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Within eight months of 2016, some 22,200 people left Armenia by air and never returned back, the newspaper Zhoghovurd wrote citing statistical data of the General Department of Civil Aviation of Armenia.

According to the data, since the beginning of the year, 671,637 people departed from the Zvartnots airport of the country, while only 650,147 returned. Likewise, 3,915 passengers left the country from the Shirak airport, but just 3,150 came back.

Desertification remains a challenge for Armenia, which is suffering high unemployment, corruption, constant decline in economical indicators and problem of low wages. The deplorable situation and lack of hope for the future pushes many, in particular youth to leave the country in search of better life.

According to the survey conducted by Armenian office of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, 42 percent of Armenians dream to leave the country forever.

The newly appointed Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan urged not to expect rapid changes in the critical economy of the country.

The situation in our economy, frankly and directly speaking, is extremely difficult, he acknowledged on September 14 in the course of the government hour in the Armenian Parliament. "We should not wait for fast changes. But we will signal which direction the economy will develop.

The state debt of Armenia in late June 2016 made up $5,345 billion, according to official Armenian statistics. Hence, it increased by 5.3 percent from the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the total national debt of Armenia amounted to $4,470 billion by the first half of 2016.

The volume of unemployment in the first quarter of 2016 made up 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 suffering in their country. In such circumstances, the choice of 22,200 Armenians to leave the country for good seems to be the most logical decision.

Former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan recently left the office, after for over two years drawing the countrys economy to a deadlock swamp. Just after Abrahamyans arrival, Armenian economy, managed by corrupt, criminal and oligarchic government, started to rapidly deteriorate, coming to a dead end eventually. As a logical conclusion, the Armenian government has also resigned.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
15 September 2016 16:47 (UTC+04:00)

The second season of The Most Stylish One designer project will be held on September, 21. The project will be held by support of Excelsior Hotel Baku, FMS Models fashion agency and Baku Fashion Night company. The event will be held in banquet hall of Excelsior Hotel Baku Afurja. The Most Stylish One event is organized with aim to supporting the local modeler- designers and the audience interested in fashion. The project is held twice a year in February and September.

The project was held on February 19, 2016 and the event was met with great interest by the fashion lovers. New trends of fashion will be demonstrated by the designers of fashion homes and new names of Azerbaijan designers will be announced. Modeler Gunay Gouliyeva, Ulkar Huseynova, designer and stylist Sehri Rahimova, modeler designer Gulum Asadullayeva, Fatima Kangarli, Sevinj Rzayeva, Nargiz Mukhtarova and Fashion Lab will participate in the event.

Excelsior Hotel Baku has been operating since August 2005. The hotel has 1 Imperial Lux, 2 Royal Lux, 4 Crown Lux, 45 Heritage, 9 small Duke rooms, meeting and conference rooms, business center, restaurants and Aura wellness center.

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15 September 2016 10:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

About 164,033 pupils will go to the first class in 2016-2017 in the new academic year in Azerbaijan, the Education Ministry reported. As many as 43,397 of them are attending schools in Baku.

The number of pupils that will study in 4,472 secondary schools is 1, 415,242. About 354, 573 people will study in schools, administered by Baku City Education Department.

This year, 29 new schools , including 7 schools by order of the Ministry of Education are commissioning in the country. In this period, 17 schools were repaired, while 384 schools are under renovation.

The building of 10 educational institutions is still going on. Two boarding-school will be overhauled and put into operation soon.

General secondary school education in the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of three levels - primary, general secondary, and full secondary education, and general secondary school education begins with six years of age.

The general secondary school education in the country implemented in schools of general education, special purpose schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, the primary and secondary vocational schools, as well as colleges and schools established under the auspices of higher educational institutions.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
15 September 2016 10:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Summer vacation is over and now it is time to begin school! September 15 is marked in Azerbaijan as the Day of Knowledge, being the first day of the academic year.

This day is a very responsible and joyful time for thousands of children, parents, grandparents and teachers.

Every year, the first day of the school year is broadly celebrated across the country with parties, flowers, smiles and sometimes even with cries of first-graders, who are afraid of being separated from their parents.

The beginning of the new school year is an important day not only for students, but also for teachers and parents. However, this day is more significant for first-grade students.

First-graders' parents have to think about the school and first teacher, buy the necessary school supplies for the first time. According to the Education Ministry's decision, Azerbaijani school students have to wear a school uniform.

For many children, discovering every new thing in the world is a step forward in a long way. But the most touching milestonr for each first-grader is when they encounter their first schoolteacher.

Starting the first academic year, parent have a chance to use e-School service is resumed in the country allowing parents to get SMS-notification about their children's progress at school.

The service, which is already applied in about 100 schools, involves sending a short message about student achievement to parents' mobile phones. Parents are automatically notified about the absence of the student in the classroom, and his/her marks as soon as the information is entered in the school register.

Traditionally, solemn lines are read out on this day in schools, marking the beginning of the school year.

This year about 164,033 pupils went to the first class in Azerbaijan, the Education Ministry reported. As many as 43,397 of them are attending schools in the capital city Baku.

The number of pupils that will study in 4,472 secondary schools is 1, 415,242. About 354, 573 people will study in schools, administered by Baku City Education Department.

Education is free and obligatory in Azerbaijan and is specified as a constitutional right of each citizen.

Education in the country begins at the age of six years and is comprised of three levels -- primary, general secondary, and full secondary education.

Recently, the government of Azerbaijan started paying more attention to newer types of schools that provide better preparation for studying at the university level.

This year, 29 new schools , including 7 schools by order of the Ministry of Education are commissioning in the country. In this period, 17 schools were repaired, while 384 schools are under renovation.

The building of 10 educational institutions is still going on. Two boarding-schools will be overhauled and put into operation soon.

This day is also an important day for university students, many of which are in anticipation of the news about the academic year or are waiting to meet their classmates.

September 15 is the beginning of new challenges and victories, difficulties and achievements, sorrows and joys. We wish all the pupils and students good luck in the coming school year.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
15 September 2016 11:27 (UTC+04:00)

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening ceremony of a new building of school No. 311 in Sabunchu district, Baku, Azertac reported.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the school and viewed the conditions created here.

Head of Baku City Executive Authority Hajibala Abutalibov informed the head of state about the work done at the school.

The 960-seat three-storey school offers classes in two shifts.

After viewing the school, President Aliyev met with the staff and posed for photographs with them.

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15 September 2016 12:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Azerbaijan has started to conduct seminars for computer specialists of district electoral committees in connection with the upcoming referendum, which is scheduled for September 26.

The project is aimed at mastering of the State Automated System "Elections" and getting practical knowledge on the advanced services provided by the system.

Special software modules, created for the transmission of data on the day of election will be used in the test mode during the seminars.

The seminars, which will last till September 17, will also provide for the professional use of the system during the nationwide vote. Each polling station will send the information to constituencies and then it will be transferred to the system.

The main functions of the system are the reflection of the voting process, introduction of protocols in the computer database, entering and summarizing protocols of district election commissions.

Moreover, web-cameras will be used in a number of polling stations to ensure transparency of the electoral process.

In a bill recently sent to the Constitutional Court, President Ilham Aliyev proposed amendments to 29 Articles of Azerbaijans current constitution.

The Constitutional Court gave the go ahead for the proposed changes on July 27.

The last time changes to the Constitution were made seven years ago, following Constitutional referendum held in 2009.

--

Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
15 September 2016 18:49 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani ambassador to San Marino Mammad Ahmedzade has presented his credentials to the Captains Regent of San Marino Gian Nicola Berti and Massimo Andrea Ugolini, Azertac reported.

San Marino`s Minister of Foreign Affairs Pasquale Valentini, who was also present at the ceremony, pointed out the intensity of relations between the two countries during last years.

He highlighted the role of high-level reciprocal visits in developing the bilateral ties. The visit of the Captains Regent of San Marino to Baku in 2015 to attend the opening ceremony of the first European Games, and my own visit to Azerbaijan gave an impetus to the development of relations between our countries, the FM said.

Ambassador Ahmedzade extended best regards of President Ilham Aliyev to the Captains Regent of San Marino. He said he would do his utmost to further develop the friendly relations between the two countries.

Captains Regent of San Marino Gian Nicola Berti and Massimo Andrea Ugolini asked the ambassador to convey their best regards to President Ilham Aliyev. They expressed confidence that relations between Azerbaijan and San Marino would continue developing.

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15 September 2016 17:43 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

The opening Ceremony of UFAZ University was held in Baku on September 15, the Day of Knowledge and start of a new academic year.

The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov, French ambassador to Azerbaijan Aurelia Boucher, representatives of the university leadership and public members, reported Day.Az.

Project UFAZ is the result of a unique collaboration in the field of education, and demonstrates the level of French-Azerbaijani relations, said French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Aurelia Bouchez at the opening ceremony of the French-Azerbaijan University (UFAZ).

She noted that the project UFAZ, implemented at the joint initiative of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and French President Francois Hollande, is a new stage in the development of comprehensive relations between the two countries.

With the creation of this university both countries are embarking on a remarkable project, said Bouchez, adding that the opening of the University UFAZ will contribute to the economic development and attraction of foreign investments in Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the ambassador stressed that professors from France will also share their knowledge with the students in UFAZ.

In addition, the ambassador said that UFAZ starting from the next academic year, the studies will take place in the new building.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov congratulated the students of the university and stressed that the establishment of the university is a successful project of the higher education systems of the two countries.

"I am convinced that in the near future UFAZ will become one of the most prestigious schools in the region. We believe that it is possible to expand the project UFAZ and creating new specialties, the minister said.

He mentioned that according to the results of entrance exams conducted by the National Examination Center, 143 people got admitted to UFAZ, 120 of which will be studying on the state basis, and 23 people will pay tuition fees.

Jabbarov told that UFAZ project started its functioning under the Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry (AGUNP).

In the 2016-2017 academic year UFAZ held admission of students for four specialties - chemical engineering (AGUNP and the University of Strasbourg), computer science (AGUNP and the University of Strasbourg), Geophysical Engineering (AGUNP and the University of Strasbourg) and the development and exploitation of oil fields (AGUNP and Renn1 University).

The project UFAZ is implemented jointly by the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU) and the French Universities of Strasbourg and Rennes on the initiative of the Azerbaijani and French presidents.

The duration of the education is four years (one year of training + three years of basic study), which will be conducted in English. Training is planned to be fully conducted in the ASOIU in Baku.

An international academic staff of high qualified French and Azerbaijani professors will deliver lectures mainly in the English language, while the French language will be gradually integrated.

The opening of the UFAZ in Baku will be beneficial primarily to students, as they will be provided with a double diploma.

University graduates will be issued a double diploma -- University of Strasbourg and ASOIU (the first three specialties) and the University of Renn1 and ASOIU (the last specialty).

Classes for students will be first in English, and then in French, which means that University graduates can be provided with jobs in Azerbaijani, English and French companies.

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15 September 2016 11:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The United States will give Israel $38 billion in military aid over a decade, the largest such aid package in US history, under an agreement disclosed this week and signed on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The deal, whose details were reported by Reuters earlier, will allow Israel to upgrade most of its fighter aircraft, improve its ground forces' mobility and strengthen its missile defense systems, a top US official said.

While the package constitutes the most US military aid ever given to any country, it entails concessions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to officials on both sides.

Those include Israels promise not to seek additional funds from Congress beyond what will be guaranteed annually in the new package, and to phase out a special arrangement that has allowed Israel to spend part of its US aid on its own defense industry instead of on American-made weapons, the officials said.

The $38 billion memorandum of understanding covers US fiscal years 2019-2028 and succeeds the current $30 billion MOU signed in 2007, which expires at the end of fiscal 2018.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israels security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood," US President Barack Obama said in a written statement.

The agreement was signed at the State Department by US Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and by Jacob Nagel, acting head of Netanyahus national security council.

According to a White House "factsheet," the deal includes:

-annual payments of $3.3 billion in so-called foreign military financing, typically used to purchase US equipment.

-$500 million a year for Israeli missile defense funding, the first time this has been formally built into the aid pact.

-A phasing-out of a special arrangement that for decades has allowed Israel to use 26.3 percent of the US aid on its own defense industry instead of on American-made weapons.

-Elimination of a longstanding provision that has allowed Israel to use a portion of the US aid to buy military fuel.

-The funding will allow Israel to update "the lion's share" of its fighter aircraft, including purchasing additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Israel is scheduled to receive 33 F-35 aircraft, the first two of which will be delivered in December.

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15 September 2016 11:29 (UTC+04:00)

A military convoy in Turkey was damaged by an explosion of a remote-controlled, homemade mine, set up by members of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group in Turkeys Van province, the Haber7 newspaper reported on September 14.



No casualties have been reported.



The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 33 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.



The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

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15 September 2016 13:49 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to extend the armistice in Syria for other 48 hours.

"As part of their conversation they discussed and agreed to extend the cessation for another 48 hours, with the goal being that this would last seven days and then we would move to the next step, which is the establishment of the JIC [Joint Implementation Center]," Department of State deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said at a press briefing on September 14.

Previously, Lavrov said that the efforts of Russia and the United States have not been in vain, adding that Moscow thanks the U.S. delegation.

"As you remember, a year ago our proposal to establish coordination was at first met rather chilly by our American colleagues who were ready only for procedures to allow avoiding unforeseen incidents," Lavrov reminded.

"However, as I have already said, in this February our presidents came out with an initiative to make additional efforts in order to, first of all, ensure the sustainable cessation of hostilities," he added.

The two ministers have already met in Geneva on August 26 and on in the Chinese Hangzhou at G20 summit September 4 and 5.

The Chinese meetings were also followed by the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.

Russia and the United States announced a new plan aimed at reducing violence in Syria, which includes a new nationwide ceasefire starting at 16:00 GMT on September 12.

The agreement also includes the creation of a demilitarized zone around Syria's Aleppo to deliver humanitarian aid to the city, as well as close coordination of Russian and U.S. airstrikes against Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, and ISIS groups operating in Syria.

Early reports of the renewed ceasefire in Syria indicate that there is some reduction in the level of violence in the country, Kerry said.

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.

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15 September 2016 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov will discuss with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar the prospects for resolving the Syrian crisis during a working visit on September 15, said the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, reports Day.Az with the reference to RIA Novosti.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov will pay a working visit to Turkey on September 15, he said.

He will meet with his Turkish counterpart, Gen. Hulusi Akar in Ankara to discuss the current situation and the prospects for resolving the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic, Konashenkov added.

Moreover, he noted that during the talks, leaders of the two countries' general staff of the Armed Forces will also touch upon the prospects of bilateral military cooperation.

Previously, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey asked Russia for a military ground support as part of the Shield of the Euphrates operation in Syria.

In turn, Erdogan during the G20 summit said that Turkey and Russia are holding talks to achieve a ceasefire for Syrias Aleppo. The Turkish president added that achieving a ceasefire in Aleppo is one of the most important issues for Turkey and Russia.

On August 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force with the support of the coalition aircraft launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo city.

The operation was carried out under the name Shield of the Euphrates. Jarabulus is located 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Turkish-Syrian border.

Ankara announced that this operation will continue until the PYD militants are completely liquidated.

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.

---

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15 September 2016 16:35 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkeys Air Force inflicted air strikes on militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group as they were trying to cross into Turkey from Iraq, and neutralized two of them as a result.

The PKK militants were crossing the two countries border near the city of Cukurca in Turkeys Hakkari province, Sabah newspaper reported on September 15.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 33 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.



The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

---

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15 September 2016 15:48 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Valery Gerasimov, army general, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, arrived in Turkey, the Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported on September 15.

According to the TV channel, as part of the visit to Ankara, Gerasimov plans to meet with Hulusi Akar, chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

Gerasimov and Akar will discuss the aspects of the settlement of the Syrian crisis, the message said.

On Aug. 24 morning, the Turkish Air Force, with the support of the coalition aircraft, launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus from the IS militants in northern Syria, near Aleppo. The operation was dubbed the Shield of the Euphrates.

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.

---

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Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez is expected to be going to court soon on charges of using her position for financial gain.
Innovation and quality were the focus at a recent Thinking Outside the Bap workshop held at Andrew Ingredients, Lisburn, suppliers of ingredients to the Irish baking and food industry.

Part of NI Year of Food and Drinks bread and baking month, an initiative led by Tourism NI and Food NI, the workshop provided bakers from across Ireland with the opportunity to meet and discuss current topics of interest within the baking industry.

Guest speaker was John Foster, from Fosters Bakery in Barnsley, who was also one of the participants in the recently aired BBC series Victorian Bakers.

Speaking exclusively to British Baker after the event, Foster said he had looked at linear pushing, customer pull and simultaneous coupling as key elements of his presentation. He said: For simultaneous coupling, I gave the example of Hovis, where Richard Smith developed Smiths Patent Wheatgerm Bread, but customers were not attracted by the name, so the brand name Hovis was born and the brand has survived for over a century.

Foster added: [In that vein] I challenged the guys to think about which innovations of today will become the traditions of tomorrow.

Asked what innovations he had discovered while on his visit, Foster said that he found the sliced plant bread in Ireland had some fermentation in it and, as a result, was much more flavoursome than [similar styles] in England. He also pointed to the wheaten bread sold in Ireland, which he had not tasted before.

He added: One of the questions asked of me today was How do we avoid having ideas that dont work? My answer was: I have ideas all the time and most of my ideas are bad ones. He described this as the ugly baby syndrome where the parent of the baby thinks it is wonderful, but not everyone agrees.

However, he said he strongly believed in having a culture of innovation in a business that allowed mistakes. You need openness, where people are free to express their views. Innovative time and space is needed.

Referring to host for the session Andrew Ingredients, he noted that the company had a fabulous demo and test bakery, where bakers come in to do small courses, but without them trying to sell you a bag of premix. They use raw ingredients and it gives local bakers creative time and space to get out of their business.

Asked what he believed his most innovative ingredient had been, Foster said: It was an ugly baby - a bread that went mouldy inside as it aged. So it was a bread with a vein of mould in it and it tasted divine. But, as a supermarket buyer said to me, John, what makes you think I can sell mouldy bread? You can sell mouldy [blue] cheese, but not mouldy bread  people are not ready for it.

Speaking about his experience on Victorian Bakers, Foster said he got involved thanks to British Baker A tweet came out from British Baker, and the production company was looking for a baker with technical ability. I volunteered my wife, but she refused and, initially, I said no too, but then I agreed to do it.

Foster reveals that the series went from hard work in Episode 1 of the series to a horror movie where all the participants were ill in Episode 2 to utter delight in the following episode where they visited Dunns Bakery.

Foster has lectured on bread innovation and food innovation at Sheffield Hallam University. A spokesperson for Andrew Ingredients said the bakers attending the event were buzzing after his presentation.

Other elements of the day included an innovation workshop with Ireks, including sampling and discussion and a networking half hour

Fosters bakery, based in Barnsley has a turnover of 11m and a 200-strong workforce including a team of five in new product development.
Through an internship program at Flowers Foods, Robert Benton [center], the companys senior vice-president and chief manufacturing officer, recruited Amber Mangiaracino, now director of operations at the Lenexa, KS, bakery, and Drew Ladd, a superintendent at the same facility. .

It might be hard to imagine a drawback to an improved economy. Then again, anyone tasked with filling positions when the pickins are slim might tell a different story.

In an employees market, a slew of manufacturing job openings are going unfilled  and that comes as no surprise to the American Bakers Association (ABA)s Human Resources Committee, who saw the writing on the wall a number of years back. We realized when we were in the middle of the recession and there was an open workforce that we were still having challenges attracting talent, said Robb MacKie, ABA president and CEO. The thinking was that when the economy turns around, its really going to be a problem.

For the baking industry, caught between an aging workforce and a lack of new prospects, there lies a gaping hole  the workforce gap.

Members of the industry who live it every day recognized this gap and did something about it. To that end, ABAs Human Resources Committee, in conjunction with the American Society of Baking (ASB), commissioned Cypress Research Associates to conduct a year-long comprehensive study to collect data from bakers, suppliers and broad manufacturing about the challenges and solutions for attracting, training and retaining skilled, hourly production workers.

We didnt want another sad story report that would just sit on shelves, Mr. MacKie said. This is something weve been talking about for more than a decade, and we needed to take the anecdotal to the empirical; we needed to get to the results.

This is not a generational study. Its not about millennials. This is about the ripple effect brought about by modern technology thats changing the way skilled hourly employees view the work they do and their role in a company and the world at large. In order to attract, train and retain talent, the baking industry must let go of its more traditional ideologies; in short, opening minds to new workforce practices will in turn open the doors to a new crop of talent.

This may be a challenge for some companies because it will change their paradigm on how they operate, said Cory Martin, director, government relations, ABA. But there are solutions out there  it will just take some willingness to change in order to address these workforce needs.

Whats the problem?

During the year-long study, titled The Workforce Gap in US Commercial Baking: Trends, Challenges & Solutions, the research bore out what the task force had predicted: While the most serious gap is among hourly skilled production positions, the biggest pain point currently lies with maintenance and engineering positions. And its an area that Marjorie Hellmer, president of the research firm, described as simmering  the shortages might not get worse, but theres certainly no sign that they will get better over the next 10 years.

Baking companies surveyed predicted that by 2025, the significant shortage of hourly skilled maintenance/engineering production staff will remain the same, and that the skilled machine operators gap is projected to increase by 21%. Its a problem that, if it continues to go unaddressed, will become a serious issue, as exemplified by the current amount of turnover for these positions and the lack of programs currently in place to tackle it. When you start looking at solutions, you see that there arent enough programs in place to help bakers address these challenges, Ms. Hellmer warned. There are deficiencies going unaddressed, and thats contributing to the loss of employees and companies not being able to attract them.

Ms. Hellmer pointed out that when speaking with many HR executives they explain that even a 5% turnover reduction would be a tremendous success within their companies. When you hear 5% is the baseline, you know its a serious problem, she said.

On the bright side  some companies are getting it right. As part of the study, Cypress Research released a collection of case studies in an e-book called Attracting and Retaining Skilled Talent as well as a best practices guide of solutions companies can implement. (See Learning from the best on the left.)

Ms. Hellmer noted that some of the first steps in closing the gap are attracting and retaining skilled workers for these positions. For generations, manufacturing workers have operated on fidelity  they came in and did their jobs with pride at the same company until retirement. As these workers retire, though, the incoming talent tends to do more job-hopping, many changing jobs up to four times in their first 10 years of employment.

If your operating assumption is that your employees are going to stay, and then theyre leaving, it creates a whole new ball game, Ms. Hellmer said.

Closing the workforce gap is less about generations and more about attracting the right people and, through right mix of company culture, employee engagement and proper training, keeping them in the baking industry .

Becoming attractive

Branding is something that some wholesale bakers havent been concerned with over the years. It has traditionally been used for building consumer relationships, and many baking companies, especially contract manufacturers, build their businesses by working behind the scenes.

But the world is a much smaller place today than 10 or 15 years ago, and workers want to feel a part of the product and company, as well as the brands place in the bigger picture. The central message from companies like Kings Hawaiian, Daves Killer Bread and Clif Bar, isnt about the products they make, Ms. Hellmer suggested. Their message is about making their customers happy and illustrating how the company contributes to the happiness and wellness of society.

Today, when it comes to attracting employees, its all about branding. In fact, almost all of the study respondents indicated branding as one of the Top 5 recruitment challenges. Of the 95% who identified the challenge, 58% of them reported it as a significant one.

Although many individual companies are successfully promoting themselves as the kinds of places people want to work, the industry as a whole must also brand itself as a place where engineers and machine operators want to explore potential long-term employment.

Baking companies did indicate that branding for staffing needs was a big recruitment challenge. The study also revealed that, compared with other workforce strategies, its a tool thats being grossly underutilized in addressing the workforce gap. When it comes to branding efforts, 61% of companies have used means such as website development, social media and community events for recruitment.

When looking for the lowest-hanging fruit for fulfilling staffing needs, branding is a sure shot. With the right people in place and a bit of creativity, companies can brand themselves to attract the right employees by focusing on the company culture and the work environment, Ms. Hellmer said.

Branding to attract talent starts with telling the right story. How do we tell that great story of a career, a lifestyle, a lifetime in the baking industry? Mr. MacKie asked. We need to reach into an audience that might be interested  or may not even know they could be interested  in working for this industry, he said.

In fact, developing robust programs to attract and keep staff seems relatively easy when compared with teaching employees the necessary skills to succeed in bakery manufacturing. Well-established best practices exist to help companies identify and implement successful recruitment and retention strategies. But developing a pipeline through effective job skills training requires considerable financial and human resource investments for companies, Ms. Hellmer suggested. Skills training, she said, is where some of the biggest challenges and opportunities lie.

Training up

While any company can create its own positive culture and work environment, training is an area where the industry can actually come together to mitigate the skills gap. Considering that this gap doesnt just affect a single business but also the entire baking industry, standardized training is key.

Remember, workers today are job-hoppers who need to feel theyre making a valuable contribution to the company, the industry, the world. If theyre going to jump ship based on a corporate culture, theyll be more likely to move within the industry when equipped with skills they can take from one baking company to another.

Training-related challenges are contributing to the skills shortage. Of those bakery executives surveyed, 87% indicated that a lack of formal skills/job training programs for new and existing employees is contributing to the skills shortage with slightly more than a quarter labeling it a significant challenge.

One thing to consider, Ms. Hellmer suggested, is that while training is an industry-wide issue, execution must happen at a local level. These efforts to train must happen where the facilities are located, she said, noting that many baking companies with enough resources are partnering with local colleges, technical schools and even high schools to develop their talent pipelines.

Flowers Foods, Thomasville, GA, partners with community colleges and technical schools to initiate recruitment efforts and sometimes even professional development programs. Partnerships like these happen locally for many Flowers plant locations. Flowers also taps talent at Kansas State Universitys bakery science program for internships that often lead to full-time positions.

In Twin Falls, ID, Clif Bar Baking Company partnered with the College of Southern Idaho for training programs as it built up its workforce while also building its new facility.

ASB is already hard at work developing programs to address the current and future workforce gap in our industry, said Mario Somoza, chairman of ASB. We are revamping our scholarship program to target students pursuing education in areas such as food science and engineering/manufacturing, as well as our traditional support of bakery science programs.

Higher education and industry-related external resources present big opportunities for companies to increase and/or improve training programs. According to the study, many bakeries still rely on formal internal training. For example, just 69% of respondents offered training to hourly skilled production employees for baking industry-specific technical skills, and of those, 53% relied on formal internal programs, while a mere 16% take advantage of a third-party resource.

For machine operators, however, the companies surveyed said they rely on more informal internal training methods. In fact, 100% of the businesses cited on-the-job experience as a training strategy, closely followed by shadowing/observing others at 91%. Similarly, hourly maintenance and engineering positions received the same kind of training: on-the-job experience at 96% and shadowing/observing at 93%.

Part of the problem is that management struggles with creating training programs for positions that reach into multiple shifts and schedules, as well as finding time to initially create programs and have sufficient staff to implement them.

Rather than tossing those employees into the metaphorical deep end of the pool, industry groups such as ABA, AIB International, BEMA, ASB and the Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers Association (B&CMA) can help. For example, ABA started a frontline training program that launched in June and is planned for November and again next March.

Additionally, BEMA has recently revamped its BEMA-U education program with programs such as Learn to Train that are available to companies at their own locations.

AIB International offers training courses at its headquarters in Manhattan, KS, as well as online and in locations across the country, and B&CMA offers a wealth of education online through its comprehensive correspondence course and at its annual technical conference held in the spring.

Ms. Hellmer sees it as a spider-web approach, and it starts with corporate leadership to support, fund and sustain internal and external company-driven training programs. Next is the regional support through partnerships in education, and from there comes the industry-wide standardization of training.

Its a complicated issue but one that we see having the greatest potential for the industry to come together, Ms. Hellmer observed. The industry needs to standardize  then customize  elements for company-specific needs.

Todays bakery workers want to feel not only that their hard work is appreciated but also that they are contributing to a bigger effort in the world .

Moving ahead

Despite the fact that the future looks bright for the baking industry, it also looks rather bleak when it comes to staffing. All is not lost, however, and that was the purpose of commissioning this industry study.

Through secondary research, in-depth interviews with manufacturing executives and the quantitative baking industry survey, Cypress was able to identify some of the trends, challenges and solutions for the workforce gap.

Outside-of-the-box ideas and proactive solutions are what will ease the pain. We have to look at solutions through a different lens and understand the power of new ways to attract and retain new employees, Ms. Hellmer suggested.

While finding and holding onto talent are obviously important, baking companies must also be willing to take the initiative to seek out the right people in ways such as tapping diverse talent pools like women, minorities and veterans. Ms. Hellmer suggested recruitment efforts also include social media, web-based application technologies, partnerships with state and local organizations and educational institutions, and internal employee referral incentive programs.

With the knowledge that training is a critical issue and workers want to be part of a bigger picture, cross-training appears as one viable solution. We are seeing that cross-functional training doesnt just mean moving around on the production floor, anymore, Ms. Hellmer said. It means getting people into different administrative and corporate-level departments and experiencing the contributions there. Training should involve everything that has to do with the company.

Bridging the gap in the workforce will be critical to keep the industry moving forward. But it has potential for positive side effects, too. We see branding the industry as a place people want to work and build a career as another great opportunity for the industry to come together and make it stronger overall, Ms. Hellmer said.

To gain more insight and discuss solutions, ABA will host a workshop Oct. 7 in Las Vegas, the day before the International Baking Industry Exposition opens its doors. This is not about rehashing what weve already been talking about, Mr. Martin said. We know the gap exists. This is a conference dedicated entirely to solutions for filling that gap. Companies who participated in the case studies e-book will be on-hand to answer questions and share ideas for how bakeries can implement their own human resource programs.

The good news is that there are a lot of great programs already, so we dont have to reinvent the wheel. The challenge moving forward is being able to help share great ideas and make people aware, Mr. Martin said.

The full report, including industry survey results, case study e-book and company best practices guide, are available on www.americanbakers.org and www.asbe.org and can be downloaded for free.
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Even though some states have decriminalized or legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use, under federal law, Marijuana remains an illegal Schedule I Controlled Substance, with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.
A 74-year-old Liberty County man died after he was attacked by what are believed to be Africanized honey bees while on a hunting lease in Uvalde County, Texas.

Jerry Chapman and his wife of 52 years, Frances, of Hardin, were at their hunting lease over the Labor Day weekend when the attack occurred.

Frances says the bees had been discovered inside an exterior compartment of their fifth-wheel travel trailer. They had entered the compartment through a small screw hole. Jerry donned a borrowed beekeeper's mask and was in the process of removing the bees when he was attacked.

"The bees must have found a way to get into the mask. He started running and threw the head gear off and ran to our truck and got inside, but they were all over his bee suit," Frances said.

Trapped inside the travel trailer with a swarm of bees surrounding it, Frances called her husband's cell phone and asked what she could do to help.

"He said, 'Baby, don't go out there, don't go outside,'" Frances recalled. "I could hear him fighting off the bees inside the truck."

When the phone went dead, she called him back to urge him to drive the truck to a neighboring hunting camp where he could seek help. She heard the truck start and pull away as she remained huddled inside the camper.

A little while later, she said hunters from a neighboring camp arrived to help.

"Three hunters came running up to the door of the trailer and said to quickly gather my purse and whatever else I needed. Then we ran to their vehicle," she said.

She found out that her husband had been driven to a hospital in Uvalde, where it was decided that he would be airlifted to a medical center in San Antonio.

"When I got to the hospital and saw my husband, I couldn't believe what I was looking at. The bee stingers were just poking out all over the place on his hands and face," Frances said. "The doctors said he had been stung as much as a thousand times by the bees. He had so much toxic poisoning in him that they put him on dialysis twice but his kidneys finally shut down. There was nothing more they could do."

Chapman died Sept. 7, four days after the attack. He was a father to two sons, grandfather to seven children and great-grandfather of three.

In his community, Chapman is being remembered for his years of service as a Mason. He was a member of the East Houston Masonic Lodge #1299 for 29 years and became a dual member of the Batson Lodge #974, where he was chaplain. He also was a 25-year member of the Arabia Shriners.

Retired at the time of his death, he had worked for Amoco Oil for 33 years as a crane operator.

Frances said she hasn't returned to the travel trailer in Uvalde but was told the bees were eradicated after the attack.

Deadly bee attacks uncommon

Africanized honey bees, often referred to as killer bees, are actually hybrids.

"People think of them as killer bees but they are not. The Africanized term means they are a hybrid of the African bee and the European honeybees," said Cameron Crane of Liberty County Beekeepers. "They have some portion of the gene of the African bee but they also have European genes."

Of the two genetic strains, the European bees tend to be more docile while the Africanized bees are aggressive and known to attack with minor provocation.

"You can't tell them apart by physically looking at the bees. The only way to tell them apart is through genetic testing," Crane said.

Most often, it is the behavior of the bees that is most telling. The European bees, when provoked, will follow a perceived threat for 20 yards or so until returning to the hive. Africanized bees are known for following a perceived threat for a quarter-mile or so. A victim will get tagged by one or more of the bees with an alarm pheromone, which can be removed by bathing or changing clothes.

Jumping into water to avoid bees is never a good option, said Crane, because the bees will linger in an area longer than the victim can hold his or her breath.

"On a regular hive with European bees, when you upset the bees, you might have two dozen bees come after you, usually not even that many. But when you disturb an Africanized hive, you will have hundreds and possibly thousands of bees coming after you," Crane said.

In Liberty County, and the neighboring Chambers, Hardin and Jefferson counties, activity of Africanized bees is rare, according to Crane, in large part due to the number of beekeepers in the area.

"Hive keepers are constantly introducing good genetics to their hives and keeping the African genetics pushed out," he said.

While areas closer to Houston might not seem more likely places to find Africanized bees, Crane said the opposite is true.

"In areas where beekeeping is limited, such as suburbs and around chemical plants, there is an increase in Africanized hives," he said.

Genetics of a hive can change quickly, so it is important for apiarists to closely monitor their hives for changes in behavior, according to Mary Reed, apiary inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service (TAIS), part of Texas A&M University's AgriLife Extension Service.

"It's uncommon for people to be killed by bees but every year there is usually a death or two of a dog or horse from honeybee issues," Reed said. "The human victims are typically the elderly or the very young and those who go into anaphylactic shock. They are the most vulnerable."

Honeybees are resourceful creatures who can gain entry to a home, business or outbuilding through small access points, but people can limit their risk by sealing holes in their structures as quickly as possible.

"We try to encourage people to regularly survey their property. Make sure there are no cavities where bees can build up. If there are cavities in your structure, seal them up quickly so this doesn't become a problem," Reed said.

Some of the areas in which bees are known to build hives are abandoned vehicles, empty containers, fences, lumber piles, manholes, water meters, utility boxes, old tires, trees, garages, walls, chimneys and crawl spaces.

"I did a bee removal of a hive once that was built coming down from a mattress that was being stored in a shed. It was a magnificent hive but it couldn't stay in the shed," Reed said.

When removal isn't possible, terminating the hive might be the best option, particularly when there is a risk of humans being attacked by the bees.

"I hate the thought of terminating a hive, but when human life is at risk, I make it clear to people they should not hesitate to terminate the hive," said Reed, though referring the person to a bee removal expert is always her first suggestion.

For a list of apiarists who offer bee removal services, go to http://txbeeinspection.tamu.edu/
Autonomous Christian Area in Iraq Would Secure West's Interests

Assyrian Boy waiting for his turn during food distribution in Ashti-2 camp (Erbil) hosting Iraqi Christian refugees. ( World Watch Monitor) A "protected area" should be set aside for minorities, including Christians, in Iraq's north-east Nineveh plains after the 'Islamic State' has been defeated, a US advocacy group has argued. The group, In Defense of Christians (IDC), made the suggestion at the National Convention (7-9 September) in Washington DC. IDC hopes to enlist the support of the US Congress to the venture, which would also need the consent of local authorities both in Baghdad and in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The idea of a "Christian safe zone" was urged in the autumn of 2014 after the jihadists' offensive which, according to Amnesty International, saw more than 900,000 religious- and ethnic-minority Iraqis, about a quarter of them Christians, fleeing to the Kurdish region and beyond. In March, US State Secretary John Kerry described minorities, including Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims, as targets of "genocide" by IS. Some US Congress members attending the Convention expressed their support for the renewed initiative. On 9 Sep., Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska, introduced legislation calling for the U.S. and the international community to support the Iraqi authorities in recognising a province in the Nineveh Plain, "consistent with lawful expressions of self-determination by its indigenous peoples". Fortenberry's "sense of Congress resolution", with 11 co-sponsors, both Republicans and Democrats, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Dohuk-based American University of Kurdistan, meanwhile, has quoted a survey saying 90% of Christian residents in Ankawa -- a suburb in Erbil -- are in favour of the independence of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, of which a "minority safe zone" presumably would form part. '10 possible wars even if Islamic State beaten militarily' On 7 September, the Washington Post mapped out 10 possible conflict scenarios after IS is eliminated in both Iraq and Syria. Supporters of an autonomous Nineveh argue that, apart from preserving minorities, the resulting stability will be in the US and the West's interest. They call upon the US to help resettle victims of genocide to their homes. IDC is hoping for a US Congressional resolution to support the policy within a prism of a post-IS, de-centralised Iraq. IDC co-founder Andrew Doran said his group and others will work together to seek US Congressional action on ending the conflict in neighbouring Syria -- where another war is engaged by similar players and where minorities likewise top the list of victims. Doran pointed out that these wars are breeding terror far beyond the Middle East. "It's not coming, it's here. It's in our churches, it's in our nightclubs and it's in our public spaces and it will get much worse before it gets better," he said. "If we move swiftly to end the conflict in Syria, we can save lives there now and save American lives and other lives elsewhere in the decades to come." Support for Nineveh's beleaguered Christians was echoed by a voice closer to home. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I said there are "signals" of a "pre-arranged plan to secure the political structure of Iraq", but that in this plan, he fears the rights of Christians and other minorities are not guaranteed. Raphael called for a referendum to give Christians a choice on whether they want to be governed from Baghdad, to be part of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, or even place themselves under a "Sunni state". Catholic news agency Fides reported that, according to local sources it consulted, these conflicts over future plans are contributing to delaying military operations -- which have previously been announced -- for the liberation of Mosul from the control of Islamic State.
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Their motives ranged from homecomings to a change of scenery.

One of the four finalists vying to become the next Port Arthur police chief was raised in the city. Another was born in Houston, and the third and fourth want to relocate from Marshall and San Angelo.

No matter their backgrounds, all four told Port Arthur residents in a meet and greet Wednesday night about the importance of community policing, allowing officers to work closely with neighborhoods to eradicate and prevent crimes.

The candidates said they have either read or been told that many in the city mistrust the department's police.

The four finalists - Arthur Barclay, Jesus "Eddie" Campa, Jeff Fant and Patrick Melvin - spoke briefly to a large crowd at The Department Club on Lakeshore Drive during an event organized by City Manager Brian McDougal.

Barclay, 54, graduated from Lincoln High School in 1980 and has spent the last 29 years with the Fort Worth Police Department, where he is now the assistant chief.

He was told about the job opening by a cousin who lives in Port Arthur. Barclay said he still has family in Port Arthur and Beaumont.

"It would basically be like a homecoming for me and a reunion for my family," he said.

Campa, 43, is the only Spanish-speaking candidate of the four, and McDougal said in May he would like to find a bilingual chief, citing Port Arthur's diversity.

Hispanics make up almost 30 percent of the city's population and 41 percent is black.

Campa, an El Paso native now working as police chief in Marshall, said he was drawn by similarities between issues facing Port Arthur and his current city.

Port Arthur also has twice Marshall's population.

"Of course, that's a great thing," he said. "And really, the issues the police department are currently facing, I have experience working with."

Fant, 49, who retired in July as an assistant chief at the San Angelo Police Department, said he wants to move from the desert to the ocean side.

"I retired looking for a job as a police chief," he said.

Melvin, 54, who was born in Houston and has policing experience in Arizona, is the only out-of-state candidate.

He talked about building the Maricopa police department from its inception in 2006 and openly discussed being placed on administrative leave at his most recent job in Salt River.

Melvin said the action was taken when the City Council learned he was a finalist for a job in a larger city.

"I learned to be careful about putting in for new jobs, because you might lose your old one," he said.

McDougal said 46 candidates applied to replace former Port Arthur Police Chief Mark Blanton, who retired late last year after almost 40 years with the department.

McDougal said three internal candidates applied, but were not selected as finalists. He said the minimum qualifications for candidates were 10 years' experience in law enforcement and a bachelor's degree.

Weldon Dunlap, a retired Beaumont Police Department assistant chief, has served as the interim chief since May.

Terrance Prevost has spent most of his life in Port Arthur. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1977 and left the city to briefly play linebacker at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Prevost said residents have a long-standing fear of giving police statements about crimes because of fears of retaliation.

"I want to see change in Port Arthur, where there's trust in police," Prevost said.

Prevost said his impressions of the candidates were mostly positive, but he's generally skeptical.

"We'll never know until we see one get here," he said.

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
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UPDATE: State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, announced he will file the Sandra Bland Act in the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature to include recommended changes in jails across the state.

"The Sandra Bland Act will include her family's wishes and recommendations that have been discussed at the House Committee on County Affairs oversight hearings that have arisen out of the Sandra Bland case," Coleman said in a written statement.

PREVIOUS REPORT

The mother of Sandra Bland - who died in 2015 in the Waller County Jail - said her tentative $1.9 million settlement with state and county officials is "a victory for moms across the country."

The tentative settlement - reached late Wednesday - calls for reforms in Waller County and improvements at rural jails across the state.

"I believe this is going to be a rippling effect across the country," Geneva Reed-Veal said Thursday. "I'm hopeful there won't be any more unlawful arrests. I'm hopeful with this spotlight and this settlement that others don't have to receive a call from 1,000 miles away that their child is on the way to the morgue."

Reed-Veal, of Chicago, has been outspoken about police abuse and jail reform after her daughter died in an apparent suicide at the Waller County Jail following a questionable traffic stop.

Under terms of the settlement, Waller County would pay $1.8 million and the Texas Department of Public Safety would pay $100,000, according to San Antonio attorney Tom Rhodes, one of three lawyers who represented Bland's mother in the federal lawsuit she filed in Houston.

The settlement needs approval of state officials and Waller County commissioners before being finalized, officials said.

Waller County's attorney Larry Simmons issued a statement Thursday saying that details were still being worked out and that the county agreed all details would be confidential until finalized.

The settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing, he said.

The tentative settlement calls for jail reforms not just in Waller County but in other rural jails in Texas, a move that would require action by state lawmakers.

The family asked that any bill passed by legislators bear Sandra Bland's name, according to lawyers.

RELATED: Sandra Bland's mother shares emotional message at DNC

In July 2015, DPS Trooper Brian Encinia arrested Bland during a questionable traffic stop, alleging she had assaulted him. Three days later, the 28-year-old woman committed suicide while in the Waller County Jail.

Bland's mother filed the federal lawsuit against Waller County, several county officials and two jailers, and Encinia.

Under terms of the settlement released Thursday, changes would be required for both DPS and Waller County.

The DPS would provide de-escalation training for all current and future troopers statewide.

Waller County would be required to have a nurse or emergency technician at the jail round-the-clock, and would set up a tele-medicine system so inmates could be screened by physicians face-to-face, Rhodes said.

The county also would be required to set up sensors to validate cell checks electronically, he said.

State lawmakers would be asked to work together to draft legislation in Bland's name to require similar changes in other rural jails.

Simmons said in the statement that the terms of the settlement would go before commissioners for approval. He said the county would be required to pay only a $1,000 deductible but did not provide additional details about whether a county insurance policy might pick up the bulk of the settlement.

DPS officials said no settlement has been finalized. The Texas Attorney General's Office declined to comment.

The settlement "was an admission of guilt in some way," said Hannah Bonner, a United Methodist minister who held a months-long vigil outside Waller County jail after Bland's death.

The nearly $2 million that DPS and Waller County had agreed to pay was also significant, she said.

"It represents a very large percentage of the economy of that county, so it's more significant than it may seem," she said.

She also cheered the requirement that Waller County push for statewide changes to rural jails.

"One thing I had hoped for since beginning of the case was that Sandra's case would change things for people in rural jails, where the awareness and accountability surrounding what's happening to them is virtually nonexistent," she said.

She and others were still waiting to see what would happen in Encinia's criminal trial, she said.

"Are they going to settle with the officer or are they going to go through with this criminal trial?" she said. "That's the next big question to be answered."

Houston civil rights activists applauded the Bland family's decision to settle its case.

"It's been a yearlong plus battle to get justice for their sister and their daughter, and I fully support them," Ashton Woods, a civil rights activist with Houston Black Lives Matter.

Bland's death forced a nationwide conversation about deaths in jail and the need for social justice, he said.

"Sandra has lived on through many of the things that have taken place in the last year," he said.
University Gastroenterology and its 19 offices were victims of a data hacking scam, where an individual gained access to the network, copied information for 14,000 patients and then encrypted it, NBC reports.

Here's what you need to know.

1. Patient names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and medical billing information were all taken by a hacker. The data was then encrypted and returned. The hacker is asking for a cash sum to unencrypted the data.

2. UGI notified the affected patients through a letter.

3. There is no evidence the data has been misused.

4. The person had gained access to patient files from a practice UGI acquired in 2014.

5. UGI has made security enhancements to ensure their systems are safe.

6. The center has also established a call center to answer patients questions and concerns about the hack at 844-575-7459. The center is also offering credit monitoring protection through Equifax to the impacted patients.

More gastroenterology news:

University of Louisville awarded $11.5M grant to study liver disease: 3 notes

Captify Health taps Nicole Bradberry as next CEO: 5 takeaways

Takeda, PRA Health Sciences enter partnership; invendo medical GmbH receives FDA clearance & more: 6 GI company key notes




The following hospitals and healthcare companies inked revenue cycle services contracts in the past month.

1. UnitedHealth's Optum takes over Quest Diagnostics' billing processes

UnitedHealth Group's revenue cycle management arm, Optum, has struck a 10-year deal with lab giant Quest Diagnostics.

2. Tenet's Conifer contracted for RCM at 11 WellStar hospitals

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare's revenue cycle subsidiary, Conifer Health Solutions, started serving six additional WellStar Health System hospitals.

3. Zotec to provide RCM services for Tennessee anesthesia group

Zotec Partners entered into an exclusive revenue cycle management agreement with MMC Anesthesia Group, which is based at MethodistMedicalCenter in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

4. Zotec to provide RCM services for Texas orthopedic center

Zotec Partners, entered into an exclusive revenue cycle management agreement with Reconstructive Orthopedic Center of Houston.

5. Layoffs expected as Providence Health Center transfers billing services

Employees at Providence Health Center in Waco, Texas, face layoffs as the organization turns many back office duties, including billing and bill collecting, over to Chicago-based Accretive Health.

6. Baxter Regional signs Medical Asset Management for real-time coding updates

Medical Asset Management, a healthcare consulting firm based in Atlanta, signed an agreement with BaxterRegionalMedicalCenter in Mountain Home, Ark., to install apps that update staff to coding changes and monitor inventory.

7. University Health Care System picks RightPatient technologies

Augusta, Ga.-based University Health Care System implemented RightPatient biometric patient identification technologies to improve patient safety, data integrity and revenue cycle management.

8. Munster radiology taps McKesson for RCM

Munster (Ind.) Radiology Group selected McKesson Business Performance Services to strengthen its customer and patient billing services as part of a comprehensive revenue cycle management agreement.

9. Cabell contracts with PMMC for denial management services

Cabell Huntington (W.Va.) Hospital selected PMMC's CONTRACT PRO for contract and denial management.
Jupiter (Fla.) MedicalCenter received a sizeable gift from an anonymous source. The gift will help the hospital finance a significant portion of its expansion project, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The donation was worth $25 million, one of the largest gifts the 327-bed hospital has ever received, according to the article.

Hospital officials said the donation will go toward a $50 million Comprehensive Cancer Institute.

"At Jupiter Medical Center, we are transforming the future of healthcare in our community, and we are doing this by putting patients at the center of everything we do," said John Couris, president and CEO of Jupiter Medical Center. "This is only possible with the generous support of our donors, whose investments in JupiterMedicalCenter will make an incalculable impact on our community."
James Weinstein, CEO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, N.H., said employees at Concord-based New Hampshire Hospital will not be affected by system-wide layoffs, expected to take effect by the end of the year, reports Union Leader.

"There is absolutely no connection between the employment actions we are taking at Dartmouth-HitchcockMedicalCenter and our clinics and our work at New HampshireHospital," Mr. Weinstein said in a statement.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan and the state's executive council unanimously approved Dartmouth-Hitchcock's bid to takeover the psychiatric hospital and other state mental health facilities days before the layoff news, according to the article.

The health system notified employees of impending layoffs, affecting between 270 and 460 employees, Sept. 9. The cuts come after Dartmouth-Hitchchock posted a $12 million deficit in fiscal year 2015.
Johnson City, Tenn.-based Mountain States Health Alliance executives revealed the name of the new health system created through its merger with Kingsport, Tenn.-based Wellmont Health System, pending state approval of the merger.

Alan Levine, president and CEO of Mountain States, sent a letter to employees of the health system explaining the health system's next steps.

In the letter, Mr. Levine said once the merger is approved and finalized, the proposed name for the new health system will be Ballad Health. The logo and other elements regarding the name will be released once the transaction is official.

Mr. Levine said the name Ballad Health represents the system's move to become a "different kind of health system," according to the letter.

The merger is currently under review by state officials in Tennessee and Virginia.
The following hospital lawsuits were reported since August, beginning with the most recent.

1. Class-action suit accuses Carolinas HealthCare of anti-competitive behavior

A class-action lawsuit against Carolinas HealthCare alleges the Charlotte, N.C.-based system engaged in illegal and anti-competitive behavior.

2. Colorado hospital accused of widespread age discrimination against nurses

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against Montrose (Colo.) Memorial Hospital, alleging hospital administrators discriminated against older nurses.

3. Ohio hospital sues West Virginia over CON changes

Marietta (Ohio) Memorial Hospital sued the West Virginia Health Care Authority in federal court over changes to West Virginia's certificate-of-need process.

4. Judge allows class-action antitrust suit against NorthShore to proceed

U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang denied Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem's motion for summary judgment in a class-action antitrust lawsuit.

5. Mount Sinai hospitals to pay $2.9M to settle false claims case

Three hospitals that are part of New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System agreed to pay a total of $2.95 million for delaying repayment of more than $800,000 in Medicaid overpayments.

6. Prime claims DOJ fraud suit wrongly relies on statistical sampling

Prime Healthcare Services asked a federal court to exclude certain evidence used by the Department of Justice in a lawsuit alleging the Ontario, Calif.-based hospital chain violated the False Claims Act.

7. Lee Memorial sues Florida Blue over ER payments

Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Memorial Health System is suing Florida Blue, claiming the health insurer underpaid the system's hospitals for emergency care.

8. Calif. hospital to pay 3 former employees $1.7M in harassment suit

Community Hospital of Long Beach (Calif.) and the former manager of the hospital's psychiatric unit were ordered to pay $1.7 million to three ex-employees who alleged they were subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination.

9. Trinity Health to pay $75M to settle pension mismanagement class-action lawsuits

Trinity Health will pay $75 million to resolve allegations that it mismanaged its pension plans, putting an end to more than two dozen class-action lawsuits that have been filed against the Livonia, Mich.-based system over the past three years.

10. St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center to pay $3.2M to resolve false billing allegations

Syracuse, N.Y.-based St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center will pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations it submitted false claims for payment to the New York Medicaid program.

11. Employee accuses Oregon hospital of wage theft, discrimination and retaliation

A former employee of Oregon State Hospital is accusing the Salem-based psychiatric hospital, its superintendent, the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Human Services of wage theft, retaliation and discrimination.

12. Adventist sues Wellmont over delay in acquisition of Tacoma Regional

Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Adventist Health System filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Kingsport, Tenn.-based Wellmont Health System alleging Wellmont is refusing to close on a transaction.

13. Sisters of Charity sues Palmetto Health over $50M orthopedic practice

Cleveland-based Sisters of Charity Health System, the former owner of Providence Hospital in Columbia, S.C., sued Palmetto Health, alleging the Columbia-based system is responsible for the demise of Providence's $50 million orthopedic practice.

More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits:

UnitedHealthcare expands hep C coverage to settle $300M class-action lawsuit

Vanguard Healthcare sued for providing poor care at nursing home facilities

Abbott's $5.8B acquisition of Alere to require mediation
A bankruptcy court judge has fined Raleigh, N.C.-based WakeMed Health and Hospitals for including patients' protected financial and health information in debt filings submitted electronically to bankruptcy court, reports Lexology.

Patients identified in the filings filed suit against the WakeMed in 2015. The complaints alleged the hospital filed 1,410 proofs of claim which contained debtors personal information, including full social security numbers, protected health information and bank account numbers.

Bankruptcy Rule 9037 requires organizations redact an individual's social security number, birth date and financial account number to the last four digits in all court filings.

Hospital staff testified their HIPAA training did not cover bankruptcy claims filing and that the hospital failed to implement a bankruptcy filing auditing system.

A bankruptcy court judge concluded WakeMed's systemic lack of supervision and training indicated it was "more than negligent" in its business practices. The court ordered WakeMed pay $70,000 in punitive damages and required the system file quarterly reports with the Bankruptcy Court Administrator for five years.

More articles on legal issues:

Class-action suit accuses Carolinas HealthCare of anti-competitive behavior

Judge allows class-action antitrust suit against NorthShore to proceed

Colorado hospital accused of widespread age discrimination against nurses
A male patient was returned to Lincoln (Neb.) Regional Center Saturday after escaping from the 250-bed state psychiatric hospital for five hours, reports Lincoln Journal Star.

The patient walked away from the hospital around 4:05 p.m. after jumping a security fence during afternoon outdoor time, according to Kathie Osterman, spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Ms. Osterman said in the report that the Nebraska State Patrol, Lancaster County Sheriff's Office and Lincoln Police Department were notified immediately following the patient's departure. Law enforcement did not find the patient near LRC. However, a family member of the patient called police at 8 p.m. after the man arrived at their home, reports Lincoln Journal Star. The patient was subsequently contacted without incident and returned to the hospital.

Police did not provide the man's name since he was not arrested and the contact with law enforcement did not require a report.
With open enrollment approaching, global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson said employees should engage with their employers to better understand health insurance benefits.

Willis Towers Watson released the top 10 questions employees should ask their employers as they choose health plans for next year. The questions are based on data from the Willis Towers Watson 21st annual Best Practices in Health Care Employer Survey. The survey measured 600 employers' expectations of 2017 healthcare costs increases and plan changes.

Here are 10 questions for employees choosing 2017 health plans to consider, ranked by top priority.

1. Has prescription drug coverage changed? Data from the Best Practices survey found 88 percent of employers denoted managing prescription drug costs as their top priority. Employees should ask if their employers have a newly approved drug list or changed pharmacy benefit managers, suppliers or requirements for generic drug use.



2. What is the status of health coverage for a spouse and children? The Best Practices survey found 28 percent of employers reduced their contributions to spousal coverage by adding surcharges when spouses can get health insurance through their own employers. This percentage is likely to nearly double by 2018. The average surcharge is about $100 per month on top of premiums.

3. Are preferred physicians and other medical service providers still covered? As employers switch insurers, plans and providers to cut costs, employees may be left with narrow networks and out-of-network providers. Willis Towers Watson said employees should ask their employer if new plans will still cover preferred providers.



4. Has the employer taken steps to make healthcare costs more affordable? Some employers choose to change plans to lower out-of-pocket costs or lower premiums for low-wage workers. Some are offering and putting funds toward tax-free health savings accounts to lower out-of-pocket costs.

5. Has the employer changed administrators for medical benefits? While new administrators might not affect cost, asking employers about administrator changes could help employees find new telephone numbers or claims filing processes.

6. Is the employer offering new or expanded options for receiving care? Employers may offer employee incentives for using centers of excellence, and may offer more affordable options like telemedicine consultations.



7. Has the employer added new or expanded voluntary benefits? Voluntary insurance such as dental, vision, life and disability may be newly added by employers.

8. Does the wellness plan have new features to manage health or save money? Some employers offer financial incentives for employees who participate in wellness programs and track their health.

9. Has the employer added or expanded coverage for complementary or alternative medical services? Willis Towers Watson said employees should ask if employers cover physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and massage services.

10. Has the employer added or expanded the use of technology for delivering and managing benefits? Tools like out-of-pocket cost calculators and other technology-based solutions may help employees evaluate, choose and purchase benefits.

More articles about payer issues:

10 health plans with the highest medical enrollment

Medicare coverage still being denied with illegal 'improvement standard'

Minnesota fails to recruit more insurers for state exchange
Progressive senators and activists want to ensure that Americans have access to a public option health plan, reports USA Today.

They are launching a campaign Thursday, calling for the Democratic Party to make a public health insurance option a central focus in 2016.

Independent Vermont Sen. "Bernie Sanders, [presidential hopeful] Hillary Clinton and President [Barack] Obama endorse a public option. Now, with big Senate allies and partner organizations, we're pushing the entire Democratic Party to make this a central 2016 issue like debt-free college and expanding Social Security  so we can pass it under a new president," they said on WeWantAPublicOption.com.

Sen. Sanders, along with Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chuck Schumer of New York, Patty Murray of Washington and Dick Durbin of Illinois, will introduce a resolution showing Senate support for efforts to build on the Affordable Care Act by ensuring a public option is available in addition to coverage options provided by private insurers, according to the article.

The report states that various activists led by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, including Presente.org, UltraViolet, Working Families Party, MoveOn.org, Democracy for America, Daily Kos, and the AFL-CIO, strive to garner support for the resolution in a petition at WeWantAPublicOption.com.

The campaign follows Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna's announcement in August that it will leave a majority of state exchanges next year, adding to a tumultuous year for Affordable Care Act exchanges nationwide.
Black activists and health experts are taking their fight against menthol cigarettes to President Barack Obama, reports The New York Times.

Menthol cigarettes, made with mint flavoring, are popular among black smokers, and account for about 33 percent of all cigarettes sold in this country, according to the article, which cites federal surveys.

The group of black activists and health experts in a recent appeal to President Barack Obama argued that the issue was about health, but also social justice, the report states.

"What we're trying to do is involve the president of the United States in this discussion," Phillip Gardiner, a chairman of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, said, according to The New York Times. "We die disproportionately of cancer-related diseases. Part of what has taken place here is the use of menthol cigarettes."

The call to action comes three years after the Food and Drug Administration said research showed that the mint flavoring made it easier to start smoking and harder to quit. However, no subsequent action was taken.

The FDA said it had received more than 175,000 public comments in response after its 2013 findings were revealed, according to the article. A spokesman, Michael Felberbaum, said in the article the agency "is continuing to consider regulatory options related to menthol."
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch will appear before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Sept. 21 to explain why EpiPens, which cost $57 per pen in 2007, now run for more than $600 for a two-pack, according to Bloomberg.

The panel also called on Douglas Throckmorton, MD,, deputy director at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, for answers regarding delays in the approval of a competing epinephrine auto-injector.

"There is justified outrage from families and schools across the country struggling to afford the high cost of EpiPens," committee Chairman and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said in a statement.

The Senate Permanent Select Subcommittee on Investigations has also opened a preliminary inquiry on Canonsburg, Pa.-based Mylan.





More articles on supply chain:

Market exclusivity main factor in high drug prices, study finds

Supply chain salaries to increase nearly 3% in 2017

5 myths about the EpiPen controversy
Donald Trump will appear on the "Dr. Oz Show" later today to discuss his medical records, leading many to speculate whether Mehmet Oz, MD, will back the medical records based on evidence, according to Forbes.

Here's what the American Medical Association has to say:

1. In the AMA's policy on how physicians should conduct themselves in the media, the AMA seems a tad concerned about Dr. Oz's "personal opinions," according to Forbes.

2. The AMA affirms physicians should deliver medical advice and exams based on clinical evidence.

3. In the policy on physician and health institution publicity and responsibility, the AMA states it advises physicians in public eye to participate in "public discourse related to health and medical science to disclose whether stated positions are based on peer-reviewed evidence, standard of care or personal opinion."

4. The AMA passed a separate resolution in 2015 that detailed a physician's obligation to provide "quality medical advice" which is supported by evidence-based principles. Physicians also should "denounce the dissemination of dubious or inappropriate medical information through the public media including television, radio, internet and print media."

5. The AMA also advises physicians maintain a sense of professionalism and ensure a patient's prognosis or diagnosis is either solely made by or on behalf of the patient's attending physician.

More articles on practice management:

Geisinger Health System to hire 1.5k physicians, nurses, staff & more: 5 key notes

What can healthcare leaders learn from Mylan? 3 key points to consider in crises

Public supports limiting shift hours for first-year residents  4 things to know
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Holy Cross Hospital received a $7 million donation to fund neurological care.

Here are five highlights:

1. Hospital supporter Phil Smith, president and CEO of the Phil Smith Automotive Group, donated the millions.

2. The donation will name the Phil Smith Neuroscience Institute and establish the Phil Smith ALS and Movement Disorder Clinic.

3. Additionally, Mr. Smith is allocating $2 million of the donation as matching funds in a community challenge, hoping to boost neurological research in South Florida.

4. The Phil Smith Neurological Science Institute at Holy Cross will hold the Phil Smith ALS and Movement Disorder Clinic. The clinic will also establish a research relationship with Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital.

5. The Phil Smith Neurological Science Institute has more than 15 neuro-specialists, who treat neurological conditions and diseases, including Lou Gehrig's disease.
COLOGNE  The UK may be preparing to leave Europe, but UK satellite TV platform and ISP Sky is heading farther in to combining its European business and uniting advertisers opportunities, across multiple screens and across the continent.

The company, which is the UKs leading pay-TV provider, has satellite addressable TV system AdSmart and cross-platform ad sequencing system AdVance under its belt.

We go live in Italy in September for Sky AdSmart and then in Ireland in January, Sky Medias advanced advertising director Jamie West tells Beet.TV in this video interview. In the fullness of time, well expand AdSmart in to the German market. Well then move AdVance across.

With Sky AdVance, ads can be served across TV and digital media in a single campaign  in other words, multi-platform sequential targeting in which ad impressions are frequency-capped on every screen, not just the internet ones.

So whats the big idea for Sky, which has long invested in or acquired from a pool of technology and ad-tech companies it hopes can help improve its offerings for consumers and brands alike?

West is thinking big, about super-serving advertisers in a larger geographical footprint and across a broader range of services.

Its no longer acceptable to only think about the execution or targeting of an advert or campaign, he says. Were thinking about how we can amplify the full campaign lifecycle  plan, execute, evaluate and re-plan an advertisers campaign.

The execution part is only a very small part. That will mean we can have that preferred partner status with brands and marketing directors.

Over the last few years, Sky has acquired:

Pace (set-top box maker)

The Cloud (WiFi operator)

O2 broadband (telco)

Sky Deutschland & Italia (siblings)

It has invested in:

Roku (OTT box)

Jaunt (VR)

1Mainstream (OTT video)

Whistle Sports (sports network)

Pluto TV (online video aggregator)

Sharethrough (native ads)

Fubo (OTT sports)

InCrowd Sports (sports marketing)

DataXu (ad-tech)

We spoke with West this week at the FreeWheel European television summit in Cologne presented along with StickyAds.tv. Please visit this page for additional videos from Beets coverage..
WASHINGTON, D.C.-To get a sense of how the marriage of comScore and Rentrak has impacted political advertising, consider that in the 2012 election cycle six percent of the households the Obama campaign was targeting were exposed to 60 ads each week. But the campaigns average exposure was 12 ads weekly.

Average is a great number if you have no other number, but its a really scary number, said Carol Davidsen, comScores VP of Political Technology, who who was the Director of Integration & Media Analytics at Obama for America from 2011 to 2012.

The reason for the undesired frequency disparity was that comScore did not have household-level targeting data, which it gained via its merger with Rentrak this year, Davidsen explained in an interview earlier this month at the Beet.TV summit on politics and advertising.

What you can do with the data now is look at your campaigns and evaluate them and truly understand more than average. You really need this granular level of data in each market to truly build an effective ad campaign, Davidsen said.

Another side benefit of the merger is the combination of household data with rate information to actually compile a campaign together and try to reach your true frequency distribution goals, said Davidsen.

The addition of self-serve tools to the comScore portfolio has helped to reduce campaign staff head counts. In 2012 we were getting data, but you needed a bunch of engineers to ingest that data, match it to other sources of data and this is a lot of work, Davidsen observed.

Now, with the push of a button, more campaigns can leverage a variety of data sources and not just people who have an entire engineering team behind them.

Compared to brand marketers, in some ways political advertisers can be ahead of the curve when it comes to sophisticated audience targeting, according to Davidsen.

Because of the deadline of an election day, you get people willing to try something new or something bolder than has been done in the past, said Davidsen.

You are watching videos from Beet.TV politics and advertising summit presented by OpenX along with Intermarkets. Please find additional videos from the series here.
Dana Majhi, who carried his wifes corpse for about 10 Kilometres after being denied ambulance, is reportedly to meet Bahrain officials in Delhi, on Thursday. Majhi has arrived at Delhi to collect Rs. 9 Lakh, which is offered by the Prime Minister of Bahrain. Notably, Majhis daughters, after the incident, are given free education at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bhubaneshwar.
The number of people unemployed in Northern Ireland is at its lowest level for seven years - dropping by 2,000 in three months.

And in August the number of people in the dole queues fell by 800 across Northern Ireland.

However, the rate of economic inactivity here was 26.4% during the last quarter.

That's 0.3% higher than in the previous three months.

But one economist has warned the real impact of Brexit has still to be felt.

Andrew Webb said: "We have been quite fixated on Brexit these past three months but the economy appears to continue broadly as was.

"That said, this is no time for any smugness or complacency.

"The real impact will begin to be felt when the exit occurs."

Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey said that while the numbers appeared positive, they don't reflect the true picture.

"What you are seeing is the rise in the number of economically inactive, and also, on one hand, while there is a fall in people claiming unemployment benefit, (a rise in) the number of people on other benefits, like DLA," he said.

"We are losing people off Job Seekers, but moving to other benefits."

Speaking about the performance of Northern Ireland's various sectors, he said: "Manufacturing is weak, and services are very strong, growing at the fastest rate in almost 10 years.

"One sector that is way behind where it was before the recession is business services and finance."

Wilfred Mitchell, policy chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: "FSB welcomes that more people are in jobs and the Economy Minister Simon Hamilton's response that creating more and better jobs is a key priority.

"One of the ways to successfully achieve this is realising the key role played by the small business sector, which employs more people than the public sector and large companies combined."

Across the UK it seems that the Brexit vote has had little if any effect on job figures, although analysts have warned that it may be too soon to see an impact.

Latest statistics show that 35,100 people here were claiming unemployment benefit in August, down by 800 on the July total.

The rate stands at 5.6%, a decline of 0.7% over the year.

The number of claimants has dropped by nearly 30,000 since the most recent jobless peak in February 2013.

"It is very welcome to see another decrease in the number of people on the unemployment register," Mr Hamilton said.

"The count now stands at 35,100 people - a decrease of 16% over the year."
The potential loss of up to 55m of infrastructure investment due to Brexit setbacks has been branded a "matter of near scandal".

Around 55m was set aside for the Northern Ireland Investment Fund.

But the Belfast Telegraph revealed this week that "uncertainty" and a "greater reluctance" by the European Investment Bank (EIB) means that it is now "reassessing possible delivery models".

Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir is coming under pressure to "urgently" outline what will now be done to ensure the cash is not wasted.

The Department of Finance was contacted by this paper yesterday and on Tuesday, but has yet to respond.

The department was advertising for a 'fund manager' to run the scheme, but that is now on hold.

It's also understood if the money is not spent by the end of this tax year, it will have to be returned to the Treasury.

Ulster Unionist MLA and spokesman on the economy, Steve Aiken, said: "I think it's important the minister clarifies the situation, and clarifies it urgently.

"If we look at the tight funding situation that is effectively the Northern Ireland budgetary process, the fact that potentially 55m of already allocated funding may have to be returned is not just a matter of concern, it is a matter of near scandal.

"The fact that given the three months or so since the referendum, and that the Northern Ireland Executive has still not come up with any form of plan, or says it hasn't been in any degree of discussion with the Treasury on these issues, means we in Northern Ireland cannot afford to lose this."

John Armstrong, managing director of the Construction Employers Federation, said there was now a "clear risk of losing a lot of the funding" to Westminster, which is a "situation we cannot afford".

The Northern Ireland Investment Fund was due to inject cash into a range of major infrastructure projects here. That included urban regeneration, energy, telecoms and social housing.

An email seen by this paper said: "There is much uncertainty and greater reluctance on behalf of the European Investment Bank in playing an active role in the delivery of, and co-investment into, the Fund in the post-EU referendum context.

"The department is therefore currently reassessing possible delivery models. As soon as this work has concluded, a decision on the fund manager procurement will be taken."

The project was initially due to get the backing and support of the European Investment Bank, but it is now reluctant to get involved in the wake of the EU vote.

"While to some extent understandable in the context of Brexit, this announcement is nonetheless extremely disappointing for a local construction industry facing seismic sustainability challenges and for the partnership approach between the public and private sectors that was proposed," Mr Armstrong said.

"The Investment Fund had, rightly, earmarked specific areas where we have specific infrastructure challenges, such as urban regeneration and housing."

It's understood money from the fund must be spent in conjunction with companies in the private sector.
Purplebricks said the UK business was on course to become profitable within this financial year

Digital estate agency Purplebricks has swept aside Brexit uncertainty to more than double the number of new instructions and bolster market share.

The AIM-listed firm said UK instructions leapt 121% year-on-year in the 19 weeks to September 14, including 3,156 signing up to sell their homes in August.

The company, which is backed by fund manager Neil Woodford and a group of prominent investors, said it had strengthened market share compared with its online rivals to 65% at the start of September.

Its Australian business, launched at the end of August, was also beginning to bear fruit, with its first two weeks of trading showing valuations "substantially ahead" of its UK business at the same point in its development.

It said it had seen "little discernible impact" from Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Chief executive Michael Bruce said he was confident the success of its UK business could be replicated in Australia.

He added: "Our technology, marketing expertise and strong culture, coupled with our low fixed cost business model makes us best placed to win in this market."

Shares were up more than 4% following the trading update, which came ahead of Thursday's annual general meeting (AGM).

Purplebricks said the UK business was on course to become profitable within this financial year and would meet the board's full-year expectations.

It is also on track to meet its target of recruiting 360 local property experts (LPEs) - the description used for its estate agents - by April next year.

The number of LPEs recruited since the end of April 2016 has risen by 46% to 300.

Analyst Gavin Jago, at Peel Hunt, said: " We expect the strong momentum reported to continue and high operational gearing should drive very high profit growth over the next few years."
The Northern Ireland Executive's decision to give United Airlines millions of pounds without scrutiny to keep the Belfast to Newark air route open is "madness", an Alliance politician has claimed.

Lagan Valley MLA Trevor Lunn was speaking after a meeting of the Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, in which it was revealed that the Executive had rushed through approval for the 9m aid deal - 6m of which will come from the Department for the Economy.

The committee also heard that concerns about the value for money of the transaction had been expressed by the department's permanent secretary.

"This move by the Executive is an act of madness," said Mr Lunn. "For the department to consent to giving millions of pounds to United Airlines each year in the absence of any detailed business case is breath-taking, particularly when it appears to have disregarded the concerns of the permanent secretary.

"There remains no guarantee United will even stay beyond three years. The Executive has effectively promised this money without any proper scrutiny in place, and questions need asked."

Mr Lunn's intervention came as it emerged the Executive is poised to step in with a rescue funding package to save the troubled City of Derry Airport.

The loss-making airport's future was dealt a heavy blow this week with Ryanair's decision to cut services to London and Faro and reduce flights to Liverpool.

Talks on a rescue package have been ongoing between the airport board, Derry City and Strabane District Council and the DUP and Sinn Fein.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the "disappointing" Ryanair announcement had threatened the airport's "future existence".

But he also indicated that Stormont was willing to intervene and save it.

"It is incumbent upon us at the Executive level to deal with that," Mr McGuinness said.

"I am totally confident that we will be able to rescue the situation at City of Derry."
The Post Office said most of its 11,600 branches will remain open despite today's walkout.

Postal workers will mount picket lines across the UK today when they launch a 24-hour strike in disputes over jobs, branch closures and pensions.

Members of the Communication Workers Union and Unite are taking industrial action in protest at the closure of Crown offices, job cuts and changes to the pension scheme.

The Post Office said most of its 11,600 branches will remain open despite the walkout.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said the Post Office was at "crisis point", urging the Government to end a "cycle of closures, job losses and attacks on staff terms and conditions".

Terry Pullinger, the CWU's deputy general secretary, said it was now "do or die" for postal workers and post offices.

He said the Government and the company described the Post Office as a success story.

Mr Pullinger added: "Their idea of success is to sell Crown office buildings, put the money in the Government's coffers, then outsource or franchise the service by sticking it in the back of a WH Smith, redeploy decent, union-negotiated jobs, and replace them with minimum wage, zero hours contracts. The Government has now closed the defined benefit pension scheme."
Mel Giedroyc, Sue Perkins, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood from The Great British Bake Off

Prince William meets some young people during a visit to Caius House youth club in London

Northern Ireland engineer Andrew Smyth has escaped elimination from the Great British Bake Off for another week.

Despite wowing judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with his tapas-filled Yorkshire puddings, the 25-year-old lost out on the star baking prize for the third week in a row - this time to 23-year-old teaching assistant Benjamina Ebuehi.

Nurse Kate Barmby (37) was eliminated after taking a battering from the judges.

Smyth and the other eight bakers were given three all-new challenges in the tent - having to create 24 savoury Yorkshire puddings for the signature bake, 12 uniform lace pancakes in the technical and a show-stopper of 36 sweet fried Spanish churros with dipping sauces.

Jude Paul Hollywood was full of praise for Smyth's tapas-filled Yorkshire puddings: "I like the way you've toasted your nuts," he said. "Great consistency inside that. Well-baked and the flavours you've got in the chicken are all coming through."

After finishing fourth in the lace pancake stage, Mary Berry was less impressed with his show-stopper Spanish churro window box.

"It's very clever," she said. "But the fat has impregnated it a little bit too much."

After the shock news that Bake Off is moving from the BBC to Channel 4, with the departure of presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, there is speculation that the two judges will not return for the next series.

Paul Hollywood previously said: "As far as Mary, Mel, Sue and myself are concerned, we want to stay on the BBC."
Fashion designer Julien Macdonald has defended model and actress Emily Ratajkowski after she was criticised for wearing one of his dresses at a recent New York Fashion Week party.

Gone Girl star Ratajkowski's outfit - a very low-cut black dress - was described as "vulgar and repugnant" by American TV star Tim Gunn during a broadcast of celebrity style programme Fashion Police.

Macdonald dismissed the condemnation of the revealing garment and said that, regardless of the criticism, "people idolise" the actress and aspire to be like her.

The Welsh designer, 45, told Press Association: "She's going to be a very happy girl. When you wear a glamorous dress you don't do it because you want to sit in the corner."

He explained that she chose the item because she wanted "attention" and thus achieved her goal.

He added that "fashion is for setting new boundaries" and that "when people question you, you become interesting".

Ratajkowski, 25, took the disapproval into her own hands and responded to Gunn's comments, calling out "Western men in 2016" for wanting women to "cover up their vulgar bodies at home".

She wrote on Twitter: "I wasn't even thinking of the hosts of nationally televised shows who call women vulgar because they can see their stomachs."

She added: "It's 2016. Why keep trying to dictate what women can wear?"

Macdonald also discussed his "glamorous" new collection ahead of his London Fashion Week show, and admitted that he has not yet seen any of the items that will be unveiled on the catwalk.

He said: "It's two days before the show and I've got nothing (yet). There are three dresses and scraps all over the world being made."

The former Givenchy chief designer and British Fashion Designer of the Year winner added there is a "crazy" pressure ahead of showing a new collection, with developments happening at the very last minute.

He said: "It's kind of crazy, people come to my office and there are hundreds of people busy working and sewing and making dresses, but there's just an empty rail with half a dress and half of a sleeve."

For his Spring/Summer 2017 collection, he said that the designs will not be innovative as such, and that he merely attempts to make women and men feel glamorous and enjoy fashion.

To coincide with London Fashion Week, which kicks off on Friday, Macdonald has designed a window display for London's May Fair Hotel, the official sponsor of the event.

Macdonald described the installation as very extravagant, explaining that the "ombre, metallic animal print" design offers an insight into his new collection, inspired by a recent trip to Africa.

He said: "Most people see animal designs in neutral colours, but mine are metallic, in golds and silvers.

"You'll see these interpretations on my runway, and my dresses - touch wood - will hopefully be worn by famous, gorgeous women!"
The Beatles on Salisbury Plain during the filming of Help

Looking back at footage from the Beatles' touring years when the Fab Four took the world by storm was "emotional and very special", Sir Paul McCartney said.

Sir Paul and Ringo Starr, the band's two surviving members, joined a host of celebrities including Madonna for the premiere of a new documentary charting their live gigs and meteoric rise to fame in the 1960s.

John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison, widow of George, also attended the screening in London, which followed the world premiere in the Beatles' home city of Liverpool earlier on Thursday.

The film, directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, features remastered footage of the band's sell-out stadium concerts in America, which followed their early days playing in The Cavern Club.

Speaking on the blue carpet, Sir Paul told reporters: "We're getting great memories obviously of playing with John and George.

"So that's very emotional and very special to see that again."

The band played their last big concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966, and had their last live performance together three years later on the rooftop of their Apple Records headquarters in London.

Starr described their lasting fame as "beautiful", adding: "People love the Beatles. We happen to be two of them and here we are."

Mrs Harrison paid tribute to Howard's work on the film, describing him as "a great storyteller".

She said: "We were privileged to have Ron Howard making this film, he's a great storyteller and I think he's learned a lot too."

She said it was "sweet" that some of the home movie footage is from her husband's 8mm camera.

Sir Paul, who said he was wearing the same jacket he donned for the band's premiere of A Hard Day's Night back in 1964, was joined by his wife Nancy Shevell and daughter, fashion designer Stella McCartney, while Starr was accompanied by his wife Barbara Bach.

:: The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years is in UK cinemas now.
Friends including television presenter Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford have been rallying around celebrity hairdresser Brenda Shankey during what she has called her "darkest days".

The Belfast businesswoman, who runs the Jason Shankey hairdressing business alongside her former husband Jason, as well as mindfulness classes, has endured more heartache in the past eight months than many people go through in a lifetime.

"I lost my husband, my home, my life as I knew it and my beloved sister and best friend Erin, all within a few months," the mum-of-two to Lauren and Will, both 14, emotionally explains.

Brenda (45) admits that she "hit a brick wall" a few weeks ago and couldn't even get out of bed. Fears of a return of the nervous breakdown she suffered four years ago were at the forefront of her mind and she was frightened, but all she wanted to do was stay in bed and hide from the world.

"I was crying all the time and missing my husband, my own home, my old life and my sister," Brenda explains.

"I cried at the loss I felt and I stayed in bed for three days. I was worried that I would start to have the anxiety and panic attacks I had four years ago when I had my nervous breakdown. Once something like that happens you, the fear of it returning stays.

"My friends were fantastic and had a rota system for visiting me and coming in and making me cups of tea and making sure I was okay.

"In the space of eight months my world had turned upside down and I felt like a scared rabbit in the headlights. I am an old-fashioned girl and believed that marriage was for ever. After the third day of crying and being in bed, I realised that what I was feeling was normal and I needed to give myself permission and space to feel the way I did.

"But I knew that hiding away was the worst thing I could do, so I started with baby steps and almost started over again.

"I started medit ating in the mornings, which over the months of turmoil I had stopped doing. I started going out walking again and I r ealised I needed to be kinder to myself.

"My expectations of myself and the way I should heal were far too high, so I allowed myself to feel the pain of loss, shock and heartbreak.

"I started to read my positivity books again and I put one foot in front of the other and just started to get through each day."

Brenda says that during this time she spent a weekend with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, who were, she explains, "a great support".

"My son, Will, is best friends with their son, Jack, and he goes over every August to stay with Jack while his mum and dad are working on This Morning," Brenda tells me.

"I went over for the weekend and it was great therapy. Ruth and I went for long walks with her dog, Maggie, and had long chats, which lifted my spirits. Then we would have dinner with Eamonn, which was always great fun.

"They took me to the set of This Morning and I watched it being filmed. I even got an invite into the audience for the Loose Women programme. I met all the ladies and sat in the front row for filming. It was a fantastic day and just what I needed to lift my spirits."

Back home, Brenda decided to start tackling her problems one by one and head-on and had a long heart to heart with Jason. "We talked about things and cleared the air," she explains. "We agreed that we had worked too long and too hard on the business to let our marital split get in the way of a successful company.

"We are both good businesspeople and we work well together, so we agreed to keep our personal life out of the business and also just to function as two business partners. Now we only communicate if it is about the children or work.

"Jason is a great businessman and a fantastic father, and I will always admire those qualities.

"Eventually I think that we will probably become really good friends, but it is all still very raw."

Keen to end any speculation that she is currently dating, an ever candid Brenda says: "I did dip my toe in the dating waters, but it didn't work out.

"Close friends were angry and worried about me and told me it was too soon and the wrong time, and they were right.

"If there is a next time, it will definitely be kept very private and low-key. That's the problem with social media -everyone knows too much about everyone else and then things can just get blown up out of all proportion.

"I made a mistake, but in times of crisis we don't make rational decisions. I believe our biggest mistakes are our greatest lessons and you learn something from everything."

The death of her younger sister, Erin, impacted greatly on Brenda, who spoke at length to this newspaper several months ago about her sister's struggle with alcohol addiction.

"I was overwhelmed by the response to the article," she says. "I had over 1,000 emails and messages from people who welcomed my honesty and who were all going through a similar story.

"Most people praised me for speaking out as addiction is often swept under the carpet and not discussed.

"There is still a taboo about the subject, but I promised Erin in her last few days that she wouldn't die in vain and I would share her story and hopefully help at least one person."

It seems Erin's story touched a chord with many people. Three girls that Brenda knew of checked themselves into rehab and many more opened up about their problems for the first time.

"Everyone was in agreement that more needs to be done for addiction problems in the province," adds Brenda, who has organised a ball and a fashion show in her sister's memory, with all proceeds going towards an addiction treatment centre in Derry.

Brenda admits that she has been so busy organising events and running her successful hairdressing business that she hasn't taken the time to properly grieve for her beautiful sister, who was just 32 when she died.

"I am great at giving out advice and teaching other people to be calm and reflective and to deal with their problems, but I was honestly running from mine," she says. "So much had happened in a short space of time. My 18-year marriage had come to an end and I had to move out of the home I loved and into rented accommodation. I had to get used to sharing my children and not being with them all the time and then I lost Erin, who I had battled to save for over five years.

"After her death I went at full speed to work and to help other people, but I just wasn't dealing with what was in front of me."

Now that she has recovered her drive, would she like to be in a relationship again? "Yes, eventually," Brenda replies. "Everyone wants someone to love and I come home some nights to an empty house and I think I would just love someone to have a cuddle with and to enjoy each other's company.

"But it is definitely too soon for me. I am just learning to love myself again after all the pain.

"I'm heading off to Palma this week with a few of my best girlfriends. We go there every year. It is our girly time and we just chill out and relax.

"This year I plan to rest as much as possible, so that when I come back I am on fire and ready and raring to go and take on new challenges.

"I have just started my mindfulness classes for children and I also want to write an audio book on the subject for teenagers, because research reveals that 50% of all teenagers are stressed.

"I want to use my life experiences to help others as much as possible and to show that everybody hurts at some point in their lives.

"I now know it is okay to admit when you are having a bad day. It doesn't mean you are falling apart.

"I will also be busy with the salons over the coming months with plans to expand the House of Fraser salon and add in Ireland's first braid bar, where you can just pop in and have your hair braided. We are also about to open in a prestigious hotel. So there are a busy few months ahead and I need to be in top form.

"Moving on isn't easy when there has been so much hurt, but you have to start somewhere and right now I am taking baby steps and moving forward instead of looking back."
When you hear the word pneumonia, chances are you envision someone elderly or infirm. An infection of the lower respiratory tract, it's commonly associated with older people in hospitals and nursing homes, and thought of as something that can kill.

However, pneumonia is currently in the news since Hillary Clinton's diagnosis was revealed at the weekend.

The 68-year-old Democratic presidential nominee was on the campaign trail at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York, when she became visibly unwell and was escorted out of the event early.

News has since come out that she had been diagnosed with "walking" pneumonia days earlier by her doctor, and was recommended to rest.

However, she continued to campaign against medical advice, later saying: "I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal."

But how big a deal is pneumonia? Is it possible to continue with life as normal when suffering, and how do you tell the difference between it and the common cold?

After all, the initial symptoms of a high temperature, headaches, dizziness, dehydration and exhaustion can be attributed to several different conditions.

"Pneumonia occurs when a respiratory tract infection moves down and enters the air sacs in the lungs.

"It's a major killer worldwide, but it's also extremely common and usually very mild," says Dr Mark Murphy, the chair of communications for the Irish College of General Practitioners.

"It's usually easily treated with oral antibiotics, doesn't require hospitalisation and most patients recover quickly. Normally it's treated by a GP in the community."

So it's a condition that can be quite serious, but typically is not. "It's one of the most common infections GPs come across, and it's easy enough to deal with, but if there are complicating factors it can potentially be very serious. If a patient is over 65, is confused, has low blood pressure or severe breathing difficulties, then that often requires hospitalisation."

Dr Murphy says that the term "walking pneumonia" isn't used in Europe, and that what Clinton has been diagnosed with would be referred to as "atypical pneumonia" here.

"This is when the patient doesn't have typical symptoms, or if the pneumonia isn't showing up on an X-ray. It's usually mild, and caused by an atypical bacteria, not the usual streptococcus. It's also easily treated with antibiotics though."

So where does pneumonia get its terrible reputation from then? "When someone is extremely unwell, has a terminal illness or is in the last few weeks of their life, it can be typical for a pneumonia to occur and in that context, it can be a fatal illness." Hence why we often associate it with nursing homes and hospitals.

Dr Murphy says that smoking can make people more vulnerable to respiratory tract infections too. However he adds it would be unusual for GPs to recommend bedrest for pneumonia, except in extreme circumstances.

"It would be taken case by case, but bed rest is rarely used for any condition like this. The patient may need to augment their working habits, but if they get lots of sleep, drink lots of fluids, take the prescribed antibiotics and manage any pain with paracetamol or ibuprofen, the condition should improve."

Since Hillary Clinton is 68 years old and still on the hectic campaign trail, perhaps her doctor was erring on the side of caution advising her to take it easy.

It's best to listen to your GP; if they have any doubt in a diagnosis, they can send patients for a blood test or X-ray. However Dr Murphy says very few cases would end up in hospital.

Helen Purcell, (28), has had pneumonia twice. "The first time I was 20, and the second time was about two years after that. I was sick for about six weeks all in all each time. I was a heavy smoker at the time, so I thought it was just a normal infection that wouldn't go away. I hadn't been to the doctor and thought it would clear up eventually. My mother talked me in to going after a few weeks of me having a hacking cough in work, and I was then signed off for three weeks."

Helen says that she probably would have made herself "power through" if she hadn't been advised to take the time off, and she was surprised at her diagnosis.

She was prescribed antibiotics, and says that if she were to get a similar diagnosis now, she wouldn't force herself to go to work.

Since news of her diagnosis was made public, Clinton has told CNN that she was feeling "so much better" and that she had ignored her doctor's "wise" advice. "I felt dizzy and I did lose my balance for a minute, but once I got in (the van), once I could sit down, once I could cool off, once I had some water, I immediately started feeling better," she said.

Campaign sources said she hadn't wanted to reveal the nature of her diagnosis in case her opposition attempted to exploit it - her detractors have questioned her health before.

However Clinton tweeted that she was anxious to get back to work soon, and plans to release new medical records to ease any concerns the voters might have.

What to look out for

- Have you had the flu or a severe cold recently that hasn't quite cleared up?

- Have you had a bad cough that won't go away?

- Have you had a fever or chills?

- Have you been dizzy or experiencing a rapid heartbeat?

- Have you been feeling very tired?

- Have you been having any difficulty breathing?

If you've been several of these symptoms and they've been worsening instead of getting better, it's best to go to your GP to get checked out as symptoms can worsen if left untreated.
Vital surgery: Angelina Jolie acted after she was told she had the BRCA gene

A Bangor man who has watched seven members of his family battle cancer has warned men to be on the look-out for signs of male breast cancer, after he was diagnosed with this rare form of the disease.

James Hall, (74), has suffered unthinkable heartache and loss over the years as his late wife; two of his daughters, two of his brothers, his current wife and his niece were all diagnosed with cancer.

He lost his first wife Rae to breast cancer in 1987 when she was just 42 and then had to support two of his three daughters as they too battled the disease, - one of them twice.

His second wife Jean, (73), also had breast cancer more than 30 years ago but thankfully made a full recovery.

One of his brothers died from stomach cancer four years ago and another brother has just been diagnosed with lung cancer.

James was stunned to discover a few years ago that the boys in his family (he had six brothers) carried the BRCA 1 gene, which puts them and their children at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.

Around 12% of women will develop breast cancer, but for those carrying the harmful BRCA 1 gene, the risk jumps to 65%.

Every family member has since been tested for the gene and some of those who carry it, including his 22-year-old granddaughter, have taken the drastic preventative step of undergoing a double mastectomy to protect themselves.

Last year, James too was diagnosed with breast cancer but, thankfully after surgery and treatment, has been given the all clear.

After everything he has been through, James is determined to warn men that breast cancer is not just a disease which affects women.

He says: "If it wasn't for the fact that I had the same symptoms as my first wife who died from breast cancer, I would never have thought it was something that affected men.

"Men really don't think of it as something that they could get.

"My daughter runs a guest house in Bangor and had a crowd of shipyard workers staying with her recently and when she told them that her dad had breast cancer they thought she was winding them up - they just didn't believe that men get breast cancer. I would have thought the same as most men, until it happened to me," he says.

"And that's why I am talking about my experience, to warn men and to get them to check for symptoms, and if it saves even one life it will be worthwhile.

"My worry is that young men in their 30s and 40s with young families need to be aware of it, as catching the disease early makes all the difference."

James has also thrown his weight behind the launch of this year's Cancer Research UK's Stand Up To Cancer campaign, which runs throughout October.

This year the campaign highlights the fact that one of two people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.

This stark statistic has motivated James and his wife Jean to get behind the fundraiser, which is run jointly with Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

Having experienced so much of it in his own family, he knows the importance of early detection and incredibly his message is a positive one.

James says: "Four people on my wife's side of the family died with cancer, including her parents, and I lost my wife as well to breast cancer so I always thought it was in her side of the family. When it was discovered that my family was carrying the BRCA 1 gene, I was gobsmacked.

"It was only when my daughter volunteered to take part in a study at the City Hospital that we found out - and it was a big shock. One of my daughters is clear of the gene, but the other two have both had breast cancer; and my oldest daughter came through it and was given the all clear, only for it to come back three years later. Thankfully both of them are fine now.

"I had retired at the time and was able to take them back and forth to hospital for their treatment."

It was in April of last year that James was told the shocking news that he too had breast cancer.

He noticed that he had an inverted nipple, which was also the symptom which alerted his first wife and led to her diagnosis.

James went immediately to his GP who, because of the family history, got him a speedy referral to a consultant. Within just a couple of weeks, his worst fears were confirmed.

He says: "I would never have thought anything of it, only my wife had an inverted nipple as well. Only for that I would have been ignorant too and left it until it was too late.

"I had a tumour and within two weeks of my diagnosis it was successfully removed."

There was more treatment to follow, with James undergoing six chemo sessions last October. Since then, he says he hasn't looked back.

"I never had a day of sickness throughout it all. If I felt tired I would have a lie down, otherwise my routine continued as normal and I got up as usual at 6am every morning to walk my dog.

"You can survive cancer, you have to be positive. My younger brother, who is 60, has just been diagnosed with lung cancer and I've told him to keep doing what he always does; keep walking and exercising.

"People tend to mollycoddle you when you are ill but you want your life to be as normal as possible.

"The treatment now is tailored to the individual and I couldn't believe when I was getting chemo how easy it was, I was in and out again in 45 minutes with no adverse affects."

James is grateful, though, to be alive.

"I was lucky because I got it early and that's why I feel people need to be aware of the symptoms and go and see their doctor if anything changes.

"If you can make people aware and even save one life, then that is what we need to do."

James is joining a host of celebrities, including Davina McCall and Alan Carr, in supporting Stand Up To Cancer.

Launched in the UK in 2012, the annual campaign has already raised more than 25m to fund translational research, which takes developments in the lab and transforms them into brand new tests and treatments for cancer patients.

Every hour, someone in Northern Ireland is diagnosed with cancer.

By joining Stand Up To Cancer, supporters here will be uniting with doctors, nurses, scientists and celebrities to generate funds, raise awareness and help accelerate progress in life-saving cancer research.

This year, there are many ways to Stand Up To Cancer and show support. Cancer Research UK is calling on everyone to take a stand and do something to help raise money at work, school or at home - from fancy dress days and sponsored silences to bake sales and open mic nights.

Free fundraising packs, which include everything supporters need to spark creative ideas, are available from the charity.

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK's spokesperson for Northern Ireland, says: "We'd like to thank James and Jean for standing up to cancer with us.

"Their experience brings home the fact that one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives. Cancer doesn't discriminate. Whether it's you or someone you know, it leaves its mark on us all.

"So the time to act is now. We're on the brink of a revolution in cancer research - thanks to new treatments, screening and earlier diagnosis, more people are surviving the disease than ever before.

"But we can't afford to stand still. It's time to rebel against cancer, raise money and save lives.

"Research is our weapon against this terrible disease and we're calling on an army of supporters in Northern Ireland to stand up to cancer and show their support."

This year's campaign culminates on Friday, October 21, with a night of live TV on Channel 4 led by some of the brightest stars in film, TV and music.

People can also show their support for the campaign in style, as a fun range of clothing and accessories for men, women and children is available online at standuptocancer.org.uk

This includes special edition Henry Holland designed T-shirts, 9.99, hoodies, 25, pin badges, 1, wristbands, 99p, digital watches, 2.49, and umbrellas at 2.99.

For more information and to get involved visit standuptocancer.org.uk
Cancer specialists are bracing themselves for publication of a research study that will challenge the way one of the commonest cancers is treated.

The world's biggest randomised trial of prostate cancer has found that the standard surgical treatment for the disease is ineffective.

The study compared surgical removal of the prostate gland  radical prostatectomy  with "watchful waiting" (doing nothing). The results show that surgery did not extend life. A leading British specialist, who asked not to be named, said: "The only rational response to these results is, when presented with a patient with prostate cancer, to do nothing."

Cancer of the prostate is the commonest male cancer affecting 37,000 men a year in the UK and causing 10,000 deaths.

But in up to 50 per cent of cases it is slow-growing so that patients affected, even when left untreated, can live for many years and die of something else.

Some specialists are beginning to question whether these cases qualify for the label "cancer" at all.

The results of the Prostate Intervention Versus Observation Trial (PIVOT), led by Timothy Wilt and started in 1994 with 731 men, showed that those who underwent the operation had less than a three per cent survival benefit compared with those who had no treatment, after being followed up for 12 years. The difference was not statistically significant and could have arisen by chance.

When the findings were presented at a meeting of the European Association of Urology in Paris in February, attended by 11,000 specialists from around the world, they were greeted with a stunned silence.

One expert who attended the meeting said that while most research results are immediately transmitted by specialists in the audience using social media, "I did not see any urologists enthusiastically tweeting about [this one]."

Prostate cancers are already classified as "tigers" (aggressive) or "pussy cats" (low risk). But some urologists who have spent years training to perform complex surgical techniques find the idea of watchful waiting unacceptable.

Surgery carries a risk of side effects that can have a serious impact on quality of life with 50 per cent of men suffering impotence and 10 per cent incontinence.

Ben Challacombe, consultant urologist at Guys and St Thomas' NHS Trust, disagreed with the analysis that the response should be to do nothing. Many of the men in the trial were older, with an average age of 67, low risk and would not have been offered surgery in the UK.

"We would offer milder treatment such as radiotherapy or watchful waiting. We are better than the US in putting men on surveillance," he said.

The controversy over the best treatment for prostate cancer has split professional opinion. Some specialists claim treatment is at the stage where breast cancer was a generation ago when the only surgical treatment was mastectomy, removal of the whole breast.

Today most women with breast cancer are treated with lumpectomy, involving surgical removal of the tumour, leaving the rest of the breast intact. Urologists believe a similar approach in prostate cancer could improve survival and reduce the risk of side effects because a smaller proportion of the prostate gland would be targeted and surrounding tissue left unaffected.

Critics of the approach say there is not enough evidence to justify targeted therapy. Joel Nelson, of the department of urology at the University of Pittsburgh, said prostate cancer triggers molecular changes in the whole of the gland, which can lead to "malignant transformation".

Targeting only part of the gland gives a "false sense of security", when there is a risk of recurrence which could be harder to treat, Mr Nelson said. There are no clear criteria of success which could lead to "technical incompetence".

Dr Kate Holmes, head of research at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "Early data from the PIVOT trial certainly suggests that surgery to remove the prostate does not provide any significant survival benefit for men with low to medium risk prostate cancer. However, these findings are from a large ongoing trial, and we look forward to seeing the full published results which could help men in future to make more informed decisions about treatment. "

Facts

37,000 The number of British men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer every year

50% The rise in the number of men diagnosed with the condition in the last 20 years

10,000 The number of British men who die from prostate cancer each year

70% The proportion of men with prostate cancer who survive for at least five years

1 in 4 Prostate cancer is often considered an older man's problem, but 25 per cent of cases are in those under 65
Police searching for missing Northern Ireland schoolgirl Arlene Arkinson are examining a new site at a field near Killen, outside Castlederg.

Arlene vanished aged 15 in August 1994 after a night out across the border in Co Donegal.

She was last seen being driven off down a country road late at night by convicted child killer Robert Howard. The field being examined by specialist teams is about a mile from that road.

Howard was acquitted of the schoolgirl's murder in 2005 by a jury not told about his lengthy criminal history, which included killing another teenager, Hannah Williams, in south London several years earlier.

Arlene's body has never been found despite extensive searches. Howard remained the prime suspect until his death in prison last year.

The full inquest formally opened in February after years of delays.

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Det Ch Supt Raymond Murray, head of Serious Crime Branch, said: "The family of Arlene Arkinson have been advised of this development purely as a precautionary measure.

"It would be premature to draw any inference from this initial report or the police response to it at this time."
Mark Aiken, whose sister Kathryn was one of nine people killed in the Claudy bombings, stands beside the village's memorial to the victims

Relatives (from left) Gordon Miller, Desmond Temple, Mary Hamilton, who was injured in the outrage, James Miller and David Temple whose brother William died

The devastation wrought by the Claudy bomb which left nine people dead

Those honoured on the tablet include James McClelland and David Miller, killed in the 1972 IRA bombing of Claudy

The brother of an eight-year-old girl killed in the Claudy massacre has demanded that papers held by the Government on the bombings be released.

Mark Aiken's sister Kathryn was one of nine people who lost their lives when three bombs exploded without warning in the Co Derry village in July 1972. No organisation claimed responsibility, but the IRA was blamed.

Papers held by the Government about the Army's Operation Motorman - which took place in Derry's Bogside on the same day as the atrocity - were released last year.

However, any files on Claudy remain under lock and key.

Mr Aiken said people had the same right to know the truth about Claudy, and called for all information held to be passed to the families at once.

His cause is being backed by East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell.

Mr Aiken said: "I am absolutely certain that there was collusion over Claudy and that the Government has information that would lead us to the truth that they are keeping secret. No one can tell me there were not minutes kept of the meeting that took place between William Whitelaw as Secretary of State at the time and Cardinal Conway, so that is one thing that has never been disclosed.

"Two years ago the Attorney General John Larkin suggested the Claudy families could see secret Government papers on Claudy, but only if we agreed to never disclose the details. So that, in my opinion, is solid evidence that papers do exist.

"A few months ago the Government released papers about Operation Motorman, which happened on the same day as the Claudy bombs. You would have thought the Government would have had more reason to keep secret the details of Operation Motorman, which involved soldiers on an operation, than the slaying of nine innocent civilians in a rural village in Claudy.

"The only reason I can figure for keeping the Claudy files from the families is they had prior knowledge of the bombing, but let it happen anyway to protect somebody.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Mark Aiken, whose sister Kathryn was one of nine people killed in the Claudy bombings, stands beside the village's memorial to the victims The devastation wrought by the Claudy bomb which left nine people dead Kathryn Aiken Relatives (from left) Gordon Miller, Desmond Temple, Mary Hamilton, who was injured in the outrage, James Miller and David Temple whose brother William died / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mark Aiken, whose sister Kathryn was one of nine people killed in the Claudy bombings, stands beside the village's memorial to the victims

"It has been 44 years, it is time for the families to know the truth because keeping these files closed for another 30 or 40 years will not benefit anyone.

"In that time the people that the truth matters to most will all be dead; it is now we need the truth and I want the Government to include the Claudy papers the next time they release files."

Mr Campbell said: "It is entirely reasonable to assume that minutes or at least notes would have been taken at all meetings with the Secretary of State and unimaginable that no documentation exists.

"It is the very least that the relatives of the victims of the Claudy bombings could expect to have that information.

"There is no longer any argument, if there ever was one in the first place, that the release of information could destabilise the situation in Northern Ireland.

"That might have been acceptable 25 years ago, but no one can seriously suggest that releasing information on Claudy could impact on political stability now.

"So, I would support the Claudy families' quest for the truth."
The Government has been urged by a former senior RUC officer to fund training for so-called 'paedophile hunters' who track down and expose sex offenders.

Jim Gamble, who headed the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre until 2010, said funding could be used to create a "citizens' army" of detectives who could be given similar training as Special Constables.

The child protection expert said the vigilantes should be vetted as part of a process that could help ongoing police investigations.

Several groups of self-styled detectives have taken on the role of hunting down paedophiles by setting up decoy social media profiles and posing as under-age boys and girls.

These paedophile hunters wait for the perpetrators to contact them and issue an invitation to meet them.

At the meeting the suspect is confronted by the group, who usually film the incident and post it online to warn others.

Mr Gamble said: "I understand exactly why they are doing it.

"I agree with them. There are too few police to engage with them effectively.

"Everybody understands why they are doing what they are doing and the frustration.

"The Government needs to pay for it.

"You don't need to be a long-serving officer to do what they are doing."

The former Special Branch detective added: "There is no way that the police resource matches the need or demand. I work with police officers every day and I don't hear them saying: 'We have got enough'.

"The Home Office is so busy looking backwards that they can't actually look forwards."

Mr Gamble urged the Government to fund the creation of the amateur detectives.

"Journalists, social workers, teachers, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker - whoever felt strongly could come forward," he added.

"Rather than sitting in their house at night on their family computer, they could go to the police station to a room with special equipment and wait to be approached. It would professionalise and make safer the process."

Earlier this year the online safety expert proposed that the law be amended so that a child who takes or distributes a picture of him or herself will not commit a criminal offence.

He recommended that provision should be made in law that a child who has an image of another child with malicious intent would commit a criminal offence.
The arrests comes after a cannabis haul during searches of a house in the area.

A man charged in connection with the seizure of 45,000 worth of cannabis resin in north Belfast has a 300 a week drug habit, a court heard today.

Police also claimed Colin Pilson, 48, was under the influence of cocaine when he surrendered himself to officers.

The father-of-two, from Forthriver Link in the city, was remanded in custody after being refused bail on a charge of possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply.

His arrest followed the recovery of the cannabis haul during searches of a house in the area on Tuesday.

Appearing before Belfast Magistrates' Court, Pilson spoke only to confirm he understood the allegations against him.

Opposing bail, a detective claimed Pilson had taken drugs when he handed himself in hours after the seizure was made.

"He stated that he has a 300 a week cocaine habit which resulted in a drug debt," she told the court.

Pilson allegedly now owes significantly more money to an organised crime gang due to the seizure and may commit further offences, a judge was told.

Raising further concerns about possible flight, the detective added: "We would fear he may come to so harm due to the loss of such a large amount."

Defence solicitor Keith Gamble argued that Pilson was unlikely to go on he run, having willingly gone to a police station in the city.

"He walked up to the sangar and volunteered himself," the lawyer stressed.

Mr Gamble also questioned the cannabis consignment's estimated street value, explaining that it was put at 18,000 during police interviews.

But the detective replied that a drugs expert has since re-evaluated the haul to be worth 45,000.

Denying bail, District Judge Eamonn King cited the risk of further offences.

He remanded Pilsom in custody to appear again by video-link on October 13.
During a struggle with a policeman called to the scene he kicked out at the officer.

A man has been jailed for attacking a police officer trying to deal with him at a Belfast hospital.

Gareth Luney received a three-month sentence for an outburst where he also swallowed a quantity of cannabis.

District Judge Eamonn King told the 26-year-old there will be zero-tolerance of misbehaviour in "places of sanctuary".

Luney, of Blackthorn Rise in Larne, Co Antrim, was convicted of assault on police, possession of Class B drugs and two counts of common assault.

He appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court in connection with separate incidents at the Royal Victoria Hospital in June and July this year.

On one occasion he was said to have turned up, behaved aggressively and then jumped from a 30ft wall.

The court heard he also arrived while his son was being treated in a children's ward.

Luney was said to have become agitated when staff would not let him take the child out for his birthday.

During a struggle with a policeman called to the scene he kicked out at the officer.

Although a quantity of cannabis was discovered on Luney, he then put it in his mouth and swallowed.

Defence solicitor Denis Moloney said his client had apologised for his "outrageous" actions.

"He realised nobody should be subjected to that sort of behaviour in a caring environment," Mr Moloney added.

Imposing a three-month jail term for all the offences, Judge King told Luney: "People go there for treatment, nurture and care, they don't go there to be assaulted and abused.

"It's a place of sanctuary and the court has to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to misbehaviour on these premises, irrespective of whatever drugs or alcohol you're under."

He then granted the defendant bail pending an appeal against the prison sentence.
The minister reported an "improvement" on the price of cattle, milk and sheep for local farmers

Brexit has helped boost Northern Ireland's agri-food industry, MLAs have been told.

Agriculture minister Michelle McIlveen said there had been a rise in sheep, cattle and dairy prices in the wake of June's referendum result.

Addressing a Stormont scrutiny committee, the DUP Minister said: "Since the referendum, we have witnessed a positive impact on our agri-food industry.

"We have seen a significant depreciation on the value of sterling compared to both the euro and dollar and this is beneficial to exporting companies.

"As a result, there has been an improvement on the price of sheep, cattle and milk for our local farmers.

"Northern Ireland goods are more competitive in export markets and the costs of food products coming into the UK are more expensive compared to locally produced products."

Devaluation of sterling could also mean a better rate on the value of basic farm payments to farmers, the minister added.

Miss McIlveen, who was appointed in May, appeared before the agriculture committee to outline her priorities as the UK moves towards exiting the European Union.

"We must ensure our continued ability to trade effectively and profitably," she said.

"It is vital that we get the best deal possible for Northern Ireland as the UK negotiates the terms of exit.

"I want to see open trading arrangements continue for existing markets, and a much more progressive approach to developing new markets across the world."

She spoke briefly about the establishment of an advisory committee to identify sector specific challenges arising from Brexit, which met for the first time on Wednesday.

The minister intends to visit China in the near future to promote Northern Ireland's agri-food market, MLAs were told.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MLA Linda Dillon, who chairs the committee, claimed some farmers were concerned at a rise in animal feed prices.

She said: "The positive impact that you talk about in terms of the price of sheep and pork is certainly true and is something I have also heard from stakeholders.

"However, those who have to buy feed in are saying that their concern is any gain is outweighed by the fact that the price of their feed is going up.

"That is something which needs to be looked at."

The SDLP's Patsy McGlone called for "guarantees" that incomes for farmers, environmental and rural development groups could be sustained at current levels post-2020.

But the minister said: " No-one is in the position to guarantee after 2020 even if we were still in the European system anyway."
Alison Diver from Mid & East Antrim Borough Council celebrates the areas success in the 2016 Translink Ulster in Bloom Competition in which it scooped 5 award titles. Picture by Brian Morrison

The green-fingered folk of one part of Northern Ireland are celebrating after a triple triumph in the Translink Ulster in Bloom contest.

The competition recognises horticultural beauty and talent in Northern Ireland's cities, towns and villages.

While Belfast played second fiddle to Derry city in the largest category, a triangle of north Antrim locations about three miles apart from each other managed to steal the limelight.

Ballymena took the large town award, Ahoghill was the best small town, and Cullybackey won first place for large village, as well as taking the most-improved title.

Elsewhere, Coleraine won best town, Castlecaulfield won the village award and Charlestown won the small village award.

There were a total of 156 entries in the competition, and all 11 councils participated.

Meanwhile, the roses in towns trophy went to Lisburn.

This award is given by Belfast City Council to the city, town or village outside Belfast that uses roses in public spaces to the best advantage.

Special awards were also given out to recognise efforts to support biodiversity and to locations with outstanding plant and floral presentations.

Alderman Freda Donnelly, the vice president of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association, said that the competition was all about creating a better environment.

"People in local places can really influence local decisions, which is great for democracy and great for Northern Ireland," she added.

"We want to champion the role of communities and councils in decision making, take pride in the places we love and invest in them."
Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy has said there is the 'possibility of a break down of the institutions'

The Executive has again agreed to block the introduction of water charges that would cost Northern Ireland households an average 400 a year.

The Executive has again agreed to block the introduction of water charges that would cost Northern Ireland households an average 400 a year.

Ministers yesterday voted to maintain their current position of opposing extra domestic charges, which involves an annual subsidy of around 300m to NI Water.

The charges would, if brought in, help offset the Treasury's cuts to the province's block grant caused by to the introduction of corporation tax powers.

But a joint Sinn Fein and DUP proposal at yesterday's Executive meeting - the first after the summer recess - will ensure the continuation of the policy against water charges for the foreseeable future.

Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy said afterwards: "I am pleased that the Executive backed this proposal and that homeowners in the North will not be charged for water.

"Access to water is a basic right and we will ensure that water charges will continue to be blocked. Sinn Fein remains absolutely opposed to the introduction of domestic water charges, North or South."

A paper commissioned by the Executive more than 18 months ago, however, questioned whether the subsidy to NI Water was till "prudent".

It pointed out that Northern Ireland was unique in the UK with householders not paying a direct charge for water and sewerage services, although it conceded they do "make an indirect contribution through the domestic regional rate".

The paper argued, "Given this predicted sustained period of budget constraint in Northern Ireland, due consideration should be given to financing measures outside the usual Westminster allocations" - and included a range of ideas, with extra borrowing among them.

"Given the regional rate only constitutes part of the Northern Ireland total household rates bill, a question arises about the basis for the Executive's assessment of consumer confidence," it added.

"By not introducing water charges to Northern Ireland, the Executive is effectively left with no choice but to support NI Water financially, by approximately 300m a year.

"This subsidy is projected to increase in the coming years. Is it prudent that the Executive continues to subsidise NI Water to the extent it does?"

In the last debate in the Assembly, however, MLAs backed a DUP motion reaffirming the rejection "of the imposition of water rates on the people of Northern Ireland",

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said: "We are all familiar with the fact that the water charge would be, on average, just over 400 per household.

"The average rates bill per household is approximately 800. For many, it is a struggle to find what they have to pay without an additional burden being put on them."

Alliance is the only main party at Stormont that has supported the possible introduction of water charges in the past, among a range of other options.

In the last debate, however, Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle argued: "We oppose the introduction of additional water charges at this time because other Executive parties have failed to tackle waste and inefficiency in their departments.

"We do, however, need to give serious consideration as to how water and sewerage infrastructure will be adequately financed and governed if fit-for-purpose provision for existing and new customers, environmental protection, flood prevention and economic growth are to be achieved.

"Alliance believes that existing charges for water should be more open and transparent.

"Households should have an identifiable charge for water separated from the rates bill, with no household paying twice.

"That would provide a clearer picture of how our water and sewerage system is being paid for, with protections for vulnerable households."
Judith Chambers, the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors, (3rd from left back row), met today at Queens University with the 10 new incoming 'Victims and Survivors Forum' members, including Shirley McMichael (back row, left)

A victims' group is aghast that the widow of a "terrorist godfather" has been appointed to the Victims and Survivors Forum.

The appointment of Shirley McMichael - widow of UDA commander John - follows a number of other controversial postings to the group, including Michael Culbert, who murdered a police officer, and IRA veteran Eibhlin Glenholmes.

Innocent Victims United (IVU) said it had been inundated with phone calls from people whose loved ones had been murdered by the UDA/UFF after it became public that Mrs McMichael had been named as a member of the Victims Forum.

"They are aghast at the appointment of a former UDA leader's widow to the forum," said IVU spokesman Kenny Donaldson.

Mr McMichael was killed by the IRA in an under-car booby-trap bomb outside his home in December 1987. He had helped set up the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), which his son Gary carried on.

However, Mr Donaldson described him as a "terrorist godfather".

"Mrs McMichael lost her husband John and he was murdered, there is no question of that, and her family will have personal grief around all of that. But what is she a victim of?" he asked.

"Mr McMichael was a terrorist godfather.

"His widow became a widow because of the choices her husband made in being the leader of a terrorist organisation which promoted the murder of neighbour upon neighbour."

Mr Donaldson said the current definition of victim/survivor allowed for decisions such as this to happen. The Victims Forum was set up in 2012 as a place of consultation and discussion with victims and survivors of the Northern Ireland conflict, and to provide advice to the Commission for Victims and Survivors.

Among some of the other new appointees to the forum are Londonderry man Donal Dunn, who was aged 18 when his father John was killed in a bomb explosion in January 1974 claimed by the Official IRA, and Sarah Malone from Belfast, whose father Michael was a Catholic police officer murdered by the IRA.
The Irish government and opposition parties have agreed that there should be a statutory investigation into Nama following a report by the Republic's spending watchdog.

The report found Nama lost up to 190m on the Project Eagle sale to US investment fund Cerberus in 2014.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) said Nama undervalued loans associated with the 800 properties in the portfolio when it slapped on a 1.3bn price tag.

An outline for an inquiry is now expected to be debated in the Dail when it returns at the end of the month.

It warned Nama that it should have been concerned after one bidder, US investment fund Pimco, alerted it to a "success fee" payment of 15-16m for three parties behind the scenes and pulled out of the process.

The C&AG said Nama was warned by Pimco that the money was to be shared equally by Frank Cushnahan, Nama's former Northern Ireland adviser, Brown Rudnick, a US law firm that ultimately acted for two bidders, and a managing partner of Tughans, a Belfast law firm subcontracted to assist in the deal. Mr Cushnahan has denied any wrongdoing.

The watchdog's audit found Nama was subsequently told by Cerberus that it had a separate "success fee" arrangement with Brown Rudnick and Tughans and money would be split 50/50.

The C&AG report also revealed that Nama reported a net loss of 162m on sales of assets held by Northern Ireland debtors in 2014.

The Project Eagle deal with Cerberus has been dogged by scandal for more than a year, including 7m linked to it being found in an Isle of Man bank account.

Former managing partner of Tughans, Ian Coulter, resigned after it was unearthed.

Nama said it categorically rejected the C&AG's findings and insisted it got the best price and one that could not be beaten today.

"There is nothing in the report that changes the unanimous view of the Nama board that the Project Eagle sale was the best achievable outcome for the State either back in 2014 or now in a post-Brexit environment," chairman Frank Daly said.

One of the big issues in the midst of the controversies has been the cross-border aspect of the deal, in particular the inability of parliaments to compel witnesses from overseas.

Investigations have been launched by the UK's National Crime Agency, the US Department of Justice's Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as a parliamentary inquiry in Stormont.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MLA has called for a joint investigation team comprising the PSNI, NCA and Garda Siochana.

Mr Eastwood also said that his party would publish a draft Bill to amend Westminster legislation to allow for joint North-South investigations.

He said: "It is time for action and certainty on getting to the truth around NAMA. This is challenging, theres no doubt about it - the cross-border nature of the issue and the resistance to truth by some are just two examples. But every effort still needs exhausted.

"It simply does not fly that any inquiry must wait for the NCA investigation. There was a public inquiry and a police criminal investigation running in parallel following the murder of Stephen Lawrence. We can and should learn from that approach.

"Today the SDLP is publishing proposals to help get to the truth. The party has been in contact with the Irish Government, we have had discussions with Irish Labour and next week Ill meet with other parties, all in the effort to develop thinking and identify how to get to the truth.

"The SDLP proposals are complementary to those published by the Irish Labour Party in Dublin today. We welcome and endorse those proposals.

"One requirement is to establish a joint PSNI,NCA and an Garda Siochana investigation team in relation to criminal allegations. Provision exists for this approach and it should be deployed now. This would help build confidence that all the evidence will be pursued. I have written to the PSNI, an Garda and the Justice Ministers North and South to recommend this approach.

"A second requirement is legislation for joint North-South investigations. The SDLP has a draft Bill to amend the flawed 2005 Westminster Inquiries Act which would make precisely this provision in relation to public inquiries. This will now be circulated at Westminster and elsewhere as further legislation is developed to make fresh provision for North-South models of investigation.

"A third requirement is to attempt to make it harder for those with information to evade any Dublin inquiry or commission of investigation. There must be requirements on the NI government, its departments and agencies in addition to other financial regulatory bodies to co-operate with a Dublin inquiry.

"A change in the law in Dublin authorising an inquiry or commissions to approve memoranda of understanding in relation to the production of papers and attendance of persons from outside the jurisdiction would expose those who refuse to share information or refuse to attend to give information. The party has shared this proposal with Irish labour.

"The SDLP will work with the Irish government and parties in Dublin to advance all of this. I will urge the PSNI Chief Constable to adopt joint investigation when I meet him next Thursday."
A nurse who beat Ebola has been cleared of misconduct over her return to the UK with the virus, saying she would never have knowingly put anyone in danger.

Pauline Cafferkey was accused of allowing an incorrect temperature to be recorded in a "chaotic" screening centre in Heathrow on her return from west Africa in late 2014.

An independent panel at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in Edinburgh found three charges against her were not proven and her fitness to practise was not affected.

It ruled her judgment at the airport in December 2014 had been so impaired by the developing illness that she could not be found guilty of misconduct.

Referring to her "exhausted and increasingly unwell" condition after returning from Sierra Leone, it concluded: "In your diminished medical state, you were swept along by events."

Speaking outside the hearing, Ms Cafferkey's lawyer said she was "relieved the process is at an end" and stressed the nurse would have never knowingly placed anyone in danger.

She also criticised Public Health England, which ran the airport screening area described during the hearing as "disorganised and chaotic".

Joyce Cullen said of her client: "She willingly put her life at risk to travel to Sierra Leone to work as a volunteer helping to treat people suffering from Ebola.

"She and hundreds of other volunteers played a vital role in saving lives and helping to curb the epidemic in challenging circumstances."

The solicitor added that Ms Cafferkey - a registered nurse for 18 years - and her fellow volunteers were faced with "chaotic" scenes when they arrived at Heathrow.

"Public Health England were unprepared for the volume of people returning from countries affected by Ebola," she explained. "There were also serious failures in communication amongst the Public Health England staff.

"It is perhaps ironic given the criticisms made of Public Health England's processes that it was their complaint which led to the NMC investigation and these proceedings being initiated against Pauline. No doubt lessons have been learned."

Ms Cullen said the disciplinary process had been "stressful and upsetting" for her client.

"She is delighted that the panel has made the decision she has no case to answer and is now able to continue her nursing career in Scotland," she added.

Following the hearing, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Sending my very best wishes to Pauline Cafferkey. Her bravery is an inspiration to all of us."

The Scottish medical worker (40) became infected with Ebola during a six-week spell working in Sierra Leone towards the end of 2014.

The NMC alleged that Ms Cafferkey, from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, allowed an incorrect temperature to be recorded during the screening process at Heathrow on December 28 that year and said she left a screening area without reporting her true temperature.

Sitting at the NMC, independent panel chairman Timothy Cole said it was not disputed Ms Cafferkey was "jet-lagged, exhausted and experiencing the early effects of a significant viral load of Ebola" at the crucial time.

He concluded: "The panel was of the view that in your diminished medical state, you were swept along by events and it was satisfied that in order to make a finding of misconduct, it would be necessary to find a degree of participation which was absent in this case."
The boat was carrying tourists from the east of the Indonesian island of Bali to the neighbouring Gili Islands

British people have been caught up in an explosion on board a tourist boat in Bali in which a German woman was killed.

Around 20 people were injured when the ferry blew up near a port in the east of the island, the Associated Press reported.

Images circulated on social media appeared to show bloodied passengers in lifeboats and others being helped by crew and locals on the Indonesian island.

A woman being carried appears to have both feet almost blown off in one graphic picture.

The Foreign Office said it is assisting British holidaymakers affected by the explosion.

A faulty battery may have sparked the blast, which happened just 200 metres from the departure port of Padang Bai harbour, reports suggested.

The Gili Cat 2 speedboat had more than 40 people on board, all of whom have been evacuated with the injured being treated at a local medical centre, Karangasem police chief Bambang Sudarso told reporters.

"One of the passengers died from bad injuries after being hit by boat debris that also caused injuries in others," he said.

There were unconfirmed reports that a second person had died.

The boat was travelling to the small island of Gili Trawangan, off neighbouring Lombok, and was carrying tourists from Britain, Australia, Germany, France and South Korea.

Police are now questioning the boat's captain.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are providing consular assistance to British nationals affected by an explosion on a ferry off the coast of Bali."
The arrival of two police officers from Poland has split opinion among the Polish community in Essex, with some saying they do not trust the police, a district commander said.

The officers were sent to Harlow - which has a large Polish population - to reassure the community after Arkadiusz Jozwik was killed in the town last month.

Police are treating the attack as possibly racially aggravated and the murder was condemned by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Mr Jozwik was killed by a single punch in an apparently unprovoked attack on August 27.

Two other Polish men were assaulted in the town centre hours after attending a silent vigil for the 40-year-old, known as Arek, on September 4.

The Polish police officers - 2nd Lieutenant Bartosz Czernicki and Chief Sergeant Dariusz Tybura - will be working in and around Harlow with different communities for seven days, and were patrolling the streets with local officers on Thursday morning.

Chief Inspector Alan Ray, district commander for Harlow, said: "The Polish government made the offer to Essex Police to send Polish officers to Harlow to help with community engagement and we thought that was a good idea.

"We welcomed them with open arms and they're now policing the town, not using any powers as such, but just on the community engagement side, to meet and greet the public and to reassure the community."

Asked if there has been any feedback from the Polish community, he said: "We've had mixed messages from the Polish community.

"Some are saying to us that, 'We don't trust police officers and that's from our experience from Poland'. Others are saying, 'We welcome these Polish police officers in'.

"And the experiences we've had on the street with the Polish police officers have all been positive. They've been welcomed by the community."

Mr Ray said the feedback has been "fairly even" in terms of positive and negative, adding: "You'll get that if you ask questions to any community. You'll get positives and negatives. And our job now is to bridge those gaps and make sure the people of Harlow can talk to the police and report incidents to the police."

He said it is the police's role to "build that trust" with communities.

"There is a fear of Polish police and there is a fear of English police, and that comes from all different communities. Some people will trust us, some people won't," he said.

The presence of the Polish officers is "about reassurance in all communities", Mr Ray said, pointing out that over the last year only 2% of victims in Harlow were Polish nationals.

A local officer and one of the Polish policemen stopped to talk to Paula Templeman, 36, who was sitting outside a cafe.

She said they were "completely approachable" and said the Polish officer "seemed lovely".

Last week a Polish man was beaten by a group of up to 20 teenagers in a suspected racially aggravated assault in Leeds.

Theresa May called the Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo to express her "deep regret" and to stress "hate crime has no place in UK society".

Attacks and crimes committed against Poles have been on the rise since Britain's vote to leave the EU in June.
Spiralling hospital waiting lists in Northern Ireland are forcing increasing numbers of pensioners to cash in their life savings to pay for private treatment, it has been warned.

Shocking figures reveal that more than 33,600 people have been waiting longer than a year for their first outpatient appointment, leading UUP leader Mike Nesbitt to warn of an unprecedented crisis facing our health service.

There are also warnings that waiting times will get even worse before they improve.

Mark Regan, the CEO of Kingsbridge Private Hospital, part of Northern Ireland's largest private healthcare provider, said that more people, especially the elderly, were being forced to fund their own treatment.

"This is particularly evident for procedures such as cataract surgery in eyes and joint replacement in hips and knees. These are really debilitating conditions for the elderly in our rapidly ageing local population," Mr Regan said.

"These patients are often in their 60s or 70s and are contacting us because they are waiting so long for surgery; at times this can be one to two years.

"In the end they resort to using their lifetime savings and pension pots, or their children pay for it from their own income, so that the parent or relative can have the procedure in a more acceptable time frame."

Mr Regan added: "We have people living the latter years of their life in pain, at the very time they should be retired and enjoying themselves."

He said that elderly patients in Northern Ireland wouldn't have these problems if they were in England. He said the NHS in England guaranteed 18 weeks as the maximum time between when patients leave their GPs to their actual surgery.

"Its unfortunate as a society that we are in this situation, but opting to pay privately for surgery is the only way to get the same speed of access locally," Mr Regan said.

Health Minister Michelle O'Neill revealed that at the end of July there were 19,849 people waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; 1,698 people in the Northern Trust; 4,689 in the South Eastern Trust; 3,278 in the Southern Trust, and 4,104 in the Western Trust. Dr Tom Black, chair of BMA Northern Ireland's general practitioners' committee, said those numbers reflected the stress on the entire health service. He said the long waits added to doctors' workloads as patients rely on GPs until they get outpatient appointments.

Mr Nesbitt said that such long waiting lists were compromising people's health.

"With so many patients not receiving any care at all - never mind in a safe or timely manner - by dwelling on a waiting list for such extended periods of time, I believe lives are being placed at risk," he said. He added the number of people waiting for hospital treatment and the amount of time they were waiting was "greater than at any time in recent history. It is not good enough that Health Minister Michelle O'Neill makes a speech in the Assembly agreeing the situation is intolerable, as if she is a member of the Opposition. She is not in Opposition. She is in power and it is high time she used that power to reverse the slide".

Ms O'Neill responded by calling the waiting times unacceptable and saying they are high on her priorities. But she added: "There is no quick fix. To be able to deliver sustainable improvements in waiting times, we must take action that addresses the root causes of the problem. Short-term measures to address immediate pressures will, on their own, not be enough.

She added that waiting times were just one health service issue.

"I am considering the expert panel's report, which makes very clear the need for change. I look forward to setting out my vision for health and social care. That will include elective care waiting times.

"The health service here will continue to do its utmost within the resources it has to ensure that the clinical needs of patients are met, patient safety is maintained and patients do not wait any longer than they have to."
CGI image of Hinkley Point C, as Theresa May will be petitioned to drop the planned power station and invest in renewable power instead (EDF Energy/PA)

The Chinese firm helping to build the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point is to submit a design for another site after the Government go-ahead for the 18 billion project.

State-owned CGN said it was now "able to move forward and deliver" nuclear capacity at other UK sites, including Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk.

The plan for Bradwell is to submit a design for UK regulatory approval soon in a process called generic design approval, which could take four years.

The firm will need to get the reactor design and technology approved for use in the UK before building the station, with one third funding from EDF.

The French energy giant is pressing ahead with the 18 billion Hinkley power station after m inisters ended uncertainty by saying they had reached a "new agreement", imposing "significant new safeguards" for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure.

The power station will create 25,000 jobs, hundreds of apprenticeships and deliver 7% of the UK's electricity in 2025.

Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: "Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the Government's agreement.

"Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security."

Ministers said the agreement "in principle" with EDF means the Government will be able to prevent the sale of the French firm's controlling stake before completion of construction, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers.

The Government said existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, would mean it was able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational.

"The new legal framework for future foreign investment in British critical infrastructure will mean that after Hinkley, the British Government will take a special share in all future nuclear new-build projects.

"This will ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the Government's knowledge or consent.

"The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will be directed to require notice from developers or operators of nuclear sites of any change of ownership or part-ownership.

"This will allow the Government to advise or direct the ONR to take action to protect national security as a result of a change in ownership," a statement said.

Justin Bowden, GMB national secretary for energy, said: "Giving the thumbs-up to Hinkley is vital to fill the growing hole in the UK's energy supply needs."

Jean-Bernard Levy, EDF Group chief executive said the decision marked the "relaunch" of nuclear in Europe.

"It demonstrates the UK's desire to lead the fight against climate change through the development of low carbon electricity. This decision demonstrates confidence in the EPR technology and in the world renowned expertise of the French nuclear industry."

Barry Gardiner, shadow energy secretary, said the announcement was "face-saving" by the Government, adding: "They have failed to get a better deal for billpayers, they've caused a crisis in investor confidence in the UK, they've risked offending one of our key future trading partners, and in the end all they have done is to pretend to give themselves powers which they already had."

University College London's Professor Michael Grubb said: "The contract will commit UK energy consumers to pay many tens of billions of pounds over a period of 35 years after first operation - to about 2060.

"For this amount, we could now get about twice as much electricity even from the more expensive renewables like offshore wind energy."

A group opposed to Hinkley, and Greenpeace, delivered a 300,000-name petition to Downing Street calling for the project to be scrapped, shortly after the go-ahead was announced.

John Sauven, Greenpeace executive director, said: "This decision is unlikely to be the grand finale to this summer's political soap opera. There are still huge outstanding financial, legal and technical obstacles that can't be brushed under the carpet."

Horizon, the company behind the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station on Anglesey, North Wales, said: "New nuclear is vital for the UK's future electricity mix and so today's announcement on Hinkley Point C is good news for the country's security of supply and clean energy needs."

A Downing Street spokesman said that Prime Minister Theresa May spoke by phone with French president Francois Hollande before the announcement was made, while Mr Clark spoke with his counterparts in France and China.

The spokesman said: "We have done a good deal to secure Britain's energy security and supply into the future. We are proceeding on the basis of robust new safeguards that will enhance security at Hinkley.

"We are satisfied it is a good deal. It is worth pointing out that there will be no addition to anyone's bills until Hinkley is constructed and up and running."

Asked whether the Prime Minister was concerned that the new infrastructure safeguards announced by Mr Clark would put off potential foreign investors in future projects, a Downing Street spokesman said: "Not at all. As the Secretary of State said, we are very much a country that is open for business and welcomes international investment into Britain."

The spokesman also dismissed suggestions that the delay in giving the green light to Hinkley was down to Government dithering rather than any substantive change in the terms of the deal.

"Not at all," he said. "As we said some time ago, it was right that we took our time to look at all the component parts of this deal.

"That has been done and the new and robust safeguards put in place for the Hinkley deal and other nuclear deals and national infrastructure projects going forward are materially different from those that existed already and represent a real beefing up of those measures."
Hillary Clinton is recovering from pneumonia and remains "healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States", her doctor said yesterday.

The statement was part of medical information Mrs Clinton's campaign released after her diagnosis last week.

Mrs Clinton's doctor found that the remainder of the Democratic presidential nominee's complete physical exam was "normal" and said she was in "excellent mental condition".

Dr Lisa Bardack added that Mrs Clinton was "recovering well with antibiotics and rest" after becoming overheated, dehydrated and feeling dizzy during a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York on Sunday.

Mrs Clinton's aides said that she would return to the campaign trail today.

She will also meet with foreign leaders during the UN General Assembly next week.

The meeting comes as Mrs Clinton tries to cast Republican rival Donald Trump as unprepared and unfit to serve as commander in chief.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump handed over a one-page summary of a recent physical examination on a doctor's television show.

However, his campaign did not reveal what was disclosed to the programme.

Ever the showman, Mr Trump appeared on The Dr Oz Show in what was billed by his aides as a discussion about his general wellbeing and his family's medical history.

However, reversing what his team had said earlier, the Republican candidate handed host Mehmet Oz one page of results from a physical conducted last week by his physician, Dr Harold Bornstein.

The show does not air until a later date, and the campaign declined to immediately disclose the results.

A statement from the show said "Dr Oz took Mr Trump though a full review", looking at his nervous system, cardiovascular health, prostate health and family medical history.

Dr Bornstein had previously written a note declaring that 70-year-old Mr Trump would, if elected, be the healthiest president in history.
The United Nations faces "a problem" in shipping humanitarian aid into Syria, its envoy for the country has said.

Staffan de Mistura put the blame squarely on a lack of authorisation from Bashar Assad's government that has even disappointed the Syrian president's key backer: Russia.

Mr de Mistura said a US-Russia brokered cease-fire deal agreed last week has largely reduced the violence since it came into effect on Monday, but the humanitarian aid flows that were expected to follow have not materialised.

He said 40 aid trucks are ready to move and the UN would prioritise the embattled, rebel-held eastern areas of the northern city of Aleppo.

The Syrian government has not provided the "facilitation letters" or permits needed to allow the start of the convoys, Mr de Mistura said.

He said the government had agreed on September 6 - before the cease-fire deal was signed - to allow aid into five areas, but the authorsation has not come.

Aside from the reducing the bloodshed, the "second dividend" of the US-Russia deal is humanitarian access.

"That is what makes a difference for the people apart from seeing no more bombs or mortar shelling taking place," Mr de Mistura said, speaking in Geneva.

"On that one, we have a problem," he added. "It is particularly regrettable ... These are days which we should have used for convoys to move with the permits to go because there is no fighting."

"The Russian Federation is agreeing with us," he said.

Earlier, activists said the ceasefire was still holding despite some violations.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces and opposition fighters were ready to withdraw from the Castello road, a main artery into Aleppo, to hand it over to Russian troops.

It said government forces will not start pulling out until the rebels begin to do the same.

AP

Syrian opposition activists have said an airstrike on the eastern town of Mayadeen, held by the Islamic State group, has killed at least four people and wounded dozens.

That casualty toll is according to Deir el-Zour 24, an activist collective. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike killed seven people.

Mayadeen is in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, near the Iraqi border. IS is not included in the US-Russia brokered truce and t he US-led coalition, Russia and the Syrian government have been carrying out air raids against the extremist group.

AP

Jan Egeland, the top humanitarian aid official in Mr de Mistura's office, said the "good news" from the cessation of hostilities was that the bloodshed has dropped and "attacks on schools, attacks on hospitals have stopped".

The "bad news", he said, was a lack of a green light for UN trucks to cross front lines.

"Our appeal is the following - it's a simple one," Mr Egeland said. "Can well-fed, grown men please stop putting political, bureaucratic and procedural roadblocks for brave humanitarian workers who are willing and able to go to serve women, children, wounded civilians in besieged and crossfire areas?"

"If they do that, we're willing and able to go to all these places in the next few days - and we are very hopeful that we will indeed be able to do so," he added.

Aleppo has been the centre of fighting over past months and Syrian government forces and their allies launched a wide offensive earlier this month, capturing several areas south of the city and putting eastern rebel-held areas under siege.

Over 2,000 people were killed in 40 days of fighting in Aleppo until the ceasefire went into effect. The dead include 700 civilians, among them 160 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. .

"No aid has arrived in Aleppo. The regime is refusing to allow aid into Aleppo," said Aleppo-based activist Baraa al-Halaby.

Syria's state news agency Sana said opposition fighters opened fire at a location along the Castello road that was being prepared for Syrian Arab Red Crescent representatives. The report said two people guarding the location were wounded.

Sana also reported violations of the cease-fire in the north-west villages of Foua, saying sniper fire by insurgents wounded a Syrian boy there. It also said three shells were fired at the government-held southern village of Hadar.

The opposition reported 29 violations by government forces, including shelling, air raids and heavy machine gunfire.

Meanwhile, in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, clashes and shelling over the past 24 hours between government forces and the Islamic State group in the provincial capital, also called Deir el-Zour, killed at least three people, including a child, according to activists and state media.

AP

Russia wants the UN Security Council to endorse the Syrian ceasefire agreement that it brokered together with the United States.

Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he hopes the Security Council will adopt a resolution endorsing the agreement at next week's high-level General Assembly meeting, which draws leaders from around the globe.

He said: "I think we need to adopt it on the 21st" - a reference to the summit-level Security Council meeting on Syria.

AP
Former Taoiseach Charles Haughey was found not guilty at the 1970 arms trial, while charges against Fianna Fail's Neil Blaney were dropped

Charlie Flanagan is a Fine Gael TD for Laois-Offaly and Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Irish Republic. Last weekend he delivered one of the keynote addresses at the British-Irish Association conference at Oxford University.

Then, on Tuesday, he and Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire signed an agreement to establish an Independent Reporting Commission on paramilitary activity.

Before the signing of the agreement, Mr Flanagan said: This is an important step in implementing the Fresh Start Agreement provisions to eliminate paramilitarism and tackle organised crime.

I welcome that commitment, because the elimination of paramilitarism is a worthy objective, and that is why the proper resourcing of the National Crime Agency and the PSNI is so important.

It is also important that there is good cross-border co-operation in ending paramilitarism, because there is often a cross-border dimension to paramilitary criminality and to ongoing dissident republican terrorism.

The following day regulations were laid down at Westminster to enable the Independent Reporting Commission to become operational by the end of the year.

The ending of paramilitarism is not the only thing that Charlie Flanagan spoke about in Oxford.

He also spoke about the past, and how we deal with the past in Northern Ireland.

He said: I believe it is the solemn responsibility of politicians in London, in Belfast and in Dublin to deliver a framework for dealing with legacy issues.

This must ensure equality of access for victims and survivors to whatever truth and justice is available in their case and provide a platform for genuine reconciliation in society.

I was impressed by his commitment to ensure access to truth, but I just wonder how far that commitment really extends.

In terms of paramilitary organisations which were active during the Troubles, the most deadly was undoubtedly the Provisional IRA.

In fact, it was responsible for around half of the deaths which occurred during the Troubles, and it murdered far more policemen, soldiers and civilians than any other group.

So, when it comes to exploring the past and coming to terms with the past, there is one aspect of the Troubles that Charlie Flanagan and Enda Kenny might want to consider, and that is the role of the Irish Republic in relation to the Provisionals.

In 1969 senior ministers in the Irish Republic intervened in the internal affairs of Northern Ireland and played a significant role in the events which led to the creation of the Provisional IRA.

That intervention continued in the months after the emergence of the Provisionals.

The 1970 arms trial in Dublin, which failed to convict either Charles Haughey or Neil Blaney, was more of a farce than a trial, and the full truth about what happened in terms of providing money, guns and ammunition has still to be disclosed.

The work of investigative journalists and the publication in Dublin, many years later, of some Government papers have helped to fill in parts of the story.

But there are huge gaps still remaining.

Thats why Im interested in how far Charlie Flanagan will take his commitment to ensure access to truth.There are events in Northern Ireland which have been investigated several times, and some investigations are still ongoing.

Some events have even been subjected to public inquiry, at a cost of many millions of pounds.

However, the relationship between those senior Fianna Fail politicians and the Provisional IRA has been buried under the claim that there was a trial.

The issue of collusion has also been brought to the fore because of the broadening of the definition by the Police Ombudsman, but whether the definition is broad or narrow, there can be no doubt that there was collusion between Dublin and the Provisional IRA.

Were those events in 1969 not one of the earliest examples of collusion during the Troubles?

So, when it comes to examining the roles of different organisations, the Dublin Government has to be scrutinised as well.
The language used by the Prisoner Ombudsman to describe the conduct of prison officers who stood by while a prisoner gouged out his own eyes and mutilated his groin is remarkably restrained. He described the failure of officers to intervene as remarkable. Most people would describe it as incredible and unbelievable.

The officers concerned watched the prisoner self-harm in Maghaberry Prison in an episode that lasted 67 minutes. Their explanation - or excuse - is that they were worried about security and feared that four officers would not be sufficient to subdue the prisoner.

Quite rightly, the Prisoner Ombudsman rejected those explanations. Even if they were worried about security, they had more than one hour to summon additional help.

The prisoner concerned was known to have mental health problems and had self-harmed twice in the previous two days. He could not have indicated his intention to cause himself injury more clearly.

And that raises the question of why the prison failed to provide a duty of care to a vulnerable inmate. He was clearly a danger to himself and should have been under frequent, if not constant supervision. Yet when he was observed doing such grievous harm to himself, no-one intervened.

Quite literally, any caring person would not treat a dumb animal, never mind a human being, in such a manner.

But then we know that Maghaberry is a prison in crisis. That was the description given of the jail in November last year, well over a year after this prisoner self-harmed.

It was said to be the most dangerous prison ever scrutinised by the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales and was unsafe and unstable for both prisoners and staff. Incredibly, given what happened to this prisoner, aspects of health care last November were said to have deteriorated.

It is clear that Maghaberry has a prison culture rooted in the past, when the vast majority of inmates were terrorists.

There are terrorists still held in the jail, but they make up a small fraction of the total prison population, yet require the most intensive resources.

The Prisoner Ombudsman reports that the Prison Service, the Justice Department and the Southern Health Trust all say lessons have been learned.

That is simply a default statement after every damning report, and one wonders if lessons will ever truly be learned.
On June 6 an Irish citizen, Professor Homa Hoodfar, was detained in Iran while undertaking research on behalf of Concordia University in Canada, where she works.

Prof Hoodfar is a renowned anthropologist, who has decades of experience working in culture and gender politics. She had visited Iran to meet family and undertake work on women's participation in politics there.

Although 65 years old and suffering from a serious neurological condition, she is being held as a "security prisoner" and denied access to her lawyer, doctor and family.

Among the initial reasons for her arrest was that she was a feminist.

The Irish Federation of University Teachers has written to the Minister of Foreign Affairs urging Ireland to seek the early release of Professor Hoodfar on humanitarian grounds.

We are willing to provide any further information or facilitate a meeting between the minister and/or his officials with Prof Hoodfar's relatives here.

MIKE JENNINGS

General secretary, Irish Federation of University Teachers
Renewing rivalries: A new battleground between Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein will open up after Micheal Martin (right) announced he intends to make his party a political force in Northern Ireland

At first, it seems like a radical expansion, a brave and open political gesture, opening a party to people who had no previous relationship with it, an extension of influence to the far-flung and the estranged. People in Northern Ireland will be able to join Fianna Fail, a party with prospects of being in government in Dublin.

Could this lead to members from Newry, or Cushendall, one day being members of an Irish cabinet? Not really, since those constituencies are not represented in the Dail anyway. So, what is so exciting for people in Northern Ireland in a chance vote for the Soldiers of Destiny? Not much.

And the more you think of it, the more the boldness of Micheal Martin's announcement begins to unravel.

He has said that he wants his party to contest council elections in Northern Ireland in 2019. And from that toehold in the north, he presumably expects Fianna Fail to build a base here that can challenge for seats in the Assembly and even in Westminster.

Read that way, it seems more like an attempt to expand into new territory and to establish influence beyond the border of the Republic, or even the island of Ireland.

This is an attempt to change the way we vote here and offering us little in return.

For Fianna Fail, there are small gains to be made in the north, surely. The party is republican and its chief rivals on its own patch are Fine Gael and Sinn Fein.

It is currently vulnerable to be shown up by Sinn Fein as a party that opposes partition, but settles for it. While it organises on only one side of the border, it can be accused of endorsing that border.

While it has no support-base in the north, it can be mocked as an Irish republican party seeking to unite the country while ignoring the interests of those with whom the south should be joined.

So, the calculation goes, best just put that right and lay that argument to rest. And how? Get a few council seats in the north and declare that Fianna Fail, too, is an all-Ireland party.

This opens up a new battlefield against Sinn Fein.

In future, Fianna Fail will not just be fighting in southern constituencies against a party that claims to be more Irish, more republican, more gaelic and more radical than itself. It will be challenging the Chucks on the ground out of which they sprung.

But will it? There are dangers here. One is that a party from a neighbouring jurisdiction, seeking to put down roots in the fourth green field, will find that the ground there has already been tilled to the limit; that Fianna Fail in Fermanagh or South Armagh will fare about as well as Labour and the Conservatives did in the north, when they tried to import their parties from the other direction. Both projects have been embarrassing.

Yes, there were always strong reasons for offering alternative politics. There was clear heroism in the endeavour - and goodwill, too. The idea was to change the map of the sectarian political battleground, to reach out to the thousands of voters who were presumed not to want to vote on an identity parade.

That didn't work, because when you have a clash of the communities in a constituency here, the strongest motive for a vote may be to keep the other out, not to get your own in.

Compare that hopeful and magnanimous dream with what Fianna Fail is attempting.

It will be entering the cross-community contest, not subverting it.

Sinn Fein and the SDLP will say we don't need another nationalist party; it's hard enough to sustain two. They will round on Fianna Fail as vote-splitters, who will only clear more political space for unionists.

Which is sad and pathetic and must change, yet joining in is hardly the way to bring border politics to an end.

There is another reality in play here, the huge numbers of people who don't vote at all.

Labour and the Conservatives and others have dreamed the big dream. They have imagined that they can convert all (or most) of those who stay away from polling booths as if there was some danger they might be infected by an interest in bad politics.

They are the real people of Northern Ireland, the dream goes. They are sickened by sectarianism and their hopes have been dashed by chauvinistic, moralistic and shady parties.

So, what if they could be reached and offered an alternative? Might they provide a corner of the field in which new energies and fresh ideas might flourish? Nah. No chance. Not yet, anyway.

If Fianna Fail wants to change the sectarian standoff in Northern Ireland politics, then it will have to offer something to the unionists. But what?

The chance of drubbing Sinn Fein? In some contests, some unionists might give a vote to that.

Then there is the old way of working in Fianna Fail, by getting out there and doing favours for people in return for support. They have a party machine that is good at that.

And with their history of shenanigan politics, they might at least keep Sinn Fein and the SDLP on their toes.

Beyond the councils is the Assembly. Here, as in the councils, the Fianna Fail candidates will have to be homegrown. That is, they will have to either be defectors from other parties, or people we haven't heard of before.

Could this be Daithi McKay's chance of a return to Stormont?

And then there is Westminster. Fianna Fail can offer itself as the Irish republican party that will take its seats and - who knows? - even go into coalition with Labour, even govern.

Sorry, I dozed off there.

Or what about this? The big one: Europe.

What if Fianna Fail offered wee Northern Ireland representation at the European Parliament?

We would have been Brexited, but we would have two all-Ireland parties - Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail - that would be able to speak for us at the heart of Europe.

And just as Martin Ferris and Mary Lou McDonald could turn up at Stormont for negotiations on flags, parades and the past, our northern representatives would be able to join party delegations to Brussels (using their Irish passports, of course), while Boris Johnson was still waiting for his visa to come through.

Now you think of it, maybe Micheal Martin has shown us all the way.

Maybe there's a trick in this for Mike Nesbitt. He could shift Ulster Unionist HQ to Dundalk, fight a few seats down there and even fight European elections.

No?

Well, it makes even more sense than Fianna Fail organising here in the north.
Ryanair warned passengers that further delays were likely

Northern Ireland passengers are urged to check in with their airline before travelling today as more than 100 flights across the UK have been cancelled due to French air traffic controllers (ATCs) on strike again.

Ryanair said it was "forced" to cancel 22 flights on Wednesday night and 72 on Thursday as a result of the 14th French ATC strike this year.

<< Have you been impacted? Let us know here >>

EasyJet cancelled 64 flights on Thursday, including 22 due to operate to or from the UK.

Belfast International Airport has said there were some delays on Thursday morning.

Passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling today.

Belfast City Airport has not reported any impact at present.

British Airways has offered customers due to fly to or from France on Thursday the opportunity to rebook.

The flag carrier will use larger aircraft where possible to enable passengers whose flights are cancelled to reach their destination.

The airlines warned passengers that in addition to the flights that were cancelled a number of others were likely to be delayed.

Lobby group Airlines for Europe (A4E), which represents airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways' parent company IAG, has called for the European Commission and governments to take action to reduce the impact of ATC strikes.
Theres a scene in HILLSONG-LET HOPE RISE, our new movie coming to theaters this Friday, in which Hillsong UNITED worship leader Joel Houston is asked to explain why the bands music has become such an international, inspirational phenomenon.

His answer makes no mention of how well he or any of his bandmates sing or play. He doesnt mention any songs lyrics, or production, or sales figures. In fact, he doesnt mention the group at all.

Instead, he points to the same place UNITEDs music points: God created music to connect people, the human heart  our soul  with heaven.

It is because Hillsong UNITED is so dedicated to serving that purpose with its music that HILLSONG -LET HOPE RISE even got made. The idea to bring their story to the screen was birthed one night when I saw them lead worship at the Hollywood Bowl with my producing partner, Matt Weaver. Matt had never seen nor heard of them; I had. He considers himself more spiritual than Christian; I grew up in the church. But both of us were so profoundly moved by what we experienced that night we felt compelled  called  to try to capture it and bring it to the big screen.

Have we succeeded? Audiences will be the judges of that. But we have seen something remarkable happen when weve screened the film all across the country: men and women, rising to their feel, raising their arms and signing in praise to the Creator right there in the theater! Like that night at the Hollywood Bowl, something about worship music leads audiences to shed their inhibitions and allow the Spirit of God to move in and through them. Even in a movie theater, their hearts are connected to Heaven.

Hillsong UNITED, of course, is not the first or only group or individual to usher listeners into the very presence of the Lord through music. David does it throughout the Psalms; worship teams and choirs do it every Sunday in churches all across the globe. It happens, I think, because worship music employs Gods creation to touch Gods spirit. It becomes a two-way transaction  we express our love to Him, He returns His love to us. A door is opened to intimate, ongoing communion between God and His beloved.

In worship, we experience what that means in a more focused and sustained way than the daily noisiness of life allows. True worship is free from distraction  our smartphone in our pocket, our eyes not working the room, our minds not wandering to our mental to-do lists. We are wholly dialed in to praising Him. And remarkable, life-changing things can happen in those moments!

We hear about some of them in HILLSONG  LET HOPE RISE: everyday people who walked into a UNITED show not knowing Jesus and walked out knowing that they are one of His children. The desire implanted in the heart of each of us to be truly known is fulfilled through the miracle of worship. And, as Joel Houston so eloquently states, our heart and soul are connected to heaven.

That is certainly something worth singing about.

HILLSONG-LET HOPE RISE Producer Jonathan Bock is president of Grace Hill Media, one of Hollywoods most influential faith-based marketing firms.
A Malaysian couple is photographed during the day of their wedding in Southern Thailands Songkhla province in February 2012.

Thailands far south is hopping as a hub for secret Islamic weddings, drawing Malaysian men who go there to marry second, third or even fourth wives without their other spouses knowing about it, officials say.

By the hundreds already-married men from neighboring Malaysia cross over each year to tie the knot with other women in Thailands predominantly Muslim southern border region, exploiting a loophole that allows them to get around the law in their home country, Islamic leaders say.

The Central Mosque in Songkhla, a border province inside Thailand, is a hive for such weddings.

Many of the weddings there involve married Malaysian men who take on other brides, according to Sakriya Binsaela, chairman of the Islamic Committee of Songkhla. Relatively few of these marriages involve first-time grooms, he said.

Today, Aug. 31, there are 10 Malaysian couples coming for weddings. Some days there are more, Sakriya told BenarNews.

As many as 30 Malaysian couples marry in Songhkla every day and, last year, 4,500 couples from Malaysia were wed in the province, according to local Islamic authorities.

Imams  Muslim preachers  are compelled to perform such marriages because Muslim law permits them. In Islam, a man can take as many as four women in wedlock as long as he can provide for and maintain each of his families equally.

To not perform the wedding ceremony at the request of the bride and the groom that we know are going to share their lives as husband and wife is sinful, Sakriya said.

Potential problems

Crossing the border to marry in Thailand is an old practice, according to a Malaysian man who spoke to BenarNews in Songhkla.

This has been around for decades since Malaysia has a strict law. A man who wants to marry a second wife must obtain permission from the first wife, must have financial stability and must follow the religious tenets, Mokem Abdullah said, adding that men who do not meet those requirements leave the country to skirt Malaysian sharia law.

Government records support claims that Thailand is a destination for Malaysians to tie the knot. During an 18-month period that ended in June, more than 6,000 Malaysian couples were married in Thailand, Mohammad Afandi Abu Bakar, the Malaysian Consul-General in Songkhla, told state-run news agency Bernama.

But this number only includes couples who registered their marriages.

Couples who do not register their marriages with the consulate will face difficulty validating them in Malaysia, the consul-general said.

Malaysian, Thai officials meet

Speaking at a conference in July for marriage registrars and Islamic religious committee members from the five provinces that make up Thailands southern border region, a Malaysian government official said both countries needed to work together to ensure that marriages are valid in Malaysia, Bernama reported.

A marriage that is not legally recognized could create problems for wives and children, said Jamil Khir Baharom, a minister in the Prime Ministers Department. Therefore, a mechanism needs to be developed with Islamic authorities in the southern Thai provinces of Songkhla, Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Satun regarding marriages and divorces of Malaysian couples.

Those who do not register their marriage with the Malaysian government could face complications in registering the birth of a child even though the marriage was recognized in Islam, Bernama quoted the minister as saying.

Since the number of marriages involving Malaysians in South Thailand increases every year, these matters have to be resolved to avoid problems in future, he said.

The problem becomes more serious when there is death or divorce because of problems in verifying the next of kin during property distribution.

Lightning wedding

Among those men who have crossed the border to take on another wife is a Malaysian businessman who asked not to be identified.

He said he married his second wife at the Narathiwat Islamic Council three years ago, after his first wife did not approve of his wish to marry another woman.

The first wife does not know about her husbands second wife  he visits her twice a week during business trips to northern Perak state, where spouse No. 2 lives.

The wedding was handled by marriage agents based in Kota Baru, a city in the Malaysian state of Kelantan, which is just across the border from Thailand.

The whole procedure was fast. We left from Kota Baru, Kelantan, around 8 a.m. and by 1 p.m. we were already husband and wife, the man told BenarNews. We only needed to bring our identification card and two witnesses for the solemnization  thats all.

During the Nikah wedding ceremony, the groom proposes to his bride in front of at least two witnesses. The bride and groom then repeat I accept three times, making the marriage legal.

It was cheap. We spent just over 1,200 ringgit (U.S. $290) for our transport, fuel, food and fees for the Islamic council.

The couple registered their marriage with Malaysian religious council after each paid a fine of 1,000 ringgit ($241) issued by the sharia magistrate court back home.

Haireez Azeem Azizi in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
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First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

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For Immediate Release, September 15, 2016 Contact: Valerie Love, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 274-9713 'Keep it in the Ground' Movement Delivers 1 Million Signatures to White House

Calling for End to New Federal Fossil Fuel Leasing Frontline, Indigenous and Climate Leaders From Across U.S.

Renew One-year Call to End Fossil Fuel Leasing on Public Lands, Oceans WASHINGTON Frontline, indigenous and climate leaders from across the country gathered at the White House today to deliver more than 1 million signatures calling on President Obama to stop fossil fuel lease sales on public lands and oceans. The event also marked the one-year growth of this campaign, part of the Keep it in the Ground movement, when more than 450 climate groups and leaders first called upon President Obama to take real climate action and end new fossil fuel leasing. A broad coalition of environmental and indigenous groups delivered 1 million signatures to the White House today urging President Obama to halt the leasing of fossil fuels on public lands. Photo courtesy Center for Biological Diversity. Todays event comes as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, ally Indigenous and other supporters wage a historic resistance against the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota to protect precious water sources; it also follows as Gulf residents are still recovering from unprecedented flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi exacerbated by climate change. Efforts like these, to protect communities from fossil fuel disasters and to rebuild them after climate catastrophe, underscore the urgent need to halt new fossil fuel development now. Over the past year, thousands of people have turned up to peacefully challenge more than 20 federal fossil fuel auctions across the country, calling on the Obama administration to stem further fossil fuel extraction. The quickly growing movement caused the administration to halt several of those sales and now to move auctions online to avoid public controversy. Ending new fossil fuel leasing on public land and oceans would keep up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution in the groundhalf of the potential pollution from all remaining fossil fuels in the United States. Federal fossil fuels already leased to industry are capable of producing decades beyond the point by which the planet must transition to clean energy to avoid devastating global warming. Groups participating in todays rally include Bold Louisiana, Center for Biological Diversity, Dooda Fracking, Greenpeace, Earthworks, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Rainforest Action Network, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands, Science and Environmental Health Network, Sierra Club, Womens Earth and Climate Action Network and WildEarth Guardians Quotes from participating organizations

"We have joined the national Keep it in the Ground movement because it is a matter of life and death for our part of the world. South Louisiana flooded last month because our atmosphere is warm from fossil fuels. We are getting repeated wake up calls and yet we stay asleep. The time is now  this moment  to end federal leasing of our natural resources and keep this oil where it belongs: beneath the ground."  Anne Rolfes, founding director, Louisiana Bucket Brigade. "As frontline indigenous community members we have to draw the line between this cultural genocide and the corporate natural resource development procedures on tribal lands. We can no longer allow the industry to experiment on our tribal lands as we experience the dynamics of multiple impacts we have yet to process. The dynamics are too complicated even for our tribal leaders to comprehend. Without full comprehension our concerns are lingering and the industry is extracting day in and day out, while we have little to no time to react as community members."  Kim Howe, Dine, Dooda Fracking We are standing against the fossil fuels industry in saying that whether they like it or not, their short term profits are less important than the planet we are going to leave to future generations.  Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Climate change is here. We're seeing record floods in the Gulf, wildfires in the west, with frontline communities bearing the brunt of this. We need real climate leadership now  not tomorrow, not in the next administration, but today. President Obama says he wants to be a climate leader. Well he can walk the walk by taking two bold actions: End fossil fuel leases on public lands and public waters; and stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. It defies logic that these things are still happening  they fly in the face of the newly signed Paris Agreement and all the other positive things the president likes to say. It's time for him to act."  Lindsey Allen, executive director, Rainforest Action Network "Respecting the land is a way of life among Indigenous people. Mother Earth is speaking to us through increased natural disasters and it is time all recognize Her power and ability to nourish or destroy us. Change needs to take place now to ensure there is no more destruction of the land and our people."  Kendra Pinto, community outreach, Counselor Chapter House "I don't believe this president is done addressing climate change, especially when it comes to our public lands. He knows the government can't keep selling public land rights to oil and gas companies while ignoring climate change. Were counting on him to step up and fix this before the clock runs out."  Tim Ream, climate and energy campaign director with WildEarth Guardians Together, standing as one nation we are powerful beings. Protecting the essence of life on this planet is in the interest of every single being on earth. Protectors of water are protectors of earth. Stand up and stand strong. To' be iina (Water is LIFE).  Louise Benally, indigenous cultural concepts, environmental-humans rights advocate, from Big Mountain, Black Mesa, Ariz. The Keep it in the Ground movement is growing stronger. In just one year, we have fundamentally altered the fossil fuel landscape and are having a national conversation about ending fossil fuel leasing on federally controlled lands and waters. More than one million people are demanding that President Obama use his authority to stop the leasing of fossil fuels on federal lands and water today.  Erich Pica, executive director, Friends of the Earth



We have come from across the country to deliver a powerful message to President Obamas doorstep  enough is enough. It is time to change our relationship with fossil fuels as a country, which means no new leases and no new pipelines, period. The people standing here today represent thousands of people across the country who are taking courageous action in their communities, people who face extraction in their backyards and those already on the frontlines of the climate crisis. This movement is here to remind our leaders that it is time for change, and we cannot wait another day.  Diana Best, senior climate and energy campaigner, Greenpeace USA There is already more public fossil fuels under lease than can be safely burned. Climate change is a real and present threat, wreaking havoc right now with historic flooding in the Gulf, and drought and wildfires in the West. More than a million Americans today are telling President Obama to live up to his global climate promises by halting new fossil fuel leases now.  Valerie Love, clean energy campaigner, Center for Biological Diversity "In just a few short years, President Obama went from talking about an "all of the above" energy strategy to saying that we need to leave some fossil fuels in the ground. This rapid change speaks to not just the urgency needed to prevent further climate disruption, but to the power of the Keep it in the Ground movement as well, and we will continue to work until this is policy  not just rhetoric."  Lena Moffitt, director of Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, Sierra Club Around the world and across the U.S., the impacts of the climate crisis reveal themselves with more alarming force every day. The stakes could not be higher  our community safety and well being, thriving natural world, economy, and the future of generations to come hang in the balance. The people have spoken - we are rising for climate justice, and we are calling for President Obama to end all new fossil fuel leases on public lands and waters, and immediately terminate plans to build the Dakota Access Pipeline. Given the administrations recent ratification of the Paris Climate Accord, we must take these actions now, there is no later moment. The people's movement, led by Indigenous peoples, women and frontline, most-impacted communities have the solutions  and we are calling upon the President for immediate support and action with those who are envisioning and building a just and livable future."  Osprey Oreille Lake, executive director, Womens Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International) A corporation violates laws and destroys sacred sites, yet activists and journalists are the ones policed. Peaceful protectors are attacked by dogs and pepper sprayed. Unfortunately our government seems unwilling to fulfill its obligations to protect our fundamental rights  clean water, biodiversity, cultural heritage, a stable climate for our children. People are on the ground now fighting for these rights, for their children today and for future generations of all species. My hope and appeal to the current administration is to join this historic moment; be the administration that takes responsibility for global emissions, and delivers tangibly on climate justice.  Kaitlin Butler, program director, Extreme Energy Initiative lead, Science and Environmental Health Network "To prevent climate catastrophe, safeguard our treasured landscapes and protect our oceans, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and transition to 100 percent clean energy. We simply can't continue to drill, mine and burn more fossil fuels while global warming passes the point of no return. To cement his climate and conservation legacy, the president should withdraw all proposals for new fracking, mining and drilling on our public lands and in our oceans."  Rachel Richardson, Stop Drilling program director, Environment America Background

On behalf of the American people, the U.S. federal government manages nearly 650 million acres of public land and more than 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf  and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includes federal public land, which makes up about a third of the U.S. land area, and oceans like Alaskas Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and the fossil fuels beneath them are held in trust for the public by the federal government; federal fossil fuel leasing is administered by the Department of the Interior. Over the past decade, the combustion of federal fossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-related emissions. A 2015 report by EcoShift Consulting, commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. As of earlier this year, 67 million acres of federal fossil fuel were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park containing up to 43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (I-Vt.) and others introduced the Keep It In the Ground Act (S. 2238) legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancel non-producing federal fossil fuel leases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, saying, Because ultimately, if were going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, were going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky. Download the September 2015 Keep It in the Ground letter to President Obama. Download Grounded: The Presidents Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases). Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (this report quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remaining federal fossil fuels) and The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet. Download Over-leased: How Production Horizons of Already Leased Federal Fossil Fuels Outlast Global Carbon Budgets. Download Critical Gulf: The Vital Importance of Ending Fossil Fuel Leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. Download Public Lands, Private Profits about the corporations profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands. Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition calling on the Obama administration to halt all new offshore fossil fuel leasing. Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition with 264 other groups calling on the Obama administration to halt all new onshore fossil fuel leasing. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
For Immediate Release, September 15, 2016



Contact: Valerie Love, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 274-9713

More Than 40 Frontline, Indigenous, Climate Leaders Occupy Interior Department

Headquarters to Demand President Obama End Fossil Fuel Lease Sales

WASHINGTON Several protesters were arrested this afternoon after more than 40 frontline, indigenous and climate leaders occupied the headquarters of the Department of the Interior to demand that President Obama end fossil fuel lease sales. The group just entered the lobby chanting Keep it in the Ground.

Demonstrators occupy the Department the Interior headquarters in Washington today. Photo by Kyla Whitmore, Center for Biological Diversity.

The action highlights President Obamas authority to stop leases sales of public lands and waters and to lock in half of the potential climate pollution from all remaining fossil fuels in the United States.



The action to occupy the Department of the Interior is an escalation of the Keep it in the Ground campaign to end fossil fuel auctions, where for the past year more than 1,000 people across the country have peacefully protested more than 20 lease sales. Todays action builds on a protest last month in which four people were arrested for challenging the sale of 23 million offshore acres in the Gulf of Mexico.



Those risking arrest today represent communities in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming, and include the executive directors from four national environmental organizations: Earthworks, Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network and WildEarth Guardians.



Todays event also echoes the efforts of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, ally indigenous supporters and others as they wage a historic resistance against the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota. In solidarity with the Standing Rock resistance, the action today aims to stop further fossil fuel extraction and climate destruction.



Background

On behalf of the American people, the U.S. federal government manages nearly 650 million acres of public land and more than 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf  and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includes federal public land, which makes up about a third of the U.S. land area, and oceans like Alaskas Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and the fossil fuels beneath them are held in trust for the public by the federal government; federal fossil fuel leasing is administered by the Department of the Interior.

Over the past decade, the combustion of federal fossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-related emissions. A 2015 report by EcoShift Consulting, commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. As of earlier this year, 67 million acres of federal fossil fuel were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park containing up to 43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution.

Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (I-Vt.) and others introduced the Keep It In the Ground Act (S. 2238) legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancel non-producing federal fossil fuel leases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, saying, Because ultimately, if were going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, were going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky.

Download the September 2015 Keep It in the Ground letter to President Obama.

Download Grounded: The Presidents Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases).

Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (this report quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remaining federal fossil fuels) and The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet.

Download Over-leased: How Production Horizons of Already Leased Federal Fossil Fuels Outlast Global Carbon Budgets.

Download Critical Gulf: The Vital Importance of Ending Fossil Fuel Leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Download Public Lands, Private Profits about the corporations profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands.

Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition calling on the Obama administration to halt all new offshore fossil fuel leasing.

Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition with 264 other groups calling on the Obama administration to halt all new onshore fossil fuel leasing.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, September 15, 2016 Contact: Patrick Sullivan, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org California Addresses Ocean Acidification as Gov. Brown Signs A.B. 2139 SACRAMENTO California took an important step toward addressing ocean acidification and hypoxia in its coastal waters this week when Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2139, which calls for the creation of a task force to study how changing ocean chemistry is affecting marine life and make recommendations to policymakers. The legislation, by Assembly Member Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), stemmed from recent findings of a research panel convened by the Ocean Protection Council  which will create and oversee the new task force  that acidification is already hurting Californias coastal marine ecosystems. That panel also recommended that the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency update their antiquated water-quality standards, a request the Center for Biological Diversity reinforced earlier this month by suing the federal agency. Ocean acidification in Californias coastal waters is a huge problem that needs to be addressed now. Im glad to see Californias top political leadership taking this seriously, but we need the federal government to follow suit, said Emily Jeffers, a Center attorney. Oceans become more acidic as they absorb carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels, interfering with the ability of shellfish and corals to turn calcium carbonate into protective shells and skeletons, among other problems. The related problem of hypoxia means less oxygen in seawater, impairing the development, reproduction and behavior of many fish species. According to a recent report published by leading scientists on the West Coast Panel on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia, current federal water-quality standards measuring pH are neither based on current science nor strong enough to protect marine life. That panel, which studied hypoxia and ocean acidification in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, was convened by the California Ocean Protection Council, which now must adopt recommendations from the new task force annually, beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Oysters, corals, zooplankton and other marine animals  and the industries and ocean life that depend on them  need us to slow ocean acidification and its corrosive impacts now, Jeffers said. Halting acidification ultimately requires that we reduce our carbon dioxide emissions globally, but there are steps we can take locally to offset the impacts of acidification in the short run, such as changing how we regulate coastal pollution and runoff. The oceans currently absorb approximately 22 million tons of carbon dioxide pollution on average every day, which is drastically changing ocean chemistry. Ocean acidification has already caused massive oyster die-offs in the Pacific Northwest, and off the coast of California, ocean acidification has severely eroded the shells of small plankton called pteropods, an important base of the marine food web. Corals worldwide are endangered by ocean acidification and some are already growing sluggishly, while other species, such as clownfish, suffer brain damage and behavioral problems as a result of corrosive waters. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, September 15, 2016



Contact: Ileene Anderson, Center for Biological Diversity, (323) 490-0223, ianderson@biologicaldiversity.org Water Quality Board Urged to Provide More Water to Save Rare Sucker Fish Colton, San Bernardino Halted Water Releases, Killing and Stranding Fish SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Three conservation groups filed a request with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board today to amend the permit of the Rapid Infiltration and Extraction (RIX) facility to require adequate water flows in the Santa Ana River for the federally protected Santa Ana sucker fish. Since 2014 intermittent RIX shutdowns have halted water releases, stranding and killing the threatened fish. Operated under a joint powers authority by the city of San Bernardino and the city of Colton, the facility continues to violate the Endangered Species Act and drive the fish closer to extinction. Photo by Paul Barrett, USFWS. This photo is available for media use. The regional water board has the authority and obligation to require consistent water releases from RIX and ensure theres enough water in the Santa Ana River for the Santa Ana sucker to survive, said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity, which has been working to protect the rare fish for more than a decade. The same types of requirements for rare fish have been imposed in other water-reclamation plant permits. Since at least 2014, more than 100 Santa Ana sucker deaths have been documented in three instances when the RIX halted water releases into the river. Each shutdown caused the Santa Ana River to go dry, stranding and killing the endangered fish as well as other rare native fish. During the shutdowns more than 1,200 Santa Ana sucker fish have been salvaged in buckets, then re-released once the water starts flowing, likely causing harm to the surviving fish. Records show that at least 60 shutdowns have occurred since 2014, but very few were monitored to document what happened to the fish. The sucker fish is struggling to survive in the Santa Ana River as it is. Requiring minimum surface water to be kept in the river will significantly reduce the harm to the fish by ensuring the surface flows upon which they rely, said Kim Floyd, conservation chair for the San Gorgonio Sierra Club. Were asking the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board to protect one of the key elements in the river  keeping water in it to protect this threatened fish, said Drew Feldmann, conservation chair for the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society. In late August the groups also sent a notice of intent to file a lawsuit to the cities of San Bernardino and Colton over the documented Santa Ana sucker mortalities  direct violations of the Endangered Species Act  from the RIX shutdowns. The Santa Ana sucker is a small, olive-gray fish found in clear, cool, rocky pools of creeks, as well as gravelly bottoms of permanent streams with slight to swift currents. Many of these streams are naturally subject to severe seasonal flooding, which can decimate resident fish populations. Yet the Santa Ana sucker possesses adaptations that enable it to repopulate its birth streams rapidly after such unpredictable events. The fish primarily eats algae, which it searches out with the large lips that gave it its common name. The species was well distributed throughout the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and San Bernardino rivers historically, but is now relegated to only a few stream stretches. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

www.biologicaldiversity.org The San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society is the local chapter of the National Audubon Society for almost all of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, and has about two thousand members in that area. Its missions are the protection of natural habitat for birds and other wildlife, and public education about the environment. The Sierra Club is Americas largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 2.4 million members and supporters nationwide. In addition to creating opportunities for people of all ages, levels and locations to have meaningful outdoor experiences, the Sierra Club works to safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and litigation.
Mewing is a TikTok trend that has blown up in the last few months. It is claimed that it can help shape your jawline as well as cure other ailments by actively pressing your tongue to the roof
Capital growth fund Attacq grew its net asset value per share 15.3% in the year to June, having grown its portfolio significantly.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The group opened superregional shopping centre Mall of Africa in Waterfall City in April. It said the development profit made in the period from the 131,000m shopping centre was about R580m and about R178m from other developments. Attacq's total asset value grew 18.6% to R27.6bn, since June 2015 when it stood at R23.3bn. Attacq's international portfolio showed positive growth both in value and percentage contribution to the overall net asset value with offshore assets increasing 34.5% to R5.9bn.

"Attacq is a South African fund with a quality diversified portfolio and development pipeline," said CEO Morne Wilken.

Attacq has enjoyed healthy income growth from its core portfolio with particularly favourable performance from the South African retail and industrial portfolios."

As much as 15% of Attacq's total assets were in developed markets, Wilken said.

Attacq's investment in developed markets focused on investments in JSE-listed property owner MAS Real Estate and in Cyprus.

"The current global market is a challenging one and we have seen its influence in the performance of the MAS Real Estate and our African investments. Our investments in Serbia and Cyprus have stood us in good stead," he said.

Source: Business Day
South Africa will soon play host to CoP17 - the 17th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The fact that CITES' 12-day global gathering is being held in the Southern African region is the best opportunity yet for the wider conservation community to free itself from the eco-colonialism that has taken hold of it, and embrace conservation rooted in the sustainable use of wildlife.

Eugene Lapointe, president of the International Wildlife Management Consortium (IWMC) World Conservation Trust

During my eight years as secretary-general of CITES and, since then, as president of the International Wildlife Management Consortium (IWMC), I have never wavered in my belief that it is only viable management programmes of all the worlds wildlife and marine resources that can bring true conservation. I am also convinced that these programmes will only properly succeed if their benefits are used in favour of the livelihood of local populations. Fundamentally, I believe in restoring the balance between human beings and wildlife on planet Earth  one that I experienced as a child growing up in the Canadian wilds where I hunted and fished for food for our family.

Eco-colonialists capture of the conservation community

Ours is not the prevailing or even the popular view. So extensive has been the eco-colonialists capture of the conservation community, and so deep are their pockets and extensive their access to the media, that you seldom hear a different viewpoint in the mainstream media. Like the arrogant and paternalistic imperialists of the past, eco-colonialists believe that the environmental strictures that they have mapped out are morally superior to any other approaches; much like their religious and economic counterparts of a few hundred years ago, this excessive form of environmentalism will not hesitate to demand that national governments and international bodies support their viewpoint  or punish those countries or organisations stepping out of line.

This is precisely what happened with Zimbabwes Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) which incorporates managed hunting as a way of generating economic benefits for local communities. In particular, through CAMPFIRE, sport hunters from the USA play a significant role in establishing a balance between local communities and elephants. This brings in much-needed income and encourages communities to regard the species as worthy of sustainable use, therefore to be respected and conserved. However since the 2014 suspension of elephant imports by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) - after a misleading campaign in the American media - CAMPFIREs revenue has dropped, putting the future of this important, community-based conservation programme at real risk.

Intersection between livelihood, food security, conservation

The Zimbabwean example is particularly pertinent as CoP17 approaches, because it is an example of how the animal rights communities of the global North use their muscle to get the global South into line when it comes to wildlife trade. But the intersection between livelihood and food security, and conservation is crucially important in Southern Africa, and the many other countries in the world where the 870-million people officially designated as hungry today live.

It is for this reason that I am hoping that CoP17 supports the Draft Resolution on Livelihoods and Food Security that has been prepared by Namibia, Cote d'ivoire and Antigua & Barbuda - one of many proposals to be considered at CITES. The proposal has been prepared in line with the strategic vision of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FOA) and urges CoP17 to take into account the need for inter alia, food and nutrition security, preservation of cultural identity and security of livelihoods when making proposed amendments to the Appendices. Supporting this proposal will demonstrate that CITES understands that poverty is the biggest enemy of conservation and, we hope, will open eyes to the relationship between food security and conservation.

The Appendices

The Appendices - lists of species afforded different levels or types of trade control - are, in many ways, the most important element of CITES. In theory at least, Appendix I lists species that are threatened with extinction and permits trade only in exceptional circumstances, Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled and Appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already protects a species and needs the cooperation of other countries to control trade.

IWMC believes that CoP17 affords CITES with the opportunity to support a proposal by Namibia and Zimbabwe to amend the annotation to the listing of the African elephant in Appendix II in such a way that they would be entitled to trade in ivory in accordance with the provisions of the Convention relating to the trade in Appendix II specimens. Our reasoning for this is sound. Indeed in 2007 we predicted, in a press release issued on June 14th, that the agreement made at CITES CoP14 in The Hague, to suspend trade in ivory for nine years, would undermine elephant conservation. We take no pleasure in being proved right here but it is our view that this moratorium is driving an increase in elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade. Like just about all prohibition-based initiatives in history, CITES much-lauded prohibition policy has therefore failed its conservation objectives of the African elephant. It has also restricted the development of human populations in the range states advocating a well-managed and controlled trade, as a tool to conserve their elephant populations.

The main successes of CITES that are usually referred to relate to species that were transferred from Appendix I to Appendix II, or maintained in the latter, to allow trade in their specimens. These include crocodilians, the vicuna and the queen conch. Why not apply the same philosophy to the African elephant as well, which is producing ivory, a very valuable resource when used properly instead of being destroyed?

By doing this, CITES will demonstrate that it is able to listen to those countries  many of them in Southern African - that have a deeper understanding of the unbreakable relationship between humans and wild species. It is people from those communities  individuals who share their living habitat with other creatures - who have the traditional scientific knowledge needed for creating programmes devoted to the sustainable use of wildlife, not the "laptop environmentalists" in London, Washington and Paris.

Celebrities, worst disease in conservation

We live in a time of sweeping statements, arguments with little or no nuance and a desire for ordinary people to do good in ways that dont challenge their comfort zones. In this context it is difficult to compete with the loud, populist view that all wildlife trade should be banned. This argument taps into a well of human emotions  and also into a clutch of celebrities looking for a cause. Celebrities are the worst disease in conservation. What good is a success story like the vicuna of South America (where an endangered animal is now thriving together with legal trade in the animals fibre) when you have celebrities making big statements about banning all trade in wildlife? Celebrities should stick to humanitarian issues where they can make a difference, and stay out of conservation.

I would urge all South Africans, both ordinary folk and members of the conservation community, to be aware of the wolf as we head into CoP17. Be wary of those who style themselves as saviours of the planet, raising huge amounts of funding for their organisations in the process. Give celebrities who support them a wide berth. Instead, welcome the best of us in the conservation community who ask you to share your knowledge and work with us to establish programmes that benefit humans and wildlife. Most of all, make your stories known. Be brave enough to stand up and go against the prevailing view if you believe the sustainable use of wildlife will benefit your community. Both human and wildlife have rights and the time to re-establish the proper balance between the two has come.
Nissan has become the first manufacturer in South Africa to offer wheelchair-friendly vehicles to the taxi industry in order to meet the demand for safe, reliable transportation for people living with disabilities.

Access to vital transport

The company has developed a full conversion of its NV350 Impendulo, transforming the vehicle into a spacious carrier suitable for disabled passengers including hydraulic lift, rear-facing seating and aluminium flooring which helps to keep wheelchairs in position. The converted Impendulo, released in August, is attracting interest from several sectors, including in the Eastern Cape where the vehicle has already been deployed within regional health departments.

There is a definite need for more public transport facilities that cater for people living with physical disabilities, says Wonga Mesatywa, director corporate and general affairs at Nissan Group of Africa.

With taxis transporting approximately 15 million commuters daily, according to the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), and approximately 7.5% of the countrys population regarded as having a disability, many disabled people remain unable to access this vital mode of transport. They are therefore excluded from gaining meaningful employment or education opportunities, and participating in the economy.

While Government and the Department of Transport are focusing on improving public transport for people with disabilities, through the Public Transport Strategy and Action Plan of 2007, minibus taxis and buses remain ill-equipped to transport people living with physical disabilities.

Useful modifications

Unlike most other minibus vehicles, the interior seating in the Nissan NV350 Impendulo can be removed, and a portion of it adapted to be rearward facing so wheelchairs can fit comfortably inside the vehicle. This is also removable, thereby allowing for versatile use. Aluminium flooring in the rear passenger section of the vehicle also keeps wheelchairs safely in place while it is in use. The conversion makes maximum use of the available space within the vehicle.

A useful modification to the vehicle is the hydraulic lift which allows for people in wheelchairs to have easy access through the rear door. The fact that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) mass ratings on the Impendulo are class leading, makes it an ideal platform for this type of conversion because it minimises the chances of overloading.

The converted vehicle has achieved homologation, meaning it meets regulatory standards and specifications, such as safety and technical requirements. In addition to providing safe transport for physically disabled members of society, the conversion is also ideal for a variety of applications including hotel fleets, inter-hospital transportation and frail care.

As a developing country, the position and status of disabled people in society has traditionally been one of exclusion. Unfortunately many people living with disabilities in South Africa have been excluded from mainstream society and therefore prevented from accessing fundamental social, political and economic rights due to a variety of different factors. Lack of access to adequate transport shouldnt be one of them, Mesatywa concludes.
Despite the country's well-developed market, less than 30% of low-income South African adults have any form of insurance.

KPMGs Insurance in Africa report cites an article by Imara, an investment banking group, that says most traditional insurers target only the wealthiest 5% of the adult population, with the poor having no insurance. In South Africa, this presents a significant opportunity to grow insurance penetration in underserved markets.

This needs to be done by providing access to low-cost, simple insurance products (known as micro-insurance) to lower income consumers, providing greater financial security within these communities.

There is no denying that the financial impact of an uninsured loss or event is particularly hard felt in lower income populations. These households and families are hardest hit by risks such as disability, disease, accidents, and death of a family member or breadwinner.

People without appropriate cover are more likely to find themselves in debt traps. They have less access to proper care, are less likely to recover from a crisis, and more likely to remain trapped in the cycle of poverty perpetuated by uninsured setbacks.

This is where insurance telesales plays an invaluable role. With 59m registered mobile phones out of an approximate population of 52m, telemarketings role in the growth of the insurance sector in South Africas underserved markets should come as no surprise, explains Rogan Davies, group CEO of OKeeffe & Swartz.

Telemarketing is effectively used by product providers with affinity databases, such as banks. They leverage the relationship of familiarity and trust to sell, upsell and cross-sell added value insurance products to existing clients.

Consumers are more receptive to a telesales pitch when it comes from a known and trusted service provider. In this space, were also seeing a growing demand for and take-up of healthcare, cancer and disability benefits. We expect this to continue as marginalised consumers recognise that their lifestyle risks extend beyond funeral cover alone, he adds.

But is telemarketing still effective in the face of new technology?

It's easy to be pessimistic about the future role of telemarketing. Some of that perception is justified when one considers the heady free-for-all days prior to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI). Unprofessional operators did a great deal of damage to the telemarketing industry by burning out databases and pitching products to wholly unsuitable markets. Now, regulation has played an important role in cleaning up the industry and levelling the playing fields.

For many consumers, their first insurance product is sold to them via a telephone call. It is their very first step onto the insurance ladder and first exposure to the concept of financial planning. For many there will be a natural evolution to more sophisticated products, and a greater propensity for them to seek financial advice as the complexity of their financial portfolios grows.
Alok Petrillo, a dj originally from Brazil, will perform at Switch on The Night at Shimmy Beach Club, Cape Town on Friday, 25 November. Switch on the Night will run from 8pm-4am.

With his underground, groovy style of house music, Alok has been conquering the international dance music scene since 2015, his breakthrough year during which he entered DJ Mags Top 100 list at #44. He was the first Brazilian artist to achieve such a feat.

Switch on the Night is no stranger to South African summer parties, having toured with Nicky Romero in 2015, regularly sponsored Grietfest and Rocking the Daisies, and having collaborations with local artists such as Sibot and Kyle Watson.

Support DJs for the Switch on the Night with Alok party in November include international DJ Bhaskar, and local DJs Yeti, Mogey, Dean Fuel, Danalog and Venture.

Ticket prices

R150 - Early bird

R200 - GA

R300 - VIP

These prices do not include booking fees.

Tickets are sold exclusively via www.switchonthenight.co.za
On Thursday, 15 September 2016, Biz Takeouts Marketing and Media Radio show host Warren Harding ( @bizwazza ) took a closer at the 24-hour on-demand home maintenance app, getTOD (Get Tasks on Demand).

The newly launched getTOD (@getTODSA) isa free-to-download mobile application that allows users to connect with tradespeople to meet their particular needs, using location based tracking and reliable supplier availability in real time.

We were joined by Shannon Mackrill, one of the four partners and founders of getTOD.

We spoke to Shannon about:

 The history of getTOD and how the idea was born.  The process of the app development and the learnings from the process.

 What tradespeople and customers need to know abou getTOD.

 The simple process of registering and using getTOD.

 We take a closer look at the sponsorship of getTOD by Builders Warehouse.

 Lastly, we look at the response to date and the future plans for the app and the brand. .

Check out getTOD online here, and download the app here for IOS and here for Android.

Episode 188: Shannon Makrill, Co-founder of getTOD.







Date: 15 September 2016 Length: 14:27min File size: 20MB Host: Warren Harding





The news roundup from Bizcommunity:

If you are interested in getting interviewed on Biz Takeouts, or want to suggest a show topic, email Warren Harding (@bizwazza) on moc.ytinummoczib@stuoekatzib.

Bizcommunity.com's Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media Show takes South Africa's biggest online marketing, media and ad industry platform to the airwaves and gives relevant, useful and interesting insights into all aspects of marketing in SA, Africa and beyond. Each week, the show features the movers and the shakers of the industry, current media trends, upcoming events and brand activities.

For more:
Africa's rhinos are seriously threatened by poaching, which feeds the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam and China. Rhino horn is a long-used ingredient in Chinese traditional medicine and is now even more eagerly sought after in Vietnam. It is a lucrative business. Rhino horn can fetch up to US$60,000 per kg on the illegal market and is worth more by weight than diamonds or cocaine.

Over the past nine years 5,940 African rhinos have been killed for their horns. Massive poaching over decades had reduced the black rhino in Africa from 65,000 in 1970 to 2,300 in 1993.

Anti-poaching and conservation programmes enabled a recovery to a population between 5,042 and 5,455. White rhino rehabilitation was even more dramatic with numbers as low as 50 in the wild in the early 1900s. They are now back up to between 19,682 and 21,077.

They nevertheless remain under serious threat. South Africa, home to the majority of Africas white rhino, has borne the brunt of the offensive. It lost at least 5,061 rhinos between 2008 and 2015.

There have been a number of initiatives to protect both black and white rhinos from extinction. These have included:

a ban on the international trade in rhino horn in 1977. Domestic trade is still legal in many countries;



attempts to reduce demand in the main east Asian markets;



costly and increasingly militarised anti-poaching methods; and



concerted conservation efforts.

In addition to these efforts I believe that there should be space for a legal, regulated trade in rhino horn. Supplies could be harvested, without harm to the animal, from live rhinos' natural mortality ivory and the large horn stocks held around Africa.

Proponents for rhino horn trade believe the money can be used for conservation. Keith Somerville

The subject will be hotly debated at the upcoming CITES conference in South Africa, where some countries are expected to apply to be allowed to trade legally in rhino horn. They will argue that the income will be used for conservation funding, anti-poaching measures and community schemes to improve rhino protection.

The case for and against

The countries most affected by this debate are those that are home to most of Africas rhinos.

The vast majority of white rhino  about 99%  are found in Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and South Africa. South Africa has 90% of the worlds white rhino and 1,700-1,800 black rhino. Both species are also found in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

Small black rhino populations can be found in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia. The west African black rhino was declared extinct in 2011.

The idea of lifting the ban is vehemently opposed by wildlife and animal welfare NGOs such as Born Free, the Environmental Investigation Agency and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. It is also opposed by many Western governments, and Kenya, which burned its rhino horn and ivory stocks at a public ceremony at the end of April.

Born Free argues that legal trade would expand demand, lead to increased poaching, and hasten rather than prevent the extinction of the rhino.

Rhino horn stocks

Swaziland has applied to CITES for permission to trade. It will request permission to sell its existing stocks to a small number of licensed retailers in the Far East. It also wants to sell harvested horn, at the rate of 20kg per annum, to these retailers.

Its formal proposal says income from a legal, non-lethal trade would:

 greatly ease financial pressure at a time when Swazilands rhino parks are struggling with the recent surge in rhino protection costs.

Swaziland has 330kg in stock and can produce at least another 20kg a year. Rhino breeder John Hume told me that South Africa has stocks of 32 tonnes of horn, 22 held by government and the rest by private owners. Namibia and Zimbabwe also have large stocks and the potential to produce horn supplies from dehorned rhino and natural mortality.

The proceeds from the sale of stocks will raise approximately $9.9 million at a wholesale price of $30,000 per kg. That amount will be placed in an endowment fund to yield approximately $600,000 annually. In addition, the proceeds of the annual sale of 20kg will raise a further $600,000 yearly, bringing total recurrent annual revenue from horn to $1.2 million.

Keith Somerville

If matched by the legalisation over time of sales by other range states, it could help drive out illegal trade. Pelham Jones of the Private Rhino Owners' Association argues that legal sales set at $10,000 per kg would undercut the illegal market by selling legal horn below the current black market prices.

This would make illegal horn more expensive. It would also be less attractive in terms of potential risk of seizure and prosecution to buyers than legally available horn.

Other trade proponents talk of a central selling organisation for rhino horn, a version of De Beers diamond cartel.

June Wiltshire, a business specialist in favour of the trade, told me she advocated the controversial approach of dealing directly with the current illegal rhino trade kingpins. The major drawback is that they dont just deal in rhino horn but a range of illegal wildlife products, drugs and people trafficking.

What next?

The Swaziland bid at CITES will be rejected. But the start of a discussion at CITES and the placing of the trade issue on the table internationally could lead to change in the future.

There is a strong possibility that, even after the rejection at CITES of the Swazi plan, the Southern African Development Community would support Swazilands position, with the likely abstention or possible opposition of Botswana and South Africa.

A much more coordinated regional plan would be the best way to work towards a regulated, secure and legal trade as part of a range of community and income-generation instruments along with fully funded security measures to protect rhinos in the future.

The way forward wont be easy.

I strongly believe that the trade ban has not worked and will not work now. Rhino horn is a resource that can be harvested non-lethally and sustainably. It can earn income to encourage breeders, pay rangers and anti-poaching teams realistic salaries, provide sophisticated surveillance and supply benefits that will gain the support of people around parks, reserves and ranches. This will help support conservation because it is in their interests to do so rather than help poachers out of dire need.

But the pro-trade camp needs to get its act together and develop a sophisticated, viable trade scheme that does not appear to reward criminal syndicates and to present their case thoughtfully.


The head of the BBC's governing body has resigned after being asked by Prime Minister Theresa May to reapply for her job ahead of a major overhaul, the public broadcaster confirmed on Wednesday.

Image source  Wikipedia

LONDON - Rona Fairhead was only confirmed in her post four months ago by former premier David Cameron, a decision that his successor has now reversed.

In a statement, Fairhead said she believed there should be a "clean break" as the BBC implements major changes as part of a new 11-year governing charter due to be agreed with the government this year.

She was appointed to the four-year chairmanship of the BBC Trust in October 2014, but the post will technically be abolished under the reforms as the trust is replaced by a new Unitary Board.

In May, Cameron asked Fairhead to stay on and complete her term as chair of the new board, which will be more involved in the day-to-day running of the broadcaster.

But the appointment drew criticism from parliament's culture committee, which said the politically sensitive job should have been opened up to public competition.

May has now decided to re-rerun the process, according to a statement from the BBC Trust, and Fairhead said she will not be applying.

"The prime minister strongly encouraged me to take part in the new appointment process, for what would be a new four year term as BBC Chairman," Fairhead said.

"However, after much thought I have come to the conclusion that I should not do so.

"It is my belief that it will be better to have a clean break and for the government to appoint someone new."

The negotiation over the new charter is a delicate process for the BBC, which is widely loved in Britain but also draws political fire over its output because of its dependence on an annual licence fee.

The annual charge of A145.50 ($210, 184 euros) on all British households who watch live television raises more than A3.7 billion per year.

Ministers are due to present a draft of the new BBC charter on Thursday, according to the Financial Times, based on proposals published in May.

Source: AFP
PwC has identified the Internet of Things alongside virtual reality and 3D printing, as one of the eight essential technologies that C-suite executives should absolutely consider.

Sarah Holmlund via 123RF

The essential eight

In its report, Tech breakthroughs megatrend, PwC evaluated more than 150 technologies globally, and developed a methodology for identifying those which are most pertinent to individual companies and whole industries. The result is a guide to the essential eight technologies PwC believes will be the most influential on businesses worldwide in the near future:

 Artificial intelligence

 Internet of Things

 Augmented reality

 Robots

 Blockchain

 Virtual reality

 Drones

 3D printing

The specific technologies that will have the biggest impact on each industry will vary, but PwC believes the list of eight comprises technologies with the most cross-industry and global impact over the coming years.

Johan Potgieter, technology leader for PwC South Africa, says: The technological breakthroughs megatrend directly impacts every other megatrend. Every industry feels its influence now, and so does every company, of every size  everywhere. Although there is a still a significant digital divide, the developed and developing worlds are using similar platforms, including the internet, social media and mobile technologies.

Adds Potgieter: Farmers in India track crop prices on their mobile phones; while closer to home Kenyan and South African entrepreneurs crowdfund their new ventures. Worldwide, business leaders acknowledge these changes, and have a clear sense of their significance.

To arrive at the essential eight, PwC filtered technologies based on business impact and commercial viability over the next five to seven years (as little as three to five years in developed economies). The specific criteria included a technologys relevance to companies and industries, global reach, technical viability  including the potential to become mainstream  market size and growth potential, and the pace of public and private investment.

What makes technological breakthroughs a megatrend?

Companies continually wait for the 'next big thing', believing that a particular technology trend either wont amount to much or that it wont affect their industries for years to come. But disruptions are happening today at a faster rate and higher volume than ever before. Innovations throughout history have tipped the balance in favour of the innovators. In that sense, technological breakthroughs are the original megatrend. The ubiquity of technology, with increased accessibility, reach, depth, and impact are what will expedite adoption of the essential eight.

Key questions and actions for the C-suite

The report suggests that the essential eight technologies will shake up companies business models in both beneficial and challenging ways. Across industries and regions, the emerging technology megatrend will influence strategy, customer engagement, operations and compliance.

As a result, leadership teams should find effective answers to three fundamental questions:

 Do we have a sustainable innovation strategy and process?

 Have we quantified the impact of new technologies? If not, how can we do that  and how soon?

 Do we have an emerging technologies road map? If so, are we keeping it up to date?

According to PwCs report, executives should not treat the essential eight technologies as a sort of checklist to delegate to the CIO. Instead, CEOs must take very seriously their own obligations to turn these technologies to strategic advantage  and to protect their own organisations against others using the technologies for advantage.

Before developing an innovation strategy and exploring and quantifying emerging technologies, executives should educate (or re-familiarise) themselves with these technologies and what they can do.
The Togo government, with the help of the African Development Bank, is targeting 3 million Togolese farmers - representing 70% of its total population - providing subsidies to farmers through electronic wallets provided by mobile network operators.

Togo governement signs up farmers

Also on board are the mobile network operators in Togo, in supporting the cost of 107,000 SIM cards; and prefunding a communication campaign; and establishing call centres for customer support as part of their corporate social responsibility.

After its success in Liberia, the African Development Bank is supporting this digital payment project in line with its agriculture transformation agenda. AGRIPME (Agri Porte Monnaie Electronique) is a joint project of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Digital Economy in Togo aiming to provide subsidies to farmers through electronic wallets provided by mobile network operators MOOV and TOGOCEL.

To date, 76,522 out of 150,000 small-scale farmers have been identified and registered, allowing them to benefit from a US $1.3 million subsidy to buy inputs. The Government is essentially aiming to establish a secure database of small-holder farmers, the digitalisation of input acquisition and the selection of input suppliers for fertilisers distribution.

This innovative input distribution mechanism is based on the fact that Togo is among of the lowest users of fertilisers in the world. Prior to the ongoing reform of the agricultural sector, approximately 6 kilograms of fertilisers per acre were used in Togo, against the recommended 50 kg for good agricultural performance. Key components of the project were related to farmers' registration, wallet openings, capacity building and sensitisation, technical assistance and setting up an agricultural information system.

In a second phase of the project and to speed up results, the Government of Togo will look to leverage on the latest innovative technologies, such as geospatial mapping and biometric identification.

The long-term impact of this digital payment innovation resides in an opportunity for more than half the population to be recognised in the financial system and aspire to additional financial services and improved well-being.

The Togo e-registration of small-scale farmers is encouraging as it demonstrates the role and potential of the private sector in catalysing the agricultural production by digitally empowering a traditionally excluded portion of the population, making them more attractive to financial institutions.
The European Parliament has approved an agreement granting duty-free access to the EU for products from Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, and improved market access for South Africa.

This agreement will help our African partner states to reduce poverty and can also facilitate their smooth and gradual integration into the world economy. There are also many safeguards in the deal to ensure that local people truly benefit from this cooperation. The language on human rights and sustainable development is one of the strongest that you will find in any EU agreement, said rapporteur Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (ALDE, DE), before the vote.

MEPs approved the deal by 417 votes to 216, with 66 abstentions.

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with six member states of the South African Development Community (SADC), establishes a "positive discrimination", ensuring immediate duty- and quota-free access for their exports to the EU market. It also creates new regional opportunities through more flexible use of rules of origin.

The African countries will liberalise 86% of their trade with the EU (Mozambique 74%) over 10 years, with the exception of agricultural and fishery products. The deal replaces the previous interim agreements based on unilateral trade preferences and complies with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

This agreement will help African partner states to reduce poverty and can also facilitate their smooth and gradual integration into the world economy.

While the agreement covers only trade and development cooperation, it leaves the door open for services, investment, intellectual property and public procurement. To mitigate potential negative impacts on the SADC countries, several safeguards were added to the deal. The EU undertook not to subsidise its agricultural exports to these countries.

The deal also lists trade-related areas that could benefit from EU development cooperation funding, but none is pledged at this stage.

Monitoring

In a July resolution, international trade MEPs advocated strengthening the monitoring of the agreement to ensure that its benefits for the people are maximised. The committee also tabled an oral question to the Commission for this plenary on parliamentary oversight and civil society monitoring.

The deal will enter into force once the Council formally approves it and the national parliaments of the six African states ratify the text.
WASHINGTON, USA - Facebook, Twitter and news organisations including Agence France-Presse, have joined a coalition of media and technology groups seeking to filter out online misinformation and improve news quality on social networks.

Image by 123RF

First Draft News, which is backed by Google, announced Tuesday that some 20 news organisations will be part of its partner network to share information on best practices for journalism in the online age.

Jenni Sargent, managing director of First Draft, said the partner network will help advance the organisation's goal of improving news online and on social networks.

"Filtering out false information can be hard. Even if news organisations only share fact-checked and verified stories, everyone is a publisher and a potential source," she said in a blog post. "We are not going to solve these problems overnight, but we're certainly not going to solve them as individual organisations."

Sargent said the coalition will develop training programs and "a collaborative verification platform", as well as a voluntary code of practice for online news.

"We live in a time when trust and truth are issues that all newsrooms, and increasingly the social platforms themselves, are facing," she said. "Each partner is committed to sharing knowledge, developing policies and devising training in how journalists use the social web to find and report news."

The announcement comes amid concerns over the growing role of social networks, especially Facebook, in delivering and filtering news, and sometimes allowing hoaxes and misinformation to proliferate.

The partner network includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, The New York Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, CNN, ABC News of Australia, ProPublica, AFP, The Telegraph, France Info, Breaking News, Le Monde's Les Decodeurs, International Business Times UK, Eurovision News Exchange and Al Jazeera Media Network.

Other organisations in the network include Amnesty International, European Journalism Centre, American Press Institute, International Fact Checking Network and Duke Reporters' Lab."

First Draft was formed last year with support from Google News Lab and has worked with YouTube on verifying user-generated videos, among other projects.

Source: AFP.
Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com.
Mobile is now dominating the retail landscape in the UK, found Criteos latest State of Mobile Commerce Report. Retailers can no longer ignore mobile  whether apps or the mobile web  as well as mobile targeting strategies if they want to engage shoppers.

The UK, along with Japan, have surpassed parity with desktop and now sell more on mobile devices. Meanwhile, Australia, Brazil and France have all witnessed the biggest year-over-year increases in mobiles share of retail transactions. Furthermore, highlighting the effectiveness of mobile-friendly sites, those countries with the highest percentage of such sites  Japan, Australia and South Korea  saw the greatest share of mobile transaction. Mobile conversion rates are highest in the UK, Japan and South Korea.

Mobile commerce has reached a turning point and is surpassing desktop purchasing as retailers continue to evolve their mobile shopping platforms, said Elie Kanaan, EVP, Marketing, Criteo. Retailers need to create a truly seamless mobile and cross-device experience and be prepared to engage with users no matter where they are along the path to purchase. Brands that master the mobile trend will have a head start on competitors and the momentum to lead the pack through the shopping seasons ahead.
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 []
President Obama signed a proclamation to reinstate Myanmars eligibility to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program that allows certain goods from developing countries to enter the U.S. duty free.



President Obama on Wednesday signed a proclamation to reinstate Myanmars eligibility to participate in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which allows certain goods from developing countries to enter the United States duty free.

The reinstatement of Myanmar (Burma) to the program will take effect Nov. 13.

We see Burmas democratically-elected government giving new hope to its people, making commitments to continue implementing reforms that strengthen workers voices, and working to combat forced and child labor, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a statement. We have partnered with Burma to support many of these reforms in the past and will continue to do so with GSP in place.

The U.S. suspended the countrys GSP benefits in 1989 due to worker rights concerns. After Myanmar requested reinstatement in 2013, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) led an extensive review of the countrys compliance with all of the GSP eligibility criteria, and in particular, of its recent record of labor reforms and strengthened worker protections.

Since the democratic government took office in March 2016, senior government officials, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and joined by the countrys business and labor leaders, have worked with the U.S. on labor issues, USTR said.

Access to GSP will give Myanmar the opportunity to export about 5,000 products to the U.S. duty-free.

The GSP program was created by the Trade Act of 1974 to promote economic development of developing nations. Under the program, 122 developing countries export about 3,500 different products duty-free to the U.S. The least developed countries, such as Myanmar, are eligible to export another 1,500 products duty-free.

According to the USTR, exports that entered the U.S. duty-free in 2015 under the GSP program from all countries totaled about $17.7 billion.

Myanmars exports to the U.S. have grown from $38,000 in 2012 to $142 million in 2015. These exports include GSP-eligible goods such as dried peas, rattan and wood products, and travel goods.

The USTR noted that Myanmar regained similar preferential trade benefits under the European Unions GSP program in July 2013. Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia have also recently included the country in their GSP programs.
The Burma Army stopped four trucks loaded with rice, cooking oil and beans donated by the WFP from leaving Namhkam to go to Man Win IDP Camp in Kachin State.

A local Christian priest who is helping the IDPs in Man Win IDP Camp said that over 3,000 people in the camp now do not have enough rice to make rice porridge because they have not received their monthly supply of rice from the WFP.

He said that the rice was still in a warehouse in Namhkam, where it had been for over 20 days.

Man Win IDP Camp is made up of four smaller camps. They are KBC-1 and KBC-2, which are under the charge of the Kachin Baptist Convention and RCM-1 and RCM-2, which are under the charge of the Roman Catholic Mission (RCM).

Many IDPs have also been taking refuge in the homes of relatives in the village of Man Win.

Groups providing assistance to the IDPs told K.N.G. that the WFP food supplies destined for Man Win IDP Camp had been seized due to joint instructions issued by the Burma Army commanders of the North Eastern Command and the Northern Command.

There have been rumours claiming that the Burma Army believed that the rice was going to ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and that there is no longer any need for rice at Man Win IDP Camp because the IDPs have left the camp.

Similarly, on 25 August the Burma Army prevented a KBC vehicle from delivering medicines donated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) to four Kachin IDP on the Burmese side of the border with China. They stopped the vehicle at the Sinlum camp on Myitkyina-Lwal Jal Road and confiscated some of the medicines.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
Both sides exchanged fire after two sentries from the KNU Brigade 7 Special Column fired at a company from the Burma Army 202nd Light Infantry Battalion under the 22nd Light Infantry Division after they entered a KNU-restricted area without informing them.

The KNU are one of the eight ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) that signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the government in 2015.

Maj Saw Tar Ma Lar, the commander of the KNU Brigade 7 Special Column said to KIC News: We need to inform each other before travelling from one area to another. The Burma Army didnt inform us that they would be in the specified area [restricted area] so the skirmish broke out.

He also said that as far as he knew the Burma Army had suffered no casualties in the skirmish, but KIC News was unable to confirm this.

Major Saw Zorro, head of the KNU Brigade 7 Liaison Office said such incidents should not be happening while the Burma Army and the KNU are trying to strengthen the ceasefire in order to implement peace.

He said: We didnt want to shoot them. Everyone should be staying in their own areas that were agreed upon during meetings. Such incidents wouldnt happen if each side informed the other before moving [out of their area].

He also said that the Burma Army had not responded to the KNU Brigade 7 Liaison Offices enquiries or given them any information about the incident.

After the skirmish the Burma Army troops retreated from the KNU Brigade 7 controlled area and the situation is now stable.

A skirmish previously broke out between troops from KNU Brigade 5 and the Border Guard Force in the Wegyi area of Htee Tha Daunt Htar Village Group in Hpapun Township, Karen State on 16 August.

Reporting by SPhan Shaung for KIC News

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
Thus far, during the new governments term, over 100 companies, including social development groups, financial loan companies and foreign investors, have met with the Mon State Government.

There are companies that want to invest in our state and come meet with us. Lots of business representatives come to meet us and propose their investments. However, we have only started reviewing their proposals at the moment, and therefore, we have not permitted any of them yet, said U Htun Htay, Mon States Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Transportation.

Regarding the big business investments, the State government cannot make decisions and such companies must submit their proposals to the Union Government. That said, the state government has the right to approve the investment or forbid it.

In terms of the investment size, the Union Government has entitled the state government to make decisions on investment that is more or less 5 million USD. How considerably the state government can make these decisions is uncertain, said Minister U Htun Htay.

Foreign companies that have investment interests in Mon State included those in the U.S., Germany and the U.K as well as Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The June Cement Industry Ltd is the last company that received approval from the Thein Sein Government on March 25, 2016, one week before it left office. A project proposal that was also in Mon State.

Meanwhile, the locals in Pyar Taung area, Kyaikmayaw Township and Inndin area, Ye Township, are still opposing the planned coal fired plant to run MCLs factory in the Pyar Taung area as well as the proposed coal-fired plant in Inndin area that would produce electricity.

It was reported that after the new government took office, the country received US$900 million and has provided more than 50,000 job opportunities, according to U Aung Naing Oo, secretary of Myanmar Investment Commission.
In a world where a blog is created every second does the world really need another blog? Well, it's got one. An irregular set of postings, weaving an intricate pattern around a diverse set of subjects. Comment on culture, technology, politics and the occasional rant about life. Alan ... in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens.
Disclaimer Everything here is fiction. If you have any thoughts about me, I have but one advice: shine it up real nice, roll it up real tight, turn that sumbitch sideways, and shove it up your ass.

Fucking Stats NO! I do not want to know how many thousands of people read my shit. And NO! I don't want to know who!
As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.
In this article I am going to argue that the " war on drugs " has been a catastrophic failure, and that it is about time the UK...
Our struggle is to bring social, political, and economic justice to our nation. This is an effort of the Chicano/Mexican American Digital History Project. https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/
I don't know how many young women come to this blog or how many are parents of teenage or young adult women, but here are some safety tips from Kelsey's Army:

T

I

P

S

1. Trust your instincts - If something feels wrong then something probably is wrong.2. Know your surroundings - know who and what is around you.3. Always have a plan for where you would go and what you would do if a situation arises.4. Be willing to make a scene in order to be noticed.5. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.Remember the acronym TIPS:ake Chargenform others of your whereaboutsrepare for any situationurvival Mentality (role play situations so you will respond should they happen)For more information, go to Kelsey's Army




MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (PTI): The second ship of the Project 15B, a guided missile destroyer christened 'Mormugao' for Indian Navy, will be launched in Mumbai on September 17.



The Mazgoan shipyard, which is building the warship, will also outsource work for 10 blocks to involve private ship building yard in the programme.



The Navy aims to take the level of indigenisation by the navy to 68 per cent in this project.



It said it has set a target of 2018 for the first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) while the government is seriously considering IAC 2 and it is in planning stage.



Vice Admiral G S Pabby, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition, said the navy has the target of having 212 ships in its fleet by 2027 and it will be a "real challenge" and there is a need to work "very hard" for it.



Noting that in last one year the Indian navy has inducted five ships, which includes three warships, Pabby said this is the first time the naval forces have built so many ships of a class, - 10 ships of 15, A and B class - and this process has helped in indigenisation.



In 2011, the government had sanctioned four 15B ships at a cost of Rs 29,700 crores.



The first ship of the project, guided-missile destroyer 'Visakhapatnam', was launched on April 20 last year.



During launching ceremony, the hull of the ship which is constructed on dry area, is floated on water for the first time. It is a milestone event for any vessel.



"The last six years can be called the golden years of Mazagon Dock shipbuilders. Since 2010, the yard has delivered one major warship platform to Indian Navy almost every year.



"Commencing with the high-end stealth frigate INS Shivalik, delivered in 2010, the yard dedicated to the nation INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri in the same class.



"This was followed by the highly acclaimed stealth destroyer INS Kolkata sporting a unique silhouette afforded by MF STAR antenna and INS Kochi in subsequent years. The third and last destroyer in this series, Chennai was delivered to the Navy in August 2016 and will be commissioned shortly," it said.



MDL is also constructing six Scorpene class submarines for the Indian Navy under a transfer of technology from DCNS of France. The first boat in this class, Kalvari, will be commissioned into the fleet soon. The launch of the second boat is slated for later this year.



The yard is now ready with the augmented facility created recently for a second line of submarines.



For the first time in its history, Mazagon Dock in 2015-16 achieved a value of production (VOP) above Rs 4,000 crore with an operating profit of Rs 218 crore.


YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh says the Azerbaijani side made over 25 ceasefire violations at the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijani line of contact.

The Ministrys announcement reads: Overnight September 14-15 the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime over 25 times by firing more than 230 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions across Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact.

The Defense Army forces refrained from taking counter measures and continued confidently fulfilling their military tasks.
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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon man has been acquitted of all charges in relation to a pair of crimes that included a high-profile gun store burglary in which 13 semi-automatic handguns were stolen.

Justice Sandra Zinchuk delivered the verdicts in Brandon Court of Queens Bench on Wednesday, after previously reserving her decision.

The Crowns star witness was a co-accused with a criminal history who the judge simply didnt find convincing.

When I look at the items of confirmatory evidence, and the context of the case as a whole, I cannot say that they give me comfort that Mr. Trask is telling the truth and that Mr. Wigman committed the offences, Zinchuk said.

Andrew Patrick Wigman was accused of directing co-accused and former prison mate William Charles Trask to commit a break-in to Jo-Brook Firearms and an attempted break-in to Sobeys Cash and Carry.

During the trial held in March, Trask accused Wigman of leading him to believe he had ties to organized crime. Trask claimed Wigman had bullied and threatened him into committing the break-and-enters.

Wigman also took the stand, and accused Trask of trying to frame him. He denied bullying Trask and knowing about the break-ins or the guns.

The case dates back to July 2012, when Jo-Brook Firearms was broken into and 13 semi-automatic handguns were stolen.

In February, 31-year-old Trask was sentenced to seven years in prison for prying open the back door of the store, forcing open a gun case and making off with the guns.

Two of the handguns later turned up under troubling circumstances. One was found lying next to a man in Thompson who had killed himself. Another was found in possession of a known gang member during a shooting investigation in Edmonton.

Even prior to his arrest, Trask pointed the finger at Wigman.

Initially, he submitted an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip in which he implicated himself by telling cops that he and Wigman were going to break into the cash and carry.

Trask then showed up at the police station and accused Wigman of taking part in the Jo-Brook gun theft and selling the guns. One of the handguns could be found at the home of Wigmans parents who had no idea it was there.

As a result, police had Trask and Wigman under surveillance in the early morning of July 25, 2013, during the attempted break-in by Trask to the cash and carry.

During that surveillance, police watched as Wigman boosted Trask onto the roof of the business. Trask cut wires in an attempt to disable the alarm, but in the end the burglary never happened.

Wigman, however, said Trask had gotten him out of bed in the middle of the night to help push out the vehicle of a friend that got stuck in the mud near the cash and carry.

There was no vehicle, Wigman said, but Trask got him to unwittingly give him the boost before going home.

Wigmans lawyer suggested Trask had set the whole thing up to give credibility to his story that hed acted under duress.

Meanwhile, police had seen what they needed to get search warrants and raid the home of Wigmans parents, where Trask was living in the basement, and found one of the Jo-Brook guns hidden under the stairs.

Trask and Wigman had met while in prison in British Columbia.

After his release, Trask testified, Wigman had threatened his family and friends and directed him to commit thefts in B.C.

Trask said he moved to Brandon to debunk Wigmans claims of ties to numerous gangs. Wigman said the pair would set up a marijuana grow-op in Russia, Trask testified.

According to Trask, after the Jo-Brook break in he took the guns to Wigman who was delighted and was the one who sold them.

Wigman, however, testified that he took Trask into his parents home when his former prison mate had nowhere to go. His vindictive former buddy was trying to frame him, Wigman said, in part because hed nagged him about getting a job.

He added that he wasnt aware of the Jo-Brook burglary and never got to see the guns that Trask brought. He said Trask fled with the firearms when he got upset that hed brought guns into his home.

On Wednesday, Zinchuk said she didnt find Trasks testimony credible, and there was a lack of evidence to back up his story.

Also, copies of Facebook pages submitted by the Crown  which it argued showed Wigman pressuring Trask to commit the cash and carry crime  lacked dates, times and context.

Trask  who has a criminal record that includes break and enter, robbery and arson  also admitted to having prior access to Wigmans Facebook page.

All 13 charges, which included a charge of firearms trafficking, were dismissed.

 ihitchen@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @IanHitchen
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living and Manitoba Agriculture are co-hosting the International One Welfare Conference in Winnipeg this month, focusing on complex social situations where human and animal health are involved.

The conference focuses on issues such as hoarding, on-farm animal welfare, and the links between animal and family abuse.

The conference will take place from Sept. 26 and 27 at the Radisson Hotel in Winnipeg. Some of the speakers include:

 Darlene Chalmers, assistant professor, University of Regina, with research focused on how the bond between humans and animals contribute to human health and well-being including the use of horses and dogs in addiction treatment and mental wellness programs;

 Phil Arkow, one of the founders of the National Link Coalition  the National Resource Centre on the Link between Animal Abuse and Human Violence, who is an internationally recognized lecturer, author and educator currently based in New Jersey;

 Michael Rosmann, clinical psychologist, farmer, writer and professor at the University of Iowa;

 Gary Vroegindewey, chair of an international group on disaster management and risk reduction for animal health and welfare, and director of the One Health program at Lincoln Memorial College of Veterinary Medicine in Tennessee; and

 Christiana Bratiotis, assistant professor at Portland State University, a cognitive behavioural therapist and author of The Hoarding Handbook: A Guide for Human Service Professionals.

The conference features a keynote address from Lt.-Gen. (Ret.) Romeo A. Dallaire during a dinner on Sept. 26. His presentation will focus on post-traumatic stress disorder, how it affects his humanitarian work and what can be done to support professionals who are affected by workplace-related trauma.

Individuals can also choose to attend an additional training session on psychological first aid, presented by the Canadian Red Cross.

More information about the conference, including an agenda and registration details, is available at onewelfareconference.ca.

 News Media Services
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: I am a bearer of two identities and consciousness. The first one  I am a dweller of Turkey, I am a citizen of the Republic of Turkey... and the second one  I am Armenian. This way depicted himself the great Armenian, who directed his entire life and activity toward recovering the historical wounds between Armenia and Turkey and regulating relations between the two countries and peoples. Today the great Armenian  Hrant Dink, would turn 62 years old. In the course of his short, but meaningful life he fought for breaking in Turkey the current stereotypes on the Armenian Cause, and paid with his life for the dream of seeing Turkey more democratic and sincere. 9 years have passed after Dinks death and though his dreams remain unrealized, his life and death paved the way for raising new questions in Turkey and searching answers.

During his lifetime, Dink was sure that the establishment of normal relations between Armenia and Turkey is the time demand and it should be imposed. About this he said, No matter how much the nationalists escape applying the words Armenian and Turkish together, all the same, the destiny has doomed these two peoples to live in the same geographical zone, side by side and there is no alternative.

He was sure that the issues existing between the two states and peoples should not be solved with interference of a third state. Related to the issue of discussing the Armenian Genocide at parliaments and governments of different states, he said, Will our reality become a reality only if others accept it as well? Will our inner world get quiet when our reality remains a theme between the justice and injustice of the states that have witnessed the tragedy? According to him, only the dialogue could promote communication. By the way, Dink suggested communications not only at an official level but he also attached high importance to peoples diplomacy.

Hrant Dink was of the opinion that one of the biggest obstacles to normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations was the historical discussions. He was sure that time and efforts are necessary for realizing the history in Turkey, as the process of understanding and transformation cannot happen in a day. Today the task for Turkey is neither the denial nor the acceptance. Its main issue is realizing. This is possible only by development of a democratic fight in Turkey, said Dink.

Living in Turkey, Dink never considered himself as alien. Being a true citizen, he fought up to the end for seeing a more progressive and democratic Turkey. When during the threats of nationalists addressed to him many urged him to leave Turkey and to come to the homeland  Armenia, Dink answered with resentment, saying that it is he who lives in the true homeland. This is my country. It is true, we  Armenians have eyes on this land, because our roots are here, he said.

And lived Dink in Turkey with innocence of the pigeon and true belief that they do not shoot at pigeons in that country and was killed Dink by a Turkish conspirator, who shot at him from the back and did not have the courage to look into his eyes, instead only cried gyavur, without even thinking that the murder was committed on the ground of the Turkish centuries-long hostility classifying Turkeys White Pigeon among the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Article by Araks Kasyan
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the overall provincial strategy of all industry stakeholders is to maximize revenue/profit, these same stakeholders have to accept that a new facility or new gaming device will capture a significant portion of its business from existing facilities/devices and profit levels of the entire supply base (both new and existing) will be impact.

 The Manitoba Gaming Market Assessment Key Findings Report, Jan. 12, 2016.

To paraphrase this final passage from the gaming assessment report, the market for Manitobas gaming industry  whether that be casinos or VLT business  is saturated to the point of oversaturation. So any talk of new casino facilities, in addition to what the province already sports, will go nowhere fast.

Thats one of the key messages coming out of this study, one that the new provincial government will likely take to heart while it conducts a broader review of the implications of expanded gaming in Manitoba, as the Winnipeg Free Press reported yesterday.

This independent report, that was commissioned by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the former provincial government, said the VLT industry has stagnated and cautioned against further investments in a jurisdiction  ie. Manitoba  that has one of the most penetrated gaming markets in North America.

The 2016 Manitoba Gaming Market Study indicates that the gaming market is oversupplied throughout the province, including in Winnipeg. Any change in capacity must therefore be supported by a solid market analysis and business plan, provincial spokeswoman Amy McGuinness said in a prepared statement.

In the wake of the opening of the Sand Hills Casino near Carberry, the goal of this particular report was to assess the potential market for additional First Nations gaming facilities in Manitoba. Originally, the province had decided to push for construction of five First-Nation casinos in the province, including one in western Manitoba.

We all know the very long road that Manitobas third aboriginal casino took before it finally opened its doors two years ago. The best-case scenario for such a gaming facility was always Brandon, based on this citys population base. But after two failed plebiscites, and a spectacular failure by a consortium of three Westman First Nations to open a casino just outside city limits along the Trans-Canada Highway, the Sand Hills casino opened in 2013 after the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the provincial government reached an agreement with Swan Lake First Nation.

There is no doubt in our mind that the new provincial Progressive Conservative government has little interest in revisiting Westmans 14-year boondoggle, particularly after the release of this recent market assessment report that suggests there are no good markets left in which to build  unless of course the province and Manitobas First Nations are prepared for existing operations to fail.

The Free Press report notes that in the last 10 years, Manitoba was the only province to increase its number of VLT machines, the bulk of which were placed on Manitoba First Nations  619 compared to 81 at non-First Nation sites. Additional gaming investments included the expansion of South Beach Casino and Resort, the addition of the Sand Hills Casino in western Manitoba and the Sharks Club in downtown Winnipeg.

We are a province that has been hooked on all forms of gambling for a very long time  a situation made worse by the NDPs addiction to gambling revenues. Critics of the former NDP were not incorrect in asserting that the province was trying to use gambling, not only as a means to feed its spending habit, but also as a way to help First Nations gain more revenue.

As we have seen, neither of these plans has worked out particularly well. Manitobas 64 First Nations are making a pittance from casino revenues as the management companies hired by First Nation groups to operate the casinos keep eating up most of the earnings.

Meanwhile the provinces reliance on VLT and gaming revenues has finally hit a ceiling  there simply arent enough people ready to lay down more dollars for new facilities and extra VLTs. And of course, the social downside to gambling has always been the harm it inflicts upon families and individuals who can ill afford to spend their money on VLTs. This issue of gambling addiction is one of the main arguments opponents of a Brandon casino have always raised, and its certainly not without merit.

With the owners of the Aseneskak Casino near The Pas actively lobbying the province to allow them to move their operation to the Assiniboia Downs near Winnipeg  not Brandon  and the obvious conclusion that Manitoba simply cant sustain a new large-scale casino, the Pallister government has some very hard decisions to make.

But this also provides the Tories a chance to revisit the former governments failed First Nation casino strategy, to see if there is a better alternative. We suggest that Mr. Pallister and his team look here first, before making any decision on Aseneskak, or adding any more VLTs to the provinces current oversupply.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/09/2016 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

All that is needed is a trip to Moose Jaw

Kerry Auriat didnt have to drive all the way to Fredericksburg, Texas, to find out what is wrong with Brandons downtown. Really, all he had to do is drive west to Moose Jaw and see their downtown. Pretty much all of the old buildings from the early 1900s are still there and occupied. Unlike Brandon, they did not knock down all of their old buildings. Sure, theyve got Al Capones tunnels for an attraction, but if they had knocked down the buildings above, they would not have that tourist draw. Heck, there is even a new Browns Socialhouse in one of those old buildings. There is also an old hotel that a lady bought for a dollar and transformed it back to a time when things were booming in the 1920s  this is something really worth seeing again. Unlike Brandons Prince Eddy, they had some forethought to not knock it down. Oh yes, there is a casino downtown bringing tourists in, but that would never be allowed in downtown Brandon. The mistake Brandon made in the past that destroyed downtown was to knock all the buildings down and put in the so-called Gallery shopping mall, which turned out to be a flop that finished any chance of having a historic downtown. The old buildings still standing on the 100 block of 10th Street are the only area that could be referred to as historic. It is worth the trip to take a drive to downtown Moose Jaw to see what we have lost.

One is just as bad as the other

Manitoba is set to introduce a new English language arts curriculum for students in Manitoba schools. The current ELA curriculum has been a disaster. Currently, only three out of 58 outcomes attend to spelling, grammar and punctuation, and again only three out of 58 attend to decoding, comprehension and textual clues. Yet we wonder why our students cant read and write. By Grade 3, how to read is no longer the focus of direct instruction in ELA. The current curriculum was modelled after one based on Whole Language Theory from California. One year after ours was implemented, California dropped theirs, stating that they had a generation that couldnt read and write. We kept our shiny new curriculum and now, 16 years later, many kids cant properly read and write. The disturbing thing is that the new Progressive Conservative government is implementing a new ELA curriculum to replace the old previous disaster. The troubling aspect is that the new ELA curriculum is much worse than the terrible ELA curriculum it is replacing. The PC government has dropped the ball by going ahead with this NDP-inspired curriculum. The students will pay the price.

Summer Lights Festival a great family event

Kudos to Dylan and his trusty group of volunteers for a wonderful Summer Lights Music Festival! Wonderful music, good food, friendly atmosphere, sparkling venue. Great family friendly event, including babes in arms to grandmas. Already looking forward to year two!
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The United States and Russia agreed that the Syrian cessation of hostilities that began on Monday had largely held and should be extended for another 48 hours despite sporadic violence, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The cessation of hostilities, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, went into effect on Monday night.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry and Lavrov had spoken by telephone earlier on Wednesday and agreed it was worth extending the truce.

Under the deal, the United States and Russia are aiming for reduced violence over seven consecutive days before they move to the next stage of coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not party to the truce.

"There was agreement that as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding, and violence is significantly lower in comparison with previous days and weeks," Toner told a briefing.

"As part of the conversation they agreed to extend the cessation for another 48 hours," he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict through contacts on the ground, said no deaths from fighting had been reported in the first 48 hours of the truce.

"This recommitment will initially be for 48 hours, and, provided it holds, the U.S. and Russia will discuss extensions, with the aim of achieving an indefinite extension to lower the violence," Toner explained later.

He said Russia needed to use its influence over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to ensure that humanitarian aid was delivered to besieged communities under the agreement.

"We haven't seen the humanitarian access yet so we're still continuing to assess this, talking to the Russians," he said. "We're pressuring them to pressure the Assad regime."

Two aid convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, that were headed for the city of Aleppo have been held up since crossing the Turkish border, according to United Nations and other officials.

The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Tuesday the United Nations was waiting for Damascus to issue letters authorizing the aid deliveries, which are desperately needed in Aleppo, the scene of Syria's fiercest fighting in recent months.

The U.N. has estimated that well over half a million people are living under siege in Syria.

The five-year-long civil war in Syria has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and more than 11 million people have been displaced.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has defended her finding that Ireland granted illegal state aid to Apple.

Vestager told the European Parliament at a debate on the ruling in Strasbourg: "If taxes are not being paid by some, then they have to be paid by others, and that is why it is not fair competition when some member states hand out selective tax benefits."

The commissioner noted that Apple had only paid 0.005% tax in 2014, meaning they handed over a mere 50 from every 1m profit made in Ireland.

MEPs overwhelmingly voiced their support for the finding, with a number praising Vestager's "courage" and "bravery".

Fine Gael's Sean Kelly and Brian Hayes were among the few MEPs criticising the decision, while Sinn Fein's Matt Carthy took aim at Fine Gael and Fianna Fail for opting to appeal the ruling.
The family of Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas who died in a search operation have remembered her as an inspirational hero.

Thousands of relatives, friends and staff from the emergency services paid respects to Caitriona Lucas at her funeral at St Brigid's Church, Liscannor, Co Clare.

The mother-of-two - an artist, librarian, animal lover and life-saver - died on Monday when the rescue boat she was in with two colleagues capsized in heavy Atlantic swell off Kilkee.

As scores of Irish Coast Guard staff, in their distinctive black uniforms and white peaked caps, flanked the entrance to the church, Ms Lucas's husband Bernard and son Ben fought back tears to describe their loss.

Taking a leaf from his wife's philosophy on life, the widower told mourners: "Don't put things off, do them now. Time is short. Life is very precious."

With a trembling voice, the couple's 20-year-old son gave mourners in the packed church and grounds a glowing insight into his mother.

"My mother was an exceptional person in every way," he said.

"She loved life and gave everything she did 100%.

"She loved the sea and the Coast Guard, her work in the library, especially with the projects she did with the children.

"My mother had lots of great qualities. She was caring, loving, kind and above all dedicated.

"She was an inspiration to everyone around her and I always will remember her smile and her laugh.

"She will be missed by everyone and she will always be in our thoughts and our hearts.

Local people carry the coffin through the village at the funeral of Caitriona Lucas at Liscannor Church, Co Clare on Thursday. Picture: Eamon Ward

"Goodbye to our wonderful mother. Love always. You are my hero."

Before the mass a video compiled by Ms Lucas's 18-year-old daughter Emma was played showing aspects of her mother's life.

Ms Lucas, 41 and originally from Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, was the first member of the Irish Coast Guard to die on duty.

Caitriona's husband Bernard (left) and her daughter Emma (second left).

She and her husband Bernard volunteered with the Doolin unit.

Members of the search and rescue dog unit amoung those who formed the guard of honour at the funeral of Caitriona Lucas at Liscannor Church, Co Clare on Thursday. Picture: Eamon Ward

Ms Lucas had gone to sea off Kilkee on Monday in the search for missing teacher David McMahon, 33, from Lisseycassey, Co Clare.

Two colleagues, who were also thrown into the sea in the accident, coxswain James Lucy and Jenny Carraway, were rescued and suffered minor injuries.

Mourners heard how the family had kayaked the River Inagh last week and planned another trip.

Ms Lucas had also planned a Roald Dahl weekend for children at the library to mark the 100th anniversary of the writer's birthday, including painting windows and preparing masks for youngsters to complete.

Parish priest Father Denis Crosby told mourners flags were flying at half-mast as a mark of respect.

"To salute a great spirit, to salute a spirit of service and a gracious, wonderful woman," the priest said.

"Words will not sum up the occasion."

Fr Crosby recalled Ms Lucas's compassion, generosity and child-like spirit.

"She carried the light wonderfully into our world. She was a light in a world that's very often dark and careless," he said.

Fr Crosby said Ms Lucas embodied the spirit of helping a neighbour and recalled how she overcame her fear of heights while training to be a rescue volunteer and once went over a cliff edge in Carrigaholt to save a dog.

Mourners and colleagues at St. Brigid Church, Liscannor, Co. Clare, at the funeral of Coastguard volunteer Caitriona Lucas. At the front right of the image is a dog from the Search And Rescue Dog Association (SARDA), for whom Caitriona trained her own dogs. Pic: RollingNews.ie

"In Caitriona's life we have the perfect living out and embodiment of the mystery of love. It wasn't just words and talk but actions and commitment.

"To give your life doesn't mean just to die. She gave her life, all her life, and she knew that living means giving.

"And the creed and the colour and the name didn't matter. As long as there was need she was there. First always to answer the call."

Guard of honour as funeral for "hero" Caitriona Lucas draws to a close. pic.twitter.com/rYZGVSVOIW  Ed Carty (@EdCartyPA) September 15, 2016

The funeral was attended by Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and representatives of President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Ms Lucas was buried in Kilmacreehy cemetery, Liscannor, with the thousands of mourners walking the road to the graveyard overlooking the Atlantic and the beach in nearby Lahinch.
Education Equality has today given a guarded welcome to today's launch of the Government's Action Plan for Education 2016-2019.

The advocacy group said it was pleased to see the inclusion of reform of school admissions in the plan, but concerned that no deadline is given for the consultation process.

Speaking after the publication of the Action Plan, Education Equality Chairperson April Duff stressed the urgency of reform in this area.

All the while, families face another enrolment season where their children will be ranked category 6 of 6 or 5 of 5 because of their religion, she said.

While we welcome the Governments commitment to address religious inequalities in school admissions, we urge the Minister to have urgent regard to the rights of non-religious and minority religion families that are being violated right now.

"In addition, as Education Equality emphasised in consultation with the Labour Party on the Equal Status (Admissions to Schools) Bill 2016, the Bill does not go far enough in failing to address discrimination on religious grounds within a schools catchment area, however that may be defined.

We therefore urge the government to take more decisive action than that contained in the Admissions to Schools Bill so as to ensure equality and freedom of religion to all Irish citizens.

The commitment to increase the number of non-denominational and multi-denominational schools was also welcomed, but Education Equality cautioned that it is not an alternative to vindicating the rights to freedom of religion and equality of every person in Ireland.

Ms. Duff said: Even with an increase to 400 non/multi-denominational schools, the vast majority of schools will still remain under religious patrons and must cater for all children equally.

The right of every child to an equal opportunity to attend his/her local school, without attending religious instruction, must be vindicated.
The Taoiseach will meet opposition leaders this afternoon to discuss the sale of Nama's Northern portfolio.

Meanwhile, Mick Wallace said this morning that we are "still a long way from the truth" behind the sale.

A report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG )published yesterday found that the State lost 192m on the sale.

Nama board member Brian McInerney has defended the deal, saying the agency got the best price possible at the time.

"When somebody is buying something like that en masse from you, they will put in a 'business risk' discount. In other words, they have acquired the risk of working out that portfolio," he said.

'Success fees'

The Government has ordered an inquiry into the controversial 1.2bn sale of Northern Ireland property assets by Nama.

After months of allegations and revelations, Taoiseach Enda Kenny took the unprecedented step of asking opposition leaders to set out their concerns as he decides how the investigation should be conducted, and he will meet them today to discuss those concerns.

The C&AG report found Nama lost up to 190m on the Project Eagle sale to US investment fund Cerberus in 2014 and that Nama undervalued loans associated with the 800 properties in the portfolio when it slapped on a 1.3bn price tag.

It warned Nama that it should have been concerned after one bidder, US investment fund Pimco, alerted it to a "success fee" payment of 15-16m for three parties behind the scenes and pulled out of the process.

The C&AG said Nama was warned by Pimco that the money was to be shared equally by Frank Cushnahan, Nama's former Northern Ireland adviser, Brown Rudnick, a US law firm which ultimately acted for two bidders in the sale and a managing partner of Tughans, a Belfast law firm subcontracted to assist in the deal.

Mr Cushnahan (pictured) has denied any wrongdoing.

The watchdog's audit found Nama was subsequently told by Cerberus that it had a separate "success fee" arrangement with Brown Rudnick and Tughans and money would be split 50/50.

The C&AG report also revealed that Nama reported a net loss of 162m on sales of assets held by Northern Ireland debtors in 2014.

The Isle of Man link

The Project Eagle deal with Cerberus has been dogged by scandal for more than a year, including 7m linked to it being found in an Isle of Man bank account.

Former managing partner of Tughans, Ian Coulter, resigned after it was unearthed.

Nama said it categorically rejected the C&AG's findings and insisted it got the best price and one that could not be beaten today.

"There is nothing in the report that changes the unanimous view of the Nama board that the Project Eagle sale was the best achievable outcome for the state either back in 2014 or now in a post-Brexit environment," chairman Frank Daly said.

Project Eagle will first be examined by the Public Accounts Committee in Dublin. Meetings are planned for the end of September and early October, first with Nama executives and then Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

One of the big issues in the midst of the controversies has been the cross-border aspect of the deal, in particular the inability of parliaments to compel witnesses from overseas.

Investigations have been launched by the UK's National Crime Agency, the US Department of Justice's Securities and Exchange Commission as well as a parliamentary inquiry in Stormont.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams described the offer of an inquiry as welcome but belated. He called for governments and statutory agencies in the north and south to give maximum co-operation to the inquiry.

Nama profits

Nama was set up in 2010 to take loans linked to property investments off our bailed-out banks at a discount.

It is on course to make a more than 1.75bn profit on its deals by 2020 but has faced repeated questions over its handling of Project Eagle.

Cerberus offered 1.241bn - just 11m above a reserve price reduced by 70m in the days before final bids were entered.

The only other bidder, Fortress, offered 1.075bn.

Nama previously revealed some of the assets in the Project Eagle portfolio were worth as little as 5p in the pound.

The C&AG said there is no indication that Nama had considered a bulk sale of its Northern Ireland assets until US law firm Brown Rudnick wrote on behalf of US investment fund Pimco in June 2013 offering an exclusive deal.

Tughans insisted it was not aware of the 7m transfer to the Isle of Man.

All parties involved in the 2014 transaction have denied wrongdoing.
An Irish man arrested in connection with the murder of Gary Hutch is due before the courts in Spain today.

The Dubliner was detained in a joint European crackdown on organised crime between Ireland and Spain yesterday.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Germany closed its Embassy and diplomatic representations in Turkey due to terror threat, Bild reports citing the German MFA.

Not only the diplomatic representations, but also the German schools will be closed in Turkey until September 16. With such measures the German side will try to ensure its citizens security in case of possible terror threat.

Moreover, the German Embassy in Turkey posted a note in Twitter which says the German diplomatic representations will provide limited services, and the admissions will not be at all until September 16.
A Dublin man has appeared in court in Spain charged in connection with the murder of Gary Hutch.

The relation of a well-known Dublin gangland figure was detained as part of a joint European crackdown on organised crime between the two countries.

In a private court appearance earlier, the man was remanded in custody for further questioning.

Spanish police have been helping gardai investigate the Kinahan-Hutch gangland feud for a number of months.

Searches were carried out in Dublin and the Marbella area on Wednesday as part of the operation.

Some 23,000 in cash was seized in Ireland, along with counterfeit documents relating to money laundering, while a yacht and Bentley car were confiscated in Spain.

Gardai said warrants were executed with a view to gathering evidence to support a prosecution against individuals engaged in serious organised crime.

The killing of Gary Hutch is seen as having sparked the feud violence that has so far claimed the lives of 10 people.

The 34-year-old was shot dead in the Costa del Sol in September 2015.
Hundreds of thousands of commuters are facing weeks of disruption as Dublin Bus drivers step up their strike action in a deepening pay dispute.

Union bosses have confirmed 13 more stoppages over the coming one-and-a-half months.

The escalation will see the city's bus fleet ground to a halt for more than a third of October.

Newly-announced stoppages this month will take place on September 27 and 28.

These are in addition to the 48-hour strike already scheduled for next week, on September 23 and 24.

Next month, further strike days are planned for October 1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 24, 26 and 29.

Dublin is in the midst of a 48-hour stoppage after buses were ordered back to depots at 9pm on Wednesday.

Dermot O'Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), blamed political leaders and transport chiefs for not negotiating with bus drivers on what he described as a long overdue pay rise.

"What is particularly galling here is the undisputed fact that this dispute will ultimately be settled around the negotiating table," he said.

"Allowing service disruptions to become the de-facto norm in the nation's capital is a sad indictment on those who are both elected and appointed to provide this vital service."

Trade union Siptu said five unions, including itself, the NBRU and Unite, had agreed to ratchet up the industrial action at a meeting today.

Organiser Owen Reidy claimed Dublin Bus bosses and Department of Transport officials have little interest in resolving the row.

"What is needed is for all sides to commit to a serious negotiation process and display fresh thinking concerning the funding of Dublin's public bus system," he said.

"Workers are no longer prepared to be a soft touch whose pay is suppressed to subsidise a declining state subvention."

Unite has already threatened a potential further escalation when the unions meet again next month to review their action.

Dublin Bus has denounced the walk-outs as unnecessary and unjustified.

"To date, this industrial action has cost the company in excess of four million euro and continues to impact the financial stability of the company," a company spokeswoman said.

"We will now assess the full implications of today's announcement."

Dublin Bus is adamant it is open to negotiations, but believes they must hinge on the terms of a Labour Court recommendation for a pay increase of 8.25% over three years.

Trade unions say the vast majority of their members have already rejected this recommendation and they want fresh talks on their demands for a 15% salary hike.

The city was hit with two days of traffic gridlock last week as people turned to private cars and taxis - which reported a threefold jump in business - during the first planned two-day strike.

Transport Minister Shane Ross said he greatly regrets the grave inconvenience caused to the travelling public by the ongoing dispute.

His spokesman said: "He is acutely aware of calls for him to directly intervene but must reiterate, that as any ministerial intervention could be interpreted as a commitment to open the State chequebook, it would be inappropriate for him to do so.

"He again calls on management and the unions to engage with each other immediately."
Separatist rebels and government troops have both reported violations of a ceasefire that was supposed to begin in eastern Ukraine at midnight.

Rebels on Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire, and visiting German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (pictured) said the following day that Ukraine had agreed to observe the truce.
Four young women were thrown off a flight to Ibiza for bad behaviour after alleged racist slurs and threats to other passengers even before take-off.

The women, believed to be from the Merseyside area, were scheduled to fly out to the party island on Tuesday night on a Monarch Airlines flight from Manchester Airport in England.

But police were called and all four were taken off the aircraft because of their alleged behaviour, while the other passengers jetted off on holiday.

Photos of the incident have been posted on social media by one of the passengers on the flight, with thousands of critical comments about the behaviour.

Frustrated passenger Amber Elouise Ferguson, from Manchester, posting on her Facebook page, claimed the women used racist language and threatened other flyers.

Ms Ferguson, a teaching assistant, said: "Anyone know these three girls??

"If you know them or are related to them you should be ashamed to know such disgusting human beings!!

"Luckily for them the police came and took them off the flight because I got told I don't know who I'm dealing with (hahaha okay!) & our friend who's flying is extremely nervous & it's his first time flying and he had to sit right in front of them being harassed! It's disgusting! I'd love to be reunited with them and see if there (sic) as brave without any alcohol!"

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "Shortly before 7.10pm on Tuesday September 13 2016, police were called to Manchester Airport for assistance.

"Four women were removed from a plane. No further action was required."
Germany's chancellor and France's president have agreed their joint priorities for an informal European Union summit, including ensuring Europe's security and fighting terrorism.

Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande met in Paris to coordinate strategy a day ahead of a meeting on Friday in Slovakia of 27 EU leaders in Bratislava.

Britain, which has voted to leave the bloc, was not invited to the gathering.

Mr Hollande said the two leaders plan to propose creating a permanent EU military headquarters that could dispatch European troops quickly - a long-standing idea opposed by Britain.

He called for "new defence capabilities and forces that can be deployed outside Europe".

Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel both insisted on the need to protect external borders and address the challenge of migration.

Other mutual priorities include fighting youth unemployment and promoting economic growth through investments in digital technologies and green energy.

"We must give Europeans a clear vision of how future can look like," Mr Hollande said.

Mrs Merkel called for a summit "which addresses people's concerns, hopes and wishes, and at the same time is realistic".

"There is a will among the member states, as we saw in the (pre-summit) talks, to work more single-mindedly and faster," she said.
The head of the Mexican agency investigating the disappearance of 43 college students has resigned.

Tomas Zeron was in charge of the criminal investigation agency for the Attorney General's Office, and his dismissal had been demanded by the families of the students.

The students have not been seen since being taken away by police in Iguala in southern Guerrero state.

Mr Zeron was at the centre of the investigation that has failed to determine the whereabouts of the students, who were allegedly handed over to a drug gang and killed.

No reason was given for the resignation of Mr Zeron, who oversaw not only the agency's investigators, but also its forensic work.

The government's probe into the students' disappearance has been criticised within Mexico and by international experts for focusing on an early theory that their bodies were incinerated at a dump rather than on investigating other leads.

The case has become an embarrassment for the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Two independent, international teams of experts cast doubt on what a former attorney general dubbed at the time the "historic truth" of what happened to the students.

Many of the suspects rounded up in the investigation have complained they were tortured into backing the government's version of what happened.

Court documents obtained by The Associated Press in May showed that 10 of the suspects described similar treatment at the hands of authorities and some even said they were given planted evidence or prefabricated stories.

In April, the students' families called for Mr Zeron's firing over mistakes in the inquiry. They called for him to be investigated for "crimes related to obstruction of justice".

The Attorney General's Office, which oversees the agency led by Mr Zeron, said at the time that it had opened an investigation through its internal affairs unit.

The families will hold a news conference on Thursday to address Mr Zeron's resignation.

Experts sent by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had criticised Mr Zeron for not clearly documenting how burned bone fragments - the only physical evidence of the students - were found in a river near the dump where the government says they were disposed of after the fire.

Mr Zeron acknowledged that some bone fragments had been registered as found a day before they actually were. One fragment was later tied by DNA testing to a missing student.

The experts said Mr Zeron visited the river on October 28 2014, with one of the suspects who complained of torture. The government said the bone fragments were found there the next day.

The students attended the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa, a teachers college. They were in Iguala on September 26 2014, to hijack buses to use for transport to a rally in Mexico City.

They were attacked on the buses by local police and allegedly handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.
Prince Charles' car has been involved in a collision with a deer at the Queen's Balmoral estate in Scotland, according to reports.

Charles is said to be unhurt following the incident over the weekend.
The inscription from Antonio Machado jumps out from the page in the back of Child of DuendeI cannot sing, nor do I want to/ to that Jesus on the cross,/ but rather to He who walked on the sea! In the same spirit of casting off mourning and instead, diving into the rich magic of the world, Michelle Adam wrote her first novel. It is the story of a child in Malaga, Spain named Duende who is slowly awakening to the mysteries of the universethrough the passion of dance, journeys with nature spirits and the wisdom of those around her. As a foil to Duende, we also meet Ingrid, a hardened journalist who is called back to Malaga, where she grew up, to report on a story about grape vines weeping blood.

Both are me, Adam explained, and that revelation makes perfect senseAdam is a journalist who spent her childhood in Spain. And she's also a flamenco dancer, but after years of tirelessly pursuing her passion for dance, she was left with a hip injury that prohibited her from continuing. It was at that time that she began to write Child of Duende. As she began the novel, she didn't even conceive of it as a piece of fiction, but instead, described the experience of writing it as something passing through her. I don't feel like I wrote [it]  it wrote through me, she explained. It was also a way for Adam to translate her fervor for flamenco to another channel. For the time that she was immobile due to the injury, she described writing as my way of being alive.

In Adams book, duendea Spanish word that not only is our lead characters name, but also means nature spiritare based on the way these mythical sprites were presented in the work of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. In fact, during the course of our conversation, Adam quoted Lorca's description of duende to me as the spirit of the Earth [that]  one must awaken in the remotest mansions of the blood. It's a definition that braids itself well into Adam's mystical experience of writing and her goal of, as she expressed it, writing our soul's story, not our physical story, the one we've lived  It's much more true than any fiction story you'd write.

It seems that creating Child of Duende was a learning experience for Adam, and in turn, she hopes that it will be illuminating for those who read it. Adam described the distant days of her own childhood in Spain, saying I always felt like I had this spirit that didn't know how to be in this body on this Earth  [The character of] Duende is the magical being that I am and we all are, that I always felt inside. Until I could bring her into the world, a part of me felt like I was living a false life. And what resulted from bringing this other self into the worldChild of Duendeis a magical realist tale that unfolds with all the wonder that Adam feels for each of our souls stories.

Join Adam as she tells the story of Child of Duende, accompanied with Spanish tapas, music, drinks and celebration at the Corrales Library on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6:30pm.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The traffic Police of Armenia informs that the traffic will be suspended in the Republican Square of Yerevan from 23:00 September 14 to 6:00 September 15, and from 23:00 September 15 to 6:00 September 16 due to preparation works of the Independence Day.

The Police urge the drivers to remove their vehicles from the Republican Square two hours earlier prior to the mentioned time. Otherwise, the Police will have to move the vehicles to a special protected area.
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YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Youth Parliament under the National Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh on September 14 hosted a specialist in international law, Hamburg University Professor Otto Luchterhandt, press service of the NKR Parliament informed Armenpress.

Professor Luchterhandt whose scientific interests on Karabakhs and its peoples right to self-determination have started from 1992, presented a report on Azerbaijans Blitzkrieg against Nagorno Karabakh and International Law to the member of the Youth Parliament.

The German professor said the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, without having an international legal recognition, is in full compliance with all state definition standards and it has proved its viability during these years of independence. He said the fundamental principles of the international law apply to all subjects of international relations regardless of their recognition status, and Azerbaijan has grossly violated a number of principles of international law by starting a war against Nagorno Karabakh in April. The talk is in particularly about the principle of non-use of force and the threat of force. He said the April war by Azerbaijan against the NKR people was an act of aggression, the entire responsibility of which is on the political leadership of Baku.

Then the members of the Youth Parliament were interested on issues related to possible vision of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict settlement in the context of the fundamental principles of the international law.
PERTH: Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf on Saturday said the team was trying to shut out the noise and focus after a...
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Federal prosecutors in Brazil have asked a judge to file corruption charges against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reports BBC.

They accused him of being the "boss" of a huge corruption scheme that cost the state oil company, Petrobras, an estimated $12.6bn (9.5bn) in losses.

Prosecutors had been investigating whether Lula and his wife failed to declare ownership of a luxury flat.

He has denied owning the penthouse and says the case is politically motivated.

The flat was built by a construction company implicated in the scandal at Petrobras.

Several politicians and Petrobras executives have been arrested and sentenced after a two-year anti-corruption investigation called Operation Car Wash.

Prosecutors initially focused on money laundering, but soon came to allegations of a complex corruption scheme at Petrobras, where overpriced contracts were given in return for bribes.

Some of the illicitly-obtained money was used to finance the electoral campaign of top Brazilian politicians, they allege.

"Lula was the big boss of the Petrobras corruption scheme. Lula was on top of the power pyramid," prosecutor Deltan Dalagnol said at a news conference in Curitiba on Wednesday.

"Lula appointed several senior executives at Petrobras so that they could raise funds for political parties in the governing coalition [through corruption].

"Without Lula's decision power, it would be impossible for this scheme to exist," the prosecutor added.

A former union leader, Lula, 70, served as president from 2003 to 2010.

He announced plans earlier this year to run for office again in 2018 but in July he was indicted on charges of obstructing investigations into Petrobras.

A judge is due to rule in the next few days whether to formally charge Lula.

The flat was built by the giant construction company OAS, one of the firms at the centre of the Petrobras affair.

Prosecutors say OAS bought and refurbished the property for Lula and his wife.

The company had earned lucrative contracts during Lula's years in office, and has been linked to kickbacks from Petrobras.

But the former president insists he has never owned the property.

Six other people are also facing charges, including two executives from OAS.

The luxury penthouse in the seaside resort of Guaruja is estimated to be worth up to $550,000 (415,000).
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities are investigating the theft of $2.5 billion from the tax authority, officials said...
The ACT's predicted budget surplus has narrowed yet again and looks likely to disappear altogether when a series of so-far unfunded projects are included in the figures.

Under Treasurer David Nicol released the pre-election budget update on Thursday. It shows a surplus of just $16 million in 2018-19. This year's deficit has worsened since announced in June, to an expected $205 million in the negative.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says he will step in to save Art not Apart if re-elected. Credit:Rohan Thomson

The update lists a series of projects that are yet to appear in the budget at all, including design and planning of stage 2 of the government's light rail line, which is to go across Commonwealth Avenue to Woden. While the government has chosen Woden as its preferred route, Mr Nicol's update said it has not formally agreed to a business case, nor feasibility studies, design or construction. As a result, none of that work is included in budget or forward estimates.

Nor has any money been included for construction of the City to the Lake project, other than $10 million for Point Park and 150 metres of boardwalk at West Basin. The government plans a boardwalk all the way around the edge of a partially reclaimed lakefront at West Basin, along with a new swimming pool on the lake, a stadium, a convention centre and major changes to Parkes Way. No construction work appears in the next four years of budget forward estimates.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says he has "no doubt" that Labor would maintain longstanding factional traditions and select a deputy from the left of the party, should it be re-elected.

The party's tradition is to have a leader from one faction  the right, in Mr Barr's case  and a deputy from the other.

From left to right, Yvette Berry, Chris Bourke, Andrew Barr and Meegan Fitzharris. Credit:Graham Tidy

There are only two left faction members in the caucus now: Housing Minister Yvette Berry and Work Safety Minister Mick Gentleman.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan gave the first instruction during his first session.

He firstly talked about the fight against corruption and said currently a new committee is being established to coordinate the works for fight against corruption.

Meanwhile, the PM instructed the State Revenue Committee to ensure unconditional maintenance of discipline by big producers and importers who are perceived as not disciplined and privileged. At the same time he instructed to exclude the customs officers subjective behavior and ensure transparency of activities.

The Armenian PM clearly instructed Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Hovhannes Hovsepyan to carry out the works without creating obstacles for the business.

Any formulation, any check must not hinder their daily activities, the PM said, Armenpress reported.
Shane Rattenbury should have known better than to put his money into an investment property in a new apartment block on Northbourne Avenue last year. It's a sign of political antenna gone awry but this is, sadly, the way things often go after any length of time in the hothouse of politics, a kind of whoops forgetfulness about how things will look and where lines should be drawn on conflict of interest  or its appearance.

The problem for Rattenbury is not simply that he owns a property which is set to gain from the transformation the government is bringing to Northbourne Avenue in a series of major property sales and policy and planning decisions, many still to come. But it's also that he has negatively geared the apartment  and another in the city where Andrew Barr was photographed in February attending the topping-out ceremony with developer Barry Morris  despite the Greens' avowed opposition to negative gearing. And it's the appearance of a Green, the party of social equity and parity, with enough money to burn that he can throw a lazy million (presumably; he hasn't said what the places are worth) at two investment properties in one year. At a time when housing affordability is, in many views, at a crisis point in Canberra and is a major political issue.

Andrew Barr and Barry Morris at the topping out ceremony for the Mayfair apartments in February, where Shane Rattenbury has bought an investment property. Credit:Jay Cronan

Which is not to say Rattenbury shouldn't buy an investment property but that he should think twice about it before buying it in the Northbourne corridor and at this time as crucial decisions are being made. Being a politician simply involves necessary limits on what you should and shouldn't do.

But Rattenbury has led a lonely political life in the past four years as the only Green in the ACT parliament. He has Greens on his staff but otherwise his colleagues, the people with whom he spends his working days, are Labor. And while his closeness to Labor makes political sense to an extent  a Liberal government is never going to welcome a Green into cabinet so Labor is the only route to power  it might also exacerbate a dulling of his political antenna.
Canberra's unemployment rate has held steady at the lowest rate in more than two years.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday show the unemployment rate held steady at 3.6 per cent during August, after peaking at 5 per cent in October 2014.

Canberras low unemployment rate has held steady. Credit:Tamara Voninski

The ACT has the second lowest trend rate in Australia behind the Northern Territory at 3.5 per cent, which recorded a slight decline in August.

The figures, which have been welcomed by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, show Canberra is well below the national unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent.
The Wharf Revue's irresistible blend of vitriol and vaudeville returns to Canberra Theatre Centre from September 13 to 24. Tickets from $45 for adults.

A free exhibition of the work of S.T. Gill's work, once Australia's most popular artist, but now a forgotten name, is now showing at the National Library of Australia, running until October 16.

Fans of the British television series Doctor Who can admire Canberra collector Timothy Kirsopp's extensive collection of memorabilia from the series at Canberra Museum and Gallery. Free entry.

TODAY'S DAVID POPE:

Touch or click through for more David Pope

WEATHER

Today: Partly cloudy. Slight (30%) chance of a light shower this morning. Max 15.

Saturday: Cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers, most likely in the evening. Min 2, Max 17.

Sunday: Cloudy. High (70%) chance of rain, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Min 5, Max 13.
ANZ is facing a backlog of home loan approvals and questions about its offshoring moves after violent protests disrupted work at a major processing centre in India's tech capital.

Two people were killed in the civil unrest that swept Bangalore, officially known as Bengaluru, over a regional water shortage dispute.

An activist jumps over a burning effigy during protests in Bangalore this week that forced many large Indian and foreign companies to close their doors. Credit:AP

The disruption has raised questions about the banks' offshoring practices and their strategy for dealing with issues such as civil unrest.

Indian and foreign technology companies based in Bengaluru, often described as India's Silicon Valley, were forced to close their doors and advise staff to stay at home amid the violence.
Somewhere in the vast fishing waters off Australia's northern coast, the hunt is on for the Adams and Eves needed to start a super race of prawns.

The chosen few will be key to the success of a $2 billion plan by Seafarms Group to build the largest prawn farm in the developed world. The biggest challenge isn't digging the 1000 ponds on a site bigger than Parramatta, or transporting the prawns from one of the country's remotest regions to markets in Asia.

"Super-charging natural selection: Farmed black tiger prawns. Credit:featurepics@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Project Sea Dragon's viability rests on creating in a laboratory in a few years what centuries of natural evolution hasn't achieved. Scientists are attempting to unlock the genome of the Black Tiger prawn to make a super invertebrate that will grow faster, fight disease more effectively and taste better than its free-roaming brethren.

"It's super-charging natural selection," said Dean Jerry, the professor at James Cook University in Townsville, north Queensland, who leads a team working on the project with funds from Seafarms and the federal government. "What we're really trying to breed for ultimately is a prawn which grows as fast as it can."
Garvon Kable flew numerous operations over Germany as a Lancaster navigator and after the war flew POW repatriation flights. In retirement he was an active campaigner and environmentalist safeguarding the Northern Beaches from development.

Garvon, who has died aged 93, was born in Chatswood, Sydney in 1923, the son of Colin and Eileen Kable originally of Tamworth. He was educated at Parramatta Intermediate then Fort Street Boys' High. He joined the Australian Army at age 18 in 1941 but after three months training transferred to the RAAF as an aircraftman and commenced flying training at Narrandera, NSW.

Garvon Kable, for HMAS Sydney's Commissioning, back row on right.

After further training in Wales and England he joined 49 Squadron, flying operational missions over Germany in Lancasters based at Syerston in Nottinghamshire and Fulbeck in Lincolnshire. By this time he was a Flight Sergeant Navigator; missions included Wurzberg, Hamburg, Wesel, Nordhausen and Berchtesgaden. In 1945 he flew POW repatriation flights to England. On one occasion he had a narrow escape while riding a motorbike to visit the local pub. In trying to avoid a collision he took the soft option of choosing a hedge, which, as is so often the case in England, was growing over a dry stone wall; luckily he somersaulted over the wall. He later made all his children promise never to ride a motorbike.

He had married Brenda Walster from Newark in June 1945. She followed him to Australia with their baby in the war bride ship Atlantis. Garvon left the RAAF in 1946 to commence teacher training at the University of Sydney before joining the RAN as a Lieutenant (Observer) in August 1949.
Salaries for Australian teachers peak far quicker than in most other developed countries because our pay system offers little monetary reward for highly skilled or highly experienced teachers.

A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), offering a detailed examination of education systems around the world, finds it takes only 8.3 years for an early high school teacher in Australia to progress from a starting salary to the top of the pay scale.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham says the new university reform package deserves to pass the Parliament. Credit:Louise Kennerley

This compares to an OECD average of 25 years.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham, who plans to make teacher pay a focus at a meeting of federal and state education ministers next week, leapt upon the findings to argue for change.
You'd have to say Treasurer Scott Morrison's re-set of the cap on non-concessional superannuation contributions is a deft move.

It's a big cave-in to the wealthy dressed up as something less generous. The best tax shelter for the well-off this side of the Cayman Islands survives pretty much intact.

The change to the cap should see the government's entire superannuation package of reforms passed by parliament. So it looks as if we can be fairly certain that this will now be the rules under which super will work for many years to come.

In its May budget, the Turnbull government said there would be a lifetime cap of $500,000 on non-concessional contributions to super.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. During the Governments session newly appointed Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan presented his remarks over the activities of the Ministry of Economy and the State Revenue Committee, reports Armenpress.

Acting Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan presented two draft decisions through which two companies receive tax privilege. The PM asked after giving privileges, whether the state follows to what extent the companies fulfill their obligations, then instructed the SRC to be in constant contact with the companies.

I dont give new instruction, I just say the SRC must carry out its work. The PM asked Artsvik Minasyan how long it takes for the project of giving privileges to the companies, Minasyan said it lasts one week.

I dont believe, you have showed seven applications of the Ministers, the PM said. Artsvik Minasyan said he will provide additional information since now he doesnt know it in concrete. You dont know. Why Mr. Minasyan? Your Ministry supports the business, you should go hand in hand with the business in order for it to feel secure, the PM said.
Sydney researchers have thrown open the notoriously secretive process of drug discovery with a world-first attempt to develop a malaria medicine through crowdsourcing.

Chemists from the University of Sydney explored the potential for two antimalarial compounds to be synthesised into drugs, by encouraging the scientific community to contribute data and expertise, and publishing the results online.

Associate Professor Matthew Todd said the open source process - which is common in software development - had been used to screen for diseases such as zika and ebola but it was unique to develop a drug with complete transparency.

"No one's done this with drug discovery, where you would normally expect it to be done in secrecy," Associate Professor Todd said.
Federal intelligence agencies are hiring hackers to test the security of government infrastructure and to attack foreign targets.

The recruitment drive, which offers recruits "a licence to hack", comes after a number of attacks on government agencies including the Department of Human Services during the census collection period.

Experts have warned of glaring holes in Australia's cyber security policy. Credit:Westend61

Other targets include Austrade, the Defence Science Technology Group and the Bureau of Meteorology, which was breached last year by Chinese-based hackers.

Another 97 federal departments have reportedly been told to encrypt more data amid hundreds of attempted intrusions every month.
An ice addict who hid in an underground car park before he viciously attacked a frail 86-year-old who had just visited a bank has been sentenced to 4 years jail.

Jay Curtis-Hodge, 31, was hiding behind a pole as his then girlfriend Jennifer Lee Clarke lured the unsuspecting elderly man towards him knowing he had just withdrawn money from the bank.

Curtis-Hodge then approached Francesco "Frank" Carlino, who was using a walking stick, from behind and punched him in the head before he stomped on his face and lifted him by his pants pockets and dropped him to the ground in a Chester Hill car park in November 2014.

The pair made off with $570 dollars, including the $500 Mr Carlino had just withdrawn from the bank, and left him lying bruised and bleeding on the ground.
A revised plan for planes to land and take off to the south west of the new airport in western Sydney during the early hours of the morning will significantly reduce the number of residents exposed to aircraft noise in densely populated areas such as St Marys.

However, a final report on the environmental impact of the proposed airport at Badgerys Creek shows it will "result in more people experiencing high noise impacts" in rural-residential areas to its south west such as Greendale and parts of Silverdale.

In a bid to allay community concern about noise, the Turnbull government has ruled out a single merge point over any residential area for aircraft readying to land at the curfew-free airport.

An earlier proposal for a single merge point over Blaxland at the foot of the Blue Mountains sparked outrage from residents.
A cyclist is in a critical condition after he was dragged underneath a vehicle in Brisbane's north.

A man in his 50s was riding along the footpath on Stafford Road near Gordon Street at Gordon Park on Thursday night when he collided with a vehicle that was leaving a driveway about 7pm.

The man was cycling along the footpath when he collided with a vehicle and was dragged along.

The cyclist was then dragged under the vehicle for a "short distance", police said.

He was trapped under the vehicle for a "period of time" before he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, a Queensland Ambulance spokesperson said.
Gold Coast councillors have been asked to defer a decision on an application for a $600 million development with two 44-storey towers on the Southport Spit until a master plan was prepared in co-operation with the state government.

Gold Coast's planning scheme sets a three-storey limit on the Southport Spit.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate moved a "mayoral minute" at Thursday's council meeting, asking that the development application by Sunland on state government land be deferred until a master plan could be put together.

Cr Tate said proposed Sunland's development application be delayed for 12 months.
A man has been airlifted to hospital after a crash at the Sunshine Coast on Friday morning.

The man was driving along the Bruce Highway at Forest Glen when his vehicle rolled into a ditch, just before 6am.

He was transported via helicopter to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital with suspected spinal injuries.

The Bruce Highway was closed as paramedics transferred the man into the helicopter, but it had reopened by peak hour.
A man at the centre of a 10-hour siege at a Brisbane frozen foods business has been charged.

Police were called to the Wacol business just after 10pm on Wednesday evening following reports a man, believed to be a former employee, was threatening workers with a knife.

The siege carried on over Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Credit:Andrew Lofthouse / Nine News / Twitter

Specialist police, including the dog squad, SERT and negotiators, were called to the business overnight and an emergency situation was declared just after 7am on Thursday morning.

Police entered the business and arrested the man about 8.25am.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Defense Ministry will be telecasting the situation in Syrias Aleppo live using both cameras on the ground and installed on a drone, Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told the media on September 15, TASS reported.

"In order to ensure the transparency of compliance with the cessation of hostilities regime by all parties concerned in the territory of Syria the Russian Defense Ministrys website on September 15, 2016 started telecasting the situation in Aleppo using video cameras," Konashenkov said.

"On-line telecasting is already in progress from two cameras on the ground. Also, for the first time there has begun open on-line telecasting of the situation in the eastern part of Aleppo from a drone," Konashenkov said.

In the longer term more monitoring posts will be created.

A 48-hour truce took effect in the whole territory of Syria at 19:00 Moscow time on September 12 under a deal clinched by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on September 10. Lavrov and Kerry agreed on creation of a joint Russian-US center for the separation of the opposition from terrorist groups, coordination of air strikes by Russian and US combat aircraft against extremists and measures to guarantee humanitarian access to Aleppo.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday came out for prolonging the cessation of hostilities regime in the whole territory of Syria for another 48 hours.








Rick and Sandra Zipsin were used to hosting drifters on their cattle farm on the edge of the Victorian high country.

So, it wasn't unusual when Gino and Mark Stocco came looking for work at the Zipsin's farm in Glenburn, a half-hour south of Yea, in the wake of the 2009 Black Saturday fires.

Rick and Sandra Zipsin paid a high price for giving Gino and Mark Stocco work on their cattle farm. Credit:Jason South

"We had a lot of fencing to do," Rick said.

"Looking back now, they probably targeted this area because they knew people needed a hand."
Victoria is failing to allow people with incurable conditions a dignified death and the state must have a conversation about euthanasia, Premier Daniel Andrews has said.

More than half of Mr Andrews' cabinet has declared support for euthanasia, indicating Victoria could be poised to introduce laws that would make it the first Australian state to legalise the practice.

Premier Daniel Andrews: "We are failing many, many people; we have to do better.'' Credit:Vince Caligiuri

On Thursday, Mr Andrews stopped short of saying he supported euthanasia, but said the recent death from cancer of his father had challenged his previously held views against it.

"If you search your conscience, and you search your own personal experience, I think more and more Victorians are coming to the conclusion that we are not giving a dignified end, we are not giving the support, the love and care that every Victorian should be entitled to in their final moments," Mr Andrews said.
Feuds over whether children should go to private or public schools are increasingly being fought out in nasty divorce proceedings, lawyers say.

But as parents battle in the courts over school preferences, family law experts warn children are the ones who lose out.

"The school has become the currency for the debate" in divorce proceedings. Credit:AFR

"The parents keep going on that cycle of trying to prove one school is better than the other," Slater and Gordon family law specialist Heather McKinnon said.

"But the irony is that every bit of research says kids from high-conflict family law break-up cases score poorly on all indicators, from education to psychology.
Train services on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines are still being affected by Wednesday afternoon's horror crash in which two women lost their lives.

A 71-year-old and 73-year-old, both from Camberwell in Melbourne's east, were killed when their car was crushed beyond recognition by an express train at Surrey Hills station about 4pm.

An emergency worker inspects the crushed car at Surrey Hills station. Credit:Eddie Jim

Witnesses said the car appeared to have been halfway through the Union Road level crossing when the boomgates came down around it.

The car was dragged underneath the train for about 100 metres. The mangled wreck of the car was wedged between the train and the platform for nearly three hours.
A senior federal police officer has launched legal action against the Australian Federal Police, claiming she was discriminated against, and her career was ruined, because she tried to transfer to another state to be with her girlfriend.

The woman's partner, also an AFP officer, launched separate legal action last year, alleging she was refused a new job because she is a woman, and the role required her to work alone and demonstrate she could carry a 40-kilogram dog.

In documents lodged with the Federal Circuit Court, Kathryn Lee Richens claimed the AFP had discriminated against her because of her sexuality and/or marital status.

She has demanded the AFP compensate her for financial losses she suffered for not living in the same city as her partner, Senior Constable Emma-Kate McPherson, including travel expenses, airfares, and the cost of maintaining separate homes in different cities.
UPDATE: A six-year-old boy missing overnight near Beechworth in north-east Victoria has been found alive.

Emergency services had been scouring bushland since the boy went missing from his family's property on Wednesday afternoon.

Police at the Wooragee property where Ben Dean went missing. Credit:Blair Thomson/The Border Mail

Ben Dean, who has Down syndrome, was last seen at the large rural property on Chiltern Road, Wooragee, 280 kilometres north of Melbourne, at about 5pm on Wednesday.

He was playing outside with a cricket bat shortly before he went missing.
Odds-on, Victoria will make history as the first state in the nation to legalise euthanasia.

If it happens, it would be a bold, controversial decision taken by the Parliament, on behalf of the people of Victoria, through a conscience vote, not a plebiscite.

Personal experience has convinced some MPs that the law on euthanasia needs to change.

As revealed by The Age, more than half of the cabinet is now publicly in favour, with at least another quarter yet to declare but privately supportive.

That doesn't necessarily translate into broader support in Parliament. But it would appear to represent a significant turnaround from 2008, when an attempt to give terminally ill people the right to die with the help of a doctor was defeated in the upper house 25 votes to 13 after after months of impassioned debate.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Defender appealed to the Constitutional Court of Armenia raising the compliance issue of legislative regulations on administrative arrest and detention with the requirements of the Armenian Constitution.

The relevance of legislative issues mentioned in the appeal are mainly associated with the continuous human rights violations, the Ombudsmans administration informed Armenpress.

Thus, human rights violations by the Police officers were recorded during the July events over the Police station, these were mainly related to not immediately informing about the causes of detaining people, not allowing the attorney to enter the Police building and etc.

According to that appeal, people must have the following rights:
Another poll is being conducted to gauge voter sentiment towards the West Australian government, this time targeting Treasurer Mike Nahan in his Riverton seat.

Premier Colin Barnett was furious last month when a group of prominent Perth business people, including property developer Nigel Satterley and financier John Poynton, commissioned a ReachTel that suggested Riverton was the only one of 11 Liberal-held seats that wouldn't go to Labor in the March state election.

A new ReachTel poll has targeted Treasurer Mike Nahan in his Riverton seat. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The latest ReachTel poll asks participants seven questions including their opinion of Dr Nahan and whether they support the proposed privatisation of electricity poles and wires operator Western Power, which the Electrical Trades Union is campaigning against.

Earlier this month the Premier lashed out at an "undemocratic" ReachTel poll with the prominent businessman returning fire by accusing the premier of an "abuse of power."
The lawyer of a woman whose dogs were euthanased after savaging a child at a Bassendean park has told the local Mayor to "be quiet", adding that Australia does not put down "child molesters or murderers".

The two Staffordshire bull terrier crosses were put down on Tuesday with their owner's consent as the nine-year-old girl reportedly recovered from another round of surgery.

She sustained serious injuries to her head, face, legs and buttocks when the dogs set upon her at Success Hill Reserve on Friday. Her 16-year-old brother picked her up and carried her home.

The parents of the little girl told media the owner did not help during the attack and left the area. She did not then come forward despite widespread media attention over the weekend.
A student has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after an incident at Perth's Hale School.

The senior school student plunged from a second-storey balcony at the prestigious all-boy's school in Wembley Downs.

The entrance at Hale School, where a boy was taken to hospital under a Priority 1. Credit:Google

St John Ambulance confirmed they received an emergency call at 10am and took a teenage boy to Royal Perth Hospital as a Priority 1.

He is now in 'serious but stable' condition.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament of Armenia elected Tigran Hakobyan as a member of the National Commission on Television and Radio, Ad-hoc Accounting Committee Chairman Sukias Avetisyan said, reports Armenpress.

Tigran Hakobyans candidacy was proposed for the election of the member of the National Commission on Television and Radio. From 130 MPs 111 participated in the voting. 2 ballots were declared invalid. 105 MPs voted in favor of his candidacy, 4 against, he said.

Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Hermine Naghdalyan congratulated Tigran Hakobyan wishing him success and expressed hope he will be able to justify the expectations of the MPs and the public.

In his turn Tigran Hakobyan expressed gratitude to MPs for trusting him.

I didnt expect such a result. I am really grateful, this is a very obliging. I once again assure that we have to work with my colleagues, all interested parties. I assure you I will do everything to respond effectively to all challenges faced by our online media, Tigran Hakobyan said.

Tigran Hakobyan was the Director of Armenpress news agency from 1995 to 1998.




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

Aggregator PLAN Australia has announced two major changes as it looks to embark on a period of growth and expansion.The aggregator yesterday announced that its chief executive officer Phil Quin-Conroy has decide to step down from his role and that it has proposed to integrate with Advantedge Financial Solutions (AFS).AFS is a subaggregation business that works with financial advisers to meet the finance needs of customers.In a statement provided to Australian Broker, a PLAN Australia spokesperson said the proposed integration with AFS would help the aggregator meet its growth targets, while also allowing PLAN brokers to improve their offerings.This change will see the incorporation of AFS into PLAN Australia, which will continue under the name PLAN Australia, the spokesperson said.Our focus is on continuing to grow and strengthen PLAN Australia and we believe this decision will provide the appropriate structure to achieve that ambition.The change will allow a closer relationship between PLAN and its wealth counterparts and enable PLAN brokers to continue to evolve and diversify their offering for their customers.While the spokesperson said the proposed integration would be a positive for PLAN Australia in terms of growth, it does appear to be the impetus for Quin-Conroys decision to move on.This inevitably provides the chance to consider new challenges and as a result, Phil Quin-Conroy has decided to stand down as CEO of PLAN Australia and pursue other opportunities, the spokesperson said.Phil will remain in his role as CEO until early October. Anthony Waldron , PLAN Australia chairman, said Quin-Conroy had made a significant contribution to the aggregators fortunes in his six years in the CEOs chair.Phil has been a huge part of the PLAN Australia journey, starting in 2010 when he led the development and strengthening of the Podium platform, before taking on the role of CEO over three years ago, where Phil has driven a legacy of growth, Waldron said.We wish Phil all the very best in his next chapter and thank him for his enormous contribution to the shaping and evolution of PLAN Australia, he 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 US defence think tank has warned that Australia only has six weeks to prevent a housing market collapse, due to the banks crackdown on foreign investor lending.According to an article written by Washington-based International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA), local bank policy changes could mark a decline in foreign direct investment in the property sector.This will profoundly impact the Australian governments ability to fund major programs in the defence and civil sectors, it said.We estimate that Australia has about six weeks or so to turn this situation around, otherwise there would be a massive hit on property valuations and the building trades, ISSA president Gregory Copley told news.com.au.The banks clearly believe Australian real estate values will decline, so they are attempting to avoid that risk In doing so, they precipitate the market collapse but are less exposed to it, Copley told news.com.auHowever, NAB chief economist Alan Oster described ISSAs prediction as garbage.What the banks were trying to do with the tightening of apartment lending, particularly to foreigners, was make sure that if people were having trouble offshore they didnt end up in the Australian banking system, Oster told news.com.au.Louis Christoper, managing director of SQM Research, also rubbished the ISSA claims.We pretty much have had from the time the national market started to rally in late 2012, a pile of market bears declaring the imminent crash of the Australian housing market. They are, what I call, the boys who cried wolf, Christopher said.I am convinced there is an industry of bear spruikers who earn a living preaching the end of the financial world, and for that matter, the demise of Australian housing, he said.While he refuted the ISSAs claims, Christopher did nominate some potential risks for the Australian property and he said he had no problems with people voicing concerns about the health of the market if those concerns were based in fact.I have always said that I have no problem with those voicing the risks in the Australian housing market. There are indeed many risks, particularly those associated with the ever-rising level of household debt to GDP and what that would mean if our country just returned to normal cash rate settings. That would indeed likely trigger a real rise in bad loans. These risks need to be pointed out to all participants.Christopher also said the oversupply of apartments in Brisbane and the collapse of the Perth rental market are other possible areas of concern.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. With less than eight weeks before Election Day, Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton are locked in a tight contest, with both candidates still struggling to win the confidence of their respective bases, Armenpress reports, citing The New York Times, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds.

Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has the support of 46 percent of likely voters nationwide, to 44 percent for Mr. Trump, the Republican, including those who said they were leaning toward a candidate. Looking more broadly at all registered voters, Mrs. Clinton holds a wider edge, 46 to 41 percent.

In a four-way race, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton are tied at 42 percent each.Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, has the support of 8 percent of likely voters, and the Green Party nominee, Jill Stein, takes 4 percent.

The third-party candidates draw their strongest support from younger voters. Twenty-six percent of voters ages 18 to 29 say they plan to vote for Mr. Johnson, and another 10 percent back Ms. Stein. A little more than one in five political independents say they will vote for one of the third-party candidates.

Discontent with the major party candidates is widespread. Among those who say they intend to vote for Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton, slightly more than half express strong support. The rest say that they harbor reservations about their candidate, or that they are simply voting to thwart the other nominee.

Over all, just 43 percent of likely voters describe themselves as very enthusiastic about casting a ballot in November. Fifty-one percent of Mr. Trumps supporters say they are very enthusiastic about voting; 43 percent of Mrs. Clintons supporters say they are very enthusiastic.

The race has clearly grown tighter in recent weeks. National polling averages show that Mrs. Clintons margin over Mr. Trump has narrowed from eight points in early August to two points today.

Mrs. Clinton found herself under attack last week for suggesting that half of Mr. Trumps supporters held views that made them deplorables, and for her campaigns attempts to conceal her pneumonia diagnosis. The Times/CBS News poll was conducted from Sept. 9 to 13, so many of those interviewed were aware of the controversies.

Mr. Trump hired new campaign leadership in mid-August and has been more disciplined in his public statements. His poll numbers have been steadily rising.

Mrs. Clinton continues to outpace Mr. Trump among women, nonwhites and younger voters, while Mr. Trump leads among whites, 57 to 33 percent.

Among white women, the candidates are virtually tied: 46 percent for Mrs. Clinton and 45 percent for Mr. Trump.

Mrs. Clintons support is notably strong among college graduates, particularly whites. She leads by 11 points among white likely voters with a college degree; if polling holds, she would be the first Democrat in 60 years to win among this group.

This is the first Times/CBS News poll of the election cycle to include a measure of likely voters. The nationwide telephone survey reached 1,433 registered voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. To achieve a sample that reflected the probable electorate, these voters were weighted by their responses to questions about voting history, attention to the campaign and likelihood of voting.

With Mrs. Clinton sidelined by illness this week, Mr. Trump has vigorously pressed his case. He promoted a new plan to support working parents on Tuesday, and released a partial account of his medical status on Wednesday during a taping of The Dr. Oz Show.
On the summer finale of Suits, P.S.L., as Jessica and Rachel fight for Leonard Bailey, Jessica questions her life choices, Harvey offers Mike a job, Louis gets surprising news from Tara and Harvey fights to keep a major client.

After nine long episodes (a month in Suits time) Mike is a free man. Now Harvey and the rest of whats left of Pearson Specter Litt can focus on saving the still flailing firm. Not sure how Mike moves forward, or if the show will find a way to keep the Butch and Sundance vibe going between Mike and Harvey; the main reason people tune in every week.

A Fresh Start and a New Threat

After being subject to one or two cavity searches at most, Mike and Harvey get together for celebratory drinks. Harvey offers Mike a job as a consultant. Mike appreciates the gesture, but he feels badly everyone left the firm because of him, and he doesnt want to cause anymore trouble. Plus, Harvey got him out, so theyre square. Harvey misses his sidekick and urges Mike to at least consider the offer for a few days before turning it down. (I cant fathom how bringing Mike back in any capacity is good for the firm, but hes got to get his foot back in the door somehow.)

Jessica and Harvey can now focus on restoring their firm to its former glory days, but theyve got a tough road ahead. Robert Zane informs them that their client, Jim Reynolds, is looking to jump ship. Jessica questions Roberts seemingly selfless gesture of giving them a heads up, and Robert explains that he misses the rivalry between their competing firms.



Suits Recap: Mike Puts His Deal in Jeopardy >>>

Harvey wonders why Reynolds hasnt called like he did before, and Jessica assumes hes getting pressure from his board, just like Reynolds told them he would. He gave them a month to get back on their feet.

Jessica sends Harvey to go speak to Reynolds, but Harvey thinks Jessica should be the one to plead their case. But Jessica is wrapped up in the Leonard Bailey case, and she cant go to a judge asking for a continuance just because she needs to make her business a priority over a mans life. Pretty hypocritical of Harvey to ask, given all hes done all month is run around wrangling to get Mike out.

A Hostile Witness

Rachel and Jessica are confronted by Baileys former attorney Georgina. Shes been subpoenaed and wants to know why. She signed the affidavit about Baileys witness like they asked. But Jessica points out that Georgina had to expect that she would have to testify. Georgina didnt think they were going to paint her as incompetent. Rachel, riding on her high horse, explains theyre just doing what she should have done 12 years ago, representing their client. Rachel also thinks Georgina should be thankful they didnt bring an action against her on Baileys behalf. (Way to create a hostile witness Rachel)

This is exactly why Jessica asks the judge for permission to treat Georgina as such. Jessica reveals that just a few minutes prior to taking the stand, Georgina would sooner deny Bailey a new trial than look incompetent. Since Georgina is under oath, shes forced to admit Jessicas accusation is the truth. Permission granted.

Jessica rips Georgina to shreds for not trying to find Maria Gomez which resulted in her clients death sentence. The prosecutor questions if Georgina thought Bailey was guilty, and she answers yes. Not only that, she still does.

Harveys Past Sins Catch Up with Him

Harvey pleads his case to Reynolds, but his decision to bail doesnt have anything to do with the firms revenue stream. This has to do with the rumors that Harvey tanked Sutters case. Their conversation is interrupted by Donald Mannis who is the driving force behind the company taking their business elsewhere.

Harvey calls bullshit, but Mannis knows that Mike was in prison with Sutters son-in-law, just like he knows the day Sutter went down, Mike got out. Mannis doesnt want his company doing business with someone whos willing to turn on his own client.

Reynolds admits to Harvey he didnt want to take any meetings, but he was pressured to do so because Mannis wants his job. And if Reynolds doesnt let Pearson Specter Litt go, Mannis will get it. The one thing that might have changed that was if Jessica had come in person to show them how important they were to her. Even Louis would have been a better choice because the last person Mannis needed to see was Harvey.

Harvey isnt the only one having to deal with a client whose ready to walk. Louis was out trying to do damage control with another company who heard the Sutter rumor. The old man did a thorough job in trying to take his attorney down with him. Louis tells Harvey that its only a matter of time before all of their clients believe the rumor.

The only course of action is to get Jim Reynolds to stay. If they can keep their oldest client, it will go a long way in restoring their credibility, even though they genuinely dont have any. But Jessica has to do something about Reynolds soon or she wont have a firm to come back to.

Harvey has to deliver the bad news to Jessica about the rumors circulating about Sutter and his disastrous meeting with Reynolds. Jessica tells Harvey to set up a meeting for after the trial, but if Sutter is out there telling the world that theyre the kind of lawyers that throw cases, it wont make a bit of difference. Harvey needs to find a way to shut him up.

Bringing Up Baby

Louis may have won Taras heart, but his happily ever after may not be set in stone. Tara tells him that shes pregnant with her exs baby. Louis says he doesnt care. He loves Tara, and if being with her means raising another mans child, so be it. Tara thinks he may have second thoughts about her baby daddy drama down the road.

Witness for the Prosecution

Rachel brings in back up after her and Jessicas first disastrous day in court. Mike has an idea; Leonard Bailey should take the stand and tell his story. Jessica thinks its risky but leaves it up to Bailey. He wanted to say his peace last time and didnt get the chance, so hes ready now.

Jessica asks that Rachel be allowed to question Leonard and after some back and forth with the prosecutor, the judge agrees. (Seems like a stretch that a law student gets to question the key witness, but it worked in Legally Blonde, so why the hell not)

Leonards wife left him two years after he went away, he hasnt seen his son in 10 years. He hadnt seen his daughter Maya until Jessica and Rachel found her and told her he was innocent and they would prove it. Mayas in the courtroom, and Rachel gives Leonard the opportunity to address her.

He tells Maya he lost 12 years for a crime he didnt commit. But he wont have any regrets if its the thing that got him clean and reunited him with her. Rachel says that Maya knows Leonard didnt do it.

Instead of cross-examining Leonard, the prosecutor calls Victor Forrest to the stand. Hes the father of Kim, the girl Bailey is accused of murdering. Hey, if Rachel can play emotional hardball, so can he.

Forrest doesnt care what some junkie witness may have had to say. The police found Leonard standing over Kims body with blood all over him. Bailey took away his everything for money to buy drugs. Their lives were ruined that night. He may not have seen Leonard Bailey kill his daughter, but he still thinks hes guilty.

Bailey admits to getting high, and says that he and Maria came across the kids. Leonard wasnt thinking, so he ran up to them. He yelled for Maria to get help, but the boy was already gone. The girl kept asking for help, so Leonard stayed with her. When the police showed up, he was charged with murder.

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Harvey shows up at Sutters palatial estate. Apparently, he hasnt started his stay at Club Fed just yet. Harvey has figured out a way to use Sutters home as leverage, and if Sutter doesnt start doing everything in his power to repair Harveys reputation, Sutter will be homeless in 24 hours.

Obstruction of Justice

Rachel and Mike go over the events of the day, and Rachel has an aha moment. How did Forrest know that Maria was junkie. He used the same exact words when he confronted her at the office. He did try to intimidate her, and she thinks he did the opposite to Maria.

She and Mike knock on Forrests front door and confront him. Mike accuses him of sending Maria Gomez away so that she couldnt testify. She was never in the court record as a drug addict but wound up in a rehab facility she could never afford. And Forrest knew enough about Gomez to call her a junkie to Rachels face a month ago.

Forrest says they cant prove anything. Not exactly the words of an innocent man. Rachel pleads with him to have some compassion for what Bailey has gone through, but Forrest isnt swayed.

Mike and Rachel go to Jessica, figuring it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Jessica isnt about to accuse Forrest of obstruction of justice without any proof. Mike says she doesnt have to prove it if she can break him on the stand, arguing its the only way. Jessica isnt about to attack the father, have it backfire, lose the jury and Baileys life is over.

Mike is convinced Forrest wants to tell the truth because hes proud of it. All she has to do is lead Forrest where hes dying to go. Jessica questions how shes supposed to do that, and Mike asks if shes seen A Few Good Men.

Suits: How Things Went from Wrong to Right in The Hand That Feeds You >>>

Put Up or Shut Up

Stus got some bad news for Louis. His firm has to relocate. Sutters company went bankrupt, and they owed him under their contract. Theyre offering Stu their space to cover the obligation. Stu cant pass up free rent. Louis threatens to sue, but theres a clause in the lease that gives him a 30 day out.

Donna witnesses Louis disproportionate response to Stus news and figures out something is up. He recounts the conversation he had with Tara and tells Donna that hes afraid Tara will decide to run back to her ex.

Donna offers Louis some advice. He has a habit of acting rashly and regretting it later. Louis swears this is different, but she suggests he not be impulsive because a baby isnt something you can go back on.

Harvey and Louis show up right before Jessicas cross and tell her Reynolds board moved up their meeting. If they show up without her, they might as well not show up at all.

Jessica asks for a continuance, and the prosecutor suggest that Rachel take over. Jessica argues that Rachel isnt ready, but that doesnt fly since Jessica pled Rachels case to question Bailey, so she cant change her stance now. Either Jessica lets Rachel take the reins or she does, but her business issues arent the courts problem. Jessica instructs Harvey and Louis to do what they can, but shes not abandoning Leonard for a corporate power struggle.

Whatever is motivating Jessica is being revealed in flashbacks. The first is her witnessing her parents arguing. Her father, a doctor, wasnt home much, and it put a strain on his marriage. Her mother and father tell Jessica theyre separating.

The second flashback shows Jessica visiting her father at his office. She tells him she got into Harvard law. Dad isnt thrilled because the plan was for Jessica to become a surgeon. But that was never Jessicas plan, it was her fathers. Her father believed doctors save lives while lawyers are power-hungry bottom feeders. Ahhhhh, daddy issues. Jessica can prove her pops wrong. Lawyers can save lives, specifically, Leonard Baileys. Quite a turnaround from the cutthroat Jessica weve watched for five seasons. Nothing like having your whole life blow up to reconsider your priorities.

Jessica goes after Victor Forrest. She threatens to put Maria Gomezs roommate from rehab on the stand, and shes going to testify that Maria felt terrible about abandoning her friend and that Victor paid to put Maria there. Victor swears thats not possible, and lets it slip that Maria Gomez didnt have a roommate. So he did order the code red.

Jessica asks that Bailey be exonerated, and his sentence be communicated immediately. No objections.

Jessica leaves the courtroom to find Robert Zane waiting for her with a proposition. Zane wants to merge. He knows Jessica tanked the Sutter case for Mike, and he knows everything Jessica has been doing for Rachel. Its not just about losing a great rival, its personal. Jessica got knocked down, and shes not getting back up without help. Jessica appreciates the offer, but shes had her name first for too long to go back to being last.

If Reynolds leaves, Zane tells Jessica her name might not be anywhere. Jessicas response? So be it. Lawyers are just power-hungry bottom feeders anyway.

New Beginnings

Mannis arrives prior to the board member to find Harvey and Louis waiting for him. They convinced Stu to buy shares into the company, becoming its biggest shareholder. Stu may not be part of the board yet, but as next quarter he will be. Stu demands that Mannis keep Harvey and Louis as his lawyers and Reynolds as CEO, or hell be out on his ass. Harvey tells Mannis he messed with the wrong marine, another nod to A Few Good Men, one that Stu catches. So a new bromance could be on the horizon.

Harvey and Louis tell Jessica the good news, but her reaction is unexpected. Jessica has decided to step down, leaving the firm to Louis and Harvey. Somewhere along the way, she forgot why she became a lawyer, and it wasnt to fight for money and power. It was to fight for something more.

Louis gets incensed, calling Jessica selfish, accusing her of throwing it all away. Donna reminds Louis that they all made a promise to give everything they had to saving the firm but they didnt. She and Harvey focused on freeing Mike, Jessica and Rachel took on Leonard Baileys case and Louis went in search of love.

Speaking of love, Louis goes to see Tara and proposes and she accepts.

Jessica goes to see Jeff and asks if she can go to Chicago with him. He doesnt want her to walk away for him, but Jessica assures him she doesnt want to be a corporate lawyer anymore, so even if he doesnt want her to come, shes still walking away. So, Jessica may be giving up her firm, but shes embarking on a whole new adventure.

Donna questions if Harvey is okay. Hes losing his mentor, but hell be okay. With an Ed Sheeran-esque ballad serving as the soundtrack, the two grasp hands, standing side by side, staring out the window.

As far as Mike returning to the firm, he hasnt given an answer, but I think we all know hell be back. (Threw in a movie quote of my own.)

New episodes of Suits will air on USA this winter. Hasta la vista, babies.

(Image courtesy of USA)
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) Karen Mirzoyan received on September 15 Director of the European Friends of Armenia NGO Diogo Pinto and Secretary General Hovhannes Grigoryan.

As Armenpress was informed from the press service of NKR MFA, Karen Mirzoyan welcomed the visit of representatives of the European Friends of Armenia to Artsakh and highly appreciated the NGOs consistent activity aimed at raising awareness within European community on the realization of the right to self-determination by the people of Artsakh as well on the ongoing democratic processes in the NKR. The sides exchanged views on the possibilities and prospects of expansion of cooperation in this direction.
Ashok Leyland's decision to merge the loss making Hinduja Foundries Ltd with the company was not received well by the investors. Company's stock dropped by 3.43 per cent to Rs 81.65 in BSE on Thursday morning.
Courtesy of Albuquerque Museum and City on the Edge

Under the late summer sun, a little drunk on a single beer (speaking just for myself here), we trudged through the sun-bleached cemetery, pausing at the occasional tombstone, feet sinking ominously into the cloying desert earth. What do you think the podcast's relationship to death is, Ty? Mike Smith asked, after admiring the singular font of a headstone. We're for it, Ty Bannerman responded as we soldiered along the dusty path, the only three living, as far as I could tell, in Fairview Cemetery.

Ostensibly, we were looking for the grave of one of Demi Lovato's ancestors; perhaps more notably (or maybe not, it depends how you feel about Cool for the Summer), that tomb was also the first erected in the massive graveyard that sits squarely between Yale and Columbia in the Southeast Heights. Along the way, Smith and Bannerman pointed out myriad more tombs that belonged to notable figures in Albuquerque's past. It was a veritable walking tour of the city's history, as the two culled stories from the granite and marble slabs that stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the cemetery's grounds. Bannerman and Smith are two historians in their own right, most keenly interested in the ramshackle corners of the city and the weird history of the outlying lands; both have authored books on the area's pastForgotten Albuquerque is Bannerman's title, Towns of the Sandia Mountains is Smith'sand continuing their work in that field, together the two host City on the Edge, a podcast that delves into the wonder of our high desert home's bygone days.

Prior to roving the cemetery, the three of us sat down at Quarters BBQ in the perfectly round bar area. Bannerman opened the pages of his personal copy of Forgotten Albuquerque (inscribed: To Me, Best Wishes, Me) and showed me a black and white photo of a building near the end of the paperbackit was the very same round shape, with less developed surroundings, and, in place of a flat roof, a massive sombrero shaded the structure's walls and windowsit turns out that in a different life, during the heyday of Route 66, Quarters was the Sombrero Cafe. For these two latter-day historians, nearly every corner of the city is imbued with some importance, just as this desolate student ghetto stretch is. I couldnt stop looking back and forth between the timeworn photograph and the building before me. Revelations like these are what Smith and Bannerman deliver to listeners of their podcast.

To me it adds another dimension of engagement and enjoyment to the world to know some things about it. I love not living in a blank, being able to walk around and feel connected to something that happened hundreds of years before  it makes me feel like I'm a part of something instead of just drifting, Smith elaborated. That frequent nodding to the past isn't myopic, but instead, carries weight and context for our lives in the here and now. We don't want to talk about a thing that happened 120 years ago, Bannerman said of City on the Edge's aim. We want to talk about how that relates to where we are now.  These aren't just airtight pieces of history, but things that have repercussions in the present day.  So this happened, but why should anyone care? That's the real challenge. In the series, the two approach diverse topics and provide insights into how the past has informed themfrom police brutality and murder mysteries to The Mother Road. On Friday, Sept. 23, the two will take a different approach to the recording of the podcast. Instead of sitting in Bannerman's living room and drinking, the two will sit down to discuss the secrets of UNM with a live audience at the Tannex (1417 Fourth Street SW) in Barelas.

For these two latter-day historians, nearly every corner of the city is imbued with some importance, just as this desolate student ghetto stretch is.

[UNM] has a lot of interesting things to say about the Southwest in the 20th century and how it's evolved  it's a microcosm of Albuquerque and the Southwest as a whole, Bannerman explained before outlining some of the history that will be elucidated over the course of the eveninglike the tragic fate of Lobo Louie, the actual wolf that provided a mascot for the university to rally around, the steam tunnels that run underneath the university, once traversed by the Pipe Ridge Bandit (who used them to break into nearly 100 buildings), the legendary figure of professor Frank Hibben (who some believe to have been the original model for Indiana Jones) and a whole lot more that you won't find in the official history. There'll be guest speakers, visuals, opportunities for the audience to chime in and musicincluding a performance from Merma and Roberta. When I asked them about their particular interest in UNM, they talked about hidden away spots on campus, their tenure as students there and their interest in knowing more about the historical and geographical meaning of the institution. I also owe them hundreds of thousands of dollars, so I need to get all the dirt on them I can, Smith added.

With the humor typical of their podcast, and with the self-same gravity, too, we continued the conversation on the hallowed grounds of the cemetery. As we walked, Smith mentioned the sensation, looking out at the hundreds and hundreds of graves there, of feeling like just another link in the chain. Acknowledging the feeling and walking on, we did, indeed, find the final resting place of one Mary Josephine Perea, whose DNA somehow lives on in Demi Lovato. Lingering there, it occurred to me that being acquainted with the histories of the individuals whose names are chiseled into these headstones and getting familiar with the pasts of the remote stretches of the city suffuses those many links with significance, suggesting that we, as another link, have meaning, too. And that's a heartening thought. As Smith said about City on the Edge, shortly before we left the old Sombrero Cafe, It's not about Albuquerque necessarily. It's about where you are. Inhabiting your present fully  Knowing these things, all of a sudden the city has depth. It's like living in more than three dimensions.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Political scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan thinks the negotiation process over Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement has appeared in some sense in a deadlock.

Evidently, rather strain situation has emerged in the negotiation process, as Azerbaijan has already declined the agreements reached during the Vienna and St. Petersburg meetings. This resulted in toughening the position of Armenia, and today we can see that Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister announces about the policy of reviewing the readiness to concessions. This means that the Madrid Principles are no longer viable, the political scientist told Armenpress.

According to him, future situation will depend on a number of external and domestic factors.

Everything will be clear if we follow Azerbaijans steps. I think in the near future it will try to neutralize the consequences of the failed war. The Armenian side also reinforces its positions along the entire front line, by which it shows that Armenia prepares to withstand the possible aggression. This deeply worries both the mediators and parties interested in the regional security, but, in fact, they have no practical solution as during the last 22 years all possible options have been put on the table, he said.

Referring to the constitutional referendum to be held on September 26 in Azerbaijan, the political scientist expressed conviction that everything has been arranged and decided in advance.

The new constitution will be adopted undoubtedly, moreover, by a large margin, as it usually happens in Azerbaijan. We should have no expectations for a surprise here, Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan concluded.
Following a consolidation trend globally in the agro chemicals and seed sector, Bayer and Monsanto announced a merger on Wednesday, where the former will pay 44 per cent higher price to Monsanto shareholders. While both are present in India and their Indian arms are listed, the share prices of both went up on the day with surging 9.9 per cent, while Bayer Crop Science surged 1.1 per cent.
A fresh row has broken out between the Big Three telecom operators and over number portability. Jio has written to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that the three leading telcos  Airtel, Vodafone and Idea  are preventing consumers from shifting to Jio.
Online grocery store is expecting an operational break-even by February next year, except for above-the-line marketing and corporate spends. A complete break-even, claimed the companys Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer Hari Menon, is expected between 2018 and 2020.


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Steep valuations marred by a weak real estate market have severely impacted Hotel Leelaventures plans to sell its properties to cut its burgeoning debt that had burnt a hole in its margins.
The stock dipped 3.5 per cent on investor worry that the merger of loss-making Hinduja Foundries (HFL) with it would be a negative for the commercial vehicle (CV) maker. Both companies are part of the Hinduja Group.
Holdings on Thursday approached the high court here for a direction to the agriculture ministry to explain its previous statement which insinuated collusion between the environment ministry and the company in obtaining licences for its genetically modified cotton seeds. Senior advocate Pratibha Singh, on behalf of in a case relating to the ongoing anti-competition investigation, said the company had licensed and commercialised its seed technology in 2002, and enjoyed a 92 per cent market share. However, it is only now that the ministry of agriculture is saying licences were granted illegally, she said.
World's third largest tractor maker Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (Tafe) on Thursday said that it is planning to launch two new platforms under its .
As the continues to drag, India has suggested ways to Pakistan to expedite the trial of perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a senior official said on Thursday.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry to expedite the trial, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup at a media briefing in New Delhi.

"As you know, the Mumbai terror attack trial in Pakistan has not progressed expeditiously although it will soon be eight years since the dastardly attack," Swarup said.

"In order to bring the guilty to book, our Foreign Secretary has recently written to his counterpart in Pakistan suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited by cooperation through the legal channel," he said.

He was responding to reports of the acquittal of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist involved in the horrific attacks, in a Pakistani court .

At least 166 people were killed when 10 members of the LeT carried out a series of shootings and bombings in Mumbai across four days starting from November 26, 2008.

While nine of the terrorists were killed during the attacks itself, the 10th, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive, prosecuted and subsequently executed in November 2012.

In April last year, a Pakistani court granted bail to the attacks' foremost leader, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Jaishankar's letter, dated September 6, was handed over to Chaudhry on September 9, according to Swarup.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Member of the Public Council of Armenia and Council of Yerevan, Director of Synopsys Armenia Hovik Musayelyan describes the newly appointed Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan as a well-educated, skillful and decent person. In an interview with Armenpress he said that everyone who has had some type of relation with him can confirm that.

It is a long time I know Karen Karapetyan. I have had several opportunities to talk to him about the development of Armenias economy, information and communications technologies. He is a very modern-day individual and is rather quick in catching the problems in the innovative sector, Hovik Musayelyan said, adding that he has quite flexible engineering thinking and reminded about Karapetyans educational background at the Faculty of Informatics and Applied Mathematics at the YSU.

Underlining the strong features of Karen Karapetyan, Hovik Musayelyan emphasized the necessity to back him.

It will be very difficult for him and I am sure he acknowledges this. He mentioned at the National Assembly that Armenias economy faces numerous hardships: It is characteristic of him, to speak in a simple and honest manner. The issue is to what extent he will be supported by his team. He will not be able to carry out drastic changes on his own. His team has to support him. I am sure he will succeed, Hovik Musayelyan added.

He also said that positive signals are necessary in the short-term, so as to increase public trust towards the government.

On September 8 ex-premier of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan announced about his decision to leave the office. On September 13 President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan issued a decree of appointing Karen Karapetyan to the post of the Prime Minister of Armenia.
The Bihar government is preparing to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the bail granted to controversial Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) strongman by the Patna High Court, after it faced flak, especially from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), over his release from jail.
Delhi Chief Minister on Wednesday underwent a five-hour throat surgery at a private hospital here for a persistent cough, which troubled him for about 40 years.

"The surgery corrected an anatomical abnormality of Kejriwal's oral-pharyngeal and palatal area, which was causing small amounts of saliva to trickle into his air passages whenever his nose breathing was affected by allergy or other factors," said Narayana Health City in a statement.

Kejriwal, who arrived in the city from New Delhi on Tuesday for the long-pending surgery, was first diagnosed by the hospital's Medical Director Paul C. Salins for his bouts of coughing.

"Soon after recovery, Kejriwal spoke to his family members and had a few sips of water. He is expected to be fully functional in a couple of days although recovery of such a long-standing problem with its own functional accommodation will be gradual," the statement noted.

A diabetic, Kejriwal, 48, is likely to be in the hospital for about a week under medical observation.

The surgery involved correction of a septal spur by Suhel Hasan, head of Oto-Laryngology, and the palato-pharyngeal correction along with repositioning the tongue base relationship by reorganisation of the chin area by Salins.

"Computer analytics confirmed that a restricted space for the movement of his tongue and an enlarged soft palate and uvula in relation to a slight increase in the volume of the tongue caused kinematic problems in function" said Salins.

The aim of the correction was functional restoration rather than that of a disease.

In Delhi, a government official said that Kejriwal on Wednesday underwent a five-hour throat surgery and that "doctors say all parameters are normal" but gave no further details.
In an apparent fallout of the Cauvery issue, unidentified attackers on Thursday pelted stones at an office of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) in Chennai, damaging some glass panes.

The incident occurred early this morning, police said.

The miscreants also left behind pamphlets, slamming the Centre on the Cauvery issue, they said.

In Erode, a textile laden lorry with a Karnataka registration number was set ablaze by two persons near Chitode, 15 km from from Chennai, early this morning. The duo fled the scene after the crime.

Police said it was not immediately clear if it was related to the Cauvery issue and that they were questioning the two drivers, whose replies aroused suspicion.

The drivers claimed that they could not clearly see the two persons who burnt their vehicle nor the car registration number.

Police said that some buses, mainly private, were operated to Chamrajnagar and Mysuru from the district on Thursday.
Security personnel has been deployed at the Mandya Railway Station as "Rail Roko" protest by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike is expected against the Supreme Court directive to Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Jai Karnataka, Vatal Kannada Paksha and Dr. Rajkumar Fans Association are among the 800 Kannada organisations which will take part in the protest.

Speaking to ANI, Mandya Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Reddy said all sorts of arrangement are made to deal with any kind of trouble.

"Right now there are three, four agencies that are involved in the security which includes the local police, the GRPs, RPF... apart from that we have the paramilitary forces. Everybody is doing their duty and we are here to personally supervise. We made an assessment as to what problems may come. Arrangements are made about everything," he said.

The situation continued to be normal in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as no reports of violence has come from any parts of the states though the interstate transport through Karnataka border remained at standstill.

The district administration has arranged special buses to bring the passengers who disembark at the Karnataka side of the border to Hosur from where they could proceed to their destinations.

Curfew was lifted in all the 16 police station limits in Bengaluru yesterday as the city bounced back to normal after widespread violence over the Cauvery water sharing row with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear a plea today seeking direction to the Centre and the state governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain law and order, in the wake of the massive protests over the Cauvery water distribution row.
With the advent of affordable smartphones and growing reach of internet across the country, India's online population will reach 500 million by 2020, Google's Asia Pacific Language Head, Richa Singh Chitranshi said.

"India's online population will reach 500 million by 2020 with majority of them being local language users," Chitranshi said while addressing IT students at Rajiv Gandhi Proayogiki (Technology) Vishwavidyalaya (RGPV) here.

The event was jointly organised by RGPV and MPPOST, an online portal, yesterday.

Speaking about the future and present of the internet Chitranshi said it was mainly due to availability of affordable smartphones and data packs that have enabled millions in Indians to go online.

She also informed that today over 65 per cent of India surf the internet through their phones with majority of the new users accessing it for the first time through phones.

"Interestingly, not all of them are English speaking users," Richa said.

She said out of the 350 million, 150 million internet users are only comfortable with local language and those users will form the majority of the online population in India.

Stating that the reach of internet is growing rapidly in the country, she said that net users will go up from the current 43 per cent to 62 per cent by 2020.

Chitranshi further pointed out that have seen 10 fold growth in local language queries over the past 1.5 years. Hindi content consumption is growing five times the rate at which English content is consumed.

She also said that content, speed and products are the priority for the company.

The Indic keyboard on Android has been downloaded 10 million times. There are 22 official languages in India and supports 11 of them including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada and seven others. This would help writers in a big way, she added.

The initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the field of Digital India were also highlighted by MPPOST Founder Editor Sarman Nagele and Madhya Pradesh Rojgar aur Nirman Editor Pushpendra Pal Singh during the event.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leading a 125-member delegation, on Thursday left for a four-day state visit to New Delhi at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

This is his first foreign visit after Dahal was elected in August.

Dahal is being is accompanied by his wife, Sita, two ministers, senior government officials, media team and member of the Nepali business community.

On the top of the agenda, his meting with Modi is scheduled for Friday at the Hyderabad House which will be followed by signing some agreements and a joint press briefing.

According to Rishiraj Adhikari, Foreign Relations Advisor to Dahal, a breakthrough is expected on an agreement on long pending Panchewhwor Hydro Project in that has installation capacity of 48,00 mw.

and India had jointly agreed to develop this project in 1996 but no progress has been made due to some outstanding issues.

The Prime Minister will seek Indian's support to build another 400 mw hydro power plant in Nepal, Adhikari added.

Officials told IANS that a $1 billion soft loan and grant for the reconstruction of damaged structures in Nepal, will also be discussed.

Proposal on feasibility study of east-west electric rail in Nepal, building an 80 km long Buddhist circuit linking key heritage sites between Nepal and India were also in the agenda.

Several others agendas like growing trade deficit with India, construction of a sub station for trading energy between Nepal and India, aid for second phase for construction of Postal road in Nepal's southern plain will also be discussed.

Both sides will commit to review and update all bilateral agreements and pacts through the Eminent Person's Group which has already met in Kathmandu once.

Dahal will also visit Himanchal Pradesh to inspect one hydro power plant before his return to Nepal.
A PIL has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Centre to protect Tamils in Karnataka and Kerala in the wake of recent attacks on them in both states over the Cauvery issue and alleged assault on PWD officials.

Petitioner K K Ramesh, who runs an NGO, on Thursday said the safety of Tamils in both states had become a question mark in recent times.

"While Tamils and their business establishments in Karnataka were attacked recently, owing to the Cauvery water dispute, PWD officials from Tamil Nadu were attacked by the Kerala Police, when they had visited the Parambikulam Dam site in Kerala on September 12," he submitted.

"If such attacks continued then the integrity of the nation would be affected," the petitioner said and sought a direction to the Union government to take steps to protect Tamils in Kerala and Karnataka.

The Cauvery water sharing row between both states had turned violent in Karnataka on September 12, claiming two lives, both in Bengaluru. While one person was killed in police firing, another succumbed to injuries he suffered while fleeing a police lathicharge as he jumped in panic from a three-storey building.

Widespread violence had erupted that day in Bengaluru and some other parts of Karnataka, while sporadic trouble was witnessed in Tamil Nadu following the Supreme Court's modified order on sharing Cauvery water by the two riparian states.

The apex court had modified its September 5 order and asked Karnataka to release a reduced quantum of 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till September 20.

In its September 5 order, the apex court had directed the state to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water for 10 days to ameliorate the plight of farmers of the neighbouring state.

On September 12, a Tamil Nadu PWD officer and about 50 workers were reportedly prevented entry to the Parambikulam Project area in Kerala. When they protested, officials, led by district forest officer, had allegedly resorted to a lathicharge, resulting in injuries to four women.
Security forces have launched an operation to search two suspects, who were reportedly in army uniforms and heavily armed, in Sudhmahadev area of Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district.

Army along with CRPF and J&K Police has started the search operation in Sudhmahadev and adjoining areas of the district, police said.

As per reports shared by a security official, two suspect in army dress, who were heavily armed, reached Chowka Nallaha on Sudhmahadev and Mantalai road and inquired about the way to Patnitop.

Later, they asked some villagers to manage a private vehicle for them but the locals got suspicious about their behaviour and language. They immediately informed police, but in the meantime both of them disappeared from the Chowk nallaha area, he said.

The security forces have started search operation in the area but were not able to trace them. The operation was stopped in the late evening, but started again in the wee hours, he said.

Forces are facing dificulty to sanitize the area as it is covered with maize crop and tall grass, he added.
Two persons have been arrested from Mahipalpur area of south Delhi for allegedly robbing a truck carrying over 1,000 mobile phones worth Rs 2.25 crore, police said on Thursday.

The accused have been identified as Mehtab Alam, 24, and Arman, 22, both residents of Mahipalpur. Mehtab Alam was arrested from Mahipalpur while Arman was arrested from Rangpuri area of south Delhi, the police said.

The police recovered over 900 iPhone mobile phones and the car used in the crime from them.

According to the police, the robbery took place on September 13, when the truck was carrying the mobile phones from Okhla area of south Delhi to Dwarka in south-west Delhi.

The two, along with their accomplices, held the truck driver captive before robbing the mobile phones near Rajokri flyover, Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Ishwar Singh told reporters.

The officer said the robbers then dumped the driver near Dwarka Link Road.

"During investigation it was found that two robbers  Bhola and Pradeep  were the former drivers of the truck, and had left their jobs two weeks ago," the officer said.

"We also found that on the day of the incident, both the drivers had followed the same route which was used by the truck carrying the mobile phones," Singh said.

The accused have also confessed to having committed the crime along with their accomplices Bhola, Rahul and Jitender, the officer added.

The police was conducting raids to arrest the remaining gang members.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. A colloquium dedicated to the future of the Council of Europe headlined Is the idea of the defence of human rights in Europe outdated? The Council of Europe, more necessary than ever took place in Paris on September 12.

Armenpress reports the Speaker of the French National Assembly, French State Secretary for European Affairs, former PACE presidents and other leading figures from the Council of Europe were among the invited guests.

The discussions at the colloquium could not bypass the issue of human rights situation in Azerbaijan. Particularly, the representative of Amnesty International talked about the non-stop political persecutions and political prisoners in Azerbaijan, stating that Azerbaijan did not stop persecuting the civil society representatives even under its Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Concerns were raised over the issue that Azerbaijan does not implement the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. Ilgar Mammadovs case is the best example for the situation. He has been recognized a political prisoner by the ECHR with a demand to release him effective immediately. This is the third year Azerbaijan does not comply with the decision creating serious threats for the European Convention on Human Rights.

Azerbaijan was also criticized for not cooperating with the Venice Commission. The President of the Commission informed that they have received no request to provide an opinion over the Constitutional referendum to be held in Azerbaijan on September 26.
After a plunge in exports in 2015-16, exporters are seeing good times with low production of shrimps in producing economies and an upbeat 'new year buying' season.The reduction in anti-dumping duty by US government on import of frozen shrimps from India, the major export item, is bringing a respite to the farmers.
Bogged down by rising non-performing assets, State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, on Thursday reported a 25.9 per cent decline in its advance tax payment for Q2 FY17. The bank paid Rs 1,200 crore as advance tax, compared with Rs 1,620 crore in the corresponding period last year.
exports fell by 4.6 per cent to $12.78 billion in July this year, Reserve Bank data showed today.

The exports were at $13.39 billion in July, 2015.

Import of also declined by 1.2 per cent to $7.41 billion in July 2016, compared to $7.5 billion in the same month a year ago.

The data is based on RBI's compilation on International Trade in .

On cumulative basis, total services exports were of the order of $52.47 billion during April-July.

Services sector contributes about 55 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.

RBI releases the provisional aggregate monthly data on India's international trade in services with a lag of 45 days. Monthly data on services are provisional and undergoes revision when the Balance of Payments (BoP) data are released on a quarterly basis.
Political currency or divine help? Economic debates should be informed. Changing the currency notes or printing images of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi on them will not help

Marginal progress on climate Even with 40 countries issuing new NDCs, the carbon mitigation pledges remain inadequate to contain the rise in global temperature to 1.5 ...
Tamil Nadu is bracing for a dawn-to- dusk bandh supported by Opposition parties on Friday on the Cauvery issue with police deploying thousands of personnel across the state to ensure peace, even as a youth set himself on fire here over the water sharing row.
Following good sowing of sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh (UP) mills this year may see slightly higher production compared to other states especially Maharashtra, which could see a huge fall and may lose status of top producing state atleast in sugar season 2016-17. This will be significant because national sugar production in sugar year 2016-17 begnning October is expected to be atleast 8% lower.
In a row of non-descript rooms along the third floor corridor at Electronics Niketan in the national capital, which houses the information technology department, people are busy sorting thousands of resumes these days.
Despite a rise in the debit cards in circulation, the growth in the automated teller machines (ATMs) space is showing moderation. As a result, players have begun to alter their growth and expansion plans.
With public sector raising Rs 10,000 crore through additional in the last few weeks, the pressure on the government to provide them with capital support has eased.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. There will be major changes among Cabinet members in the near future, RPA spokesperson, Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov told after RPA Executive Body meeting.

The changes will occur soon. The time limits are not out yet, there is still time and when that changes take place, you will be informed. At this moment the discussions are still underway, Armenpress reports Sharmazanov saying.

To the question who will leave the Cabinet and who will take their places, Sharmazanov answered, Since the discussions are still underway and we have time to form the new government, I dont think it is correct to give any names, the Vice President of the parliament stated.
Air Force Association Celebrates its Annual Day

Air Force Association is a welfare organisation in the non-governmental sector, actively involved in the welfare of air veterans and their families since 15 Sep 1980. The Association was established under the patronage of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh Padma Vibhushan DFC. It has nineteen branches spread all over the country and abroad with two branches in UK and Australia. The raising day of the Air Force Association is celebrated on 15 Sep each year.

The Annual Day began in the morning with the Wreath Laying Ceremony at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate on 15 Sep 16 in the memory of those who laid down their lives for the motherland.

The wreath laying ceremony was led by the new president of Air Force Association Veteran Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne PVSM AVSM VM (Retd) who took over the responsibilities of association since 07 Sep 16. This was followed by Annual General Body Meeting held at Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park, where-in some of the Air Force Octogenarians were honoured and were presented mementos by the Air Force Association, wishing them a healthy and long life. The Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha PVSM AVSM VM ADC was the Chief Guest. Many retired Chiefs of the Air Staff, along with large number of air warriors attended the Annual General Meeting.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan calls on President Mukherjee

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee yesterday (September 14, 2016) received His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Welcoming President Ghani, President Mukherjee said it is heartening to see that there have been regular meetings between India and Afghanistan at the highest level. These meetings are testament of close and friendly bilateral relations between the two countries. The President said India will always stand by the people of Afghanistan as their proud country courageously deals with its challenges.

The President offered his condolences on terrorist attacks that continue to claim precious innocent lives in Afghanistan.

He said India supports the people of Afghanistan in their fight against terror and violence imposed on them. He thanked the Afghan Government for protecting the Indian Embassy and Consulates and also ensuring the safety and security of Indian nationals in Afghanistan.

In response, the President of Afghanistan said it was their duty and responsibility to protect Indian Consulates and nationals. The Afghanistan Government will continue to do everything possible to ensure their security.
Behind a wave of multibillion-dollar mergers in the agriculture business is a moment of change in American farming. The dominance of genetically modified crops is under threat.


released a letter today from an immigration attorney that provided more detail on what she said was her legal pathway to US citizenship.

But the Slovenian-born wife of the GOP presidential nominee did not publish any part of her immigration file official documents that would put to rest questions about whether she followed immigration law.

The two-page letter from New York attorney Michael J. Wildes, who has represented Donald Trump's companies, also advanced an alternate timeline for a nude photo shoot that had been cited in news reports as possible evidence of Mrs. Trump working as a model in New York City without authorization.

At issue is whether the photo shoot occurred in 1995 before Mrs. Trump has said she began legally working in the US or in 1996, as Mrs. Trump and Wildes assert.

The letter marks the first time that Mrs. Trump has publicly identified the type of visas she held and gave specifics about her entry into the US.

Mrs. Trump has often said she came to the US legally and used her story to defend Donald Trump's hard line on illegal immigration, an issue that he has made a signature part of his campaign.

In the letter from Wildes, it's unclear whether Mrs. Trump provided him access to her full immigration file during his review. Wildes wrote that he had reviewed a series of news reports and "documents regarding the US immigration history of Mrs. ."



But the letter did not indicate which documents.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not immediately respond to detailed questions from The Associated Press about the review and whether Mrs. Trump planned to release her immigration file for public examination.

The immigration file is one of several documents that the Trumps have refused to make public including Donald Trump's tax returns.

In his letter, Wildes dismissed news reports that Mrs. Trump had been professionally photographed posing nude in New York City in 1995.

Last month, the New York Post published the photos along with an article saying they were taken during a two-day photo shoot in Manhattan in 1995.

The Post reported that the photos were then published in the January 1996 issue of the French magazine Max.

But Wildes said that then-Melania Knauss was not in the country in 1995.

"The allegation that she participated in a photo shoot in 1995 is not only untrue, it is impossible," Wildes wrote.

He said he interviewed Mrs. Trump and "we ascertained that the photo shoot in question did not occur until after she was admitted to the United States in H-1B visa status in October 1996.
When India and the US cooperate, they can do incredibly important things not only for themselves but for the entire world, the White House has said nearly a week after American President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Laos.

"The United States and India have been able to work together on a number of shared priorities. There was a lot of scepticism internationally about whether the Paris climate agreement would be reached if India was not prepared to engage constructively in pursuit of a solution. But to his credit, that is exactly what Prime Minister Modi did. And he did that frequently consulting with President Obama and other world leaders," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday.

"But I think it's a testament to the fact that the world's two largest democracies, when we cooperate, can do incredibly important things, not just for our two countries, but for the planet and the president is proud of the legacy of the US-India relationship that's been established under Prime Minister Modi and President Obama's leadership," Earnest said in response to a question.

Obama and Modi met in Laos last week on the sidelines of the 14th India-Asean Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, their eighth meeting in the last two years.

"I know that the President enjoyed the opportunity that he had to sit down with Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders have cooperated extensively on a range of shared priorities particularly with regard to the climate agreement that was reached in Paris at the end of last year," he said.

"The President has obviously engaged in an effort to encourage other countries around the world to join that agreement before the end of this year. And certainly, Prime Minister Modi is well aware of the significance of this agreement. I know that he is supportive of the contents of the agreement because of the positive impact it would have on the future of his nation," Earnest said.

Typically, when the President has the opportunity to sit down with Modi, they don't just talk about climate, they also talk about other extensive ties between the US and India, particularly with regard to economy and national security, he noted.
Expectation of fresh export demand together with tight supply situation has pushed (cumin) prices to a five-year high. Industry feels that with fresh export demand coming in, prices are likely to touch new highs in the coming days.
Indias output of during the ongoing kharif season is likely to reach an all-time high of 8.22 million tonnes, almost 50 per cent more than last year. This could also mean a record crop in 2016-17. The Centres target is 14.41 mt in the coming rabi (winter) season. If this happens, it would push the total harvest to over 22 mt. The highest till date was 19.25 mt, in 2013-14. Output fell to 16.47 mt in 2015-16 and 17.15 mt in 2014-15, due to drought.This years harvest is expected on the back on a good southwest monsoon and higher price realisation by farmers. apart, overall farm production in this kharif is expected to be a bumper one.Overall, the monsoon has been favourable to farmers this year. We have received good rains and distribution was also good, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said. The earlier high for total output was 265.04 mt in the 2013-14 crop year (July-June). This fell in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to 252.02 mt and 253.23 mt, respectively. The government's target for 2016-17 is 270.10 mt, on hope of bountiful rain. It has pegged paddy output at 108.5 mt, wheat at 96.5 mt and at 24.5 mt.Paddy, oilseeds and coarse cereals have all seen a rise in sowing area in this kharif, said the minister. Kharif sowing started with onset of the southwest monsoon from June and harvesting will begin from next month.The minister said he was urging states to promote pulses in the rabi season, starting October, too. Unless farmers are assured of getting the announced Minimum Support Price (MSP), they will not be encouraged to plant lentils in rabi. It is for this reason, the government has started pulses procurement, he said.Procurement by government agencies has begun for moong (green gram) in Karnataka and Maharashtra at the MSP. Tur (pigeon pea) and urad (black gram) would also be procured once their arrival begins on a large scale, said Singh. Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said increase in pulses output in the rabi season would depend on efficient procurement. Right now, the crop is in very good shape. We are likely to break the record during the current year, he added.For the rabi, said agriculture commissioner S K Malhotra, states should adopt region-specific crop planning. Barring chickpea, there is sufficient availability of seeds of wheat, jowar (sorghum), urad and moong for rabi sowing, he said.

Centre raps states on its schemes
In a blow for domestic refineries, the countrys import of refined is likely to double, to set a new record, in the current oil year (November 15October 16), due to better realisation than importing of crude palm oil (CPO) and local processing.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. A delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will carry out an Electoral Assessment Mission to Armenia from 14 to 18 September, in order to monitor the local elections to be held on 18 September. Armenpress reports headed by Liisa Ansala (Finland, ILDG), the delegation includes eight Congress members and two members of the EU Committee of the Regions.

High-level meetings are scheduled on 15 September in Yerevan, where the delegation will exchange views with Tigran Mukuchyan and David Lokyan, respectively President of the Central Election Commission of Armenia and Minister of Territorial Administration and Development. Furthermore, the delegation will meet representatives of the diplomatic corps, NGOs and the media in Yerevan.

On 16 September, meetings are planned in Armavir with members of the Province Electoral Commission, representatives of the Armavir Development Centre and local media.

On 17 September, the delegation will also meet candidates for mayors and councillors from the Ararat and Aragatsotn regions and the President of the Union of Communities of Armenia, Emin Yeritsyan.

On Election Day, seven Congress teams will be deployed to different areas in which elections are going to be organized. The Electoral Assessment Mission will be followed by an Information Report to be discussed in the framework of the 31st Congress Session (19-21 October 2016).

Armenia ratified the European Charter of Local Self Government in 2002. The countries which have ratified the Charter are bound by its provisions. The Charter requires compliance with a minimum number of rights, which form the European bedrock of local self-government. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities makes sure that these principles are observed.

Local elections will take place in Armenia on September 18 and October 2.
Despite the constitution of special courts and swift adjudication of collective investment schemes (CIS) cases by them, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has been facing issues in recovering the monies invested by people in the unauthorised CIS schemes.

These courts were exclusively set up to expedite the process of bringing those guilty of illicit money-pooling activities across the country. According to sources, so far special courts have received 700 cases from various other criminal courts and are pending for clearances.
A single bench of the Supreme Court, which was hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Centre and to the state governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain law and order in the wake of the massive protests over the Cauvery water distribution row, on Thursday expressed its dismay over people taking the law into their own hands, and insisted that the state authorities take immediate preventive action.

Justice Deepak Misra observed that "it is the duty of states to see that no agitation and no damage take place. We expect the people from both states to maintain peace, harmony and above all dignity and respect for the law. We sincerely hope wisdom shall prevail over authorities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu."

The top court has also asked the counsels of both states to go through the petition and file their responses by September 20.

The court has listed the PIL for further hearing on September 20.

Activist Shivkumar, who is a petitioner in the case, has sought the apex court's intervention. Yesterday, Shivkumar had appealed to a bench headed by Chief Justice T. S. Thakur to hear the matter related to the two states urgently, adding that on September 15, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu would be observing state-wide shutdowns.

He sought the apex court's direction to the Centre and both states to take strict action against those who are involved in violence and to provide security to private and public properties and citizens of both states.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier urged the protesters not to damage public property, adding that the order of the Supreme Court is hard to follow, but "we will still follow it".

The apex court had on Monday modified its September 5 order, directing the Karnataka government to release 15000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. It directed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to release 12000 cusecs of water for farmers.

However, the development did not sit well with pro-Kannada protesters who vandalised public property and set several vehicles on fire, protesting against the order.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington D C [USA], Sept.15 (ANI): China and Pakistan are "passive enablers" of the North Korean nuclear program and may face some secondary sanctions for violating UN approved sanction, say U.S.-based experts, with China being a bigger issue.

"The right way to describe China's role is that they actually have been a passive enabler by providing generalized support to the North Korean regime," says Scott Snyder, Senior Fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations. Chinese support has led Kim Jong-Un to believe that China will vote for stability and not go so far as to threaten his regime security, he adds.

North Korea carried out its fifth nuclear test last Friday, its second in less than a year. Experts have concluded that the underground explosion was stronger than the previous four triggering a magnitude 5.3 seismic event. The test was condemned by the international community and has led to increased tensions in the region with both China and US trading blame for not working to restrict North Korea's nuclear program.

Siegfried Hecker, former head of the Los Alamos National Laboratory concluded that North Korea may have "a stockpile of sufficient fissile material for approximately 20 bombs by the end of this year and a capacity of adding approximately 7 per year."

China has long been accused of not putting sufficient pressure on North Korea and not implementing UN sanctions by allowing movement of goods and money across its border, a claim it has denied. Experts believe that China wants North Korea as a buffer between its border and US and its allies.

"Why use the word accused, the evidence is pretty clear. China has agreed to do a lot of things that it hasn't. A US news channel was filming cargo going back and forth on the North Korea-China border without any inspection. It is pretty clear that North Korean related organizations are operating in China," says William Newcomb, Visiting Scholar at the United States Korea Institute in Washington DC and former UNSC panel member who helped impose sanctions on North Korea.

He believes that the Chinese are making a strategic blunder by confusing status quo with stability especially as North Korea is "90% a failed state" and the Chinese leadership is in effect implying that the "Chinese military will not be able to protect Chinese borders if North Korea collapses."

North Korea's nuclear program is also known to have ties with Pakistan, which supplied it with schematics for nuclear weapons while the former is thought to have provided help on the Pakistan's missile program. Egypt and Iran have also coordinated with North Korea in the past. The blatant violation of UN sanctions by some countries has raised the question of consequences for their actions.

Newcomb believes that violators should not be allowed to get away and that the UNSC should find ways to make violators to pay a price for their actions.

United States law requires the imposition of secondary sanction on entities that trade with North Korea. Here again, analysts believe that China can be a bigger target than Pakistan and Iran.

"The most interesting case really is China because of the extent of trade. There are more potential targets for secondary sanctions located in China. I think that you couldn't necessarily rule that possibility out," says Snyder.

According to him, Pakistan and Iran could also meet the threshold if the US intelligence community can come to a conclusion that there is sufficient linkages to warrant secondary sanction on entities from those countries. But the imposition of secondary sanctions after the current nuclear test will depend on US domestic politics especially given that the Obama administration is on its way out.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration's policy of 'strategic patience' with respect to North Korea has come in for a lot of criticism from experts across the board. "Obama has failed abjectly and completely. There is no policy. It's head in the sand approach, " argues John Merill, former head of the Northeast Asia Division of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US Department of State.

Merill believes that the sanctions have completely failed and doubts the US government's ability to come up with a better policy. The only thing that can be done, he says, is for everyone to reduce tensions and to sit down for talks with the North Koreans and see what can be worked out.

"Strategic patience was a policy that was justified on the basis of the idea that we had the luxury of time to convince North Korea to change direction," says Snyder. The problem with such a policy, he adds, is that if time is not on the US side the policy options move to the extremes, either acquiescence or use force to achieve the objective of denuclearization and he thinks we might be headed in that direction.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lawyers in Delhi are likely to observe a strike on Friday.

According to reports, the coordination committee of the Bar Association of Delhi has called on lawyers of Delhi to completely abstain from work on September 16 in all districts of Delhi.

The strike has reportedly been called over the issue of the shifting of the Patiala House court and the future bifurcation of other courts in Delhi.

According to an NDTV report filed in 2014, there has been a proposal to shift the Patiala House court to a swanky eight storey building on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, where the district court will be shifted.

The proposed new court premises is said to have have double basement parking with a capacity of around 823 cars over eight floors.

The new court will have 41 courts. Besides, it will have an auditorium with a capacity to seat 200 people and separate movement for judges, lawyers, litigants and convicts.

The new building will also have an open hall measuring around 3500 square metres for the lawyers' chambers and other facilities.

Space will also be provided for a bank, post office, ATMs, stamp vendors, library, food court, lunch rooms at every floor in new building and administrative blocks will also be constructed," he added.

Apart from that, dispensary will also be built and new building will also have an automated security system.

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Resolute on his stand, Delhi's Health Minister, Satyendra Jain, has reiterated that cannot cause deaths, and added that this is a fact that is available on Google, and not his opinion.

Speaking to media here, Jain said that Delhiites need not panic and that all they needed to do is to take precautions and go to the hospital only if they experience symptoms of the vector-borne disease.

"People of Delhi have no need to panic. The state government is ready to provide help at all cost. But one should get admitted only if the doctor advises them to do so and not because they are scared," he said.

Talking about the recent casualties, Jain stated that four of the five deaths had been reported from the same hospital, which made the situation quite suspicious.

" deaths are not happening across the world. Why is it only in a select few Delhi hospitals? And upon enquiry, I have discovered that most of the deaths are of people who were aged and already sick with other ailments," the minister said.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said that no complaints of shortage of medicine or doctors and testing facilities have been reported, adding that the Centre is fully prepared to tackle the crisis.

Nadda said the Centre has held a review meeting in this regard and found out that there is an increase in cases of in Delhi, whereas the hike in cases of Dengue have been reported from West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka.

Meanwhile, some people in West Bengal have tested positive for malaria also.

Nadda informed, "We today held a review meeting in regard with the upsurge of vector borne diseases. In Delhi, an increase in cases of Chikungunya has been reported, and meanwhile, large number of cases of fever has been reported. In West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka, cases of dengue have been reported. In West Bengal, cases of malaria have been reported."

Nadda further said the Centre has also held three video conferences in this regard, and added that he had also called on the Delhi Health Minister, the NDMC and the MCD, and guided them on protocols to be followed to counter the spread of this disease.

"In one video conference, I addressed the state Health Ministers. The second was addressed by the Secretary and the third was done by heads of vector borne diseases," he said.

Nadda also urged the people not to panic and help in pacifying the current upsurge of vector borne diseases.

Dr. D.S. Rana, the chairperson of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, "Have just received an e-mail from the Government of India that deaths reported in the Ganga Ram Hospital of chikungunya positive patients should be probed a little more and information should be given to them."

"By and large the message is very clear that Chikungunya is not a very fatal disease, people should not get frightened. Hospitals are doing their best, be it government or private," he added.
Maintaining that Pakistan should extend legal residency status to Afghan refugees till the end of December next year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday called on its authorities to cease "coercive measures and other abuses" that are driving tens of thousands of Afghan refugees from the country.

"Pakistani authorities are increasingly committing abuses against Afghan refugees that are triggering a mass refugee return," Tolo News quoted Patricia Gossman, a senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, as saying.

She said that the government should rein in its abusive security forces and ensure the refugees secure status and protection.

The Pakistani police and provincial authorities since July this year is said to have stepped up pressure against Afghans living in the country in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called "a concerted push" to repatriate a large number of Afghan refugees before the end of 2016.

Following this there has been increased tensions Kabul and Islamabad.

Nearly 90,000 Afghan refugees, out of an estimated total of 1.5 million, is said to have returned in 2016 in September.

According to reports, the returnees have alleged that Pakistani police harassed and detained them.

Pakistan on June 29, extended the validity of Afghans' Proof of Registration (PoR) cards until the end of December.

And on September 9, it granted a 10-week extension, until March 17, 2017.

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Nepal Foreign Affairs Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat on Thursday said that they only want relation based on "trust" with India.

"We just want to have relationship based on trust. There is no shopping list. There are several areas of co-operation between the two countries. We have several projects. We only want to see results on the ground," Mahat told ANI.

He further said that they want to sort out issues diplomatically and not by having debate in public.

Commenting on the Constitution of Nepal, Mahat accepted there are certain issues and dissatisfaction, which need to be resolved, but added that it was their internal matter and would be resolved internally.

"As far as Constitution of Nepal is concerned, it is very inclusive constitution. But there is always scope for improvement. There are some grievances, there is some dissatisfaction. Internally we are capable of reaching to a conclusion and provide satisfaction to all sections of Nepal," he said.

Earlier today, maintaining that India has never been prescriptive in the Constitution making process of Nepal, Ministry of External (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that the Constitution making process is an internal matter of Kathmandu, adding it is for their people to discuss what is in their best interest.

Swarup made the statement during a press briefing on being asked if India will raise the issue of Madhes representation in Nepal's Constitution during discussions with visiting Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

"As far as the constitution making process that you have said, this is an internal matter of Nepal. We have never been prescriptive in this regard. It is for the people of Nepal to discuss what is in their best interest," Swarup said.

Swarup said that primarily reason for Dahal's visit is for India to meet and greet him and to understand from him firsthand what are the priorities of the new Nepal government in terms of development and reconstruction.

He pointed out that India has already offered Nepal considerable assistance of one billion dollars in earthquake assistance of which very little has been utilized.

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday revealed that in order to bring the guilty of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks to book, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar has written to his Pakistan counterpart and suggested ways by which the trial could be expedited through cooperation through the legal channel.

"The trial in the Mumbai terror attack and Pakistan has not moved expeditiously. Although, it will soon be eight years since that dastardly attack took place. In order to bring the guilty to book, our foreign secretary has recently written to his Pakistani counterpart suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited through cooperation through the legal channel," MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told a press briefing.

"He wrote this letter on September 6 and it was delivered by our High Commissioner in Islamabad on September 9," he added.

Swarup said Pakistan is yet to reply to those suggestions.

The statements from the MEA also indicated a stern diktat to Pakistan to act on the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorist entered Mumbai from the Arabian Sea front and went on a carnage killing and injuring a total of 466 people.

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Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will begin a three-day state visit to India from Thursday at the invitation of his Indian counterpart President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dahal's visit to India is his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office for the second time as Nepal's Prime Minister on August 4 this year.

A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement said that Dahal will be accompanied by a high-level delegation.

During his visit, Dahal would hold talks with the Indian leadership. He will also visit the Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project, a concrete gravity dam on the Satluj River in Himachal Pradesh. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supplies 1,500 megawatts of power.

Prime Ministers Modi and Dahal will meet for delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on September 16. That meeting will be followed by a signing of bilateral agreements and the issue of statement to the media. Among the dignitaries expected to call on the Nepal Prime Minister are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Power Minister Piyush Goyal. Prime Minister Dahal would also call on President Pranab Mukherjee.

His visit to India is expected to provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, as well as seek ways to strengthen the age old, close and friendly ties between the two countries in diverse sectors, the MEA statement said.

As Dahal visits India from Thursday, he has host of issues lined up to deal with, but cementing bilateral ties with New Delhi is high up in his agenda.

He has been warned by his predecessor K.P. Sharma Oli, who is the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), not to sign any agreement with India that could jeopardise Nepal's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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As part of the Prime Minister's 'Digital India' programme, Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar launched the re-designed website of Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence, here today. The website is now fully compliant to the Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW).

The website has been re-designed using the Content Management Framework (CMF) developed by Informatics Centre (NIC). It is now more user centric, user friendly, universally accessible and less vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Web pages have been made responsive and easy to access through different devices i.e. desktop, tablet PCs and mobile phones with varying screen sizes. The website has also been optimized for viewing by different browsers and operating systems.

The website of the DDP provides news updates, policies, procedures, publications, directory of officials and media contents such as e-book, photo-gallery etc. A link for online service of the Department - 'Application for NoC for Export of Military Stores' has been provided.

One of the salient features of the website is that it is interactive and suggestions and clarifications related to defence production can be given or sought through the online feedback form. Another feature of the website is its accessibility by visually impaired persons and persons with motor disabilities, who can access the web content using screen readers and other assistive technologies through accessibility links and icons conveniently placed on the standardized header and footer.

The revamped website has given comprehensive link to websites maintained by various wings and organisations under the department such as 'Make in India' defence portal, Ordnance Factory Board, DGQA, Directorate of Standardisation, Defence Offset Management Wing and websites of nine Defence Public Sector Undertakings. Related links of other Ministries/Departments like Finance, Commerce, Corporate Affairs, DIPP, DPE, MSME, etc have also been provided.

Thus the website provides complete information at one place to all stakeholders i.e. public, vendors, exporters, users (Armed Forces), producers (public and private), quality assurance agencies, industry associations, other Central Ministries and State Governments, about the various initiatives which DDP has taken and is taking to promote manufacturing and export in the defence sector under the 'Make in India' initiative.

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STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 15, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: The recognition of Nagorno Karabakh is a number one working issue for us. In this regard the Armenian National Committee of Europe continues raising the Karabakh issue in various European circles. Works are carried out aimed at organizing Nagorno Karabakhs officials visit to Europe, as well as the European officials visit to the NKR, he said.

Referring to the Belgian MPs recent visit to the NKR he said the impressions are positive. The European MPs had an opportunity to get acquainted with the Karabakh issue, as well as to see how the NKR is developing.

After the MPs last visit we can say the NKRs positions among the Belgian MPs are being strengthened. They were properly briefed on the Karabakh issue. We will continue carrying out active work in the future, he said.

Bedo Demirjian also attached importance to the implementation of Yerevan-Brussels direct flight which will launch in 2016. He said due to it the visits of the Armenian community, as well as the political figures of the two states will become easier, the direct flight will contribute to the active cooperation. He said these flights are very important for strengthening Armenia-EU ties.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Member of Parliament Tariq Hamid Karra today resigned from the party and the Lok Sabha.

"I have resigned from the primary membership of the PDP and Parliamentary membership. I have decided to disassociate myself from primary membership of PDP and from the membership of Parliament," he told the press conference.

Karra represented Srinagar-Budgam constituency in the Lok Sabha.

Karra was known for vehemently opposing the alliance of PDP with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state but has resigned citing failure of the government to deal with ongoing unrest in the state.

Karra, served as the finance minister in the PDP government led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 2002.

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As the Samajwadi Party tried to blame an "outsider" for the damage that has plunged the party into a crisis, party General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, without taking anyone's name, said people are exploiting the good nature of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"People are exploiting the good nature of Mulayam Singh Yadav. There are some people who take advantage of Netaji's simplicity, and these people don't have the party's well being in mind," Ram Gopal told the media.

He further said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father and Mulayam Singh Yadav can have a meeting on Friday or day after.

Taking a jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's "Khaat Sabha", Ram Gopal Yadav said Rahul Gandhi may say anything but we won't comment, adding what can we say about someone whose cot has been taken away.

Earlier in the day, Ram Gopal Yadav said it was wrong for the party to have removed Akhilesh Yadav from the Uttar Pradesh chief's post without consulting with him.

"Had the party asked him (Akhilesh) to quit the post in view of the elections and focus on the chief ministerial job and that he (Shivpal) will take up the state president's job, he would have resigned," Ramgopal, who is the SP's general secretary and a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters.

An open war broke out on Tuesday in the Samajwadi Party with Akhilesh Yadav stripping his uncle Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after his removal as the party's state unit chief and appointment of the latter in his place.

Akhilesh had yesterday said that if people from outside the family keep interfering how will things (government) work. However, SP leader Amar Singh refuses to accept that it might be him that the chief minister hinted at.

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People from across India have converged in Bihar's Gaya city to take part in the traditional Pitru Paksha Mela Maha Sangam 2016, where solemn rituals are performed in homage to one's ancestors.

People who perform the ritual believe that this rite will deliver salvation to departed souls.

While a few pilgrims were seen performing the rituals, others had just arrived to take part in the ritual.

Chunnu Ji Pandey, a local priest, told ANI, "I perform the ritual here. I have been doing this for 17 years now. Pilgrims come here of offer prayers for their departed ones. Some people perform the ritual for a day while some do it for 17 days."

During this festival, the ritual of Pind-daan is performed which is a must to do obligation for all Hindus or followers of Hindu religion.

People were also seen getting their heads shaved and taking a dip in a reservoir.

Hindus also believe that no work can be successfully performed without the blessings of their ancestors or by performing the Pind Daan.

A visitor, Ram Gopal, told ANI, "I am here to pray for my ancestors. I will do it for 17 days. Whoever comes and does the ritual here, the soul of departed will receive salvation. So, I will do it so that my ancestors receive salvation."

The Gaya district administration has stepped up preparations to ensure a smooth functioning of the festival.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted engineers on the occasion of Engineers Day.

In a tweet, Modi said, the intellect, dedication and curiosity of engineers has led to several path-breaking innovations.

Modi also paid his tributes to Bharat Ratna M. Visvesvaraya on his birth anniversary.

He said, M Visvesvaraya is remembered and respected as a pioneering engineer. Engineers' Day marks the birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya.

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Asha Ranjan, wife of murdered journalist Rajdev Ranjan on Thursday thanked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Government for taking over her husband's murder case.

"I am thankful to the CBI and also to the Central Government. But why did it take so much time? Why did the CBI take four months to take up the issue? I would ask the state government to help in the matter so that the culprits get punishment. I have been with Rajdev for the last 18 years and I have never seen Bunty Kaif with him. May be they used to talk over the phone...that is different. Rajdev had gone to Bunty's reception on his invitation," Asha told ANI.

Asha said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should have seen to it why the CBI did not take up the matter even after his announcement on May 16.

"Nitish ji had called for a CBI probe on May 16 itself but he could have seen where the matter is stuck. He has failed somewhere in doing so and that is why there is delay in the matter. Now I would want Nitish ji to give full cooperation," she added.

In a major development, the CBI is set to take over the probe into the murder of Rajdev.

This comes after a furore erupted over Mohammad Kaif, the wanted sharpooter in the murder case, who was spotted next to former RJD parliamentarian Shahabuddin, when he was released from prison.

Kaif is one of the accused in the murder of Hindustan daily's Siwan bureau chief Rajdev Ranjan.

In the video clip, Kaif can be seen standing right next to Shahabuddin and cheering him on, as he spoke to media after being released on bail on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had launched a scathing attack over the development, stating that he had become helpless, questioning his silence over a murder accused walking scott free and the police being unable to trace him.

Meanwhile, speaking to ANI, KaiF has rubbished all accusations against him and said that he has no involvement in the murder of journalist Rajdev Rajan.

Kaif told ANI that he had very close and good relations with Rajan, adding that he was at his sister's residence for the post funereal ceremony at the time he was killed as she died two days before his murder.

Speaking on the accusation levelled against him by Rajan's wife, he said, "Rajdev's wife doesn't know me that well. People have said wrong things about me to Rajdev's wife.

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to take all measures to ensure the safety of Kannadigas residing in Tamil Nadu during Friday shutdown.

In a letter to Jayalalithaa, he said, "I had pointed out to you in any previous letter of 12.09.2016 that incidents of violence against Kannada speaking people in Tamil Nadu would incite passions threatening peace in our state. Unfortunately, violence erupted on 12th despite all precautions taken by us. However, situation was brought under control within hours. We have booked a large number of cases against rioters and have taken strict action to ensure violence does not spread. I have also issued strict instructions to the law and order machinery to ensure that such incidents are not repeated."

Siddaramaiah expressed concern over the loss of property and violence caused by the shutdown and said that none in the state would benefit from the agitation.

He said that till the time the matter of Cauvery water sharing is being adjudicated by the courts and is looked into by the Cauvery Supervisory Committee, no one would get benefit through shutdown and agitations.

"I would request you to kindly take all steps to ensure that during the so called bandh on 16.09.2016 no untoward incident takes place and the lives and properties of Kannada speaking people in Tamil Nadu are protected. We have issued an advisory to the media to report responsibly the incidents relating to the Cauvery agitation. I would request you to kindly do the same. I have instructed my Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Director General of Police to be in touch with your authorities. I would request you to kindly advice your officers to be in touch with their counterparts in Karnataka," he added.

A single bench of the Supreme Court, expressed its dismay over people taking the law into their own hands, and insisted the state authorities to take immediate preventive action.

Justice Deepak Misra observed that "it is the duty of states to see that no agitation and no damage take place. We expect the people from both states to maintain peace, harmony and above all dignity and respect for the law. We sincerely hope wisdom shall prevail over authorities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu."

The top court has also asked the counsels of both states to go through the petition and file their responses by September 20.

The court has listed the PIL for further hearing on September 20.

Activist Shivkumar, who is a petitioner in the case, has sought the apex court's intervention. Yesterday, Shivkumar had appealed to a bench headed by Chief Justice T. S. Thakur to hear the matter related to the two states urgently, adding that on September 15, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu would be observing state-wide shutdowns.

He sought the apex court's direction to the Centre and both states to take strict action against those who are involved in violence and to provide security to private and public properties and citizens of both states.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier urged the protesters not to damage public property, adding that the order of the Supreme Court is hard to follow, but "we will still follow it".

The apex court had on Monday modified its September 5 order, directing the Karnataka government to release 15000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. It directed the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to release 12000 cusecs of water for farmers.

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A ceremonial Border Personnel meeting (BPM) on the occasion of "Mid Autumn Festival of China'' was conducted today at the Chinese side in Chushul and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Eastern Ladakh.

The Indian delegations were led by Brigadier R S Raman and Col B S Uppal and Chinese delegations by Senior Colonel Fan Jun and Colonel Song Zong Li respectively.

Mid autumn festival was celebrated by exchange of greeting and good wishes and saluting the flag of China by both the delegations members. This was followed by the ceremonial address by both delegation leaders and reaffirming the mutual desire of improving relations at functional level at the border. Thereafter a cultural programme showcasing vibrant Chinese culture and traditional grandeur was organised.

Both the delegations interacted in a friendly and cordial environment. The delegation parted amidst bonds of friendship and commitment towards enhancing the existing cordial relations and maintaining peace along the LAC. Both sides also sought to further build on the treaties and agreements signed between the governments of the two sides to maintain peace and tranquility along the LAC.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is trying to hide the failures of his government behind ongoing differences between family members.

"We are now seeing the great Uttar Pradesh family drama, what is happening today in Uttar Pradesh is in the name of samajwad we see parivaarvaad. Akhilesh Yadav the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has failed on every count he has failed to maintain law and order in Uttar Pradesh, he has failed to generate employment in Uttar Pradesh that is the reason as to why he is trying to hide behind this family drama," BJP leader Sambit Patra told ANI.

He said that by creating this family drama the Samajwadi Party is trying to confuse the people and distribute Uttar Pradesh within one single family but the people of the state will not let this happen.

Amid the ongoing power tussle in Samajwadi Party, the party's general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav today said there is no 'sankat' (rift) in the party and added that if some differences arise on minor points, those can be resolved.

"There is no crisis in the Samajwadi Party at all, there is no "sankat" or rift". Many a time it happens that some decisions are made and people think that there are problems in the party. Let me be clear, there is nothing like that," he told media here ahead of his meeting with Akhilesh at the latter's residence.

He also said it was a wrong decision to remove Akhilesh Yadav as the president of the Samajwadi Party.

Amid talks of his resignation from the UP cabinet, Shivpal said on Wednesday he will abide by whatever decision Mulayam Singh Yadav makes about him, because the state's people "are with their leader Mulayam."

Chief Minister Akhilesh, too, denied a family rift on Wednesday. "Where have you found a family fight? This is a fight in government, not a family fight ," Akhilesh told the media.

.

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In an unusual scene, a Sukhoi war plane, along with other carrier planes of the Indian Air Force (IAF), was found landed at the Agartala airport on Thursday.

Official of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) said the aircrafts had come to check the landing and takeoff facility available at the airport for fighter aircrafts.

Airport Director of Agartala Airport S.D Barman said, "Today, fighter aircraft Sukhoi landed in Agartala airport to find out the suitability of Agartala airport for the operation of the fighter aircraft so that this airport can be used if it necessary during war time. The commander has said that our airport is absolutely suitable for fighter operation they found the circuit of the aerodrome quite convenient. The commander had said that quite frequently they would come to the Agartala airport to operate."

Along with the Sukhoi, two more AN32 transport aircrafts of the IAF, also landed here which is an unusual scene at the civil airport.

Sukhoi is a heavy twinjet multirole air superiority, all-weather, long-range fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the IAF.

In Tripura, out of four airports, the Agartala airport is the only operational and the rest three at Khowai in Khowai district, Kamalpur in Dhalai district and Kailashajhar in Unakoti district are abandoned.

All four airports of Tripura are located very close the India-Bangladesh international border.

Recently, Indian junior Civil Aviation Minister Jayanta Sinha said India is emphasizing on rehabilitating several unused airports build during the World War II across the north-eastern states to improve the regional connectivity informed.

Sinha declared an investment of Rs. 400 crores will be done towards improving the Agartala airport into an international airport.

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Amid the ongoing power tussle between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav, Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav on Thursday said there is no 'sankat' (rift) in the party and added that if some differences arise on minor points, those can be resolved.

"There is no crisis in the Samajwadi Party at all, there is no "sankat" or rift". Many a time it happens that some decisions are made and people think that there are problems in the party. Let me be clear, there is nothing like that," he told media here ahead of his meeting with Akhilesh at the latter's residence.

He said it is natural for a chief minister of a state to take some decisions on his own.

"If some differences arise on a minor point, those can be resolved. There was just a little misunderstanding, nothing else. I will meet the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and ask him what he meant about "bahri log" (outsiders)," he added.

He also said it was a wrong decision to remove Akhilesh Yadav as the president of the Samajwadi Party.

When asked about the news of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav calling a party parliamentary board meeting on Friday, the SP general secretary said, "It's simply a gossip, who said there's a parliamentary board meeting? I'm that board's secretary, if anyone were to call such a meeting, that would be me. The party parliamentary board only meets when we have to discuss issues of giving out tickets, nominating people to the Rajya Sabha or when a party member has to be expelled, not otherwise," he added.

Amid talks of his resignation from the UP cabinet, Shivpal said on Wednesday he will abide by whatever decision Mulayam Singh Yadav makes about him, because the state's people "are with their leader Mulayam."

Chief Minister Akhilesh, too, denied a family rift on Wednesday. "Where have you found a family fight? This is a fight in government, not a family fight ," Akhilesh told the media.

"If people from outside the family keep interfering, how will things (government) work?".

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There can be no progress in the Karabakh conflict without implementing the agreements that were reached in the summits that were held inthe Austrian capital city ofVienna, and in Saint PetersburgRussia, with the participation of representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

September 15, 2016, 13:30 Armenia MFA: Progress on Karabakh conflict is impossible without implementing Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 15, ARTSAKHPRESS: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan told about the aforementioned to reporters, after Thursdays Cabinet meeting, NEWS.am reports.

In his words, this is the reason for the absence of news on negotiations.

The arrangements on strengthening the ceasefire regime and expanding the powers of the OSCE [i.e. the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] monitoring group have not been implemented, stressed Kocharyan. Progress [in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process] is impossible without them."
The Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign will be held on September 15-16 here at Vigyan Bhawan.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Radha Mohan Singh will inaugurate and address the conference.

The two days' conference will look at the implementation progress of important schemes related to Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare announced by the Centre in the last two years.

Minister of States for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare S.S. Ahluwalia, Parshottam Rupala and Sudarshan Bhagat will also be present on the occasion.

The conference will be attended by the Secretaries of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and State Agriculture Secretaries and other senior officials dealing with Horticulture, Post Harvest Management and agricultural marketing.

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At least two people were killed and 13 others injured in an explosion on a ferry carrying 35 tourists between the Indonesian resort islands of Bali and Lombok on Thursday.

Police said that two have been identified as an Indonesian and a Dutch national.

"Two of them died, 13 were injured," the Guardian quoted Bali police spokesman Made Sudana as saying.

He added that it seemed there was some sort of explosion on the boat, so there was an emergency with the engine.

Though the cause of the explosion in the speedboat has not been identified, the police said they did not think it was caused by a bomb.

Authorities said that injured passengers included nationals from Portugal, Germany, Australia, South Korea and Britain.

The blast occurred after the boat carrying 35 passengers, all foreigners, and four crew had just left Padang Bai port in eastern Bali.

Meanwhile, authorities are investigating the matter and police and the bomb squad have been deployed.

Both Bali and Lombok are two of Indonesia's most popular holiday destinations.

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United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May has given a green signal to the Hinkley nuclear power project, but with new security conditions on the 18 billion deal.

The decision will be officially announced in the Commons on Thursday after May unexpectedly placed the project under review, causing tensions with China.

Under the deal, the French state company, EDF will build the major plant with 6bn investment from China, without any changes to the original price tag, reports the Guardian.

Despite concerns that the rate is far higher than the market rate, the government is keeping a guaranteed price of 92.50 to EDF for every megawatt hour of electricity generated.

Reports suggest that Greg Clark, the business secretary, is introducing some new security restrictions which also includes a ban on EDF being able to sell its interest without the approval of the UK government.

The move is said to be new national security test for all foreign investment in critical infrastructure, which could hamper Beijing's goal of developing its own plant at Bradwell in Essex and making a more active investment in Sizewell B in Suffolk.

So far, Beijing has not confirmed that it wants to proceed with the investment in Hinkley.

The Chinese officials had earlier in a series of veiled warnings said that a decision by Britain to halt their investment in UK nuclear would be seen as a snub.

This would also put at risk a supposed golden era of relations between the two countries.

With May's go ahead of the project means Hinkley will be the first new nuclear reactor built in Britain in two decades.

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With widespread damage to the vital urban infrastructure, interruption in the transport including, roads, rail and air and inability of the workforce to safely move to and from offices and factories, Karnataka , particularly Bengaluru city, is estimated to have suffered a loss between Rs 22,000-25,000 crore due to Cauvery dispute related violence, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said.

Violence in the state capital and other parts of Karnataka has severely dented the image of Bengaluru as Silicon Valley of India, home to almost all the Fortune 500 companies, said ASSOCHAM while making a fervent appeal for peace in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The way the violent incidents had spread is demoralizing the business and industrial community, particularly in the capital city of Karnataka. The image that India built around Bengaluru as its 'Silicon Valley' is being sullied, said ASSOCHAM secretary general, Mr D S Rawat.

The authorities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should not allow under any circumstances the law and order to be compromised. While the water is a basic requirement and an emotional issue, the situation is being exploited by miscreants, scaring away the peace loving workforce which has settled in both Bengaluru and Chennai from all over the country and even abroad, said Mr Rawat.

According to ASSOCHAM, widespread loss would accrue to IT and ITES facilities due to poor attendance for the last several days. Besides, the inter-state tourism, particularly involving pilgrims, domestic travellers, has been affected.

Cancellation of air tickets have also been reported to and from Bengaluru.

Likewise, industrial production, movement of cargo and retail trade including malls, cinema halls, restaurants, have been halted. All these losses would run between Rs 22,000 crore and Rs 25,000 crore, besides of course immense damage to the goodwill of the state as an attractive investment destination.

ASSOCHAM has also urged the Centre to effectively monitor the situation and ensure that peace is restored in the two states. A lot of damage has already been done to the trade and factory output with movement of the vehicles hit by the agitation which is taking violent shape. There is a huge stake for the country's showpiece information technology in both Bengaluru and Chennai.

The strikes and bandhs should not be allowed to take violent shape and the law and order machinery should be geared up well in advance, with good amount of intelligence gathering, it said.

While we are selling ourselves to be the fastest growing economy of the world, we cannot afford the incidents which are taking place in the metropolitan cities. After all, the two states had built with a lot of hard work image of progressive areas, which should not be compromised at any cost.

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With effect from 14 September 2016

Coromandel Engineering Company announced that K Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, has resigned from the services of the Company due to personal reasons.

The resignation has been accepted and K. Ramakrishnan has been relieved from the services of the Company, with effect from close of business hours on 14 September 2016.

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The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley commended the new initiatives undertaken by the Office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) to serve the pensioners better through the newly launched Web Responsive Pensioner's Service portal among others. The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the new office premises of the Office of the CGA in the national capital here today. The Finance Minister lauded the role of CGA in handling the growing volume of Government revenue and expenditure through IT initiatives like the PFMS (Public Financial management System) and NTRP (Non Tax Receipt Portal). He also highlighted the importance of data analytics in assessing the quality of Government expenditure and revenue.

Further Shri Jaitley appreciated the role of PFMS in ensuring that the funds reach the intended beneficiaries and are essentially used for the purpose they were intended for. The function was co-presided by the Minister of State for Expenditure, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and was attended among others the by several Secretaries of different Ministries/Departments and other senior functionaries of the Government of India.

On the occasion, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley launched a new Digital India initiative taken up by the O/o the Controller General of Accounts, namely, a Web Responsive Pensioner's Service. This portal developed by the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) provides a one-stop solution for pensioners to access information relating to status of pension cases, and pension payments processed by Central Ministries/Departments and Banks. This service will also help in speedy redressal of pensioner's grievances.

Later, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was also signed between the O/o Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), India aimed at strengthening the Internal Audit function in line Ministries and Departments of the Government of India.

The new building is designed and constructed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and conforms to new norms of a Green building and for energy conservation. A grid integrated solar panel system is also planned to be installed for harnessing solar energy.

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Dell Moved Into No. 1 Position in Shipments; HPE Maintained No. 1 Spot in Revenue

In the second quarter of 2016, worldwide server revenue declined 0.8 percent year over year, while shipments grew 2 percent from the second quarter of 2015, according to Gartner, Inc. There was some shuffling among the top vendors in the second quarter, as Dell moved into the top spot in shipments, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) remained the worldwide leader in server revenue.

"The second quarter of 2016 produced some continued growth on a global level compared with the first quarter, although there were some varied results regionally," said Jeffrey Hewitt, research vice president at Gartner. "All regions showed a decline in shipments except Asia/Pacific and North America, which posted growth of 5.6 percent and 3 percent, respectively. In terms of revenue, all regions except for Asia/Pacific and Eastern Europe exhibited a decline. Asia/Pacific grew by 6.1 percent and Eastern Europe posted 1 percent growth. Variations of growth by data center segments and exchange rate issues are the main reasons for these results.

"x86 servers grew 2.1 percent in shipments and 5.8 percent in revenue in the second quarter of 2016. Dell garnered 19.3 percent of the market and moved into the No. 1 position in worldwide server shipments due primarily to growth resulting from programs it has in place in the Asia/Pacific region, most notably in China. However, HPE continued to lead the x86 market in revenue with 26 percent of the market," said Mr. Hewitt.

Despite a decline of 6.4 percent, HPE continued to lead in the worldwide server market, based on revenue, with 23.7 percent market share (see Table 1). Dell grew 9.9 percent and maintained the second spot in the market with 19.1 percent market share. IBM secured the third position with 9.1 percent of the market but experienced the largest decline among the top five vendors.

Table 1

Worldwide: Server Vendor Revenue Estimates, 2Q16 (U.S. Dollars)

HPE 3,208,997,829 23.7 3,428,089,692 25.1 -6.4Dell 2,594,180,873 19.1 2,361,553,746 17.3 9.9IBM 1,226,947,968 9.1 1,869,261,145 13.7 -34.4Lenovo 968,175,316 7.1 949,775,893 7.0 1.9Cisco 858,924,000 6.3 866,700,000 6.3 -0.9Others 4,695,515,875 34.6 4,180,263,723 30.6 12.3

Source: Gartner (September 2016)

Due to its success in the x86 market, Dell moved into the No. 1 position in server shipments in the second quarter of 2016, with 8.9 percent growth, garnering 19.2 percent market share (see Table 2). HPE dropped to the second spot with 17.2 percent shipment share, representing an 18.7 percent decline year over year.*

Table 2

Worldwide: Server Vendor Shipment Estimates, 2Q16 (Units)

Dell 529,135 19.2 485,745 18.0 8.9HPE 474,803 17.2 583,790 21.6 -18.7Lenovo 235,267 8.5 222,206 8.2 5.9Huawei 139,866 5.1 122,565 4.5 14.1Inspur 120,417 4.4 82,032 3.0 46.8Others 1,258,045 45.6 1,207,005 44.6 4.2

Source: Gartner (September 2016)

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Second Concrete Sleeper plant expected to commission soon

GPT Infraprojects announced the commencement of trail production at the Company's Concrete Sleeper Plant in Ramwa Station, Village Ikari, Uttar Pradesh. The Company has set up the sleeper facility at Ramwa in connection with the World Bank funded Eastern Dedicated Corridor project (EDFC) for supplying concrete sleepers. This production facility with a capacity of 400,000 sleepers per annum is one of the 2 facilities being set up for this Rs 246 crore contract of DFC by the Company. The 2nd facility of similar capacity at Village Pahara, Uttar Pradesh is under installation and is expected to commission soon.

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Hinduja Foundries was locked at 20% lower circuit to Rs 44 at 10:00 IST on BSE after the board of directors approved the proposal of amalgamating the company with Ashok Leyland.

The separate announcements in this regard were made by Hinduja Foundries and Ashok Leyland after market hours yesterday, 14 September 2016. Shares of Ashok Leyland dropped 3.08% to Rs 81.95.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 48.65 points, or 0.17%, to 28,420.88.

High volumes were witnessed on the counter of Hinduja Foundries. On BSE, so far 1.15 lakh shares were traded in the counter of Hinduja Foundries, compared with an average volume of 3,411 shares in the past one quarter. The stock was locked at a low of Rs 44 so far during the day. The stock hit high of Rs 50.15 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 65 on 7 July 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 27.30 on 12 February 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 14 September 2016, rising 2.9% compared with 0.78% gains in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 0.83% as against Sensex's 7.49% gains.

The small-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 207.05 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals and approval of shareholders of both the companies. The board of directors also approved, subject to regulatory approvals the exchange ratio wherin shareholders holding 100 shares in Hinduja Foundries will get 40 shares of Ashok Leyland. One thousand 2008 series global depository receipts (GDRs) of Hinduja Foundries will get 133 shares of Ashok Leyland. One 2006 series GDRs of Hinduja Foundries will get 4,800 shares of Ashok Leyland. The appointed date for the proposed transaction is 1 October 2016.

Commenting on the transaction, Vinod Dasari, CEO and Managing Director of Ashok Leyland said that the amalgamation will result in operational efficiencies and help realize cost synergies.

Hinduja Foundries reported net loss of Rs 36.58 crore in Q1 June 2016 compared with net loss of Rs 98.52 crore in Q1 June 2015. Net sales rose 10.2% to Rs 166.24 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

Hinduja Foundries is India's largest foundry group with the capacity to produce cylinder block and head ranging from 25 kilograms (kgs) to 500 kgs. From castings for automobiles and tractors to industrial engines, construction equipment and power generation equipment, Hinduja Foundries meets the stringent requirement of diverse segments. It even caters to the exceptionally high standards of defence applications.

Ashok Leyland is one of the leading manufacturers of medium and heavy commercial vehicles in India.

Both, Ashok Leyland and Hinduja Foundries are a part of Hinduja Group.

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Monsanto India, Bayer CropScience rose 2.52% and 3.14% respectively at 10:46 IST on BSE after the global parents of these two firms signed a definitive merger agreement for Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto for $128 per share in an all-cash transaction

Bayer CropScience was up 3.14% at Rs 4,240. Bayer AG is a parent firm of Bayer CropScience. It held 68.57% stake in Bayer CropScience as on 30 June 2016.

Monsanto India was up 2.52% at Rs 2,637. Monsanto Company is a parent firm of Monsanto India. It held 72.14% stake in Monsanto India as on 30 June 2016.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 9.20 points or 0.03% at 28,363.03.

Monsanto's board of directors, Bayer's board of management and Bayer's supervisory board unanimously approved the merger agreement. Based on Monsanto's closing share price on 9 May 2016, the day before Bayer's first written proposal to Monsanto, the offer represents a premium of 44% to that price.

Bayer intends to finance the transaction with a combination of debt and equity. The equity component of about $19 billion is expected to be raised through an issuance of mandatory convertible bonds and through a rights issue with subscription rights. Bridge financing for $57 billion is committed by BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and JP Morgan.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including Monsanto shareholder approval of the merger agreement and receipt of required regulatory approvals. Closing is expected by the end of 2017.

Monsanto India is a seed company focusing on maize and agricultural productivity. The company's net profit fell 9.9% to Rs 56.60 crore on 9.1% decline in net sales to Rs 236.08 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

Bayer CropScience has presence in seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. It is organized into operating units viz. crop protection, seeds and environmental science. The company's net profit rose 18.6% to Rs 131.20 crore on 8.4% growth in net sales to Rs 799.20 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

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On preferential basis

Punjab National Bank announced that consequent upon receipt of capital funds to the tune of Rs. 2112 crore from the Government of India on 14 September 2016, the Bank has issued and allotted 16,43,70,768 equity shares of face value of Rs 2/- each at a premium of Rs. 126.49 i.e. at a price of Rs. 128.49 per equity share on preferential basis in accordance with Regulation 76(1) of SEBI ICDR Regulations.

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Up to 31 December 2016

Visa Steel announced that the Company had sought for extension of time for holding the Annual General Meeting of the Company for the financial year ended 31 March 2016 by 3 (three) months from the Registrar of Companies, Orissa.

The Registrar of Companies, Orissa has granted such extension i.e up to 31 December 2016 for holding the Annual General Meeting of the Company for the financial year ended 31 March 2016.

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Popular actor-filmmaker K. Bhagyaraj is said to have been roped in to play a pivotal role in Mysskin's next Tamil directorial "Thupparivaalan", which will go on the floors next month.

The film stars Vishal and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead.

"Bhagyaraj sir has been roped in for a very interesting role. Mysskin is known for surprising audiences with his choice of actors and the inclusion of Bhagyaraj sir will be a masterstroke," a source from the film's unit told IANS.

Tipped to be an investigative thriller, the project marks the first time collaboration of Mysskin and Vishal.

In the film, Vishal will be seen as a suave detective, working on a case involving a series of murders.

"Thupparivaalan" also stars Prasanna in another important role.

--IANS

hp/rb

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Amazon is improving its foothold in India and the American e-commerce giant could be the second biggest player after Flipkart in the online retail market by 2019, says a new Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.

India could also become Amazon's second largest market (after the US) as it plans to invest $5 billion in its India business, the report released on Tuesday said.

"For last couple of months, Amazon India gross sales are higher than that of Flipkart standalone (excluding Myntra)," it added.

"We now expect Amazon's GMV (gross merchandise value) market share to improve to 37 per cent by 2019 from 21 per cent in 2015 and expect it to be close No 2 behind Flipkart," the report said.

While revenues are relatively small to Amazon's global scale, Amazon India could generate $81 billion in GMV and $2.2bn in operating profit by 2025.

Most of Amazon's gains have come at the expense of Snapdeal and other sellers, not Flipkart, according to the report.

Flipkart still remains the market leader in India and "even in terms of customer satisfaction, reports indicate that it remains the leader, ahead of both Amazon and Snapdeal", according to the report.

Amazon has been able to benefit from global brand and establishing reliability of service among consumers, concentrating on offering superior customer service and wider assortment of products.

Amazon has also tied up with Vakrangee, a franchisee with strong presence in rural/underdeveloped areas to fortify its rural presence at relatively lower investments.

As of June this year, Amazon is already active in more than 1,000 outlets, with plans to increase to 75,000 outlets by 2020, the report noted.

Alibaba is looking to enter into the Indian e-commerce market by early next year as a more direct entry, despite it having investments in PayTM/Snapdeal.

"We note that similar to Amazon, Alibaba likely considers India as the next big market apart from its home market and is looking to gain traction there," the report said.

--IANS

anuj/bg

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Amid a major row over chikungunya-related deaths in the national capital, the Centre on Thursday urged the Delhi government to desist from "blame game" even as opposition Congress, BJP and the Swaraj Abhiyan slammed the city government.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda in an interview to English news channel 'Times Now' said the central government and Delhi government need to work in a coordinated manner.

"We have to work in a coordinated manner," Nadda said.

"Delhi government and MCD should work in coordination and it is their responsibility to see that the preventive part is taken care of," he added.

Stressing on coordination, Nadda said, "This is not the right time for blame game but it is the time when we have to coordinate."

He also said the central government is ready to give technical and other support to Delhi government to see that people get relief.

Asked if the Union Health Ministry has asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to submit its report on chikungunya-related deaths, the Health Minister said, "I have asked Delhi government to send a detailed report on deaths and the reasons for it to the Union Health Ministry."

The Minister also stressed that the participation of people should have been increased, and for that Delhi government should have been proactive.

Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government of having lost the political will to govern.

"There is a complete loss of political will to govern following the High Court order which made their situation in Delhi very clear."

"Now AAP has now lost any will to govern," Yadav said, adding, "They know there is no cream left in Delhi. And Delhi for them was continuously merely a stepping stone for other things that they wanted to achieve. Now they are completely focusing on other things."

They have no desire to do anything for Delhi," Yadav alleged.

Attacking the AAP government and the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD), Yadav said, "Clearly the response of AAP has been shocking and irresponsible, and in this instance we should not forget that everyone else is playing the same blame game."

"The MCD of Delhi has done very little. But the condition here shows that no one is ready to take responsibility for what happened in the national capital," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party attacked the Delhi government for "targeting" patients of other states for aggravating the health scenario of the capital.

"To say that people are coming from outside and are spoiling the situation in Delhi, is an unwanted remark," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

The BJP leader also took a dig at Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain for maintaining that no death happened due to chikungunya, and said, "Whether deaths happen due to chikungunya or not, these are for experts to comment."

The Congress also attacked the Arvind Kejriwal government and said that it is just indulging in a blame game instead of working.

"Peoples' problem is secondary to them and their political motive is much more important," Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely said.

Criticising the AAP government for not taking precautionary measures, the Congress leader said, "If they had planned things properly in February itself, matters would have been different today."

Chikungunya-related death count has risen to 14 in the national capital.

--IANS

aks/rn

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday registered a case in connection with the murder of Bihar journalist Rajdeo Ranjan, an official said.

Informed sources said a team had reached Siwan to probe the case.

The took over the case from Siwan police which had registered a case on May 13. Police had said Ranjan's killing was part of a premeditated conspiracy.

The central agency registered the case under Sections 302 (murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 34 (act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act against unknown assailants on the request of the Bihar government and further notification issued by the Centre.

Ranjan was shot dead on May 13 in a busy market place near Station Road in Siwan district of Bihar.

Ranjan was the Siwan bureau chief of Hindi newspaper Hindustan, a part of the Hindustan Times Media company.

The state government had constituted a special investigation team comprising two Deputy Superintendents of Police, three Inspectors and five Sub-Inspectors to trace the killers.

Siwan Police had registered the case on a complaint of Ranjan's wife Asha Ranjan.

Asha urged the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday to ensure justice to her, following the release of former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin from jail.

Shahabuddin, who is alleged to be behind Ranjan's killing, was released on bail on September 10 by the Patna High Court.
Chinese people across the country on Thursday celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival, an annual traditional event associated with the harvest and full moon.

Chinese mark the public holiday -- also celebrated by Koreans and Vietnamese -- by gathering together with their families and eating mooncakes, a dense sweet pastry whose round shape symbolises the reunion of families, EFE news reported.

The mooncakes are filled with red bean or lotus seed paste, and many also contain salted duck egg yolks, making them rich and highly calorific -- just one has the energy content of around 1,000 calories -- so families tend to cut them into small pieces and share them.

Meanwhile, in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, children and their parents were seen shopping for toys, lanterns and other decorations ahead of street celebrations tonight in the city's Old Quarter.

The festivities will include traditional folk games, a lion dance, puppet performances and mooncake-making.

--IANS

ksk/dg

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Chinese and Russian fleets sailed out of a port in Zhanjiang in China's Guangdong province on Thursday to pre-determined waters for a joint naval drill.

The "Joint Sea 2016" drill, started on September 12 and will run until September 19, in three phases: preparation at port, exercise at sea and summary, Xinhua news agency reported.

China and Russia will present a total of 13 surface ships, two submarines, 11 fixed-wing aircraft, 10 ship-borne helicopters and amphibious armoured equipment as well as 256 marines in the drill.

In the preparation phase, participants from both sides carried out map deduction and discussion and marines from the two militaries conducted joint training.

The two sides will also undertake joint air defence, anti-submarine operations, coordinated three-dimensional island seizing, search and rescue, landing and examining, and weapon use.

The coordinated three-dimensional island seizing activity is jointly operated by the two militaries for the first time.

"The exercise shows a high level of mutual trust between the two navies," said Zhang Junshe, a military expert.

--IANS

sm/sac

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Lawyers here on Thursday announced they will observe a day's strike on Friday to protest against the shifting of the Patiala House Court to Rouse Avenue.

"We are protesting against the shifting and future bifurcation of other courts," the Co-ordination Committee of All District Court Bar Associations of Delhi said.

The Committee quoted the Delhi government as saying that there were 400 lawyers chambers in the new building.

"But the building plan reveals there is no provision for lawyers' chambers," said spokesperson Sanjeev Nasiar. He said that the decision was taken unilaterally.

The strike will be observed in all six district courts -- Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Rohini, Karkardooma, Saket and Dwarka.

--IANS

akk/lok/mr

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Normal life is likely to be hit in Tamil Nadu on Friday due to a general strike called to demand Cauvery water from Karnataka and to protest against attacks on Tamils there.

Private milk and petrol distributors, auto-rickshaw and omni bus drivers, traders and others have announced their participation in the shut down.

Barring the ruling AIADMK, which is silent on extending support to the strike, all major political parties have extended support to the strike.

Most private schools have declared a holiday on Friday.

Around 4,500 privately-owned fuel outlets would be closed from morning till evening on Friday.

But all company-owned, company-operated fuel outlets of Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum would be open on Friday, said U.V. Mannur, state-level co-ordinator for Oil Industry and Executive Director Indian Oil.

Many shops are likely to remain closed on Friday as members of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Association are also taking part in the shutdown.

Vegetable wholesale markets are also likely to remain closed.

DMDK founder A. Vijaykant will launch a hunger strike with his party colleagues here.

Police said they were taking steps to prevent untoward incidents. Additional security will be provided to organisations owned by Kannadigas.

--IANS

vj/lok/mr

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A 18-year-old Austrian girl has sued her parents for allegedly posting pictures, including embarrassing and intimate images from her childhood, on Facebook without her consent, media reported.

The girl claimed that the parents made her life miserable as they have posted 500 pictures of her since 2009 on the social networking site. The photos were shared on Facebook with her parents' 700 friends.

The shared images include baby pictures of her having her nappy changed and later potty-training pictures, thelocal.at reported.

"They knew no shame and no limit and didn't care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot -- every stage was photographed and then made public," the girl was quoted as saying.

Despite her requests, they have refused to delete the photos, prompting her to sue them, she said, adding that her father believes that since he took the photos he has the right to publish the images.

If it can be proven that the images have violated her rights to a personal life, then her parents may lose the case, noted Michael Rami, the girl's lawyer.

This is the first case of its kind in Austria, but based on similar cases abroad the girl parents may have to pay some financial compensation for her pain and suffering, and will also be liable for her legal costs, Rami added.

The case will be heard in November and if the parents lose this could have repercussions for Austrians who post countless images of their children on social media without their consent, the report said.

Austrian privacy laws concerning social media are not as strict as some other countries.

In France, anyone convicted of publishing and distributing images of another person without their consent can face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 euros. This would apply to parents publishing images of their children too.

--IANS

rt/sm/sac

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Hama (Syria), Sep 15 (IANS/AKI) The Islamic State arrested a Moroccan militant and a member of its religious police force in Syria after a fight broke out between the two men, a watchdog reported.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights did not say where the jihadist group detained the men. The arrests were made on Wednesday, it said.

The IS flogged two men in Nahya Aqirbat in the central-western province of Hama province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported.

--IANS/AKI

mr/

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Senior PDP leader Tariq Karra on Thursday announced his resignation from the party and Parliament, accusing the PDP of being a collaborator with the RSS.

"The PDP has become a collaborator for fascist RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)-governed BJP," Karra told reporters here.

Elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014, Karra was a close aide of the late Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and was one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He had always opposed the idea of a PDP-BJP alliance and made his dissent known earlier also.

The resignation comes as the Kashmir Valley is battling months of the deadliest unrest it has suffered in six years. Over 80 people have been killed and thousands injured in clashes with security forces.

--IANS

sq-sar/mr

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Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Thursday spoke to the health ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the wake of rising cases of vector-borne diseases in the national capital region.

He will meet Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday.

"Have spoken to Health Ministers of UP and Haryana on dengue and chikungunya. Will meet Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain tomorrow (Friday) noon for the same," Nadda said in a tweet.

Earlier on Thursday, Jain urged Nadda to call a meeting of health ministers of Delhi and neighbouring states to review healthcare facilities.

Jain made the appeal as many of the dengue and chikungunya patients come to Delhi hospitals from other states.

In a letter to Nadda, Jain said the Delhi government was making best efforts to coordinate with the Health Ministry and its hospitals to tackle the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya.

"Many patients coming to Delhi hospitals are from neighbouring states in the NCR. They rush to Delhi hospitals apparently due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in their respective states," the minister said.

He said this put pressure on the medical infrastructure in Delhi, particularly in government hospitals.

"It is, therefore, requested that a meeting may be convened inviting the health ministers of the NCR region to review the state-wise action required to augment healthcare facilities for effective tackling of the issue," Jain added.

Earlier, Jain praised doctors of Delhi government hospitals and said that many beds were vacant at many such hospitals even now.

"We are ready to treat all the patients. People should not panic as chikungunya doesn't kill," he said, adding that some patients may however have other complications too.

According to municipal corporation data, dengue cases in Delhi totalled 1,158, chikungunya 1,057 and malaria 21.

According to the civic bodies, the highest 15,876 dengue cases were reported in 2015, with 60 deaths.

--IANS

aks/tsb

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal's new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' arrived here on Thursday on a four-day state visit to India.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj received him at the airport, ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Prachanda, elected Prime Minister on August 4, has come to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is accompanied by his wife Sita Dahal.

The couple will stay at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as state guests.

Prachanda is scheduled to meet Modi on Friday. He will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee and several union ministers during the September 15-18 visit.

"I am confident that the visit would not only normalise the relations that experienced some bitterness in the past, but also build a strong foundation for mutual trust," Prachanda said earlier.

During the visit, both sides will discuss more support for reconstruction in the wake of the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, agreements related to hydroelectricity and a postal highway.

Prachanda is also scheduled to meet Nepal citizens based in India and attend a reception at the Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi.

On Friday, Prachanda is scheduled to meet Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Piyush Goyal. On Saturday, he will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

He will also be visiting Himachal Pradesh to see the Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project.

--IANS

aks/tsb/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even after the government denied there were any plans to devalue the Indian rupee to shore-up exports, the currency on Thursday fell to its lowest level in the last two weeks at 67.02.

The denial came after a business news channel's report claimed that the Commerce Ministry planned to propose a round of rupee devaluation to shore-up dwindling exports.

The news report on the proposed devaluation dragged the Indian rupee to 67.07 against a US dollar on Thursday morning, after the currency made some substantial gains and touched an intra-day high of 66.82.

"Dollar/Rupee made a sharp U-turn mid-day as rumours of 'policy driven' devaluation made rounds in media outlets," Anindya Banerjee, Associate Vice President for Currency Derivatives with Kotak Securities, told IANS.

Other currency market observers pointed out that soon after the rupee's plunge, the country's central bank intervened. This resulted in rupee paring its early losses.

However, the currency remained volatile and ended the day's trade on a weak note. The rupee depreciated by 12 paise to 67.02 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.90 to a greenback.

"Rupee closed weaker as strong US dollar overseas and talk of Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) intervention in local markets kept rupee under pressure," Banerjee said.

On Wednesday, the rupee had strengthened by two paise to 66.90 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.92 to a greenback on Monday.

Commerce Minister Sitharaman said that she did not make any comment on devaluation of the Indian rupee.

"I had no conversation on devaluation of any currency with any news correspondent," Commerce and Industry Minister Sitharaman said in a tweet.

"Any quotes/mentions referring to me on this topic baseless."

On its part, Finance Ministry said that the value of rupee is determined by the market forces and that there were no plan to change this policy.

"Reports that the government wants to devalue the rupee are false," Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters.

Banerjee added that: "We find little substance in the news as rupee remains a market-driven exchange rate, and unlike currencies which are pegged, like Chinese Yuan, it is not easy to devalue or appreciate a currency as per the whims and fancies of the policy-makers."

Even the stock markets were impacted by the rupee's sudden fall. Both the key indices closed on a flat-to-positive note after a volatile session of trade.

According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, the CNX Nifty traded with sideways sentiments throughout the session on short covering and volatile USD/INR futures prices.

"Firm USD/INR futures prices pressurised the nifty price movement throughout the session," Desai said.

--IANS

rv/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is to consult the Hurriyat leaders and legislators of "Azad Jammu and Kashmir" ahead of his speech in the United Nations General Assembly later this month, a media report said on Thursday.

Welcoming the decision, Prime Minister of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider said the gesture would send a "positive message across the Line of Control".

"Prime Minister Sharif will visit Muzaffarabad on Friday before leaving for New York. He will consult the Kashmiri leadership regarding his speech at the UN session," Haider told Dawn News.

Sharif will hold separate meetings with legislators in the region and with a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, AJK chapter.

The prime minister will take the Kashmiri leadership into confidence over the content of his speech to be delivered at the UN General Assembly session.

On Wednesday, the UN rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein called for an independent, impartial and international mission to assess the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where over 80 civilians have died in clashes with security forces since July 9.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in a right of reply, again questioned India's "unabated atrocities" in Kashmir and urged the international community to come to the aid of Kashmiris facing "massive human rights violations".

Pakistan underlined that "India is in a state of denial about the facts on ground" in Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

vgu/rn/ahm/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with his Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" on Friday, India on Thursday said that it would like to know the priorities of the new dispensation that is in place in Kathmandu.

"Primarily the reason for this visit is for us to meet and greet the new Prime Minister of Nepal and to understand from him first hand what are the priorities of the Nepalese government in terms of development, reconstruction," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here.

He said that India has offered assistance of $1 billion following the devastating earthquake in April last year "of which very little has been utilised".

"The idea is for us to meet Prachanda, to convey to him our continued interest in the stability, peace and prosperity of Nepal and to learn from him first hand what are his developmental priorities,which are the areas he wants to focus on and where Indian assistance can provide the maximum benefit to the people and government of Nepal," Swarup said.

Prachanda arrived here on Thursday on a four-day visit to India.

The new Maoist-led government in Nepal assumed power early last month after the ouster of K.P. Sharma Oli as Prime Minister.

After the talks between Modi and Prachanda on Friday, the two sides are expected to sign some agreements.

During the course of his stay here, the visiting dignitary will also hold meetings with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal apart from calling on President Pranab Mukherjee.

On Friday evening, he will attend a joint business event organised by Assocham.

On Saturday, he will visit the Nathpa Jhakri hydro power project on the Sutlej river in Himachal Pradesh before returning to Nepal on Sunday.

--IANS

ab/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Will the hands of the clock be put back in Singur in West Bengal? Will the blue and white factory sheds be dismantled, kilometres of roads dug up, bitumen, tonnes of fly-ash and concrete used for roads and land-fill removed to return the land for agricultural purposes? Will the suffering by the owners and cultivators, and also of the industrial enterprises - not only Tata Motors, but also quite a few vendors - from 2006 be all in vain?



The Supreme Court in its judgment of August 31 has declared the acquisition of land in Singur by the West Bengal government in 2006 as illegal and void. It has given 10 weeks to the state government to survey and identify the mouzas of lands acquired, and 12 weeks for possession of the lands to be restored to the landowners/cultivators.
With reference to Jaimini Bhagwati's excellent analysis in his article, "Central bank's autonomy and accountability" (September 15), it is comforting that the media has taken note of this year's Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Annual Report and that several aspects of the central bank's role and responsibilities are being debated. This is in contrast to the near-blackout of the RBI Annual Report by sections of the media and analysts in 2014-15.
PLAY THE GAME RIGHT

Novices may use virtual trading platforms to learn the basics of trading



Seasoned investors may use them to test their strategies



If you do well on these platforms, dont get overconfident



Investor behaviour changes when real money is at stake

Many new investors in stocks burn their fingers when the market cycle turns. Usually, they start trading when markets are heading towards the peak. Initial success boosts their confidence, and they end up piling losses when a big correction happens. Some cautious amateurs wisely resort to virtual stock trading platforms to learn the tricks and test themselves before taking the plunge.To understand direct stock investing and trading, Sapna Mahajan, a Mumbai-based physiotherapist, recently signed up on a virtual platform. Rather than lose money in the real world, I thought let me try out market simulation to check my understanding. I wanted to check out whether I can make money by following experts advice, following research reports, and understand how news affects stock prices, she says.Experts say these platforms are a good for newcomers. Virtual platforms are good for complete newbies, who have not invested in stocks before, says Jimeet Modi, chief executive officer, SAMCO Securities. These are offered for free. Amateur investors can learn how to execute orders, what an order note is, see for themselves how stock prices change, understand how diversifying portfolios can mitigate risk, etc.Among the many platforms available, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) offers one under its NSE Paathshaala programme. Most platforms operate in a similar way. Upon signing up, you get an amount ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore. They function only during market hours and have a screen similar to the trading software offered by many brokers. One can see constantly changing feed, create watch lists, take positions in futures and options.These platforms have a few limitations, however. They cannot replicate real market conditions like fall in liquidity. Also, investors behave differently when real money is at stake. For most new investors, its usually that one wrong bet that wipes out their funds, says Nithin Kamath, founder and CEO of broking firm Zerodha. Doing well on virtual platforms offers no guarantee of success in real life. Investors should, therefore, not get too confident when they shift from virtual to real-life investing.Start small when you make the shift, suggest experts. For at least a year, the investor should trade with money she can afford to lose, says Kamath. In a year or year-and-a-half, the investor will be able to experience all facets of the markets: Volatility, rally and correction.When you are looking for a virtual platform, avoid those that ask you to predict stock movements and offer prizes to those who do so correctly. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) recently issued an advisory against such platforms. If investors participate in such competitions, it is at their own risk, as these are not regulated by Sebi or recognised by exchanges. Sebi is rightly against such models, as they can be misused to lure gullible investors into investing in certain stocks, says Rajat Sharma, CEO of Sana Securities. Sharma, also a lawyer, was approached by a foreign client to launch a stock market game that deals with futures and options. After studying Indian laws, he advised against it.

ALSO READ: Should you invest in index funds like Warren Buffett?



ALSO READ: SIP your way to wealth with stocks
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said he accepted special financial package from the Centre with hope that it will be in the interest of the state.

"I accepted the special package for the sake of development of with hope that it will be good for state," Naidu told students of a college here.

Naidu has been under fire from opposition parties for "failing" to secure the special category status for post its division in 2014.

The special package announced by BJP-led NDA government at Centre last week includes full funding of Pollavaram irrigation project, tax concessions and a special assistance.

Andhra Pradesh suffered financially because of creation of separate state of Telengana in June 2014.

BJP is an ally of TDP in Andhra Pradesh as well at Centre.

Referring to criticism by opposition parties, the Chief Minister said, "I am not scared of any high command. Public is my high command. I fear only for the problems and that's why I have accepted the special package."



He also defended Union minister and BJP leader from state M Venkaiah Naidu who has been target of opposition for "failure" to get special category status.
The deep fissures in the ruling Samajwadi party has come as a shot in the arm for the principal opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj party. BSP president held meetings with her top party leaders and lieutenants to explore how best to exploit the confusion in the ruling camp.
The deepening rift in the Samajwadi Party (SP) is making the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nervous. The developments in the SP threaten to impact BJP's strategy aimed at making it the single largest party in a three-cornered contest between itself, the SP and Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
School of Inspired Leadership (SOIL), Gurgaon today said its 126 students of 2016-2017 batch got placed with leading MNC's and startups.

The recruitment drive saw 95 leading MNCs and startups participating in the process including Microsoft, Amul, Genpact, Ogilvy, SoftBank, Yes Bank, Tata Steel, UrbanClab, Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Ernst&Young, amongst many others.

The highest stipend offered this season stood at Rs 75,000 per month.

"This time, it's not just the MNCs but startup organisations as well which came forward for recruitments. Sectors were diverse too - from FMCG to automobile and advertising agencies to financial institutions and research and analysis firms," Anil Sachdev, Founder & CEO, SOIL, said.

* * * * * *



Hindustan Liquids to distribute Perrier water brand in India * Hindustan Liquids today said it will be the exclusive distributor of naturally carbonated global water brand Perrier.

Perrier will be available in the major metros Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata besides Goa.

Hindustan Liquids Managing Director Vikram Dhall said the company has recently agreed several major Perrier listings with Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces with 100 hotels and 62 locations throughout India and Oberoi group, which operates over 30 luxury hotels in India.

This will be in addition to already supplying Marriott, Hilton, Leela and ITC group of hotels, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The families of those on board the missing AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have been informed that their relatives are presumed dead, as the search operations for the ill-fated aircraft continued.

There were 29 people on the transport plane which had vanished over the sea after it took off from Chennai for Port Blair on July 22.

The Court of Inquiry, upon very careful scrutiny of the circumstantial evidence available and in light of extensive search and rescue operations carried out, has concluded that it is unlikely that the missing personnel on board the ill-fated aircraft would have survived the accident.

"It is with a feeling of profound sadness that the Court of Inquiry has recommended that your son/daughter be presumed to have been fatally injured," read the August 24-dated letter from the IAF to the families of those in the aircraft.

IAF sources said the families have been given the information so that they can go ahead with insurance and other administrative formalities.

The letter came annexed with a certificate of presumption of death.

"The search for missing AN-32 is still in progress," defence sources said.

The plane did not have an underwater locator system, which has made the search difficult.

"No fewer than 201 search and rescue sorties, using all suitable aircraft at our disposal were undertaken. Approximately 2,17,800 square nautical miles (Sq Nm) have been covered multiple times by these aircraft," the letter stated.

"International emergency response teams and satellites from USA also did not help in getting any concrete information about the missing aircraft," it added.
Forty people were killed in fighting between Shiite Houthi rebels and pro-government forces around southwest Yemen's main city of Taez, military sources said on Thursday.

Colonel Sadeq al-Hassani, spokesman for the loyalist forces, told AFP that 27 Houthis and 13 pro-government fighters were killed, as a rebel offensive aimed at reimposing a siege of the city was repelled on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, five Houthis and allied rebels were killed when loyalists backed by Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes and artillery fought off a rebel assault in the nearby Kahbub area, pro-government officials said.

AFP could not independently verify the tolls and the rebels rarely acknowledge their losses.

The Kahbub fighting centred on a mountainous area overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.

The area is guarded by forces from the coalition, which intervened in in March 2015 to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government after rebels seized the capital Sanaa.

Yemen's conflict has since killed more than 6,600 people, most of them civilians, and displaced at least three million others, according to the United Nations.

Fighting has intensified since the collapse in early August of UN-mediated peace talks held in Kuwait.
Five members of an interstate gang, which had allegedly stolen a number of precious objects worth over Rs 26 lakh from several temples in Kartakata, were arrested in Thane, police said today.

The accused were arrested last night from Wagle Estate area of Lokmanya Nagar here where they had come to loot a jewellery shop, Senior Inspector of Crime Unit V, Kishore Pasalkar, said.

The accused have been identified as Narsingh Raju Kamenalappa (38)from Bangalore, Naveen Chandrabhan Singh (21), Chandrakant Kimayya Pujari (34), Vijay Suresh Bhosle (35) and Vishal Vijay Fondke (25), all four from Thane, he added.

According to police, the gang had stolen 48.50 kg of silver items, 353 gms of gold ornaments collectively worth Rs 26.19 lakh, including Rs 70,000 cash, from Karnataka.

"Taking advantage of the ongoing Ganesh festival, the gang members were planning to loot a jewellery shop in Wagle Estate area. However, before they could carry out the dacoity, a police team nabbed them about 8.30 PM yesterday," he said.

During the interrogation, police came to know that Narsingh, Naveen and Chandrakant were wanted in several cases of thefts from temples across Karnataka.

Police from Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka had been on the lookout for the trio since the past several months. After being informed that they have been nabbed in Thane, a police team from Karnataka came to the city.

"They are notorious criminals, who targeted only temples and used to execute their crime at night. They used to steal idols, ornaments and other precious objects and were wanted in as many as 13 cases of theft in temples and were at large," police said.

According to the investigators, Narsingh is the kingpin of the gang and had around 17 cases registered against him even before 13 cases of temple thefts were filed against him.

"Naveen Singh, who is originally from Delhi, was specially asked to join the gang and then brought to Thane from Karnataka after the theft," Pasalkar said.

All the five accused have been handed over to Karnataka police.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India will host the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in May next year.

To be held at Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre, Ahmedabad on May 22-26, the event is expected to be attended by over 5,000 delegates from 80 member countries of AfDB.

The meetings would be attended by Governors, Alternate Governors, Executive Directors, policy makers and businesses, a finance ministry statement said.

A high-level preparatory mission of AfDB, led by Nnenna Nwabufo, Chairperson, Permanent Committee for Annual Meetings arrived in India on September 6 to assess infrastructure and other facilities available at Ahmedabad and New Delhi.

The Secretary General of AfDB, Vincent O Nmehielle accompanied the delegation. It met senior officers in Ahmedabad and at the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

A MoU was signed between GoI and AfDB today regarding the holding of the Annual Meetings. The MoU outlines the roles of Govt of India and AfDB, the statement added.

AfDB was established in 1963 to promote Economic Development and social progress of its regional members. India became its member in 1983.

The Union Finance Minister and Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, are the Governor and Alternate Governor of the Bank respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Mexico author Rudolfo Anaya will be honored with a National Humanities Medal at a Sept. 22 White House ceremony.

UNM has the highest number, per capita, of Hispanic and Native American faculty in the USA. But academia still lags with regard to instructor diversity, say experts.

Wise Pies may have to temporarily halt operations due to a beef the company has with state tax officials.

A state Republican lawmaker has filed an ethics complaint against a child advocacy group that ran satirical ads on the teevee.

Among this coming weekend's TedxABQ Talks: a discussion of combat-based nonlethal microwave weapons being developed at the local Air Force Research Lab.

The New Mexico Restaurant Association says Tatsu Miyazaki is our state's Chef of the Year; Pizza 9 also won a good neighbor award for being a positive force in our community, writes Las Cruces' newspaper of record.

The Texas Hornshell mussel is an endangered species struggling to spread its DNA in Southeastern New Mexican rivers.

Nearby Cibola County has seen a 50 percent decrease in precipitation over the past year.

Burque resident Anthony C. Osmond used a hotdog to catch and release a 28 inch tiger muskie.
The State University of New York is banning the box.

The system's board of trustees voted Wednesday to remove a question from admission applications that required prospective students to reveal whether they have prior felony convictions.

Students will now be asked about their criminal history if they're accepted into a SUNY school and seek on-campus housing or if they plan on participating in field experiences, internships or study abroad programs.

"Today's policy revision is a milestone achievement for SUNY, one that positions our university system as a leader in what has become a national movement to expand access and educational opportunity for individuals with a felony history," SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said.

There has been a national "Ban the Box" campaign to remove the criminal history question from applications for admission into colleges and universities. A similar push has been launched to encourage employers to remove questions from job applications about prospective workers' criminal histories.

SUNY also credited the Student Assembly for its efforts to encourage leaders to adopt the new policy. The SUNY Student Assembly recommended the change.

"Being part of a system that changes lives, it's important to remember that every student deserves a chance at a great life," said Marc Cohen, a trustee and president of the Student Assembly. "The stigma behind criminal offenses might be part of a student's past, but we, the SUNY Student Assembly, believe in a path forward."

Along with the "Ban the Box" action, SUNY leaders previously signed on as supporters of the White House's "Fair Chance for Higher Education Pledge." The purpose of the pledge is to commit to providing opportunities for those with criminal backgrounds who are trying to rehabilitate their lives.

The pledge was unveiled in June with an event at the White House. The attendees included Rob Scott, executive director of the Cornell Prison Education Program.

Scott, who was honored by the White House in April for his prison education work, said SUNY's decision to "Ban the Box" is "a step in the right direction."

"The way criminal background questions have been framed in the past it serves to dissuade people from applying," he said.

SUNY said Wednesday's action was the result of work conducted by a "Ban the Box" workgroup that was formed to review its pre-admission process. The system is aiming to implement the policy change for all of its 64 campuses in time for the 2018 admissions cycle.
All necessary steps have been taken to ensure law and order and avoid any inconvenience to the public during the dawn-to-dusk bandh called by various Tamil outfits in the Union Territory tomorrow, the government said today.

"The government is keen that public do not face any inconvenience because of bandh and necessary steps have been evolved. All necessary steps have been taken to ensure that law and order does not face any setback," Puducherry Chief Secretary Manoj Parida told reporters here.

More than 30 Tamil fringe outfits have announced the 12-hour bandh in the Union Territory, condemning the violence against Tamils in Karnataka in the wake of Cauvery water row.

Local unit of DMK today announced its support to the bandh while Puducherry Traders Federation said all business establishments will remain closed tomorrow.

Convenor of DMK S P Sivakumar said the party pledged support for the bandh in line with the decision taken by the party high command in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where also a dawn-to-dusk shutdown is being observed tomorrow.

On Cauvery water for Karaikal, in the tail end of the river system, Parida said with Supreme Court ordering release of 12,000 cusecs by Karnataka, Puducherry should get 270 cusecs of water.

He hoped that the water would be available in Karaikal in the next couple of days.

The Chief Secretary said he would participate again in the deliberations of the Cauvery Supervisory authority on Sept 19 and ensure the interests of Karaikal farmers were fully protected.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The immersion processions of Ganesh idols which began this morning amidst much fanfare and tight security, marking culmination of the 10-day Ganesh festival, continued till late night across the city.

As many as 24,768 idols were immersed at 100 spots, which included beaches and natural and artificial ponds, by late night. The civic body BMC said there were 1795 idols of Ganesh mandals, 22,872 idols from homes and 101 Gauri idols.

As many as 2389 idols were immersed in 31 artificial ponds, set up by BMC to prevent pollution of natural water bodies.

"Apart from one minor incident, all is well," said an official from BMC's disaster control management. "Amit Debolkar (25) received injuries when a spear attached with Ganesh idol fell on his head at Girgaum chaupati," said the official, adding that he was admitted to nearby G T hospital and was responding well to treatment.

Immersion processions began as early as 8 AM and continued till late night, despite the incessant rains.

Devotees from all walks of life and all age groups chanted "Ganpati Bappa Moraya, pudhchya varshi lavkar yaa" (Lord, come back quickly next year). The processions are expected to go on till tomorrow morning.

The morning downpour could not dampen the spirit of the devotees who were seen singing and dancing on the streets.

Police had also deployed helicopters and drones for surveillance.

Mumbai police's spokesperson Ashok Dudhe told PTI that "not even single untoward incident has been reported so far."



There were 607 lifeguards, 58 control cells and 74 first-aid centres set up across the city. Moreover, 81 motor boats and 60 ambulances were kept ready. The civic body had also set up 118 portable toilets. As many as 5,173 employees and 2,382 officers oversaw the immersion.

Prime locations for immersion are Girgaon chaupati, Juhu beach, Powai lake, Dadar chaupati, Madh jetty, Marve, etc.

Mayor Snehal Ambekar and BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta in a joint statement yesterday had appealed devotees to inform the civic authorities if they needed any assistance or if they were stung by jelly fish or sting ray along the beaches.

In Pune, thousands of people lined the streets as the five



traditional 'manache' (privileged) Ganesh mandals -- Kasba, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug and Kesariwada -- set out for immersion of Ganesh idols. By 7.30 PM, all five Ganesh idols had been immersed.

Though hundreds of Ganesh mandals install idols across the city and take part in the immersion processions with fanfare, these five mandals are among the oldest.

Kesariwada Ganpati was installed by the nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak, who is credited with starting the tradition of public celebration of Ganesh festival in Maharashtra.

In Nagpur, the civic body had installed 99 artificial tanks. Almost three lakh idols were immersed in various parts of the city.

The immersion festivities in Nashik district were marred by reports of deaths by drowning. As many as seven people drowned during immersions across the district.
A 23-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death by a man for rejecting his proposal, in fourth such killing in Tamil Nadu in the last three months.

Jahir (27) attempted suicide after killing Dhanya last night at Annur near here. He is in a critical condition, police said.

Dhanya, who worked in a private firm, was allegedly being harassed for some time by the accused to marry him though she had spurned his proposal, police said.

Recently, she got engaged to a man from Kerala and their marriage was fixed for next month. She was yesterday found murdered by her parents when they returned home, they said.

The victim had, earlier in the day, gone to a temple with her fiance on the occassion of Onam.

Investigations led police to Jahir, who, meanwhile, allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison. He had boarded a bus to Palakkad in neighbouring Kerala after committing the crime, they said.

A police team later found he had been admitted to a private hospital in Palakkad. Police said he would be brought to Annur once his condition improves.

A case was registered following a complaint by the woman's parents and the accused has been "secured", they said.

This is the fourth fatal attack on young women in the state, who had spurned proposals of their stalkers, since the killing of software professional Swathi at a railway station in Chennai in July.

Last month, an engineering student was clubbed to death in her classroom in a private college by her senior in Karur while a 25-year-old teacher was killed in a church by a man, who later ended his own life, for spurning his love.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vice President Hamid Ansari today left for Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit during which key issues of concern like terrorism, UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament are expected to be discussed.

Ansari is leading the Indian delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only the second Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era bloc's summit a miss after Charan Singh in 1979.

The summit, which started on Tuesday and will end on September 18, is taking place in Venezuela's Margarita Island and has meetings scheduled in three consecutive segments-- officials-level, foreign ministers' meet, and a conference of heads of state and government.

Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar is already in Venezuela to take part in the deliberations while Ansari will reach the country after an overnight halt in Berlin.

"The summit is expected to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern such as terrorism, UN reform, the situation in West Asia, threats to peace and security," according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

UN peacekeeping operations, climate change, sustainable development, economic governance, south-south cooperation, refugees and migrants, and nuclear disarmament will also be discussed, the statement said.

"All these issues are of relevance in the context of the discussions that will take place at the United Nations in coming months," it said.

The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Margarita is expected to bring together leaders from 120 developing countries that are its members. The NAM Summits are among the largest gatherings of countries, after the United Nations.

NAM is also an important forum for interaction with partner countries across continents, including from Africa, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs), with whom India has long-standing development partnerships in a spirit of south-south cooperation, the statement said.

"NAM continues to represent space for action in pursuance of the collective interests of the developing world, along with the G-77, especially on subject such as the reform of the global economic system and disarmament. At the United Nations, the NAM is an influential grouping on a range of issues such as UN peacekeeping and disarmament," it said.

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A Bangladesh court today sentenced a lawyer of executed 1971 war criminal and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowhdury to 10 years in jail for stealing and leaking the draft verdict of an international tribunal ahead of its delivery in 2013.

Bangladesh Cyber Tribunal Judge KM Shamsul Alam also fined lawyer Fakhrul Islam Taka 1 crore over the leak that had sparked massive controversy as Chowdhury and his family members at that time claimed that the verdict was prepared beforehand by the law ministry instead of the trial court.

Chowdhury, 66, was a BNP MP and the most senior leader from the party to be sentenced for crimes against humanity. He was executed at Dhaka Central Jail on November 22 last year.

"The tribunal also sentenced four others to seven years of imprisonment in the same case - two being employees of the ICT-BD (Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal) itself," said a prosecution lawyer who conducted the case on behalf of the state.

Chowdhury's wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury and son Hummam Quader Chowdhury were also made accused in the case but the tribunal acquitted them of the charges after not finding adequate proof of their involvement.

According to the prosecution, Islam and his assistant, Chowdhury's office manager with the help of two ICT-BD employees stole the soft copy of the draft verdict just a day ahead of its delivery on October 1, 2013.

Police on November 20 arrested Chowdhury's lawyer on charges of leaking the draft verdict against his client.

Immediately after the verdict was delivered sentencing Chowdhury his family members alleged that the judgment was "prepared by the law ministry" to be delivered by the tribunal in a pre-dictated manner.

Chowdhury's wife and other family members also showed newsmen on the court premises a document that they said was the leaked judgment available on the internet and claimed it was retrieved from the computer of a senior law ministry official.

The tribunal next day confirmed that the verdict was leaked beforehand, calling the event a "a big conspiracy" involving a huge amount of money and ordered an investigation.

The ICT-BD officials, however, said the verdict was possibly leaked at its initial drafting stage ahead of its final revision for pronouncement as the leaked copy did not match entirely with the one which was delivered.

A detained staff of war crimes tribunal later confessed before a court his involvement in leaking the crucial verdict ahead of its delivery but alleged the convict's counsels assigned him to steal a copy of the draft judgment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The family members of professor Balaram Kishan, who was among the two faculty members held captive in Libya for over a year, heaved a sigh of relief today after getting the about their rescue.

"We were informed around midnight by the MEA, Libyan government officials and others that he (Balaram) has been rescued along with Gopalakrishna. My husband also spoke to me this morning...It (conversation) was only a few seconds...He enquired about our children and me and other family members," Kishan's wife Sridevi told PTI.

The two Indians, who were teaching at Libya's Sirte University, were abducted by Islamic State militants in July last year.

"Entire family is happy that he has been rescued and out of danger...I heard my husband's voice after more than a year...It's God's grace," Sridevi said here.

Balaram's family, which resides in Secunderabad and were anxiously waiting for the safe return of their loved one, said, "We were worried a lot and now are happy that he is safe and are waiting for his return to Hyderabad."



"...Now I am 100 per cent relieved. We are waiting for more updates on when he is likely to fly back to India and come to Hyderabad," Sridevi added.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted "I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July, 2015 have been rescued.

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As Karnataka government prepares itself for another round of legal battle with Tamil Nadu over the raging Cauvery dispute, police today decided to continue prohibitory orders in the violence-hit city where normalcy has been restored.

As a preventive measure, Section 144 has been extended till September 25 midnight in Bengaluru and strong bandobast continues, senior police officials said, adding that life is normal everywhere.

Prohibitory orders were clamped on Monday after violence erupted with dozens of buses and lorries with Tamil Nadu number plate being set on fire as mobs let out their fury over reports of some incidents of attack on Kannadigas and their property in the neighbouring state.

As the violence flared up soon after the Supreme court gave its amended order, directing Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu till September 20, police had clamped curfew in 16 police station limits of Bengaluru City, which was lifted yesterday.

Despite the call given by pro-Kannada organisations fora "rail roko" today to protest against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, train services remained normal across the state.

In the city, police stopped protesters who were marching to a railway station mid way.

Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj and several other Kannada Okkoota (federation) members were detained by the police.

Speaking to reporters before being detained, Nagaraj said, "Tomorrow they have called a Tamil Nadu bandh, against which we will observe black day across the state. Pro-Kannada organisations across the state will holddemonstrations with black flags in front to Deputy Commissioner offices."



Due to heightened security, the rail roko was unsuccessfulin Mandya, Mysuru, Hubballi, Shivamogga and other places whereprotesters who tried to enter railway stations were stoppedand detained by the police.

In Kolar, protesters managed to stop the Kolar-Bangalore passenger train for some time.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today helda consultation meeting with retired Judges of high court and advocate generals to discuss the course of Karnataka's legal battle in order to get justice in Cauvery water sharing.

Former judges Rajendra Babu, J Rama Jois, J Vishwanatha Shetty, J A J Sadashiva, J Kumar, and retired advocate generals B V Acharya, Ashok Haranahalli, Ravivarma Kumarwere present in the meeting along with ministers and legalteam.

The Chief Minister also wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa requesting her to ensure protection of the lives and properties of Kannada speaking people in view of the bandh to be observed there tomorrow.

Speaking at an event in Gauribidanuru, Siddaramaih said state government would continue its legal battle and was committed to protecting the interests of the people.

Siddaramiah said, "Cauvery dispute has history of 124



years; itstarted with first agreement between the then princely stateof Mysuru and Britishers (Madras Presidency) in 1892 and thenin 1924, from then we have been facing injustice, even now weare facing it."



"Now once again an order has come when I'm Chief Minister, there is a situation where we have to release water- it is inevitable, but we will continue our legal fight.

"The caseis coming up before Supreme Court on September 20, we willfight strongly, issue is also before the (Cauvery) Supervisory Committee," he said.

"We will leave no stone unturned to fight for thecause of our land, water, language and interest of our farmers. We are committed to protect the interest of thepeople of our state," he added.

In its September five order, the apex court had directed release of 15,000 cusecs for 10 days to ameliorate the plight of farmers of the neighboring state, which had triggered strong protests from farmers and pro-Kannada outfits with Karnataka observing a bandh against it on September 9.
Toughening its stance, Himachal Pardesh government today directed a Solan-based medical collge, which has denied admissions to 150 MBBS aspirants, to immediately begin the process of admitting students under 50 per cent government quota.

Toughening its stand on the issue, the government also asked the college to comply with its directions to admit students under the government quota seats or face action.

"The college management has been clearly told that non-compliance of government directions would attract strict action. Besides taking up the matter with Medical Council of India (MCI), action would also be taken under the laws enacted by the state government," Secretary (Health), Onkar Chand Sharma said.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also said the government was aware of the problem being faced by the candidates and their parents who had been denied admission by the college.

"The government will intervene and take appropriate action in the interest of the students," he said, adding that the college would have to seekaffiliation from Himachal Pradesh University as a provision has been made in this regard by amending the HP Regulation of admissions and fixation of fee for Private Medical colleges in the state.

The Act under which the University was set up and the Regulation of Admissions and Fixation of Fee Act.

Sharma said the college cannot deny admission to students under government and management quota selected under central counselling on the basis of NEET merit.

The new session of MBBS has started from September 13 in all colleges and the management cannot deny the admissions after the counseling has been done.

Many students who had preferred to pursue MBBS course in the state have been left in the lurch as admissions have closed and they have no place to go, he opined.

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Six purported leaders of Chicago's powerful Hobos street gangs went on trial in a case that could provide a rare look inside the kind of criminal activity fuelling gun violence in the nation's third-largest city.

A prosecutor displayed photos of killing scenes and held up assault rifles during opening statements yesterday, telling jurors the defendants murdered, maimed and tortured their way into controlling lucrative drug markets on Chicago's South Side. The trial is the biggest of its kind in recent city history and could take up to three months.

The six men charged with racketeering conspiracy were not "a group of misguided youth" but "an all-star team of the worst of the worst" who "terrorised the city," federal prosecutor Patrick Otlewski said.

He told jurors, "You will look into the eyes of murderers ... Every day."



The prosecutor began with a chilling account of how another defendant, purported Hobos hit man Paris Poe, allegedly killed government witness Keith Daniels in 2013, shooting him around 25 times at close range while his horrified stepchildren, a 4-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy, screamed in the back seat of a car.

The family had just pulled into a parking lot after returning from Sunday dinner at a grandparent's house, the kids still playing with toys in the back seat, when Poe emerged from behind shrubbery, Otlewski said.

Badly injured, Daniels stumbled out of the car. Poe walked up, stood over him and kept firing, Otlewski said.

As he described the slaying, the prosecutor walked toward Poe sitting behind a defence table, raising his voice.

"Who would do such a thing?" he asked and then pointed at Poe. "That man is in this courtroom ... In that blue shirt a cold-blooded murderer."



An attorney for alleged Hobos boss Gregory Chester told jurors the circumstances of the defendants' lives were relevant, saying his client struggled against all odds to survive in what he called the "caldron where these men grew up without opportunities."



"This case is about that place," Beau Brindley said.

Chester, he added, had occasionally sold drugs to acquaintances. But he told jurors that police fabricated evidence about Chester being a Hobos leader.

"At the centre of this case is police lies," Brindley said. Molly Armour, lawyer for defendant Arnold Council, echoed that, saying government witnesses had an incentive to lie in hopes of drastically reducing sentences for their crimes.

Poe, Chester and four other co-defendants have all pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they each face up to life in prison.

The onus is on government attorneys in a racketeering case to demonstrate a pattern of criminal behaviour by the defendants within a carefully organised structure.

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Bihar-based journalist Raj Deo Ranjan may have been killed by "political mafia" because of his critical reporting, according to a fact-finding committee of the Press Council of India (PCI).

The PCI has accepted the report of the fact-finding committee last week.

Another fact-finding report which the PCI accepted was regarding the murder of Jharkhand journalist Akhilesh Pratap Singh which suggested that he may have been killed over demand of money by a Naxalite group.

In a meeting held on September 9, the PCI, which is headed by Justice (retd) C K Prasad, also expressed concern over spurt in criminal defamation cases against journalists and has decided to call from all states and Union territories the details of such cases.

In a statement released here, the PCI said that in the meeting, two separate Fact Finding Reports related to the murder of two journalists -- Raj Deo Ranjan, Bureau Chief, Hindustan, Bihar and Akhilesh Pratap Singh, TV Journalist, Chhatra, Jharkhand -- were accepted.

"The finding inter-alia suggested that Raj Deo Ranjan was killed by the political mafia because of his critical reportage and on the other hand, Akhilesh Pratap Singh though not perhaps had been murdered due to professional activities but may be due to demand of money by a Naxalite Group," the statement said.

The Council sought suitable compensation for the families of the deceased and urged the respective state governments to take the corrective measure to ward off the "fear psychosis prevailing in the media."



Expressing concern over spurt in criminal defamation cases against journalists, the PCI said it has adjudicated 148 complaints of cases against the press and 38 complaints filed by the Press against the authorities.

It disposed of 558 matters on preliminary stage for default of mandatory requirements under the Press Council Act, 1978.

The PCI statement gave details of the complaint of Union



Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi against the Editor, Reuters (India), New Delhi claiming publication of wrong and mischievous interpretation of an interview.

"The Council after due consideration of the grievance of the complainant is of the opinion that this is the interpretation of agency and not the actual words used by the Minister and in fact, the agency in the light of explanation offered by the complainant came out with a clarification on the very next day of publication of the first item," the PCI statement said.

It also said that in another complaint regarding the sedition case slapped against Tamil Weekly, "Namadhu Manasatchi", for publishing report on public health, the Council was of the prima facie opinion that it may be reflecting the true facts but notwithstanding that, the allegation made, does not come within the mischief of the offence of sedition.

"Since the matter is under investigation it advises the Investigation Officer to bear this in mind while making investigations and submitting the report in terms of Section 173 of the Code of Civil Procedure," the statement said.

The PCI also referred to a complaint on critical review of book, on a complaint filed by Jyoti Sabharwal, Author and Publisher, Stellar, New Delhi against the editor, 'India Today', New Delhi.

The Council opined that simply because some of the editors and scholar have commended the book would not mean that the other critique have no right to express a contrary view as every critique has a right to his or her own view, the statement said.

Further, regarding lifting of words, from the book under review by the critique, number of such words used in the review is not decisive as it will depend upon facts and circumstances of each case, it added.
The FBI collects data on various crimes, including murder, rape and robbery. But it doesn't gather data on domestic violence and stalking crimes.

Two U.S. senators want to change that.

U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst and Kirsten Gillibrand sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch this week urging the agency to collect data on domestic violence and stalking crimes.

The FBI uses two programs to collect crime data from local and state law enforcement agencies. The Uniform Crime Reporting Program has been in place for nearly 90 years and contains data for several minor and serious offenses. The National Incident-Based Reporting System is relatively new and collects more information on a variety of crimes.

But the senators note that the NIBRS and UCR programs don't collect data on stalking offenses and only limited information on domestic violence crimes.

Ernst, an Iowa Republican, and Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said the frequency and impact of domestic violence and stalking crimes "expose a dangerous gap in the FBI's crime data collection programs."

"Both stalking and domestic violence crimes have a high level of repeat victimizations, and many times lead to death or serious injury of the victim," Ernst and Gillibrand wrote. "The FBI should begin collecting comprehensive crime data on stalking and domestic violence as soon as possible."

Congressional action isn't necessary for the FBI to collect data on domestic violence and stalking offenses. The FBI has the authority to begin adding new crimes to its databases. Just this year, the agency started collecting data on animal cruelty incidents.

Here is the text of Ernst and Gillibrand's letter to the FBI:

We write to request that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) begin collecting data on stalking and domestic violence crimes in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). As you know, the FBIs UCR Program and NIBRS are voluntary, nationwide programs used by law enforcement agencies throughout the country to collect and report crime data. The UCR Program, which was established in 1929, collects summary incident and arrest data on 29 categories of crimes, from homicide to drunkenness. NIBRS is a newer system, which collects more information through incident and arrest data on 32 categories of crimes, from homicide to loitering. Together, these two programs help to provide law enforcement, legislators, and other organizations with the data needed to help address crime at various levels.

Despite the broad range of crimes covered by these two data collection systems, neither the UCR Program nor NIBRS collects any specific data on stalking and domestic violence. It is estimated that one in six women will experience stalking victimization during their lifetimes. Similarly, an estimated one in four women will experience domestic violence during their lifetimes  an intimate partner crime that has a substantial, destructive effect on the family unit. Domestic violence and stalking also affect men; an estimated one in 19 men have experienced stalking at some point in their lifetimes, and an estimated one in seven men have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetimes. Both stalking and domestic violence crimes have a high level of repeat victimizations, and many times lead to death or serious injury of the victim.

The seriousness and devastating effects of these crimes, as well as the propensity for repeat victimization, expose a dangerous gap in the FBIs crime data collection programs. Without comprehensive crime data, it is difficult for law enforcement, legislators, and researchers to determine with accuracy and precision how often certain crimes occur, the rate of reporting, or the number of prosecutions. It is also difficult to determine whether a particular crime is a gateway to other crimes  for example, the rate at which domestic violence incidents eventually lead to murder, or the rate at which stalking incidents eventually lead to assault, which one study determined is as high as 81 percent. Accordingly, the UCR Program and NIBRS should begin collecting comprehensive crime data on stalking and domestic violence as soon as possible.

The FBI has the authority to add and reclassify crimes that have data collected through the UCR Program and NIBRS. Federal law requires the Attorney General to acquire, collect, classify, and preserve identification, criminal identification, crime, and other records. This broad authorization provides the FBI with the authority to collect and report data on new crimes without congressional approval, and the FBI has already taken advantage of this broad authority to do so. For example, in January 2016, the FBI began collecting NIBRS crime data on animal cruelty, with the justification that animal cruelty is an early indicator of violent crime. Similarly, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the FBI expanded its collection of data about the incidents in which law enforcement officers were killed and assaulted.

As the FBI develops plans to transition the UCR Program to a NIBRS-only data collection program by January 1, 2021, we request that the FBI take three steps to improve the limited data that have been collected on stalking and domestic violence. First, in an effort to ensure the best and most comprehensive information is collected, we encourage the FBI to continue to work with state and local law enforcement agencies to help prepare them to be able to fully participate in the transition to NIBRS. Second, as the FBI works with these agencies, we urge the FBI to develop a strategy for ensuring that data on the crimes of domestic violence and stalking are reported, and that statistics on those specific crimes are readily ascertainable through NIBRS. If such information is not able to be captured by the existing crime categories available in NIBRS, we urge the FBI to expand its data collection. Lastly, until the transition to a NIBRS-only data collection program is complete, we request that the FBI take appropriate steps to ensure stalking and domestic violence crime statistics can be ascertained from the current UCR Program and NIBRS.

We appreciate your consideration and respectfully request that within six months, the FBI respond to this letter with an update detailing (1) the means by which the FBI is attempting to capture stalking and domestic violence crime statistics in advance of the 2021 transition, (2) the means by which the FBI will ensure stalking and domestic violence crime statistics are readily ascertainable after the 2021 transition to the NIBRS-only data collection program, and (3) provide a status update on the FBIs progress in moving toward a NIBRS-only data collection program at the national level, as well as what the FBI is doing to encourage state and local participation.
Hitting out at Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for seeking suggestions on the Mahanadi river water issue, BJP today claimed his move came due to political compulsion and the BJD government was not sincere about resolving the row with Chhattisgarh.

"The BJD government lacks sincerity to resolve the Mahanadi river water issue. Political compulsion has driven the Chief Minister to seek suggestions from political parties and others," BJP's Odisha unit president Basant Panda told reporters here.

Slamming Patnaik for seeking views of others just a few days before the tripartite meeting called by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, he said the Chief Minister should have shared information about the river water controversy before asking for suggestions.

Describing Mahanadi as the lifeline of Odisha and its people, the BJP leader said the Centre's initiative in convening the tripartite meeting with Chief Ministers of Odisha and Chhattisgarh is in the right direction.

The BJP leader expressed hope that Odisha's interests would be protected following the Centre's move.

In the absence of a clear picture about the problem, any exercise to give views on the inter-state river water row would be futile, Panda said adding anyone trying to give suggestion on the issue would simply have to grope in the dark as the state government has not shared information on it.

Panda also termed the meetings between Patnaik and representatives of various organisations on the Mahanadi water dispute as high drama and organised.

Accusing BJD regime of making contradictory statements on the Mahanadi water issue, Panda said while officials had said they had no information on projects being constructed on Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh, the Chief Minister himself had presented details about the projects in the state Assembly.

Claiming there was conflict within the ruling BJD on issue, the BJP leader said some of them have already raised questions on the state government's handling of the issue and its track record in water management.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor-director Satish Kaushik, who is returning to stage with a new play, feels presence of Bollywood faces contributes significantly towards the growth of theatre audience.

"With many known people like Anupam (Kher), Shabana (Azmi), Saurabh Shukla in the theatre circuit working regularly on stage, we realize the audience for theatre has grown," the actor told PTI.

Recalling his initial days as a performer in Mumabi's Prithvi theatre, Kaushik, who was last seen in "Udta Punjab" shares how after a show, actors would rush out to gather money from the audience.

"When Prithvi theatre was inaugurated, as soon as the show got over, we all rushed out 'aur jholi phaila ke khade ho jaate they' and people would throw in Rs 4-5.

"Today people are spending money to buy tickets worth thousands of rupees to watch us perform live because they have grown fond of watching theatre," he says.

The actor,60, however feels that the momentum of the growth can be maintained only if the number of shows as well as performing centres are increased, not just in metro cities but also in smaller towns.

"We must raise the number of theatres for staging plays in the country. The more, the merrier. Apart from big cities like Mumbai and Delhi, every state should make an effort and encourage plays by increasing the numbers of theatres."



Talking about his new play titled, "Mr and Mrs Murarilal", directed by playwright Saif Haider Hasan, Kaushik says that the plot attempts to highlight the realities of different aspects of life - old age, friendship and love.

Kuashik as Mr Murarilal will be seen romancing actress Meghna Malik. He says both the script and the performances aim to strike an emotional chord with the audience while keeping the humour alive.

The play comes after a long gap of over 14 years, during which the actor performed several re-runs of Feroz Khan's "Salesman Ramlal," an adaptation of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," before taking a break from theatre.

"I needed a gap obviously. Although there were offers for plays but I was looking for some meaty content. I found Hasan's theme very attractive and something that people can relate to. So, I decided to come on board.

"It defies the stereotypes of old age and attempts to inspire that one should not lose hope and just give up when they grow old," he says.

The play is scheduled to be staged here on September 17 and 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Government bonds (G-Sec) prices gained following good buying support from banks and corporates.

However, interbank call money rates remained steady as demand from borrowing banks match supplies.

The 7.59 per cent 10-year benchmark bond maturing in 2026 rose to Rs 103.51 from Rs 103.42, while its yield inched down to 7.07 per cent from 7.08 per cent.

The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2029 climbed to Rs 103.6750 from Rs 103.63, while its yield edged down to 7.14 per cent from Rs 7.15 per cent.

The 7.61 per cent government security maturing in 2030 went-up to Rs 104.60 from Rs 104.5925, while its yield held stable to 7.08 per cent.

The 7.88 per cent government security maturing in 2030, the 7.68 per cent government security maturing in 2023 and the 7.72 per cent government security maturing in 2025 also quoted higher to Rs 106.20, Rs 103.56 and Rs 103.82 respectively.

The overnight call money rates ended stable at its previous level of 6.45 per cent after trading in a range of 6.65 per cent and 6.45 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), purchased securities worth Rs 56.21 billion in 13-bids at the overnight repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.50 per cent today morning, while it sold securities worth Rs 64.81 billion in 24-bids at the overnight reverse repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.00 per cent as on September 14.

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Top security advisors of BRICS grouping today agreed to cooperate to deny terrorists access to finance and weapons while vowing to launch joint efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the West Asia and North African region.

The decision came as the BRICS High Representatives responsible for security held their sixth meeting here, which was presided over by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

They deliberated on security issues such as counter- terrorism, cyber security and energy security, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, adding that they also exchanged assessments of recent developments in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region.

He said that India has always said from the very beginning that there should not be a segmented approach on the issue of terror.

The High Representatives encouraged cooperation and exchanging of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counter-terrorism issues.

In this context, they welcomed the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Counter-Terrorism that was held a day before.

They also agreed to expand BRICS Counter-Terrorism cooperation further to include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror-hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition.

They underscored the need for a global legal regime to deal with the global menace of terrorism, Swarup said.

The delegation from Brazil was led by General Sergio Westphalen Etchegoyen, Minister of State, Head of the Cabinet for Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, Russia by Nikolai P Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, China by Yang Jiechi, State Councilor and South Africa by Mbangiseni David Mahlobo, Minister of State Security.

In the area of cyber security and information security,



the security advisors agreed to strengthen joint efforts on enhancing cyber security by sharing of information and best practices, combating cyber-crimes, improving cooperation between technical and law enforcement agencies, including joint cyber security R&D and capacity building.

While highlighting the need for resolution of outstanding disputes in the WANA region through dialogue, peaceful means and in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN charter, they also decided to pool BRICS' efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the region.

Asked if the issue of blacklisting of terror individuals was raised, Swarup said the issue is well known and "I don't think this is something which needs to be flagged at every meeting".

Noting that the whole world knows India's position on the issue, he referred to the UN way of blacklisting terrorists and terror organisations.

"It (blacklisting of terrorists through the UN route) should not be governed by political considerations. A terrorist is a terrorist and should be so identified," he said.

The security advisors concurred on a BRICS Forum to progressively consolidate cooperation and exchanges among respective agencies in security-related fields.

They also agreed to explore regular energy dialogue between BRICS countries in order to discuss long-term and medium-term energy security issues.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he favoured turning migrant vessels back towards Libya as a "deterrent" measure that would take the immigration heat off Italy.

"We are determined in the UK to help Italy. We recognise this is a European problem," Johnson told a joint press conference with Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni in Florence.

Johnson noted that British vessels HMS Diamond and HMS Enterprise were participating in the Rome-based EU military taskforce dubbed Operation Sophia, launched in 2015 with the aim of neutralising refugee smuggling routes in the Mediterranean.

Johnson said Operation Sophia was designed "to help turn back some of these boats ... And I think personally they should be turned back as close to the shore as possible, so they don't reach the Italian mainland and they are more of a deterrent effect" to other vessels bent on heading for Italy from north Africa.

"I think I'm right in saying we turned back 200,000 migrants, sorry saved, saved 200,000 migrants, so I do think it's the right approach," insisted Johnson without specifying which migrants he was referring to.

HMS Enterprise was involved in a rescue operation to save 750 migrants off Libya today, the Italian coastguard said.

Italy is right in the front line for migrants seeking a new life in Europe having since 2014 seen some 450,000 people reach its shores.

According to Italy's interior ministry, nearly 128,400 migrants have arrived via the Mediterranean since the start of the year, a five per cent jump over the same period last year.

Many board rickety, makeshift boats in the hopes of reaching the Italian island of Lampedusa some 300 kilometres away.

UN envoy Martin Kobler said in an interview published today that some 235,000 are ready to make the dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy.

"We have on our lists 235,000 migrants who are just waiting for a good opportunity to depart for Italy, and they will do it," Kobler told Italian daily La Stampa.

The Operation Sophia ships can only board traffickers' vessels if they enter waters, which they never do, and are often end up on rescue missions for migrants trying to make their way towards the Italian coast.

The EU force cannot enter Libyan territorial waters without a formal request by the UN-backed Government of National Accord which is trying to extend its shaky authority from Tripoli to the rest of the country.

Gentiloni reiterated the issue was a problem for Europe as a whole and not just Italy and would be addressed at tomorrow's EU summit in Bratislava.
State-run Calcutta Telephones has drawn up a plan to set up telecom service and internet facilities at New Town smart city for an investment of Rs 50 crore.

Announcing this here today, Chief General Manager of Calcutta Telephones S P Tripathi told reporters that the public sector utility plans to set up 30 new base transceiver stations (BTS) and 20 telephone exchanges across New Town in consultation with HIDCO.

Calcutta Telephones also proposes to set up 87 wi-fi hotspots at various locations in New Town to be identified by HIDCO within the next four years, he said.

The government-owned organisation, which has recently recorded an upsurge in landline connections across Kolkata, has a target to rope in 15,000 landline customers, 7,000 plus mobile connections and over 5,000 fibre-to-home connectivity in the New Town smart city within 3-4 years, Tripathi said.

"BSNL expects to generate a large business volume from the resident netizens and the various IT firms in the New Town smart city area, where works will begin within two months," Tripathi said.

Replying to a query, General Manager (Customer Mobility) Debashish Sarkar said, to tackle the menace of call drops from their end, Calcutta Telephones would add 350 more BTS to the existing number of 1271 BTS in the Kolkata area.

Apart from this, Calcutta Telephones has also introduced a number of affordable landline, broadband and mobile plans at a competitive price in comparison to other telecom service providers, GM (CFA) K C Ghosh said.

It would shortly organise a series of road shows across the city to woo prospective customers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, an accused in a disproportionate assets case along with others, today claimed in Delhi High Court that the way in which the probe was conducted showed an "element of enthusiasm" on CBI's part indicating an element of "malafide".

Questioning CBI's jurisdiction in registering the case here, his counsel told Justice Vipin Sanghi that the court should look into the "ramifications" of the matter as the agency could keep doing its probe which might finish the political career of the Congress leader.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Singh, said as per CBI's case, all assets alleged to be disproportionate to the known source of income were in Himachal Pradesh and the agency should not have lodged the case in Delhi, on the basis of the fact that his client was then a union minister here.

"The manner in which probe was conducted (by CBI) shows an element of enthusiasm which would not have been there in normal circumstances. That is why a court-monitored mechanism is essential. There is an element of malafide in the matter," Sibal told the court.

He said it should be ensured that CBI was not biased against anyone based on the political party which is in power in the Centre or the state.

Sibal said CBI had conducted first preliminary enquiry (PE) and thereafter sought to close the case, but later it carried out a second PE on the same set of facts which were dealt with earlier.

He argued that the check period in a DA case "cannot give CBI the jurisdiction to lodged a case here" as jurisdiction would be made out at the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed.

"There must be a court crafted roadmap in such matters... What will give you (CBI) jurisdiction is the place where an offence is committed," Sibal said during the arguments which would continue on September 23.

CBI had earlier told the high court that its probe in the DA case against Singh and others was "complete" and it wanted to file the charge sheet in the matter.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court in an interim order on October 1, 2015, had restrained the agency from arresting, interrogating or filing a charge sheet against Singh in the case without court's permission.

The matter, in which the Himachal Pradesh HC had passed



the interim order, was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi HC, which on April 6 this year had asked the CBI not to arrest Singh and directed him to join the probe.

On November 5 last year, the apex court had transferred Singh's plea from Himachal Pradesh HC to Delhi HC, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment".

CBI had moved the apex court seeking transfer of the case here and setting aside of the interim order granting Singh protection from arrest and other relief given to him.

Singh has sought directions from the court to quash the FIR registered against him and his wife under Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 109 of IPC by CBI on September 23 last year here and urged the court to summon record of the preliminary inquiry and the FIR.

The petition has said the CBI had acted without jurisdiction by conducting probe into alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the highest democratically elected constitutional functionary in the state without any consent from the state government, a pre-requisite under Section 6 of Delhi Special Establishment Act.
CBI has taken over investigations in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan as it registered a case today against unknown assailants.

The move comes four months after Bihar Government recommended a CBI into the murder of Ranjan, bureau chief of Hindustan--a Hindi daily.

A team of agency sleuths will leave shortly for Siwan, the sources said.

The sources said name of former RJD MP Shahbuddin who has been released recently on bail was under the scanner of Bihar Police which was probing the case till recently.

The case has again come into limelight as a photograph appeared of absconding suspects Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed with Shahbuddin after his release from Bhagalpur jail on Saturday last on bail granted by Patna High Court. {



They said it is suspected that the killing was the handiwork of some influential persons.

CBI sources said they have taken over the investigation in the murder case which has been registered under the IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, murder and arms act.

According to the rules, CBI takes over same FIR which has been registered by the state police. However, the sources said, the investigation of the agency are completely free and it may arrive at any conclusion which may or may not be in concurrence with the state police.

"The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case under section 302, 120-B, 34 of IPC and section 27 of Arms Act against unknown assailants relating to alleged murder of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan on the request of Bihar Government and further notification from Government of India," CBI Spokesperson said.

She said CBI has taken over the investigation of the said case which was earlier registered vide FIR no. 362/2016 dated May 13, 2016 at Police Station Siwan town, Bihar on a complaint from wife of deceased.

The state government had issued a notification requesting the CBI to take over the investigation of the murder case on May 16.

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A 75-year-old man from south Delhi today succumbed to chikungunya complications at a city hospital, taking to 12 the number of fatalities due to the vector-borne disease in the national capital that is battling a severe viral onslaught.

J D Madan died this morning at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH), the fifth person to have lost life to complications triggered by chikungunya, at the hospital in last four days.

"The patient, a resident of Kalkaji, was admitted on August 12 night with complaints of fever and chills along with swelling and rashes on body. He was also a patient of chronic myeloid monocytic leukemia.

"He had acute febrile illness and was tested positive for chikungunya by rapid PCR test, and died at 6:45 am of chikungunya sepsis with septic shock and cardio-pulmonary arrest," hospital authorities said.

As of today, SGRH has 23 patients of chikungunya admitted in the hospital, two of them in intensive-care unit (ICU).

All the five patients who have died of chikungunya were elderly patients, they said, adding, one patient of dengue is also admitted, but no fatality from it has taken place at the hospital.

The hospital has admitted 100 patients till today this season, who have tested positive for chikungunya and 39 tested positive for dengue, SGRH said.

AIIMS had confirmed one suspected case yesterday. The victim, from Muzaffarnagar, had died earlier this month of multi-organ failure triggered by chikungunya.

Chikungunya is taking its toll in the national capital where the number of cases have climbed to over 1,700 this season and fever clinics are getting swamped with rush of patients.

Five deaths from chikungunya complications were reported till yesterday at Apollo Hospital here, most of the victims were aged 80 or above.

Seven of the 12 victims belonged to Uttar Pradesh, including two from Ghaziabad, and five from Delhi.

Doctors say that chikungunya is not a life-threatening disease in general, but in rare cases leads to complications that prove fatal, especially in children and old persons.

Meanwhile, AIIMS laboratories have tested 1,443 chikungunya blood test samples positive till September 13.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As the number of deaths in Delhi due to and its complications have shown a spike, health experts say the sudden upsurge of the disease this year could be a result of evolution of the viral strain.

Doctors have detected that the viral strain is showing different behaviour, though it will only be conclusive once research is conducted on the make up of the virus.

"Dengue and both are caused by the same aedes mosquito but dengue can be contracted through four viral strains while is caused only by one strain," said Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) Director, A C Dhariwal.

"Also, in dengue cases, some strains are more virulent than other ones. The number of rising cases of chikungunya this year after the 2006 spike could be due to an evolution in its strain," he explained.

Experts also feel that north Indians could be succumbing to the vector-borne disease because of their low immunity to it.

"People in north India haven't been really exposed to the chikungunya strain compared to the population in the southern part of the country, and therefore they are more vulnerable to this viral attack," Municipal Health Officer of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, P K Hazarika told PTI.

He, however, said the probability of evolution of the viral strain will just be a speculation until scientists establish it.

IgM-ELISA and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) are the two main tests used to detect chikungunya in patients.

A senior doctor at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital says the viral strain in patients diagnosed with chikungunya at its hospital are showing different behaviour for the two tests.

"We used IgM serology on patients earlier but then after finding discrepancy between clinical diagnosis and laboratory tests, we started performing molecular test (RT-PCR) to detect the chikungunya virus from the blood of clinically suspected patients from September 1 onwards," the doctor said.

"And from Sep 1-13, out of 565 samples of suspected viral fever, 319 came positive for chikungunya virus which is about 56 per cent positivity. So, we found out that a test coming negative by IgM is coming positive by RT-PCR. And, this could mean the number of cases in Delhi could be much higher than currently reported," he said.

Arun R Kaushik, specialist in microbiology and geriatrics, says, "Chikungunya virus is transmitted by the bite of aedes albopictus and aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The risk of death is about one in 1,000 especially common among the elderly or those with underlying chronic medical problems."

According to the Bangalore-based doctor, "The prevalence of arbovirus infections similar to chikungunya virus in south India especially in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have made people tolerant to these infections."

The number of chikungunya cases in the capital have climbed to over 1,700 this season and at least 12 deaths have been reported due to the disease.

Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital A K Rai also says that several outbreaks of chikungunya in southern parts of the country have boosted their immune system to this virus.

According to NVBDCP, around 14,656 cases of chinkungunya have been reported across the country till September 11.

Karnataka alone has recorded 9,427 cases, Maharashtra 1,024 and Andhra Pradesh 543.

Karnataka in the last few years has recored massive cases of chikungunya  8740 in 2010, 1941 in 2011, 2382 in 2012, 5295 in 2013, 6962 in 2014 and 20763 in 2015, according to the latest figure released by the NVBDCP.

Tamil Nadu which saw 4319 cases in 2010, 4194 in 2011 and 5018 in 2012 in later years saw successive decline. So, in 2013 it saw 859 cases, 543 in 2014, 329 in 2015 and 42 cases this year.

Chikungunya is a self-limiting disease in vast majority of cases and requires only symptomatic treatment with paracetamol and adequate hydration. Most of these patients recover at home and do not require hospitalisation.

Rai says, "At Safdarjung, 536 chikungunya cases have been confirmed. But, people should not panic, they should take adequate fluid and rest. In chikungunya the complications triggered by co-morbid conditions lead to death. So, people who are diabetic or have heart or blood pressure or kidney problems should consult doctors and see if their medicine needs to be changed."

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.

75-year-old Prakash Kalra of Mathura died last evening at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where three other elderly persons succumbed to the disease on Monday. Five fatalities were reported yesterday at Apollo Hospital, including a woman and three elderly men. A 22-year-old girl also died at municipal-run Hindu Rao Hospital on September 1.
U.S. Rep. John Katko and eight of his Republican colleagues from New York have been recognized for their work on behalf of small businesses.

The National Federation of Independent Business presented the nine members of Congress with the Guardian of Small Business Award. The award is recognition for their "outstanding support of America's small business owners in the 114th Congress," according to the group.

NFIB presents the award to members who supports the group's position on key bills in Congress. To be eligible for the honor, members of Congress must vote with the group's position at least 70 percent of the time.

Katko, R-Camillus, has supported NFIB's position on bills 93 percent of the time.

New York's other Republican representatives also received high scores. U.S. Reps. Dan Donovan, Chris Gibson, Tom Reed, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldin each earned 100 percent marks.

U.S. Reps. Chris Collins, Richard Hanna and Peter King received 93 percent scores.

"Many elected officials claim that they are champions of small business, but our Guardian Award shows our members and other small business owners who is really fighting for them," said Juanita Duggan, NFIB's president and CEO. "Based on their voting record, these members of Congress are the most reliable advocates for small business in Washington."

Mike Durant, who serves as NFIB's state director in New York, said support from legislators is critical for small businesses.

"Diminishing the tax burden on small business owners coupled with an overall reduction in regulation both in Albany and Washington will ensure that our economy has the ability to thrive," he said. "We are certainly grateful to our federal representatives for all that they do."

The award isn't a political endorsement, but it will give many of the representatives in competitive races something to highlight on the campaign trail.

Katko, for example, is locked in a tough race with Democratic challenger Colleen Deacon. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, is facing off against Democratic foe Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel.

Two of the honorees  Gibson, R-Kinderhook, and Hanna, R-Barneveld  aren't seeking re-election.
Beijing's Internet regulator today said it had shut down a number of live-broadcast websites for allegedly streaming vulgar, pornographic or illegal content.

The Beijing subsidiary of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said it had issued rectification orders for problems ranging from broadcast content, to usernames to shared content.

The websites were closed as part of the "Clean the Web" campaign that was first launched in 2014 to manage obscene and illegal content online.

The campaign involves checks on websites, search engines, mobile application stores, Internet TV USB sticks and set-top boxes.

CAC Beijing said some live-broadcast websites were found to be hosting or streaming vulgar, pornographic or illegal content, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

The office issued website administrators with orders to review security measures and their management systems, and clean up their content.

Those who fail to meet the office's requirements would be "dealt with seriously and severely," the report said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China tonight successfully launched its second experimental space lab as part of an ambitious programme to build a manned space station by 2022, the time when US-led International Space Station expected to go out of service.

The Tiangong-2 space lab was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China's Gobi desert.

It was text book launch. It reached the designated orbit in about 10 minutes and the official in-charge of the mission announced the launch over the state-run TV which telecast live the event.

"The mission is complete success and the space lab reached its designated orbit," an official said.

China's ambitious space programme aims for a manned space station by 2022. China's space station is expected to be sent into orbit just as the US-led International Space Station goes out of service -- making China potentially the only country with a permanent space presence.

The 8.6-tonne space lab will manoeuvre itself into an orbit about 380 kms above the Earth for initial on-orbit tests.

It will transfer to a slightly higher orbit at about 393 kilometers above the Earths surface by next month before a manned space ship called Shenzhou-11 would ferry two astronauts into space to dock with the lab.

The two astronauts will work in Tiangong-2 for 30 days including manual and automatic docking before reentering the Earths atmosphere.

China, which conducted its first manned space mission in 2003 also plans to launch its Mars mission in 2020 to catch up with India, the US, Russia and the EU to reach the red planet.

As it launched the second space station, China yesterday announced that its first space lab Tiangong-1 is expected to fall into the Earth's atmosphere in the latter half of 2017.

Tiangong-1 was launched in September, 2011 and ended its data service in March this year, when it had "comprehensively fulfilled its historical mission," Wu Ping, deputy director of the manned space engineering office told media yesterday.

The space lab is currently intact and orbiting at an average height of 370 kilometers, she said.

It was in service for four and a half years, two and a half years longer than its designed life, and had docked with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and undertaken a series of tasks, making important contributions to Chinas manned space cause, Wu said.

"Based on our calculation and analysis, most parts of the space lab will burn up during falling," she said, adding that it was unlikely to affect aviation activities or cause damage to the ground.

China has always highly valued the management of space debris, conducting research and tests on space debris mitigation and cleaning, Wu said.

Now, China will continue to monitor Tiangong-1 and strengthen early warning for possible collision with objects.

If necessary, China will release a forecast of its falling and report it internationally, Wu said.

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French riot police fired teargas and stun grenades today in clashes in Paris with angry opponents of labour reforms, in the latest outbreak of violence over the controversial new laws.

Four demonstrators and 15 police were hurt, including two officers who sustained burns due to Molotov cocktails, as tens of thousands rallied against the law forced through by the Socialist government.

Police used water cannon and tear gas as protests also turned violent in Nantes in western France, one of at least 10 provincial cities which saw rallies.

"The violence is unacceptable," said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, noting that police had arrested 62 people across the country, 32 of whom were kept in custody.

Authorities said some 78,000 people rallied overall nationwide, including 13,000 in Paris. Organisers put numbers across France at around 170,000, saying 40,000 protested in Paris.

The law aimed at loosening France's notoriously rigid employment laws was forced through in July after months of often violent protests. In all 620 police have been injured since the protests started, said Cazeneuve.

It notably makes it easier to fire workers during downturns and for bosses to negotiate directly with employees on working time.

As well as the protests, scores of flights in and out of the country were also cancelled as air traffic controllers went on strike to protest the law.

"We will show them that, law or no law, we will always stand against them," Francois Roche, a member of the hardline CGT union demonstrating in Marseille, told AFP.

Turnout nationwide was far lower than at the first rallies earlier this year which saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets.

One of the focal points today was the eastern city of Belfort, where the government is locked in a battle with train-building giant Alstom over the future of a locomotive factory threatened with closure.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city, chanting "Alstom is Belfort, Belfort is Alstom".

Belfort's history is intertwined with that of Alstom, which produced its first steam train there in 1880. The plant now assembles high-speed TGV train locomotives.

Last week, Alstom had announced it would close the plant due to a lack of orders and move production to a site 200 kilometres to the north.

The prospect of up to 400 job losses is deeply embarrassing for the Socialist government eight months ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, in which high unemployment is expected to be a key issue.

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Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign fray in a tightening race against Republican Donald Trump, who released new details of his physical fitness in response to the health scare that sidelined his rival.

Seeking to turn the page after her poorly handled bout with pneumonia, Clinton was headed to North Carolina and then the US capital Washington as she resumed the White House race after a three-day convalescence.

"Welcome back to 'Stronger Together,'" the Democratic nominee quipped cheerily to reporters on board her campaign plane.

Asked how she was feeling, the 68-year-old former secretary of state replied: "I am doing great, thank you so much!"

Clinton was taken ill Sunday during a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York where she was seen stumbling limp-legged into her vehicle, an episode that raised tough questions about her campaign's transparency.

With the candidates' health suddenly at the forefront of the campaign, Clinton looked to head off further scrutiny by releasing new medical records yesterday indicating that she was "fit to serve" as president.

The disclosure came as the media-savvy Trump, 70, teased new health data of his own during the taping of a medical chat show, before publishing it today in full.

The one-page letter from his long-time doctor lists various lab results, including for cholesterol, blood pressure and liver and thyroid function  all deemed to be within the normal range.

While Trump is shown to be overweight, with a body mass index of 29.5, his doctor Harold Bornstein declared the Republican nominee to be "in excellent physical health."

Trump had made a point of refraining from harsh attacks on his convalescent rival  but the candidates were quick to resume their jousting.

Team Trump included a veiled jab at Clinton in a statement accompanying his health update: "We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigours of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign."

While addressing the Economic Club of New York, Trump slammed the policies of Clinton and President Barack Obama as having doubled the national debt as he promised his presidency would bring about "an American economic revival."

Clinton, meanwhile, slammed the brash billionaire, who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his "alarming closeness with the Kremlin."

"Donald Trump has run a deplorable campaign," she told the Tom Joyner radio show.
The opposition AINRC today charged the Narayanasamy led Congress government here with adopting a 'vindictive policy' against parties opposed to the Congress in Puducherry.

The whip of the opposition AINRC N S J Jayabal said in a release here that the Chief Minister had been engaging himself in steps to 'tarnish' the previous AINRC government by levelling allegations of malpractices and corruption.

"Narayanasamy is going to face a by-election and keeping the poll in mind, he has been on a campaign against AINRC by making unfounded charges and baseless allegations of corruption against the previous AINRC rule here," he said.

Jayabal said Congress had been making tall claims that the government that it had initiated steps to bring in an IT park and also to upgrade the Engineering college into a technical university during the last 100 days in office.

These were among the measures the previous AINRC rule had evolved for implementation, he said.

Jayabal said no step had been taken by the Congress government to upgrade urban development in Puducherry.

He said it was unfortunate that the Congress government had dismissed around 3,000 workers from various government departments and undertakings in the last 100 days.

This was a clear case of political vendetta as these workers were employed by the previous AINRC rule, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CPI(M) today provided a financial assistance of Rs 9.72 lakh to the victims of Nepal's devastated earthquake by handing over the cheque to the country's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is on his maiden foriegn visit to India after assuming office.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury handed over the cheque of Rs 9.72 lakh to Dahal during their meeting at Nepal embassy here.

With this contribution, the monetary help the CPI(M) and mass organisations backed by it provided to Nepal has gone up to Rs 5.28 crore.

According to the Left party, the total funds raised include Rs 1.67 crore, Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh collected separately by Kerala State Service Pensioners' Union, Centre of Trade Unions and School Teachers' Federation of India respectively.

The last year's powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal and claimed about 9,000 people.

Dahal is on a four-day visit to India from today during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Claiming that India is a country with diversities, general secretary Murlidhar Rao said that it has unanimity on the cultural nationalism.

"As far is concerned, it considers that cultural nationalism in its DNA. firmly believes in pluralistic society but believes that all the diversities lead to a common ideology when we talk of nation and nationalism," he said.

BJP's cultural nationalism is non-competing, non-conflicting, which is the reason why many nations failed to remain united but despite challenges India's unity and integrity was never compromised, he said addressing the second session of the party's four-day training workshop here.

BJP State President and MLA Sat Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, MP Lok Sabha Jugal Kishore Sharma, MoS Finance Ajay Nanda, MLC Ashok Khajuria and district president Kuldeep Raj Dubey were also present.

Sat Sharma said BJP has become largest political party in the world and everyone's eye is on BJP and its government at the Centre.

He said BJP was a cadre-based party where our Karyakarta (workers) are its back bone and strength.
has praised the European Union (EU) for preserving national cultures while pursuing collective goals, suggesting it could be a model for Tibet within China.

On a tour of Europe, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said on Thursday, "We are very much impressed by the spirit of the EU with independent and sort-of sovereign states in which the common interest is more important."

It was rare praise for a bloc struggling for unity after Britain's vote to leave.

and the Tibetan government in exile are seeking autonomy for Tibet but not independence.

"We happily join or remain within the People's Republic of China provided they must respect our unique culture including language," he said in Strasbourg, Germany, at the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights authority.
:Deputy Speaker V P Sivakolundhu, Welfare Minister M Kandasamy,Education Minister R Kamalakannan and legislators of ruling Congress were among those who paid floral tributes at the statue of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK founder C N Annadurai his 108th birth anniversary today.

As Chief Minister V Narayanasamy was away in Delhi he could not participate in the celebrations here.

Scores of volunteers of the opposition AIADMK, led by the leader of its legislature wing A Anbalagan garlanded the statue.

Volunteers of DMK,led by party convenors R Siva and S P Sivakumar paid floral tributes at the statue.

Leaders and functionaries of various other political parties also paid homage at the statue.

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A Dominican woman wrongly classified as a man in a Miami prison and put in a cell with 40 male inmates is suing the authorities and seeking USD 750,000 in compensation.

The woman, Fior Pichardo de Veloz, a lawyer and mother of three children, was arrested in November 2013 on a charge related to drug trafficking.

She is suing the prison authorities on charges of violating her constitutional rights, negligence and violation of privacy after being harassed and threatened with rape in a 10-hour ordeal at the facility.

Months later, the authorities dismissed the charges and she returned to the Dominican Republic, where she lives.

In her suit filed this week in a US federal court in Miami, a medical examination at the time of her arrest determined that Pichardo had "non-traditional male characteristics" that warranted further review.

Questioned by AFP, the lawyers for the 54-year-old Dominicana did not explain the nature of those characteristics.

Three male nurses of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department examined Pichardo and determined she was a man, according to the document obtained yesterday by AFP.

Afterward, three prison officials reclassified her as a man after initially identifying her as a woman, and ordered her transfer to a male cell.

"After a 'review' by a nurse employed by Miami-Dade County, it was then determined that Pichardo had male reproductive organs and she was sent to a male-only facility. This identification was outrageously incorrect," her lawyers wrote in the court document.

"Pichardo is quite feminine and lacks any characteristics of someone who even remotely resembles a man," they said.

Confined with 40 male inmates, she was subjected to bullying and rape threats. According to the document, a prison official said to her in Spanish as he was locking her up: "Lucky if you live to see tomorrow."



Pichardo was forced to undergo two examinations of her genitals, which were photographed.

Finally she was sent to a solitary cell, where she feared for her life when male guards ordered her to disrobe, leered at her and took pictures.

About 10 hours later, the prison authorities reexamined her case and admitted the gender error.

"Pichardo continues to suffer emotional distress, fear for her life, hopelessness, despair, mental anguish, fear for her safety, and fear of being raped," the document said.

In addition, Pichardo, who is a public official in the Dominican Republic, was publicly humiliated by the experience, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 2016 presidential campaign has been making headlines, leading newscasts and dominating cable talking-head shows for so long it's hard to remember when it wasn't being covered.

For many of us who feel inundated by this election cycle, the Nov. 8 general election can't come soon enough.

But as the finish line finally comes into sight, think about what you actually know about the presidential candidates. Yes, you know about the controversies each has stirred, the provocative comments they and their campaigns have made, the level of fame each has achieved and the accusations they have lobbed at each other.

But do you know what they'd do about the nation's opiate abuse crisis? How about health care (other than one supporting the Affordable Care Act and the other opposing it)? Where do they stand on voting rights, student debt, China, North Korea?

Most us probably have a vague notion at best on what the people who want to lead our country for the next four years would do about many of the most important issues we're facing.

Amid the continuation of the shouting and daily uproars from the campaign trail, we're going to be publishing a special series that's aimed at helping our readers get some information on real issues. The Why It Matters series was developed by Associated Press and laid out by our regional design team. We will be running these half-page modules frequently over these final weeks.

The first two installments published in Sunday's and Wednesday's editions. Sunday's topic, American and the World, examined the broader foreign policy philosophical issues we're facing these days. Wednesday delved into the drug abuse problem.

These pages are informative not just because they give you some clear and concise details on what candidates have said about issues, but they also give you helpful context about the issue itself and why it's important.

All told, there are about three dozen of these Why it Matters pieces being produced, and our goal is to run as many as possible. Available space in the print edition will determine when we publish them in that format, but we do plan to create package showcasing the entire series for auburnpub.com.
The Delhi government today reached out to the city's religious institutions for help in dealing with the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya under 'One Delhi Campaign' aimed at seeking support from all quarters of the society, including political parties, to check spread of the diseases.

Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra said the campaign has received a "phenomenal" response.

"After offering prayers tomorrow, there will be an announcement of fighting with diseases and mosquitoes together at all mosques of Delhi Waqf Board," Mishra tweeted.

Besides, at Gorishanker temple at Chandni Chowk, appeal will be made to the people to deal with the vector-borne diseases, the minister said.

"Religious institutions like Gauri Shankar temple, Tilak Nagar Gurudwara, Jama Masjid, Orthodox church have all come forward to help spread awareness about the diseases.

"The religious institutions will be making special appeals to public and request for their support to ensure that these vector-borne diseases can be curtailed," Mishra told reporters here.

He said the campaign has also received support from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation.

Volunteers of Art of Living will be visiting households across Delhi to create awareness and help in the fogging drive.

He, however, said he was still waiting for a response from DPCC president Ajay Maken or any Congress leader and appealed to them to join hands together under the campaign.

Several prominent celebrities like Amjad Ali Khan, Birju Maharaj, Shubha Mudgal, Swapan Sundari amongst others have also pledged their support for the campaign.

The minister said market associations across Delhi which include prominent markets like Chandini Chowk, Karol Bagh, Nehru Place, Sadar Bazar, Kashmiri Gate have come forth to join the 'One Delhi Campaign' and will help in cleanliness drive in these areas.

Hotel associations like the Paharganj Hotel Association have also extended their support for the campaign and have already initiated the awareness drive



He said, "The 'One Delhi Campaign' is above politics, allegiances and personal interests. Delhi belongs to all of us and we must serve it together.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi University's law students have again launched an indefinite hunger strike over the failure of over 50 per cent students in the semester exams.

The students alleged there was some problem with the results that were declared last month as some of them have been marked absent even though they appeared in the exam, while the scores of a few others were revised later.

Following declaration of results, the students had last month gone on a strike which was called off after the authorities had assured them of looking into their grievances.

"We have been talking to the authorities since last month and exploring the re-evaluation options as well but nothing has materialised forcing us to go back on strike again," a protesting student said.

The Faculty of Law has three centres - Law Centre I (LC I), Campus Law Centre (CLC) and Law Centre II (LC II). CLC usually admits the highest scorers of the entrance test.

A total of 882 students out of 1944 students have failed in at least one subject in the semester examination.

However, this is not the first time that the varsity's Law Faculty has reported mass failures. But a similar situation was prevalent in the department last year as well.

Meanwhile, Law Faculty Dean SC Rana was not available for his comments on the issue.

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Children in Dubai who are frightened of hospitals and doctors will soon be able to take their 'sick' toys 'for treatment' to help them reduce their anxiety, a media report said today.

Toys that require surgery will be taken to a special operating room in a toy hospital, where children can watch the procedure being carried out.

Children who are frightened of hospitals and doctors will soon be able to take their sick toys 'for treatment' in Dubai, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said.

It is believed that giving children a positive experience in hospitals will help reduce their anxiety if they need medical treatment themselves later on, according to experts from the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khaleej Times reported.

The university will use a simulation centre, where children will meet with health workers, who will 'assess' and 'treat' the toys.

The idea was first suggested by Mahmood Jamal Al Deen through the 'Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Majlis' app, and then shared in a meeting with the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the KHDA.

"The toy hospital is a great example of how government can work together with the broader community to support children's happiness," said Dr Abdulla Al Karam, director-general of the KHDA.

"We're looking forward to working with the team from the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as schools and parents, to help children across Dubai develop a more positive perception of doctors and hospitals," Al Karam said.

The app allows all Dubai residents to participate in the development of the emirate by providing a platform through which they can share and implement innovative ideas and solutions for challenges facing Dubai.

Anyone with a creative idea to benefit teaching and learning in Dubai can submit it through the app, where it will be channeled to the KHDA team.

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Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament today, in explosive allegations against the Philippine president.

The self-described assassin told a Senate hearing that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people over 25 years on Duterte's orders - one of them fed alive to a crocodile.

Many of the others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said have left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Duterte's spokesman said the allegations had already been investigated without charges being filed while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony "mere hearsay" of "a madman".

Matobato said that in 1993, he and other members of the death squad were on a mission when they approached a road blocked by the vehicle of an agent from the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation.

A confrontation degenerated into a shootout. Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of the southern city of Davao at the time, then arrived on the scene, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. Jamisola (the justice department official) was still alive when he (Duterte) arrived. He emptied two Uzi magazines on him."



His testimony fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind a death squad that killed more than a thousand people in Davao, where he was mayor for most of the past two decades.

"Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis," said Matobato.

He said they killed mainly criminal suspects and personal enemies of the Duterte family between 1988 and 2013.

Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, said he doubted that the then mayor could have ordered the killing of 1,000 people.

"I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that. The Commission on Human Rights already investigated this a long time ago and no charges were filed," he said.

Another spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the allegations needed to be properly scrutinised.

"Whatever testimonies, statements that the chairperson (of the Senate committee) are saying, we will have to have a proper investigation regarding that.

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Haryana government today said e-procurement of the crops in the state would begin from October 1 and its payment will be credited into the bank accounts of the farmers directly.

Initially all 'Arhatiyas' or Commission Agents would be connected with government's server, State for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Karan Dev Kamboj said here today.

"Thereafter, the farmers would be connected through the Arhatiyas. This year farmers would be given option to sell their produce through Arhatiyas. The farmers would have to give their consent whether they want to take money from Arhatiyas or direct into their bank accounts," he said.

For the success of this system, he said, all the Arhatiyas would have to computerise their working so that data of all farmers could be accessed easily.

Also, the Arhatiyas would have to upload data such as name of farmer, address, Aadhaar number and other necessary information including mobile phone number on the server.

The government would start paddy procurement from October 1 so that farmers may not face any problem in selling their produce, he added.

Kamboj further that e-procurement would not only ensure transparency in the system, but would also put a check on theft of market fee.

"This would curb corruption and benefit farmers as well as Arhatiyas. With the development of this system, the Arhatiyas would be able to start e-trading in the entire country. Under this system, they would be able to purchase crops from any part of the country and sell the same online in other parts of the country," he pointed out.

The Minister also said that the control of online procurement would be at state headquarters at Chandigarh and all district headquarters would be linked to it.

The anaj mandis of districts would work under the supervision of District Food and Supplies Controller, he informed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
European Parliament President, Martin Sculz, says he fears that Donald Trump's  whom he labels as apparently irresponsible  victory in the US presidential election, could boost what he calls "imitators" in Europe.

Martin Schulz, a member of Germany's center-left Social Democrats, told German magazine Der Spiegel in comments published on Thursday that the Republican nominee is a problem for the whole world.

Schulz was quoted as saying, "If a man sits in the White House who flirts with having no idea and labels expertise as elitist baloney, a critical point is reached."

He said that would mean an apparently irresponsible man being in a position that requires the highest sense of responsibility.

Schulz, who leads the 28-nation European Union's legislative assembly, added, "My concern is that he could also boost imitators in Europe."

He didn't elaborate.
Ending "social exclusion" and giving primacy to "human aspect" should be the key guiding factors in the development of smart cities with technology acting only as an enabling tool, experts in the field of urban development from BRICS nations have opined.

Talking at a plenary session on 'BRICS Smart Cities Enclave' on the second day of the three-day conference on Urban Transition here today, the experts noted that adoption of technology alone could not be the ultimate goal in creating smart cities.

"Technology should only be used as a tool to meet the aspirations of the people," they added.

Academician from Brazil, D Alvaro de Oliveira expressed concern over the growing "social exclusion" in cities and rising isolation of different social groups and stressed that smart cities should aim at integrating people.

He cited the initiatives taken in Brazil to end social conflicts by creating integrated neighbourhoods in its capital Rio de Janiero and also in the Spanish city of Lisbon.

Oliveira also suggested establishment of BRICS Human Smart Cities Institute to mount collective efforts for socially and economically integrated urban development in the context of growing emphasis on smart city development.

IIT-Roorkie Director Pradipta Banerjee also noted that smart city development was "not all about technology" but meeting the needs of people.

"Urban development approaches should address the trust deficit between people and governance institutions," Banerjee said.

He favoured development of connected smart city regions rather than (stand alone) smart cities, including improvement in quality of rural areas.

South Africa's Philip Harrison said BRICS nations should ensure that development of smart cities did not further increase existing inequalities in urban areas.

"Governance should not be allowed to become more technocratic and less responsive," he cautioned.

Chinese expert Lie Tie said given the huge mobile and Internet penetration in his country, the government was making 'Internet' the cornerstone of enhancing the efficacy of municipal governance and employment generation.

Georgy Antsev of Russia gave an account of the technology-based initiatives being taken in his country to effectively respond to the consequences of natural disasters and provide relief to people in quick time.

As about 80 per cent of the world's population lived



along the coasts, Antsev said efforts were on to manufacture water vessels that could travel at a speed of over 500 km per hour to provide quick relief to disaster victims.

During a subsequent discussion on 'Financing Urban Infrastructure', the urban experts pointed to the strong correlation between inequality in access to infrastructure and inequality in incomes in urban areas.

They stressed on the need to ensure effective urban governance supported by a strong political leadership and vision to enable cities to attract huge investments required for building infrastructure.

They expressed concern over investments in urban infrastructure not resulting in adequate returns to ensure repayment and called for effective measures in this regard.

Emphasising the need for effective municipal governance, the representatives of member countries urged the BRICS Development Bank to support development of governance institutions.
The immersion of Lord Ganesha idols in Hussain Sagar lake and at other places here began today amid tight security, with devotees thronging the Tank Bund area despite incessant rains till afternoon.

About 10 to 15 lakh people are expected to participate in the final procession of thousands of Ganesha idols from Hyderabad besides Medak, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts, which marks the conclusion of the 11-day long festival.

Two persons got electrocuted during the immersion procession at Champapet here last night.

In order to ensure that the entire immersion programme is conducted peacefully without any untoward incident, all necessary arrangements have been put in place. Over 25,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure security of the event, police officials said.

Hundreds of devotees participated in the final Ganesha idol immersion procession here and were seen dancing to the tune of drum-beats and throwing colours while bidding adieu to the God of Wisdom.

The immersion of the famous Khairatabad Ganesh here was done in Hussain Sagar lake. It was installed in the form of Shaktipeetha Sivanagendra Maha Ganapathi, and stood 58-feet, the tallest Ganesha idol in the state.

The famous Balapur laddu was today auctioned for Rs 14.65 lakh with the highest bid coming from a businessman Skylab Reddy. Last year, the laddu was auctioned for Rs 10.32 lakh.

Venkateshwar Babu (40), an advocate, and Sandeep (19) an engineering student were electrocuted last night at Reddy Colony in Champapet during procession of Ganesha idol immersion. Another person was also injured in the mishap, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials said.

"As per information, they were trying to lift live wires with wet sticks during the procession when the incident occurred," they said.

(REOPENS BES23)



Meanwhile, Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma said the immersion is going on smoothly and the entire exercise will be completed tomorrow.

Around 4.30 PM, the DGP undertook an aerial survey of the procession along with Home Minister Nayani Narsimha Reddy, Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahender Reddy and Additional DGP (Law and Order) Anjani Kumar.

The DGP also monitored the live feed of Ganesh procession from his office along with senior police officials.

Sharma said lakhs of people were participating in the Ganesh procession since morning despite heavy rains. By 6 PM, 1,248 idols were immersed in different tanks out of the 11,074 installed as per police records.

As many as 12,000 surveillance cameras were installed on procession routes in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and police officials were monitoring them, the DGP said, according to an official release.
Palestinians fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, but the military has reported no casualties from the attack.

An army statement said that the rocket hit open ground in the border region late last night. There was no report of Israel returning fire.

On August 22, Israel pounded Gaza with aircraft and tank fire after a rocket fired from the coastal strip hit the southern Israeli town of Sderot without causing any injuries.

Palestinian medical officials said four people were wounded during the dozens of retaliatory raids, which targeted bases of Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, as well as of two smaller militant groups.

On July 2, Israeli air raids hit four sites in Gaza after a rocket struck a building in Sderot. There were no casualties in either attack.

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Government will soon launch three expressway projects -- Delhi-Amritsar-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai -- soon at a cost of about Rs 1,32,000 crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said.

"We will soon start three important expressway projects that would reduce travel time significantly between Delhi-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai. These would entail a total project cost of Rs 1,32,000 crore," road transport and highways minister Gadkari said here.

He hoped that the travel distance to these destinations will reduce significantly once the projects are operationalised.

As per the plan, Amritsar could be reached via Delhi in up to 3 hours after completion of the Rs 60,000-crore Amritsar-Delhi expressway, which will reduce travel duration by over two hours.

Also on the anvil is a project connecting Jalandhar to Ajmer that will bring down the travel time to 5 hours.

Meetings in this regard are scheduled with chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Yesterday, the minister in the poll-bound Punjab laid the foundation stones of 12 major NH projects worth Rs 10,596.19 crore at Ropar, Samrala and Jalandhar in the state.

The road projects also include four-laning of Jalandhar-Barnala, Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur, Ropar-Phagwara, Kharar-Kurali, Chandigarh-Kharar and Kharar-Ludhiana roads, besides an elevated road in Ludhiana city.

The projects will provide world-class road connectivity to commuters between Doaba and Malwa, along with adjoining Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, in the next 2 years, Gadkari said.

Chandigarh will also be connected with 4-lane roads with all major cities such as Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
AUBURN  An Auburn man will spend the next 20 years in state prison for burglarizing seven homes and attacking and kidnapping a woman in Cayuga County in December.

Maurice James, 26, of 10 Garrow St., pleaded guilty to nine violent felonies in June, admitting he stole property from several homes in Aurelius and Auburn last winter.

The most serious incident occurred on Dec. 30, 2015, when James and a co-defendant  16-year-old Jermaine Gotham  broke into a woman's home on Aurelius Avenue to steal property.

According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, the pair approached the 73-year-old woman who had been sleeping on a couch and repeatedly struck her in the head with a glass bottle. The defendants then threatened to kill the victim, forcing her into her car, which James crashed and totaled on the way to a nearby ATM.

"She begged them to stop," he said, noting that she suffered broken ribs, a serious head injury and severe anxiety as a result of the attack. "And since then, she's lost everything ... she lost her sense of security, her house, her car, her job, her cat and she nearly lost her life."

James pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping in that case. In addition, he admitted to six counts of second-degree burglary for breaking into various homes on Mullen Drive, Belmont Avenue, Wheeler Street, Greenview Circle and Clymer Street between Dec. 7 and Dec. 27, 2015.

At sentencing Thursday, Judge Thomas Leone said he tried to find something in James' file to "redeem him," but there was nothing.

"I'm deeply disturbed by your actions," he said. "Twenty years in prison at your age is a long time... but you've been a drag on society for so many years and you've ruined this woman's life."

Leone sentenced James to a total of 20 years in prison plus five years post-release supervision, which James plans to appeal. His co-defendant, Gotham, pleaded guilty to six felonies earlier this month; he will be sentenced Nov. 10.

Also in court:

 An Auburn teen has admitted to stealing property from his neighbor's home to support an addiction to heroin.

Adam Birtwell, of 106 N. Hoopes Ave., pleaded guilty Thursday to third-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny. The 18-year-old said he stole jewelry and silver dollars from 108 N. Hoopes Ave. on Dec. 22, which he hoped to sell or pawn for money.

"I went into my neighbor's house to steal whatever I could find so I could use it to get heroin," Birtwell said.

According to Cayuga County Assistant District Attorney Nate Garland, Birtwell has been in treatment with Confidential Help for Alcohol and Drugs, Inc.  better known as C.H.A.D.  in Auburn; however, the teen has been a "less than optimal" patient so far.

Birtwell could face a maximum of seven years in prison for the felonies. Still, Leone said he would sentence him to five year probation and felony drug court if he continues treatment and stays out of trouble.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17.

 A woman who had planned on receiving straight probation was sent to Cayuga County Jail Thursday after failing to follow through with drug and alcohol treatment.

Heather Young, previously of 5765 Sayles Corners Rd. in Moravia, pleaded guilty in June to one count of third-degree burglary. The 30-year-old admitted to illegally entering a neighbor's residence last summer to steal nearly 200 Vicodin pills.

At Young's plea, Leone told the defendant he would likely sentence her to probation if she completed treatment for her addiction; however, after learning Young did not follow up with after care and was recently fired from her job, Leone changed his mind.

"I thought you had turned a corner," he said. "I thought you were gainfully employed and doing after care... but it looks like you need an extra push."

Young cried in court Thursday as Leone sentenced her to two months in jail plus five years probation.

"She sporadically seeks treatment, but hasn't followed through with it," Budelmann said. "I've seen nothing to show that she's committed to her sobriety."

Young's defense attorney, Norman Chirco, added that Young has a case pending in Cortland County. She was charged with felony driving while ability impaired by drugs after crashing her car into a ditch in the town of Cortlandville in November. Police said she was high at the time of the crash and had a previous conviction for DWI or DWAI in the past 10 years.
A Rs 1,500-crore expressway project between Kanpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh would be launched soon, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

The project is part of Rs 2 lakh crore highway projects in the state, the Road Minister said.

"Detailed project report is being prepared for an eight-lane access controlled expressway between Kanpur and Lucknow. The estimated cost of the project would be around Rs 1,500 crore," the minister said here.

Once completed, "Kanpur to Lucknow distance can be travelled in 35-40 minutes", Gadkari said adding that it will be an elevated road.

The minister said massive road network would be laid in the entire state and the government has planned at least Rs 2 lakh crore projects of which work on about Rs 70,000 crore projects is underway.

Gadkari last month laid foundation of three projects -- Rs 806 crore Varanasi-Jaunpur stretch on National Highway No 56, Rs 785 crore Varanasi-Ajamgarh stretch on National Highway No 233 and Varanasi-Gazipur stretch on NH 29.

The minister said Rs 868 crore would be spent on Varanasi-Gazipur stretch. These highway stretches are scheduled to be completed by June 2018.

Gadkari said these stretches would result in all-round development of the state by promoting seamless flow of cargo traffic and passengers, and also also promote tourism and minimise the accidents.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal today asked electrical equipment manufacturers to ensure quality to face competition from China, Korea and other countries.

The minister also sought support from Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEMMA) for "exposing those who use second-grade sheets, recycled copper or any of these products which damage the life, quality or accuracy of electrical equipment, and bring bad name to country."



Goyal was in city to take stock of arrangements being made for holding of first ever Switch global expo on energy sector.

One of the largest electrical expos in the country, Switch is to be held from October 6 to 10. It represents one of the biggest networks of electrical manufacturers, innovators, technologies and partners in the industry.

The event is being organised by Power Ministry in collaboration with Gujarat government and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).

Addressing reporters, he said, "I brought to notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the incidents of electrical transformers catching fire in various parts of country, which may be due to over loading".

He said that PM opined that substandard quality of the equipment was responsible for the damage.

Goyal said Ministry of Power, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Power Grid have come together to ensure that electrical equipment of poor quality are not produced.

"This message has gone to entire industry that this government will not at all tolerate any compromise on quality. Power Secretaries of states may note that because we fund a lot of these schemes that are happening in states, all of India is one. We want best quality in states as well," he added.

He said as many as 24 countries have already confirmed their participation in Switch expo.

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INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala today said Haryana government should immediately start paddy procurement process as the crop has already reached the grain markets and the farmers are forced to sell it at lower rates.

"The government is saying that it will procure paddy from October 1, but it has already reached the markets. The farmers are forced to sell it at lower rates," he said.

Chautala also alleged that the government is not procuring bajra as a result of which the farmers are forced to sell it at below the MSP of Rs 400 per quintal.

Speaking to mediapersons here, the INLD leader said he has already written a letter in this regard to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and urged the government to procure bajra and immediately start paddy procurement.

Haryana's Minister of State for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Karan Dev Kamboj today said the government would start paddy procurement from October 1.

Accusing the ruling BJP of failing at various fronts, he alleged, "The party had made tall promises to the farmers and other sections before being voted to power back but once it formed government, it went back on its promises."



"Now, even BJP's own leaders have started raising doubts about the 'Achhe Din' they had themselves promised to the people," the INLD leader alleged.

Chautala, meanwhile, said INLD will organise a big rally in Karnal on September 25 on the occasion of the 103th birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal. This year, the "Sadbhavna Samman Divas" rally would be dedicated to B R Ambedkar.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, JDU leader K C Tyagi, SP leader Shivpal Yadav are among those who would attend it.

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Haryana government will take out a 'rath yatra' as part of the celebrations of the state's golden jubilee from November 1.

The yatra will comprise five tableaus depicting art, culture, heritage, history, progress and development of the state, this was informed in the first meeting of the executive committee of swarna jayanti celebrations Authority chaired by Chief Secretary, D S Dhesi here today.

The yatra, which would conclude on October 31, 2017, would pass through all villages and towns falling between district headquarters.

About 100 to 200 artistes would also be engaged to perform on the tableaus and create a festive environment from wherever this Yatra passes.

The Yatra will also perform a cultural programme at every district headquarters.

The Haryana government intends to showcase history, economic prowess and achievements of the state over the last 50 years since it was carved out as a separate state, an official release said here.

A grand opening ceremony of the Haryana swaran jayanti celebrations will be organised at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Gurgaon on November 1, the release said.

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With a view to bridging the skills gap in emerging technology areas, in association with Venturesity has launched a career challenge for engineering students who can be a part of workshops in mobile app development, cognitive computing and data analytics.

The workshops will be held in 8 regions throughout India for a total of 24 workshops.

Following the workshops, students will be invited to take part in a hackathon where they will develop innovative apps using these emerging technologies.

The initiative was launched across many leading educational institutions in India in partnership with Venturesity and India's University Relations team.

The online registrations have started on July 15. So far, around 11,800 students across India have registered for this.

Mona Bharadwaj, Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives for University Relations, India / South Asia, said, "The main focus of this initiative is to help make students industry ready, therefore more employable and to serve as an open platform enabling hidden talent across the country to have the opportunity to be spotted."

Before attending the workshops, students will be required to take part in a small online quiz that will test their preparedness. Over 11,800 students have already cleared this preliminary challenge.

Six workshops have already been conducted over the weekend of August 27 and 28, 2016, with over 1,600 students attending the same. The workshops were mentored by industry experts and experts from IBM.

At the end of the challenge, participants get to win prizes and stand a chance to have their resumes reviewed by IBM India's recruitment team for potential placement interviews and internships.
The Monetary Fund (IMF) resumed its bailout of war-torn Ukraine, approving disbursement of $1 billion from an aid package that had been held up in part on corruption concerns.

Kiev had been waiting for the resumption of lending since August of last year in a $17.5 billion programme intended to help stabilise the country after the 2014 ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The country has suffered deep economic contractions after two years of war, with its GDP contracting 9.9 per cent in 2015. Wednesday's decision by the IMF Executive Board brings the total amount disbursed to about $7.62 billion, the Fund said in a statement.

The Fund's Executive Board said it approved the disbursement despite Ukraine's failure to meet several programme targets, including on limiting debt, boosting reserves and easing foreign exchange restrictions.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde had said in February that a resumption of funding could be difficult without substantial anti-corruption and reform efforts by . The reforms called for have been unpopular but local lawmakers have approved measures proposed by the Fund.

The $1 billion approved on Wednesday was short of the $1.6 billion expected in the latest tranche of lending but the Fund did not explain the difference.
Terming terrorism as the "biggest enemy of human rights", India today asked the 120-member NAM to set up a "Working group on terrorism" to safeguard world peace, stability and prosperity.

Calling for "zero tolerance" on direct or indirect support to terrorism at the 17th NAM Summit here in Venezuela, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said, "Terrorism threatens the contemporary architecture of world stability, based on respect for sovereignty."



"We must not be so naive as to believe that terrorists do not have a political objective.

"Terrorism is the biggest enemy of human rights. The subjugation of terrorists is, therefore, protection of human rights," Akbar said, adding that terrorism remains the biggest obstacle to development.

The NAM response to terrorism, said Akbar, must be as unambiguous as it was once about 'apartheid and colonialism'.

Naming the terrorist groups like ISIS, Hizbul Mujahideen, and JeM, Akbar called on the NAM nations, the biggest nation grouping outside the UN, to set up a "NAM Working group on terrorism".

Criticising state support for terrorist groups who wants to establish 'empires of destruction', Akbar said: "Governments which think they can pay lip service to sanity at a NAM summit, and continue to arm, shelter and exploit terrorists in a war by other means, when they return home will learn that you can not sup on poison and hope to live."



Akbar also called for passing of 'Venezuela declaration' for an early convention on international terrorism and asked member nations to support 'urgent reforms' in the UN Security Council.

The 17th NAM summit, which started on Tuesday and will end on September 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's "unique security ties" with Russia remain unaffected by the growing Indo-US relationship, highly placed sources said here ahead of President Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to this country.

The strategic ties with Russia have been "persistent, continuous and critical" element of India's foreign policy policy, the sources said.

Putin will arrive in India in mid-October for the five- nation BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit to be held in Goa as well as annual Indo-Russia bilateral Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While admitting that Indo-Russia ties in the area of trade and economy have not remained the same, the sources said the effort during the upcoming bilateral Summit would be to bring the relationship "back on track".

The sources also mentioned that Indo-Russia military



cooperation was undergoing a change as India not only was procuring defence equipment off the shelf, but was also inviting Russians to take part in 'make in India' defence joint ventures.

In this regard, they cited the recent agreement on the manufacture of 200 Russian Kamov 226 T light choppers in India. The deal is estimated to be USD one billion under the 'make in India' initiative.

The sources also brought out importance of regional consultations with Russia such as on Afghanistan.

Both India and Russia know that the bilateral ties were "vital" for balance in Asia-Pacific region, they said.

They also warned that Indo-Russia ties should not be reduced to the "litmus test" of Russia-Pakistan relationship.

Apart from the conventional key areas which were very



critical components of the bilateral ties including military technology cooperation, energy and civil nuclear sector, India was also keen to explore the new areas of collaboration such as infrastructure and railways, the sources said.

Talking about robust ties in the diamond sector, they said there were areas like agriculture, food processing, mining and ship building where Russians have strong expertise which could be used by India.

This will also give a boost to bilateral commercial ties. Bilateral trade in 2015 amounted to USD 7.83 billion (decline of 17.74 per cent over the previous year), with Indian export amounting to USD 2.26 billion and imports from Russia USD 5.57 billion.

In December 2014, the leaders of the two countries set a target of USD 30 billion bilateral trade by 2025.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart suggesting ways to expedite trial in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case in the neighbouring country but is yet to get a response.

Jaishankar wrote the letter on September 6 which was hand-delivered by the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on September 9, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Swarup said that if Pakistan is serious about bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack, it must act on the suggestions as the entire strike was planned from Pakistan, was carried out by Pakistani nationals and all evidence are in Pakistan.

Noting that the trial in Pakistan has not progressed expeditiously although it will be eight years soon since the dastardly attack, Swarup said, "In order to bring the guilty to book, our Foreign Secretary has recently written to his counterpart in Pakistan suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited through cooperation through the legal channel."



He said the step was prompted by the delay in bringing to book the persons in Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai terror attack.

"As you know, the entire attack was planned from Pakistan, was perpetrated by Pakistani nationals, all the evidence are in Pakistan, but eight years have passed and trial is happening at a snail's pace," he said.

Swarup said the country's focus is to check terrorism and the government wants to bring the Mumbai case trial to expeditious conclusion.

"We are prepared to offer suggestions on how it can be done through the proper legal channels," he said.

Asked if India has heard back, he said, "No".

On September 9, a former Lashkar operative arrested by Pakistan for his involvement in the 2008 terror attack was acquitted.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency said that "no allegation has been proved against" Sufayan Zafar, who was accused of financing Rs 14,800 for the attack and providing Rs 3.98 crore to co-accused Shahid Jameel Riaz prior to the attack.

Zafar was hiding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case. He was arrested early last month from his hideout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab, approximately 80 km from Lahore, Zafar was among 21 absconding suspects wanted in this high-profile case.

Six suspects -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum -- have been lodged in the Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi, since 2009 for abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.

Prime suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, is in hiding after getting bail over a year ago.

166 people, including many foreigners, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by 10 Lashkar terrorists. Nine of the attackers were killed and lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and later hanged in 2012.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In an apparent dig at Pakistan, India today said while it has always worked towards Afghanistan's development, there are some who have given the country only "bloodshed and violence".

India has engaged with Afghanistan in capacity and capability building in agriculture, water, infrastructure, energy, health, education and many other sectors and the landmarks of this partnership are well-known, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

"I think every patriotic Afghan appreciates and supports India's development partnership with Afghanistan," he said.

"In comparison, there are some who have given only bloodshed and violence to Afghanistan," he said speaking at his weekly briefing here.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists who orchestrated attacks in the country.

Taking a dig at Pakistan, Ghani had yesterday said, "We see that there is a distinction between good and bad terrorists. Good terrorists are the ones that attack your neighbours, bad terrorists are the ones who attack you. This type of approach is enormously shortsighted. The blowback phenomenon is going to be bad. Terrorism will bite, like a snake, who feeds it."



Swarup rejected the opinion that main achievement of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was the ramping up of defence cooperation.

"This is a totally incorrect inference. If you look at the joint statement issued yesterday, you would see how much of space has been devoted to the all-round India-Afghanistan cooperation," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To many in "History's Hometown" of Auburn, classic architecture means the Italianate dignity of the Seward House Museum, the Romanesque authority of the Old Post Office and Federal Courthouse, or the art deco futurism of the Auburn Schine Theater.

But what about the pointy concrete brow of the former HSBC bank? The naked brick pillars of the Genesee Mall? The pebbledash slab that is The Citizen?

What about the buildings brought to downtown Auburn by the urban renewal period of the '60s and '70s?

Such buildings are widely considered not only unsightly, but also unwelcome reminders of what the city lost to make way for them. They're multistory tombstones in an urban graveyard.

But now, almost 50 years after urban renewal, those new buildings are themselves becoming old. And their age invites a less impassioned look at their style, the history that birthed it and their place in Auburn's skyline over the next 50 years.

The buildings

If it's plain and it's blocky, it was probably built during urban renewal.

In this way, several Auburn buildings physically proclaim their origins. Among them are the Metcalf Plaza (completed in 1968), the Cayuga County Office Building (1969), The Citizen (1970), the Genesee Mall (1971), the former HSBC bank (1972) and the city parking garage (1979).

Urban renewal, revisited A series examining the impact of Auburn's urban renewal initiatives, including the Arterial:

All slotted square, desolate surfaces into land parcels cleared of decades-old structures during Auburn's 10-year, $15 million urban renewal project. But beneath the new buildings' brick, glass, concrete and roughcast lied a shared belief in modernizing the city, said Auburnian Andrew Roblee, who's pursuing a master's degree in historic preservation planning at Cornell University.

"If it was built in 1890," he said, "in 1950 it was considered old-fashioned and ugly."

However, Roblee said, not all of the city's new urban renewal architecture was created equal.

He praised the parking garage as one of the best downtown applications of pebbledash, or roughcast, in which tiny rocks are mortared together to create a coarse surface. Panels coated in this material stripe the Lincoln Street garage's guardrails, Roblee said, evoking the Colosseum in Rome.

The nearby Genesee Mall does not instill nearly the same wonder, he continued.

"Personally, it's so stupid and ugly," he said. "It's so hard to see what's inside from outside that functionally, I don't think it serves its purpose. And aesthetically, it's nothing."

On the Camardo Building and the west side of the State Street Mall, among other sites, is another highly textured trace of mid-century architecture: shingles.

Slapping them on new awnings and facades was a tendency of the time that James Lileks, a columnist and architectural critic for The Minneapolis Star Tribune, called "buckaroo revival."

In May, Lileks took a Google Street View tour of downtown Auburn as part of Main Streets, a series he publishes in his blog, The Bleat. The post focused heavily on the city's urban renewal character. Below a picture of the west Camardo Building wall  which staunched the building after Loop Road severed it  Lileks quipped, "Buckaroo Revival on a blank brick wall  it makes you weep."

Speaking to The Citizen, Lileks said the flaky wooden shingles look like "sick birds." He used equally bleak terms to describe the other urban renewal architecture dotting not only Auburn, but many of the other cities he's toured through Main Streets.

"They're soul-crushing blank brick buildings with thin windows that look like an IBM punch card," he said. "They existed to make the instruments of the state the most depressing and unfriendly places imaginable."

Then there's the former Marine Midland and HSBC bank.

Designed by Turley, Stievater, Walker and Mauri, the bank may be the most divisive of the city's '60s and '70s architecture. Former Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District Executive Director Connie Reilley called the bulky concrete structure "cold and ugly."

"I don't know if I've seen an uglier building in the center of downtown," she said.

But what Reilley and others refer to as "the bunker" has its defenders. Both Roblee and David Turturo, an Auburnian, architect and urban historian presently working on a Ph.D. at Yale University, exalted it as a work of art.

Turturo called the structure "courageous, friendly, well-designed and beautifully built." Its slit windows beneath its roofline give it "the muscular horizontality of a '67 Mustang convertible," he said, and help bathe the interior in natural light. Its quadrilinear surface patterns, he continued, visually date the bank's construction with the care and precision of a Piet Mondrian painting.

In addition to the aesthetic reasons Roblee and Turturo appreciate the former bank building, however, there are also historical ones.

The style

There's a word for Auburn's former Marine Midland and HSBC bank: brutalism.

Derived from French architectural pioneer Le Corbusier's use of raw concrete (beton brut), the style manifests in many mid-20th-century buildings. They share a priority on functionality above form, the projection of strength and permanence  and, indeed, a lot of the gray stuff. Other regional examples include I.M. Pei's Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse.

One of the Auburn bank building's closest resemblances, Roblee said, is none other than Corbusier's Sainte Marie de La Tourette monastery, completed in 1960 in Lyon, France.

It's an architectural heritage he stresses to the bank's critics, whom he believes misinterpret the significance of brutalism. Instead, he continued, they just take the word to mean that the building looks brutal.

"I'm on a mission to refer to the bank building as a monastery, not a bunker," he said. "That's a style that has a history, and they're trying to replicate it here with that bank."

European influences also gird the non-brutalist architecture of the urban renewal period, Roblee said. Amid the rubble of World War II  a blank canvas for new buildings  a mindset took hold that rejected Italianate, Greek revival and other old styles. They embodied ways of thinking that had led the continent to war twice over, intellectuals held.

What was raised over that rubble was simple, pragmatic. Curves became right angles, textures were flattened. Replacing wood and stone were materials made cheap and widely available by their mass production during the war: concrete, steel and glass.

Roblee said those items' sinking cost was counterbalanced by the rising cost of organized labor, which incentivized developers to shorten construction times. As a result, he said, structural reinforcement and comely flourishes got cut from budgets, and only the bare material necessities remained.

When European intellectuals came to America to teach at architectural schools, Roblee said, the continent's post-war tenets spread stateside.

The forward-looking atomic age and readily available federal funding further ripened cityscapes like Auburn for the kind of stylistic shift it saw during urban renewal. Compared to its counterparts in Europe, America's new architecture may have held less emotion in its mortar, Roblee said, but just as much desire to move forward.

Among the local buildings the period brought, the focus on functionality can be seen in the design of the Cayuga County Office Building and Metcalf Plaza, Roblee said.

"They said, 'We need to make a box to fit as many units in it as we can,'" he said. "The character lies in how functional the building is, how well people can move around inside."

Today, those buildings continue to fulfill those functions. Others, like the Genesee Mall, struggle to do so, in Roblee's opinion. And yet others are simply vacant, like the bank.

The buildings' history and aesthetics come to a head, then, when the question is asked: What to do with them?

The legacy

Growing up in Auburn in the late '80s and early '90s, Turturo didn't single out the city's urban renewal architecture from its older neighbors.

When he looked at the former Marine Midland and HSBC bank, he didn't see an interloper. He didn't see its monolithic concrete as some modern graft on the Genesee Street block's storefront windows and brick cornices.

He just saw a building  one in which the architect now sees beauty.

But Turturo, as well as Roblee and Lileks, understand the revulsion "the bunker" stirs in those who lived through its replacement of Marine Midland's previous building. They understand that, aesthetic objections aside, the concrete bank represents what those people consider an odious period in Auburn's history.

"People have emotional connections to buildings that they don't understand," Lileks said.

However, almost 50 years after the bank, Genesee Mall, Metcalf Plaza and other mid-century modern buildings opened in the downtown area, the city faces a dilemma: Would knocking them down reclaim history? Or repeat it?

Turturo said urban renewal "dealt the fatal blow to Auburn"  but he nevertheless argued against trying to undo that damage through more demolition.

"The pessimistic 'tear it down' urban renewal mentality blames buildings for our own laziness and constantly vies to replace heritage with parking spaces," he said. "In this way, Auburn continues to live in the very worst moment of its history."

The bank's defenders raised more reasons to leave it be. Roblee said uprooting and junking its 100 tons of concrete would incur great costs not just financially, but environmentally. And Turturo simply doubts anyone could do better today.

That's why Roblee is looking forward to the bank's consideration for the National Register of Historic Places. He acknowledged that senior citizens who were 20 or 30 when the bank opened may not see its historic value  but before long, he continued, everything becomes historic.

Corbusier's own Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard, completed in 1962, was listed on the register just 16 years later, Roblee noted. He sees no reason why its brutalist cousin in Auburn can't be afforded the same recognition.

Lileks is more sympathetic to the building's critics, calling its style "an apt description." But he, too, urged its preservation.

At some point, he said, History's Hometown has to reckon that chapter in its own history.
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today called upon industry players to partner with farmers to reduce post-harvesting losses and improve quality of the produce.

Addressing the 12th Indo-US Economic Summit, the minister also shared a roadmap on how the industries and governments in the two countries can collaborate to make India the food factory of the world.

"Despite myriad challenges, Indian farmers have been producing enough to feed 1.3 billion people of India. Unfortunately, food technology has not matched this pace. 40 per cent food is still wasted at the harvest and transportation level in the country," Badal said.

"To bring this down, industry must partner with the farmers, improving the quality of our produce and ensure supplement income for our farmers," she said in a statement.

Talking about the new scheme SAMPADA, the minister said it is for development of small and medium scale processing clusters close to the growing areas of the specific farm produce.

She added that further investments in building cold chains, food testing labs and storage hubs at farm level will help in building a strong ecosystem.

Badal also emphasised the need to build Indian food as a brand in a big away as she shared how leading food retailers around the world are keen in manufacturing in India and taking that produce to their key markets.

Speaking on the occasion, US Embassy's Minister Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs Scott Sindelar said, "Today, American companies are working with farmers to improve the quality of food produced by them. Persistent public perception that imports can hurt Indian farmers is a major hurdle in our relationship."



Currently, US-India bilateral food trade stands at USD 5-6 billion, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chandigarh international airport, the first international flight from here to Sharjah took off today.

However, the mega event saw a twist with Haryana raising strong objection on Punjab Government claiming the airport to be as "Mohali" international airport.

The city got international connectivity with the arrival of an Air India flight from Sharjah and later on the inaugural departure flight took off to Sharjah this evening, in which Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal was onboard with a state level delegation headed for Dubai.

Describing the maiden direct international flight from "Mohali International Airport" as a red letter day, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that it was a step further towards emerging the state as 'hub of air connectivity' thereby immensely benefiting the Punjabi diaspora settled across the globe.

Interacting with the media persons on the sidelines of starting of the inaugural international flight, Badal said that it was a matter of great pride and satisfaction for the Punjabis that Punjab was the first in the northern region to have two international airports.

He said that this international Airport at "Mohali", second in the state after Amritsar, was result of persistent efforts made by the state government.

He said that the commencing of international flights from this airport would give much needed boost to the economy of the state by connecting it with the rest of world.

Badal thanked Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpatti Raju and said that it was a magnificent gift of NDA government to the Punjabis settled across in different parts of the world as it would enable them stay well connected with their roots.

However, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar raised strong objection to Punjab claiming the airport to be as "Mohali" international airport and shot off a demi-official letter to his Punjab counterpart Badal.

"I am happy to note that Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) is going to start its international operations with the first international flight of Air India from Chandigarh to Sharjah (UAE).. This is a welcome culmination of our persistent efforts with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

"However, I am deeply anguished by the advertisements that appeared in various newspapers today terming the Chandigarh International Airport as Mohali International Airport. This is factually incorrect," Khattar wrote to Badal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
IPS officer Satish Verma, who had probed the 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, today filed fresh applications in courts here seeking copies of two charge sheets to "expedite" the trial in the case.

He filed the applications in the courts of the special (sessions) judge for CBI cases and an additional chief judicial magistrate for CBI cases. Both the applications are likely to come up for hearing next week.

The special court had earlier rejected his application seeking to inspect a supplementary charge sheet on the ground that it itself had not taken cognisance of that charge sheet.

The court, however, allowed him to have a copy of the first charge sheet, a ruling which CBI challenged in the Gujarat High Court.

In June, the HC denied Verma relief on the ground that he did not file a detailed affidavit with his application.

The first charge sheet was filed in the special court in July 2013 and the supplementary charge sheet was filed in ACJM court in February 2014.

Proceedings against those named in the supplementary charge sheet -- four IB officers -- have not started because the Union Law Ministry has not sanctioned their prosecution.

Verma has said he wants access to charge sheets as he wants to challenge the lack of sanction and expedite the trial.

Ishrat, a 19-year-old Mumbra-based girl, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged fake encounter with police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

The first charge sheet named seven officers of Gujarat police, including IPS officer D G Vanzara.

Verma, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer, is now serving on central deputation in the North East. He was a member of the SIT constituted by the high court to investigate Ishrat case. SIT had concluded that it was a fake encounter, following which the HC transferred the case to CBI.

Verma had assisted CBI in the investigation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel's hardline Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered a boycott of a UN special envoy after his criticism of Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported.

Both Lieberman's office and UN officials declined to comment on the report on Thursday when contacted by AFP.

Israel's Channel 2 reported that Lieberman ordered ministry employees and military officials not to have contact with UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov.

An official in Mladenov's office said that the envoy would be in New York on Thursday for a UN Security Council meeting.

In August, Mladenov sharply criticised over continued settlement building, saying a key recent report by the diplomatic Quartet calling for a halt went unheeded.

"Its recommendations continue to be ignored, including by a surge in Israeli settlement-related announcements and continuing demolitions," Mladenov told the Security Council.

The Quartet report was to serve as the basis for reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process that has been at a standstill since a US initiative collapsed in April 2014.

There has been growing alarm that the construction of Jewish settlements on land Palestinians see as part of their future state is killing off prospects for a peace deal based on the two-state solution.

Since July 1, has advanced plans for more than 1,000 housing units in occupied east Jerusalem and 735 units in the West Bank, Mladenov said in August.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he still supports the two-state solution, has rejected such criticism, defending the building of settlements by pointing to Jews' historic connection to the land.

A boycott would particularly affect Mladenov's discussions with the Israeli defence ministry unit known as COGAT, which implements government policies in the Palestinian territories.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here today and apprised him about the situation in the Kashmir Valley which has been on the boil for the last 67 days.

The Governor flew in this morning, briefed the Prime Minister and returned to the valley in the afternoon.

There was no official word as to what transpired during the Governor's 30-minute meeting with the Prime Minister but it is believed that he apprised him about the situation as well as steps being taken for restoring the law and order.

The meeting comes after the government had put to rest all speculation about a change at the Raj Bhavan in the state.

The Governor had yesterday summoned state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar and asked him to ensure reopening of all the educational institutions in the state.

According to the sources, the Governor conveyed his displeasure over continuous failure on part of the state education department to reopen the educational institutes.

The Governor has been expressing serious concern over the irreparable damage suffered by students at all levels, particularly school students, from the closure of the entire educational system due to the prevailing unrest in the Kashmir Valley which has been on boil since July 8 when Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Journalists should stick to the truth, discourage those who seek to arouse emotions on caste, regional or communal lines, and not "eulogise" terrorists, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

Addressing the 49th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), he said nowadays there are attempts to eulogise those accused of terror activities.

"We have seen in recent days what is happening to terrorists, their sympathisers...Dacoits. Some people are trying to eulogise Afzal Guru, Yakub Memon, Maqbool Bhat or Burhan Wani," Naidu said.

"It may be music to the ears of our neighbour who is trying to aid, abet, fund and train terrorism. Pakistan is aiding, abetting, funding training terrorism... You are a journalist but you are a citizen of India and you have a duty towards the country," he said.

Naidu told the students graduating from the premier media school that and views should not be mixed and journalists should stick to the truth.

"My advise to the media is -- be near to the truth and keep away from sensation. But unfortunately, sensation has become the order of the day. They want some headlines," he said.

"Caste has no relevance to the society. But unfortunately people are using emotions...Caste emotions, regional emotions, language emotions, communal emotions," he said.

Naidu advised the students that "journalism should be a mission and not for commission" and said that unfortunately in present times we hear about evils like paid or sponsored .

He also referred to the recent violence over the Cauvery water sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and asked why should buses be burnt over the issue?



Journalists should not fall in the trap of such tendencies, Naidu said, adding that all should feel proud of the country's culture and traditions.

(REOPENS DES28)



On the coverage of proceedings of Parliament and state Assemblies, Naidu said that often the media focusses a lot on those who are obstructing the proceedings.

"In Parliament or Assembly, they always report about somebody going to the Well of the House or somebody unfolding his shirt and saying - come out. We are showing it as a heroic act. We should condemn that fellow and say that he has not spoken decently," the minister said.

In an apparent dig at political opponents, Naidu said that "in a democracy, dynasty is nasty but is tasty to some people.

"If someone is a grandson, what is grand about it?" he asked. Naidu said that a common person like him had risen by sticking to one party but many don't exhibit such commitment.

The I&B Minister also emphasised the importance of mother tongue and said the regional media was doing exceptionally well in both print and electronic segments.

"Information with confirmation is a great ammunition" in the war against social maladies like poverty, inequality, untouchability and even terrorism, Naidu said.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the greatest communicator in India's recent political history.

Naidu said that the younger generation in India is not satisfied by speeches alone and wants quick solutions.

He also said that IIMC should start journalism courses in all Indian languages at the earliest and there should be more centres of the institute in all states. He said the Centre is considering granting University status to IIMC.

Earlier, IIMC DG K G Suresh said that the institute has started new departments -- one of Short Term and Special courses and New Media and IT.

He said the IIMC is also planning a module on community radio. A community radio licence for Dhenkenal campus will also be sought soon, he added.
Gul Junaid Khan from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla today led 85 of his colleagues as they walked the 'antim pag' (last step) to be commissioned as direct entry officers in the country's largest paramilitary force CRPF.

Trained for 48-weeks in various traits of combat leadership and weapons handling after being selected as officers by the UPSC, the latest batch of these CRPF officers will soon be deployed for their first postings across the country beginning from the Left Wing Extremism-hit states.

"My first posting is Chhattisgarh," 26-year-old Khan told PTI after he marched as the parade commander during the Passing out Parade (PoP) of these young recruits at the Central Reserve Police Force Officers Training Academy in Kadarpur here.

CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad took the salute.

The BE grad, whose family piped the stars of Assistant Commandant on his shoulders after the ceremonial parade, said he would ask youth to follow their aspirations in a positive manner.

"To the youth of my state, I would say we should all work to strive for a future that will bring back the pristine glory of Kashmir," he said.

Khan's batchmate Sandeep Shakti was declared the best trainee officer and was given the Sword of Honour and Home Minister's Cup by DG Prasad.

Amongst the 86 trainee officers who passed today, five are women.

The about 3-lakh personnel strong CRPF is the mainstay for anti-Naxal operations and apart from rendering security duties in Jammu and Kashmir and other states it is deployed across the country to carry out a variety of duties in the internal security domain.

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Actress Katrina Kaif is teaming up again with superstar Salman Khan for the sequel of their smash hit "Ek Tha Tiger" and would be seen doing some hardcore action scenes.

The 2012 blockbuster was directed by Kabir Khan and produced by Aditya Chopra's Yash Raj Films (YRF).

"Though many top actresses were vying for the highly coveted role, it was Katrina who bagged it. The film is tailor -made for her to shine as she has been cast opposite Salman. Katrina also shares a great equation with Aditya Chopra and his team at YRF," sources said here.

"She would do some hardcore action in the film for which she will begin training soon," they added.

The Kabir Khan-directed espionage drama film had "Dabangg" Khan playing the role of an Indian spy, Tiger, while the "Bang Bang" actress essayed the character of a Pakistani spy named Zoya.

The shooting for the sequel, "Tiger Zinda Hai", will begin in March and YRF has announced December 2017 as the release date.

The sequel will be directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, who is basking in the box-office success of "Sultan".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Asserting the government's supremacy in the Shahabuddin issue, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said law will take its course in the matter.

"There is a process of law. All I will tell you is that the law will continue to take its course," he told reporters here.

Asked about comments of some RJD leaders, including gangster-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, questioning his leadership, he said he does not pay attention to these.

The bail granted to murder convict Shahabuddin by the Patna High Court has prompted the BJP-led opposition to accuse the Nitish government of deliberately putting up a weak case to facilitate his bail.

The fanfare following the RJD leader's release from the jail had added to Kumar's discomfort with leaders of his party JD(U) indicating that the government may move the Supreme Court to get his bail cancelled.

However, the government, in which RJD is a partner, has not spelt out a clear stand on the matter.

Kumar has come to the national capital to meet Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

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A Liberian newspaper editor was arrested today after republishing an article from Britain's Daily Mail website that alleges the president of Equatorial Guinea is a cannibal.

On Sunday the British tabloid posted an article about longtime President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo alleging the strongman skinned opponents alive and ate their testicles, brains and livers.

The New Democrat reprinted certain elements of the piece by journalist Thomas Burrows on its yesterday front page, attracting the ire of the information minister.

Festus Poquie, editor of the New Democrat newspaper, was then detained by plain-clothed police and locked in a cell for several hours before his release today afternoon.

"The Liberia National Police can confirm that its Crime Services Division is holding a conversation with a senior Editor of the New Democrat, Festus Poquie," a police statement sent to AFP read.

Liberia's information minister Eugene Nagbe had already contacted the country's press union to complain about the article and demand action be taken against the New Democrat.

"Considering that the conduct of the publisher of New Democrat marks a most dangerous departure from the principles of professional journalism, we demand and insist that the paper be penalised," read a letter signed by Nagbe.

The Press Union of Liberia described his arrest as "an act of intimidation against the freedom of press in Liberia," at a moment of high tension between the media and the government.

Earlier this month journalist Jallah Grayfield lodged a complaint with police after alleging she received intimidating texts from a junior minister, while the government shut down two radio stations known for their critical stance on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf this summer.

Reporters Without Borders said the public had "a right to hear all opinions, even those that are critical and irritate the current government," following the case of the minister.

Obiang, who heads sub-Saharan's Africa's third largest oil producer, is the continent's longest serving leader and has served since taking power in a coup in 1979.

Equatorial Guinea is regularly tagged as one of Africa's most corrupt and authoritarian states.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A consignment of 900 iPhones worth Rs 2.25 crore that was looted early this week has been recovered in South Delhi with arrest of two persons in this connection, police said today.

The iPhones were looted on Tuesday, September 13, when Kalam Singh, a driver with Beetel Company, Okhla, was going to to deliver the consignment to Mudita Cargo Express in Dwarka.

When he reached near Rajokri Flyover, a gang of robbers attacked Singh with knife and injured him, said additional DCP-I (South) Nupur Prasad.

They kidnapped him and took control of the truck with the consignment of iPhones and later dumped him at the underpass of Dwarka Link Road, added the officer.

Accused Mehtab Alam and Arman were arrested yesterday, said additional DCP-I (South) Nupur Prasad.

During the course of investigation, the crime scene was created and it was concluded the accused could have taken only three routes.

The CCTV footages of the three routes were scanned and the truck with the consignment was spotted in the CCTV footage on the route of Sector-E, Pocket-2, Vasant Kunj, said Prasad.

Later, Malkhan Singh, who used to provide drivers to the company told the police that two of his drivers, Bhola and Pradeep, had left the job two weeks ago, the officer said.

It was found that Bhola and Pradeep had followed the complainant on the day of the incident, she said.

Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted yesterday at a house in Mahipalpur and Mehtab Alam, who is Bhola's and Pradeep's accomplice, was arrested, the officer said.

Later, another accomplice Arman was also arrested and 98 cartons were recovered from his hideout at Bengali Basti, Rangpuri, the officer said.

The police are on the look out for the remaining accused, said the officer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Odisha government apprehensive of slowing down of the water flow in the Mahanadi river system due to construction of projects on the upstream by Chhattisgarh government, environmentalists have expressed concern over its possible impact on the eco-system.

The concerns were expressed by Citizen Action Forum and Foundation Ecological Security when they met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

They urged the Chief Minister to raise the ecology issue at the tripartite meeting on Mahanadi water scheduled to be held on September 17 at New Delhi.

"Slowing down of water flow in River Mahanadi will have serious impact on the whole eco-system of Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary, Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Mahanadi Elephant Reserve and Gharial Research and Conservation Unit (GRACU)," the two organisations said in a memorandum to the Chief Minister.

Apart from affecting people in 15 districts of Odisha, the slowing down of water would have its adverse impact on the mangrove forests at Bhitarkania National Park, Mahanadi Delta region and also Gahirmatha, the world's biggest rookery for the rare Olive Ridley Turtles.

The two bodies also demanded cancellation of all environment clearances to the projects, construction by Chhattisgarh Government on the upstream of Mahanadi.

As River Mahanadi flows through the rare ecosystem of the country - Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary and the state government should not forget to raise the issue at the tripartite meeting, they said.

Satkosia also houses a tiger reserve which is spread over four districts - Angul, Cuttack, Nayagarh and Boudh through which the Mahanadi river flows, they pointed out.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 30-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly misbehaving and slapping a lady doctor at RML Hospital here.

Fayeem, has been arrested, for allegedly pushing the lady doctor after she asked him to wait in the queue in the emergency ward,DCP (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal said.

The accused was accompanying a patient and he asked the doctor to see his patient but when she asked him to wait,he lost his temper, police said.

He allegedly used abusive language and shoved her and ended up causing an injury on her finger, police said.

In her complaint, the victim has alleged that Fayeem "gathered 4-5 persons" and manhandled her.

A case has been registered under sections 353(assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 354(assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of IPC, he said.

Fayeem has been arrested and the police is investigating the involvement of other people accompanying the patient, police said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from RML said,"There were six males who came with a patient in emergency ward and asked the woman doctor to jump the queue. And, one of them later slapped her. RML has increased the number of bouncers on the doctors' demand."



The police will be scrutinising the CCTV footage from the ward where the incident happened.

However, the spokesperson claimed that the area where the incident happened didn't have CCTV camera.

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A hardcore Maoist operative today surrendered before the police in Bihar's Aurangabad district.

Kapil Bhuian, a self-styled sub-zonal commander of the CPI(Maoist) in Chalho region in the district, surrendered before Superintendent of Police (SP) Baburam at his office.

A native of Salaiya village under Madanpur block, Bhuian was wanted in dozens of cases related to Maoist violence in Aurangabad and adjoining districts, the SP said.

The ultra has been sent to jail, but he will be rehabilitated in the mainstream and given all incentives in place for the purpose under the available schemes once he gets out on bail, Baburam said.

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Mauritius today sought India's assistance to develop its handloom and handicraft sectors, outlining the potential areas for bilateral cooperation.

Mauritius Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth, currently on a visit to India, today met Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra.

"We seek India's assistance to develop handloom and handicraft sectors in Mauritius," Jugnauth said, highlighting other possible areas of bilateral cooperation like tourism and aquaculture between the neighbouring countries.

Mishra said the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in Mauritius has "great potential" for skill development and job creation.

Mishra said his ministry will work towards establishing tool rooms and technology centres to help skill people in specific sectors, and assured all technological assistance to develop the MSME sector in Mauritius.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Madras High Court today asked the city Commissioner of Police to arrest absconding film producer Madan, the main accused in the MBBS admission scam case allegedly involving over Rs 70 crore.

The court gave the direction during the hearing of petitions seeking action against Madan, who is alleged to have collected huge sums from more than 100 parents totalling Rs 74 crore, promising to get MBSS seats in SRM group of institutions and has been absconding since May 25 last.

A habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by mother of Madan seeking to produce him before the court, also came up before a bench comprising Justice A Selvam and Justice P Kalaiyarasan.

While ordering to make the Additional Commissioner of Police, CB-CID as a respondent in the HCP, the bench directed the city police commissioner to arrest Madan even as it asked the prosecution as to why he had not been detained till date.

Earlier, another bench of Justices S Nagamuthu and V Bharathidasan had entrusted the investigation of the HCP and other petitions with regard to money 'received' by Madan to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Central Crime Branch.

Madan went missing from his home sinceMay 25 leaving behind a 'suicide note' stating that he would end his life at Varanasi.

He had acknowledged receipt of several crore of rupees from students and parents, promising MBBS seats in SRM institutions.

According to police, more than 60 people had given Rs 50 lakh and above each to him.

SRM group chief T R Pachamuthu was arrested in connection with the case on August 26 after the high court in the previous hearing had questioned as to why he had not been interrogated and if there were any political reasons.

Pachamuthu was released on bail on September 8 by the trial court after he deposited Rs 75 crore.

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A technical coordinator for MNREGA scheme in Tumkuru district was allegedly attacked with a sickle by labour contractors for refusing to clear "inflated" bills.

Police said an FIR has been registered and they are on the lookout for the culprits while state Minister Raj H K Patil promised strict action against the attackers.

The incident happened near Thalakere on Monday evening when H R Srinivas (53) was returning towards Magadi here from work.

Two contractors had an argument with him at his office in the afternoon for not clearing the inflated bills they had prepared and warned him of dire consequences, Srinivas alleged.

"Inflated bill was prepared for work on recharge pits whichthey had undertaken. They had not maintained the quality andexcess measurement was recorded."



"I had reduced the amount inaccordance to the actual work that had happened on the ground. I have been punished for that," Srinivas claimed.

He said, "Two people (contractors) had come on a two wheeler. They first attacked on my head, but I escaped. Then theytried to chop off my hand. Then I tried to escape and fled toward a shop nearbywhere people saved me."



Demanding punishment for the contractors, Srinivas, who has now been discharged from the hospital, said police have informed him that they are trying to nab the culprits.

"They came to kill be but God saved me," he added.

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H K Patil also visited Srinivas at his residence here and inquiredabout his health and the incident.

Patil said the state government and people are"proud" of Srinivas's strong will to reform the system withhonesty.

"Inquiry will happen, police complaint has been filed,I will collect information. Government will take strict action against the culprits," he added.

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Moody's placed under "review for downgrade" the credit rating of Reliance Communications today, a day after RCom's announcement to merge its wireless telecom business with smaller rival Aircel.

In the largest consolidation in the country's telecom sector, RCom and Aircel's majority owner, Malaysia's Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), yesterday announced signing of definitive documents for the merger of their Indian wireless businesses.

Moody's Investors Service VP and Senior Credit Officer Annalisa Di Chiara said: "While we view the combination of the wireless businesses positively, we will also need to re-evaluate the credit profile of RCom in conjunction with the proposed organisational and financial restructuring, as the remaining business will be smaller in scale with - in our view - a weaker business risk profile."



Moody's has placed under review for downgrade Reliance Communications Ltd's Ba3 corporate family rating and senior secured rating following the announcement of its plan to merge its wireless business with Aircel Ltd and its first quarter results for the 2016-17 fiscal, it said in a statement.

India Ratings and Research however said that the merger of is a key milestone in the ongoing consolidation in the telecom sector.

Ind-Ra believes that the merger will enable the new entity RCom-Aircel to give strong competition to its peers in the backdrop of the disruption that the launch of operations by Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio) has caused.

The combined entity RCom-Aircel will now be the third largest telecom entity in India by subscriber base, thus moving ahead of Idea Cellular Limited (Idea).

"This development coupled with RJio's penetration strategy will spur competition and in turn push tariffs lower," it said.

The spectrum acquisition strategy, particularly around 4G, is an important driver for the consolidation in the telecom sector, it added.

"The merged entity will offer strong competition to both Vodafone India Ltd and Idea which are weaker placed, as far as 4G operations are concerned," it said.

Ind-Ra believes that the sector will now have five meaningful players namely, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, RJio, Idea and the merged RCom-Aircel-Sistema (with a new brand) as the industry moves towards data driven revenues.

Meanwhile, Chiara said, a definitive agreement has yet to



be signed with respect to the disposal of tower assets owned by its subsidiary, Reliance Infratel.

She also said the results for the April-June period announced along with the merger are "weak" because of the migration of customers from CDMA to 4G LTE.

"The review for downgrade will focus on assessing RCom's deleveraging plan, especially with regard to the financial impact of the combination of its wireless businesses with Aircel and the potential tower sale," Chiara said.

The merged entity could potentially have a revenue market share of 14 per cent, given RCom's existing revenue market share at around 11 per cent in 2015-16 and Aircel's 3 per cent revenue market share.

Moody's said that while the merged company will run as a separate business to RCom, it will remain a sizeable part of the wider telecommunications group and will likely be supported by RCom in a distress situation.

"We had expected a significant reduction in RCom's absolute debt levels -- primarily through the sale of non-core assets -- in support of the company's Ba3 ratings. However, even with the merger adjusted pro forma leverage will remain above our tolerances for a Ba3 rating," Moody's said.

"Uncertainty around the closure of the proposed tower sale, announced in December 2015, continues to weigh on the rating," said Di Chiara.

(REOPEN DCM82)



On the other hand, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said the merger of the wireless business of RCom with Aircel is a key milestone in the ongoing consolidation in the telecom sector and will push down tariff in the market.

Ind-Ra believes that the merger will enable the new entity to give strong competition to its peers in the backdrop of the disruption that the launch of operations by Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio) has caused.

"The combined entity RCom- Aircel will now be the third largest telecom entity in India by subscriber base, thus moving ahead of Idea Cellular Limited (Idea). This development coupled with RJio's penetration strategy will spur competition and in turn push tariffs lower," Ind-Ra said.

It said that the merged entity will offer strong competition to both Vodafone and Idea which are weaker placed, as far as 4G operations are concerned.

The top five circles of Aircel are Assam, J&K, UP East, Bihar and Gujarat, while those of RCom are Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, Ind-Ra said.

"The merged entity will be positioned as the second largest in the Bihar circle, after Bharti, and overtaking Vodafone and Idea, which were number two and number three respectively," Ind-Ra said.

EY Global Telecom Leader Prashant Singhal said the RCom-Aircel deal was much awaited consolidation and imminent.

"Given the financial situation and spate of developments the sector has witnessed in past 12 months, consolidation will help telcos leverage on the synergies and drive profitability. We expect further consolidation in the market," Singhal said.
Amid open feud in the family, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav rushed here from Delhi this evening and launched efforts to douse the flames by meeting his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as well as brother Shivpal.

As soon as he reached here, Mulayam summoned Shivpal, who is at loggerheads with Akhilesh, and held closed door meeting with him to defuse the situation.

Shivpal later met Akhilesh at his official residence, sources said, adding the meeting came at the behest of Mulayam.

Immediately thereafter, the SP chief met Akhilesh, the sources said.

"Once he (Mulayam) reaches here, all will be well. His word is final," SP national general secretary and Mulayam's another brother Ramgopal Yadav said earlier.

Earlier in the day, Ramgopal had met the Chief Minister and claimed that "Akhilesh is not angry with anyone and the decision of netaji (Mulayam) is final in the party."



The same was said by Shivpal at his press conference.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Samajwadi Party supremo today left for Lucknow to meet senior party leaders amid a raging feud between his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh and brother Shivpal.

Mulayam was to leave for the Uttar Pradesh capital tomorrow but he decided to leave this morning itself, party sources said.

Party general secretary Ramgopal Yadav said today that Mulayam will meet Akhilesh to end the standoff.

"Everything will be resolved once netaji (Mulayam) and CM will talk.... He is coming to Lucknow," he said after meeting Akhilesh in Lucknow.

Yesterday, Mulayam gave a patient hearing to Shivpal for four hours to get his side of the story.

Though both Akhilesh and Shivpal have hardened their stands, the SP chief would ensure that the two make a climbdown so that the party and the government stop suffering due to the feud which came out in open just months before the assembly polls due early next year, the sources said.

In an open showdown on September 13, the CM stripped his uncle and Cabinet Minister Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief.
Colleen Deacon has been very outspoken in her support for paid family leave and Planned Parenthood, and voters who are motivated on such issues should perhaps not hesitate to support her.

But central New York voters should recognize that when it comes to environmental issues, Nancy Pelosis statement that "John Katko puts the GOP establishment first" is demonstrably false (Nancy Pelosi in email supporting Colleen Deacon for Congress: 'Katko has got to go,' Sept. 1).

In December 2015 Rep. John Katko broke with his party on a vote related to President Obamas Clean Power Plan. In support of that vote he stated that: [t]he goal of reducing emissions is important. ... I hope current and future administrations will work with Congress to address carbon emissions in a bipartisan, pro-growth manner. And this past July, Representative Katko joined 13 other House Republicans to co-sponsor the Gibson Climate Resolution (H. Res. 424) that states that Congress should work constructively to pursue mitigation of human-caused climate change.

Central New Yorkers should reject broad brush partisan characterizations like Pelosis of the candidates who seek to represent us in Congress. And those who are most motivated by environmental issues should also reject party stereotypes and vote for the candidate whose record and campaign suggest seriousness on the subject of climate change. Scientists, economists, and policymakers who have examined the issue are in general consensus on the most effective solution, and whichever congressional candidate who supports a revenue-neutral carbon fee that returns 100 percent of the revenue to the public should be rewarded with our votes this November.

Kyle Thomas

Syracuse
A mother whose pet pitbull dog mauled her six-month-old baby to death in 2014 was today jailed for two years along with the tot's grandmother by a UK court which also banned them from owning a dog for 10 years.

Both Claire Riley, 23, and her mum 56-year-old Susan Aucott pleaded guilty to offences related to the death of baby Molly-Mae Wotherspoon in Daventry in October 2014.

Molly-Mae was attacked by an American pitbull named Bruiser.

Jailing them both to two years behind bars, judge Justice Carr told the pair that Molly-Mae was savagely attacked by the pitbull in "a tragic and totally avoidable incident".

The court heard Aucott, an alcoholic, was looking after her granddaughter at Riley's former home when the dog attacked the baby, the BBC reported.

James House, the prosecutor, said the pitbull broke free from his cage in the kitchen and opened the door to the lounge to reach baby Molly-Mae on floor.

It grabbed the six-month-old by her head.

Aucott threw herself across the baby but it was too late. Molly-Mae suffered injuries to every limb and puncture wounds to her brain.

She died from severe blood loss due to the head wounds, a post-mortem examination showed.

The American pitbull dog, a breed banned in the UK, was put down at the scene.

The court heard Riley knew her dog was aggressive and jealous of her baby and it had been kept away from Molly-Mae.

However, the baby's cries made it "an object of prey", the court heard.

A vet who treated the pitbull said Bruiser was was one of the most dangerous dogs she had seen.

In June, Aucott, of Alfred Street, Northampton, admitted being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog resulting in death.

She was jailed for two years but will be released on licence after one year. She was also banned from owning a dog for 10 years.

Riley, of Merrydale Square, Northampton, admitted owning a dangerously out of control dog on the first day of her trial later in June.

She was sentenced to two years, one of which she will serve in prison before being released on licence, and was banned from owning a dog for 10 years, the report said.

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A Naxal, carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head, was arrested today from Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district, police said.

Midiam Raja (28), was nabbed by a joint team of security forces during a search operation in the forest under Basaguda police station limits, Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg said.

Security personnel had launched the operation in Basguda region, around 450 km from here, since yesterday. While cordoning-off the forest close to Polampally village, they nabbed the rebel who was trying to escape, he said.

Active as the head of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan - a frontal outfit of the Maoists, in the area, Raja was allegedly involved in cases of attempt to murder. He was carrying a reward of Rs one lakh on his head, the ASP said, adding the rebel is being interrogated.

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Two women were saved from drowning in the flood waters in Dhanarua block of Patna district by a team of National Disaster Releif Force personnel.

In the first incident, an aged woman Rampati Devi, a resident of Devkuli village of Dhanarua block, fell into the flood water and began drowning as she failed to gauge its depth when she was on way to another house in the locality, an NDRF release said.

The village has been inundated due to a leakage of flood water from an embankment on Punpun river, it said.

Local people raised an alarm and an NDRF team led by inspector Subhash Chandra, whose team was rescuing people from flood waters, reached the spot and saved her and administered first aid.

Later, the team admitted her to a nearby health centre where doctors declared her fit after examining, it said.

Another woman was saved from drowning by NDRF in the same village.

The woman along with another woman was going to buy medicine through the pathway made on the embankment but she slipped and went into the deep waters.

The other woman accompanying her raised an alarm and the NDRF team saved her too, the release said.

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Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister GS Bali today stressed on the need to upgrade the technology of road engineering and structuring to suit the needs of hill areas.

"There is a need to upgrade the technology of road engineering and structuring the parameters to be designed with specific references to the hill areas," he said.

A meeting of the Group of Ministers held in New Delhi today to address the issue of public transportation in the hills.

The Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Ministry has constituted this group of ministers to address the issue of public transportation in hill areas. Bali is the Chairman of this group.

He stressed on the need to create awareness among the masses regarding the road safety measures in the country and added that focus should be given to educate the school children.

NGOs and civil society groups could also play a pivotal role in this awareness campaign, he added.

He urged the Centre to provide sufficient funds to make this campaign relevant.

"There was also a need to provide common platform to issue permit particularly for hilly states such as Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya to facilitate the transporters and tourists as well," the minister said.

Sanjay Mitra, Secretary of National Highways said 10 percent of allocated funds for road construction had been made compulsory to be spent on adopting road safety measures.

He requested the participants of different hill states to come forward and form a nodal agency in their respective states so that effective measures could be adopted to mitigate the road accidents.

It was also unanimously decided to create regional permit system in hilly states for a free movement of traffic.

The next meeting of this group would be held in Assam.

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The Centre will announce the next set of 27 cities for financing under the Modi-government flagship Smart City Mission next week, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said today.

"I am happy to tell you that 20 cities were announced in the first and another 13 in the supplementary round. Now, I am going to announce another 27 cities in the next week," Naidu said while addressing the 12th Indo-US Economic Summit here.

So far, the government has announced 33 cities that will be developed as 'smart cities' which would have facilities such as assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity and e-governance, among others.

The Modi-government aims to transform about 100 cities by 2019-20, with the Union government providing financial support of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.

Meanwhile, Naidu said the challenges before the government is to overcome the "deficits" that it has "inherited" from the UPA dispensation in "quickest possible time".

"Every government inherits certain legacy from the previous one. What we have inherited was a bag load of deficits -fiscal, revenue, trade, current account and governance deficits and above all, trust deficit.

"The challenge before our governments is to overcome in the quickest possible time, these deficits," he said, adding that the government has taken up "this serious challenge in right earnest".

"I take this opportunity to assure you all that these challenges will certainly be met and the country will triumph," he said.

Listing out various initiatives the Modi-government like Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Clean India, and Start-up India, he called for ideas and innovations for development of the country.

"The need of the hour is 'Ideas, Innovation, Investments and Implementation. From promoting cleanliness to competitive manufacturing, this flow of ideas are a certain way of heralding 'acchhe din'," he said.

Naidu, who is also Information and Broadcasting minister



said affordable and low cost smartphones have started a "second screen phenomenon" that offers great opportunities for content creators, curators, advertisers, app developers and online streaming companies.

About 41 per cent of India's total mobile users are active on social media which offers a good market for Digital Music Industry, he said, adding that successful companies are likely to be those which embrace digital technologies as a complementary part of their overall strategies.

He said Indian media landscape consists of over 10,000 newspapers, 830 TV channels, 245 FM channels and about 180 community radio stations.

"There is a huge potential of growth in the regional markets with content consumption by consumers getting more and more localized. As a result of which national broadcasters are venturing into regional space and regional players are striving to strengthen their portfolio by launching niche regional channels," he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said a three-day international Sikh convention would be held here ahead of the Prakash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh.

He launched a website to provide information on the celebration of 350th Prakash Utsav of the Sikh guru early next year.

The website has been developed by tourism department and provides information to visitors about how to reach Patna and where to stay during the function, he said at the function held on the occasion.

Elaborate arrangements would be made for the mega celebration of Prakash Utsav of the 10th Sikh Guru Govind Singh and a three-day public holiday would be announced, he said.

Widespread publicity of Prakash Utsav would be made, including on TV and Bihar government would arrange accomodation for 20,000 devotees in pandals in Gandhi maidan, he said adding Proper parking facility would be provided to the vistors.

Kumar also flagged off a tourism department vehicle for publicity of Prakash utsav.

Tourism minister Anita Devi, principal secretary to tourism department Harjot Kaur and development commissioner Shishir Sinha were present on the occasion.

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Delhi High Court today refrained from passing an interim order on Britannia Industries Ltd's plea challenging a single judge's order restraining them from using the packaging of its 'Nutri Choice Digestive Zero' biscuits in its present form.

"In the meantime, nothing," a bench of justices B D Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar said when the counsel for Britannia urged the court for an interim order on the single judge verdict restraining it from using its 'Nutri Choice Digestive Zero' biscuits wrapper in its present form, saying it was "deceptively similar" to the packaging of ITC's Sunfeast 'Farmlite Digestive All Good' biscuits.

Britannia sought an interim order as the counsel for ITC Ltd was not able to conclude his submission today and would continue tomorrow.

Earlier, Britannia had submitted that their business was affected due to the September 6 order of the single judge as manufacturing of the product has been stopped.

Senior advocates Sandeep Sethi, Pratibha M Singh and Rajiv Nayar, representing ITC, submitted Britania had "adopted" their packaging and even lines on the packs were "replicated" by them.

In its appeal, Britannia, had submitted that the order was "erroneous" as the single judge had not considered the fact that their packaging was different from that of ITC's.

The single judge had granted four weeks to Britannia to phase out the existing stocks of 'Nutri Choice Zero Digestive' biscuits with the present packaging.

The single judge order had come on a plea filed by ITC Ltd seeking to restrain Britannia from violating its rights in packaging/trade dress of 'Sunfeast Farmlite Digestive-All Good' biscuits by allegedly using a deceptively and confusingly similar trade dress for 'Nutri Choice Digestive Zero' biscuits.

It had asked Britannia to adopt a "distinctively different" packaging from the one currently used by ITC for its biscuit as such "deception" could confuse the consumers.

The single judge had said it would be open to Britannia to adopt the packaging it uses for the product internationally or, while retaining the yellow colour, it could substitute the blue colour in the packaging with any other distinctive colour other than variants of blue.

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Separatist-sponsored strike and restrictions imposed by authorities ensured disruption in normal life in Kashmir valley for the 69th day today even as one more youth injured in clashes last week succumbed, raising the toll during the ongoing unrest to 79.

The separatists, who have been spearheading the agitation, have called for strike till tomorrow. They have been regularly issuing calenders of protests ever since Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8.

Authorities have also imposed restrictions on movement and assembly of people in all parts of the Valley, except the Civil Lines area of Srinagar city, a police official said.

Security forces have been deployed in strength at vulnerable places in the Valley even as aerial surveillance using drones and helicopters continued, the official said.

Meanwhile, one Rasiq Ahmed, who was injured during clashes between protesters and security forces on September 5 in Qazigund area, succumbed to his injuries this morning at a hospital here, a police official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Norway today offered to abandon a controversial memorial project for the victims of Anders Behring Breivik's 2011 massacre, after local residents sued the state.

The planned sculpture would see a wide slit entitled "Memory Wound" cut into a strip of land facing the island of Utoya where most of Breivik's 77 victims were killed.

"We wish to avoid a painful lawsuit, which would be very burdensome on a lot of people," Norway's minister of local government, Jan Tore Sanner, said today.

"We are willing to find a different memorial than the one initially planned," he told Norwegian radio NRK.

But the announcement failed to satisfy locals, who sued the state in June to block the construction, arguing it was illegal to construct something that would cause harm to the local community and landscape.

"This isn't a victory. The location remains the same. Sanner only plans to change the artistic plans. That's out of the question," one of the leading opponents, Ole Morten Jensen, wrote on Facebook.

The small Utoya island, located in the Tyrifjorden lake, was the scene of Breivik's gun rampage on July 22, 2011. He spent more than an hour shooting at hundreds of people gathered for a summer camp organised by the Labour Party's youth wing, killing 69 of them.

Just before that, the right-wing extremist had set off a bomb in a van parked at the foot of the government offices in Oslo, killing eight other people.

Breivik is serving a 21-year prison sentence which can be extended indefinitely if he is still considered a danger to society.

Locals have insisted that the memorial would be a constant reminder of the tragedy to those who live nearby, and lead to an unwelcome increase in visits to the area.

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A self-styled Deputy Commander in Chief of the National Socialist Council of Adivasi (NSCA) and a hardcore NDFB(S) militant have been arrested by security forces in two different incidents in Assam today.

Acting on specific information, the police and troops of the Red Horns Division carried out operations in Hatoka area of East Karbi Anglong and apprehended NSCA's Binod Gowala, a defence spokesman said here.

The security forces recovered a 7.65 mm pistol, grenade and ammunitions from the possession of the NSCA militant.

In another incident, the Army and police launched an operation in West Daisamguri area of Chirang district and apprehended a NDFB(S) militant Hwbtasad Brahma alias Darga alias Jathi.

A pistol along with ammunitions was recovered from his possession.

Brahma was allegedly carrying out extortion on behalf of NDFB(S) and was also involved in providing weapons and ammunitions to members of the outfit, the spokesman added.

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Noting that NSG membership is a priority, India today said there should not be any differences between it and China on issues such as development and clean energy, a day after Beijing said it is yet to form a position on the accession of any specific non-NPT country into the elite nuclear club.

"The two sides have had a substantive and pragmatic exchange on the issue of NSG membership, which is a priority for India because of our plans for civil nuclear energy.

"On certain issues such as development and clean energy, there should not be differences between the two sides," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said at his weekly briefing here.

China and India this week discussed issues of mutual interest in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation with a focus on India's entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

He added that the two countries have agreed that both sides should approach these issues with mutual sensitivity to each others' concerns and priorities.

"The exchange was useful in enhancing understanding of each other's perspective and will be continued," he said.

Swarup said the two sides were also of the view that a process has been set in motion after the Seoul NSG plenary on the issue of membership and they should support this process.

"This can demonstrate to the whole world that India and China approach such issues with strategic maturity and are working together to narrow and resolve any difference of view. This is urgent and timely," he said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told media in Beijing yesterday that India and China are "yet to agree on accession of any specific member into the group".

She said this referring to Tuesday's first round of talks between the two countries on India's admission into NSG, which controls global nuclear commerce.

The talks came nearly two-and-a-half months after China scuttled India's NSG membership bid.

Asked about China's argument that energy issue is no longer a bilateral matter between it and India, Swarup said on issues such as development and clean energy or terrorism for that matter, given the positions that have been taken, there is a strong bilateral dimension.

"That is why we had this dialogue. The understanding of the two sides is that this is both a bilateral and a multilateral issue. There is no contradiction," he said.

In the June Plenary of NSG in Seoul, despite strong American support, China stonewalled India's bid to join the group on the grounds that it was a not a signatory to the NPT.

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Over 4,000 people went to private and government hospitals due to ailments linked to overeating on Eid-ul Azha in Karachi, the capital of Pakistan's southern Sindh province.

The Health Department said that people went to private and government hospitals complaining of diarrhoea, dehydration and vomiting after the festival marked by traditional feasts.

More than 2,200 people visited Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Complex, 1,000 people went to Civil Hospital Karachi, 500 had visited to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Geo TV reported, quoting a spokesman for the Health Department.

Due to overeating gastro, dehydration, vomiting are common on Eid-ul-Azha, Deputy Director Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Huma Ahmed said, adding that people should take minimum meal and try to avoid eating oily and junk food.

Director Health Karachi Dr Shakoor Abbasi suggested that people should take vegetables in lunch and dinner beside meat or mutton and avoid soft drink specially heart, diabetic and hypertension patients.

Approximately 1,000 people also visited hospitals for injuries sustained while sacrificing animals.

Eid-ul-Azha or Bakrid or was celebrated across Pakistan on Tuesday.

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Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will chair a meeting of BJP workers here on September 17 in run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections.

Possible political implications of the rebellion by Subhash Velingkar, sacked as RSS Goa chief, could come up for discussion during the meeting.

Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and other leaders of BJP will participate in the conclave which is kept out-of-bounds for media, a senior BJP official told PTI today.

Velingkar was recently "relieved" of the charge as Goa RSS chief after his outfit, Bhartiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch announced a political foray against the ruling BJP over the issue of medium of instruction.

Velingkar and the rebels who broke away from the 'RSS Konkan Prant' later floated 'RSS Goa Prant'. However, they have not officially severed their connection with RSS.

Interestingly, Velingkar had targeted Parrikar, former CM of Goa, for "reneging" on language issue and had blamed him for his ouster as Goa unit head of Sangh.

The Defence Minister has so far kept himself away from meetings held by BJP in Goa post the Velingkar episode, owing to Ganesh festival, which concluded today.

"Parrikar had decided that only after Ganesh Chaturthi (festival) he will begin the preparations for the polls," the official said.

Saturday's meeting is taking place ahead of the scheduled visit by senior BJP leader and in-charge of Goa BJP, Nitin Gadkari next week.

According to the BJP functionary, the talks on alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) will be kept on back-burner as of now.

MGP is the current alliance partner of BJP in state government.

BBSM has reportedly has put out feelers to MGP, which frames its politics mainly on regional issues.

State PWD Minister and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar said the talks on tie-up will start only next month.

"Right now there are no talks happening," he added.

Dhavalikar, who met Gadkari in Delhi today to review the work on various developmental projects, said nothing regarding the alliance was discussed at the meeting.

MGP had earlier announced they will stake claim on at least 14 out of total 40 seats up for grabs for polls for forging pre-poll alliance with BJP.

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Punjab Congress will launch a 37-day long intensive campaign from September 26 to reach out to people ahead of the Assembly elections early next year.

Senior vice-president of Punjab Congress Laal Singh today said the campaign called 'Congress liyao, Punjab bachao' (bring Congress to power, save Punjab) will cover all 117 constituencies of the state.

The modalities of the campaign were worked out and the programme was finalised at a meeting of senior party leaders, zonal coordinators and district presidents today.

During the campaign the party will hold 1,404 meetings, with 54 meetings every day, he said, adding the state has been divided into 13 parliamentary zones with three coordinators each.

Singh said, 13 vehicles in each parliamentary zone will make people aware about the party's messages. The vehicles will be flagged off on September 24 from Congress Bhawan by the party's state chief Amarinder Singh.

Prominent among those present at today's meeting included Amarinder Singh, AICC in charge Asha Kumari, Campaign Committee chairperson Ambika Soni, AICC Secretary Harish Chaudhary, CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi, Laal Singh and others.

Meanwhile, Panjab University Campus Students' Council (PUCSC), a students' body, today extended its support to Congress for the forthcoming state polls on the condition that if it comes to power it will fulfill financial commitments towards the University.

Amarinder assured PUCSC if Congress comes to power it will ensure that Panjab University receives the grants due to it.

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PDP, which is struggling to contain the over two-month-long unrest in Kashmir, today suffered a jolt when its founding member Tariq Hameed Karra quit the ruling party and his Lok Sabha seat as well, protesting against "brutal policies" of BJP at the Centre and "complete surrender" of the state government before it.

Karra, who was elected from Srinagar parliamentary constituency in 2014 on PDP ticket, also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Talking to reporters here, the 61-year-old MP said he has decided to disassociate himself from the primary membership of the PDP and from the membership of the Parliament.

He said he would be submitting his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's office tomorrow after which he would be deciding on the future course of action.

"The decision was tough as I have invested my youth in my party. I was opposing the alliance for last 16 months and I say it with pain that I have failed," he said, adding that he was not resigning out of any "compulsion or convenience but because of conviction".

Karra alleged that Modi has pushed the country towards Hinduisation and turned "Incredible India into Intolerant India"



"The Prime Minister has pushed the country towards Hinduisation and by doing so undermined Indian nationalism which has liberal space and place for diversity built into it.

"Though he couldn't convert his jingoistic promises made during general elections even to the people of Ladakh and Jammu into reality, one must give devil his due for converting highly publicised Incredible India into Intolerant India," he said.

The MP, who was once tipped to head the Jammu and Kashmir government with support of Congress when political stalemate had dogged the state after the death of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in January this year, alleged that the Central and state governments policies of "unabated genocide", continued denial of the dangerous ground realities, insensitive and adhoc approach towards Kashmir issue led to his resignation.

He also said a blatant policy of dealing with Kashmiris by way of "oppressive, repressive and suppressive measures" adopted by the state and Centre were the other reasons for his resignation.

"My heart is bleeding and my soul is crying for the people of my homeland. My conscience cannot take it any longer," Karra said.

He said PDP was floated in 1999 to safeguard lives, property, honour, dignity, self respect and political aspirations of the people. "But today, in the present tragic circumstances, (PDP) made a U-turn and treated its subjects much worst than the Nazi forces. I feel still continuing with them would be equally subscribing to the administratively inhuman and politically unethical blunders."



He said the PDP was formed to act as buffer between the Centre and the state. "The launch of this new political dispensation was on the premise as facilitators rather than collaborators or obstructionists for the permanent, peaceful and everlasting resolution of Kashmir issue."



"I was forcefully consistent on it so that PDP buffer character would be saved which had blood and sweat of thousands of dedicated and selfless workers in it," Karra said defending his decision to resign after 69-days of unrest in Kashmir in which nearly 80 people have been killed and thousands of others have been injured.

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The country has recorded a five per cent deficiency in rainfall this monsoon, the IMD today said as it forecast "very heavy rain" in Mumbai and parts of central Maharashtra over the next two days prompting the BMC to ask devotees to remain alert during Ganesh idol immersion.

An IMD bulletin today said cumulative rainfall for the country as a whole during this year's monsoon upto September 14 has been five per cent below Long Period Average (LPA).

It said the actual rainfall between June 1 and September 14 has been 766.1 mm compared against LPA of 808.1 mm.

While east and northeast India recorded a deficiency of 13 per cent, South Peninsula and Northwest India recorded a deficiency of 11 and 2 per cent respectively. Central India, however, received 1 per cent of excess rainfall compared to the LPA for the region.

In the national capital, it was a sunny day as high relative humidity levels, between 46-92, troubled Delhiites.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 35.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, while the minimum settled at 25.7 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal.

The weatherman has predicted "very heavy rainfall" over the next two days in parts of Mumbai and certain areas in Central Maharashtra due to a low pressure area which is moving towards the Western side.

"This will cause very heavy rainfall in Mumbai, along with parts of Central Maharashtra, the Konkan region, Marathwada and Goa as well," IMD Mumbai Director V K Rajeev told PTI.

In the wake of forecast, the BMC has issued a high-tide warning for city and asked people to stay cautious during Ganesh immersion. A high tide of 1.21 meters is expected at 11.22 pm, a BMC official said.

Ganesh idol immersion processions in Mumbai typically continue overnight to next day morning.

Two persons were killed and their wives injured after being struck by lightning at Palli Padmanavpur in Odisha's Ganjam district today.

The victims had taken shelter under a tree during a sudden downpour when the lightning struck, said inspector in-charge of Berhampur sadar police station, S S Mohapatra.

In Bihar, Water Resources Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh allayed fears trigerred by seepage of water in the left embankment of Punpun river and said it has been blocked and most major rivers are flowing below their danger marks.

He said water levels of Kamlabalan and Punpun rivers are above their danger marks. "But there is nothing to worry. All the embankments including left embankment on Punpun river are safe," he said.

The weatherman has forecast light to moderate rains in different parts of West Bengal over the next two days. There was no to little rain in the state in the 24 hours since yesterday morning.

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Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau today raided the offices of Public Health and Engineering department following complaints of irregularities in purchase of submersible pump sets and wires.

Ten ACB teams conducted raids at the various offices of the departments in Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Sawaimadhopur and Nagaur and seized a number of documents, which are being examined, Additional SP ACB Bajrang Singh said.

The raid was conducted following a complaint about procurement of substandard materials by the department, he said.

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The Centre has taken several initiatives for better administrative reforms and will work towards reform, perform and transform.

"The reform agenda must be advanced for improved public service and good governance in the country," Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Pension (DARPG) C Vishwanath said while inaugurating a two day long Regional Conference on 'Path Breaking and High Impact initiatives in Citizen Centric Services Delivery System'.

The need of the hour was to replicate the successful implementation strategies across the country for equitable and sustainable development, he said.

Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam T Y Das said the state government was committed to be more accountable, transparent and citizen centric to meet the public expectation.

She also raised the matter of poor telecom service, which was the main hurdle for e-governance in Assam.

Assam's Principal Secretary of Administrative Reforms Training Department Paban Kumar Borthakur welcomed the delegates from twelve states and explained the importance and outer review of the conference.

On the first day of the conference, topics like Transformational e-initiative in Health and Education sector, e-Office and CPGRMS and Vision on Digital Transformation for Citizen Centric Delivery was elaborately discussed.

Delegates from eight North Eastern states including Sikkim along with those from West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand were participating in the conference.

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Amitabh Bachchan may have had a short tryst with politics but the megastar says he still thinks about those times as he "regrets not fulfilling the promises" he made to the people of his constituency- Allahabad.

The 73-year-old National award-winning actor took a break from acting in 1984 to enter politics in support of long-time family friend,Rajiv Gandhi.

He contested Allahabad's seatand won by a huge margin.

His political career, however, was short-lived as he resigned after three years.

"I mostly think of it because there are many promises that one makes during an election campaign, when you seek votes from people. My inability to keep those promises hurts. If there is anything that I regret then it is that," he said.

"I made a lot of promises to the city of Allahabad and to its people but I wasn't able to fulfill them.

"I try to do whatever I can in any social capacity but I know it is something that people of Allahabad will always hold against me," Bachchan said during a discussion with Shekhar Gupta and Barkha Dutt at an event "Off The Cuff".

Bachchan said his decision to join politics was emotional but when he got into it he realised that emotions had no place there.

"I think my decision was emotional. I wanted to go and help a friend, but when I went there and got into it. I realised that it has nothing to do with emotions. I realised that I am incapable of doing it and so, I left."



When asked if his decision to quit politics cost him his friendship with the Gandhi family, Bachchan said, "I don't think it cost me at all. Friendship is not lost at all."



When further asked why he does not talk about that friendship, the actor said, "How do you talk about (a) friendship? We are friends."



Indian actors are hesitant to share their political opinion as opposed to the US where big Hollywood stars take political position during elections.

Asked if the fear of backlash and controversy prevents Indian actors from sharing their views on the political scenario of the country, Bachchan said, "You become an artiste and there are people who love you and there is a desire to reciprocate that. If it happens to be a politician who love you then also you reciprocate that.

"So what does that mean? Just because I am reciprocating



it does not mean I am going to love their politics. I don't think so.

"When you do not do something like that then we fear of a repercussion. Politicians are very powerful people. I don't know if they can damage or harm to what extent because there is the court of law.

But the process of going to law and battle politics is not my job. My job is to be on camera and deliver my good. I don't want to divert my attention."



Bachchan said that in the US, the audience is "more mature" than in India and that may be the reason why their stars are upfront about their political views.

"Hollywood has a lot mature audience. Here it is still a little bit limited. When I was electioneering for Congress in Assam, my helicopter landed at a location of the opposition.

"Soon, the police asked us to leave. There were youngsters in the crowd and one of them ran up to the helicopter and smashed the window glass and put a paper on my hand.

"In it, he wrote that he is my big fan but I was dividing his attention and so I should leave.

"It is something that artistes have to face. We spend our lifetime into getting people to love us and we suddenly ask them that you love me so love my politics I don't think it is right," he said.

Bachchan's upcoming film 'Pink', a courtroom drama-thriller, sees him play a lawyer of three young women who face assault charges after being molested by a group of men.

Directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, "Pink" is produced by Rashmi Sharma and filmmaker Shoojit Sircar and releases tomorrow.

Sircar, who is known for making politically-charged films like "Yahaan" and "Madras Cafe", says cinema is his way of expressing his view about political situations of the country.

"My medium of expression is cinema. In my films there have been political messages. My first film 'Yahaan' which was set in Kashmir, released in 2005.

What I made then, I can see is happening there now. The conversation in that film is so evident now. I am surprised.

"Ican only express through my films. In 'Pink' also there is a huge political statement that I have made," Sircar said.
The Karnataka Startup Cell has witnessed nearly 1,400 registrations in the last two months and close to Rs eight to Rs ten crore has been disbursed under the "Innovate Karnataka" initiative to provide assistance to startups, state IT Minister Priyank Kharge said today.

"The actual take off (of Innovate Karnataka initiative) has happened in the last one month. If you see, close to Rs 8 to Rs 10 crore are already out in the market for giving a boost to the startup ecosystem in Karnataka," he told PTI.

Kharge also said that after the introduction of Booster kit on July 25, the Startup Cell has witnessed 1,370 registrations, compared to just 40 registrations that it received in the last two-and-a-half years.

He said the cell has funded an aerospace startup close to Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 1.7 crore and also funded startups connected to IT innovations.

"We have funded an aerospace startup. We have provided close to Rs 1.5 to Rs 1.7 crore to them. We have also funded some startups connected with IT innovations," he said.

Kharge said the government intends to speed up the disbursement process prudently as it aspires to break into thetop 10 startup destinations in the world. "I want to expedite the disbursement process. Our idea is to break into world's top 10 startup destinations. Currently, we are placed somewhere around 14th or 15th. I want my state to be in Top 10 list," he said.

Replying to a query on the last Bangalore ITE.Biz event, Kharge said he would be visiting Paris in next two days to attract investments, especially in the aerospace sector.

The Minister said he was looking at long-term partnerships with French companies by leveraging Bengaluru's tag of being a science city, startup, IT and BT hub and innovation and R&D hub.

"I have personally written to over 800 people now including Fortune 500 companies in this regard," he added.

To give a boost to startups, the government had committed to invest Rs 400 crore through its "Innovative Karnataka" initiative and mobilise Rs 2,000 crore by 2020, he said. Asked about the means of mobilising the funds, he said it would done by the government and private partners likebanks.

"The policy itself has earmarked funds for it. We are also looking at private partners like banks. SIDBI, ICICI, HDFC, HUDCO - they are all our partners," he said.

The government, however, does not want to be participate in fund management, the job has been assigned to Campco,Kharge said adding "We have a set of professionals to manage funds." The Minister said the government does not want to partner with any venture capitalist to raise funds as they would come withcapitalistic idea.

"It becomes a little tricky because venture capitalist will come with a capitalist idea, but the government could use their expertise in policy-making processes," he said.

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Russia's top army general today was holding talks with his Turkish counterpart on the conflict in Syria, in the highest-level military contact between the two countries since a crisis in relations.

Turkish chief of staff Hulusi Akar welcomed his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov to Ankara in a ceremony with full military protocol, Turkish television pictures showed.

Their talks came as a fragile truce in Syria implemented earlier this week appeared to be holding, despite growing frustration over aid deliveries being held up at the Turkish border.

Gerasimov's presence in Ankara is also a significant symbol of healing ties between the two countries, after they agreed to normalise relations in June following a months-long crisis over the shooting down of a Russian war plane.

The Russian defence ministry said the two generals would "discuss the current situation and the prospects of resolution of the Syrian crisis" as well as bilateral military cooperation.

The crisis, which followed Turkey's downing of a Russian jet on the Syrian-Turkish border last year, saw Russia accuse Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of profiting from illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group.

Gerasimov's visit had been expected in late August after Erdogan went to Saint Petersburg for a landmark reunion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But it was then postponed without further explanation.

Russia and Turkey have been on starkly opposing sides of the Syria conflict but there have been signs of converging interests following their own reconciliation.

Moscow has flown a year-long aerial bombing campaign in support of forces loyal to Syria's Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has backed the opposition seeking to oust him.

However, Ankara has welcomed the fragile last-ditch Russia-US truce plan agreed last week, which went into effect on Tuesday and is supposed to halt fighting across areas not held by jihadists.

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The United States would "soon" lift its sanctions against Myanmar, the US President Barack Obama said today but stopped short of giving a time frame for this.

"The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that have been imposed on Burma for quite some time. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office in a joint media appearance with the visiting Burmese Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Soon," Obama said when asked when these sanctions would be lifted.

Referring to the transition of Burma to elections, Obama said the new government is giving voice to the hopes and dreams to new generation of Burmese people.

As a consequence, the new government is in a position to begin shaking a remarkable social, political and economic transformation, he said.

Describing the progress made in Burma towards strengthening of democracy, Suu Kyi stressed on the need of lifting sanctions.

"We think time has now come to remove all the sanctions that hurt us economically," she said, adding the Burmese parliament in the next few weeks would bring in new investment law.

This along with lifting of sanctions, Burma would be a very attractive destination for people from all over the world, she said.

"We think, the country is in a position to take off," she said.

The Burmese Constitution, she asserted, is not entirely democratic, because it gives the military special powers.

"I want our military to be an honorable institution and capable of protecting and defending our rights... But we do not think, politics is a place for the military," she said, adding that her government would continue to work to make the Constitution truly democratic.

"We have reached at a point where people did not expect us to reach five years ago," she said.

But there is so much that now has to be done, she added.

She also referred to the steps taken by her government to look into communal strife in the country.

"We want to make sure that everyone who is entitled to citizenship is accorded citizenship as quickly and as fairly as possible," she said.

"This is what we are trying to do in Rakhine (State)," she added.

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With the government cracking the whip on NGOs for alleged violation of foreign funding rules, the Supreme Court has also taken a serious view of mushrooming of about 30 lakh such bodies across the country and many of them not filing Income Tax returns for years.

The apex court, which has been seized of the matter for nearly five years and had ordered CBI to probe into charges of misappropriation of funds by many NGOs, wanted to know if there was any regulatory body to look at the size and magnitude of the problem.

"This is a major problem. These are mind-boggling figures," a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said, adding that "lakhs of societies are getting money from all over the world".

"Is there any recommendation by the Law Commission to frame legislations for effective regulation and transparency in the funding of such NGOs.

"Whatever has happened in the past, like siphoning of money etc, is difficult to go into, but for the future, transparency has to be there," the bench, also comprising Justice A M Khanwilkar, said while appointing senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi as amicus to assist the court in the matter.

"Keeping in view the nature of the controversy and the magnitude of the problem arising on account of as many as 29,99,623 societies registered in this country, we request Rakesh Dwivedi, senior advocate, to assist this court as amicus who has graciously agreed to do so.

"The Registry is directed to furnish him a copy of the writ petition and connected papers including the previous orders passed by this court within two days," the bench said.

Meanwhile, the CBI counsel filed several reports, documents and CDs in compliance with the court's earlier orders, giving the number of NGOs registered in various states, which showed Maharashtra had over five lakh voluntary bodies, Bihar 61,000 and Assam 97,000.

CBI also told the court that governments of Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana have still not complied with its earlier order.

Petitioner advocate M L Sharma sought time to make his submissions, after which the bench posted the matter for September 23.

CBI had in September last year informed the apex court that less than ten per cent of over 30 lakh NGOs functioning across the country had submitted their returns or balance sheets and other financial details to the authorities.

The dismal picture was presented by the CBI to the court



last year on the basis of the income-expenditure statement of a total of 30,81,873 NGOs in 26 states and seven Union Territories.

CBI, in its second affidavit, had said that approximately 9.33 per cent of the registered NGOs met the criteria of filing tax returns.

Before this, the agency had filed an affidavit in January last year submitting that out of 23,95,579 NGOs in 21 states, approximately 2,43,955 of them had filed their balance sheets with the authorities and, in seven UTs, of the 73,213 NGOs, only 50 had submitted their returns.

At that time, only 10.24 per cent of the registered NGOs had complied with the prerequisite of providing balance sheets and other financial details.

CBI had earlier said it would require another couple of months to compile all information as it was expecting more information from some state governments and urged the bench to pass order to the governments of Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana to furnish all information as per court directions.

It had said that out of the total 30,81,873 NGOs, only 2,90,873 had filed their annual returns and Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana had so far only provided the names and number of the voluntary bodies registered in the respective states without furnishing information about their balance-sheets.

CBI had said it had received complete information from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and all the seven union territories Andaman & Nicobar, Pondicherry, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Dadar and Nagar Havali and UT of Delhi.

The government had earlier said the NGOs would not be eligible for any grant unless they complied with the condition of filing statements of income and expenditure of last three years.

The apex court had expanded the scope of the PIL which was filed in 2011 against an NGO, Hind Swaraj Trust, run by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. The PIL had sought probe into alleged embezzlement of funds.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will hold consultations with Hurriyat and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) leaders tomorrow before leaving for the US to address the UN General Assembly where he is likely to raise the Kashmir issue.

"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will come here in Muzaffarabad on Friday before leaving for New York. He will consult the Kashmiri leadership regarding his speech at the UN session," PoK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider said.

He said the premier will hold separate meetings with PoK legislators and a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, PoK chapter.

"The prime minister wants to take the Kashmiri leadership into confidence over the content of his speech to be delivered at the UN General Assembly session on September 21," the DawnNews quoted him as saying.

Haider said the gesture would send a positive message across the Line of Control (LoC).

Sharif is likely to leave for the US on September 17.

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Indian and Chinese troops today held a ceremonial Border personal meetings (BPMs) on the occasion of "Mid Autumn Festival of China".

The ceremonial BPMs were conducted today at the Chinese side in Chushul and Daulat Beg Oldie Sector (DBO) in Eastern Ladakh, a Defence spokesman said.

The Indian delegations were lead by Brigadier R S Raman and Col B S Uppal and Chinese delegations by Senior Colonel Fan Jun and Colonel Song Zong Li respectively, he said.

Mid Autumn festival was celebrated by exchange of greetings and good wishes and saluting the National flag of China by the members of both the delegations.

This was followed by the ceremonial address by both delegation leaders and reaffirming the mutual desire of improving relations at functional level at the border.

Thereafter a cultural programme showcasing vibrant Chinese culture and traditional grandeur was organised, the Spokesman said.

Both the delegations interacted in a friendly and cordial environment. The delegation parted amidst bonds of friendship and commitment towards enhancing the existing cordial relations and maintaining peace along the LAC, he said.

Both sides also sought to further build on the treaties and agreements signed between the governments of the two sides to maintain peace and tranquility along the LAC, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (SP) was split down the middle on Thursday, with Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin Ram Gopal Yadav backing the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh Yadav, who is locked in a turf war with uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. Party leaders blamed outsider Amar Singh for the crisis.

Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav rushed to Lucknow from Delhi and is expected to hold talks with his son Akhilesh and other leaders in a bid to control the damage.

SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who met Akhilesh in Lucknow, said the leadership had committed an unintentional mistake by removing Akhilesh as the party's UP president.

He said that differences had arisen due to some misunderstanding, even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh.

The feud had spilled into the open after the Chief Minister stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios on September 13, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief by his father.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of the SP president," Ram Gopal told reporters.

When asked about the chief minister's statement regarding role of outsiders in the family tussle, Ram Gopal said, "There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...".

Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.

Cabinet Minister Azam Khan also took a swipe at his bete-noir Amar Singh, though he refrained from naming him, and said the Chief Minister was right in his assessment.

"If the Chief Minister is saying it, he must be right as he is in a responsible position. We had such apprehensions and that is why we had strongly opposed the return of such people who had a black history. Their only job is to make recordings and blackmail," he said.

Party's Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal said, "If there is any outsider, who is interfering, he should stop immediately and asserted that Akhilesh will be the chief ministerial candidate of the SP in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh."

Targeting Amar Singh, Ram Gopal said that due to simplicity of Mulayam, those who have nothing to do with party's interest are able to take benefit.

"They harm the party.... All those who met me are saying so," he said.

"He is the same person, who used netaji's simplicity to make an incharge of the party (Shivpal was earlier made SP UP incharge). There is no such post in SP. They say you are being challenged.....There is no one in the party who can challenge netaji," Ram Gopal said.

Shivpal, however, defended Amar Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along.

Asked about other SP leaders' unhappiness with Amar Singh, he said, "Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also."

Amid the opposition to the manner of his appointment as state unit chief, he said, "I was state president in 2011 and now netaji (Mulayam) has once again given me this responsibility. No one has the capacity to disobey what he says."

His reaction came after Ram Gopal said, "He (Akhilesh) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal)."

As the war of words intensified, Mulayam, who was due to arrive in Uttar Pradesh capital on Friday, decided to leave Delhi this morning itself and reached Lucknow.

After meeting the Chief Minister, Ram Gopal said, "everything will be resolved once netaji (Mulayam) and CM will talk."

On Wednesday, Mulayam gave a patient hearing to Shivpal for four hours to get his side of the story. Shivpal told Mulayam that despite following his orders, he was being painted as a villain.
A Sukhoi war plane of the Indian Air Force today landed at the Agartala airport to check the landing and take-off facility.

"One Sukhoi war plane today landed at the Agartala airport to see the practicality of landing and take-off facility during war. Another such fighter aircraft is also likely to land today," S Deb Burman, Director of Airport Authority of India (AII) said.

Sukhoi is a multi-role air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi Company and built under license by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. It is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.

Among the four airports in Tripura, only Agartala airport is operational and the rest at Khowai, Kamalpur and Kailashahar are abandoned.

All the airports in Tripura are located near the Indo-Bangla international border.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
About two months before Joseph Michael Schreiber allegedly tried to burn down a mosque sometimes attended by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, he posted on Facebook that "All Islam is radical" and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, 32, was arrested without incident yesterday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Maj David Thompson of the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, "if america truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of islam as radical. ... All islam is radical, and should be considered terrorist and crimanals (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of war crim (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country."



Thompson told a conference that Schreiber, who has a criminal record, was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere.

He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber yesterday evening, and he didn't say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

The fire was set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreiber's home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber "obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation."



Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and Mateen as "degenerates" and "punks."



"Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateen's actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion," Saleh said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A special PMLA court here today refused to grant temporary bail to suspended IAS officer Pradeep Sharma, who is in jail in an alleged money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate.

Special judge A C Joshi turnd down the Sharma's plea for a five-day bail to pay homage to his late mother during the upcoming 'shraddh' season, on the ground that he might tamper with evidence if let out of jail.

Sharma's lawyer had argued that his client be granted temporary bail between September 18 and September 22, and submitted before the court that he will stay in Ahmedabad during this period.

The court, however, refused to grant him bail upholding the public prosecutor's argument that he had in the past not cooperated with the ED investigating charges against him, and he could even use his freedom to tamper with the evidence against him.

Sharma was arrested by the ED on August 1 this year under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, days after the Supreme Court vacated an interim stay on his arrest. He was sent in judicial custody on August 8 and is currently lodged at Sabarmati Central Jail.

The case pertains to the sanction of government land in Bhuj for industrial use to M/s Welspun India Limited and its group companies, Welspun Power and Steel and Welspun Gujarat Style Roharan, as part of a suspected quid pro quo.

Sharma sanctioned land to the company in 2004 when he was the collector and chairman of the District Land Evaluation and Pricing Committee, which allegedly caused loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs 1.2 crore.

Against this favour, he allegedly received gain to the tune of Rs 22 lakh in the name of his wife Shyamal P Sharma, the ED probe report said.

Sharma had earlier claimed that he was being victimised by the BJP government in Gujarat for his knowledge of the illegal surveillance of the woman by government agencies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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!)
A teenager drowned in Yamuna today while swimming in the river alongwith his friends who had gone to participate in the immersion of Ganesh idol, in Alipur area of outer Delhi.

Vicky (18) had gone alongwith his friends to the Yamuna river near Palla in Alipur area, for immersion of Ganesha idol, when the mishap occurred, police said.

The group of four friends including Ankir (18), who were residents of Narela were swimming in the river when they started drowning in the strong current.

While three of the boys were saved by the rescuers, Ankit was not found. Later, his body was fished out by the divers. His body was sent for post mortem, said a police officer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amidst reports that Donald Trump is gaining ground in key battle states in the US, the Republican presidential nominee today said that Americans are "ready to discard failed political establishment" that disrespects upon hardworking people.

With less than 60 days to go for the November general elections, CNN/ORC polls said that Trump is leading his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the two critical battle ground States of Ohio and Florida.

According to the poll, among likely voters in Ohio, Trump stands at 46 per cent to Clinton's 41 per cent.

In Florida, likely voters split 47 per cent for Trump to 44 per cent for Clinton.

The Democratic presidential nominee was leading in both the States till recently.

Political pundits say the two States could make or break the presidential elections for either of the two candidates.

"This is a movement. States are in play that no Republican has ever come close to winning," Trump told his cheering supporters in Ohio.

"We just got new polls from Bloomberg and CNN. We're up five points in Ohio, and the LA Times poll has us up five points nationwide," he said.

"The people of the United States are ready for change. They're ready to discard a failed political establishment that disdains, disrespects and looks down on hardworking people," Trump said.

Trump said his election is about a choice between the control of an arrogant ruling class in Washington versus the hopes and dreams of everyday citizens.

Meanwhile, a poll released by Quinnipiac University said Clinton is leading Trump by five percentage points. A fortnight ago, Clintoni's lead was 10 per cent. As per RealClearPolitics, which tracks all major polls, Clinton continues to lead Trump in the average of all these polls.

But this lead has now reduced to 2.3 per cent in a two-way poll and is just 1.8 per cent in a four-way poll.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Donald Trump today released the results of his recent medical test, with his personal physician saying that the 70-year-old Republican presidential candidate is in "excellent physical health".

"In summer, Trump is in excellent physical health," Dr Harold N Bornstein said in a one-page medical report dated September 13, which was released to the press by his campaign.

Earlier today, the Democratic presidential candidate, 68- year-old Hillary Clinton released her updated medical record after a bout of pneumonia, with her doctor saying she is "fit to serve" as US President.

Trump, who is 6 foot 3 inches tall, weighs 107 kilograms, and his liver and thyroid functions are "all within the normal range," the report said.

His vital statistics including blood and cholesterol are also normal, but he does take a lipid lowering agent (rosuvastatin) and a low dose aspiring, it added.

He does not use tobacco products or alcohol.

"This study was reported within the range of normal," said Dr Bornstein, who has been personal physician of Trump since 1980.

"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Trump is in excellent health and has the stamina to endure - uninterrupted - the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented campaign and more importantly, the singularity demanding job of President of the United States," the campaign said.

Trump's latest medical record was made public, a day after the billionaire appeared on Dr Oz show.

Dr Oz, who saw the medical record, said that Trump "without question" is healthy enough to be the President.

"If I as doctor had a patient like him, I would think he had good health for a man of his age and I'd send him on his way," Dr Oz told the NBC in an interview.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The British government today approved the construction of the country's first new nuclear power plant in more than two decades, a French and Chinese-backed project that had prompted high-level fears about national security.

The government said in a statement that it had decided to proceed with the 18 billion-pound (USD 23 billion) Hinkley Point plant in southwest England, but that future foreign- funded infrastructure projects will be subject to tighter rules.

The plant will be financed by Chinese nuclear power provider CGN and French energy group EDF.

China and France welcomed the approval, which came weeks after Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly stalled the deal after she took office in July, saying she wanted to review it.

The delay threw into doubt the "golden era" of ties proclaimed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Britain last year. China's ambassador to Britain warned that it left relations between the two countries at a crossroads.

Some British politicians and diplomats are wary of the enthusiasm the previous government of Prime Minister David Cameron showed for boosting ties with Beijing, and voiced concerns about the security implications of China holding a major stake in such key infrastructure.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said the Hinkley Point deal "will include a series of measures to enhance security" and ensure it cannot change hands without the government's agreement.

Under the deal, EDF won't be able to sell its controlling stake in the project before completion without British approval.

The British government also said it would impose "significant new safeguards" on future foreign investment in nuclear power and other critical infrastructure, to "ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the government's knowledge or consent."



"There will be reforms to the government's approach to the ownership and control of critical infrastructure to ensure that the full implications of foreign ownership are scrutinized for the purposes of national security," it said in a statement.

China's CGN welcomed the Hinkley decision and said it was now "able to move forward and deliver" nuclear capacity at two more planned UK reactors, one of which is expected to be Chinese-designed, as well as financed.

EDF chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said the decision "marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US has signed the biggest-ever aid deal in its history worth USD 38 billion with Israel under which it will buy advanced planes and weaponry and boost the missile defense shield of the Israeli military, displaying "unprecedented commitment" to the Jewish state.

"America's commitment to Israel's security is unshakeable," US President Barack Obama said in a statement after the two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

Obama said, "the new 10-year MoU on security assistance that his Administration signed with the Government of Israel is just the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security of the State of Israel".

By doing so the Obama Administration is making another "unprecedented commitment" to the security of Israel and the Israeli people, said US National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

As per the MoU, the US commits to providing Israel USD 38 billion in military aid over ten years, including USD 33 billion in foreign military financing funds and an unprecedented commitment of USD 5 billion for missile defence.

"This marks a significant increase over our existing funding, and it will ensure that Israel has the support it needs to defend itself by itself and to preserve its qualitative military edge. This is the single largest pledge of military assistance-to any country-in American history," Rice said.

Rice said it is a reminder of the US' unshakeable commitment to Israel's security.

This additional funding will, among other things, allow Israel to update the lion's share of its fighter aircraft fleet, including the acquisition of additional F-35s and F-15s.

It will also enable Israel to substantially enhance the mobility of its ground forces, she added.

"As Israel continues to face the threat of rocket fire, this funding will help Israel to further strengthen missile defence systems like Iron Dome," she said.

For years, the US' funding for Israeli missile defence has been subject to the uncertainty of the annual appropriations process.

Some years, the amount of missile defence funding has been unclear for months at a time. Some years, it has even declined, she said.

The Acting Israeli National Security Advisor Jacob Nagel said the military assistance package that the US has generously agreed to provide Israel is not taken for granted and will help it shoulder the enormous defense burden that they face and enable better Israel - and enable Israel to better defend itself by itself against any threat.

"This unprecedented assistance will also cover a robust missile defence funding through the next decade for the first time and will help us effectively plan and develop multi-layer missile defense systems to counter the growing missile threats in our region," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US today warned that Pakistan's fight against terrorism would not succeed until it makes a "decisive shift" in its policy of tolerance towards externally-focused groups and targets all militant groups without discrimination.

"While the progress Pakistan has made through its recent operations is laudable, its struggle with terrorism will not come to an end until it makes a decisive shift in its policy of tolerance towards externally-focused groups," Richard Olson, the Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

"US officials have been very clear with the most senior Pakistani leadership that Pakistan must target all militant groups without discrimination - including those that target Pakistan's neighbours - and close all safe havens," Olson said.

Olson, who is the Obama Administration's point person for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told Senators that Pakistan's leaders have assured the US of their intention to do so.

"In this regard, we welcomed Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif's statement on July 6, in which he directed Pakistani military commanders, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement agencies to take concrete measures to deny any militant group safe haven or the use of Pakistani soil to launch terrorist attacks in Afghanistan," Olson said as top American Senators lashed out at Pakistan for its behaviour against terrorism.

"Pakistan continues to be tremendously duplicitous partner in this. They are working against our interest there (in Afghanistan). They are supporting the Haqqani network," Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations said.

In his testimony, Olson said the US continues to support the India-Afghanistan relationship, including through the revival of a US-India-Afghanistan trilateral, which will take place next week on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

"We welcomed India's provision of training and non-lethal security assistance to Afghanistan and its significant development contributions over the past decade-plus," he said.

China's role in the region continues to evolve, and includes its participation in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group.

"We have also welcomed China's bilateral development aid and look forward to seeing China at the Brussels conference," he added.

Olson said while international support for Afghanistan remains strong, regional support continues to be filtered through complex national priorities.

"Despite greater regional cooperation overall, regional players continue to hedge so long as they have doubts about the viability of the Afghan state. We continue to support Afghanistan as it works to improve relations with its neighbours and near-neighbours, promoting broader regional stability," he observed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russia today accused Washington of failing to meet its obligations under the Syria ceasefire agreement, while criticising US officials for voicing scepticism over cooperation with Moscow.

Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov slammed the US for what he called "rhetorical fog" intended "to hide the fact that it is not fulfilling its part of the obligations."



In a statement, he defined the US role as "first and foremost to separate 'moderate opposition' groups from terrorists".

"As of the third day (of the truce), only the Syrian army is observing the regime of silence. At the same time, the 'moderate opposition' led by the US is increasing the amount of attacks on residential districts," Konashenkov said.

He insisted: "Russia has respected its obligations to fulfil the ceasefire regime in Syria from the first minute."



US officials have voiced scepticism that Russia will fulfil its part of the agreement struck last week between the two former Cold War adversaries after years of bad blood over Moscow's Ukraine and Syria policies.

Under the agreement, US and Russia said they will establish a "Joint Implementation Centre" to share targeting information for air strikes in Syria if the truce that went into effect on Monday holds for one week.

Several Pentagon officials have told AFP of their deep unease over the Syria truce, with one saying: "The timeframe is short, but there's a gulf of trust that's larger than the timeframe."



State department spokesman Mark Toner said yesterday that "we've seen violations on both sides" in Syria, although the ceasefire is broadly holding.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Health Minister J P Nadda today spoke to the health ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regarding the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya that have claimed the lives of 30 people in the National Capital Region, the worst affected area in the country.

Nadda will meet Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain tomorrow on the issue.

The Delhi government is likely to submit a detailed report to the Union Health Ministry on the chikungunya deaths in the national capital.

"Have spoken to Health Ministers of UP & Haryana on #dengue & #chikungunya. Will meet Delhi Health Min @SatyendarJain tmrw noon for the same (sic)," he tweeted.

Chikungunya and dengue continued to wreak havoc in Delhi with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 30 today even as the number of affected people crossed 2,800. A number of the victims are residents of areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana adjoining Delhi.

"We are expecting that report will come tomorrow. At least reports of some of the cases which had taken place earlier is expected to come," a top Union Health Ministry official told PTI.

The report is likely to have details about the exact cause of the patients' death and other details including the co-morbid conditions.

Nadda had yesterday sought a detailed report from the Delhi government and directed officials to remain alert to prevent the diseases from escalating.

Sources said that Jain is likely to apprise him about the preventive measures being taken by the city administration.

Nadda said, "Community participation is very important to stop mosquito breeding in & around your surroundings."



The top official said that the Delhi government has not sought any help till now from the Union Health Ministry to deal with the situation.

Nadda had spoken to Jain yesterday assuring him all help from the Centre. Jain had, however, said that all facilities were available with them and they are working as per the protocols.

According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme under the Health Ministry, dengue has affected 36,110 people across the country and has claimed 70 lives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Health Minister J P Nadda today spoke to the health ministers of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regarding the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya that have claimed the lives of 30 people in the National Capital Region.

Nadda will meet Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain tomorrow on the issue.

The Delhi government is likely to submit a detailed report to the Union Health Ministry on the chikungunya deaths in the national capital.

"Have spoken to Health Ministers of UP & Haryana on #dengue & #chikungunya. Will meet Delhi Health Min @SatyendarJain tmrw noon for the same (sic)," he tweeted.

Chikungunya and dengue continued to wreak havoc in Delhi with the death toll from the two vector-borne diseases climbing to 30 today even as the number of affected people crossed 2,800. A number of the victims are residents of areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana adjoining Delhi.

"We are expecting that report will come tomorrow. At least reports of some of the cases which had taken place earlier is expected to come," a top Union Health Ministry official told PTI.

The report is likely to have details about the exact cause of the patients' death and other details including the co-morbid conditions.

Nadda had yesterday sought a detailed report from the Delhi government and directed officials to remain alert to prevent the diseases from escalating.

Sources said that Jain is likely to apprise him about the preventive measures being taken by the city administration.

Nadda said, "Community participation is very important to stop mosquito breeding in & around your surroundings."



The top official said that the Delhi government has not sought any help till now from the Union Health Ministry to deal with the situation.

Nadda had spoken to Jain yesterday assuring him all help from the Centre. Jain had, however, said that all facilities were available with them and they are working as per the protocols.

According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme under the Health Ministry, dengue has affected 36,110 people across the country and has claimed 70 lives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telecom operator Vodafone India today said that it has decided to increase inter-connection capacity with Reliance Jio network.

"Following guidance from Trai and clarifications from Jio regarding its commercial launch, Vodafone India has decided to increase the points of inter-connect (POIs) between the two operators by thrice and accordingly, increase the capacity to connect," Vodafone India said in a statement.

Vodafone is the third incumbent operator, after Idea Cellular and Airtel, that has agreed to increase inter-connection points for Reliance Jio, paving the way for easy exchange of calls between subscribers of the two networks.

Inter-connection is required to enable mobile users to make calls to customers of other telecom networks. A mobile operator levies inter-connection usage charge for each incoming call it gets from a subscriber of another network.

Incumbent carriers have been demanding higher inter-connection charges compared with 14 paise they get for each incoming mobile call on their networks.

Reliance Jio, which commercially launched its services on September 5, has accused the existing players of not releasing sufficient inter-connection ports which it feels is leading to call drops.

"Vodafone India has always provided points of inter-connect (PoIs) to other operators for all their fair, reasonable and legitimate requirements and will continue to do so," Vodafone said.

"Vodafone is hopeful that all issues it has raised with Trai and Jio will be duly considered and resolved at the earliest."



The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has indicated that it will take strong action against telecom operators found responsible for poor quality of service.

Jio has alleged that the situation on its network has deteriorated significantly in the last few weeks due to insufficient PoIs, with over 75 calls failing out of every 100 call attempts. As per the rules, not more than 5 calls can fail in every 1,000 calls made during a month.

It further said that over 22 crore calls have failed on the Airtel network while 52 crore have failed cumulatively on the networks of the three incumbent operators -- Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in about last 10 days.

"To create a truly connected, inclusive and Digital India, it is vital to have a level-playing field between providers offering the same service, encourage innovations and judiciously use a portfolio of technologies - 2G, 3G and 4G to service the evolving needs of consumers across the country," Vodafone said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Residential burglary

Flagstaff police are investigating a suspected home burglary in the Southside neighborhood.

According to the police report, the residents found their front door open in the 100 block of East Benton Avenue at approximately 1:45 a.m. this past Friday. One window was open with the screen removed, all the lights were on and the home was in disarray. The residents noticed several items missing, including an a television, computers and other electronic devices, watches, clothing and sensitive personal documents.

The investigation is ongoing.

Charged with DUI

 Frances Jean Eagle, 54, of North Dakota Street was arrested by Flagstaff Police Department on an extreme DUI charge at 12:26 a.m. this past Friday.

 Robert E. Doyle, 61, of Phoenix was arrested by Flagstaff Police Department on an extreme DUI charge at 12:23 a.m. Sunday.

City and county residents who want to report a crime but wish to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word Flagtip along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES). Rewards of up to $2,000 are given for information that leads to an arrest.
Underlining the urgency to unite despite differences in ethnicity and caste, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal today said till the time Tharus and Madhesis are not taken into confidence, atmosphere for implementing the new Constitution cannot be created.

Prachanda, who was elected as the Prime Minister for the second time on August 3, said the top focus of the new dispensation is to create the "right atmosphere" before the implementation of the Constitution and pave way for the necessary amendments.

"We have already made two amendments," he said.

Prachanda, who is on a four-day goodwill visit to India, his first foreign visit after assuming power, was addressing the Nepali diaspora at the Nepalese embassy here.

"Till the time we don't take the Tharus, Madhesis and Janjatis into confidence and address their legitimate demands the atmosphere cannot be created for implementation of the new Constitution.

"There is a need to unite Nepal and its people despite differences in ethnicities, language, caste, class," Prachanda said.

Emphasising on the need to unite those in the Terai, hills and the plains, the Prime Minister of Nepal said, if that does not happen, then Nepal's sovereignty will be mere words.

"If they are not united then the political crisis will loom large," he said.

The Madhesi parties had led a six month-long agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution. At least 50 people were killed during the protests in south Nepal last year over the issue.

India wants Nepal to take steps to address the concerns of its citizens, especially those in Terai, over its newly-adopted constitution, as it feels the more the process in this regard gets delayed, the situation will "worsen and can get messy again".

During his interaction, the Nepalese community also complained that they played a prominent role during the movement against the monarchy, but since the new democratic polity came into being they have been forgotten.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maharashtra minister Vishnu Sawra today faced the anger of a tribal woman whose two-year-old son died last month apparently due to severe malnutrition in Palghar district, the video of which has gone viral on social media.

The Tribal Development Minister went to meet the distraught family members, residing in a thatched house at Khoch village in Mokhada taluka, and comfort them. However, the woman, overcome by grief, vented her anger at Sawra, who is also Guardian Minister of Palghar.

"Where were you when my son died. You are coming after 15 days. We do not want to meet you," the woman was heard telling Sawra in the video.

Other villagers also expressed their anger at the administration's "failure" to address the problem of malnutrition in the tribal-dominated taluka, which is not very far from Mumbai.

Asking the minister what had he done for malnourished children, the villagers alleged that they did not get any help from the government and had to "beg" for money to treat the child, who was taken to a health camp in Jawhar taluka earlier this year and then sent home.

However, later the toddler's condition worsened and he was rushed to Nashik Civil Hospital last month where he died reportedly due to severe malnutrition.

Sawra told the villagers the government is taking steps to tackle the problem of malnutrition. However, the villagers claimed that over 600 children had died in the district due to malnutrition since January last.

In the video, the minister and the villagers are seen having heated argument and Sawra left after his efforts to pacify the villagers failed.

Governor C Vidyasagar Rao held a meeting yesterday with Sawant, Sawra and Pankaja Munde, the Women and Child Development Minister, and gave them direction to take steps to prevent death from malnutrition. After the meeting Sawra decided to visit Mokhada.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Deepak Sawant had visited Mokhada taluka and met the two families who had lost their children due to malnutrition.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A yoga training textbook prepared by Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Yog Peeth would be taught in the primary schools in Goa, a senior official said today.

"The (yoga training) scheme would be implemented by Goa Educational Development Corporation (GEDC) for a period of six years commencing from the ongoing academic year," Director of Education G P Bhat told reporters.

The government also intends to constitute a state-level 'yoga cell' of yoga experts.

"A healthy approach towards education and life can be developed right from a young age via the most powerful yogic practises. Yoga at primary level will definitely help develop an effective system to create healthy citizens for the nation," Bhat said.

'Khel-Khel Me', a yoga training book based on NCERT syllabus and prepared by Patanjali Yog Peeth will be taught from std I to std IV.

The problems which school children face, such as stress, depression, lack of concentration, exam phobia, behavioural problems, relationship issues and drug addiction can be tackled through this course, Bhat said.

As per the scheme, 15 government primary schools in each tehsil will be selected for introducing yoga education. A teacher from each school will be selected as a trainer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Burkini ban in France and women who have it all

The debate around headscarves and burkinis raises the question; what rights do women have over their own body and identity?

The debate around headscarves and burkinis raises the question; what rights do women have over their own body and identity?

The Burkini ban in France (later denounced by the courts) on the grounds of secularism and liberal ethos reveals the oxymoronic nature of both in the country. And further, it represents the States patronising approach towards women, and their choice to dress according to their comfort, belief and ideology. We recently saw a similar approach in India, where the Tourism Minister in a welcome kit issued to foreign arrivals, advised tourists to not wear short dresses or skirts, adding that this was for their own safety, because Indian culture is different from the ...

Sarah Farooqui
By Saeed Azhar and Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Private banks in Singapore are sharing with local police the names of clients embracing an Indonesian tax amnesty, three banking sources told Reuters, a move that could undermine the amnesty and damage the banks' business with their biggest client pool.

Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), a police unit that deals with financial crime, told banks last year they must file a suspicious transaction report (STR) whenever a client took part in a tax amnesty scheme, the sources told .

After initial resistance from the banks, worried they might lose clients, that message was reinforced this year by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's central bank, when Indonesia launched a tax amnesty aimed at wooing back some of the cash its wealthy citizens have stashed in Singapore, the sources said.

"We are filing the STR and hope others are doing it, too," said one senior private banker when asked about clients responding to the Indonesian amnesty.

"Banks have filed STRs," said another banking source, adding that clients should not be informed about the filing.

After the story was published, the MAS confirmed in a statement that it has advised banks in Singapore to encourage their clients to use tax amnesty programmes to regularise their tax affairs.

"Banks are required to adhere to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standard of filing a suspicious transaction report (STR) when handling tax amnesty cases, similar to the practice in other jurisdictions," it said late on Thursday.

The FATF is a global body that conducts regular evaluations of countries' anti-money laundering standards.

The MAS said that participation in a tax amnesty programme, in and of itself, would not attract criminal investigation in Singapore. "The expectation for an STR to be filed on account of a client participating in a tax amnesty programme should therefore not discourage clients from participation."

Police in Singapore declined to comment.

Singapore, where Indonesians hold an estimated $200 billion in private banking assets - 40 percent of the island's total private banking assets - made tax evasion a money-laundering offence in 2013.

It is toughening up the implementation of the law after an investigation into state-backed fund 1MDB in neighbouring Malaysia exposed how some of its banks failed to impose robust controls on suspicious money flows.

The STR requirement on suspected tax crimes is part of that process.

"The moment the client tells you he's participating in the amnesty, you have a suspicion that the assets with you are not compliant, and so you have to report to the authorities," said a senior executive at a Singapore-based wealth manager.

"In light of the toughening regulatory environment, banks need to conduct more proactive checks on the effectiveness of their internal controls and procedures," said Wilson Ang, a partner in the Singapore office of law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

spoke to several other senior private bank officials who confirmed the STR filing requirement, but declined to comment further.

Ken Dwijugiasteadi, the head of Indonesia's tax office, said: "I haven't heard of such information, but if true, it is the Singapore's government's matter. It becomes my matter when someone joins the tax amnesty."

EXTRA SCRUTINY

The Singapore police website says it has used STR filings to detect financial crime. That means if there is any evidence of wrongdoing from these filings, authorities can further probe clients or banks.

The fear of such scrutiny could deter Indonesians from considering the amnesty, which runs to March 2017 and has so far had a tepid uptake. The Indonesian tax office said 393 trillion rupiah ($30 billion) of assets had been declared as of Sept. 13, of which at least 30 trillion rupiah were in Singapore.

"I don't think Indonesians there are afraid," said Dwijugiasteadi. "A lot of Indonesians in Singapore have already joined the amnesty."

Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo said late on Wednesday the central bank's modelling suggested the amnesty would secure just 11 percent of its targeted revenue this year.

Indonesians are among the biggest investors in Singapore's property market and use banks there to invest in currencies or regional stocks, encouraged by the strong legal framework and security of the Asian financial centre.

Many moved money to Singapore after attacks against ethnic Chinese businesses in Indonesia in 1998, when economic problems triggered riots and the fall of the Suharto government.

The increased tax scrutiny in Singapore comes just ahead of the publication of a report on the island nation by the FATF.

One of the FATF guidelines states that a financial institution needs to report suspicious transactions when it suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a client's funds are proceeds of a criminal activity such as tax evasion.

Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of the Association of Banks in Singapore, said the lobby group had told banks that amnesty programmes were a useful tool for individuals to regularise their tax affairs with their local tax authorities.

The association did not comment on the new filing requirements.

"If there's a red flag and we ignore it, that's our problem," the second banking source said. ($1 = 13,190.0000 rupiah)

(Additional reporting by Gayatri Suroyo in JAKARTA and Michelle Price in HONG KONG; Editing by Lisa Jucca, Will Waterman and Alex Richardson)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's merchandise exports contracted 0.3 percent year-on-year to $21.5 billion in August, government data showed on Thursday.

Imports in August dropped 14.09 percent year-on-year to $29.2 billion, the data showed. The trade deficit for the month came in at $7.7 billion compared with $7.8 billion in the previous month.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Samsung's recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates.

Announcing the recall on September 2, confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging at 60 per cent capacity to help minimize risks of overheating.

But it is urging owners to keep the phones turned off until they can get them replaced, beginning September 19.

The Note 7 debuted to rave reviews in August thanks to its speed, new software features and not least the estimated nine hours it would run between charges.

But all that power comes at a price: users began reporting the phones were catching fire or exploding, in one case incinerating the SUV it had been left in.

Aviation authorities in the US, Australia and Europe have urged passengers not to use or charge Note 7s while flying and not to put them in checked baggage. On Monday, Canada issued an official recall.

Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president, said in announcing the recall on September 2 that an investigation turned up a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s that was very difficult to identify. The end of the pouch-shaped battery cell had some flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating, he explained.

That kind of manufacturing error is unimaginable for top-notch battery makers with adequate quality controls, said Park Chul Wan, a former director of the next generation battery research center at the state-owned Korea Electronics Institute.

and other experts should search for factors outside the battery cells that could have led to overheating, he said.

"If Koh's argument is right, that makes SDI a third-rate company," Park said. "But it does not appear to be a simple battery problem."



Time also is a factor in marketing and making the phones. In 2015, Samsung moved up its unveiling of its new Galaxy Note model to August from September, seeking a leg up on Apple's September iPhone upgrades.

Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping pace with demand for the Note 7.
Commercial Feature is a Business Standard Digital Marketing Initiative.

The Editorial/Content team at Business Standard has not contributed to writing or editing these articles.

For further information, please write to assist@bsmail.in
You want to make sure you prepare thoroughly before starting a business, but realize that things will almost certainly go awry. To run a successful business, you must adapt to changing situations.

Conducting in-depth market research on your field and the demographics of your potential clientele is an important part of crafting a business plan. This involves running surveys, holding focus groups, and researching SEO and public data.

Before you start selling your product or service, you need to build up your brand and get a following of people who are ready to jump when you open your doors for business.

This article is for entrepreneurs who want to learn the basics steps of starting a new business.

Tasks like naming the business and creating a logo are obvious, but what about the less-heralded, equally important steps? Whether its determining your business structure or crafting a detailed marketing strategy, the workload can quickly pile up. Rather than spinning your wheels and guessing at where to start, follow this 10-step checklist to transform your business from a lightbulb above your head to a real entity.

How to start a small business

1. Refine your idea.

If youre thinking about starting a business, you likely already have an idea of what you want to sell online, or at least the market you want to enter. Do a quick search for existing companies in your chosen industry. Learn what current brand leaders are doing and figure out how you can do it better. If you think your business can deliver something other companies dont (or deliver the same thing, only faster and cheaper), or youve got a solid idea and are ready to create a business plan.

Define your why.

In the words of Simon Sinek, always start with why,' Glenn Gutek, CEO of Awake Consulting and Coaching, told Business News Daily. It is good to know why you are launching your business. In this process, it may be wise to differentiate between [whether] the business serves a personal why or a marketplace why. When your why is focused on meeting a need in the marketplace, the scope of your business will always be larger than a business that is designed to serve a personal need.

Consider franchising.

Another option is to open a franchise of an established company. The concept, brand following and business model are already in place; all you need is a good location and the means to fund your operation.

Brainstorm your business name.

Regardless of which option you choose, its vital to understand the reasoning behind your idea. Stephanie Desaulniers, owner of Business by Dezign and former director of operations and womens business programs at Covation Center, cautions entrepreneurs against writing a business plan or brainstorming a business name before nailing down the ideas value.

Clarify your target customers.

Desaulniers said too often people jump into launching their business without spending time to think about who their customers will be and why would want to buy from them or hire them.

You need to clarify why you want to work with these customers  do you have a passion for making peoples lives easier? Desaulniers said. Or enjoy creating art to bring color to their world? Identifying these answers helps clarify your mission. Third, you want to define how you will provide this value to your customers and how to communicate that value in a way that they are willing to pay.

TIP: To refine your business idea, identify your why, your target customers and your business name.

During the ideation phase, you need to iron out the major details. If the idea isnt something youre passionate about or if theres not a market for your creation, it might be time to brainstorm other ideas.

2. Write a business plan.

Once you have your idea in place, you need to ask yourself a few important questions: What is the purpose of your business? Who are you selling to? What are your end goals? How will you finance your startup costs? These questions can be answered in a well-written business plan.

A lot of mistakes are made by new businesses rushing into things without pondering these aspects of the business. You need to find your target customer base. Who is going to buy your product or service? If you cant find evidence that theres a demand for your idea, then what would be the point?

Free download: Here is our business plan template you can use to plan and grow your business.

Conduct market research.

Conducting thorough market research on your field and demographics of potential clientele is an important part of crafting a business plan. This involves conducting surveys, holding focus groups, and researching SEO and public data.

Market research helps you understand your target customer  their needs, preferences and behavior  as well as your industry and competitors. Many small business professionals recommend gathering demographic information and conducting a competitive analysis to better understand opportunities and limitations within your market.

The best small businesses have products or services that are differentiated from the competition. This has a significant impact on your competitive landscape and allows you to convey unique value to potential customers.

Consider an exit strategy.

Its also a good idea to consider an exit strategy as you compile your business plan. Generating some idea of how youll eventually exit the business forces you to look to the future.

Too often, new entrepreneurs are so excited about their business and so sure everyone everywhere will be a customer that they give very little, if any, time to show the plan on leaving the business, said Josh Tolley, CEO of both Shyft Capital and Kavana.

When you board an airplane, what is the first thing they show you? How to get off of it. When you go to a movie, what do they point out before the feature begins to play? Where the exits are. Your first week of kindergarten, they line up all the kids and teach them fire drills to exit the building. Too many times I have witnessed business leaders that dont have three or four predetermined exit routes. This has led to lower company value and even destroyed family relationships.

A business plan helps you figure out where your company is going, how it will overcome any potential difficulties and what you need to sustain it. When youre ready to put pen to paper, these free templates can help.

3. Assess your finances.

Starting any business has a price, so you need to determine how youre going to cover those costs. Do you have the means to fund your startup, or will you need to borrow money? If youre planning to leave your current job to focus on your business, do you have money put away to support yourself until you make a profit? Its best to find out how much your startup costs will be.

Many startups fail because they run out of money before turning a profit. Its never a bad idea to overestimate the amount of startup capital you need, as it can be a while before the business begins to bring in sustainable revenue.

Perform a break-even analysis.

One way you can determine how much money you need is to perform a break-even analysis. This is an essential element of financial planning that helps business owners determine when their company, product or service will be profitable.

The formula is simple:

Fixed Costs  (Average Price  Variable Costs) = Break-Even Point

Every entrepreneur should use this formula as a tool because it informs you about the minimum performance your business must achieve to avoid losing money. Furthermore, it helps you understand exactly where your profits come from, so you can set production goals accordingly.

Here are the three most common reasons to conduct a break-even analysis:

Determine profitability. This is generally every business owners highest interest. Ask yourself: How much revenue do I need to generate to cover all my expenses? Which products or services turn a profit, and which ones are sold at a loss? Price a product or service. When most people think about pricing, they consider how much their product costs to create and how competitors are pricing their products. Ask yourself: What are the fixed rates, what are the variable costs, and what is the total cost? What is the cost of any physical goods? What is the cost of labor? Analyze the data. What volumes of goods or services do you have to sell to be profitable? Ask yourself: How can I reduce my overall fixed costs? How can I reduce the variable costs per unit? How can I improve sales?

Watch your expenses.

Dont overspend when starting a business. Understand the types of purchases that make sense for your business and avoid overspending on fancy new equipment that wont help you reach your business goals. Monitor your business expenses to ensure you are staying on track.

A lot of startups tend to spend money on unnecessary things, said Jean Paldan, founder and CEO of Rare Form New Media. We worked with a startup that had two employees but spent a huge amount on office space that would fit 20 people. They also leased a professional high-end printer that was more suited for a team of 100; it had key cards to track who was printing what and when. Spend as little as possible when you start, and only on the things that are essential for the business to grow and be a success. Luxuries can come when youre established.

Consider your funding options.

Startup capital for your business can come from various means. The best way to acquire funding for your business depends on several factors, including creditworthiness, the amount needed and available options.

Business loans. If you need financial assistance, a commercial loan through a bank is a good starting point, although these are often difficult to secure. If you are unable to take out a bank loan, you can apply for a small business loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or an alternative lender. [Read related article: Best Alternative Small Business Loans] Business grants. Business grants are similar to loans; however, they do not need to be paid back. Business grants are typically very competitive, and come with stipulations that the business must meet to be considered. When trying to secure a small business grant, look for ones that are uniquely specific to your situation. Options include minority-owned business grants, grants for women-owned businesses and government grants. Investors. Startups requiring significant funding upfront may want to bring on an investor. Investors can provide several million dollars or more to a fledgling company, with the expectation that the backers will have a hands-on role in running your business. Crowdfunding. Alternatively, you could launch an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise smaller amounts of money from multiple backers. Crowdfunding has helped numerous companies in recent years, and there are dozens of reliable crowdfunding platforms designed for different types of businesses.

You can learn more about each of these capital sources and more in our guide to startup finance options.

Editors note: Looking for a small business loan? Fill out the questionnaire below to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

Choose the right business bank.

When youre choosing a business bank, size matters. Marcus Anwar, co-founder of OhMy Canada, recommends smaller community banks because they are in tune with the local market conditions and will work with you based on your overall business profile and character.

Theyre unlike big banks that look at your credit score and will be more selective to loan money to small businesses, Anwar said. Not only that, but small banks want to build a personal relationship with you and ultimately help you if you run into problems and miss a payment. Another good thing about smaller banks is that decisions are made at the branch level, which can be much quicker than big banks, where decisions are made at a higher level.

Anwar believes that you should ask yourself these questions when choosing a bank for your business:

What is important to me?

Do I want to build a close relationship with a bank thats willing to help me in any way possible?

Do I want to be just another bank account, like big banks will view me as?

Ultimately, the right bank for your business comes down to your needs. Writing down your banking needs can help narrow your focus to what you should be looking for. Schedule meetings with various banks and ask questions about how they work with small businesses to find the best bank for your business. [Read related article: Business Bank Account Checklist: Documents Youll Need]

Key takeaway: Financially, you will want to perform a break-even analysis, consider your expenses and funding options, and choose the right bank for your business.

4. Determine your legal business structure.

Before you can register your company, you need to decide what kind of entity it is. Your business structure legally affects everything from how you file your taxes to your personal liability if something goes wrong.

Sole proprietorship. If you own the business entirely by yourself and plan to be responsible for all debts and obligations, you can register for a sole proprietorship. Be warned that this route can directly affect your personal credit.

If you own the business entirely by yourself and plan to be responsible for all debts and obligations, you can register for a sole proprietorship. Be warned that this route can directly affect your personal credit. Partnership. Alternatively, a business partnership, as its name implies, means that two or more people are held personally liable as business owners. You dont have to go it alone if you can find a business partner with complementary skills to your own. Its usually a good idea to add someone into the mix to help your business flourish.

Alternatively, a business partnership, as its name implies, means that two or more people are held personally liable as business owners. You dont have to go it alone if you can find a business partner with complementary skills to your own. Its usually a good idea to add someone into the mix to help your business flourish. Corporation. If you want to separate your personal liability from your companys liability, you may want to consider forming one of several types of corporations (e.g., S corporation, C corporation or B corporation). Although each type of corporation is subject to different guidelines, this legal structure generally makes a business a separate entity from its owners, and, therefore, corporations can own property, assume liability, pay taxes, enter contracts, sue and be sued like any other individual. Corporations, especially C corporations, are especially suitable for new businesses that plan on going public or seeking funding from venture capitalists in the near future, said Deryck Jordan, managing attorney at Jordan Counsel.

If you want to separate your personal liability from your companys liability, you may want to consider forming one of several types of corporations (e.g., S corporation, C corporation or B corporation). Although each type of corporation is subject to different guidelines, this legal structure generally makes a business a separate entity from its owners, and, therefore, corporations can own property, assume liability, pay taxes, enter contracts, sue and be sued like any other individual. Corporations, especially C corporations, are especially suitable for new businesses that plan on going public or seeking funding from venture capitalists in the near future, said Deryck Jordan, managing attorney at Jordan Counsel. Limited liability company. One of the most common structures for small businesses is the limited liability company (LLC). This hybrid structure has the legal protections of a corporation while allowing for the tax benefits of a partnership.

Ultimately, it is up to you to determine which type of entity is best for your current needs and future business goals. Its important to learn about the various legal business structures available. If youre struggling to make up your mind, its not a bad idea to discuss the decision with a business or legal advisor.

Did You Know: You need to choose a legal structure for your business, such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or LLC.

5. Register with the government and IRS.

You will need to acquire a variety of business licenses before you can legally operate your business. For example, you need to register your business with federal, state and local governments. There are several documents you must prepare before registering.

Articles of incorporation and operating agreements

To become an officially recognized business entity, you must register with the government. Corporations need an articles of incorporation document, which includes your business name, business purpose, corporate structure, stock details and other information about your company. Similarly, some LLCs will need to create an operating agreement.

Doing business as (DBA)

If you dont have articles of incorporation or an operating agreement, you will need to register your business name, which can be your legal name, a fictitious DBA name (if you are the sole proprietor), or the name youve come up with for your company. You may also want to take steps to trademark your business name for extra legal protection.

Most states require you to get a DBA. If youre in a general partnership or a proprietorship operating under a fictitious name, you may need to apply for a DBA certificate. Its best to contact or visit your local county clerks office and ask about specific requirements and fees. Generally, there is a registration fee involved.

Employer identification number (EIN)

After you register your business, you may need to get an employer identification number from the IRS. While this is not required for sole proprietorships with no employees, you may want to apply for one anyway to keep your personal and business taxes separate, or simply to save yourself the trouble later if you decide to hire someone. The IRS has provided a checklist to determine whether you will require an EIN to run your business. If you do need an EIN, you can register online for free.

Income tax forms

You also need to file certain forms to fulfill your federal and state income tax obligations. The forms you need are determined by your business structure. You will need to check your states website for information on state-specific and local tax obligations.

You might be tempted to wing it with a PayPal account and social media platform, but if you start with a proper foundation, your business will have fewer hiccups to worry about in the long run, said Natalie Pierre-Louis, licensed attorney and owner of NPL Consulting.

Federal, state, and local licenses and permits

Some businesses may also require federal, state or local licenses and permits to operate. The best place to obtain a business license is at your local city hall. You can then use the SBAs database to search for licensing requirements by state and business type.

Businesses and independent contractors in certain trades are required to carry professional licenses. One example of a professional business license is a commercial drivers license (CDL). Individuals with a CDL are allowed to operate certain types of vehicles, such as buses, tank trucks and tractor-trailers. A CDL is divided into three classes: Class A, Class B and Class C.

You should also check with your city and state to find out if you need a sellers permit that authorizes your business to collect sales tax from your customers. A sellers permit goes by numerous names, including resale permit, resell permit, permit license, reseller permit, resale ID, state tax ID number, reseller number, reseller license permit or certificate of authority.

Its important to note that these requirements and names vary from state to state. You can register for a sellers permit through the state government website of the state(s) youre doing business in.

Jordan says that not all businesses need to collect sales tax (or obtain a sellers permit).

For example, New York sales tax generally is not required for the sale of most services (such as professional services, education, and capital improvements to real estate), medicine or food for home consumption, Jordan said. So, for example, if your business only sells medicine, you do not need a New York sellers permit. But New York sales tax must be collected in conjunction with the sale of new tangible personal goods, utilities, telephone service, hotel stays, and food and beverages (in restaurants).

Key takeaway: Register key documents like articles of incorporation or an operating agreement, a DBA, an EIN, income tax forms, and other applicable licenses and permits.

6. Purchase an insurance policy.

It might slip your mind as something youll get around to eventually, but purchasing the right insurance for your business is an important step to take before you officially launch. Dealing with incidents such as property damage, theft or even a customer lawsuit can be costly, and you need to be sure that youre properly protected.

Although you should consider several types of business insurance, there are a few basic insurance plans that most small businesses can benefit from. For example, if your business will have employees, you will at least need to purchase workers compensation and unemployment insurance.

You may also need other types of coverage, depending on your location and industry, but most small businesses are advised to purchase general liability (GL) insurance, or a business owners policy. GL covers property damage, bodily injury, and personal injury to yourself or a third party.

If your business provides a service, you may also want to consider professional liability insurance. It covers you if you do something wrong or neglect to do something you should have done while operating your business.

7. Build your team.

Unless youre planning to be your only employee, youre going to need to recruit and hire a great team to get your company off the ground. Joe Zawadzki, CEO and founder of MediaMath, said entrepreneurs need to give the people element of their businesses the same attention they give their products.

Your product is built by people, Zawadzki said. Identifying your founding team, understanding what gaps exist, and [determining] how and when you will address them should be top priority. Figuring out how the team will work together  is equally important. Defining roles and responsibility, division of labor, how to give feedback, or how to work together when not everyone is in the same room will save you a lot of headaches down the line.

8. Choose your vendors.

Running a business can be overwhelming, and you and your team probably arent going to be able to do it all on your own. Thats where third-party vendors come in. Companies in every industry from HR to business phone systems exist to partner with you and help you run your business better.

When youre searching for B2B partners, youll have to choose carefully. These companies will have access to vital and potentially sensitive business data, so its critical to find someone you can trust. In our guide to choosing business partners, our expert sources recommend asking potential vendors about their experience in your industry, their track record with existing clients and what kind of growth theyve helped other clients achieve.

Not every business will need the same type of vendors, but there are common products and services that almost every business will need. Consider the following functions that are a neccessity for any type of business.

Taking payments from customers: Offering multiple payment options will ensure you can make a sale in whatever format is easiest for target customer. Youll need to compare options are find the right credit card processing provider to ensure youre getting the best rate for your type of business.

Managing finances: Many business owners can manager their own accounting functions when starting their business, but as your business grows you can save time by hiring an accountant, or comparing accounting software providers.

9. Brand yourself and advertise.

Before you start selling your product or service, you need to build up your brand and get a following of people ready to jump when you open your literal or figurative doors for business.

Company website. Take your reputation online and build a company website. Many customers turn to the internet to learn about a business, and a website is digital proof that your small business exists. It is also a great way to interact with current and potential customers.

Take your reputation online and build a company website. Many customers turn to the internet to learn about a business, and a website is digital proof that your small business exists. It is also a great way to interact with current and potential customers. Social media. Use social media to spread the word about your new business, perhaps as a promotional tool to offer coupons and discounts to followers once you launch. The best social media platforms to utilize will depend on your target audience.

Use social media to spread the word about your new business, perhaps as a promotional tool to offer coupons and discounts to followers once you launch. The best social media platforms to utilize will depend on your target audience. CRM. The best CRM software solutions allow you to store customer data to to improve how you market to them. A well-thought-out email marketing campaign can do wonders for reaching customers and communicating with your audience. To be successful, you will want to strategically build your email marketing contact list.

The best CRM software solutions allow you to store customer data to to improve how you market to them. A well-thought-out email marketing campaign can do wonders for reaching customers and communicating with your audience. To be successful, you will want to strategically build your email marketing contact list. Logo. Create a logo that can help people easily identify your brand, and be consistent in using it across all of your platforms.

Also, keep these digital assets up to date with relevant, interesting content about your business and industry. According to Ruthann Bowen, chief marketing officer at EastCamp Creative, too many startups have the wrong mindset about their websites.

The issue is they see their website as a cost, not an investment, Bowen said. In todays digital age, thats a huge mistake. The small business owners who understand how critical it is to have a great online presence will have a leg up on starting out strong.

Creating a marketing plan that goes beyond your launch is essential to building a clientele by continually getting the word out about your business. This process, especially in the beginning, is just as important as providing a quality product or service.

Ask customers to opt in to your marketing communications.

As you build your brand, ask your customers and potential customers for permission to communicate with them. The easiest way to do this is by using opt-in forms. These are forms of consent given by web users, authorizing you to contact them with further information about your business, according to Dan Edmonson, founder and CEO of Dronegenuity.

These types of forms usually pertain to email communication and are often used in e-commerce to request permission to send newsletters, marketing material, product sales, etc. to customers, Edmonson said. Folks get so many throwaway emails and other messages these days that, by getting them to opt in to your services in a transparent way, you begin to build trust with your customers.

Opt-in forms are a great starting point for building trust and respect with potential customers. Even more importantly, these forms are required by law. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 sets requirements for commercial email by the Federal Trade Commission. This law doesnt just apply to bulk email; it covers all commercial messages, which the law defines as any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service. Each email in violation of this law is subject to fines of more than $40,000.

TIP: Create a strategic marketing campaign that combines various marketing channels, like a company website, social media, email newsletters and opt-in forms.

10. Grow your business.

Your launch and first sales are only the beginning of your task as an entrepreneur. To make a profit and stay afloat, you always need to be growing your business. Its going to take time and effort, but youll get out of your business what you put into it.

Collaborating with more established brands in your industry is a great way to achieve growth. Reach out to other companies and ask for some promotion in exchange for a free product sample or service. Partner with a charity organization, and volunteer some of your time or products to get your name out there.

While these tips will help launch your business and get you set to grow, theres never a perfect plan. You want to make sure you prepare thoroughly for starting a business, but things will almost certainly go awry. To run a successful business, you must adapt to changing situations.

Free download: Weve created a sales plan template you can use to scale customer acquisition.

Be prepared to adjust, said Stephanie Murray, founder of Fiddlestix Party + Supply. Theres a saying in the military that no plan survives the first contact, meaning that you can have the best plan in the world, but as soon as its in action, things change, and you have to be ready and willing to adapt and problem-solve quickly. As an entrepreneur, your value lies in solving problems, whether that is your product or service solving problems for other people or you solving problems within your organization.

FAQs about starting a business

How can I start my own business with no money?

You can launch a successful business without any startup funds. Work on a business idea that builds on your skill set to offer something new and innovative to the market. While developing a new business, keep working in your current position (or day job) to reduce the financial risk.

Once youve developed your business idea and youre ready to start on a business plan, youll need to get creative with funding. You can raise money through investments by pitching your idea to financial backers. You could also gather funding through crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter, or set aside a certain amount of money from your weekly earnings to put toward a new business. Finally, you can seek out loan options from banks and other financial institutions as a way to get your company up and running.

What is the easiest business to start?

The easiest business to start is one that requires little to no financial investment upfront, nor should it require extensive training to learn the business. One of the easiest types of new business to launch is a dropshipping company. Dropshipping requires no inventory management, saving you the hassle of buying, storing and tracking stock. Instead, another company will fulfill your customer orders at your behest. This company will manage the inventory, package goods, and ship out your business orders. To get started, you can create an online store by selecting curated products from the catalog available through partners.

When is the best time to start a business?

Each persons ideal timeline for starting a new business will be different. First and foremost, you should start a business when you have enough time to devote your attention to the launch. If you have a seasonal product or service, then you want to start your business a quarter before your predicted busy time of the year. For nonseasonal companies, spring and fall are popular times of years to launch. Winter is the least popular launch season, because many new owners prefer to have their LLC or corporation approved for a new fiscal year.

Skye Schooley contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
There were no introductions, just pizza and a frank conversation about gender, race and diversity at a town hall meeting Monday night. It gave Northern Arizona University students a chance to share any concerns they may have regarding inclusion or other issues on campus.

My job is to make you all feel safe, Carmen Phelps, the universitys inaugural chief diversity officer, told the nearly 10 students who had gathered before asking how they would like her to advocate for them.

The students invited to meet with her this week were part of the LGBTQIA community, but Phelps plans to hold more of these meetings throughout the semester with different minority groups on campus.

President Cheng created this cabinet-level position and hired Dr. Phelps to engage the university community in an open and intensive strategic planning process, said NAU spokesperson Kim Ott.

A national search to find candidates was conducted by a committee made up of faculty, staff, students and administrators.

The three top candidates were welcomed to the Flagstaff campus for interviews at the end of April and early May, Ott said. We also held open forums so that faculty, staff, students and the community could meet the candidates and provide feedback.

Phelps came to Flagstaff from Philadelphia, where she worked at Temple University as a director in the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership.

Ott said that she was the top choice for NAU. Before accepting the position, however, I needed to be assured that there was significant interest to advance diversity ideals within the NAU community when considering what my next role in higher education might be and where, Phelps said.

The creation of NAUs Center for University Access and Inclusion and Phelps new role as chief diversity officer reflects a national trend of offering direct pipelines to the president for minority students. Protesters last December gave Cheng a list of 22 demands, many of which were along the lines of inclusion and increasing diversity awareness.

During the town hall on Monday, some of the students comments aligned with those demands, most notably in calls for more gender-neutral bathrooms, diverse clubs and the return of accessible buses for people with disabilities.

While the goal of the chief diversity officer may be to facilitate the creation of more resources for minorities, Ott said that staffing and reorganization efforts were already underway to work toward creating a more inclusive environment before Cheng had heard the demands.

Dr. Phelps has demonstrated visionary leadership in advancing university inclusion and equity initiatives, Cheng said in a press release when her hire was announced this summer. Her experience and ideas will move NAU forward while keeping us true to our commitment of fostering a diverse campus community.

Phelps will also be inviting faculty and staff to separate meetings beginning next month to get another perspective from the NAU community.

The cultures and participants at each town hall will be unique and will ultimately influence the facilitation of questions and the outcome of our conversation, Phelps said.

Some universities with chief diversity officers have also developed bias assessment and response teams as a way to support and create safe spaces for their students. The University of Northern Colorado recently disbanded its team after they attempted to censor professors by asking them not to teach controversial subjects.

Every campus community is faced with challenges when advancing diversity-centered goals, and each has the opportunity to assess the unique needs of their campus community and determine a pathway to supporting the development of its members, Phelps said. It will be my job to consider and experiment with best practices in this area given our campus' mission and unique culture.

By the end of the academic year, she aims to have a diversity strategic plan completed. This will be the universitys first long-term comprehensive diversity strategic plan that articulates clear goals, measurable standards and necessary resources (for minority groups), Ott said.

The information and data Phelps gathers at these town halls will be helpful in shaping a plan that best fits the NAU community.

I was appreciative of their willingness to share their experiences and insights with me, Phelps said of the students after their meeting.
Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved has taken the Indian FMCG market by a storm. The company, with a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore in 2015-16 is not only a household name, but has been giving close competition to major international brands. Though Baba Ramdev endorses all of Patanjali's consumer products, the man behind the formidable success of India's fastest growing FMCG brand is Ramdev's close aide, Acharya Balakrishna.

The 44-year old CEO of Patanjali has pushed the company's revenues at a rapid pace. He has not only encashed upon Baba Ramdes's huge base of followers but also attracted Indian consumers by hitting the 'swadeshi' idea.

ALSO READ: Challenges ahead for Anil Ambani as Reliance, Aircel merger talks go on



Though Ramdev is the brand ambassador of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, he does not own a single share in it. Balkrishna, on the other hand, is the brain behind the admirable growth of Patanjali as a consumer brand. He has now come in the limelight as one of the richest persons in India with a wealth of around Rs 25,600 crore.

Here are the five things that you may not know about the man behind Pantanjali:

1. Balkrishna Suvedi, also known as Acharya Balakrishna holds as much as 94 per cent of Patanjali shares and does not accept salary from the company. He heads around 34 companies and three trusts associated with Patanjali brand and Baba Ramdev.

2. Born to Nepalese parents who later migrated to India, Acharya Balakrishna was Ramdev's junior in ashram Khanpur Gurukul in Haryana. In 1995, Ramdev with his close associate, Balkrishna, set up Divya Pharmacy to make Ayurvedic and herbal medicines. Later, with Baba Ramdev's increasing popularity and substantial funds, Patanjali Ayurved was set up as a private company in 2006.

3. In 2011, he was charged with cheating and forgery for acquiring fake degrees to procure an Indian passport. His high school degree and Sanskrit degree from Sampurna Nand Sanskrit University were missing from official records. According to the CBI, his passport was issued on the basis of forged educational degrees and his Indian citizenship was also questioned. However, the case was closed two years later due to lack of evidence.

4. Balkrishna is known to maintain a low-profile. Like all other Patanjali employees, Balkrishna dresses in white to reinforce an aura of spirituality. All the decisions related to marketing strategy and advertising are usually left to Balkrishna. He is a one-man army when it comes to the operations in Patanjali. From hiring senior management staff to dealing with advertisers, he does is it all alone.

5. Balkrishna's Patanjali has given FMCG majors a run for their money. Also, the company is eyeing to hit Rs 10,000 crore revenue by 2017. Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna have formed a phenomenal partnership to grow Patanjali Ayurveda as a brand. They have achieved this by keeping the prices of the products substantially lower than the other FMCG brands and by capturing the nerve of the Indian consumers.
Amid profit concerns after the launch of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, his younger brother Anil Ambani has now agreed to merge wireless telecom business of Reliance Communications with smaller rival Aircel, which will be the largest consolidation in the country's telecom sector.

RCom and Aircel's majority owner, Malaysia's Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), on Wednesday announced signing of definitive documents for the merger of their Indian wireless businesses.

Currently Reliance Communications is the fourth-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, while Aircel ranks sixth in the market of 10 players led by Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit.

What is the deal all about:

The merger will create the country's 4th-biggest mobile phone operator with asset base of more than Rs 65,000 crore, and a net worth of Rs 35,000 crore.

RCom and Aircel will hold 50 per cent each in the new company. The board of the new company will have equal representation from the two sides.

"The RCom-Aircel combination will create a strong operator clearly ranked amongst India's top 4 telcos by customer base and revenues, also ranking amongst the top three operators by revenues in 12 important circles," both the firms said in a joint statement.

Challenges ahead:

Debt burden

Both the companies will transfer Rs 14,000 crore of debt each to the joint venture, taking the total debt of the new company to Rs 28,000 crore, excluding Rs 6,000 crore of spectrum payment liability.

The deal will help cut Reliance Communication's debt by Rs 20,000 crore ($3 billion), or more than 40 per cent of its total debt, while Aircel's debt will fall by about Rs 4,000 crore, the companies said, without disclosing their latest debt levels.

As of end-March, Reliance Communications had net debt of 413.62 billion rupees. Closely-held Aircel had 185 billion rupees of debt as of 2013, said Reuters quoting rating agency ICRA.

Upcoming spectrum auction

Both the companies though claimed that the combined entity will have the second largest spectrum portfolio, one doesn't know whether they will have enough financial might to buy adequate spectrum for better network.

A Mint report said while RCom's arrangement with Reliance Jio to use its 4G-LTE network, may allow the merged entity to do without major investment in this area, the details of the same are still in dark.

"The release does mention that the combined entity's subscribers will have access to Reliance Jio's 4G network, thanks to spectrum sharing and ICR (intra-circle roaming) arrangements. But the terms of these arrangements are not known, and it isn't clear how profitable operations will be under them," said the report.

Reliance Jio entry

The entry of Reliance Jio has sparked the fierce tariff war in the telecom space. With RJio's attractive voice and data tariff plans, the other telcos will definitely face stiff competition to secure their user base. While large operators like Bharti Airtel and Idea have an advantage of economies of scale, smaller operators like Reliance Communications and Aircel will suffer more.


India is close to finalising a long-delayed deal to buy 36 fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation, a defence ministry official said on Thursday, with the cabinet set to meet next week to agree a price.

Indian television channel NDTV reported that India had agreed to pay 7.87 billion euros ($8.84 billion) for the jets and would sign the deal on Sept. 23.

There have been several leaks to the Indian press this year that a deal had been reached that proved to be premature, as the two sides haggled over price and other terms of the deal.

A senior defence ministry official in New Delhi, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak with the media, said India's cabinet committee on security would meet on Wednesday to discuss the deal.

"We expect to sign the deal once the cabinet approves," the official said.

A spokesman for India's defence ministry said he was not aware of any specific date for signing but that a cabinet meeting was scheduled for next Wednesday. Dassault's spokesman declined to comment.

President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened in the procurement for the Rafale jets in 2015, ordering government-to-government talks after several years of commercial negotiations with Dassault had collapsed.

The leaders agreed to scale back an original plan to buy 126 Rafale planes to just 36 in fly-away condition to meet the Indian Air Force's urgent needs as it tries to modernise and face an assertive China and long-time foe Pakistan.
Shares of Reliance Communications surged nearly 4 per cent intraday after Anil Ambani-led telecom company said it has agreed to merge its wireless telecom business with smaller rival Aircel to create the country's 4th-biggest mobile phone operator with asset base of more than Rs 65,000 crore.



Reacting to the news, the stock of RCom gained as much as 3.81 per cent to Rs 53.00 on the BSE. The scrip, however, settled the day 1.63 per cent higher.

In the largest consolidation in the country's telecom sector, RCom and Aircel's majority owner, Malaysia's Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), announced signing of definitive documents for the merger of their Indian wireless businesses.

ALSO READ: iPhone optimism blasts Apple stock to 2016 high

RCom and Aircel will hold 50 per cent each in the new company. The board of the new company will have equal representation from the two sides.

"The RCom-Aircel combination will create a strong operator clearly ranked amongst India's top 4 telcos by customer base and revenues, also ranking amongst the top three operators by revenues in 12 important circles," both the firms said in a joint statement.

RCom is India's 4th-biggest telecom operator with almost 110 million customers, while Aircel ranks fifth with 84 million subscribers.

RCom had 9.8 per cent market share while Aircel had 8.5 pe cent share. Sistema, which RCom earlier merged with, had 0.7 per cent share.

Both the companies will transfer Rs 14,000 crore of debt each to the joint venture, taking the total debt of the new company to Rs 28,000 crore, excluding Rs 6,000 crore of spectrum payment liability.

The deal will help RCom pare its debt by Rs 20,000 crore (or 40 per cent of the total debt on its books).

"RCom will continue to own and operate its high growth businesses in the domestic and global enterprise space, Data Centres, optic fibre and related telecom infrastructure, besides owning valuable real estate," the statement said.

MTS (Sistema) will continue to hold 10 per cent stake in RCom, with no presence on the board.
Air Asia, one of the main low-cost carriers in the region, has continued to expand in India after it commenced operations in June 2014.

On Wednesday, the budget airline announced a plan to expand its fleet size to 20 by 2018. The proposed expansion is expected to boost budget carrier's domestic as well as international operations.

But, more importantly, it possibly means more discounts, cheaper flight tickets for flyers in the country. Air Asia is known to offer big sales and heavy discounts in advance booking.

ALSO READ: Five things you do not know about Balkrishna, the man behind Patanjali

In fact, to celebrate the induction of its new aircraft and the introduction of a new route, AirAsia India is offering limited promotional seats for all-inclusive-fares from as low as Rs 2,999 from Hyderabad to Kochi and vice versa.

Guests can start booking their flights on the company's website from Wednesday, a press release said.

AirAsia India Chief Executive Amar Abrol said the company will soon infuse "millions of dollars" in the next two years to meet its expansion plans in India.

"Our game plan, that has been approved by the AirAsia Board, is to get roughly, over the course of 2017 or 2018, 20 aircraft. We ourselves want to get 20 aircraft as soon as possible. That will allow us to fly international. By end of 2018, I think we will be there (having 20 aircraft)," Abrol said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Abrol said the low-cost carrier will be operating its latest aircraft between Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi from October 8. The no-frills budget carrier is offering lifetime free flights to Indian gold medallists, five years and three years of free flights to silver and bronze medallists at the Olympics and Paralympics in Brazil.

AirAsia India currently flies to 11 destinations with hubs in Bengaluru and New Delhi covering Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Goa, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Kochi in its destination network.

Tata Sons holds 51 per cent stake in the no-frills carrier, while the rest is with Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd.
The government will soon launch three expressway projects-Delhi-Amritsar-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai-soon at a cost of about Rs 1,32,000 crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. The minister also announced Rs 1,500-crore expressway project between Kanpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

"We will soon start three important expressway projects that would reduce travel time significantly between Delhi-Katra, Delhi-Jaipur and Vadodara-Mumbai. These would entail a total project cost of Rs 1,32,000 crore," Gadkari said.

He hoped that the travel distance to these destinations will reduce significantly once the projects are operationalised.

As per the plan, Amritsar could be reached via Delhi in up to 3 hours after completion of the Rs 60,000-crore Amritsar-Delhi expressway, which will reduce travel duration by over two hours.

Also on the anvil is a project connecting Jalandhar to Ajmer that will bring down the travel time to 5 hours.

Meetings in this regard are scheduled with chief ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.

Uttar Pradesh



A Rs 1,500-crore expressway project between Kanpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh would also be launched soon, Gadkari said.

The project is part of Rs 2-lakh crore highway projects in the state, the road minister said.

"Detailed project report is being prepared for an eight-lane access controlled expressway between Kanpur and Lucknow. The estimated cost of the project would be around Rs 1,500 crore," the minister said.

Once completed, "Kanpur to Lucknow distance can be travelled in 35-40 minutes", Gadkari said adding that it will be an elevated road.

The minister said massive road network would be laid in the entire state and the government has planned at least Rs 2 lakh crore projects of which work on about Rs 70,000 crore projects is underway.

Gadkari last month laid foundation of three projects-Rs 806 crore Varanasi-Jaunpur stretch on National Highway No 56, Rs 785 crore Varanasi-Ajamgarh stretch on National Highway No 233 and Varanasi-Gazipur stretch on NH 29.

The minister said Rs 868 crore would be spent on Varanasi-Gazipur stretch. These highway stretches are scheduled to be completed by June 2018.

Gadkari said these stretches would result in all-round development of the state by promoting seamless flow of cargo traffic and passengers, and also also promote tourism and minimise the accidents.

Gadkari said there were plans to promote cargo traffic in a big way on the Ganga river.

"Our experiment to transport Maruti cars from Varanasi to Haldia has been successful. Now few other automobile companies like Mahindra have also come forward," he said.

The minister said it will be gamechanger and transportation through water will bring down the prices of Maruti cars in North East and West Bengal by Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 each.

The minister said transportation of steel, cement and fertilisers would also be started soon.

"At present 20 lakh tonne of cargo is moved through Ganga which will be expanded to 200 lakh tonne of cargo by 2018, and we are setting up three multi-modal hubs on Ganga."

As part of plans to develop waterways and make the Ganga river navigable, Gadkari last month laid the foundation stone of a Rs 211-crore multi-modal terminal in Varanasi.

The phase 1 of the multi-modal terminal would be built at a cost of Rs 211 crore and would be ready by August 2018.

The terminal is part of Rs 4,200-crore Jal Marg Vikas project to enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1,500-2,000 DWT Tonnage from Varanasi to Haldia.

There are plans to promote seaplanes on Ganga as well.
German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer clinched a $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds company Monsanto on Wednesday, ending months of wrangling with a third sweetened offer that marks the largest all-cash deal on record.

The $128-a-share deal, up from Bayer's previous offer of $127.50 a share, has emerged as the signature deal in a consolidation race that has roiled the agribusiness sector in recent years, due to shifting weather patterns, intense competition in grain exports and a souring global farm economy.

"Bayers competitors are merging, so not doing this deal would mean having a competitive disadvantage," said fund manager Markus Manns of Union Investment, one of Bayers top 12 investors.

Grain prices are hovering near their lowest levels in years amid a global supply glut, and farm incomes have plunged.

But the proposed merger will likely face an intense and lengthy regulatory process in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the European Union and elsewhere. Hugh Grant, Monsanto's chief executive, said Wednesday the companies will need to file in about 30 jurisdictions for the merger.

Competition authorities are likely to scrutinize the tie-up closely, and some of Bayer's own shareholders have been highly critical of a takeover that they say risks overpaying and neglecting the company's pharmaceutical business.

If the deal closes, it will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.

What the newly-formed company would be named is unclear.

Grant said on Wednesday's media conference call that the future of the Monsanto brand has not yet been discussed, but the world's largest seed company is "flexible" about the name going forward.

The transaction includes a $2-billion break-up fee that Bayer will pay to Monsanto should it fail to get regulatory clearance. Bayer expects the deal to close by the end of 2017.

The details confirm what a source close to the matter told Reuters earlier.

Baader Helevea Equity Research analyst Jacob Thrane, with a "sell" rating on Bayer, said the German company was paying 16.1 times Monsanto's forecast core earnings for 2017, more than the 15.5 times ChemChina agreed to pay for Swiss crop chemicals firm Syngenta last year. He also said there was uncertainty over what the combined company would look like as regulators might demand asset sales.

Bernstein Research analysts said on Tuesday they saw only a 50 percent chance of the deal winning regulatory clearance, although they cited a survey among investors that put the likelihood at 70 percent on average.

"We believe political push-back to this deal, ranging from farmer dissatisfaction with all their suppliers consolidating in the face of low farm net incomes to dissatisfaction with Monsanto leaving the United States, could provide significant delays and complications," they wrote in a research note.

Bayer said it was offering a 44-percent premium to Monsanto's share price on May 9, the day before it made its first written proposal.

It plans to raise $19 billion to help fund the deal by issuing convertible bonds and new shares to its existing shareholders, and said banks had also committed to providing $57 billion of bridge financing.

Bayer shares rose 0.3 percent to 93.55 euros. Monsanto's were up 0.6 percent at $106.76.(Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The European Commission published on Thursday a list of 81 countries and jurisdictions that have a higher chance of facilitating tax avoidance and may be subject to further screening and even sanctions if all EU states agree.

The "scoreboard" is the first step in a process that should be concluded next year with the first European Union's blacklist of tax havens, which is part of a wider plan to curb tax avoidance and tax evasion by multinationals and wealthy individuals.

The preliminary lists includes countries and jurisdictions widely seen as facilitators of tax avoidance, such as Panama, Bermuda and Hong Kong. But it also lists economic and political giants like the United States, Japan, China, Australia and Canada.

The initial list is the result of an assessment of all countries in the world and is based on indicators such as the economic ties with the EU and the volume of financial activities.

"There can be legitimate reasons for a country to appear high on certain indicators," the Commission said in a note. "Therefore, there is no stigma linked to the countries that feature higher on the scoreboard," the note added.

The list will serve EU countries to decide which countries and jurisdictions may need a further screening of their tax practices.

At the end of the process, if a country is seen as a tax haven by EU countries and refuses to cooperate to change its practices, it may be subject to sanctions.

EU countries have traditionally had widely different positions on tax havens, and may find it difficult to agree on countries to be blacklisted. (Reuters)



Source: www.businessworld.ie
Preliminary CSO figures for July 2016 show that seasonally adjusted goods exports decreased by 1,154 million (-11%) to 8,918 million compared with June 2016.

The EU accounted for 4,464 million (49%) of total goods exports in July 2016 of which 1,056 million went to Belgium and 1,075 million to Great Britain.

Food & Live Animals generated 320 million in July, from Great Britain, Chemicals and Related Products 337 million and Machinery and Transport equipment contributed 215 million towards the total.

The USA was the main non-EU destination accounting for 2,144 million (24%) of total exports in July 2016. Chemicals and related products made up the over half of export value to the USA bringing in 1,166 million.

Total Imports of Petroleum decreased by 124 million (-35%) to 229 million in July 2016 compared with July 2015.

Imports of Medical and pharmaceutical products increased by 188 million (+44%) to 611 million over the same period.



Source: www.businessworld.ie
The longer this campaign lasts, the more Im ready to believe Donald Trump is the Slim Shady of modern political journalism. Hes been sent here to destroy us. Either that, or hes glommed onto the fatal weakness at its heart  and is doing whatever he can to let it destroy itself.

Whatever the case, the voodoo he has worked has been astonishing to see play out.

Trumps genius has been his willingness to say, do and propose things so outlandish, so unsettling in tone and substance  so disqualifying under the old rules  that theyve caused the system to malfunction. Trump looks at the mainstream press as a man holding a stack of thick cardboard sheets might look at an office copy machine. He knows if he sticks enough of them through the copier at once, the machine will jam.

Trump is a walking, talking, tweeting robot of bad ideas, cheap instincts and demonstrable falsehoods. For months, he has jammed one astounding example of perfidy after another down Americas throat. He knew sooner or later the political press would malfunction as it tried to keep up. This might be the week he gets what hes been waiting for.

Coverage of Hillary Clintons pneumonia and her talk about Trumps basket of deplorables has perfectly illustrated why even some of this nations best journalists can sometimes be so very bad at writing about politics.

Dan Balz at the Post is one of the best in the business, but he just couldnt help hammering Clinton for attacking Trumps people as deplorable on Friday. Attack Trump, he wrote? No problem, he wrote. Attack his people? Major party foul.

What rubbish. Lots of Trumps supporters are deplorable. Theres nothing wrong with Clinton saying so. Some are racist, some are sexist, some are homophobic, just as she said. Some of his supporters just want to hang Clinton in effigy, or beat up protesters.

But half? I sure hope not. But Clinton conceded right from the top that she was speaking in bald generalities. Besides, she was telling her liberal supporters that while, yes, some Trump voters arent reachable because of their biases, millions of his likely voters are not that at all. She said they support him because they are desperate for new leadership, new politics and for prosperity.

Shes right, and the NeverTrumpers who overlook that are making a huge mistake.

Still, by Monday night, NPRs Mara Liasson was reporting that nothing seemed to be going right for Clinton. And when she took ill on Sunday, and it was revealed that she had known for two whole days that she had walking pneumonia and hadnt alerted the Republic, it wasnt just a mistake. It was proof, in many writers eyes, that Clinton had trust issues.

Sure, the thinking went, her critics make up miserable lies about her all the time, and often enough. But if only she werent so secretive, it wouldnt be quite so easy!

Ah, the horror. But what the handwringers miss is that for all his bluster, Trump remains very much a losing candidate. Sure, Clintons chances of winning arent quite where they were month ago, when The Upshot put her chances at 89 percent to Trumps 11. But they have positively soared from where they were in early June and much higher than in late July.

Even over at Fivethirtyeight.com, which also keeps a running forecast, Clinton is doing well. On Tuesday, it reported her chances at 69 percent, to Trumps 31 percent. Not a lock, but a nail biter? Hardly.

I am less worried about Clintons chances than I am about what this election says about the presss structural defects. Because for all the talk that the media are biased, I believe the bigger problem for the media is structural. And the biggest flaw is tucked right inside one of the medias virtues: Modern political journalism cant abide an unfair fight and its set up to value, even demand, a good contest.

This is how it works. Reporters, by instinct and training, look for the middle position. If nature abhors a vacuum, the political press equally abhors an outlier. So if every candidate in modern history has provided tax returns, and Trump doesnt? Then Trump is in for a beating. Hes not staying in the boundaries of fair play, and, therefore, hes fair game for a drubbing.

Gary Hart gets caught with a mistress. Hes hounded straight out of the race. Joe Biden lifts some lines from a British pol in a speech; hes done. George McGovern picks a running mate with a history of depression and shock treatment? So long Thomas Eagleton and hello Sergeant Shriver.

Thats how the media play. You step out of line, and you get hammered. You either step back within the acceptable boundaries, if you can, or you keep getting hammered until youre done.

But what happens when a candidate never steps back in line? And he doesnt quit? And no matter how bad you bash him, he keeps giving you more reason?

The press, ever eager for a spot in the middle, stretches the boundaries all the way up to where Trump is. Trump creates a new normal. And so he suddenly finds himself back in the sweet spot. Way back on the other side of the field? Thats Clinton, and every time she takes even the slightest stumble, shes going to get hammered now, too.

It keeps the race closer, less boring, and it enables the reporters to be right in the middle where they like to be, bashing one side then the other. It feels fair.

Only, its not. Its not fair. And its not good journalism, either.
Investor advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended SABMiller shareholders vote in favor of its takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev, adding to the likelihood of the $100 billion-plus beer mega-merger getting done.

One of the biggest deals in corporate history, which will marry brands such as Budweiser, Stella Artois, Fosters and Corona, has been endorsed by both companies' boards. It will face a shareholder vote on Sept. 28.

Glass Lewis said the cash offer was a fair price at which SABMiller shareholders could cash out and immediately realize a significant premium. It also said the deal represented a historically high valuation multiple.

"Based on these factors, along with the unanimous support of the board, we believe the proposed acquisition is in the best interests of shareholders," the firm said in its report. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Ripple, a U.S. start-up which uses the blockchain technology that underpins digital currency bitcoin to help banks speed up their dealings with one another, has raised a further $55 million from investors, it said on Thursday.

The investors include Standard Chartered and Accenture, and take the total amount of money raised by the company so far to $93 million, it said, one of the largest sums raised by a blockchain start-up. Fellow San Francisco-based blockchain firm Coinbase has raised a total of $117 million.

Ripple offers banks a way to transact with each other directly using blockchain, without the need for an intermediary. Its backers including Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's best-known venture capitalists.

Blockchain technology - also known as distributed ledger or distributed financial technology - works as an electronic record-keeping and transaction-processing system, which requires no third-party verification.

Banks are increasingly investing in the technology, betting it will cut settlement times and make transactions faster, more reliable and easier to audit.

Total investment in blockchain over the past three years is approaching $1.5 billion, according to the World Economic Forum.

"This investment is part of our commitment to the bank's digitization agenda," said Standard Chartered's global head of transaction banking, Alex Manson. "Ripple is one of the most advanced distributed financial technology companies in the industry."

Spanish bank Santander said earlier this year it was using Ripple in a pilot program for staff who wanted to send money overseas.

The other investors in Ripple's Series B fundraising round included SCB Digital Ventures - the venture arm of Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank - and Japan's SBI Holdings.

Ripple also said it had added several new banks to its network, with banks such as Mizuho and National Australia Bank joining those already in its network, including UBS and UniCredit. (Reuters)



Source: www.businessworld.ie
The International Monetary Fund said its board on Wednesday approved a long-awaited loan disbursement to Ukraine of about $1 billion after a review of the country's bailout program.

The IMF has agreed to pump $17.5 billion into Ukraine's economy in a four-year bailout, releasing the funds in installments subject to the government making progress on economic and anti-corruption reforms.

To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion in the program launched in March 2015.

The latest disbursement was less than the roughly $1.7 billion anticipated, after some reforms required by the fund had stalled.

But the IMF said in a statement that the board had approved waivers for Kiev's failure to meet criteria related to international reserves targets, external payments arrears and foreign exchange restrictions.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the disbursement would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.

In a statement, he said a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed, and that the funds' release would help keep the hryvnia currency stable and aid the economy.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said.

Last week, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September.

The IMF cash and external loans should boost foreign currency reserves to $17.2 billion by the end of the year, a central bank deputy governor, Oleh Churiy, said, welcoming the IMF decision as a positive signal for domestic and foreign investors.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement after the board's vote that Ukraine was showing signs of recovery and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system.

"Further progress in fiscal reforms is key to ensure medium-term sustainability," Lagarde said, calling for pension reforms and tax policies that would avoid higher deficits, and the restructuring of state-owned enterprises. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Nominations for the World Bank's next leader have closed with current president Jim Yong Kim the only candidate nominated, the bank said on Wednesday, virtually guaranteeing him another five-year term.

The Washington-based multilateral lender said that executive directors will meet with Kim in accordance with previously announced selection procedures, with the expectation that the process will be completed by the time of the Oct. 3-9 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Plans for a master-planned community were presented at the weekly Rotary Club meeting Wednesday. The neighborhood will include the area of Evergreen Golf Course that the city did not purchase.
Spain is in a war of words against the English language

Published on September 15, 2016

Story by Ana Valiente Translation by: Charlotte Walmsley

en

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pl

it

fr

de

English dominates the worlds of business, advertising and social media. Anglicisms are spreading like wildfire through French, Spanish and Italian, and not everyone is happy with it. In the modern war of words, the English language has launched a full-scale linguistic offensive. [OPINION]

In Spain, dropping foreign words into conversation is not necessarily a sign of intelligence. It's an odd experience when you are chatting with other native Spanish speakers and you unwittingly use anglicisms like "brainstorming", "target" and "fashion", despite having perfectly acceptable Spanish equivalents at your disposal. Of course, one of your friends will think that you are showing off and just want to brag when, in reality, you are revealing your inability to master either language.

European languages are constantly in flux. Freedom of movement has brought with it linguistic as well as social change and, as a result, our way of speaking is evolving at the speed of light. As Spaniards, we spend our entire lives grappling with the language of Virginia Woolf and yet we use foreign terminology without even breaking a sweat. English has an undisputed monopoly over our newly acquired vocabulary as the lingua franca of science, advertising and social media. Sometimes these terms are used for convenience, and sometimes for no real reason at all. The Real Academia Espanola (RAE), whose motto has been to "neaten, fix and give splendour" to the Spanish language since 1713, does not like these new linguistic changes one bit.

The 46 academics of this centuries-old Madrid-based institution, of whom only 8 are women, have taken a clear stance on this issue: we only have one mother tongue and we must protect it. "English is taking over advertising from outside and from within, and this is all because we have been made to believe that it sounds better than Spanish." So, what's their plan of counter-attack? An audiovisual campaign that hits consumers right where it hurts: their ignorance. Two fake products were launched with adverts in English, inviting consumers to order them online for free. One advert promoted glasses with a "blinding effect" and the other, a perfume with a "pig scent." As was to be expected, many fell for this trap, blinded by the products' showy presentation. But whose fault was it? The consumer for their foolishness, or the seller for their abuse of their power?

The RAE campaign lead by the Grey Spain agency, which ingeniously criticises the "invasion" of anglicisms in the labour market.

There are no borders in the European Union but there are indeed 24 official languages, the defence of which has been no mean feat in the 21st century. Take for example the attention-grabbing campaign led by the CSA (Conseil Superieur de LAudiovisuel) in France, which addresses French speakers who use (and abuse) franglais and text speak, ordering them to: "Say it in French. Our language is beautiful. Use it."

"Why can't you choose between speaking French or English? I'm bored of talking to you."

In Italy, there's an initiative called #Dilloinitaliano (#SayItInItalian), led by blogger Annamaria Testa, that calls upon the government, public administration and the media to "speak a bit more Italian, please." In Germany, the opposite is happening. Not only do they love anglicisms, they have started creating their own: adapting words to sound English, even if they do not already exist. From the word "pullover", meaning "sweater", they have created a new term for a sleeveless sweater: the "pullunder." From the word "hand", they revolutionised the world of telephonic communication with "handy", meaning "mobile". We Spaniards are also experts in this field: we created "footing" (jogging), "puenting" (bungee-jumping) and "alto standing" (high standing).

"So trendy, so cool, so ridiculous"

While no-one would deny that languages should maintain their own personality and idiosyncrasies, this negative view of language evolution could seem a little alarmist and exaggerative. We should not forget that languages are living things that frequently cross borders, much like people. At times, we will inevitably start using a new word, leading to the disappearance of another. Maybe the vocabulary that is considered to be an intrusion today, will be considered an innovation tomorrow. Take for example, the Spanish word "bulevar" that derives from "boulevard", "estatus" from "status" and many other words that have simply been added to the dictionary as new synonyms, such as "ballet" as a synonym of "classical dance."

However, while the RAE is battling against the perceived invasion of anglicisms that replace and marginalise terms that already exist, the Spanish language has been appropriating vocabulary from its neighbours throughout history. Yet, to its delight, it has not only not disappeared; it has become the second most spoken language in the world. Nevertheless, we have German to thank for the word "aspirin", Greek for "atmosphere", and Arabic for our beloved "ole!"

We also have to remember of course that Spanish words crop up in other languages. Many Spanish terms have infiltrated the English-speaking vernacular: "aficionado", "cojones", "to go solo", "mi casa es su casa", "que sera sera", "macho", "guerrilla", "going mano a mano", and "manana." As for French speakers, they have become accustomed to expressions such as: "siestas", "chorizo", "basta", "gazpacho", "la plancha", "tapas", "fiesta", "macho", and "faire la ola" (making waves). Italians use "golpe", "desaparecidos", "goleador", "la movida" and "al buen retiro" (which refers to a secret spot where lovers meet!).

We should let languages change and evolve naturally, allowing them to forge their own paths. We should live and let live or, as they say in Poland, "zycie jak w Madrycie" (live like those in Madrid do).

---

This article is part of our Tower of Babel series, looking at the vagaries of European languages.

Story by Ana Valiente Spanish freelance journalist based in Madrid. Currently exploring the boundless world of documentary filmmaking.

Translated from La ineludible irrupcion de las palabras
When is hurricane season? Here's what you need to know in South Texas
GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Corbin walks the red carpet as he presents his drawing for the Driscoll Children's Hospital Holiday Cards on Wednesday.

SHARE GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Mikayla walks the red carpet as she presents her drawing for the Driscoll Children's Hospital Holiday Cards on Wednesday. GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES Lindsey stands next to her drawing.

By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times

Driscoll Children's Hospital looked more like Southern California than South Texas.

With a walk of fame in the hallway and a red carpet in the auditorium, the hospital was reminiscent of Hollywood so the staff could honor their favorite local celebrities  the children they serve.

Ten current and former Driscoll patients were celebrated Wednesday for being the artists behind this year's holiday cards.

Corbin Estes, 9, dressed the part as he strolled down the carpet with a tuxedo T-shirt and top hat. Corbin's holiday card was his depiction of an angel.

"They're my favorite," Corbin said as he autographed his cards for family and hospital staff.

Erica Reese, Corbin's mother, felt joy when she watched her son get a moment in the spotlight.

"We've never had anything like this before," Reese said. "It's really exciting. I could see a little bit of him in (his card)."

Each year, hospital patients draw holiday cards that get narrowed down by a panel of judges. It's a job that volunteer Pennie Parker said she doesn't envy.

"I know they have a hard time choosing," Parker said. "I wouldn't be able to do it."

Among the children honored was Elissa Longoria, a Carroll High School student who died May 10 of cancer. Her younger siblings honored her and brought out a picture of her while they were on the red carpet.

The cards are sold in packs of 20 for $18 and can be purchased at www. driscollchildrens.org.

Proceeds from holiday items sold by the hospital go to the Marcia K. Wilcox Scholarship, which has helped 97 cancer patients at the hospital since the fund's inception.

Twitter: @Caller_Fares
Some of the survival techniques that worked before are not so useful back in "The World."

This is an AK47 rifle.

When I returned from Vietnam, I went back to work at my old company while still attending college. I worked in the warehouse and every afternoon when the trucks came in to pick up the freight the driver for Brown Truck Line would come in the parking lot which was slightly downhill. He would switch off the ignition, coast a bit and then switch it back on. If you have never done that I do not recommend it as it could blow off your muffler.

When he switched back on the buildup gas would blow and make a huge backfire sound. I would drop to the floor like a limp dishrag. Everyone got a big laugh over the fact that I would hit the floor before whatever I was carrying hit the floor.. I took it in good humor and considered it just an adjustment back to civilian life. The joke eventually grew old and he stopped but I will never forget him, my nickname for him was a$$holeJack.

One of my workmates would take a book and slam it down on the packing bench. It never failed to get the same reaction. A salesmen that worked out of that office was a Korean War veteran. He told me not to worry the startle reaction would go away eventually.

For about a year, I would jump at every loud sound or pop that came unexpectedly. My least favorite holiday was the Fourth of July. The random fireworks would drive me crazy.

The psychological term is "hyper-vigilance" which is an exaggerated sensitivity to stimulus which causes an over reactive behavior. I guess that is why they say to be careful when waking up a combat soldier.

The reaction to noise becomes instinctive but is no guarantee of safety. The AK47 has a muzzle velocity of about 2400 feet per second and a fire rate of about 600 rounds per minute (assuming unlimited ammo supply). Using rounding off it takes about 3 or 4 seconds to empty a 30 round magazine on full rock and roll. The speed of sound is about 1100 feet per second. The bullet will reach you twice as fast as the sound. If you are lucky, you will hear the zip of the bullet as it passes you before you will hear the muzzle blast. Depending on how close "Sir Charles" is several bullets may pass before you hear the muzzle blast. One of the training techniques used in infantry training back then was live fire practice. You would get in a ditch with a stopwatch and they would fire an AK47 over you. The idea was to time the sound and try to estimate the distance to the enemy. It was also to acclimate you to the sound of a bullet going over your head. Sounds great in practice but in reality you do not need a stopwatch cause the last thing you are doing is trying to estimate how far away he is. The sounds are so close together you won't have time to count. If the rifle is 100 yards away, that is 300 feet divided by 1100 FPS or .27 (1/4) second to hear the muzzle blast. (300/ 1100= 0.2727272727272727). I guess you could round off the decimal to two places.

The simple fact is that if you hear the "snap / muzzle blast" say a prayer of thanks because several rounds have already missed you. About the only thing that you could depend on during a firefight, when there was plenty of muzzle noise around, was that if you heard the snap you knew they were shooting at you.

Here is a video that demonstrates how fast you can unload a full 30 round magazine in an AK47 on burst and full auto. The full auto is 2.94 seconds to fire all 30 rounds.

Here is bullet sound going over your head. It sounds like green bamboo crack followed by muzzle blast. What you hear is the crack of the bullet and then the muzzle fire, which is almost one sound at 110 yards.

They say that Superman was faster than a speeding bullet but I think that several times I had him beat by a full second. Would someone please pass the toilet paper?
Jose Longoria, Inna Klein

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By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times

The race for 214th District Court judge pits two candidates who tout different styles for running the people's courtroom.

Incumbent Jose Longoria and municipal court judge Inna Klein each said they want to be public servants as they vied for lawyers' votes during a Corpus Christi Bar Association luncheon Wednesday. About 100 lawyers attended.

Longoria emphasized his time in the 214th District Court. He's won four elections and has sat on the bench 16 years.

Klein, a Republican, emphasized her endorsements, including from the Corpus Christi Police Officers' Association, Nueces County Sheriff Officer's Association, and the local American Federation of Teachers.

Longtime Democrat Longoria acknowledged he hasn't always been popular with lawyers who may not like the strict way he runs his court. He told a story of holding an aggressive lawyer in contempt of court after the lawyer was disrespectful to the judge and deputies.

"Integrity is something you do whether you like it or not," Longoria said. "I do what I'm supposed to do."

Klein said her experience as a municipal court judge has prepared her for balancing professionalism and compassion in the state district court.

"I'd love for everybody to be respectful and courteous and for everybody who comes into that court to feel like they were heard, that their day in court was legit," Klein said.

The candidates talked about establishing a domestic violence court. Longoria suggested modeling it after the existing drug court 117th District Judge Sandra Watts started. Longoria has presided over it the last few years, a job he considers to be among his greatest accomplishments.

"These are people who would not have had an opportunity had we not stepped up and done that," Longoria said.

Klein said she's met with legislators about starting such a court and volunteered to preside over it if elected. She's studied existing domestic violence courts in New York and other areas.

"I believe it's an epidemic that needs to be addressed soon, especially with the children," Klein said.

The bar association does not endorse candidates, however its about 650 members are invited to participate in a Candidates' Preference Poll. Those results will be released Sept. 23.

The next luncheon will feature district attorney candidates Mark Gonzalez and James Gardner on Oct. 12.

Election day is Nov. 8. Oct. 11 is the deadline to register to vote.

Twitter: @CallerKMT
SHARE Natalia Contreras/Caller-Times Youth Summit organizers had a planning meeting at the Corpus Christi Independent School District headquarters Wednesday. The summit will be at Miller and Veterans Memorial high schools on Sept. 21.

By Natalia Contreras of the Caller-Times

Community leaders want to educate teens on when and where to seek help in an effort to prevent violence.

The first Youth Summit hosted by the NAACP and the Corpus Christi Independent School District aims to bring the help and resources teens need straight to them.

"We saw youth going in the wrong directions all over the nations and locally as community leaders we want to put them in the right track," NAACP chapter president Terry Mills said. "We as leaders want to say 'Enough to all the violence and discrimination' and we want to help them."

The summit will begin at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 21 at Miller High School and at 1:30 p.m. that same day at Veterans Memorial High School, Mills said.

Presentations will be provided by Corpus Christi elected officials, CCISD representatives, different law enforcement agencies, advocacy groups, clergy and business owners.

Students from 9th to 12th grade at both high schools will participate and the speaker presentations will also be live streamed to other area high schools.

CCISD superintendent Roland Hernandez said the organizing committee planned for the summit for several months.

"It's about creating an awareness, talking about making good decisions and the different people and partners working together to help them," Hernandez said. "A lot of times teens don't want to ask for help. On this day we'll be reaching thousands of students who'll have a chance to listen."

One of the presentations will focus on teen dating violence, said Kellie Addison, chief community relations officer for the Women's Shelter of South Texas.

"We want to share resources about where teens can go if they are in a violent relationship," Addison said. "We'll also offer tips for friends or family members of those who may be experiencing family violence."

Addison said teens sometimes get overlooked when it comes to violence and abusive relationships.

"There's a high percentage of teens who experience emotional and physical abuse," Addison said. "We'll talk about consent and respect and the red flags they'll need to look out for."

Students in 11th and 12th grade who enter the Right Choices at the Right Time essay contest will have a chance to earn scholarships.

Instructions to enter the contest will be given at the event, Mills said.

Twitter: @CallerNatalia

IF YOU GO

WHAT: 2016 Youth Summit

WHEN: Sept. 21: 9:30 a.m. at Miller High School and 1:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial High School.

INFORMATION: naacp@sprint.blackberry.net
Aiden Malacas, Balitmore, Md. gets assistance from a volunteer with the Surfers Healing tour catch a wave in Ocean City. on August 17, 2016.(Photo: Staff Photo by Megan Raymond)

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By Hannah Carroll, hcarroll2@dmg.gannett.com

Liam Malacas let out a piercing scream.

He kicked and wriggled as a set of skilled hands hoisted him into the air.

He was dragged toward the water, his cries muffled by the sound of the waves.

To someone watching, the scene looked grim, perhaps.

But Malacas was perfectly safe and exactly where he was supposed to be.

In fact, his parents were close by watching everything unfold for Liam, and their 6-year-old son Aiden.

They were smiling and waving  cheering on their autistic, 3-year-old son while tears streamed down their faces.

"It's OK Liam," his mother Alona Malacas said. "It's OK baby."

Breakthrough

The Malacas' brought their son to Ocean City on Wednesday, Aug. 17, for a special reason.

Not to watch him cry out in distress but to see him do something he has never done before  surf.

They traveled from to Ocean City to participate in a surfing camp with a simple message.

"We take kids with autism surfing," said Israel "Izzy" , professional surfer and co-founder of Surfers Healing.

Paskowitz and his wife, Danielle, created the nonprofit 20 years ago, after they experienced a breakthrough with their own autistic son, Isaiah.

Aiden Malacas, Balitmore, Md. gets assistance from a volunteer with the Surfers healing tour catch a wave in Ocean City. on August 17, 2016. (Photo: Staff Photo by Megan Raymond)

"He was having a meltdown, and I threw him into the ocean," he said. "When his head popped back up, he was different. He was smiling."

Paskowitz watched the transformation, time and time again, in Isaiah.

"There is something powerful about the weightlessness of floating, the lightness of riding a wave  it's therapeutic," he said.

Since the family's breakthrough in 1996, Surfers Healing has grown across the world.

The nonprofit now works with nearly 5,000 autistic children around the world, puts them on a surfboard with a pro surfer, and lets the magic happen.

"Surfing isn't a cure for autism, believe me," he said. "But you'd be surprised at the difference a day at the beach can make."

More than 100 families participated in this year's local surf camp, held at 37th Street in Ocean City.

Kat Trammel, co-chairwoman of the Ocean City chapter, said the power of the event never ceases to amaze her. She created the local camp, featuring surfing sessions, free food, arts and crafts, music and games with Woody German and Kelly and Dale Loeser seven years ago.

Together, they've helped hundreds enjoy a day at the beach.

The two are hoping to expand the event from one day to two, depending on the availability of the surfers, many of which travel from New Zealand, Australia, California, Hawaii and other places around the world.

READ MORE:At 40, Ocean Bowl is paved into OC skateboarding culture

Laura Mazza's 8-year-old son Jude, has participated for the last three years.

"He absolutely loves it," she said. "And I love it, too. It's wonderful getting to watch him light up out there."

The event helps Mazza and her family feel normal by allowing them to relish in a day without fear and anxiety, and potential judgment from others.

"Here, you are surrounded by people who truly get what you're going through," she said. "It's like we're all reading the exact same book of life, we're just on different pages and adding in our own chapters. It's incredibly uplifting."

The families aren't the only ones who feel it.

Ask anyone who has experienced Surfers Healing, whether as a participant, volunteer or a spectator, and they are likely to tell you that there is something truly magical that happens.

Rob Tinus, a local surfer from , knew it the moment he saw the camp in action seven years ago. He has been volunteering ever since.

"I just knew I had to be a part of it," he said. "Surfers Healing is a beautiful thing."

READ MORE:Football player Julian Medina has autism, but he hasn't let that define him.

Tinus describes the annual event as one of the most fun and rewarding he's ever experienced.

However, dragging a screaming kid into the water isn't always easy, but the payoff is more than worth it.

"Your heart feels for them," he said. "They are literally fighting you to get away. But when you get out there with them, the tension disappears. They stop yelling, they stop clenching their fists and they become calm.

"It's like they find peace."

Aiden Malacas, Balitmore, Md. gets assistance from a volunteer with the Surfers healing tour catch a wave in Ocean City. on August 17, 2016. (Photo: Staff Photo by Megan Raymond)

Getting out is the hardest part

Alona and RJ Malacas stood on the beach holding one another.

Their son, Liam, was no longer screaming.

Instead, he was smiling, perched on top of a volunteer surfer's shoulders.

The crowd cheered as the pair rode into shore, and Liam reluctantly set foot on solid ground.

He was presented with a small golden trophy. He inspected it, held it triumphantly in the air and ran toward his parents.

"I was worried," Alona Malacas said. "But I'm glad we did this. We're never going to forget what they gave us today."
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The state's latest filing in the voter ID lawsuit reconfirms what the critics, including ourselves, have been saying all along  that Texas officials would rather limit than encourage turnout.

Apparently, all the state had to do to mitigate a Justice Department complaint was to insert the word "reasonably" into its voter education literature. The state chose instead to fight, incurring the expense and, with the general election looming, the time of having its lawyers draft a rebuttal.

How refreshing it would have been to see the state agree to the Justice Department's demand, in the spirit of helping Texans exercise their legal right to vote. How reassuring it would have been to see mostly low-income and minority voters not be treated by the state as the enemy.

The state's top leaders, all the way up to Gov. Greg Abbott, who engaged this battle when he still was the state's attorney general, would have us believe that in-person vote fraud is the enemy, aided and abetted by President Barack Obama's Justice Department. Don't believe it. Voting fraudulently by showing up at the polls in person is an offense that the state can't prove exists  because it practically doesn't.

But in-person vote fraud was the ruse used to pass the ID law in 2011. Requiring a photo ID isn't unreasonable, but the state was deliberately restrictive in the kinds of ID it would accept. For example, it wouldn't accept a student ID, employee ID or expired license  as if the person pictured stopped being that person once the license was out of date.

The ID law went into effect in 2013. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it discriminatory  in time for the general election. The court returned the case to U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi so she could determine how to make it nondiscriminatory for the election, in anticipation of a more permanent nondiscriminatory solution later. Ramos decided that voters who lacked an accepted ID could sign a statement that they could not "reasonably" obtain one in time to vote. The state, then, would have to accept other, non-photo documentation identifying a voter, such as a current utility bill, paycheck, bank statement or government check with the voter's name and address.

Ramos also gave the state the task of making a good-faith effort to let voters know about these changes in time for them to vote.

The wrangle over "reasonably" may seem overly lawyerly to a nonlawyer. Its importance is that the state's message, minus "reasonably," can be construed as tantamount to a warning that obtaining an accepted photo ID must be absolutely humanly impossible.

If it's a minor point, then inserting "reasonably" would be a minor concession.

Texas ranked 48th in turnout in 2012, the most recent presidential election year  a year before the turnout-averse voter ID law went into effect. Evidence shows that more than 600,000 of Texas' registered voters  legal U.S. citizens, not undocumented immigrants, convicted felons, etc.  don't possess any of the state's accepted photo IDs. Every move the state makes in defense of the current discriminatory ID law goes against those Texans  not Obama's Justice Department.

Like we keep saying, state officials should be doing all they can to improve turnout rather than chase phantom fraudulent in-person voting. But that's an unreasonable expectation  humanly possible, maybe, but not reasonable. Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a guest column Wednesday in rebuttal to one of our recent editorials, defended the state's intent to fight all the way to the Supreme Court. His words and the unreasonable effort to resist inserting "reasonably" only underscores our previous conclusion that the only solution is the one that the state is fighting  turnout. Lots of it.
Columnist Dave McNeely

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Donald Trump may have given Texas Democrats in 2016 what they haven't had for a couple decades: a ray of hope.

Texas Democrats haven't elected a single statewide official since 1994. But a recent Washington Post-SurveyMonkey 50-state poll showed Democrat Hillary Clinton in a dead heat with Trump in Texas.

In a two-person race, Clinton led Trump 46 to 45 percent, with 9 percent undecided.

When Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein are included  as they will be on the Texas ballot  Clinton and Trump each got 40 percent; Johnson 11; Stein 3; and 6 percent were undecided.

The survey was taken from Aug. 9 to Sept. 1, of more than 74,000 registered voters in all 50 states  a huge sample  including more than 5,000 in Texas.

Post reporters said Texas was "the biggest surprise in the 50-state results."

In 2012, while Democratic President Barack Obama won an Electoral College re-election victory by a significant margin, Republican Mitt Romney won Texas by 16 points.

Texas hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

With a Bush from Texas on the ballot in six of the seven presidential elections from 1980 through 2004, both the Republican and the Democratic presidential campaigns haven't spent much money or effort in Texas.

The poll's large sample allowed assessing how candidates are doing with various demographic groups.

Although Trump is losing badly to Clinton among black and Hispanic voters, a critical Trump problem is trailing among college-educated white voters  especially women. Most white college grads have been reliable Republican voters for decades.

Despite Trump's problems, "That's not to say Texas is turning blue in 2016," wrote Post reporters Dan Balz and Scott Clement.

Balz, who lived in Austin while covering the Southwest for the Post in the 1980s, and has been the Post's chief writer on presidential politics for several years, is no stranger to Texas politics.

He and Clement said Texas "probably will back Trump in November and possibly by a comfortable margin, but  that it is close at all is one more surprise in a surprising year."

Their story ran Tuesday, Sept. 6.

On Wednesday, Sept. 7, the Dallas News endorsed Clinton  the first Democrat the Republican-leaning newspaper has endorsed for president since before World War II.

"Trump flips from one side to the other, issue after issue, sometimes within a single news cycle," The News wrote.

"Trump's values are hostile to conservatism. He plays on fear  exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny  to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best," the editorial said.

" ... Donald Trump is not qualified to serve as president and does not deserve your vote."

"There is only one serious candidate on the presidential ballot in November. We recommend Hillary Clinton," the News said.

Yes, she's flawed. But, "for all her warts, she is the candidate more likely to keep our nation safe, to protect American ideals and to work across the aisle to uphold the vital domestic institutions that rely on a competent, experienced president."

On Thursday, Sept. 8, the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign announced opening new campaign offices in Houston and other Texas cities.

Republicans used the poll as a wake-up call and fundraising tool.

John Jackson, chairman of Texans for Greg Abbott, emailed supporters, "They're tied in Texas."

"This isn't a joke," Jackson wrote.

"Many Texas conservatives have let their guard down, and Hillary's campaign juggernaut is taking full advantage of it ... We cannot afford to lose Texas in November."

He urged sending the Abbott campaign committee "the most generous contribution you can to help our statewide field dream team ensure Texas remains red."

The Texas Democratic Party used Jackson's plea to hustle bucks from Democrats.

"Texas Republicans are scared," said the email Friday, Sept. 9, from State Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, attaching Jackson's message.

"We need to build the infrastructure to send Pete Gallego back to Congress in Texas' 23rd, defeat Tea Party Republicans in the Texas House, and turn key counties solidly blue across the state  in 2016 and beyond."

And he asked for $7  or more.

The same day, Cecile Richards  oldest child of the last Democratic governor of Texas, Ann Richards  gave a pep talk to Democratic volunteers in Austin.

Introduced by Austin's Democratic state senator and former mayor, Kirk Watson, Richards  national president of the Planned Parenthood Federation and its political action fund, and a top surrogate for Clinton  was asked if Clinton could carry Texas.

"Anything can happen," Richards said. "My mom won here, so we can do anything."

Contact McNeely at davemcneely111@gmail.com or 512-458-2963.
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Underperforming secondary schools were top of the agenda this week as councillors took the chance to quiz the regional schools commissioner for the East of England.

Dr Tim Coulson was at the Cambridgeshire County Councils Shire Hall headquarters after he was invited to meet members of its children and young peoples committee.

The visit comes after councillors wrote to the government to express joint concern about some of the underperforming schools in Cambridgeshire.

All of Cambridgeshires secondary schools are now academies and therefore under the control of the Government, rather than the local authority.

Committee chairwoman Cllr Joan Whitehead said councillors were at a loss as to how they could help when parents came to them about underperforming schools.

She told Dr Coulson: In general the councillors view is that it is the Government which has not really seriously grappled with the issue of what to do about underperforming schools.

It is at that level we feel that there is a lack of policy and we are looking for you to reinforce that message because we do feel that there is a need for this issue to be looked at.

She added: We are concerned that there doesnt seem to be necessary practical help for schools in trying to improve their performance.

In his role as regional schools commissioner, Dr Coulson is now responsible for making decisions about academies and free schools in the region.

Dr Coulson agreed standards at some secondary schools had been seen to dip after Ofsted toughened up its standards, particularly in relation to disadvantaged children.

He said: A lot of the secondary schools werent doing well enough and so a lot of those schools grades dipped from Good to Requires improvement.

Its good to hear Ofsted saying they think there has been improvement in the primary sector as well as the secondary sector.

When it came to intervening with underperforming schools, Dr Coulson said he was not able to provide specific school improvement activities.

He said struggling academies should look to teaching schools for support, something he said stemmed from the philosophy the Government has brought to academy trusts.

However, Dr Coulson added people could write to him if this did not work.

He said: We are in some kind of transition period  our job is to make the system work to get the schools to be the best we can.
In light of continued developments, primarily since 2008, there exists in these United States a Legal System which operates on a proved Two Tiered approach to justice rendered, which primarily benefits Democratic Elites and Woke Ideological Virtue Signalers, representing their co-dependent wards, to the expressed exclusion of normal hardworking American citizens: What is your suggestion in remedying this widespread injustice and, if not corrected, its existential outcome for our Constitutional Republic?

Complete overhaul of the Department of Justice and their enforcers - the FBI - to reflect a far more honest justice system to keep patriots remaining calm.

Disband the FBI, and request that congress investigate all unethical and non patriotic practices to partially right the wrongs of a distrusted and politically weaponized "Department of Justice."
The science of fear: Why do people love to be scared during Halloween?
Last month, just before the new academic year began, the University of Chicago's dean of students, John Ellison, sent a letter ( reproduced in this piece ) to all incoming students. It was meant to reaffirm the university's commitment to free speech and inform the students that they shouldn't expect the academic environment at Chicago to include "trigger warnings" or "safe spaces" and that the school will not tolerate behavior that disrupts intellectual discourse.That it is necessary to tell college students that the school will treat them like intelligent adults and expects them to comport themselves properly is a sad commentary on the state of American higher education. Unfortunately, an ideology that's hostile to free expression has been spreading across our higher education landscape like an invasive weed.Thomas Lindsay (a former professor and senior college administrator) praises the university's defense of free speech and unfettered debate, writing on Forbes Dean Ellison's letter was not, however, a random event. It was apparently a response to the position taken by the university's student government, which in the spring voted to table a resolution condemning any student who obstructs free speech. Clearly, some UC students are not on board with the university's principles and believe that keeping speakers off campus or shouting them down if they do speak is justified.While some faculty and administrators have been complicit in the current offensive against free speech and tolerance for dissenting views, students have been leading it. Former UC law school dean Geoffrey Stone made that point in his August 26th essay " Free Expression in Peril ."Stone, a famed First Amendment scholar, writes,To underscore his point, Stone notes that a recent survey found that 72 percent of current students believe that any student or faculty member who expresses a view they regard as "racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive" should be disciplined.Many of those students are so vehement about going after people who have said or done things that offend them that even leftist professors now live in fear that they'll be attacked by their students. Writing under the pseudonym Edward Schlosser , one professor admitted that he was terrified of his students. Northwestern University professor Laura Kipnis was dragged into Title IX disciplinary proceedings when students complained that an article she had published was offensive because she argued that colleges were overdoing it on Title IX investigations.The root of the problem is that many young Americans entering college are hyper-sensitive to ideas that clash with their own, and think that it is proper to use any means at their disposal to punish those who disagree: other students, professors, administrators, or outside speakers. If college officials don't nip that attitude in the bud, students will be encouraged to see how much they can get away with, for example the student riots against outside speakers at UNC and the University of Wisconsin Since many college students do not care much for the marketplace of ideas (or other markets for that matter), we might expect a lot of opposition to Dean Ellison's letter. There is. As Chronicle of Higher Education writer Beth McMurtrie put it, his letter on free expression " exposes fault lines on campus ."She reports that some UC students say that the school is protecting "hate speech" by calling it "discourse." You would have a very hard time finding anyone on the campus who actually indulges in hate speech, but these students have been taught to think that it is "hate speech" to say things they don't like, such as the words " wetback " and " tranny ."There has been a distressing amount of opposition to Dean Ellison's letter (see this Reason article ), but the most vitriolic response came from a history professor at Grand View University, Kevin Gannon. He argues in this Vox article that the letter is not really about academic freedom at all, but rather the desire of school administrators to retain power over the students.Gannon writes. He calls the letter a "diatribe" that is infested withIn short, Gannon likes the idea of empowered students who will then combat a host of social ills including ableism, misogyny, racism, elitism, and intellectual sloppiness, and he detests the university's attempt to make them respect intellectual freedom.Consider the matter of campus speakers. Why should students tolerate people they just know will say hurtful things and block progress toward a just society? Gannon praises the efforts by students at Virginia Tech to keep American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray from speaking on campus last spring.he writes,Talk about intellectual sloppiness.For one thing, Murray was going to speak about the themes of his latest book, Coming Apart, not about anything in the book Gannon thinks he knows is just an excuse for racism, The Bell Curve.Second, Gannon is utterly mistaken about Murray's thinking about race, but that is common among people who fall for the sort of ideological hatchet jobs so often done to demonize thinkers perceived to be on "the wrong side."In a letter to the Virginia Tech community, university president Tim Sands made the same motive-impugning attack on Murray as Gannon does, albeit in more civilized language. Murray responded to Sands' attack here, explaining that he and his co-author (the late Richard Herrnstein) never claimed that any race is genetically inferior and that the "racist" smear is completely unfounded.And third, it's absurd to claim that a university endorses the views of every speaker who is invited to the campus.As it turned out, Murray was able to give his talk and it elicited no eruption on campus. But if the opponents had gotten their way based on their misinformed assumptions about the talk he meant to give, all of the students would have been deprived of a valuable learning opportunity. That's the cost of allowing the hyper-sensitive few a veto over speech they are sure they'll dislike before they've heard it.Gannon exemplifies exactly that "We know what we don't want to hear!" mindset that Dean Ellison hopes to change by telling students "Listen first, then make rational arguments where you disagree."Sadly, the fact that there is so much opposition to the principles of free speech the University of Chicago is trying to uphold tells us that this will be a long, bitter fight.
Discover two million years of human history in the one room with A History of the World in 100 Objects from the British Museum, now on show at the National Museum of Australia. Until January 29.
Oscar-nominated British actress Minnie Driver returns to TV after the short-lived 2015 adaptation of About a Boy in ABCs Speechless. In the envelope-pushing sitcom, she stars as Maya Dimeo, the crusading mother of a special-needs teenager named JJ (actor Micah Fowler, who actually has cerebral palsy, although in a less severe form than his character). JJ gets around in a power wheelchair and speaks with the help of a letter board and a laser pointer. Maya serves as his outspoken advocate and all-around overprotective mama bearwhich often isolates her from the rest of her family. Middle child Ray (Mason Cook) is a sweet-natured nerd who gets overlooked thanks to his moms single-mindedness. Youngest kid Dylan (Kyla Kenedy) takes after her mother, an outspoken, mile-a-minute dynamo who only feels at home on the schools track field. Finally weve got dad Jimmy (John Ross Bowie from The Big Bang Theory) who adopts an easygoing, laissez-faire attitude as a counterpoint to his wifes hypercaffeinated outrage.

Kicking off the shows pilot, the family is in the midst of its umpteenth move. Mom is forever in search of a school district that will be sensitive to all her sons needs. Also, the familys crummy new house (complete with cell phone tower in the backyard) is cheap enough that they can now afford a full-time aide to help JJmostly by reading his speech out loud. Unfortunately they wind up with an annoying middle-aged woman, whos awkwardly out of place in the halls of high school. Also, mom immediately clashes with the schools kowtowing principal, demanding better wheelchair access ramps and more.

Like its main character, the pace of this show is often frantic. In its best moments, Speechless recalls the were all in this together nature of family-oriented shows like The Wonder Years or Malcolm in the Middle. But Drivers brash character takes a bit of getting used to. There are hints that shell be softening a bit, but viewers probably shouldnt expect too much of a change. Some concentration on the other characters in the cast might also serve to take the spotlight off manic mom. The show walks a fine line, trying to find humor in a subject to which some might be sensitive. Many of the jokes come from either non-family members stumbling over one another to be politically correct or people just trying to get out of the way of hurricane Maya when she blows into a room.

If the writers can settle into a comfortable tone for the series, theyve got some good people to work with. Fowler, despite being nonverbal, displays a lot of charisma and heart. Cook is likable as the familys most sane member. Bowie demonstrates solid comic chops. And Cedric Yarbrough (from Reno: 911!) promises to deliver some amped-up humor as the grumpy school janitor who inherits the job of JJs aid by pilots end. This unsentimental effort is definitely new ground for a network sitcom. But only time will tell if its particularly fertile ground.
Fans of the former Rock Pile are in for a surprise when they walk into the new space, now called 406 Kitchen and Taproom.

Workers switched the kitchen and the dining area, which means patrons are greeted with the newly finished bar and orange and black seats when they open the north door.

But up a new staircase is where the true potential of the 6,500-square-foot space at 1231 N. 27th St. is unlocked. The new rooftop patio, which is still under construction, seats 41 with a full bar and boasts a wide view of downtown Billings, including the First Interstate tower, DoubleTree by Hilton (formerly the Crowne Plaza hotel) and South Hills.

The view is pretty nice, general manager Bryan Taylor said Wednesday.

406 Kitchen and Taproom opened to the public Tuesday night and served its first lunch crowd Wednesday.

It replaces the Rock Pile, a 15-year-old bar and grill once named Montanas best dive bar. The bar also once held bull-riding events in an outdoor pen.

Former owner Carol Brosovich sold the business to her children, Jake Brosovich and Britainy Doucette, who shut down the Rock Pile in January and began the overhaul.

General contractor Yellowstone Basin Construction is also owned by Jake Brosovich. The remodel cost $1.2 million, according to city permits.

The opening was delayed about six weeks because shipments of steel from China were stuck on ships at sea, Taylor said.

The menu is more eclectic, said Taylor, the former general manager at Jakes on Billings West End. Theres a pho noodle dish, pear and duck salad, and fresh mozzarella caprese. All chicken, pork and brisket are smoked in-house, Taylor said.

The 406 offers one homage to its past identity: the Rock Pile nachos, piled high with beef or chicken, cheese, black olives, jalapenos, sour cream and salsa.

The 406 is an obvious nod to Montana, one of 12 states nationwide with only one area code. Eight Montana beers are served on tap, and servers wear shirts bearing quotes from famous people about the uniqueness of the Treasure State.

Britainy and Jake wanted something that was Montana. They wanted to speak to what we are, which is why we went with the modern, industrial look. Its classy, but inviting, Taylor said.

The 406 is open 11 a.m. to close, seven days a week.
Johan Dennelind, who was appointed CEO to help clear up the scandal, admitted wrongdoings and unethical behaviour in a conference call this morning.

Telia Companys board learned of the scale of the proposed fine last night and reacted this morning after an overnight board meeting.

The proposal covers  as far as we understand  all existing investigations. It is a very high amount.

The companys chairman, Marie Ehrling, shared Dennelinds view of the scale of the fine. Our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyse the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities, she said in a prepared statement.

But she also admitted that the company  previously called TeliaSonera  had been wrong. I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility. We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter.

General counsel Jonas Bengtsson said that Telia has been cooperating with Swedish, Dutch and US authorities. The new board, appointed at the 2013 annual general meeting, determined to change the company fundamentally, he said, and decided to cooperate with all investigating authorities.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice started investigating in early 2014, followed by the Dutch authorities. Telia was not questioning their jurisdiction over the matter, said Bengtsson. Telia has cooperated with these authorities. It is an extensive cooperation.

Telia is hoping that the proposed fine will be an end to the matter. The proposal as far as we understand it covers all interests the authorities have in Telia Companys activities, he said.

Dennelind was unclear on how the level of the fine was set. We have just received the information and have to analyse it, he said. But he added that the company hasnt had an expectation of the level in advance. We simply state it is a big number.

Telia Company announced earlier in 2016 that it intends to dispose of all its central Asian interests, though Dennelind said he understands that there is no investigation into investments outside Uzbekistan.

Earlier this month Telia sold its 60% stake in Tajikistan operator Tcell for $39 million to the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, which owns the other 40%.

The Uzbekistan scandal dates back to what was then TeliaSoneras acquisition of Uzbekistan operator Coscom  later rebranded as Ucell  in July 2007. TeliaSonera did not conduct a sufficiently in-depth analysis into the identity of our local partner in Uzbekistan before we invested in the country or into how this partner came to own the assets that were later obtained by TeliaSonera, said then CEO Lars Nyberg in his 2013 resignation statement.

A report by Swedish Television in September 2012 alleged that TeliaSonera paid $320 million for its Uzbekistan licences through Gayane Avakyan, an Uzbek woman in her late 20s described as having close ties to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Islam Karimov, who had been president of Uzbekistan since 1991. Karimov died on 2 September 2016.

After the allegations emerged, TeliaSonera commissioned a Swedish law firm, Mannheimer Swartling, to investigate. The company also fired Per-Arne Blomquist, the CFO, and three other senior executives after it received Mannheimer Swartlings report.

Uzbekistan has not been a good investment for other foreign telecoms companies. In February 2016 VimpelCom agreed to pay $835 million in settlement fees to US and Dutch authorities after admitting it paid huge bribes to enter the Uzbekistan telecoms market. Telenor this week started to sell its stake in VimpelCom.

In August 2016 Russias MTS left the Uzbekistan market after selling its 50.1% stake in Universal Mobile Systems to the state for an undisclosed amount. Four years earlier the Uzbekistan government confiscated MTSs assets in the country and arrested executives.

This morning Dennelind told financial analysts that the fine would not affect Telia Companys dividend policy.
Since it first opened in October 2011, RiverStone Health Hospice Home has cared for more than 760 patients and hundreds, if not thousands, more family members.

On Wednesday, RiverStone officials, hospice employees and others marked those five years and hundreds of patients at an anniversary gathering that provided them the chance to reflect on what the home has provided and how it came to be.

"It's that human compassion and having that same person taking care of you week after week, and they become almost like family," said Monica Schaff, a registered nurse and supervisor at the home.

More than 90 percent of people receiving hospice care do so in their own homes, but the RiverStone home, which is the only inpatient hospice within 200 miles of Billings, provides 24/7 end-of-life care for people in its own 8,400-square-foot, 12-bedroom facility on Billings' West End near Shiloh Boulevard and Poly Drive.

Many of the residents are there  it's full about 60-70 percent of the time  because their families aren't able to provide the care they need, they don't have any place else to go or they need extra care that the home setting can provide.

Speaking to a small crowd outside of the home, RiverStone President and CEO John Felton said he's proud of the quality of life, care and comfort it delivers to residents and their families and of its acceptance of residents regardless of their ability to pay.

"They simply need the care," he said. "That's our only determining factor."

The home is staffed at all times by three staff members and an RN and employs 17 people total. The average patient stay is 20-25 days, but has been as short as an hour or two and as long as several years.

Susan Barton, director of home care and hospice services, said that it is set up to be a home-like environment for the patients and that it accommodates their families, as well as providing help and resources for up to 13 months after a loved one has passed away.

"It's helped so many people and it's such an important part of the community," she said.

Richard Opper, director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, said that too often, a person's last weeks or months can be spent in pain and suffering. Hospice can make those days much more comfortable, he said.

"Longevity without vitality, without the quality, is vastly overrated," he said. "What we need as humans is to spend our last days...living in as high a quality as possible, to spend our last days in dignity, in comfort and in peace. What a wonderful gift you have given them."

RiverStone has has been accredited for hospice by the Community Health Accreditation Partner since 2002 and formed a committee later to run a fundraising campaign to build the $2.6 million hospice home.

"They've left an indelible mark on our community that we're here celebrating five years later," Felton said. "I'm sure in 45 more years, we'll be here celebrating 50."
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.

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You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Engineer's day is celebrated in different countries on different dates of the calendar. In India, where almost 20 lacs engineers are produced every year, this day is celebrated on 15th September which marks the birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya.

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya is known to be the Father of Engineers in India. He is one of the best engineers India has ever produced and was awarded Bharata Ratna in 1955. In a vision document prepared by Institution of Engineers (India) it is told about him, "Sir Visvesvaraya, an eminent Indian engineer and statesman was born in a remote village of Karnataka, the state that is incidentally now the hi-tech state of the country." He was also awarded the British Knighthood by King George V.

It adds, "He was also called the precursor of economic planning in India. His learned discourse on economic planning in India, 'Planned economy for India and Reconstructing India', was the first available document on the planning effort of the country and it is still held as the parent source matter for the economic planners."

What is Urban Planning? - Scope and Career Opportunities

"Skill Development for Young Engineers to Reform the Core Sector: Vision 2015" is the theme for the Engineer's day this year. The engineers and stakeholders across the country will address the prime skill factors through assessments, teaching, curriculum and real life case study. There will be an attempt to emphasise soft skill development.

Sir Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861 in Mysore State, now known as Karnataka. His best contribution is known as his role in constructing Krishna Raja Sagara lake and dam in Mysore in 1924 which became the main source of irrigation and drinking water in various parts of the state. He was sent to Aden by government of India in 1906 to learn water supply and drainage.

His contribution to the growth of nation is exemplary. His intelligence has not only been acknowledged by people of India but by the world. He completed his extra ordinary journey of life on April 12, 1962 in Bangalore.

Engineer's Day: A tribute to Sir M Visvesvaraya
Asha Gond, a 16-years old tribal girl from Janwaar, Madhya Pradesh, will be traveling to UK to study English language in Oxford school. Only the passport formalities are awaited to be completed soon.

Ulrike Reinhard, a German lady, has created a skatepark in Janwaar village of Panna district of MP. She trains the tribal kids in skating and English. Asha was introduced to English language here and had shown brilliant performance in the language. Impressed by her talent and desire to learn, Ulrike promised to send her to UK to learn this language.

Both Ulrike and Asha had a tough time convincing Asha's parents to send her to UK instead of marrying her off at an early age. Girls are often married by their parents once they reach 18 in that particular area of Madhya Pradesh. Her parents were not able to understand the value of learning English in Oxford school, United Kingdom.

Asha is looking forward to study in UK and has decided to give it her best. Her family is completely dependent on farming and took eight months to be convinced enough to let her go abroad to study. The MLA of Panna constituency, Lokendra Pratap Singh and school teacher of Asha, Awadh Bihari, helped her to convince her parents in letting her go to Oxford school for study.

Asha has planned to come back to India after studying and teach kids in Janwaar. She will also try to get a job to support her family. The story of Asha is a ray of hope to many girls across the nation of India who are taken as a burden by their families which is needed to be married off as soon as possible. In a country where educating the girl child is considered a waste of resource, the story of Asha is sure to set an example.
46 leading universities and institutions from UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand to assemble under one roof to help Indian students seeking admission & provide counseling

New Delhi, 15 September, 2016: IDP Education India, the leading student placement service provider will organize UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand Education Fair in Delhi on Saturday, 17th September 2016 at Le- Meridien from 11:00 am to 05:00 pm for students aspiring to pursue their higher education abroad. IDP Education Fair in New Delhi will have university & institution representatives & faculties come together to meet Indian students looking forward to study in these countries.

IDP Education will be hosting the Study Abroad Education Fair in India across 15 cities starting 11th September 2016. Spread over a period of two weeks, the fair will kick-start from Jalandhar and will conclude in the southern city of Coimbatore on 27th September 2016. The fair will see over 70 universities and colleges from the UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand interact with Indian students & parents.

IDP's Education Fair will offer students the opportunity to explore various study options available across these four countries. The fair will be held in the cities of Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi & Coimbatore in addition to New Delhi.

Mr. Harmeet Pental, Regional Director (South Asia, North America & UK), IDP Education, said, "IDP Education is world's leading student placement service provider and organizes education fairs across the IDP global network. With over 200 university partners across the 5 major English speaking destinations, IDP is best placed to offer students the choice to find the course best suited to them. With an experience of over 45 years, IDP places one student every 20 minutes across the globe and has placed over 400,000 students worldwide.

Applications are open to over 150 leading IDP partner universities & institutions in the UK, U.S., Canada & New Zealand for 2017 intakes for courses such as Business Management & Finance, Hospitality, IT, Engineering & Computer Science, Pharmacy, Biological Sciences, Public & Health Administration, Law, Medicine & Nursing, Art & Design, Mass Communication and many more. Students can apply to the universities of their choice and get detailed information on scholarships, ranking, visa, etc.

Mr. Piyush Kumar, Country Director, India & Nepal - IDP Education said, "IDP India seeks to provide a platform for students to come and have a face-to-face interaction with the university representatives and get answers to all their queries related to studying abroad.

One can also visit the IDP office to pre-register for the education fair and experience priority processing and detailed counseling with IDP's well trained and experience destination counselors.

Our goal is to assist and guide the students & parents with the right advice through all the steps from initial exploratory stage of course and university selection to application submission to arrival on campus", added Mr. Kumar.

IDP fair endeavors to help students make their dream of an international education come true. Students are advised to bring along their educational certificates in original along with photocopies.

IDP's UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand education fair in Delhi provides an opportunity to have one-on-one interactions with 46 institutions mentioned below:

Destination Institutions from UK, USA, Canada and New Zealand UK

Anglia Ruskin University

Bath Spa University

Birmingham City University

Coventry University

De Montfort University

Ediburgh Napier University

Middlesex University

NAVITAS Staffordshire University

University of Birmingham

University of Bristol

University of Central Lancashire

University of Hertfordshire

USA

California State University Fresno

Kent State University

Loyola University of Chicago

Montana State University

National University

Navitas (USA)

Northern Kentucky University

Old Dominion University

Rivier University

ShoreLight University of Bridgeport

University of Cincinnatti

University of Colorado, Denver

University of Maine

University of Missouri - St Louis Western Michigan University

About IDP India:

IDP Education is a world leader in international student placement services. With a network of over 100 international student placement centers, IDP has a global presence in more than 32 countries. IDP Education Limited is an ASX listed company that is 50% owned by 38 Australian universities. For more than 45 years, IDP has played a major role in international education by offering comprehensive counseling services to students & having placed more than 400,000 students into quality institutions in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and New Zealand.

Currently, IDP in India has counseling centers in 21 cities guiding students and their families through the entire process from university/course selection through application/visa process and pre-departure planning. For more than 45 years, IDP has been helping students and their families find the right fit for their dream of higher education.

IELTS

IDP is a proud co-owner of IELTS (International English Language Testing System). IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. Since its launch in 1989, IELTS has become the world's most popular high-stakes English language proficiency test.

IELTS is accepted as evidence of English language proficiency by over 9,000 organizations worldwide. Last year, more than 2.7 million tests were taken globally.

IDP Education to organize Study Abroad Education Fair in Mumbai

For more information or a live chat with an IDP counselor, visit www.idp.com/india
Total 40 leading universities and institutions from UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand to assemble under one roof to help Indian students seeking admissions and provide counseling

Mumbai, September 15, 2016: IDP Education India, the leading student placement service provider will organize UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand Education Fair in Mumbai on Sunday, 18th September 2016 at Hyatt Regency from 11:00 am to 04:00 pm for students aspiring to pursue higher education abroad. IDP Education Fair in Mumbai will have university & institute's representatives & faculties come together to meet Indian students aspiring to study in these countries.

IDP Education will be hosting the Study Abroad Education Fair in India across 15 cities stated on 11th September 2016. Spread over a period of two weeks, the fair kick-started from Jalandhar and will conclude in the southern city of Coimbatore on 27th September 2016. The fair will see over 71 universities and colleges from the UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand to interact with Indian students aspiring to pursue higher education in internationally acclaimed institutions.

Preparing for the IELTS? Take This Self-Paced, Online Course

IDP's Education Fair will offer students the opportunity to explore various study options available across four countries. The fair will be held in the cities of Jhalandar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi & Coimbatore in addition to New Delhi.

Mr. Harmeet Pental, Regional Director (South Asia, North America & UK), IDP Education, said, "IDP Education is world's leading student placement service provider and organizes education fairs across the IDP global network. With over 200 university partners across the 5 major global destinations, IDP is best placed to offer students the choice to find the course best suited to them. With an experience of over 45 years, IDP places one student every 20 minutes across the globe and has placed over 400,000 students worldwide.

Applications are open to over 150 leading IDP partner universities & institutions in the UK, U.S, New Zealand and Canada for 2017 intakes for courses such as Business Management & Finance, Hospitality, IT, Engineering & Computer Science, Pharmacy, Biological Sciences, Public & Health Administration, Law, Medicine & Nursing, Art & Design, Mass Communication and many more. Students can apply to the universities of their choice and get detailed information on scholarships, ranking, visa, etc. by IDP's well trained &experienced education counselors.

Mr. Piyush Kumar, Country Director, India & Nepal - IDP Education said, "IDP India seeks to provide a platform to aspiring students to come and have a face-to-face interaction with the university representatives and get answers to all their queries related to studying abroad. One can also visit IDP office to pre-register for priority processing and detailed counseling with IDP's well trained and experience destination counselors.

IELTS Examination: Top 5 Best Selling Books with 30% Discount

Our goal is to assist and guide the students & parents with the right advice through all the steps from initial exploratory stage of course and university selection to application submission to arrival on campus", added Mr. Kumar.

IDP fair endeavors to help students make their dream of an education abroad come true. Students are advised to bring along their educational certificates in original along with photocopies.

IDP's UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand education fair in Mumbai provides an opportunity to have One-on-One interactions with the 40 institutions mentioned below:

Destination Institutions from UK, USA, Canada and New Zealand UK Anglia Ruskin University Bath Spa University Coventry University De Montfort University Liverpool john moores university Middlesex University Robert Gordon University Sheffield Hallam University Staffordshire University University of Central Lancashire University of Glasgow

University of Hertfordshire USA California State University Fresno Cambridge Education Group Loyola University of Chicago Montana State University

Navitas (USA) National University Northern Kentucky University Old Dominion University Rivier University ShoreLight University of Cincinatti University of Colorado, Denver University of Missouri - St Louis Western New England University Waikato Institute of Technology

About IDP India

IDP Education is a world leader in international student placement services. With a network of over 100 international student placement centers, IDP has a global presence in more than 32 countries. IDP Education Limited is an ASX listed company that is 50% owned by 38 Australian universities. For more than 45 years, IDP has played a major role in international education by offering comprehensive counseling services to students & having placed more than 400,000 students into quality institutions in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and New Zealand.

For further information, visit www.idp.com/india

IELTS

IDP is a proud co-owner of IELTS (International English Language Testing System). IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. Since its launch in 1989, IELTS has become the world's most popular high-stakes English language proficiency test.

IELTS is accepted as evidence of English language proficiency by over 9,000 organizations worldwide. Last year, more than 2.7 million tests were taken globally.

IDP Education to organize Study Abroad Education Fair in Delhi
New Delhi, September 15, 2016: NIIT, a global leader in skills and talent development, today launched Big Data with Hadoop - a futuristic program in data analytics under the DigiNxt Series, designed to optimize data usage and leading to better decision making.

Big Data is a collection of large and complex data set. On the other hand, Hadoop is a powerful data management tool that consolidates structured, unstructured or semi structured data, stores information inexpensively and reliably, performs sophisticated and detailed processing and analysis of data at rapid speed.

A recent survey by Gartner on Big Data skills gap revealed that about 2/3rd of Big Data skill requirements remains unfilled and only 1/3 are met. In fact, experts estimate a shortage of 200,000 data analysts in India by 2018.

This demand and supply gap has widened the Big Data and Hadoop job market, creating a surging demand for Big Data skills like Hadoop, Spark, NoSQL etc. It is estimated that by 2017-2018, India alone will be a major shareholder of the overall Big Data analytics market worth $2.3 billion. Major industries driving demand for analytics talent in India are e-Commerce & Retail, Insurance, Finance, Manufacturing and IT, with e-Commerce being the highest paymaster for Hadoop salaries in India.

What is Data Science? Scope and Career Opportunities

Professional Diploma in Digital Transformation - Big Data with Hadoop will enable learners to understand Hadoop ecosystem, write MapReduce programs, identify common MapReduce algorithms, implement MapReduce design patterns, use Hive & Pig to analyze large datasets, integrate Hadoop into Enterprise workflow using Oozie and manage Hadoop ecosystem using Zookeeper. The 14-week cutting-edge program will use student-centred pedagogy of project-based learning to help them carve successful career in data analytics in the emerging digital era.

Graduates and undergraduates in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with more than 60% score in their 10th and 12th can opt for this program. On successful completion of the program students will be offered placement assistance by NIIT. Admission to the program are currently open for the first batch commencing on September 26, 2016. For more details, please visit www.niitdiginxt.com

'STEM can level playing field in Indian student exchanges'

NIIT has recently ventured into Digital Transformation to offer programs aligned to the manpower requirements of the emerging digital economy. Through this significant move NIIT aims to totally re-align the Skills and Career Group to the changing future-skill-sets requirement of the industry and emerge as a leader in the Digital Learning space.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Prakash Menon, President, Global Skills & Careers Group, NIIT Ltd said, "With our keen understanding of the changing requirement of the industry we are now focusing on the Digital Transformation needs to create a talent pool armed with futuristic skill-sets. Towards this we have launched a cutting-edge program under the DigiNxt series - Big data with Hadoop. Our earlier programs under the DigiNxt series were well received by the industry and our students alike, helping us to further strengthen our commitment to play a leadership role in the Digital Learning world."

Why Soft Skills Are Important For Career Success?

Big Data with Hadoop will allow students to interact with recognized practitioners experienced in related fields and technical mentors through Synchronous Learning Platform. They will also get assistance from experienced faculty at centre who will facilitate project development and help to remove obstacles that are impeding the project's progress. Digital courseware will be made available to the students as reference material.

Big Data to Revamp Business Studies in India

About NIIT

Established in 1981, NIIT Limited, a global leader in Skills and Talent Development, offers multi-disciplinary learning management and training delivery solutions to corporations, institutions, and individuals in over 40 countries. NIIT has three main lines of business across the globe- Corporate Learning Group, Skills and Careers Group, and School Learning Group.

NIIT's Corporate Learning Group (CLG) offers Managed Training Services (MTS) to market-leading companies in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The comprehensive suite of Managed Training Services includes custom Curriculum Design and Content Development, Learning Administration, Learning Delivery, Strategic Sourcing, Learning Technology, and Advisory Services.

For further information, visit www.niit.com/india
Montanas commissioner of political practices has cleared the conservative group Americans for Prosperity of electioneering charges stemming from literature mailed to Billings households in August.

At issue were glossy postcards targeting South Billings legislator Robyn Driscoll and Gov. Steve Bullock in mid-August. Both Driscoll and Bullock are Democrats. AFP is part of a free-market organization founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

AFP has targeted Montana politicians with issue-advocacy campaigns for about a decade. Commissioner Jonathan Motl cleared AFP on Thursday.

The cards gave Driscoll an F grade on AFPs Montana Freedom Scorecard and urged recipients to call her. Bullock was impugned for what AFP considers reckless spending and encouraged voters to call Bullock to tell him they want fiscal responsibility.

Driscoll was appointed to a seat on the Yellowstone County Commission last month and is no longer a legislative candidate.

The literature struck a nerve with Scott Skokos, whose family received the mailers. Skokos filed a complaint with Political Practices because AFP hadnt registered as a political committee and because the cards arrived in the mail within 60 days of the start of Montana absentee voting.

But the legality of the mailings was in the nuance of AFPs message and the date they were mailed. AFP doesnt support or oppose candidates. Rather, it focuses on issues, or whats known as issue advocacy, and the reporting requirements are different for issue advocacy groups.

AFP didnt have to report its activity or its expenditures to send out postcards focused on an issue and not supporting or opposing a candidate, Motl ruled.

The timing of the mailing of the postcards was also OK. AFP contracted with WizBang Solutions, a Denver mailing house, to ship the cards. WizBang mailed the cards before Aug. 16, which was the deadline by which all literature that identifies a candidate had to be reported. The mailing house issued 3,525 Driscoll cards and 51,540 Bullock cards. Skokos family members received the postcards between Aug. 18 and 20.
Faraday Future has yet to reveal its first all-electric production car but the start-up is continuing to hire experienced industry leaders.



In its latest signing, FF has reached a deal with Joerg Sommer, the former senior vice president of product marketing and strategy at Volkswagen.

Sommer left his role with the German company in 2013 and is exceptionally experienced, having also worked with Daimler for 12 years, Opel for four years and Renault for two years. Prior to moving to Volkswagens marketing department, Sommer was in charge of its electric mobility brand, a role he also had at Renault.

According to the electric automaker, In his new role at Faraday Future, Sommer oversees the company-wide product launch strategy, lifecycle management, packaging, and pricing of our electric vehicles and new mobility concepts. His expertise in product marketing will help Faraday Future cultivate a strong brand identity and connect to its target demographic, starting with the launch of its first production vehicle.

Other high-profile names to be hired by Faraday Future include BMW i3 and i8 designer Richard Kim, former Tesla Model S head chassis development engineer Nick Sampson and former Ferrari North America and Ferrari Asia Pacific executive Marco Mattiacci.

PHOTO GALLERY
The Montana University System Board of Regents are expected to vote Thursday on a proposed baccalaureate nursing program in Billings, and program backers turned out Wednesday to support it.

Called an "RN to BSN Completion Program," the proposal aims to ease the transition for students who complete the associate degree coursework for nursing through City College. That program graduates about 40 students per year.

Supporters of the proposal who spoke Wednesday included nursing directors from both Billings Clinic and St. Vincent Healthcare, the president of St. John's Lutheran Ministries and John Felton, county health administrator and CEO of RiverStone Health.

Felton said local nurses and RiverStone Health would benefit from a potential Montana State University Billings nursing bachelor's degree program. The nurses can get an education locally, which helps provide a labor pool of more qualified nurses for area hospitals.

"It's having frontline people who can look at a system of care and see how we can make it better," he said.

The baccalaureate program would be a 49-credit online program that builds on the associate program through MSUB's main campus. The end result would be a Bachelor of Science in nursing, or BSN.

The program would be a first for MSUB, as it looks toward expanding its health science courses and the construction of a facility to house them.

BJ Gilmore, chief nursing officer at St. Vincent, said that she worked for a year between getting her associate and bachelor's degrees. She said the educational progress helped her career, and it's more important in today's market.

"It really did provide me the opportunity to get my feet on the ground with nursing, to be able to work in the health care environment, get more clinical experience and then go on to school and get my BSN," Gilmore said.

The need for health care labor has caught the attention of education officials and Gov. Steve Bullock, who met earlier this year with industry representatives in Billings to discuss a potential labor shortfall.

The state labor department projected an aging and growing population will necessitate an additional 1,300 industry jobs annually.

With a large population and health care footprint, proponents of the program argued that Billings has the economic setting for a BSN program.

More resources for MSUB

Others who spoke Wednesday touched on the broader notion that the former Eastern Montana College hasn't grown alongside eastern Montana.

Former Lt. Governor John Bohlinger said that the needs of students at the state's two flagship universities have been met, and more resources should be made available to Billings.

I believe its imperative that the legislators from eastern Montana come together with a source of funding to make this possible, Bohlinger said.

According to documents prepared by MSUB, St. Vincent plans to push future nursing hires into earning a BSN. If approved Thursday, the university would begin classes in the fall of 2017.
Set to premiere in Paris at the end of the month, the Opel Cascada Supreme is a new special edition version of the German soft-top.



Aimed at customers who want extra flair from their all-season convertible, according to Opel, the vehicle can be had in Pull Me Over Red, Summit White or Black Meet Kettle exterior colors, highlighted by the black grille and side mirror casings, and the 20-inch alloy wheels in two-tone glossy black.

Other exterior tweaks include the body-colored crossbar of the Opel logo and fog lamp housings, joined by the seams of the seat fabrics, door and cockpit trims finished in sporty red, inspired by the glowing red signature line of the GT Concept. The convertible also features black seams on the steering wheel, center console and gearshift lever, and piano black laquer inserts in the instrument panel.

Available at an extra cost are a 3-spoke steering wheel and Siena leather heated seats. Prices for the new Opel Cascada Supreme, which will be present at the brands stand during the French automotive event, have yet to be announced.

PHOTO GALLERY
Tesla has concluded that the fire which destroyed a Model S in France last month was due to a bad electrical connection.



The fire occurred during a test drive event dubbed the Electric Road Trip for the Model S and at the time, a Tesla representative and two guests were in the car. They managed to escape uninjured after hearing a loud noise while driving.

In a statement to Fox News, a spokesman from the electric automaker said the fire was caused by a bolted electrical connection that had been improperly tightened.

Usually, these electrical connections are installed by a robot, but for this car this connection was installed manually. There has never been a similar incident in another one of our cars.

No explanation has been given as to why the electrical connection of this car was installed by hand and not with a robot.

PHOTO GALLERY
Basically my cell phone rang and Tom Tykwer was on the phone and asked me if I could come to Berlin as soon as possible, Swiczinsky told Cartoon Brew. We then did most of the stuff in our studio in Vienna and stayed in close contact with Tykwer, production designer Ulrich Hanisch, and editor Alexander Berner via Skype, email, and telephone. And occasionally there were meetings in Berlin together.

A Hologram for the King, based on the Dave Eggers novel of the same name, stars Hanks as a down-on-his-luck salesman who tries to change his fortunes in Saudi Arabia. When Swiczinsky came on board the project (his partners in NOT are Conrad Tambour and Johannes Schiehsl), there wasnt much direction in the screenplay, which simply had a placeholder caption for dream sequence/music video. Swiczinsky was also handed live-action footage filmed in Boston and Berlin (the latter used as a stand-in for parts of Boston) that the film editor had mounted to the track of Tom Hanks singing to the Talking Heads song Once In A Lifetime.

The vagueness of the concept gave Swiczinsky the freedom to suggest visual concepts and character designs, centered around the basic themes of economic collapse and its effect on the protagonist Alan Clay, portrayed by Tom Hanks:

Swiczinsky handled the design and storyboarding of the sequence, and later animated the sequence with assistance from Santiago Lopez Jover, an animator who has frequently worked on Cartoon Saloon projects such as Song of the Sea.

After the finished piece was handed in, Swiczinsky learned that significant chunks of the sequence would be cut because the filmmakers deemed that it didnt fit the evolving tone of the overall film, which had become slower-paced. The crew at NOT has stayed busy though, working on music videos and short-form web series that focus on their mission to create narrative animated films and create authentic and intelligent animated characters. A few recent examples of their work can be viewed below:
Bruce Wands, chair of the School of Visual Arts MFA Computer Art and founding chair of the schools BFA Computer Art program, reflects on the 30th anniversary of the schools respected MFA Computer Art program and reveals how the school will celebrate the milestone this fall.

2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the MFA Computer Art Department at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I joined SVA as an instructor teaching a Business Graphics course in 1984 and became the Chair in 1998 after founding the BFA Computer Art Department in 1994.

When we first started, most of the software and technology we use today had not been invented. Our lab consisted of state-of-the art PCs, software, and analog video equipment of the time. The internet at that time was primarily text-based, but we believed it would revolutionize how we communicate and create art. When we installed our first ISDN line to access the internet, Con Edison had to dig up 21st Street to install the cable to our building.

I have seen many technological changes, but one thing that has remained the same is our multidisciplinary approach to digital art making. We were the first MFA program in the United States to encourage creative self-expression using computers and emerging technology.

Early faculty members were pioneers of digital art such as Chis Wedge and Michael Ferraro, two of the founders of Blue Sky Studios, Barbara London who was then the Video Curator at the Museum of Modern Art and many other industry professionals. I worked very closely with them to help define our teaching philosophy in digital art. As the Art Director at Bray Studios in the late 1970s, I created animation, titles, and special effects for TV commercials and films using traditional compositing techniques with the Oxberry animation camera and optical printer, which was a time-consuming, exacting and expensive process. As technology advanced, so did our curriculum as we sought out new creative uses for emerging technology. One thing that never changes is the focus on creativity.

Our student body consisted of artists with a genuine curiosity of what creative potential the software and hardware held. One of our first graduates was John F. Simon, Jr. who has gone on to a fine art career and has exhibited his work internationally and is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim, and Whitney, among others. Carlos Saldanha studied 3D animation and was hired after graduation by Blue Sky Studios in 1993. Carlos has gone on to direct the Ice Age and Rio movies. In 2003, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Gone Nutty. Nancy Kato, class of 1991, recently celebrated her sixteenth year at Pixar Animation Studios.

For our 30th anniversary celebration, we are sharing their great success in a documentary, as well as reviewing the history of the department along with many other distinguished alumni interviews. The documentary will be released in early December.

In addition to the documentary, we are delighted to host a celebration along with an exhibition that takes place at the SVA Flatiron Gallery from October 22 to November 30. It showcases creative work from both early and recent graduates from concentrations in 3D and 2D animation, vfx, and fine art. The exhibition includes a digital sculpture installation by Jose Carlos Casado inspired by the Arctic connecting nature to technology, an animated LED light sculpture by Erwin Redl, and Alicia Martins animation of her digital paintings. We will also be showing our eight Student Academy Award-winning films and other notable animation shorts.

We hope to see you at our 30th Anniversary Celebration reception on October 28, 2016. Please visit our website at mfaca.sva.edu for more information.
Photo: Carmen Weld

If you live in West Kelowna you may notice the neighbourhood chatter is water, a referendum and more water.

The water-quality advisory has been in place for the Lakeview Water System for more than six weeks now and residents have begun airing their frustration.

Signs have popped up around the city suggesting residents should question the safety of the water and the Rose Valley dam itself, as well as encouraging residents to vote no in the referendum as the no side argues clean water should be a priority over a new city hall.

However, the city said the signs are all based on incorrect information and that water is currently a priority for the city.

We have completed our dam-safety review in 2014, a comprehensive inspection. We do have audits that take place and weekly inspection, Rob Hillis, engineering manager with the City of West Kelowna.

Since the municipality took these water irrigation districts over, a lot of work and planning has been completed into providing safe drinking water for our residents. Whether the civic centre referendum passes or fails won't affect our timeline for completed water treatment for West Kelowna.

The water advisory was first issued for the Lakeview Water System on Aug. 4, and affects 11,000 people in Lakeview Heights, Rose Valley, Boucherie Centre, Shannon Woods, Tallus Ridge and Shannon Lake areas.

The water-quality advisory is still issued and people with compromised immune systems are still recommended to boil the water. We have a biologist monitoring the situation and they are taking tests every other day and they are providing reports on the situation. Currently, the turbidity is still above one, but not a lot above one, said Hillis.

Hillis explained that it is very rare for them to see turbidity levels over one in the Rose Valley Reservoir  the last time was in 2008.

Our data suggests that this is not a typical occurrence. I am sure it is frustrating to some residents, it is frustrating to us, but we are at the mercy of the environment, said Hillis.

We had a large algae bloom in May, we had a lot of active weather and a high-reservoir level that added a lot of sediment. It just takes time for it to go away in water. It is environmental factors leading to this.

Hillis argues that the city does provide safe water for its residents and that this turbidity is out of their hands, but that the city in the process of fixing the problem right at the source.

The long-term plan is to treat water at the source, a filtration plant, said Hillis. Since we took over the two water irrigation districts, Westbank and Lakeview, in 2011, we've completed a Water Utility Master Plan, we've done dam-safety reviews, we're currently doing a water-rate study.

He said the project plan in the works would cost about $40.6 million, so the city is currently looking into increased water rates to cover the cost.

The new filtration plant is expected to be built and in operation by 2021.
Photo: GoFundMe

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support a Penticton woman who was seriously injured in a car crash in Metro Vancouver.

Meg Hanover suffered several injuries in the crash, which happened in the Massey Tunnel on Aug. 15.

"Her list of injuries is extensive and includes concussion, dissected carotid artery in her neck, shattered elbow, four broken ribs, internal trauma to her liver, spleen, bladder, kidney and lacerations to her pancreas. She has broken her pelvis, separated her pelvic bone, fractured tibia in her right leg, two broken fibulas, fractures and broken metatarsals in both of her feet and most of her toes," the GoFundMe page reads.

Meg's sister, Andrea Hanover, set up the campaign to help her raise funds to get through several months of bills and living expenses.

Despite her extensive list of injuries, Meg will likely be able to walk again in eight months, but for now that means she is unable to work and provide for herself.

"Even though we can't fix Meg, we can help her live as comfortably as she can," the GoFundMe post reads. "We can help to reduce the level of stress about things like rent, heating bills and food costs while she is healing."

Andrea, who works at Castanet in Penticton, said Meg hadn't been living in Penticton at the time, but was in the process of moving back to Penticton, after living in Vancouver for some time.

In the GoFundMe page, Andrea said her sister has received a lot of support since the crash.

"An outpouring of people have been asking about Meg this past few weeks, the extent of her injuries and if she is going to be ok," she said.

"Although it is going to be a very long road to recovery, we are so extremely lucky to still have Meg with us after such a horrific accident."
Photo: Contributed

Grand Chief Ron Derrickson has backed out of the race for chief of the Westbank First Nation.

As Castanet first reported yesterday, Derrickson told members of the WFN that he was no longer interested in the chief position.

I am raising money for a native-legal fund for all of North America, the Seven Generation Fund, and I think this is more important for me to do, although I am concerned about what is happening there, said Derrickson.

I gave my speech and I withdrew.

Due to his last-minute withdrawal, his name will remain on the ballot tomorrow, but he said he is encouraging his supporters to back fellow candidate Roxanne Lindley.

Robert Louie and the council have had many years in there and they haven't shown what they can do, said Derrickson.

They've lost money on every business venture they've been involved in and it is bringing the band down. They don't listen to advice, they've quit listening to the membership, they think they know better. The proof is in the pudding.

Derrickson argues that Louie has been serving as chief for long enough.

It is time for a change, said Derrickson. People get sick of you, Robert should have left. His results are beyond terrible."

Yesterday, Chief Robert Louie replied to accusations levelled by Derrickson of money mismanagement and spending, but Derrickson stands behind his comments.

He should know better, he needs to take responsibility for it, said Derrickson. He said my accusations are absurd, they are absurd because they are true. The absurdity of what he has done is beyond comprehension. They have fiduciary responsibility to protect the membership and they haven't done it.

Louie also said that the band was in much worse financial straights under Derrickson than it has been under his government.

He is full of crap, said Derrickson.

When I was chief, we bought Gallaghers Canyon, paid for it, put in all the infrastructure for number nine. We bought Pine Acres that was making money, we had a real estate company, an insurance company  all profitable. So, maybe we didn't collect that kind of tax dollars, but if you just waste those dollars, what good is it.

Derrickson, Larry Derrickson and Roxanne Lindley are all on the ballot, opposing Louie's efforts to win re-election.

Louie has been chief since 2002. He was chief previously from 1986 until 1996.

Elections for chief and council will be held Thursday.
Photo: Contributed

UPDATED: 5:12 p.m.

A special truck that was stolen from a Westside Road property in the early morning hours of Wednesday has been found.

Brittany Jones woke up Wednesday morning to find her customized 1978 GMC Jimmy stolen. The four-by-four was her father's and he had passed it down to her.

A Castanet reader had spotted the truck in some bushes near Turtle Pond by Gorman Bros. lumber mill at 7 a.m., and then read the Castanet article about the theft later in the day.

He reported it to the police as soon as he read the article.

Jones says the front winch has been taken, but the rest of the vehicle appears intact and undamaged.

Jones and her family are overjoyed they got the truck back, and thankful to all those who helped find it.

ORIGINAL: 2:00 p.m.

To Brittney Jones, her 1978 GMC Jimmy is much more than just a truck.

The unique four-by-four vehicle was stolen off her family's property early Wednesday morning and Jones is hoping someone can help her get it back.

"It was my dad's when he was younger and he decided to rebuild it for me," she said. "I feel a little bit heart-wrenched right now."

"We've done so much work to it  we think $25,000, plus," she added.

Jones said she heard noises at 3 a.m. and discovered at 7 a.m. that the truck was gone.

If you spot the truck, licence plate 829KN, call your local RCMP or Crime Stoppers at call 1-800-222-TIPS.
Photo: Contributed

The Kelowna Islamic Centre is bursting at the seams.

Over the last few years the congregation has grown so much so that members are sometimes being forced to conduct their prayers outside the building at 1120 Highway 33.

We've been struggling for the last few years as we've seen quite a bit of growth in our congregation, explained Hamid Butt on the board of directors for the centre.

When we do have Friday prayers, the most critical one, we have people standing outside to perform their prayers because there is not enough room inside the building.

He said the outdoor prayers become a major challenge in the winter, pushing them to look for a bigger space and quick.

Last winter it was a challenge so members were reluctant to come, said Butt.

He said in the last five years the congregation has more than doubled to about 400 members.

We have a lot of influx with new employment opportunities due to the hospital and some of those academic programs, a lot of international students at UBCO, said Butt.

Some studying, some staff members, it is interesting to see the international influx of members.

To remedy the space issue, the centre purchased the residential property directly behind them and had the area rezoned for a new larger building, parking lot and overall space.

We are going to demolish the current mosque and build a new one, said Butt.

Demolition is set to begin within the next few weeks.

He said for the duration of the eight to 10-month construction phase, they will look to rent a hall somewhere so they can still hold their weekly sermon and prayers.

We are very appreciative of the city for helping us through this, said Butt.

We are very proud of our community. It isn't a huge congregation, but we collected all the money for the house we bought behind the mosque and paid it all off in one year."

He said they hope to continue to collect funds to pay for the new mosque.

Our project is expected to cost about $1.1 million dollars and we already have $750,000-$800,000 available. We are short $350,000 or so and we are hoping our congregation will come through with their generosity."

While the comment sections online may make you think different, Butt said the Okanagan is generally welcoming to the muslim community.

We Canadians are more compassionate and considerate to others, said Butt. Once in awhile, here and there, you hear bad comments, but that is not really reflective of the community at large.
Photo: Dustin Godfrey

A Penticton wetland is getting some renovations this week.

Through co-operation and support between the City of Penticton, the Penticton Indian Band, and the provincial and federal governments, work has begun to clean up what has been dubbed the "Brandon Oxbow".

Dwight Shanner, a biologist with Aarde Environmental, is consulting with the city keep the project moving.

Shanner said the oxbow, which was formerly the main waterway between the two lakes, has been acting as the city's storm sewers' terminus.

That has meant gravel and dust that has washed into the storm sewers winds up in the oxbow, whether that sediment is brought in by cars, or laid over snow on roads to increase traction.

The work has been a long time coming for some like Rick McKelvey with Friends of the Oxbow, who has also been working to get this kind of work done on other oxbows around town, which face similar problems.

"This is the one we've been able to actually get something done with, on account of the city has taken responsibility for the fact that a lot of the silt that's coming in here is from road gravel," McKelvey said.

Shanner said the city has also taken proactive steps to keep the sediment out of the oxbow.

"The city has also added gravel and oil separators (in the storm sewers) to prevent this in the future," he said.

While McKelvey said the cause has had support from all sides, the issue has mainly been around money. In particular, the Brandon Oxbow is in parts on federal, provincial and municipal land.

That makes organizing the work permits complicated, but McKelvey also said it also allows different levels of government to pass on the responsibility for paying for the work.

"We've never found anybody who's against it, it's just, 'Yeah, it's a good idea, but who's got the money kind of thing, or whose responsibility is it?'" he said.

"It being federal land on that side, city on this side, provincial water in the middle, there's a lot of negotiating that needs to go on."

Shanner said the group has a permit from the provincial government to remove 340 cubic metres of sediment from the oxbow, with the permit lasting until Friday.

He said they will likely only be able to get one third of the sediment that has collected over dozens of years out of the oxbow, but noted that it will likely bring more wildlife to the area, such as painted turtles, salamanders and fish.
Photo: CTV

The Crowsnest Pass region in southern Alberta is remembering an agonizing anniversary and still looking for answers as to why a little girl, her father and a woman from a nearby community were slain a year ago.

The tragic events began on Sept. 9, 2015, when the body of 69-year-old Hanne Meketech was found in her Coleman-area home.

A few days later on Sept. 14, Terry Blanchette, 27, was found dead in his Blairmore home and an Amber Alert was issued for his two-year-old daughter, Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, who went missing from the residence.

The little girls remains were recovered in a rural area near the southern Alberta town the next day.

Derek Saretzy, 23, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and many in the community are still struggling to understand what happened.

Hailey's godmother, Rebecca Harrington, told CTV Calgary she urged people in the community to wear blue and pink on Wednesday in honour of Blanchette and his daughter.

And it's more than painful just today, its every day this small town is still, is still suffering with this tragedy, said Harrington.

Blanchettes friends say every day continues to be a nightmare and his absence still leaves a big hole in their lives.

Hailey was always happy and joyful," said Corette Harrington. "Terry overcame a lot of adversity to get to where he was and we were so proud of him. They were very special people."

Saretzkys trial is scheduled to begin on May 8, 2017.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Supervised injection sites in Kamloops would not be a panacea for the deadly opioid crisis, and many North Shore businesses have already expressed opposition to the idea.

City council voted in principle Tuesday to support such sites in the city after hearing from medical health officer Dr. Sylvena Mema.

We need a whole compendium of resources at hand," Mema said.

Meanwhile, ASK Wellness, the Kamloops agency that provides front-line mental health and addiction services, has told Interior Health it will not be accommodating a supervised injection program.

Executive director Bob Hughes says safe injection alone will not address the crisis in the absence of housing and detox supports, which are inadequate in Kamloops.

Mema said the next step is to look at possible locations, with one site on both shores of the Thompson River a possibility.

But, North Shore Business Improvement Association members are against the idea.

Survey results released Wednesday show of 224 businesses canvassed, 172 are opposed to a safe-injection site, while 52 would favour it.

We reached out to as many businesses as we were able to over the course of August once we saw the media reports saying this was being considered for Kamloops," said NSBIA executive director Steven Puhallo. "Our business community is very concerned and worried about having a site like this on the North Shore."

He said they are discussing the proposal with IHA and will be working with the health authority to get more information.

 NewsKamloops.com
Photo: Contributed

With Parliament poised to look at changes to how temporary foreign workers are treated, people who came as live-in caregivers are speaking out about what they call injustices within the federal programs.

Kristina Torres, 28, came to Canada from the Philippines under a federal live-in caregiver program that she said has left her feeling "disposable" and less than human. Torres joined other caregivers in Toronto on Sunday to discuss allegations of exploitation in the program.

The federal initiative allowed families to hire someone from another country to live with them and provide care for children, seniors and people with medical needs or disabilities. After two years in the program, the caregiver could then apply to become a permanent resident.

The program was changed in 2014 so new applicants were no longer required to live in their employers' homes. But people already employed through the live-in program could continue in that stream. Torres said those who had been in the program couldn't apply for so-called "live-out" jobs without going through what she described as a "lengthy" re-application process.

Federal programs involving temporary foreign workers have been no end of embarrassment for the government.

They've been criticized for giving Canadian jobs to foreign nationals, and leaving those foreign nationals in precarious work situations.

Reforms were made after a series of controversies, including reports of fast-food restaurants favouring temporary foreign workers over local employees. The Royal Bank also came under fire for cutting Canadian jobs while a new supplier it hired to provide technical support brought in foreign workers.

A Commons committee studied potential reforms to the programs this spring, and is expected to release its report after MPs return to Parliament Hill next week.

Many workers in the programs, such as Torres, are tied to the employer who brought them over  if they quit or are let go, they lose their living place and can't accept a job elsewhere without jumping through bureaucratic hoops.

"If we don't have an employer, we don't have a home," Torres said.

She said workers' hands are tied when their employers ask them to work unpaid overtime or do tasks that are outside of their job description. They can't decline without risking their job. Torres said she's had to agree to work that doesn't fall within the scope of her job, including fixing the caulking on an employer's bathroom floor.

"It was lucky I knew how to do it," she said.

But in 2014, when the program was in the midst of its overhaul, she was less lucky. She had been working for someone for a while, but she said she was let go a short time after she declined to help her employer renovate  something that was completely outside of her job description. She said she thinks her refusal is what triggered her termination.

Torres had to apply for a new work permit, and said she was rejected several times before finally being accepted.

"You just collapse from all those expectations that you have, hoping that you'll have a good life in Canada," she said. "And then you're treated as less than a human being."
Photo: The Canadian Press

Donald Trump was cut off, chastised and then heckled after he attacked rival Hillary Clinton during what was supposed to be a speech on helping where the government had failed the people of Flint, Michigan.

"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," said the Rev. Faith Green Timmons, the pastor of the Bethel United Methodist Church.

The Republican nominee quickly stopped, then said "Ok, that's good, Then I'm going to go back to Flint" and its water crisis that had sickened its citizens.

But the interruption seemed to embolden those in the sparse crowd. One woman shouted that Trump had used discriminatory housing practices in his buildings, causing the celebrity businessman to respond, "Never, you're wrong. Never would."

Trump abruptly ended his speech, which had lasted six minutes. More heckling followed him out.

The visit was part of the campaign's effort to persuade voters that the celebrity businessman can appear empathetic and presidential in a crisis. Trump also has his eye on a good showing in the industrial Midwest, though polls have him down in Michigan, which last went Republican in 1988.

The trip was the Republican presidential nominee's first visit to the poverty-stricken city since lead was detected in its water supply in April 2014. More than 100,000 had their water contaminated after the city left Detroit's water supply and started using improperly treated Flint River water.

Trump did address the crisis, saying at the church "We will get it fixed and it will be fixed and effectively and Flint will come back. Most importantly, we'll bring jobs back."
Photo: The Canadian Press

Angela Caddell started struggling with her Christianity 14 years ago when she came out as gay. But a gathering at a bar to talk faith over a cold beer once a month is helping her feel more connected to her religion.

"If you're an atheist you are welcome. .... I'm a lesbian, I'm totally welcome," said the 32-year-old from Wauwatosa, Wis., at a recent gathering.

"Tonight we're talking about scapegoating. There is no scapegoating that happens here."

This event is called "Jesus & Beer" and it's part of an effort by some Christian groups throughout the country to recruit parishioners, connect with people struggling with faith or provide a relaxed outlet to talk religion.

Caddell heard about the event through Brandon Brown, pastor at CollectiveMKE. He started the gatherings once a month at area bars about 1 1/2 years ago. He doesn't have a stand-alone church and knew that his non-traditional gatherings wouldn't attract social conservatives. About two dozen people attend.

"I think it also completely unsettles everyone's expectations in that they know what it is to talk about their faith in a church but most people have never done it in a bar so it's a totally new environment and maybe fresh," Brown said. "In addition to that, I'll be honest: a beer or two doesn't hurt the conversation at all."

While bringing people together to throw one back and talk religion isn't a new idea, groups have been turning to the non-traditional pub setting to attract younger people such as millennials. According to a Pew Research Center study, the number of U.S. adults who are affiliated with an organized religion dropped from 83 per cent in 2007 to 77 per cent in 2014, a trend particularly striking in the millennial generation.
Photo: The Canadian Press

UPDATE: 10:45 a.m.

The lawyer for an Alberta man found guilty of the second-degree murder of two seniors says his client will appeal.

Brian Beresh says he disagrees with the murder verdict against Travis Vader.

Beresh says the judge appears to have constructed his own version of what happened to Lyle and Marie McCann based on circumstantial evidence.

Justice Denny Thomas said he concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Vader killed the couple during a robbery.

UPDATED: 10:15 a.m.

A judge has found a former Okanagan man guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of two Alberta seniors who disappeared more than six years ago.

The judge told an Edmonton court he has concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Travis Vader killed Lyle and Marie McCann during a robbery.

Vader, who is originally from Summerland, was charged with first-degree murder and had pleaded not guilty.

Justice Denny Thomas said there wasn't enough evidence to conclude Vader, who now lives in Alberta, planned to killed the McCanns.

"I cannot conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Vader killed the McCanns in a planned and deliberate manner," Thomas said in a decision that was broadcast live from the courtroom.

"The killing of the McCanns was not a first-degree murder. It is therefore a second-degree murder."

The conviction carries an automatic life sentence, but a hearing still needs to be held to determine Vader's parole eligibility. Thomas said he would reconvene court later in the day.

The bodies of the McCanns, who were both in their late 70s, have never been found, but Vader's DNA and a fingerprint were found in their SUV.

The vehicle and the couple's burned-out motor home were discovered west of Edmonton days after the McCanns vanished.

Thomas said Vader's motivation when he came upon the McCanns at a campground was to rob them because he was broke, hungry and a drug addict.

"The McCanns and their property were likely nothing more than a target of opportunity  an opportunity that Mr. Vader took."
Photo: The Canadian Press

A wing flap that washed ashore on an island off Tanzania has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian officials said Thursday.

The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had previously said it was highly likely to have come from the missing Boeing 777. An analysis by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, subsequently confirmed the part was indeed from the aircraft, the agency said in a statement.

Several pieces of wreckage suspected to have come from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

The wing flap brings to five the number of pieces of debris the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has determined are almost certainly, or are definitely, from Flight 370. Another piece of wing found a year ago on La Reunion Island, near Madagascar, was positively identified by French officials.

Search officials expect more wreckage to wash up in the months ahead. But so far, none of the debris has helped narrow down the precise location of the main underwater wreckage.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau anticipates search crews will complete their sweep of the 120,000-square kilometre (46,000-square mile) search zone in the Indian Ocean off Australia's west coast by December.

Meanwhile, oceanographers have been analyzing the wing flaps from La Reunion and Tanzania in the hope of identifying a possible new search area through drift modeling. But a new search would require a new funding commitment, with Malaysia, Australia and China agreeing in July that the $160 million hunt will be suspended once the current stretch of ocean is exhausted unless new evidence emerges that would pinpoint a specific location of the aircraft.
Photo: WRDW

In a real life version of the children's reader "Snakes Alive!", state wildlife officers are searching for 14 pythons in an east Georgia subdivision after a woman reported that someone let the pet snakes loose.

Jacqueline Heim told authorities the snakes were in secure cages. She suspects someone set them free deliberately this week.

Heim tells WRDW-TV the ball pythons are not harmful. Ball pythons, sometimes known as royal pythons, are so named because their key defence against predators is to roll up in a ball.

Priscilla Crisler of Augusta Animal Services says the snakes "typically are very docile."

But neighbours like Shekelia Wilcher are on edge. Wilcher tells WJBF-TV that young children in the neighbourhood wait for their school bus and "one might just crawl up on them."

The neighbourhood is in Hephzibah, about 15 miles south of Augusta.
Photo: CTV

An in-depth review of Canada's anti-money laundering efforts has uncovered serious concerns that organized crime is using the country's hot real estate sector to illegally funnel cash.

The report from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force makes special note of real estate as an area of the economy with a high risk of illicit activity, one of a few weak spots in what the report calls a comprehensive federal regime to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The charitable and life insurance industries are also identified in the report as sectors at risk of providing financial help to terrorists and criminals.

Of particular concern are real estate schemes in which a foreign or domestic criminal provides cash to a local buyer, or more sophisticated schemes where loans and mortgages are combined with lawyers' trust accounts to move money around quietly.

The Canada Revenue Agency is probing questionable transactions in the Vancouver real estate market, part of a wider study the federal government is doing into ever-rising housing prices there and in Toronto.

The report released today suggests the risk of criminals using real estate to launder money and proceeds of crime is a cross-country issue and not solely focused on Toronto and Vancouver, pointing to Quebec as a region where there is a risk of abuse.

Agents told reviewers they saw the risk of money laundering as low, pointing out that they don't handle cash-only deals  the money usually flows through lawyers, banks or mortgage companies.

The report, however, says financial agencies and agents involved in those transactions sometimes do only a cursory review of information to see if the buyer on paper is linked to a criminal or terrorist group.

It also says relying on lawyers is problematic because their actions on behalf of a client can't be probed by law enforcement agencies, as the Supreme Court of Canada has said those transactions are protected by solicitor-client privilege.

"In light of these professionals' key gatekeeper role, in particular in high-risk sectors and activities such as real-estate transactions and the formation of corporations and trusts, this constitutes a serious impediment to Canada's efforts to fight (money laundering)," the report says.
Photo: WFN

It's voting day for the Westbank First Nation.

While only the band's 800 members are able to vote for the chief and four councillor positions, about 10,000 people live on WFN land on the Westside.

The controversial proposed private hospital has emerged as a hot-button issue during the campaign, with former Westbank First Nation chief Ron Derrickson calling it a financial disaster, claiming it has cost band members more than $8 million.

"That's a debt of more than $12,000 a person or $50,000 for every family in Westbank," said Derrickson. "This is scandalous, and we are still under the threat of more multi-million dollar lawsuits."

Derrickson has since bowed out of the race, leaving Larry Derrickson and Roxanne Lindley as opponents to current Chief Robert Louie.

Louie, who has led the band since 2002, admitted the hospital plan has cost a lot of money. However, he said the hospital could still move forward if band members choose to stay the course.

Louie said he plans over the next three years, if elected, to bring the WFN to "100 per cent self-sufficiency," to bring land claims front and centre and to eliminate homelessness within the band.

We will not have homeless people on this reserve that are members of WFN.

Members vote between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the WFN's administration office.

The band said election results will be publically posted on Friday.
BOZEMAN  Bozeman's mayor suggests Montana State University shouldn't continue increasing its enrollment without having housing for the additional students.

Mayor Carson Taylor made his remarks at a public forum this week.

Montana State's enrollment increased by more than 2,100 students between 2010 and 2015. The university opened the 72-bed Gallatin Hall in 2013 and the 400-bed Yellowstone Hall this fall and made some renovations to accommodate more students.

Taylor said the increased demand for off-campus student housing is driving up monthly rents and private development tends to lag behind enrollment growth.

MSU spokesman Tracy Ellig said the university's open-door admissions policy is a key part of its mission and an enrollment cap would limit access to public education.

Taylor said the city, county, school district and university need to work together on the issue.
Photo: The Canadian Press

President Barack Obama said Thursday that creating the Atlantic Ocean's first marine national monument was a needed response to dangerous climate changes, ocean dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices.

The new Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the New England coast. It's the 27th time that Obama has created or enlarged a national monument.

"If we're going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then we're going to have to act and we're going to have to act boldly," Obama said at a State Department conference. More than 20 countries represented at the meeting were also announcing the creation of their own marine protected areas.

Monument designations come with restrictions on certain activities. The White House said the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a seven-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. Recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.

Supporters of the new monument say protecting large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. Fishermen worry it will become harder for them to earn a living as a result of Obama's move.

"We've been fishing out there for 35 years. It's a big blow to us," said Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

White House officials said the administration listened to industry's concerns, and noted the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies like Williams'.
Photo: The Canadian Press Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs holds up a photo showing the type of BB gun that police say a 13-year-old boy pulled from his waistband just before he was shot and killed by police investigating an armed robbery report.

An officer responding to a reported armed robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy during a chase when the teen pulled from his waistband a BB gun that looked "practically identical" to a police weapon, authorities said Thursday.

Because the officer was white and the boy black, the case has brought inevitable comparisons with the 2014 fatal shooting in Cleveland of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Columbus police are early in their investigation but say the differences in the Wednesday night shooting of Tyree King and the Cleveland case are stark.

"The only thing similar in nature is the age, race and outcome," said Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner. "The facts are not similar, and that must be reiterated."

Officers investigating the armed robbery report on Wednesday spotted three males east of downtown Columbus who matched the description of the suspects, authorities said. Two of them ran away when officers tried to speak with them.

The police chased the pair into a nearby alley and tried to take them into custody. That's when Tyree pulled out a gun, and one officer fired his weapon, hitting the boy repeatedly, police said.

Tyree died at a children's hospital. Authorities identified the officer who fired as a nine-year veteran of the force named Bryan Mason.

At a news conference Thursday, Police Chief Kim Jacobs displayed a photo of what she called a "replica" of the BB gun that Tyree had.

"Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon," she said. "As you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you."

Mason has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, per department protocol, Jacobs said.
Photo: David Wylie

One of the most commonly used pain relievers on the market is also the leading cause of all serious liver injury, Health Canada says, prompting the department to roll out updated labelling standards for acetaminophen on Thursday.

The changes include instructions on packages to encourage the use of the lowest possible dose and warnings not to use the products for more than five straight days for pain or three days for a fever.

The department also recommends that adults not exceed the recommended daily dose of 4,000 mg for adults  the equivalent of 12 regular Tylenol tablets or eight extra-strength pills.

Label changes apply immediately for companies seeking to introduce new products, but companies already on the Canadian market will have 18 months to comply.

Acetaminophen presents a unique challenge for health care providers because it is so commonly used, Health Canada chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma said Thursday.

"It can be safely used if people are following the labels and the directions for use," she said.

"However, at the same time, is a product that is responsible for the most number of cases of acute liver failure in Canada ... I can't think of another product that is in this category."

The challenge for the department, practitioners and patients is to balance benefits with the risks, Sharma added.
United Way Drive-Thru Breakfast Photo: Jasmine Aantjes Photo: Jasmine Aantjes Photo: Jasmine Aantjes Photo: Jasmine Aantjes Photo: United Way Photo: United Way Photo: United Way Photo: United Way 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

A local drive-thru fundraiser has surpassed its goal.

The United Way Drive-Thru Breakfast brought in $15,002 last year.

"We wanted to up the ante a little bit," United Way Central and South Okanagan's marketing and events manager Marianne Dahl said Thursday. "We set a goal of $20,000, and we were just so happy to have reached it."

The funds were raised through sponsors and the sale of 825 bagged breakfasts that were handed out at the Lakeside Resort Wednesday morning.

Those packages included coffee, hot sandwiches and more, including prizes tucked in random bags.

Dahl said the process went much smoother this year, with wait times typically not exceeding 10 minutes.

"I think we just got better at it," she said. "You learn every year what works and what doesn't work, and we made a few tweaks to make things move faster."

She said there were likely the same amount of people coming through, as both years sold out.

The money raised will go to various children's causes in the region, including food security.

"Many people don't realize that about 20 per cent of children in B.C. live in poverty," she said. "And that's true for Penticton and the South Okanagan as well.

"We know that the needs of the community are greater than ever," she said. "So, that's why we shoot higher and higher."
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

The District of Summerland has an idea that it thinks could save the area from future fears of school closures.

The district is suggesting a new school district be created for Summerland, which is currently served by the same district as Penticton  School District 67.

But there's a slight twist to their suggestion: incorporate the school district's administration with Summerland's municipal administration.

The idea has been proposed to the provincial government as a pilot project, but the district said in a release that the details are still being worked out.

The municipality intends to bring the idea to an upcoming Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting in Victoria.

The model would closely emulate the school board in Summerland prior to its amalgamation with Penticton's school board in 1996, but the municipality and the school board would integrate services, such as finance, administrative and works staff, equipment and facilities.

The idea still needs to go through the Minister of Education Mike Bernier, as well as public consultations to work out kinks and answer questions, but the municipality is confident in the idea as a pilot for the province.

The district's new pitch for the school board comes after a dramatic summer, in which School District 67 voted to close Summerland's Trout Creek Elementary School.

The school narrowly avoided closure after the provincial government kicked in funds for various nearly-closed schools in the province.
Photo: Contributed

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is sounding a warning after eight cases of enterovirus were found in children since mid-August.

They are the first laboratory-confirmed cases in B.C. since 2014.

Six of the children were under the age of two, said Dr. Mel Krajden, medical director of the Public Health Laboratory.

The virus causes mild to severe respiratory illness. Most who catch it have only mild, cold-like symptoms or no symptoms at all. More severe cases can include muscle weakness or paralysis. People with asthma and other lung conditions are more susceptible to serious complications.

The CDC urges people to take precautions including washing your hands regularly and staying home when ill.

The numbers are low so far but we can expect more infections to occur through the fall and early winter period, said Dr. Danuta Skowronski. That is when EV-D68 and other more common cold viruses tend to circulate.

The recent cases are unrelated and were identified in different regions of the province. At least half required hospitalization and one included neurological symptoms including arm paralysis.

This is the time of year when we see respiratory viruses that cause colds and coughs, said deputy provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. This year, were seeing EV-D68 again as well, and while most affected people will have only mild illness the symptoms, for those with asthma it can be more serious. Prompt medical care is important for those who experience difficulty breathing.

Unlike the flu, for which there is a vaccine available later in the fall, there is no treatment for EV-D68 or other cold-like viruses.
Northwest tribal representatives urged a small group of Montana legislators on Wednesday to allow bison more room to roam outside of Yellowstone National Park.

Instead the Environmental Quality Council voted by a narrow margin to draft a letter to Yellowstone National Park officials saying they support allowing tribal hunting inside the park.

I think its a damn good thing, said Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey. Do I think well get anything out of it? No.

The decision prompted a Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes legal representative to urge the council to note in the letter that the tribe has not asked to hunt in the park. Sen. Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman, also wanted it noted in the letter that the council was divided on the issue.

Winter plan

The discussion arose during the first day of the EQCs two-days of hearings on a variety of subjects, including plans for how Montana would manage Yellowstone bison that migrate out of the park this winter.

Last year the Park Service delayed its trapping of bison to allow more hunter opportunity to kill the big animals, which is more politically and socially acceptable. The Park Service traps the bison in part to test for the spread of the disease brucellosis but also to ship animals to slaughter to reduce the size of the herd which otherwise has few natural predators.

The Yellowstone bison population has grown to more than 5,000 animals. Montana would like the park to drop that number to 3,000, a desire outlined in a court-mediated agreement between the Department of the Interior and the state.

The delayed trapping and the coordination of hunts to try and give the bison time to move out of the park before theyre shot created a situation that proved untenable in the Beatty Gulch area where the huntable bison congregated, according to Sam Shepherd, Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 3 supervisor.

So this year Yellowstone officials have agreed to start trapping bison immediately when the animals migrate out of the park in the Gardiner Basin. Some bison will not be rounded up to still allow for hunter opportunity, Shepherd added.

We recognize that hunting is not the entire solution, said Marty Zaluski, the state veterinarian. We want to make sure we are proactive and not creating a crisis situation with larger numbers of bison coming out of the park.

Tolerance

On the western side of the park, where bison migrate out near West Yellowstone, Montana last year expanded the tolerance zone for bison. That eliminated what had been an annual hazing of bison back into the park in the spring, which had been conducted by the Montana Department of Livestock and FWP to prevent bison from giving birth outside of Yellowstone. Birthing material is believed to be the main source of transmission of brucellosis, which ranchers fear may spread to cattle.

Shepherd called the new policy a resounding success. They self-regulated back into the park without any cost to us, he said. Past roundups included men on horseback, four-wheelers and sometimes the use of a helicopter, actions that gave Montana a black eye among bison supporters.

Tribal representatives praised the increase tolerance to the western side of the park and asked that it be expanded to the Gardiner region.

It would be good to watch them go out into their natural habitat, said Tom Wadsworth, captain of enforcement for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes from Fort Hall, Idaho.

Quincy Ellenwood, of the Nez Perce Tribe, said that Gov. Steve Bullocks expansion of the bison tolerance zone on the west side of Yellowstone National Park was a really big step in history, yet he added that it has been overdue.

Slow change

Management of the Yellowstone bison has been a controversial issue for decades as the state, National Park Service, tribes and an alphabet soup of other agencies have tried to cooperate to reduce the steadily growing bison population.

Incrementally the situation has changed, allowing bison more room to roam outside the park. But many state Republican legislators have called on Yellowstone to take a larger role in managing the parks animals.

A new bison management plan is being written that could add more options like establishing a disease free herd that could eventually be transported to other herds outside Yellowstone to provide genetic diversity and ease some of the slaughter. But even with that option the hunting and slaughter of bison would continue.

Tribal ties

The tribal spokesmen tried to relate to the EQC that bison, to them, are more than just wildlife.

That animal is the backbone of our community, said Ron Trehan, of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Im here to be that voice for them.

Trehan recommended that bison be managed by Montana like other wildlife, allowing them free range within a suitable portion of their historical habitat.

Because of our subsistence lifestyle  we learned by living it for thousands of years  we had to learn how to survive, said Darrell Shay of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes. And one of the teachers were the buffalo clan.

They are so important to humankind. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
An employee died early Wednesday at the Williams natural gas processing plant in Opal, the gas company said in a statement.

The cause of death was not immediately known. The company is investigating the incident and shut down operations at the plant in Opal, according to the statement.

The employee has not been identified.

The company reported that there had not been an explosion or fire at the plant, and the area where the death occurred had been cordoned off.

State investigators were en route to the plant Wednesday afternoon, said Haylee McKee, a spokeswoman for the Department of Workforce Services. The agency oversees the Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The agency did not expect to have information to share with the public until midday Thursday.

The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office did not return messages seeking comment.

The plant is offering counseling to its other employees, according to its statement.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and want to express our deepest condolences to his family, said Dan Kalan, senior operations manager, in a statement.

This is the second energy industry death in Wyoming this summer. In July, a 28-year-old oil rig worker fell from a derrick in Midwest. That death is still under investigation by state regulators.
Since he distilled Jim Garrison and Jim Marrs various books on the Kennedy assassination into his 1991 opus JFK, filmmaker Oliver Stone has had the reputation of being a man who never met a conspiracy theory he didnt like. Whether the assertion is true or not, Stone has spent a chunk of his career picking at the edges of controversial, real-life people and places (El Salvador, Vietnam, Wall Street, Richard Nixon, the World Trade Center, George W. Bush). His latest film plunges straight into a hot-button, headline-grabbing controversy du jour, the case of NSA whistleblower/ traitor Edward Snowden.

Snowden is a relatively straightforward retelling of the dissident computer programmers life, as related and officially endorsed by Snowden himself. Stones film is more or less a dramatization of Laura Poitras documentary/ interview Citizenfour. Most of its information is lifted directly from that 2014 film and from information Snowden shared with journalists from The Guardian and other papers. It starts in Hong Kong in 2013 where the on-the-run Snowden meets up with a couple of international journalists (Zachary Quinto and Tom Wilkinson) and a documentary filmmaker (Melissa Leo) to spill the beans on the US governments domestic surveillance program. From there, the film settles into standard flashback mode to get us up to speed.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper) does some well-modulated character work as Snowden, a conservative-leaning nerd who volunteers for the Army Reserve as a Special Forces candidate in the wake of 9/11. Physically unsuited for military field work, Snowden is discharged and soon applies for a position with the CIA. His preternatural skill with computers quickly lands him a job in the global communications division at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. There, he hobnobs with the assistant director (a quietly menacing Rhys Ifans) and befriends a burned-out engineer (Nicolas Cage, in an understated cameo). Its from the latter that Snowden gets his first inkling that hes not so much in the terrorism fighting business as the military industrial happiness industry. In other words: efficiency, economy and results are significantly less important than long, drawn-out strategies that generate lots of money for major American corporations.

nowden is a relatively straightforward retelling of the dissident computer programmers life, as related and officially endorsed by Snowden himself. Stones film is more or less a dramatization of Laura Poitras documentary/interview Citizenfour.

As Edward bounces from CIA to NSA and back again, he becomes more and more disillusioned by the lack of intelligence in the intelligence community. He also pieces together the American governments efforts to covertly gather intelligence on its own citizens. In what seems like a flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment, the CIA is recording cell phone conversations and email exchanges between innocent Americans. The justification is that even if people havent committed a crime, they can be used as assets to fight terrorism.

In one grimly demonstrative sequence Snowden and a gung-ho field agent (Timothy Olyphant) essentially manipulate and blackmail a perfectly innocent Pakistani bankerjust so they can secure some connections to Middle Eastern finance. Its a point the movie drives home well. The reason collateral damage (like the kind we seem to get in so many remote-controlled drone strikes) is irrelevant in the war on terrorism is because no one is really trying to fight terrorism. The people in power simply want to seize control of citizens, governments, information and ideals across the globe. The ones with the most data win. Unable to continue operating in this increasing amoral world, Snowden hatches a plan to steal documentation on the domestic spying operation and leak it to the press. Which he does.

Say what you will about Stone, he knows how to construct a convincing argument. Though on more than one occasion it starts to resemble a fancy TEDx lecture, Snowden is a compelling distillation of Snowdens high-tech crusade to speak truth to power. Individual scenes vibrate with tension, and Stone definitely has the skills to turn a sprawling ensemble cast and a whole lot of technobabble into a lucid think piece. If only the writer-director werent so credulous. Is it possible that Snowden was just a paranoid, knee-jerk libertarian drunk on the idea of bringing down Big Brother? Or a brainwashed liberal traitor? Or any one of a dozen other possibilities? Not to listen to Stone tell the talewhich, if it doesnt sanctify Snowden, at least canonizes the guy. Thats not to imply that Snowden was wrong in what he did or said. Value judgments concerning his methods aside, nearly all of Snowdens assertions have proved to be true. Since Snowdens data leak, domestic surveillance has been (more or less, probably, allegedly) shut down by the government. But Stones movie paints this tale as far too clear-cut black and white.

In the real world, one might question Mr. Snowdens increasingly close ties to Russia (where he still resides) and his connection to WikiLeaks, which has been under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks for all but endorsing Russias hack of the DNC, for publishing the medical records of random people and for publicizing the names and identities of countless rape victims worldwide. To be fair, Snowden did come out earlier this month and mildly criticize WikiLeaks in a tweet, saying that their hostility to even modest curation is a mistake. But it just points out the fact that there may have been more shades of gray to this story than Stone was willing to look for.

Utterly convinced of his message, Stone fails to remember that uncertainty is the key to suspense. As a stylish piece of muckraking moral outrage, Snowden is firebrand stuff. As a piece of drama, its lacking in urgency, curiosity and nuance.
CHEYENNE  Laramie County Community College is under federal investigation for a sexual discrimination complaint.

The student body was informed Friday that the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation in February into allegations that the college had discriminated on the basis of sex in its response to a complaint of sexual misconduct, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported.

An Office of Civil Rights representative will be on campus interviewing students this week.

LCCC is one of 212 colleges currently under investigation nationwide for one or more instances of sexual violence on campus.

Judy Hay, LCCC's vice president of student services, wrote in an email to students that the Office of Civil Rights has conducted similar visits to other campuses before.

"At LCCC, OCR is reviewing the College's overall policy and procedures that would govern College response in the event of student allegations of sexual misconduct or discrimination," she wrote.

College spokesman Ty Stockton says the original complaint of sexual misconduct was filed in 2015.

Hay and Stockton did not specify in their emails what kind of violence was alleged to have taken place, or whether staff or faculty was involved.

"Out of respect for the privacy of all parties involved in incidents of this nature and the integrity of College procedures, the College does not discuss or comment publicly on particular allegations, complaints, or incidents of misconduct," Hay said.
In July, I visited my daughter, Joy Bailey, who lives in Chicago. One day, my son-in-law and I decided to join Mike McNamee, a local birder who lived in the same apartment building, on a visit to Orland Grasslands.

The Great Plains grasslands were formed by glaciers thousands of years ago and had a definite pattern to them. The eastern part was tall grass prairie, which is what the Orland Grassland is. The mixed prairie was next, which covers most of North Dakota -- though we have two patches of tall grass prairie left in the state, the Sheyenne Grasslands being one. And the western edge is short grass prairie, located mostly in Montana but also in the North Dakota badlands.

Most of the prairie has been plowed up and many of the wetlands drained so that additional acres could be made more profitable. Cattle were fenced in, so they trampled and grazed the same acreage repeatedly. What little prairie is left is infected with noxious weeds, such as leafy spurge, Russian thistle and Kentucky bluegrass.

The 960-acre Orland Grassland was purchased in the 1960s by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. At first, the land was not restored but at least saved. Today, a collaborative restoration plan is underway with the Forest Preserve District, the Corporation for Open Lands, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Chicago District, the Audubon-Chicago Region and the Village of Orland Park. And very important to the success of the restoration are the helping hands of the Orland Grassland volunteers.

Some of our first bird sightings in this area were bobolinks, Eastern bluebirds, yellow-breasted chat and orchard oriole. We then got back in our cars and drove to the opposite end of the grassland. It was here that we found a bird I have only seen twice. Both of those times were in North Dakota, at Lostwood NWR and in Kidder County.

Henslows sparrow is, at best, an accidental sighting in North Dakota. They are uncommon in the Midwest and the eastern United States, and are declining especially in the northeast portion of the country. Their wintering grounds are the Gulf states.

On our walk, I got six observations of a male Henslows standing on tall grass or weeds. I had always wondered if they would be difficult to hear, but found that their song se-lick is loud and carries quite far. At first glance, their head is flat, much like a grasshopper and Bairds sparrow. All three sparrows are members of the Ammodramus family. The Henslows head and nape are greenish in color, while the other two species are brownish. The Henslows backs have darker, rich brown white-edged feathers than the other two species. And they have a streaked necklace similar to the Bairds, while the grasshopper has no streaking.

The rest of our walk included a pond in a marsh where sedge wrens, blackbirds, green herons and other marsh birds were living. Many other birds live in the grasslands that we did not see that day. All in all, it was a very good day of birding for me.
Seven protesters accused this week of attaching themselves to Dakota Access Pipeline equipment, or helping others do so, were charged with felonies on Thursday.

These are the first protesters to draw charges that could land them more than a year in prison. The 62 others arrested during the past several weeks are facing lesser misdemeanor charges.

In a statement Wednesday, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said the decision to pursue more severe charges was "due to the seriousness of the crime."

Law enforcement officers are put in a dangerous situation when freeing these individuals. There is also a danger posed to DAPL, their workers and equipment, along with the protester putting themselves also in a dangerous circumstance, Kirchmeier said.

Five of the seven were charged with reckless endangerment and two were charged with conspiracy to commit reckless endangerment, according to court records. These are Class C felonies, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

One of those charged on Thursday was Nick Tilsen, executive director of a community development nonprofit on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

The demonstrations this week  in which protesters attached themselves to heavy equipment near Glen Ullin  resembled similar incidents in recent weeks that took place closer to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Protesters who were charged for locking themselves to equipment in those cases are facing lesser misdemeanor charges.

Donnell Preskey, spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriffs Department, said authorities are reviewing the North Dakota Century Code for charge options, that have more teeth and discourage people from doing that sort of thing.

But Cody Hall, a spokesman for the Red Warrior Camp, argues the felony charges will do the opposite.

"They're saying they're going to get strong on us, but what actually happened is it backfired on them," he said. There's more people that showed up today. It's only sparking the movement.

New charges filed in Sept. 3 clash

Also Thursday, four more people were charged in connection with a clash that took place Sept. 3 between protesters and private security personnel with guard dogs.

According to an affidavit supporting misdemeanor criminal trespass charges against the protesters, the individuals were identified in videos available online and on social media sites.

One man allegedly was identified when he posted live video on Facebook from the protest event. Two others were apparently seen on camera giving interviews during the event.

Amy Goodman, a reporter for Democracy Now, interviewed several protesters on scene that day. On Sept. 8, she and Hall were charged with criminal trespass.

Despite the fact that live streaming and video interviews have led to arrests, Hall said the protesters will continue to capture the events on camera.

"That's gonna go on," he said. "The truth needs to get out."
The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services is requesting up to $6 million in borrowing authority from the Bank of North Dakota to offset costs for providing assistance to local law enforcement in response to Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Weve never done this, DES spokeswoman Cecily Fong said of responding to large protests such as those over the past month. Were good at fighting floods.

The governors office on Tuesday put the state cost of assisting law enforcement at $1.8 million so far. About $1.08 million is from DES for overtime pay and resources, plus $700,000 in North Dakota Highway Patrol costs.

Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp said the request is routine for emergencies.

Its something thats not anticipated, said Sharp, adding that the agency typically doesnt have money in its budget for such costly responses.

DES would set up a loan with the state-owned bank and repay it with interest.

A growing protest movement, including tribal members and activists from around the country, has gathered at a camp near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation for more than a month.

Opponents of the project are concerned about potential contamination of the Missouri River if the pipeline were to rupture and over damage to cultural artifacts. A portion of the line is set to be bored under the Missouri River less than a mile from the Standing Rock reservation boundary.

We plan and evaluate every possible scenario, Fong said of how the $6 million figure was reached.

Fong said the estimate came from looking at the camp, which has grown to a few thousand, according to law enforcement estimates, and determining how long it may remain active. This would determine how long and what size of presence may be required in the area.

She said officials expect to see the camp thin out when colder weather settles in.

I just dont think theyd be able to support that many people, Fong said.

Tribal officials say they intend to see the fight through to the end.

Energy Transfer Partners has proven time and time again that the bottom line for them is money. The bottom line for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is and will always be protecting our lands, people, water and sacred sites from the devastation of this pipeline, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault said in a statement on Tuesday.

Archambault was responding to an internal memo from Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren released to media saying the company will continue to press its case for the project to federal regulators.
A former government official of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks from a construction contractor has pleaded guilty to federal charges in North Dakota. Randall Phelan was an elected representative of the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the end of 2012 to the middle of 2020. Investigators say Phelan used his official position to help the contractors business by awarding contracts, fabricating bids and managing fraudulent invoices. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday. Phelan and two others were originally charged with receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme on the oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The contractor has pleaded guilty to bribery.
Dateline: England

A British pub is accusing a Chinese artist of stealing its resident ghost. Ye Olde Man & Scythe, a 765-year-old public house in Bolton, claims it wasuntil recentlyhaunted by the ghost of James Stanley. Stanley, the seventh earl of Derby and a staunch Royalist, was beheaded outside the pub in 1651 for his part in the Bolton Massacre, an early event in the English Civil War. Over the years the pub has even posted images of Stanleys alleged ghost on YouTube. But now the ghost is missing, and the pub owner is blaming Chinese artist Lu Pingyuan for stealing it. On a website for an exhibit of his work at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art in Manchester, Lu claims to have captured the ghost as a symbolic act in reaction to the UKs colonialist past, which saw great losses of both tangible and intangible cultural assets by other nations. Lus biography states that his work is partly authentic and partly fictional, often enigmatic and concerned with spiritual themes. Pub owner Richard Greenwood told the Bolton News that he wants the pubs ghost back, but appears willing to loan the specter out for a short time. I feel strongly that James Stanley's ghost should remain in Bolton and at Ye Olde Man and Scythe to preserve the natural order of things, Greenwood said in a letter addressed to Lu. That said, I do believe that your exhibition should travel and be seen by many people around the world, and I would like to contribute to this as long as at the end of your exhibition it returns home. If Lu promises to eventually return Stanleys displaced spirit, Greenwood says he will contribute the chair reputed to have been the one Stanley sat at for his last meal for use in the exhibition. Lu told the Bolton Times it is up ultimately to Mr. Stanley himself. My original thought is that after the world tour of exhibitions, I will discuss with him and ask him whether he would prefer to stay like this, as a piece of art, or go back to Ye Olde Man and Scythe.

Dateline: Canada

According to the CBC, residents in the Brentwood neighborhood of Calgary are fighting to stop the city from planting trees in their local park. Calgary officials wanted to plant 15 trees in the small, nameless park surrounded by houses as part of the citywide ReTree YYC project, but efforts were stopped after unexpected resistance from residents. Ellen Burgess is one of those residents who has been going door-to-door in the area in a effort to stop the greening of the neighborhood. According to her more trees means more crime. If you give people more places to hide, more naughty things will be done, she told CBC News. Burgess believes residents in the area, which has already seen 8 of the proposed 15 trees installed, should have been consulted by city officials. Weve already had our urban campers here and people using the trees and the bushes as their own personal toilets, and why do we want to give them more places to do that? Homeowner Steve Watt echoed Burgess dislike of the greenery. We think theres enough in the park now, he told CBC News. It just seems to clutter it up. Some area residents have reportedly been swearing and yelling at the city work crews. Jeanette Wheeler, leader of Calgarys Urban Forestry Department, spoke to Canadas Metro News and cited a University of Washington study that said, People have a greater sense of safety where there are a lot of trees. There is less aggressiveness and less violence in the neighborhood. Wheeler said the city plans to continue planting the remainder of the trees in the neighborhood in coming weeks.

Dateline: Massachusetts

Police in Marthas Vineyard say a man broke into a local home andamong other crimespainted the residents dog purple. The Cape Cod Times reports Felix Reagan has been charged with intent to commit a felony, cruelty to animals, larceny of a motor vehicle and other related crimes. Police responded to Pinewood Lane in the Oak Bluffs neighborhood around 2:30pm on Saturday, Sept. 3, for a report that a man had stolen a vehicle, crashed it and fled on foot. While investigating the crash, officers were called to a nearby home where the resident said someone had broken into the house through a first-floor window. Items had been stolen from the home and the homeowners dog was inexplicably purple. Police later tracked down Reagan, who was seen peering into windows of other houses in the neighborhood. Reagan was carrying prescription pills plus a stolen drivers license and credit cards. Reagan also had purple paint on his pants which was consistent with the paint that was found on the dog from the Pinewood Lane break-in, Oak Bluffs police said in a statement. As he was being taken to the Oak Bluffs police station, officers say Reagan tried to kick out the cruisers windows and kicked a police officer twice. He was also charged with assault and battery on a police officer.
The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced on Thursday that the states seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in August, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 5 percent in July. The rate in August 2015 was 5.6 percent.

This is the first time in nine years that Georgias unemployment rate has been as low as the national rate, said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. When we look back to that time, we see that our job market has made significant improvements, not only as far as the rate is concerned, but we also have more jobs and more people employed than ever before.

In July 2007, the Georgia rate was 4.6 percent and the U.S. rate was 4.7 percent.

The states job total reached a record 4,387,200, as the number increased by 7,500, or 0.2 percent. Most of the gains came in trade, transportation and warehousing, 7,500; leisure and hospitality, 5,800; and local government, 3,000, as the public schools reopened for the new school year. The job gains were offset somewhat by losses in construction, 3,500; health care and social assistance, 2,200; manufacturing, 2,100; and other services, 2,000.

Georgias over-the-year job growth remained strong as the state gained 104,000 jobs, a 2.4 percent growth rate, up from 4,283,200 in August 2015. The national job growth rate was 1.7 percent. Most of the job gains came in trade, transportation and warehousing, 30,300; professional and business services, 25,800; leisure and hospitality, 22,900; education and health services, 12,300; construction, 9,500; manufacturing, 5,200; and financial activities, 4,400. Information services lost 5,000 jobs.

The number of employed Georgians reached an all-time high of 4,651,399, as 12,928 people were hired. At the same time, the number of unemployed residents fell by 749 to 241,737, its lowest level since October 2007. The labor force, which consists of employed people and those who are unemployed but actively looking for jobs, grew by 12,179 to 4,893,136. It has grown by 108,713 since the beginning of this year.

The number of initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased by 8,401, or 23.6 percent, to 27,238 in August. Most of the decrease came in manufacturing and administrative and support services, which includes temporary staffing agencies. One fifth of the claims filed were due to temporary layoffs. Over the year, claims were up by 903, or 3.4 percent, from 26,335 in August 2015.

In August, 62,839 jobs throughout the state were posted on Employ Georgia, the GDOLs online job listing services at www.employgeorgia.com . The leading sectors for job postings were health care and social assistance, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, professional, scientific and technical services, along with manufacturing.
Sheryl June McAmis Stapleton, 58, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, died on Tuesday, September 13, 2016. She died peacefully in her home.

Born Sheryl June McAmis in Del Monte Hospital on a pineapple plantation in Bukidnon Province, Philippines, Sept. 21, 1957, Sheri was the youngest of four children. She was homeschooled until attending Faith Academy where she graduated in the top of her class in 1975.

After high school, Sheri moved to the United States, to attend UT-Chattanooga where she was a proud member the Chi Omega Fraternity and earned a nursing degree. She later became a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and utilized her compassionate and cheerful nature to build a meaningful career she truly loved.

Sheri had a selfless heart and the kindest of minds. Her generosity and beautiful, infectious smile brought joy to all those she encountered. She was free-spirited and adventurous her entire life which she spent traveling the world, jumping out of airplanes and fearlessly accepting any new challenge. She was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for many years and was currently at Faith Lutheran Church.

Sheri's bright soul will shine on in those she leaves behind - husband, Stephen C. Stapleton; father, Bob McAmis (Nonie); children, Madison Templeton (John), Hayden Jahn, Brian Stapleton (Shelley); sisters, Marsha Castino (Rey), Beverly Jacks (Joe) and Deana Trowbridge; grandchild, Abby; and many nieces and nephews.

A small private ceremony will be held at a later date.

The family wishes to express special thanks to Hearth Hospice who provided exemplary care in the last weeks of Sheri's life.



Memorial contributions can be made to Chattanooga Room in the Inn, 230 N Highland Park Ave, Chattanooga, Tn. 37404.



Visit www.heritagechattanooga.com to share words of comfort to the family and view the memorial tribute.



The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16, at Heritage Funeral Home, East Brainerd Road.




Axalta Coating Systems, a supplier of liquid and powder coatings, celebrated its 150 th anniversary in the coatings industry with special events in Shanghai, headquarters for its greater China operations. The day-long series of events included an exhibition of company products and history and was capped off by a celebration with customers, business partners, officials, industry association representatives, and other guests who have supported Axaltas growth in China since it began operations there more than 30 years ago. Axalta also recognized employees who have been fundamental to the companys success at an event of their own.

We wanted to honor our employees in greater China and thank our customers, partners, government agencies, and others who have consistently and enthusiastically supported Axalta, said Charlie Shaver, Chairman and CEO of Axalta, who came to Shanghai to participate in the celebration. Our ability to contribute to Chinas growth is due to support we have received from many individuals and institutions. Our celebration represents our steadfast commitment to lead our industry through innovation and to develop coatings that can help promote sustainable economic growth. I am delighted that China has played such a crucial role in Axaltas innovation journey and look forward to our continued long term growth here.

The exhibition at the event showcased the company history with displays that depicted the evolution of Axaltas 150 years of developing innovative coating solutions for the vehicle manufacturing and repair, industrial, oil and gas, architectural and construction, and energy sectors. Axaltas first coatings were developed in Europe in 1866 for carriages. As cars emerged as the leading form of personal transportation in the 20 th century, Axaltas lacquers revolutionized the application of coatings with the first spray-applied, fast-drying automotive finish. The new technology not only cut paint-drying times from days to hours, but also offered customers a range of new color choices.

Since then, Axalta has grown into a leader of the coatings industry. Today, Axalta is one of the top suppliers to light vehicle original equipment manufacturers and the number one global coatings supplier to heavy duty truck and bus manufacturers. Axalta is also the number one global supplier in the refinish segment supporting body shops and the vehicle repair industry. It is the number two supplier of coatings in the electrical insulation, powder coatings, and industrial electrocoat markets.

Reflecting the importance of continuing to be able to develop innovative coatings tailored to China and the larger Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai will be the home of one of Axaltas four global technology centers, the Asia Pacific Technology Center (APTC), a 15,500 square meter facility.

Madam Sun Lianying, Chair of the China Coating Industrial Association, said, China has entered an era of the economic new normal, a constant process of industrial transformation and upgrading. The coatings industry in China seeks innovative breakthroughs and development in order to continue to support the nations growth and enable our infrastructure to evolve. As a leading enterprise with a singular focus on coatings, Axalta consistently promotes our innovative industry and the many product benefits that can help materials last longer and increase productivity in the sectors we serve.

With sustainability at the core of Axaltas business, Axalta is well-aligned with Chinas national agenda on sustainability. Last year, Axalta signed an agreement with the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) to support the Mother River Protection program aimed at improving the eco-system at the headwaters of the Yellow River, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and along sandy areas and grasslands adjacent to two of Chinas most important rivers.
Elizabeth Colon, president and CEO of Metaphrasis, center, speaks at the Chicago Fireside Chat at the Women's Business Development Center event. (Erika Dufour photo )

They might not be business school highlights, but paying attention to health and personal relationships  and chucking guilt  are among keys for success in business, a panel of women entrepreneurs said at an event Tuesday.

During the Fireside Chat, part of the WBDConnect program at the Allstate Arena's Skyline Ballroom, moderator Cheryl Harris took aim at the concept of work-life balance.

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"I don't believe in work-life balance. I believe in work-life integration," said Harris, senior vice president of procurement at Allstate Insurance. "You have to prioritize what needs to get done when it needs to get done."

Tuesday's program included workshops and matching women-owned enterprises with larger companies and government agencies, all before taking in a WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and the Minnesota Lynx.

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WBDConnect is one of two events supplanting the annual women's conference in the Chicago-based Women's Business Development Center's 30th anniversary year. A soiree is planned for Nov. 15.

The panel of business owners discussed other places where entrepreneurs should focus for success.

Well-being

A business owner needs to make themselves a priority, said Caren Schweitzer, president of Creative Resources Agency, a Minneapolis-based branded merchandise company.

"I think it makes you healthier for your family, for your children, for your business, for your employees, for your team and for yourself," she said. "So you work really hard, and then play hard too. I think that we do deserve to play hard too."

Equally important is the mind state, said Pamela Jones, president of Chicago-based International House of Sauces and Seasonings, which makes CharBoy's BBQ Sauce maker.

"I believe in making sure that you keep drama out of your lives," said Jones, an 18-year military veteran who says her products are featured in about 450 stores. "You've got to be able to control your thinking and make sure you don't allow that energy to come in and pull your strength, because you are the salesperson, you are the VP, you are the demonstrator sometimes."

Relationships

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Jeanette Hernandez Prenger, president and CEO of Kansas City, Mo.-based IT staffing and services firm ECCO Select, said she was fortunate to have the support she needed to care for her family.

"It is so stressful if you're working very hard and also worried about children, spouses, any of those other things," she said. "So when you're able to have those taken care of, you can focus on your career and your business."

Guilt

Traci O'Bryan, president and CEO of Arcturis, a St. Louis-based commercial and industrial architecture firm, advised entrepreneurs against feeling guilty about taking time for themselves.

"You may need that work break or you may need to go isolate yourself somewhere so that you can think and clear your mind," she said. "There can be a large amount of guilt with that. Let it go, because you need to know yourself and you need to listen to your inner voice about whether you allow yourself to walk during the day or whether you seek out a friend."

The power of no

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When she found her profits weren't growing as her business development, Elizabeth Colon said she had to start charging more and dismissing those companies that didn't value her services.

"Then I took a stand for myself and I learned how to say no," said the president and CEO of Metaphrasis, a Chicago language services company that provides interpreting and translation for businesses. "A lot of our clients said we were providing higher standards and outcomes, but they didn't want to pay for it. One of my largest clients, I asked, 'Is it value or cost?' Then I told them, 'I had to rethink renewing my contract with you.' They came and renewed their contract with us."

"As women entrepreneurs, we really need to look closely to what we charge for our services," she said. "The first time I said 'no,' I said, 'Whew! I really love this!'

"That 'no' really has a power to it."

Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance reporter.

Twitter @cherylvjackson
The University of Chicago Medicine broke ground Sept. 15, 2016, on a new and expanded emergency department that will also offer adult trauma care. (University of Chicago Medicine rendering)

A ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday marked the start of a $43 million project to convert part of a parking garage into a new emergency department at University of Chicago Medicine, bringing back trauma services to the South Side after a 25-year absence.

The new emergency department is expected to open in January 2018, and trauma services will likely be offered in early spring 2018.

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The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board unanimously approved the university's plans for the project in May after years of campaigning by activists for urgent, high-level medical care on the city's South Side. The South Side hasn't had such care since Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville closed its center in 1991.

"By opening a trauma center at the University of Chicago, we are going to not only add additional capacity to the entire (emergency medical services), trauma system, but we will be in a position to reduce transportation times for patients in need of immediate intervention, if not life-saving intervention," said University of Chicago Medical Center President Sharon O'Keefe.

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University of Chicago Medicine broke ground Thursday on its new emergency department and trauma center. Sept. 15, 2016. (Lisa Schencker / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

The new emergency department will be 76 percent larger than the current one. Features will include four trauma resuscitation bays specifically for treating trauma patients, private patient rooms rather than spaces divided by curtains, and separate entrances for emergency medical service workers and patients who arrive on their own.

It will also include a bariatric room with lifts in the ceiling for treating morbidly obese patients and on-site biocontainment for patients exposed to biological dangers such as Ebola.

Construction is expected to begin in the next month or so, O'Keefe said. While the project will convert the first floor of a parking garage, the upper floors of the building will remain a garage. The garage was built with the idea that it would eventually house an emergency department.

University of Chicago Medicine also plans to add a dedicated cancer hospital and 188 beds. The overall project, including the expanded emergency department, is expected to cost $269 million.

The full project is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs and 400 construction jobs.

lschencker@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @lschencker
Retired United Airlines Capt. Eldridge Johnson speaks Sept. 15, 2016, at a Washington, D.C., news conference calling for Congress and the Department of Justice to launch a federal investigation into the hiring and promoting practices of United Airlines. United says allegations of discrimination are unfounded. (Zach Gibson / AFP/Getty Images)

Some African-American United Airlines pilots involved in a lengthy lawsuit over allegations of discrimination at the airline are asking Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice to look into their claims, their attorney said Thursday.

The pilots allege Chicago-based United passed them over for management promotions because of their race and retaliated against them for filing civil rights complaints.

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"These claims remain as baseless today as they were four years ago when they were originally filed," United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said in an email.

About a dozen pilots filed complaints about discriminatory promotion practices with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010 and reached a settlement with United the following year, according to Brian Mildenberg, an attorney representing most of the pilots.

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In 2012, 23 United employees, mostly captains, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Francisco, alleging the discrimination continued along with retaliation for filing the complaints. The following year, a judge said the lawsuit failed to show black employees were excluded from applying for certain positions but said the pilots could amend the complaints.

In July, Judge Vincent Chhabria dismissed some of the pilots' claims, but others, including allegations United retaliated against them for filing the 2012 lawsuit, are headed to trial. The pilots' cases are now being handled separately, and five trials have been scheduled for June 2017, Mildenberg said.

In the most recent complaints, the pilots allege a "secret racist organization within United" they call "The Vault" attempted to keep African-American pilots from being promoted. Chief pilots would "consistently dole out special assignments only to white pilots," they claimed in court records, also alleging they were denied promotions because they filed the discrimination lawsuit.

The pilots also claim colleagues made offensive racial comments and one pilot, Ken Haney, said he found a photograph of a lynching with a note saying, "How to move up in seniority at United Airlines" in his work mailbox after the 2012 lawsuit was filed, according to court records.

United denied the existence of "The Vault" and said it's proud of its record on diversity. Three of the airline's eight chief pilots are African-American, said McCarthy, who accused the pilots' attorneys of trying to pressure United to settle.

"We remain confident that United will prevail in these remaining cases," she said.

The pilots are seeking orders requiring United end discriminatory practices and damages for lost wages, Mildenberg said.

"They're looking for policies to ensure this conduct does not occur in the future and that discrimination ends once and for all," he said.

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lzumbach@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @laurenzumbach
Andy Ricker, shown in the Los Angeles outlet of his restaurant Pok Pok, will bring his Thai cooking to Chicago for a pop-up. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Land and Sea Dept. is at it again. After bringing in Austin, Texas, barbecue expert Aaron Franklin for a gluttonous weekend of smoked meat over the summer, the "concept and project development studio" is hosting Andy Ricker, owner/chef of the much-praised Thai restaurant Pok Pok, on Sept. 30.

Tickets are $100, which might seem a bit steep, though the recently closed Arun's Thai had been charging near that much for its tasting menu for years. But since opening Pok Pok in 2007 in Portland, Ore., Ricker has picked up an incredible number of accolades, including some from Food & Wine, Bon Appetit and the James Beard Foundation.

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The three course meal will focus on food from Northern Thailand, and include cocktail pairings from Paul McGee, along with beer from Marz Community Brewing and Pok Pok's own som soda. There will be two seatings, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 9:30 p.m.

Land and Sea Dept. is located at 3124 W. Carroll Ave.

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Tickets go on sale on Friday, September 16 at 12 p.m. on Ticketfly.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter: @nickdk






Your vinaigrette is done in a few minutes, ready to dress your salad now or wait patiently in the fridge for days. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

In my recurring dream, it's always midnight. The air is redolent with tomato sauce. The moon hits my eye like  like, I don't know what. But, the world is awash in pizza. On every surface, steaming from the oven, pepperoni, sausage  you name it. They're all there. The phone rings. When I pick it up, a voice thick as melted mozzarella whispers, "Have some pizza." But, I don't want pizza. I want a salad.

That's when I wake up screaming.

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Why you need to learn this

Don't let this happen to you. Repel the onslaught of carbs and dairy with a beautiful salad sumptuously dressed in a velvety vinaigrette. Even if you're lettuce-averse, take that perfectly seasoned vinaigrette, and you'll find exactly 1 bajillion uses for it: Dress cooked and chilled vegetables like broccoli, beets or asparagus. Toss it with pasta. Massage half of it into steaks, chops, chicken or fish before throwing them on the grill or under the broiler, then use the remainder for a delicious sauce. Drizzle it over hard-cooked eggs, cold, cooked potatoes, wedges of ripe red tomatoes or, better yet, a combination of all three. Hurl it into the face of the knife-toting assassin who's just broken into your kitchen. Oh, tasty, tasty vinaigrette, is there nothing you can't do?

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The steps you take

A vinaigrette is an emulsion: a combination of two liquids that wouldn't normally combine. In a nutshell, by whisking oil into vinegar, you're physically breaking up the oil into a Saganesque mixture of billions and billions of droplets, all of which are surrounded by vinegar. This is called an oil-in-water emulsion, and the rules of the universe dictate that those oil droplets will be held apart from each other by the vinegar in which they are suspended.

Now, if you just whisk oil and vinegar together, it won't hold for very long. This is called a temporary emulsion, and while it works in a pinch, I much prefer adding other ingredients, like egg or mustard, that cause the emulsion to stay together through the good times and bad, in sickness and in health. In fact, if this were proposed, it's true: I'd second that emulsion.

Ka-POW!!!

Now, let's talk about the experience of the vinaigrette in the mouth. Even though the very general (remember, there's no accounting for taste) ratio for a vinaigrette is three parts oil to one part vinegar, it's stilled called a "vinaigrette." That's because the primary sense of what you're getting is the tartness of the vinegar. That acidity, that sourness, is then tempered, balanced by the oil.

At it's simplest, a vinaigrette is composed of two ingredients, vinegar and oil. You'll want salt, of course. After that, you can flavor as you see fit with herbs, shallots and/or garlic, and maybe mustard, which also helps keep the emulsion together. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

Before we get to the method, let's have a quick word about the two main ingredients.

For the vinegar, any vinegar will work. Just remember that different types of vinegars have their own flavor profiles based on what they're made from. Perhaps you could take that into account when you're deciding how to pair your vinaigrette with whatever you're dressing. Are you serving it with an otherwise Asian-themed meal? Maybe use rice wine vinegar. Something British or New Englandy? How about cider vinegar? Personally, I love the rich flavor of sherry vinegar and use that more often than not. One small note: Balsamic vinegar, because of its sweetly balanced flavor, does not need that 3-to-1 ratio. Start with a 1-to-1 ratio and go from there.

As for the oil, I'm partial to extra-virgin olive oil, but, again, any oil will do, as long as it's cooking oil and not something you got from your garage. Strongly flavored oils, like sesame oil or walnut oil, for example, should be cut with a more neutral oil so as not to overpower the vinaigrette's flavor. Start with a 4-to-1 ratio of neutral to flavored oil and add more if you like.

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Now for the method. (This will make about half a cup, more than enough to dress a salad for four.)

1. Whisk half a tablespoon-ish of mustard into 2 tablespoons of vinegar along with about a quarter teaspoon of salt (to taste).

After the emulsion takes hold, slowly whisk in the remaining oil in a steady stream. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

2. Now for the science-y part: Whisk in just a few drops of oil. This whisking is what breaks up the oil into the aforementioned billions of particles, each of which will be surrounded by vinegar. This is the emulsion. After the emulsion forms, you can whisk in the remaining oil in a drizzle that's slow but steady. Like autumn in Oregon. This will keep the emulsion. Keep adding oil until you've added about 6 tablespoons, but taste as you go. If you like more acidity, add less oil; if you're partial to a less acidic product, add more oil.

3. Flavor your vinaigrette however you like. Personally, I like a dash of hot sauce and a tablespoon of something sweet: honey, maple syrup, a baby's smile, brown sugar. You can also add chopped fresh herbs or a spoonful of chutney or jam, minced onion or garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon  you name it. It's all good.

One final note: If you do break the emulsion, do not panic. Granted, it's not what we want, but it's not a tragedy. The Hindenburg. Now, that was a tragedy. (What? Too soon?) In fact, as often as not, I just put all the ingredients into an empty jelly jar and shake it like one of those paint mixing machines at the hardware store. It's not perfect, but it works just fine.

James P. DeWan is a culinary instructor at Kendall College in Chicago and the author of "Prep School: How to Improve Your Knife Skills and Cooking Techniques."

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You can use your vinaigrette to dress salad greens, of course, but also vegetables, hard-cooked eggs, potatoes, tomatoes ... (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

Emulsion vinaigrette

Prep: 5 minutes

Makes: 2 1/2 cups

The recipe comes from my friend and Kendall College colleague the great chef Pierre Pollin, whose Arlington Heights restaurant, Le Titi de Paris, was a beacon of excellent cuisine for three decades. Pollin's original recipe called for 2 cups of oil. We changed it to 1 1/2 for a slightly more acidic vinaigrette.

1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

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1 teaspoon finely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon chopped tarragon

1 teaspoon chives

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 teaspoon minced garlic

 cup cider vinegar

 cup red wine vinegar

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1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Mix together honey, mustard, shallots, herbs and garlic. Stir into vinegar. Whisk in oil a few drops at a time. When emulsion forms, whisk in remaining oil in a slow, steady stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutrition information per tablespoon: 73 calories, 8 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 0 g protein, 9 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Peach's in Bronzeville boasts thoughtful and kind service, making the delicious food even better. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

People ask me if I ever write about places I don't like. I tell them it's not my job to hurt anyone.

Recently, I began to worry about covering two places on my list that weren't up to our (yours and mine) standards. What do I say about this? If that's the best the restaurant can do and it's still open, it means there are enough people who eat there for whom it's just fine.

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Instead of spotlighting the negative, this week, I'm focused on three places that renewed my faith in weekday breakfast.

Peach's

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I've had Peach's on 47th on my breakfast list for a while, so when the fabulous former husband, Capt. Bill Pinkney, was in town, I told him to meet me there. The beautiful ride was as lovely as the occasion  one wrong turn yielded a scenic drive on a wide parkway, with views of great architecture, but I digress.

I opened the door to a big chalkboard inviting me to have "A Peachy Day." Upfront, counter seating and booths occupied the space, with lots of seats and tables and banquets around the bend.

This was Bill's first foray with me, so he was amazed and very happy at the food that kept arriving. Starting with the shrimp and cheese grits, a flow of spinach and Gouda omelet, duck bacon, fried catfish, greens, grits and a short stack of pancakes with peach bourbon compote crowded the table. If you like flavored coffee, try the house's peach coffee.

The servers' megawatt smiles were incomparable. Thoughtful and kind service made the delicious food even better.

Of note: Full service. Reservations. Gluten-free options. Catering. Free street parking on the service road. Metered parking on 47th Street.

Find it: 4652 S. King Drive, Chicago, 773-966-5801, www.peachson47th.com

Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 20 Bite Cafe 1039 N. Western Ave., 773-395-2483, www.bitecafechicago.com Try this: challah French toast Read more about Ina's visit to Bite Cafe. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Left Coast

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When I visited Left Coast with chef Paul Caravalli (Knife and Tine), I didn't know where to begin, so I went easy: We started with the avocado toast. It sounds simple, but it comes loaded, with orange slices, ricotta salata, sunflower seeds and sprouts, orange vinaigrette and zaatar spice. We followed it up with the Santa Monica Shred, featuring roasted broccoli, sunflower sprouts, red onions, toasted walnuts, lemon yogurt, crunchy quinoa and, true to its name, shaved carrots and beets.

I went back with Pradhan Balter, former owner of Victory's Banner, which was my go-to place for clean and interesting vegetarian breakfasts for years. We shared the Baja Sol Toastada, which had scrambled soft tofu, black beans, slice avocado, Greek yogurt, roasted tomato salsa and cilantro, and the Big Wood Crepes, a buckwheat envelope filled with smoked salmon, ricotta, toasted sunflower seed mix and sprouts, apple and lemon vinaigrette.

Left Coast has real, fresh, healthy, interesting and delicious food, and while I didn't try a smoothie, salad, grain bowl or wrap, I will.

Of note: Fast casual. Alcohol available. Kids menu. Gluten-free options. Vegan options. Sidewalk seating. Covered outdoor seating.

Find it: 2878 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-880-5338, www.leftcoastfood.com

Hours: Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Kitchen Sink Cafe

I always stop right inside the door to a new place to get a sense of the space and how it all works. At Kitchen Sink Cafe, the aroma of coffee helped me navigate to the counter where overhead menu boards promised all foods, breakfast or otherwise, are available all day.

I'm still a traditionalist, so I look for anything with eggs before eyeing whatever else is tempting.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

While seating is available upfront, I went to the rear because the skylight added brightness to that cloudy day.

Avocado, scrambled egg and cheese on a bagel or croissant are good choices. I thought long and hard about ordering the Lil Sweetie, with peanut butter, Nutella and bananas  grilled, it is messy but good.

The sandwiches have interesting names like Miss Ollis, Breaux and CTA. I stuck with the Mayor (hear that Rahm?) on multigrain bread with turkey, bacon, brie, fig jam and peanut butter. First bite was proof the cafe knows what it is doing; I had the other half of the sandwich the next day, and it was still delicious.

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Of note: Fast casual. Sidewalk seating. Street parking. At the Berwyn Red Line stop.

Find it: 1107 W. Berwyn Ave., 773-944-0592, www.kitchensinkcafe.com

Hours: Monday to Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ina Pinkney, the Breakfast Queen, owned iconic West Loop breakfast spot Ina's for more than 30 years.






BOSTON  Actor Mark Wahlberg has ended his bid for a pardon for assaults he committed as a teenager in Massachusetts.



In 1988, a 16-year-old Wahlberg hit a Vietnamese man in the head with a stick while trying to steal alcohol and punched another in the face while trying to avoid police.



Wahlberg said he was high at the time. He served about 45 days in jail.

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Wahlberg apologized and said he has dedicated himself to becoming a better person so he could be a role model and raised millions of dollars for charity.



His 2014 pardon application was met with sharp criticism.



A Massachusetts Parole Board spokesman said Thursday that Wahlberg didn't respond to a letter asking if he wished to keep his petition open, so the matter has been closed.



Wahlberg, now 45, told reporters at the Toronto Film Festival this week that he regrets asking for the pardon, but he's grateful that the process allowed him to meet and apologize to one of his victims.



"Some good did come out of it," he said.



Walhberg, who grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston, started out as rapper Marky Mark and went on to star in movies such as "Boogie Nights," The Departed," ''The Fighter" and "Ted."



Associated Press







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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago is hosting an exhibit of photographs about petroleum coke  the dusty, toxic byproduct of the oil-refining process  and about places in the Midwest and around the world where petcoke is piling up.

"Petcoke: Tracing Dirty Energy" runs through Oct 9. In conjunction with this exhibit, the MoCP is also hosting a full-day symposium on Friday about the relationship between the expanding petcoke industry and its effect on climate change.

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The symposium will feature panel discussions with scholars, activists, exhibiting artists and officials from environmental organizations. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held at Columbia College's Stage Two theater.

Karen Irvine, MoCP associate director, said that the symposium will include all of the artists from the exhibition, as well as environmental activists and officials from the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC).

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"We wanted to make a difference in this environmental issue  and help get this information out into the public realm," she said. "These are very politically and socially engaged artists. They will participate with the NRDC in a panel about the state of legislation surrounding this issue, what's next, and are there any solutions to the pollution problem?"

The program opens with Josh Mogerman, NRDC national media director, providing an introduction to the petcoke industry and the history of activism surrounding it. The first session, "Stories from Industrial Chicago," will consider the cultural, environmental and industrial history of Chicago's Southeast Side.

"Petcoke: Tracing Dirty Energy Symposium" will also focus on artists and their role in raising awareness about environmental issues and inspiring positive action. Henry Henderson of the NRDC Midwest Program and Peggy Salazar of the Southeast Environmental Taskforce (SETF) will join exhibiting artists Marissa Lee Benedict, David Rueter, and Victoria Sambunaris to discuss the role artists play in addressing environmental issues through their work, and how their vision can help shape the work of environmental organizations.

10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Friday, Stage Two, Columbia College, 618 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor; free; 312-663-5554 or www.mocp.org
TORONTO  Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight," about a Miami boy who discovers himself along the path of a few harsh, beautiful years, is enjoying a luminous reception following recent screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and, a few days before that, the Telluride Film Festival in the Colorado mountains.

It's a quiet, potent masterwork, and I use that m-word sparingly. Writer-director Jenkins had made only one feature, the 2008 "Medicine for Melancholy." His new picture divides itself into three chapters, with different actors playing the protagonist, alternately known as Little, Chiron and Black, at different points in his life.

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Ashton Sanders, a DePaul University student, stars in "Moonlight," from writer-director Barry Jenkins. (David Bornfriend photo)

I'll write in full about the film closer to its commercial Chicago run (it opens Oct. 28), but I talked to Jenkins the morning after the Toronto screening, and spoke also to the 20-year-old DePaul University student, Ashton Sanders, and they're two of the great stories coming out of this year's Toronto festival.

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Sanders plays Chiron, the key to the middle section of "Moonlight," who's dealing with a crack addict mother (Naomie Harris) and a dawning sense of how dangerous his closeted sexuality can be, when confronted by every received notion of African-American masculinity.

Jenkins grew up in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, just blocks from the man who wrote the play that inspired "Moonlight." The playwright is Tarell Alvin McCraney, who got his undergraduate degree from DePaul, went on to Yale to study playwriting and more recently became a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member (in 2010) and a MacArthur "genius grant" recipient (in 2013). His unproduced script carried the title "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue." A mutual friend introduced McCraney to Jenkins. They went to the same schools, but never knew each other. Their respective mothers struggled with addiction; as Jenkins told me, "They were probably shooting up in the same dens."

When he read McCraney's play, Jenkins told the Toronto audience, "his memories felt like memories of my memories." The play was nonlinear; the screenplay Jenkins wrote straightened out the chronology, but strove (successfully) to retain what Jenkins calls a "fever dream" quality.

The following morning Jenkins told me he "stumbled" into film school at Florida State University, and began discovering his voice and his tastes when he saw his first international work. "Moonlight" doesn't feel, look or behave as if it's cribbed from anyone else's work, but Jenkins acknowledges various influences, among them Claire Denis ("Beau Travail"), Wong Kar-wai ("Happy Together") and Hou Hsiao-hsien ("Three Times").

The trailer for "Moonlight." (A24 Films)

With "Moonlight," Jenkins says, "we didn't want it to be a gritty, miserablist tale. But the (visual) flourishes," he says, "had to come from the characters."

Like Jenkins, Sanders read "Moonlight" and was immediately struck by its honesty as well as its poetry. The DePaul student, now back in school and rehearsing a production of "Twelfth Night," took a year off to do "Moonlight." His previous films include the indie "The Retrieval" and a small role in the major hit "Straight Outta Compton."

At this point in a talented young actor's career, prospective agents and managers tend to offer advice steering in the opposite direction from school. "But you should never miss an opportunity for education," Sanders says. He has an amazingly deep voice. "I'm getting the training I need to progress as an actor. If something comes up and I have to drop, I'll drop. But right now I'm just trying to better my craft."

He grew up in LA, and his mother, like Jenkins' and McCraney's, has struggled with addiction. "She's been going through it almost my entire life, so I was able to connect with the film on that level. Filming those scenes with Naomie (Harris), that was some of the hardest work I've ever had to do." He chokes back tears, and then: "But it was also therapeutic for me. I needed to get it out, you know?"

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He goes on: "I love what the movie says about modern-day masculinity. There are so many stereotypes of how you have to be as a black man, growing up in the community as a man. I was skinny and black and didn't play sports. And I was bullied. It's crazy. People just don't talk about this type of thing." The movie does, and it does so without polemics or clunky dramaturgy or the usual canned affirmations. Everyone in the "Moonlight" ensemble," he says, "invested in the project. We gave ourselves to the film."

Movies on TV: Michael hosts Friday and Saturday night programming this weekend on Turner Classic Movies.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
by Ruth Veigas

KUWAIT, SEP 15, 2016: Eighty nine Altar servers from Saint Therese of Child Jesus parish in Kuwait attended a special event to recognise their contribution and commitment to serving Christ and their parish on September 9.

Invitations for the felicitation ceremony were strictly based on a novel points system developed to reward youth for their assistance. This year 89 servers, out of 146, got an invite for the fun-filled event organised by the Salesian Cooperators.

Through the system, senior boys earn a minimum of 200 points and juniors 100 points for their contribution in serving or by participating at Holy Mass and by attending the monthly meetings. Points are also awarded for their voluntary service and their participation in church events.



Father Lionel Braganza led the youth in an opening prayer. He also kept the boys mesmerised by sharing his vocation story and his decision to serve in the Lord's vineyard. He further kept the youth animated with a series of action songs.



The parish priest, Father Blany Pinto in his address to the altar servers, congratulated them on their achievement and appreciated their service to God. The compere - Lloyd D'Souza - conducted several group games in which the boys actively participated. A number of spot prizes were awarded to the altar servers as they danced to lively music.

Finally, prizes were distributed and two special awards were presented to two Junior Servers and two Senior Servers for their exemplary service to the parish and the community. The top 20 boys received certificates and medals; the remaining boys received certificates as a token of appreciation.

"I want to thank God for choosing me to be closest to the altar. All of us who serve at the altar are blessed and feel special," Lionel Athan Miranda, a junior Altar server, said.

Another altar server Jothan Suresh Peter, echoed a similar sentiment, "I am happy for what I received. I want to thank God and all the coordinators for supporting me to achieve this award. I will serve more masses and dedicate myself more to God".

While a senior, Keegan Sanctis added, "I have served as an altar server for six years. It is a memorable experience and I will always cherish being recognised by the elders and priests for rendering our services to the parish and to the Lord Almighty."
Fifteen-year-old Brandon (Jahking Guillory) is the frizzy-haired, undersized kid protagonist of Justin Tippings agile feature debut Kicks, navigating adolescence and a rough, depressed Oakland, Calif., neighborhood. Convinced that his problems of being poor, picked on and ignored by girls will be solved by the holy grail for sneaker fanatics  black-and-red (or bred) Air Jordan 1s  Brandon scrounges enough money to buy a pair. The jarring tone starts with how despairingly simple Brandons view of his masculine pride is and how dangerous his reaction is to having the Jordans stolen: Hes willing to venture into violence-ridden Bay Area territory and confront the culprit to get them back. Perhaps the best thing you can say about Kicks is that its strengths and weaknesses make for intriguing bedfellows, like a cautionary fable thats as much about the hazards of forging an artistic authenticity as it is the pitfalls of a corrosive approach to manhood. Read the full review. (Marcus Cox / Handout)

For 15-year-old Brandon (Jahking Guillory), the frizzy-haired, undersized kid protagonist of Justin Tipping's agile feature debut "Kicks," navigating adolescence and a rough, depressed Oakland, Calif., neighborhood is like working a double shift that doesn't pay. He's got a status-bump goal, though, and the phrase "clothes make the man" isn't specific enough.

Convinced his problems of being poor, picked on and ignored by girls will be solved by the holy grail for sneaker fanatics  black-and-red (or "bred") Air Jordan 1s  Brandon scrounges enough money to buy a pair. But if you've seen the Italian neo-realist classic "Bicycle Thieves"  one of Tipping's metaphoric inspirations  you know what awaits the newly shod Brandon when he runs into a severe-looking crew on a lonely stretch of concrete.

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"Kicks" is that kind of fascinatingly uneven indie only children of gritty urban life know how to make when they're ready to pick up a camera and engage with their past. As a teenager, Tipping, an East Bay native and American Film Institute graduate, once got jumped for his Nikes and bristled at the idea that his beating was called a rite of passage.

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The agreeably stylish movie emerging from that experience loves and hates the psychological trappings of street survival. The contradiction is interesting enough, but it doesn't entirely help smooth over the director's ill-conceived flourishes  a reliance on slow-motion, for example, as if it were about to be made illegal.

The jarring tone starts with how despairingly simple Brandon's view of his masculine pride is and how dangerous his reaction is to having the Jordans stolen: He's willing to venture into violence-ridden Bay Area territory and confront the culprit, a ripped, animalistic figure named Flaco (Kofi Siriboe), to get them back.

Brandon's knee-jerk odyssey veers dangerously close to being too stupid to enjoy watching  you want to protectively yell "Go home!" to the screen, especially when a gun enters the picture. But newcomer Guillory has the right combination of vulnerability and quiet anger to keep us invested, and side details give Brandon's journey admirably complicated pauses.

Looking for Flaco, Brandon seeks advice from his tough, 'hood-respected uncle (a rock-solid Mahershala Ali), who sternly tells him to handle his business himself, all while exercising the arm of his incapacitated, vacantly smiling grandmother  the scene cleverly suggests that one's "business" changes as life's responsibilities accumulate. And though Flaco looked fearsome laying a beating on Brandon, a glimpse of his home life shows who the stolen Jordans were for: a young son on a bare mattress who loves his daddy. The resonance of Siriboe's commanding performance is in suggesting that his criminal ferocity has a tucked-away desperation attached.

Other elements aren't handled as effectively. Brandon's two friends  smiling player Rico (Christopher Meyer) and wisecracking Albert (Christopher Jordan Wallace, son of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.)  come off more like regulation sidekicks and aren't as funny as Tipping thinks they are. Even more problematic, the movie's portrayal of women is a little too in line with how every male in the movie sees them: as sex objects who have to be told to "shut up." One can still tell a cautionary tale of warped machismo without reducing females to dimensionless playthings.

The most curious touch is the recurring appearance of an imaginary astronaut (more slo-mo), who represents for Brandon escape, or solitude, or confidence. It's never entirely clear and mostly feels like a distracting reach for artiness when Tipping's already assured handling of the escalating dread of Brandon's misadventure shows visual punch  he's clearly a burgeoning talent with material that's both grimly naturalistic and pulse-pounding. On that front, he's aided by a hip hop/R&B soundtrack that rarely goes for obvious top notes and instead feels almost subconscious, even funny at times. (Blue Magic's circus-inspired soul lament "Sideshow" plays over a set piece depicting another kind of sideshow: East Bay drivers performing doughnuts in a parking lot.)

Perhaps the best thing you can say about "Kicks" is that its strengths and weaknesses make for intriguing bedfellows, like a cautionary fable that's as much about the hazards of forging an artistic authenticity as it is the pitfalls of a corrosive approach to manhood.

Robert.Abele@latimes.com

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"Kicks"  3.5 stars

MPAA rating: R (for violence, drug/alcohol use and language throughout and sexual content involving teens)

Running time: 1:27

Opens: Friday

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
"The Darkest Secret" by Alex Marwood, Penguin, 400 pages, $16

Twelve summers ago, one of real estate mogul Sean Jackson's 3-year-old twin daughters, Coco, disappeared during his raucous 50th birthday blowout in the English resort town of Bournemouth. She was never found. Now, on the eve of his funeral, the sensational case remains unsolved. But while the book has no shortage of suspects  including an inconvenient crush of women at the party whom the crass and charming Sean had bedded, married, cheated on and/or abandoned  "The Darkest Secret" is no whodunit. In crafting what might be called a cutting "whodidn'tdoit," British novelist Alex Marwood takes aim at an entire social class for its self-directed, destructive ways. One of the only likable characters is the thoughtful narrator, Milly, one of Jackson's two oldest daughters by another mother. Unlike her sister India, a conservative lawyer who fled the past by moving to Australia, the 27-year-old Milly is determined to find meaning in what transpired. She bonds with her half-sister Ruby, Coco's neglected twin, who is beginning to ask familiar unanswerable questions about their father. For Milly and India, Milly says, "the recognition of the void came so early that we were always going to go one of two ways: spend our lives fighting valiantly to hold back the tide the way she does or, like me, accept the truth and let the chaos reign." To paraphrase the poet Philip Larkin, your mum and dad sure can mess you up.

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"Blind Sight" by Carol O'Connell, Putnam, 400 pages, $27

"Blind Sight" by Carol OConnell.

Though the time is the present and the setting is the streets of New York, Carol O'Connell's latest novel featuring Special Crimes Unit Detective Kathy Mallory has an almost Dickensian feel with its musty, closed-in atmosphere, sardonic tone and unsavory killings. Four corpses, minus their surgically removed hearts, have been deposited on Mayor Andrew Polk's front lawn at Gracie Mansion. Among them is that of Angela Quill, a former streetwalker who, in the unlikeliest of conversions, became a nun, Sister Michael. A fifth person is at risk: Sister Michael's blind, 12-year-old nephew Jonah, who is being held by an impatient hired killer named Iggy. It doesn't take more than a lie or two from city officials and their partners in the Catholic Church for Mallory to suspect foul play in the halls of power. Having suffered through a traumatic childhood herself, the oddly detached detective  known in the squad room as "Mallory the Machine"  makes saving Jonah a personal mission. Not that the plucky kid can't handle himself. He delays what seems to be the inevitable by drawing Iggy  who prefers to kill random people he doesn't know  into discussions on the nature of blindness and the "details of doing murder." "Blind Sight" will not be to everyone's taste: In her own way, O'Connell is as quirky and elusive as Mallory. But for those readers looking to escape the usual police procedurals, she's the ticket.

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"Hell Fire" by Karin Fossum, Houghton Mifflin, 256 pages, $24

Hell Fire by Karin Fossum.

Inspector Sejer, Norwegian novelist Karin Fossum's popular protagonist, could hardly have a more low-key presence in investigating the stabbing deaths of model caregiver Bonnie Hayden and her sensitive 5-year-old son Simon. The investigator's appearances in "Hell Fire," the 12th Sejer mystery, are relatively brief, his commentary coolly understated. But as ever in Fossum's fiction, the devil is in her exquisite details. In gradually revealing the lonely, struggling Bonnie's secret backstory, and connecting it to that of another unhappy single mother, Mass Malthe, Fossum draws us in so completely that Sejer can be as sotto voce as he wants. Like Bonnie, whose husband ran off with their 17-year-old babysitter, Mass was left by her spouse, who died years ago after getting remarried and moving to Copenhagen. Eddie, her overweight, developmentally challenged 21-year-old son, who rarely leaves the house, becomes so obsessed with the father he never knew that he flies off to Denmark to find his grave. Less interested in the liability of the fathers than the epic sacrifices of the mothers, Fossum digs deep to reveal them. Even knowing Mass' story is going to impinge on Bonnie's, we aren't prepared for the surprises in store. We can count on one thing: As the temperature of this snowbound novel dips and the intensity of the investigation rises, Sejer and his partner Skarre will be in the thick of things, trying to make sense of it all.

Lloyd Sachs is a freelance writer. His critical biography, "T Bone Burnett: A Life in Pursuit," will be published Oct. 4.
It's hard to think of two figures who loom as large in Chicago's collective imagination as Al Capone and Nelson Algren. Without stretching too much, we can think of the legendary gangster and the tough-guy writer as kindred spirits  both ambitious, both nifty with a phrase, both given to melancholy, united as much by their shared identification with the common man as by their relentless pursuit of diversion with the opposite sex.

The similarities between the two men might stand in even sharper relief next month with the publication of two new biographies, "Algren: A Life" by veteran Chicago reporter Mary Wisniewski (Chicago Review Press, Oct. 1) and "Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend" by Deirdre Bair (Nan A. Talese, Oct. 25).

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The Algren book, by a Tribune reporter who is also (full disclosure) a former colleague, is the first biography of the writer in more than a quarter-century. It draws upon the author's unpublished writings as well as interviews with several of his contemporaries  including the late Studs Terkel and the still-very-much-alive Art Shay, the gifted photographer who documented much of Algren's life, including his late-night strolls through the city's seedier precincts and his love affair with Simone de Beauvoir  to flesh out the existing portrait of Chicago's greatest elegist.

In Wisniewski's telling, Algren emerges as a champion of the underdog (including the hustlers, addicts and working men and women he simultaneously mourned and celebrated in books such as "The Man With the Golden Arm") and an unabashed radical whose connections to Marxist organizations brought him to the avid attention of the FBI. We also learn how, as tough as he famously was, Algren was vulnerable to the same sensitivities and bouts of self-doubt that plague all writers. He was always one of us. Post-Wisniewski, he may be even more so.

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What fresh information about Capone  who has received far more attention from biographers than Algren  will we get from Bair? Her publisher is promising plenty, calling the book the "first complete" biography of Capone and emphasizing the "exclusive access" and "unprecedented cooperation" she received from "Capone's descendants, his siblings' children, the few living people who knew him and the descendants of some of the people who worked for him at the Outfit."

It's an enticing prospect, but can Bair really deliver the goods? We won't have to wait long to find out.

  

Bricks-and-mortar bookstores were once thought to be an endangered species, primarily because of intense competition from online retailers, Amazon in particular. More recently  despite the much-lamented demise and/or downsizing of bookstore chains such as Borders and Barnes & Noble  the world of independent bookstores seems to have stabilized as its fans have rallied.

The bookstore experience  the immersion in print, the ability to browse, the opportunities for personal connections with other writers and readers  is now being celebrated far and wide, including at BookExpo America, the annual book lovers' convention whose most recent edition was held in Chicago this year, and in a new book about one of the city's most venerable institutions.

"If You Weren't Looking For It: The Seminary Co-op Bookstore" by Megan E. Doherty and Jasmine Kwong, both photographers associated with the University of Chicago, is a 147-page valentine to the Hyde Park store, produced in a limited edition of 100 copies. A book launch party is scheduled at the store, 5751 S. Woodlawn, at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 15.

Kevin Nance is a freelance writer.
Chicago author Gina Frangellos latest novel, Every Kind of Wanting, compels the reader to relate to and root for her characters. (Blair Holmes)

In 1923, in "The Prophet," Khalil Gibran published a poem titled "On Children," whose message is summarized in this refrain:

Your children are not your children.

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They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

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And though they are with you they belong not to you.

Nearly a century later, Chicagoan and former Rumpus editor Gina Frangello ("A Life in Men," "My Sister's Continent") has written a thoroughly modern update of Gibran's poem. In Frangello's powerful, provocative, multilayered new novel, four Chicago couples are brought together, and ultimately wrenched apart, by their shared goal: to give partners Chad and Miguel the biologically connected child they want. In the process of creating the "Community Baby," everyone involved is forced to confirm or deny the veracity of Gibran's poem.

Alas, this lofty project, and the motives of each participant, contain multitudes. Therein lies the delicious tension that pulls the reader through the book. Miguel seems to share his partner's baby lust, but secretly worries, "Miguel is the last Guerra man standing. Guerra men should not attempt to raise any defenseless beings just to f--- them up; the lineage should die with Miguel altogether."

Chad's sister, Gretchen, seems to be motivated by altruism when she donates her eggs to the cause. "Why would she deny her sweet brother a chance to be a father?" Gretchen asks herself. "Why would she deny herself the chance to do something useful  something unusual and positive and colorful  for once?"

Miguel's old friend Emily seems saintlike when she volunteers to gestate the baby, accepting only half the usual surrogacy fee. "Since they are paying you, make sure you get your money's worth," Emily imagines her mother advising her. "They're rich men. Don't let it stop at some one-time fee. Play it smart and you'll get more."

Emily's husband, Nick, seems to be a heroic dad to his sons, one of whom suffers from cerebral palsy. "We give our lives for them, Nick thinks, but if we've done it well, they don't return the favor ." Echoing Gibran, Nick reflects, "Our children are never ours. We belong to them, but they belong to people not yet born." Miguel's sister, Lina, seems devoted to her longtime girlfriend, Bebe, but then what is she doing in bed with Nick?

As in life, in "Every Kind of Wanting," unspoken agendas and twisted intentions deliver unexpected, unwanted results, including a few more seemingly extraneous plot points and more than one gut-wrenching tragedy. As in Gina Frangello's entire body of work, the nefarious, neurotic and quintessentially human qualities of her characters compel the reader to relate to them and root for them, despite or because of the sexy, scintillating messes they make of their lives.

Meredith Maran is a freelance writer.

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Every Kind of Wanting

By Gina Frangello, Counterpoint, 361 pages, $26
Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Jane Smiley talks about her work during Sunday's "One Book, Everbody Reads" event held at Wilmette Junior High School, April 26. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press)

Every year, the Chicago Tribune partners with the Chicago Humanities Festival to present the esteemed Literary Prize and Heartland Awards to talented artists and authors. This year, the Chicago Tribune is pleased to present three stellar programs as part of the CHF's Fallfest/16. Beginning Tuesday, through Sept. 26, Tribune subscribers will have early access to a limited number of tickets to these three events at a 20 percent discount.

2016 Chicago Tribune Literary Prize| Philip Glass: An evening of conversation and music. One of the most influential artists and composers of our time, Glass has written operas, film scores, symphonies and chamber works, including "Einstein on the Beach," "Strung Out," and "Hydrogen Jukebox." Glass will join Tribune arts critic Howard Reich in conversation at 6 p.m. Nov. 2 at Symphony Center.

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2016 Chicago Tribune Heartland Award for Fiction| Jane Smiley. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Golden Age" will join Tribune columnist Mary Schmich in conversation at 10 a.m. Nov. 12 at First Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.

2016 Chicago Tribune Heartland Award for Nonfiction| Margo Jefferson. The essayist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Negroland" will join Tribune columnist Dahleen Glanton in conversation at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at First Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.

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To receive early access to discounted tickets, Tribune subscribers should login at the Chicago Humanities Festival partner page http://chf.to/TribSub20 beginning at 10 a.m. Sept. 20 using the following credentials:

Username:TribSub20, Password: TribSub20. After adding general public tickets to the basket, enter the promo codeTribSub20at checkout to receive an additional 20 percent off.

After Sept. 26, when tickets go on sale to the general public, Tribune subscribers can receive a 20 percent discount by visiting tickets.chicagohumanities.org and using the promo code TribSub20.
Server Leslie Ramirez carries a tray full of Grand Slam breakfasts to customers at a Denny's restaurant in Irvine, Calif. early Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009. (Mark Rightmire / Associated Press)

Three friends were at breakfast in a busy hotel restaurant. One ordered the fruit plate. Another had oatmeal. The third guy asked for eggs. He's quite particular about his eggs. He likes them hot.

And so they were about to debate the eternal question:

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Will something bad happen to you if you dare complain about the food at a busy restaurant?

"I can't eat these eggs," said the guy who ordered eggs. "Look at these eggs! They're cold."

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They were cold indeed. Ice cold, like gloves after a snowball fight, and somewhat gray.

"Is it too much trouble to get some hot eggs? I'm going to tell the guy!"

He meant the waiter, whose name was Tony. They could see Tony was perspiring because the restaurant was short-staffed and the tables were full and the customers were quite demanding. Tony ran this way and that way.

A guy at the next table was upset about his toast. At another table, a customer raised his right hand and kept it up there, index finger extended, silently mouthing one word over and over: WAITER!

It wasn't Tony's fault. It was the kitchen's fault, the manager's fault. But the poor servers are the ones who feel the pain.

The man with the oatmeal just stared at his oats. The one with the fruit plate covered his face with his hand in embarrassment.

"Don't tell me you're going to have a fight with the waiter over the eggs!" hissed the fruit plate guy.

"Oh yes I am!" insisted the egg guy, calling Tony over. "I'm paying for these eggs. And I want hot eggs!"

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Tony came over and then the manager came over and Tony sweated some more and the guy with the eggs explained he wanted hot eggs. And the manager said new eggs would arrive, hot ones. Then the manager stared icy eyes at the sweating Tony, and Tony was sad.

And all through this, the friend with the oatmeal just looked at his oatmeal and cringed, counting how many craisins were there on top. The fruit plate guy kept his hand covering his eyes because it was all too painful to see.

"I can't believe you fought with the waiter," said fruit plate guy. "What's wrong with you? You never embarrass the waiter. But you did. And now he's going to spit in your food."

"Is this a Seinfeld moment?" asked the egg guy, hopefully, like a condemned man thinking the governor would save him.

But the others looked away and nothing.

"He's going to spit in my food, isn't he?!" said the egg guy.

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The oatmeal guy (OK, I'm the oatmeal guy, all right?) gagged. I almost passed out because any talk of bodily fluids during a meal is intolerable. And slowly, the egg guy realized the enormity of what he'd done to Tony.

"He's going to spit in my food?!!? How can you say such a thing?" said egg guy, who then paused, a horrified look on his face. "Will he spit in my food? He's going to spit in my food! Tell me he's not going to spit in my food!"

That's the question, isn't it?

As a former waiter myself, I couldn't imagine such a thing. And I couldn't even think of it happening in all the restaurants I've known, from mom-and-pop snack shops to top Chicago steakhouses.

But I mentioned the issue to others and got the same reply.

"Why don't you complain in a restaurant?" said a colleague. "Because they'll spit in your food."

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I don't know the truth of it. Most likely, this is a terrible restaurant myth, spread by harried servers to terrify rude customers into proper behavior.

"Oh no," said friend Jeff Carlin, a producer at WGN Radio. "I've worked in restaurants. I've never done it. But I've heard stories. There was a pizza place. If they knew the person ordering was a total jerk, I won't tell you what they did."

So I searched the internet to debunk such talk.

Unfortunately, I ran into a story out of New York about a national restaurant chain and an employee spitting into a drink. The customer used DNA testing  that's right, like a "CSI" show  to determine the identity of the spitter.

And there was a university study that indicated only 6 percent of the respondents ever contemplated such a thing. Only 6 percent? Cool.

But there was a blog called The Bitchy Waiter, insisting the spitting thing was a complete myth:

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"I'm not going to pretend it never happens because, let's face it, sometimes customers can drive us to the very edge of our sanity," wrote The Bitchy Waiter. "However, I would venture that most people who have waited tables have never actually spit into someone's food.

"Full disclosure: I did it one time and I felt really bad about it."

He felt bad about it? Is that all he can say?

Back at the breakfast, the three of us discussed what to do before Tony returned to the table bearing the hot eggs.

The egg guy wisely decided to give Tony a good pre-tip, a $30 tip in cash, hoping it would be seen as a no-spit payoff. And he also apologized to Tony for being such a bother about those old, cold eggs.

"Thank you, sir," said Tony, smiling. "I'll bring your eggs now. Sir."

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The three men looked at each other, not knowing exactly what to say. And they waited for Tony.

jskass@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @John_Kass
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, second from left, and Ald. Ed Burke, right, at an anti-violence parade in Chicago on Sept. 10, 2016. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

The race to unseat Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans grew increasingly heated Wednesday as a group of African-American ministers and other black clergy members threatened to retaliate against judges who fail to vote for Evans as he seeks a sixth term.

Bishop Larry Trotter, the senior pastor of the Sweet Holy Spirit Church of Chicago, alleged in a statement that Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other Democratic leaders had been trying to undermine Evans in advance of voting Thursday afternoon.

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Cook County's 241 circuit court judges will cast secret ballots during a meeting at the Daley Center in downtown Chicago. Evans faces two challengers: former Northwest Side Ald. Tom Allen, who is now a judge, and Judge Sandra Ramos, a former prosecutor and defense lawyer.

"If we lose Judge Evans, our next move is to request of all African-Americans to not vote to retain judges in the November election. ... If they turn their back on Judge Evans, we will turn our backs on them," said Bishop James Dukes of the Liberation Christian Center of Chicago.

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It is not clear how Trotter or the other ministers will know how judges vote to identify targets for retaliation in the November election. "President Preckwinkle has repeatedly said this is a question for the judiciary to decide and that she is not involving herself in this matter," said Preckwinkle's spokesman, Frank Shuftan. "We stand by that, baseless rumors notwithstanding."

Sean Howard, a spokesman for Trotter, said about 25 ministers have rallied in support of Evans' re-election to chief judge.

"The ministers felt that if Judge Evans was in danger of not being re-elected, then we felt we had to let the public and the judges know where we stand. To work against Tim Evans is a slap in the face of the African-American community," he said.

The statement from the clergy members followed a Facebook post from Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th, that criticized the effort to unseat Evans, who was elected as the court's first African-American and became chief judge in 2001. He has run unopposed in three of the past four elections, according to his spokesman.

Nineteen former Cook County Bar Association presidents also released a statement endorsing Evans, saying he had improved the quality of county judges  although Evans' critics have long said he has installed cronies on the bench when vacancies occur.
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, a political fixture in Chicago for decades, on Thursday survived his toughest challenge in 15 years, holding off former Ald. Tom Allen amid widespread discontent with his leadership to win a sixth term as the county's top judge.

Voting among Circuit Court judges gave Evans 129 votes to Allen's 103 votes in the secret ballot, with several of the 241 judges able to vote not in attendance.

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After the vote at the Daley Center downtown, Evans brushed aside questions about the challenge, saying "any time you are in a race and you win, that's the satisfaction." He pledged to meet with Allen, as well as with Judge Sandra Ramos, who until Wednesday was also running for chief judge, and he said he would continue working to make his leadership team of presiding judges more diverse.

Evans said he would not hold Allen's challenge against him.

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Allen, a former Northwest Side alderman, ducked into an elevator after Evans' victory was announced and would not comment.

The margin of victory was a rebuke to what many judges have long said is Evans' autocratic, political style. Indeed, Evans has faced only one challenger in his last four races for chief judge, and in that race, against William Maddux, Evans coasted to an easy victory.

"You would expect someone who's been head of the court as long as he has been to win by a more convincing majority," said Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman who now is a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "But as politicians say, as long as you win by one, that's enough."

For Evans, the victory over Allen keeps him atop one of the nation's largest court systems, in a position that exerts broad influence over how justice is administered in cases ranging from traffic tickets to murder trials. Now, Evans, who became chief judge in 2001 and is the court's first African-American chief, is on the verge of becoming Cook County's longest-serving chief judge as well, eclipsing the tenure of Harry Comerford, who led the courts for 16 years from 1978 to 1994.

The race grew increasingly political as voting neared. Over the past several days, politicking among the judges and some outsiders had turned what is normally a genteel race among judges into a highly charged, public battle.

Court Clerk Dorothy Brown released a letter she wrote to Evans on Thursday, announcing her "staunchest support" for his re-election as chief judge. "I also urge all the Circuit Court judges to vote to retain you in this position, to which you have brought an unparalleled level of dignified jurisprudence," she wrote.

Internally, judges had complained about threats from African-American ministers to target them at the voting booth in the November general election if Evans had been defeated, and they complained about meddling by politicians in internal court affairs. In one email to fellow judges, Daniel Pierce wrote that he was appalled by threats to the court's independence; Pierce called the notion of a backlash over voting "ridiculous."

Just hours before secret ballots were cast, Ramos dropped out of the race, saying that the election had become overly political and that her message of increased diversity had been lost. Her decision to leave the race was viewed by many as a boost to Allen's campaign.

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"It is my hope that a meaningful, inclusive dialogue begins that assures transparency and, most important, public service," she said after the race.

The election came amid an embarrassing scandal in which one of Evans' law clerks has been accused of donning a judge's robe last month and hearing at least three traffic court cases at the Markham courthouse. Evans fired the clerk, Rhonda Crawford, and he assigned to administrative duties the judge who allegedly allowed Crawford to take the bench, Valarie Turner.

The incident fueled what had been simmering criticism of Evans from fellow judges, with some questioning his leadership and others saying the court was rife with politics. Allen, for example, accused Evans in a letter to fellow judges of not acting forcefully enough in the wake of the traffic court incident and of potentially allowing the court system to become a "laughingstock."

Evans, 73, is a seasoned veteran of Chicago politics. In 1973 he was elected to the City Council, a post he held until Toni Preckwinkle, now the Cook County Board president, narrowly defeated him in 1991. During his time on the council, he served as floor leader for Mayor Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor. After Washington died in 1987, Evans made his first bid for mayor when the council voted on his replacement, only to lose to Eugene Sawyer. He followed that with another bid for mayor but lost to Richard M. Daley. Then, after losing his council seat, Evans ran for Circuit Court judge in 1992 and won. Nine years later, he ascended to chief judge when he defeated four challengers.

Today, Evans heads a sprawling system that has 13 courthouses, with about 1.2 million criminal and civil cases pending at any given time. Besides the 386 circuit and associate judges, Evans supervises close to 2,700 employees, and he also heads the county Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and probation department. The court's 2016 budget is nearly $236 million.

Evans' long tenure has not been without controversy, much of it met with more than a little secrecy or inaction by him. A series of Chicago Tribune investigations has raised questions about how effectively Evans has managed the courts.

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A 2012 investigation, for instance, uncovered judges improperly hiding from the public potentially embarrassing cases involving politicians, athletes, businessmen and others.

The Tribune reported in 2013 that the Adult Probation Department had lost track of hundreds of convicts and overlooked curfew violations and new crimes by offenders, some of whom went on to commit other crimes. Evans responded with leadership changes but waited three months to make them.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Another Tribune investigation, into the probation department in 2014, found that a unit of armed, rogue officers had allegedly violated the civil rights of probationers. Evans hired a law firm to review and investigate the Tribune's findings, but he has refused to release the firm's report, or even to say if he had disciplined any employees or referred any wrongdoing to authorities.

That same year, the Illinois Supreme Court released an unprecedented and critical report into how the court system under Evans handled criminal defendants. The report pointed out a lack of leadership and basic understanding of certain court services that led to people unnecessarily awaiting trial behind bars.

Evans said he had been working to improve pretrial services and bond court years before the state's highest court issued its report.

smmills@chicagotribune.com

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tlighty@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @smmills1960

Twitter @tlighty
An indictment against Nicole Yvette Johnson, 31, who was arrested on a federal warrant charging her with smuggling tobacco and cocaine into the federal jail in downtown Chicago. (U.S. attorney's office)

An Evergreen Park woman arrested in a South Side traffic stop this week faces charges of smuggling tobacco and cocaine into the federal jail downtown, authorities said.

Nikole Yvette Johnson, 31, was arrested about 9:50 p.m. Tuesday near 87th Street and South Chicago Avenue after police saw her commit a traffic violation and then found there was a federal warrant out for her arrest, said Officer Bari Lemmon, a police spokeswoman.

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Johnson, of the 10200 block of South California Avenue in Evergreen Park, was turned over to federal authorities early Wednesday.

A grand jury had handed up an indictment against Johnson on Sept. 8 on charges she had brought tobacco "and a quantity of mixtures and substance containing cocaine" to an inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, 71 W. Van Buren St., on Oct. 28, 2015, according to the indictment. The indictment does not name the inmate.

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A federal warrant for Johnson was issued the same day, according to court records

On Wednesday, Johnson appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert and was ordered released on her own recognizance, according to court records. She's due back in court Oct. 19.
A Chicago firefighter was injured Thursday afternoon in a fire at a vacant building in the Englewood neighborhood.

Fire officials were alerted shortly after 3 p.m. to a vacant 2 1/2-story frame house in the 7200 block of South Wentworth Avenue, according to Chicago Fire Department media information.

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One firefighter was taken to an area hospital for treatment, but there was no information available about the nature of the injuries or the person's condition.

The fire was put out shortly before 3:40 p.m., officials said.
Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandi, depart after their sentencing hearing Aug. 14, 2013, in Washington. (Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON  Released from federal prison, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson will be on home confinement until Oct. 18, a Bureau of Prisons official said Thursday.

Jackson on Tuesday left a federal prison camp for women in Alderson, W.Va., and made a brief stop first at a halfway house in Baltimore, said Justin Long, a bureau spokesman.

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A source said Jackson is in Washington, D.C. Long declined to specify the location, citing privacy considerations.

Jackson, 53, is finishing out the final days of a one-year sentence for filing false income tax returns. She is the wife of former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Chicago.

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The two were convicted in 2013 after he took about $750,000 from his campaign treasury to buy vacations, luxury goods, memorabilia and other items. She failed to report much of the income on the couple's tax returns over many years.

He entered prison first and she followed after his release, based on a judge's order letting one parent care for their two children. He got a 30-month term that was shortened for completing a substance abuse program and having good behavior while behind bars.

Federal rules do not allow so-called "good time" credit for sentences that are one year or less, as hers was.

kskiba@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @KatherineSkiba
Ben Baker is filing a lawsuit against the City of Chicago for wrongfully convicting and imprisoning him for 10 years. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

A South Side man who spent more than a decade in prison on false drug charges filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging he was framed by a corrupt Chicago police sergeant and his crew  and that a code of silence within the department covered up the wrongdoing for years.

Ben Baker, 43, was freed in January after he sought a new trial and Cook County prosecutors dropped all charges. Baker had long alleged that Sgt. Ronald Watts planted drugs on him during a 2005 arrest at the now-shuttered Ida B. Wells public housing complex. After learning that Baker had complained about the arrest to police internal affairs, members of Watts' crew then allegedly framed him and his fiancee in a separate drug case months later, the suit alleges.

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Baker's case was highlighted in a Tribune story earlier this year about allegations of a long-standing policy within the Police Department to cover up wrongdoing of other police officers, allowing bad cops like Watts to act with impunity.

The lawsuit marks the latest case involving the corrupt squad led by Watts, who in 2012 was charged along with one of his underlings with shaking down a drug courier who turned out to be an FBI informant. Both Watts and Officer Kallatt Mohammed pleaded guilty and were sent to federal prison.

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Baker's suit names for the first time other members of Watts' crew alleged to be involved in Baker's arrests but who were not charged with criminal wrongdoing as part of the FBI probe. Among them were Officers Brian Bolton, Robert Gonzalez, Douglas Nichols Jr. and Manuel Leano, as well as Sgt. Alvin Jones  all of whom remain on the force. Nichols declined to comment, while the others could not be reached Thursday.

"This case is going to be about exploring the code of silence, how it happens and how it continues to happen to this day," Baker's attorney, Joshua Tepfer of the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School, said at a news conference. "It is very much alive and well."

Baker told reporters he was just one of many people living in the Wells complex set up by Watts  and that many of them are still languishing in prison. Since he was freed eight months ago, Baker has been unable to find work and spends his days at home or working out at the gym. He said he's afraid of police, especially since so many of Watts' old crew are still out patrolling the streets.

"But I'm gonna be OK," he said. "I'm gonna take my head out of the sand and live the rest of my life."

A spokesman for the city's Law Department declined to comment Thursday, saying the city had not yet been served with the lawsuit.

Baker's lawsuit alleges he was targeted in 2005 because he had refused to pay Watts a protection payoff of $1,000 in order to deal drugs at the Wells complex. In retaliation, Watts and his crew tried to pin a heroin case on Baker, but he beat the charges in court, records show.

Months later, Baker was arrested again by Watts' crew after the officers claimed he was found inside a building with heroin in his pocket packaged for sale, according to court records.

Baker was on bond awaiting trial in that case when he and his fiancee, Clarissa Glenn, decided to go to police internal affairs to complain about Watts' corruption, according to the lawsuit.

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Clarissa Glenn, left, and partner Ben Baker attend the Sept. 15, 2016, announcement of a federal lawsuit alleging that corrupt Chicago police officers framed him. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

Shortly after they blew the whistle, the two were stopped in December 2005 by Watts and another officer, who said in police reports that as Watts walked up to the car, he saw Glenn hand a clear plastic bag filled with heroin to Baker.

But Baker and Glenn alleged in a petition for a new trial earlier this year that Watts had pulled the bag out of his sleeve and placed it in the car after a search had turned up no drugs. Back at the Wentworth District police station, members of Watts' team typed up a false report, adding officers as witnesses who weren't even at the scene, the couple alleged.

Facing up to 30 years in prison and terrified that their young children would be left alone, the couple decided to plead guilty, according to their petition.

At their hearing, Judge Michael Toomin acknowledged he had been shown reports that indicated Watts' crew had been under investigation by police internal affairs and that a prosecutor with the state's attorney's office's public integrity unit was involved in the probe, according to a transcript provided in the petition.

But with no concrete evidence of wrongdoing and no move by prosecutors to drop the charges, the judge said he couldn't do anything, according to the transcript. But, Toomin said, "police officers do get charged with doing things that are wrong, breaking the law."

"If that should happen here in this case, I would have no hesitation," the judge said. "I would toss out these convictions."

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Baker, who already had criminal convictions on his record, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Glenn, who had never been arrested before, was given probation.

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But the couple continued to allege that they had been framed, and years later, after petitioning then-Gov. Pat Quinn, Glenn was granted a pardon, records show.

In January, Cook County prosecutors agreed to drop the original drug charge against him after Tepfer revealed dozens of pages of court and law enforcement records showing that police internal affairs had been aware as far back as the late 1990s of corruption allegations involving Watts' team  yet failed to take them off the street.

At the time of Baker's arrest, Watts and his entire crew also were the target of an FBI investigation, according to records uncovered by Tepfer. One FBI report from September 2004 showed that an informant had told federal agents that Watts and other officers were routinely shaking down drug dealers for thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for police protection at the Wellscomplex.

But it wasn't until five years later that agents were able to build a criminal case against Watts and Mohammed, based in part on the undercover work of two whistleblower officers, Shannon Spalding and Daniel Echeverria.

Spalding and Echeverria would later file a lawsuit of their own alleging that they were blackballed by police brass and moved to do-nothing jobs in retaliation for their undercover work. The suit was settled on the eve of trial in May for $2 million.

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jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jmetr22b
The United States is facing its first major teacher shortage since the 1990s, one that could develop into a crisis for schools in many parts of the country, according to a new study by the Learning Policy Institute, an education think tank.

The shortfall is a result of increased demand for teachers as schools reinstate classes and programs axed during the Great Recession. It has been compounded by a dramatic decrease in the supply of new teachers entering the profession. Enrollment in teacher preparation programs dropped from 691,000 in 2009 to 451,000 in 2014, a 35 percent decline, according to the study, "A Coming Crisis in Teaching? Teacher Supply, Demand and Shortages in the U.S."

"Our analysis estimates that U.S. classrooms were short approximately 60,000 teachers last year," Leib Sutcher, the study's co-author, told reporters Tuesday ahead of the study's release. "Unless we can shift these trends, annual teacher shortages could increase to over 100,000 teachers by 2018 and remain close to that level thereafter."

The impact of the teacher shortage on students, according to the study's authors, will be schools having to cancel courses, increase class sizes and teacher-pupil ratios, or hire underprepared teachers.

Although nearly every state has reported shortages to the U.S. Department of Education, the problem is much more pronounced in some states than others. But across the country, they are disproportionately felt in special education, math and science, and in bilingual and English-language education.

Regardless of the state, students in high-poverty and high-minority schools are typically hit hardest when there are shortages. In 2014, on average, less than 1 percent were uncertified in low-minority schools, while four times as many were uncertified in high-minority schools, the study showed.

Teacher attrition - the number of teachers leaving the profession for a variety of reasons - remains high and is the single-biggest contributor to the shortage, according to the report. Nearly two-thirds of the teachers who leave the profession do so before retirement age and cite dissatisfaction with their job as the reason. Addressing the job-dissatisfaction issues could help avert a teacher crisis.

"In times of shortage, policymakers often focus attention on how to get more teachers into the profession, but it's equally important to focus on how to keep the teachers we do have," Sutcher said. "Reducing attrition in half, from eight percent to four percent, would virtually eliminate overall shortages."

Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the Learning Policy Institute and an author of the study, said that teachers make about 20 percent less than other college graduates and that teacher salaries have lost ground since the 1990s. That despite increased teaching hours and less time for classroom preparation.

"In more than 30 states, a mid-career teacher heading a family of four is eligible for government assistance," she said.

Darling-Hammond recommended increased pay, compensation packages that could include housing and child care, and forgivable loans as some of the ways to teacher retention.

The study, based on federal data sets and more than a year in the works, received acclaim from powerful political figures on the education front. "This research underscores the importance of offering effective incentives to keep our best teachers in the profession, contributing their expertise to help others," Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement.

Former education secretary and South Carolina governor Richard W. Riley concurred.

"The teaching workforce is so critical to our future, and what we see here is the data we need to help us move forward with thoughtful, effective strategies."

An accompanying report, "Minority Teacher Recruitment, Employment, and Retention: 1987 to 2013," looked specifically at the effort to increase the number of minority teachers in schools.

"Teacher turnover is especially high in poor and disadvantaged schools," said Richard Ingersoll, that report's author. "What the data tell us is that we need to focus on more recruitment of minority teachers but also more retention of minority teachers if we ever want to have the teaching force look like the student population in schools."

Although compensation was a factor for minority teachers, it wasn't the only one, Ingersoll said.

"We need to work on working conditions," he said. "Among the key conditions that drive out minority teachers are a lack of autonomy and discretion in the classroom."
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte walks to the closing and handover ceremony for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane on Sept. 8, 2016. (Roslan Rahman / AFP/Getty Images)

MANILA, Philippines  In an extraordinary hearing in the Philippine Senate, a witness claimed President Rodrigo Duterte paid him to carry out executions that involved, among other things, feeding a body to a crocodile, chopping up corpses and murder by packing tape.

The witness, Edgar Matobato, spoke to Filipino lawmakers at Senate hearings investigating a recent wave of extra-judicial killings that has claimed more than 3,000 lives as part of the president's anti-drug campaign.

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Matobato said he spent years working as part of the so-called "Davao Death Squad," a group of killers associated with the president's time as a city mayor.

Matobato's claims, which have not been independently confirmed, linked President Duterte and his son, Paolo Duterte, to a list of crimes worthy of a gangster film.

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He said he and fellow assassins referred to then-mayor Duterte using the code name, "Charlie Mike," and he ordered them to kill dozens of people ranging from drug pushers, to the dance-instructor boyfriend of Duterte's sister, to a millionaire hotelier.

"People in Davao City were like chickens - they were being killed without any reason," said Matobato.

The hearing's chair, Senator Leila de Lima, is a longtime critic of Duterte's human rights record. She said she saw the testimony as a step toward truth and justice for victims of the president's alleged purges, past and present. "People deserve to know," she said.

A Duterte ally present at the hearing, Senator Alan Cayetano, dismissed Matobato's sworn testimony as "lies," questioning his credibility and casting the whole process as a politically motivated plot against the president. A spokesman for the president denied the allegation.

The dramatic scene at the Senate on Thursday showed a country divided at home and struggling to keep its balance on the global stage.

Duterte swept to power this spring promising to crackdown on crime, just as he did as the longtime mayor of Davao, where he earned a reputation for strongman tactics and was christened "the death squad mayor" for allegedly overseeing extra-judicial killings.

During this year's campaign Duterte did not shy away from his "death squad" moniker, promising he would kill 100,000 criminals in six months.

"When I become president, I'll order the police and the military to find these people and kill them. The funeral parlors will be packed. . . I'll supply the dead bodies," he said.

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Since he took office in July, some 3,000 people have been murdered. Duterte initially seemed to urge the killers on, but has more recently tried to distance himself from extra-judicial killings and summary executions.

The deaths have been condemned by the United Nations and questioned by President Barack Obama. Duterte has shrugged off all criticism, instead railing against U.S. colonialism in the saltiest possible terms.

The president's undiplomatic comments and erratic approach to foreign policy has the U.S. worried.

The Philippines, a onetime U.S. colony, is a close ally of the United States. With China pressing its claims to most of the South China Sea, the U.S. and Philippine sides have for several years been moving toward greater military cooperation.

But Duterte's rise puts that in question. After his profanity-laced comments about Obama at a recent summit, Duterte called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces from the island of Mindanao. He also announced he will buy weapons from the Chinese.

Duterte has yet to comment on Wednesday's hearing.
A Joint Task Force member climbs to his guard tower post surrounded by triple rows of razor barbed wire at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Naval Sation, Cubal on Feb. 16, 2006. (John Riley / EPA)

WASHINGTON  House Republicans are rallying around a measure that would prevent President Barack Obama from releasing any more detainees from Guantanamo Bay until Congress can come up with a new defense policy bill.

The House on Thursday passed the bill on a 244 to 174 vote, but even some leading Republican House members acknowledge privately that it stands almost no chance of being approved by the Senate. The White House has also threatened to veto the bill.

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Still, the House's vote represents a final showdown in the eight-year struggle between Republicans and President Barack Obama, who have been fiercely at odds over the future of the detention facility housing suspected terrorists that Obama has vowed to close.

Congress -- with the help of both Democrats and Republicans -- has successfully kept Obama from shuttering the Guantanamo Bay prison camp through a series of maneuvers in annual defense policy and funding bills. But the president has still maintained the right to transfer detainees to third party countries.

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In August, the president approved the largest single transfer of detainees -- 15, sent to the United Arab Emirates -- of his administration, leaving the population at 61.

Republicans see such moves as an attempt to shutter Guantanamo by attrition, until the ranks of detainee ranks are so low it makes no more sense to keep the facility open. The bill the House passed Thursday highlights this issue that has passionately divided Americans, just in time for the home stretch of an election season.

But the bill's sponsor, Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., argues that the measure is timely because of increasing incidences of recidivism. A new report from the Director of National Intelligence released Wednesday showed that two more detainees released from Guantanamo Bay had reengaged in terrorist activity.

Walorski faults the administration for trusting former Guantanamo detainees to third-party countries that "don't have the facilities, don't have the wherewithal to keep these people," she said in an interview.

"We wouldn't be seeing 30 percent recidivism if we had true partners in this cause and in these countries," Walorski said.

Her solution is to put a stop to transfers until either Congress passes a defense policy bill or the first day of the new presidential administration on Jan. 21, 2017 -- whichever comes sooner.

Walorski argued Tuesday that Obama's detainee transfer policy "is more about the president running out of time to fulfill his campaign promise than about the national security interest of the United States," adding that "puts Americans at risk."

But Democrats see Walorski's bill as a thinly veiled attempt to stick it to Obama in the last months of his presidency.

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"For eight years, the general view here, from some of us, is that the intention was to obstruct this president from doing whatever he attempted to do," said Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla. "Now we come to the end, and you have in many respects, succeeded. . .that said, I think that you get my drift that this ain't going nowhere."

"The young man will have his legacy," Hastings continued, "and most of it will include the negativity that he was presented with and the lack of dignity that was allowed, in many respects, to him as president of the United States."

The specifics of Walorski's bill echo a provision that the House voted to include in their version of the annual defense policy bill in June. That bill is currently being negotiated with the Senate's version, which does not have a similar provision. Both bills would, however, prevent the president from shuttering the Guantanamo Bay facility.

Of the 61 detainees left at Guantanamo, approximately 16 of them have been cleared for transfer to other countries, House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Tuesday.

"Many of these people have been cleared for transfer for years," Smith said. "This bill would block the ability to do that between now and probably the end of his presidency. . .I just don't see why this president should have that power taken away from him."

Many Republicans have clamored for a ban against the release of any more detainees for fear that Obama is trying to close the facility by fiat, by depleting it of inmates. They warn that could have dangerous consequences if the most hardened suspected terrorists are released, as they could return to terrorist activities.

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During a House Rules Committee meeting Tuesday, chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said he supported the bill because "I would hate to look up and find that KSM is gone," referring to Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Democrats have recoiled at such accusations, pointing out the administration has no intention of releasing the so-called worst detainees. Most Democrats argue that keeping inmates at Guantanamo without cause only fuels terrorist propaganda.

Democrats also counter Republican warnings about recidivism among released detainees with numbers indicating most who have gone "back to the fight" were released during George W. Bush's administration.
CHICAGO  Attorneys defending Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's order to bar agencies from helping Syrian refugees resettle in his state faced unusually fierce questioning before a federal appeals court Wednesday, suggesting the panel might side with a lower court that found the order discriminatory.



A three-judge panel for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago zeroed in on the intelligence and intent behind the Republican vice presidential candidate's order, which a federal judge said in February "clearly discriminates" against refugees from the war-torn nation. Judges suggested that Indiana could've had a stronger argument for entirely opting out of the refugee program  for which states disperse federal money to resettlement organizations  instead of excluding Syrians.



"If you're in, you play by the government's rules," Judge Frank Easterbrook said.



The oral arguments came the same day the White House announced that the refugee program will be expanded in the next year as concern continues about the refugee crisis stemming from Syria's civil war and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Following November's Paris attacks, Pence was among dozens of governors from mostly GOP states who attempted to block Syrian refugees, saying there were questions about the federal government's screening process. The suspects in the attack were primarily from France and Belgium; GOP leaders, including Pence, noted that a Syrian passport, now believed to be fake, was found near one of the suicide bombers.



Pence sought to withhold federal funds for groups, including Indianapolis-based Exodus Refugee Immigration, that help Syrian refugees with medical and social services and job training.

The governor had the authority "due to terrorism concerns," Indiana's attorney general said in a Wednesday statement. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which is representing Exodus, said in previously filed legal briefs that the order violates the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act and discriminates because states in the federal program must assist without regard to nationality. The ACLU said arguments by Indiana state officials were "built on fear."



Courts have knocked down other states' efforts to block Syrian refugees, most recently in June, when a federal judge threw out the state of Texas' lawsuit because it had no authority over resettlements handled by the federal government.



Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher repeatedly cited in court FBI directors' past comments about less information available on Syrian refugees compared to those from other countries.



The judges, in sharp exchanges at times, were skeptical.



When Fisher interrupted a judge, another on the bench issued a rebuke. Later, when Judge Richard Posner launched into queries about how Indiana had determined Syrians were more dangerous than other refugees, he appeared unsatisfied with Fisher's response.



"Honestly, you are so out of it," Posner said.



Questions directed at ACLU attorney Kenneth Falk, were less intense and largely focused on constitutional arguments.

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It's unknown when the three-judge panel will issue a written ruling on whether to uphold or overturn the lower court's decision.



Since February, more than 100 refugees from Syria have resettled in Indiana, according to Exodus. And the Obama administration said Wednesday that the U.S. will strive to take in 30 percent more refugees  110,000  than allowed in the previous year, saying the program doesn't impose a national security threat.



Associated Press
Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton boards her campaign plane at Westchester County Airport on Sept. 15, 2016, in White Plains, New York. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

It was hours before Sen. Hillary Clinton would vote in 2002 on whether to give President George W. Bush the authority to go to war with Iraq. She had been advised by her husband and many close associates to vote "yes." Now, at the last minute, she met with a group of church leaders, joining hands in silent prayer, insisting that she remained undecided.

"What I saw was her asking a lot of probing questions, a lot of concern about would this be effective," said Andrew Shapiro, Clinton's foreign policy adviser at the time, referring to the days leading up to her decision.

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In the end, however, the Democrat crossed party lines and voted for the authorization to use military force. It would take her years to acknowledge that the decision was misguided, eventually calling it "my mistake." But it was little surprise to many who watched her evolution as a hawk over her years as a first lady and then as a senator.

For years, Clinton has blamed Bush for misleading her into voting for the resolution. But an examination by The Washington Post found that her decision was based as much on advice from her husband's advisers as from Bush administration officials. There were also significant gaps in her fact-gathering, most notably her apparent failure to read a classified analysis that other senators cited in voting against the resolution.

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The path to Clinton's decision was paved by her evolving sense of presidential power, forged during years in which she played a bigger role than widely realized in pushing her husband to intervene militarily in the Balkans, Iraq and Kosovo. She continued that path when she advocated intervention in Libya as secretary of state.

Clinton's actions provide a window into how she might conduct herself as president, balancing countless calls for action to prevent global crises against risking the lives of American troops.

Fourteen years later, Clinton's decision is a heated issue in her presidential campaign against Republican Donald Trump, who said at a Sept. 7 forum that her vote and other hawkish actions show that she is "trigger-happy." Clinton responded that force is her last resort, even as she acknowledged that she regrets the Iraq decision. (Trump has repeatedly said he opposed the resolution, but fact-checkers have determined that he favored it at the time Clinton voted.)

Once branded dovish because of her antipathy to the Vietnam War, Clinton had watched from her front-row White House seat what happened when presidential power was left unused as masses died in Rwanda and initially in the Balkans.

As she saw the benefits of intervention, her views of executive power expanded. She argued that a president should have latitude to launch military missions because, as she starkly put it in justifying her 2002 vote, "sometimes a president has to do what he thinks is right no matter what anyone else says." She embraced an approach to military force that in many cases argued for using it - rather than regretting not doing so.

Clinton declined requests to be interviewed for this article. Her campaign also would not say whether she read the classified report about Iraq's purported weapons of mass destruction, or to provide names of opponents with whom she consulted, other than citing the meeting with church members.

Instead, Jesse Lehrich, her foreign policy spokesman, noted in a statement that Clinton considered the Iraq vote "one of the hardest decisions of her life - one she anguished over exhaustively and, of course, one she came to regret in the end."

Stopping the bloodshed

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A soft rain fell on April 22, 1993, as the first lady attended the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The Clintons had just settled into the White House, and their new national security team was already facing a humanitarian disaster in the Balkans, scene of one of the bloodiest European conflicts since World War II.

Guest speaker Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning Holocaust survivor, urged President Clinton to try to stop the mass killings that came to be known as ethnic cleansing. "We must do something to stop the bloodshed," he said.

Hillary Clinton later said the speech was one of several by Wiesel that deeply influenced her thinking about the use of American force. She watched as her husband delayed action in the Balkans, and then, a year later as he did not intervene in response to reports of a genocide in Rwanda that killed an estimated 800,000.

She was with her husband when Wiesel later admonished him for Rwanda, telling the president, "We could have prevented that massacre."

In 1995, as the White House sought to recover from the domestic failure of Hillary Clinton's health-care plan and a Republican takeover of Congress, the president faced new pressure to act in the Balkans in 1995 after 8,000 people were killed in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.

Some of the president's aides feared that he had an aversion to intervention, given the downing of two Black Hawk helicopters and the loss of 18 troops in Somalia in October 1993. They came to view the first lady as a conduit who would push her husband to take military force. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke - long an advocate of U.S. action in the Balkans - turned to the first lady for help convincing the president. "He warned her that Bosnia was 'a cancer on the presidency,' " said Derek Chollet, a former speechwriter for Holbrooke, who died in 2010.

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Hillary Clinton later said she became convinced that "selective airstrikes are the only way to stop the genocide." After the president authorized the strikes, she credited intervention for a peace accord, which she observed as an emissary to Bosnia.

Extraordinary threat

In early 1998, Hillary Clinton faced the press corps in the White House's Map Room. Reporters had been focused on allegations that her husband had had an affair with a White House intern, Monica S. Lewinsky.

Hillary Clinton chose this moment, for the first time in such a public setting, to take on Saddam Hussein.

The Iraqi leader was "without conscience," having used weapons of mass destruction on "his own people," she told reporters, referring to an attack on Kurds a decade earlier. "We are facing an extraordinary threat from this man. Something will have to be done."

Iraq had been a festering issue for President Clinton. In the wake of reports that Hussein was behind an unsuccessful effort to assassinate former president George H.W. Bush, the president in July 1993 ordered the launch of 23 cruise missiles on Baghdad. Tensions escalated further when a U.N. report blamed economic sanctions for the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children, but U.S. officials shifted the blame to Hussein.

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Amid reports that weapons inspectors were being blocked from key sites,a group of neoconservatives who would later play top roles in the Bush administration pushed for regime change. Congress in October 1998 passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which called for Hussein's removal. Hillary Clinton would repeatedly cite the legislation as part of the rationale for her Iraq War vote four years later.

After signing the legislation, President Clinton ordered bombers to Iraq in mid-November 1998. But he turned the planes around in mid-flight after Hussein suddenly promised cooperation.

On Dec. 15, 1998, the Clintons from Israel back to Washington to face a likely impeachment vote related to the Lewinsky scandal. National security adviser Sandy Berger and Bruce Riedel, one of his deputies, accompanied them.

While the president rested, Hillary Clinton conferred with his aides about rescheduling the attack on Iraq.

"The president was in his bedroom suite, sleeping, and Mrs. Clinton was sitting with Sandy Berger and myself," Riedel, then the National Security Council's senior director for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, said in an interview. "She was listening quite avidly and taking it all in, and at one point or another we started saying, "What if we get another last-minute Saddam dodge?' As I recall it, she said, " 'You can't let him do that again, you need to pull the trigger.' "

Riedel often discussed foreign affairs with the first lady. "The most force-averse person in the Clinton administration was the president," he said. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, "was among those who were encouraging the president not to let Saddam Hussein off the hook this time. . . . She was not in the chain of command, but she was among his most important advisers. A great deal of the memos Sandy sent to the president, she got a copy as well."

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Berger, who died in 2015, said in an oral history for the University of Virginia's Miller Center that he, too, never doubted Hillary Clinton's influence. "I often thought in the morning I heard some echoes of Hillary in something he said," Berger said, referring to the president.

Deep influence

Operation Desert Fox was designed as a four-day attack on 100 sites, mostly aimed at Hussein's power structure. Weapons inspectors heeded U.S. warnings to evacuate.

"I have no doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again," President Clinton told the nation as the attack was launched, referring to suspected WMDs.

After waiting for the bombing to end, the House impeached the president, but he survived because the Senate did not convict him, and Hussein survived as the bombing stopped.

A few months later, as Hillary Clinton prepared to run for the Senate from New York, she and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, traveled to Africa. One night, in a phone call with her husband, the couple discussed a proposal to back bombing in Kosovo, which many Republicans opposed. President Clinton was hesitant but his wife was certain.

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"I urged him to bomb, I supported him," Hillary Clinton told Talk magazine at the time. "You cannot let this go on at the end of a century that has seen the major holocaust of our time. What do we have NATO for if not to defend our way of life?"

Shortly after returning from Africa, the first lady hosted Wiesel at a White House event, "The Perils of Indifference," which focused on the lessons of the Holocaust. Clinton made clear that the lesson for her was to be more willing to use force. "Many of us in this room have personal experiences that are much more recent and fresh, about what it means to face that evil and that indifference today," she said, citing her travel to trouble spots.

Clinton's role in her husband's foreign policy continued. In 2000, she attended a White House session with the president and his national security aides to discuss Hussein's latest moves. Kenneth Pollack, the NSC director for Persian Gulf affairs at the time, said in an interview: "Clearly her husband felt he wanted her there, she would be there, she would give him advice, sometimes with us in the room, she asked really smart questions."

Hillary Clinton hailed the intervention in Iraq as a success. But U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who had tried to forestall bombing, later wrote that "Desert Fox ushered in a four-year period without inspections and without a dialogue with Iraq."

Seeking advice

As Hillary Clinton prepared to be sworn in as a senator in 2001, her husband's administration handed over Iraq policy to President-elect George W. Bush. Bush and his aides suspected that Hussein had used the absence of inspections to escalate a WMD program, and studied the possibility of an invasion.

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The Bush administration's planning on Iraq escalated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Hillary Clinton was at the U.S. Capitol when she learned about the mass casualties at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The senator soon urged Bush to provide $20 billion to rebuild New York. The president agreed, and a gratified Clinton said, "I'll stand behind Bush for a long time to come."

That pledge was tested a year later as the president urged Congress to grant him the authority to attack Iraq. Despite nearly universal support for invading Afghanistan, where Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was sheltered, the Iraq resolution encountered opposition from various leading Democrats, who said that Hussein had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks and that it would give Bush too much latitude.

As Hillary Clinton considered whether to support the resolution, her husband publicly endorsed regime change, as he had in 1998.

Many of Hillary Clinton's advisers had been top officials in her husband's administration. Pollack, her husband's former aide, had just published a book, "The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq." Clinton asked him to visit her.

After Pollack stressed Hussein's dangers, Clinton asked him about the Iraqi leader's intentions.

"I just remember being forced to say to her, "I'm sorry, Senator, I wish I knew the answer to that. No one other than Saddam Hussein knows the answer," Pollack recalled.

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Riedel, the former NSC aide who had often consulted with Clinton, said he believed at the time that war with Iraq was "insane." He was convinced that Iraq had no WMDs.

But Riedel said he did not talk directly to Clinton, instead conveying his views to Berger, who was advising the senator and thought that Hussein had WMD stockpiles.

In her public comments, Clinton strongly suggested support for Bush.

"I agreed then with President Clinton," Hillary Clinton said on Sept. 15 on "Meet the Press," referring to her husband's effort to oust Hussein. "I agree with President Bush's emphasis on this issue."

"I can't imagine that we won't" give Bush the authority, she said.

Sorting facts

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Bush called Clinton to the White House on Oct. 8, 2002, three days before the vote. His public arguments included a stream of later-discredited claims, including that Hussein had WMDs "capable of killing millions."

After Clinton left the White House, she took a call from national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Clinton later cited this conversation as evidence that the Bush administration "misled" her. As she told it in a 2006 interview with the Atlantic, "Condi Rice called me and asked if I had any questions. I said, 'Look, I have one question: If the president has this authority, will he go to the United Nations and use it to get inspectors to go back into Iraq and figure out what this guy has?' "

"Yes, that's what it's for," Rice responded, according to Clinton.

Rice declined to comment, but her spokeswoman, Georgia Godfrey, said via email that Rice never would have suggested that "the Authorization would be limited to getting inspectors in."

Clinton, like every other senator, was invited to read classified intelligence reports in a secure room on Capitol Hill.

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The report had caveats - absent from an unclassified version - that led some senators to doubt the administration's case. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., who chaired the Intelligence Committee, pleaded with colleagues to read the document before voting.

Clinton has left the clear impression that she did not read the full report. She said in a 2008 interview on "Meet the Press" that she was briefed by its authors, and that "not very many people read the whole thing." When The Post asked a campaign spokesman to say definitively whether she read it, he pointed to Clinton's 2008 statement.

Graham, who voted no, said in an interview that he remains frustrated that so many senators did not read the report. "I'm not sure if Senator Clinton read that or not; if she did, it apparently wasn't sufficiently persuasive," he said.

Some Clinton aides said they were uncertain until the end how she would vote. But her inclination to support Bush was so well known that Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who was trying to rally opposition, made no effort to change her mind, a former Kennedy aide said.

Clinton has cited as reasons for her support her gratitude for Bush's financial support for New York, her expectation that the vote would reopen inspections, and her underlying belief in strong presidential authority. She has also cited the advocacy of Clinton administration officials, and the legacy of the Iraq Liberation Act. She has rejected suggestions that reading the full National Intelligence Estimate would have made a difference, noting that some who read it voted for the resolution.

On Oct. 10, 2002, Clinton's Senate speech harked back to her husband's 1998 attack on Iraq, even as she stressed her hope for a diplomatic solution.

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"Left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons," she said.

The Senate approved the measure 77 to 23, with Democrats favoring it 29 to 21. The two other opponents were an independent and a Republican. The House also voted in favor.

The drumbeat for war mounted. The Bush administration said Hussein still refused to allow adequate inspections, and an invasion threat hadn't resolved the issue. Bush launched the attack in March 2003, sending hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to Iraq.

A year after the vote, Clinton defended it on CNN, citing "grave threats to the United States."

But the basis of her decision was soon undermined. In October 2004, a U.N. team led by Charles Duelfer reported that WMD "stocks do not exist."

Clinton contacted Pollack, a voice that had urged her to vote for war.

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"So, Ken, what happened to the weapons of mass destruction?" she asked, as he recalled it.

"I'm as mystified as you are, Senator," Pollack said he responded.

In 2008, as Clinton sought the Democratic presidential nomination for the first time, her pollster found that most voters would react negatively if she acknowledged that her vote was a mistake. She refrained from using the word, even as her primary rival Barack Obama attacked her vote.

She now characterizes her vote as a painful but valuable lesson.

"It is imperative that we learn from the mistakes," she said earlier this month. "We must learn what led us down that path so that it never happens again. I think I'm in the best possible position to be able to understand that and prevent it."

Magda Jean-Louis and Alice Crites contributed to this report.
"Cam," my mother said, "the G6 flower is still our top seller, but the brownies and cookies are going like crazy!"

Two years ago, hearing my mom talk about different kinds of marijuana would have been empirically weird, but today it is completely common. In November 2015, she, two business partners and I opened Harbory  a medical cannabis dispensary in Marion, Ill., two hours from my hometown of St. Louis.

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My mother, Michele Koo, a plastic surgeon who wears high heels and a white lab coat when seeing patients, may not be the person you'd imagine running a dispensary. Nor am I, a Stanford University graduate who left a job at Anheuser-Busch making Super Bowl commercials with the Budweiser Clydesdales. I have never used marijuana; my mom smoked a few times in college. We became interested in medical cannabis after my mom's mom  "Na," we called her, Chinese for grandmother  died of cancer in California without the benefit of cannabis as an end-of-life palliative.

We have gained considerable, and unexpected, insight from opening the dispensary, particularly timely with the Obama administration's recent move to encourage scientific study of marijuana's medical uses. Currently, only the University of Mississippi can legally conduct such research, but in August the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would expand the number of entities that can grow marijuana for research purposes.

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Our experience suggests it's a good move.

First, I had thought our customers would be younger, male, urban and looking for a quick high. Early "Cheech & Chong," right? Wrong. Among the roughly 700 people who have walked through our doors, the typical patient  at Harbory we call them "members"  skews older and female, a demographic we are proud to match in our incredible staff. Many members are on a fixed income and must choose between buying groceries and buying medicine at our dispensary. These individuals are truly sick and seeking relief.

Second, medical cannabis is still highly stigmatized, to the detriment of those who legally use it. Take our first member, Kevin Sauls, a 54-year-old minister with kind blue eyes and a cropped white beard who is suffering from spinal stenosis. He has had two back surgeries in three years but says that since coming to the dispensary his pain is reduced and he has weaned himself from harmful opioids such as oxycodone and Vicodin.

Now, the problem: "I was on the news for being your very first patient," Sauls told me. "When my church saw me, they barred me from giving sermons for six weeks. It's not right." Tears welled as he continued. "This is a God-made plant, and as long as he puts it on the Earth, I want people to be able to use it."

Our third takeaway is that hundreds of people want access to medical cannabis but are denied it because their conditions don't qualify. Consider Angela Bond, who purchases edible cannabis products for her autistic son, Dalton, 17. When we spoke, Bond showed me a CVS bill for all of Dalton's medications. Now, with the help of medical cannabis, she has weaned her son off most of those pills. "Since he's been on the cannabis medication," Bond told me, "Dalton has had fewer fits. He's no longer rolling on the floor, ripping his shirt, breaking walls and windows in our house, and he can talk to people. He can look you in the eye and he can even verbalize things." Now, the problem: Autism is not on the list of qualifying conditions in Illinois; Dalton qualifies for his cannabis card only because he also suffers from seizures.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 Jessica Ryan skirts marijuana plants in the flowering room at Cresco Labs. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

In Illinois, there are roughly 40 conditions for which cannabis use is legal. Not on the list are depression, anxiety, anorexia and chronic pain  conditions included on the list in many other states, and for which studies exist proving the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment. Post-traumatic stress disorder has just recently been added by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. In the U.S., only 25 states plus the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. This leaves many sick individuals without the access they need.

Finally, my mother and I learned just how complex cannabis really is. Think of it like an apple. When you go to the grocery store, you don't just buy apples  you buy Granny Smith or Fuji or Pink Lady apples. The same is true of cannabis. There are hundreds of strains, each with a different combination of cannabinoids and terpenes  the molecules that comprise each strain. It is the combination of these molecules that acts on the endocannabinoid system  a network of receptors in every human body  and provides the medical benefits of cannabis.

And thus our biggest eye-opener: Federal regulations make research about cannabis almost impossible. To provide more knowledge on cannabis, researchers must go through a Byzantine system of approvals with the Drug Enforcement Administration; to date, there is a dearth of studies highlighting the effects of specific strains and cannabinoids on particular conditions. The research approval process is so onerous in part because of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classifies all drugs into groups called "schedules." Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous, with "high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical benefits"; Schedule V are the least dangerous. Per the CSA, cannabis and heroin are Schedule I drugs; cocaine is a Schedule II drug. As long as cannabis remains a federally illegal substance and its medical benefits remain unrecognized, researchers will not be allowed to perform strain and molecule-specific studies.

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The federal shift on research will lift some barriers by permitting more universities to grow cannabis for explicit use in medical studies. My mother and I are hopeful.

But the new ruling, though a step in the right direction, is still far from what medical cannabis users truly need. Concurrent with the ruling, the DEA rejected a proposal to reschedule marijuana, supporting the claim that the plant has no accepted medical use. This, of course, sends a conflicting message: The same administration that will permit more cannabis research maintains that the plant has no medical benefits.

In November, several states will vote on whether to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. An initiative in Missouri is tied up in a court battle and the question may not make it on that state's ballot. If medical cannabis becomes legal in our home state, my mother and I plan to expand our small business  and the thing we most need is for the recently approved research to be carried out as expeditiously as possible, and, when results corroborating marijuana's medical benefits are released, for the DEA to re-evaluate its stance on scheduling so that as many people as possible can benefit.

Cameron Lehman is a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to attending graduate school, he opened Harbory, a medical cannabis dispensary in Southern Illinois.
ABA Area Big Year Update: September, and Everyone Goes to Alaska

For a Big Year birder, 9 months in means that most all of the regularly occurring ABA Area breeding birds have been tallied. September is the beginning of rarity season, which means that any birder with the hopes of a sizeable Big Year list needs to put themselves in position to sweep up as many vagrants as possible. And that means Alaska, and in particular two places in Alaska  Gambell on St. Lawrence Island and St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs. So its no surprise that our Big Year birders are all taking Johnny Hortons advice and heading North.

John Weigel still continues to lead the foursome, though he has yet to strike gold in Alaska despite camping out on Gambell for a week now. He sits at 758 (+2), having not added a new bird to his list since late last month and only two since our last check-in, a Berylline Hummingbird in Arizona and a Craveris Murrelet from a Debbie Shearwater pelagic out of Half Moon Bay, California. The only notable Asian strays on Gambell so far this fall have been a pair of Siberian Accentors, but those happen to be a bird that Weigel chased, and ticked, in British Columbia very early on in the year. Fingers crossed for a more substantial fallout of Old World birds in the coming weeks. Weigel will be spending the immediate future in St. Paul.

You can follow John at Birding for Devils.

Weigels sluggish August has allowed Olaf Danielson to pull ever closer, including Berylline Hummingbird in Arizona and Flesh-footed Shearwater in California, plus a St. Paul sojourn netted him 3 more, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, and Siberian Rubythroat. The total puts him at 757 (+1), with potentially more in Alaska in store as he also heads to St. Paul.

You can follow Olaf at his blog, The Bad Weather Big Year.

While adding additional birds to an already stuffed list is getting harder for Weigel and Danielson, our other two Big Year birders have been enjoying cleaning up various rarities in bunches. Laura Keene is the 3rd Big Year birder to find herself on the way to St. Paul this week, having just left Gambell and Nome. Her most recent additions include Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-throated Pipit and Common Ringed Plover on Gambell. Those species plus an Arctic Loon in Nome sees her rise to 727 (+2), an increase of 16 birds since we last checked in!

Christian Hagenlocher augmented his August with a late summer trip to the Gulf Stream in North Carolina which nabbed him the typical fare. Hes now camped out on Gambell for as long as he can manage. His latest, a Stellers Eider, raises him to 725 (+2).

Who knows what else is in store for our Big Year birders this fall. But with everyone hanging out in the Bering Sea this month, it seems like they will be adding birds more or less together for the foreseeable future.

UPDATE: In the interim between writing this post and publishing it, Olaf, John, and Laura all saw Jack Snipe on St. Paul, increasing all totals noted in this post by one.
At 20, Raheel Siddiqui had his American dream charted: Serve his country by joining the Marines and learning how to be a jet mechanic, then later, he hoped, work toward becoming an FBI agent.

That dream was doused before it could come to life. In March, Siddiqui, a Pakistani-American Muslim from Taylor, Mich., died after jumping into a stairwell and falling 38 feet while at Marine boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. On the morning he died, he had asked his drill instructor for permission to go on sick call because he had been coughing up blood, according to The New York Times. The drill instructor thought Siddiqui was feigning illness and ordered him to run sprints in the barracks. After Siddiqui collapsed and began crying, the instructor slapped him in the face. That's when Siddiqui raced out and jumped.

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What made the episode doubly egregious was that the drill instructor was still on the job after being investigated for hazing another Muslim recruit in the summer of 2015. In that case, the instructor ordered the recruit to do pushups in the shower, called him a terrorist, then ordered him to clamber into a large clothes dryer, the Times reports.

After 30 seconds, the instructor stopped the dryer and asked the recruit whom he was working for. When the recruit replied, "Nobody," the instructor turned the dryer back on. He then asked the recruit which religion he followed. When the recruit answered "Islam," the instructor resumed the dryer. After some time, the instructor stopped the machine and asked the recruit if he still was a Muslim. When the recruit said yes, the instructor switched the dryer back on. The recruit reported the abuse after completing basic training. An investigation began, but the instructor was allowed to continue training recruits.

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After Siddiqui's death, the drill instructor was removed from his training battalion post. The battalion's commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel who had allowed the instructor to continue training recruits after the dryer incident, has also been removed from his position, as has his boss, a colonel in charge of all training at Parris Island. In all, at least 20 Parris Island staff members face some form of punishment, which can range from administrative discipline to criminal charges.

That's not enough, however.

Seven weeks ago, America learned about Army Capt. Humayun Khan, a Pakistani-American serviceman killed in Iraq by a car bomb in 2004. His parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, took the podium at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to talk of their son's sacrifice. Their moment served as a potent counterpoint to GOP nominee Donald Trump's anti-Muslim vitriol. Capt. Khan gave his life for a nation that embraces inclusion, an ideal he embodied.

Marine boot camp should be tough. It should challenge, and it should winnow. But hazing motivated by intolerance serves only two purposes: It makes a lie of the American values our military defends, and it supplies the Islamic State with fresh fodder for its global recruitment efforts.

Beyond charging those responsible, the Marines should institute reforms that not only rein in hazing but amplify training to include what ought to be an obvious point: Nobody, recruit or other, wears a bulls-eye solely because of his or her faith, race, gender or sexual orientation.

Military veterans who were tossed together randomly in their service years often speak about their eye-opening discovery that while we Americans don't all look or think or pray alike, we have more in common than we realize. Boot camp is one of many ideal places for young people who've grown up in demographic silos to learn that lesson.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Pope Francis recently referred to climate change as a sin in a message he gave on the world day of prayer. Research fellow at the Acton Institute, Dylan Pahman, had a lot to say about this in a new article at The Stream. He commented on Francis message as well as analyzing the effects on the poor of some of the policy prescriptions that Francis has praised. He says:

What seems to be lost on these hierarchs is what to do about the problem. The pope praises the UNs Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, but similar statements have not proven effective in combating climate change. What has proven effective? Industrialization and free markets. Really. In the short run, of course, industrialization is the problem. A quick glance at a global pollution map reveals that newly-industrialized China and India are some of the worst offenders. However, so long as we truly care about the poor, we must not overlook the fact that these countries are where the greatest progress in overcoming poverty has happened since the 1970s. Hundreds of millions of people have escaped crushing poverty through the industrialization and increased liberalization of their economies.

Pahman makes an interesting analogy, comparing widespread poverty to a house fire. While there is no universal solution to ending world poverty, we do know there are certain conditions that cultivate human flourishing and allow the poorest people to improve their lives. But are we willing to forget about the worlds impoverished in an attempt to protect the environment? Back to Pahman:

Think of widespread human poverty as a fire in your house. Youd be willing to accept some water damage to put it out. Only then will you start the cleanup. Once people are no longer malnourished, plagued with disease, or unable to own and develop their own property, formerly poor countries will themselves demand more cautious stewardship, and they will now actually have the wealth to do so. It will no longer be a luxury they cant afford.

Toward the end of the article, Pahman suggests that if we really want to make an impact on helping the poor while remaining good stewards of the environment, we should turn to economics:

Now, perhaps all Francis wants is more people coming to confession. If so, then this might help. But if he or the patriarch really want to make a difference to our environmental future without recommending policies that would compound the problems of the poor, they may want to spend a little more time studying economics. Then they might more clearly see the web of incentives (such as provide better jobs for their people) that prevent developing nations from meeting stringent environmental standards. For that matter, they might be more merciful in their judgments of those who, while still working to create the wealth they need to overcome poverty and implement the reforms necessary to root out corruption, will inevitably increase environmental damage and global temperatures in the short term.

You can read Pahmans full article on The Stream here.
Haing S Ngor and Sophia Ngor at the Academy Awards in 1985 (AP Photo by Mark Elias)

"I'm a star in Hollywood, right? But what for? Star? What for? Did you see my people suffering? That's my people, that's my heart, that's my nation. In Hollywood...what for? Mean nothing to me. Nothing."



Ngor provides humanitarian aid to Cambodian refugees (Photo by Jack Ong, Dr. Haing S. Ngor Archive)

Dr. Haing S. Ngor with a pendant carrying a photo of his wife Huoy (DeepFocus Productions, Inc)

"I was asked by a student at a recent presentation of my films: 'What keeps you going after all these years?' My answer: 'Anger. Anger that the world is an unfair place. Anger that after over 25 years I still need to make films that attack social injustices. My films are my weapon, it's what I know best.'"



Above is a clip of Dr. Haing S. Ngor recorded at the U.S. House of Representatives almost thirty years ago. It's intense, passionate, and angry. Take a look.This one-minute clip, singled out from volumes and volumes of material we went through for my new documentary, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor , continues to captivate me even after years of production work. It's partly because Dr. Ngor foreshadowed his own murder, which would happen eight years later from the time this video was recorded, but mostly it's because I was startled to see such pronounced rage from an Asian refugee in white America.When Dr. Ngor was forced into slave labor in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge, little did he know he would escape four years of torture and be called upon to recreate his harrowing experiences in the feature film. That first acting job earned him an Academy Award for best supporting actor, and overnight he became the face of Cambodia to the world. He forsook the stereotypical quiet demeanor so often associated with Cambodian culture and took on the role of a human rights advocate with fervor, sometimes antagonizing those in his community who wished to remain silent or cower in fear of reprisals from Pol Pot's henchmen still at large. After all, entrenched Buddhist teachings led many Cambodians to believe that evildoers would eventually meet their fate anyway in the next life, so why cause any more animosity on earth.Dr. Ngor became a Cinderella Hollywood success story, but he accepted acting jobs mostly when he needed money to fund his humanitarian projects in Cambodia. When a CBS reporter asked about his choices, Dr. Ngor bluntly retorted:Despite the important role thatplayed in raising awareness over Cambodia's devastation during the Pol Pot era, the film had a superficial happy ending: The Cambodian protagonist in the film reunites with his family in America, and so the film -- and its western audiences -- essentially leave Cambodia behind. This simple conclusion offered inmay have served the needs of a Hollywood narrative, but Dr. Ngor didn't buy it, even though he took advantage of his Oscar pedigree: He used it as an entree to speak to anyone who would listen about Cambodia -- he had his own story to tell.In 1987, Dr. Ngor published his autobiography (with Roger Warner) Survival in the Killing Fields , which also doubled as a way to examine atrocities perpetrated upon the Cambodian people. His personal story laid out the foundation for a geo-political timeline that started with Cambodia's fight for independence from French colonialists, continued with the development of the Khmer Rouge and the ensuing power struggles, and ended with the arrest of Pol Pot. In between were the Cold War conflicts involving Cambodia and China, the Soviet Union, the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.As a mixed Khmer and Chinese person, Dr. Ngor also made clear that in order to fully understand what happened in Cambodia, one needed to acknowledge the racial tensions between the Khmer and the Vietnamese, Chinese, Cham and other non-Khmer groups. Although the cause of the Cambodian genocide is often attributed to socialist class warfare, that belief overshadowed the complexities of race as a critical factor.After reading Dr. Ngor's book, I was angry at what I learned, and I was troubled by my own ignorance. As a Chinese American born and raised in San Francisco, there were groups of us in Chinatown that looked to China for inspiration during the mid-1970s. When Mao opened his country's doors for Nixon's visit in 1972, that move also opened doors for us to consider China as our "beloved motherland." The Civil Rights Movement and identity politics were in full swing and the desire to connect with a heritage other than a Western one caused many of us to embrace all that was not American, even though it meant being blind to the Chinese government's significant support of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime.I was somewhat naive about the intricacies of global politics; at that time, most of my knowledge about Southeast Asian affairs centered around the Vietnam War and not on the collateral damage of warfare in that entire region. Apparently I, too, was a member of that western audience who thought it knew all there was to know about the Khmer Rouge from watchingIn an essay for, a report on anti-gay activity published by People for the American Way in 1999, I wrote:Although those words were written some time ago, the same feelings were what propelled me to embark on adapting Dr. Ngor's book into. However, for this film there was not only a sense of outrage over covert tactics of global powers that led to the deaths of some two million Cambodians, but there was also a sense of private responsibility as a citizen of the world who should have been more alert. Producing the documentary was meaningful twofold: as an approach to address social issues, and as personal redemption.Thank you, Dr. Ngor, and to all the angry Asian men -- and women -- for bringing to light your stories of injustice. If you'd have me, I'd like to join your ranks when it's open enrollment.Hollywood ChineseForbidden City, USAComing Out Under FireLicensed to KillForbidden City, USA: Chinatown Nightclubs 1936-1970The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. NgorThe Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor
The New York Entomological Society (NYES), founded in 1892, is one of the oldest, continually active entomological societies in the U.S. The Brooklyn Entomological Society, which predates the NYES by 20 years, merged with it in 1968.

History of the NYES

Zethus slossonae, named after Annie Trumbull Slosson

(photo by Bob Peterson, Flickr)

On June 29th, 1892, five men gathered in the home of entomologist Charles Palm (not to be confused with the other Charles Palm , also a New York entomologist) for the first meeting of the NYES. Their first order of business was to elect three members, including Annie Trumbull Slosson (Leng, 130). Years later, she described her first meeting:

I shall never forget the sensation produced by my unexpected entrance into that scientific meeting. Through the smoke of pipes and over mugs of some beverage which foamed in the gas-light in a sudsy sort of way, I saw startled, embarrassed faces  The host himself, good Mr. Palm, seemed somewhat embarrassed. After seating me in the most comfortable chair unoccupied, he hastened away to order coffee for me as more appropriate and fitting drink for a feminine throat (Klots, 139).

Despite taking up entomology in middle age (she was previously a fiction writer) and having no formal education in it, Slosson would become one of the Societys most accomplished members. She amassed a large specimen collection, now housed at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and has a genus and over 100 species (slossonae) named after her. She also authored numerous articles in the journals of the NYES and other entomological organizations and was instrumental in moving NYES meetings to the AMNH (Seltmann).

Though NYES membership hovered around ten individuals in the first decade of its existence, the Society began publishing the Journal of the New York Entomological Society in 1893. Slosson was its chief contributor, and the sale of her collected specimens at auction funded the journal and ensured regular publication. Another member who contributed to the journals early success was Louis H. Joutel, who, in addition to serving as the Societys treasurer and secretary, was an accomplished illustrator; his drawings appear throughout early volumes of the journal (Leng, 130).

Within a few years, the Society had begun to broaden its reach. In 1895 it joined the Scientific Alliance of New York, which included distinguished organizations like the New York Academy of Sciences and the Torrey Botanical Society , and strengthened its relationship with the AMNH, where it enjoyed access to the library and collections in the position of a non-paying tenant with a generous landlord (Klots, 146).

By all accounts, Society meetings were an occasion for the sharing of exciting specimen finds as well as good food and drink. Above all, they were informal. Elsie Klots wrote that During the nineteen thirties and early forties speakers were so often startled by the steady click of knitting needles and the ominous waving of an ear trumpet that it became customary to explain to them, before the meeting, that the occupants of the front row were the faithful wives of some of our elder members and that they were an accepted and beloved part of our meetings (Klots, 143-144).

In 1942, the NYES celebrated its 50th anniversary, with nearly half of its 26 former presidents in attendance. In 1949, the Society put on a public exhibit of insect photography in Roosevelt Hall, at the AMNH. It proved so popular that a second exhibit the following year was moved to the museums foyer. It featured photographs, paintings, drawings, publications by Society members, equipment, and insect origami. In 1964, the NYES convened for a third special meeting to honor four individuals who had been members for over 50 years. Dr. E.R.P. Janvrin, who joined in 1902, held the distinction of longest membership (Klots, 140).

From the beginning, the NYES maintained a close relationship with the Brooklyn Entomological Society, its elder neighbor. Members of each society were invited to the others meetings and field trips, and in 1903 the NYES began devoting two pages of its journal to publish the proceedings of the Brooklyn Society (Klots, 145). The incorporation of the Brooklyn Entomological Society into the NYES, celebrated on October 29, 1968 (the 75th anniversary of the NYES) was thus a natural union for two organizations whose activities had converged for a long time.

Drawing for a NY Eats Bugs dinner hosted

by the NYES and others in 2015 (unknown artist)

The NYES celebrated its centennial on May 20th, 1992, with a banquet at the Explorers Club in New York City. The major draw of the evening was its theme: insects as food. Guests enjoyed a variety of appetizers and desserts with insects as ingredients, as well as a talk by keynote speaker Dr. Gene DeFoliart of the University of Wisconsin, an expert on the subject (Society History). The NYES has since participated in similar  bug banquets  at the Explorers Club.

Entomologica Americana (also the title of the Brooklyn Entomological Societys Today, the NYES continues to meet at the AMNH on the third Tuesday of every month, September through May (excluding December). Professional and amateur entomologists alike hear talks by invited speakers on topics of entomological and biological significance. The Society also continues to publish its journal, which in 2009 was renamed(also the title of the Brooklyn Entomological Societys journal , which ceased publication in 1975.

We are grateful to the NYES for sharing its rich legacy of entomological scholarship with BHL and with researchers around the world! Note: this post has been edited to remove the incorrect statement that the NYES is the third or fourth oldest entomological society in the U.S.



Reference

Klots, Elsie B. The History of the New York Entomological Society. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 76, no. 3 (1968): 138-155. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 26, no. 3/4 (1918): 129-133. Leng, Charles W. History of the New York Entomological Society, 1893-1918.26, no. 3/4 (1918): 129-133.

Seltmann, Katja. Collector Spotlight: Annie Trumbull Slosson. Tri-Trophic Thematic Collection Network. Last modified September 12, 2013. http://tcn.amnh.org/updates/collectorspotlightannietrumbullslosson.

Society History. The New York Entomological Society, Inc. Accessed September 14, 2016. http://www.nyentsoc.org/history.
Sometimes the most interesting dialogue heard at Albuquerque City Council meetings comes from public comments. True to this, the Sept. 7 regular meeting had more than its fair share of curious comments as well as providing a venue to discuss issues like ART, a controversial waste transfer station and other salient civic matters.

Palabras Publicas

One man said he shaved his head in protest of the shabby job the Department of Justice is doing with the reforms within in the Albuquerque Police Department. He also shaved in protest of the upcoming National Rifle Association sharpshooting contest coming to Albuquerque. This event draws law enforcement from all over the country to compete in shooting competitions. Killer cops contribute nothing, he said.

Another couple of speakers showed a video if a recent West Side community meeting, then accused Councilor Ken Sanchez of hiring an actor to speak out in favor of the controversial Albuquerque Rapid Transit project. Councilor Sanchez replied to the accusation, saying he did not hire an actor.

Dinah Vargas showed a video of Council President Dan Lewis attending the local Donald Trump rally, calling it offensive because of Trumps views on Mexicans. She asked Lewis what she should tell her daughter about her skin color being dirty. She was given additional time to speakfrom the next speakers time slotbut that did not go over well when she called the Council, and in specific Councilor Lewis, corrupt. When the next person gave her his time as well, Councilor Lewis called for her to be escorted out of the chambers and then called for a short recess.

Regular commenter Don Schrader began his two minutes by calling the biblical Samson a suicide bomber and a mass murderer. That is one way to get the Councils attention. He ended his time with a stern warning to read the Bible with extreme caution in order to separate its poison from its wisdom.

ART Chat

Councilors passed a resolution ordering a Central business and property owners summit for those along the proposed $119 million ART rapid-transit route. The reason for the meet-up would be to discuss possible construction issues such as business access, parking, left hand turn limitations and associated issues. The summit has to happen by Oct. 1 with the Council to be updated on progress garnered by the gathering at their Nov. 7 meeting It is important that we involve the community, Sanchez said. The public needs to be aware of what is happening. The resolution also asks Mayor Richard Berry to submit a financial plan to the Council as well as a contingency plan for funding the construction project and its daily operations.

Regular commenter Don Schrader began his two minutes by calling the biblical Samson a suicide bomber and a mass murderer. That is one way to get the Councils attention.

Chief Operations Officer Michael Riordan also made a short ART presentation. He said federal construction funding for the project is solid, even if it is not yet congressionally approved or in city coffers at this point in time. He said the city is putting up a full force effort to keep people informed about progress on the project, with government representatives on the ground talking to businesses along the route. There is also an official website; Riordan said he is open to other ways to get people information as well.

Earlier in the day Mayor Berry signed a construction contract with local contractor Bradbury Stamm to begin project construction. All of this is going on while the US 10th District Court of Appeals is considering an appeal of a lower courts decision to allow the project to move forward. Public comment centered around the proposed bus stop canopy design that was seemingly done without public input.

Garbage In or Garbage Out

Councilors set a full hearing for the Oct. 17 meeting to debate a request by the city administration to add a solid waste transfer station at the intersection of Edith and Comanche in the citys mid-North Valley. The proposed transfer station will allow garbage trucks to unload at that location instead of making costly trips out to the West Mesa landfill. Opponents say that adding a solid waste transfer station at the proposed location would be dangerous, noisy and unhealthy for area residents, possibly lowering property values, too. City officials say the new transfer station is needed to handle the large amount of trash city residents generate. The transfer station would be indoors, have air filters and would save the city $75 million over the next 20 years in operating costs, while also reducing the citys carbon footprint.

Quick Hits

 Councilors approved giving the City Auditor the power to hire and fire employees in their office. Councilor Diane Gibson said this will give the city auditors office more autonomy and independence to do its job of financial oversight.

 A resolution passed by the Council outlines how to spend the anticipated $14 million garnered from one-eighth of one percent gross receipts tax revenue earmarked for BioPark improvements.

 The Council again deferred talking about setting up a regional folk festival and setting a 25 percent goal for solar energy usage by 2025.

 City Councilors appointed Brian White to the Cable Franchise and Hearing Board. The board represents cable consumers and allows for local input on a number of issues including how to spend the millions collected from the citys cable users. The board is made up of three members appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the Council.
China will promote standardization to push industrial upgrades and foster new competitive edges, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday.

Standardization represents a country's core industrial competitiveness and overall prowess and China will highlight standardization as part of its reform agenda, Li said while addressing the ongoing 39th International Organization for Standardization (ISO) General Assembly.

China will speed up the development of standards for emerging sectors, technology and business models to promote innovation and entrepreneurship while forcing out outdated production capacity, Li said.

The standardization strategy should be integrated with "Made in China 2025," the country's manufacturing modernization plan, to help boost the manufacturing sector's competitiveness. Efforts should be made to develop standards for core technologies, he said.

The government encourages entrepreneurs and companies to make full use of standardization to offer higher quality products to customers and will standardize government management to streamline administration and improve efficiency, the premier said.

He called for enhanced global cooperation on standardization to expand the use of international standards while guarding against protectionism and abuse of standards and reducing technological barriers.

Countries should improve coordination and mutual recognition of standards while implementing standardization throughout the industrial chain, Li said.

The international standardization mechanism should be more balanced and inclusive, with more support for participation by developing countries to ensure sustainable, robust, balanced and inclusive global economic growth, Li added.
China yesterday became the latest country to act on Samsung's Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones, asking passengers not to use or charge them during flights or carry them in their checked luggage after reports that they overheat while charging and explodes. [Shanghai Daily]

China yesterday became the latest country to act on Samsung's Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones, asking passengers not to use or charge them during flights or carry them in their checked luggage after reports that they overheat while charging and explodes.

"All domestic airlines should remind passengers about the risks of taking Note 7 onboard and ban them from charging the smartphone on aircraft through their official websites or other channels as soon as possible," the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on its website.

The smartphone is being recalled from global markets after reports of cars bursting into flames and phones combusting in peoples hands while charging. Aviation regulators in the US, EU, India, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore have banned using or charging the phone in the air.

However, Samsung said the devices sold in the Chinese market were not on the recall list as the batteries were from another supplier. But yesterday Samsung said it had recalled 1,858 Note 7s on the mainland which were manufactured between July 20 and August 5  before the official sales began. That batch of products "might have potential risks on the battery" and were supplied to customers through activities carried out by Galaxy Club website before the sales officially began on the mainland on September 1.

Airlines that transport Note 7s sold in the Chinese market have to carry out a risk evaluation and take measures to ensure flying safety, the administration said.

Shanghai-based Spring Airlines and Hainan Airlines Group became the first carriers to ban Note 7 mobile phones.

Spring Airlines has banned crew members and airlines officials from carrying the smartphone in either carry-on bags or checked luggage.

"Flight attendants will ask passengers if they are carrying Note 7 during boarding, while making announcements to remind passengers not to use or charge them," an official with the airline said.
China Aid

Reported in Chinese by Qiao Nong. Translated by Carolyn Song. Edited in English by Ava Collins.

(Xinyuan County, XinjiangSept. 12, 2016) Two organizers of a Christian summer camp were detained in Chinas northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, for 10 and 15 days, respectively, on Aug. 4 on the charge of indoctrinating minors with superstitious beliefs.

Zhou Yanhua and Gao Ming, both members of Yining County Church, were preparing to drive a group of children to a summer camp when, half an hour before they were set to depart, police arrived to detain the two women and take all of the children present to the police station to register their IDs.

An elder from Yining County Church, Xie Xianhua, said officials also called the families and school teachers of the children involved, threatening to deduct the teachers wages or keep the students from being admitted to higher grade levels.

Authorities detained Gao, a 27-year-old seminary student at Yanjing Theological Seminary, for 15 days. Zhou, the head of the church sponsoring the summer camp, received a 10-day detention after she told police that she was the organizer of the event in an attempt to free Gao.

Both women were accused of indoctrinating minors with superstitious beliefs. Chinese law forbids religious teaching to anyone under the age of 18, believing matters of faith to be dangerous brainwashing from which children must be protected. Christian parents and church leaders can face disciplinary action from officials for involving their children in any Christian activities.

Gaos status as a student at an official, government-sanctioned seminary reveals that not only house churches are at risk for government suppression. Members of Chinas official Protestant church, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, are also targeted.

A conversation on the Chinese messaging application WeChat between fellow Yanjing Theological Seminary students discussing Gaos detention has been translated below.

China Aid condemns the actions of authorities against Zhou, Gao, and the children involved in this case, and reports on such events to expose abuses by the Chinese government and promote religious freedom.





WeChat group of Xinjiang Yanjing Seminary students (31)

Zou: Here is the situation: Ordinary lawyers wouldnt dare handle such a case.





Chen: Gao Ming sent me a message saying she would be detained for 15 days. Lets pray for our dear coworkers quietly and ask the Lord to help us act with wisdom and make use of every possibility to do the work the Lord has given us to do.





Luo: Pray for this!

Zou: May the Lord strengthen the faith of the co-workers, strengthen the church and also protect the children could continuously follow the Lord. [Praying hands]

Jiang: Gao Ming was detained the day before yesterday. She will be kept in detention for 15 days. Her phone was taken away. Please do not contact her, but pray for her. We have been trying to get her out before that. Please pray for this.





Zou: Also, pray for the parents and the kids. It is [becoming] common to be detained because of things like this.





Han: [Praying hands]





Cui: Lets pray!





Zou: The kids were taken home that very night by their parents, principals, and teachers. They were terrified. May the Lord bless these kids.
Mandela, Zhang Haitao and Li Aijies

son, looks at a childrens book. Li was

pregnant at the time of Zhangs arrest,

and he has never met his son.

(Photo: China Aid)

China Aid

Translated by Carolyn Song. Written in English by Brynne Lawrence.

(Urumqi, XinjiangSept. 13, 2016) Alarmed by recent reports concerning her husbands treatment, the wife of a man sentenced to 19 years in prison for publishing dissenting articles and social media posts recently traveled to his detention center in Chinas western Xinjiang.

Accompanied by her infant son and sister-in-law, Li Aijie, the wife of human rights advocate Zhang Haitao, met with Ma, the director of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Detention Center, and questioned him about her husbands treatment. On July 9, Zhangs defense lawyer visited his client and discovered his shackles hadnt been removed in more than a year. Ma attested that his shackles had been removed, but Li could not verify his claims.

Li also confronted Ma on her husbands acute weight loss, asked him to confirm or deny reports that he was prohibited from spending time outside and inquired about whether or not he was allowed to read the Bible she sent him. Ma reassured her that he had enough to eat, joined the other prisoners for their regular outdoor activities and was permitted to read his Bible. However, he denied her request that Zhang meet their son, who was born after he was incarcerated.

Zhang was apprehended on June 26, 2015, after he sent 69 WeChat and 205 Twitter messages advocating for human rights in China, subscribed to and wrote for Boxun and Voice of America, accepted media interviews from overseas organizations and discussed the condition of Urumqi during a politically sensitive time period.

Authorities charged him with inciting racial hatred and discrimination, confiscated his property and froze his bank cards. On June 31, they formally arrested him for picking quarrels and provoking troubles. They changed the charge again to inciting subversion of state power on Nov. 18 and accused him of providing information to foreign powers. He was sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison, deprived of political rights for five years and fined 120,000 Yuan (U.S. $18,000).

Li wrote about her experiences at the detention center in an article, a translation of which can be read in full below.

China Aid exposes cases such as Zhang Haitaos in order to promote human rights and stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians in China.

Haitao, what can I do to save you, my love?











Ever since Lawyer Chen Jinxue went to Xinjiang to meet with Zhang Haitao on July 7 and found out he was forced to wear shackles, I have felt like there is a knife twisted in my heart. I cannot sleep soundly at night but toss and turn instead.

Today, Haitaos older sister and I brought my son Mandela to the [detention center where Zhang is being held] (62 Yuxin Street, East Kashi Road, Urumchi City, Xinjiang) to visit my spouse, Zhang Haitao, who was accused by the Xinjiang government of criticizing the government for writing articles and sentenced to 19 years in prison for inciting subversion of state power.

Right after getting out of the taxi, I saw Chief Ma, the vice-chief of the detention center, conversing with other people outside the gate of the detention center. I dropped my luggage and darted toward him.

When I saw that Chief Ma was already walking back inside, I shouted, Hello, Chief Ma! May I talk to you for a moment? completely ignoring the guards inquiry.

Wait a minute, Im coming, Chief Ma replied, overdoing it by waving to me.

Inwardly, I was delighted. Maybe it was Mandela who brought the good luck. Otherwise, the officials would probably have a meeting again, and who would be able to attend to us?

The door opened, and Chief Ma walked out. I stepped forward to greet him. Hello, Chief Ma!

Why are you coming today? Chief Ma asked me.

Procurator Maiti told me that he would take the shackles off if Haitao would follow orders. I just want to ask if the shackles have definitely been taken off.

Chief Ma said, The shackles will be taken off if he follows orders!

Is he following the orders? I asked urgently.

Its already been taken off.

Are you sure?

Im sure it was taken off. Chief Mas tone seemed appropriately certain.

Before, Procurator Maiti said that the prisoners could not go out to get fresh air due to the reconstruction of the detention center. When can they go out? Sunshine is a resource for everyone. Whether you are [free] or [in prison], everyone should have the right to enjoy the sunshine. Even the prisoners in the detention center have the right to enjoy sunlight, right? I said.

Chief Ma said, They go out every day; two hours every morning and two hours every afternoon.

Is Zhang Haitao included? I urgently asked.

Everybody goes outside. Of course Zhang Haitao is included.

As Chief Ma spoke, he started to walk back to the detention center. I followed him and hurried on with my inquiries: Can Zhang Haitao eat his fill inside the detention center? Why did his weight drop so dramatically? Is he allowed to read the Bible I brought? Can the child be allowed to meet his father?

This is the best detention center. Of course he can eat his fill. Theres a Bible inside and he is allowed to read it. He cant meet the child right now. You dont need to worry about him being in the detention center. Just take care of yourself and your son, okay?

As Chief Ma said this, he was already walking back to the detention center.

Despite Chief Mas tone of certainty, yet I still could not resign myself to leave. Under the burning sun, I held Mandela, and the three of us, including Zhangs older sister, lingered by the detention center and paced back and forth. We hoped that we could see someones shadow, but the only things we could see were the wires and the walls.

That was the nearest I could get to Haitao. I wished that I could obtain a kind of superpower that would allow our child, Mandela, to fly over the wall and throw himself into his fathers embrace.

Mandela, call loudly to your father! Your father is inside here, I told my son.

Today was the first time Mandela had been this far. He appeared especially inexperienced [with being outside] and excited, his small hands incessantly clapping, amazed by the sceneries outside, clapping his hands and loudly and clearly shouting ah ah ah, as if telling his father, I have come! He grabbed my hairband occasionally and played with me, saying Ge ge ge and laughing incessantly.

Seeing the carefree Mandela, who did not know the affairs of the world, made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I was depressed and grieved. The child, who was supposed to grow up under his fathers protection, had never met his father after being born. He had finally come this close to his father, but the wires and walls prevented them from uniting.

As Mandela laughed delightedly, my heart bled out the words, My husband, are you alright inside? Do you know that our son is almost within your reach? Are you telepathic?

I remember that I was still pregnant when you were arrested. I went to the detention center and the baby kicked inside of me; isnt that like some kind of telepathy? Are you thinking of your son right now?

Little Mandelas happiness infected my indignant and grievous mood. The two emotions intertwined and tortured me. What should I think of these emotions and these circumstances?

Haitao, my love. Can you really go outside without anklets and handcuff while youre in there, as Chief Ma said? Do you really have enough to eat and basic nutrition?

We were only a wall apart, but I could not see you. There was no way for me to know if Chief Ma was telling the truth, and I dont know how to confirm whether or not his words are the truth.

Haitao, you were treated in this way by corrupt officials only because you said things that they do not like to hear and exposed the truth behind their unfit-to-be-seen acts.

My dear, do you know that your sister, your son Mandela, and I are outside of the wall, missing you and concerned about you?

Haitao, I care about you and am so heartbroken for you! However, this justice-less nation doesnt safeguard human rights in the slightest degree. What can I do to protect you, my love?

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
Patriots Cardinals Football

New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola (80) and defensive end Chris Long (95) celebrate their win after an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Patrios won 23-21. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(Ross D. Franklin)

While Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty drew headlines for raising their fists during the national anthem before the Patriots took on the Cardinals Sunday night, Danny Amendola had a moment of his own.

The Patriots wide receiver was seen holding the giant American flag that was draped across the field -- a moment that he said was unplanned.

"Two ladies were right there and I was standing there waiting for it to start and they said, 'Hey, come up here, come up here.' So I did," Amendola told CSNNE.

What a moment. Danny Amendola holding the flag during a powerful national anthem. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/iJ3pWtwo37  Ryan Rylander (@RyanRylander) September 12, 2016

Amendola went on to say he was inspired by the story of Pat Tillman, a former Arizona Cardinals player who died while serving with the United States Army. Tillman joined the army after the 9/11 attacks, and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

"I can only speak for myself," Amendola said. "I read a Pat Tillman story before I went on the field the other day. What he did for the flag and what he did for the country is pretty remarkable. That was inspirational to me."
Premier makes pledge in address to ISO meeting in Beijing

Premier Li Keqiang vowed on Wednesday to improve the competitiveness and quality of China's manufacturing sector by adopting more international standards.

The premier made the vow while meeting more than 600 delegates to the 39th General Assembly of International Organization for Standardization, which opened on Monday in Beijing.

China is an ISO founding member, and Beijing is hosting the event for the second time in 17 years.

China has become the largest producer of goods while maintaining more than 100,000 governmental standards and more than 1 million corporate standards, Li said.

"We are looking at improving the competitiveness of China's manufacturing sector and will promote the deep integration of 'Made in China 2025' with standardization work," Premier Li said.

The country has attached top priority to standardization work and must improve the quality of supplies and advance industrial upgrading based on higher international standards to achieve medium and high-speed growth, he said.

Amid economic transformation, more standards should be created for new technologies and industries to unleash more resources and opportunities for new economic momentum, Li said.

His speech was in line with the State Council's campaign to raise standards and quality for products made by Chinese producers.

In April, an executive meeting of the State Council set a target to adopt more than 90 percent of international standards for domestic equipment manufacturing by 2020 in key sectors, especially robots, advanced rail transportation equipment, agricultural machinery and high-performance medical equipment.

The target is 20 percentage points higher than the current 70 percent of international standards that China has adopted and transferred for domestic manufacturing industries, an aim set in 2003 and accomplished before 2008.

Huang Qunhui, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said domestic producers should follow international standards when making traditional and new products, which will spontaneously boost their competitiveness in domestic and overseas markets.

huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn
Wang Dongfeng has been appointed acting mayor of northern China's Tianjin municipality, local authorities announced on Wednesday. The decision was made at a session of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin People's Congress, the city's legislative body.

Wang, 58, formerly held posts in his native province of Shaanxi and was appointed the deputy chief of Tianjin's Communist Party of China municipal committee in 2013, according to the official website of the Tianjin government.

Huang Xingguo, the former mayor of Tianjin who was also previously acting Party chief in the city, is being investigated over allegations of "serious disciplinary violations". Deputy Mayor Yin Hailin is also under investigation. On Tuesday, Li Hongzhong, the former top official of Hubei province, was appointed to as the city's Party chief.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiaodong, who has been deputy Party chief of Hubei province since this April, was appointed the province's acting governor at a session of the Standing Committee of the Hubei People's Congress on Wednesday.

Born in 1960 in Xinfeng, Jiangxi province, Wang Xiaodong became a civil servant in Jiangxi in 1983, after studying philosophy at Jiangxi University for four years. He was later appointed Party chief of Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, in 2000 and became deputy governor of Hubei province in 2011.

Also on Wednesday, Ying Yong was appointed deputy mayor of Shanghai at a session of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress.

Xinhua contributed to the story.
Warships at the China-Russia naval exercise set sail on Thursday to operational waters as the drill entered the maritime operations phase.

The eight-day China-Russia Joint Sea 2016 drill, which started Monday, is being held in eastern waters off Zhanjiang, Guangdong's southernmost city, where the Chinese Navy's Nanhai Fleet is headquartered.

The warships were seen off on Thursday morning by the drill's directors from both sides - Wang Hai, deputy commander of the Chinese Navy and his Russian counterpart, Vice-Admiral Aleksandr Fedotenkov.

Several procedures will be undertaken during the phase of maritime operation, including joint air defense, anti-submarine operations, landing, island-seizing, search and rescue, and weapon use.

Ten Chinese Navy ships - destroyers, frigates, landing ships, supply ships and submarines - are participating in the drill, as well as 11 fixed-wing aircraft, eight helicopters, 160 marines and amphibious armored equipment.

Russia's large anti-submarine ships, the Admiral Tributs and Admiral Vinogradov; the large amphibious ship, Peresvet; the sea towboat, Alatau and the tanker, Pechenga, are attending the drill.

During the first phase of land operations, both countries' marines engaged in multiple exercises, such as shooting drills and crossing barriers in simulated beachhead fights.
It's hard to imagine now what it must have been like to be a Red Army soldier on the Long March.

Two years of effort, struggle and sacrifice ultimately succeeded in allowing the armies of the Communist Party of China to make their grand plan of a strategic shift a reality.

But the victory came at a terrible cost, with barely more than a quarter of those who began the march making it to the end.

I was invited to retrace the steps of those soldiers through Sichuan province, and as I was whisked along in one of four air-conditioned buses on smooth, modern highways, through tunnels and over bridges, it was easy to underestimate what was required of them 80 years ago.

Even as I looked out, on our first day, across the river at Anshun, where those tired soldiers - already eight months into their journey - had packed themselves into ancient boats to cross the raging torrent, I found it hard to visualize how much they must have suffered for their cause.

But suffer they did, especially at this point in the mass tactical shift, because although they ultimately succeeded in traversing the province, Sichuan proved costly to the army, both in terms of time and lives.

Countless hundreds died from the exertion required and the battles they fought as they passed through the rough, unforgiving terrain to be reunited with their comrades - so many, in fact, that an authoritative figure for the death toll doesn't exist, even now.

It's thought that at least 370 soldiers from Sichuan's Aba prefecture were killed, yet the army beat on - circling through the mountains and striking further north to the relative safety in Northwest China.

It was only on the third day of our trip, following in the footsteps of those brave soldiers, that some small part of the suffering they endured finally came home to me.

We had been driving for almost two hours through a cold September morning up a steep, winding mountain track that was eaten away by landslips from below and strewn with boulders from above. As we climbed ever higher, the clouds descended around us until all that could be seen ahead or to the side was a blanket of white.

When we finally reached the summit of Jiajin Mountain, 4,114 meters above sea level, we clambered out of our bus into the thin air. Snow dusted the ground, and it was only thanks to a thick, woolen sweater and some short, sharp blasts on a can of supplemental oxygen that I was able to avoid feeling dizzy.

It was at this moment, in the bitter cold, that I first began to truly appreciate what those Red Army troops went through.

In all, those tens of thousands of soldiers crossed dozens of mountain ranges like this one to reach their final destination.

And as I stood looking out across the windswept peaks, the torment they had endured was finally revealed to me.

What a relief it must have been, I thought, for those troops to finally reach the grassland that rounded off our trip.

Their determination, heroism and courage formed the basis of the modern China we know today.

And just as in the West, where we remember the many who gave their lives in both World Wars to ensure that future generations would not live under tyranny, China rightly remembers its heroes of the Long March, whose bitter struggles would ultimately help build a better tomorrow.
Taiwan authorities' apparent unwillingness to endorse the 1992 Consensus has seriously affected the island's tourism and hospitality industry, the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday.

At a recent rally, tourism workers in Taiwan "clearly voiced their hopes and desires", said Ma Xiaoguang, from the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a news conference. "Taiwan's government has refused to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus since taking office in May. This has damaged all the hard work toward peaceful relations across the Taiwan Straits," he said. "Whoever started the trouble should end it."

More than 15,000 hospitality and tourism workers in Taiwan took to the streets in downtown Taipei on Monday, demanding the island's authorities do something about the failing industry.
Chef Zhang Hui (center) and two colleagues at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica reaching out to help and feed a stranded penguin in 2011. Zhang spent 17 months as chief chef at the station. Photos Provided to China Daily

Cookery teacher and veteran chef Zhang Hui attributes his career success to luck, but behind his modesty are hard-trained skills and dedication to details.

Among the hundreds of candidates for the national Antarctic exploration team in 2010, Zhang was the chosen from his home province of Hubei in Central China after many rounds of appraisals. When a local chef from Wuhan, the provincial capital, was required at the Chinese embassy in Thailand in mid-July, he again was the one to go after tense insider deliberations.

"I've been lucky," Zhang said with a genteel smile.

Zhang has been teaching Chinese cooking at Wuhan Business University for 22 years, although he spent 17 months at the Zhongshan Station in Antarctica from 2010 to 2012. His classes mainly teach the fundamentals of traditional Chinese cuisine, especially Hubei style. His combination of practice and theoretical teachings has won the hearts of many at the school and his students are working all over the province.

"I love doing some research on traditional dishes and trying something new," he said.

The veteran chef is known for his solid basic skills and attention to detail.

Wang Huiya, a school leader at the university and a colleague of Zhang since 1987, said, "Zhang Hui makes himself prominent by his professional expertise, solid skills and personal integrity."
Yi Jiufan, 81, points to Russia - his next intended destination - on the world map at his home in Changsha, Hunan province. Since retiring, he has traveled to five continents. Feng Zhiwei / China Daily

Age has proven no barrier to Yi Jiufan's wandering ways.

Despite being 81 years old, since retiring two decades ago, this grandfather has visited five continents and covered pretty much all of China on his travels.

Yi, who owns a small business in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, began his odyssey in 1994 with a trip to Beijing for his 60th birthday.

"Since then, I've been addicted to travel," he said. "Gradually, I've traveled through the whole of China."

After a trip to the United States in 2008, which took him on a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, he decided he wanted to see more of the world.

He says he has seen penguins in South Africa and toured the picturesque rural landscapes of New Zealand and the Netherlands, although he says one of his only regrets is missing out on a submarine ride in Hawaii.

Yet nothing compares with his home province, he added. "When it comes to natural beauty, there is no place like Zhangjiajie," he said, referring to the mountainous scenic area in Hunan that was the inspiration for Hallelujah Mountains in 2009 movie Avatar. "It's the best in the world."

Yi's wife, Zhang Yuqing, 73, has supported her husband's wanderlust.

"I like traveling, too," she said. "But unfortunately I'm not capable of traveling abroad after having surgery on my leg."

The couple plans to visit Russia together once Zhang is fully recovered.

They are constantly reminded of Yi's exploits, as three walls of their home in Changsha are entirely devoted to his travel photography.

The walls are divided into 16 sections, each representing a different area of the world. By the door hangs a card that some of Yi's travel companions made for him in case he gets left behind while taking photos.

The card's note reads in English: "I come from Changsha, Hunan province, China. Got lost traveling and I need help."

Yi is among many senior Chinese citizens using their twilight years to see the world.

Chen Aiwu, 64, from Wuhan in Hubei province, embarked on a 19-day self-drive tour of the western US with her husband this year, while 65-year-old Wang Zhongjin from Beijing has backpacked across all seven continents with her husband.

Liang Shuang contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON -- The United States and Israel on Wednesday signed an unprecedented new military aid deal that will give the Israeli military 38 billion US dollars from fiscal year 2019 to 2028.

The new 10-year deal, which constitutes the single largest pledge of military assistance in US history, includes 33 billion US dollars in Foreign Military Financing funds and an unprecedented 5 billion commitment in missile defense assistance.

The new deal, known as a Memorandum of Understanding, will succeed the current 30 billion US dollars deal signed in 2007, which expires at the end of fiscal year 2018.

The deal was signed at the US State Department by Israel' s acting national security advisor Jacob Nagel and Thomas Shannon, US Under Secretary of State. US PresidentBarack Obama's national security advisor Susan Rice was also present at the ceremony.

The new deal is "just the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security of the State of Israel," Obama said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This commitment to Israel' s security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the State of Israel," Obama added.

The US President also called for more efforts to advance a two-state solution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the "deeply troubling trends on the ground that undermine this goal."

"The only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine," he said.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US aid package to his country as a "historic deal."

"This agreement will ensure an unprecedented security assistance to Israel over the next decade," Netanyahu said in a Hebrew video address about an hour before the signing ceremony in Washington.

The new deal came after months of negotiations between the United States and Israel, which have been at odds over the Iran nuclear deal.
Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site is seen near Bridgwater in Britain, Sept 14, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

British Prime Minister Theresa May gave the green light to the controversial 18-billion pounds nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in England's west country, which will be built by France's EDF and part-financed by China.

A government statement said significant new safeguards would be built into any future nuclear power plant deals involving foreign governments or companies. Under the agreement to build Hinkley Point C, EDF, which is state-controlled, will only be able to sell its stake with prior notification or agreement from UK ministers.

Greg Clark, UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy, said: "Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government's agreement."

The measures will also apply to future projects, the government said.

China General Nuclear Corp, which will be involved in Hinkley, Bradwell and a third plant at Sizewell in eastern England, said in a statement it was delighted with the announcement.

"We are delighted that the British Government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation. We are now able to move forward and deliver much needed nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point, Sizewell and Bradwell with our strategic partners, EDF, and provide the UK with safe, reliable and sustainable low-carbon energy.

"CGN and EDF have worked together in close cooperation for decades and this has laid a solid foundation for these three new nuclear projects. CGN looks forward to leveraging its 30 years' experience in nuclear construction and operation and playing an important role in meeting the UK's future energy needs."

EDF also expressed its delight in a statement.

"The approval of this construction project for two nuclear reactors on the Hinkley Point site in Somerset in the South-West of England marks the conclusion of ten years of preparation and rigorous planning.

"It will benefit from the joint strengths of the British and French nuclear industries, and will lead to the creation of 25,000 job opportunities on the site during construction, and will offer numerous opportunities for local and national businesses. An exchange of letters between EDF and the British authorities will render the discussions that took place over the last few days, to formalise their wish to take into account the EDF's commitment to retain control of HPC project."

Jean-Bernard Levy, EDF Group CEO said: "The decision of the British Government to approve the construction of Hinkley Point C marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe. It demonstrates the UK's desire to lead the fight against climate change through the development of low carbon electricity. "

May, who took over from David Cameron in July after he lost a referendum on continued British membership of the European Union, immediately announced a review of Hinkley Point which had been expected to go ahead in July.

The agreement, put together by Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne, included 6 billion pounds of Chinese investment which was conditional on Chinese technology being used to construct a further planned nuclear plant at Bradwell-on-Sea, in eastern England.

"May has managed a good deal  she has managed to satisfy her domestic critics, satisfy her own cautious nature, and keep the Chinese on side," a government official familiar with her style, and who requested anonymity, told China Daily.

Linking the Bradwell project to Hinkley is key to China, because CGN is keen that its technology, never used in a developed country, gets the seal of approval of British safety rules. China will also be involved in financing another station using EDF technology at Sizewell.

Andrew Shepherd, Senior Energy & Infrastructure Analyst, at BMI Research, said the Hinkley project had become a litmus test over future investment in the UK in the wake of the referendum vote to leave the European Union.

"From the UK's perspective, it appears that Theresa May and her government have given the project the go ahead, in part, because Hinkley Point C has become a post-Brexit litmus test for investment in UK infrastructure. In approving the project, the government is essentially demonstrating that the UK is still an attractive and investable market for foreign investors despite its plans to leave the EU.

"Despite the government giving the project the go ahead, I still anticipate further delays ahead of eventual completion. The cost of the project will mean that Hinkley will remain controversial from a political perspective. Questions also remain over EDF's ability to deliver the project on time and within budget amid concerns about the company's ability to use its already stretched balance sheet to cover construction," he said.

Tim Yeo,a former Conservative member of parliament who now heads the pressure group New Nuclear Watch Europe, welcomed the approval. "The UK is open for business and will encourage future international investors to come to the UK."

"The government announcement today does not hinder Chinese interest to invest in Bradwell in any way, because the conditions have not changed for Chinese to invest in Bradwell, provided that Chinese nuclear technology is formally approved by the UK regulators," he added.

To contact the reporters: chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com and cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com
Unlimited access to the internal market is dependent on free access for persons and goods

European Union chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker warned London again on Wednesday that the UK will not get access to Europe's single market if it bars some EU citizens from working in Britain after Brexit.

"There can be no a la carte access to the single market," the European Commission president told the European Parliament during his annual State of the Union address. "Only those can have unlimited access to the internal market who accept that there will be free access for persons and goods."

The point has been made repeatedly by Brussels as it waits for British Prime Minister Theresa May to launch the formal process of negotiation for the UK to leave the European Union.

The British government wants to retain trade access on the best terms with the EU but, following the June referendum, says free immigration from the EU must end.

On Tuesday, the same point was made by Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament's Brexit negotiator. He said the four European freedomsfreedom of movement for goods, services, capital and laborwere indivisible and Britain could not have one without the others.

During Wednesday's debate, Verhofstadt said the European Union should treat the negotiations with Britain as an occasion to make progress, rather than take retribution.

"Brexit is not a liability. I see it more as an opportunity," he said. "Our duty, our responsibility is to make Brexit a success for Europe, for all citizens of Europe."

Verhofstadt addressed British eurosceptic members of the European parliament who described him as an anti-British "fanatic" in his pursuit of a more closely integrated EU, saying: "Brexit is not a matter of punishment, it's not a matter of revenge."

Junker said in his speech that the EU must do more in the field of defense, starting with the creation of an EU military headquarters and start working toward establishing a common military force. He insisted the bloc's economic and cultural influence was not enough to safeguard its place in today's uncertain world and said the 28-nation organization "should be stronger" militarily.

"Together, we have to make sure that we protect our interests," Juncker explained.

He stressed that the bloc's actions should take place in concert with the US-led NATO defense alliance, to which 22 EU member states also belong.

"More European defense in Europe doesn't mean less trans-Atlantic solidarity," Juncker added.
Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla speaks during a news conference in Havana, Cuba, Sept 9, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

HAVANA -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Cuba is expected to boost economic cooperation between the two sides, Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez said.

Li will visit Cuba later this month, following his participation in the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly and an official visit to Canada.

"It will be a very important visit and a great step in bilateral relations. It will require all of our government's attention and without doubt it will be very successful," Rodriguez said recently.

Li's tour will be the first official visit to Cuba by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic ties 56 years ago.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca recently told reporters that the visit will boost joint efforts to expand cooperation into new areas.

"During the premier's visit, a number of important economic cooperation agreements will be signed," said Malmierca.

The two sides are expected to sign cooperation deals in areas such as technology, renewable energy, industry and environmental protection.

"Chinese investments in our nation are starting to blossom and we have a joint strategic vision for the future," he added.

China is Cuba's second largest trade partner.
(Photo : Getty images) Gay activists demonstrate on the streets while holding the gay pride flag.

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The Chinese gay community got a slight push in the fight for their rights after Qiu Bai, a gay student activist, took the Ministry of Education to court on Wednesday over school textbooks defining homosexuality as a mental disorder. The efforts were, however, short-lived.



A government official said that the textbooks did not infringe on Qiu's right as a gay student. He, however, refused to give a direct response to her complaints that the books are spreading false and potentially dangerous information.



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The judge presiding over the case said that a final verdict would be arrived at another day before adjourning the court hearing.



Chinese officials allegedly forced journalist not to cover the news terming it as unpleasant news.



"I'm surprised and angry that our work is being censored," Qiu said in an interview. "Speaking out is not easy as I thought it would be."



Being gay is not illegal in China. However, it is not accepted culturally. Families often pressure young people to get married and have children.



"Since 2001 when homosexuality was declassified as an illness in Mainland China, 40% of the psychology and mental health teaching materials published on the mainland say homosexuality is an illness," Qiu argued.



Qiu's efforts date back to 2015 when she started legal action against the Ministry of Education as well as the publishers of a school textbook.



Qiu, 21, is a student at the Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou. In Qiu's quest to understand her sexual orientation, she reportedly referred to the university library where she made the discovery that homosexuality is described as an illness in school textbooks.



"As someone studying within the education system, when the Ministry of Education tells me that the educational materials have no connection with us and we don't deal with it, it's really disappointing," she concluded.



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Tagschina, The LGBT community, China courts
(Photo : Getty Images) Xi and Putin.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the urgency and importance of efficiently implementing security cooperation with Russia.



Xi urged Russia to fully exploit the existing cooperation mechanism to further enhance security consultation and exchange. He said he and Putin reached important consensus on enhancing bilateral cooperation when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin less than two weeks ago in Hangzhou during the G20 Summit.



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China treated Putin as the first among equals during the summit to emphasize the importance it places on improving military and economic ties with Russia.



"Both of us agreed that China and Russia need to strengthen mutual support on major issues and consolidate political mutual trust," Xi told Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF).



SCRF is a consultative body of the Russian President that implements the President's decisions on national security affairs. It also draws up crucial documents defining conceptual approaches to national security.



Patrushev was in Beijing attending the 12th round of bilateral strategic and security consultations, and the third meeting of the China-Russia law enforcement and security cooperation mechanism.



Xi noted both countries need to safeguard world peace and stability, and international equity and justice no matter how the international situation or the external environment changes.



Patrushev said China and Russia are important stable factors in international affairs since both countries conduct close communication on major global and regional security issues, as well as in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations.



He said Russia attaches great importance to China's Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to work with China to boost strategic coordination and mutually beneficial cooperation.



Xi called for doing a good job in integrating China's Belt and Road Initiative with Russia's Eurasian Economic Union, and strengthening coordination in international and regional affairs.



On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Xi and 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. 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.



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TagsXi Jinping, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Nikolai Patrushev, Security Council of the Russian Federation
(Photo : GettyImages/ScottOlson) The US is the largest agricultural exporter in the world.

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The US is mounting pressure on China after filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over subsidies provided to wheat, corn, and rice farmers.



The case comes at a time when the US is becoming increasing hostile towards China. Washington recently introduced high anti-dumping tariffs on steel imports from China. The latest complaint is the 14th case filed by the Obama administration against China.



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The Obama administration has cited China's "excessive government support" to local agricultural producers as a cause of concern. The US claims that such support goes against the interest of American farmers. The case claims that China surpassed its permissible subsidy limits on wheat, rice and corn by $100 billion in 2015.



The US Department of Agriculture claims that Chinese policies have "resulted in significant losses to American producers." CNBC reported that China is one of the most prominent importers of American soybeans. The USDA expects the US' total agricultural exports to China to touch $21.5 billion figure in 2017, up by $3.5 billion from 2016.



According to FT, the US government is using the ploy to further its Pacific Rim trade deal. The Obama administration signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 countries including Japan earlier this year. The US president is now looking to get Congress to approve the trade deal. However, it faces strong opposition from the two major Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.



The US is the largest agricultural exporter in the world.



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TagsWTO, President Obama, subsidies, agriculture
(Photo : GettyImages/GettyImages) The US ambassador to Australia has expressed surprise over Chinas influence in Australian politics.

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In an interview, the outgoing US ambassador to Australia John Berry said that the US is "surprised" about China's influence in Australian politics. Berry's statement comes after Australian Labor Senator Sam Dastyari resigned from the opposition frontbench last week after admitting to taking money from an education company linked to China. However, he did not break any law doing so.



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"In our country it's illegal. It would be against the law for any foreign donation to be accepted by any level of government or member of the government," Berry said.



According to the BBC, Berry urged Australia to protect itself from excessive influence from "governments that don't share our values." He said that Australia should resolve its foreign donation issue. He expressed US objection over China's ability to fund politics in Australia.



CBS News reported that Berry's comments have been confirmed by the US embassy in Australia. Unlike in the US, where there is a ban on foreign donations, Australia does not differentiate between Australian and foreign donors. A bill seeking to ban foreign donations was advanced by Labor government in 2012. However, the bill never became law.



Last month, Australian Broadcasting Corp. stated that businesses with Chinese links donated more than AU$5.5 million to various political parties during the span of 2103 to 2015. The donations are said to be the largest from foreign sources. China is Australia's most important trading partner while the US is Canberra's strategic partner.



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TagsAustralia, Labour Party, John Berry, Australian Broadcasting Corp, Sam Dastyari
(Photo : PLA) Xi activates the PLA Joint Logistics Support Base.

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China activated a Joint Logistic Support Force of the Central Military Commission (CMC) on Sept. 13 as another strategic move to boost the global mobility of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).



At the establishment ceremony of the new logistics force in Beijing, President Xi Jinping conferred the military flag of the new force to Maj. Gen. Li Shisheng of the Wuhan Joint Logistic Support Base and Yin Zhihong, political commissar.



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Xi also conferred flags on the directors and political commissars of the five joint logistic support centers.



The five joint logistic support centers are the Wuxi Joint Logistic Support Center; Guilin Joint Logistic Support Center; Xining Joint Logistic Support Center; Shenyang Joint Logistic Support Center and Zhengzhou Joint Logistic Support Center.



During the ceremony, Xi said China should accelerate its military construction according to the requirements of joint operations, joint training and joint support to build a strong and modern joint logistic support force.



He said the establishment of the joint logistic support base and joint logistic support centers is a strategic measure to deepen the reform of the command system of China's military. He also said constructing a modern joint logistic support system with Chinese military characteristics is of great and far-reaching significance to building Chinese military into a world first-class military and winning modern regional wars.



Xi's exhortation to the strategic support force follows a similar message to the PLA's Strategic Support Force during an inspection late August.



Established late last year as part of military and national defense reform, the Strategic Support Force is a new type of combat force to secure national security and an important aspect of the PLA's joint operations system, said Xi.



The force bears a historic mission and must strive to be the best in the world, said Xi.



The force was established late 2015 as part of military and national defense reform. At the time, Xi said the strategic support force is a new type of combat force to secure national security and is an important segment of the PLA's joint operations system.



"Innovation is what we need most in building the strategic support force. Innovation is the fundamental solution, "said Xi.



He urged the force always stay on alert and maintain combat preparedness; map out a development strategy and a capacity building plan; build a new training system and enhance its deterrence and warfighting capabilities.



Xi emphasized innovation in military theory and technology and called for the fostering of new types of combat forces and high-level creative talent.



Xi told the force to educate and guide its soldiers and officers to stick to "the absolute leadership" of the Party and urged Party committees within the force to improve their ability to guide military development and manage Party members.



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TagsJoint Logistic Support Force of the Central Military Commission, People's Liberation Army, Maj. Gen. Li Shisheng, President Xi Jinping, Strategic Support Force
(Photo : CDC) Electron micrograph of the Zika virus.

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The news a 28 year-old man is the first confirmed case of the Zika virus in Henan Province in central China, the birthplace of Chinese civilization, is the latest in a creeping pattern of infection that began with the first confirmed case in China last February.



The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the Ministry of Health, confirmed on Sept. 12 this unidentified man was infected by the Zika virus. What is known is this man returned from Guatemala last week after a two-month stay in that Central American country.



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An airport checkpoint health screening raised a red flag about this man, who was then sent to a hospital specializing in infectious diseases and placed in quarantine. The man developed symptoms of Zika such as fever, headache, skin rash and sore throat. He's now stable, however.



China's health authorities are preparing for Zika spreading in China. The hope is this spread won't be proportionally as fast as the episode in Singapore where the first Zika case was confirmed on Aug. 27 and the 242nd case by Sept. 5.



Of this total number, 30 are Chinese nationals.



Dozens of mainland residents in Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang have been confirmed with Zika, which they contracted while abroad.



The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It causes only mild symptoms such as fever, rashes or joint pain for most people and four out of five of those infected exhibit no symptoms.



The virus, however, is believed to have contributed to an increase in cases of the birth defect called microcephaly in Brazil and other parts of the Americas.



From 2007 to 2016, the virus spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, leading to the 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic. Zika has been detected in 67 countries and territories and is spreading worldwide.



The widespread epidemic of Zika fever caused by the Zika virus continues in the Americas and the Pacific. The outbreak began in early 2015 in Brazil, then spread to other parts of South and North America.



Last January, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus was likely to spread throughout most of the Americas by the end of the year. In February, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as evidence grew that Zika can cause birth defects and neurological problems.



The virus can be transmitted from an infected pregnant woman to her fetus, and can cause microcephaly and other severe brain anomalies in the infant.



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TagsZika virus, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, china, Aedes Aegypti mosquito, Henan, 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic
(Photo : Getty Images) Carlos Varas, a Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector, uses a Golden Eagle blower to spray pesticide to kill mosquitos in the Miami Beach neighborhood as the county fights to control the Zika virus outbreak in Miami Beach, Florida.

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China's Henan Province has announced its first case of the Zika virus on Tuesday from an unnamed 28-year-old man who arrived at the Zhengzhou airport on Thursday morning.



The man, who was originally from Xian, in Shaanxi province, had been on a business trip to Guatemala for two months, according to the South China Morning Post. He flew to the United States last Tuesday and returned to China via Seoul on September 8.



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During an airport checkpoint health screening, the patient was suspected to be infected with the Zika virus after he was detected to have a temperature of 37.6 degrees Celcius through the infrared radiation thermometer.



The patient confirmed that he has been suffering from fever, headaches, sore throat, and skin rash since September 5, according to a statement issued by the Henan Health and Family Planning Commission. However, he denied being bitten by a mosquito over the past two weeks and also ruled out other potential transmission channels including sex, blood transfusions, and contact with a person infected with Zika.



The patient was sent to a hospital that specializes in infectious disease and was placed in quarantine. His condition is said to be stable.



Meanwhile, other passengers from the same flight showed no possible Zika symptoms.



His case was confirmed on Monday by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the Ministry of Health, after his urine and saliva test results tested positive for the Zika virus.



This is the 23rd Zika case confirmed in China, according to an official from the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Henan.



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TagsZika virus, Zika, Henan Province, china
(Photo : Getty Images) Chinese tourists from Beijing participate in a snowball fight in front of the White House in Washington, DC.

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Chinese tourists are splurging around $74 million per day on holidays in the United States, according to a report by state-backed Xinhua News Agency.



Fashion retailers, hotels, and luxury stores were the top three destinations where most of the tourists from China spent their money. Fashion retailers accounted for almost a third of their overall spending.



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Last year, the number of Chinese tourists bound for the United States jumped by 18 percent to 2.59 million compared to 2014. Last year also marked the year when China surpassed Brazil as the fifth largest source of tourists traveling to the United States.



While most tourists consider spending abroad as a way to offset travel expenses since prices are relatively lower abroad, Zhao Ping, a researcher from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, pointed out that Chinese tourists' spending enthusiasm comes from their increasing national income.



"The increasing overseas spending can be attributed to the higher income of Chinese citizens. Japanese and Korean tourists' overseas spending maintained a high growth rate of between 30 and 40 percent before the Japanese and South Korean per capita GDPs reached $10,000," Zhao said. "China, with a per capital GDP of $8,000, is still in the period of high-speed growth, and the trend will continue."



The United States' relaxation of visa rules for Chinese tourists also helped the country become a hot destination. In fact, training programs and summer camps have become a fad among Chinese tourists looking to spend a holiday in the United States.



Tourism accounts more than half (59 percent) of the total volume of service products that the US exports to China, according to China Radio International.



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TagsChinese Tourists, tourism, Travel
(Photo : Getty Images) A Tesla electric-powered sedan stands at a Tesla charging station at a highway rest-stop along the A7 highway near Rieden, Germany.

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Tesla Motors Inc. said on Wednesday that it has no way of knowing whether its semi-automated Autopilot system is to blame for a tragic accident that led to the death of a Chinese man named Gao Yaning in January.



"Because of the damage caused by the collision the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers," Tesla said.



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The accident occurred in January after a Tesla Vehicle collided with a cleaning truck on a highway in Hebei province.



Gao, 23, was the owner of a Tesla automobile, which was bought from one of Tesla's dealers in Beijing.



In a statement, California-based, Palo Alto, dealer said that the incident was indeed bad for the company and that efforts to work with the family are becoming fruitless.



"We were saddened to learn of the of our customer's son," he said. "We have tried repeatedly to work with our customer to investigate the cause of the crash, but he has not provided us with any additional information that would allow us to do so."



The company has been issued a lawsuit notice by the family of the deceased after a court in Beijing accepted to hear the case.



The family is asking for 10,000 yuan ($2039) as compensation.



A similar incident transpired in Florida, leading to the death of 40-year-old, Joshua Brown, in May. A Tesla device was also involved in a small accident in Beijing in August.



With such events transpiring, Tesla has switched its marketing strategy, saying that its cars are not self-driving but rather a driving-assistant.



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Tagschina, Tesla Motors Inc, Self-Drive Technology
(Photo : Getty Images) China's President Xi Jinping has highlighted on the importance on Beijing's security ties with Russia saying both nations play an important role in world affairs.

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China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday emphasized the importance of Beijing's security cooperation with Russia saying there is an urgent need for both sides to implement their security agreement.



According to Xinhua, Xi made the statement during a meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF), this month.



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Patrushev attended the 12th round of China-Russia bilateral security talks and the third meeting of the China-Russia law enforcement and security cooperation mechanism held in Beijing.



Cooperation mechanism



Xi called on Russia to take advantage of the two countries' cooperation mechanism and further discuss security consultations and exchanges as part of the enhancement of diplomatic and defense ties between the two sides.



President Xi said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a consensus on security issues during the G20 summit over a week ago in Hangzhou city.



Chinese state media noted that Beijing gave the red carpet treatment to Putin during the G20 summit indicating the importance that China attaches to improving its military and economic ties with Moscow.



Mutual support



"Both of us agreed that China and Russia need to strengthen mutual support on major issues and consolidate political mutual trust," Xi told Patrushev.



Xi said despite the changes brought about by adverse international events or external forces, China and Russia need to protect world peace and stability.



"No matter how the international situation or the external environment changes, both countries need to work hard to realize their goals of development and revitalisation and to safeguard world peace and stability as well as international equity and justice," he said.



Patrushev said both China and Russia have roles to play on the international stage since both countries are considered important powers in world affairs.



He added that both nations regularly conduct communications on major global and regional security issues and also initiate dialogues with the United Nations.



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TagsPresident Xi Jinping, Security Council of the Russian Federation, Russian President Vladimir Putin, China-Russia security talks, Russia, china
(Photo : Getty Images) Qiu Bai, speaks to the media with her lawyer Wang Zhenyu (L) before entering the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing on November 24, 2015. Qiu Bai took the government to court over textbooks describing homosexuality as a 'psychological disorder.'

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A gay Chinese student activist filed a formal complaint against the Ministry of Education on Monday (Sept. 12) over school textbooks that described homosexuality as a mental disorder.



Ever since its decriminalization in 2001, same-sex relationships or homosexuality are not considered as illegal in China and many major cities in the country have already embraced the gay culture.



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However, Chinese educational institutions continue to use textbooks that refer to homosexuality as "disorder" and "impediment," according to research carried out by the Gay and Lesbian Campus Association of China in 2014, Reuters reported.



Qiu Bai, a 21-year-old student of Guangzhou's Sun Yat-Sen University, claims she came across similar material while going through books in the library of her own university when she started to have doubts about her own sexual orientation.



"Since 2001 when homosexuality was declassified as an illness in mainland China, 40 per cent of the psychology and mental health teaching materials published on the mainland say homosexuality is an illness," Qiu said.



She previously brought the issue to the attention of the Ministry of Education and the publishers of the textbooks in 2015 by lodging a legal case but her complaints were ignored and no action was taken to resolve the problem.



The Ministry also promised to tackle the issue via their internal mediation process if Qiu dropped the lawsuit but that deal also did not work out, she said.



The fact that the case has garnered nationwide attention and has managed to make its way into court is already seen by many as a big win for Qiu, who wants the ministry to deal with the issue by recalling the textbooks.



"As someone studying within the education system, when the Ministry of Education tells me that the education materials have no connection with us and we won't deal with it, it's really disappointing," she said.



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Tagschina, homosexuality, Gay, Activist, Ministry of Education, Qiu Bai, textbook, mental disorder
(Photo : Getty images) Properties worth millions were damaged by Typhoon Meranti.

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Typhoon Meranti finally made landfall in China on Thursday. It first arrived at Xiangnan district in China's Southeast Fujian Province in the early morning hours. The typhoon damaged property worth millions and also disrupted the transport system in the region.



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The typhoon, which is ranked as the greatest typhoon this year, roared through the streets of Xiamen City with gales of up to 48m per second.



Properties worth millions were damaged by the storm. Powerful winds blew windows from high buildings to the ground while sweeping away tree branches.



According to a witness, the winds was loudest after 3 a.m.



"The power went out in the shop for several times. The cracking sound of windows and tree branches were also quite scary," he said.



The Shunji Bridge was not spared from the destruction. The 800-year-old bridge in Quanzhou was damaged by floods.



The Xiamen Power Supply Company said that the floods have the potential to further destroy the already damaged power infrastructure.



As a result of the typhoon, major airlines were forced to cancel incoming and outgoing flights to Xiamen City and Jieyang City.



Railway transport to Xiamen was put on hold until further notice with ferry services between Xiamen City and Kinmen Island suspended.



China's Ministry of Transport cautioned drivers stating that if it is necessary to drive that they should exercise a lot of care on slippery roads.



No fatalities have so far been reported as a result of the ongoing storm.



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Tagschina, Fujian Province, Typhoon Meranti
(Photo : Getty images) People try to hide from tear gas and rubber bullets during a protest

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Journalists have not been spared by riot police at the Wukan village after they were attacked and forcefully evicted from the fishing village on Wednesday even as the protests continued for the second day.



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Reporters from the South China Morning post newspaper as well as Chinese language newspaper, Ming Pao, were on Wednesday arrested and detained while in their line of duty.



According to the two news agencies, a group of men, some wearing police uniforms, forced themselves into a home where they were interviewing victims of the siege. Even after the reporters had complied with police orders to lie on the ground, they were reportedly still assaulted by the individuals.



"At least 20 people knocked on the door, broke it down and requested us to kneel down. One of the reporters didn't manage to kneel down and was shoved to the floor. Another reporter was punched and I was slapped twice," said one of the reporters.



The reporters were afterward taken to a police station and interrogated for hours. According to one of the publications, the reporters were forced to sign forms admitting that they were reporting illegal content about Wukan and that they would stop immediately.



They were later taken to the Hong Kong border, according to both newspapers.



The BBC said that some of its journalists were also prevented from entering the village.



The Hong Kong Journalists Association has condemned the act and called on the Hong Kong government to "take effective measures to protect the rights and safety of Hong Kong journalist working in the mainland."



The incident comes at a time when villagers in Wukan are protesting a three-year jail sentence issued to the village's Chief Lin Zulian for corruption.



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Tagschina, Wukan Village, riot police, Hong Kong Journalists Association, South China Morning Post, Ming Pao
(Photo : Getty Images ) China has said it does not support "unilateral" sanctions against North Korea in light of Pyongyang's latest nuclear test.

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China has adopted a cautious approach towards North Korea in the wake of Pyongyang's recent nuclear test.



Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said that China does not support "unilateral" sanctions on North Korea. Wang spoke to his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se over the telephone on Tuesday. Wang said that Beijing is opposed to "unilateral" sanctions against North Korea. The Chinese foreign minister said that the Korean nuclear issue must be resolved through dialogue.



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"The Chinese side always takes a responsible and constructive part in Security Council discussions. We also believe that sanction is neither an end nor the only approach," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a regular press briefing on Wednesday.



Wang also spoke with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida over the telephone on Wednesday. During the conversion with Kishida, the Chinese foreign minister said that China has decided to support new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against North Korea. He also noted that all stakeholders should return to the negotiation table to resolve the Korean nuclear issue.



South Korea on Wednesday announced that senior officials from United States, South Korea, Japan would hold a high-level meeting to discuss the issue of North Korea's latest nuclear test. "During the upcoming meeting to be held amid unprecedentedly grave security situations, they are expected to mostly discuss comprehensive and strong measures against the North," South Korean foreign ministry said.



Last week, North Korea conducted a nuclear test at the country's northern nuclear test site. It was communist state's second nuclear test this year and its fifth since 2006.



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Tagschina, North Korea, North Korea Nuclear, Kim Jong Un, South Korea, Japan
(Photo : Getty Images) Aung San Suu Kyi meets Obama at Washington D.C.

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The United States tacitly acknowledged the position of Aung San Suu Kyi as the de facto head of state of Myanmar by indicting it would lift some of the economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar 20 years ago after a military junta took power in that country.



Officially, Suu Kyi is foreign minister and self-appointed state counselor (a role somewhat like a prime minister). Her international stature, however, makes her the only high-level official in a government still dominated by the Myanmar Army capable of softening economic and diplomatic sanctions that continue to isolate Myanmar.



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Suu Kyi arrived in the United States Sept. 14 and will stay for some two weeks. She will meet President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and members of the U.S. Congress. She will also attend the UN General Assembly in New York from Sept. 20 to 26 and confer with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.



Obama said after meeting Suu Kyi he was prepared to lift sanctions on Myanmar after the country's democratic transformation and the United States' perceptions it was making more progress towards restoring democratic institutions. Obama, however, didn't specify which sanctions will be lifted, but said this action would come "soon."



As part of this de-escalation, Obama has to rescind a two decade old executive order that declares Myanmar a "national emergency." This move will enable the lifting of sanctions that prevented broad economic investment in Myanmar.



"In part because of the progress we've seen over the last several months, I indicated after consulting with Daw Suu that the United States is now prepared to lift sanctions we've imposed upon Burma for quite some time," said Obama.



"It is the right thing to do in order to ensure the people of Burma see the rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government."



The U.S. still officially refers to Myanmar as Burma while Daw Suu is an honorific title for Suu Kyi.



Suu Kyi said it was time to remove all the sanctions she said had hurt her country's economy. She noted Myanmar is now in a position to open up to investments. She said she wants Americans to come to Myanmar and "to make profits."



Obama also revealed Washington will add Myanmar its list of developing countries granted special trade status, thereby allowing the duty-free importation of some 5,000 products.



Some sanctions will remain on Myanmar, including an arms ban to ensure the military remains a partner in the democratic transition.



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TagsAung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar, President Barack Obama, economic sanctions, United States
Apple, Google & Facebook combined have less economic impact than religious charities, churches 15 September, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner)  Religious institutions have a greater impact on the U.S. economy than many large corporations, the authors of a new study have claimed.

Dr. Brian Grim of Georgetown University and his daughter, Melissa Grim, of the Newseum Institute argue in a 31-page summary of the study  the first of its kind  that religious institutions and their associated ministries contribute as much as $378 billion directly to the economy.

Those dollars  more than Apple, Google and Facebook combined  when multiplied across the economy, have an indirect and induced impact larger than Mexico's entire gross domestic product ($1.44 trillion).

The Socio-economic Contribution of Religion to American Society: An Empirical Analysis examines "the economic impact of 344,000 religious congregations around the country, in addition to quantifying the economic impact of religious institutions and religion-related businesses," a news release about the study said.

Religious spending, the authors claim, is especially resilient and somewhat immune from downturns in the economy because churches, religiously-affiliated hospitals, and religious schools continue to operate and spend money. In fact, in spite of the recession and sluggish economy since 2008, religious spending on congregations and social programs has increased three-fold in the past 15 years.

In an age where there's a growing belief that religion is not a positive for American society, adding up the numbers is a tangible reminder of the impact of religion. Every single day individuals and organizations of faith quietly serve their communities as part of religious congregations, faith-based charities, and businesses inspired by religion.

According to the study, charities  most of them Christian  have launched 130,000 alcohol and drug abuse programs, 94,000 programs for veterans and their families, 26,000 programs for HIV/AIDS prevention and support, and 121,000 programs for job training and developing employable skills in adults.

Health care organizations, such as Catholic hospital systems, contribute the most to the national economy. In addition to health care, however, other Christian-owned or "faith-based" businesses employ thousands and spend millions of dollars. These businesses are also not used exclusively by believers either.

"For the first time, we have been able to quantify what religious institutions, faith-based charities, and even businesses inspired by faith contribute to our country," Dr. Grim said in Washington at the National Press Club Sept. 14.

"In an age where there's a growing belief that religion is not a positive for American society, adding up the numbers is a tangible reminder of the impact of religion. Every single day individuals and organizations of faith quietly serve their communities as part of religious congregations, faith-based charities, and businesses inspired by religion."

The Grims looked at previous censuses of U.S. churches, synagogues and other houses of worship (including Shinto, Tao and Zoroastrian). They found that the 344,894 congregations were made up of nearly half of the American population and the average house of worship pulled in $242,000 per year.

All told, church members tithed or donate about $75 million to their congregations each year.

Among religious charities, the YMCA operated with revenues of $6.6 billion nationwide.
Last autumn, Marine Corps Major Jason C. Brezler got into trouble for sending classified email via an unclassified email server. But the principle source of his trouble had nothing to do with email servers or even classified documentsit was the subject of those emails: child sexual abuse by our so-called allies in Afghanistan.

A year ago, I told you about a disturbing story in the New York Times whose headline read, U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Sexual Abuse of Boys by Afghan Allies. BreakPoint listeners learned about the ancient Central Asian phenomenon known as bacha bazi, which means boy play. The form of sexual abuse was the subject of the 2010 PBS documentary, The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan.

As I noted, since the early 20th century there have been several attempts to outlaw the practice, but with one notable exception, these have met with limited success. The exception was the Islamist Taliban, which made the practice punishable by death. Their success in eradicating the practice was part of the reason that ordinary Afghans supported, at least initially, the Talibans coming to power.

The ouster of the Taliban meant open season on young boys, which is horrendous enough. But making matters even worse, the United States, as the Times reported, is turning a blind eye to this abuse out of fear of offending our allies.

Which brings me back to Major Brezler. According to the Washington Post, Brezler was asked by Marine colleagues to submit all the information he had about an influential Afghan police chief suspected of abusing children.

Unfortunately, he sent the email via an unclassified server, an infraction which he self-reported. Despite his coming clean, the Marine Corps recommended that he be discharged. The Department of the Navy agreed with this recommendation.

But its why they upheld the recommendation that should trouble us. According to the Washington Post, Navy officials also assessed that holding new hearings on the case would renew attention on the scandal surrounding child sex abuse in Afghanistan.

The document setting forth the decision, known as a legal review, concluded that calling for a new administrative review, known as a Board of Inquiry, would delay actions in the case another six to nine months and possibly increase attention on the case, especially in the aftermath of significant media attention to the allegations regarding the practice of keeping personal sex slaves in Afghanistan.

If that sounds a bit too much like a cover-up to you, youre not alone. Brezler has filed suit against the Navy seeking review of the decision to discharge him. And he has at least one powerful political ally, Representative Duncan Hunter of California.

A spokesman for Hunter, who successfully intervened on behalf of an Army Sergeant who was dismissed for slugging another Afghan police officer who sexually abused boys, told the Post that The Brezler case is no different in that, at its foundation, theres a corrupt Afghan commander that exploits children. Its something that Americans wont tolerate.

What I said last September still holds; the policy of protecting child rapists is not only morally reprehensible, its counterproductive: It gives ordinary Afghans a reason to view Taliban rule as the good old days.

Is this what more than 2,300 Americans gave their lives to protect? Have more than 20,000 Americans been wounded to make the world safe for bacha bazi?

As the Apostle Paul liked to say, God forbid!

Which, by the way, He does.

BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on todays news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.

Eric Metaxas is a co-host of BreakPoint Radio and a best-selling author whose biographies, children's books, and popular apologetics have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Publication date: September 15, 2016
For Pastor Sungwon Jahng, choosing to serve as the English ministry (EM) pastor of Los Angeles Open Door Presbyterian Church wasnt necessarily a choice for a particular position or cultural context. It was out of a sense of ownership of the church, he says.

I just felt a personal responsibility to care for this church, and by Gods sovereignty, he opened up a position for me to be here, Jahng said. I dont think I had that thought that I want to be at a Korean immigrant church specifically. I just thought, This is my church, these are my people.

Jahng, who has served at LA Open Door since 2006 but has been its EM lead pastor since 2013, has grown up in the Korean immigrant church context, and some of his experiences in that context werent so positive. Jahng has experienced the effects of church infighting, splits, and lawsuits. Yet, he says these experiences have not pushed him away from ministry or the Korean immigrant church, but planted in him a greater conviction for unity.

Jahng shared his personal thoughts and journey in the Korean immigrant church context in an interview.

The experience of having gone through a church split must have been formative for you. In what way did that affect you and your outlook of the church?

That experience really marked my heart, because it was painful. A lot of damage came out of that. Lifelong friends, brothers and sisters whom I grew up with in the church  all of a sudden we didnt see each other anymore.

After that experience though, one of the passages that became dear to my heart was Ephesians 4, where Paul says to be diligent to preserve the unity of the body. I think thats one of the greatest challenges of the Korean immigrant church  to find a way to preserve the unity of the body. Because we have so many things that are fighting against that, especially with the generational and cultural differences. And because of those negative experiences Ive had, I really have to fight for that unity within my own heart.

What are some steps that have helped you to fight for unity?

I make an effort to first expect and know that  mindfulness is the first step I think, that there are going to be differences. And I think the next step is trying to distinguish clearly what is a matter of principle or preference. Sometimes those things get blurred together.

Some say that one of the things that hinders unity between KM and EM is a difficult relationship between the lead pastors of the two ministries. Have you faced any of those challenges?

I think one of the advantages of me having been here [at LA Open Door] for so long  for over 10 years now  is that Ive been able to develop a relationship with my senior pastor. A trust has formed. And I think thats foundational  to know that we are on the same team. And over the years, Ive gotten to know him, to know his personality, and I can say sincerely that I know his motives. He wants whats best not only for this church but for the church of Jesus Christ. His objective is to serve God. Having that kind of trust really helps me to see past the cultural differences there might be in leadership style, and to see him as a brother in Christ, a fellow under shepherd.

Another thing that helps is that he also is aware of the differences of the first and second generation. The way he approaches his associate pastors is different from the way he approaches me. While hes still technically over me, hes much more sensitive to those cultural differences with me.

What are some ways that KM and EM at LA Open Door have been working together to build that unity? How would you describe the relationship between the two ministries?

We do have those joint ministry events, such as our all-church retreats that we have every year. We also have a school in Guatemala  that has always been a joint effort.

I would describe our relationship right now like that of a parent-child relationship. As a child, we [the members of EM] are growing into adulthood. Our English ministry is kind of like a church plant  were trying to build from bottom up right now, and we have such a great support from the KM. And being around these senior saints  theres a richness to that, beyond just the cultural differences. When you really dig in, there is a depth that we can learn from the first generation, and its challenging. Their passion, prayer, dedication, service, and generosity  these are all things that are counter to what weve grown up with in a Western society that tends to be individualistic or rationalistic. For us to be around that spirituality, that challenges us.

What are the struggles that have challenged you most as a Korean American pastor?

I think one of the most difficult things about being a pastor in general is not shepherding other people, but shepherding yourself. Thats the constant battle  personal sanctification. Theres always a sense of inadequacy, and asking, Am I really up to this task to shepherd all of these people? And thats by design  God wants us to feel that inadequacy so that we can lean on him. Thats essential to preach the gospel rightly  to preach out of weakness, not out of strength.

And I think another challenge is just working with people, when it comes down to it. At a missions preparation class I once took, something a speaker said was that the number one leading cause for missionary attrition is not because the work is so hard, not because people are resistant, but team members cannot get along. Thats Satans ploy  he wants to divide the church. And thats why Paul gives that exhortation to make every effort to preserve the body of Christ.

In some ways, you can make this cultural thing so complex, and in other ways, you can just make it so simple  it just comes down to loving one another, forgiving one another.
Attacks against Christians in India increased in the first six months of 2016, according to a new report by Evangelical Fellowship of India.

The EFI said that it had recorded 134 attacks on Christians in the first half of 2016, but it cautioned that the figures were a "fraction of the violence on the ground" since they were only enumerating "carefully corroborated" episodes of crimes.

The EFI statistics of persecution incidents in just six months up to June are close to the amount of violence recorded in 2014 (147) and 2015 (177).

The various forms of "violence" included murders of pastors, burning of churches, vandalism, burning of Bibles, rapes, destruction of Christian school properties, and forced re-conversions from Christianity to Hinduism.

In March, a mob of Hindu extremists attacked a Pentecostal church in the state of Chhattisgarh while the believers were gathered in worship. The assailants broke the musical equipment and chairs inside the church.

"They alleged that people were being converted here," said Arun Pannalal, the president of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum. "The police came and seized vehicles the attackers came in. They desecrated the Bible and some of the pictures that were hung on the wall."

"Every day Christians are attacked. What is reported in the media is like the tip of an iceberg," a native Christian told International Christian Concern (ICC).

According to All India People's Forum, an NGO dedicated to social and economic development in India, the police was, at many instances, found complicit with the fundamentalist organizations in abetting the attacks.

"It is evident from the testimonies that the role of the police and administration is extremely lax. On some occasions the police have openly sided with the Bajrang Dal [a militant Hindu group], refusing to protect the Christians," AIPF was quoted as saying in an EFI report.

"On one occasion the police and administration even failed to turn up, having convened a gathering of Hindus and Christians, and possibly informed the Bajrang Dal that they would not turn up, thus setting the scene for organized mob violence against the Christians. On the occasions where the district administration and police have intervened, it has not been to enforce the rule of law and uphold the Constitution and arrest the Bajrang Dal mischief-makers; rather the ineffectual mode of 'dispute resolution' has been adopted."

Christian charity Open Doors reported that a girl as young as 13 years was drugged and raped by neighbors who were annoyed of her sharing faith with them.

"I used to share my faith with my neighbors. They ridiculed me for it. The ladies in my neighborhood often made fun of me, but one day they seemed very interested about my faith. They called me home to share about Jesus and served me juice, which I drank, not knowing that they planned to drug me. After the drink I lost consciousness. When I came back to my senses I realised I had been raped," the girl recounted.

Father Z. Devasagaya Raj, secretary of the Indian Catholic bishops' conference's office for Dalit and indigenous people, said that Christians are "facing physical, symbolic and structural violence" from Hindu fundamentalists around the country. "Every Indian should have the right to practice and promote their religion peacefully," he said.


A new study published in interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion said that religion contributes more to the US economy than Facebook, Google and Apple combined.

The research undertaken by Brian Grim, an associate scholar with Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and his daughter Melissa Grim, a research fellow at the Newseum.

The report's estimate put the economic contribution of religion to the US at about $378 billion per year. It took into account sectors including healthcare, local congregational activities, education, charities, media, and food. The figure excludes the retail sales at Christmas because they are not associated with organized faith-based groups.

The statistics were concluded after an analysis of annual reports from religious organizations, and other public data from the year 2014.

"Given the division of opinion on religion's contribution to American society, this present study seeks to shed light on the topic by making an estimate of religion's socio-economic value to society," the Grims said in the study.

The authors found that the annual tuition fee paid to religiously affiliated higher education institutions amounted to a whopping $46.8 billion, while elementary and secondary school payments figures were also significant at $15 billion and $12 billion respectively.

Apart from the economic impact of faith-based educational institutions, their report also underscored the social achievements of such schools.

"Faith-based elementary and secondary schools make a distinctive contribution to the education of the Nation's children that public schools have been unable to match. In 2015, the combined average SAT score for students from religious schools was 1596 points, or 134 points higher than the average score of 1462 for public school students. [And] students in religious schools are safer than students in public schools, as measured by fewer instances of violent crime and bullying. A higher percentage of students in religious schools report feeling safe from attack or harm in school compared to their public school peers," the study reported citing a Supreme Court amicus brief.

The brief also noted the "positive contributions faith-based organizations to the health and welfare of hundreds of millions of Americans."

The study said that Catholic hospitals alone care for one-in-six US hospital patients, while Lutherans serve six million people or one-in-50 individuals per year.

Annual operating revenues reported by some of the largest faith-based healthcare providers with an active religious affiliation amounted to $161 billion, according to the study.

America has thousands of religious charities but the authors could not gather all their activities and revenues, so they took the largest ones and compiled a comprehensive estimate of 50 large US charities. The total revenues of these organizations totaled $45.3 billion.

Faith-based food ($14.4 billion) and media market ($0.9 billion) revenues lagged behind in their proportionate share in religious-service market.

The study found that total money spent by religious organizations on social service programs has increased considerably over the last 14 years, from $3.32 billion in 1998 to $9.24 billion in 2012.

"Do we need to know (religion's socio-economic value) in order to appreciate the value of faith? Of course not," Grim was quoted as saying by Deseret News. "But in an age where fewer people are raised in religious congregations, we need to show a more balanced perspective on faith than might come through in daily headlines."

In a video posted by Faith Counts, Grim says:

"Religion serves the US with over 78,000 programs that help people struggling with mental illness. That is more than 3 times as many starbucks as there are in the entire world. And faith centers are found in the poorest neighborhoods, in the inner-cities, and in the most remote rural areas. Without the influence of religion, many of these programs will disappear, and the communities that thrive because of them would wither. There are 56,000 groups dedicated to improving race relations, 129,000 groups for people struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, 25,000 groups providing support for people living with HIV Aids, 120,000 groups to help the unemployed, and 25,000 groups dedicated to discussing ways to reduce pollution and improve our environment. All these social programs are solely congregation-based. 40 percent of the largest charities in America exist because of religion. They are there to help us in our darkest hours, in times of natural disasters, crisis, sickness."
Read as Single Page Page 1 of 2

Editors Note: National Hispanic Heritage Month begins today, running through October 15. To kick off the month, were featuring a gifted, wise, and talented Hispanic woman leader. To read more from Bianca Juarez Olthoff, click here.

The Israelite spies stood at the edge of their promise. They could see the journey ahead of them. They were chosen to inherit a land that was promised to them. And now 12 menone from each tribe of Israelwere selected to check out the land and return with a report (Numbers 13). These men had undoubtedly witnessed miracles. The parting of the Red Sea, manna falling from heaven, deliverance from slaverythey had witnessed firsthand the certainty of Gods provision. But instead of feeling excitement that they would finally inherit the promise God had given them, they were filled with terror, paralyzed by what was before them.

The spies came back from their reconnaissance mission with two things: fruit and fear. In their hands were symbols of the goodness of the land that was promised to them. But in their hearts was the impossibility of fortified walls, giants, and intimidating opponents. Waves of doubt covered Gods children and clouded their memory of all the Lord had done for them since they left Egypt.

Although they were double-fistingfruit in one hand and fear in the otherI couldnt begin to pass judgment here. I feel you, dear Israelites! Even now, after all Ive seen, I hate to admit that I sometimes hold the fruit of the faithfulness of God while simultaneously gripping the fear he might not act again.

Only 2 of the 12 spies, Joshua and Caleb, believed they could take the land. They trusted it was theirs to inherit. They knew God was with them and had faith in his promises. And just maybe, although this is purely my own speculation, they didnt want to return to wandering in the desert. Ultimately, however, the other ten spies filled the Israelites with enough fear that they dissuaded the people from moving forward into the Promised Land. The Israelites spirit of doubt was bigger than their trust in the deliverance they were promised. Their fear was bigger than their faith, and that decision cost them.

Because of their lack of faith 40 years before, they were banished from the Promised Land and sentenced to years of wandering. But now the Israelites stood at the edge of their promise once again. After almost 500 years of Egyptian captivity and over 40 years of wandering in the desert, the children of God stood at the edge of freedom behind Moses successor, Joshua. He stood on a precipice, in the same place hed stood years before after the spies initial exploratory expedition into the Promised Land. Joshua knew the truththe Israelites had been released from captivity and slavery, but they had not received their promise. They had not received their whole freedom, not yet.
One month ago, Nicaragua declared that Protestant and Catholic missionaries werent allowed to enter the Central American nation unless they were first vetted by officials.

We were taken by surprise, wrote Maricio Fonseca, the president of the Nicaraguan Evangelical Alliance, in an email.

Overall, Catholics supported the goal to better regulate missionaries, but evangelicalswho are increasingly close to matching Catholicisms share of the populationprotested. Now the regulations have been removed.

We want to thank God because now the churches will only have to meet a short administrative rule, so that all ministers and missionaries will be able to come to our country as many times as they want, Assemblies of God president Rafael Arista told Evangelical Focus. We also thank the government for being understanding, listening to us, and let[ting] us work as we have done in the past.

The restrictions were announced August 12 as ...

1
Would you let a high school senior serve as the pastor of your church? H. B. Charles, Jr., pastor of Jacksonville, Floridas Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist church and organizer of the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference, would advise against itbut thats probably because he knows firsthand what its like to try to lead a church at the young age of 17.

According to Charles, his pastoral training began early. His father, who was also a pastor, had friends who owed him debts of kindness, and they repaid them by inviting his son to preach at Sunday school and youth events starting when he was 11. By the time his church called him to be a pastor, he still hadnt attended seminary, but he knew he had no desire to do anything else.

Those first few years of ministry were challenging; when he was 21, his church even took him to court in an effort to oust him. For all the hurdles he faced early on, though, Charless commitment to ministry has proven long-lasting, thanks in part to the advice his father gave him about aiming for the long haul:

When I was a young preacher, my father was overly protective of me. There were some things that he would just say no to, things he would not let me participate in or attend or door things he would force me to do. And he would say, I dont want you to be a flash in the pan. I want you to have longevity and fulfill your ministry.I think my father had seen young preachers with gift shoot up and then flame out. I think he had seen moral failures, turns away from doctrine, a lot of those kinds of things that he wanted to protect me from. Hed often warn me about sensationalismthat some level of notoriety ...

1
My addiction to it compelled me to drink a pot and a half of it a day. I have abstained from it for weeks with the help of a steady intake of strong tea. I have dressed it up with foamed milk, beaten cream, and thick drizzles of caramel; I have dressed it down to draw near to its scalding essence. I have drunk it spiced with pepper, made succulent with butter, and soured with chicory root. I have a cousin who powdered his familys fishbowl with instant brew because their fish had a headache. Like that manic fish, I have grimaced through many headaches of my own.

Among non-alcoholic drinks, only water has a greater claim to ubiquity than coffee. The National Coffee Association USA claims, After crude oil, coffee is the most sought commodity in the world. Americans import their beans, raw or pre-roasted, from nations all over the earth, and prepare drinks from those beans using all manner of devices: from humble coffee pots to systems festooned with dials and knobs, capable of manufacturing multiple atmospheres of pressure in order for the home brewer to pull a cafe-quality espresso. The gilded pipes and fittings of this $2,495 apparatus evoke an age of steam power and glass arcades.

Ostensibly a tool for keeping ones focus sharp in the present, coffee is at the center of a culture that inclines backwards and forwards at once. Its aroma can evoke 19th-century marble-topped cafe tables and chamber musicat the same time, the caffeine acclimates the brain to the endless interfaces of the Internet.

That aroma is discernible in the air this morning, wafting out of the door being held open for me as I enter my Toronto church. Of course there will be coffee here: I can imagine ...

1
Americans Deserve Answers Regarding Hillary Clinton's Health

Contact: Liberty Counsel Action, 407-875-1989, Media@LCAction.org

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Hillary Clinton's health problems, which apparently date back to at least 2009, have hit a new climax with her seizure during a 9/11 memorial. What she originally said was "overheating" and later changed to "pneumonia," is part of a lengthy health history spanning several years that includes:

Fainting during a 2005 speech;



Falling in 2009 and breaking her elbow;



Falling while boarding an airplane in 2011;



Falling in December 2012, causing a concussion and a blood clot in her head;



Impaired vision in January 2013 during Congressional testimony on Benghazi;



Inability to stand without a stool to maintain her balance and supported by Secret Service when walking;



Emails from Huma Abedin indicating Hillary is "often confused;"



Repeated coughing episodes that last several minutes dating back to the Benghazi Congressional hearing in October 2015 and throughout 2016;



Apparent uncontrollable shaking of her head while talking to reporters;



Apparent uncontrollable head moments while standing next to Bill Clinton at the DNC;



Wearing blue anti-seizure glasses to a Congressional hearing years ago after suffering the concussion in 2012;



Continued use of the blue anti-seizure glasses;



Peculiar travel habits, including taking a private jet on 20-mile trips;



Refusing to do a press conference for over 280 days, the longest recorded time in presidential campaign history;



Loss of control of her legs and left arm resulting in having to be dragged into a van by security on September 11, 2016;



Avoided her media group for 90 minutes on September 11, 2016, and more.

After Hillary prematurely left the September 11 event in New York, she went to her daughter's house and now says her doctor diagnosed her with pneumonia last Friday, September 9. But if she had pneumonia, why would she be playing with her grandchildren a couple days prior to September 11, and why would she hug a small child on September 11? Why did she not look like she had pneumonia during her TV interview on September 9 or September 10? Dr. Ted Noel, a physician who first suggested Hillary had Parkinson's, states that pneumonia is a symptom of Parkinson's and is contagious. It seems peculiar Hillary would stage a photo with a small child.



In the videos that show her collapsing on September 11, 2016, it is clear Hillary has no functional use of her hand behind her back because the security guard had to grab it and move it to her front. The video also clearly shows she lost all function of her legs and feet, even losing her shoe. An enlargement shows a piece of metal falling out of her right pants leg and her right foot goes limp. Security had to physically carry Hillary into the van.

"There are many questions that need to be answered about Hillary Clinton's health, especially following the 9-11 incident," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action. "The American people deserve the truth about Hillary's health. The bizarre behavior of coughing and uncontrollable body movements, combined with changing stories, demand an explanation," said Staver.

Liberty Counsel Action is a 501(c)(4), nonprofit, grassroots lobbying organization advancing religious and civil liberties, the sanctity of human life, the family, limited and responsible government, national security, and support for Israel.
home US 110 jihadis linked to ISIS have been arrested or killed in the U.S. since 2014 - terrorism expert

Sebastian Gorka, a national security expert, said that at least 110 terrorists with links to ISIS have been apprehended or killed in the U.S. over the past two years.

Gorka reported the figures during a panel discussion titled "Jihad in America" at the Values Voters Summit. He began by asking the audience if they felt safer no than they did on Sept. 10, 2001, to which the audience replied negatively.

Gorka recounted that he took part at a briefing at the National Counterterrorism Center in the Pentagon where it was revealed that ISIS affiliates are operating in more than 18 different countries all over the world.

"Two years ago, that number was seven. In 24 months, they have more than doubled their global expanse," Gorka said. "Not only that, it controls territory in different regions of the world," he added.

He pointed to a report that he and his wife published a week before the San Bernardino attack in December 2015. The report, titled "ISIS: The Threat to the United States," stated that 82 individuals who are linked to ISIS have been arrested by law enforcement in the U.S. since March 2014.

Gorka noted at the summit that the number had grown to 110. "Not 10, not 50, but 110, with the most recent being the arrest a couple of weeks ago in Virginia of an ISIS terrorist," he said. The report added that there have been over 250 people from the U.S. who have joined or tried to join ISIS.

Gorka criticized the U.S. government for omitting certain parts from the transcript of Omar Mateen's 911 call before attacking the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last June.

"When he said, 'Allahu Akbar, Allah is the greatest,' the Department of Justice decided that they will change the word 'Allah' in the transcript to 'God," Gorka said. "That's political interference in the intelligence cycle," he added.

In an interview with Breitbart, Gorka warned against promoting Vladimir Putin as a protector of Christianity. He argued that Putin is not aiding Syria to protect Christians or fight Islamic terrorism. He asserted that Putin is only trying to save the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For as far back as he can remember, Ralph Castagna has had a special affection for hand-crafting unusual wooden figures.

The Great Kills resident, now 87 years young, clearly recalls being alone during his formative years and having a lots of time to be focused and expand on his creativity. He explains since his brother is 14 years his junior, he basically grew up as an only child.

"I always had an imagination and loved to play with empty thin wooden match boxes," he told SILive this week.

Ralph's recounts his aunt had a home in Pompton Lakes, N.J., one that came replete with three huge barns, where Ralph and his cousins would romp playfully for hours and hours.

According to Ralph, one of his cousins who was just 6 years of age, was interested in airplanes. So much in fact, later in life his cousin would go on to become became an airplane pilot.

"I myself have been fooling around with miniature airplanes and military figures since I went into the service in 1947 after the end of World War II," Ralph said. "I have more than 1,000 military miniatures pieces, some of which I molded myself."

The collector points out that he also has molds in his possession, molds that at the time weren't even allowed to be sold to children, because they were said to ccause burns.

"When I visited Europe, I got to buy even more miniatures in London. You know England is big on military miniatures," he added.

When queried about storing his wares, Ralph is meticulous.

Most are stored in his basement, but he proudly displays a full array on a foot-wide window sills in his home -- with others arranged securely in boxes that are never even touched. Still others are exhibited on top of a wardrobe.

"Now I have macular degeneration," said Ralph, who's now somewhat limited, but who nonetheless created wooden soldiers more than a foot high in length down to some of several inches.

"My wife Teresa is afraid to touch them. But my daughter and I use soft, fluffy make up brushes to free them of dust," he said.

Ralph notes back when he lived in Brooklyn he sold some of his airplane and sailboat figures, so at one time there were even more in his hefty array.

Because Ralph enjoys zoning in on every last detail. He even sees fit to carefully hand paint his illustrious creations and has enumerable jars of paint to prove it.

Though Ralph's children aren't interested in honing his craft, his daughter, a retired teacher, did inherit her dad's creative gene.

"I could tinker for hours with my hobby and will continue to make things until I die. I also make birdhouses and shoe shine boxes, some hand-carved and others with an sabre electric saw. And because I still have an imagination some even rotate," he points out with a gratifying smile.

In closing says Ralph: "I have three soldiers that are my favorites that I want buried with me. They're 51 years old and they're going to go with me when I go."

CELEBRATIONS: SEPT. 15

Happy birthday Thursday to Brian J. Laline, executive editor of the Advance, who shares a birthday with Rose Miranda, Anna Pallotta and Danny Lemmen.

Happy wedding anniversary Thursday to Narcy and Jess Santos.
home US Black Pentecostals won't vote for Hillary Clinton because she's a woman, black pastor claims

Darrell Scott, senior pastor of New Spirit Revival Center, posted a series of tweets last week claiming that African-Americans who identify as Apostolic Pentecostals will not vote for Clinton because of her gender.

The Cleveland pastor suggested that some black Apostolics will reject Clinton because they do not believe that women should be allowed to take on leadership roles.

One of the tweets read, "MILLIONS of Black Apostolic's don't believe in Women Pastors...much LESS Women PRESIDENTS. They will never vote for Hillary!"

"Some Traditional Black Apostolic Denominations do not believe Women should be in leadership, and will NEVER vote for a Woman to be President," Scott wrote in another tweet.

Scott reiterated the statements during an interview with CNN and cited I Timothy 2:12 from the New Testament. The verse read, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."

He noted that some apply the verse only to the Church but he claimed that he had conversations with Apostolics who refuse to elect a female president.

Bishop Joel Trout of Harvesttime Apostolic Ministries argued that the Apostolic Church has made some changes so it now allows women to serve as pastors and bishops. He estimated that about 75 up to 80 percent of its members are women.

Trout indicated that he is not supporting Clinton but he maintained that gender is not an issue.

"Last year, April of 2015, at a women's international or worldwide summit, she declared that the Church needs to change its views on abortion. That, to me, is more dangerous than her gender," Trout told CNN.

Scott acknowledged that there are still many Apostolics who fear backlash from African-Americans if they support Trump publicly. He claimed to have spoken privately with high profile personalities who would vote for Trump.

Earlier this month, Scott revealed that Trump was provided with some questions in preparation for the interview with Bishop Wayne T. Jackson during the candidate's visit to the Great Faith International Ministries church in Detroit.
home World Christians are fleeing from refugee camps in Iraq, reports archbishop

Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said that many Christian families are fleeing from the camps in Iraq. The archbishop reported that the number of Christian families in the camps has been reduced from 120,000 to 100,000.

Three members of the British Parliament (MP), along with Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need, recently made a trip to Erbil, Iraq, to learn more about the situation of the refugees in the region.

During the visit, Warda spoke about the lack of support from the Iraqi government and expressed his gratitude to the charities. He urged the visitors tell others about the situation of Christians in Iraq.

"We rely on you telling the story of the situation and the importance of Christians remaining, so that the Christians can help be a bridge between the different groups," the archbishop said.

Jim Shannon, MP for Strangford, said that his visit to the camps was a humbling experience.

"It was illuminating, it was heartening, it was humbling," Shannon said. "For me, it was an opportunity to see in some places a very thriving Church, and in other places a very persecuted Church, to meet some of those who had to flee with only the shirt on their backs as Daesh (ISIS) descended upon them to do their worst," he added.

The other MPs who joined the trip were Chris Green, MP for Bolton West, and Mark Menzies, MP for Fylde.

Warda told the delegates that his priorities are to provide food, housing and medical facilities for displaced families. He also mentioned that the families are in need of pastoral and spiritual support.

The MPs were also able to witness an ordination ceremony at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ankawa. One of the newly ordained priests, Fr. Martin Banni, decided to remain in Iraq even after his family had gone back home.

Chaldean Church Patriarch Raphael Sako saw the ordination as a sign of hope that the refugees will return to Iraq. "Father Martin should be a model of Christ a of courage and sacrifice," said Sako.

Warda asserted that the U.S. government should be responsible for helping the displaced Christians because of its role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
home US Democrats 'whispering' about replacing Hillary Clinton after pneumonia, says Cokie Roberts

Journalist Cokie Roberts created a stir when she asserted that Democrats are "nervously begginning to whisper" about finding a replacement for Hillary Clinton after she abruptly left the Sept. 11 memorial service on Sunday.

Clinton was seen stumbling into a van and being carried off by secret service agents. It was later on revealed that she was diagnosed with pneumonia two days before the event. Clinton's campaign team stated that the episode was caused by "overheating."

Clinton was seen waving to photographers later that day. She canceled a fundraising trip to California to recover.

Roberts noted that people are not happy with the lack of transparency in Clinton's campaign.

"It was hours before the pneumonia diagnosis was revealed, after seeing this incredibly damaging video of her being helped and stumbling into a van," Roberts said on the Morning Edition. "And, look, there's a reason why the campaign's not transparent. Obviously, it gives Trump ammunition. And he's been setting her up for this for months," she added.

She suggested that Trump knew that Clinton would eventually become exhausted during the campaign period. Roberts stated that Democrats are becoming uneasy because of the cancelations of Clinton's trips.

"It has them very nervously beginning to whisper about find - having her step aside and finding another candidate," Roberts said referring to Clinton's party.

Roberts claimed that the Democrats are now looking at Joe Biden to replace Clinton as a candidate.

Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist, believed the mainstream media downplayed Hillary Clinton's health issues.

She said, "You had major media openly dismissing it. CNN said that Hillary Clinton's health was fine." Hemingway added, "And last week, The Washington Post ran a piece saying, can we please stop talking about Hillary Clinton's health?"

In a phone interview with CNBC, Donald Trump wished for Clinton's recovery and recalled her coughing fit a week ago. Trump said that he himself will be taking a physical exam and will release the results soon after.
home Faith Pastor of Cross Point Church Pete Wilson resigns after 14 years, citing fatigue and brokenness as reasons

Pete Wilson, founding pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, announced that he is stepping down as senior pastor after 14 years. During his Sunday sermon, the 42-year-old told the congregation that he can no longer lead the church and stated that his resignation is for the best interest of Cross Point.

"Leaders who lead on empty don't lead well and for some time now I've been leading on empty. And so I believe that the best thing for me to do is to step aside from Cross Point and so I am officially resigning as the pastor of Cross Point Church," Wilson declared.

He went on to tell his flock that he needs their prayers.

"I really need your prayers and I need your support. We've said that this is a church where it's OK to not be okay, and I'm not okay. I'm tired. I'm broken, and I just need some rest," he continued.

Wilson has expressed his optimism for the future of Cross Point and stated that he trusts in the ability of the church elders and leaders to move the church forward.

The board elders said in a statement that Wilson's resignation was solely his decision. They indicated that they tried to persuade him not to resign but the pastor was truly determined to take a break.

Church members are still optimistic in light of Wilson's resignation. Sarah Patton, a member who began attending services in 2010, stated that she is shocked by the announcement but she still has high hopes for Cross Point's future.

"The church isn't built on Pete.The church is built on Jesus," Patton said.

Wilson started Cross Point Church in 2002 with the help of his wife, Brandi. The church started with a small group meeting at Gower Elementary in Bellevue. In 2013, it was named as one of the fastest growing churches in America with almost 7,500 people attending its services weekly.
home US US presidential polls 2016 latest update: Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump by 4 points - Reuters/IPSOS poll

The latest results in the Reuters/IPSOS poll show Hillary Clinton leading against Trump by 4.7 points at 37.7 to 34 percent.

On Sept. 9, both candidates were almost tied, with Trump leading only by a small fraction at 36 to 35.9 percent. A poll conducted by the LA Times shows that Trump is leading by 4 points at 46.7 to 42 percent.

The election forecast by FiveThirtyEight shows that Clinton has a 64.2 percent chance of winning the elections as opposed to Trump with 35.8 percent. The forecast predicts that Clinton will get 297.1 electoral votes and 46.4 percent of the popular vote. It predicted that Trump will get 240.4 electoral votes and 43.6 percent of the popular vote.

Most of the other forecasts predict that Clinton would win the presidency. The Upshot forecast shows that Clinton has a 78 percent chance of winning while Trump only has 22 percent. Clinton got 77 percent from the forecast by DailyKos. She got 71 percent from PredictWise while Princeton predicted that she has a 89 percent chance of winning the elections.

Upshot contends that Florida is crucial for Trump. "The big demographic threat to the Republican Party isn't a 'blue' Texas or Arizona or Georgia, but the possibility that Florida will follow Nevada and New Mexico to the left. It's extremely hard for a Republican to win the presidency without Florida's 29 electoral votes," reported the New York Times.

According to an NBC poll, Trump and Clinton are tied in four battleground states. Trump leads by one point at 42 to 41 percent in Arizona. In Georgia, Trump leads by three points at 46 to 43. In Nevada, Clinton leads by 1 point at 45 to 44. In New Hampshire, Clinton leads at 42 to 41 percent.

The first presidential debate will be held on Monday, Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. It will be moderated by Lester Holt from NBC Nightly News.
home US Virginia Supreme Court takes case against Fairfax County School Board anti-discrimination policy

The Virginia Supreme Court has decided to take a case against the Fairfax County School Board regarding its anti-discrimination policies. The conservative non-profit organization Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit against the school board after it included "gender identity," "gender expression" and "sexual orientation" to its policy and student handbook.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, presented his arguments before a three-judge panel to persuade the Virginia Supreme Court to take the case. The lawsuit was previously dismissed by a circuit court citing that the case must be filed within 30 days of the school board's action.

The Liberty Counsel cited "Dillon's Rule," which applies to Virginia, to make its case against the school board's policy. Under "Dillon's Rule," local policies regarding discrimination cannot be stricter than state law. The state law does not include the newly added policies of the school board.

Staver argued that "Dillon's Rule" cannot be limited to 30 days because the school board can pass policies during summer break when no one is present to challenge the new rules.

Staver is pleased by the Supreme Court's decision to take the case.

"This is very good news that the Virginia Supreme Court decided to grant the appeal and will now review the case," said Staver. "The Fairfax Country School Board's lawless act of adding 'gender identity, expression and sexual orientation' to the local policy violates state law and harms children," he continued.

"The fact that the Virginia Supreme Court decided to take up this case should be a warning to other local Virginia school boards and government bodies to back away from following the path of Fairfax County," he added.

Staver is representing an underage student and his parents who are using the pseudonyms Jack, John and Jane Doe. Andrea Lafferty, president of the Traditional Values Coalition, is also listed as one of the plaintiffs.

The Fairfax County School Board included "sexual orientation" to its anti-discrimination policy in late 2014. The board added "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the policy less than a year later.
Church attendance has risen since Fr Jacques Hamel's murder, says Archbishop

The number of people attending mass in the area where Father Jacques Hamel was murdered has increased since his death, said the Archbishop of Rouen.

The Catholic priest whose throat was slit as he celebrated mass on July 26 was declared a "martyr" by Pope Francis on Wednesday, strongly implying he will one day become a saint. Archbishop Dominique Lebrun, who oversees the small town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray where Fr Hamel was killed, said fear had spread throughout France after the attack.

But he added mass attendance had gone up since the two young men who claimed allegiance to ISIS stormed into the service and killed the priest.

"There is fear [in France], without a doubt," he said after a meeting with Pope Francis on Wednesday.

"A week ago, I met with the vicars of the diocese and everyone told me that some people phoned asking if there was mass, if they could go, if there [was] a risk.

"At the same time, more people are at mass. On a psychological level, there is fear, but on a deep level in the soul, there is strength."

The Archbishop celebrated mass with the Pope and around 80 Catholics from Rouen who had made the trip to Rome. Francis delivered a direct homily where he repeatedly said Hamel had been martyred.

"He accepted his martyrdom there on the altar," the Pope said. "He is a martyr and martyrs are beatified."

Beatification is the first major step towards canonisation and sainthood within the Catholic Church so the remarks strongly indicate Pope Francis intends to make Hamel a saint.

Usually a miracle has to be attributed to someone before they are beatified but that is not always the case if they have been martyred. The normal procedures for becoming a saint can also be accelerated or waived by the Pope if he deems them particularly significant.
Church becomes first Birmingham organisation to sponsor family of Syrian refugees

Birmingham's Methodist Church has become the first organisation in the city to take advantage of the government's community sponsorship scheme for Syrian refugees, by sponsoring a family of four as they settle into the city.

The family is among 500 Syrian refugees that Birmingham is committed to receiving over the next five years. Fifty have arrived in the city so far.

A year ago, the government committed to taking in 20,000 Syrian refugees across the UK, and in July the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Home Secretary Amber Rudd launched the sponsorship scheme.

Under the scheme, organisations can provide accommodation and support to refugees. Lambeth Palace became the first organisation in the country to house a group of Syrian refugees.

Methodist minister the Rev David Butterworth told the Birmingham Mail: "We hope that this family will be the first of many fleeing wars and horrors abroad that the Church can provide with sanctuary and love.

"We will be working alongside Birmingham City Council and the Home Office to provide support for further families and encouraging other organisations to join the Community Sponsorship scheme.

"To be able to provide a safe welcome to a refugee family is a wonderful privilege. The Methodist Church has worked very closely with Birmingham City Council to arrive at this point.

"We have also been supported greatly by Citizens UK, and by the National Refugee Welcome Board and locally encouraged by the Progressive Jewish Community and Sisters of Mercy Birmingham and not least by the Home Office."

In order to sponsor refugees organisations must have status as a registered charity or community interest company, the consent of the local authority and a comprehensive plan for resettlement.

Government immigration minister Robert Goodwill said: "I am delighted that the Methodist Church are taking part in the scheme, with the full support of Birmingham City Council, and I wholeheartedly encourage other organisations that can help to offer their support."

The government's Help Refugees in the UK website is designed to make it easier for members of the public to get involved. Users can select from a range of options including making donations for baby equipment, food and clothes.

Resettled families under the scheme will be granted humanitarian protection, meaning they can stay in the UK for a period of five years.

All Syrian refugees being resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme have been through what the Home Office called a "thorough" vetting process.

Birmingham's Labour cabinet member for communities, Waseem Zaffar, said: "At this stage we are treating this as a pilot scheme as we need to monitor how this works before committing to further sponsorship applications, but this is a great first step. What is happening in Syria is a human catastrophe and it is only right that we do all we can to offer shelter to people fleeing for their lives, something Birmingham has a proud history of. We will continue to work with partners to ensure refugees coming to Birmingham are settled and able to integrate into the city and start a new life here."
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In light of the suspicions hanging over Donald Trump and Pam Bondi, the Florida attorney general, this opening quote from her Republican National Convention speech is particularly rich. Nov. 8 is a day of reckoning for all those who have abused their power, she said. Winning this election means reclaiming something to which Ive dedicated my entire career: the rule of law.

While it hasnt been proved that Mr. Trump or Ms. Bondi violated bribery law, theres little doubt that they abused the public trust in 2013, when Ms. Bondi received a $25,000 campaign contribution from Mr. Trump four days after her office announced that Florida was reviewing the allegations in a lawsuit filed in New York against his Trump University. Attorneys general in New York and California are pursuing separate class-action suits alleging that Trump University bilked consumers of tens of thousands of dollars they each paid for a worthless real-estate investment course. In the end, Ms. Bondis office did not take any action against Trump University.

Mr. Trumps contribution from his family foundation to Ms. Bondi violated federal tax law barring tax-exempt charities from engaging in political activity. The Washington Post reported last week that Mr. Trump paid a $2,500 penalty to the Internal Revenue Service for the violation.

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News of the fine came as Mr. Trump has spent days accusing Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation of similar pay-to-play schemes. Confronted on Monday, Mr. Trump said oddly that he hadnt spoken to Ms. Bondi. The Associated Press reported in June that an adviser to Ms. Bondi confirmed that Ms. Bondi had spoken to Mr. Trump and asked for the contribution.

Mr. Trump has made a point of saying that hes in the habit of buying politicians. He said in July 2015, When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do. And during a Republican debate the next month, he said: I was a businessman. I give to everybody. When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them, two years later, three years later, I call them, and they are there for me. In Iowa in January, he said : When I call, they kiss my ass. O.K.?

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Ms. Bondis office did not respond when asked for an explanation of why she would accept a $25,000 donation from Mr. Trump just days after her office announced that it was reviewing New Yorks allegations against him.

The Florida allegations are not the first of their kind. In 2013 and 2014, Mr. Trump gave a total of $35,000 to the campaign of Greg Abbott, Texas attorney general, now the states governor. In 2010, Mr. Abbotts office had dropped its investigation of Trump University. A 2014 series in The Times recounted in detail how many attorneys general, including Ms. Bondi, accepted travel, luxury accommodations and other perks from corporations targeted by their offices. This behavior is practically built into a campaign finance system in which nearly limitless cash engulfs both parties.

If Ms. Bondi promised to back off the Trump University suit in exchange for campaign money during that 2013 phone conversation, it could be a crime. As for Mr. Trump, the $2,500 I.R.S. fine is a tiny penalty, unless voters impose consequences of their own.
'Homeland' season 6 spoilers: 'Nurse Jackie' alum Dominic Fumusa to play new FBI agent

Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) will find herself working with a new FBI special agent when "Homeland" returns for season 6.

Variety exclusively revealed that "Nurse Jackie" alum Dominic Fumusa had been tapped to portray the role of FBI Special Agent Ray Conlin in the upcoming season of the critically lauded serial political thriller.

Yet aside from the character's name, Showtime has yet to release other information about Fumusa's role in the series. The number of episodes that he will appear in is also undetermined at the moment.

Fumusa will join Elizabeth Marvel and former "Prison Break" star Robert Knepper as the new cast members of the show. Marvel will portray the role of the president-elect of the United States, Elizabeth Keane, while Knepper will portray the recurring role of Department of Defense representative General Jamie McClendon.

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom revealed that Showtime is looking to cast several Israeli actors to portray various roles in the series.

According to the report, the Golden Globe-winning TV drama will introduce two female Mossad agents who disguise themselves as call girls, a Mossad technician, a Palestinian police officer, an Emirati cab driver, and an Iranian entrepreneur when the series returns for its sixth season.

The report also mentioned that the scenes that will feature the Israeli actors will be shot in Morocco from Oct. 14 to 21.

The plot for "Homeland" season 6 revealed that Carrie will return to the US from Berlin. According to the synopsis posted by Indie Wire, "Season six picks up several months later and finds Carrie Mathison back on American soil, living in Brooklyn, New York. She has begun working at a foundation whose efforts are to provide aid to Muslims living in the U.S. Season 6 will tackle the after-effects of the U.S. presidential election, with the entire season taking place between election day and the inauguration."

"Homeland" season 6 returns on Showtime on Sunday, January 15, 2017.
Human rights watchdog warns of worsening climate of Christian persecution in Egypt

The government in Egypt is signalling that Christians can be attacked "with impunity" because of a new law that discriminates against the religious minority, human rights advocates are warning.

The new law, published by Al-Youm al-Sabaa, allows local authorities to forbid new church buildings and requires any new churches that are built to be "commensurate with" the number of Christians in the area.

It is also feared that the law's security provisions effectively sanction mob decisions against Christians.

Christian Today reported in August that the new law was being heavily criticised by the Coptic Christian community.

Now Human Rights Watch (HRW) is warning that the law discriminates against the increasingly-beleagured Christian minority in Egypt.

There have been a number of recent incidents of mob attacks against Christians that have left one person dead, several injured, and properties destroyed.

Some of these incidents came in the context of Muslim anger about alleged church building. One recent YouTube video from a village near Alexandria showed people in the streets chanting: "We don't want a church."

"Even when authorities have made arrests, they have rarely prosecuted suspects, creating a climate of impunity for violent crimes that target Christians," said HRW.

Deputy Middle East director Joe Stork said: "Many Egyptians hoped that governments would respect and protect freedom of religion, including for Christians, after the 2011 uprising. Instead, the authorities are ignoring the underlying systemic issues and sending a message that Christians can be attacked with impunity."

Most Christians in Egypt are Coptic Orthodox and they are believed to make up between six and ten per cent of the 93 million population.

Egypt's constitution stipulates freedom of religion for Islam, Christianity, and Judaism but not for any other faith.
Iraq after the peace: Will Christians ever be safe again?

Iraq is a mess. (Syria, if anything, is worse.) Millions of people have been displaced from their homes, and in spite of the panic in Europe's capitals about the number of refugees pressing across their borders, most of them are still in the region. They are in Jordan and Lebanon or in camps in (relatively) safe parts of Iraq. They don't want to go to Europe or America, they want to go home. But even when the fighting stops  as it will  what will a new Iraq look like? Who will be in charge, and how will the safety of minorities be assured?

I don't understand. Islamic State can't last much longer, can't everyone just go home?

In many cases there just isn't a home to go to. The destruction in some parts of Iraq has been total. But there have also been terrible acts of violence committed against Christians and other minorities, like the Yazidis, who are understandably very frightened about going home. In some cases they were attacked by outsider extremists, but sometimes it was their own neighbours who turned on them. There are serious fears that a statistically meaningful Christian presence in the Middle East might simply come to an end.

That would be terribly sad. What's the answer?

There is no simple answer, but one that seems to be getting some traction is the idea of a new province, created in the Nineveh Plain which is the heartland of the old Christian community. It would provide a refuge and safe space for Iraq's Christians where they could live in peace alongside other minorities like the Yazidis. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska introduced a bi-partisan bill into the US House of Representatives on Friday calling for it.

Isn't it up to the Iraqis to decide how to run their own country?

Indeed, and the bill calls on the US and the international community to "support the Republic of Iraq and its people to recognize a province in the Nineveh Plain region, consistent with lawful expressions of self-determination by its indigenous peoples".

It's still none of the US's business, though?

Strictly speaking, no, though it is still heavily involved in Iraq and has a fair bit of diplomatic leverage. And to do Fortenberry and others credit, at least they're thinking about what comes next.

Any support from actual Iraqis?

Yes, actually. The idea of designating the Nineveh Plain as a separate province actually originated in Iraq in 2014.There's also an effective and well-informed pressure group, A Demand For Action, which "seeks the protection of the indigenous people and minorities of the Middle East, and to create a meaningful place for them in their ancestral homelands". It's backing this, and its spokesman Steve Oshana told Christian Today: "The Nineveh Plain represents an unbroken link to our ancestors, we have continously inhabited that land from the very first days of civilization and we will always stand for our people's right to live freely in our ancestral homeland."

The Assyrian Confederation is also behind it. Its spokesman Afram Yakoub told Christian Today: "The introduced bill in the US Congress is a way to put pressure on Iraqi leaders and to help put the issue on the political agenda in the West." He also stressed it wasn't just about creating a Christian homeland: "The Nineveh plain is home to several different ethnic groups each with their own religion and the aim is to empower all these vulnerable minorities by creating the Nineveh Plain province."

There doesn't seem to be a downside, then.

Not so fast. It's probably true that the creation of a separate homeland for minorities, which is effectively what's being proposed, might mean that Christians, Yazidis and others would feel more secure. That is not a small consideration. But it also means tacitly accepting that Christianity might disappear from the rest of Iraq and be concentrated in a much smaller area. The centuries of co-existence, patchy and occasionally hostile as it sometimes was, would come to an end, and Christianity would be ghettoised in a small area. In a time when much of the world is getting used to living alongside people of different faiths, it seems like a backward step. At its worst, it might further entrench the sort of divisions between peoples that made the war possible in the first place. But as Oshana told Christian Today: "We've already been driven from the rest of the country over the years. The Nineveh Plain is in a way a last stand to maintain our presence in Iraq."

So perhaps two cheers?

Perhaps two cheers. Anything that would give Christians and other minorities more security has got to be a good thing. But if it puts up walls rather than pulling them down, it's a pity.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
Is Tim Kaine right about Genesis endorsing homosexual acts?

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine, who is a devout Roman Catholic, raised a lot of eyebrows during the Human Rights Campaign's annual Washington D.C. dinner after he said that the Catholic church might one day change its stance against same-sex marriage.

Commenting on this, Christian radio host Dr. Michael Brown says he is not a Catholic, so he cannot predict what the church will be like in five to 50 years. But "what I can say with certainty is that Sen. Kaine's use of Genesis 1 to buttress his support of LGBT activism amounts to scriptural malpractrice," he writes for The Christian Post.

Kaine said the Catholic Church's anti-LGBT stance might change since in the first chapter of Genesis, God surveyed the entire world and remarked, "It is very good."

"Who am I to challenge God for the beautiful diversity of the human family? I think we're supposed to celebrate it, not challenge it," Kaine said.

But Brown says Kaine is wrong because it is actually in Genesis 1 that God stressed gender distinction. God created male and female, and nothing else. It is also in Genesis 1, adds Brown, that God commanded His creation to "be fruitful and multiply." Only heterosexuals can do this, and this is why no homosexual couple has ever been blessed by God to procreate by themselves.

"This sets the pattern for the rest of the Bible, where the only marital relationships blessed by God, without exception, are heterosexual, with the male and female being uniquely designed for one another biologically, emotionally, and spiritually," says Brown.

As for God saying that the world was "very good," Brown argues that God's assessment "very good" was made before His creation allowed sin to taint the world, and it does not include sexual immorality.

"It is the senator who must change, not the Word of God," says Brown.
ISIS 'sows death' with mines on the Nineveh Plain as it runs from government forces

Retreating Islamic State terrorists are sowing yet more death in Iraq by planting mines as they flee from encroaching government forces.

The Iraqi government is taking back increasing amounts of land from ISIS, allowing Christians and others to return to their traditional terrorities on the Nineveh plains.

But schools and cities cannot be rebuilt without a massive programme to remove the many hundreds of explosive devices mined into the land, according to the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church.

Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako said the jihadists are continuing "to sow death with mines and explosive devices" as they retreat, Agenzia Fides reports.

He said that before returning to and rebuilding "our beloved city" of the Nineveh Plain, it will be necessary to remove the mines.

Iraqi forces are expected to attempt to retake Mosul, the main ISIS stronghold in Iraq, next month. US and other humanitarian agencies are waiting in the wings to step in with the massive humanitarian aid that will be needed to help the recovery and resettlement the city after it is recaptured.

"The jihadists of Daesh, even when they pull back, they continue to sow death with mines and explosive devices," said Sako.

He has already asked the French organisation Fraternite en Irak to de-mine the first two Nineveh villages to be freed. "It is more pleasant to build schools or clinics", said Sako in his report to Agenzia Fides, "but nothing can be rebuilt if the clearing of land mines is not carried out."
Kenya pressuring refugees to leave against their will, claims human rights group

Kenya is coercing Somalian refugees out of the Dadaab refugee camp and back to their own country against their will, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.

The repatriation of those in the Dadaab camp fails to meet the international standards for voluntary return, the campaign group claims, with thousands making the journey because they fear being forced out.

Rather than being offered a choice, refugees told HRW in August they were intimidated by the government into leaving and were given no option to stay. Inhabitants of the camp were also told they would forfeit a $400 United Nations grant if they left later than this year.

The claims come after the Kenyan government announced they would speed up repatriation of Somalian refugees and close the Dadaab camp  a move the Somalian government agreed with. Kenyan officials then stepped up a voluntary repatriation scheme, which HRW claim is more coerced than optional.

"The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn't giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia," said Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at HRW. "There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary."

HRW says that coercion to return could be a breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The Dadaab camp was first set up 1991 for families fleeing conflict and many of the 263,000 Somalis there arrived more than 20 years ago. It is comprised of five camps and has become a commercial hub in the region, with make-shift cinemas, businesses, schools and hospitals.

Christian clergy and humanitarian workers previously warned the closure of the camp could cause a humanitarian crisis, and called on the Kenyan government to treat the refugees facing expulsion with dignity.
MPs condemn 'scandal' of UK failure over FGM

The failure of British authorities to bring one successful prosecution for female genital mutilation in more than 30 years is a "national scandal", MPs said today.

British parliamentarians said in a report that they were "alarmed" by the lack of prosecutions and to learn that some clinicians were ignoring the legal duty to report cases to the police with some seeming to regard the duty as "optional".

"We are dismayed that there have been no convictions for FGM-related offences," said Tim Loughton, interim chair of the Home Affairs Committee responsible for the report.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been a criminal offence in Britain since 1985 and new legislation in 2003 introduced a jail term of up to 14 years for British citizens carrying out FGM abroad, even in countries where it is legal.

Last year the government made it compulsory for teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses and midwives to report FGM with campaigners fearing many cases are going unnoticed because they happen at a young age and abroad.

FGM involves the total or partial removal of the clitoris and external genitalia. In extreme cases the vaginal opening is sewn closed. It can cause serious physical and psychological problems and complications in childbirth.

Official data released in July showed that a total of 5,700 new FGM cases in England were recorded in 2015-16, but only a small number of women had been cut in Britain.

In the first case of its kind in Britain, a doctor accused of stitching up a new mother was acquitted by a UK court last year after he argued his actions were in the best interest of a patient with severe bleeding.

Stronger sanctions

The committee recommended stronger sanctions for failing to meet the mandatory reporting responsibility, noting that prosecutions would remain unlikely without them, since daughters rarely report their parents to the police themselves.

A UNICEF report last year found the number of victims of FGM was 70 million higher than previously thought, at around 200 million girls and women around the world.

The data is from analysis of 30 countries, including Indonesia, where FGM is prevalent despite the practice being illegal since 2006.

The statistics found that women in Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia account for half of all FGM victims worldwide, while Somalia has the highest percentage of women and girls aged between 15-49 having been cut, at 98 per cent.

The practice is much less common in the UK, although exact data is lacking. A study estimated in 2011 that about 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales had been subjected to FGM.

"[These numbers] are still just the tip of the iceberg," Mary Wandia of Equality Now, a women's rights charity, told Reuters.

The committee advised the government to look at the example set by France, where prosecutions for FGM have been more successful, saying there was a "strong case" for a system of routine medical examinations akin to the French model.

The government's aim is to eliminate FGM "within a generation" with the previous government of David Cameron introducing powers to prosecute parents who fail to prevent their daughters being cut.

The committee welcomed these measures, but criticised the government for providing insufficient resources to charities and campaigning groups devoted to tackling the issue.

"The committee's review highlights the immense amount of work that still needs to be done in preventing FGM in our own communities up and down the country," the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said in an email.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
Pastors violating transgender law could find themselves behind bars for up to 30 days in Massachusetts

In the U.S. state of Massachusetts, even a sign in a church that says, "This Bathroom is for Biological Women Only" could subject the pastor of that church to up to 30 days in jail.

The warning came from the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) following the passage of a new anti-discrimination law that will take effect in the state this October.

"The law bootstraps the idea of gender identity onto existing Civil Rights laws," MFI President Andrew Beckwith told Charisma News.

He said under the new law, a sign in a church bathroom specifying that it is only for the use of biological women would be treated the same as if the sign had said "Whites Only."

The law does not specifically mention churches or houses of worship. However, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey pointed out that the places of public accommodation where the ban on sexual discrimination will be implemented include: "auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls, houses of worship and other places of public gathering."

Moreover, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the commission responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination law, stated that "even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public."

"All persons, regardless of gender identity, shall have the right to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation," the commission added.

The MFI seeks to repeal the law, warning that pastors and parishioners could find themselves in serious legal trouble once the new legislation takes effect.

Beckwith is urging churches to join their campaign to repeal the law.

"If the church doesn't defend itself from these attacks on religious liberty, they are going to cease having the ability to make the pastoral decisions they need to be able to make," he said.
Pete Greig: Three books that have changed my life

When Pete Greig walks into the room, people take notice. He has an intensity about him despite his relaxed demeanor and casual dress. Today we are meeting in a converted dance studio near the centre of Guildford which is the current home of the Emmaus Church community, founded by Greig and his wife Sammy. He's wearing a brown shirt and jeans, and his round plastic-rimmed glasses, leather satchel and salt-and-pepper beard give him a distinguished appearance. Couple that with a classic 1964 Morris Minor convertible and it gives the distinct impression that Greig was a hipster before hipsters existed. There's very little pretense about the man who's disarming smile puts everyone at ease, and it doesn't take long before jokes are being cracked and the whole room is laughing.

But it is contagious praying that Greig is best known for. He is the founder of the 24-7 prayer movement, which is now an international, interdenominational movement of prayer, mission and justice working in more than half the countries in the world. 24-7 is helping people in more than 12,700 locations to encounter God and engage with the needs of the world. The movement was birthed out of a vision Greig received from God on the same day as the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Unusually, Pete is not here to talk about prayer, however  instead, his focus is books. But how does he makes time to read when he has a frantic global travel schedule and is leading a church, writing books and speaking everywhere from Holy Trinity Brompton's Focus conference to the 24-7 global gathering in Switzerland?

Pete explains: "Reading isn't really about reading, it's about 'do we want to learn?' To learn from those who perhaps know more than us; who have done things that we'll never do. So if we are not making time to read books or listen to books, or read them on whatever platform, then we are missing out on growing in our own thinking and our own discipleship. If you're too busy to read a book then you probably are too busy. Because you're going to truncate your own spiritual development and if you're too busy for that then you're going to be a bonsai tree  you're going to be a mini version of the person you are created to be."

This turn of phrase captured my imagination. I must admit I like the intricate details of a Bonsai tree, and the incredible perseverance and skill it takes to grow them so perfectly. I once visited a Bonsai arboretum in Singapore and found their miniature beauty quite captivating. But Pete is using this comparison in the negative sense  we will only be a fraction of what God wants us to be if we don't read. The Bible talks often about big trees: the one that grows from a tiny mustard seed giving shelter to birds. Or the "oaks of righteousness" that are restored to joy from mourning in Zion. There is a sense of scale and security that these great trees bring to a landscape. I like the idea that investing in reading is making sure that we can become a thriving and flourishing tree, firmly rooted in the deep and rich things of God.

Pete goes on further: "It's important to learn from others. It's important to have time to reflect. It's important to engage with those who disagree with us and can stimulate our neural pathways. Reading is proven to be one of the most effective ways of doing that. So it's really important that we don't lose the art, the discipline, and the science of engaging with the written word. It's a key to our discipleship."

The idea that reading is reprogramming our synapses reminds me of a book by Nicholas Carr called The Shallows. He argues that our always-on instant-messaging culture, together with our our shortening attention spans from constant over-stimulation, are rewiring our minds to make it more difficult for us to read deeply. So Pete's idea that investment in reading is going to train our brains to fight back against this is a powerful one. But more than that, he sees it as a fundamental aspect of our discipleship  and therefore an important spiritual discipline.

I challenge Pete to identify the three books that have most impacted his life. It's a struggle for him to restrict himself to three and he sneaks in an extra one; you'll have to watch the video below to find out which one it is. But here are his thoughts on his top three:

1. One of my favourite books that I read as a teenager is Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. It's a very old book  it came out in 1948.

But it's extraordinary because I think this is really the book that gave me a social conscience. Something came alive in me as I read the descriptions of South Africa... This was published a few months before apartheid was institutionalised, and you see where it came from; the massive unfairness and the divisions along racial lines. And of course this book is possibly even more prophetic now post-apartheid. There's this amazing line where the hero, who is a black South African, says this: "I have one great fear in my heart that one day when they (that's the whites) are turned to loving they will find that we are turned to hating."

So this is a book about social justice but also reconciliation. And I think it switched on the neural pathways for me and made me realise that as a human and a Christian I must care about the poor, about injustice and about the walls that we build to divide us.

2. One of the most important books for me as I was starting out in Christian leadership was by Richard Foster called Streams of Living Water.

It's not his best known book  his best known book is probably Celebration of Discipline. But I think it's seminal because he traces all the different types of church down the ages  the liberation stream, the charismatic stream, the evangelical stream, the liturgical stream. And he shows how each one of them has an essential message, an essential contribution, to the whole that is the body of Christ. And he traces the history; the historical characters. So, for example, the hero he uses of the charismatic tradition is not John Wimber  it's St Frances of Assissi. And so then what he does, and I think this is brilliant, is he says  "if this tradition, this stream, doesn't interface with the other streams this is where it goes wrong". For example evangelicalism becomes pharisaism, the liberation stream just becomes dead religion  social justice without any personal salvation and so on.

And so this is a brilliant summary of why as Christians we need to celebrate our differences, work together and enjoy the diversity of the church rather than feeling we've got to apologise for it. This was incredibly important in setting the DNA as 24-7 was beginning. We are working with everyone from the Salvation Army to the Catholics right around the world. And as I go and interact with other Christians, more and more I try to think not what's wrong with them but what's right with them, what can I learn from them. This book taught me to do that.

3. Right now I'm reading this book by Andy Crouch called Culture-Making.

It's been out a few years, everyone's been talking about it  I've just missed the party. But its brilliant because his thesis is that we've spent too long trying to relate to the culture, trying to be culturally relevant, even trying to change the world. And he says all of that is misguided.

What we need to do as Christians is make the culture with and for God.

And I love that thesis. Because ultimately the hope of the world isn't in us just having enough Christian teachers or enough Christian politicians. The hope of the world is that the people of God build communities that model the new kingdom in which different races, different ethnicities, different cultures, love one another across generations and across the divides. And show this is how we can do life. And so church isn't just some religious club. Church is us ganging up together to say: what could the world look like if Jesus is Lord and to do so in a way that others would look at us and go "Wow, that is the great unspoken dream of my life to be part of something like that." And evangelism and all those things are just a secondary result of us living in this way. This book talks intelligently and in a way that I think is important for the church about how we make culture. All authors think their book is important. But there aren't that many books that are really important. This book, I think, is an important message for the church at this time and I'm loving it. I don't agree with all of it  but that's half the fun of reading.

Inspired by Pete I went home and dusted off my copies of both Alan Paton and Andy Crouch, determined not to be a Bonsai believer.

Dr Krish Kandiah is the founding director of Home for Good and the executive producer of 'Books for Life', a new initiative to encourage the church to recapture reading as a spiritual discipline. Find out more at www.booksforlife.uk.
Trump slips back into old ways The Republican nominees attack on an African-American pastor shows his discipline is not rock solid.

Donald Trumps newfound commitment to message discipline and restraint showed some cracks on Thursday, with the Republican nominee attacking an African-American pastor who cut off his political speech in a Flint, Michigan, church.

"Well, I was in Flint yesterday and it was a very interesting experience and got unbelievably good treatment from people, I must say, and even in that audience, the treatment was great. But something was up because I noticed she was so nervous when she introduced me," Trump said in a telephone interview with "Fox & Friends," noting that the Bethel United Methodist Church pastor Faith Green Timmons "was so nervous, she was shaking" when she introduced him for his speech.

"I mean, everyone plays their games. It doesn't bother me, he said about her decision to interrupt him when Trump started attacking Hillary Clinton from the front of the church.

(Trump complied with the pastors request to stop going after Clinton, replying, "OK. That's good. Then I'm going back onto Flint, OK?")

Trumps slam on Green Timmons was a return to form, after the brash billionaire scorched through the Republican primary field with a steady delivery of incendiary comments about minorities, women and his GOP rivals.

Since elevating pollster Kellyanne Conway to be his campaign manager last month, Trump has been relatively restrained, generally sticking to the TelePrompTer at his speeches. He even initially refrained from delivering an I told you so when Clinton nearly collapsed after appearing at a 9/11 memorial service on Sunday. (Her campaign initially said she was overheated but later revealed that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.)

But on Wednesday night, Trump apparently couldnt resist, and again questioned Clintons stamina during a rally in Canton, Ohio.

"You think this is easy? In this beautiful room that is 122 degrees," Trump said, although the arena was notably chillier than his usual venues. "It is hot and it is always hot when I perform, because the crowds are so big, these rooms were not designed for this kind of crowd.

"I don't know folks, do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?" he asked.

During the two-part interview on Fox News on Thursday morning, Trump also offered an explanation about his willingness to be more transparent about his medical information to television host and doctor Mehmet Oz and more broadly, why he is talking about it in the first place.

"I did every test. I did it last week, and the samples all came back and I guess I wouldn't be talking to you right now if they were bad. If they were bad, I would say let's sort of skip this, right?" Trump said

The candidate was not asked, however, whether the same logic applied to his the release of his tax returns, for which Vice News filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the IRS earlier this week, demanding to see all documents dating back to 2002. Trump has said that he will not release any returns while they are under audit, as all documents from 2009 onward are, according to the campaign.

Critics have speculated that he doesn't want to reveal his level of charitable giving and how he may have taken advantage of loopholes to pay a low tax rate, or no taxes at all.

Even within his familiar confines of Fox & Friends, Trump faced down questions about what he would do about his businesses ties to foreign countries. The entanglements represent a lingering issue raised anew this week by a Newsweek report Wednesday suggesting that the Trump Organizations foreign ties could upend U.S. national security.

"Well I will sever connections and I'll have my children and my executives run the company," Trump said. "And I won't discuss it with them. It's just so unimportant compared to what we're doing about making America great again. I just wouldn't care. I guess you can say there's a conflict because as the company  country  gets stronger, that's good for all companies, right? But I wouldn't care. It's so unimportant compared to what I'm doing right now."

The businessman, who has repeatedly said he would place his assets in a blind trust managed by his children and executives, also said that if he were president, his companies would leave countries where sanctions were imposed.

I wouldn't be able to be involved and then nobody else is able to, but I don't think we have too many of those companies, quite frankly," Trump said. "It's a very interesting question. I would get out. I would get out of those countries."

Campaign surrogate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended Trumps approach the previous night on MSNBC.

I think, listen, the father and the children have a lot of things to talk about other than the business. They have grandchildren, many of them, Christie remarked. He's involved in every aspect of their life and they in his. And I think that these are professional smart people who will, as we can see with his tax returns, follow the advice of their lawyers and their accountants.

When host Brian Williams remarked that experts would not necessarily characterize the trust as blind, Christie volunteered that he has had a blind trust in the seven years since he became governor and has no knowledge of how his investments are performing, adding that he had absolute faith that Trumps children could run the business independently of their father.

I know what it was like when I went in seven years ago but lots of things will change, and in a dynamic business like the Trump Organization, a lot of those assets will change over the course of the time hes president, the New Jersey governor said. And if that wall is up and the trust is absolutely blind, he won't know how it's changed until he leaves the presidency and goes back to ask his kids what's happened over the past number of years. 

Trump's slippage in message discipline was not limited to him. Trumps children  who also serve as some of his chief surrogates  also offered up some unhelpful headlines.

Donald Trump Jr., responding to a question about the lack of disclosure on tax returns, suggested in a meeting of Tribune-Review editors and reporters on Wednesday that the release of his fathers would be a distraction.

Because he's got a 12,000-page tax return that would create  financial auditors out of every person in the country asking questions that would detract from (his father's) main message," Trump Jr. said.

That is a slightly different answer than his fathers repeated insistence that he would not release them while some are under audit from the IRS, specifically those from 2009 forward.

In a separate interview with a Philadelphia radio station Wednesday morning, Donald Trump Jr. lamented the media's treatment of his father's campaign, referencing the "gas chamber."

The media has been her number one surrogate in this. Without the media, this wouldnt even be a contest, but the media has built her up. Theyve let her slide on every indiscrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of this thing," he said. "If Republicans were doing that, theyd be warming up the gas chamber right now.

Both Trump and Trump Jr. have made similar comments in the past, with the candidate remarking in May that he would get "the electric chair" if he had, like former Mexican President Vicente Fox, used the F-word.

And speaking to Cosmopolitan.com to promote the campaigns new family leave plan, Ivanka Trump took issue with questioning about her fathers past comments pertaining to women.

My father obviously has a track record of decades of employing women at every level of his company, and supporting women, and supporting them in their professional capacity, and enabling them to thrive outside of the office and within, Ivanka Trump said. To imply otherwise is an unfair characterization of his track record and his support of professional women.

Pressed again on the 2004 comments in which her father called pregnancy an inconvenience for a person that is running a business, Trumps eldest daughter responded, Well, you said he made those comments. I don't know that he said those comments.

I think what I was  there's plenty of time for you to editorialize around this, but I think he put forth a really incredible plan that has pushed the boundaries of what anyone else is talking about, she remarked, according to the transcript, answering another question before telling interviewer Prachi Gupta, Im going to jump off, I have to run, I apologize.
Pope Francis: Church pastors must spend time with the poor

Pope Francis has spoken out against pastors who self-indulge and distance themselves from the sufferings of the poor, in his traditional midweek address in St Peter's square.

"Jesus was not a prince," said the Pontiff on September 14, the Catholic Herald reports. "It is awful for the Church when pastors become princes, far from the people, far from the poorest people. That is not the spirit of Jesus."

The Pope was giving his weekly address in the Vatican City, Rome.

In his address he quoted Matthew 11, where Jesus promises rest for those who labour and are burdened. In Christ, the Pope said, "they finally find the answer they have been waiting for."

The Pope further emphasised a call for Christians to be with those who are poor. Jesus was "a pastor who was among the people, among the poor," he said. "He worked every day with them." Pastors should thus imitate Jesus and not distance themselves from the needy. Neither should they burden their congregations with rules and regulations, instead encouraging people to find the will of God in Jesus.

The Pope said that Jesus called people to a path of "knowledge and imitation", as seen when Jesus called his followers to "learn from me."

The Pope went on: "The Lord teaches us to not be afraid to follow him, because we will not be disillusioned by placing hope in him. We are therefore called to learn from him what it means to live in mercy in order to be instruments of mercy."

This year is the Catholic Year of Mercy, a holy year in which many Catholic churches have been adorned with a Holy Door of Mercy. Through this door, pilgrims can pass as a symbol of their coming to the mercy of Christ.

The Pope said: "By passing through the Holy Door, we profess that love is present in the world and that this love is more powerful than any form of evil in which man and woman, humanity and the world are involved,"
Protecting religious freedom: How far should the law go?

Religious liberty is one of the biggest issues facing conservative Christians at the moment. In countries that are increasingly socially liberal, in which forms of behaviour and badges of identity that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago are now mainstream, how far should the law protect their ability to opt out?

Needless to say, it's sexuality and sexual issues that are the flashpoint. Should a Christian florist be free to refuse to provide flowers for a gay wedding? Should a Christian registrar be free to refuse to register one? Should they even be allowed at all?

Now an influential Washington committee has come up with what it presumably hoped was a constructive answer for US citizens. Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties was produced by the bi-partisan US Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR). It was originally scheduled to report in 2013 but the report's release was repeatedly delayed and even now two of its seven members have dissented from its conclusions.

The 306-page report contains an exhaustive analysis of how attempts to secure the maximum possible religious liberty and the maximum possible protection from discrimination have been fought out through the courts. It's pretty dense, but it concludes that religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws "significantly infringe upon" civil rights and that "religious exemptions from non-discrimination laws and policies must be weighed carefully and defined narrowly on a fact-specific basis".

Furthermore  and this is what has really riled conservatives  Commission chairman Martin Castro launched a stinging attack on attempts to extend religious exemptions. He said: "The phrases 'religious liberty' and 'religious freedom' will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance."

He continued: "Religious liberty was never intended to give one religion dominion over other religions, or a veto power over the civil rights and civil liberties of others. However, today, as in the past, religion is being used as both a weapon and a shield by those seeking to deny others equality. In our nation's past religion has been used to justify slavery and later, Jim Crow laws. We now see 'religious liberty' arguments sneaking their way back into our political and constitutional discourse (just like the concept of 'state rights') in an effort to undermine the rights of some Americans."

'Shocking suggestion'

His words drew a fierce rebuttal from the Archbishop of Baltimore, among others. William Lori, chairman of the US Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, said the notion that people of faith are "comparable to fringe segregationists from the civil rights era" is a "shocking suggestion". "The vast majority of those who speak up for religious liberty are merely asking for the freedom to serve others as our faith asks of us," he said.

Another critic is Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who addressed the report in his 'Briefing'. He cites various criticisms of Castro's words, describing them as "ominous" and saying religious exemptions are "claimed to be the problem, so that even these religious exemptions are held to be suspect and they should be very limited, he says, in scope. And in every case, Chairman Castro made clear, they're simply a form of prejudice and discrimination, period."

But here's the thing: Castro's remarks are very, very strong, and probably  if he really wanted to convince conservatives he had a point, which seems unlikely  unwise. But look at them again, and look at the sort of rhetoric purveyed by religious conservatives today  not just in America, but in many other historically Christian countries, including the UK  and it's very hard to argue with him. There's a persecution narrative that's reinforced by every reaction like Lori's and Mohler's. It's the right-thinking, clean-living people against the rest of the world. The government is intent on subverting Christian morality and creating a moral free-for-all. We should stand up for Christian values through the courts, and things we believe are wrong ought to be illegal  and if we can't make them illegal, we should have an opt-out so we can disregard their legality if we want to.

Free to discriminate?

And the question is, how does this really help? How does campaigning for freedom to discriminate commend the gospel? What sort of message does it send to people who when they hear the word "Christian" just think, "They're the ones who want to be free to reject people"?

The other way of looking at the USCCR report is to say that it reflects the sort of careful calculations and fine balancing of rights and responsibilities that are an inevitable  and very precious  part of living in a democratic society committed to everyone's freedom, not just the freedom of a few. Part of being grown up is that you understand that you can't have everything you want, and that other people's freedoms are going to impinge on your own.

And as Christians, we should welcome that. We ought to be the ones who reject the narrative of power and dominance that characterises debate around these issues. What happened to Jesus' teaching about turning the other cheek and going the extra mile, and being blessed if we face insult or abuse? Is it really so important to win?

There is a better conversation to be had, and it starts, surely, with listening  even to Martin Castro.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
Speak of the Devil: stage star of 'The Screwtape Letters' on faith, theatre and C.S. Lewis

This Christmas the sell-out Off-Broadway production of The Screwtape Letters, an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' famous satirical novel, will come to London to make its European debut. Actor Max McLean, who plays the titular character, Satan's top psychiatrist, spoke to Christian Today about faith, theatre, and bringing C.S. Lewis back home.

The Screwtape Letters was written by Lewis in 1942, as the correspondence of a senior demon  Screwtape  to his nephew Wormwood, advising him on how to damn the soul of a human subject on Earth. Lewis's work won wide acclaim and catapulted the humble Oxford don into international renown, selling millions of copies around the world.

Max McLean and Jeffrey Fiske first adapted Lewis's story into a theatre performance in 2006, which sold out in New York City and across the U.S. Now McLean is bringing the show to Park Theatre in London, premiering on December 8 and running until January 7, 2017.

The show presents a "gnarly inverted universe" narrated from the offices of Hell, where antihero Screwtape and his acrobatic admin Toadpipe communicate with "junior neophyte demon" Wormwood to plot the damnation of a human 'patient'. The play follows these two arcs: the world of Hell  the demonic domain of Satan, or "Our Father Below"  and Earth, where an unseen character named only as 'the Enemy' protects the patient from Screwtape's schemes. That's God, by the way.

"It's a predator/prey story," McLean told Christian Today. "Screwtape is a roaring lion, seeking whom he will devour. The prey is every one of us, if we're not vigilant."

The show follows the subversive style of the book, expressing theological wisdom through the voice of a demon. McLean performed a short excerpt from the show at a launch event, where Screwtape speaks of how he combatted a patient's pious train of thought by suggesting it was "time for lunch". In Screwtape's words:

"It's funny how these humans think of us as putting things into their minds; our best work is done by keeping things out."

McLean is a Christian, and his faith is central not only to what he does, but how he does it. "I don't even think I would have attempted it without personal faith," McLean told Christian Today. "Part of it was my admiration for C.S. Lewis. He wrote this as a kind of confessional. He is the patient of the story. In many ways when he's expressing how Screwtape is challenging him, it's also how he challenges me."

Is it a struggle for a Christian to be constantly playing a role centred on the 'dark side'?

"At the beginning I really enjoyed the character... the whole theatrical experience of it was really entertaining," McLean says. "But I did come to a place where the cynicism of Screwtape was beginning to become a bit weary[ing]."

That said, McLean clearly enjoys the performance: he may be a demon but he inhabits the role with the charisma and delight of a stage-magician-come-Oxford-professor. He has certainly made it his own, but the role was actually originally suggested to him by co-adaptor Jeffrey Fiske, who "suggested that I'd make a really good Screwtape. I didn't know if that was a compliment or not."

The show's insight into the psychological manipulations of Screwtape provide an "extraordinary imaginative tool... if it came straight at you you'd turn it off immediately." Its alternative perspective engages the imagination, and prompts the audience to ask, "Who are we? An eavesdropper, a voyeur? The patient?" McLean says. "People are being spoken to in a way that they're not really aware of. "

McLean often follows up his performances with a Q&A session with the audience, where he finds nearly everyone stays to engage in conversation. Do non-Christians sometimes respond to this theological work with suspicision? "I don't think people are particularly against the tenets of the Christian faith, but sometimes feel it comes on a bit heavy," McLean says. "They need time to process it."

That said, although this is based on a deeply Christian adaption which has reached a vast non-Christian audience, McLean's theatre is not church ministry. "We don't do altar calls," he says. Yet the event is a great platform for engaging those otherwise disinterested in Christianity or religion. "What normally happens is they come with friends, and the invitation sparks a conversation."

Christianity can have a bad reputation in the arts. Some Christians don't particularly care for creative expression, while 'faith movies' in the public sphere are often criticised for being heavy-handed, aggressively preachy, or simply a bit rubbish. I ask McLean how he sees the situation as a Christian artist who has won wide acclaim outside the church. "There's a lot of bad art both Christian and secular," he says, and he agrees that often there's "not much grace on people trying to integrate their faith and their art. They have to fail."

He says there's a pressure on some Christian artists to be more overt, but those who do need to be wary of the "tune-out factor" from audiences who'll disengage with what they feel they've already heard before. For McLean, Lewis is the model: "Lewis was overt, but he was so good at it, it was always interesting, entertaining, surprising."

At the press event McLean is asked if secular London is ready for Lewis' Christian message. It's a fair question  Park Theatre isn't religiously affiliated  but McLean seems confident: "Is the Christian message of Screwtape going to go down well over Christmas? I hope so!" If anything he's afraid of Christians: the "embarrassing supporter" who tries to help McLean along but only ends up turning other members of the audience off. McLean insists he isn't there to preach or to win an argument: "I'm not trying to score points here. I really want to engage in dialogue."

Next year will mark 75 years since Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters, so what's the secret to its endurance? McLean puts it down to the genius of Lewis, and his "unusual constellation of ideas in a morally inverted universe... Lewis himself said: 'People enjoy thinking, because they don't do it very much.'"

Well if you like thinking, or laughing, or both, then this show looks promising. McLean plays Screwtape with class, wit and a worryingly charming presence. He's no moustache-twirling villain; he's as subtle and entertaining as any convincing demonic anti-hero should be.

As for what his greatest joy on the stage is, McLean's answer is simple: "Capturing people's imagination. When the lightbulbs turn on, it's very exciting."

The Screwtape Letters comes to the Park Theatre, London on December 8 and runs until the January 7, 2017. For more information, click here.
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Rooftops will follow the retail in Land Tejas' Lago Mar development as the residential portion gets underway in Texas City.

Houston-based Land Tejas announced that Westin Homes and Gehan Homes have begun selling homes in two gated sections of the community. Model homes are expected to open in November. Homes are priced from the mid $200,000s, and some will be along a lake.
Million Air Charter, a subsidiary of the Houston-based Million Air fixed-base operator, has received government approval to fly directly to Cuba.

Before rules governing air travel between the two countries were relaxed, it took months to get an exemption from the Office of Foreign Assets Control to fly privately from the U.S. to Cuba, according to the news release.

In February, the U.S. and Cuba agreed to restore scheduled air services. Million Air Charter can now provide charter transportation to Cuba at any time without applying for specific licenses, as long as passengers are authorized travelers. Tourism is still not permitted.

"As the U.S. government continues to ease restrictions there, we are proud we can play a part in encouraging commerce between the two nations via private business travel," Roger Woolsey, Million Air CEO, said in the news release.

Million Air Charter joins operators nationwide that can travel through 19 published returning destination airports  including Dallas and Houston  for direct U.S. flights to and from Cuba.
Amazon is investing in West Texas wind for its largest renewable energy project ever.

Seattle-based Amazon is teaming up with Chicago's Lincoln Clean Energy to build the 253-megawatt Amazon Wind Farm Texas west of Abilene in Scurry County. One megawatt typically powers 200 homes on a hot Texas day.

The wind farm, slated to open by the end of 2017, will feature more than 100 wind turbines designed to power Amazon cloud data centers and more.

"Amazon Wind Farm Texas is our largest renewable energy project to date and the newest milestone in our long-term sustainability efforts across the company," said Kara Hurst, Amazon director of sustainability, in the announcement.

Amazon is continuing to expand in Texas. The online shopping juggernaut opened a new, "Silicon Hills" corporate hub last year in Austin and, in 2014, leased out a large chunk of office space at the Dallas Galleria complex. Amazon has Dallas-area warehouses, called fulfillment centers, in Coppell and Haslet.

There's also a large Amazon warehouse and customer service center outside of San Antonio in Schertz. Earlier this summer, Amazon pledged to open a new 855,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in north Houston at the Pinto Business Park near Interstate 45 and Beltway 8 that's under development. The Amazon fulfillment center is expected to employ 1,000 people. That's in addition to Amazon's Prime Now warehouse hub in Humble.

Amazon also just opened more than 20 "Pop UP" electronics stores nationwide, including two in Texas in San Antonio and Arlington.

As for the wind farm, the project costs were not released, but Lincoln CEO Declan Flanagan has described the cost of a 200-megawatt Texas wind farms at about $300 million.

Amazon already has announced smaller wind and solar farms in Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. However, Texas leads the nation by far in wind power.

Google, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Dow Chemical Co. and Hewlett-Packard all count among the companies buying power from Texas wind farms. Ikea even owns a wind farm in the state.

Lincoln Clean Energy will build and own the Amazon wind farm, but Amazon is contracting to buy 90 percent of the generated power.

Lincoln, which also has offices in Austin, is developing other Texas wind projects as well. Its planned Horse Creek Wind project north of Abilene and the Electra Wind development near Wichita Falls  both 200-megawatt wind farms  are still in the works. However, Lincoln's 201-megawatt Nazareth Solar project in the Texas Panhandle has faced ongoing delays.

Lincoln previously developed and sold the Hereford and Jumbo Road wind farms in Texas that opened in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
TPC Group has struck a deal to sell its Baytown plant to SI Group, a global chemical intermediates manufacturer as part of a plan to shore up its finances.

The sale includes a propylene derivatives plant and terminal on 10 acres at 4604 W. Baker Road. The plant manufactures products used in the production of plasticizers, detergents, lube oil additives and antioxidants.

"TPC Group and SI Group have a longstanding partnership that extends beyond 25 years," Frank Bozich, SI Group president and CEO said in an announcement.

"The addition of the Baytown facility further enhances our global capabilities by reinforcing our security of supply, and enabling SI Group to better serve our customers in downstream markets, such as Fuel, Lubricant, and Oilfield additives."

Schenectady, N.Y.-based SI Group also operates a plant in Freeport.

The sale puts Houston-based TPC Group ahead of its goal of improving earnings and cash position by $100 million in 2016 compared with 2015.

"Year to date we generated more than $120 million of earnings and/or cash improvements versus 2015 and I expect we will close the year at more than $135 million," Ed Dineen, CEO of TPC Group said in an announcement Thursday.

The Baytown plant, with a capacity to make 160 million pounds of product per year, is the smallest of TPC Group's three manufacturing sites.

Its plant near the Houston Ship Channel can make up to 1.5 billion pounds of product per year, and Port Neches can make 900 million pounds per year. The company also operates a butadiene product terminal in Lake Charles, La.
Katy native Renee Zellweger is charming as ever in "Bridget Jones's Baby," a lively return to form for the unlikely trilogy about an ordinary woman and her professional and romantic woes.

It turns out a little break is just what this series needed to find its footing after the manic missteps of 2004's "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," which fell into some of the all too common traps of sequels looking to up the stakes (hello, Thailand prison sequence).

That's likely due to the fact that Sharon Maguire, who directed the practically perfect "Bridget Jones's Diary," is back (Beeban Kidron directed the second).

Let's get over the silly fact that this movie essentially had to press reboot on the happy ending of the second, when Bridget said at the end how, even at 33, she was able to find love and happiness with one Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Cut to 12 years later (between movies), Bridget is in her 40s and Mark Darcy has gone off and married someone else.

More Information 'Bridget Jones's Baby' Rated R: for language, sex references and some nudity Running time: 122 minutes xxxx See More Collapse

But this is an evolved Bridget.

Sure, she might be eating desert alone in that same old London flat on that same old couch listening to the same old Celine Dion song, but it's not tragic. It just is. Her friends all flaked on her, and so she has a night by herself. The sense is "whatever," not "woe is me."

Indeed, her life looks pretty good. She's now a high-profile TV news producer who seems happy at work - gone are the fireman's pole humiliations of on-camera life. She's also fitter (and quite happy about it) and gotten a fancier wardrobe befitting of her success.

When younger friend and co-worker Miranda (a terrific Sarah Solemani) invites her to a weekend getaway, Bridget arrives to the airport looking like a Nancy Meyers leading lady in cream and white. Of course, she doesn't realize they're going to an outdoor music festival. So, she falls in some mud, but she also gets the attention of Jack (Patrick Dempsey). He's a single, not sleazy relationship guru who is immediately smitten with Bridget.

She has a good time with Jack and goes on her way. A few weeks later, she finds herself having an unexpectedly romantic night with a now-separated Darcy. She walks away from that, too, and continues on with life until she gets the news that she's pregnant. It could be either Darcy's or Jack's.

Both men hop to the challenge, trying to out-partner one another at every turn. Is this a fantasy, or is this just men being kind to the woman who is possibly carrying their child? Does it really matter?

Much of the original cast is back and wonderful (Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Sally Phillips and Shirley Henderson), save for a sorely missed Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). You'll find out what happened to him.

There is still a madcap, slapstick jitteriness to dear Bridget, but calmness has emerged, too - that of a woman who has finally grown into her own skin. She is messy in that way that women in other rom-coms say they are but never actually are. And she is certainly not the other single gal of her time, Carrie Bradshaw, who seemed to become less and less relatable as the years went by.

Though, the premise of "Bridget Jones's Baby" makes it all seem like it's all about the guy again. It's never felt so much like Bridget's story. The man is just gravy. This movie, for all its comedic ridiculousness and wild circumstance of the paternity crisis, is a jubilant celebration of women.

If we're lucky, we'll get to check in with her again in another few years.
Midcentury modern design mania isn't losing momentum. The style revival is more popular now than a few years ago, when it began to be seen in store showrooms and magazine spreads.

Some real estate agents are amplifying the movement by specializing in selling homes built in the 1950s and '60s, and by playing up their retro architectural features. Think low ceilings, stone facades and sunken living rooms.
A missing 11-year-old girl has been found safe Thursday, hours after she disappeared overnight from her home in north Harris County.

Nekedria Collins was found about 1 p.m. with a Good Samaritan near where she had last been seen about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fallbrook Ranch apartments, 411 West Road, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Dear Abby:

After the birth of our son, "Ricky," my husband insisted he sleep in our bed with us. When our son was 3, I finally put my foot down because none of us were sleeping peacefully. Ricky is now 8, and my husband lies in his bed with him until he falls asleep.

Our daughter, "Julie," was born 21/2 years ago. She slept in our bed until she was 1, when I moved her to her own bed. She goes down well on her own. I try to make sure she gets the affection she needs before bedtime, but I feel guilty that she doesn't get that closeness at night.

Am I wrong for wanting bedtime without kids? At what age should children sleep on their own?

Sleepy in California

Dear Sleepy:

You're not wrong. Some parents co-sleep with their children for the first few months after they are born because they enjoy the closeness. After that, they transition the baby to sleeping in a crib nearby so the child's needs can be attended to as necessary.

According to Los Angeles pediatrician Faisal Chawla, M.D., children form their sleep habits early: "The longer co-sleeping continues, the more difficult sleeping separately becomes. At 7 or 8 months, babies begin to develop age-appropriate separation anxiety. By the age of 1, a routine is usually set in a child's mind. By age 2, it becomes very difficult to change the sleeping routine because of the 'terrible 2s' temperament that begins."

Your husband has done Ricky no favors. Your son should have started sleeping alone years ago. A boy his age should be able to go to sleepovers at friends' houses or away to summer camp without having to worry about sleeping because his dad isn't there.

Dear Abby:

My boss recently hosted an employee appreciation dinner party at his home. Because of limited space, we were asked not to bring children. However, the invitations did indicate "and guest."

One of my co-workers, a single woman, asked me if I thought it would be OK if she brought a female friend (not someone she is in a relationship with). My interpretation of the invite in this particular situation was that if one co-worker couldn't bring their teenage child due to space limitations, it wouldn't be appropriate for another to bring a casual friend. What do you think?

Appreciation Dinner

Dear Appreciation:

When a host issues an invitation that says "and guest," it means the host is prepared to accommodate whomever the invitee would like to bring. It would be wrong to bring a teenager to an adults-only business-related dinner but bringing a companion along would not be considered a breach of etiquette.

DearAbby.comDear AbbyP.O. Box 69440Los Angeles, CA 90069Universal Press Syndicate
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It seems like options for indoor cycling are popping up all over the city.

If you haven't yet decided whether you'd like to become a devotee at SoulCycle or Ryde-with-a-y or Ride-with-an-i, or one of the other options around Houston, there's a new pop-up spin studio that will give you the chance to check out CycleBar while also doing a little bit of good.
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Summer may be coming to a close, but now might be the best time to travel.

Southwest Airlines has an airfare sale on nonstop flights from Houston to 50 different cities. The sale will end as early as Monday for trips taken through March 18, 2017.

Some of the top destinations on the discounted fare list? Airfare from Houston to Las Vegas starts at $165 for a one-way flight; to New York City starts at $157 for a one-way trip; to Denver starts at $97 each way.

RELATED: Lift on flight restrictions could result in cheaper airfare to Mexico

More Information See all 50 places you can fly to from Houston for under $200 per one-way flight: southwest.com/promotions See More Collapse

International sale flights include a one-way flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica, starting at $170 and a one-way trip to Belize City, Belize starts at $107. Traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica, starts at $124 for a one-way trip.

Flights into Mexico are also on the sale list. A one-way trip to Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos starts at $148, to Puerto Vallarta starts at $148 one-way and to Cancun starts at $148 one-way.

SEE ALSO: Where to eat and drink in Galveston now

What's the catch?

There's a 14-day advance purchase that's required. There are no domestic flights on Fridays or Sundays. There are also limits on certain flights, per the sale site: "Travel to Cancun, Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta is valid only on Sundays through Wednesdays. Travel from Cancun, Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta is valid only on Tuesdays through Fridays."

READ MORE: Peek at 5 luxury hotels set to open in Texas

Some blackout dates are scheduled around the holidays, including Nov. 12-23 and 26-28; Dec. 21-23 and 26-27; and Jan. 1-2.

Houstonians who want to enjoy these deals should lock in the sale rate by purchasing tickets before Monday at 11:59 p.m.
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"There's nothing I want to do more than a $2 cup of coffee," Jeff Kaplan says. "We're going to have a really great cup of coffee that's not just for yuppies moving into the neighborhood."

That's his first word on the cafe that will anchor the Plant at Harrisburg, a redevelopment of the former Imperial Linen Services plant at 3401 Harrisburg in Houston's gentrifying East End.

Kaplan, who founded the eco-friendly retail company New Living and teaches a course in social responsibility at the University of Houston, said he and his partners in the Plant venture all live in the area and are sensitive to its existing culture. The partners include the construction firm Forest Design Build.

They share a desire to see modest design and inclusive urban development models that don't price people out, Kaplan said. "We want to create a community for artisans and creative people that addresses the neighborhood."

It's the oldest story in cities everywhere: Artists pioneer a place, opportunists follow and property values skyrocket, displacing the creatives who made it desirable.

The East End's transformation is underway and inevitable, but Kaplan still sees vacant warehouses that could potentially house a new generation of cleaner industries and local micro-producers. Those companies aren't just good for the environment; they keep money and jobs in Houston, he said.

Kaplan said initially he wanted to create a home for the artisan-owned factory HTX Made, which creates furniture from reclaimed materials.

A rendering of the project, which is conveniently situated at a MetroRail stop for those who don't live nearby, suggests the 20,000-square-foot building could also hold a brewery.

The non-profit arts center galleryHOMELAND has also signed a 10-year lease, and there will be offices and studios for other creative businesses who will share a central gathering space.

"The East End has a legacy of production. Our furniture factories were there," Kaplan said. "In some ways it's like the 1800s again. We want to put a new face on the industry."

Those people are going to need caffeine. And it doesn't have to be Starbucks.

Bookmark Gray Matters now, before property values skyrocket, displacing the creatives who made it desirable.
AUSTIN -- The Texas Senate State Affairs Committee is delving into the thorny issue of prohibiting labor union dues from being deducted from government paychecks.

During a Wednesday hearing, business groups that are focused on passing a bill cringed at the mere mention of Midland oilman Tim Dunn's Empower Texans promoting such legislation.

Quorum Report readers will recall that this fight boiled over during the closing days of the 2015 legislative session. The Senate passed a bill prohibiting those paycheck deductions for certain groups, sent it to the Texas House in "flawed form," and the proposal ultimately went down in flames amid what Speaker Joe Straus would later describe as one of the worst lobby efforts he's ever seen.

During the Senate State Affairs hearing Wednesday, Annie Spilman, Texas Legislative Director for the National Federation of Independent Business said 93 percent of the small business group's membership in this state believe the practice should be outlawed.

Pointing to the case of Brent Southwell, a janitorial executive in Houston, Spilman said big labor groups like the Service Employees International Union often go too far in trying to organize the workforce. She noted that a Harris County jury earlier this month awarded $5.4 million in damages to Southwell's company Professional Janitorial Service after his attorneys successfully argued the SEIU's tactics were over the line.

The politics of Southwell's case, however, could get tricky at the Texas Capitol because his business partner Don Dyer was part of a group including Texas Public Policy Foundation board members who spent heavily against Speaker Straus and his team during the Republican primary this year.

The full story can be found in the Quorum Report. Copyright 2016, Harvey Kronberg, http://quorumreport.com/index.cfm, All rights are reserved. This story is presented as part of the Houston Chronicle's collaboration with Quorum Report. For inside information on Texas politics and government and to sign up for real-time updates, go here.
The Alvin ISD board of trustees will hold a public hearing on Oct. 3 for some Shadow Creek Ranch residents who want their students out of Fort Bend ISD and into Alvin ISD.

The residents live in Shadow Creek Ranch's newest and westernmost section, the Village of Diamond Bay, and have petitioned Fort Bend ISD for de-annexation under the premise that their children can go to schools that are closer to home.

The nearby Alvin ISD schools are also higher achieving than the Fort Bend ISD schools to which students are zoned.

Fort Bend ISD trustees will also hold a public hearing, a week prior to that of Alvin ISD, on Sept. 26.

The 1,674-lot Village of Diamond Bay is in Fort Bend County and its students are zoned to Fort Bend ISD. The rest of Shadow Creek Ranch is in Brazoria County and zoned to Alvin ISD.

Until recently, Village of Diamond Bay residents thought they would get a neighborhood elementary school.

The land-use plan for Shadow Creek Ranch included five elementary schools  four Alvin ISD campuses, which are either built or in progress, and one Fort Bend ISD campus, Drew Pelter, general manager of Shadow Creek Ranch, said in an email.

Fort Bend ISD owns property in the development area but said the district's current demographic data does not show a need for a new school in Shadow Creek Ranch, Fort Bend ISD director of media relations Amanda Bubela said.

Now, students in the Village of Diamond Bay who attend Fort Bend ISD schools are enrolled at Blue Ridge Elementary, Christa McAuliffe Middle School and Willowridge High School, all of which are outside the boundaries of Shadow Creek Ranch.

As of May 30, Blue Ridge had 640 students. The school's permanent building capacity was 576 students, with three temporary buildings to house the additional students. With the temporary buildings, the campus is now 90 percent utilized, which relates enrollment to the school's capacity.

Without the temporary buildings, it is 111 percent utilized.

Fort Bend ISD's policy is to keep schools between 80 and 120 percent utilized.

Both McAuliffe and Willowridge are Public Education Grant campuses, which means the schools failed to meet state standards in recent years or the passing rate on their standardized tests was low enough to permit a parent to move that student to a different Fort Bend ISD campus.

Students now living in Shadow Creek Ranch attend Glenn York Elementary, Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary, Mary Burks Marek Elementary, Nolan Ryan Junior High and Manvel High School, none of which are Public Education Grant campuses.

If both district boards of trustees accept the petition, the districts could go ahead with changing the boundary lines and transferring property, Bubela said.

If only one district approves the position, the decision could be appealed to the Texas Education Commissioner. If both disapprove, the decision cannot be appealed, Bubela said.

If the students were to switch districts, Alvin ISD does not yet have a plan for what schools they would attend, Combs said. A parent committee would convene and draw new attendance boundary lines, Combs added.

As of spring 2016, York had 889 students, Wilder had 866 and Marek had 862 students, all on campuses with permanent building capacities of 800 students.

Alvin ISD's 17th elementary school is scheduled to open in Shadow Creek Ranch in the fall of 2017.
Deputies are searching for several suspects who terrorized a family during an aggravated robbery earlier this month at a home in Richmond.

The robbery happened about 4 a.m. Sept. 6 in the 17000 block of Fescher Lane, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.
Children who participated in New Mexicos public preschool program did better than their peers who did not on 3rd grade standardized tests of math and reading, according to a legislative study released in August.

New Mexicos preschool program is relatively small. Aimed at children from low-income families, it only serves about one third of eligible kids. But the academic gains garnered by participants were measurable. Only 18 percent of children from low-income families who werent enrolled in the states free preschool program showed proficiency on the states 3rd grade tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards. In contrast, 24 percent of children from low-income families who did attend the program showed proficiency in math and 22 percent in reading on the same tests.

It should be noted that the higher scores for those who did attend preschool still result in less than a quarter of New Mexicos 3rd graders achieving proficiently in math and reading.

Nonetheless, the gains made by offering preschool have reignited an ongoing effort by advocates there to funnel some of the money from the states Land Grant Permanent Fund to preschool , a move many lawmakers are strongly opposed to. One recommendation, covered by The Santa Fe New Mexican, called for $101 million to expand public preschool to all low-income children.

This report proves now more than ever that the only way to fully fund early childhood is from an additional 1 percent distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund, Democratic Sen. Michael Padilla of Albuquerque, who has pushed for such legislation in the past, told The New Mexican.

Read The Santa Fe New Mexican article for more detail on the report and the current preschool debate in New Mexico .
A Fort Bend County woman has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty for repeated DWI's.

The Brazos County District Attorney's Office reports that "Judge Travis Bryan sentenced Cain to 4 years in prison after she pled guilty and elected for the court to assess her punishment. This was Cain's sixth DWI."

The latest case stems from a June 27 incident wherein Cain's adult daughter called to report her mother was driving a rental vehicle while intoxicated in College Station. The daughter reportedly asked police to stop and arrest her mother for driving while intoxicated.

RELATED GALLERY: Houston police arrested 78 people on felony DWI charges in August

According to a release from the District Attorney's Office, College Station police officers stopped Cain in a parking lot and "found Cain obviously intoxicated with open containers of beer. Her BAC was .257."

Cain was on bond at the time for felony DWI's in Fort Bend County. She was reportedly arrested by Sugar Land Police Department officers for felony DWI on April 29, 2012, and May 18, 2012. According to reports, she had BAC's of .243 and .319 respectively.

In court on Tuesday, Cain admitted "she was guilty of all three DWI's upon cross examination by the prosecutor," the District Attorney's Office reported.

According to documents from Fort Bend County, Cain was scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 3 to enter a guilty plea in a pending case. Cain's court date for a jury trial was reset at least nine times, according to Fort Bend County District Clerk records.

According to documents from Harris County, Cain entered a guilty plea in March 2010 to a DWI charge and was sentenced to two years probation. Her probation was revoked in November 2011 and she was sentenced to 60 days in the Harris County Jail on a Class B misdemeanor.

Cain's last-known address was in the 6600 block of Kearney in Richmond. She had previous address listings in the 9500 block of Pemberton Trace in Houston and in the 77005 area code.
Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office

Police are searching for a young man with special needs who was last seen on Monday.

Cameron Ohara, 18, was last seen around 7:30 p.m. near the 7300 block of San Pablo in the Mission Bend area of Houston, Fort Bend County.
PBS has taken us all around the United States so far this week for a look at education programs and ideas as part of its Spotlight Education week. On Thursday night, its time to go around the world to see what the pursuit of a basic education is like for five poor children in five countries.

Time for School 2003-2016  is scheduled for 9 p.m. Eastern time. This is really one to check local listings for, because Thursdays are a night, it seems, where local public television stations really do their own thing instead of following the national PBS schedule. (In my Washington, D.C., market, none of the three public television stations are airing this special on Thursday.)

Time for School started following children in 2003 from seven countries: Afghanistan, Benin, Brazil, India, Japan, Kenya, and Romania. (Series creator Pamela Hogan explains here that the idea came from the fact that some 100 million children in the world have never set foot in school.)

The series has had other versions along the way, which I havent seen. The new version follows the students from five of the original seven countries. In the order they are introduced:

India: Neeraj Gujar is a 10-year-old in 2003 when she is able to enroll in a night school established for the benefit of children like her who are working the fields. The film points out that India still has the largest number of child laborers and that millions of the countrys children do not attend school. Gujar wants to become a teacher.

Brazil: Jefferson Narciso is a shy 5-year-old who lives in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, which from the recent Olympics we know is a poor neighborhood that presents dangers for children such as exposure to the drug trade. His single mother receives a government stipend to send him to school.

Afghanistan: After her family has spent years in a Pakistani refugee camp to avoid Taliban rule, Shugufu Sohrabi is able to enroll in school back in her home country at age 11. As the filmmakers return to check on her in later years, the Taliban has regained some of its strength, and terror attacks on girls schools have increased, so just to see Sohrabi defiantly continuing her education is inspiring.

Kenya: In Nairobis largest slum, 10-year-old Joab Onyando crowds into a classroom of 70 students, which was only possible after the government eliminated primary school fees in 2003. He soon loses his mother to AIDS and then must care for his younger siblings when his father leaves.

Benin: In the small West African country, 9-year-old Nanavi Todenou is the first girl from her family to enroll in school, thanks to a government program to eliminate the gender gap in enrollmentand the permission of the local voodoo priest to excuse her from the convent. But when Todenous father dies, her family finds it difficult to keep her in school.

Watch the trailer here .

The 90-minute film checks in with these students and their families in 2006, 2009, and 2015, highlighting obstacles they each face which will knock some out of school, while others persevere.

The most striking feature of the documentary is just how rudimentary a basic education is for these students, yet how the students and their families appreciate that it will improve their lives.

* * *

The other Spotlight Education show on the PBS national schedule for Thursday night is a special edition of the series Craft in America .

The one-hour episode highlights Navajo weavers in New Mexico, glass-forming techniques at the Punahou School in Honolulu (where President Barack Obama attended high school), a studio glass program for disadvantaged students in Omaha, Neb., and Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y., where prospective teachers are learning to instruct about ceramics.

Crafts arent much in my wheelhouse, but the Crafts in America: Teachers episode was an interesting departure among the many education documentaries and shows on public television this week.
I just met with some very bright students at Occidental College. Their professor, Steve Zimmer, who also heads the Los Angeles Unified School District board, asked me to think about an epilogue for our book Learning from L.A.: Institutional Change in American Public Education.

At the end of the book, we described LAUSD as an organization in permanent crisis, bouncing from one emergency to the next, stuck in trench warfare between interest groups. The interest group gridlock is even more pronounced now than it was when we wrote the book nearly a decade ago.

Neither the charter school expansion advocates or those pushing back against them have publicly acknowledged the need to create a fundamentally different school system than the one put in place a century ago. But pivoting away from debating more or fewer charters and toward designing a truly modern school system provides a window for a political breakthrough if someone had the moxie and political clout to take advantage of it.

What would I do? At the end of Learning from L.A. we suggest some policy levers that might move the huge school system toward reinvention. Given a decades hindsight, Id amend those ideas with the following design principles:

First, Create a Big Umbrella

Los Angeles needs an organization that makes all its publicly financed schools work together.

Experience in New Orleans, Newark, Washington, DC, and other cities indicates that there needs to be systemic coherence.

Increasingly, charter-friendly writers and activists, such as Andy Smarick , are coming to the conclusion that simply adding more charters doesnt fix a citys education system.

Second, Design With Extreme Empathy

When I interviewed Tim Brown , CEO of the design firm IDEO, about the process of rethinking systems he said, The first step is building empathy for the stakeholders in the system. In a school system, that means starting with the students and working out. Any idea that does not successfully motivate a student will ultimately fail.

Third, Favor Networks Over a Hierarchy

When my coauthors and I wrote Learning from L.A., we advocated systematically designing a school district around autonomous schools and networks as a way for LAUSD to rationalize charters, make them accountable, and at the same time import some of their organizing nimbleness. Some aspects of this have been incorporated in innovations such as the Belmont Zone of Choice and Pilot Schools.

Fourth, Build to Last

LEARNs design weakness was building itself as a campaign or movement that handed off implementation to the school district. People tired, grew discouraged when LAUSD couldnt or wouldnt rapidly turn itself around.

Its important to realize that the process of institutional transformation will take a while, decades not semesters.

My colleague, Carl Cohn, now head of the California Collaborative for Education Excellence, reminds his audiences that Long Beach Unified only started to get markedly better during the second five years of his superintendency.

I think if I had a billion dollars, I would take the L.A. Compact idea and give it a heavyweight permanent presence, both of supporting institutions and a skilled staff.

Fifth, Solve Structural Problems

Part of building to last involves solving big structural fiscal problems that endanger any reform or transformation problem at LAUSD.

Its important that political and legal attention be directed toward solving the pension problem, funding special education, and making the Local Control Financing System work: this, rather than hiring big name attorneys with the idea that we can fire our way to Finland creating a school system on a bedrock of fear.

Sixth, Build A New Learning Infrastructure

Some years ago, I started looking at new forms of learning. The harder I looked, the more I realized that the way out of permanent crisis was a new version of education: make investments in it and build political support around those ideas and investments.

The good news is that we have it within our reach to break down the batch processing system that the Progressive Reformers brought to us from industrial manufacturing a century ago. Public education is now in an unusual situation in which relatively small investments in learning infrastructure can have substantial impact in terms of capacity building and systems changing.

What I call Learning 2.0 is partly about technology, but mostly about how humans do their work. It recognizes that students are the real workers in this system. Its about personalization, adaptation, and continuous improvement. Its about rapid prototyping of new ideas rather than waiting for a textbook publisher to run the gauntlet of state approvals. Its about empowering teachers as intellectuals.

Its about building a learning infrastructure that is available to every student, public or private, charter or district, extending the schoolhouse into the community and into the home.

Going Deeper

For a historical treatment of institutional change, see Learning from L.A.: Institutional Change in American Public Education. See [the book ] and [a summary ].

Many of the ideas about reformation of public education in Los Angeles have been the subjects of On California columns, particularly:

The idea of a new learning system, which I call Learning 2.0 .

The charter school expansion plan:

Breaking Up LAUSD, Or Not:
Starting in the 2016-17 school year, Texas became the only state in the country to require schools to install cameras in self-contained special education classrooms at the request of parents, teachers or school board members.

School districts in Texas have been interpreting the law to mean that if parents or teachers make a request, a camera would be installed in their childrens classrooms or in the classrooms in which they teach. The legislators who drafted the bill said that was what they meant, as well, according to a letter they wrote last year after the camera bill passed .

But the Texas attorney general has said that his interpretation is that a single request means that cameras have to be installed in special education classrooms districtwide . Complying with such a request might cost school districts millionsand Texas education officials have already said that this is a cost that must be borne by districts alone.

Attorney General Ken Paxtons assessment of the new law was made at the request of Mike Morath, the Texas education commissioner. In question is the interpretation of this part of the classroom camera law :

In order to promote student safety on request by a parent, trustee, or staff member, a school district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide equipment, including a video camera, to each school in the district or each charter school campus in which a student receiving special education services in a self-contained classroom is enrolled.

Cameras Must Be Installed in All Special Education Classrooms

Nothing in the plain language of [the statute] suggests that a parent, trustee or staff members request is limited to or results in the provision of equipment to only a single classroom, Paxton wrote. To the contrary, the legislature has required that upon receiving a request, a school district shall provide the equipment not to a single classroom but to each school in the district providing special education services.

The lawmakers who sponsored the camera bill, state Reps. Eddie Lucio, Jr. and Senfronia Thompson, say thats not what they meant. In a letter, they wrote that their legislative intent was that a request by a teacher or parent/guardian to install cameras requires installation only in the classroom where the teacher offers instruction or the child/dependent attends class. This ensures protections in special education environments while responsibly containing costs for large districts.

But that letter is not relevant, Paxton said. Legislators are bound by the words they vote into law, not post-enactment letters.

Breggett Rideau of Keller, Texas, fought for years for the camera bill after her son, Terrance, was injured by a special education teacher. She cheered Paxtons interpretation of the law.

These children are the most vulnerable citizens of the United States, she said. School should be a safe place. Rideau ended up winning a $1 million judgment against the 35,000-student Keller district. School officials had been informed by another staff member that Terrance had been shoved and kicked by the teacher but did not report it to his parents until two years later.

At the request of parents, the Keller district has installed six cameras at a cost of $2,500 to $3,000, plus ongoing costs for data storage. The entire district has about 120 self-contained classrooms, said Amanda Bigbee, the Keller districts staff attorney.

The attorney generals interpretation represents a paralyzing financial burden, to be honest, Bigbee said. I suspect were going to take a deep breath and see what the [Texas Education Agency] has to say.
A national organization that works to close the gender gap in technology by encouraging more girls to learn about computer science through after-school and summer programs plans to announce a major expansion today during the White House summit on Computer Science for All .

Within the next school year, Girls Who Code is set to triple its number of free, after-school programs known as Girls Who Code clubs to 1,500. The nonprofit is also now operating in all 50 states.

The organization reports that just 18 percent of computer science graduates today are women, and by 2020, there will be 1.4 million jobs available in related fields. But women are on track to fill just 3 percent of them.

We are very, very passionate about this mission of closing the gender gap, and we know that its only going to happen if we reach as many girls as possible, said Emily Reid, the groups director of education .

The clubs are led by teachers, school librarians, college students studying computer science, and engineers who are willing to donate their time. They receive training and support from Girls Who Code, must pass a short assessment to show their computer science knowledge and have experience working with students in middle and high school. The clubs generally meet for two hours a week for about 20 weeks.

We really believe in the guide-on-the side versus the sage-on-the-stage mentality, so we believe that our facilitators are able to help guide students through their learning rather than needing to be the expert and lecture to them, said Reid. Thats part of our core educational philosophy, and thats the way we think we can expand as quickly as we are.

In order to reach more girls, the organizations expansion comes with some curriculum changes as well to serve students of varying skill levels. Students are expected to learn about what the nonprofit calls the core four": loops, conditionals, variables, and functions, or as Reid said, the building blocks of learning how to code.

The curriculum is interest driven, so students who like video games or music can learn these concepts through projects related to those areas.

Theres also a community service component to the program. The CS Impact Project is a club-wide effort that involves the students coming together to use computer science to benefit their community. For example, students might create a website to inform the public about a serious issue affecting the area such as homelessness.

And, the clubs emphasize what the organization calls sisterhood. The girls are encouraged to support each other in their efforts, and the program hopes to raise the students confidence about their abilities.

Reid, who is a computer scientist by training, said she knows through personal experience how important the support of other women can be when youre working in a male-dominated field.

That experience is very much reflected in the research that exists around both girls and students of color staying in technology, said Reid. That support network is crucial.

Reid said they believe that, by combining an effective support network with a strong foundation of knowledge about computer science, theyll close the gender gap.

Our hope is that our girls will be both inspired to continue to learn more and eventually major or minor in computer science in college, said Reid.

Their efforts appear to be working. The organization reports that 65 percent of club participants say theyre considering plans to major or minor in computer science as a result of what they learned from Girls Who Code. By the end of this academic year, the nonprofit, which began in 2012, is expected to have reached 40,000 students in all.

Any school or community organization with dedicated lab space, computers for each student, and Internet access can apply to host a club .

To find out more about the goings on at the White House conference today, look for my colleague Liana Heitins post later today in Curriculum Matters .

Photo: Students work on a computer science project through a Girls Who Code club in New York City. (Jessica Scranton)
In an effort to halt cyber crime that endangers young children, federal agents have trampled on basic privacy protections, attorneys argued Wednesday in a Houston courtroom, joining a nationwide consortium of defense lawyers fighting a sweeping federal investigation.

PRIVACY DEBATE: FBI says seizure was legal

They're questioning whether federal agents had the right to seize computers  and gigabytes of incriminating evidence  in Texas and elsewhere across the country that were used to access a dark web server based in Virginia.

A lawyer for Missouri City man accused of downloading child pornography from the dark website argued Wednesday the FBI overstepped its bounds in the 2015 sting, which nabbed 200 defendants nationwide.

PRISON TIME: Former A&M professor sentenced for child pornography

FBI officials say the seizure was legal, approved by a search warrant from a federal magistrate in Virginia that ultimately led agents to visitors to the website. It is critical, they say, to fighting cyber crime.

FBI's Operation Pacifier began in early 2015 after the FBI tracked down the server of an illegal child pornography site called Playpen. Agents got a search warrant in Virginia from a federal magistrate judge, who gave them permission to keep the site running in Quantico for a few weeks while they used malware to detect the IP addresses of visitors who had logged onto the site.

RELATED: Ex-comic book store worker pleads guilty to federal child porn charges

One of the thousands of these decrypted IP address led agents to the Missouri City home of Louis Clifford Smith Jr., a retired IT specialist for the City of Houston.

An FBI agent and Pearland police officer arrived in July 2015 with a warrant and found hundreds of explicit images of prepubescent girls in sexual situations with naked men.

Smith was indicted for receipt, possession and access with intent to view child pornography, and pleaded guilty to all charges the following October.

Smith has since withdrawn his guilty plea, with the approval of U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon, and is now fighting to suppress the evidence seized as a result of the Virginia search warrant.

On Wednesday, his attorney, Guy Womack, argued before the judge that she would have to determine whether the FBI's search of that server took place in the Eastern District of Virginia or in the Southern District of Texas.

"They couldn't identify who was on the site, that's why they used this novel, illegal tactic," Womack said.

Harmon said she expects to reach a decision this week on the motion to suppress the evidence.
Police are looking for suspects after responding to a call about a man who was injured in a shootout in a northeast Harris County neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon.

Captain John Zitzmann, of Harris County Precinct 4, said deputies were called to the scene on Wilona Way near Treaschwig at about 2:30 p.m. after getting reports of gunfire.

Upon arrival, neighbors told deputies that two men started shooting at each other in the street after one group pulled up to a home in a car and began talking to other men who came out of a home. Zitzmann said deputies found gun shell casings in front of the home and bloody footsteps into the house.

The condition of the injured man is unknown at this time.

Zitzmann said the shooter got away in a car that was waiting for him. KHOU reports a car with a back windshield blown out left the scene.

An unknown suspect tried to jump the fence and break into the house at about 5 p.m., not knowing deputies were there. Zitzmann said deputies started chasing the suspect. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Zitzmann didn't know if the suspect had been caught.

"There's something in the house these people want real bad," Zitzmann said. He added deputies are in the process of obtaining a search warrant.

Check back later for more details in this report.
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For the first time, a woman is Houston's most wanted gang fugitive.

Gracie Gamino, believed to be a member of the Tango Blast gang, will be featured starting Thursday on digital billboards throughout the Houston area and on the Internet.

The publicity is part of an appeal by a coalition of law enforcement agencies for tips on the whereabouts of Gamino, 29, of Rosenberg.

Gamino is being sought for failing to complete community service related to a conviction in a stabbing case.

"It is uncommon," Deputy U.S. Marshal Alfredo Perez said of a woman gaining such attention in the gang world.

The anti-gang program has focused on 227 fugitives since it began in 2012, with 80 percent of them captured so far.

NABBED: Border patrol catches one of Texas' 10 most wanted sex offenders

Gamino is believed to be a member of the "Houstone" faction of the Tango Blast gang, which is considered by the Texas Department of Public Safety to be the state's top gang threat.

The gang, which has become a phenomenon in recent years, has thrived by welcoming prison inmates who might otherwise be vulnerable to traditional predatory gangs.

It has a loose organizational structure and liberal guidelines compared to other major gangs, such as letting members come and go from the organization.

Membership does not have to be for life and there is no "blood in-blood out" mandate in which the only way in or out of the group is by shedding blood, the DPS report states.

As for Gamino's role in the gang? Authorities aren't saying, other than to note she is believed to be a member.

Melissa Hamilton, a University of Houston Law Center professor and former police officer, said that when women are part of male-dominated gangs they tend to be very low-ranking, but gangs know women draw less attention from law enforcement.

BRUTAL: Gangster gets 55 years for sanding off man's tattoo

She said women tend to have stronger family ties than men, and often child care duties, which are factors that may keep them from committing as many crimes as men.

"Something else is going on here for them to go to the efforts of putting her face on billboards," Hamilton said. "She is going to have a choice to make ... Does she turn herself in or try to flee?"

Gamino is wanted for recently failing to report to a community service officer as part of a plea agreement on a charge of assaulting a family member that would have spared her prison and given her a clean record if she'd kept her nose clean for four years.

An affidavit filed by Harris County prosecutors contends that in December 2014 she used a knife to slice her boyfriend on the side of the head and stab him in the thigh after accusing him of having a relationship with her cousin.

Gamino has several prior arrests in Harris and Fort Bend counties and is a mother of two, according to court records.

Her convictions include a previous assault of a family member, driving while intoxicated, evading arrest, making a terroristic threat, drug possession and stealing a car.

Gamino was sent to a state jail for 10 months in 2010 for the car theft but has never been in prison.

FBI Houston Division Special Agent Shauna Dunlap said gang fugitives have repeatedly felt the heat of being selected weekly as this region's Most Wanted Gang Fugitive.

"Thanks to tips from the public, the FBI and our law enforcement partners have taken dozens of violent gang offenders off the streets," she said. "The collaboration helps keep our community safe."

Anyone with information is asked to visit the website stophoustongangs.org.
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The way a West Texas assistant principal handled a middle school fight this week is causing a stir for one girl's family who say their daughter was "choked," according to local media.

The scuffle at Alamo Junior High School in Midland, caught on video obtained by CBS 7 News, shows a faculty member stepping in.

RELATED: Video: College pool party brawl in San Marcos goes viral

Photos appears to show the adult putting one of the students against a dumpster.

That student's aunt told the station the family met with the Midland Independent School District on Tuesday to discuss the incident.

RELATED: Sheriff: Female student shooter, 14, dead, another girl injured at Alpine High School in West Texas

"You have her eight hours a day. I expect her to be protected while she's there. I don't agree with her fighting at school, that's her fault, and she's being punished," Tiffany Armstrong, the student's aunt, told CBS 7 News. "But at the same time, to be broken up like that and you choke her."

District spokesman Woodrow Bailey told CBS 7 the photos and video "do not give a full description of the incident," which involved "several students." Campus administrators "followed protocol" to handle the fight, he said.

RELATED: Dallas taqueria brawl, sparked by chips and salsa dispute, caught on viral Facebook video

"If you can't restrain her and grab anything but her throat, you don't need to be here," Armstrong told CBS 7.

According to the station, involved students are facing disciplinary action, though it's unclear what the punishments are, but no criminal charges.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
When a vehicle began to sink into an irrigation canal, so did the 260 pounds of marijuana and 6 ounces of cocaine it was carrying.

Two people were arrested in Pharr, Texas, near McAllen, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents pursued a vehicle they saw being loaded with narcotics Tuesday, according to a CBP news release.

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Texas has a problem with judges - mainly that there aren't enough of them on the federal bench.

The state has 12 federal judicial openings, the most in the nation, and only five active judges hearing cases in the Eastern District of Texas.

And, it is delaying justice in those cases. All this because of the political gamesmanship and dysfunction in Washington, D.C., where getting a judge confirmed to the bench is about as tough as getting a look at Donald Trump's tax returns.

Texas is a big, busy state on the legal front. The lack of judges prompted the U.S. Judicial Conference, which monitors caseloads and languishing judicial vacancies, to declare judicial emergencies in all four of Texas' judicial divisions.

READ MORE: Judgeship vacancies translate into delays

Across those districts, there are a total of 10 trial benches unfilled, and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, there are two Texas seats open.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, both Texas Republicans, hold seats on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, which would seem to make it easier to get a judge through the Senate. But, with President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the White House and the president and the Senate having historically bad relations, confirming judges sometimes gets tied in knots.

Texas judicial candidates don't get a Senate hearing without first winning over the state's bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, which is made up of lawyers and judges appointed by the two senators. The committee recommends U.S. District Court and U.S. attorney candidates to the White House.

READ MORE: Senate cracks logjam on federal judges in Texas

That process has gone relatively smoothly. But, the tendency of Cornyn and Cruz to handle vacancies in bunches, along with retirements, has created a high number of vacancies all at once.

Five nominees are pending. But, they need to get full U.S. Senate approval by November if they have any hope of being seated before Obama leaves the White House in January.

Should those nominees win Senate confirmation, Obama will have seated 17 U.S. district judges in Texas during his presidency, two short of the 19 U.S. district judges seated by former President George W. Bush in his two terms.
AUSTIN  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leads his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, by 7 percentage points among likely voters in Texas with just about 50 days until Election Day, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The Texas Lyceums survey showed Trump winning 39 percent support to Clintons 32 percent. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson garners 9 percent, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein wins 3 percent.

Among registered voters, however, Trumps lead in the 4-way race shrinks significantly and leads to a statistical dead heat. In that scenario, Clinton trails Trump by 1 percentage point. However, Clinton pulls ahead of Trump in a two-way race, 39 to 35 percent.

Registered voters are more diverse than the pool of voters who historically show up in Texas elections, but the combination of the slow march of demographic change and Trumps rhetoric appears to have made Texas registered voter pool more Democratic than we have seen in previous presidential races, Joshua Blank, the polls research director, said in a statement.

The poll also found that 17 percent of likely voters did not say or did not know who they would support for president. Trump and Clinton, among the most disliked presidential candidates in history, have not seemed to increase the chance of split-ticket voting in down ballot races, according to the poll. Among likely voters, 2 percent of Trump supporters said they will vote for a Democrat in a congressional race or a state house race. For Clinton backers, 6 percent said they would support a Republican candidate for Congress, while 4 percent said they would support a GOP nominee for the Texas Legislature.

Overall, among likely voters surveyed, 39 percent said they would vote for a Republican candidate to represent them at the Texas Capitol and in Congress, while 31 percent said they would vote for a Democrat in those races.

Trump was an overwhelming favorite among likely voters when asked which candidate can do a better job of changing the culture in Washington, D.C. He won 58 percent to Clinton's 29 percent, and 13 percent said they did not know. He also edged out Clinton on handling crime, terrorism, health care, immigration, and the economy. While not winning a majority in most categories, Clinton beat Trump on the environment, foreign policy and education.

Texans surveyed also gave high marks to President Barack Obama and Gov. Greg Abbott, though their job approval ratings were predictably split along partisan lines. A total of 58 percent of respondents said Obama was doing a "very good" or "somewhat good" job as president, when the poll considered the opinions of adult Texans. When it looked at only registered voters, Obama's job approval rating dropped to 56 percent. Abbott, a Republican, garnered a 61 percent overall approval rating. About 88 percent of Republicans approve of the job Abbott has done in his first term, while he won 40 percent support from Democrats.

The poll was conducted Sept. 111 and questioned 1,000 adult Texans. It was weighted by race, age and gender to meet state population projections and has an overall margin of error of plus- or minus-3.1 percent.
-- POSTED THIS MORNING: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leads his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, by 7 percentage points among likely voters in Texas with just about 50 days until Election Day, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The Texas Lyceums survey showed Trump winning 39 percent support to Clintons 32 percent. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson garners 9 percent, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein wins 3 percent.

Among registered voters, however, Trumps lead in the 4-way race shrinks significantly and leads to a statistical dead heat. In that scenario, Clinton trails Trump by 1 percentage point. However, Clinton pulls ahead of Trump in a two-way race, 39 to 35 percent. (Houston Chronicle)

>> Poll: Immigration remains top issue for Texans, Houston Chronicle

-- TEA says it will conduct detailed review of special ed target, by the Chronicles Brian Rosenthal. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday that his office is reviewing a monitoring system that sets an 8.5 percent benchmark for special education enrollments and strictly audits school districts with enrollments that exceed that rate for students with disabilities.

-- From the Express-News David Rauf: Two members of the commission, which regulates the unlimited-money-in-politics Texas landscape, have abruptly resigned since June after several influential conservative groups started ramping up pressure to have members of the panel replaced. In a Tuesday letter, Commissioner Hugh Akin, who was appointed by former Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, told Patrick he is not interested in quitting and that he plans to serve on the eight-member panel until his term ends in November 2017.

>> Turner unveils tentative pension reform deal, Houston Chronicle

-- Cruz tries to stop transfer of internet domains, by the Chronicles Kevin Diaz. The privatization of the global internet domain name system has been in the works for two decades, with the support of such technology giants as Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Cruz, however, recently has taken to calling it a giveaway comparable to the Panama Canal. Pressing for a policy rider to maintain oversight by the Commerce Department, Cruz accused the administration of ignoring a law barring the U.S. government from relinquishing control of the domain name system, even while planning is underway.

>> CHASER: Ted Cruz incorrect about Obama giving control of internet to UN-like body, by the Statesmans Gardner Selby for PolitiFact.

-- Cruz makes nice with campaign fundraisers, by the APs Will Weissert. Invitations sent to top Republicans and donors on Wednesday said Cruz is teaming up with fellow Texan and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn to host fundraisers in Houston and Dallas next month. The gatherings will benefit a coalition that's more traditional than the tea party-backed lawmakers who are usually Cruz's closest allies. Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Chuck Grassley of Iowa are set to attend the events, both on Oct. 6. Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania will also benefit, though they aren't scheduled to attend.

>> Rising wages lift Texas poor, but almost 1 in 4 kids still in poverty, The Texas Tribune

-- Senate committee examines deductions of union dues from government paychecks, by Quorum Report Editor Scott Braddock. ($)

During the Senate State Affairs hearing Wednesday, Annie Spilman, Texas Legislative Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, or NFIB, said 93 percent of the small business groups membership in this state believe the practice should be outlawed. 

Pointing to the case of Brent Southwell, a janitorial executive in Houston, Spilman said big labor groups like the Service Employees International Union often go too far in trying to organize the workforce. She noted that a Houston jury earlier this month awarded $5.4 million in damages to Southwells company Professional Janitorial Service after his attorneys successfully argued the SEIUs tactics were over the line. In written testimony, Southwell told lawmakers that even though organized labor is weakened in Texas  thanks to its status as a right to work state  unions do have growing power in Houston.

CAPITOL DAYBOOK

SENATE

10am  Finance [E1.036 (Finance Room)]

11am  Texas Ports, Select [E1.012 (Hearing Room)]

SPEED READ

Woman marks a first as Houston's Most Wanted Gang Fugitive, Houston Chronicle

Cool NASA inventions may be in your closet, Houston Chronicle

Pro-choice Catholics call for repeal of ban on tax-funded abortions for the poor, Houston Chronicle

Republicans, Dems clash over climate change investigations, Houston Chronicle

Public universities still under siege, 3 former presidents say, Austin American-Statesman

BlackRock warns investors to consider climate change, Houston Chronicle

The bravado is gone as the Eagle Ford Shale oil field shifts into efficiency mode, San Antonio Express-News

Sandra Blands family says civil suit settled for $1.9 million, KTRK

Hundreds Rally to Reject Racist Mexican-American History Text, Texas Observer

What are some of the top priorities for Texass 85th Legislature, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Hospital readmissions in Texas are going down, Houston Chronicle

Pro-choice Catholics call for repeal of ban on tax-funded abortions for poor, Houston Chronicle

RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

-- TIGHTENING  With less than eight weeks before Election Day, Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton are locked in a tight contest, with both candidates still struggling to win the confidence of their respective bases, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds.

Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has the support of 46 percent of likely voters nationwide, to 44 percent for Mr. Trump, the Republican, including those who said they were leaning toward a candidate. Looking more broadly at all registered voters, Mrs. Clinton holds a wider edge, 46 to 41 percent. (The New York Times)

-- Clinton goes back on the trail today, by the APs Julie Pace and Lisa Lerer. Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail Thursday following a bout of pneumonia that sidelined her for three days and revived questions about both the Democratic nominee and Republican Donald Trump's transparency regarding their health.

Clinton's campaign responded with a new letter from her doctor Wednesday declaring her fit to serve as president and recovering well from her recent illness. The letter  the first substantial update on her health in more than a year  details the medications she is taking, her cholesterol levels and other results from a physical exam.

Trump says he, too, plans to release details from a recent physical, though it's unclear when that will happen and how much information he will provide. So far, the businessman has only released a widely mocked letter from his longtime physician declaring he would be the healthiest president in history.

-- Melania Trump released a letter Wednesday from an immigration attorney that provided more detail on what she said was her legal pathway to U.S. citizenship. But the Slovenian-born wife of the GOP presidential nominee did not publish any part of her immigration file official documents that would put to rest questions about whether she followed immigration law. (AP)

>> Trump told Dr. Oz he wants to lose a few pounds, CNN
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.
A blog for the Bloomingdale neighborhood in Washington, DC.
Family members say they have not been in contact with 13 Arakanese from Haigyi Island in Ayeyarwady Region for more than a month, after they were...
Sullythe Clint Eastwood-directed movie about US Airways pilot Chesley Sullenbergers crash-landing of a passenger plane in the Hudson River seven years agois a hit. The story carries a comforting message: flying is so safe that even a crash is just an inconvenience. But safety itself breeds danger. This week, federal regulators released their report into the near-catastrophe of Delta Flight 1086 from Atlanta to New York 18 months ago. The litany of human errors that investigators catalogued got little attention. But the report should serve as a reminder: flying is not inherently safe. It is safe only when people respect the system that keeps it safe.

If Delta Flight 1086 had crashed at LaGuardia on a snowy day last March, killing some of the 132 people on board, the tragedy would have generated front-page headlines for weeks. Americans can be thankful that they havent seen such headlines in more than seven years. No American airliner has fatally crashed since 2009, when 50 people died as a Continental commuter flight crashed near Buffalo. Americans who fly today fear terrorism, not mechanical or human error.

This safe stretch is unprecedented. Before 2007, America rarely had a year without a major plane disaster. In November 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Queens, killing 265 people. In 1996, TWA Flight 800 crashed off Long Island, killing 230. In 1990 and 1985, Americans saw three major air crashes in the news. Go back further, and commercial flight was truly dangerous. Last year, Judy Blume published her novel, In the Unlikely Event, based on her experience growing up in the 1950s near Newark Airport, when three planes crashed in just eight weeks.

Deltas flight last year came close to breaking the current streak. On March 5, the airliners plane was substantially damaged, investigators from the National Transportation Safety board concluded this Tuesday, when the Boeing MD-88 ran off the runway and stopped just short of Flushing Bay. Almost everything that can go wrong on an airplane did go wrong on Flight 1086.

The pilots faced an immediate challenge: bad weather. With plenty of experience, they knew that landing at LaGuardia in the snow would be a challenge. As the NTSB reports, they spent considerable time during the flight analyzing whether theyd be able to stop the plane on the runway. They also asked for braking reports 35 minutes before landing. But crews from the Port Authority, which runs the airport, were clearing snow, so no one was landing planes to report conditions. Plus, the Port Authority wasnt using the best technology to measure friction, even though it said it was doing so. The airport operators policies . . . need clarification, investigators said.

Pilots, then, didnt get braking reports until 16 and eight minutes before landing, when they learned that conditions were good. Upon emerging from clouds, though, the flight crew expected to see at least some of the runways surface, the NTSB reports. Instead, the flight crew saw that the runway was covered with snow.

Faced with situational stress, the captain essentially panicked. Because of that stress and operational distractions, investigators say, he landed the plane with an aggressive move, putting the engines into reverse to help stop the plane. The move exceeded the setting for a contaminated runway by 59 percent. That abrupt strain on the plane caused a loss of aerodynamic directional controlbasically, Flight 1086 was a runaway plane.

What ultimately saved the passengers and crew was dumb luck. After the crash-landing, it took 17 minutes to get everyone off the plane. The crash broke a wing and knocked out the planes communications, but the plane didnt catch on fire or explode. The captainlikely still rather stressed outdid not convey a sense of urgency to evacuate the cabin, investigators concluded. Flight attendants were confused and didnt follow proper procedures. The fact that passengers climbed off the plane dressed in their heavy winter coats and scarves, as ABC7 reported, shows either that flight attendants didnt clearly instruct them to leave everything behind, or that passengers didnt listen, wasting time that could have been critical.

After the evacuation, the planes crew couldnt give rescuers an accurate passenger count, leaving out two infants. Flight and cabin crews . . . should be able to provide emergency responders with an accurate passenger count . . . upon exiting the airplane, investigators noted, because such information could be lifesaving in a rescue effort.

Federal investigators painstakingly set out this chain of events as a warning. Had just a few things gone differently, their report could easily have become a document of the banal series of actions, inactions, and errors that caused dozens of people to die. In a crisis, frightened crew members and passengers did the wrong thing, multiple times, with their errors compounded by the fact that they and others didnt do their jobs properly before it became an emergency.

The NTSB account is a useful reminder: airplanes are not magical machines, and they cannot land in any weather. Plane and runway engineers build in room for error. But ground and flight crews still can make enough errors to use up all of that room. The crew and passengers of Delta Flight 1086 were fortunate that their bad day never became more than a news blurb. Sometimes fate is on your side. But sometimes, it isnt. When flying is this safe, its easy to forget that its not safe at alland that its better for professionals to depend on good practices, not good luck, to save lives.

Photo by Getty Images


Bernard Barbier presided over DGSE, France's answer to NSA, during the agency's period of fast growth, spending 500M and adding 800 new staffers; in a recent speech to a French engineering university Ecole Centrale Paris, Barbier spilled a ton of secrets, apparently without authorisation.



The first video upload of the talk was quickly yanked down, but new versions, with improved audio, are now online. The talk reveals that the NSA admitted to their French counterparts that US intelligence had hacked into France's seat of government, the Elysee; Barbier also took credit/blame for a string of cyber-offenses against France's allies, confirming for the first time that DGSE is not a "defensive" agency, but rather is involved in constant incursions against foreign powers.

In 2013, Le Monde published a paper unveiled by Edward Snowden revealing that Canadian secret services suspect their French counterparts of being behind a vast hacking operation launched in 2009. If the attack targets a half dozen Iranian institutions related the nuclear program of that country, it also targets Canada, Spain, Greece, Norway, Ivory Coast, Algeria and even some targets in France. About its authors, Canadians were still uncertain: "We believe, with a moderate degree of certainty, that it is an operation on computer networks supported by a State and implemented by a French intelligence agency." On the French side, absolute silence. Paris admits having acquired defensive capabilities, but denies any offensive activity, a taboo. Until Mr. Barbier's story. "Canadians reverse-engineered a malware they had detected. They found the programmer, who had dubbed his malware "Babar" and signed "Titi". They concluded that he was French. And actually, he was a French (). We crossed an enormous threshold between 1990 and 1995 when we bought a US Cray supercomputer. We found that with a very large computing power, we could break passwords. We started hacking in 1992. I built the first state hacking teams, the first soldiers of the French cyber-army. The best have no university education. It's not a problem of knowledge, it's a brain problem. This is someone who, from years 15-16, started hacking. He'll find things and therefore flaws. Today, it's not 100 people we should recruit, it takes 200 to 300. "

Confessions of a master of French intelligence [Anonymous translation of Le Monde article/Pastebin]

Talk by the Former Head of French SIGINT/Summary of French Le Monde article

[Bruce Schneier]





Oui, La NSA hacked France in 2012

[Matt Suiche/Medium]
Achizitie de Servicii Tehnice de creare a plantatiilor forestiere de protectie din cadrul primariei Andrusul de Jos si a primariei Vadul lui Isac, r. Cahul
A familiar harmony of fear and self-loathing crescendoed Wednesday after Gallup released a new survey estimating that only 32 percent of Americans trust the media, the lowest level recorded in the polling organizations history. That number is down eight percentage points since last year, a drop Gallup blamed in part on this bad dream of a presidential campaign.

The data set sail a thousand tweets lamenting a Fourth Estate crumbling before our digitally glazed-over eyes. And its trend line points even steeper downward since 1976, when the publics trust and confidence in the media peaked at 72 percent following reporting on the Vietnam War and Watergate.

It seems perfectly plausible that just one-third of Americans trust the media. Liberals and conservatives alike have criticized the media over the course of this campaign, while presidential candidates have made the media a familiar target in stump speeches and fundraising emails. Rants against the media are a favorite dish at my familys Thanksgiving dinners. You have a point, I mumble through mouthfuls of mashed potatoes. But thats not what I do.

And herein lies the caveat journalists should consider before they wet the bed over Gallups latest data: There is no media. There is only my media and your media.

The mediasuch as newspapers, TV, and radio per Gallups definitionhas given way to an amorphous blob of email newsletters, podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels, tweets, Snaps, Facebook Live streams, and countless other vessels we couldnt have imagined 20 years ago. Many people who produce content for them adhere to journalistic standards, but an increasing proportion of them do not. Consuming the fruits of that labor is an intensely personalized experience.

Peer further into Gallups data. Trust in media among self-identified Republicans, Democrats, and independents was in the same ballpark in 1998. That was in the early years of the cable news wars. The nearly two decades since coincided with an intense fragmentation of media among more digitally focused individuals and organizations.

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Nowhere has this explosion been more forceful than with conservatives, whose half-century project of demonizing the lamestream media has begun splattering into myriad splotches on the internet. The world of a lone conservative media superpower, Fox News, is gradually giving way to a multi-polar world of abundant right-leaning choices.

Polling from the Pew Research Center in 2014 suggests that liberals turn to a broader array of news outlets than their ideological counterparts, which may help explain Gallups flatter trend line among Democrats in an age of fragmentation. Conservatives trust far fewer sources, but they generally put greater faith in individual options such as Fox, Breitbart, and Sean Hannity. Is Hannity, who goes to lengths to carry water for GOP nominee Donald Trump, not part of the media? He is by any definition of the term, despite a flawed argument that his opinionated bent makes him something other than a journalist.

The truth is cognitive dissonance about the media serves everyones interests. Respectable journalists feel safe criticizing the media because the ambiguity allows for some daylight between their savviness and any guilt by association. Clinton and her supporters can complain about the media for supposedly unfair scrutiny and then cite the media as it exposes Trumps grand charade.

This campaign may be the driving force behind Americans heretofore unparalleled disdain for the media. Indeed, the decline in public trust since 2000 has come largely during presidential election years. Polling from other years, taken cumulatively, suggests a modest uptick.

That disparity could stem from the media performing particularly bad during campaigns, or the fact Americans consume a particularly large amount of smut from the media as voting looms. But let me propose another possibility: a growing discontent with our politics, reflected through the media. We can blame the media if the campaign isnt going the way we think it should. And since the media has no real definition, everyones argument is at once true and false.

Of course, there is no way around this wretched catchphrase. And as someone who writes about the media, I am a repeat and continuing offender. The media is dead; long live the media.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti.
The United Nations General Assembly gets underway this week in New York, and beginning next Tuesday, 195 leaders from around the world will parade before the UNs green marble rostrum and deliver speeches. While the General Assembly may not be the worlds most productive meeting, it cannot be denied that everyone gets to have their say.

Indeed the entire UN system places an extraordinary value on speech as a tool for resolving differences and managing international conflict. But on the world stage, it is often only government officials who have the chance to speak freely. Around the world, freedom of expression is under siege, and journalists are being jailed in record numbers. The UN must take action.

After all, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsa founding document of the UNstates that, Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Even though it was drafted in 1948, the open-ended language has been widely interpreted to protect free speech online.

This fundamental right is not widely respected in practicewitness, for example, media crackdowns in China, Egypt, Turkey, and Ethiopiaand because enforcement mechanisms are weak or nonexistent, there is little that can be done with the UN system to ensure compliance.





That is why some leading experts on free expression are proposing a new strategy focused on codifying and strengthening norms, or agreed upon standards. Unnoticed by many of us, a great power struggle over the shape, terms, and limits of free expression is raging around us, inside the box in your pocket and perhaps even inside our heads, noted Timothy Garton Ash in his book published earlier this year, Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World.

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Ash, who as a journalist is one of the leading chroniclers of the transformation of Eastern Europe, is on the faculty at Oxford University, where he has established a website, Free Speech Debate, that explores the role of free expression in an interconnected world. This semester, hes a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

In his book, Ash talks about the Kingdom of Laws and the Republic or Norms. Laws governing speech should be as narrowly tailored and as limited as possible; the rest, as he put it, is up to us. Free expression norms protect speech, but can also suggest limits. They are often derived from a process of collective action involving individuals, governments, international civil society, academics, business, journalists, and others with a direct stake. There can be more give-and-take involving norms, because unlike laws, they are mutable, adaptable, and changeable.

The 10 free speech principles espoused by Ash were derived from an extensive consultative process hosted on the Free Speech Debate website. While protecting the right to free expression, many also encourage self restraint. For example, principle two, which governs violence, states, We neither makes threats of violence nor accept violent intimidation. Principle four, which applies to journalism, reads, We require uncensored, diverse, trustworthy media so we can make well-informed decisions and participate fully in political life.

Norms can have tremendous powerboth in terms of what we experience in the real world and in shaping the legal environment. For example, Facebooks censorship of the Nick Ut photograph of the naked Vietnamese girl fleeing a napalm attack resulted from the companys decision to impose American norms regarding nudity on the entire world, as Ash put it.

Facebook apologizes to Norway for removing "napalm girl" photo. https://t.co/EWxURIrfno  The Associated Press (@AP) September 13, 2016





Meanwhile, the Columbia University initiative on Global Free Expression is using norms to help shape legal principles, by for example compiling a database of legal cases from the world and identifying emerging research trends. With support from the Knight Foundation, Columbia has also recently established First Amendment Center, and hired former ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer to lead it. Among other efforts, the new center will engage in strategic litigation to strengthen and protect free expression in the US. While it will have a domestic focus, it could have a significant global impact because so many companies such as Facebook that set global standards for online speech are based here.

There are also steps the UN can take to strengthen both free expression norms and legal safeguards. In the coming weeks, the General Assembly will discuss implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, a long-term program to reduce global poverty. Among the goals is expanding access to independent information for people all around the world so they are empowered to make informed decisions.

In addition, Reporters Without Borders, with support from the Committee to Protect Journalists and dozens of press freedom groups, is calling for the appointment of a Special Representative for the Safety of Journalists who would advocate within the UN system and report directly to the Secretary General.

Leaders from around the world will enjoy free expression when they come to speak at the UN this week, but journalists who cover their speeches back home may not. If the UNand the international community it representstruly believes in the power of speech to solve global problems, it must do all within its power to close that gap.

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Joel Simon is a fellow at Tow Center for Digital Journalism. His next book is The Infodemic: How Censorship Made the World Sicker and Less Free co-authored with Robert Mahoney.
The use of fear as a weapon in political campaigning is long established, and often highly effective for candidates who deploy it. More often than not, spreading fear means the demonizing of a section of society: immigrants, unions, African Americans, bankersand in this years US presidential election, American Muslims.

The Tow Center for Digital Journalism, at the Columbia Graduate School for Journalism, has partnered with Democracy Fund Voice as part of a project examining the links between terrorism, political rhetoric and media coverage with particular reference to the impact on American Muslims. Beginning today, we will release three white papers looking at how recent events inform the current political cycle, linking terrorism, political rhetoric, and media coverage with particular reference to the impact on American Muslims. The motivation is to improve the understanding of these relationships, and to engage journalists and social media companies in developing improved reporting of terrorism in a live, digital environment for the benefit of everyone in society.

Republican candidate Donald Trumps racist language and xenophobic pledges are tapping into an electorate already made fearful by the perceived threats of global terrorism. The violent attacks over the past yearin the US and France, in particularhave provided a highly charged backdrop for an already polarized campaign. In December 2015 Trumps campaign released a statement on the mass shooting in San Bernardino by suspected ISIS sympathizers, saying, Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what is going on.

Trumps alarmist rhetoric, far from undermining his candidacy, spurred him to a resounding victory over other Republican contenders. The initial success of Trumps candidacy necessitates a widespread examination of the medias role in amplifying the divisive extremism and falsehoods of his campaign.

Covering terrorism brings its own challenges for media organizations and increasingly for social media companies, too. Journalists and the press have historically played a dual role of both amplifying and interrogating campaign messages and political statements. Reporting terrorist attacks fulfills the aims of the terrorism itself in spreading fear, but stifling or limiting coverage can fuel both distrust in the news media and undemocratic practices such as censorship.

In the past decade, the mainstream media has been joined by a plethora of social platforms in forming the public discussion around terror. This has allowed candidates, propagandists, activists, and all citizens to contribute to an often unmediated political debate. As technology companies expand into publishing territory, they occupy an increasingly important and sometimes conflicted position. At a White House summit on combating terrorism, Facebook, Google, and Twitter were key participants.

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Writer and lawyer Rafia Zakaria focuses on research of search and social media to show how the rhetoric and discussion of Muslims in relation to terrorism not only creates a skewed public discourse but also puts US Muslims in a special category of those tracked, surveilled, and discriminated against by law. Journalist Burhan Wazir examines case studies from the past twenty years to show how the links between terrorism, political messaging, and reporting have evolved. Charlie Beckett, director of the London School of Economics media policy think tank POLIS, examines how the standards and guidelines for reporting and editing during terrorist attacks might be developed and modified for a digital world.

Their initial reporting highlights both the lack of standardized best practices and the nature of the challenges a distributed news environment presents.

The papers, each of which will be accompanied by an edited excerpt, emphasize the need for robust protection of First Amendment rights in the US, and call upon the social platforms to enter into regular conversation with publishers on editorial decisions and content guidelines.

We are grateful to those who helped shape and deliver the project. The support of Democracy Fund Voice for commissioning the project, the editors Paul Harris and Nausicaa Renner for helping shape and deliver the papers against a tight deadline, Kathy Zhang at the Tow Center for orchestrating the ongoing activity and events in this area, and the staff at Columbia Journalism School, the Columbia Journalism Review, and the Tow Center for their tireless contributions.

We look forward to feedback and responses and continuing our work in this area over the coming weeks and months.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Emily Bell is a frequent CJR contributor and the director of Columbias Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Previously, she oversaw digital publishing at The Guardian.
Crime and corruption, troubled schools, drug epidemics, natural disastersthe news deals with some pretty discouraging subjects.

But it doesnt have to be negative. In recent years, a movement for solutions-oriented journalism that highlights promising responses to social challenges has picked up steam. The Solutions Journalism Network, one of the leading advocates for the approach, has trained newsrooms around the country.

And earlier this year, the network launched Small Towns, Big Change, a partnership with seven local newsrooms in southern Colorado and New Mexico designed to bring solutions journalism to smaller communities in the rural Mountain West. Over the summer, I caught up with a few of the people involved in that project: Ben Goldfarb and Leah Todd of the Solutions Journalism Network and reporter J.R. Logan of the Taos News, one of the participating news outlets. We talked about how to write a solutions story without it coming off like a puff piece, why newsrooms who might normally compete with each other decided to collaborate, and how a solutions-oriented approach creates opportunities for local outlets to take a broader perspective.

You can stream the conversation from the embedded player below or, to listen to it via CJRs iTunes library, click here.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Corey Hutchins is CJRs correspondent based in Colorado, where he teaches journalism at Colorado College. A former alt-weekly reporter in South Carolina, he was twice named journalist of the year in the weekly division by the SC Press Association. Hutchins writes about politics and media for the Colorado Independent and worked on the State Integrity Investigation at the Center for Public Integrity; he has contributed to Slate, The Nation, the Washington Post, and others. Follow him on Twitter @coreyhutchins or email him at coreyhutchins@gmail.com.
Eleven years ago, Sam Barbera hooked up his boat and headed to New Orleans to ferry people from Hurricane Katrinas floodwaters. Four weeks ago, he found himself in another boat for rescues  this time at home in Baton Rouge, when a massive rainstorm ravaged the area.

It was night and day, he said. Katrina was kind of baptism by fire. It was just people showing up, everybody doing their own thing.

But during the catastrophic flooding in mid-August, police directed volunteer boats and their owners  nicknamed the Cajun Navy  to neighborhoods where water was rising, and social media postings offered guidance on where victims needed help.

You didnt have that in Katrina. Katrina was kind of like you just put your boat in. Katrina was mayhem, Barbera said.

In 2005, the monster storm exposed huge gaps in disaster response plans on local, state and federal levels. More than 1,500 people were killed in Louisiana alone. After the levees failed and inundated New Orleans and surrounding communities, thousands were plucked from rooftops and attics. Response was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants effort, with no coordinated strategy for rescues  or what to do with the people saved. First responders were overwhelmed, and many were left to fend for themselves.

Lessons learned from Katrina formed the backbone of state and federal reaction as historic flooding ravaged 20 parishes last month. The response in the immediate aftermath was widely praised by officials and storm victims, Republican and Democrat alike.

But the slog of the longer-term recovery is starting to show that cracks remain in the disaster safety net  and that wariness lingers about federal help after the troubled response to Katrina.

Criticisms are emerging about the pace of housing aid, the size of grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the question marks that surround rebuilding and recovery.

I dont feel like yall are pushing the issue quick enough or fast enough to be able to get people back in their homes, state Rep. Clay Schexnayder, a Republican who represents hard-hit areas, told FEMA at a recent hearing on flood response.

Stephan Perkins, 46, was waiting for a FEMA inspector to show up 10 days after he registered with the agency. Perkins had a flood insurance policy that covered the structural damage to his home but not its contents. A neighbor with the same type of flood coverage told Perkins that FEMA offered him less than $200.

Im just hearing the horror stories, said Perkins, a father of two.

FEMA defends its response, saying it has approved more than $575 million in recovery grants for households so far, set up 26 disaster assistance centers and brought more than 2,500 staff to Louisiana.

FEMA has been on the ground in Louisiana since before the first drop of rain hit the ground. Weve already provided shelter and support to thousands of families, agency spokesman Rafael Lemaitre said in a statement.

Perhaps complaints are inevitable when a disaster displaces so many who desperately want to get back to their homes. Officials estimate more than 110,000 homes are damaged from flooding described as the worst disaster since Superstorm Sandy.

But discontent took longer to surface this time, and theres little disagreement about improvements in the federal and state response in the years since Katrina.

People werent left stranded for days without supplies, like at the New Orleans convention center and on interstate overpasses after Katrina. Hospitals and nursing homes werent left to fend for themselves when threatened with floodwaters, like in 2005. Shelters allowed pets to come with their owners, to avoid prior disaster scenes where people risked drowning rather than leave pets in flooded homes.

Sgt. Cliff Ortis performed rescue missions for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in both disasters. To him, the change was obvious. He noted that state and local agencies now hold regular meetings to chart out disaster response protocols and synchronize efforts.

Theres definitely a giant education movement from Katrina to now, Ortis said. No question the coordination was better.

Republican Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, who rode out Katrina in devastated Plaquemines Parish, said the state and FEMA response has been right on target.

Thats not to suggest the response wasnt without a hitch. Flood damage to AT&T equipment disrupted service and hampered some communication for first responders. Hundreds of motorists got trapped on an interstate when state officials didnt close it fast enough. Local officials criticized the Red Cross for taking too long to assist with shelters and for turning away donations.

And just like after Katrina, the great challenge moving ahead is funding. With less than one-fifth of storm victims estimated to have flood insurance, Edwards and Louisianas congressional delegation are discussing an additional flood aid package from Congress.

Carlette Dawson, 49, said she received $15,000 from FEMA after an inspector visited her Baton Rouge home. Needing much more to repair the damage, Dawson was inquiring about a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Problems with the computer system kept her waiting more than two hours.

Why is it so hard to get help? she said.

(Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Republican-dominated Louisiana congressional delegation on Monday swung behind a request by Gov. John Bel Edwards for emergency aid to help the state rebuild from last months disastrous flooding.

The Pelican State lawmakers urged President Barack Obama to send Congress an official request for money to rebuild homes and infrastructure, reduce flood risks and fund social services such as child care.

Bel Edwards, a Democrat, upped his request for flood aid to $2.8 billion in a letter sent to Obama on Monday. Torrential rains last month damaged more than 84,000 homes in the state, many in the Baton Rouge area. More than 180,000 people have registered for disaster aid.

The bipartisan effort comes as Congress is about to move ahead on a government-wide temporary funding bill that would avert a government shutdown Oct. 1. Any flood funding probably wouldnt be added to the stopgap spending bill but could advance after the election.

The Republican lawmakers, joined by Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond, did not endorse a specific aid figure and did not suggest the aid package would advance before Congress adjourns for the elections.

It is crucial that a Louisiana supplemental disaster funding component be included as part of a funding bill, the lawmakers wrote. To facilitate and expedite consideration of a Louisiana supplemental spending package, we request you to make a supplemental appropriations request to Congress.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides help with immediate needs such as funding for cleanup and temporary housing, has plenty of money available in its disaster relief fund. Bel Edwards and the congressional delegation are asking for longer-term help, especially through community development block grants to help people without flood insurance rebuild their homes and to help local governments rebuild and repair infrastructure, such as schools.

Senior Louisiana Republicans like House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Sen. Bill Cassidy voted in 2013 against the bulk of a far larger $50.5 billion aid bill for northeastern states like New Jersey in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

A top House Republican was noncommittal about the prospects of any Louisiana aid bill.

We stand ready to help. The latest information though is that FEMA has plenty of money available, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said last week. At the moment I dont think we need a supplemental, but if we get a request from the White House for one, well take a hard look at it.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court Tuesday struck down the opt out provision of the states workers compensation law, ruling it is an unconstitutional special law that gives employers the authority to single out injured workers for inequitable treatment.

In a 7-2 ruling, the states highest court said the opt out provision creates impermissible, unequal, disparate treatment of injured workers and does not guarantee members of the subject class, all employees, the same rights when a work related injury occurs, in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution. Only Texas and Oklahoma have opt out provisions in their workers compensation systems.

Oklahomas Opt Out Act allows employers to opt out of the states workers compensation system and create their own plan. But employers who create their own plans can include conditions for recovery that make it more difficult for an injured worker to recover for a work-related injury than someone covered by the states plan, according to the ruling.

The statutory language itself demonstrates that injured workers under the Opt Out Act have no protection to the coverage, process or procedure afforded their fellow employees, it says.

The case involves a work-related injury sustained by an employee of Dillards Department Stores, Jonnie Yvonne Vasquez, who alleged she injured her neck and shoulder while lifting shoe boxes while working on Sept. 11, 2014. The ruling states that it applies to Vasquezs case as well as all other cases on appeal and pending before the Workers Compensation Commission. Only 65 employers have elected to leave the states workers compensation system and create their own plans, said Vasquezs attorney, Bob Burke of Oklahoma City.

In a dissenting opinion, Justices James Winchester and Steven Taylor said they would not invalidate the opt out provisions but would require the Workers Compensation Commission to determine whether an employee covered by an employers workers compensation plan was denied benefits the employee would have received under the states plan and require the employer plan to meet the requirements of the Opt Out Act.

An attorney for Dillards, G. Calvin Sharpe, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Attorney General Scott Pruitts office, which defended the opt out provisions, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ruling is the latest setback for sweeping Oklahoma workers compensation guidelines adopted by the Legislature in 2013. In April, the Supreme Court invalidated provisions that allowed deferral of payments for permanent partial disability for workers who eventually return to their jobs.

Revamping the states workers compensation system has been a priority for Republican legislative leaders who claim the states previous system was a detriment to business and industry in the state. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin has supported changes in the law.

But Burke said 38 separate provisions of the 2013 workers compensation law have been found unconstitutional, inoperable or invalid since they went into effect.

Its a great victory for the working men and women of this state, Burke said. We cant allow the injured worker to be royally shafted like this.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A house fire that killed six children and three adults in Memphis, Tenn., was caused by an electrical malfunction in an air conditioning units power cord in the living room, authorities said.

The Memphis Fire Department released the cause of Monday mornings deadly fire as relatives and friends mourned their loved ones by hugging, crying and holding hands in prayer outside the house in a working class neighborhood in south Memphis.

Meanwhile, a 10th victim of the fire, a child, is fighting for life at a hospital.

Firefighters initially spotted light smoke outside the single-story wood-and-brick home when they arrived at 1:23 a.m. but encountered heavy smoke inside, Memphis Fire Services Director Gina Sweat said. The fire was brought under control in 19 minutes.

Fire crews found three adults and four children dead in the home, the fire department said. Two other children died after being taken in extremely critical condition to a childrens hospital, Sweat said.

One other child remains hospitalized, said Sweat, who called it the deadliest fire in Memphis since the 1920s. More recently, seven people died in a fire here in 2008, fire department spokesman Wayne Cooke said.

Investigators determined that the house did have a working smoke alarm, the fire department said. The inside of the home was charred, but the house didnt burn down and fire officials said only part of the house was affected by the fire.

The wooden-frame home has a brick facade and bars on some of its windows and doors. It wasnt immediately clear if those inside had tried to escape through the windows, Sweat said. Window bars present a danger for people trying to escape a house fire, though many window bars have releases that can open them from the inside, she said.

They could have been simply overcome by smoke and never had an opportunity to escape, she said.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland asked for prayers for family members of the dead, who werent identified Monday. Some of the victims had signs of smoke inhalation, while others had burns, according to authorities.

Its a very sad day, Strickland said. We are all in mourning.

Sweat went to the site and spoke with firefighters shocked by the loss of life.

You could feel the heavy in their hearts, and you could see the pain in their eyes, she said.

Hours after the fire, a woman knelt on the ground outside the home and wept. Other people hugged each other and prayed together along the street. A red motorized childrens toy truck and a red bicycle with no wheels sat outside of the home.

Felecia Wallace, 34, said she has known the family since she was in elementary school. She said she once needed bus fare to get to work and someone who lived in the house just gave it to her.

This is a loving family, Wallace said. If you needed anything, you could come right here. If you were hungry, you could come right here. If you needed a place to sleep, you could come right here.

A fund to help the family has been established at Regions Bank, under the name Toots Family Funds.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Joshua Browder, the teenaged botmaster whose Do Not Pay bot is helping drivers save millions by challenging NYC and London parking tickets and assisting UK homeless people who are applying for benefits, sat down for a chat on the O'Reilly Bots Podcast (MP3).



Browder, a Stanford student whose early bot hacks predated the rise of bot-friendly APIs, describes the evolution of the field, his approach to the programming bots, and where he sees things going  including his own platform for Lawyerbots (these are also a plot-element in my 2003 novel Eastern Standard Tribe, where they are used in private chat-channels to vet Ethereum-style smart contracts).



Pete and I walk through some of the bots that Microsoft has released recently, including MurphyBot ("the robot with imagination"), which responds to hypothetical questions by delivering an image; Your Face, which analyzes a photo of your face and delivers an insult; and Summarize, which creates short summaries of articles. We also talk about How Old, last year's precursor to Microsoft's recent image-related bots.



Joshua Browder on bots that fight bureaucracy

[Jon Bruner/O'Reilly]
MUNICH  Brain changes suggestive of cerebral microvascular dysfunction are already apparent in patients with prediabetes.

The changes  increased white matter hyperintensities and decreased white matter volume  are even more pronounced in subjects with type 2 diabetes, Marnix van Agtmaal, MD, said at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Patients with frank diabetes also showed an increase in intracranial cerebrospinal fluid  a correlate of the decrease in brain volume, said Dr. van Agtmaal of Maastricht (the Netherlands) University Medical Center.

Dr. van Agtmaal

The changes are probably caused by diabetes-related endothelial dysfunction, he said.

The brain is highly dependent on properly functioning microcirculation. This is critical, since the brain has high energy demand and no energy reserve. In prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, microvascular endothelial dysfunction occurs. This leads to cerebral hypoperfusion, which in turns causes chronic ischemia. This contributes to small vessel disease leading to brain atrophy and, eventually, cognitive decline and dementia.

The 2,251 subjects in the analysis were drawn from the Maastricht study, an ongoing observational study of people with type 2 diabetes.

Among the group, 350 had prediabetes, defined as impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or a combination of the two. Type 2 diabetes was present in 528. The rest had healthy glucose metabolism.

As the cohort progressed from healthy glucose metabolism to prediabetes and then diabetes, they became older (aged 58 years in the healthy group vs. 62 years in the diabetes group), heavier, and displayed worsening cardiovascular risk factors, with increasing systolic blood pressure and progressively poorer lipid profiles. Kidney function was preserved in all patients, however.

The groups were not balanced in terms of sex: 56% of those with healthy glucose metabolism were women, compared with 47% of those with prediabetes and 31% of those with type 2 diabetes.

Dr. van Agtmaal and his colleagues examined white matter hyperintensities, white matter volume, gray matter volume, and intracranial CSF. They conducted three linear regression models: a crude unadjusted model, a partially adjusted model that controlled for age, sex, and intracranial volume; and a fully adjusted model that controlled for those factors, plus systolic blood pressure, lipids, smoking, kidney function, and education.

There was a clear linear association between white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume and healthy glucose metabolism, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. In the crude analysis, the healthy subjects carried about 0.75 mL of WMH. Prediabetic subjects carried about 1.25 mL, and those with diabetes, about 2 mL.

In both the partially and fully adjusted models, this relationship was somewhat attenuated, but it remained significant for both prediabetes and diabetes.

The crude model also found that both diabetes groups had significantly lower white matter volume than did the healthy subjects. In healthy subjects, the mean volume was about 480 mL. This was about 467 mL in those with prediabetes and 466 mL in those with type 2 diabetes. Again, the partially and fully adjusted models slightly attenuated the relationship, but it remained significant in both disease states.

The crude model showed that gray matter was decreased in both prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. In healthy subjects, total gray matter was about 667 mL. In those with prediabetes, it was about 655 mL, and in those with type 2 diabetes, about 645 mL. However, the significant associations disappeared for both diabetes and prediabetes in both adjusted models.

Intracranial CSF was also different among the three groups in the crude model. In the healthy subjects, the total intracranial CSF volume was about 248 mL. In those with prediabetes, it was about 255 mL, and in those with type 2 diabetes, about 270 mL.

The association with prediabetes disappeared in the fully adjusted model  but for type 2 diabetes, it remained strongly significant.

Dr. van Agtmaal has not correlated the imaging findings with any cognitive testing on these subjects but said that study is coming.

Further analysis will also look at cognitive decline and the development of dementia in the group, he said. We also intend to look at associations with other outcomes of cerebral dysfunction, including depression.

Dr. van Agtmaal had no financial disclosures.

msullivan@frontlinemedcom.com
Unilateral sanctions will not help resolve issues on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart over the phone in the aftermath of a fresh round of nuclear testing in North Korea last week.

The call also came after the U.S. State Department's special representative for North Korea met Japanese officials on Sunday and said the U.S. may launch unilateral sanctions against the reclusive state.

China is North Korea's most important ally and has come under intense criticism for not doing enough to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

In the call on Wednesday, Wang said China opposed "unhelpful" unilateral sanctions on North Korea even as he reiterated China's opposition to Pyongyang's nuclear testing. The East Asian giant was willing to work with other permanent members of United Nations Security Council to formulate a "necessarily response" to new developments on the Korean Peninsula, he added.
Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte gestures during a labor day campaign rally on May 1, 2016 in Manila, Philippines. Dondi Tawatao | Getty Images

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte may have said he wants to buy arms from China, but he is simply playing China off against the United States rather than presenting a realistic plan, analysts say. And the fallout from is far from over, they added. Duterte told military officers in Manila on Tuesday that he would not allow government forces to conduct joint patrols of disputed waters near the South China Sea with foreign powers, and that he was considering acquiring defense equipment from Russia and China.

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Last week, he said he wanted all American special forces out of the southern Philippines, where they have been advising local troops battling Muslim extremists, but the US said no official order was received. The acid-tongued Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S. recently and is also trying to mend ties with China frayed by the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled against China's territorial claims to the South China Sea. Oh Ei-sun, a senior fellow with the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said Duterte's expressed wish to buy Chinese arms could not be interpreted clearly while debate on the international tribunal ruling continues. "What Duterte is doing is to play the U.S. off against China and vice versa, to hopefully achieve the greatest benefits for the Philippines," Oh said. "In this regard, he could afford to be more 'severe' and 'colorful' against the U.S., which considers the Philippines to be an important pillar for its rebalancing policy and is thus more restrained in its responses to Duterte's outbursts, than to China, which typically does not take foreign impoliteness or diplomatic slights too lightly. "I think what Duterte is really looking for is better weapons sales terms from the U.S." More from the South China Morning Post :

Philippines' Duterte eyes arms from China, ends joint patrols with United States

The Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte: saviour or madman?

Philippine 'strongman' Duterte isn't so tough when faced with economic or territorial battles Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, a Chinese government think tank, said Duterte was testing the U.S. while hoping for greater benefits, especially military goods, even though what he said was unrealistic. "The Mutual Defence Treaty between the US and the Philippines is a legally binding document approved by the Philippine Supreme Court and a few words from Duterte cannot stop that deep military engagement with the US, which obviously wants to maintain and even boost its geopolitical sway in the region," Wu said. "China also may not sell weapons to the Philippines as Duterte wishes due to a lack of mutual trust. And it would be embarrassing if the Philippines used Chinese warships to fight against China."

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After months of negotiating, the United States and Israel have signed a huge, $38 billion deal for military aid to the Jewish state  with some changes from previous pacts between the countries.

The 10-year agreement is the largest in U.S. history, with a significant portion of the money expected to be used to upgrade Israel's air force to Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter aircraft.



But while the actual memorandum of understanding hasn't been officially released by either country, it has a number of conditions that are different from previous U.S.-Israel aid deals.

Most importantly, it's structured so that more Israeli defense spending goes to U.S. companies. Israel's long-standing special arrangement for funds from the United States previously allowed Israel to spend 26 percent of the money in Israel  on Israeli-made defense products. But that provision is being phased out over the first five years of the deal.



Sources on Capitol Hill with knowledge of the agreement said the deal states that Israel can't lobby Congress for more money unless a war breaks out. It says that funds for missile defense are included in the $38 billion  previously, that money was negotiated separately. And it states that Israel can't use any of the U.S.-provided funds for fuel, meaning more of the aid comes back to U.S. defense manufacturers.

The U.S. State Department referred an inquiry from CNBC to the White House, which said it would not comment on the deal beyond a fact sheet it released online. That document notes that the new agreement for $3.8 billion per year compares with the previous annual allotment of $3.1 billion, and it refers to the new pact as an increase "by every measure."
Traders in the 10-year bond options pit at the Chicago Board of Trade signal orders.

U.S. government debt prices were lower on Thursday as investors digested the release of a host of data  the last big blast before the U.S. Federal Reserve meets next week.



The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat slightly lower at 1.7047 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was higher, at 2.4807 percent.

Reuters reported that in the early afternoon the five-year, 30-year yield curve steepened to 129.70 basis points, it steepest level since June 27.

Initial jobless claims came in at 260,000, slightly below expectations, while August PPI came in unchanged, missing expectations. Retail sales for August missed expectations, falling more than expected. Meanwhile, industrial production fell 0.4 percent in August, more than the expected 0.3 percent slide. Business inventories for July came in unchanged versus an estimated rise of 0.1 percent.
Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund by assets, has announced a firm-wide "renovation" that will include employee layoffs, according to someone familiar with the matter.

In a letter to clients, officials at the $150 billion-asset company said it was "digging into the areas of inefficiency to improve them" as part of a "renovation to improve efficiencies at Bridgewater." That process will involve "significant changes to people, processes, and technologies," it added. At a town hall meeting earlier Thursday, Bridgewater executives warned that those changes would include layoffs. Business Insider published the letter, and reported on the plans, at midday Thursday.

A Bridgewater spokeswoman couldn't comment on the scope of the planned layoffs at the 1,700-person company, which has grown from a staff of just 150 in 2003. According to the letter, however, most of the planned renovation would occur outside the company's investments division.

This has been a mixed year for Bridgewater, which is in the midst of a broader leadership transition. One of the Westport, Connecticut firm's flagship funds is down more than 9 percent, and the other is up 13 percent through Sept. 9, according to someone familiar with the results. A third fund, established last year to blend the flagship funds' strategies into a single vehicle, this person has added, is flat through that same time period.

Despite that, Bridgewater has taken in $22.5 billion in new client investments since 2015. Asked about those inflows at CNBC and Institutional Investors' annual Delivering Alpha conference on Tuesday, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio noted that in such volatile markets, his goal was to stay six months or even just six days ahead of events. "The market environment will always be exciting," he said. "The question is whether you're adding value or not  most importantly, whether we're going to add value in a bad time."
A woman holding an umbrella walks on an overpass in front of residential buildings in Shenzhen, China, on August 23, 2016. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Housing in major cities in China has seen price hikes over the last year that resemble the famous Dutch "Tulip Fever" bubble of 1637, according to new research by economic consultancy firm Longview Economics.

"I think what's going on in China is troubling ... some of the valuations there are really quite extraordinary," Chris Watling, the CEO of Longview Economics, told CNBC Thursday. "We've double checked these numbers about seven times, because I found them quite hard to believe."

The firm's research found that only San Jose in the Silicon Valley is more expensive than Shenzhen. The Chinese city has seen prices rise 76 percent since the start of 2015, with the acceleration beginning in April 2015 as the country's stock market was nearing its peak. The situation in Beijing and Shanghai is similar, albeit less extreme, the company states.



"Housing in some of the tier 1 cities is more expensive than it is in London, which I think itself is on a bubble, Watling added. "The (stock) market exploded to the upside and then crashed dramatically. That money had to go somewhere, so it washed around the system ... so a lot of it has gone into housing."

The analysis suggests that the typical home in Shenzhen costs approximately $800,000. Watling said that the house-income ratio in Shenzhen is now running at 70 times, compared to around 16 times in somewhere like London.

Tulip fever gripped Holland in the 17th century, when speculation over prized and rare tulip bulbs hiked their prices to astronomical levels, bankrupting families and bringing the country's economy to its knees.

China, the biggest economic story of the last 30 years, has soured in the eyes of many analysts. A stock market crash that began in the country last summer has highlighted the vast difficulties Chinese lawmakers are now facing. Watling said Chinese housing was a story built on credit, lots of liquidity and lots of debt. He added that all bubbles, though, once established, will eventually burst and deflate.

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Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is taking Wells Fargo 's consumer accounts scandal straight to the top of the bank.

"There is a serious problem with senior management at Wells Fargo," Warren told CNBC Thursday. "There's a big problem at Wells Fargo."

Wells Fargo was fined a total of $185 million by regulatory agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that accused the bank of creating as many as 1.5 million deposit accounts and 565,000 credit card accounts that consumers never asked for. The San Francisco-based banking giant fired 5,300 employees over the course of about five years as a result of the accounts.

As part of a settlement, Wells Fargo neither admitted nor denied the allegations.



Warren, a vocal critic of the big U.S. banks who originally proposed and later led the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said she is not satisfied with CEO John Stumpf's response to the crisis thus far.

"You can't have a scandal of this size and not have some senior management who are personally responsible," she said. "That's what I want to hear from him."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass., discussed Thursday on CNBC her views on the Wells Fargo phony account scandal and the coming election. On Wells Fargo : "We still have a problem on Wall Street, where these giant financial institutions think they can make money ... they can build profit models on cheating the American people," Warren said. "Let's face it, at a community bank that kind of thing is not going to happen." Before serving in the Senate, Warren was a professor at Harvard Law School. To watch the broadcast interview in its entirety, you must be a CNBC PRO subscriber .

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., discussed Thursday on CNBC her views on the Wells Fargo phony account scandal and the coming election.

On Wells Fargo : "We still have a problem on Wall Street, where these giant financial institutions think they can make money ... they can build profit models on cheating the American people," Warren said.

"Let's face it, at a community bank that kind of thing is not going to happen."

Before serving in the Senate, Warren was a professor at Harvard Law School.

To watch the broadcast interview in its entirety, you must be a CNBC PRO subscriber.


Ripple, a Google -backed start-up that uses blockchain technology to settle financial transactions between some of the world's biggest banks, has raised $55 million. The latest finance round involves Standard Chartered , Accenture Ventures, SCB Digital Ventures, the venture arm of Siam Commercial Bank, and Japan's SBI Holdings. Additional investors include Santander Innoventures, the venture units of CME Group and Seagate Technology, and Venture 51. The latest funding round has brought some large strategic corporate partners onboard with its existing base of investors which include GV, Google's venture arm, Andressen Horowitz, IDG Capital Partners, and AME Cloud Ventures. To date, the company has raised over $93 million in total funding. Ripple's focus is on providing this technology to banks looking to make cross-border payments more efficient. At the moment, an international payment may take a few days to make with a very high cost. Ripple said that its technology could give banks a 33 percent reduction in their operating costs during this process and allow lenders to move money "in seconds".



Getty Images

A headache for banks is high-volume, but low-value, transactions - the kind that Facebook might pay out to app makers for example. These can often be expensive and not profitable for the banks because it takes a lot of effort to move the money and the percentage cut won't be as high as for a larger transaction. Ripple says that it can potentially make these transactions profitable. The start-up is currently working with 15 of the top 50 global banks including UBS and Santander.



Expansion

Chris Larsen, the chief executive of Ripple, said the company was investing the fresh funds in global expansion. "We have been expanding our office locations. We want to continue that and grow those teams, we want to be hiring so we can have engineers on the ground with local banking partners as you have to get in there with the banks to make sure you have a complete solution and make things as easy as possible," Larsen told CNBC in a phone interview. The company recently opened an office in Luxemburg and is considering Singapore and Frankfurt as the next locations. Blockchain - which is the basis for Ripple's technology - works like a huge, decentralized ledger for the digital currency bitcoin which records every transaction and stores this information on a global network so it cannot be tampered with. It's this technology that banks feel can be utilized in areas from remittances to securities exchanges. In the future, Larsen said that as an increasing number of devices come online in the so-called "Internet of Things", micropayments could rise. This is where Ripple could take advantage. "With a connected device a hundredth of a penny might need to be sent, that can't happen today. But we are working to make that happen and it opens up a new field of services and revenue for the banks," Larsen said. Experts said that blockchain could have a cost-cutting impact on many parts of a bank's business. A report from analyst firm Juniper Research claimed "in areas such as transaction settlement, the introduction of a blockchain-based system would substantially reduce both the risk of error and the time taken for error checking", but cautioned that the technology needs to be secure. "While blockchain technology offers the potential for increased speed, transparency and security across an array of verticals, there has to be rigorous and robust roadtesting in each unique use case before any decision is taken," Windsor Holden, analyst at Juniper Research, wrote in a report last month.



Acquisitions ahead?
He refers you to a prestigious clinic headed by a renowned specialist who confirms the diagnosis and prescribes aggressive treatment starting immediately.

Your doctor has given you the worst news imaginable: You may have cancer.

Stop. Be honest. Would you proceed? Or would you ask for a second opinion?

A 2010 Gallup Poll found 70 percent of Americans were confident in their doctors' advice and saw no need to get a second opinion or do additional research.

At the time, that would have included Michigan autoworker Robert Sobieray. He says when he got his diagnosis in 2010 he went numb.

"Your mind goes blank and all you can think about is what's most important to you," he told CNBC's "American Greed."

"To me it's my wife sitting next to me and I just held her. I didn't know what to do."

Fearing there was no time to lose and having already endured a painful bone-marrow biopsy, Sobieray decided to trust the specialist, Dr. Farid Fata. After all, Fata had an excellent reputation. After training at the prestigious Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Fata founded a string of cancer clinics in Michigan.

Fata prescribed a course of the chemotherapy drug Zometa. The side effects were debilitating. Soon, Sobieray says, his teeth began breaking off one by one.

"About every month or two I'd lose another tooth. I had one that come out with the whole socket and all and put a hole up into my sinuses."

Fata was not alarmed, even as Sobieray's teeth dwindled down to two. The doctor suggested he see a dentist. In retrospect, it is easy to see why.

For every dose of Zometa, Fata could bill Sobieray's insurance $120. And that, it turned out, was what the treatment was all about. Sobieray did not have cancer at all. Instead, he was the victim of an unfathomably cruel scam, as told in the latest episode of "American Greed." Fata admitted falsely diagnosing hundreds of patients, bilking insurance companies and Medicare out of more than $17 million. He is serving a 45-year prison term after pleading guilty to 15 felony counts.

Sobieray is still recovering from his treatments, and now wishes he had taken an extra step after his doctor's initial diagnosis.

"Don't believe him. Go get a second, a third opinion. Doubt him. Every doctor you meet, doubt that doctor. I will never trust one doctor again," he said.
Start-ups looking at London's Shoreditch area, a hotbed of tech start-ups, will have to fork out $66,706 per year. This is followed by Brooklyn in New York, which costs $62,736 on average, and Mid-Market in San Francisco, which will set start-ups back by $61,680 a year.

Estate agent Knight Frank looked at the cost of leasing and fitting-out 600 square foot of office space in tech and creative districts in the world's leading cities.

London has been named as the most expensive city in the world for technology start-ups to open offices, trumping New York and San Francisco, potentially stifling its ability to create the next Google or Twitter, according to a new report.

Traffic passes around the Old Street roundabout, also referred to as 'Silicon Roundabout,' in the area known as 'Tech City' at dusk in London, U.K., on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016

The first, second and ninth arrondissements - or districts - in Paris ($57,426) and the Seaport District in Boston ($50,700) come in fourth and fifth place.

Knight Franks' analysis showed that emerging tech and digital districts such as "Silicon Docks" in Dublin and The Domain in Austin offer lower start-up costs at $47,345 and $35,280 respectively, and might be a cheaper alternative for start-ups.

But there could be some hope for start-ups looking to set up shop in London, New York or San Francisco: Co-working spaces. These are buildings run by companies like WeWork for example, that let companies rent small offices or even desks.

In London's Shoreditch area, the cost of occupying four desks in a co-working space is $28,933 per annum. Knight Frank says this is a $37,773 difference from renting traditional office space. In San Francisco's Mid-Market district, the annual saving would be $37,680.

"As we head towards Brexit, tech start-ups are the sort of firms the UK will be looking to for future growth. So it is disappointing to discover London is such an expensive place for them to rent business space, at least if they want their own offices," James Roberts, chief economist at Knight Frank, said in an emailed statement.

"Collaborative offices are consequently playing a vital role in offering affordable business space, but for start-ups to move to stage two as companies, they will ultimately need their own offices. London needs to be more affordable for tech firms if it wants a home-grown Google or Twitter."
The Internet of Things, the Consumer Electronics Show, World Cities Summit: These are themes for conferences I've become accustomed to.

But when I heard there's a Millennial conference coming to town, I wasn't sure what to think.



How does just the age of two billion people on earth warrant it's own conference?



The Millennial 20/20 Summit was a two day event in Singapore dedicated to next generation commerce. Even though it was the first of its kind to arrive in Asia, the event already took place in London earlier this year and is headed to New York next year.



The 1,500 attendees were made up of not just Millennials, of course, but GenX'ers and Baby Boomers were there too.

Its panels including, "From Intern to CEO," to "Innovation is Not for Adult," were centered around themes including fitness and travel. The event brought together people ranging from startup founders to executives of companies like Unilever and Mondelez International.

In true Millennial fashion, it even had its own award ceremony, honoring the best startups during a pitch event.
A full-blown crisis would destabilise the country's lenders and the government itself, sending shock waves through the entire euro zone, which is still reeling from Britain's June vote to leave the European Union.

Monte dei Paschi emerged as the weakest lender in Europe in industry stress tests in 2014 and again in July and the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has made helping the bank a priority.

Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena appointed Marco Morelli as its new chief executive on Wednesday, handing the 54-year-old banker the tough job of persuading investors to back a third cash call in as many years.

In a sign of further instability at the top, the bank said on Wednesday Chairman Massimo Tononi would also resign after an upcoming shareholder meeting called to approve a rescue plan which envisages a 5 billion-euro ($5.6 billion) cash call and a record 28 billion-euro sale of non-performing loans.

A source close to the banks backing the planned share sale said Tononi's departure did not come as a surprise and was not a cause for concern.

Morelli, who will take on as CEO on Sept. 20, was currently head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Italy. He worked at Monte dei Paschi until 2010, both as deputy general manager and chief financial officer, before joining rival Intesa Sanpaolo.

The Rome-born banker has previously worked at JP Morgan, which along with Mediobanca leads the consortium of banks backing Monte dei Paschi's new share sale.

Morelli emerged as the front runner to replace the outgoing CEO immediately after Monte dei Paschi announced last Thursday that Fabrizio Viola had agreed to step down.

Sources have said the banks behind the rescue as well as the government feared Viola would struggle to drum up support from investors for the new share sale having already overseen two cash calls totalling 8 billion euros since taking charge in 2012. [nL8N1BP2ZP]

The Tuscan lender is worth just 670 million euros ($752 million) after its shares plunged 81 percent this year.

The change at the top is likely to delay the presentation of Monte dei Paschi's new business plan which had been due at the end of September.

The share sale is also likely to be put back until after a referendum on constitutional reform on which PM Renzi has staked his political future.

With the vote set to take place by early December Monte dei Paschi could tap markets in January or February, a source close to the matter said last week.

Monte dei Paschi faces competition in its search for fresh cash from healthier rival UniCredit <CRDI.MI> which is expected to seek to raise more capital under its new chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier.

Unlike Spain or Ireland, Italy did not move to help its banks during the financial crisis. But when a harsh recession saddled its lenders with a collective 360 billion euros of soured debts, Rome found itself with little room for manoeuvre due to the introduction of new European rules on allowing bank bailouts.
If history is any guide, this election could come down to one state: Ohio.

You can almost bet that whoever wins the Buckeye State  Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton  will win the White House.

The reason isn't Ohio's 18 electoral votes  plenty of battleground states like Florida and Pennsylvania are worth more. And it isn't because Ohio is a so-called "blue collar" state, because Ohio is harder to define in any singular way. In fact, it's Ohio's incredibly diverse demographic, economic, and geographic makeup that makes it matter so much in elections.

I learned that 20 years ago when I was working at Cleveland's WJW-TV. During my first week, one of the older reporters sidled over to my desk and said: "Kid, let me tell you something. This might be a local station, but we cover the national news every night because every national story ends up involving someone from Ohio. And that includes stories about Americans overseas. Get used to it."

Sure enough, he turned out to be right. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but as I traveled the state more extensively for professional and personal reasons, I realized why it was true: Ohio might as well be six states instead of one.

The Cleveland/Akron/Toledo regions are pretty much their own state, not unlike truly blue collar areas like we also see in Michigan and western Pennsylvania.

Cincinnati and its environs have the look, feel, and often the climate of more Southern-esque states like Kentucky and West Virginia.

Dayton, home of the massive Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, resembles the military installation-heavy states in the western U.S. And its large population of military families is often why Ohio-natives are among our troops engaged in overseas battles and operations.

The Columbus area resembles much of the upper middle class white-collar Northeast. But it also includes Ohio State University, which is very much a city and civilization unto itself resembling major college towns spread out through other regions of the country.

America's corporations have known this for generation. In fact, Ohio remains an actual test market for a lot of consumer product corporations, as they still primarily preview almost everything from makeup to fast food in the Buckeye State.

Ohio is important in national elections because it's almost like a one-stop shopping test market for candidates trying to gauge their overall appeal. The numbers prove it: In each of the last four presidential elections, the statewide results in Ohio were almost exactly the same as the national results. In 2012, Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in Ohio, 51 percent to 47 percent, just like he did nationally. In 2004, George W. Bush beat John Kerry in Ohio, 51 percent to 49 percent, also just like the final national results.

And I know you think the 2000 election was all about Florida, but many critics say the Gore campaign really blew the election when it packed up and left Ohio about a week before Election Day to concentrate on Florida. It turns out, if they had fought harder in Ohio, where Gore narrowly lost, Florida might not have mattered.



The lesson in all of this is that it's almost impossible to win over Ohio's diverse and representative voters and flop everywhere else that matters. And the converse is also true: If you fail to win over the voters of Ohio, it's not likely you will be able to make up for it "elsewhere." Because Ohio is "elsewhere," or at least a significant portion of it is.

All of these facts about Ohio's crucial role in elections looked like they might be out the window this time because of Governor John Kasich's presidential candidacy followed by his subsequent and continued resistance to Trump. But Trump's surge in the state, where he now leads according to three polls and owns the advantage in the average of all polls (despite the pushback from Kasich) proves that his campaign really is gaining formidable strength among a wider national sampling of the electorate.

Clinton may be ahead in a lot of the polls right now but it seems like a pretty significant pattern: If you've won Ohio, you've won the nation. And right now, Trump is winning Ohio.


Hollywood may depict the next-generation battlefield as having fully autonomous killer robots but Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S. military has no plans to ever use them.

Carter, who this week made a trip to the tech cities of San Francisco and Austin, has been an advocate of high-tech weapon systems as a way to counter the growing military threat posed by Russia and China. These include cyber and smart weapon systems that use artificial intelligence.



"Whenever it comes to the application of force, there will never be true autonomy, because there'll be human beings (to make decisions)," the DoD Secretary told reporters traveling with him during the trip, BreakingDefense.com reported.

CNBC reached out to the Pentagon for comment but didn't hear back at deadline.

The Pentagon's advisory committee known as the Defense Science Board released a report on autonomy in June, concluding there are real benefits to having it. The report highlighted areas where the military can automate and use autonomy that are not necessarily targeting and firing a weapon.



"Autonomous capabilities are increasingly ubiquitous and are readily available to allies and adversaries alike," the autonomy report stated. "DoD must take immediate action to accelerate its exploitation of autonomy while also preparing to counter autonomy employed by adversaries."



A United Nations conference last fall concluded artificial intelligence raises ethical and legal questions when it comes to autonomous weapons, and some attendees suggested the need for an international treaty that would prohibit the use of fully autonomous killer robots in warfare.



In July, the Dallas Police Department utilized a robot to kill a shooting suspect. While the robot was under the control of humans, the event still raised concerns and also renewed the debate over whether killer robots should have a place in the future of warfare.



"What you still want is humans to designate the target in advance and ensure they are legal and lawful targets before the system is deployed," said Peter Asaro, a philosopher who studies artificial intelligence and is co-founder of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control.

Meantime, while in Austin the Defense Secretary announced the Pentagon will establish a new Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, or DIUx facility, in the Texas tech city. The DoD already has similar DIUx offices in Silicon Valley and Boston.

"I created DIUx last year because one of my core goals as Secretary of Defense has been to build, and in some cases rebuild, the bridges between our national security endeavors at the Pentagon and America's wonderfully innovative and open technology community," said Carter.

In a press release, DoD said "DIUx is tackling some of our nation's toughest defense challenges and the team is seeking solutions in a variety of technological areas  from autonomy, artificial intelligence and machine learning to cybersecurity and analytics."

DIUx operates on a co-investment model in which it pools funds with the military end-users it works with. According to the DoD, for each $1 DIUx invests in innovative technology, other parts of the department are investing nearly $3.

To date, the Pentagon has signed five agreements for $3.5 million. It said this week another 22 projects are in the pipeline, totaling an additional $65 million.
"It's about bringing a new spending solution to businesses. We have always felt the pains of managing company purchases, sharing credit cards, keeping track of receipts and understanding all of that. TI's something every executive hates," Jeppe Rindom, chief executive of Pleo, told CNBC by phone.

The London and Copenhagen-based fintech firm is hoping to take on the likes of SAP-owned Concur and Expensify.

Companies that use Pleo can have cards issued to individual employees with each one having its own limits or conditions. As soon as a person makes a purchase, the mobile app sends a push notification about how much was spent. A user can then quickly take a picture of the receipt, or if it's an invoice sent to an email address, Pleo's app will automatically recongnize this and upload it.

Pleo's is building its AI technology to be able to categorize spending. For example, if you spend $10 at a gas station, the app is learning to recognize if it was on food or petrol.

The start-up is just one-and-a-half years old and is currently in beta, testing with several hundred businesses of between 10 and 200 employees.

Pleo's $3 million funding was led by by Founders, a startup studio backed by Kirkbi A/S, Bestseller and William Demant Invest.

Rindom said the money would be used to scale and add features, particularly investing in the development of its AI.

"At the moment we onboard one customer a day. But we see 10 customers reaching out. So we need to resolve that. We also need to bring on more features," Rindom told CNBC.
A guests takes photographs of the Powerpack system after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla unveiled suit of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities at Tesla Design Studio April 30, 2015 in Hawthorne, California.

Tesla just struck a deal to build one of the largest battery storage facilities in the world.

It will provide a 20-megawatt Powerpack system at a substation in Mira Loma, California. The lithium-ion battery system will store 80-megawatt hours of energy, enough to power more than 2,500 households for a day, according to a Tesla blog post. Tesla expects the grid to be completed by 2016. Southern California Edison owns the substation.

The contract is part of a state-mandated plan to improve grid reliability. It was originally ordered in 2013 and got expedited after a massive leak at a natural gas well in Aliso Canyon threatened power supplies.

Tesla shares rose by as much as 3 percent on Thursday.
Following blistering criticism of Matt Lauer's interviews of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the recent Commander-in-Chief forum, and after Trump has slammed debate moderators like Megyn Kelly, Trump is now calling for removing the moderator at the upcoming presidential debate. While this may seem to like a non-starter, Trump is absolutely right. The debate format needs to be radically revamped and the first change should be dumping the moderators.

The criticism of Lauer and Kelly shows the assumed role of moderators and panelists is not to ask tough questions or to hold candidates feet to the fire but instead to serve as the easy excuse for a poor performance. Much as with sore losers in sports, a stumbling debate performance is somehow blamed on the ref.

Every election sees post-debate spin focused on whether the moderators were fair  witness how CNN's Candy Crowley was blasted in 2012 for correcting Mitt Romney's assertions about when President Obama called the attack on the diplomatic compound in Libya an "act of terror."

It's not like moderated debates have a long and glorious history. In fact, no-moderator debates are the traditional model. Consider the debates that set the standard for American politics  the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates for the Illinois Senate seat. The two candidates were on stage alone, each presenting their best arguments without any potential or perceived bailout from a journalist.

We can't really go back to the Lincoln-Douglas format, which provided for one candidate speaking for an hour, the other getting a 90 minute reply, and the first candidate then delivering a half-hour rebuttal. Thanks to our modern attention span, we can't handle much more than five minutes of one candidate who we disagree with talking, so the format would need an overhaul.

But we could shuttle back and forth between the candidates, allowing for an exciting and potentially illuminating volley. The debate can have set topics, with each candidate receiving a set amount of time for each question. The other candidate would then respond. The debate would continue like this for two hours.
The U.K. government has given the green light to the 18 billion ($23 billion) Hinkley Point nuclear power plant project, a joint project to be built and financed by France and China.

The agreement follows a delay by the British government while new British Prime Minister Theresa May re-assessed the terms and conditions of the project, which will see the U.K. allow France's EDF Energy and China's General Nuclear Power Group, a state-controlled company, to construct and manage a major piece of its energy infrastructure.

On agreeing in principle to the deal on Thursday, the U.K. government's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said in a statement that there would be new terms attached.

"Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the Government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation. However, ministers will impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain's critical infrastructure,which will include nuclear energy and apply after Hinkley,"

According to the government statement, the new agreement "imposes significant new safeguards for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure."

The department said that the latest agreement in principle with EDF means that:

"The Government will be able to prevent the sale of EDF's controlling stake prior to the completion of construction, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers."

The new legal framework for future foreign investment in British critical infrastructure will mean that:

"After Hinkley, the British Government will take a special share in all future nuclear new build projects. This will ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the Government's knowledge or consent."

"The Office for Nuclear Regulation will be directed to require notice from developers or operators of nuclear sites of any change of ownership or part-ownership. This will allow the Government to advise or direct the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) to take action to protect national security as a result of a change in ownership."

"There will be reforms to the Government's approach to the ownership and control of critical infrastructure to ensure that the full implications of foreign ownership are scrutinized for the purposes of national security."

The U.K. government added that the above changes would bring Britain's policy framework for the ownership and control of critical infrastructure into line with other major economies.
The U.S. has declared its commitment to removing all sanctions on Myanmar, marking yet another milestone for the former pariah state as it gets further integrated into the global economy. But some are questioning the move's timing amid worries about the military's dominance and human rights violations. Lifting sanctions "is the right thing to do in order to assure that the people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business and a new government," President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday. Washington already lifted tight rules against several state-owned enterprises and banks earlier this year after first easing sanctions in 2012.

US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar state counselor, in the White House following a bilateral meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. Aude Guerrucci | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Obama also said he would reinstate the nation formerly known as Burma to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a tariff program that would provide Americans with duty-free access to Myanmar exports. The news comes as Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi tours Washington, her first official visit to the world's largest economy after her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won November's general election. The news is undoubtedly positive for Myanmar, a nation experiencing an incredible boom in foreign direct investment following decades of isolation. Obama's announcement is now likely to facilitate fresh investment into the world's hottest frontier market. Once implemented, it's expected that U.S. firms will no longer be restricted in their dealings with locally listed companies. Moreover, the restoration of GSP trade privileges will eliminate tariffs on 5000 categories of goods from Myanmar, helping the nation move forward with trade, said Peter Kucik, principal at Inle Advisory Group. "The original focus of sanctions was to bring Myanmar to where it is now, a country with a recognized democratically elected government. Sanctions were imposed in the aftermath of the 1990 election when the military rejected the vote results," Kucik explained. "There is no rationale to keep sanctions on. The original objective has been satisfied as far as our government is concerned. This will help American businesses but more importantly, it will bring a new chapter in Myanmar's democracy," echoed Serge Pun, one of the country's top entrepreneurs and founder of diversified conglomerate Serge Pun & Associates. But if lifting sanctions was a reward for being more democratic, has Myanmar truly earned it?



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The bank's shares have fallen more than 7.5 percent and are edging into bear market territory.

Wells Fargo , the second-largest bank by market cap and assets, has taken a beating in the public eye over revelations that its workers routinely signed up clients for accounts without their knowledge in order to inflate sales figures. The bank paid $185 million in fines and penalties and jettisoned 5,300 employees involved in the scheme.

"The fallout from WFC's ... recent news will continue to impact both the company and the industry well into next year," Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts Brian Gardner and Michael Michaud said in a note to clients. "We see several policy areas where the impact will be felt the most."

Among the potential ramifications: More heated calls to break up big banks, dimming enthusiasm to rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and still more pressure on executive pay.

Wells Fargo's image has taken a beating over the past several days, and the scandal over its illegal sales practices are causing concern that the damage could spread.

KBW's analysis, though, looks specifically at what the fallout will be beyond the bank itself and finds that government regulators and consumer watchdogs will be emboldened.

"The headlines from the WFC settlement regarding unauthorized customer accounts kill any possibility that Congress will make changes to the structure and authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," the report said.

Regulators aren't finished with Wells Fargo.

Federal prosecutors also reportedly are launching a separate probe into the bank's practices in the wake of the settlement with multiple agencies.

The next step after that could come from Congress, which collectively has been itching to break up the big Wall Street power institutions whose interconnected nature aggravated the financial crisis. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have indicated a desire to get tough on banks, thought Trump also has vowed to repeal the Dodd-Frank regulations.

"Lawmakers who want to break up the banks will argue that WFC proves that the largest banks are simply too big to manage and need to be split apart," KBW said. "Large banks will lose additional political capital in the wake of the WFC headlines and will find it tougher to find allies in Congress to defend the banks."

Other effects include the potential for regulators to require more stringent "living wills" for banks on how they would be unwound if found to be systemically dangerous, and pressure to change how bank compensation works.

Wells Fargo also has come under pressure for not trying to claw bank salaries from employees involved in the illegal practices.

KBW said the issues will pile up to affect both the bank and its fellow financial institutions.

"The headline and reputational risk for any bank in a position similar to WFC is significant, and the ultimate economic issue is whether a bank loses customers ... but there are industry-wide implications which will be felt into 2017 and beyond," the note said. "Even after the WFC headlines subside, the recent news will be a powerful talking point any time policymakers debate changes in regulatory policy."

KBW has an "outperform" rating on Wells Fargo, with a $57 price target, or 24-percent upside from the current level.

Wells Fargo officials do not generally comment on analyst reports and declined comment on the KBW analysis as well.
During the election season, voters are bombarded with poll after poll on who is leading. Now with early voting underway, Americans will be hearing additional poll numbers on "early voting voter turnout."

Over the course of the next several weeks, many eligible voters will cast their ballot early. They can do so during their state's designated early voting period by mail, physically voting at an early voting site or by requesting an absentee ballot, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirteen states do not allow early voting unless there is an approved excuse.

Pollsters from both parties will be reading the tea leaves of the early voter turnout, but are the early votes a guarantee of a win? If history is of any guide, the answer is no. So how should voters read those tea leaves?



CNBC asked voting turnout specialist Michael McDonald, an associate professor of political science at the University of Florida and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, what he will be looking for during the early voting polls. McDonald is no stranger to offering such guidance and expertise. He has worked for a national exit poll organization and has consulted to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Here are edited excerpts from that interview.

Who is the early voter?



There are two types of early voters, what I call situational and behavioral early voters.

Situational early voters are people who must vote early because they are away from their homes, like our military deployed abroad, or are too ill to make it to the polls.

Behavioral early voters are those who decide to vote early, if their state allows it. The earliest early voters tend to be highly informed about politics and the candidates and they cast their vote when they feel comfortable in their choice. We can see this the metrics  the first early voters tend to be older and more frequently registered with a political party. As the early vote season progresses, especially the last week before the election, we'll see more young people and people who do not register with a party in the mix, that is, people who are not as tied to the parties and tend to have less information about politics.

Voter mobilization is key for the early vote. What should Americans know about each party when it comes to early voting?



The early voting period provides campaigns with a longer period to make contacts with people to encourage them to vote. There is an important asymmetry between Democrats and Republicans.

Typically, Republicans tend to be older, more highly educated, and wealthier. They fit the profile of a likely voter, and an early voter. Republicans have thus felt that they do not need to invest as heavily as Democrats in voter registration and mobilization efforts, as they believe their voters will take care of themselves.
WATERVLIET, N.Y.  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a veterans business-outreach center (VBOC) in Watervliet in the Capital region.

The VBOC at the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership in Watervliet (north of Albany) resulted from a $180,000 grant that the SBA awarded the facility through the VBOC grant-funding competition, the SBA said in a news release.

We are pleased to have the Watervlietbased Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership chosen as the veterans business-outreach center for all veteran entrepreneurs in New York and New Jersey, Bernard J. Paprocki, director of the SBA Syracuse district, which includes the Capital region, said in the agencys release.

The award is for an initial performance period of eight months with an option for 12 more months after that, according to the SBA.

The SBAs Office of Veteran Business Development offers the grant funding, which enables each VBOC to provide entrepreneurial training, comprehensive business assessment, and mentoring to active-duty service members, veterans and service-disabled veterans, National Guard and Reservists, and military spouses interested in starting a small business.

The SBA opened the VBOC grant-funding competition to eligible colleges; private organizations or businesses; nonprofit community-based organizations; and state, local or tribal-governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
ROME, N.Y.  The U.S. Air Force has awarded PAR Government Systems Corp. a $5 million contract award for research and development.

The company will service Rome Lab, the information directorate of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), under the three-year deal, PAR said in a news release issued Wednesday.

The deal represents the third announced contract that Rome Lab has awarded PAR Government since July 12.

Rome Lab, which operates at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, focuses on communications and cyber technology.

PAR Government is a wholly owned subsidiary of PAR Technology Corp. (NYSE: PAR).

PAR Technology, based in New Hartford, is a provider of restaurant/retail management technology systems and government-contract services.

PAR Governments work on this contract will focus on the special tactics tactical-assault kit (ST-TAK), according to the release.

The PAR subsidiary will develop and deploy innovative, geospatial situational-awareness products on mobile devices to effectively manage information used for military operations to include secure connectivity for data dissemination, the company said.

PAR Governments intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sector will perform the contract work.

PAR Government, which is headquartered in Rome, provides ISR services to the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. government agencies, and private industry.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Active monitoring is as effective as surgery and radiotherapy, in terms of survival at 10 years, reports the largest study of its kind, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Results published in New England Journal of Medicine today show that all three treatments result in similar, and very low, rates of death from prostate cancer. Surgery and radiotherapy reduce the risk of cancer progression over time compared with active monitoring, but cause more unpleasant side-effects.

The ProtecT trial, led by researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Bristol in nine UK centres, is the first trial to evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of three major treatment options: active monitoring, surgery (radical prostatectomy) and radiotherapy for men with localised prostate cancer.

Chief investigator Professor Freddie Hamdy, from the University of Oxford, said: What we have learnt from this study so far is that prostate cancer detected by PSA blood test grows very slowly, and very few men die of it when followed up over a period of 10 years  around one per cent  irrespective of the treatment assigned. This is considerably lower than anticipated when we started the study.

However, treating the disease radically when found reduces the number of men who develop spread of prostate cancer, but we do not know yet whether this will make a difference to them living longer or better, and we have been unable to determine reliably which disease is lethal, and which can be left alone.

Between 1999 and 2009, 82,429 men aged 50 to 69 across the UK, who were tested and 1,643 diagnosed with localised prostate cancer, agreed to be randomised to active monitoring (545), radical prostatectomy (553) or radical radiotherapy (545). The research team measured mortality rates at 10 years, cancer progression and spread, and the impact of treatments reported by men.

The research team found that survival from localised prostate cancer was extremely high, at approximately 99 per cent, irrespective of the treatment assigned.

The rate of cancer progression and spread was reduced by more than half in men in the surgery and radiotherapy groups, compared with active monitoring; cancer progression occurred in one in five in the active monitoring group, as opposed to less than one in 10 in the surgery and radiotherapy groups. However, surgery and radiotherapy caused unpleasant side-effects, particularly in the first year after treatment.

There was some recovery from side-effects over two to three years. But after six years, twice as many men in the surgery group still experienced urine leakage and problems with their sex life, in comparison with those in the active monitoring and radiotherapy groups. Radiotherapy caused more bowel problems than surgery or active monitoring.

Overall quality of life, including anxiety and depression, were not affected by any treatment at any time. Half of the men stayed on active monitoring over the 10-year period and avoided treatment side effects.

This is the first time radiotherapy, surgery and active monitoring treatments for prostate cancer have been compared directly. The results provide patients and clinicians with detailed information about the effects and impacts of each treatment, so that they can make an informed decision about which treatment to have, said co-investigator Professor Jenny Donovan, from the University of Bristol.

Each treatment has different impacts and effects, and we need longer follow up to see how those balance out over the next 10 years.

Professor David Neal, co-investigator from the Universities of Oxford/Cambridge said: Interestingly, we saw that disease spread was reduced by half in men who were assigned to radical treatment, but no difference in survival outcomes with either surgery or radiotherapy, and no progression of the disease in three quarters of the men in the active monitoring treatment group, over the 10 years. We need to continue to study these men to find out whether prevention of cancer progression by surgery or radiotherapy leads to better cancer control and survival in the longer term.

Professor Hamdy added: Longer follow-up is now required to determine the trade-off that patients need to make between cancer outcomes and quality of life, and further research to understand how we can distinguish lethal from non-lethal disease.

It is important that this research was conducted, and that wouldnt be possible without the NIHR and its infrastructure enabling large scale RCTs to be carried out across the NHS.

The findings of the study will play a key part in the decision to screen for prostate cancer, and are being used as part of a study investigating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing for screening for prostate cancer, the CAP study.

Anne Mackie, Director at Public Health England Screening said The National Screening Committee has been following the ProtecT trial closely. The results of this study will provide men and their doctors with key information needed to manage localised prostate cancer.

View the project page for more details.

Papers:



Mortality and Clinical Outcomes at 10 years Follow-up in the ProtecT Trial by Hamdy et al in The New England Journal of Medicine

Patient Reported Outcomes Over Six Years in the ProtecT Prostate Cancer Trial by Donovan et al in The New England Journal of Medicine
News / Local

by Stephen Jakes

A Total Garage employee in Bulawayo who said to her subordinate that he must leave Zanu PF the party of thugs or risk losing his job indicating that President Robert Mugabe's party is rubbish has been found not guilty and discharged.Irene Mudzembwe (32) of Emakhandeni in Bulawayo allegedly sent a grossly offensive or threatening message in contravention of the Section 88 (a) of the Post and telecommunications Act Chapter 12:02.Represented by Kholwani Ngwenya, she appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Evelyn Mashavakure. She filed an application for discharge citing lack of evidence.She was found not guilty and discharged.The court heard that on June 28 this year at 8:09am Mudzembwe was at work at the Total Garage in the Bulawayo city Centre when she sent an offensive text message to her work mate Give more Mangena.The message read, "You have now signed a contract Siyana ne Zanu PF yako, party yemondi or risk losing your job- party raMugabe ndeye rubbish, meaning, "You have now signed a contract, leave your Zanu PF or risk losing your job- Party of Mugabe is rubbish."Mangena reported the matter to the police leading to Mudzembwe's arrest.
The Museum of Art and Archaeology has been fully operational at its new location at Mizzou North for more than a year. There is agreement that it's not the ideal location for an art museum, but staffers there are doing the best they can.
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
Missouri football's Brady Cook 'deserves to be praised' after upset win

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook has taken criticism all season. On Saturday night, he led the Tigers to an upset road win at South Carolina.
News / Local

by Thobekile Zhou



Pay Schedule

Government will again fail to pay its bloated civil servants September salaries on time as the majority would be paid in October.The Zimbabwe National Army is the only department that will be paid this month on the 29th.Last week, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa warned that government risk not paying workers at some point.He proposed a massive 25 000 job cut which would have reduced the workforce to 273 000 by the end of 2017 and bonus freeze for two year.However, in a dramatic u-turn Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Christopher Mushohwe said Cabinet onJuly 12 rejected such drastic proposal.ZNA - 29/9/16HEALTH - 02/10/16ZRP/PRISONS - 06/10/16EDUCATION - 14/10/16Rest of Civil Servants - 21/10/16PENSIONS - 27/10/16
(September 15, 2016) Noura Jackson (right), waits for a hearing to begin in a courtroom at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in the disciplinary matter of Assistant District Attorney Stephen Jones for his conduct in Jackson's case. (Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal)



By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

Recently released from prison, 29-year-old Noura Jackson attended a hearing Thursday for a Shelby County assistant district attorney who is charged with misconduct in her prosecution.

Following the hearing in which no decision was immediately rendered, Jackson told reporters gathered outside a courtroom at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law that her defense attorneys repeatedly argued for a piece of evidence in her case.

The prosecution denied it ever existed, she said. The prosecutors in this case deceived the judge, my lawyers and the jury by hiding very important evidence, she said. The prosecutors then allowed that witness to perjure himself on the stand and didnt do anything to stop it. This should never be allowed. And trust me when I say Im not the only person this has happened to.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in 2014 threw out Jacksons second-degree murder conviction in the killing of her mother, Jennifer Jackson, and ordered a new trial. Jackson entered an Alford plea on a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter last year. She was released from prison Aug. 7. Her mother, a 39-year-old bond trader, was stabbed more than 50 times in June 2005 at their East Memphis home. Prosecutor Stephen Jones, who had a motion hearing Thursday, was co-counsel in the case. Amy Weirich, who is now Shelby County District Attorney General, was the lead prosecutor. The supreme court found in a written opinion that Jackson was convicted after her trial in which the evidence was entirely circumstantial.

The supreme courts Board of Professional Responsibility charged that Jones failed to provide a piece of evidence to the defense about an important witness until after the trial. That evidence was one of the statements by a witness, Andrew Hammack.

Hammack gave law enforcement multiple statements about his contact with Jackson on the night her mother was killed. His statement dated June 13, 2005, gave a completely different account of what happened on the night of the murder from the testimony by Mr. Hammack at trial, according to the petition against Jones.

In a filing, Deputy Chief Disciplinary Counsel Krisann Hodges pointed to the supreme courts opinion that did not disturb the trial courts finding that the prosecutor did not intentionally withhold Mr. Hammacks third statement. We observe, however, that this is not the first time prosecutors in the Thirtieth Judicial District have withheld evidence that should have been disclosed.

The court cited a case in which the prosecution revealed in an untimely manner an oral statement a defendant made to police resulting in a continuance of 30 days, as well as a case in which the prosecution improperly withheld information that was favorable to a defendant but did not result in a violation of the Brady Rule. That rule requires prosecutors to turn over material exculpatory evidence, meaning evidence that tends to exonerate defendants.

A judge for the United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, wrote in 2008 that the state covered up exculpatory evidence in the case of a woman sent to death row for having her husband killed in 1985. This set of falsehoods is typical of the conduct of the Memphis district attorneys office during this period, wrote Judge Gilbert S. Merritt. He also cited the complete failure of the defense investigation.

A judge in 2012 found that a Shelby County prosecutor purposefully misled defense counsel about evidence in the death penalty case of Michael Rimmer, who was retried and convicted this year of killing his former girlfriend, Ricci Ellsworth. An investigation by USA TODAY published in 2011 found that other cases involving the retired prosecutor, Thomas Henderson, were scrutinized. The news organization cited a death penalty case that resulted in a mistrial following a judges determination that the state did not turn over evidence to the defendants counsel. The defendant was subsequently acquitted in a retrial.

For Jones disciplinary case, his attorney, Brian S. Faughnan argued Jones does not deserve to have punishment against his license for a mistake.

Mr. Jones is not perfect, Faughnan said. He made a mistake. Hes acknowledged that mistake. His mistake was inadvertent. It was incredibly unfortunate given the stakes of the case but thats the life of a prosecutor.

Faughnan denied any intentional withholding of a document in the Jackson case.

That simply did not happen, he said.

Hodges countered that it was more than just a mistake.

A panel of Tennessee attorneys preside over hearings of the board. The hearing panel members in the Jones case are Hayden Lait as chairman, Leland McNabb and Michael Tauer.

Weirichs disciplinary case, in which the Board of Professional Responsibility charged that Weirich improperly commented on Jacksons right to remain silent, is pending.

In a statement in January, Weirich said that nothing done by myself or by my co-counsel in this trial should warrant disciplinary action. This complaint was not initiated by an attorney or by any of the judges who reviewed the case, but by a friend of the convicted killer. This complaint sets a bad precedent for prosecutors, defense lawyers and even for trial judges.

On Thursday, spokesman Larry Buser said Weirich had no additional comment.

During Jones hearing, attorney McNabb asked who conducted the direct examination of Hammack during Jacksons trial.

Ms. Weirich, Hodges responded.

McNabb asked if the lawyer who puts on the witness has a particular duty to turn over the statements. Weirich is not charged with failure to turn over the statement.

Have we left someone out of the charges? McNabb asked.

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Recently freed from prison, 29-year-old Noura Jackson attended a hearing Thursday for a Shelby County assistant district attorney who is charged with misconduct in her prosecution. Following the hearing in which no decision was immediately rendered, Jackson told a throng of reporters gathered outside a courtroom at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law that her defense attorneys repeatedly argued for a piece of evidence in her case. The prosecution denied it ever existed, she said. The prosecutors in this case deceived the judge, my lawyers and the jury by hiding very important evidence, she said. The prosecutors then allowed that witness to perjure himself on the stand and didnt do anything to stop it. This should never be allowed. And trust me when I say Im not the only person this has happened to. The Tennessee Supreme Court in 2014 threw out Jacksons second-degree murder conviction in the killing of her mother, Jennifer Jackson, and ordered a new trial. Her mother, a 39-year-old bond trader, was stabbed more than 50 times in June 2005 at their East Memphis home. Prosecutor Stephen Jones who had a motion hearing Thursday was co-counsel in the case, while now-Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich was the lead prosecutor. The supreme court found in a written opinion that Jackson was convicted after her trial in which the evidence was entirely circumstantial. The supreme courts Board of Professional Responsibility charged that Jones failed to provide a piece of evidence to the defense about an important witness until after the trial. That evidence was one of the statements by a witness, Andrew Hammack. Hammack gave law enforcement multiple statements about his contact with Jackson on the night her mother was killed. His statement dated June 13, 2005, gave a completely different account of what happened on the night of the murder from the testimony by Mr. Hammack at trial, according to the petition against Jones. In a filing, Deputy Chief Disciplinary Counsel Krisann Hodges pointed to the supreme courts opinion that did not disturb the trial courts finding that the prosecutor did not intentionally withhold Mr. Hammacks third statement. We observe, however, that this is not the first time prosecutors in the Thirtieth Judicial District have withheld evidence that should have been disclosed. The court cited a case in which the prosecution revealed in an untimely manner an oral statement a defendant made to police resulting in a continuance of 30 days, as well as a case in which the prosecution improperly withheld information that was favorable to his defense but did not result in a violation of the Brady Rule. That rule requires prosecutors to turn over material exculpatory evidence, meaning evidence favorable to the defendant in a criminal trial. A judge for the United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, wrote in 2008 that the state covered up exculpatory evidence in the case of a woman sent to death row for having her husband killed in 1985. This set of falsehoods is typical of the conduct of the Memphis district attorneys office during this period, wrote Judge Gilbert S. Merritt. He also cited the complete failure of the defense investigation. A judge in 2012 found that a Shelby County prosecutor purposefully misled defense counsel about evidence in the death penalty case of Michael Rimmer, who was retried and convicted this year of killing his former girlfriend, Ricci Ellsworth. An investigation by USA Today published in 2011 found that other cases involving the retired prosecutor, Thomas Henderson, were scrutinized. The news organization cited a death penalty case that resulted in a mistrial following a judges determination that the state did not turn over evidence to the defendants counsel. The defendant was subsequently acquitted in a retrial. For Jones disciplinary case, his attorney, Brian S. Faughnan argued Jones does not deserve to have punishment against his license for a mistake. Mr. Jones is not perfect, Faughnan said. He made a mistake. Hes acknowledged that mistake. His mistake was inadvertent. It was incredibly unfortunate given the stakes of the case but thats the life of a prosecutor. Faughnan denied any intentional withholding of a document in the Jackson case. That simply did not happen, he said. Hodges countered that it was more than just a mistake. A panel of Tennessee attorneys preside over hearings of the board. The hearing panel members in the Jones case are Hayden Lait as chair, Leland McNabb and Michael Tauer. Weirichs disciplinary case, in which the Board of Professional Responsibility charged that Weirich improperly commented on Jacksons right to remain silent, is pending. In a statement in January, Weirich said that nothing done by myself or by my co-counsel in this trial should warrant disciplinary action. This complaint was not initiated by an attorney or by any of the judges who reviewed the case, but by a friend of the convicted killer. This complaint sets a bad precedent for prosecutors, defense lawyers and even for trial judges. On Thursday, spokesman Larry Buser said she had no additional comment. During Jones hearing, attorney McNabb asked who conducted the direct examination of Hammack during Jacksons trial. Ms. Weirich, Hodges responded. McNabb asked if the lawyer who puts on the witness has a particular duty to turn over the statements. Weirich is not charged with failure to turn over the statement. Have we left someone out of the charges? McNabb asked.
July 19, 2016 - Community activist Mary Wilder claps while sitting next to fellow Greensward supporters: former senator Beverly Marrero, left, and Emily Carothers, right, during a City Council meeting on Tuesday. Members of the City Council voted unanimously for a plan to end parking on the Overton Park greensward. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Ryan Poe of The Commercial Appeal

Mediation that failed to generate a compromise to end Memphis Zoo parking on the Overton Park greensward cost $64,905  half of which was charged to the city, Mayor Jim Strickland's office said Thursday.

The cost of the five-months-long mediation earlier this year was split evenly between the city, the City Council, the zoo and the Overton Park Conservancy (OPC)  costing each about $16,226.

The city picked up the tab for the council, bringing the city's total direct payment up to $32,453. The city also partially funds both the zoo and OPC in its annual budget.

Retired Tennessee Supreme Court Judge Janice Holder, one of the two mediators, received $30,263 for the mediation from all four parties. The other mediator, David Wade, of Martin Tate Morrow and Marston, received $34,084.

The mediation ended at the end of June with neither the zoo nor the OPC willing to cede ground on the controversial issue of whether the zoo should be allowed to continue to use the grassy field near the zoo's main parking lot for extra parking space on peak attendance days.

The council on July 19 modified and unanimously adopted a solution proposed by Strickland following conclusion of the mediation. Our July solution was the byproduct of mediation, Strickland said. We would not have reached a solution to this decades-long matter without the progress made in mediation.

The vote directed the zoo, OPC and city engineers to come up with a zoo parking expansion plan that would end greensward parking by 2019 and save as many of the greenswards treasured magnolias as possible. But, to critics apprehension, the council didnt restrict how far the parking lot expansion could encroach onto the greensward.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Apex Council says it welcomes the announcement that civil servants bonuses will not be suspended and that salaries and allowances will not be reduced.The 13 associations affiliated to the Apex Council met this Wednesday in Harare to discuss and reach a common position regarding measures announced by the government during the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy review statement.Apex Council Chairperson, Ms Cecilia Alexander said they appreciate the Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Dr Christopher Mushohwe's stance that workers will receive their traditional annual bonuses and that there will be no reduction of salaries and allowances.However, the Apex Council noted that more needs to be done to ensure that civil servants are catered for.The council said it will this Friday present some of its grievances to government, with the alignment of the Public Service Act to the constitution expected to be part of the recommendations.
SHARE Barney Sellers/The Commercial Appeal files Memphis blues musician Furry Lewis belts out a song, with Lee Baker also playing, during a performance at the Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 17, 1978. The concert, one in a series of Sunday afternoon blues concerts hosted at the Orpheum, coincided with the release of the Jim Dickinson produced album "Beale Street Saturday Night." The cost of admission was $2.

Sept. 15

25 years ago: 1991

Mayor Dick Hackett Saturday outlined portions of a five-year plan to build and renovate at least 10,000 private houses and apartments for poor and moderate income Memphians. Hackett said he could make the proposed Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) a top priority during his next term if he is re-elected on Oct. 3. His comments came in a campaign speech to about 150 people at the monthly Henry Loeb Dutch Treat Luncheon at the Wilson World Hotel in Southeast Memphis.

50 years ago: 1966

Two groups are considering making offers to purchase the Federal Compress & Warehouse Co., W.L. Taylor, the president, told a stockholders' meeting yesterday. No firm offer has been made, he said. Mr. Taylor added that if a reasonable offer should be made he would advise selling either the compress and warehouse facilities, or the whole company. A figure of about 64 million dollars has been mentioned. Federal, which has offices at 81 Monroe, operates about 70 compresses and warehouses. Some are in Arizona, but the bulk are in the Mid-South. It also operates the Dixie-Portland Flour Mills and the Cosby-Hodges Milling Co.

75 years ago: 1941

In charge of the Speakers Bureau of the 1941-42 Community Fund campaign will be Mrs. William B. Fowler, chairman, and J. Seddon Allen and Lester Presson, co-chairmen.

100 years ago: 1916

For the first time in nearly half a century the whistle of the packet Kate Adams, owned by the Memphis & Arkansas City Packet Co., after next Monday will cease to be heard at Arkansas City.

125 years ago: 1891

The General Assembly has done a wise thing in passing a bill providing for the appointment of a World's Fair Commission. The body may yet save the honor of the state.
SHARE Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)

By Michael Collins and Lynda Edwards, USA TODAY NETWORK

WASHINGTON  With the Obama administration poised to welcome thousands more Syrian refugees into the country, Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday he has confidence in the vetting process for those making a new home in Tennessee after fleeing a war zone.

His shift in perspective comes just four months after he agreed to let the state sue the federal government over refugee settlement, and just one day after the Obama administration announced it plans to sharply increase the number of refugees accepted by the United States to 110,000 in fiscal 2017.

Haslam told the News Sentinel on Thursday he doesn't object to Syrian refugees or others settling in Tennessee.

During an appearance at a luncheon in Anderson County, the governor said he recently met with U.S. State Department officials and Catholic Charities and is convinced "they're doing a good job" vetting refugees coming to Tennessee.

The Republican governor said there aren't many times he trusts the federal government, "but I do think they have all the right controls and procedures in place" regarding background checks and vetting for resettlement.

The Obama administration said the additional refugee intake is necessary to help stem a migrant crisis gripping Europe and the Middle East. The new target is a 29 percent increase over the 85,000 refugees accepted this fiscal year and a 57 percent hike over the 70,000 allowed in each year between 2013 and 2015.

More than 10,000 Syrian refugees have been allowed into the country this year, and new figures released Thursday provide a clearer picture of where they're resettling.

Some 240 have resettled in Tennessee, according to the State Department Refugee Processing Center. Of those, 124 are in Nashville, 112 are in Memphis, three are in Germantown and one is in Spring Hill.

Tennessee ranks 17th among states in resettled Syrian refugees.

Resettlement has proven controversial in many states, including Tennessee, where the Legislature voted earlier this year to instruct Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the federal government for noncompliance with the Refugee Act of 1980.

Proponents argued the legal proceedings were necessary because the federal government didn't consult with the state on the resettlements.

Haslam allowed the resolution calling for the lawsuit to take effect without his signature. Slatery, however, declined to file the suit, saying the state was unlikely to succeed.

At the White House, an adviser to President Barack Obama sought Thursday to reassure states worried about the influx of Syrians entering the country.

Syrian refugees must undergo extensive background checks that can last up to two years. U.S. and United Nations officials verify asylum seekers' stories and check possible ties to terrorist organizations, said Avril Haines, principal deputy national security adviser.

"Syrian refugees get a more extensive vetting than anybody else," Haines told reporters for regional newspapers across the country.

The vetting process is working, Haines said, adding that 80 percent of those allowed into the United States are women and children and just a small percentage are men over age 18.

"Looking at the process and looking at the track record should give people some solace in the vetting process," she said.

State Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, one of the strongest advocates for the resolution to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement, said the General Assembly is already interviewing attorneys in that action and a decision regarding retention of counsel would be made within a week.

"Well, my initial response was we all have humanitarian concerns," he said of Obama's directive Thursday. "But our humanitarian concerns must not outweigh common sense and whether President Obama's desires make any sense is apparently in doubt."

Staff writer Daniel Connolly contributed to this report.
September 14, 2016 - U.S. Seceratary of Education John King talks to Shelby County Schools teachers, students and administration Wednesday during a visit to Craigmont High School. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE September 14, 2016 - Craigmont High School students cheer during a visit by U.S. Seceratary of Education John King on his tour from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans. King stopped in Memphis to talk to Shelby County Schools teachers, students and administration. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

By Jennifer Pignolet of The Commercial Appeal

Secretary of Education John King's annual bus tour across the United States made two stops in Memphis Wednesday, including one at Craigmont High School, where King spoke about making college attainable for all students.

King also encouraged students not to be discouraged from pursuing higher education.

"Today's conversation is really about how we ensure that you pursue your dreams through higher education," he said to a gymnasium full of students from several Shelby County high schools. "And I want to make sure that every student in the room understands that the application process and the financial aid application process should not be an obstacle to pursuing your dreams."

He took students through an online resource, the college scorecard, to encourage them to research the school and program that will best fit their career ambitions.

Superintendent Dorsey Hopson encouraged students to take advantage of the secretary's advice.

"It's very important that you understand the significance of today's event and the potential life-changing impact that it can have on you and all of your fellow students," Hopson said.

Students also had the opportunity to ask King questions. Trezevant High senior Stacy Hardy asked King what his department will do for students in the U.S. who are undocumented but want to pursue higher education.

King spoke about the department's priority of protecting students' civil rights, no matter their immigration status.

"So one of the things we look at on whether a school is successful in delivering what it should is: Are all students getting access to quality opportunities?" King said.

King's department is currently investigating Shelby County Schools for alleged discrimination against migrant students. The investigation was announced in July, and was based off a complaint filed with the department in February alleging that migrant youths fleeing violence in Central America were blocked from going to Memphis high schools.

In a media briefing after the event, King said he couldn't comment on details of the investigation, "but what I can tell you is that throughout the country, we want to make sure that students, regardless of their immigration status, regardless of what language they speak, have the full range of opportunities," he said. "And there are places where that's not happening and we are going to take forceful action to make sure that it does. At the same time, there's lots of progress in Memphis and in Shelby County that we need to lift up and celebrate."

Hardy, from Trezevant, said she thought her question was an important one concerning undocumented students in high schools just like hers.

"I think everybody matters and I don't think they've had a good opportunity," she said.

King praised the work of the school district and the state of Tennessee for more intense rigor to push students to be ready for college and for the Tennessee Promise, Gov. Bill Haslam's initiative to send all graduating high school students to community or technical college for free.

King also shared his personal story with students, from the death of both of his parents before he finished middle school to his reliance on teachers in New York City Public Schools for support. He said he shared his story of perseverance not to highlight it as remarkable, but "because I want it to be not remarkable."

Douglass High junior Darterrio West asked King a question about college affordability. West said he was "shocked" when his school chose him to ask a question, but that it "meant a lot" that King had come to Memphis.

"It felt like he chose the right place to come to, the right city," West said.

After his appearance at Craigmont, King attended a celebration for teachers at Lafayette's Music Room, hosted by Internet music-streaming company Spotify. Tennessee is one of six states on King's Opportunity Across America tour, which continues through several Southern states through the end of this week. He is the second of President Barack Obama's education secretaries, and the second to visit Memphis in two years. Previous Secretary Arne Duncan visited Shelby County Schools last year and focused on the district's efforts to turn around struggling schools.
2016 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (AP photos)

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With the first of the 2016 presidential debates less than two weeks away, let's hope the candidates are sharpening more than just the attack lines designed to capture the attention of headline writers and rapid-response cable news network analysts as soon as the candidates leave the stage.

There's no chance the debates, starting with the first head-to-head encounter Sept. 26 at Hofstra University on Long Island, will resemble middle school circle time.

But the public would surely like to hear some substance. For example, what do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have to offer "that other basket of people" described by Clinton in a fundraising speech last week?

Not the "basket of deplorables" in Clinton's unfortunate phrasing, but that other basket, the ones " who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they're just desperate for change 

"They don't buy everything (Trump) says," Clinton continued. "But he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won't wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they're in a dead end."

The candidates have fallen short in the substance department so far.

In a race that has suffered from excessive emphasis on personalities, conspiracy theories, bombast, childish name-calling, rumors and innuendoes, the discussion has lacked what matters to people who hope that their lives will be different.

Clinton will undoubtedly focus on this week's good news on the economic front  that the incomes of typical Americans rose in 2015 by 5.2 percent, the first significant boost to middle-class pay since the end of the Great Recession, while the poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points, the steepest decline since 1968.

And that the share of Americans who lack health insurance fell 1.3 percentage points.

But that still leaves 43.1 million Americans in poverty (13.5 percent) and 29 million people (9.1 percent) without health insurance, with no easy fixes in sight.

The death rate is mounting from overdoses of prescription opioids and heroin.

Student loan debt has begun to decline, but too many Americans are still feeling the pinch of this $1.26 trillion burden.

It's no wonder that in a Pew Research Center survey released last month, just 44 percent of Americans rated the U.S. economy as "good."

That leaves a big "basket" of people who will be looking for specific plans for how to address persistent problems.

There is still a lot of work to be done. And little time left for the public to hear a clear explanation of what these candidates are planning. Both Clinton and Trump have an obligation to deliver.
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By Paula Dwyer

Donald Trump is taking an entire chapter from Hillary Clinton's "I'm in it for the kids" playbook.

Hoping to improve his appeal to women voters, Trump on Tuesday proposed that the federal government guarantee six weeks of paid maternal leave. And to make good on his daughter Ivanka's promises at this summer's Republican convention, he would let families deduct some child care expenses from their income taxes.

The details left many left-of-center think tanks, women's groups and child care advocates cold. They complained, for example, that Trump's plan would allow paid leave from work to only mothers, not fathers, possibly widening the gender-pay gap and signaling that women are solely responsible for staying home to care for newborns (read: forgoing salaries and career advancement). They also criticized Trump for not doing enough for low-income families and for failing to say how he'd pay for it all.

They're right on all scores. But the bigger picture is of a Republican presidential nominee proposing a new entitlement program for working mothers, a new tax deduction for middle-class parents and decent improvements on an existing tax credit for the working poor. As Samuel Johnson told Boswell, it's like a dog walking on his hind legs: "It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."

Yes, Trump's plan is regressive. It would allow single parents making up to $250,000 or couples earning $500,000 to deduct child-care costs for up to four children, capped at the average cost of care in their state. A Florida couple with $500,000 in combined income and paying the state average of about $20,000 for the care of two kids in their home would get almost an $8,000 tax break.

That's a generous benefit for a wealthy family. Trump would do far less for the 45 percent of households that pay little or no federal income tax because they make so little money. For them, Trump would provide up to $1,200 a year in tax rebates through the existing earned-income tax credit. It wouldn't even the scales, but it would help.

The guaranteed maternal-leave benefit, which Trump aides said would cost about $2.5 billion a year, would be indirectly paid by employers through the unemployment-insurance program. The GOP nominee says he could cover the cost by eliminating unemployment fraud. Even though a 2012 St. Louis Fed study pegged such fraud at $3.3 billion, eliminating almost all of it to pay for maternal leave is iffy, at best. It isn't as if the federal and state governments, which jointly run the unemployment-insurance program, don't try to recover that money now.

But the real cost challenge is making up for lost revenue from the child care deduction. Because of its generosity toward families in upper-income brackets, the plan would be expensive, and the campaign provided no cost estimate.

There are other problems. Trump's maternal-leave plan, for example, would cover only women whose employers don't offer any such leave, giving them an incentive to drop coverage, and certainly not to add it.

Still, let's give credit where it's due. Trump is the first Republican presidential nominee to guarantee paid maternity leave. He looks downright progressive by proposing new federal benefits for families.

To please conservatives, he would provide the same tax break to stay-at-home mothers (presumably by converting some portion of their free labor to wages, which could then be deducted from taxes owed). And for households caring for an elderly parent or paying for after-school enrichment programs, Trump would allow tax-free deposits into dependent-care savings accounts, which would be eligible for a government match of up to $500.

This, too, is regressive: Most low-income households would find it hard to set aside money to get the tax benefit or the government match. It could also be a back-door government subsidy for private-school tuition.

Clinton, by contrast, would target most of her benefits to lower-income households. She would limit the amount families pay for child care to 10 percent of their income. She would also double federal funds for the Early Head Start program. And she would provide for 12 weeks of paid time off for fathers as well as mothers, financed by raising taxes on the wealthy.

Some of the details are as vague as in Trump's plan. But she does him one better by also proposing to raise the pay of child care workers, a change aimed at improving the quality of care.

It's progress when both candidates recognize that the U.S. is way behind all other developed countries on family leave. The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act requires companies with more than 50 employees to provide up to 12 weeks off, but they aren't required to pay the leave-takers.

The single biggest expense most parents face today is child care; it exceeds housing costs in most of the U.S. An existing child care tax credit is limited to $600 to $1,050 per child, depending on income.

Trump's plan is far from perfect, but it would help on all those fronts. True, he would do more for well-heeled parents, but he doesn't ignore low-income families by any stretch. What he would have to do, if he's elected president and intends to follow through, is show how he'll pay for it.

Paula Dwyer writes editorials on economics, finance and politics for Bloomberg View.
Gmail service for users of the Google for Work cloud-based productivity suite was down for over 12 hours on Wednesday, apparently affecting users in a number of countries including the U.S.

Google reported early Thursday that the problem was resolved for the vast majority of affected customers, and it would be working individually with the rest of them. It said it would provide a more detailed analysis of the incident to customers once its internal investigation is completed.

The company first acknowledged the problem on its Apps Status Dashboard at 8:16 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, stating that it is investigating reports of an issue with Gmail. Based on reports, it affects only Google for Work Gmail users," Google said. Affected users were redirected to a page with 'Service not available, contact your administrator.'

The company reported soon after that it had identified the root cause of the issue and was implementing a potential fix. Google subsequently said that the Gmail service had already been restored for some users, and at one point said it expected a resolution for all users in the next one hour. In later posts it dropped the promise of a resolution for all users in one hour, suggesting that the problem could be more serious.

Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change. Delivery of messages sent to affected users during the issue may be delayed, it said in these subsequent messages.

When contacted for information on the issues involved and how long the disruption was expected to last, Googles press team referred to the Apps Status Dashboard for the latest information. A number of users reported they were affected. Gmail is down & I work as a freelance writer & am I law school. You can imagine how my nights going, wrote a user in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who said she had to apologize to clients but couldnt do that either.

Purple Dog Design, a web design and e-marketing company in New Zealand for small and medium enterprises, said a number of its clients were affected in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. The Idaho Statesman said late Wednesday that widespread Gmail outages in the U.S. and U.K. left many of its editorial, circulation and advertising staff unable to access their accounts.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) late Thursday issued an official recall of 1 million Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

Samsung had issued its own recall Sept. 2, but there was no formal recall in cooperation with the CPSC until now.

The recall is necessary because the Note 7 "presents such a fire hazard," Elliot Kaye, the CPSC chairman, said in a news conference.

Kaye said customers subject to the recall have two options: either to seek a replacement or a refund, "which is the choice of the customer and the customer alone."

The CPSC indicated on its website that when a customer receives a new Galaxy Note 7, it will come with a different battery than those suspected of causing fires. Some replacement batteries in Note 7 phones have reportedly worked safely in other countries.

Samsung's own recall discussed only the possibility of an exchange for another Note 7 or a Galaxy S 7 or Galaxy S 7 Edge.

The CPSC last week urged Note 7 customers to power down their devices over the fires. "This week's message is to refund or replace," Kaye said.

Based on videos and photos of the damage that the fires can cause, he urged consumers to "take advantage of the recall right away, as we've seen these phones can present a fire hazard."

WMBF News Authorities in Horry County, South Caroline suspect the Galaxy Note 7 may be the cause of a devastating house fire.

He said consumers wouldn't be able to swap out the battery in the Note 7 to prevent the fire hazard. "It's in the phone and that requires a new phone or a refund."

He said Samsung's decision to issue its own recall before reaching out to the CPSC was "not a recipe for success," but didn't elaborate about whether the agency planned any action against Samsung.

Kaye also didn't elaborate on whether Samsung has provided safe replacement units of Note 7 devices. Some customers have complained about not being able to get replacements. Kaye mentioned that 1 million phones are subject to the recall, while reports have indicated that 2.5 million Note 7 devices have been sold.

Customers should seek a refund or replacement from their carrier or Samsung directly, Kaye said. Samsung previously listed phone numbers and emails for five major carriers in its Sept. 10 statement, which urged customers to power down and not charge the phones.

Samsung listed how to find the IMEI or serial number on the affected Note 7 phones and how to check it online. The serial number is located at Apps>Settings>About Phone or General Management> Status>IMEI Information or Serial Number. Kaye said customers should also check the back of the phone for the serial number.

Samsung can be reached at 1-844-365-6197 if customers bought the phone from Samsung or if they have other questions.

A Canadian government agency issued an official recall earlier this week.

Jack Narcotta, an analyst at Technology Business Research, said the refund option provided by the CPSC recall order would be among the worst-case scenarios for Samsung."
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald is Leader of the Conservative Group on Brighton & Hove City Council.

Commuters across the south coast have, for many months, faced utter misery with train cancellations and train strikes, on top of the revised service currently being administered across the Southern trains network to cope with the ongoing dispute between the RMT Union and the rail company.

It is not just rail users who are feeling the effects of the recent strike action: business owners in my fair city of Brighton and Hove who rely so heavily on people travelling into the city are suffering significant drops in trade during these walk-outs. The Brighton Pier suffered up to a 30 per cent drop in the number of visitors on the first day of the August strike. Further anguish awaits the south coast as we face up to five more strikes on our transport network in the coming months which could do damage to Brighton and Hoves local economy unless disputes are resolved soon.

The new Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, will no doubt have an inbox full of angry messages about Southerns problems, not least because his constituency of Epsom and Ewell comes under their network. His very welcome intervention last week with 20 million funding and the appointment of a rail industry troubleshooter to help get the service back to where it should be shows that he recognises just how damaging the situation is.

Our City is on the cusp of so many exciting new developments, with the British Airways i360 recently open and attracting great swathes of tourists to our shores. Future plans include a considerable campus expansion and the development of a biomedical centre at Sussex University, a state-of- the-art Advanced Engineering Building at the University of Brighton, a new conference centre with the waterfront project, not to mention the possibility of Brighton and Hove Albion making it to the Premier League next season.

Yet as the city grows in importance and population the current rail service cannot cope even if the trains are running perfectly, let alone for the future we are attempting to forge for Brighton and Hove as so much more than a seaside jaunt.

To me these are some of the many reasons why we are crying out for an additional Brighton to London rail mainline  BML2. BML2 would bring not only enormous economic benefits to the wider Greater Brighton area, but also ease congestion on what is the busiest train line in the country. An additional line could provide a quick and reliable rail alternative when sections of the existing Brighton mainline are closed altogether for maintenance or when there are problems. Inconvenience that residents from Worthing to Eastbourne and long-suffering commuters are all too familiar with. It could also be administered by a new rail company with fresh terms of engagement with the trade unions.

Fundamentally its about providing far more capacity in the network so that more trains can operate and hardworking people can rely on getting to work on time, comfortably and without delays. They may even get a seat! The constant disruption of strikes and late-running or cancelled services on top of misinformation and severe overcrowding affects society exponentially as transport is a pivotal element of a successful economy.

As a strong supporter of the campaign for a second Brighton to London rail mainline for a number of years, I remain hopeful that BML2 will get the green light from the Government as it really is a vital missing piece in the jigsaw of an efficient and integrated sustainable transport system in the south-east of England.

I await with baited breath the new feasibility study into BML2 commissioned by George Osborne prior to his departure which is due to report in the Autumn and very much hope that the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, will have the same interest as his predecessor in building a new main line in the south in order to take this forward. Indeed the appointment of Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby to Economic Secretary to the Treasury in Theresa Mays new Government can only be a positive step forward for the cause as Simon has been a vocal and long-standing supporter of BML2.

Theresa May has been clear that post-Brexit, Britain is open for business and investment on a global scale. In this sense, BML2 would be an enormously valuable transport scheme which would offer so much opportunity for growth and prosperity across London and the South East. Whitehall must therefore grasp the nettle and move forward with BML2 without any more delay.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

Botswana - The state has filed papers opposing the High Court Judge Zibani Makhwade's decision to discharge and acquit Keitumetse Khunou of attempted murder charge.Khunou was accused of shooting a Zimbabwean man Gift Ncube in Radisele in 2013 causing him to lose both his hands.The incident took place at Diphateng lands near Radisele.The state argues that the judge misdirected himself in a number of respects when he discharged and acquitted Khunou of all charges.The leave to appeal would be heard by the same judge next week Wednesday.When passing judgement in the previous case, Makhwade noted that on October 12, 2013 the Zimbabwean, Gift Ncube and Shepherd Ncube were illegal immigrants who were temporarily employed by Khunou to debush his ploughing field.He said upon completion of the work, the accused gave P500 to Victor Sibanda, and another employee who replaced Shepherd Ncube. He said the complainant refused to take the money from Sibanda saying he was not hired by Victor, but by the accused person who was supposed to pay him.Makhwade said on the day that gave rise to the attempted murder charge, Ncube resided at one of Khunou's residences in Radisele with his girlfriend, Magdeline Letlhogile.He said the police went to Khunou's field in search of Ncube and Shepherd, in connection with having stolen at one Rra Peter's place.He said there were allegations made that the two had threatened to kill Rra Peter when he confronted them about the theft at his place."There is no doubt that there was a breakdown of trust between Ncube and Khunou because of the visit by the police," Makhwade said.The judge said in the circumstances and taking into account what transpired between the parties, there is no doubt that the complainant was angry, stating that either a Zimbabwean or Motswana was going to die.Said Makhwade: "First he refused to take his share of money from Victor. On two occasions he refused to take a ride in the accused person's motor vehicle stating that he has never bought a vehicle. He refused to go and meet with Victor and the accused person to resolve the issue of payment.""No explanation has been given as to why the accused would suddenly shoot at the complainantIt is my considered view that the version of the events as narrated by the accused cannot be held to be false," Makhwade said.In conclusion, Makhwade said: "I cannot find as a fact that the accused fired four shots at the complainant. I also find it reasonably possibly true that the shots were fired with the intent to scare rather than to kill the complainant"."As to the distances indicated by the parties, no explanation has been given for the lack of more substantial injuries to the body of the complainant. For the above reasons, the accused is acquitted and discharged of the offence of attempted murder," he said.
Daniel Hannan is an MEP for South-East England, and a journalist, author and broadcaster.

If youre a Conservative, speaking at an academic conference is always going to be an away match. If youre also a Leave supporter, in the current climate, its going to be downright hostile.

So I knew, when I agreed to address a group of political scientists and psephologists at a university last weekend, that the tone would be anything but academic. I told the organiser beforehand that the audience would come armed with rotten fruit.

Still, I did my best to be analytical as well as prescriptive. I spoke about what had motivated people to vote one way or the other, and I looked at how we might reasonably interpret the result. A 52-48 vote, I argued, was not a mandate to sever all our institutional links with Brussels. A post-EU Britain might replicate many of its current arrangements through bilateral treaties. We should, I suggested, aim to be as Canada to the United States: not part of the federal union on our doorstep, but as close to it as a sovereign country can be in terms of military alliance, free trade, security co-operation and so on.

If youve attended an academic conference, you can guess how the audience reacted: with exaggerated leering and eye-rolling, interspersed with occasional heckles and boos.

Your first instinct, in such a situation, is to say: Fine, then, if you Remainers arent interested in compromise, well go our own way. It was, after all, hardly an unusual experience. Since the vote, Ive met the same reaction in television studios, at public meetings and online. I make the argument that all sides should work together on a new, looser deal, and reply comes back: Its your mess, you racist liar, you clean it up!

I have to keep reminding myself that university lecturers are not typical Remainers. Nor are TV anchors. Nor are Eddie Izzard, David Lammy, Peter Tatchell or the March for Europe crowd. Nor are the Twitter sociopaths who see all criticism of the EU as xenophobic.

Most Remain voters have in fact accepted the verdict with equanimity. Support for a second referendum, according to YouGov, is just 31 per cent. Many Remainers, like many Leavers, reached their position after much consideration. They dont despise the other side, because they have friends and family who voted differently. Theyre certainly not hoping for bad economic news so as to be able to say I told you so.

If youre a Leave supporter, and youre struggling to reconcile that last paragraph with the abuse youve had on social media, just imagine it the other way around. Imagine that all of us were judged by the behaviour of the stupidest, angriest and most bigoted Leavers. Imagine that the democratic, economic and constitutional arguments for voting Leave were overlooked, and that our entire campaign was presented as being nativist and nostalgic.

This is, in fact, pretty much what is happening, not just on social media, but on many broadcast media. Every incident of intolerance is suddenly treated as a product of the referendum. Everything that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove and Gisela Stuart and the rest of us said about building consent for controlled immigration is dismissed. Actually, it isnt even dismissed: some Remainers never heard it in the first place, because it didnt fit their narrative.

Here are two observations from behavioural psychology. First, human beings are good at seeing what they want  quite literally. In experiments, when words are slowly illuminated on a screen, we see the nice words seconds before we see the nasty ones. Second, human beings struggle to understand disagreement. The other side must be looking at the same facts as us, we think, so why cant they see what we see? Are they idiots, or are their real motives different from their stated motives?

When a Remainer calls you a bigot, it isnt a debating point. He genuinely thinks that you hold the views he ascribes to you. And  this needs saying  the reverse is also true. Leavers have to keep reminding themselves that many patriots supported the EU from decent and sincere motives. Most Remainers are not Remoaners. Most people who voted to stay in the EU none the less want Britain to prosper outside it.

How much misunderstanding, how much misery, comes from the natural human tendency to associate every cause with its most strident advocates. During the Troubles, many British people used to refer to Republican terrorists as the Irish. On one level, they knew that the IRA had minimal public support and that there were more terrorists in prison in the Republic than in the UK. But the appropriation of nationalist imagery by the paramilitaries made an elision inevitable.

Listen, likewise, to the way in which many English people now talk about the SNP as the Scots. Most Scots voted against independence, yet Nicola Sturgeons prominence and energy, and her embrace of the symbols of Scottish nationhood, encourage a sort of erroneous shorthand.

Think of it as a piece of faulty wiring in our brains. It explains the symbiotic relationship between Islamic radicals and the English Defence League, who mentally bracket each other, respectively, as the Muslims and the English. It lies behind most forms of sectarianism and racism.

To guard against that tendency requires effort. Even at that political scientists conference, most delegates engaged intelligently. Its just that an audience of 150, in which 130 people listen politely while 20 smirk and heckle, naturally comes across as hostile.

On the day of the referendum, I argued on this website that a narrow result, either way, would oblige the winners to compromise:

A narrow leave vote is not a mandate for anything precipitate or radical. It is a mandate for a phased repatriation of power, with the agreement, wherever possible, of our European allies. Many of our existing arrangements will remain in place; and those which we want to disapply wont be scrapped overnight. Brexit, in other words, will be a process rather than an event. It will be the moment when Britain starts to pursue a different trajectory, away from political union with the EU and toward a looser arrangement based on trade and co-operation.

My guess is that this will now happen. Many Eurocrats regard a market-based associate status not as a minimally acceptable compromise, but as their preferred outcome. Here, for example, is the Bruegel Institute, the closest thing in Brussels to an official in-house EU think tank:

The UK will want to have some control over labour mobility, as well as leaving behind the EUs supranational decision-making. Our proposed continental partnership would consist in participating in goods, services, capital mobility and some temporary labour mobility as well as in a new system of inter-governmental decision making and enforcement of common rules to protect the homogeneity of the deeply integrated market This results in a Europe with an inner circle, the EU, with deep and political integration, and an outer circle with less integration. Over the long-run this could also serve as a vision for structuring relations with Turkey, Ukraine and other countries.

There is, in short, a deal to be done  a deal which might go too far for some and not far enough for others, but which both sides could at least live with. Come, moderate Remainers. Dont let the whingers and the deniers drown you out. We need to hear from you.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries leader, Walter Magaya has urged his congregants not to attend his court case today.Magaya is facing rape charges after a Harare woman filed the criminal charges against him last month. Represented by Everson Chatambudza and Oliver Marwa, Magaya is accused of having raped the woman in June last year, allegedly at his Mt Pleasant residence.Prosecutors say this happened after she accepted an invitation from the preacher to visit him, whereupon she was shown around the house.
News / National

by Marias Shumba, MDC USA Provincial Information and Publicity Secretary.

The MDC USA, in conjunction with members of #thisflag movement will be embarking on week-long demonstrations at the United Nations grounds in New York on Saturday, September 17th to the 22nd, to register our extreme outrage at the socio-political and economic injustices perpetrated against Zimbabwe citizens by a dispassionate ZANU pf regime.In recent weeks and months, we have witnessed in horror, the militarized ZANU pf thugs masquerading as law enforcement savagely brutalizing peaceful citizens who took to the streets to constitutionally express their concerns to those who are misgoverning them.We were further shocked at the reckless comments made by president Robert Mugabe recently in regards to judicial discretion which is clearly in contravention of the principle of the separation and independence of the arms of state. Below is a list of our demands:1. We call upon the ZANU PF government to stop the forcible abduction and brutal torture of opposition supporters2. We demand that the ZANU PF regime stop the distribution of food relief support on partisan lines3. We are justifiably irritated at the ZANU PF government's reluctance in implementing electoral reforms before the next plebiscitea. We therefore demand that the government embark on an exercise to establish a biometric register before next electionb. At the same time, we call upon the government to extend voting rights to the disenfranchised penal population as per the African Charter on Human Rightsc. And not only that, we call upon the ZANU PF government to establish a non-partisan and independent electoral bodyd. We demand that the Zimbabwe security forces must not play any role in any election4. We call upon the United Nations to set up a commission of inquiry that will look into the events and circumstances that led to the forcible disappearance of political activist Itai Dzamara5. Furthermore, we call upon ZANU PF regime to bring to book all perpetrators of political-motivated crimes6. We urge the International Criminal Court to investigate and indict individuals in the ZANU PF government for crimes against humanity7. We call upon the Zimbabwe Republic Police to adopt a 'soft' approach by engaging citizens rather than resorting to heavy-handedness tactics8. We call upon the release of ALL political prisoners from Robert Gabriel's jails9. We call upon the government to curb the rampant corruption10. Last but not least, we demand the voting rights to be extended to Zimbabwe citizens living abroad. Finally the MDC USA external assembly wants to make it clear that our demands are non-negotiable and that Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his corrupt and purchasable minions can ignore our demands at their own peril.MDC : EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

Police are still to complete a docket for five rebel war veterans arrested on charges of insulting President Robert Mugabe.The five are Douglas Mahiya, Francis Nhando, Victor Matemadanda, Headman Moyo and Samuel Bhila.Prosecutor Tapiwa Kasema on Wednesday told a Harare court that "The accused were arrested without a warrant on a reasonable suspicion that they committed an offence."The docket is almost complete and accused should remain on remand until trial date."
News / National

by Simbarashe Sithole

Residents of Mvurwi Mashonaland Central province went hey wire in a budget consultative meeting held at Mvurwi community hall this morning.The meeting which was being chaired by Gokwe Legislature Dorothy Mangami in company of other legislatures Killen Sibanda, Felise Tapiwa, Jaison Marange, Godfrey Maremaure and Tapiwa Mashakada ended up being a political gathering.A fair attendance of 102 residents out of which ten people spoke and the rest were mere audience waiting to be dismissed.Speakers spoke more on healthy, education and bond notes to be looked at with an eagle's eye.A member of Mvurwi Resident Association Wardlove Kamuzonde bemoaned the huge number of the executive who are just blowing government funds."My plea is that you must submit our suggestions to the house of assembly and assist the general population and not to spend government resources roaming around globe.I suggest the government to cut the number of executive members because there are too many and most of them are corrupt," explained KamuzondeAdditionally, another concerned citizen Tonderai Samhu had no kind words for Finance Minister Patrick Antony Chinamasa and government for the pending decision to introduce bond notes in the budget.The delegation here present please go and tell the minister to keep the bond notes for him self we do not need them at all in the budget,rather they should look for the missing US$15 Billion and assist the elderly and youths who are languishing in poverty," fumed Samhu.Emmanuel Nkambala had no soft words for the Ministry of Defence that is being emphasized and suggested the government to take note of agriculture and education sector."The government should not just concentrate on the Ministry of Defence instead they should put more money into agriculture and based on pre season calculations by Agritex for example at the Grain Marketing Board farmers deliver their maize there and are not paid but Agritex would have done statics of the yield expected. Government should therefore inject money to the GMB based on the expected yield so that farmers can get their payments timeously, Money should be disbursed on priorities that benefit the entire nation not on the grounds of powerful ministries (security sector).Primary education should be free and excelling students should be offered study grants and government should pay the Basic Education Assistance Model in time to students who qualify," lamented NkambalaHowever, Onward Tembure sympathised with the government and called for every Zimbabwean to understand the crippling economy."Let us all remember that the country is under sanctions hence the government is broke like any other person here present, looking at this team facilitating this program they came with a bus if they had money they should have come with their own cars but government is broke so let us continue to pray that things will normalise, said Tembure.Meanwhile, another budget consultative meeting will be held in the Bindura today, 1400hr to 1600hr at Tendai hall.
Opinion / Columnist

Some 20 000 years ago, there lived the oldest tribe in the Southern Africa, referred to as the San. The most intriguing thing about the San was their hunting methods. They used bow and arrow even against the gigantic animals such as elephants. Their arrows did not cause instantaneous death, but they had deadly poison, which eventually caused the death.In some cases of small animals, they would patiently track and wait for a couple of hours of up to 7 or 12 hours before death. For large game, such as Giraffe it could take as long as three days. The most encouraging part is their patience and persistence.Even in our present day endeavors we should be patient and consistent. Sporadic efforts not only keep you going around in circles but results will be hard to come by.It took Egyptian demonstrators two weeks three days of non-stop online activism, civil disobedience, civil resistance demonstrations, riots and in extreme cases, self-immolation, to put to a grinding halt Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old rule.In Tunisia President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali officially resigned after 28 days of demonstrations putting an end to his23-year-long rule.The underlying reasons for both revolutions were police brutality, state-of-emergency laws, electoral fraud, political censorship,corruption, unemployment, food price rises and low wages. These are the same problems Zimbabwe is trying to deal with at the moment, but the organisation of protests leaves a lot to be desired.What is so disheartening in the Zimbabwean situation, is that the protests lack a line of development or rather continuity to be precise. They are held sporadically that the effects are hardly felt by the intended oppressors.The biggest undoing of these protests is that the organizers seem to dissect problems rather than dealing with the cancerous problems holistically once and for all.If we look at the number of protests so far held in the country, the desired results could have been achieved long back. However, the problem of hand picking problems in the country at the present moment, led to the June 14 2016, protest organised by Tajamuka/Sesjikile, National Vendors Union and Restoration of Human Rights groups at the Rainbow Towers Hotel, with protesters demanding that Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko vacate the hotel's presidential suite in which he has been staying with his family since December 2014.This was followed by another protest on July 1 2016, organised by cross-border traders from both Zimbabwe and South Africa, after the government announced an import ban on specified goods calling for the removal of the ban.The national stay-away day came after other spontaneous clashes between taxi drivers and the police two days earlier, with 95 people being arrested and several more injured.On July 6 2016, the national one day "stay-away" protests, organized #ZimShutDown2016 #Tajamuka and #ThisFlag hashtags over the Internet via WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and other social messaging platforms failed to yield any dividends either.Instead, on July 7 and 8 police arrested dozens of protesters. This must have impacted negatively on the planned July 13 and 14 national stayaways.What is more worrying is that the protests have short term impact. The roadblocks are increasing by day and the police had even acquired brand new vehicles to use at roadblocks.The million dollar questions are; Why a one-day protest? Why give them breathing space to create another problem that would need your one day stay away?As I penned this piece my heart was wrenched and a piercing electric pain ran down my spine when news reached me that the government has banned demonstrations in and around Harare for two weeks. What next?What now? Another one-day demonstration and probably a two-month ban before the year comes to an end, and the circle starts all over again next year. This is just pathetic.The San, as I mentioned earlier on, never went back home until the animal died because they were determined to kill it to feed their families. They endured the scorching heat, hunger and thirst as they religiously tracked it.In the Zimbabwean situation, the animal is just about to die on its own, after enduring so many operations. Operation Murambatsvina, operation Garikai/Hlani Kuhle, operation Maguta, operation Tasangana, operation Chikorokoza chapera, you name it, the list is endless.It's staggering from anesthetic administered during these several operations. The economic sutures are already rupturing. It is obvious it won't take more than three days before it succumbs to any pressure, but the protests organizers are letting it off the hook.Can you imagine the former liberation fighters, coming back home for Christmas or Easter holidays or even asking for permission from Ian Smith to fight his colonial regime? Do you think they would have won the war? Was this country going to be liberated at all?Asking for a police clearance, is like asking for a formal consent from your oppressor, who had authored your suffering for so long, for permission to exercise your constitutional right. What kind of a hunter that alerts his prey that he is actually salivating to make it his next meal?If the Egyptian or the Tunisian protests were so occasional as those currently organised in Zimbabwe, would they have toppled their oppressors?In Egypt at least 846 people killed and over 6,000 injured, while protesters burned down over 90 police stations as night clashes broke out in Tahrir Square between revolutionaries and pro-Mubarak demonstrators.A curfew was imposed, which was widely ignored as the flow of protesters into Tahrir Square continued through the night.Tunisia, like Egypt declared a nationwide curfew after days of protests. However, they were ignored and solidarity rallies were held in cities including Tunis as demonstrations spread throughout the country.However, in Zimbabwe each erratic demonstration, stay away and shutdown has left hundreds languishing in prisons while others were injured, and tens later dying as result of beating by police.The blame, falls squarely on the feet of that colony of clowns, masquerading as organizers of these badly planned and uncoordinated protests.Whichever lens you use to assess the current situation in the country, you surely will see that Zimbabwe has long slipped into political quagmire.Mugabe and his dictatorial government have flashed everything including the constitution down the toilet in defense of power. So how can someone approach the police or judiciary that has been whipped into submission for permission to protests against his regime?Mugabe's minions and sycophants known for their oddly prankish streak, were so arrogant and had the nerve to disrespect the constitution imposing a ban on demonstrations, and yet you kneel before them begging for permission to protest.If organizers of these protests are not able to organise demonstrations that would force Mugabe out of office, then they should stop putting people's lives at risk.Demonstrations should be consistent until the desired results are achieved. This is not a time to market yourself as one of the first people who led protest in Zimbabwe, at the expense of ordinary people trying to support you.Instead of Mugabe lashing out at the judiciary system or protesters, he should have been quacking in his boots, uncertain of his future, if these demonstrations were spelling impending danger to him.But insisted he is such a rogue to arm twist any system because there is no threat to worry him. Do you think Hosni Mubarak or Ben Ali reacted like this during revolutions in their countries?My last words to you all organizers of demonstrations are, "If you don't have anything purposeful to offer in terms of protests that would bring meaningful change, just go back to the drawing board and re-strategize or else stop wasting our time." (Khuluma Afrika)Garikai Mafirakureva is an independent analyst. He writes in his own capacity. Feedback on garrymafirakureva09@gmail.com
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Pictured: America's deadliest bathroom break.

And those weren't even the smart ones. We're not talking about the ten pilots who have hijacked their own planes for asylum -- we're talking about the evil assholes who tried to construct intricate plans to crash their planes in ways that couldn't be solved, guaranteeing a hefty life insurance payout. How many got away with this is unclear (and we'll ignore the implications this has for MH370), but the ones who failed are essentially cheesy action movie villains. Take, for example, FedEx flight engineer and martial arts expert Auburn Calloway, who tried to ambush his co-pilots with melee weapons, resulting in an insane anti-gravity fight straight out of Inception.

Federal Aviation Administration

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Or the worst Castaway reboot imaginable.

But hey, at least that was a cargo plane, and ultimately, no one was killed. The same can't be said for the time the pilot of Japan Airlines Flight 350 tried to crash his plane in 1982 and make it look like an accident. His co-pilot and flight engineer him fought for control, but the plane went down in Tokyo Bay, killing 24 of the 174 people onboard. Unfortunately, the pilot was one of the survivors. He disguised himself as a passenger and escaped, but was quickly apprehended and carted off to a mental hospital.
It is objectively impossible to justify the removal of the headphone jack for any reasons other than greed. An informal survey of Cracked employees revealed that ear bud wires have inconvenienced them approximately zero times (plus or minus an error margin of zero). In fact, they're convenient enough that companies have started selling wires for your wireless earbuds. In a lot of situations wires are better: Ever notice how every time you call tech support about a WiFi issue, they suggest running a cable instead? That's because, in terms of reliably transmitting a high-fidelity signal (the main thing wires do) they're still way, way better than any wireless tech. Not to mention that because they're shorter than the distance from a person's ears to the ground they act like a safety rope, letting your ears anchor your phone so even if it slips it doesn't reach the ground.

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Apple has become to phones what Windows is to PCs: They know people can't switch without great time and expense, so they use that difficulty to squeeze their customers harder and harder. Yes, the sales will be similar to previous phones, but only because switching would be slightly more annoying than plugging in a dongle to your phone just so you can use a regular aux cable.
Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo says he will only do a 'Shoey' this weekend if he wins the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo did his first 'Shoey' after he finished runner-up in the German Grand Prix at the end of July, before getting ex-F1 driver and podium interviewer Mark Webber in on the act more recently in Belgium, again when he was second. Valentino Rossi also did it last weekend, when he was second at Misano, although Jack Miller was the first to do it in MotoGP after winning at Assen at the end of June.

Asked what the craze is all about, Ricciardo said it was an "Australian tradition".

SINGAPORE GP: 6 Key talking points ahead of F1's night with the stars

"I didn't start it. Well I guess I started it in Formula One, as far as I know, but not worldwide," he said. "So it was basically a few loose Aussies, at least from what I saw. The Madhui's are surfers and fishermen, just loose guys - they basically travel the world, fishing, surfing and whatever basically. They like to drink a bit of beer and what not and that is sort of where the 'Shoey' began and on their travels they would get people to do it as well.

"It is just a bit of a laugh and I know Jack Miller knows a few of the guys from the Madhui's, so when he got his win in Assen I suspected he was going to do it and he did it. Then I was like, I will keep the sort of Australian tradition going - and now Valentino has gotten in on the mix too. I saw I Instagram yesterday and he said: "Everyone loves a 'Shoey'..." and then he said: "Delicious" and all that. I think it is just a bit of fun and everyone is enjoying it.

"Honestly if the sparkling wine is cold then it tastes good and normally it is cold on the podium. If it is warm then sure you would get the sweat and that through it, but the cold taste kills the bad stuff! So it is delicious as I said..."

"Will I do it this Sunday if I am on the podium?" he added, "if I win yeah [I will do a 'Shoey']. If it is just a second or third probably not now. But for a victory, I'd expect to see a few people do it with me!"

Meanwhile, Ricciardo played down expectations he is one of the favourites this weekend, despite the fact he came so close to winning in Monaco back in May, a track regarded as similar to the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and despite his hit-rate in the Lion City, with two podiums to his name.

"I have got a good chance for a top-ten - absolutely. That is about it," he replied.

Pressed on if it is a case of "unfinished business" after a pit blunder cost him that victory in Monte Carlo, he replied: "It is obviously probably the next closest track to Monaco. So, for sure we look at it as a good chance to try and get the victory I am after this season," he conceded.

"With the team, I think since Monaco a lot of things have been working better, in terms of we have executed it a lot more on a Sunday and I have left Sunday feeling a lot happier in the last handful of races. That has been good on both sides. I also feel I have executed good things on Sunday as well, but, yeah let's see. I am not going to put too much pressure on myself or them for this weekend. But I think deep down we obviously want to win. I believe we are a group of winners and if there is a bit of pressure on us to try and get it done this weekend, I think we will thrive off that. Let's see what happens.

"I am definitely prepared and excited. I don't know what I am paying for a top-ten, but it is safe money."

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Opinion / Columnist

A local civic organization, Citizens Against Violence and Anarchy (CAVAA) Trust, intends to fund lawsuits against leaders of recent violent demonstrations witnessed in Zimbabwe that resulted in rampant looting of shops, injury to many people and destruction of innocent people's properties. Leaders of opposition political parties, under the banner of National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) and their appendages, in the form of Tajamuka/Sisisjikile and #ThisFlag , who are organizing mayhem in the country, should face the music in the country's courts. These failed politicians, especially leaders of the Movement of Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF), showed that they do not care about the welfare of fellow Zimbabweans when they unleashed their hoodlums to loot shops and vending stalls, burn properties and beat up innocent people. Vendors and retailers lost wares worth hundreds of thousands of dollars during the diabolic madness organized by the irresponsible NERA leaders.Hope for compensation for loss of business by hardworking Zimbabweans, at the hands of NERA thugs, is now on the horizon due to CAVAA Trust's noble initiative. "We want to assist all corporates, flea markets and individuals whose properties and/or businesses, which were destroyed or affected during the violent demonstrations in Harare, which were called for by the National Electoral Reform Agenda. We are going to launch a class action soon against organizations and individuals operating under the banner of NERA", said CAVAA Trust.CAVAA Trust has indicated that victims of the violent demonstrations will be represented in court free of charge by lawyers whose costs will be met by the trust. Several lawyers are also willing to represent the victims in court for no charge.This is a welcome development which all the people who lost business of the day or got injured during the NERA mayhem, should take advantage of and quickly present their cases for redress to CAVAA Trust. NERA leaders should be made to understand, the hard way, that violence does not pay after they are made to pay compensation to the victims of their thuggery through the nose. Zimbabweans should not allow a click of power hungry failed politicians to ruin their lives. Instead of waiting for the next election and contest their way to power, they are now resorting to unconstitutional means to get into power through the back door. They are aware that they have nothing to offer the electorate; hence, they have no chance of being voted into power. They are hypocrites who blame the government for allegedly failing to create employment whilst they are destroying people's means of livelihood at the same time.Obviously, NERA's Western sponsors will chip in and financially bail out the NERA leaders and urge them to continue organizing anarchy in the country. These Western vampires and architects of the regime change agenda are sponsoring anti-Zimbabwe government violent demonstrations, both in the country and abroad. They will stop at nothing until their puppets are in power to facilitate their dirty game of looting Zimbabwe's resources. However, with the pending lawsuits for compensation for victims of the senseless violence, the message would have been sent clearly that Zimbabwe's justice delivery system takes care of the country's innocent and hard working citizens.------------------Chadzimura Mhute
Opinion / Columnist

In 2008 the people of Zimbabwe risked life and limp to elect Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends on the promise that MDC would bring about democratic reforms, restore all our basic freedoms and human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. Never at any point since the launching of MDC has Tsvangirai or anyone in the party ever said what the dem-ocratic changes the party promised are, how they will be implemented and when. Not that many people asked for the details of the changes but the few who did were ignored!Tsvangirai and his friends were elected into power and MDC had the majority in the GNU parlia-ment and cabinet. MDC failed to implement even one democratic change, the July 2013 elec-tions were NOT free, fair and credible as Tsvangirai has readily admitted.MDC has come up with all manner of excuses to explain why they failed to deliver even one sin-gle change and the all-important free, fair and credible elections. The one issue that sticks out like the Empire State Building in the Sahara Desert, which they have completely failed to give a laudable excuse, is why in five years MDC had failed to submit even one proposed reform for debate in parliament. The truth is none of the MDC leaders understood the process of imple-menting the reforms a fact Zanu PF exploited and was quick to point out.When it became increasingly clear that no meaningful reforms were implemented and therefore the July 2013 elections would not be free and fair; MDC tried to blame Zanu PF and President Mugabe for it. The then Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, re-minded Zimbabwe's Ambassadors, the Press Core and the world at large that Zanu PF has nev-er block any reform proposals in parliament. And President Mugabe never refused to sign into law any proposed reforms approved by Parliament. MDC could not blame Zanu PF for blocking reforms when they never, in the five years of the GNU, submitted even one reform proposal for parliament to consider!Today MDC-T is doing the same thing again; Tsvangirai and a number of other opposition parties have been calling for electoral reforms for the last three years but each time they asked to give any details of the nature of the reforms, the process of implementing the reforms, who will do what and when, etc.; there is no doubt that they have once again not thought through any of this."NERA head of legal affairs Douglas Mwonzora yesterday accused ZEC of working with the State security apparatus to frustrate the implementation of critical electoral reforms," reported Newsday."Mwonzora said electoral reforms were not issues that ZEC would put to vote during meetings with political parties, but were legal matters recognized by the Constitution. NERA convener Didymus Mutasa said NERA would continue to hold regular meetings to strategize."Of all people Douglas Mwonzora, who is MDC-T Secretary General and was the co-chairperson of the parliamentary committee that drafted the 2013 Constitution, should know that it is for the Executive President and/or Parliament to initiate reforms and to see to it that they are implemented. ZEC, CIO, Police, etc. are all doing what President Mugabe tells them to do.Indeed the whole purpose of the reforms is to break this unholy dictatorial control President Mugabe has over ZEC, Police, etc. and give these institutions their independence. To expect ZEC to behave in a none-partisan way without breaking the Mugabe dictatorial struggle over ZEC is putting the cart before the horse; underlined the point that MDC-T leaders still have no clue what they are doing on reforms.It is comically ironic that the opposition parties have picked Comrade Didymus Mutasa to be the convener of NERA. What does he know about reforms? If he had played his cards right, Mutasa would still be at the very heart of this Zanu PF regime defending the status quo just as he had done for 34 years until 2014 when he was booted out. Not that President Mugabe has missed Mutasa the last two year; Mutasa is just a blundering ignoramus whose "strategic" contributions will be confusion, President Mugabe would only be pleased to see Mutasa playing a major role in the opposition camp!Of course Didymus Mutasa, Joice Mujuru, Dzikamai Mavhaire, Munacho Mutezo and all the other Zim PF leaders knew that President Mugabe has been rigging elections, just as Tsvangirai and his lot have done, but none of them, again just like MDC guys, could say how can say how the elections were rigged much less how to stop the rigging. If they did then they would have stopped the tyrant rigging the 2014 Zanu PF congress elections which ended with them being booted out of the party.When President Mugabe moved to elbow Joice Mujuru and her ZimPF friends in 2014 the latter were as helpless and confused as rabbits caught in the flood lights. We saw the same look of panic and confusion in Tsvangirai and MDC when Zanu PF blatantly rigged the national elections just the year before!"It is like watching a gangster of the sophistication of Mafia playing cards with a mentally challenged opponent," remarked a visiting American report at the time. "Both Mujuru and Tsvangirai did not know what hit them!"Comrade Mutasa has held many very senior cabinet positions in President Mugabe's governments since independence and his last cabinet post was Minister of State Security, he was the CIO Boss. I challenge him to tell us what NERA reforms are required and how they are to be implemented to ensure the independence of the CIO and thus end their traditional Zanu PF partisan bias! I am not holding my breath!It was the 2008 GPA that forced President Mugabe to accept the idea of democratic reforms for the first time since our independence in 1980. Sadly MDC failed to make the most of this golden opportunity to end the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship by failing to get even one reform implemented. The limited economic recovery that was achieved during the GNU was quickly lost after the 2013 rigged elections because they were not underpinned by meaningful political reforms.Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic meltdown today and it is this invisible but irresistible force that is forcing Zanu PF to once again accept political reform. It is the economic hardship, not the love NERA as the opposition leaders want us to believe, that is forcing the public on the street to demand change. It is the fear of the sceptre of grinding poverty knocking at their doors that is fuelling the dog-eat-dog fight for power and tearing Zanu PF apart.Even President Mugabe must now know that the current economic situation in the country is socially and politically unsustainable and the political change that should have taken place during the GNU must now be implemented! It would be unforgivable if we fail to implement meaningful reforms once again just as happened during the GNU because we assumed that the opposition's know what reforms we need and how they are to be implemented, particularly when we already know that they do not have a clue.Whilst opposition leaders will want us to believe NERA reforms will deliver free, fair and credible elections not even one of them has ever given any detail on even one of these reforms and how they are to be implemented because they have no clue what the reforms are. All our opposition leaders are more interested in is getting a seat on the country political gravy train and once on the train the last thing they would want to do is implement meaningful democratic reforms designed to dismantle the gravy train culture.None of the opposition leaders will tell what reforms are in the NERA box because the box is empty! They are hoping that not many Zimbabweans will ask them for details of the NERA reforms and, once elected into power, it will be too late for us to do anything even if we should establish that the NERA box is indeed empty!-------------Nomusa Garikai
Opinion / Columnist

The former ZANU PF Mashonaland West chairperson, Temba Mliswa, expresses admiration and envy for the leadership qualities of President Robert Mugabe. His attempts at slighting President Mugabe's economic policies are a question of sour grapes.Mliswa is not sincere as the man was fired from the ruling party. He is saying that President Robert Mugabe should have mercy on long suffering Zimbabweans and should hand over power to any of his deputies. Surely speaking, Mliswa was the one who campaigned for President Robert Mugabe in Mashonaland West when he was still in Zanu-PF.Mliswa's efforts to blame President Mugabe's decision making on economic matters is both importune and unfortunate and leads to the conclusion that the leader of the pressure group, Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard) is a lightweight on the issues of economic importance.It seems that he believes that Zimbabwe's economic woes, past and present, should be solely laid at the door of one man and his party. He is in a desperate mode to raise his political profile. Mliswa fools no one except his small group of youths who are characterized by confusion and profusion.The man is either a very stupid man or else there is a method in his madness as he attempts to spruce up his image to gain access to the highest office on this land. Mliswa and his YARD, on their own, are insignificant coterie of individuals politically; it is who they represent that is a threat; that is the agents of regime change agenda.The truth is that this man suffers from an extreme case of premature self-congratulation, and above all, he is power hungry. He is simply unfit to rule let alone to govern a country with such a deep and complex history as Zimbabwe. Instead, Mliswa should proffer how we should improve the economy.In President Robert Mugabe we have a visionary leader who has proved to be a statesman in the world and has embarked on sound policies which have improved the image of Zimbabweans throughout the world. Therefore Mliswa and his brood of vipers should go to hell.We know that Mliswa is moving towards the formation of a political party via the use and exploitation of the youths, who are not realizing this move. The man wants to form the party so that when the idea of forming a grand coalition materializes he will join others.An attentive examination of the existing political landscape shows that all political parties in Zimbabwe do have their youth's political wings. The idea of forming an all youth's party falls away. In another startling development Mliswa is said to be a member, and representative of a South African based party EFF. The man should be serious not to take people for granted.Mliswa should not take people for granted as we all know that the man is so cunning; he is a master of extortion and has used ZANU PF to accumulate wealth. The man should concentrate on campaigning for the Norton Constituency parliamentary seat without mudslinging President Mugabe as he was part and parcel of ZANU (PF).--------------Stewart Murewa
Opinion / Columnist

The decision by National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) to protest in the country's 210 constituencies despite a Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) ban on demonstrations is an indication that depicts the weakness by opposition forces of failing to abide by the law.The Police noticed that it was temporarily banning all protests in central business district of Harare from 16 September 2016, to 25 October 2016. According to the Police the ban was in terms of in Section 27 (2) (a) of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).However, NERA's head of legal affairs who is also MDC-T secretary general, Douglas Mwonzora insisted that they were going to proceed with the protests despite Police order and with or with no police clearance. Turning a deaf ear on the law by NERA members will result them being nab by the policeSince the beginning of these protests by opposition outfits, the scale of political violence has been growing a thing that could have made the Police to ban these demonstrations. Surely, people should not be left damaging infrastructure, vehicles and looting shops. Such behaviour is unfavorable to economic development.NERA should just abide by the law and wait until the said date is reached. If the protests are to be held without police monitoring, there is bound to be acts of violence by hooligans who may or may not be part of NERA. Police must first clear the demonstration in order for them to provide protection of public safety, maintenance of public order, protection of others' rights and freedoms, including their right carry on their business freely.In the fortunate event that the protests are given a green light, it is also essential for the security forces to disperse any illegal violent protesters.Police should not hesitate to arrest and fine people who organise protestsThe fact that Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) took its time to entertain issues and grievances raised by NERA, shows that the Commission is free to work with every political party. However, the meeting was reported to be unsuccessful, as NERA members walked away of that meeting before reaching a consensus with the Commission.Transform Zimbabwe leader, Jacob Ngarivhume claimed that ZEC had planted dubious and fake political parties in the meeting to vote against their position. Nevertheless, it is neither the responsibility of ZEC to vet nor drive away political parties who would have come for a meeting. Ngarivhume should have identified those fake' parties, and take immediate action rather than blaming ZEC for no apparent reason.Honestly, how can ZEC plant dubious political parties in a meeting? What will they want to achieve in so doing?NERA should heed Cde Saviour Kasukuwere advice. Cde Kasukuwere urged NERA members to bring its concerns to Parliament. If NERA feels that ZEC is not doing justice to their raised issues, I am quite convinced that Parliament will be able to address their concerns. All the same, Didymus Mutasa, chairperson of NERA and colleagues should stop acting like cry babies. Why did they walk out of the meeting before they reached a consensus with ZEC?Mutasa is accusing ZANU-PF government of rigging 2018 elections. Surely, how can this possible? Mutasa is quite cognizant that ZANU-PF has the potential of winning the next elections; hence being in a panic mode.--------------------Peacemaker Zano
Opinion / Columnist

"Prophets often shocked their hearers rather than attract their attention by the methods which they used to deliver their messages" Examine this view. How far is this common in Zimbabwean context.?(25) (article number 120)DIVINITY REVISION QUESTION| 15 SEPTEMBER 2016COMMENT OVERVIEW The above question requires one to have deep knowledge concerning the methods which were used by Israel prophets to convey their messages. They used various methods which will be mentioned on the ongoing article. Zimbabwean prophets use different methods, Zimbabwean prophets include the following- The Apple Prophet "Fordrick Fordrick"- The Spectacle Prophet "Freddy"- Ezekiel Guti- Major Provovo man of style "Uebert Angel"- W .Magaya- Passion Java- Zviratidzo Zvevapostori sects- Wutuanashe Andrew- Prophetess Ruth Makandiwa- Prophetess Beverly Angel - Makomichi- Aaron Mhukuta "Madzibaba Wimbo"ANSWERS Israel prophets used symbolic actions to deliver their messages, There are so many prophets who used symbolic actions, for instance Moses performed symbolic actions in front of Pharaoh as a way of convincing him. This is recorded in Exodus 7-10. [charging of the rod into serpent]. Isaiah of Jerusalem is well known of his symbolic action which is even shocking the readers of this generation, Isaiah is recorded to have spent 3 years walking undressed, this is recorded in Isaiah 20:3. Jeremiah is also known of performing unusual symbolic action of caring yoke bar, this is recorded in Jeremiah 27. Hosea is well known of marrying a harlot as away of delivering a message, even though in the society is was not allowed for men to marry woman with loose morals [Exodus 24:1-4].The above prophets might have been delivering the message to the audience, one should note that on the onset it shocked the hearers /audience considering Moses who performed unusual symbolic action in front of Pharoah, he was shocked this is evidenced by summoning his magicians and soothsayers and his heart was hardened. All this is recorded in Exodus 7:10-15. Jeremiah shocked the leaders in Judah, it even shocked Hananiah the false prophet, this might be the reason why he broke the yoke bar, this is evidenced in Jeremiah 28:10-11.Basing on the above, it is clear that most of the symbolic actions performed by prophets shocked hearers than attracting them . The visions sometimes shocked the audience, this is true in the case of Amos who delivered his message of doom, perhaps in Gilgal and Bethel. The visions are well known by number of biblical readers [Amos 7]. The visions of Amos might have shocked even the priest Amaziah, this is the reason why he expelled him even though some scholars believe that Amos was expelled because Amaziah believed that Amos was prophesying for living. The point is that Amaziah might have been shocked by the visions of doom which were uttered by Amos, hence meaning that prophets often shocked their hearers rather than attracting them.HOWEVERPART In as much as it can be said that prophets often shocked their hearers with their methods which they used to deliver their messages, it will be loss of memory if one ignore the view that some methods attracted the hearers, for instance, songs. Israel prophets used songs to deliver their messages. Moses used a song to deliver his message, this is recorded in Deuteronomy 32:1. Amos also used the song "funeral dirge" to deliver his message of doom, this is recorded in Amos 5:2. Isaiah of Jerusalem also used the song of vineyard to deliver his message to the Israelites, this is recorded in Isaiah 5:1. Some scholars believe that on the onset songs attracted people especially when a prophet used their own language. As such, this indicates that sometimes audience will be attracted by the method which will be used by the prophet.N.B There are so many ways which attracted the audience.ZIMBABWEAN CONTEXT In Zimbabwean context, number of so many prophets uses methods which attract their hearers, for instance the use of stories, the son of Wimbo, Gomo submitted that the way his father delivered his message it was amazing, this was even published by Bulawayo24.com ["He has always been amazing because at times he makes prophecies without informing anyone that he is sending a prophetic message. He would just pretend to be telling a story and often we would realis it was a prophecy when things he would have said begin to happen] All this indicates that methods used by Zimbabwean prophets attract hearers.SOME OF ATTRACTIVE METHODS- pamphlets- radios- TV stations- bannersQUESTION DEMANDS- read the demands of the questionCONTACTS+263777896159 {WhatsApp}Zimsec A level Divinity Questions and Answers with Witness Dingani{Facebook page }"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." -- Bill Gates"People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy." -- Tony Robbins
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Channel programs News

Legacy Tech Vendor Pitney Bowes Is Rolling Out Cutting-Edge Geospatial Software To The Channel

Joseph Tsidulko

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Pitney Bowes, a legacy corporation typically associated with non-digital technologies  such as machines for sorting snail mail  has been transforming its business over the last few years with an array of software assets that enable cutting-edge geo-location capabilities.

Capping that process, the 96-year-old business technology vendor, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., launched its first channel program earlier this summer, and is recruiting data-centric IT solutions providers by offering them tools with which to pioneer unique use cases, said Mark Taylor, the company's senior vice president of software channels.

The new program offers partners software assets they can use to build solutions that help enterprises better identify, locate and communicate with their customers, Taylor said.

[Related: Docker Launches Two-Tier Channel Program To Support Expansion Of Enterprise Platform]

"We have more knowledge around physical locations than virtually anyone on the planet," Taylor told CRN. "And we can wrap customer information management and analytics around that."

Products like its Spectrum Technology Platform can integrate a variety of data sources to help enterprises build location intelligence, or digital knowledge of a physical environment.

Such services fulfill a number of diverse use cases, such as insurers assessing topological features, property managers looking to demarcate boundaries, delivery companies plotting routes, social media providers identifying check-in locations, and financial fraud investigators verifying physical addresses.

Before April, those capabilities and others were never offered to the channel in any substantial way. Aside from a mapping product, Pitney Bowes' go-to-market motion had always been direct, Taylor said.

Since then, Pitney Bowes has struck partnerships with several global systems integrators such as Accenture and Capgemini.

"Where we're really expanding this is with more of the regional systems integrators as well," he said. "Especially the firms that are today really good at helping clients with data. Partners that are working with data, databases, doing analytics, trying to help clients visualize more of their data. Those are the right kinds of partners for us."

Solution providers can extend their practices by partnering with Pitney Bowes across many industries, he said.

Jim Gallo, vice president of Business Analytics Strategy at Information Control Company, an IT solutions consultant based in Columbus, Ohio, told CRN that his company began partnering with Pitney Bowes in July to start bringing to market the Spectrum geocoding and spatial data analysis platform, as well as EngageOne Video, an interactive, data-driven video product.

"Their partner model is truly unique," Gallo said. "Given what they've done and how they've crafted it, they've really thought through what it takes for customers, partners and their sales force to be successful."

Gallo said he's never seen a vendor show his company as much attention and involvement, from the executive suite to sales teams to the partner management organization.

"They are putting money behind their words," Gallo told CRN.

Vincent Raineri, senior vice president at RCG Global Services, told CRN the data-focused solutions consultant based in Edison, N.J., has integrated Pitney Bowes technologies into solutions serving its core customers in financial services, insurance, health care and retail.

"We got involved because of the software products, especially around location services and customer identifiers, and the rich data sets they have," Raineri said. "We're developing solutions around financial fraud, money laundering, insurance claims fraud and we've integrated Pitney Bowes software and data sets in a number of those."

One benefit of the Pitney Bowes tools is that they work well with major Hadoop distributions, he said.

Raineri also praised the new program.

"From the executive level on down, there is a sense of how important their partners are for their growth engine," he said.

Pitney Bowes currently has roughly 50 partners working with its location intelligence services portfolio, Taylor told CRN.

As it builds out that channel, the company seeks to maintain close relationships with partners, having them collaborate extensively with the direct sales team and approach clients together.

Many data solutions on the market  such as Qlik, Tableau, and Hadoop implementations from Hortonworks and Cloudera  can run on top of Pitney Bowes technology, Taylor said, and partners in those ecosystems are good fits for the new program.

Pitney Bowes is aiming to eventually drive half of its revenue through partners, Taylor said. "That's a big transformation from where we are today."
Cloud News

Mirantis Snags Czech MSP To Speed Up Development Of Managed OpenStack Technology

Joseph Tsidulko

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Mirantis has agreed to purchase a Czech Republic-based managed services provider that should expedite the OpenStack vendor's development of a pipeline to deploy cloud infrastructure updates to customer data centers, the company revealed Thursday.

TCP Cloud, an MSP headquartered in Prague that supports OpenStack, as well as the OpenContrail network virtualization platform and the Kubernetes container orchestrator; is the first company the Mountain View, Calif.-based startup has acquired since its founding in 2011.

The most appealing trait of the Czech company was its ongoing project to enable continuous OpenStack software delivery to customer infrastructure, allowing private clouds to function more like their public counterparts, said Alex Freedland, Mirantis' co-founder and CEO.

[Related: Mirantis Sidesteps Red Hat Resistance To Rival OpenStack Software Running On Its Dominant Linux, Red Hat Calls Foul]

Mirantis was developing a similar logistics module for managing continual updates, Freedland said, but saw that it was nine months behind the Czech company  an eternity in the rapidly advancing cloud marketplace.

"They have expertise in the areas where we're slightly weak. This fills a gap in our knowledge base," Freedland said.

"We believe that when you start looking at the evolution of the cloud, the real value is not necessarily in the technology, which will continue to evolve and commoditize open source. But the constant value will be in the delivery model," Freedland told CRN.

Public cloud providers like AWS pioneered a model through which customers always have before them the latest and greatest versions of their technologies. Customers want that attribute in their own data centers using their own technology stacks, he said.

"Delivery is the differentiating factor," Freedland said. "The services needed for the cloud world will always be there, but how you deliver them in a continuous basis is where the value is."

Outlining the benefits for partners, Freedland said, "If you are an SI, you can bring our managed cloud to your customer, and we will give you the constant delivery of bits and managed services offering."

Partners can either manage workloads, with Mirantis managing the underlying infrastructure, or they can take charge of both elements themselves, he said.

TCP, with 30 employees in Eastern Europe, emerged on Mirantis' radar when it beat the Silicon Valley company, the world's largest pure-play OpenStack vendor, in a deal. The customer Mirantis lost said "they found a little company in Europe managing the lifecycle of OpenStack more flexibly than we were," Freedland said.

That prompted meetings at a conference in Berlin, followed by a few days of negotiations outside Prague that ended in an agreement to buy TCP Cloud.

Merging with TCP Cloud will allow Mirantis to begin beta testing the logistics module by the fourth quarter of this year, and roll out the product by the first quarter of 2017, more than half a year ahead of its original milestone schedule.

Chris Clason, CTO of Mirantis' Platform Engineering Group, will move to Prague and lead those development efforts, using TCP Cloud's work as the main trunk of the project, Freedland said.

The pipeline for OpenStack updates will employ an entirely container-based architecture, with Docker containers as delivery vehicles and Kubernetes as an orchestrator to standardize deployments. Mirantis is also adding monitoring and managed services components to make sure customer clouds are always running and always meeting expectations, he said.

Mirantis' overall OpenStack vision, Freedland said, is a single platform for running containers, bare-metal servers and virtual machines.

Once released, the continuous delivery tools will be contributed to Fuel, the OpenStack deployment and management platform. Nothing will remain proprietary.
Security News

BitSight Lands $40M Series C Funding, Looks To Boost Growing Channel, Expand Product Line

Sarah Kuranda

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BitSight, a security ratings company based in Cambridge, Mass., announced $40 million in Series C funding on Thursday, money it said it would put toward its growing channel, product lineup and acquisitions.

The funding was led by GGV Capital and included participation from Globespan Capital Partners, Menlo Ventures, BitSight CEO Shaun McConnon and Flybridge Capital Partners, Comcast, Liberty Global and Singtel. The funding adds to the $23 million in Series B funding it announced in June 2015 and brings its total funding raised to $89 million.

This latest round comes on the heels of a year of strong growth for BitSight, President and COO Tom Turner told CRN. Turner said the company has grown to 450 customers, up from 53 at the end of 2014. It expects to end the year with between 650 and 700 customers, he said. Sales for the first half of 2016 were double those of the first half of 2015, the company said.

[Related: Cato Networks Lands $30M Series B Funding, Looks To Disrupt Network Security With Help Of Channel]

That growth is driven by a strong need in the security space for continuous measurement of security risk, as well as a rising cyber insurance market, Turner said. As other players start to jump into the security ratings market, Turner said BitSight will leverage the new round of funding to continue to lead the market.

We intend to keep our foot on the gas and be very in tune with what our customers and partners are telling us about this market. Its definitely growing and customers are voting with their wallets and building practices and have a need for focus in their vendor risk practice or security practice, Turner said.

Gina Ghent, managing director and head of KY3P at IHS Markit, a BitSight partner, said the latest round of funding validates the companys technology to clients and underscores the importance of performing due diligence and ongoing monitoring of their vendors.

"BitSight's latest round of funding is a testament to the significance and criticality of its security ratings in a global and technology-driven environment where it is needed more than ever," Ghent said in an email to CRN.

Turner said BitSight plans to invest in further innovation around its product set, including expansion of its current ratings platform with additional data and context on company risk as well as expanding into risk ratings for fourth-party risk, or the security risk posed by the supply chains of third-party providers.

Turner said BitSight will also look to make acquisitions, something the company is already experienced in after its 2014 acquisition of Anubis Networks. That deal helped BitSight expand into the European market, while adding talent and analytics capabilities.

This [funding] gives us the ability to be acquisitive if we see the right opportunity in the market, Turner said.

Finally, Turner said BitSight plans to invest in its partner ecosystem. The company currently has around 65 partners, he said, and we need to have the right resources deployed for that, including programmatic elements and how to expand the channel reach into a broader geography internationally.

For us to truly be a global standard, and that is the goal of the company  channels and partners and routes to market are an extremely important part of how we get to that standard, Turner said. Thats why, even if we werent looking for funding at this time, this is a great war chest to continue to do that, he said.
Security News

Ex-MSP Phalanx Secure Continues Transformation With First Reseller Program

Jimmy Sheridan

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Phalanx Secure  formerly Raven Data Technologies  has launched a reseller program as it moves away away from its MSP roots and leverages its security operations center--as-a-service solution through channel partners.

The solution, according to Matt Johnson, founder of the Baltimore-based security vendor, is about allowing MSPs to provide [an] enterprise-level security operations center at a price point that is affordable.

Through its partner program, Phalanx is offering the service to MSPs, providing 24/7 monitoring through the vendors Trident cybersecurity platform.

[Related: MSP-Turned-Security Reseller: How Revenue Tripled In Year 1]

The operations center is staffed by trained Phalanx professionals, and, according to a company statement, will also protect end users against hacking attempts and other security threats.

Johnson said he's looking to partner with service providers that serve the SMB market because Phalanx solution was built to scale and is affordable for those MSPs.

The price is about a third cheaper than those of some competitors, Johnson said.

Phalanx, which now sells exclusively through the channel, started in the security space in 2014, transforming from an MSP to a security consultancy before it decided in August to forego direct sales.

The highly competitive MSP environment led Johnson to adjust his business model to differentiate his company. So, in 2014, he shifted the companys focus to security.

In an earlier interview with CRN, Johnson said the initial transition to security was good, and as Phalanx began to offer more security services, business continued to improve.

In its first year as a security consultancy, Johnson said his company was growing by more than 300 percent.

To Johnson, the Phalanx partner program is about assisting MSPs that need to add security.

"It will allow MSPs to focus on what they do best - managed services - but allow us to be able to help protect their clients," Johnson said in an email to CRN. "You can't be an expert in everything, so our goal is to let Phalanx guide and assist MSPs.

Phalanx has already gained 10 reseller partners in its first month as a channel-only business, Johnson said. But he added that the company is just getting started and continuing to look for more partners.

Lets all work together and we all make more money in the long run," he said.
From PCs To Cloud And IoT

2016 has been a busy year for Intel , with CEO Brian Krzanich in April outlining a new strategy focused on cloud and the Internet of Things.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has been moving away from its roots in PC semiconductors to prioritize end-to-end connected solutions like intelligent gateways and embedded chips.

In the midst of the company's restructuring, Intel's engaged partners  partners at the Gold and Platinum levels  grew by 15 percent in the first half of 2016, according to Maurits Tichelman, who oversees channel sales and marketing at Intel.

Intel Vice President Maurits Tichelman talked with CRN about what the company's channel initiatives are surrounding data center, IoT and client compute. Following are excerpts of the conversation.
- T. S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide."
In what may be a significant signal of things to come, a number of Chinese shipyards will make their first appearances at the China Cruise Shipping conference and trade show, scheduled to take place in Tianjin, Sept. 23-25.

While Fincantieri, Carnival Corporation and China State Shipbuilding Corporation have signed agreements and formed joint ventures, other yards are now looking to enter the newbuild and drydocking markets.

These facilities include Shanghai Zhaoxiang Construction, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Tianjin Xingang Shipbuilding Heavy Industry and Guangzhou Shipyard International Company.

Sino Cruise Development will also be at the event, having previously made statements that they plan to build eight cruise ships over the next five years for the domestic Chinese cruise market.
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.

.

..Commentary Magazine..14 September '16..Today, the United States and Israel will sign an agreement on a 10-year military aid package, $38 billion in all, from 2019 to 2028. The memorandum of understanding is being touted by the State Department as the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in U.S. history, and strictly speaking that is correct. Considering the tense relations between the two governments over the past eight years, the pact is a tribute to the resilience and the strength of a U.S.-Israel alliance. The fact that the Obama administration has chosen to make this commitment for its successors illustrates that the security relationship transcends the presidents antipathy for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his predilection for picking fights with the Israelis. Moreover, by locking in what are, at least on the surface, higher levels of aid over such a long period, the deal allows Israel to plan for the future and to hopefully maintain its qualitative military edge over potential foes.But as much as Obama deserves credit for agreeing to the aid package, the subtext to this negotiation is not without worries for those who care about the alliance. The real question is why the aid is now so vital and whether this announcement will be followed by shifts in U.S. policy that will endanger the Jewish states security in other ways.The unfortunate context for the 10-year agreement is another pact that also stretches out over a similar period: the Iran nuclear deal. The administrations decision to push for an extension of the annual aid package was in large part an effort to offset the impact of their policy on Iran.Obamas appeasement of Iran has, at best, put Irans quest for a nuclear weapon on hold for a decade. But it has also ended the international sanctions that had isolated the Iranians. This means that a country dedicated to Israels destruction, as well as bent on achieving regional hegemony, is now more dangerous than ever. Complicating the strategic equation even further are the Obama administrations efforts to withdraw from the Middle East, effectively leaving the field clear for both a resurgent Russia and its sometime ally Iran. That means President Obamas signature foreign policy achievement will not only fail to stop Iran from getting a bomb but has also created a more challenging security environment for Israel.So while its good that Israel is getting help coping with this dilemma, Obama is the author of the problem the deal seeks to fix.
The first Chinese-built cruise ships may be inching closer to being official.

It may become official next Friday in Tianjin at China Cruise Shipping when China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and Carnival Corporation could announce a newbuild order for up to five cruise ships to be built in a Chinese yard for a yet-to-be-named domestic cruise brand.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the ships will be around 5,000 passengers and 130,000 tons, with deliveries to start as soon as 2020.

It has been a solid build up in China for Carnival, which started with a memorandum of understanding signed with CSSC in 2014 to explore the possibility of a joint venture.

A year later, Carnival announced it had formed a joint venture in China that intended to launch the first world-class, multi-ship domestic cruise brand in the Chinese market with CSSC and China Investment Corporation (CIC).

And in July, Fincantieri and CSSC signed an agreement for the development of a joint venture aimed at developing and supporting the growth of the Chinese cruise industry, according to a statement. The ships will be built at one of CSSCs shipyard on the basis of a platform licensed to the joint venture and to the SWS shipyard by Fincantieri.

Statements have also said the new brand will not only build new ships, but will also operate ships (second-hand) in the Chinese market.

---

Learn more about the Chinese cruise market via the just released China Cruise Market Report.
AIDA Cruises has released updated deployment spanning from March 2017 to April 2018, with a number of major adjustments.

First, the new AIDAprima will be pulled out of its year-round deployment in Hamburg at the end of 2017 in favor of the Canaries and Madeira, according to a statement. Passengers will be able to embark in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife on a seven-day cruise program also calling in Madeira, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

The cruise line has also officially announced more on the new AIDAperla, which will start revenue service as the 12th member of the AIDA fleet on Sept. 1, 2017, offering four different Mediterranean itineraries. Two deployment options will leave from Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona; sailing to Corsica, Livorno and Civitavecchia in addition to Mallorca.

The other two cruise options on the new ship will feature the same ports, but also add in an overnight in Marseille.

AIDA is strengthening its AIDA Selection program, which offers exceptional cruises on its first generation of ships. These itineraries feature new regions and ports, and extensive shore excursion programs.

The AIDAcara will sail the companys first world cruise from Hamburg as part of AIDA Selection, leaving on Oct. 17, 2017, sailing 116 days to 41 ports in 23 countries.

AIDA will also follow Costa into the Indian Ocean, also under the AIDA Selection program, debuting a Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar cruise on the AIDAaura, also calling at Reunion Island. The ship will stay overnight in Mahe (Seychelles), Saint-Denis (Reunion) and Port Louis (Mauritius). In Madagascar, AIDAaura will call at three different ports, Nosy Be, Antsiranana and Toamasina. The port of departure is Mauritius.

AIDA cited demand in a prepared released for an expanded program in the Western Mediterranean aboard the AIDAbella, which will sail the Pearls of the Mediterranean cruise program from Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona. The ship will then head to Dubai later in the year ahead of a Southeast Asia winter, and return to Europe in time for 2018. A previous deployment to China has been delayed.
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Small-business owner Emily Barrett spends most of her time helping local nannies excel at their jobs. Next week she hopes the Greenwich community will show them some extra appreciation for their work.

National Nanny Recognition Week runs Sept. 18 through 24, and Barrett has partnered with local businesses to reward caregivers who play a significant role in helping raise many Greenwich children.

There is Mothers and Fathers Day, but nannies play a huge part in a childs life, too, Barrett said. Nannies do their best to be a positive influence on the children who are our future, and this is a time to show we value them.

Barrett reached out to a handful of businesses meaningful to nannies and worked with the owners to set up promotions or deals to help give them a good week, she said.

The participating businesses include: Action Arts, Darlenes Heavenly Desires, Hands on Pottery, Fenix Salon and Spa, Legoland Discovery Center, Originals and Songs for Seeds. The nanny appreciation deals range from discounts to free ice cream toppings and treats.

Courtney Fischer-Karasin, owner of Songs for Seeds, a new music education program in Old Greenwich, said children come to classes accompanied by both parents and nannies, and the week is important to recognize the caregivers who are devoted to making sure children are supported and act as an extension of the family.

Diana Scrabonia, from The Legoland Discovery Center, in Yonkers, N.Y., said hundreds of nannies bring children there and the business is thrilled to support any profession that encourages the emotional and physical well-being of children.

The appreciation week is one of many ways Barrett lends support for area nannies. She opened her company The Nanny Trainers early last year to provide training and advice for caregivers. Barrett studied early childhood education in Belgium, but ultimately decided teaching wasnt for her.

She had a range of experiences abroad, including working as an au pair in Australia. When she returned to the United States to be with her family, she saw that many nannies miss out on opportunities or have a hard time settling into their jobs.

So Barrett began connecting with local families to discuss their expectations for a nanny, make customized plans to help nannies feel comfortable in their positions while meeting employer expectations, and advise them on local activities for children.

Barrett said one of her biggest roles is fostering better communication between the nanny and family. Additionally, she focuses on helping nannies find happiness in their jobs, because their attitudes significantly affect the families with whom they work.

The Nanny Trainers has made its mark in the Greenwich community by training around 70 nannies. Barrett hopes to continue growing, but she said she doesnt want to expand much outside of the Greenwich market.

I want to be able to give local advice and help nannies get to know the area, Barrett said.

Barrett will soon take her expertise to a broader audience. Next month she will speak to nannies at an annual gathering called Nannypalooza, which will be hosted in Hartford this year.

For a full list of participating businesses and promotions offered, visit The Nanny Trainers.
Bridgewater Associates told employees Thursday it will undertake layoffs, with reports quoting founder Ray Dalio describing his firm as bloated in a separate letter to investors.

Based in Westport and with additional offices in Norwalk, Wilton and Stamford, Bridgewater is the worlds largest hedge fund as ranked by assets under management. Bridgewater disclosed having 1,700 employees today in the firms letter to investors first published by Business Insider; it did not state how many jobs were at stake or their locations.

On his LinkedIn page where he has alternatively promoted and defended his firm and managerial beliefs, Dalio did not immediately address any changes at Bridgewater, with his most recent post earlier this month lauding a new website that describes the hedge fund as a community of people who are driven to achieve excellence in their work and their relationships through radical truth and radical transparency.

Bridgewater earlier this year brought in former Apple executive Jon Rubinstein as co-CEO while rejiggering others roles. On Friday the company listed just eight open jobs, far fewer than the opportunities advertised at Point72 Asset Management in Stamford, AQR Capital Management in Greenwich and other prominent financial firms locally  with those firms providing a possible soft landing spot for any Bridgewater employees rendered free agents.

Bridgewater itself has benefited over the years by its close proximity to area corporations and financiers, and expects to do so going forward; only in August, Bridgewater had made Jen Vanderwall its new head of executive hiring, with Vanderwall having previously co-led the firms overall human resources function after joining Bridgewater in 2012 from Purchase, N.Y.-based MasterCard.

The new management leadership is now digging into the areas of inefficiency to improve them, Bridgewaters letter stated. Naturally that will involve some significant changes to people, processes and technologies. As mentioned, the vast majority of this renovation will be in the non-investment areas that have seen the most growth to make them more effective in supporting our investment and client service areas.

Earlier this year, Bridgewater entered negotiations with the state of Connecticut for a $22 million assistance package if the firm adds 750 people to the 1,400 it employed in Connecticut at the time, with Bridgewater pledging to spend $506 million of its own funds in the expansion while qualifying it for as much as $30 million in tax credits from the state.

Maureen Boylan, a Stamford resident who led efforts to forestall construction of a new waterfront headquarters for Bridgewater Associates, said the firms latest action should serve as a wake up to those who would cede valuable land for development on the basis of office jobs alone, with Stamford having multiple trophy office buildings available for lease.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-354-1047; www.twitter.com/casoulman
Schools have become very dependent on the cloud to improve learning and teaching environments, as well as peer collaboration.
Backed by a grant received from The Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership made possible by the Walmart Foundation, The WorkPlace is rolling out its Retail Career Academy, offering training and support for career pathways in retail as well as job search and placement services.

The initiative will receive $400,000 per year for two years.

According to WorkPlace President and CEO Joe Carbone, the academy is designed to not only help unemployed and underemployed workers return to employment but also to aid Connecticut retailers in finding skilled workers who can be set upon career paths with their companies.

We want to help an employee move upwards, to keep a good job and build a career, Carbone said. The benefit for employers  which they dont always realize in retail  is that they can actually save money in the long run in terms of training and hiring costs by retaining employees. The vast majority of employers dont think that way yet. Preparing the core of their work force to stick and stay is not at the top of their to-do list.

Carbone said the situation boils down to simple math.

At Wendys they go through the time and expense of training employees, who three weeks later move to take a job at McDonalds for 20 cents more an hour, he said. Its really in the employers best interests to try and retain employees at every level.

According to the Center for American Progress, for positions paying $30,000 or less  which includes more than half of all U.S. workers  the typical cost of replacing an employee is 16 percent of an employees annual salary. In other words, the cost to replace a retail employee making $10 an hour would be $3,328.

According to WorkPlace data, the retail sector supports one in four American jobs, a total of 42 million workers. In southwestern Connecticut, more than 11 percent of employment can be found in the retail sector.

Walmart Foundation Director Gayatri Agnew said the group decided to go all in on leveraging its strengths to help build retail careers last year, when it announced that it would invest $100 million over five years in the space.

As part of that effort, it granted $10.9 million to The Chicago Cook recently Workforce Partnership, which provides free services to job seekers and businesses, to select 10 workforce development boards across the country seeking funding for innovative retail job training services. From dozens of applicants, Chicago Cook chose 10 recipients, including The WorkPlace.

We expect this to lead to a catalytic shift in how retail careers are developed and maintained, Agnew said. Its a win-win-win  it makes things better for the worker, for the company and for business.

She added that about 75 percent of Walmart management started their careers as hourly workers at the retail behemoth. On the corporate side, Walmart has spent in excess of $2 billion in training, education and wages for its U.S. workers, she added.

Retail Career Academy is being modeled after The WorkPlaces Southwestern Connecticut Health CareeRx Academy, which Carbone said has been extraordinarily successful. Begun in 2011, that project  a partnership of health care providers, educators, trainers and community-based organizations, created with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Labor  has enrolled 1,044 eligible participants, with 815 candidates entering healthcare-specific occupational skills training.

With RCA, I told (program manager) Mike Stokes to spend as much time working with employers as participants in the project, Carbone said, to prove the quality of the people were training. We want to walk with them step by step to make sure theyre confident in moving forward.

Classes are being held at American Job Centers around the state, with the first orientation classes taking place the week of Sept. 5. Carbone said The WorkPlace received about 90 applicants for its first class of 25, which was really exciting. We appealed in the right places to the right folks in the right places. These are people who view their employment as the starting point of a career, not just a job.

Adults eligible for the program must be at least 18 years old, residents of towns in southwest Connecticut (Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bridgeport, Darien, Derby, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton), have a high school diploma or GED and have reliable transportation and/or willingness to take public transportation. Participants can be dislocated workers, unemployed, incumbent workers and self-employed.

Included are a two-week seminar to deliver core retail skills and a five-week boot camp for job-readiness training. Services offered include sales training to obtain a National Retail Federation Certification; a career readiness course emphasizing video resumes and writing; professional brand marketing; interview skills; and job placement assistance.

Participants are expected to be a mix of entry-level and experienced workers, with RCA becoming a hub of training and hiring for southwestern Connecticuts retail employers, Carbone added.

Kevin Zimmerman writes for the Fairfield County Business Journal. For more, go to www.westfaironline.com.
BRIDGEPORT - Two police officers, who were working as bouncers in a Main Street bar when police raided it and found more than 70 underage drinkers, have been suspended without pay.

Officer Chris Smith, who has been on the police force eight years and Officer Andrew Talavera, an 18-year veteran who taught at the police academy, were each suspended for 30 days without pay for violating department rules against working in bars, said Police Chief Armando Perez.

In addition, Perez said Talavara, who was third on the list for a promotion to sergeant, was passed over for promotion and has been removed from the departments SWAT team.

Perez confirmed that video from the Golden Star Cafe showed Talavara spraying a 19-year-old Sacred Heart University student with whipped cream in the bar on March 30 shortly before the girl told police she was allegedly raped by a man she mistook in her drunken state to be an Uber driver.

Police sources said the alleged rapist, 39-year-old Alfonso Reid, a dangerous felon with prior convictions for attempted murder, assault and gun possession, can been seen in the video watching as Talavara sprays the girl. Reid is awaiting trial on sex assault and kidnapping charges.

Officer Talavara has lost a lot, said Perez. He apologized, said he was very sorry his actions shamed the Bridgeport Police Department and I believed him.

Police Union President Charles Paris said the union will appeal Talavara being passed over for promotion.

The two officers agreed to the 30-day suspensions, he said.

The Golden Star Cafe, which was ordered closed by the state Department of Consumer Protection, promoted itself specifically to college students on social media with whipped cream nights and special drinks for college students.

On April 5, police raided the bar only to find the two officers, Talavara and Smith, working there.

Perez said it has been against the Police Departments policy for at least 32 years for officers to work off duty security jobs at bars.

During the raid Perez said officers seized more than 50 fake IDs from underage Sacred Heart University students.

Gregory Kapetaneas, the owner of the Golden Star, had claimed that his staff had scanned in the IDs for everyone who entered the bar on April 5 and the machine verified all of them.
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BRIDGEPORT  Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport and the international Congregation of Holy Cross urged a judge Thursday not to make public hundreds of documents detailing how priest abuse was handled by bishops Edward Egan and William Lori.

If there is a letter to the diocese that we heard father so-and-so had done this thing and this information, if it were made public, would taint this priest, Diocese lawyer Ernest J. Mattei told Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis.

Its been more than 10 years since the diocese paid more than $15 million to more than two dozen people who claimed they were abused by priests when they were children. And then there was the award-winning movie Spotlight, about the abuse cases in Boston that many thought had closed the door on the whole abuse scandal.

But for more than two years, three local lawyers, Jason Tremont, Cindy Robinson and Douglas Mahoney, who represent five alleged victims of four priests, have been battling with the lawyers for the diocese in Superior Court here.

Their victims were all altar boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s who claim they were abused by Rev. Martin Federici in St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Norwalk and St. Edward the Confessor in New Fairfield; The Rev. Walter Coleman at St. Patricks Church in Bridgeport; The Rev. James Gildea at Notre Dame High School in Fairfield; and Robert Morrissey at St. Marys High School in Greenwich.

All the priests are on a list of Credibly Accused Diocesan Priests, on the dioceses website.

In 2004, Bishop Lori released a study about the problem of sexual abuse of children in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Bishop Lori is quoted as saying The John Jay analysis for the Diocese of Bridgeport represents an important step in our desire to let everyone know what took place, Mahoney said. In 2016, there is a new bishop and we are once again faced with motions seeking confidentiality similar to what we saw in the 1990s under Bishop Egan. As we have learned, it is only by shining a spotlight on the issue of clergy sex abuse can we make our children safe.

None of the lawyers for the diocese nor the Congregation of Holy Cross would comment on the case.

The lawyers for the diocese had already been ordered by Judge Bellis to turn over all the documents regarding abuse allegations against the four priests, but then filed a motion to prevent Tremont, Robinson and Mahoney from making any of the documents public.

The Diocese has agreed to and has spent many, many hours satisfying Tremont and Sheldons discovery demand to review and disclose any and all information found in priest personnel files, including priests not accused of anything, the Diocese said in a statement late Thursday. Their request has been extremely broad and has involved the personnel records of numerous priests with long and successful careers who have never had an allegation brought against them. These priests are not in any way implicated in the current cases, and the Diocese has complied with the request, producing the documents. However, it is seeking to limit the use of this information outside of the current cases at issue.

This information is not intended to titillate the public, argued Gina Bonoehsen, the lawyer for the Congregation of Holy Cross, an international society of more than 1,200 brothers and priests.

But Mahoney pointed out that many of these so-called secret diocese documents include letters to the editor and magazine articles about the abuse scandal.

I dont see any reason to protect these documents, the judge agreed.

Bellis gave the dioceses lawyers until Sept. 26 to give the plaintiffs lawyers documents it doesnt think the public should see.

Tremont, Robinson and Mahoney then have until Oct. 3 to disagree with what the diocese submitted and then the judge would make a decision on Oct. 11.
In Connecticut, there are 54,000 people who hold a commercial drivers licenses. And come every four years, they have to renew their license.

Now, the state Department of Motor Vehicle says either applying or renewing a commercial drivers license will require additional identity documents.

Its because of a new federal mandate that kicks in Dec. 5. It will also apply to people wanting to transfer their license from another state to Connecticut.

This week, DMW says it will begin mailing renewal notices to exisiting holders of commercial drivers licenses. Renewal notices are sent out on a staggered basis throughout the year based on the license expiration date. This identity document check is in addition to other CDL requirements, such as endorsement testing and providing updated medical forms.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandates states to require CDL drivers and applicants to show proof of U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residence or temporary legal presence, along with proof of Connecticut residency.

In many cases, CDL holders can present their birth certificate or passport, their Social Security card, and verify their address with postmarked mail or billing statements to meet the requirements. Additionally, non-U.S. citizens will also need to prove their legal status in the country.

The CDL requirements are similar to the process DMV started in 2011 for all licensed drivers who sought the gold star designation on their license by having their identity and address verified at renewal time. DMV estimates that about 25 percent of Connecticuts CDL holders have already met these federal verification standards.

DMV is announcing this change to give CDL holders time to gather their identity documents, such as a birth certificate or passport, DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said in a release. We are advising current CDL holders to wait for their renewal notice, read it carefully, and be prepared to present identity documents, if they have not already done so, to avoid delays when its time to renew their licenses.

As part of the December 6 change, non-U.S. citizens with temporary legal status that are eligible for a CDL will receive a credential marked Non-Domicile. The Non-Domiciled credential, however, will not allow the driver to operate any vehicles requiring a hazmat endorsement.

For more information about the new requirements, please ct.gov/dmv/CDL.
BRIDGEPORT - Police Chief Armando Perez said he would be meeting Thursday afternoon with the City Attorneys Office to decide what discipline if any will be imposed on Lt. Lonnie Blackwell, the head of the Police Departments minority officers organization for allegedly conspiring to distribute a phony racist letter in the department.

If it were up to me I would hold a press conference today but my hands are tied, Perez said Thursday morning. I want it taken care of by the end of this week.
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STAMFORD  The sentencing for the man who killed a Norwalk cab driver took a bizarre twist Wednesday afternoon when he asked for a lie detector test and wondered out loud why he was in the courtroom.

Ramiro Arcos-Garcia, 34, pleaded guilty in June to stabbing 51-year-old Jackson Pierre-Louis in the neck in December 2014. The diminutive Arcos-Garcia, who still faces kidnapping and assault charges in Virginia, requested during Wednesdays hearing a polygraph test and said it was unclear why he was accused of murder.

Judge Gary White was not swayed by Arcos-Garcias behavior and sentenced the former Bridgeport resident to 30 years in jail.

Based on the facts of this case, I have found your actions were brutal senseless, and inexcusable, White said. You seem to imply that you are misunderstood and that your intentions were misconstrued. I dont think you were misunderstood or that your intentions were misconstrued. You unlawfully and brutally murdered an innocent man, and took him from his family and I think you deserve a very long prison sentence and that is what you are going to get.

Simone Martin, a relative of Pierre-Louis, grieved outside the courtroom after the sentencing.

He has died and he is not coming back, Martin said. Hes lost the kids, the kids have lost and the wife lost and family lost, right? You kill him and go to jail, but still he dies.

Pierre-Louis wife, Mary, a mother of three children, said she was too devastated to speak following the hearing.

Arcos-Garcias attorney, public defender Howard Ehring, assured the judge his client understood the evidence against him when he pleaded guilty to murder in June. Arcos-Garcia faced up to 60 years in prison if he was convicted at trial.

Senior Assistant States Attorney Paul Ferencek said police found the knife and Arcos-Garcias clothing in a bush near Grove Street where Pierre-Louis called 911 before bleading to death while on the phone with the dispatcher.

Ferencek said the overwhelming evidence included Arcos-Garcias cell phone found in the cab and surveillance footage showing him fleeing the area.

Ferencek said the motive for the killing remains unknown and authorities have little information about Arcos-Garcia, who assumed several aliases since arriving in the United States about 10 years ago.

Ferencek said Arcos-Garcia was known for his irrational and violent behavior. He still faces charges in Virginia where he has been accused of kidnapping a woman in 2011. Arcos-Garcia tied the woman up in his car and then ran her over when she tried to escape, authorities said.

Ferencek said Arcos-Garcia will be extradited to Virginia to face kidnapping, assault and other charges.
Orchestra's executive director promotes Family Concert in Somerset

The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra and Johnstown Concert Ballet will perform "Peter and the Wolf" on November 13 at the Somerset High School Auditorium.
Check it out: Fun things to do this weekend in Lake County

entertainment
Prince Harry turns 32 today, still with no job or wife on the cards. My source says: Its felt hes content to volunteer with his charities and undertake occasional royal duties while receiving a grant from his father. He would like a wife and children but is no closer to settling down. The last royal bachelor was Prince William of Gloucester, who died in a plane crash aged 30 in 1972. He wanted to marry a Hungarian divorcee with children (Zsuzsi Starkloff) but is said to have been thwarted by royal establishment powers-that-be.

Prince Harry turns 32 today, still with no job or wife on the cards

Scots-born star Alan Cumming tells in a new book, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams, that the late screen legend Elizabeth Taylor confided to him at a Hollywood party that she had missed a chair when sitting down, adding: Alan, youve never seen such a black ass! Cumming, from Aberfeldy, Perthshire, says he replied: I bet I have! No doubt that made Liz giggle.

Re a wife for Prince Harry, a match with Greeces Princess Maria-Olympia, 20, might please his grandfather, Prince Philip, 95, our most famous living Hellenic. She is the granddaughter of HMs favourite former monarch, ex-King Constantine of Greece. Failing that, how about a fixed marriage a la TVs Victoria to his daughter, Princess Theodora, 33. Constantines daughter? Based in Los Angeles, Theodora acts in a long-running US television soap opera, The Bold And The Beautiful.

Re a wife for Prince Harry, a match with Greeces Princess Maria-Olympia, 20, pictured, might please his grandfather, Prince Philip, 95, our most famous living Hellenic

Anxious-to-be-noticed tycoon Lord Sugar tweets fans saying: I feel sorry for the BBC. They invested years in making Bake Off popular and the greedy disloyal format owner has sold it to Ch4. His own BBC show, The Apprentice, belongs to the United Artists Media Group under licence from Donald Trump. He says disrespectfully of Sugar: He was so low on the economic scale, he didnt really fit the role. I think hes made more money by being on The Apprentice than he has in business. A far-from-glowing testimonial.

Lord Sugar tweets fans saying: I feel sorry for the BBC. They invested years in making Bake Off popular and the greedy disloyal format owner has sold it to Ch4

MPs go into recess today after just eight days of work following their SIX WEEK summer holiday. Now theyll enjoy a three-week break for boozy party conferences. Hillary Clinton describes half of Donald Trump supporters as a basket of deplorables. Might that memorable description be applied to our lawmakers? (Ms Clinton now says: I regret saying half  that was wrong.)
As a verdict on David Camerons intervention in Libya, yesterdays report by the foreign affairs committee is as devastating as Lord Chilcots evisceration of Tony Blair over Iraq

As a verdict on David Camerons intervention in Libya, yesterdays report by the all-party foreign affairs committee is as devastating as Lord Chilcots evisceration of Tony Blair over Iraq.

Confirming everything this paper warned at the time, the MPs find Mr Cameron ordered the attack without proper intelligence analysis, drifted into regime change and shirked his moral responsibility to help reconstruct the country after Colonel Gaddafis fall.

What he left behind, says the committee, was: Political and economic collapse, inter-militia and inter-tribal warfare, humanitarian and migrant crises, widespread human rights violations, the spread of Gaddafi regime weapons across the region and the growth of Isil (Islamic State) in north Africa.

Indeed, it is hard to imagine a graver set of charges to weigh on the former prime ministers conscience in the week he stood down as an MP  causing many to speculate that the reports contents may have prompted his decision to go.

As security chiefs queue up to say they warned that intervention was not in the national interest, the truth is that almost every criticism levelled against Mr Blair over Iraq applies to Mr Cameron.

Why do politicians never learn from their predecessors catastrophes?

When will they understand that trying to impose democracy on tribal societies by force is likely to cause nothing but misery and imperil world peace?

Many have argued that withdrawal from the EU will be Mr Camerons true, if accidental, legacy. But wouldnt he far rather be remembered for Brexit than for accidentally promoting anarchy and the rise of IS in north Africa?

Confirming everything this paper warned at the time, the MPs find Mr Cameron ordered the attack without proper intelligence analysis, drifted into regime change and shirked his moral responsibility to help reconstruct the country after Colonel Gaddafis fall

Bibulous EC buffoon

Has Jean-Claude Juncker been at the bottle again? The Mail can think of no other explanation of the European Commission Presidents disgraceful speech in which he linked Brexit with the killing of a Polish citizen in Essex.

Not a word did this champagne-swilling bureaucrat say about the murders of British citizens such as Alice Gross, 14  committed by killers convicted in their EU homelands before being allowed into the UK under his sacrosanct freedom of movement rules.

Nor did he mention the spate of racist attacks on his doorstep in Brussels.

Has Jean-Claude Juncker been at the bottle again? The Mail can think of no other explanation of the European Commission Presidents disgraceful speech in which he linked Brexit with the killing of a Polish citizen in Essex

With unconscious irony, this former prime minister of corrupt Luxembourg (pop 540,000)  who rules unelected over 500million EU citizens  also lectured the UK on the European values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

Those values were flourishing here long before Luxembourg and most of Europe knew the meaning of the words.

Indeed, Mr Juncker and the EU hierarchy remain viscerally hostile to democracy.

Witness their repeated rejection of referendum results and grandiose schemes for expanding power, against voters wishes, through a European army and total control of tax and spending.

Anyone who doubts the wisdom of Brexit should read Mr Junckers speech  and thank God were getting out.

A fitter workforce

Where criticism is justified, this paper has never shrunk from holding Mr Cameron and George Osborne to account. But nor does the Mail withhold credit where it is due.

Which is why today, as it emerges that the public sector payroll is down by more than a million over seven years and unemployment continues to fall, we offer hearty congratulations to the former prime minister and chancellor.
An exhausted mother has written an honest post about the sleepless nights she spent rocking a teething baby back and forth.

Jules Coffey, from the Instagram page New Mums The Word, said her one-year-old daughter Emmison Violet has just cracked her fourth tooth.

What followed was a sleepless night for the whole family, and possibly the neighbours, as Mrs Coffey tried in vain to calm her crying daughter.

Sleepless nights: Mummy blogger Jules Coffey has spoken out about the sleepless nights spent with her teething one-year-old daughter Emmison Violet

Adorable: Emmison has just cracked her fourth tooth, and spent a whole night in tears

'I wouldn't have been surprised if the neighbours reported an unattended crying infant to the police last night,' she wrote.

'"No no officer all is fine thank you, but if you could possibly arrest me so I could grab some sleep in the holding cell that would be tops".

Mrs Coffey said her child was not left to cry, in fact she stayed up all night to care for her, but sometimes 'nothing works'.

Tough times: Mrs Coffey said sometimes 'nothing works' to calm your child

Team effort: The whole family spent a sleepless night trying to ease poor Emmison's pain

Her post has resonated with other mothers, who know all too well what it's like caring for a teething baby.

Mrs Coffey said Emmison was 'cuddled, rocked, patted, sang to, taken out into the lounge room to watch Wiggles' and 'taken outside to look for birdies', all to no avail.

At 2am she even put her in with the dog, all things she would never normally do.

'But when your child is in pain like that and screaming uncontrollably like never before - zero f**** will be given,' she wrote.

Worn out: 'I went from saying "my poor girl it's ok" to "stop, you are being silly now, calm down mummy has had enough",' she said

Mrs Coffey said when you see your child in distress you feel empathy, sadness, frustration and resentment.

'I went from saying "my poor girl it's ok" to "stop, you are being silly now, calm down mummy has had enough".

'So to women out there who have had these moments of utter exhaustion & despair, when you feel like you are going to crack, you are not alone.'

Not alone: Other mothers were quick to remind Mrs Coffey she is not alone and offered their own advice on how to ease the pain for her little girl

Her post received a staggering 8,949 likes and 250 comments from other mothers who were inspired to share their own stories and offer advice.

'I needed to read this at the moment! Thank you for reminding me I am not alone,' one woman wrote.

'I don't think there's a mum in the world who can't relate, thank you for sharing,' said another.

Others offered their own advice to ease to pain from putting some chamomile tea in the bottle to painkillers.
Sara Widdowson hoped to feel euphoric after becoming a mother. Instead, staring at her tiny son Corey in his teddy bear romper suit, she felt a crushing emotional and physical detachment.

In the five days since he was delivered by caesarean section, she had been too weak to breastfeed him and too fragile and foggy from painkillers to cuddle him.

The surgery left her with an infection so serious it took 11 months to heal and she developed postnatal depression. Even now, more than two years later, she suffers pain and is adamant she won't have more children.

Sara Widdowson hoped to feel euphoric after becoming a mother. Instead, staring at her tiny son Corey in his teddy bear romper suit, she felt a crushing emotional and physical detachment

'I wish I'd never asked for a caesarean and had tried to give birth naturally,' she says. 'It's put me off childbirth for good.'

The caesarean birth rate has risen from 10 per cent of babies 30 years ago to 26 per cent today. One in ten women who has a caesarean will suffer infection, blood clots or excessive bleeding and is a third more likely to suffer postnatal depression than a woman who delivers naturally.

Nor are the risks of a caesarean confined to the new mother. Research suggests that in being denied exposure to protective bacteria from the birth canal, these babies could be more vulnerable to poor health. A Harvard University study released last week found that children delivered by caesarean are 10 per cent more likely to be obese, even as adults.

Other studies found them five times more likely to have allergies by the age of two; 20 per cent more likely to have asthma; and at a 40 per cent greater risk of developing immune defects.

So why, despite such evidence, not to mention their additional cost to a financially crippled NHS, are caesareans on the rise? Experts blame a decrease in the health of new mothers, sociological changes in how we view birth and a cautious medical establishment.

'Women are increasingly obese and giving birth older, both of which decrease the chances of a successful natural birth,' says former midwife Clare Byam-Cook.

'Doctors err on the side of caution, performing unnecessary caesareans where they would have once allowed vaginal birth, because they fear legal action should anything go wrong.

Kate Fever has had four caeseran sections and ended up with post natal depression as a result

'The often hysterical portrayal of childbirth on film and television has left many women with an unnecessary fear of giving birth naturally.'

Natural birth never appealed to Sara, 27, a stay-at-home mother from Worcester. 'I haven't got a high pain threshold. I looked at videos of women giving birth and they terrified me,' she says.

'Scans suggested my baby was going to be big: I'd heard horror stories about big babies getting stuck during labour.'

Emma Martinelli aged 42, had an elective c-section two weeks ago to deliver her baby Fleur

At eight months pregnant she requested an elective caesarean. The number of caesarean sections is divided equally between labour emergencies and scheduled surgery such as Sara's, which health watchdog NICE says women are entitled to, provided they have weighed up the risks with their medical team.

It wasn't only Sara's fear of birth that left her consultant amenable to the idea, but her 21-stone weight.

Large women are less likely to be fit enough to push their baby out and more likely to suffer from gestation diabetes, which usually results in a bigger, harder to deliver baby,' says Clare Byam-Cook.

'They are more prone to pre-eclampsia, in which blood pressure is raised, which will almost certainly require an emergency caesarean.

Sara Widdowson and her partner Adrian moments after her son Corey was born

'It is harder to monitor the baby's heartbeat during labour if the mother is obese.'

When it was found that her baby was breech (with his feet, rather than his head, pointing down), Sara's consultant agreed that a caesarean was preferable. So on a day of her choice in January 2014, at Worcester Royal Hospital, with her partner Adrian, 35, at her side, Sara had a local anaesthetic and 9lb 12oz Corey was delivered.

'When he was placed on my chest, I didn't feel the euphoria I'd expected,' she says. 'Because someone handed him to me, rather than me delivering him myself, I didn't feel he was 'mine' . '

Four days later, Sara's wound was not healing well. 'Blood leaked constantly and it smelt horrible,' she says. 'I couldn't hold Corey long enough to allow him to latch on to my breast. I was devastated.'

Cesarean sections are becoming more and more common among expectant mothers

Her wound was dressed, she was given antibiotics and discharged the following day. Every day for the next three months, her wounds were so big a district nurse had to visit to dress them. 'I was told it would be too dangerous to stitch the scar again as the skin would just burst open,' she says.

'I was too weak to lift him. I was in too much pain to sleep or make love and grew depressed.'

After four weeks, her GP prescribed antidepressants. 'I felt I'd failed as a mother,' she says.

Corey was constantly ill and, at eight months, developed an allergy to formula milk. He failed to put on weight and still has to wear baby clothes though he is a toddler.

Part of the reason Emma Martinelli chose to have a caeserean was convenience as she has a two year old daughter Bebe to find childcare for

'If he eats dairy his stomach swells and he gets constipated,' says Sara, whose wounds still flare up every few weeks. 'I don't know if his allergies are due to the caesarean, but if they are then that makes me feel even more to blame. I'd urge all women to think twice before asking for a caesarean.'

Caesareans are also increasing because more women over 40 are giving birth  a fourfold increase in the past 30 years.

These women are three times as likely to require a caesarean as younger mothers because they are at greater risk of pre-eclampsia and are not as physically fit.

If the baby has been conceived through IVF, they are sometimes seen as too 'precious' to risk through natural birth.

Emma Martinelli, a seamstress from Farnborough, Hampshire, gave birth to here daughter Bebe in February 2014 when she was 40, two years after meeting bio-technologist Stuart, 38.

One of the reasons Sara Widdowson's consultant allowed her to have a C-section is because she is overweight

'I wanted children, but only with the right man.'

After 37 hours in labour at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey, she was given an emergency caesarean when Bebe's heart rate dropped.

Once a woman has had a caesarean, subsequent babies are more likely to be delivered the same way as there is a risk of the scarred uterus rupturing.

Emma's desire for a natural birth had dwindled by the time she was pregnant again last November.

She admits that, like other older women juggling career and children, her choice of caesarean for the birth of daughter Fleur last month was one of convenience.

'Knowing when the baby would arrive meant I could arrange for Bebe's grandmother to look after her. Besides, you don't get medals for pushing.'

NICE estimates that a caesarean costs between 2,369 and 3,042, compared to 1,512 for a natural birth. 'I did feel guilty about the drain on resources and was overwhelmed by the number of doctors and nurses in the room as Fleur was delivered  around 14,' says Emma. 'But the sea of faces made me feel safe. One obstetrician told me she doesn't do many natural births and joked she was 'too posh to pull'.'

Clare Byam-Cook claims that in the private sector, caesarean surgery is seen as beneficial to mother and doctor. 'If the consultant knows when his patient will be giving birth, he knows he won't get a call when he's on holiday.'

Emma says: 'Fleur was placed on my chest and I don't feel I was deprived of a bonding experience.' Worryingly, many women who do want a natural birth are being denied one by cautious doctors.

Kate Fever's children  Gemma, ten, Jacob, eight, Max, three, and Eliza, 15 months  were delivered by caesarean because, she believes, an unnecessary first operation rendered subsequent natural deliveries impossible.

Sara has now recovered from the ordeal of her caeserean section and is a happy mother to Corey

'Doctors don't have enough confidence in women to give birth,' says Kate, 32, who lives in Tiverton, Devon, with her husband Kevin, 40.

She had been in labour for 36 hours at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital when she was told she needed a caesarean to deliver Gemma in January 2006.

'I didn't want medical intervention. I hadn't had any pain relief except gas and air, but doctors said Gemma's heart rate had decelerated. The atmosphere in the ward was panicked. I assumed there was a problem.'

After leaving hospital four days later she slid into depression.

'I was in pain and lacked interest in myself and Gemma,' she says. Two months later, Kate's GP diagnosed post-natal depression and suggested reading her hospital notes would help her.

The caesarean birth rate has risen from 10 per cent of babies 30 years ago to 26 per cent today. One in ten women who has a caesarean will suffer infection, blood clots or excessive bleeding

She was shocked by what she read: 'The notes showed that while there was a slight concern as to Gemma's heart rate, I was capable of continuing.

'I wrote a letter of complaint and received a response saying the hospital had to prioritise patient and baby care, but I could have carried on. I can only assume they were worried about me taking legal action if something went wrong.'

When she was pregnant again, Kate says: 'My doctor said that as my first labour had been so long it would be safer to have a caesarean. I felt forced into agreeing.'

Because the risk of rupturing the uterus grows with every pregnancy, Kate (who had Jacob in April 2008) wasn't given the option of a natural birth with Max in May 2013 or Eliza in June last year.

'I was in pain for weeks after each,' she says. Worse than the pain is the knowledge she will never give birth naturally: 'I'll always feel disappointed.'

Then there is the issue of her children's health. Aged two, Jacob was given an inhaler for asthma while Max has eczema and a dairy allergy. 'When I researched the conditions I found they were linked to caesareans,' says Kate.
Despite a busy week of meetings and events with the World Health Organisation, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has made time to visit a day centre for adults with disabilities.

The 44-year-old, who is a patron of both the Danish Stroke Association and The Danish Brain Injury Association, arrived at the Strdammen Day Centre in Copenhagen on Wednesday for their 50th anniversary.

The Princess was all smiles as she arrived at the centre, where she was greeted by staff and a number of young girls who excitedly took photos with her.

Busy Princess: Despite a busy week of meetings and events, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has made time to visit a day centre for adults with disabilities

Elegant: The Princess looked summery in a beautiful pale grey crape dress by Danish designer, Bgelund-Jensen and paired the look with neutral pumps and simple gold jewellery

The centre offers programs like physiotherapy, IT training, painting and leather workshops for adults who have brain injuries or physical disabilities.

Most of them have acquired brain injuries as the result of a blood clot or stroke and according to the centre's website, have had to adapt to a new way of living in a very short space of time.

As she made her way through the venue, the Princess accepted flowers from a number of the members .

Getting involved: The 44-year-old, who is a patron of both the Danish Stroke Association and The Danish Brain Injury Association, arrived at the Centre for their 50th anniversary

Genuine: She then spent time meeting each of the members and joined them as they talked her through their activities and shared their art projects with her

She then spent time meeting each of them and joined them as they talked her through their activities and shared their art projects with her.

She wasted no time getting involved either and was seen in animated conversations with both staff and members.

After the event she spoke to the media and said it was a 'great pleasure to be involved' with the centre.

Hearing about the centre: She wasted no time getting involved in either and was seen in animated conversations with both staff and members

Radiant: After the event she spoke to the media and said it was a 'great pleasure to be involved' with the centre

The Princess looked summery in a beautiful pale grey crape dress by Danish designer, Bgelund-Jensen.

She paired the look with neutral pumps and simple gold jewellery.
She wrote an extremely honest blog post about struggling at the start

The blogger and health expert's partner is based in South Africa

Libby Matthews, 28, from New Zealand, became pregnant by accident

When Libby Matthews, from New Zealand, found herself constantly vomiting and feeling ill, she knew something was up.

Little did the 28-year-old blogger and health expert know that she was in fact pregnant, and is now set to become a mum before the end of 2016.

'I had no idea I was pregnant, my partner and I hadn't been actively trying for a baby,' Ms Matthews told Daily Mail Australia.

Mum to be: Libby Matthews (pictured left), 28, fell pregnant completely by accident - she penned an extremely honest blog post about her accidental pregnancy

Not intentional: The blogger, from New Zealand, told Daily Mail Australia that it was totally unplanned - she is not married and she and her partner live in different countries

'I almost passed out in shock after I found out. Me? Pregnant? Ahhhhhh!! [sic] How is this going to work? I'm not married, I'm not engaged.

'This is not how I planned my life,' she said.

Ms Matthews explained via an extremely honest and powerful blog post that it has taken her quite a long time to come round to the idea of being a mum:

Hard: As well as battling the fact that her partner lives and works in South Africa, Ms Matthews also struggled with dizziness, nausea, hormonal acne and more during her first trimester

'I'm not going to sugar coat anything and pretend that my pregnancy has been a dream, because quite frankly it has been the opposite,' she said.

'Not living in the same city, let alone the same continent as your partner is an extremely hard and frustrating time.'

As well as battling the fact that her partner lives and works in South Africa, Ms Matthews also struggled with dizziness, nausea, hormonal acne, exhaustion and more during her first trimester, alongside a lingering unhappiness which she just couldn't shake:

I wondered when I would start to feel like other women who love every minute of it

'All you hear is people telling you how amazing pregnancy is and how you have a certain glow about them.

'Where the f*ck is my glow?!,' she wrote.

'I wondered when I would start to feel like other women who love every minute of it...

'I would ask myself, when was I going to feel excited about bringing a baby into the world?'.

The glow: She says that usually during pregnancy, all you hear about is how amazing it is and how women are positively glowing - this didn't come until later for Ms Matthews

Easier: However, now she has decided to move to South Africa to be with her partner, Ms Matthews says things are easier - she feels maternal and isn't ill

However, now that she is past the first trimester and has decided to move to South Africa for the baby's birth in December, Libby Matthews admits that things have got much easier:

I've been eating a LOT more, while all I ate for three months before was toast and crackers with butter

'After I passed the 18-week mark, my sickness eased and I suddenly felt excited,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'These days, I feel so maternal. I've been eating a LOT more, while all I ate for three months before was toast and crackers with butter.

'I think when I move to Johannesburg at the beginning of October and start furnishing a bedroom and things, it'll all become really real.'

Incredible: She also said: 'After we had the scan and I saw my baby's heartbeat, I was just so excited' (pictured)

With the baby due around Christmas time, and Ms Matthews having had a baby shower a fortnight ago, things are slowly becoming more normal for the expectant mum:

'After we had the scan and I saw my baby's heartbeat, I was just so excited,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'The more I learn about pregnancy, the more I realise what a miracle it is and that there never really is a "perfect time" to fall pregnant.'
A make up artist has shown how women struggling with acne can create a striking, full coverage make up look using affordable cosmetics from the pharmacy (or drug store).

Jordyn Forster, a 24-year-old make up artist from Sydney, shared the amazing transformation tutorial on YouTube, where it has since been viewed over 550,000 times.

Ms Forster started by cleansing the face of her client, Jodie, with Micellar water before applying a mattifying primer and orange and green colour correcting concealers.

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Big change: A make up artist has shown how women struggling with acne can create a striking, full coverage make up look using affordable cosmetics from the pharmacy (or drug store)

Popular: Jordyn Forster, a 24-year-old make up artist from Sydney, shared the amazing transformation tutorial on YouTube , where it has since been viewed over 550,000 times

She then applied a golden foundation to Jodie's face, blended it with a beauty blender and added light concealer underneath her eyes, on the bridge of her nose, the centre of her forehead and along the sides of her mouth.

To contour, Ms Forster used a dark concealer and applied it along her cheek bones, temples, forehead, jawline and sides of her nose.

To complete the look Ms Forster opted to 'bake' Jodie's face with powder before bronzing her cheeks and forehead, adding highlighter on her cheek bones and applying blush on her cheek area.

Simple: Ms Forster started by cleansing the face of her client, Jodie, with Micellar water before applying a mattifying primer and orange and green colour correcting concealers

Slow process: She then applied a golden foundation to Jodie's face, blended it with a beauty blender and added light concealer underneath her eyes and on the bridge of her nose

WHAT PRODUCTS DID JORDYN FORSTER USE? Garnier Micellar Water Loreal Mattifying Base La Girl Pro Concealers Loreal Infallible 24HR Matte Foundation in Golden Beige Maybelline Fit Me Concealers in Light & Cafe Face Of Australia Loose Translucent Powder NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer The Balm Cosmetics Mary-lou Highlighter Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso Advertisement

Jodie's final look is a far cry from her fresh-faced look at the beginning.

'I decided to do a drugstore acne coverage because I know that not everyone can afford high end/expensive makeup,' Ms Forster wrote in the caption.

'But sometimes drugstore makeup can be just as good, if not better! I do every client different so I'm super pumped to start sharing my client tutorials with you.'

Over 500 people have commented on the impressive transformation - some praising Ms Forster and others saying Jodie looked better without the heavy make up on.

'I didn't expect that big of a transformation, but WOW!!' One woman wrote.

Just like art: To contour, Ms Forster used a dark concealer and applied it along her cheek bones, temples, forehead, jawline and sides of her nose

Final result: Over 500 people have commented on the impressive transformation - some praising Ms Forster and others saying Jodie looked better without the heavy make up on

'I like it, I love dramatic looks, it's not like she's going to beat up her face like this everyday. And it covers the acne great,' another said.

Others disagreed.

'Acne & acne scars doesn't mean every aspect of the face needs to be clown-like. Less is ALWAYS more,' a commenter wrote.

Impressed: 'I didn't expect that big of a transformation, but WOW!!' One woman wrote

'You don't need all these layers of makeup!! I don't understand why woman [sic] do this to themselves!! You don't even look like the same person.' Another agreed.

Jodie also defended herself against those who claimed she was 'pouting' too much.

'Can I just say I'm not pouting the whole time. It's how my jaw/ teeth and mouth is I'm having braces put on soon and I shouldn't have to even explain myself,' she wrote.
Instagram influencer Mimi Elashiry modelled for the campaign

The thongs are printed with a special design by artist Ken Done

A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the The Great Barrier Reef

Havaianas has partnered with an Australian artist to support the reef

Owning a pair of Havaianas is almost a right of passage for Australians.

And now the iconic brand has turned its focus to another Australian icon: The Great Barrier Reef.

The label has teamed up with Australian artist Ken Done and social media influencer Mimi Elashiry to release a line of thongs to support the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

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For a cause: Instagram model Mimi Elashiry (pictured) has partnered with Havaianas for a limited edition line to support the Great Barrier Reef

Supporting Australia: A portion of the profits from each sale will go towards the Great Barrier Reef Foundation

A portion of the profits from each pair sold will be donated to the foundation, that aims to raise funds for scientific research into preserving the reef.

The thongs are printed with a unique design by Australian artist Ken Done.

Ive long found inspiration in the Reef and based many of my works around its awe-inspiring natural beauty,' he said.

Finding inspiration: The print on the thongs have been designed by Australian artist Ken Done (pictured)

Something fishy: The design is inspired by the reef and includes blues, yellow, black and red

'Its important, now more than ever, to look at ways of fostering a resilient reef so that we can enjoy it for generations to come, and Im incredibly pleased that this collaboration is helping to support that cause.'

The thongs combine bright blues and yellow with vibrant pink and black prints.

The limited edition pieces will be in stores from Friday, September 30, with some already available for presale online.

Relaxed look: Mimi wore denim cut-offs and a printed t-shirt for the beach-inspired campaign

The limited edition pieces will be in stores from Friday, September 30, with some already available for presale online

Instagram influencer Mimi Elashiry collaborated with the label to model the unique designs.

The model and designer, who has 830,000 Instagram followers, wore a Ken Done-designed printed t-shirt sand denim shorts and a casual white outfit for the campaign.
A mother has come under fire for 'parading' her daughter on Good Morning Britain because she started puberty aged just two.

Charlene Denton, 29, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, appeared on the ITV breakfast show on Thursday to discuss the rare condition her daughter Nevaeh, now four, has, which saw her develop breasts two years ago.

It is estimated just five per cent of children experience what is known as precocious puberty - and Charlene appeared on the programme in hope to raise awareness of the condition.

Charlene Denton appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss her daughter Nevaeh's rare condition which saw her start puberty aged two

Speaking to presenters Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid she said: 'We'd never heard about it until Nevaeh.

'I think that its a thing that a lot of people aren't aware of really it was such a huge shock.'

Describing when they first discovered Nevaeh's condition Charlene said: 'It was just after her second birthday she started developing little breast buds

'At first the doctor reassured us that she was absolutely fine there was nothing wrong with her until she started developing her second breast buds.

Nevaeh (pictured) suffers from precocious periods which saw her develop breasts after her second birthday

Charlene appeared on the show in the hope to promote awareness of the condition - but viewers were quick to point out how uncomfortable Nevaeh appeared

The toddler spent the entirety of the segment hiding her face from the camera and breathing deeply into her mother's microphone

'So we took her back and she had tests done, she had all sorts of tests done to diagnose her with the precocious puberty'

Although the mother had intended to promote awareness of the condition viewers were quick to point out that Nevaeh appeared very uncomfortable during the interview.

Nevaeh was seen clutching her mother and hiding her face from the camera while her heavy breathing was picked up by her mother's microphone.

Several viewers took to Twitter to complain with Taivi Toommagi and Joe Audritt being particularly vocal

It wasn't long before viewers took to Twitter to criticise both Charlene and ITV for allowing the interview to go ahead.

Joe Audritt was particularly offended by the segment, tweeting the show several times to complain.

He wrote: 'Your daughter clearly doesn't want to be on television. Why are you making her? Poor girl.'

Many agreed that it was cruel to make Nevaeh appear on national television

He later added: 'I think it's more a case of that mother just wanting to get on television and using her daughter to do it.'

Taivi Toommagi says she could understand the need for the issue to be discussed but thought the approach was inappropriate.

She tweeted: 'Surely you can interview the mum on the subject without parading the little girl in front of the camera who is clearly uncomfortable'.

Taivi later added: 'I'ts understandable if you want to discuss her condition&make other parents aware but you can still protect her privacy'.

Dr Hilary Jones joined the family on the show where he helped to explain the condition further

Julie was concerned about the potential bullying Nevaeh could face.

She said: 'I don't think it was fair on the child to appear on tv about this, we know children can be cruel and she does have to face school'.

Nevaeh now has an injection every 12 weeks to help surpress the hormones released during puberty.

Dr Hilary Jones joined the mother and daughter this morning to help provide a better understanding of the toddler's condition.

He said: 'This is not a normal puberty, this is a medical condition called precocious puberty.

'Normal puberty at the very earliest will start at the age 8 in girls and 9 in boys lasting until about 14 or slightly there after in both sexes.

'But at this age its very abnormal and there's a release of the hormones from pituitary and hypothalamus areas in the brain which stimulate oestrogen production.'

A Good Morning Britain spokesperson said: 'Charlene Denton appeared on today's programme to raise awareness about a serious condition affecting her daughter Nevaeh.

'Nevaeh was more than happy to be on the sofa with her mum but as the item began and due to the unpredictable behaviour of four year olds on live television, she became shy and hid her face.

'She was in no way embarrassed or distressed at the time of the interview or following it.'
A woman has described her heartache after discovering her husband was a bigamist - and had gone to extreme lengths to cover his tracks.

Simon Crudgington even faked an email claiming his first marriage had been illegal in an attempt to lure his fiance down the aisle.

Monika Crudgington, 38, from Prague, trusted the ex-soldier enough to take his word for it - despite his ex-wife declaring on the eve of her nuptials that they were not yet divorced.

Monika, 38, married Simon Crudgington in June 2014, at a picturesque spot in Hostivice, near Prague, in her native Czech Republic. But her new husband was already married

Dismissing her warning as 'bitterness,' Monika proceeded with the wedding. But her world was shattered two years later, when her husband was exposed as a conman.

'I really thought he was the man of my dreams, but it turns out he was a lousy liar,' said Monika, a hotel receptionist.

Bosnia veteran Simon first met Monika at a central London casino where he worked as a manager after she joined the team as a waitress.

At the end of her first shift working in May 2012, Monika joined her new colleagues for drinks, and found herself alone with her boss who she says she was instantly attracted to.

Monika trusted Simon enough to take his word for it - despite his ex-wife declaring on the eve of her nuptials that they were not yet divorced

Monika and her husband moved to Dubai after Simon was offered a job as an estate agent

The pair went for a walk around London and Simon told her he was already married, had four children from two previous relationships, and was in the process of getting divorced.

They went back to her flat in Wood Green, north London, and their relationship blossomed.

Six months later, in November 2013, they started discussing their future.

'I told him I loved him and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but [that] he really needed to get divorced,' Monika said.

'I really thought he was the man of my dreams': Monika was besotted after meeting Simon (pictured in Dubai) at the London casino where they both worked in May 2012

New beginnings: The pair were embarking on a new life in Dubai when Monika got the news

'He promised me he would sort something out and I had no reason to be suspicious. I was so madly in love with him and he'd never lied to me before.'

Two weeks later, Simon had good news. 'He said he'd discovered from the local register office that his marriage to Elizabeth wasn't legal, as the venue hadn't been licensed to perform ceremonies,' Monika recalled.

Simon had married Elizabeth McLaren in August 2006, and had two children with her before their marriage broke down six years later.

But now Monika believed she was free to plan her own wedding, and set a date for June 27 2014, at a picturesque spot in Hostivice, near Prague, in her native Czech Republic.

The pair on their big day. Monika said: 'He promised me he would sort something out and I had no reason to be suspicious. I was so madly in love with him and he'd never lied to me before'

The couple tied the knot in June 2014. Simon had previously married Elizabeth McLaren in August 2006, and had two children with her before their marriage broke down six years later

Big day: Monika set the date for June 27 2014, at a picturesque spot in Hostivice, near Prague, in her native Czech Republic

And a month before the ceremony, Simon showed her an email from Shrewsbury Register Office, which appeared to confirm that his first marriage was not legal.

Seeing the words 'your ceremony is null and void under British law', Monika was delighted.

But the day before the wedding, Monika received a strange Facebook message from Elizabeth McLaren.

'You and Simon can't get married because we aren't divorced,' it read.

Just in time: A month before the ceremony, Simon showed her a fake email from Shrewsbury Register Office, which appeared to confirm that his first marriage was not legal

Happiest day: But the day before the wedding, Monika had received a strange Facebook message from Simon's ex-wife Elizabeth McLaren

Monika and Simon's wedding rings. After discovering her husband's lies, Monika threw her rings from the balcony of their apartment

Shrugging off her message as the action of a jealous ex, Monika forwarded the register office email onto Elizabeth and told Simon about their conversation.

'I remember him reiterating that they had never been legally married,' she recalled. 'He said, "Do you think I'd make that email up?"

'Feeling stupid for ever doubting him, I told Simon that, of course, I believed him. But I hated Elizabeth messaging me and causing trouble.'

The couple honeymooned in Spain, before moving to Dubai (pictured) the following year

Simon was harbouring a secret, and did not admit to lying until Monika had hard evidence

'I deserve better': Monika was heartbroken but has since moved on and found love again

The next day, Monika pushed the unpleasantness to the back of her mind and said 'I do' with the pair flying to Spain for their honeymoon.

Then a month later, Elizabeth's uncle messaged her saying she shouldn't have married Simon. Again, she forwarded the register office email on to him.

In January 2015, the pair moved to Dubai after Simon was offered a job as an estate agent.

Monika is now living in Prague, Czech Republic and has met a new partner called Michael

Monika, who hasn't heard from her ex since confronting him, didn't attend his hearing, but has since learned that he was jailed for six months

But their happiness was short-lived, as it wasn't long before Monika was contacted by Elizabeth again. She had spotted their wedding photos on Facebook and insisted she wasn't divorced and her marriage to Simon was bona fide.

'She said Simon had told her we'd only had a blessing in Prague, instead of a full wedding,' said Monika.

'She'd contacted the register office and apparently, they'd never sent the email saying their marriage wasn't legal.'

At last, alarm bells rang and Monika contacted the register office herself. Staff explained that their license to conduct marriages was valid - and they had never sent an email.

Monika with her mother. She now wishes to revert to her maiden name, Szokova

At first, Monika stayed silent, so she could leave Dubai as quickly as possible. After throwing her rings from the balcony of their apartment, she packed a small suitcase, before flying to her mum's home in Prague and contacting the British police.

They confirmed that Simon was still married to his first wife. When confronted, he pleaded for her forgiveness, admitting he was a bigamist. But Monika told him it was all over.

In May 2016, Staffordshire Police told Monika they had arrested and charged Simon.

And in July, Simon Crudgington, 40, of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to making a false declaration to procure a marriage and bigamy at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court in Staffordshire.

Monika with her new partner, Michael. Simon has since been jailed for six months

Monika (pictured with Michael) is still technically Mrs Crudgington according to Czech law until her annulment paperwork is processed

Monika, who hasn't heard from her ex since confronting him, didn't attend the hearing, but was told he was jailed for six months.

'People ask me if I could forgive Simon, but I never could,' she said.

It transpired that in early 2014, Simon had asked Elizabeth for a quickie divorce, but she had refused, not wanting to rush.

Monika - still Mrs Crudgington according to Czech law until her annulment paperwork is processed  now wishes to revert to her maiden name, Szokova.
A model has bravely walked through New York City with her breasts on display as part of a campaign for gender equality, leaving passers-by in shock.

Emily Bloom, 23, took part in the daring stunt to support Free The Nipple - a movement that campaigns for women and men to be afforded the same freedoms and protection.

She was filmed as she traversed the city by Norwegian photographer Petter Hegre, who specialises in female nudes.

The footage, which has had more than 400,000 views has recently resurfaced online after Petter uploaded it last year.

In the cheekily titled 'NYC Nude City Guide' some passers-by were hilariously oblivious to the display unfolding in front of them.

But those who did notice couldn't believe their eyes as Emily strutted past, and dissolved into fits of giggles while snapping her on their phones.

One New York City cop looked especially bemused, laughing and shaking his head as she strolled by.

Emily Bloom, 23, surprised passers by in New York as she took part in a daring topless stunt to support Free The Nipple

The model perused second hands books at a store while passers-by strolled past oblivious

Emily engaged in a spot of topless sunbathing on a fire escape

The brave volunteer went for a carriage ride, shopped for second hand books, stopped off for a slice of pizza and a coke and even went for a jog with her top pulled up to reveal her bare breasts.

She also made a visit to Apple headquarters and Times Square and sunned herself on a fire escape.

The project has echoes of the 2014 Free The Nipple film where a group of women take to the streets of New York to protest against the taboos surrounding female breasts.

The model did her topless walk in support of Free The Nipple which campaigns for men and women to have the same protections and freedoms

It's thirsty work! Emily stopped for a Coke during her topless jaunt in New York

Campaigners argue they risk being arrested for disorderly conduct, whereas a man is unlikely to receive the same treatment for going without a shirt.

In most states in the US, there is no explicit law against going topless in public.

However, in May this year three Free The Nipple supporters were arrested for public nudity in New Hampshire.

One cop couldn't contain his laughter when faced with Emily's bare breasts

The brave volunteer stood brazenly in the streets with her hands on her hips, showing off her cleavage

A smiling Emily strolled past diners who were too busy enjoying their lunch to spot her topless display on the sidewalk

Celebrities who have supported the campaign on social media include Cara Delevingne, Miley Cyrus and Rumer Willis.

Events have taken place across in the world including a topless protest on Brighton Beach in June.

Two hundred men paraded topless to highlight controversial social media policies about banning female nipples.
A man who was accidentally added to a WhatsApp group discussing hen party plans decided to wait and see how long it took for them to realise their mistake.

Rather than exit the group quietly, Luke Price, 26, from London, played along for two whole days before he was discovered - with hilarious results.

Assuming the guise of a middle-aged woman called Anna, Lee discussed cheap cocktails, matching t-shirts and tequila slammers - and even suggested possible venues for the knees-up.

Luke Price, 26, from London, was accidentally added to a WhatsApp group discussing hen party plans - and decided to wait and see how long it took for them to realise their mistake

The IT worker even went as far as asking his fellow hens how their family was, enquiring how Michelle's son's first day at secondary school had gone.

A woman named Lee kicked off proceedings on the thread entitled 'Nikki's Hen party', suggesting a week in July 2017 and putting out feelers for people's availability and budgets.

She wrote: 'I've been looking at houses to rent with hot tubs etc but very expensive, also spa's or even a weekend away to Marbella at a spa?????' Lee asked for help and suggestions, adding that they needed to book 'Asap'.

Less than an hour later, Luke replied: 'I'm definitely in, what else are we thinking, are we doing outfits? Obvz if we're doing Marbz, nooooo carrbbzzzzz!'

A woman named Lee kicked off proceedings on the thread entitled 'Nikki's Hen party', suggesting a week in July 2017 and putting out feelers for people's availability and budgets

He even suggested they extend the proposed dates by another two days, reasoning: 'We'll have plenty of time then and no rush. How does "drag bar in vegas" sound? Clare, how's John by the way?'

Unfortunately Luke's suggestion was mooted due to 'budget and childcare' factors - leading him to suggest a Welsh spa resort instead.

'It's not that far, and looks so nice!' he enthused. 'Cardiff isn't far either and apparently it's quite naughtyy.'

After Michelle apologised for her absence on the group chat - explaining that her son had just started secondary school - Luke replied: 'Hope he had a good first day! Hope he wasn't too worried, always hard on the first day. I'm sure he made lots of friends.'

After Michelle apologised for her absence on the group - as her son had just started secondary school - Luke replied: 'Hope he had a good first day! Hope he wasn't too worried'

As the women continued to discuss potential destinations, Lee occasionally chimed in with comments like: 'Can't wait for this. Need a saucy hen do and a tequila or ten. They don't call me Anna the slamma for nothing!!'

He added: 'In Spain they free pour the cocktails I heard. Cheeky sex on the beach maybe! I would love to do Mexico!!

'Might have to get back to legs bums and tumbs for this. We have to go somewhere with a nice beach, Nikki will love it! Has anyone found a nice deal for Barcelona?'

As the conversation turned towards Ibiza, Luke wrote: 'After a couple glasses of rose I really think Ibiza would be amazing lol!! Obv the nice part, someone told me to try cafe mambo and Sankey's or something? Hope you're all well xxx time for bed!'

Luke said he was now 'planning on building something to contribute' to the hen party

His final words were met with silence after he typed: 'Do you think Nikki will want t-shirts made? Maybe we should think of nicknames? Hope you're all ok.'

However it wasn't long before Luke was discovered, as he told MailOnline: 'It ended with the admin giving me a ring, and as my voicemail says my name, I knew I had been rumbled.

'After a quick text exchange, I mentioned that I was going to crusade to get them something out of this light hearted story, and they said they found the funny side of it.'

He added: 'I'm planning on building something to contribute to these ladies for their hen do.'
Queen Mathilde's visit to a centre for disability saw her abandon royal protocol this afternoon.

The Belgian royal shared intimate embraces with several residents at the care home in Louvain-La-Neuve where she performed her engagement on Thursday.

The compassionate queen could be seen hugging one man, then later another planted a kiss on the bashful royal's cheek.

Queen Mathilde charmed the residents of a disability centre in Louvain-La-Neuve on Thursday

The mother-of-four later enjoyed a tour of the centre linked arm in arm with a delighted elderly gentlemen.

Mathilde, 43, visited the Horizons Neufs centre in the Belgian city on Thursday where she enjoyed meeting with the staff and residents.

She was later treated to a musical performance from one of the residents who performed a tune on a bass guitar in honour of the queen's visit.

She shared intimate embraces with several residents of Horizons Neufs with one man planting a kiss on the bashful Queen's cheek

The royal seemed charmed by her kiss paying particular attention to the charming resident

Mathilde was sure to dress up in honour of the occasion, showcasing her curves in an elegant fitted shift dress in an eye popping pink

To show their gratitude members of the centre presented the royal with a fresh bouquet of white flowers which she carried around during her visit.

Mathilde was sure to dress up in honour of the occasion, showcasing her curves in an elegant fitted shift dress in an eye popping pink.

Always one to look polished the queen sported her usual bouffanted hairstyle for her engagement this afternoon.

The mother-of-four later enjoyed a tour of the centre linked arm in arm with a delighted elderly gentlemen

She was later treated to a musical performance from one of the residents who performed a tune on a bass guitar

The charitable organisation has been open since 1966 and provides care to those with disabilities across Louvain-La-Neuve.

The centres offer specialised support to people of high dependency relying on donations from the public.

This year sees the centre open a new studio as well as several more developments including adaption to the bathrooms.

The queen's visit to the centre was very fitting as she is known to have volunteered with organisations for the disabled and spent time as an au pair as a young adult.
A film director has revealed how Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman managed to keep her Duchess of Cambridge magazine cover a secret for four months, despite being followed by a documentary crew.

In the second part of Richard Macer's fly-on-the-wall documentary, Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue, which aired last night, Shulman was filmed holding a meeting with her creative director Jaime Perlman to discuss the anniversary issue front cover.

And as the pair pored over a series of white covers with graphics of 'Vogue 100' on them, there was no hint that it was all an elaborate ploy to cover up the fact the royal would be covering the centenary issue.

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A documentary airing tonight reveals how Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman managed to keep the magazine's historic cover shoot with the Duchess of Cambridge under wraps, despite being followed by a film crew

Creative director Jaime Perlman created a set of dummy front covers featuring a graphic, but there was no hint that they would not be used for the final issue

Shulman admired the covers, describing one as 'beautiful'.

But Macer questioned why there was no cover star, asking: 'Was it always your idea to have it as a graphic?'

'Well I just feel it's very hard to pick a person who can encapsulate 100 years of Vogue,' Shulman replied.

'And we've done very well with...celebration issues have historically had a single figure on them. In a way, continuing with the trend that's a familiar one.

Jaime Perlman, Vogue's creative director showing editor Alexandra Shulman the dummy front covers she created for the centenary issue

Later in the film Macer expressed his shock that Shulman had pulled the wool over his eyes.

He said: 'She actively lied. More than that, she developed an elaborate ruse.

'Trust. It's a critical ingredient in any successful documentary.

Alexandra Shulman (left) and Jaime Perlman held a meeting to discuss a graphic front cover for Vogue's centenary issue, but film director Richard Macer had no idea it was all a ploy

'My job is to make the contributor feel them can speak openly and honestly in an unfettered way.

'But for some reason Alex felt she couldn't tell me about the royal photo shoot. It wasn't just a case of withholding information.

Later he confronted Shulman about the cover and she responded: 'Good liar, right?'

'Did you feel a bit awkward?' he asked.

Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, pictured at a meeting with staff. She managed to keep Kate's cover shoot a closely guarded secret for months with only a few key members of staff in the loop

She replied: 'No I didn't.'

Kate, 34, was the cover star of Vogue for its 100th anniversary edition - the first time she had ever posed for a magazine photo shoot.

And the editor managed to keep the cover under wraps for months, despite being followed by a film crew.

Macer explains that he was told Shulman, 58, would make an important announcement on 28 April.

The Duchess was the cover star of the magazine's centenary issue, the first time she'd ever posed for a fashion photo shoot

'I'm told I must not discuss this with anyone, even Alex,' he said.

He admitted that his instinct was that the long-standing editor, who has been at the helm for 24 years, was going to announce her resignation.

'I can't stop thinking about this surprise announcement,' he said of the longest-serving editor of British Vogue.

'Maybe she's going to tell everyone she's leaving. I think it's a surprise party for her staff to say thanks for all their hard work.'

The first he knew of the Duchess posing for the magazine was on the morning of the big announcement.

He was taken to a secret location in central London and escorted down a long corridor.

Editor Alexandra Shulman arrives for the Gala to celebrate the Vogue 100 Festival at Kensington Gardens in London in May this year

'I've been speculating quite a lot about what she's going to say but the truth is, I have no clue,' he said.

Finally he stepped into a room and realised he was in the main area of the National Portrait Gallery.

There was no sign of Shulman, but all became clear when he saw two portraits of the Duchess of Cambridge being hung on the wall.

The Duchess of Cambridge, visits the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery to see the results of her photo shoot with the magazine

Filmmaker Richard Macer admits that when he heard Alexandra was making an announcement, he thought she might be stepping down. She's the longest serving editor of British Vogue

Macer admitted he was impressed by how she'd managed to get the Duchess on the cover and realised his thoughts about her stepping aside were way off the mark.

'The centenary issue is selling like hot cakes and Alex is still at the top of her game.

'Far from announcing her retirement, she'd pulled off the scoop of the year,' he said.

The longest-standing editor of British Vogue did admit that she'd been waking up at 3am feeling stressed as the publication of the centenary edition approached.

'I've never seemed like someone who carries stress with me,' she said. 'But I do.'
Lauren Bush Lauren and her husband David enjoyed a night out on the town on Wednesday as they sat front row at her father-in-law's highly-anticipated fashion show.

The couple, who celebrated their five-year wedding anniversary earlier this month, looked happy as can be as they posed with Jessica Alba and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at the Ralph Lauren show, which was held at Skylight Clarkson Sq.

The star-studded event featured runway appearances from Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, who both donned western-inspired ensembles, and Lauren, 32, looked right at home in a crisp white button-down that she paired with an ankle-grazing khaki skirt.

Night out! Lauren Bush Lauren and her husband David donned Western-inspired look when they attended his father Ralph's fashion show on Wednesday evening

Famous faces: David, 44, and Lauren, 32, are pictured sitting next to Jessica Alba at the show

The mother-of-one left her light brown hair down loose around her shoulders, and she completed her elegant outfit with a pair of brown suede high-heel pumps and Western-inspired earrings.

Meanwhile, David, 44, looked dapper in a black suit coat and black tie, but instead of wearing matching pants, the dad sported a pair that featured a pattern of silver studs running down each leg.

It was a truly family affair, and before the show Lauren and David joined his mom Ricky, his uncle Jerry, his sister Dylan, and her husband Paul Arrouet in the front row.

All smiles: Lauren wore a white button-down, which she paired with an ankle-grazing khaki skirt and matching suit jacket. She is pictured with her sister-in-law Dylan Lauren (right)

Family fun: The couple sat in the front row with David's brother-in-law Paul Arrouet, his sister Dylan, his mom Ricky (from left to right) and his uncle Jerry (far right)

Star-studded: David and Lauren struck a pose with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour

After the models strut down the runway for the last time, Ralph took the stage with his wife Ricky, who donned a white ensemble featuring fringe on her arms and legs.

During the event, David and Lauren were photographed sitting next to Jessica Alba, who looked radiant in a black and gold slip dress that she topped with a leather jacket over her shoulders.

The two were also pictured with Anna Wintour, and Lauren was all smiles when she posed for a photo with her 42-year-old sister-in-law Dylan.

Supermodels: Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid walked the runway in Western-inspired ensembles from the fall 2016 Ralph Lauren collection

Look of love: Ricky joined her husband Ralph on stage for applause at the end of the show

Great night: The stylish couple posed with Julianne Moore, 55, and her lookalike daughter Liv Freundlich, 14, who checked out the collection after the show

Dylan, who is the mother of fraternal twins, Cooper Blue and Kingsley Rainbow Arroue, looked chic in a glittering gold halter top, black leather pants, and T-strap heels.

Julianne Moore, 55, and her lookalike daughter Liv Freundlich, 14, were also at the show that featured the designer's fall 2016 collection, which was made available to guests immediately after the show.

To celebrate the new collection, Lauren took to Instagram that night to share a photo of the models strutting down the runway.

Ladies of the house: Dylan is pictured sitting in the front row with her mom Ricky, who wore a white fringed ensemble

Celebration: Lauren took to Instagram on Wednesday night to share this photo from the show and remind fans that the collection is now available for purchase

Getaway: Earlier this month, Lauren and David took their nine-month-old son James to Colorado to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary

'Western chic with pops of vibrant colors at the @ralphlauren show tonight on Madison Avenue! And the best part is you can buy now... LOVE! [sic]' she wrote.

Earlier this month, Lauren and David escaped New York City to celebrate their anniversary with a rustic weekend in Colorado along with their nine-month-old son James.
The mother-of-one, who is married to producer Neal Dodson, said she hopes to 'normalize' the experience by talking openly about it

She said that through talking about it publicly she hopes to encourage other women to speak out about their miscarriages

The 37-year-old said the experience, which happened when she was eight-weeks pregnant, 'decimated her confidence'

The star of The Jim Gaffigan Show and How I Met Your Mother said she was shopping in Whole Foods when she realized something was wrong

Actress Ashley Williams has revealed she miscarried during her second pregnancy as she told how it 'decimated my confidence'.

The star of The Jim Gaffigan Show and How I Met Your Mother said she was out shopping in Whole Foods in New York with her one-year-old son Gus when she started bleeding eight weeks into her pregnancy.

In an essay she shared on Medium, the 37-year-old called for more openness on the subject as she said said she hopes to 'normalize' her miscarriage by talking publicly about it.

Traumatic: Actress Ashley Williams, 37, who lives in New York, reveals she suffered a miscarriage when she was eight weeks pregnant

Shocked: The star of The Jim Gaffigan Show, pictured with her husband Neal Dodson, said she was shopping in Whole Foods when she realized something was wrong

She said giving birth had made her feel like a 'badass woman', but that her miscarriage had the opposite affect.

'I gave birth to Gus on the living room floor, a planned home birth, with no medication.

'I am a bad*** woman. I am strong. My miscarriage, however, decimated my confidence,' she wrote.

Ashley, who lives on the Upper West Side with her husband, producer Neal Dodson, said she had been having cramps and feeling dizzy when she first became aware that something was wrong.

'I had an instinct that the cramps I had been feeling all morning were miraculous evidence of new life.

If 25 per cent of my peers are experiencing miscarriages right alongside me, why wasnt I prepared? Why dont we talk about it?

' I tried to smile. The baby is nesting today. And, this kids powerful. Then I felt something on my leg,' she wrote.

'A heavy, dark, and slow stream of blood made its way down my left inner thigh. Without thinking, I swiped it.

My fingertips came up wet. Whats that? Gus inquired, pointing to my hand...Thats an emergency, I now said.'

She said her jean shorts were 'soaked through with blood' so she texted her husband telling him to come home from work.

Afterwards, when she went to see her midwife, she was surprised to learn that one in four women her age have had miscarriages.

She added: 'If 25 per cent of my peers are currently experiencing miscarriages right alongside me, why wasnt I prepared? Why dont we talk about it?

'Why was I feeling embarrassed, broken, like a walking wound? I live on the Upper West Side, the new stroller capital of Manhattan.

Impact: The mother-of-one, pictured left at New York Fashion Week on Monday and right at a premiere in June, said the experience 'decimated my confidence'

Dialogue: Ashley, pictured with Neal in May, said that through talking about it publicly she hopes to encourage other women to speak out about their miscarriages

'How many other women have experienced a miscarriage in that very same Whole Foods?'

When she spoke to close friends about it she was even more shocked to find that most of them had suffered 'at least one' miscarriage but had suffered in silence.

Ashley suggested that women do not talk about miscarriages because it makes them feel like 'failures'.

She added: 'Procreation, the driving purpose in our constructed notion of womanhood, is broken by this sudden trauma.

You are not broken. You did nothing wrong. You are strong, you are brave, and there is hope

'Medical confirmations of the lost pregnancy from OBs, chiropractors, and my acupuncturist use jargon that feeds more self-sabotaging thoughts that I am deficient. Abnormality Defect Incapable Incomplete Not viable.'

Through talking about her own experiences, Ashley said she hopes to 'normalize my miscarriage' and inspire other women to talk about theirs.

'I invite you to start, with me, a vocal army of the 25 per centers who can normalize miscarriage in the social sphere.

'You are not broken. You did nothing wrong. You are strong, you are brave, and there is hope.

'I was right there next to you at Whole Foods, bleeding out of my shorts. Now Im well. Im a survivor. Healed, I will try again,' she said.

Sharing the article on Twitter, she accompanied a link with the words: 'Let's dish.'
The US and Britain may have plenty in common but there are plenty of curveballs to trip you up if you take a trip across the pond, as one writer discovered after ten months in London.

Robbie Williams, 'crisps' and stepping out on the ground floor when you're supposed to be meeting on the first are all on the list of 42 peculiarities noted by Hayley Bloomingdale, an heir to the department store chain.

Writing for Vogue, the New York city girl also mentioned a few stereotypes that are true - British people apologize for absolutely everything and they really do talk about the weather all the time. However, 'British people do not use umbrellas, even though it rains every day,' she writes.

Away from home: After living in London for 10 months Hayley Bloomingdale, communications director at Moda Operandi, has written a list of British 'peculiarities'

Out and about: Hayley, 30, is also an heir to the Bloomingdale's department store chain

The 30-year-old communications director at Modus Operandi also noted a few quirky pitfalls to avoid in London, mainly regarding public transport, which could easily catch out people from the US.

Among them, never forget your Oyster card, because you can't use cash and bus drivers will throw you off, and don't put your card away when you get on the Tube because, unlike in New York, you need it to get out.

She was also baffled by the fact there are no plugs for hairdryers in bathrooms, which could be why some British women have such 'bad hair', she writes.

Another thing that may catch out Americans is the British people's love for popstar Robbie Williams, who is virtually unknown in the States, but is up there with 'the Queen and David Beckham' in Britain.

Sussing it out: In her article, Hayley seems baffled by Brits' use of military time, the word 'cheers' and how they don't refrigerate their eggs

Take a seat: She does praise the Queen, however, for allowing a 'do-over birthday' if the weather is bad on the day

Other items in the list include strange flavors of potato chips - or 'crisps' - such as Bolognese and roast chicken, and the use of 'military time', using the 16.30 format rather than 4.30pm.

10 OF THE BEST TIPS 1. In Britain, people wear winter coats on October 1, Christmas starts on October 1, but they write the date as 1 October 2. There are no plugs in the bathrooms, which is why some British women have bad hair 3. Bags aren't free with what you buy so unless you actually say you want one you will have to carry things out in your hands 4. James Corden and Jeremy Corbyn are not the same person 5. The first floor is actually the second floor 6. If cyclists put their hands out they are indicating and do not want a high five 7. The biggest coins are not always the most valuable - watch out for 2ps 8. If you order a lemonade, you might get a Sprite and that is considered OK 9. The Queen has lots of birthdays and whenever they happen it means bad traffic and drinking 10. Don't speak ill of the Tube because people love public transport, but even those who hate it use it Advertisement

She is also baffled by how 'dryers somehow exist inside washing machines' and the fact the British do not refrigerate eggs, instead 'hiding' them in the regular food isles in stores.

'Cheers', she notices, is not used to clink glasses in the UK but instead means both thank you and goodbye, and when you are out drinking, don't order anything fancy - just ask for 'a pint' and drink whatever comes, she advises.

Gogglebox, the Great British Bake off and X-Factor - with 'something called Cheryl Cole - are essential viewing for Brits, but those famous British films that have informed opinions on the UK may not be too reliable.

'Hugh Grant is old because Notting Hill came out, like, 134 years ago,' she writes, then adding: 'If Hugh Grant hits on you at a party you should find another boy to talk to because he has four children and also see above.'

And despite being set in Britain, Harry Potter is not the best discussion point. Miss Bloomingdale writes: 'British people do not, however, want to talk about Hogwarts as much as I do.' She adds. 'One is the maximum amount of times its acceptable to reference Harry Potter in a conversation.'

Despite not knowing some British celebrities, she did take a moment to applaud Queen Elizabeth II for having a 'do-over birthday' if there is bad weather on the actual day, calling it '100 percent the best use of that crown'.
If there is one thing Emily Ratajkowski knows how to do, it's to take the perfect swimwear photo.

And the 25-year-old model is putting those skills to great use in her latest campaign for Australian brand Amore + Sorvete.

The new images show the brunette beauty sporting a variety of bikinis in an outdoor shoot on a bright and sunny day.

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Showing off: Emily Ratajkowski stuns in a new swimwear campaign for Amore + Sorvete

Looking over: The 25-year-old model shows off several different bikinis in the brand new images

The model shows off the brand's four new pre-sale styles, which she poses wearing by and in a pool.

One image sees the Blurred Lines video star showing off her famously peachy posterior in Brazilian cut bottoms with the top of the swimsuit covered by a wet white T-shirt.

Another sees Emily looking seductively over a pair of cat-eye sunglasses while sporting a floral-patterned bandeau number.

Elsewhere in the shoot, Emily models a pair of black and white wavy line-patterned two-pieces in different sun hats.

Strike a pose: The Blurred Lines video star displays her enviable assets in black and white

Sunning off: Posing next to a pool, Emily displays each of the brand's four new styles

Her usual way: Emily has previously revealed that confidence is the key to taking the perfect swimwear photo

In a recent interview with Elle.com, the star explained her secrets behind achieving the perfect swimwear shot, explaining that confidence is key.

'If you don't feel good in the bathing suit you're not going to look good,' she said.

Now, if women manage to get over that hurdle and actually find a swimsuit they feel comfortable in, Emily says the next step is to twist your body into flattering angles.

'Like lifting your butt up in a certain way so you have a nice arch in your back,' she told Elle.com. 'It's funny, because you can be sore after your shoot, especially if you spend the day doing unusual things with your body. It just depends on the pose.

Not shy: The model shared a series of eye-popping images while on the Greek island of Santorini recently

All on show: She also sported this incredibly revealing number to the Harper's Icons party last week in New York

'You definitely become very aware of the muscles in your stomach, because you're thinking, Is that angle flattering for [my] stomach? It's tricky, but the more confident you feel the more likely you are to get a good picture.'

While some women may struggle with the confidence part of that process, Emily has certainly showed she has no qualms about bearing her bod.
Deliveroo came top of our test, closely followed by Amazon Restaurants

FEMAIL compared app to rival services and gave ratings in five categories

Retail giant Amazon has moved into the restaurant delivery business, teaming up with some of London's top-rated eateries.

The new service, Amazon Restaurants, is set to rival UberEats and Deliveroo - but how does it compare to the already established competition?

Two FEMAIL writers put the three apps to the test in London, with Imogen Blake trying UberEats and Deliveroo, and Unity Blott roadtesting the new Amazon Restaurants app.

AMAZON RESTAURANTS

FEMAIL's Unity Blott ordered a brunch feast of two full Englishes, two avocados on toast, and two French toast with agave syrup using the Amazon Restaurants app

Amazon Restaurant orders come neatly packaged in specially branded bags. Pictured, Unity's takeaway

The first bump in the road comes when I discover you have to be a signed-up member of Amazon Prime (79 a year) to use the service  but luckily, a friend lets me use hers, and within minutes Im ready to go.

Living in London, Im spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out and there are a huge number of local restaurants for me to choose from.

At the moment, the service is only available in central London, though it's expected to roll out to other UK towns and cities within the next 12 months.

When I first use the app on a weekday evening, Im a little disappointed to find some of the eateries have stopped delivering 20 minutes before the official closing times.

I try again on a lazy Saturday morning and am really impressed by the amount of restaurants to pick from  some of which, I note, arent available on rival app Deliveroo.

Unity's boyfriend Tom Smith, pictured, tucked into the feast of brunch food delivered by the new Amazon Restaurants app

I go for Long White Cloud in nearby Hoxton, and order a brunch feast  two full Englishes (one veggie, one meat; both with extra avocado), two servings of avocado on toast with fresh chilli, and French toast with bacon, banana and Agave syrup.

It comes to 47  a one-off treat costing more than Id normally spend on a weekend breakfast.

The minimum order is 15  which might be a stretch if youre eating alone  but it means delivery is free.

The food arrived quicker than I expected, and the delivery driver was on my doorstep within the allotted 30-minute window.

I was kept updated with a series of notifications and I left a note for him to give me a call when he arrived, and he did just that.

The food arrived neatly packaged in a handful of Amazon Delivery bags, and was still piping hot and beautifully presented. Our fry-up even came with a garnish.

VERDICT: AMAZON RESTAURANTS SPEED: Food arrived within half an hour of my order. 4/5 HEAT: Food was delicious, beautifully presented and still hot. A bit stingy on the halloumi but thats really a complaint for the restaurant, not Amazon.4/5 EASE: Fairly easy to navigate but the app focuses on a range of delivery services  not just the restaurants. You can also only order from one restaurant at a time. 3/5 RANGE OF OPTIONS: Living in zone one means I have a wider range of eateries to choose from than someone living further out. Disappointingly a few restaurants stopped serving earlier than they said they would.3/5 DELIVERY CHARGE: Free (but minimum 15 order). 3/5 OVERALL RATING: 17/25 Advertisement

DELIVEROO

Imogen Blake, pictured, tested the Deliveroo app by ordering her weight in sushi. She said the app is very intuitive

The only service out of the three that I've used before, Deliveroo, has come to the rescue on many occasions when nothing but Nando's chicken would do and I've been too lazy to leave the house.

The app is much more well-established than Amazon or UberEats, and is expanding rapidly - it's now available in more than 65 cities and towns.

In contrast, Amazon and UberEats are each limited to certain parts of central London.

I tested the service at a friend's house in Golders Green, in north London, where eight hungry mouths were keen to be fed.

Imogen picks up her Deliveroo delivery from the driver, who had no trouble finding the house in Golders Green

The app is very intuitive, just log in and it automatically finds a range of restaurant options based on your current location (which you can change at the bottom of the screen).

The thumbnail pictures of food from the restaurants are large, and enticing.

I'd previously used the app in nearby West Hampstead, where there is an enormous range of options but when I fired up the app, I found that Golders Green is a black spot for the service with just a handful of restaurants on offer.

There were plenty of sushi places, though, so I chose neighbourhood restaurant Damoa.

Imogen and her friends ordered a mix of hot and cold food from the neighbourhood restaurant in Golders Green - where there was not a huge range of options on the Deliveroo app

Imogen and her friends ordered an 'obscene' amount of sushi - and received a call from the restaurant soon afterwards to explain the order may take 10 minutes longer than usual

The app is very easy to use, you just touch the food you want and add to your virtual shopping basket with another click. At any time you can view the basket to see what you've already ordered, and the price.

This week, The Sun reported that the takeaways from Deliveroo can be more expensive than ordering direct from the restaurant, even before delivery charges.

It is claimed prices for meals on the app can be as much as 15 per cent more than ordering direct from a diner.

But as Damoa doesn't have its own website, I can't check prices compared with ordering direct from the website.

The order only took one minute longer than predicted by the app at the start - avoiding the delay that the restaurant had warned Imogen about earlier

After ordering what can only be described as an obscene amount of sushi and Japanese curries, the screen flashes up with a map of our location and an estimated time for delivery: 26 minutes in our case.

The app helpfully sends you push notifications at each stage: preparation, delivery, and arrival.

Within ten minutes, I got a call from the very apologetic restaurant manager, who explained that our order would take 10 minutes longer than the delivery app stated - due to the large amount of food we'd requested.

A little ashamed, we explained we didn't mind the extra wait at all.

The curries arrived piping hot, while the sushi was very fresh and chilled, according to Imogen

But in the end, the order only arrived a minute later than the app originally said it would. Finding the flat was no problem for the driver, either.

The katsu curries arrived piping hot, while the sushi was chilled and very fresh - everything was delicious.

It was wolfed down in seconds.

VERDICT: DELIVEROO SPEED: Food arrived within half an hour and only one minute later than the app predicted - despite the restaurant apologising for a 10-minute delay their end. 4/5 HEAT: Hot items were pipping hot, chilled items were fresh. 5/5 EASE: The app is very intuitive and keeps you updated through notifications. You can only order from one restaurant at a time though. 4/5 RANGE OF OPTIONS: Golders Green is a black spot for the delivery app so there wasn't a huge range of choice, but enough to satisfy sushi lovers, and the place I chose serves up deliciously fresh fish.3/5 DELIVERY CHARGE: 2.50 - expensive compared to free charges offered by newer UberEats and Amazon. 2/5 OVERALL: 18/25 Advertisement

UBEREATS

Imogen, pictured with her takeaway, didn't think UberEats would deliver to her new flat in Hampstead but was pleasantly surprised to find it did - though options were limited

I was pleasantly surprised to find that UberEats delivered to the borough of Camden in north London after hearing from friends that it only delivered to the very centre of the capital (though this is true for the most part).

And a takeaway was just what I needed after moving flats to Hampstead that Saturday.

The UberEats app is very similar to the main Uber app, which I'm very familiar with.

After firing it up and entering the address, like Deliveroo the focus is on large pictures of food from local restaurants to draw you in.

There were only nine options available, which was still more than I expected in honesty, but not much choice: I was limited to pizza and burgers primarily.

We chose Tinseltown, an American diner about a mile away, ordering a chicken burger, chips, barbecue chicken and banoffee waffles for 24.

I'm careful not to put a foot wrong as a colleague shared a horror story where she accidentally ordered 100 worth of food and found the app makes it very difficult for you to cancel orders once submitted.

She had to resort to phoning the restaurant and explaining her mistake.

The ordering process took me seconds - though choosing the food took a bit longer - and just like with sister service Uber, the app finds a nearby delivery driver: Diego.

His picture and licence plate number, along with contact details and an impressive five-star approval rating, appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Imogen ordered 24 of food including a chicken burger and chips, pictured, but unfortunately the food arrived barely warm

The food, including barbecue chicken and chips, pictured, took 40 minutes to arrive - longer than the other apps. The driver had to call to find the flat's front door, adding extra minutes to the wait

The app predicted the food would take 40 minutes - a long wait compared to the other orders but this may not be the fault of the service.

Like the other apps, notifications keep you updated with the stage of the order.

Five minutes before it's due to arrive, I get a call from Diego, but unfortunately can't hear him as the signal is bad.

Just like with sister minicab service Uber, diners are given the picture and licence plate of the UberEats driver, his or her name, their contact details and a rating out of five stars

I presumed he was lost and was just about to hunt the apartment building to find him, before I got another call to say he was on his way up.

The food arrives at exactly the time it said it would, and unfortunately, it's barely warm. This may be the restaurant's fault - but the few extra minutes the driver spent finding my front door may not have helped.

The food is tasty though, and after a tiring day of unpacking boxes, we eat it all anyway.

VERDICT: UBEREATS SPEED: Took 40 minutes, which was quite a long wait but was exactly when the app said it would arrive. The driver was held up for a few minutes when he couldn't find the entrance to my building, however. 3/5 HEAT: The food was barely warm when it arrived, which may be the restaurants fault too, but the extra few minutes finding the flat wouldn't have helped. 1/5 EASE: The app is incredibly easy to use, particularly for those already used to ordering Uber minicabs, but again you can't order from more than one restaurant, and cancelling orders can cause issues. 3/5 RANGE OF OPTIONS: More options than I thought there would be as app is still in infancy but still quite a limited selection: mostly pizza and burgers. 2/5 DELIVERY CHARGE: Free 5/5 OVERALL: 15/25 Advertisement

OVERALL VERDICT

All three services are easy to use, and are certainly a very convenient way of ordering restaurant-quality food directly to your door.

But Deliveroo comes out top of FEMAIL's test, rating well for speed, easiness of use and the heat of food upon delivery.

But it's pricier than the other two apps as it has a 2.50 delivery charge.

Newcomer Amazon Restaurants comes in a close second, also rating well for speed and the heat of the food when it was delivered.

But the misinformation about opening times and the hefty 15 minimum order lowers its score.
Used dental tools to remove them himself after developing

A desperate patient who was left with surgical stitches in his body took matters into his own hands by operating on himself to remove them.

Graham Smith adapted tools to perform surgery after he said appointments he needed were cancelled and he developed septicaemia.

He admitted it was a reckless move - and recommended others not to try it at home - but said the pain had become so bad, he had little alternative.

Graham Smith, an engineer, said he knew operating on himself was 'foolhardy' but said he would prefer to die trying than waiting to be seen by hospital doctors

'I didn't make the decision lightly - I was desperate, but I had to take control of it and I was not prepared to sit and die on a waiting list,' Mr Smith, of Lancashire, told the BBC.

'There was a bit of blood and it stung a bit but I was confident in what I was doing.

'I'd have rather have died trying rather than of septicaemia.'

Engineer Mr Smith first underwent bowel surgery 15 years ago at Aintree Hospital, Liverpool, when a suture was left in his abdomen.

He brought it to their attention in 2011 after he noticed part of the stitches protruding through his skin.

But an appointment was cancelled by the hospital and then Mr Smith failed to attend another, the hospital confirmed to the BBC.

Mr Smith adapted the titanium dental instruments and pliers which were given to him by a friend.

The sutures Graham Smith removed from his body after his operation was cancelled twice

He said there was a small lump of nylon protruding from his abdomen, which measured 8mm long with 12 tight, compressed knots.

Fearing cutting it off would do more damage than good, he carefully undid the knots one by one.

In a statement, the hospital said Mr Smith had been informed he could have an appointment with the original surgeon on Monday - before he operated on himself.

A spokesperson said: 'We would always advise that any patient who has concerns such as these seeks clinical advice.

'We will be in touch with Mr Smith to discuss his care.'
Researchers at UCLA hope the tissue can be used for research into lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Tiny 'human lungs' have been grown in a laboratory which could revolutionise understanding of fatal diseases.

The breakthrough was made using adult stem cells, which the researchers used to grow tissue fragments that mimic the of the organ.

While they're not fully functioning lungs, scientists hope they will be able to use their findings to slow the progression of fatal lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

The chronic illness causes scarring which makes the lungs thick and stiff which over time results in progressively worsening shortness of breath and lack of oxygen to the brain and vital organs.

Most people only live about three to five years after diagnosis.

It can run in families, but smoking and exposure to certain types of dust can also raise the risk of developing it.

In the latest study, scientists in California coated tiny gel beads with the cells and then allowed them to self assemble into the shapes of the air sacs found in human lungs.

This created the the 3D lung buds, known as 'organoids.'

Dr Brigitte Gomperts, of the University of California, Los Angeles, said: 'While we have not built a fully functional lung, we have been able to take lung cells and place them in the correct geometrical spacing and pattern to mimic a human lung.'

To study the effect of genetic mutations or drugs, researchers have previously relied on 2D cultures of lung cells.

But when they take cells from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and grow them on these flat surfaces, they appeared healthy.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal lung condition where sufferers generally live between three and five years after diagnosis

Dr Gomperts explained: 'Scientists have really not been able to model lung scarring in a dish.'

So her researchers used sticky hydrogel beads and coated them with cells from adult lungs.

WHAT IS IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS? Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare disorder with an average of 5,000 new cases diagnosed every year. The condition typically starts in a patient's mid-60s, with mild breathlessness that's most noticeable when climbing stairs or walking uphill, but gradually it stops the lungs working altogether. Unlike other lung diseases with similar symptoms, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is not caused by airways narrowing. Instead, it involves a build-up of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the alveoli, the air sacs of the lung that normally inflate and deflate as you breathe in and out. The process involves a steady deterioration, gradually turning the delicate lace-like structure of the lung tissue into a rigid crust that makes the process of breathing increasingly difficult, and eventually impossible. Advertisement

Then they partitioned the beads into small wells a quarter of an inch (7 millimetres) across, inside which the lung cells grew into a three dimensional pattern.

To show the tiny organoids mimicked the structure of actual lungs, the researchers compared the lab grown tissues with real sections of human lung.

Graduate student Dan Wilkinson explained: 'The technique is very simple. We can make thousands of reproducible pieces of tissue that resemble lung and contain patient specific cells.'

Moreover, when the researchers added certain molecular factors to the cultures, the lungs developed scars similar to those seen in the lungs of people who have the disease, something that could not be accomplished in 2D.

As well as enabling researchers to study the biological underpinnings of diseases, the artificial lungs will also help test possible treatments, analyse an individual patient's condition or what drugs may work best in their case.

Doctors could collect cells from the patient, turn them into stem cells, coax them into lung cells and then use them in 3D cultures.

Because it is so easy to create many tiny organoids at once, researchers could screen the effect of many drugs.

Added Dr Gomperts: 'This is the basis for precision medicine and personalised treatments.'
Black health activists are calling on President Obama to reignite the federal push against menthol cigarettes.

Research in 2013 revealed menthol cigarettes are more commonly related to health issues than normal cigarettes.

And they inordinately affect African Americans.

More than 45,000 black American smokers die every year. More than two thirds of black smokers in America use menthols.

However, despite a small burst of outrage from politicians in 2013, the drive to combat this staggering health issue has largely died down.

Research in 2013 revealed menthol cigarettes are more commonly related to health issues than normal cigarettes. And they inordinately affect African Americans

In July, the NAACP voted to curb the sale of menthol cigarettes.

Now, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council is calling on the president to take a stand and put pressure on the FDA.

'Over 80 per cent of Black smokers use mentholated tobacco products, which is due to decades of geographically racialized targeting of mentholated tobacco products by the tobacco industry,' the Council said in a letter issued on Tuesday.

They described menthols as 'an issue of social justice, one which we have been defenseless in adequately addressing to protect our people.'

'What we are asking of you, President Obama, can be accomplished rapidly with the stroke of a pen,' the letter continued.

'Your strong and decisive leadership can give our community a fighting chance against the number one killer of Black people, tobacco.'

Speaking to NBC, the Council's president Dr Phillip Gardiner explained why menthols are so lethal.

The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council described menthols as a 'social justice, one which we have been defenseless in adequately addressing to protect our people'

'The punchline here about menthol is it allows the poisons in tobacco cigarettes to go down easier,' he said.

'Young African-Americans die disproportionately from tobacco-related disease compared to other people in the population.'
Zika has finally been confirmed as a cause of microcephaly, a new paper declares.

Until now, health officials have widely assumed Zika was linked to microcephaly, a crippling birth defect where infants are born with shrunken heads.

But the lack of scientific evidence meant they could never be sure - affecting drug development, funding prospects, and policy-making.

Now, researchers from the UK and Brazil have released the first control group study dedicated to the subject.

And the results were stark.

Until now, health officials have widely assumed Zika was liked to microcephaly, a crippling birth defect where infants are born with shrunken heads. But they could not be certain

The team examined all infants born with microcephaly in eight public hospitals in northeastern Brazil between January 15 and May 2 this year - a total of 32.

They then compared each child to two babies without microcephaly born the next day in the same hospital - a total of 64.

A staggering majority (80 per cent) of the babies with microcephaly were born to mothers who had the Zika virus.

And almost half of them (41 per cent) had also inherited Zika.

In contrast, 64 per cent of the healthy babies were born to mothers with Zika.

And none of the healthy babies had Zika.

But researchers were heartened to find that not all cases of microcephaly had brain abnormalities.

Only seven of the 27 cases with microcephaly who had a brain scan had brain abnormalities, suggesting that congenital Zika virus syndrome can be present in neonates with microcephaly and no brain abnormalities.

Lead author Dr Thalia Barreto de Araujo said: 'This is the first case-control study to examine the association between Zika virus and microcephaly using molecular and serological analysis to identify Zika virus in cases and controls at the time of birth.

'Our findings suggests that Zika virus should be officially added to the list of congenital infections alongside toxoplasmosis, syphilis, varicella-zoster, parvovirus B19, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes.

A staggering majority (80 per cent) of the babies with microcephaly were born to mothers who had the Zika virus. And almost half of them (41 per cent) had also inherited Zika

'However, many questions still remain to be answered including the role of previous dengue infection.'

The study was requested by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to investigate the causes of the microcephaly epidemic that was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern this year.

And it has already been hailed as a crucial breakthrough as Latin America, Asia and the US fight to curb infection.

Laura Rodrigues, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: 'The early findings from this case control study are the missing pieces in the jigsaw in terms of proving the link.'

'Crucially, this paper also suggests testing newborns for anti-zika antibody, IgM, in blood or liquor as a good option for an agreed test to diagnose children with Congenital Zika Syndrome - something not currently available.

'It also clearly shows that even babies with normal brain image can have the condition.

'There are still many unanswered questions concerning Zika.

'When complete, the study, along with other ongoing research, will provide vital information on any role cofactors might have in the epidemic.

'Cohort studies conducted by the School and other institutions will establish the level of risk for mothers infected with the virus, how babies with the condition develop and the impact and costs to families and society.

'This will enable health services to target resources effectively, and ensure families affected by this devastating condition receive the support they need.'
Anil Ambani-led group announced it would be joining forces with Aircel

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCom) on Wednesday agreed to merge its telecom business with smaller rival Aircel to create the country's fourth-biggest mobile phone operator with an asset base of more than Rs 65,000 crore.

In the largest consolidation in the country's telecom sector, RCom and Aircel's majority owner, Malaysia's Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), announced signing of definitive documents for the merger of their Indian wireless businesses.

RCom and MCB will hold 50 per cent each in the new company, and the board will have equal representation from the two sides.

Anil Ambani (pictured) is the chairman of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Reliance Communications has just announced that it will merge with smaller firm Aircel

The deal will help reduce Reliance Communication's debt by Rs 20,000 crore, or more than 40 percent of its total debt, while Aircel's debt will fall by about Rs 4,000 billion rupees, the companies said.

MERGER FACTS The new telecom entity will have an asset base of over Rs 65,000 crore and net worth of Rs 35,000 crore RCom and Maxis Communications Berhad, promoters of Aircel will each hold a 50 per cent stake in themerged entity The merger will reduce RCom's debt by Rs 20,000 crore which is over 40 per cent of its total debt Reliance Communications had a net debt of Rs 41, 362 crore as of March-end Advertisement

As of end-March, Reliance Communications had a net debt of Rs 41, 362 crore, according to latest company data.

RCom currently has a 9.8 per cent market share while Aircel, which is the leading operator in Tamil Nadu and has a strong presence in the eastern states, has a 8.5 per cent share.

Sistema, which RCom earlier merged with, had 0.7 per cent market share.

The total debt of the new company will be around Rs 28,000 crore, excluding Rs 6,000 crore of spectrum payment liability.

The merger comes at a time when Reliance Jio, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, Anil's elder brother, is expected to shake up the market and trigger a price war with its cut-rate offerings.

Anil Ambani said: 'Together with our partners, MCB, we are delighted to have taken the lead in consolidation of the Indian telecom sector'

RCom will continue to own and operate its high growth businesses in the domestic and global enterprise space, Data Centres, optic fibre and related telecom infrastructure, besides owning valuable real estate, the statement said.

MTS (Sistema) will continue to hold 10 per cent stake in RCom, with no presence on the board.

The merged entity will be one of India's largest private sector companies, with an asset base of over Rs 65,000 crore and net worth of Rs 35,000 crore, the joint statement said.

It will have the second largest spectrum holding among all operators, aggregating 448 MHz across the 850, 900, 1,800 and 2,100 MHz bands helping it offer 2G, 3G and 4G services nationwide.

The merged company will be managed by an independent professional team under the supervision of the board.

Reliance Group Chairman Anil D Ambani said: 'Together with our partners, MCB, we are delighted to have taken the lead in consolidation of the Indian telecom sector, first, with RCom's acquisition of the wireless business of SSTL (Sistema / MTS), and now, with the combination of our business with Aircel in a 50:50 joint venture with MCB.'

The merger comes at a time when Reliance Jio, controlled by Mukesh Ambani (back left), the elder brother of Anil (right), is expected to trigger a price war with its cut-rate offerings. The brothers are pictured here with their late father Dhirubhai Ambani

He added that this combination is expected to create substantial long term value for shareholders of both RCom and MCB, given the benefits of the wide-ranging spectrum portfolio and significant revenue and cost synergies.

Since acquiring Aircel in 2006, MCB has invested in excess of Rs 35,000 crore (USD 5.2 billion) into Aircel, making this one of the largest foreign investments into India, not only in the telecom industry but across all sectors, MCB said.

On consummation of the merger, RCom and MCB are committed to additional equity infusion into the merged company to further strengthen the balance sheet, fund future growth plans, and enhance financial flexibility, they said.

Both parties are already in talks with international investors in this regard, they added.
hit back by sharing a photo on Facebook of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a man accused of running a sex racket

Health minister Tej Pratap Yadav has released pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside a man accused of running sex racket as he hits back at calls for him to step down over photos of him with an alleged 'sharpshooter'.

Writing on his Facebook page, Lalu's son said that people seeking his resignation for a picture with Shahabuddins sharpshooter Mohammad Kaifi, should first look to Modi for pictures with Tinu Jain, who was arrested earlier this month.

Tej Pratap has written that earlier Jain was a BJP member and had connections with Modi and all top BJP leaders.

The Facebook post of Tej Pratap showing Modi with Tinu Jain, who was arrested earlier this month after being accused of running a sex racket

Tej Pratap claimed that earlier Jain was a BJP member and had connections with Modi and all top BJP leaders

The row follows the release of criminal turned RJD politician Shahabuddin from Bhagalpur jail on being granted bail by the Patna High Court last Wednesday.

Tej Pratap's father, controversial Bihar RJD politician Lalu Prasad, has been accused of being instrumental in getting Shahabuddin released.

A NDA delegation met Governor Ram Nath Kobind to discuss the release on Monday, led by senior BJP leader Sushil Modi, along with BJP Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar, BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav and state HAM president Brishan Patel.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad was accused of helping to get notorious criminal turned politician Shahabuddin released from jail

Shahabuddin was released from Bhagalpur jail on being granted bail by the Patna High Court on Wednesday last week

Speaking to India Today after meeting the Governor, Sushil Modi alleged that Shahabuddins release from jail was stage-managed.

He said the Bihar government did not let the trial begin in the Rajiv Roshan murder case deliberately, which facilitated Shahabuddin's release.

Its a stage-managed release by the Bihar government, Modi said.

He questioned why the state did not impose the Crime Control Act on Shahabuddin to keep him in jail after he was granted bail.

There have been calls for Tej Pratap to resign after a photo of him with one of the sharpshooters of Shahabuddin (pictured, centre) emerged

Governor, Sushil Modi, said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (pictured) shouldn't let a criminal like Shahabuddin back onto the streets

The BJP leader said: Lalu has got Shahabuddin released. Its surprising that the state did not impose CCA on Shahabuddin to ensure that he does not come out of jail.

"He can now influence the probe in the Rajiv Roshan and journalist Rajdev Ranjan murder case."

Modi said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shouldnt let a dreaded criminal like Shahabuddin free and should take steps to send him back to jail, even if he has to sacrifice his government.

He said that Shahabuddin and rule of law cannot go together in Bihar and till the time CCA is imposed, he should be directed to remain outside Bihar.
One of them alleges rape over 10 years on the pretext of marriage

Both women said they had been in relationships with the accused men

Two complaints of rape have been reported in as many days at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi.

In the first case, a student was arrested for allegedly raping a woman in her 20s on the pretext of marriage.

The accused was arrested on Wednesday after the victim, who is believed to have been in a relationship with her alleged attacker for 10 years, recorded her statement at Vasant Kunj police station.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the centre of controversy in recent months

'Despite repeated requests from the victim, [the accused] was not marrying her, and hence she approached the police,' a police officer said.

In another case, a woman alleged that she was raped and an FIR has been registered against the accused.

A Delhi court remanded the accused in the first alleged rape to 14 days of judicial custody after the case was registered under Section 376 (rape) of IPC.

In her complaint, the victim alleged that the accused had been raping her for 10 years, assuring her that he would marry her.

The victim, who said she met the accused through a mutual friend, said that she decided to approach the police after she came to know that he was having affairs with four other girls.

An ABVP during a protest after student union activist Anmol Ratan at the JNU in Delhi was accused of raping a fellow student inside his hostel room after spiking her drink

On September 13, she decided to approach police. Police took her to AIIMS where she underwent a medical test, which, they said, confirmed sexual assault and a case of rape was lodged.

In the second case the woman was also understood to be in a relationship with the man. In her police complaint, she alleged that he raped her and also extorted money.

Earlier this week, the girl had leveled the allegations in a Facebook post that went viral and also put up posters on the JNU campus narrating her ordeal.

'The zero FIR was registered because the complainant mentioned the place of the offence as Bhopal. The complaint will be transferred to Bhopal police who will probe the charges,' said a police officer.

Last month, an activist of All India Students Association (AISA), Anmol Ratan, was booked on charge of rape. He had allegedly raped a girl after luring her to his hostel room on the pretext of loaning her a movie.
The muslim media is in uproar. Acclaimed poet and writer Javed Akhtar has rightly condemned the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in the strongest words for justifying the type of instant divorce prevalent in India.

In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the AIMPLB had defended the practice of triple talaq and polygamy, professing that polygamy is a social need and a blessing, and not a curse for women.

The Muslim reaction to Akhtars tweet can be summed up by what Khalid Yunus Ansari wrote in Pratap (September 11): There has never been any dearth of opportunists and traitors among Muslims. These people may appear intelligent and educated but are ignorant of Muslim mores

Triple talaq or instant divorce is one of the evils emanating from the personal laws instituted for Muslims by the British, says Sultan Shahin

"A real Muslim is one who consciously and even sub-consciously believes in and follows Islamic laws, someone who cannot even imagine finding fault with or challenging or violating any of them. Even imagining any fault with Muslim laws is absolute kufr (disbelief), not to speak of expressing such thoughts.

Reaction

I have been reading Urdu newspapers for 45 years. While Muslims have been constantly fighting for the so-called Muslim Personal Law which allows them to treat women as inferior beings, never have I come across any Muslim demand for being governed by Islamic criminal laws.

If Shariah is so important, if it is such a vital part of our faith, then why this dichotomy?

Except for drinking alcohol, punishments for all other hudud crimes (mentioned in the Quran, considered crimes against God) are amputation, flogging and beheading.

In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the AIMPLB had proclaimed that polygamy is a social need and a blessing and for women"

One would have thought that at least those Muslims who are so particular about following Shariah, and, of course, all ulema call Shariah divine, then why not the entire Shariah.

Why follow only the part that helps keep women subjugated and avoid those that may lead to severe medieval punishments specified by Quran and Hadees?

Triple talaq or instant divorce is one of the evils emanating from the personal laws instituted for Muslims by the British.

Hardly any Muslim in India follows the Quran-based practice of divorce in three stages, encompassing three menstrual cycles.

After Independence from the British, a united Pakistan had refused to accept the Anglo-Mohammedan law and reformed its personal law in 1961.

Acclaimed poet and writer Javed Akhtar condemned the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in the strongest words for justifying the instant divorce prevalent in India

Reforms

These reforms have passed the test of time. Pakistan has since gone through much upheaval, including an era of Nizame-Mustafa under Gen Zia-ul-Haq, in which even traditional pre-Islamic forms of punishment like whips and lashes and public flogging were practised for hudud violations.

So what progressive Muslims in India should be and indeed have been demanding for long is reforms in Muslim personal law itself.

But perhaps we should also be demanding that those who claim to believe in the divinity of Shariah should be punished in medieval hudud ways.

If the government cannot reform Muslim Personal Laws, out of deference for ulemas views, it can at least extend hudud punishments to them.

Akhtar's tweet followed an affidavit defending the practice of triple talaq and polygamy

Ulema say Muslims have to be fully Muslim, accept Shariah laws literally, not be partial Muslim.

They may be given the option to face medieval hudud punishments and be fully Muslim according to their own interpretation.

Urgent

Reform of Muslim personal law is urgent. A demand for this has been made for decades. This is will inevitably be opposed and equally inevitably exposes the two-facedness of Islamic fundamentalists.

India should not tolerate these archaic and un-Islamic personal laws.

But, to my mind, the most important benefit is the opening up of a theological debate within the community. This has already started to a certain extent.

Reacting to Dr Tahir Mahmoods recent call for reform, AIMPLBs Maulana Rahmani made a dangerous and subversive statement: This issue is not related to the laws of the country but it is an issue related to fatwa. Hence this issue should be dealt with by reliable scholars of Islamic jurisdiction.

The maulanas questioning the Supreme Courts jurisdiction should understand that Muslims are as much subject to the Indian Constitution and its interpretation by the Supreme Court as any other citizen.

Muslim personal law is a part of the Constitution and the Supreme Court has every right to interpret it. Progressive Muslims are not committing a sin by encouraging the courts to intervene in the matter.

It is the right and duty of the courts to look after the welfare of the citizens in accordance with the Constitution.

The most important outcome of this debate, however, is that it is breaching the complete stagnation in Islamic theological thinking.
Crowdfunding, venture capital, angel investing - there seem to be so many different ways to get funding for my business.

Which one is best and are there any downsides to letting other people own a share of my company?

Helping hand? If you want to expand, you'll probably need to think about outside investment

Eleanor Lawrie of This is Money replies: You could feel like a kid in a sweet shop when it comes to the different forms of investment on offer for your small business.

But while the offer of 'free money' may sound tempting, it's important not to seek outside funding too quickly, get into anything you don't understand, or give away more of your business than you want to.

Here we look at how to choose the right time to look for an external backer, the different forms funding can take - and how to successfully pitch to investors.

When is the right time to look for outside investment?

While many small businesses would like to take their time expanding, it's important to be flexible in order to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.

Bivek Sharma, head of small business accounting at KPMG, says: 'Slow, organic growth can be appealing, especially compared to the alternative of taking on debt or giving up equity, but competition complicates the picture.

'If competitors secure cash injections and invest in talent, technology or materials that put them in a better position to jump on new business opportunities, they can quickly eat into the territory of the more cautious.

'For most young businesses, the reality of growth opportunities is that they are often fast and erratic, not slow and steady. In these moments, outside investment rounds can be a great asset.'

If your business is keen to grow and is seriously considering outside investment, there are a few questions to ask first:

Time to expand? Taking on funding could help to buy a new premises

Why do I need outside funding?

Sharma says: 'Being clear in your own mind about exactly why you need extra capital can give you a great steer on which funding route will best suit your business.

'For example, a start-up may need seed funding to help establish their concept, before going for a larger round when looking to scale-up.

'Established businesses may need investment that is focused on scaling, whether that's for additional staff, equipment or new technology.'

How much should I ask for?

Once you know how you would put the money to work, you can start to calculate a good amount to ask for.

Sharma says: 'Having an appropriate figure in mind is important when approaching investors. Ask for too little and you may need to generate further rounds of funding, which can damage the businesss credibility.

'Apply for too much and you run the risk of being turned down or out-pricing potential future backers.'

Which type of funding is right for my needs?

Funding options have increased exponentially in the past few years, and it's worth taking time to consider which route would suit your business best. These can really differ in terms of the amount on offer, the speed of the process and the strings attached.

SMEs need to consider what they are prepared to give in exchange for a cash injection, whether that's paying interest on a loan, or giving away equity in the business.

Bivek says: 'My advice is to ignore the hype and focus on your own needs and goals. Just because some businesses raise millions through crowdfunding doesnt mean its right for everyone. Consider every option and whittle them down.'

Creating a connection: Peer to peer and crowdfunding sites link borrowers and lenders

Peer to peer lending/crowdfunding

Early stage companies may want to investigate peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms such as InvestDen and Funding Circle, which match growing companies directly with organisations and individuals who want to lend to them.

The idea is that, by cutting out the banks, individuals who lend to you get a better rate of return. At the same time, your business may be able to borrow at a cheaper rate than the banks offer - if you have a good credit score.

These loans are collated so that lenders' money is put into a bucket of different companies or individuals put together by the platform to even out their risk profile.

The risks of this type of financing are borne mainly by the lenders as their money isn't protected by the FSCS. However, SMEs who borrow through peer to peer lending need to treat it the same as they would a bank loan - you won't necessarily be accepted, and if you don't pay it back on time your credit score may be affected and you may be chased by a debt collection agency.

Meanwhile, crowdfunding lets individuals financially back your product or service. On some sites the aim of this is to help charitable or socially conscious projects get off the ground, and the backers get nothing back other than the satisfaction of seeing it come to life.

But usually, businesses offer something in return, like equity (shares) in the business, or debt (bonds or mini-bonds).

Once on the crowdfunding platform, you have a set time-frame to attract the funding you need. In most cases you will not receive any of the investment if you fall short of the target, but you are usually allowed to raise more than your target. This means it's important not to set a target higher than you can realistically raise.

Crowdfunding can be a useful marketing exercise in itself, helping to raise the profile of your business while (hopefully) attracting your desired level of funding.

Angel Investors

Angel investors tend to be successful or affluent business people who want to financially back promising companies, usually in exchange for debt or equity. These investors will sometimes also offer guidance and support, and will often have expertise in the sector they are investing in.

Sharma says: 'Angel investors can be a good option for the super ambitious, as they often provide a sizeable lump sum. They frequently act as business mentors too, and are happy to invest time to guide start-ups.

'Making sure you are eligible for the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) can make the investment considerably more attractive to these investors, and can mitigate the higher risk involved with large amounts of money.'

Unlikely bedfellows: McDonalds once held a 33 per cent stake in Pret a Manger

Venture Capital firms

Venture capital firms usually offer much bigger sums than angel investors - usually at least 1million - but are likely to expect a higher rate of return and/or more equity in your business.

Sharma says: 'A more established high growth company with excellent potential, for example one with valuable intellectual property, may be well-suited to venture capital. This can work well if your aim is to increase value in a short time, for example, if youre aiming to sell the business in three years.'

While this level of funding can have a huge impact on your business, venture capitalists can also take a long time to decide whether to invest, so this method may not be a good choice if you need funding quickly.

Businesses also have the option of selling their intellectual property - the ideas behind their product or service - often in the form of a patent or copyright that they have already secured.

Corporate investment

It may sound counter-intuitive, but small companies can sometimes attract funding from more established firms in the same industry. For example, in the 2000s, McDonald's took a 33 per cent stake in upmarket sandwich chain Pret a Manger and Google invested $1billion in fellow search engine AOL, as part of a strategic alliance.

Sharma says says: 'If you have a disruptive product, consider speaking with the companies you are looking to shake-up  they might be keen to buy a stake in the business as a defensive measure.

'Just make sure a corporate investor is keen to share in your success, rather than simply neutralise the competition.'

What makes a winning pitch?

Once you've worked out which form of investment is right for you, the next step is to make sure you nail your funding pitch.

The best way of doing this will depend on your audience. For example, crowdfunding investors are unlikely to be experts in your field, so you need to be clear in your pitch about what your business has set out to achieve and why this represents an exciting opportunity for them.

Meanwhile, venture capitalists or angel investors are likely to ask probing questions about the inner workings of your business - so you need to be prepared for that and make sure you know all your facts and figures.

However, there are a few tips all small businesses would do well to bear in mind, regardless of who they are pitching to.

Sharma says: 'You should be able to explain your business in one or two simple sentences. Being able to succinctly describe your product or service, and the problem it solves, is critical to securing investment.

'For certain sectors, such as technology, it can be helpful to give a demonstration, or talk through a prototype, which will help potential funders to visualise a complex idea.'

While backers may think your idea is good, they will also want to know pretty early on what's in it for them financially.

Sharma says: 'One of the most important things to get across is how you plan on generating revenue. The bottom line is that backers look for a financial return, so you need to prove that your idea is a promising investment.
British tourists have been warned against buying counterfeit luxury goods in Dubai because they could be funding North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his nuclear missile program.

Experts say many of the fake handbags, purses and Rolex watches on sale in 'secret shops' in Dubai are believed to be have been counterfeited in North Korea.

The industry is worth millions of pounds and brings in desperately needed hard currency for the Pyongyang regime.

Tourists are escorted by car to apartments in Dubai and once inside they find an Aladdin's Cave of phoney handbags and other luxury accessories. The quality is extremely high and the cost - a fraction of the real prices - is very tempting

The UN Security Council has begun drawing up even tighter sanctions after North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest missile test last week.

South Korea accused Kim Jong-un of 'maniacal recklessness' and the North Korean ambassador to London was called to the Foreign Office to be told how seriously Britain viewed the test as a breach of the non-proliferation treaty.

Thousands of tourists from Britain and other Western countries visit Dubai every year and many end up being lured to hidden Aladdin's Caves full of items which are the spitting image of the genuine articles.

A Mail Online reporter visited the Al Karama market area in downtown Dubai recently and, after dropping several hints, was told a car would pick him up and take him to a secret location.

The shopkeeper said the police checked his premises every day and he could not risk keeping counterfeit goods on display.

The reporter was whisked away to an anonymous block of flats and taken up to the third floor.

There the door to a non-descript apartment opened onto a veritable Aladdin's Cave with Fendi, Gucci, Chanel and Louis Vuitton handbags and purses on display along with imitation Rolex watches and other luxury items.

Kim Jong-un, pictured test-firing one of North Korea's latest missiles, manages to keep his ailing economy going by a variety of crimes, including industrial-scale counterfeiting

The quality of counterfeiting was exceptional and only an expert would have been able to tell the difference.

The bags and watches were sold for a fraction of the normal price.

The merchants were Iranian and, when asked where the bags were actually made, one said: 'Korea'.

Asked if that meant North Korea, he replied: 'Yes'.

The goods are thought to be brought to Dubai from North Korea via Iran, which is just on the other side of the Straits of Hormuz, although it is not clear if the authorities in Tehran are involved.

A network of secret shops, based in anonymous flats, operates in Dubai. Tourists walk into certain shops in the al-Karama district (pictured) and are taken to the clandestine emporiums

Dr Sheena Greitens, an expert on the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), said: 'North Korea has a history of manufacturing counterfeit products - pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, and other products - dating back at least ten years, probably longer.

Dr Greitens, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, said: 'Given the DPRK's history of making counterfeit products, and the fact that a major portion of the country's trade is now light industry, including garment trade with China, it would not be surprising to find North Korea engaged in counterfeiting designer goods for export, especially clothing.'

She said: 'The DPRK regime justifies illicit activity on ideological terms, but it is motivated primarily by extreme financial necessity.'

Dr Greitens said North Korea had highly evolved smuggling networks which worked closely with organised crime syndicates in the Far East and elsewhere.

These may look like legitimate Fendi handbags but they are counterfeit. They sell for a fraction of the price of the real thing and are believed to be manufactured in North Korea

Dubai is a notorious transit point for counterfeit goods, everything from fake drugs like Viagra - which North Korea also produces - to cigarettes, cosmetics and even spare parts for cars.

Earlier this year it was reported the value of counterfeit goods had risen from 16.8million dirhams (3.46million) to 34.4million dirhams (7.09million) in the first quarter of this year.

The director of Dubai's Intellectual Property Rights department, Yousuf Ozair Mubarak, told the Gulf News it was important for thousands of tourists to understand why they should avoid counterfeit products: 'We want to protect consumers and also encourage creativity by supporting intellectuals to continue producing.'

The authorities in Dubai were not available for comment today due to the Eid al-Adha public holiday.

Thousands of Western tourists visit Dubai (pictured) every year and many of them are attracted to the thriving counterfeit goods black market

But Alison Statham, Director of Operations for the UK-based Anti-Counterfeiting Group, said: 'There are proven links between counterfeiting and organised crime. The vast profits made by selling counterfeiting goods, such as convincingly branded handbags, mobile phones, perfume or watches are funding terrorism.

'The Anti-Counterfeiting Group is lobbying government and working with enforcement agencies to better protect our members and the consumer from this malicious crime.

'We urge consumers to think carefully about the goods they buy, at home or abroad because counterfeit products are, at best unsafe or , more worryingly, are often lethal.'

North Korean defectors prepare to release balloons carrying leaflets and a banner condemning Kim Jong-un during a rally in South Korea today

Counterfeiting is one of various ways North Korea brings in much needed foreign currency.

In June a North Korean agent was arrested in the Chinese city of Dandong for trying to pass off $5million in fake dollars.

The US Secret Service estimates North Korea has produced $45million in fake $100 bills since 1989.

Earlier this month Channel 4's Dispatches programme reported how North Korean workers were brought over in secret to work on vast tomato farms in Poland.

Their earnings, in hard currency, are sent back to North Korea and Dispatches claimed they deliberately chose married workers or those with families back in North Korea to make sure they did not defect.

The North Korean ambassador to London, Hyun Hak-bong, was not available for comment.
The woman who found a bruised and shocked Juanita broaddrick after former President Bill Clinton allegedly raped her in 1978 filled in crucial details from her memories of the incident Wednesday in a radio interview.

Norma Rogers spoke to 'Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,' saying the married Broaddrick was weeping and disheveled and immediately told her the then-attorney general of Arkansas had forced himself on her just minutes earlier.

'She was crying,' Rogers recalled. 'And the thing I think I remember most is that her mouth was all swollen up. It was cut. ... Her pantyhose were all ripped.'

Rogers, then a nurse, worked at the time at a nursing home Broaddrick ran. The two were in Little Rock at a health care convention.

She drove her crying boss home immediately, listening to Broaddrick berate herself for being alone with the handsome and charming Clinton, whose bid for the governor's office she was supporting as a volunteer.

SCROLL DOWN FOR AUDIO

BEFORE THE 'CRIME': Bill Clinton, then the Arkansas attorney general, visited a nursing home run by Juanita Broaddrick (right) in 1978

'ENABLER': Republican Donald Trump has bashed Hillary Clinton for defending Bill from sexual assault accusers while she hitched her wagon to his and sought power for herself

'I think we stopped at least twice to get ice. I would go up and get fresh ice and put it on her mouth because she was trying to keep her face from bruising and looking like something bad had happened to her,' Rogers said.

'It was just crazy. The whole situation was just crazy.'

Rogers has said in her last broadcast interview  back in 2004  that Broaddrick was eager to clean herself up because she didn't know how to tell her husband she had been raped by a man in a position of power.

Breitbart.com first reported on this week's interview. The radio host is an editor for the conservative news website. Audio of his broadcast was shared exclusively with DailyMail.com.

Bill Clinton's reputation as a sex-addicted Lothario has received a new round of attention as his wife Hillary seeks the presidency in her own right.

Donald Trump, her Republican challenger, has said that the power-seeking political wife was the ultimate enabler, defending Bill against what she would in 1992 call 'bimbo eruptions' and making his conquests easier in the process.

Bill and Hillary Clinton pictured above in 1978, when the then attorney general was running for governor of Arkansas. Broaddrick would later say that Hillary tried keep her quiet about the alleged attack, thanking her in a pointed voice for 'everything that you do for Bill'

STILL GOT IT: Bill Clinton takes selfies with attractive women on the campaign trail as he stumps for Hillary wihle she recovers from pneumonia

The scene of the alleged crime as Broaddrick's hotel room at the Camelot Hotel, by Clinton's choosing.

He had asked to meet her to talk about healthcare issues in the hotel's coffee shop, she has said, later asking to shift the meeting to the hotel room in order to dodge onlooking reporters.

Broaddrick's story ends with Clinton biting her lip and forcing her onto the hotel bed for sex, eventually leaving her with nonchalant advice: 'You better get some ice on that.'

'I went back up to the room,' Rogers recalled Wednesday, 'and when I went back into the room ... she was just very, very upset. She was crying.'

'And the thing I think I remember most is that her mouth was all swollen up. It was cut. And she just told me. She started then telling me the story of how he had just basically overtaken her and bit her lip in order to keep her quiet and to keep her from trying to leave or get away from him. And then she proceeded to tell me that he had pushed her onto the bed, and had raped her.

'Her pantyhose were all ripped. And she was just in a terrible state. Crying and just, she began telling me, you know, what had happened.

'But in the meantime she was starting to get her things together and she said, "We are leaving now." And you know we just started getting our stuff together and I drove her home.'

HOMEWRECKER: Broaddrick (left, in 1992) has said her second marriage broke up after Clinton raped her and she found it difficult to be intimate with husband David (right)

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Broaddrick, pictured in a network television interview in 1999, brought her rape claims back to light using social media in January as Hillary Clinton's White House campaign gathered steam

Broaddrick 'cried most of the way home,' she said. 'And she kept just questioning herself: "Why in the world would, you know? Why would I have ever trusted him." But you know she just did not ever think that he would do anything like that.'

Rogers' firsthand vantage point left her with no doubt that her then-boss was raped.

'There is no [other] way that she could have acted the way that she was that day, and there would have been no reason to,' she said.

'If something had gone on that was, you know, a consensual thing, I don't think I would have ever even known that it had occurred.'

Rogers also corroborated Broaddrick's contention that Clinton made a 'gushing apology' to her 13 years later  just days beore he launched his campaign for the presidency  for sexually assaulting her.

'IT NEVER GOES AWAY': Like many rape victims, Broaddrick says she hasn't been able to shake the memory of the man who forced himself on her 38 years ago

Clinton, Broaddrick said last year, had asked to see her during a Little Rock event and told her he was sorry, asked for her forgiveness, and claimed he was a reformed family man with a daughter.

Rogers was at the same event.

'She was gone for a while and when she came back she was white,' she said of Broaddrick, 'and she said, "You are never going to believe what that was about." And of course I had no idea. And she said that guy led me around to a stairwell and she said "Bill Clinton was there waiting on me"  totally [a] surprise to her also  and said to her, "I hope that you are not going to hold what happened against me".'

'And of course I was not there but as best as I can remember she said, "Go to hell," and turned around and walked off,' Rogers recalled.
Three bodies have been unearthed by police in Ohio who were alerted when a woman called 911 and whispered that she had been kidnapped, adding 'please hurry'.

Shawn Grate, who is homeless and has a long criminal record mainly for burglarizing houses, was arrested in Ashland, near Akron.

The woman whose 911 call led to the grisly discoveries whispered to a dispatcher she was afraid of waking her captor.

'I've been abducted. Please hurry,' she said.

Shawn Grate was arrested this week and is being investigated about kidnapping and suspected murders

Police said officers following up the 911 call found Grate and the woman in a derelict house as well as the remains of two other people.

Chief David Marcelli confirmed one of the bodies at the home was that of Stacey Stanley, who had been reported missing from her home in Greenwich, Huron County.

Grate then pointed investigators to a third person's remains at a property near Mansfield in neighboring Richland county. He claimed to have killed her in a fire.

Stanley's sister Jeana had told the Mansfield News Journal she had been missing since September 8 and claimed the police had not taken her disappearance seriously.

She was last seen at an Ashland gas station when she got a flat tire. That was only a few blocks from the house where her body was found.

Stacey Stanley (pictured) was last seen on September 8, with a flat tire at a gas station in Ashland, Ohio. Her body was later found at a house a few blocks away

The house (pictured, left) in Ashland, Ohio, was supposed to be uninhabited at the time but Grate, who was homeless, is believed to have been squatting there. Two bodies were found there and another elsewhere

A 911 call has been released in which the woman can be heard whispering to the dispatcher. Eventually police can be heard to arrive and arrest a man, while rescuing her

Two bodies were found at the clapperboard house, which belonged to a non-profit organization and was in the process of being renovated

The house has been cordoned off with yellow police tape, and two bouquets of sunflowers were placed in front with a teddy bear and a cross with Stanley's name and the message: 'You are loved by many.'

Her son Kurtis Stanley said: 'She'd give anybody anything. She's a very kind-hearted woman.'

He said she had retired early due to health problems.

Barbara Balsizer, who works at the laundromat opposite the house where the bodies were found, said she had not seen any lights on at the house or noticed anything suspicious.

'If I had seen anything out of the ordinary, I would've called the police,' she said.

Forensics officers are now trawling through the scene and a pathologist will be trying to identify the bodies

The house was in a quiet neighborhood in Ashland, Ohio. It has now been sealed off with yellow police tape

Shawn Grate, who is now in custody, has a long rap sheet for burglarizing properties. He was arrested at this house on Tuesday

Bruce Wilkinson, pastor and director of Pump House Ministries, which owns the home and one next to it, said they had been vacant since March and were being renovated.

He said they were padlocked and checked weekly.

The coroner has not determined Stacey Stanley's cause of death or identified the second body in the home, police said.

Richland County prosecutor Bambi Couch Page told the Mansfield News Journal Grate had confessed to killing a woman in June and then setting fire to her house.

The woman who made the 911 call she had been tied up but partly freed herself in a bedroom to make the call while her captor was asleep in the room.
Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields said on Wednesday that all of the company's small-car production would be leaving U.S. plants and heading to lower-cost Mexico, drawing another rebuke from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

'We will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States,' over the next two to three years, Fields told Wall Street analysts at an investor conference hosted by the automaker.

Trump, campaigning in Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday, called Ford's decision 'horrible'. He has criticized Ford's Mexican investments for more than a year and vowed to pressure the automaker to reverse course if elected.

'We shouldn't allow it to happen,' Trump said.

A Ford truck assembly plant is pictured in Dearborn, Michigan, in this 2006 photo. The Ford Motor Company is headquartered in Dearborn, which is not far from Detroit

Ford is building a new $1.6billion assembly plant in San Luis Potosi (pictured in a file image)

Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields (left) said that all of the company's small-car production would be leaving U.S. plants and heading to lower-cost Mexico. Donald Trump (right) called Ford's decision 'horrible'

Fields has previously responded to Trump's criticism by saying that as a global company Ford must compete by making solid business decisions.

Ford is building a new $1.6billion assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It will make small cars there starting in 2018.

The facility is expected to create 2,800 Mexican jobs, according to US News & World Report.

In April 2016, Trump said the move by Ford to build a manufacturing plant in Mexico 'is an absolute disgrace' and shows the need to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

He said at the time in an emailed statement: 'This transaction is an absolute disgrace. Our dishonest politicians and the special interests that control them are laughing in the face of all American citizens.'

Trump had also said that deals like the one Michigan-based Ford made to build a plant in Mexico 'will continue until we can renegotiate NAFTA to create a fair deal for American workers'.

Revealed: How Henry Ford drove the Industrial Revolution Piece of history: Henry Ford is pictured with the Model T vehicle Often seen as the father of modern industry, car maker Henry Ford implemented an idea that revolutionised manufacturing. He launched the modern assembly line in a factory in a suburb of Detroit to speed up motor production. Ford's River Rouge plant in Detroit, Michigan, went on to become the largest factory in the world. Ford produced a standard model, the Model T Ford. A new Model T Ford cost less than $300 in the mid-1920s. By 1929, more than 26million cars were registered in the US. During the 1920s, about $1billion a year was spent on the construction of a national network of highways. The automobile industry also caused other industries such as steel, rubber, leather and paint to grow rapidly. An assembly line is seen in Dearborn, Michigan Advertisement

During contract talks in 2015, Ford confirmed that it would move Focus and C-Max production out of its Wayne, Michigan, plant in 2018. The United Auto Workers Union said at the time that Ford planned to build the next Focus in Mexico.

A source briefed on the matter said the shift of production to Mexico was expected to take place next year before the start of the 2018 model year.

In April, Ford reiterated that it was planning to build two new vehicles at the Wayne plant beginning in 2018. Analysts have said they expect Ford to build a new Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup there.

Fields said that Ford planned to shift a majority of its small car production around the world to low-cost countries by 2019, which could affect Ford's Western European car production.

A Ford Galaxie is seen on a Wayne, Michigan, assembly line in 1963

Workers are pictured at a Ford assembly plant in Dearborn

A Ford Motor Co Transit Connect Electric van is assembled in Livonia, Michigan, in 2010

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said in April that it would realign North American plants to emphasize truck and Jeep production over car output. The changes are expected to be completed by early 2018.

Both automakers are making the moves because U.S. consumers have turned away from traditional sedans and hatchbacks to SUVs and pickup trucks.

The United Auto Workers has said the number of auto assembly jobs would not decline because workers would be busy making SUVs and pickup trucks.

However, UAW President Dennis Williams has said there was a risk that if gasoline prices rose again above $4 per gallon as in mid-2008, consumers might once again favor smaller cars.
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Amid destruction and despair on the Western Front, soldiers witnessed a military revolution one hundred years ago today.

The first ever tanks, built to overcome the terrain that ordinary military vehicles could not pass, were unleashed onto the battlefield for the first time during the battle of Flers-Courcelette on September 15, 1916.

Still in their design infancy and plagued with mechanical errors, only 32 of the 49 tanks shipped to The Somme took part in the initial assault and only nine made it across no-mans land.

But their introduction signalled a new, deadly era in modern warfare that would swing the pendulum in the Allied forces favour in the harsh, deadlocked trenches of Northern France.

The Mark I tank, pictured, had four successive remodels based on feedback from the Battle of Flers Courcelette

Soldiers pictured repairing trenches next to a damaged Mark I tank after it broke down during The Somme, a common problem with early tanks

The war was into its third year and Britain had suffered huge casualties. What was meant to have been a swift victory had turned into a prolonged, bloody campaign.

The heavily shelled ground made advancement in large numbers impossible without risking the lives of thousands of troops.

Plans for a vehicle that could overcome the arduous terrain had been considered before but none had come to fruition.

It was left to Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to establish the Landships Committee in 1915, to tackle the stalemate.

The tank, pictured, took its name from a resemblence to water tanks, having initially been known as 'landships'

The concept for an all terrain vehicle had been raised for around ten years before the war with little success

Armoured vehicles were soon developed to be able to travel over difficult terrain, cross trenches, resist small-arms fire and to capture enemy positions by breaking through no mans land.

According to Peter Johnston the Head of Collections, Development and Review at the National Army Museum, it was the Royal Navy that spearheaded the development of the tank.

Mr Johnston said: Initially called landships, they became known as tanks after factory workers at William Fosters and Co. in Lincoln likened them to steel water tanks.

There were two types of tanks, male and female versions. The male version had two quick firing 6-pounder naval guns attached while the female carried five machine guns.

The tank was not ready for deployment until 1916, and even then it was considered hasty by the French who felt their use in limited numbers had cost the Allied forces the crucial advantage of surprise.

Despite Britain's early breakthroughs, Germany would go on to innovate mechanised warfare during World War Two

If they didn't break down, the early models remained vulnerable to high calibre weaponry and grenade attacks

The battle took place ten weeks into The Somme. The great advance hadn't gone as planned and Britain has suffered 60,000 casualties already. Fighting had regressed and shrunk into smaller, localised battles and one of such was Flers-Courcelette.

Churchill considered the design too primitive for successful deployment. Yet the need for a decisive victory meant that the battle was too crucial to not take the risk.

On the 15 September 1916, 32 tanks were fielded in battle for the first time ever, and made their way across no mans land as part of a creeping barrage.

Though their introduction served a purpose in terms of shocking the enemy, theyre effectiveness was debatable.

Early on in the battle the use of a tank alongside an infantry assault inflicted huge casualties on the enemy at Leuze Wood, but it was eventually stopped at Combles Trench after being set alight.

The tanks were too primitive to make a lasting impact but did prompt a mass manufacture of later models, pictured

None of the 49 tanks shipped over for the battle were ever used in warfare again, including the nine that survived the battle

Many others broke down or failed to navigate the wide trenches, while their armour failed to stop large calibre bullets.

The tanks vulnerabilities were exposed and even the nine surviving vehicles were so badly damaged that they played no further role in the war.

Even when they did break through enemy lines, the tactics were so new that troops had little idea how to capitalise on their advantage, meaning the battle, while ending in victory, was far from decisive.

Mr Johnston said What they [tanks] did show, however, was the enormous potential of armoured warfare and in 1917 the Royal Tank Corp, the oldest tank corps in existence was formed, which allowed crucial tactical development and refinement.

Their usage was a game changer in warfare. While the victory was achieved, it was far from decisive and the Germans had retained much of their ground. he added.

Recognising their lack of progress with tanks, the Germans often chose to restore damaged British tanks rather than build their own

The use of the tank paved the way for the creation of the Royal Tank Corp in 1917 which led to technical improvements

Ironically, it was actually the Germans who would go on to use tanks to greater effect in future conflicts, with the Panzer division often dominating the battlefield in the Second World War.

Recognising the tanks capabilities for warfare, Adolf Hitler ensured the mass mechanisation of his army along with an innovative battle tactic called the Blitzkrieg  a quick, powerful and mobile attack designed to shock and outmanoeuvre enemies.

In the hundred years since their introduction, the tank has gone through a battle tested and technologically led evolution making it crucial in ground combat.

Though it was a British innovation that changed combat forever, Flers-Courcelette will be remembered ultimately as a failure for the tank.
Former prime minister John Howard has warned it would be wrong to repeat the mistake of 20 years ago and try to marginalise Pauline Hanson and her supporters.

Senator Hanson caused a stir on Wednesday night with her first speech declaring Australia is in danger of being swamped with Muslims - 20 years after making the same warning about Asians.

Mr Howard told ABC TV, Senator Hanson was entitled to be treated in a respectful fashion by the rest of parliament.

Scroll down for video

John Howard, left, has jumped to the defence of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party

Pauline Hanson and her One Nation supporters 'should not be demonised' by parliament, John Howard said

The former prime minister admitted to making a mistake by marginalising Hanson following her maiden speech 20 years ago about Asians swamping the country

'In relation to Pauline Hanson, the mistake that was made 20 years ago of trying to demonise her and demonise her supporters should not be repeated,' Mr Howard said.

He argued that people who voted for Senator Hanson were not racists or bigots and did not vote for her because of their views on immigration.

'They voted for her because they're unhappy with the mainstream political parties,' Mr Howard said.

'A form of disillusionment or protest vote, yes.'

It reflected poorly on the Greens that they walked out early, he said.

Special Minister of State Scott Ryan said he profoundly disagreed with Senator Hanson's call to end immigration.

Mr Howard also says Hanson's supporters are not racists or bigots - they are just sick of the mainstream political parties

'I'm a strong supporter of our non-discriminatory immigration policy, it's incredibly successful and serves Australia well,' he told ABC Radio.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale defended his party's walkout during Senator Hanson's 'vulgar speech'.

'We wouldn't dignify it by staying in there,' he told Sky News.

The Greens left during Hanson's speech, their leader Richard Di Natale, labelled it as vulgar

Ms Hanson's maiden speech this time focused on Australia being in 'danger of being swamped by Muslims'

Labor frontbencher Tony Burke says the silliest argument anyone could make about Senator Hanson was to claim she was stupid.

'She is smart, she is strategic, she is calculating,' he said.
Day after day throughout this long, hot summer, the same extraordinary tableau has played out in the Mediterranean. Rickety boats, many barely seaworthy, and invariably groaning with migrants including women and children, have made their uncertain way towards the coast of Italy.

Often they are intercepted by military vessels from one European nation or another  including Britain  and the passengers pulled to safety. All the boats have come from Libya, but the migrants are not taken back there and deposited on the shore. That would be far too sensible. Instead, they are ferried to Italy, where most seek to make their way up into central Europe, with an eye on Germany or the UK.

The BBC sometimes hails these rescues as miracle escapes. But that is not the full story. As I discovered for myself in war-torn Libya, the truth is much more complex and disturbing. For these boat people are part of a billion-pound business operated by Islamic extremists.

Sickening: IS filmed the beheading of Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach

David Camerons government used the might of the RAF to help depose Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. Pictured, Gaddafi (left) and Mr Cameron delivers a speech in Benghazi in 2011 (right)

It is just one of the most visible signs of the chaos which has engulfed Libya since David Camerons government used the might of the RAF to help depose Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. This week, the Commons foreign affairs select committee laid the blame for Libyas collapse into violent disorder and anarchy  and the resulting rise of Islamic State there  firmly on Mr Cameron.

The committee report said that the intervention  carried out alongside the French air force  was undertaken with no exhaustive intelligence analysis, led without formal planning to regime change and failed in its moral responsibility to help reconstruct the country after the fall of Gaddafi.

It is the result of that ill-planned intervention that today, all along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, more than one million people are waiting in the searing heat to begin the final leg of their journey to Europe.

Originating from countries such as Chad, Mali, Sudan, Ghana, Somalia and Pakistan, as well as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, they have travelled to within striking distance of Europe using al tubbu  Arabic for the Tube.

Migrants in an overcrowded boat, which was about to capsize, are rescued by the Italian Navy at Sicilian Strait in the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy on May 25

All along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, more than one million people are waiting to begin the final leg of their journey to Europe. Pictured, migrants arrive at the Zawiyah port, a naval base some 45 kilometres west of Tripoli, after they were rescued from the sea

This is the nickname for the network of smuggling routes from sub-Saharan Africa to the shores of the Med, which were once used to carry gold, spices and ivory by camel train from the heart of the continent to Europe.

Now, the Tube  which sees Islamic gangs pass their cargo on to other traders at established stopping points in the Sahara  is being used to transport a far richer bounty: people.

I found irrefutable evidence that Islamic State is now using the country as a base to smuggle terror cells into Europe among the migrants, a fact that has been ignored despite warnings by British and European intelligence agencies

As I discovered, the scale of this booming business is nothing short of incredible. At ports and cities from east to west, the streets are lined with migrants. Many gather by roadsides, hoping to be hired as labour to help pay for the final stage of their journey. Thousands more are held at detention centres, which are in reality little more than holding pens used by armed gangs before the human cargo is shipped on to Europe.

More are held at illegal camps run by rebels who murdered President Muammar Gaddafi five years ago, after he had warned that the country would be taken over by Islamic extremists and criminal gangs.

His words have been proven horribly prescient. Indeed, I found irrefutable evidence that Islamic State is now using the country as a base to smuggle terror cells into Europe among the migrants, a fact that has been ignored despite warnings by British and European intelligence agencies.

Libya has been in chaos since Gaddafi was overthrown by rebels backed by Nato airstrikes. Pictured, a rebel fighter looks at a burning vehicle belonging forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, after an air strike by coalition forces near Benghazi in March 2011

The sheer scale of this crisis has gone unreported  television crews and journalists have hitherto only reported from rescue boats after invitations by charities keen to raise more funds  because Islamic State has offered bounties of up to $1 million for each Westerner handed over to the fanatics, who have set up military training camps throughout the country.

As a result, correspondents based in Libya have fled, while foreign embassies are locked and deserted, the staff long since evacuated. Eerily, at one 400-room international hotel in Tripoli recently  which was packed with businessmen after the war ended in 2011  I was the only guest.

The reason for the terror is understandable. Libya has been in chaos since Gaddafi was overthrown by rebels backed by Nato airstrikes. And into this vacuum has stepped Islamic State, who preach that all non-believers should be slaughtered, along with homosexuals and adulterers.

Islamic State stepped into the vacuum after Gaddafi was overthrown. Pictured, a pro-government fighter looks at the damage caused by an IS suicide attack in Sirte, Libya

Under siege from Western airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, where the ISIS headquarters are based, the terror group has shipped thousands of fighters to Libya, where it plans to utilise the porous borders and flood Europe with terrorists.

The extremists announced their arrival in Libya last year by beheading 31 Egyptian Christians. Forced into orange boiler suits, the victims were massacred on a beach and film of the sickening event was released to the world.

With bases in the east, south and west of the country, Islamic State are believed to have more than 6,000 fighters in Libya. So far, they have crucified non-believers, murdered Western hostages and introduced compulsory re-education classes advocating barbaric interpretation of Islamic law.

Islamic State extremists have crucified non-believers, murdered Western hostages and introduced compulsory re-education classes advocating barbaric interpretation of Islamic law

With three rival governments all claiming power, and millions of guns in circulation, there has been a complete breakdown in law and order.

Such anarchy means that it is simple for Islamic State to send extremists among the migrants who make up the mass exodus to Europe.

Indeed, a senior Libyan military intelligence official told me that ISIS militants sought to disguise themselves by travelling with their families, without weapons, as normal illegal immigrants. They will wear American dress and have English language papers so they cause no suspicion.

To many of the migrants waiting here for boats, the prospect of housing and free benefits in the EU are an unimaginable bounty, coming as they do from countries where there is no welfare state, and where millions live on less than a dollar a day.

Rebel soldiers fighting against Col. Muammar Gaddafi fire a Katyusha rocket at the frontline March 9, 2011 near Ras Lanuf, Libya. Islamic State now smuggle fighters into the country

Whats more, many of these so-called refugees  who in reality come from countries that are desperately poor, but not at war  are also able to buy false identities from black market counterfeiters operating inside Libya, with fake Syrian passports available for less than 5,000.

These have become gold dust since the EU has agreed to accept genuine refugees from Syria and Iraq.

With all this in mind, pity poor Reda Essa, an army colonel and commander of the Libyan coastguard responsible for combating the problem.

He has at his disposal one old tug boat and two small zodiac craft to patrol hundreds of miles of coastline. Its a thankless task.

David Cameron meets patients and staff at the Tripoli Medical Centre in Tripoli, Libya, in September 2011

I cannot be a police officer for the rest of Europe, he told me, banging the table in frustration. We dont even have night-vision goggles to see the smuggler boats with. We have no equipment. I have been trying to warn about these dangers, but no one listens.

His despair is understandable. The EU last year launched Operation Sophia, a scheme that has seen a flotilla of warships from various EU nations picking up migrants who are crossing the Mediterranean.

Yet, perversely, these efforts to save the migrants are only adding to the scale of the crisis, with smugglers reassuring their cargo that there is little risk of drowning since EU vessels will pick them up. Indeed, most of the military ships take the rescued migrants into Italian ports. Colonel Reda scoffed at the suggestion that Operation Sophia was helping resolve the crisis  and said it was only encouraging more people to cross.

The goals of the operation are good, but the idea is all wrong. The only good it does is create more migrants. Its like Europe is saying: Come and hurry to get here  we will pick you up and make you safe. It makes my job impossible.

The EU last year launched Operation Sophia, a scheme that has seen a flotilla of warships from various EU nations picking up migrants who are crossing the Mediterranean. Pictured, shipwrecked migrants on a German frigate

These efforts to save the migrants are only adding to the scale of the crisis, with smugglers reassuring their cargo that there is little risk of drowning since EU vessels will pick them up. Pictured, migrants rescued off the coast of Libya arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa

So concerned is the countrys head of the intelligence operation against Islamic State that I was summoned to his office so he could issue a public plea for help from the West to fight the terrorists. These terrorists in Libya are a threat to the whole world, Mohammed al-Ganedi told me.

They are training people in camps, brainwashing them, and sending them with the migrants into Europe. Accustomed to working in the shadows, General al-Ganedi knows more than most about the activities of Islamic State.

The terrorists we are fighting come from Mali, Sudan, Chad, Somalia  the same people as the migrants, the intelligence chief told me. These are poor, uneducated people. They get offered up to 3,000 dinar just to join  about 1,500  which is a fortune to them.

The leaders brainwash them at their camps and send money back to their families. These ordinary Africans are now among the most ferocious fighters, and are led by foreign fighters from all over the Middle East. They become fanatics.

So grave is the threat from Islamic State that former rebels in the war against Gaddafi  backed by Britains SAS and SBS  are now waging war in Sirte, Gaddafis former home town on the Mediterranean, which is the headquarters of Islamic States operation, and from where terrorists have been sent among the boat people to Europe.

Former rebels in the war against Gaddafi are now waging war in Sirte, pictured, Gaddafis former home town on the Mediterranean, which is the headquarters of Islamic States operation, and from where terrorists have been sent among the boat people to Europe

In one case some 40 Tunisian members of Islamic State were reported to have tried to leave Sirte by ship. Pictured, heavily damaged buildings after the city was captured by Libyan forces

In one instance, a Libyan people smuggler was reportedly offered 40,000 to ship 25 Islamic State fighters from Libya to Europe. In a separate case, some 40 Tunisian members of Islamic State were reported to have tried to leave Sirte by ship.

Certainly, it is all too easy for them to melt into the huge numbers attempting to make the perilous crossing from stretches of coastline notorious for smugglers.

As one people smuggler told me, anyone with money can make the trip to Europe.

A tough character who always carries a gun, he also confirmed that the smugglers had forged business links with Islamic State, who control key areas to the east and west of Tripoli for people smuggling. Called fishing by those involved, people smuggling is the biggest business  after arms dealing  in Libya, with each boatload of migrants earning the smugglers 100,000.

We keep the migrants in camps, empty houses or just in fields near the beach. The lorries bringing them from the south are in constant contact with us. Everybody knows what is going on, but nobody sees anything. If you say anything, you will die

In a good season we can make $5 million, this individual told me. He added: We keep the migrants in camps, empty houses or just in fields near the beach. The lorries bringing them from the south are in constant contact with us.

Everybody knows what is going on, but nobody sees anything. If you say anything, you will die.

For the authorities attempting to combat such violent, determined gangs, the fight grows ever more desperate. Mohammed Kahloon is in charge of one official government detention centre, which houses 500 migrants caught living illegally in the country.

There is no government, no law, criminals everywhere  how can we stop it? he asked me.

We cant. Its impossible. You have all sorts among the migrants  extremists, criminals, ordinary people  a huge mix of humanity. All are here and all want to get to Europe. We simply cannot cope.

Mr Kahloon added: There are more and more of these people coming every week. Of course extremists are coming in with the migrants. They would be stupid not to use this route, and they are not stupid.

Those fighting Islamic States extremists in Sirte (pictured) have first-hand experience of just how big a threat the Islamists pose to Libya and the wider world

Those fighting Islamic States extremists in Sirte have first-hand experience of just how big a threat the Islamists pose to Libya and the wider world.

During a furlough from the frontline, a group of Libyan fighters told me how these fanatics  including migrants recruited to join Islamic State for a cash bounty  are using women and children as human shields, and also packing them into vehicles driven by suicide bombers which are launched at the Libyan military forces.

They are lunatics, one fighter told me, as he sipped coffee and smoked. A suicide bomber drove a family towards us.

We couldnt shoot. The car exploded before it reached us. Afterwards, we found a womans leg  the toenails were still painted.

When I asked what they did with any Islamic State prisoners, the man shrugged. We kill them, he said. What else can we do?

We must hope those being rescued at sea day after day  along with the hundreds of thousands of others waiting to head to Europe from Libya  are put through the most scrupulous screening to ensure terrorists are not hiding among them.

But, disturbingly, that may be too much to hope for from Europes cack-handed politicians and law enforcement agencies.
At least two further jihadi fighters released from Guantanamo Bay have returned to terror groups in the Middle East.

In the first six months of 2016, two more militants released from the U.S. naval base in Cuba, have returned to fighting, the US government said yesterday.

Washington has confirmed that a total of nine people freed from Guantanamo have now rejoined militant groups since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

At least two further jihadi fighters released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have returned to terror groups in the Middle East

The report said the number of militants freed by the Obama administration whom U.S. agencies 'suspect' of having returned to action dropped to 11 from 12 between January and July.

An official familiar with the latest statistics said this number dropped because a freed detainee previously categorized as 'suspected' of returning to the battlefield now has been confirmed to have done so.

The former detainees' identities and their crimes have not been revealed.

But the report, seen by MailOnline, states the White House considers anything from recruiting or financing terrorist groups to carrying out attacks to be terrorist activities.

The United States opened the Guantanamo detention facility in 2002, the year after the September 11 attacks by Islamist militants on New York and Washington, to hold what it described as foreign terrorism suspects.

Most have been held without charge or trial for more than a decade, drawing international condemnation.

Obama had hoped to close the prison during his first year in office.

In February, he rolled out a plan aimed at shutting it, but that is opposed by many Republican lawmakers and some of his fellow Democrats.

Overall, the figures released by ODNI still showed that the administration of George W. Bush released far more detainees from Guantanamo than the Obama administration has.

The figures show that 113 of the 532 detainees released by Bush - 21.2 per cent - have returned to fighting, while the nine detainees released since 2009 who have re-engaged are only 5.6 per cent of the prisoners freed by Obama.

In all, the Obama administration has released 161 prisoners from Guantanamo since 2009, 17 of them in the first six months of this year, ODNI said.
It seems Mexico agrees with Donald Trump's plans to build a wall to keep out illegal immigrants - but only on its southern border with Central America.

Mexicans are calling for the border wall to keep out Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Hondurans fleeing violence in their own countries.

They complain 'hordes' of immigrants pass through on their way to the United States -who are then simply deported back to Mexico rather than their home countries by the US.

Central American migrants are left stuck in border cities with Mexican officials unable to afford to send them back to their own countries, according to an article by one of the largest newspapers in the border state of Tamaulipas, El Manana, titled: 'Yes to the Border Wall  but in Mexico's South.'

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Mexicans are calling for the border wall to keep out Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Hondurans fleeing violence in their own countries (Immigrants from Central America await transport from the U.S. Border Patrol on August 17, 2016 in Roma, Texas)

The real estate mogul sparked international outrage last year when he unveiled his idea for a giant wall on the US border with Mexico - which he claimed Mexico would pay for.

But while Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has mocked Trump's plans, many Mexicans praised the concept of a border wall.

' Trump's idea of a border wall is a good one but it should be on the southern border with Central America in order to stop the flow of Central Americans from entering both countries,' the El Manana board wrote in July.

The paper also called for proper immigration checkpoints on the southern border.

El Manana even criticized Hillary Clinton for failing to raise the issue of border security.

The newspaper says that many illegal immigrants turn to crime as shelters can often only provide a few days of food and bedding.

'Many of these migrants when they are unable to find an honest way of life turn to robberies, kidnappings, extortion, and in the worst cases join the ranks of organized crime,' El Manana's piece claimed.

A Mexican newspaper complains of 'hordes' of immigrants passing through on their way to the United States - who are then simply deported back to Mexico rather than their home countries by the US

The UN estimates 400,000 Central Americans cross illegally into Mexico each year

The UN estimates 400,000 Central Americans cross illegally into Mexico each year.

As many as half are fleeing violence and gangs in their home countries yet most immigrants are eventually deported back home. Mexico deported 175,000 Central Americans last year - a 68 per cent increase from 2014.

That was the same year that the Central American refugee crisis hit headlines when thousands of migrant children arrived without their families at the US border.

The US has sent $75million for equipment and training to Mexico to help with the crackdown on immigrants, according to the Times.

One Honduran migrant, Rosa - whose husband, mother, sister, brother-in-law and two nephews were murdered in her homeland - fled with her two teenage sons earlier this year, Financial Times reports.

'Mexico has become a wall for migrants,' said Sister Magdalena Silva, co-ordinator of Cafemin- a privately run shelter for refugees in Mexico City. 'The current policy is to arrest migrants to stop them from getting to the US border.'

Mexicans agree with Donald Trump's concept of a border wall to keep out immigrants - but want it in the south of their country

She left Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, with her teenage sons in January 2016 after gangs tried to recruit her 14-year-old.

'We know when a gang targets someone, they don't leave them alone and they follow through on their threats,' she said.

Rosa and her sons turned themselves over to authorities when they arrived in Mexico and were channeled into asylum procedures.

The family were shipped to a detention center in Mexico City where they were held in custody, in separate cell blocks for three months, before receiving the devastating news that their application for for asylum had been turned down.

Eventually they were allowed out of the detention center and sent to a refugee center.

But after their application was rejected, and her sons witnessed a woman lying in her own blood just a few blocks from the center, she decided to go north to the US.
The number of state employees on salaries paid by the taxpayer has fallen to its lowest level since the 1990s, new figures reveal.

They showed that the level of public sector employment has fallen by more than a million over the past seven years.

The axe fell hardest on local councils, where numbers of staff were down more than three per cent in a year, and where the workforce is at its smallest since current recording methods began in 1999.

The number of state employees on salaries paid by the taxpayer has fallen to its lowest level since the 1990s, new figures reveal

Figures compiled by the Office for National Statistics also showed a major fall in the number of bureaucrats and managers classed as working in 'public administration'.

Sharp staff reductions indicated success for former Prime Minister David Cameron and his then Chancellor George Osborne  who tried after the 2010 election to reduce the bloated public sector.

Overall, just 16.8 per cent of employees are now classed as in the public sector, down from over 20 per cent in the 2000s.

Although numbers are skewed by bank nationalisations and job reclassifications, the figures show a huge shrinking of the state payroll.

Sharp staff reductions indicated success for former Prime Minister David Cameron (right) and his then Chancellor George Osborne (left)

At the same time, the private sector has produced nearly five million more jobs, up from 21,613,000 in March 1999 to 26,530,000 in June, once reclassifications and nationalisations are discounted.

There were 5,332,000 state sector workers in June this year, the ONS said, 13,000 fewer than in March and 20,000 lower than a year before. Local council workers numbered 2,196,000, nearly 750,000 down from the years before 2010.

Around half of the 72,000 dip in local government workers over the past year was a technical fall rather than a real one, the ONS said.

It was due to teachers and school staff whose schools switched to academy status being reclassified as central government rather than council employees.

Central government employee levels rose by 51,000 in a year, the figures showed, partly due the academy switch and partly to rising NHS employment.

The NHS, yesterday's report said, has overtaken education as the main public sector employer, with 1,619,000 workers in June against 1,515,000 in the education sector.

Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: 'Much progress has been made when it comes to rebalancing the labour market between the private and public sectors. The private sector is key to economic growth, and the fact that we've seen over three million more people in work here since 2010 is welcome news.

'Of course, this private sector growth ultimately ensures that we can pay for excellent public services and the vital work done by the dedicated people who work in the public sector.' Claire Kober of the councils' umbrella body the Local Government Association said: 'Local government began the painful but necessary process of redesigning the way we deliver the huge range of services that our local communities rely on back in 2010.
A Spanish bullet train stranded 109 passengers in a small town after the driver said his shift had ended for the night and he refused to go any further.

State rail company Renfe said the Santander to Madrid express train stopped at the station in Osorno, less than halfway to the Spanish capital.

The rail company organised buses and taxis to take the passengers to their destinations after the train came to a halt at 9.15pm on Tuesday.

State rail company Renfe said the Santander to Madrid express train stopped at the station in Osorno, less than halfway to the Spanish capital.

Renfe says railway rules limit the number of hours engineers can work each day for safety reasons.
Amber Rudd is considering an inquiry into police behaviour at the Battle of Orgreave

Lord Tebbit has slammed plans for an official inquiry into police behaviour at the 1984 Battle of Orgreave - one of the worst clashes of the miners' strike.

The peer, who was a Cabinet minister at the time, said the probe was 'ill-advised'.

And he even joked that he should be made chairman in order to keep costs to 'sensible' levels.

The intervention came as it emerged Home Secretary Amber Rudd is set to appoint a senior lawyer next month to carry out a review of evidence in the case.

South Yorkshire Police has faced allegations that officers orchestrated violence with miners at the coking plant in 1984 and went on to falsify evidence.

Theresa May indicated support for an inquiry last year when she was home secretary.

But David Cameron previously played down the prospect, pointing out that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had already examined the issues.

There have also been concerns about the potential costs of a major probe.

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham said reports that an inquiry would go ahead were 'encouraging'.

It comes amid concern by police officers that too much time and money is being spent on historic inquiries.

However, demands have grown after evidence of cover-up and misconduct by the South Yorkshire force was presented during the recent independent panel inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

The so-called 'Battle of Orgreave' erupted on June 18, 1984, between 10,000 policemen and 5,000 picketing miners at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham.

Police said they had acted in self-defence, but miners said the violence had been sparked by officers.

Nearly 100 miners were charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and related offences.

But the prosecution of all 95 collapsed the following year after concerns emerged about police statements.

South Yorkshire Police referred itself to the IPCC in 2012 over the allegations.

The so-called 'Battle of Orgreave' erupted on June 18, 1984, between 10,000 policemen and 5,000 picketing miners at a British Steel coking plant near Rotherham

Nearly 100 miners were charged with rioting, unlawful assembly and related offences. But the prosecution of all 95 miners collapsed. Pictured, clashes at the picket line

Police said they had acted in self-defence, but miners said the violence had been sparked by officers. Pictured, the police line during the strike at Orgreave

But the IPCC said in March last year it had not found any 'direct evidence' that senior officers within the force colluded to instruct colleagues to commit perjury.

Following that decision, the IPCC decided not to publish its full, unredacted report into Orgreave because it may have interfered with the still ongoing investigation into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Earlier this year, the Yorkshire Post said it had seen redacted sections of the report revealing that the same senior officers and solicitor were involved in the aftermath of Orgreave and the Hillsborough disaster.

Lord Tebbit told MailOnline: 'I can only say that to me it seems an extremely ill advised thing to have an inquiry into the event.

'The only problem there is that Scargill's thugs tried to stop people going to work.

'I can't see any point in it. If it were to be that we decided to have an inquiry then the easiest way to get costs down to sensible costs would be to have me as chairman. I would get it done in a day.'

Lord Tebbit, who was a Cabinet minister in 1984, has said the Orgreave inquiry is 'ill advised'

But some Twitter users questioned whether the costs of the inquiry would be worthwhile

Former policeman Mike Freeman has told how officers were ordered to write statements for arrests they had not made, while veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner said he saw dogs and horses being set on picketers.

Earlier this week a delegation from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC) met Ms Rudd to press the case for an inquiry and met sympathetic politicians at Westminster, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

A source told The Times that the Home Secretary wants to push ahead with an investigation that delivers answers that are "complete" but does not want "something that could drag on for years".

Rotherham's Labour MP Sarah Champion posted: "Looking increasingly hopeful for an Orgreave inquiry. Well done @orgreavejustice for your campaigning."
A woman has been fined $117 by the Electoral Commission for failing to vote - even though she died a month before an election.

Nurse Wendy Scarce lost her battle with cancer and pneumonia and died in February at the age of 66, a month before the Gold Coast City Council elections.

But her heartbroken son, Dale, said his mother was sent an 'apparent failure to vote' notice in July and has now been mailed a letter demanding she cough up $117.

Mr Scarce, who lives at his mother's former home in Worongary, told Daily Mail Australia that he was still grieving the loss of his mother and that the letters could not have come at a worse time.

Nurse Wendy Scarce (pictured with her son, Dale) was sent a fine for failing to vote in an election that took place a month after she died

Dale Scarce said his mother was sent an 'apparent failure to vote' notice in July and has now been sent a letter demanding she cough up $117

'It's hard enough to come to terms with losing my mother. I still expect to come home one day from work and have a hot meal on the table for me and to have her back.

'It's been financially draining to pay for my mother's funeral and organise everything, and now to get two letters about my mother not voting when she passed away before the election.'

Mr Scarce, 27, said he thought the Electoral Commission would be notified after his mother's death certificate was issued - and said officials 'needed a update from the Stone Age'.

'It shows our government is more interested in money than doing its job,' he said.

'I will take them to my mother's grave and say "here you go, this is were my mum has been living since the end of February".'

Mrs Scarce fought off cancer 12 years ago and was in remission for a decade, only for it to come back late last year. She held her son's hand as she died in hospital in February.

Mr Scarce (pictured with his mother in younger years) said he was still grieving the loss of his mother and that the letters could not have come at a worse time

'She was a very pleasant, friendly person to know,' Mr Scarce told Daily Mail Australia.

'She was the type of person who if she saw an injured animal she would take it in and nurse it back to health.

'She was so outgoing and she was the type of person who would do anything to help someone and was a fighter until the day she passed away.'

A spokesman for Electoral Commission Queensland told the Gold Coast Bulletin that 'a limited number of electors' were wrongly sent fines.

'The full details at this point are unknown, however the commission is working to ensure that the problem is rectified quickly  those who have been excused and incorrectly issued with a PIN will not be penalised.

'The commission cares about those electors affected and obtaining a quick resolution is our priority.'
one of the wounded victims as Gregory Gilbert, saying he was in critical but stable condition

He then turned gun on himself as police closed in on him a mile away from crime scene

, Wyoming, say Rosenberg, 77, opened fire on his neighbors Wednesday morning, killing one person and injuring two others

A 77-year-old man who shot three people, killing one, at the senior apartment complex in Wyoming had been angry about frequent poker games in the building's common area, according to a neighbor.

One person died at the Heritage Court Apartments in Cheyenne and two others were wounded in the shooting that took place Wednesday morning.

Larry Rosenberg, the shooter, turned the gun on himself as police surrounded him in a neighborhood about a mile away, Cheyenne police said.

Mary Eastman, 80, said Rosenberg handed her a letter as she headed out to shop the morning of the shooting. Eastman said she left the note in her apartment and didn't read it until after the shooting.

Deadly shooting: A man killed by a 77-year-old shooter at a senior citizen apartment in Wyoming is covered by a sheet on a stretcher Wednesday

Police gather evidence at the scene where Larry Rosenberg opened fire on his neighbors at the Heritage Court Apartment sin Cheyenne and then killed himself

'His problem really was that damned poker gambling. That was it. That was all he complained about,' Eastman said of what Rosenberg wrote.

But Eastman said Rosenberg wasn't the only person with concerns about poker games held three days a week in the common area. The issue came up at a recent meeting at which residents told the apartment complex managers about any concerns they had, she said.

'Sunday, Monday and then Wednesday,' Eastman said. 'That's too much. To haul them people in we don't even know. We don't want to know them. No, we don't. They're taking up our space. Sleeping on the sofa. Sleeping on the recliner.'

Heritage Court Apartments has 32 affordable housing units for households with at least one member age 62 or older, according to its website.

Eastman said she liked Rosenberg and they often went to yard sales together. But Eastman's daughter, Margaret Rosso, said Rosenberg had become standoffish in recent months.

'He started getting more and more distant, complaining about the facility and about people and just kind of pulling away, isolating himself more and more,' Rosso said.

The shooting was reported at 11.11am Wednesday at the apartment complex at 3912 Gregg Way in Cheyenne.

Crime scene: A Cheyenne police officer tapes off North College Drive after a shooting at Heritage Court Apartments Wednesday

Motive: A neighbor said Rosenberg had left her a note writing that he was angry about frequent poker games in the building's common area

Two women grieve after hearing news that a shooting at Heritage Court Apartments Wednesday in northeast Cheyenne, Wyoming, left one dead and two others injured

One of the victims was shot inside the building and the other two were shot in the parking lot.

Officers who responded to the scene tracked down Larry Rosenberg to an area near Hot Springs Avenue and Chestnut Drive, about a mile away from the initial crime scene.

Cheyenne police spokesman Dan Long said as officers approached him, the 77-year-old man fatally shot himself. He was reportedly in possession of a handgun and a rifle at the time.

The two victims who were wounded were transported to Cheynne Regional Medical Center for treatment.

A family member has identified one of the victims as Gregory Gilbert, telling CBS News Channel 5 he was in critical but stable condition, and was able to communicate Wednesday night.
Mr Justice Peter Jackson is thought to have used the first ever emoji in a ruling

A High Court judge included a smiley face emoji in an official court judgment involving two troubled children.

It is thought to be the first time that a High Court document has adopted an electronic communication symbol.

Mr Justice Peter Jackson made his ruling in the High Court family case in which a recent white British Muslim convert was thought to have tried to take four children  the brother and sister and two much younger children of whom he is the natural father  to Syria.

The man, identified only as Mr A, is now serving an 18-year prison sentence after being convicted in a criminal court in July for firearms offences. The family were stopped in Istanbul and sent back to Lancashire, where the brother and sister were taken into foster care.

The judge used the emoji to explain why he thought the childrens mother had been duped into travelling to Turkey, rather than being complicit in the plot. He said police had misinterpreted a message asking a relative to look after the family pets.

Mr Justice Peter Jackson said in his judgment: The message said that the family would be back on August 3. It has a [happy emoji] beside the date. After the family left, the police searched the caravan. They found a message and say that the [happy emoji] is winking, meaning that the mother knew they wouldnt be coming back.

Mr Justice Peter Jackson made his ruling in the High Court family case in which a recent white British Muslim convert was thought to have tried to take four children  the brother and sister and two much younger children of whom he is the natural father  to Syria.

I dont agree that the [happy emoji] is winking. It is just a [happy emoji]. The police are wrong about that.

The judge added in his 13-page ruling, which was written in plain language: This judgment is as short as possible so that the mother and older children can follow it.
The failure of police and prosecutors to secure a single conviction of any individual for female genital mutilation in more than 30 years is a national scandal, MPs said on Wednesday.

They said there is evidence that young girls are being mutilated at a rate of nearly 500 a month, but doctors, nurses and teachers may be ignoring their legal duty to report cases.

Ministers should consider copying the French system which requires that girls under six must have routine medical examinations, and which has led a a large number of successful FGM prosecutions, MPs of the Home Affairs committee said.

London community worker Sarian Karim Kamara, from Peckham, underwent female genital mutilation as a child in Sierra Leone and now works as an anti-FGM compaigner

Genital mutilation of girls, widely practised in Islamic countries in East and West Africa, and in parts of the Middle East, is thought to be followed by some groups in Britain. It has been illegal since 1985 but only two people have ever been brought to court, and both were acquitted last year.

The MPs report said the lack of success was beyond belief. They added: That is a lamentable record and the failure to identify cases, to prosecute and to achieve convictions can only have negative consequences for those who are brave enough to come forward to highlight this crime.

In the absence of successful prosecutions, FGM remains a national scandal that is continuing to result in the preventable mutilation of thousands of girls.

It said that FGM was a hidden crime practiced on a daily basis, and gave estimates that in 2011 some 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales were affected. Whitehall figures sugggest there were 5,700 cases in the most recent year of counting.

The report said that disciplinary procedures introduced last year for medical staff and teachers who do not report FGM cases in girls under 18 were insufficient and ineffective. There must be tougher punishments for those who look the other way, it said.

It called for examination of the French system of regular examinations of young children, but said this would amount to a radical change in British policy.

Playwright Charlene James - another anti-FGM activist - wrote a play called Cuttin' It addressing female genital mutilation, which played at the Young Vic Theatre in Southward this summer

But it warned the French system may only have shifted the risk to older girls, by encouraging some parents simply to wait for their daughters to get beyond the usual age range for the routine medical examinations before acting.

We are also concerned that the examination itself could be unnecessarily traumatic for children, they said, but medical examinations could have a role as a last resort in high-risk cases.

As improvements to risk assessment methods continue, there may be a stronger case for a system that requires health professionals to carry out regular medical checks when a girl is identified as being at high risk, the report said.

The MPs welcomed efforts to protect girls at risk of being taken abroad to undergo FGM but warned better intelligence must be provided to officers.

It called on ministers to adopt a more sophisticated, data-driven approach to eradicating the practice.

Tory MP Tim Loughton said he was 'dismayed' that there have not been any convictions for FGM-related offences

Tory Tim Loughton, interim chair of the committee, welcomed steps taken by the Government but said: We are dismayed that there have been no convictions for FGM-related offences.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: Female genital mutilation is an abhorrent and damaging practice and like all agencies involved we are determined to hold those responsible to account.
Reported cases of gonorrhoea in Perth have more than doubled over the past five years, prompting health authorities in Western Australia to call for safer sex practices.

Notifications of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Perth have jumped from 684 notifications in 2011 to 1432 notifications in 2015, according to WA Health.

Across Western Australia, more than 2000 confirmed cases have already been reported in 2016. People aged 20-39 years account for the vast majority of recent notifications.

Notifications of gonorrhoea in Perth have more than doubled over the past five year

Dr Paul Armstrong, from WA Health, said the increase in notifications showed the safe sex message was not getting through to all.

'Gonorrhoea was once an infection that disproportionally affected Aboriginal people and gay and homosexually active men (MSM), however a large portion of new cases are spread across heterosexual, and non-Aboriginal men and women in metropolitan Perth,' he said.

Dr Armstrong said the bacterial infection often did not show symptoms so it was important that anyone that had unsafe sex get a check up.

If not detected and treated early, gonorrhoea can lead to infertility in both men and women. In extreme cases the infection can spread to the joints, heart and brain, causing lasting damage.

National data shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are still over-represented in gonorrhoea statistics.

WA Health has urged people to practice safe sex by always using condoms

The University of New South Wales' Kirby Institute, which publishes an annual surveillance report, found rates of diagnoses among Indigenous Australians to be 18 times that of the nonIndigenous population in 2014.

Across Australia there were 15,786 cases of gonorrhoea notified in 2014, an increased rate in both males, the institute said in its 2015 report.

The Gonorrhoea rate per 100,000 people was highest in the Northern Territory in 2014, followed by West Australia, NSW and Queensland.

Dr Armstrong said testing for gonorrhoea was simple, usually involving a urine test and possibly a swab of the affected area.

The infection can be treated easily with antibiotics.
This is the terrifying moment a driver was killed when his Tesla car crashed into a parked lorry while the futuristic vehicle was reportedly in 'autopilot' mode.

The incident took place in China in January when Gao Yaning, 23, collided with the back of a road sweeper vehicle in the northeastern province of Hebei.

It was previously thought a crash in Florida in May involving a Tesla Model S in semi-automatic mode was the first fatality in one of the company's vehicles.

Another Tesla crashed in China in August after a driver mistakenly switched on the autopilot believing it to be a 'self driving' mode.

Gao Yaning, 23, was killed when his white Tesla, pictured, collided with the road sweeper

The footage shows the Tesla vehicle driving along a road in the Hebei province in China

The car gets closer and closer to the rear of the road sweeper without appearing to slow down

The footage shows the car driving along at speed along a road, seemingly without any problems, until it ploughs into the rear of the road sweeper.

There appears to be no attempt to slow the car down before the crash.

Tesla is investigating the cause of the fatal crash in January but said it had 'no way of knowing' if its semi-automated Autopilot system was engaged at the time of the accident, the company said in a statement last night.

But it is understood police found no evidence the vehicle's brakes had been engaged.

Tesla said: 'Because of the damage caused by the collision, the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers.'

China's CCTV on Wednesday reported 23-year-old Gao Yaning died in January after crashing into the back of a road sweeping vehicle while driving a Tesla car on a highway in the northeastern province of Hebei.

Gao's family filed the lawsuit in a Beijing court in July against Tesla and the Beijing-based dealer who had sold Gao the car.

Tesla, in its statement, said it had 'tried repeatedly to work with' Gao's family to determine the cause of the crash, but the family 'has not provided us with any additional information that would allow us to do so.'

Earlier this week, company chief executive Elon Musk said the firm is making major improvements to the Autopilot system used by its vehicles, which will dramatically reduce the number and severity of crashes in which they are involved.

The shocking footage then shows the Tesla smash into the back of the heavy vehicle

Tesla is investigating whether the autopilot was engaged although the firm says they have 'no way of knowing' if it was

Tesla's Autopilot system can maintain a set speed, keep the car within its lane and brake automatically. Radar, which was added to all Tesla vehicles starting in October 2014, currently helps the car see things that may be blocked to cameras in bright sunlight or bad weather.

The improvements announced Sunday call for Autopilot to rely more on radar and less on vehicle cameras. As part of that shift, the radar will use more advanced signal processing to create a better picture of the surrounding world.

Musk said that he has wanted to make these kinds of improvements to Autopilot since last year, but he was told it couldn't be done for various technical reasons.

'We really pushed hard on questioning all of those assumptions over the past few months,' he said. 'It was just a very hard problem. Nobody else could solve this.'

The crash in August saw driver Luo Zhen, 33, blame Tesla sales staff for 'overplaying the car's actual capabilities', claiming they implied that the system should take control of steering and braking under certain conditions.

But Tesla said Mr Zhen was responsible for maintaining control of the vehicle, but their investigation revealed his hands were not detected on the wheel.

The company struggled to sell its high-tech electric cars in China at first due to distribution issues and widespread concerns about charging vehicles.

There is no clear regulation on self-driving cars in China as the country is in the midst of drafting its policy toward the technology. Under current Chinese law, drivers must keep two hands on the wheel at all times.
Channel 4 boss Jay Hunt, pictured, said she wants to give the show 'a safe home'

Channel 4 says it will keep the Great British Bake Off 'just as it is' when the programme moves over to the commercial broadcaster next year.

Jay Hunt, chief creative officer at the channel, said she wants to give the show 'a safe home' and claimed she agreed to pay the 75million three-year asking price in a bid to stop it from being sold to a satellite broadcaster.

Viewers have voiced their concerns for the show's future after Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc announced they will be stepping down as presenters.

Miss Hunt said the show 'risked coming off free-to-air television altogether' after negotiations ended with the BBC. 'Acquiring the Great British Bake Off is not only a way of keeping a fantastic show from going behind a pay wall,' Miss Hunt wrote in an article for The Daily Telegraph.

'It will drive revenue for Channel 4 and help us make even more of the innovative and experimental programming that has seen us crowned channel of the year twice in three years.

'The Great British Bake Off will have a safe home. The show of soggy bottoms and good crumb will be made by exactly the same team who have always made it. We love it just as it is.'

Channel 4 has reportedly offered judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, both pictured yesterday, big money to keep them at the show

Miss Hunt insisted that Bake Off could have been a pay-to-watch show.

'By bringing the show to 4, Love Productions have ensured it will be on a terrestrial channel for audiences to enjoy for years to come,' she wrote. 'Bake Off wasn't created by 4 but it epitomises many of the values we were set up to promote. It's high quality. Diverse. Inspiring. But it's also a huge hit, not just here but globally.'

The channel has bought the rights from Love Productions  the company that owns the brand and is 70 per cent owned by Sky. Although the show will remain on free-to-view television, it will now run with advert intervals for the first time.

Miss Hunt said the acquisition would be funded by the channel's horse racing coverage moving over to ITV and claimed that the move would allow the broadcaster to continue to produce foreign current affairs programmes and dramas.

Fans lamented the loss of presenters Mel and Sue (pictured) as the show was on last night, after they announced they would quit when the series goes to Channel 4

Channel 4 has reportedly offered judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood big money to keep them at the show. Anna Richardson, who is Ms Perkins's girlfriend and the presenter of Channel 4's game show Naked Attraction, which controversially featured full-frontal nudity, is the favourite to take over as new Bake Off host, according to The Sun newspaper.

It is thought that the BBC could be set to offer Hollywood the job as the next presenter of Top Gear in a bid to keep him at the corporation.

The self-confessed 'petrolhead' has previously presented a one-off show about Aston Martins for the BBC and said earlier this year that he would be doing 'more car programmes' in the future.

Miss Berry, 81, has remained tight-lipped, although her husband told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that she is 'very happy with the BBC'.

Last night a representative for Miss Berry said that the star 'has no comment at this time'. She left her home in Buckinghamshire yesterday wearing a striped dress and carrying a handbag.
A Sydney University student has coined an ingenious idea to 'fix' Apple's new cordless headphones after shoppers complained the new design was 'hopeless'.

After the iPhone 7 was revealed last week, Elliot Isles, from Sydney, noticed the mass hysteria caused by the controversial move to dump the headphone socket to make way for the AirPods and realised there was a 'gap in the market'.

The 22-year-old model played around with some designs and launched BibBobs - a leather strap with silicon nooks to stop the user for losing the AirPods.

'The new headphones will be like carrying a $2 coin in your pocket and it will be so easy for people to lose them,' Mr Isles told Daily Mail Australia.

Scroll down for video

The Sydney model said he supports Apple's move to dump the headphone socket on the iPhone 7, but knows shoppers will struggle keeping hold of the separated headphones

The 22-year-old model played around with some designs and launched BibBobs (pictured) - a leather strap with silicon nooks to stop the user for losing the AirPods

Mr Isles said he supports Apple's move to dump the headphone socket on the iPhone 7, but knows shoppers will struggle keeping hold of the separated headphones.

On Tuesday, he made the very first model of the BibBobs using a 3D printer in Sydney and said the cords should be ready to launch on October 17.

The cords will be available in both brown leather and white silicon and Mr Isles expects they will retail for $14.95.

Users will be able to slip the silicon nooks over the ends of the headphones and the cord will sit just under the wearer's chin.

Mr Isles said the next step is to get the products manufactured ahead of the release date

Mr Isles (pictured with girlfriend Scout) is no stranger to unique ideas and last year he claimed ownership of six internet pages with names relating to Kanye West after the rapper announced his plan to run for US president in 2020

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE MEAN FOR YOU? Owners of the iPhone 7 will not be able to directly connect any headphones with a traditional 3.5mm plug. If people want to use other wired headphones, they will need to use the Lightning 3.5mm adapter - which is included with the phone. The phone also comes with new Lightning earbuds, which plug into the charging port. However, this means that users can no longer listen to music while simultaneously charging their phone, unless they use separate charging dock. Apple has also introduced its wireless AirPod headphones, but these are not included with the phone, and cost $159. Advertisement

While the site is up and running with over 329 pre-orders, Mr Isles, who is studying arts and computer science, said the website is overloaded with traffic.

He said the next step is to get the products manufactured ahead of the release date.

Mr Isles is no stranger to unique ideas and last year he claimed ownership of six internet pages with names relating to Kanye West after the rapper announced his plan to run for US president in 2020.

He also gained attention from the multi-billion dollar corporation Facebook after creating a 'joke' website after the site crashed for two hours on September 28, 2015.

The student bought the domain 'whilefacebookwasdown.com' as part of a 'fun, harmless coding project'  but he was absolutely stunned after Facebook threatened to sue him.

He said he is 'always waiting' for the next 'flaw on the internet' to jump on.

While the site is up and running with over 329 pre-orders, Mr Isles (pictured with fellow model Jordan Barrett,R, and Jai O'Stevens) said the website is overloaded with traffic

The cords will be available in both brown leather and white silicon and Mr Isles expects they will retail for $14.95

Users will be able to slip the silicon nooks over the ends of the headphones and the cord will sit just under the wearer's chin

Mr Isles said he is 'always waiting' for the next 'flaw on the internet' to jump on
The Great British Bake Off

Rating:

Jaguars - Brazil's Super Cats

Rating:

Who could have guessed? Not Mel and Sue, when they recorded their silly song to the tune of Ten Green Bottles that opened The Great British Bake Off (BBC1, but not for much longer).

The duo were said to have no notion that Love Productions would be selling the show to Channel 4, in an estimated 25 million-a-year deal that smarter wits than me are calling Bakexit. This will be the last Bake Off series to be presented by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.

Who could replace them? Would you honestly switch on to watch C4 favourites Alan Carr and Dr Christian saying: Ready, steady ... Bake! Or, saints preserve us, Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp?

Mel talks to coach as she prepared the dishes on the day of batter, which saw her become the fourth contestant to be booted off the show this series

Mel and Sue were in their usual form, cracking jokes and puns to liven up the baking, but they will not be a part of the show when it moves to Channel 4

Will the broadcaster add its tacky trademark exhibitionism to the format, and turn it into Naked Bake Off? Or should that be Get Your Bakes Off? And then theres the formulaic spin-off series  Embarrassing Bakes, First Bakes, and Obsessive Compulsive Bakers.

We dont even know whether Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry will stay with the format when it migrates. What happens if all four quit, and an internet giant offers them shipping containers stacked with cash?

Like Jeremy Clarkson and co, they could soon be making the same programme, with a lightly tweaked name, for streaming video broadcast.

Itll be goodbye BBC, hello Amazon as millions of devoted Bake Off fans tune in to The Soggy Bottom Show, or Paul And Marys Buns And Bloomers online. How the Beeb have fumbled this one is anyones guess. Bake Off is their most prestigious hit, and theyve lost it.

Tonight we discovered that that Candice actually does facial exercises to strengthen that pout, clamping a pen between her nose and her lip gloss

In any other business, that would have catastrophic repercussions for all responsible  come closing time at the Tower of London tonight, for instance, if St Edwards Crown is missing from its velvet cushion, you can expect some Beefeaters to be on the dole queue come Monday.

There is now a curious sense of poignancy in watching Mel and Sues barmy introductions. They throw themselves into the daft rhymes and dodgy accents with such enthusiastic glee, as if they were doing it for the very first time.

When Top Gear went off-road last year, following Clarksons meltdown, it was jaded and years past its best. As Bake Off is proving, its still at its peak, with much left to explore.

This was the first time, for example, that contestants had tackled batter challenges, and all three were mouthwatering  Yorkshire puds with savoury fillings, pancakes piped into lace hearts, and a Spanish street snack called churros, a sort of deep-fried sausage of dough.

With the weakest bakers gone, this is the stage when the real contenders emerge. Benjamina and Andrew have been the quiet ones, but theyre starting to look like finalists. Selasi, so laid back that hes sometimes prostrate on the tent floor, is one to watch, too.

We also discovered that Candice actually does facial exercises to strengthen that pout, clamping a pen between her nose and her lip gloss. And Paul announced: Im not a massive fan of tofu. All things considered, this wasnt the biggest shock of the week.

The best wildlife footage youre likely to see this week, or any other for a long while, appeared on Natural World: Jaguars (pictured)

The best wildlife footage youre likely to see this week, or any other for a long while, appeared on Natural World: Jaguars  Brazils Super Cats (BBC2). Night-vision cameras staking out jaguar haunts in the Brazilian rainforest captured families of big cats hunting peccaries (Amazonian wild boar) and capybara (gigantic guinea pigs), and feasting on the carcases.

There were atmospheric pictures of cowboy ranchers herding cattle, wielding whips that cracked like gunshots, and an amazing phone video of a mother jaguar and her two cubs fleeing floodwater by swimming to a town and scaling a tree beside a house.

Sadly, the adult female died, but her orphaned daughters were rescued, and the show followed the two-year project to rear them and return them to the wild.
Theresa May is give the Hinkley Point project proposal the go-ahead as early as today

Theresa May is poised to approve plans for a Chinese-backed nuclear power station at Hinkley Point as early as today.

A senior Whitehall source said the Prime Minister accepted that there was no Plan B for keeping Britains civil nuclear sector alive if the controversial project was scrapped.

Last night officials in France claimed Mrs May had already told her French counterpart Francois Hollande that the deal is to go ahead. The Paris government holds a major share in French energy giant EDF, which is in overall charge of the project.

The Bloomberg financial news agency said the 18billion scheme part-financed by Chinas Communist regime would proceed subject to new conditions.

Most significantly, plans to allow China to build and operate a nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex, have been decoupled from the deal and may never happen  risking a diplomatic row with Beijing.

In the worst case scenario, China could opt to withdraw from the new proposal.

The Prime Minister ordered a review of the Hinkley Point plans in July following concerns about the cost and the possible security risks of allowing the Communist regime a foothold in Britains nuclear industry.

Downing Street yesterday insisted that Mrs May had not yet made a final decision.

A source said she was still asking questions about the precise level of Chinese involvement.

But the Prime Ministers official spokesman said a final decision will be announced very shortly. EDF has already made its final investment decision by this week announcing plans to order 100 million-worth of Welsh steel for use in the construction of the plant in Somerset.

China is due to provide a third of the funding needed for the giant project but will not be involved in running it.

Mrs May is thought to have been concerned about the risks of allowing China to take such a significant stake in Britains critical national infrastructure. But a Whitehall source said Chinas role was limited to providing 6billion in funding.

China's communist regime is due to provide a third of the funds needed for the project, but will not be involved in operations. Pictured is the power station in Somerset

China will not be building this plant or operating it, the insider said. There is not going to be a big Chinese presence in Somerset.

The other point is that there is no Plan B for Britain retaining a civil nuclear capability if Hinkley Point does not go ahead. I think she accepts that.

The original deal brokered by David Cameron and George Osborne also involved a plant at Bradwell using a Chinese-designed reactor.

The decision to separate the two projects risks angering Beijing, which wanted to use Bradwell to showcase its growing nuclear expertise.

Although the project is controversial, it has been called a last gasp for Britains trifling civil nuclear sector

Mrs May has made it clear she will adopt a less craven approach to China than her predecessor.

At the G20 summit this month, she told Chinese president Xi Jinping that he would have to wait for an answer on Hinkley.

Justin Bowden, national officer of the GMB union, has urged her to approve the project.

Giving the thumbs up to Hinkley is vital to fill the growing hole in the UKs energy supply needs, he said.
Yesterday Rona Fairhead stepped down as chairman of the BBC Trust after Theresa May forced her to reapply for her 110,000 job.

Few will welcome this more than Dame Margaret Hodge, former chair of the Public Accounts Committee, which is tasked with ensuring taxpayers get value for money.

Last year, the Labour veteran hauled Fairhead in front of the committee to explain why HSBC  where the BBC boss earned 500,000 from non-executive positions  was helping the super-rich avoid tax.

Here, in the final part of our serialisation of her new book, Hodge recalls that dramatic interrogation  and explains why Fairhead was never fit to be in charge of the BBC . . .

As Im always pleased to see women promoted to top jobs, my first instinct was to support Rona Fairhead. I met her when shed been appointed to chair the BBC Trust  a prestigious 110,000-a-year post.

Before long, however, I was having grave doubts about her competence.

Prior to joining the BBC Trust, Fairhead had enjoyed a successful career in business. She had risen through ICI and Pearsons to become chairman and chief executive of the Financial Times Group. She chaired HSBC banks audit committee (2007-10) and had then become chair of its risk committee.

Margaret Hodge, former chair of the Public Accounts Committee (pictured), wanted to trust BBC Trust chair Rona Fairhead but soon realised that was impossible

By the time we met, she was earning more than 500,000 a year from non-executive positions with the bank  on top of her BBC salary and income from other non-executive positions.

My first rather naive thought was that her key positions at HSBC would have made her particularly vigilant.

It seemed, in short, inconceivable that she knew nothing about the bank actively encouraging clients to avoid paying tax. I was wrong. Indeed, her evidence to the Public Accounts Committee was astonishing.

The committee was investigating the way rich Britons with Swiss bank accounts were getting away with paying no tax.

It was not just aggressive tax avoidance by the rich, but what looked like tax evasion. And tax evasion is illegal. Theres no grey area nor any debate about morality to be had; its a criminal act.

What was particularly disturbing was that, thanks to a whistleblowers documents, we knew HSBC had played an active role in facilitating avoidance and possible evasion.

HSBC had bought a Swiss private bank in 1999. By 2010, rich British citizens had deposited about 40 billion into this Swiss branch. Obviously, some had a perfectly legitimate explanation. But for many, Switzerland offered a good place to hide money.

Fairhead was earning more than 500,000 a year from non-executive positions with the HSBC  on top of her BBC salary and income from other non-executive positions.

In the committee, we were determined to discover what Rona Fairhead knew about this. As a senior non-executive, it was her job to make sure the bank acted properly.

Yet she claimed no knowledge at all. In her view, all the blame could be attributed to the tax evaders themselves, to junior front-line staff at the bank and to those who managed the Swiss branch of HSBC. No one else  least of all herself  was in the frame.

Exasperated, I said: Youre getting paid 10,000 a day, but I dont know what you do for it.

Later in the session I was taken aback when she described the actions of the whistleblower in lifting the lid on what was happening as being those of a thief.

It was not until the end of 2009 that we realised the theft was much more significant, she said.

I was frankly riled that shed shifted blame onto front-line staff, who were only doing what theyd been told. On top of that, she had the gall to label the whistleblower  whod exposed HSBCs complicity  a criminal.

It was unbelievable the chair of the audit committee had not been more alert to the dangers.

The existence of HSBCs Swiss branch in itself should have been a red flag; the fact that there were so many people with secret accounts should have been another one; and the fact that the Swiss branch was securing disproportionately high profits warranted closer attention.

The failure to have proper systems in place must in part have been her responsibility; the culture of the bank that resulted in widespread complicity with tax avoidance and possible evasion in Switzerland, Mexico and elsewhere should have been something she identified; her seemingly passive, reactive and superficial approach to her highly-paid role was simply remarkable.

According to Rona Fairhead, she was unaware of any secret accounts. She relied on other bank executives to raise any troubling matters, she said.

She came before the Public Accounts Committee when it was investigating Swiss bank accounts used by rich Britons

Shed merely created lots of committees and lots of policies and given lots of presentations for her half-a-million a year  but she knew nothing.

In the end, I flipped. And I went for her: Having watched your performance, I have to say this to you: either you knew, and if you knew, you colluded in tax evasion . . . I began.

Rona Fairhead: I categorically deny that.

I continued: Or you didnt know, and in that case, I think you were either incredibly naive or totally incompetent. The record you have shown of your performance here as a guardian of HSBC does not give me the confidence that you should be the guardian of the BBC licence-fee payers money.

I really do think that you should consider your position and should think about resigning. If not, I think the Government should sack you.

Perhaps I should have kept a lid on my temper. But please dont weep for Ms Fairhead. As an establishment figure, she could count on her friends to close in and protect her as one of their own.

Within hours, theyd rallied. Michael Portillo proclaimed on TV that I had behaved appallingly and that Rona Fairhead was really a very decent person.

Tory MP Alan Duncan attacked me publicly for what he called my insulting and offensive performance. He thought calling for Rona Fairheads resignation was inexcusable and alleged Id indulged in a self-aggrandising outburst which was nothing short of vile.

Fair enough, I thought. Id been tough, so it was perfectly understandable that those who disagreed should subject me to similar treatment.

But I think there are wider implications to this kind of attack, which was by no means uncommon during the five years I chaired the Public Accounts Committee.

All too often, the committees own attacks were on members of the British establishment. In some cases, we were criticising top bankers, people appointed by the prime minister and others who moved in closed establishment circles.

In other hearings, we challenged top industrialists, civil servants and people whod secured their jobs because of who they knew, where theyd been educated and the social circle in which they moved.

In the outside world, however, criticism of such people regularly occurs below the radar. Our hearings challenged that tradition and forced those unaccustomed to it to account for themselves in public.

Theresa May forced Fairhead (pictured answering MP's questions) to resign this week,

And, of course thats uncomfortable. But it should be. As a society, were not afraid of naming and shaming benefit claimants who cheat the system.

We dont hold back from harassing small businesses to pay every last penny of tax they owe. Were quick to condemn those who over-claim on their tax credits.

So in my view, the former chair of audit at HSBC  not to mention her powerful friends  was simply wrong to maintain shes blameless.

It was also unacceptable that Rona Fairhead remained the chair of the BBC Trust for so long. And it can only be right that she has gone.

Ever had the suspicion that theres one law for the rich and powerful and another for everyone else? Let me take you into a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee.

In front of me was a Whitehall mandarin called Dave Hartnett. He looked unremarkable  bespectacled, with red cheeks and somewhat dishevelled hair  but he happened to be the most powerful official in government when it came to tax.

I had a simple question: why was he allowing rich Britons with Swiss bank accounts to get away with paying no tax?

After all, when single parents were overpaid extra tax credits by mistake, the tax authorities had come down on them like a ton of bricks. Surely it should do the same to tax-dodging millionaires?

Heres what Hartnett said that day: We know the people who have been overpaid tax credits and can address that.

But we do not know the identity of people in Switzerland and we cannot establish who they are . . .

Fairhead claimed she was unaware of any secret bank accounts when questioned by the committee

That kind of attitude, of course, is precisely why ordinary, law-abiding taxpayers have lost confidence in the system.

Hartnett, as it turned out, was being economical with the truth. HMRC  the government department responsible for collecting tax  did know the identities of people whod squirreled millions away in Swiss bank accounts.

How? Because theyd been passed a list of them the year before, thanks to a whistleblower.

Eventually, HMRC at least started making the right noises. It announced it had begun criminal and serious fraud investigations into some of the account holders. So we regularly questioned tax officials when they appeared before the Public Accounts Committee on this issue. And they always assured us they were making progress and, where appropriate, initiating prosecutions.

Four years went by. By that point, HMRC had traced 3,200 British individuals who had stashed away money in Switzerland. Of these, officials thought about 1,000 raised serious concerns.

Later, however, they whittled this down to 150 cases where they were considering criminal proceedings. And how many did they actually take to court in the end?

As I write these words, a staggering eight years after the whistleblower first shared his information, only one person has been charged. Just one.

So far, weve got back 135 million in unpaid tax. Yet the French and Spanish, whod also been acting on the whistleblowers information, between them recovered three times as much as we did. (And they had fewer documents to go on.) Many of the bank accounts tax avoiders used at HSBC were so-called hold-mail accounts. This meant they were much more secret: no one could link the individual to the bank or to the money held in the account.

So didnt that sound a bit dodgy to HSBC? One of the banks executives told us rather lamely: It wasnt considered a red flag at that time, because all the Swiss private banks were doing it.

Chief executive Stuart Gulliver was a little more straightforward. I would agree that there is a higher probability that hold-mail indicates areas of concern that we, as a bank, should take note of, he admitted, when pressed.

There were more shocking revelations to come. The former boss of HSBCs Global Private Banking admitted openly that the bank was involved in tax avoidance. It had lent out money, for instance, for clients to invest in tax-dodging film production schemes.

But even that wasnt the whole story. Among the documents provided by the whistleblower was evidence HSBC itself was concocting new tax avoidance schemes. It had actually advised its Swiss-banking clients on how they could avoid a new piece of EU legislation. This had made banks legally responsible for extracting tax on interest from secret accounts.

HSBCs way around this involved helping clients to set up shell companies in tax havens. And it marketed this tax avoidance scheme widely. That was bad enough, but the whistleblowers documents seemed to show HSBC was also colluding in criminal tax evasion.

One client, for instance, appeared to have brought the money he had in Switzerland into the UK by using a credit card issued by HSBC. This enabled him to take funds directly out of his Swiss bank account without the UK tax authorities knowing anything about it.

Notes on the file of another client read: We had previously met last November, when I had promised to come back to her with a considered response to questions that preoccupied her: the fact that her account here  which she had inherited on the death of her husband  was not known to the UK tax authorities.

Extraordinary, isnt it, that HSBC needed months to consider what to say to a client who was breaking the law . . .

The Swiss account of a well-known UK restaurant owner also looked suspect. HSBC had allowed him, it seems, to withdraw the equivalent of 2.25 million in one day from its Swiss branch. No questions asked.

Margaret Hodge (pictured) said the former chair of audit at HSBC  not to mention her powerful friends  was simply wrong to maintain shes blameless

Why on earth, we wondered, were the British tax authorities sitting on their hands?

The explanation offered by officials was very frustrating. They insisted we couldnt be told about individual cases  which simply added to our suspicions that the tax system wasnt fair.

We asked Lin Homer, then permanent secretary at HMRC, why there had been only one prosecution. Prosecution is one end of the tool-kit, and it is the expensive end, she argued. In other words, Homer seemed to be suggesting it was too expensive to take wealthy tax cheats to court.

As one of the MPs on our committee remarked: The message that sends to people who might be inclined to evade tax by having Swiss bank accounts and other things is: Dont worry about it. If you get caught, there wont be a prosecution . . . 

The role of Dave Hartnett was particularly questionable. As HMRCs head of tax in 2012, hed belatedly negotiated a deal with Swiss banks that was designed to help root out tax avoiders.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, confidently expected this to raise 3.2 billion in unpaid tax in one year. Its the largest tax evasion settlement in British history, he announced proudly.

In fact, HMRC recovered a fraction of that sum  440 million.

What disturbed us was that Hartnett had already seen the whistleblowers evidence about tax avoidance and potential evasion before this deal was drafted.

Armed with that knowledge, hed inserted a paragraph into the agreement with the Swiss. What it added up to was this: that all financial advisers  including the banks  would be unlikely to face any action on money laundering.

In other words, the British tax authorities were letting them off the hook. Banks such as HSBC could rest easy: theyd never have anything to fear. Also worrying was our inability to pin down Hartnetts relationship with HSBC.

He claimed that he hadnt been involved in any decisions about investigations into the bank. Yet hed held a meeting with HSBC within days of receiving the whistleblowers data in February 2010.

What had they talked about at that meeting? Neither Hartnett nor Lin Homer was prepared to tell us. Apparently, that would betray taxpayer confidentiality.

And what do you know? Hartnett, forced by us, retired early  and within six months of leaving HMRC, he was given approval to accept a job with HSBC. His role? To prevent financial crime and other abuses of the financial system. I couldnt have made that up if Id tried.
George Zimmerman called members of the Black Lives Matter movement 'terrorists' during a bizarre outburst while testifying against a man accused of trying to murder him.

Matthew Apperson, 37, has been charged with attempted second-degree murder after he fired a single bullet through the window of Zimmerman's car in May 2015.

Apperson said he fired in self-defense and claimed Zimmerman, 32, threatened him with a gun.

The Black Lives Matter movement was brought up in court by Apperson's attorney Michael LaFay.

George Zimmerman called members of the Black Lives Matter movement 'terrorists' while testifying against Matthew Apperson, who he has accused of trying to murder him

Matthew Apperson (pictured), 37, is charged with second-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting at Zimmermna in May 2015

LaFay noted that Zimmerman called Apperson a 'BLM sympathizer' in a post he made to auction the gun he used to kill 17-year-old Travyon Martin in 2012.

But on Wednesday Zimmerman denied that he ever associated Apperson with the BLM movement.

LaFay than asked it was correct to state that the BLM movement began in part after Zimmerman was acquitted of charges in Martin's death, a decision that sparked protests throughout the country.

Zimmerman replied that he didn't believe BLM was a movement at all.

'First of all, they're terrorists, not a movement, as you have said now,' Zimmerman told the attorney, according to WFTV.

'I see them as terrorists,' he continued, 'If you would like to address them correctly.'

When LaFay tried to question Zimmerman again about the 2013 Martin case, he reiterated his belief.

'I don't believe the Black Lives Matter is a movement, sir, they're terrorist cowards,' he said.

LaFay's questions to Zimmerman on Wednesday included multiple references to Martin, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

At one point he asked Zimmerman: 'You didn't shoot Apperson because he had a pistol, and not a bag of Skittles?'

The question is in reference to the fact that Martin had a bag of Skittles in his pocket when Zimmerman shot the teen dead as he walked back home from 7-Eleven.

Zimmerman told the court that he does not see Black Lives Matter as a 'movement' and told Apperson's attorney it was giving the group too much 'credence'

Apperson's attorney noted that Zimmerman called him a 'BLM sympathizer' in a post he made to auction the gun he used to kill 17-year-old Travyon Martin in 2012

It was the Martin case that led to Zimmerman and Apperson's first heated interaction as they drove next to each other in September 2014.

Apperson told Zimmerman he 'shouldn't have shot that little black boy', according to testimony.

Zimmerman replied that Anderson 'didn't know what he's done for the African-American community'.

Apperson called authorities two days after the interaction to report that he believed Zimmerman was tracking his movements.

His attorney also claimed during testimony this week that Zimmerman had threatened Apperson with a gun during both incidents.

It was the first of three separate occasions in which Zimmerman and Apperson bumped into each other over the course of a year.

Apperson's workplace is near the office of Zimmerman's doctor.

Zimmerman was headed to the doctor when he and Apperson exchanged words once again on May 15.

Zimmerman enters a Seminole County courtroom on Tuesday, passing in front of Apperson's mother, Janet White, and his wife Lisa Apperson

He testified that the altercation began after Apperson began driving aggressively, which made him feel 'concerned and worried'.

'A car came up behind me quickly, honked its horn and flashed its high beams', Zimmerman told the jury.

'I heard a bang and my ears started ringing.'

Apperson has admitted to firing one shot through Zimmerman's window but said it was only after Zimmerman threatened him with a gun.

The prosecution has claimed that this is impossible because Zimmerman's windows are illegally tinted.

Police found two guns in Apperson's vehicle and two guns in Zimmerman's truck during an investigation into the shooting.

Another gun was found inside Zimmerman's backpack.

The trial resumes Thursday.

Apperson has admitted to firing one shot through Zimmerman's window but said it was only after Zimmerman threatened him with a gun
An enormous saltwater crocodile has been snapped making a meal of a helpless wallaby - ripping its leg off and sending its guts splattering into the water.

Venture North head tour guide Dave McMahon was taking a group from Melbourne around Corroboree Billabong, Darwin, when he spotted the five-metre crocodile.

'We came around the corner and a big croc ripped the leg off a wallaby and then started to eat him,' Mr McMahon told NT News.

'We sat there for half an hour and watched him eat it whole.'

A five-metre saltwater crocodile was photographed devouring an adult wallaby

The graphic encounter took place in front of a tour group in Corroboree Billabong, Darwin

Venture North head tour guide Dave McMahon (pictured) said in his eight years of working in remote Arnhem Land he had never seen anything like it

Stunned by the graphic encounter, Mr McMahon was able to take out his camera and snap a few quick pictures as his group watched on in amazement.

He said in his eight years of working as a tour guide in remote Arnhem Land he had never seen anything like it.

'Seeing the power of a huge saltwater crocodile devour a big wallaby last week has to be one of the most awesome experiences I've had in the bush,' he wrote online.

It comes just three weeks after a 4.5 metre crocodile was photographed devouring a wallaby in a billabong behind a woman's Gunbalanya property in Northern Territory.

The wallaby found itself in the massive jaws of the man-eater, which quickly snapped shut its mouth after swallowing it whole.

The blood-thirsty pictures were taken by budding photographer Donna Drexler, who initially thought she saw a dead buffalo floating in the crocodile-infested billabong behind her Gunbalanya home.

It comes just three weeks after a 4.5 metre crocodile was photographed devouring a wallaby in a billabong behind a woman's Gunbalanya property in Northern Territory

The 57-year-old mother-of-three said she was enjoying a quiet afternoon with her husband when they noticed a group of crocodiles circling the water.

'We live across the road from the billabong so we decided to drive down the road to get a better look,' Ms Drexler told Daily Mail Australia.

'All of a sudden we saw this croc leaped out of the water with a wallaby in its mouth. It was quite a big wallaby. It was fully grown.'

The grandmother said she watched as the reptile wrestled its victim in the billabong before gulping down the animal in front of her.
Donald Trump was accused in November last year of mocking a disabled reporter - but videos of his other speeches suggest that he performs the same impression for whoever he mocks.

Trump mocked New York Times journalist Serge F Kovaleskiat a South Carolina rally by making twitching arm and face movements - which the disabled reporter took as a personal slight.

But pro-Trump website Catholics 4 Trump says that the Republican candidate has a long history of making similar gestures while mocking other people.

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Mocking: Donald Trump pulled this pose while mocking a reporter from the New York Times at a South Carolina rally last year

Disabled: The reporter, Serge F Kovaleski (pictured) has a disability that locks his right arm in a similar fashion to Trump's impression. Trump denied intentionally making fun of his condition

In the South Carolina rally, Trump mocked Kovaleski for what he saw as the reporter stepping away from an article he wrote on the 9/11 attacks in The Washington Post.

'Now the poor guy, you ought to see this guy,' Trump said, drawing his wrists up close to his chest and flailing around. '"Ah, I don't know what I said! I don't remember!"'

Kovaleski has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition that has locked his right arm up against his chest in a similar position to the one Trump held.

He said Trump was mocking his disability; Trump denied knowing who Kovaleski was.

The reporter then said he was on first-name terms with Trump and had interviewed him around a dozen times over the past 30 years.

But videos from 2016, 2015 and 2005 and featured on Catholics 4 Trump, show Trump doing similar - albeit shorter and less involved - impressions on several other occasions.

Habit: Trump appears to have a habit of performing similar impressions. In February this year he mocked Ted Cruz while performing a similar limp-wristed parody

A video from October 2015 has Trump talking about banking regulators.

'When you see the president of the bank, I mention the word regulator-' he breaks off to perform the role of the bank president, hunching his shoulders and limply shaking his wrist and head.

Another clip, taken at the same rally Trump mocked Kovaleski, has Trump complaining about a general being asked about ISIS.

He performs similar - though more restrained - movements, waving his arms and shaking his head.

And in a clip from February this year, Trump mocks Ted Cruz for being a poor public speaker, again hunching his shoulders and shaking his arms.

The site also hosted an even earlier clip, from a 2005 Larry King interview, in which Trump pulls another limp-wristed posture while imagining how happy he would be to go on a two-week vacation.

Banking on it: Trump also imitated a bank president being scared of regulators using a similar impression

Trump's remarks about Kovaleski came as he defended his debunked claim that he saw 'thousands' of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

The candidate said this was 'well covered' in the media at the time, although no footage of such parties ever turned up.

In defense, Trump pointed to Kovaleski's Washington Post article from September 18, 2001, in which the reporter said: 'law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.'

Kovaleski later said: 'I certainly do not remember anyone saying that thousands or even hundreds of people were celebrating. That was not the case, as best as I can remember.'

It was that remark that Trump mocked in his South Carolina speech.
package will be at a $400 million cost to the budget

The Turnbull government has bowed to internal party pressure and altered a significant measure in its plan to overhaul superannuation tax breaks.

The planned $500,000 lifetime non-concessional cap on fund balances, backdated to 2007, has been dumped.

The controversial measure, which sparked an angry backlash from sections of the Liberal party in the run-up to the federal election, will be replaced by annual cap of $100,000.

Those aged under 65 will still be able to 'bring forward' three years' worth of non-concessional contributions but those with super balances of more than $1.6 million won't.

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The Turnbull government has bowed to internal party pressure and altered a significant measure in its plan to overhaul superannuation tax breaks

The measures were about ensuring superannuation tax concessions were not being used as a tax-incentivised estate planning vehicle, Treasurer Scott Morrison (pictured with Federal Minister for Revenue Kelly O'Dwyer) told reporters in Canberra

The new package will also keep a work test in place for those aged 65 to 74, saving the budget $180 million, and defers starting catch-up concessional contributions by one year until July 2018.

It is believed the changes will come at a cost of $400 million to the budget.

The measures were about ensuring superannuation tax concessions were not being used as a tax-incentivised estate planning vehicle, Treasurer Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Thursday

'It also ensures that Australians are supported to maximise their retirement balances in the pension phase of superannuation where they access tax-free earnings,' he said.

'These measures make the superannuation system even fairer, even more flexible and even more sustainable.'

Mr Morrison said he had spoken to shadow treasurer Chris Bowen and offered a detailed briefing, but expressed confidence the package would now clear parliament.

'These measures make the superannuation system even fairer, even more flexible and even more sustainable,' Mr Morrison said

Those aged under 65 will still be able to 'bring forward' three years' worth of non-concessional contributions but those with super balances of more than $1.6 million won't

'These measures remove any remaining impediment or barrier for the government's budget superannuation package to now receive bipartisan support in this parliament,' Mr Morrison said.

WHAT DOES THE NEW SUPER PACKAGE MEAN FOR YOU? Annual non-concessional contributions will be capped to $100,00 a year (down from $180,000). Under 65s can still 'bring forward' three years' worth of non-concessional contributions in a lump sum. Those with with superannuation account balance of more than $1.6 million can't make non-concessional (after tax) contributions after July 1, 2017. They can make 'catch-up' concessional contributions starting from July 1, 2018 (delayed by a year). Each year you will be able to contribute up to $125,000 to your superannuation (combined before and after tax amounts) until your account balance reaches $1.6 million. If you want to 'bring forward' a lump sum, you can contribute up to $325,000 in any one year. Advertisement

The legislation, backed by cabinet and the coalition party room, would be introduced by the end of the year.

Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said the government would like to be able to do more for older workers in the future, when the budget allowed.

'We need this package to wash its face ... we need to have that discipline and we have demonstrated that discipline by making some difficult choices,' she said.

She said 96 per cent of Australians would be better off or unaffected by the changes.

One of the coalition backbenchers critical of the initial plans, George Christensen, says the changes go even further than he had hoped.

The Nationals MP had proposed doubling the lifetime contribution cap to $1 million but said the new plan to do away with it altogether was 'one step better'.

'This really does seal the deal and as such, I can say I am 100 per cent supportive of the new superannuation reforms that we will take to parliament and I will no longer be crossing the floor, ' he told reporters in Canberra.

This comes as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is preparing to head to New York for talks on the economy and refugees.

In a series of interviews to mark the anniversary of his becoming prime minister, Mr Turnbull spruiked Australia's 3.3 per cent economic growth rate and was positive about delivering on his election promises.
Myer's decision to rebrand itself as 'New Myer' appears to be paying dividends, with the company recording strong profits in the first year since the transformation.

The department store giant netted a $60.5 million profit over the past financial year, an increase of 2.9 per cent.

While the growth is promising, Myer bosses are planning to shut smaller stores in New South Wales and Queensland as they look to further boost their bottom line and narrow the gap to David Jones, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

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Department store giant Myer doubled its profits over the past year to $60.5 million

Myer sits behind the South-African owned department store, who saw its own sales grow by seven per cent over the past year.

As a result plans have been unveiled to shut stores outside metropolitan areas to further improve their bottom line.

Myer will reportedly shut the doors on its chains in Logan and Cairns in Queensland, Castle Hill and Blacktown in New South Wales, and will scrap plans to build a Darwin store.

Stores in Brookside in Brisbane, and Orange and Wollongong were already planned to close.

Despite the decision, Myer's chief executive Richard Umbers is seemingly happy with his company's recent results in the face of a 'challenging environment'.

'There is no doubt that as a result of our strategy, Myer is a measurably stronger business today than it was a year ago,' Mr Umbers said.

'Since August 2015, we have introduced over 850 new or upgraded brand destinations and markedly improved our customer service, particularly our flagship and premium stores.'

Myer's improved results came of the back of its concession outlets and major metropolitan stores in capital cities.

Myer's chief executive Richard Umbers said the company's rebranding had led to the stronger results

In an effort to catch up to competitor David Jones Myer will close smaller stores in both New South Wales and Queensland. Former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins (pictured) has long been the face of the leading department store

In Victoria and New South Wales alone there was an impressive 5.6 per cent increase in sales at top-level stores.

Mr Umbers said the decision to reshape their brand was part of a decision to prioritise 'core customers'.
An off-duty cop has been arrested for attacking a female subway conductor - sparking chaos aboard a Manhattan J train during morning rush-hour.

Tremel Davis- who had already been stripped of his gun and badge for abusing his one-year-old niece - was charged with assault on Wednesday.

The NYPD officer, 33, of Brooklyn, had been leaning against the conductor's booth door when it opened suddenly at around 8.50am as it pulled out of the Delancey Street-Essex Street station, police said.

Davis had stumbled against the inward-opening door on the Manhattan J train and angrily confronted the conductor Kiyya Rivera, 38.

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Tremel Davis (left and right) who had already been stripped of his gun and badge for abusing his one-year-old niece - was charged with assault on Wednesday

'You better apologize!' he allegedly screamed during a heated row before he hit her in the face, knocking her to the ground, police sources said, NY Daily News reports.

The conductor hurt her arm but was able to get up and grabbed the emergency brake bringing the train to an emergency stop, officials say.

The stop caused widespread panic through the carriages as passengers feared a bomb or even a gunman was aboard.

'Someone yelled run and all hell broke loose,' wrote Twitter user Wbernard, after he uploaded a short video of the incident.

'Everyone was panicking,' passenger Laura Noguera, 24, told the New York Post. 'Everyone started running and crying and screaming and falling. Everyone though it was a bomb.

The attack sparked chaos aboard the Manhattan J train during morning rush-hour (pictured)

'I think everyone thought they were going to die,' said Noguera, who said she left her rent money for the month.

Fellow passenger said he believed that a gunman was on the train.

'Oh my god I'm going to die. I'm going to die,' said Petrona Jerome.

Footage of the incident shows a packed subway carriage as a man stood on the platform trying to calm down panicked passengers.

'The cops are down at the other train car where the problem is,' he is heard to say in the video on Twitter. 'Everybody stay tight. You can get out at either end but the cops are down at the other end now sorting out whatever the problem is.'

Another woman is heard yelling: 'Stay calm. Be calm,' one woman yelled. 'Right now, we don't know what's going on. But no one in here is hurt. As of this moment, you are safe.'

Rivera and a passenger was taken to hospital for treatment after the assault.

Her husband Raymond Rivera, 42, said he was 'at a loss of words' after hearing the off-duty cop had hurt his wife.

Davis, who has been a cop with the NYPD for five years, has since been arrested and charged with felony assault. If convicted he could face up to seven years in jail.

Footage of the incident shows a packed subway carriage as a man stood on the platform trying to calm down panicked passengers

Other passengers made it out onto the platform after the conductor pulled the emergency stop

He has also been suspended.

In March, Davis was charged with misdemeanor assault, endangering the welfare of a child and menacing for putting his baby niece in a headlock then holding her up in the air by her head while angry.

The cop was reassigned to desk detail after the incident but still made $71,414 last year.

The case is still pending.

Wednesday's attack caused delays of up to an hour to the subway service.
Advertisement

Meet Aileen Adalid, the 24-year-old entrepreneur raking in $80,000 (AUD) a year while travelling the world.

Aileen, from the Philippines, entered the corporate world at the age of 19, but after two years realised a desk job was not for her.

She handed in her notice at Deutsche Bank and set about following her passion for travel.

Aileen now rakes in around $6,700 (AUD) a month from her travel blog and online outdoor accessories business - using the money to fund her travels.

In two years, the globetrotter has visited Japan, Indonesia, eastern Europe, France, Norway and the Faroe Islands - and she has no plans on slowing down.

Meet Aileen Adalid (pictured in Bali), the 24-year-old entrepreneur raking in $80,000 (AUD) a year while travelling the world

Aileen (pictured in Gili Trawangan, Indonesia) from the Philippines, entered the corporate world at the age of 19, but after two years realised a desk job was not for her

Aileen (pictured in Bandung, Indonesia) now rakes in around $6,700 (AUD) a month from her travel blog and online outdoor accessories business - using the money to fund her travels

In two years, the globetrotter (pictured in Dubrovnik, Croatia) has visited Japan, Indonesia, eastern Europe, France, Norway and the Faroe Islands - and she has no plans on slowing down

Aileen (pictured in Japan), who describes herself as a 'digital nomad', started her Adalid Gear business in 2014 with a friend - and it has since taken off in the US and the UK

Aileen, who describes herself as a 'digital nomad', started her Adalid Gear business in 2014 with a friend - and it has since taken off in the US and the UK.

She also runs her I Am Aileen travel and lifestyle blog, which has thousands of followers and has led her to be named one of the world's top 50 travel bloggers.

While Aileen may seem like she has always been a free spirit, she told Business Insider that she started out in the working world for big multinational companies like Unilever, Siemens and Nestle.

She quit her entry-level job at Deutsche Bank and used her $800 (AUD) savings to fund her first forays into the big wild world.

She also runs her I Am Aileen travel and lifestyle blog, which has thousands of followers and has led her to be named one of the world's top 50 travel bloggers. Aileen is pictured off the coast of Croatia

While Aileen (pictured at Borobudur temple in Indonesia) may seem like she has always been a free spirit, she started out in the working world for big multinational companies like Unilever, Siemens and Nestle

Aileen (pictured in Cebu in the Philippines) quit her entry-level job at Deutsche Bank and used her $800 savings to fund her first forays into the big wild world

The 24-year-old (pictured in Slovenia) earns around $6,700 (AUD) a month, not to mention the perks she gets from companies and hotels who want her to be pictured with their products or at their accommodation

Aileen's online business has average monthly sales of about $94,000 (AUD). She is pictured on the Trolltunga in Norway

Budding traveller Aileen took on a graphic design job for a year and used the money from that to feed her growing passion for exploring different cultures.

'My pay at this point was more than double of what I earned at my office job and I was able to control my time more for working as I started to travel around more,' she said.

She started up her business a year later and has seen it grow to the point where it now has average monthly sales of about $94,000 (AUD).

Of this, the 24-year-old earns around $6,700 (AUD) a month, not to mention the perks she gets from companies and hotels who want her to be pictured with their products or at their accommodation.

Aileen (pictued in the Faroe Islands), who works four-hour days on her business, said she does not accept everything she is offered for free

Globetrotter Aileen (pictured in Indonesia) says she wants her blog to 'remain authentic, personalized, and uncluttered'

Aileen's travels have included a scenic road trip around the Faroe Islands, where this picturesque photo of her was taken

Aileen (pictured in Prague in the Czech Republic) has traversed the globe and spent much of her time in Europe and Asia

Aileen, who works four-hour days on her business, said she does not accept everything she is offered for free because she wants her blog to 'remain authentic, personalized, and uncluttered'.

Despite this, she has till managed to enjoy luxuries across the world, including meeting a geisha and samurai in Japan, taking a helicopter tour over the coast of Indonesia, driving through the Alps and taking a road trip around the Faroe Islands.

Asked about her advice for travellers, she said: 'Being constantly on the move can ruin anyone's focus, rhythm, and pace, but I've discovered that it can be easily solved by doing slow travel and finding the right balance to how you do your workflow.
A yoga guru was interrupted in the middle of filming a video when a cockatoo flew in and made itself at home on the tip of her toes.

Just as the woman reached the peak of her natarajasana pose, the cockatoo flew in out of nowhere and joined in on the fun.

Filmed on Putney beach, Great Keppel Island Australia, the video was posted online this week.

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The woman is interrupted in the middle of filming a video when the cockatoo flies in

Clearly startled by the surprise, the woman jumps out of the pose and twists her body around to see what landed on her.

But when she discovers it's a cockatoo, she's in no rush to brush it off.

Filmed on the beach of Putney Island in Australia, the woman shows off the natarajasana pose

The cockatoo seems to take refuge on the woman, avoiding overhead seagulls

Instead, the woman seems to take a protective stance, swatting at seagulls flying overhead.

Taking refuge on the woman, the cockatoo appears he is in no rush to fly off.

Although in the middle of her yoga practice video, which she filmed herself, the timing of the cockatoo's appearance is uncanny.

And while yoga is known for its tranquil and calming effect, the bikini clad woman does not seem to mind the interruption.
A website claiming to sell 99.8 per cent pure crystal methamphetamine and deliver it 'safely and discreetly' within 36 hours is under investigation by NSW Police.

The website, which Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, is just one of many readily available services online claiming to ship illegal drugs hassle-free.

Another store, operating out of Afghanistan, offers powdered meth and ecstasy pills - packaged immaculately and available for next day delivery at the click of a finger.

A website claiming to sell 99.8 per cent pure crystal methamphetamine and deliver it 'safely and discretely' within 36 hours (pictured) is under investigation by NSW Police

The website is just one of many readily available services online claiming to ship illegal drugs hassle-free (pictured is crystal methamphetamine, known as ice in Australia)

A number of other websites easily accessible online claim to sell methamphetamine at a cheap price, complete with international shipping and immaculate packaging

A spokesperson for NSW Police confirmed they had a 'number of strategies in place' to target the crimes, but refused to discuss them for 'operational reasons.'

'The NSW Police Force is aware of this website and others possibly being used to facilitate criminal activity, including the supply and purchase of illicit drugs,' the spokesperson said in a statement.

A deeper search online finds a number of 'legitimate' online pharmacies providing herbal substitutes or similar compounds of meth without the illegal status.

One pharmacy claims to sell methiopropamine, a synthetic chemical substitute for methamphetamine that mimics its high but is considered a 'legal high.

Labor MP Guy Zangari, Shadow Minister for Justice and Police, said the site was 'apalling' and a 'real community concern.'

This is the most heinous thing to occur online ... where someone can jump on, order their drug of choice and have it delivered to them,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's just not how the web services should be used. It's detrimental to our society and it's certainly detrimental to the health and welfare of our people.

NSW Police confirmed they were aware of the website and a number of others 'possibly being used to facilitate criminal activity, including the supply and purchase of illicit drugs'

Reviews left online at some of the websites, often pitched as 'online pharmacies', reveal customers rating the purity of purchased drugs

Australia remains a major market for illicit drugs on the dark web despite the FBI's aggressive move to shut down leading illegal online drug emporium Silk Road and the life jail sentence handed to its US mastermind.

Australia has the third highest number of vendors selling drugs on the secretive cryptomarkets, just behind the US and the UK and ahead of Germany and the Netherlands.

'Cryptomarkets essentially work similarly to online e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon, but they require encryption software to access and payment in bitcoins,' Stijn Hoorens, a research leader at RAND Europe and one of the report's authors, said.

The study found since Silk Road was closed in 2013 online transactions for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, cannabis, ecstasy and other drugs in new dark web markets have tripled and revenues doubled.

Illicit drugs sold on cryptomarkets were dominated by cannabis (37 per cent), stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines (29 per cent) and ecstasy-type drugs (19 per cent).

American Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, 32, who went by the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts, was sentenced in a New York court to life in prison last year.

New South Wales Opposition frontbencher Kate Washington told the ABC she was disturbed by the latest website, which offers ice across the country.

'I just cannot believe that the sale of ice could be offered online,' Ms Washington said.

'I trust that our police would be onto this so quickly once it has reached their attention.'
Smokers will soon be slugged extra tax on cigarettes under laws that lift the cost to $40 a packet within four years.

Bipartisan legislation to increase the tax on cigarettes over four years cleared parliament on Wednesday night and will now move through the Senate.

'There will be fewer young kids who take up smoking and Australia will be healthier as a result,' shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh told parliament.

Smokers will soon be slugged extra tax on cigarettes under draft laws that lift the cost to $40 a packet within four years

A 2015 Deutsche Bank survey found a Marlboro pack in Melbourne ($24.58AUD) or Sydney ($22.54) was double the price of those in Paris ($10.13) or Ottawa (11.59)

The excise will increase by 12.5 per cent each year to 2020.

Labor backed the legislation, having announced similar measures before the July 2 election.

A 2015 Deutsche Bank survey found a Marlboro pack in Melbourne ($24.58AUD) or Sydney ($22.54) was double the price of those in Paris ($10.13) or Ottawa (11.59).

The prices were astronomical compared to the dirt cheap products on offer in Beijing, China ($4.34), Cape Town, South Africa ($3.74) or Jakarta, Indonesia ($1.80).

Debate on the cigarette tax hike also left a Liberal backbencher calling for a rethink of the ban on nicotine e-cigarettes, arguing the devices could spell the end of cigarette smoking.

James Paterson said some of the reasons cited by health groups for maintaining the ban were puzzling and strange.

'There will be fewer young kids who take up smoking and Australia will be healthier as a result,' shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh told parliament

Labor backed the legislation, having announced similar measures before the July 2 election

Bipartisan legislation to increase the tax on cigarettes over four years cleared parliament on Wednesday night

He hopes the government will facilitate rather than block moves to legalise what advocates say is a healthier alternative to smoking, describing the government's current position on the devices as 'sceptical'.

'We could in our lifetime see the end of conventional cigarette smoking and tobacco smoking and it could be replaced by a much safer alternative,' he told parliament.

'We have to look at very seriously whether or not we should legislate these products.'

Senator Paterson said the tax was regressive and would disproportionately hit poor people, calling for a rethink of the ban on nicotine used in e-cigarettes.
The ornate stone carving is covered in mould, the pool has been left to stagnate and the flags to not fly

The site has been left to decay recently, with concerns growing about its state ahead of the 14th

The monument has a list of the names of those who

to honour the 202 people killed in the terror attack

A memorial at the site of the Bali Bombings was

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A memorial for the victims of the tragic Bali Bombings has been left to decay leaving a once crystal clear pool stagnant green, an ornate stone carving covered in mould and surrounding fences barely held together with rusted wire.

The Ground Zero memorial in Kuta was opened on October 12, 2004 - two years after Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists set off three bombs across the bustling Balinese tourist destination, claiming the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Thousands of people from nations across the globe journey to the hallowed grounds to mourn those lost in the shocking attack under the intricate sandstone memorial each year.

However, with less than a month before the 14th anniversary of the bombings, concerns have been raised about how well the site is being maintained.

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A beautiful memorial for the victims of the tragic Bali Bombings has been left to decay leaving a once crystal clear pool stagnant green, an ornate stone carving covered in mould and surrounding fences barely held together with rusted wire

The fountain in the once tranquil tiled lotus pool before it stagnated and is now filled with foetid green water

Twenty two flag poles surrounding the site are bare, with the flags intended to represent the nations whose citizens were slaughtered in the terror attack absent.

The sandstone wall adorned with traditional 'Kayonan' carvings, which also holds a marble plaque with the names of each victim, has been darkened by mould.

The fountain in the once tranquil tiled lotus pool before it has stagnated and is now filled with foetid green water, with some claiming the fountain inside it rarely works.

Fallen tiles leading up to the memorial have not been replaced, gates surrounding the site are held together with rusted metal wire and light fittings have been crudely sealed back into place.

The Ground Zero Monument in Kuta was opened on October 12, 2004 - two years after Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists launched their deadly attack

Twenty two flag poles surrounding the site are bare, with the flags intended to represent the nations whose citizens were slaughtered in the terror attack absent

202 people were killed when terrorists detonated three bombs in the 2002 attack, with a further 209 suffering injuries

The streets were left in a state of chaos, with the metal shell of cars one of the only things remaining in the piles of rubble

88 of the 202 people killed were Australian, with many travelling each year to pay their respects at the monument

Roads were lined with bodies as authorities struggled to deal with the large number of casualties in the attack

Thousands of people from nations across the globe journey to the hallowed grounds to mourn those lost in the shocking attack under the intricate sandstone memorial each year

With the 14th anniversary of the bombings fast approaching, many are concerned the site has not been kept in a respectable condition

But mould now surrounds the long list of victim's names erected for the memorial on the second anniversary of the bombings

However, with less than a month before the 14th anniversary of the bombings, concerns have been raised about how well the site is being maintained

An electrical power pack is left exposed metres from a plaque that holds the name of each person who died in the bombing

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson posted a video on Monday complaining about the 'disgraceful' condition the monument has been left in after one of her staffers took photos of the site during a recent visit.

She argued some of the '$379 million' given to Indonesia in foreign aid should be put towards maintaining the site.

The average wage is $35 to $70 a week - that would employ seven and a half million people and yet they can not show enough respect and have the place clean and tidy,' Ms Hanson said in the video posted to her Facebook.

Ms Hanson said she was giving the Indonesian government 'a couple of weeks' to clean the site before mourners started visiting to pay their respects to the dead.

A once luscious has turned into a dirt patch with litter and broken features scattered around the memorial site

One Nation senator Pauline Hanson posted a video on Monday complaining about the 'disgraceful' condition the monument has been left in after one of her staffers took photos of the site during a recent visit

Ms Hanson argued some of the '$379 million' given to Indonesia in foreign aid should be put towards maintaining the site

A light fitting appears to have been crudely fastened back into the wall using a white adhesive, while tiles are visibly chipped

The fences surrounding the Ground Zero memorial have been fastened together using wires, many which are now rusted

Some have claimed the fountain in the middle of the lotus pond is hardly ever turned on, allowing the water to stagnate

'I am sure a lot of Australians and other people from round the world will go there on the 12th of October to pay their respects,' she said in the clip which has been viewed more than 78,000 times.

'I hope they get their act together and clean it up because if they don't I think it is an absolute disgrace.'

One social media users said she had seen stray dogs drinking from the stagnant pool, with many others agreeing it should be kept in better condition.

'Some of the money they are given from us could employ a Balinese full time to care for the area...no excuse,' one woman wrote.

Others argued Ms Hanson was palming the issue off on to the Indonesian government when it was a 'world memorial' and other nations should pitch in.

'To expect a government of a country the size of Indonesia to prioritise this would be nice but unrealistic,' one man said, adding that he had been 'disappointed' when he saw the site in July.
As the queue starts to stretch at Sydney's Apple Store, tech fans are lining up to get their hands on the new iPhone 7.

But many are turning the event into a business opportunity - by getting paid to wait in line outside the George Street store ahead of the launch on September 16.

Student Greg Marton, from Hungary, has been seated in front of the store since 8am on Thursday - exactly 24 hours before the release of Apple's newest phone.

The 22-year-old said he was getting paid for an undisclosed sum after he saw the job listed by an anonymous businessman on advertisement website Airtasker.

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Student Greg Marton (left), from Hungary, is getting paid to wait in line outside Sydney's Apple Store for the new iPhone and Edward Abreu (right), from Brazil,is paying someone to take over his spot at 5pm on Thursday - and he will return on Friday ahead of the release

As the queue starts to stretch, tech fans have sent up tents and sleeping bags ahead of launch

Tech fans are lining up to get their hands on the new iPhone 7 when it releases on Friday

'I'm standing in line for somebody else,' Mr Marton told Daily Mail Australia.

'I haven't met the guy yet but his name is Peter and he works somewhere around here and he's obviously too busy to line up but he really wants to get the new iPhone so he hired me to be here.

'I don't know much about him yet but I'm going to meet him sometime during the day. I'll be waiting here for 24 hours.

'I'm not too sure what's going to happen but I know the guy will come again in the morning - maybe he'll give me the cash to buy the phone or maybe we're going to change places and he's going in to buy it.'

Mr Marton, who has come prepared with a tent, sleeping bag and a Kindle, said he wanted to be part of the hype when he saw the task advertised.

'I wanted to try it. I thought it was going to be an interesting experience,' he said.

'I've always seen on the internet people lining up, so I thought it would be an experience to meet people.

'I think it's a new experience and it gives you a new perspective. Would you ever try to sit on the street for 24 hours observing people? That's an insane experience but insane experiences lead to new ideas.'

Radio producer Lucy Dwyer, 19, took the day off to line up ahead of the popular event

Apple fans have been eagerly waiting outside the store since Wednesday morning

And sitting beside the Hungary man is student Edward Abreu, from Brazil, who has been waiting in line since 10am on Thursday.

But when the clock strikes 5pm, the 20-year-old man will go home and rest overnight because he has paid someone else to cover his spot.

'I paid someone, so at 5pm, I'm going to change my seat with someone and they will stay here all night,' Mr Abreu told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's going to be cold at night so I'm going home to sleep and then come back at 5am on Friday. I will come here and change again in the morning.'

The Apple enthusiast said he was a 'big Apple fan' so he didn't want to miss out on the latest product.

'I love Apple things and I'm from Brazil and in Brazil, there aren't many Apple stores,' he added.

'So it doesn't really exist in Brazil to stand in the line to buy the iPhone so [it's] my first experience and I'm very excited to buy.'

A young man has set up a make-shift bed with a white doona ahead of the release on Friday

App developer Mazen Kourouche, 19, said this was his third time he waited for the release

Eager shoppers unwilling to wait have pitched tents and rolled out sleeping bags on Thursday

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus have been available for pre-order in Australia since September 9

An Airtasker spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that there are so far 40 tasks posted for the Apple event across Australia - and people are earning up to $200 to queue on behalf of someone for the latest iPhone.

Airtasker VP of Marketing Simon Reynolds said the Airtasker job for people to secure an iPhone at the launch has been happening for more than three years now.

'It's easily one of the most enduring and inventive uses of the platform that we've seen,' Mr Reynolds told Daily Mail Australia in a statement.

'It may be an indicator on the popularity of the new iPhone, but we've noticed that people are posting jobs to queue for the iPhone earlier than previous years.

He said most of the buyers are requesting the popular Jet Black version of the phone, which can only gain early access to by queueing.

'We've also noticed that users are willing to pay more to ask a member to queue than previous years,' he said.

'On average, our members are earning roughly $50 more queueing for the iPhone 7 that they did queueing for the iPhone 6 two years ago.

'But as the marketplace grows, we've noticed that the average price of tasks is increasing, so this observation falls in line with the trend.'

Year 12 student Bishoy Bman, 17, is one of his four friends, who are first in line for the iPhone 7

Apple fans have been bracing the cold ahead of the new iPhone to be released on Friday

Tech fans have set up tents as they eagerly wait for the latest iPhone 7 to be launched

A young man has set up a make-shift bed with a white doona ahead of the release on Friday
David Koch has slammed Pauline Hanson for generating racial conflict following her controversial maiden speech in parliament.

Kochie told Hanson he agrees that people who come to Australia should be respectful of our culture but he is upset with how she sells the message.

'Where it upsets me is that you package it up in such a hateful, divisive way that affects so many other lives I don't think you really care or understand,' Kochie said to Hanson on Sunrise.

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David Koch has slammed One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson for generating hate with her maiden speech to parliament

Kochie told Hanson that he didn't appreciate the way she sold her ideas as a package and said it was hurtful

The morning show host then explained that his son-in-law, CJ Jayasinghe , who is Sri-Lankan, is called a 'terrorist' in the street  based on nothing more than his appearance.

'I have a mixed race family.

'I have a Sri Lankan son-in-law who walks down the street and has people say "ah get out of here you terrorist you have got no right to be here"

'I have grandkids who will grow up like that. It upsets me, because you feed into that,' he said.

Hanson told the Sunrise regular that projecting that hate was not her intention.

But he continued.

'You give ammunition to those people to do that.

'And these are just wonderful families that have moved here and they look different to you to me but they are Australia.'

Hanson used her maiden speech to target Muslims  much the same way as she used her first maiden speech 20 years ago to target Asians.

Twenty years after saying Australia was at risk of being overrun by Asians, Hanson used her first speech to parliament since being re-elected in July to declare: 'I'm back'.

'Now we are in danger of being swamped by Muslims who bear a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own,' she told the Senate in Canberra.

Senator Hanson offered to personally drive to the airport anyone who did not 'obey our law and culture' to the airport and wave them goodbye.

Kochie's son-in-law CJ, pictured here with his daughter Brie, is labelled a terrorist when he walks down the street

The Sunrise presenter did however agree with Pauline that people coming to Australia needed to obey by our laws

'If you are not prepared to obey our laws, respect our culture and our way of life, then I suggest you go back where you came from,' she said.

'If it will be any help, I will take you to the airport and wave you goodbye with sincere best wishes.'

While Kochie appeared to be hurt over Hanson's speech he did agree with moments.

'I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I would drive migrants back to the airport with you if they did not respect this country and our culture. It is a privilege to come here,' he said.

Meanwhile former prime minister John Howard has come out to defend the One Nation Senator and her supporters and says they are not racist.

He also admitted to making a mistake by demonising Hanson 20 years ago.
It's not known what Clinton ordered, but there appeared to be several boxes of food in the bag

Delivery car parked up in front of a set of concrete barriers guarded by police officers and Secret Service agents

Italian food was delivered to Hillary Clinton's home Wednesday as she continued to fight off pneumonia

Hillary Clinton appeared to be getting through her pneumonia Wednesday evening by comfort-eating takeaway Italian food, pictures taken by DailyMail.com show.

A grey sedan from Italian restaurant Basilico pulled up to the concrete barriers outside her Chappaqua, NY home to deliver a white carrier bag heavy with food at around 7pm.

And it's a fair bet that the deliveryman - who was stopped by Secret Service agents after arriving at the barricade - has never made a delivery like this before.

Hillary Clinton's home was visited by this deliveryman from an Italian restaurant, who brought a hefty bag of food for the sickly politician, who remains at home with pneumonia

Secret Service agents met the man at the gate to check his ID and collect the food. The delivery guy seemed to have no idea whose house he was bringing the food to

The deliveryman - clad in a T-shirt with a character from the 'Fallout' video games on it - looked a little out of his depth as he took the food up to the agents, who were waiting in a black SUV clad in bulletproof vests and armed to the teeth.

In fact, he didn't seem to have any idea who he was visiting, looking surprised as the guards appeared to inspect his ID and question him for about five minutes.

Eventually, they took the food off him and he walked back to his car - and if Clinton tips big it didn't show on the man's face.

Basilico, based in Mount Kisco around four miles from Clinton's home, serves mid-priced Italian fare and a few extras, with large pizzas going for $19 and deli options ranging from $7.50 eggplant parmigiana to a $9.50 Philly Cheesesteak.

The restaurant, which doesn't have alcohol on its menu, says its owners have 'over 40 years of combined experience' and promises 'gourmet food at affordable, family-friendly prices.

It has three-and-a-half stars and 23 reviews on Yelp.

Ill: Clinton, pictured here on Friday, the day she was diagnosed with pneumonia, is currently recuperating in her home in Chappaqua, New York. She collapsed in public on Sunday

One reviewer, Hallie L, who used to be a fan, complained about 'food piles' on the floor, slow help and bland food - and a stale cookie that was baked 'a few days ago' according to a member of staff.

Another visitor, Daniel F, said: 'I don't know if management or the Chef changed over the last year but it sucks if you were a fan of items on the menu besides pizza,' he concluded.

That might not be fantastic news if true, as Clinton definitely didn't order pizza.

But perhaps, like Clinton, the restaurant is in recovery: Its most recent review got a full five stars, with reviewer Rebeca V commending its cleanliness and 'awesome' salad pizza, and promising 'you won't be disappointed.'

The guards talked to the man for about five minutes before the food was delivered. Clinton's black van can be seen in the background, perhaps suggesting she will be on the move soon

Throughout the delivery, the Democratic candidate's large black van could be glimpsed behind the Secret Service SUV.

This was the first time it was visible in the past few days, perhaps suggesting that she will end her recuperation and get back on the stump tomorrow.

But the delivery guy wasn't the only visitor to Clinton that day.

Another man, with New Jersey license plates, was seen driving up shortly after the delivery and stopping to speak to the agents.

It looked like the man was trying to explain something to them, but after ten minutes he seemed to give up on getting his point across and drove away, looking angry.

This man, driving a car with New Jersey tags, arrived at the home a little later and talked to the agents for about ten minutes before leaving. He seemed irritated at being turned away

Clinton was also thought to have been visited by a doctor, as other pictures taken by DailyMail.com show.

A grey SUV with medical plates issued by the state of New York was spotted outside Clinton's house, parked in front of a set of concrete barriers guarded by police officers and Secret Service agents.

The vehicle was operated by an older gentleman who was unidentified at the time but the campaign has since said is her next door neighbor.

The doctor who visited Hillary Clinton's home in pictures taken by DailyMail.com was her next door neighbor, the campaign says

A grey SUV with medical plates issued by the state of New York was spotted outside Clinton's house parked in front of a set of concrete barriers that are guarded by police officers and Secret Service agents

It is unclear if the man entered Clinton's Chappaqua, New York, home or how long he was inside

After he was first sighted chatting with a police officer outside his vehicle the man disappeared from journalists' line of sight for 15 to 20 minutes

Clinton's home is guarded by police officers and Secret Service agents, like the man seen above

It is unclear if the man ever entered Clinton's Chappaqua, New York, home.

After he was first sighted chatting with a police officer outside his vehicle the man disappeared from journalists' line of sight for 15 to 20 minutes. He then drove away in the four-door Ford.

The man, who's licence plate indicates that he was a doctor, was already outside Clinton's home, holding a conversation that appeared to be friendly based on the law enforcement officer's behavior, when DailyMail.com first became aware of his presence.

Clinton's traveling press secretary told reporters early in the evening that Clinton 'spent the day catching up on reading briefings, making calls, and she watched President Obama's speech in Philadelphia on TV.'

'We will resume campaign travel on Thursday, more details to come,' said spokesman Nick Merrill in the update.

Bill Clinton was in Los Angeles at the time the photos were taken. He took his wife's place at two fundraisers benefiting her joint committee with the Democratic Party and is giving a speech for her today in Las Vegas.

Hillary Clinton's regular physician is Lisa Bardack. She visited Clinton in Chappaqua on Sunday after the 68-year-old was rushed away from a 9/11 commemoration event after she became dizzy and couldn't stand on her own.

'While at this mornings event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she is now rehydrated and recovering nicely,' Bardack said in a statement released by Clinton's campaign.

Clinton has pneumonia and has been inside her Chappaqua, New York, home recovering since Sunday evening

Bardack also revealed that she diagnosed Clinton with pneumonia two days prior and ordered her to rest.

Not wanting to miss the 9/11 ceremony as a former U.S. senator who represented New York at the time of the terror attack, Clinton ignored the doctor's advice. She campaigned for two more days before it became apparent that she was sick and had to call off campaign events.

Clinton has been inside the Chappaqua home she shares with Bill since Sunday evening. On Tuesday Clinton received flowers at least four times. A neighbor also posted a sign this week on a road leading to her house encouraging Clinton to 'get well soon.'

She will make her first public appearance on Thursday morning as she travels to North Carolina for a rally. She's headed to Washington, D.C. after that.




Disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner was spotted on an outing with his four-year-old son on Wednesday, despite child authorities opening an investigation over his latest 'sexting' controversy.

Weiner and his son Jordan were on the way to a West Village playground near the New York apartment he shares with his now-estranged wife, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

Jordan slowly rode his bike, a helmet on his hand, as Weiner walked alongside him, placing a protective hand on his son's back.

Disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner was spotted on an outing with his four-year-old son Jordan on Wednesday near their Manhattan home

Weiner and Jordan donned matching purple shirts for their trip to a West Village playground

Weiner placed a protective arm on his son's back and watched him closely as they walked

The pair donned matching purple shirts for the outing, which occurred two weeks after explicit photos Weiner sent to a mystery woman were leaked to the press.

One photo showed his crotch and also featured Jordan lying on the bed next to him, with Weiner telling his latest online squeeze that his son was a 'chick magnet'.

Weiner is now at the center of a child services probe over the involvement of Jordan in the photos.

Abedin said she would divorce him just hours after the photos emerged. But two weeks later, the couple appear to be still living under the same roof while they iron out the terms of their separation.

She was spotted leaving the couple's $1.4 million Manhattan apartment on Monday morning.

Huma's mother Saleha Abedin has also been staying at the property to keep the peace and take care of Jordan.

She was seen kissing her daughter goodbye in the morning, before Huma emerged from the building and headed off in a taxi. She wore a floral dress and was clutching a Hillary campaign bag.

Weiner has frequently been spotted in the same shade of blue, including earlier this week with his son (left) and while out and about in May, before the most recent scandal

At one point the former congressman picked up his son as he examined a store window

Huma Abedin left the $1.4 million Manhattan home which she apparently still shares with her disgraced husband on Monday morning

Weiner was seen later in the day returning to the apartment, hand-in-hand with his son.

The serial 'sexter' has confirmed that he has received notice from the New York City Administration for Children's Services that an investigation has been launched into the treatment of his little boy.

Family members have rallied round to shield the youngster from his father's latest sexting shame. On Sunday, Jordan joined his grandmother and aunt, Huma's sister Heba Abedin, for an afternoon at a local park.

The two women looked on as Jordan, wearing blue shorts, a bright orange t-shirt and clutching a toy truck, had fun on the swings and slide.

Neither Huma, 41, nor Weiner, 52, joined their son for the family trip, with relations between the two said to be at an all-time low. Weiner has kept a low profile of late.

Clinton was in New York yesterday attending a 9/11 memorial event but Huma was nowhere in sight.

Saleha Abedin took Huma's four-year-old son Jordan out on the weekend, just two weeks after the Clinton aide said she would be divorcing from her sexting husband

Huma's sister Heba Abedin pushes Jordan in the swing

The duo were joined by Heba, right. Weiner, an ex-congressman, has come under fire for sending a picture of his crotch with Jordan lying in bed beside him

Now it appears Abedin's mother has been drafted in to supervise care of Jordan.

The photo which Weiner sent, which showed his son Jordan lying beside him, has attracted the attention of the authorities who have launched a probe into the matter

'Saleha is a typically doting grandmother and she's doing everything she can to shield Jordan from the fallout of his father's latest digression,' said a source.

'They had a fun trip to the park and Jordan had a huge smile on his face. Whatever is going on between Anthony and Huma, she's determined that it doesn't have an impact on him.'

Weiner quit Congress over a sexting scandal in 2011. But he was back in his wife's bad books just two years later when he sent a woman a snap of his privates while using the pseudonym Carlos Danger.

The Post published fresh photos a fortnight ago that it said Weiner had sent last year to a woman identified only as a '40-something divorcee' who lives in the West and supports Republican candidate Donald Trump.

The photos included two close-ups of Weiner's bulging underpants, with Jordan lying feet away in one.

The tabloid also ran sexually suggestive messages that it said the two exchanged.

Anthony Weiner was spotted at his New York apartment on Saturday. The disgraced former congressman's relations with his wife are said to be at an all-time low

Huma was seen getting into a taxi after leaving her apartment. She was nowhere in sight yesterday when Hillary collapsed at the 9/11 memorial event

He allegedly spoke about being 'horny as f***' and sent a variety of emojis that were sexual in nature.

Huma announced their split on August 29 but decided to head back on the campaign trail days later with Clinton, who is said to be so protective of her long-serving aide that she treats her like a second daughter.

'After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,' Huma said in a statement.

'Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy'.

Weiner confirmed on Thursday that officials from New York's Children's Services agency had informed him about their probe in a letter sent to his mother's house.

'Crazy if you ask me,' he told the New York Times, adding that he had called the agency to learn more.

Several public figures have called for an investigation, among them State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx), who claims the toddler was being 'used for sex.'

Human's mother and sister watch other four-year-old Jordan at the park

DailyMail.com contacted the agency for comment but our calls were not returned.

However an inquiry can only be prompted by someone with direct knowledge of the apparent mistreatment and so far no details have been released about the complaint.

Saleha Abedin is herself no stranger to controversy. She is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Minority Muslim Affairs, where Huma spent 12 years as an assistant editor. Heba also help edit the publication.

In the wake of 9/11, Saleha wrote an editorial suggesting that the U.S. bore responsibility for al-Qaeda's attack.

During Huma's tenure another article accused Jews of 'working the American political system' and being aided by the 'memory of the Holocaust'.

The publication has also been accused of espousing the views of the Muslim Brotherhood.
A man who was sacked from his job as a baggage handler after making a series of Facebook posts in support of Islamic State has won an 'unfair dismissal' case.

Nirmal Singh from Perth, Western Australia, used a fake profile on social media to make a number of controversial posts including one saying 'We All Support ISIS'.

The casual employee at Aerocare, a contractor for Virgin Australia at Perth Airport, was subsequently sacked when the posts were noticed and reported by one of Mr Singh's colleagues.

Nirmal Singh (pictured) won an unfair dismissal case at the Fair Work Commission on Thursday after he was sacked for making a number of pro-ISIS comments on Facebook

However Mr Singh claimed the posts - which were made under the pseudonym Sherry Solus Singh - were 'sarcastic', launching a claim with Fair Work Australia.

On Thursday his claim was approved and he was successfully compensated for $4,800.

Fair Work Commissioner Jennifer Hunt said the amount covered eight weeks worth of pay, minus 40 per cent for misconduct.

In handing down her decision, Commissioner Hunt said there was no evidence Aerocare had considered any alternative options to sacking Mr Singh.

'A more thorough investigation, including obtaining a written account from Mr Singh would have satisfied Aerocare that Mr Singh did not support ISIS,' she said.

'A reasonable conclusion would then be that the ISIS post was an incredibly stupid post to have been made.'

Aerocare claimed the decision to terminate their employee's contract was made out of fear for their reputation and what would happen if the post was made public.

'It could result in panic, furore and concern about public safety and the reputation of Aerocare and that of its client, Virgin Australia,' an admission to the Fair Work Commission read.

Mr Singh worked as a baggage handler for Aerocare at Perth Airport (pictured) but had his contract terminated in October 2015 after a colleague saw the posts and alerted management

Aerocare alerted the Australian Federal Police to the Facebook posts by Mr Singh, with the Joint Counter Terrorism Unit also investigating the incident.

In their admission to the Commission, Aerocare's general manager for employee relations Greg Shelley stressed the importance of security in airports.

'We have a huge amount of compliance with respect to safety with regards to baggage, security, gaining access to the aircraft, and so forth,' Mr Shelley said.

The comments were written underneath a post from Australia's hardline Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir about police worker Curtis Cheng, however Mr Singh claimed they were 'sarcastic' and was compensated $4,800 for his dismissal on Thursday

'We take that aspect very, very seriously... we can't accept, 'I was just joking', after the event as an explanation.

'If we were to be investigating an incident after the event that would not be acceptable, for us to say, 'Yes, we had concerns but he assured us it was just a joke'.'
The origins of a deep fried chicken roll has raised serious debate among Australian politicians.

NSW Nationals MP Andrew Gee has claimed in Parliament on Thursday that the home of the Chiko Roll is the regional city of Bathurst, this was quickly shot down by fellow MPs who said the humble savoury snack was born elsewhere.

'It was launched at the 1951 Wagga Wagga Agricultural Society Show!' Nationals Member for Riverina Michael McCormack, told ABC News.

While Labor MP Lisa Chesters asserted that the Victorian city of Bendigo held the honour as the birthplace of the Chiko Roll.

Australian politicians and Michael McCormack pictured with the divisive Chiko Roll that split parliament

The origins of the Chiko roll has raised serious debate among Australian politicians on Thursday

Mr Gee ignited the debate during his first speech to Federal Parliament.

'If it's Tic Tacs or Nutella that you enjoy ... well they were definitely made in Lithgow,' he said.

'Or if Australia's iconic Chiko Roll is more to your liking ... well they were made in Bathurst.'

THE HISTORY OF THE CHIKO ROLL Frank McEnroe was born in Castlemaine, Victoria and invented the tasty treat in 1950 He worked in Bendigo as a boilermaker and sold food at country shows The first Chiko Roll was sold at a Wagga Wagga show in 1951. Now the divisive snack is manufactured in Bathurst by Simplot Advertisement

Ms Chester called the attempts to take credit for the Chiko Roll 'outrageous' and played her trump card, with some pretty solid evidence.

'Check out the labelling. Chiko Roll was born in #Bendigo,' she tweeted alongside a screenshot of Chiko packaging.

'The Chiko Roll was born in Bendigo, where local Frank McEncroe wanted a snack to eat with one hand at the footy,' it reads.

Mr McCormack stood his ground in his belief that the Chiko Roll originated in the NSW town of Wagga Wagga.

'We have in our Riverina Museum in Wagga Wagga the Gold Chiko Roll given to us by the manufacturers, acknowledging the fact that Wagga Wagga is home of the Chiko Roll,' the Calare MP told the ABC.

In a way, all three MP's could be correct.

NSW Nationals MP Andrew Gee claimed on Thursday that the home of the Chiko Roll is the regional city of Bathurst (right) but Nationals Member for Riverina Michael McCormack (left) says the snack was launched in 1951 in Wagga Wagga

Labor MP Lisa Chesters asserted that the Victorian city of Bendigo held the honour as the birthplace of the Chiko Roll

'Check out the labelling. Chiko Roll was born in #Bendigo,' Ms Chester tweeted alongside a screenshot of Chiko packaging

Frank McEnroe invested the tasty treat in 1950. He worked in Bendigo as a boilermaker and sold food at country shows

The previously mentioned Frank McEnroe invested the tasty treat in 1950. He worked in Bendigo as a boilermaker and sold food at country shows.

The first Chiko Roll was sold at a Wagga Wagga show in 1951.

Now the divisive snack is manufactured in Bathurst by Simplot.

The debate has spilled over from Parliament and is now dividing social media.

'There's been an attack on WAGGA's #ChickoRoll again! This time from Bathurst. What a travesty,' one Twitter user posted.
A nine-year-old New York boy with terminal brain cancer who wished to become a cop was sworn in to his local police department as an honorary police officer.

Colin Hayward Toland, who was first diagnosed with brain cancer in June 2009 at age two, took the oath of office in front of a crowd of 300 on Monday morning.

During an official ceremony with his family and friends looking on, Colin was welcomed to the police force as Ithaca Police Department's newest member.

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Nine-year-old Colin Hayward Toland (pictured right) with terminal brain cancer who wished to become a cop was sworn in to his local police department as an honorary police officer

Toland, who was first diagnosed with brain cancer in June 2009 at age two, took the oath of office in front of a crowd of 300 on Monday morning

He was joined by 150 fellow police officers, firefighters and EMS workers, along with entire fourth grade class at Northeast Elementary School (the crowd shown above)

His father, Ian Hayward, said his son's wish to become a police officer stemmed from his desire to help people, according to ABC News.

And following the protests and violence against officers in recent months, Colin 'felt an immense amount of empathy' toward police and decided to become one.

'Colin wants to help people,' Hayward told ABC News.

'He wants to reach out and make people feel okay.'

When Colin was just two years old, his family was living in Connecticut and were on a drip to Vermont for his birthday and for his parents' 10-year anniversary.

His father, Ian Hayward, held his hand as he was sworn-in on Monday

His mother, Tamiko Toland, pinned his badge to his uniform as his dad stood nearby

He took the oath of office and was welcome as the Ithaca Police Department's newest member

At the time, Colin suddenly fell ill, according to Hayward.

After Colin was transported to Westchester Medical Center for emergency brain surgery, he underwent two more brain surgeries.

He also underwent several months of high-dose chemotherapy before going into remission.

By the time he was just over four years old, he was cancer free, but relapsed about 20 months ago, his father said.

In that time, he has had three more brain surgeries, the most recent in May.

And in the last eight months, he has been on and off hospice, with doctors telling his parents last month they were shocked Colin was walking despite how much the cancer had progressed.

When his parents realized his prognosis was not looking great, they decided to do everything they could for their son, including trips to Hawaii and the Bahamas.

Colin also received a customized duffle bag with his name embroidered on it

His 12-year-old brother Aidan, was also there and joined him on the stage and during a ride in a squad car

Colin told the press at the ceremony that his favorite part was receiving his badge

They have trips already planned to Orlando and Niagara Falls.

The family has since relocated to Ithaca in order to give Colin a better quality of life, according to ABC News.

On Monday, as he was joined by 150 fellow police officers, firefighters and EMS workers, along with entire fourth grade class at Northeast Elementary School, Colin had his dream come true.

His 12-year-old brother, Aidan, was also there and joined him on the stage.

Colin told the press after the ceremony that his favorite part was receiving his badge, which was pinned onto his uniform by his mother, Tamiko Toland.

Colin pictured above with his parents and brother. When asked what position he wanted to take on at the police department as the newest member, Colin joked the receptionist because 'he wouldn't be good at catching bad guys'

'He said, "Everyone should go for their dreams,"' Hayward said of his son's comments, adding that he is 'so inspired' by him and his dreams.

During the emotional ceremony, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick announced September 12 will be known as Colin Toland Hayward Day.

Colin also received a customized duffle bag with his name embroidered on it.

When asked what position he wanted to take on at the police department as the newest member, Colin joked the receptionist because 'he wouldn't be good at catching bad guys,' according to ABC News.
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A driver has been winched to safety by emergency services just before his truck was flooded with water as torrential rain batters south-east Australia.

Footage shows a CFA crew member shattering the front windscreen of the utility vehicle on Wednesday night in Inverleigh, Victoria before he placed a helicopter harness on the driver and a teenage girl.

Meanwhile the desperate search for a missing farmer continues after the 88-year-old's truck was swept into Wallacedale Dam on Wednesday.

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The desperate search for a missing farmer continues after the 88-year-old's truck was swept into Wallacedale Dam (pictured) on Wednesday

Footage shows a CFA crew member shattering the front windscreen of the utility vehicle on Wednesday night in Inverleigh, Victoria before he placed a helicopter harness on the driver

His vehicle was found in the afternoon, but police divers found no trace of the farmer. The area has been deemed safe enough for emergency services to conduct a second dive on Thursday.

Parts of Victoria and South Australia were drenched with rain as houses and businesses flooded in Adelaide's eastern suburbs, including Brownhill Creek, and at various places in the Mt Lofty Ranges, including Hahndorf.

About 60 homes and four businesses were either damaged or flooded with water across South Australia as up to 122mm rain fell in the past 24 hours since Thursday morning in the Adelaide Hills, the ABC reported.

Closer to Adelaide, the Mount Lofty area recorded 98mm, according to The Advertiser.

South Australia's State Emergency Services took more than 750 calls for help on Wednesday, most for property flooding or for trees across roads and buildings.

SES workers helped evacuate people from the parts of the Adelaide Hills like the Old Noarlunga township, where one house took in more than a metre of water.

The SES responded to another 50 callouts before 8am on Thursday but crews were now trying to get people back into their homes.

'Today we're focusing on reconnaissance and assisting people who have been displaced and inconvenienced to get back into their houses as quickly and as safely as possible,' SES state duty officer Aaron Blasch told ABC radio on Thursday.

The wild conditions were the result of an intense low pressure system which formed over South Australia, packing wind gusts of more than 90km/h and rainfall of more than 80mm.

The weather also resulted in a series of power outages from Currency Creek, south of Adelaide, to Nuriootpa, in the Barossa Valley, affecting thousands of properties.

A backyard in Brown Hill Creek, south-west of Adelaide, was inundated with floodwaters on Wednesday. The resident said their neighbour has lost their tennis court and most of their garden, but sandbags would save their house

Floodwaters rage through Athelstone, north-west of Adelaide on Wednesday

A forlorn koala has been drenched in floodwaters in Stirling, south-west of Adelaide, and perched itself on a fence post

Flood water encroaching on a home in central Victoria as the state braces for more potential flooding

Police also carried out a rescue in Inverleigh, west of Geelong, where a man and teenage girl were trapped

Pictured are firefighters at the scene of the rescue in Victoria's south-west

Torrential rain has caused mudslides, including on Greenhill Road in the Adelaide Hills

The road into Hahndorf from Verdun is closed as water is seen over the road

Rushing waters behind a home in the town of Firle in the Adelaide Hills on Wednesday

But about 200 properties remained without electricity on Thursday morning.

A photograph of a koala has captured the impact of the flood waters in Stirling, south-west of Adelaide.

Local Russell Latter snapped the photo of the animal soaked through as raging floods surrounded him on Wednesday afternoon.

Children and teachers had to be rescued from a primary school in Rapid Bay, south of Adelaide, when it was cut off by flood waters on Wednesday.

Homes outside of Melbourne in Taradale and Cockatoo were also damaged by the wild weather.

In Victoria's west, Avoca River reached major flood levels and is expected to keep rising as warnings remain in place.

The river was expected to reach seven metres about midday on Thursday.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the most cause for concern at the moment was the town of Charlton.

'There are 12 homes that have been flooded already or under real risk,' he said on Thursday.

'What is of greatest concern today is an 88-year-old man in Wallacedale remains missing and a six-year-old boy remains missing in the Beechworth area.

'Thoughts are with their families. They must be very concerned and worried at the moment as we are.'

A park bench is rained under in Mylor, south-west of Adelaide, on Wednesday afternoon

Goodwood Road in Adelaide remained flooded on Wednesday night

Strong winds also caused a huge tree to tear through a bedroom in Cockatoo, 48 km south-east of Melbourne's city centre

No one was injured after strong winds caused a huge tree to tear through a bedroom in Cockatoo

Police and emergency services are trying to find an 88-year-old farmer whose ute was swept up in flood waters.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the man's ute was seen entering flood waters at Wallacdale Byaduk Road in Wallacedale, in Victoria's south-east, about 5pm on Wednesday.

Police had found the ute in a dam but were diving the dam to find the elderly local on Thursday.

A separate search is ongoing for six-year-old Ben Dean, who has Down syndrome, after he went missing from his rural family home in Beechworth, in the state's north-east, which has not been affect by flooding.

Overnight two people were rescued from their cars in floodwater in Marong and Bridgewater.

Police also carried out a rescue in Inverleigh, west of Geelong, where a man and teenage girl were trapped, 9News reported.

About 180 roads remain closed across Victoria, including the Great Ocean Road between Eastern View and Lorne, and between Lorne and Skenes Creek.

The small town of Walpeup in Victoria's northwest received an entire month's worth of rain in just 12 hours on Tuesday

Heavy downpours have soaked Victoria since the weekend, seeing 12 local government areas flooded, 102 road closures and mudslides along the Great Ocean Road (pictured)

Heavy downpours have soaked Victoria since the weekend, seeing 12 local government areas flooded, 102 road closures and mudslides along the Great Ocean Road.

Meanwhile in Australia's outback, higher-than-average rainfall has filled Australia's Lake Eyre creating stunning views of water in the usually-dry lake.

Rebecca Turner, of the Marree Hotel, in Marree, South Australia, captured these majestic images during a Father's Day flight over the country's biggest lake.

Her breath-taking pictures show the outback transformed into an ocean, and it's hard to tell where the water ends and the sky begins.

'It is absolutely magic up there and as far as you can see is water. My camera couldn't auto focus at one point because it couldn't determine where the horizon met the lake,' Rebecca said.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology statistics showed that July rainfall in the Lake Eyre basin was 108 percent higher this year than the 35-year average.

Marree has experienced its wettest year since 2010, with 66mm of rain falling since the August 29.

Higher-than-average rainfall has filled Australia's Lake Eyre creating stunning views of water in the usually-dry outback lake

Rebecca Turner from South Australia, captured these majestic images during a flight over the country's biggest lake

Australian Bureau of Meteorology statistics showed that July rainfall in the Lake Eyre basin was 108 percent higher this year than the 35-year average

The breath-taking pictures show the outback transformed into an ocean. Ms Turner's camera couldn't auto focus at one point because she says it was unable to determine where the horizon met the lake

'The current water in the lake is a combination of localised rainfall as well as water which has come down the creek systems from North West Queensland,' Rebecca said.

Water is life in the Lake Eyre region, according to Rebecca, with farmers recently suffering stretches of up to six months without a drop of rain.

'Their properties are large and unfortunately the rain doesn't always fall in the dams or where we need it to,' she said.

'It is absolutely magic up there and as far as you can see is water. My camera couldn't auto focus at one point because it couldn't determine where the horizon met the lake,' Rebecca said

Her breath-taking pictures show the outback transformed into an ocean, and it's hard to tell where the water ends and the sky begins

'The rainfall this year has seen the grass and plants grow in abundance and the wildflowers bloom, which not only makes the landscape pretty but has provided a lot of feed for the cattle.'

'If the rain continues over the summer like last summer, everyone will be very happy.'

Rebecca said that now is a great time for tourists to visit Lake Eyre, even if the floods occasionally close the roads.

Pictures is Lake Eyre before the enormous amount of rainfall this year. The lake flows through the beautiful countryside of South Australia before

'It has been nice to see the roads open after so many closures the past couple of weeks and we would recommend that people allow extra time for their holiday so they are not rushing on wet or slippery roads,' she said.

'Travelling Outback South Australia should be on everyone's bucket list.'

Locals hope that the lake will stay full for the next couple of months, and Rebecca recommends 'the sooner the better' for anyone planning to visit.

Water is life in the Lake Eyre region, according to Rebecca, with farmers recently suffering stretches of up to six months without a drop of rain
A charity founder says Commonwealth Bank has shut down his accounts because they are a Muslim not-for-profit organisation.

Ali Banat, from Greenacre in Sydney's south-west, has called for a boycott the banking giant after he was given a month to withdraw funds from his three charity and personal accounts before they were closed, Parramatta Advertiser reported.

In a video posted on Muslims Around The World's Facebook page, Mr Banat said he had asked for an explanation but he was rebuffed.

Ali Banat, from Greenacre in Sydney, runs a charity called: Muslims Around The World

Ali Banat said his non-profit charity's bank account was closed down by Commonwealth bank without any notice

A message received by Mr Banat from Commonwealth Bank, which said it would not reverse the decision

'They havent give us any explanation, they've said they don't need to give us an explanation. Theyve made a decision.

'They have decided to close the accounts. They've even closed my personal accounts.

'I've been with the Commonwealth Bank since I was in kindergarten, and never have they ever had any issue with any of my accounts up until I opened up a Muslim charity organisation.

'We're not supporting any terrorist groups, we're not funding any terrorist groups. I've got every single document for my organisation, it's a legit organisation.'

Muslims Around the World has been registered as a charity since January 7, according to the Parramatta Advertiser.

The organisation's work is said to have helped 'less fortunate Muslim brothers and sisters' in a number of countries including Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Mr Banat's charity helps people in African countries and has been registered since January

He appealed on social medai for aid in getting people to take notice of the situation

A Go Fund Me page for the charity said: 'Muslims Around the World aims to build a village which will be home to over 200 widows, a masjid [mosque] for the local community and a school to house 600 orphans.

'A mini hospital/medical centre and businesses to support the local community are also going to be established.'

The charity was set up by Mr Banat after he was diagnosed with stage four cancer and given seven months to live, according to the Parramatta Advertiser.

He estimated it had raised $2.1 million so far.

Mr Banat posted a copy of the letter he received from the bank, which said: 'The Commonwealth Bank made the decision to cease its relationship with you.

'This means that you are unable to open any new accounts with the bank.

'The bank is able to cease its relationship with you on commercial grounds without providing a reason. This decision will not be overturned.'

He was given 30 days to empty his accounts before they were closed.

A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson said they were unable to comment on Mr Banat's case due to privacy reasons.

'Commonwealth Bank is unable to comment on individual customers,' the spokesperson said.

'Commonwealth Bank consistently serves each customer on a case-by-case basis.

'There are instances where Commonwealth Bank will need to make a decision to end our relationship with a customer and this is always done after very careful consideration and in line with our account terms and conditions.'

His organisation's work has helped people in a number of countries including Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso
District officials said there was no safety threat and the school was not placed on a lockdown, as the post was apparently a prank

Two 14-year-old girls in Ohio are under police investigation after posting a photo to social media posing with plastic guns and a sign appearing to threaten a school shooting.

Findlay police were called to Findlay High School Tuesday morning after the photo was posted to Instagram of the girls, The Courier in Findlay reported.

The two teens smiled and posed with plastic guns and a sign that read: 'I hate everyone, you hate everyone. Let's shoot up the school at homecoming.'

In addition, they also wrote above the post: 'If school shooting was a sport. America would get the gold (skull emoji).'

Findlay City Schools Superintendent Ed Kurt told the newspaper that the photo was reported to school officials by a student.

Findlay police were called to Findlay High School Tuesday morning after the photo (above) was posted to Instagram of the girls. The two teens posed with plastic guns in the photo

Officials with Findlay High School (above) say the girls have been suspended and face possible charges for the post on Instagram

Kurt said they have found that the post is connected to a social media movement or website called 'I hate everyone.'

'It seems that this movement is encouraging individuals who feel alone to join together,' high school Principal Craig Kupferberg said in an email statement to the school mailing list.

'This is being extended to the world of homecoming where you will hear some say something to the affect, 'I hate everyone, you hate everyone, let's go to homecoming together.'

District officials said there was no safety threat and the school was not placed on a lockdown.

Findlay police Lt. Robert Ring said that the case is under investigation and charges might be filed against the two girls.

He explained that the post was apparently a prank, as one of the girls had a break up and the other had 'issues as well.'

Principal Craig Kupferberg (above) said that the girls face possible expulsion from the school

He says they decided to ask each other to the school's homecoming dance.

Officials say the girls have been suspended. A meeting is planned to discuss possible expulsion, Kupferberg said.

'There doesn't appear to be any legitimate threat or concern to anybody,' Ring said.

'There is no evidence they've got any weapons or pose any threat to homecoming.'

Ring added that the fake guns used in the photo were a cap gun and an airsoft gun.
An explosion on board a Bali ferry carrying 40 passengers, including British tourists, has left two foreigners dead and 14 more injured.

Dazed passengers, many covered in cuts and bruises, were taken to medical centres on the Indonesian holiday island after the blast, with TV footage showing them being carried on stretchers to ambulances and lying in hospital beds.

An Austrian woman was killed along with a second female foreigner, whose nationality was still being verified.

Nationals from Briton, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Spain were also on the boat, which was travelling from East Bali to the Gili Islands.

Graphic photographs circulating on social media show passengers being carried to the shore by locals, bleeding heavily and with limbs hanging off from the explosion.

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Police conduct investigations on a speedboat following an explosion on the vessel in Karang Asem, Indonesia's resort island of Bali

The Gili Cat 2 fast boat was taking 40 passengers to popular tourist destination and holiday island Gili Trawangan when the fuel tank reportedly blew up on board

The 20 injured passengers aboard the speedboat were from Portugal, Germany, Austria and Britain, according to preliminary information from the police

An Indonesian and a Dutch national are reportedly dead and at least 14 more injured after a ferry exploded while travelling from East Bali to the Gili Islands on Thursday

The Gili Cat 2 fast boat was transporting 35 passengers to popular tourist destination Gili Trawangan when the fuel tank reportedly blew up on board

It appeared to be an accident with the explosion occurring in the fuel tank.

The bomb squad was initially deployed to the scene on an island that has suffered bloody Islamist militant attacks in the past, but authorities quickly ruled out an attack.

The boat exploded 600ft from the shore of Padang Bai Harbour at 9.30am, after it 'suffered an electrical surge and burned in the waters.'

'The explosion happened five minutes after the boat departed,' local police chief Sugeng Sudarso told AFP.

'One female passenger died from head injuries.'

According to local reports, the boat exploded near a headland at Padang Bai Harbour at 9.30am

The boat (pictured) exploded 200 metres from the shore of Padang Bai Harbour at 9.30am

The victims (pictured) were reportedly taken by ambulance to hospitals in Denpasar

Hospital workers assist a foreign tourist who was injured from an explosion on a ferry boat travelling from the island of Bali to Lombok

A police forensic team examines a ferry boat which was carrying foreign tourists

Mr Sudarsa told Fairfax Media that one passenger had lost both feet and two had broken both legs.

The captain and three crew members, who were Indonesian, were not injured.

The boat was taken to shore, and Bali Police sent in a bomb squad to investigate the cause of the blast. According to News Corp, investigators have dismissed theories of a bomb causing the explosion and believe it was likely caused by the faulty fuel tank.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia the records 'did not suggest' any Australians were on board the boat.

A short video posted online shows a man being stretchered onto an ambulance. He appears to show no movement in his legs or upper body.

A document seen by News Corp Australia shows the boat was carrying: four Austrians, 13 Brits, four French, four Italian, two Portuguese, two Germans, two Irish and two Dutch citizens.

Karangasem police chief Sugeng Sudarso told News Corp the victims were being taken to a clinic in Manggis Village.

Graphic photographs circulating on social media show passengers being carried to the shore by locals, heavily bleeding with limbs hanging limply

A short video posted online shows a man being stretchered onto an ambulance. He appears to show no movement in his legs or upper body

The boat (pictured) was taken to shore, and Bali Police sent in a bomb squad to investigate the cause of the blast

Investigators have dismissed theories of a bomb causing the explosion and believe it was likely caused by the faulty fuel tank

Later reports suggest that the victims were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Denpasar.

'There are many victims injured, mostly foreigners,' Mr Sudarso said.

Sudarso said he believed a malfunctioning battery near the fuel tank may have caused the accident.

'Based on the testimony (from passengers) and from what I saw at the scene, the explosion came from the fuel tank,' he said.

'Above it was a battery, maybe there was a short circuit that affected the fuel tank.'

The British embassy in Jakarta said it was providing assistance to those affected by the explosion.

The Indonesian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands is heavily dependent on ferry services but the industry has a poor safety record and fatal accidents are common.

The captain and three crew members, who were Indonesian, were not injured

A document reportedly confirmed that the boat contained tourists from Austria, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlandds

The boat was taken to shore, and Bali Police have sent in a bomb squad to investigate the cause of the blast

Last year, dozens of tourists were injured when small explosions hit a ferry crossing between Bali and the neighbouring holiday island of Lombok.

The explosions, determined to be an accident, were thought to have come from the fuel tank of the ferry, which was carrying 129 passengers, most of them tourists.

However fears have also been growing in Indonesia that radicals who have headed to fight with ISIS in the Middle East could encourage supporters back home to mount attacks, or may do so themselves on their return.

In January, a gun and suicide bomb attack claimed by ISIS in the capital Jakarta left four attackers and four civilians dead.

Bali has been attacked by Islamic radicals before. In 2002, more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed in bombings on the island.

A sustained crackdown following the Bali bombings had weakened the most dangerous networks but ISIS has proved a potent new rallying cry for the country's extremists.
A concerned mother has contacted nightclub owners in a bid to have her son banned from partying at their venue until the end of his exam period.

The mother, who is anonymous, sent a private Facebook message to the organisers of Empire Saturdays in Narre Warren, Melbourne, last Wednesday saying she noticed her son had made numerous transactions at the venue since his 18th birthday.

She said her son is 'struggling to see the big picture' and is falling behind on his Year 12 schoolwork.

'I'd like to request you impose a ban on my son until the end of exam period (November),' the mother wrote.

A concerned mother has contacted nightclub owners in a bid to have her son banned from partying at their venue until the end of his exam period

Just half an hour after the message was sent to the club owners, the woman's embarrassed son sent through his own

She said she was in control of his bank accounts and was 'worried' he hadn't saved any money.

Just half an hour after the message was sent to the club owners, the woman's embarrassed son sent through his own.

'Hey guys, this is kind of embarrassing but I think my mum just messaged your page,' he wrote.

'Unfortunately my mum is a 'b****' and is immune to having fun.

'Can you just tell her that you'll ban me? Thanks guys, see you Saturday'.

Instead of responding, the club decided to upload a screenshot of the messages to their Facebook page.

In just one week, the post had been shared more than 2,000 times and had 19,000 likes.

Some were concerned their parents may take a leaf out of the mother's book and ask to have them banned for poor grades.

'I'm surprised our parents didn't do this in Year 12,' one young woman wrote.

Instead of responding, the club (pictured) decided to upload a screenshot of the messages to their Facebook page

Some were concerned their parents may take a leaf out of the mother's book and ask to have them banned for poor grades

'This is something [my] mum would do if she knew how to use the internet,' another said.

Others praised the 18-year-old for his response, saying he had earned a '$100 drink card' at the venue, but some were unimpressed by the language he used to describe his mother.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Empire Saturday's for comment.
An advertisement in New Zealand of a woman in bed looking seductively at the camera while holding a piece of bread has caused controversy on social media.

The advertisement for Burgen bread features the tagline 'Are you still a Burgen virgin?' and is on television and bus shelters across the country, reported the NZ Herald.

The loaves of bread, which are distributed by George Weston Foods, are stocked in supermarkets across New Zealand and Australia.

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An advertisement in New Zealand of a woman in bed looking seductively at the camera while holding a piece of bread has caused controversy on social media

The advertisement for Burgen bread features the tagline 'Are you still a Burgen virgin?' and is on television and bus shelters across the country

Comments on the ads have been overwhelmingly negative on Twitter, with one woman commenting: 'The gross sexualised Burgen ads are everywhere, including television, where she is giggling in bed, playing on losing her virginity #bleurgh'.

Another person posted an image of the ad on a bus shelter and said: 'No Burgen you really don't need to sexualisation (sic) bread'.

One woman said it had totally put her off buying Burgen bread, and questioned why the company couldn't have come up with something else.

One man labelled the ads as 'appalling' and another said he was not impressed the ads were placed all around Christchurch.

The controversial advertising campaign also features a tousle-haired man in his pyjamas, buttering a piece of bread in the kitchen late at night.

The company responded to a complaint about the on their Facebook

One woman labelled the ads as 'gross' and 'sexualised' and said it played on women losing their virginity

Another woman agreed and said it had put her off buying loaves of Burgen bread

This woman got straight to the point with her thoughts on the suggestive ad campaign

'We believe Burgen is beautifully made bread and we want to share it with people who have never tried it - hence the term Burgen Virgin,' the company responded.

'It's a tongue-in-cheek approach to get people talking about the brand. But it certainly is not meant to cause offence.

'We will pass on your comments and hope you may change your mind about not buying our bread.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted George Weston Foods for a comment.

Comments on the ads were overwhelmingly negative on Twitter and Facebook

This man labelled the ads as 'appalling' in response to a post that simply said 'Please go away'
Patterson, also 65, is still waiting after being arrested in Oklahoma

Hastings, said 'It's like it just happened again'

The mom of a 12-year-old girl who was murdered in 1973 along with her 13-year-old friend relived her agony as one of the alleged killers pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Valerie Janice Lane, 12, and Doris Karen Derryberry, 13, were found dead near Olivehurst on November 12, 1973. Cops arrested two men Tuesday based on new DNA evidence.

Speaking after Wednesday's arraignment, in which William Lloyd Harbour, 65, pleaded not guilty, Lane's mom Margret Hastings said: 'It's just like it reopened - it's like it just happened again. And it's really, really hard.'

Painful: Margaret Hastings (center, supported by daughter Melanie right and granddaughter Karly Kendrick left) said it felt like she was reliving her daughter Janice Lane's 1973 murder

Larry Don Patterson (left), of Oklahoma, and William Lloyd Harbour (right), of California are accused of killing Lane, 12, and Doris Derryberry, 13, in 1973. Both men were 22 at the time

Painful: Derryberry's nephew, Stan Vantassel said the new trial - kicked off by the discovery of DNA evidence - has reopened old wounds. Harbour pleaded not guilty Wednesday

Hastings was seen leaving the court, where she watched the arraignment of her daughter's alleged killer, looking crushed.

She was being supported by her daughter Melanie and granddaughter Karly Kendrick.

Hastings wasn't the only member of the Olivehurst, California family torn up by the reopening of the case.

'We went through this and we found ways to put it to rest. And to live with it and deal with it,' Stan Vantassel, Derryberry's nephew, told ABC 10.

'Today, all of those emotions are open and everything has just aggressively taken over.'

Even more hurtful, he said, is the knowledge that the family spent decades living across the road from Harbour, who was arrested in Olivehurst Tuesday, and his family.

'It was extremely difficult knowing, as children, living and growing up in the neighborhood that we were running around with some of their children,' Vantassel said.

'Its just a slap in our face.'

Harbour and cousin Larry Don Patterson, also 65, of Oakhurst, Oklahoma, are accused of raping the girls and killing them with a shotgun.

Both men were 22 on November 11, 1973, when the girls disappeared while visiting a mall in nearby Linda.

Their mothers reported them missing the following day, and a few hours later two bodies that had been found by a roadside were identified as the girls.

Victims: Lane (left) and Derryberry (right) were reported missing by their mothers when they didn't return from a trip to the mall on November 12, 1973

The men were linked to the cold case by DNA found in semen on the girls' bodies after Yuba County Sheriff's Department decided to investigate with modern technology.

Today only Harbour was facing an arraignment, as Patterson is still in Oklahoma's Creek County, southwest of Tulsa, where he was arrested.

Harbour pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in the first degree; some of the counts deal with child rape and molestation, although the statute of limitations for rape charges has long expired.

If found guilty he will face two life sentences - but not the death penalty.

That, District Attorney Patrick McGrath said, is because both men must be tried under 1973 laws - and California did not have the death penalty at that time.

Vantassel said he wasn't happy about that decision. 'In my opinion, these people have walked around for the last 43 years and theyve lived their lives,' he said.

'My aunt never had a chance at hers.'

Patterson faces the same charges as Harbour.

He was being held in the local jail on multiple charges involving the deaths, but was also being held as an unregistered sex offender, according to federal officials.

No execution: Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath said that Harbour and Patterson (who is still in California) won't face the death penalty, as they are being tried by 1973 laws

Both men were living in Olivehurst when the girls were killed.

Authorities said the girls had been driven to a wooded area near Marysville, north of Sacramento, and shot at close range with a shotgun.

The homicide case remained at active investigation until 1976, when the case went cold following more than 60 interviews but no successful leads, authorities said.

Then in March of 2014, Yuba County investigators reviewed the case for evidence that could be retested with newer technology.

Evidence collected during the original investigation was reviewed and submitted to the California Department of Justice Forensic Labs for analysis.

That December, testing revealed that DNA evidence was matched and identified the two men as suspects - and the case was reopened.

Authorities want a speedy trial, but are also looking to hold off until Patterson can stand trial in California.

A court date to schedule a preliminary hearing has been set for October 19.
As the new school year begins, the Candler community welcomes distinguished visiting faculty to campus from Europe and South America.

Eve-Marie Becker joins the Candler faculty for the academic year as Distinguished Visiting Professor of New Testament, teaching courses that include Interpretation of the New Testament and Special Topics in New Testament: Philippians. Becker comes to Atlanta from Aarhus University in Denmark, where she serves on the theology faculty as professor of New Testament exegesis in the department of biblical studies. Her research areas include the Gospel of Mark and ancient Gospel historiography, second Corinthians, Philippians, early Christian literary history, and hermeneutics. She has written extensively, and has been published in English and German. Becker belongs to numerous academic organizations, and is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria.

Visiting research scholar Blanches de Paula comes to Candler for the fall semester from Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of Candlers academic exchange partners, where she is professor of pastoral theology. A Methodist pastor, de Paula specializes in teaching pastoral theology and counseling, psychology of religion and pastoral ministry. As part of her work at Candler, she is currently co-teaching the course Historical and Global Dimensions of Pastoral Care with Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling Gregory Ellison II.

In January, Candler will welcome Terence E. Fretheim, Elva B. Lovell Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, as a distinguished visiting professor for the spring 2017 semester.
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From monkeys sipping at cups of water to elephants crossing the famous Sydney harbour, incredible historical photos have emerged, telling the story of Australia's spectacular Tarong Zoo.

The age-old photos capture the joy the zoo has brought through the years, and come as Taronga Zoo nears an important and joyous milestone, its 100-year anniversary.

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Historical photos show the incredible relationship between man and animal at Taronga Zoo

The zoo and its collection of animals was moved from Moore Park to Mosman in 1916, where it has called home for 100 years

Incredible historical photos have emerged, telling the story of Australia's spectacular Tarong Zoo

Rising up from humble beginnings, the zoo and its collection of animals was moved from Moore Park to Mosman in 1916, where it was officially unveiled as Taronga Zoo.

Now 100 years on, the zoo is home to more than 4,000 animals, and has made a name for itself as one of the most spectacular zoos in the world.

The photos capture the relationship between the animals and their keepers

The Sumatran Tiger (pictured) is one of the ten species the zoo is fighting to preserve

The zoo was moved from Moore Park to its current location at Mosman in 1916, where it acquired 51 acres of land

In a stream of historical photos, the zoo and its relationship with the animals tells a story of love and nurture.

Its zoo keepers can be seen hand in hand with the animals, one even displaying a monkey sipping from a woman's cup.

The incredible images show just how incredible the zoo was from day dot when it first made its mark on the harbour's shore.

Historical photos have captured Alfred Hitchcock posing with a koala at the Sydney based Taronga Zoo

Starting at Hyde Park, the October 15 parade will make its way to the Sydney Opera House

The age-old photos capture the joy the zoo has brought through the years for kids and adults alike



Boasting a rich 100-year-long history, the Zoo will next month celebrate its centenary with a parade through central Sydney.

Come October 15, a parade of giant animal light sculptures will make its way down Macquarie Street, escorted by a cast of school children.

Taronga Zoo moved from Moore Park to Mosman in 1916 where it acquired more than 50 acres of land

Taronga Zoo is home to over 4,000 animals of 340 species including camels (pictured)

Elephants were transported across the harbour in 1916 when the zoo moved locations and unveiled itself as Tarong Zoo

A live performance at Sydney Opera House will close out the celebration on October 15

Starting at Hyde Park, the parade will make its way to the Sydney Opera House where a live performance will close out the celebration.

The light parade aims to recreate the historic moment when Jessie the elephant made her way from the zoo's original site in Moore Park, through central Sydney, to her new home on the foreshore where the Harbour Bridge and Opera House would later rise.

Mr Jones hoped the Tarong Birthday Parade would 'spread the word that we need to stand up for these amazing animals'

The incredible historical photos highlight the zoo's journey over 100 years, and the experiences it has offered its guests

Taronga Zoo's creative director Ignatius Jones said it would be 'the most amazing parade that Sydney has seen in 100 years'.

'An absolute carnival of lights, dancing and music.'

Mr Jones hoped the Tarong Birthday Parade would 'spread the word that we need to stand up for these amazing animals and help Taronga ensure their future'.

Taronga Zoo's creative director Ignatius Jones said it would be 'the most amazing parade that Sydney has seen in 100 years'

Mr Jones said the parade would be 'an absolute carnival of lights, dancing and music'

Taronga Zoo's CEO Cameron Kerr said the parade was a chance for people to 'stand up for the wild'.

'We're inviting everyone in Sydney to come along to what will be an amazing spectacle and help support the work being done,' he said.

Giraffes were just one species transported across the harbour in 1916 along with 228 mamals, 552 birds and 64 reptiles

The zoo also places an emphasis on scientific conservation, education and preservation

Along with 228 mamals, 552 birds and 64 reptiles, Jessie boarded a barge to be transported across the harbour.

Originating from the Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful view', Taronga Zoo lived up to its name.

The zoo hopes to turn around the plight 10 critical species, including the Asian Elephant

Rising up from humble beginnings, the zoo and its collection of animals was moved from Moore Park to Mosman in 1916

While creating an oasis for 340 species of animals, the zoo also places an emphasis on scientific conservation, education and preservation.

And with the help of its upcoming parade, the zoo hopes to turn around the plight 10 critical species, including the Asian Elephant, the Platypus and Sumatran Tiger.

The zoo, located at Mosman on Sydney's Harbour, is home to more than 4,000 animals
On our wedding night in Paris, Colin had a tantrum that left him exhausted, so that was a non-starter, and the consummation, when it happened, was awkward, painful and not particularly enjoyable or romantic. Apparently this was my fault. When he took me to a brothel a night or two later to watch a private sex show, I felt he was saying: 'You're hopeless at it, but you'll get some good tips from watching this.' It was so humiliating. He'd had numerous affairs before we met but that didn't mean he regarded it as his role to teach me how to explore this side of life with gentleness or generosity. As long as Colin and I were sleeping together, our sex life was marked by criticism and disappointment. He used to get very cross with me, which of course made things worse and I used to dread going to bed with him. I tried to be enthusiastic but it never worked between us. For a very long time, I felt I must be to blame. The one time he seemed pleased with me was years later in the Grenadines. I think he arranged for my drink to be spiked and, from what I know now, I suspect it was LSD. I had the most terrifying experience, with visions and hallucinations, but we ended up making passionate love despite my feeling so scared. It was extremely energetic and uninhibited. The next day, Colin said: 'That was amazing and that's the way I want you to behave all the time.' 'Well, I felt awful and I still do,' I replied. He didn't lace my drink again but how strange and somehow typical of Colin that, rather than being tender, he decided he could just drug me into doing what he liked.
The white Ohio cop who shot and killed a black teenager brandishing a BB gun equipped with a laser sight has been named as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran of the force.

Tyre King, 13, was shot multiple times in an alley east of downtown Columbus when he pulled what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband during a confrontation with police on Wednesday, police said.

Officers were investigating an armed robbery report on Wednesday and spotted three males who matched the description of the suspects, authorities said.

Two of them ran away when officers tried to speak with them. The police chased the pair into a nearby alley and tried to take them into custody.

That's when Tyre pulled out a gun, and Officer Mason fired his weapon, hitting the boy repeatedly, police said.

Tyre, an 8th grader at Linden-McKinley STEM Acedemy, died at Nationwide Children's Hospital at around 8.22pm - approximately one hours after he was shot.

Tragic: Officer Bryan Mason opened fire on 13-year-old Tyre King when he brandished a BB gun that was indistinguishable from a real weapon on Wednesday night

Officer Mason couldn't be reached for comment on Thursday and family members also declined to speak.

At a press conference on Thursday, officers said the BB gun looked 'practically identical' to a police weapon.

The Umarex 40XP Blowback BB Pistol retails for $50 and is readily available to buy at stores such as Walmart.

It is not known where King purchased the laser sight.

Because the officer was white and the boy black, the case has brought inevitable comparisons with the 2014 fatal shooting in Cleveland of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Columbus police are early in their investigation but say the differences in the Wednesday night shooting of Tyre King and the Cleveland case are stark.

'The only thing similar in nature is the age, race and outcome,' said Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner. 'The facts are not similar, and that must be reiterated.'

Tyre died at a children's hospital. Authorities identified the officer who fired as a nine-year veteran of the force named Bryan Mason.

At a news conference Thursday, Police Chief Kim Jacobs displayed a photo of what she called a 'replica' of the BB gun that Tyre had.

Chief Kim Jacobs holds an impression of the replica gun that Tyre King brandished on Wednesday night

Call to action: Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther talks during a news conference about the police shooting of 13-year-old Tyre King who pulled a BB gun from his waistband just before he was shot and killed

'Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon,' she said. 'As you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you.'

The hashtag #TyreKing was among the most used on Twitter in the United States on Thursday morning, as social media users expressed outrage over the shooting and drew comparisons between King and Tamir Rice.

While angry messages flooded social media, Columbus officials called for calm during an investigation into the death.

'These are crushing circumstances for everyone,' said Columbus Councilman Mitchell Brown. 'Let the process work.'

Mason has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, per department protocol, Jacobs said.

It also emerged on Thursday that Officer Mason shot and killed a man during a police confrontation in 2012.

In December 2012, Mason shot a man who was holding another man at gunpoint. Officers said the armed man refused orders to drop his weapon and was shot.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that investigators concluded Mason acted within policy in that case.

An attorney for Tyre's family called for a fair and independent investigation into the boy's death.

Sean Walton declined to discuss any previous interaction Tyre had with police, but he emphasized that Tyre didn't have any violent criminal history.

He said the family believed that Tyre being involved in an armed robbery would be 'so out of character' for him.

Tyre played football and was in the young scholars program at school, Walton said.

The boy also had a slight build and, if anything, was on the small side for his age, the attorney said.

Authorities said it wasn't clear if the shooting was caught on surveillance or cellphone video.

Columbus police don't use body cameras.

Investigation: Officers confer at the scene where Tyre King was fatally wounded by a veteran officer on Wednesday night

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther appeared to choke up as he called for the community to come together to help ensure children remain safe.

He questioned why an eighth-grader would have a replica of a police firearm.

'There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets,' Ginther said.

'And a 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence.'

Neighborhood resident Chris Naderer said he was home at the time and heard someone break fencing in his backyard, then saw an officer chasing two young black men and heard several gunshots.

'I just think it was bad circumstances that he had a gun,' Naderer said.

Police reviewing evidence from the scene determined the boy's firearm was actually a BB gun with an attached laser sight.

Response: Officers were on scene to deal with a robbery in Columbus when the fatal shooting occurred

A sign on a fence on 18th street near East Capital Street is seen September 15, 2016, near the scene of a police shooting of 13-year-old Tyre King in Columbus, Ohio

The male who had been with Tyre, 19-year-old Demetrius Braxton, was interviewed and released pending further investigation, police said.

They provided no further information about him.

The shooting comes just months after the family of Tamir Rice was told it was set to receive $6million from the city of Cleveland

Police said additional suspects were being sought as the shooting and reported robbery remained under investigation.

The police chief said it was too soon to draw comparisons between Tyre's death and the Tamir Rice case.

There was no chase in Tamir's case. A caller reported someone pointing a gun at people near a recreation center, and a rookie officer shot Tamir almost immediately after his police cruiser stopped nearby.

The caller had said the person was likely a juvenile and the weapon was probably fake, but the call taker never passed that information to the dispatcher of the responding officers.

In that case, the grand jury concluded that the officer and his partner reasonably believed that it was a real gun and that their lives were in danger, prosecutors said.

It was 'indisputable' that the boy was drawing the pistol from his waistband when he was shot, Tim McGinty, Cuyahoga County prosecutor, said at the time.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has slammed plans for a public vote on gay marriage as he fears it will spark homophobic attacks.

The airline boss, who is gay, said the proposed plebiscite could lead to 'open season for [the] most damaging, hurtful language about LGBT people.

Mr Joyce called on politicians to scrap the 'expensive and unnecessary' vote and told parliament to tackle the issue itself.

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Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has slammed plans for a public vote on gay marriage as he fears it will spark homophobic attacks

In a column for The Guardian, the Qantas chief executive said gays and lesbians had approached him to tell of their fears of being attacked in the wake of the plebiscite.

'Ive had people come up to me or write to me saying that they fear worse is to come - their fear is a plebiscite will be open season for most damaging, hurtful language about LGBT people,' Mr Joyce wrote.

'Given that the rate of depression for gay Australians is much higher than the national average, thats a serious concern.'

Mr Joyce said Australians did not need a vote on gay marriage in order to have a national debate on the matter, because have already been having one for years.

He called on parliament to step up to the plate and 'show some leadership' by deciding on the subject themselves.

'Undercutting parliament by taking away its ability to decide on marriage equality would set a terrible precedent for the next big change were faced with, whether its an economic choice or a social one,' the Qantas boss wrote.

The airline boss, who is gay, said the proposed plebiscite could lead to 'open season for [the] most damaging, hurtful language about LGBT people. Gay marriage supporters are pictured

He added that the vote was a waste of money and could end up using taxpayer funds to 'give a platform to the worst kind of homophobic rhetoric'.

It was revealed earlier this week that $15million of public funds could be used to pay for yes and no campaigns leading up to the plebiscite.

Malcom Turnbull's cabinet has reportedly agreed to allocate $7.5million in public funding to each of the yes and no campaigns

Malcom Turnbull's cabinet has reportedly agreed to allocate $7.5million in public funding to each of the yes and no campaigns.

Labor opposes the plebiscite and does not want taxpayers' money spent on the campaigns.

If the plebiscite bill passes through parliament, the vote will take place on February 11 next year.

=Australians will be asked: 'Do you support a change in the law to allow same-sex couples to marry?'

However, the bill could yet fail - and Mr Turnbull is not keen to dwell on same-sex marriage if it does not go to a public vote.

'The resolution of the same-sex marriage issue will be postponed potentially for a very long time,' he warned today.

'Important issue though it is, it is absolutely not the top of my agenda in the way it is for some others.
Big day: Accountant Alex Jerrett, 33, pictured with his fiancee Kiri John, 31, will marry this weekend - seven days after he took a sex doll to Ground Zero in New York on his stag do

The groom who was photographed posing with a blow up doll at Ground Zero on his stag do is a 'high flying' accountant due to wed his fiancee this weekend, MailOnline can reveal today.

Alex Jerrett, 33, a former Newport rugby player, was photographed grinning at the memorial in New York with the inflatable woman under his arm on September 9, just two days before the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

His bride, professional dancer and former Miss Wales swimwear model Kiri John, 31, was left in floods of tears on her hen weekend when she was told of her husband-to-be's stunt, which also caused international outrage.

And her protective family were also appalled by the insensitive blunder on the anniversary of the terror attacks, with her step-father saying they were 'all gutted by what happened'.

But the couple, who live in London but come from South Wales, will still marry at a grand Herefordshire country house on Saturday.

Kiri's stepfather Peter Newnes, 53, revealed Alex had to carry the blow-up doll around with him in New York as part of a stag weekend forfeit.

Row: Mr Jerrett, circled far right, was photographed posing with the doll on September 9, just two days before the 15th anniversary of 9/11. The photos sparked international outrage

Heartbroken: Professional dancer and a former Miss Wales swimwear model Kiri John, 31, pictured, was left in floods of tears at her husband-to-be's lack of judgement

'Gutted': Kiri, pictured, who has danced on Cunard and Thomson cruise ships during her showbusiness career, was too upset to talk about her groom's sex doll blunder

He told MailOnline: 'Alex is an educated high-flyer but where was his common sense? Kiri is supporting him but we are all gutted by what happened on his stag.

'His mother is gutted too, he's a very intelligent guy, he's no fool. But if you look at the photographs you can see he just didn't realise what he was doing.'

Kiri is said to have forgiven her fiance and the plush wedding, a year in the planning, is due to go on at their dream wedding venue near Hereford on Saturday.

Mr Newnes said the timing of the inflatable doll prank, two days before the 15th anniversary of 9/11, was 'dreadful'.

Moving on: Kiri is said to have forgiven her fiance and the plush wedding, a year in the planning, is due to go on at their dream venue near Hereford on Saturday

He added: 'Kiri is upset but she is not making excuses for what he did. It was a ridiculous thing to do.

'We don't agree with what Alex has done but I can assure you that is not him at all.

'He's an educated, decent, hard-working young man. We've all been on stag weekends but he's made a mistake.

'I have spoken to Alex and he's obviously upset. I can't understand what he was thinking at the time.

'We are all gutted at what's happened but we are not going to hold it against the lad.'

Former rugby player Alex was on his stag weekend along with his banker brother Tom, 29, and their father Clive, 66, a retired schoolteacher.

The group of men also took a series of light-hearted selfies before they were eventually confronted by a police officer and asked to leave the area.

When asked what they were doing Alex reportedly said: 'It's just a bachelor party'.

Families of some of the 2,977 victims of the attacks on the Twin Towers, which included 67 Britons, were left furious by the tasteless stunt.

Rosanne Hughes, 61, from the New Jersey 9/11 Memorial Foundation said she was appalled to hear about the stag party celebrating on Ground Zero.

She lost her husband Thomas F. Hughes Jr, 46, who was on the 107th floor of the World Trade Centre for a meeting when the plane hit.

Rift: Former Newport rugby player Alex, left, is said to have had the doll with him as a forfeit - his wife-to-be Kiri was also said to be angry at what he had done but will forgive him

She said: 'I'm speechless. I don't even have any words for that - that's a disgrace.

'That is sacred ground, I lost my husband and I don't even know what to say - it's disgusting.

'If I came face to face with these people I would say 'shame on you. You have no clue to what those families have gone through and to be that disrespectful' - they should be fined. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with that.'

Shock: Kiri first saw the pictures of her fiance while on her hen weekend with mum Liane at a spa hotel in West Wales

While Michael Frazier, executive vice president of communications and marketing at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, said: 'This image is exceptionally disturbing and what is just as disturbing - if not more - is that these people find it appropriate to blatantly disrespect this place made sacred by the murder of 3000 innocent people.

Professional dancer and choreographer Kiri first saw the pictures of her fiance while on her hen weekend with mum Liane at a spa hotel in West Wales.

Neighbours at the groom's 370,000 family home in the leafy village of Rogerstone, near Newport, South Wales, could not believe their eyes.

One said: 'Clive is a retired maths teacher, he's a lovely fellow, very gentle and well-mannered.

'I was more than a little surprised to see him in the photographs, it's not like him at all. But he's a distinctive looking chap, I recognised him straight away.

'Alex and Tom left home a long time ago but I know there's been a lot of excitement over the coming wedding.'

Dare: Kiri's stepfather Peter Newnes, 53, revealed Alex (far left, with the doll under his arm) had to carry the blow-up doll around with him in New York as part of a stag weekend forfeit. Families of those who lost loved-ones on 9/11 were appalled by the stunt last weekend

Intervention: Police told the group to leave, which included Alex's father Clive, 66, pictured far right in blue, a retired maths teacher. Alex's brother Tom was also said to be on the trip

While Clive went on the stag weekend to New York his wife Sue has been staying at the couple's holiday home in Spain.

She is flying back at the same time as her husband and two sons are returning from their ill-fated trip to the States.

Brothers Luke and Josh Adams, who grew up with the Jerrett brothers in Newport were also understood to be on the trip.

Their father, company director Andrew Adams, 54, declined to comment on the sex doll stag weekend fiasco.

Home: Alex was brought up in this 370,000 detached house in Newport, and his fiancee is believed to have gone to the same south Wales school

Kiri, of Cardiff, trained at the Northern Ballet School and describes herself as an actor and dancer. She has also modelled for Littlewoods catalogues.

Kiri, who has danced on Cunard and Thomson cruise ships during her showbusiness career, was too upset to talk about her groom's sex doll blunder.

Her grandmother Penelope John said: 'I'm very proud of my grandaughter and I'm proud of her husband-to-be too.'
Being pinned down and screaming out in pain, this is the shocking footage that has revealed the brutal treatment of rabbits who are plucked for their angora fur.

The rabbits are bred in captivity in pens similar to battery chickens farms across France before they are picked off to have their hair ripped from their skin.

The animals are then pinned down with their front and hind legs spread apart while farmers remove their silky fibres, which are used to make angora wool for the textiles and fashion industry.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW

One of the angora rabbits, who is being bred for its silky fur, is picked up by a farmer ready to be plucked

The rabbits are bred in captivity in pens similar to battery chickens in France before they are picked off to have their fur ripped off

Many of them writhe around in pain and cry out as they undergo the painful process, with some even having their skin torn as they are sheared.

In one clip, one of the farmers can be heard explaining how on some parts of the rabbit, the fur does not come off easily, and he is forced to pull harder when tearing off the hair.

And as one of the rabbits squeal out, he can also be heard asking it: 'Aren't you happy?'

The secret footage was recorded by French animal rights charity One Voice, who visited six angora rabbit farms across France over a six month period.

The group would not identify the companies, preferring to 'denounce an overall system and achieve a ban on raising and selling angora.'

Many of them writhe around in pain and cry out as they undergo the painful process, with some even having their skin torn as they are sheared

The fur collected from the rabbits is turned into angora wool, which is used to make sweaters, socks and scarves

And Muriel Arnal, president of the association, hit out at the treatment of the animals in their investigation.

She told Europe 1: 'Rabbits suffer, they cry, this is unacceptable. Sometimes the skin is torn when they are plucked.

'Compared to China , the only thing different in France is that rabbits have straw in their cage, but it's to preserve clean and silky hair rather than animal welfare.

'It's unacceptable and will happen as long as this farming is not regulated.'

The fur collected from the rabbits is turned into angora wool, which is used to make sweaters, socks and scarves.

One man lies the rabbit out on its front on a table and begins to the painful process of collecting its fur

The farmer is forced to use a firm hand to stop the rabbit from moving around as he plucks the silky fur

One of the farmers can be heard explaining how on some parts of the rabbit, the fur does not come off easily, and he is forced to pull harder at tearing off the hair

French animal rights charity One Voice has hit out at the treatment of angora rabbits and called for a ban on breeding them

The individual hairs are plucked from the rabbits rather than shaved as hair that still has the root is longer, and can therefore gather a higher price.

It is also considered too expensive to anesthetise the rabbits so they are plucked while being fully conscious.

Now One Voice have mounted a campaign to ban the breeding of angora rabbits and the trade of their wool.

They wrote on their website: 'The operation is a source of permanent stress for the rabbits.

'Naked after the 'harvesting' they risk exposure to thermal shock when put back in their hutches without any real protection from the cold.'

Angora fibres are prized for their exceptionally fluffy texture. Its warmer than wool and the fibre is also exceptionally fine  just 11 microns (11 thousandths of a millimetre) in diameter  which means angora is softer than cashmere.

A rabbit shows one of its front legs, where it was partly plucked by farmers at an angora farm in France

After having undergone the plucking procedure the angora rabbit is then taken back to its cage

The new investigation comes after fellow animal rights group PETA released a gut-wrenching expose into the angora industry in China three years ago.

As a result of PETA's drive, major clothing retailers including H&M ceased using angora in their products.

China is responsible for 90 per cent of the worlds supply of angora wool and investigators went to ten different angora farms across the country.
This is the grinning face of a Syrian terrorist German authorities say was part of a 'sleeper' cell ready to carry out attacks in Europe.

This photo shows the teenager smiling alongside friends at what is thought to be a beer festival in Reinfelt, northern Germany, earlier this year.

As he enjoyed himself, he was oblivious to the fact that security forces were monitored and that his phone had been tapped.

Taken at a festival earlier this year, Ibrahim M is pictured enjoying himself in northern Germany

The Syrian, identified as Ibrahim M, was arrested in a massive series of raids in Germany this week.

The 18-year-old had travelled to Europe with ISIS cohorts after posing as war refugees fleeing their homeland.

Two of those they traveled with on fake passports were suicide bombers who blew themselves to smithereens in the Paris attacks of November last year.

Plain clothed German police officers stand outside the German Supreme Court as terrorism suspects arrive yesterday

Ibrahim M was arrested in Reinfeld in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein - one of an estimate 500 radicalised terror suspects German intelligence operatives believe hid themselves among the great mass of migrants fleeing war and terror.

It emerged after the police swoops that he and his accomplices had been under constant surveillance since landing in Germany via the Balkans in November last year.

Authorities said all three suspects were found with fake passports crafted by ISIS forgers, nearly $100,000 (75,516) to finance their terror activities and mobile telephones fitted with special communications equipment to allow them to contact their puppetmasters in Syria.

Germany is earmarked for a large-scale attack along the lines of the Paris carnage of shootings and bombings last November which claimed 130 lives.

A returned Jihadist called Harry Sarfo has become an informant for the intelligence services since he was jailed in Bremen last year for membership of ISIS.

He has told interrogators that the terror group desperately wants Jihadists to carry out attacks both in Germany and the UK.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Ibrahim M and two other suspects were being monitored by security services for months

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the three apparently used the same migrant trafficking network as several of the IS gunmen who killed 130 people in Paris in November last year.

'According to what we know so far, the investigation of the (federal criminal office) BKA points to links to the attackers of Paris from November 2015,' de Maiziere told a press conference.

'There is every reason to believe that the same trafficking group used by the Paris attackers also brought the three men who were arrested to Germany,' he said, adding that their forged travel documents came from 'the same workshop'.
Like countless others, Rich McCormack snapped a photo of the Tribute in Light at the World Trade Center site.

But the freelance photographer from Jersey City got more than he bargained for when he capturthe beams of light towering into the sky last week.

At the top of the beams appears to be a silhouette of an angel, though the photographer himself said it bears a striking resemblance to Jesus.

At the top of the beams appears to be a silhouette of an angel, though the photographer himself said it bears a striking resemblance to Jesus

Like countless others, a freelance photographer snapped a photo of the Tribute in Light at the World Trade Center site, but captured the angel at the top of the beams

The picture was shared on social media, and many users have taken it to mean a symbolic religious sign.

Norma Cheryda Aguila-Valdaliso wrote: 'Oh my God. God is great. God is good.

'This has left me with so much faith - God is watching over us always.

Yvette Cid, whose children were victims of the 9/11 attacks which claimed 2,996 people, was overwhelmed by the picture.

She said: 'That's an awesome pic wow I lost my two boys and I believe this is a sign to all that have lost a love one.'

Nancy Diaz shared the view that someone was looking down upon New York, and Helena Padgett said: 'The Lord is with us and this is just another reminder. It's beautiful.'

Like countless others, a freelance photographer snapped a photo of the Tribute in Light at the World Trade Center site. But Rich McCormack from Jersey City got more than he bargained for when he snapped the towers of light beaming into the sky last week

Mr McCormack said he had taken several photos that night, and the figure only appeared in one of them.

Some of his followers were quick to point out that his feat was no coincidence.

C ristina Fontanelli said: Oh my goodness. Richard - incredible. So many signs and wonders.

'You must be a very special human being to have captured this. We have to believe there is more than the horrors that manifest on this planet. Thank you Jesus.'

Doris Camacho agreed, and added: ' Do you know how blessed you are? Everybody has taken this same picture for years, but this angel chose you.'

Mr McCormack said he had taken several photos that night, and the figure only appeared in one of them

While some questioned its validity, saying it had been photoshopped or even placed there as a hologram by the government, Mr McCormack said he hadn't tampered with the image.

His friends leaped to his defense, describing him as 'God's middle man' for capturing the 'miracle'.
Theresa May has given the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project the go-ahead

Theresa May has finally given the go-ahead for the controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power plant despite fears over Chinese control and huge long-term costs.

The government announced its approval for the 18billion project after securing tweaks to the agreement.

There will also be 'significant new safeguards' on future foreign investment in nuclear power.

But there are no changes to the generous 30billion subsidy deal, which means the government will guarantee to buy energy from the plant at roughly double the current wholesale prices.

The Prime Minister dramatically pressed pause on the project and ordered a review soon after taking over from David Cameron in July.

The move, after around eight years of tortured negotiations, took Beijing by surprise and sparked thinly-veiled threats about the impact on relations between the countries - which Mr Cameron and George Osborne had put great effort into fostering.

However, the government confirmed its approval for the scheme today after forging a 'new agreement' with French energy giant EDF - which will deliver the power station in partnership with the help of Chinese funding.

The safeguards include that the consortium will not be able to sell the site without ministers' consent.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said the project - which may now need to be signed off again by EDF's board - would create 25,000 jobs and provide 7 per cent of our power needs in a 'clean, reliable' way.

'Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the Government's agreement,' he said.

'Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.

THE BILL FOR HINKLEY Cost of building the plant (met by China firm and EDF): 18billion Estimated subsidy provided by taxpayers over liftetime: 30billion 'Strike price' for power that is guaranteed by the government: 92.50/MWh for 35 years - roughly double the current wholesale price of power. Amount the subsidy will add to every household bill by 2030: 12 (in 2012 prices) Advertisement

'Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security.'

Ministers said they had imposed 'significant new safeguards' for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure.

A statement said: 'Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the Government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.

'However, ministers will impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain's critical infrastructure, which will include nuclear energy and apply after Hinkley.'

A senior Whitehall source said Prime Minister Theresa May had accepted there was 'no Plan B' for keeping Britain's civil nuclear sector alive if the controversial project was scrapped.

Chinese firm CGN welcomed the Hinkley decision, and said it was now 'able to move forward and deliver' nuclear capacity at the separate Sizewell and Bradwell sites.

Anti-nuclear campaigners handed in a petition to Downing Street today urging Theresa May to invest in renewable energy instead of Hinkley

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark confirmed the government had approved the Hinkley deal in a statement to the Commons today

CGN is hoping to build Bradwell, but the government will take a so-called 'golden share' - meaning it retains a controlling stake in the project.

The safeguard is expected to be applied to all major infrastructure projects in future.

Rumours were swirling yesterday that the deal was back on, and overnight sources in France claimed Mrs May had already told counterpart Francois Hollande that she was granting approval.

The Paris government holds a major share in French energy giant EDF, which is in overall charge of the project.

China's communist regime is due to provide a third of the funds needed for the project, but will not be involved in operations. Pictured is the power station in Somerset

China is due to provide a third of the funding needed for the giant project but will not be involved in running it.

Mrs May and her aides were thought to have been concerned about the risks of allowing China to take such a significant stake in Britain's critical national infrastructure. But a Whitehall source said China's role was limited to providing 6billion in funding.

'China will not be building this plant or operating it,' the insider said. There is not going to be a big Chinese presence in Somerset.

'The other point is that there is no Plan B for Britain retaining a civil nuclear capability if Hinkley Point does not go ahead. I think she accepts that.'

The original deal brokered by Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne also involved a plant at Bradwell using a Chinese-designed reactor.

The decision to separate the two projects risks angering Beijing, which wanted to use Bradwell to showcase its growing nuclear expertise.

Mrs May has made it clear she will adopt a less craven approach to China than her predecessor.

The government announced its approval for the 18billion Hinkley Point project (pictured) after securing tweaks to the agreement

At the G20 summit this month, she told Chinese president Xi Jinping that he would have to wait for an answer on Hinkley.

Critics complained today that problems were being 'swept under the carpet'.

Tory MP Zac Goldsmith said: "At the end of its life this new power plant will have generated the most expensive energy in the history of energy generation.

"In its lifetime consumers will have ended up subsiding EDF to the tune of 30 billion.

"And what's going to happen to the mountains of nuclear waste this plant will generate?"

Mr Clark said the decommissioning of the plant has been "provided for explicitly" in the contract.

Tory former minister MP John Redwood added: "Future power stations would be much better financed by private sector British investors or even, on occasion, by treasury investment rather than foreign investors who will now be able to take enormous sums of money out of our country for 25 years or more while this project is up and running, which is a cost on the balance of payments that we really don't want."

Green MP Caroline Lucas said: 'It is truly absurd that the Government plans to plough billions of taxpayers' money into this vastly overpriced project, and has done so without informing Parliament of the true costs.

Although the project is controversial, it has been called a last gasp for Britain's trifling civil nuclear sector

'It is even more absurd that they are doing so at the same time as reducing support for cheaper, safer and more reliable alternatives.'

John Sauven, Greenpeace executive director said: The Prime Minister has baulked at the political embarrassment of irritating the French and offending the Chinese.

'Consequently, even if EDF manages to get the technology to work, the UK will pay the price by saddling themselves until 2060 with an out of date, flawed and expensive technology.

'The so called new security measures wont do much to allay concerns regarding the government-owned Chinese companies stakes in Hinkley and especially Bradwell.'

Unions welcomed the announcement, saying 25,000 jobs will be created by the project.

Unite national officer for energy Kevin Coyne said: 'Our members are shovel ready and dead keen to start work on the country's first nuclear power station for a generation.

'It is excellent news that that the uncertainty caused by Theresa May's decision to put Hinkley Point 'on hold' has now been dispelled and that the Government recognises the role of nuclear in a mixed energy economy.

'It means that the lights will remain on in the UK in the decades ahead and it heralds an economic renaissance for the West Country, with the accompanying creation of thousands of skilled jobs and the positive ripple effects to the supply chain across the UK.

'It is especially heartening that the new jobs will include 500 much-needed apprenticeships.

'This was the first big litmus test for big infrastructure projects, following June's EU referendum and shows that there is the appetite for giving the green light for such projects that the UK so desperately needs for its future economic prosperity.'

A state-backed Chinese firm has a third stake in Hinkley and is pressing to build other new nuclear power stations in the UK including Bradwell in Essex.

Justin Bowden, GMB National Secretary for Energy, said: 'Giving the thumbs-up to Hinkley is vital to fill the growing hole in the UK's energy supply needs.

'It will be a big relief for the 25,000 quality jobs which were put at risk by the latest delay, never mind the reputational damage inflicted on UK plc.
A flight from Glasgow to Ibiza had to land in southern France after a young passenger became aggressive and was sick in the cabin.

Holiday company Thomson had chartered an ASL Airlines France plane to fly holidaymakers out to the Balearic island yesterday afternoon.

But just two hours into the flight, a passenger was reportedly drunk and abusive and the captain requested an emergency landing.

The Boeing 737 put down in Toulouse and the man was arrested by police. He reportedly faces a fine of up to 5,000 euros.

A video has emerged of the moment a drunk man was escorted from a plane after being sick

The flight took off again from Toulouse and made a delayed arrival in Ibiza yesterday evening, The Daily Record reported.

Passengers on the flight tweeted about the incident, with one describing a 'wee jakey no behavin himself' and another said a young boy was 'pished and spewed'.

A spokesman for Thomson Airways said: 'We would like to apologise for the inconvenience to our customers on flight FPO 809T from Glasgow to Ibiza operated by a partner airline, which diverted to Toulouse as a result of a disruptive passenger.

'Passenger and crew safety is our priority at all times therefore we, along with our partner airlines, operate a zero tolerance policy to any behaviour of this kind.

'We appreciate the patience and understanding of customers affected by the diversion and we can confirm the flight has now landed in Ibiza.

'We would like to reassure them that incidents of this nature are extremely rare.'

An ASL Airlines France Boeing 737, like that pictured, was involved in the incident yesterday
Yisrael Kristal, 113, is preparing to celebrate his bar mitzvah in Haifa, Israel

The world's oldest man - an Auschwitz survivor recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as being alive for 112 years - is to finally get the celebration he should have received 100 years ago.

Yisrael Kristal, who lives in Haifa, Israel and turned 113 on Thursday, will finally get his bar mitzvah - the Jewish rite of passage where a boy turns into a man.

Yisrael missed out on his 13th birthday in 1916 as the First World War engulfed his native Poland.

'When my father was 13 years old, it was the First World War.

'His father was in the Russian army, his mother had died three years before.

'No one was celebrating in this moment,' said his daughter Schulamit Kristal Kuperstoch.

When he was a man, Poland was turned into a slaughterhouse by the Nazis.

In 1944 he was deported to the death camp of Auschwitz which the Nazis built as its premier murder factory for the Holocaust near Krakow.

His wife and two children were murdered there. When he was liberated by the Russians in January 1945 he weighed less than six stones.

Now, officially recognised as the oldest man on the planet, he is now prepared to become the happiest as he prepares for his bar mitzvah in Haifa, Israel, where he lives.

'We're going to celebrate with many family members - more or less 100,' his daughter said.

In 1944 he was deported to the death camp of Auschwitz which the Nazis built as its premier murder factory for the Holocaust near Krakow. His wife and two children were murdered there. When he was liberated by the Russians in January 1945 he weighed less than six stones.

'We will bless him, we will dance with him, we'll be happy with him but you can't feel like you're 13 when you're 113.'

Yisrael was named the oldest man alive in March this year. He said: 'I don't know the secret for long life.

'I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why.

'There have been smarter, stronger and better looking men then me who are no longer alive.
A brave commuter tried to douse a bus that burst into flames with a fire extinguisher on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak hour traffic on Thursday.

The man was driving his black truck across the bridge when he spotted the blaze and quickly jumped out of his car to help, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

All 30 passengers are said to have fled the bus in a panic as the fire began around 5.30pm and three passengers were tended to by paramedics, NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia.

Two passengers, a male and a female, were taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation and several others watched on from a distance.

The fire, which is believed to have started in the engine, caused traffic chaos on the bridge and surrounding streets as all northbound lanes and two southbound lanes were closed for an hour.

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A bus has caught fire on the Sydney Harbour Bridge causing traffic chaos at peak hour

All passengers have been taken off the bus, NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia

All lanes were reopened around 6.30pm after firefighters extinguished the blaze

All lanes were reopened around 6.30pm after firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The bus was towed off of the bridge.

A witness driving by the blaze told Daily Mail Australia the heat from the flames was powerful.

'I could feel the heat through the window of my car,' they said.

All northbound lanes have been closed and officers are urging people to avoid the area

Two passengers, a malee and a female, have been treated for minor smoke inhalation

Two southbound lanes have been closed and diversions on surrounding streets are being put in place

Firefighters said the flames were 'well ablaze' when they arrived

Alice Gower, 30, from Sydney, watch the inferno.

'The fire service took 15 minutes to get there. It was crazy with so much smoke and I wasn't sure if it was going to explode,' she said.

'They tried to put out the fire with three or four small fire hydrants but no luck and the flames just got bigger and bigger.

'No one was on the bus I don't think but it was crazy seeing the trains and traffic still pass by. There was so much traffic backed up now.'

The bus was towed off of the bridge after an hour and authorities inspected the damage (pictured)

The inside of the bus appeared to be completely decimated (pictured)

Residents took to social media to post images of flames visible from across the harbour.

A witness told Daily Mail Australia the smoke could be seen from four kilometres away.

Train services are believed to be running.

A witness told Daily Mail Australia the smoke could be seen from four kilometres away
Seven months after turning on hundreds of wi-fi kiosks across New York City, the company behind it has been forced to switch off web browsing because people were using it to watch porn and behave anti-socially.

Hundreds of complaints were received about people using New York's LinkNYC network to spending hours hanging around on street corners, drinking, taking drugs and openly watching online pornography.

Around 500 of the kiosks are operating across the five boroughs but the plan is to eventually have a network of 7,500.

When he launched the network of kiosks in February the Mayor, Bill de Blasio, said: 'LinkNYC will be the wi-fi network New York City deserves.

'It will be the biggest and fastest network in the world - and completely free of charge.

The kiosks can still be used to charge phones and also make domestic calls. But web browsing has been temporarily removed from the LinkNYC network

'And one thing I know about my fellow New Yorkers: they like things that are completely free of charge, so this is going to be very popular.'

But the problem is that the network is proving just a bit too popular.

Councilman Corey Johnson, a Democrat who represents Greenwich Village, said there were 'several problematic kiosks' along Eighth Avenue and he said he had seen people watching online porn as children walked past.

'These kiosks are often monopolized by individuals creating personal spaces for themselves, engaging in activities that include playing loud explicit music, consuming drugs and alcohol, and the viewing of pornography,' Mr Johnson wrote in a letter last month to LinkNYC.

Barbara Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance in Manhattan, told the New York Times: 'People are congregating around these Links to the point where they're bringing furniture and building little encampments clustered around them. It's created this really unfortunate and actually deplorable condition.'

Natalie Grybauskas, from New York Police Department, said: 'There were concerns about loitering and extended use of LinkNYC kiosks, so the mayor is addressing these quality-of-life complaints head on.

Seemed a good idea at the time: Mayor Bill de Blasio said in February: 'In 2016, Internet access is not a luxury. It's not something optional. It's something everybody needs'

A woman talks on her phone near one of the wi-fi kiosks. More than 500 are operating across the city but some have been monopolized and abused for anti-social purposes

'Removing the internet browser from LinkNYC tablets will not affect the other great services LinkNYC provides  superfast Wi-Fi, free phone calls or access to key city services  but will address concerns we've heard from our fellow New Yorkers.'

Business leaders initially welcomed the kiosks, which in many cases replaced telephone boxes which had been turned into urinals or homeless shelters for hobos.

Companies Intersection, Qualcomm, and CIVIQ Smartscapes together form a consortium called CityBridge which worked on the program.

Now the Mayor's office and the consortium have gone back to the drawing board to work out if they could bring back web browsing without it being abused.

Jen Hensley, general manager of LinkNYC, said they had begun 'removing the internet browsers while we look at ways to enhance the service.'

She said they hoped to bring back web browsers with limitations on their use, including porn filters.

More than 500 kiosks were introduced in all five boroughs by the end of July, and over 4,500 were planned by mid-2019

The kiosks were designed to provide a 'fast, secure and private Wi-Fi network with a 150-foot radius, free domestic calling, two USB charging ports, a tablet for accessing the internet, and a red 911 button to contact emergency services'.

De Blasio said at the launch: 'In 2016, Internet access is not a luxury. It's not something optional.

'It's something everybody needs and we're gonna have fairness. We have to make sure that there is a quality of access to the Internet.'
Five men burst into a north London flat and shot dead a man and his aunt in a case of mistaken identity, relatives have said.

Relatives of the victims in East Finchley, north London said the gang targeted 21-year-old Bervil Ekofo before shooting his aunt, 52-year-old mother-of-nine Anny Ekofo.

It is understood the flat was full of family members, including Anny's husband Jean-Pierre, when the 21-year-old was reportedly shot in the head.

Relatives said that psychology student Bervil was shot in a case of mistaken identity by a gang who intended to kill someone else.

Relatives say Bervil Ekofo (pictured with his mother Maymie Botamba) was shot while he slept in an apparent case of mistaken identity

Bervil's aunt Anny Ekofo was also shot dead when five men apparently stormed into her flat

Bervil - called Beverly by some members of his family - was said to have been asleep when he was shot and killed.

Speaking outside the flat on a small council estate, his sister Francine said: 'He wasn't the target. Someone living in that flat knew something like this was going to happen and left.

'My brother was there, visiting his family, and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was asleep - that's what we've been told - so he was shot in his sleep.

'Bervil was studying psychology at West London university. He was never in trouble - never been arrested.

'He never even got in trouble at school. He was quiet. But he was a good brother. He was my best friend.'

Bervil's mother, Maymie Botamba, paid tribute to her 'perfect' son.

She said: 'Bervil was my son and he was an angel. He had never been in trouble, no fights nothing. He was just a perfect boy. I don't understand what is going on.

'He was an artist, he loved his photography and studied media at school. He was my friend, my best friend, my everything.'

Relatives sat grieving outside the flat on a small housing estate in north London today

Locals in Finchley, north London comfort each other after a man and woman were shot dead

Relatives say five armed men stormed the flat last night and opened fire on those inside

Another family member, who asked not to be named, said: 'It's a case of wrong place, wrong time.

'There were lots of people in the flat at the time. A gang of five forces their way in, came through the front door and shot Beverly.

'Beverly doesn't live here. He was spending the night with his auntie.

'Five people burst in the doors. He got shot in the head and they shot Anny. The house was full of people.'

A cousin of Ms Ekofo said her husband has been taken to a psychiatric unit due to the shock of witnessing the shooting.

Police were called to the block of flats in Elmshurst Crescent, East Finchley at 6.25am today.

Grieving family members, who gathered outside the flat, gave details of the victims.

Relatives gather outside the building. The two dead are said to be a woman and her nephew

Police at the scene in Elmshurst Crescent where the pair died from gunshot wounds

Officers were called to flats in the north London suburb in the early hours of this morning

Both of the victims are believed to be of Congolese descent.

Fifi Selo, Anny's cousin, told how she received a phone call from the police at 8am and rushed to the scene from her home in Enfield.

The 38-year-old said: 'She was a big, beautiful woman. A mum to everybody. You can't even imagine what kind of person she was - she was amazing.

'She brought everybody together. She was everybody's mum. We don't know what happened. We just got a call saying they had been shot.

'She came over from Congo in 1991. She has nine kids. I didn't expect this to happen. It's crazy.

'We have no idea. The police have said nothing. We think someone from outside and did this but we really don't know.

'Her husband, Jean-Pierre, we think, was in the house at the time but we haven't seen him.'

There was a heavy police presence at the scene as detectives appealed for information

A resident in the London suburb tweeted this picture believed to show police at the scene

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 06:25hrs on Thursday, 15 September to reports of two people injured at an address in Elmshurst Crescent, N2.

'Officers attended and found two people - a man and a woman - suffering gunshot injuries. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.'
Witnesses filmed the drama and the crook died in hospital from his injuries

A butcher who chased after would-be robbers in his car and crushed one of them to death has been arrested by police.

The butcher, from Zarate, in eastern Argentina, had fought off the two men when they attacked him outside his shop.

But as they fled on a motorbike, the furious shop owner chased after them in his Peugeot delivery van.

According to witnesses as he caught up with them, one of the crooks was crushed between the van and the pole of a street sign.

In a shocking video captured on a smartphone by a passer-by, the thief can be see pinned between the pole and the van's front wheels.

At the time, he was still alive and groaning in agony.

Witnesses shouted at the thief who was groaning in agony instead of offering to help him

Despite his critical injuries, onlookers seemed more intent on telling him off than helping.

Firefighters and police eventually cut him free from the vehicle.

Police say the thief died later at the Virgen del Carmen hospital from severe chest wounds and multiple injuries.

His accomplice fled and has not yet been found.
Refugees and neo-Nazis battled it out on the streets of an east German town on Wednesday night with police fighting to save the migrants outnumbered five to one.

But police said the asylum seekers started the confrontation - and later hurled bottles at the police trying to save them from a beating.

About 100 far-right men and women attacked some 20 asylum seekers in the town of Bautzen after the migrants taunted them. Video footage shows chaotic scenes as fighting breaks out in the German town.

It comes as German chancellor Angela Merkel continues to fight for her political life over her open-door policy on immigration with the threat of fresh gains by the right-wing populist AfD party.

Refugees and neo-Nazis battled it out on the streets of an east German town on Wednesday night with police fighting to save the migrants outnumbered five to one

There were chaotic scenes as scores of neo-Nazis were invovled in a brawl with 20 asylum seekers in the town of Bautzen

A man identifying himself as Mehdi (right) from Morocco shows off a cut he says he received during the violent attacks

Police said the neo-Nazis were goaded before they began chanting 'Bautzen for the Germans' and bottles and fists began flying.

Police charged the groups with truncheons drawn and used pepper spray on both sides.

The violence ended when the young asylum seekers withdrew to their home in the town's Dresdner Strasse with the mob pursuing them all the way.

Police stood guard at the premises all night in case of further attacks. One Moroccan youth, aged 18, required hospital treatment for a wound caused by bottle which hit him in the face.

Police said the neo-Nazis were goaded before they began chanting 'Bautzen for the Germans' and bottles and fists began flying

Police charged the groups with truncheons drawn and used pepper spray on both sides

Police officers stand guard outside the refugee accommodation following the violence

Around 100 far-right men and women attacked some 20 asylum seekers in the town of Bautzen after the migrants taunted them

The ambulance which was taking him away had to turn around and find another route after it was pelted with bricks and stones by the right-wingers.

Police said one local person was also seriously hurt in the disturbances.

A man identifying himself as Mehdi from Morocco later showed reporters a cut he says he received during the violent attacks

Bautzen, scene of a notorious secret police prison in the days when East Germany was a communist state, has witnessed frequent anti-immigrant violence.
An alleged drug kingpin who has been on the run for five years has been arrested in a bar in Thailand after fleeing Australia.

Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee, 58, was detained by Thai police at a bar on the resort island of Phuket in a joint operation with Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Tuesday.

The NSW man fled to Thailand after a co-defended, also facing charges of involvement in the drug syndicate, provided detailed information to the Crown over Gee's alleged role in the multimillion dollar syndicate.

Robert Gordon Pollybank Gee, 58, was detained by Thai police at a bar on the resort island of Phuket after skipping bail on drug charges five-years-ago

The alleged drug kingpin is pictured being arrested by Thai police on Tuesday

In 2006, Gee was arrested as part of a Drug Investigation Branch operation, along with Mark Norman Millard, Leslie Graham Richards, and Adrian Jeremy Brown.

Cocaine and methamphetamines worth $1.2 million and $264,000 in cash had allegedly been recovered in an Australian police operation.

Richards had appealed an 11-year two-month sentence with a non-parole period of seven years, after providing a detailed statement to police about his involvement and Gee's 'extensive' drug operation, reports said.

Gee had been out on bail awaiting trial and granted rights to travel overseas after posting a surety of $10,000 with the court.

From 2007 to 2010, he travelled to Fiji, Indonesia and Thailand, but had returned to Australia each time without incident.

Gee is pictured being interviewed by Thai police. He is expected to be extradited to Australia

Gee was arrested in possession of a fake Canadian passport at a bar on Bangla Road (pictured)

But Gee failed to attend a pretrial hearing in 2011, and an arrest warrant was put out in July that year, Adelaide Now reported.

He was finally arrested on Tuesday night at a bar on party strip Bangla Road in Patong, said Phuket Tourist Police investigator, Major Colonel Nareuwat Phutwiro.

He was found in possession of a fake Canadian passport under the name Roy Greyeyes.

'We found him at the bar. He was surprised to see us there,' Nareuwat told Phuket News.

The Thai police officer said Gee had entered Thailand 'sometime in 2011' and had been living in Phuket since 2013.

Thai police sources told AAP Gee had been listed among Australia's most wanted on the charges of narcotics and conspiracy.

Gee is expected to be extradited to Australia to face 11 charges linked to his alleged role in the syndicate.
North Korea has aired a Saturday Night Live-style sketch show on state TV where they poked fun at President Obama and described South Koreans as 'oppressed'.

The show, which is thought to have been broadcast earlier this month, is the 11th comedy programme of its kind to be shown in the secretive state.

In the 80 minute broadcast, one North Korea actor is tasked with playing the part of Barack Obama and another his secretary.

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North Korea aired a Saturday Night Live-style sketch show on state TV where they poked fun at President Obama

Two actors took on the parts of Obama, right and his secretary, left, in one of the sketches, where the president was shown to have a bleeding head

The sketch shows the president with a bloodied head and a bandage wrapped around it with the secretary asking if he is alright.

To which the actor depicting Obama replies: 'I smacked my head on the bathroom floor and broke four tiles on it as I was so shocked from the North's hydrogen bomb detonation!'

This prompts the secretary to say: 'So Mr President, you were testing the hardness of your skull while the North was testing its hydrogen bomb?', which draws uproars of laughter from the audience.

It later leads to a sketch where the US envoy to Seoul enters the Oval Office described as the 'dog of America' with their Japanese counterpart called a 'monkey'.

Later in the show, South Korea is presented as a country 'corrupted to the root' and is accused of 'oppressing' its people.

During the sketch, the actors talked about North Korea's recent nuclear testing at the United States reaction

As part of the punchline, they joke that Obama hit his head when he heard about the tests

The host of the show launches into a tirade declaring: 'Scared by the South Koreans' series of demonstrations against the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, Park Geun-hye (South Korea's president) is rampaging like a mad dog and purging those who are anti-American cells. Let's see how they are doing!'

It then cuts to an actor playing a South Korean police officer who says: 'Granny Park in the Blue House is enraged as the anti-American sentiment is rising in the South.'

The police officer then explains he is who is ordered to arrest anyone who 'squints, frowns and punches' at anything to do with the U.S.

According to NK News, the media in North Korea is known for its over-the-top condemnations of both the US and South Korea.

The audience appeared delighted with the sketches and seemed to be in uproar at the jokes

It is believed to be the first time that the United Stated and South Korea have explicitly been used in its North Korean comedy

However, they say it is the first time the two countries have explicitly been used in its comedy.

News of the satire show comes United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he has never seen tensions between North Korea and its neighbour and the United States as they are today.

Mr Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister said U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power has already begun work on a new UN resolution with key council members including China.
A Russian man performed a DIY circumcision using his own knife and chopping board - because doctors refused to treat him for a rare condition.

The 38-year-old, named only as Roman A, was suffering from phimosis - a condition in which the foreskin is too tight to be pulled back over the head of the penis.

Roman, from the city of Noginsk in western Russia's Moscow Oblast region, said he was in excruciating pain - and could not even bear to go to the toilet.

A Russian man performed a DIY circumcision using his own knife and chopping board - because doctors refused to treat him for a rare condition

He claims that he was forced to operate on himself as doctors turned a deaf ear to his pleas for surgery.

He disinfected a sharp knife and a chopping board - and performed DIY surgery on himself to enlarge the hole in his foreskin.

Roman reportedly started bleeding heavily as soon as he cut himself but remained conscious and was able to call the ambulance that took him to hospital.

He said: 'It was my choice to do it. Doctors have turned me down and this has affected me psychologically.

The 38-year-old, named only as Roman A, was suffering from phimosis - a condition in which the foreskin is too tight to be pulled back over the head of the penis

'I felt hurt. I was diagnosed with a serious problem, and they delayed the surgery.'

Roman said that he approached several medical institutions for help before attempting his bizarre DIY surgery when none would operate on him.

Phimosis is common in toddlers and children, for whom it is not normally a problem, but it is unusual in older boys and adults.
The millionaire married couple behind The Great British Bake Off split up more than a year ago, it has been revealed.

Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie, the co-creators of the popular baking show, made headlines this week when they decided to move the show from the BBC to Channel 4 as part of a 25million-a-year, three-year deal.

But it has now emerged that the enterprising husband-and-wife duo - whose credits also include the controversial series Benefits Street - separated more than a year ago.

Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie separated more than a year ago. However they are believed to still live together with their children in a 3.5m six-bed house in south London

However, the couple are believed to still live together, along with their three children, in a 3.5million six-bed house in upmarket Clapham, south London.

The Sun reports the pair split some time ago.

A source told the paper: 'Richard and Anna split quietly more than a year ago.

'However the split was amicable and they have carried on working together.'

The source added that the business has not be affected by the split.

MailOnline has contacted the couple about the claims.

The creators (right and fourth from right) are pictured with the presenters and experts including Mel Giedroyc, Paul Hollywood, Sue Perkins, Mary Berry at the 2013 Bafta awards

The couple live in a 3.5m house in Clapham, south London (pictured), with their children

They first came up with the Great British Bake Off format in 2006, years after they met on the cutting room of Grand Designs.

But it was another four years before the show - inspired by the village fetes which Anna enjoys - was commissioned by the BBC.

Now, six years on, after the show's unprecedented ratings success their company has just secured a new GBBO deal with Channel 4 for a reported 25m per year.

The eye-watering sum will see the baking show on television screens across the country for at least another three years, while ensuring 75m in revenue for the company, Love Productions.

Anna Beattie looked downcast as she left the house in South-West London

McKerrow was pictured leaving his home in Clapham earlier this week

And in a sign of how far the company has come, Love Productions last year sold a 70 per cent share to Sky for an undisclosed sum, with the broadcaster praising its 'proven track record of award-winning, ground-breaking programmes.'

Richard, an ex-journalist educated at prestigious Wellington College in Berkshire, began his career as a print journalist for the Nation magazine in New York, where he worked with Christopher Hitchens and interned alongside Ed Miliband.

Lord Alan Sugar led the anger over the move, saying he felt sorry for BBC One after they invested years into making Bake Off popular

Paul Hollywood was seen riding his motorbike around his house near Wingham Kent on Thursday

Waving for the camera: Mr Hollywood drives off and has not yet commented on the recent GBBO announcement

He later returned to the UK to work on Yorkshire Television's First Tuesday strand before joining C4's education department, working his way to Deputy Commissioning Editor.

Among his roles, he worked on Gordon Ramsay's first TV project, Boiling Point and Nigel Slater's Real Food Show.

It was there, during production of the first episode of Grand Designs, that Richard met his future wife.

'I looked at it and said this is a piece of crap,' McKerrow told the Guardian. 'She said it's not very good at the moment, but it could be brilliant.

'I said, I'm glad it's your problem because I'm handing it over to you.'

The couple later left Channel 4 and went on to set up Love Productions.

The credits include Tower Block of Commons in 2010 - in which four MPs spent eight days and nights on a council estate - and The Baby Borrowers, which saw teenage couples look after babies under the watchful eye of their parents.

Fans of the show are now revolting against the 'greedy' bosses, criticising them for ditching the BBC for a 'a few extra quid'

Perhaps their most notorious production was Benefits Street, a fly-on-the-wall documentary filmed in Turner Street, Birmingham, which critics accused of 'demonising the poor'.

It was between those shows that the couple came up with the idea of GBBO.

Anna, who started out as a runner for the BBC, said she was inspired by the rural baking competition at a village fete and liked the idea that baking represented different areas of Britain.

Even after four years of no one biting at the idea, Anna still had faith in the concept.

'We just kept on with it because we knew it was a good idea,' she said.

'I loved that idea of village fetes and an old-fashioned baking competition with people who only wanted to bake a good cake. It was as simple as that.'

That faith has now transpired into a money-making machine for the couple.

Richard and Anna have already made hundreds of thousands from licensing the show - in conjunction with the BBC - to foreign production companies to make their own versions.

They have also pocketed huge sums from the 196 countries from Brazil to Thailand where the original is shown.

In 2014, thanks in large part to the Bake Off effect, Love Productions' annual revenues grew by a third, to 13 million. Industry insiders suggested their company was valued at around 35 million.

Although Sky secured a 70 per cent stake in the business in July that year for an unknown sum, Richard and Anna still own a 13.59 per cent stake each in the business, meaning they are likely to profit millions from the deal.

But fans of the show are revolting against the 'greedy' bosses, criticising them for ditching the BBC for a 'a few extra quid'.

The growing backlash has been led with Lord Sugar, who said: 'I feel sorry for the BBC, they invested years in making Bake off popular and the greedy disloyal format owner has sold it to Ch4.'

Richard and Anna have already made hundreds of thousands from licensing the show - in conjunction with the BBC - to foreign production companies to make their own versions

He added: 'There's a fine balance in good business practice. Love productions have made a fatal error taking GBBO away from #BBC for few extra quid.'

Victoria said: 'Greedy greedy greedy Love Productions. No loyalty to the corporation that helped to develop the brand.'

Lisa Vernon said: 'Seems rather greedy wanting 25 million when offer 15 million to keep #GBBO shame on you ruining a British Favourite!'

They have also pocketed huge sums from the 196 countries from Brazil to Thailand where the original is shown

Jamie White said: 'So annoyed that greed and money has overtaken creativity, kindness and just producing an enjoyable programme #bakeoff #LoveProductions'.

Jemma said: 'Don't worry aunty Beeb. You're better off without those greedy losers.'

Love Productions are said to have wanted four times as much as the existing rights deal, apparently demanding around 25m for a three-year contract to the show and its spin-off, Extra Slice.

But, in a thinly-veiled attack on the company, the BBC said in a statement that it only had 'finite resources' and could not meet the financial expectation.

The deal with Channel 4 is said to be worth some 10m than the BBC reportedly offered.

'We made a very strong offer to keep the show but we are a considerable distance apart on the money. The BBC's resources are not infinite,' it said.

Love Productions, however, insisted the move had 'never been about who might write the biggest cheque'.

Insiders at Love Productions say they even rejected an offer from another, unnamed broadcaster and that creators were concerned about the future of the GBBO with the BBC, including the constraints on commercial opportunities.

Love Productions was also behind Benefits Street, which featured White Dee (pictured) and was filmed on Turner Street in Birmingham

According to the Guardian, Sky did not bid for the show, largely because the Bake Off creators were determined to keep it on free-to-air television.

Yesterday, Richard said they had found the 'perfect new home for Bake Off'.

'It's a public service, free-to-air broadcaster for whom Love Productions have produced high quality and highly successful programmes for more than a decade, he said.

'It's tremendously exciting to have found a broadcaster who we know will protect and nurture The Great British Bake Off for many years to come.'

But more than 3,000 people have already signed the online petition called 'Keep The Great British Bake Off on the BBC. Renegotiate the deal for Great British Bake Off to be on an alternative channel - this should not be about the best financial deal.'
A deadly blue-ringed octopus has been spotted crawling around a beach.

The video shows the eight-legged creature waving its arms about on Bribie Island beach, north of Brisbane.

Uploaded by Peter McKinless and shared by the Moreton Crime Watch Facebook page, the fascinating footage has been viewed over 200,000 times.

Beach-goers have spotted a venomous blue-ringed octopus on Bribie Island beach, north of Brisbane

Moreton Crime Watch warned potential beach goers, especially parents during the coming school holidays, to keep an eye out for the octopus

Mr McKinless said: 'I found him on a little sand bank inside a shell, just on the ocean side of the bridge.'

Moreton Crime Watch warned people, particularly parents visiting the beach in the coming school holidays, to keep an eye out for the sea creature.

As a small group of people can be heard gathering around the octopus, it can be seen using it's legs to move itself around the sand.

A child in the background can be heard admiring one of the world's most venomous creatures, saying: 'that blue-ringed octopus is cool.'

Mr McKinless, who captured the footage, said: 'I found him on a little sand bank inside a shell, just on the ocean side of the bridge'

A small ground of people can be heard gathering around the octopus and admiring the highly toxic creature

People on social media have who have watched the fascinating video have commented.

One man shared: 'I went to grab one of these at Cronulla in the rock pools when I was a little boy, if it wasn't for my older brother bill grabbing my hand and said don't touch that! I'd be dead.'

Another man warned others on social media: 'Very dangerous. The blue-ringed octopus can look a pale yellow.'

He added: 'the blue rings are a warning. Potentially fatal. These have killed a few people!'
Road blocks mean aid convoys are struggling to reach Aleppo from Turkey

The US and Russia agreed to a 48 hour extension of the truce on Thursday

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Thursday the United States was using 'a verbal smokescreen' to hide its reluctance to fulfill its part of a ceasefire agreement on Syria, including separation of moderate opposition units from terrorist groups.

After the third day of the ceasefire which came into force on Monday evening, only Syria's government forces are observing the truce, the ministry said in a statement.

It said that units of the opposition 'controlled by the U.S.' have intensified their shelling of civilian residential areas.

Syrian men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in Aleppo on September 11, a day before the ceasefire

'From the first minute Russia's been meeting its obligations to enforce the cessation of hostilities in Syria,' the defense ministry said in the statement.

'At the same time we're puzzled by the statements made by various representatives of the US State Department and the Pentagon about the prospects of Russia fulfilling the agreements reached on Syria.'

Despite the claim the US State Department say that the ceasefire has been adhered to by all of the parties involved, in the main.

'There was agreement as a whole, despite sporadic reports of violence, the arrangement is holding and violence is significantly lower,' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Toner added that US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov had spoken by telephone on Thursday and agreed it was worth extending the truce by 48 hours.

'We haven't seen the humanitarian access yet so we're still continuing to assess this, talking to the Russians,' Toner he said. 'We're pressuring them to pressure the Assad regime.'

Despite the largely successful ceasefire the UN say they have encountered difficulty in getting aid to Syria.

Twenty lorries, loaded with much-needed food and medical aid, set for the Aleppo, remained at the Turkish border on Wednesday waiting to be given the all clear to begin the journey to the city.

Syrians welcomed the lull in fighting as they celebrated the Eid al-Adha festival in the rebel-controlled town of Hamouri, on the outskirts of Damascus, on September 14

'I've urged the Russian government to make sure that they exercise influence on the Syrian government, and also the American side to make sure that Syrian armed groups, they also fully cooperate,' UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference on Wednesday.

The convoy of aid was supposed to head towards the Aleppo, which is home to some 300,000 people, on Wednesday and Ban said the security arrangements, that would ensure the trucks' safe arrival, were still not in place.

The Russian defence ministry said the Syrian army was ready to bring back troops from the Castello Road, which leads into Aleppo, to ensure the safe movement of humanitarian convoys.

Aleppo, which is the most populous city in Syria, has been torn between areas of rebel, government and Kurdish control and has been described as the 'Syria's Stalingrad' by

The ceasefire was brokered to enable essential aid carrying trucks to get through to Syrians who are in desperate need of food stuffs and medical supplies.

Aleppo, which is the most populous city in Syria, has been torn between areas of rebel, government and Kurdish control since fighting erupted in the area in 2012.

Despite sporadic flaring of tensions during the ceasefire the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict through contacts on the ground, said no deaths from fighting were reported in the first 48 hours of the truce.

The Syrian truce was agreed after marathon US-Russia talks in Geneva and is set to be extended by 48 hours




A series of terrifying text messages have been revealed showing exchanges between an ISIS agent and two fanatics as they carried out attacks in Germany.

The country was shaken this summer by two ISIS inspired attacks in a week in July - an axe rampage on a train and a suicide bombing near a music festival, both in northern Bavaria.

Chilling text exchanges now reveal how the extremists involved were in contact with ISIS until moments before their attacks. One was told to 'trust in God' while the other was promised he would 'get to heaven'.

Mohammad Daleel (pictured), detonated an explosive device outside a music festival in Ansbach, killing himself and injuring 15. Texts reveal how he was in contact with ISIS until moments before his attack

Riaz Khan Ahmadzai, 17, was ordered by ISIS to use an axe rather than a knife in his attack

Afghan asylum seeker, Riaz Khan Ahmadzai was shot dead by police on July 18 after injuring five people on a train in Wurzburg. The texts reveal how an ISIS operative ordered him to use an axe rather than a knife in his attack.

According to the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, the agent even encouraged Ahmadzai to consider using a car in his attack suggesting 'the damage would be considerably bigger.'

Ahmadzai explains that he does not know how to drive and states that he 'wants to enter paradise tonight' rather than spend time learning.

In the moments before launching the sickening attack, Ahmadzai says 'I'm starting now' -which prompts the response: 'Now you will get into heaven.'

Days later, failed Syrian asylum seeker, Mohammad Daleel, detonated an explosive device outside a music festival in Ansbach, killing himself and injuring 15.

Investigation: Police stand by the regional train on which 17-year-old Riaz Khan Ahmadzai attacked passengers with an axe

Failed Syrian asylum seeker, Mohammad Daleel, detonated an explosive device outside a music festival in Ansbach, killing himself and injuring 15

In the run-up to the attempted atrocity, he told his ISIS contact how he had picked the festival as somewhere that was 'full of people' before being ordered to 'kill them all in a big area so that they all lie flat on the floor.'

But after seeing the security measures in place and hesitating, the ISIS agent tells him to 'break through the police and run for it.'

The contact then appears to become irritated with Daleel's lack of action and orders him to find a restaurant instead.
The young star of Netflix's Making a Murderer could be released while an appeal into his conviction is pending.

Brendan Dassey, 26, was convicted of helping his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill photographer Teresa Halbach in 2006.

However, a judge ordered in August Dassey be released after deciding the then-16-year-old was tricked into confessing that he helped his uncle by investigators.

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Brendan Dassey (pictured in 2006), the young star of Netflix's Making a Murderer, could be released while an appeal into his conviction is pending

A federal magistrate ordered he be released within 90 days unless prosecutors appealed the decision or tried to have Dassey retried.

Lawyers for the 26-year-old have now filed a request to have him released while any decision from prosecutors is pending.

A 48-page motion argues Dassey in not a flight risk and would not pose a danger to the public if he is released.

The 26-year-old has also been a model prisoner, who spends his time watching TV, reading and crocheting, according to TMZ.

Dassey (pictured in 2011), 26, was convicted of helping his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill photographer Teresa Halbach in 2006

A judge ordered in August that Dassey (middle) be released after deciding the then-16-year-old was tricked into confessing that he helped his uncle by investigators

It comes after Dassey's mother revealed earlier this month her son is scared of coming out of prison.

Dassey has spent all his adult life inside Columbia Correctional Institution, Wisconsin, and his mother Barb Tadych admits that it's going to be very tough on the outside and he'll miss the security of his cell.

'He is very excited to get out of there and he knows he doesn't belong in there,' she said.

'But I think he's scared a little bit of going into the outside world, it's changed big time.

Dassey was 16 when he confessed to helping his uncle Steven Avery (pictured) carry out the rape and murder of Halbach, but attorneys argued that the confession was coerced

Teresa Halbach (pictured) was a photographer and was killed after visiting the Avery family's car salvage yard

'He's going to have to learn everything from scratch, but he's got us to help rehabilitate him, we're going to be there every step of the way.

'He's going to get counseling, I'm getting help from his attorney in having it all set up for when he's released.'
Prince Charles spoke at the ceremony to mark 100 years since the New Zealand infantry 'went over the top'

The Prince of Wales spoke of his hope for a 'future free from intolerance and conflict' at a service to remember troops from New Zealand who were killed during the Battle of the Somme.

Prince Charles, who is Field Marshal of the New Zealand Army, praised the 'boundless courage and tenacity' of soldiers at a service in France to mark the 100th anniversary of the brutal conflict.

He said the soldiers' sacrifices should be remembered with 'pride and humility'.

Prince Charles spoke during a commemorative service at Caterpillar Valley Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Longueval.

Today marks 100 years since the New Zealand infantry 'went over the top' in the bloody battle.

An estimated 6,000 New Zealanders fought that day, with around 600 killed and 1,200 wounded or missing.

The Prince said: 'Standing in this peaceful scene today it is hard to imagine that a century ago this was an infernal, blasted wasteland, which my predecessor as Prince of Wales, my great-uncle Edward, described as "the nearest approach to hell imaginable".'

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After the ceremony Prince Charles spoke to flag bearers, members of the public and the New Zealand defence force's Maori cultural group

It was the first time he has dressed in the New Zealand Army Field Marshal uniform, having been appointed to the role in August last year.

The Prince added: 'My hope is today we can re-dedicate ourselves to a future free from intolerance and conflict.

'We do this in honour of the memory of those who fought and died here so long ago.'

Prince Charles lays a wreath at the ceremony in Longueval to mark 100 years since 6,000 soldiers from New Zealand 'went over the top'

The Prince praised the 'boundless courage and tenacity' of those called into action in the Battle of the Somme

He spoke of the sacrifice made by Pakeha and Maori soldiers in the battle, and told how New Zealand suffered a casualty rate of nearly 60 per cent.

He said: 'Measured against the enormity of this suffering and sacrifice, our presence here today may seem small and insignificant.

'Yet we gather with pride and humility to remember the service of all who fell or were injured here.'

Prince Charles spoke at the ceremony, which was held at the New Zealand Battlefield Memorial in Longueval, northern France

Afterwards, Prince Charles spoke to flag bearers, members of the public and the New Zealand defence force's Maori cultural group.

A poppy drop was made from two replica First World War planes following a two-minute silence to remember the loss of lives during the bloody 141-day offensive.

Charles spoke to young people from New Zealand and the Pacific Islands who are in France learning about their countries' involvement in the battle.

The Prince of Wales was presented with a warrant recognising his appointment as Field Marshal during a visit to Wellington last year.

The prince lays a wreath (left) at today's service, and spoke to praise the bravery of the soldiers called into action a century ago (right)

The Battle of the Somme, which started on July 1 1916, took a brutal toll on New Zealand's 15,000-strong division in what was the country's first major engagement on the Western Front.

During the offensive, which involved the use of poison gas shells and relentless artillery fire, 2,000 of the New Zealand Division died and nearly 6,000 men were wounded.

In September and October alone, more than 1,500 men from the New Zealand Division were killed. Some 1,200 have no known grave and their names are inscribed on the memorial in Longueval.

The New Zealand Division played a key role fighting the Battle of the Somme a century ago

The British Army suffered almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone and more than a million men would be killed or wounded on both sides over the course of the 141 days.

Senior British royals and politicians, including then prime minister David Cameron, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, led 10,000 guests gathered at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme in July.
Christopher Baxter was attacked for wearig a kilt whilst in the English countryside

A proud Scotsman was viciously assaulted for having the 'audacity' to wear a kilt in the English countryside.

Christopher Baxter, 35, moved to Tideswell in the Peak District in June, having lived in Spain for 13 years.

But on Saturday night he was followed through the village and assaulted by a gang of thugs just for wearing the Scottish National Kilt.

He said the assault came after a row in a pub where a punter told him he 'shouldn't wear a kilt here' because 'this is England'.

Christopher explained that he was jumped from behind before being assaulted - leaving him with nasty bruises and cuts on his arm and head.

Christopher said: 'They decided to jump me from behind and explain to me rather forcefully their dislike for Scotsmen, and invite me to "f*** off back where I came from'.

'The result was I spent the night in the company of the accident and emergency staff at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

'I was lucky that a friend of mine was able to intervene and the assault wasn't more serious.'

Christopher moved to Derbyshire after landing a job as sales executive in Chesterfield. He is originally from Balloch, in West Dunbartonshire.

He has been eager to settle into life in the village, even joining the Tideswell Male Voice Choir.

He added: 'I am a proud and outgoing Scotsman with family in the Scottish Central Belt.

'But with my immediate family having lived in Tideswell for the past 20 years, this Peak District village seemed the obvious choice to set up home.

Christopher explained that he was jumped from behind before being assaulted - leaving him with nasty bruises and cuts on his arm and head (pictured)

Christopher moved to Tideswell, in the Lake District, after landing a job as sales executive

'Pretty much everyone in this area seems incredibly nice - always willing to chat, whether it be at your local pub, on the bus, doing your shopping or just walking down the lane.

'Unfortunately, this idyllic image of the Peak District was shattered for me when I became the victim of a premeditated, sustained and vicious assault in the centre of Tideswell for having the audacity to wear a kilt.'

Derbyshire police said they were called to the High Street in Tideswell at 11.30pm on Saturday.

No arrests have been made and investigations are continuing.
Coroner said he was not satisfied with mental health services she received

A 'warm and caring' university student who suffered with depression and was upset by the actions of ISIS killed herself after taking poison she bought online.

An inquest heard University of Hull student Natasha Kasanda, 19, was an 'extremely intelligent' young woman, but was plagued by the 'demons' of mental health problems.

Her mother Tasheni Makumbi-Monk said Ms Kasanda, who had tried to kill herself on two previous occasions, had become horrified by the actions of so-called Islamic State.

An inquest heard University of Hull student Natasha Kasanda, 19, (pictured) was an 'extremely intelligent' young woman, but was plagued by the 'demons' of mental health problems

During an inquest into her death at Hull Coroner's Court, Professor Paul Marks said he was 'not satisfied' with mental health services' efforts to prevent Ms Kasanda from harming herself.

She was found dead in her University of Hull dorm room in Taylor Court weeks after starting her mechanical engineering degree in 2014.

The inquest heard Ms Kasanda grew up a 'happy child', but began to develop depression and anxiety as a teenager after being bullied in school.

She was often withdrawn and would go on to express suicidal thoughts, resulting in two previous suicide attempts before she was found on the morning of November 7 2014.

The inquest heard Ms Kasanda (pictured) grew up a 'happy child', but began to develop depression and anxiety as a teenager after being bullied in school

Her mother Tasheni Makumbi-Monk told the inquest: 'One time, I remember so well, she was so upset because she watched a video of innocent children dying and it really haunted her.

'She said to me, "The world is full of bad things. Why is it the people that don't want to die, get killed, and those that want to die, can't?" She was talking about herself, of course.'

Weeks before her death, when her mother and stepfather last saw her at a visit to the Hull aquarium The Deep together, Ms Kasanda expressed similar sentiments when she told her parents of how the actions of ISIS had deeply upset her.

Ms Kasanda had been seeing mental health psychiatrists and counsellors before her death, but those sessions were stopped when a counsellor thought she was not responding.

In the coroner's finding of fact, Professor Paul Marks said he was not satisfied with mental health services' procedures, and questioned Ms Kasanda's release from treatment so soon after a suicide attempt.

He told the family if they were unsatisfied with the care Ms Kasanda had received they could pursue legal action elsewhere.

During an inquest into her death at Hull Coroner's Court (pictured) Professor Marks said he was not satisfied with mental health services' efforts to prevent her from harming herself

Mr Marks returned a narrative conclusion of unexplained cause of death, but was convinced Ms Kasanda intended to take her own life.

Following the inquest, Mrs Makumbi-Monk paid tribute to her daughter.

She said: 'Natie still makes me smile because she was one of the most kind and warm people you could have asked to meet.

'As a young girl, she used to get 15 a week for pocket money but she was so caring that she would donate most of that to Oxfam for children in Malawi.'
Southampton Crown Court heard fly tipper Marcus Bairstow, 41, breached a previous court order banning him from dumping rubbish by continuing to offer his waste disposal services to businesses

A man who was once dubbed 'Britain's worst fly tipper' and jailed for three years has been locked up once again after returning to his old ways and illegally dumping tonnes of rubbish.

Prolific fly tipper Marcus Bairstow, 41, breached a previous court order banning him from dumping rubbish by continuing to offer his waste disposal services to businesses.

He has now been convicted on numerous counts of illegally dumping waste and sentenced to 30 weeks in prison.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Bairstow was dubbed 'Britain's worst fly-tipper' in 2011 when he was sentenced to almost three years in prison and handed an ASBO that banned him from various waste activities.

One that occasion he was handed a 33-month jail term after the court was told that he spent 18 months making money by illegally dumping rubbish around Hampshire.

Bairstow even made an appearance on the BBC's Rogue Traders programme, where he was filmed disposing of waste that was being tracked by the programme's team.

At the time that sentence was believed to be the toughest handed out for an offence of this kind.

Some of the rubbish dumped by Bairstow at Shield Industrial Estate, Southampton, in 2010

In 2011 shameless Bairstow dumped next to the graveyard at Holy Trinity Church in Millbrook

But Bairstow was arrested once again in September 2015 after police spent months building evidence against him following a fire at a site he was using to burn waste.

The blaze, at Park Farm in Eastleigh, Hampshire, which saw Bairstow burning broken baths, an oven and even an old carpet he had illegally dumped, caught hold of a tree and a nearby property, which led to the emergency services being called.

Environment Agency area manager Mike O'Neill said: 'We were able to build up a picture of someone who was an habitual waste criminal with no regard for other people, the environment or the law.'

Bairstow, of Southampton, pleaded guilty to a total of five offences related to the illegal dumping of waste, including the breach of the ASBO imposed in 2011.

Bairstow was arrested once again in September 2015 after police spent months building evidence against him following a fire at a site (pictured) he was using to burn waste

Some of Bairstow's fly tipping at Dunkirk Road in Southampton back in 2010

He claimed that as the waste industry was the only trade he knew he started the operation to earn some money and said he had been threatened by people demanding cash.

But Recorder Elisabeth Bussey-Jones said his actions were a flagrant breach of his court order and handed down the 30-week sentence, as well as ordering Bairstow to pay a victim surcharge of 150.

Nigel Oliver, from the Environment Agency, said: 'Bairstow was clearly aware of his obligations and responsibilities in the handling and treatment of waste but yet again wilfully ignored them, putting the local environment at repeated risk.

'I hope today's ruling serves as a deterrent to any individual or company in showing that waste crime does not pay.'

Bairstow, of Southampton, pleaded guilty to a total of five offences related to the illegal dumping of waste, including the breach of the ASBO imposed in 2011
Trump's running mate Mike Pence also commented on Powell's email and said he was sure the former Secretary of State was '

Powell's private email account was hacked earlier this week revealing that he had called Trump 'racist' and a 'national disgrace'

He said the retired four-star general was a 'disaster' and had a 'weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction'

Donald Trump is lashing out at Colin Powell after the retired Secretary of State's private email account was hacked, revealing that he has less than favorable feelings about the Republican presidential nominee.

'I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!' wrote Trump on Twitter late Wednesday night about the retired four-star general.

Trump has never served in the armed forces.

In his emails Powell referred to Trump as 'racist,' a national disgrace' and an 'international pariah,' among other things.

Trump's running mate Mike Pence was also asked about Powell's comments on Fox & Friends Thursday morning and said: 'I'm sure that Colin Powell's embarrassed about the things he said about both candidates.'

Pence went on to say: 'It's unfortunate, but I have a lot of respect for Colin Powell. I disagree with him, but he's entitled to his opinion about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.'

Response: Donald Trump (above in Flint, Michigan on Wednesday) lashed out at Colin Powell on Twitter Wednesday night

Comment: Trump said the retired four-star general was a 'disaster' and had a 'weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction'

Trump was labeled as a 'national disgrace' and 'international pariah' in a June 2016 email sent by Powell

Many of Powell's emails about Trump were first reported by Buzzfeed after being published online by DC Leaks.

'Yup, the whole birther movement was racist,' wrote Powell to journalist and former aide Emily Miller earlier this year.

'That's what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn't keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim.'

He then added: 'As I have said before, "What if he was?" Muslims are born as Americans everyday.'

Powell also complained about the media's coverage of Trump in an email late last year.

'You guys are playing his game, you are his oxygen,' he told CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria in December 2015.

'He outraged us again today with his comments on Paris no-go for police districts. I will watch and pick the timing, not respond to the latest outrage.'

And in July of last year, Powell despaired about Trump handing out Senator Lindsay Graham's personal phone number, saying 'Trump has no sense of shame.'

Powell and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also spoke about what kind of President Trump would be, with Powell writing in a June 2016 email: 'If Donald were to somehow win, by the end of the first week in office he'd be saying 'What the hell did I get myself into?''

Rice responded by saying: 'I think his attention span may be waning because national campaigning is a lot harder than just showing up at rallies.'

Thoughts: Powell's private email account was hacked earlier this week revealing that he had called Trump 'racist' and a 'national disgrace' (Powell above in 2014)

Opinion: 'Yup, the whole birther movement was racist,' wrote Powell to journalist and former aide Emily Miller earlier this year.

In other emails seen by The Daily Caller multiple people seem to suggest in exchanges with Powell that he plans on endorsing Clinton for president.

Christie Whitman, the former New Jersey governor who has already endorsed Clinton over Trump despite being a Republican, wrote to Powell in late July: 'Have you endorsed her yet?'

Powell responded by writing: 'Nope.'

He later added: 'You'll recall that in 2008 and 2012 I waited until early fall.'

Powell also said to Whitman about Trump: 'NYC finance guys hate him, wouldn't lend him money. He cheats and then sues.'

In another exchange, Powell's friend Harlan Ullman responded to a story the former Secretary of State sent out about Trump's negative remarks about the Khan family by saying: 'When are you going to throw the knock out blow?'

Powell responded to this by saying: 'I try not to bother someone who is beating himself and the GOP up. And please, don't start bugging me like every newsie and getter in town.
Fourteen ball pythons are on the loose in South Carolina, after being released by a disgruntled man.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Jacqueline Heim said that all 16 of her ball pythons had been released by an 'irresponsible party' into a residential area of Hephzibah, Georgia where many children live.

Department of Natural Resources officers later interviewed the man who released the snakes, who calmed fears by saying he only released two snakes in the Woodlake neighborhood. Those two snakes have since been found by Heim.

However, the remaining 14 snakes were released into an uninhabited area off I-22 in South Carolina and remain unaccounted for.

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Jacqueline Heim (pictured) says a man released her 16 ball pythons into a neighborhood in Georgia and an uninhabited area in South Carolina this week

Two snakes that were released into the neighborhood have since been found

Above, a view of the neighborhood where two of the snakes were released. Authorities have not specified the second location where the remaining 14 snakes were released

'I was in the middle of moving and a person I'm just not going to mention right now was upset at me and...just a kind of childish thing, let them out,' Heim told WRDW. 'I'm very upset. I had my few hours of tears already over my snakes. I'm not sure if I'm going to get them back.'

Heim says that her snakes are not venomous but that they may bite. However, she says they are largely not harmful. Ball pythons, sometimes known as royal pythons, are so named because their key defense against predators is to roll up in a ball.

'They typically are very docile. They're not fast to bite. They're more likely to ball up in a ball like the name suggests and hide than anything else,' Priscilla Crisler of Augusta Animal Services said.

Heim posted this photo and the following pictures to Facebook on Tuesday, informing the public that her pets were on the loose

Ball pythons are typically not aggressive. Heim says that her pythons also aren't venomous

Ball pythons are not native to Georgia or South Carolina so its illegal to release them into the wild

It's still unclear whether the person responsible for releasing the pets will be charged. His name has not been released

But neighbors like Shekelia Wilcher were put on edge when they learned about the snakes' release earlier this week. Wilcher tells WJBF-TV that young children in the neighborhood wait for their school bus and 'one might just crawl up on them.'

Since ball pythons are not native to Georgia or South Carolina, it is illegal to release them into the wild.

The person who released them may still face charges for the act.
Two Polish officers have arrived on the streets of Harlow weeks after a man was beaten to death in a suspected hate crime.

Second lieutenant Bartosz Czernicki and chief sergeant Dariusz Tybura patrolled the streets this morning in their official Polish State Police uniforms.

The move is designed to reassure members of the town's sizeable Polish community who are said to be 'scared and worried' after the killing of Arkadiusz Jozwik last month.

The beloved uncle - who moved to the UK four years ago - was assaulted outside a pizza restaurant by a gang of youths after they heard him speaking in his mother tongue with pals.

Bartosz Czernicki (left) and Dariusz Tybura (right) from the Polish State Police walk around Harlow, Essex, with PC Paul Harrison of Essex Police, as they look to reassure local residents

The officers will not have police powers but will patrol the streets in a community-support role

The officers were sent to Harlow to reassure members of the Polish community after Arkadiusz Jozwik was killed in the area last month

A witness described the youths as 'hyenas' after the late night attack on August 27.

He was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, before being transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, where he died two days later.

His friend - a 43-year-old man from Harlow was also taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital - with suspected fractures to his hands and bruising to his stomach. He has since been discharged from hospital.

Three other Poles have also been attacked in separate recent incidents in the town.

Arkadiusz Jozwik, 40, was killed by a gang of teenagers in what is being treated as a hate crime

The Polish officers stopped at the floral tribute to Jozwik in the Essex town today

The deployment of the officers comes after Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, condemned attacks on Polish people in the UK.

Speaking in his annual state of the union address yesterday, he said: 'We Europeans can never accept Polish workers being beaten up, harassed or even murdered in the streets of Essex.'

The officers will not have police powers but will patrol the streets in a community-support role.

Jozwik was assaulted outside a pizza restaurant and died two days later in hospital

Their arrival has split opinion in the Essex town.

Resident Tom Flynn said: 'I never thought I would ever see the day Polish police officers would patrol Harlow.

'I would say it is really distressing. I don't know where the violence has come from.'

Eric Hind, a Harlow-based Pole who organised a protest march in the town after Jozwik's killing, was sceptical about the move.

He told the Guardian: 'I welcome everyone who wants to help with this complex problem, but I haven't noticed the difference. I really hope I can see them back on the street at 11pm tonight actually doing something for the community, dealing with things and not just posing for selfies. People here are scared and worried.'

But Paula Templeman, 36, who was sitting outside a cafe, said the officers were 'completely approachable' and 'seemed lovely'.

The arrival of two officers from Poland has split opinion among the Polish community in Essex

Chief inspector Alan Ray said: 'There is a fear of Polish police and a fear of English police in different communities.

'Some people trust us and some people don't and we need to build that trust between our communities.

He added: 'This isn't specifically to do with the investigation this is about reassurance in all the communities.

'We have found over the last year that only two per cent of victims in Harlow are Polish nationals, we can see that there is a hidden figure of crime and we are engaging with the community in different ways to speak to us and bring out the true figure of crime.

'We are getting positive feedback from the officers, but it is early days.'

The two officers have no formal powers, but the move is aimed at easing community tensions

The highly unusual move comes as one of Poland's top cops flew to Britain for crunch talks with Essex Police Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh.

Colonel Rafa Batkowski had a crisis meeting with Chief Con Kavanagh and the pair last week pledged to bring the thugs to justice after the attack on August 27.

Attacks and crimes committed against Polish nationals has been on the rise since Britain's vote to leave the EU on June 23.
Police in west Georgia say they've charged two people with making false police reports after they say the pair called 911 to report that people dressed as clowns were trying to lure children into a white van.

Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff says 26-year-old Brandon Moody of LaGrange, Georgia, and 27-year-old Rebecca Moody of Valley, Alabama, made separate 911 calls Wednesday.

Officers responded to the area and found a white van, but the two people inside said they had simply run out of gas. Police searched the vehicle and found no signs of clown costumes.

Brandon Moodey, 26 (left), and Rebecca Moodey, 27 (right), were arrested after falsely reporting a clown to police. The two later admitted that they made the story up

Officers then followed up with Brandon Moodey, who changed his story to say that he had actually seen the clowns the day before, but that the van was the same.

Eventually he admitted that he made the whole thing up and that his sister-in-law Rebecca also called police with another false report.

It's still unclear whether the in-laws were behind the other reports of suspicious clowns in the area.

Social media has fueled rumors of several clown sightings in the city in recent days, but police say they have received no actual evidence of prowling clowns.

Nevertheless, the rumors led two schools in the area to go into a 'soft lockdown' on Wednesday while a clown threat that surfaced on social media was investigated.

LaGrange isn't the only city facing these bizarre threats. Over the past months, similar alleged sightings have been reported in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Both of the Moodeys were charged with one count of unlawful conduct during a 911 call and one county of obstruction of an officer.
Dr Peter Hale was recorded referring to three Pakistani junior doctors and one Indian medic as 'sub-continent elements', but has been cleared of racism

A top NHS surgeon branded a racist after he referred to a group of Asian colleagues as 'sub-continent elements' has won a three-year fight to continue practising medicine

Clinical director Peter Hale, 58, had made his candid comments after a stormy staff meeting about rotas in which three Pakistani junior doctors and one Indian medic claimed they he was treating them 'like slaves.'

When the four men left a room, Mr Hale was said to have offered to place a 50 bet that one would agree to work a particular shift only to then 'fly to Nigeria and that there would be a problem with the plane coming back.'

But unbeknown to Mr Hale, his unguarded remarks were being taped after a mobile phone which had been recording the meeting was left switched on.

The device - which belonged to one of the Asian doctors - caught Mr Hale making further comments including: 'Some of these sub-continent elements; what you end up with is long term resentments and grievances and all sorts of stuff. They are their own worst enemies.

'They're not clear thinkers. They're an unbelievable group of people. Vile actually.'

When the tape recording came to light, Mr Hale was reported to bosses at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust and he was later sacked for gross misconduct from Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Investigators claimed the surgeon's remarks could be considered racially discriminatory as he had referred to an Australian colleague as a man who 'never lets you down and will go a mile to make sure he helps.'

The four Asian doctors Khawaja Zia, Ved Prakash, Vivek Kaul and Christi Swaminathan subsequently sued the NHS trust for racial discrimination claiming they had been under-paid and under-promoted due to their race and treated as 'slave labour.'

The incident happened while Dr Hale was working at Brighton's Royal Sussex County Hospital

They also claimed they had taken offence to Mr Hale using the phrase 'three-line whip' to ask them to come to a meeting but lost their case.

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester Mr Hale from Hassocks, West Sussex, an expert in gastrointestinal conditions, faced being banned from practising medicine but a disciplinary panel said the surgeon was not racially prejudiced and no warning was needed.

The tribunal heard members of the group of Asian doctors had planned to covertly record the meeting.

Several medical colleagues had spoken up for Mr Hale describing him as 'transparent, robust, clear-sighted, trustworthy and professional' and claiming 'bad behaviour ' of several junior doctors was well known amongst staff in the hospital.

The professional standards panel decided his comments were not racially prejudiced and no warning was needed

Panel chairman Mr Sean Ell told Mr Hale: 'Your comments followed a heated and antagonistic meeting at which the complainants made a number of unprofessional and personal comments which included accusations of racism and slavery.

'Whatever their grievances may have been, they were not appropriate comments to have made at that meeting. Their conduct at the meeting followed similar behaviour towards you and other staff members over a period of time.

'The Tribunal was satisfied that against that background your comments were not motivated by racial prejudice, but rather in response to the conduct of the complainants both during and prior to the meeting. Although your comments were derogatory and dismissive, the Tribunal is satisfied that they were not racially motivated.'

Dr Hale admitted making the comments but denied racial prejudice.

During their 2015 tribunal which cost over 130,000, the four Asian doctors claimed that, due to their race, they were repeatedly given fixed-term contracts, overlooked for training opportunities and worked unpaid overtime. But it emerged at least 23 other doctors were also on similar non-standard terms and conditions.

The case was thrown out after the doctors were found to have secretly recorded another private meeting about the case between the trust and its lawyers. They were each ordered to pay 17,000 in costs.
Is our Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, sitting on the right front bench?

Or should she be on the other side along with the Jeremy Corbyn ex-lovers populating Labour's front bench.

She is considering an inquiry into the so called Battle of Orgreave, in which 5,000 miners picketing a coking plant near Rotherham clashed with 10,000 policemen during the miners strikes of 1984-1985.

After complaints of heavy-handedness, the South Yorkshire police reported themselves to the IPCC, which noted evidence pointing towards police assaulting miners, committing perjury and perverting the course of justice.

New probe: The Government is considering an inquiry into the so called Battle of Orgreave, in which 5,000 miners picketing a coking plant near Rotherham clashed with 10,000 policemen during the miners strikes of 1984-1985, pictured

Comparison: The Battle of Culloden was one of the bloodiest Jacobite battles, and the last battle fought on British soil in 1746. As one MailOnline reader joked: There are still questions regarding the overuse of force by the Redcoats'

A former officer, Mike Freeman, has publicly said that officers were ordered to write statements for arrests they had not made. Former Labour MP Dennis Skinner piped up to say he saw dogs and horses being set on picketers.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Row: Amber Rudd has been accused of playing to the Labour benches over Orgreave

Of course, what no one has talked about is the violence of the flying pickets, why 5,000 men would ever be needed on one picket line, or the real reasons for the fight.

Union leaders had held this country to ransom for over a decade, costing the economy 26 million working days and making everyday life more difficult than it already was for normal families trying to earn a wage.

Kids all over the country in the 70s grew up doing homework by candlelight while their mums tried to feed the family on camping stoves, thanks to the bully-boy tactics of the militant left.

Strikes in every public sector were endemic. And in those days the public sector included trains, telephones and power supply.

Arthur Scargill and his cronies had created jobs for the lads in the coal industry, and these crippling inefficiencies needed to be resolved.

More to the point the government had to beat the crack-troops of the union movement if it was to have any hope of turning Britain into a free market economy and bury forever the spectre of union leaders traipsing into No10 to lay down the law on economic policy over beer and sandwiches.

Maggie Thatcher had showed form on this already. In 1983 she turned the British Steel Corporation from one of the least efficient steel-makers in Europe to one of the most efficient, almost bringing the company into profit and halving the workforce in the process. The coal industry was next on her list.

Crushing the miners strikes was a seminal point in history.

Aftermath: A twisted sign, felled concrete posts and a broken wall tell the story of violence outside a coking plant in Orgreave in 1984

With one blow Thatcher managed to destroy the enemy within and change the course of our future, remodelling society with private-sector efficiencies, enabling hard workers to own their own homes. Ironically, homes that fat-cat trade-union leaders continue to enjoy.

Maggie delivered a powerful response to the trade unions from which, thankfully, they have never recovered.

As Blair proudly announced (as if it was his legacy), Britain has the most restricted unions laws in the Western World. And for good reason.

Split: Some consider the Orgreave strikers as heroes, others say they were a criminal mob

We now have a balloting system for strikes, a six-person limit on picket lines, and agency workers employed to cover whilst left-wing workers bemoan their lot. And a jolly good thing that is, too.

As Maggie rightly observed during the miners strike: What we have got is an attempt to substitute the rule of the mob for the rule of law, and it must not succeed. It must not succeed. There are those who are using violence and intimidation to impose their will on others who do not want it... The rule of law must prevail over the rule of the mob.

Whipping up this mob at the Rotherham coking plant was a clear attempt by Arthur Scargill and his militant left-wingers to overthrow the Conservative government.

A tactic repeated less successfully in recent history by junior doctors. The mob leaders forgot about the battle over contracts, and made it a fight against Tory rule.

A few medical professionals forgot patient safety altogether and held patients lives to ransom, confused by the intentions of their union, the BMA.

As a result, they lost their way  and the support of the British public.

Unions lead people to act in self-interest. But not in their best interest. These are two very different things.

Striking might achieve a short-term pay rise, but it might cost you job security. This is ill-advised.

Penned in: Police hold back striking miners on the picket line at Orgreave coking plant in Sheffield

When so many are self-employed and on zero-hour contracts never taking a single day off sick, strikes become a laughable self-indulgence.

The RMT just announced a 24-hour strike over going to the toilet, a strike supported by just 16% of total drivers. Personally, Id find a way to sack the lot; then they will be free to pee and I wont have to spend a penny on their wages.

Maggie did this country a great service. But a service the Labour left, led by their aggrieved conspirator-in-Chief, Andy Burnham, now wants to unpick. They want to rewrite history. To make the good guys bad. To make striking miners a benevolent force, repressed, yet still democratic.

I wonder if Andy Burnham will pursue investigations into historic hospital negligence under his watch with such relish. I suspect not.

The outcome of the IPCC investigation into the Battle of Orgreave was that, whilst there was clear evidence of police misconduct, there would be no formal inquiry because it all happened a long time ago.

And thats precisely the point. It all happened a long time ago. It is in the past.

And no matter your emotional viewpoint on this, even if your grandad used to be a miner, any rational individual can understand purely from an economic, political and national security perspective that there are more pressing matters at our door.

What is to be gained from looking backwards into history, funding endless investigations which are inevitably skewed by the loud voices of the perpetually aggrieved?

Hillsborough was a turning point. It brought the police into question and proved the strong arm of the law is something that can be wrestled down. Compensation handouts will inevitably follow.

But unlike at Orgreave at Hillsborough lives were lost and most would agree that these bereaved families were owed a sense of closure.

But it hasnt happened. Hillsborough has not delivered closure. Not for the families or for the supporters.

If anything, it made old scabs itchier to be picked and to reveal the old wounds lying underneath.

It has given cause to anyone who feels history has besmirched their reputation or placed them on the wrong side of the fight.

Where will it end? We've spent millions on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.

And we are spending millions more on an inquiry into institutionalised sexual abuse even though the main witness who sparked it off has been widely discredited and we've already lost no less than three inquiry chairwomen.

So from Hillsborough to the Battle of Orgreave  whats next on the hit list? Bomber Command? General Haig? The Boer War concentration camps?

Comparison: Unlike at Orgreave at Hillsborough lives were lost and most would agree that these bereaved families were owed a sense of closure, writes Katie Hopkins

As one of our readers jokes: It's high time we had an enquiry into the behaviour of Captain Bligh and his Officers on HMS Bounty. Who was responsible for the mutiny, what lessons can we learn to prevent a recurrence? There are still questions regarding the overuse of force at Culloden by the Redcoats.

Are we going to keep going backwards, amending the record until the militant left wing gets the last word?

Every public enquiry puts millions into the pockets of lawyers and weakens the standing of our police force.

The irony, of course, is that whilst we are busy looking over our shoulder at a coking plant in Rotherham in 1984, 30 years later gangs of Muslim men trafficking white girls around the very same town were left to their grubby business, unprosecuted until too late  because the police didnt want to end up under investigation for appearing racist.

We have created an impossible climate for the police force. So busy being prosecuted for doing the wrong thing that evil is able to flourish right under its nose.

So busy investigating historic claims there is no time to police burglaries happening today, on your street.

Were so busy rewriting history, we arent looking ahead to the pressing issues at our door  Brexit, for one.

And unbelievably all this is happening under a Conservative government. Amber Rudd is playing to the Labour benches. Cups of tea and sympathy with two spoonsful of contrition all round.

What happened to the spirit of Maggie? Leading from the front, refusing to be cowed by the mob, asserting a new direction for our country?

Brexit is sitting waiting for someone to make it happen. But rather than face the challenges of the future, our Home Secretary would rather look back and assuage the hurt feelings of a bunch of violent old men stuck firmly and still arguing over the past.
A former South Dakota police chief killed his fiancee to collect more than $900,000 in insurance money and was jealous that she was pregnant by another man, prosecutors say.

Russell Bertram, 64, of Sioux Falls, is charged with first-degree murder in the October 2009 death of 26-year-old Leonila Stickney, who was pregnant at the time.

Prosecutors argued in opening statements at his trial on Wednesday that aside from money, jealousy played a role because Bertram had undergone a vasectomy and knew the child couldn't be his, the Daily Republic reported.

'After being shot, Leonila never regained consciousness, was never able to tell anyone what happened,' Assistant Attorney General Mikal Hanson said.

Russell Bertram (pictured on Wednesday) killed his fiancee to collect more than $900,000 in insurance money and was jealous that she was pregnant by another man, prosecutors say

After Stickney's death, Bertram traveled to the Philippines and married Stickney's sister Melissa del Valle, who has since filed for divorce, citing 'extreme cruelty,' according to court records.

Butler said that there is no evidence that he abused either woman.

Bertram and Stickney began a relationship in 2009.

Soon after, a $750,000 life insurance policy was taken out on Stickney, followed by a smaller policy with a $150,000 accidental death benefit, with Bertram as the beneficiary.

Bertram was not charged until late last year.

The victim's estranged husband, David Stickney, received a letter months after her death from a life insurance company that was processing a claim from Bertram, court records show.

He then contacted the South Dakota attorney general's office criminal division, setting in motion an investigation that led to a murder charge last fall.

Hanson told the jury Bertram changed his story during different interviews, including giving different accounts about how the gun was triggered, when he found out that Stickney was pregnant and what Stickney's last words were.

Bertram maintains he was putting his shotgun into his truck after a hunting trip in Gregory County when the weapon fired accidentally, striking Stickney in the abdomen.

Bertram (pictured) is charged with first-degree murder in the October 2009 death of 26-year-old Leonila Stickney, who was pregnant at the time

On Wednesday, Bertram's defense team argued the case has nothing to do with jealousy and that the insurance policy was Stickney's idea to provide for her family in the Philippines if anything happened to her.

Defense attorney Mike Butler told the court Bertram had sent money periodically to Stickney's family before he was arrested.

He said the case was thoroughly investigated at the time and that authorities decided against arresting Bertram.

Bertram did use Stickney's cellphone after her death to send text messages to the man that he suspected had impregnated her, Butler said.

But that should have no bearing on the case, the defense lawyer said.

'As for evidence of moral conduct, I suppose some would argue as inappropriate,' Butler said.
He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison

Curtis-Hodge also stole $570 - money the pensioner had just withdrawn

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty and described his actions as 'putrid'

An ice-addict bashed a pensioner by punching and stomping on his head

An ice-addict jailed for viciously attacking and stomping on the head of a frail pensioner during a robbery described his actions as 'putrid' while facing court.

The then 86-year-old victim, Frank Carlio, used a walking stick and was lured into an underground Sydney car park where he was brutally attacked before $570 was taken from him on November 19, 2014.

A few days earlier, Jay Curtis-Hodge had travelled to Sydney from Young, in NSW's south-west, with his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lee Clarke, to buy drugs.

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A partially siabled pensioner was punched and his head was stomped on by a meth addict who then stole his money in November 2014

Mr Carlio, who had just withdrawn $500 from a bank, was lured by Clarke into the car park while Curtis-Hodge hid behind a concrete pole before hitting him from behind and stomping on his head.

Clarke rifled through his pockets while he lay on the ground and they both rolled him back and forwards to get his wallet from his pocket.

The 31-year-old, who has spent more than half his life in custody, hadn't slept for more than two weeks at the time of the robbery in Chester Hill, south-west Sydney.

'This offence was a cowardly vicious attack on a defenceless, elderly and partially disabled man,' said Judge Andrew Scotting.

'They realised he was an easy target.'

Mr Carlio suffered injuries including a laceration to his lip, bruising and swelling and a broken denture.

The ice-addict who has spent more than half his life in custody, hadn't slept for more than two weeks before the attack

In the NSW District Court on Thursday, Curtis-Hodge was jailed for at least four years and six months for robbery in company, driving recklessly during a police chase and two intimidation matters related to two of the six bonds.

The judge said Curtis-Hodge, who has a history of drug and mental problems, had a dysfunctional upbringing and was remorseful.

Curtis-Hodge, who pleaded guilty to the offences, described his actions as 'putrid' saying he was disgusted and ashamed of himself.

The judge set a maximum term of seven years.

He previously sentenced Clarke to a minimum of 14 months in jail.
Less than a week after a photo went viral showing police rescuing a four-year-old boy from the car where his grandmother and her boyfriend overdosed in Ohio, a similar incident has happened in North Carolina.

Parents Steven and Christine McCullen, ages 27 and 26, were found passed out in their car parked at a McDonald's in Goldsboro early Monday morning, with a three-year-old child inside.

Concerned McDonald's employee Brianna Finchum called 911 when she got off work just after 7am, telling dispatchers that the car had been parked there for about three hours and that the people inside weren't responding to her.

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Steven and Christine McCullen, 27 and 26, were found passed out from a drug overdose in a North Carolina McDonald's parking lot on Monday, with a three-year-old child in the car

Above, the Goldsboro, North Carolina, where the couple was found Monday morning just after 7am. The toddler has since been placed in the custody of Social Services

According to photos posted to Facebook, it appears that the couple has a three-year-old son

'There's been a car out here for like three hours and we walked up to the window and they're like, you can tell they're definitely on something like passed out,' Finchum said in audio released from the call.

'But I think something's really wrong 'cause we start just tapping on the window. The girl in the passenger's seat - she looked up -and then she like nodded right back down.'

When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they found several open packages of heroin in the vehicle, along with several syringes.

The couple was then rushed to the hospital where they were saved from the brink of death.

The three-year-old was also taken to the hospital to be checked on, and officials say the child was not injured.

Social Services has since taken custody of the child. According to photos on

Facebook, it appears that the couple have a toddler son.

The McCullens are now in jail on several charges including child abuse, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Steven faces an additional charge of driving while under the influence. He is being held on $12,000 bail while his wife is being held on $10,000 bond.
A man accused of brutally murdering his wife allegedly had sex with his first cousin, who later had his child, multiple times while the woman's dead body was stashed upstairs in a closet.

Loyd Sabastian DeJohn, 48, appeared in Macomb County Circuit Court in Michigan on Thursday for the beginning of his murder trial.

Prosecutors allege DeJohn killed his wife, Kimberly DeJohn, 51, in a 'cold-blooded act' inside their home in May 2014, according to the Macomb Daily.

Assistant Prosecutor William Cataldo told the jury the 48-year-old bound, gagged and strangled his wife, before beating her with a blunt object and stabbing her more than 10 times in the stomach and legs.

Loyd Sabastian DeJohn (pictured) is accused of brutally murdering his wife and then having sex with his first cousin while the woman's dead body was stashed upstairs in a closet

DeJohn went on to allegedly wrap his wife's body in a blanket and stash it in a closet upstairs in their Warren, Michigan home, the newspaper reports.

Cataldo told the court the 48-year-old then had sex with his 25-year-old first cousin, Anjelica Gonzales, who was his girlfriend at the time, twice inside the home.

The alleged murderer kept his wife's body in the closet for two days, the jury was told, and only moved it out of the house when his cousin complained about the smell of 'bad meat'.

However, Gonzales told a pre-trial hearing last year she did not know what had happened, and was frightened Kimberly DeJohn would find her with her husband.

The 48-year-old told his cousin and girlfriend, who moved into the house with him, she did not need to worry about Kimberly.

'He told me not to worry about it, that she wasnt coming back, that I would be safe and that he wanted to be with me,' Gonzales said last year, according to the Daily Tribune.

Anjelica Gonzales (pictured), Loyd DeJohn's cousin, has previously told court she had no idea what had happened when she moved into the house with her cousin in May 2014

On Thursday, Gonzales (pictured) told Dailymail.com she struggles with the case and that her young children - one of whom she had with DeJohn - find it all 'heartbreaking'

Gonzales, who now lives in Kentucky, told the court DeJohn later changed his story and said his wife died after she fell and hit her head on some furniture. She did not ask what happened to the body.

But DeJohn would later offer a third story to Gonzales, claiming the two argued and he pushed her into a piece of furniture, busting her head open in the process. However he did not say she died in the altercation, and instead claimed his wife walked out of the house.

On Thursday, the young mother told DailyMail.com she is still heartbroken by the alleged incident, and struggles with the negative comments directed at her and her daughter - who she had with DeJohn nine months after he was arrested.

Gonzales told Dailymail.com her children find the case 'heartbreaking', and added that she struggles with it

The young mother moved into her cousin's house days after he allegedly murdered his wife and did not know what happened to her

'It's hard for me because of all the negative comments that are made about me and it's heartbreaking for my kids,' Gonzales said.

'My daughter... will never know her dad. (No matter) what has happened he is still my daughter's dad.'

On Wednesday, the court was told DeJohn put his wife's body is his truck and covered it with dirt after Gonzales mentioned the smell, according to the Detroit Free Press.

He then allegedly left Kimberly DeJohn's body in the truck for about two weeks, as he, 'drove around Warren and (to) work', before dumping the body in a shallow grave in Tuscarora Township - about 200 miles north of his home - on May 28.

Kimberly DeJohn's body was found on June 18.

Prosecutors allege DeJohn killed his wife, Kimberly DeJohn (pictured), 51, in a 'cold-blooded act' inside their home in May 2014

DeJohn, 48, appeared in Macomb County Circuit Court (pictured) in Michigan on Thursday for the beginning of his murder trial

DeJohn, who had been arrested for domestic violence on May 30, claimed he and his wife had argued after she broke one of his 'collectible items', the Macomb Daily reports.

However, Assistant Prosecutor Cataldo told the court the alleged crime was about much more than that.

'We're going to show the violence is very beyond somebody pissed because "they broke my collectible",' he told the jury.

'This was planned... This was an act waiting for an opportunity.'

DeJohn's attorney, Mark Nortley, argued that his client did not have any motive to murder his wife.

'Why would you commit a homicide? Why would you do that? There's absolutely no motive at all,' Nortley said, according to the Free Press.

'Clearly, clearly, clearly, there was no motive. There was no plan.'

DeJohn has been charged with first-degree murder and disinterment and mutilation of a dead body.
She is also struggling from a drop in voting enthusiasm among Democrats

Clinton's popularity has waned after a difficult weekend for the Democrat, when it was revealed that she has pneumonia

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both get 42 per cent among likely voters in a four-way split

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are tied in the race for the White House, a poll showed on Thursday.

In a four-way split among candidates, both the Republican and the Democrat candidates get 42 per cent among likely voters, the CBS/New York Times survey showed.

Some 5 per cent of voters opted for 'Other' while 2 per cent are undecided.

Clinton does better in a two-way match-up, eking out 46 per cent to Trump's 44.

Still, with the first presidential debates less than two weeks away she has lost ground to her political rival ahead of the November election, partly due to the secrecy surrounding her physical condition.

Trump and Clinton are now in a dead heat among likely voters in the latest CBS/NYT poll

Trump in Ohio on Wednesday - the same day a Bloomberg poll showed that he leads Clinton 48 to 43 in the midwestern state, which is a decider in the presidential race

The Clinton campaign revealed Sunday that she had pneumonia - two days after the diagnosis, and only after the candidate almost collapsed and had to be led hastily out of a 9/11 memorial ceremony.

The CBS/NYT poll, conducted September 9-13 by telephone, showed that more than two-fifths of voters think both candidates should release more of their medical records, while around the same amount think they have published enough already.

Since then, Clinton has released health records that show she has bacterial pneumonia, and that she also had to have surgery for a sinus condition in January.

Meanwhile Trump was interviewed by Dr. Oz on Wednesday for airing Thursday, and reportedly gave his interviewer some details from a recent examination.

Clinton is also struggling from a drop in enthusiasm among Democrats about voting.

Enthusiasm among Republican voters has held steady and is currently at 68 per cent. But among Democrats 64 per cent are at least 'somewhat enthusiastic', versus 77 per cent in August.

A Rasmussen poll on Thursday showed Trump polling two points ahead of Clinton, coming back from trailing her by four points just a week ago - although the organization cautioned that the survey has a margin of error of 3 points.

Trump now has 42 per cent of voters against Clinton's 40. Libertarian Gary Johnson gets 7 per cent and the Green Party's Jill Stein gets 2.

Clinton's missteps have cost her precious support not just in the national polls, but in the state of Ohio, a decider in the presidential race.

On Wednesday a Bloomberg survey showed that Trump leads her 48 to 43 in the midwestern state. A CNN survey released Wednesday had him winning by the same gap.

The daily LA Times / USC Tracking poll has Clinton now six points behind Trump, at 41 per cent to the Republican's 47.

In the RealClearPolitics poll of polls between the two rivals, Clinton is 1.8 points ahead.

Chelsea and Bill Clinton have been deployed to the campaign trail to fill in for Hillary while she rests up from pneumonia. They're seen above on Tuesday.

Obama has hit the campaign trail to try boost Clinton in the poll

Obama was wheeled out on Tuesday to campaign for Clinton as she recovers, with her campaign hoping the current President can help boost her popularity.

Chelsea and Bill Clinton have also been hitting the trail as they try compensate for her absence.

Clinton continues to have a double-digit lead over Trump among the female vote, while Trump is ahead among men.

She is ahead of the businessman among voters under 30 at 48 per cent - but that is a far cry from the support that Obama received in 2012, with 60 per cent of that demographic.
An 11-year-old boy who was found dead in a closet weighed only 34 pounds  less than half of what an average child his age should be.

Yonatan Daniel Aguilar was found dead wrapped inside a blanket at his home in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 22, the Los Angeles Times reports.

He was pale, stiff and curled into a fetal position with cuts on his face when officers found him, according to the Times.

His mother Veronica Aguilar, 39, is accused of neglecting her son and leaving him severely malnourished until he died.

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Yonatan Daniel Aguilar (pictured above), 11, was found dead in a closet weighed only 34 pounds  less than half of what an average child his age should be

She is charged with one count of murder and one count of child abuse resulting in death.

Aguilar pleaded not guilty to the charges last week.

Records show the boy was the subject of numerous child abuse allegations over the course of his short life, according to the newspaper.

He was on the Department of Children and Family Services high risk radar for abuse from 2009 until 2012, but police never launched an investigation.

Two reports in 2002 came before Yonatan was born and concern at least one of his older siblings.

The department first became concerned about Yonatan when he came to school with scratches on his face in October 2009.

Then four, he told a police officer his mother had slapped and scratched him.

She denied it and said he may have gotten the injuries from sleeping on the floor.

His mother Veronica Aguilar (pictured) is charged with one count of murder and one count of child abuse resulting in death

Despite being flagged four times, social workers didnt open a case saying the physical abuse claims were inconclusive.

In December 2011, the county child abuse hotline got a call about Yonatan and one of his siblings claiming they were being neglected.

The unidentified caller said the boy was born premature in Mexico.

His mother was advised by medicals to keep him in hospital for a few months, but she left three days after he was born.

He had a learning disability and was unable to control his bowel movements and bladder, the caller said.

On December 18, 2011, Yonatans mother found him in the shower trying to wash his clothes after urinating on himself.

She called 911 and he was diagnosed with hypothermia and taken to hospital.

Once again, he was found at high risk of abuse, but social workers didnt open a case because they said the accusations of neglect were unfounded.

In March 2012, the boy came to school with a black eye and gave conflicting accounts about how he got it.

A school official called the DCFS, but again, no case was opened.

Days later, a teacher called the department saying the child often came to school dirty and was always hungry.

The teacher said he would take as much food as he could from the cafeteria and bring it to the classroom to eat.

But yet again, no case was opened.

Social workers wrote in his file that he was being treated by a physician and a therapist for hoarding food  and that the teacher had called in before discussing it with the principal.

After 2012, Yonatan reportedly fell off the countrys radar.

At the time of his death, he and his three siblings lived in a one-bedroom home with his mother and their stepfather.

Jose Pinzon, the stepfather, reported the boys death and was found by police crying in the parking lot of a nearby convenience store.

His mother was outside the home, walking a dog.

Detective Moses Castillo, who is the supervising detective on Yonatans case said the LAPD would make no further comments on the case, according to the Times.
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It was bought more than 100 years ago for just 500 after the owner had a lucky gamble on the poker table.

Wanting to splash the cash on a holiday home for his family with his winnings, Percy Allen bought the modest home in what was then an unassuming area of Poole Harbour in Dorset boasting only a handful of wooden shacks.

Little did he know that in years to come the area would emerge as a multi-millionaire's playground with some of the world's most expensive real estate - and become home to a string of football managers and celebrities.

It means his understated pebble dash, red brick detached property is now worth more than 4million - an 800 per cent increase on the 500 investment he made in 1915.

Percy and Isabelle Allen bought the beachfront property on the picturesque peninsula in Poole Harbour, Dorset, in 1915 when most properties in the area were wooden shacks. A Sandbanks postcard from 1910 shows some of the houses built in that era

A postcard from 1910 showing some of the houses built on Sandbanks following the sale of building plots. The Allen's bought their property overlooking the beach in 1915, ten years after it was built. It has since been surrounded by modern mansions

Percy and Isabelle Allen bought the beachfront property (pictured) on the picturesque peninsula in Poole Harbour, Dorset, in 1915 when most properties in the area were wooden shacks. They paid just 500 for it and the land alone is now worth 4m

The modest home, called East Looe, may not look much compared to the modern mansions that have sprung up around it but the plot it stands on is highly sought-after by developers who are willing to pay millions for it.

The Allen family have fended off repeated offers over the years and continue to happily use the property as a holiday home - meaning it has stayed within their ownership for the last century. It is currently owned by Percy's grandsons whose children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren also use it.

Local historian Jeremy Waters said: 'Sandbanks was always a popular beach resort but it wasn't in any way grand or pretentious.

'It wasn't until about the 1990s that the big millionaires' houses started to appear.

'But the Allen's story is a lovely one. They have no interest in selling for development.

'They're now into their 6th generation of Allens there and they just enjoy it as a holiday home for the two branches of the family.

'The house itself is not particularly photogenic, it's just a square, pebble-dash box, but it would have been very grand for the area when it was built - everything else was wooden shacks.

'The Allens love the house and all the family enjoy going there. They've got a lovely bit of beach by their house where because of the construction of the groynes they've got their own little bay.

'The groynes have left a lovely little inlet right by their house which really is beautiful.'

Plots on the peninsula in Poole Harbour were first sold in 1896 for about 100 each to pay for sea defences. Sandbanks is pictured in this postcard from the 1915 era, when the Allen's first bought the property overlooking the beach (not pictured)

The pebble-dash and red brick home has hardly changed over the last century and has been passed down through the Allen family since 1915 when it was bought with 500 poker winnings. It is now used a holiday home by the Allen grandchildren

The modest pebble dash and red-brick detached home, called East Looe, may not look much compared to the modern mansions that have sprung up around it in Sandbanks but the plot it stands on alone is now worth 4million to developers

East Looe was built in 1905 and was bought by Percy and Isabelle Allen, who lived in Westbury on Trim, Gloucester, ten years later. They decided to stay living in Gloucestershire and use East Looe as a holiday home.

Mr Allen was a director of a printing company but much of his income apparently came from his weekly visits to London gambling clubs where he was very successful at poker.

His descendants don't know why he chose the on the picturesque peninsula of Sandbanks, but they believe his purchase was the result of a winning night at the poker table.

The property is on the beach side of the peninsula and has stunning views out to sea and across to Studland Bay and the landmark of Old Harry Rocks.

Developers have tried to get their hands on the prime piece of real estate but the family have always resisted the lure of millions of pounds.

Adrian Dunford, from Tailor Made estate agents on Sandbanks, said the plot would be worth up to 4million and a new house on the site could sell for 8million.

Mr Dunford said: 'The family definitely made a good investment back in 1915.

'It's a great spot. This house is quite a nice traditional one and that section of water is very popular because it's quite a private section and you're looking out almost directly to Old Harry Rocks.

'It's also by the entrance to the harbour so you have the boats coming in quite close, which all just makes a nice backdrop.

East Looe was built in 1905 and was bought by Percy and Isabelle Allen ten years later for just 500 - it's now worth 4m

The modest property (pictured centre right) is nestled between two mansions which have sprung up in recent years

'But I suspect if it was for sale it would be bought by someone to build their own dream home.

'A new house on that site would be worth about 7 to 8million so the plot value would be about 3 to 4million.

'When someone is spending this sort of money they will happily demolish a house if they don't like it. The way most people would change a kitchen or bathroom, they will change the whole house.

'Developers are always looking for sites and we approach owners on their behalf on a regular basis, but we probably wouldn't approach people we know have no intention of selling no matter how much money they're offered.

'We are getting towards saturation point now though.'

Plots on the peninsula in Poole Harbour were first sold in 1896 for about 100 each to pay for sea defences.

Sandbanks became more built-up with homes in the 1960s, but it has only been over the last two decades that it has turned into a millionaire's playground.

In the last 20 years, Sandbanks has become a magnet for multi-millionaires and is one of the world's hottest property spots

Older homes have given way to new harbourside mansions which cost anything up to 10million.

And the area has previously ranked as the fourth most expensive place in the world to buy property, behind Hong Kong, Tokyo and London's Belgravia.

A plot Beatles legend John Lennon bought for his Aunt Mimi for 26,500 in 1965 was put on the market last year for 4.5million.

A three-bedroom house two plots down from East Looe was bought for 4.25million several years ago and demolished. Two four-storey properties have been built in its place and are now on the market for 6.5million each.
A 22-year-old woman who was suspected of being behind a hit-and-run ended up going to a strip club after striking a panhandler.

Mom of two, Shepard Seamans, was hauled before a judge on Wednesday but refused to answer most of the questions that were thrown at her.

She is now being held at the county jail in Cocoa, Florida. Cocoa Police say Seamans struck a panhandler on State Road 520 near U.S. 1 and then fled the scene on Tuesday afternoon.

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Shepard Seamans, 22, is charged with hitting a panhandler in her sport utility vehicle and then driving off without helping the victim

The mother of two told police she fled the scene because she was 'scared'

The judge ordered her to remain in jail on a $179,000 bond, adding up all her charges.

Police reports say she stopped to speak to witnesses but did not make any attempt to help her victim who remains in critical condition in hospital.

Instead, she allegedly drove to a friend's house to drop off her car and went straight to Cheaters Gentlemen's Club in Cocoa Beach for a shot of whiskey 'to calm down.'

Police said Seamans was driving a gold-colored Ford Explorer when the pedestrian - panhandling motorists in the median - was struck around 2:30 p.m.

She stopped, but did not offer assistance and then fled the scene, witnesses told police.

One of the bystanders asked her to help apply pressure to the back of the injured pedestrian's head but instead, Seamans asked another bystander to carry out the aid instead.

Seamans was taken into custody after Cocoa Beach police and is being held in jail on a $179,000 bond

Dents on Seaman's vehicle clearly show where she struck the homeless panhandler

The man, who remains unidentified, had his clothes and possessions strewn about the road

'Why she went over to a beach-side bar right around the crash happened is anyone's guess, but she did make admissions to her involvement,' said Yvonne Martinez, with the Cocoa Police Department.

The man was struck so hard he flew into the air before bouncing onto a pickup truck and landing on the concrete median.

'I saw him walking to me and the next thing I know he was up in the air and then on the ground, bounced off my truck and on the ground,' witness Ron Devris said to News 6.

Devris said it happened quickly and that he saw the man standing there panhandling just moments before he was tossed in the air.

The man was holding a sign and standing in the central median of the highway when he was hit

Seamans headed to Cheaters nightclub in Cocoa Beach to 'to calm down with a shot of whisky'

'I was stopped at the light waiting for the light to turn green and the poor guy was coming down. He had his sign out, homeless, please help, and the car came out of nowhere and hit him,' Devris added.

Appearing in court on Wednesday, Seamans did not give the judge any explanation as to whey she did not help the victim apart from to say she was scared and went to the strip club where she works.

'When the police got there they found her and she didn't seem to be surprised, that they were there for her,' Martinez added.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice official with an Uzi machine gun and ordered another opponent to be fed alive to a crocodile, a former member of his death squad has claimed.

Edgar Matobato, a self-described assassin testified under oath in the country's parliament, that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed 1,000 people between 1988 and 2013 on Duterte's orders.

He also said that other opponents of Duterte were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried in a quarry while others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, a self-described assassin testified under oath in the country's parliament, that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed 1,000 people between 1988 and 2013 on Duterte's orders

The 57-year-old made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said has left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

During the hearing, Matobato recounted a death squad mission in 1993 that was unintentionally impeded by the vehicle of an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation, who was blocking the road in the city of Davoa.

At the time, Duterte was mayor of Davao, and the agent had ran out of bullets during a shoot out.

Matabato alleges that the now-president then showed up at the scene, armed with a submachine gun following the confrontation.

He explained: 'Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. He emptied two Uzi magazines on him.'

The allegations were made before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in an anti-crime crackdown ordered by Duterte, pictured

Following the testimony, Duterte's son Paolo Duterte called the allegations 'mere hearsay' of a madman'

Matobato's testimony also fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind the killings of more than a thousand petty criminals, including minors, in Davao.

He explained: 'Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis.

'The people of Davao were being slaughtered like chicken,' he said, adding he lied to his wife about butchering birds when she saw his blood-spattered shirts.

Matobato said he received orders to kill either directly from Duterte or from active-duty Davao police officers assigned to the mayor's office who were also part of the death squad.

Duterte, who took office more than two months ago, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill thousands of criminals

'The officers told us ordinary killings won't do. They are sadists,' he said, describing how the victims were strangled.

'Then we'd remove their clothes, burn the bodies and chop them up,' Matobato said, adding that he had personally killed 'about 50' people.

Some victims were disembowelled and dropped at sea, while others were left on Davao streets with rusty handguns planted in their hands to simulate a gun battle, he added.

Matobato said the death squad also 'tortured' him when he asked to leave the group in 2013, telling his bosses he was 'too old' for it and wanted to look for a proper job.

He was admitted to the justice department's witness protection programme but left to go into hiding when Duterte won the presidency.

Asked why he left the death squad, he replied: 'I am bothered by my conscience.'

In Duterte's first 72 days in office, 3,140 people hhave been left dead following a crime crackdown

However, following his testimony, Philippines Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre called the allegations 'lies and fabrications', adding Matobato 'is obviously not telling the truth'.

Duterte aides said the government's Commission on Human Rights had already investigated the allegations but did not file charges while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony 'mere hearsay' of 'a madman'.

'I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that,' Duterte spokesman Martin Andanar said.

Duterte, who took office more than two months ago, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill thousands of criminals.
ISIS has reportedly declared a state of emergency in Mosul and taken its troops off the streets after a series of assassinations.

The jihadist organisation, sometimes referred to as Daesh, is on the back foot in Iraq and Syria as it comes under increasing pressure from air strikes and ground attacks.

ISIS captured Mosul - the biggest city in northern Iraq and a key oil centre - in June 2014 but its hold on the area has grown weaker in recent weeks as the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces attack from opposite directions.

ISIS took Mosul in June 2014 and forces Iraqi troops to withdraw but they are now struggling to hold the city (file picture)

Now it appears that forces within the city are also targeting ISIS.

The Iraqi News website said sources reported: 'ISIS have panicked after the waves of assassinations and have begun to cut off the main roads to the residential neighbourhoods, after declaring a state of emergency in the city.'

Several ISIS officials are believed to have been assassinated in the districts of Qayyarah, Sharqat and Bashiqa.

The US-led coalition fighting ISIS continues to train several thousand Sunni tribal fighters in preparation for a push on Mosul, the largest city in the self-proclaimed ISIS caliphate, which spans swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The Iraqi authorities have pledged to retake Mosul this year. A top US general said recently they were on track to meet the target.

Mosul is the biggest city in the ISIS-controlled 'caliphate' but the organisation has been spooked by a series of assassinations (file picture)

The Iraqi News said coalition airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday destroyed a ISIS headquarters of ISIS in a forest near Mosul and another within the city.

ISIS recently chainsawed nine youths in half in public in Mosul - after they were accused of belonging to a 'resistance faction'.

The young men were tied to iron poles at Tal Afar Square before being sliced in two with an electric cutter.
Horrified witnesses have described the moment a woman repeatedly kicked a small dog before chasing after it and attacking it again.

Footage shows the unnamed woman attacking the dog, believed to be an English Cocker Spaniel, around Kibble Bank, a housing estate in Burnley, Lancashire.

The defenceless dog can be seen flinching and recoiling in pain and even tried to hide behind a car as she kicks it several times then drags it away.

The woman kicked the dog, believed to be an English Cocker Spaniel, around Kibble Bank, a housing estate in Burnley, Lancashire

She was filmed by Mark Robinson, from Burnley, Lancashire, who said: 'She walks though Kibble every day walking her dogs, she continued kicking it around the corner until someone shouted at her.'

The long-haired woman, wearing a pink hoodie and black leggings, can be seen kicking the dog, which is on a lead, sending it scurrying onto the grass before she chases it and kicks it again.

She drags it back and kicks it three more times.

The woman is also walking another dog as she aims her kicks at the defenceless animal.

Mr Robinson's video has attracted more than 351,000 views on Facebook and has clocked up 4,226 shares.

Online commentators have condemned the woman's actions.

She runs up to the defenceless animal and kicks it repeatedly, to the horror of onlookers

Gillian Tattersall said: 'Absolutely shocking, poor dog. Needs reporting so the dog can be taken away before she does it again.'

Steve Burnley said the owner deserved a taste of her own medicine, adding: 'She needs a good kicking.'

Stephen Keeler agreed: 'Someone should kick her around the block.'

Annemarie Maughan said: 'Wish I lived in your town. I'd slap her so hard.'

RSPCA Lancashire East said: 'We are aware of the video of a girl kicking a dog in the Burnley area.

'The local RSPCA inspector is dealing with this. If anyone has any information regarding this incident please contact the national control centre on 0300 1234 999.'

At one point the dog can be seen recoiling in pain and even trying to hide behind the car

The small black and white dog can be seen coming into shot before the woman launched into her attack

Burnley and Padiham Police praised Mark for posting his video on Facebook.

A spokesman said: 'The local neighbourhood police team would like to thank the member of the public who highlighted an incident that had been on Facebook showing two dogs being maltreated.

'We would like to assure the public that the person responsible has been identified and will be dealt with appropriately by the police and RSPCA.
White widow terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite may have been behind an attack on a Kenyan police station carried out by an all-female team of jihadists, it has emerged.

Three women stormed into Mombasa's main police headquarters on Sunday and launched a knife and firebomb attack before being shot dead.

It has now been claimed that British fugitive Lewthwaite, widow of London 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay and one of the world's most wanted terror suspects, 'had a hand' in the terror attack.

White widow terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite (pictured) may have been behind an attack on a Kenyan police station carried out by an all-female team of jihadists, it has emerged

Three women stormed into Mombasa's main police headquarters on Sunday and launched a knife and firebomb attack before being shot dead

According to Kenyan newspaper, The Star, laptops and emails belonging to the three women and found at their house indicated that they had been in touch with the 32-year-old.

A source told the paper: 'A cyber crime unit will be finalising the contents soon. But primary findings indicate Lewthwaite could have a hand in this.

The laptops and other items were recovered at a house where the women lived.

Lewthwaite, a mother-of-four dubbed the world's most wanted woman, fled her home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire soon after her husband played a part in the 7/7 atrocity in London in 2005.

She has since been linked to a series of shocking Al-Shabaab attacks and is understood to have masterminded the murders of 400 people.

They include the 2013 raid on Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, which killed 67 and the massacre at Garissa University College in April last year in which 148 people were slaughtered.

British fugitive Lewthwaite (pictured), widow of London 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay and one of the world's most wanted terror suspects, 'had a hand' in the terror attack, it has been claimed

Kenya has faced a spate of Islamist militant attacks in recent years, usually claimed by the Somali group Al-Shabaab, but Sunday's assault on a police station in the port city of Mombasa by the three women was claimed by ISIS

Lewthwaite, who has used the alias Natalie Webb and is also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite, is thought to be employed in Al-Shabaab's Intelligence Unit, sources told MailOnline earlier this year.

It's believed that she commands a terrifying army of up to 200 female jihadis who she has trained to infiltrate governments, carry out suicide attacks, and call her 'Mother of Holy War'.

She is also wanted by authorities in Kenya in connection with allegations of possessing explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony and is the subject of an Interpol 'red notice'.

Despite her links to Al-Shabaab, Kenyan officers believe the three Mombasa attackers had pledged allegiance to ISIS on a handwritten note reportedly penned before the assault.

Kenya has faced a spate of Islamist militant attacks in recent years, usually claimed by the Somali group Al-Shabaab, but Sunday's assault on a police station in the port city of Mombasa by the three women was claimed by ISIS.

ISIS has seized territory in Syria and Iraq, inspiring offshoot groups in the Middle East and Africa.

Armed policemen walk outside the central police station after the attack, in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya

Experts say those accused of links to the group, but who live a long way from ISIS's heartland, may only be sympathisers rather than have the group's active backing.

'We pledged allegiance to the caliph of the Muslims, the Amir of the Believers, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi,' according to the handwritten shown to Reuters by an officer, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

In the note, written on the lined page of an exercise book, the women called themselves Umm Maysarah, Umm Ma'bad and Umm Sa'ad, which the officers said was believed to be their aliases. The officer said the note was found in the house they stayed in.

'Know that Islamic State soldiers are everywhere,' the note said. 'O filthy Kenyan government, don't think we've forgotten how you mercilessly killed our brothers ... We promise to make your women widows and your children orphans.'

Amaq news agency, affiliated to ISIS, said on Tuesday that 'supporters' of ISIS carried out the Mombasa attack, in which the three women, with their weapons concealed under flowing robes worn by some Muslims, tricked their way into the police station, stabbed an officer and threw a petrol bomb. Police also found an unexploded suicide vest.

Despite her links to Al-Shabaab, Kenyan officers believe the three Mombasa attackers had pledged allegiance to ISIS on a handwritten note reportedly penned before the assault

This appeared to be the first claim of an attack by ISIS in Kenya, although police said in May they had detained people linked to the terror group.

Kenya's authorities have been cracking down on people they accuse of promoting militant ideas or planning and carrying out attacks, particularly in the coastal region where many Kenyans live in the majority Christian African nation.

Muslim activists and rights groups have accused the government of heavy-handed tactics and say extra-judicial killings have spurred on radicals. The government denies any such killings and says it is simply fighting terrorism.

Kenyan security forces detained Haniya Said Saagar, a widow of a slain Muslim cleric, late on Wednesday as part of the investigation into the Mombasa attack, Evans Achoki, Mombasa county commissioner, told Reuters.

Saagar's husband, Sheikh Aboud Rogo, was a fiery preacher who was killed by unknown gunmen in 2012. Supporters said police executed him, which officials denied.
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Its eyes terrifying as they fixes on the camera lens, this griffon vulture glares through the carcass of a dead mammal.

The winged scavenger arches its neck to peer into the decaying ribcage of the dead creature.

This shot of a griffon vulture was taken by wildlife photographer Jonathan Diaz-Marba - who said it wasn't without risk.

The griffon vulture was pictured glaring through the carcass of a dead animal in a sinister-looking shot by photographer Jonathan Diaz-Marba

The photographer put his camera in the carcass and shot from a hide using a 20 metre trigger wire.

He stated: 'My fear was that these huge birds could vandalize the expensive photographic equipment, but I had to take the risk.'

His ominous-looking shot was one of the shortlisted photos in the second annual Royal Society Publishing Photo Competition.

It was runner-up in the 'behaviour' category.

Fantastic spectacle: Imre Potyo's winning entry, Dancing with stars, shows the final courtship dance of adult Danube mayflies in Hungary

The overall winner was environmental researcher Imre Potyo, whose shot Dancing with stars captures the final courtship dance of short-lived adult Danube mayflies on the bank of the Raba River in Hungary.

The photographer said: 'For me, the mass swarming of Danube mayflies is one of the most exciting phenomenon in nature.

'The life of an adult mayfly is very short. They hatch from their juvenile aquatic form, mate in this fantastic spectacle, and then perish. Its difficult to capture as their mating swarms are unpredictable and can last only a couple of hours.'

Tane Sinclair-Taylor's picture of a juvenile Twoband anemonefish in the Red Sea was the winner in the ecology and environmental science category

Stunning: Nick Robertson-Brown's 'Departing eagle ray' was the winner in the evolutionary biology category. It shows an eagle ray swimming over the reef with its prey in Grand Cayman in the Caribbean

Electron microscopy reveals the alien landscape of the surface of an activated carbon grain. This photo by Maria Carbajo Sanches, 'In balance?' was the winner in the micro-imaging category

All the winning photos and runners-up will be on display at a free exhibition at the Royal Society on Saturday and Sunday during the Open House London weekend.

The awards celebrate the power of photography to communicate science, and highlight the beautiful scenes encountered while studying the world around us.

Here are some of the runners-up and commended images

Gentoo penguins on Royal Bay, on the island of South Georgia, decorating their nest with excretement were photographed by Tegwen Gadais

Colourful butterflies gathered on the head of a caiman were captured in the Amazon by photographer Mark Cowan on a scientific expedition. It was given a special commendation

A Superb fan-throated lizard (Sarada superba) was photographed in the northern west ghats in India, where a wind farm has caused drastic changes in the species' ecology

Photographer Alexandre Bonnefoy followed Japanese macaques all over Japan, and captured them huddled in small groups to keep warm during the cold winter

This image of a one-day post-oviposition African house snake (Boaedon fuliginosus) was runner up in the micro-imaging category

A mouse foetus, captured in a microscopic image by Spike Walker, who has won a Scientific Imaging Award from the Royal Photographic Society
Suit settled: The family of Sandra Bland, 28, have reached a $1.9million settlement in their civil wrongful death lawsuit

The family of Sandra Bland, the Texas woman who died in jail after being arrested during a routine traffic stop last summer, have agreed to settle their wrongful death lawsuit for $1.9million.

Attorney Cannon Lambert confirmed the settlement with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County Jail to the station KTRK.

Bland, who was an activist with the Black Lives Matter movement, was pulled over by a Texas state trooper on July 10, 2015, for a minor traffic infraction and taken to the Waller County Jail in Hempstead.

Three days later, the 28-year-old woman was found hanging from a jail cell partition with a plastic garbage bag tied around her neck. Her death was ruled a suicide by asphyxiation.

At the time of her death, Bland was in the process of moving from the Chicago area to Texas to pursue a job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University.

State Trooper Brian Encinia, the arresting officer, claimed Bland was combative when he pulled her over for forgetting to put on her turn signal. She was arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer after refusing to follow Encinias orders to put out her cigarette and get out of the car.

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Dashcam: Texas state trooper Brian Encinia points a Taser as he orders Sandra Bland out of her vehicle, in this still image captured from the police dash camera video from the traffic stop of Bland's vehicle in Prairie View, Texas, on July 10, 2015

Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia (left) was fired in March after being indicted on a perjury charge in connection to Bland's arrest. A grand jury has declined to bring any charges in her death

But dashcam video of her arrest seemed to tell a different story and provoked national outrage.

At one point in the video Encinia can be heard threatening Bland with a taser, telling her: 'I will light you up'.

TERMS OF SANDRA BLAND LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT: Waller County will pay the family $1.8million. The Texas Department of Public Safety will pay the family $100,000. To prevent future document falsifications, Waller County jail will use automated electronic sensors to ensure accurate and timely cell checks. Waller County jail will Provide an on-duty nurse or EMT for all shifts. Waller County Judge pledges to actively seek passage of state legislation providing for more funding for jail intake, booking, screening training and other jail support like telemedicine access for Texas county jails. Any resulting legislation will be named in Sandra Bland's honor. Waller County Sheriff's Office will provide additional jailer training on booking and intake screening. Advertisement

A grand jury in December decided not to bring any charges in her death, although the Texas Department of Public Safety fired Encinia in March after he was indicted on a misdemeanor perjury charge.

As part of the wrongful death settlement announced Thursday, the Texas Department of Public Safety has agreed to pay Blands family $100,000, with the rest of the money totaling more than $1.8million coming from the Waller County Jail, which has agreed to provide a nurse or EMT for all shifts.

Also, a Waller County judge has pledged to 'actively seek passage' of state legislation providing for more funding for jail intake, booking, screening, training and other related activities.

Any resulting law, according to the conditions of the settlement, will be named in Sandra Bland's honor.

The Waller County Sheriff's Office also will provide additional training on booking and intake screening for corrections officers.

This past July, attorney Cannon Lambert said that former Waller County jail guard Rafael Zuniga admitted to him under oath that he falsified log entries indicting that he had checked on Sandra Bland an hour before she was found dead in her cell.

Larry Simmons, Waller County's attorney, later claimed that Zunigas testimony was taken out of context.

At the time of her death, Bland was in the process of moving from the Chicago area to Texas

TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS IN SANDRA BLAND CASE: People gather in Chicago's Federal Plaza July 13, 2016 to remember Sandra Bland Sandra Bland's arrest and suicide in July 2015 came amid heightened national scrutiny of police and their dealings with black suspects, especially individuals who were killed by officers or who died in police custody. Here are some key events in the Bland case: July 10, 2015: Bland is pulled over in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, for changing lanes without signaling. The stop grows confrontational and state trooper Brian Encinia orders her from the car before forcing her to the ground and taking her into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant. Bland, who was in the process of moving to Texas from the Chicago area, is booked into the Waller County jail. July 13, 2015: A jailer finds Bland hanging in her cell. A preliminary autopsy determined she used a garbage bag to hang herself. July 16, 2015: The Texas Department of Public Safety announces Encinia has been placed on administrative leave. Authorities determine he violated procedures guiding traffic stops and the department's courtesy policy. July 21, 2015: DPS releases dash-cam video showing the traffic stop, which quickly became confrontational. The video shows the trooper holding a stun gun and yelling, "I will light you up!" after Bland refuses to get out of her car. Bland eventually steps out of the vehicle, and Encinia orders her to the side of the road. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible. July 22, 2015: Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith reveals that Bland told a guard during the booking process that she had previously tried to kill herself. Smith said two jailers who spoke with Bland insisted that she appeared fine when booked into the jail. She was not placed under suicide watch. July 23, 2015: The Waller County district attorney's office reveals details of autopsy findings, which concluded Bland killed herself. The findings also show she had marijuana in her system and that about 30 cuts along Bland's wrist were likely self-inflicted some weeks before her arrest. July 31, 2015: Department of Public Safety personnel records show Encinia was once cautioned about "unprofessional conduct" in a 2014 incident while he was still a probationary trooper. Aug. 4, 2015: Bland's family files a wrongful death lawsuit. Dec. 17, 2015: A judge sets a Jan. 23, 2017, trial date for the wrongful death lawsuit. Dec. 21, 2015: Waller County grand jury decides no felony crime was committed by the sheriff's office or jailers in the treatment of Bland. Jan. 6: Waller County grand jury indicts Encinia on perjury count, a misdemeanor, for allegedly lying about how he removed Bland from her vehicle during the stop. The Department of Public Safety says it is firing Encinia. March 2: State officials say Encinia has been formally fired. He has the ability to appeal. March 22: Encinia pleads not guilty to the misdemeanor perjury charge. April 12: Panel convened after Bland's death issues report saying the small-town jail where Bland died needs more expertise among its staff to identify mental health issues, along with body cameras and anger-management training for jailers. July 20: Federal judge orders mediation in the wrongful death lawsuit. July 22: A Bland family attorney says an ex-guard told him in a deposition that he falsified jail log entries by noting he'd checked on Bland in the hour before she was found dead in her cell. Aug. 26: Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that two of Bland's jailers were quietly moved to other jobs two months after her death. Sept. 15: An attorney for Bland's family tells Houston television station KTRK that the wrongful death lawsuit has been settled for $1.9million. Advertisement

In light of these revelations, the Waller County Jail now has agreed to install automated electronic sensors to ensure accurate and timely cell inspections 'to prevent future document falsification,' according to the settlement.
Dahir A. Aden (pictured) has been charged with one count of false imprisonment

An Uber driver armed with a large amount of condoms allegedly tried to kidnap a teenage passenger to rape her.

Dahir A. Aden, 50, has been charged with one count of false imprisonment, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

The girl, who has not been named, said she had been taken to the drivers home against her will and he had tried to force her inside.

But she thwarted his attempt and was saved after sending pictures of his address to a friend who called police.

According to the criminal complaint, the girl had ordered a car using the Uber app to pick her up at her home in north Minneapolis on August 4.

She said the car stopped to pick up her friend, who was driven to his place of work in the south part of the city.

Then, the girl asked Aden to take her home, but he refused to do so.

When she saw that he was driving on a highway, she demanded to know where he was going  and he told her that they were on their way to his apartment for sex.

She insisted he take her home, but he continued towards West St. Paul  and she frantically sent messages to a friend for help.

The teenage girl said she asked the driver to take her to her Minneapolis home, but he refused and took her to his apartment for sex. File photo

Outside Adens apartment complex, he allegedly told her: Go inside, go inside to have quick sex.

She refused and exited the car.

While the driver tried to grab her phone, the girl managed to call her friend and explain her situation  who urged her not to go inside and that he was calling police.

Unaware of her location, the girl managed to photograph both the Uber drivers car and the address and sent it to her friend.

A police officer arrived at the scene.

At first, Aden told the cop that the girl was his girlfriend but then said she wasnt, the Star-Tribune reports.

He was unable to explain exactly why he was in West St. Paul when the girl had wanted to go to Minneapolis.

The complaint said the officer found a large amount of condoms on Adens person.

A spokesman for Uber said Aden has been permanently banned from the company.

'The driver's access has been removed permanently from the Uber platform,' the spokesman told DailyMail.com.
A heartbroken wife has described the horrific moment she watched a boat hit her husband as he snorkelled in the Mediterranean.

Carpenter Allan Stanley, 76, who was from Gwynedd in North Wales, died after being hit by a rib vessel's propeller while swimming in the sea off the coast of Malta.

Mr Stanley - described by his family as 'a happy-go-lucky kind of man who always had a smile on his face' - had waved to his wife as he swam yards from the shore just seconds before he was struck.

Carpenter Allan Stanley, 76, (pictured with his wife) who was from Gwynedd in North Wales, died after being hit by a rib vessel's propeller while swimming in the sea off the coast of Malta.

His wife Diane told an inquest how he was suddenly hit by the boat on their favourite holiday island of Gozo during his daily long-distance swim to keep fit.

Mrs Stanley said her husband was returning after snorkelling in Hondoc Bay when he waved and dived back under the water just yards from the beach.

But she said a rib 'appeared out of nowhere' and ran over her husband in the shallow waters.

Mrs Stanley told the inquest: 'I don't think the driver of the rib could have seen him over the front of the vessel, as Allan was underwater at the time.

Mrs Stanley was watching her husband swim in Gozo when he was suddenly hit by the boat

'It just happened so quickly, a matter of seconds. There wasn't enough time for me to shout or do anything.'

The Maltese driver of the vessel immediately stopped the craft while his brother went out to help Mr Stanley, who ran a pine shop in Penrhos, North Wales.

Mr Stanley suffered head injuries and died later in hospital after the accident, which happened in June.

The North West Wales Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones noted that the Maltese authorities had not co-operated with his requests for further information.

The only details he had were the eyewitness report and the pathologist's post-mortem examination.

Dr Mark Lord, who examined Mr Stanley's body after it was returned to the UK, said the death had been caused by severe lacerations to his scalp and skull by the rib's propeller.

Mr Pritchard-Jones said: 'Sadly, head injuries after being hit with a vessel's propeller are not uncommon.

'A person snorkelling is very difficult to see. At best it's only part of the top of the head that can be seen.

'We don't know if the driver of the rib performed adequate checks to see if there was anyone in the water, but what we do know is that Mr Stanley was run over.

'There's no evidence that Mr Stanley drowned, only that he sustained significant injuries during the collision.'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that voters who support the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) don't reflect majority opinion in the country despite a rise in popularity for the right-wing party on Thursday.

'Right now it's hard to reach some people with reasoning and still we have to keep trying again and again,' she said.

'I believe that we shouldn't give up on people who are now casting a protest vote, but rather keep courting them with our policies.'

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Angela Merkel has a selfie taken with a refugee during a visit to a refugee reception centre in Berlin last week

Also during an interview with Berlin-based RBB Inforadio broadcast Merkel urged policy makers to counter 'lies' spread on social media that she says demonizes migrants in Germany.

'We really can't give them any opportunity to spread their lies' on social media, she said.

The chancellor's comments suggest she is not going to waver on her welcoming stance towards migrants fleeing war torn nations like Afghanistan and Syria in a bid to combat the surging popularity of the AfD.

Tensions flaring. Refugees and neo-Nazis battled it out on the streets of an east German town on Wednesday night with police fighting to save the migrants outnumbered five to one

The Berlin electorate head to the ballot box in city council elections on Sunday with polls suggesting that the AfD are garnering 15 percent of support in the capital.

The apparent popularity for the party comes all the more significant when one takes into account that Berlin's current reigning Social Democrats (SPD) got 21 percent in the poll.

While Chancellor Merkel's conservative CDU (Christian Democratic Union) got just 19 percent, in survey conductor by ARD and research group Infratest dimap last week.

Should the Berlin residents vote as the poll suggests the AfD would be placed in its 10th of the country's 16 state assemblies, a year ahead of national elections.

Frauke Petry, head of the Alternative fuer Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) political party. Support for the party continues to rise

In the interview Merkel admitted that finding jobs for refugees who want to stay in Germany will take time and also acknowledged a 'need for discussion' within her coalition government over her refusal to set an immigration cap.

The CDU was embarrassed earlier in September in the region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania where the AfD pipped them into third place amassing 21 percent of the vote.

Merkel dismissed the gains of the AfD in Mecklenburg alluding to the 60 percent voter turnout in the state.

'That's not nice, but it's not a majority of the population,' she told Inforadio.

Over 1 million asylum seekers entered Germany last year, 70,000 of those settled in Berlin, and the government expects that number to fall to 300,000 in 2016.

Political scientist Nils Diederich of Berlin's Free University said that the AfD appeal to the working class and those who would not vote for a far-right party.
and seven cops responded to the scene

Police in North Carolina have released body camera footage showing their huge effort to rescue a driver from a fiery car crash.

Three good Samaritans and seven police officers responded to the incident at the intersection of Cherry Street and Polo Road in Winston-Salem on September 6.

Police say a bus turned in front of a pick-up truck, smashing into it and trapping the male driver.

As the truck went up in flames, the crew worked desperately to free the man stuck behind the wheel.

A school bus ran into the truck head-on, causing the truck to be wedged under the bus and catch fire and trapping the driver inside

'I was afraid that any moment there could be a big explosion,' Cpl. James Gerald of the Winston-Salem Police Department told the Winston-Salem Journal.

'I ran over, and the driver was amazingly calm - it was almost eerie - he said to me, 'Sir, can you put that flame out?' It shocked me.'

However, as the footage shows, while the officers put out the flames, the blaze continued to rage. They struggled to get the fire under control.

'I said a little prayer,' Gerald said. 'Lord, send me some help.'

Stunning video released by the Winston-Salem Police Department show the flames raging

The bus driver faces a charge of safe movement violation-failure to yield to the right of way

The flames continued to rage despite police repeatedly extinguishing them

More officers arrived at the scene and, together, they were able to contain the flames and pry open the door to free the driver.

The man was severely injured in the wreck and remains in hospital.

However, his injuries are not considered life-threatening.

The bus driver, John Lester James, 81, was not injured. He was charged with failing to yield the right of way.

Two children from Jefferson Elementary School were on the bus at the time of the wreck, but were not hurt.
A Muslim man told a court this week he had to lie to an ISIS recruiter after he backed out of a plan to bomb a Sydney prayer hall after seeing a man nearby.

Omar Al-Kutobi, 25, said he and Mohamed Kiad, 27, went to a Shi'ite prayer hall in west Sydney in February last year with the intention of blowing it up, but both changed their minds and ran away when they saw the man in the carpark.

Al-Kutobi said they had surveyed the area the night before.

Muslim man Omar Al-Kutobi (pictured), 25, told a court this week he had to lie to an ISIS recruiter in Syria after he and Mohamed Kiad, 27, backed out of a plan to bomb a Sydney Shi'ite prayer hall last year

Both men went to the hall in February 2015 armed with home-made napalm hoping to damage the building they thought would be closed and empty but ran away when they saw a man in the carpark (pictured is Mohamed Kiad)

They returned the next night with a jug of home-made napalm hoping to damage the building they thought would be closed and empty.

'When we saw him, straight away we changed our minds and ran back,' he said.

He said they wondered what would have happened if they had firebombed the temple while the man was inside.

'That's what made us buckle ... thank God that man came out,' Al-Kutobi said.

Al-Kutobi and Kiad have both pleaded guilty to one count of acting in preparation for a terrorist act.

They are also accused of planning to detonate a bomb and kill a member of the public with a knife.

Videos of homemade improvised explosive devices (IEDs), like those Al-Kutobi and Kiad are accused of trying to use, were played for the pair's sentencing hearing this week (pictured)

Al-Kutobi (left) and Kiad (right) have both pleaded guilty to one count of acting in preparation for a terrorist act

Al-Kutobi said the bombing of the prayer hall was not intended to hurt anyone but to 'prove ourselves to go to Syria.'

He had to lie to an ISIS recruiter after failing to go through with it, telling him they were chased away by police, the court heard.

The crown played a video of Al-Kutobi, who moved to Australia from Iraq in 2009, speaking Arabic and threatening to stab people to the NSW Supreme Court at Parramatta on Wednesday.

Al-Kutobi (right) said he had to lie to an ISIS recruiter after failing to go through with it and told him they were chased away by police.

'I swear to god almighty, yellow people, there is no reproach between us, you will only get from us the stabbing of your kidneys,' he said.

The court was also played footage showing how to make an Islamic State flag and homemade improvised explosive devices (IEDs) being tested.

A hunting knife and a homemade Islamic State Flag were found at the home where Al-Kutobi and Kiad were arrested by counter-terrorism police last year.

It is believed they were planning on travelling to Syria before their arrest.

The crown played a video (pictured) of Al-Kutobi speaking Arabic and threatening to stab people to the NSW Supreme Court at Parramatta on Wednesday

Al-Kutobi said his threats to stab someone in the kidney's weren't serious and said he is now no longer an IS follower.

'Most victims of IS are Muslim,' he said.

A camping shop employee told the court one of the men said he was buying a hunting knife to use on deer on the day they were arrested.
Fruit Growers Tasmania say this will impact on price of fruit and vegetable

The 32.5 per cent increase will impact farmers who need seasonal pickers

Tax hike on working holiday visas could discourage backpackers from jobs

Australians are being warned they'll be paying a lot more for fruit and veggies thanks to a controversial tax on backpackers.

Growers say just how much depends on the kilos of unpicked produce left rotting because pickers have abandoned Australia as a tourism destination.

Farmers are up in arms against a federal government proposal for a 32.5 per cent rate for working holiday visa tourists, concerned it will deter the backpackers they need for seasonal picking.

Proposed backpacker tax on working holiday visas could discourage backpackers from seasonal picking jobs

Fruit Growers Tasmania says it will affect not just tourism and agriculture but also hit consumers' hip pockets.

'How long is a piece of string - it will be very hard to predict,' Phil Pyke told AAP on Thursday.

Mr Pyke was among a group of Tasmanian producers and industry representatives who went with the National Farmers' Federation to federal parliament to warn the government of the damage the proposed tax was causing.

He says growers are already seeing a massive decline in labour inquiries.

The proposed tax could increase the price of fruit and vegetable according to Fruit Growers Tasmania

'An apricot grower said to me, "by this time we'd have several hundred inquiries -we're lucky to have had 20".

'Farmers are terrified - they are worried.'

Mr Pyke warned the government the 'mess' was burning bridges with its agricultural support base.

Meanwhile, coalition MPs are searching for a compromise after the government changed its superannuation policy.

Liberal Tony Pasin told a joint party room meeting he looked forward to seeing the same effort over the super compromise being applied to the backpacker tax, the ABC reports.

'The prime minister needs to show leadership and say we're going to leave it this summer,' Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said even if the tax was lowered, it would have to be less than competitive countries such as New Zealand with 10.5 per cent.

She wants the government's amnesty period extended beyond January 1, 2017.

'The prime minister needs to show leadership and say we're going to leave it this summer,' she told AAP.

The government says it's considering all concerns including workforce shortages.
The death of a cancer-stricken actress has sparked a debate in China over whether or not traditional Chinese medicine is a sham.

26-year-old Xu Ting, from Beijing, was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in July and died of the illness last week.

The woman had deliberately chosen not to undergo chemotherapy; instead she went for cupping, needle insertion and blood-letting, leading many to question whether or not these therapies had contributed to her death.

Tragedy: Chinese actress Xu Ting (pictured) lost her battle with cancer in Beijing last week

Horrific: The 26-year-old had chosen traditional Chinese treatment because chemotherapy was too painful. Picture, from Xu's social media, showed she had undergone a cupping session

Xu announced her illness to her fans on social media on July 9.

In a post on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, the upcoming actress said she had been diagnosed with the critical illness by Beijing Cancer Hospital.

She explained she had decided not to undergo chemotherapy because she had seen the others being 'tortured' by it and they still passed away.

The woman said she decided to follow traditional Chinese medicine.

'I know chemotherapy is extremely painful and it might cause [me] to die faster. So no matter how long I can live, I want to spend every day of my remaining life happily,' Xu wrote on Weibo.

She also said she was one of seven children in her family and had worked hard to earn money in order to pay the rent, support her brother's education and pay off her parents' debt.

In a follow-up post from Xu Ting, uploaded on July 24, Xu said she was receiving traditional Chinese therapies.

Pictures shared by the woman showed that more than a dozen glass cups were placed on her back in a cupping session and bloody stripes had been left on her neck after a skin-scraping session.

In one picture, Xu appeared to experience pain as a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner tried to treat her neck.

She wrote in the post that though the Chinese therapies were painful, 'those who are receiving chemotherapy must be going through more pain'.

She also wrote: 'We must be strong and brave. We are lucky because not everybody has the chance to challenge their limits.'

Xu Ting's health appeared to deteriorated in mid-August.

Her sister, Xu Dandan, said on her social media account that the actress's Chinese treatment had failed and she had decided to switch back to chemotherapy.

Xu Ting's sister claimed that the practitioner who had given Xu Ting the traditional Chinese medicine therapies turned out to be a fraud.

During the treatment: Xu Ting said on her social media account that she went for cupping, needle insertion and even blood-letting. The treatment however was also painful

A picture shared by Xu Ting on August 18 showed she had been put on an IV drip inside a hospital ward.

This appeared to be the last social media post by the actress.

Xu Ting lost her battle with cancer and passed away at 4:20pm on September 7.

Her death has shocked the Chinese society, sparking a debate on whether or not she could have survived had she not chosen to undergo the traditional Chinese therapies.

A topic page, named 'Xu Ting's death and traditional Chinese medicine', has emerged on Weibo.

The page wrote: 'May Xu Ting live a life without such pain in heaven. There should be no traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in heaven. As such, there should be no sham of such either.'

Once a happy face: Xu's death has sparked a debate over whether or not she could have survived if she had not chosen Chinese medicine. Xu was pictured before she fell ill

There are also people who said Xu's death should not be blamed on traditional Chinese medicine because cancer is hard to cure.

A journalist from Beijing Evening News, named Hou Jiang, said: 'Some people claimed that because traditional Chinese medicine can't cure cancer, it's a sham. This is ridiculous logic.

'Even after undergoing chemotherapy, a lot of patients still die, will these people say western medicine is also a sham?'

Doctor Feng Li from Chinese Academy of Medical Science said a combination of Chinese and western medicine is a better way in helping treat cancer.

Doctor Feng told a reporter from People's Daily Online: 'Neither Chinese medicine or Western medicine could cure cancer once for all.

'As such, a multi-disciplinary treatment between Chinese and Western medicine could be applied to improve the efficiency of the treatment.'

However, Doctor Feng also pointed out that Chinese medicine might not have been the best treatment for Xu Ting because her immune system would have been poor at the time.
Operation Roam was launched by police in a bid to catch fugitives

He was extradited back to NSW after his arrest during Operation Roam

The alleged crimes were committed in NSW but he was arrested in WA

The 41-year-old is accused of assaulting children and several adaults

A NSW man listed as one of Australia's most wanted for allegedly indecently assaulting children and several people has been caught three years after an arrest warrant was issued.

Dane Gregory Moore, 41, accused of committing the crimes in Port Macquarie, Mid North Coast, in October 2013, reported The Daily Telegraph.

The 41-year-old was arrested in Pinjarra, a town south of Perth, and extradited to NSW during the Operation Roam - aimed at capturing 19 wanted men - which was launched last month.

Dane Gregory Moore, 41, is arrested in WA three years after a warrant was issued in NSW

Moore has since faced Waverley Local Court charged with four counts of indecent assault against a child and three counts of assault.

He was refused bail and is expected to reappear on Thursday.

Although the two-week campaign has ended police believe more arrests will be made.

'Five out of 19 so far is a good result. This NSW man found in WA is the system working at its ultimate,' NSW Crime Stoppers CEO Peter Price said.

'The thing that is helping us is the combination of traditional media and social media. Technology is providing law enforcement a critical tool in helping to solving crimes.

'Unless you are living under a rock or in a cave you are going to get seen. You might as well avoid the angst and give yourself up. There's 45,000 police in Australia and 22 million members of the public and all of them have an interest in keeping the community safe.'
The final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock and other historic American figures in Boston has received an overhaul officials say was long overdue.

Officials made nearly $300,000 worth of improvements to the Granary Burying Ground, which Mayor Martin J Walsh says is one of the most visited cemeteries in the country.

The upgrades include restoration of the cemetery's entryway and 1840 cast iron fence, and paving of the dirt paths.

The Granary Burying Ground, the final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock and other historic American figures in Boston has received an overhaul officials say was long overdue

The upgrades include paving stones being added to the some of the walkways (pictured). Officials made nearly $300,000 worth of improvements

In addition, some of the pedestrian access ramps have been redone or widened, the bricks marking the trail have been restored and hundreds of feet of sidewalk are being rebuilt.

'It's important for us to remember our history,' Walsh said who was among those given a tour of the cemetery on Wednesday, The Boston Globe reported.

'Because we get a lot of tourists that come in... and they're learning the history of this country,' he said.

'Oftentimes, I think we, as Bostonians, take some of this for granted.'

Other upgrades include restoratin of the cemetery's entryway and 1840 cast iron fence (pictured), and paving of the dirt paths

The project is part of a larger $25 million effort to refurbish the Freedom Trail and other historically significant sites across the city.

It is also part of an effort to make the two-and-a-half mile walking path more accessible to those with disabilities.

Walsh said the burial site attracts more than one million guests each year.

The historic landscape restoration project is part of a larger $25 million effort to refurbish the Freedom Trail and other historically significant sites across the city

Granary Burying Ground is where some of the heroes of the revolution were laid to rest, including Patriot Leader Paul Revere (tomb pictured above)
A minister has been given a slap on the wrists by the House of Commons authorities after bringing a cat to her office to tackle an infestation of mice.

Minister for the disabled Penny Mordaunt posted photographs of her Burmese, called Titania, on the hunt in parliament.

'A great believer in credible deterrence, I'm applying the principle to the lower ministerial corridor mouse problem,' she wrote on Twitter.

Minister for the disabled Penny Mordaunt posted pictures of her cat on patrol

But strict rules on the parliamentary estate forbid any animals except guide dogs and police dogs - and the Serjeant-at-Arms has warned that Mrs Mordaunt must not bring her cat in again.

Mice are a perennial problem in the historic Westminster buildings, with the creatures often seen scurrying across desks and even in canteens.

Some 103,000 was spent on pest controls across parliament last year - including employing a full time 'pest control technician'.

But despite more than 1,700 'bait stations' being laid sightings have been on the rise.

There had been 169 reports of mice by June this year - compared to 223 in the whole of 2015.

One of the justifications cited for the massive 4billion restoration of the Palace of Westminster has been to deal with the vermin problem.

Tackling the mice is regarded as almost impossible without tearing up much of the fabric of the building.

MPs have repeatedly urged the parliamentary authorities to bring in cats to bring down the mouse population.

In 2014 Tory backbencher Anne McIntosh complained that the mice population was 'spiralling out of control', particularly in kitchens posing a 'clear health hazard'.

Speaking in the Commons, she suggested that they follow the example of Downing Street - which has its own cat, Larry, a rescue cat from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Mrs Mordaunt was trying to tackle the mice that have been infesting the Houses of Parliament for years, often being seen scurrying across desks

The charity had offered to provide the Palace of Westminster with cats.

But Lib Dem MP John Thurso, representing the ruling Commons Commission, said there 'clear practical and technical difficulties' and, instead, pest control had been called in to deal with the problem.

He added: 'Given the scale and size of the estate, it would be necessary to have a great number of cats to make any real impact and having a herd of cats on the parliamentary estate would present a number of difficulties.'

He joked: 'I'm advised by my own chief whip that herding cats is quite difficult.'

Mrs Mordaunt is believed to have four Burmese cats, with the others named Achilles, Polaris and Betelgeuse.
Theresa May has spoken movingly about her late father, revealing he pushed her to do her best regardless and to 'see no boundaries' as a girl.

The Prime Minister urged fathers to talk to their daughters about current affairs to ensure more women fulfil their potential and become MPs.

Mrs May was speaking in a video for Women2Win, a Tory party campaign she helped found over a decade ago to get more Conservative female candidates elected to Parliament.

She lost her father, Hubert Brasier, a village vicar, when she was 25, after he was killed in a car accident.

Theresa May, pictured centre in her youth with her father Hubert right, revealed in a Women2Win campaign video how her father had pushed her to believe there were no boundaries for her as a woman

The Prime Minister, pictured at No 10 today, made the touching remarks in a video for a campaign she helped found a decade ago to get more Tory candidates elected

Mrs May, an only child who lost her mother a year later, said: 'My father encouraged me, whatever job I did, to just get on with it and to do my best. I enjoyed talking current affairs so I got an early interest in politics.

'And he always encouraged me to see no boundaries, no barriers, just go out there and do the best that you can and aim high.'

Mrs May said as a founder of the group she had seen many women successfully elected as Tory MPs.

She added: 'I have always said that if you have a good diversity of people in a group then you get better decisions. I think it is hugely important that young girls are able to see women in Parliament.'

She added that Britain was at a stage where it could become a 'go-getting, outward-looking country, that entrepreneurial country that we can be.

'I want to see women being part of that and I want to see women being part of that in Parliament.'

Speaking at the launch of the film at the once-all male Carlton Club, Tory MP Victoria Atkins said she had been inundated with emails from girls and young women full of optimism after Mrs May became Prime Minister.

'Having a female Prime Minister is huge and inspiring. If we can capture that and encourage more women, it will help.'

Mrs May and husband Philip moved into No 10 in July after her rapid victory in the Tory leadership contest after the Brexit referendum

Will Quince, the Colchester MP who was named co-chairman of the group, revealed that one of the 'greatest sadnesses' he had was when he went to a primary school 'and a girl asks me can a girl be a Member of Parliament.'

'Although the answer is of course yes, the fact they are asking that question shows there is a problem,' he said.

'The world my daughters live in is not an equal one,' the father of two young girls added.

Other male Tory MPs also appear in the film, revealing they want their daughters to have the same opportunities as boys.

Nigel Huddleston, MP for Mid Worcestershire, said: 'I do think about how our party can attract people like my daughter in eleven years' time when she comes to vote. She's got to see role models in the Conservative party.'

After Mrs May met Nicola Sturgeon after becoming Prime Minister, the SNP First Minister

Sir Oliver Heald, the MP for North East Hertfordshire, said: 'We see a very good group of women coming through but even so, I am not sure that there are enough yet.'

Baroness Jenkin, the co-chairman of Women2Win, urged the Conservative party to ensure that no women were axed as a result of the boundary review.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Conservative Party chairman, admitted that women were still under-represented in the party.

He also paid tribute to David Cameron who had 'battled' to get more female MPs.

'If you set out to govern a nation you have got to be representative of the nation,' Mr McLoughlin said.

Women make up just 191 out of 650 MPs. Just 68 are Tory women MPs.

Baroness Jenkin warned that the upcoming boundary review, which proposes scrapping of 50 seats before the next election, could make it even worse for women.

The Tory peer said: 'I have no issue with our party saying no women should be left behind in the boundary review.'

She was backed up by Sarah Childs, a professor of gender studies, who called for legislation to ensure a certain percentage of candidates are women across all the parties.

Professor Childs said most parliaments around the world where more than 30 per cent of their elected representatives were women had legislation to enforce quotas.
Prosecutors in Connecticut have filed a motion asking the girlfriend of a man charged with killing his parents to provide samples of her pubic hair.

Jennifer Valiante, 31, pleaded not guilty in November 2015 to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in the slayings of her boyfriend Kyle Navin's parents last summer.

Authorities say Navin, 28, fatally shot Jennifer and Jeanette Navin after they threatened to cut him out of their will.

Prosecutors in Connecticut have filed a motion asking Jennifer Valiante, seen in court last November, to provide samples of her pubic hair, head hair, saliva and blood

The Easton couple went missing on August 4, and their bodies were discovered buried outside a vacant home in nearby Weston on October 29.

Investigators have alleged that Navin killed his parents with Valiente's aid, pointing to a series of text messages the couple exchanged around the time of the killings, in which the son allegedly expressed a growing resentment towards his father.

Navin pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in January. He is being held on $2.5million.

Valiante's lawyer, Elliot Warren, previously stated that his client played no role in the murders.

This week, state prosecutions asked that the jailed woman provide samples of her pubic hair, head hair, saliva and blood to be tested against the tape used to restrain Jeanette and Jeffrey Navin's bodies, and a substance found on a business ledger found in the victims' home, reported the Connecticut Post.

Valiante (left), 31, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the August 2015 killings of her boyfriend's parents. Kyle Navin (right), 28, is in jail on murder charges in the case

Slain: Authorities say Navin fatally shot Jennifer and Jeanette Navin (pictured) after they threatened to cut him out of their will

Warren said he is objecting to the prosecutions request, which he slammed as a 'fishing expedition.'

There is no reason they need these things at this point in the case, 10 months after her arrest,' Warren said Wednesday.

A day earlier, the prosecution made a motion seeking to obtain enhanced fingerprints from Kyle Navin, which Judge Robert Devlin denied.

Devlin dismissed the request until prosecutors present evidence that items from the crime scene have currently unknown fingerprints on them.

Authorities said Jeanette Navin was upset about her son Kyle's drug use and behavior, and the parents were planning to cut their son out of their will.

The younger Navin was already in custody on a federal weapons charge, stemming from a search of his Bridgeport home during the investigation into his parents' disappearance.

Court documents in that case indicate that Navin's mother had told a friend that she and her husband planned to sell their trash-hauling business and leave their drug-addict son out of their will.

Mrs Navin, 54, was upset about her son's failure to pay the mortgage and taxes on the home they bought him, according to the arrest warrant for Valiante.

Valiante's lawyer previously stated that his client played no role in the murders

During the September 2015 search of Kyle Navin's home, 57-year-old Jeffrey Navin's blood was found near where police discovered an 11-by-7 piece of carpet missing from the basement floor, according to court documents.

A tiny amount of Jeanette Navin's blood was found in her son's truck near a bullet hole in the passenger-side seat belt, according to the affidavit.

Prosecution have made a motion seeking to obtain enhanced fingerprints from Kyle Navin, but a judge rejected that request

The month before his parents disappeared, Kyle Navin texted Valiante saying he had the 'perfect plan' to get '$ for life,' according to the warrant. Navin wrote that the plan would 'solve every single problem and give us a wealthy amazing life.'

Navin and Valiante talked about what they would do with the money, police said. Valiante texted, 'That'll allow us to stay in our house and pay for a full top-line remodel and a new garage,' according to the warrant.

Just weeks after sending the messages - on August 4 - Kyle Navin's parents went missing. Nearly three months later, the couple's bodies turned up the property of Kyle Navin's friend.

Jeanette Navin's remains were found covered by a blue tarp with silver duct tape on it, in a pile of brush and leaves on property on Norfield Road.
Committed family man: David Batcup, 64

The man who died after being struck by a Porsche in a suspected hit-and-run has been named as a top barrister.

David Batcup, 64, was hit by the 75,000 car near as he crossed the road at a junction in Balham, south-west London at around 10.18pm on Tuesday.

Officers and paramedics attended the scene but he was pronounced dead.

Mr Batcup had spent the evening at a Law Rocks battle of the bands event where staff from top firms performed to raise money for charity, the Evening Standard reported.

In a statement released today his chambers, Charter Chambers, praised the devoted husband and father, describing his death as a 'senseless tragedy'.

Mr Batcup, a University College London graduate, spent more than 35 years working on high profile criminal cases including murder, historical sexual abuse, armed robbery, money laundering and gang shootings.

David Batcup, 64, was hit by the 75,000 car near as he crossed the road at a junction in Balham, south-west London at around 10.18pm on Tuesday. Pictured, police at the scene

Remembered as a 'committed family man', he is survived by his wife Janet and his daughter Rebecca, who is understood to be starting university this year.

The statement from Charter Chambers said: 'To those of us who were his friends, he will be remembered further as a warm, modest, loyal, open and big-hearted family man, good-humoured, ever "there for you", ready with a good word, never angry or bad tempered, always beaming up at you - he was very short!

'He had a particular strength in that he was genuinely interested in everyone he met, he never forgot anyone, even those of brief acquaintance.

It added: 'His death is a senseless tragedy. He had so much more to give.'

Officers and paramedics attended the scene but he was pronounced dead. Pictured Bedford Hill, in Balham, where Mr Batcup was hit after reportedly attending a charity gig

Police said the driver of the white Porsche 911 did not stop following the collision but a 51-year-old man later handed himself in to police after abandoning the car.

He was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision. He was bailed last night until a date in October.

The victim has not been formally identified.

Anyone who witnessed the incident - or saw the Porsche being driven prior to or after the collision - should call officers from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 020 8543 5157.
I heard a loud noise in my London office today.

It began at a cemetery in Detroit, swirled around America, then reverberated across the Atlantic and clattered angrily into my airspace.

It was the sound of Henry Ford turning in his grave.

The greatest industrialist in the history of the United States would surely have been sickened by breaking news this morning about the world-renowned car company he created.

Ford announced it is moving its small-car production from U.S. plants to Mexico.

Ford CEO Mark Fields, seen here earlier this year, proudly announced the company is moving its small-car production from U.S. plants to Mexico. ALL of it

Not some of it, ALL of it.

This will create 2,800 new jobs, not in America but in Mexico.

Fords CEO Mark Fields told investors proudly: Over the next two to three years, we will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States.

Isnt that, with 93 million Americans currently unemployed, an astonishing thing for the boss of a major U.S. company to boast about?

Presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has long railed at precisely this kind of corporate activity, instantly branded the move horrible and an absolute disgrace.

He also declared that if he becomes President then hell impose a 35% import tax on any Ford cars built in Mexico.

This, he explained, will either force them to bring production back home, or they will end up paying America a lot of money.

When we send our jobs out of Michigan, were also sending our tax base, he said.

Hes right.

Trump, who has long railed at precisely this kind of corporate activity, instantly branded the move horrible and declared he would impose a 35% import tax on Ford cars built in Mexico. He made Ford a punchline at his speech Thursday, pictured, as well

Make no mistake, Ford has done this from no motivation other than pure capitalist greed.

The company is stinking rich and raking in cash, with assets worth $224 billion and reported pre-tax profits of $3 billion for the second quarter of 2016 alone.

By moving small car production to Mexico to appease the equally grasping Wall Street speculators, it can squeeze that gigantic dollar lemon just a little tighter.

But at what cost to America and Americans?

Domestic manufacturing has collapsed this century in the United States, decimated by a combination of new technology and out-sourcing factories abroad.

There are an estimated 12 million U.S. manufacturing jobs today, down from a peak of 19 million in 1979, with most of the fall happening since 2000.

This extraordinary drop-off has wrecked many communities in the process, causing huge financial and social hardship for millions of Americans.

Ford insists no American jobs will be lost as a result of this move, as production of larger vehicles will be moved to its Wayne plant in Michigan.

This may or may not turn out to true.

But whats undeniable is that this decision will directly boost Mexicos jobs market and not Americas.

The timing is horrible for Hillary. This decision will directly boost Mexicos jobs market and cuts to the very core of Trumps message about job preservation and creation in America

This cuts to the very core of Trumps message about job preservation and creation in America.

He passionately believes, and Ive had this conversation with him for many years so I know it to be a sincere view, that big American companies are selling out the country and its people by sending production overseas to save a few bucks.

Fords by no means the only culprit in the U.S. car market.

General Motors and Fiat Chrysler have also expanded fast in Mexico.

There are now 675,000 auto jobs in Mexico, a 40% increase from 2008.

The total number of auto jobs has also risen in America over the same period, but by a far smaller amount of 15%.

How many more could have been created if the out-sourcing hadnt happened?

It doesnt have to be this way.

Starbucks recently committed to building new factories in the U.S. even though it would be far cheaper for them to make all their cups abroad.

CEO Howard Schultz did it because he thinks its imperative to save Americas manufacturing industry from further obliteration.

As would Henry Ford, a man whose whole ethos was based around empowering Americans to rule the world in manufacturing by making things in America.

Henry Ford had the brilliant idea of offering his employees $5 a day wages in 1914 and was hugely successful

Of all the many brilliant ideas that Ford had, perhaps his greatest was the $5-a-day wage he introduced for all his employees in 1914.

This would be equivalent to $120 today and it nearly doubled the existing rate of most of his workers.

Why did he do it?

Ford wanted to pay his people well enough so they would be able to afford to buy the cars they made.

A more powerful incentive to guarantee high quality work and care it would be hard to imagine.

The move was stunningly successful.

It instantly attracted the best mechanics from all over Detroit, which raised productivity and lowered training costs.

This, in turn, kick-started the depressed local economy.

So it benefitted everyone, not just Ford employees.

Ford made more money and so did America.

It was the perfect fusion of profits and patriotism.

What Ford is doing now betrays everything Henry Ford stood for.

The companys announcement today is another massive blow to U.S. manufacturing and will merely serve to encourage other major U.S. companies to take more their jobs abroad.

When they do, the crumbling middle class, on which the power of Americas economy so vitally depends, will get further pulverised.

Short-term greed will inevitably lead to longer-term impoverishment.

Its the perfect real life illustration of Aesops fable, The Goose With The Golden Eggs.

Of course, there is one aspect of this move that even Donald Trump may find very pleasing.

Fords greedy antics arent just anti-American, they may also have just helped hand him the presidency.

States that make cars like Donald Trump, he said today.

The latest polls, showing a surge in his support in those very states like Ohio, confirm this view.
Police have arrested a 44-year-old man after reports of a gunman brandishing a firearm outside a Birmingham mental health unit.

Armed officers swooped the hospital in Edgbaston, West Midlands, at around 7.15am this morning after the sighting, which terrified members of the public.

It was claimed the man had been spotted with a firearm in a walkway between Queen Elizabeth Hospital - one of the UK's biggest - and the mental health units.

Armed officers swooped the hospital in Edgbaston, West Midlands, at around 7.15am this morning after the sighting of a gunman on the loose this monring

Police launched a manhunt for the gunman and later arrested a 44-year-old man on nearby Northfield Road in Bartley Green.

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: 'An investigation is underway after officers were called to Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston at just after 7:15am this morning to a report of a man with a firearm.

'Officers carried out a search of the area and arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of possession of a firearm after he was stopped in Northfield Road.

'No weapon has yet been recovered and he will now be questioned about this morning's incident.'

Police launched a manhunt for the gunman and later arrested a 44-year-old man on nearby Northfield Road in Bartley Green.

It's not known if the man arrested was a patient at the Barberry and adjacent Oleaster units, run by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation (BSMH).

A spokesman for Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital said: 'The incident this morning was on BSMH NHS FT property. There was no UHB NHS FT involvement.
Zakieya Avery, 31, killed two of her children and will now be heading to an asylum

A Maryland woman who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing two of her children and injuring their two older siblings in what she believed was an exorcism will go to a psychiatric hospital, not prison, a judge ruled Thursday.

Zakieya Avery of Germantown, Maryland, pleaded guilty earlier this week to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, but it was up to a judge to decide whether she was criminally responsible in the deaths of her children in 2014.

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann called the children's murders 'brutal and sadistic.' But he said the testimony he heard about Avery's behavior before the stabbings provided 'strong evidence' that Avery was 'delusional' when she and her housemate stabbed the children: 18-month-old Norell Harris and 2-year-old Zyana Harris, both of whom died, and their older siblings, 8-year-old Martello Harris and 5-year-old Taniya Harris.

Avery pleaded guilty Monday in a Montgomery County courtroom to killing Norell Harris (right), one, and his two-year-old sister Zyana (left)

Avery's (right) lawyers argued the mother could not be held criminally responsible, which is the Maryland equivalent of pleading insanity

Avery, 31, and her housemate believed the children were possessed by demons. The women's bizarre behavior before the killings included writing extensively in a shared journal about demons and imagined spirit boyfriends.

The women, who believed they were 'demon warriors,' at one point lived in a car for nine days in order to avoid demons in their house; they did not bathe or eat for several days during that time.

The judge noted that Avery had previously been treated for mental health issues at several facilities and had been prescribed medication but threw it away because she believed 'God had delivered her from her mental illness.'

Despite the fact that she had a surgical procedure to prevent pregnancy, Avery said God had reversed the procedure and she was pregnant with twins.

The judge found that during the murders Avery was suffering from bipolar disorder with 'psychotic features' and 'borderline personality disorder.'

'I find that Miss Avery's ritualistic, albeit barbaric, attempt to rid her children of demons is powerful evidence of the lack of rational thinking,' the judge said.

The 31-year-old mother appeared in a Montgomery County courtroom (pictured) on Monday in Maryland

Avery's housemate, Monifa Sanford (pictured at time of her arrest) was found not to be criminally responsible after she pled guilty in 2015 and was sent to a mental facility

After the judge's ruling, Avery's attorney, Brian Shefferman, called the case 'tragic' and said he believed the judge had reached the correct decision. He said it will be years before Avery might be considered for release.

Avery was in court to hear the judge read his ruling but showed no visible reaction to the decision, looking over at her attorney shortly after the judge said he found her not criminally responsible.

Avery's cousin, Kaliha Brooks, said after the hearing that Avery was a 'very loving mother' and called it 'mind-boggling' that Avery killed her children.

'I can honestly say that my cousin absolutely adored and loved her children,' Brooks said.
Hillary Clinton made her first public speech since revealing that she had pneumonia on Thursday and revealed how she spent the three days she spent inside her home.

'I tried to power though, but even I had to admit that maybe a few days rest would do me good,' she stated, explaining she used the time to catch up with old friends over the phone. 'It turns out that having a few days to myself was actually a gift.'

She also had time to reflect, Clinton said. 'The campaign trail doesn't really encourage reflection.'

'People like me, we're lucky,' she was saying, a segue into planned remarks on her plans to provide affordable healthcare to every American.

But a man began yelling at her from the crowd. 'You suck!' he told the Democratic presidential candidate at the Greensboro, North Carolina, event.

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i'm back: Hillary Clinton walked on to her plane with a thumbs-up gesture today as she was seen for the first time since she collapsed and her campaign revealed her pneumonia

Not answering questions yet: Clinton said she would speak to reporters after a campaign event on Greenboro, NC, where she was flying

Back in the entourage too: Huma Abedin was behind Hillary Clinton as she walked up the aisle of the campaign plane. Abedin is divorcing her sexting-addicted husband Anthony Weiner

All smiles: Clinton and her aides appeared relaxed as they boarded her Boeing 737 for North Carolina

On her way: Hillary Clinton was visible in the same Secret Service 'Scooby van' which had whisked her away on Sunday when she collapsed

It was an unideal start to a speech that Clinton was hoping would reset her campaign after nearly a week of negative press following her claim that 'half' of her opponent's supporters are a 'basket of deplorables' and a health scare that forced her to disclose medical records from the last year she tried to shut down conspiracy theorists.

Clinton told protesters inside he rally she just wanted 'to have a conversation' and said other people could wave their arms with signs. Outside protesters held up signs in support of Trump.

'I am deplorable,' said one.

Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail Thursday, four days after her near fainting spell

In a more reflective speech than normal, Clinton admitted some of her shortcomings, including having 'a tendency to over prepare' like 'a lot of women.'

At the event Clinton said she was going to close her campaign the way she started her career - focusing on children and families - and promised to come back to the state next week to 'listen' to them.

She broke from her positive messaging to take a swipe at Donald Trump, who dramatically released his health records today on a television program.

'I'll never be the showman that my opponent is  just look at the show he put on for Dr. Oz today,' she said.

Commenting on North Carolina's transgender bathroom law that prevents students from using facilities that don't correspond to the gender on their birth certificate, she said, 'This is where bigotry leads, and we can't afford it, not here or anywhere else.'

Thursday morning Clinton was upbeat as she boarded her campaign plane.

'Hey guys,' she told reporters traveling with her as she spoke briefly on the aircraft before take off. 'Welcome back to Stronger Together.'

Clinton promised an 'actual' media availability after her speech in North Carolina this afternoon but told journalists inquiring about her health, 'I'm doing great, thank you so much.

The Democratic presidential candidate spent the last three days at her home in Chappaqua, New York, recovering from bacterial pneumonia - a diagnosis her campaign only fully explained on Wednesday evening in a letter from Clinton's doctor, Lisa Bardack.

She walked on stage to the sound of James Brown's I Feel Good to deliver a speech on the economy

Her campaign said she made calls to aides and watched President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday while she rested.

The candidate did not respond to a shouted question on the plane about how she spent her time.

'I'll talk about that later, too,' she said. One reporter joked that she perhaps binge watched 'The Good Wife.'

'It's done, I am so sad,' she replied. 'I really am.'

She told a boisterous crowd at Thursday's rally: 'With just two months to go until election day, sitting at home was pretty much the last place I want to be'

On the trail again: Clinton waved as she prepared to board her campaign Boeing 737

Flashback: This was the moment Clinton collapsed on Sunday morning, prompting the revelation that she had pneumonia and had kept it secret

Clinton said she was excited that another political drama that's said to be modeled after her will be back on the airwaves soon, though.

'Madame Secretary is however is coming back. So that's something to look forward to.'

The former secretary of state said she doesn't find it awkward to watch the show.

'No, I actually get a big kick out of it,' she stated. 'I watched it with a little skepticism at first but I am so into it. I really like the storyline.'

The 68-year-old said she felt 'lucky' that she could afford to take a few days off, compared with the millions of Americans who could not

Clinton shut down other questions, promising to speak to the press later. 'I'm excited to get to North Carolina,' she said as she returned to her section.

With Clinton on the plane was Huma Abedin, her closest aide and the vice-chairman of her campaign.

Abedin was not at her side when Clinton collapsed at the 9/11 memorial on Sunday, and had been absent from other campaign events after her husband, the serial sexter Anthony Weiner, was caught yet again sending pictures to women.

She is now divorcing him; the latest picture showed him in an aroused state with their sleeping son beside him.
Disturbing pictures showing a nine-month-old girl crying in distress after being gagged and tied up by her babysitter have emerged.

The baby, from Mexico, was taken into care after her mother and the girl's babysitter claimed the images were 'just a game between friends'.

The shocking images of the young girl came to the attention of authorities after they were widely shared on Facebook.

Disturbing pictures showing a nine-month-old girl crying in distress after being gagged and tied up by her babysitter have emerged

Wearing a purple Bambi T-shirt, the girl, from Torreon, Coahuila, can be seen screwing up her face in confusion and fear as her hands were tied in front of her.

Alexa Contreras Mendez, aka Angie, published the image and made a formal complaint, demanding that authorities act.

Prosecutors tracked down the person who took the pictures and found she was a friend of the baby's mother who was taking care of the child while the she was working.

Yezka Garza, head of the Prosecution for Children and Family, said that they knew about the case thanks to the Facebook posting that linked them to the original pictures.

She said: 'We started an investigation to find the place where the girl lives and we rescued her in order to ensure her integrity and restore her right to live without violence.'

Both women, the mother and the babysitter, were interviewed by Mexican authorities and said that it was just a game between friends.

But the authorities said it was a case of neglect and they decided to take the girl into their care.

Yezka Garza also asked citizens to report to authorities any cases where children's and teenagers' rights were violated so that authorities could intervene to protect them.
A Democratic Senate candidate in Missouri has assembled an AR-15 assault rifle while blindfolded, and then challenged his Republican opponent to do the same.

Jason Kander, 35, a former U.S. Army officer, starts the ad standing behind a table blindfolded with the weapon in pieces in front of him.

'I'm Jason Kander, and Sen. (Roy) Blunt has been attacking me on guns,' Kander says at the beginning of the 30 second campaign ad.

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Democratic Senatre candidate Jason Kander has put together an AR-15 while blindfolded in a new campaign ad

'Well, in the Army, I learned how to use and respect my rifle,' the Democratic hopeful adds, before explaining why he believes background checks to be important.

'I also believe in background checks, so that terrorists can't get their hands on one of these.'

As he finishes the sentence, the self-described Second Amendment supporter rests the completed gun on the table in front of him.

'I approved this message,' Jason Kander says, pausing briefly to rack the slide, figuratively placing a round in the chamber, 'because I'd like to see Sen. Blunt do this.'

Kander, 35, a former U.S. Army officer, is seen in the commercial putting the AR-15 rifle together

The brazen ad is the latest salvo in a competitive race that could be a factor in determining which party controls the Senate after the November election.

Blunt, 66, a seven-term congressman before being elected to the Senate in 2010, is a strong gun rights supporter who has the backing of the National Rifle Association  so much so that NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre traveled to Missouri last month on Blunt's behalf.

Blunt received three student deferments during the Vietnam War and did not serve in the military.

It takes the Democratic nominee about 20 seconds to put the weapon together in his new campaign commercial

At the end of the ad, Kander takes his blindfold off and challenges his Republican opponent to try to do the same

Kander, Missouri's 35-year-old secretary of state, was an Army intelligence officer in Afghanistan.

His campaign said the ads are running statewide.

Blunt spokesman Tate O'Connor said Kander is apparently 'reacting to an NRA ad highlighting the fact that he was one of the most anti-Second Amendment legislators and was awarded an F for his opposition to Missourians' Second Amendment rights.'

Kander (pictured), Missouri's 35-year-old secretary of state, was an Army intelligence officer in Afghanistan

Republican Senator Roy Blunt was a seven-term congressman before he was elected to the senate in 2010

The Kander ad hits two themes that benefit Kander in a Middle America state like Missouri, said Ken Warren, a political scientist at Saint Louis University.

It shows he knows his way around guns, and it plays up his military background.
About 350 pigeons have been rescued from a squalid Long Island home, in what has been called a horrendous case of suspected animal hoarding.

Officials with the Nassau County SPCA were summoned to a residence in the 2000 block of Abbot Avenue in Merrick Thursday morning after getting a call from the Town of Hempstead about the property.

Inside, they discovered about 350 pigeons uncaged and flying around, with 2 feet of droppings and birdseed piled on the rotted floor.

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'Deplorable': Nassau County SPCA officers have rescued 350 pigeons from this feces-covered home in Merrick, New York

The birds were uncaged and flying around, with 2 feet of droppings and birdseed piled on the rotted floor

This is horrendous, Nassau County SPCA spokesman Gary Rogers told ABC 7 New York. You can't open the doors because of all the pilings of bird droppings.

One of the responding officers fell through the floor and was hospitalized with cuts and bruises to his head, according to CBS New York.

The 68-year-old owner of the house, which had no running water, was taken on a stretcher to Nassau University Medical Center for evaluation.

Neighbors had complained about the blighted condition of the home to the Town of Hempsteads building department, and this morning the Nassau County District Attorneys Office issued a search warrant.

Worse for wear: Some of the birds have neurological disorders and require veterinary care

Human toll: One of the responding officers fell through the floor and was hospitalized with cuts and bruises

SCPA officers dressed in HAZMAT suits worked through the morning to remove the pigeons from the home. They say some of the birds have neurological disorders.
Tobacco giant Reynolds American has announced that former House Speaker John Boehner, a longtime smoker of the company's Camel cigarettes, is joining its board of directors.

Boehner retired from Congress last year after serving for four years as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He was known to be a heavy smoker during his time on Capitol Hill.

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Tobacco giant Reynolds American has announced that former House Speaker John Boehner (above), a longtime smoker of the company's Camel cigarettes, is joining its board of directors

When Boehner left last year, incoming speaker Paul Ryan said he had to detoxify the environment in his predecessor's old office.

Ryan famously quipped that the office smelled like a hotel room or rental car that had been smoked in.

Boehner was elected House Speaker in 2011 and resigned from the position and Congress nearly a year ago.

An Ohio native, Boehner was first elected to the House in 1990.

Before that, he was the president of a sales company in the packaging and plastics industry after accepting a position there shortly after graduating.

When Boehner left last year, incoming speaker Paul Ryan (above) said he had to detoxify the environment in his predecessor's old office

Reynolds American, which also makes Newport menthol and Pall Mall cigarettes, said Boehner will join the board as a Class 2 director.

He will serve on the board's corporate governance, nominating and sustainability committee, effective immediately

No details were released about Boehners salary, but directors at the company made at least $300,000 in fees and stock awards in 2015, CNN Money reports, while one raked in $1million.

Its a huge step up from the $174,000 he earned in his last year as House Speaker.

Reynolds American also said on Thursday that Jean-Marc Levy, an executive at a Swiss blood-testing equipment maker, will also join its board.

Boehner's appointment comes at a time when the tobacco industry is fighting a growing tide of regulation and taxes over its products, including those seen less harmful such as e-cigarettes.
A report claiming that Donald Trump plans to nominate Peter Thiel to the Supreme court should be be elected has been shot down by the Republican nominee's campaign and a spokesperson for the billionaire founder of PayPal.

The Huffington Post ran a story on Thursday reporting that a source close to Thiel said that the businessman was telling friends that Trump was considering him for the vacancy on the court left by the death of Antonin Scalia earlier this year.

Trump's press secretary responded to this report by stating: 'There is absolutely no truth to this whatsoever.'

Thiels spokesperson Jeremiah Hall took things a step further with his denial, telling Forbes: 'Huffington Posts sources are lying. The truth is Peter hasnt had any conversation about a Supreme Court nomination and has no interest in the job.'

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A report on Thursday claimed that Donald Trump (left) was considering Peter Thiel (right) for a spot on the Supreme Court

'The truth is Peter hasnt had any conversation about a Supreme Court nomination and has no interest in the job,' said Thiel's spokesperson (above at the RNC in July)

Trump released names of possible Supreme Court nominees earlier this year shortly after President Barack Obama named Merrick Garland as his pick to fill the vacancy left by Scalia.

Republicans in the Senate have refused however to confirm Garland and Scalia's spot remains open until after the next president takes office.

Among the 11 names that Trump gave The New York Times were: Dianne S. Sykes, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; Steven M. Colloton of the Eighth Circuit, a former clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist; and three state supreme court justices who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas.

Thiel was not among the names mentioned by Trump. He was however invited to speak at the Republican national Convention in July.

The billionaire PayPal founder made headlines earlier this year after he revealed that he gave Hulk Hogan $10 million to fight Gawker because he considers the website to be a 'bully' after they publicly outed him several years ago.

Thiel, 48, told The New York Times that he funded Hogan as a means of going to battle with Gawker in response to their stories, explaining that he believes many of the people they write about are defenseless and unable to fight back.

The businessman knew firsthand just how it feels to be targeted by the website, having been outed by Gawker in a 2007 post that ran with the headline: 'Peter Thiel is totally gay, people.'
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Michael Adebolajo (pictured), one of the men who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby, was not tortured in Kenya in 2010, a report found

One of the men who hacked Fusilier Lee Rigby to death was not tortured and mistreated after he was arrested in Kenya in 2010 for terror offences, a report found.

Michael Adebolajo was convicted in 2014 alongside Michael Adebowale of murdering the 22-year-old soldier near Woolwich barracks in May 2013.

He claimed he was mistreated by Kenyan authorities when he was arrested three years earlier for trying to join Islamist militant group al-Shabab, but these allegations were dismissed by a watchdog on Thursday.

A Government-ordered report also found that he was 'most definitely not' the subject of a conspiracy by MI5 and MI6.

Intelligence Services Commissioner Sir Mark Waller wrote: 'I found that Mr Adebolajo was most definitely not the subject of an intelligence services conspiracy and that his allegations of mistreatment at the hands of the Kenyan authorities were probably untrue.

'Indeed, I think it highly unlikely that Mr Adebolajo was mistreated by any of the Kenyan police or intelligence units which work with HMG (HM Government).'

Adebolajo is currently serving a whole-life term for murdering Fusilier Rigby with the help of his accomplice, Adebowale.

In a report published in 2014 the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee found that security agencies could not have foreseen or prevented the murder.

Adebolajo is currently serving a whole-life term for murdering Fusilier Rigby (pictured)

Adebolajo (centre) claimed he was mistreated by Kenyan authorities when he was arrested in 2010 for trying to join Islamist militant group al-Shabab, but these allegations were dismissed

But it raised concerns about the response to Adebolajo's arrest in Kenya in November 2010 and his subsequent allegations of mistreatment.

This sparked a report by Intelligence Services Commissioner Sir Mark Waller, which was published on Thursday.

It concluded that Adebolajo was not the victim of a conspiracy, torture or mistreatment.

Adebolajo flew from the UK to Kenya in October 2010. He was arrested a month later in a remote village just over 40 miles from the border with Somalia, before being returned to Britain.

UK intelligence services were not aware of or involved in the arrest, and there was no reason to think they should have been, Sir Mark's report found.

Adebolajo (pictured) was convicted in 2014 alongside Michael Adebowale of murdering the 22-year-old soldier near Woolwich barracks in May 2013

It said the response of MI5 and MI6 to the arrest and detention of Adebolajo in Kenya was 'generally good'.

The commissioner did not share the committee's criticism that MI6 - officially known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) - demonstrated a 'deeply unsatisfactory' or 'passive' approach to the case.

Sir Mark wrote: 'To my mind, the disruption of Mr Adebolajo's travel to Somalia represented an effective and satisfactory outcome which served the national security interests of the UK.'

Michael Adebowale was also convicted over the murder of the soldier

The report found that MI5 and MI6's response to the arrest and detention suffered from some defects.

It also raised concerns about the effectiveness of MI6's engagement with both the committee's inquiry and Sir Mark's review.

But the commissioner added: 'I would immediately stress that I do not think that SIS or any of its staff sought to obstruct or mislead either investigation or otherwise engaged in any kind of 'cover up'.'

Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'I welcome the fact that he has firmly rejected any suggestion of a conspiracy by the security and intelligence agencies in Mr Adebolajo's detention and that he has found no evidence to support the allegation that he was subject to mistreatment at the hands of the Kenyan authorities.
Seven years ago he lost both legs to a Taliban landmine in Afghanistan.

But yesterday Nick Beighton stood proudly on the podium at the Paralympics in Rio.

The 34-year-old former Royal Engineers captain took the bronze medal in a thrilling KL2 mens canoe sprint final won by Australian Curtis McGrath, who also lost his legs to an improvised explosive device.

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So proud: Seven years ago he lost both legs to a Taliban landmine in Afghanistan. But now Nick Beighton (pictured) stands proudly on the podium at the Paralympics in Rio

Medals of honour: The 34-year-old former Royal Engineers captain (right) took the bronze medal in a thrilling KL2 mens canoe sprint final won by Australian Curtis McGrath (centre), who also lost his legs to an improvised explosive device. Also pictured is silver medallist Markus Swoboda of Austria

Beighton, from Stockport, stepped on an IED in Helmand province during a routine patrol in 2009.

His life was saved by an Army medic, who kept him stable while he was taken to hospital at Camp Bastion.

Beighton was placed in a medically induced coma and required 36 pints of blood during his initial treatment. He has since had 25 operations.

It has been an incredible journey, he said minutes after finishing his race.

Brave: Captain Beighton, 34, walking again in 2010. The former Royal Engineers Captain from Stockport, stepped on an IED in Helmand province during a routine patrol in 2009

Ordeal: Beighton (right) was placed in a medically induced coma and required 36 pints of blood during his initial treatment. He has since had 25 operations

Given all the circumstances, I have to be pleased with the result and where I am today. I have only been doing the sport for 18 months.

He recalled the fateful day of the explosion: Ill never forget that split-second when it dawns on you that your life has just changed for ever. You just try to stay calm and stay alive.

Youre almost euphoric youre still there but there are occasions when youre staring at the abyss because its all too much. You lose your legs and you lose part of your identity, especially being a fit young male in a military environment.

It takes a big chunk of you away and you have this identity crisis about If I cant do that, what am I?.

Speaking after the race, Beighton said he had been through an 'incredible journey'

Beighton transferred to the kayak in 2014  it is a medal sport for the first time in Rio

Sport has been a great way of getting my confidence back. Its also payback for the support and sacrifice of my family. This is about having a reason to get out of bed and push myself, to say Im a British Paralympian and proud of what I do.

Beighton was walking on his prosthetic legs within weeks of them being fitted in 2010. He competed as a rower at the 2012 London Paralympics, narrowly missing out on a medal. He transferred to the kayak in 2014  it is a medal sport for the first time in Rio.

Some of the key things that make you a good athlete also make you a good soldier, especially the ability to push on when things get tough, he said. As a soldier you are proud to represent your country and I am proud to do so here as an athlete. You try to look forward and to focus on something positive. I will now reflect on what has happened here, on life and what is really precious to me, such as family.
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Sales of UK weapons which could be used in Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign in Yemen should stop after allegations of human rights breaches, a parliamentary report has said.

The recommendation, in a Commons report, comes as Yemenis picked through the debris after Saudi air strikes - which have previously used British arms - reduced a water pipe factory to rubble.

The report alleges 'clear violations' of international human rights law, including one occasion when two missiles struck a wedding party, killing 47 civilians - among them 21 women and 15 children - and injuring 58 more.

Yemenis pick through the debris after Saudi air strikes - which have previously used British arms - reduced a water pipe factory to rubble

Pictures of the rubble (pictured) emerged after a commons report recommended sales of UK weapons, which could be used in Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign in Yemen, should stop after allegations of human rights breaches

A Yemeni inspects a factory allegedly targeted by Saudi-led airstrikes. The parliamentary report revealed that there have been a series of human rights abuses during the bombing campaign in Yemen

Smokes rise above the city (pictured) after Saudi-led coalition airstrikes targeted a Houthi-held position in Sana'a, Yemen, just yesterday

An independent inquiry should now be set up to investigate whether British vendors should have known that weapons would likely be used for human rights breaches by the Saudis, the report says.

Until then, the sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia - which has been heavily criticised for their brutal treatment of Shia rebels known as the Houthis - should be halted, the House of Commons Business and International Development Committees said.

But MPs are deeply split over the issue, with a conflicting government report released at the same time insisting that exports should only be blocked if UK courts rule that the weapons sales are unlawful.

The decision to publish the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee report at the same time shows the depth of controversy over claims that UK-made armaments are being used in indiscriminate bombing raids by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

International medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has accused the coalition of war crimes for an air strike on its hospital which killed at least 11 last month.

An internal investigation launched by Saudi Arabia has been slammed as inadequate by campaigners, including the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which is taking legal action to seek the suspension of arms export licences to the country.

The report alleges 'clear violations' of international human rights law, including one occasion when two missiles struck a wedding party, killing 47 civilians - among them 21 women and 15 children - and injuring 58 more. Pictured is the factory in Sanaia bombed by the coalition

An independent inquiry should now be set up to investigate whether British vendors should have known that weapons would likely be used for human rights breaches by the Saudis, the report says. Pictured is the Sanaia factory

The sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia - which has been heavily criticised for their brutal treatment of Shia rebels known as the Houthis - should be halted until the investigation is carried out, the report says. Pictured is Sanaia

The FAC's Conservative chairman Crispin Blunt is understood to have drawn up the rival document after objecting to proposals to issue the call for immediate suspension under the banner of the House of Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) - a panel which brings together the cross-party committees for Business, Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development.

Reports suggested that Mr Blunt walked out of a private meeting of the CAEC to prevent a vote being taken on the draft report, which he regarded as one-sided.

Meanwhile, the Defence Committee has given no indication of whether it intends to publish its own report.

Conservative MP Chris White, who chaired the CAEC inquiry into the exports and is a member of the Business Committee, said: 'The UK led the way in establishing international humanitarian law to govern the sale of arms. The conflict in Yemen has raised serious concerns that we are not showing equal determination in ensuring that these are respected.

MPs are deeply split over the issue, with a conflicting government report released at the same time insisting that exports should only be blocked if UK courts rule that the weapons sales are unlawful. Pictured is Sanaia

Yemeni explosives experts examine the rubble in Sinaia, but even if they find British weapons, there is no proof that the vendors will have broken international law

Arms trade law made clear that export licences should not be granted 'where there is a clear risk that they might be used in a serious violation of IHL'. Pictured is Sanaia

MISSILE FACTORY OR PLANT MAKING PIPES? The coalition bombed a Yemeni industrial site in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, damaging what the Saudi-led alliance said was a workshop for missile parts but businessmen claimed was a factory for water pipes and building materials. The buildings struck included a factory used by Yemen's Alsonidar Group to make and sell pumps under a long-standing arrangement with Italian water specialist company Caprari, both companies said. That strike caused a fire that destroyed half the premises and resulted in several million dollars worth of damage, said Caprari managing director Alberto Caprari. There were no casualties in the attack on the Alsonidar site in al-Rawda district in northern Sanaa, which the Yemeni company said also destroyed a red brick factory and damaged another plant producing metal pipes. Advertisement

'During this inquiry we have heard evidence from respected sources that weapons made in the UK have been used in contravention of International Humanitarian Law. The Government can no longer wait and see and must now take urgent action, halting the sale of arms to the Saudi-led coalition until we can be sure that there is no risk of violation.

'We call on the Government to continue the UK's long-standing commitment to IHL and lead the international community in establishing a strong, independent inquiry. The circumstances surrounding incidents in Yemen, such as allegations of the use of cluster bombs, must be firmly established and send a clear message to all combatants in Yemen that human rights must be respected.

'The current system for overseeing the sale of arms must be improved. At present we do not have sufficient transparency to hold licensing decisions to account or the confidence that the benchmarks ensuring human rights law is respected are high enough. This must be addressed immediately.'

Labour MP Stephen Twigg, chair of the International Development Committee, added: 'We remain unconvinced that Saudi Arabia is best placed to investigate reports of breaches of humanitarian law - progress so far has been too slow.

'It is important to remember that both sides to the conflict are potentially involved in breaches of humanitarian law and without credible investigations, neither side is being held accountable for their actions.'

Arms trade law made clear that export licences should not be granted 'where there is a clear risk that they might be used in a serious violation of IHL', said Mr Twigg.

He added: 'It is hard to understand how a reliable licence assessment process would not have concluded that there is a clear risk of misuse of at least some arms exports to Saudi Arabia.'

The building has been totally destroyed by the bombs. The Saudi coalition claim that it was being used to make arms, but businessmen in the area claim it was a factory making water pipes

Damage like this (pictured in Sanaia) is not uncommon in Yemen, as the Saudi-led coalition has launched a brutal air raid campaign in the country, in which they killed 47 people at a wedding party

This young man watches the smoke rise from a bomb dropped in a Houthi-led position in Sanaia on Wednesday (pictured)

The FAC report backed an independent UN-led investigation into allegations of human rights violations, but said that the courts are the most appropriate body to decide whether the Government has broken the law by permitting continued sales.

'Saudi Arabia is a key partner of the United Kingdom in addressing our shared challenges in the Middle East,' said Mr Blunt.

'I am yet to hear any persuasive argument for how we better secure our many strategic objectives in the region without a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia.

'This includes bringing about a political solution to the current conflict in Yemen, that was so deplorably precipitated by the armed Houthi rebellion in 2014.

'However, the massive British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override our wider legal and moral obligations.

'It is crucial that the UK does everything in its power to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition.'
The parents of an autistic teen who died earlier this year have donated his brain to science, in the hopes that it will help researchers find a cure for the developmental disorder.

Michael Bolen, 14, of Pennsylvania, died when he a seizure that sent him into cardiac arrest. Epileptic seizures are something that 20 to 30 per cent of autism patients experience.

His mother Leslie tells CNN that a doctor asked if they would like to donate Michael's organs to science after he died, and she asked about donating his brain.

Leslie Bolen (right) donated her son Michael's (left) brain to science five months ago, when he died at the age of 14. Michael suffered from an extreme form of autism

The medical community is hoping that more brains will be donated to autism research. On the left, Leslie and on the right her son Michael

'I said, "Well, what about his brain?" And [the doctors] said, "Excuse me?"'

'And I said, "Well, you know, epilepsy is the way that he died, but autism is the way he lived,'" Mrs Bolen said.

Contrary to the doctors' surprise, the medical community is hoping that more parents like the Bolens will donate the brains of their deceased autistic children so that researchers can learn more about autism.

The Bolens donated their son's brain to Autism BrainNet, a network of research institutions that study brain tissue in deceased autism patients to understand whether the disease may be caused by a cellular or genetic issue.

Leslie Bolen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two other children

Once researchers find out the cause of the disease, they would then be better equipped to find a therapy or even a cure for it. Unfortunately though, that road seems pretty far away.

Alzheimer's researchers made great strides when they started analyzing the brains of dead patients, but there have been 10,000 brains donated for Alzheimer's researcher and less than a couple hundred for autism.

Mrs Bolen says that some parents of autistic children fear that a cure isn't possible, but she holds out hope and that's why she donated his brain.

'I feel like it's very divided, cure versus acceptance,' she said, explaining that some families 'wouldn't change their child for the world,' even if there was a cure.

'I wouldn't change Michael for the world, but my God, if I could take away the hurt. Imagine going your whole life not being able to say "my tummy hurts," "I feel sick to my stomach," "I want to go there for dinner," "I love you,"' Bolen said.
Aspergers sufferer Lauri Love (pictured), 31, is accused of breaking into the FBI, the US Federal Reserve and other networks and stealing personal data while sitting at his computer in the UK

Gary McKinnons mother has warned that an alleged hacker facing the same charges as her son will not survive if he is extradited to the US.

Aspergers sufferer Lauri Love, 31, is accused of breaking into the FBI, the US Federal Reserve and other networks and stealing personal data while sitting at his computer in the UK.

His legal team say his case is almost identical to that of Mr McKinnon, whose extradition was blocked by then home secretary Theresa May following a Daily Mail campaign.

A judge will rule today whether or not Mr Love can be extradited to the US, where he faces a possible 99-year jail term if convicted. But Mr McKinnons mother Janis Sharp warned that Mr Love would not survive in the US justice system. He has Aspergers, is nervous, scared and suicidal and is in a really bad way, she said.

I am worried he will be extradited and end up in an American prison  I worry that he wont survive as American jails are terrible places. I just hope that Gary didnt go through all of this for nothing.

A judge will rule today whether or not Mr Love can be extradited to the US, where he faces a possible 99-year jail term if convicted. But Janis Sharp, the mother of Gary McKinnon (pictured together), warned that Mr Love would not survive in the US justice system

She added of Mr Love, who has been deemed a high suicide risk by medical experts: Hes very intelligent but also naive, innocent and vulnerable. Youre putting someone gentle, who shies away from human contact, in a system with convicted criminals. He is terrified at the prospect of going to America.

Mr Love, who is studying electrical engineering at Suffolk University, has spent the past three years in legal limbo.

If I am sent to an American jail, I dont see anything positive happening after that Lauri Love

The prison chaplains son from Newmarket, Suffolk, said he was apprehensive but optimistic.

Ive been having weird dreams and trouble getting to sleep  I feel more for my parents, he told the Mail. Theyre at an age when they should have a quieter life. He added: US prisons are not good for people with mental health problems.

If I am sent to an American jail, I dont see anything positive happening after that.

He said he hoped the precedent set by Mr McKinnons case in 2012 would encourage the judge to rule in his favour.

Mr McKinnon, who broke into Nasa and Pentagon systems faced similar charges. But Mrs May blocked his extradition because of the high risk of him ending his life.

The Rev Alexander Love, 63, said he often feared he would find his son dead.

Ben Cooper, Mr Loves barrister has described him as highly vulnerable and said extradition would be unjust.
Three people including the victim's ex-fiance William Geer (above) are accused of holding a pregnant woman hostage in a locked, alarmed room for weeks

Three people are accused of holding a pregnant woman hostage in a locked, alarmed room in a bid to steal her unborn baby.

William Geer, Jilliane and Joshua Mencel are accused of kidnapping the woman, along with her two-year-old child in Rochester, New York, and keeping them captive for several weeks, WHEC reports.

During that time, they repeatedly hit and choked her, pulled out chunks of her hair and repeatedly threatened to kill her and her unborn child, according to police reports.

Jilliane Mencel choked the unidentified victim until she passed out sometime between June 3 and August 1, Rochester police say.

But although neighbors called police in early August to report the constant screams they were hearing, police only entered when someone reported a man with a gun in the house on Santee Street.

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Jilliane (right) and Joshua Mencel (left) are also accused of kidnapping the woman, along with her two-year-old child in Rochester, New York

Police found the victim inside the locked room. She is still pregnant and living in a local shelter.

Geer is the victims former fiance and the father of her two-year-old child, according to the district attorneys office.

It is not known if he is also the father of her unborn baby.

At an arraignment, prosecutors said the defendants harmed the victim so they could take her two-year-old child.

Authorities said Geer and the Mencels have known the victim since they were neighbors some time ago.

The Mencels returned to Rochester from Texas and moved into Geers home on Santee Street earlier this year.

Jilliance Mencel, described by prosecutors as the central ring leader, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and felony strangulation.

Joshua Mencel is charged with first-degree kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and third-degree assault.

Geer faces second-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment charges.
She wore her favourite Vivienne Westwood tartan suit to launch her leadership campaign in June.

So when Theresa May hosted a Downing Street reception for industry insiders to mark London Fashion Week, it came as no surprise that Dame Vivienne was among the first on the guest list.

And the designer did not hold back, wearing a T-shirt sporting the slogan 'Theresa talk Vivienne' with colourful blue-spangled trousers and towering blue and gold platform boots.

Fashion pack (l-r): Designers Peter Pilotto, Christopher de Vos, and Mary Katrantzou, Theresa May, Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-a-Porter and chair of the British Fashion Council, Christopher Bailey, CEO of Burberry, designers Sophia Webster and Nicholas Kirkwood

Dressed to impress: Theresa May in Vivienne Westwood at the Conservative Party conference in 2013. Right, the designer wears a 'Theresa talk Vivienne' top to the Downing Street event

Mrs May was joined by designers Sophia Webster, Nicholas Kirkwood, Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos, as well as Burberry boss Christopher Bailey at the event.

The Prime Minister appeared to opt for a 290 white shirt from Palmer//Harding for the occasion.

She paired the top with black trousers by Amanda Wakeley, completing her outfit with a chunky white necklace and shoes from Russell and Bromley.

The London Fashion Week event has previously been hosted by Samantha Cameron, after she became an ambassador for the British Fashion Council.

Sarah Brown has also hosted a reception at No 10.

Mrs May, 59, has carried on the tradition, asking the invitees to bring an apprentice along to the event.

Making a statement: Dame Vivienne showed off her irreverent style with a slogan T-shirt

Outlandish: The designer paired the top with colourful blue-spangled trousers

Next generation: The Prime Minister opted for a 120 John Lewis shirt for the London Fashion Week reception, where she welcomed apprentices and scholarship winners, pictured

She addressed the event alongside Net-A-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, the chair of the British Fashion Council.

Mrs May said: 'British fashion is of huge importance to our country, contributing 28bn to the UK economy and supporting nearly 900,000 jobs.

'The Government I lead will do everything we can, including providing the right investment in training and skills, to help everyone, whatever peoples backgrounds, to go as far as their talents can take them.

'From our home grown start-ups to international fashion houses  every business in the industry will play a major role in ensuring we make a success of Brexit.

'By taking advantage of the opportunities that leaving the EU gives us and playing to our strengths as a great trading nation - we can build a build a fairer economy that works for all, not just the privileged few.'

Dame Natalie Massenet said: 'This event was a sign of the ongoing value that the government places on our industry as we remain at the heart of the UKs future.

'London is unique. It is a great place to live and work. It is a dynamic fashion, business, creative and cultural capital and we have no doubt we will show it at its best over the next few days.'

Trailblazer: Natalie Massenet, chair of the British Fashion Council, spoke at the reception
In a powerful segment on Friday's episode of Crime Watch Daily With Chris Hansen, Elizabeth Smart sits down with one of women who claims they were sexually assaulted by an alleged serial rapist - and then confronts the man.

Smart, who was kidnapped from her room at the age of 14 and held captive for months while being repeatedly raped back in 2002, speaks with Lesley Barton, who accused Marc Winner of raping her 15 years ago in Chicago.

Barton went to police six days after the alleged incident, but in the end Winner was only charged with battery and received two-years probation for the incident.

'He has me walk in first, he's behind me so my back's to him, and I head the turn of the lock,' explained Barton while describing the alleged assault, which occurred at tanning salon Winner owned called Soleil.

'And at that whole moment my body cringed. Everything in me just went - it just stopped.'

Barton went on to say: 'And he just squeezes tighter and tighter around my neck as he's using his other hand to pull down my pants. And he raped me.

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Elizabeth Smart confronts a man accused of raping multiple women on an upcoming episode of Crime Watch Daily (above)

Elizabeth Smart spoke to a woman who claimed to have been raped by Marc Winner (pictured left in a July 2016 mugshot following his arrest for sexual assault and on right in a 2013 mugshot)

She later told Smart she felt that she 'no longer existed in that moment' and did not fully come to realize she had allegedly been assaulted until the following day.

Smart then asks Barton how she felt when she learned that Winner was only being charged with battery for the incident, and that sexual assault charges were not being pursued in the wake of her report to police.

'Enraged,' said Barton.

'To be honest, the justice system failed me miserably.'

Barton then tells Smart that Winner 'changed her life forever,' but said she hates admitting that because it gives him 'control and power' over her, which she says he does not have.

In the years after Barton filed her report, at least four more women came forward accusing Winner of rape.

Prosecutors in Chicago claim that Winner has raped as nine women, and he is set to stand trial on four of those cases.

Barton tells Smart (above) that Marc Winner sexually assaulted her 15 years ago at his tanning salon in Chicago

Smart also speaks to one of the first women to accuse him of rape, Lesley Barton (above)

And while he is out on bail, Smart went to his home to confront the man.

Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom when she was just 14-years-old in August 2002 and held captive for nine months before she was discovered by police.

She was found alive in March of the next year in Sandy, Utah, and Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee were arrested for abducting the teenager.
Controversial plans for the Hinkley Point nuclear plant were finally approved yesterday  despite national security concerns and claims it could cost every family an extra 1,000.

Theresa May signed off the 18billion project after imposing restrictions to limit the influence of the Chinese state, which is helping bankroll the deal.

The Prime Minister also announced plans for a golden share rule to tackle wider security fears over future foreign investment in national infrastructure such as energy and transport.

Our graphic, above, shows the impact the plant at Hinkley will have, with six million homes set to run on power of 3.2bn watts of energy produced at any one point from the point

But ministers faced criticism as it emerged they had failed to reduce massive subsidies for French firm EDF, which is building the Hinkley plant, and its Chinese partners.

Britain has agreed to guarantee EDF a price of 92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity, or 89.50 if another scheme at Sizewell, Suffolk, goes ahead. The current market price for a megawatt hour is just 38.91.

The government announced its approval for the 18billion Hinkley Point project (pictured) after securing tweaks to the agreement

Although the project is controversial, it has been called a last gasp for Britain's trifling civil nuclear sector

Electricity bill-payers will be forced to make up the difference once the plant in Somerset comes on stream in the 2020s.

The National Audit Office has warned these subsidies will add almost 30billion to electricity bills over the projects lifetime. That is an extra 30 for the average annual bill over 35 years  totalling more than 1,000 per household.

Last night Tory MP Zac Goldsmith said by the end of the project this new power plant will have generated the most expensive energy in the history of energy generation.

And former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson said every independent energy expert believed the Hinkley project was a thoroughly lousy deal. He said EDF was hopelessly behind schedule on similar plants in France and Finland and called on ministers to pull the plug if it encountered similar problems here.

Theresa May has given the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project the go-ahead

Paul Dorfman, of the Nuclear Consulting Group, warned the security regulations did not go far enough. He said one of the Chinese firms involved was being pursued in the US for nuclear spying.

Mrs May had ordered a review in July amid security concerns over Chinese involvement and criticism of the cost. Her joint chief of staff Nick Timothy is said to have played a key role in the decision after voicing concern about Chinas role last year.

Writing on the ConservativeHome website before Mrs May became PM, Mr Timothy claimed security experts were worried the Chinese could build weaknesses into computer systems that would allow them to shut down Britains energy production at will.

But Business Secretary Greg Clark said yesterday that new rules meant the public could be confident Hinkley Point would work in the countrys best interests.

He insisted the project was good value and the subsidies compare broadly with those for renewable energy such as wind power. Mr Clark said EDF was bearing the full risk of building and operating the plant  with consumers not paying a penny until it starts producing electricity.

EDF has also signed a guarantee that it will not sell its stake until the plant is built.

Mr Clark told MPs: Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the Governments agreement. The Hinkley Point project will provide 7 per cent of Britains energy as coal is phased out and ageing nuclear plants shut.

It will also create 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships. Mr Clark said EDF had guaranteed at least 64 per cent of the 18billion cost will go in contracts to UK firms.

China indicated it will press ahead with funding another nuclear reactor at Sizewell, as well as pursuing plans to build and operate a new nuclear plant at Bradwell in Essex. Chinese state-owned firm CGN, which has a one-third stake in Hinkley, said it was delighted with the decision.

OUR 'GOLDEN SHARE' SAFETY NET Ministers are to take a golden share in all new critical infrastructure projects in a bid to allay fears over the security threat posed by foreign investment. Theresa May yesterday ordered a review of laws governing ownership and control of vital infrastructure projects in the wake of the row about Chinese investment in Britains nuclear industry. Downing Street said it would prevent owners of critical schemes, such as power plants, selling up without state approval. Officials were unable to say which sectors would be covered, but it is expected to include major energy schemes, utilities such water, and key transport assets, including airports and the proposed HS2 rail line. As an immediate step, the Office for Nuclear Regulation will order operators of nuclear plants to inform it of any plans to sell significant stakes. Sources said the Governments approach to foreign ownership of key assets would be reviewed from a national security perspective. Sources also indicated existing owners of vital infrastructure could require ongoing approval. The Department for Business said it would introduce a cross-cutting national security requirement for continuing Government approval of the ownership and control of critical infrastructure. Business Secretary Greg Clark said the arrangements would put the UK on par with other Western nations in dealing with foreign investment in key assets. He told MPs: The changes mean that, while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works in the countrys best interests. Ex-Lib Dem energy secretary Sir Edward Davey yesterday said ex-chancellor George Osborne had vetoed plans for a special share scheme during initial talks on the Hinkley Point project. He told the BBCs World at One: I think George Osborne was so keen to send positive signals to the Chinese that he was not prepared to go the extra mile on security, which it looks like Theresa May has done. He said bad blood between Mrs May and Mr Osborne may have prevented her acting earlier. They really disliked each other, he said. George Osborne, partly because he saw Theresa May as a rival, could be quite rude to her in Cabinet. Theresa May  I dont agree with her on everything  but she would be well-briefed, she would have evidence and statistics to back up her arguments. George Osborne rarely did  in my experience he wasnt a chancellor who dealt with evidence very much. Advertisement

Sources indicated plans could be submitted this autumn for the Bradwell site, which would use a reactor design that has never been licensed outside China.

Labours energy spokesman Barry Gardiner said ministers had achieved little more than window dressing, adding: They have failed to get a better deal for bill-payers, theyve caused a crisis in investor confidence in the UK, theyve risked offending one of our key future trading partners, and in the end all they have done is to pretend to give themselves powers which they already had.

Delays to Hinkley had threatened to cause diplomatic rows with France and China. No 10 said the PM had spoken with French president Francois Hollande before the announcement, while Mr Clark spoke with his counterparts in France and China.

Asked about criticism of the cost, EDFs Vincent de Rivaz said the firm and its partners would not risk 18billion if they were not confident of delivering on time and on budget.

China's communist regime is due to provide a third of the funds needed for the project, but will not be involved in operations. Pictured is the power station in Somerset

Safety problems at power plants just like this one

Two half-built prototypes for Hinkley  one in France, the other in Finland  offer a very worrying cautionary tale of what could go wrong with the Somerset reactor.

Both projects, run by the French electricity giant EDF  the major partner in Hinkley, have suffered serious safety problems, are billions of pounds over budget and are almost ten years behind schedule, ROSS CLARK reports

FRANCE

Flamanville

Cracks in the concrete: The Flamenville reactor in France, where costs have exploded from 2.97bn to 7.2bn

Costs for Flamanville, situated on the Normandy coast, have exploded from an estimated 3.5billion (2.97billion) to 8.5billion (7.2billion). Even worse, there are concerns that it may never be finished.

Last year, the French nuclear safety authority found weaknesses in the steel used to construct the pressure vessel at the heart of the reactor. These faults could mean that either the plant would have to operate at a much-reduced capacity, or the reactor would have to be rebuilt  or worse abandoned.

In extremis, if the vessel fails critics fear it could lead to a catastrophic nuclear accident on the scale of the Chernobyl disaster.

It is the same reactor design EDF plans to use for Hinkley, a so-called European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). This is similar to the Sizewell nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast, but on a larger scale and with extra safety features.

However, the British government has agreed to pay EDF much, much more for the electricity the Hinkley version would produce than the French government has for the electricity from Flamanville.

Controversially, the Cameron government guaranteed EDF a fixed price of 92.50 per megawatt hour over a period of 35 years, whereas EDF will charge the French government only 64 (54) per megawatt hour for the electricity it hopes to produce in Normandy.

Construction at the site near Cherbourg began in 2007, with a scheduled completion date of 2012. But within a year, cracks were found in the concrete base and a quarter of the welds in the reactors secondary steel lining were found to be defective.

Inspections also revealed holes in concrete pillars and faults in buildings where nuclear fuel is to be stored.

A report by Frances nuclear safety authority in 2011 recorded 13 incidents of sub-standard safety measures. In 2013, a welder fell to his death. Then last year defects were discovered in safety valves in the cooling system.

Chillingly, this was similar to a problem that led to the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident in Pennsylvania in 1979, which before Chernobyl was the worlds worst nuclear accident, and resulted in $1billion (750million) of clean-up costs.

It was also in 2015 that Flamanville suffered a potentially killer-blow.

Tests on the steel used to construct the base and lid of the nuclear reactor vessel showed that too much carbon had been used, leading to weaknesses in the structure.

Professor Steve Thomas, of the University of Greenwich, said that if this led to the reactor failing, there would be no warning. It will fail catastrophically and allow its radioactive contents into the environment, he said.

For their part, EDF and its project partner  the majority French state-owned company Areva, which makes nuclear reactors  have been forced to make more tests on the steel.

At the time the faults were found, the Financial Times said: The scale of the risks to EDF if those tests identify a serious problem is hard to exaggerate.

Whatever the findings of these new tests, Flamanvilles opening date  which has already been put back six years  is still nowhere in sight.

Professor Thomas warns that if it has to be rebuilt, the process could take up to five years, adding: That might be prohibitively expensive and the whole plant could be abandoned.

All this assumes that government-owned EDF doesnt go bust in the meantime  which is a possibility.

In March, the companys finance director Thomas Piquemal resigned, saying that taking on Hinkley as a project risked driving the firm to bankruptcy. Problems were compounded by the fact that Areva has had to be bailed out by the French government, with an injection of 3.4billion of public money in April. Inevitably, the European Commission has launched an investigation into this rescue package to check it did not unduly distort competition.

For some time, Areva  which is 87 per cent owned by the state  had been struggling with a downturn in the nuclear industry and has suffered big financial losses on its projects.

Once the pride of France, the reactor designer saw its credit rating downgraded last year, and in February it reported a 2billion (1.7billion) net loss for 2015.

Finland

Olkiluoto 3

Faulty electronics: The Olkiluoto 3 nuclear site, which was meant to be the biggest reactor in the world, is already nearly 10 years late

Olkiluoto was meant to be the worlds biggest nuclear reactor. But it is already nearly a decade late, and its cost has tripled from 3billion (2.5billion) to nearly 9 billion (7.6billion).

The project been subject to lawsuits, technology failure, construction errors and a bitter row between participant companies that has been described as one of the biggest conflicts in the history of the construction sector.

Work began on the EPR in 2005 and was scheduled to be completed in 2009. But from early on, problems emerged.

The concrete base on which the plant was to be built proved to be faulty, and had to be taken up and relaid. Then there was a problem with the electronic control systems.

Because it is absolutely vital that engineers can manage the temperature inside the reactor, a new nuclear plant must have two parallel control systems in case one fails.

The problem at Olkiluoto was that the two systems were too similar  meaning that if something caused the first one to shut down, there was a big risk that the second one would also close down.

The issue took five years to resolve  with the result that the power station is not expected to open until 2018 at the earliest.
An 18-year-old woman has been stabbed in the back in south west Sydney.

Police are hunting down three hooded males after the horrific knife attack at a home in Woodbine in the early hours of this morning.

Officers were called out after the woman was stabbed with a small knife following an altercation at the suburban home.

An 18-year-old woman has been stabbed in the back in the southwest of Sydney. Pictured, police at the scene

Police are hunting down three hooded males after the horrific knife attack at a home in Woodbine in the early hours of this morning. Pictured, emergency services at the scene

The woman, whose injuries were not life threatening, was treated for stab wounds at the scene.

She is believed to be in a stable condition at Liverpool hospital after undergoing surgery this morning.

Elizabeth Paine, who lives next door to the house where the stabbing is said to have taken place, told 9 News that she was awoken by someone knocking on her door early this morning.

'I got woken at about 12.30 last night by someone bashing on my front door asking "where's this person? Where's this person?".

'I'm like "I dont know". I answered the door eventually and they were just standing down here by my car and I said "look, I don't know where this person is".

Officers (pictured) were called out after the woman was stabbed with a small knife following an altercation at the suburban home

Police are hunting down three hooded males after the horrific knife attack at a home in Woodbine in the early hours of this morning. Pictured, police at the scene

Ms Paine said the men asked if the person they were after lived next door before walking off.

'I heard a scream about 40 seconds later,' the neighbour said.
With an estimated 230,000 species living in the sea, the waters are packed full of diverse creatures.

But new research suggests that bigger sea species may be more at risk of dying off - something that's unheard of in the history of mass extinctions.

Scientists say that as sub-families of marine animal species grow larger, the likelihood of them becoming extinct increases by an even greater amount.

New research suggests that bigger sea species, such as the blue whale, may be more at risk of dying off - something that's unheard of in the history of mass extinctions

EXTINCTION RISK AND SIZE - Almost no species averaging one centimetre (0.4 inches) long are threatened - 23 per cent of those that are 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) long are threatened - 40 per cent of those that are one metre (39 inches) long are threatened - 86 per cent of those that are 10 metres (32.8 feet) long are vulnerable Advertisement

There have been five mass extinctions in so far - the latest being nearly 250 million years ago.

Scientists say we are now entering the sixth mass extinction caused by human-induced species losses.'

If this were to happen, scientists believe bigger sea creatures will die first.

The research comes from Stanford University, where researchers compared fossil records, looked at past mass extinctions and compared them to current threats.

Dr Jonathan Payne, a paleobiologist, and study leader, said that in past extinctions, smaller creatures were more prone to die off, or size didn't matter.

But while almost no species averaging one centimetre in length are threatened with extinction, 86 per cent of those that are 10 metres long are now vulnerable.

These are species that are not extinct yet, but are on the respected Red List of threatened and endangered species created by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Dr Payne said: 'The proportion of species that are threatened increases enormously as body size increases.'

For example, the blue whale - which is the largest living animal, and the largest to ever have existed - is on the IUCN endangered list and has lost as much as 90 per cent of its population in the last three generations.

On the other end of the spectrum is a grouping of fish, bioluminescent bristlemouths, that are about three inches (7.6cm) long.

For example, the blue whale - which is the largest living animal, and the largest to ever have existed - is on the IUCN endangered list and has lost as much as 90 per cent of its population in the last three generations

SHARK NUMBERS ARE INCREASING IN CALIFORNIA Shark sightings in California are now higher than they have been in decades. This is a result of El Nino, which has led to warm waters to the eastern Pacific, pushing sharks and other marine animals closer to shore rather than migrating. But, El Nino isn't the only thing to blame. Scientists say the rising number of shark sightings and incidents is also due to an increase in human activity in the world's oceans. Advertisement

They are the most abundant creatures with a backbone; the population is estimated to be in the trillions.

The researchers concentrated on oceans, where the fossil records are better over time.

Dr Payne said that the mass extinction 65 million years ago that killed off the dinosaurs didn't kill off bigger marine species at higher rates than smaller ones, unlike what's happening now.

Dr Boris Worm, a marine scientist at Dalhousie University in Canada, said that the study 'shows us how unusual this crisis of biodiversity we have right now.'

He added: 'We have had mass extinctions before. This one is totally different than what has happened before.'

But while almost no species averaging one centimetre in length are threatened with extinction, 86 per cent of those that are 10 metres long, such as the Great White Shark, are now vulnerable

While the researchers didn't try to explain the reason why larger animals are more threatened, they suggest that humans are to blame.

Dr Payne said that mostly through fishing and hunting, but also through environmental degradation, such as warmer and more acidic oceans, humans have made it tougher for the biggest marine animals to survive.

Catherine Novelli, the US undersecretary of state for environment, said a world oceans conference that starts on Thursday in Washington, will see the announcement of 'many more' areas where nations set aside large areas of the seas where animals are protected and fishing is prohibited.

Despite the worrying findings, the researchers say there is still hope, since these species haven't gone extinct yet. Dr Payne points to northern elephant seals which had a population below 100 in the early 1910s, but are now more than 100,000 strong

Despite the worrying findings, the researchers say there is still hope, since these species haven't gone extinct yet.

Dr Payne points to northern elephant seals which had a population below 100 in the early 1910s, but are now more than 100,000 strong.

But they are the exception.

Dr Worm added: 'It pains you to the core to know that these animals might be gone in a generation or two.
Experts confirmed the claims in 2000 and now want a new examination

Legend has it that the stone was given to a Knight Templar and handed from one generation to the next

Current owner, who is in South Africa, says it was given to an ancestor from a High Priest 1,000 years ago as a reward

It is thought to have been part of the High Priest of Jerusalem's breastplate

A small onyx stone believed to have been worn in the sacred breastplate of the High Priest of Jerusalem may have been found after being missing for more than 1,000 years.

A sardonyx gem, thought to have been one of two that were set in gold on each shoulder of the breastplate and deemed to be 'forms of divine communication', was discovered in South Africa.

The owner claims the stone was given to a distant ancestor as a reward from the High Priest in 1189 and has been passed from generation to generation of the family since.

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Legend says it was given to a Knight Templar 1,000 years ago and handed down through that family from one generation to the next. Because this stone was one-of-a-kind, he appraised its value at $175 million to $225 million

Biblical text describes a breastplate worn by the High Priest that was fitted with 12 stones and used to communicate with God. There were also two sardonyx set on the shoulders and now, it is believed that one of the stones (pictured) is being held in South Africa

Biblical text describes a sacred breastplate worn by the High Priest of Jerusalem that was fitted with 12 stones and used to determine God's will. The sardonyx could be one of two additional stones worn on the shoulders.

What makes this sardonyx so unique is it has a tiny Hebrew inscription, which is believed to be an ancient script that dates back to 1000 BC, burned or engraved in the heart of the stone. The letters in the stone appear to be similar to those found on archaeological finds dating from 1300 to 300 BC.

The Jewish text Talmund reveals that questions would be brought to the breastplate worn by the High Priest and the stones would light up to spell the answers.

The Jewish text, Talmund, reveals that questions would be brought to the breastplate worn by the High Priest and the stones would light up to spell the answers. Pictured is a concept drawing of the breastplate

Legend says it was given to a Knight Templar 1,000 years ago and handed down through that family from one generation to the next.

The stone was first discovered in 2000 and was investigated in person by Professor Moshe Sharon, an ancient Hebrew expert at the University of Witwatersrand who described the script as the equivalent to our 'B' and 'K'.

On examining the stone Professor Sharon was baffled to find there are no markings on the stone's surface to suggest it has been cut open to add the letters.

'Due to the clarity of the letters and their fine definition it would be incredible if they are a coincidental natural formation in the stone,' Professor Sharon stated in a notarized report at the time.

'The lack of any apparent sign of interference with the surface makes the existence of the letters inside the stone a real enigma.'

Now an expert who laid eyes on the mysterious gem 16 years ago is calling for a new appraisal in the hope of revealing its true history.

Dr. James Strange, a professor in religious studies and archaeology at Samford University in Alabama, traveled to South Africa in 2000 to appraise what was described as an interesting gemstone at the request of a friend. What he found left him puzzled.

THE SARDONYX GEM Experts believe the stone dates back to 1000 BC, as there is ancient Hebrew inscribed at its center. The script is the equivalent of our 'B' and 'K'. The letters in the stone appear to be similar to those found on archaeological finds dating from 1300 to 300 BC. What makes this case so unique is that there are not marks on the stone's surface, which means the stone was not cut open to add the two letters. Experts suggest the sardonyx had either been set in a large plate or breast plate and he also dated its creation to the 5th century BC. Advertisement

Now he has told Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz with Breaking Israel News: 'I think this object needs a new appraisal and as many scientific tests as possible to determine whether it is genuine.

'If it turns out to be an artifact important to the history of the Jewish people, then that is truly wonderful.

'If it turns out to be a masterful fraud, then I will be pained that I was duped.'

Speaking of his trip in 2000, he said: 'I was unaware that anyone in the late Middle Ages had the technology to cut a hemisphere in such a medium, so I tried to exhaust all other explanations.

'There is no modern or ancient technology known to me by which an artisan could produce the inscription, as it is not cut into the surface of the stone.'

With no visible markings on the surface, Dr. Strange ruled out the idea that the stone was cut open.

After his examination, Dr. Strange concluded that the sardonyx had either been set in a large plate or breastplate and he also dated its creation to the 5th century BC.

What makes the sardonyx so unique is a tiny inscription (pictured is a drawing of the text) in the heart of the stone, which is believed to be an ancient script that dates back to 1000 BC. M. Experts says the script is the equivalent of our 'B' and 'K'

Pictured is a concept drawing of the breastplate, which was studded with gems and would light up to spell out answers when questions were put to it

Because this stone was one-of-a-kind, he appraised its value between $175 million to $225 million.

Ian Campbell who was the director of the Independent Coloured Stones Laboratory in Johannesburg and a leading South African gemologist, also confirmed that the stone had not been sliced open to add the inscription.

'How does one logically go about putting a value to something like a proven religious artifact that is a 'one of' article?'

He estimated that $200 million was a 'fair starting point'.

Now, the claims from 2000 have been confirmed by Breaking Israel News who spoke with Campbell's apprentice, Jeremy Rothon.

However, Dr. Strange still remembers the stone as if it was still sitting in his hand.

He noted that if it was a fake, another stone that was similar would have surfaced by now, and he is requesting a new appraisal.

The present owner is in contract with a South African businessman who is now searching for investors who are willing to purchase the stone and take it back to Israel  both parties wish to stay anonymous.

When the businessman laid eyes on this small stone, he immediately recognized that the sardonyx was an important piece of Jewish history and is determined to bring it home.
Museum bosses say they will consult experts over possible changes

Researchers say it is an 'oversimplification of a very complex topic'

Scientists have hit out at a London museum over an exhibit which apparently reveals whether a persons brain is male or female.

Visitors at Science Museum London can take part by answering a number of questions  with a sex-o-meter analysing the responses.

An arrow then points to a blue or pink section, representing male and female respectively.

But some people have slated the exhibit on social media for its antiquated gender stereotypes while researchers have also questioned its value.

The Science Museum London's brain gender test has proved controversial with some claiming it is enforcing stereotypes

The test says that men can see things better in three dimensions and are more able to imagine how things rotate while women have better visual memories and can distinguish more easily between subtle details.

Dr Joseph Devlin, head of experimental psychology at University College London, told CNN he was surprised at the exhibit.

He said: The Science Museum has an impressive track record and I really respect their work in science communication. This particular exhibit is not at all representative of the work they do.

Dr Devlin added: Disentangling cause and effect is tricky but to my mind, claiming that there are 'male' or 'female' brains is disingenuous and grossly oversimplifies a complex topic.

The exhibit was described as 'junk science' by some people on social media, pictured

others claimed the science behind the display was 'really outdated'

Bosses at the museum admitted some of the research used in the display was more than a decade old despite the exhibit being refreshed six years ago.

Writing in a blog post on the museums website, head of exhibitions and programmes Alex Tyrrell said: I worked on Who Am I? when it was last refreshed back in 2010 and the aim at the time was to present the cutting-edge scientific knowledge of the day on what makes us us, me me and you you.

I headed up a team of researchers (we call them Content Developers) who spent many months scouring scientific journals and interviewing countless inspiring researchers from around the world.

We also worked with a vast network of eminent geneticists, neuroscientists, psychologists and other experts to create the gallery.

Researchers have also criticised the test claiming 'male and female brains' are an 'oversimplification of a complex topic'

Scientific accuracy is vital to the Museum  our reputation depends on it  and we put in place rigorous processes to ensure we get things right, from expert advisory boards who look at the broad messages in an exhibition, to subject specialists who are invited to scrutinise every word we write.

She added the museum was talking to leading experts in neuroscience and clinical psychology to see if any changes were needed.

Ms Tyrrell said: Of course we would like to keep all of our galleries and exhibitions up-to-date, but with many thousands of objects on show and finite resources and time this is not always possible.

However, with an issue of such scientific and cultural importance as this we have decided it is essential that we look again at the exhibit.

We are now talking to leading experts in neuroscience and clinical psychology to consider whether the latest scientific evidence warrants making changes to our exhibit.

Science moves fast, and while it isnt always possible for us to keep up, on some issues it is essential that we quicken our pace to make sure we havent been left behind.

To take the test, click here.
Just two weeks after the launch of the highly-anticipated Galaxy Note 7 phone, Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million devices worldwide.

The drastic move came after several users reported a problem that caused the battery to severely overheat and even explode.

Samsung has now said that the fault may stem from a subtle manufacturing error in the lithium ion batteries.

This highlights the challenge electronics makers are facing in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates.

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Just two weeks after the launch of the highly-anticipated Galaxy Note 7 phone, Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million devices worldwide. Samsung has now said that the fault may stem from a subtle manufacturing error in the lithium ion batteries

HOW LITHIUM ION BATTERIES WORK IN YOUR PHONE Lithium ion batteries have three basic parts - a positive cathode, a negative anode and a chemical layer in between known as an electrolyte. The electrolyte allows electrical charges flow between the electrodes. In lithium ion batteries, the cathode is usually lithium cobalt oxide while the anode is made from graphite. When your battery charges, electrons entering at the anode attract lithium ions, which then nestle in sites between the graphite's carbon layers. During use, lithium atoms at the anode start losing their electrons, allowing electrons to zip through the circuits in the phone to provide power. Meanwhile, lithium ions journey through the electrolyte to be reunited with electrons at the cathode. These processes keep going until all ions reach the cathode, causing that dreaded flashing battery symbol. Every time your battery uses 100 per cent of its charge, known as its capacity, it has been through a single charge cycle. Each charge cycle, however, reduces the battery's total capacity by a tiny amount. Advertisement

The recall was announced at the start of the month, after Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging.

It plans a software update for South Korean users that will cap battery recharging at 60 per cent capacity to help minimise risks of overheating.

It is unknown whether this will be rolled out globally.

But it is urging owners to keep the phones turned off until they can get them replaced, beginning September 19.

The Note 7 debuted to rave reviews in August thanks to its speed, new software features and - not least - the estimated nine hours it would run between charges.

But all that power comes at a price, and users began reporting the phones were catching fire or exploding, in one case incinerating the car it had been left in.

Aviation authorities in the US, Australia and Europe have urged passengers not to use or charge Note 7s while flying and not to put them in checked baggage.

Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president, said that an investigation revealed a 'tiny error' in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s.

The end of the pouch-shaped battery cell had some flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating, he explained.

Time also is a factor in marketing and making the phones.

The Note 7 debuted to rave reviews in August thanks to its speed, new software features and - not least - the estimated nine hours it would run between charges

In 2015, Samsung moved up the unveiling of its new Galaxy Note model to August from September, seeking a leg up on Apple's September iPhone upgrades.

Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping pace with demand for the Note 7.

Lithium batteries are used in a range of consumer electronic devices, favoured by manufacturers because they are lightweight and pack much more energy into a small space than other power cells.

Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president, said that an investigation revealed a 'tiny error' in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s

WHY WERE THE BATTERIES EXPLODING? Lithium batteries are use in a range of consumer electronic devices, favoured by manufacturers because they are lightweight and pack much more energy into a small space than other power cells. But storing so much energy in a tiny space, with combustible components separated by ultra-thin walls, makes them susceptible to overheating if exposed to high temperatures, damage or flaws in manufacturing. If the separators fail, a chemical reaction can quickly escalate out of control. Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president told reporters in Seoul: 'The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together.' It is unclear how Samsung failed to discover the battery problem before launching the Note 7. Advertisement

But storing so much energy in a tiny space, with combustible components separated by ultra-thin walls, makes them susceptible to overheating if exposed to high temperatures, damage or flaws in manufacturing.

If the separators fail, a chemical reaction can quickly escalate out of control.

Mr Dong-jin told reporters in Seoul: 'The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together.'

It is unclear how Samsung failed to discover the battery problem before launching the Note 7.

South Korean experts suggested Samsung may have been so ambitious with the Note 7's design that it compromised safety.

'There was no choice but to make the separator (between positive and negative anodes) thin because of the battery capacity,' said Lee Sang-yong, a professor at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology.

Thicker separators can improve safety but will not necessarily prevent all overheating issues, he added.

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

The Note 7 phones have a powerful 3,500 milliampere hour battery, whereas the Galaxy S7 smartphone, which has a slightly smaller body than the Note 7, features a 3,000 mAh battery.

The 3,500 mAh battery in the Samsung Note 7 is 'one of the highest, if not the highest, capacity battery we've seen in a phone,' said Wayne Lam, an industry analyst at IHS Markit Technology.

Mr Lam said he thinks the Note 7 battery problem resulted from weak controls in manufacturing, not a poor or unsafe design.

Kay-Kay Clapp, a spokeswoman at iFixit, offered a similar view.

She said: 'We don't think any internal design changes in the Note 7 are responsible for the exploding batteries  more likely just a manufacturing defect.'

Apple has tweaked hardware and software it developed itself to make iPhones use power more efficiently, while Samsung has increased the capacity of the batteries in its phones.

That can be done without increasing size by adjusting components or changing the production process, Mr Lam said.

'You have two different trajectories, with Samsung packing in more energy density, versus Apple trying to trim it down by optimizing everything else,' he said, adding that the two rivals are 'constantly locked in this arms race of improving and one-upping.'

The Note 7 phones have a powerful 3,500 milliampere hour battery, whereas the Galaxy S7 smartphone, which has a slightly smaller body than the Note 7, features a 3,000 mAh battery

While Apple and Samsung are using built-in batteries for their premium phones, LG Electronics, Samsung's smaller South Korean rival, has opted for a replaceable, 3,200 mAh capacity battery for its new premium, jumbo screen smartphone, the V20.

LG chose to make the phone thinner and allow customers to extend battery life by swapping out batteries.

'The security of the battery isn't directly related to whether the battery is replaceable or not,' Cho Joon-ho, head of LG's mobile business, told reporters.
FBI Director James Comey has defended his decision to cover his webcam with tape after he was widely mocked for his no-frills security tip earlier this year.

The FBI boss said that physically covering the webcam on his laptop is common sense and a step that everyone should follow.

'There's some sensible things you should be doing, and that's one of them,' Comey said during a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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FBI boss James Comey said that physically covering the webcam on his laptop is common sense and a step that everyone should follow

'You go into any government office and we all have the little camera things that sit on top of the screen,' he added, according to a report in The Hill.

'They all have a little lid that closes down on them.

'You do that so that people who don't have authority don't look at you. I think that's a good thing.'

The Bureau director added that people should 'take responsibility for their own safety and security'.

In April, Comey was mocked on Twitter after revealing that uses tape to cover up his laptop webcam to ensure privacy.

Speaking at an encryption and privacy Q&A session at Kenyon College at the time, Comey said: 'I saw something in the news, so I copied it.

'I put a piece of tape  I have obviously a laptop, personal laptop  I put a piece of tape over the camera.

'Because I saw somebody smarter than I am had a piece of tape over their camera.'

Comey's comment quickly became the source of much amusement on Twitter with many mocking the director's 'double standards'

Many have commented on the director's hypocrisy in doing this when he has said tech companies should not make devices that are 'unhackable' to law enforcement

His comment was made in response to a question about growing public awareness of the ways in which technology can spy on people

But many have commented on the director's hypocrisy in doing this when he has said technology companies should not make devices that are 'unhackable' to law enforcement.

Activists argue that by putting tape over his webcam, he is doing just that.

Earlier this year, the FBI dropped its court case attempting to force Apple to hack into an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino terrorists.

MARK ZUCKERBERG COVERS MACBOOK CAM WITH TAPE In June, a photo of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed his concerns about being spied on. A photo that he shared to help celebrate Instagram's 500 million monthly active users shows the camera and audio jack on the billionaire's Macbook covered with pieces of tape. Zuckerberg celebrates Instagram's 500 million monthly active users - his Macbook is visible in the background A close-up of the image shows the webcam and microphone on Zuckerberg's laptop both covered with tape. The picture was widely circulated on the web after the no-frills security measure was spotted After posting the photo online, Chris Olson was the first to point out on Twitter that tape is covering his camera and audio jack on his Macbook at his desk. It's rumored that skilled hackers are able to take over the front facing cameras on laptops when they're not covered up. It appears as though Zuckerberg, who is worth $35.7billion, is trying to prevent that from happening by placing a piece of tape over his camera, making the webcam useless. Advertisement

In that case, the FBI said it had found a way to break into the iPhone 5S used by the San Bernardino attackers without Apple's help, but stressed the method would not work on most iPhones.

Comey's comment quickly became the source of much amusement on Twitter with many mocking the director's supposed 'double standards'.

And Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist and a senior policy analyst with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, accused the director of having a double standard for his own privacy:

He said: '[The public should] demand to know how the government conducts surveillance. Demand to know how they're overseen, how they're constrained. Demand to know how these devices work.'

And it was recently revealed that the US government has been able to secretly spy on its citizens through their computer's webcams for several years.

The FBI has long been able to activate a computer's camera without triggering the 'recording light' to let the owner know the webcam is on, a former assistant director of its tech division has said.

Their usage of remote administration tools (RATs) comes to light as the world's most powerful technology firms call on Barack Obama to curb government spying on internet users.

The FBI have been able to use the spyware technology for years and have put it in place in terrorism cases or the most serious criminal investigations, Marcus Thomas, former assistant director of the FBI's Operational Technology Division in Quantico, told The Washington Post.

The team use the same technique as ratters, by infecting the computer with a malicious software  'malware  through phishing.

By sending an email with a link, which could be to a website, an image or a video, the user is tricked into downloading a small piece of software onto their machine.
He may only be 17, but this young hacker has managed to do what computer programmers beyond his years are yet to achieve.

Jacob Ajit has hacked his way into getting free data on his T-Mobile phone.

The student made the discovery while playing around on his phone with no service  but has since reported the hack to T-Mobile to allow it to fix it.

He may only be 17, but this young hacker has managed to do what computer programmers beyond his years are yet to achieve. Jacob Ajit has hacked his way into getting free data on his T-Mobile phone

HOW DID HE DO IT? Jacob Ajit made the discovery while playing around on a T-Mobile pre-paid SIM on a spare phone with no active service. Without an active service, the phone was still able to connect to the network, taking Mr Ajit through to a portal asking him to renew the pre-paid phone plan. He noticed that the Speedtest app  which tests connections  still worked. Along with the Speedtest app, Mr Ajit worked out that he was able to access media sent from any folder labelled '/speedtest'  possibly because T-Mobile deems these files trustworthy. To test his theory, he set up his own '/speedtest' folder and filled it with media, which he was able to access. He then created a proxy server as a gateway to allow users to access any site  although he has since removed the proxy. Advertisement

Mr Ajit, a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, wrote about his findings in a Medium post, saying: 'Wow, this was great!

'I can now host all my Taylor Swift songs in the cloud and access them on my phone without paying for data!'

He made the discovery while playing around on a T-Mobile pre-paid SIM on a spare phone with no active service.

Mr Ajit told Motherboard: 'Honestly, I just investigated this out of curiosity, and to learn a bit about how these networks are configured.'

Without an active service, the phone was still able to connect to the network, taking Mr Ajit through to a portal asking him to renew the pre-paid phone plan.

Investigating further, Mr Ajit said: 'I decided to stretch things a bit and see if any random apps would connect to the [network].'

He noticed that the Speedtest app  which tests connections  still worked.

Without an active service, the phone was still able to connect to the network, taking Jacob Ajit through to a portal asking him to renew the pre-paid phone plan. He also noticed that the Speedtest app  which tests connections  still worked

Along with the Speedtest app, Mr Ajit worked out that he was able to access media sent from any folder labelled '/speedtest'  possibly because T-Mobile deems these files trustworthy.

To test his theory, he set up his own '/speedtest' folder and filled it with media, which he was able to access.

He then created his own proxy server as a gateway to allow users to access any site  although he has since removed the proxy.

Mr Ajit said: 'Just like that, I now had access to data throughout the T-Mobile network without maintaining any sort of formal payments or contract.

'Just my phone's radios talking to the network's radios, free of any artificial shackles.'
X-plane was the first to break the sound barrier in 1947, famously piloted by Chuck Yeager

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Nasa is bringing back the era of 'X-planes' - a series of experimental aircraft first tested by the space agency in the 1940s.

Among its plans is the 'double bubble' D8, which is a twin-hull plane that is designed to make the experience of flying more fuel efficient, with faster loading and unloading and a quieter, more comfortable takeoff.

The design was initially developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and MIT in 2008, and now Nasa has awarded the company a $2.9 million (2.19 million) contract to make a scale model of the aircraft.

Scroll down for video

The 'double bubble' D8 plane is a twin-hull plane that is designed to make the experience of flying much easier, with faster loading and unloading and a quieter, more comfortable takeoff. The design started development by Aurora Flight Sciences and MIT in 2008, and now Nasa has awarded the company a $2.9 million (2.19 million) contract to make a scale model

BENEFITS OF THE D8 Increased fuel efficiency Improved air quality Less community noise Greater airport compatibility Faster boarding and deplaning Higher efficiency, even at transonic cruise speeds Improved passenger experience Advertisement

The X-planes were a celebrated part of post-war aviation, helping Nasa break the sound barrier and create more efficient planes.

The Virginia-based Aurora Flight Sciences is hoping to create the latest generation of X-plane with the D8, and says the plane will begin service in 2027.

The 'double bubble' D8 Series future aircraft design concept came from a research team led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

It is designed to be over 50 per cent more fuel efficient than current best-in-class aircraft.

On a flight from LAX airport in LA to JFK in New York - a distance of 2,475 miles (3,983 km) - the D8 would save 2,095 gallons (9,524 litres) of fuel compared to the most efficient commercial aircraft available today.

The Virginia-based Aurora Flight Sciences says the plane will begin service in 2027. The contract is provided to begin the process of defining X-plane requirements and associated research needed to enable the D8 aircraft. The design has the potential to cut fuel burn by 71 per cent, reduce noise and cut emissions by 87 per cent compared to a Boeing 737-800

The 'double bubble' D8 Series future aircraft design concept came from a research team led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is designed to be over 50 per cent more fuel efficient than current best-in-class aircraft. The plane is designed to fly at 582 mph (936 km/h) with 180 passengers over a range of 3,500 miles (5,500 km)

On a flight from LAX airport in LA to JFK in New York - a distance of 2,475 miles (3,983 km) - the D8 would save 2,095 gallons (9,524 litres) of fuel compared to the most efficient commercial aircraft available today

The D8 is designed to fly at 582 mph (936 km/h) with 180 passengers over a range of 3,500 miles (5,500 km). A subscale model is shown being tested in a wind tunnel at MIT

The design has the potential to cut fuel burn by 71 per cent, reduce noise and cut LTO NOx emissions by 87 per cent compared to a Boeing 737-800 narrow-body aircraft. A subscale model is shown being tested in a wind tunnel at MIT

'The idea there is to take some of the lift that you would normally get from the wings and try and move that to the fuselage,' said Michael Rogers, a research at Nasa's Ames Research Center.

'Another thing that's done to enable laminar flow on this vehicle is to reduce the sweep of the wings.

'It is easier to maintain laminar flow if the wings, instead of being swept back like a lot of modern commercial transports, are more sort of perpendicular to the side of the body of the plane.'

According to Aurora, the D8 takes its inspiration from the famed Boeing 707 of 1958, which not only introduced the public to single-day world travel, but also used a tube-wing design that redefined passenger aircraft.

The D8 is designed to fly at 582 mph (936 km/h) with 180 passengers over a range of 3,500 miles (5,500 km).

The design has the potential to cut fuel burn by 71 per cent, reduce noise and cut LTO NOx emissions by 87 per cent compared to a Boeing 737-800 narrow-body aircraft.

As part of the Nasa contract, Aurora will build test components as the company develops a 1:2 scale demonstrator X-plane over the next three years.
Unless you regularly use a knife and fork to boil the water for a cup of tea, what this man does with electricity will leave you completely speechless.

Aleksandr Kryukov, 34 from Lugansk, Ukraine, set up the 'Kreosan' YouTube account having played with electrical currents since he was a child.

From offering survival tips using just a sweet wrapper and a phone battery to playing with fire, Mr Kryukov's dangerous videos are the ultimate example of 'do not try this at home'.

Scroll down for video

In one of the videos Mr Kryukov cooks instant noodles using a current passing directly through a fork and spoon. He wraps naked wires around a metal fork and spoon, and plugs the wires into 220 volt outlet

THE KREOSAN CHANNEL Unless you regularly use a knife and fork to boil the water for a cup of tea, what this man does with electricity will leave you completely speechless. 'We share new ideas, different from the usual thinking of the majority,' he says. 'Subscribe and you will learn many interesting things!' Advertisement

'On our Youtube channel we share new ideas that differ from the habitual way of thinking of the vast majority,' Mr Kryukov said.

For example, in one of the videos Mr Kryukov cooks instant noodles using a current passing directly through a fork and spoon.

He wraps naked wires around a metal fork and spoon, and plugs the wires into 220 volt outlet.

Then, he waits to see how fast the food will start to heat up.

'The current goes through the food and heats it up,' the video description says. 'Usually it takes from 10 seconds to 1 minute. Remember that there is a huge voltage between the cutlery ends; therefore, do not touch anything while the system is plugged in!'

The current passing through the food heats it up, making the water boil in a few seconds. If the spoons and forks to touched each other, this would make a short circuit and it would burn the fuses in the house and possibly even cause fire

'The current goes through the food and heats it up,' the video description says.

'Usually it takes from 10 seconds to 1 minute.

'Remember that there is a huge voltage between the cutlery ends; therefore, do not touch anything while the system is plugged in.

'Be careful, and do not let spoons and forks to touch each other, otherwise you will make a short circuit and it will burn the fuses in your house or even cause fire.'

Unless you regularly use a knife and fork to boil the water for a cup of tea, what this man does with electricity will leave you completely speechless. Aleksandr Kryukov (pictured) set up the 'Kreosan' YouTube account, having played with electrical currents since he was a child

Using the same technique, he inserted the cutlery into the food then plugged the spoon and fork into the mains

This heated up the hot dog within minutes. The important thing is to make sure you do not touch the cutlery while they are plugged in, he said

Mr Kryukov also tested the technique by reheating a hot dog.

'I tested various food types and my method worked with all of them,' he said.

'Only very salted products sometimes burned because of their low resistance.'

The important thing is to make sure you do not touch the cutlery while they are plugged in, he says.

But the method is dangerous and it is not advisable to try at home.

Mr Kryukov also tested the technique by reheating a hot dog . 'I tested various food types and my method worked with all of them,' he said

ELECTRICITY SAFETY TIPS Dont remove a plug from a power point by pulling on the cord; pull the plug instead. Never plug adaptors into adaptors and avoid using adaptors filled with plugs where possible. Switch off electrical items that are not in regular use at the plug. Ensure that when you are away from the house for any length of time, you unplug and switch off electrical items. Items left plugged in can be a fire risk and waste energy if left on standby. Do not use any electrical items in the bathroom unless specifically designed for use there, eg. Shavers and electric toothbrushes. Even with these items however, take care not to get wet and avoid plugging and unplugging with wet hands. Do not use items with damaged cords so that the wires are exposed. Either repair or replace. Check items regularly. Do not use damaged sockets, replace with care when necessary. Always turn the electrics off at the mains if carrying out any electrical repairs and only attempt repairs if you know what you are doing. Ensure any electrical items are approved standard when purchasing and keep them correctly maintained where necessary. Look for the BEAB seal of approval. Do not use electrical equipment outside if it Is raining. Use the correct wattage light bulb for all light fittings. Circuit breakers and fuses should be the correct size current rating for their circuit Source: Electricity Guide Advertisement

In another of his videos, Mr Kryukov demonstrates how to start a fire using a phone battery. 'For this, we will need foil paper,' he said. 'It is commonly used for packaging chocolates, cigarettes and various other products'

In another of his videos, Mr Kryukov demonstrates how to start a fire using a phone battery.

'For this, we will need foil paper,' he said.

'It is commonly used for packaging chocolates, cigarettes and various other products.

'Next, you need to cut or tear a thin strip of the foil.'

He bends the ends down in a way that will enable him to easily connect them to the phone battery.

He then carefully crumples the strip, so the flame is not extinguished by wind.

Mr Kryukov takes the battery out of the phone. Then after placing two ends of the foil on each ends of the pone battery, a fire starts within seconds.

The fire starts because the current runs through the foil and heats it up, to the point where it ignites.

He bends the ends down in a way that will enable him to easily connect them to the phone battery. He takes the battery out of the phone. Then after placing two ends of the foil on each ends of the pone battery, a fire starts within seconds

The fire starts because the current runs through the foil and heats it up, to the point where it ignites. Mr Kryukov said there are a number of advantages of this method to start fires over others

Mr Kryukov said there are a number of advantages of this method to start fires over others.

For example, most people almost always have their phone with them, foil paper is easy to find and the method even works in wet weather.

The only issue is nowadays, it is not possible to remove the battery from some phones.

'We like to make lots of tutorial videos that help you to make useful and unusual things but we have much more ideas than we can record' Mr Kryuov said.

Not all of the videos are successful, however.

In another video he attempts to charge a battery in five seconds by plugging it directly into the mains.

Just seconds after he plugs it in the battery sparks and burns.

'We like to make lots of tutorial videos that help you to make useful and unusual things but we have much more ideas than we can record' Mr Kryuov says

In one video he attempts to charge a battery in five seconds by plugging it directly into the mains. Pictured is the burnt battery

Just seconds after he plugs it in the battery sparks and burns (left). When he tries again, the wires heat up so much they start to glow (right)
Many believe the idea of a utopian society is an impossible fantasy.

But there may have been one mysterious, ancient group of people that was able to fulfil the dream of life without conflict or rulers.

Remains of the Indus civilisation, which flourished from 2600 to 1900 BC, show no clear signs of weapons, war or inequality.

Many people believe that one mysterious, ancient society may have led a Utopian life. The Indus civilisation flourished from 2600 to 1900 BC, and it has been suggested that they lived in a real, functioning utopia

WHO WERE THE INDUS? The Indus civilization flourished for half a millennium from about 2600 BC to 1900 BC, before it mysteriously declined and vanished from view. It remained invisible for almost 4,000 years until its ruins were discovered by accident in the 1920s by British and Indian archaeologists. Following almost a century of excavation, it is today regarded as a civilization worthy of comparison with those of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, as the beginning of Indian civilization and possibly as the origin of Hinduism. More than a thousand Indus settlements covered at least 800,000 square kilometres (309,000 square miles) of what is now Pakistan and northwestern India. It was the most extensive urban culture of its period, with an estimated population of one million and a vigorous maritime export trade. Advertisement

This is according to Andrew Robinson. the author of 'The Indus: Lost civilisations', who has written an in-depth piece in the New Scientist.

'All signs point to a prosperous and advanced society  one of historys greatest,' he writes.

The Indus Empire stretched over more than a million square miles across the plains of the Indus River from the Arabian Sea to the Ganges, over what is now Pakistan, northwest India and eastern Afghanistan.

Like their contemporaries, the Indus - who may have made up 10 per cent of the world's population - lived next to rivers, owing their livelihoods to the fertility of annually watered lands.

But the remains of their settlements are located in a vast desert region far from any flowing river.

They were forgotten until the 1920s, but since then, a flurry of research has uncovered a sophisticated urban culture with myriad internal trade routes.

So far, more than a thousand Indus settlements covering Pakistan and northwestern India have been discovered.

While multiple pieces of jewellery and the remains of various buildings have been found, not a single piece of armour or military weapons has been discovered.

Robinson points out that archaeologists have uncovered just one depiction of humans fighting, and it is a partly mythical scene showing a female goddess with the horns of a goat and the body of a tiger.

There is also no evidence of horses  an animal that late became common in the region - suggesting they were not use to raid other towns and cities.

In the almost 100 years since the Indus civilisation was discovered, not a single royal palace or grand temple has been uncovered.

Mohenjo-daro - an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan  is 400 metres long, and five metres tall, and would have required a huge amount of man power to build

SERIOUSLY SOPHISTICATED CITIES The Indus Valley Civilisation possessed considerable skills when it came to town planning and building. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are laid out in grids, with individual homes supplied with water from wells and waste water diverted to covered drains. This is perhaps the world's first known sanitation system. Some houses had two storeys, a bath and courtyard. The needs of cities were also catered for, with municipal buildings, marketplaces, dockyards, granaries, warehouses and protective walls to shield inhabitants from floods and attack. Interestingly, unlike in Ancient Egypt, for example, no evidence of temples or places have been found, yet evidence suggests there would have been a social hierarchy. It's thought most city dwellers were traders or artisans, with elaborate pottery, beads and metalwork recovered. Advertisement

Speaking to Robinson, Neil MacGregor, former director of the British Museum, said: 'What's left of these great Indus cities gives us no indication of a society engaged with, or threatened by, war.

'Is it going too far to see these Indus cities as an early, urban Utopia?'.

While Mr MacGregor sees the utopian theory as credible, others cast doubt on the total absence of war.

Richard Meadow, Director of the Zooarchaeology Laboratory at the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, said: 'There has never been a society without conflict of greater or lesser scale.'

He argues that until the Indus script is deciphered, we cannot really know whether they lived this idyllic life.

Large societies are usually overseen by a central government, yet findings suggest otherwise for the Indus civilisation.

So far, the only sculpture that might depict a ruler is of a bearded man, dubbed the 'priest-king'  due to his resemblance to Buddhist monks and Hindu priests.

Many of the structures and buildings however, would have taken the coordination of tens of thousands of men, which some argue would have required a leader of sorts.

For example, Mohenjo-daro - an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan - required a huge amount of man power to build.

The Indus covered more than 1,000 settlements across at least 800,000 square kilometres of what is now Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. Its remains were only discovered in the 1920s, yet it is now regarded as the beginning of Indian civilisation

Andrew Robinson, author of several books about the Indus, believes the key in understanding this civilisation, is cracking their script

The bust of king or priest found in Mohenjo-daro is shown on the left. The right image shows the lower town of the Mohenjo Daro archaeological site

WERE THE INDUS WIPED OUT BY CLIMATE CHANGE? Pictured are the remains of the Granaries of Harappa, Pakistan No one yet knows why such a great civilisation disappeared. One theory, which emerged in 2012, is that climate change led to the collapse of the ancient Indus civilisation more than 4,000 years ago. A study also resolves a long-standing debate over the source and fate of the Sarasvati, the sacred river of Hindu mythology, the authors believe. Over five years an international team combined satellite photos and topographic data to make digital maps of landforms constructed by the Indus and neighbouring rivers. They then probed in the field by drilling, coring, and even manually-dug trenches and samples were tested. Co-author Dorian Fuller, an archaeologist with University College London, said: 'Once we had this new information on the geological history, we could re-examine what we know about settlements 'This brought new insights into the process of eastward population shift, the change towards many more small farming communities, and the decline of cities during late Harappan times.' The study suggests the decline in monsoon rains led to weakened river dynamics, and played a critical role both in the development and the collapse of the Indus culture. Advertisement

While the Indus might sound like they lived a utopian fantasy, the civilisation mysteriously came to an end in around 1900 BC.

Robinson believes the key in understanding this civilisation, is deciphering their script.

In an article published in Nature last year, he said: 'More than 100 attempts at decipherment have been published by professional scholars and others since the 1920s.

'Now - as a result of increased collaboration between archaeologists, linguists and experts in the digital humanities - it looks possible that the Indus script may yield some of its secrets.'
Also, our short lifespans distort our perception of 'instantaneous' events

both for us and

How short is an 'instant'? Is it a second? A tenth of a second? A microsecond? You might think all of these qualify. What about 100 years?

That certainly doesn't seem like an instant, and to a human being, it isn't, since we'd be lucky to have a lifespan that long.

But to a giant sequoia, say, 100 years is no big deal. And in geological terms it's practically nothing.

How short is an 'instant'? Is it a second? A tenth of a second? A microsecond? Lightning moves pretty quickly; would you call it instantaneous? What about 100 years? To a giant sequoia, 100 years is no big deal. Experts say our perception of an instant depends on our point of view

IT IS ALL POINT OF VIEW A University of Florida mathematician explains how our point of view determines what we perceive an instant event, and that it depends on our point of view. For example, if you are a billionaire, meaning you have roughly 10 dollars, you sure don't care about 100 (or 10) dollars. Another way to look at it is the Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old. There have been a million and a half 3,000-year periods in the planet's life and when we look at our own existence, it doesn't even look like a blip in time. The mathematician also uses the rising sea levels in his paper. Sea levels are rising, but the change is not immediately noticeable. Still, by the end of the 21st century, even the most conservative estimates suggest a three- or four-foot rise, with some scientists predicting it will be double that amount. Why all the denialism and resistance to action, then? Aside from the obvious political disagreements, there is a more basic cause for the inertia: We don't see it happening in real time. Advertisement

How should we make sense of the idea of an instant?

Does it cloud our judgment when we make decisions, both as individuals and as a society?

Are we moving too slowly on solving big problems because we don't see them happening 'instantly'?

When Newton and Leibniz developed the calculus, they were forced to confront the infinitely small.

The goal was to understand the idea of the 'instantaneous velocity' of an object  that's the speed at which something is moving at a particular instant in time (think of your car's speedometer reading).

They took the following approach.

We know how to compute average speed over some time interval: Simply take the total distance traveled and divide by the total time.

For example, if the object travels 1 meter in 1 second then the average speed is 1 m/s.

But what if you have a better measuring device?

Say instead you can discover that the object really traveled 20 cm in the first 10th of a second.

Then the average speed over that interval is 2 m/s and you'd probably agree that is a better approximation to what we mean by the instantaneous velocity of the object at that point.

But it's still just an approximation.

To get the real value, you would need to take smaller and smaller time intervals and have increasingly accurate measuring equipment.

In the 17th century, the way mathematicians got around this was to talk about infinitesimals, quantities that were not zero yet were smaller than any positive number you can think of, including really tiny fractions like 1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

An example given when talking about the reverse problem of dealing with the infinitely large is to talk about money. If you are a billionaire, meaning you have roughly 10 dollars, you sure don't care about 100 (or 10) dollars - again, 'instant' is you point of view

Some scientists of the day, as well as various institutions (the Jesuits, for example), rejected this idea as nonsense.

Indeed, the idea that one could divide things forever flew counter to the Platonic ideal of indivisibles (also called atoms) and therefore did not sit well with the Renaissance embrace of ancient Greek philosophy.

There's a great book about this called 'Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World'; I recommend it heartily.

Still, this is how calculus was done until Cauchy introduced the formalism of limits, thereby pushing infinitesimals out of the picture.

STUDY REVEALS OUR BRAINS HAVE TIME ALL WRONG According to a recent study, humans perception of time lies somewhere at the midpoint of reality and expectations. The researchers say this may be the result of multiple processes at work in the brain, as it takes in actual sensory information coupled with the predictions that are essential to survival. In the study, published this month in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers recruited 90 participants for four experiments based on audio or visual stimuli. The subjects were given a regular sequence of beeps of flashes, and asked to report on the timing of the last event. While their anticipation of future beeps or flashes aligned with the regular pattern, the researchers found that the participants perceived accuracy of their response changed when the stimuli was accelerated or delayed. If the last event occurred early, the participants reported that it was only slightly earlier than expected, which the researchers say fell roughly halfway between the predicted response and reality. The findings suggest that our perception of time isnt always in line with reality. The researcher compares this phenomenon to the idea of a bad musician playing a cover version of one of your favourite songs. While you may expect to hear certain notes, and to hear them at particular times, this may not turn out to be the case once the cover song is played. When this happens, the perception is somewhere in the middle. Advertisement

Roughly speaking, a function f has limitL as x approaches a if the values of f(x) can be made arbitrarily close to Lby taking x sufficiently close to a.

The precise mathematical definition of this idea obviates the need for the old-fashioned use of infinitesimals.

Still, it's a shame that infinitesimals fell out of favor, because they're really useful for thinking about relative scale.

An example I always give my students when talking about the reverse problem of dealing with the infinitely large is to talk about money.

If you are a billionaire, meaning you have roughly 10 dollars, you sure don't care about 100 (or 10) dollars.

That's a difference of seven orders of magnitude, and from your billionaire point of view it's pointless to get upset over 100 dollars (indeed, you have 10 million hundred-dollar bills at your disposal).

In a similar way, infinitesimals help us deal with the infinitely small  a microsecond (1 millionth of a second) is a short amount of time, but it's huge relative to a picosecond (10 of a second).

The Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old. Even if we decided this new epoch began 3,000 years ago, that is still effectively now in geological terms. Compared to Earths existence, yours doesnt even look like a blip in time

WAYS OUR MINDS WARP TIME People often report that time seems to slow down in life-threatening situations, like skydiving. Listening to music you enjoy seems to slow down time. This may be because when we enjoy music we listen more carefully, getting lost in it. Greater attention leads to perception of a longer interval of time. The fact that we intuitively believe time flies when were having fun may have more to do with how time seems to slow when were not having fun. Boredom draws our attention to the passage of time which gives us the feeling that its slowing down. The stopped clock illusion happens when you look at an analogue watch and the second-hand seems to freeze for longer than a second before moving on. What is happening is that when your eyes move from one point to another, your perception of time stretches slightly. When things happen very close together in time, our brains fuse them together into a single snapshot of the present. The effort of trying to either suppress or enhance our emotional reactions seems to change our perception of time. Psychologists have found that when people are trying to regulate their emotions, time seems to drag on. Advertisement

In mathematical terms, if dx denotes a small amount (like a microsecond) then its square (dx) (a picosecond) is negligible.

So when you're working on time scales in the seconds you don't really care about microseconds, and when you're working on microsecond scales you don't really care about picoseconds.

(By the way, our words for time are based on these relative notions of smallness. A minute is so named because it was considered small relative to an hour. Seconds were once called 'second minutes' to indicate their relative insignificance.)

I bring this up because a pair of articles I read recently made me wonder if our human-influenced idea of 'instantaneous' is leading us to unfortunate decisions.

Question: Has the planet entered a new geological epoch, the so-called 'Anthropocene'?

Homo sapiens has undoubtedly influenced the Earth's environment, and some geologists are arguing for a change to the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, the official timeline of periods, eons and other geological timescales.

(We currently live in the Holocene epoch, already distinguished by the appearance of human beings on the scene.)

Sea levels (red) are rising, but the change is not immediately noticeable. Why all the denialism and resistance to action, then? Aside from the obvious political disagreements, there is a more basic cause for the inertia: We don't see it happening in real time

I'm not a geologist, so I cannot comment on whether or not this is something we should do, but the obvious first problem to be solved would be settling on a start date for this proposed epoch.

Should it be the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century?

What about the beginning of mining in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC?

Or how about the mid 20th century, as others have argued?

The Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old.

Even if we decided this new epoch began 3,000 years ago, that is still effectively now in geological terms.

There have been a million and a half 3,000-year periods in the planet's life.

When things move on such timescales, perhaps we're just splitting hairs when thinking about when to declare something like this has begun.

We're looking for a sign on our human timescale, which is just infinitesimal from a geological viewpoint. It's important to keep in mind that our relatively short lifespans distort our perception of 'instantaneous' events

Climate change presents another example.

Sea levels are rising, but the change is not immediately noticeable.

Still, by the end of the 21st century, even the most conservative estimates suggest a three- or four-foot rise, with some scientists predicting it will be double that amount.

Why all the denialism and resistance to action, then?

Aside from the obvious political disagreements, there is a more basic cause for the inertia: We don't see it happening in real time.

Sure, we notice there's not as much snow in the winter as there was when we were kids or that the streets flood in Miami Beach on sunny days at high tide nowadays, but that could just be a fluke, right?

IS TECHNOLOGY SPEEDING UP TIME? Smartphones, tablets and other gadgets have trained our brains to process more information, tricking us into thinking time is passing faster than it really is, according to a recent study. The study analyzed individuals who are always connected to technology and those who rarely used it, and compared how each perceived the passage of time. Findings indicated that those who were glued to screens overestimated the amount of time that had passed, compared to those that rarely used googled, posted or liked anything. Also, the individuals who used technology regularly were more stressed because they were more likely to feel like time was running out. Even just reading a simple advertisement, subjects perceived time as passing more quickly, than compared to the other group that a long monologue from a real book. In order to stop time from rushing by we need to unplug from the World Wide Web each week to slow down our pacemakers, the study suggested. Other research has shown that technology use can help us process information more efficiently, and actually become faster at performing tasks, which could help us save time in the long run. Advertisement

Don't we need more data?

In human terms, these changes are not instantaneous, but in the Earth's climate cycle they effectively are.

We are waiting for some catastrophic event to clearly tell us the climate has officially changed, but it simply takes longer than that.

We're looking for a sign on our human timescale, which is just infinitesimal from a geological viewpoint.

But once a few more billion years have passed, some future entity will be able to spot the turning point  though not down to the year or century (a geological instant).

In the absence of catastrophic planetary events, such as a large meteor collision, significant change to the Earth takes time.

But it's important to keep in mind that our relatively short lifespans distort our perception of 'instantaneous' events.

As far as the planet is concerned, with its phases measured in the tens or hundreds of millions of years, things are moving pretty quickly.

A 1 increase in global temperature in 100 years is very fast. If we use this to approximate the future, we quickly see that the planet would be virtually uninhabitable within a few hundred years.

The real dynamics are complicated, of course, but perhaps we should keep this simple calculus in mind as we attempt to craft sustainable solutions.
The Chattanooga Chamber College and Career Fair will be held at the Chattanooga State Community College Gym, 4501 Amnicola Hwy. on Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. each day. The fair gives high school students the opportunity to network with college representatives and members of the business community.

Business and higher education vendors participate by setting up booths and sharing information about higher education and career opportunities.
One node would cover 7 square miles and cost less than $10,000

The platform would use drones and sensors to trail the

Americas research and development department wants the ability to know where drones are, even when they cant see them.

Darpa's latest program, Aerial Dragnet, is set to track all unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operating below 1,000 feet in large cities.

Using sensors, these systems would 'see' over and between buildings in order to trail these vehicles with the goal of combating UAS-enabled terrorist threats in urban environments.

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DARPA's program, Aerial Dragnet, will track all unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flying below 1,000 feet in large cities. Using sensors, these systems would see over and between buildings in order to trail these vehicles with the goal of combating UAS-enabled terrorist threats

DRONE CATCHING PROJECT Darpa has announced a new program that will track all unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operating below 1,000 feet in large cities in order to combat UAS-enabled terrorist threats. Aerial Dragnet will consist of a UAS platform with individual surveillance nodes that scour the area for low-flying drones. Darpa explains that these nodes could be mounted on tethered or long-endurance UAS. The systems will also be designed with sensors that let them see over and between buildings, which will also allow the nodes to see through the ever-changing urban environment. Darpa's goal with this new program is to produce a common operating picture of the low-altitude skies in an environment that forever changing. Advertisement

As off-the-shelf UAS become less expensive, easier to fly, and more adaptable for terrorist or military purposes, U.S. forces will increasingly be challenged by the need to quickly detect and identify such craftespecially in urban areas, where sight lines are limited and many objects may be moving at similar speeds, Darpa explained in a statement this week.

As technology advances, so does the worlds military weapons.

It seems drones will soon be the popular way to do battle, as small UASs are quickly becoming cost efficient platforms for reconnaissance, targeting, and weapon delivery.

Unlike traditional air targets, small UASs: fly at low altitudes (e.g., < 400 ft) which make them easily hidden by complex terrain, move at slow speeds (e.g., < 90 kts) which make them difficult to differentiate from other movers, and 3) are small in size (e.g., < 55 lbs.) making them difficult to sense,' reads the paper from Broad Agency Announcement.

Two months ago, UK officials found disturbing evidence that the terror group ISIS is now using armed commercial drones over Syria and Iraq to blow up troops.

These vehicles are also fitted with spy cameras that let these terrorists map out the opposing teams position.

Although this combat zone is some 6,000 miles away from the US, Darpa is making sure this type of warfare doesn't hit home anytime soon.

Although several systems are being developed for tracking small UAS by extending surveillance methods used in open areas where large line-of-sight buffers mitigate the threat, these systems are impractical for operation in urban terrain, reads the statement.

Darpa explains that these nodes could be mounted on tethered or long-endurance UAS. A notional system covering seven square miles on an area with a single aerial platform and sensor payload should cost less than $10,000

Two months ago, UK officials found evidence (pictured) that ISIS is using armed commercial drones over Syria and Iraq to blow up troops. Although this combat zone is some 6,000 miles away from the US, Darpa is making sure this type of warfare doesn't hit home anytime soon

Aerial Dragnet seeks to leapfrog these approaches by developing systems adapted to the fundamental physics of small UAS in urban environments that could enable non-line-of-sight (NLOS) tracking and identification of a wide range of slow, low-flying threats.

The agency plans to use a network of surveillance nodes in the system, each providing coverage of a neighborhood-sized area.

Darpa explains that these nodes could be mounted on tethered or long-endurance UAS.

HOW FRANCE CATCHES UNWANTED DRONES France has designed its own weapon against the growing menace of rogue drones buzzing through their nation's skies: another drone, with a net. In a demonstration flight last year in La Queue-en-Brie, east of Paris, the mesh-wielding flying machine was shown snaring a DJI Phantom 2 drone. For months, France has faced dozens of drone overflights over sensitive sites  mostly nuclear facilities, a worrisome development in a country that gets the highest percentage of its energy in the world from atomic power. French authorities say the drones currently present no threat. But some fear the drones could be spying on French technology or could one day be equipped with bombs or other weapons. Authorities have stepped up security at French nuclear sites and are investigating who might be behind the drone flights. The possible risks of rogue drones include terrorism, the invasion of privacy, the theft of industry secrets, and 'damage to the credibility of public authorities, institutions or companies,' said France's National Research Agency. Advertisement

The agency has also suggested attaching sensors to the network, which gives these systems a visual over and between buildings - allowing the nodes to see through the ever-changing urban environment.

The output of the Aerial Dragnet system would be a continually updated common operational picture (COP) of the airspace at altitudes below where current aircraft surveillance systems can monitor, disseminated electronically to authorized users via secure data links, explains Darpa.

Because the UAS market is growing, the agency plans to take advantage of low cost sensor hardware with software-defined signal processing hosted on existing UAS platforms.

Darpa expects that a notional system covering seven square miles on an area with a single aerial platform and sensor payload should cost less than $10,000.
Earth is not prepared for the possibility of a cataclysmic asteroid collision, according to the White Houses top science advisor.

At a discussion on Wednesday at Nasas Goddard Space Flight Center regarding the agencys $1.4 billion Asteroid Redirect Mission, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren warned that an impact could do a lot of damage to the Earth.

The expert noted two catastrophic events in recent history that took the world by surprise  the Chelyabinsk strike in 2013, and the Tunguska fireball in 1908.

While it may sound alarming, Holdren says we are on a trajectory toward mitigating the risks, as Nasas radical mission has recently been given the green light to move forward, and could provide a platform for the testing of crucial deflection methods.

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At a discussion yesterday at Nasas Goddard Space Flight Center, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren warned that an asteroid impact could do a lot of damage to the Earth. A stock image is pictured

While scientists have made great strides in detecting potentially hazardous Near-Earth Objects, Holdren explained that there is still much work to be done.

We are not fully prepared, but we are on a trajectory to get much more so, Holdren said during the discussion yesterday,Space.com reports.

Events like the Chelyabinsk strike and the Tunguska explosion are extremely rare, he said, with the first thought to occur once every hundred years and the latter every 1,000.

But, if we are going to be as capable a civilization as our technology allows, we need to be prepared for even those rare events, because they could to a lot of damage to the Earth.

Despite how unusual these events may be, these strikes could have devastating effects on the planet, and Earth must be prepared.

The expert warned that, ultimately, we may need to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.

'This is a hazard that 65 million years ago the dinosaurs succumbed to. We have to be smarter than the dinosaurs.

Holdren says the Asteroid Redirect Mission can provide necessary education on how to handle these threats.

ARM is a two-part mission that will integrate robotic and crewed spacecraft operations in the proving ground of deep space to demonstrate key capabilities needed for NASA's journey to Mars

SAVING EARTH FROM DISASTER WITH THE ASTEROID REDIRECT MISSION Various techniques for deflecting a potentially hazardous asteroid could be tested on Arm to enable planetary defense capabilities. These techniques include Ion Beam Deflection, Enhanced Gravity Tractor, and kinetic impactors. In Ion Beam Deflection, the plumes from the thrusters would be directed towards the asteroid to gently push on its surface over a wide area. A thruster firing in the opposite direction would be needed to keep the spacecraft at a constant distance from the asteroid. The Ion Beam Deflection approach is independent of the size of the asteroid, and it could be demonstrated on either mission option. In the Enhanced Gravity Tractor approach, the spacecraft would first pick up a boulder from the asteroid's surface as in mission Option B. The spacecraft with the collected boulder would then orbit in a circular halo around the asteroid's velocity vector. The mass of the boulder coupled with the mass of the spacecraft would increase the gravitational attraction between the spacecraft and the asteroid. By flying the spacecraft in close formation with the asteroid for several months the very small gravitational forces would produce a measurable change in the asteroid's trajectory. A kinetic impactor could also be launched as a secondary payload with the spacecraft or on a separate launch vehicle, and it would collide with the target asteroid at high velocity while the spacecraft observed the impact. Advertisement

The so-called Asteroid Redirect Mission is estimated to cost about $1.4 billion not including launch costs and is targeted for liftoff in December 2021.

In the planned mission, a robot ship will pluck a large boulder off an asteroid and sling it around the moon, becoming a destination to prepare for future human missions to Mars, the U.S. space agency has revealed.

Following a key program review, Nasa has approved the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) to proceed to the next phase of design and development for the mission's robotic segment.

ARM is a two-part mission that will integrate robotic and crewed spacecraft operations in the proving ground of deep space to demonstrate key capabilities needed for NASA's journey to Mars.

The mission is estimated to cost $1.4 billion not including launch costs and is targeted for liftoff in December 2021. In the Spacecraft Structures Lab at NASA's Langley Research Center, the Asteroid Redirect Mission robotic contact and restraint system is prototyped and tested

In the planned mission, a robot ship will pluck a large boulder off an asteroid and sling it around the moon, becoming a destination to prepare for future human missions to Mars, the U.S. space agency has revealed

The crewed segment, targeted for launch in 2026, remains in an early mission concept phase, or pre-formulation.

'This is an exciting milestone for the Asteroid Redirect Mission,' said NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot.

'Not only is ARM leveraging agency-wide capabilities, it will test a number of new technologies already in development.'

The robotic component of the ARM will demonstrate the world's most advanced and most efficient solar electric propulsion system as it travels to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA).

THE SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION ENGINE Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) uses solar energy from solar arrays converted into electricity. Electricity is then used to ionize and accelerate propellant to produce thrust. The technology could potentially increase spaceflight transportation fuel efficiency by 10 times over current chemical propulsion technology, according to Nasa. It could also more than double thrust capability compared to current electric propulsion systems. Shown is the HERMeS (Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding) Technology Development Unit thruster, which has now exceeded over 1300 hours of operational wear testing in a vacuum facility at GRC. Magnetic shielding protects the walls of the thruster from erosion, a major breakthrough in Hall thruster design that could hold the key to long-life, reusable electric propulsion systems. Advertisement

NEAs are asteroids that are fewer than 121 million miles (1.3 AU) from the sun at the closest point in their orbit.

Although the target asteroid is not expected to be officially selected until 2020, NASA is using 2008 EV5 as the reference asteroid while the search continues for potential alternates.

Before beginning its trip to lunar orbit, the ARM spacecraft will demonstrate a widely supported asteroid deflection technique called a gravity tractor.

Following a key program review, Nasa has approved the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) to proceed to the next phase of design and development for the mission's robotic segment

The spacecraft plus the mass of the captured boulder will create a small gravitational attraction to alter the orbit of the large asteroid.

After collecting a multi-ton boulder from the asteroid, the robotic spacecraft will slowly redirect the boulder to an orbit around the moon, using the moon's gravity for an assist, where NASA plans to conduct a series of proving ground missions in the 2020s.
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Shards of sunlight pierce through the clouds above a herd of elephants, a lone Masai man walks the plains and a fisherman and his family comb the shoreline at dawn.

These are just some of the striking and candid images of life in rural Kenya, captured in black and white, by Argentinian photographer and architect, Francisco Provedo on his Canon EOS 7D.

The backpacker recently spent a month travelling, from Buenos Aires, through the country on his own, starting in Mombasa, before heading to Wasino Island, then north to Kilifi and Lamu before reaching the national parks in the west, Tsavo West, Amboselli and Masai Mara.

After befriending locals (with some casually brandishing machine guns) Provedo walked paths that few foreigners have tread and was captivated by the countrys breath-taking landscape and accommodating people.

He wrote in a post for Maptia: Kenya belongs to a continent of origins, remote and distant, and for now, for better or worse, many of its vast and beautiful rural areas remain far from the globalised world.

Enlivened by his experience in Kenya, Provedo told MailOnline Travel: I always see beauty in everything, I think beauty is a very real truth, and beauty is not related with being beautiful, but being complete. On the other hand nature is a school and inspiration for me.

A herd of elephants graze the plains in this incredible image taken one afternoon at Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Argentinian photographer and architect, Francisco Provedo shot this image of a Masai man walking near the entrance of the Masai Mara, early in the morning on his Canon EOS 7D and 24mm lens

Provedo also captured this beautiful image of morning sunshine bursting through the clouds above the zebras at Tsavo West National Park

Provedo befriended locals including this family in Kilifi, Kenya during his month-long trip to Kenya. The fishermen and his family are out on the water early one morning Kilifi Creek

On his Instagram page, Provedo has captioned this shot which shows elephants wading through a watering hole under stormy skies, Tree of hope at Tsavo West National Park

The backpacker started his adventure in Mombasa, before heading to Wasino Island, then north to Kilifi and Lamu before reaching the national parks in the west, Tsavo West, Amboselli and Masai Mara (pictured above)

This image was taken after Provedo took a boat across to the coral rock island of Wasini in the Indian Ocean (pictured above)

The Buenos Aires native strayed from the tourist trail on Wasini island and was shown stunning mangroves (above) by locals

Provedo liked to kick back at the beach during his trip. He pictured tourists and locals alike bathing at one of the more popular beaches, Mosamba Beach on a Sunday

Nightlife: Provedo found that locals had strung lights across this Baobab tree at night in Kilifi, Kenya

Trees contrasting with big empty skies are the subject of many of Provedo's shots. This picture (right) was taken during his first moments in Amboseli National Park. Pictured left, local children play in front of some houses in Wasini

Provedo wrote in a post for Maptia : Kenya belongs to a continent of origins, remote and distant, and for now, for better or worse, many of its vast and beautiful rural areas remain far from the globalised world. Pictured the route to Masai Mara

He told MailOnline Travel: I always see beauty in everything, I think beauty is a very real truth. Pictured the route to Tsavo West National Park

He added: 'On the other hand nature is a school and inspiration for me. Pictured is a beach on Wasini island
Alaska Airlines has flown into the top spot again, ranking as the best airline in the U.S. for a second year running.

A study rated all carriers' overall performance based on five areas - cancelled flights, customer satisfaction, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and on-time arrivals.

Swiftly following Alaska Airlines' tail was Delta, trailed by JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin America, Frontier, United, American and Spirit.

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Come fly with me: Alaska Airlines has flown into the top spot again, ranking as the best airline in the U.S. for a second year running

All of the airlines were also acknowledged for their performance in each individual category in the research by Airfarewatchdog.com.

When it came to the 'on time arrivals', Alaska Airlines scored first place again.

Delta reigned for having the 'fewest cancelled flights', while Virgin America claimed the award for having the 'fewest mishandled bags'.

For the majority of the categories Alaska Airlines fared well, staying at number four or higher, but fell to number seven for its 'number of denied boardings'.

Turbulent times: At the other end of the scale, this year United left the bottom of the pile, switching places with Spirit

Coming in at first place for that category was JetBlue.

It also tied first place with Southwest for its high customer satisfaction scoring.

Airfarewatchdog used data from the Department of Transportation to put together its annual airline assessment.

According to the website, Alaska has appeared in the top four since the list debuted five years ago.

At the other end of the scale, this year United left the bottom of the list, switching places with Spirit.
are Buddhist deities and others are based on people Furukawa knew during his lifetime

Mutsuo Furukawa who paid around 44million for them

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Visitors would be forgiven for thinking they've entered Medusa's lair.

Hundred of lifelike figures stare straight forwards, some dressed in suits and others imitating Buddhist deities.

But the striking stone sculptures are in fact the work of a Japanese craftsman acting on the orders of an affluent local chairman called Mutsuo Furukawa.

Visitors would be forgiven for thinking they've entered Medusa's lair. Hundred of lifelike figures stare straight forwards, some dressed in suits and others imitating Buddhist deities

But these stone sculptures are in fact the work of a Japanese craftsman acting on the orders of a very rich man called Mutsuo Furukawa

They stand near the town of Osawano in Japan in a village named Fureai Sekibutsu no Sato - which translates literally to 'the village where you can meet Buddhist statues'

They stand near the town of Osawano in Japan in a village named Fureai Sekibutsu no Sato - which translates literally to 'the village where you can meet Buddhist statues'.

Furukawa paid a reported 6 billion yen (44million) to a Chinese sculptor in 1989 for the figures and hoped to keep them with him for all eternity.

Today more than 800 motionless grey statues stare out at the bus loads of tourists who come to visit the bizarre park.

Some of them are Buddhist deities and others are based on people Furukawa knew during his lifetime.

In some areas the grass has grown so tall only the tops of the figures' heads can be seen.

Photographer Ken Ohki - who goes by the name Yukison - shared the amazing images on his blog.

'I found this incredible place in Toyama Prefecture. I felt like I'd accidentally stumbled into some forbidden area. Amazing,' he wrote.

Furukawa paid a reported 6 billion yen (44million) to a Chinese sculptor in 1989 for the figures and hoped to keep them with him for all eternity. He also had a stature of himself made

Furukawa wanted the park to be a 'popular tourist place' where 'people could come to relax'

Photographer Ken Ohki - who goes by the name Yukison - shared the amazing images on his blog

'I found this incredible place in Toyama Prefecture. I felt like I'd accidentally stumbled into some forbidden area. Amazing,' Yukison wrote

One male figure sits cross legged atop a podium, hands joined in front of him as a slight smile plays on his lips

This woman, her buttoned up clothing demure, appears to be listening intently to something or someone before her

In some areas the grass has grown so tall only the tops of the figures' heads can be seen as they gaze into the distance

He added that the village was built as a 'popular tourist place' where 'people could come to relax'.

However that didn't stop him feeling somewhat unnerved by the effigies and wondered whether they came alive when no one was looking after dark.

'You come to feel like something is moving every time you turn around,' he said.

Yukison wrote that he'd left soon after taking his photographs, 'without looking back'.

Despite the park's aim to help visitors relax, Yukison said on his blog that he felt somewhat unnerved by the effigies and wondered whether they came alive when no one was looking after dark

'You come to feel like something is moving every time you turn around,' he said. Yukison wrote that he'd left soon after taking his photographs, 'without looking back'. 'I felt like I'd been to another world,' he added

Commentators on the images on RocketNews24 have praised Yukison's work. One wrote: 'Wow! That place is incredible. It's actually really beautiful, when you try and understand the message behind it'

Another says: 'I think it's cool, not creepy,' but a third disagrees, joking, 'Just make sure not to blink when you go visit'

'I felt like I'd been to another world,' he added.

Commentators on the images on RocketNews24 have praised Yukison's work.

One wrote: 'Wow! That place is incredible. It's actually really beautiful, when you try and understand the message behind it.'
Passengers travelling on major US-based carriers have forked out enough cash in baggage fees to buy more than one airline.

According to the latest government data, travellers have paid an estimated $26.2 billion (19.8billion) in additional fees for their bags since 2007.

For the first three months of this year alone, American carriers have made $974.5million (735.9million) in baggage fee revenue.

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According to the latest government data, travellers have paid an estimated $26.2 billion (19.8billion) in additional fees for their bags since 2007 (file photo)

The figures are based on quarterly data made available by the US Bureau of Transport Statistics, which the agency started releasing back in 2007.

It tracked the baggage revenue for the top airlines in the US such as Delta and American Airlines.

From Q1 of 2007 to Q2 of 2008, the baggage revenue collected for all the US airlines hovered at just over $100million (75.5million) a quarter.

But between the second and third quarter of 2008, this figure almost doubled.

BAGGAGE FEES REVENUE FOR US AIRLINES SINCE 2007 Quarter Baggage revenue for all airlines Airline receiving the most baggage revenue 2007 Q1 104,681,000 American Airlines 2007 Q2 113,014,000 American Airlines 2007 Q3 122,416,000 American Airlines 2007 Q4 124,173,000 American Airlines 2008 Q1 122,565,000 American Airlines 2008 Q2 178,214,000 Delta Air Lines 2008 Q3 350,061,000 American Airlines 2008 Q4 498,568,000 American Airlines 2009 Q1 577,921,000 American Airlines 2009 Q2 669,572,000 American Airlines 2009 Q3 739,796,000 Delta Air Lines 2009 Q4 741,561,000 Delta Air Lines 2010 Q1 768,546,000 Delta Air Lines 2010 Q2 891,791,000 Delta Air Lines 2010 Q3 906,358,000 Delta Air Lines 2010 Q4 828,776,000 Delta Air Lines 2011 Q1 783,696,000 Delta Air Lines 2011 Q2 886,711,000 Delta Air Lines 2011 Q3 898,244,000 Delta Air Lines 2011 Q4 791,985,000 Delta Air Lines 2012 Q1 785,767,000 Delta Air Lines 2012 Q2 935,849,000 Delta Air Lines 2012 Q3 924,169,000 Delta Air Lines 2012 Q4 841,151,000 Delta Air Lines 2013 Q1 801,004,000 Delta Air Lines 2013 Q2 871,142,000 Delta Air Lines 2013 Q3 880,786,000 Delta Air Lines 2013 Q4 797,140,000 Delta Air Lines 2014 Q1 790,968,000 Delta Air Lines 2014 Q2 899,526,000 Delta Air Lines 2014 Q3 959,755,000 Delta Air Lines 2014 Q4 879,059,000 Delta Air Lines 2015 Q1 864,663,000 American Airlines 2015 Q2 962,419,000 American Airlines 2015 Q3 1,018,892,000 American Airlines 2015 Q4 957,768,000 American Airlines 2016 Q1 974,523,000 American Airlines

By the first quarter of this year, the US carriers included in the statistics are pulling in $974.5million a quarter in baggage fee revenue.

The baggage fee revenue for all airlines since 2007 amounts to a total of approximately $26.2 billion (19.8billion).

It's not quite enough to buy the biggest carrier in the US, Delta Air Lines, which is currently valued at $34.4billion (26billion) by Forbes.

However, the revenue will more than cover the cost of buying United Airlines at $17.1billion (12.9billion) and leave you with enough spare change to buy a smaller airline like JetBlue Airways, which is currently valued at $6.6billion (5billion).

According to Thrillist, it was between 2007 and 2008 that many airlines started introducing checked-baggage fee to cover high fuel costs.

$26.2 billion (19.8billion) is not quite enough to buy the biggest carrier in the US, Delta Air Lines, which is currently valued at $34.4billion (26billion) by Forbes but it will buy you a couple of smaller ones

However, looking at the breakdown for each of the airlines, two of the top grossing carriers have seen a significant jump in the baggage fee revenue collected - all thanks to the introduction of mandatory fees.

Between Q2 and Q3 of 2008, baggage fee revenue for American Airlines more than doubled from $37.1million (28million) to $94.1million (71.1million).

The airline started charging its customers $15 (11.33) for the first piece of checked luggage in May 2008 according to the New York Times.

Meanwhile, for US Airways, the figure had more than tripled from $17.9million (13.5million) to $67.9million (51.3million).

It had followed suit in the $15 checked baggage fee in July that year.

American Airlines and US Airways have since merged, almost doubling the combined checked baggage fee.

MailOnline Travel has contacted American Airlines for comment.
The trip starts and ends in New York, and covers more then 24,000 miles

It sounds ludicrously cheap, but it is possible to jet around the world this winter - visiting eight far-flung locations - for just over $1,000.

A travel specialist has combined five separate one-way plane tickets to create a round-the-world itinerary for a mere $1,161 (876).

The month-long trip kicks off in New York this January and makes its way to Stockholm, Sweden; Bangkok, Thailand; Sydney, Australia; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Portland, Oregon, before returning back to New York.

Travel website The Airfare Spot has combined five separate one-way plane tickets to create a round-the-world itinerary for a mere $1,161 (876). Stock image

Travel website The Airfare Spot found the cheapest flight, somewhat surprisingly, is from New York to Stockholm with Norwegian Air, a seven-hour journey which costs only $139.

After three days in Sweden, it's on to Bangkok, again with Norwegian Air - which has gained popularity in recent years thanks to it's aggressively low prices - for $216.

Six days in Thailand's bustling capital city is a good stretch of time with which to explore its plentiful attractions, then next up is the gruelling 20-hour Air Asia flight to Sydney - with a nine-hour nighttime layover in Kuala Lumpur - at a cost of just $150.

There is very little to see or do in Kuala Lumpur between those hours of midnight to 9am, so it's best in this case to book into an airport hotel.

The month-long trip kicks off and ends back up in New York (pictured) this January 28 and covers more than 24,000 miles in total

The cheapest flight, somewhat surprisingly, is from New York to Stockholm (pictured) with Norwegian Air, a seven-hour flight which costs only $139

Then it's on to Bangkok (pictured) for $216, for six days - a good stretch of time with which to explore the city's plentiful attractions

The itinerary then allows three days in Sydney, followed by a $310 flight to Hawaii with JetStar Airlines, which will take nine and a half hours.

After four blissful days on the beaches of Honolulu, it's time to return to New York with Hawaiian Airlines on February 13 at a cost of $341 - making a stopover at Portland, Oregon.

This layover is almost 11 hours, starting from 8pm, so there's plenty of time for a leisurely dinner in this vibrant city.

The entire jaunt covers more than 24,000 miles.

Next up is the gruelling 20-hour Air Asia flight to Sydney (pictured) - with a nine-hour nighttime layover in Kuala Lumpur - at a cost of just $150

The itinerary then allows three days in Sydney, followed by a $310 flight to Hawaii (pictured) with JetStar Airlines, which will take nine and a half hours
Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump has been using her reality show to publicize the horrors of China's Yulin Dog Meat festival.

And on Wednesday the Bravo reality star and restaurateur will have an audience of lawmakers when she takes her fight to the nation's capital.

The committed animal rights advocate is one of several activists who plan to address the members of Congress in Washington D.C., seeking a formal U.S. condemnation of China's dog meat trade and in particular the annual Yulin Festival.

Plans to lobby Congress: Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump, 55, takes her fight to censure China over its dog meat industry to the nation's capital on Wednesday

'This is our big push,' said John Sessa, the executive director of the Vanderpump Dog Foundation on Tuesday night speaking to DailyMail.com from D.C.

Vanderpump has been working with Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings since late March on a resolution calling for the condemnation of China's dog meat trade.

The subsequent HR 752 was introduced by the Congressman in May and has, according to Sessa, garnered bipartisan support.

Wants the U.S. to formally condemn China: John Sessa, executive director of the nonprofit Vanderpump Dog Foundation, said Wednesday's event on the Hill is the group's 'big push'

Platform: Dog lover Vanderpump dotes on her own pets, pictured at LAX in April, and has used her reality show this year to publicize the horrors of the Yulin festival and the need to stop it

What the group led by Vanderpump want now is for a vote to take place on the floor of the House that would formally make the United States the first country to take a stand on animal rights, said Sessa.

'There's no real governing body for animal rights,' Sessa explained.

'A vote would show that we are, as the United States of America, against the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, and we can't condone this any longer.'

Leading the political battle: Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings introduced House Resoluton 752 condemnming China in May and now he and Vanderpump want the House to vote on it

At the Wednesday morning session to be held in the Capitol building, Vanderpump and Hastings will address the attendees, lawmakers and media about the issue.

They'll be joined by Peter Li from the Humane Sociey International, Andrea Gung from the Duo Duo Project, and Mark Ching from the Animal Hope And Wellness Foundation.

Vanderpump, 55, revealed earlier this year that one of the reasons she decided to remain part of Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills was the platform the show gave her to promote her Dog Foundation and the cruelty towards dogs in Asia.
DC Comics fans are eagerly awaiting the premiere of Justice League in 2017.

And devotees' excitement will surely be increased when they take their first look at Batman's outfit.

Director Zack Snyder shared a picture on Twitter of Ben Affleck playing the hero as the cast and crew enjoyed their last day of filming on Wednesday.

Sneak peak: Director Zack Snyder shared a picture on Twitter of Ben Affleck playing batman as the cast and crew enjoyed on of their final days of filming on Wednesday

The Batsuit appears to be more solid than ever before - and even comes with goggles to protect Batman's eyes from harms' way.

Zack captioned his photo: 'Tactical Batsuit' Homestretch. Last day filming Batman in the new Tactical Batsuit.'

The revelation comes after Warner Bros released the first trailer in July.

The film features an ensemble cast, bringing together DC Comics heroes Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), the Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and Aquaman (Jason Momoa).

Excitement builds: The revelation comes after Warner Bros released the first trailer in July

Batman and Wonder Woman assemble a team consisting of The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg to face the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.

The film is said to have a more light-hearted approach than its predecessor Batman v Superman.

The movie was said to be to 'gritty' and grossed a disappointing $872.7 million worldwide on a $250 million budget.

Producer Geoff Johns told The Wall Street Journal: 'Mistakenly in the past I think the studio has said, "Oh, DC films are gritty and dark and that's what makes them different."

'That couldn't be more wrong. It's a hopeful and optimistic view of life. Even Batman has a glimmer of that in him. If he didn't think he'd make tomorrow better, he'd stop.'

All-stars: Batman and Wonder Woman assemble a team consisting of The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg to face the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons
Actor Rufus Sewell is now hotter than ever thanks to his smouldering turn as Prime Minister Lord Melbourne in ITVs costume drama Victoria.

But his ex-wife Yasmin Sewell, who still uses the actors surname even though the couple separated 16 years ago, could be sent to fashion Siberia by icy American Vogue fashion editrix, Anna Nuclear Wintour.

Despite benefiting from Sewells star-power, fashion buyer Yasmin, 40, is struggling to set the fashion world alight with her new online shopping venture Style.com, developed by Vogue publisher Conde Nast.

Hunk: Actor Rufus Sewell is now hotter than ever thanks to his turn as Prime Minister Lord Melbourne in ITVs costume drama Victoria, pictured with his co-star Jenna Coleman

The 75 million e-tailer launched with a whimper earlier this month, amid whispers that fashion chiefs are unwilling to sign up to the start-up because its business model is misguided and they think Conde Nast should stick to glossy magazines.

Burberry, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana were among the superbrands Style.com claimed shoppers could buy through the site, but none of the three had signed up by the launch date.

The project, overseen by Wintour, has reportedly caused tensions between senior executives at Conde Nast International and Conde Nast U.S., who jointly own Style.com.

Insiders say the launch was chaotic, and that the site will struggle to compete against online retailers such as Net-a-Porter.

Tension: Rufus' ex-wife Yasmin Sewell (left) could be sent to fashion Siberia by icy American Vogue fashion editrix, Anna Nuclear Wintour (right)

Sewell compounded Style.coms rocky start by a disastrous magazine interview. F****** hell I hope so, she said, when asked whether Burberry would be on board.

Sydney-born Sewell has always been a free spirit. She met Rufus in Australia aged 19, and the couple married when Yasmin (nee Abdallah) was 23, separating less than a year later because she was a bit messed up.

Yasmin has since remarried, to fashion entrepreneur Kyle Robinson.

When Sewell was appointed as Style.coms fashion director last November, Conde Nast bosses praised her unique vision  and she certainly values second sight. Yoga-loving Yasmin is keen on spirituality and once appeared in Vogue with her healer.

After its ill-starred start, can Style.com find a happy medium? A spokesman tells me: Some 327 brands are signed up and 141 are available. We are adding further brands every day as new stock lands.

Dimbleby quits countryside after run-in with boy-racers

Jonathan Dimbleby, former president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has given up country living and moved from South Devon to a townhouse in Bath.

I know it sounds crazy at my age, but I think my thirst for new adventures keeps me young! says Jonathan, 72, speaking at Quintessentiallys Worlds Greatest Quiz in London.

Big change: Jonathan Dimbleby, former president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, has given up country living and moved from South Devon to a townhouse in Bath

The Any Questions host, who has two young children with second wife, Jessica Ray, 40, says: Its exciting. There were lots of family reasons for the move, plus I will be able to get home faster from London.

Only last year Dimbleby complained about dangerous drivers speeding round country lanes near his West Country home.

Leading figures in the arts world, such as histrionic Benedict Cumberbatch and Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, were well off the mark when they claimed British culture would suffer if we left the EU.

And their gloomy prognostications have been repudiated by none other than the linchpin of their own industry, the National Theatres artistic director, Rufus Norris.

Benedict Cumberbatch was well off the mark when he claimed British culture would suffer if we left the EU

Art has no boundaries, and Britain will have no problem producing world-class theatre post-Brexit, Norris tells me at the private view of Nicole Farhis exhibition, The Human Hand.
UnitedHealthcare is teaming up with IRONKIDS for the UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Chattanooga Fun Run presented by Sunbelt Bakery, aimed at inspiring and motivating young people to lead active and healthy lifestyles.

The one-mile and half-mile fun run will take place Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m., at Rosss Landing, where Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga presented by McKee A Family Bakery triathletes will run on Sept. 25.

There will be a training event at Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga with IRONMAN pro athlete, who will lead children in exercises and relays with UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 5 p.m. The Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga is at 2312 Duncan Ave.

Onsite registration begins at 9 a.m., and each athlete will receive a race bib, T-shirt, goodie bag and finisher medal. The cost for registration is $15 for children age 3 to 15 years old. Registration details are available at www.IRONKIDS.com.

UnitedHealthcare is providing 50 complimentary admissions to the Boys & Girls Club of Chattanooga to encourage participation, and mascot Dr. Health E. Hound will make a special appearance at the starting line to officially kick off the fun run.

Healthy kids have the best chance at becoming healthy adults, said Greg Reidy, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Tennessee/Arkansas. We continue partnering with IRONMAN to provide an opportunity for families to spend part of their day being active, and to help children in our community live healthier lives.

This is the fifth year UnitedHealthcare is supporting IRONKIDS in the United States as part of the companys commitment to help stem the rising tide of childhood obesity through healthy lifestyles. UnitedHealthcare is sponsoring seven one-mile fun runs in 2016.

The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Chattanooga Fun Run is a great way to introduce young athletes to the benefits of living an active lifestyle," said Liz Kollar, global director of Athlete Development for IRONMAN. "This event allows the children to feel the thrill of competition in a safe, fun, family-friendly environment.






Her personal life has endured its fair share of turbulence over recent weeks, but Lindsay Lohans professional concerns appear to be faring significantly better.

The American actress, 30, is set to appear as a special guest on a forthcoming episode of cookery show Jamie And Jimmys Friday Night Feast alongside its affable hosts, TV chef Jamie Oliver and his close friend, farmer Jimmy Doherty.

Posting a still from the yet to aired show across social media, Lindsay looks surprisingly demure in a patterned white dress while watching Jamie, 41, cook up a storm in the TV kitchen.

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Coming soon: Lindsay Lohan is set to appear as a special guest on a forthcoming episode of cookery show Jamie And Jimmys Friday Night Feast alongside its affable host, TV chef Jamie Oliver

Captioning the shot with a hashtag heavy message, Lindsay thanked the British chef, his co-host and the production team for making her feel welcome.

she wrote: #jamieandjimmysfridaynightfeast #cook with #love with@jamieoliver @jimmysfarm #food#comingsoon #thankyou my friends of the crew and team of#jamieoliver and my team @celinebopp@oliverdrama @royceangeloevents#backtowork #uk #grateful #chef.

Meanwhile the actress has been getting her personal life back on track following an acrimonious break up with former fiance Egor Tarabaso - prompted by a series of blazing rows.

Moving on: Meanwhile the actress has been getting her personal life back on track following an acrimonious break up with former fiance Egor Tarabaso

New man? She has since reportedly moved on with restaurateur Dennis Papageorgiou. Tne pair recently enjoyed a sunshine break in Greece

She has since reportedly moved on with restaurateur Dennis Papageorgiou.

The couple recently enjoyed a sunshine break in Greece, during which Dennis took to Instagram to share a snap of the pair looking close while relaxing on the beach.

Following her split from Egor, insiders revealed news of Lindsay's rumoured new beau, with sources telling The Sun: '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.

Old times: The flame-haired beauty is recovering from the dissolution of her engagement

'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.

The flame-haired beauty is recovering from the dissolution of her engagement after images surfaced earlier this year showing Egor violently grabbing her during a break in Mykonos.
Offspring's sixth season certainly went out with a bang during Wednesday night's finale with plenty of tears of joy and heartbreak shed by the Proudman family.

Protagonist Nina Proudman, played by Asher Keddie, made a pivotal decision to have no more children, choosing to finally move on in life, years after the tragic death of her love Patrick Reid.

Gold-Logie winning Asher, 42, broke down in tears quite early on in the eventful episode, after discovering her young daughter Zoe had damaged the remaining photographic memories of late Patrick in their family home.

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Emotional: Offspring's sixth season certainly went out with a bang during Wednesday night's finale, as plenty of tears of joy and heartbreak were shed by the Proudman family

Her older sister Billie, played by Kat Stewart, informed her that something had happened while she was away.

Explaining Zoe had been enjoying a spot of painting, Billie told her sibling that the youngster had lathered the paint on top of a family collage, presumably not really understanding that those photos of Patrick were precious to Nina.

Heartbroken to say the very least, especially as she had explained to Zoe earlier in the episode that the Patrick pictured in the photos was her father, Nina hysterically cried while her sister did her best to comfort her.

Tears: Gold-Logie winning Asher, 42, broke down in tears quite early on in the eventful episode, after discovering her young daughter Zoe had damaged the remaining photographic memories of late Patrick in their family home

Destroyed: Explaining Zoe had been enjoying a spot of painting, Billie told her sibling that the youngster had lathered the paint on top of a family collage, presumably not really understanding that those photos of Patrick were precious to Nina

No recognition: Nina was heartbroken to say the very least, especially as she had explained to Zoe earlier in the episode that the Patrick pictured in the photos was her father

But it looks like the heartbreaking moment provided the clarity Nina needed to move forward, as she had been mourning Patrick's death this whole time.

During a conversation later in the episode, Billie said to Nina: 'I'm so sorry about the pictures of Patrick'.

'I've been holding on to the idea of family - Zoe, me and Patrick. But that's a version of the past,' Nina responded, much more composed by this stage.

Sad times: Nina hysterically cried while her sister Billie did her best to comfort her

Clarity: It looks like the heartbreaking moment provided the clarity Nina needed to move forward, as she had been mourning Patrick's death this whole time

'To Zoe, he's nothing. She didn't even meet him. I just didn't want him to be completely gone,' she continued.

'I think if that piece of Patrick is still here, I can't be a good partner to anyone else. It's like I'm saving a part of myself but that means I'm not living.'

Nina explained she wasn't going to use Patrick's sperm to try for another child.

Realisation: 'I've been holding on to the idea of family - Zoe, me and Patrick. But that's a version of the past,' Nina told Billie, saying she won't be using Patrick's sperm

Time to rekindle the romance: Nina had shared this kiss with on-off fling Harry earlier in the episode, but then had left his house in a panicked state after they slept together

She said: 'So I can't keep the sperm can I, otherwise I'll be stuck forever. Never quite in the here and now'.

Billie responded: 'You think Patrick was the love of your life... what if he's not the only one?'.

On that note Nina decided to contact Harry Crewe, her on-off fling she had slept with earlier in the episode.

Clarification: Nina later contacted Harry and told him, 'I wanted you to know that my daughter Zoe is my child from Patrick and I'm not going to have another one'

Back on: Speaking to him in the park later that evening, she candidly confessed, 'I'm really sorry, I freaked out before. There were so many things that fed into it'

Happily ever after? Of course Harry obliged, and the pair shared a kiss, before the episode drew to a close and the pair walked off into the distance with Zoe

She told him: 'I wanted you to know that my daughter Zoe is my child from Patrick and I'm not going to have another one'.

'That decision can't have been easy,' he responded.

'No it wasn't but it's the right one. I didn't do this for you,' she then clarified, though was no doubt keen to rekindle their romance.

In other events: Newlyweds Martin and Cherie, famously played by Lachy Hulme and Deborah Mailman, announced they were leaving town to facilitate a remote medical service

Family matters: The couple's farewell ended up coinciding with the scattering of late Darcy Proudman's ashes in the local park

Speaking to him in the park later that evening, she candidly confessed: 'I'm really sorry, I freaked out before. There were so many things that fed into it.

'Really, it's because I'm so scared of what this means. I want to find out. Do you?'

Of course Harry obliged, and the pair shared a kiss, before the episode drew to a close and the pair walked off into the distance with Zoe.

Special moment: Darcy's wife Geraldine did the honour of scattering the ashes, and a park bench was placed in his honour

New love: Will and Billie's colleague Kerry shared their first kiss, suggesting there's a promising future for another new romance

While things seem to have ended on a rosy note for Nina and Harry, the future for other members of the Proudman family is unclear, with plenty of additional drama unfolding during the finale episode.

Newlyweds Martin and Cherie, famously played by Lachy Hulme and Deborah Mailman, announced they were leaving town to facilitate a remote medical service.

It was during their farewell, which ended up coinciding with the scattering of late Darcy Proudman's ashes, that Will and Billie's colleague Kerry shared their first kiss, suggesting there's a promising future for another new romance.

Home birth: Earlier in the episode, Nina and Billie helped pregnant teenager Brodie give birth at home

New arrival: Brodie welcomed a gorgeous baby boy

Billie's appearance at the family gathering came after she left the hospital where young Brodie was resting, following a sudden home-birth of a baby boy.

Jimmy and Zara exchanged a smile during the reunion, suggesting they're willing to reconcile their differences after Zara cheated on him with Dr Angus.

And to top it all off, Geraldine woke up the next morning, to find herself in bed with long-time friend Margerie, and her neighbour.

Channel Ten has not confirmed whether Offspring will return for a seventh season.

Trouble in paradise: Jimmy and Zara also had to discuss their issues after Zara admitted to cheating on her husband with Dr Angus
She is always one to shine on the red carpet.

And Nina Dobrev proved she is just as stunning even in the presence of runway models as she arrived at the Marchesa fashion show in New York on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old stunned in a knee length red lace and ruffled dress and gold strap shoes as she posed for photos ahead of the show which took place at The Dock, Skylight at Moynihan Station.

Beautiful: Nina Dobrev looked sensational as she arrived at the Marchesa fashion show in New York on Wednesday

The brunette beauty tied her locks back but left a few curls to hang elegantly at the front.

The dress showed off Nina's trim waistline and slender physique.

The Vampire Diaries alum went for a subtle make-up look with just a slick of mascara, a deep nude lip and a dash of blusher.

Fashion savvy: The actress, 27, stunned in a knee length red lace and ruffled dress and gold strap shoes as she posed for photos ahead of the show

Plenty to smile about: Nina seemed to be having a blast as she shared a joke with a friend while taking her coveted seat on the front row of the Marchesa showcase

Rain rain, go away: The screen star was covered by a large umbrella as she headed out into the city after enjoying the showcase

Lady in red: Nina teamed her striking scarlet dress with a pair of gold strappy sandals and a stylish bejewelled clutch bag as she stepped out into the rainy evening

You can't sit with us! (L-R) Ann Dexter-Jones, Jerry Hall, Coco Rocha, Carine Roitfeld and Karolina Kurkova

Angelic beauty! Olivia Culpo looked stunning in her all white ensemble and black boots

Model moment! Karolina Kurkova (L) and Coco Rocha (R) posed alongside one another

She finished off her sophisticated look with an embellished clutch.

Nina was one of the elite guests invited to sit on the front row, along with Courtney Love, Karolina Kurkova, Ann Dexter-Jones, Jerry Hall, and Coco Rocha.

Olivia Culpo, Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman were also in attendance at the lavish bash.

Black and white! Coco and VSM Jessica Hart showed off their different fashion sense

Striking! Courtney Love (L) and Alyssa Milano (R) showed off their similar tastes in fashion

Pose! Both women wore similar pink lipsticks as they pouted for the photo

Olivia stunned in an angelic white number, complete with mesh on the arms and ruffles on the skirt.

The in demand model and actress went for a dark smokey eye look as she tied her brunette tresses back.

Victoria Secret model Jessica Hart looked chic in a two piece black outfit.

She wore a long lace skirt with a loose fitting black crop top and a black choker necklace.

Embellished goddess: Karolina Kurkova stunned in her beautiful mini dress

Front row: Courtney had the best seat in the house for the sought after fashion show

All smiles: Ann Dexter-Jones (L) and Jerry Hall (R) were beaming at the event

Practicing their pose: Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman at the show

Wow: The dresses were very elaborate and shimmery

The trend: One model was sporting similar eye brows to Cara Delevingne

Stunning: The same model but a different dress
They're the lovable television presenters of Channel Nine's Today Show.

And while the likes of Karl Stefanovic, Lisa Wilkinson and Sylvia Jeffreys have plenty of expertise presenting the news and hot topics, singing certainly is not one of their talents.

In a humorous clip shared live on the show this week, they all jokingly audition for Channel Nine's The Voice, singing off tune on Snapchat as they announce fans can audition for the competition using the social media platform, a world first.

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Belting it out! Today's Karl Stefanovic, (pictured) Lisa Wilkinson and Sylvia Jeffreys jokingly auditioned for The Voice using Snapchat

In a fun clip, the trio are seen belting out some tunes with Karl singing Arrested Development's Everyday People and Lisa singing The Bangles' classic Eternal Flame.

Karl joked afterwards about Lisa's audition that it was 'so lovely, so romantic.'

Newly engaged Sylvia meanwhile sung Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart, using a deer filter and a voice filter as she sung.

Trying her best! In a fun clip, the trio are seen belting out some tunes with Karl singing Arrested Development's Everyday People and Lisa (pictured) singing The Bangles' classic Eternal Flame

Not really fair? Newly engaged Sylvia meanwhile sung Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart, using a deer filter and a voice filter as she sung

Also joining in on the action was Richard Wilkins, Tim Gilbert and Steve Jacobs.

The Voice host Sonia Kruger was featured on Today and said she doesn't know if they would get them through the audition process.

However she said backstage she discovered that Today's hair stylist Morgan can sing, showing a video of him.

He's got it! Sonia Kruger discovered that Today's hair stylist Morgan can sing, showing a video of him

She added that last year's The Voice winner Alfie Arcuri auditioned via Instagram last year and the videos are a good way to for shy people to audition for the Nine show.

Sonia recently has made headlines for potentially being axed from the Voice, after she controversially called on Australia to stop all Muslim immigration earlier this year.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the publication was told by Channel Nine that the outspoken Today Extra host was on annual leave, which was arranged well before her controversial comments.

Her contract with Nine is 'ongoing,' according to the spokesperson.

Speaking out: Sonia Kruger (pictured) recently has made headlines for potentially being axed from the Voice, after she controversially called on Australia to stop all Muslim immigration earlier this year

She set off a social media firestorm in July when she argued on Today Extra that there is a correlation between the number of Muslims in a country and the number of terrorist attacks.

The former Strictly Ballroom star said she had 'a lot of very good friends' who were Muslims and peace-loving, beautiful people.

'But there are fanatics,' she said.

'Personally, I would like to see it stop now for Australia because I want to feel safe as all of our citizens do when we go out to celebrate Australia Day,' Sonia added.

Controversial: She set off a social media firestorm in July when she argued on Today Extra that there is a correlation between the number of Muslims in a country and the number of terrorist attacks(seen at the Logies in May)




She takes her workouts very seriously.

And on Wednesday Olivia Munn opted to show off the fruits of her labor as she paraded her toned legs while out and about in Brentwood.

The 36-year-old X-Men: Apocalypse actress showcased her sculpted thighs with help from some very short black denim cutoff shorts.

Not shy: On Wednesday Olivia Munn opted to show off the fruits of her labor as she paraded her toned legs while out and about in Brentwood

A pair of grey suede over-the-knee boots also accentuated the some-time model's enviable figure.

On top she opted for an airy green and navy blue plaid shirt, which afforded just a glimpse of her flat tummy thanks to all but two buttons being left undone.

Some white-framed sunglasses, large black leather shoulder bag and a thin black belt rounded out the chic but laid-back ensemble.

Hot pants: The 36-year-old X-Men: Apocalypse actress showcased her sculpted thighs with help from some very short black denim cutoff shorts

Chic look: A pair of grey suede over-the-knee boots also accentuated the some-time model's enviable figure

Peek-a-boo: On top she opted for an airy green and navy blue plaid shirt, which afforded just a glimpse of her flat tummy thanks to all but two buttons being left undone

Her raven tresses were scraped back into a long pony tail, while she touched up her light rose lipstick before chatting on the phone.

The former Daily Show correspondent appeared to be in a good mood, smiling several times over the course of her discussion, despite the fact she recently lost her latest bout on Lip Sync Battle.

For the performance of Sia's Cheap Thrills, she enlisted the help of Team USA gymnasts Aly Raisman, 22, and Simone Biles, 19, to make a surprise cameo on Sunday.

Freshning up: Her raven tresses were scraped back into a long pony tail, while she touched up her light rose lipstick before chatting on the phone

The girls performed a few of their gold medal-winning gymnastic stunts before joining the actress for a hug and to bask in the applause from the crowd.

Explaining the surprise to host LL Cool J after the performance, Olivia said: 'When I found out that Michael Phelps was joining our set, I said the only way to beat a gold medal champion is to bring two gold medal champions.'

Michael was, of course, delighted to see his fellow Olympians let loose on the show, saying it was 'awesome'.
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He is one of New York Fashion Week's most iconic designers.

And close friends/models-of-the-moment Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid were among the stars to share the Ralph Lauren runway on Wednesday night.

The ladies brought Southwestern vibes to the stage as they modeled the designer's 2017 Spring/Summer collection at Skylight Clarkson Sq.

Southwestern vibes: Close friends/models-of-the-moment Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid were among the stars to share the Ralph Lauren runway during New York Fashion Week on Wednesday night

Kendall was Western chic as she took to the catwalk in a black leather jacket worn over an unbuttoned white shirt, black and gold bib necklace, and black trousers.

The reality star's looked was cinched off with a wide leather belt as her jet black locks were styled down in straight in a glossy hairdo.

Makeup was kept to a minimum, as to let her transfixing features shine through.

Walking down the runway in simply chic black ankle boots, Kendall was a mixture of rock 'n' roll and desert inspired fashion.

Rocker babe: Kendall's black leather jacket brought an edgy flair to the show

Models of the moment: The ladies transfixed the audience as they stormed down the runway, giving a steely gaze

Fringe benefits! Hadid wore a shiny long-sleeved frock in varying shades of earth tones with fringe hems, which was accessorized with a chunky metallic necklace and large earrings

Bella, meanwhile, was outfitted in an ensemble that was a far cry from the one her close friend wore.

The catwalk queen wore a shiny long-sleeved frock in varying shades of earth tones with fringe hems, which was accessorized with a chunky metallic necklace and large earrings.

Like Kendall, Bella's frock was cinched in with a large leather belt, yet rather than don ankle boots, the star stepped out in a pair of chic and strappy heels.

Girls night out! Julianne Moore and her teenage daughter Liv Freundlich enjoyed front row seats beside the designer's wife, Ricky Lauren

Big names: Jessica Alba beamed brightly as she took a seat beside Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Annabelle Wallis

Playing catch-up! The ladies enjoyed a round of sparkling conversation before the show

Her tresses were also styled sleek and straight, while her natural beauty remained at the forefront with a subtle streak of makeup.

The 2017 Spring/Summer Ralph Lauren collection was Southwestern inspired with metallic infused accessories, geometric patterns, and even a cowboy hat featured in the range

The stars turned out to catch a sneak peek of the designer's upcoming collection, with the front row consisting of the designer's family members and a who's who of Hollywood.

Star-studded: The ladies were joined by Ralph Lauren's adult children, Dylan Lauren and David Lauren, as well as actress Haley Bennett

Strike a pose! The ladies rocked exquisitely chic black ensembles for their big night on the town

School night out! No doubt Liv was thrilled to attend one of the biggest fashion shows with her mother

Julianne Moore was joined by her 14-year-old daughter Liv Freundlich for the occasion, who was no doubt thrilled to join her mother for one of fashion week's biggest events.

The ladies were practically matching in their LBDs and nearly identical high heels.

Jessica Alba brought an edgy touch with her black maxi dress interwoven with triangular gold accents at the top.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked incredible in a wine red velvet dress cinched at the waist and teamed with a stunning bejeweled choker necklace.

Oh brother! Bruce Springsteen's children, siblings Jessica Springsteen and Evan Springsteen, also caught a sneak peek of the upcoming collection

Making moves! Ralph Lauren kept it casual in jeans, a blue shirt, and a belt buckle to match the theme of his show

Hitting their stride: The 2017 Spring/Summer Ralph Lauren collection was Southwestern inspired with metallic infused accessories, geometric patterns, and even a cowboy hat featured in the range
This week The Bachelor's Alex was accused of dumping her disabled ex boyfriend for the chance to appear on the reality dating series and for a guaranteed spot in the top five.

And after her former flame Tom Barbour defended her and said the claims weren't true, Alex has again slammed the claims this week.

The 25-year-old told KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O: '[I was more upset by] the backlash I received from people who read it, who were just believing everything that they read,' before adding she was 'grateful' they were still friends.

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Her ex: The Bachelor's Alex has slammed rumours about her split with disabled ex Tom Barbour (seen together) after claims this week she dumped him to appear on the reality dating series

'I received nasty messages and comments, so that was quite overwhelming for me,' the blonde said.

'Thankfully Tom's an amazing guy and he jumped to my defence and I was really, really appreciative and grateful for that,' she said.

She added: 'I'm very grateful for the friendship that we still share.'

Opening up: Alex (seen here with fellow Bachelor finalist Nikki Gogan) said she was 'overwhelmed' with all the backlash she faced and said she and Tom are still friends

Tom - who is currently in Sweden - also shot down the rumours earlier this week, telling the radio hosts he dumped her due to his disability and wanting to study abroad.

'No, these stories are not true at all ... It was me that made that decision,' he said.

Tom - who was left a paraplegic after he fell 9m from a construction site - added they were still friends and the reports were untrue.

Alex earlier this week also denied the claims to Daily Mail Australia.

She said the reports were 'hurtful' and 'completely false.'

Claim to fame: Alex is currently a contestant on The Bachelor and in the final two

Speaking up: Tom - who is currently in Sweden - also shot down the rumours earlier this week, telling the radio hosts he dumped her due to his disability and wanting to study abroad

'Our relationship ended amicably with us both agreeing it was best to part ways,' insisted the Bachelor beauty.

'We are on good terms. Tom is now overseas on a scholarship to study,' Alex said, slamming New Ideas suggestion her former lover of 15-months fled to escape her.

The denials come after New Idea reported Alex had negotiated a guaranteed spot in the top five with the show's producers 'because she would be away from her son' Elijah.

It was also claimed Tom began to question the timing of their break-up after he discovered she would be a contestant on this year's Bachelor.

'We are on good terms': Alex also denied the claims to Daily Mail Australia

Rumours: The denials come after New Idea reported Alex had negotiated a guaranteed spot in the top five with the show's producers 'because she would be away from her son' Elijah

According to close friends, Tom was 'blindsided when Alex said she wanted it all to end' following a 15-month romance that was seemingly going well.

'She had told some friends that because she would be away from her son, she insisted the producers make it worth her while, and made a deal that she would make the final five,' the source told the glossy magazine.

'So even if she didn't win, it would help her profile and acting aspirations.'

Meanwhile, the weekly tabloid has also revealed Tom escaped on a European trip to avoid watching his former love fall for someone else on TV, with him being currently overseas.

They were together for just over a year and knew each other ten years before dating.
Paris Jackson took a break from social media for two years after a suicide attempt she now claims was due to 'so much hatred' from online commenters.

But the daughter of the late Michael Jackson eventually made her Instagram account public again, only to be harassed by online haters once more.

'When I was 14 I got so much hatred that I tried to kill myself,' the 18-year-old beauty sobbed in an Instagram video on Wednesday, which has since been deleted.

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'I tried to kill myself': Paris Jackson sobbed during several Instagram videos on Wednesday as she pleaded with online haters to stop bullying

'And then I took a two-year break from social media and people asked me to come back, to make my Instagram public again. So I did and nothing changed.'

'I don't understand how there can be so much hatred in the world right now,' she began.

'I've tried sticking up for myself, I've tried the whole, blocking the haters thing, not reading the comments,' she cried. 'I've tried, I've tried a lot of things, ignoring it, but it's hard. It is, when there's so much of it.'

'Nothing changed': The daughter of the late Michael Jackson took a two-year break from social media after her suicide attempt and upon returning faced the same online harassment

Candid confessions: The series of raw videos posted on Wednesday featured a vulnerable plea

Paris continued: 'And I don't get why I'm such an easy target. I try to be nice to everybody that I meet. I give everyone a chance. I'm usually a very trusting person.'

She spoke directly to her social media fans and followers.

'I try to be open with you guys about what I do on a daily basis, I share my life with you, I don't hide a lot, I'm very public.'

'So I'm sorry if there's something that I'm doing that you guys don't like. Maybe I'm too public? I don't know,' she conceded.

'I'm just tired of it, I'm just really, really tired.'

'I've tried sticking up for myself': Paris revealed she has attempted to avoid reading negative comments and 'block the haters'

'I don't get why I'm such an easy target': The blue-eyed beauty spoke directly to her social media fans and followers

And although Paris seemed devastatingly upset, comments on her recent social media posts expressed overwhelming support and love for the star.

One Instagram follower with the username m_unapazza_97_j wrote: 'I want you to remember every moment that we will always love and support you, and that we don't search you and appreciate just because you're Michael Jackson's daughter but especially because we love the real you.'

'@parisjackson when there are a few haters of jealous or what ever, you have to know that there are many people loves you and they want to you to stay strong and keeping your Instagram public,' wrote abdullah_qarous.

'I envy you and so do countless of other people in this world. Dude you're soooo awesome. There is a lot of hate but there is a lot of love!!!!!' __shawtayy commented.

'We've got hearts': Paris concluded her clips with a few messages to those who targeted her and others victimized

'Sorry for the rant': She apologised at the end of her 'rant' and explained

She concluded her clips with a few messages to those who targeted her and others victimized.

'I mean, we're human beings man, we've got hearts, and brains, and feelings, and when you say damaging things like that to people, it f***s them up.'

She added: 'It really f***s people up when you do that and I don't know if that's what people want, but it's exhausting, really and truly, its really exhausting.'

'Looks like I'm the villain now': Later in the afternoon, Paris took to Instagram once again, as it appeared she had received some backlash from her videos, according to a cryptic message she wrote

Paris finished: 'Sorry for the rant, it's some stuff that I've been holding in for a long time... years.'

Later in the afternoon, she took to Instagram once again, as it appeared she had received some backlash from her videos, according to a cryptic message she wrote.
She's known for flashing generous amounts of skin in risque outfits.

And Jesinta Campbell has again left little to the imagination in her latest Instagram post.

In the racy selfie, the 25-year-old reveals a hint of her ample bust as she poses at a beauty centre in nothing more than a white towel.

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Racy: Jesinta Campbell left little to the imagination in her latest Instagram post as she posed in nothing but a bath towel

'INFRA RED Time in my portable sauna!! Detoxifying & relaxing....getting that #glow,' the blonde beauty wrote alongside the photo.

'I always sleep like a baby after a session.'

It's not the first time the department store ambassador has flaunted her svelte figure naked but for a towel.

Stunner: The beauty shared this behind-the-scenes selfie from the set of a photo-shoot

In July, she shared a behind-the-scenes selfie from the set of a photo-shoot for makeup blog Max Made.

'BTS throwback with @maxmade @josie_clough,' wrote the beauty pageant princess.

She added: 'Worth it team! #socold.'

The beauty followed the caption with a string of snowflake emojis, indicating the chilly weather as she stood by the freezing ocean in nothing but a beach towel.

In demand: Jesinta recently secured an ambassador role with skincare line Olay

Meanwhile, the former Miss Universe Australia recently added to her career highlights when she secured an ambassador role with skincare line Olay.

It marks a significant milestone for the Jesinta, who recently signed with international talent company IMG.

Jesinta said: 'I am so excited to be working with Olay, its such a respected brand that aims to make women feel good about themselves, which I love.

'Like all busy women, a simple, effective skincare regimen is essential for me,' she continued.
More mystery surrounds the winner of The Bachelor as Alex Nation has now claimed she hasn't spoken to leading man Richie Strahan since appearing on the show.

It comes just hours before the highly anticipated finale on Thursday, and after the hunky ropes access technician, 31, revealed he's seen his winner 'three or four' times since filming.

The 25-year-old mother of one made the revelation during an interview with news.com.au, saying: 'I havent spoken to Richie since being on the show.'

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Mystery: More mystery surrounds the winner of The Bachelor as Alex Nation has now claimed she hasn't spoken to leading man Richie Strahan since appearing on the show

Her comments come after Richie told KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O that he's smitten with his chosen lady and has seen her a number of times during secret meetings.

He added he had to give her a secret name in an effort to keep who wins under wraps.

'It's been one of the hardest things... I've given her a secret name which is annoying,' Richie said.

'Getting up early in the the morning [to see each other], using fake names, getting picked up and going to isolated areas. Your time together goes so quick. Then you're whipped out and back on separate planes.'

The Perth-based personality said he and his chosen winner have been getting along like a house on fire now that they're away from the cameras and back in the real world.

Who takes it out? It comes just hours before the highly anticipated finale on Thursday, and after the hunky ropes access technician, 31, revealed he's seen his winner 'three or four' times since filming

'We're doing very well, never short of a conversation that's for sure,' he said, adding that he 'can't wait' to go public with their romance.

Alex's revelations also come after photos surfaced showing luggage belonging her and Richie being loaded into the SAME van the day after filming the final rose ceremony in June.

The images show two identifiable bags - which Richie and Alex have been spotted carrying before - in the back of a vehicle parked outside of a villa in Bali, Indonesia.

A black Nike gym bag, which Richie was seen holding as he arrived in Sydney recently, is clearly visible in the back of the van.

And a light green suitcase which Alex previously carried on her way to a group date back in April can also be seen just beneath it.

The single mother, from Victoria, has been spotted with the brightly-coloured luggage on several other occasions.

She was notably photographed carrying it as she flew from Melbourne to Sydney ahead of the two-part finale on Wednesday.

Neither Richie, Alex or fellow finalist Nikki Gogan appear in the photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia, but several members of The Bachelor's production staff are present.

Meanwhile, it is understood the series runner-up departed from Bali soon after Richie decided his winner over three months ago.

Gone: The girls were watered down to the final two on Wednesday's episode after model Olena, 23, was booted off the show

Since the show aired Nikki has been predicted to win, having dropped hints that's she's still talking to Richie.

Speaking to The West Australian in late July, the 29-year-old appeared to confess the pair are still in contact.

The real estate agent said: 'When I first met him I was in his eyes immediately. And thats something that continues... continued, continued.'

Nikki later spoke to NW Magazine about her relationship with Richie, again strongly hinting it is not in the past.

What's the go? Alex's revelations also come after photos surfaced showing luggage belonging her and Richie being loaded into the SAME van the day after filming the final rose ceremony in June

Smitten? Since the show aired Nikki has been predicted to win, having dropped hints that's she's still talking to Richie

While Alex has previously voiced her concerns at dating Richie as a single mother, Nikki has said that she wants a baby and not a ring from Richie.

'I think the ultimate commitment you can make to someone is having a child with them,' Nikki told TV Week.

It's unlikely Nikki's desire for a family will be a deal-breaker for Bachelor Richie, who has made no secret of the fact he's looking forward to fatherhood.
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will waive entrance fees to Point Park, atop Lookout Mountain, on National Public Lands Day, Saturday, Sept. 24. In addition, the park will celebrate the opening of a new trail to Sherman Reservation on Missionary Ridge from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. as part the parks final centennial program of the year - Creating a Neighborhood Link: Glass Street to Sherman Reservation.

National Public Lands Day is the nations largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy; more than 400 national parks will offer free entrance on Sept. 24. More than 185,000 volunteers are expected to help restore lands at approximately 2,200 sites used for recreation, education, exercise, and connecting with nature.

For more information on how to participate, please visit http://www.publiclandsday.org.




Shannen Doherty shared a photo of herself in a hyperbaric chamber on Wednesday from the start of her ongoing battle with cancer.

The 45-year-old actress in the black and white photo was shown reclining barefoot in a short-sleeved top and ripped jeans inside the pressure vessel.

'This is from the beginning of my cancer story. My reconstructive surgeon, Dr Jay Orringer, wanted to have the best outcome possible. That meant a hyperbaric chamber along with many other outside of the box methods,' Doherty wrote in the caption.

Pressure vessel: Shannen Doherty shared an Instagram photo on Wednesday of herself in a hyperbaric chamber as part of her battle against breast cancer

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star went on to praise the hyperbaric chamber procedure that provides extra oxygen to facilitate healing and her doctor.

'The future of cancer treatment should include things like this and covered by insurance so we all can choose methods like this if we want. #fightlikeagirl #su2c,' she added with the hashtag for Stand Up To Cancer.

Doherty received a public message of support on Tuesday from fellow actress Rose McGowan who famously replaced her on the popular TV series Charmed back in 2001.

McGowan, 43, took to social media and posted an open letter to build bridges between them 15 years later.

Standing up: The actress is shown on Friday at a Stand Up To Cancer event in Los Angeles

A cartoon drawing of McGowan and Doherty was accompanied by the open letter blaming Hollywood and the media for making them see themselves as rivals.

'As young women we were pitted against each other for society's pleasure,' McGowan wrote. 'The rules of Hollywood engagement brainwashed into us were truly vile.'

'We were cast in this weird fake reality show where we were supposed to be enemies. You and I were pitted against each other, I resented it greatly, she went on.

Public support: Rose McGowan took to social media on Tuesday to publicly show her support for Shannen

'I regret not being awake enough to articulate this to you at the time. Fear was drilled into me from day one in this town & you were the barometer by which my behavior was judged,' McGowan continued.

Doherty left the series about sister witches after the third seasom amid reports of bitter feuding with co-star Alyssa Milano, 43.

Her departure opened the door for McGowan to raise her profile and become a mainstream star.

Husband and wife: Kurt Iswarienko attended the Stand Up To Cancer event with wife Shannen

'I was under a microscope, one false move and I'd be branded 'difficult' just like you,' McGowan reflected.

'The Bad Girl Shaming you received at the hands of the media was merciless....... You cast a long shadow over my life. We were both cast in a fake real life role, that of the Bad Girl. I had to prove I wasn't as bad as you or I'd get the axe, too. But we were never the bad ones, it was them,' she wrote.

Doherty has been documenting her battle against cancer and is nearing the end of her chemotherapy and radiation treatment after a mastectomy in May.

Chemo day: Shannen has been documenting her battle against cancer and posted this Instagram photo last week while undergoing chemotherapy

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015 and it spread to her lymphatic system in 2016.

Doherty walked the red cpart on Saturday at Hollywood's fifth Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser.

She's been married since October 2011 to photographer Kurt Iswarienko.
She's faced a large amount of criticism as of late with her provocative fashion choices.

But Emily Ratajkowski kept it more modest than usual as she attended the Netflix screening of her show Easy on Wednesday in Los Angeles wearing a long strapless tunic and matching dress pants.

This comes after the 25-year-old's Twitter outburst on Monday defending her Julien Macdonald dress, after Tim Gunn called it 'vulgar and repugnant' on E!'s Fashion Police.

Covered up: Emily Ratajkowski wore a clean-cut outfit on Wednesday at the Easy screening in Los Angeles, after recent backlash on her fashion choices

The UK-born model carried off a classy look in a striking gold strapless top, fitted at the top and flared at the bottom.

She matched it with dress pants, which cropped at the ankles, and dainty sandal heels.

The Gone Girl actress accessorized with a burgundy clutch, gold metal chokers and studded earrings while she styled her brunette locks in loose, flirty curls.

Golden: The 25-year-old opted for a long strapless tunic with matching pants

Classy: The Gone Girl actress kept it simple and sophisticated

Controversy: After donning a revealing outfit at Friday's Harper's Bazaar Icons party, Tim Gunn called it 'vulgar' and 'repugnant' during Monday's Fashion Police; she is pictured here last week

The Love Somebody star does not hold back when it comes to embracing her sexuality, and when it comes to voicing her opinion about it.

However, Tim Gunn had something to say about her latest look from last Friday's Harper's Bazaar Icons bash when she wore a low-cut, cleavage-baring dress.

Guest hosting on Fashion Police, Tim said: 'If I saw this at a party, all I could do would be to drink. I couldn't eat...This dress is so appallingly vulgar and revealing. Why wear anything? Why not just take it all off?'

When NeNe Leakes pointed out that she did not reveal her nipples, unlike the Kardashians, the 63-year-old continued to criticize: 'That's my point. Is this all driven by social media? Is this all just about [getting] everybody shocked...This is just vulgar and repugnant.'

Teaming up: Emily happily posed for photos on the black carpet with director Joe Swanberg

Stylish: Jacqueline Toboni attended the screening in a two-piece black suit with a red floral jacket thrown on top for color

Little black dress: Elizabeth Reaser - who also stars in the anthology series - attended wearing a short, black dress, adorned with a belt tie

Emily - who has voiced her opinion on Glamour and Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter about the sexist double standards women face - turned the tables on Tim.

She tweeted: 'When I wrote my Glamour article, I was just thinking of men who call women attention seeking for being sexy.'

Adding: 'I wasn't even thinking of the hosts of nationally televised shows who call women vulgar because they can see their stomachs.'

She then went on to reference the controversial burkini ban that erupted in Nice, France writing: 'Western men in 2016: Want to ban women abroad from voluntarily covering themselves at the beach . . . then want women to cover up their "vulgar" bodies at home,' she went on to write. 'Its 2016. Why keep trying to dictate what women can wear?'

Bright! Aislinn Derbez showed some side boob in a striking orange dress

Playing it safe: Kate Micucci stuck to a neutral colour palette, but opted for a funky printed skirt

The Blurred Lines star makes her TV debut in Easy, which premieres on September 22nd.

Telling WWD in an earlier interview she said: 'Everyone should tune in. Its an anthology series; its really cool, with the director Joe Swanberg.

The show also features Orlando Bloom, Malin Akerman, Dave Franco, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Evan Jonigkeit and Elizabeth Reaser.

Her voice: Emily defended her decision after Tim Gunn's comment
She's known for her polished red carpet looks.

And on Wednesday Amy Adams didn't disappoint at a special screening and reception for her upcoming film Arrival.

The 42-year-old starlet flashed a hint of cleavage in a low-cut navy floral frock that showcased her enviable figure.

Taking the plunge: Amy Adams flashed a hint of cleavage in a low-cut navy floral frock that showcased her enviable figure

The five-time Oscar-nominated actress cut a ladylike figure in the embroidered number as she attended the New York City affair.

Her feminine garb included a ruffled waistline which only further drew attention to her slender frame.

She swept her wavy, copper mane to one side, highlighting her natural beauty and exquisite features.

A pair of white vintage-inspired peep toe heels and dainty gold chain rounded out the American Hustle star's ensemble.

Sci-fi stars! Adams and Jeremy Renner, 45, attended a special screening for their upcoming extraterrestrial thriller Arrival, in New York City on Wednesday

The green-eyed actress reunited with her American Hustle co-star, Jeremy Renner, 45, who also stars in the upcoming extraterrestrial thriller.

In the sci-fi thriller, Adams plays the role of Dr. Louise Banks, a language expert recruited by the military after a dozen mysterious spaceships begin to hover above the earth.

The attack leads to a potential global crisis that threatens the existence of all mankind. Banks is also dealing with personal upheaval, having lost her daughter to cancer.

Lucky lady! Adams paused for a snapshot with (L-R) actors Joe Pantoliano, 65, Renner and Harry Connick Jr., 49

Speaking with Deadline at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, the Golden Globe winner - who has a daughter named Aviana, aged six years, with her artist husband Darren Le Gallo - said that Arrival 'felt like a mothers story.

'I think that it didnt remind me of a film, was kind of what attracted me to it,' Adams said. 'It had a uniqueness that belonged to it.'

Also on Monday, Adams praised the film's director, Denis Villeneuve, as she said she was inspired working with the filmmaker, who was also behind the lens of movies such as 2013's Prisoners and 2010's Incendies.

Hunky Harry! The five-time Oscar-nominated actress posed with the sexy jazz crooner

'Denis was a joy to work with,' the Oscar-nominated stunner told reporters. 'He is so much fun and has so much passion and so much love for what he does and you feel it every day when you arrive on set.

'I always felt so supported ... hes the best.'

Arrival is scheduled to hit theatres on November 11.
She is arguably the prettiest face on Modern Family.

But all eyes were on Sarah Hyland's stunning stalks after she showcased her legs in a skimpy Camilla and Marc dress at a pre-Emmy's party in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old looked in fine figure indeed as she stopped on the red carpet at the Buzzies bash in the trendy West Hollywood area.

Pretty in pink: Sarah Hyland showcased her stunning stalks at a pre-Emmy in LA Wednesday

She was the very vision of pretty in pink in her satin gown, which boasted a thrillingly high hemline that drew attention to her perfect pins.

Displaying admirable balance, the 25-year-old completed her look with a pair of towering strappy stilettos.

It was not the first time she was seen out and about on Wednesday however, as she was spotted going wild in the aisles during a shopping trip in the area.

After a spell at drama school, Sarah shot to fame after winning her first major role as Haley Dunphy on the smash hit ABC sitcom.

Sofia who? These days few would argue Sarah is not the best looking Modern Family member

Time to do the Hyland fling?: Sarah posed with her award, which had a 'LOL' sign stuck on it

Everyone's a winner: Even Josh Kelly was given one of the unusual looking trophies

She has won acclaim for her turn as the eldest Dunphy daughter, sharing four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

In addition she was previously nominated for a Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Critics' Choice Television Award.

Modern Family returns to the small screen on September 21.

Last minute preparations?: She was spotted shopping nearby earlier in the day
BRIAN VINER: Philippa lives in Edinburgh, where she works in a dreary sales job and is passed over for promotion. 'You are at the right level for you,' says her condescending boss.
During a recent episode of The Bachelor Australia, single mother Alex Nation showed Richie Strahan a photo of her young son, Elijah.

And now with the prospect of being a stepfather becoming even more real for Richie, host Osher Gunsberg has given him some tips about taking on the role of stepfather.

'I took the welfare of (my fiance) Audrey's daughter very seriously,' he said to the Daily Telegraph.

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Advice: Osher has provide Richie with some much needed stepfather advice

'I realise that caring for GiGi is just as important as caring for Audrey.

'When Audrey knew I was serious about making her daughter a part of my life, she knew she could be serious about me.'

Osher also provided the 31-year-old ropes technician some tips about dating a single parent.

'I realise that caring for GiGi is just as important as caring for Audrey': Osher said

The 42-year-old television star is engaged to makeup artist Audrey Griffen, and knows a thing or two about bonding with a partner's child as Audrey has a young daughter herself.

'There are a few tricky times as the child figures out that it's okay to like both you and their father  but you just have to ride it out,' Osher told news.com.au.

'I wouldn't swap this experience for anything, it's a wonderful addition to my life and I can't imagine my days without both Audrey and GiGi.'

Photos: Single mother Alex Nation showed Richie Strahan a photo of her young son

Osher also revealed that he spoke candidly with last year's Bachelor Sam Wood, who went on to find love with mother-of-one Snezana Markoski.

'I told him that it was a challenge, but also incredibly rewarding.'

Osher proposed to makeup artist and mother-of-one Audrey in January this year after a romantic trip to Heron Island.

Sharing a photograph of the ring he proposed with on Instagram, the 41-year-old gushed of his bride-to-be: 'I couldn't be happier to have found someone that is so kind, so caring, so much fun, so smart and yes so very beautiful.'

Giving further detail of the proposal, he told followers that he dropped to one knee on Thursday to ask the mother-of-one to marry him.

Smitten: Osher proposed to makeup artist and mother-of-one Audrey in January this year after a romantic trip to Heron Island

'To cap off an incredible week of diving on Heron Island with Audrey, and after no small amount of skullduggery, on Thursday afternoon I managed to retrieve the ring from where it had been hiding in my camera bag over the last five weeks and slipped it on Audrey's finger as the sun set over the South Pacific.'

Gushing over his bride-to-be, he thanked Audrey for her 'patience' in allowing him to 'go at his own pace'.

'We met at work and I had to play it super-cool, she didn't even know our first date was a date) until I felt everything inside starting to work again and woke up one morning finding that I was in love with this wonderful woman.'

She is the only woman to have been linked to the TV personality since his marriage to Israeli actress Noa Tishby ended in 2012.
They arrived in Bali during the early hours of Thursday morning.

And it didn't take long for ex-Big Brother star, Skye Wheatley to strip down to one of her teeny tiny bikinis.

After settling into the resort, the 22-year-old showed off her surgically enhanced breasts as she posed for a photo with her boyfriend Cameron McCristal.

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That was quick! Skye Wheatley slipped into one of her teeny tiny bikinis on Thursday, hours after touching down in Bali with her boyfriend Cameron McCristal

In the captured frame, the reality TV star dressed in an orange two-piece swimsuit, which flaunted her slender sun-kissed frame.

While wearing minimal makeup, Skye pinned her wet blonde hair back and added a yellow and white frangipani behind her ear.

As she wrapped one arm around her tattooed beau, she clutched onto a beverage with the opposite hand.

Showing off: While enjoying the sunshine in a two piece swimsuit, the reality TV star flaunted her ample cleavage as she posed knee-deep in the pool

'Sorry in advance for the photo spam. But seriously holidays are the best thing in the world. And this is why we work hard my friends,' she captioned the photo.

'Life in all its beauty. Never felt so blessed. I love you my one and only @cam3ron_jam3s.'

Moments earlier, Skye posted another bikini-clad image of herself posing knee-deep in the resort's pool.

Someone's excited: Before heading to the holiday destination, Skye celebrated her trip with a typical bikini image, which showed off her pert derriere as she dressed in black bikini

She tilted her head down towards the water while sporting a pair of rounded sunglasses.

Before heading to the holiday destination, Skye celebrated her trip with a typical bikini image, which showed off her pert derriere as she dressed in black bikini.

In the captured frame, the reality turned her back to the camera and arched her toned posterior outwards as she walked through the blue sea waters.

No stopping them: Earlier, she posted a steamy image of herself and her partner Cameron as they shared a kiss on a beach

The busty blonde captioned the image: 'Cant wait to fly this dimple butt to Bali woohooo two more sleeps #bail #backinbali #bali2016'.

Earlier, she posted a steamy image of herself and her partner Cameron as they shared a kiss on a beach.

In the post, the TV star flaunted her ample assets while embracing her beau as they stood pashing in front of a picturesque beach.

The sizzling selfie was captioned: 'Myself and Cam are off to Bali on the 14th September and I'm looking for some cute boutiques that have some nice summer outfits already in stock ready to go for summer.'
He popped the question aboard a 50-foot sailboat as they cruised the Hudson River in New York last month.

And Jesse Metcalfe and Cara Santana looked positively smitten while heading to lunch at Sant Ambroeus in the Big Apple on Wednesday.

The former Desperate Housewives actor, 37, looked handsome as he casually slung his arm around the fashion blogger who showed off her tanned legs in a pair of tiny denim cut-offs.

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Lovebirds: Newly engaged Jesse Metcalfe, 37, and Cara Santana, 32, looked positively smitten while heading to lunch at Sant Ambroeus in the New York on Wednesday

Clad in a printed lilac shirt and beige trousers, the hunky star oozed confidence as he kept Cara close.

The brunette stunner, 32, complemented her tanned legs with an over-sized white sweater which skimmed her sensational frame.

Sporting little make-up, Cara seemed captivated by the love of her life and gave him an adoring glance as they strolled through the city.

Having a look: Sporting little make-up, Cara seemed captivated by the love of her life and gave him an adoring glance as they strolled

Suave: The former Desperate Housewives actor looked handsome as he casually slung his arm around the fashion blogger who showed off her tanned legs in a pair of tiny denim cut-offs

Jesse gifted his long-term girlfriend a stunning 5.5-carat emerald cut diamond ring when he proposed.

The whole evening was meticulously planned for the surprise proposal, right down to having their song - Eric Clapton's Pretty Girl - play in the background as they watched the sun set.

'It's been a long time coming, but we couldn't be happier,' the 37-year-old told US Weekly, referring to the eight years the couple has been dating.

'Don't they say it's a carat for every year you're together?' Metcalfe joked. 'I couldn't quite afford that, but I think I did pretty well.'

What a sparkler! Jesse popped the question with a stunning 5.5-carat emerald cut diamond ring aboard a 50-foot sailboat as they cruised the Hudson River in New York last month

Speaking previously about their relationship, Jesse said: 'I wouldn't say it was love at first sight. It was more of a slow burn, which I think is a better start for a relationship.

'I think if it comes on fast and furious, it generally fizzles out just as fast. We were slow and steady.'

Cara added: 'We took the time to get to know each other. We've known each other for, like, 10 years.'

The John Tucker Must Die star is also set to star in the thriller, The Ninth Passenger, set for release later this year.

'It was a slow burn': The couple have been dating together for eight years and admitted it wasn't love at first sight




She is one of Australia's most glamorous supermodels.

But when Megan Gale first met her newborn son River Alan Thomas Hampson two years ago, the ANTM judge recalls the episode as being far from glamorous.

'When he was first was brought out of me after I birthed him, he was placed on me and within seconds I was covered in poo,' Megan told Nova 100's Chrissie, Sam and Browny Friday morning.

Not so glam: When Megan Gale first met her newborn son she recalls 'she was covered in poo.' She told Nova 100's Chrissie, Sam and Browny Friday morning

And wasn't the only thing she endured either as Megan confessed she was also peed on throughout his childhood.

'You just don't care I've definitely been weed on [too],' she added.

But fast forward a few years on and the 41-year old is enjoying motherhood to its fullest.

Pee and poop! Megan confessed that her son peed on her aswell

The model often shares cute pics to social media.

Taking to Instagram last month, the mother-of-one uploaded a picture of herself receiving a tender kiss on the cheek from her little lad.

The former David Jones ambassador and her toddler also sported the stylish winter headwear which raises funds for brain cancer research.

Gushing tribute: Megan Gale received a tender kiss from her son River as she praised Carrie Bickmore on her fundraising efforts for brain cancer research



Megan and Shaun, who is 12 years her junior, have been dating for five years and share their cherubic tot, River, together.

Little bubba: River as a little baby posing with his pet dog

Meanwhile, Megan will make her return to TV in Australia's Next Top Model alongside Jennifer Hawkins, Alex Perry and guest judges Cheyenne Tozzi and the Stenmark twins on on the highly popular Fox 8 show, now in its tenth season.

The catwalk stunner makes an appearance in the latest promotional video for the Fox8 TV series which also reveals some of the 13 girls vying for the lucrative title.

The short flick begins with a montage of three up-and-coming models dressed in floor-length gowns, while a wind machine picks up parts of their glamorous dresses and raises them up into the air.

Megan appears alongside Alex in the clip.

Model couple: Megan and Shaun, who is 12 years her junior, have been dating for five years and share their cherubic tot, River, together.

New gig: Megan will make her return to TV in Australia's Next Top Model alongside Jennifer Hawkins and Alex Perry (left)

Australia's Next Top Model airs on Tuesday, September 20.
She's following in her older sister Chloe Goodman's footsteps by carving out a career in the spotlight.

And it wasn't hard to see how Lauryn Goodman manages to steal the limelight as she flaunted her curves on her recent holiday to Mykonos, Greece.

The 25-year-old rising star ensured her toned figure was on full display as she wallowed by the pool, rocking a two-tone bikini.

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Relaxing in style: Lauryn Goodman managed to steal the limelight as she flaunted her curves on her recent holiday to Mykonos, Greece

Lauryn showcased her flat stomach in a white halterneck top, which highlighted her slender waist and cleavage.

She made a poolside statement in a contrasting pair of bikini briefs, donning a denim look thong number.

The brunette's swimwear made the most of her peachy derriere, with long white strap detailing drawing the eye to her slim waistline.

Peachy: She made a poolside statement in a contrasting pair of bikini briefs, donning a denim look thong number

Poolside jaunt: Lauryn showcased her flat stomach in a white halterneck top, which highlighted her slender waist and cleavage

Natural curves: The star showed off her hourglass figure in her daring two-piece

Perfecting her look: Chloe Goodman's sister pulled her ombre locks into a top knot

Lauryn had clearly been picking up some posing tips from her sister Chloe, flicking her hair and pouting like a pro.

The star in the making hid behind a large pair of sunglasses and wore her long locks down loose.

Her ability to turn heads wasn't the only thing she shares with Chloe - who was famously a bottom double for Cameron Diaz and Cheryl.

Glamorous: Lauryn had clearly been picking up some posing tips from her sister Chloe, flicking her hair and pouting like a pro

Holiday style: Lauryn completed her ensemble with a floral print kimono and wedges

Topping up her tan: The rising star adjusted her towel in order to lie out in the sunshine

Stretching out: Lauryn stretched out on her sunlounger by the poolside

Cheeky: Her ability to turn heads wasn't the only thing she shares with sister Chloe - who was famously a bottom double for Cameron Diaz and Cheryl

Courting the limelight: Lauryn's sister Chloe, 23, shot to fame after appearing on Ex On The Beach and Celebrity Big Brother

Lauryn's sister Chloe, 23, shot to fame after appearing on Ex On The Beach and Celebrity Big Brother, but Lauryn has been making a name for herself in her own right.

The pretty blonde not only runs her own beauty blog, but is the owner of fashion brand Nineteen Clothing.

It is unclear whether she is set to follow in reality star footsteps of her sibling, who was recently given the boot off EOTB All-stars season by Stephen Bear.

Busy bee: The pretty blonde not only runs her own beauty blog, but is the owner of fashion brand Nineteen Clothing

Designer touch: Lauryn carried her belongings in a Louis Vuitton designer tote

Bikini babe: The star ensured her swimwear made the most of her incredible curves

Making a name for herself: It is unclear whether she is set to follow in reality star footsteps of her sibling, who was recently given the boot off EOTB All-stars season by Stephen Bear
The Hamilton County Sheriffs Office is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to educate parents and caregivers during national Child Passenger Safety Week, taking place Sept. 18-24. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading killer of children ages 1 to 13. From 2009 to 2013, an estimated 611,000 children were injured, and 3,335 were killed while riding in cars, pickups, vans, and SUVs.In an effort to help reduce and eliminate unnecessary child deaths from improperly installed child safety seats, the HCSO Safe Journey Program hosts weekly public car-seat checks for the public.Not only do they provide these services for free, Safe Journey staff also help train other law enforcement agencies and organizations to be certified child safety seat technicians in order to expand the ability for other agencies in the state to check the installation of child safety seats.Using car seats that are age and size-appropriate is the best way to keep your child safe, said HCSO Traffic Division Captain Charles Lowery, Jr. Cars seats matter, and having the right car seat installed and used the right way is critical. Too often, parents also move their children to the front seat before they should, which increases the risk of injury and death. The safest place for all kids under 13 is in the back seat of the car."NHTSA recommends keeping children rear-facing as long as possible up to the top height or weight allowed by their particular seats. Once a child outgrows the rear-facing only infant car seat, he/she should travel in a rear-facing convertible or all-in-one car seat. Once a child outgrows the rear-facing size limits, he or she is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether. After outgrowing the forward-facing car seats, children should be placed in booster seats until theyre the right size to use seat belts safely.Data collected at car seat check events indicate that 82% of Tennessee children are not properly restrained, this could be that they are using the wrong seat for their age or height, that they are not using a seat at all, or that the seat itself was not installed correctly. Certified child passenger safety technicians are located at 128 fitting stations across the state. They are able to inspect your vehicle, seat, and childs information to see what installation will best fit one's needs and keeptheir little ones the safest.For more information on child passenger safety laws and to find a fitting station or child passenger safety technician nearby, visit http://tntrafficsafety.org/programs/child-passenger-safety.For more information on the HCSO Safe Journey Program, please visit http://www.hcsheriff.gov/uniform_services/safe_journey.phpThe HCSO Safe Journey Program provides free car seat checks routinely on the following days and times:Safe Journey Child Passenger Safety Monthly Checkpoints:First Tuesday - 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M - Chuck E. Cheese22 Northgate ParkChattanooga, TN 37415Second Tuesday - 12:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M - Former K-Mart4801 Highway 58Chattanooga, TN 37416423-899-3232Third Tuesday - 12:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M - AAA Auto Club South2111 Gunbarrel RoadChattanooga, TN 37421423-490-2000Fourth Tuesday - 12:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M - Walgreens600 North Market Street(At the corner of Frazier and North Market)Chattanooga, TN 37415423-622-4397Safe Journey Contact Information8395 North Hickory Valley RoadChattanooga, TN 37416Phone: (423) 893-3503 ext. 3
On Wednesday she shared an Instagram snap as she honed her cooking skills alongside Jamie Oliver.

And later in the day Lindsay Lohan was pictured outside his restaurant on the Southend Pier in Essex as she tucked into the fruits of her labour.

The 30-year-old flame-haired actress looked like a true domestic goddess, as she rocked a floral vintage-inspired dress.

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Yum! On Wednesday Lindsay Lohan was pictured outside Jamie Oliver's restaurant on the Southend Pier in Essex as she tucked into the fruits of her labour

The thigh-skimming floral tea dress featured a pale blue collar and was cinched in at the waist, flaunting her tiny midriff and lean legs.

And accentuating her long pins, she wore a pair of skyscraper wedges.

Sporting her green emerald ring, The Parent Trap actress tied her hair into a loose ponytail as she got stuck in, cooking alongside Jamie for his Jamie and Jimmy's Food Fight show.

Demure: The 30-year-old flame-haired actress looked like a true domestic goddess, as she rocked a floral vintage-inspired dress- before she changed into her going-out dress later in the day

Blinging: Sporting her green emerald ring, The Parent Trap actress tied her hair into a loose ponytail

Leggy: Accentuating her long pins, she wore a pair of skyscraper wedges as she got stuck in, cooking alongside Jamie for his Jamie and Jimmy's Food Fight show

And the American actress looked like she was having a whale of a time as she laughed alongside father-of-five Jamie.

Lindsay was seen with her hands covered in eggs, flour and water as the British chef showed her the ropes.

And taking a break from the kitchen counter, Lindsay was also seen taking a stroll down the pier.

Casual: Father-of-five Jamie looked casual in jeans and a khaki shirt

Multi-talented: The American actress is set to appear as a special guest on a forthcoming episode of cookery show Jamie And Jimmys Friday Night Feast alongside its affable hosts, TV chef Jamie and his close friend, farmer Jimmy Doherty

Fun times: The American actress looked like she was having a whale of a time as she laughed alongside father-of-five Jamie

Meanwhile Jamie looked casual in jeans and a khaki shirt.

Lindsay was later seen changing into an asymmetric black dress as she headed back to London for a night at Libertine club.

Teaming the high-cut dress with cosy red loafers, she wore her hair in a sleek blow-dried style.

Getting stuck in: Lindsay was seen with her hands covered in eggs, flour and water as the British chef showed her the ropes

What's the joke? The flame-haired actress laughed with cheeky chap Jamie

Engrossed: She appeared to check her make up during filming

The American actress is set to appear as a special guest on a forthcoming episode of cookery show Jamie And Jimmys Friday Night Feast alongside its affable hosts, TV chef Jamie and his close friend, farmer Jimmy Doherty.

And earlier in the day she posted a still from the yet to aired show across social media, looking demure while watching Jamie cook up a storm in the TV kitchen.

Captioning the shot with a hashtag heavy message, Lindsay thanked the British chef, his co-host and the production team for making her feel welcome.

Shades on: And taking a break from the kitchen counter, Lindsay was also seen taking a stroll down the pier

Party girl: Lindsay was later seen changing into an asymmetric black dress as she headed back to London for a night at Libertine club

LBD: Teaming the high-cut dress with cosy red loafers, she wore her hair in a sleek blow-dried style

She wrote: #jamieandjimmysfridaynightfeast #cook with #love with@jamieoliver @jimmysfarm #food#comingsoon #thankyou my friends of the crew and team of#jamieoliver and my team @celinebopp@oliverdrama @royceangeloevents#backtowork #uk #grateful #chef.

Meanwhile the actress has been getting her personal life back on track following an acrimonious break up with former fiance Egor Tarabaso - prompted by a series of blazing rows.

She has since reportedly moved on with restaurateur Dennis Papageorgiou.

Pouty: She added a dab of peach lipgloss to make the most of her lips

Sky high: She accentuated her stature with a pair of killer heel wedges

Coming soon: Lindsay is set to appear as a special guest on a forthcoming episode of cookery show Jamie And Jimmys Friday Night Feast alongside Jamie

The couple recently enjoyed a sunshine break in Greece, during which Dennis took to Instagram to share a snap of the pair looking close while relaxing on the beach.

Following her split from Egor, insiders revealed news of Lindsay's rumoured new beau, with sources telling The Sun: '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.

Moving on: Meanwhile the actress has been getting her personal life back on track following an acrimonious break up with former fiance Egor Tarabaso

Old times: The flame-haired beauty is recovering from the dissolution of her engagement

'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.

The flame-haired beauty is recovering from the dissolution of her engagement after images surfaced earlier this year showing Egor violently grabbing her during a break in Mykonos.

She later admitted to Mail On Sunday that he assaulted her several times including an incident in their Kensington flat.
She's always one to watch on the red carpet with her stunning sartorial displays.

And Keira Knightley proved she has style in abundance as she flaunted her off-duty fashion prowess in a brightly-coloured striped co-ord as she arrived in Venice, Italy, on Tuesday.

Soaking up her beautiful surroundings, the 31-year-old actress took to the seas in style as she was accompanied by friends ahead of the attending the Culture Chanel exhibition.

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All abroad! Keira Knightley proved she has style in abundance as she flaunted her off-duty fashion prowess in a brightly-coloured striped co-ord as she arrived in Venice on Tuesday

The Chanel ambassador was fashion forward in the eye-catching clashing stripe top and midi-skirt, which highlighted her slight middle with a simple gold waistband.

Working both style and comfort, the mother-of-one ditched her heels in favour of a pair of delicate nude sandals with floral embroidery.

Keira kept the Italian sun at bay with a pair of chic circular shades and toted her belongings in a large gold Chanel quilted handbag.

The actress wore her brunette locks loose around her shoulders and went make-up free to highlight her naturally striking features.

Travelling in style: Soaking up her beautiful Italian surroundings, the 31-year-old actress took to the seas in style as she was accompanied by friends

Dressed to impress: The Chanel ambassador was fashion forward in the eye-catching clashing stripe top and midi-skirt, which highlighted her slight middle with a simple gold waistband

Keira's next role is in American comedy-drama Collateral Beauty which tells the story of an advertising executive, played by Will Smith, who falls into a deep depression following a personal tragedy.

It's been reported that the Oscar-nominated actress will also star as the Sugar Plum Fairy in a new Disney live-action version of The Nutcracker slated for release in 2018.

Variety reports that the British beauty has signed up for the film alongside Morgan Freeman and American ballerina Misty Copeland.

The live-action film - based on E.T.A. Hoffmanns 1816 story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King - is titled The Nutcracker And The Four Realms.

Talented: Keira's next role is in American comedy-drama Collateral Beauty which tells the story of an advertising executive who falls into a deep depression following a personal tragedy

Keira tied the knot with former Klaxons rocker James Righton, 33, in a romantic ceremony in Mazan in the South of France in May 2013.

The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Edie, into the world in May 2015.

Keira has since said that motherhood has put everything into perspective for her in every aspect of her life.

Speaking while appearing in Therese Raquin on Broadway in November 2015, she told Business Insider: 'Actually Im really grateful that Ive become a mother while doing something this unbelievably difficult

'Because honestly the worst that could happen is that you fail. And thats fine. I think motherhood puts everything into perspective, I really do.

'Ultimately, as long as my kid is all right, everything is fine.'
Diane Lane doesn't seem to age.

While at the Paris Can Wait premiere held at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, the 51-year-old movie star looked incredibly youthful.

Lane got her start in 1979 when she played rich kid Lauren in the love story A Little Romance. She went on to star in a number of blockbusters in the 1980s such as Rumble Fish and The Cotton Club.

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A 10 at 51: While at the Paris Can Wait premiere held at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, Diane Lane looked incredibly youthful

Flower power: The Hollywood icon looked toned and trim in a sleeveless floral dress that had a black background and light pink flowers

Flawless: Lane got her start in 1979 when she played rich kid Lauren in the love story A Little Romance; here she is seen in 1989

At this week's premiere, Diane looked toned and trim in a sleeveless floral dress that had a black background and light pink flowers. The number had a rounded neck and came below the knees.

Strappy nude heels matched nicely on the ex-wife of actor Josh Brolin.

Lane had her hair worn down and her makeup was understated by flattering. The Nights in Rodanthe actress added gold jewelry.

Fancy footwork: Strappy nude heels matched nicely on the ex-wife of actor Josh Brolin

At the event the Under The Tuscan Sun actress also posed with co-star Arnaud Viard and Paris Can Wait director Eleanor Coppola.

She is the 80-year-old the wife of The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola.

In the film Diane plays Anne, a woman who has long been married to a successful, driven but inattentive movie producer, according to imdb.com.

She unexpectedly finds herself taking a car trip from Cannes to Paris with a business associate of her husband.

Her co-star: The beauty with her Paris Can Wait co-star Arnaud Viard

The main lady: Here the actors pose with the film's director Eleanor Coppola

'What should be a seven-hour drive turns into a carefree two-day adventure replete with diversions involving picturesque sights, fine food and wine, humor, wisdom and romance, reawakening Anne's senses and giving her a new lust for life,' it was added.

Also in the film is Alec Baldwin, who welcomed new son Leonardo with Hilaria Baldwin last week.

In the March issue of More magazine, the Hollywood vet talked about how she would not let that number 'terrify' her as she touched on the subject of her love life.

Haute role: In the film Diane plays Anne, a woman who has long been married to a successful, driven but inattentive movie producer, according to imdb.com

The Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice star stated: 'I rehearsed 50. I kind of stared at it a long time. I wasnt going to let it terrify me.

'My relationship with aging is cozy. Im not trying to play 29 and holding on with white knuckles, you know? Im done saying, "Im sorry I wasnt who you needed or wanted me to be to everybody in my life."'

And the star said she still wants to grow. 'The largest room in the world is room for improvement,' said the star. 'You know, some mornings my thighs are fat. Some days my hair looks great. Thats the human condition.

'Things hurt me just as much as anyone else. My insecurities, failures. Im vulnerable to comparison.'
On Wednesday night, Olivia Culpo swung by Marchesa's New York Fashion Week show.

Though she looked stunning during the event in Skylight at Moynihan Station, it was outside the building that the model proved her knack for style.

The 24-year-old turned her formal white evening dress into part of a boho chic ensemble with the help of a black leather jacket.

VIP: On Wednesday evening, Olivia Culpo was spotted outside the Marchesa New York Fashion Week show in Skylight at Moynihan Station

Adding to the effect, she left her arms out of the jacket's sleeves, instead throwing it casually over her shoulders as she stepped out into Midtown Manhattan. Pointed studs, stretches of diamond stitching and floral patterns augmented its aesthetic.

The white dress bared the knockout legs that helped win her Miss Universe 2012.

A small, neat tuxedo collar was quickly offset by the lacy design of the rest of the dress, which spread into sheer frills at the hem.

Black stiletto boots matched a small black purse she clutched in her right hand. The Rhode Island native had trammelled her hair into an elaborate braided updo.

Add a little of this, a little of that: A black leather jacket complete with studs and a floral pattern gave her outfit an air of boho chic

Evening wear: For the actual show, Culpo was without the jacket and showed off the full frilly, lacy dress complete with a tuxedo collar

Culpo's fellow VIP guests at the fashion show included Jerry Hall, who let her wavy blonde hair fall over an elegant black and white pantsuit that framed her still enviably trim figure.

Mrs Rupert Murdoch sat front row amid a group including Ann Dexter-Jones, Coco Rocha in an intricately patterned white dress, and former Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld.

Nina Dobrev was a showstopper, flashing her pencil thin legs in a red floral mini-dress streaked with sheer sections that appeared in between the patterning.

Fabric roses ran down her arms, growing larger and more numerous as as they approached her voluminous cuffs.

Fellow attendees: Also in attendance was a spellbinding Nina Dobrev in a red floral number

VIP guest list: The front row included (from left) Ann Dexter-Jones, Jerry Hall, Coco Rocha and Carine Roitfeld

Once the show began, models strode the catwalk wearing the brand's spring/summer 2017 collection, in which the colours ranged from light and translucent to darker and solid.

Designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, who launched Marchesa in 2004, told Reuters they drew on 'the journey of the day' whilst creating the collection.

Chapman explained: 'It's really an homage to nature, the idea of looking at sunrise through the day to sunset, reflecting the colours.'
She is set to make her debut as Australia's second Bachelorette in a weeks time.

And in the latest promo for the Network 10 reality show, Georgia Love's entrance 'will be one of them you will never forget'.

In the short two minute clip, it has been portrayed that the 27-year-old trips over as she walks into the first-ever cocktail party while her awaiting bachelors looked on with a stunned expression.

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Nerves getting the better of her: In the latest promo for The Bachelorette Australia, Georgia Love's entrance 'will be one of them you will never forget'

The clip showed slow motion snippets of the broadcast journalist taking a tumble with a blur over the top of the frame.

She later confessed in her piece to camera, 'kill me now' while she dropped her face into her hands.

Earlier in the advertisement, Georgia turned red faced as she gushed over a number of the male contestants.

Tumble: In the short two minute clip, it has been portrayed that the 27-year-old slowly trips over as she walks into the first-ever cocktail party

What to do? As she stumbles in slow motion, her awaiting bachelors look on with a stunned expression before some broke into a laugh

Embarrassed: She later confessed in her piece to camera, 'kill me now' while she dropped her face into her hands

'Gosh, there are some really, really good ones in there,' she giggled, adding, 'like some really good ones'.

Also in the promo, miner Sam discussed his odds of capturing Georgia's attention during the cocktail party, telling the camera: 'All the guys are good lookin' guys. Some absolute 10s there.'

'And I'm rollin' in, you know, five and a half on a good day,' laughed the blond hopeful.

Find someone already? Earlier, Georgia turned red faced as she gushed over a number of the male contestants: 'Gosh, there are some really, really good ones in there'

Honest: Also in the promo, Sam is seen discussing his odds of capturing Georgia's attention , telling the camera: 'All the guys are good lookin' guys. Some absolute 10s there. And I'm rollin' in, you know, five and a half on a good day'

In contrast, male model Sam Johnston appeared to have confidence in spades when he was asked by Carlos who he thinks is his biggest competition.

'Definitely at the moment I think it's myself,' grinned the hunky contestant.

Georgia was introduced to audiences as Australia's second Bachelorette in late June, telling fans that she is 'so excited to start on this adventure to find love'.

On the search: Georgia was introduced to audiences as Australia's second Bachelorette in late June, telling fans that she is 'so excited to start on this adventure to find love'

Looking forward: She has previously told: 'The thought that I might find the man of my dreams is what excites me more than anything'

'I'm looking for a man who can make me laugh and who I can laugh with who's driven and knows what they want out of life and has the passion to achieve that.

'The thought that I might find the man of my dreams is what excites me more than anything,' she added.

The Bachelorette Australia will launch next Wednesday on Network 10 at 7.30pm.
She seems to be getting skinnier by the day, but this fitness fanatic does not think so.

Khloe Kardashian hit the gym with religious fervour, claiming she has got fat again.

The 32-year-old put in a serious sweat session on Thursday morning in Miami where she is filming Season 13 of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

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Not feeling her best: Khloe Kardashian hit the gym with religious fervour on Thursday, calming she has got fat again

Pushing herself: The 32-year-old put in a serious sweat session on Thursday morning in Miami where she is filming Season 13 of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Sharing her gruelling workout session with fans on Snapchat, Khloe explained that brother-in-law Kanye West took her trainer Don Brooks - aka DB Donamatrix - on tour and so she has not had him to put her though her paces.

Or, in Khloe's words, Kanye made her fat.

The star moaned: 'So Don has been on tour with Kanye so I'm fat now and it is all because of Don and Kanye.'

While the reality star has been looking very slender as she films around Miami, Khloe was determined to give the gym her all.

It's Kanye's fault: Sharing her gruelling workout session with fans on Snapchat, Khloe explained that brother-in-law Kanye West took her trainer Don Brooks - aka DB Donamatrix - on tour and so she has not had him to put her though her paces

Been busy: The star moaned, 'So Don has been on tour with Kanye so I'm fat now and it is all because of Don and Kanye' (Kanye is pictured here during his Saint Pablo tour)

Let's do this: With the help of Don, the star kicked off her workout with some jump rope, making skipping look easy even in 85F degree heat

'But guess what? We're going to get it back in one f**king day!'

Not fooling around, Khloe then got to work on her 'fat' body mixing cardio with weight and strength training in Miami's heat.

With the help of Don, the star kicked off her workout with some jump rope, making skipping look easy even in 85F degree heat.

Working on those buns: Warm up completed, the star fired up those famous Kardashian glutes doing jump squats on a weight machine

No rest and repeat: While just one weighted leap looked hard enough, Khloe endured four sets of 20 jumps

Sweat it out: And if that was not enough, after each set the gym junkie returned to doing a minute of jump rope to get her heart rate back up

Warm up completed, the star fired up those famous Kardashian glutes doing jump squats on a weight machine.

While just one weighted leap looked hard enough, Khloe endured four sets of 20 jumps.

And if that was not enough, after each set the gym junkie returned to doing a minute of jump rope to get her heart rate back up.

Keep it going: While not doubt her lower body was burning, Don had more tricks up his sleeve getting Khloe to do more squats

Push it: This time the 32-year-old did squats as she worked her upper body with rows using a weight machine

Abs of steel: If that does not sound intense enough, Don also had the star doing 30 abdominal-targeting moves after she completed each exercise

While not doubt her lower body was burning, Don had more tricks up his sleeve getting Khloe to do more squats.

This time the 32-year-old did squats as she worked her upper body with rows using a weight machine.

Of course, between each of the thirty rep sets - of which she did three - Khloe was back to jumping rope.

If that does not sound intense enough, Don also had the star doing 30 abdominal-targeting moves after she completed each exercise.

Burn baby burn: Don did not let her upper body get neglected either, with the trainer then having the star do seated bicep curls

Sweat in style: For her session, Khloe donned a pair of cropped black leggings with Los Angeles written on the leg, a tight black tank, a matching cap and a pair of APL trainers

While she showed perfect jump rope form, Khloe can close to tripping up as she did some fast step up moves between weights.

Don did not let her upper body get neglected either, with the trainer then having the star do seated bicep curls.

While Khloe may not be feeling in peak condition she certainly looked pretty good in her workout wear.

For her sweat session, Khloe donned a pair of cropped black leggings with Los Angeles written on the leg, a tight black tank, a matching cap and a pair of APL trainers.

In the eye of the beholder: While the rest of the world looks on at Khloe and is wowed be her transformation and seemingly shrinking frame, the star has not been feeling herself of late

'Put down the fork': On Friday, the star complained on Instgram that she was not in shape

While the rest of the world looks on at Khloe and is wowed be her transformation and seemingly shrinking frame, the star has not been feeling herself of late.

On Friday, the star took to Instagram to complain again she was not in shape.

The 32-year-old reality star shared the picture from seven weeks ago which garnered one million likes.

The critical star write: 'Throw back pic.... I miss my in shape body put down the fork Khloe.'

Not feeling it: Khloe's lack of body confidence at the moment could explain why she has been covering up with coats
Ruth Wilson has officially denied dating her co-star in The Affair, Joshua Jackson, despite their very cozy night out together on August 22.

'It is boring gossip,' the 34-year-old Golden Globe winner clarified to Vanity Fair on Wednesday.

'If you want an answer about whether we're dating or not, "no" is the absolute truth.'

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'"No" is the absolute truth': Ruth Wilson has officially denied dating her co-star in The Affair, Joshua Jackson, despite their very cozy night out together on August 22 (pictured Saturday)

Eyebrows raised when the British beauty and the Canadian 38-year-old spent eight solid hours together sipping wine at the East Village Italian eatery, Gemma.

'We all go out a lot. We're four Irish-Catholic actors who happen to be on a show together, and that means we like a drink and we like to have a good time. So all four of us go out,' insisted Wilson - referring to castmates Dominic West and Maura Tierney.

'You can tell from that photo that we're friends. I just sort of go, "All right, well, whatever, I have to keep answering."'

Close: Eyebrows raised when the 34-year-old Golden Globe winner and the Canadian 38-year-old spent eight solid hours together sipping wine at the East Village Italian eatery, Gemma

The British beauty told Vanity Fair: 'You can tell from that photo that we're friends. I just sort of go, "All right, well, whatever, I have to keep answering"'

Wilson insisted: 'We all go out a lot. We're four Irish-Catholic actors who happen to be on a show together, and that means we like a drink and we like to have a good time. So all four of us go out'

Their sighting happened just one month after Joshua and his live-in girlfriend of a decade - The Infiltrator's Diane Kruger - confirmed their amicable split.

On Monday, the German 40-year-old - who was rumoured to have 'made out with' her Sky co-star Norman Reedus in December - dined with Garrett Hedlund at Soho pub, Ear Inn.

And while Ruth offers that she might never have children, the rest of her personal life is strictly off limits.

Still friends: Their sighting happened just one month after Joshua and his live-in girlfriend of a decade - The Infiltrator's Diane Kruger (R) - confirmed their amicable split (pictured August 15)

Canoodling: On Monday, the German 40-year-old - who was rumoured to have 'made out with' her Sky co-star Norman Reedus - dined with Garrett Hedlund (L) at Soho pub, Ear Inn

'People don't know what goes on in my private life, so they have to make conjecture from something that is photographed,' the Tony Award nominee scoffed.

'You don't actually know if I'm single or not. You haven't asked that question, and I haven't told you that answer. I don't talk about it.'

The National Theatre just announced that the Constellations thespian will head up their production of Hedda Gabler, which begins previews December 5 at the Lyttelton Theatre.

'You don't actually know if I'm single or not': And while Ruth offers that she might never have children, the rest of her personal life is strictly off limits (pictured Saturday)

Bored newlywed: The National Theatre just announced that the Constellations thespian will head up Hedda Gabler, which begins previews December 5 at the Lyttelton Theatre

Begins streaming October 28 on Netflix! But first, the Tony Award nominee plays a hospice nurse called Lily in the horror flick I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House

But first, Wilson plays a hospice nurse called Lily in the horror flick I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, which begins streaming October 28 on Netflix.

Catch more of Ruth and the Dawson's Creek alum in the third season of The Affair, which premieres November 20 on Showtime.
Phillip Schofield has been forced to apologise to viewers for the second day running after Poldark star Heida Reed swore live on air.

On Thursday, the This Morning host was interviewing Heida and her co-star Luke Norris about filming the hit BBC show in 'tricky weather.'

Heida said: 'I just came back. It was p******g it down, and apparently it was the hottest day of the year here.'

Swear on air: Heida Reed used bad language on This Morning when she described the weather while filming Poldark as 'p****** down'

Phillip swiftly apologised to viewers directly, saying: 'Oh, sorry about that. Thats twice in two days.'

Heida, who plays Elizabeth Poldark on the show, gave an embarrassed laugh in response.

The daytime host had also apologised to viewers after Sam Neill had claimed he was 'half p****d while spending time in his vineyard.

'I'm sorry about that': Phillip Schofield had to apologise to viewers on Thursday's edition of This Morning

It seems to have been a week of apologies for the daytime show after their prank about announcing the new hosts of Bake Off fell flat.

Speculation was rife on Wednesday when the This Morning Twitter account shared: 'Are @Schofe and @hollywills taking over from Mel & Sue? We reveal all at 10:30am only on #ThisMorning'.

However, instead of announcing the new presenters as promised, the pair annoyed fans by simply revealing they would not be taking over from Mel and Sue.

Swear on air: Heida looked a bit embarrassed after Phillip apologised for her language

Interview time: Heida and her co-star Luke Norris were on This Morning to talk about the new series of Poldark

But Holly and Phil were unaware of the Twitter post and were mortified when Rylan Clark informed them of the social media backlash later in the show.

A gobsmacked Phil insisted: 'We had no idea that our interactive team had done that!'

Holly chimed in: 'We didn't even know! We're so sorry!'

Vintage vibes: In order to embody a character from the late 18th century, Heida has to squeeze herself into fitted corsets and tight dresses to play Elizabeth

Meanwhile Hedia revealed she's had to suffer for her craft, admitting that she has to limit her food intake to fit into the vintage corsets.

Appearing on Thursday's episode of This Morning alongside co-star Luke Norris, the 28-year-old Icelandic actress confessed she tried to get around the restrictions, but it made her unwell.

Heida said: 'In the first series I ate what I wanted, I had dessert. But I paid for it in indigestion.

'There's no space! So I'm more careful now.'

No way out: Appearing on Thursday's episode of This Morning with co-star Luke Norris, the 28-year-old Icelandic actress confessed she tried to get around the restrictions, but to no avail

But the pretty brunette wasn't the only one suffering behind the scenes, as Luke explained he was thrown into the deep end on his first day of filming.

Luke - who plays Dr Dwight Enys - explained: 'Horse riding was a new thing for me on the first day and I had to change horses quite a few times.

'Charlie my horse is usually well behaved, but he one day took off into a thicket!'

He added that there was also an uncomfortable scene involving a pig's heart that left him feeling squeamish.

Thrown in: The pretty brunette wasn't the only one suffering behind the scenes, as Luke explained he was thrown into the deep end on his first day of filming

When they're not on set, the cast like to spend time together bonding, and Heida revealed that she whisked them all away to spend time in her native Iceland.

And whilst she may have left her hometown ten years ago, she revealed she still hadn't quite adapted to the British weather.

Leaving Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield astounded when she accidentally swore live on air, she quipped: 'I just came back from Cornwall and it was p***ing it down! But apparently it was the hottest day of the year.'

On tour! When they're not on set, the cast like to spend time together bonding, and Heida revealed that she whisked them all away to spend time in her native Iceland

Oops: Heida left hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield astounded when she accidentally swore live on air, quipping that it was 'p***ing it down' in Cornwall

Casual but chic: For their TV appearance, Heidi looked effortlessly cool in a pair of oversized black dungarees whilst Luke donned a striped grey top and straight cut jeans

Season two of Poldark kicked off earlier this month, and follows the story of soldier Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) who returns home from the American War of Independence he finds his father dead and estate ruined.

What's worse, his former lover Elizabeth (Reed) assumed he was dead and ended up marrying his cousin Francis (Kyle Soller).

He then sets out to regain his village and control of the mines lost during his time in battle, with the help of his servant Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) who he ends up marrying.

But his character has faced a struggle between his love for his wife and his lust for ex-fiance Elizabeth.

Back with a bang: Season two of Poldark kicked off earlier this month, and follows the story of soldier Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) pictured with Heida
She has been very busy rehearsing for her upcoming stint on Strictly Come Dancing.

But Daisy Lowe took a break from grooving to enjoy a night of fashion, where she found her fame, on Thursday night as she attended the V By Very London Fashion Week party in London.

The model, 27, is clearly preparing for her barely-there outfits on the BBC show, opting for a semi-sheer frock that displayed her bra and pants for all to see.

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Saucy! Daisy Lowe, 27, displayed her bra and knickers for all to see as she headed to the V by Very SS17 Fashion Week party in a sheer dress on Thursday night

The star opted for a demure peach tea dress at first glance, featuring soft ruffled sleeves and a dainty floral print.

However the outfit was of thin, sheer material, showcasing a set of black lace lingerie underneath and upping the sex appeal of the look.

The outfit flattered her enviable model figure by clinging to her toned middle, and gave a glimpse of her ample cleavage with its low-cut V neckline.

Vintage darling! The star opted for a demure peach tea dress at first glance

Keeping things co-ordinated and chic, the brunette beauty added a matching round nude bag, enhancing the outfit's vintage vibe.

Not wanting to detract from the pretty dress - and her incredible body - she completed her look with simple cream and silver heeled sandals and a slick of classic red nail polish.

Daisy looked the picture of elegance as she posed at the event, before uniting on the carpet with her model pal Portia Freeman.

Pretty: The dress featured soft ruffled sleeves and a dainty floral print

What's down be-Lowe? However the outfit was of thin, sheer material, upping the sex appeal of the look as it showcased a set of black lace lingerie underneath

Strutting into the event, which showcased the online retailer Very's new SS17 collection, the star looked in better shape and happier than ever - perhaps as result of her daily dancing rehearsals.

Daisy is gearing up for her appearance on beloved BBC series Strictly Come Dancing later this month - after being paired with dancing pro Aljaz Skorjanec on the launch show.

She recently expressed that being paired with the Slovenian groover is one of the main reasons behind her excitement for the show.

Gal pals: Daisy united on the carpet with her model pal Portia Freeman, dressed in a chic striped jumpsuit

Catching up: The stars looked the best of friends as they nuzzled their faces together jokingly on the carpet

Model figure: The outfit flattered her enviable model figure by clinging to her toned middle

Taking to Instagram after a recent rehearsal, the star posted a photo of the pair enjoying breakfast together - with Daisy highly praising her dancing hunk.

She wrote alongside the photo: 'Breakfast of champions... Day 2 training with my dream dance partner @aljazskorjanec for @bbcstrictly'

However, she was later quick to reveal her overwhelming fears about dancing in front of millions.

Talking at the GQ Man of the Year Awards, she said: 'I'm so nervous I just don't want to fall over or be eliminated first.

Keeping it simple: Not wanting to detract from the pretty dress - and her incredible body - she completed her look with simple cream and silver heeled sandals

Cheeky: The dress also gave a glimpse of her ample cleavage with its low-cut V neckline

'I'm terrified something awful will happen, like I'll lose a shoe on the dance floor or split my costume.

'But this is the chance of a lifetime and I don't want to mess it up.'

Daisy documented her fun night of fashion on her Instagram, posting a cosy selfie of herself alongside Portia and former Strictly star Georgia May Foote, captioned: 'Girls night OUT! Thank you @veryuk #VbyVery for such a brilliant night out.'

Georgia beamed in the selfie, clearly happy to be in girly company after her recent breakup from her former Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice.

'Girls night out!': Daisy documented her fun night of fashion on her Instagram, posting a cosy selfie of herself alongside Portia (left) and former Strictly star Georgia May Foote (middle)

The actress, who is set to take over from Pixie Lott in Breakfast at Tiffany's later this month, is throwing herself fully into work and socialising after confirming her split from Giovanni via Twitter in August.

She sadly wrote to followers: 'It is with great sadness we have decided to split up. There is nobody else involved. Although it was not an easy decision to make, sometimes you realise that it is better to be friends and this is one of those times.

'We both have very busy work schedules for the rest of the year so we are both going to focus on our upcoming work projects and we wish each other well for the future.'

Georgia and Gio met when they were paired together for the BBC hit show's 2015 season last August, finishing in second place after The Wanted's Jay McGuinness.

Star-studded: Georgia May Foote and Donna Air also headed to the event in bright ensembles
Reese Witherspoon is an avid fitness fanatic.

And the 40-year-old actress went for yet another intense workout in the Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Thursday.

The multi-tasking mother-of-three was spotted leaving the gym wearing a tank top that read 'Get Up And Dance'.

Back to business: Reese Witherspoon was up and about again as she went for an intense workout in Brentwood on Thursday

She teamed the grey shirt with a pair of black capri leggings and multi-coloured trainers.

The Oscar-winning actress donned a black backpack and a pair of sunglasses with light blue lenses as she made her way to her vehicle.

Clearly it was back to business for the star, who recently returned from the Toronto International Film Festival.

Feeling good: The multi-tasking mother-of-three was spotted leaving the gym wearing a tank top that read 'Get Up And Dance'

Matching: She teamed the grey shirt with a pair of black capri leggings and multi-coloured trainers

The actress was there to promote her latest animation film, Sing.

The highly-anticipated movie is about a koala named Buster who recruits his best friend to help him drum up business for his theater by hosting a singing competition.

Reese voices Rosita, a pig who is a stay-at-home mother looking after her many, many piglets.

The talented cast of award-winning actors includes Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey.

Gym chic: The Oscar-winning actress donned a black backpack and a pair of light blue sunglasses as she made her way to her vehicle

Christmas fun: Reese will voice the character of Rosita the pig in animated movie Sing alongside Matthew McConaughey, due out December 21

Taron Egerton, Nick Offerman, Seth MacFarlane, Leslie Jones, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Saunders and Jennifer Hudson also bring the animals to life.

The film will be out just in time for Christmas on 21 December.

Meanwhile, Reese was spotted out later in the day visiting a friend who lives near her Brentwood home.

The Legally Blonde star looked cute in a long sleeved pink blouse with a tie neck and boot-cut dark wash jeans. She completed her outfit with a burgundy handbag that she wore across her body and matching shoes.

Looking good: Later in the day Reese visited a pal who lives near her Brentwood home
Renowned conservationist and naturalist John Muir once described Grandfather Mountain as the face of all heaven come to earth.



Mr. Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, celebrated Grandfathers natural splendor during his Sept. 25, 1898, visit. Now, Grandfather Mountain is returning the favor.

John Muir Day will take place on Sunday, Sept.

25, offering free admission to Sierra Club members.

"John Muir visited Grandfather Mountain in late September of 1898, said Mickey Shortt, director of education and natural resources for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, the nonprofit organization that oversees the Linville nature preserve and travel attraction. While here, he seemed most impressed by the diversity of trees in the deciduous forest around Grandfather and the endless ridges that came into view from the peaks.

As such, Grandfather Mountain is inviting Sierra Club members to visit the park to honor the work and legacy of Muir and the organization he founded, Mr. Shortt said.

Lisa McWherter, outings leader for the Wenoca Group of the Sierra Club, can see why Mr. Muir was so impressed, calling Grandfather Mountain an unusually beautiful area.

Mr. Muir, on the hand, wasnt quite as succinct. Just prior to his visit, hed been ill with a bronchial cough for months, but wrote to his wife after climbing Grandfather, The air has healed me. I think I could walk 10 miles and not be tired.

And according to an article in American Museum Journal, Mr. Muir wrote of the view from the top, saying, I couldnt hold in and began to jump about and sing and glory in it all.

The visit also came during a considerably active period in Mr. Muirs career.

The time he was at Grandfather Mountain was actually pretty significantbecause it was just after he founded the Sierra Club, and the creation of the National Parks was just getting off the ground, said Jesse Pope, executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. For him to come to Grandfather Mountain and recognize its significance, compared to all the national treasures and wonders of the Western United States, I think that says a lot of about the diversity and landscape of Grandfather Mountain.

Mr. Muirs endorsement, as it were, isnt something that Grandfathers naturalist staff takes lightly.

Our mission is to inspire conservation, and I think thats what John Muir was all about, Shortt said. He wanted to protect places so future generations could enjoy them. Thats the intent with our (educational) programs  to leave visitors with something that moves them to care about the resources across the country and also in their backyard.

Mr. Muirs legacy is shared among the Sierra Clubs approximately 2.4 million members and supporters. As a way of honoring their commitment to conservation, on Sept. 25, Grandfather Mountain will grant free admission to Sierra Club members with valid proof of membership.

For more information on Grandfather Mountain and John Muir Day, as well as additional events and programming, visit www.grandfather.com, or call (828) 733-2013. For more information on the Sierra Club, visit www.sierraclub.org.

The not-for-profit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of Grandfather Mountain. For more information, call (800) 468-7325, or visit www.grandfather.com to plan a trip.
She recently confessed she has only just learned to love her figure, after a deep hatred of her 'big boobs'.

But newly-confident Ashley James was certainly not afraid to show off her killer body on Thursday night - or her bold sense of style too, as she headed to the Cosmopolitan FashFest 2016 in London.

The former Made in Chelsea star caught the attention of all around in an eye-popping skin-tight latex dress, as she arrived at the Old Billingsgate Market bash.

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Hubba rubber! Ashley James caught the attention of all around in an eye-popping skin-tight latext dress as she arrived at Cosmopolitan's FashFest 2016 in London on Thursday

Tightly hugging to her figure from top to bottom, the reality star left little to the imagination in the racy latex number.

Featuring a low-cut V neckline, the blonde flashed her plentiful cleavage for all to see, enhancing her bust as the material clung tightly to her chest.

Falling to just above the knee, the dress first cinched in at her shapely waist, before stretching across her lower body to lengthen her leggy frame.

Vixen: Tighly hugging to her figure from top to bottom, the reality star left little to the imagination in the racy latex number

Model material: Ashley looked sensational as she posed on the carpet

As if the rubber material was not enough of a statement, Ashley opted for a vibrant orange colour to make for a truly show-stopping ensemble.

Proving she is stylish as well as sexy, the London-born beauty added a pair of bright turquoise heels to the look, perfectly achieving the colour blocking trend.

Completing her look with a sultry smoky eye and loose tousled waves, styled by Secret Spa, the E4 star looked every inch the blonde bombshell as she posed up a storm at the event.

Oozing both poise and sex appeal, Ashley looked a far cry from the timid and insecure girl she once was.

Figure-hugging: With the material clinging tightly to her chest, the star enhanced her plentiful bust in the ensemble

Bombshell! Featuring a low-cut V neckline, the blonde flashed her plentiful cleavage for all to see

Ashley revealed to MailOnline recently that her full bust had once been the source of her own insecurity.

'When I was 15 my mum and I went for a consultation about a breast reduction just because I hated [my breasts],' she revealed.

'But at the moment I don't think I would have cosmetic surgery... but I totally understand why people would. Each to their own.'

Ashley only got as far as having a consultation but she now reveals that she felt she was being sexualised by her peers and even her teachers for her natural body shape.

Sizzling: Completing her look with a sultry smoky eye and loose tousled waves, the E4 star looked every inch the blonde bombshell

The blonde has also been open about her struggle with severe insecurities in the past, which led to her development of body dysmorphia.

She told MailOnline: 'My friends were amazing. I live with (model and DJ) Charlotte de Carle and since living with her Ive never had a panic attack around my body, which I used to.

'Its a horrible thing because I lost perception of my own body and how I looked, so even though I knew I was wearing size eight clothes my eyes would see me as fat.

'It was very stressful, but Im in a much much happier place with my body - going to Barrys Bootcamp and exercising regularly has helped that.'

Colour pop: Showing she is stylish as well sexy, the London-born beauty added a pair of bright turquoise heels to the look

The troubled star revealed she has learnt to control her body dysmorphia, but admitted she was concerned about the messages some designers could be sending out as fashion week approaches.

Discussing the controversial use of super slim models on the catwalk, Ashley said: 'If I were to see girls who quite clearly have an eating disorder on the catwalk then that would make me really sad.

'It's really disappointing that fashion houses can be that irresponsible because it's giving out a specific message but so unhealthy.

'No one should need to be skinny to work.'

Girl to woman: Oozing both poise and sex appeal, Ashley looked a far cry from the timid and insecure girl she once was, having suffered body dysmorphia in the past

Started from the bottom: The blonde has been open about her struggle with severe insecurities in the past, which led to her development of body dysmorphia

Chelsea style: Ashley was joined by co-star Lucy Watson, who put on an equally daring display in a sheer black blouse, showcasing her black lace bra underneath

Daring! Lucy's skirt barely protected her modesty as it swept past her thighs

Stealing the limelight: The reality stars were also joined by TOWIE's Lauren Pope, who flashed her abs in a pair of trendy high-waisted culottes and an eye-wateringly busty top

A bit of all-white: Jess Wright stunned in a chic white jumpsuit as she took to the carpet

Sheer daring! The crop top showed off her racy white bra worn beneath

Ashley was joined at the event by a host of other stars - including her Made in Chelsea pal Lucy Watson.

Lucy, who quit the reality show last month, put on an equally daring display in a sheer black blouse, showcasing her black lace bra underneath.

She paired the raunchy top with a micro-mini skirt, flashing her toned and tanned pins for all to see.

The reality stars were also joined by TOWIE's Lauren Pope, who flashed her abs in a pair of trendy high-waisted culottes and an eye-wateringly busty top.

Love Island's Olivia Buckland also headed to the fashion bash in a chic bardot midi dress of an elaborate paisley print.

Bright: Katie Piper stood out in a vibrant orange top and co-ordinating sleek trousers

Sports luxe: Katie looked chic in the colourful and comfortable ensemble

Gothic goddess: X Factor winner Rebecca Ferguson looked gorgeous in an elaborate black gown

Chelsea girls: Frankie Gaff also headed to the event in a lace white mini dress, as did Tiffany Watson in a bronze satin blazer

Tribal chic: Melissa Hemsley ditched her cooking utensils for a night of fashion, making her stylish arrival in a beaded floral mini dress

Wowing in white! Lilah Parsons stunned in a cream halter dress with a bow that wrapped around her neck and met at the front to show off her incredible figure

Shades of blue: Emma Willis looked effortless in a simple strappy navy jumpsuit

Business in the front... The Big Brother star looked incredibly chic in the square-neck jumpsuit

Silver siren: Yasmin Evans looked chic in a grey slip that she wore beneath a green striped coat
Mark Wahlberg makes a strong return as aspiring inventor Cade Jeager in Transformers: The Last Knight.

The 45-year-old actor was shooting what looked like some 'explosive' scenes for the sci-fi adventure in front of Alnwick Castle in Northern England on Thursday.

Wahlberg had the mark of a roughened up man too judging by the holes in his grey T-shirt and the layers of dirt applied to his otherwise handsomely rugged face.

Action: Mark Wahlberg joined co-star Sir Anthony Hopkins on the set of Transformers: The Last Knight in front of Alnwick Castle in Northumbria, UK on Thursday

The American star had the privilege of working with a real knight, Sir Anthony Hopkins, 78, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for his contribution to the arts.

The two stars chatted amiably between scenes as production crew milled about the castle grounds owned by the 12th Duke of Northumberland.

Alnwick Castle is considered one of the most iconic places in the UK, and director Michael Bay has secured the grounds for his film through Saturday.

Rugged: The 45-year-old Wahlberg was seen strolling down the lane in a torn T-shirt

Explosive scenes: The scenes they were filming might have been in the aftermath of an explosion, according to the UK's The Mirror

Boom: Earlier in the week, special effects wizards produced explosions captured by a drone which might explain Mark's weary and dirty appearance

Serious set: Mark contemplated the scene with the film's director Michael Bay

According to the UK's The Mirror, the special effects team produced two explosions which were captured by a drone camera earlier in the week.

So no wonder Mark was appearing a little world weary in torn T-shirt and scuffed denim jeans on Thursday.

Mark's hair was long and curling around his neck as he sauntered from one end of the country lane to another.

The making of a legend: Mark may play the hero in the fifth Transformers installment but Hopkins is a real knight who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993

Almost ready: Hopkins chewed on a cigar besides the patient Mark and a dog

So that's whose dog it is: The Welsh-born actor showed he's got a way with dogs too

Hopkins was looking quite put together, as one would expect, in brown trousers tucked into Wellingtons, blue shirt and tie and a black leather jacket.

The Oscar-winning Welsh-born actor was joined on set by his wife Stella Arroyave.

Hopkins has also been busy this summer filming Thor: Ragnarok opposite Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston.

His other half: The acting legend was joined on the set by his wife Stella Arroyave

The acting legend also stars in the new HBO series Westworld, which is based on the 1973 film of the same name.

In 2014's Transformers: Age Of Extinction, Mark struggled against the bad guys to protect his daughter (Nicola Peltz) after discovering a rusted Optimus Prime.

'Nobody understands the ramifications of what the government will do to anybody who holds a transformer,' Wahlberg previously told Screenrant.

'There's no trying to settle things peacefully.'
They are the most talked about couple in Australia.

And now that The Bachelor has wrapped, Richie Strahan, 31, and his lady love Alex Nation, 24, are able to speak openly about each other - without using code names.

On KIIS FM on Friday, the couple revealed the fake monikers they called each other in an effort to keep their romance under wraps ahead of the show finale.

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'Millie' and 'Chase': Alex Nation, 24, and Richie Strahan, 31, have revealed the code names they used for each other in an effort to keep their romance under wraps

Introducing Millie: During an interview on the radio show, Alex confessed her code name was Millie

During in interview on the radio show, Alex confessed her code name was Millie.

And Richie?

'She called me Chase,' the Bachelor simply stated.

'Producers suggested Doug but I thought, "I don't want to be a Doug.'"

Don't want to be Doug: Richie was meanwhile called Chase by Alex

So happy: The pair shared plenty of laughs during their first radio interview together

Shock: Australia was left shocked on Thursday night when Richie chose single mum and Victorian venue manager Alex over Nikki Gogan, 28

He added, 'It's been one of the hardest things ... I've given her a secret name which is annoying.'

'Getting up early in the the morning [to see each other], using fake names, getting picked up and going to isolated areas.

'Your time together goes so quick. Then you're whipped out and back on separate planes.'

Total bliss: The Perth rope access technician earlier this week revealed that he saw Alex 'three or four times' after filming in Bali and that their relationship has been 'total bliss'

The Perth rope access technician earlier this week revealed that he saw Alex 'three or four times' after filming in Bali and that their relationship has been 'total bliss'.

'We're doing very well, never short of a conversation that's for sure,' he said, adding that he couldn't wait to go public with their romance.
She was last seen stepping out in an extremely racy minidress.

But Olivia Buckland, 23, opted for a more demure approach on Thursday, when she attended two events in London in two different Bardot-style ensembles.

The Love Island star slipped into a shimmering silver top with a loose-fitting pair of black trousers for the Reviv COQ10+ launch in Knightsbridge, which she attended with fellow reality starlet Tina Stinnes, 21.

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Wearing it well: Olivia Buckland, 23, opted for a more demure approach on Thursday, when she attended two events in London in two different Bardot-style ensembles

Reality stars: The Love Island star slipped into a shimmering silver top with a loose-fitting pair of black trousers for the Reviv COQ10+ launch in Knightsbridge, which she attended with fellow reality starlet Tina Stinnes, 21

She opted for a small pair of heels, her tattooed foot clearly visible, and finished her look with a black clutch and matching choker.

The beauty seemingly went for an 80s style; her blow-dryed locks were full of volume and her berry lips and dark eye make-up added to the glamour.

Tina looked great in a patterned playsuit with its low-cut front revealing plenty of cleavage.

Chic: Olivia changed into a shimmering silver top with a loose-fitting pair of black trousers for the Reviv launch

Gal pals: Tina looked great in a patterned playsuit with its low-cut front revealing plenty of cleavage

Retro: The beauty seemingly went for an 80s style; her blow-dryed locks were full of volume and her berry lips and dark eye make-up added to the glamour

Looking good: The girls no doubt turned plenty of heads at the event

Smouldering: Olivia gazed into the camera seductively as she posed for pictures

Health kick: The booster shot is said to aid fitness enhancement and recuperation

A style for every occasion: She styled her two-toned locks in a sleeker fashion at the Cosmopolitan #Fashfest 2016 launch in the capital

Her long blonde locks cascaded down her front, and she opted for more natural make-up tones than her gal pal.

The starlet's slender limbs were on full display, and her white pedicure stood out against her black heels.

For her second outfit of the night, Olivia slipped into a dark grey dress and towering cream heels.

Fresh-faced: Tina looked radiant as she sauntered through the night

Cute: Tina gazed intently into the camera and produced a subtle smile

Photogenic: The blonde beauty looked great in every shot she had

In shape: Abi Clarke showed off her toned tum in a green crop top and high-waisted trousers

Bootiful: She turned to the side to showcase her pert posterior

She styled her two-toned locks in a sleeker fashion at the Cosmopolitan #Fashfest 2016 launch in the capital.

Olivia posed up a storm upon arrival. The stylish dress clung to her slender curves and her complexion emanated a radiant glow.

Her beau Alex Bowen recently moved into her Essex home after the pair found love on the hit reality show.

Coordinated: She opted for a small pair of heels, her tattooed foot clearly visible, and finished her look with a black clutch and matching choker

Glamour girl: Upon arrival Olivia looked bright-eyed and produced her best pout

Walk this way: Olivia opted for a more demure approach than her previous outing which saw her dress in a scanty minidress

Speaking to The Sun shortly after completing the move, Olivia revealed her boyfriend had already made himself at home.

'Hes in the flat now, taking up some room,' she said. 'Hes nearly got more clothes than me!'

Despite going from strength to strength, the couple were rocked last month when nude pictures of hunky Alex leaked online.

An explicit naked picture of Love Island hunk Alex sent his fans into meltdown when it began doing the rounds on Twitter.

Olivia was quick to shoot down reports of a split, nonetheless, tweeting on Friday: 'Don't worry my beautifuls, @ab_bowen and I are perfectly fine'.

Leggy display: Imogen Thomas rocked a white shirt with denim shorts and strappy white heels
Just think of it like a Disneyland except with volcanic craters, thermal lagoons, whales and farm-to-table meals.

Gwyneth Paltrow has skipped the slide night in favour of sharing her trip to Iceland with her fans via Goop.

The 43-year-old star and her children Moses and Apple have just returned from the Nordic nation after spending five days exploring it on a luxury tour.

Family trip: Gwyneth Paltrow has skipped the slide night in favour of sharing hers and children Moses and Apple's trip to Iceland with her fans via Goop

The star has long said that Iceland is on her bucket list of places to travel so she made sure to do it right - going from glaciers to luxury hotels, puffin-spotting to silica soaks.

The lifestyle writer joined forces with travel company, Black Tomato, to plan her family trip which would normal cost a family of four just under $35,000 - flights included.

While most families probably cannot shell out quite that much, Gwinnie posted her itinerary and family snaps for armchair travelers with good imaginations.

Fancy fun: The lifestyle writer joined forces with travel company, Black Tomato, to plan her family trip which would normal cost a family of four just under $35,000 - flights included

Straight to it: Starting off in the capital Reykjavik, the family immediately headed out to go quad biking along the Reykjanes peninsula

Scenic snack: The actress, Moses, 10, and Apple,12, were then treated to a picnic lunch on a lava field

Starting off in the capital Reykjavik, the family immediately headed out to go quad biking along the Reykjanes peninsula.

The actress, Moses, 10, and Apple,12, were then treated to a picnic lunch on a lava field.

Obviously quad biking is hungry work as the trio still had room later for some farm-to-table fare before they turned into their rooms at their hotel, Tower Suites Reykjavik.

With a good night sleep under their belts, the family were up nice and early to go whale watching.

Tasty treats: Obviously quad biking is hungry work as the trio still had room later for some farm-to-table fare

Nice spot: The family stayed at the Tower Suites Reykjavik, which had stunning views

According to Goop, Gwyneth and the kids spotted humpbacks, dolphins and even puffins.

Perhaps wise after seeing all those animals, Gwyneth managed to track down a rare vegan resultant - the Icelandic people love their animal protein.

The star made sure to pose up with the chef Solla Eiriksdottir and shared the obligatory food snap.

Animal attraction: With a good night sleep under their belts, the family were up nice and early to go whale watching

But their day was just starting with the trio then heading out for a spot of caving inside the dormant Thrihnukagigur Volcano.

Afterwards, the family got a chance to soak away the long day in the silica, algae, and mineral-rich geothermal waters of the so-called Blue Lagoon.

Day three was just as action packed for the Goop star and her children with the family visiting a geyser before heading to some waterfalls.

Veggie goodness: Perhaps wise after seeing all those animals, Gwyneth managed to track down a rare vegan resultant - the Icelandic people love their animal protein - and the star made sure to pose up with the chef Solla Eiriksdottir

This time, instead of quads, the star and her pre-teens got a chance to ride sky mobiles.

Of course it would not be a Gwyneth dream holiday without a trip to a very unique farm-to-table restaurant.

The star and her spawn chomped away on healthy food at a restaurant that takes farm-to-table to a new level as the farm is next to the table with the restaurant located in a greenhouse.

Explosive adventure: But their day was just starting with the trio then heading out for a spot of caving inside the dormant Thrihnukagigur Volcano

The following day the family were once again exploring the country's unique landscape.

This time the threesome took to the skies checking out the orsmork nature reserve and Eyjafjallajokull glacier volcano via helicopter.

But of course, all good things - even when you are a celebrity with a big bank account - must come to an end.

Excitement never ends: Day three was just as action packed for the Goop star and her children with the family visiting a geyser before heading to some waterfalls

Changing things up: This time, instead of quads, the star and her pre-teens got a chance to ride sky mobiles

There she blows! The 43-year-old and her children also saw a impressive geyser

Gwyneth and the kids managed to squeeze in one more adventure before popping on a plane home, going for a horse ride on some of Iceland's iconic ponies.

It is not clear it Gwyneth got the trip as a freebie but it certainly is clear that she ticked off one of her bucket list vacation spots.

The countries of Bhutan, Nepal, Cambodia and Vietnam can all expect a Goop-y visit soon.
Hunger-striking ex-Gitmo prisoner in Uruguay in 'coma'

A former inmate at the US Guantanamo military prison who was resettled in Uruguay has slipped into a coma after a lengthy hunger strike, a medical worker told AFP Wednesday.

Jihad Diyab, a 45-year-old Syrian, has been in and out of the hospital in Montevideo since launching a hunger strike more than three weeks ago to press his demand to be reunited with his family in Turkey.

"He is in a light coma, we are hydrating him, he was very dehydrated," said Julia Galzerano, a physician who is part of the medical team taking care of Diyab at his apartment in the capital, said in a telephone interview.

Held in Guantanamo for 12 years without charge, Jihad Diyab was released in 2014 from the US-run military prison in Cuba to Uruguay along with five other former inmates, under an agreement with Washington Dante Fernandez (AFP/File)

She explained that the coma designation means that he "does not have a neurological problem" and has "almost normal vital signs."

At the moment the team is only giving him fluids and Diyab has asked not to be taken to a hospital facility, said a spokeswoman for the human rights commission of the Uruguay Medical Union, which is caring for the former prisoner.

In Uruguay, a person on a hunger strike can be medically assisted only under a voluntary request or if the person loses the capacity to make decisions.

Held in Guantanamo for 12 years without charge, Diyab was released in 2014 from the US-run military prison in Cuba to Uruguay along with five other former inmates, under an agreement with Washington.

The ex-prisoner has repeatedly shown his desire to leave Uruguay. He fled to Venezuela, seeking help in reuniting with his family in Turkey, but was jailed at the headquarters of the secret police.
US DOJ probing Wells Fargo on bogus accounts

Federal prosecutors have begun a probe into the Wells Fargo bogus accounts scandal, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The investigation, which is at an early stage, is looking at whether senior bankers directed lower-ranking employees to falsify documents in conjunction with two million accounts that were opened without customer knowledge, said the newspaper.

The probe, which is led by the US attorneys from New York and California, is also looking at whether senior executives willfully turned a blind eye to the practices, said the Journal, which cited unnamed sources.

Wells Fargo bank has fired 5,300 employees connected to a bogus account scandal Karen Bleier (AFP/File)

Wells Fargo has fired 5,300 employees connected to the problem. Chief executive John Stumpf told the newspaper the scandal did not signify wider cultural problems within the bank.

Prosectors have issued a subpoena for documents connected to the matter, according to the report.

Wells Fargo has been under fire since regulators fined the big US bank $185 million for opening more than two million deposit and credit card accounts without customer authorization.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Tuesday's that Wells Fargo's scandal constituted "unacceptable behavior" that must be punished.
American jihadist recounts his turn from extremism

He urged extremists to kill in the name of Allah. But Jesse Morton says he's now a different man, countering in Washington the very same ideology that brought him in the shadow of Al-Qaeda.

A Pennsylvania native who got out of prison just a year and a half ago and now conducts research at George Washington University, Morton had a rough childhood.

His mother beat him, and no one else cared for him. He lost trust in society. He left home at the age of 16, lived on the street and sold drugs.

Jesse Morton says he's now a different man, countering in Washington the very same ideology that brought him in the shadow of Al-Qaeda Andrew Caballero-Reynolds (AFP)

"I had no sense of belonging or American identity, I was seeking something, anything," said Morton, 38, recalling those early days.

But his is a redemption story: He offers a rare glimpse into the recruitment of a jihadist who eventually found his way back into mainstream society from radical Islam.

Morton converted to Islam when an ultraconservative Muslim friend asked him to recite a few words in Arabic -- words whose meaning he did not know -- during a standoff when they were surrounded by police.

Those words were the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith in which one declares "there is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet."

"I recited them and we didn't get in trouble (with the police) so I thought, 'Wow, this is like magic,'" Morton said.

Some time later, during a stay at a prison in Richmond, Virginia, he learned to become a "real Muslim."

"In one sense, it was indoctrination from above, in another sense, it was me seeking out something and finding... meaning inside of this worldview," said Morton, who continues to practice his Muslim faith, although he has renounced extremism.

During his jihadist days, he frequented the Islamic Thinkers Society, a group that is an offshoot of the Al-Muhajiroun extremism that seeks to restore an Islamic caliphate.

Back then, he said, he had "direct contact" with Abdullah al-Faisal, a radical Jamaican imam who spent four years in prison in London. He recruited people to his cause outside mosques.

"We were looking for lions," Morton recalled.

Morton got out prison shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks -- which he praised at the time -- and took the name Younus Abdullah Muhammed.

In late 2007, he co-founded "Revolution Muslim" which would relay Al-Qaeda messages online.

Among the Islamic radicals who ended up being influenced by the group was Colleen LaRose -- also known as "Jihad Jane" -- an American woman arrested in late 2009 as she was plotting to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who was targeted for drawing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

- Turning from homegrown jihad -

Police went on high alert in 2009, when Revolution Muslim threatened to kill the writers of popular animated satirical series "South Park" for an episode that featured the Prophet Mohammed in a bear suit.

In early 2010, Morton fled to Morocco, where he was arrested by the FBI in October 2011 after a stint in Moroccan jails.

Education was the key to his turn from the path of jihadist thinking.

While held in solitary confinement, a guard let him visit the prison library at night. Morton says he read a lot, including Enlightenment writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

"I started to realize that these principles are universal, humanist," he said, adding that they "allow people to be free."

- Informant -

The FBI was keen on obtaining intelligence from Morton's extremist past and his contacts in that world, so he cooperated with the US federal police agency from his cell.

"They made me realize that they were only protecting the public and not waging a war against Islam," Morton said, adding that his contributions led to a "very successful series of counterterrorism operations."

Thanks to his collaboration, Morton only served less than four years of his 11.5 year prison sentence. His recruitment by George Washington University was a first in the United States.

His life story is instructive, said Lorenzo Vidino, who heads the university's program on extremism.

Morton was "not only somebody who radicalized himself, but also somebody who was radicalizing and recruiting other people," Vidino said.
Jordan's Brotherhood eyeing greater clout in new vote

After years of self-imposed political exile, Jordan's influential Muslim Brotherhood is gearing up to compete in next week's general election aiming to reestablish its role as a major parliamentary force.

The vote comes as Jordan -- a key Western ally long lauded for its relative stability -- finds itself under pressure from neighbouring conflicts and ruffled by domestic issues, including stubborn unemployment and growing radicalisation.

Brotherhood officials and analysts say the September 20 vote will pose a key test of the ability of the state to hold a fair election and of its willingness to accept a result that may boost the Islamists.

A boy rides a horse past an election campaign poster in the Jordanian capital Amman on September 14, 2016 ahead of the general elections to be held on September 20 Khalil Mazraawi (AFP)

"All we want are credible elections that truly represent the will of the people, irrespective of how we will be represented in parliament," the Brotherhood's second-in-command Zaki Bani Rsheid told AFP.

"Jordan must make the most of this occasion... to rebuild citizen confidence in the electoral process and state institutions."

The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Brotherhood, was once the largest party in parliament, winning 22 out of 80 seats in 1989.

But the Brotherhood itself has been weakened in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Authorities consider it an illegal organisation because its licence was not renewed in line with a law on political parties adopted in 2014.

Dozens of Brotherhood offices have been shut this year.

The IAF boycotted elections in 2010 and 2013 in protest at the electoral system, which it said weakened parties in favour of tribal and other pro-government candidates.

Its decision to take part in next week's election after Jordan amended the electoral law in March is seen by analysts as a test and a way of regaining influence after years of ostracism and infighting.

"The Brotherhood wants... to secure seats in parliament in order to rebuild its legitimacy and renew contacts with the government," said Oreib Rentawi, head of Al-Quds Centre for Political Studies.

- Mounting crises -

Although it has avoided the violent upheaval of some Arab states since 2011's wave of popular uprisings, Jordan has a growing list of issues that could spark insecurity.

A key member of a US-led coalition battling jihadists in Syria and Iraq, Jordan is, according to the UN, home to more than 600,000 Syrian refugees. Amman puts the number at 1.4 million.

Unemployment is running at 14 percent and last month the International Monetary Fund approved a $723 million three-year line of credit to Jordan to support economic and financial reforms.

Amman instituted some reforms following Brotherhood-led protests, including amending its electoral law to allow political parties to submit lists and reserving 15 seats for women.

But the IAF wants further change, including a constitutional amendment to allow parliament to choose a government, rather than having the king name a prime minister, as is currently the case.

Rentawi said he expected the Islamists to win 20 out of the 130 seats in next week's election.

Mohamed Abu Romman, a researcher at the University of Jordan's Centre for Strategic Studies, agreed and said the vote could be a "dangerous test" for King Abdullah, who may find his parliament bolstered by Brotherhood allies keen on more reform.

A good showing for the Brotherhood's political wing would leave authorities facing a choice between unpalatable reform or a "confrontation" with the Islamists, Abu Romman said.

At the same time, the government needed to restore some public trust after several votes dogged by allegations of impropriety.

"The public is sceptical due to recent experiences and the acknowledgement by authorities themselves that there has been large-scale (electoral) fraud" in the past, Rentawi said.

- 'Popularity test' -

The Brotherhood's grassroots popularity has not always translated to influence in a parliament that possesses only limited legislative clout, and for which the majority of candidates are likely to be loyal to the royal court.

It faces a potential rival from within in the form of the breakaway Muslim Brotherhood Association, which the government authorised last year to compete in elections.

And there is also the group's ambiguous association with other country branches, including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed as an extremist group in many Arab states.

Rentawi believes next week's vote is a "test for the Brotherhood's popularity".

For analyst Labib Qamhawi, however, allowing the IAF to gain more seats could further destabilise the kingdom -- something the royal court may not countenance.

"The state won't allow free elections like in 1989," Qamhawi said. "It cannot take the risk since it's going through a delicate period. A strong parliament disrupts power."
Israel's Peres sees 'real improvement' after major stroke

Former Israeli president and Noble Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres saw "real improvement" on Thursday but remained in serious condition after the 93-year-old suffered a major stroke, his doctor said.

The country has been on edge over the condition of the elder statesman, Israel's last remaining founding father, after he was admitted to hospital on Tuesday feeling unwell and suffered a stroke with internal bleeding while there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, criticised by Peres in recent years, visited the hospital on Wednesday night, saying "we feel some relief... because this evening he is better than he was yesterday evening".

Former Israeli president Shimon remained in intensive care and was breathing with the help of a respirator, but was still able to respond to prompts Jack Guez (AFP/File)

He could not enter Peres's room in intensive care and was given a briefing outside due to the sensitivity of his condition.

Peres's personal physician and son-in-law Rafi Walden told AFP on Thursday that "there is another real improvement today," describing his condition as serious but stable.

He said it was likely his condition would remain that way in the coming days.

Peres was still breathing with the help of a respirator, but was able to respond when his sedation was lessened as he had the previous day.

He has not been able to speak due to being intubated, Walden said.

"He squeezes the hand and he moves his legs," he said. "Definitely these are indications that he is listening and is responsive to our calls."

- 'Patriarch of peace' -

Peres has held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister. He was president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo accords.

The former hawk turned dove is widely respected both in Israel and abroad, regularly meeting world leaders and celebrities in recent years, seemingly charming them along the way.

In March, he met supermodel Naomi Campbell at his Peres Center for Peace for an event related to International Women's Day.

On the same day, he met visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.

While doctors saw cause for optimism in his improvement, they also noted that he remained at risk.

"The fact that he responds is an excellent start, but there are still numerous possibilities for complications related to his hospitalisation in intensive care," Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon involved in his treatment, told Israel's Channel 2 television.

"It is an environment that is not natural for a human being and which can create complications."

There have been statements of concern from across the political spectrum as well as from the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, who called Peres "a patriarch of peace and progress."

- Exercise, good wine -

In January, Peres was hospitalised twice for heart trouble.

In the first instance, the hospital said he had suffered a "mild cardiac event" and underwent catheterisation to widen an artery.

He was rushed to hospital a second time days later with chest pains and an irregular heartbeat.

Peres has sought to maintain an active schedule despite his age, particularly through events related to his Peres Center for Peace.

When leaving hospital on January 19, Peres said he was keen to get back to work.

"I'm so happy to return to work, that was the whole purpose of this operation," he said.

Peres once confided that the secret to his longevity was daily exercise, eating little and drinking one or two glasses of good wine.

He once hawkishly rejected any compromise with hostile Arab states, but said he was converted after 1977, when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Jerusalem, leading to the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty.

Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to what was then British mandatory Palestine when he was 11.

He joined the Zionist struggle in the 1940s and while hitchhiking met David Ben-Gurion, who would become Israel's first prime minister.

Peres became director general of the nascent defence ministry at just 29 years old.

Beyond his accomplishments in the public eye, he was also seen as a driving force in the development of Israel's undeclared nuclear programme.

Shimon Peres Sabrina BLANCHARD, Thomas SAINT-CRICQ (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu (R) speaks to the press after visiting the family of former Israeli president Shimon Peres Jack Guez (AFP)
It was announced today that The IRONMAN Foundation will distribute $55,000 in charitable giveback to non-profit initiatives and groups in the greater Chattanooga region in conjunction with the 2016 Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga triathlon presented by McKee a Family Bakery taking place on Sunday, September 25. With this most recent donation from The IRONMAN Foundation, a total of $70,000 has been given back to the Chattanooga community this year. The IRONMAN Foundation Community Fund provides community and volunteerism grant opportunities to non-profit organizations where IRONMAN events are held.

The IRONMAN Foundations contribution will provide support to non-profit needs and initiatives within the local community, and brings the total giveback to more than $225,000 in the region. In 2016, The IRONMAN Foundation will distribute more than $1.6 million in grant funding to support the needs of IRONMAN race communities across North America.



Community Grants

The IRONMAN Foundation provides charitable support to a variety of local non-profit organizations that recognize citizens in need and support The Foundations mission. The Foundation works with community leaders to identify projects and initiatives and to provide funding in order to support worthwhile causes. This year, The IRONMAN Foundation Community Fund will provide a $5,000 Community Grant to Downside Up to provide a weekend family camp, Camp Wakawalu, for families in Chattanooga that have children with Down syndrome. This camp will provide a weekend away from daily life to play, relax, and experience fellowship with other families. We have so many exciting plans for the future and really appreciate The IRONMAN Foundation being willing to be a generous part of making dreams come true for so many, said Theresa Nix, Executive Director of Downside Up. This grant will strengthen family relationships, develop life-long friendships, and build futures.

Another featured grant recipient, Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga, will receive a $5,000 grant to purchase six Scott Scale Mountain bikes for their Learn to Ride a Mountain Bike Program, providing participants with an entry-level solid bike as they begin their journey in learning core techniques and safety skills to hit the trails. Outdoor Chattanooga connects people with the outdoors by providing entry level, low cost programs to introduce diverse populations to outdoor recreational activities, teach proper and safe outdoor recreation skills and provide equipment to the individuals that may not have access to it within the community, said Philip Grymes, Executive Director of Outdoor Chattanooga. The ultimate goal of our Learn to Ride a Mountain Bike Program is to get more people riding safely and confidently on the many mountain bike trails here in Chattanooga.

Grant funding is one way that The IRONMAN Foundation leaves a lasting legacy in the communities where IRONMAN races take place, said Dave Deschenes, Executive Director of The IRONMAN Foundation. We are thrilled to support the Chattanooga community with these community grant awards.

The IRONMAN Foundation will recognize this years community grant recipients at the athlete welcome ceremony taking place at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 23, 2016 at Rosss Landing.



Volunteerism Grants

Within IRONMANs race communities, The IRONMAN Foundation provides a grant program to support organizations that have a volunteerism component. This year, The IRONMAN Foundations Community Fund will provide over $35,000 in volunteer grant donations for the Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga triathlon presented by McKee a Family Bakery. We are thrilled to continue our support of so many tremendous organizations that selflessly serve others within the Chattanooga region, said Christine Perkins, Community Relations Manager for The IRONMAN Foundation. Last year, volunteer grant funding was distributed among 63 community groups in the region.

TEAM IMF

TEAM IMF is The IRONMAN Foundations fundraising triathlon team. Team members have the opportunity to race in the IRONMAN event of their choice when they commit to raise $3,500 for The IRONMAN Foundations Community Fund. Nine athletes participating in this program through the 2016 Little Debbie IRONMAN Chattanooga triathlon presented by McKee a Family Bakery have raised over $47,000, while collectively all of The Foundations TEAM IMF athletes have raised over $487,000 for The IRONMAN Foundations Community Fund in 2016.

For more information on IRONMAN and The IRONMAN Foundation, please visit www.ironman.com and www.ironmanfoundation.org .

Contact Dennis Norwood at sportsshooter614@gmail.com; Follow him on Twitter at @DennisENorwood.
'Fire dragon' draws thousands to Hong Kong festival

Thousands of festival goers packed a historic neighbourhood of Hong Kong Wednesday night to watch a "fire dragon" lit with incense sticks carried through the streets, recreating a century-old ritual.

The neighbourhood of Tai Hang was once a coastal village -- now, after decades of land reclamation, it lies inland from Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour and is home to upmarket cafes and restaurants.

But a flavour of the old village still remains.

Members of the fire dragon dance team hold up the 'dragon' as it winds through the narrow streets and houses during the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance in Hong Kong on September 14, 2016 Isaac Lawrence (AFP)

The annual "fire dragon dance" sees tourists and locals cram into Tai Hang's network of narrow streets, eager to celebrate a tradition which has become a highlight of Hong Kong's mid-autumn festival.

The 67-metre (220-foot) long dragon is made of straw and metal and stuck with thousands of incense sticks which are then lit.

Performers carry the dragon through Tai Hang for three consecutive evenings as it billows smoke, shaking and dipping its head and tail so it appears to be dancing to the beat of the accompanying drums.

The tradition is said to have started a century ago, after Tai Hang was hit by a typhoon followed by a plague.

Desperate to change its fortunes, villagers created a "fire dragon" and paraded it for three days and three nights, chasing away the plague, according to local lore.

The mid-autumn festival, timed to coincide with a full moon, is celebrated in Taiwan as well, where locals gorge on pomelo fruit and mooncakes -- dense pastries usually filled with lotus paste.

As in Hong Kong, the festival is a time for family celebrations and evening barbecues, with grills set up on pavements and along the river as people tuck into meals and gaze at the moon.

Members of the fire dragon dance team arrange joss sticks onto the 'dragon' during the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance in Hong Kong on September 14, 2016 Isaac Lawrence (AFP)
Duterte killed justice official, hitman tells Philippine senate

Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament Thursday, in explosive allegations against the Philippine president.

The self-described assassin testified under oath that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people between 1988 and 2013 on Duterte's orders -- one of them an alleged kidnapper fed alive to a crocodile.

Others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte previously served as the mayor of Davao for almost two decades Ted Aljibe (AFP/File)

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said has left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre called the allegations "lies and fabrications", adding Matobato "is obviously not telling the truth".

Duterte aides said the government's Commission on Human Rights had already investigated the allegations but did not file charges while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony "mere hearsay" of "a madman".

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Matobato recounted a 1993 death squad mission that was unintentionally impeded by the vehicle of an agent of the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation that was blocking a road on the southern city of Davao.

The agent ran out of bullets and was wounded in a shootout before Rodrigo Duterte, the Davao mayor at the time, showed up armed with a submachine gun, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off.... He emptied two Uzi magazines on him."

- 'Like chickens' -

"I didn't kill anyone unless ordered by Charlie Mike," he said, telling the senate it was the death squad's coded reference to city mayor, referring to then-mayor Duterte.

Matobato's testimony fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind the killings of more than a thousand petty criminals, including minors, in Davao, where he was mayor for most of the past two decades.

"Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis" between 1988 and 2013, said Matobato, adding they also killed Duterte family foes and an "international terrorist".

"The people of Davao were being slaughtered like chicken," he said, adding he lied to his wife about butchering chickens when she saw his blood-spattered shirts.

"I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that," Duterte spokesman Martin Andanar said, adding that the government's human rights commission investigated the allegations but did not file charges.

Duterte, who took office more than two months ago, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill thousands of criminals.

He has rejected calls by the United States, the United Nations and rights groups to stop extra-judicial killings.

Matobato said he received orders to kill either directly from Duterte or from active-duty Davao police officers assigned to the mayor's office who were also part of the death squad.

- 'Disembowelled bodies' -

"The officers told us ordinary killings won't do. They are sadists," he said, describing how the victims were strangled.

"Then we'd remove their clothes, burn the bodies and chop them up," Matobato said, adding that he had personally killed "about 50" people.

Some victims were disembowelled and dropped at sea, while others were left on Davao streets with rusty handguns planted in their hands to simulate a gun battle, he added.

The boyfriend of Duterte's sister, along with Davao broadcaster and Duterte critic Jun Pala, four bodyguards of a local rival, and two enemies of Duterte's son Paolo, now Davao vice mayor, were also killed, Matobato added.

"I will not dignify with an answer the accusations of a madman," Paolo Duterte said, calling the allegations "mere hearsay".

President Duterte has denied ordering Pala's 2003 Davao ambush but has described him as an extortionist and a "rotten son of a bitch" who "deserved it". The UN and rights watchdogs roundly denounced his comments.

De Lima said the rights body later dug up several skeletons of unidentified people at the Davao quarry.

She said the hitman's testimony would be referred to the Philippine Ombudsman, although she acknowledged sitting presidents are immune from prosecution and could only be removed through impeachment.

Matobato said the death squad "tortured" him when he asked to leave the group in 2013, telling his bosses he was "too old" for it and wanted to look for a proper job.

He was admitted to the justice department's witness protection programme but left to go into hiding when Duterte won the presidency, Matobato added.

Asked why he left the death squad, he replied: "I am bothered by my conscience."

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald Dela Rosa testifies during a senate hearing in Manila, on September 15, 2016 Noel Celis (AFP)

Former death squad member Edgar Matobato testifies during a Senate hearing in Manila, on September 15, 2016 Noel Celis (AFP)

Philippine Senators hold talks as they question a former death squad member during a parliamentary hearing in Manila, on September 15, 2016 Noel Celis (AFP)

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has launched a war on drugs since coming to power Ted Aljibe (AFP)
Translator trouble deepens delay in Bangkok bomb trial

The trial of two Chinese Uighurs accused of a deadly Bangkok shrine bombing was postponed for a second time Thursday as the court again failed to find a suitable translator for the suspects.

The August 2015 bombing left 20 dead in the centre of the city in an unprecedented attack on the junta-ruled nation.

The two accused, Yusufu Mieraili and Bilal Mohammed, were scooped up by Thai police in the days after the bombing and have been held in military custody ever since.

A vehicle carrying two Chinese nationals, suspects of the Erawan Shrine bombings, arrives at the military court in Bangkok on September 15, 2016 Munir Uz Zaman (AFP)

Both deny the charges.

Thursday's delay added a fresh layer of farce to a case that has been marked by official obfuscation, with police unable to offer a convincing motive for the attack, according to analysts.

More than a dozen ethnic Chinese tourists were among the dead when explosives -- apparently left in a backpack -- detonated in a Hindu shrine popular with tourists last year.

The blast came weeks after Thailand's junta forcibly repatriated 109 Uighurs to China, where rights activists says the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority face cultural and religious repression.

The timing prompted speculation that the attack was part of a revenge plot against a country which had been a key transit hub for Uighurs as Thailand's military leaders have grown closer to Beijing.

Thai authorities have rejected the theory and insist the attack was in retaliation for a crackdown on a people-smuggling gang.

On Thursday a court-appointed translator -- a female Uzbek immigration detainee -- was turned down by both defendants.

"I can understand (the Uzbek) translator... but not well," Yusufu told the military court in English.

The military prosecutor had earlier refused a translator provided by the defence, according to a judge, who told the court that "the case is a security matter... so the court provided a translator from immigration (detention centre)."

"The court will seek a new translator and postpones the case to October 13 and 14," the male judge, who can not be named, added.

The case was first delayed in August when the translator for the accused, another Uzbek national, fled after he was hit with drug possession charges.

Sirojiddin Bakhodirov accused police of planting drugs on him as punishment for helping Thailand's Uighur community -- a charge officers denied.

"Getting proper translation is a serious matter and not easy for any court," Sam Zarifi, of the International Commission of Jurists, told AFP.

"But this is a very high-profile case for the Thai government and they've had months to prepare so it's unclear why they can't provide the necessary translation, while the suspects are being held without a trial."
'I want Apple': Myanmar abuzz over end of US sanctions

Myanmar cheered a US promise to end sanctions on Thursday, with residents in its commercial capital clamouring for American brands while politicians and business moguls heralded a new era of transparency and trade.

US President Barack Obama vowed to scrap the trade limits during Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to the White House since her party took power in March, ending decades of military domination.

The move marks a milestone in the country's rapid transformation from an international pariah into Asia's fastest-growing economy under the leadership of the Nobel laureate.

State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma (L) shakes hands with US President Barack Obama during a bilateral meeting at the White House in Washington, DC on September 14, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP)

But Soe Naung Win, who owns a mobile phone shop in Myanmar's bustling economic capital of Yangon, had more immediate concerns.

"I want Apple to officially come to Myanmar," the 32-year-old told AFP. "I am crazy about the Apple brand and I want Apple to come here as an American brand."

While iPhones are widely available in Myanmar, one of the world's fastest-growing mobile phone markets, there are no official Apple stores in the country.

The US sanctions, imposed 20 years ago in a bid to put pressure on the former military regime, bar Americans from dealing with anyone on its blacklist of more than 100 people and companies linked to the former junta.

Some major US brands have already jumped into the frontier economy, but many have stayed away saying the sanctions make investment too expensive and dangerous.

Coca-Cola was left red-faced last year when watchdog Global Witness discovered its local partner was linked to a sanctioned military holding company, while a dealer for machinery giant Caterpillar had ties to jade companies controlled by a major drug lord.

- 'A new chapter' -

Although some curbs on ties to the military will probably stay in place, Obama's move is expected to bring greater clarity to US companies considering business in the emerging nation.

In Myanmar, key business players said the end of sanctions would usher in new investment and help drive the country's rise from decades of punishing poverty.

"This is very significant and signifies a new chapter in our country's economic development," said Serge Pun, who runs several companies including First Myanmar Investment, one of Myanmar's biggest conglomerates.

"I have never been so optimistic about Myanmar's future as I am now."

Khin Maung Lwin, permanent secretary from the Ministry of Commerce, said the changes would help shine a light on shadowy industries like the jade trade, worth billions of dollars and run by illicit gangs and corrupt military officials that has fuelled decades of violence in Myanmar's borderlands.

The sanctions currently ban US imports of jadeite.

"Removing sanctions on the jade industry is important, and more transparency is needed on production and trading," he told AFP.

"Domestically, it will also mean more taxes for the government," he added.

Washington started paring back sanctions in 2012 under the previous quasi-civilian regime, led by former president Thein Sein, and rolled them back further in May after Suu Kyi's party took office.

While the latest lift was celebrated in the business world, rights groups cautioned Obama was forgoing crucial leverage over the military, which still holds a quarter of parliament seats and controls several powerful ministries.

"Lifting all sanctions now will embolden the Myanmar military and its partners," said Matthew Smith, chief executive at Fortify Rights.

"This decision was hasty and fails to recognize political realities on the ground."

While iPhones are widely available in Myanmar, one of the world's fastest-growing mobile phone markets, there are no official Apple stores in the country Don Emmert (AFP)

In Myanmar, key business players say the end of US sanctions would usher in new investment and help drive the country's rise from decades of punishing poverty Romeo Gacad (AFP)
Turkey, pro-Kurdish forces accused over Syria civilian deaths

Turkish air strikes in northern Syria in late August killed 24 civilians, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, accusing Ankara of failing to properly identify the target and pro-Kurdish forces of grouping fighters together with civilians.

Activists had said at the time that the air strikes on August 28, in the early stages of Turkey's campaign in Syria, killed civilians. But Turkish state media said that 25 "terrorists" were killed.

HRW said that 24 civilians, including six children, were killed. Between 10 and 15 fighters deployed among the civilians were also killed, it added.

Turkey launched an air and ground campaign in Syria on August 24 targeting Islamic State (IS) jihadists and YPG fighters Bulent Kilic (AFP/File)

Turkey has always insisted it is doing the utmost to avoid civilian casualties in Syria and at the time issued a statement saying claims that civilians were targeted or hit in the August 28 air strikes "do not reflect reality".

"Available information suggests that both sides could have done more to minimise civilian loss of life, as required by the laws of war," HRW said in a statement.

It said that according to residents, Turkish aircraft struck Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) "who had just disembarked from military vehicles among residential buildings in which about four dozen civilians had sought shelter from nearby fighting."

Artillery shelling then resulted in additional casualties. The attack took place near the village of Suraysat, about 12 kilometres (7 miles) south of Jarabalus, which had been taken by pro-Ankara fighters from jihadists on August 24.

The SDF is a US-backed grouping of Syrian rebel forces still dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, which Turkey regards as a terror group.

The deaths "could have been avoided if the SDF fighters hadn't positioned themselves among buildings filled with civilians and Turkish forces had made a better effort to determine whether civilians were there," said Ole Solvang, HRW deputy emergencies director.

The rights group said the SDF should not have positioned their forces in the residential compound "without having first relocated the civilians to another area."

Meanwhile, it is not clear that "the Turkish military took adequate steps to determine the extent to which civilians might be at risk in the attack," it added.
Kenya refugee return scheme flouts international law: HRW

As Kenya prepares to close the world's largest refugee camp, a rights watchdog said the repatriation of Somalis from the sprawling Dadaab camp is based on misinformation and violates international standards.

Human Rights Watch, which interviewed scores of people in the vast camp last month, said Thursday that many Somalis are returning home involuntarily, only to face danger, persecution and hunger.

Kenya wants to close the vast camp housing some 263,000 Somali refugees in north-east Kenya by November, insisting it is a security threat and a drain on national resources.

Refugees stand in line at Kenya's sprawling Dadaab refugee complex in July 2016 Tony Karumba (AFP/File)

"Many refugees ... say they have agreed to return home because they fear Kenya will force them out if they stay," said the HRW report after interviewing around 100 people at the camp.

Refugees spoke of intimidation by the Kenyan government, lack of information on ways of remaining or on conditions in Somalia, as well as fears of losing a $400 repatriation cash grant if they wind up being deported at the end of the year.

"The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn't giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia," said HRW's refugee rights director Bill Frelick in a statement.

"There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary."

The Kenyan government dismissed the report, however.

"I have looked at the report, which is full of falsehoods with the sole purpose of fundraising using the crisis yet the refugees are not going to benefit from it," said interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka.

Njoka said 100 refugees "purportedly" interviewed by HRW was a small sample compared to the more than 30,000 Nairobi says have already relocated since a voluntary return programme began in 2014.

An estimated 18,000 have returned this year -- 10,000 since the announcement of the camp's closure.

"It is totally false that the Kenyan government is coercing the refugees to go back to their country. We are working with UNHCR and the Somalia government to take them back to safer areas of Somalia," said Njoka.

"They are just out to malign the whole process for their own selfish benefit, this is a process that is being carried out transparently and with the consent of the refugees themselves."

- 'Fear and misinformation' -

The HRW said Kenya's repatriation programme, "fuelled by fear and misinformation, does not meet international standards for voluntary refugee return," set out in a 1951 international Refugee Convention.

Since sending troops into neighbouring Somalia in 2011, Kenya has come under repeated attack from Shabaab, East Africa's long-time branch of Al-Qaeda, Islamic State's rivals.

Nairobi has taken a hardline position, claiming Dadaab acts as a terrorist training ground for Shabaab Islamists, and has publicly and repeatedly said it would remove all Somali refugees from the country by the end of the year.

"The Kenyan government needs to make clear that Somalis who don't feel that they can go back to Somalia right now are still going to be welcome in Kenya," HRW researcher Laetitia Bader told AFP.

"They need to give Somali refugees an option," she said, adding the United Nations had a responsibility to provide reliable information to the refugees on what they were going back to.

"Right now they're not doing that," she said.

The vast majority of residents of the Dadaab complex of camps close to the Kenya-Somalia border fled Somalia's more than two-decade-long conflict. Many remain fearful of returning to a country where insecurity remains rife.
World's oldest man turns 113, readies for Bar Mitzvah

The world's oldest man turned 113 on Thursday and the Holocaust survivor living in Israel readied for the Bar Mitzvah he was denied a century ago, his family said.

Yisrael Kristal, an observant Jew from Zarnow in what is now Poland and currently living in the port city of Haifa, was born on September 15, 1903, three months before the Wright brothers' first successful powered airplane flight.

Guinness World Records in March recognised him as the world's oldest man.

Yisrael Kristal was recognised as the world's oldest man by Guiness World Records in March 2016 Shula Kopershtouk (AFP/File)

While he turned 113 on Thursday under the Gregorian calendar, his family will celebrate the birthday at the end of September according to the Hebrew calendar, his daughter Shula Koperstoch told AFP.

The festivities will include a Bar Mitzvah that will come 100 years late.

The Bar Mitzvah is one of the most important ceremonies in the life of a Jew.

Usually marked at 13 for boys and 12 or 13 for girls -- a Bat Mitzvah in that case -- it marks the transition into someone responsible for their actions.

Kristal was unable to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in 1916 because his mother had died three months earlier and his father was a soldier in the Russian army at the time of World War I.

"My father is religious and has prayed every morning for 100 years, but he has never had his Bar Mitzvah," his daughter said.

Around 100 family members will attend, with the date and location being kept secret to avoid Kristal having to contend with a crush of journalists, she said.

Asked about his health, Koperstoch said only: "He is ageing."

After World War I, Kristal moved to Lodz where he worked in the family confectionary factory, married and had two children.

But his life was disrupted when the Jewish quarter of the city became a ghetto under Nazi occupation during World War II and Kristal was sent to the infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Around 1.1 million people, most of them European Jews, perished in the camp between 1940 and 1945 before it was liberated by Soviet forces.

His wife and two children died but Kristal survived, weighing just 37 kilos (81 pounds) at the end of the war.

He then moved to Israel, where he has lived for over six decades. He re-married, had a son and opened a sweet shop.

He is four years younger than the world's oldest woman, Emma Morano, an Italian who turns 117 in November -- meaning she was born in the 19th century.

The previous oldest man, Yasutaro Koide of Japan, died in January at the age of 112.
Malaysia confirms Tanzania debris came from MH370

A piece of aircraft wreckage found in June off Tanzania has been confirmed as coming from the doomed airliner MH370, Malaysia said on Thursday.

The debris, found on Pemba Island off the Tanzanian coast, is the latest piece of wreckage to be linked to the Malaysia Airlines jet, whose disappearance remains a mystery.

Malaysia's transport ministry said the piece of debris, which had been taken to Australia for expert analysis, was found to have part numbers, date stamps and other identifiers confirming it came from the Malaysia Airlines jet.

Australian officials inspect a piece of debris found in Tanzania, which Malaysian authorities have confirmed came from the doomed airliner MH370

"As such, the experts have concluded that the debris, an outboard flap, originated from the aircraft 9M-MRO, also known as MH370," a ministry statement said.

"Further examination of the debris will continue in hopes that evidence may be uncovered which may provide new insight into the circumstances surrounding flight MH370."

Authorities had earlier said the piece of debris was "highly likely" to have come from MH370. However, the confirmation appears to have so far shed no fresh light on the plane's fate.

The Malaysia Airlines jet was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but an extensive deep-sea hunt off Australia's west coast is drawing to a close with nothing found yet.

However, several pieces of debris that apparently drifted thousands of kilometres toward the African coast have been identified as definitely or probably from the Boeing 777.

Those finds have confirmed the plane went down but have so far shed no light on why and have fuelled questions over whether the official search is focused in the right area.

The Australian-led operation is scouring the seafloor within a remote 120,000-square-kilometre (46,000-square-mile) belt of the Indian Ocean where authorities believe the passenger jet went down.

The search is nearly finished, however, and families are bracing for it to be called off.

An American amateur investigator, Blaine Gibson, handed other possible MH370 debris to Australian officials on Monday, saying several pieces were blackened by flames, raising the prospect of a flash fire onboard.

Gibson, a lawyer, who has travelled the world trying to solve the MH370 mystery, told Australian reporters the debris had washed up in Madagascar.
Show face to cops, Muslims in Philippine city ordered

Women in burqas and those wearing surgical masks should refrain from concealing their faces in public, the Philippine president's mayor daughter said Thursday, describing the measure as aimed at preventing attacks.

Sara Duterte, mayor of Davao and daughter of firebrand leader Rodrigo Duterte, made the remarks as police hunt for the suspects -- seen on CCTV wearing face masks -- behind a bombing this month that killed 15 in the southern city.

"It would be a good security practice to disallow garments that cover the faces in public places," the mayor said in a written statement.

The Philippine president's mayor daughter says women in burqas and those wearing surgical masks should refrain from concealing their faces in public Menahem Kahana (AFP/File)

"These garments include hats, sunglasses, face masks, mouth masks, burqa, face paint, and other similar things."

She said she understood the concerns of Muslim women who are required by their religion to cover up.

"May I suggest that you wear the hijab which shows your face or cooperate with the security personnel and show your face if you are wearing the burqa," the mayor said.

Muslim women in the majority Catholic nation usually favour a hijab, which covers only the hair, over the face-concealing burqa, though it is growing in popularity.

"The general welfare of the majority takes precedence over religious tradition. While it is true that these garments are not disallowed by law, we discourage their use in public places," the mayor added.

Surgical masks are commonly worn by commuters in Asian cities, to block out pollution, or sometimes to stop the spread of illness.

Since the deadly blast in the bustling market in Davao on September 2, which led to the president declaring a "state of lawlessness", the city has introduced checkpoints and armed security at key establishments.
Trump, Clinton running neck and neck: poll

Less than two weeks before their first debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a very tight race for the White House, a national poll showed Wednesday.

The CBS News/New York Times survey found Clinton had just a two-point edge (46 to 44 percent) over her Republican rival in a two-way matchup among likely voters. Among registered voters, the Democratic nominee was five points ahead, at 46 to 41 percent.

When third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein were included, the race was tied among likely voters -- at 42 percent each -- while Clinton had a slight edge (41 to 39 percent) among registered voters.

Donald Trump (right) and Hillary Clinton are in a tight race for the White House

A Quinnipiac University poll out a day earlier, on Wednesday, found that results were too close to call when third party candidates were included, with Clinton at 41 percent and Trump at 39 percent.

The CBS/NYT poll also found diminished voter enthusiasm, with Democrats less enthusiastic about voting now than a month ago, while Republicans have kept a steady level of enthusiasm.

A total of 64 percent of registered Democratic voters said they felt at least somewhat enthusiastic about voting -- a drop from 77 percent in August -- and just 38 percent said they were very enthusiastic, down from 47 percent a month ago.

Trump voters specifically were more enthusiastic than those supporting Hillary -- with 45 percent of the billionaire real estate investor's backers saying they felt very enthusiastic about voting, compared to 36 percent of the former top US diplomat and first lady's supporters saying they felt that way.

Among Republicans, 43 percent said they were very enthusiastic, and a total of 68 percent said they felt at least somewhat enthusiastic.

And a gender gap is still apparent between the two candidates, with Trump securing a double-digit lead ahead of Clinton among men, while she has a similar margin over him among women.

Trump faces continued struggles to gain support among African American voters, though he has an advantage over Clinton among whites.

White voters lacking a college degree gave Trump a strong show of support -- 58 percent -- while Clinton led Trump among white college graduate voters.
An American Bald Eagle was released back into the wild Thursday morning after it was rescued by TWRA Wildlife officers and rehabilitated by the American Eagle Foundation.

TWRA boating officers Matt Swecker and Mark Williams rescued the eagle that had become entangled in a limb line on South Holston Reservoir on Aug. 25. They transported the bird to TWRA officers Brent Harrison and Kim Gibson who delivered it to the University of Tennessee Veterinarian Hospital.



The eagle was treated and then transferred to the American Eagle Foundation who rehabilitated it into releasable condition. This bird is a great example of the success of eagle restoration and rehabilitation efforts in Tennessee.



The size and distribution of the Bald Eagle population in Tennessee before the continent-wide population crash in the 1950s to mid-1970s, is unknown. However, there were no known successful Bald Eagle nests found in the state between 1961 and 1983.



Efforts, coordinated by TWRA to restore Tennessee's eagle population began in 1980 and continued until 2003, and young eagles were "hacked", a form of reintroduction, at several locations in the state. The first successful Bald Eagle nest was discovered near Dover, Tn., in the spring of 1983.



Now, there are over 175 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles in Tennessee and most of these birds remain in the state year round. Individuals from more northern breeding populations migrate to Tennessee for the winter, arriving in late October, and peak numbers of 300 to 500 individuals occur in late January to mid-February.


With a name meaning 'happy' in Arabic, Saeed the monkey was the star attraction of a zoo in Aleppo thanks to his cheerful demeanor.

But ever since the Syrian city has been on the frontline of the country's civil war, visitors have stayed away from the Sabil Park Zoo for fear of being fired at by rebels with rocket and homemade missiles.

And the loneliness of being the last surviving animal in the zoo has taken its toll on 22-year-old hamadryas baboon Saeed, whose keeper says the animal has turned into a shadow of his former self.

Saeed, whose name means Happy, is the last surviving animal at a zoo in wartorn Aleppo after all of the other creatures died

Abdullah al Jaghal, who has looked after Saeed for 18 years said: 'He's not as happy as he was before the war.

'He used to be cheerful and happy but now he seems old, and he's sad because he doesn't get visitors like before.

'Whenever Saeed hears the sounds of shelling or gunfire, he gets scared and tries to climb to the highest point in the cage.

'He's afraid of loud noises and when he gets scared, it takes him a long time to calm down again.'

Even in the context of war, Saeed's enclosure is grim as he lives in a yellow-painted circular cage with nothing inside but a dirt floor sprinkled with remnants of food, including dried scraps of bread.

Saeed was formerly the star attraction at the zoo thanks to his cheerful demeanor but his keeper, pictured, says the baboon is now a shadow of his former self

He walks around it with a chain and a small padlock around his neck, as adults and children watch him with interest.

Bassam Primo, who took his daughter to the zoo to give the monkey juice said: 'Our families have been coming since childhood to Sabil Park to see Saeed and watch his acrobatics.

'But with the war, he's gotten sick, and his wife died. After that he started to isolate himself and stopped interacting with visitors'.

Throughout the violence which has killed over 300,000 people and displacing half of Syria's population, Mr Primo kept visiting Saeed, often feeding him apples.

Thanks to a temporary truce in hostilities in Aleppo, children were able to go the Sabil Park Zoo and visit Saeed

Street vendors hawked goods to families enjoying a chance to walk without fear, while children crowded around Saeed's cage and called out his name

But he added: 'I found him depressed and sad.'

Sabil Park was once a major draw for residents of Aleppo, a former economic powerhouse that has been ravaged by the country's five-year conflict.

Its mini-zoo included other monkeys and peacocks that are now all dead.

The park bears some scars of the war, including a small pit left by a rocket impact, and the fighting has traumatised Saeed.

However, with the start of a truce negotiated by Russia and the United States, Sabil Park was once again full this week, particularly as the lull coincided with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holidays.

Even in the context of war, Saeed's enclosure is grim as he lives in a yellow-painted circular cage with nothing inside but a dirt floor sprinkled with remnants of food

Street vendors hawked goods to families enjoying a chance to walk without fear, while children crowded around Saeed's cage and called out his name.

Asma Deeb, an English teacher, said she was glad Saeed had survived.

The 36-year-old said: 'We've lived through tough times in Aleppo... and Saeed lived through them with us.

'I was afraid that he would die of hunger or be hit by shrapnel from a shell.'

But she winced at the children around his cage trying to provoke a reaction, and said she was saddened by his confined habitat.
Indonesia to probe Google over alleged unpaid tax bill

Indonesia said Thursday it would launch investigations into Google after the technology giant allegedly refused to cooperate with the country's tax department, an official said.

Google has denied the allegations, declaring it had paid all taxes in Indonesia since opening its Jakarta offices in 2011.

The government has repeatedly asserted the California-based company had outstanding tax issues to resolve.

Google has denied allegations that it did not cooperate with Indonesia's tax department, declaring it had paid all taxes in the country since opening its Jakarta offices in 2011 Justin Sullivan (Getty/AFP/File)

Muhammad Haniv, a senior official with Jakarta's tax office, said Google had refused a request to allow tax officials to examine its financial statements.

"We are now elevating this to an investigation, because they refused to be examined. This could be classified as a criminal offence," Haniv told AFP, adding Google generates tens of millions in advertising revenue but contributed little in tax.

In a statement Jason Tedjasukmana, the head of corporate communications for Google Indonesia, said the company had always worked closely with the government and had "complied by paying all taxes which apply in Indonesia".

Jakarta has also applied pressure to other foreign tech behemoths such as Facebook and Yahoo over their tax arrangements inside Indonesia.

Global tech businesses have flooded Indonesia in recent years to capitalise on the exploding number of internet users in the Southeast Asian nation, which has an enormous youth population adept at using smartphones.
Obama declares new marine reserve at ocean summit

US President Barack Obama announced the creation of a new marine reserve in the Atlantic on Thursday as Washington hosted a major world summit on protecting the planet's oceans.

Obama addressed the first day of the Our Ocean conference, where ministers and envoys from some 90 countries met with environmental experts to announce conservation measures.

Building on two previous annual meetings, delegates brought plans to protect the marine environment from pollution, overfishing and the effects of climate change.

US President Barack Obama will announce a new marine reserve in an area off the Atlantic coast of New England Saul Loeb (AFP/File)

And they heard Obama's announcement of the 4,913-square-mile (12,725-square-kilometer) Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

This is an area in the Atlantic off the coast of New England with three deep undersea canyons and five submerged mountains, home to rare deep-sea coral and whales.

Commercial fishing will be restricted in the area, where scientists have warned that warming ocean temperatures are a threat to stocks of salmon, lobster and scallops.

"I grew up in Hawaii. The ocean's really nice there," Obama said.

"If we're going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then we're going to have to act, and we're going to have to act boldly."

The new reserve follows Obama's recent expansion of the huge Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off Hawaii, and 20 other countries are to declare new areas.

"These are problems we can solve. And part of the power of conferences like this is to insist on human agency, to not give in to hopelessness," Obama said.

"Nature's actually resilient if we take care to just stop actively destroying it. It'll come back."

Britain was one of the first to show its hand, announcing a plan to double the area of protected ocean around its far-flung overseas territories.

Fully protected marine reserves are to be set up around the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific and St Helena, Tristan da Cunha and Ascension in the South Atlantic.

The plans impose a permanent ban on commercial fishing in an additional one million square kilometers (386,100 square miles) of ocean, according to Britain's Foreign Office.

Meanwhile, the Global Environment Facility, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Blue Moon Fund and the Waitt Foundation announced $48 million to help developing countries create and expand tropical marine reserves.

Delegates hope that by 2020, 10 percent of the world's oceans will become protected reserves, with fishing and oil exploration banned or tightly restricted.

And American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio unveiled a new crowd-sourced technology, Global Fishing Watch, to help concerned people track illegal fishing by satellite.

- Ocean protection -

The conference was hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who hopes the Our Ocean summits that he pioneered will continue after he leaves office next year.

The first Our Ocean summit was held in Washington in 2014, followed by Valparaiso in Chile last year. Next year's meeting will be hosted by the European Union.

"I think Kerry will continue to be a champion of the oceans because this is his strong passion," UN Environment Program executive director Erik Solheim told AFP.

"But they have also institutionalized it, the EU and Malta will host it next time ... This is gaining speed in so many different ways now."

Kerry recalled that at the previous summits, nations from across the world committed to designate over six million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of ocean.

Kerry said over two days the delegates would announce 120 preservation projects and $2 billion in new funding to protect more than two million square kilometers of sea.

The new national monument follows Obama's recent expansion of the huge Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off Hawaii Saul Loeb (AFP/File)
Trump's doctor declares him in 'excellent physical health'

Donald Trump released lab results Thursday from a recent medical examination, with his personal physician stating that the Republican presidential candidate "is in excellent physical health."

Both Trump and his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton have been under pressure to share more medical information since Clinton fell ill during a 9/11 ceremony in New York on Sunday and was forced to leave.

While Clinton released a new health bulletin Wednesday night, the media-savvy Trump teased the results of his recent physical during the taping of a medical chat show, a day before releasing the details to the press.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Canton, Ohio, on September 14, 2016 Mandel Ngan (AFP)

The 70-year-old Trump, who is 6 feet 3 inches (1.90 meters) tall, weighs 236 pounds (107 kilograms) and his liver and thyroid functions are "all within the normal range," his longtime doctor Harold Bornstein wrote in a one-page letter that also lists Trump's cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar and blood pressure results.

"He takes a lipid lowering agent (rosuvastatin) and a low dose aspirin. He does not use tobacco products or alcohol," he added.

Bornstein said there was no history in Trump's family of premature cardiac or neoplastic disease, which includes all kinds of cancers and abnormal growths.

He noted that Trump had been hospitalized only once, for an appendectomy when he was 11 years old, and that his parents lived into their late 80s and 90s.

The doctor said results from an electrocardiogram and chest X-ray on April 16 were normal. A colonoscopy on July 11 revealed no polyps.

Laboratory results show cholesterol well in the normal range (169 with HDL cholesterol at 63, LDL at 94).

Other results: triglycerides 61, PSA 0.15, blood pressure 116/70, blood sugar 99, and C Reactive Protein UQ 0.7.

Trump's testosterone level is 441.6, also within the normal range.
Pandora eyes growth with low price, new features

Internet radio leader Pandora unveiled plans Thursday to challenge streaming stalwarts such as Spotify by undercutting them on price and matching them with on-demand music.

The move comes after prolonged market jitters over the future of Pandora at a time that on-demand streaming is reshaping the music industry.

Pandora said that its premium service would cost $4.99 a month -- half its earlier cost and half the subscription prices for Spotify and Apple Music.

Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren Alex Wong (Getty/AFP/File)

The company said the new Pandora Plus will include more advanced features to be rolled out in the coming months.

Among them is an automatic switch to offline radio stations whenever a subscriber loses an internet connection -- avoiding the sudden blackouts that remain an annoyance on streaming services.

Pandora, which recently signed licensing agreements with two of the three major record label conglomerates, said it would launch an on-demand subscription platform later this year.

The on-demand service, whose pricing was not immediately revealed, would follow the model of Spotify in letting users select any song at any time.

Pandora, whose users overwhelmingly choose its free advertising-backed tier, said it would make the level more interactive.

Listeners will be able skip or repeat songs if they click on a video commercial -- a feature likely to delight advertisers who are crucial to the company's bottom line.

Tim Westergren, the company's co-founder who returned earlier this year as CEO, said Pandora wanted to give users "flexibility" in what they listen to and how much they pay.

"Whether a listener wants to take advantage of our enhanced ad-supported experience, our groundbreaking subscription radio service or our fully interactive on-demand option coming later this year, we have a solution tailored for you at a price point you can afford," he said in a statement.

- Reviving stagnant growth? -

Pandora, launched in 2000, designed itself as a radio network with stations based on genre and, more recently, automatically personalized around listeners' selections.

It had 78 million active users at the end of June -- an impressive number, but a slight fall from a year earlier.

Spotify by contrast has posted breakneck growth. The Swedish company said Wednesday that its number of paying subscribers soared by one-third in just the past half-year to 40 million, out of total users of 100 million when including its free tier.

Spotify's audience tends to be younger, while Pandora's strengths include casual listeners and restaurants and businesses looking to create a musical mood.

Global revenue from streaming rose more than 45 percent in 2015 alone, according to the IFPI industry group, leading the music industry to post its first significant growth since the start of the internet age.

Apple Music as well as Tidal, led by rap mogul Jay Z, have sought a bigger slice of the market by promoting exclusives -- such as, for Tidal, the latest album by Jay Z's wife Beyonce.

Apple Music, launched by the tech giant last year, recently said it had 17 million paying subscribers -- posting steady growth but significantly trailing Spotify.

As for Tidal, the Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper in Norway, where the service's parent group Aspiro is based, this week reported that the company has suffered heavy losses and received around 100 payment default notices.

Unlike the major on-demand services, California-based Pandora has a limited global reach due to complex government regulations.
Arab Israeli MP sparks controversy with harsh Peres criticism

An Arab Israeli lawmaker has caused an uproar after describing ailing Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres as covered "head to toe" in Palestinian blood.

Former Israeli president and prime minister Peres, 93, remained in serious condition Thursday, according to his doctor, after suffering a major stroke two days earlier.

As messages of concern and wishes for his recovery flowed from public leaders at home and abroad, MP Basel Ghattas posted on his Facebook a scathing attack on the veteran leader's record in the conflict with the Palestinians.

Arab Israeli lawmaker Basel Ghattas speaks during a press conference in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth on June 30, 2015 Ahmad Gharabli (AFP/File)

Peres, he wrote in Arabic, was one of the "strongest pillars of the Zionist colonialist settlement project and one of the most despicable, cruel, radical and long-living."

Arab Israelis -- who represent about 17.5 percent of Israel's population -- are the descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Although they are citizens of the Jewish state they largely identify as Palestinians.

Peres, who became director general of the nascent defence ministry at just 29 years old, once hawkishly rejected any compromise with hostile Arab states.

He said he became a dove after 1977, when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Jerusalem, leading to the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty.

"Our blood covers him from head to toe," wrote Ghattas, a member of the Joint List Arab coalition.

"Let us... remember his real essence as a tyrant and a direct administrator of the crimes and war crimes carried out against our rights."

Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo accords.

But he was also an early backer of Israeli settlement in the West Bank after its occupation in the 1967 Six Day War.

He was Israel's foreign minister in 1996 when the Jewish state shelled a United Nations compound at Qana village, in Lebanon, killing 105 civilians in what a UN report ruled was a deliberate attack.

Another Arab MP, of the Arab-Jewish leftist Meretz party, took Ghattas to task for his comments.

"The majority of Arab society thinks otherwise," Issawi Freij told the Ynet news site. "Ghattas won the support of a minority."

"The things he said have no place in society and should be condemned," Freij said.

"These things seriously hurt the Arab population of the country."
South African prosecutors bid to extend Pistorius sentence

Prosecutors in South Africa said Thursday they would launch a new legal push for a tougher sentence for Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who was jailed for six years for murdering his girlfriend.

The National Prosecution Authority said it will file papers on Friday to seek permission to appeal against the term handed down by a High Court in July.

"I have been advised by the prosecutors that they are filing their papers tomorrow petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal," NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told AFP.

Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was jailed for six years for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp Kim Ludbrook (Pool/AFP/File)

He did not give details of the grounds for the appeal.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel last month argued in court that the six-year sentence -- less than half the minimum 15-year sentence for murder in South Africa -- was "shockingly lenient".

The prosecution is directly petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal following last month's rejection by the High Court of their application for permission to appeal.

Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013, saying he mistook her for a burglar when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.

He was originally convicted of a lesser charge of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter, in 2014.
Libya oil exports to resume 'immediately'

Libya's oil company on Thursday announced an "immediate" resumption of oil exports from two of the key ports captured this week by forces opposed to the country's UN-backed unity government.

The United States, for its part, insisted that oil revenues are deposited with the central bank in Tripoli.

Forces led by a controversial general, Khalifa Haftar, who backs a rival administration in eastern Libya, seized four ports in the country's so-called "oil crescent" this week and handed them over to the National Oil Company (NOC).

A member of forces opposed to Libya's unity government waves a Libyan flag at the Zueitina oil terminal Abdullah Doma (AFP)

Their capture was a blow to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which relies on oil revenues and has struggled to assert its control over the country.

The seizure of Zuwaytina, Brega, Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra oil terminals was the latest escalation of the turmoil that has gripped Libya since the 2011 revolution which overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

"Exports will resume immediately from Zuwaytina and Ras Lanuf, and will continue at Brega," NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla said. "Exports will resume from Al-Sidra as soon as possible."

Since the capture of the terminals, Sanalla has vowed to oil double production from Libya, which with an estimated 48 billion barrels holds Africa's largest oil reserves.

The US special envoy for Libya, Jonathan Winer, in a telephone interview from Washington, told AFP no action would be taken against oil exports if the proceeds are paid into Libya's central bank.

"The oil that is exported has to be exported according to lawful contracts with the proceeds going into the central bank of Libya whose main offices are in Tripoli," he said.

"If oil were to be diverted... the US will seek to enforce UN Security Council resolutions.

"If the government of Libya (GNA) asks for support again, the international community is likely to provide that support," the US envoy said.

"However, if the oil is going in the government's revenues and the government supports that, there is no action for the international community to take."

The prospects of a resumption of Libyan oil exports has fanned concern on the international oil market about a global supply glut and overproduction that have hammered prices for more than two years.

Oil prices rebounded slightly Thursday after tanking the previous day, although gains were capped by US stockpiles data as well as the prospect of rising output in Libya and Nigeria, dealers said.

- Haftar has 'upper hand' -

The NOC considers itself loyal to the GNA, but also to the country's internationally recognised parliament, which supports Haftar's forces and has refused to grant the GNA a vote of confidence.

Libya has only managed to export a few tankers of crude in recent months, with efforts to revive the industry thwarted by jihadist attacks and political turmoil.

"We can raise production to 600,000 barrels per day within four weeks and to 950,000 bpd by the end of the year from around 290,000 bpd at present," the NOC chief said.

However, this would depend on "receiving essential funds from the budget and on the oil crescent ports and the closed pipelines in the southwest being opened and kept open".

Libya has been wracked by turmoil, with rival administrations and militias vying for control over the past five years.

Under a UN-brokered accord signed in December, the GNA started work in the capital earlier this year but has since struggled to assert its authority.

And by capturing the oil ports, Haftar has consolidated his position.

"Haftar now has the upper hand," said Mattia Toaldo, a Libya expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Haftar, 73, who sees himself as Libya's saviour after driving jihadists out of most of the country's second city, Benghazi, is the most powerful backer of the eastern administration.

Parliament head Aguila Saleh on Wednesday promoted Haftar from the rank of general to field marshal.

The offensive in the oil region came as pro-GNA forces backed by US air strikes pressed a months-long campaign to expel the last Islamic State group jihadists from the coastal city of Sirte, their former North African bastion.

Colonel Muftah al-Muqarief (L), who heads oil guards loyal to Libyan military strongman General Khalifa Haftar Haftar, and Colonel Ahmad Mesmari (C), a spokesman for Haftar, hold a press conference at the Zueitina oil terminal on September 14, 2016 Abdullah Doma (AFP)

Rival forces seize key Libyan ports Paz Pizarro (AFP/File)
Israel's Peres sees 'real improvement' after stroke

Former Israeli president and Nobel laureate Shimon Peres saw "real improvement" in his health Thursday but remained in serious condition after the 93-year-old suffered a major stroke, his doctor said.

Israelis have been on edge since their elder statesman and last remaining founding father was hospitalised on Tuesday feeling unwell and then suffered a stroke and internal bleeding.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been criticised by Peres in past years, visited the hospital on Wednesday night, saying: "We feel some relief... because this evening he is better than he was yesterday evening."

Former Israeli president Shimon Peres remains in intensive care and breathing with the help of a respirator Jack Guez (AFP)

He could not enter Peres's room in intensive care and was given a briefing outside due to the sensitivity of his condition.

On Thursday, Peres's personal physician and son-in-law Rafi Walden told AFP that "there is another real improvement today", describing his condition as serious but stable.

His condition would likely remain that way in the coming days.

Peres was still breathing with the help of a respirator, but he was able to respond when his sedation was lessened as he had the previous day.

He has not been able to speak due to being intubated, Walden said.

"He squeezes the hand and he moves his legs," Walden said. "Definitely these are indications that he is listening and is responsive to our calls."

- 'Patriarch of peace' -

Peres has held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister. He was president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014.

He won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was later assassinated by a far-right Jewish extremist, and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo autonomy accords.

The former hawk turned dove is widely respected both in Israel and abroad, regularly meeting world leaders and celebrities, seemingly charming them along the way.

In March, he met supermodel Naomi Campbell at his Peres Center for Peace during an event linked to International Women's Day. On the same day, he met visiting US Vice President Joe Biden.

The Clintons, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been among those inquiring about his condition, a Peres spokeswoman said.

While doctors saw cause for optimism in Peres's improvement, they also cautioned that he remained at risk.

"The fact that he responds is an excellent start, but there are still numerous possibilities for complications related to his hospitalisation in intensive care," Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon involved in his treatment, told Israel's Channel 2 television.

"It is an environment that is not natural for a human being and which can create complications."

There have been statements of concern from across the political spectrum as well as from the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, who called Peres "a patriarch of peace and progress".

However, Arab Israeli lawmaker Basel Ghattas caused an uproar after describing Peres, who ordered the devastating "Grapes of Wrath" operation against Lebanon in 1996, as covered "head to toe" in the blood of Palestinians and other Arabs.

- Exercise, good wine -

In January, Peres was hospitalised twice for heart trouble.

In the first instance, the hospital said he had suffered a "mild cardiac event" and underwent catheterisation to widen an artery.

He was rushed to hospital a second time days later with chest pains and an irregular heartbeat.

Peres has sought to maintain an active schedule despite his age, particularly through events related to his Peres Center for Peace.

He once confided that the secret to his longevity was daily exercise, eating little and drinking one or two glasses of good wine.

He once hawkishly rejected any compromise with hostile Arab states, but said he was converted after 1977, when Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Jerusalem, leading to the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty.

Born in Poland in 1923, Peres emigrated to what was then British-mandated Palestine when he was 11.

He joined the Zionist struggle in the 1940s and while hitchhiking met David Ben-Gurion, who would become Israel's first prime minister.

Peres became director general of the nascent defence ministry at just 29 years old.

Beyond his accomplishments in the public eye, he was also seen as a driving force in the development of Israel's undeclared nuclear programme.

Shimon Peres (centre) was jointly awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Yasser Arafat (left) and Yitzhak Rabin for their efforts to reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation Erik Johansen (Scanpix/AFP/File)

Shimon Peres' political career lasted 66 years

Israeli well-wisher Viviane Menahem holds photos showing a portrait of herself with Shimon Peres, as she waits for news on his medical condition inside the Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv, on September 14, 2016 Jack Guez (AFP)
Nigeria anti-graft agency edges towards former first lady

A top aide of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan pleaded not guilty Thursday to money laundering charges linked to the former first lady, as he appeared in a Lagos court.

Jonathan's special advisor on household and domestic matters Waripamo Dudafa is accused with two others and four companies of laundering millions of dollars in stolen public funds.

Former first lady Patience Jonathan claimed last week in a letter to Nigeria's anti-graft agency that she is the rightful owner of the over $15 million in multiple bank accounts, according to Nigerian news agency Sahara Reporters.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan waves to the crowd as he leaves the office during the inauguration of President Mohammadu Buhari at the Eagles Square in Abuja Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File)

She told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that she had been withdrawing the money from the accounts to pay for her overseas health expenses.

The accounts were frozen in July, and she is arguing that the EFCC is trying to "harass or harangue her and short-change her of her personal funds in breach of her fundamental human rights".

The seizure of funds is "illegal, unlawful, wrongful and prejudicial" according an application she submitted to the federal high court in Lagos on Thursday demanding the release of the money.

Two other men pleaded not guilty along with Dudafa, while the representatives of the four companies pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and forgery. The trial is adjourned until September 27.

Anti-corruption campaigners said the Nigerian government should investigate the ex first lady, who has attracted attention from anti-graft agencies and activists in the past for her vast personal wealth.

Debo Adeniran, head of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders organisation, said she had "guts" to claim the money is hers.

"I only hope the present government will have the political will to pursue a trial to the end," Adeniran said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated Jonathan in elections last year, has launched a wide-ranging campaign against corruption targeting key members of the previous regime.

The focus on officials from the former ruling party has led some critics to claim Buhari is using the anti-graft crackdown as a way to target and silence political foes.

Former national security advisor Sambo Dasuki is currently facing a slew of charges over allegedly bogus arms deals in which money meant for military procurements to fight Boko Haram was diverted for political purposes.

Meanwhile, Jonathan's cousin Robert Azibaola is also standing trial for allegedly stealing millions in public funds.
The Next Phase Of Navy Pier's Major Redevelopment Is Moving Forward

By Sarah Gouda in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 14, 2016 8:29PM



Image via Navy Pier, Inc.

Surprisingly, the words phase two of Centennial Vision have nothing to do with a tyrannical demagogues grab for power and everything to do with our citys sweet and lovely Navy Pier. Named in honor of the Piers 100th birthday, Centennial Vision refers to the tourist destinations redevelopment plan. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced on Wednesday that City Council had approved the second stage of the project.

Phase one of Centennial Vision, again not a sinister name for a sinister thing, was completed earlier this year and included a remodeled Ferris wheel, dubbed the Centennial Wheel, a renovated South Dock, and an updated Polk Bros Fountain and Plaza. The reboots second phase will focus on turning Navy Pier into a more contemporary public space centered around expanded arts and cultural programming.

Navy Pier is a cultural and economic hub for Chicago and this plan is transforming it into a one-of-a-kind destination that will draw even more visitors from throughout the world, Emanuel stated on Wednesday. This revitalization will prepare it for the next 100 years and is a key part of our efforts to bring 55 million visitors to Chicago annually by 2020.

Navy Pier is currently seeking partnerships in order to secure private development funding for projects set to commence in phase two of Centennial Vision. These include the construction of a seven-story, 240-room hotel, a Welcome Pavilion at Polk Bros Park, a seasonal ice rink, a short-term boat docking facility, and an underground bunker for our nation's preeminent demagogues. Just kidding, Centennial Vision is definitely the title of the Terminator movie that Arnold Schwarzenegger will film when hes 100, anyway.
Niger becoming new Boko Haram target: analysts

Niger is increasingly becoming a target for Boko Haram attacks, as the Islamists come under sustained military pressure in Nigeria while reeling under a leadership struggle, analysts said Thursday.

Despite a decline in the frequency of attacks this year in northeastern Nigeria, the experts warned of escalating raids across the border, especially in Niger.

"Niger's southern border with Nigeria represents a relatively soft flank for Boko Haram, particularly in its eastern stretches," Roddy Barclay, intelligence analyst at consultancy firm Africa Practice, told AFP.

A boy looks on in a camp in the village of Kidjendi near Diffa on June 19, 2016 as displaced families fled from Boko Haram attacks in Bosso Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

"The porous national border is under-policed and adjoins some of the most insecure territories in northeastern Nigeria."

IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC) said Boko Haram carried out 22 attacks into Cameroon, Chad and Niger in 2014 and 62 in 2015, when it aligned with the Islamic State group.

There were 41 cross-border attacks this year until the end of August with Niger bearing the brunt of the violence, including a raid on a military base near the southeastern town of Bosso in June in which at least 26 soldiers were killed.

"Before Boko Haram allied with the Islamic State, it did carry out cross-border attacks outside their core territory of north eastern Nigeria," said Matthew Henman, head of IHS JTIC.

"But since 2015, the number of cross-border operations rose dramatically as the group retaliated against the West African coalition fighting to defeat them."

Henman said the Bosso attack -- and subsequent strikes against government and other military targets in the region -- indicated a shift in Boko Haram to IS methods.

This focused "less on the indiscriminate killing of fellow Muslims and more on targeting regional security forces".

IS announced in August that Abu Musab al-Barnawi -- the son of Boko Haram's founder Mohammed Yusuf -- had replaced Abubakar Shekau as head of the group, which now styles itself Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Barnawi has criticised Shekau for the indiscriminate killing of fellow Muslims: at least 20,000 people have been killed in northeast Nigeria in a wave of raids, suicide attacks and bombings since 2009.

The shadowy Shekau has maintained he is still in charge but there have been recent reports of clashes between rival factions in the north of northeast Nigeria's Borno state, near Lake Chad.

JTIC said it still expected attacks on civilians from the Shekau camp to continue, while those aligned with Barnawi would conduct operations against the military and government.

The upsurge in attacks in Niger was an indication Boko Haram may have already begun to regroup, contradicting the military's version that it was on the run and struggling, Henman told AFP.

He also said the jihadists' aim appeared to be to undermine the Multi-National Joint Task Force of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, which is operating in the Lake Chad region against them.

- Overstretched military? -

The regional force, whose deployment has been long delayed, depends on coordination and cooperation between countries not known for working together or sharing mutual trust -- and Boko Haram could play on that, said Henman.

"IS has been very good at picking apart alliances and coalitions, pitting allies against one another. They will try to sow discord in that coalition," Henman said.

Nigeria is facing security threats on multiple fronts: Boko Haram in the northeast; ethnic violence in the central region; Biafran separatists in the southeast; and oil rebels in the south.

"The military build-up (in northeast Nigeria) can't be sustained indefinitely", even if the threat in the Niger delta does not develop, he added.

While Nigeria boasts one of the largest armies in Africa, Barclay warned that fighting multiple fronts could expose political mismanagement and corruption in the military and undermine recent gains.

"The military technically has the resources to operate on two fronts," Barclay said. "But it risks becoming stretched and seeing some of its internal dysfunction exposed," he said.

"Any shortfalls in discipline, management and logistics are likely to be accentuated."

People hold hands as they take part in a march 'against' Islamist group Boko Haram Boureima Hama (AFP/File)
Traders selling dangerously dirty fuel across Africa: study

European oil companies, especially Swiss commodity traders, are exploiting weak African fuel standards by selling toxic diesel and gasoline across the continent, a campaign group said Thursday.

A three-year investigation published by Switzerland-based environmental and economic group Public Eye did not accuse oil companies of breaking any laws.

But it charged several firms with using an "illegitimate strategy" to boost profits, hawking so-called "African quality" fuels that have had devastating health and environmental impacts across many sub-Saharan states.

In a 160-page report based on research in eight African countries, Public Eye found fuels sold at the pump which contained high levels of toxins, notably sulphur Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File)

In a 160-page report based on research in eight African countries, Public Eye found fuels sold at the pump which contained high levels of toxins, notably sulphur.

Such toxic blends would be illegal to sell in Europe, which caps sulphur rates in fuel at 10 parts per million, Public Eye said.

In Africa, sulphur limits are on average 200 times higher.

"By selling such fuels at the pump in Africa, the traders increase outdoor air pollution, causing respiratory disease and premature death," said the report from Public Eye, a group previously known as the Bern Declaration and founded in 1968.

Among the key culprits, Public Eye named Swiss traders Vitol and Trafigura as well as the multi-national energy group Oryx, which specialises in the African market.

In a statement sent to AFP, Vitol called the report "inaccurate and misinformed," stressing that African governments were responsible for setting their own fuel standards.

Oryx made the same case, noting in a statement that it sells fuel products "that strictly comply with the national legislation of each client country."

- Call to act -

Public Eye tested fuel sold in Angola, Benin, Congo-Brazzaville, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal and Zambia.

While sub-Saharan Africa includes major oil producers like Angola and Nigeria, limited refining capacity on the continent means that most African oil is sold as crude on the international market.

States then import fuel products refined abroad, often from European traders.

These transactions often involve regional brokers in Africa, who are sometimes responsible for mixing the fuel.

Public eye called on African governments "to set stringent fuel quality standards" in line with European levels, arguing that was the most effective way to crack down on toxic blends.

Fears that banning low-quality blends will raise costs for consumers are misguided, the report said.

It noted that measures in East Africa to limit sulphur continent had "no impact on prices at the pump."

Importing better fuel would also lower healthcare expenses and reduce vehicle maintenance costs in the long run, Public Eye argued.

With many of the toxic blends produced in Europe and the United States, Public Eye urged Western governments to ban the export of fuel products that do not meet their own domestic standards.
Boeing challenges Denmark's choice of fighter jets

Boeing accused the Danish government Thursday of overseeing a "fundamentally flawed" process to replace its fleet of fighter jets which saw the US defence giant lose out to competitor Lockheed Martin.

In June, Denmark decided to replace its ageing fleet of F-16s with 27 US-built Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters in a deal valued at 20 billion kroner (2.69 billion euros, $3.02 billion).

Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter's Typhoon model were also in the running for the order, which had been debated for over 10 years.

The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, a twin-engine, supersonic, all weather multirole fighter, was in the running for the Danish order, which had been debated for over 10 years Adrian Dennis (AFP/File)

"We believe the ministry's evaluation of the competitors was fundamentally flawed and inaccurately assessed the cost and capability of the F/A-18 Super Hornet," Debbie Rub, a Boeing vice president, said in a statement.

The company had submitted a request for the defence ministry to provide "all materials related to the fighter procurement evaluation and decision announced in June," it said.

"We're taking this step because there's too much at stake for Denmark and, potentially, other countries considering the Super Hornet," Rub said.

She described it as "the first step toward bringing a formal legal challenge."

Boeing said it had voiced concern earlier this year over the Danish evaluation process, in particular with a government estimate that "the Super Hornet would cost up to twice as much as detailed in US Department of Defense budget documents."

Danish Defence Minister Peter Christensen said it was "natural" that only the company behind the winning bid would be happy with the outcome of the process.

"I note that we have had a very thorough and transparent process," he told Danish news agency Ritzau.

Denmark is one of nine partner countries, that also include Britain, Canada and Turkey, who are helping pay for the futuristic F-35A fighter jet's development.
40 dead in clashes around key city of southwest Yemen: military

Forty people were killed in fighting between Shiite Huthi rebels and pro-government forces around southwest Yemen's main city of Taez, military sources said Thursday.

Colonel Sadeq al-Hassani, spokesman for the loyalist forces, told AFP that 27 Huthis and 13 pro-government fighters were killed as a rebel offensive aimed at reimposing a siege of the city was repelled on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, five Huthis and allied rebels were killed when loyalists backed by Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes and artillery fought off a rebel assault in the nearby Kahbub area, pro-government officials said.

Heavily damaged buildings on a street in Yemen's third city Taez as a result of clashes between Shiite Huthi rebels and fighters from the Popular Resistance Committees Ahmad al-Basha (AFP/File)

AFP could not independently verify the tolls and the rebels rarely acknowledge their losses.

The Kahbub fighting centred on a mountainous area overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.

The area is guarded by forces from the coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government after rebels seized the capital Sanaa.

Yemen's conflict has since killed more than 6,600 people, most of them civilians, and displaced at least three million others, according to the United Nations.
Liberia editor detained over 'cannibal' African leader story

A Liberian newspaper editor was arrested Thursday after republishing an article from Britain's Daily Mail website that alleges the president of Equatorial Guinea is a cannibal.

On Sunday the British tabloid posted an article about longtime President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo alleging the strongman skinned opponents alive and ate their testicles, brains and livers.

The New Democrat reprinted certain elements of the piece by journalist Thomas Burrows on its Wednesday front page, attracting the ire of the information minister.

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo arrives to attend the inauguration of Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari at the Eagles Square in Abuja Pius Utomi Expei (AFP/File)

Festus Poquie, editor of the New Democrat newspaper, was then detained by plain-clothed police and locked in a cell for several hours before his release on Thursday afternoon.

"The Liberia National Police can confirm that its Crime Services Division is holding a conversation with a senior Editor of the New Democrat, Festus Poquie," a police statement sent to AFP read.

Liberia's information minister Eugene Nagbe had already contacted the country's press union to complain about the article and demand action be taken against the New Democrat.

"Considering that the conduct of the publisher of New Democrat marks a most dangerous departure from the principles of professional journalism, we demand and insist that the paper be penalised," read a letter signed by Nagbe.

The Press Union of Liberia described his arrest as "an act of intimidation against the freedom of press in Liberia," at a moment of high tension between the media and the government.

Earlier this month journalist Jallah Grayfield lodged a complaint with police after alleging she received intimidating texts from a junior minister, while the government shut down two radio stations known for their critical stance on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf this summer.

Reporters Without Borders said the public had "a right to hear all opinions, even those that are critical and irritate the current government," following the case of the minister.

Obiang, who heads sub-Saharan's Africa's third largest oil producer, is the continent's longest serving leader and has served since taking power in a coup in 1979.
UK guilty of 'China-phobia' over Hinkley: Xinhua

Chinese state media on Thursday welcomed Britain's approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear plant but attacked "China-phobia" in London, after new conditions were attached to the mammoth project.

"Finally, London has made a welcoming move by giving the go-ahead order to a key nuclear power plant program after it was suspended over some fictitious 'national security' concerns about Chinese investment," the Xinhua news agency said in a signed commentary.

China has a one-third stake in the French-led project in southwest England, which eventually is meant to deliver seven percent of Britain's electricity needs for 60 years.

This image shows a computer rendition of EDF's proposed two nuclear reactors at their Hinkley Point power plant in south-west England Ollier Laurence (EDF Energy/AFP/File)

Critics say the arrangement could give China the power to plunge Britain into darkness, and the new British government of Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a review of the project in July.

It finally gave the green light on Thursday, but added provisos to ensure it can intervene to stop any sale of the Hinkley stake held by French power group EDF, and to wield more control over future nuclear projects.

"Of course, the British leader's misgivings make little sense," the Xinhua commentary said, speculating that May was pandering to domestic critics.

"Had the program gone under, all sides were to lose dearly, while China-Britain relations could have been tossed into uncertainty," it said, while warning that future problems are inevitable as Hinkley Point is built.
US class-action suit blames L'Oreal for hair loss

A L'Oreal hair relaxer marketed to African American women that promises "fuller, silkier hair" instead causes hair loss, according to a US class-action lawsuit against the French cosmetics giant.

The suit takes aim at L'Oreal's no-lye relaxer marketed under the Soft Sheen-Carson brand and touted by celebrities like model Cynthia Bailey and Johnny Wright, hairdresser to First Lady Michelle Obama, according to the suit.

The no-lye relaxer is responsible for "disturbing and distressing injuries including hair loss and breakage as well as scalp irritation, blisters and burns," said the suit, which was filed Wednesday in a federal court in California.

The suit argues that the product was filled with a "dangerous mix of irritants and potentially toxic substances" Thomas Samson (AFP/File)

Plaintiffs already number 100,000, said attorney Ben Meiselas, who has previously represented celebrities, including Michael Jackson.

Meiselas said the penalties could exceed "several" hundred million dollars and told AFP he was "happy" to engage in settlement talks.

"It's up to them if they want to avoid a trial," he said.

L'Oreal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In marketing the product, L'Oreal touted its use of amla oil, which is derived from amla, an Indian gooseberry. But the suit argues that the product contained "hardly any" Amla oil and was instead filled with a "dangerous mix of irritants and potentially toxic substances."

Plaintiffs include Sharon Manier of California, who was drawn to advertisements that promoted the "rejuvenating" qualities of the relaxer. But Manier immediately experienced scalp irritation, followed by hair loss.
China launches second space lab: Xinhua

China launched its second space lab Thursday, official media said, as the country works towards setting up its own manned space station by 2022.

The Tiangong-2 blasted off just after 10:00 pm (1400 GMT) "in a cloud of smoke" from the Gobi desert, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

State television CCTV broadcast images of the Long March-2F rocket's engines igniting in tandem before slowly lifting into the air and exiting the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, leaving a long trail of flames in its wake.

China's Tiangong 2 space lab is launched on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, in China's Gansu province, on September 15, 2016

The 8.6 tonne Tinagong-2 -- or Heavenly Palace-2 -- will initially orbit at a height of around 380 kilometres (240 miles) above earth, Xinhua cited Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, as saying.

It will then move slightly higher to allow the Shenzhou-11 mission to transport two astronauts to the facility, where they will stay for 30 days.

Once inside Tiangong-2, the two astronauts will carry out research projects related to in-orbit equipment repairs, aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, atomic space clocks and solar storm research.

Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program, said Tiangong-2 also aimed to verify technology involved in the construction of the space station.

"It has the basic technological capacity of a space station," Zhou said.

"Once the space lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station," he said, adding this could start in as early as 2017.

In April 2017, China's first space cargo ship Tianzhou-1 will be sent towards the space lab, providing fuel and other supplies.

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe.

It hopes to have a crewed outpost by 2022.

China's first space lab, Tiangong-1, was launched in September 2011 and ended transmissions in March this year. It is expected to fall back to Earth in the second half of 2017.

Beijing sees its military-run space programme as symbolising the country's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

The nation's first lunar rover was launched in late 2013, and while it was beset by mechanical troubles it far outlived its expected lifespan, finally shutting down only last month.

But for the most part China has so far replicated activities that the US and Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

As well as building a Chinese space station, it intends to eventually put one of its citizens on the surface of the moon.
Russia wants UN to endorse Syria deal with US

Russia wants the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution endorsing the deal hammered out between Moscow and Washington to halt fighting in Syria and jointly target Islamist rebels, its ambassador said Thursday.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there were discussions at the United Nations on the proposed resolution that could be adopted on Wednesday when the Security Council holds a special meeting on Syria.

"We are working on it," Churkin told reporters. "I think we need to adopt it on the 21st."

Syrian girls sit holding placards in the town of Daraya, southwest of central Damascus Fadi Dirani (AFP/File)

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend the high-level council meeting, held on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly meeting.

Churkin said the resolution would provide "endorsement of the agreement" reached last week that allowed a ceasefire to go into effect on Monday, paving the way to aid deliveries and a possible resumption of peace talks.

The cessation of hostilities was holding on Thursday, but another key provision of the agreement -- the delivery of aid to besieged areas -- had yet to be implemented.

Some 20 trucks loaded with aid to be delivered to the battleground city of Aleppo remained in a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria on Thursday, awaiting a green light from Damascus to begin their journey.

Addressing the council, US Ambassador Samantha Power said that the deal "is not an agreement based on trust and promises."

"It is an agreement based on reciprocal actions, halting attacks and allowing for deliveries of assistance," Power said.

Under the deal, the United States and Russia will set up a joint implementation center to cooperate in the targeting of Islamist rebels while President Bashar al-Assad's government grounds its planes and helicopters, she added.

"The regime would no longer be able to use the excuse that it is targeting (the Al-Qaeda-linked) Al-Nusra in order to go after its own people," she said.

Ahead of the council meeting on Syria, there were discussions about holding a meeting of the International Syria Support Group, made up of some 20 countries backing the peace process in Syria, possibly as early as Monday.
UN chief slams Netanyahu over 'ethnic cleansing' remark

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it was "unacceptable and outrageous" to claim that opposition to settlements was tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

Netanyahu has accused the Palestinians of seeking a state with "no Jews" and declared in a video released last week that this could be described as "ethnic cleansing."

"I am disturbed by a recent statement by Israel's prime minister portraying those who oppose settlement expansion as supporters of ethnic cleansing," Ban told the Security Council during a meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he opens the weekly cabinet meeting at his Jerusalem office Gali Tibbon (AFP/File)

"This is unacceptable and outrageous."

Ban asserted that Israel's policy of building housing on land earmarked for a future Palestinian state was illegal and called for an end to Israeli rule over Palestinian territories.

"Let me be absolutely clear: settlements are illegal under international law. The occupation, stifling and oppressive, must end," he said.

More than half a million Israelis have settled in Palestinian territories under a policy that Ban said was "diametrically opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state."

Over the past two weeks, Israel has advanced plans for another 463 housing units to be built in four settlements of the West Bank.

Ban quoted Israeli data as showing that since April, there had been the highest number of construction starts in three years, confirming the Israeli push on settlements.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, hit back at Ban, saying he should direct his criticism at the Palestinians.

"Instead of directly condemning Hamas and its building of terror tunnels, and instead of investing time and resources in ensuring that the Palestinians end their incitement, the secretary general chooses to condemn Israel on a regular basis," he said in a statement.

The council meeting was held amid reports that Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had ordered ministry employees and military officials to boycott UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov over his criticism of Israel's settlement policies.

Mladenov last month told the council that Israel had launched a "surge" in settlement activity, ignoring the recommendations of the diplomatic quartet that called for a halt to settlements.

The quartet is comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully, who holds the council presidency this month, said Lieberman's decision was "deeply counter-productive" and that Mladenov was "doing the job we all asked him to do."
Billionaire Peter Thiel Insulted Chicago In A Room Full Of Chicagoans

By Sarah Gouda in News on Sep 15, 2016 4:35PM



Peter Thiel / Wikipedia

Cartoon villain Peter Thiel descended upon Chicago earlier this week to test out how it feels to be reviled next to a freshwater lake instead of his usual ocean. Seems like it went swimmingly. He got the chance to unleash some of his signature awful during a talk at Roosevelt University, when he implied that no person of worth could ever possibly live in Chicago, the third-most populous city in the country. What a charmer.

If you are a very talented person, you have a choice: You either go to New York or you go to Silicon Valley, the 48-year-old Paypal founder told the crowd, which consisted primarily of hacks foolish enough to live in this destitute, Midwestern shantytown. He apparently was there to discuss the state of the American Dream. Seriously.

One of the audience members worked up the nerve to ask, Who comes to Chicago if first-rate people go to New York or Silicon Valley? to which Thiel reportedly replied I didnt, I didnt, I didnt say that!

For a quick refresher, Thiel is the conservative billionaire who bankrolled Hulk Hogans lawsuit against Gawker Media, which culminated in the site shutting down earlier this year. His distaste for Gawker began after it published details about his dating life in 2007, and hes actively been trying to take it down ever since. Thiefs successful attempt to silence the media company has led to a nationwide discussion around the dangers that inordinate amounts of money and influence pose to free speech.

The ardent Trump supporter concluded his talk at Roosevelt University by saying he doesnt know exactly what Chicago should be doing right now. Hmm, its cool Pete, well take it from here.

[HT Tribune]
Air raids kill 23 civilians in jihadist-held Syria town: monitor

Twenty-three civilians including nine children were killed in air strikes on a town in eastern Syria held by the Islamic State jihadist group on Thursday, a monitor said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it did not know whether Syrian regime or Russian warplanes carried out the strikes on Al-Mayadin in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

A US-Russian brokered truce in force since Monday does not include areas where IS is present.
US envoy says Libya central bank must get oil income

The US envoy to Libya has said Washington will support the resumption of oil exports from the politically divided country if revenues go to the UN-backed unity government.

"The key is that oil won't be diverted to anyone else other than the... recognised government of Libya," Jonathan Winer told AFP on Wednesday, referring to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

Winer was speaking from Washington after forces loyal to a rival authority in eastern Libya seized four key ports in the country's so-called "oil crescent" this week and handed them over to the National Oil Company.

Libya has been in turmoil, with rival administrations and militias fighting for control of the oil-rich country since the 2011 revolt that ousted longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi Abdullah Doma (AFP)

On Thursday, the NOC announced an "immediate" resumption of oil exports from two of those ports.

"Oil needs to be produced throughout the country to generate the revenues necessary to pay for salaries for the Libyan people to have the government be able to function and to be able to" provide services, Winer said.

The oil "has to be exported according to lawful contracts with the proceeds going into the central bank of Libya whose main offices are in Tripoli," he added.

"If the oil is going in the government's revenues and the government supports that, there is no action for the international community to take," he said.

But "if oil were to be diverted towards any particular group, new bank accounts to be set up, oil being sent to parties who have not had contracts for the oil already... the US will seek to enforce UN Security Council resolutions," Winer said.

If the GNA asked for international support to prevent oil from being exported, he said, the international community was "likely to provide that support".

Libya has been in turmoil, with rival administrations and militias fighting for control of the oil-rich country since the 2011 revolt that ousted longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The unity government has been working in Tripoli since March, but has struggled to assert its control over the country, which with an estimated 48 billion barrels holds Africa's largest oil reserves.

US warplanes are supporting pro-GNA forces in a battle to expel the last Islamic State group jihadists from the coastal city of Sirte, previously their North African stronghold, west of the oil crescent.

The jihadists seized Sirte in June last year.

"The US does not want Libyans fighting with other Libyans," said Winer. "We want Libyans to unite to fight the security threats."
Fishing pressure risks erasing largest marine animals

Humans risk causing a mass extinction of large sea creatures on a scale never before seen because of overfishing, scientists warned this week.

If the biggest fish vanish, their loss will have serious consequences for other ocean ecosystems, said the study in the journal Science.

"We've found that extinction threat in the modern oceans is very strongly associated with larger body size," said study author Jonathan Payne, a paleobiologist at Stanford University.

If the biggest fish vanish, their loss will have serious consequences for other ocean ecosystems Cris Bouroncle (AFP/File)

"This is most likely due to people targeting larger species for consumption first."

If a sixth mass extinction occurs -- and some scientists believe it is already under way -- it will look very different than past extinctions caused by asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters.

Mass extinctions of the past typically unfolded over thousands of years. The sixth could occur in the span of a human lifetime.

"What is happening in the modern oceans is really different from what has happened in the past," said co-author Noel Heim, also of Stanford.

Researchers used a database of fossil records to examine the links between extinction threat and traits such as body size for nearly 2,500 mollusks and vertebrates over the past 500 years, and even farther back, as long as 445 million years ago.

Because fishing efforts target the biggest creatures in the sea, the odds of being threatened with extinction have risen significantly for large marine creatures.

"What our analysis shows is that for every factor of 10 increase in body mass, the odds of being threatened by extinction go up by a factor of 13 or so," said Payne.

"The bigger you are, the more likely you are to be facing extinction."

Researchers also looked at climate change as a potential factor threatening the survival of whales and sharks, but found it was not the top culprit.

Global warming "does not appear to be the dominant driver of extinction threat for the taxa examined here. Rather, human fishing and hunting define the dominant threat to modern marine fauna," said the study.

- Overfishing threat -

Fish provide 17 percent of the animal protein consumed in the world, now home to more than seven billion people.

But some of the planet's largest fish, including tuna and swordfish, are below 10 percent of their historical level, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

And more than 70 percent of the world's fish species are either fully exploited or depleted, the FAO has said.

One way to help the world's fish stocks rebuild is to ban commercial fishing in marine protected areas.

President Barack Obama announced the creation of a new marine reserve on Thursday of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a 4,913-square-mile (12,725-square-kilometer) area off the Atlantic coast of New England.

The new US national monument follows Obama's expansion earlier this month of the huge Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off Hawaii.
FBI agent posing as reporter within guidelines: review

The FBI's use of an undercover agent posing as a journalist -- which led to an uproar in the news media -- did not violate agency policy, a Justice Department review concluded Thursday.

The inspector general's report said that in the 2007 case, in which an FBI agent investigating an e-mail bomb threat claimed to be an Associated Press reporter, was within guidelines of the law enforcement agency at the time.

The report said a new interim policy adopted by the FBI earlier this year limits the impersonation of members of the media, but still could authorize similar actions in the future.

A Justice Department review said that in the 2007 case, in which an FBI agent investigating an e-mail bomb threat claimed to be an Associated Press reporter, was within guidelines of the law enforcement agency at the time Yuri Gripas (AFP/File)

"We concluded that FBI policies in 2007 did not expressly address the tactic of agents impersonating journalists," the report said.

The review of the so-called Timberline investigation at a high school in Washington state noted that some aspects of the FBI policy were "less than clear" but that the investigative team "did not appear to fully consider" seeking high-level approval for the actions.

After news of the impersonation was revealed, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and some 25 news organizations wrote a letter to the FBI and Justice Department, saying the practice endangers the media's credibility and undermines its independence.

Responding to the review, AP vice president Paul Colford said the news organization "is deeply disappointed" by the findings, saying they "effectively condone the FBI's impersonation of an AP journalist in 2007."

"Such action compromises the ability of a free press to gather the news safely and effectively and raises serious constitutional concerns," he said in a statement.

"Once again AP calls on the government to refrain from any activities involving the impersonation of the news media and we demand to be heard in the development of any policies addressing such conduct."

As the review was being finalized, the FBI adopted a new interim policy in June 2016 "that provides guidance to FBI employees regarding their impersonation of members of the news media during undercover activity or an undercover operation," according to the report.

"We found that prior to the adoption of this new interim policy, FBI policy would not have prohibited FBI employees from engaging in the undercover activities agents conducted during the 2007 Timberline investigation," the report said.

The new interim policy, according to the report, "clearly prohibits FBI employees from engaging in undercover activity in which they represent, pose, or claim to be members of the news media, unless the activity is authorized as part of an undercover operation."

Such an operation must be approved by the head of the FBI field office and followed by a series of approvals by the agency in consultation with the Justice Department.

"We believe the FBI's new interim policy is a significant improvement to policies that existed in 2007," the report said.
Colombia top court: State responsible for satirist's murder

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  Colombia's top administrative court has ruled the state was responsible for the murder of a beloved satirist and peacemaker more than a decade ago.

Jaime Garzon was shot in the head by motorcycle gunmen on his way to work at a radio station in downtown Bogota. His 1999 slaying shocked Colombians, who looked to the journalist as a trusted intermediary with leftist rebels at a time of rising political violence.

In a ruling Wednesday, the Council of the State said a former army colonel and deputy director of the now-extinct DAS intelligence agency carried out illegal wiretaps on Garzon and shared the information with paramilitary bosses opposed to the humorist's peace efforts.
Experts warn famous Spanish national park could dry out

MADRID (AP)  Environmentalists are warning that one of Europe's most celebrated conservation wetlands could dry out completely, endangering rare wildlife and thousands of jobs.

The World Wildlife Fund says in a report that southern Spain's Donana National Park is at risk from excessive water extraction. Proposals for dredging, mining and gas storage are also threatening the park.

The WWF says Donana is "the star of Europe's protected areas." It receives around 6 million migratory birds each year and is home to the world's rarest feline species, the Iberian lynx.

It is also one of the biggest strawberry-producing areas of the world, earning some 400 million euros ($450 million) annually.
Death penalty no option in California girls' 1973 killings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  A California prosecutor said Wednesday that two men charged with murder in the shotgun slayings of two young girls can't face the death penalty because it wasn't an option when the girls were sexually assaulted and killed more than 40 years ago.

The district attorney in Yuba County, California, filed six counts of murder against 65-year-old cousins William Lloyd Harbour and Larry Don Patterson, who both lived near the victims in Olivehurst, California, when they were killed in November 1973.

Harbour pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in California, said Deputy District Attorney John Vacek. Patterson was ordered held without bond in Oklahoma.

Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath, discusses the arrests made related to the 1973 killings of two California girls, at a news conference, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Marysville, Calif. Larry Don Patterson, 65, of Oklahoma, and William Lloyd Harbour, 65, of Olivehurst, Calif., were taken into custody, Tuesday, as suspects in the slayings of Valerie Janice Lane, 12, and Doris Karen Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County. At left, is Yuba County Sheriff Steven Durfor. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Patterson said he intends to waive extradition back to California to face charges in the deaths of 12-year-old Valerie Janice Lane and 13-year-old Doris Karen Derryberry, officials said.

The girls' mothers first reported them missing as runaways on Nov. 12, 1973, after they failed to return home overnight from a shopping trip to a mall in nearby Linda.

The Yuba County Sheriff's Department was notified a few hours later that their bodies had been found along a dirt road in a wooded area near Marysville, north of Sacramento, where they had been shot at close range.

The case went cold decades ago, Yuba County authorities said, until a state forensics lab matched DNA from the two suspects to semen found on Derryberry.

"It's just like it reopened  it's like it just happened again. And it's really, really hard," Margrette Hasting, the mother of Valerie Janice Lane, said after the arraignment.

The six murder charges  three for each of the victims  include one count each of premeditated murder, one count of murder committed during a rape or attempted rape, and one count of murder committed while molesting a child.

But the defendants won't face the possibility of execution if convicted, District Attorney Patrick McGrath told The Associated Press.

The case must be tried under the law as it existed in California in 1973, he said in an email: "During that time, the death penalty was not available in California, so the death penalty is not under consideration."

The most the men could face is a life sentence, and the law then provided that they could be considered for parole after serving seven years, McGrath said. The death penalty wasn't reinstated in California until 1977.

Vacek said the girls' families had little reaction when they were told Tuesday that the death penalty wasn't an option. "I think they were just kind of overwhelmed with the information they were being provided, so that was just a piece of it," he said.

Harbour was set for his next court appearance on Oct. 19, when Vacek said prosecutors hope to have both men back in Yuba County. Public Defender Brian Davis was appointed Wednesday to represent Harbour and declined comment.

Investigators in the 1970s carefully noted each of the more than 60 people they interviewed, Vacek said, and the suspects' names never came up.

They later considered Patterson after he was charged in 1976 with raping two women in nearby Chico, Vacek said, but found no link to the killing of the two girls until the DNA match decades later.

Detectives at the time "had done pretty much a bangup job in doing a thorough investigation," Vacek said. "To not have run across these guys is a little surprising, I guess ... We're reasonably confident there was nothing to connect them to the crimes at the time."

___

Associated Press writer Tim Talley contributed from Oklahoma City.

This photo provided by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department shows Larry Don Patterson, who was arrested by authorities in Oklahoma on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, on charges related to the 1973 slayings of Valerie Lane, 12, and Doris Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County, Calif. (Yuba County Sheriff's Department via AP)

This 2011 booking photo provided by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department shows William Lloyd Harbour, who was arrested in Yuba County, Calif., Tuesday Sept. 13, 2016, on charges related to the 1973 slayings of Valerie Lane, 12, and Doris Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County, Calif. (Yuba County Sheriff's Department via AP)
Mexican AG's criticized investigative chief resigns

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The head of the criminal investigation agency for the Attorney General's Office, whose dismissal had been demanded by the families of 43 college students who disappeared two years ago, resigned Wednesday.

Tomas Zeron's departure had been a rallying cry for the parents of the youths who haven't been seen since being taken away by police in the town of Iguala in southern Guerrero state. Zeron was at the center of the investigation that has failed to determine the whereabouts of the students, who were allegedly handed over to a drug gang and slain.

No reason was given for Zeron's resignation. A brief statement from the Attorney General's Office said only that Attorney General Arely Gomez wished him luck.

FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2014, file photo, Mexico's Attorney General, Jesus Murillo Karam, right, flanked by Tomas Zeron director of Mexico's Criminal Investigation Agency, speaks during a news conference in Mexico City. The Attorney Generals Office has announced on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, the resignation of Tomas Zeron, whose dismissal had been demanded by the families of 43 college students who disappeared two years ago. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

Zeron oversaw not only the agency's investigators, but also its forensic work.

The government's investigation into the students' disappearance has been criticized within Mexico and by international experts for focusing on an early theory that the students' bodies were incinerated at a dump site rather than on investigating other leads. The case has become an embarrassment for the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Two independent, international teams of experts cast doubt on what a former attorney general dubbed at the time the "historic truth" of what happened to the students.

Many of the suspects rounded up in the investigation have complained they were tortured into backing the government's version of what happened. Court documents obtained by The Associated Press in May showed that 10 of the suspects described similar treatment at the hands of authorities and some even said they were given planted evidence or prefabricated stories.

In April, the students' families called for Zeron's firing over missteps in the investigation. They called for Zeron himself to be investigated for "crimes related to obstruction of justice."

The Attorney General's Office, which oversees the investigative agency led by Zeron, said in a statement at the time that it had opened an investigation through its internal affairs unit.

On Wednesday, the families' representatives did not immediately respond to calls for comment, but released a statement saying the families would hold a news conference Thursday to address Zeron's resignation.

Experts sent by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had criticized Zeron for not clearly documenting how burned bone fragments  the only physical evidence of the students  were found in a river near the dump where the government says they were disposed of after the fire.

Zeron acknowledged that some bone fragments had been registered as found a day before they actually were. One fragment was later tied by DNA testing to a missing student. The experts said Zeron visited the river on Oct. 28, 2014, with one of the suspects who complained of torture. The government said the bone fragments were found there the next day.
The Latest: Death of man with sore throat prompts changes

HONOLULU (AP)  The Latest on a settlement involving a man who went to a health center with a sore throat and ended up dead (all times local):

3:40 p.m.

A rural Hawaii health center has made changes after a man with a sore throat ended up dead.

Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center officials say Antonio Marrero's 2013 death prompted the changes, including a new emergency room director to oversee operations and a full-time compliance officer who is also an attorney.

The federal government is paying a $4.2 million settlement to Marrero's widow and young sons.

He went to the emergency room with a sore throat and died after complications from being sedated. His widow's attorney, Richard Fried, says the doctor was wrong to sedate him.

Dr. Robert Bonham offers condolences in a statement and says he's can't provide details about the case because of an ongoing formal review.

___

11:50 a.m.

The federal government is paying a $4.2 million settlement after a man went to a rural Hawaii health center with a sore throat and ended up dead.

Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center officials and the lawyer for Antonio Marrero's family announced the settlement Wednesday.

Marrero went to the emergency room in 2013 with a sore throat and died after complications from being sedated. His widow's attorney, Richard Fried, says the doctor was wrong to sedate him and should have just sent him to a specialist.

Health center officials, including Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Bradley, apologized and offered condolences to Marrero's widow, Rachel Marrero. They say they're making improvements to their care of patients.
Cubs Could Clinch Division Tonight... But Odds Say Don't Get Too Excited

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 15, 2016 5:49PM



A Cubs superfan at Marlins Park in June (Getty Images)

The Cubs have the chance to do something tonight they havent done in eight years: clinch the Central Division title. They would do so with a win on Thursday night over the visiting Brewers. Making the anticipation even sweeter, the Small Bears were able to reduce their magic number down to one courtesy of an emphatic drubbing of the hated St. Louis Cardinals last night. (Jon Lester pitched eight shutout innings in the 7-0 rout.)

Jon of all trades. pic.twitter.com/kN5bdfq4cz  Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 15, 2016

Needless to say, people are lit. So it seemed like a good time to check in again on the Cubs current odds of winning the World Series, and, well, theres good news andtrue to forma good amount of cold water to throw on all that promise.

On the good side, the Cubs are the clear favorites to win it all this year. Their odds of winning their first World Series since 1908 (perhaps youve heard talk of curses?) is double that of their closest competitor, the Boston Red Sox. They will certainly make the playoffs and they will almost certainly win the division.



Getty Images / Photo: Scott Olson

However, even as the favorites, the Cubs chances for postseason success remain relatively low. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Cubs currently have just a 22 percent chance of going the distance. Thats significantly higher than the field, but certainly far from prohibitive. Of course, it speaks less to the Cubs historic knack for futility or any present-day shortcomings (dig that mammoth +255 run differential) and more to the MLB playoffs being a total crapshoot. Like the NCAA tournament, its that randomness that makes it funand leads to so much heartache at the same time.

Still, as FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver pointed out, theres a more-likely-than-not chance that something once considered highly unlikely will come to pass:

There's now a 51% chance of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series and/or Donald Trump becoming president. https://t.co/0gFr2lriVq  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 15, 2016



The formerly Chicago-based Silver and other FiveThirtyEight writers will be back in town for a live taping of their Elections Podcast. It goes down October 7 at the Athenaeum Theatre. You can take it up with him theremaybe ask about burritos, too.
The widow and children of a man who went to a rural Hawaii health center with a sore throat in 2013 and ended up dead will receive a $4.2million settlement from the federal government, the widow's lawyer said Wednesday.

Antonio Marrero, 32, went to the emergency room of Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where a doctor determined he had an abscess in his tonsils and arranged for him to see an ear, nose and throat specialist, lawyer Richard Fried said.

Then the doctor decided to further evaluate him under sedation, but Marrero lost consciousness and died, Fried saidf.

The widow and children of Antonio Marrero, who went to a rural Hawaii health center with a sore throat in 2013 and ended up dead will receive a $4.2million settlement

Rachel Marrero, right, cries at a news conference in Honolulu on Wednesday as her attorney Richard Fried looks on

The Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center is settling Marrero's malpractice lawsuit for $4.2million after her husband went to the emergency room with a sore throat and ended up dead

Before sedating him, the doctor should have known Marrero weighed nearly 300 pounds, which would make it difficult to protect his airway, the lawsuit filed by Fried said.

There was no anesthesiologist there, and the doctor gave Marrero too much of the sedative drug, Fried said.

Fried told Hawaii News Now: 'The doctor in our view did not properly evaluate the airway. It was swollen because the tonsils were swollen.

'As a result he became unable to breath. There was no anesthesiologist available. He gave them too much of the sedative drug and an airway was not placed in time.'

At a news conference in Fried's office to announce the settlement, Marrero's wife, Rachel, recalled her shock when she was told that the father of her three young sons had died.

She told health center workers: 'He just had a sore throat, what do you mean he passed?'

After the news conference, the health center's executives hugged her and offered condolences.

'Our providers work tirelessly to assure that the best quality of care is given to our patients, and we grieve that in this case things occurred the way they did and we have this unfortunate outcome,' Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen Bradley said.

The executives declined to disclose the emergency doctor's name, but the lawsuit named Dr. Robert Bonham.

Bradley later released a statement from Bonham where he offered condolences and said he couldn't provide details about the case because of an ongoing formal review.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is conducting the review, Bradley said.

Attorney Richard Fried, left, listens as his client, Rachel Marrero, talks to reporters

Marrero said she was hopeful that the health center, known locally as 'the comp,' will follow through with promised steps to make sure that a similar death never happens again.

The health center implemented changes after the death, including a new emergency room director overseeing operations and a full-time chief compliance officer who is also an attorney.

A new emergency room facility is scheduled to be completed within a year, though plans for that were underway before the incident, Bradley said.

'I don't hate or judge,' Marrero said. 'I just hope that the comp does make everything better for other families.'

The federal government will pay the settlement because the center is a federally qualified community nonprofit health center that's insured by the Federal Tort Claims Act, said center President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Bettini.

'In exchange, we take anyone regardless of ability to pay,' he said.

Keith Lee, center, a lawyer representing the Waianae Coast Health Center, holds hands with Rachel Marrero

Fried praised the settlement and said people living in west Oahu's Waianae community should feel comfortable receiving care there.

He noted that Bettini arranged for money to be set aside for the family's living expenses while they waited for the settlement, which was reached last year but required about a year of federal approvals.

Marrero said her maintenance mechanic husband stayed home with his sore throat for about a week, struggling to eat and suffering fevers. When his vacation time ran out, he went back to work, where his employers advised him to seek medical attention, she said.

'He went right after work, and he never came home,' she said.

She called her husband a 'gentle giant' who provided for his family.

'We had kids, got married, bought our house,' she said. 'It was a dream come true for me.'

The structured settlement will pay a fixed monthly amount for the remainder of the lives of Marrero and her children, Fried said.
Simone Biles has defended her right to use medication to tackle her ADHD and denied it gave her an unfair advantage.

The American Olympic heroine - who won four golds in Rio - reacted angrily after a group of Russian hackers claim to have found files showing Biles and the tennis playing Williams sisters were allowed to take banned substances by anti-doping bosses.

Biles tweeted: 'Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of nothing that I'm afraid to let people know.'

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Fancy Bears said Simone Biles tested positive for another banned substance in August but had special dispensation to use it; the gymnast says she takes medicine for ADHD

On Tuesday, confidential medical data about Biles, Serena and Venus Williams and other female US Olympians was hacked and posted online.

It included records of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), which allow athletes to use otherwise-banned substances because of a verified medical need.

Biles said: 'I have ADHD and have taken medicine for it since I was a kid. Please know, I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is important to me.'

In a statement, USA Gymnastics said Biles - who won four gold and one silver medal in Rio last month - was approved for an exemption and had not broken any rules.

Defending herself: Biles, who won five medals in Rio, including four golds, took to Twitter to say she has ADHD and the medicine she was taking is allowed

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said last night the Russian-based Fancy Bears group had leaked another batch of confidential athletes' information from its database.

WADA said the leak contained confidential data of 25 athletes from eight countries.

It said the targeted athletes included 10 from the United States, five from Germany, five from Britain, and one each from Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Romania and Russia. It did not identify the athletes.

WADA said the Russian group had again illegally gained access to its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System.

Simone Biles (left) with Vogue editor Anna Wintour and tennis player Maria Sharapova at a Vera Wang show at New York Fashion Week this week. Sharapova is due to find out next month if her appeal against a ban for taking a banned drug will be successful

Nothing to hide: Biles tested positive for a banned substance in August but had special dispensation to use it; under the TUE conditions, ADHD is listed as a treatable condition

WADA director general Olivier Niggli: 'WADA is very mindful that this criminal attack, which to date has recklessly exposed personal data of 29 athletes, will be very distressing for the athletes that have been targeted and cause apprehension for all athletes that were involved in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

'To those athletes that have been impacted, we regret that criminals have attempted to smear your reputations in this way; and, assure you that we are receiving intelligence and advice from the highest level law enforcement and IT security agencies that we are putting into action.'

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Mr Niggli said WADA had 'no doubt that these ongoing attacks are being carried out in retaliation against the agency, and the global anti-doping system,' because of independent investigations that exposed state-sponsored doping in Russia.

Venus Williams, who won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the Rio Olympics last month, said she was granted TUEs 'when serious medical conditions have occurred,' and those exemptions were 'reviewed by an anonymous, independent group of doctors, and approved for legitimate medical reasons.'

Last month hackers obtained a database password for Russian runner Yuliya Stepanova, a whistleblower and key witness for the WADA investigations.

She and her husband, a former official with the Russian national anti-doping agency, are now living at an undisclosed location in North America.

The International Olympic Committee said it 'strongly condemns such methods which clearly aim at tarnishing the reputation of clean athletes.'

'The IOC can confirm however that the athletes mentioned did not violate any anti-doping rules during the Olympic Games Rio 2016,' the Olympic body said.

The name 'Fancy Bears' appears to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to a collection of hackers that many security researchers have long associated with Russia.

The group proclaimed its allegiance to Anonymous, the loose-knit movement of online mischief-makers, and said it hacked WADA to show the world 'how Olympic medals are won.'
In Uganda, a filmmaker makes gripping $200 action flicks

WAKALIGA, Uganda (AP)  Deep in a Kampala slum, young men kick each other while a stout man with a salt-and-pepper beard watches them, sometimes nodding in approval.

With luck, a stylish blow could become a stunt in the latest action movie to emerge from this tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, named after this Wakaliga neighborhood.

Here is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry, the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. Later this month, the Wakaliwood film "Bad Black" premieres at Fantastic Fest, which calls itself the largest genre film festival in the United States.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, actor Francis Kagoro pulls a face for the camera while showing posters of previous movies, at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

Its organizers call the film an "exuberant DIY extravaganza" from an industry whose "reckless abandon manages to inspire more heart, grit and soul than a thousand Hollywood blockbusters."

"I love that this is a cinema born out of a community of film lovers," said Peter Kuplowsky, a programming director who also has screened Wakaliwood films in Toronto. He likes Uganda's practice of watching films with live commentary by "video jokers" who help make plots more relatable.

A former brick layer who taught himself to direct, Isaac Nabwana is responsible for "Bad Black" and scores of the action movies that he sees as uniquely Ugandan.

Young people and even some foreigners have found their way to his studios in search of roles. Dozens have signed a "Wakaliwood Wall of Fame," often because their characters died in a film, staggering dramatically as condoms filled with fake blood spattered in a hail of mock bullets.

"They have watched so many action movies from all over the world. When they come here, they know that appearing in a Wakaliwood movie will make you a star," the 44-year-old Nabwana said.

He has been making films spanning various genres since 2005, but it is the action flicks that have captured the people's imagination. "I like Chuck Norris," Nabwana said. "I think the other guy was Clint ... Clint Eastwood?"

With the help of an improvised green screen and digital editing tools, Wakaliwood actors can take aim at the Eiffel Tower or drop from the sky into the middle of New York's Times Square.

"I thought it was genius, but I did not understand it also," said Alan Hofmanis, a long-haired New Yorker who came to check out Wakaliwood in 2011 and stayed to help promote the movies overseas. Wakaliwood DVDs, T-shirts and posters are now sold online .

Hofmanis recalled the day when a friend in a Manhattan bar showed him a trailer for one of Nabwana's films. He was astonished. "If you are in America and you have no money, you make a film of two people talking," he said. "You don't make a war film."

Now, Hofmanis is also a part-time actor who eats and sleeps with the Ugandans here, surrounded by poverty. A canal with stagnant sewage is nearby. The toilet is a hole in the ground.

He sees potential for something big. "There's a studio already, just no electricity or plumbing," he said.

Nabwana said he spent less than $200 to produce "Who Killed Captain Alex," the 2010 film whose trailer inspired Hofmanis. The film follows a loose plot as the military battles a violent gang.

Nabwana called the movie the "first action movie made in Africa, by Africans, on a low budget"  an extraordinary claim considering the presence of Nigeria's long-established and equally raucous film industry, Nollywood.

Still, Moses Serugo, a long-time film critic in Uganda, said he gives Nabwana high marks for innovation and for making movies about the East African country and starring Ugandans. Now he hopes the films can break away from Hollywood-style plots.

"It has got to come down to us telling our own stories," Serugo said.

Although Ugandans have been making more films, and more serious ones, since a local film festival launched in 2013, Wakaliwood's action films remain popular because they are "crazy, fascinating," said Dominic Dipio, a professor of literature and film studies at Makerere University.

"You can see imagination, fantasy going on rampage without any clear direction," she said, smiling. "There is no evidence for me that this is scripted."

Everything is improvised. A former mechanic uses scrap metal and other materials to fabricate all the props, including a small-scale helicopter and machine guns. Nabwana's children perform as an orchestra in one of his movies, holding water bottles as microphones and saucepans as drums.

No matter their cinematic value, Wakaliwood movies have given hope to some young Ugandans who might otherwise be adrift.

One actor, an 18-year-old cosmetology student named Ritah Namutebi, said she had discovered her passion in Wakaliwood after dreaming as a child of becoming an actor. She spends some days here practicing her kicks on young men who share her goal of earning roles in Nabwana's films.

"What I wanted was action, and I got it here," Namutebi said. "I think if all goes well and the Ugandan film industry starts paying, why would I go anywhere else to look for a job?"

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, actors pose for the camera at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, actor Daudi Bisaso rehearses with a mock machine gun, at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, children in a band sing and make music to accompany the movies at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, actors pose for the camera at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, actor Asiimwe Apollo shows posters of previous movies, at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, actors rehearse at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, the names of foreign amateur actors whose characters have been "killed" in the movies are listed on the "Wakaliwood Wall of Fame", at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, children in a band sing and make music to accompany the movies at the "Wakaliwood" studios in the Wakaliga slum of Kampala, Uganda. Deep in this Kampala slum at a tin-roofed collection of houses known as Wakaliwood, is the engine of Uganda's tiny film industry and the source of $200-budget movies and a glimmer of fame. (AP Photo/Stephen Wandera)
Ohio man charged with killing 2 women, kidnapping a 3rd

ASHLAND, Ohio (AP)  A man arrested at a house where two bodies were found was charged Thursday with two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.

Christopher Grate is charged with killing Stacey Stanley and a second unidentified woman whose body was found in the home. Ashland County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell has said officials are working to identify a third body found in a house in neighboring Richland County.

Additional charges could be filed, Tunnell said. It's unclear whether Grate, 40, has an attorney or when his first court appearance will be held.

This photo provided by Ashland County Sheriff Office shows Shawn M. Grate. Grate, was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio in connection to the investigation of a rescued abductee and the discovery of the remains of two people in the home where he was arrested. (Ashland County Sheriff Office /The Times Gazette via AP)

Grate was arrested Tuesday morning after a woman called 911 and said she had been tied up but had partly freed herself in a bedroom while her captor slept in the same room.

"I've been abducted," the woman said in the 911 call. "Please hurry."

The woman said the man had a stun gun, and she was afraid of waking him. She had known him for about a month and a half, she told the dispatcher. The kidnapping charge includes a specification that Grate had allegedly abducted her "to engage in sexual activity."

Ashland police said officers found the kidnap victim and Grate at a home that was supposed to be unoccupied. Investigators also found the remains of two bodies there, Chief David Marcelli said.

Police confirmed Wednesday that one of the bodies was that of the 43-year-old Stanley, who lived in Greenwich and was reported missing from Huron County. Stanley's son said she had been missing since Sept. 8 after telling him she had gotten a flat tire.

Bruce Wilkinson, pastor and director of Pump House Ministries, which owns the home where the two bodies were found and one next to it, said the properties had been vacant since March and were being renovated. He said they were padlocked and checked weekly.

The coroner hasn't determined how Stanley died or identified the second body, Ashland police said.

Grate led investigators to a third person's remains at a property near Mansfield in neighboring Richland County, police said. He confessed to killing a woman in June at a house destroyed by fire that month, Richland County Prosecutor Bambi Couch Page told the Mansfield News Journal.

Authorities checked the Mansfield-area site Tuesday and found decomposed remains in a ravine behind the house. The remains haven't been identified.

Record show Grate, who is homeless, has a long criminal record and served time in prison on a burglary charge beginning in 1997.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew Welsh-Huggins and Kantele Franko in Columbus and AP researcher Monika Mathur in New York contributed to this report.

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)
UN refugee agency puts focus on educating kids fleeing war

GENEVA (AP)  Food, water and shelter are obvious basic needs for people fleeing war. But with refugees now spending roughly 20 years in exile on average, the U.N. refugee agency is calling on the world to do more to ensure refugee children have access to education as a fundamental right.

Over 3.7 million school-age children, or about 62 percent of the children covered under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have no schools to attend, the agency said in a report issued Thursday.

Entitled "Missing Out: Refugee Education in Crisis," the 48-page report's release comes as the U.N. General Assembly is preparing to host a summit on refugees and migrants in New York next week.

In this photo taken on Saturday Sept. 10, 2016, African refugees and migrants wait aboard a partially punctured rubber boat to be assisted, during a rescue operation on the Mediterranean Sea, about 13 miles North of Sabratha, Libya. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says that while education is vital for all children, it's especially crucial to help equip refugee children to succeed in work and life.

"Education is also a key contribution to keeping the hope of refugees, and in situations in which despair is so prevalent, going to school, learning, acquiring knowledge and skills, are fundamental," Grandi told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

Comparing its own count of children attending school with global figures by the U.N. educational agency, UNHCR estimated that only half of all refugee children have access to primary education  compared to a world average of over 90 percent. And that rate only gets worse as refugee children get older.

Fewer than one in four of refugee adolescents attend secondary school compared to a global average of 84 percent, and only 1 percent of refugees attend university compared to about one in three people worldwide, according to the comparison with UNESCO figures.

"The average length of time a refugee spends in exile is about 20 years," Grandi wrote in the report's introduction. "Given this sobering picture, it is critical that we think beyond a refugee's basic survival."

The report calls on charitable donors to take a longer-term approach by providing multi-year and not just emergency funding.

The U.N. refugee agency said about 86 percent of the world's refugees are hosted in developing regions, while over half of the out-of-school refugee children are located in just seven countries: Chad, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey.

Pointing to a growing population of school-age children worldwide over the last five years, the report says that countries seeing in an influx of refugees face a struggle of "sheer numbers."

While noting that host countries for refugees already face difficulties educating their own children, the report urges governments to make plans for including refugee children in their education systems.

___
1973 killings of 2 California girls won't lead to executions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Two men charged with murder in the 1973 shotgun slayings of two young girls can't face the death penalty because it wasn't an option when the girls were sexually assaulted and killed, a California prosecutor said.

William Lloyd Harbour and Larry Don Patterson have been charged with six counts each stemming from the killings of 12-year-old Valerie Janice Lane and 13-year-old Doris Karen Derryberry, the Yuba County, California district attorney said.

The two men are 65-year-old cousins who both lived near the victims in Olivehurst, California, when they were killed nearly 43 years ago.

Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath, discusses the arrests made related to the 1973 killings of two California girls, at a news conference, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Marysville, Calif. Larry Don Patterson, 65, of Oklahoma, and William Lloyd Harbour, 65, of Olivehurst, Calif., were taken into custody, Tuesday, as suspects in the slayings of Valerie Janice Lane, 12, and Doris Karen Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County. At left, is Yuba County Sheriff Steven Durfor. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Harbour pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in California on Wednesday, said Deputy District Attorney John Vacek. Patterson was ordered held without bond in Oklahoma.

Patterson said he intends to waive extradition back to California to face charges in the deaths. The girls' mothers first reported them missing as runaways on Nov. 12, 1973, after they failed to return home overnight from a shopping trip to a mall in nearby Linda.

The Yuba County Sheriff's Department was notified a few hours later that their bodies had been found along a dirt road in a wooded area near Marysville, north of Sacramento, where they had been shot at close range.

The case went cold decades ago, Yuba County authorities said, until a state forensics lab matched DNA from the two suspects to semen found on Derryberry.

"It's just like it reopened  it's like it just happened again. And it's really, really hard," Margrette Hasting, the mother of Valerie Janice Lane, said after the arraignment.

The six charges  three for each of the victims  include one count each of premeditated murder, one count of murder committed during a rape or attempted rape, and one count of murder committed while molesting a child.

But the defendants won't face the possibility of execution if convicted, District Attorney Patrick McGrath told The Associated Press.

The case must be tried under the law as it existed in California in 1973, he said in an email: "During that time, the death penalty was not available in California, so the death penalty is not under consideration."

The most the men could face is a life sentence, and the law then provided that they could be considered for parole after serving seven years, McGrath said. The death penalty wasn't reinstated in California until 1977.

Vacek said the girls' families had little reaction when they were told Tuesday that the death penalty wasn't an option. "I think they were just kind of overwhelmed with the information they were being provided, so that was just a piece of it," he said.

Harbour was set for his next court appearance on Oct. 19, when Vacek said prosecutors hope to have both men back in Yuba County. Public Defender Brian Davis was appointed Wednesday to represent Harbour and declined comment.

Investigators in the 1970s carefully noted each of the more than 60 people they interviewed, Vacek said, and the suspects' names never came up.

They later considered Patterson after he was charged in 1976 with raping two women in nearby Chico, Vacek said, but found no link to the killing of the two girls until the DNA match decades later.

Detectives at the time "had done pretty much a bang-up job in doing a thorough investigation," Vacek said. "To not have run across these guys is a little surprising, I guess ... We're reasonably confident there was nothing to connect them to the crimes at the time."

___

Associated Press writer Tim Talley contributed from Oklahoma City.

This photo provided by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department shows Larry Don Patterson, who was arrested by authorities in Oklahoma on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, on charges related to the 1973 slayings of Valerie Lane, 12, and Doris Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County, Calif. (Yuba County Sheriff's Department via AP)

This 2011 booking photo provided by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department shows William Lloyd Harbour, who was arrested in Yuba County, Calif., Tuesday Sept. 13, 2016, on charges related to the 1973 slayings of Valerie Lane, 12, and Doris Derryberry, 13, in Yuba County, Calif. (Yuba County Sheriff's Department via AP)
India's bustling Mumbai slows for festival to honor Ganesha

MUMBAI, India (AP)  Every year Raju Laljibhai Dipikar goes out with his wife and three daughters and chooses an elaborate statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god so dear to devout Hindus.

For two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says.

So it is for tens of millions of other families across western and southern India when they mark the birthday of Ganesha.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, Raju Laljibhai Dipikar, 50, second right, along with his wife Padma and Hindu priests offer prayers to an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha at his home, on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Beautiful idols of the god are purchased and brought home, where they are worshipped. After a few days  every family has its own tradition  the idols, made from plaster of Paris or clay, are carried to a large body of water and ceremonially immersed.

Nowhere is the festival celebrated with more fervor than in Mumbai. For 10 days every year the pace of India's bustling business capital slows to welcome the god, known as the one who blesses new beginnings and removes obstacles.

Apart from the small idols installed in people's homes, massive statues are set up in temporary structures.

Flowers and coconuts and incense are offered to the god as is his favorite sweet treat  dumplings called "modaks," made of a crude sugar and coconut.

The last day of the 10-day celebration is the biggest day, with massive crowds singing and dancing as they carry their idols through the streets, to immerse them in the water, an act that symbolizes sending the god back to his mythical home in the snow-capped mountains taking all the worries and problems of his worshippers with him.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, Raju Laljibhai Dipikar offers kheer, an Indian sweet, to an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha at their house on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, Raju Laljibhai Dipikar and a relative carry an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha to take it out of his house for immersion on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. While families immerse the idols installed in their homes at different points in the ten-day celebration, it's the tenth day that makes for the most grand spectacle. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, a relative of Raju Laljibhai Dipikar performs the ritual of breaking a coconut in front of an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha as they prepare to set out for its immersion, on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. While families immerse the idols installed in their homes at different points in the ten-day celebration, it's the tenth day that makes for the most grand spectacle. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, Raju Laljibhai Dipikar speaks into the ear of an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha seeking its blessings as he prepares to make a journey to the Arabian Sea to immerse it, on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. While families immerse the idols installed in their homes at different points in the ten-day celebration, it's the tenth day that makes for the most grand spectacle. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, family and friends of Raju Laljibhai Dipikar chant religious slogans in front of idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha before making the journey to immerse it, on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. While families immerse the idols installed in their homes at different points in the ten-day celebration, it's the tenth day that makes for the most grand spectacle. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, Heenal Dipikar cries as she bids farewell to an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha before making the journey to the Arabian Sea to immerse it, on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar's family goes out to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. While families immerse the idols installed in their homes at different points in the ten-day celebration, it's the tenth day that makes for the most grand spectacle. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 photo, Raju Laljibhai Dipikar, left, walks beside a cart carrying an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha towards the Arabian Sea for its immersion, on the second day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India. Every year Dipikar goes out with his family to choose an elaborate statue of the Ganesha and for two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his very presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says. While families immerse the idols installed in their homes at different points in the ten-day celebration, it's the tenth day that makes for the most grand spectacle. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
2 tourists killed in Bali boat explosion, many injured

BALI, Indonesia (AP)  Two foreign tourists were killed and about 20 other people were injured in an explosion Thursday on a speedboat that was ferrying them from the Indonesian tourist island of Bali to neighboring Lombok, police said.

Karangasem district police chief Sugeng Sudarso said the "Gili Cat 2" fast boat had about 40 people including crew on board. He said all the passengers have been evacuated and the injured are being treated on the island.

He said the dead are an Austrian woman and a woman of European nationality who police initially said was German.

Police investigators examine the Gili Cat 2 boat following an explosion while it was enroute to nearby island of Lombok, at Padangbai Port in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Police on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali said Thursday a German woman was killed and about 20 other people injured in an explosion on a speed boat ferrying them to neighboring Lombok. (AP Photo)

Police have not yet determined the cause of the explosion, but a member of the forensics team investigating the scene said initial indications are it was an accident. The officer didn't want to be named because he is not an official police spokesman.

Sudarso said the explosion occurred after smoke was seen billowing from an engine.

Ferry accidents are common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago made up of thousands of islands where regulation of boat services is often lax.

Sudarso said the explosion, which occurred when the boat was about 200 meters (220 yards) from the port of departure, shattered its rear windows and upended seating.

"We are still questioning the boat captain while a forensic team is examining the scene to find the cause of the explosion," he said.

"One of the passengers died from bad injuries after being hit by boat debris that also caused injuries to others," Sudarso said.

A manifest showed that passengers were from several countries including Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.

Bali became a byword for tragedy in 2002 when bombings by Jemaah Islamiyah militants killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

A sustained security crackdown since then has weakened JI but counter-terrorism officials say there is still a threat of attacks from militants inspired by the Islamic State group.

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This story has corrected to fix the district police chief's name to Sugeng Sudarso instead of Bambang Sudarso.

This image made from video shows paramedics examining the body of a foreign tourist who was killed in a boat explosion at a hospital in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The explosion occurred not long after the boat departed from the resort island of Bali to ferry tourists to nearby island of Lombok. (AP Photo)
China expels journalists from fishing village under siege

BEIJING (AP)  Journalists were attacked and forced out of the fishing village where China has suppressed new protests five years after the village received international attention for demonstrations against land seizures.

Wukan remains under siege two days after police arrested 13 protesters on allegations that they incited violence and arrest. The Chinese government is now staging a broad crackdown on information from the village, refusing to let journalists in and heavily restricting discussion of Wukan on social media networks.

Reporters from two Hong Kong newspapers, the South China Morning Post and the Chinese-language Ming Pao, were assaulted Wednesday night while conducting interviews and later detained for several hours, both newspapers reported. Two reporters from the news site Hong Kong 01 were also detained, the site said.

The South China Morning Post reported that a group of unidentified men stormed into a home and pushed the newspaper's journalist to the ground. Ming Pao said some in the group were wearing police uniforms, and that someone punched its two journalists even after they had followed orders to squat on the ground.

The journalists were later taken to a police station and questioned for several hours, the newspapers reported. According to Ming Pao, a government official asked the journalists to sign a pledge not to do any more reporting.

Both newspapers and the news site said their reporters were eventually taken to the Hong Kong border.

The BBC also reported that its journalists in Wukan were stopped from entering the village.

Wukan carries heightened symbolic importance after the success of protests in 2011, when its villagers marched against land seizures and corruption. Facing an international spotlight, the Chinese government responded by letting villagers elect their local leader, a measure China's ruling Communist Party has sometimes used to quell local outcry, though national and provincial government officials are all chosen by the party.

The winner of Wukan's election was Lin Zuluan, a former protester. But earlier this year as Lin was set to lead a new round of protests over new allegations of land seizures, authorities detained him the day before a scheduled protest and later announced he had been charged with taking bribes from developers.

Lin went on television to state he had accepted bribes totaling 593,000 yuan (about $89,000). The government often broadcasts confessions as a means of winning public confidence in an ongoing anti-corruption campaign, though such confessions are often derided by human-rights groups as coerced.

His supporters staged more than 80 straight days of protests following his detention, even after he was sentenced last week to three years in jail.

After issuing warnings against further protests, the government sent dozens of police vans into the village early Tuesday, arrested protest leaders in their homes, and fired rubber bullets at protesters. Social media postings depicted bloodied villagers with apparent bullet wounds. Subsequent posts have shown police posted at street corners, and villagers contacted by The Associated Press have refused to be interviewed.

On Thursday, Chinese state media said that life in the village was back to normal.

The Global Times, a state-run newspaper, posted a column headlined, "Foreign media fails to trick Wukan villagers on rumor." The column accused journalists of trying to visit Wukan to "wait for conflicts."

"Even though some foreign media have been unscrupulously inciting, planning, and directing chaos, local police have not resorted to violence to solve the issue," the column said.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association said it "strongly condemns" violence against reporters in Wukan and called on the Hong Kong government to "take effective measures to protect the rights and safety of Hong Kong journalists working in the mainland."

Hong Kong is a specially administered Chinese region that retains its own political system and civil liberties such as freedom of speech not shared on the mainland, under the principle of "one country, two systems."

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Sandra Bland's Family Settles Civil Suit For $1.9 Million

By Jen Chung in News on Sep 15, 2016 2:32PM



Facebook

The family of an Illinois woman who was found dead in a Texas jail cell has settled a civil suit against the authorities. Her mother told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Its awesome. Its a victory for mothers across the country."

Bland, 28, had just moved to Texas from Napeville when she was pulled over for failing to signal a lane change in Prairie View on July 10, 2015. The interaction between Bland and the officer escalated, Officer Brian Encinia being more aggressive when Bland questioned his requests since she was not under arrest. The exchange was caught on- and off-cameraat one point, Bland is heard screaming that her head was knocked to the ground and that Encinia is hurting herand continued to raise questions about racial profiling by law enforcement. (A crime procedure expert found Encinia's actions irresponsible and even Texas authorities admitted he failed to "maintain professionalism.")

Bland, who was arrested for assaulting a public servant, was taken to the Waller County Jail, where she was held for three days until her body was found in her cell on July 13, 2015. Authorities claimed she killed herself, while her family has said that was unlikely. It turned out that the jail's staff didn't do their regular checks of inmates, even though Bland's intake questionnaire noted she had mentioned previous suicidal incidents.

An attorney for the Bland family, Cannon Lambert, said, "The Waller County judge will be seeking passage of state legislation for more funding for local jails regarding intake and booking, screening and other jail support." According to CNN, the changes in jail procedures include "using automated electronic sensors to ensure timely cell checks; providing an on-duty staff nurse or emergency medical technician for all shifts; and providing continuing education for jailer screening."

While Encinia was not charged in Bland's death, the Texas Department of Public Safety fired him after he was charged with perjury.
Obama will create first marine national monument in Atlantic

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Barack Obama will establish on Thursday the first national marine monument in the Atlantic, a move that's designed to permanently protect nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the coast of New England.

The White House said the designation will lead to a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a 7-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. Also, recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.

The designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument marks the 27th time Obama has acted to create or expand a national monument. As he prepares to complete his presidency, Obama has made frequent use of the authorities granted under the Antiquities Act, much to the delight of environmental groups but to the consternation of some lawmakers and industry groups.

FILE - This undated file photo released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made during the Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition 2013, shows corals on Mytilus Seamount off the coast of New England in the North Atlantic Ocean. President Barack Obama will establish Sept. 15, 2016, the first national marine monument in the Atlantic. The move is designed to permanently protect nearly 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the coast of New England. White House officials say the designation will ban commercial fishing, mining and drilling, though a 7-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab industries. The designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument marks the 27th time Obama has acted to create or expand a national monument. (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research via AP, File)

The White House said Obama will make the announcement at a conference in Washington bringing in leaders from around the world to mobilize efforts on protecting the health of the world's oceans. More than 20 countries attending the conference will announce the creation of their own marine protected areas.

Supporters say that roping off large swaths of ocean from human stresses can sustain important species and reduce the toll of climate change. But many in the fishing industry worry Obama's actions will make it harder for them to earn a living.

"We've been fishing out there for 35 years. It's a big blow to us," said Jon Williams, president of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

White House officials said the administration listened to the concerns of the industry and pointed out that the monument is smaller than originally proposed and contains a transition period for companies like the one Williams runs.

Williams said his company will survive, but the changes designed to address some of his concerns don't change his mind about the merits of the monument.

"I think the entire New England fishery is upside down over this," Williams said.

In a memo about the merits of the monument the Natural Resources Defense Council said that the canyons and seamounts within the monument are some of the least fished areas in the U.S. Atlantic, which is a key reason it was chosen for possible monument designation.

Other environmental groups also applauded the designation, saying that it was as important to be good stewards of the ocean as it was the land and air.

"Just as wild lands around the globe are beleaguered by human development and climate change, our oceans are under duress today more than ever before," said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society,

In all, the monument will include three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. The White House said the monument is home to protected species such as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and Kemp's ridley turtles. Expeditions have found species of coral found nowhere else on earth.

The congressional delegation from Connecticut had recommended setting aside more than 6,000 square miles for the monument. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Obama had gone with "more sensible boundary limits to the monument" in seeking to balance environmental goals with economic interests. "Jobs are a priority and the monument boundaries better serve that priority," Blumenthal said.

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Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report from Providence, Rhode Island.

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Super PAC tries to plug holes in Trump's ground campaign

LAKE MARY, Fla. (AP)  The tour bus features a giant photo of a waving, smiling Donald Trump, but the person who steps out is actor Jon Voight, trailed by conservative radio stars and strategists for a super political action committee.

Great America PAC is rolling through some of campaign 2016's most contested states, opening offices and registering voters. In a presidential race where Trump has paid little attention to the ground game, this outside group has decided the best way to support the GOP nominee is to take such matters into its own hands.

"We look at it as, how do we fix the missing pieces of the campaign?" said Ed Rollins, lead strategist for Great America.

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, conservative actor and Donald Trump supporter Jon Voight arrives on the Great America PAC bus for a town hall meeting in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. Presidential hopefuls often embark on bus tours to meet voters across the country. This time, a super PAC is standing in for Republican nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

The group is using a different playbook  both in how it raises and spends money  than the usual super PAC. It has struggled to land major donors, but has toiled since January, making it one of the most senior and active outside groups in the Trump orbit.

Unlike candidates, super PACs can accept unlimited amounts of money from donors, so they typically focus on getting the biggest checks possible. Then they often spend most of their money on TV ads, among the most expensive parts of any race and the easiest way to reach millions of voters.

Great America sees another way.

"Gone are the days where a super PAC should be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on slick TV ads," said Eric Beach, the group's founding chairman, between stops in Florida. "We are coming out with a new model, and that is the grass roots. Getting out and registering voters. Getting them excited."

Priorities USA, a super PAC backing Democrat Hillary Clinton, had accepted 42 contributions of $1 million or more each and plans to spend $119 million on TV and radio ads by the Nov. 8 election, but the bulk of Great America's $7.6 million came from small donors, according to federal filings.

The group is hoping to change that. On Tuesday night, about 50 super PAC donors dined at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where they mingled with one of the candidate's sons, Eric Trump.

Federal rules prohibit super PACs from coordinating with campaigns on how their money is spent, and campaign officials may not explicitly ask donors to give more than $2,700. But it has become standard for the campaigns to send stands-ins for the candidates  or even the candidates themselves  to super PAC events.

Great America claims to have contacted several million new voters through online solicitations, telemarketing and television ads featuring an 800 number  something more in line with hawking a gadget than promoting a presidential candidate. Callers are asked a few questions and urged to give money.

Super PACs don't usually seek out low-dollar contributions because doing so "can cannibalize donors" who would otherwise give directly to the campaigns, said Charlie Spies, a Republican super PAC operative and lawyer.

Rollins defended Great America's approach. "We built a lot of our operation on small donors because we were reaching out to them anyway," he said.

The group's cross-country tour began Monday in Florida, with Ohio on the schedule Thursday before ending Saturday in Colorado. The super PAC plans a second tour with four or more buses in October, Beach said.

Presidential candidates have long used roadshows to connect with voters, but Trump "likes to fly in his own plane and sleep in his own bed every night," Rollins said. Rollins was President Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign manager and accompanied him on a "train tour" of America.

Aboard the bus are popular conservative radio hosts, Salem Media executives and super PAC operatives. Voight, one of the few highly visible conservatives in Hollywood, provides a dollop of the celebrity that Trump himself would.

"I've known him for a number of years, not very well, but I like him," Voight said in an interview. "He's a doer, and he organizes his thinking to accomplish goals."

As the bus rolled through Orlando suburbs, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and Voight, who'd just met, chatted genially. Radio hosts Hugh Hewitt and Dennis Prager (who tells crowds Trump was his 17th choice but a better option than Clinton) pecked away at keyboards.

Fox News blared on TVs, and as a Clinton ad featuring Republicans slamming their nominee came on the air, the bus fell silent.

Later in Tampa, before an event with more than 1,000 people, Dan Frishberg, a drive-time host for Salem, said of Great America: "I love that they're doing this. We need it. Anything to help with enthusiasm."

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Keep track on how much Clinton and Trump are spending on television advertising, and where they're spending it, via AP's interactive ad tracker. http://elections.ap.org/content/ad-spending

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Follow Julie Bykowicz on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/Bykowicz.

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, the Great America PAC bus makes a stop for a town hall meeting in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. Presidential hopefuls often embark on bus tours to meet voters across the country. This time, a super PAC is standing in for Republican nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, David A. Clarke Jr., Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., and Donald Trump supporter, arrives on the Great America PAC bus for a town hall meeting in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. Presidential hopefuls often embark on bus tours to meet voters across the country. This time, a super PAC is standing in for Republican nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, Donald Trump supporters from left, Chris Hart, radio personality, David A. Clarke Jr.,Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., actor Jon Voight, radio personality's Mike Gallager, Dennis Prager, and Hugh Hewitt, take part in a town hall meeting with the Great American PAC in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. Presidential hopefuls often embark on bus tours to meet voters across the country. This time, a super PAC is standing in for Republican nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, David A. Clarke Jr., left, Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., and actor Jon Voight aswer questions during a town hall meeting sponsored by the Great America PAC in Lake Mary, Fla. The Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. Presidential hopefuls often embark on bus tours to meet voters across the country. This time, a super PAC is standing in for Republican nominee Donald Trump. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Detectives: Suspect in Florida mosque fire confessed

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP)  An ex-convict who posted anti-Islamic rants online confessed to setting fire to a mosque that the Orlando nightclub shooter occasionally attended, and said he was embarrassed by the crime, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday.

St. Lucie County sheriff's detectives wrote in the affidavit that after Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested Wednesday, he told detectives that he had set the fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

Schreiber, 32, told detectives he never intended to hurt anyone. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot (3-by-3-meter) hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

This undated booking photo released by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office shows Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, who was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Fla., and is facing a charge of arson with a hate crime enhancement in connection with a fire that heavily damaged the Florida mosque Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen occasionally attended, authorities announced. (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Schreiber, who previously served two prison terms for theft, was developed as a suspect partly because of a tip from the public, the affidavit said.

He was arrested without incident Wednesday and charged with second-degree arson with a hate crime enhancement, a crime that carries a maximum 30-year sentence.

St. Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci ordered Schreiber held without bail Thursday, calling him a danger to the community and a flight risk. He also noted that Schreiber had made anti-Islamic posts on social media. Last July, Schreiber posted on Facebook that "All Islam is radical" and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, "IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical. ... ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country."

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber "obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation."

Ruiz criticized Gov. Rick Scott and other politicians who failed to speak out after the fire and denounce what he called "terrorism."

"We are certainly missing our political leaders who are probably too busy campaigning now to do a minimum expression of solidarity" with Florida's Muslims, Ruiz said. "Certainly our governor is missing from this."

Scott's office issued a brief statement in response late Thursday saying only, "Local law enforcement is investigating and the state stands ready to assist in their efforts in any way."

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. The records show he served his first sentence from March 2008 to July 2009 and his second from June 2010 to August 2014. St. Lucie County Public Defender Diamond Litty, whose office has been assigned to Schreiber's case, had no comment Thursday.

Ralph Alfonso is a former inmate who says he served time with Schreiber at Lawtey Correctional Institution, a faith-based prison where both were incarcerated earlier this decade. In a telephone interview Thursday, Alfonso described Schreiber as being a "couple cans short of a six-pack" and doesn't think he is intellectually capable of setting the blaze without coaching.

He said Schreiber joined a Messianic Jewish group he led because he was looking for a place to fit in. Messianic Jews follow Jewish law and the Torah but also believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He said Schreiber sometimes would say something against Muslims, but "we would tell him that's not what we believe, that it is not godly."

"He wasn't a bad guy, he was just an oddball that no one really wanted to hang around with," said Alfonso, who was released in May after serving 17 years for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He now works as an electrician. He said his group tried to shield Schreiber from the bullying he received.

A weekend surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approaching the building while talking on a cellphone, according to the affidavit. He carried a bottle of liquid and some papers and left when there was a flash. The first 911 calls were made about 45 minutes later, after the fire had spread to the attic. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation into the fire.

At the mosque Thursday, member Farhad Khan said he has been in the United States for 50 years and is not surprised that non-Muslims are making donations to help rebuild.

"People have good hearts," he said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who regularly attend the mosque.
Both sides report violations of cease-fire in Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP)  Separatist rebels and government troops both reported violations of a cease-fire declared in eastern Ukraine at midnight on Wednesday as French and German foreign ministers were visiting the country in a bid to shore up a crumbling peace agreement.

Rebels on Tuesday declared a unilateral cease-fire, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the following day Ukraine had also agreed to observe the truce.

Russian state television on Thursday quoted rebel officials as saying their forces came under mortar fire earlier that day. Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksander Motuzyanik said three servicemen had been wounded and that rebels violated the cease-fire six times.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, second right front, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, center, stand in front of a bridge that was destroyed by shelling during the battle for Slovyansk in summer 2014, in Seleznivka village, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

The conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatist rebels and Ukrainian government troops has killed more than 9,600 people since it erupted in April 2014, according to the United Nations. The February 2015 Minsk agreement, which was brokered by France and Germany, helped end large-scale battles, but smaller clashes have continued to claim lives and a political settlement has stalled.

A day after meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault traveled to Ukraine's east Thursday.

Speaking outside the city of Slavyansk, taken by the Ukrainian troops after fierce battles in 2014, Steinmeier voiced hope that the truce would hold and help open the way for progress on political aspects of the Minsk agreement.

"It must be our aim to turn the cease-fire that we and above all people here are seeing into a lasting truce," he said.

The Minsk deal envisaged that Ukraine only regains control of the rebellious region's border with Russia after granting them special status, holding local elections there and offering amnesty to the rebels.

That provision of the Minsk deal has drawn strong criticism from Ukrainian nationalists, and Poroshenko has been cautious to push it through parliament fearing public anger.

Ukraine has accused Russia of failing to withdraw its troops and weapons from the east, but Moscow has denied having any presence there. The Kremlin, in turn, has argued that Ukraine has failed to meet its end of the Minsk deal by not providing autonomy for the eastern regions and calling elections there.

"We must see that we move forward on the other questions  on the amnesty law, on the special status law, on the local election law," Steinmeier said. "We in any case will try in these next days and weeks to bring to a solution the existing differences between Russia and Ukraine in particular."

Steinmeier also hailed members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's monitoring mission in the east for helping reduce tensions.

"We must make even greater efforts in the near future so that the exchange of prisoners happens, about which there has been a lot of talk but which still isn't really moving ahead," Steinmeier added. "We must ensure that children can go to school and many other things."

He pointed to the destroyed bridge outside Slavyansk as "a symbol of the extent to which the connections between central Ukraine and eastern Ukraine have been lost," adding that we are "dedicating ourselves to rebuilding this bridge as a symbol that the lifelines must not be lost."

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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

From right, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin visit Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, right, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeiermeet with OSCE officials in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

OSCE Special Monitoring Mission officials tour a bridge that was destroyed by shelling during the battle for Slovyansk in summer 2014, in Seleznivka village eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin visited eastern Ukraine on Thursday. (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, third right front, and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, fourth right front, stand in front of a bridge that was destroyed by shelling during the battle for Slovyansk in summer 2014, in Seleznivka village, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

A Ukrainian soldier walks in front of a bridge that was destroyed by shelling during the battle for Slovyansk in summer 2014, in Seleznivka village, near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin visited on eastern Ukraine Thursday .(Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks with members of a delegation near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin visited eastern Ukraine on Thursday . (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, left, visits a kindergarten in Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin visited eastern Ukraine on Thursday. (Michael Rothbart/Photo via AP)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, centre, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Jean-Marc Ayrault, pose for photo ahead their meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Di Canio suspended by Sky over Mussolini tattoo

MILAN (AP)  Former Lazio player Paolo Di Canio has been suspended from his role as a TV analyst for Sky Italia after displaying a tattoo linked to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

The "Dux" tattoo on Di Canio's right biceps was visible during Sky's Premier League coverage over the weekend, raising protests from viewers.

"Dux" is the Latin word for leader and the origin of the Italian "Duce," which Mussolini adopted as his title.

Jacques Raynaud, the executive vice president for Sky Sport & Sky Media, says "We apologize to anyone who was offended."

Known for his right-wing political views, Di Canio was suspended as a player for making a fascist salute.
Clinton back on campaign trail after releasing health info

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP)  Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail Thursday following a bout of pneumonia that sidelined her for three days and revived questions about both the Democratic nominee and Republican Donald Trump's transparency regarding their health.

Clinton's campaign responded with a new letter from her doctor Wednesday declaring her "fit to serve" as president and recovering well from her recent illness. The letter  the first substantial update on her health in more than a year  details the medications she is taking, her cholesterol levels and other results from a physical exam.

Trump says he, too, plans to release details from a recent physical, though it's unclear when that will happen and how much information he will provide. So far, the businessman has only released a widely mocked letter from his longtime physician declaring he would be the healthiest president in history.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Canton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In keeping with Trump's unusual approach to transparency, the Republican handed over a one-page summary of his recent exam to Dr. Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Oz's show. A release from the show said "Dr. Oz took Mr. Trump though a full review of his systems," including his nervous system, cardiovascular health, prostate health and family medical history.

The show is due to air Thursday. Trump's campaign has not made a copy of the summary public ahead of the airing, nor is it certain he will do so after.

While Clinton has released more information than Trump  both about her health and financial history  her campaign's handling of her illness underscored her penchant for privacy, something that has contributed to the public's lack of trust in the former secretary of state. With less than two months from Election Day, Clinton's standing with Americans has contributed to a race that is tighter than both parties expected.

Clinton will spend Thursday campaigning in Greensboro, North Carolina, and speaking to a Hispanic group in Washington. It's her first public appearance since Sunday, when she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial service in New York after feeling becoming dizzy and dehydrated. After a video emerged of her stumbling and being held up by aides, the campaign revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia days earlier.

Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton's communications director, said the candidate's break from the campaign trail helped her "sharpen the final argument she will present to voters in these closing weeks." Clinton's remarks Thursday will focus on lifting up children and families, as the campaign tries to break through with a more positive message.

The new letter from Clinton's doctor stated that a chest scan revealed she had "mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia." Dr. Lisa Bardack, chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, New York, said Clinton was treated with a 10-day course of Levaquin, an antibiotic used to treat infections.

Bardack said Clinton is up to date on all vaccines, including two given to help prevent pneumonia  Prevnar and Pneumovax. The letter did not state when she received those vaccines.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," wrote Bardack, who also authored a letter about Clinton's health released in July 2015. "She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

Clinton, 68, has blood pressure of 100 over 70. Her total cholesterol was 189; her LDL or "bad" cholesterol was 103, and her HDL or "good" cholesterol was 56  all within healthy levels and not signaling the need for any medications. She has also had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound, according to the letter.

The letter from Clinton's doctor made no mention of her weight, a key part of any medical exam, nor did a similar letter released last year.

She takes thyroid and allergy medicines and the blood thinner Coumadin, prescribed as a preventative after she suffered a blood clot resulting from a 2012 concussion.

The blood clot, which was in a vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear, led Clinton to spend a few days in New York-Presbyterian Hospital and take a month-long absence from the State Department for treatment.

Clinton running mate Tim Kaine also released a letter from his doctor, Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress. The letter says Kaine is in "overall excellent health," has never smoked and has "modest" alcohol use.

A spokesman for Trump's running mate Mike Pence says the Indiana governor plans to release records from a recent physical examination as soon as his doctor compiles the information.

____

Associated Press Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee and AP writer Jonathan Lemire in Flint, Michigan, contributed to this report.

____

Follow Julie Pace and Lisa Lerer on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and http://twitter.com/llerer
Louisiana, Florida governors take different approach on aid

WASHINGTON (AP)  It's a tough time for a governor to come to Washington, hat in hand, to ask for billions of dollars for a hard-hit state, especially with Congress in the midst of election-season dysfunction and dominated by tightfisted tea party Republicans.

But Gov. John Bel Edwards is back for the second straight week, pleading for almost $3 billion to help Louisiana rebuild from last month's devastating floods, undeterred by warnings that he should keep expectations low. This is, after all, not the same Congress that voted for $60 billion in the span of a week after Hurricane Katrina slammed Louisiana in 2005.

"What I was told to expect was that there would be a tremendous difference in the way I'm perceived than what would have happened after Katrina because even disaster recovery funding seems to be caught up in partisan gridlock, whereas that was never the case before," Edwards said in an interview. "But that has not been my experience thus far."

In this Sept. 9, 2016, photo, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards testifies in on Capitol Hill in Washington. Its a tough time for a governor to come to Washington, hat in hand, to ask for billions of dollars for a hard-hit state, especially with Congress in the midst of election-season dysfunction and dominated by tightfisted tea party Republicans. But Bel Edwards is back for the second straight week, pleading for almost $3 billion to help Louisiana rebuild from last months devastating floods, undeterred by warnings that he should keep expectations low. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)

Congress was generous in approving $95 billion to help Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas rebuild after Katrina. Funding to help the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy four years ago was a much more difficult lift, with the bulk of President Barack Obama's aid request opposed by House Republicans. More recently, GOP conservatives have been slow to embrace the need for $1 billion or so to battle the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Edwards, a first-year Democrat, has teamed up with the Pelican State's GOP-dominated delegation behind a drive to add Louisiana flood aid to a short-term, government-wide spending bill that Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shutdown in a little more than two weeks. Louisiana is known for rough-and-tumble politics  Edwards handily beat GOP Sen. David Vitter in last year's gubernatorial race  but the rival sides are united now.

"We've all been working really well together to stay focused on helping people get back in their houses, and that's where our focus needs to be," said Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 3 Republican in the House.

Edwards wasn't the only governor in Washington this week. Another visitor, GOP Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, met with top Republicans on Zika aid on Tuesday and Wednesday  and was spitting fire at Democrats for holding up a GOP-drafted measure to fight the virus, which can cause grave birth defects and is spreading in Florida. But Scott arrived just as the long-stalled Zika measure appears about to break free.

Scott said Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida had "turned his back on Floridians" by supporting a filibuster of the measure over a contentious provision targeting Planned Parenthood.

"This is about pregnant women and developing babies and he said, you know, that he was going to play politics instead," Scott said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who joined Scott at a meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., went out of his way Wednesday to praise Nelson for "his partnership and hard work" on Zika.

Edwards, meanwhile, met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who was "noncommittal" as to whether Louisiana will get Obama's full $2.6 billion request to rebuild housing and infrastructure ruined by the floods. He's finding that the Capitol works at a much slower pace and is a stingier place than it was when Katrina smashed Louisiana a decade ago.

Edwards has a meeting with Obama on Friday after sitting down with two Cabinet members last week, including budget director Shaun Donovan, who submitted the administration's official request Tuesday evening.

"It's incumbent upon us to have good relationships and good communication regardless of party, but it's just easier when you are in the same party. And I think that has been helpful when I've been meeting with the president but also with his Cabinet secretaries," Edwards said. "But it's also obviously helpful to have folks from the Louisiana congressional delegation who can work the Republican side of the aisle."

Timing may also work in Edwards' favor. Part of the difficulty for the Zika request was that it traveled alone in the middle of the political season. It's now catching a ride on the stopgap spending bill, which is the sole must-do item before Congress adjourns for the elections. Most of the flood aid seems likely to advance in a year-end spending bill, but the Louisianans are pushing hard for some aid now. They may have a potent ally.

"We want to try to find ways to help Louisiana even at this real late date," said the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., who met with Edwards on Thursday.

___

This story has been corrected to replace 'not' with 'now' in the second-to-last paragraph, so it reads, "It's now catching a ride on the stopgap spending bill ..."
AP Explains: US lifting of economic sanctions on Myanmar

U.S. economic trade sanctions on the once-isolated Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar are being eased to support the country's transition toward democracy and a market economy.

President Barack Obama announced the plan to lift remaining sanctions and restore trade benefits after meeting at the White House with Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who is now Myanmar's foreign minister and de facto leader.

Here is a look at some details and implications of the plan to lift most sanctions:

A man arranges local newspapers fronting photos of U.S. President Barack Obama and Myanmar's State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi at his roadside shop, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar economists and businessmen welcome President Barack Obamas announcement that the U.S. will lift economic sanctions and restore long-lost trade benefits to the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

___

WHAT SANCTIONS ARE BEING LIFTED

The U.S. eased broad sanctions since Myanmar began political reforms five years ago, but kept in place targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. The White House also notified Congress it will reinstate trade benefits to Myanmar that the U.S. provides to least developed countries. They were suspended in 1989, a year after the bloody crackdown on democracy protesters by the military.

___

HOW LIFTING SANCTIONS HELPS

U.S. companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia's last untapped markets. By ending most of the remaining sanctions Obama has cleared the way for them to invest and trade more freely with Myanmar's fast-growing economy, and for companies there to do business with the U.S. The restoration of Generalized System of Preferences trade privileges, such as lower import tariffs, will open the way for more exports from Myanmar of garments and textiles, core products of its nascent manufacturing sector.

___

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

For two decades, U.S. presidents have renewed an executive order declaring a "national emergency" with respect to Myanmar annually. Obama must issue a new executive order to end the emergency. U.S. officials said 111 Myanmar individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with military and on imports of rubies and jade.

___

REMAINING RESTRICTIONS

Penalties meant to block the drug trade and bar military trade with North Korea via Myanmar would still apply. A visa ban will still bar some former and current members of the military from traveling to the U.S.

___

CONCERNS

Human rights groups favor keeping sanctions due to military abuses in ethnic minority regions. A top concern is for Rohingya Muslims, who remain displaced by sectarian violence and are denied citizenship. The military elite, U.S.-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies have huge stakes in the economy, especially in the jade trade, which is worth nearly half Myanmar's economic output.

___

WHAT'S AT STAKE

For ordinary Burmese, better job opportunities thanks to increasing investment and trade with the U.S., and access to more, better quality imported products. For the U.S., wider access to a resource-rich economy of 54 million people whose annual growth is estimated to average over 8 percent for the rest of this decade. Removing barriers to trade and investment also will give U.S. business more leverage vis a vis China, which has been Myanmar's chief source of foreign investment for years.

___

Online:

Treasury Department: www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/burma.aspx

Pedestrian walks past while a man buy cigarette at a roadside shop Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar economists and businessmen welcome President Barack Obamas announcement that the U.S. will lift economic sanctions and restore long-lost trade benefits to the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A man cleans U.S dollars with cotton wool at his currency exchange shop, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar economists and businessmen welcome President Barack Obamas announcement that the U.S. will lift economic sanctions and restore long-lost trade benefits to the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

San Lwin, 20, talks during an interview with Associated Press at his family's pharmacy shop Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar economists and businessmen welcome President Barack Obamas announcement that the U.S. will lift economic sanctions and restore long-lost trade benefits to the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Maung Maung Than, a seaman, talks during an interview with The Associated Press Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar economists and businessmen welcome President Barack Obamas announcement that the U.S. will lift economic sanctions and restore long-lost trade benefits to the Southeast Asian country. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
2 dead after powerful typhoon sweeps through China, Taiwan

BEIJING (AP)  A powerful typhoon swept into southeastern China on Thursday after hitting Taiwan, leaving a total of two dead and dozens injured.

Weather officials in both China and Taiwan said Meranti was the strongest storm of its kind this year. Chinese state media reported one death and one person missing, as high winds and rain shattered windows on tall buildings, knocked down trees and disrupted water supplies in China's Fujian province, causing a widespread blackout in the coastal city of Xiamen.

In Taiwan, the Central News Agency reported one person was killed and 44 were injured on the island by the storm. It said Meranti knocked out power in almost 1 million homes and water in more than 700,000.

A man wearing a red helmet, left, climbs on the wreckage of a destroyed structure after a typhoon in Xiamen in southeastern China's Fujian province Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Typhoon Meranti, labeled the strongest storm so far this year by Chinese and Taiwanese weather authorities, made landfall in southeastern China early Thursday after previously affecting Taiwan. (Chinatopix via AP)

More than 140 trains heading into southeastern China were canceled. An 800-year-old bridge in Fujian province was one casualty of the storm; state media released video of a rapidly flowing river pushing against the bridge until it fell in.

Another video posted online shows a large, moon-shaped balloon bouncing between cars on a roadway. The balloon was an apparent decoration for Thursday's start of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival in both mainland China and Taiwan.

Chinese meteorologists downgraded Meranti from a super typhoon to a tropical depression Thursday afternoon and said they expect it to fade further as it moves north.

A man rides a scooter past an overturned vehicle and fallen trees after a typhoon in Xiamen in southeastern China's Fujian province Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Typhoon Meranti, labeled the strongest storm so far this year by Chinese and Taiwanese weather authorities, made landfall in southeastern China early Thursday after previously affecting Taiwan. (Chinatopix via AP)

A man carries belongings away from a destroyed structure after a typhoon in Xiamen in southeastern China's Fujian province Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Typhoon Meranti, labeled the strongest storm so far this year by Chinese and Taiwanese weather authorities, made landfall in southeastern China early Thursday after previously affecting Taiwan. (Chinatopix via AP)
Boston police consider program for prostitution customers

BOSTON (AP)  Boston police are considering sending men who seek sex for a fee to a special program where they can learn about the impacts of sex trafficking.

Police tell the Boston Herald (http://bit.ly/2cHrdG4 ) the so-called "john school" is one of several initiatives being considered in a crackdown on sex trafficking that aims to reduce the online sex trade by 20 percent in a year.

The program is getting a $30,000 grant from Demand Abolition, a Cambridge advocacy group.

The head of the department's human trafficking unit says men who solicit sex think it's a victimless crime, but by attending a "john school," they can see the horrors of sex trafficking and even meet victims.

Proponents say if first-time drunken drivers can be sent to an education program, so can sex solicitors.

___
As Mid-Autumn Day draws near, Chinese people are observing the holiday with new twists on the traditional mooncake.

In southwest China's Sichuan Province, the museum of the pre-historic Sanxingdui Ruins made mooncakes in the shape of its iconic bronze masks.

Some of the 3,000 cakes are the traditional yellow color, while the rest are green and tea-flavored.

The Sanxingdui Ruins in Guanghan City, some 40 kilometers from the provincial capital of Chengdu, are believed to be remnants of the Shu Kingdom that suddenly disappeared some 3,000 years ago. Listed among China's top 10 archaeological findings of the 20th century, the ruins offer strong evidence of the diverse origins of Chinese civilization.

According to Lin Wei who works at the museum, people were calling to ask how to get their hands on the distinctive mooncakes. "Someone even asked, jokingly, if the mooncakes taste like bronze," said Lin.

Lin told Xinhua that the mooncakes are not for sale. "Some of the mooncakes will be given for free to users who have followed our Sina Weibo or WeChat accounts," he said.

Less than ten days after the mooncakes debuted, the museum's Weibo followers had grown by a third to reach 344,763.

Lin is happy with the results.

"We didn't expect so many people to like them," Lin said. "We will make more next year for sale."

"Our stereotype of a museum is a place for serious learning," Lin said. "Now we want to change that and convey our culture through creative products."

In north China's Hebei Province, local civil servants have come up with their own novel mooncake design.

On Wednesday, 35 children in the Gexin community of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, learned to make mooncakes bearing the "socialist core values," a set of ideals advocated by the Communist Party of China.

"Traditionally we inscribe characters on the mooncakes to describe its filling or express blessings," said Shen Jie, a community civil servant. "Then we thought, why not tell children the core values this way to get them interested?"

They ordered a mould with the characters for the core values, including "prosperity and democracy," "civility and harmony" and "freedom and equality."

Children were told stories about Mid-Autumn Day and asked to share their own understanding of socialist core values.

"My child is also a student," said Wu Shouwei, who works in a local pastry shop and taught the children how to make the mooncakes. "The activity is interesting and meaningful."

These mooncakes are also not for sale. "They will be given to elderly people who have no family and those in nursing homes," Shen said.

Even in the remote Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, people are clamoring for unusual variations on the traditional pastry.

"We made mooncakes with glutinous nut cake as the filling," said Adil Memetura. He and his company made more than 50,000 of the mooncakes, which have completely sold out.

When Adil was young, his father sold glutinous nut cake, or qiegao, for a living. Following in his father's footsteps, Adil founded a company in Changsha in central China's Hunan Province after his college graduation to produce the popular Xinjiang snack.

On Monday, Muslims in China began celebrating Corban Festival, also known as Eid al-Adha or the feast of the sacrifice, a three-day event centered around a large feast of lamb.

"Corban is close to Mid-Autumn Festival this year," Adil said. "We gave out mooncakes to Muslims outside a mosque in Changsha for free, so they could taste the flavor of their hometown."

Mid-Autumn Day, the 15th day of the eighth month on China's lunar calendar, falls on Thursday this year. The festival has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years to mark the harvest during the autumn full moon. It is also an occasion for family gatherings featuring lanterns, solving riddles and, of course, mooncakes.

"We created a big qiegao mooncake that is 718 grams," Adil said. "It is our wish that families can sit around it and share the cake, enjoying their moment together."
Slovenian airline bans use of Galaxy Note 7s on its flights

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP)  Slovenian airline Adria Airways has banned the use of Samsung's latest mobile phone on its flights due to safety concerns.

The carrier said Thursday the Galaxy Note 7 devices need to be turned off during the entire flight, cannot be charged on board and should not be put into checked luggage.

The airline says this is in line with recommendations issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency in the aftermath of reports of dozens of phones exploding due to a battery fault.

Samsung has recalled 2.5 million phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded probably due to a subtle manufacturing error
Russian and Turkish military chiefs meet in Ankara

ISTANBUL (AP)  The chief of the Russian military's general staff visited Turkey Thursday for talks with his counterpart about the situation in Syria.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, and Turkish Gen. Hulusi Akar met at the Turkish General Staff headquarters in Ankara.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday night that the negotiations allowed the two military leaders "to bring the parties' assessments of the current situation in Syria and the measures necessary for upholding the cease-fire closer."

Russia and the United States brokered a cease-fire that took effect in Syria Monday evening and is meant to halt fighting between the U.S.-backed opposition and Syria's Russian-supported government.

Turkey and Russia experienced a roughly seven-month rupture in relations after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber in November just as tensions mounted over Moscow and Ankara backing opposing sides in the Syrian conflict. The rift was repaired soon after July's failed coup in Turkey.
The Latest: Trump jokes about taking a pay cut if president

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):

11:37 p.m.

Donald Trump is joking that he is "looking to make a lot less money" in changing jobs to become president.

In this image released by NBC, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears with host Jimmy Fallon during a taping of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in New York. (Andrew Lipovsky/NBC via AP)

The billionaire businessman engaged in a relaxed banter with the host of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" during his appearance Thursday night.

When Fallon asked if Trump had ever played the board game Sorry, Trump quipped that he preferred Monopoly.

When Fallon asked about getting sick, Trump knocked on Fallon's wooden desk and praised his good fortune in staying healthy. The health of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, has been in the news since she announced she had suffered recently from pneumonia.

And when Fallon thanked Trump for providing comic fodder, the Republican nominee said he was "not trying to" say outrageous things.

___

11:35 p.m.

Donald Trump says he thinks his first debate with Hillary Clinton should forgo a moderator because he's afraid that his foes are "trying to game the system" by pressuring NBC's Lester Holt to be tough on him.

Appearing Thursday night on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Trump suggests that the criticism drawn by Matt Lauer for his stint as host of a televised forum earlier this month will lead Holt to be tougher on him than Clinton.

Lauer's performance has been widely panned as easy on Trump and tough on Clinton.

___

11 p.m.

Donald Trump's campaign says the Republican presidential candidate now believes President Barack Obama was born in the United States.

The campaign statement Thursday night follows an interview published by The Washington Post in which Trump declined to say whether he believes Obama was born in Hawaii.

Trump helped fuel the rise of the "birther" movement, which claimed Obama was born outside the U.S. and thus ineligible to be president.

The statement from Trump spokesman Jason Miller accuses Clinton of launching the birther movement during her unsuccessful primary run against Obama in 2008.

Miller says Trump ended the "ugly incident" by compelling Obama to release his birth certificate.

___

9:15 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is ripping into rival Donald Trump for declining to say President Barack Obama was born in the United States.

Trump said in an interview published Thursday by The Washington Post that he would "answer that question at the right time. I just don't want to answer it yet."

Clinton is telling the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute that Trump "still wouldn't say Hawaii. He still wouldn't say America."

She asks: "This man wants to be our next president? When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry?"

___

9 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says she thinks "a taco truck on every corner sounds absolutely delicious."

She is pushing back against a "Latinos for Trump" founder who warned that an out-of-control immigration system would lead to "taco trucks on every corner" in the United States.

The Democratic presidential nominee is speaking at a gala of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. President Barack Obama also addressed the crowd.

Clinton is pledging to introduce a comprehensive immigration overhaul in her first 100 days if elected president. And she says she hopes to tell Republicans that "the party of Lincoln is better than Donald Trump."

__

8:35 p.m.

Donald Trump says his children can handle the negative attention generated by series of controversial comments they've made in recent interviews.

Trump told a crowd in Laconia, New Hampshire, Thursday that, "the press likes to hit them," adding, "And they're such good kids."

Trump's son, Donald Jr., made what some took as a Holocaust-themed joke in an interview with a Philadelphia radio station on Wednesday, referring to "warming up the gas chamber."

He also told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that it would be unwise for his father to release his tax returns because it would "distract" from his father's "main message."

His daughter, Ivanka, usually an asset, also drew attention after a contentious interview with Cosmpolitan magazine.

Trump says his kids "can take it."

___

8:20 p.m.

President Barack Obama is telling Hispanic leaders that it's important to push back against the bluster of political candidates urging tougher immigration policies this election season.

Obama is speaking at an awards gala in Washington before Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton takes the stage.

He says the talk around immigration is a "little meaner, a little uglier" this fall. He says the nation needs a solution on immigration that works for families and businesses.

Obama says the next president won't be able to do it alone, "no matter how tough she is."

___

8:00 p.m.

Donald Trump is bragging about leaving his traveling press corps behind.

When the Republican nominee took the stage in Laconia, New Hampshire Thursday night the reporters who follow him from city to city were still in the air arriving from New York City.

Unlike Hillary Clinton, Trump does not travel on the same plane as the press and departed New York first after taping The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Trump boasted to the crowd that "the press can't get here. I love it."

He then said he was asked by his staff to wait - and he refused.

"Absolutely not," he said.

Trump was speaking for about 25 minutes before the traveling press arrived.

___

6:55 p.m.

Donald Trump's famous hair is being wildly mussed up on national television.

When Trump appeared Thursday for a taping of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," the talk-show host closed his interview by asking if he could do one silly thing with Trump since he could be president the next time he appears on the show.

Fallon then asked to mess up Trump's hair  and, after pondering it for a moment, the Republican nominee agreed.

Fallon sent Trump's locks flying out of control in every direction.

Though Trump is known for being sensitive about his hair, he smiled throughout. But press pool photographers were prohibited from taking a photo of the Republican candidate after the taping.

Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, is slated to appear with Fallon on Monday.

___

4:59 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says the success of a deal for a cease fire in war-torn Syria is largely "up to the Russians."

The deal hammered out last week by Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is designed to pause the Syrian civil war long enough for the two powers to focus their airstrikes on Islamic extremists taking advantage of the chaos in Syria.

The deal calls for Russia to persuade Syrian President Bashar Assad to stop shelling rebel-held areas and allow humanitarian aid to go in.

Only then would the U.S. and Russia combine to strike Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked militants. Some in the Obama administration are skeptical the Russians will hold up their end of the deal.

The Democratic nominee says it's up to Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring the conflict to the point where there can be political discussions about ending the brutal civil war.

___

4:40 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says that lots of people "power through" when they get sick, and that's what she thought she would do, too.

The Democratic nominee says she made the decision to keep campaigning even after receiving a diagnosis of pneumonia in part because she wanted to attend Sunday's 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York.

Clinton was a senator from New York when terrorists struck the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan in 2001. She tells reporters at a press conference in North Carolina that she considers the annual memorial service at ground zero "a sacred moment."

Clinton fell ill at the ceremony, and needed the help of staff to stand up as she waited to depart the event. Her campaign later said she had pneumonia, and Clinton took the start of this week off to rest.

Her first day back on the campaign trail was Thursday, where she hosted in rally in Greensboro.

___

4:42 p.m.

Back on the campaign trail in North Carolina, Hillary Clinton tells reporters that she's always said that her bid for the White House was "going to be a tight race."

The Democratic nominee says, "Those are the kinds of presidential elections we have in America."

Clinton took questions from reporters after her Thursday afternoon campaign rally. It was her first public event since taking a few days off to recover from a bout of pneumonia.

Clinton says her election against Republican nominee Donald Trump will be decided by who registers to vote, and which campaign is able to motivate those who do to cast a ballot.

Clinton's campaign has spent months building an extensive get-out-the-vote operation, and she says her team is working hard "every day to turn out every voter we possibly can."

___

4:28 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump was wrong to criticize a Michigan pastor who interrupted him Wednesday as he spoke at her church.

The Republican nominee said Thursday morning in an interview on Fox News Channel that the Rev. Faith Green Timmons "was like a nervous mess" when she introduced him.

Speaking after a campaign event in North Carolina later, Clinton said: "That's not only insulting, it's dead wrong."

The Democratic presidential nominee said the pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church in Flint has been "a rock for her community in trying times."

Trump began his remarks on Wednesday at the church by paying tribute to the resiliency of the people of Flint, who are grappling with a contaminated public water system.

Timmons calmly cut him off when he moved on to criticize Clinton, saying: "Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech."

___

4:00 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says she'll never be as flashy as rival Donald Trump. And that's ok, says the Democratic nominee.

Clinton is pointing to Trump's Thursday interview about his health on the Dr. Oz talk show as evidence of what she calls his "showman" tendencies.

Clinton says she focuses intensely on policy details  a trait she argues should be important to a president.

"Like a lot of women, I have a tendency to over prepare," she says. "I sweat the details."

Clinton is delivering a speech about her commitment to helping children and families in North Carolina. She's back on the campaign trail after three days recovering from pneumonia in her suburban New York home.

___

3:55 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says she used her time recovering from pneumonia to reflect on her plans for the country.

Clinton said that having three days in her suburban New York home was a "gift." The Democratic presidential nominee said she spoke to old friends, played with her dogs and thought about the direction she wanted to take the United States.

She said: "Even I had to admit maybe some rest would do me good."

Clinton made her remarks in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she was speaking about her commitment to helping children and families.

Clinton was making her debut appearance back on the campaign trail after a video showed her stumbling leaving a 9/11 memorial service on Sunday. Her campaign revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday.

___

3:50 p.m.

Donald Trump's running mate is meeting with the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence met Thursday with Archbishop Demetrios of America in the church's ornate headquarters near Central Park in New York City.

Father Alexander Karloutsos began the meeting by talking about how the only church destroyed in the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center was Greek Orthodox.

Work is continuing to replace the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

The archbishop posed for pictures with Pence, his wife Karen and daughter Charlotte before the meeting was closed.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at University of North Carolina, in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Clinton returned to the campaign trail after a bout of pneumonia that sidelined her for three days and revived questions about both Donald Trump's and her openness regarding their health. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at luncheon for the Economic Club of New York in New York, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence gives a campaign speech at Kenworth Of Pennsylvania in Dunmore, Pa., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. A spokesman for Pence, Donald Trump's running mate, says Pence plans to release records from a recent physical examination. (Jake Danna Stevens / The Times-Tribune, Via Pa)

FILE - In this July 19, 2016 file photo, Donald Trump, Jr., son of Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, lifts his fist after speaking at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The Anti-Defamation League is calling for Donald Trump's oldest son to apologize for making what appeared to be a Holocaust-themed joke. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. holds up books to show the difference between the two campaigns for president, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

FILE - In this July 19, 2016 file photo, Donald Trump, Jr., son of Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, lifts his fist after speaking at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The Anti-Defamation League is calling for Donald Trump's oldest son to apologize for making what appeared to be a Holocaust-themed joke. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

This image released by Sony Pictures Entertainment shows Dr. Oz, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a taping of "The Dr. Oz Show," in New York. The show will air on Thursday, Sept. 15. (Sony Pictures Entertainment via AP)
Hungary gears up to build new anti-migrant fence

ASOTTHALOM, Hungary (AP)  A new fence, electronic surveillance equipment and a paved road for police "border hunters" are all part of Hungary's continuing efforts to stop the flow of migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Asia and Africa at its southern borders.

The government has not yet announced a timetable for the reinforced border projects, but the mayor of Asotthalom, a village on the Serbian border, said the fence built last year had already made a difference.

"Order has been practically restored in the village, which is a big achievement since migration had been causing problems for years," said Laszlo Toroczkai, recently elected as a vice-chairman of the far-right Jobbik party. "It was most unbearable in 2015, when thousands of migrants a day were marching through our village, but already from September 2014 hundreds of illegal migrants a day were arriving here."

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, ranger Zsolt Takacs guards the fence on Hungarys border with Serbia, built last year to stop the flow of migrants and refugees from entering the country. Hungary, concerned that a new surge of migrants trying to reach the European Union could soon take place, is planning to reinforce the barrier with a new fence and surveillance equipment. (AP Photo/Andras Nagy)

Hungary's fences, its anti-migrant political campaigns and its grudging treatment of refugees have been harshly criticized by the United Nations' refugee agency and other rights organizations. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, however, remains unapologetic about his "self-defensive" migration policies and his opposition to greater acceptance of refugees.

Nearly 400,000 people passed through Hungary last year, aiming to reach Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and other richer destinations in the European Union.

Since fences protected with razor wire were completed on the border with Serbia in mid-September 2015 and on the Croatian border a month later, the number of migrants entering Hungary dropped from an average of 100 a day in the first half of 2016 to around a daily dozen in the past weeks.

Toroczkai set up a group of armed rangers to patrol the border and detain migrants long before migration through the Balkans gained national and international attention. He believes the upgraded infrastructure would increase the effectiveness of the barrier.

Migrants "cut through the fence with tools and assistance from the Serbian human traffickers," Toroczkai said in an interview. "They will be confronted with a new, apparently much stronger fence which will take even longer to cut through, during which time the patrols will be able to quickly get there on the paved road and capture the trespassers."

Announcing the new fence plan, Orban said last month that it would be strong enough to stop even large surges of people if, for example, Turkey allows the millions of refugees there to leave for Western Europe.

"If we can't do it nicely, we have to hold them back by force," Orban said. "And we will do it, too."

Among the Asotthalom villagers, many of whom complained last year that migrants were damaging their crops as they hiked toward Budapest, there were mixed views about the fence.

"If they come, they can still cut through," said Norbert Farkas, a younger, unemployed Asotthalom resident. "Maybe the solution would be if they'd just let them go wherever they want."

Pensioner Rozalia Kovacs, however, wants the migrants stopped.

"We're already too many here," she said. "I don't mistreat them because they don't hurt me either. It's only that there's already too many of us here."

___
With UK going, crises simmering, EU ponders uncertain future

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  If Britain long felt like a sore festering at the heart of European unity, its planned departure has made one thing clear  there is a lot more spoiling that vision of a common European Union future.

After the June referendum vote in Britain to quit the EU, it should have felt for many of the other member states like a brake was released and they were free to move forward with their joint venture. Instead, 28-minus-1 leaders will be meeting at the centuries-old Bratislava Castle on Friday with one question on their minds  how to keep everybody else moving, and if not in lockstep then more or less in the same direction?

"It would be a fatal error to assume that the negative result in the U.K. referendum represents a specifically British issue," EU Council President Donald Tusk wrote to the 27 leaders ahead of the summit.

European Council President Donald Tusk, right, speaks with the media outside a hotel prior to an EU summit in Bratislava on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. An EU summit, without the participation of the United Kingdom, in Bratislava will kick off on Friday with discussions on the future of the EU following Brexit. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

"It's not just another crisis, it might be an existential crisis" for the EU, said French president Francois Hollande on Thursday following a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris.

Losing a member for the first time  a financial and military powerhouse at that  would be difficult to swallow at the best of times. But Brexit comes on top of a refugee emergency that EU nations simply cannot agree how to manage. Countries in the east  Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and others  have openly opposed proposed solutions coming out of Brussels and even defied the wishes of their neighbors.

Economic woes weigh heavily too. Greece's place in the euro single currency has been called into question, and created a major rift between pro-austerity countries led by Germany and countries with more social-minded governments.

Meanwhile extremist attacks in Paris, Brussels and Germany combined with the lack of intelligence-sharing between member countries have fueled the fears of citizens for their safety and undermined confidence that the EU can provide a solution.

It's all been fodder for the far-right. Only on Wednesday French far-right leader Marine Le Pen promised a referendum on France's place in the EU should she seize the presidency next year.

"The best motto for the Bratislava meeting is that we must not let these crises go to waste," Tusk said on Thursday. "The only thing that makes sense is to have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation."

The EU has fallen into a political quagmire where distrust has replaced half a century of optimism as the Union expanded to a wealthy group of 28 nations making up the world's largest trading bloc.

As he chairs the summit, Tusk will be counting on frank, even blunt exchanges. Increasingly, politeness has gone out the window as one crisis has been heaped onto the next.

"We must rectify a number of things in order to preserve what is best," Tusk wrote.

The one-day Bratislava summit should be the first in a number of confidence-building meetings where a roadmap should be set up to culminate in a March summit in the Italian capital when the 60th anniversary of the EU's founding Treaty of Rome will be marked  or, in the best of circumstances, celebrated.

These days, though, hand-wringing is more in order than hand-shaking.

Just this week, the foreign minister of founding member Luxembourg suggested Hungary should be suspended or expelled from the EU over its dealings with refugees and other human rights issues. Immediately, Hungary's foreign minister retorted that Jean Asselborn was "a frivolous figure" who "has long excluded himself from among the politicians who can be taken seriously."

The weeks preceding the Bratislava summit have seen an endless array of regional meetings of government leaders, hoping to gather some critical mass to push through their views on how the EU should be run in the future, along either geographical or ideological lines, or a mix of both.

Tusk said there is really is little choice but for things to change, given the increasing discontent with the EU's centralized institutions and the sense that unelected officials in Brussels are dictating policy to the member states.

One thing rarely changes, though. At one vital point, France and Germany, the founding political and industrial engine of the EU, get together to set out the lines for others to follow. It was the same on Thursday, when Merkel met with Hollande.

Among other proposals, they agreed to push for the creation of a permanent EU military headquarters that could dispatch European troops quickly when necessary  a project long opposed by Britain.

Merkel said European leaders understand that they need to set out "a Bratislava agenda which makes clear that we are determined to react together to the weaknesses and the tasks that we face."

In these troubled times, though, with Merkel under pressure for her welcoming migration policy and Hollande for his sputtering economy, the aura of both has dimmed. Uncertainty and even fear abound, and a strong vision for the future of the European project is needed to stop others weighing the benefits of heading for the exit door.

"People in Europe want to know if the political elites are capable of restoring control over events and processes which overwhelm, disorientate, and sometimes terrify them," Tusk wrote to the leaders. "Today many people, not only in the U.K., think that being part of the European Union stands in the way of stability and security."

___

Lorne Cook in Brussels and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

European Council President Donald Tusk speaks with the media outside a hotel prior to an EU summit in Bratislava on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. An EU summit, without the participation of the United Kingdom, in Bratislava will kick off on Friday with discussions on the future of the EU following Brexit. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

French President Francois Hollande greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Merkel and Hollande meet in Paris to coordinate their strategies for an EU without Britain ahead of a key EU summit in Bratislava, Slovakia. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

French President Francois Hollande accompanies German Chancellor Angela Merkel after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Merkel and Hollande meet in Paris to coordinate their strategies for an EU without Britain ahead of a key EU summit in Bratislava, Slovakia. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

European Council President Donald Tusk, right, speaks with the media outside a hotel prior to an EU summit in Bratislava on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. An EU summit, without the participation of the United Kingdom, in Bratislava will kick off on Friday with discussions on the future of the EU following Brexit. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

French President Francois Hollande, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a joint news conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Merkel and Hollande meet in Paris to coordinate their strategies for an EU without Britain ahead of a key EU summit in Bratislava, Slovakia.(Philippe Wojazer/ Pool Photo via AP)
Jurors in trooper ambush trial coming from Philly suburbs

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP)  The jurors who will decide the fate of a man charged with killing a state trooper in an ambush shooting in rural northeastern Pennsylvania will be bused in from the Philadelphia suburbs.

The (West Chester) Daily Local News (http://bit.ly/2cpuiHG ) reports jurors for the trial of Eric Frein (freen) will be picked in March from Chester County.

The panel will then be taken to Pike County, where the shooting occurred outside the Blooming Grove barracks in September 2014.

The 33-year-old defendant is charged with fatally shooting Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and wounding another trooper, setting off a 48-day manhunt before U.S. marshals caught him about 30 miles from the shooting scene. Frein has pleaded not guilty.

Pike County is between Scranton and the New Jersey border along Interstate 84.

___
The Latest: More than 1,000 migrants deported from 'Jungle'

BERLIN (AP)  The Latest on Europe's migration crisis (all times local):

9:45 p.m.

France says it has deported more than 1,000 people who were staying in a makeshift migrant camp known as "the Jungle" this year.

A sculpture of a horse stands in ancient Rome's Trajan's Market as part of an itinerant exhibit, Lapidarium, by the Mexican artist Gustavo Aceves, which opened in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The exhibit, made up of forty grim horses made of bronze, iron, marble and granite, is intended to raise awareness about the ongoing migrant crisis. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

The French interior ministry said in a statement Thursday that 1,346 migrants living "illegally" in the camp have been flown out of France aboard 55 collective flights since Jan. 1.

Benjamin Menard, the ministry's press adviser, says the most recent flight left France for Albania on Thursday.

Menard says French and British authorities chartered the plane carrying 20 Albanian migrant.

The camp is located in the northern port town of Calais.

The French government has decided to dismantle "the Jungle," but has not given a date when the overcrowded camp will be closed.

The camp still houses thousands of people, although its population has been cut in half since March.

___

8:25 p.m.

A travelling exhibit intended as an artistic response to the global migrant crisis has opened in the capital of Italy, ground zero of the European refugee phenomenon.

Mexican artist Gustavo Aceves spent six years making the sculptures featured in the exhibit that opened Thursday amid the ruins of ancient Rome.

The works consist of misshapen horses, many placed in boat frames, with exposed rib cages full of skulls and sides branded with numbers.

Aceves says the global response to the migrant crisis has been a "disgrace" and that the building of walls by nations trying to keep refugees out "speaks of a clamorous moral and ethical decline."

He said the exhibit, entitled "Lapidarium," is about that decline.

The exhibit will move from Rome to Greece and then Turkey. It is scheduled to end in 2018 in Mexico.

___

4:30 p.m.

Serbian authorities say that joint police and army patrols have caught 71 migrants and arrested two people smugglers who transported them in vans and cars.

A police statement said Thursday that a vehicle carrying 50 migrants was stopped near the border with Bulgaria, while 21 were caught farther west. The two drivers were detained.

Serbian officials said Thursday that migrant pressure on the Balkan country's borders has increased in the past two weeks, with more than 7,500 migrants attempting to cross from Bulgaria and Macedonia since mid-July.

Since the Balkan route, used by nearly 1 million migrants last year to cross to mainland Europe, was closed in March, hundreds still try to enter illegally daily in an attempt to reach the EU. An estimated 5,000 migrants are stranded in Serbia.

___

3:20 p.m.

The European Union's border agency says the number of migrants arriving in the Greek islands has increased significantly over the last month.

Frontex said in a statement Thursday that 3,430 migrants were "detected" in August, up from 2,030 in July.

The agency said it was the "first noticeable monthly increase" since the EU-Turkey migrant deal came into effect and Macedonia tightened border controls with Greece.

Nationals from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq accounted for most new arrivals.

The EU-Turkey deal was agreed in March. Under it, the EU would pay up to 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) to support Syrian refugees, provide visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and accelerate membership talks. In return, Turkey would stop migrants from leaving for Greece and take back thousands more.

___

3:00 p.m.

Eight asylum-seekers are taking legal action against Macedonia for expelling them back into Greece after they worked their way across the border.

The migrant advocacy group ProAsyl said it helped the group file a complaint Monday with the Council of Europe's Court of Human Rights.

Karl Kopp of the Frankfurt, Germany-based group did not identify the plaintiffs, but told The Associated Press Thursday the asylum-seekers were from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kopp says they would be entitled financial compensation, if the court rules in their favor.

The March 14 incident occurred along a rugged stretch of the Greek-Macedonian border when hundreds of migrants and refugees who had forced their way across were detained and then expelled.

___

10 a.m.

Police say some 100 officers had to get between far-right Germans and asylum-seekers who were fighting in the eastern German town of Bautzen.

Bautzen police spokesman Thomas Knaup said Thursday around 80 Germans and 20 migrants were attacking each other Wednesday night on a market square.

Police had to separate the groups and were attacked with bottles by some of the asylum-seekers.

The far-right protesters were shouting nationalist slogans and followed the asylum-seekers back to their shelter while police tried to keep the groups separated. Later, some of the far-right group threw stones at an ambulance preventing it from getting close to the shelter to attend to an injured migrant.

In February, onlookers celebrated as fire damaged a former hotel that was being turned into a refugee home in Bautzen.

A sculpture of a horse is framed through a window of Rome's ancient Trajan's Market as part of an itinerant exhibit, Lapidarium, by the Mexican artist Gustavo Aceves, which opened in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The exhibit, made up of forty grim horses made of bronze, iron, marble and granite, is intended to raise awareness about the ongoing migrant crisis. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, ranger Zsolt Takacs guards the fence on Hungarys border with Serbia, built last year to stop the flow of migrants and refugees from entering the country. Hungary, concerned that a new surge of migrants trying to reach the European Union could soon take place, is planning to reinforce the barrier with a new fence and surveillance equipment. (AP Photo/Andras Nagy)
After 'Bridgegate,' Gov. Chris Christie's fortunes changed

TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  A former federal prosecutor and Republican governor in Democratic-leaning New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie earned a reputation as a no-nonsense, law-and-order leader. He was popular with late-night TV hosts and topped national polls as a prospective 2016 presidential candidate.

Then came "Bridgegate."

It started three years ago this month, when two of the three approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and Manhattan were shut down as part of what prosecutors say was a political payback scheme orchestrated by Christie allies.

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, Gov. Chris Christie listens to a question from the media in Trenton, N.J. Christie spent years cultivating a reputation as a law-and-order leader who could win in a Democratic state. Then the George Washington Bridge scandal hit, his presidential ambitions failed and his favorability at home sunk to record lows. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

As the trial begins for a former top aide and appointee to the agency that operates the bridge, Christie's approval ratings at home are at record lows after a failed presidential campaign, and his political future is uncertain.

Christie, who denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged, recently dismissed the attention on the trial as a media fascination that will be over by October. But he also said the scandal probably affected Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's decision not to pick him for a running mate.

"I'm sure it was a factor," Christie said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday.

A closer look at how the governor's fortunes have changed since the scheme first came to light and what the trial could mean for his political future:

___

BEFORE THE SCANDAL

Prosecutors say the lane closures were political payback orchestrated by Bridget Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff at the time, and Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at the time, against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, the community at the foot of the New Jersey side of the bridge, for failing to endorse Christie in his 2013 re-election effort.

The governor's outreach to Democrats and wide margin of victory were seen as a powerful line on his political resume ahead of a prospective presidential race, bolstering claims he could carry women and minority votes in competitive states.

In a December 2013 news conference, Christie dismissed questions about the lane shutdown, going so far as to joke with reporters that he actually moved the traffic cones himself.

Those comments came around the time CNN and Fairleigh Dickinson University polls showed him with high favorability and leading the GOP field of prospective 2016 Republican candidates.

___

'TRAFFIC PROBLEMS' AND INDICTMENTS

The story broke open in January 2014 when an email from Kelly that said "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" surfaced as part of a legislative inquiry. Christie held a long news conference disavowing the scheme and announcing the firing of key staff members.

In May 2015, federal prosecutors charged Kelly and Baroni, whom Christie had appointed, with wire fraud and civil rights violations. They have pleaded not guilty.

David Wildstein, another Christie appointee at the agency, pleaded guilty and is expected to testify at the trial.

___

A FAILED CAMPAIGN

By the time Christie's presidential campaign kicked off about two months after the indictments, his posture toward the scandal was set: It was old news.

Christie denied any involvement or knowledge and pointed to a taxpayer-funded probe that cleared him. He also highlighted a legislative inquiry that failed to link him directly to the closures.

Voters in Iowa and New Hampshire said they cared little about the regional imbroglio, but the scandal featured in opponents' attacks.

While Christie is now leading Donald Trump's transition team, Trump said in December that Christie "totally knew" about the lane closings. It was also used as an attack in an ad from a super political action committee that supported Marco Rubio, one of Christie's rivals in the New Hampshire primary.

"It's never one thing," said Ben Dworkin, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. "You can't say he lost because of Bridgegate. But did it stop his momentum? I think that's clear."

___

'SIX WEEKS OF REVELATIONS'

While not-guilty verdicts would clearly be victories for Christie, Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison said that even guilty verdicts could do little harm to the governor's reputation unless there is new evidence linking him to the scheme.

It's not known if Christie will be called to testify, but the run-up to the trial has included questions about text messages he exchanged with an aide, and a message from a former aide that Christie "flat-out lied" when he denied his senior staff and campaign manager were involved. Christie denies that he lied.

Dworkin predicted the trial itself could reveal less-than-flattering details about how the Christie administration conducted politics leading up to and surrounding the closure.
Plumber charged in 1993 slaying of a witness is denied bail

BOSTON (AP)  A Massachusetts plumber charged along with former New England Mafia boss Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme (sah-LEHM'-ee) in the 1993 slaying of a Boston nightclub owner has been denied bail.

The Boston Globe (http://bit.ly/2cZUYQi ) reports that a federal magistrate judge on Wednesday ordered 61-year-old Paul Weadick held.

The judge wrote that the Burlington man would likely flee and pose a risk of harm to the public if released.

Prosecutors argued last week that Weadick is a violent man with ties to high-profile mobsters.

Weadick's lawyer says his client is a family man who hasn't been in legal trouble since 1989.

Weadick and Salemme have pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of 43-year-old Steven DiSarro.

DiSarro vanished in 1993. His remains were found buried in Providence, Rhode Island, in March.

___
Linda Tsao Yang [Shanghai Daily]

The Shanghai People's Congress yesterday gave their approval to confer honorary citizenship on two expatriates for their contribution to the city.

The two are American Linda Tsao Yang, who is the honorary chairman of Asian Corporate Governance Association, and Malaysian Fatt Heng Wong, general manager of Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd.

The city government had proposed their names for the citys top award for foreigners.

Yang, 90, who was born in Shanghai, is being honored for her role in promoting understanding, trust and cooperation between China and America. She was the US Ambassador and Executive Director of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank from 1993 to 1999.

During her tenure, Yang helped raise US$300 million in loans for the environment treatment program of Suzhou Creek.

The program was carried out successfully and the water quality in the creek had improved by the end of 2000, the government said in its recommendation.

The Asian Development Bank also brought international technology and standards in water quality management and treatment, it added.

Yang makes trips to Shanghai almost every year and follows up on the creek treatment program even after the end of her tenure.

She introduced 11 new policies in ADB to help Asian countries benefit from globalization.

The Committee of 100, which was co-founded by her, promoted Sino-American exchanges by organizing seminars relevant to both countries. It also honored people who made great contribution to Sino-American relationship and American society.

Wong, 60, is credited for bringing latest technologies into China that benefited the medical community, cultivated talents in the field of bioscience and promoted the development of clinical laboratory in Shanghai and other parts of China.

After he was appointed general manager of the company in 2006, Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd became the companys second largest subsidiary in terms of business volume. It paid nearly 800 million yuan in taxes  listed 20th in the top 100 service-sector tax payers in the Pudong New Area.

Under his term, Roche invested 860 million yuan to build an innovation center in the city in 2014 and set up an Asia-Pacific training center here. He was also responsible for bringing in related technologies to deal with H7N9 and Ebola virus.

Wong won the Magnolia Silver Award in 2011 and Magnolia Gold Award in 2013. He got the permanent residence permit in 2014. Yang and Wong will be awarded certificates later this month.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
Pro-India Kashmiri lawmaker quits India's Parliament

SRINAGAR, India (AP)  A prominent pro-India Kashmiri politician resigned Thursday from India's Parliament and from his regional party to protest a government crackdown in Kashmir that prevented people from offering Eid prayers for the first time in the troubled region.

Tariq Hameed Karra, a founding member of the People's Democratic Party, said he quit to express his anger over the "brutal policy'" followed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and the acquiescence of his party, a coalition partner.

His decision is a setback for his party in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which has been wracked by massive protests for the past two months following the killing of a popular rebel leader. More than 80 people have been killed and thousands wounded, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotgun pellets to quell the protests.

Tariq Hameed Karra, lawmaker and a founding member of Kashmir's People's Democratic Party, addresses a press conference in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Kara, a prominent pro-India Kashmiri politician has resigned from India's Parliament and from his regional party to protest a government crackdown in Kashmir that prevented people from offering Eid prayers for the first time in the troubled region. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

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.

With the entire Kashmir Valley under a strict curfew, most people stayed indoors for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha on Tuesday. Usually bustling on the holiday, places of worship and marketplaces were deserted.

"For the first time in history, the people of Kashmir were not allowed to offer Eid prayers. Certain shrines and even the Grand Mosque were locked," Karra told reporters Thursday in Srinagar, the main city in the region.

"Kashmiri blood is being spilled on the walls, lanes and drains of the valley,'" he said.

He accused the Indian government of brutality and insensitivity toward Kashmir.

Separatist leaders have repeatedly urged police officers and politicians during the current unrest "to disengage from the Indian state.'"

Early this month, protesters set fire to the house of Nazir Laway, a local lawmaker in south Kashmir.

The governing People's Democratic Party is now left with two lawmakers in India's Parliament representing the region.

It emerged in the early 2000s as the strongest opponent to the National Conference, a regional rival which is now an opposition party, using pro-separatist views for electoral gains. It first came to power in Kashmir in 2002 and assumed power for a second time in 2015 in coalition with Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party after failing to win enough seats to form a government on its own.
New probe faults previous report on 2010 Polish plane crash

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  A new Polish state commission reinvestigating the 2010 plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others accused its predecessors Thursday of doctoring some evidence and manipulating facts.

The crash near Smolensk airport in Russia was one of Poland's worst tragedies since World War II. Among the dead were military commanders, state officials, lawmakers and public figures, and it further strained already-tense relations with Moscow.

The previous investigation team was appointed by Donald Tusk, then Poland's prime minister and now the head of the European Council. In 2011, that team declared the crash a result of Polish pilots' errors and poor guidance by Russian controllers in dense fog and very poor visibility at the rudimentary military airport.

Poland's new state commission that is re-investigating the 2010 plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others tells a news conference in Warsaw, Poland on Thursday, Sept.15 2016 that its predecessors doctored and concealed key facts. The new team, announcing preliminary findings on Thursday, said the 2011 report was the result of "falsifying, manipulating, avoiding and hiding" the truth. (AP Photo/STR)

A separate report by Russian experts blamed the Polish crew and the alleged presence of Polish Air Force commander in the cockpit, suggesting he might have pressed for a landing in spite of bad weather conditions. Kaczynski and the others were traveling to ceremonies to honor Polish officers killed by Soviet secret security during the war.

The new probe was sought by the current conservative and nationalist ruling party led by Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who has blamed the crash on Tusk and Russia.

There was no immediate response from Tusk's press office to an Associated Press email seeking comment Thursday.

The new team, announcing preliminary findings, said the 2011 Polish report was the result of "falsifying, manipulating, avoiding and hiding" the truth.

As proof they showed secret footage in which the previous commission's head, then-interior minister Jerzy Miller, suggests to his team that their report should be in line with the Russian one to avoid any questions about inconsistencies and "conspiracy theories."

They said Russian authorities blocked or limited Polish investigators' access to the crash site and to evidence.

Waclaw Berczynski, head of the new commission, said some of the evidence provided by Russia was "manipulated." The commission pointed to the fact that Russia delayed the handing over of the flight recorders.

Russia is refusing to return the wreckage, saying it still needs it for its criminal investigation.

Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz, who appointed the commission and is overseeing its work, said the goal is to reveal the circumstances of the crash and not assign blame, but its findings may be used by prosecutors conducting their own probe.
Cigarette maker adds former House Speaker Boehner to board

NEW YORK (AP)  Cigarette maker Reynolds American says former House Speaker John Boehner, a longtime smoker, is joining its board of directors.

Reynolds American Inc. is the company behind Camel, Newport and Pall Mall cigarettes.

Boehner was elected House Speaker in 2011 and resigned from the position and Congress nearly a year ago. His replacement, House Speaker Paul Ryan, told NBC's "Meet the Press" last year that he was working to clean out the cigarette smell in Boehner's former office.

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2015, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Cigarette maker Reynolds American announced Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, that former House Speaker Boehner, a longtime smoker, is joining its board of directors. Reynolds American Inc. is the company behind Camel, Newport and Pall Mall cigarettes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

An Ohio native, Boehner was first elected to the House in 1990.

Reynolds American also said Thursday that Jean-Marc Levy, an executive at a Swiss blood-testing equipment maker, will also join its board.
The Latest: Former inmate: Man accused of arson was bullied

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP)  The Latest on the arrest of a suspect in the arson of a Florida mosque (all times local):

6:45 p.m.

A former inmate said a man accused of setting fire to a Florida mosque is a "couple cans short of a six pack."

This undated booking photo released by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office shows Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, who was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Fla., and is facing a charge of arson with a hate crime enhancement in connection with a fire that heavily damaged the Florida mosque Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen occasionally attended, authorities announced. (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Ralph Alfonso said Thursday that he thinks someone must have put Joseph Schreiber up to setting fire Sunday to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce because he isn't capable of planning such a crime himself.

Alfonso said the 32-year-old Schreiber joined the Messianic Jewish congregation he led at the Lawtey Correctional Institution. He said they tried to protect Schreiber because he was frequently bullied. Schreiber served time at Lawtey because of a theft conviction.

Detectives say that after his arrest Wednesday, Schreiber admitted setting the fire, said he had no intention of hurting anyone and was embarrassed to have committed the crime.

___

10:30 a.m.

Sheriff's investigators say a man accused of setting fire to a Florida mosque confessed and said he was embarrassed.

According to a St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit released Thursday, 32-year-old Joseph Schreiber was developed as a suspect in the fire Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce in part because of a tip.

Detectives say that after his arrest Wednesday, Schreiber admitted setting the fire, said he had no intention of hurting anyone and was embarrassed to have committed the crime.

Schreiber was ordered held without bail earlier Thursday. The public defender's office had no immediate comment.

___

9:45 a.m.

The man accused of setting fire to a Florida mosque will not be released on bond.

St. Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci ordered 32-year-old Joseph Michael Schreiber held without bond Thursday on a charge of second-degree arson with a hate crime enhancement. Yacucci cited Schreiber's two previous prison stays for theft and said he is a danger to the community and a flight risk.

St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies arrested Schreiber on Wednesday, saying he set the Sunday night fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen had occasionally attended the mosque.

___

3 a.m.

The man accused of setting fire to a Florida mosque posted anti-Islamic statements on Facebook.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrested 32-year-old Joseph Michael Schreiber on Wednesday and charged him with arson for allegedly setting fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce late Sunday. Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen had occasionally attended the mosque.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber stated that, "IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical." Schreiber is Jewish.

Maj. David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office told a news conference Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video.
China has launched its second experimental space station.

The successful launch is a sign of the growing sophistication of the country's military-backed space program, that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years.

The Tiangong 2 was carried into space on Thursday night on a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

China has launched its second experimental space station. The successful launch is a sign of the growing sophistication of the country's military-backed space program, that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years

TIANGONG 2: THE MISSION Tiangong 2 lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 PM local time (1400 GMT) yesterday from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert. The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month. The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments. Advertisement

Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain on board for a month.

The station, whose name means 'Heavenly Palace,' is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

China's first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year, after having docked with three visiting spacecraft.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future. China could start building its space station starting as early as next year, Xinhua quoted Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the manned spaceflight programme, as saying

Tiangong 2, lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 PM local time (1400 GMT) yesterday from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert. The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched some time next month

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the US to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon

CHINA'S SPACE STATION China could start building its space station starting as early as next year, Xinhua quoted Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the manned spaceflight programme, as saying. 'Once the lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station,' Zhou was quoted as saying. The station would be more economically efficient than the International Space Station and use 'more data', he said. China will launch a 'core module' for the station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort. Advertisement

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with the Tiangong 1.

Its successor, Tiangong 2, lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 PM local time (1400 GMT) yesterday from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert.

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched some time next month.

The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the US to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon.

Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future.

China could start building its space station starting as early as next year, Xinhua quoted Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of the manned spaceflight programme, as saying.

China will launch a 'core module' for the station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2

'Once the lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station,' Zhou was quoted as saying.

The station would be more economically efficient than the International Space Station and use 'more data', he said.

China will launch a 'core module' for the station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

A source of enormous national pride, China's space program plans a total of 20 missions this year at a time when the US and other countries' programs are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.

The country plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020, attempting to recreate the success of the US Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the US and Russia.
House votes to halt Guantanamo detainee transfers

WASHINGTON (AP)  The House has passed legislation that would temporarily halt the transfer of more detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison.

The bill would bar the federal government from spending money on any Guantanamo prisoner transfers. The ban would last until the end of the calendar year, or until a bill authorizing defense funding is signed into law. It passed Thursday on a 244-174 vote.

The White House has said President Barack Obama would veto the legislation, arguing Guantanamo weakens national security by draining resources and emboldening violent extremists. About 60 prisoners are being held there, down from hundreds. The administration says transfers occur only after a rigorous review.
In 'Edge of Seventeen,' the debut of Brooks' latest protegee

TORONTO (AP)  About five years ago, screenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig was on her way out of a meeting with James L. Brooks about a script she had written. Before she left, she turned around and said, "Nobody will ever work harder than I will."

Brooks, whose credits run from "Taxi" to "Terms of Endearment," ''Broadcast News" to "The Simpsons," was struck by the moment. As he had for Wes Anderson and Cameron Crowe, he decided to mentor Craig. And they eventually turned that script into the Toronto International Film Festival's closing night movie, "Edge of Seventeen."

It's a coming-of-age comedy with a head-turning lead performance by Hailee Steinfeld ("True Grit") as a high-schooler plagued by a series of embarrassments, including her best friend (Haley Lu Richardson) dating her older brother (Blake Jenner). The film, which premieres Saturday in Toronto and opens in theaters Nov. 18, summons the spirit of a John Hughes film and gives the teen movie a refreshingly real, R-rated spin, capturing all of the age's awkwardness, self-doubt and quickly maturing smarts.

This image released by STX Films shows Hailee Steinfeld, left, and Hayden Szeto from the film, "The Edge of Seventeen." (Murray Close/STX Films via AP)

"It feels really good for people to watch it and say, 'Me too,'" says Craig, whose previously wrote the script for the little-seen 2009 comedy "Post Grad," starring Alexis Bledel. Brooks, who produced "Edge of Seventeen," didn't just want Craig to write the movie.

"When I sat down with him, one of the first things he said was, 'I think your voice is very specific so I think you should direct it,'" Craig recalls. "So I was like, 'Can you put that in writing?'"

But at Gracie Films, Brooks' production company, that's the modus operandi, one that differs considerably from Hollywood's typical development process.

"The whole idea of the very small company we have is: Writers are king," says Brooks. "Every writer who comes through is never rewritten. They usually direct. If they don't, they're active producers. That's the thing that makes sense for me. At three o'clock in the morning it's great if something makes sense for you."

Craig plunged into six months of research, interviewing teenagers about their daily lives. She even attended a high-school dance.

"When I went and interviewed all these kids, I asked them what movies depict your life accurately. Every single one of them said there aren't any," says Craig. "The process made me know I really wanted to pay respect to the messiness and the complicated nature of this age. It's funny but it's also painful."

In the second draft, Brooks saw "an important writer with a new voice," he says. They later set to casting the all-important part of Nadine Byrd, a rare blend of self-deprecation and confidence. They looked at, they say, 1,000 girls before being blown away by Steinfeld. Her sarcasm-laced rapport with Woody Harrelson, who plays an unimpressed teacher, is especially winning.

The final product, Brooks says, vindicated Craig's promise to him.

"I wanted it as an abstract. Kelly was born wanting it," says Brooks. "It's hard to get a passion, a labor of love, out of the system right now. It's not encouraged the way it was. So you're going uphill. And we were able to do it, bit by bit, crises all the time. She turned out to be the real deal, all the way."

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

This image released by STX Films shows Hailee Steinfeld, left, and Haley Lu Richardson from the film, "The Edge of Seventeen." (Murray Close/STX Films via AP)
Barrick suspends operations at mine in Argentina after leak

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)  Barrick Gold Corp. said on Thursday that it is temporarily suspending operations at its Veladero mine in Argentina following a new leak.

Argentine authorities fined Barrick $9.3 million earlier this year after a 2015 cyanide spill at the mine in the western province of San Juan.

The world's largest gold mining company said Thursday that the new leak took place on Sept. 8 when a pipe that carried process solution containing cyanide was damaged by a large block of ice that rolled down the heap leach valley.

The Canada-based company said "a small quantity of solution left the leach pad," without affecting watercourses. It said its employees, the community and the environment were not harmed.

Barrick told The Associated Press in an email late Thursday that Veladero's General Manager Rick Baker had stepped down from his post and would be replaced.

Veladero is located about 786 miles (1,265 kilometers) northwest of Buenos Aires at more than 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) above sea level. Barrick has forecast an annual mine output of 580,000-640,000 ounces of gold for 2016.

Last year, Barrick said a pipe carrying cyanide at Veladero had a valve failure that produced a leak into nearby waters. An investigation determined about 35,300 cubic feet (1,000 cubic meters) of liquid cyanide spilled.

Local judge Pablo Oritja suspended all operations and brought charges against nine current and former Barrick employees. But Oritja said Thursday that the new leak "should not be called a spill because it didn't reach the valley and there's no contamination."
Mexico: AG's investigations chief gets national security job

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The former head of investigations for the Mexican Attorney General's Office, who has been criticized for his handling of the case of 43 disappeared students, was named a national security adviser hours after he resigned his previous post.

A statement from the Interior Department late Wednesday announced that Tomas Zeron will be technical secretary for the National Security Council, a position appointed by and reporting directly to President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Zeron's dismissal had been demanded by the families of the 43 teachers' college students who disappeared in September 2014 after they were taken by local police in Iguala, in the southern state of Guerrero. They were allegedly handed over to a drug gang and slain, and have not been heard from since.

Relatives of 43 missing students from the Isidro Burgos Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa hold up their fists behind photos of their missing family members at a press conference in Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The former head of investigations for the Mexican Attorney General's Office, Tomas Zeron, who has been criticized for his handling of the case of the disappeared students, was named a national security adviser hours after he resigned his previous post. The students were in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014 to hijack buses to use for transportation to a rally in Mexico City when they were attacked on the buses by local police and allegedly handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Zeron was at the center of the government's widely criticized investigation, which has failed to definitively determine what happened to the students. Two independent teams of experts have cast doubt on its insistence that their bodies were incinerated in a huge fire at a trash dump.

Zeron oversaw the criminal investigation agency of the Attorney General's Office and also its forensic work.

Human rights activist Mario Patron said in an interview with Radio Formula on Thursday that Zeron's departure and subsequent appointment to the National Security Council appear to signal that he will be absolved of errors in the investigation of the disappearances.

"The political message surrounding his exit does not seem to us to be the most adequate," said Patron, director of the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center. "He is not leaving in order to make possible a profound investigation into the possible violation of the parents' right to the truth."

At a news conference Thursday in the Mexican capital, Mario Gonzalez, the father of one of the disappeared students, said families of continue to be frustrated with the investigation and suggested that officials have withheld evidence to protect unnamed persons.

"For us it is outrageous that when he has an open investigation they reward him with a higher position," Gonzalez said. "It is a mockery, but not only for the parents of the 43 but for all Mexicans."

The Interior Department statement said Zeron's appointment was "a recognition of his actions and responds to the experience and capability he has demonstrated in his previous positions."

The disappeared students attended the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa. They were in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014, to hijack buses to use for transportation to a rally in Mexico City. They were attacked on the buses by local police and allegedly handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.

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Memorial service set for girl, 6, who was stabbed to death

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  The 6-year-old girl whose father is charged with fatally stabbing her along the Blue Ridge Parkway had "an unforgettable smile" and much gratitude for a free pair of shoes that a church gave her, said the minister who will lead her weekend memorial service.

Lila Pickering "wears her joy and demonstrates such a visible gratitude," the Rev. Jeremy Woods said Thursday in a telephone interview, speaking of the girl in the present tense.

Woods is pastor of Biltmore Church, where a celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church's Asheville location. The church and the elementary school Lila attended sit beside each other.

In a Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo, Seth Willis Pickering, 36, appears with LeeAnn Melton, Buncombe County public defender, in Buncombe County Court in Ashland, NC. Pickering is charged first-degree murder in the death of his 6-year-old daughter, Lila Pickering. Pickering said he killed his daughter so that no one could take her from him again, a federal agent says in an affidavit. (Tonya Maxwell/Asheville Citizen-Times via AP)

Lila attended the church's fall festival last October and received one of 250 free pairs of shoes that the church donated in December to children attending the school, he said.

"It was a day when there was a lot of joy, a lot of energy," Woods said. "When I look back on that day, it warms my heart to know that we as a church had an opportunity to put a smile on her face."

Lila's father, 36-year-old Seth Willis Pickering, faces state and federal murder charges in her stabbing death on Sept. 9. He's being held without bond in the Buncombe County Jail with a federal court appearance scheduled for Oct. 5.

The Associated Press left messages for the public defender who represented Pickering in a first court appearance.

An affidavit filed by a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said two parkway rangers were approaching the father and daughter on an embankment when they saw her father stab Lila.

Pickering told the rangers that he killed his daughter because he didn't want anyone to take her away from him again, according to the court document.

"Now they will never be able to take her away from me," he said, according to the affidavit. It added that he also said something to the effect of "she's happier now ... it's what she wanted."

The child was stabbed in the heart, according to the autopsy.

Woods declined to comment on whether Lila was living with either of her parents last year. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that Lila had been in the temporary custody of caretakers for about a month amid a custody dispute between her parents. Her mother, Ashley, has moved to Florida and told the newspaper she was trying to get permission to move Lila there.

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Follow Martha Waggoner on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/martha-waggoner.
China's space lab Tiangong-2 roars into the air on the back of a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Sept. 15, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China on Thursday launched space lab Tiangong-2 into space, paving the way for a permanent space station the country plans to build around 2022.

In a cloud of brown smoke, Tiangong-2 roared into the air underneath a mid-autumn full moon from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the back of a Long March-2F rocket, trailing a vast volume of flame.

Once in space, the 8.6-tonne Tiangong-2 will maneuver itself into an orbit about 380 kilometers above Earth for initial on-orbit tests, Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, said on Wednesday.

The space lab will then transfer to a slightly higher orbit at about 393 kilometers above Earth, a height at which the future Chinese space station will be operating, before the Shenzhou-11 manned spaceship ferries two male astronauts into space to dock with the lab. The two astronauts will work in the lab for 30 days, before reentering Earth's atmosphere.

In April 2017, China's first cargo ship Tianzhou-1, which literally means "heavenly vessel," will also be sent into orbit to dock with the space lab and provide it with fuel and other supplies.

Wu said experts will verify and evaluate key technologies involved in on-orbit propellant resupply and equipment repairing, as well as those related to astronauts' long-term stay in space in the mission process.

They will also use the lab, which is designed to operate for at least two years, to conduct space science experiments on a relatively large scale compared with China's previous efforts.

China's manned space program has now entered a "new phase of application and development," Wu said.
Wife of Greek central bank head targeted in corruption probe

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  A Greek judiciary official says corruption prosecutors have raided the offices of a company run by the wife of the country's central bank governor, as part of a preliminary investigation into a company deal.

The official told the Associated Press documents were taken during Thursday's raid.

The official said Yiannis Stournaras' wife, Lina Nikolopoulou, runs a communications and marketing firm that was among a group of companies involved in a cancer awareness publicity drive organized by a public health body in 2011.

Campaign contracts are being investigated for potential corruption. Stournaras is not under investigation, and Nikolopoulou has denied wrongdoing.
EU Parliament chief: Trump win could boost 'imitators'

BERLIN (AP)  The president of the European Parliament says he fears that a victory in the U.S. presidential election for Donald Trump, whom he labels "apparently irresponsible," could boost what he calls "imitators" in Europe.

Martin Schulz, a member of Germany's center-left Social Democrats, told German magazine Der Spiegel in comments published Thursday that the Republican nominee is a problem "for the whole world."

Schulz was quoted as saying: "If a man sits in the White House who flirts with having no idea and labels expertise as elitist baloney, a critical point is reached." He said that would mean "an apparently irresponsible man" being in a position that requires the highest sense of responsibility.
Refugees seek damages from Macedonia over police expulsions

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Eight asylum seekers are taking legal action against Macedonia for expelling them back to Greece after a chaotic mass border crossing earlier this year.

The migrant advocacy group ProAsyl said it helped the group file a complaint Monday with the Council of Europe's Court of Human Rights.

Karl Kopp of the Frankfurt, Germany-based group said Thursday that the asylum seekers were from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. He did not disclose their names.

FILE - In this Monday, March 14, 2016 file photo, a woman cries as she crosses the river along with other migrants attempting to reach Macedonia on a route that would bypass the border fence, north of Idomeni, Greece. Eight asylum seekers are taking legal action against Macedonia for expelling them back to Greece after a chaotic mass border crossing earlier this year. The migrant advocacy group ProAsyl said it helped the group file a complaint Monday, Sept. 12 with the Council of Europe's Court of Human Rights. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, file)

"They know they will probably not see justice but if there is a (favorable) verdict, then it might help refugees in the future," Kopp told The Associated Press.

The March 14 incident occurred along a rugged stretch of the Greek-Macedonian border when hundreds of migrants and refugees who had forced their way across were detained and then expelled.

The migrants had been stranded at the sprawling tent city of Idomeni on the Greek side of the border. The expulsions signaled a shift across much of Europe toward a tougher line against refugees after more than a million had crossed into the European Union the previous year.

In hectic scenes seen on television internationally, Greek and overseas volunteers helped the migrants across a river  with many holding young children and their belongings over their heads.

"It was known as the 'march of hope' but it was really a march of despair," Kopp said. "We have not forgotten what happened. Our point is that violence was used and people were pushed back illegally. There were handicapped people there and others who were clearly in need of assistance."

Macedonia, which used its army to build a razor-wire fence along the border with Greece, has argued that it has the right to protect its borders and denies using excessive force.

The legal complaint was also supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, also based in Germany.

The plaintiffs, Kopp said, would be entitled to financial compensation if the court rules in their favor.

The camp at Idomeni was dismantled by Greek authorities in May, and its inhabitants were bused to army-built shelters.

___

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed. Follow Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos

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Iowa city scraps its news site that some saw as propaganda

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP)  The city of Davenport, Iowa, has pulled the plug on its taxpayer-funded news website, which faced a backlash from critics who called it propaganda but also won praise for its innovative approach to communications.

DavenportToday was credited with improving the city's online presence during its two-year run. But it was attacked by critics as an inappropriate jump into the media by government and a misuse of taxpayer money that could be better spent fighting fires and fixing potholes.

Davenport has recently taken down the site, which served as a public relations tool for the city of 100,000 residents at a cost of $178,000 annually. Two employees who produced stories and photos were laid off.

The site went beyond the city's traditional information role, bypassing established media and communicating directly with residents on a broad scope of topics. Staffers wrote about everything from road closings to business openings and high school sports.

Davenport was among the first U.S. governments to launch what it called a news site amid cutbacks in the newspaper industry. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence abandoned a proposal last year to create a similar website that would offer prewritten stories to the media, amid criticism that it would blur the line between government and an independent press.

Then-Davenport city administrator Craig Malin envisioned the site as a way to highlight good news that was ignored and give smartphone-using residents more access to information. He said he insisted on hiring journalists to write for the site  which also published Malin's emails and commentary and details about city expenditures  so it would have credibility.

"I'm proud of what we did but I am saddened that perhaps it was a little bit ahead of its time," said journalist Tory Brecht, who helped conceive of the site and was recently laid off. "I firmly believe in 5 to 10 years, many public entities are going to have something similar to this."

Experts do expect municipalities to create similar sites to control their own messages amid the changing media landscape.

"Why pitch it to a newspaper when you can develop the content yourself and have a more controlled media channel for your own purposes?" said Glen Cameron, a University of Missouri journalism professor. He called the Davenport effort a smart idea that may have gone too far in competing with local media.

Andrew Seaman, chairman of the Society for Professional Journalists' ethics committee, said government-funded news sites may contain accurate information, but they don't examine themselves critically. "They're simply press releases with a fresh coat of paint," he said.

DavenportToday didn't shy away from bad news: One of its first stories explained how the city's public works department accidentally killed a dog. But the site more often featured positive stories, particularly about the revival of the city's once-shabby downtown.

DavenportToday weathered an initial wave of criticism, including Quad-City Times editorials attacking the plan as a misguided overreach.

It won awards last year from 3CMA  the City-County Communications and Marketing Association, a group for local government professionals  for its innovation and excellence. Judges hailed its colorful design, eye-catching images and clear writing, calling it "one of the most creative and engaging websites we have seen!"

"From an engagement perspective, the numbers on it were just staggering," said Mike Vondran, CEO of TAG Communications, which helped develop the site and was puzzled by the decision to scrap it.

The site was left with few defenders after Malin resigned last year, ending his 14-ytear tenure as city administrator. Malin said the site faced intense opposition because some viewed it as unfair competition for established media. He said staff should never have referred to it as news, calling it a "media resource" that encouraged open government.

The city decided earlier this year that it would rather have "one comprehensive city website" in the interest of efficiency, spokeswoman Jennifer Nahra said. Davenport has signed a $68,000 contract with a firm to develop a more traditional municipal site that will launch soon.

That move was praised by Mark Ridolfi, former opinion editor of the Times, who said it would save money for essential city functions such as parks and public safety. He said the city "spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to stumble into a very complex and rapidly changing business."

The closure of DavenportToday "was a real blow" to photographer Darryl Cross, who was laid off. Cross had taken thousands of photos for the site, even using drones to capture images of the city.

"We were reporting on the planes that land. Local media like to report on planes that crash," Cross said. "This was a positive trend that I thought would keep going and going. But there's some people that want to keep things the way they were."

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Prosecutor explains sentence for Iowa child sex assault

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP)  A prosecutor in the case of an Iowa teen who was given a suspended 10-year prison sentence for molesting a 1-year-old girl said Thursday that the teen was duped into the act by child pornographers posing online as a teenage girl.

The suspended sentence for Kraigen Grooms, 19, issued Monday has stirred outrage on social media and led to an online petition calling for an Iowa judge's removal.

But Wapellow County Attorney Gary Oldenburger said Grooms' sentence was part of a plea agreement based on a bevy of factors, including that the victim's parents refused to participate in prosecuting Grooms.

"My original intent was to send him to prison for a long time," Oldenburger said. "The girl's parents didn't want Grooms to go to prison; they wanted him to go to rehab."

Court records show that Grooms  who was 16 when the crime occurred  received a 10-year suspended sentence and five years of supervised release. He was given credit for nearly 2 years spent in a juvenile detention center and, later, adult county jail while he awaited trial. He must register as a sex offender and faces prison time if he reoffends.

Oldenburger said the toddler was not raped or physically harmed; the prosecutor told the Des Moines Register that Grooms was masturbating in the video. He also said Grooms did not know the abuse was being recorded by pornographers.

The pornographers tried to persuade Grooms to commit additional abuse, Oldenburger said, but Grooms didn't. A psychologist found Grooms was unlikely to commit sexual abuse in the future.

Grooms' actions came to light after federal authorities tracked down the pornographers  one in New Orleans and the other in Ireland, Oldenburger said.

"The abuse was committed at the behest of two men who had, over a long period of time, perfected the technique for duping children into committing sexual acts that they would not have otherwise engaged in," Oldenburger said. "They were so skillful and so persuasive in their efforts that they successfully convinced hundreds of children to engage in sexual activity while they surreptitiously recorded it."

While District Judge Randy DeGeest presided over Monday's sentencing, another judge, Myron Gookin, accepted the plea agreement in July. Either had discretion to reject the plea deal and sentence him to prison, Oldenburger said.

A court spokesman told The Associated Press on Thursday that neither of the judges could comment on the case.

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Kosovo brings terror, hate charges against 4 Albanian imams

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP)  A Kosovo prosecutor has charged five ethnic Albanians, including four imams, with crimes that include carrying out terrorist acts and inciting hatred.

The national Prosecutor General's office said in a statement Thursday said that a special prosecutor has accused two of the Muslim leaders of committing terrorist acts and the two others of inciting national, racial, religious or ethnic hatred.

The statement did not detail the alleged activities that led to the charges, but said the most serious charges would be punishable by up to eight years in prison.

Authorities say no Kosovo citizen has joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq this year, although about 70 still are believed to be active there.
The Latest: Florida A&M picks Robinson as interim President

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)  The Latest on the Board of Trustees hearing at Florida A&M University on the future of President Elmira Mangum (all times local):

11:40 a.m.

Larry Robinson will again serve as the interim President at Florida A&M University.

The FAMU board approved Robinson shortly after voting on Thursday to approve an exit agreement between the attorneys for former President Elmira Mangum and the university.

Robinson, who is a distinguished professor at the university's School of the Environment, was the interim President from July 2012 to April 2014.

Robinson helped FAMU through the immediate fallout after the November 2011 hazing death of Marching 100 band member Robert Champion of Decatur, Georgia.

____

11:25 a.m.

The person hired to steer Florida A&M University after the fallout of the November 2011 hazing death of a school marching band member from Georgia is stepping down.

The FAMU board voted 10-1 Thursday to approve an exit agreement negotiated between the attorneys for President Elmira Mangum and the university.

Under the agreement, Mangum will continue to receive her $425,000 annual salary through March 31. At that point, she becomes eligible for a yearlong sabbatical and would have the option to return to the university as a tenured professor.

Following the vote, Mangum agreed with the decision and said that she believes it's clear there was no way forward.

University trustees earlier this year refused to extend Mangum's current contract.

Mangum's two years have been turbulent and marred by power struggles with trustees. The former Cornell University official grappled with the politics of running a public university in Florida and was nearly fired in 2015.

____

3:50 a.m.

Florida A&M University President Elmira Mangum is on the verge of getting ousted from her job.

The FAMU board is expected to vote Thursday on whether to ask Mangum to step down as president immediately.

Under a proposal worked out with Mangum's attorney, she would continue to receive her $425,000 a year salary as president until March 31 of next year. Mangum would then be eligible for a year-long sabbatical and would have the option to return to the university as a tenured professor.

University trustees earlier this year refused to extend Mangum's current contract.
IMF approves $1B loan to Ukraine after yearlong delay

WASHINGTON (AP)  The International Monetary Fund has approved a $1 billion loan disbursement for Ukraine, after a yearlong delay amid concerns about corruption and the slow pace of reforms in the war-scarred ex-Soviet nation.

The money is part of a $17.5 billion IMF loan program that is meant to boost the Ukrainian economy, which is slowly emerging from a recession, and strengthen the local currency. The economy has suffered from a military conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 9,500 lives, sent some 2 million people fleeing their homes and destroyed vital infrastructure.

The disbursement fell short of $1.7 billion that was promised earlier. Announcing the decision Wednesday evening, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that a firm commitment to fiscal, banking and structural reforms is necessary.

"Determined policy implementation ... remains critical to achieve program objectives, given the significant challenges ahead," Lagarde said in a statement. "A sustainable recovery requires completing the structural transformation of the economy, where much remains to be done, including combating corruption and improving governance."

In Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hailed the decision as evidence that "Ukraine is undergoing deep and positive changes and the country is moving in the right direction."
D-Day flag brought to Dutch military museum by way of Texas

SOESTERBERG, Netherlands (AP)  An American flag that flew on the stern of the boat that carried the first U.S. troops to Utah Beach on D-Day traveled by Chinook helicopter on Thursday to its new temporary home at the Netherlands' National Military Museum.

The fragile flag was greeted by an honor guard and dignitaries that included a group of American World War II veterans.

Dutch businessman Bertram Kreuk, who bought the 48-star flag at an auction in Texas for $514,000, has loaned it to the museum.

World War II veterans sit behind an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 after it arrived at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the flag "should remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted."

The Dallas-based auction house that arranged the flag's sale in June says the banner bears a bullet hole that is believed to have come from a German machine gun.

D-Day marks the date during World War II when Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

The museum plans to display the flag until the end of the year as part of an exhibit devoted to the D-Day landings and the symbolism of the American flag.

A World War II veteran adjusts his medals prior to the arrival ceremony for an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

John MacLeod, a ninety-three-year-old World War II veteran from Toronto, Canada, sits behind an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 after it arrived at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

An American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 is carried out of a Chinook helicopter as it arrives at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch Defense Minster Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert receives an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Army dismisses Texas brigade leader for multiple violations

EL PASO, Texas (AP)  A brigade commander who oversaw 4,000 soldiers at a Texas post has been relieved of his duties after an Army investigation found violations of sexual harassment and other policies.

Fort Bliss officials announced this week that Col. Earl Higgins Jr. was reassigned to administrative duties following an investigation that lasted several weeks.

Higgins commanded the 1st Brigade Combat Team, one of six brigades under the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss.

Officials said in a statement Thursday that there were no allegations of inappropriate physical contact by Higgins, but that he used inappropriate sexual language and consequently created a hostile work environment.

The statement also said he failed to treat subordinates respectfully. Officials declined any further comment.
Carter urges faith leaders to combat 'resurgence of racism'

ATLANTA (AP)  Jimmy Carter says the United States is experiencing a "resurgence of racism" and he's calling on Baptist faith leaders to foster change in their churches and communities.

The former U.S. president spoke Thursday at a summit hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, which he convened in 2007 to unite Baptists of different races, ethnicities and theologies. Carter's keynote address came during a three-day meeting in Atlanta aimed at creating partnerships between black and white churches to work together on pressing issues in their community.

Before Carter spoke, leaders of two Baptist churches in Macon, Georgia, located less than a block apart but split by race, discussed their congregations' partnership. Carter called such relationships "a very powerful potential weapon to set an example not just among Baptists, not just among churches, but in communities."

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks at a Baptist conference in Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Carter says the United States is experiencing 'a resurgence of racism' and called on Baptist faith leaders to lead change in their communities. The former U.S. president spoke Thursday at a summit hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, an effort he formed in 2007 to unite Baptists. Carter says some white Americans stay quiet when they see racism or discrimination, fearful of losing a 'position of privilege' in society. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Carter said some white Americans stay quiet when they see discrimination or segregation, fearful of losing a "privileged" position in society. He said that amounts to acceptance of "discrimination and animosity and hatred and division."

Carter, a lifelong Baptist, often spoke about his faith during his political career. Now 91, he continues to teach Sunday school several times a month at a church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

Carter said he wanted the event to stay nonpolitical, but described "some degree of embarrassment" about the ongoing presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. He said Americans' multiple races, ethnicities and religions form "a beautiful mosaic" and said the country has been "resilient" following other periods of deep division, including the Civil War.

"I think there will be a positive reaction after this election," Carter said. "I pray it will come out a certain way, but I think there will be a lot of lessons learned. And I think the average person in America now will be looking at how to do better things, how to have a superb American policy on peace and human rights and other aspects of life. I think we'll raise our standards as a public and I believe our next president will accommodate that inclination."

Carter said 22 members of his family are registered to vote, adding: "We'll all vote the same way."

"They have inherited some genes or something that causes them to look with favor on the New Baptist Covenant and on one of the parties," Carter said with a smile, drawing laughter from the audience.

Audience members listen as former President Jimmy Carter speaks at a Baptist conference in Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Carter says the United States is experiencing 'a resurgence of racism' and called on Baptist faith leaders to lead change in their communities. The former U.S. president spoke Thursday at a summit hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, an effort he formed in 2007 to unite Baptists. Carter says some white Americans stay quiet when they see racism or discrimination, fearful of losing a 'position of privilege' in society. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks at a Baptist conference in Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Carter says the United States is experiencing 'a resurgence of racism' and called on Baptist faith leaders to lead change in their communities. The former U.S. president spoke Thursday at a summit hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, an effort he formed in 2007 to unite Baptists. Carter says some white Americans stay quiet when they see racism or discrimination, fearful of losing a 'position of privilege' in society. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks at a Baptist conference in Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Carter says the United States is experiencing 'a resurgence of racism' and called on Baptist faith leaders to lead change in their communities. The former U.S. president spoke Thursday at a summit hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, an effort he formed in 2007 to unite Baptists. Carter says some white Americans stay quiet when they see racism or discrimination, fearful of losing a 'position of privilege' in society. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Arab Israeli charged with killing mother in 'honor killing'

JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli police say a man from an Arab village in the north of the country has been indicted for fatally shooting his mother in a case of so-called "honor killing."

Spokeswoman Luba Samri says the 23-year-old man, a member of Israel's Arab minority, shot his 46-year-old mother six times at close range in July.

Samri said on Thursday that the son suspected "his mother was behaving contrary to the accepted norms in their society."

Arab women in conservative Muslim communities have been murdered in the past by their relatives for conduct perceived as besmirching their family's honor.
President's son, brother barred from leaving Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  A judge in Guatemala has barred a son and brother of President Jimmy Morales from leaving the country due to an investigation into possible corruption.

The order applies to son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin and brother Samuel Everardo Morales.

Prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval told The Associated Press on Thursday that the measure seeks to ensure both are subject to the country's justice system.

In this Oct. 17, 2015 photo, Samuel Everardo Morales, the brother of Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales, arrives to a campaign rally in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. A judge has barred the president son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin, and his brother Samuel, from leaving the country. They are under investigation for possible corruption . (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

On Tuesday, Morales said the two had made statements to prosecutors investigating alleged misappropriation of funds.

They are suspected of presenting false bills for reimbursement favoring the restaurant of one of the financial backers of the political party that carried Morales to office.

Morales Marroquin hasn't commented publicly. Everardo Morales has made brief declarations to local media saying the situation will be resolved.

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2016, file photo, Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales arrives for his inauguration ceremony at the National Theater in Guatemala City. The son and brother of Morales have made statements to prosecutors investigating the misappropriation of funds, on Tuesday, Sept. 13. President Morales says both made their statement in person at the Attorney General's Office. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)

In this Oct. 17, 2015 photo, Samuel Everardo Morales, the brother of Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales, arrives to a campaign rally in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. A judge has barred the president's son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin, and his brother Samuel, from leaving the country. They are under investigation for possible corruption . (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Dalai Lama hints at EU-like arrangement for Tibet, China

PARIS (AP)  The Dalai Lama has praised the European Union for preserving national cultures while pursuing collective goals, suggesting it could be a model for Tibet within China.

On a tour of Europe, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said Thursday: "We are very much impressed by the spirit of the European Union - independent, sort-of sovereign states" in which "the common interest is more important."

It was rare praise for a bloc struggling for unity after Britain's vote to leave.

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama offers a sweet to a person, during a press conference , in Paris, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. The Dalai Lama says there should be dialogue with Islamic State extremists to end bloodshed in Syria and Iraq, and argues that religion is never a justification for bloodshed. The spiritual leader is on a six day visit to France. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile are seeking autonomy for Tibet but not independence.
A day in New Haven: Art, bells and of course pizza

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)  You don't have to go to Yale to have fun in New Haven. Best of all, you don't have to pay Ivy League tuition prices. New Haven has lots of top-notch free attractions, from art museums to carillon concerts  though you will have to pay to try the city's famous pizza.

___

MUSEUMS

This undated photo provided by Yale University shows leaves with fall foliage on the New Haven Town Green in New Haven, Connecticut. The site is a National Historic Landmark and was part of a grid of squares laid out centuries ago by the citys earliest settlers. (Michael Marsland/Yale University via AP)

There are two outstanding art museums near campus. At 1111 Chapel St., the Yale University Art Gallery's collection includes Joseph Stella's kaleidoscopic "Brooklyn Bridge," Van Gogh's desolate "Night Cafe," a Yosemite landscape by Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Hart Benton's "Weighing Cotton," a 1939 depiction of African-American children and others in a field with bags of harvested cotton resembling bleached bones.

The Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., offers works going back centuries, from portraits and landscapes, including masterpieces by J.M.W. Turner, to exotic depictions of Britain's far-flung colonial empire. An exciting contemporary gallery features artists like Damien Hirst and David Hockney. Through Dec. 11, contemporary exhibitions include a show themed on Britain's colonial legacy by British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, who uses wax-printed fabric as a symbol of global trade and imperialism. Shonibare's work is paired with art by other Brits exploring racial identity, including Chris Ofili's etchings of black men in feathered ruffs.

Also on Chapel Street, The Study at Yale boutique hotel offers stylish accommodations.

___

ARCHITECTURE

Both art museums are housed in important modernist buildings by famed architect Louis Kahn with sleek glass and steel exteriors. The gallery's lobby ceiling is composed of complex tetrahedron shapes, while the British museum galleries are suffused with natural light.

Another stunning building, the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., just reopened after renovations. Inside, light filters serenely through marble panels, softly illuminating the colored stone's veins. A six-story glass tower houses thousands of antique volumes. Exhibits include a Gutenberg Bible and Audubon's "Birds of America."

In contrast to these modern structures, most campus buildings are Gothic-revival style, with towers, turrets and arches. Depending on your frame of reference, they'll remind you of Harry Potter or Oxford.

___

BELLS

Yale's Guild of Carillonneurs plays everything from hymns to Broadway tunes on the 54 bells inside Harkness Tower. The magical tones ring out from the tower at 74 High St. twice daily, for a half-hour at 12:30 p.m. and an hour at 5:30 p.m. Request a tower tour at http://www.yalecarillon.org .

___

FOOD

New Haven is famous for pizza, with a longtime rivalry between Sally's Apizza, 237 Wooster St., and Frank Pepe, 157 Wooster. Pepe's opens at 11 a.m., Sally's at 4 p.m., so you can sample both in one day. Both serve delicious thin-crust pizza made in coal-fired ovens, and both offer tomato pies as well as regular mozzarella cheese pizza (small pies, $9). Pepe's is a bit spiffier than Sally's and also serves an excellent salad of seasonal greens. Students like Yorkside Pizza, which is closer to campus, 288 York St.

New Haven has lots of metered street parking, but watch where you park on Wooster Street. I didn't notice signs requiring residential permits, and got a $30 ticket near Sally's.

Other popular eateries include Claire's Corner Copia, a vegetarian cafe, 1000 Chapel St.; Union League Cafe, a French restaurant, 1032 Chapel St.; and Miya's Sushi, 68 Howe St., whose chef is a James Beard-award nominee.

Louis Lunch, 263 Crown St., originated as a lunch wagon in 1895 and was recognized by the Library of Congress as the U.S. birthplace of the hamburger. Burgers are cooked medium-rare in antique cast-iron gas grills, served on white toast.

I'd heard that Louis doesn't have ketchup, but just in case, I asked if I could get ketchup with a to-go order.

"It's in the bag," the counterman said.

"So it's a myth that you don't have ketchup?" I asked.

"It's not in the bag," he admitted. "But I didn't want to yell at you."

It wasn't in the bag.

___

HISTORY

The Puritans founded New Haven in 1638 and laid the city out on a grid with nine squares. The central commons, New Haven Green, is a downtown park and National Historic Landmark. Yale has been here since 1718.

The Grove Street Cemetery, 227 Grove St., (open 9 a.m., last entry 3:30 p.m.), dates to 1796. Many old stones bear no inscription, the words worn away over time. Notables buried here include Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin. A white marker memorializes several Africans who died in New Haven after being imprisoned for a rebellion and takeover of the Amistad slave ship in 1839.

Slavery's legacy is still shaking things up in New Haven. You may encounter student protesters asking Yale to change the name of Calhoun College because alumnus John C. Calhoun was a strong defender of slavery.

___

EAST ROCK PARK

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, a tower near the summit of East Rock Park, can be seen from all over New Haven. The 1887 tower honors those who died in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.

East Rock Park is a heavily wooded park and is popular with runners and bikers. Hikers use Giant Steps Trail to reach the summit. But you can also drive up for a panoramic view of New Haven all the way to the waters of Long Island Sound.

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows a pizza at Frank Pepe, a famous pizzeria in New Haven, Conn., known for thin crust pies made in a coal-fired oven. The city has several other popular pizzerias including Sallys Apizza and Yorkside. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in East Rock Park, New Haven, Conn. The tower, erected in 1887, honors the dead from four wars. The monument near the summit of the park can be seen from all over New Haven. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The building is known for its serene interior, with marble panels that filter light and a glass tower filled with antique books. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows hamburgers waiting to be cooked at Louis Lunch, a longtime eatery in New Haven, Connecticut, that began as a lunchwagon in the 1890s. Burgers are made on an antique gas grill and the restaurant does not serve ketchup. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows Harkness Tower on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn. A carillon concert is given twice daily at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. with the towers 54 bells ringing out music ranging from hymns to Elton John and Broadway tunes. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows the exterior of Louis Lunch, a longtime eatery in New Haven, Conn. Louis was recognized by the Library of Congress as the U.S. birthplace of the hamburger. Burgers are made on a small gas grill and the restaurant does not serve ketchup. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This April 28, 2016 photo released by Yale University shows the Long Gallery on the fourth floor of the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Conn. The museum reopened to the public in May after a lengthy project to restore the building's interior. (Richard Caspole/Yale University via AP)

This Sept. 9, 2016 photo shows the historic Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut. Some of the gravestones are so old, the inscriptions have been worn away. Others memorialize people who died before the cemetery opened in 1796, who were buried elsewhere and re-interred at Grove Street. The cemetery also has a marker memorializing several Africans who were aboard the Amistad slave ship, which was taken over by its captives in 1839. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

This undated photo provided by Yale University shows autumn leaves on the trees beneath the summit of East Rock Park in New Haven, Conn. Atop the cliff sits Soldiers & Sailors Monument, which can be seen from all over the city. You can drive to the summit for a panoramic view of New Haven that stretches all the way to the waters of Long Island Sound. (Michael Marsland/Yale University via AP)
Republican deal averts vote on impeaching head of IRS

WASHINGTON (AP)  A last-minute deal between conservatives and GOP leaders in the House averted votes expected Thursday on a measure to impeach the commissioner of the IRS.

Instead, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will testify before Congress next week.

The conservative House Freedom Caucus celebrated the development as a victory, as conservatives had long pushed GOP leaders for impeachment hearings against Koskinen. They accuse him of obstructing a congressional investigation into the treatment of tea party groups seeking tax exemptions.

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. A last-minute deal between conservatives and GOP leaders in the House has averted votes expected Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 on a measure to impeach John Koskinen, the commissioner of the IRS. Instead, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will testify before Congress next week. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

But the agreement canceling the votes came only after conservatives themselves predicted that their impeachment resolution was going to get sidelined by Democratic and Republican opposition Thursday. So instead they settled for a hearing next Wednesday, which would result in an impeachment vote only after the November presidential election, if ever.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin welcomed the resolution, telling journalists Thursday that it "was a good way to work things out." Neither Ryan nor other House GOP leaders had embraced the impeachment push, but Ryan, who needs to maintain conservative support, had also avoided publicly criticizing the move.

"I think it's a win-win for everybody," said GOP Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana, a ringleader of the impeachment effort. "And ultimately, we get the hearing, we get the information, and hopefully we'll have more disclosures that tell us it's important to go ahead and end this man's tenure as head of the IRS."

However, it would take only one aggrieved conservative to revive the impeachment on the House floor, so the deal does not definitively rule out a vote before the election.

Koskinen has disputed the allegations against him in private meetings with House Republicans in recent days, while in public,the agency insisted Wednesday that he "remains focused on the critical work needed for the nation's tax system."

Some Republicans, while critical of Koskinen's conduct, questioned whether it amounted to the constitutional standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors." They worried about setting a bad precedent in pursuing the impeachment claim, especially just ahead of the election. The original conduct the House was investigating, related to how tea party groups were dealt with by the IRS, happened before Koskinen's tenure.

Already this week, President Barack Obama had seized on the issue to ridicule the GOP-led Congress, calling the impeachment push "crazy."

Because House Republican leadership had balked on moving forward on impeachment proceedings, the Freedom Caucus had used a procedural maneuver that would have forced a floor vote Thursday. But Freedom Caucus members themselves were predicting earlier Wednesday that their resolution would end up getting tabled, which would effectively have killed it.

"The table motion will prevail; at least, that's my expectation," Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina said before the vote was canceled.

Yet going after Koskinen and the IRS was popular with many conservatives frustrated in their attempts to hold administration officials to account, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, over the eight years of Barack Obama's presidency.
goddess or an older woman with high status

it is fully intact and made of stone, not clay

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare stone figurine of a woman at a dig in Turkey's central province of Konya.

The woman, with her sagging breasts and belly, is thought to represent either a fertility 'mother goddess' or an older woman who has achieved high status.

An expert says the figurine, dating back 8,000 years, is one of only handful of statuettes of the era ever found in one piece.

Archaeologists have uncovered a rare stone figurine of a woman at a dig in Turkey's central province of Konya. The woman, with her sagging breasts and belly, is thought to represent either a fertility 'mother goddess' or an older women who have achieved high status

THE SITE OF CATALHOYUK Catalhoyuk is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Established around 7,000 BC, it was home to 5,000 people living in mud brick and plaster houses. Their buildings were crammed so tightly together, the inhabitants clambered over the roofs and used ladders to get into their homes. The town dwellers were early farmers who had domesticated a handful of plants and kept wild cattle for meat and milk. Cattle horns were incorporated into the walls of their homes. The town contains the oldest murals - paintings on plastered walls. Unlike later towns, there is no obvious hierarchy - no homes for priests or leaders, no temples and no public spaces. The dead were buried in spaces under homes, rather than in cemeteries. Some researchers believe it was an equalitarian society. The town survived for around 2,000 years. It is not known what happened to its inhabitants, but they may have been killed by invaders or driven away by the loss of nearby farmland. Advertisement

By 2009, nearly 2,000 figurines had been unearthed at the site in Catalhoyuk, Turkey.

Made by Neolithic farmers thousands of years before the creation of the pyramids or Stonehenge, the figurines tend to depict tiny cattle, crude sheep and curvaceous people.

But Stanford University Professor Ian Hodder told the Associated Press this one is unique because it is carved from stone, unlike most which are made from clay.

Its excellent condition and craftsmanship also set it apart, he said.

The 7-inch (17-cm) figurine weighs in at 2.2 pounds (one kilogram).

Experts think they could be representatives of animals the people were dealing with.

They may also have been teaching aides.

But unlike others found in garbage pits, Professor Hodder said this figurine was found beneath a platform along with a piece of dark rock called obsidian, which suggests it may have been placed there as part of some fertility ritual.

In the 1960s, some researchers claimed the more rotund figures were of a mysterious large breasted and big bellied 'mother goddess', prompting a feminist tourism industry that thrives today.

However, Professor Hodder cites newer theories that suggest this object represents older women who have achieved status.

'The new figurine certainly suggests such an interpretation with its sagging breasts and belly,' he said.

By 2009, nearly 2,000 figurines had been unearthed at the site in Catalhoyuk, Turkey. Made by Neolithic farmers thousands of years before the creation of the pyramids or Stonehenge, the figurines tend to depict tiny cattle, crude sheep and flabby people (pictured)

Catalhoyuk is in Turkey's central province of Konya (map pictured). The town dwellers were early farmers who had domesticated a handful of plants and kept wild cattle for meat and milk

Established around 7,000 BC, Catalhoyuk was home to 5,000 people living in mud brick and plaster houses. Their buildings were crammed so tightly together, the inhabitants clambered over the roofs and used ladders to get into their homes. Artist's impression pictured

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Catalhoyuk is one of the earliest cities uncovered and dates back nearly 9,000 years.

Catalhoyuk is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.

Established around 7,000 BC, it was home to 5,000 people living in mud brick and plaster houses.

Their buildings were crammed so tightly together, the inhabitants clambered over the roofs and used ladders to get into their homes.

The town dwellers were early farmers who had domesticated a handful of plants and kept wild cattle for meat and milk.

Cattle horns were incorporated into the walls of their homes.

The town contains the oldest murals - paintings on plastered walls. Unlike later towns, there is no obvious hierarchy - no homes for priests or leaders, no temples and no public spaces.

The dead were buried in spaces under homes, rather than in cemeteries.

Some researchers believe it was an equalitarian society.

The town survived for around 2,000 years. It is not known what happened to its inhabitants, but they may have been killed by invaders or driven away by the loss of nearby farmland.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Catalhoyuk is one of the earliest cities uncovered and dates back nearly 9,000 years. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Pictured is the site in 2013
US plans to shift military assets to Syria in Russia deal

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. military will have to shift surveillance aircraft from other regions and increase the number of intelligence analysts to coordinate attacks with Russia under the Syria cease-fire deal partly in order to target militants the U.S. has largely spared, senior officials say.

Senior defense and military officials told The Associated Press that they are sorting out how the U.S.-Russia military partnership will take shape and how that will change where U.S. equipment and people will be deployed. They said, however, that they will need to take assets from other parts of the world, because U.S. military leaders don't want to erode the current U.S.-led coalition campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

More military planners and targeting experts will be needed to identify and approve airstrikes against the al-Qaida-linked Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The U.S. has rarely bombed the group, previously known as the Nusra Front, and the targeting is trickier because the militants are often intermingled with other U.S.-backed Syrian rebels.

FILE - In this June 30, 2016 file photo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon. The U.S. military will have to shift surveillance aircraft from other regions and increase the number of intelligence analysts to coordinate attacks with Russia under the Syria cease-fire deal partly in order to target militants the U.S. has largely spared, senior officials say. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Making matters more complicated are U.S. military concerns about Russian targeting. Unlike the U.S., which uses precision-guided munitions, Moscow has predominantly used so-called dumb bombs in its airstrikes over Syria.

The Syria cease-fire deal struck by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is designed to pause the civil war so that the superpowers' militaries can be jointly concentrated against the Islamic extremist groups operating within the chaos on the ground. The concerns reflect the U.S. military's broader skepticism about partnering with Russia, which it says it distrusts.

Senior U.S. defense and military officials familiar with the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk about the matter publicly.

Under the deal, if the cease-fire holds for seven days and humanitarian deliveries are allowed into areas besieged by the Syrian army, the U.S. and Russia would set up a so-called Joint Implementation Center to focus on the militants and share basic targeting data.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner acknowledged the skepticism.

"I don't think that anyone in the U.S. government is necessarily taking at face value Russia's or certainly not the Syrian regime's commitment to this arrangement," Toner said. "I also think some of the comments from the Department of Defense were just about speaking to the fact that there's logistical challenges of setting up the JIC (joint center) and coordinating these airstrikes and that's going to require additional effort and additional time."

He added, however, "What really matters here is that the president of the United States supports this agreement, and our system of government works in such a way that everyone follows what the president says."

U.S. defense officials said they have begun working out some of the details, even though they are hamstrung by existing U.S. law that prohibits any military-to-military relations with Russia, as a result of Moscow's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter must submit a waiver to Congress along with a report detailing why military cooperation with Russia is necessary. U.S. officials said Carter hasn't done that yet, and he likely won't until the required cease-fire and humanitarian aid conditions are met for the seven days.

Until then, officials said the U.S. military team setting up the JIC will not be able to meet with their Russian counterparts. The U.S. officials laid out a number of questions that must be resolved before any targeting could start, including how much control either country may have over strikes taken by the other, how will the review process unfold, do either have a veto over any target, and who would be the final arbiter in any disagreements.

Other officials have said they believe there is no veto authority on either side, and that the U.S. would bear no responsibility if a Russian strike kills civilians. And they have made it clear that the U.S. would end the cooperation if Russia violates the agreement and kills civilians or U.S. allies.

A key question will be where the military will get the additional surveillance aircraft needed. Drones, in particular, are in high demand around the world, and commanders in volatile regions including Asia and the Middle East, won't be eager to give up theirs.

The U.S. hasn't targeted much in some portions of Syria, including around Aleppo and regions where al-Qaida-linked militants are centered. The additional surveillance and analysis will be needed to identify and vet those targets to ensure friendly forces and innocent people aren't mixed in.

Military officials said that even once the center is set up, airstrikes won't start happening immediately. They said it will take time to share and analyze the recommended target data and make certain that innocent civilians or allies aren't hit.

It can take weeks for a particular enemy target to get approved and added to the air tasking order that the U.S.-led coalition uses to assign airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

___

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
Philippines diplomat: Don't lecture us on human rights

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Philippines' top diplomat said Thursday it still regards the U.S. as a trusted ally but will not accept lectures on human rights as a condition for receiving American help.

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said, "We cannot ... forever be the little brown brothers of America," as he appealed for mutual respect between the allied nations.

Yasay sought to reassure an audience at a Washington think tank about Manila's commitment to positive relations with the United States, its former colonial power.

His address came amid strains in the relationship because of recent remarks by the Southeast Asian nation's new president, Rodrigo Duterte, who has waged a bloody war on the drug trade that has been criticized by the U.S. More than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed since he assumed the presidency in June.

Last week, President Barack Obama canceled a formal meeting with Duterte at a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders after he used the phrase "son of a bitch" in warning that he wouldn't accept lectures from Obama on human rights.

Yasay said the Philippine government would never condone unlawful killings. He said the Philippines shared the U.S. goal for full respect of human rights. He said Filipinos had fully understood about the sanctity of human life since before it was a U.S. colony and that was at the core of its struggle for independence.

"You do not go to the Philippines and say, 'I'm going to give you something, I'm going to help you develop and I'm going to help you grow but these are the checklist(s) that you must comply with. We will lecture you on human rights'," he told the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Yasay did not comment on testimony Thursday by a former Filipino militiaman before the Philippine Senate that Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

Yasay also sought to tamp down U.S. concern about statements from Duterte in the past week that suggested an intent to scale back in the U.S.-Philippine security alliance.

He said the Philippines is committed to a defense cooperation agreement signed by the previous government that will give the U.S. access to five Philippine military bases.

And while Duterte has taken steps to repair relations with China, Yasay also said Manila will only discuss their territorial dispute in the South China Sea with Beijing on the basis of a recent international tribunal ruling, supported by Washington. The tribunal found in Manila's favor and invalidated the legal basis of China's expansive claims.
French tax fraud trial portrays example of 'world plague'

PARIS (AP)  Prosecutors have asked a French court to send the country's former budget minister to prison for tax fraud and set an example of a necessary fight against a "world plague."

The two-week trial of Jerome Cahuzac on charges of tax fraud and money laundering ended Thursday in a Paris court. The judge set a December 8 date for the verdict.

During closing arguments, France's top financial prosecutor, Eliane Houlette, asked the court to sentence Cahuzac to three years in prison for inflicting a "major harm to France," ''tarnishing its image," ''withering its honor" and "making it the laughing stock of the entire world."

Former French budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac, center, with one of his lawyer Jean Veil, right, is escorted by French Gendarmes as he leaves the courthouse, in Paris, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. 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 prosecutor asked the judge Wednesday to sentence Cahuzac to three years in prison. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Cahuzac, a 64-year-old former cosmetic surgeon, is accused of hiding his wealth in tax havens around the world at the same time he was leading the government's fight against tax evasion. He was forced to resign in 2013.

The trial marked one of the biggest political scandals under Francois Hollande's presidency and came as France and many other countries have tried to crack down on foreign tax havens.

Cahuzac and his ex-wife, Patricia Menard, have acknowledged owning hidden and illegal foreign bank accounts for two decades. They have already paid 2.3 million euros ($2.6 million) in back taxes to French authorities.

Their hidden wealth in foreign bank accounts in Switzerland, Singapore and the British tax haven of the Isle of Man was estimated at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million) in 2013, assistant prosecutor Jean-Marc Toublanc said.

The value of their concealed assets likely was much higher because the money helped the couple finance a lavish lifestyle over the years, Toublanc said.

Branding tax evasion as a "world plague" and citing the Panama Papers scandal as a recent example, Toublanc called the Cahuzac spouses "among the biggest fraudsters" of whom French tax authorities are aware.

On trial in Paris alongside Cahuzac and his ex-wife were a banker, a legal adviser, and bank Reyl, a respectable but little-known Swiss establishment, all charged with money laundering.

During the trial, the former budget minister argued for the first time that he originally opened his Swiss account in 1992 to collect funds from drug companies. He said the money was to be used for illegal financing of a branch of the Socialist Party led by Michel Rocard, the former French prime minister who died in July.

However, Cahuzac did not provide any evidence for those claims.

After the first press reports that Cahuzac had a hidden foreign bank account surfaced in late 2012, Cahuzac publicly denied the allegations for months. He eventually admitted to the fraud in April 2013, saying he had been "trapped in a lying spiral." French law does not sanction perjury.

With the French presidential election less than eight months away, his trial revived voters' memories of the scandal that tarnished Hollande's mandate just a few months after the socialist president was elected in 2012, promising an "irreproachable" and "exemplary" republic. Hollande is widely expected to seek a second term next spring.

The Cahuzac scandal damaged Hollande's approval ratings, which took a 13-point dive during the first quarter of 2013.

During a summit in China earlier this month, representatives from the world's 20 leading economies asked the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to prepare a list by 2017 of countries that are aiding or refusing to crack down on tax evaders.

The European Union on Thursday released a first country-by-country assessment regarding the risk of tax evasion. The bloc's efforts are led by the EU's tax commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, a former French economy and finance minister who was Cahuzac's boss in the government.

Former French budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac leaves the courthouse, in Paris, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. 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 prosecutor asked the judge Wednesday to sentence Cahuzac to three years in prison. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Congo-based militia seizes 10 truckers from Tanzania, Kenya

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP)  Tanzania's government and a transport group say an armed group operating in eastern Congo has seized six Tanzanian and four Kenyan truck drivers and is seeking ransom.

Tanzania's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that it is working with Congo's government to secure the release of the Tanzanians.

Angelina Ngalula, who leads the Tanzania Truck Owners Association, says an armed group blocked 12 cargo trucks carrying cement between Tanzania and Congo on Wednesday, setting four trucks ablaze and seizing the drivers. Two of the 12 drivers escaped.

Ngalula says four of the truckers are from Kenya.

She says the armed group is demanding $4,000 per driver in ransom.
Brazil's Silva says prosecutors want to end his career

SAO PAULO (AP)  Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday blasted prosecutors who have accused him of masterminding a mammoth kickback scheme, saying they are politically motivated and simply want to keep him from running for office in 2018.

In an hour-long speech that often sounded more like a campaign event than a criminal defense, Silva said that opponents won't be able to stop or his left-leaning Workers' Party. As he has repeatedly insisted, Silva said that he was innocent and had nothing to do with a kickback scheme centered at state-oil company Petrobras.

"If they prove I was corrupt, I will turn myself in and be a prisoner," said Silva, who twice broke into tears while surrounded by supporters at a Sao Paulo hotel.

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2016 file photo, Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil. Federal investigators charged Lula with money laundering and corruption on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016 in connection with a sprawling corruption investigation at state-run oil giant Petrobras. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

After speaking, Silva did not take questions from reporters.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday accused Silva of being the "maximum commander" of the kickback scheme at Petrobras.

However, the actual charges were much more limited in scope. Silva, his wife and five others were charged with money laundering and corruption.

Silva is accused of benefiting from renovations at a beachfront apartment in the coastal city of Guaruja in Sao Paulo state. The improvements, valued at about $750,000, were made by construction company OAS, one of those involved in the kickback scheme emanating from Petrobras. Prosecutors also believe Silva benefited from OAS paying the rent of a storage unit to house gifts that Silva received while president.

Silva says he has visited the penthouse but never owned it.

The so-called Car Wash investigation has led to the jailing of dozens of businessmen and top politicians, including several with close ties to the Workers' Party. Prosecutors say that more than $2 billion in bribes were paid out in a graft scheme that shocked people in Brazil, a country that has long struggled with corruption.

Silva was president between 2003 and 2010, leaving office with approval ratings in the 80s. However, the Petrobras scandal, recession in Latin America's largest economy and political turmoil in recent years have hurt his reputation.

Silva's hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, was removed from office by the Senate last month for illegally shifting funds between budgets. Rousseff and Silva have argued that the impeachment push also was politically motivated, a way to weaken their Workers' Party.

"I'm proud to have created the most important left-wing party in Latin America," said Silva.

The next step will be for Sergio Moro, the judge overseeing the probe, to decide whether Silva will stand trial.

In a separate case related to Petrobras, Silva will go on trial on charges of obstruction of justice.
IRS raids Gotti mansion, NYC car-parts shop

NEW YORK (AP)  The Internal Revenue Service says it has raided a New York City car-parts shop and a Long Island mansion in an investigation involving relatives of the late mobster John Gotti.

IRS spokesman Gregory Tranchina and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to discuss details of the case Thursday.

The Old Westbury mansion was once the setting for the short-lived A&E realilty show "Growing Up Gotti." The show starred the Dapper Don's daughter, Victoria Gotti, and her three sons.

The Daily News (http://nydn.us/2cMb8gM ) says the sons run the Queens auto-parts shop that was raided Wednesday, along with the Long Island mansion.
NY regulators order full environmental review for pipeline

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  New York state regulators say a proposed dual pipeline from Albany to New Jersey oil refineries requires a full environmental review.

The Department of Environmental Conservation and the Thruway Authority announced its finding Wednesday, saying the Pilgrim Pipeline project has the potential for significant adverse impact on the environment and communities.

The pipelines would carry North Dakota crude oil to New Jersey refineries and return gasoline and other fuels to Albany.

Connecticut-based Pilgrim Holdings LLC says it's a safer alternative to Hudson River barge transport. Environmental groups and numerous communities oppose the pipelines, citing environmental and safety concerns.

About 79 percent of the project would lie within the New York State Thruway right of way.

A public comment period will be held to determine the scope of the environmental review.

___
Wyoming senior center shooter complained about poker games

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  A resident of a senior citizen apartment complex who shot three people, killing one before he killed himself, wrote a letter expressing concern about poker games in a common room, police said Thursday.

Cheyenne Police Department spokesman Dan Long called it a "letter of discontent" but did not provide more details about what Larry Rosenberg, 77, wrote before he opened fire at Heritage Court Apartments.

Detectives have not made conclusions about Rosenberg's motive but were looking into "longstanding animosity" between Rosenberg and the three victims before the shooting Wednesday in Wyoming's state capital, Long said.

A man killed by a shooter at a senior citizen apartment is covered by a sheet on a stretcher Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016 in Cheyenne, Wyo. A 77-year-old man living at the senior citizen apartment complex shot three people at the complex, killing one of them, and then killed himself nearby as officers closed in on him. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

The victim who died was identified Thursday as 45-year-old Matthew Wilson, a complex employee.

Building residents Gregory Gilbert, 65, and Larry Warwick, 74, were identified by Long as the victims who were wounded and taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Gilbert was in critical condition Thursday, said hospital spokeswoman Kathy Baker. Warwick was no longer listed in the hospital's directory of patients but Baker said she could not provide additional details.

Gilbert was one of the organizers of the poker games held three times a week that bothered some residents, said Mary Eastman, a resident who described Rosenberg as a friendly man who went with her to yard sales. Long said he could not immediately confirm that Gilbert had organized the games.

Rosenberg gave Eastman the letter on Wednesday before the shootings, just as she was leaving to go shopping, she said. She returned to find the complex had turned into a crime scene. She opened the letter later and gave it to police.

Rosenberg shot Wilson and Gilbert next to each other outside the complex and shot Warwick inside it, Long said.

He then fled on a bicycle and shot himself with a handgun as officers approached him about a mile away, Long said.

Rosenberg also had a rifle and "past contacts" with police but Long said he was unable to provide details about previous police interaction with him.

Detectives on Thursday were conducting additional interviews with apartment complex residents, Long said.

On Thursday, the common room where the poker games were held was empty, with country music playing at low volume.

Two flower bouquets had been placed on grass under an aspen tree near the spot where the two victims were shot outside the complex.

The apartment complex advertises online that it has 34 one-bedroom affordable units for households including at least one person 62 or older.

Telephone messages left seeking comment with the owner of the complex, Accessible Space Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota, were not returned.

___

Bob Moen in Cheyenne contributed to this report.

A Cheyenne Police officer guards an entrance to Heritage Court Apartments Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016 in northeast Cheyenne, Wyo. A 77-year-old man living at a senior citizen apartment complex shot three people at the complex Wednesday, killing one of them, and then killed himself nearby as officers closed in on him, police said. (Blaine McCartney/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

Police gather evidence at the scene where a man shot three people and killed himself at a senior citizen apartment in Cheyenne, Wyo., Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. A 77-year-old man living at the senior citizen apartment complex shot three people at the complex, killing one of them, and then killed himself nearby as officers closed in on him. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)
A woman photographed with her boyfriend slumped in a vehicle after overdosing on heroin as her 4-year-old grandson sat in the backseat has pleaded no contest to a child endangering charge in southeast Ohio.

A judge in East Liverpool on Thursday sentenced 50-year-old Rhonda Pasek to 180 days in jail and her boyfriend, James Acord, 47, received 360 days in jail last week after pleading no contest to child endangering and operating a vehicle under the influence.

While in court, Pasek, who wore a teal colored jail-issued jumpsuit and appeared solemn, withdrew her not-guilty plea to endangering children to plead no contest, which in this situation is 'essentially an admission of the elements of the crime of child endangering, to which she was found guilty,' WTOV reported.

Judge Melissa Byers Emmerling said: 'In regards to this matter, I've had an opportunity to review the case and I do find, Ms. Pasek, that this case does garner the maximum penalty this court can give you in the state of Ohio law.'

Pasek was granted custody of the child on July 25,2016, but he's now been placed in the care of a great aunt and uncle in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The child's mother, Reva McCullough, 25, revealed her anguish at seeing her son looking on in a daze as the adults who were taking care of him slump unconscious in their car.

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Rhonda Pasek (left) pleaded no contest to a child endangering charge in southeast Ohio after being photographed with her boyfriend James Acord (right) slumped in a vehicle after overdosing on heroin as her 4-year-old grandson sat in the backseat

Acord, 47, received 360 days in jail last week after pleading no contest to child endangering and operating a vehicle under the influence

While in court on Thursday in Ohio, Pasek (left) withdrew her not-guilty plea to endangering children

'I bawled for four days straight,' McCullough, who is a stripper, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. 'I want my boy back.'

Photos taken by East Liverpool police of Pasek and Acord went viral last week after being posted on Facebook.

The decision to release the unaltered picture that stunned the world, was made by three city officials in East Liverpool, Ohio: mayor Ryan Stovall, police chief John Lane, and service-safety director Brian Allen - and they all say the made the right call.

'If we hadn't, Rhonda Pasek would have received a slap on the wrist and that little boy would have gone back to her - that's not going to happen now,' Allen told DailyMail.com. 'I doubt she will see that child again.'

Pasek's attorney says her client is embarrassed by the international attention the photos have received and wanted the case over with.

Court papers obtained by DailyMail.com show the boy has been tossed around among warring relatives almost since birth.

The judge said that Pasek's case garners the 'maximum penalty' the court could give her in the state of Ohio law. Pasek is pictured above on Thursday in court

Pasek (left) was sentenced to 190 days in jail in court on Thursday. Her boyfriend, Jim Acord (right), has already been sentenced to two consecutive terms of 180 days in jail

McCullough, who admitted she did crack, lost custody of the boy in December 2012 about four and a half months before he was born because of her drug use.

The judge originally gave custody to his great grandparents, now in their mid-80s, but custody battles have involved his birth parents, a grandmother, a friend and two great aunts, living in a total of four different states.

DailyMail.com tracked McCullough down to Tiffany's Dolls, a 'gentleman's club' in the Youngstown suburb of North Lima, Ohio, where she dances under the name Mercedes.

Wearing nothing but heels, a minuscule G-string and a tiny black dress which didn't even skim her backside, she talked openly about the past drug use that led to her losing two of her three sons.

Tattoos of a fish and a cowboy boot adorn her torso.

When told that just hours before our meeting, her oldest son had been placed with her aunt, hundreds of miles away, she said: 'I didn't even know that.'

Reva McCullough, 25, said she wants her four-year-old son back after he was placed in the care of a great aunt in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They are pictured together after his birth

McCullough who now works at Tiffany's Dolls, a 'gentleman's club' says she no longer abuses crack cocaine or marijuana

DailyMail.com approached McCullough shortly before 2am on Tuesday. She appeared bright, intelligent and sober.

Sipping on a plastic cup of water, she said: 'I don't take drugs any more. I haven't even had a drink all night.

Alhough the boy's grandparents had full custody of the child, McCullough and Devon Pasek still were able to spend time with the child

'Ironically I have never taken heroin,' she said, but she admitted she had abused crack cocaine and marijuana for years.

'I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life,' added McCullough, who said she is now living in East Palestine, Ohio. 'I just went wild when I was 18.'

The picture of McCullough's son put a human face on the scourge of heroin that has attacked America's heartland for years.

In the five days that followed, East Liverpool, a town of 11,000 people, saw seven more overdoses and one death from heroin.

'And that's just what we know about through 911 calls,' said Allen.

In the same time period, a bad batch of heroin killed eight people and hospitalized dozens more in Akron.

In the picture, the boy is seen staring blankly as his grandmother, sits slumped and unconscious, a bra strap hanging down her arm while Acord is also slumbering with his head back and mouth open.

McCullough, a dancer at Tiffany's Dolls (pictured), said she doesn't use drugs anymore and that she's never taken heroin

The pair both live some 15 miles from East Liverpool, in New Manchester, West Virginia.

Acord told police that he was taking Pasek to the hospital in East Liverpool shortly after 3pm on September 7.

But he was spotted driving erratically by off-duty cop, Kevin Thompson, who pulled him over after he stopped behind a school bus.

Acord's head was 'bobbing back and forth, his speech was unintelligible', Thompson wrote in his report, adding that he also 'noted pin point pupils'.

Acord then attempted to drive off and Thompson reached into the SUV and took the keys.

McCullough and Devon Pasek have two sons together. The boy pictured in the police photo was born in Delaware in August, 2012, but within days his parents moved back to Ohio

'The driver eventually went completely unconscious. Rhonda Pasek was completely unconscious and turning blue,' wrote Thompson.

The decision to release the photograph, clearly showing the four-year-old's face, has ignited controversy.

Cops and East Liverpool city officials defend their action saying it was necessary to let everyone see his blank expression to depict the full horror of the heroin epidemic that has gripped the heartland.

DailyMail.com has pieced together all the strands surrounding the child's life, from court documents and interviews.

It shows how he has been passed around since the day he was born, long before the world became aware of his existence.
Actor Mark Wahlberg has ended his bid for a pardon for assaults he committed as a teenager in Massachusetts.

In 1988, a 16-year-old Wahlberg hit Thanh Lam in the head with a stick while trying to steal alcohol and punched Hoa Trinh in the face while trying to avoid police.

Wahlberg said he was high at the time and served about 45 days in jail.

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Actor Mark Wahlberg (pictured during the Toronto Film Festival on Tuesday) has ended his bid for a pardon for assaults he committed as a teenager in Massachusetts

He apologized and said he has dedicated himself to becoming a better person so he could be a role model and raised millions of dollars for charity.

His 2014 pardon application to the Governor of Massachusetts was met with sharp criticism.

Wahlberg did not respond to a letter asking if he wished to keep his petition open, so the matter has been closed, Massachusetts Parole Board spokesman Felix Browne said on Thursday.

'The Parole Board did not receive a response from Mr Wahlberg or a legal representative,' Browne said.

'The lack of response was effectively considered a withdrawal of the petition.'

Wahlberg as rapper Marky Mark in 1991, three years after he hit a Vietnamese man in the head with a stick while trying to steal alcohol and punched another in the face while trying to avoid police

Wahlberg, now 45, told reporters at the Toronto Film Festival this week that he regrets asking for the pardon.

'If I could've done it over again I would never have focused on that or applied,' Wahlberg said, according to The Boston Globe.

'I didn't need that. I spent 28 years righting the wrong. I didn't need a piece of paper to acknowledge it.

'I was kind of pushed into doing it. I certainly didn't need to or want to relive that stuff over again.'

However, he is grateful that the process allowed him to meet and apologize to one of his victims.

'Some good did come out of it,' he said.

Trinh previously told Mail Online he had no idea the man who attacked him in 1988 later became one of Hollywood's biggest names.

Hoa Trinh was assaulted by actor Mark Wahlberg in 1988. He told Mail Online until in 2014 he had no idea he was attacked by a celebrity

Trinh was grabbed by Wahlberg, who as fleeing another assault, then punched in the eye at the scene above

Trinh, a Vietnam war veteran who fought in the anti-Communist South Vietnamese Army alongside US forces, spoke for the first time to Mail Online about the brutal attack in a 2014 interview.

He dismissed reports the attack was so severe it left him blinded in one eye, revealing he had already lost his left eye after being injured during a grenade explosion during the Vietnam war.

Trinh, who changed his name to Johnny from Hoa after he emigrated to the US, also had said at the the time he would be willing to support Wahlberg's plea for a pardon.

He told Mail Online: 'He was young and reckless but I forgive him now.'

Walhberg, who grew up in the Dorchester section of Boston, started out as rapper Marky Mark and went on to star in movies such as Boogie Nights, The Departed, The Fighter and Ted.
UN chief calls Netanyahu ethnic cleansing comment outrageous

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that Palestinians want the "ethnic cleansing" of Jews in the West Bank "unacceptable and outrageous."

Ban told the U.N. Security Council that he wanted to be absolutely clear: "Settlements are illegal under international law."

In some of the strongest language he's used on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Ban said Israel's "stifling and oppressive" occupation of Palestinian territory "must end."

Israel's decades-long policy that has settled more than 500,000 Israelis in Palestinian territory "is diametrically opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state," he said. And the international community, including the Security Council, "views the expansion of settlements as an obstacle to peace."

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power was also critical saying the United States, which is Israel's closest ally, "strongly opposes continued Israeli settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace" and Israel's desire for a two-state solution.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon criticized Ban's "distorted view of the situation," saying "the obstacle to peace starts and ends with Palestinian incitement to terrorism" and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's refusal to meet with Netanyahu.

Instead of condemning Hamas, which controls Gaza, for building "terror tunnels," and ensuring that the Palestinians "end their incitement, the secretary-general chooses to condemn Israel on a regular basis," Danon said in a statement.

Ban was also critical of the Palestinians, saying he continues "to be appalled that Palestinian parties choose to praise despicable acts, such as the 1972 terrorist attack against Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics."

"The glorification of terror is disgraceful and the Palestinian leadership must put an end to it," the secretary-general said.

He expressed particular concern at the Palestinian High Court's decision last week to suspend all preparations for local elections in the West Bank and Gaza, which would be the first in over 10 years, to consider a petition to cancel the elections.

"Local elections in the West Bank and Gaza, if held in line with international standards, could provide an important renewal of Palestinian democracy and a first step towards advancing national unity," Ban said.

As for Gaza, he said that while there has been progress in the two years since the 2014 cease-fire with Israel, "Gaza remains under closures and is a ticking time bomb."

"Instability and the risk of violent escalation are ever-present," he said. "The continued arms build-up and militant activities by Hamas and other radical groups keep both sides of the border in a constant state of alert."

Ban said more than 1.3 million of Gaza's 1.9 million people need humanitarian assistance, and their continued deprivations "smother dreams and ambitions, and feed instability and extremism."

The secretary-general paid tribute again to Israel's former president Shimon Peres expressing hope for his speedy recovery from a stroke and praising his tireless work "in seeking peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
Senate approves inspector general for spy satellites agency

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Senate has approved President Barack Obama's nominee to be the top watchdog at the National Reconnaissance Office.

Senators voted 93-0 on Thursday to confirm Susan Gibson as the agency's inspector general.

The National Reconnaissance Office is in charge of designing, building, launching and maintaining America's spy satellites.

Gibson has been working as the principal deputy general counsel for the office of the director of national intelligence. She joined the office in 2005. Before that, Gibson spent more than two decades as an Army lawyer. She retired from military service as a colonel.
Gauging the effect of a foreign policy is a key step to formulate sound foreign policy, because only a proper assessment can help carry forward policies that are conducive to national interest and rectify those that are not. I'd like to share what I think of this, in the hope of facilitating the academics search for a consensus on proper assessment criteria.

National interest is the fundamental gauge

When we assess a foreign policy, we normally consider whether the policy has helped safeguard, realize and expand national interests. But when it comes to a specific policy, things other than national interest are often used in evaluation.

For instance, the reception protocol of a country's visiting leader is seen as very important for the visiting country -- sometimes so important that the level of protocol is used as a criterion of the diplomatic act. But as a matter of fact, the protocol is only a way of fulfilling the interest of the visited country or the country at the receiving end, not the interest of the visiting country.

There are various types of visits for foreign leaders in the United States, including state visits, official visits, working visits, private visits and so on. The decision of what protocol to use for the visiting foreign leaders depends on what the U.S. can obtain from the visit. Normally the U.S. gives better treatment to leaders from its allied countries than to those who are not.

Likewise, China also gives different treatment to visiting leaders, depending on whether the visit is conducive to China's national interest.

Realizing significant national interest at the expense of lesser interest

Foreign policy serves the interest of a nation, but it does not mean that it is cost-free. Hence when we evaluate a certain foreign policy, we need to compare the interest we gain and the cost we pay: If the benefit outweighs the cost, it means the policy is effective; if the benefit equals the cost, the policy is ineffective; and if the benefit is less than the cost, the policy fails.

We can assess two policies Japan adopted in the past.

Japan joined the U.S. in imposing sanctions against China in 1989, but it decided to lift the sanctions in 1991 when it reassessed the pros and cons of the policy. This angered the U.S., but relations between China and Japan improved and Japan was granted early entry into the Chinese market. The policy helped Japan expand its economic interest in China.

In 2012, Japan "nationalized" the controversial Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, which did not enhance Japan's interest there but on the contrary gave China more control. This policy failed.

Preventing loss of significant interest at the cost of lesser interest

In addition to gaining interest, a country sometimes needs to prevent the loss of significant interest at the expense of lesser interest. When we evaluate such policies, we need to examine the effect of other alternatives: If all the alternative policies perform worse than this policy, then this policy works best.

When the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Western countries advocated for sanctions against the Syrian government to stop it from using violence against opposition forces. This was supported by many Arab League countries but opposed by Russia. China had three options when it came to voting at the United Nations Security Council: First, abstaining in the vote, which would have attracted criticism against China for being irresponsible; second, following the West's decision, which would have won the support of the West and Arab League but irritated Russia. The third option was joining Russia in opposing the sanctions. This might have compromised China's international image, but could avoid damaging China-Russia ties. This is an example of preventing the loss of significant interest at the cost of lesser interest.

Now five years into the Syrian civil war, the international community has begun to recognize the fact that the opposition forces have caused humanitarian disasters and the migration crisis. China's veto decision has now been proved correct.

Power and policy goal

The power of a country is the basis of identifying national interest; goals that go beyond the power are not interest but illusion. When formulating foreign policy, the goals should be within the reach of a country's power.

Yan Xuetong is dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University.

The article was translated by Zhang Lulu from the original version published in Chinese.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Conditions in many older county jails are grim, dangerous

PRINEVILLE, Oregon (AP)  The noise in the tiny jail, built decades ago to house firefighting equipment, is constant. Voices bounce off the walls.

Nothing dissipates the dank smell. There's no natural light. Fluorescent bulbs give the green walls a sickly hue.

If a fire broke out, a jailer notes, each cell door must be unlocked individually and someone would have to run outside to unlock an emergency exit.

This July 1, 2016 photo shows a jail cell inside the decades-old Crook County Jail in Prineville, Ore. "It's pretty much a dungeon," prisoner Anthony Kinsey, jailed on methamphetamine charges, said over the phone. "There are four people in each cell; its real crowded. The toilet is right by your head." (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

"I personally think this is an embarrassment to our community," Sheriff John Gautney says of the 16-bunk Crook County Jail in central Oregon.

The county has put a $10 million proposal on the November ballot to build a new jail. But such measures are unpopular among voters.

Inadequate and unsafe jails are problems across the United States, with aging facilities holding an increasing number of people. They often operate independently with little to no oversight, experts say, and with reluctance to spend public money to build jails, it seems unlikely the decrepit structures will see a face-lift anytime soon.

"These are local issues that require local solutions, but the problem is national in its scope," said Laurie Garduque, director of justice reform at the MacArthur Foundation.

From 1970 to 2014, the average daily number of inmates held in the roughly 3,000 county jails in America increased four-fold, from 157,000 to 690,000, according to a report by the Vera Institute of Justice, which works with government and civil leaders to improve justice systems.

Conditions are often wretched, like in the jail in Prineville.

"It's pretty much a dungeon," prisoner Anthony Kinsey, jailed on methamphetamine charges, said over the phone. "There are four people in each cell; it's real crowded. The toilet is right by your head."

David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberty Union's national prison project, calls America's neglected jails "a failure of democracy."

"Prisoners are a small, powerless and despised minority, unable to protect their rights through the democratic system," Fathi said.

The Oregon State Sheriffs' Association inspects all county jails in the state.

John Bishop, the executive director of the nonprofit association, said some jails are so old they can't pass many of the inspection standards.

"Federal law requires so many square feet per inmate," Bishop said. "That didn't exist when jails were built."

Bishop said about half the jails in Oregon can bypass the standards because they were grandfathered in.

"Most of the old jails are extreme fire hazards," he said. "New ones need to have sprinkler systems. Old ones don't have them."

Here in the Western Timber Belt where tax revenues from logging on public lands have all but vanished, many counties are hard-pressed to fund services. Items like schools get priority.

"Many counties are vulnerable to fluctuations in the economy, like the oil industry dropping in Wyoming and North Dakota," Fathi said. "When every little county is solely responsible for funding its own little jail, that's going to maximize the impacts."

As for substandard jails, Bishop said: "If certain counties haven't funded to keep up with those standards, eventually it will be the citizens who pay for that if they have a multi-million-dollar lawsuit."

Lawsuits followed America's last mass-casualty jail fire. It killed eight inmates in 2002 in Mitchell County, North Carolina, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Thick smoke prevented rescuers from unlocking cells. The jail, built in 1955, had no sprinkler system.

In 2003, the families of the 17 inmates housed at the jail when the fire broke out accepted a $1.94 million settlement from the county in exchange for a promise not to sue. The North Carolina Court of Appeals found that the state had breached its duty to inspect the jail, a ruling the state Supreme Court upheld. The state then settled wrongful death claims, according to Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., a law firm based in Montgomery, Alabama that represented the families. That settlement remains confidential.

Fathi said that, given the decentralized nature of jails in America, there's no database to indicate how many jails are substandard. He said bad conditions more likely go unnoticed at rural jails because they're generally small and remote, but he added that "there are plenty of dreadful large urban jails as well."

Garduque of the MacArthur Foundation said the problem is that many detainees shouldn't have been locked up at all, and instead should be offered programs for mental health and substance abuse issues.

"Jails have become warehouses for the poor and the nation's largest mental health institutions, in some respects," she said in a phone interview from Chicago. She noted that a disproportionate number of low-income citizens who can't afford bail for minor crimes and people of color are in jail.

Fully 75 percent of prisoners are in for nonviolent offenses, she said.

Kinsey, the Crook County inmate, said he wants to stay straight, in particular to help his 76-year-old mother who has multiple sclerosis. He believes that without help, the drugs could snare him once he's out.

"That's what I'm afraid of," he said. "I'm trying to get into treatment."

__

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/andrewselsky

___

This story has been corrected to show Garduque is the director of justice reform at the MacArthur Foundation, not the director of the foundation.

Crook County Sheriff John Gautney, left, and Sgt. Jeremy Bottoms prepare to pass through a secure door to the prisoner area of the Crook County Jail in Prineville, Ore., on July 1, 2016. "I personally think this is an embarrassment to our community," Gautney says of the 16-bunk jail in central Oregon. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Crook County Sheriff Sgt. Jeremy Bottoms stands inside the recreation room at the Crook County Jail in Prineville, Ore., on July 1, 2016. From 1970 to 2014, the average daily number of inmates held in the roughly 3,000 county jails across the country increased four-fold, from 157,000 to 690,000, according to a report by the Vera Institute of Justice, which works with government and civil leaders to improve justice systems. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

This July 1, 2016 photo shows visiting room booths at the Crook County Jail in Prineville, Ore. Inadequate and unsafe jails are problems across the United States, with aging facilities holding an increasing number of people. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Crook County Deputies David Shanks, foreground, and Brooke Peterson work in the control room at the Crook County Jail in Prineville, Ore., on July 1, 2016. If a fire broke out at the facility, each cell door must be unlocked individually and someone would have to run outside to unlock an emergency exit. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

This July 1, 2016 photo shows the recreation room of the Crook County Jail in Prineville, Ore. The problems with the central Oregon jail mirror those in many other counties. County jails operate independently with little to no oversight, and the head of the Oregon sheriff's association says many are fire traps. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

This July 1, 2016 photo shows downtown Prineville, Ore. The county has put a $10 million proposal on the November ballot to build a new jail. But such measures are unpopular among voters. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

This Monday, Sept. 12, 2016 photo shows the Benton County Jail attached to the Benton County Courthouse in Corvallis, Ore. The courthouse was built in 1888 and is the oldest working courthouse in the state. Studies show the building is not structurally sound and could collapse during a big earthquake. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)
UN blames Syrian government for obstructing aid to Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP)  Syria's military began withdrawing from a major artery into Aleppo on Thursday evening, shortly after the U.N. envoy for Syria blamed President Bashar Assad's government for obstructing aid access to the contested city.

With the U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire for the war-torn country holding for its third straight day, calls intensified to have the government permit aid access to besieged opposition areas.

The U.N. says it has 40 trucks ready to distribute aid in the country, and it would prioritize delivery to the embattled, rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo.

FILE -- This Aug. 31, 2016 file photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian boys dive into a hole filled with water that was caused by a missile attack in the rebel-held neighborhood of Sheikh Saeed in Aleppo province, Syria. Five years of failed efforts to quell the fighting in Syria have persuaded many observers that the war, inconclusive and catastrophic on a historic scale, may be unresolvable. But a closer look at the landscape allows a glimmer of hope that a turning point may have been reached with the truce that took effect Monday, Sept. 12, 2016. (Aleppo Media Center via AP)

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GOVERNMENT

In Geneva, the U.N.'s envoy to Syria, Staffan De Mistura, called humanitarian access the "second dividend" of the U.S.-Russia cease-fire deal, after tapering violence.

However, de Mistura said the Syrian government had not provided the necessary "facilitation letters," or permits, to allow for convoys to reach opposition areas, disappointing even Russia, the Syrian president key backer.

Russia's military announced on Thursday evening that the Syrian military was beginning to withdraw from a contested route to Aleppo, suggesting a breakthrough to the deadlock could be coming.

CLASHES FOR IS-HELD DEIR EL-ZOUR

In the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, clashes and shelling over the past 24 hours between government forces and the Islamic State group in the provincial capital, also called Deir el-Zour, have killed at least three people, including a child, according to activists and state media.

Elsewhere in the same province, an airstrike Thursday on the IS-held town of Mayadeen killed at least four people and wounded dozens, said opposition activists and Deir el-Zour 24, an activist collective. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the airstrike killed seven people. It wasn't known who carried out the airstrike.
Arctic sea ice this summer shrank to its second lowest level since scientists started to monitor it by satellite, with scientists saying it is another ominous signal of global warming.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado said the sea ice reached its summer low point on Saturday, extending 1.6 million square miles (4.14 million square kilometers).

That's behind only the mark set in 2012, 1.31 million square miles (3.39 million square kilometers).

Scroll down for video

This image provided by the National Snow & Ice Data Center shows Arctic Sea ice. Arctic sea ice this summer shrank to its second lowest level since scientists started to monitor it by satellite (National Snow & Ice Data Center via AP)

Center director Mark Serreze said this year's level technically was 3,800 square miles (10,000 square kilometers) less than 2007, but that's so close the two years are essentially tied.

Even though this year didn't set a record, 'we have reinforced the overall downward trend. There is no evidence of recovery here,' Serreze said.

'We've always known that the Arctic is going to be the early warning system for climate change. What we've seen this year is reinforcing that.'

This year's minimum level is nearly 1 million square miles (2.56 million square kilometers) smaller than the 1979 to 2000 average. That's the size of Alaska and Texas combined.

'It's a tremendous loss that we're looking at here,' Serreze said.

It was an unusual year for sea ice in the Arctic, Serreze said.

In the winter, levels were among their lowest ever for the cold season, but then there were more storms than usual over the Arctic during the summer.

GREENLAND'S MELTING ICE SHEETS Data from the ESA's CryoSat satellite has allowed researchers to create the most detailed picture yet of Greenland's melting ice. In just the last few years, the region has lost roughly one trillion tonnes of ice, causing sea-levels to rise at an alarming rate. This corresponds to a 0.75 mm contribution to global sea-level rise each year  about twice the average of the preceding two decades. The data also revealed large variations in the amount of ice loss from year to year. In 2012 when summer temperatures were at a record high, Greenland experienced the highest losses. The researchers say this indicates that the region is sensitive to sudden changes in the environment. Using the CryoSat data, the researchers found widespread ice loss at lower elevations, especially on the western edge. Advertisement

Those storms normally keep the Arctic cloudy and cooler, but that didn't keep the sea ice from melting this year, he said.

'Summer weather patterns don't matter as much as they used to, so we're kind of entering a new regime,' Serreze said.

Serreze said he wouldn't be surprised if the Arctic was essentially ice free in the summer by 2030, something that will affect international security.

'The trend is clear and ominous,' National Center for Atmospheric Research senior scientist Kevin Trenberth said in an email.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado said the sea ice reached its summer low point on Saturday, extending 1.6 million square miles (4.14 million square kilometers). A stock image is pictured

'This is indeed why the polar bear is a poster child for human-induced climate change, but the effects are not just in the Arctic.'

One recent theory divides climate scientists: Melting sea ice in the Arctic may change the jet stream and weather further south, especially in winter.

'What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic,' Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said.
West Virginia deputy cleared in fatal shooting of man

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP)  The West Virginia sheriff's deputy who fatally shot an 82-year-old suspect last month while trying to serve an arrest warrant has been cleared.

The Dominion Post (http://bit.ly/2d34wgl ) quotes Monongalia County Sheriff Al Kisner as saying Wednesday that there were no violations of procedures or department policies in the Aug. 27 shooting of Darrel K. Hetrick at his Morgantown home.

Kisner says Hetrick was the subject of the arrest warrant. He says Hetrick confronted deputies with a handgun and threatened to shoot them, prompting a deputy to shoot in self-defense.

Kisner says the deputy involved in the shooting will return to work Sept. 18. Authorities have not released the deputy's name.

Chief Deputy Perry Palmer says Hetrick was white. Palmer didn't release the deputy's race.

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Court upholds sentence given to rabbi in voyeurism case

WASHINGTON (AP)  A once-prominent Orthodox rabbi who pleaded guilty to secretly videotaping nude women at a Jewish ritual bath in Washington was given a lawful penalty when a judge sentenced him to approximately 6  years in prison, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

A three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals upheld Rabbi Bernard Freundel's sentence in a unanimous 21-page ruling.

Freundel's lawyer, Jeffrey Harris, had said during oral arguments in June that his client's sentence should have been limited to one year in prison. As part of a plea deal, Freundel had pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism, a charge that carries up to a year in jail. A judge sentenced him to 45 days on each count, running the sentences one after another. Freundel's attorney had argued that the sentences should have run concurrently, meaning Freundel would have served 45 days.

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2015 file photo, Rabbi Bernard Freundel leaves the D.C. Superior Court House in Washington. Freundel, A once-prominent Orthodox rabbi who pleaded guilty to secretly videotaping nude women at a Jewish ritual bath in Washington was given a lawful sentence when he was sentenced to approximately 6  years in prison, an appeals court ruled Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

But, in an opinion for himself and two colleagues, Judge Roy W. McLeese wrote that District of Columbia law "unambiguously permits separate punishment for each of Mr. Freundel's fifty-two victims in this case."

"We conclude that Mr. Freundel's sentences are lawful," McLeese wrote.

Freundel's lawyer did not immediately respond Thursday to telephone and e-mail messages from The Associated Press.

Freundel was arrested in 2014 after one of his recording devices was discovered at the National Capital Mikvah in Washington. Prosecutors found that he had filmed some 150 women at the Jewish ritual bath using recording devices hidden in a clock radio, a fan and a tissue box holder. A statute of limitations would have barred prosecutors from charging Freundel for every recording, however, and he pleaded guilty to 52 counts of voyeurism. As part of his guilty plea he acknowledged that he made the secret recordings from 2009 to 2014.

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2 more indicted in massive US Navy bribery scandal

SAN DIEGO (AP)  Two former executives of a Singapore company that supplies ships have been indicted in a wide-spanning bribery scandal involving its CEO nicknamed "Fat Leonard" and high-ranking US Navy officials.

Former Glenn Defense Marine Asia executives Neil Peterson and Linda Raja in an indictment unsealed Wednesday are accused of submitting false claims totaling more than $5 million to the Navy.

The company's CEO Leonard "Fat Leonard" Francis is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to bribing Navy officials with more than $500,000 in cash, prostitutes, luxury hotel stays and a staggering amount of others gifts in exchange for classified information.

Francis' company  which has provided fuel, food and other services to Navy ships in Asia for two decades  overbilled the maritime branch by more than $34 million, according to court documents.

Peterson was the company's vice president for global operations, and Raja was its general manager for Singapore, Australia, and the Pacific Isles. The defendants were arrested in Singapore and are awaiting extradition to the United States. They could not be reached for comment.

In addition to the false claims, Peterson, 38, and Raja, 43, submitted false price quotes from non-existent companies on letterhead created from graphics cut and pasted from the Internet, according to court documents.
Wynton Marsalis leads CBS tribute to Morley Safer

NEW YORK (AP)  CBS News paid tribute to late "60 Minutes" reporter Morley Safer on Thursday with some New Orleans jazz from Wynton Marsalis, a letter from the prime minister of his native Canada and a few hearty laughs.

Safer died May 19 at age 84, eight days after CBS announced his retirement and four days after "60 Minutes" aired a special about his work during more than 50 years at CBS, most on the newsmagazine he joined in 1970 in only its third season.

"I believe he held onto life until that broadcast aired," said Jeff Fager, "60 Minutes" executive producer and once one of Safer's story producers, at a Manhattan memorial attended by broadcast luminaries like Tom Brokaw, Ted Koppel and Charlie Rose.

FILE - In this July 23, 2009 file photo, "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer leaves the funeral of Walter Cronkite in New York. CBS News paid tribute to late "60 Minutes" reporter Morley Safer on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, with some New Orleans jazz from Wynton Marsalis and a letter from the prime minister of his native Canada. Safer died May 19 at age 84, eight days after CBS announced his retirement and four days after "60 Minutes" aired a special about his work during more than 50 years at CBS. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File)

CBS has become sadly adept at organizing these memorials as a generation of stars from the "60 Minutes" golden years died, including Ed Bradley, Mike Wallace, Bob Simon, Andy Rooney and founding executive Don Hewitt.

Safer came to CBS from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He worked there before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was born, yet one of Safer's CBC colleagues read a letter from Trudeau at the memorial. Safer's CBS career included on-the-scene reporting from Vietnam, where his story about American soldiers setting a Vietnamese village on fire angered the Johnson administration.

When he agreed to come to "60 Minutes," he had it written into his contract that he would return to London if the show was cancelled for bad ratings. That was never an issue, and he did 919 stories for the broadcast between 1970 and 2016.

The current dean of "60 Minutes" reporters, Steve Kroft, was in the military working a public relations job in Vietnam in 1970 and recalled his boss becoming scared upon learning that Safer was coming to make a documentary.

When he later got to know him, "I could tell immediately that this was somebody who enjoyed inspiring fear," Kroft said. In the cutthroat backstage world at "60 Minutes," Safer and Wallace were often bitter rivals. Kroft was once baffled when Safer tried to steal a story from him, learning it was because it required a trip to France where Safer loved his expense-account meals.

His former colleague was "capable of inflicting as much damage with a wry comment as Mike Wallace could with a bludgeon," Kroft said.

Fager has a framed "piece" from art lover Safer, who once had a gallery show of sketches he made of hotel rooms across the world. It memorialized a curtain stained by the coffee cup he once hurled at Fager. Safer titled it, "Weak Coffee on Cheap Curtain."

Marsalis recalled conversations he had with Safer, who told him that when he died, he wanted a New Orleans jazz tribute. Marsalis asked him about traditions back home in Canada.

"He said, 'We drank a lot,'" Marsalis said, before picking up his horn and, with his band, leading the memorial service's audience to a reception.
The Latest: Suspect in abduction case facing murder charges

ASHLAND, Ohio (AP)  The Latest on an Ohio abduction case that led police to a kidnapping suspect and the remains of three people (all times local):

3 p.m.

An Ohio man arrested after a woman called 911 to report being held captive has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.

Police tape cordons off the remains of a house. Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in rural Richland County, near Mansfield, Ohio, where authorities say a woman's body was found nearby. Police say a suspect in the abduction of a woman in neighboring Ashland on Tuesday confessed to killing a woman in the house in June, which was then destroyed in a fire. (AP Photo/Ann Sanner)

The Ashland County prosecutor said Thursday that 40-year-old Shawn Grate is charged with killing Stacey Stanley and a second woman whose body hasn't yet been identified.

Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell says Grate abducted the woman who called 911 so he could have sex with her.

Authorities are trying to identify a third body found inside a house in neighboring Richland County.

It's unclear whether Grate has an attorney.

___

12:15 a.m.

A decision on additional charges in the case of an Ohio man arrested at a house where two bodies were found will come on Thursday.

Authorities are working to identify one of those bodies as well as a third body found at a house in neighboring Richland County.

A woman's report that she was being held captive at a home in Ashland led to the arrest of Shawn Grate, a murder confession and the discovery of the remains of the three other people.

Grate remains jailed on an abduction charge. It was not immediately clear if the 40-year-old, who is homeless, has an attorney.

This photo provided by Ashland County Sheriff Office shows Shawn M. Grate. Grate, was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio in connection to the investigation of a rescued abductee and the discovery of the remains of two people in the home where he was arrested. (Ashland County Sheriff Office /The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)

Ashland Police Department and Ohio BCI execute a search warrant on a home on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016, in Ashland, Ohio. Authorities say a woman reported being held captive, leading to the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, a murder confession and the discovery of three bodies. Two bodies were found Tuesday at a home in Ashland. The third was found in nearby Madison Township. (Tom E. Puskar/The Times Gazette via AP)
Senate bill would speed recovery of art lost to Nazi looting

WASHINGTON (AP)  Heirs trying to recover artwork lost to Nazi looting during World War II could get some help under a bill approved by a Senate panel on Thursday.

The bipartisan legislation backed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a voice vote would extend statutes of limitations for the recovery of that art. In recent years, courts have sided with several museums on the issue and blocked family members who believe the art is theirs.

"For the families of those who lost everything at the hands of the Nazis, hopefully today serves as an important and symbolic step to reclaiming not just artwork, but familial legacy," said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who sponsored the legislation with fellow Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

The legislation now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Last month, a judge ruled in favor of a Southern California museum in its 10-year legal battle over the ownership of two German Renaissance masterpieces that were seized by the Nazis in World War II. The judge said that because the art dealership decided not to seek restitution for the works after the war, the family thereby abandoned their claim to the art.

In 2009, the United States and other countries agreed to ensure that their own legal systems "facilitate just and fair solutions with regard to Nazi-confiscated and looted art." The senators said this legislation is to fulfill that promise.
Security prompts Britain to close Turkish embassy for day

ISTANBUL (AP)  Britain says it's embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara will be closed on Friday for security reasons.

The British government posted the one-day closure notice on its official website on Thursday, but did not elaborate on the reasons for the decision.

It also advised against all travel to within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of Turkey's border with Syria and to the city of Diyarbakir in the country's southeast.

Turkey launched military operations into northern Syria last month to battle back Islamic State group fighters and to contain the expansion of Syrian Kurdish militia.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping received the credentials of 11 new ambassadors to China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday.

The ambassadors are Leonidas Rokanas from Greece, Karran Bayney Ram from Guyana, Rudy Kiryl from Belarus, Dembo M. Badjie from Gambia, Marten Kokk from Estonia, Oscar Rueda Garcia from Colombia, Aires Ali from Mozambique, Damba Gankhuyag from Mongolia, Anna Lindstedt from Sweden, Marcos Caramuru de Paiva from Brazil, and Anton Rill from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Xi welcomed the ambassadors to China and asked them to convey his sincere greetings and good wishes to the leaders and people of their countries.

The Chinese government will provide convenience and support for the work of the ambassadors and hopes that they will actively contribute to bilateral relations and cooperation in various areas between China and the relevant countries, Xi said.

Xi said China attaches great importance to developing relations with the countries, and that China will enhance friendship and mutual trust, and deepen pragmatic cooperation with them for the benefits of the peoples of China and these countries.

The ambassadors conveyed their state leaders' greetings to Xi and expressed good wishes to the Chinese people for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

China was also congratulated for successfully hosting the G20 summit in Hangzhou, and the ambassadors said that their countries will pay significant attention to developing relations with China.

They said they feel greatly honored to serve as ambassadors to China, and will devote their best efforts to promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between their countries and China, as well as deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples.
Minister: Japan to increase activities in South China Sea

WASHINGTON (AP)  Japan will increase engagement in the South China Sea through training cruises with the U.S. Navy and multilateral exercises with regional navies, the nation's defense minister said Thursday.

Newly appointed minister Tomomi Inada said Japan will also help build the capacity of coastal nations. She was speaking ahead of her first meeting with Pentagon chief Ash Carter in Washington.

Japan, a close U.S. ally, is not among the countries claiming territory in the disputed South China Sea but shares U.S. concern about China's assertive behavior there.

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2016 file photo, Japan's new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada inspects a honor guard on her first day at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo. Inada, who holds her first meeting with U.S. counterpart Ash Carter on Thursday, Sept. 15, in Washington, D.C., leapfrogged over more senior lawmakers to the defense post in a Cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 3. The 57-year-old lawyer has attracted attention for questioning mainstream accounts of Japanese atrocities during World War II and the fairness of the postwar Tokyo war crimes trials. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

Japan has a separate territorial dispute with China over unoccupied islands they both claim farther north in the East China Sea. Inada said China has escalated its incursions by its vessels into Japan's territorial waters around the islands.

However, Inada said she is open to constructive dialogue with China and will expedite negotiations on preventing collisions between their forces at sea and in the air.
Myanmar leader has questions for US high school students

WASHINGTON (AP)  The former political prisoner who is now the de facto leader of Myanmar used her visit to a Washington high school to solicit ideas about how to improve education in her country.

Aung San Suu Kyi told students at Roosevelt High School on Thursday that she had never visited a public school in the U.S. While the students had prepared questions about her life and career and her opinions on American politics, she appeared more interested in using them as a focus group, quizzing them about their favorite teachers and subjects and asking how schools can improve the performance of boys in particular.

"The boys are not doing as well as the girls," Suu Kyi said. "This is a big problem."

From left, Elsi Argueta, Cindy Mayen and Michannie Grant, 12th grade students from Roosevelt Senior High School in northwest Washington, pose for a selfie with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, second from left, following a forum Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled for decades by a military junta, and Suu Kyi, 71, was a longtime opposition leader who spent 15 years under house arrest. The Nobel peace prize laureate was elected last year  in what she called her first-ever opportunity to vote in a free election  and she holds the titles of state counsellor and foreign minister. The constitution still bars the pro-democracy leader from the presidency.

On Wednesday, she met with President Barack Obama, who announced that all remaining economic sanctions against Myanmar would be lifted and trade benefits restored. Suu Kyi's schedule Thursday also included meetings on Capitol Hill and a dinner hosted by U.S. and Asian business leaders.

As Suu Kyi pointed out during her school visit, Myanmar's development has lagged behind the rest of southeast Asia, and she described the public school system as a shambles. Classrooms are overcrowded, schools can't afford to provide books and many students drop out, Suu Kyi said.

By contrast, she marveled at the facilities of Roosevelt, which reopened this year after a $136 million modernization. She was surprised to hear that about half the teachers are men  more than 90 percent of teachers in Myanmar are women, she said.

She also listened intently as boys described how the school supports their interests in music or sports.

"You have no idea how privileged you are," Suu Kyi said.

Nonetheless, Roosevelt embodies many of the stubborn contradictions of District of Columbia public schools, where an influx of money and aggressive school-reform policies have not always produced results for the city's poor students. Recent standardized testing deemed zero percent of students at Roosevelt to be proficient in English and math. The school is 62 percent black and 36 percent Hispanic, and 100 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals, an indicator of poverty.

Suu Kyi provided diplomatic answers to a few pointed questions. Asked what she thought of the Black Lives Matter movement, she said people who stand up to oppression need to trust each other and believe in their mission.

Asked for thoughts on the U.S. election, she urged everyone to vote and said it was important for voters to explain the reasons behind their support for a candidate.

"I worry that each and every one of you who is in a position to vote will not exercise his or her right," Suu Kyi said.

She put a positive spin on her period of house arrest by noting that many of her colleagues endured lengthy prison sentences. She said she valued the time it gave her to read and reflect.

"I wish they would put me under house arrest at weekends so I could get a bit of rest," she said.

___

Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to a small group of students from Roosevelt Senior High School in northwest Washington, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 during a forum. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to students of Roosevelt Senior High School in northwest Washington, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to a small group of students from Roosevelt Senior High School in northwest Washington, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 during a forum. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Court denies Virginia GOP's challenge on felon voting rights

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Virginia's highest court on Thursday rejected Republican lawmakers' latest challenge to Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's efforts to restore voting rights to thousands of felons who have completed their sentences.

The Virginia Supreme Court denied a motion that sought to hold McAuliffe in contempt for violating a court order with his new process for restoring felons' voting rights. The court did not explain its reason for denying the motion.

McAuliffe applauded the decision, saying he hopes it puts to rest the lengthy legal battle over his bid to let felons who have served their time cast ballots.

FILE This Friday Jan. 29, 2016 file photo shows Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe during a press conference at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. The Virginia Supreme Court has rejected Republican lawmakers' bid to block Gov. Terry McAuliffe's latest effort to restore the voting rights of thousands of felons who've completed their sentences. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

"It is my hope that the court's validation of the process we are using will convince Republicans to drop their divisive efforts to prevent Virginians from regaining their voting rights and focus their energy and resources on making Virginia a better place to live for the people who elected all of us to lead," McAuliffe said in a statement.

The state's Supreme Court ruled in July that McAuliffe overstepped his bounds with an executive order issued in April that had restored the rights of roughly 200,000 felons. The court said governors cannot restore voting rights en masse and must consider them on a case-by-case basis.

McAuliffe began restoring the rights again under a new process after the court ruling. He stressed that his administration was processing felons' rights restoration orders individually to comply with the decision, but Republicans argued there is no practical difference between his new process and his previous action struck down by the court.

GOP House Speaker William Howell said Thursday that Republicans are disappointed, but respect the Supreme Court's decision.

"Throughout this process, our goal was to hold Gov. McAuliffe accountable to the Constitution and the Rule of Law," Howell said in a statement. "The governor stretched the bounds of the Virginia Constitution and sought to expand executive power in a manner we viewed as inappropriate and reckless."

Republicans have called McAuliffe's voting rights effort a bald-faced political move aimed at getting more Democrats to the polls in November to help presidential candidate Hillary Clinton win the critical swing state. In addition to letting felons' vote, the restoration order let them serve on a jury, run for public office and become a notary public.

McAuliffe's administration said in court documents earlier this week that only a "small fraction" of the more than 200,000 felons will have their rights restored under the new case-by-case review by the Oct. 17 deadline for voting registration. As of earlier this week, McAuliffe has restored the rights of nearly 20,000 people under the new process, his administration said.

____
3 Connecticut troopers sued over arrest of protester

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Three Connecticut state troopers are accused in a lawsuit filed Thursday of violating the constitutional rights of a protester at a sobriety checkpoint by seizing his pistol and camera and then arresting him on bogus criminal charges.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of protester Michael Picard. Named in the lawsuit, which does not say how much money in damages is being sought, are troopers John Barone, Patrick Torneo and John Jacobi.

Trooper Kelly Grant, a state police spokeswoman, said an internal affairs investigation is active and referred other questions to the state attorney general's office, which declined to comment. The three troopers didn't immediately return messages Thursday.

Picard has become known to state and local police in the Hartford area for protesting drunken driving checkpoints, which he says are constitutional search and seizure violations and a waste of public money, the lawsuit says.

At a checkpoint in West Hartford on Sept. 11, 2015, Barone confiscated Picard's legally carried pistol, pistol permit and camera on the pretext of public complaints, the lawsuit says. The troopers then got together and fabricated charges, not knowing they were still being recorded by Picard's camera after they seized it, according to the ACLU.

The troopers are heard but not seen on the recording calling a Hartford police officer to see if he or she had any "grudges" against Picard, initiating an investigation of him in a police database and discussing a previous protest Picard organized at the state Capitol, the lawsuit says.

After finding that Picard had a valid pistol permit, Barone tells the other troopers they have to "cover" themselves and either Torneo or Jacobi said "let's give him something," the lawsuit says. The troopers then wrote Picard infraction tickets for illegal use of a highway by a pedestrian and creating a public disturbance  charges later dismissed in court.
University teacher lockout ends; contract talks continue

NEW YORK (AP)  College students who began the year being taught by ill-prepared substitutes were back with their regular professors Thursday after Long Island University ended a faculty lockout at its Brooklyn campus caused by a bitter contract dispute.

About 400 professors and adjuncts at the school scrambled to get back to work after their union, the Long Island University Faculty Federation, struck an agreement late Wednesday to extend their contract until May 31, 2017.

The lockout, which began a few days before classes were to start on Sept. 7, left professors without health insurance or access to email. It also deprived about 8,000 students of their teachers.

Students at the Long Island University campus in the Brooklyn borough of New York picket outside the college in support of their instructors, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. About 400 full-time and adjunct members of the faculty at the private Brooklyn school were barred from their classrooms and had their email accounts and health insurance cut off just days before classes were scheduled to begin on Sept. 7. The school held classes with replacement instructors. (AP Photo/Verena Dobnik)

School administrators temporarily replaced the professors with substitutes, who many students called unqualified.

Some ended class quickly after attendance was taken or a syllabus was handed out, students said. Science labs were canceled because instructors didn't have required safety licenses.

It was unclear whether either side gained anything from the lockout.

As part of the agreement to get professors back to work, the faculty promised not to strike during further contract negotiations. The union also accepted a proposal to engage a mediator.

The university's chief operating officer, Gale Haynes, said the union's commitment not to strike "provides us enough runway to reach a reasonable and fair agreement, while providing our students the ability to continue their studies uninterrupted."

Professors had rejected a proposed contract that would have cut salaries and hours for new adjunct professors, who represent about half the teaching staff, while offering existing faculty average raises of more than 13 percent over five years.

The faculty federation, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, has filed a charge of unfair labor practice against the university with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging bad-faith bargaining.

The university also has a Long Island campus, which was unaffected by the labor troubles.

Another sticking point in negotiations was that tenured professors at the Brooklyn campus are paid less than those at its Long Island campus, LIU Post.

LIU spokeswoman Jennifer Solomon said the differences in salaries between the Brooklyn and Long Island faculty are a result of salary structures requested by the union in previous contracts.

A student who preferred not to be identified looks up at a "Welcome" sign hung from the fence at the Long Island University campus in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016. Students at the New York City campus say they have begun the school year with classes being taught by replacement teachers of questionable quality after the administration locked out their regular professors as part of a bitter labor dispute. (AP Photo/Verena Dobnik)
Man pleads guilty to aiding Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

WASHINGTON (AP)  A Dutch-Turkish man has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Federal officials announced Thursday that 58-year-old Irfan Demirtas pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Officials say Demirtas was charged in a 2011 sealed indictment related to actions between 2006 and 2008 when he was a Netherlands resident and a fundraiser and facilitator for the group. The government says the militant Islamic group, formed in 1991, aims to overthrow Uzbekistan's government and create an Islamic state. In his plea, Demirtas acknowledges providing funds to the group's leader.
US Interior chief tours solar plant on tribal land in Nevada

MOAPA RIVER INDIAN RESERVATION, Nev. (AP)  U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell toured a vast solar energy array Thursday that's about ready to go online on an Indian reservation in Nevada, and signed an agreement with a tribal leader that gave a go-ahead for a similar plant nearby.

The nearly complete 250-megawatt Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project was, in 2012, the first sun-to-electricity plant approved on tribal lands in the U.S.

A document that the nation's top land administrator signed with Moapa Band of Paiute Indians tribal Chairman Robert Tom put the 100-megawatt Aiya Solar Project past that same hurdle, called a record of decision.

A man stands at the end of a solar panel array as Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell tours a solar project site, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, on the Moapa River Indian Reservation about 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Jewell was making her third stop on a tour of renewable energy sites around the country. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Aiya  a name derived from the Southern Paiute word for tortoise  would be the third solar array planned by private partners with the tribe, which has about 350 members and a sprawling 112-square-mile reservation about 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

"This is the first tribe in the United States to have utility-scale solar on the reservation," Jewell said as she observed plentiful sunshine that she characterized as "spilled solar energy."

Of the 59 utility-scale renewable projects on federal land in the U.S., Jewell said, the Moapa have the only three on tribal land.

The tribe also plans a 200-megawatt solar plant on another part of a reservation perhaps best-known to Interstate 15 motorists for its travel stop and fireworks stand at a freeway exit leading to Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park.

"We hope this charts a path for a brighter future for all of Indian country as these resources are harnessed," Jewell said, "just as non-renewable energy resources were harnessed on Indian lands going back for many years."

Tribal Chairman Robert Tom called the solar projects key to providing financial and cultural security for descendants of the first inhabitants of an area west of the Colorado River that includes the scenic and artifact-rich Gold Butte area.

"It means a lot in economic development, as stewards of our land, and for our culture and our traditions," Tom said as he walked down a neat row of some of the nearly 4 million black panels, each resembling a very thin flat-screen TV. The entire site covers almost 2.2 square miles.

The sun was relentless. The view seemed limitless, some 20 miles from Arrowhead Canyon mountains on the west to the North Muddy Mountains in the east. There wasn't a tree or a cloud in sight.

Officials with First Solar Inc., the developer of both the existing and the proposed Ayia projects, said each solar panel collects energy with a hair-thin film of photovoltaic cadmium telluride pressed between glass plates.

Brian Kunz, a vice president of the publicly-traded firm, said the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has a 25-year agreement to buy the electricity  enough to power perhaps 100,000 homes.

Project manager Geoffrey Dewhurst said the system is already collecting electricity. After testing, which Dewhurst compared with "clicking batteries together in the desert," the site should begin feeding the power grid by the end of the year.

Kunz declined to say how much the company invested to complete the project after buying it in 2013 from the initial developer, K Road Power Holdings. But he said a similar project might cost about $500 million.

Jewell was making her third stop at a renewable energy site around the country since Friday, when she and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz talked in Boston about a wind energy project in the Atlantic Ocean.

On Wednesday, she stopped in Palm Springs, California, to highlight a renewable energy and conservation plan for 10 million acres of public land in the desert.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell tours a solar project site, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, on the Moapa River Indian Reservation about 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Jewell was making her third stop on a tour of renewable energy sites around the country. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Galaxy Note 7 recall shows challenges of stronger batteries

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Samsung's recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates.

Announcing the recall on Sept. 2, Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging at 60 percent capacity to help minimize risks of overheating. But it is urging owners to keep the phones turned off until they can get them replaced, beginning Monday.

U.S. safety regulators stepped in Thursday with an official recall, saying Samsung's voluntary efforts were inadequate. Though Samsung promised replacement devices, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said U.S. customers would be eligible for refunds if they choose. Replacements are expected in stores by next Wednesday.

FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2016 file photo, a Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 smartphone is displayed at the headquarters of South Korean mobile carrier KT in Seoul, South Korea. Samsungs recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

The Note 7 debuted to rave reviews in August thanks to its speed, new software features and  not least  the estimated nine hours it would run between charges. But all that power comes at a price: Users began reporting the phones were catching fire or exploding, in one case incinerating the SUV it had been left in.

Aviation authorities in the U.S., Australia and Europe have urged passengers not to use or charge Note 7s while flying and not to put them in checked baggage. On Monday, Canada issued an official recall.

Koh Dong-jin, Samsung's mobile president, said in announcing the recall on Sept. 2 that an investigation turned up a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note 7s that was very difficult to identify. The end of the pouch-shaped battery cell had some flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating, he explained.

That kind of manufacturing error is unimaginable for top-notch battery makers with adequate quality controls, said Park Chul Wan, a former director of the next generation battery research center at the state-owned Korea Electronics Technology Institute.

Samsung and other experts should search for factors outside the battery cells that could have led to overheating, he said.

"If Koh's argument is right, that makes Samsung SDI a third-rate company," Park said. "But it does not appear to be a simple battery problem."

Time also is a factor in marketing and making the phones.

In 2015, Samsung moved up its unveiling of its new Galaxy Note model to August from September, seeking a leg up on Apple's September iPhone upgrades.

Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping pace with demand for the Note 7.

Samsung has not recalled Note 7s sold in China, but the company has refused to say which of its two battery suppliers made the faulty batteries or clarify whose batteries are used in which Note 7 smartphones. The company also refused comment on South Korean media reports that it has stopped using batteries from Samsung SDI, one of its two suppliers, in the Note 7.

C.W. Chung, an analyst at Nomura Securities in Seoul, cited SDI officials in estimating that about 70 percent of the batteries for the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones came from SDI.

The other 30 percent are thought to have been supplied by Amperex Technology Ltd., a Chinese-based manufacturer that reportedly also is a main supplier of batteries for the iPhone.

Problems with lithium batteries have afflicted everything from laptops to Tesla cars to Boeing's 787 jetliner, though having so many lithium-ion battery fires in a short time is unheard of, Park said.

The batteries are ubiquitous in consumer electronic devices, favored by manufacturers because they are lightweight and pack much more energy into a small space than other power cells.

But storing so much energy in a tiny space, with combustible components separated by ultra-thin walls, makes them susceptible to overheating if exposed to high temperatures, damage or flaws in manufacturing. If the separators fail, a chemical reaction can quickly escalate out of control.

That's what happened with the Note 7, Samsung's Koh explained.

"The flaw in the manufacturing process resulted in the negative electrodes and the positive electrodes coming together," he told reporters in Seoul.

It is unclear how Samsung failed to discover the battery problem before launching the Note 7. It confirmed delays in shipments for extra quality tests weeks later, in late August, after photos of charred phones began popping up on social media.

South Korean experts suggested Samsung may have been so ambitious with the Note 7's design that it compromised safety.

"There was no choice but to make the separator (between positive and negative anodes) thin because of the battery capacity," said Lee Sang-yong, a professor at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology who worked more than a decade at LG Chem, a leading lithium battery maker. Thicker separators can improve safety but will not necessarily prevent all overheating issues, he said.

Doh Chil-Hoon, head of the state-run Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute's battery research division, said that based on the limited information provided by Samsung, he believes the push to increase battery power was part of the problem.

"Even with a small manufacturing mistake, if there had been enough elements to ensure safety, it would not explode," Doh said. "It is a roundabout way of admitting weak safety."

The Note 7 phones have a powerful 3,500 milliampere hour battery, whereas the Galaxy S7 smartphone, which has a slightly smaller body than the Note 7, features a 3,000 mAh battery. So does the Note 5, launched in 2015.

Apple does not provide information on the iPhone's battery capacity in milliampere hours. But two research firms that specialize in analyzing tech gadgets and their components said the battery in the iPhone 6S Plus is 2,750mAh. The size of the battery in the newly released iPhone 7 is not yet known.

The 3,500 mAh battery in the Samsung Note 7 is "one of the highest, if not the highest, capacity battery we've seen in a phone," said Wayne Lam, an industry analyst at IHS Markit Technology.

Lam said he thinks the Note 7 battery problem resulted from weak controls in manufacturing, not a poor or unsafe design.

A spokeswoman at iFixit, which publishes repair guides for electronic gadgets, offered a similar view. "We don't think any internal design changes in the Note 7 are responsible for the exploding batteries  more likely just a manufacturing defect," IFixit's Kay-Kay Clapp said in an email.

Apple has tweaked hardware and software it developed itself to make iPhones use power more efficiently, while Samsung has increased the capacity of the batteries in its phones.

That can be done without increasing size by adjusting components or changing the production process, Lam said.

"You have two different trajectories, with Samsung packing in more energy density, versus Apple trying to trim it down by optimizing everything else," he said, adding that the two rivals are "constantly locked in this arms race of improving and one-upping."

While Apple and Samsung are using built-in batteries for their premium phones, LG Electronics, Samsung's smaller South Korean rival, has opted for a replaceable, 3,200 mAh capacity battery for its new premium, jumbo screen smartphone, the V20.

LG chose to make the phone thinner and allow customers to extend battery life by swapping out batteries.

"The security of the battery isn't directly related to whether the battery is replaceable or not," Cho Joon-ho, head of LG's mobile business, told reporters. "But we make efforts to secure safety with quality controlling tests beforehand."

__

AP Technology Writer Brandon Bailey contributed to this report from San Francisco.

__

Lee can be reached on Twitter: www.twitter.com/YKLeeAP

Her previous works can be found on: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2016 file photo, powered-off Samsung Electronics Galaxy Note 7 smartphones are displayed at the company's service center in Seoul, South Korea. Samsungs recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones after several dozen caught fire and exploded may stem from a subtle manufacturing error, but it highlights the challenge electronics makers face in packing ever more battery power into ever thinner phones, while rushing for faster release dates. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
Bundy says wearing jail scrubs show he's political prisoner

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)  Ammon Bundy says he has switched his courtroom attire from a suit to jail scrubs to show that he's a political prisoner.

After wearing a suit jacket for the first two days of his trial, Bundy on Thursday wore scrubs during his trial on charges related to the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

In a statement read by one of his attorneys, Bundy said he wants to drop the facade he is presumed innocent, and dress like the political prisoner he is.

Bundy's clothing was an issue before trial, when he was not allowed to wear cowboy boots.

His brother and co-defendant, Ryan Bundy, wore a suit jacket Thursday, but told the judge he supported Ammon's decision.
Washington state to increase testing pot for pesticides

SEATTLE (AP)  More than two years after Washington state launched legal marijuana sales, it's planning to test pot for banned pesticides more regularly.

The state's Liquor and Cannabis Board said Thursday it's paying the Washington Department of Agriculture more than $1 million to buy new equipment and hire two full-time workers to conduct the tests. The increased screening is expected to begin early next year and will examine marijuana where regulators have reason to suspect illegal pesticides have been used.

"Testing for pesticides is a complex and costly process," Rick Garza, the board's director, said in a prepared statement. "Labs need specialized equipment and highly-trained staff to carry out the tests. This agreement will satisfy those obstacles. It will send a strong message to any producer applying illegal pesticides that they will be caught and face significant penalties, including possible cancellation of the license."

FILE--In this June 4, 2014, file photo, chief scientist for Analytical 360, Randall Oliver, scales out a sample of marijuana at their new cannabis analysis laboratory in Yakima, Wash. Washington state has agreed to begin more regular testing for banned pesticides in marijuana. The testing is expected to begin early next year and will examine marijuana where regulators have reason to suspect illegal pesticides have been used. (Mason Trinca/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)

Washington has required testing for mold and other impurities since it began allowing recreational pot sales in 2014. But like Colorado and Oregon, the other two states with recreational marijuana sales, it has struggled to figure out how the best ways to regulate and test for pesticides. The federal government, which normally regulates pesticide use, has no guidelines about using pesticides on marijuana because the plant remains illegal under federal law.

The three states have lists of pesticides that are OK to use on marijuana, but so far none is conducting regular tests for banned pesticides, which has raised public health worries even though there's little or no indication of people becoming ill because of pesticides in legal marijuana products.

In Oregon and Colorado, certified laboratories will test for pesticides along with other impurities, but the labs are still being accredited to handle those tests. Agriculture officials do investigate pesticide misuse at licensed marijuana growers when they receive complaints; Colorado's opened more than 100 investigations this year, with around 40 to 45 percent of them finding unapproved practices, said John Scott, pesticides program section chief, at that state's Department of Agriculture.

In Washington, private, certified labs conduct tests for mold, bacteria, insects and potency  but not pesticides. Instead, state regulators have conducted tests when they've received complaints about possible pesticide misuse.

Pressure has built on the state to require more testing as Washington merges its medical and recreational marijuana markets this year.

Since the first legal, recreational marijuana grows were licensed in early 2014, the state has conducted 45 investigations of pesticide misuse, said Justin Nordhorn, chief of enforcement with the Liquor and Cannabis Board.

By contrast, the new equipment will allow the state to screen 75 samples per month for more than 100 unapproved pesticides, with results coming back in 15 to 30 days.

"This should be a real game-changer for the industry in terms of public safety," said Agriculture Department spokesman Hector Castro. "They're on notice that we're going to be on the lookout for this."
What to do to if you own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Do you have a Galaxy Note 7 that was the subject of an official recall Thursday?

Here's what to do if you own one of Samsung's new smartphones. The U.S. safety watchdog, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is urging consumers to exchange or return the device because of a risk of fire. The agency says there have been 92 reports of batteries overheating in the U.S. That includes 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including to cars and a garage.

WHO IS AFFECTED?

FILE - In this July 28, 2016, file photo, a screen magnification feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is demonstrated, in New York. U.S. regulators issued an official recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phone on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, because of a risk of fire. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall covers about 1 million Note 7s sold in the U.S. through Sept. 15.

HOW DO I CONFIRM THAT MY PHONE IS PART OF THE RECALL?

Look for an IMEI number on the back of the phone or on the phone's packaging. You can also find it in the phone's settings by going to "About Phone" or "General Management" and then hitting "Status." Enter that number at http://samsung.com/us/note7recall or call Samsung's recall hotline at 1-844-365-6197. U.S. officials say about 97 percent of Note 7s sold in the U.S. are affected.

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

You can ask for a replacement or a full refund. For replacements, consumers can choose another Note 7 or a Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge, with a refund of the price difference. Samsung expects replacement Note 7s to be available by Wednesday.

Consumers who bought the phone through a wireless carrier or retailer such as Best Buy should contact the merchant directly. Those who bought it directly from Samsung should contact the company.

Online and phone contact information for individual carriers, retailers and Samsung is available at http://samsung.com/us/note7recall .

MORE INFORMATION

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Samsung-Recalls-Galaxy-Note7-Smartphones

FILE - In this July 28, 2016, file photo, the Galaxy Note 7, foreground, is displayed in New York. U.S. regulators issued an official recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phone on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, because of a risk of fire. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Authorities: Mexican journalist killed in highway shooting

MEXICO CITY (AP)  A journalist in the central Mexican state of Puebla was killed in a highway shooting, authorities said Thursday.

The Puebla state prosecutor's office said in a statement that a man it identified only as Aurelio C. of the newspaper El Grafico de la Sierra was shot Wednesday night while driving on a highway near the community of Huauchinango.

The Network of Journalists in Puebla gave the victim's full name as Aurelio Cabrera Campos, a reporter and editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper. He died at a hospital early Thursday.

The network demanded a swift and thorough investigation.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists had counted seven journalists killed so far in Mexico this year before Cabrera's death. Mexico's national human rights commission has counted at least eight journalists killed this year.
Exiled cleric condemns Turkish crackdown on his supporters

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  An Islamic cleric whom Turkey accuses of masterminding July's abortive coup again condemned a Turkish government crackdown on his supporters, saying Thursday that his "heart is aching."

In videotaped remarks to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Fethullah Gulen said the Turkish government is using the attempted coup to justify persecuting his followers, who he said are being "subjected to oppression and tyranny, molestation and unlawful acquisition of their private properties."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames Gulen for the failed uprising, which left at least 270 people dead, and said he considers him and his followers to be terrorists. This week, Turkey sent the United States a formal request demanding the arrest of Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile on a compound in the Pocono Mountains.

Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup attempt. He said Thursday the crackdown on his supporters will be recorded as "dark pages in world history."

The Turkish government declared a state of emergency after the attempted coup, rounding up tens of thousands of Gulen's followers, firing government employees it suspects of having ties to Gulen and closing or seizing thousands of institutions, including schools.

The crackdown has raised concerns among Turkey's Western allies and human rights organizations, which have urged the government to show restraint.

Gulen said he thinks international human rights organizations, intellectuals and legal organizations "may react and push states to act, saying enough is enough."

"Perhaps in realizing that they cannot afford to be completely cut off from the world, Turkish leaders might change course," he said.
Canadian jailed in China over spying allegations freed

TORONTO (AP)  A Canadian citizen who was detained in China for two years over accusations of spying has been freed and has returned to Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he's delighted Kevin Garratt is back in Canada with his family. His return comes just over a week after Trudeau visited China in a bid to improve relations.

Garratt had been indicted by prosecutors in Dandong, a city on the North Korean border where he and his wife ran a popular coffee shop and conducted Christian aid work for North Koreans. He and his wife Julia were arrested in August 2014 by the state security bureau. His wife was later released on bail. China's official Xinhua News Agency had reported that authorities found evidence that implicated Garratt in accepting tasks from Canadian espionage agencies to gather intelligence in China.

Trudeau said his government had made the case a priority at the highest levels. The release also comes a week before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is to visit Canada for talks with Trudeau.

Simeon Garratt, the couple's son, has said his parents ran a coffee shop and did Christian aid work for North Koreans and there must have been a mistake. The couple had worked with North Star Aid, whose website said the British Columbia-registered charity seeks to help North Koreans primarily through providing humanitarian aid. Simeon Garratt has said his parents made no secret of their faith but did not flaunt it in China, where proselytizing is against the law. He has said they worked on getting school supplies, cooking oil and food into North Korea.

The coffee shop, Peter's Coffee House, is located within sight of the Friendship Bridge linking China to North Korea. It was known for its North American cuisine and attracted a mix of tourists, students and locals.
Chinese firm targets Bradwell deal after Hinkley Point nuclear plant green light

The Chinese firm helping to build the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point is to submit a design for another site after the Government go-ahead for the 18 billion project.

State-owned CGN said it was now "able to move forward and deliver" nuclear capacity at other UK sites, including Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk.

The plan for Bradwell is to submit a design for UK regulatory approval soon in a process called generic design approval, which could take four years.

CGI image of Hinkley Point C, as the Government confirmed the nuclear power station will go ahead (EDF Energy/PA)

The firm will need to get the reactor design and technology approved for use in the UK before building the station, with one third funding from EDF.

The French energy giant is pressing ahead with the 18 billion Hinkley power station after m inisters ended uncertainty by saying they had reached a "new agreement", imposing "significant new safeguards" for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure.

The power station will create 25,000 jobs, hundreds of apprenticeships and deliver 7% of the UK's electricity in 2025.

Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: "Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the Government's agreement.

"Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security."

Ministers said the agreement "in principle" with EDF means the Government will be able to prevent the sale of the French firm's controlling stake before completion of construction, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers.

The Government said existing legal powers, and the new legal framework, would mean it was able to intervene in the sale of EDF's stake once Hinkley is operational.

"The new legal framework for future foreign investment in British critical infrastructure will mean that after Hinkley, the British Government will take a special share in all future nuclear new-build projects.

"This will ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without the Government's knowledge or consent.

"The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will be directed to require notice from developers or operators of nuclear sites of any change of ownership or part-ownership.

"This will allow the Government to advise or direct the ONR to take action to protect national security as a result of a change in ownership," a statement said.

Justin Bowden, GMB national secretary for energy, said: "Giving the thumbs-up to Hinkley is vital to fill the growing hole in the UK's energy supply needs."

Jean-Bernard Levy, EDF Group chief executive said the decision marked the "relaunch" of nuclear in Europe.

"It demonstrates the UK's desire to lead the fight against climate change through the development of low carbon electricity. This decision demonstrates confidence in the EPR technology and in the world renowned expertise of the French nuclear industry."

Barry Gardiner, shadow energy secretary, said the announcement was "face-saving" by the Government, adding: "They have failed to get a better deal for billpayers, they've caused a crisis in investor confidence in the UK, they've risked offending one of our key future trading partners, and in the end all they have done is to pretend to give themselves powers which they already had."

University College London's Professor Michael Grubb said: "The contract will commit UK energy consumers to pay many tens of billions of pounds over a period of 35 years after first operation - to about 2060.

"For this amount, we could now get about twice as much electricity even from the more expensive renewables like offshore wind energy."

A group opposed to Hinkley, and Greenpeace, delivered a 300,000-name petition to Downing Street calling for the project to be scrapped, shortly after the go-ahead was announced.

John Sauven, Greenpeace executive director, said: "This decision is unlikely to be the grand finale to this summer's political soap opera. There are still huge outstanding financial, legal and technical obstacles that can't be brushed under the carpet."

Horizon, the company behind the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station on Anglesey, North Wales, said: "New nuclear is vital for the UK's future electricity mix and so today's announcement on Hinkley Point C is good news for the country's security of supply and clean energy needs."

A Downing Street spokesman said that Prime Minister Theresa May spoke by phone with French president Francois Hollande before the announcement was made, while Mr Clark spoke with his counterparts in France and China.

The spokesman said: "We have done a good deal to secure Britain's energy security and supply into the future. We are proceeding on the basis of robust new safeguards that will enhance security at Hinkley.

"We are satisfied it is a good deal. It is worth pointing out that there will be no addition to anyone's bills until Hinkley is constructed and up and running."

Asked whether the Prime Minister was concerned that the new infrastructure safeguards announced by Mr Clark would put off potential foreign investors in future projects, a Downing Street spokesman said: "Not at all. As the Secretary of State said, we are very much a country that is open for business and welcomes international investment into Britain."

The spokesman also dismissed suggestions that the delay in giving the green light to Hinkley was down to Government dithering rather than any substantive change in the terms of the deal.

"Not at all," he said. "As we said some time ago, it was right that we took our time to look at all the component parts of this deal.
Britons involved in Bali ferry explosion which left at least one tourist dead

British people have been caught up in an explosion on board a tourist boat in Bali in which a German woman was killed.

Around 20 people were injured when the ferry blew up near a port in the east of the island, the Associated Press reported.

Images circulated on social media appeared to show bloodied passengers in lifeboats and others being helped by crew and locals on the Indonesian island.

Police investigators examine the boat following an explosion (AP)

A woman being carried appears to have both feet almost blown off in one graphic picture.

The Foreign Office said it is assisting British holidaymakers affected by the explosion.

A faulty battery may have sparked the blast, which happened just 200 metres from the departure port of Padang Bai harbour, reports suggested.

The Gili Cat 2 speedboat had more than 40 people on board, all of whom have been evacuated with the injured being treated at a local medical centre, Karangasem police chief Bambang Sudarso told reporters.

"One of the passengers died from bad injuries after being hit by boat debris that also caused injuries in others," he said.

There were unconfirmed reports that a second person had died.

The boat was travelling to the small island of Gili Trawangan, off neighbouring Lombok, and was carrying tourists from Britain, Australia, Germany, France and South Korea.

Police are now questioning the boat's captain.
No serious Brexit talks until end of 2017, says Herman van Rompuy

Serious negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union cannot begin until the end of next year, a former senior EU official has warned.

Herman van Rompuy, the former president of the European Council, said discussions on the "hard core" issues would have to wait until after elections in France and Germany in May and September.

"Before the German elections and before there is a new German government, no serious negotiations will take place," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Former European Council president Herman van Rompuy has warned serious Brexit negotiations will not be able to start until the end of next year

"You can always start with more technical matters but the hard core - the difficult topics - will be tackled after the constitution of the new German government. That will be October-November."

Mr van Rompuy said that while there was no desire to "punish" Britain for voting to leave, the UK had "not many friends" among the other 27 member states and the negotiation would be "difficult".

He warned that maintaining free movement of labour would be a "red line" if Britain wanted to remain part of the single market - pointing out that it formed part of the EU's agreements with Norway and Switzerland.

"Any negotiation will be a difficult negotiation," he said.

"Of course we want an agreement that represents some sort of mutual benefit. There are huge economic interests but there are also red lines. It is very well known that freedom of movement is one of those red lines.

"It is very difficult for the European Union to do something else vis a vis Britain compared to what we agreed upon with Norway and Switzerland.

"The big question is, even if there is some room for manoeuvre, is this sufficient for the British negotiators? It needs two to tango."

Mr van Rompuy said the Brexit vote was seen in the EU as a "political amputation of the first degree" and leaders would be keen to avoid further breakaways by member states.

"There is not a feeling that we have to punish, but on the other hand most leaders don't want to encourage other exits," he said.

"Britain had not many friends any more. I saw this clearly when I was in office when we had to vote on candidacy of Jean-Claude Juncker for the presidency of the commission. Britain was isolated.
I have cleared air with Neil Taylor, says Swans boss Guidolin

Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin insists he has no problem with Neil Taylor after replacing the Wales defender before half-time against Chelsea.

Taylor was the victim of a tactical decision after 42 minutes last Sunday as Guidolin abandoned his three centre-backs experiment and reverted to a flat back four.

The 35-times capped international was visibly unhappy at the call, and could clearly be seen asking, 'Why now?' after taking his place in the Swansea dug-out.

Swansea's Wales defender Neil Taylor was substituted before half-time of the 2-2 draw with Chelsea

Guidolin said he later apologised to Taylor, but claimed the decision was essential after Swansea, 1-0 down at the time with Chelsea dominating, fought back to draw 2-2.

"I spoke with him (Taylor) on the bench after the substitution and in the dressing room in front of all the players," Guidolin said ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Southampton.

"What I had to say, I have said face to face.

"I spoke about it in front of the world in the press conference and for me there is no more problem. It's enough.

"Yes, I don't like this situation, but it's a possibility for a manager.

"I saw many other managers change before half-time and I think it's not a problem.

"But it's not a good moment and I wanted to say to Neil it wasn't an easy decision for me."

Taylor's more immediate problem is trying to oust Stephen Kingsley from the Swansea team.

The young Scotland international has taken advantage of Taylor's extended post-Euro 2016 break to establish him as the first-choice left-back.

But Guidolin gave no guarantees when asked whether Taylor would play at St Mary's on Sunday.

"We have in this period three important games and there is the possibility for him and others to play in one or two or three of these games," Guidolin said, with the Southampton game preceding a cup and league double-header against Manchester City.

"Players have to be ready for two or three competitions, there is no difference between Premier League or (EFL) cup.

"We are focused on Southampton, then Manchester City.

"The draw was not lucky for us, but this is the situation and we will try to play well."

Guidolin hopes to get one over Southampton manager and old friend Claude Puel on Sunday.

Puel was at Lille when Guidolin spent one season at Monaco from 2005-06, and the pair met in the United States during pre-season.

"I know him because we had a common friend in France," Guidolin said.

"I spoke with him in the summer when they were in Washington.
British-Iraqi man to be extradited to France to face people trafficking charges

A British-Iraqi man accused of being the head of a criminal organisation that smuggled people into the UK is to be extradited to France.

Rekawt Kayani, 34, is wanted to face trafficking charges which could see him jailed for 10 years.

The charges include facilitating the entry of migrants and conspiracy to commit the same.

The case against Rekawt Kayani was heard at Westminster Magistrates' Court

He was apprehended on a European arrest warrant at his home in the Normanton area of Derby in May.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser told the hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court she rejected three issues raised by his defence.

In her judgement she said: "In light of the serious nature of the allegations, I have taken the view that extradition would not be disproportionate."

Kayani appeared in the dock wearing a blue tracksuit and was accompanied by a Kurdish interpreter. He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and that he understood the judgment.

At a previous hearing the court heard how the European arrest warrant claims Kayani is the head of a trafficking organisation, specifically an Iraqi Kurdish network, which facilitated movement to Britain from its base camp in France.

The judgment said Kayani is alleged to have facilitated the admission of people to the UK from a migrant camp in Grande-Synthe, France.

Intercept material, ground surveillance and statements from Polish drivers are among the evidence which could be used against Kayani.

The investigation stretches back to 2014 and it is alleged that Kayani was linked to numerous smuggling instances between December 2014 and January this year.

His defence had previously argued that the arrest warrant did not say in sufficient detail what Kayani was supposed to have done.

It was suggested the case could be dealt with in Britain as some of the alleged offending and potential harm took place here.

But District Judge Baraitser rejected defence claims that the European arrest warrant was "insufficiently particularised" and said the details within it were sufficient to "enable you to understand" the charges.

She said the arrest warrant is clear on Kayani's role and sets out the nature of the organisation - "an Iraqi-Kurdish network facilitating immigration to Great Britain" - a nd that it says he was the "organiser" of a specific number of passages which allegedly took place on November 4 last year and January 10 and 16 this year.

She also rejected suggestions that it was unclear whether French authorities had made a decision to charge him, saying it was clear they had.

Although Judge Baraitser accepted that a substantial harm from his alleged activities could have been primarily in the UK, because there has already been a significant investigation in France, he should be tried there and not in the UK.

"In light of the available evidence it is possible to conclude that Mr Kayani carried out his role remotely and that he performed his role from the UK," she added in her judgment.

Calling the allegations "serious ones", she added: "I consider that if convicted he is likely to receive a significant sentence of imprisonment."
Harlow split over Polish officers, says police commander

The arrival of two police officers from Poland has split opinion among the Polish community in Essex, with some saying they do not trust the police, a district commander said.

The officers were sent to Harlow - which has a large Polish population - to reassure the community after Arkadiusz Jozwik was killed in the town last month.

Police are treating the attack as possibly racially aggravated and the murder was condemned by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Polish officers Bartosz Czernicki and Dariusz Tybura join local Pc Paul Harrison on patrol in Harlow

Mr Jozwik was killed by a single punch in an apparently unprovoked attack on August 27.

Two other Polish men were assaulted in the town centre hours after attending a silent vigil for the 40-year-old, known as Arek, on September 4.

The Polish police officers - 2nd Lieutenant Bartosz Czernicki and Chief Sergeant Dariusz Tybura - will be working in and around Harlow with different communities for seven days, and were patrolling the streets with local officers on Thursday morning.

Chief Inspector Alan Ray, district commander for Harlow, said: "The Polish government made the offer to Essex Police to send Polish officers to Harlow to help with community engagement and we thought that was a good idea.

"We welcomed them with open arms and they're now policing the town, not using any powers as such, but just on the community engagement side, to meet and greet the public and to reassure the community."

Asked if there has been any feedback from the Polish community, he said: "We've had mixed messages from the Polish community.

"Some are saying to us that, 'We don't trust police officers and that's from our experience from Poland'. Others are saying, 'We welcome these Polish police officers in'.

"And the experiences we've had on the street with the Polish police officers have all been positive. They've been welcomed by the community."

Mr Ray said the feedback has been "fairly even" in terms of positive and negative, adding: "You'll get that if you ask questions to any community. You'll get positives and negatives. And our job now is to bridge those gaps and make sure the people of Harlow can talk to the police and report incidents to the police."

He said it is the police's role to "build that trust" with communities.

"There is a fear of Polish police and there is a fear of English police, and that comes from all different communities. Some people will trust us, some people won't," he said.

The presence of the Polish officers is "about reassurance in all communities", Mr Ray said, pointing out that over the last year only 2% of victims in Harlow were Polish nationals.

A local officer and one of the Polish policemen stopped to talk to Paula Templeman, 36, who was sitting outside a cafe.

She said they were "completely approachable" and said the Polish officer "seemed lovely".

Last week a Polish man was beaten by a group of up to 20 teenagers in a suspected racially aggravated assault in Leeds.

Theresa May called the Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo to express her "deep regret" and to stress "hate crime has no place in UK society".
Andy Murray to miss grandfather's funeral to represent Britain in Davis Cup

Andy Murray will miss his grandfather's funeral on Friday to play in Great Britain's Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina.

Gordon Murray, the father of Andy and Jamie's father Willie, died last week.

Andy missed Thursday's press conference at Glasgow's Emirates Arena, reportedly so he could attend a family gathering, but Jamie was present.

Andy Murray, right, and Juan Martin Del Potro will resume their rivalry in Davis Cup

The older Murray brother will only play in the doubles rubber on Saturday and will therefore be able to go to the funeral.

At the same time, Andy will be playing in the standout - and potentially decisive - rubber against Juan Martin Del Potro, which opens the tie.

The pair battled against each other for more than four hours in the Olympic gold medal match in Rio last month, with Murray eventually coming out on top.

Del Potro's status as only the third-ranked Argentina player, as he continues to work his way back from a long absence during which he underwent three wrist operations, lent an unusual level of intrigue to the draw.

Normally the big singles matches take place on Sunday but Guido Pella was given the nod to be Argentina's number one ahead of the higher-ranked Federico Delbonis and will play Kyle Edmund on Friday.

Argentina captain Daniel Orsanic, though, had no qualms in declaring Del Potro his side's most important player.

"Without a doubt," he said. "I think he's going through a very good moment. His comeback I think is good for the world of tennis so you can imagine what it means for us Argentinians."

Del Potro followed up his stunning Olympic run, where he defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, by reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The 27-year-old said: " I will try to do a different match from Rio. It's going to be really tough but I'm looking forward to do the surprise.

"I will be fresh tomorrow and I know how my level is at this moment. I will try to play aggressive all the time. We'll see if I can give the first point to my team."

Del Potro's sledgehammer forehand is a weapon feared by all in the tennis world and the odds are Friday's clash will be another gruelling one, although the surface here is a lot quicker than in Rio.

GB captain Leon Smith opted to name both Edmund and fellow singles player Dan Evans in his four-man team ahead of Dom Inglot.

That removed the back-up doubles option, meaning Andy will once again be asked to play with Jamie on Saturday and compete on all three days.

The 29-year-old has admitted to fatigue following a hectic summer that saw him win both Wimbledon and the Olympics but Smith is confident he can produce more heroics for his country.

"We saw last year in the semi-final against Australia, you could see Andy was fatigued and he still found a way to do it," said the 40-year-old.

"He's a very robust guy, both physically and mentally, so don't be surprised to see him do it."

Edmund, who led Britain to victory in the quarter-final against Serbia in July in Andy's absence, was given the nod ahead of Evans for Friday's opening clashes.

Both had staked strong claims, climbing into the top 55 in the rankings and putting in fine showings at the US Open, and Evans could yet potentially play a decisive fifth rubber on Sunday.

Smith said: "It's a difficult choice because both Dan and Kyle are playing great tennis, they're pretty much neck and neck in the rankings, they both have really good Davis Cup experience now.

"It wasn't a question of picking one and not the other, it was a question of looking at how we go across the three days and I just felt that's how I wanted to start on Friday."

An 8,000-strong crowd will hope to roar Britain to victory, as they did in last year's ties here against the USA and Australia.

Britain are hoping to follow up their remarkable Davis Cup triumph last November, a first for the country in 79 years, by setting up a final against either France or Croatia.
Haseeb Hameed expected to be included for England's Test series in Bangladesh

Haseeb Hameed is expected to be one of the solutions when England deliver their verdict on the fiendish logic problem complicating squad selections to tour Bangladesh.

Teenage Lancashire batsman Hameed has been widely touted as Test captain Alastair Cook's ninth new opening partner since Andrew Strauss' retirement four years ago.

If selected in a likely 17-man squad on Friday morning, and then to play in the first Test in Chittagong on October 20, 19-year-old Hameed would become England's youngest-ever opening batsman.

Teenager Haseeb Hameed may open for England in Bangladesh

His anticipated promotion, after just 18 first-class matches but more than 1,000 runs this summer alone, would be merely one response to all manner of variables which have been thrown at the selectors.

Their job became still more taxing last weekend, when the latest googly was delivered by confirmation that not just one-day international captain Eoin Morgan but also opening batsman Alex Hales were not prepared to travel to Bangladesh because of security concerns.

Their absence from an otherwise settled ODI squad means musings on who might replace them in the 50-over top four suddenly became more urgent - and no less imponderable.

England's schedule, moving straight on without warm-up after three ODIs and then two Tests in Bangladesh to five Tests in India, has made the selectors' task just that little bit tricker.

It is perhaps not surprising therefore that, contrary to initial indications, they will not pick a squad for India yet.

In the two touring parties they do select, it will be a feat to cover all bases - including the right man to open too with Jason Roy, in the record-breaking Hales' ODI absence, which third or possibly fourth spinner to add to the Test squad and how to solve not just Morgan's limited-overs unavailability but a vacancy at number four in the Test line-up too after James Vince's poor summer.

Alongside Hameed, the most likely call-ups are for left-arm spinner Liam Dawson - possibly in both squads - Jos Buttler's return to the Test reckoning as wicketkeeping cover but also to increase options in the middle order and ODI recognition at least for Ben Duckett's prolific run-making across the formats with Northamptonshire and England Lions.

Others, inevitably, have been mentioned and may easily find themselves involved.

Uncapped Somerset left-arm orthodox Jack Leach is a distinct possibility - especially in such a big Test squad - as a fourth spinner in conditions which will necessitate plenty of resources.

Keaton Jennings' form this summer, like Duckett's, is mighty hard to ignore - and England may find room for him too, a move which would provide flexibility at the top of the Test order should it all prove too much at this stage for Hameed.

At the other end of the age scale, recalls for veterans Ian Bell and Gareth Batty are marginally left-field but feasible if England are minded to add a little extra nous for a tour which is sure to prove a challenge on and off the field.

It was mooted over the past month that ever-present pair Moeen Ali and Joe Root may take a short, well-earned rest from the ODI series.

That remains a possibility. But in Morgan and Hales' absence, without Root and Moeen, England would suddenly have to deal with a chasm of experience in a white-ball team preparing for next summer's Champions Trophy campaign on home soil.

Moeen in particular, England's utility player across all formats, may discover there is no time for a rest after all - because a move back up the order, in the 50-over team as in the Test line-up at the start of last winter, is one method of covering Hales' temporary unavailability.

Possible England Test squad: AN Cook (captain), H Hameed, JE Root, GS Ballance, JM Bairstow (wkt), BA Stokes, MM Ali, CR Woakes, SCJ Broad, ST Finn, JM Anderson, AU Rashid, JC Buttler, MA Wood, MJ Leach, KK Jennings, LA Dawson
MPs urge halt to UK arms sales over Saudi Arabia 'human rights breaches'

All sales of UK weapons which could be used in Saudi Arabia's military action in Yemen should be halted until the completion of an independent inquiry into alleged breaches of human rights, a parliamentary report has said.

The joint report by the House of Commons Business and International Development Committees said it had been presented with evidence of "clear violations" of international humanitarian law (IHL) including the death of 47 civilians - among them 21 women and 15 children - and injuries to 58 more when a house hosting a wedding party was struck by two missiles fired by military aircraft.

But the publication exposed deep differences between MPs on the issue, as the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee released its own rival report insisting that exports should be blocked only if the UK courts rule the weapons sales unlawful.

Crispin Blunt has called for a review of the suitability of laws governing arms exports

The highly unusual decision to publish two simultaneous reports is a mark of the depth of controversy over claims that UK-made armaments are being used in indiscriminate bombing raids on civilian targets by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shia rebels known as the Houthis in Yemen.

International medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has accused the coalition of war crimes for an air strike on its hospital which killed at least 11 last month.

An internal investigation launched by Saudi Arabia is regarded as inadequate by campaigners, including the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which is taking legal action to seek the suspension of arms export licences to the country.

The FAC's Conservative chairman Crispin Blunt is understood to have drawn up the rival document after objecting to proposals to issue the call for immediate suspension under the banner of the House of Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) - a panel which brings together the cross-party committees for Business, Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development.

Reports suggested that Mr Blunt walked out of a private meeting of CAEC to prevent a vote being taken on the draft report, which he regarded as one-sided. Meanwhile, the Defence Committee has given no indication of whether it intends to publish its own report.

Conservative MP Chris White, who chaired the CAEC inquiry into the exports and is a member of the Business Committee, said: "The UK led the way in establishing international humanitarian law to govern the sale of arms. The conflict in Yemen has raised serious concerns that we are not showing equal determination in ensuring that these are respected.

"During this inquiry we have heard evidence from respected sources that weapons made in the UK have been used in contravention of International Humanitarian Law. The Government can no longer wait and see and must now take urgent action, halting the sale of arms to the Saudi-led coalition until we can be sure that there is no risk of violation.

"We call on the Government to continue the UK's long-standing commitment to IHL and lead the international community in establishing a strong, independent inquiry. The circumstances surrounding incidents in Yemen, such as allegations of the use of cluster bombs, must be firmly established and send a clear message to all combatants in Yemen that human rights must be respected.

"The current system for overseeing the sale of arms must be improved. At present we do not have sufficient transparency to hold licensing decisions to account or the confidence that the benchmarks ensuring human rights law is respected are high enough. This must be addressed immediately."

Labour MP Stephen Twigg, chair of the International Development Committee, added: "We remain unconvinced that Saudi Arabia is best placed to investigate reports of breaches of humanitarian law - progress so far has been too slow.

"It is important to remember that both sides to the conflict are potentially involved in breaches of humanitarian law and without credible investigations, neither side is being held accountable for their actions."

Arms trade law made clear that export licences should not be granted " where there is a clear risk that they might be used in a serious violation of IHL", said Mr Twigg, adding: "It is hard to understand how a reliable licence assessment process would not have concluded that there is a clear risk of misuse of at least some arms exports to Saudi Arabia."

The FAC report backed an independent UN-led investigation into allegations of human rights violations, but said that the courts are the most appropriate body to decide whether the Government has broken the law by permitting continued sales.

"Saudi Arabia is a key partner of the United Kingdom in addressing our shared challenges in the Middle East," said Mr Blunt.

"I am yet to hear any persuasive argument for how we better secure our many strategic objectives in the region without a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia.

"This includes bringing about a political solution to the current conflict in Yemen, that was so deplorably precipitated by the armed Houthi rebellion in 2014.

"However, the massive British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override our wider legal and moral obligations.

"It is crucial that the UK does everything in its power to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition."

Mr Blunt said there was " a clear need for a wider discussion" on the suitability of the laws governing arms exports.

Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said the FAC's recommendations would mean any suspension of arms sales being delayed for at least four months and warned that the judicial review should not be used as an excuse for inaction.

"It should not take a court case for the UK to stop arming one of the most repressive dictatorships in the world while it is creating a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, one of the poorest countries," said Mr Smith.

"The evidence that Saudi Arabia is violating international humanitarian law is overwhelming, and our legal action cannot be used as an excuse to carry on with business as usual."

Welcoming the tougher report from the Business and International Development committees, Mr Smith said: "The report is definitely to be welcomed, although it should not have taken 18 months since the bombing began for arms sales to be scrutinised in this way.

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen has only got worse, and the Government's response has been to sell even more weapons. The UK has been complicit in the destruction; now it must act to stop it. That means ending the arms sales and ending its uncritical support for the Saudi regime."

Amnesty International UK's arms control director Oliver Sprague said: "This 'war of the reports' shouldn't become a distraction from the very simple fact that the UK is arming Saudi Arabia while the Saudi-led coalition is behind wave after wave of indiscriminate bombing in Yemen.

"Thousands of Yemeni civilians have already been killed and injured in devastating Saudi-led airstrikes on hospitals, schools and homes - what clearer demonstration of the risk of sending more arms to Saudi Arabia does the Government need?"

A Government spokeswoman said: "We will consider the two different reports from the committees and respond in due course.

"The Government takes arms export responsibilities very seriously, and continues to assess each licence application carefully on a case-by-case basis.

"The key test for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia is whether there is a clear risk that those exports might be used in a commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. The situation is kept under careful and continual review."

Oxfam GB chief executive Mark Goldring said: "These reports leave the Government exposed as wilfully ignoring both UK and international law in order to keep selling arms which are exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. With more than 20 million Yemenis in need of aid, ministers need to change course urgently.

"The Government has both a moral and legal obligation to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia immediately and to carry out a rigorous investigation into how British arms are being used. These hard-hitting reports mean it can no longer hide behind the flimsy fig leaf of Saudi assurances."

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Tom Brake said there was "overwhelming evidence" of breaches of humanitarian law by the Saudis.

Mr Brake said: "Instead of defending universal rights and standing tall in the world, this Government have ignored Parliament, ignored the UN and ignored the suffering of millions of civilians.

"May's Foreign Office must stop defending the indefensible and immediately suspend arms contracts with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

In the Lords, Labour called for the Government to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which could then be used in Yemen.

Opposition spokesman Lord Tunnicliffe said: "I understand that ministers have raised this issue with Saudi Arabia. But highlighting it doesn't solve the problem of British made weapons being used in another country to wage a war where international humanitarian law is being violated.

"Clearly it is now time for the UK Government to suspend arms sales to allow for a proper investigation into what appears to be serious breaches of international humanitarian law."

For the Government, Baroness Goldie said Britain operated one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world.

"The key test for our continued arms export to Saudi Arabia is whether there is a clear risk that those weapons might be used in the commission of a serious violation of law.
New chair of child sexual abuse inquiry to earn 185,000 a year

The new chairwoman of the national inquiry into child sexual abuse will earn 185,000 a year.

Professor Alexis Jay, who was named as the fourth head of the probe last month after Dame Lowell Goddard resigned, will also be given a London accommodation allowance of 35,000.

Prof Jay's salary is substantially lower than that given to her predecessor, who was paid 355,000 in the last financial year.

Professor Alexis Jay's salary is substantially lower than that given to her predecessor

Releasing details of the new chair's remuneration package, the inquiry said: " Professor Jay specifically requested this salary and furthermore did not require the use of a car and driver as provided to the previous Chair."

The inquiry also published its financial report for 2015/16, including details of spending amounting to more than half a million pounds in relation to Dame Lowell's terms.

This included 355,000 in annual salary and 119,000 on rental and utilities allowance

The inquiry incurred costs of 67,319 during the last financial year on travel included in the New Zealand high court judge's terms of appointment.

" This included travel to and from New Zealand for her and her family," the report said.

Dame Lowell's terms stated that the Home Office would cover the cost of four return flights from the UK to New Zealand per year for her and her husband and a further two return flights from New Zealand to the UK for other immediate family members.

Reports emerged shortly before her resignation was announced that Dame Lowell had spent more than 70 days working abroad or on holiday during her time in charge.

At the time the inquiry said she had spent 44 days in New Zealand and Australia on inquiry business and was entitled to 30 days of annual leave.

Meanwhile, the financial report also showed that the inquiry spent 14.7 million out of a 17.9 million budget in 2015/16, with the unspent funds returned to the Home Office.

Earlier this month Prof Jay defended the inquiry and insisted it will not be scaled back.

It came after Dame Lowell said there was an "inherent problem" in its "sheer scale and size" and called for a "complete review".
North-South education divide 'has serious consequences for the future'

The growing divide in the performance of secondary schools between the north and south of England should make us " worry as a nation", the chief inspector of schools has said.

Sir Michael Wilshaw told a conference that England "north of the Wash" was being neglected "with serious consequences for the future".

And re-emphasising his warnings against the Government's plan for new selective schools, he said part of the solution was "leaders who want to develop a grammar school culture and ethos in the non-selective system".

Sir Michael Wilshaw heads the schools watchdog Ofsted

Sir Michael, who heads the schools watchdog Ofsted, said: " We should worry as a nation about this growing divide between the north and the south after the age of 11.

"Let me be clear, I believe the north is being neglected, with serious consequences for the future.

"We should worry much more about Stoke than Sevenoaks. We should worry much more about Manchester than Maidenhead. We should worry much more about Bradford than Brighton."

Sir Michael was speaking at conference about the Northern Powerhouse at Huddersfield University.

He told delegates he rejected the argument that this north-south divide is related to relative poverty, pointing out that many northern primary schools are doing well, even in poor areas.

Sir Michael highlighted the performance of primaries in Redcar and Cleveland, which he said had suffered huge recent job losses but are out-performing even London schools.

He said: " So this is not about poverty, this is about expectations.

"Too many children who are doing well in primary schools in the north of England are then going on to secondary school and not doing as well."

The chief inspector said GCSE scores in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds were below national average and towns around these cities, including Rochdale, Oldham, Doncaster and Bradford were doing even worse.

But Sir Michael said some areas in the north bucked this " depressing picture of what's happening in the north", singling out North and South Tyneside, York, Blackburn with Darwen and Newcastle.

The chief inspector painted a picture of one unnamed northern secondary school he visited recently where he witnessed " very little mixed ability teaching, with bright children lolling about, bored and listless, in too many classes".

He said: " Worst of all, the senior leadership team, including the head teacher, appeared far too accepting of the status quo, without a coherent view of how standards could be raised."

Sir Michael told the conference the answer was better leadership by both governors and head teachers rather than more structural reform.

He said: " We need good leaders of individual institutions and groups of schools. We need leaders who want to develop a grammar school culture and ethos in the non-selective system."

Earlier this month, Sir Michael warned that the Prime Minister's plan to bring back grammars threatens up to 20 years of progress in the education system and could affect the UK's ability to compete with the rest of the world.

On Thursday, he told the conference there had been great improvements in state eduction in the last 40 years but he said: "Unless we narrow this regional divide, the great improvement that we have made over the years will stall.
Europe divided, Juncker urges post-Brexit EU to unite

By Alastair Macdonald

STRASBOURG, Sept 14 (Reuters) - EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker warned divided Europeans on Wednesday that their Union was in an "existential crisis" after Britain's vote to quit and said leaders must pull together to stop it unravelling.

In his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament, the Commission president said the bloc was not about to disappear - "the EU as such is not at risk" - but its ability to steer common policies was jeopardised by splits, so that it was "at least in part, in an existential crisis".

Though addressed to mainly sympathetic EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, his message was aimed squarely at the 27 national leaders who will meet on Friday in Bratislava to try and find a way forward following the decision of the absent 28th member state, Britain, to leave the bloc in June's Brexit referendum.

"Never before have I seen national governments so weakened by the forces of populism and paralysed by the risk of defeat in the next elections," said the former Luxembourg premier, a 30-year veteran of EU politics, referring to eurosceptics across Europe drawing inspiration from the British rejection of the EU.

"There are splits out there and often fragmentation," he added. "That is leaving scope for galloping populism."

The coming year sees Dutch, French and German elections, and anti-EU groups are riding high in polls. That limits appetite for big ideas from the Commission, however much Juncker sees his role as delivering proposals that governments can unite around.

While leaders were chasing votes by echoing eurosceptic opponents, Juncker said, only by cooperating to revive growth, strengthen trade, fight terrorism and secure EU borders could they "regain the trust" of citizens in their shared enterprise.

"Europeans are tired of the endless disputes, quarrels and bickering," he said. "Europeans want concrete solutions."

In an admission of weakness from a man who a year ago tried, but failed, to force countries to accept mandatory quotas of asylum-seekers as a million arrived in Greece, he conceded he lacked power to impose unity and must appeal to states for solidarity.

CONCRETE PROGRAMME

As a result, the executive offered a legislative programme focused on modest areas of common ground. It included extending the "Juncker plan" for EU seed capital to bolster investment , a smaller scheme to help African business and so, perhaps, ease migration pressure, and reforms to promote the digital economy.

Juncker also highlighted recent EU decisions to show the Union working for ordinary voters - such as by handing Apple Inc a massive tax bill or scrapping planned curbs on mobile phone roaming that were seen as too soft on big telecom firms.

The Commission revived ideas for more cooperation among EU armies, now that British objections no longer count. Not all remaining member states are keen but EU defence projects can mean coalitions of the willing. The focus will be on pooling military equipment and promoting defence research.

Among eye-catching small initiatives was a proposal for a European Solidarity Corps to let young people, many of whom are suffering from stubbornly high youth unemployment, volunteer to help in crises like Italian earthquakes or Greek migrant camps.

There was, too, a promise of "free wireless internet" in every European village by 2020. There was little detail on that and the digital arena remains a battlefield fought over by competing industrial, national and other interests.

Juncker confirmed plans to promote funding of high-speed broadband and 5G mobile networks and to revise copyright for content posted online.

EUROSCEPTIC SCORN

The 48-minute speech drew a standing ovation from the main parties in an assembly dominated by supporters of closer European integration, but there was scorn from eurosceptics, including Marine Le Pen, the French National Front leader, and Nigel Farage, the triumphant Brexit campaigner from UKIP.

The pro-Brexit British Conservative leader, Syed Kamall, was also dismissive of "the same mantra" of more EU integration.

"The more you propagate EU supranationalism, the more nationalism has risen in our member states," he said.

Le Pen described Juncker's downbeat assessment of the state of the Union as "like a funeral for the EU". Farage seized on an ethics probe by Juncker into his predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso for taking a job at Goldman Sachs, to revive his accusation that the EU is run like a cosy club for big business.

Commission officials acknowledge that more ambitious plans to address key problems, such as the stability of the euro zone and coordination of national budgets, remain on hold until after next year's elections due to a split between a German-led north keen on austerity and a southern bloc with heavier debts.

On migration, asylum and borders issue, the Commission stuck to calls to implement existing policy, including a plan to share out refugees that is opposed by many in the east.

The Juncker address offered few clues to the talks with London that he insists cannot start until British Prime Minister Theresa May formally starts a two-year countdown to departure.

Juncker urged haste on that and reiterated the EU position that Britain could not retain its full EU market access if it blocks free immigration from the EU.

"There can be no a la carte access to the single market," he said of British hopes to cut immigration and keep free trade.
Myanmar benefits will allow for duty-free exports to United States-official

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Myanmar will be able to export about 5,000 products to the United States duty-free under a new designation under the Generalized System of Preferences trade preferences program, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

The change, set to take effect on Nov. 13, will help the Myanmar government create jobs and reduce poverty in a country where per capita income is estimated at $1,280, the official said.
Endangered Hawaiian crow shows a knack for tool use

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - An endangered crow species from Hawaii that already is extinct in the wild displays remarkable proficiency in using small sticks and other objects to wrangle a meal, joining a small and elite group of animals that use tools.

Scientists said on Wednesday that in a series of experiments the crow, known by its indigenous Hawaiian name 'Alala, used objects as tools with dexterity to get at hard-to-reach meat, sometimes modifying them by shortening too-long sticks or making tools from raw plant material.

"Tool use is exceedingly rare in the animal kingdom," evolutionary ecologist Christian Rutz of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who led the study published in the journal Nature, said in an email.

The 'Alala (pronounced ah-la-lah) is the second crow species known to naturally use tools. The other is the New Caledonian crow on New Caledonia island in the South Pacific, which uses tools to extract insects and other prey from deadwood and vegetation.

New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows share a common feature: unusually straight bills. The researchers wondered whether this trait might be an evolutionary adaptation for holding tools, akin to people's opposable thumbs.

Scientists are trying to save the 'Alala from extinction. The remaining 131 birds are kept in two facilities on the Big Island of Hawaii and the island of Maui.

"A range of factors may have contributed to the species' decline in the late 20th century, including habitat change and disease," Rutz said.

Scientists have mounted a captive-breeding program and later this year plan to release captive-reared birds on the Big Island, their former home in the wild, to try to re-establish a wild population.

Humans are the most adept tool users. But our closest genetic cousins, chimpanzees, use stick probes to extract ants, termites and honey. Capuchin monkeys and macaques use stones to hammer open hard-shelled nuts and shellfish, respectively. Egyptian vultures and black-breasted buzzards use stone tools to crack open bird eggs for food. Even some invertebrates, including digger wasps, hermit crabs and some spiders, use tools.
Germany and France see fresh momentum from Ukraine ceasefire

By Pavel Polityuk and Andrea Shalal

KIEV, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The German and French foreign ministers said on Wednesday an attempt to revive a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine from midnight could set the scene for agreement next week on further peace moves.

Visiting Kiev with his French counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Ukraine had agreed to abide by a new seven-day truce proposed by Russian-backed separatists and explicitly backed by Moscow.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he also expected both sides to sign an agreement next week to withdraw their troops from the lines of conflict in three hotspots.

"In the next week we see an opportunity for a new dynamic in the conflict," Ayrault told reporters.

The agreement is expected at a regular meeting on Tuesday of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with both sides in the conflict. It would be monitored and verified by OSCE observers.

A ceasefire was launched to coincide with the start of the school year on Sept. 1. It failed to stop all fighting.

"We are again at a crossroads," Steinmeier told a briefing. "We see a small sliver of hope in the back-to-school ceasefire ... but it is not enough."

If the ceasefire holds and the agreement is signed as expected, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia could meet in New York next week on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

That could prepare the way for a meeting of the leaders of the four "Normandy format" countries for the first time since October 2015.

MINSK DEAL STALLED

"The presence of Jean-Marc and Frank-Walter here in Kiev is evidence that the Normandy format works, that we must together force Russia to implement the Minsk agreements," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said at the briefing.

France and Germany helped broker the 18-month-old Minsk peace deal. Many of its key points, such as holding regional elections and returning control of Ukraine's border with Russia to Kiev, have long been stalled.

"We understand that to implement the Minsk agreements, to force Russia to implement them, we need a clear idea of the sequence of steps and guarantees of their implementation from Russia," he said.

Moscow denies accusations by Ukraine and NATO that it helps the separatists with troops and arms in a rebellion in which over 9,500 people have been killed since spring 2014.

Ayrault and Steinmeier emphasised their support for Ukraine and their rejection of Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014. Steinmeier said that as the OSCE did not recognize the annexation, it would not send observers to Russian parliamentary elections planned in Crimea on Sept. 18.

Making his own separate trip to Kiev, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Wednesday it was crucial for the West to maintain sanctions against Russia.
GSK shingles vaccine remains effective after four years -study

By Gene Emery

Sept 14 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline's experimental vaccine to prevent the intensely painful condition known as shingles remained 90 percent effective in people over age 70 even four years after receiving the injection, according to data published on Wednesday.

In clinical trials, GSK's Shingrix has shown greater protection for older recipients than what has been demonstrated by Merck & Co's rival Zostavax vaccine. The drug is one of GSK's biggest new product hopes. It plans to file for U.S., European and Japanese approval this year, and the vaccine could reach the market in 2017.

The latest four-year data on Shingrix, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows it may also provide an additional significant advantage by maintaining its effectiveness over time.

"It's a real step forward for vaccinology for elderly patients," the study's lead author, Dr. Anthony Cunningham of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia, said in a telephone interview.

Zostavax efficacy declines with age, dropping to only about 18 percent in adults over 79 versus 70 percent for people in their 50s. A Kaiser Permanente study found it was 69 percent effective in patients age 60 and older, yet only 4.2 percent remained protected seven years later.

Researchers found no such drop with GSK's vaccine in the study of 13,900 volunteers over age 69.

"Although the follow-up period was limited to four years, there was little decline in effectiveness in the years following vaccination," said Dr. Susan Rehm, vice chairwoman of the department of infectious disease at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study.

GSK had previously reported 90 percent protection with Shingrix in recipients over age 69.

It worked as well among people in their 70s as it did in people in their 80s and 90s, and that effectiveness "was maintained for the duration of the trial," said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Dr. Marie Griffin of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in a Journal editorial.

It also protected against residual pain caused by shingles in 89 percent of cases.

The risk of shingles, which is caused by reactivation of the chicken pox virus, increases with age. There are about 1 million cases of shingles in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Analysts are forecasting global Shingrix sales reaching $1.2 billion in 2021, according to Thomson Reuters Cortellis. The vaccine contains a component from U.S. biotech Agenus Inc , which is entitled to royalties on future sales, but no live virus.

The GSK vaccine was administered in two doses given two months apart, while Merck's is given in one injection.
IMF board approves $1 billion loan disbursement to Ukraine

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said its board on Wednesday approved a long-awaited loan disbursement to Ukraine of about $1 billion after a review of the country's bailout program.

The IMF has agreed to pump $17.5 billion into Ukraine's economy in a four-year bailout, releasing the funds in installments subject to the government making progress on economic and anti-corruption reforms.

To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion in the program launched in March 2015.

The latest disbursement was less than the roughly $1.7 billion anticipated, after some reforms required by the fund had stalled.

But the IMF said in a statement that the board had approved waivers for Kiev's failure to meet criteria related to international reserves targets, external payments arrears and foreign exchange restrictions.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the disbursement would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.

In a statement, he said a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed, and that the funds' release would help keep the hryvnia currency stable and aid the economy.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognises that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said.

Last week, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September.

The IMF cash and external loans should boost foreign currency reserves to $17.2 billion by the end of the year, a central bank deputy governor, Oleh Churiy, said, welcoming the IMF decision as a positive signal for domestic and foreign investors.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement after the board's vote that Ukraine was showing signs of recovery and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system.
Japan's Mitsubishi Corp targets majority stake in Lawson

By Ritsuko Shimizu

TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp on Thursday said it is considering raising its stake in convenience store operator Lawson Inc to make it a subsidiary, in a deal worth about 140 billion yen ($1.37 billion).

Lawson is trying to claw back market share in the Japanese market, after a merger between FamilyMart Co and Uny Group Holdings earlier this month knocked the Tokyo-based chain down from second- to third-biggest by number of stores.

Mitsubishi was planning to raise its stake in Lawson to just over 50 percent, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters. In separate statements, both companies said Mitsubishi was considering a takeover, but no decision had been made.

With a 33.4 percent stake as of earlier this year, Mitsubishi Corp, Japan's largest conglomerate whose businesses range from steel processing to salmon farming, already is Lawson's biggest share holder.

Increasing its stake to 50 percent would cost Mitsubishi about 140 billion yen based on Lawson's current market value of around 792 billion yen, plus a premium.

Lawson stood to gain from Mitsubishi Corp's vast food processing and distribution businesses, the source said, as domestic convenience stores battle with larger supermarket chains to draw in a wider range of consumers, including elderly people.

"The biggest benefit of an increased presence by Mitsubishi Corp would be that they could help us strengthen our product appeal," said the company source, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.

While Lawson stood to gain from the increased backing, one investor said that for Mitsubishi, the investment would be a drop in the bucket relative to its massive portfolio.

"It will create a more stable return profile. But within the whole Mitsubishi group, it's very small so the impact won't be that much," said Richard Dingemans, CEO at Pelargos Capital, based in The Hague.

To better compete in the consolidating convenient store sector, Lawson has been setting up joint ventures with smaller regional convenient store chains to expand its presence around the country.

In an interview with Reuters in June, Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu, who began his career at Mitsubishi Corp, said Lawson was looking for opportunities to expand overseas.
Pakistan train crash kills four, scores hurt - rescue service

By Mubasher Bukhari

LAHORE, Pakistan, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A Pakistani express train crashed into a freight train on Thursday killing at least four people and injuring 93, an emergency rescue service said.

The Awam Express bound for the southern city of Karachi hit the freight train about 25 km (15 miles) from the city of Multan, in Punjab province, trapping some passengers in overturned carriages.

"The last trapped victim has been extricated after four hours by cutting thick metal sheets of train cartridge with the help of hydraulic cutters," a provincial emergency service, Rescue 1122, said in report.

It said four people had been killed. Earlier, media put the death toll at six with more than 150 injured.

Pakistan's colonial-era railway network has fallen into disrepair in recent decades due to chronic under-investment and poor maintenance.
Australia's natural gas bans risk replicating Springsteen's rust belt: Russell

By Clyde Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Sept 15 (Reuters) - When government policies are driven by populist politics, it is almost certain to lead to poor outcomes and a low standard of debate, as shown by the current conundrum in Australia's natural gas sector.

The natural gas-rich Northern Territory has become the latest of Australia's eight state and territory governments to restrict the development of the industry, by placing a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of wells.

The Northern Territory move came as part of a campaign commitment by the newly-elected Labor Party government, which has promised an inquiry into the effects of fracking.

By stopping the development of new natural gas ventures, the Northern Territory has joined the populous southeast states of New South Wales and Victoria, as well as the island state of Tasmania, in stymieing a vital energy source.

The main motivation is seemingly to avoid conflict with well-resourced environmental groups opposed to fossil fuels, as well as farmers, who have concerns about the potential impact of fracking on water tables and on the availability of farmland.

But in caving into pressure groups, politicians are setting themselves up for bigger problems down the track, as a lack of supply will drive natural gas prices higher, threatening industries and causing retail energy prices to spike.

Although the Northern Territory move has been initiated by a centre-left Labor government, the hobbling of the natural gas industry is not a reflection of the traditional political divide in Australia.

New South Wales, the most populous state and home to the economic hub of Sydney, has also placed a moratorium on projects using coal seams to extract natural gas, and it is ruled by the centre-right Liberal Party, which also holds power at a federal level and in Tasmania.

Victoria has a Labor government, but its recent announcement of a permanent ban on shale and coal seam fracking represents a ramping up of the temporary ban imposed by the state's former Liberal administration.

In stark contrast to the Victorian decision, the Labor government of South Australia is appealing directly to petroleum companies to set up operations in its jurisdiction.

Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia's energy minister and treasurer, has condemned the actions of Victoria, calling it "bad news" that will constrain the supply of natural gas and increase reliance on dirtier coal-fired electricity.

"I strongly believe that the approval or otherwise of gas exploration and extraction projects should be left to independent experts, rather than to politicians," Koutsantonis said in a statement last month.

So why is South Australia so in favour on exploring for unconventional natural gas? It might be because the state is facing electricity shortages since the closure of its last coal power station in May.

While it can run on gas-fired power and renewables, when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine, South Australia becomes reliant on power from neighbouring Victoria, which is predominantly coal-fired.

GREEN IRONIES

This exposes one of the greatest ironies of the campaign against natural gas fracking.

By ensuring that natural gas supplies will be limited, and therefore prices high, environmental activists are keeping coal-fired power competitive.

Victoria has some of the most-polluting coal plants on the planet in terms of emissions per kilowatt-hour generated, as they rely on poor-quality lignite mined next to the generators.

Many of the environmental groups reject natural gas as a transition fuel between coal and renewables, and furthermore reject independent scientific reports that show the risks of fracking are minimal with suitable regulation.

It appears the hypocrisy of (correctly) challenging climate-change deniers on the basis of scientific evidence, but ignoring the science of fracking is lost on many green activists.

For the moment, activists and farmers appear to have some of Australia's state and territory governments running scared.

The state leaders in Victoria and New South Wales aren't being up front with their electorates, pretending as they are that banning onshore natural gas projects won't have an economic impact.

It will, especially in Victoria, which is home to many natural gas consuming industries, such as chemicals, fertilizers and packaging. You may imagine jobs would be a front-and-centre issue given the state is about to lose tens of thousands as the motor vehicle industry shuts down over the next two years.

Already domestic natural gas prices are rising and consumers could soon have to pay, apart from transpport costs, a price equal to what the three liquefied natural gas plants in the northeastern state of Queensland can get for their product from international buyers.

With many domestic long-term natural gas contracts ending in the next two years, it's possible that higher costs for new supplies will cause businesses to re-evaluate their operations or expansion plans.

Perhaps Australia's politicians should use some of their expense money to go to one of Bruce Springsteen's concerts when he tours the country next year.

Perhaps the rocker will perform My Hometown, his lament to the rust-belt cities in the northeast United States. If he does, the politicians should heed the following line. "Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back."
Polish, Hungarian "horse thief" alliance alarms Brussels

By Justyna Pawlak and Wojciech Strupczewski

KRYNICA-ZDROJ, Poland, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Viktor Orban, Hungary's fiery nationalist prime minister, is known for the contempt he showers on most European leaders. But when he appeared alongside Poland's Jaroslaw Kaczynski last week, he paid his fellow Eastern European right-wing ruling party leader the ultimate complement: together they would make perfect partners in crime.

"The saying goes that if you trust someone, you can steal horses together," Orban said at the debate at a Polish mountain resort. "The Hungarians will gladly steal horses with the Poles."

Since he took power in 2010, Orban, 53, has been Europe's unruly nationalist step-child, inviting strong criticism from Brussels and from fellow European leaders for his anti-immigrant views and his determination to consolidate power in the hands of his ruling Fidesz party.

But since last year, when neighbouring Poland elected Kaczynski's right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS), Orban has had a friend at last.

Now, with Britain having voted to leave the EU, after a campaign built on many of the same criticisms of Brussels that Orban and Kaczynski have long embraced, the two leaders say they have been vindicated. At a summit in Bratislava later this week, Poland and Hungary plan to lead a call for Brussels to return more powers to EU member states.

"There is a new identity, a European identity emerging ... the Brits said 'no' to it," Orban said to Kaczynski, who applauded, during last week's debate at the ski resort of Krynica-Zdroj in the Carpathian Mountains. "Now Europe is being forced to face up to its mistakes ... and, we, the central Europeans can launch the transformation."

"DICTATOR"

That puts them on a collision course with European figures who, despite the British vote to leave, still see greater cooperation among the EU's remaining members as the solution to its problems, from the euro zone financial crisis to immigration.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president who was once caught on an open microphone jokingly greeting Orban as "Dictator" at a summit meeting, defended the EU's principle of "ever closer union" in an annual address on Wednesday.

"The scope in which we cooperate together is far too small," Juncker said. "Far too often national interests are brought to the fore."

He may have had Orban and Kaczynski in mind when he spoke out against populist political movements: "Populism doesn't solve problems. Populism creates problems, and we have to be aware of that and protect ourselves against it," Juncker said.

Orban has made contempt for Brussels the centrepiece of his rhetoric, particularly in the field of immigration.

Hungary became the main route by which hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants arrived over land into Europe's border-free Schengen zone in the past two years, although nearly all of them passed on to other destinations without staying.

While German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe had a moral duty to welcome refugees, Orban built a wall on the frontier to keep them out.

His government has campaigned against an EU plan to spread some of the burden by requiring member states to accept quotas. Although the plan would settle only around 1,300 refugees in Hungary, he calls it a threat to Hungary's way of life.

Hungary is fighting the plan in court, and Orban called a referendum next month at which voters are expected overwhelmingly to back the government and reject any future EU migrant quotas.

It is hardly the first time Orban has tangled with Brussels, which for years has objected to laws he has passed to curb the independence of the media, central bank and courts.

Meanwhile, since taking power last year, Kaczynski's PiS has proposed similar measures in Poland, prompting Brussels to threaten to impose financial sanctions. Orban vows to use Hungary's vote in Brussels to veto any attempt to punish his Polish friends.

The planned Polish moves have prompted many to say that Kaczynski's PiS is now copying from Orban's playbook. At the event in the mountain resort alongside Kaczynski, 14 years his senior, Orban humbly insisted it was the other way around.

"It's not fair to say that," he said of the suggestion Kaczynski was copying him. "Chairman Kaczynski is much more experienced ... It was the Hungarians who were always peeking at what the Poles were doing."

An alliance between Fidesz and PiS is likely to further antagonise Brussels and Berlin.

"Saying that you can steal horses together is not constructive and can fuel conflict within the EU, which will benefit Russia," said Cornelius Ochmann, managing director at the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, set up by the two countries' governments in the 1990s to promote joint projects.

Orban's Fidesz and Kaczynski's PiS aim to unveil their demands to curb the powers of Brussels at an EU summit on Friday in Bratislava, as an initiative by the "Visegrad states" -- Poland, Hungary, and neighbours Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Kaczynski's party protege, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, says the four ex-Communist states, which joined the EU together in 2004, would present a common "prescription" to solve the bloc's woes by transferring power back to member states.

However, many in Europe say it is still too early to envision Orban and Kaczynski at the helm of a broader European movement to curtail the EU.

Although the Czech Republic and Slovakia share Poland's and Hungary's opposition to the refugee relocation plan, they are both considerably less gung ho in their overall euro-scepticism than either Warsaw or Budapest.

Friday's summit will show how far Kaczynski and Orban can persuade neighbours to follow them, said Michael Leigh, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

"It will be a litmus test to see to what extent the kind of rhetorical positions ... could lead to concrete cooperation on specific issues ... that could change the course of EU affairs,"
Kazakhstan drafts macro outlook based on $35 Brent

ASTANA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's economy ministry has based its medium-term economic outlook on a Brent crude price of $35 per barrel, it said on Thursday, implying reduced earnings from oil and gas exports and putting pressure on the tenge exchange rate.
PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Sept 15

SOFIA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has called the European Union to immediately approve 160 million euros ($179.87 million) border assistance package at the forthcoming Bratislava Summit this week (Standart, Trud, 24 Chasa, Monitor, Sega)

-- Hungary would gladly support Bulgaria's European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva to be United Nations Secretary-General, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said during a visit to Bulgaria (Trud, Standart, Monitor)

-- Bulgarian President Rossen Plenevliev has told his EU counterparts during a meeting of the Arraiolos Group in the southern city of Plovdiv that their main goal is not to let Europe fall into a crisis of values and a lack of solidarity and unity (Trud, Standart, 24 Chasa)

-- The body of a four-year-old Iraqi girl was discovered in the Danube River, near the town of Nikopol, border police said. A six-year-old Iraqi boy and a young man have drowned a few days ago and three children and a man were missing after a boat carrying 10 migrants sank in the Bulgarian waters of the Danube (Standart, Monitor)
Saudi prince warns Iran against using force to pursue rivalry

DUBAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh's management of the haj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes towards Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom.

Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be seen as a reference to Iran, added that the orderly conduct of the pilgrimage this year "is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom".

The remarks carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Wednesday evening follow an escalating war of words between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia since a crush at the annual haj pilgrimage a year ago in which hundreds of pilgrims, many of them Iranians, died.

SPA quoted Prince Khaled as telling journalists his message to the Iranian leadership was "I pray to God Almighty to guide them and to deter them from their transgression and their wrong attitudes toward their fellow Muslim among the Arabs in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and around the world".

"But if they are preparing an army to invade us, we are not easily taken by someone who would make war on us."

"When we desire, and with the help of God Almighty, we will deter every aggressor and will never relent in protecting this holy land and our dear country. No one can defile any part from our country if any one of us remains on the face of the earth."

No top Iranian leader has called for war with Saudi Arabia, something neither country wants.

But last year's haj disaster, and the execution in January of dissident Saudi Shi'ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, triggered months of scathing Iranian criticism of the kingdom.

Riyadh broke off relations with Tehran after its embassy there was attacked by Iranians protesting against Nimr's death. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards promised "harsh revenge" for Nimr's death.
Australia pursues indefinite detention for terror convicts

SYDNEY, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Australia on Thursday introduced a new law allowing the indefinite detention of people convicted of terror-related charges and parliament is expected to approve it as early as this week.

A staunch U.S. ally, Australia has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals, having suffered several "lone wolf" assaults, including a cafe siege in Sydney in 2014 in which two hostages and the gunman were killed and an attack by an "Islamic State-inspired" 22-year-old man on Sunday.

Australia has also sought to tighten oversight of potential threats by lowering the age of people who can be subjected to telecommunications interceptions and searches to 14.

About 100 people have left Australia for Syria to fight alongside organisations such as Islamic State, Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said earlier this month.
Singapore banks report Indonesians embracing tax amnesty to police

By Saeed Azhar and Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Private banks in Singapore are sharing with local police the names of clients embracing an Indonesian tax amnesty, people aware of the matter said, a move that could undermine the amnesty and damage the banks' business with their biggest client pool.

Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), a police unit that deals with financial crime, told banks last year they must file a report whenever a client takes part in a tax amnesty scheme, the sources told Reuters.

After initial resistance from the banks, worried they might lose clients, that message was reinforced this year by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's central bank, when Indonesia launched a tax amnesty aimed at wooing back some of the cash its wealthy citizens have stashed in Singapore, the sources said.

"The moment the client tells you he's participating in the amnesty, you have a suspicion that the assets with you are not compliant, and so you have to report to the authorities," said a senior executive at a Singapore-based wealth manager.

Singapore made tax evasion a criminal offence in 2013, and is toughening up the implementation of the law after a money-laundering investigation into state-backed fund 1MDB in neighbouring Malaysia exposed how some of its banks failed to impose robust controls on suspicious money flows.

Indonesians account for an estimated $200 billion of private banking assets managed in Singapore, or 40 percent of the total.

Both the Singapore police and MAS declined to comment.

A second person with direct knowledge of the matter said banks had started sending to the police so-called suspicious transaction reports (STR) related to Indonesian clients who have participated in the amnesty regime. The clients should not be informed about the STR filing, the person said.

The police website says it has used such filings to detect financial crime. That means if there is any evidence of wrongdoing from these filings, authorities can further probe clients or banks.

The fear of such scrutiny could deter Indonesians from considering the amnesty, which runs to March 2017 and has so far had a tepid uptake. The Indonesian tax office said 393 trillion rupiah ($30 billion) of assets had been declared as of Sept. 13, of which at least 30 trillion rupiah are in Singapore.

Bank Indonesia governor Agus Martowardojo said late on Wednesday the bank's modelling suggests the amnesty will secure just 11 percent of its targeted revenue this year.

EXTRA SCRUTINY

Indonesians are among the biggest investors in Singapore's property market and use banks there to invest in currencies or regional stocks, encouraged by the strong legal framework and security of the Asian financial centre.

Many moved money to Singapore after attacks against ethnic Chinese businesses in Indonesia in 1998, when economic problems triggered riots and the fall of the Suharto government.

The increased tax scrutiny in Singapore comes just ahead of the publication of a report on the island nation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body that conducts regular evaluations of countries' anti-money laundering standards.

One of the FATF guidelines states that a financial institution needs to report suspicious transactions when it suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a client's funds are proceeds of a criminal activity such as tax evasion.

Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of the Association of Banks in Singapore, said the lobby group had told banks that amnesty programmes were a useful tool for individuals to regularise their tax affairs with their local tax authorities.

The association did not comment on the new filing requirements.
US named top country for entrepreneurs using business to do good but public puzzled - poll

By Pietro Lombardi and Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 15 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United States is the best country for business leaders seeking to tackle social problems, according to the first experts' poll on the top nations for social entrepreneurs, but their work is still a mystery to most people, hampering growth.

Canada and Britain came second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of almost 900 social enterprise experts in the world's 45 biggest economies, with Singapore and Israel rounding out the top five.

Turkey ranked as having the worst environment for social entrepreneurs, scoring poorly in most of 12 indicators used to measure political, economic, regulatory and cultural factors. Ireland and Venezuela also fared badly.

Most experts, 85 percent, said the number of social entrepreneurs finding ways of combining business with social purpose was growing although there is little data tracking the sector.

They cited ventures such as U.S.-based Pipeline Angels that runs bootcamps to teach female investors how to fund women social entrepreneurs.

"If someone's interested in financial return on investment, that's not a good fit," Natalia Oberti Noguera, Pipeline Angels' founder, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "We're about so much more. We're about doing good, we're about doing well."

But nearly 60 percent of the experts surveyed cited three major challenges in the growing sector - people do not know what social entrepreneurs do which makes raising funds difficult and selling to governments is an uphill struggle.

"There are still too many people who view social entrepreneurs as a bunch of hash-fuming utopian people in knitted sweaters. They couldn't be more wrong," said Anne Katrine Heje Larsen, founder and CEO of Denmark-based KPH, an incubator for start-ups focused on social innovation.

CONFUSION OVER WORK

The poll, carried out in partnership with Deutsche Bank, the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (GSEN) and UnLtd, foundations for social entrepreneurs, was conducted online between June 9 and July 15, polling 20 experts in each country.

It included social entrepreneurs, academics, investors, policy-makers and support network staff in the 45 biggest economies in the World Bank's 2014 ranking. Iran had to be dropped as it was impossible to get enough respondents.

Experts said the lack of public understanding is exacerbated by varying definitions of social entrepreneurs. A common definition is someone using a business to solve social problems.

The fact social enterprises can be non-profit or for-profit businesses also confused people, according to experts, as did the fact not all countries yet define social enterprises as a business with specific legal and tax treatment.

An example cited of a for-profit social enterprise was United Arab Emirates's fashion firm Palestyle, known for its luxury handbags, which employs Palestinian refugee women and reinvests part of its sales into social projects for refugees.

"People do not understand social entrepreneurs create money making businesses like any other business, and they question the philosophy of it if the entrepreneur ends up making profit," said Aye Sabuncu, co-founder of Impact Hub Istanbulin Turkey.

GOVERNMENT BACKING

The experts said boosting public understanding could build greater awareness and put pressure on governments and financial institutions to support social enterprises which only have specific legal status and tax breaks in some countries.

Andy Carnahan, a Swedish social entrepreneur, said a greater understanding of how for-profit businesses can be a driving force for social good would help.

Carnahan launched a sharing economy platform in 2015 that allows users to post what they need and bid for goods and services from other users.

"We need this (awareness)... among the public who don't realize how much good can be done by a for-profit business that has a social good built into its business model," he said.

Despite the lack of public understanding and 58 percent of experts saying it was hard to get investment, data shows investors are looking at such enterprises with growing interest.

According to the 2016 Annual Impact Investor Survey by Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and JP Morgan, impact investors - who want to create positive impact alongside financial return - chipped in more than $15 billion in 2015 to finance businesses tackling social and environmental problems.

This was expected to rise to $17.7 billion in 2016.

MILLENNIALS AND WOMEN

Not surprisingly, given their well-established social enterprise sectors, Canada, Singapore and the United States were found to be the nations with best access to investment.

But India, the Philippines and South Korea also were among those where social entrepreneurs were finding it easiest to access investment, according to the poll - although local experts said these funds were often coming from offshore.

"A lot of people see India as an opportunity overseas, especially in America," said Prashanth Venkataramana, head of operations of Essmart Global, which brings innovative products such as solar lanterns to mud-and-brick villages.

While traditional investors may be sceptical about social businesses, there is strong involvement by women and millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 34.

A 2016 survey by Bank of America found 85 percent of millennials were interested in having a social impact through investment. It also found that women were more interested in impact investing than men.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation poll found 68 percent of experts said women are well represented in management in social enterprises - but only 48 percent said women were paid the same as men.

Women in Asia were found to play a greater role in leading social businesses than in other regions.

The survey found the Philippines is the country where women were best placed in social enterprises, while Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand gave Asian economies five of the other top 10 slots.

"World-class social enterprises are run by women in Asia. They do a really good job balancing the social and financial objectives," said Peetachai "Neil" Dejkraisak, who founded a rice social enterprise called Siam Organic in Thailand.

While social enterprises are gaining momentum worldwide, Canada and the United States are leading the charge, the poll found, with Singapore, India and Australia joint third.

The cities of Berlin, London, Hong Kong, Santiago and Nairobi were pinpointed as leading hot spots.

But the sector could use public support and government backing on procurement, experts said.

"Individual enterprises are finding a niche and finding they can engage the market and sell their products or services," said Rosemary Addis, chair of Impact Investing Australia.
Ukraine takes Russia to WTO for obstructing freight transit

GENEVA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization to challenge Russia over restrictions on freight transit, the WTO said in a statement on Thursday.

Ukraine says Russia has put conditions that break WTO rules, such as requiring Ukrainian trucks to use identification seals and to move in convoy, and by putting restrictions on Ukrainian drivers entering Russia from Belarus.
UK approves Chinese-backed nuclear plant, sets tighter controls

By William James and Kate Holton

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Britain gave the go-ahead for a $24 billion nuclear power plant on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty that had strained ties with China, which will help pay for it, and France, which will build it.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government signalled it would take a more cautious approach in future over foreign investment in big infrastructure projects than her predecessor David Cameron.

But ultimately, after stunning Paris and Beijing by putting the deal on hold in July after May took office, it agreed to go ahead with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England. Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades will be built by French state-controlled utility firm EDF, backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash.

The deal is part of a recovery of the global nuclear power industry following a slump caused by the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

The government drew fire for approving it without renegotiating the price British consumers will pay for electricity. The opposition Labour Party supports the project in principle but says its guarantee to pay a minimum of roughly double the current market price for electricity for 35 years is a rip-off.

May's government said a new investment policy would give it greater control over future deals when foreign states are involved in "critical infrastructure", a departure from the more open approach pursued by Cameron.

May inherited the deal from Cameron, who quit as prime minister after losing Britain's referendum to stay in the EU. In one of her first acts, she put the project on hold, hours before a contract was due to be signed, saying she needed time to assess it.

"The government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power stations for a generation," business minister Greg Clark told parliament on Thursday, setting out changes to the deal and British policy on foreign infrastructure investment.

"These changes mean that while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works always in the public interest," he said.

Supporters of the project said Britain needed to protect its relations with major economies after voting to leave the European Union, and show it was open for business.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the decision while Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said it continued the strategic partnership between the two countries.

VERY HAPPY

Under the new plan, the government will be able to block the sale of EDF's controlling stake before or after completion of the project - a proviso it said it would apply to significant stakes in all future nuclear projects. EDF said it had agreed with the government to retain control of the project and would sign the deal "in the coming days".

China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) - the project's Chinese state-backed investor - and business lobby groups also welcomed the decision on Hinkley.

"We are very happy the British government has approved the project," CGN said in a statement.

The two new reactors at Hinkley Point are scheduled to be running by the middle of next decade and provide around 7 percent of Britain's electricity, helping to fill a supply gap as the country's coal plants are set to close by 2025.

Critics have focussed on the guaranteed price for electricity, which they say does not reflect falling energy prices since the deal was drawn up, or anticipated declines in the costs of rival clean technologies like wind and solar power.

"It is extraordinary that they have not reviewed the price per unit of power," said Barry Gardiner, the opposition Labour Party's energy spokesman.

The deal also affirmed the government's commitment to replace its old nuclear power stations. Nearly all of Britain's eight functioning nuclear plants will have to shut down by 2030.

Environmental lobby groups, some opposition political parties, and a former board member at EDF said that was a mistake.

"The decision to go ahead with Hinkley Point is a bad choice for both France and the UK," former EDF board member Gerard Magnin told Reuters. Magnin resigned from the board in protest at the company's nuclear strategy before a vote that narrowly approved the project.

"By concentrating technical and financial means in this investment on both sides of the channel, the respective governments and EDF will deprive their citizens and small companies of the opportunities for jobs and innovation that would come from inventing the 21st-century energy world."

INVESTMENT POLICY

The decision to go ahead with Hinkley goes some way to respond to concern that May, a former interior minister, was less receptive to foreign investment, particularly from China which has plans to invest billions in British infrastructure.

According to a former colleague, ex-business minister Vince Cable, May had expressed wariness at the "gung-ho" attitude that Cameron took towards courting Chinese investment.

Addressing those concerns, the government said it would take a "special share" in future nuclear projects to ensure that significant stakes could not be sold without its consent.

Simon Taylor, academic director of the Master of Finance Programme at Cambridge University, said he thought the policy was largely cosmetic.

"The UK really needs investment in infrastructure. There are very few nuclear operators around the world. Most are already seeking to invest in the UK and so it's not clear who they would regard as unwelcome, beyond Russia," he said.

CGN plans to make a number of investments in British nuclear power including the building and operating of a new station with EDF at Bradwell-on-Sea, southeast England. Bradwell would be a Chinese-led project, using Chinese reactor technology.

The government also said it was introducing broader rules to increase scrutiny of the national security implications of foreign ownership and control of critical infrastructure, including the need for continuous government approval of foreign owners and a review of takeover rules. It did not specify what sort of projects would be included.

A source close to CGN said it was not concerned by the new ownership rules and planned to move ahead with Bradwell project and another minority investment, in the development of a new power station at Sizewell, in eastern England.

Horizon, a nuclear new build group in Britain owned by Japan's Hitachi's, said it too was "entirely comfortable" with the new approach.

China's Xinhua news agency, which offers a reflection of official thinking, welcomed the decision albeit with a thinly-veiled criticism of the delay.
Libya's NOC lifts force majeure at eastern ports, exports to resume

BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Corporation will lift force majeure at three ports seized days earlier by eastern forces, and exports will resume immediately at two of the ports, it said on Thursday.

NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a statement he had accepted a handover of the ports from forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar during a visit to Zueitina on Wednesday.
Electrocomponents shares soar on upbeat trading update

Sept 15 (Reuters) - Shares in Electrocomponents Plc hit a 12-year high on Thursday, rising nearly 15 percent after the company said it expected a 73 percent rise in first-half pretax profit.

The British electrical parts maker said it expected to report pretax profit of about 54 million pounds ($71 million) in the six months ending Sept. 30, compared with 31.3 million pounds a year earlier.

The company said it now expects underlying sales growth of around 2 percent in the first half, accelerating from the 1 percent growth it reported in the first quarter.

Electrocomponents, which distributes 500,000 products from 2,500 suppliers, said trading continued to be strong in the second quarter, driven by growth in North America and Asia Pacific.

North America and Asia Pacific accounted for 24 percent and 12 percent of the group's sales respectively in the year ended March 31.

Electrocomponents also said weakness in the sterling, which fell to its lowest in more than 30 years in July, would add about 7 million pounds to its first-half profit.

Broking firm Stifel reiterated its "buy" rating on the stock, citing management action that delivered a substantial improvement in operational performance.

The company's shares were up 14.7 percent at 346.3 pence at 0902 GMT on the London Stock Exchange, making them the second-largest gainers on the FTSE midcap index
Tanker docks at Libya's Ras Lanuf oil port, Nafoura output resumes

BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A tanker arrived at Libya's Ras Lanuf oil terminal on Thursday to load more than 600,000 barrels of crude, the first to dock at the terminal since at least 2014, a port official said.

Separately, an oil official said production had restarted at the Nafoura field, which was closed in November 2015 due to force majeure at Zueitina port.
France says U.S. must give details of Russia deal on Syria to allies

PARIS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - France's foreign minister said on Thursday it wanted to receive the text of a ceasefire deal agreed between the United States and Russia to ensure there was no confusion as to who was being targeted on the ground.

"If there is confusion... then there is a also a risk of the moderate opposition being hit," France's foreign minister said in remarks confirmed by his entourage. "At one point we're going to be asked to support in greater detail this plan, so to do that we will need to have all the information."
Hungary may seek foreigners to beat labour shortage - but only some types of foreigner

BUDAPEST, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Hungary may let in more foreign workers to cope with a labour shortage, the country's economy minister said in a newspaper interview - but they should be the right kind of foreigners.

Economy Minister Mihaly Varga told Heti Valasz that only foreigners from similar "cultural and historical" backgrounds as Hungarians should be allowed in.

A country of less than 10 million people, Hungary has lost about half a million people who have left for better-paid jobs in western Europe. Consequently, employers can't fill as many as 50,000 private-sector jobs, Varga said.

Workers from elsewhere in the European Union are already allowed to move to and work in Hungary, under the EU's rule of free movement for its people. And Hungary has walled itself off from the masses of mostly Muslim refugees and migrants who came to Europe last year {nL8N1B70LK}.

"In the professions affected we temporarily need to enable employers to take in workers from the European Union -- where there is free movement of labour -- or neighbouring third countries," Varga was quoted as saying on Thursday.

That would appear to leave only foreigners from other European countries that do not belong to the EU, such as Ukraine and some of the Balkan countries. Varga did not specify what counties he had in mind.

A 2015 survey by staffing company Manpower Group showed drivers, engineers, accountants, information technology experts and health care workers were in the shortest supply.

Government efforts to fill the shortages, such as vocational training reforms, need time to take effect, Varga said, and Hungary was under pressure to avoid losing potential investment.

Some major foreign investors, such as German premium car makers Audi and Mercedes have resorted to sponsoring local university faculties to ensure their employment needs are met.

Hungarian companies should also raise wages to dissuade workers from leaving in droves for better-paid jobs in richer EU neighbours, such as Austria, Varga said. He also said wages would grow "significantly" in the coming year.

Average gross wages rose by 5.7 percent year-on-year in June, according to official statistics. The unemployment rate was 5 percent in the three-month period ending in July.
Malaysia confirms debris found in Tanzania is from MH370

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Thursday that a large piece of aircraft debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, in June, was from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370.

A search of more than two years has turned up few traces of the Boeing 777 aircraft that disappeared in March 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board, soon after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, bound for Beijing.

The debris, an outboard flap, will be examined further to see if it can yield any insight into the circumstances around the missing plane, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement.
Italy employers lobby trims outlook for economic growth

ROME, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Italian employers group Confindustria trimmed its growth forecasts on Thursday and said it would take more than 10 years to return to pre-crisis economic output at the current rate of expansion.

The euro zone's third-largest economy stagnated in the second quarter, and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government is set to revise down its official growth forecasts later this month.

Confindustria now sees growth this year slowing even further from last year's 1 percent rate. It lowered its projection to 0.7 percent from its previous 0.8 percent and nudged down its 2017 forecast to 0.5 percent from 0.6 percent.

"We are failing to shake off this slow growth disease we have been suffering from since the beginning of 2000," Luca Paolazzi, head of Confindustria's research unit, said at a briefing to present its periodic report on the economy.

At the current growth rate, the point at which Italy can hope to regain pre-crisis economic conditions is "pushed back to 2028", Paolazzi said.

Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said this week the government would revise down its forecasts, which currently stand at 1.2 percent growth this year and 1.4 percent in 2017.

A government source said the new projections would probably be 0.8-0.9 percent for 2016 and 1.0-1.1 percent for 2017. Most economists expect no more than 1 percent this year and an even weaker reading by the end of the next.

Confindustria's latest reduction comes after it slashed its forecasts in July following Britain's vote to leave the European Union. In Thursday's report, however, the group said the immediate consequences of Brexit had been "less serious than feared".
Kenya denies abuse of refugees in push to close Somali camp

By Katy Migiro

NAIROBI, Sept 15 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Kenya reaffirmed on Thursday its plan to close the world's largest refugee camp by November, rejecting allegations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that it is harassing and intimidating Somali refugees to return home when it is not safe to do so.

The rights group said Kenya is not giving the refugees a real choice between being repatriated or staying, and that the United Nation's refugee agency, UNHCR, is not giving refugees accurate information about the risks they face in Somalia.

"Our timeline is November 30th for closure of the camp," Karanja Kibicho, principal secretary for Kenya's interior ministry, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"We are trying to restore sanity in matters of refugee affairs. We are a sovereign country that is trying to address a security concern and we are as humane as possible."

A spokesman for UNHCR in Kenya said the agency would have to study HRW's report before responding.

Kenya announced in May that it would close Dadaab, home to more than 300,000 mostly Somali refugees, by November, following deadly attacks on Kenyan soil by Somali Islamist group al Shabaab.

The government says al Shabaab has used the camp as a recruiting ground for its attacks.

Kenya softened its stance in June, following an outcry from rights groups who said much of Somalia was not yet safe for return, and agreed a goal of halving Dadaab's population by the end of 2016.

Somalia continues to face an Islamist insurgency and is struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict.

Kibicho's comments suggest the government is sticking to its original November deadline.

There has been a surge in departures from Dadaab in recent months with more than 24,000 refugees returning to Somalia since December 2014, the United Nations said.

Some are third generation residents of the camp, which was set up in 1991 to host Somalis fleeing civil war in the Horn of Africa country.

FEAR

HRW interviewed 100 refugees and asylum seekers in Dadaab, some of whom said in a report released on Thursday that they agreed to return home because they fear the Kenyan government will deport them if they stay.

Community leaders told HRW that a government official intimidated them at a meeting in July.

"When I tried to tell the (official) that people can't go back, that it is not as safe as he suggests, he pointed his finger at me and told me to sit down," HRW quoted one elder as saying.

"He told me to pick up a gun and defend my country ... After that meeting, people began to really worry that we would be put into lorries come November."

In 2014, Kenyan authorities deported more than 300 people to Somalia in a crackdown the United Nations said violated the 1951 Refugee Convention which prohibits refoulement -- the forcible return of refugees to areas where their lives would be threatened.

"These people are voluntarily taking themselves (home)..." Kibicho said. "We are a country that respects our obligations to the international conventions."

Refugees who choose not to return to Somalia will be taken to Kakuma, he said, referring to Kenya's second refugee camp, which mostly hosts people fleeing war in South Sudan.

The United Nations has struggled to raise funds to provide health and education services to refugees returning to Somalia.
Austrian woman among two people killed by Indonesia ferry blast

DENPASAR, Indonesia, Sept 15 (Reuters) - An explosion on a ferry carrying 35 tourists between the Indonesian resort islands of Bali and Lombok killed two people on Thursday and injured several, police said.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry said an Austrian woman was among the dead. Earlier reports had said the two casualties were a Dutch citizen and an Indonesian.

"Up to now, two people have died, but I don't know the details of their identities," said district police chief Sugeng, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

Several injured tourists were being treated in hospital.

Police denied reports of a bomb attack, saying instead that they suspected a gas cylinder explosion.

"We confirm there was no bomb on board," Sugeng said. "The explosion happened because of ... a gas cylinder close to the engine."
Anti-money laundering body says Canada's rules can be improved

TORONTO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Canada can improve its anti-money laundering rules regime, an international group that monitors the worldwide laundering of illicit cash said on Thursday, calling into question the effectiveness of the country's financial intelligence agency.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Canada had strong anti-money laundering measures in place and rules to combat terrorism financing that had achieved good results, but needed to make further improvements to be fully effective.

It said the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), was hampered by the fact that it is not authorized to request information from the firms that it monitors. It noted, however, that FINTRAC had co-operated effectively with law enforcement agencies.

"The Canadian authorities have achieved some success in combating money laundering, notably when conducting law enforcement efforts with the support of FINTRAC's analysis. These are not entirely in line with the money laundering risks that Canada faces and, overall, the recovery of proceeds of crime appears to be relatively low," FATF said in the report.

FINTRAC issued its first ever penalty against a bank in April, fining the unnamed lender C$1.1 million ($834,000) for failing to report a suspicious transaction and various money transfers.

It had previously leveled fines against multiple credit unions totaling just C$676,795, over a swath of issues from the failure to submit suspicious transaction reports (STRs) to a failure to determine whether a client is a politically exposed foreign person (PEFP).

Its U.S. equivalent, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has by contrast fined a dozen banks and one credit union more than $500 million over the last five years.

The FATF report also criticized the fact that lawyers in Canada, unlike financial institutions and other professionals, are exempt from the obligation to report suspicious transactions, allowing them to use trust accounts to move around money for clients without notifying regulators.

"The lack of coverage of these professions is a significant loophole in Canada's AML framework and raises serious concerns. Legal persons and arrangements are at high risk of misuse for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes and that risk is not satisfactorily mitigated," it said.
Visegrad Group's goal at EU summit is to help Bulgaria keep out migrants -Hungary

BUDAPEST, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Central European countries are expected to make joint proposals at Friday's EU summit and their most important goal is to help Bulgaria in its efforts to protect its border with Turkey in the migration crisis, a top Hungarian minister said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, Janos Lazar, said "Europe's future" would be decided on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

"The V4 countries will probably take a joint stance in Bratislava ... and are expected to make joint proposals," Lazar told a news conference. "The focus of these will be on strengthening the legitimacy of nations (within Europe.)"
Congo to form interim government that includes opposition members

KINSHASA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo will form an interim government that includes opposition members, as part of a deal to set up new elections and break a political impasse, Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba said.

The announcement came after backers of President Joseph Kabila and some opposition members agreed on Wednesday on the timing of those elections, a question that has caused more than a year of debate and led to violent protests and arrests.

However, most major opposition parties are boycotting the talks. They see them as part of Kabila's plan to justify staying in power beyond the end of his mandate in December, when he is due to step down under the constitution.

"The government will be redone. We will put in place a government that we will co-manage between the presidential majority, the opposition and civil society," said Mwamba, who is representing Kabila's political supporters in the talks.

It was unclear which opposition members would become part of the new government.

Opposition leaders this week walked out of talks on the timing of the presidential election. The vote had been set for November, but the authorities now say it cannot be held before next July.

The opposition had insisted the presidential election should be held next. The government said local elections should come first, which would probably delay the presidential vote further.

The government and a group of opposition parties agreed on Wednesday the presidential vote would be combined with legislative and provincial elections, although no specific dates were set. Local elections will come later.

"This opens the way to a calendar that will mention the exact date of the handover of power between the old president of the republic ... and the newly elected president," said Vital Kamerhe, one of the leading negotiators for the opposition.

Despite the apparent advance in the negotiations, efforts to broker a peaceful exit from power for Kabila, who has led Africa's leading copper producer since the assassination of his father in 2001, remain fragile.

Congo has never experienced a non-violent transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.
Weather exposes holes in H&M, Next clothing order chains

By Anna Ringstrom and Kate Holton

STOCKHOLM/LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - European fashion retailers blamed the weather for below-forecast figures on Thursday as Hennes & Mauritz sales were hit by a hot second half of August and Britain's Next discounted stock in July after a warm winter and cold spring.

Shares in the companies fell on the figures, underlining the challenge faced by retailers which source most of their clothing from Asia months before it hits the shelves, making it hard to respond to unpredictable weather and fast-moving fashion trends.

Zara-owner Inditex, by contrast, copes better because it can whisk the latest trends from runway to stores in a matter of days from its factories in Europe. The Spanish company, whose shares were unchanged following its rival's figures, is due to report its half-year results on Sept. 21.

Next shares were down 4 percent at 1324 GMT and H&M also slipped 4 percent, dragging Britain's Marks and Spencer, which fell 2.4 percent, and German online fashion retailer Zalando, down 1.4 percent.

H&M, the world's second-biggest clothing retailer after

Inditex, said local-currency sales in August rose 7 percent, missing average analyst forecasts of 13 percent.

The Swedish firm, which makes most of its sales in Europe, said the month got off to a strong start but sales were hit in the second half of August by hot weather in most of its markets.

Societe Generale analyst Anne Critchlow estimated H&M's comparable sales shrank 2 percent in the month and predicted a continued decline in its operating profit margin.

"Weather was certainly unhelpful across northern Europe, being too warm for the launch of the transitional autumn/winter ranges at full price and this has continued into September," Critchlow said.

The overall clothing market in Germany, H&M's single-biggest market, was down 3 percent in August, according to Textilwirtschaft industry data.

H&M said net sales in the last three months totalled 49 billion crowns ($5.8 billion), up from 46 billion in the same period a year ago but below a forecast 50 billion. It reports full third-quarter results on Sept. 30.

'CHALLENGING AND VOLATILE'

Meanwhile, Next posted a 1.5 percent fall in first-half profit after sales from full-priced goods fell by 0.3 percent, saying trading since July had been challenging and volatile.

Next said it had 30 percent more stock for its summer sale in July than a year ago, after it reported a dramatic fall in demand for clothing and footwear following an unusually warm winter and cold spring.

It said this might lessen later in the year, especially if there is a cold winter.

Next retained its wide full-year guidance for full-price sales to either grow or contract by 2.5 percent and said it expected to have a clearer picture of trading conditions at the beginning of November when it reports its third-quarter sales.

"We will hopefully have a bit of cold weather then and we'll be able to see the reaction to our winter ranges because at the moment it's impossible to read because no one is buying winter ranges," Chief Executive Simon Wolfson told Reuters.

Bernstein analyst Jamie Merriman noted that Next was aiming to increase the proportion of garments ordered with a short lead time to 15 percent in winter, from 10 percent in autumn and only 4 percent in the spring/summer season.

However, she is still concerned, predicting rising input prices after Britain's vote to leave the European Union hit sterling as well as potential pressure on disposable incomes.

Next's Wolfson, who backed Brexit, said consumers did not appear to be affected by the referendum but said retail sales would remain sluggish while real earnings struggled to grow.
Family of three killed in grenade attack in Burundi crisis

By Clement Manirabarusha

BUJUMBURA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A former army officer and his family were killed in a grenade attack on their home in Burundi, a government official said on Thursday, the latest episode in political violence that has plagued the central African country for more than a year.

Burundi's crisis has broadly followed political lines, but experts fear the violence could revive ethnic rivalries in a nation torn apart by a 12-year civil war pitting Hutu rebels against a Tutsi-led army that only ended in 2005.

Dismas Bashirahishize, a pro-government former officer, and his wife and child were killed when a grenade was hurled into their house on Wednesday, the governor of Bururi province in the south of Burundi, Christian Nkurunziza, told Reuters.

Local residents said it may have been staged because of Bashirahishize's links to the government. "It was believed he was revealing names of political opponents to the police and administration to be arrested and tortured," said one resident, who asked not to be named.

There was no immediate official comment on the reason for the attack. The governor said two armed people carried out the attack on Wednesday afternoon.

Sporadic violence has gripped Burundi since April 2015 when incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, prompting protests and leading to often deadly clashes with police. He then won a disputed election in July.

Opponents said a third term breached the country's constitution and the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended a previous civil war. A constitutional court ruled he could run.

At least three rebel groups though have launched an armed resistance against him and tit-for-tat killings of government officials and opposition figures have continued unabated.

At least 450 people have been killed, while the violence has also uprooted about a quarter of a million Burundians, who have fled mostly to neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda.

In a separate incident, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye told Reuters a soldier who was in custody for questioning committed suicide using a grenade. Police said he found the weapon during the interrogation procedure.

Opponents of the government say people held for questioning are often tortured and killed, a charge officials deny.
Frontex says 23,000 migrants reached Italy in August

BRUSSELS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Some 23,000 irregular migrants arrived in Italy in August, the European Union's border agency said on Thursday, most crossing the Mediterranean on what has become the main immigration route into Europe.

The vast majority of the 117,900 people who arrived in Italy this year came by boat from Libya. The Frontex agency said the numbers were similar to those in 2015.

Rescuers pulled some 650 migrants to safety and recovered five dead bodies from boats in difficulty off the coast of Libya on Wednesday, Italy's coastguard said.

Greece was the main point of entry for refugees and migrants in 2015, when some 1.3 million people reached the European Union, triggering bitter and unresolved disputes in the bloc over how to handle the influx.

Since Turkey agreed to prevent people from setting sail for Greece from its shores, the numbers taking that route have fallen dramatically. Frontex said some 3,430 people reached Greek islands from Turkey last month, only about three percent of the number in August, 2015.

"However, August also saw a first noticeable monthly increase since the EU-Turkey statement came into effect," Frontex said. "In July, the number of detections stood at 2,030."

Those taking the Greek route tend to be from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Iraq, while the Italian route is dominated by Nigerians, Eritreans and Bangladeshis, Frontex said.
Smarter farming could cut hunger in drought-hit southern Africa - researchers

By Busani Bafana

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Southern African farmers facing hunger as a result of worsening drought know a lot about climate change but lack the resources to put solutions that work into place, agriculture and development researchers say.

That is in part because government agricultural extension services, which offer training and advice to farmers, have too few agents, according to a report by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, based in the Netherlands.

In many cases, farmers are simply not aware of potential solutions, said Oluyede Ajayi, a senior programme coordinator with the centre, speaking on the sidelines of a regional meeting this week in Johannesburg on scaling up climate-smart agricultural solutions.

Such shortcomings are one reason an ongoing drought in southern Africa has left 23 million people dependent on food aid, with another 13 million in need of help, according to the Southern African Development Community, which launched a $2.8 billion emergency appeal in July.

But a new regional push, focused on promoting four key actions to adapt agriculture and curb growing hunger, could help, Ajayi said.

The best ways to assist southern Africa's farmers, agricultural experts said, are by increasing their access to insurance for crop failure and livestock deaths, and giving them better weather advice via mobile phone.

Helping them diversify their sources of income also is key, they said, as is developing stress-tolerant seeds and better ways of managing land to conserve water.

CATTLE SWAP

One way of diversifying incomes and reducing risk, researchers said, was for farmers to raise fewer cattle and more drought-resistant animals such as chickens and goats - or even protein-rich insects. Many farmers, who pride themselves on their cattle, have so far resisted that switch.

But "goats, sheep and chickens are considered animals that can take care of themselves, unlike other animals," said Shikhalazo Dube, a southern African representative of the International Livestock Research Institute.

Southern Africa so far this year has lost over 630,000 cattle, worth an estimated $220 million, to drought, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

That money could have been saved if farmers had taken out insurance on their livestock, slaughtered them early in the face of drought warnings or found ways to feed them as pastures dried up, said Godwin Mashiri, a micro-insurance expert with mobile phone company Econet Wireless, based in Zimbabwe.

But persuading farmers to buy indexed insurance, which provides payouts when certain weather triggers are reached - such as a certain number of days without rain - remains a struggle, he admitted.

"Farmers in southern Africa have mobile phones and may be aware of weather index insurance products offered via mobile phones but their lack of understanding of and trust in insurance products meant they suffered losses when they could have taken some insurance on their livestock," Mashiri said.

NEW CROPS

In Zimbabwe, some farmers in Mashonaland East province have adapted to the dryer weather by growing drought-resistant feed for their livestock, such as cowpea or velvet beans, alongside maize, the region's staple crop.

The project, funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, has helped dairy farmers keep animals alive and helped them avoid buying costly commercial feed to get their animals through the drought, Dube said.

Similarly, farmers who are growing stress-tolerant maize using water-conserving techniques have seen their harvests rise by as much as 130 percent, Christian Thierfelder, an agronomist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

But most farmers in southern Africa have been slow to make the switch, he said, because of lack of knowledge about the options or lack of capacity, such as access to seeds or needed machinery. Some also worry about controlling weeds under the new system, which reduces plowing of the soil.

Globally, 150 million hectares of crops are grown under "conservation agriculture" techniques, but only 10 percent of small-scale farmers in southern Africa have adopted them, Thierfelder said.

Such climate-smart agriculture is seen as key to helping farmers survive weather shocks, adapt to climate change and improve food security, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

The region has seen pockets of progress however, with more than 100,000 small-scale farmers in Malawi now adopting the techniques under a 12-year-old collaboration between Malawi's government and Total LandCare, a non-governmental organisation.

Those that have adopted the changes have seen income from their farms rise by between 40 and 100 percent, according to a report by CIMMYT.
EU court upholds sanctions on Ukraine's Yanukovich

BRUSSELS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The EU's second-highest court upheld on Thursday sanctions imposed on Ukraine's ousted president Viktor Yanukovich, who fled the country in 2014 after a popular uprising.

Yanukovich, who fled to Russia, challenged the European Union's sanctions on charges of embezzlement and financial wrongdoing that meant losing access to his funds held in European banks and those of one of his sons.

"The General Court confirms the freezing of funds imposed for the period from March 6, 2015 until March 6, 2016," the court said in a statement. The European Union has extended the sanctions until March 2017, which Yanukovich has also challenged and the case is ongoing.

However, Yanukovich did win his challenge to the sanctions for the March 2014 to March 2015 period because EU governments did not provide enough proof, basing the measures only on a letter from Ukraine's prosecutor.

The European Council representing EU governments provided more proof for the extension of sanctions for the following period, allowing them to stand, the court said.

All funds remain frozen and the annulment amounts only to a technicality, according to a person familiar with the judgement. Typically in such a case, any interest payments due are paid into a frozen account.
China launches second experimental space lab module

BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China launched its second experimental space laboratory on Thursday, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

Advancing China's space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions, Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace".

Its successor, Tiangong 2, lifted off on a Long March rocket just after 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert, in images carried live on state television.

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month.

The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, testing systems and processes for mid-term stays in space and refuelling, and conduct medical and other experiments.

The smooth launch imparts a high-tech sheen to week-long celebrations of China's National Day, starting Oct. 1, as well as this week's shorter Mid-Autumn Festival holiday that coincides with the full moon.

China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.
Dalai Lama, in Europe, urges "constructive criticism" of China

STRASBOURG, France, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said on Thursday the European Union should offer "constructive criticism" of China.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he said he hoped that the Tibetan issue would be resolved but urged the outside world and the European Union in particular not to hold back from criticising Beijing.

Communist troops marched in and took control of Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing calls a "peaceful liberation". The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against the Chinese.

"Some constructive criticism is sometime necessary, helpful," the Dalai Lama told reporters.

Beijing denounces the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist who wants an independent Tibet. He denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.
Saudi, Yemen forces clash on border, combatants say

DUBAI/SANAA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Forces allied to Yemen's Houthi group attacked across the border into Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province on Thursday, with both sides claiming victory in the skirmish and giving conflicting accounts of of casualties.

Sources in a Saudi-led coalition said Saudi forces at the Jabal Dukhan mountain repelled the attack by Yemeni Republican Guard troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing about 25 and wounding 30.

In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a Houthi official said the clash resulted in the Houthi capture of the mountain as well as a place called Al Romaih. The commander of a Saudi rapid intervention force was killed in the fighting, he added.

Saleh is an ally of the Iranian-allied Houthi movement, which the Saudi-led coalition has been fighting since March 2015 to try to restore ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people, the United Nations estimates, and displaced more than three million.
South Africa to appeal Pistorius murder sentence again

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - South African state prosecutors will approach the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to challenge Oscar Pistorius' six-year murder sentence after failing with a similar bid at a lower court, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Thursday.

State prosecutors, led by advocate Gerrie Nel, will file an application to appeal on Friday, NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told Reuters.

Judge Thokozile Masipa dismissed a request by state prosecutors to appeal Pistorius' sentence last month, saying she was not persuaded that there was a reasonable prospect of success at another court.

Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on appeal last December. He had initially received a five-year sentence for manslaughter in 2014.
Right-wingers and asylum seekers clash in eastern Germany

BERLIN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - German right-wingers and asylum seekers clashed in an eastern town, police said on Thursday, in the latest sign that the mood towards migrants is deteriorating around a year after they started arriving in Germany in large numbers.

About 80 young men and women, mainly Germans from the right-wing scene who had been drinking beer, gathered in central Bautzen, some 50 kilometres northeast of Dresden, on Wednesday evening and chanted the town belonged to Germans, police said.

Opposite them stood a group of around 20 unaccompanied minors -- meaning they are younger than 18 -- who are seeking asylum in Germany.

"Police were called at around 20.50 and told that two groups were going at each other ... attacking each other verbally and by throwing bottles, wooden slats and other such things," Uwe Kilz, head of Bautzen's police force, told a news conference.

The incident comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel faces widespread criticism for an open-door refugee policy that saw around one million migrants arrive here last year, pushing down her approval ratings and boosting support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Merkel said earlier on Thursday that Germany needed "viable solutions" to integrate refugees into the workforce faster.

Police formed a chain to separate the two groups and used pepper spray and clubs after asylum seekers threw bottles, wooden slats and other objects at officers.

When the asylum seekers left, they were followed by the group of Germans and even after being separated by police both groups headed towards a shelter, into which the asylum seekers then fled.

Police told the 32 young asylum seekers who were in the home not to leave the building. An 18-year-old Moroccan in the building showed cut wounds on his arms but it is not yet clear where those came from, police said.

The criminal police have launched a probe on grounds of suspicion of breaching the peace and grievous bodily harm.
Catalan bonds back in favour as Spain break-up fears ease

By Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The premium that investors demand to lend to the Spanish region of Catalonia is shrinking because they believe that efforts to break away and form an independent state are losing momentum.

Reduced investor concern over a possible breakup of the euro zone's fourth largest economy coincides with broader political uncertainty in Spain where a caretaker government has been in charge after two inconclusive elections since December.

Catalonia's debt gained ground on Spanish government bonds this week after investors interpreted reduced turnout at rallies on Sunday -- Catalonia's national day -- as an indication that the independence drive was weakening.

Pressure from separatists in Spain's richest region, home to the city of Barcelona and producing about a fifth of the nation's economic output, is viewed negatively in financial markets.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's, for example, has said it could reduce Catalonia's B+ credit rating -- already well short of the highest and safest investment grade -- by one or two notches if tensions escalate between the region and Madrid.

"Catalonian bonds have been recovering from the losses suffered earlier this year, given that the independence movement doesn't seem to be going anywhere for the moment," said Mark Dowding, partner and co-head of investment-grade debt at BlueBay Asset Management.

BlueBay AM owns Catalan bonds and has been adding to positions this year, Dowding said.

"At the independence rally this week, a lot less people turned up compared to last time, and that sort of confirms the suspicion that support for independence is decreasing," he said.

Catalonia's "La Diada" national day is an annual rallying point for the independence movement. Police estimate just over 800,000 people took to the streets across the region last Sunday, compared with closer to 1.4 million last year when Barcelona was the focal point.

The yield on Catalan bonds maturing in February 2020 has since fallen as much as 31 basis points to 3.28 percent, and the premium over the Spanish equivalent has shrunk 25 bps to 328 bps, according to Tradeweb data.

This is a far cry from the highs in March, when the yield on that Catalan bond hit 5.21 percent and the spread over Spanish government bonds was 493 bps.

Spanish bonds are rated BBB+ by S&P -- six notches higher than their Catalan equivalents.

RISK NOT GONE AWAY

Home to 7.5 million people, Catalonia has its own language and distinct culture, as well as a long-standing industrial tradition and a thriving tourism sector.

Pro-independence parties won a majority of seats in its regional assembly a year ago but fell short of taking more than half the votes, raising questions about how clear cut support for independence is.

The conservative caretaker national government, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, has resorted repeatedly to legal blocks via the constitutional court to halt the push for independence.

In the June election rerun, Rajoy's People's Party emerged with a larger bloc of seats, even though the outcome was still a hung parliament.

"If there's a new coalition government in Madrid agreed in the next few weeks or even in the case of a third election, it seems like it will be led by the centre-right People's Party," said Daniel Lenz, a DZ Bank strategist.

"That again means (Catalan) independence is more unlikely, because it is only the left parties that have been receptive for a referendum on independence," he said.

Support for independence has ebbed and flowed since surging in 2012 at the height of Spain's economic crisis and after attempts to gain more autonomy were knocked back.

Squabbling between separatist parties has in part dampened enthusiasm, while many have doubts about whether leaders can truly deliver independence for next year as promised.

However, one poll published in July showed support for independence edging ahead of those against it for the first time, though it remained below 50 percent.

Teneo Intelligence analyst Antonio Barroso cautioned against reading too much into the reduced turnout for last weekend's independence protests.

"In the past this issue has been much more in the spotlight so the turnouts were higher. It only takes another episode for everything to flare up again," he said.

Many analysts expect tensions between Barcelona and Madrid to escalate in the coming months, at Catalan leaders come under pressure to press ahead with planning a split from Spain.
Clinton visits N.Carolina in campaign trail return; Trump up in polls

By Amanda Becker

GREENSBORO, N.C., Sept 15 (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton got back on the campaign trail on Thursday after taking three days off for pneumonia, and the Democratic presidential candidate faced a more challenging political landscape, with Republican rival Donald Trump rising in opinion polls.

Senior Clinton aides said they always expected the race to the Nov. 8 election to be close. But it was clear from a raft of new polls that Trump had halted a summer swoon after taking steps to give a less freewheeling, more polished performance on the stump.

Clinton, 68, appeared in good health on a visit to her campaign plane's press cabin while flying to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a rally where she sought to refocus her campaign on the plight of the working class - which has turned out to be a potent theme for Trump.

Leaving the stage to the tune of James Brown's "I feel good," Clinton told reporters she kept her pneumonia diagnosis last Friday quiet, telling only senior staff, because she thought she would be able to "power through" the illness and keep campaigning.

"From my perspective, I thought I was going to be fine and I thought that there was no reason to make a big fuss about it," she said.

On Sunday, Clinton nearly collapsed while leaving a ceremony marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York.

Her illness coincided with a mini-surge by Trump, who has drawn even or taken a slight lead in national polls. Polls in battleground states where the race is likely to be decided showed Trump now leading in Iowa, Ohio, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina.

Following her appearance in North Carolina, Clinton was scheduled to appear at a Washington dinner.

Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, said the candidate and her aides expected the contest to be close.

"We always expected the race to tighten up, we still feel like we're in a strong position with organizational advantage in Florida and Ohio," Podesta told reporters on Thursday. "They call these states battlegrounds for a reason."

In a speech at the New York Economic Club, Trump stuck to his script, avoiding the more improvisational style that has produced a cornucopia of controversies.

Trump pushed a package of tax cuts he said would help power the U.S. economy to an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent.

The New York businessman said his goal would be 4 percent growth, a target originally championed by Republican primary rival Jeb Bush. Trump said the growth would generate 25 million new jobs.

His economic package resurrected a decades-old debate on whether tax cuts can generate sustainable growth. But the overarching impression left by his speech was one of Trump talking about substantive issues and avoiding the frivolous.

Bob Shrum, a Democratic strategist who managed 2004 candidate John Kerry's unsuccessful campaign, said Clinton remained the favorite to win the White House, with demographic changes favoring her over Trump, who is heavily reliant on white voters.

What has hurt Clinton, Shrum said, is not the time taken off from the campaign trail but rather her decision to keep her diagnosis secret until forced to disclose it - which reinforced a perception among voters that she has a penchant for secrecy.

"Fairly or unfairly, what this was taken as was more evidence that she was not transparent and that's what hurts her," Shrum said. "She been far more transparent than Trump but she hasn't gotten any credit for it."

Democrats have sought to pressure Trump to release his tax returns, but the Republican has said he will not release them until a federal government audit has been completed. Clinton has released her tax records.

With the candidates' health in the spotlight, Trump, 70, on Thursday released details of a recent physical examination, a day after Clinton released specifics on her medical condition.

Trump's campaign said the results of his physical showed the fast-food fan has normal cholesterol with the help of a statin drug, weighs 236 pounds (107 kg) and has normal blood pressure.

In a not-so-subtle slap at Clinton, the Trump campaign said his medical report showed he "has the stamina to endure - uninterrupted - the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States."

Trump also appeared on the "Dr. Oz Show" to discuss his health in an interview with host Mehmet Oz, a surgeon.

Top Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri said "one upside" of Clinton's unplanned break was the chance to "sharpen the final argument Clinton will present to voters in these closing weeks."

"Our campaign readily admits that running against a candidate as controversial as Donald Trump means it is harder to be heard on what you aspire for the country's future, and it is incumbent on us to work harder," Palmieri said in a statement.

Trump backers on Capitol Hill said they were heartened by the tightening race after a call on Thursday morning with his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, who mapped out what the campaign was doing. She promised a more policy-driven approach from Trump in the race's final stretch.

"The poll numbers are just looking phenomenal as you move away from registered voters to likely voters," Republican U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold of Texas said.
U.N. commission lists rights concerns in conflict-riven South Sudan

By Denis Dumo

JUBA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights commission said on Thursday it was concerned by intimidation of civil society activists, harassment of journalists, sexual violence and other rights abuses in South Sudan.

Officials from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan were speaking at a news conference in Juba the day after the editor of a prominent newspaper in the five-year-old nation said his publication had been shut down by the authorities.

Fighting erupted in South Sudan at the end of 2013 between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former deputy Riek Machar. A peace deal signed in 2015 proved shaky and fresh clashes flared again in the capital in July.

Machar has since left the country.

Yasmin Sooka, who led the U.N. commission team, listed concerns that included "the diminishing space for civil society which includes intimidation and harassment of its members", adding that many activists have fled abroad.

She cited worries about media freedoms "and the continued intimidation and harassment of journalists", alongside concerns about restrictions on the U.N. mission UNMISS and aid organisations that prevent them reaching the needy.

Fighting has left many in the oil-producing nation of 11 million people, already one of the world's poorest, in desperate need of food and support.

Sooka also cited "the ongoing impunity and lack of accountability for serious crimes as well as human rights in South Sudan, without which lasting peace cannot be achieved."

The government insists it does not condone rights abuses and deals with perpetrators. However, both sides in what was an ethnically fuelled conflict have been accused of actions that could amount to war crimes.

Sooka also voiced concerns about "the escalation of sexual violence against women and girls, perpetrated by armed men in uniform."

Members of the commission, established in March 2016 to report on the rights situation since war flared in December 2013, said they met senior government officials, and proposed "the establishment of the hybrid court" to deal with abuses.

The United States and Britain, both big donors, have said they support African Union plans for a hybrid court to try war crimes committed during the conflict. Such a court could include lawyers and jurists selected by the international community.
Houthis study U.S. truce proposal for Yemen-source

DUBAI/SANAA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat has presented a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to the country's dominant Houthis at a meeting in Oman, a source close to the Houthi negotiating team said on Thursday.

Negotiators will return to Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday carrying the plan offered by U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in talks in Muscat, the source said.

Shannon met the Houthi team, officials of the allied General People's Congress (GPC) party and an Omani mediator in Muscat on Sept. 8 and 9 to discuss how to end a war that has killed over 10,000 people and displaced more than 3 million.

In Washington, U.S. officials said the plan was an "extension of the efforts Secretary (of State John) Kerry initiated in Jeddah."

The source did not disclose details of the proposal. Kerry said in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 25 he had agreed in talks with Gulf Arab states and the United Nations on a plan to restart peace talks on Yemen with a goal of forming a unity government.

Yemen's crisis began in September 2014 when the Iran-allied Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened in support of the country's internationally recognized government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. U.N.-sponsored negotiations to end the fighting collapsed last month.

Peace talks foundered after the Houthis and the GPC announced the formation of a 10-member governing council on Aug 6., ignoring a U.N. warning that such a move would violate Security Council resolutions on how to solve the conflict.

The Houthi negotiating team has been in Oman since the collapse of the peace talks, after Saudi authorities in control of Yemen's airspace refused to grant the Houthi team access to Sanaa, the source added.

Saudi authorities have now agreed to allow the negotiating team to return to Yemen in a U.N. airplane, the source said.

In a statement on the Kerry proposal on Thursday, the governing council reiterated that its willingness to restart peace talks depended on implementation of a full ceasefire, including the lifting of the no-fly zone and siege imposed by the Saudi-led coalition.

Forces allied to the Houthis attacked across the border into Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province on Thursday, with both sides claiming victory and giving conflicting casualty tolls.

Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said Saudi forces at the Jabal Dukhan mountain repelled the attack by Yemeni Republican Guard troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing about 25 and wounding 30.
U.N. climate diplomat: EU needs say in talks despite slow ratification

BRUSSELS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.N. climate negotiators should let governments that have yet to ratify the Paris accord to curb global warming - including the EU nations - have a say in drafting the rules to implement it, the co-chair of the talks said on Thursday.

The European Union was a prime mover behind the success of last autumn's Paris climate talks but is now a laggard in ratifying the agreement it produced.

New Zealand diplomat Jo Tyndall's suggestion would allow the EU to join in thrashing out how the agreement will operate over coming next decades.

"A legal fix, a decision will need to be taken to ensure that countries are not penalised because their domestic processes might take a little longer," she told Reuters.

In an effort to incentivise nations to ratify the agreement, at present only those that have done so have a say in deciding how it will work.

In what European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described as a blow to the EU credibility, the bloc could end up watching from the sidelines when the threshold of 55 nations responsible for 55 percent of man-made emissions is reached for the pact to take effect.

The EU's reversal from being the key broker clinching the deal, Juncker said in his annual State of the Union speech on Wednesday: "makes us look ridiculous".

Under current rules, the European Union as well as each of the nations it spoke for in Paris must deposit their ratification documents with the U.N. simultaneously, so the EU is only ever as fast as its slowest member.

So far only three states - France, Hungary and Austria - have ratified the agreement.

In Paris last December, nearly 200 countries agreed on a binding global compact to slash greenhouse gases and keep global temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.

"There is a strong desire to find a balance between inclusiveness, if we do have early entry into force," Tyndall said. "But at the same time keep the incentives there to get people to ratify and join the agreement."
Obama will convene refugee meeting at United Nations - W.House

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will convene a meeting with world leaders to discuss the global refugee crisis at a United Nations gathering next week, the White House said on Thursday.
Central banks seek global standards in wake of Bangladesh heist

By Jonathan Spicer and Tom Bergin

NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The world's major central banks, stung by this year's $81-million heist in Bangladesh, have launched a task force to consider setting broad rules to protect the vast network of cross-border banking from cyber attacks, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The committee of central banks, part of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, set up the task force this summer. It has begun gathering information from members on their protections against fraud, said the sources, who requested anonymity because work had just begun.

The task force could ultimately set cyber security standards around inter-bank transfers that may be adopted globally. The new principles or guidance could cover responsibilities of banks that send and receive money transfers, and networks like SWIFT that transmit payment instructions in correspondent banking.

The task force also aims to consider recommending the steps each player should follow if a central bank falls short of protecting its systems from hackers, what role domestic regulators should play, and how to respond if another breach happens, the sources said.

"It's in its formative stages," said one of the sources. "It's what needs to happen ... but it's not a fast process." The other source said a focus of the task force will be identifying where the "breakdowns" are hidden in correspondent banking.

The BIS, which oversees the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) that launched the effort, declined to comment.

The sources said the attempted theft of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as well as other cyber attacks that since came to light, helped spur the committee of central banks.

In early February, hackers breached the Bangladesh central bank's systems and peppered the Fed with payment requests via the SWIFT global money-transfer network. Some requests were filled, amounting to $81 million that disappeared mostly into Philippines casinos. A Reuters investigation found the theft happened amid missed warning signs and miscommunication between the New York Fed and Bangladesh Bank.

After months of international finger-pointing, central banks and police investigators now appear to be cooperating to try to recover the funds, find the culprits, and strengthen a banking system found to be vulnerable.

The National Bank of Belgium, which directly oversees SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has a leading role in the task force, one of the sources said.

Belgium's central bank, the New York Fed and SWIFT each declined to comment.

The New York Fed, which is taking part in the task force, said in June it was talking with other central banks about cyber security and the structure of global payments.

The task force would have representatives from some of the most influential 25 central banks that make up the BIS payments committee, including the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the People's Bank of China, and the Fed. However it was unclear who was tapped to serve.

The committee, which promotes the safety and efficiency of payment, settlement and related inter-bank financial arrangements, could open a consultation process and seek advice from interested parties as early as this year, one source said. It could take another couple of years before anything is formalized.
Anti-corruption prosecutors raid office of Greek cbank head's wife

ATHENS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Anti-corruption prosecutors investigating the finances of a Greek state entity raided the office of the wife of Central Bank head Yannis Stournaras and confiscated documents and electronic data, court sources said on Thursday.

Lina Nikolopoulou-Stournaras has denied wrongdoing in the case, into possible illegal financial transactions by the centre for disease control and prevention (KEELPNO).

Responding to the raid, she accused investigators of trying to smear her husband. "All realise that the real target is my husband, so that specific goals and choices can be served," she said in a statement, without giving further details.

As part of the probe into KEELPNO - which is under the authority of the health ministry and receives state funding - prosecutors are looking into whether it illicitly transacted a contract with a consortium including advertising company Mindwork Business Solutions Ltd, owned by Nikolopoulou-Stournaras.

Noting that the raid took place at its headquarters and not at Nikolopoulou's home, the company said its activities were always within the law, adding: "The noise that was caused is targeted and unjustified."

Stournaras, who has been head of the central bank since June 2014 after serving as finance minister under the previous conservative-led government, has no links to the firm.

He called Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the two agreed that the probe would not affect relations between the government and the Bank of Greece, a government official told Reuters, declining to be named.
EU leaders must react to post-Brexit crisis, summit chair says

By Alastair Macdonald and Tatiana Jancarikova

BRATISLAVA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - European Council president Donald Tusk called on EU leaders to take a "brutally honest" look at the bloc's problems when they meet in Bratislava to find a way forward after Britain's shock vote to leave.

"We must not let this crisis go to waste," Tusk told reporters on his arrival in the Slovak capital on Thursday.

With British Prime Minister Theresa May absent, the other 27 leaders will gather on Friday to try and agree a diagnosis of why people across the bloc are increasingly voting for eurosceptic parties and on ways to regain trust in the EU.

"We can't start our discussion ... with this kind of blissful conviction that nothing is wrong," said Tusk, who will chair the summit. "We have to assure ... our citizens that we have learned the lesson from Brexit and we are able to bring back stability and a sense of security and effective protection."

With governments deeply divided over how to bolster the economy and the euro zone and respond to an influx of refugees, Tusk has highlighted three priorities - strengthening external border controls, combating terrorism and reassuring people of protection from adverse effects of economic globalisation.

Leaders want the summit to launch a process that ends with agreements when they meet in March in the Italian capital to mark the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding Treaty of Rome.

However, with leading powers France and Germany holding national elections over the coming year, the bloc's immediate scope for agreeing substantive new policies is limited.

The summit host, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, is one of a group of leaders in ex-communist central and eastern Europe who has led a vocal revolt against Brussels and Berlin over their willingness to take in refugees. The so-called Visegrad group said they will repeat their call for tougher controls.

FRANCO-GERMAN MEETING

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met in Paris to try and tune common agendas.

There is some disquiet in Berlin that Tusk's prophecies of doom risk backfiring by encouraging anti-EU forces, but both Merkel and Hollande echoed the need to overcome divisions.

Hollande said Britain's vote to divorce with the EU had triggered a crisis that threatened the bloc's very existence.

"The first priority is security ... our border security, our security against external threats," Hollande said, highlighting the issue that has become central to his bid to overcome awful poll ratings before a presidential election in April that is being fought against the backdrop of Islamist attacks in France.

Germany and France have outlined plans to deepen European military cooperation as Britain's departure removes one of the biggest obstacles to stronger EU defence in tandem with NATO.

Merkel, facing an election a year from now, is trying to recover from a backlash against her decision last year to let in a million migrants. She said: "We need to be able to protect our external borders."

One concrete step expected on Friday is agreeing a small EU border guard force to help Bulgaria keep irregular migrants from coming over its Turkish frontier now that an EU deal with Turkey has largely halted sea crossings to Greece.

With May keeping other EU leaders waiting before setting out Britain's demands and starting negotiations, there will be little talk of Brexit at a summit prompted by the British vote.
Central banks seek global standards in wake of Bangladesh heist

By Jonathan Spicer and Tom Bergin

NEW YORK/LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The world's major central banks, stung by this year's $81-million heist in Bangladesh, have launched a task force to consider setting broad rules to protect the vast network of cross-border banking from cyber attacks, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The committee of central banks, part of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland, set up the task force this summer. It has begun gathering information from members on their protections against fraud, said the sources, who requested anonymity because work had just begun.

The task force could ultimately set cyber security standards around inter-bank transfers that may be adopted globally. The new principles or guidance could cover responsibilities of banks that send and receive money transfers, and networks like SWIFT that transmit payment instructions in correspondent banking.

The task force also aims to consider recommending the steps each player should follow if a central bank falls short of protecting its systems from hackers, what role domestic regulators should play, and how to respond if another breach happens, the sources said.

"It's in its formative stages," said one of the sources. "It's what needs to happen ... but it's not a fast process." The other source said a focus of the task force will be identifying where the "breakdowns" are hidden in correspondent banking.

The BIS, which oversees the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) that launched the effort, declined to comment.

The sources said the attempted theft of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as well as other cyber attacks that since came to light, helped spur the committee of central banks.

In early February, hackers breached the Bangladesh central bank's systems and peppered the Fed with payment requests via the SWIFT global money-transfer network. Some requests were filled, amounting to $81 million that disappeared mostly into Philippines casinos. A Reuters investigation found the theft happened amid missed warning signs and miscommunication between the New York Fed and Bangladesh Bank.

After months of international finger-pointing, central banks and police investigators now appear to be cooperating to try to recover the funds, find the culprits, and strengthen a banking system found to be vulnerable.

"It just shows the vulnerabilities and, with the Bangladesh example, how a lot of money can be redirected in a very short amount of time," U.S. Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat who has urged the Group of 20 to prioritize cyber crime, said in a recent interview.

The National Bank of Belgium, which directly oversees SWIFT, has a leading role in the task force, one of the sources said.

The New York Fed, which handles some $80 billion in global money transfers each day and which is also taking part in the task force, said in June it was talking with other central banks about cyber security and the structure of global payments.

Belgium's central bank, the New York Fed and SWIFT, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, each declined to comment.

The task force would have representatives from some of the most influential 25 central banks that make up the BIS payments committee, including the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the People's Bank of China, and the Fed. However it was unclear who was tapped to serve.
Guatemala judge bars president's son, brother from leaving country pending probe

GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A Guatemalan judge has barred a son and brother of President Jimmy Morales from leaving the country pending an investigation into their role in a case centering on irregular payments, the attorney general's office said on Thursday.

Morales won election last year pledging to clean up Guatemalan politics after riding a wave of public anger over a corruption scandal that led to the arrest and trial of his predecessor as president, retired General Otto Perez.

But Samuel "Sammy" Morales, an older brother and a close adviser to the president, and Jose Manuel Morales, one of his four sons, have been questioned over suspicious payments linked to the mother of Jose Manuel's then-girlfriend in 2013.

The mother, who has not been identified, agreed to supply Christmas hampers to the national property registry, which is being investigated for suspected corruption, according to testimony given during a public hearing about the registry.

The woman sent the registry a 90,000 quetzal ($12,000) bill made out in the name of a local restaurant for 564 breakfasts, not Christmas hampers, according to the attorney general.

The breakfasts were not delivered, according to statements given by a witness during the public hearing.

It was not clear what happened to the Christmas hampers or why the woman submitted the bill through the restaurant.

Sammy Morales told local newspaper Prensa Libre on Wednesday he had helped obtain the bill from the restaurant as "a favor" to his nephew, but he denied it was part of a fraud scheme.

Neither Sammy nor Jose Manuel has been charged with any wrongdoing.

The president said he would not interfere in the matter but expressed support for his relatives.
Ex-Italian politician gets 4 years in U.S. prison in arms deal case

By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A former Italian politician was sentenced on Thursday to four years in a U.S. prison for conspiring with others to sell $15 million worth of weapons to undercover informants posing as Colombian rebels.

Massimo Romagnoli, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan after pleading guilty last year to charges that he conspired to provide material support to terrorists and conspired to murder U.S. officers and employees.

He faced up to life in prison. But Abrams credited Romagnoli for cooperating with authorities, including by testifying against Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, an accused international arms trafficker who was convicted at a trial in May.

"It's not an easy thing to do to put yourself at risk and cooperate against others," the judge said.

Romagnoli, Georgescu and another defendant, Cristian Vintila, an ex-director of the Romanian agency responsible for buying arms for its military, were arrested in Montenegro in 2014 in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation.

Prosecutors said that earlier that year, Georgescu was introduced to a paid DEA informant posing as an associate of the Colombian rebel group FARC, which the U.S. government has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

The informant was told Georgescu was a well-connected arms-broker, prosecutors said. As a result, they said, he told Georgescu that FARC was seeking weapons to shoot down American helicopters to protect its cocaine trafficking operations.

Prosecutors said Georgescu agreed to participate in the $15 million weapons deal, and recruited Vintila and Romagnoli to help facilitate it.

Romagnoli had a background in business and politics. He was elected to the lower house of the Italian Parliament in 2006 and later was appointed by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to be a top official in Sicily in the Forza Italy party.

In court on Thursday, Romagnoli, wearing tan jail clothing, through an Italian translator said he was "naive" and had not considered the ramifications of getting involved in the weapons deal and what damage such a transaction could cause.

"I'm sorry and I apologize to this court for my actions," he said.

Romagnoli is expected to receive credit for the time he has already served since his December 2014 arrest.

His sentencing came after Abrams on Tuesday sentenced Vintila to four years in prison, given his cooperation in the case and other DEA investigations.
Nearly a year ago on September 21, addressing a mass meeting of the top three parties in Nepal's Tundikhel, Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced: "Only countries that respect our independence can protect their own independence. I hope India and China will show special respect to this achievement."

The then former prime minister hailed the promulgation of the new Nepali constitution as an achievement "heralding a people's era". Amid applause, he reminded India to pay heed to Nepal's concerns and added, "We want to be India's friend, not yes man."

Back to the top job of prime minister for the second term, as Pushpa Kamal Dahal returns to Delhi on an official visit, both sides will look at ways of putting misunderstandings of the recent past behind and forge a relationship based on trust and respect.

New Delhi is rolling out the red carpet for him and the Nepali PM will stay in the Guest Wing of Rashtrapati Bhawan as its official guest. After months of lows, with Kathmandu blaming Delhi for backing the Madhesi protests and for an economic blockade, close observers of power dynamics say the vibes are positive at the moment.

But Kathmandu's internal challenges will be crucial to resolving the external ones as well, especially vis a vis India. And moving the relationship from rhetoric to substantive will need much work together.

Internal consensus key to external relations

At that Tundikhel rally, the once feared Maoist guerrilla fighter popular by his nom de guerre "Prachanda", chose to hail a constitution seen as discriminatory by a large population of janjatis, the Madhesis .

The promulgation led to months of violence, agitations and bloodshed in the country. Known for advocating rights of marginalised sections in his jungle war days, when asked by a diplomat recently "why he gave up on his principles', Prachanda reportedly said: "We thought having a constitution was better than not having one. We believed we could resolve the issues later."

But Prachanda, no stranger to power moves, now realises the amendments will remain an uphill battle. Any amendment in parliament would require a two-thirds majority which his party, in coalition with the Nepali Congress (NC) and backed by the Madhesis, does not enjoy.

His predecessor KP Oli, who had to step down after Prachanda's CPN(M-C) pulled out of the coalition, still has 175 members in the opposition benches. And Oli remains popular, flaunting his apparent martyrdom and anti-India card.

Prachanda, who under a power-sharing agreement has to hand over the chair to NC's Sher Bahadur Deuba in nine months, will have to find a way for consensus.

Focus on peace and stability and dialogue with stakeholders must be top priority. His cabinet has made some right moves by clearing rollback of cases against some agitators, medical compensations to the injured and declaring some as martyrs.

But implementation will be key for restoration of faith. At least an amendment towards core contentions will have to be registered before the fire restarts.

Neighbourhood first - actions speak louder than words

India has maintained that it never backed the Madhesi andolan. Rather, its interest lies only in a stable Nepal, since it shares open borders with it and a burning Terai will impact both neighbours adversely. But this argument is not convincing enough, given Singha Durbar's history with Dilli Durbar.

New Delhi has to introspect the recent blockade and its consequences. And recalibrate its approach to prove its "neighbourhood-first" policy.

The nationalism card played by certain sections of Nepali leaders finds resonance for a reason. Prachanda learnt a lesson the hard way when his last innings as PM came to an abrupt end as he messed with the country's army that is an extended family to India.

Even when Oli went down, the message was his growing proximity to Beijing triggered his fall and India checkmated him. Decades long suspicion of Big Brother India meddling in a small neighbour's internal political process needs allaying, not strengthening.

Constitutional amendments will remain Nepal's internal process and even as India nudges for genuine concerns to be addressed, it must not invest all its eggs into the Terai basket.

Importantly, as new foreign minister Prakash Sharan Mahat on his recent Delhi visit said: "The two sides must resolve issues through diplomatic channels and not through public discussions or debates."

He added: "There is a need to introspect the blockade. And our efforts must be to move forward, not backward," expressing a maturity in the new government's tone and tenor that must be reciprocated by Delhi.

Tangible outcomes more important than handshakes

As India and Nepal move towards resetting ties, trade and energy will be key to normalising the relationship in the long term. There have been intensive engagements over the last few weeks, with Delhi playing host to Nepal's deputy prime minister and foreign minister ahead of Prachanda's visit.

The joint commission at the level of foreign ministers is slated to meet soon. President Pranab Mukherjee is all set to visit Kathmandu after Diwali, even as Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected visit to Nepal remains uncertain.

But simply handshakes and photo opportunities will not produce tangible outcomes on the ground. The broad agreements for 6,800MW of hydropower development that have been signed need fast implementation. The 5,000MW Pancheshwar Project needs fast-tracking. India needs to explore a faster route for Nepal to export power.

The Upper Karnali project is stuck without a taker for lack of cross-border power policy clarity in India. The 1800km postal road project in Terai has faced massive delays. With a new contractor now, and India as a consultant, it still awaits take-off.

As foreign minister Mahat recently met with Indian energy minister Piyush Goel, the latter suggested, "Let the ministers engage through video conferencing every month. Let bureaucracy not be a hindrance to implementation of projects."

Ordinary people of Nepal, still struggling with the slow pace of reconstruction post the killer earthquake of 2015, do not want to hear of meetings anymore.

They want visible outcomes on issues that impact their lives, including energy, connectivity, and trade. Scarred by a decade-long civil war, the Nepali are yet to come to terms with truth and reconciliation. And what they can do without is more political lies and deceit.

Respect and trust - the two-way traffic

In his latest role, Prachanda, according to official sources, now has a deeper realisation of India's importance for his country. The historical, cultural, geographical roti-beti relationship that Nepal enjoys with India is unique.

PM Narendra Modi with his former Nepali counterpart KP Oli. (Photo credit: Reuters)

And despite its might, China cannot replace India, as was proved during the recent blockade when supply of essential items and fuel into Nepal was cut off. But India too must realise that Nepal despite its size deserves dignity.

In his first bilateral visit to Kathmandu, a first by an Indian PM in 17 years, amid thunderous applause in Nepal's new constituent assembly, Narendra Modi won hearts and minds.

He said, "It is not our work to interfere in what you do, but to support you in all your decisions."

The huge goodwill of that visit was sadly lost soon. But by delivering on the promised HIT formula of Highways-Infoways-Transways, India can regain ground.

While Prachanda will have to do a tightrope walk between the elephant and the dragon, India too will have to maintain the thin line between nudging and pushing.
By some lucky chance I have been carrying around VS Naipauls book India: A Wounded Civilization for the past few days. So, when the Samajwadi Partys dynastic feud broke out on television, I immediately turned to Naipauls book where he discusses RK Narayans the vendor of sweets.

The novel details the conflict between the father Jagan who has strong beliefs and certainties in his life, and son Mali who is armed with individualism and change. The novel is about the generational gap between father and son. It is amazing how little has changed since the book was written in 1967.

Jagan, the vendor of sweets, is keen to maintain the status quo. In his world, corruption, Gandhism and Hindu detachment go hand in hand. Jagan is unsettled by change and the rebelliousness of his son Mali against this system.

He loathes Malis proclamation of individuality. Naipaul says the narrative is about the end of reverences, the end of the family, individuals striking on their own, social chaos.

As a girl born and brought up in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, I know better than to judge the state's politics through a universal lens. Uttar Pradesh lives by its own standards and so do its leaders.

But as an Indian committed to the study of its classics, I do find echoes of the Mahabharata, and its more recent adaptation by Shyam Benegals movie Kalyug in the ongoing drama.

The three brothers, a favourite cousin brother, their wives, sons and daughters-in-law in the Yadav family, not to forget the interloper uncle, make it a fascinating literary saga.

By taking a stand against the uncle and interfering outsiders, our prince is seemingly punctuating the equilibrium for development.

This makes me somewhat hopeful against the odds. I am willing to overlook reports of gangrapes, state apathy and lawlessness, if the current family brawl promises to usher in some positive change in the way things are done in UP.

Shivpal, the younger brother of Mulayam, is a key character in the Yadav family feud. (Photo credit: India Today)

Alas, there is little indication of that being the case. Instead, like in Mahabharata, one senses a family that is losing its grip on the political reality of the state and heading towards vanvaas.

As I see it, at the heart of Yadav political sparring is the dialectic of being (the present) and becoming (the future), which is also at the core of UPs struggle to get out of its current abyss.

That means, if we merely stay as is (being) then it is almost as good as not existing at all (not being). There is a need for change which leads us to the future (becoming). And change does not come without conflict.

In the mind-boggling array of MPs, MLAs and whos who, the Yadav family is playing out this dialectical tension to perfection. The political first family in my beloved and bleeding state has individuals clamouring against each other for power and influence.

The main plot revolves around Shivpal Yadav, the younger brother of Mulayam Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, who is the son of Mulayam's first wife, and of course Netaji himself. One member is rooted in the way things were done in the past while the other seems eager to usher in the future.

On one side in this political infighting is an impenetrable patriarch fearing that his lifes work will turn into ashes for want of compliance to a system, however stagnant, and on the other a rising Icarus is trying to escape fate with wings of wax and feathers his father created.

From the sidelines, a national party is abiding its time, promising to turn UP into a Brahman nation of sorts.

But it is not my intention to elucidate on this dialectic of conflict and how it might be grasped for an explanation of the current power struggle in the Samajwadi Party. It could just be my ordinary citizen self that is slyly hinting that a makeover is needed urgently in the state's politics.
Muslim media is in a state. Acclaimed poet and writer Javed Akhtar has rightly condemned the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) "in the strongest words" for justifying the instant divorce prevalent in India.

In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the AIMPLB had defended the practise of triple talaq and polygamy, professing that "polygamy is a social need and a blessing and not a curse for women".

Reaction

The Muslim reaction to Akhtar's tweet can be summed up by what Khalid Yunus Ansari wrote in Pratap (September 11):

"There has never been any dearth of opportunists and traitors among Muslims. These people may appear intelligent and educated but are ignorant of Muslim mores A real Muslim is one who consciously and even subconsciously believes in and follows Islamic laws, someone who cannot even imagine finding fault with or challenging or violating any of them. Even imagining any fault with Muslim laws is absolute kufr (disbelief), not to speak of expressing such thoughts."

I have been reading Urdu newspapers for 45 years. While Muslims have been constantly fighting for the so-called Muslim Personal Law, which allows them to treat women as inferior beings, never have I come across any Muslim demand for being governed by Islamic criminal laws.

If Sharia is so important, if it is such a vital part of our faith, then why this dichotomy?

In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the AIMPLB had defended the practise of triple talaq and polygamy. (Photo credit: AajTak)

Except for drinking alcohol, punishments for all other hudood crimes (mentioned in the Quran, considered crimes against God) are to be amputation, flogging and beheading.

One would have thought that at least those Muslims who are so particular about following Sharia, and, of course, all ulema call Sharia divine, then why not the entire Sharia.

Why follow only the part that helps keep women subjugated and avoid those that may lead to severe medieval punishments specified by the Quran and Hadith!

Triple talaq or instant divorce is one of the evils emanating from the personal laws instituted for Muslims by the British.

Hardly any Muslim in India follows the Quran-based practise of divorce in three stages, encompassing three menstrual cycles.

After Independence from the British, a united Pakistan had refused to accept the Anglo-Mohammedan law and reformed its personal law in 1961.

Reforms

These reforms have passed the test of time. Pakistan has since gone through much upheaval, including an era of Nizam-e-Mustafa under general Zia-ul-Haq, in which even traditional pre-Islamic forms of punishment like whips and lashes and public flogging were practised for hudood violations.

So what progressive Muslims in India should be and indeed have been demanding for long is reforms in Muslim personal law itself.

But perhaps we should also be demanding that those who claim to believe in the divinity of Sharia should be punished in medieval hudood ways.

If the government cannot reform Muslim Personal Laws, out of deference for ulema's views, it can at least extend hudood punishments to them.

Ulema say Muslims have to be fully Muslim, accept Sharia laws literally, not be partially Muslim. They may be given the option to face medieval hudood punishments and be fully Muslim, according to their own interpretation.

Urgent

Reform of Muslim personal law is urgent. A demand for this has been made for decades.

This is inevitably opposed and equally inevitably exposes the two-facedness of Islamic fundamentalists.

India should not tolerate these archaic and un-Islamic personal laws. But, to my mind, the most important benefit is the opening up of a theological debate within the community. This has already started to a certain extent.

Reacting to Dr Tahir Mahmood's recent call for reform, AIMPLB's Maulana Rahmani made a dangerous and subversive statement: "This issue is not related to the laws of the country but it is an issue related to fatwa. Hence this issue should be dealt with by reliable scholars of Islamic jurisdiction."

The maulanas questioning the Supreme Court's jurisdiction should understand that Muslims are as much subject to the Indian Constitution and its interpretation by the Supreme Court as any other citizen.

Muslim personal law is a part of the Constitution and the Supreme Court has every right to interpret it. Progressive Muslims are not committing a sin by encouraging the courts to intervene in the matter.

It is the right and duty of the courts to look after the welfare of the citizens in accordance with the Constitution.

The most important outcome of this debate, however, is that it is breaching the complete stagnation in Islamic theological thinking.

This is essential to replace the current theology of violence, exclusivism, xenophobia and intolerance with a new Islamic theology of peace, coexistence, inclusiveness, pluralism and gender equality.
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The following companies are subsidiares of Textron: AAI Corporation, AAI Services Corporation, ALSTOM Gears, Able Aerospace, Able Aerospace Services Inc., Able Engineering & Component Services, Aeronautical Accessories LLC, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company LLC, Arctic Cat, Arctic Cat ACE Holding GmbH, Arctic Cat France SARL, Arctic Cat GmbH, Arctic Cat Inc., Arctic Cat Production LLC, Arctic Cat Production Support LLC, Arctic Cat Sales Inc., Arctic Cat Shared Services LLC, Arctic Cat UK Ltd., Arkansas Aerospace Inc., Avco Corporation, Aviation Service servis letal doo Ljubljana, Aylesbury Automation, B/K Navigational Equipment sro, BELL TEXTRON ASIA (PTE.) 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Ltd, Bell Textron Inc., Bell Textron Korea Inc., Bell Textron LLC, Bell Textron Miami Inc., Bell Textron Prague a.s., Bell Textron Rhode Island Inc., Bell Textron Services Inc., Bell Textron Supply Center BV, Bell Textron Technical Services Inc., Benzlers, Brazaco Mapri Industrias, Burkland, Cessna Aircraft Company, Cessna Citation European Service Center SAS (99.9%; 1 share  Textron France SAS), Cessna Dusseldorf Citation Service Center GmbH, Cessna Finance Corporation, Cessna Finance Export Corporation, Cessna Mexico S de RL de CV, Cessna Spanish Citation Service Center SLU, Cessna Zurich Citation Service Center GmbH, Citation Parts Distribution International Inc., Cushman Inc., Datacom Technologies, David Brown Group, Doncaster Citation Service Centre Limited, E-Z-GO Canada Limited, Energy Manufacturing, Flexalloy, HBC LLC, Hawker Beech de Mexico S de RL de CV, Hawker Beechcraft Argentina SA , Howe & Howe Inc., Howe and Howe Technologies, Industrial Technology Inc., InteSys Technologies, International Product Support Inc., KSB Annecy SAS, Kautex (Changchun) Plastics Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Chongqing) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Guangzhou) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Pinghu) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Shanghai) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Wuhan) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex Corporation, Kautex Craiova srl, Kautex Germany Holding GmbH, Kautex Inc., Kautex Japan KK, Kautex Shanghai GmbH, Kautex Textron (UK) Limited, Kautex Textron Benelux BVBA, Kautex Textron Bohemia spol sro, Kautex Textron CVS Limited, Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. KG, Kautex Textron Iberica SL, Kautex Textron Management Services Company de Puebla S. de RL de CV, Kautex Textron Portugal  Produtos Plasticos Sociedade Unipessoal Lda., Kautex Textron de Mexico S de RL de CV, Kautex Textron do Brasil Ltda., Kautex of Georgia Inc., Kaywood Products Corp., Klauke, LCI Corporation International, LLC Textron RUS, Maag, McCord Corporation, Mechtronix, Medical Numerics Inc., Midland Industrial Plastics, MillenWorks, MillenWorks Themed Technologies, MotorFist LLC, OPINICUS Simulation and Training Services LLC, OmniQuip International, Opinicus, Optical Boring Co., Opto-Electronics, Opto-Electronics Inc., Overwatch Systems, PEINER Umformtechnik, Pipistrel, Pirelli Tyres - General Rubber Goods (GRG) division, Premiair Aviation Maintenance Pty Ltd, Progressive Electronics, Ransomes, Ransomes Inc., Ransomes Investment LLC, Ransomes Jacobsen France SAS, Ransomes Jacobsen Limited, Ransomes Limited, Ransomes Pensions Trustee Company Limited, Replacement Part Solutions LLC, Response Technologies LLC, Rotor Blades Limited, Sukosim Verbindungselemente, TRU Simulation & Training Spain SL, TRU Simulation + Training Inc., TRU Simulation + Training LLC, TekGPS Engineering Srl, Textron Airland LLC, Textron Atlantic LLC, Textron Aviation Australia Pty. Ltd., Textron Aviation Canada Ltd., Textron Aviation Defense LLC, Textron Aviation Finance Corporation, Textron Aviation Inc., Textron Aviation Prague Service Center sro, Textron Aviation Rhode Island Inc., Textron Aviation Services de Mexico S de RL de CV, Textron Capital BV, Textron Communications Inc., Textron Far East Pte. Ltd., Textron Finance Holding Company, Textron Financial Corporation, Textron Financial Corporation Receivables Trust 2002-CP-2, Textron Fluid and Power Inc., Textron France Holding SAS, Textron France SAS, Textron Global Services Inc., Textron Ground Support Equipment Inc., Textron Ground Support Equipment UK Limited, Textron IPMP Inc., Textron India Private Limited , Textron Innovations Inc., Textron International Inc., Textron International Mexico S de RL de CV, Textron Limited, Textron Management Services Inc., Textron Motors GmbH, Textron Motors North America Inc., Textron Outdoor Power Equipment Inc., Textron Realty Corporation, Textron Shared Service Centre (Canada) Inc., Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., Textron Sweden AB, Textron Systems Australia Holding Pty Ltd, Textron Systems Australia Pty Ltd, Textron Systems Canada Inc., Textron Systems Corporation, Textron Systems Electronic Systems UK (Holdings) Limited, Textron Systems Electronic Systems UK Limited, Textron Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Textron UK Pension Trustee Limited, Textron Verwaltungs-GmbH, Turbine Engine Components Textron (Newington Operations) Inc., United Industrial Corporation, Westminster Insurance Company, Williams Machine & Tool, and Zhenjiang Bell Textron Aviation Services Limited.

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CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, operation of convenience stores, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, and company operated retail sites. The Retail segment is involved in the sale of convenience merchandise items; and retail sale of motor fuels at company operated retail sites and retail sites operated by commission agents. As of December 31, 2021, the company distributed motor fuel on a wholesale basis to approximately 1,750 sites located in 34 states; and owned or leased approximately 1,150 sites. CrossAmerica GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Lehigh Gas Partners LP and changed its name to CrossAmerica Partners LP in October 2014. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Robert Half International Inc. provides staffing and risk consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Temporary and Consultant Staffing, Permanent Placement Staffing, and Risk Consulting and Internal Audit Services. It places temporary services for accounting, finance, and bookkeeping; temporary and full-time office and administrative personnel consisting of executive and administrative assistants, receptionists, and customer service representatives; full-time accounting, financial, tax, and accounting operations personnel; and information technology contract professionals and full-time employees in the areas of platform systems integration to end-user technical and desktop support, including specialists in application development, networking and cloud, systems integration and deployment, database design and administration, and security and business continuity. The company also offers temporary and full-time employees in attorney, paralegal, legal administrative, and legal secretarial positions; and senior-level project professionals in the accounting and finance fields for financial systems conversions, expansion into new markets, business process re-engineering, business systems performance improvement, and post-merger financial consolidation. It is involved in serving professionals in the areas of creative, design, marketing, advertising, and public relations; and placing various positions, such as creative directors, graphics designers, web designers, media buyers, front end developers, copywriters, digital marketing managers, marketing analytics specialists, brand managers, and public relations specialists. The company provides internal audit, technology consulting, risk and compliance consulting, and business performance services. It serves clients and employment candidates. Robert Half International Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
Allergan plc, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical, and regenerative medicine products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: US Specialized Therapeutics, US General Medicine, and International. It offers a portfolio of products in various therapeutic areas, including medical aesthetics and dermatology, eye care, neuroscience, urology, gastrointestinal, women's health, and anti-infective therapeutic products. The company also offers breast implants and tissue expanders; and RM-131 (relamorelin), a peptide ghrelin agonist for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. In addition, it develops medical and cosmetic treatments; therapies for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and other liver diseases; inhibitor for the treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders; atopic dermatitis drug candidate; peri-ocular rings for extended drug delivery and reducing elevated intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients; and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Further, the company develops RST-001, a novel gene therapy for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa; small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases; topical medicines for fat reduction; and delivery system and botulinum toxin-based prescription products. It has collaboration, option, and license agreement with Lyndra, Inc.; and strategic alliance and option agreement with Editas Medicine, Inc. Allergan plc also has licensing agreements with Assembly Biosciences, Inc.; MedImmune; and Heptares Therapeutics, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Actavis plc and changed its name to Allergan plc in June 2015. Allergan plc was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
The Boeing Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of airplanes and commands more than 50% of the market in some channels and categories. The company and its family of subsidiaries design, develops, manufacture, sell, service, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and related services worldwide. The company operates through four segments including Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital providing products and services to end-users in 150 countries.

Boeing got its start in 1910 when William E. Boeing developed a love for aircraft. Soon after he takes his first plane ride which leads him to build a hangar and begin construction of his first plane. The onset of WWI helped spur the companys growth but business was cut drastically in its wake. The start of WWII was another milestone for the company and one that led to its current position of dominance. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing employs over 140,000 people in 65 countries making it one of the most diverse employers on the planet.

The Commercial Airplanes segment is built around the iconic 7-series which includes the 737, 747, and 787. The segment provides commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as fleet support services for regional, national, and international air carriers and logistics and freight companies. In terms of global volume, the company estimates about 90% of all air freight is carried aboard one of its jets. This segment also includes the Dreamliner family of planes. The Dreamliner is a game-changing airplane for many carriers as it opens up the potential for new one-stop destinations because of its capacity and range.

The Defense, Space & Security segment develops and manufactures a range of systems including manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems for governments. Among the many iconic brands within this segment are the AH-64 Apache, Air Force One, B-52, C-17 Globemaster, Chinook, F/A-18, and the V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft used by the Marines.

The Global Services segment offers a range of products and services that include supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics to its commercial and defense customers.

Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles.
Orange S.A. provides various fixed telephony and mobile telecommunications, data transmission, and other value-added services to customers, businesses, and other telecommunications operators in France and internationally. It operates through France; Spain and Other European Countries; The Africa and Middle East; Enterprise; International Carriers & Shared Services; and Mobile Financial Services segments. The company offers mobile services, such as voice, SMS, and data; fixed broadband and narrowband services, as well as fixed network business solutions, including voice and data; and convergence packages. It also sells mobile handsets, mobile terminals, broadband equipment, connected devices, and accessories. In addition, the company provides IT and integration services comprising unified communication and collaboration services, such as LAN and telephony, consultancy, integration, and project management; hosting and infrastructure services, including cloud computing; customer relations management and other applications services; security services; and video conferencing, as well as sells related equipment. Further, it offers national and international roaming services; online advertising services; and mobile virtual network operators, network sharing, and mobile financial services, as well as sells equipment to external distributors and brokers. Orange S.A. markets its products and services under the Orange brand. The company was formerly known as France Telecom and changed its name to Orange S.A. in July 2013. Orange S.A. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
MADISON  Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and his Democratic opponent, Russ Feingold, both say theyre steeped in national security know-how.

Each candidate also claims his opponent is as misguided on the issue as he is savvy.

Johnson and Feingold, the leading candidates for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, both have credentials to bolster their claims of being knowledgeable and influential on national security.

Johnson is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security comittee and serves on the Foreign Relations committee. During his three terms in the Senate, Feingold served on the foreign relations and intelligence committees. He went on to work as a special envoy for the U.S. State Department after leaving the Senate.

But while both candidates have resumes to bolster claims they know how to keep Americans safe, they differ sharply on how they propose to do it.

Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has been among the most vocal in his party in calling for sending U.S. troops to Iraq and Syria as part of a coalition to fight the Islamic State terror group, also known as ISIS.

Feingold, D-Middleton, who was a vocal opponent of the Iraq War under former president George W. Bush, strongly opposes putting U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria, saying it would be counterproductive. He calls for a more targeted approach of taking out ISIS leaders and cutting off their resources and funding.

The candidates also are at odds on intelligence gathering. Johnson has hammered Feingold for being the only U.S. senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act when it was enacted in 2001.

Feingold has said the measure infringed on Americans civil liberties and that he remains proud to have opposed it. He has said there are better ways to improve U.S. intelligence gathering, such as increasing funding for intelligence agencies and recruiting more spies, especially in places where terror groups operate.

National security has become perhaps the most prominent issue in the campaign ad war in the Senate race. Johnson and his allied groups have attacked Feingold as weak on national security and as a hypocrite whose actions contradicted his rhetoric.

Feingold has returned fire, saying hes the only candidate with a plan to keep Americans safe.

In a Wisconsin State Journal interview last week, Feingold said its unfortunate the issue has become so politicized.

To me, going after these groups should be a point of unity, Feingold said.

He essentially has no plan

Since entering the Senate in 2011, Johnson has been a constant critic of President Barack Obamas foreign policy. During this campaign he has sought to link Obama to Feingold, including on the fact that both support closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Johnson told the Wisconsin State Journal in a recent interview that hes more frightened than ever about ISIS. The group has carried out terror attacks worldwide while controlling territory in portions of Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Libya.

They represent a larger threat, a growing threat. Im more concerned than I was 22, 23, 24 months ago, Johnson said.

But Feingold said Johnson, despite his committee leadership post, has no overarching blueprint for U.S. national security. He also criticizes Johnson for, like other congressional Republicans, declining to vote to authorize President Barack Obama to use military force against the Islamic State.

Here he is, the chairman of the homeland security committee, and he essentially has no plan, Feingold said.

Feingolds plan calls for increasing efforts to take out the leaders of terror groups, increasing funding for intelligence agencies and recruiting more spies, and ramping up efforts to cut off funds, oil supplies and armaments flowing to ISIS.

Johnsons approach relies on conventional military force. He has said the U.S. should organize a global military coalition, in tandem with European and Arab countries, to enter Iraq and Syria, defeat the Islamic State and create safe zones for refugees fleeing violence in those regions.

Johnson once cited a possible number of 100,000 troops for such a coalition. But he since has said hes not sure how many troops should be part of the coalition; that, he said, is up to military experts.

Despite the unpopularity of the Iraq War, Johnson said Americans can be convinced its wise to send U.S. troops back into Iraq.

You need leadership, Johnson said in the State Journal interview. You need leaders to convey why its important.

Feingold said Johnson is returning to the same flawed approach that led the U.S. into the Iraq War.

Sen. Johnson is using the Iraq approach, which is, lets send in a bunch of troops and see what happens, Feingold said.

Senator Tough Guy

The campaign ad wars in the Senate race continue to focus on national security. The most recent example came last week, when a pro-Johnson super PAC, Let America Work, released a TV ad mocking Feingold as Senator Tough Guy.

During Johnsons Senate tenure, one of his most widely publicized moments came in a 2013 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations committee regarding the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. In that hearing, Johnsons questioning of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time of the attack, prompting her to respond What difference, at this point, does it make?

Johnson said he also has used his committee posts, particularly his Homeland Security Committee chairmanship, to shepherd key national security proposals into law.

Examples include a measure overhauling the U.S. visa waiver program, which allows certain foreign citizens to travel into the country without a visa. Among the changes in Johnsons measure were preventing citizens of Iraq, Syria, and certain other nations from using the program.

Another measure ushered into law, with help from Johnson, on a bipartisan basis required federal agencies to adopt cyber-security measures.

Outside the Middle East, Johnson said hes most worried about Chinas presence in southeast Asia, particularly in the South China Sea, and what he described as the menace of Russia in eastern Europe.

Asked if hes troubled by links between his partys presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin, Johnson said he is not. Trump has publicly praised Putin, and Trumps former campaign chairman was closely linked to a top Putin ally, Viktor Yanukovych, in Ukraine.

Johnson said the departure of the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, from Trumps campaign last month resolved the issue. Manafort left amid heightened scrutiny of his extensive work on behalf of Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president.

Feingold agreed that Russias actions in Eastern Europe and Chinas in southeast Asia should concern the U.S. He said instability in Latin America and in Europe, post-Brexit vote, also should be monitored.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides government-sponsored managed care services. The company operates in three segments: Medicaid Health Plans, Medicare Health Plans, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs). The Medicaid Health Plans segment offers plans for beneficiaries of temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, and aged blind and disabled residents; and other state-based programs, such as children's health insurance programs and long-term services and supports programs for qualifying families who are not eligible for Medicaid. The Medicare Health Plans segment provides Medicare, a federal program that provides eligible persons aged 65 and over, as well as some disabled persons with a range of hospital, medical, and prescription drug benefits; Medicare Advantage, a Medicare's managed care alternative to the original Medicare program, which offers individuals standard Medicare benefits directly through Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and coordinated care plans that are administered through health maintenance organizations and require members to seek health care services and select a primary care physician from a network of health care providers. The Medicare PDPs segment provides Medicare part D PDP plans to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. Its PDP plans offer national in-network prescription drug coverage, including a preferred pharmacy network. As of December 31, 2018, the company served approximately 5.5 million members in the United States. WellCare Health Plans, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
Prior to the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, Davidoff announced its latest offering in its Discovery Pillar, the Davidoff Yamasa line. The Discovery Pillar represents the black label Davidoff-branded cigars. When Davidoff CEO Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard came on board in 2011, he executed on a strategy around innovation. The Discovery Pillar has represented some of the products resulting from the innovation strategy. In 2013, the Davidoff Nicaragua brand was launched  Davidoffs first Nicaraguan puro. Last year, Davidoff Escurio was launched, a Brazilian tobacco-centric cigar. Both cigars were very uncharacteristic Davidoff. For Davidoff Yamasa, Davidoff heads back to its roots with a Dominican-centric blend, but as we will see, this is a cigar not short on innovation. Today we look at the Davidoff Yamasa in the Piramides (Belicoso) size. 2016 might be the strongest year for Davidoff yet, and the Davidoff Yamasa takes its place among some of these excellent releases.

The theme of innovation in Davidoff Yamasa comes from where the region some of the tobaccos come from. Yamasa refers to a region in the Dominican Republic. Its a place where many have tried to grow tobacco, but failed. However, Master Blender Henke Kelner saw something this land had to offer and decided to make a go of it. This involved making changes to the chemical composition of the soil. Most importantly, the acidity of the soil was reduced (from a pH of 5.5 to a pH of 6.5). This was accomplished by adding calcium carbonate, agricultural lime and slaked lime/dolomitic lime at intervals of every two months, by hand and to each and every single tobacco plant once a month, before transplanting. While Davidoffs site covers 100 hectares of land, only 21 are used at a time for each harvest in a rotating fashion.

From a group of 30 seeds, three were selected to grow. A shade grown process was used to protect the tobacco from the harmful effects of the sun. As for curing, new climate controlled processes were also constructed for this tobacco.

Yamasa region tobacco is nothing new to Davidoff. In fact, has been seen on several Davidoff releases. What follows below is is not an exhaustive list, but some of the premium releases seen by Davidoff over the past few years. While most of these are limited releases, it is worth noting that the recently discontinued regular production Puro dOro incorporated a Yamasa wrapper. With the case of Davidoff Yamasa, one can argue this marks the first time a brand is being built around the tobacco.

Without further ado, lets take a closer look at the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides and see what this cigar brings to the table

Blend Profile

The Yamasa tobacco is used for both the wrapper and the binder. In particular the binder is San Vincente grown in that region. Along with Dominican tobacco, there is also some Nicaraguan tobacco in the filler.

Wrapper: Yamasa (Dominican Republic)

Binder: San Vincente from Yamasa (Dominican Republic)

Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Esteli), Dominican (Piloto, Mejorado)

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Vitolas Available

The Petit Churchill comes in 14 count boxes while the other 3 sizes come in 12 count boxes. All four sizes are also available in four packs.

Petit Churchill: 4 x 48

Robusto: 5 x 50

Toro: 6 x 52

Piramides: 6 1/8 x 52

Appearance

The wrapper of the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides had a medium brown color. Depending on how the light shines on it, the wrapper may look wood-like or cocoa-colored. Upon closer examination, there was some subtle darker marbling on the surface of the wrapper. The wrapper also had a thin coat of oil it. There were some thin visible veins and most of the wrapper seams were well hidden. Overall I found the wrapper to be on the smooth side. Meanwhile there was a very sharp taper on the cigar toward the tip.

The Davidoff Yamasa has two bands. The primary band uses the same band design as the rest of the Discovery Pillar cigars. This is a black and silver colored version of the Davidoff White Label design. The background is black with the font text and surrounding trim in silver. The Davidoff scripted logo is on the front. To the left of the logo is the text PIRAMIDES. (Note: each of the vitolas have text with the vitola name in this location). To the right is the text GENEVE (on all of the vitolas).

There is a secondary band just below the primary black and silver Davidoff band. It is red colored with black trim. On the band it says YAMASA in silver font. To the left and right is the black Yamasa star logo.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Before lighting up the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides, I went with a straight cut. As I have being doing most of my figurados, I used my Credo Special T cutter with the 36 ring gauge hole to get an ideal cut for this perfecto. Once the tip was removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw phase. The dry draw delivered a mix of cocoa and earth as well a touch of citrus and spice. Overall I considered the pre-light draw to be satisfactory. At this point I was ready to light up the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides delivered notes of wood, natural tobacco and slight amount of black pepper. Early on, the wood and natural tobacco notes became primary. While the black pepper was a distant background note on the tongue, it was quite prominent on the retro-hale.

As the flavor profile developed in the first third, the natural tobacco notes took on the form of a compound flavor note  namely the flavor had qualities of natural tobacco, lemon and chocolate. The wood notes diminished into the background and soon were replaced by a combination of straw and cedar notes. Meanwhile the black pepper remained in the far distant background where it faded in and out of the flavor profile.

During the second third of the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides, the natural tobacco sweetness took on less of the chocolate qualities, but maintained the lemon notes. The straw and cedar notes started to become more prominent as the cigar moved through this stage of the smoking experience.

By the last third, the natural tobacco shed most of the chocolate and lemon qualities. The straw notes were now pretty close to the forefront. The cedar maintained its presence in the background while the black pepper was further back. This the way the cigar experience of the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

While the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides maintained a straight burn path, I did find the actual burn line to be somewhat jagged. While not a huge issue, this seemed to be more of an issue during the early stages, but it one that became less of an issue as the cigar experience progressed. This was a pattern I noticed each time I smoked the Piramides. As a result; early on, I did find this cigar needed some more touch-ups than I prefer  but during second half, this cigar was on cruise control. and didnt require that much. The resulting ash had a light gray color. I found the ash to be firm and one that came off the cigar in clean chunks. Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

I found the draw of the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides to be ideal  not too close, nor too tight. Overall this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I found the Davidoff Yamasa Piramides to start out as classic medium  dead center in the middle of the strength spectrum. There was a gradual increase in strength throughout the smoking experience and by the last third, I found the strength crossed the threshold into medium to full territory.

Meanwhile the body started out medium to full-bodied. The body had even more of a gradual an increase along the way. While there was more body at the end of this cigar than the start, I still found the body to be in the medium to full range.

In terms of strength versus body, I gave the edge to the body throughout the smoking experience.

Final Thoughts

Over the years, I have felt Davidoff was doing something special with the use of the Yamasa tobacco in its various blends. The establishment of a full brand around this tobacco was a great next step. I first started smoking the Davidoff Yamasa vitolas about 2 months ago, and was impressed right out of the gate. Now with two months of rest in the humidor this is a cigar that is getting better and better. The Piramides vitola of the Davidoff Yamasa seems to be the size clicking with me right now. As stated up front, 2016 has been a great year of Davidoff releases, and Yamasa joins that group.

This is a cigar Id recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast, but I also would not discourage the novice. Its a pricey cigar at $23.00, so that is a personal choice in terms of a purchase. What I can say is I felt I got my moneys worth  and this cigar is definitely worthy of a box purchase.

Summary

Burn: Very Good

Draw: Excellent

Complexity: Medium+

Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Last Third)

Body: Medium to Full

Finish: Excellent

Assessment: 4.0-Box Worthy

Score: 92

References

News: Davidoff Yamasa Announced

Price: $23.00

Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer (Prior to 8/8/16)

Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 199, Stogie Geeks News  July 1, 2016

Stogie Feed: Davidoff Yamasa Toro

Brand Reference: Davidoff
WAYNESBORO  One pound of methamphetamine was seized Wednesday night during a raid on a Waynesboro home just 300 yards from William Perry Elementary School, police say. The bust, the result of a joint police investigation of several months by the Skyline Narcotics Drug Task Force, netted three arrests, more than $43,000 in cash and a car.

Capt. Mike Martin, commander of the special operations division for the Waynesboro Police Department, said the arrests at about 11 p.m. on 720 King Ave. occurred in two apartments and took place just down the street from William Perry Elementary.

Martin said police found the drugs and cash in a concealed space in one of the apartments.

"A secret compartment was carved out of the inside of a closet in the drywall,'' he said.

Police walked in the closet and found the secret compartment while closely inspecting it, Martin said.

Seized were sixteen ounces of methamphetamine, with a street value of $45,000. Also confiscated was $43,044 and a 2006 Chevrolet Impala valued at $3,500. The cash and car were seized as illegal proceeds from drug sales.

Martin described the meth as "a very high quality, almost pure methamphetamine."

The following three people were charged:

Guadalupe Chavez-Loya, 41, and Linda Brazee Hernandez, 37, both of Waynesboro, were charged with intent to distribute of methamphetamine while engaged in an ongoing criminal enterprise. Chavez-Loya also was charged with possession with intent to distribute 200 grams or more of meth.

Mathew Wayne Wells, 33, of Staunton, was charged with a circuit court capias in Waynesboro and failing to appear in Staunton.

Martin said Chavez-Loya is an illegal immigrant, and said his connections to Mexico, his native country, had allowed him to establish "a robust supply chain" of drugs.

The three suspects were taken to Middle River Regional Jail in Verona. Martin said Chavez-Loya and Hernandez will not be granted bond and will remain in jail.

Martin said the arrests Wednesday night culminated a "several months long investigation between all the of the jurisdictions'' that make up the Skyline Narcotics Drug Task Force.

The task force includes the Augusta County Sheriff's Office, Nelson County Sheriff's Office, Waynesboro Police Department, Staunton Police Department, Virginia State Police, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Albemarle County Public Schools made it to a pool of finalists from across the nation for a chance to win $10 million to create an idea for the school of the future, but it ultimately did not come away with the award.

Winners of the XQ: Super School Project were announced Wednesday afternoon via Facebook Live. Teams across the United States were tasked with coming up with proposals redesigning high school education.

The winners of the contest would end up receiving $10 million in grant funding over a five-year period. During the live event, the number of winning teams was bumped up from five to 10.

In July, Albemarle County schools team had been named one of 50 finalists for the $10 million prize. Nearly 10,000 people comprising 700 teams submitted applications for the competition in September 2015.

In the proposal for CONNEXT, Albemarles team, students would be provided with an individual learning advisory committee made up of teachers, parents, members of the community and mentors, according to a news release. Students in the program would receive on-site and in-the-field learning opportunities developed by their committee.

The program also calls for a central location that would serve as a hub for some classes. Students also would use locations such as libraries, businesses and civic, environmental and public-service organizations as resources for learning.

Chad Ratliff, director of instructional programs for the county schools, said that while $10 million would have been a great asset to accelerate the school divisions vision of the school of the future, it hasnt deterred them from continuing to achieve that idea.

We feel like we were validated through this process every time we got through one of the stages by, what we understand, to be a pretty heavyweight judging process and intensive judging process, he said. So, every step of the way, we were not only validating locally, but we were validating conceptually at a national level, and to start from 10,000 people in 700 teams to one of 50 is absolutely validation.

Ratliff said making it to the final 50 was a win for the county schools and that theyll continue to search for other avenues of external funding to continue its reevaluation of high school.

The Super School award announcers for the live event included elected officials and other public officials and entertainers, such as U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; journalist Roland Martin; Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser; and MC Hammer. Laurene Powell Jobs, chairwoman of the XQ Institutes board of directors, and Russlynn Ali, CEO of XQ, also attended and spoke during the event.

Pre-recorded messages from President Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai and Jill Biden were played throughout the event, which was hosted by actor and author Hill Harper.
An Albemarle County teacher is one of 20 women in the country selected for a program promoting women as leaders.

Stephanie Passman, a gifted-resource and intervention teacher at Stony Point Elementary, was selected to participate in the American Association of School Administrators Aspiring Women Leader Program, according to a news release from the association. The School Superintendents Association is a co-organizer of the program.

The program is a cornerstone of the associations Women in School Leadership initiative.

Participants come from a variety of positions in education, including assistant superintendents, chief academic officers, principals and teachers. All of the educators selected for the program hope to become school superintendents, according to the release.

The AASA Women in School Leadership initiative receives support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Amidst one of the most chaotic presidential races in recent memory and sky-high disapproval ratings for government institutions, three radio hosts, a historian and a magazine editor took to the University of Virginias Newcomb Hall Theater on Wednesday night to address the nations looming doubts about democracy.

The National Endowment for the Humanities kicked off its four-day Human/Ties celebration into high gear with Doubting Democracy, a live version of the public radio program BackStory with the American History Guys. The shows three hosts, Peter Onuf, Ed Ayers and Brian Balogh, shared the stage with Slate senior editor Dahlia Lithwick and University of Richmond associate professor Julian Hayter to discuss aspects of American democracy as it has evolved in the last two and a half centuries.

The focus of the panel, according to Ayers before the show, was to take a look at concerns that have erupted from the current political landscape and to discuss whether those concerns are entirely new to our nation.

The airwaves and newspapers are filled with people wondering, from all different political points of view, Are we in trouble with the current election? Ayers said.

In Newcomb Hall on Wednesday, every seat was filled as the American History Guys launched into their program with a compilation of televised news clips, all depicting pundits from the left and the right mouthing off about rigged systems that cater to their opposing political party.

To the laughing crowd, it was clear that, at the very least, news media were happy to evoke doubts about the democratic system. From there, the three spoke discursively about the consistency of such doubts  ones that eventually led to the creation of a party system that was never intended by our Founding Fathers, Onuf said.

And yet, the divisive nature of the democratic system was evident in several aspects of history. Ayers noted that in the 19h century it led to the Civil War  a war that was essentially initiated by popular vote.

It was the result of democracy, Ayers said.

As the small panel seemed to agree, the tensions that underscore American democracy have been in existence since its inception  the only exception being, seemingly, the U.S. Supreme Court.

Enter Lithwick, who writes the Supreme Court Dispatches and Jurisprudence columns at Slate. According to Lithwick, the nations high court appears to be, with an approval rating of 42 percent, the government institution with the highest confidence from the general public. Ironically, the high court also happens to be the least democratic institution.

With its pillared temple on First Street and its robed justices, Lithwick likened the Supreme Court to a secular church  which could explain its reverence from the masses. When rulings come down from on high, the general public tends not to challenge them, at least not the same way it challenges the rulings of politicians or the inaction of Congress.

We think theyre like magic, we really do, Lithwick said.

Within the dialectic, the panel members seemed to agree that democracy tends to always have an inherent level of doubt in a functioning state. The only time the nation appears to stray from that doubt is following the emergence of a common enemy. In the wake of the Second World War, the nations sense of unity was at a fever pitch, with a common enemy defeated and a new one emerging.

Without the welding effect of an enemy, this is how democracy regularly takes shape in the publics mentality, Ayers said. Much of what seems to be problematic today, such as ultra-divided news sources or television entertainers being propped up as political hopefuls, have precedent in the America of the past.

The panel also took questions from the audience and from users on Twitter, with many asking about guidance for the modern political climate. The panelists seemed to agree that while aspects of civil discourse may have seem to be extinct in the public eye, increasing civic engagement is the future of democracy, and ultimately, the doubts felt today may not truly impact tomorrow.

We will find new things to worry about, Ayers said.
At least two members of the General Assembly still have doubts about the University of Virginias $2.3 billion Strategic Investment Fund.

Last month, state auditors cleared the university of allegations  first raised by former Rector Helen E. Dragas  that the money constituted a slush fund.

But Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, and Sen. William R. DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, still have questions about the way the money is being used and the level of transparency of the boards business.

DeStephs office Thursday afternoon shared a series of letters exchanged between officials and General Assembly members.

Kilgore said a small group of board members and administrators withheld their plans to create the Strategic Investment Fund until the last minute. He also questioned the use of the fund, which officials say will be used to make improvements that enhance the universitys research capabilities, reputation and the student experience.

No matter what it may be called, we are dumbfounded that the university could have amassed $2.3 billion and not considered  even for a moment  using that money to hold the line on tuition increases, reads a letter from Kilgores office, dated Sept. 8.

In a letter sent to UVa President Teresa A. Sullivan on Wednesday, DeSteph said the payout from the fund (estimated by university officials to be about $100 million annually) could be used to lower and freeze tuition and increase the number of in-state students.

The university could do this while investing in new initiatives, DeSteph wrote.

The good that can be accomplished with that kind of resource and how it can be best used to advance the interests of all Virginians remain priorities for me, he wrote.

DeSteph also repeated allegations that the board violated open-meetings law when it met in closed session to discuss the Strategic Investment Fund, an allegation that Rector William H. Goodwin has denied.

In the meantime, the UVa Board of Visitors is trying to move on. On Wednesday, board members met to discuss possible uses for the payout, which is supposed to be distributed to staff and faculty via grants each year.

The board also is looking at ways to use the money for student affordability. Two possibilities were floated at Wednesdays meeting: lowering the yearly maximum loan cap for non-low-income students from $4,500 to $3,500; and starting an initiative to match philanthropic donations to AccessUVa, the financial aid program, dollar for dollar.

On Thursday, one UVa official complained that the controversy had cost the universitys School of Medicine two high-impact faculty recruits.

Dr. Richard Shannon, executive vice president for health affairs, said the UVa Health System was interviewing two physician-scientists over the summer  one from Vanderbilt University and one from Duke University.

Each candidate was an established research scientist with funding for their projects, Shannon said. Each one passed up on an employment offer from the university, and Shannon said he believes the allegations of a slush fund had something to do with it.

After the meeting, Shannon said he thinks poor reporting by the press also was to blame.

I think the initial story was one-sided and made it seem like the university did something wrong, he said. As the facts have come out, its become clear that the initial characterization [of the Strategic Investment Fund] as a slush fund was wrong.
Weeks after the controversy surrounding the University of Virginias $2.3 billion investment fund died down, officials went to work Wednesday to answer an important question: how should the money be spent?

The Strategic Investment Fund, made up of a combination of investment windfalls and operating reserves, is expected to generate a payout of about $100 million annually. The money will be distributed in the form of grants to projects deemed worthy of the funding.

Meeting in the Rotundas Board Room for the first time in two years, members of an ad hoc committee of the Board of Visitors set a few ground rules.

We want to take our time, said Vice Rector Frank M. Rusty Conner III, who chairs the ad hoc committee.

This has been accumulated through years of effort by a lot of people, he said. Were in no rush to make decisions about this today.

Research  especially in science and engineering  is a high priority for UVa officials. They want projects that become self-funding after three years, the maximum amount of time a project can receive funding.

The goal is to bring in one dollar of outside research funding for every dollar derived from the Strategic Investment Fund.

The universitys ability to match funding is especially important for securing grants from large federal agencies, said UVa President Teresa A. Sullivan. In the past, UVa has been locked out of the competition for large grants from the National Science Foundation because it couldnt provide matching funds, she said.

This allows us to compete for things we havent been able to compete for before, she said.

The university also has a number of other research-related needs, which were all laid out in the five-year strategic plan passed in 2013: new technology, new faculty and startup packages for researchers who are just starting at UVa.

Proposals will need to pass through several layers of vetting: the deans of each school, an evaluation committee made up of five faculty members, an advisory committee made up of administrators and board members and, finally, a vote from the full Board of Visitors.

Financial aid also could receive a boost from the funds payout, but board members said theyre not yet sure how it would look.

Rector William H. Goodwin said its important to stick to the three-year cap set for all other projects. Using some of the payout for seed funding for an endowment would be one example of a sustainable investment.

One idea floated by the committee: use the payout to match every dollar donated to AccessUVa, the financial aid program, through philanthropy.

Conner said it could provide a sturdy, sustainable base of support for AccessUVa  something officials have been searching for since they cut the program in 2013 due to rising costs.

I think the key here is that all of it would be matched, he said. And scholarship money is matched with philanthropic aid.

The committee also is considering permanently reducing the maximum loan cap for low-income students by $1,000. This would cost the university about $2.3 million annually.

Members of the activist group UVa Students United said they werent impressed by the discussion.

Nqobile Mthethwa, a fourth-year student, said the matching scheme seemed like a cop-out, for the institution  officials are minimizing their responsibility to fund AccessUVa.

She said she doesnt think the model will sustain the financial aid program in the long term.

We need something that comes [directly] from the institution, she said. It seems like theyre treating financial aid as some sort of fundraising venture.

Mthethwa and Maria Rincon, another member of the activist group, said board members hadnt been clear in past meetings about their intention to combine reserves and investment returns into one large investment fund.

Rincon said she was surprised to read about the fund in the news over the summer break.

I was confused as to why it was such a huge surprise when it shouldve been a transparent process, she said.
Its unlikely there are many state contracts as peculiar as the one between the Virginia Department of Corrections and a secret vendor.

The contract  a memorandum of agreement obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch under the Freedom of Information Act  states that it is for the purchase of drugs to be used exclusively for implementing the lawful order of the court for a death sentence by lethal injection in the commonwealth.

A Virginia law that took effect July 1 keeps the identity of the supplier secret, and the Department of Corrections will not even reveal what the vendor is charging to provide Virginia a product or products specified only for use in executions.

A request to the governors office for the figure was not answered Wednesday.

The initial agreement may be good for up to seven years but can be ended by the vendor if it cannot make a requested compound, or for no reason whatsoever.

As pharmaceutical manufacturers have stopped supplying drugs for executions, some states have found so-called compounding pharmacies willing to do so  provided they are not identified.

But compounding pharmacies are not subjected to the same approval process as larger manufacturers, leading to litigation and allegations about the drugs effectiveness and the possibility of a botched execution.

Last year, Virginia had to obtain a compounded drug from the state of Texas to execute serial killer Alfredo Prieto, who also had been sentenced to death in California.

Earlier this year, it appeared the Department of Corrections did not have enough drugs to execute Richmond mass-killer Ricky Gray. His March execution date was stayed when his lawyers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Seven men are on Virginias death row, but none has a pending execution date.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, wrote in an email Wednesday, We dont know who has actually requested the secrecy, the pharmacies or the states (or both). But it is clear that the pharmacies that have chosen to supply execution drugs prefer that the public not know they are doing so.

No execution drug supplier has voluntarily disclosed its identity. At least one  a Tulsa pharmacy known as the Apothecary Shoppe  was identified as a result of a Missouri lawsuit, and was found to have committed more than 1,800 regulatory violations, Dunham wrote.

The secrecy provision was passed by the General Assembly in April as a compromise that avoided a return to the electric chair if lethal injection was not available, something Gov. Terry McAuliffe opposed.

Virginia law allows an inmate to choose between the two methods of execution. If the inmate refuses to choose, the default method is by injection.

The memorandum of agreement between the Department of Corrections released by the department this week has redacted the identity of the supplier, the date it was signed, and the price to be paid for each distribution to the Department of Corrections of a requested compound.

Each distribution is defined as a batch of sufficient quantity of vials of the compounded drug to permit one execution by lethal injection (i.e., one dose and two backup doses) plus enough vials to allow for testing of the compounded drug for every month prior to the date of expiration (i.e., one vial every month).

Citing the states new secrecy amendment, the Virginia memorandum states: The identity of the pharmacy or outsourcing facility that supplies drugs for lethal injection, or any officer or employee of such pharmacy or outsourcing facility, and any person or entity used by such a pharmacy or outsourcing facility to obtain equipment or substances to facilitate the compounding of lethal injection drugs shall be confidential, shall be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, and shall not be subject to discovery or introduction as evidence in any civil proceedings unless good cause is shown.

The above exemption includes any information reasonably calculated to lead to the identity of such persons, including their names, residential and office addresses, residential and office telephone numbers, Social Security numbers and tax identification numbers, the memorandum says.

The amended state law does not appear explicitly to include the price paid for the drugs as being exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
A new poll by the University of Mary Washington shows a tightening race in Virginia between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, according to a news release Thursday.

The survey of 1,006 Virginia adults conducted Sept. 6-12 found that 40 percent of likely voters favored the former Secretary of State compared to 37 percent for the New York businessman.

The 3 percent difference suggests the race got closer since last month when a Washington Post poll showed Clinton, the Democratic nominee, had a 7 percentage advantage over Trump, the Republican nominee, among Virginia voters.

Mary Washingtons latest survey demonstrates that Virginia remains one of the nations most purple states, said political science professor Stephen J. Farnsworth, director of the universitys center for leadership and media studies that sponsored the poll. This survey demonstrates that the Trump campaign is wise to focus its resources on Virginia, and that the Clinton campaign is making a mistake by directing its attention elsewhere.

Libertarian Gary Johnson received the support of 8 percent of likely Virginia voters in the recent poll conducted for the University of Mary Washington by Princeton Survey Research Associates, according to the release.

Independent candidate Eva McMullin got the support of 3 percent of likely voters and Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 1 percent in the survey, one of the first to include all five candidates who have qualified to be on the ballot in Virginia.

Virginians expressed considerable dislike for both major party candidates  51 percent of those polled had an unfavorable impression of Trump and 50 percent felt the same way about Clinton, according to the poll.

Thirty nine percent of voters rated Trump as honest and trustworthy while 33 percent believed those same terms applied to Clinton. Among likely voters, 36 percent said Trump was prepared for the job of president compared to 56 percent for Clinton.

The large number of voters not prepared to commit to either of the two major party nominees demonstrates that the Democratic and Republican campaigns still have a lot of persuading to do in Virginia this fall, Farnsworth said.

Among the voters polled, 32 percent described themselves as Democrats, 30 percent as Republicans and 35 percent as independents.
New Delhi: Describing GST rollout "a hell of a challenge", Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka today acknowledged that there are pockets of weak preparedness, but there is still time to address them before the April 2017 deadline.

"There are many pockets where there is weak preparedness at this moment. But we have time between now and then, and the government is extremely keen to address that (weakness)," Sikka said when asked about the preparedness for the launch.

He today made a presentation to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and senior officials of the ministry on GST Network (GSTN) and the road map for its operationality, a ministry tweet said.

"There are lots of moving parts. It is going to be a hell of a challenge. We know it is worrying sitting back there, but we are going to be ready," Sikka said. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has been critical of GSTN as a majority 51 per cent stake lies with the private sector and the government remains a minority partner.

Asked about the key challenges for the GST rollout, he said there are issues around technology and cultural readiness and Infosys is taking some world-class measures to ensure the GST IT framework is a secure one.

The software behemoth in September 2015 was tasked with the job of building the IT infrastructure for the new indirect tax regime. Sikka admitted that the IT backbone of GST is an extremely complex and ambitious exercise as it involves banks, small businesses and states.

When asked if the industry is prepared for the April launch, Sikka said there is a lot of work to be done between now and then. GST, which was first proposed a decade back, is seen as potentially transformative for India's economy, potentially adding as much as 2 percentage points to GDP while improving ease of doing business and attracting investment in manufacturing. It is also expected to result in greater tax compliance, boosting government revenues.

The government plans to implement the new uniform indirect tax structure from April 1, 2017, which will subsume excise, service tax and a string of other local levies.
Chennai: The state governments move to purchase solar power from Adani group of companies will come under the scrutiny at the Appellate Tribunal For Electricity, New Delhi, as the tribunal dismissed applications filed by the mega power firm challenging an appeal filed by an NGO against the purchase order.

In the appeal, Energy Watchdog, represented by its secretary, Anil Kumar, Karol Bagh, New Delhi, submitted that in an order dated January 4, 2015, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission / Tangedco signed at least 31 Energy Purchase Agreements (EPA) for 25 years with at least 23 companies on nomination basis at Rs 7.01 per unit for a total power purchase of 1.181 MW.

These EPAs were worth Rs 34,448 crores. Energy Watchdog, NGO, submitted that these rates were much higher than the prevailing market rates for solar power.

The impact of higher tariff would be borne by the electricity consumers in Tamil Nadu besides the public across the country as Tangedco had already moved the Central government for a bailout package.

The Tangedco was already into massive losses and its debt crossed Rs 70,000 crore. Member of Energy Watchdog, Rama Suganthan, son of former Union minister, K. Ramamurthy, filed the appeal before the tribunal challenging the purchase order.

The Adani group of companies and others filed petitions before the tribunal praying to dismiss the appeal since petitioner was not consumer and not an aggrieved person. Rama Suganthan filed appeal on the basis of a complaint received by the NGO vide an anonymous letter dated September 11, 2015, addressed by a third person to Common Cause, the group said.

In turn, the NGO replied that Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission had ignored the Benchmark Capital Cost fixed by the Central Commission and that while extending the control period it was not justified in retaining the tariff at the same level (Rs 7.01 per unit) especially in view of Section 64 of the said Act under which public consultation is a must.

The energy watchdog further submitted that solar power tariff in the country had already been observed to be less than Rs 5 through competitive biddings in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. There was no reason for the TNERC to extend the control period till March 31, 2016, keeping the tariff same at `7.01 per unit.
Mumbai: Soha Ali Khan, who was attacked on social media by some people, who questioned her faith after she visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar and a Ganpati pandal, today hit back saying India is a secular nation and going to a temple doesn't make her a "non-Muslim".

She had visited the Golden Temple and a Ganesh pandal to seek blessings ahead of the release of her thriller film '31st October'.

"I am all for freedom of expression, but being told how going to a temple makes me a non-Muslim is plain callous. No one has the right to say that. Whether I choose to do namaz or go to a Church, how does it affect anyone?," Soha said in a statement here.

The actress was slammed on social media after she shared her pictures.

...and this is how she was trolled for attending Ganpati puja and visiting Golden Temple.

The actress hit back at her trollers by saying, "Nobody owns me. India being a secular nation, we have to respect all religions and each other's choices."

Soha is paired opposite Vir Das for the first time in '31st October' directed by Shivaji Lotan Patil. Writer-producer Harry Sachdeva's '31st October' is based on the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination and its repercussions. The movie releases on October 7.
Mumbai: After John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi, it seems like the Bhatts have a new poster boy in model-turned-actor Gaurav Arora who is all set to star in Raaz Reboot along with Emraan Hashmi and Kriti Kharbanda. In a chat with us, Gaurav talks about working with the Bhatts and more. Excerpts:

How much pressure do you have to carry the legacy forward of Raaz franchise?

I havent thought of it as such. I am very nervous but not because its a franchise. I am excited it is a very important film in my career at this time. This film will be the springboard for my future endeavours. Apart form this; Raaz is the only horror franchise in the commercial Bollywood space, which has this kind of popularity. I am sure the loyal Raaz franchise lovers are expecting a lot from this film.

Is there any pressure to prove as a Bhatt camp discovery?

I dont feel the pressure so much because there are bigger names in the film, especially Emraan who has been the part of the film from the second franchise. I am very comfortable with the way film has been promoted. It is a platform to showcase my talent because people will definitely come to see it. No one came to see my debut film Love Games but at least this wont be the case with Raaz Reboot.

So, you mean brand power matters to make a franchise hit?

There are films that have made it on their own, but in films like this, there is a certain section of the audience, say around 30 percent, which will come to see the film for sure.

Do you believe that horror is underrated in Bollywood?

I feel that there is a huge market for horror films in India. If you look at all those Hollywood films be it Conjuring or Lights Out, they did well but I feel somehow actors are scared to do such films. I feel lucky to be the part of Raaz Reboot in my second film. The film has a lot of romance and musical elements mixed in with the horror, which is similar to the first film in the Raaz franchise. But I feel as if our audience is very small as compared to English speaking audience.

Are Indian horror films inefficient or incompetent as per Hollywood standards?

I feel that the audience can be somewhat wannabe at times. If they see a ghost or a cross in Hollywood films, they can accept it but if they see a mangalsutra in an Indian film, they laugh. Also, Hollywood films have bigger budget and bigger returns while Bollywood has smaller budgets. I feel songs and emotions are the strengths of Indian films.

How was it working with Emraan Hashmi?

It was fun shooting with him but we didnt shoot a lot of scenes together. We shot for three days. I used to think that there should be no retakes because of me but it happened in the very first scene. Later, I went up to him and apologised but he was okay and made me feel comfortable. He is not like his roles. I also clicked with Kriti Kharbanda since we are both newcomers.

Coming to your role in Raaz Reboot, what is it like?

I am playing a rich debonair banker in the film. My character is very intense speaks through his eyes. I was asked to put on some weight for this role.
A week ago, writer Jeyamohan, who was supposed to collaborate with Mani Ratnam for the adaptation of Kalkis Ponniyin Selvan, revealed the real reason behind shelving the epic saga, which would have had a jaw-dropping star cast comprising Vijay, Anushka Shetty, Mahesh Babu, and Vishal in the lead roles. He stated that the lack of permission to shoot inside the temples of Tamil Nadu made the film non-viable since raising sets for the entire film would have cost about Rs 200 crore.

When contacted, he tells us  If this state of affairs continues, 50 years down the line, there wont be any temples in our films. And we will end up depriving our younger generations of knowledge about our culture and architecture. Somehow, cinema has become the primary mass medium for us  and to exclude a big part of culture from such an art form will have adverse effects.

Tanjore temple

He further adds, The deposit amount to shoot inside a temple can be set at a higher rate, or the whole shooting process can be supervised  that cost can be compensated, instead of preventing the shooting altogether.

Not only temples, even shooting inside the city has become a big hurdle for filmmakers, and they have started seeking other parts of Tamil Nadu even if the film is set in the capital city. The writer says, If this scenario continues, in future, our streets and parts of Tamil Nadu will find no place in our films.

Martin Rex, a production controller who has worked in films including Irudhi Suttru, says, The main reason is the cost. It costs an exorbitant amount to shoot in the city. Even if one gets the permission, traffic clearance is another problem. But in the end, you can only get half a day. And, even a road shoot is impossible in half a day.

Thus, filmmakers go to places like Madurai and Theni and contrive to raise sets that have the appearance of Chennai. This is reportedly more economical than shooting in the state capital. However, Rex opines that for a low budget film even that is not an option.

Things have gotten worse in the last few years. Back then, filmmakers sometimes shot without any permission. Now, rules have become very stringent. However, small budget films suffer if they cant afford it, and end up making changes in the script, he concludes.

Filmmakers also resort to techniques like day for night or night for day, wherein the shots are taken in day or night and changed as per requirement, using VFX.

However, Bhavaneeswari, IPS, Joint Traffic Commissioner South, says,

Permissions are given each and every day. Of course, for certain stretches we deny permission due to traffic issues. Also, daytime shoots are not easy but we have never refused to allow night schedules. About the economic issues, we cant comment on that. We dont take care of it.

Director Mysskin, who shot his last film Pisasu in the citys outskirts, in areas such Taramani, has a different take on the whole issue, Yes, over the past three years, it has been hard to shoot in the city and in temples. There are many reasons to it. But it has never stopped us from moving on. We also have to think about the traffic and population. So, its better to adapt and shoot elsewhere.
Stanley continued with the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, and later founded the Centre for Talented Youth, open to teenagers who scored in the top one per cent for the entrance exam.

Theres a special kind of fear only parents know: Will I raise my child to be a respectable, upstanding, happy, smart (and the positive adjectives continue) member of society?

These questions will, at some point, plague the most confident mother and father and for good reason  youve created a human being, and you want some kind of assurance youre on the right track.

Professor Julian Stanley of John Hopkins University conducted a mammoth study of highly intelligent children and tracked their career and intellectual progress over half a lifetime  45 years to be exact  in an effort to distil the most ideal environment for their development.

In 1968, Stanley had met Joseph Bates, a 12-year-old genius, and gave him a number of tests  including the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SATs)  all of which he passed with incredibly high results.

Eventually Bates was given admission into John Hopkins at the tender age of 13 as an undergraduate, and Stanley sought to replicate the young boys success.

Stanley continued with the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, and later founded the Centre for Talented Youth, open to teenagers who scored in the top one per cent for the entrance exam.

Lady Gaga and Mark Zuckerberg were also enrolled in the centre. Camilla Benbow, dean of education and human development at Vanderbilt University, who was once a part of Stanleys program., has come up with a number of instructions for parents to maximise their childrens intellectual growth.

Camilla Benbows instructions for parents are:

1. Expose your children to different experiences.

2. Support them not only on an emotional level, but also on an intellectual level.

3. Ensure that you have a positive and strong relationship with their teachers. Smarter students will often need more challenging work, and the extra support a teacher can provide  if willing  will do wonders for their progress.

4. When your child is particularly interested in a subject or a hobby, give them opportunities to develop their abilities.

5. Praise their effort, rather than their ability. This helps them to develop a growth mindset which emphasises progress rather than stationary ability.

6. Encourage your children to ask questions and take intellectual risks. Exposing them to failure early and emphasising that this is part of their learning will encourage them in later life.

7. Avoid using labels like gifted and highly intelligent. These can become burdensome.

8. Have your childs abilities tested. Not only can this strengthen parents arguments for teachers to provide the child with more challenging work, but it can also reveal any disorders or issues the child might have, like dyslexia, ADHD or hyperactivity disorder.

Source: www.indy100.independent.co.uk
Oklahoma: Pornography and religion are commonly seen as poles apart and many religious groups across the world would most probably disapprove of watching porn as a grave sin and immoral.

But what if you were told that porn can possibly be a factor that pushes people to become more religious even as believers argue that it makes people lose their faith?

No matter how absurd the idea may sound, a research actually suggested that porn can make a person religious and while they havent been able to find out a specific reason for this, they feel its the guilt that does the trick.

Researchers said that watching more porn may trigger feelings of guilt and embarrassment that can push people towards spiritual activities. The findings were obtained by Dr Samuel Perry, assistant professor of sociology and religious studies at University of Oklahoma.

The research involved observing 1300 Americans for six years to understand how porn affects their religious beliefs.
The proposal for a hijabi emoji could be taken into formal consideration as early as this November. (Photo: Facebook)

The widespread use of smartphones has ensured that emojis have gradually become a large part of how we communicate with each other. It also influences how we perceive ideas in a certain way. This has led a 15-year-old high school student to propose the inclusion of a hijabi emoji to represent girls who like herself choose to wear headscarves in the context of digital conversations.

Rayouf Alhumedhi, who lives in Berlin but is originally from Saudi Arabia, is the lead author on a new proposal for a hijabi emoji to the Unicode Consortium, which a non-profit that is in charge of the creation and approval of emoji. "I wanted something to represent me, alongside the millions of women who wear the headscarf every day, and pride themselves on wearing the headscarf," she told the Washington Post in a Skype interview.

In one section of her proposal, Alhumedhi also outlined different possible meanings that this hijabi emoji could stand for in her proposal:

"- Women wear headscarves across many religions as a sign of modesty, including parts of Christianity and Judaism.

"- This emoji can convey religious feelings.

"- This emoji can represent Ramadan, Eid and any religious celebrations.

"- Women with cancer sometimes like to wear a headscarf; this emoji could come to hand.

"- Or simply a woman that enjoys wearing a headscarf."

"People want to be acknowledged... and recognised, especially in the tech world. This is massive. Emojis are everywhere, BBC quoted her as saying. Alhumedhi's proposal could be taken into formal consideration as early as this November.
S Dhanya was alone at home when one Zahir allegedly entered through the backdoor of the house and attacked her with a sickle. (Photo: Youtube screen grab)

Coimbatore: A 23-year-old woman wasallegedly stabbed to death by a man for rejecting his proposal, in fourth such killing in Tamil Nadu in the last three months.

Jahir (27) attempted suicide after killing Dhanya last night at Annur near here. He is in a critical condition, police said.

Dhanya, who worked in a private firm, was allegedly being harassed for some time by the accused to marry him though she had spurned his proposal, police said.

Recently, she got engaged to a man from Kerala and their marriage was fixed for next month. She was on Wednesday found murdered by her parents when they returned home, they said.

The victim had, earlier in the day, gone to a temple with her fiance on the occassion of Onam.

Investigations led police to Jahir, who, meanwhile, allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison. He had boarded a bus to Palakkad in neighbouring Kerala after committing the crime, they said.

A police team later found he had been admitted to a private hospital in Palakkad. Police said he would be brought to Annur once his condition improves.

A case was registered following a complaint by the woman's parents and the accused has been "secured", they said.

This is the fourth fatal attack on young women in the state, who had spurned proposals of their stalkers, since the killing of software professional Swathi at a railway station in Chennai in July.

Last month, an engineering student was clubbed to death in her classroom in a private college by her senior in Karur while a 25-year-old teacher was killed in a church by a man, who later ended his own life, for spurning his love.

Also, 24-year-old Swathi, employed with software giant Infosys, was hacked to death on June 24 while waiting to board a train at Nungambakkam Railway Station.
The baby was sleeping when she was snatched away from her mother. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: Days after the Delhi police arrested a 42-year-old man who confessed to snatching an 11-month-old baby and raping her for two hours near a drain in Vikaspuri area, the toddler's mother has spoken out, recalling her ordeal.

According to a report in Daily Mail, the mother woke up at 1 am to find her baby missing and began screaming in horror. The mother said the baby was taken away from her in the middle of the night when she had been sleeping in a tent at a construction site where her husband works as a labourer.

'I woke up and she was gone. I dont know what stirred me but when I knew she was missing I was screaming and crying for help,' she was quoted in the report.

When the worried parents couldnt find their child anywhere, they sought polices help and it took them less then an hour to find the toddler. They found her lying unconscious in bushes, with blood spots smearing her tiny body. Her clothes were in complete disarray and she had scratches and cut marks everywhere.

'When I saw the police holding my baby I was shocked, I couldnt speak. I was numb. I was crying. How did it happen?,' she said.

Her daughter was taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and was treated for severe bleeding. The grief-stricken mother now fears that her toddler may suffer from long-term health complications because of the brutality she was subjected to.

'We didnt expect this. We were at peace. I thought we were safe. We all work together. Its nice. We didnt expect that something like this could happen. We didnt do anything wrong, didnt fight with anyone. I felt completely helpless,' the distraught mother said.

Both parents were engulfed with shock due to the incident and the father expressed guilt over the fact that he could not protect his little one. The couple plans to leave the area but said they could not make hasty decisions as they do not have the money or resources to take such a big step.

The Delhi police had arrested 42-year-old Vijay Singh for the crime and have charged him with rape. He confessed to raping the child for close to two hours and has been locked up in Tihar jail.
Gayatri Yadav, 15, hanged herself in her room when her mother was busy with household work. (Representational image)

Hyderabad: A Class X student committed suicide at her house in Mailardevpally after her mother scolded her for speaking to her boyfriend on the phone. Gayatri Yadav, 15, hanged herself in her room when her mother was busy with household work.

Police officials from Mailardevpally said that her mother Pushpa had asked her not to get into a relationship as she was a minor and as the boy was from the same neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, after the death of her daughter, Pushpa filed a complaint against Gayatris boyfriend alleging abetment of suicide.

Police said the incident occurred at Lakshmiguda colony at around 8 am. Gayatri was caught talking on the phone twice by her mother on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. At night, her mother scolded her and warned her not to speak again to the boy since they are minors. Later, she was again found talking on the phone after which her mother became angry and scolded her again. We suspect she must have got troubled and hanged herself on the spur of the moment, said a police official from Mailardevpally.

However, Pushpa alleged that the suicide was triggered by the boy who was talking to her daughter frequently on the phone. She demanded a case be booked against him for harassing her daughter.

Police said they are investigating the case. The accused has not been named so far.
Mangaluru: When he fixed a mobile phone in the ladies toilet in Mangaluru University and switched on the camera, he hardly had a clue that the same camera would help the police trap him! Though he had covered his face to ensure that the camera did not reveal his identity, the peculiar way of his dressing and his gait gave him away, the police said.

Within 14 days of receiving the complaint, the Konaje police arrested a second-year Marine Geology Student, Santhosh, for placing the mobile phone in the toilet of the Bio Sciences Department at the University. A girl student found the mobile phone placed inside the toilet on August 24 and a complaint was filed at the Konaje police station on September 1.

The mobile was sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory for technical study. The police did not wait for the report, instead carried out their own investigation and succeeded in arresting Santhosh of Sullia under IPC section 354C.

The Konaje police, led by Inspector Ashok, started collecting details of the case. The first and the only clue for the police was in the mobile camera where a masked man was spotted in a clipping.

Though there was nothing to identify him, the police took this as a base for the investigation and studied his way of dressing and gait. Though for anybody his dress would look normal, the police observed that he wore the dress in such a way that his vest could be seen near the collar of the shirt.

The police began zeroing in on the suspects and questioned 82 people.

Based on these details and various other aspects, including the CCTV footage near the shop where the accused bought the mobile phone, we arrested Santhosh. The technical information and ground intelligence helped us nab him, Police Commissioner Chandra Sekhar M. told reporters.

Mr Shekhar declared a cash prize of Rs 10,000 to the Konaje police team, of which Rs 5,000 will go to constable Shivaprasad, who played a key role in identifying the accused.

The accused has confessed that he committed the crime alone and fixed the mobile in the toilet in early hours of August 24, (the same day the girl found the mobile in the toilet). It looks to be the work of a pervert, he said.

Santhosh did not attend college for 2-3 days after the incident was reported. He was confident that the FSL report would take time because of the unrest in Bengaluru. But, the police arrested him even before the FSL report arrived.

Santhosh had bought the mobile, which was a second hand set, about two weeks before fixing it in the toilet.
Rajahmundry: Exuding confidence on the Centre to release adequate funds for execution of the Polavaram irrigation project, minister for irrigation Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao stated that they would complete the phase-I of the project by 2018.

The minister inspected the progress of execution of the Polavaram project at Polavaram in West Godavari on Friday. Later, he told newsmen that they had roped in the foreign agencies like Bauer from Germ-any and another from the US along with Indian agencies to take up construction of diaphragm wall spread over about 1.75 km distance at a depth of 110 meters by using high-tech machinery.

He said that such wall is the largest structure in the world. He also said that they were going to constr-uct earth-cum-rock-fill dam and spill way would also be constructed having the ca-pacity to sustain 50 lakh cu-secs of water from Godav-ari river.

Referring to evacuation of the people from the project affected areas by providing relief and rehabilitation, the minister said that it would cost about Rs 10,000 crore and added that they were provide relief to the affected people as per the provisions of new land acquisition act.

He said that out of seven villages, people from four villages were shifted and efforts were on to shift the people from the remaining villages.

He said that 650 houses were constructed to rehabilitate the affected people. He turned critical against the YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and ex- legislators belonged to the same party and Congress leaders for instigating the villagers not to vacate the villages to deliberately delay the execution of the project.

He said that the state government had allocated Rs 100 crore to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected people.

With regard to Polavaram Right Main Canal, he said that it would be completed by May, 2016 and sounded confident to complete the Left Main Canal also by 2017.

The minister said that they were going to complete several irrigation projects in an expeditious manner and accordingly, Handri Neeva project phase I and II would be completed by the end of 2016, Galeru-Nagari Sujala Sravanthi project phase-I by 2016 and phase-II by 2017 and Veligonda phase-I would be completed in 2016 and phase-II in 2017.

Reacting on allocation of meagre funds to Polavaram project in the general budget by the Centre, the minister said that the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was pursuing the issue with the Centre and added that he would be visiting the Centre in the second week of March to take up the issue with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the concerned ministers to release more funds for the execution of the project.
166 people, including many foreigners, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by 10 Lashkar terrorists.

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart suggesting ways to expedite trial in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case in the neighbouring country but is yet to get a response.

Jaishankar wrote the letter on September 6 which was hand-delivered by the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on September 9, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Swarup said that if Pakistan is serious about bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack, it must act on the suggestions as the entire strike was planned from Pakistan, was carried out by Pakistani nationals and all evidence are in Pakistan.

Noting that the trial in Pakistan has not progressed expeditiously although it will be eight years soon since the dastardly attack, Swarup said, "In order to bring the guilty to book, our Foreign Secretary has recently written to his counterpart in Pakistan suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited through cooperation through the legal channel."

He said the step was prompted by the delay in bringing to book the persons in Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai terror attack.

"As you know, the entire attack was planned from Pakistan, was perpetrated by Pakistani nationals, all the evidence are in Pakistan, but eight years have passed and trial is happening at a snail's pace," he said.

Swarup said the country's focus is to check terrorism and the government wants to bring the Mumbai case trial to expeditious conclusion.

"We are prepared to offer suggestions on how it can be done through the proper legal channels," he said.

Asked if India has heard back, he said, "No".

On September 9, a former Lashkar operative arrested by Pakistan for his involvement in the 2008 terror attack was acquitted.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency said that "no allegation has been proved against" Sufayan Zafar, who was accused of financing Rs 14,800 for the attack and providing Rs 3.98 crore to co-accused Shahid Jameel Riaz prior to the attack.

Zafar was hiding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case. He was arrested early last month from his hideout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab, approximately 80 km from Lahore, Zafar was among 21 absconding suspects wanted in this high-profile case.

Six suspects -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum -- have been lodged in the Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi, since 2009 for abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.

Prime suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, is in hiding after getting bail over a year ago.

166 people, including many foreigners, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by 10 Lashkar terrorists. Nine of the attackers were killed and lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and later hanged in 2012.
Bengaluru: Indicating further delay in the completion of first phase of Metro Rail, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the stretch would be fully functional by April 2017 and not November 2016 as indicated earlier.

He said that under PhaseII, the Metro will connect Central Silk Board junction with K.R. Puram, making commuting easier for over 10 lakh passengers.

After meeting officials of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Rail Corporation Ltd, he said that the Rs 3,500 crore project would be executed on priority and completed in the next two years to decongest the stretch.

While Metro Phase II as a whole was expected to cost Rs 26,000 crore, the Silk Board to K.R. Puram stretch would be funded through money raised by auctioning of Metro land, he revealed.

Also, work on the 16 km stretch between Electronic City and Whitefield could begin soon as tenders are expected to be floated under Metro II phase by end of September. The civil work for this stretch of the Metro will begin immediately, according to the chief minister.
New Delhi: The Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) High Representatives responsible for security on Thursday called for expansion of counter terrorism cooperation within the group.

The BRICS Representatives responsible for security, in their sixth meeting, encouraged cooperation and exchange of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counter terrorism issues and stressed on denying terrorists access of kinds of facilities.

"The higher representatives encouraged cooperation and exchange of best practices, expertise, information and knowledge on counter terrorism issues. In this context, they welcomed the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Counter Terrorism that was held a day before. They also agreed to expand BRICS counter terrorism cooperation further to include measures for denying terrorists access to finance and terror hardware such as equipment, arms and ammunition," informed Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

"Acknowledging the positive contribution of the BRICS grouping on important global issues they deliberated on security issues such as counter terrorism, cyber security and energy security. In the area of cyber security and information security they agreed to strengthen join efforts on enhancing cyber security by sharing on information best practices, combating cyber crimes improving cooperation between technical and law enforcement agencies including joint cyber security R and D and capacity building," he added.

The need for a global legal regime to deal with the global menace of terrorism was also tabled in the meeting.

Meanwhile the higher representatives concurred on a BRICS forum to progressively consolidate cooperation and exchanges between respective agencies in security related fields.

Swarup further informed that the BRICS representatives also exchanged assessments of recent developments in the west-Asia and North Africa region.

"BRICS representatives also agreed to explore regular energy dialogue between BRICS countries in order to discuss long term and medium term energy security issues while highlighting the need for resolution of standing disputes in west Asia, North Africa through dialogue peaceful means and in accordance with international law and the principals of the UN charter," he said.

"BRICS higher representatives also agreed to pool BRICS efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism emanating from the region," he added.

The delegation from Brazil was led by H.E. General Sergio Westphalen Etchegoyen, Minister of State, Head of the Cabinet for Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, Russia by H.E. Nikolai P. Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, China by H.E. Yang Jiechi, State Councilor, People's Republic of China, and South Africa by H.E. Mbangiseni David Mahlobo, Minister of State Security. The Indian team at the talks was led by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
The Cauvery water sharing row had turned violent in Karnataka on September 12, claiming two lives. It had also resulted in burning of vehicles and stone-pelting, causing largescale damage to property. (Photo: Shajil Kumar/DC)

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Thursday took Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments to task for failing to check violence following its order on the Cauvery dispute, asserting that its verdict "has to be complied with" and violent agitation would serve no purpose as those aggrieved were free to take legal recourse.

Asserting that the people cannot take law into their hands, the apex court directed the two states to ensure there is no violence, agitation, destruction and damage to properties following its order on Cauvery water sharing and asked them to maintain peace, calm and dignity for law.

"We are compelled to state that it is the duty of both the states (Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) to see that no violence, agitation or destruction of properties takes place," a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said, adding "we sincerely hope that wisdom shall prevail on competent authorities of both the states and that peace will prevail."

The bench also warned that "when there is court order, there should not be any violent agitations and any party aggrieved has the liberty to take legal recourse for mitigation of their grievances."

"We reiterate neither any strike nor bandh or agitation can take place when the court has passed an order and it has to be complied with. In any difficulty, concerned parties can approach the court and people cannot take law unto themselves.

It is the obligation of both the states to prevent such actions," the bench said referring to its 2009 judgement which had laid down guidelines to deal with situations of violence and destruction of properties by protestors and agitators.

"We expect both the states to maintain peace, calm, harmony and dignity for law", the bench said.

The apex court, which posted the hearing on September 20 on the plea for direction to both states to take preventive measures and assessing the damages to public and private properties during agitation, said it will also take up the main matter of Cauvery water dispute.

On being pointed out by senior advocate Adish Aggarwala, appearing for petitioner P Shivakumar that on Thursday 'Rail Roko' was organised in Karnataka and on Friday a similar agitation will be held in Tamil Nadu, the bench said it was the sacred duty to see no agitation, damage or destruction of property takes place.

When the court questioned his locus standi, Shivakumar said he was a social activist and a resident of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and added that he was aggrieved by the violence in both states in which public, private properties were being damaged by local groups.

The bench observed that as per media reports, the situation was returning to normal and asked the petitioner to specify what was the present state of affair.

Counsel for petitioner then told the bench that due to the 'rail roko' agitation, buses were also not plying in Karnataka apprehending violence and a similar 'bandh' call has been given in Tamil Nadu for on Friday.

Approximately Rs 25,000 crore worth of properties have been damaged in violence in the two states and the apex court had specifically directed in 2009 that if there is violence in these two states, these have to be reported to the apex court, the counsel said.

The court had on Wednesday agreed to hear the plea seeking direction to the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain law and order in these two states witnessing violent protests in the wake of a row over distribution of Cauvery water.

On September 12, the apex court modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.

Rejecting Karnataka's plea seeking that its September 5 order for release of 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu be kept in abeyance, the court had asked the Executive to ensure compliance. It was also critical of the language used in Karnataka's plea.
While Tamils and their business establishments in Karnataka were attacked recently, owing to the Cauvery water dispute, PWD officials from Tamil Nadu were attacked by the Kerala Police, when they had visited the Parambikulam Dam site in Kerala on September 12, the petitioner said. (Photo: Shajil Kumar)

Madurai: A PIL has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Centre to protect Tamils in Karnataka and Kerala in the wake of recent attacks on them in both states over the Cauvery issue and alleged assault on PWD officials.

Petitioner K K Ramesh, who runs an NGO, on Thursday said the safety of Tamils in both states had become a question mark in recent times.

"While Tamils and their business establishments in Karnataka were attacked recently, owing to the Cauvery water dispute, PWD officials from Tamil Nadu were attacked by the Kerala Police, when they had visited the Parambikulam Dam site in Kerala on September 12," he submitted.

"If such attacks continued then the integrity of the nation would be affected," the petitioner said and sought a direction to the Union government to take steps to protect Tamils in Kerala and Karnataka.

The Cauvery water sharing row between both states had turned violent in Karnataka on September 12, claiming two lives, both in Bengaluru. While one person was killed in police firing, another succumbed to injuries he suffered while fleeing a police lathicharge as he jumped in panic from a three-storey building.

Widespread violence had erupted that day in Bengaluru and some other parts of Karnataka, while sporadic trouble was witnessed in Tamil Nadu following Supreme Court's modified order on sharing Cauvery water by the two riparian states.

The apex court had modified its September 5 order and asked Karnataka to release a reduced quantum of 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till September 20.

In its September 5 order, the apex court had directed the state to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water for 10 days to ameliorate the plight of farmers of the neighbouring state.

On Sept 12, a Tamil Nadu PWD officer and about 50 workers were reportedly prevented entry to the Parambikulam Project area in Kerala. When they protested, officials, led by District Forest Officer, had allegedly resorted to a lathicharge, resulting in injuries to four women.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three directors of two ponzi companies. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three directors of two ponzi companies in separate cases of allegedly duping people to the tune of over Rs. 620 crore.

In the first case against Infinity Realcon, the CBI has arrested its directors Pranab Mukherjee and Prabir Kumar Mukherjee for allegedly duping the people through lucrative ponzi schemes.

"It was alleged that the accused, in a criminal conspiracy with others, had illegally collected Rs 565 crore from poor investors after fraudulently promising them high returns without any permission from regulatory bodies. In pursuance of that, they allegedly committed cheating and criminal misappropriation of public funds," CBI Spokesperson said.

In a separate case, CBI has arrested Sankar Saha, then Director of PAFL Industries Ltd, a Kolkata-based company.

CBI spokesperson said Saha allegedly collected Rs 60 crore illegally from gullible investors after promising lucrative rates of interest on their deposits.

"They allegedly committed cheating and criminal misappropriation of public funds," she said.

The cases were registered by the agency on the orders of Supreme Court on May 09, 2014 passed against the officials of said private companies.
New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, an accused in a disproportionate assets case along with others, on Thursday claimed in Delhi High Court that the way in which the probe was conducted showed an "element of enthusiasm" on CBI's part indicating an element of "malafide".

Questioning CBI's jurisdiction in registering the case in New Delhi, his counsel told Justice Vipin Sanghi that the court should look into the "ramifications" of the matter as the agency could keep doing its probe which might finish the political career of the Congress leader.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Singh, said as per CBI's case, all assets alleged to be disproportionate to the known source of income were in Himachal Pradesh and the agency should not have lodged the case in Delhi, on the basis of the fact that his client was then a union minister here.

"The manner in which probe was conducted (by CBI) shows an element of enthusiasm which would not have been there in normal circumstances. That is why a court-monitored mechanism is essential. There is an element of malafide in the matter," Sibal told the court.

He said it should be ensured that CBI was not biased against anyone based on the political party which is in power in the Centre or the state.

Sibal said CBI had conducted first preliminary enquiry (PE) and thereafter sought to close the case, but later it carried out a second PE on the same set of facts which were dealt with earlier.

He argued that the check period in a DA case "cannot give CBI the jurisdiction to lodged a case here" as jurisdiction would be made out at the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed.

"There must be a court crafted roadmap in such matters. What will give you (CBI) jurisdiction is the place where an offence is committed," Sibal said during the arguments which would continue on September 23.

CBI had earlier told the high court that its probe in the DA case against Singh and others was "complete" and it wanted to file the charge sheet in the matter.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court in an interim order on October 1, 2015, had restrained the agency from arresting, interrogating or filing a charge sheet against Singh in the case without court's permission.

During the hearing on Thursday, Sibal also asked how CBI could register a PE without taking any consent of the state.

"This means the CBI will start conducting a PE without anybody's consent. They should have reported the information received by them to the concerned authority in the state," he said.

"Court has to look at the ramification of this probe. They (CBI) can keep on doing the investigation, my (Virbhadra's) political career may be finished," Sibal said.

To this, the court observed "history has shown that no politician has been indicted due to prosecution."

Sibal responded saying, "I (Virbhadra) am not saying that I am immune. What prevents the state from investigating me? This is not a case of corruption."

The matter, in which Himachal Pradesh HC had passed the interim order, was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi High Court, but the interim order has not yet been vacated or stayed.

The Delhi High Court on April 6 this year had directed CBI not to arrest Singh while asking him to join the probe.

The direction had come when the court was disposing of CBI's application seeking vacation of the Himachal Pradesh High Court order, which, the agency claimed, had "seriously held up" its investigation in the case.

On November 5 last year, the apex court had transferred Singh's plea from Himachal Pradesh HC to Delhi HC, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment".

CBI had moved the apex court seeking transfer of the case to Delhi High Court and setting aside the interim order granting protection from arrest and other relief granted to Singh.

A DA case was lodged against the Chief Minister and others by CBI under sections 13(2) and 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 109 (punishment for abetment) of IPC.
OMAHA  A Columbus native is being honored as part of this week's homecoming festivities at Creighton University.

Karen (Soulliere) Van Dyke is the recipient of this year's Alumni Merit Award from the university's Heider College of Business.

Van Dyke earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Creighton University in 1988 before embarking on her professional and humanitarian career.

After working at Union Pacific Railroad and in a home-based consulting business, Van Dyke and her husband founded Educate Uganda, a nonprofit organization focused on expanding educational opportunities in the town of Nkokonjeru, Uganda. Educate Uganda annually pays school fees for nearly 1,500 children who have lost one or both of their parents.

A school improvement program also sponsored by the organization aims to implement such changes as providing adequate financial support for underpaid teachers and basic learning support like school supplies and classroom aids.

Van Dyke has also helped the organization expand into constructing classrooms, teacher quarters, latrines and water tanks. At home in Omaha, Van Dyke is involved at St. Wenceslaus Parish, Creighton Preparatory School and Marian High School.

Alumni Merit Award recipients are selected based on their service to the university and their community in a way that reflects Creighton's mission and values. The honorees have also established themselves as of high moral principles guided by the Jesuit ideals of being men and women for others.
New Delhi: A Rs 1,500-crore expressway project between Kanpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh would be launched soon, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. The project is part of Rs 2 lakh crore highway projects in the state, the Road Minister said.

"Detailed project report is being prepared for an eight-lane access controlled expressway between Kanpur and Lucknow. The estimated cost of the project would be around Rs 1,500 crore," the minister said here.

Once completed, "Kanpur to Lucknow distance can be travelled in 35-40 minutes", Gadkari said adding that it will be an elevated road.

The minister said massive road network would be laid in the entire state and the government has planned at least Rs 2 lakh crore projects of which work on about Rs 70,000 crore projects is underway.

Gadkari last month laid foundation of three projects -- Rs 806 crore Varanasi-Jaunpur stretch on National Highway No 56, Rs 785 crore Varanasi-Ajamgarh stretch on National Highway No 233 and Varanasi-Gazipur stretch on NH 29.

The minister said Rs 868 crore would be spent on Varanasi-Gazipur stretch. These highway stretches are scheduled to be completed by June 2018.

Gadkari said these stretches would result in all-round development of the state by promoting seamless flow of cargo traffic and passengers, and also also promote tourism and minimise the accidents.
Three persons were killed and five injured after their vehicles were hit by stray animals here in separate accidents a fortnight ago. (Photo: Representational Image)

Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has asked cattle owners in the city to get a mandatory licence to deal with the menace of stray animals. A notification to this effect was released on Thursday by civic chief Vinod Rao.

"Cattle owners are asked to get the licence within 15 days from today," a civic official said.

"The problem of stray animals, causing traffic blockades and accidents on city roads, is increasing day-by-day. Hence, the civic body decided that cattle owners should get a mandatory licence," Rao told PTI.

Three persons were killed and five injured after their vehicles were hit by stray animals here in separate accidents a fortnight ago.

"Action will be taken against those who will not take the licence, under relevant sections of the Cattle Trespass Act and Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporation Act," Rao added.

Meanwhile, city police commissioner E Radhakrishnan said they are working with the VMC to stop the menace of stray cattle.
New Delhi: Journalists should stick to the truth, discourage those who seek to arouse emotions on caste, regional or communal lines, and not "eulogise" terrorists, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday.

Addressing the 49th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), he said nowadays there are attempts to eulogise those accused of terror activities.

"We have seen in recent days what is happening to terrorists, their sympathisers, dacoits. Some people are trying to eulogise Afzal Guru, Yakub Memon, Maqbool Bhat or Burhan Wani," Naidu said.

"It may be music to the ears of our neighbour who is trying to aid, abet, fund and train terrorism. Pakistan is aiding, abetting, funding training terrorism. You are a journalist but you are a citizen of India and you have a duty towards the country," he said.

Naidu told the students graduating from the premier media school that news and views should not be mixed and journalists should stick to the truth.

"My advise to the media is -- be near to the truth and keep away from sensation. But unfortunately, sensation has become the order of the day. They want some headlines," he said.

"Caste has no relevance to the society. But unfortunately people are using emotions, caste emotions, regional emotions, language emotions, communal emotions," he said.

Naidu advised the students that "journalism should be a mission and not for commission" and said that unfortunately in present times we hear about evils like paid news or sponsored news.

He also referred to the recent violence over the Cauvery water sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and asked why should buses be burnt over the issue?

Journalists should not fall in the trap of such tendencies, Naidu said, adding that all should feel proud of the country's culture and traditions.
Security forces have been deployed in strength at vulnerable places in the Valley even as aerial surveillance using drones and helicopters continued, officials said. (Photo: AP)

Srinagar: Separatist-sponsored strike and restrictions imposed by authorities ensured disruption in normal life in Kashmir valley for the 69th day on Thursday even as one more youth injured in clashes last week succumbed, raising the toll during the ongoing unrest to 86, including three policemen.

The separatists, who have been spearheading the agitation, have called for strike till Friday. They have been regularly issuing calenders of protests ever since Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8.

Authorities have also imposed restrictions on movement and assembly of people in all parts of the Valley, except the Civil Lines area of Srinagar city, a police official said.

Security forces have been deployed in strength at vulnerable places in the Valley even as aerial surveillance using drones and helicopters continued, the official said.

Meanwhile, one Rasiq Ahmed, who was injured during clashes between protesters and security forces on September 5in Qazigund area, succumbed to his injuries this morning at a hospital in Srinagar, a police official said.
Patna/ Lucknow: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday claimed that there were no differences between him and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, insisting that their "mahagatbandhan" is intact.

According to reports, Lalu said, "Shahabuddin was released on a court order. The entire controversy is needless," Lalu Yadav told reporters, when asked about RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin who was recently released on bail in a murder case.

Read: Bihar govt indulging in drama over Shahabuddin's bail: Sushil Modi

But Yadav would be embarrassed with the revelation of damning photographs featuring his older son Tej Pratap, a minister, with Shahabuddin as well as an accused in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.

On Thursday, Tej Pratap was seen in a new photograph with a second man wanted in the Ranjan murder  Mohammad Jawed.

Meanwhile, asserting the government's supremacy in the Shahabuddin issue, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said law will take its course in the matter.

"There is a process of law. All I will tell you is that the law will continue to take its course," he told reporters in Delhi.

Read: Bihar govt to challenge Shahabuddins bail in Supreme Court

Asked about comments of some RJD leaders, including gangster-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, questioning his leadership, he said he does not pay attention to these.

The bail granted to murder convict Shahabuddin by the Patna High Court has prompted the BJP-led opposition to accuse the Nitish government of deliberately putting up a weak case to facilitate his bail.

The fanfare following the RJD leader's release from the jail had added to Kumar's discomfort with leaders of his party JD(U) indicating that the government may move the Supreme Court to get his bail cancelled.

However, the government, in which RJD is a partner, has not spelt out a clear stand on the matter.

Kumar has come to the national capital to meet Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
The violence flared up soon after the Supreme Court gave its amended order, directing Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu. (Photo: Shajil Kumar/ DC)

Bengaluru: As Karnataka government prepares itself for another round of legal battle with Tamil Nadu over the raging Cauvery dispute, police on Thursday decided to continue prohibitory orders in the violence-hit city where normalcy has been restored.

As a preventive measure, Section 144 has been extended till September 25 midnight in Bengaluru and strong bandobast continues, senior police officials said, adding that life is normal everywhere.

Prohibitory orders were clamped on Monday after violence erupted with dozens of buses and lorries with Tamil Nadu number plate being set on fire as mobs let out their fury over reports of some incidents of attack on Kannadigas and their property in the neighbouring state.

As the violence flared up soon after the Supreme court gave its amended order, directing Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu till September 20, police had clamped curfew in 16 police station limits of Bengaluru City, which was lifted on Wednesday.

Read: Cauvery row: Violence unacceptable; order must be followed, says SC

Despite the call given by pro-Kannada organisations for a "rail roko" on Thursday to protest against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, train services remained normal across the state.

In the city, police stopped protesters who were marching to a railway station mid way.

Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj and several other Kannada Okkoota (federation) members were detained by the police.

Speaking to reporters before being detained, Nagaraj said, "Tomorrow they have called a Tamil Nadu bandh, against which we will observe black day across the state. Pro-Kannada organisations across the state will hold?demonstrations with black flags in front to Deputy Commissioner offices."

Due to heightened security, the rail roko was unsuccessful in Mandya, Mysuru, Hubballi, Shivamogga and other places where protesters who tried to enter railway stations were stopped and detained by the police.

In Kolar, protesters managed to stop the Kolar-Bangalore passenger train for some time.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today held a consultation meeting with retired Judges of high court and advocate generals to discuss the course of Karnataka's legal battle in order to get justice in Cauvery water sharing.

Former judges Rajendra Babu, J Rama Jois, J Vishwanatha Shetty, J A J Sadashiva, J Kumar, and retired advocate generals B V Acharya, Ashok Haranahalli, Ravivarma Kumar were present in the meeting along with ministers and legal?team.

The Chief Minister also wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa requesting her to ensure protection of the lives and properties of Kannada speaking people in view of the bandh to be observed there tomorrow.

Speaking at an event in Gauribidanuru, Siddaramaih said state government would continue its legal battle and was committed to protecting the interests of the people.
A follow on order of Rafale fighters with a 10 per cent cost escalation is also possible under the deal. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Rafale deal between India and France for the sale of 36 aircraft to the former will be signed on September 23.

According to reports, India and France have finalized the details for the deal. India will pay Euro 7.87 billion for the purchase of the 36 aircraft.

Of the 7.87 billion Euros, about 50 per cent will be covered under offset, which means either France will reinvest this amount in India or source equipment of this value from India, said reports.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in India for the signing of the deal.

The government has claimed that it has negotiated to reduce the price of the aircraft by almost 600 million Euros.

A follow on order of Rafale fighters with a 10 per cent cost escalation is also possible under the deal, said reports.

In January, India and France had signed a general agreement without naming the price, because India wanted a better deal. French President Francois Hollande was the Chief Guest for the Republic Day when the two countries attempted to sign the deal, for which negotiations went on till 2 am on January 26.

The deal has been made in view of the fact that India needs at least 42 squadrons of fighters and has an existing strength of 32. The fighter fleet will reduce further by about 10 squadrons as the MiG-21 fighter will have to be decommissioned.
Lucknow: Amid the raging feud in Mulayam Singh Yadav's family, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav on Thursday said the leadership had committed a "mistake" by removing Akhilesh Yadav as party's UP president and that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding".

Ram Gopal, SP national general secretary and Mulayam's cousin, met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow in a bid to defuse the situation after the CM stripped his uncle and Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved. The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ram Gopal, who is known to be close to Mulayam's son Akhilesh, told reporters before the meeting.

Read: Mulayam Singh to meet Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow today

"He (CM) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal). Some misunderstanding has taken place and there is nothing more to it," he said.

He asserted that there is "no crisis" in Samajwadi Party. "Many times some decisions are made due to which people feel that there is some problem in the party. There is nothing like that. This happens in all parties in different situations," Ram Gopal said.

When asked about the CM's statement that he has taken some decisions on his own, Ram Gopal said, "Whatever decisions the CM has taken were on the directions of party president (Mulayam). Some decisions, he (CM) said, he has taken himself. It is not unnatural that a CM of a state like Uttar Pradesh takes some decisions on his own. It is natural... he should take decisions".

When asked about reports suggesting that Akhilesh will be made working President of SP for damage control, Ram Gopal said, "It's simply gossip."

"When netaji (Mulayam) is President, there is no such question."

Asked about the CM's statement regarding role of "outsiders" in the family tussle, Ram Gopal said, "I will talk to the chief minister as to what he wanted to say.... But there is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...."

On the talk of party's Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh's alleged role, Ram Gopal said, "When you have come to conclusion, what can I say.... I will let you know later."

Shivpal, who is the younger brother of Mulayam, had on Wednesday reached Delhi to meet the party chief at his official residence.

An indication that the crisis in the SP lingered on came when Shivpal told Mulayam that despite following his orders, he was being painted as a villain.

Later talking to reporters, Shivpal had rejected suggestions that there were differences within the party and the Yadav clan.

"Neither am I angry nor is Netaji (Mulayam). We all are happy...there are no differences," he had said.

Mulayam is likely to reach Lucknow tomorrow morning. Asked about another report of national parliamentary board meeting of the party, Ram Gopal said that there is no need for it.

"When has it been called? I am the secretary of parliamentary board and I call the meet. It is called when there is an issue of removing anyone or deciding tickets of Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Parishad...there is nothing like that," he said.

After meeting the Chief Minister, Ram Gopal refused to divulge any detail and said "everything will be resolved once netaji (Mulayam) and CM will talk.... He is coming to Lucknow tomorrow or day after tomorrow".

However, he was riled by questions on Amar Singh. "There is nothing like mulayamwadi..If someone is not Samajwadi, then how can he be mulayamwadi," he said in response to queries on Singh, who was expelled in 2010 and rejoined the party a few months ago

Ram Gopal said that due to "simplicity" of Mulayam, "those who have nothing to do with party interest are able to take benefit".

"You also know this. Those who have nothing to do with party's interest take benefit of simplicty of netaji.... They harm the party.... All those who met me are saying so,"

Ram Gopal said.

"He is the same person, who used netaji's simplicity to make an incharge of the party (Shivpal was earlier made SP UP incharge). There is no such post in SP. They say you are being challenged.....There is no one in the party who can challenge netaji," he said.

On making Shivpal the state SP president, Ram Gopal said, "I had issued the order. I was asked to issue it immediately.It was his (Mulayam) order. It was to be complied".

Asked if the Chief Minister was angry with him, Ram Gopal said, "Akhilesh is not angry with anyone".

About the action against Shivpal by Akhilesh, he said, "When there is an action, it will have reaction...."

"After netaji and CM will meet, all will be fine. Whatever netaji will indicate will take place."

When asked about Rahul Gandhi terming cycle, the SP's poll symbol, as "punctured", he said he would not like to talk about the Congress Vice President.

"Rahul can say anything... I will not say anything on him," he said, adding "jinki khatiya uth gayi unko kya kahein...(What can I say about people whose cot has been lifted?).
New Delhi: Two Indians, who were held captive in Libya for over a year, have been rescued, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday.

"I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July, 2015 have been rescued," she tweeted.

The two Indians, who were teaching at Libya's Sirte University, were abducted by Islamic State militants in July last year.
New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday left for Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit during which key issues of concern like terrorism, UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament are expected to be discussed.

Ansari is leading the Indian delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only the second Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era bloc's summit a miss after Charan Singh in 1979.

The summit, which started on Tuesday and will end on September 18, is taking place in Venezuela's Margarita Island and has meetings scheduled in three consecutive segments-- officials-level, foreign ministers' meet, and a conference of heads of state and government.

Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar is already in Venezuela to take part in the deliberations while, Ansari will reach the country after an overnight halt in Berlin.

"The summit is expected to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern such as terrorism, UN reform, the situation in West Asia, threats to peace and security," according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

UN peacekeeping operations, climate change, sustainable development, economic governance, south-south cooperation, refugees and migrants, and nuclear disarmament will also be discussed, the statement said.

"All these issues are of relevance in the context of the discussions that will take place at the United Nations in coming months," it said.

The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Margarita is expected to bring together leaders from 120 developing countries that are its members. The NAM Summits are among the largest gatherings of countries, after the United Nations.

NAM is also an important forum for interaction with partner countries across continents, including from Africa, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs), with whom India has long-standing development partnerships in a spirit of south-south cooperation, the statement said.

"NAM continues to represent space for action in pursuance of the collective interests of the developing world, along with the G-77, especially on subject such as the reform of the global economic system and disarmament. At the United Nations, the NAM is an influential grouping on a range of issues such as UN peacekeeping and disarmament," it said.
Police

Aug. 10

11:15 p.m. - In the 1100 block of Sixth Street, Kimberly C. Vasquez, 20, 573 12th Ave., jailed for distribution of controlled substance.

Aug. 12

8:07 p.m. - In the 800 block of East 23rd Street, Yoanis Cueto LaStre, 40, 2610 25th St., cited for unauthorized use of a financial transaction device.

Aug. 30

3:50 a.m. - In the 3600 block of 50th Avenue, Ronald D. Sterns, 54, Schuyler, cited for first degree trespassing, theft by unlawful taking.

Sept. 7

3:10 p.m. - At 23rd Street and Third Avenue, traffic accident. Vehicles driven by Peter G. Clark, 81, 217 30th St., and Sylvia Meda, 21, 1521 Fifth St.

Sept. 8

2:14 p.m. - In the 700 block of Eighth Street, Edgar A. Leon, 23, 858 33rd Ave. A1, cited for speeding 50 in 35 zone.

Sept. 9

7:41 a.m. - In the 2600 block of Pershing Road, Teresa Caballero, 32, 5200 Southeast 16th St., cited for no operator's license.

2:33 p.m. - At 23rd Street and 33rd Avenue, Maria C. Ynfantes, 57, 38 Carriage House Estates, cited for no operator's license.

5:45 p.m. - In the 3300 block of 23rd Street, Kimberley S. Knight, 44, Platte Center, jailed for third offense shoplifting.

7:58 p.m. - In the 1700 block of 20th Street, Alberto Legoretta-Gomez, 19, 2511 10th St., jailed for strangulation, domestic violence.

10:05 p.m. - In the 600 block of 23rd Street, Francisco Herrera-Lopez, 33, 233 Sixth St., cited for no operator's license.

Sept. 10

10 a.m. - At Sixth Street and 118th Avenue, Rosa E. Leon, 19, 4071 East 29th St., cited for failure to yield right of way, no operator's license.

Sept. 12

9:07 a.m. - In the 100 block of Lake Shore Drive, criminal mischief. Window broken, $100 damage.

6:06 p.m. - In the 2200 block of 26th Street, theft of bike.

Sept. 13

7:45 a.m. - In the 2600 block of Pershing Road, Kara J. Allbaugh, 38, 2103 26th St., cited for violation of stopped school bus.

7:45 a.m. - At 33rd Avenue and 15th Street, traffic accident. Vehicles driven by Tasha A. Johnson, 23, 2416 Ninth St., and Joseph M. Weverka, 37, 3520 13th St.

10:18 a.m. - In the 3300 block of 18th Street, theft of banner, $100 loss.

12:57 p.m. - At 24th Street and East Third Avenue, traffic accident. Vehicles driven by Virginia A. Whidden, 62, Saint Edward, and Adonis W. Lopez, 43, Schuyler.

3:13 p.m. - In the 4000 block of 13th Street, criminal mischief. Windows broken, $400 damage.

Sheriff

Aug. 25

3:55 p.m. - At Howard Boulevard and 38th Avenue, traffic accident. Vehicles driven by Stephanie R. Stevens, 38, 2015 Ninth St., and Leonard Louis Henry Luebker II, 62, 4614 Valley View Drive.

8:18 p.m. - At 295th Avenue and 197th Street, traffic accident. Vehicle driven by Todd A. Cattau, 47, Creston, struck parked vehicle owned by Rodney M. Cheloha, 29505 197th St.

Sept. 2

10:40 a.m. - In the 4500 block of 63rd Street, traffic accident. Vehicles driven by Paulo Quini Jr., 18, 832 Second St., and Danielle L. Colson, 28, 1259 46th Ave.

6:40 p.m. - On Highway 81 near 310th Street, traffic accident. Vehicle driven by Kemberly G. Herrera, 20, Madison.

Sept. 8

12:45 a.m. - On East 32nd Avenue near Highway 30, traffic accident. Vehicles driven by Jorge Luis Aguilar-Santoyo, 29, 106 Carriage House Estates, and Rene Garcia, 32, 2255 10th Ave.

Sept. 13

6:35 a.m. - On East 29th Avenue at the railroad tracks, Jason Pensick issued citation for careless driving.

Fire

Sept. 13

9:41 p.m. - In the 3800 block of 25th Street, medical.
Ram Gopal Yadav, who backed Akhilesh, said that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding" even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabh MP Amar Singh. (Photo: File)

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party was on Thursday split down the middle with Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin Ram Gopal backing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who is locked in a turf war with uncle Shivpal while party leaders blamed "outsider" Amar Singh for the crisis.

Party supremo Mulayam rushed to Lucknow from Delhi and is expected to hold talks with his son Akhilesh and other leaders in a bid to control the damage.

Samajwadi Party national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who met Akhilesh here, said the leadership had committed an unintentional "mistake" by removing Akhilesh as party's UP president.

He said that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding" even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabh MP Amar Singh.

The feud had spilled into the open after the Chief Minister stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios on September 13, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief by his father.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ram Gopal told reporters.

When asked about the chief minister's statement regarding role of "outsiders" in the family tussle, Ram Gopal said, "There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...".

Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.

Cabinet Minister Azam Khan also took a swipe at his bete-noire Amar Singh, though he refrained from naming him, and said the Chief Minister was right in his assessment.

"If the Chief Minister is saying it, he must be right as he is in a responsible position. We had such apprehensions and that is why we had strongly opposed the return of such people who had a black history. Their only job is to make recordings and blackmail," he said.

Party's Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal said "if there is any outsider, who is interfering, he should stop immediately" and asserted that Akhilesh will be the chief ministerial candidate of Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Targeting Amar Singh, Ram Gopal said that due to "simplicity" of Mulayam, "those who have nothing to do with party's interest are able to take benefit".

"They harm the party.... All those who met me are saying so," he said.

"He is the same person, who used netaji's simplicity to make an incharge of the party (Shivpal was earlier made SP UP in charge). There is no such post in SP. They say you are being challenged.....There is no one in the party who can challenge netaji," Ram Gopal said.

Shivpal, however, defended Amar Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along.

Asked about other SP leaders' "unhappiness" with Amar Singh, he said, "Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also."
New Delhi: Underlining the urgency to unite despite differences in ethnicity and caste, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday said till the time Tharus and Madhesis are not taken into confidence, atmosphere for implementing the new Constitution cannot be created.

Prachanda, who was elected as the Prime Minister for the second time on August 3, said the top focus of the new dispensation is to create the "right atmosphere" before the implementation of the Constitution and pave way for the necessary amendments.

"We have already made two amendments," he said.

Prachanda, who is on a four-day goodwill visit to India, his first foreign visit after assuming power, was addressing the Nepali diaspora at the Nepalese embassy in New Delhi.

"Till the time we don't take the Tharus, Madhesis and Janjatis into confidence and address their legitimate demands the atmosphere cannot be created for implementation of the new Constitution. There is a need to unite Nepal and its people despite differences in ethnicities, language, caste, class," Prachanda said.

Emphasising on the need to unite those in the Terai, hills and the plains, the Prime Minister of Nepal said, if that does not happen, then Nepal's sovereignty will be mere words.

"If they are not united then the political crisis will loom large," he said.

The Madhesi parties had led a six month-long agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution. At least 50 people were killed during the protests in south Nepal last year over the issue.

India wants Nepal to take steps to address the concerns of its citizens, especially those in Terai, over itsnewly-adopted constitution, as it feels the more the process in this regard gets delayed, the situation will "worsen and can get messy again".

During his interaction, the Nepalese community also complained that they played a prominent role during the movement against the monarchy, but since the new democratic polity came into being they have been forgotten.
Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam: Two professors from India who had been abducted by ISIS terrorists in Libya in 2015 were rescued after more than an year on Thursday.

Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted about the release of Prof C. Balram Kishan from Hyderabad and Prof. T.V. Gopal Krishna from AP. They had been working as professors in the University of Sirte in Libya when they were abducted in July 2015.

As news of their release came, their families back home were overjoyed. On Thursday, Prof. Gopal Krishna spoke to his father Mr Narayana Rao and his wife Ms Kalyani while Prof. Balram Kishan spoke to his wife Ms Sridevi.

Both families said that in addition to the efforts of the state and Central governments and constant efforts of the family members, divine intervention had helped in their safe release.

Prof. Balram Kishans wife Sridevi said that though she had a tough time without her husband, she had never lost hope. Though she was regularly updated on his safety, she did not know his situation.

On the 11th day of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, getting this news is really Gods grace. Its a rebirth of my husband for all of us, she said, adding that the family had started celebrating, but the real celebration would be when Mr Balram Kishan would come home.
BENGALURU: Police are on full alert in the state, throwing a cordon sanitaire around the IT capital Bengaluru after intelligence agencies at the centre and the state warned that Tamil Nadu's statewide bandh on Friday, could trigger violence in the southern state and have repercussions in neighbouring Karnataka where violent protests on the Cauvery dispute have already claimed the lives of two people and dented Bengaluru's image as a safe haven for IT bellwethers.

While some reports indicate that TN chief minister J. Jayalalithaa is unlikely to allow violence to escalate as Karnataka's leadership, state intelligence have reportedly gathered information that the protests would turn violent in Tamil Nadu, and fear, it could trigger another round of violent protests in Bengaluru and parts of Karnataka.

"There is information that the Kannadigas living in Tamil Nadu would be targeted during the bandh, as revenge to what happened in Bengaluru on Monday. Though here no Tamilians were attacked and only vehicles were set on fire, the Friday's bandh would go to next level. If the fringe groups attack Kannadigas living in Tamil Nadu physically, then it would be disastrous. Its impact would echo in Karnataka as well, especially in Bengaluru," an official said.

Tamil Nadu police have been informed about the developments and they have put proper security measures at place. "They are very much aware of the plans of the fringe groups and should be able to tackle the situation. Security has been beefed up in that state," the official added.

In Bengaluru, police have tightened the security. "Prohibitory orders have been already extended in the city till September 25 and the central security forces will be stationed in the city till peace is completely restored here. Following the alert, the city police have also made necessary security arrangements. Heavy police deployment is in place wherever Tamil population is high," the official said.

CAUVERY RAGING

Bike Torched: Unidentified miscreants set fire to a bike bearing Tamil Nadu registration number at Kempanna Layout on Thursday night

Price too high! During the Monday protests, a man and his goons use the cover of the Cauvery protests to vandalise a man's home in J.P. Nagar
The same is true in the case of Karnataka farmers who grow summer paddy crop and sugarcane which are water consuming crops.

Bengaluru: Change of cropping pattern and judicious use of water are two important things that need to popularised in the wake of the conflict between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing of Cauvery water, said Ms Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

Participating in an interaction with people on social media Facebook on 'Cauvery Water Dispute' on Thursday, she said in future, they need to be extremely wise in the use of water, be it farmers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu or people living in cities dependent on Cauvery water.

Farmers of Tamil Nadu grow summer rice crop which was never part of the tradition. In fact, water is scarce during the summer and they are not supposed to use it for paddy cultivation.

The same is true in the case of Karnataka farmers who grow summer paddy crop and sugarcane which are water consuming crops. Cities like Bengaluru have four Cauvery drinking water projects and water for all the four stages comes from Cauvery. The situation calls for less use of water by farmers and much more less use by cities.

On the deforestation of Western Ghats and its impact on the Cauvery region, Ms Narain said during her visit to Kodagu recently, she could see where River Cauvery was born.

If Cauvery is alive today, it is because of growing coffee under tree shades, paddy cultivation that helps in recharging underground water and growing spices which creates a perfect eco-system to keep the river live. Unfortunately, two states which have been fighting for Cauvery water do not encourage catchment areas, so important in keeping the river alive. If people of Kodagu start growing sun coffee by cutting trees, support unbridled urbanisation and destroy paddy fields in low-lying areas, the Cauvery will die.
Bengaluru: After a wave of widespread violence in the city over Cauvery water sharing, Bengaluru residents would now have to brace for air pollution caused due to large scale burning of vehicles and other public property.

West Bengaluru saw a lot of protests where buses and tyres were burnt. The air pollution in these areas increased by 28.8 percent, when compared with normal days. There are a 100 different chemicals emanating from the torched vehicles made of metals, paint and rubber, said Lakshman, Chairman of Karnataka Pollution Control Board.

During normal days the particulate matter in the air was well within national limit. During the protests and violence, it included fine soot and road dust. Burning of rubber tyres has the worst impact on air quality, apart from bus seats, said Dr. B. Nagappa, Scientific Officer, KSPCB.

Dr Sandeep, Consultant Pulmonologist at BGS hospital said, The gases emitted from burning rubber tyres is very harmful. It affects the oxygen capacity in the blood. Those who have been exposed for long near burning buses could suffer from reactive airway dysfunction syndrome, an asthma like illness, acute lung injury and other respiratory problems.

While both the KSPCB officials are confident that the recent pollution caused by protests, will subside due to the rain, Dr. Sandeep felt otherwise. The weather is colder now so there will be smog collecting in the air, that will remain for weeks.

Protect Cauvery catchment areas

When there is serious conflict on sharing Cauvery water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it would be vital to protect the Cauvery catchment in Kodagu from further damage and degradation, said Colonel Muthanna, President of Coorg Wildlife Society.

The society along with Save Cauvery Foundation discussed the real issues causing failure in monsoon and water shortage in Karnataka. They revealed that 55,000 trees were cut in Coorg for a 400KV high tension power line, resulting in tree loss, low water inflow into KRS Dam and rise in silt deposits.

The Coorg district or Kodagu, is the birthplace of the river and accounts for 70 percent inflow into the dam. Colonel Muthanna held large scale land conversion for commercial purposes such as resorts, hotels and housing layout along with linear development projects such as highway expansion and railways, responsible for the water scarcity in the state.

A Right to Information query filed by them revealed that over 2,800 acres of land in this area have been lost in 10 years, to commercial establishments, many of which are illegal.
Lucknow: Some call it a coincidence while the majority believe it is a miracle. In the fields of one Horilal Rajput in Bidhuna at Bhure Purwa village in Aurraiyya district, a 5-feet tall statue of Lord Vishnu was discovered on Thursday.

A labourer Siyaram while digging in the field in the afternoon spotted the statue, buried deep inside. The labourer informed Horilal and other villagers and with everybodys help the statue, measuring about five feet, was dug out.

Appearance of the Lord Vishnus statue in such a fashion made people delirious with devotion. Horilal said that, his son Ranvijay, who has been unwell for the past eight months, has told his parents about a recurring a dream in which an unknown figure has told Ranvijay to take me out from your fields.

The statue of Lord Vishnu has been cleaned and placed near a tree in the fields. As the news spread through word of mouth, thousands of people form neighbouring villages have started arriving at Bhure Purwa village. The women offered prayers and sang devotional songs to the idol. The villagers feel that the emergence of the statue would be good omen for them.
Bengaluru: A state-wide rail roko call given by various Kannada Organisations hit a road block in Bengaluru, with only a handful of activists turning up for the protest. In spite of this, the police in the city and in the railways had made elaborate arrangements to ensure that no untoward incident occurred in any of the city railway stations.

As per the announcement made by various Kannada organisations led by Mr. Vatal Nagaraj, (an ex-MLA and activist), it was decided that all trains arriving and departing from the state railway stations between 6 am and 6 pm be blocked.

Heavy security arrangements

According to officials in Bengaluru, around 15,000 police personnel including the RRF and KSRP were deployed to prevent any untoward incident. In addition, the city police station was also provided with security from the armed police force and around 40 BMTC buses were hired to ferry agitators that attempted halting trains.

But with only a mere 50 agitators turning up for the protest, security officials were relieved as only two BMTC buses had to be used to ferry agitators out of the city railway station premises.

Kannada activists held protests all across the state but there were no reports of violence or delay in any of the transport services informed, SWR officials.

Railway police were very active on their twitter account, responding quickly to all queries raised by commuters.

City railway police made elaborate arrangements to ensure no violence erupted anywhere. Actually it was a no show by the Kannada activists.

Police arranged 40 BMTC buses to ferry the agitators, but only 50 protestors arrived to halt the trains. According to sources, the number of police personnel were more than the agitators.

As per sources, in Bengaluru itself, there were 15,000 police personnel deputed at all stations, including the city railway stations Yesvantpur, Kengeri, KR Puram and Contonment.

Unidentified miscreants set fire to a bike bearing Tamil Nadu registration number at Kempanna Layout near Gowdanapalya in Subramanyapura police station limits late on Thursday night.

Police said that bike belonged to Gopi, who had moved to the city just a few days ago and was staying in a rented house in Kempanna Layout. Around 12.30 am on Thursday, some miscreants found his bike parked in front of the house and set it on fire. Gopi has filed a compliant in this connection and efforts are on to nab the culprits.

Pvt schools, colleges resume

All private schools and colleges reopened on Thursday after a two-day holiday due to the Cauvery violence. According to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) officials, all the city schools resumed classes on Thursday. State government did not announce holiday for schools on Wednesday. But private schools announced holiday on their own because of student's safety. As the situation has now returned to normalcy, all schools were reopened on Thursday, said an officer.

Vegetable prices up due to lack of supply

Vegetable prices soared in the city as supply from Tamil Nadu and Mandya stopped due to the Cauvery protests. According to the vegetable sellers carrot and beans prices have crossed Rs 80 per kilo on Thursday.

Tender coconut supply was also hit leading to the shortage. A single tender coconut is now sold for Rs 30. It was Rs 25 last week. Generally during monsoon prices comes down, but this time it is up due to the supply concerns, said Rama Gowda, a seller near KC general hospital.

According to the vendors, it was the KR Market which is worst hit by the bandh. Generally vegetables were supplied to the city from Tamil Nadu via KR market. But now due to the cancellation of bus services as well as truck movement, vegetable supply has totally stopped. As a result prices have started to skyrocket, said Jayaraj Shetty, a wholesale vendor. Tomato, banana, ladies finger and brinjal rates increased by nearly 100 percent compared with last week, he said. Farmers of Mandya and Tumakuru too have stopped supplying vegetables, including tender coconut.

In Yeshwatpur APMC, onions were lying in the godown with no takers, creating panic among the farmers. According to the farmers, the traders from Tamil Nadu are not participating in the procurement process due to the fear. If the situation does not returns to normalcy onion growers will lose around Rs 100-150 crore, said Yogesh Patil, a onion grower from Chitradurga.

Man scales mobile tower over Cauvery issue

High drama prevailed in Ramanagara district on Thursday morning for over five hours when an agitated protester scaled a mobile tower as a mark of the protest against SC verdict over sharing of Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu and allegedly threatened to jump if his demands were not met.

According to the police, the incident took place around 7.30 am in Heggedegere in Ramanagar District in Bidadi police station limits. Police said that tension prevailed for over five hours when Prakash, a resident of Gubbi Taluk and an agriculturist, threatened to jump and commit suicide if his demands were not met. Prakash scaled an Airtel mobile tower located at Heggedegere in Ramanagar District.

Police further said that Prakash refused to climb down and demanded the district magistrate and deputy commissioner to talk to him. The situation was brought under control by around 1 pm when Ramanagar District DC B.R. Mamatha visited the spot. The DC spoke to him on mobile phone and assured him that she will look into the matter. Prakash then agreed to climb down the tower. As a precautionary measure, police had also summoned an ambulance at the spot. After he scaled down, he was sent to the hospital and was later let off with a strict warning, said a police officer.
The treasury department has stopped funds to the green channel to adjust amounts or for other purposes. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

Hyderabad: The green channel system in the finance department that was to speedily disburse funds for student scholarships and fee waiver and social security pensions for the poor has been ignored. The treasury department has stopped funds to the green channel to adjust amounts or for other purposes.

The green channel It facilitates one-time rel-ease of funds required for these schemes through budget release orders. Following the directions of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the finance department had issued BROs for scholarships, fee reimbursement and pensions at one go, amounting to nearly Rs 7,500 crore. Of this, Rs 3,061 crore pertain to scholarships and fee reimbursement and Rs 4,438 crore to Aasara pensions.

As the orders were issued, the departments for BC, SC, ST and minorities welfare began approaching the treasury department to claims funds for students besides panchayat raj and rural development department approaching for pension funds.

The treasury department, however, refused to release the funds citing tight financial conditions, defeating the very purpose of green channel system.

The treasury department has so far stopp-ed Rs 1,161 crore for students and Rs 2,000 crore for pensions, affecting 12 lakh students and 33 lakh pensioners. The pensioners, these prio-rities were changed by officials due to directions from higher-ups.

Irrigation projects, Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya are our priorities for which all the funds are being mobilised to pay up contractors. The funds for students and pensioners can be adjusted only if the financial condition improves, said a finance official.

The green channel was meant for students and pensioners but it is benefiting contractors whose bills are being paid while others are kept pending for months, said R. Krishnaiah, BC leader.

Draw of lots for welfare loans

Shortage of funds for self-employment schemes is forcing the welfare departments to opt for draw of lots to select the beneficiaries.

Departments of BCs, SCs, STs and minorities welfare have not lent money for the past year due to paucity of funds tho-ugh lakhs of applications are pending.

Under pressure fr-om caste organisations, the government had recently released Rs 200 crore of the Rs 1,000-crore arrears, forcing officials to select the beneficiaries through draw of lots.

One such draw of lots was held to select beneficiaries under minority category recently. The government provides loans under bank-linked self-employment schemes and bears 70 per cent subsidy. Over 8,700 applied after the minorities welfare department invited applications from eligible candidates eight months ago.

After verification, it approved loans to 1,066 applicants and issued consent letters. When the beneficiaries approached the officials to claim loans amounting up to Rs 2 lakh, they were asked them to participate in draw of lots due to shortage of funds.
Bhopal: BJP veteran and Union minister Kalraj Mishra on Wednesday joined his colleague Nitin Gadkari, saying the catch-phrase "acche din" was indeed coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's predecessor Manmohan Singh.

"It is true that former prime minister Manmohan Singh had said that good days will come. To which our Prime Minister had said that when we come, good days will come," Mishra told reporters when his reaction was sought on Gadkari's comment.

However, seeking to dispel any negative perception, Mishra said people have faith in Modi and are confident that "acche din" will come. "I am sure that Gadkari too meant the same," he added.

Addressing a function in Mumbai yesterday, Mr Gadkari had said, "Acche din maan-ne se hota hai (Good days depends on one's belief). It was at an NRI meet in Delhi that Manmohan Singh had said that 'Acche din ayenge' (good days will come)."

Mr Gadkari had also said the slogan has become "a millstone around our neck."

The slogan was extensively used by PM Modi, who was then BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, during Lok Sabha elections in 2014.



Mr Mishra said the NDA government is working to usher in "acche din" and that "an era of negativity in country has come to an end giving way to positivity".

"I can say with full faith that our government is taking ahead the process of ushering in 'acche din'. This has brought in positivity and positive thought has stemmed from it," the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Minister said.

He said the NDA government overcame "negativity" prevailing against the previous government which was "corrupt, scamster and could not provide security to country".

"Our government overcame this negativity. There might be comments like 'this should be done or that should be done', but positivity hasn't shrunk...People in villages are saying 'Modiji Karenge' (Modiji will do). They have faith," he said.

However, he dodged a query on when will the 'acche din' come.
COLUMBUS  Student by student, Amy Sokol went around the room making sure each second-grader was writing correctly in their assignment notebook.

The class of 11 students just had a quick lesson in composing a letter to their grandparents, learning the proper introduction, closing and placement for commas.

One student spoke up, telling Sokol about her trips to the post office to send mail and how stamps shouldnt be used like stickers, which earned a grin from the teacher.

Sokol has had many of these interactions with students this year and in her career at St. Anthony Elementary School.

Since graduating from the College of Saint Mary with a major in elementary education and early childhood education, Sokol has been teaching at the local school. She is entering her 26th year in education at St. Anthony, teaching second grade for four years and fourth grade for 22 years.

She always knew she wanted to settle and teach in her hometown of Columbus. The Scotus Central Catholic graduate was inspired by one of her own elementary teachers, Sr. Roseann Ocken, who taught at St. Isidore Elementary School, to pursue a career in education.

Once she got a job at St. Anthony, Sokol knew she found her home.

After being here a few years, I knew Id be a lifer, she said.

For her years of service and commitment to teaching in a Catholic setting, Sokol is being recognized by the Archdiocese of Omaha as an elementary educator of the year. An Archbishops Dinner for Education, which will be held Sept. 29, honors the dedication of Catholic school teachers, as well as thanks supporters and serves as a fundraiser for scholarships.

Each year, eight teachers and administrators who have demonstrated a strong personal commitment to Catholic education and give service above and beyond the ordinary are named educators of the year at the dinner and given a $5,000 award.

Honorees are nominated then chosen by a selection committee.

Sokol, whos married to Doug Sokol and has two children, said she is totally floored by the recognition. She plans on using the $5,000 to pursue a second masters degree in principalship for K-8 grades to go along with her masters in curriculum and instruction.

Along with being in the classroom, Sokol has taken on a leadership role as a teacher facilitator/head teacher at the school.

Sokol said the thing she enjoys most about teaching is knowing she is making a difference and seeing students have those light bulb moments when they understand a lesson or concept. St. Anthony is a school where she said it feels like a family.

We take care of and watch out for each other. The parish and parent support is unbelievable. I am very blessed to be able to be a part of it all, she said.
New Delhi: Delhi Police's Special Cell will probe the alleged threatening calls and messages received by mediaperson Dipak Chaurasia after his phone numbers were tweeted by AAP minister Kapil Mishra.

A case was registered at south Delhi's Hauz Khas police station on a complaint by Chaurasia's wife Anusuiya Roy earlier on Wednesday.

A senior police officer said the case has been handed over to the Special Cell as it is equipped with a fast surveillance system needed to track numbers, even from abroad.

The calls on Chaurasia's number were made from India as well as abroad, including from Canada.

"A criminal case under Sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 354D (stalking), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC has been registered at Safdarjung Enclave on the complaint of Anusuiya Roy, wife of Deepak Chaurasia, Editor-in-Chief, India News," said the officer.

Roy alleged that on the intervening night of September 13-14 between 11 pm and 4 am, Chaurasia received threatening calls and messages from unknown numbers.

The complaint also mentioned that the calls and messages started after Mishra tweeted Chaurasia's two mobile numbers.

"Investigation has been taken up. Serious efforts are on to identify the culprits. The calls on Chaurasia's number were made from India as well as abroad including Canada and the numbers are being verified," said the officer.

"We have registered the case against unknown persons only and the name of the minister is not there in the FIR," the officer added.

The incident happened after the mobile numbers of the Delhi government ministers were flashed in a programme on chikungunya hosted by Chaurasia on his channel.

Afterwards, Mishra retaliated by tweeting Chaurasia's number on his own twitter handle. "Dear Dipak Chaurasia you just showed my personal number on your channel. I think this should not be one sided affair so I will share both your numbers. Enjoy," Mishra tweeted before giving the number on his handle asking followers to retweet the numbers.

Later, however, he deleted his tweet containing Chaurasia's numbers.

Delhi government's Health Minsiter Satyendar Jain too complained that he received 138 calls after his mobile number was flashed by Chaurasia on TV. "138 calls received since 12.00am after my personal mobile no. flashed by Deepak Chaurasia on TV (Sic)," Jain tweeted.
Bihar police tied a rope around the neck of a dead body and dragged it from the riverbank to their vehicle. (Photo: ANI/YouTube screengrab)

Vaishali: Policemen in Bihar tied a rope around a dead mans neck and dragged his body over a thousand metres after pulling it out of river Ganga in Bihar, according to a video uploaded online.

According to reports, villagers in Vaishali had spotted the dead body in the river and alerted the police about it. But the cops arrived at the spot after two hours.

As there was no ambulance or workers available to carry the dead body, police tied a rope around its neck and dragged it from the riverbank to the police vehicle even as the villagers gathered at the scene watched them.
Chennai: The bandh announced by farmers bodies with the backing of all the opposition parties on September 16 is likely to make a bigger impact as shops, petrol bunks and cinema theatres are to be shut, lorries would not be operated and supply of milk too would be stopped.

Train services could be delayed at many places including the city as the agitations are aimed to draw the attention of the Centre. The farmers' unions have announced rail blockades and political parties could join them in stopping trains. Unlike in Karnataka where the state government declared holidays to educational institutions and stopped bus services, the Tamil Nadu government is likely to stay away from the bandh, operating buses as usual.

The capital city of Chennai too is expected to feel the impact of the farmers bandh with the two leading traders organisations headed by T. Vellaiyan and A.M. Vikramaraja joining hands in their call to down shutters. The two bodies together control more than half of the trading community in all the regions of the state.

The pinch of the bandh could be felt early in the morning at households since people could miss their coffee or tea since milk vendors announced that they would join the bandh and milk packets would not be supplied.

The lorry owners association too said they would not operate their vehicles condemning the torching of several lorries in Karnataka.Cinema theatre owners too are considering cancelling two shows on that day to express solidarity with the farmers.

Though Aavin would not join the private operators, supply of milk could be affected as private workers are involved in the business. Owners of hotels and restaurants would join the agitations and keep their firms shut on the day. Most associations of hotel owners made a call to the people to support the bandh and invited other associations to join them.

All the Opposition parties including the DMK, MDMK, VCK and Left parties came out with statements announcing their support to the bandh. The party functionaries and cadre would join the protests throughout the state. This is the second time the DMK and PWA parties would be joining hands on the Cauvery issue. They were together in the previous bandh too.
Chennai: A 17-year-old class XII student on a joyride was fatally knocked down on Wednesday while overtaking an MTC bus on Dr Radhakrishnan Salai when he lost balance after hitting a pedestrian. The appalling incident took place when the parents of the deceased had gone to Ramnad to take part in the funeral of the boys uncle.

The deceased, G. Mahesh (17), resident of Mandaiveli and student of Don Bosco School, Perambur was riding back home after visiting his friends in Royapettah when the mishap occurred at around 10.30 am.

The accident threw traffic out of gear as passersby blamed the bus driver for rash driving and blocked the traffic for about 30 minutes. A section of the irate mob also stoned the bus. Cops from Adyar Traffic Investigation wing pacified the protesters and moved the body to the Government Royapettah Hospital.

Since his father Ganesh had left the keys of the bike at home, Mahesh decided to go on a joyride with his friends to celebrate the Onam holiday. Mahesh attempted to overtake the bus while driving on the one-way VM Street stretch near the junction with the Royapettah high road which connects Luz with R.K. Salai.

A pedestrian came in the bikes path before teenager could fully pass the bus and Mahesh knocked him down. In the process, he lost his balance and came under the front wheels of the bus while his pillion rider and classmate-Balakrishnan had a narrow escape as he was thrown away from the wheels of the bus in the impact. Mahesh suffered a grievous head injury and died on the spot.

The MTC route 21 G bus was plying towards Broadway from Tambaram and Doraisamy (42), of Ayanavaram was behind the wheel when the accident occurred. Though the protesters blamed the driver for his rash driving, the cops reasoned with the protesters citing that the boy, who was neither wearing a helmet nor possessed a valid driving licence, was riding the bike in a dangerous manner. The bus driver was still booked on charges of rash and negligent and was being remanded to judicial custody.
Police sources said that government bus services there were operated with the police protection and will continue till further orders.

KRISHNAGIRI: Narrating how his family escaped alive when an angry pro-Kannada mob tried to kill them by setting the car in which they travelled on fire, a Muslim resident of Dharmapuri district said it was their presence of mind and Gods grace that saved them.

My entire family including few of my relatives might have been mercilessly charred to death if we had not jumped out of the car when an angry pro-kannada mob set it ablaze, alleged M. Nawaz Basha, of Palacode, recounting the horrific incident to Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday.

On Sunday (September 11), the 45-year-old Nawaz and nine others including five women and a baby girl had been to Mandaya to visit the 23-year-old Caabsum Banu, wife of 35-year-old Sadiq Basha and younger brother of Nawaz.

They had been to Caabsum Banus place after their relatives informed that the woman had delivered a male child in the Mandya government hospital in Karnataka.

Then, Nawaz and others were on the homeward journey on Monday. Around 3 pm that day, the Tamil Nadu registered Tata Sumo vehicle in which they travelled was stopped at Etchikerai village, on Mandya-Maddur highway due to traffic jam.

Nawaz, who was in the drivers seat got out of the vehicle to find what caused the traffic congestion, was shocked to find that an angry pro-kannada mob was setting Tamil Nadu vehicles on fire, protesting against the modified order of the Supreme court to release Cauvery water to the downstream state.

He removed the number plate of the vehicle, but the mob identified them as Tamils and tried to mercilessly kill them by setting the vehicle on fire, alleged Nawaz. However, Nawaz and others jumped out of the burning vehicle and escaped from the place though the mob tried to catch them.

They walked 10 km to reach Mandya, from where they got into the Mysore-Tuticoirn express and reached Palacode safely, he said. We are living in horror because the incident cannot be forgotten forever, Nawaz told reporters after petitioning the Dharmapuri collector K. Vivekanandan for help to recover the loss for his damaged vehicle, now parked in Maddur police station of Karnataka.

Interstate buses still off the roads: Meanwhile, In Hosur of Krishnagiri district, interstate transport service was totally stopped for the ninth day since September 6 though curfew has been lifted on Wednesday morning in neighbouring Bengaluru.

The service of the TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation) buses were not extended beyond Zuzuvadi because the Karnataka police asked the transport officials not to allow Tamil Nadu buses to cross the border till the situation is completely normal.

Likewise, few Karnataka state road transport corporation (KSRTC) buses came to the Attibelle bus stand, on the Karnataka side and bordering Hosur of Krishnagiri.

Police sources said that government bus services there were operated with the police protection and will continue till further orders.
New Delhi: Delhi's Health Minister, Satyendra Jain, has reiterated that Chikungunya cannot cause deaths, and added that this is a fact that is available on Google, and not his opinion.

Speaking to the media, Jain said that Delhiites need not panic and that all they needed to do is to take precautions and go to the hospital only if they experience symptoms of the vector-borne disease.

"People of Delhi have no need to panic. The state government is ready to provide help at all cost. But one should get admitted only if the doctor advises them to do so and not because they are scared," he said.

Talking about the recent casualties, Jain stated that four of the five deaths had been reported from the same hospital, which made the situation quite suspicious.

"Chikungunya deaths are not happening across the world. Why is it only in a select few Delhi hospitals? And upon inquiry, I have discovered that most of the deaths are of people who were aged and already sick with other ailments," the minister said.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said that no complaints of shortage of medicine or doctors and testing facilities have been reported, adding that the Centre is fully prepared to tackle the crisis.

Nadda said the Centre has held a review meeting in this regard and found out that there is an increase in cases of Chikungunya in Delhi, whereas the hike in cases of Dengue have been reported from West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka.

Meanwhile, some people in West Bengal have tested positive for malaria also.

Nadda informed, "We today held a review meeting in regard with the upsurge of vector borne diseases. In Delhi, an increase in cases of Chikungunya has been reported, and meanwhile, large number of cases of fever has been reported. In West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka, cases of dengue have been reported. In West Bengal, cases of malaria have been reported."

Nadda further said the Centre has also held three video conferences in this regard, and added that he had also called on the Delhi Health Minister, the NDMC and the MCD, and guided them on protocols to be followed to counter the spread of this disease.

"In one video conference, I addressed the state Health Ministers. The second was addressed by the Secretary and the third was done by heads of vector borne diseases," he said.

Nadda also urged the people not to panic and help in pacifying the current upsurge of vector borne diseases.

Dr. D.S. Rana, the chairperson of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, "Have just received an e-mail from the Government of India that deaths reported in the Ganga Ram Hospital of chikungunya positive patients should be probed a little more and information should be given to them."

"By and large the message is very clear that Chikungunya is not a very fatal disease, people should not get frightened. Hospitals are doing their best, be it government or private," he added.
Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa gives party identity card to former Mayor of Tiruchy Corporation Charubala Thondaiman as she joined the party on Wednesday. Thousands of members who joined AIADMK were welcomed at YMCA ground, Royapettah (Photo: DC)

Chennai: A total of 91,308 members from various parties including 81 local body representatives joined the AIADMK in the presence of Chief Minister and party supremo J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday.

Among the new entrants 18,125 are students from various colleges of the state including the arts and science colleges, besides law and engineering colleges.

The number of activists joining any party is the highest in a single function and they are from all the parties including the DMK, Congress, BJP, PMK, MDMK, VCK, TMC and CPI, The new entrants are from 21 districts from all the regions of the state.

Welcoming the new members, Jayalalithaa said her party would be a training ground in politics for them. A large number of people are joining the AIADMK due to its measures for people. Other states are following the schemes from TN and one of the northern states had taken action to start canteens similar to Amma canteens.

Even people from other countries visited the Amma canteens and lauded the initiative, she said. She asked them to work for the victory of the party in the local body elections.

She assured them everyone who worked for people would have a great future and no party could match the AIADMK in giving such opportunities for true cadre.
New Delhi/ Lucknow: The politics of brinkmanship continues to unfold in the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan, with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav having apparently dug his heels in to thwart the move to placate his uncle and state unit chief of the party Shivpal Singh Yadav.

While the SP chief is making attempts to put up a united family face in the state, the BJP made a surprising move on Wednesday to try find peace in the family feud by sending a friendly media moghul to broker compromise between the nephew and uncle.

The tug of war between the Yadavs fast-played on Tuesday night, with move and counter-move happening in quick succession. SP chief appointed Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav as the state unit chief of the party in place of his son and the Chief Minister at the behest of Mr Amar Singh, who was recently reinstated in the party, sources said. However, the bete noir of Mr Amar Singh in the party and cousin of the SP chief Mr Ram Gopal Yadav persuaded Mr Akhilesh Yadav to strike back in quick time by divesting portfolios assigned to Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav in his Cabinet, sources added.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury has said that the BJP led government at the Centre was brazenly gong ahead with advancing the fascistic RSS project in the country. In an interview to partys Bangla mouthpiece Ganashakti, Yechury indirectly contradicted politburo member Prakash Karats recent write up in which the latter had described the Modi Government as authoritarian and not fascist.

Yechury quoted CPM's updated party programme to expose the fascistic RSS project.``The threat to the secular foundations has become menacing with the rise of the communal and fascistic RSS-combine and its assuming power in the Centre. The Programme further says; the danger of fascist trends gaining ground, based on religious communalism, must be firmly fought at all levels. The BJP is no ordinary bourgeois party as the fascistic Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh guides and dominates it. When the BJP is in power, the RSS gets access to the instruments of State power and the State machinery.

The Hindutva ideology promotes revivalism and rejects the composite culture of India with the objective of establishing a Hindu Rashtra. Besides, a substantial section of big business and landlords, imperialism headed by the USA, is lending all-out support to the BJP. The CPM general secretary also quoted from international communist documents. Whoever does not fight the reactionary measures of the bourgeoisies and the growth of fascism at these preparatory stages, is not in a position to prevent the victory of fascism, but on the contrary, facilitates that victory, Yechury said.
HYDERABAD: Fearing further submergence of land in Telangana state, change in design and ecological imbalance, the Telangana Congress has asked the Centre to take over the Polavaram irrigation project and not fund Andhra Pradesh.

Telangana Congress MLC P. Sudhakar Reddy said though the Centre declared the Polavaram project as a national project under the AP Reorganisation Act, it has empowered and allocated funds for the Andhra Pradesh government to construct the dam.

Seven mandals have been submerged and there is a serious threat to Munuguru, Dummugudem and Bhadrachalam. Girijans are being dislocated from their natural habitat. The National Green Tribunal has issued stop work orders. The Centre must ensure proper implementation of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, Mr Sudhakar Reddy said.

The Andhra Pradesh government is not willing to hand over the project to the Centre for obvious reasons, Mr Reddy added.
Theres an old Chinese quotation that quietly claims one picture is worth a thousand words. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a cartoon is sometimes worth more. It stimulates reflection, triggers thought and allows for a variety of interpretations. Two recent pieces Kashmir provided this opposition between picture and text. One was a statement by Rajnath Singh. The home minister proclaimed: We should try to convince those who pick up stones to leave it... Teenagers and youngsters should have computers, pens and books instead of stones in their hands. This innocuous cliche must be contrasted with a recent cartoonscape. A slightly greyer Narendra Modi sits in his office brooding over J&K. There is a bulletproof glass wall around him. On the other side of the wall, evoking an animated David to his brooding Goliath, is a figure holding a catapult with stones littered around him. The catapult has become the symbol of childlike, desperate resistance to authoritarianism. Mr Modi, leaning on his desk, muses grimly. The cartoon bubble claims talks would be alternative to both pellets and stones.

There is a symbolic difference in the very tangibility of the two objects. The stone as material object has a reassurance of its own. Subaltern narratives mention the stone as inaugurating the ritual of protest. The stone represents the favourite weapon of a crowd, that has not yet become a mob. A crowd provides an initial gathering of people, beginnings of solidarity of protest. A stone is a handy weapon for a crowd whose protests fall on deaf ears. There is something local and spontaneous about it. A protester carrying a stone is not an armed terrorist or insurgent. There is a vulnerability about the stone-thrower. A stone as a protest, as a message, is a reminder to a government that it has forgotten to listen, signalling a desperate need for a hearing and conversation. It is a material articulation that mere silence is read as indifference, weakness or passivity. A stone becomes an attempt to correct, redress an error in communication and to remind New Delhi of the failures of governance.

This desperation is misread by Delhi as it inflates the threat from a message of defiance and desperation into a threat to national security. A stone isnt just an evocation of protest, but a symbol of desire, new aspirations and dreams that can wait no longer. In that sense, that humble stone in a human hand is a reminder that the basic sense of governance has been forgotten. Protest has a tangibility, a vulnerability. It smells honest. A pellet is a different kind of product. It is supposed to spring from the humanitarian impulse of authority. It promises not to kill, but merely injure and dissuade. It was not supposed to create fatalities in Kashmir, merely enable crowd control. Debates over pellets have also become a substitute for a general discussion on Kashmir policy. Mr Singh promises to withdraw pellets but actually complains of the lethal nature of stones, the damage they have done to Army personnel. The pellets are lethal, if not fatal. They destroy vision and disintegrate inside the body to create a separate field of devastation.

The two notions of the body relate to two ideas of the body politic around the pellet and controversial stone. It represents the vulnerability of the individual, the citizens helplessness before state brutality. The stone presents the anger of the individual body against the body politic. Yet the stones message is denied as Mehbooba Mufti, who claims: No solution can be found by pelting of stones. The pellet reflects a new drama, where citizens injured by pellets are hunted by the Army in searches. Kashmiris with pellet injuries are arrested to delay medical care. To explain this as the problem of untrained personnel is to add insult to grievous injury. Its almost as if a blinded state wants to create blinded people. Its the pellet guns that provides one of the great spoofs that has caught international attention. Protesters realised complaining of blindness due to pellets on an anonymous people generates little response. They created Photoshop images of VIP faces to bring home the scandal. Photoshop pictures show Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, Narendra Modi, Virat Kohli, Amitabh Bachchan, Mark Zuckerberg, etc with pellet-scarred faces.

The comic icing in the cake is a Photoshop image of the PM with eyes bandaged. For a moment, it isnt clear if its the pellets or the metaphorical blindness of Delhi. Mr Modi virtually looks clueless and grim as if hes at the receiving end of a game of blind mans bluff. Along with the spoof is a letter from a doctor to the PM, saying while they had performed the initial surgery, the pellets were still lodged in the eyes. These little spoofs explode like pellets across the cultural space, driving home the idea that the pellet is a symptom of the States authoritarianism and indifference, while the stone represents the agency and vulnerability of a people. The effect is surreal, as if French playwright-actor Artaud and Mad magazine had decided to collaborate on a J&K campaign. Stone verses pellets becomes a fable of the varieties of misunderstanding between Kashmir and Delhi. I linked the story of Kashmir in terms of pellets and stones to convey a sense of symbolism of the problem, the power of language and the meaning of words. To emphasise pellets and stones as habitats of the concrete and tangible hide the multitude of silences hidden in every crevice and memory.

Between them stands the many worlds of silence which no one has mapped for Kashmir. I am listing to them. The silence of a mother searching for her child, a boy waiting for his sister... Mourning, grief or protest opens up this silence for a while till it collapses again. Many have talked of the unrest, violence, noise of terror, mourning of crowds when an innocent child is shot. Kashmir as it stands is an ode to silence, to waiting, to hope, to all the layers of patience and expectations that a people expect from democracy. The silence still demands and provides an entire ecology between the poetry of the stone and the pathos of the pellet. A society subject to 50 years of internal violence is a tired one. A state that has subjected its people to five decades of brutality is mindless. One needs the poetry, the voice, the Sufiness of Kashmir to come alive so a different story of Kashmir can begin. All the storyteller and commentator can do is wait.
The merger of Reliance Communications (RCom), owned by Anil Ambani, and Aircel of Malaysias Maxis is the sign of the times to come. Consolidation in the fragmented telecom sector was expected for a while as it is difficult for smaller companies to survive in this tough, competitive climate. The entry of Reliance Jio, owned by Mukesh Ambani, who has deep pockets, made the consolidation inevitable. He is giving freebees which his competitors must match at the cost of trimming their balance sheets. Many have already announced some sops to retain their subscribers. While most depend on earnings from voice, Reliance Jio has heralded a free voice era and has cut down data costs. In most countries worldwide, voice is usually free, but in India voice was charged because of an understanding between the existing major players  a form of cartelisation.

Reliance Jio upset this applecart and, with porting permitted, a lot of subscribers are migrating to Reliance Jio. The Rcom-Aircel merger, while catapulting the new entity that will be created to fourth place in Indias telecom sector, is quite meaningless unless they can bring in funds for sustainability. Both parties have huge debts on the books and are in search of a third party to whom they can sell their stake and bring in funds. Several smaller players will have to take the same path to survive as its getting more expensive to set up networks, and the cost of spectrum through auctions is astronomical. It is a game of the survival of the fittest.
The country continues to be subjected to an unseemly tug-of-war between the executive and judiciary, and relations between the two constitutional pillars are at a new low, with no sign that their differences will be resolved in a hurry. This is a sorry state, on top of the unsightly act of a Chief Justice of India shedding tears in public in the Prime Ministers presence to drive home his point over delays in judicial appointments. This was followed by the Chief Justices comments on the Prime Ministers Independence Day speech from Red Fort with words that were totally out of place. Never before in Independent Indias history, right from the day the Supreme Court was inaugurated on January 28, 1950, have we reached such a nadir. At the heart of the dispute are differences between the executive and judiciary on the governments memorandum of procedure that sets out the working of the collegium of judges (the Chief Justice of India and four seniormost Supreme Court justices) that decides on appointments and elevations/transfers of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. These courts now have a total 434 vacancies, appointments to which are held up pending an agreement over how the collegium should work.

The tussle over the so-called MoP of the collegium, the prolonged nature of the dispute and the stalling of appointments in the interim have all the marks of a high-stakes power battle in which no side wants to climb down. Into this dispute comes a new turn with reports that one of the justices of the collegium, Justice Jasti Chelameswar, kept away from the latest meeting and sent a letter instead demanding accountability, transparency in the working of the collegium and insisting that it record the reasons for its decisions. These are uncomfortable questions for the judiciary but they are reasonable questions, and have been asked before by voices outside the chambers. Now coming from within the judiciary itself, they lend a new sense of urgency and demand revisiting of the manner of functioning of the collegium, which after all is one of the highest and most powerful bodies making appointments at the seniormost rungs of our judiciary. Right now, its a fact that the collegium functions like a closed-door brotherhood and no one may know why a particular candidate was chosen and why another was rejected. There is no set procedure, there are no rules and what is discussed behind closed doors is forever unavailable to the public, now or even years later, as there are no records of what was said, of any dissent that might be aired or indeed the nature of the discussion itself.

The judge raising the issues now has pointed to these very concerns, arguing (as widely reported) that it could lead to all kinds of arbitrariness in the collegiums decisions. Not heeding concerns like these raises fears that the judiciary has started asserting itself as a player larger than the state, taking a particularly assertive stand when the government of the day, with a thumping majority in Parliament, is pushing back. If there are those who worry about how the executive may interfere with the working of the judiciary, there are equal concerns on judicial overreach in our system of parliamentary democracy. The three limbs of the Constitution are interdependent and each one has to work within the given framework that has stood the test of time. A free and independent judiciary is a sine qua non for India to thrive as a democracy and as a nation known for the rule of the law. But at the same time, this cannot be translated to mean such a skew in the fine constitutional balance that the judiciary becomes larger than an elected Parliament and encroaches on its powers to enact legislation.

In this context, it is instructive to study this interesting passage of a speech delivered by Jawaharlal Nehru, while inaugurating the Supreme Court on January 28, 1950, in the Court House at King Edward Road, New Delhi. This was in the presence of the five judges of the Supreme Court. He said, as quoted in the book, Supreme Court in Quest of Identity by Gobind Das: No Supreme Court and no judiciary can stand in judgment over the sovereign will of Parliament representing the will of the entire community. If we go wrong here and there it can point it out, but in the ultimate analysis, where the future of the community is concerned, no judiciary can come in the way. And if it comes in the way, ultimately the whole Constitution is a creature of Parliament... But it is obvious that no court, no system of judiciary can function in the nature of a Third House, as a kind of Third House of correction. So it is important that with this limitation the judiciary should function. The memorandum of procedure, therefore, requires to be considered by taking into account the minority opinion to be reconciled with the majority view and the will of the sovereign  that is, Parliament. This reconciliation at the earliest is in the best of the interests of the judiciary, the executive and Parliament, and of the Republic itself.
A former army officer and his family were killed in a grenade attack on their home in Burundi. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

Bujumbura: A former army officer and his family were killed in a grenade attack on their home in Burundi, a government official said on Thursday, the latest episode in political violence that has plagued the central African country for more than a year.

Burundi's crisis has broadly followed political lines, but experts fear the violence could revive ethnic rivalries in a nation torn apart by a 12-year civil war pitting Hutu rebels against a Tutsi-led army that only ended in 2005.

Dismas Bashirahishize, a pro-government former officer, and his wife and child were killed when a grenade was hurled into their house on Wednesday, the governor of Bururi province in the south of Burundi, Christian Nkurunziza, told Reuters.

Local residents said it may have been staged because of Bashirahishize's links to the government. "It was believed he was revealing names of political opponents to the police and administration to be arrested and tortured," said one resident, who asked not to be named.

There was no immediate official comment on the reason for the attack. The governor said two armed people carried out the attack on Wednesday afternoon.

Sporadic violence has gripped Burundi since April 2015 when incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, prompting protests and leading to often deadly clashes with police. He then won a disputed election in July.

Opponents said a third term breached the country's constitution and the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended a previous civil war. A constitutional court ruled he could run.

At least three rebel groups though have launched an armed resistance against him and tit-for-tat killings of government officials and opposition figures have continued unabated.

At least 450 people have been killed, while the violence has also uprooted about a quarter of a million Burundians, who have fled mostly to neighboring Tanzania and Uganda.

In a separate incident, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye told Reuters a soldier who was in custody for questioning committed suicide using a grenade. Police said he found the weapon during the interrogation procedure.

Opponents of the government say people held for questioning are often tortured and killed, a charge denied by officials.
Police in Ohio responding to a report of an armed robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Columbus: Police in Ohio responding to a report of an armed robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who they said pulled a gun from his waistband that was later determined to be a BB gun.

The incident happened on Wednesday night in Columbus.

Police said officers were responding to a report of an armed robbery involving multiple suspects. When they arrived on the scene, they said the victim told them that a group of people approached him and demanded money. The victim said that one of them had a gun.

Police said the officers saw three males matching the descriptions of the suspects and tried to speak with them, when two of the suspects fled on foot.

"Officers followed the males to the alley ... and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," police said in a statement early on Thursday. "One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times."

The suspect, later identified as 13-year-old Tyree King, was taken to a children's hospital, where he died.

The male with King was identified, interviewed and released pending further investigation. Police said additional suspects were being sought.

The officers and the other suspect were not injured.

Police said upon further investigation it was determined that King's gun was actually a BB gun with an attached laser sight.

Police said the incident is under investigation.
The Taliban had named Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, a conservative cleric in his 50s, as its new leader after Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour was killed in a US drone strike in May. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

United Nations: In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India said perpetrators of violence in Afghanistan must not be allowed safe havens in its neighbourhood, as it slammed UNSC's sanctions regime for not designating the leader of Taliban as terrorist, calling such an approach a "mystery."

"The fact that the leader of Taliban - a proscribed entity - is not yet designated as a terrorist individual remains a mystery to us. Can we know the rationale for such an approach," Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Tanmaya Lal said at a Security Council debate on Afghanistan.

The Taliban had named Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, a conservative cleric in his 50s, as its new leader after Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour was killed in a US drone strike in May. Akhundzada is not on any terrorist designated list.

Lal questioned how, by not designating the head of a banned entity, the world body intends to address one of the biggest threats to peace and security.

"Is it now the thinking those leaders of proscribed entities will not be held accountable for the deeds of the listed groups that they head? Is this how we now intend to address one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," he said in his remarks.

Lal questioned whether the response to India's queries on the functioning of the UN sanctions regime will be a "deafening silence" as was the case when the Security Council Committee 1988, which deals with issues relating to Afghanistan, had met last month, with no information about what was discussed in the meeting.

"We are unaware of what was discussed and what was the outcome of these discussions. Are Member States entitled to know what this Committee, which acts on their behalf, considers and decides upon on, for all of us?

"This appears to be one more instance of the secrecy practiced in the subterranean universe of the Security Council which has now enshrined the principles of anonymity and unanimity to ensure lack of accountability to member-states," he said.

In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Lal said groups and individuals that perpetrate violence against the people and government of Afghanistan "must not be allowed safe havens in Afghanistan's neighbourhood."

While the Afghan government has made efforts to combat terrorism, "others have callously looked the other way" when Afghanistan is targeted by Taliban, Haqqani Network, ISIS, al-Qaeda, LeT and JeM, Lal said and called for effective implementation of the Security Council's sanctions regime, including the 1267 ISIL/Al-Qaeda Sanctions and the 1988 Taliban regime. He said this is "absolutely essential" for it to serve as a "strong deterrent" to the listed entities and individuals.
Medical report of the victim's body suggested that she had been given a dose of methamphetamine in order to calm her down as the couple could have sex with her. (Photo: YouTube Screengrab)

New Mexico: In a shocking revelation, it has emerged that a schoolgirl who was drugged, raped, chopped up and set on fire on her 10th birthday by her family, was often offered to strangers for sex by her mother.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the accused told police that she had set up sex encounters for her daughter because she enjoyed watching it. In her testimony, she also said that she had offered her daughter to her colleagues as well.

The victim, Victoria Martens, was found dead in a burning bathtub at her home in New Mexico. Criminal records stated that she was first injected with methamphetamine and then sexually assaulted before being strangled, dismembered and set on fire.

Police said that they discovered Victoria's burnt and dismembered corpse in a bathtub after they got a call from an unidentified person informing them about smoke rising from Arroyo Villas Apartment Complex's bathroom. When the body was found, it was partially wrapped up in a blanket, they added.

Investigators said that this incident was 'the most gruesome act of evil' they had ever witnessed.

Following the incident, police arrested the victim's mother, her boyfriend and his cousin. Police said when they entered the house, they came across horrifying scenes. The victim's dismembered body lay in the bathtub and blood stains all over the place. Parts of her body were wrapped up in plastic bags and hidden in the laundry hamper, added police.

Medical report of the victim's body suggested that she had been given a dose of methamphetamine to calm her down as the couple could have sex with her.

Investigators believe that the boyfriend of victim's mother raped her while his cousin covered her mouth and pinned her down to the floor as he watched the horrific abuse.

Police chief Gordon Eden said that the incident was a complete disregard of human life and the worst betrayal by a mother. The accused have been arrested and are held on a bond of $1 million cash.
In this photo provided by the St. Lucie Sheriff's Office, firefighters work at the scene of a fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, Florida. (Photo: AP)

Fort Pierce: An ex-convict who posted anti-Islamic rants online confessed to setting fire to a mosque that the Orlando nightclub shooter occasionally attended, and said he was embarrassed by the crime, according to an arrest affidavit released on Thursday.

St. Lucie County sheriff's detectives wrote in the affidavit that after Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested on Wednesday, he told detectives that he had set the fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

Schreiber, 32, told detectives he never intended to hurt anyone. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Schreiber, who previously served two prison terms for theft, was developed as a suspect partly because of a tip from the public, the affidavit said.

He was arrested without incident on Wednesday and charged with second-degree arson with a hate crime enhancement, a crime that carries a maximum 30-year sentence.

St. Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci ordered Schreiber held without bail on Thursday, calling him a danger to the community and a flight risk. He also noted that Schreiber had made anti-Islamic posts on social media. Last July, Schreiber posted on Facebook that "All Islam is radical" and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, "IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical. ... ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country."

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber "obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation."

Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and nightclub shooter Omar Mateen as "degenerates" and "punks."

"Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateen's actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Mr. Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion," Saleh said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who regularly attend the mosque.

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. The records show he served his first sentence from March 2008 to July 2009 and his second from June 2010 to August 2014. The public defender's office had no immediate comment on Schreiber's case.

A weekend surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approaching the building while talking on a cellphone, according to the affidavit. He carried a bottle of liquid and some papers and left when there was a flash. The first 911 calls were made about 45 minutes later, after the fire had spread to the attic. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation into the fire.

Rabbi Bruce Benson, a chaplain with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, was outside Schreiber's home on Wednesday night. He said Schreiber attended his synagogue for about a month last spring to study the Torah, but left little impression, and gave no indication he might act violently in the future.

Benson said Schreiber's father showed up at his office after his son was arrested, even though he wasn't a member of his synagogue.

"I guess he didn't know where else to go," Benson said, adding that Schreiber's parents are "shocked, just like any of us would be if it were our child."

Benson said his reform synagogue, Temple Beth El Israel, has tried unsuccessfully in the past to reach out to the mosque.

"We would welcome the opportunity," Benson said. "They're a community feeling under attack. If we could all talk a bit, maybe things like this wouldn't have to happen."
In this photo provided by the St. Lucie Sheriff's Office, firefighters work at the scene of a fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. (Photo: AP)

Fort Pierce: About two months before Joseph Michael Schreiber allegedly tried to burn down a mosque sometimes attended by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, he posted on Facebook that "All Islam is radical" and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, 32, was arrested without incident yesterday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Maj David Thompson of the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, "If america truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of islam as radical. ... all islam is radical, and should be considered terrorist and crimanals (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of war crim (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country."

Thompson told a news conference that Schreiber, who has a criminal record, was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere.

He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber yesterday evening, and he didn't say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

The fire was set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreiber's home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber "obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation."

Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and Mateen as "degenerates" and "punks."

"Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateen's actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion," Saleh said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
Expectant mothers are allowed to remain on ship up to the 20th week of pregnancy. (Representational Image/ PTI)

Norfolk: The Navy says a sailor who never reported being pregnant has given birth to a baby girl aboard an aircraft carrier at sea.

US Naval Forces Central Command spokesman Cmdr. Bill Urban told the Virginian-Pilot the 7-pound (3.1-kilogram) infant was recently born on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf. Both mother and daughter are doing well and were airlifted to a shore-based hospital.

Urban says the command chain wasnt aware of the pregnancy. The Navy requires expectant mothers to self-report a pregnancy within two weeks of a doctors confirmation. Expectant mothers are allowed to remain on ship up to the 20th week of pregnancy.

It wasnt clear Monday whether the sailor, who had complained of abdominal pains before giving birth, knew she was pregnant.

The navy ship has been deployed to Persian Gulf in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, part of the US military's intervention against the Islamic State.
Although Keenan pleaded not guilty to any of the offences against him, prosecutors said that he had admitted to committing the crime in front of his wife. (Representational Image)

Hubbard, Ohio: A former Ohio mayor who had dedicated his entire life to Jesus, has admitted to raping a four-year-old girl and claimed that she was a 'willing participant' in the act.

According to a report in the Independent, Richard Keenan who served as the mayor of Hubbard, Ohio between 2010 and 2011, was convicted for eight counts of rape and 12 counts of attempted rape on a minor girl.

Although Keenan pleaded not guilty to any of the offences against him, prosecutors said that he admitted to committing the crime in front of his wife.

Keenan admitted to assaulting the girl for a period of 3 years since she was four years old. In his statement, he said that the victim had 'initiated the abuse' and that she was a willing participant.

The matter came to light when the victim told Keenan's wife about the assault, who then confronted the accused.

According to court documents, Keenan said, "I did it" while admitting to rape charges.

He will stand trial in April next year and has been released on a bond of $75,000 with an order stating that he should not come close to any minor. If convicted, he might face life imprisonment.
The victims said that they suffered depression after the rape and even had suicidal thoughts. (Representational Image)

Massachusetts: A woman from the US state of Massachusetts has been arrested for raping her daughter's 15-year-old boyfriend and his twin brother. She has been sentenced to four years in prison.

According to a report in the Boston Herald, the accused identified as Heather Salines, was convicted of child rape and enticement along with indencent assault and battery.

She was arrested in March 2014 when one of the victims were caught showing indecent images of himself and the accused to his classmates. It was then he revealed that he and his brother were often sexually abused by Salines.

Following the victim's testimony, Salines was arrested by police. During interrogation, she admitted to engaging in a sexual relationship with the teenage brothers.

In her statement to the police, Salines said that she was 'out of control' and that the victims did not act like '15-year-olds'.

The victims said that they suffered from depression after the rape and even had suicidal thoughts.

"I spent a lot of nights crying and thought I was worthless. There were times I convinced myself I shouldnt be in this world and thought about killing myself. I felt like a train was going through my chest," one of the victims wrote in his statement.

Salines has been put on sex offenders list for life and would be required to wear GPS ankle monitor after her release from jail. She would also be prevented from going close to children under the age of 16.
The Long March 7 rocket carrying the Tiangong-2 module blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, on Thursday. (Photo: AP)

Beijing: China has launched its second space station in a sign of the growing sophistication of its military-backed program that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years.

The Tiangong 2 was carried into space on Thursday night atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain on board for a month. The station, whose name means "Heavenly Palace," is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

The Tiangong 2 module will be used for "testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling," and will house experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies.

China's first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year after having docked with three visiting spacecraft.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the US to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon. Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program's future.

China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

A source of enormous national pride, China's space program plans a total of 20 missions this year at a time when the US and other countries' programs are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.

China plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020, attempting to recreate the success of the US Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.
The Malaysia Airlines jet was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. (Photo: AP/ Representational Image)

Kuala Lumpur: A piece of aircraft wreckage found in June off Tanzania has been confirmed as coming from the doomed airliner MH370, Malaysia said on Thursday.

The debris, found on Pemba Island off the Tanzanian coast, is the latest piece of wreckage to be linked to the Malaysia Airlines jet, whose disappearance remains a mystery.

Malaysia's transport ministry said the piece of debris, which had been taken to Australia for expert analysis, was found to have part numbers, date stamps and other identifiers confirming it came from the Malaysia Airlines jet.

"As such, the experts have concluded that the debris, an outboard flap, originated from the aircraft 9M-MRO, also known as MH370," a ministry statement said.

"Further examination of the debris will continue in hopes that evidence may be uncovered which may provide new insight into the circumstances surrounding flight MH370."

Authorities had earlier said the piece of debris was "highly likely" to have come from MH370. However, the confirmation appears to have so far shed no fresh light on the plane's fate.

The Malaysian Airlines jet was carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean, but an extensive deep-sea hunt off Australia's west coast is drawing to a close with nothing found yet.

However, several pieces of debris that apparently drifted thousands of kilometres toward the African coast have been identified as definitely or probably from the Boeing 777.

Those finds have confirmed the plane went down but have so far shed no light on why and have fuelled questions over whether the official search is focused in the right area.

The Australian-led operation is scouring the seafloor within a remote 120,000-square-kilometre belt of the Indian Ocean where authorities believe the passenger jet went down.

The search is nearly finished, however, and families are bracing for it to be called off.

An American amateur investigator, Blaine Gibson, handed other possible MH370 debris to Australian officials on Monday, saying several pieces were blackened by flames, raising the prospect of a flash fire onboard.

Gibson, a lawyer, who has travelled the world trying to solve the MH370 mystery, told Australian reporters the debris had washed up in Madagascar.
Women in burqas and those wearing surgical masks should refrain from concealing their faces in public, Davao mayor said on Thursday. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Davao: Women in burqas and those wearing surgical masks should refrain from concealing their faces in public, the Philippine president's mayor daughter said on Thursday, describing the measure as aimed at preventing attacks.

Sara Duterte, mayor of Davao and daughter of firebrand leader Rodrigo Duterte, made the remarks as police hunt for the suspects  seen on CCTV wearing face masks  behind a bombing this month that killed 15 in the southern city.

"It would be a good security practice to disallow garments that cover the faces in public places," the mayor said in a written statement.

"These garments include hats, sunglasses, face masks, mouth masks, burqa, face paint, and other similar things."

She said she understood the concerns of Muslim women who are required by their religion to cover up.

"May I suggest that you wear the hijab that shows your face or cooperate with the security personnel and show your face if you are wearing the burqa," the mayor said.

Muslim women in the majority Catholic nation usually favour a hijab, which covers only the hair, over the face-concealing burqa, though it is growing in popularity.

"The general welfare of the majority takes precedence over religious tradition. While it is true that these garments are not disallowed by law, we discourage their use in public places," the mayor added.

Surgical masks are commonly worn by commuters in Asian cities, to block out pollution, or sometimes to stop the spread of illness.

Since the deadly blast in the bustling market in Davao on September 2, which led to the president declaring a "state of lawlessness", the city has introduced checkpoints and armed security at key establishments.

The government has blamed the attack on local Islamic militants.
An Australian boy has attempted suicide twice since he was raped by a student in his school in Queensland, Australia. (Representational image)

Rockhampton: An Australian boy, who was raped allegedly by a student in his school in Queensland, has attempted suicide twice in the last 14 days.

According to a report in Daily Mail, the incident happened at a high school in Rockhampton in July, when the accused followed the victim to the toilet of the school and raped him after asking him to pull down his pants.

The kid has tried to kill himself twice in the last 14 days. We're at a loss as to what else we can do, the victims father said.

The accused has been identified as year 12 student, who was expelled from the school after the authorities learnt about the alleged sexual assault. He has not been charged yet as the police are still investigating the incident.

He was followed into the toilet, made to pull his pants down and raped. Now we're having to do medical tests and shipping him in and out of hospital because he is bleeding from the bowel and having flashbacks when he goes back to school  but we need to have tests done for the legal side of things as well, the father said.
Geneva: Raising the issue of Balochistan for the first time before the UN, India on Wednesday accused Pakistan of widespread human rights violations there as well as in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In a scathing attack on Pakistan during the 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council here, India said the main reason for disturbances in Kashmir is the cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan that stems from its territorial ambitions over the place that has found concrete expression in repeated armed aggressions.

Pakistan's dismal track record is well known and many countries have repeatedly called upon Pakistan to end cross- border infiltration; dismantle the terrorism infrastructure; and stop acting as an epicentre of terrorism, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the UN in Geneva Ajit Kumar said.



India's credentials as a peaceful, democratic, pluralistic society that is deeply committed to the welfare of its people are well established and on the contrary, Pakistan is characterised by authoritarianism, absence of democratic norms and widespread human rights violations across the country including Balochistan, Kumar said.
The websites were blocked by the Russian state watchdog Roskomnadzor the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.. (Representational Image)

Moscow: In a move to boost social interaction among its citizens, Russia has blocked most watched pornographic websites YouPorn and Pornhub.

The websites were blocked by the Russian state watchdog Roskomnadzor, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media. The agency is in charge of monitoring and blocking access to those websites that the government does not want citizens to use.

According to a report in the Independent, Pornhub and YouPorn were blocked by the Russian authorities on Tuesday. However, this is not the first time that the country has blocked porn websites.

But, ever since these sites have been blocked, citizens have been flooding the authority's official Twitter account with queries and requests asking them to provide an alternative.

One such user named Lyolya tweeted to the authorities asking them to provide an alternative to these porn sites. The agency replied to her tweet saying, Dear Lyolya, as an alternative you can meet someone in real life."

Another user asked Roscomnadzor why they could not come up with something new, to which they replied, "Is it possible to enter the same river twice?" This tweet was further mocked by another user who wrote, "You can enter anything twice, you would know that if you hadnt blocked Pornhub."

Meanwhile, Pornhub has been trying to get its website unblocked. It has tweeted from its official account requesting authorities to unblock it. The tweet read, If we gave give you a guys Pornhub Premium account, will you un-ban Pornhub in Russia?.

The tweet has since then been re-tweeted more than 2,000 times.

However, YouPorn and Pornhub, both remain blocked in the country.
Suganthan, 31, a father of two, was to face trial at Bristol Crown Court this week but pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual assault by penetration, 'The Sun' reports. (Representational image)

London: A Sri Lankan asylum seeker who was saved from being deported from the UK after a public campaign in 2011 has been jailed for 30 months for sexually attacking a 21-year-old woman.

Sivarajah Suganthan sexually abused a 21-year-old woman while staying at a night shelter in Bristol in 2014. Suganthan, 31, a father of two, was to face trial at Bristol Crown Court this week but pleaded guilty yesterday to sexual assault by penetration, 'The Sun' reports.

Judge Martin Picton told Suganthan, who was accompanied by his English girlfriend in court, that the incident had a "devastating" impact on the victim.

He said: "Your victim made quite clear to you earlier in the evening that she was not receptive of your attention and she was not welcoming of any sexual contact."

"I fully accept that you have had terrible experiences in your life. There is obviously a different side to your character that is much more creditable than your awful actions on this night appear to demonstrate," he added.

He also called for a review of the Crown Prosecution Service's handling of the case and the delay in bringing the case to trial.

Suganthan's Indian-origin defence lawyer Anjali Gohil had told the court about her client's "terrible background", which involved being trafficked from Sri Lanka to India and Africa and arriving on British shores in 1999.

She said: "He was orphaned at six and was trafficked after that and made to work in slave-like conditions. In the two long years since this took place, he has turned himself around."

As Suganthan pleaded guilty to the sexual assault, he will have to serve only half his sentence.

Back in 2011, he had spent 37 days in a detention centre waiting to be deported but was allowed to remain in the UK following a public petition of 800 signatures backed by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams.

The MP for Bristol West had said at the time: "It was wonderful to meet Siva in person and to see that he was happy and smiling and delighted to be back among friends in Bristol. I am pleased that I and my staff were able to be of help.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after signing of bilateral agreements in New Delhi. (Photo: AP)

Kabul: India promised $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan during a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday by President Ashraf Ghani, making a downpayment on stabilisation and reform ahead of a major donor conference next month.

In a statement issued after meeting Ghani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged the financial help to back India's "abiding support for a unified, sovereign, democratic, peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan".

Both leaders expressed "grave concern at continued use of terrorism and violence in the region for achieving political objectives" - a veiled reference to common neighbour Pakistan, which denies sponsoring terrorism.

As the United States scales back its military presence in Afghanistan, efforts are being ramped up to rebuild the country after decades of conflict dating back to the Soviet invasion of 1979 and a prolonged Taliban insurgency.

"Forty years of violence would have broken any other country," Ghani said in a speech to Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, a government-funded think tank, declaring himself "delighted" with Modi's aid pledge.

The former World Bank official said that while armed conflict posed a great threat, it was also vital to build market institutions that could lift living standards in a nation where 70 percent of people live on less than $2 a day.

The European Union and Afghanistan will host a donor conference on Oct. 5 in Brussels attended by 70 states and 30 international organisations and agencies, to seek backing for reforms to stabilise and develop the Central Asian country.
Men and women offer Eidul Fitr prayers at the Badshahi Masjid on Wednesday morning in Lahore. (Photo: AFP)

Karachi: Over 4,000 people went to private and government hospitals due to ailments linked to overeating on Eid-ul Azha in Karachi, the capital of Pakistan's southern Sindh province.

The Health Department said that people went to private and government hospitals complaining of diarrhoea, dehydration and vomiting after the festival marked by traditional feasts.

More than 2,200 people visited Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Complex, 1,000 people went to Civil Hospital Karachi, 500 had visited to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Geo TV reported, quoting a spokesman for the Health Department.

Due to overeating gastro, dehydration, vomiting are common on Eid-ul-Azha, Deputy Director Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Dr Huma Ahmed said, adding that people should take minimum meal and try to avoid eating oily and junk food.

Director Health Karachi Dr Shakoor Abbasi suggested that people should take vegetables in lunch and dinner beside meat or mutton and avoid soft drink specially heart, diabetic and hypertension patients.

Approximately 1,000 people also visited hospitals for injuries sustained while sacrificing animals. Eid-ul-Azha or Bakrid or was celebrated across Pakistan on Tuesday.
Kabul: Endorsing Narendra Modi's remarks made by on the human rights violation in Pakistan's Balochistan province, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Sunday said the assertion made by the Narendra Modi is an aspiration for all.

"The Prime Minister of India spoke of the human rights of the people of Balochistan that their suffering should end and that's an aspiration for all of us, everywhere to have our rights preserved and our sufferings end," Karzai said in an exclusive conversation.

Taking on Pakistan for "encouraging" radicalism and not containing terror groups operating from its soil, Karzai yesterday said India is not engaged in any proxy war in Afghanistan and has been sincerely carrying out reconstruction work there.

He was of the opinion that India has no intention to go conduct a proxy war in the region as it has a tradition of peaceful co-existence.

Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day address, had thanked the people of Balochistan, Gilgit and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for the goodwill they have shown towards him.

He had last week in an all-party meeting on Kashmir said the "time has come that Pakistan shall have to answer to the world for the atrocities committed by it against the people in Balochistan and PoK".
A 15-year-old Saudi girl living in Germany has proposed designing a headscarf emoji as countries across Europe wrestle with the issue of the Muslim veil.





Rayouf Alhumedhi has sent a proposal to The Unicode Consortium, a non-profit corporation that reviews and develops new emojis.



The idea gained the backing of the co-founder of online discussion forum Reddit, Alexis Ohanian. If approved, her emoji will be available in 2017.



Rayouf Alhumedhi told the BBC it was during a group chat with her friends on social media that she had realised there was no emoji to represent her, a headscarf-wearing woman.



After reading an article on emoji design, she wrote an email about her idea to Unicode.

Intrigued, a member of a Unicode subcommittee replied, offering to help her draft a formal proposal.



"In this day and age, representation is extremely important," she said of her reasons behind the project.



"People want to be acknowledged... and recognised, especially in the tech world. This is massive. Emojis are everywhere.



"There are so many Muslim women in this world who wear the headscarf. It might seem trivial... but it's different when you see yourself on the keyboard around the world. Once you experience that, it's really great."



To boost support for the initiative, Ohanian hosted a Reddit live online discussion on Tuesday where Reddit users could ask Rayouf Alhumedhi about the new idea.



Some wanted to see whether they could get involved while others questioned the need for the hijab, saying it was a tool to oppress women.



The drafting committee hopes to present a final version of the proposal to Unicode in November, the report said.



The proposal comes as countries across Europe wrestle with the issue of the Muslim veil - in all its forms.



The debate takes in religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism.



The veil issue is part of a wider debate about multiculturalism in Europe, as many politicians argue that there needs to be a greater effort to assimilate ethnic and religious minorities.


It was business as usual in most of parts of the city on Wednesday although the areas that were under curfew for the past couple of days were limping back to normality.



Most of the educational institutions and businesses were open, but those in troubled western and southeastern Bengaluru remained shut even after the police relaxed the restrictions at 9 am on Wednesday. Public transport services functioned as usual across the city.



Curfew was lifted in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, KP Agrahara, Chandra Layout, Yeshwantpur, Mahalakshmi Layout, Peenya, RMC Yard, Nandini Layout, Jnanabharathi, Rajagopalnagar, Kamakshipalya, Vijayanagar, Byatarayanapura, Kengeri, Magadi Road and Rajajinagar.



The police and the central forces conducted flag marches in the troubled areas. Special forces will stay put in the city till September 20. Additional forces have been deployed at Attibele on the Tamil Nadu border to prevent any untoward incidents in view of a bandh called in the neighbouring state on Friday.



Police Commissioner N S Megharikh said the situation in the city was peaceful and vehicular movement was normal. He said 370 people had been arrested for arson and rioting and several police teams had been formed to nab those still at large. He said only a few shops were open at Hegganahalli, Laggere, Peenya, Byatarayanapura, Mysuru Road and Rajajinagar. Maybe they remained shut due to police presence, he said.



Home Minister G Parameshwara visited the troubled areas where curfew was clamped. He directed the police commissioner to keep a tight vigil in sensitive places.





Parameshwara told the media that both Tamils and Kannadigas had been provided security. There is no need to panic. The situation is normal and people are going to work. Schools and colleges are also open, he said.



The minister also visited Byadarahalli where a man fell from the third floor of a building while trying to escape from the police. The victim, Kumar, died at a hospital on Tuesday.



Parameshwara directed the police to conduct a separate enquiry into the burning of buses belonging to KPN Travels.



We have received information that the buses were set on fire just to claim insurance. But nothing can be confirmed and an enquiry has been ordered into the matter, he said.




Hillary Clinton has released new information about her health as she recuperated from a diagnosis of "mild, non-contagious" pneumonia, with her doctor stressing she remains healthy overall and "fit to serve" as president.



Pressure had mounted for the campaign to release information about the Democratic White House nominee's medical status after she fell ill at a 9/11 memorial event Sunday, and it was disclosed that she had pneumonia.



The former secretary of state, 68, "continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States," her personal physician Lisa Bardack wrote in a detailed, two-page "summary update" on Clinton's health.



Bardack released Clinton's laboratory results that showed "normal" readings for cholesterol, triglycerides and other key readings. "The remainder of her complete physical exam was normal and she is in excellent mental condition," she said.



Bardack also said Clinton has been taking the anti-coagulant Coumadin, and that her blood levels "have been relatively stable." Clinton "is recovering well with antibiotics and rest" from her bout with pneumonia, she added.



Clinton had released a detailed statement about her medical history in July 2015. Her campaign had been pressed to be more transparent about Clinton's health, particularly after it failed to reveal her Friday pneumonia diagnosis until Sunday, when she nearly collapsed as she left the Ground Zero site in New York.



Her rival Donald Trump is also being called on to reveal his own medical records, something he has not done save for a brief letter released last year by Harold Bornstein, the Republican nominee's doctor for 35 years, who wrote that Trump's health was "excellent and that a recent examination "showed only positive results."



Trump had another physical in recent days, and he went on the television set of celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz on Wednesday to disclose his new health records.



In a statement, the show said "Dr Oz took Mr Trump through a full review of systems." The show airs Thursday.
Bouncing back towards the fag-end in an otherwise choppy trade, Sensex today closed 41 points up at 28,412.89 with FMCG, healthcare and realty stocks leading the gains, tracking a mixed global trend.



Cautious stance adopted by participants, tracking mixed trend in regional markets ahead of the next week's US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan policy meets too influenced trading sentiment.



"The investors have adopted a wait-and-watch approach to the global sentiment which is playing between cautious and optimism over the FOMC meet early next week. Currently, FII's are sellers in the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.



The 30-share Sensex after shuttling between 28,454.02 and 28,311.11, settled 40.66 points or 0.14 per cent higher at 28,412.89. The gauge had gained about 19 points yesterday.



The NSE Nifty ended 15.95 points or 0.18 per cent higher at 8,742.55 after moving in a range of 8,751.95 to 8,704.35.



Reliance Industries stayed in the lead from the Sensex pack and climbed 1.63 per cent to Rs 1,062.45, followed by Cipla (1.60 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (1.47 per cent), HDFC Ltd (1.33 per cent), ITC Ltd (1.23 per cent) and Adani Ports (1.15 per cent).



Of the 30-share Sensex, 13 ended higher, while 17 led by Power Grid, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, NTPC, Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's, M&M, GAIL, Infosys and L&T finished lower, fell by up to 2.40 per cent.



Bank stocks succumbed to profit-booking after gaining 0.77 per cent yesterday dragging the bankex index down 0.58 per cent.



Axis Bank fell 2.25 percent, SBI declined 0.70 per cent, while ICICI Bank lost 0.35 per cent.



Among the sectoral indices, FMCG rose by 0.66 per cent, healthcare 0.52 per cent, realty 0.14 per cent and teck 0.08 per cent, while consumer durables fell by 0.97 per cent and power by 0.94 per cent.



In the broader markets, small-cap index also rose by 0.27 pct while mid-cap shed 0.25 per cent.



Key indices in Japan and South Korea dropped 0.14 per cent to 1.26 per cent, while Hong Kong moved up by 0.63 per cent. China, South Korea and Taiwan markets remained closed today.

European stocks were trading narrowly mixed ahead of monetary policy decision from the Bank of England. Indices in Germany and the UK moved up 0.10 per cent to 0.21 per cent, while France CAC was quoted lower by 0.01 per cent.



"Investor sentiment also took a bit of a dive after doubts arose with respect to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMDs) forecast of an above normal rainfall in India," said Shreyash Devalkar, Fund Manager, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.



The market breadth remained positive as 1,469 stocks ended in the green while 1,260 finished lower and 197 ruled steady.



The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3,801.03 crore, higher than turnover of Rs 3,616.03 crore registered during the previous trading session.
At a time when government hospitals are grappling with the rush of patients with symptoms of chikungunya and dengue, doctors and other medical staff themselves have been hit by flu and are forced to take leave.





This has worsened the shortage of medical staff dealing with fever patients and taken a toll on services at many hospitals across Delhi. Some of them have even written to the Delhi government, asking it to provide more manpower.



The doctors are themselves becoming infected due to mosquito bites. Viral fever has also become quite common among the other hospital staff and sanitation workers also. Many of them are on leave. Due to this the hospitals functioning is suffering at a time like this, said Dr Amita Saxena, deputy medical superintendent at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital.



On an average at least 1,200 fever cases are being reported daily at this hospital now.

There have been 160 confirmed cases of chikungunya and 60 of dengue since August.

The hospital has communicated the problem to the Delhi government and sought more manpower.



At Lok Nayak Hospital near Delhi Gate, which sees a high number of patients from around the capital, the doctors from other departments have been shifted to the fever ward to manage the rush.



Much of our staff, especially those posted in the dengue ward are also suffering from vector-borne diseases as they are more vulnerable. The chief casualty medical officer is herself down with chikungunya," said J C Passey, medical superintendent at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital.



Till Wednesday, the hospital recorded 32 confirmed chikungunya and 473 dengue cases.

Another medic said doctors from other departments are working overtime to cover for those down with viral fever. The hospital has also deployed got 40 volunteers from rogi kalyan samitis.



Usually, the doctors whose contracts are expiring get their extension by this time. But this year the government has not extended the contract though they are still working on the presumption that they will get it soon. But if they dont get an extension, they are also likely to leave in some time, said the doctor.



The situation is similar in other Delhi government hospitals. Quite a lot of the staff is down with fever. The crowd is increasing and we are managing somehow, said Dr Punita Mahajan of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital.



At Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, officials said every day one or two doctors go on leave due to viral fever.
Amid high drama, activists of the Aam Aadmi Sena on Wednesday vented their anger over the growing Chikungunya cases and deaths in the city by vandalising the nameplate and other signboards outside Health Minister Satyendar Jains home in north Delhi.





Led by Bhavna Arora, the woman who threw black ink at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in January, the activists ripped apart a steel nameplate from the main gate of Jains official residence in Civil Lines and sprayed black paint on walls and boards. No police case was registered till late Thursday evening.



The Chief Minister and his ministers are busy travelling and people are dying in Delhi, said Arora, She was particularly agitated about the high concentration of dengue and chikungunya cases in Janakpuri neighbourhood in west Delhi.



We will not let the AAP government rest in peace if people continue to die, thundered Arora. If the AAP government has to blame the Centre and the LG for all its failures then the Chief Minister should resign, said Arora, who is incharge of a womans wing of the AAS in Punjab.



The AAS is a breakaway faction of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party which claims that it believes in use of direct action in protests. Members of the AAS severed ties with the AAP after alleging that Team Kejriwal was tolerating corruption.



Armed with spray paint cans and carrying posters, the activists of the AAS blackened the official signage outside the ministers house. oon. The enraged activists also painted Bhagora Sarkar (Absentee Government) on the wall of Jains house.



Arora pasted posters on the walls and gate of Jains house. The posters carried a picture of Kejriwal and bore slogans which mentioned Kejriwal and his teams recent visits to

Europe, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat.



Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma said no police action was taken over the alleged vandalism as there was no formal complaint over the incident.



Arora caused a major security scare in January 2016 when she threw ink at Kejriwal at a public function. The group later claimed that the action was warranted by the AAP governments failure to act on act on alleged corruption in the CNG Scam.



At the time of the ink attack, Kejriwal was addressing a 'thanksgiving' rally at Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi after the odd-even curbs on cars. She was arrested and later granted bail.


A crowd of relatives and neighbours gathered at the entrance of the AIIMS trauma centre hoping for a miracle which could save seven-year-old Shailesh, who had been run over a bus along with his sister.





Around 3 pm, when it became clear that the child wont survive, agitated people started pacing around thinking about their next move.



We want adequate compensation to the parents from both the Delhi government and the Delhi Transport Corporation, said Anurag, a neighbour of Shailesh.



Sitting alone on a stone slab outside the Trauma Centres entrance, Shaileshs father Jitendra Paswan was in no mood to talk.



People were unhappy with the inability of the police to arrest the accused driver. But they were particularly angry by the callous approach shown by the administration of citys two leading hospitals  AIIMS and Max.



On Wednesday morning, Shailesh was rushed to Sakets Max Smart Superspeciality Hospital after his accident.



Even before beginning the operation, the hospital administration made a call to Shaileshs uncle and told him about the cost which they had to incur if they wanted go ahead with the operation.



They told me that it would cost Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh for the operation. I had an experience with the hospital where they charged more than one lakh rupees for a minor operation. I thought about it and decided to take the risk of taking him to AIIMS, said Pankaj Paswan, uncle of Shailesh.



Hospital denies charge



Max Smart Superspeciality Hospital, however, denied the charge made by Shaileshs uncle. Considering the urgency of the situation, the family of the child was briefed and counselled that the child be shifted to the AIIMS trauma centre, where he was subsequently moved in a Max ACLS ambulance under the supervision of a paediatrician.



At no point in time any financial consideration was asked for, said Max hospitals PRO in an official statement. From Max, Shailesh was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre. However, even there, his relatives alleged, he was made to wait outside 30 minutes.



The boy had come in the Max Hospitals ambulance and the attendant in the ambulance told the AIIMS officials about the seriousness of the case. However, the AIIMS administration refused to admit the boy citing unavailability of beds, said Pankaj.



We made some calls to the police and when nothing happened we went inside the trauma centre and pleaded with the doctors to take the boy inside. Only after that he was admitted and put on the ventilator, said Anurag, Shaileshs neighbour.



The boy died few hours after he was admitted at the trauma centre. People went into a protest after it on MB Road, where the accident took place. Police however controlled the protesters and dispersed them.


The Samajwadi Party was today split down the middle with Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin Ram Gopal backing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who is locked in a turf war with uncle Shivpal while party leaders blamed "outsider" Amar Singh for the crisis.

Party supremo Mulayam rushed to Lucknow from Delhi and is expected to hold talks with his son Akhilesh and other leaders in a bid to control the damage.

Samajwadi Party national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who met Akhilesh here, said the leadership had committed an unintentional "mistake" by removing Akhilesh as party's UP president.

He said that "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding" even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabh MP Amar Singh.

The feud had spilled into the open after the Chief Minister stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios on September 13, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief by his father.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ram Gopal told reporters.

When asked about the chief minister's statement regarding role of "outsiders" in the family tussle, Ram Gopal said, "There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...".

Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.

Cabinet Minister Azam Khan also took a swipe at his bete-noir Amar Singh, though he refrained from naming him, and said the Chief Minister was right in his assessment.

"If the Chief Minister is saying it, he must be right as he is in a responsible position. We had such apprehensions and that is why we had strongly opposed the return of such people who had a black history. Their only job is to make recordings and blackmail," he said.

Party's Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal said "if there is any outsider, who is interfering, he should stop immediately" and asserted that Akhilesh will be the chief ministerial candidate of Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Targeting Amar Singh, Ram Gopal said that due to "simplicity" of Mulayam, "those who have nothing to do with party's interest are able to take benefit".

"They harm the party.... All those who met me are saying so," he said.

"He is the same person, who used netaji's simplicity to make an incharge of the party (Shivpal was earlier made SP UP incharge). There is no such post in SP. They say you are being challenged.....There is no one in the party who can challenge netaji," Ram Gopal said.

Shivpal, however, defended Amar Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along.

Asked about other SP leaders' "unhappiness" with Amar Singh, he said, "Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also."

Amid the opposition to the manner of his appointment as state unit chief, he said, "I was state president in 2011 and now netaji (Mulayam) has once again given me this responsibility. No one has the capacity to disobey what he says."

His reaction came after Ram Gopal said, "He (Akhilesh) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal)."

As the war of words intensified, Mulayam, who was due to arrive in Uttar Pradesh capital tomorrow, decided to leave Delhi this morning itself and reached Lucknow.

After meeting the Chief Minister, Ram Gopal said "everything will be resolved once netaji (Mulayam) and CM will talk....".

Yesterday, Mulayam gave a patient hearing to Shivpal for four hours to get his side of the story. Shivpal told Mulayam that despite following his orders, he was being painted as a villain.
A 23-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death by a man for rejecting his proposal, in fourth such killing in Tamil Nadu in the last three months.





Jahir (27) attempted suicide after killing Dhanya last night at Annur near here. He is in a critical condition, police said.



Dhanya, who worked in a private firm, was allegedly being harassed for some time by the accused to marry him though she had spurned his proposal, police said.



Recently, she got engaged to a man from Kerala and their marriage was fixed for next month. She was yesterday found murdered by her parents when they returned home, they said.



The victim had, earlier in the day, gone to a temple with her fiance on the occassion of Onam.



Investigations led police to Jahir, who, meanwhile, allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison. He had boarded a bus to Palakkad in neighbouring Kerala after committing the crime, they said.



A police team later found he had been admitted to a private hospital in Palakkad. Police said he would be brought to Annur once his condition improves.



A case was registered following a complaint by the woman's parents and the accused has been "secured", they said.



This is the fourth fatal attack on young women in the state, who had spurned proposals of their stalkers, since the killing of software professional Swathi at a railway station in Chennai in July.



Last month, an engineering student was clubbed to death in her classroom in a private college by her senior in Karur while a 25-year-old teacher was killed in a church by a man, who later ended his own life, for spurning his love.
Supreme Court today took Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments to task for failing to check violence following its order on the Cauvery dispute, asserting that its verdict "has to be complied with" and violent agitation would serve no purpose as those aggrieved were free to take legal recourse.



Asserting that the people cannot take law into their hands, the apex court directed the two states to ensure there is no violence, agitation, destruction and damage to properties following its order on Cauvery water sharing and asked them to maintain peace, calm and dignity for law.



"We are compelled to state that it is the duty of both the states (Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) to see that no violence, agitation or destruction of properties takes place," a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said, adding "we sincerely hope that wisdom shall prevail on competent authorities of both the states and that peace will prevail."



The bench also warned that "when there is court order, there should not be any violent agitations and any party aggrieved has the liberty to take legal recourse for mitigation of their grievances."



"We reiterate neither any strike nor bandh or agitation can take place when the court has passed an order and it has to be complied with. In any difficulty, concerned parties can approach the court and people cannot take law unto themselves. It is the obligation of both the states to prevent such actions," the bench said referring to its 2009 judgement which had laid down guidelines to deal with situations of violence and destruction of properties by protestors and agitators.



"We expect both the states to maintain peace, calm, harmony and dignity for law", the bench said.



The apex court, which posted the hearing on September 20 on the plea for direction to both states to take preventive measures and assessing the damages to public and private properties during agitation, said it will also take up the main matter of Cauvery water dispute.

On being pointed out by senior advocate Adish Aggarwala, appearing for petitioner P Shivakumar that today 'Rail Roko' was organised in Karnataka and tomorrow a similar agitation will be held in Tamil Nadu, the bench said it was the sacred duty to see no agitation, damage or destruction of property takes place.



When the court questioned his locus standi, Shivakumar said he was a social activist and a resident of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and added that he was aggrieved by the violence in both states in which public, private properties were being damaged by local groups.



The bench observed that as per media reports, the situation was returning to normal and asked the petitioner to specify what was the present state of affair.



Counsel for petitioner then told the bench that due to the 'rail roko' agitation, buses were also not plying in Karnataka apprehending violence and a similar 'bandh' call has been given in Tamil Nadu for tomorrow.



Approximately Rs 25,000 crore worth of properties have been damaged in violence in the two states and the apex court had specifically directed in 2009 that if there is violence in these two states, these have to be reported to the apex court, the counsel said.



The court had yesterday agreed to hear the plea seeking direction to the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to maintain law and order in these two states witnessing violent protests in the wake of a row over distribution of Cauvery water.



On September 12, the apex court modified its earlier order on sharing of Cauvery water and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs instead of 15,000 cusecs per day till September 20 to Tamil Nadu.



Rejecting Karnataka's plea seeking that its September 5 order for release of 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu be kept in abeyance, the court had asked the Executive to ensure compliance. It was also critical of the language used in Karnataka's plea.
CBI has taken over investigations in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan as it registered a case today against unknown assailants.





The move comes four months after Bihar Government recommended a CBI into the murder of Ranjan, bureau chief of Hindustan--a Hindi daily.



A team of agency sleuths will leave shortly for Siwan, the sources said.

The sources said name of former RJD MP Shahbuddin who has been released recently on bail was under the scanner of Bihar Police which was probing the case till recently.



The case has again come into limelight as a photograph appeared of absconding suspects Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed with Shahbuddin after his release from Bhagalpur jail on Saturday last on bail granted by Patna High Court.



They said it is suspected that the killing was the handiwork of some influential persons.



CBI sources said they have taken over the investigation in the murder case which has been registered under the IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, murder and arms act.



According to the rules, CBI takes over same FIR which has been registered by the state police. However, the sources said, the investigation of the agency are completely free and it may arrive at any conclusion which may or may not be in concurrence with the state police.



"The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case under section 302, 120-B, 34 of IPC and section 27 of Arms Act against unknown assailants relating to alleged murder of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan on the request of Bihar Government and further notification from Government of India," CBI Spokesperson said.



She said CBI has taken over the investigation of the said case which was earlier registered vide FIR no. 362/2016 dated May 13, 2016 at Police Station Siwan town, Bihar on a complaint from wife of deceased.



The state government had issued a notification requesting the CBI to take over the investigation of the murder case on May 16.
The yellow-walled, colonial-era central prison in Karachi houses some of the citys hardened criminals, but one of its inmates, Waseem Akhtar, still has a day job: Hes the mayor of Pakistans biggest and most tumultuous city.





Akhtar won election in Karachi on Aug 24, a victory that was largely symbolic. He belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, or MQM, a political group that ruled this chaotic, violent city for decades through a combination of political guile, violence and intimidation.



Now, the party is struggling in the face of a crackdown by the military, which has put Akhtars electoral victory in the cross hairs. The mayor continues to languish behind bars, and it remains unclear when he might be able to perform his official duties.



Akhtar took the oath in a park on Aug 30, transported there from his prison cell for the occasion. There are a lot of issues in the city, but with full determination and motivation, we will resolve all of them, he said at his inauguration. I will seek my freedom from the court. Otherwise, I will run the city by setting up an office in my prison cell.



After the ceremony, he was returned to his prison barracks. Akhtar, who was arrested in July, faces at least 22 charges, including that he ordered citywide riots in May 2007, when he was home minister of Sindh province, and that he arranged medical care for wanted terrorists. The judiciary has observed that a jailed official cannot perform official duties. Moreover, the military does not want Akhtar to take charge of Karachi, Pakistans economic hub.



Years ago, Akhtar developed a reputation as an aggressive leader, and he was chosen to defend the party and its exiled leader, Altaf Hussain, on news channels, and then to supervise municipal elections in the citys two boroughs, where a splinter group challenged the party. When the party won a resounding majority in December 2015 in municipal voting, Hussain tapped Akhtar to be its nominee for mayor. Karachi last had a mayor in 2010. Elections were not held again until late last year because of political wrangling over power sharing. The sprawling port citys residents, unofficially estimated to number 22 million, badly need a mayor to address civic problems.



Water is scarce; it is mostly delivered through tankers, with delivery ensured only by bribes. Gigantic piles of garbage are a common sight. Roads are in poor condition.



Vast areas of the city look like slums, interspersed with high-rises and affluent gated communities. Planting is invisible; concrete is everywhere. Worst of all, lawlessness, rampant street crime and a vicious circle of political violence have crippled the city for decades.



Akhtar, 60, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and mustache, has promised to solve the gigantic civic problems of the metropolis. But for now, he is the butt of jokes. One widely circulated quip: Waseem Akhtar said he would take everyone along. And then he went to prison.



Since 2013, a crackdown by the Sindh Rangers, a paramilitary force answerable to the military, has targeted MQM, portraying the party as the main obstacle to bringing peace to the city.



Hussain, the partys leader, lives in self-imposed exile in London, where he was said to control this city through phone calls, with the help of loyal armed gangs on the ground. Of late, however, he has been weakened. Besides having problems with the military, Hussain has been the focus of corruption and murder inquiries by Scotland Yard.



The MQM headquarters building in Karachi, widely known here as Nine Zero, was raided twice in 2015 by the Rangers. Several of the movements local leaders are behind bars, and some have bolted to the Pak Sarzameen party, a new political group led by Mustafa Kamal, who was the mayor until 2010. Kamal parted with Hussain in March, a move widely believed to have the support of the paramilitary Rangers.



Hussains shrinking control over the city has frustrated him. On Aug 22, he made an incendiary speech, urging followers to attack television news networks that do not cover him. Within minutes, enraged protesters ransacked the offices of one of the networks. Ensuing violence left one person dead and several wounded. The speech, in which Hussain also criticised Pakistan, terming it a centre of terrorism, has earned him public criticism and condemnation from across the political spectrum. In its wake, the leadership of MQM moved to sever the movement from its exiled leader.



Raid on offices

Farooq Sattar, an MQM Member of Parliament, announced that the party inside the country would operate independently and would not take orders from Hussain in London  though many Pakistanis regarded that declaration of independence as merely tactical, similar statements having been made before.



The Rangers have kept increasing the pressure. Since Aug 22, law enforcement authorities have demolished at least 68 MQM party offices and sealed 180 more, citing allegations that they were illegally constructed.



Sattar has condemned the move and accused authorities of a political vendetta. He said in an interview from his cell that the crackdowns, coming after the partys earlier severing of links with the London-based leadership, compel us to presume that authorities agenda is beyond Hussain and his anti-Pakistan speeches. His residence has been used as the partys temporary office.



Analysts say the militarys campaign has seriously damaged the MQM. The MQM has been dead for a while. Its vote bank remains, but the party has lost its aura, Laurent Gayer, a French scholar and author of the book Karachi: Ordered Disorder and the Struggle for the City, said in an interview.



For now, the new mayor is in legal limbo, spending his time much as any other inmate does. Akhtar is not allowed meetings with the public or the media, though his family members and some party leaders are allowed to see him. As a political prisoner, he has access to a few amenities: a refrigerator, a television and a stove, according to reports in the local media. He is allowed to use them until 6.30 pm, when he must retire to his cell.



Many residents and commentators say MQM should have chosen a different candidate after the powerful military establishment showed resistance to the nomination of Akhtar. We are pessimistic that the new mayor will resolve the civic issues, said Zahid Farooq, an official at the Urban Resource Centre, a non-profit organisation in the city.



It will make matters worse. Obviously, the mayor should be on the ground to do his work, Farooq said. How will an imprisoned mayor run the city?




In a fresh twist to the deepening feud in Mulayam Singh Yadav's family, his brother Shivpal tonight submitted his resignation as ruling Samajwadi Party's state unit head and as a minister in the cabinet of newphew Akhilesh Yadav with whom he is at loggerheads.





Shivpal submitted his resignation from the two posts to Mulayam who rushed here from Delhi this evening to douse the flames that threaten to hurt the ruling party in the Assembly polls due early next year, sources said.



Shivpal's wife Sarla also gave resignation from the post of District Cooperative Bank Chairperson, Etawah, and son Aditya gave resignation as Chairman of Pradeshik Cooperative Federation, the sources added.



However, Mulayam reportedly refused to accept the resignations, they said.



Earlier, as the first family of Uttar Pradesh battled an open war within, Mulayam Singh rushed to Lucknow and met Shivpal and Akhilesh separately to douse the flames.



As soon as he reached here, the SP summoned Shivpal and held closed door meeting with him.



Shivpal later met Akhilesh at his official residence, sources said, adding the meeting came at the behest of Mulayam.



Immediately thereafter, Mulayam met his Chief Minister son Akhilesh, the sources said.

Earlier, Mulayam's cousin and SP's national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who is seen as backing the Chief Minister, said the leadership had committed an unintentional "mistake" by removing Akhilesh as party's UP president.



Ram Gopal, who had met the Chief Minister, said the "differences" had arisen due to some "misunderstanding".



He blamed "outsiders" for the crisis, an apparent reference to Amar Singh who recently returned to the party after a number of years.



He claimed that "Akhilesh is not angry with anyone and the decision of netaji (Mulayam) is final in the party."



The same was said by Shivpal at his press conference.



The feud had spilled into the open after the Chief Minister stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios two days back, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief by his father.



"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ram Gopal told reporters.



When asked about the Chief Minister's statement regarding role of "outsiders" in the family tussle, Ram Gopal said, "There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this...".



Amar Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.

Cabinet Minister Azam Khan also took a swipe at his bete-noir Amar Singh, though he refrained from naming him, and said the Chief Minister was right in his assessment.



"If the Chief Minister is saying it, he must be right as he is in a responsible position. We had such apprehensions and that is why we had strongly opposed the return of such people who had a black history. Their only job is to make recordings and blackmail," he said.



Party's Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal said "if there is any outsider, who is interfering, he should stop immediately."



He asserted that Akhilesh will be the Chief Ministerial candidate of Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.



Targeting Amar Singh without naming him, Ram Gopal said that due to "simplicity" of Mulayam, "those who have nothing to do with party's interest are able to take benefit".

"They harm the party.... All those who met me are saying so," he said.



"He is the same person, who used netaji's simplicity to make an incharge of the party (Shivpal was earlier made SP UP incharge). There is no such post in SP. They say you are being challenged.....There is no one in the party who can challenge netaji," Ram Gopal said.



Shivpal, on the other hand, defended Amar Singh saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along.



Asked about other SP leaders' "unhappiness" with Amar Singh, he said, "Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also."



Amid the opposition to the manner of his appointment as state unit chief, he said, "I was state president in 2011 and now netaji (Mulayam) has once again given me this responsibility. No one has the capacity to disobey what he says."



His reaction came after Ram Gopal said, "He (Akhilesh) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal)."


Last week, North Korea conducted its fifth underground nuclear test  and second this year  shrugging off threats of deeper sanctions from the United States and the United Nations in the process. The test demonstrated a nuclear warhead that has been standardised to be able to be mounted on our ballistic missiles, the North Korean regime proclaimed in a statement.





The South Korean government also confirmed the test after recording an unnatural artificial tremor originating from Punggye-ri, where the North had conducted four previous tests. The latest test was the countrys largest to date, sparking worries that the country is making real progress in its efforts to build a functional nuclear warhead. Estimates of the explosive yield of the latest blast have varied. South Koreas military said it was about 10 kilotonnes, enough to make it the Norths strongest nuclear test ever. Other experts say initial indications suggest 20 kilotonnes or more.



The pace and tenor of North Korean ballistic missile and nuclear tests have undergone a significant shift this year. Since February, North Korea has fired off more than 30 ballistic missiles with a range of at least 200 km, more than the number fired previously by North Korea, ever. These more extensive tests should allow North Korea to convert its missile force from a strategic threat/ showcase to an operational force that seriously jeopardises all of its neighbours, including China.



Assessment by South Korean and US intelligence is that the North is always ready for an additional nuclear test, South Korean Defence Ministry Spokesman Moon Sang-gyun suggested earlier this week. Last weeks nuclear test have reinforced fears in Washington and across Asia that Pyongyangs military advances could soon outpace the missile defence systems the US and its regional allies have built up over the last decade.



There is a growing sense that Washington and its Asian allies could be in danger of falling behind as North Korea builds longer-range and increasingly reliable missiles that expand its potential reach and threaten to overwhelm expensive, and untested missile-defence systems.



Following last weeks tests, the US President Barack Obama pledged to unleash a new round of sanctions on Pyongyang, but decades of economic punishments have done nothing to stop the North so far, and it is highly unlikely that more sanctions will make much of a difference. Nuclear weapons today seem to be the sole survival strategy of the North Korean regime and so no amount of sanctions will likely dent that calculus.



The North has also been angered by a US and South Korean plan to install an anti-missile defence system in the South and by the allies massive annual joint military exercises, which are still taking place. The US has flown two supersonic B-1 Lancer strategic bombers over South Korea in a show of force, just days after North Korea carried out its fifth nuclear test. The B-1 bombers are capable of carrying nuclear missiles and bombs that can destroy even underground bunkers.



As has happened in the past, the international community has reacted with predictable outrage. China said it was firmly opposed to the test, while Japan protested adamantly and Obama, on his way home from his last trip to Asia as president, warned of serious consequences.



South Korea has taken an unusually harsh tone. Seoul has a plan to annihilate the North Korean capital if it shows any signs of mounting a nuclear attack and military officials have warned that every part of Pyongyang will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and highly-explosive shells. There has been rising criticism within South Korea of the government as its attempts to isolate the North have failed to deter leader Kim Jong-un's nuclear ambitions.



Beijing worried

Though the US says it is considering its own sanctions, in addition to any imposed by the UN Security Council, Japan and South Korea, Pyongyangs response has been to laugh it all off. It seems to have learnt from its earlier shenanigans that nothing of significance will happen. After the fourth test in January, China agreed to impose tougher UN sanctions.



Even tougher sanctions are still possible, like blocking the export of fuel oil to North Korea. But Chinas bottom line is that it does not want the collapse of the regime in Pyongyang if that leads to a chaotic power vacuum, possibly filled by the US and its allies. Beijing also remains worried about the prospect of a unified Korean peninsula which will bring Washington right to its doorsteps.



As a result, the threat of further sanctions is hardly a deterrent to the regime of Kim Jong Un, as his military is thought to have a small standing stock of nuclear weapons, with some estimates placing the national inventory around 15-20 weapons. Sanctions will not have affected this stockpile, or the Norths ability to test. It has also been suggested that as Kim Jong-un continues to consolidate his power, South Korea and the US should expect that provocations will continue to be a part of North Koreas strategy.



Asia is passing through a turbulent phase with multiple crises brewing in different parts of the region. At its foundation, these crises are about the changing global balance of power with Chinas rise and its strident assertion of its interests and concerns about Americas ability to manage this power transition.



Even in the case of North Korea, China has laid the blame at Americas doorsteps by suggesting that the cause and crux of the Korean nuclear issue rest with the US rather than China. The core of the issue is the conflict between the DPRK (North Korea) and the US.



The growing geopolitical rivalry between the US and China is manifesting itself in the lack of effective action against Pyongyang. This will have grave implications for the future of global politics.



(The writer is Professor of International Relations, Kings College London)
MLC Ivan DSouza said that the Central government should evolve a central water policy to guide the states on sharing of river water.





Absence of such policy will only aggravate the inter-state water disputes in future, said DSouza, who is also Chief Whip of the Government in the Legislative Council.



Speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday, he said that a central water policy is the need of the hour to solve disputes over sharing river water among states.



The verdict of the Supreme Court has caused a severe blow to the people of the state.



Violation of the law or resorting to violent acts are, however, not the means for a rightful solution. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the state Cabinets decision to obey the Supreme Courts order to release water to Tamil Nadu has upheld the Constitution of India. In a federal system, it is difficult to violate or reject the order of the Supreme Court for a government, he explained.



Supply to other districts

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, at the same time, has assured that the state government will take all steps necessary to provide drinking water to Bengaluru Rural, Mysuru and Mandya districts, Ivan pointed out.



Advocating the need for the Prime Minister to intervene in the Cauvery water issue, the Chief Whip said that a central water policy is essential at a time when neighbouring states of Goa and Andhra Pradesh are pressurising Karnataka to release water from Mahadayi and Tungabhadra. Andhra Pradesh, which is supposed to get 50 tmc feet of water in December, has already started pressing for the same in spite of knowing the water condition of Karnataka, he said.


JD(S), the single largest party in the 40-member Hassan Zilla Panchayat, has bagged the top posts of all the four standing committees in the elections held to the committees here on Thursday.





Of the five standing committees, election was held for Education and Health, Agriculture and Industries and Social Justice.



The ZP president and vice-president are the ex-officio presidents for Finance and General standing committees respectively.



While Bhavani Revanna was elected as president for Education and Health standing committee, S Vatsala was elected for Social Justice while Supradeep Yajaman was elected as president for Agriculture and Industries standing committee.



Congress members boycotted the elections as JD(S) members rejected the request of ZP president Shwetha Devaraj for a power-sharing deal. ZP Deputy Secretary Puttaswamy, who also acted as the presiding officer, announced the name of the presidents after the elections.



Speaking to reporters, Bhavani Revanna said, the JD(S) will teach a lesson to Congress by taking up development works. Though Congress party has no majority, the members played out a drama for six months to wrest power from the JD(S). The party will work for the development of the district, she said.



MLA Revanna said that the party will let the development activities already taken up in the district go smoothly.




BJP workers on Thursday staged a unique protest in Mandya pleading, with a tinge of sarcasm though, MLA and former minister Ambareesh to visit the city.





The protesters held the posters that read, We wont ask you for water, compensation for crop loss, reopening of Mysugar factory and others. People of Mandya just want to you see once. Wherever you are, please come to Mandya.



They also read the same slogans aloud grabbing the attention of the public.



The agitating BJP workers also held a posetr that took a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The people of Karnataka have to curse themselves for electing Siddaramaiah as chief minister. Siddaramaiah is responsible for a spate of farmer suicides, punishing honest officers, shielding the corrupt, giving clean chit to land grabbers and providing Gundina (bullet) Bhagya for the Cauvery agitators, the poster read.



Suicide attempt

A farmer attempted suicide by consuming poison in front of the railway station, here on Thursday. The farmer has been identified as Suresh of Mangala village. It is said, he had come to the city to participate in the rail roko protest. When the police did not allow the protesters, in a fit of rage, he attempted suicide by consuming poison. He was immediately shifted to the district hospital.



Police also took into custody five members of Kadamba Sene, who tried to barge to the railway station.



Chaddi chaluvali

Members of a Kannada organisation took out a unique protest Chaddi chaluvali in Srirangapatna, Mandya district, on Thursday. Condemning the state government for its failure in protecting the farmers, they took out a semi-nude chaddi chaluvali, wearing only half pants. Members of Raitha sangha took out a guddali chaluvali, raising slogans against the government.



Peace meeting was conducted at Pandavapura, where vehicles were torched during the riots.


Water conservationist Rajendra Singh, also known as the Waterman of India suggested that a high-powered committee should be constituted to solve the Cauvery river water sharing dispute between the riparian states.





Addressing media persons here on Thursday, Singh said that experts who could provide immediate and acceptable solution related to law, environment, irrigation, farmers and technical fields, should be appointed by the government.



Speaking about the Cauvery issue that is raging between the two states, Singh, the recipient of Stockholm Water Prize, said the issue can be sorted out by discussions. In addition, steps should be taken to increase the water-holding capacity of the water bodies and judicious use of water, he stressed.



The courts decision depends only on the facts and figures provided by the parties.

Around 2,000 tmcft water flows into the sea from the rivers that originates at Western Ghats in Karnataka. The state government should take measures to harness the water that is being drained into the seas, he said. The water available there could solve the water problem of nine districts in the plains, he said.



Participating in an interaction earlier, organised by Vichara Vedike Karnataka, he said that Rajasthan government has constructed 12,000 check dams without any support from any firms. Now, seven rivers that had dried up earlier has water, he added.



Every one has equal right on water, and it is important to implement national water policy, he stressed.



Gandhian Surendra Koulagi, Hemanth Kumar Panchala and others were present.




Political parties and trade organisations in Tamil Nadu will go ahead with the general strike on Friday to condemn the attacks on Tamilians in Karnataka over the Cauvery water release issue.





The call for strike has got support from various quarters amid the Supreme Court rapping the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments for permitting agitations to challenge a judicial order passed by it.



Though the ruling AIADMK government is not supporting the strike, almost all opposition parties, including the DMK, Congress, Vijayakanth-led DMDK, Tamil Maanila Congress and the PMK have extended support.



Autos and omni bus services are expected to stay off the roads. Some private schools and education institutions have declared holiday on Friday.



However, the Tamil Nadu government made it clear that all the schools will function normally.



The state administration also said that the government bus services will be operated by giving full security.



Petroleum Dealers Association also said that more than 4,500 petrol and diesel outlets will be shut. However, company-owned petrol bunks are expected to operate.



What is shut

In addition, the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Association, which is also taking part in the bandh, announced that nearly 20 lakh shops will be closed.



However, medical shop owners said they would close shutters only in the afternoon.

Tamil Nadu Wholesale Traders secretary Soundararajan said the main vegetable markets across the state will also be closed to show support to the agitation.



The state government has taken steps to sell vegetables in all its cooperative markets at affordable prices to the people.



DMDKs Vijayakanth will launch a hunger strike with party cadres in Chennai while the DMK and the Congress have organised democratic rallies across the state to condemn the attacks on Tamils in the neighbouring state.



Both the CPI and the CPM, which also declared to back the agitation, will join the silent rallies organised by delta farmers in Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Trichy, Nagapattinam and some parts of Salem.



Meanwhile, about one lakh police personnel will be deployed across all the districts from Thursday night in view of the bandh call.



Extra security to state establishments

Though Tamil Nadu remained largely peaceful on Thursday except for sporadic protests, tension prevailed in the state over the Cauvery issue and normal life was thrown out of gear in border areas, DHNS reports from Chennai.

Most of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses to Karnataka from Chennai and other districts were cancelled, putting passengers in great trouble. The Karnataka state buses were not operated.

Trucks, vans and other private vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu license plates were also stranded in the border area. Hosur was the worst hit since people on both states could not reach their destinations, while a similar situation prevailed in Sathyamangalam in Erode district.

Meanwhile, sporadic protests and rallies were held across the state against the recent attack on Tamilians in Karnataka. A youth who attempted self immolation at a rally in Chennai by Naam Tamizhar Katchi was admitted to hospital and his condition remaineds critical.

Nearly 20 cadres of a pro-Tamil group were arrested in Coimbatore when they tried to stage a protest demonstration near a Karnataka Bank branch. Though the state remained largely peaceful, extra security was provided to Karnataka-owned offices and banks.

Additional police security was also provided near the Udupi chain of restaurants situated in various towns.


Tiruveedhula Kalyani, wife of T Gopikrishna, an assistant professor in computer science at the Sirte University of Libya, who is one among the four Indians kidnapped by suspected Islamic State men on July 29 last year, is on cloud nine.





The news of her husband and another professor C Balaram Kishan of Kushaiguda released by their kidnappers came on Wednesday night, ending a year long, agonising wait for the two families.



Gopikrishna, who is a native of Tekkali in Srikakluam district of northern Andhra Pradesh, had gone to Libya in 2007 to teach in Sirte. He completed his M Tech in computer sciences from Chennai and has been visiting his wife and children living here at Nacharam once in a year.



The phone came from the Ministry of External Affairs followed by a tweet by minister Sushma Swaraj. Then came the phone from my brother, Murali Krishna, who works in a private company here, said. He added that they are in touch with the ministry in Delhi about the possible date of return of Gopikrishna. The external affairs ministers tweet read: I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna- AP (Gopikrishna) and C Balaram Kishan -Telangana, who were captive in Libya since July 29, 2015, have been rescued.



He said that he will be returning home soon and wanted to speak to children. But the call was short and he said that he will get back soon, Kalyani said. She said that her husband seems to be under the protection of the Libyan army and is safe.



Meanwhile, T Narayana and Sarswathi, parents of Gopikrishna, who live in Gollaveedhi in Srikakulam, said their prayers have been answered.



Also celebrating the news is Sridevi, wife of another kidnapped assistant professor Balaram Kishan. I received the phone call and I spoke to my husband.



He said that he is safe and happy to be freed. He said that he wanted to see the children. He said that he along with the other professor will be returning to India on Tuesday, Sridevi said.



The other two kidnapped teachers from Karnataka have been released.


The CBI on Thursday started examining the reference received for looking into corruption charges in the purchase of Embraer aircraft in 2008.





The move comes a day after the Ministry of Defence sought a probe into the deal. A decision on whether to take up the case  purchase of three Embraer-145 jets for Defence Research and Development Organisation  will be taken soon after analysing the documents provided by the ministry.



A senior official said the CBI will file an FIR or initiate a preliminary enquiry if it finds that there is enough prima facie evidence of irregularities in the purchase.
The BJP will use Deen Dayal Upadhyaya's birth centenary celebrations to give the saffron parivar ideologue his due, which history denied him, say party leaders.





The partys three-day national council meeting at Kozhikode in Kerala from September 22 will focus on Deen Dayals ideology of integral humanism, which is a self-reliant economic model aimed at upliftment of the poor.



The strategy also suits the party politically in view of the upcoming crucial assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kickstart the centenary programmes on September 24 at Kozhikode. There will be an exhibition on the life and contribution of Upadhyaya at Kozhikode, a venue specially chosen by the BJP since he was declared Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) president at this place in 1968. BJS evolved into Bharatiya Janata Party and Deen Dayals ideology still guides the BJP.



The idea of celebrating Deen Dayals birth anniversary and dedicating the BJP national council to him is a message to the world that this is our ideology. The central government through its various schemes empowering the poor is delivering the objectives of our ideologue, said party general secretary Arun Singh.



He also said the BJP continues to honour Deen Dayal by naming many institutions after him and not a single event happens without paying him tribute. But, Singh lamented, Upadhyaya did not get the recognition due to him as he was not a leader of the BJP alone.

Right wing historians have compared Deen Dayal with Mahatma Gandhi due to similarities between their thoughts on issues, including village development, empowering poor and simple living.



But, BJP leaders claim, that history was unkind to Upadhyaya by not putting him on the same pedestal as Gandhi and Nehru.


The rail roko called by the pro-Kannada organisations on Thursday to protest against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu had no impact.





The police had deployed additional forces at all railway stations in the city and ensured efforts by a few pro-Kannada groups to disrupt train services at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR), Malleswaram and Yeshwantpur railway stations, failed.



Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha president Vatal Nagaraj and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president S R Govindu who took out a procession to KSR railway station, were taken into preventive custody with 50 others.



Additional forces have been deployed at all railway stations to thwart any attempts to spread violence, Additional Commissioner of Police (East) KSR Charan Reddy told reporters.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi held a road show in Allahabad, the land of his great grandfather and countrys first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, on Thursday.





He sought support of the people for his party as he continued to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



Rahul, who is currently undertaking Deoria to Delhi yatra across the state, had arrived at Allahabad on Wednesday night and stayed at Anand Bhavan, the ancestral home of Nehru.

He began his road show in the town by garlanding the statue of freedom fighter Chandrashkehar Azad and visited several localities during the roadside meetings.



Modi government has failed to provide succor to the farmers... governments policies have only benefited the rich industrialists, the Congress vice-president said.



Where are the achhe din?...where is the black money that Modiji had promised to bring back to the country?, he said exhorting the people to support the Congress for ensuring development of Uttar Pradesh. He said that his party will exert pressure on the NDA government to waive off the loans of the farmers.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is contemplating banning taking selfies near the monuments and serene locations in the heritage town of Hampi.





The Mahanavami Dibba, Anjanadri Hills, Matanga Hills, Malyavantha Hills and Hemakoota are among the favourite elevated spots for tourists to take selfies.



The stone structure of Mahanavami Dibba, with a height of 40 feet to 50 feet, has stairs on either side, making it a preferred selfie location. There are chances of tourists losing balance and falling off such places that are ideal to watch sunrise and sunset. What adds to the risk is the fact that people try to indulge in adventure for the best shot.



Another worry for the ASI is that there is a possibility of some of the monuments, especially the stone chariot on the premises of the Vijaya Vittala temple, in the heritage place being damaged in the selfie craze. For example, people sit on the wheels of the chariot for a selfie, which could harm the structure.



The ASI is drawing up a plan to put up signboards across the town advising visitors against taking selfies. There have been instances of tourists falling down and injuring themselves while taking pictures on their mobile phones.



Security guards have been instructed to stop people from taking selfies at these spots. But stopping the practice is difficult as thousands of visitors come here every day. We are contemplating on how to go about the ban, Prakash Naikanda, deputy superintendent of the ASI Hampi Circle, told DH. However, he said that no final decision had been taken on the matter as yet.



Umesh, a tourist guide in the town, is not happy with the idea. He says it is not proper to ban taking selfies altogether in risky places.



Visitors should be advised to take pictures on their mobile phones with utmost caution, Umesh said.

DH News Service
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is learnt to have decided to appoint IAS officer Subhash Chandra Khuntia for the post of chief secretary (CS).





Incumbent Aravind Jadhav is on an three-month extension after retirement from the service. His extension period will end on September 30.



Khuntia, a 1981-batch IAS officer, is at present on central deputation. He is a native of Odisha.



According to official sources, a letter has been despatched to the Department of Personnel and Training with a request to relieve Khuntia from Central deputation. Khuntia is with the Ministry of Human Resources Department and is secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy. He will have a tenure of one year and four months as chief secretary. Khuntia is second senior most IAS officer in the state civil list.



Upendra Tripathy, the senior-most officer, is retiring in October and hence, his appointment to the post of chief secretary is not considered, an official source said.



Before moving to New Delhi, Khuntia worked in several departments and organisations in the state, including BBMP, public works and power. He has a PhD in Economics and has done his masters in Sociology, Physics and Computer Science.



The names of senior IAS officers S K Pattanayak and K Rathna Prabha were also doing the rounds to head the state bureaucracy.


The Ramanagaram district police have formed a special team to arrest the two contractors who had chopped the right hand of an officer who had refused to clear inflated bills for works they had executed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).





The police said H R Srinivasa, a technical coordinator with TDS Placements and Services Private Limited (TDSPSPL) was attacked by Keshav and Manjunath on September 12 near Talakere village in Magadi taluk of Ramanagaram district.



The Tumakuru district administration has outsourced implementation of the works under MNREGS to TDSPSPL. The duo had attacked Srinivasa as he had reduced the estimated cost for the works executed under the MNREGS by Keshav and Manjunath at Bagenahalli Gram Panchayat in Kunigal taluk.



Keshav and Manjunath had employed labourers for creating two groundwater recharge pits at Bagenahalli village. They had produced a bill for Rs 69,000 for the work. Srinivasa, however, had reduced amount to Rs 42,000 saying that the bill was inflated and the work was of poor quality.



Enraged by this, the two contractors barged into the Kunigal Taluk Panchayat office around noon on September 12 and abused Srinivas. The two directed me to clear the bill for Rs 69,000. I told them that payments would be made as per the inspection report. They threatened to kill me for reducing the bill amount. Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer Vijay Gowda was present when they threatened me, Srinivasa told DH.



Later, the suspects attacked Srinivasa near Talakere village when he was riding on his bike to Magadi around 7.30 pm. The two attacked me with a machete. I sped and stopped the bike near a shop, where people rushed to my rescue. My palm was almost severed. I was rushed to a private hospital in Bengaluru in an ambulance, he said.



The police said a special team has been constituted to arrest the suspects. Manjunath is a resident of Teredakuppe village in Kunigal taluk, while Keshav is from Eeraianapalya in the same taluk. They are not involved in any crimes in the past.



They are close associates of local politicians, according to the Kudur police who have registered a case of attempt to murder against the duo. Srinivasa is a resident of Hosur village in Kunigal taluk.

DH News Service
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that liquor baron Vijay Mallya can seek an emergency certificate from the High Commission of India in London if he wants to return to the country.





Any Indian citizen, who is outside India and who does not have a valid travel document for any reason, only has to approach the nearest Indian Embassy or High Commission and apply for an Emergency Certificate, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup told journalists when asked for a reaction on Mallyas claim that though he wanted to return to India, he could not do so as his passport has been revoked.



Mallyas counsel recently made the submission before a court which had issued him summons in connection with a Foreign Exchange Regulation Act violation case of 1995.



(The) Emergency Certificate is specifically meant to provide a travel document to an Indian citizen to return to India, Swarup said, adding that the facility was available to Mallya, should he wish to apply for it.


The Misrata militiamen fighting the Islamic State rescued two Indian citizens who were kidnapped from Sirte in Libya over a year ago.





External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter early on Thursday that T Gopikrishna and C Balaram Kishan, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, respectively, had been rescued.



Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told journalists in New Delhi that Misrata militiamen had late on Wednesday got in touch with officials of the Indian Embassy in Tripoli after rescuing Gopikrishna and Kishan from the captivity of Islamic State in Sirte.



They also helped the rescued men call their families in India.



The Misrata militia is loyal to the government of National Accord, which is based in Tripoli, but has limited control over the rest of the country. The militiamen have been fighting the Islamic State and of late had substantial success in regaining control over Sirte.



Swarup said the officials of the India Embassy would facilitate their return.


Its now official. It was not just the Chemistry question paper, but all the six papers of the second Pre-University (PU) examinations held in March-April 2016 were leaked at least two days in advance.





The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the Chemistry paper leak has informed the government and the PU Board that all the six papers were leaked. The CID also asked the PU Board not to store question paper bundles in treasury offices.



Evidence has established that the Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Kannada and English papers were leaked on March 9, two days before the start of the second PU examinations on March 11. All these are mentioned in the charge sheet, which will be filed before the special Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act court by September 30, a senior police officer told DH.



Several students obtained question papers in advance. One student received the Chemistry paper through WhatsApp, the officer said.



He informed the then PU Board director about it. Thus, the Chemistry paper leak came to light, the officer explained.



Question papers were leaked from the Hangal sub-treasury in Haveri district. The kingpin of the racket, Shivakumaraiah, his nephew Kumaraswamy and Hangal sub-treasury second division assistant Santosh Parshuram Agasimani had leaked the papers.



Kumaraswamy contacted Agasimani at Shivakumaraiahs behest. Agasimani had the strongroom keys where the question papers were stored. He opened the room and let Kumaraswamy in. Kumaraswamy cut open the question paper packets and took out a copy of each of the six subjects. He took pictures of the papers on his camera phone and later inserted them back into the packets. The three sold the core subject papers for Rs 1 lakh each. They charged Rs 25,000 for language papers, the officer said.



There are no evidences against Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil and former ministers C M Udasi and M P Renukacharyas involvement. However, the police suspect the involvement of politicians in the paper leaks in the past for the benefit of their children and grandchildren. The police suspect the involvement of private tutors, too. There are, however, no evidences, the officer said.



Established racketeer

Kingpin Shivakumaraiah, a former schoolteacher, is a notorious rackteer involved in leaking question paper leaks. Cases have been registered against him for leaking papers in the Nandini Layout (2014), New Extension Police Station, Tumakuru (2013), Gubbi (2011), Malleswaram (2009), Vijayanagar, Bengaluru (2008) and Chandra Layout (2008) police stations. For the first time, the CID has established that he had leaked the papers in all the five cases from the Hangal sub-treasury.



The Malleswaram police had registered a case under IPC Sections 418 (cheating with knowledge), 420 (cheating), 201 (destruction of evidences or giving false information), 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master) 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and Sections 115 and 23 of the Karnataka Education Act.



The complaint was lodged after the Chemistry paper leak came to light on March 21, 2016. The police have booked all the 18 persons arrested under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act. The suspects have confessed to their involvement. Considering the student beneficiaries age and their future, the police have not named them as accused but have made witnesses in the case.


The Kingdom of Bahrain on Thursday offered a red carpet welcome and donated Rs 8.87 lakh to a Odisha tribal who was forced to carry his wifes body for nearly 12 km, en route to his village, after she died at a hospital last month.





A video of Dana Manjhi walking with a wailing daughter and wifes body over his shoulder after help eluded him went viral last month, sparking national outrage.



The video caught the attention of the international media too. Moved by the plight, Bahrain prime minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa offered help to Manjhi, who received the cheque at the countrys embassy here.



An illiterate marginal farmer from Kalahandi district, Manjhi has so far been struggling to earn Rs 2,000 a month and has never even visited Bhubaneswar.



I have never visited New Delhi or Bhubaneswar. I do not know who donated the money. But I was told, after seeing my plight, the Bahrain Prince gave me the money, he said. The flood of donations and the near-celebrity status has left him bemused.



Dressed in a wrinkled shirt and a dhoti, Manjhi told reporters: I dont know how many zeros are there in nine lakh. I will educate them (daughters). They should have a better life. If I had the money, I would not have suffered this much.



Reports stated that the Odisha government has issued a work order worth Rs 75,000 under the Indira Awas Yojana and has alloted a plot.



While the state government has also promised to bear the cost of educating his daughters, the Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), too, promised free education to Manjhis children.








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.
Now that schools back in session, so is Solana Beachs Casa de Amistad. The nonprofit organization provides educational mentoring and tutoring services to underserved children and teens in preschool through 12th grade.

We are excited to start the new school year and a new year at Casa de Amistad, said Nicole Mione-Green, program director of Casa de Amistad.

By the end of last year, Casa de Amistad had 200 volunteers serving 200 students. Other than the students who graduated from high school, every student returned to participate in Casa de Amistads after-school program again this year when the program started on Sept. 13.

Its wonderful, but it also means that we have to continue to recruit and get more and more volunteers, said Melissa Farrell, program manager of Casa de Amistad.

In an effort to foster the education and character development of underserved children in coastal North County San Diego, Casa de Amistad works closely with local school districts. Students come from the surrounding school districts of Solana Beach School District, Del Mar Union School District, Encinitas Union School District, Cardiff School District, Carlsbad Unified School District and San Dieguito Union High School District.

The children that we serve are at risk in that they come from economically-disadvantaged families, Farrell said. The mentors are able to really help academically but also help the students socially and emotionally through their mentorship.

Casa de Amistad needs at least 200 volunteers again this year, Farrell said.

The organizations goal is a 1:1 student-to-tutor ratio for participants in kindergarten through sixth grade. Middle school and high school students meet in small groups on a variety of subjects.

There are currently more than 60 students on the waiting list.

We are in need of volunteers who have a heart for working with children and teens, Mione-Green said. We are looking for volunteers who are interested in reading with a child all the way to volunteers who can do high school math and science.

Casa de Amistad is seeking volunteers who can work with students for an hour and a half every week for at least one semester, but preferably through the school year. High school students with at least a 3.0 GPA are also encouraged to apply but must be 14 years and older.

Students meet twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays during two sessions from 4:15-5:45 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.

Students work with their mentors on homework during the after-school program. If there is time after they complete their work, students read or do other educational activities.

Volunteers can choose whichever session works best for their schedule, Farrell said. They choose the session that works best and the age group that they want to work with. We match them up with a student that matches their preferences.

In addition to the program for school-aged students, Casa de Amistad has a program for preschoolers. Parents are also heavily involved in the leadership of the organization.

We bring the community together to create really positive interactions and help students achieve their goals academically and to make them the future leaders of the community, Farrell said.

For more about Casa de Amistad, call 858-509-2590 or visit www.casadeamistad.org. To volunteer, contact Farrell at volunteer@casadeamistad.org.
Solana Beach is the latest stop in the journey of the Traveling 911 Memorial Painting.

On the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the painting was unveiled at the Solana Beach Fire Station to honor first responders. The painting pictures a New York firefighter with his head in his hands, standing below a tattered American flag with the destruction of 9/11 in the background.

I feel this pain and I know that Ive locked it up for many years, said Dr. Noemi Balinth, a first responder on 9/11 and the past president of the New York State Psychological Association.

I think its really important to be a part of the community and share the human story behind this, she added. Each one of us that ends up in first line response know how to turn it off somewhat in order to help people. But we also internalize the face of this fireman and thats the humanity in all of us. I hope that we never lose touch with that.

Carlsbad artist Kelly Lucas was commissioned to paint and deliver the painting to New York to raise money for the families of the 9/11 fallen firefighters.

The painting raised more than $26,000 during an auction. The restaurateur who purchased it, however, said it made his customers too sad when he hung it in his restaurant. Still pleased with his donation, he decided to return it to the artist.

The artist then organized a fundraising event for Wounded Warriors in Encinitas. This time the painting was purchased by Wendy Moldow, a local Pacific Sothebys realtor, who decided to bring the painting to fire stations to pay tribute to first responders.

This is ongoing, Moldow said as she looked around at the citys firefighters. We need to remember our first responders because of what they do everyday. It is so important that we keep you guys in our hearts and in our minds.

Before coming to Solana Beach, the 3-by-4-foot oil painting was originally displayed at Encinitas Fire Station No. 2 on Sept. 11, 2015. Since then, the painting has traveled to fire stations in San Marcos and Rancho Santa Fe.

It doesnt belong in my house, Moldow said. It belongs with our firefighters, our fire responders, our paramedics  the people that are there for us day in and day out. Hopefully, it will let them know that the community cares.

The painting will be displayed at the Solana Beach Fire Station on Lomas Santa Fe Drive for the next three months. After the three months, Moldow said she will put the names of other fire stations into a firefighter helmet to choose where the painting is headed next in San Diego County.

Its very important for us to recognize the contributions of our first responders, Solana Beach Mayor David Zito said. This particular days events is so meaningful to our country and it is very, very critical that we keep it in our minds. Thank you for helping us honor this remembrance and acknowledge all the great contributions by our first responders.

<inline embedded='true'>
Stuart Okitkun, Allmaruaq, was born May 30, 1983, in Anchorage. He is survived by his parents Robert and Cecilia Okitkun; partner Crystal Nanuk and their daughter, Shavonne Nanuk; siblings Rita Asgeirsson, Rosella (and Aaron) Hem, Cyril Charlie Okitkun, Kateri Okitkun, Annette Okitkun (and Emery Matthias, Sr.), Corine Okitkun, Ruby Okitkun and Mary Pearl Okitkun; nieces and nephews Zander, Danika, Clara, Kaley, Krystin, Emery, Jr., Karmin, Bria, Link, and Mya.

Stuart is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Cyril and Anna Okitkun, and maternal grandparents, Alec and Rita Bird.

Stuart was raised in Kotlik and loved living a subsistence lifestyle. He provided for his family and community by hunting, fishing and gathering Native food all throughout the year. He especially loved bird, seal and whale hunting, rod n reeling and manaqing. Stuart was a highly skilled mechanic and outdoorsman and also an avid sports fan.

Professionally Stuart was the captain of the LCM Nanvaruq for six years until his passing; prior to that he was the deckhand of the late captain Edward Andrews. Stuart took pride of himself in his work and all that he set out to do.

One thing about Stuart, he respected everyone around him. He was friends with everyone. When called upon for help, he always responded and did his best to help, whether it was helping to fix a snow machine or to take his family and friends out hunting, fishing or gathering.

The pride and joy of Stuarts life was becoming a father to Shavonne Precious Nanuk (1 yo) with his partner, Crystal. He was a very attentive, loving, patient and gentle father.

We all love and miss you very much, Stuart. Thank you for being our son, partner, father, brother, uncle, relative, and friend.

Quyana Cakneq Thank You

The family of Robert and Cecilia Okitkun would like to give a very special thank you to Davis and Della Kamkoff for finding Stuarts body on Wednesday, May 10. A special thank you to Benny Kamkoff for calling 911 after Stuarts body was found. Thank you to those who went up and prayed and sprinkled holy water. A special thank you to the four people  Alvin Aketachunak, Juwan Akaran, Grant Akaran, and Duyane Mike, who stayed up all night watching Stuarts body.

Thank you to Benny and Louise Okitkun, Lenora Hootch, Tasha Bird, Angie Hickel, Bill and Terri Manumik, Dennis and Winnie Sheldon, Daryl and Paulina Okitkun, Cyril and Petra Okitkun, Jimmy and Maggie Okitkun, Della Hunt, Mary Keyes, Patricia Okitkun, Paul Hunt, Theodore Akaran, Raymond Teeluk, Davis Kamkoff, Thomas Wasuli, Millie Aketachunak, and Mary Ann Mike for your help and support.

Thank you to everyone who came from near and far to support our family, in addition to those who brought food, helped in the kitchen, said the rosary with us, sang uplifting songs and those who prayed for us during our time of loss.

Thank you to David Mike, Emil Mike, and Ralph Waska I for making the casket and outer box. Thank you to Louise Okitkun, Annette Okitkun, and Lori Mike for placing the cloth inside the casket. Thank you to Herman Hootch for making the cross.

Thank you to the grave diggers  Daryl Okitkun, Brent Okitkun, Shawn Okitkun, Rico Cheemuk, Chester Mike, Bernard Hunt, Joel Okitkun, Sam Okitkun, and Cyril Charlie Okitkun.

Thank you to these organizations  Ravn Air for the prompt delivery of Stuart and the Honor Flight at landing and departure, Kotlik Police Department, Kotlik Search and Rescue, Alaska State Troopers, Kwikpak Fisheries, Association of Village Council Presidents, Yukon Delta Fisheries, Kotlik Tribe, City of Kotlik, Bill Moores Slough, Calista Corporation, Emmonak Corporation, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Kotlik School, Alaska Commercial Company, Kotlik Laufkak, State Medical Examiners Office, and other organizations that we may have not named.

Pall Bearers: Cyril Charlie Okitkun, Sam Okitkun, Paul Hunt, Brent Okitkun, Shawn Okitkun, Robert Jones, Donovan Okitkun

Honorary Pall Bearers: Martin Okitkun, Sr., Benny Okitkun, Reynold Okitkun, James Bird, John Bird, Peter Jones, Herman Hootch, Marvin Okitkun, Derek Bird, Bobby Bird, Charles Bird, Leeandy Mike, Duncan Okitkun, and George Nanuk.

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by Robin Smith

Alaska is the only state that doesnt require either income or sales taxes to run the government. Alaska has been fortunate to have had sufficient oil income since 1980 to pay all the bills and send each of us a check every year. Weve gotten away with murder! But that time is over with the continuing pressure on oil prices.

It is true Alaska spends significantly more money per capita than any other state. Part of that is the money spent on our Permanent Fund dividends and additional state dollars are put into savings for future checks. Low-population, rural states are very expensive to run. We require same infrastructure needs of any other state, yet ours is geographically the largest state in the country and we divide those expenses over very few people. We also have numerous cost drivers due to small communities off the road system, and we have the most expensive healthcare in the country.

Over the past two years the Legislature has reduced the general fund spending by 25%. Additionally the Legislature made major revisions to the Criminal Justice System and in Medicaid reform to reduce more costs. Most of the fat has been cut, but we still have a fiscal gap of $3 Billion.

Why do Alaskans think they shouldnt have to pay for services the state provides?

Where should we cut in order to avoid taxes? Ive heard testimony from people saying they dont want taxes and they dont want their PFD cut. Unfortunately they never say what services they get from the state they are willing to give up.

The Alaska Chamber is running television ads speaking out against income taxes. Their businesses require roads, educated employees, courts, law enforcement and all the other systems that a state government provides. The lack of broad-based tax revenue makes it difficult for Alaska to respond to services required by new development or an increase in population.

According to a 2003 ISER study, any new non-oil-producing employment becomes a net drag on state finances. Who do they think will pay for those services? What cuts do they think we should we make? The Chamber offers no solution.

I commend the House Majority for coming up with a plan that spreads the financial costs more fairly amongst Alaskans. These men and women are statesmen not politicians. They are risking their future elected offices for the best interest of Alaska. It is time for Pete Kelly and the Senate Majority to join them in making these hard decisions, cooperate with the House, and prioritize the economy over keeping their jobs in the legislature.

Everyone is going to have to pay, including the oil companies. With the abundance of oil in the market and the price of solar power dropping by 20% in just this past year, oil may never again be the singular engine that drives our Alaska economy. Now is the time to diversify our revenue stream.

An income tax would provide the state with much needed financial stability. It takes money from the richest Alaskans who have succeeded due to the opportunities the state has given them. It would also include the 20% of Alaskan employees who live out of state while making large salaries in the oil and mining industries. Many lower income Alaskans would be exempt.

A sales tax targets everyone but is a larger percentage of a low-income familys budget than a wealthy one. Already many communities have a sales tax to fund their needs. All cities and communities across Alaska will most likely be implementing a sales tax to replace the money the state wont be distributing to them.

The PFD cut hurts low-income families the most. It is the hardest cut because it hits every individual child as well as adult. These families spend their PFD checks, which spurs our economy unlike wealthy families who would likely put it into savings.

We simply dont have the money to give tax credits to oil companies. Would it even incentivize the industry to increase drilling with the cost of oil as low as it is today?

It is important to everyday Alaskans to continue getting a PFD. But if the Senate Majority continues the plan of raiding our constitutional reserves to fill the budget gap, Alaskans will lose it all in just a few years. The legislature needs to keep our economy going and strengthen our infrastructure. It takes money to do that. We need that broad base tax revenue. Additional cuts will only prolong the recession we are entering. The Senate must act. Offering a lottery to fund schools makes no sense.

I want a state that provides high quality education for our children. I want children to be safe in their homes and communities. I want a state that can respond to wildfires and floods, a state that protects our salmon; and celebrates the wild environment in which we live. All this takes money. We must pay.

Even with the income tax, Alaskans will have the fourth lowest tax burden in the country. I could make the suggestion that if you want to live under another states tax laws please move, but I wont. We are privileged to live in Alaska. The time has come to pay for the privilege.

My husband and I own a successful small business. We are in the highest tax bracket. We are willing to pay our fair share to keep Alaska strong. How about you?

Robin Smith of Anchorage is a 36-year resident of Alaska.

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The Alaska State Troopers were notified on September 28, 2022, at approximately 5:30 pm, of an attempted sexual assault in Kwethluk. Troopers immediately responded to Kwethluk and began investigating the report. Troopers determined that 21-year-old Kwethluk resident Abraham Nicolai had taken an adult on a boat ride to a remote location on the Kwethluk River. Nicolai then forced the adult out of the boat and strangled the adult while holding them under the water while attempting to take their clothes off. Nicolai was arrested at his home after attempting to hide from responding Troopers. He was remanded to Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center on charges of Attempted Murder, Attempted Sexual Assault in the First Degree, and Assault in the First Degree, Second Degree, Third Degree, and Fourth Degree. Additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.

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The deadline to apply for a $5,000 Our Language grant from Doyon Foundation has been extended to Friday, March 12, at 5 p.m. AKST.

In a continuing effort to revitalize the endangered Native languages of the Doyon region, Doyon Foundation will award grants of up to $5,000 to support language revitalization efforts. Eligible organizations with an idea for a language revitalization project focusing on the languages in the Doyon region are encouraged to apply for an Our Language grant.

Online applications are preferred; interested applicants may apply here. Hard copy applications are available upon request; contact [email protected] or 907.459.2162.

Doyon region tribal governments/tribal councils/communities; nonprofit Alaska Native organizations, societies and community groups; and Alaska Native cultural, educational and recreational organizations/centers are eligible to apply for an Our Language grant. Learn more about the grant program, eligibility and application requirements on our blog.

The 10 ancestral languages of the Doyon region are all severely to critically endangered, and will be lost within the span of a few generations if no action is taken. These languages are Neeaaneegn (Upper Tanana), Dihthaad Xteen Iin Aandeeg (Tanacross), Han, Dinjii Zhuh Kyaa (Gwichin), Dinaki (Upper Kuskokwim), Denaakke (Koyukon), Deg Xinag, Benhti Kokhutana Kenaga (Lower Tanana), Holikachuk, and Inupiaq. Learn more about the Doyon region languages and what Doyon Foundation is doing to support them.

To apply for an Our Language grant, complete the online application. For additional information, contact Doyon Foundations language revitalization program at [email protected] or 907.459.2162.

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Natives of Kodiak, Inc. is pleased to announce Monica James as its incoming President & Chief Executive Officer, effective October 17, 2022. Ms. James is a seasoned executive with expertise in business development, financial management, and organizational transformation. She has served in key leadership roles in several for-profit arenas including federal contracting, commercial markets, aerospace, and within Alaska Native Corporations.

Most recently, Ms. James served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Aleut Corporation. During her distinguished career, Ms. James has also held senior-level executive positions at Calista Corporation, including service as Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer, where she was responsible for leading and directing federal contracting subsidiaries to carry out the corporations visions, goals, and policies to maximize profitability and achieve financial targets designed to provide shareholder benefits.

Ms. James has also served as President of Yulista Holding LLC where she oversaw multiple subsidiaries and was a part of a proposal team that won competitive 8(a) contract award valued at over $4B. In addition, Ms. James has served as the Vice President of Business Operations and Administration for Alaska Aerospace, which owns and operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex.

It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to work on behalf of the shareholders of Natives of Kodiak in this leadership role, said Ms. James. I look forward to working with the NOK Board of Directors, highly capable and dedicated executive team and NOKs subsidiary management staff to help grow and strengthen the corporations businesses and profitability.

Ms. James, a shareholder of the Calista Corporation and Bethel Native Corporation, holds a bachelors degree in Accounting from the University of Alaska. She was raised in Bethel, Alaska and has family ties to Alakanuk. A mother of two grown children, in her free time Ms. James enjoys hunting and fishing with her family and holds a strong commitment to community as demonstrated through board service at several Alaska-based nonprofit organizations including Abused Women in Crisis, the Resource Development Council, Alaska Small Business Development Center, and Girl Scouts of Alaska.

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Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy today (August 12th, 2022) signed the Ellie Mae Act to provide support to statewide volunteer search and rescue organizations at no cost to the state. Senate Bill 95 (SB 95) sponsored by Senator David Wilson, allows volunteer search and rescue organizations to exercise the right of first refusal on items related to search and rescue before the property is sold, leased, licensed, or disposed of.

As Alaskans we hear countless stories of search and rescue missions, oftentimes due to the extreme elements we experience statewide. From recreational incidents to the Iditarod and natural disasters, our search and rescue volunteers play an essential role in rural and urban Alaska, said Governor Mike Dunleavy. I am happy to sign Senate Bill 95 today and thank Senator Wilson for his work to find innovative solutions to support these selfless volunteer organizations at no cost to the state.

Search and rescue operations across the State of Alaska are largely done by volunteer organizations, dispatched by the Alaska State Troopers, at minimal cost. Im very pleased to see Senate Bill 95, the Ellie Mae Act, signed into law, said Senator David Wilson. It enables these volunteers to more easily obtain the equipment they need to fulfill their life-saving missions.

Senator Wilson named the legislation the Ellie Mae Act in honor of a service dog. Service dogs are critical in search and rescue operations statewide.

Search and Rescue organizations are dispatched by the Alaska State Troopers across the state. Senate Bill 95 allows these groups to exercise the right of first refusal on items that may be used for search and rescue before they are put up for auction to the general public. This comes at no additional cost to the state. While groups may be reimbursed for expenses incurred during specific operations, search and rescue services are provided at a minimal cost to the State of Alaska. There are nearly 1,100 search and rescue volunteers statewide.

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by Governor Mike Dunleavy

Rising oil prices may be good for the state budget, but they arent good for the household budgets of Alaskans who are facing skyrocketing increases in the cost of energy.

Whether filling up their vehicles at the gas pump or filling their heating oil tanks for the winter, costs are rising faster than any point in the past 13 years and that affects the price of everything transported by road, ship or plane.

Fortunately, we are not powerless in this situation and the legislators now convened in Juneau can help thanks to the unprecedented increase in the value of our Permanent Fund to more than $82.7 billion as of Oct. 22.

My job is to lobby for the most important special interest of all: the people of Alaska. The Permanent Fund dividend was created for the people and to restrain the government, but that intent has been upended for the past six years.

Ive asked the Legislature to fully fund a PFD of $2,350 under my 50-50 fiscal plan, which would be a payment of $1,236 in addition to the $1,114 that most eligible Alaskans received earlier this month.

Taking this action would help many of our fellow Alaskans simply pay their bills, but we must remember that the PFD is not and has never been intended as a welfare payment. The PFD is by definition a dividend paid to state shareholders from our royalty wealth for each Alaskan to use as they see fit.

With the current special session scheduled to end on Nov. 2, now is the perfect time for legislators to get in touch with their constituents and to act in their best interests.

According to the AAA, the average statewide price for gasoline is up 49 percent in the last year, from $2.51 per gallon to $3.72. Diesel prices are up a nearly identical 48 percent. We all know these prices are much higher in rural Alaska.

On Oct. 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released its forecast for winter energy prices that estimates the 31 percent of Alaskan households that use heating oil are in for some sticker shock.

The EIA forecast is for heating oil prices to increase 43 percent compared to last winter. In a colder than average winter, the increase leaps by 59 percent.

This hits rural Alaska especially hard, where residents rely on heating oil for warmth, diesel generation for power, and planes that use jet fuel subject to price surcharges for essential groceries, goods and travel.

The EIA forecast increase is based on the average heating oil price per gallon for the U.S., which was $2.72 in the first quarter of 2021.

According to the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development biannual survey of heating oil prices, the average price for heating oil last February across 100 communities was $4.15 per gallon, or 52 percent higher than the national average.

For Alaskans, a 43 percent increase comes out to nearly $6 per gallon versus last winter. A 59 percent increase would be $6.60 per gallon.

The increases have already started. In McGrath, a gallon of heating oil is up almost a dollar at $6.66 compared to $5.69 last winter, or a 17 percent hike. In Dillingham, the increase is already 30 percent at $4.59 per gallon compared to $3.52 in February. The Fairbanks price has also gone up 30 percent at $3.58 per gallon compared to $2.74 last winter.

Given the inverse relationship between high oil prices helping the state budget but hurting Alaskans wallets, we would ideally like to produce more oil at lower prices to achieve a sustainable balance.

Instead, we have runaway federal deficit spending driving inflation combined with the Biden administrations nonstop attacks on domestic energy production that started on Day One of his term with the killing of the Keystone pipeline and the pause/cancelation of federal lease sales and permitting.

Now as oil and gas prices predictably have surged, President Biden has gone to the recalcitrant OPEC+ cartel begging for more production and asking for a break from the U.S. industry hes been attempting to cripple since Jan. 20.

My administration will continue to fight the Biden administration on every front possible to protect Alaskas right to self-determination and access to our resources. But those fights will take time, and thats something Alaskans preparing for winter dont have.

Not only can we afford to pay a PFD in line with my 50-50 formula, but it is also the right thing to do and now is the time to do it.

Now is not the time to leave Juneau while leaving Alaskans out in the cold.

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by Brian Jordan

Tundra Swan Academy high school teacher Sarah Trieff and program coordinator Jaimie Kassman, as well as Gladys Jung Elementary School math and physical education teacher Rafe Johnson have been nominated for the 2016-2017 national LifeChanger of the Year award.

Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, the national LifeChanger of the Year program recognizes and rewards the very best K-12 public and private school educators and employees across the United States who are making a difference in the lives of students by exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership.

Trieff, Kassman and Johnson were all nominated by their colleague, Jerry White.

Trieff is a veteran teacher who has spent much of her career working with at-risk youth, including students at the McCann Treatment Center (MTC), a residential treatment center that provides psychiatric and substance abuse services for students aged 10-18.

Many TSA students come to the program with academic abilities far below their age and grade level, White said. Mrs. Trieff has the uncanny ability to help these students become focused and motivated enough to learn two years worth of lessons in a calendar year. While many teachers can be tough or tender, she has the ability to be as tough or as tender as she needs to be to meet the needs of each student.

Treiff took a leading role in aligning Tundra Swan Academys curriculum with state standards and helped secure accreditation through the AdvanceED Accreditation Commission. She spends many hours with students who need extra tutoring, and she also assists the night staff when a student is in crisis. As a result, Trieff has become one of the most trusted staff members in her facility.

Kassman has been teaching practical skills to students at MTC and TSA for fifteen years. A relentless worker and a mentor, he often helps find community service opportunities for the students he works with. On his watch, students volunteer thousands of hours to help the community while they learn to butcher meat, harvest and process fur, maintain conventional and hydroponic gardens, and catch and process salmon.

Every service learning activity directly benefits the elders and less fortunate in the Bethel community and contributes to sustaining the TSA program, White said. With a seemingly endless amount of energy, Mr. Kassman works long days and often works for weeks without taking a day off. His dedication to the boys and the program is obvious. The lessons he imparts make positive, life-long changes in his students.

In addition to teaching, Johnson is his schools archery and wrestling coach. He single-handedly spearheaded a district-wide archery program. After receiving training and official state certification, as well as securing grant funding for the program, Johnson added archery to the PE curriculum and helped three students qualify and participate in the National NASP tournament in Louisville, KY. He became certified to train instructors and expanded the archery program into eleven schools across the Lower Kuskokwim district, four of which participated in the state archery tournament this year. These archery programs currently have 570 participating athletes, including his team of 112.

Mr. Johnson is a LifeChanger because he brought archery to students and adults throughout the district, many of whom would never have had the opportunity to shoot a real bow and real arrows, White said. Students whom otherwise do not care for sports, would not have a sport in which to compete.

Each school year, the LifeChanger of the Year program receives hundreds of nominations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For 2016-2017, there will be a total of 15 individual LifeChanger of the Year awards. In addition, a 16th prize, the National Spirit Award, is given to the school and nominee whose community demonstrates the most support for his or her nomination. Each winner will receive a cash award that is split between the individual winner and their school. The national Grand Prize award is $10,000. Winners are announced via surprise award ceremonies held at their schools. The top five winners will also be honored at a national awards ceremony in Naples, Florida. Winners will be announced in Spring 2017.

Winners will be chosen by a selection committee comprised of former winners and education professionals. Nominees must be school district employees. Award winners are selected based on the following criteria:

A proven ability to make a beneficial difference in the lives of students; An ability to positively add to the development of the schools atmosphere; Is involved in leadership activities at the school and/or community level; A demonstrative record of excellent performance at the professional level; A commitment to producing a nurturing atmosphere; Adherence to high moral and ethical standards. A resource page with ideas for how to celebrate nominees can be found at http://lifechangeroftheyearnominees.com/showspirit/.

To view Mr. Johnsons, Mr. Kassmans and Mrs. Trieffs LifeChanger of the Year nominee profiles, visit www.LifeChangeroftheYear.com.

Brian Jordan is the Communications Consultant for LifeChanger of the Year.

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February 6th tragedy struck when a commercial aircraft carrying four passengers and the pilot went down near the village of Tuntutuliak, all five are deceased.

At about 1342 hours, Bethel Alaska State Troopers was notified of an overdue Yute Commuter aircraft that was traveling from Bethel to Kipnuk with one pilot and four passengers onboard. At 1350 hours, the plane was located crashed approximately 12 miles southwest of Tuntutuliak. RCC launched a Blackhawk from Bethel to the scene and confirmed that all five aboard are deceased.

Emergency crews responded to the crash site.

On 2/6/2020, one decedent was able to be recovered from the scene. On 2/7/2020, four Troopers, volunteers with Tuntutuliak, personnel and extraction gear from the Bethel Fire Department and personnel from the NTSB responded to the crash site to recover the remaining decedents.

Temperatures were approximately -40 degrees during the recovery effort. In addition to the decedents, at the request of the United States Postal Service, Troopers recovered multiple bags of mail that the plane was transporting.

Yute Commuter Service released the name of the pilot that perished in the plane accident on February 7th. Tony Matthews was flying the Piper PA-32R from Bethel to Kipnuk that crashed at approximately 11 a.m. The four passengers on board were all from Kipnuk.

The decedents were sent to the SMEs office in Anchorage for positive identification and next of kin will be appraised prior to AST releasing the names of those involved.

The Alaska State Troopers would like to thank all the volunteer searchers that participated in the search and recovery effort and to our partner agencies, including the Federal Department of Fish and Wildlife which provided an aircraft to help transport personnel and gear. The two troopers that responded to the scene traveled via snowmachine back to Bethel Post.

Condolences to the Yute Commuter family and to the families of the four passengers.

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Vodafone is planning a $3 billion injection of equity into its Indian unit to prepare for the market debut of new rival Reliance Jio as well as the upcoming spectrum auction.

Indias Economic Times quoted a Vodafone insider saying that: overseas market conditions make it favourable to replace the debt here with equity as the return on equity is higher here and it will cut the debt servicing costs. For the fiscal year of 2015-2016, Vodafone Indias net debt was roughly INR815 billion ($12.2 billion).

An IPO for Vodafones Indian unit is currently scheduled for Q4, and the company has stated that this remains the plan despite rumours suggesting that the offer could face a delay. These likely stem from Vodafones decision to delay the filing of its prospectus for the IPO  initially planned for August  until the end of the year so that it could assess the impact of Jios official 4G launch.

As the markets number two operator, Vodafone is likely to splash out for airwaves in next months 3G and 4G spectrum auction, with a predicted spend of as much as $2 billion. Of the countrys 22 telecom service areas, Vodafone holds 4G spectrum in just nine.

The massive auction  Indias largest ever  is scheduled to start on 1st October, with over 2350MHz of spectrum available across seven 3G and 4G bands. The expected INR5.6 trillion ($83 billion) revenue raised by the auction is expected to massively outstrip the countrys last auction in March 2015, which brought in INR1.1 trillion. However, high base prices are causing some forecasters to revise their expectations down.

Vodafones capital injection can be viewed as a preparatory move to take on Reliance Jio, which is offering subscribers free voice and data until the end of the year. Jios aggressive launch strategy could precipitate a price war in an already fiercely competitive market, as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular all prepare competitive data packages.
US and Dutch authorities have proposed that Telia be fined $1.4 billion over its transgressions in Uzbekistan.

The Swedish firm entered Uzbekistan in 2007, and its activities in the market have been the subject of an investigation for over two years. The fine is one of the largest ever issued by the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Telia chairman Marie Ehrling stated: I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility.

While she noted that the company would comply with the order, she added: With that said, our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyse the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities.

An investigation by Swedish prosecutors has concluded that Telia did not establish how its Uzbek partner obtained the rights that were later acquired by Telia, largely due to an inadequate vetting process. While there is no proof that Telia had in fact paid bribes, there is also no evidence to disprove these claims.

The scandal has resulted in the departure of several top executives at Telia  then branded as TeliaSonera  including former CEO Lars Nyberg, who resigned in early 2013. The operator is currently looking to divest its Eurasian holdings  including in Uzbekistan  in an apparent attempt to distance itself from this region.
AIM-listed manufacturing and specialist services company Redhall Group noted the jump in its share price on Thursday, saying it was likely to be related to the governments approval of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

The board of Redhall considers that its businesses Booth Industries and Jordan Manufacturing, both of which have been responding to tenders for high integrity manufacturing for Hinkley Point C, are well placed to win work should the project progress, it said.

The company said it will make a further announcement as appropriate in due course.

At 1030 BST, Redhall shares were up 23% to 10.70p.

The UK government has given the green light to construction of the 18bn Point C nuclear power project to France's EDF, but added several conditions.

With France's EDF having agreed to pay for two-thirds of the project and China General Nuclear Power Group paying the other third as part of proposed supply of further UK power stations, the government said it would take a "special share" in all future nuclear new build projects to maintain a measure of control.

"Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the Government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation," a statement from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said on Thursday.

The agreement adds a condition to enable the government will be able to prevent the sale of EDFs controlling stake prior to the completion of construction and intervene in the sale of EDFs stake once Hinkley is operational.
Europe and Africa-focused upstream oil and gas company Sound Energy announced its unaudited half year report for the six months to 30 June on Thursday - a period in which it made a significant onshore Morocco gas discovery with the potential for a multi Tcf connected gas field, at Tendrara.

The AIM-traded firm said the first Tendrara well, TE-6, encountered approximately 28 metres of net gas pay in the TAGI reservoir, with flow achieved pre-simulation and 17 mmscf/d achieved on test.

It said it had a significant near term development plan to secure near term cash flow.

Sound Energy reported that Oil & Gas Investment Fund, the partner on the licence, has expressed interest to fund a new pipeline connecting Tendrara to the Gazoduc Maghreb Europe pipeline.

The second well on Tendrara was spud on 25 August, the board reported, with a view to proving a sub-horizontal drilling concept.

It also secured the Meridja exploration permit, adjacent to Tendrara, and completed the acquisition and farm-out of Sidi Moktar licences in Morocco.

In Italy, Sound Energy received the final Badile drilling permission in May, and secured its first farm-out with Schlumberger, who will fund 7.5 m of the first well at Badile in exchange for an option on 20% of the licence.

A memorandum of understanding regarding a rig contract in relation to Badile was signed with Pergemina SPA as well.

On the corporate side, the company said Brian Mitchener, a proven world class hydrocarbon finder, had joined the team as executive vice president of exploration.

Its inclusion in the FTSE AIM UK 50 Index was looming, with effect from 19 September, and migration of trading to SETS, which the board called the LSE premier electronic trading service.

Sound Energy has now completed the refinancing of group debt, with the issue of five year 28.8m bonds.

Despite the progress, Sound Energys shares were down 5.67% at 91.5p at 1133 BST.
US car manufacturer Ford plans to move all of its remaining small car production to Mexico from the US within the next two years.

Chief executive Mark Fields told a meeting in the company's base of Michigan, US, of the intention to move operations out of the country, unexpectedly provoking a reaction from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"Over the next two to three years, we will have migrated all of our small car production to Mexico and out of the United States," Fields told the meeting.

Despite criticism from certain areas surounding the possible loss of jobs in Michigan, Ford have actually made a commitment to invest $9bn in US plants, with about half of that to be placed in the company's base. The deal is set to create or retain 8,500 jobs within the company.

Another of the "Big Three" of American carmakers has already moved the majority of its small car production to Mexico. Fiat Chrysler's only remaining small car in production at the end of this year, the Fiat 500, will be manufactured south of the border.

Trump criticised the decision by Ford in an aptly-scheduled meeting in Flint, Michigan, which has been particularly affected by the moving of jobs to more emerging markets.

"We shouldnt allow it to happen," Trump said. "Theyll make their cars, theyll employ thousands of people, not from this country, and theyll sell their car across the border."
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

Those who habitually put items in their recycling bins that don't belong there are the target of the ordinance amendment, not those who make an occasional, accidental mistake, said Public Works Director Jeff Demers.
Negotiations between the UK and EU will start by the end of 2017 but not until after the German elections, the first president of the European Council said on Thursday.

Initial negotiations can start when the UK triggers Article 50, the formal two-year process of leaving the EU, but substantial talks will not happen until late next year.

Herman van Rompuy told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "Before the German elections and before there is a new German government, I think no serious negotiations will take place.

"You can always start with more technical matters, but the hardcore, the difficult topics, will be tackled after the constitution of a new German government and that will be October, November."

Prime Minister Theresa May said she would not trigger Article 50 this year, but is facing calls from the pro-Brexit contingent of her party to activate the clause in the beginning of 2017, before elections are held in France in April and in Germany in September.

Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip who was largely responsible for former Prime Minister David Cameron calling a referendum on the country's membership of the EU, said on Wednesday he expected Article 50 to be triggered in January.

Van Rompuy, the former prime minister of Belgium, said the country's decision to leave the trading block was political amputation of the first degree and that Britain did not have many friends among the other 27 EU members.

He said the talks will be tough, but hopefully of mutual benefit.

There is not a feeling that we have to punish, but on the other hand, most leaders dont want to encourage other exits. Britain has not many friends any more. I saw this clearly when I was in office, when we had to vote on candidacy of Jean-Claude Juncker for the presidency of the Commission. Britain was isolated.

Cameron was not in favour of Junckers presidency and campaigned against his appointment in 2014.

Van Rompuy said the free movement of people would be a red line if the UK wanted to maintain access to the single market.

Of course, we want an agreement that represents some sort of mutual benefit. There are huge economic interests, but there are also red lines. It is very well known that freedom of movement is one of those red lines.

It is very difficult for the EU to do something else vis-a-vis Britain, compared to what we agreed upon with Norway and Switzerland.

EU leaders are currently gathering to meet in a summit in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, without the UK, to discuss the implication of the Brexit vote and the unions future.
The Italian government will meet on 26 September to decide on a date for the referendum on constitutional reform, the Prime Minister said on Thursday.

Matteo Renzi previously said the referendum would be held between 15 November and 5 December this year.

Italians will vote on the proposal by Renzi, to limit the power of the Senate, the upper house, so it can no longer halt legislation indefinitely, it would get referred to on fewer matters and lose the authority to call a vote of no confidence. It will also rein in the powers of regional governments.

The 315 senators would be replaced by 100 regional councillors and mayors who are indirectly elected or appointed.

Opponents to the constitutional changes said it would give Italian prime ministers too much power.

There have been 63 governments since end of the Second World War, and the country is currently facing a banking crisis, economic stagnation and experiencing high migration.

The referendum is the latest in a series of attempts to address the countrys democratic problems through constitutional reform. Renzi said the changes will save about 500m, which will go to charity fund, and streamline the legislative process.

The referendum, if lost, could have wider ramifications for Europe.

Renzi, who became prime minister in 2014, has staked his political future on the outcome as he said if he does not win he would resign, which would force a general election.

The general election could hand populist eurosceptic party, the Five Star Movement, the opportunity to call for a referendum on the continued membership of the euro. The EU is still reeling from Britain's June referendum which saw the country vote to leave the trading block.

The Five Star Movement and Renzis centre-left Democratic party are nearly tied in polls.

If the referendum is won Renzi would stay in power until the 2018 election, which he said he might be tempted to run again and enact reforms to bureaucracy and the judiciary.

Opinion polls suggested the outcome of the referendum is currently too close to call.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign has released a new doctor's note which states that the 70-year-old is in "excellent physical health", as the race for the White House increasingly focuses on the nominees' physical condition.

Trump would become the oldest president in the United States' history if he were to be elected on November 6.

He had previously been reluctant to release medical records, as well as additional information relating to his taxes and businesses.

Democratic rival Hillary Clinton was forced to cancel three days of campaigning, including a trip to California, after leaving a 9/11 commemoration ceremony abruptly on Sunday morning. She had previously been diagnosed with pneumonia but her campaign decided not to disclose the information initially.

Trump and his supporters have attacked the former Secretary of State's supposedly weak mental and physical condition, with the Republican questioning her ability to deal with pressure situations in a speech in Ohio.

In the press release revealing the New York tycoon's doctor's note, the campaign took a veiled swipe at its rival.

"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr. Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States," the statement read.
Stocks in London were little changed in early trade as investors looked to the latest policy announcement from the Bank of England.

At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 6,663.42.

Meanwhile, oil prices edged up, with West Texas Intermediate 0.2% higher at $43.65 a barrel and Brent crude 0.4% firmer at $46.05.

On the data front, UK retail sales are at 0930 BST, while the BoE rate announcement is at 1200 BST.

Last month, the BoE cut rates for the first time since 2009, by 25 basis points, and embarked on an additional 70bn of asset purchases.

As a result, no change is expected this month, with rates seen on hold at 0.25%.

Ana Thaker, market economist at PhillipCapital UK, said: On all accounts, the Bank of England are expected to do nothing in todays MPC meeting. With a steady release of strong data, the central bank can take credit for their swift action and a serene Carney is unlikely to rock the boat with a reversal of the rate cut or any further action today.

However, as MPC member Kristin Forbes warned in front of the TSC, the recent run of strong data must be taken cautiously with a potential downturn around the corner as Brexit negotiations begin and the economy processes the consequences. Whilst many believe the bank may have acted too soon, lower rates will facilitate the economy if there is a downturn in data over September and October as we approach the end of the year and near closer to the expected triggering of Article 50.

In corporate news, high street fashion stalwart Next was under the cosh after posting a drop in first-half profit and highlighting challenging trading since July.

GlaxoSmithKline nudged down despite saying its shingles vaccine proved highly successful in a trial among elderly patients.

On the upside, supermarket chain Wm. Morrison was on the front foot after it reported a jump in first-half profit.

Informa traded higher after announcing plans to buy Penton Information Services for 1.2bn.

FTSE 250 electronics distributor Electrocomponents surged after saying it expects to post a significant increase in first-half pre-tax profit following stronger-than-anticipated trading.

On the US economic calendar, initial jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed survey at 1330 BST are among the highlights.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,674.50 0.02%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,621.94 -0.05%

techMARK (TASX) 3,448.74 -0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 203.80p 5.27%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,711.00p 2.89%

Tesco (TSCO) 166.15p 2.75%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,231.00p 1.65%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 238.00p 1.23%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 567.40p 1.12%

Admiral Group (ADM) 1,993.00p 0.91%

Standard Life (SL.) 337.50p 0.90%

Informa (INF) 699.50p 0.87%

Experian (EXPN) 1,527.00p 0.86%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,288.00p -4.17%

Next (NXT) 5,075.00p -2.59%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 315.10p -2.08%

Mediclinic International (MDC) 927.00p -1.38%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,614.00p -1.28%

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,335.00p -1.28%

Intu Properties (INTU) 284.80p -0.77%

Mondi (MNDI) 1,573.00p -0.76%

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,125.00p -0.75%

Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,802.50p -0.72%

FTSE 250 - Risers

JRP Group (JRP) 111.60p 14.70%

Electrocomponents (ECM) 326.50p 8.18%

Redrow (RDW) 400.10p 2.59%

Booker Group (BOK) 182.10p 2.42%

Acacia Mining (ACA) 494.00p 2.07%

IP Group (IPO) 186.20p 2.03%

Allied Minds (ALM) 330.00p 1.73%

RPC Group (RPC) 865.00p 1.29%

DFS Furniture (DFS) 264.30p 1.23%

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 143.50p 1.20%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 254.50p -5.46%

Inmarsat (ISAT) 710.00p -3.86%

Sports Direct International (SPD) 295.20p -3.59%

Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 208.80p -2.43%

AO World (AO.) 161.40p -2.18%

CMC Markets (CMCX) 226.00p -1.65%

BBA Aviation (BBA) 233.10p -1.65%

Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 534.50p -1.47%

Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,088.00p -1.45%

Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 316.00p -1.43%
The UK government has given the go-head for construction of the 18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power project to France's EDF, but added several conditions.

With France's EDF having agreed to pay for two-thirds of the project, with China General Nuclear Power Group paying the other third as part of proposed supply of further UK power stations, the government it would take a "special share" in all future nuclear new build projects to maintain a measure of control.

"Following a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, and a revised agreement with EDF, the Government has decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation," a statement from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said on Thursday.

The agreement adds a condition to enable the government will be able to prevent the sale of EDFs controlling stake prior to the completion of construction and intervene in the sale of EDFs stake once Hinkley is operational.

Greg Clark, secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, said: "Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the governments agreement. Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation."

"Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy, and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security."

As well as questions over national security from the agreement with China, one of the other controversies around Hinkley has been the set price of energy agreed.

The government intends to set a price of 92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity provided by Hinkley Point C for 35 years once it begins generating, with the difference between the strike price and the wholesale price paid for through consumer bills, in the same way as other clean technologies such as offshore wind.
Supermarket chain Wm. Morrisons released its interim numbers for the half year to 31 July on Thursday, with first half like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT up 1.4%.

The FTSE 100 firm said total turnover was almost flat, reducing 0.4% to 8.03bn, though underlying profit before tax rose 11% to 157m, or up 34% including the prior years restructuring costs.

Underlying earnings per share were up 35% to 5.04p, and the company had free cash flow of 558m, up from 479m.

During the period, Morrisons reduced its net debt by 477m to 1.27bn, below its year-end target.

Its board declared an interim dividend of 1.58p, representing a 5.3% rise year-on-year.

The new team has made a real difference and delivered further good progress across the board in the first half, said Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson.

Prices are lower, customers are being served better and quality is improving, as demonstrated by Morrisons winning a number of recent prestigious awards such as the 2016 Meat and Fish Retailer of the Year.

We remain on track to deliver improved profits and returns for shareholders, he added.

Chief executive David Potts said the company is pleased with positive like-for-like sales and 11% underlying profit growth in the first half.

Our priorities are unchanged - we have made improvements to the shopping trip for customers and we plan to do more, he said.

I would like to thank the entire Morrisons team of food makers and shopkeepers who are working very hard to Fix, Rebuild and Grow Morrisons. This turnaround opportunity is in our own hands and I am confident we will succeed.

High street fashion stalwart Next showed sales growth across the business in its half-year results on Thursday, but earnings were still facing an uphill battle in its retail division.

The FTSE 100 retailer posted sales growth of 0.1% in retail for the six months to July to 1.084bn, with directory sales rising 7.1% to 821.2m and total group sales increasing 2.6% to 1.96bn.

Divisional profit at Next retail slipped by 16.8% for the period, however, to 133.9m, though directory managed a 10.9% increase to 204.2m, with group operating profit down 0.4% to 360.5m.

Profit before tax was up 1.5% at 342.1m, with earnings per share adding 0.8% to 188.6p.

As expected, it has been a challenging year so far, with economic and cyclical factors working against us, and it looks set to remain that way until mid-October at the earliest, said Next chief executive Lord Wolfson.

We remain clear about where we need to focus our energies and continue to work on the priorities we set out at the beginning of the year.

Lord Wolfson said the company will continue its efforts to improve buying processes, pushing the boundaries of what it can achieve in terms of design and quality.

It will also upgrade the UK directory business, developing new ways of recruiting customers, stimulating sales from existing customers, presenting its website, personalising the offer and improving the delivery service.

He explained that the board will also focus on continuing to develop the directory division's two growth businesses - label and overseas - as well as develop and profitably expand the UK retail store network, and control costs through innovation.
Boosted by encouraging retail data and a serene Bank of England, the FTSE 100 turned higher by Thursday afternoon, with Morrisons topping the index.

Interim results from the Yorkshire-based supermarket group strongly beat the market's estimates, with first half like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT up 1.4% thanks to second-quarter LFL sales up 2% versus a consensus forecast of 1%.

Though total turnover was down 0.4% underlying profit before tax rose 11% to 157m, or up 34% including the prior years restructuring costs and and around 5% ahead of the consensus forecast of 149m.

With Morrisons the second most shorted stock in the FTSE, with around 18% of its shares on loan, City commentators suggested there was a large technical short position which could lead to some "burnt fingers" among shorters if the companys fortunes continue to recover.

Investors felt sufficiently confident to stock up on fellow grocery giants Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC was also bubbling higher after analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded their recommendation and lifted their target price on the shares given the attractive topline growth and earnings potential.

Faster growth in asset turns should also drive stronger returns on invested capital, analysts said, with CCH also offering better visibility on margins via cost synergies and was expected to deliver higher organic growth than peers.

RSA Insurance was also on the front foot, marking its largest one-day gain since June, as a big buyer stepped in during the closing auction.

The Financial Times' FTAlphaville blog noted the talk earlier in the summer about longer-term strategic options at the insurer, including that chief executive Stephen Hester might consider his job done.

Ratings agency Fitch also said UK motor insurance premiums are likely to continue rising because the levels of reserve releases that have supported profitability in recent years are unsustainable in the long term.

Investors liked the look of business intelligence, events and academic publishing company Informa's agreed 1.2bn acquisition of US-based peer Penton, even though a 715m .

Broker Canaccord said the fit between the companies "looks sensible", with Penton bringing 30 large scale exhibitions, representing only circa 35% of revenues and around 60% of operating profit.

"This is an ambitious transaction, paying a similar valuation to the Hanly Woods acquisition of 2014, but for a business five times the size, and with a broader spread of activities. But we expect the balance sheet will remain healthy post deal, with leverage at a still-comfortable circa 2.2 times."

Among the fallers there were several stocks going ex-dividend, led by pensions, savings and investment group Hargeaves Lansdown, whose shares were further hit by a downgrade from Liberum to sell from buy due to further downside risks.

The brokerage said that while there is no doubting the companys formidable track record and the strength of the business model, trading on a price-to-earnings of 36x with the prospect of consensus downgrades and significant industry headwinds, the risk/reward is unfavourable.

It pointed out that full-year 2016 results were 4-5% ahead of expectations, helped by a more positive market movement than originally expected, with group net income margin slightly ahead of Liberums forecasts at 0.56%.

On the day that official retail industry data was confirmed as holding relatively steady, sector heavyweight Next reported mixed interim results and that current trading remains challenging.

First-half PBT of 342m was down on last year but better than some analyst forecasts, with retail margins down 2.5 percentage points mainly due to a the higher markdown from the larger end of season sale, while July's full price sales were subdued.

Trading in August was "challenging and volatile", which was assumed to be due to unusually warm weather.

"On that basis the outlook for September is even worse, giving yet another poor start to Autumn/Winter," said Credit Suisse.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,695.70 0.34%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,690.97 0.34%

techMARK (TASX) 3,457.86 0.20%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 207.70p 7.28%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,724.00p 3.67%

RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 526.50p 3.44%

Tesco (TSCO) 166.85p 3.18%

Informa (INF) 712.50p 2.74%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,235.00p 1.98%

Diageo (DGE) 2,112.50p 1.86%

Standard Life (SL.) 340.00p 1.64%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 570.00p 1.59%

Wolseley (WOS) 4,378.00p 1.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,271.00p -5.43%

Next (NXT) 4,954.00p -4.91%

Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 313.40p -2.61%

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,295.00p -1.82%

Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,714.00p -1.63%

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 195.40p -1.01%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,620.00p -0.92%

British Land Company (BLND) 617.00p -0.88%

Barclays (BARC) 168.90p -0.82%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 484.40p -0.82%
As I was watching Dig Mandarins wonderful video Ordering and Eating Hot Pot in China, I was reminded of my own experiences with this culinary delight in Beijing. I first became aware of this type of cuisine when I asked one of my Chinese students about a restaurant across from the (xi men, west gate) of the PKU campus called, mysteriously (to me), in English, Famed Restaurant for Rinse and Grill Meat. Thats a  (huo guo, hot pot) restaurant, she explained. Never having heard of this type of restaurant before, I was happy when some time later a Chinese friend invited me to dinner at one, where the concoction we assembled in a large wok in the middle of the table looked like this:

So all of this reminiscing made me think about how important a role food plays in ones quest to understand a culture and its language. Indeed, the most common question I would get, after telling someone that I had just gotten back from China, was How was the food? I would tell them that 90% of what I had to eat in China was absolutely deliciousPeking Roast Duck (, Bei jing kao ya), Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish (songshu gui yu), any stir-fried vegetable (especially green beans or broccoli), and my favorite of all time, dumplings (jiaozi). The other 10% of the food I occasionally encountered was a little weird (fried scorpions on a stick, little white sauteed silk worms, a melange of duck tongues, and a tureen of chicken soup with AN ENTIRE CHICKEN, FEET AND HEAD INCLUDED inside), but I could easily pass up any of those for the majority of really tasty Chinese dishes.

The problem was how to order such wonderful food if I was on my own in China. Left to my own devices and forced to eat out nearly every day (because my hotel room had no cooking facilities), I quickly figured out some useful ways to keep from starving (or avoid eating goose intestines). Here are three of them:
Bottom line: How did the Buckeyes grade vs. Penn State?

Grading Ryan Day and the rest of the Buckeyes after Ohio State's win over Penn State.
Subscriber content preview

By STEVEN DUBOIS

Associated Press

PORTLAND  When a group of armed protesters occupied a remote bird sanctuary in Oregon's high desert early this year, their weekslong standoff drew national attention to the decades-old fight between the federal government and Western states over land policy.

For weeks, the federal government allowed the occupation to continue, causing speculation as to why authorities would not move in and re-take the site. The occupation that started Jan. 2, ended after 41 days. On Tuesday, opening statements began in the federal trial of seven of the protesters.





. . .
On the Block: Up with the U District! But will Murray's upzone proposal take the area beyond student ghetto?



Real Estate Reporter By BRIAN MILLER Real Estate Reporter

To the surprise of no one, Mayor Ed Murray proposed a dramatically taller https://goo.gl/maps/K82aqf8zcxy" target="_blank">U District core on Monday.

Ever since Sound Transit 2 mapped out a light-rail route from Westlake to Northgate (with stops at Capitol Hill, Husky Stadium, the U District, and Northeast 65th Street), it was a given that more density would come.

The U District station, at Northeast 45th Street and Brooklyn Avenue Northeast, will open with the rest of the line to Northgate in 2021.

The eye-catching number in Murray's plan, to be considered by the City Council this fall, was 320. That's the possible maximum height  the range is 95 to 320 feet  that would be permitted along 45th between the freeway and University Way Northeast (aka The Ave). Spreading a few blocks north and south, mixed-use projects would stair-step down in height to 85 feet  along the UW's western border  and a range of 75 to 240 feet.

At present, the two tallest structures in the U District are the 22-story UW Tower, formerly Safeco Tower, at 325 feet, and the historic 16-story Hotel Deca, at about 170 feet.

Courtesy Sound Transit [enlarge] A rendering of the U District Station.

Currently, a quick survey of Ethan Phelps-Goodman's invaluable website Seattle in Progress, and the city's knock-off, Shaping Seattle, reveals about a dozen projects proposed for the U District area, none taller than eight stories. Most are mixed-use/residential, of the economical wood-frame-over-concrete-base variety; and most were surely conceived during the five years of hearings and advisory panels about the U District upzone.

All are plainly aimed at students, though a few UW employees might also trade square footage for a commute-by-foot.

Looking ahead, however, the market could change with new zoning and a projected eight-minute (!) commute to Westlake Station. It'll be five minutes to Northgate, for those who feel like shopping there.

Will developers come running, checkbooks in hand? They're playing it mum for now  none returned my calls under a tight deadline yesterday.

But don't expect developers to race to 320 feet, says Matthew Gardner, chief economist for Windermere Real Estate. He sees 240 feet as more financially viable, adding, Builders will not build if there's not a sufficient yield.

Additional costs will include affordable-housing fees (subject to a council increase) and the difficulty of assembling parcels thanks to the U District's fractured ownership among many absentee landlords, he says.

Gardner calls the potentially taller, more dense U District a great siting in terms of mass transit. Could it attract downtown commuters and change the neighborhood's demographic mix? I believe that it would.

Meanwhile, as all longtime local shoppers lament, the Ave is a rundown retail wasteland, like a set for The Walking Dead. Where Millar-Pollard, Nordstrom and The Yankee Peddler once stood, we now have noodle bars, nail shops, T-shirt vendors and a few national chains (Starbucks included). Oh, and the intractable homeless population and aggressive panhandlers. Plus the drug dealing and petty street crime.

Though, to be fair, most students don't have much money to spend. And the Ave's retail heyday preceded Amazon and big-box stores.

For the neighborhood to recover, and become attractive to developers, requires both more economic diversity  both working professionals and student paupers  and safe, engaging streets. It's a classic chicken-egg problem for both city planners and urbanist developers.

Courtesy University of Washington [enlarge] UW Tower will still be tallest.

U District merchants have long complained to me that 1) University Village stole all the upscale retailers and customers, and 2) that longtime landowners on the Ave and surrounding blocks had adopted a stingy, wait-and-hold attitude toward development. For decades they've been assuming  correctly, as it turns out  that one day height and density would come to the U District. Then and only then could they unlock the value to their land.

Assuming the City Council approves the upzone early next year (presumably with minor changes), is that great unlocking nigh? Might nicer, taller buildings attract an older, more affluent class of renter? (We won't speculate about condo buyers.)

Certainly it has that potential says Gardner. It's a remarkable opportunity.

But, he cautions, It's going to be difficult. It gonna have to make financial sense.

(Editors note: There is another tall building in the U District: the 23-story University Plaza Condominium at 4580 Eighth Ave. N.E. On the Block was referring to existing tall buildings in the central U District -- along the 45th/University Way. University Plaza is in the northwest corner of the area proposed for a rezone. )





Brian Miller can be reached by email at brian.miller@djc.com or by phone at (206) 219-6517.





Got a tip? Contact DJC real estate editor Brian Miller at brian.miller@djc.com or call him at (206) 219-6517.





Previous columns:


-- Jean Paul-Sartre; Anti-Semite and Jew

Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
India has promised $1 billion in aid to Afghanistan as part of its efforts to further strengthen their strategic partnership and strengthen all-round cooperation. The announcement was made on Wednesday during Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's visit to New Delhi. During talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both leaders expressed happiness at the close and regular consultations between India and Afghanistan at all levels, which have served to guide their bilateral relations. In a statement issued after meeting Ghani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged the financial help to back India's "abiding support for a unified, sovereign, democratic, peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan". War-torn Afghanistan needs international support to rebuild its economy, but such efforts are frustrated by continued violence. Both leaders expressed "grave concern at continued use of terrorism and violence in the region for achieving political objectives." Recalling that India-Afghanistan bilateral development cooperation has assisted Afghanistan's own efforts for successful political, security and economic transitions, the two leaders noted with happiness the recent completion of major milestones such as Parliament Building and the Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam. The President stressed the significance of the Prime Minister's assurance conveyed during the joint inauguration of Storay Palace on 22 August 2016 via a video link that 1.25 billion people of India firmly stand with their Afghan brothers and sisters. Afghanistan, which survived the Soviet invasion of 1979 and a prolonged Taliban insurgency since then, however, needs to fend for itself as the United States scales back its military presence in the country. "Forty years of violence would have broken any other country," Ghani said in a speech to Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, a government-funded think tank, declaring himself "delighted" with Modi's aid pledge. The former World Bank official said that while armed conflict posed a great threat, it was also vital to build market institutions that could lift living standards in a nation where 70 per cent of people live on less than $2 a day. Both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to counter terrorism and strengthen security and defence cooperation as envisaged in the India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement. It was agreed that the Strategic Partnership Council headed by the External Affairs Minister of India and the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan will meet shortly, review the recommendations of the four Joint Working Groups dealing with diverse areas of cooperation and impart further guidance. The leaders expressed satisfaction over signing of the Extradition Treaty, the Agreement on cooperation in civil and commercial matters and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Outer Space during the President's visit. It was also stressed that expeditious implementation of the trilateral agreement involving Afghanistan, India and Iran, signed in May 2016, using Chahbahar will augment connectivity within and of the region. In this context, the leaders appreciated the recent decision taken by the three countries to convene a joint forum involving important stake holders, including from business and industry. Both leaders welcomed intensification in the interaction involving India and Afghanistan with regional and other countries and international organisations to foster peace, stability and development in Afghanistan. They appreciated, in particular, the outcome of the India-Iran-Afghanistan trilateral consultations and looked forward to the resumption of India-US-Afghanistan consultations in New York later this month. The Prime Minister conveyed to the President that India would continue to engage with the international community to assist the government of Afghanistan in all possible ways. The European Union and Afghanistan will host a donor conference on Oct. 5 in Brussels attended by 70 states and 30 international organisations and agencies, to seek backing for reforms to stabilise and develop the Central Asian country.








World Bank, New Development Bank sign MoU on cooperation

World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim and New Development Bank (NDB) President KV Kamath on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions, to strengthen cooperation in addressing the world's enormous infrastructure needs.

The memorandum formalises the World Bank Group-NDB knowledge partnership that has accompanied the establishment of the NDB and paves the way for the two institutions to explore country-level cooperation, a World bank release stated.

''I'm delighted that today we are formalizing our partnership,'' Kim said. ''Signing this agreement enables our institutions to strengthen our collaboration. When the world's multilateral banks work closely together, and support development that promotes inclusive growth in low- and middle-income countries, the poor and the vulnerable benefit the most.''

NDB and WBG's cooperative efforts will focus primarily on infrastructure. Currently, 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion lack basic sanitation services. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the World Bank Group invested $25 billion in infrastructure.

The agreement between the NDB and WBG highlights potential common areas of interest, including exploring and pursuing opportunities for the co-financing of projects; facilitating knowledge exchange regarding their operations, in accordance with their respective policies and procedures; exploring and pursuing opportunities for advisory services; and facilitating secondments and staff exchanges.

"I am very pleased to sign this memorandum of understanding together with World Bank Group President Kim," Kamath said. "We greatly appreciate timely support offered by the World Bank Group throughout our establishment process, and look forward to advancing and deepening our cooperation. We at the NDB, will listen, learn and collaborate to promote sustainable infrastructure development in our member countries."

The NDB, located in Shanghai, aims to promote infrastructure and sustainable development with an initial focus on BRICS countries, complementing the efforts of other financial institutions to realise the common goal of global growth. In February 2016, the NDB became fully operational, the release said.


At the Venice Biennale, the Parisian studio DGT (Dorell Ghotmeh Tane / Architects) was awarded the Grand Prix AFEX 2016 of French architecture in the world, with the design for the Estonian National Museum in Tartu (Estonia), which will be inaugurated this coming October.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, Estonian National Museum in Tartu (Estonia). Photo Takuji Shimmura

It was this design  the competition dates to 2005  that gave birth to the architecture studio with multiculturalism in its DNA and in the origins of its three founders: the Italian-Israeli Dan Dorell, the Lebanese Lina Ghotmeh and the Japanese Tsuyoshi Tane. They share the same idea of sustainable design, of inventing unexpected and unique solutions so that architecture doesnt have a considerable impact on the environment and the planets increasingly limited resources. Indeed, for DGT, buildings should really be productive, that is, able to regenerate and give the environment resources in an active way. Therefore, all the of the Parisian studios designs  many have been built, while some have not  treat the theme of sustainability between architecture and environment in a non-conventional, absolutely inventive way.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, Estonian National Museum in Tartu (Estonia). Photo Takuji Shimmura

The realization of the Estonian National Museum  from the competition to the actual building phase  lasted about ten years. A symbol of an emerging Estonia, this design aims to salvage a Soviet military base, extending the landing strip in cement and outlining a form that lifts off from the ground and emblematically takes flight. Of particular interest is the study and identification of this architectures energy aspects that  with a surface area of 34,000 sqm  hosts an impressive collection of 140,000 objects. Energy is saved thanks to a simple design solution, without resorting to complex technologies that would require constant and costly maintenance. In fact, the museums archive runs the ecological machine. With 10,000 sqm of ethnographic archives containing very delicate objects  made from textile, wood, paper  the archive must be kept at constant a humidity and temperature, without any surges. Thats why, besides being found below grade, its built with a material that absorbs surrounding dampness like a sponge: therefore, no special system, just appropriate and targeted construction choices. Outside, the buildings insulation is guaranteed by triple-chamber glass panels, along the side facades, and by cladding with a thick insulation layer.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, single-family house for Oiso. Photo Takumi Ota

In the single-family house for Oiso, built for a private client in Japan, simple and ancient traditional housing techniques were employed. The house is made up of two distinct parts: the level on the ground floor has walls that were built with dirt from the excavation worksite, which allows the rooms to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Instead, the top floor  a large, wooden, primordial-shaped shed  is ventilated thanks to a long ribbon window. The studio has taken part in many competitions  some of which were won and later built  that deserve attention for their creative solutions regarding energy issues.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, single-family house for Oiso. Photo Takumi Ota

In the contest for the New Science Centre of Naples, in Bagnoli, destroyed by arson in 2013, DGT studio  which ranked third  faced the theme of an area with enormous ecological problems due to pollution. Therefore, the building takes on an active role in renewing the polluted grounds due to the industrial activities of the former steelworks, Ilva Italsider. Through phytoregeneration, that is, the use of plants as veritable biofactories that eliminate pollution, the land could be reclaimed.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, contest for the New Science Centre of Naples, in Bagnoli.  DGT

This entails eco-friendly technologies already employed in other European projects, including recuperating the former Falck industrial area by Renzo Piano. The fundamental innovation of the design for Bagnoli lies in compensating the excessive costs of decontaminating the land with an  economically advantageous  linked activity that creates and makes organic energy and materials, like paper. The ecological goal, according to DGT, must therefore always be supported by an economic incentive.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, design for the stadium in Tokyo.  DGT

The design for the stadium in Tokyo also includes vegetation that is used as a resource that turns the construction into a biomachine active in balancing out the environments energy. Here, the totally green cladding transforms the stadium into a hillside the public can enjoy. In the Expo 2015 Italian Pavilion design  never built  the construction is the scenario of an itinerary that starts from a seed and ends with trash: a ramp, similar to a field, allows visitors to experience nature from sowing to harvesting, including organic waste, which is recycled, according to circular economy.

Dan Dorell, Lina Ghotmeh and Tsuyoshi Tane, design for the nineteenth-century Gare Massena in Paris.  DGT

These concepts can also be found in the prestigious competition Reinventer Paris, promoted by the City of Paris, that selected, from among 360 proposals, the finalist urban designs, aimed at twenty-three locations in the capital. DGT won the contest in February 2016, with a design for the nineteenth-century Gare Massena, a noteworthy historical example of Pariss belt railway: a new tower-shaped building becomes part of the existing station, developing as a spiral that hosts various functions related to food and the food chain. Described by the French daily Le Monde as the most ecological design in the competition, this sort of farm tower of Babel perfectly epitomises the ideas of these architects: optimise waste  both concerning food and architecture  in an overall vision to reuse the dwindling resources of the planet while offering, at the same time, public and open spaces to live.
"Do you want another bun," Evelyn Britton asked as she put more temptation in front of me at her beautiful home in Donegal town.

It would have been bad manners to say no.

As I left her home, half a stone heavier and with two pints of tea lowered, the thought struck me, apart from not knowing when to leave the table, that people are amazing.

Evelyn and her daughter Mella, are so typical of so many across Donegal, willing to literally throw the doors open for a great cause, Hospice. Everyone is welcome and based on my time there, several hundred would have had a wee bun and a cuppa over the course of the morning in that house.

For several years now the Britton family home on the Ballyshannon Road in Donegal town has hosted a Coffee Morning, but going by the huge numbers coming and going this morning, they are almost at cottage industry scale now. It really was busy.

The house never cooled and the kettles were on the boil with a small army of willing helpers making sure everyone got a wee slice of something gorgeous. The shortbread put the tin hat on it for me. All willpower gone.

I know there are Evelyn and Mella Brittons all over Donegal and all over Ireland doing their bit for Hospice, and I know the organisation will gain vital funds from the spirit and generosity of so many, hence these few lines to say well done to all, I raise a cup to you!

If you have had a coffee morning, be sure to let us know, send us a photo (or two!) and let us know who you are and where you hosted your event.
Eufaula City Schools superintendent Elisabeth Davis said she prefers city school systems because of the partnership city systems have with their respective city councils.

She was at the council meeting on Tuesday night to promote such a relationship between ECS and the council, which appoints board members and provides some funding for the system. Davis started by recognizing each of the council members based on their years of service on the council.

Davis also gave a brief overview of the good things happening since school started and outlined a few challenges, as well.

With the short summer, we were hard pressed to get everything we wanted to do done this summer, she said. So, some of them are still underway. But we have the bathrooms at the primary school finished.

Davis said they will look at starting later in August for next years calendar.

Councilman Lucious Cobbs was interested in the progress of Head Start, which moved to the Eufaula Early Learning Center facility on State Docks Road this year. The city and the school system worked to bring Head Start to that location. Head Start opened for students this week.

In other education related news, the council honored Lauren Garlits as winner of the state Extreme Birdhouse competition through 4-H.

Garlits birdhouse was crafted the bird house to resemble an owl. The habitat was constructed to house an Eastern screech owl, which is native to Alabama.

Its a great opportunity that 4-H has provided for me to learn about nature, said Garlits. I cut down my first tree with this project and researched what type of house I would need to attract these owls.

Council President Bob Powers said it means a lot to the city to see its young people representing Eufaula well at the state and national level.

Mayor Jack Tibbs also said, (The bird house) is very creative.

The new extension to the Yoholo Micco Walking Trail downtown will be open soon. Now designated as an Alabama Birding Trail, Tibbs commented they would need birdhouses along the trail, soon.
Audi will soon be offering genuinely super-car levels of performance for less than $100,000, with the outrageously powerful 2.5-litre five-cylinder from the all-new TT RS set to fire up the hot-hatch RS3.

Audi's technical program manager Stephan Reil confirmed to Drive that the second generation of the super-light and super-loud five-cylinder will find its way into other quattro GmbH products.

"This is the new engine, everything is new about it, and it makes its first appearance here in the TT RS, but our other five-cylinder projects will, of course, move to this engine now as well," Reil explained.

"It should be quite exciting."

That's putting it mildly. The next version of the RS3, which currently starts at $78,9000, will be lighter as the new 2.5 is constructed largely of aluminium and magnesium and a whopping 26kg lighter than its predecessor as a result. It will also be significantly more powerful (power is up 29kW to

294kW in the TT version, while torque bumps from 465Nm to 480Nm) and will surely smash the 0 to 100km/h dash in under four seconds (the TT RS manages 3.7).

Audi Australia confirmed it would definitely be interested in the car, if and when it gets built.

The freakish five-cylinder will also up the excitement levels of the RS Q3, which Reil confirmed would also get the treatment.

Reil, a hugely passionate engineer who drives a TT RS as his company car of choice, also explained that getting the second generation's 100km/h sprint down to 3.7 seconds was about more than just a 12 per cent jump in pure power.

"For sure, the power helps, but it's also the mapping of the launch control, the program structure is better and that helps the number come down," he says.

"The tyres - Pirelli P Zeros - have also improved, which helps with corner speeds, but not so much the launch. On a four-wheel drive you don't have spinning tyres anyway."

Audi brought an old TT RS to the new car's launch at the Jarama circuit in Madrid and did some back-to- back data to track the improvements. The results surprised even them.

"When we brought the old car here to measure them back to back, of course we all had bets what the difference would be, and we estimated it could be three, maybe three and a half seconds a lap at most, but it was well over five seconds," he says, grinning.

"Even we were blown away at how much faster the new car is, because while it's 18km/h faster down the straight, it's up to 12km/h or 13km/h faster mid-corner here as well.

"Tyre development makes a difference to those higher mid-corner speeds, plus the fact we're now on 20-inch wheels rather than 19s, but it's also because it's better balanced than the old car.

"It's lighter in the front due to the new engine, and the chassis is stiffer. Altogether that results in higher cornering speeds, higher lateral acceleration.

"It's a big, big jump forward."

We can't wait to see what those improvements do to the already sizzling, and significantly more affordable, RS3.

Read all the latest Audi news and reviews here
Superheroes all have alter egos, created to mask their hidden powers and allow them to blend into the everyday world.

But I think I have just uncovered one. Or at least the motoring equivalent of a superhero.

It's the Mercedes-Benz E350d, the latest variant of the fifth generation E-Class to arrive in local showrooms, sitting in the middle of the range between the four cylinder E200 and E220d and the upcoming twin-turbo V6 petrol-powered E400 and E43 AMG models.

Because of its position, it could be easily overlooked as, at $134,900 (plus on-roads), it is not the most affordable. Likewise in terms of performance, with 190kW and 620Nm from its twin-turbo diesel V6, it isn't the most powerful. Nor is it the pinnacle of luxury. And it's not as efficient as the smaller diesel E220d or the upcoming E350e plug-in hybrid with its petrol electric powertrain.

But it might just be the best one of them all.

At first glance, it looks completely unassuming - especially in the conservative black paint job of our test car - and just like any other Mercedes-Benz sedan (which admittedly is a bit of an issue for the German brand - determining the pecking order between the C-Class, E-Class and S-Class - as they all carry a certain homogenous style). But, having spent a week touring New Zealand in the stealthy sedan, the E350d is definitely Clark Kent-esque.

First of all, the 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, which is carried over from its predecessor but re-worked slightly for the new E, is an absolute gem of an engine. It is whisper quiet and completely relaxed at any speed, using the tidal surge of torque (it's V8-like peak pulling power is on tap from just 1600rpm) and the invisible-shifting of the new nine-speed automatic gearbox to move along effortlessly at any speed.

It's also still remarkably efficient for such a large car. Mercedes-Benz claims it sips an average of 5.1L/100km - less than some small hatchbacks - and it's not far from the real world as we've recorded just over the 6L mark that included long stretches of enthusiastic hill climbs in the New Zealand Alps.

And that is where the E350d is most surprising. At a steady pace on the highways it is utterly relaxing, but on a twisty back road it is as rapid as you'll ever want a luxury limousine it to be. Simply dip your right toe on the accelerator and it picks up pace for quick overtakes with alarming, yet fuss-free, speed. Or, switch the Drive Controller from its default comfort setting to either Sport or Sport+ (or tailor the Individual mode with your preferred settings for the engine's responsiveness, the gearbox's shift patterns, the weight of the steering and the sharpness of the standard air suspension) and the E350d transforms into a highly competent corner carver, masking its near two-tonne mass with the kind of dynamic abilities you'd never expect from an executive sedan.

Part of that is down to its lighter, stiffer body construction but also the air suspension, which offers a beautiful balance between plush everyday comfort and taut body control, as well as the mechanical grip derived from the four-link front and multi-link rear suspension and the grippy, staggered width Pirelli P Zero tyres wrapped around the AMG 20-inch alloy wheels.

As for the rest of the E-Class' package, the 350d adds to the comprehensive list of equipment already offered on the base model E200 and E220d with heated leather front seats (which were greatly appreciated on chilly spring mornings), a full length panoramic sunroof (which exposed more of New Zealand's magnificent scenery into the cabin), heads-up display (which ensured I kept a check on my speed), multi-beam LED headlights (which lit up the back country roads at night while not dazzling on-road traffic) and a 13-speaker Burmester audio system (which still has my ears ringing after cranking the volume to max for most of the week).

They all add to the ambience of one of the most dramatic yet luxurious cabins around at the moment. The E-Class borrows most of its hardware from the flagship S-Class, including its twin 12.3-inch digital displays that dominate the dash, the clean yet logical layout of ancillary buttons and the touchpad/rotary controller to control the myriad of functions in the multi media system. However, it also brings some advances of its own, such as the touchpads on the horizontal spokes of the steering wheel, multiple themes for the presentation of the instrument panel and a revised interface for the sat nav and other functions. It can all be a bit overwhelming at first (and even those familiar with Mercedes functions will need time to work through the new system), but it becomes more and more intuitive the more you use it.

It's the same with the E-Class' semi-autonomous driving functions too. The latest lane-keeping assistance and radar cruise control functions combine to be smoother, less intrusive and not as binary as before in the way it tugs the wheel to keep you centred in the lane or slows down when behind other traffic. But it's still not perfect and not quite the self-driving car yet.

But even super heroes have a few faults of their own. The E350d doesn't have too many though hiding under its cloak of secrecy.

2016 Mercedes-Benz E350d pricing and specifications

Price: $134,900 (plus on-roads)

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel

Power: 190kW at 4000rpm

Torque: 620Nm at 1600rpm

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic, RWD

Fuel Use: 5.1L/100km
Home Four wheelers Due To High Demand, Skoda Will Import Yeti From Russia To Europe oi-Sreejith

Skoda launched its first crossover Yeti back in 2009. Since it's launch it has been a success story for the Czech manufacturer even though reviews weren't that great. Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson praised the Yeti in one the episodes as the best car in the world and he landed a helicopter on top of the car.

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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.
In todays increasingly fast-paced and interconnected world of business, it has become necessary for SMBs to have a website. But without the right tools and knowledge, your website is likely to be a wasted investment  and worse, it could harm business.

On the other hand, a well-designed website that aligns with your brand, and offers visitors fresh and relevant content, will help your business. It is the best way to generate new leads  and your homepage is where it all starts. Every business owner should view their websites homepage as the companys virtual front door because generally, itll be drawing in majority of your websites traffic. So where do you start with a great looking company website? Heres a few essentials you dont want to skip!

1. Opt for a Reliable Web Hosting Company

After youve registered a domain name, youll want to find a reputable hosting company you can rely on. Consider the business brand and nature of your company when choosing, and look for one thats within your country that offers responsive support. Its best to know your hosting needs before making the final decision too. Think about what applications youll need, how big or small the web traffic volume will go and what features and add-ons they offer.

Price, area of focus, hardware and tech support will all come into play too. Backup and security options (vital for websites accepting online payments) are essential to keep your website and content safe and it pays to check out customers reviews, the web hostings reputation and client satisfaction before you pick. Make sure you review web hosting upgrade options, the hosting control panel to ensure its user-friendly and the terms and conditions for account suspension and user policies.

2. Optimise for Major Search Engines

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a vital part of a great website and helps to put your hard work in front of the right people. Utilising reputable SEO techniques keeps your blog or website ranking higher in organic search results for major search engines like Google, so your potential buyers or prospects can find your product/service easily.

SEO is paramount for attracting more quality traffic to your site and relies on quality content, internal links and meta descriptions to be effective. Image SEO is also important (and makes your content more appealing for readers) and should be optimised accordingly with appropriate ALT and title tags so the search engine spiders can crawl them. Creating a website thats mobile-friendly and compatible with multiple browsers will boost SEO value too! For maximum impact, integrate with social media and Google+ author verification.

3. Utilise a Clean, User-Friendly Design

Website designs that are simple and clean create bigger appeal. Quality is key  with ample amounts of white space so viewers arent distracted by too many graphics or large amounts of text. Design with your target visitors in mind with a proper balance between customised templates and intuitive layouts. Make sure users can navigate easily across all your pages; with fast loading pages, mobile-friendly design and high quality photos and content.

Cramming too much information onto one page turns readers off in an instant so use only what you need. Clean and user-friendly web designs are paramount for creating an experience where people want to return to your site. Often, users will associate the quality of your website with your product and service too, thus; a clean design is essential to keep readers interested.

4. Incorporate an Effective Colour Scheme and Branding

An effective colour scheme and business branding go hand-in-hand with a clean, user-friendly design. The colours you use are more important than people give credit for because of the different emotional responses they can evoke. Keep your business branding (the voice of your company) in the forefront of your mind when designing the website and utilise relevant colours to reflect what your brand or service is all about. A good rule of thumb to follow when choosing a colour scheme is the 60-30-10 rule; which suggests you should use three different colours in the ratio of 60%, 30% and 10%. This offers a simple way to create a professional colour scheme for your business brand, without distracting readers with too many colour and design clashes.

5. Create an Active Blog with Great Content

A content strategy should be defined at the very start of building a website to ensure your site delivers something truly unique. An active blog with fresh, relevant content is critical in the business realm and every company should make content marketing a priority for future success. Utilise onsite content via a blog to feed customers information about your latest products, industry news and product or company related information.

An active blog with helpful and engaging content will keep users coming back to your site, regardless whether they need to purchase your product or use your service right away. Ongoing content that is unique and interesting to your readers will help your brand (and website) become a trusted resource within the industry and build up quality traffic.

About the author

Jayde Ferguson writes for Design City, a boutique creative studio based in Perth, specialising in web design, graphic design and brand communications. You can catch Jayde on Google+ to discuss this piece.
Trade shows have an important role for many companies marketing strategies. They are places to show off your new products and services, meet clients and customers, and mix with other industry experts. But a successful trade show requires careful preparation on your part.

So what should you be doing to prepare properly?

Here are a few of the most important things to do to ensure your booth is a success at your next trade show.

Start Planning Early

The first thing to do is work out which trade shows you want to attend, and you should do this as early as possible so you can plan in advance. Try to go beyond the obvious ones and to look at smaller ones as well. Find the ones where your competitors are less likely to go, and make sure when you do attend that it will be worth your while.

Which types of potential customers are going to be in attendance? Who will be sponsoring? Who is speaking? These are all things to consider before you book your place, and only when you are sure should you spend money on a booth.

Determine Specific Goals

When you decide to attend a trade show, make sure you have specific goal for what you want to achieve by attending. Is it to meet new clients and customers, to network with other industry specialists, to sell more products, or for branding purposes? Decide what you want to achieve, and set specific targets.

How many meetings do you want to set up? How many leads? How many demos do you want to carry out? Come up with numbers and then you will be able to judge whether it has been a success.

Schedule Meetings in Advance

Reach out to people you know are going who you want to talk to, including vendors and other industry experts, as well as organizers of the event. Be brief in your introduction, and ask about speaking to them when you arrive. You could use LinkedIn and emails to get in touch, or contact them via mutual contacts on LinkedIn. Follow up with them if they dont get back to you, and try to book in some meetings before you arrive.

Tell Everyone About Your Presence

Dont go in without letting people know you are going to attend the trade show. Use social media by sending out reminders that you will be there along with the official hashtags for the event. Email your list, write a blog about it, and try to get people thinking of you before they attend, then they are more likely to look out for you.

Be Social at the Conference

People will be active on social media at the conference itself, so get involved. Use the hashtags, upload photos, provide anecdotes, and highlight any special offers you are running or competitions. Get people talking about you on the day, and get more visits.

Design a Fantastic Booth

Once you are at the trade show, you want to ensure you stand out and attract attention from the right people. There will be many opportunities for new meetings and demonstrations, but you need people to stop.

Use a professional design company to create your exhibit, and work with them to create the best design possible. This could be a company like Steelhead Productions with lots of experience, and you can use their creative flare with a focus on results to stand out and get more attention.

Invest in Giveaways

Giveaways are a great idea for any trade show. It can be something as simple as a pen, or something more unique. Make sure it is branded, and consider something useful. A bag that attendees can use for all their other freebies is a great branding opportunity.

Follow Up with Contacts

After the show, follow up quickly with the new contacts you have made. Reach out via LinkedIn or email, and this is a great way to solidify the connections you made. Remind them quickly about how you met, and make it personal to make more of an impact.

Train Up Your Staff

Make sure your staff know your objectives, and help them out by running some training events. Ensure they feel confident reaching out and greeting people, and they should know what is expected. Ensure they are approachable and engaging so they dont sit glued to their laptop all day.

Get More from Your Next Trade Show

Attending trade shows can be a great way to network and market your company, and it can lead to some fantastic contacts and a boost in sales. Just make sure that you make the most of every trade show you attend by keeping these tips in mind.

About the author

Jake Knowles has been attending trade shows for many years, both as visitor and exhibitor. He writes about how to make your booth, or stand, standout from the crowd and get you some new business contacts.
The brave example of his best friend inspired this transgender man to express his truth to everyone.

This is part of a story series about the lives of transgender people. Read the introduction here.

Growing up in a small town in Michigan, Ashton Niedzwiecki didnt know that anything beyond the female gender hed been assigned at birth was possible. He knew he didnt feel right, in his words, but he didnt have any role models to look to. That changed when he transferred to Wayne State University during his undergraduate studies  and met his best friend, Jay, who came out as transgender after theyd become friends.

But before that, Ashton had very little to go on. When he was six years old, one of his classmates called someone a lesbian, meaning it as an insult. Ashton asked his mother, who told him it meant a woman who is in love with another woman.

My mother explained it properly, and I remember thinking, Holy cow! That sounds like me! I also remember thinking that its not something youre supposed to be, because this kid was making fun of someone for it. So I just put it out of my mind and tried to forget about it, until I was 21 and came out as gay.

He says all of his friends were fully accepting, helped in part by the fact that most of them were gay, too. His sister  who Ashton considers his biggest supporter  also embraced the news. His mother and others took a little longer to come around, but they did.

Living as a lesbian brought me closer to feeling all right with my life, Ashton says. For the first time, I was able to date people I was attracted to. I could express more of who I was, but when I looked in the mirror, I still couldnt figure out what wasnt quite right.

At the time, the only transgender person he was aware of was Chaz Bono. But at Wayne State he was exposed to new ideas and new people, including the first transgender person he had ever met in real life.

I remember thinking, Okay, so transgender is something you can be. Its a real thing  its not just something that shows up on Oprah every once in a while. But I still didnt think it was something I could be.

Then Ashton met Jay, and Ashton was with his friend on the entire journey of his transition.

I was with him when he got his first testosterone shot, when his voice squeaked for the first time, Ashton says. It was the first time I remember thinking, This might actually be an explanation for this feeling Ive had my whole life.

Even though he had a supportive network and was active with the GLBTA Student Union at Wayne State  now called JIGSAW  Ashton still didnt feel ready to tell everyone about what he was feeling. I was still figuring myself out, he says. But when he was 26 he came out to his friends and asked them to start using male pronouns and to call him Ashton.

They would get together and talk about me as much as possible and use my new name and pronouns, so they could get used to it, he says. It was really great.

It still took a while for Ashton to come out to his family, and he told his sister first. He was standing up in her wedding and told her before that, explaining that hed still wear the dress because it was her day, but that hed change into clothes he felt comfortable in for the reception.

I didnt want to take attention away from her day by coming out to my family before the wedding, and she was completely accepting and totally great about it. When I changed for the reception, one of my uncles came up to me and said, You look a lot more comfortable. Everyone could tell I was uncomfortable in the dress. I hadnt worn one since I was a little kid except for proms and stuff.

But it took a heartbreaking tragedy for Ashton to finally come out as transgender to the rest of his family. He was visiting home for Christmas in 2014 when he got the terrible news that Jay was dead. He had committed suicide after struggling with bipolar disorder for most of his life.

I got the call on Christmas Eve, and a couple of days later I felt like it was an insult to his memory to keep hiding who I was, Ashton says. He was so brave.

Ashton had already written a letter about being transgender to his mother, so instead of mailing it he sat down at the table with her while she read it. When she finished reading the letter, she said, This is something were all going to learn to deal with because we love her. Ashton didnt press her on calling him Ashton or using male pronouns until later.

His family has fully accepted his transition, which now includes hormone replacement therapy. Ashton was able to access treatment through Transcend the Binary, a local transgender services organization that operates out of Affirmations in Ferndale.

Ashton still misses Jay deeply, especially now that he has come out to everyone in his life.

Id like to think hed be proud. I have this picture of us at a Tigers game and every once in a while I look at it and get sad that he wasnt able to be with me through my transition process. I wasnt able to call him excitedly when I got my first shot or have him make fun of me when my voice started cracking and I sounded ridiculous, like I did with him. Then I remember that hed be so happy for me and I should just let myself be happy for myself.

And in many ways, Ashton will be carrying on the legacy of friendship he received from Jay through his involvement with the LGBTQ community and his career path. He graduated from Wayne State with a degree in psychology and is applying to graduate schools to earn his Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. His goal is to be a therapist who works with the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people.

I think its a community that hasnt been told enough that they can use the voice they have, says Ashton, who is now 29. Its not that they dont have a voice, but its a community that needs to be shown they have every right to use that voice. I think the best way I can help people do that is through being a therapist.

He has already achieved a lot through JIGSAW, for which he served as President, and the LGBTQ Student Services Council at Wayne State. One of the biggest accomplishments during his tenure was working with the school administration to bring LGBT sensitivity training to faculty and staff.

In addition, Ashton is a co-founder of FtM Detroit, an organization that offers support to transgender men. What started out as a series of informal get-togethers has grown into a full-fledged support group for those who identify as transmasculine, hosted twice a month at Affirmations.

We cover a lot of topics  self-esteem, navigating sports, dealing with family  and host a lot of education workshops, such as how to masculinize your voice and dress masculinely, Ashton says. Every month we also have a boys night out where we just go somewhere and hang out.

Ashton knows the difference it can make to have the support of family, friends and even society.

I am correctly gendered almost all the time now. Passing isnt everything but it is very confirming. But I did come to a point where I was like, I know who I am for myself. If the rest of the world cant see me that way yet, thats okay. I dont need them to, because I do.

Most important of all, Ashton found the courage to live a fully authentic life  something he does not take for granted.

Ive never felt as happy as I feel now, as confident as I feel now, he says. For the first time in my life, I look in the mirror and think, Thats me.

Read all the stories in this series HERE.



[Photo credits: Top  Rhys Harper for the Transcending Gender Project; bottom  courtesy of Ashton Niedzwiecki.]
Donald Trump came to Flint, Michigan today, a move decried (and accurately described) by most as a photo-op. And Trump made it very clear that it was exactly that.

Although the Flint pastor who invited him made it clear to her congregation that the invitation was in no way an endorsement and that this was not a place for a political speech, four minutes into his remarks, Trump began bashing Hillary Clinton. At that point, Rev. Faith Green Timmons came up to the podium and interrupted his speech. Mister Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, not to give a political speech, she told him. Trump, clearly flustered, blathered out a few more empty promises that Flint would be fixed fast if he was elected  with no details about how, exactly he would do that  and then beat a hasty retreat as the small audience of only 70 or so people politely gave him a rasher of shit.

Watch:

The outcome of this event was not only predictable, it was predicted.

Michigan AFL-CIO president Ron Beiber:

Donald Trump, I have one question for you and its a simple one: Where the hell have you been? Here we stand, less than 60 days out from a presidential election and now Donald Trump wants to roll in town for a photo op? Give me a break.

Desiree Duell, mother and Flint Rising activist:

Not once since the beginning of his campaign has Donald Trump addressed this crisis, despite have ample opportunity. Now he is coming to our city to attempt to pivot his message and we wont stand for it. We need a real solution to this crisis, not empty rhetoric or more of the same of his run government like a business mentality that led to this crisis in the first place. Weve seen what happens when profits are put over people and we will not let it happen again.

Minister Rigel Dawson of North Central Church of Christ:

We demand solutions and concrete ideas to fix this crisis. We will not be fooled by empty rhetoric. Even after Donald Trump is gone, we will remain and work together for justice and a solution. A true leader will join with us to find a solution instead of tokenizing us and will continue to keep elevating this issue until it is fixed instead of trying to co-opt this crisis for their own gain. Thats the kind of leadership that we will continue to fight for.

Brandon Dillon, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party:

Its the profits-over-people approach to government, preached by Donald Trump and practiced by Rick Snyder, that led to the poisoning of Flints water. He avoided the city and its people like the plague when the crisis was at its worst, but now hes going to show up for a photo-op? If he had the citys interests at heart, he easily could have used his billions of dollars and so-called connections to do something to help a long time ago. Trump only cares about himself, while Hillary Clinton has a long record of working on behalf of children and families, including those in Flint.

State Senate Democratic Leader Jim Ananich:

Donald Trump has been completely absent since the Flint water crisis happened. Even worse, Trumps approach of running government like a business is the same failed approach that led to the Flint water crisis in the first place. After first refusing to even comment on Flint when the crisis broke  and doing nothing for Flint families since then  Trump now wants to fly into Flint for a photo-op.

Meanwhile, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver was not in town for the photo-op. Instead, she  along with Congressman Dan Kildee and Senator Debbie Stabenow  was in Washington, D.C. urging Congress to pass legislation to help Flint recover from the Republican-inflicted catastrophe.
I have never been so excited about an email subscription before.

 Zak S.
After eight years of work, the Bureau of Land Managements (BLM) Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) will effectively foreclose development of renewable energy resources on millions of acres of federally managed lands in Southern California, said a coalition of renewable energy and labor groups in response to the federal governments release of the plan. The plan abandons the initial promise to balance renewable development with preservation of desert land.

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm is located in east Riverside County, California on 3,600 acres of federal land. First Solar, Inc.

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), the California Wind Energy Association, the California & Nevada State Association of Electrical Workers, Large-scale Solar Association (LSA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said the plan will significantly and permanently limit solar and wind energy development on these public lands, and could hamstring existing state and federal environmental goals, as well as any future, more ambitious goals that could engender further growth of the clean energy economy.

Since the initiation of the DRECP in 2008, California has substantially increased its renewable energy and carbon reduction goals, and the Obama administration has declared even more ambitious plans to combat climate change. Unfortunately, the DRECP never changed to address the need for additional renewable energy.

Now THIS is awesome > California Freeways Will Soon Generate Electricity https://t.co/DHBVKPF4Ax via @EcoWatch #ActOnClimate #CleanEnergy  Environmental Voter Project (@Enviro_Voter) August 15, 2016

The DRECP has simply failed to adapt to enormous changes in law and policy that mandate a significant and urgent increase in renewable energy development on public lands and elsewhere, said Shannon Eddy, executive director of LSA. The DRECP issued by the BLM today is a Model T in a Tesla world. Rather than fostering sustainable clean energy development as a part of a conservation plan, it severely restricts wind and solar.

The California desert is arguably the most important renewable energy resource area in the country, with world-class solar radiance and wind energy resources near major population centers.

With todays [Tuesdays] release of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, the Interior Department and BLM missed a golden opportunity to balance the preservation of parts of the California desert with clean, renewable energy development across some of Americas richest renewable resource areas, said Tom Kimbis, acting president of SEIA. The Obama administration is unparalleled in its support for renewables, but this plan permanently locks up some of our greatest untapped solar and wind resources, and chooses regulation over innovation and progress.

Of the nearly 11 million acres of public lands that the BLM studied as part of the DRECP, the final plan sets aside less than 388,000 acres for renewable energy development, much of which BLM acknowledges is not appropriate for solar and wind projects.

The plan also punts identification of additional lands for renewable energy development to an elusive Phase 2. The groups expect little coordination between the BLM and counties since the focus will be on private lands, and renewable energy developers doubt that the next phase will yield the lands necessary to meet long-term energy and climate goals.

Approximately three million acres that had been available for solar and wind development are rendered off-limits under the plan. No one is saying that utility-scale renewable energy should go everywhere, but done responsibly and with safeguards, it does have to go somewhere if we are to meet state, national and global carbon-reduction goals, said Nancy Rader, executive director of CalWEA. The broad-scale ban on wind-energy development represented by the BLMs plan indicates an unwillingness to confront the reality of our climate-change predicament.

The groups also highlight the squandered opportunity to create jobs and economic growth associated with utility scale renewable development. From research and development to manufacturing and construction, solar and wind projects have created 100,000 jobs to date nationwide.

The plan misses an opportunity to put thousands of people to work in high-paying jobs, Richard Samaniego, secretary-treasurer of the California State Association of Electrical Workers, said.

It is disappointing that the plan does not reflect better balance, added Gregory Wetstone, president and chief executive officer of ACORE. We can protect desert habitat without effectively prohibiting pollution-free wind and solar energy development on millions of acres of the planets best renewable resources.
By Nadia Prupis

People are driving marine ecosystems to unprecedented mass extinction, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science.

Large-bodied animals will be the first to go, the study saysblue whales, great white sharks and bluefin tuna, for example. Their size is part of their vulnerability, making them more susceptible to fishing and hunting by humans, the dominant threat to modern marine fauna, the researchers found.

Large-bodied animals like blue whales, great whites and bluefin tuna will be first to go, as their size makes them more vulnerable to hunting by humans. Screenshot / YouTube

If this pattern goes unchecked, the future oceans would lack many of the largest species in todays oceans, co-author Jonathan Payne, associate professor and chair of geological sciences at Stanford University, told The Guardian. Many large species play critical roles in ecosystems and so their extinctions could lead to ecological cascades that would influence the structure and function of future ecosystems beyond the simple fact of losing those species.

The study states that The preferential removal of the largest animals from the modern oceans, unprecedented in the history of animal life, may disrupt ecosystems for millions of years even at levels of taxonomic loss far below those of previous mass extinctions  Without a dramatic shift in the business-as-usual course for marine management, our analysis suggests that the oceans will endure a mass extinction of sufficient intensity and ecological selectivity to rank among the major extinctions of the current era.

In fact, the researchers note, it could usher in a new onethe Anthropozoic era, meaning one created by humans. Thats not to be confused with the Anthropocene, an epoch which scientists estimate is already here.

The study comes as President Barack Obama on Thursday established the first national marine monument in the Atlantic, which aims to protect almost 5,000 square miles off the southern edge of a region called Georges Bank, along the continental shelf of New England. The area is home to many species of deep-sea coral, sharks, sea turtles, seabirds and deep-diving marine mammals such as beaked whales and sperm whales, the Washington Post explained, as well as underwater canyons and mountains.

The White House said making the area a monument would establish a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling, but not recreational fishing. The lobster and red crab industries would also be allowed to continue operating for seven years.

Environmental groups welcomed the news, with the Natural Resources Defense Council tweeting, Protecting these ecosystems is essential for keeping our oceans healthy & curbing climate change.

Protecting these ecosystems is essential for keeping our oceans healthy & curbing climate change. #SaveOceanTreasures #ActOnClimate  NRDC  (@NRDC) September 15, 2016

But as Douglas McCauley, another co-author of Wednesdays study, explained to The Guardian, small protected marine parks wont stop the devastation of overfishing. The monuments need to be much largerlike the Papahanaumokuakea sanctuary in Hawaii that Obama expanded in August, which now covers just over 582,578 square miles, making it the worlds largestto have an impact.

Co-author Noel Heim, also at Stanford, boiled down the studys main takeaway:

We see this over and over again. Humans enter into a new ecosystem and the largest animals are killed off first. Marine systems have been spared up to now, because until relatively recently, humans were restricted to coastal areas and didnt have the technology to fish in the deep ocean on an industrial scale.

This article was reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams.
A team of Russian scientists on a remote Arctic island were rescued by a passing ship after being trapped for days inside their weather station by hungry polar bears.

The Polar Bear Programme

The scientists were staying on Troynoy Island located in the Kara Sea north of Siberia when, on Aug. 31, a polar bear ate one of their two dogs and wouldnt leave.

Researchers encounters with polar bears on Troynoy Island is fairly common, Vassiliy Shevchenko, head of the Sevgidromet State Monitoring Network, told The Guardian.

However, Yelena Novikova, a spokeswoman for Sevgidromet, told The Guardian the ongoing reduction in sea ice due to climate change has caused the polar bear population to grow increasingly aggressive.

The ice receded quickly and the bears didnt have time to swim to other islands, Novikova said. Theres no food on [Troynoy] island, so they came up to the station.

Vadim Plotnikov, the head of the weather station on Troynoy Island, told TASS Russian News Agency there were about 10 adult bears, including four female bears with cubs, spotted around the weather station. One of the female bears even started sleeping underneath one of the windows, Plotnikov said.

Trapped inside and out of flares to spook the bears, the team became desperate. They called for help and were told they would have to wait a month for the next scheduled supply ship. But then, help arrived. A Russian expedition ship was able to reach them and give the scientists the dogs and flares they needed, TASS reported Wednesday. The ships crew even helped them scare off the bears.

Polar bears are registered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and in the Red Book of Russia as an endangered species.
PepsiCo Inc.s Quaker Oats has been accused of false advertising by a group of consumers in New York, California and Illinois, who have filed a class action lawsuit challenging the companys claim of being 100 Percent Natural despite having traces of the weedkiller glyphosate found in its famous oatmeal.

According to the complaint, glyphosate allegedly made its way into Quaker Oats not simply because it is used as an agricultural weed killer, but because it is sprayed on the oats as a drying agent shortly before harvest.

The plaintiffs, who are seeking refunds from PepsiCo., are not accusing Quaker of illegally using glyphosate but that its 100 Percent Natural claim is false, deceptive and misleading since it contains the controversial chemical.

Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsantos flagship herbicide Roundup, was declared a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) last year.

Quaker knows that consumers seek out and wish to purchase whole, natural foods that do not contain chemicals, and that consumers will pay more for foods that they believe to be natural, the court document states.

Bloomberg noted that in 1997, Quaker Oats oatmeal became the first food product to be allowed by the Food and Drug Administration to carry the claim that it was healthy, according to a study that examined the marketing of health foods.

Quaker advertises its popular whole grain oats for its wholesome goodness. However, as the complaint states:

No reasonable consumer, seeing these representations, would expect Quaker Oats to contain anything unnatural, or anything other than whole, rolled oats.

Quaker Oats, despite their labels, do contain something other than whole, rolled oats; namely, Quaker Oats contain glyphosate.

Glyphosate is not Natural or 100 Percent Natural. Glyphosate is a synthetic biocide and probable human carcinogen, with additional health dangers rapidly becoming known.

Quaker issued a defense to the New York Times, stating, Any levels of glyphosate that may remain are trace amounts and significantly below any limits which have been set by the EPA as safe for human consumption.

The New York Times reported that in a test paid for by lawyers for the plaintiffs, the Richman Law Group, glyphosate was detected at a level of 1.18 parts per million in a sample of Quaker Oats Quick 1-Minute, or 4 percent of the 30 parts per million that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows in cereal grains.

Glyphosate is the most widely used agricultural herbicide in the world. Farmers sprayed 2.6 billion pounds of Monsantos glyphosate herbicide on U.S. agricultural land between 1992 and 2012, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The chemical has been detected in several products, from alcoholic beverages and even womens hygiene products. Last month, the Alliance for Natural Health-USA released the results of food safety testing conducted on an assortment of popular breakfast foods, revealing that glyphosate was found in 10 of the 24 food samples tested, including oatmeal, bagels, eggs (including the organic variety), potatoes and even non-GMO soy coffee creamer.

Monsanto has vehemently denied the cancer claims of its blockbuster product and has demanded a retraction of the IARC report.

Regulatory agencies have reviewed all the key studies examined by IARCand many moreand arrived at the overwhelming consensus that glyphosate poses no unreasonable risks to humans or the environment when used according to label instructions, the company states on its website.

For instance, in November, the European Food Safety Authority rejected the IARCs classification of glyphosate as a possible carcinogen, declaring that the ingredient is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans.

And on Friday, the EPA published a report online that concluded glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.

However, the document was pulled on Monday. According to Reuters, the agency said that the document was inadvertently published and it had not finished the review of the chemical.

Oops says @EPA Glyphosate cancer assessment not actually done yet @MonsantoCo documents were "inadvertently posted" but now taken back  carey gillam   (@careygillam) May 2, 2016
Could Elon Musk be right about the sneaky tactics deployed by Big Oil and Gas? Tesla Motors is suing a senior executive of an oil pipeline services company for impersonating the Tesla CEO in an email.



The electric car company believes that the oil execs email was an industry tactic to undermine Teslas push for sustainable transportation. Flickr

Bloomberg and Forbes report that Todd Katz, the chief financial officer of Seattle-based Quest Integrity Group, allegedly pretended to be Musk in an email.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, claims that Katz used the email address elontesla@yahoo.com to send a message to Tesla Chief Financial Officer Jason Wheeler on Aug. 3just after Tesla reported its second-quarter financial results.

The alleged email states:

why you so cautious w Q3/4 gm guidance on call? also what are your thoughts on disclosing M3 res#? Pros/cons from ir pov? what is your best guess as to where we actually come in on q3/4 deliverables. honest guess? no bs. thx 4 hard work prepping 4 today

em

Katzs bio on the companys website states that he previously worked for several top Wall Street investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

The complaint claims that Katz was impersonating Musk in an attempt to unlawfully obtain material, non-public informationincluding Teslas financial trade secretsfrom Teslas CFO through fraud, artifice and deception. Fortunately, Wheeler did not disclose any information.

On information and belief, Katz, Quest Integrity, and/or their oil company clients intended to use that non-public and trade secret information to further their own agendas and to harm Tesla, the lawsuit reads.

Quest Integrity Groups roster of big-name clients include the likes of BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and more.

According to Bloomberg, Tesla believes that the email was an oil industry tactic to undermine the electric carmakers push for sustainable transportation.

In recent years, oil companies have spent billions of dollars on legislative efforts and campaigns aimed at blocking progress toward electric cars and other sustainable energy solutions in the United States and abroad, Tesla said.

Elon Musk Unveils Tesla Model 3: Accelerating Sustainable Transport Is 'Important for the Future of the World' https://t.co/nTBlBqmKLE  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) April 4, 2016

Soon after receiving the email, Tesla launched an investigation to pinpoint the culprit behind the message. Among other things, Tesla had to pay investigators and expend IT and other resources to identify the source of the message, investigate other potential impersonation attempts and efforts to gain access to the companys servers, in order to ensure no disclosures of non-public information had been made, the lawsuit states.

Tesla is seeking an unspecified amount to recover damages it suffered as a result of Katzs criminal misconduct and to enjoin Katz and his cohorts from engaging in such deplorable and unlawful activities going forward.

As a result of Katzs impersonation of Musk, Teslaa publicly traded company responsible for ensuring the integrity of its non-public financial information, trade secrets, and datahas incurred costs, damages, and losses, the lawsuit states.

Teslas attorney John Hueston told Forbes that the point of this action is that this was perceived as an effort to gain inside information, non-public information.

Although it was caught here, Tesla is worried about this happening in some other form, Hueston added. This could have resulted in highly valuable information being improperly disclosed.

As Electrek noted, a few weeks following the email incident, Musk sent a memo to employees encouraging them to deliver as many vehicles as possible by the end of the quarter. The entrepreneur also said that Tesla was on razor edge of turning a profit and that he would like to throw a pie in the face of all naysayers on Wall Street.

Back in May, Musk accused the oil and gas industry of spreading propaganda in order to tarnish his companies, including Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX.

We need to appeal to the peopleeducate people to sort of revolt against this and to fight the propaganda of the fossil fuel industry which is unrelenting and enormous, Musk said.
Coast Guard, ECSU sign Memorandum of Agreement to educate service members

In a ceremony during the regular Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees meeting, Chancellor Thomas Conway and Coast Guard Rear Adm. Meredith Austin signed a memorandum of agreement Tuesday that will bring the two organizations together to better educate future Coast Guard leaders.

The purpose of the memorandum is to strengthen the relationship between ECSU and the Coast Guard. That relationship will assist the university in better offering educational opportunities to service members while also giving the Coast Guard the opportunity increase its military officer recruitment efforts.

The university will provide courses to service members and their families and the Coast Guard is committed to supporting ECSU programs such as aviation technology. According to the memorandum, ECSU will identify opportunities for students, and opportunities for faculty research in areas that are of interest to the Coast Guard.

In addition, Cmdr. Bruce Brown, commanding officer of Base Elizabeth City, will form a chamber of commerce and military affairs committee on campus, establish a Coast Guard presence at university ceremonies, and create more Coast Guard College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI) scholarships for ECSU students.

Rear Admiral Austin arrived on campus Tuesday morning. She was greeted by ECSUs Director of Veteran and Military Affairs, Tim Freeman and Elizabeth City Coast Guard base executive officer, Cmdr. Warren Judge, an ECSU graduate. Freeman and Judge worked together in an effort to make the memorandum a reality for both ECSU and the Coast Guard.

Freeman and Judge offered the admiral a tour of the aviation technology lab where she was given a chance to meet with students and experience the flight simulators firsthand.

From the aviation lab, the admiral walked to the child care center located at McClendon Hall. Director of the facility, Sharon Key-Sutton, spoke about the five-star child care facility and assured the admiral that Coast Guard families in need of child care would be accommodated.

After a luncheon at the K.E. White Center, Rear Adm. Austin joined Chancellor Conway for the official ceremony. The pair signed the agreement, signaling the start of a new partnership between ECSU and the Coast Guard.

Eleven Coast Guard CSPI students have graduated from ECSU, including Cmdr. Judge, and Lt. j.g. Philip Dodson, now a helicopter pilot at Air Station Elizabeth City. Eight CSPI students are currently enrolled at the school.
(Photo:  Peter Kenny / Ecumenical News)Israeli settlements expand in sight of Bethlehem on the West Bank photographed in February 2016.

The World Council of Churches and its U.S. counterpart, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA have call for an end Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and a halt to settlements on occupied land.

Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, the general secretary of the WCC and his counterpart in the NCCUSA, Jim Winkler released a statement Sept. 14 after a meeting in Arlington, Virginia.

They called for the United States to "cease its practice of arming various state and non-state actors in the Middle East and, in particular, to reconsider its proposed $38 billion military aid package to Israel, for the last thing needed at this time is more weapons."

They also said the U.S. should "end the current wave of legislative efforts to penalize the use of non-violent economic measures to influence policy in Israel."

They said the "crisis in Israel and Palestine" had brought together representatives of the WCC and the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA for a consultation in Arlington, Virginia from Sept. 12-14.

"We ask for full respect and protection of human rights defenders, for the rights to tell the truth, to express concern, and to take democratic, non-violent actions for justice and peace," they said.

'CURTAILING HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS'

"We are deeply concerned by Israeli legislative and other measures to curtail the work of Palestinian and Israeli development and human rights organizations," Tveit and Winkler said.

They said, "the lack of transparency concerning investigations into international humanitarian (including faith-based) organizations in the Gaza Strip and the possible negative consequences to delivering critically needed aid to this besieged area."

The church leaders said that no people should be denied their rights for generations.

"The unresolved conflict in Israel and Palestine is primarily about justice, and until the requirement of justice is met, peace cannot be established.

"As Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza nears the 50-year mark, generations have been suffering under this reality. The possibilities of a viable two-state solution, for which we have long advocated, are more elusive and, seemingly, more unrealistic than ever."

More than 60 representatives of churches and church-related organizations from around the world gathered for the Arlington meeting.

"We have particularly valued the participation of Palestinian, Native American, South African, and Israeli participants who have shared their insights and lived experience," they said.

They said that although the consultation had focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it took place in the context of a region beset by war and violence.

Churches had used such strategies to advance the rights of people and further the cause of justice both domestically and internationally for many years, they said.

This included the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott in the United States, apartheid South Africa and, currently, on behalf of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group fighting against severe exploitation in Florida.

"We have met in the United States and have met with U.S. government representatives here because the United States holds enormous power to support the status quo or to take bold steps to peace," the church leaders said.

"Similarly, the churches in the United States have tremendous potential, which must be mobilized, to call on the American government to do much more to secure a just and lasting peace for Israel and Palestine."

Earlier this year WCC staff members were detained at Ben Gurion Airport while trying to enter Israel.

The U.S.-based Gatestone Institute which is strongly supportive of Israel has frequently attacked the WCC for basing its crticism of Israeli actions and policies on incorrect assumptions and it says it is not Israel that is making life hard for Palestinian Christians, but the Palestinian authorties.
A long-awaited cash-injection will see preschool fees fall by nearly 30%.The NSW Government announced the plans on Wednesday following a review by the Auditor-General which found that while the states preschools were the least attended they were also the most expensive.The funding boost will see $115m allocated to preschools over 18 months, giving the parents of preschool students a financial reprieve that experts had warned was long overdue.In a statement yesterday, early childhood education minister, Lesley Williams, said the move would enable preschools to reduce fees by an average of 30% per child.Services will be contractually required to pass on at least 75% of additional funding to parents in the form of reduced fees, she said.We have listened to the sector and to parents and we are committed to making a quality childhood education affordable for all.Williams added that she also acknowledged feedback from the Auditor-General who recommended that funding be tied to 600 hours enrolments, and removing the barriers to access.The funding will not only make early childhood education more affordable but will also remove nearly all fees for children from Aboriginal and low-income families at preschools, she said.The NSW Government said an extra 15,000 students will meet the 600-hour benchmark when the new funds are released.NSW Premier, Mike Baird, said research shows that children who receive a quality early childhood education in the year before starting school are better prepared to transition to school and benefits carry through to adulthood.
Already faced with worrisome hiring gaps, the country is on the precipice of a dramatically widening shortfall of teachers, a new analysis warns.

In a package of reports released Wednesday, the Learning Policy Institute, a California-based think tank led by Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond, digs into federal data sets to gauge the state of teacher supply and demand, and what it means for school staffing and diversity in the near future.

The trend lines are far from encouraging, according to the group, though not all education experts are convinced of an impending widespread national shortage.

During the 2015-16 school year, there was a national shortage of about 60,000 teachers, the LPI estimates. The shortage was most pronounced in special education, with 48 states and the District of Columbia reporting a shortage in that field to the U.S. Department of Education.

Forty-two states, plus D.C., reported teacher shortages in mathematics, and 40 states, plus D.C., reported shortages in science. More than 30 states reported high shortage levels for teachers of English-language learners.

Across the country, half of all schools, and 90 percent of high-poverty schools, have experienced a teacher shortage, the report concludes. If current trends persist, the group estimates that annual shortfall could grow to 112,000 teachers by 2018, with the need for more educators continuing to grow well into the 2020s.

The shortages are being driven by both an increase in demand and a decrease in supply: Schools are beginning to lower student-teacher ratios and reinstate classes that were reduced or eliminated in the 2008 recession. But teacher attrition rates are high, and teacher-preparation program enrollments have fallen 35 percent nationwide in the last five years, the report says.

Teacher shortages themselves arent new, the reports authors stressed in a media call Tuesday. There have been reported shortages of math and science teachers, for example, dating back to the Sputnik era, said Darling-Hammond on the media call.

But unlike some other countries, the United States has not put in place a set of policies to address these problems, so we get these recurring waves of shortages, she said.

In addition to a high price tag attached to teacher-replacement costsestimated at $8 billion annuallythe shortages have led to stopgap policy solutions like hiring teachers with emergency or temporary credentials, increasing class sizes, or using short-term substitutes.

Such measures hurt student learning, Darling-Hammond said.

The 4 Percent Solution

In the report, the LPI offers what it sees as more long-term, stabilizing solutions to potential teacher supply gaps. They include: more competitive compensation packages; targeted training subsidies, like forgivable loans and scholarships for those who commit to teaching in a high-needs field or location for a certain period of time; improved new-teacher mentoring and induction programs; and initiatives to create a more national teacher-supply market, with greater support for teacher mobility across state lines.

Darling-Hammond said these proposals could get to what she called the 4-percent solution. The annual attrition rate for U.S. teachers is currently at 8 percent, about twice as high as teacher attrition rates in high-performing countries like Finland and Singapore. If it was halved, she said, the significant reduction in hiring needs would virtually eliminate teacher shortages and allow for increased selectivity in hiring, which could improve teacher quality.

But the LPIs conclusions about the general severity of expected teacher shortfalls have been met with some skepticism.

Kate Walsh, the president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, expressed concern about allowing anecdotes and hearsay to drive a national agenda.

Teacher Supply and Demand Projections The Learning Policy Institute says that, if current market trends persist, U.S. schools could face an estimated shortfall of 112,000 teachers by 2018, with demand continuing to grow in the into the 2020s. Source: Learning Policy Institute, interpretation of U.S. Department of Education data, 2016.

Nobody has any national data that is justification for declaring a teacher shortage, she said. Everyone is going off anecdotes.

For its study, the LPI used data from the National Center for Education Statistics, including the Schools and Staffing Survey and Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study.

Walsh noted that the NCES data is several years old, making it useless in our ability to do any real-time measurements of shortages.

Available federal projections can also be read to suggest that the overall supply of teachers will increase over the next several years in conjunction with decreases in student-teacher ratios.

There could be a teacher shortage, Walsh said, but theres not enough firm data to say for sure, and headlines are driving other headlines.

States get worried, people get worriedhysteria sets in, she said.

Why Teachers Leave

Only about one-third of teacher attrition is due to retirement, the LPI report notes. The most common reasons for leaving the profession are unsatisfactory teaching conditions (like class sizes and salaries), unhappiness with administrators, and policy issues, like high-stakes testing and accountability pressures.

And teachers of color leave both schools and the teaching profession at particularly high rate, with a turnover rate of 18.9 percent in 2012-13, compared to 15 percent for white teachers, according to the report.

A companion report released by LPI notes that black and Hispanic teachers report autonomy and influence on school decisions to be the strongest factors for staying in the professionmore so than salary, useful professional development, or the availability of classroom resources.

Math teachers also point to a lack of classroom autonomy and discretion as a main factor for leaving the profession, said Richard M. Ingersoll, a professor of education and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and an author of the LPI report on minority teachers, during Tuesdays media call.

You can have standards and goals, you can even have standardized textbooks, but if you go a step further and micromanage and script how teachers have to do it, that becomes a source of complaint, he said. That would not take money to fix, that is an issue of management.

He also noted an unheralded success with improving the numbers of teachers of color in the profession. Only 18 percent of teachers are not white, which has spurred national, state, and local efforts to better recruit and retain teachers of color.

The LPI minority teacher report found that the growth of Hispanic, black, and Asian teachers has outpaced the growth in the number of nonwhite students and was over twice the growth rate of white teachers, signaling success in recruitment efforts. But those efforts have been undermined by the high turnover rate of teachers of color.

State Rankings

LPI researchers also used available federal data to assign states teaching attractiveness ratings, which are meant to indicate how supportive the state is of teacher recruitment and retention, and teacher equity ratings, which show the extent to which students, particularly students of color, are assigned uncertified or experienced teachers.

Arizona, a state that has battled severe teacher shortages, received the lowest teaching attractiveness rating, due to factors like a low average starting salary, large class sizes, and high attrition rate.

Meanwhile, Oregon received the highest rating, with a high degree of teacher autonomy and other positively ranked working conditions, and a low percentage of teachers who are not certified.

Colorado had the lowest teacher-equity rating, with about 21 percent of teachers in high-minority schools holding emergency or temporary certifications, compared to 4.5 percent of uncertified teachers in low-minority schools.

And Vermont had the highest teacher-equity rating, with a low ratio of the percentage of both uncertified and inexperienced teachers in high-minority versus low-minority schools.

In conjunction with the report, the LPI produced an interactive 50-state map to better examine the states ratings and the varying conditions that influence the supply of teachers.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 15 million loan agreement with Ultimaker of The Netherlands a leading producer of 3D-printers. The loan will be used to further strengthen the R&D activities of Ultimaker and rolling out new products. Ultimaker will also launch the pioneer program for 50 schools throughout the EU

The loan will support the expansion of Ultimakers research and development facility in Geldermalsen, The Netherlands, as well as the development of new products already in the pipeline. The operation will enable the company to further expand its business in international markets. Ultimakers R&D project is supported by InnovFin  EU Finance for Innovators MidCap Growth Finance (MGF), with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments.

Ultimaker is the kind of company that Europe needs to fill the innovation gap that we see with respect to the US and Asia, says EIB Vice-President Pim van Ballekom. The Bank is proud that it can be of added value for Ultimaker and praises its commitment to helping Europe push its technological edge."

We are very pleased with the financial support of the EIB, says Ultimaker CEO Jos Burger. It allows us to further strengthen our strong position in the global 3D printing market. As a European company we believe we have a special role in bringing 3D printing to young people all over Europe and we are glad to announce that, in close cooperation with the EIB, we are donating 50 of our Ultimaker 2+ printers - with one year of supplies - to schools all over Europe.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner responsible for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "With today's agreement, the EU is once again supporting the growth of innovative midcaps. 3D-printing is an excellent example of the innovation that Europe needs. Our research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020 is there to help bring more such innovative ideas to market and develop new services."

The question is not if, but when companies should consider adopting 3D printing, says Karel Knoll, director at Deloitte. We are expecting a shake-out in the 3D printing market over the coming years. This new funding allows Ultimaker to continue its growth, while making additional investments in R&D and the development of new products.

Ultimaker will empower 50 schools in Europe with the pioneer program designed to connect educators through a dynamic online community and free access to lesson plans, 3D printing tutorials, and guides.

Background information:

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. In the Netherlands alone, nearly EUR 2,1 billion was lent to sound projects over the course of 2015.

Ultimaker Holding BV (Ultimaker) is specialised in the designing, manufacturing and selling of equipment, software, consumables, and add-ons for desktop 3D printing. Due to its affordability, desktop 3D printing is gathering increasing momentum for corporates designing new products across different sectors, to enable low cost and rapid prototyping of products. Ultimaker is recognised as a highly innovative manufacturer that develops 3D printers and associated materials in the consumer-oriented desktop printer segment, as well as software to operate the printers. This open-source software (Cura) is compatible with a wide range of 3D printers and has become one of the most popular tools for 3D printer operation. The company has won several innovation prizes in the past, and its most recent model, Ultimaker 2+, has been referred to as one of the best and technologically advanced desktop 3D printers available on the market



InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance offers long term senior, subordinated loans or mezzanine loans, in order to improve access to finance mainly for innovative larger midcaps (up to 3000 employees), but also SMEs and small midcaps. Loans from EUR 7.5m to EUR 25m will be delivered directly by the EIB.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (DTTL), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as Deloitte Global) does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.nl/about for a more detailed description of DTTL and its member firms.

This communication contains general information only, and none of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, its member firms, or their related entities (collectively, the Deloitte Network) is, by means of this communication, rendering professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your finances or your business, you should consult a qualified professional adviser. No entity in the Deloitte Network shall be responsible for any loss whatsoever sustained by any person who relies on this communication.
Buenos Aires, Sep 15 (efe_epa).- The expropriation of Spanish energy company Repsol by the Argentine government in 2012 was an abuse of his country's laws, current President Mauricio Macri said.

In an exclusive interview to EFE released Thursday, Macri said the expropriation had been an abuse and that it violated Argentina's constitution.

"That was not an expropriation, it was a confiscation that over time became an expropriation," he said about the decision forced on Repsol by the government of former president Cristina Fernandez.

Macri said that, like so many wrong things done by the previous government, it was Repsol that came away with the best deal "because it sold at a higher oil price when oil was worth a fifth".

"Well, the truth is that nothing justifies violating the constitution of our country," Macri said. "We have a wonderful constitution upon which we will build the great Argentina we dream of."

Asked if he really expected Spanish companies to return to Argentina, Macri said there were many reasons for this to happen.

Macri said that Spaniards were the first to realize that "Argentina has returned to the world."

He said that Argentina today represents a great opportunity. He added that those who survived the last decade, which had been "very hard for many Spanish companies," knew they were stronger now and able to bet on Argentina and grow as a result.
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.

09:00, 30 OCT 2022
IoM Airport warns of French strike delays

The Isle of Man Airport is warning of potential delays as a result of a strike by air traffic controllers in France.

While there are no flights directly to France scheduled from Ronaldsway during the strike, there are concerns that delays elsewhere could have a knock-on effect.

EasyJet and Flybe - who both operate a number of Manx routes - have warned of potential delays and cancellations, while the Airport is advising anyone traveling to check with their airline beforehand.

The strike started yesterday evening and will end at 5am tomorrow.

The latest departures and arrivals information from Ronaldsway can be found at the Energy FM Infocentre.
Meetings for Douglas East, Ayre and Michael

There are more chances for members of the public to hear from candidates standing in next week's General Election this evening.

Requisition meetings take place in two constituencies, allowing voters to hear from those standing and ask questions.

The Ayre and Michael electorate can meet their prospective MHKs in Sulby Comminity Centre from 7.30pm, while a meeting for Douglas East takes place in the Promenade Methodist Church at the same time.

Each constituency will elect two members when the Island goes to the polls next Thursday.
Between April and June every year, a unique ritual performance takes place in over 40 villages in northern Tamil Nadu. This is Draupadi Amman, as much a magnet for large audiences, as is The Passion of the Christ in Oberammergau, Germany, or the Ramleela of Ramnagar on the opposite bank of the Ganga in Varanasi.

Ritual performances are much more than massive religious celebrations or theatrical events since the audience is there to experience a collectiveeven catharticassertion of identity through a periodic retelling of the powerful myths that brought them into being.
Younited Italia, Nicola Manzari e il nuovo Coo, Luca Faccini e Head of Growth e Domenico Petraroli e General Counsel
On 6 September 2016, European Leadership Acting Director Shata Shetty addressed a seminar organised by the UK Project on Nuclear Issues (UK PONI) on the outcomes of the NATO Warsaw Summit and the way forward for NATOs nuclear relationship with Russia. Other panel speakers were Dr Justin Anderson, Research Fellow at the National Defense University Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Washington D.C., and Dr Heather Williams, Lecturer in the Defence Studies Department at Kings College London.

The Warsaw Summit offered NATO members the opportunity to check in with the policies of the Alliance in an era of increased Russian assertiveness and half-veiled nuclear threats. The Summit considered a range of measures that could be adopted to enhance the Alliances ability to defend its members and deter adversaries.

The speakers discussed whether NATO needed to revisit the formulation of its nuclear policy included in the 2012 Deterrence and Defence Posture Review and how it could strengthen deterrence whilst also leaving the door open to future arms control with Russia.

The event was organised by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), hosts of UK PONI, and was chaired by Dr. Dana Allin, Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs at IISS and Editor of Survival.
From 11-13 September 2016, the European Leadership Network in partnership with the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) hosted a delegation of European parliamentarians for an international dialogue on global nuclear security in Washington, D.C.

The visit was designed to educate European parliamentarians on issues relating to nuclear materials security as well as develop new leadership to sustain progress on nuclear security in European capitals.

Led by ELN Chair Des Browne, the trip included meetings with experts from the Washington think-tank community as well as senior figures from the U.S. State Department, the Department of Energy, and members of Congress. The parliamentarians also visited the Norwegian and British embassies in Washington, D.C.

The delegation included:

 Lord Browne of Ladyton (United Kingdom) ELN Chair and NTI Vice-Chairman and former Defence Secretary.

 Dr Karl-Heinz Brunner MP (Germany) Chair of the Subcommittee on Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, member of the German NATO Parliamentary Assembly Delegation and member of the Defence Committee.

 Stephen Gethins MP (United Kingdom) Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Europe and member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

 Trond Helleland MP (Norway) Leader of the Norwegian Conservative party, member of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees and member of the Norwegian OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation.

 Dr Marek Zenisek MP (Czech Republic) Member of the Chamber of Deputies, vice-chairman of TOP 09, member of the OSCE Parliamentay Assembly delegation and member of the Defence Committee.

 Shatabhisha Shetty (United Kingdom) Acting Director, European Leadership Network, London.

 Michael Meier (Germany) Director, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Washington, D.C.

 Michael Czogalla (United States) Program Officer for Foreign and Security Issues at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Washington, D.C.

This dialogue on global nuclear security is intended to create better understanding of the U.S. approach to nuclear security and to build sustainable relationships with partners from Europe.
In an era when terrorism is a never-ending blight in our lives, a showed titled tick, tick ... Boom! might conjure up visions of violence and death.

Relax. Its a musical about career aspirations.

Its also the first production of Little Theatre of Mechanicsburgs 66th season.

Created as a one-man show in 1990 by Jonathan Larson  who a few years later would posthumously win a Pulitzer Prize and three Tony Awards for his ground-breaking musical Rent  tick, tick ... Boom! is an autobiographical work about an aspiring composer named Jon.

Through songs like Sunday and Johnny Cant Decide, its also a bit of an homage to one of Larsons real-life idols, the playwright Stephen Sondheim.

After Larsons sudden death in 1996, playwright David Auburn revisited the former Off-Off-Off Broadway show and turned it into a three-actor piece that opened Off-Broadway in 2001 and again in 2014.

LTMs production opens Sept. 23 and continues through Oct. 9 at the 64-seat community theater. Tickets are $20.

Giulio Marchi will play the role of Jon, who is just days away from opening his first show and is terrified that hes made the wrong career choice. Josh Lebo has the role of his best friend, Michael, while Angie Wise portrays his girlfriend, Susan. The director is Chris Krahulec.

The shows songs are not generally well-known, which is not to say they are without interest. Hard-core Sondheim fans will find lots of references to his work sprinkled through the show, and it has the gift for lyrics that shows up in Rent songs, such as La Vie Boheme.

Mystery

Oyster Mill Playhouses publicity for its new mystery, An Act of the Imagination, makes the following observation: If youre a fan of suspenseful mysteries featuring charming, eccentric Brits, this is a show you wont want to miss.

Admittedly, its hard not be just a bit entranced by such fare, whether its a whodunit such as A Murder at the Vicarage featuring Agatha Christies indomitable Jane Marple, or a complex double-cross like the one delivered in Anthony Shaffers Sleuth.

Murder just seems so much more, well, civilized, when the British are involved. Then theres the clever dialogue, outrageous plot twists and all that repressed sexuality.

This comedy mystery by Bernard Slade, who also created Same Time, Next Year, neatly follows the blueprints. Its set in the living room of lead character Arthur Putnam, a successful mystery writer who is attempting to write in a different genre by producing a romance novel about adultery.

But Putnams selection of themes may be more than mere window dressing, reflecting instead a true-to-life scenario headed straight for homicide.

Oyster Mills production opens Sept. 23 and runs through Oct. 9.

Acting classes

Hershey Area Playhouse is offering acting classes for adults and youths this fall.

Taught by experienced instructors, the classes begin Saturday with separate sessions for grades K-3 (Creative Kids, 9-10:30 a.m.), grades 4-6 (Acting It Up, 10:30 a.m.-noon) and grades 7-12 (Theatre Arts Studio 1, 1-3 p.m.). They continue for eight consecutive Saturdays.

Theatre Academy sessions for adults will be offered Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 20 to Oct. 25. Improvisation specialist Lisa Lutton Weitzman will be the instructor.

For more information or to register for classes, visit www.hersheyareaplayhouse.com or contact Theatre Academy Director Cory Wilkerson at coryw2.0@gmail.com.
HARRISBURG  It took about eight seconds in a congressional committee meeting Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Chairman, Congressman Lou Barletta, R-Pa., said, I move that the 20 committee resolutions be approved in a block.

All those in favor, say aye. Those opposed, say no, said Congressman Bill Shuster, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. There was no opposition. The ayes have it.

Because the ayes had it in Washington, Harrisburg may soon get it: a long-discussed $194-million federal courthouse on a vacant tract at Sixth and Reilly streets in Midtown.

This means itll be built, Barletta said by phone after the 8-second exchange. The project has been authorized by name, for a specific amount, through the authorizing committee, which has never happened before.

But announcing that the federal government intended to trash the old, antiquated courthouse and erect a safer and securer one will be built has happened before.

Several times, over several years.

In fact, the first gathering of political elite patting itself on the back over the Harrisburg courthouse included U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (deceased), Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed (two mayors removed), and Congressman Tim Holden (no longer in office).

I dont know that anyone had an expectation that it would take this long, Harrisburg developer Ralph Vartan said.

Vartans been waiting for the feds to join the party, and waiting.

He built an eight-story retail and residential building in 14 months directly across the street from the courthouse site. Hes calls the courthouse a crucial anchor and hes convinced once it is built, other developers will come.

Its like the big wave, Vartan said. Its crucial for everybody else who wants to surf to know the timing of the wave.

The timing is still uncertain for the projected 243,000 square-foot facility that will house up to eight courtrooms and have 43 parking spaces.

Congress has now authorized the project. But Congress has not yet appropriated the money for the project. Itll have to go through the Appropriations Committee process, which doesnt begin until early next year. Barletta calls that a whole different animal.

Vartan stops short of saying the whole project is taking entirely too long.

This is the singular, major, federal project of our generation here in Harrisburg, so its hard for me to tell you what an appropriate schedule is because whats to compare it to? he said.

Many Midstaters are no doubt saying, Ill believe it when I see it.

But one Midstate congressman has faith.

Im confident its going to happen, Barletta said.
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureaus Mobile Ag Education Science Lab made its fourth yearly visit to Saint Joseph School in Mechanicsburg this week, teaching 340 students in grades K-8 about everything from Eco foams benefits to making glue from milk.

Our goal is to have a fun, interactive educational program for students to learn about agriculture. Pennsylvanias number-one industry is agriculture. We want our kids to learn that farming is much more than the food that we eat, Saint Joseph Assistant Principal Mary Earnest said.

The mobile lab, which remains at the school through Friday, is provided by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture and is supported by the state Department of Agriculture, according to program literature.

State-certified instructors offer schools a menu of 30 curriculum choices for grades K-8 that align with the state Department of Educations academic standards in environment and ecology, as well as science and technology. This year, Saint Joseph selected 11 lessons to offer to various grades, Earnest said.

Its all hands-on learning. Thats what is nice about it. I taught for 37 years in Waynesboro and theres nothing else like this. There are no discipline problems with any of the students. I like the excitement of the children. Its not hard to teach a lesson at all, state-certified agriculture teacher Jean Rodgers said.

The mobile lab program has six classroom trailers that travel to schools throughout the state upon request. Rodgers, of Waynesboro, normally visits up to a dozen schools each year, she said.

On Monday, Saint Joseph eighth-graders visited the lab for Oh, Say Can You C?, a lesson about the benefits of naturally occurring vitamins in food. Students tested fruit benefits for the presence and amounts of Vitamin C.

It was fun, said eighth-grader Natalie Koranda of Mechanicsburg.

The students like getting out of school (for the lab). I noticed in the last few years that they like getting their hands on everything. They like looking at all the information posters on the wall. Its good for me because this is always in September. I use it as a kick-start for our science fair for seventh- and eighth-graders, Saint Joseph teacher Nick Sansone said.

On Wednesday morning, Saint Joseph seventh- and eighth-grade classes visited the lab for a two-part Corn to Plastic lesson that compared the environmental impact of Styrofoam, which is made from oil, versus corn-based Eco foam. Students made corn plastic by heating a mixture of corn oil and corn starch in a microwave.

We learned how to make plastic from corn. Its better for the environment because it degrades easily. We learned how there is a foam that decomposes easier than Styrofoam. Styrofoam is made from oil and stays in the earth longer. We need more plastic made from corn, seventh-grader Isabela Wilson, of Lewisberry, explained after class.

I really enjoyed it, seventh-grader Christian Yeager, of Mechanicsburg, added.

For Thursday, students were scheduled for lessons in producing glue from milk, then testing the strength of their manufactured glue against a name-brand product.

The neat thing about this is that its interactive with hands-on experiments. The students pair up with each other and its a classroom on wheels.  Its something our students really look forward to, Earnest said.
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Thousands of students who take part in the Erasmus Plus student exchange programme in Europe could be affected by the UKs decision to leave the European Union.The programme allows students to study in one of 33 European countries for free for up to a year with the costs being met by the EU. But if Britain is no longer part of the EU it is unclear if UK-based students will be able to access the programme for free or if students from other countries will be able to study in the UK.  The Scottish Government has called for clarity as figures show that the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow were the top scheme users in 2014, the most up to date figures, with 462 and 460 Erasmus students respectively.Under the scheme participating universities waive their fees and the EU pays for travel and living expenses. It is regarded as one of the biggest sources of funding for studying abroad and more than 200,000 students have benefited from the scheme since it was launched in 1987.Brexit has put the 112 million Erasmus programme in doubt. It is not clear at this early stage what the impact of the recent UK vote to leave the EU will have on the Erasmus Programme. Definitive answers on the programmes future, particularly in relation to UK students and Universities, may take time, said an Erasmus spokesman.There is no immediate change to the UKs participation in the Erasmus programme following the EU referendum result and the UK National Agency will continue to manage and deliver the programme across the UK. All participants and beneficiaries should continue with their Erasmus funded activities, the spokesman added.The British Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson, said the referendum result does not affect students currently studying in the EU or those considering applying in 2017. The UKs future access to the Erasmus programme will be determined as a part of wider discussions with the EU. Existing UK students studying in the EU, and those looking to start in the next academic year, will continue to be subject to current arrangements, he explained.However, the Erasmus programmes leaders fear it will not be top of the list during Brexit negotiations. We do really want there to be prioritisation on the Erasmus Plus because it is important, it has a direct impact on the students and the economy, said its director, Ruth Sinclair-Jones, who is based at the British Council.She pointed out that it is a hugely popular scheme in the UK and oversubscribed by a factor of two to one. She argued the economic benefits were tangible for the UK in terms of future employability.According to the European commissions Erasmus impact study in 2014, young people who study or train abroad are twice as likely to find employment quickly. The study of 80,000 students showed that the unemployment rates among Erasmus students was 23% lower after five years than for students who did not study abroad.James Dornan, convenor of the Scottish Parliaments Education and Skills Committee, said the UK Government should state its commitment to retaining the programme. The Erasmus programme has been hugely beneficial to our universities and students over the years. It is critically important that the UK Government makes a commitment to protect this scheme, he said.Our students also benefit massively from the opportunity to take a year abroad in Europe, giving them the chance to experience new cultures and ways of learning, whilst becoming more open to different ways of life, he added.
Lucy Prettyeagle

THE HISTORY: Take the Tail Lucy Pretty Eagle was among the first of almost 10,600 boys and girls sent to the Carlisle Indian School to take part in a social experiment to assimilate Native American children into the mainstream culture by removing them from tribal influences.

After only one winter at the school, she died. Take the Tails time at the boarding school made her more vulnerable to disease for many reasons, including depression brought on by homesickness, Carlisle Indian School biographer Barbara Landis said in her essay Putting Lucy Pretty Eagle to Rest. Lucys health declined in part because of radical changes forced on her.

Lucy Pretty Eagle was the daughter of Pretty Eagle and from the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. At the age of 10, she arrived at the Carlisle Indian School on Nov. 14, 1883. Lucy was one of 190 Native American children to be buried in the Carlisle Indian School cemetery.

Rumors circulated that the building that was her dormitory is haunted by her spirit. According to a Sentinel article by Joseph Cress in 2014, Landis is quick to point out that researchers proved the Coren Apartment building was never used as a girls dormitory but rather as a quarters for teachers. Many of the ghost stories related to Lucy hinge on her being a resident of that building during the Indian School years.

Pretty Eagle is one of the Rosebud Sioux, a South Dakota tribe that made a push to have the remains of 10 tribe members returned to their native land to be reburied after appropriate native prayers and services. In May, the U.S. Army promised to pay to move and re-bury the remains of at least 10 Native American children who died more than a century ago at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

HOW THEY DIED: Lucy Pretty Eagle died May 9, 1884, and her cause of death is unknown.

GRAVESITE: Carlisle Indian School Cemetery.
We might as well be watching a 30-car pile-up the way Americans are holding hands over their eyes trying to avoid the grisly bits of the most grotesque presidential race we have witnessed in this, the second decade of the 21st Century. Of course, its only the 2nd election during that time, but still.

That is not to say 2012 wasnt genuinely gruesome, with more than its share of cataclysmic collisions and demolition derby debacles, but this time theyre headed downhill faster than an 18-wheeler with burned out brakes carrying a load of nitroglycerine on the western slope of the Andes.

This is a race to rock bottom to see which team ends up least wrecked, and right now theyre both jostling for pole position. Everybody is losing paint riding into each other while running over rocky roads gouged by their own staffs. Must be why they call them pit crews.

Youve heard the term Accidents waiting to happen? Well the opposite is accidents waiting for a break in the action. The two most polarizing drivers in the history of American politics have veered into so many walls, both their nicknames could be Crash.

Recently the Donald and the Hillary pulled into the paddock to attack their opponents foreign policies, a shock to the majority of spectators who were unaware either had a foreign policy that didnt consist on calling in air strikes on the others campaign. And tire irons swung at their fuel lines.

Now were getting to the point in this short track race where driver fatigue kicks in, and the unforced errors have begun to accumulate. Hillary Clinton said she was wrong to call half of Trumps supporters a basket of deplorables. And she was wrong. Its more like 63 percent.

Donald Trump used the Mexican president as a prop, then gave an immigration speech that spurred most of his Hispanic advisory board to resign. Although to be honest, Trump Hispanic Advisory Board sounds like Democratic Leadership Council. Trump also praised Vladimir Putin for being a strong leader with an 84 percent approval rating. It would be higher, but the KGB hasnt been able to track down the other 16 percent. Yet.

Even the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, got in trouble for not knowing what Aleppo was. Presumably he was thinking a small leopard or someone suffering from the initial stages of Hansens Disease.

Time is running out for all the major candidates to grab some clean air. Hillary needs to prove shes not a robotic automaton who will do or say anything to get elected. And she intends to do that as soon as she installs a larger hard drive and updates her operating system. Pneumonia, right.

Trump knows he needs to assure the electorate hes more than some spoiled rich guy whose diplomatic horsepower is measured in arrogant smirks; hes even gone so far as to hire a female campaign manager to smirk for him.

The good news is the finish line is only two months away. The bad news is one of these lug nuts is going to take the checkered flag. The upside being, on November 8th, our long national nightmare will be over. Until November 9th, when the funny car race for 2020 begins. Gentlemen and ladies, prepare to start your engines.

Will Durst, distributed by the Cagle Cartoons Inc. syndicate, is an award-winning, nationally acclaimed columnist, comedian and former Pizza Hut assistant manager.
Thursday, September 15, 2016

Why Not Use A Low Cost Online Provider for your Trademark Registration?

When someone wants to protect, they dont just need a simple registration form completed and then filed. Frankly, anyone can complete a form. However, even a well prepared form may not get you the trademark protection you wanted. Did you know it is possible to get a mark registered that infringes on someone elses mark? Did you know the Trademark Office does not check the 50 state trademark registers when reviewing an application? Did you know about half of the enforceable marks are not registered at all? What business owners really need to avoid problems is counseling on brand strategy including selecting, clearing, and registering the proposed mark for use that meets the federal criteria:

1. The mark must be distinctive, not descriptive, and an indicator of source in the mind of the public.

2. Although not technically required, the mark should be cleared to ensure it does not infringe on anyone elses trademark rights.

3. The mark must not violate any of the Trademark Offices prohibitions, and otherwise comply with trademark procedural and substantive rules and requirements. These include things such as file size, not containing slurs or offensive terms and images and other technicalities.

A business can suffer critical harm if it doesnt have comprehensive legal guidance. How critical? Many companies go bankrupt from failing. Rebranding can cause loss of market share. Attorney fees for legal defense can put you in the red.

Dont let this be you. A company used a descriptive name as their trademark, a mark that was not distinctive. They met with great success, sales were climbing, and life was looking good. Then they discovered a competitors campaign to steal their customers by selling low quality knockoffs, using the same brand name! Not only did they lose all of their customers, they actually started getting returns and hate mail from people who bought the sub quality knockoffs! Since they used a trademark that was not legally distinctive, it couldnt do anything to stop this kind of theft from happening.

Online services are typically document preparation services and offers help with simple registration documents. This isnt very valuable.

They DONT help you select a name that is protectable or create an overall brand protection strategy, and they cant even advise you if they KNOW your mark is not legally protectable. (This would be the unauthorized practice of law.) All they do it fill out forms, at your direction. If you knew how to do it, youd probably have done it yourself. You are not likely an expert qualified to oversee their work.

They DONT provide clearance searches, or if they do, they do not INTERPRET the results. Their searches report only raw data, and there is no legal guidance as to whether any of the cited data could represent a threat to you. They provide none of the legal guidance that you need because they are not a law firm. The legal services that they do offer, through their attorneys, end up costing about as much, if not more, than you would pay to a regular attorney who works specifically for you, and not for the online document preparation service.

Tracy Jong Law Firm provides the LEGAL GUIDANCE that you need for brand strategy and protection; for fees that provide long term return on investment. Our fees are the greatest investment you can make in the future health and long term value of your company. For more information, feel free to call or email to arrange a strategy session.

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

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
From: Lillian Too -- Feng Shui Expert For Immediate Release: Dateline: Los Angeles , CA Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Heres a straightforward question for you today. Do you lack self-confidenceor do you know anyone who does? I think we all know a few. Personally, Ive seen many people who suffer from thisand I often ask myself, why? Of course there could be extenuating circumstances behind someones lack of confidencebut the good thing is there is away to change and for you to gain a more positive aspect on life and your lifes purpose.

You see, when you lack self-confidence you greatly disadvantage yourself in the workplace and in life. Self-confident people on the other hand are more self-assured and project a positive self-image. They are forceful and generally seem happier and ready to tackle the problems of the world. People are attracted to their self-confident personalities!

Today Ive offered you a visualization technique that will help you to become more self-confident. It wont happen overnightbut practice it daily for just a month and watch what happens! Its easyand only requires a little discipline on your part.

In case you havent been by my shop in Mid-Valley recently or on line with us at

Sending love from KL,

Lillian

The Feng Shui Almanac

Year of the Fire Rooster 2017



I have to tell you  I am a huge fan of our

Earthly Branch and Conflict Animal  on each monthly page youll find a chart showing the animal sign that rules each day of the month. The days that show your animal sign are good for you and you can be confident on this day in your work and social life. Opposite the earthly branch is the conflict animal for the particular day, so this day is in conflict with those born on the animal sign indicated. If you find your animal sign as the conflict animal its best to take it easy and not make any important decisions; dont sign contracts or commence any new business on these days.

Inauspicious/Auspicious Activities  When you see black icons on certain days it indicates obstacles for the activities shown in black. So you should refrain from doing any of the activities shown on these days. Conversely, when you see the icons illustrated in fbright colours then these days are auspicious for the activities indicated. You can proceed with important activities on these days.

Not only does the Alamanc show the activities that are auspicious and the ones to avoid, we also provide recommendations for auspicious and inauspicious hours to complete activities. The red circles indicate the lucky hours and black circles indicate unlucky times. So if you have an important meeting or document to sign or presentation to make, be sure to schedule during an auspicious hour and avoid unlucky times

New Moon and Full Moon Days

Its best to begin projects or start jobs on dates that fall between the new moon and the full moon  this is known as the waxing cycle of the moon. Conversely the moon wanes after the full moon until the next new moon so best not to begin new projects in the waning moon period.

And this is just on the monthly pages! The Almanac is also filled with other helpful feng shui information such as the annual flying start chart, the lucky and unlucky stars for 2017, your astrological horoscope sign affinities, renovation rules for 2017 and much much more!

This useful Almanac was a number one best seller on Amazon last year for many weeks. It has a nice spiral binding that allows it to easily stand on your desk for easy reference so you can quickly check each day and see whats in storeand whether or not to take action. Thats what I doand you should too!

Get your copy today of

To your success always,

Lillian

Become More Self-Confident Using Visualization

Choose an early morning hour, a day when the sun rises on a clear horizon and you are feeling well rested after a good nights sleep. Go to a quiet place which can be indoors or outdoors and you will be alone.

First close your eyes gently with a light smile on your face and fill your mind with happy thoughts. Breathe in and breathe out steadily and imagine yourself looking rested and beautifulpossessed of an inner quiet glow. Feel clever and well-groomedfeel at peace with the world and then SLOWLY focus on the details of your SELF.

Work at creating a firm sense of confidence growing within you. Think of your latest triumph or a moment when you felt good about yourself. Nurture this feeling. Give yourself a pat on the back. Go through a small list of all the blessings in your life. Become aware of yourself becoming more positive. Think these thoughts until you feel your body start to warm up.

Now visualize a powerful bright light just above your headits as blinding as the sun. This bright orb of light is sending rays and rays of bright yellow golden light raining down on you. The rays of light feel warm and gentle ad they fill your body with powerful rays of confidence.

Try keeping this visualization of rays of golden light enveloping you with new found confidence for as long as you can. If you can maintain the image for a full minute it would be wonderful. Think of all the things you wantand be convinced that the light rays coming to you from the cosmic orb are bringing you all that you wish for. Easily and effortlessly.

Do this practice daily for a month and watch your self-confidence skyrocket. Heres a tip: write a script if you think it will help!

Love,

Lillian

Grand Master Lillian Too is undoubtedly the worlds most prolific and popular writer and advocate on living with good feng shui! She has written over 100 books that have been translated into 31 different languages, and over 10 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide.

After graduating with an MBA from Harvard Business School, Lillian went on to pursue a highly successful business career in banking and finance in the 1980s in Hong Kong. Her business acumen, drive and abundant energy soon led her from the finance world to the world of luxury department stores and boutiques where, through a leveraged buy out, she became Chairman and shareholder of The Dragon Seed Group.

All the while she was guided and taught by her feng shui masters in Hong Kong and China  and she attributes much of her monumental and quick rise to success in Hong Kong directly to them.

Lillian soon decided to retire from active corporate life and return to Malaysia to raise her beautiful daughter, Jennifer, and spend more time with her family. It was at this time she began to devote her energy to writing and furthering her study of feng shui.

She published her first book in Malaysia in 1995 that quickly became a best seller and the rest is history. Today she is Chairman of Wofs.Com, a feng shui franchise and merchandising company run by her daughter, Jennifer Too.

She trains feng shui students and future consultants at her Certified Consulting Institute in Malaysia and is much loved by her readers, associates and students for the way she teaches practical feng shui in a user-friendly way, using ordinary situations and circumstances that interest people and affect their everyday lives.

In November 2009, at the International Feng Shui Convention in Singapore, the well-deserved title of GRAND MASTER OF FENG SHUI was conferred upon Lillian Too. Immediately following this accolade, in early January 2010, she received the prestigious Brand Laureate Personality of The Year Award presented by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia! There seems to be no stopping her popularity and these days!

Lillian believes everyone should know her secrets and learn how to adapt feng shui to modern life and she warmly welcomes you into her Mandala.

You can learn more about Lillian by visiting her website at

Lillian Too Mandala  North American Office

3840 Blackhawk Rd,

Danville, CA 94506

Toll Free Info and Customer Servce : 1 866 508 8806

Email: info@lilliantoomandala.com Fax: +1 925 736 6177





Love those perfect little Bonsai plants? These may by beautiful to look at but unfortunately they suggest stunted development. Its always better to use a living plant that is healthy, green and flourishing. If the plant is dying or in poor health, replace it immediately.







It is said that be moon influences your moods  you are affected by the pull of gravity, which may cause you to feel down and depressed according to how the tides ebb and flow. Make an effort to take control of your moods and resist this pull when it happens to you.



Heres a straightforward question for you today. Do you lack self-confidenceor do you know anyone who does? I think we all know a few. Personally, Ive seen many people who suffer from thisand I often ask myself, why? Of course there could be extenuating circumstances behind someones lack of confidencebut the good thing is there is away to change and for you to gain a more positive aspect on life and your lifes purpose.You see, when you lack self-confidence you greatly disadvantage yourself in the workplace and in life. Self-confident people on the other hand are more self-assured and project a positive self-image. They are forceful and generally seem happier and ready to tackle the problems of the world. People are attracted to their self-confident personalities!Today Ive offered you a visualization technique that will help you to become more self-confident. It wont happen overnightbut practice it daily for just a month and watch what happens! Its easyand only requires a little discipline on your part.In case you havent been by my shop in Mid-Valley recently or on line with us at http://www.wofs.com , this will let you know that our 2017 Almanacs and Diaries are already available and the annual horoscope books for each animal sign can be preordered now. As always, the information inside is only available from WOFSthere are no other products on the market that are anything like these gems or that give you so much advice and knowledge! Be sure to order your copies today!Sending love from KL,LillianI have to tell you  I am a huge fan of our annual Feng Shui Almanac 2017 and the latest edition for Year of the Fire Rooster has just been released! I use it daily and in fact, rely on it when making important decisions. Here are a few of the special features that you will find on each of the monthly pages of the almanac.on each monthly page youll find a chart showing the animal sign that rules each day of the month. The days that show your animal sign are good for you and you can be confident on this day in your work and social life. Opposite the earthly branch is the conflict animal for the particular day, so this day is in conflict with those born on the animal sign indicated. If you find your animal sign as the conflict animal its best to take it easy and not make any important decisions; dont sign contracts or commence any new business on these days.When you see black icons on certain days it indicates obstacles for the activities shown in black. So you should refrain from doing any of the activities shown on these days. Conversely, when you see the icons illustrated in fbright colours then these days are auspicious for the activities indicated. You can proceed with important activities on these days.Not only does the Alamanc show the activities that are auspicious and the ones to avoid, we also provide recommendations for auspicious and inauspicious hours to complete activities. The red circles indicate the lucky hours and black circles indicate unlucky times. So if you have an important meeting or document to sign or presentation to make, be sure to schedule during an auspicious hour and avoid unlucky timesIts best to begin projects or start jobs on dates that fall between the new moon and the full moon  this is known as the waxing cycle of the moon. Conversely the moon wanes after the full moon until the next new moon so best not to begin new projects in the waning moon period.And this is just on the monthly pages! The Almanac is also filled with other helpful feng shui information such as the annual flying start chart, the lucky and unlucky stars for 2017, your astrological horoscope sign affinities, renovation rules for 2017 and much much more!This useful Almanac was alast year for many weeks. It has a nice spiral binding that allows it to easily stand on your desk for easy reference so you can quickly check each day and see whats in storeand whether or not to take action. Thats what I doand you should too!Get your copy today of Feng Shui Almanac 2017! To your success always,LillianChoose an early morning hour, a day when the sun rises on a clear horizon and you are feeling well rested after a good nights sleep. Go to a quiet place which can be indoors or outdoors and you will be alone.First close your eyes gently with a light smile on your face and fill your mind with happy thoughts. Breathe in and breathe out steadily and imagine yourself looking rested and beautifulpossessed of an inner quiet glow. Feel clever and well-groomedfeel at peace with the world and then SLOWLY focus on the details of your SELF.Work at creating a firm sense of confidence growing within you. Think of your latest triumph or a moment when you felt good about yourself. Nurture this feeling. Give yourself a pat on the back. Go through a small list of all the blessings in your life. Become aware of yourself becoming more positive. Think these thoughts until you feel your body start to warm up.Now visualize a powerful bright light just above your headits as blinding as the sun. This bright orb of light is sending rays and rays of bright yellow golden light raining down on you. The rays of light feel warm and gentle ad they fill your body with powerful rays of confidence.Try keeping this visualization of rays of golden light enveloping you with new found confidence for as long as you can. If you can maintain the image for a full minute it would be wonderful. Think of all the things you wantand be convinced that the light rays coming to you from the cosmic orb are bringing you all that you wish for. Easily and effortlessly.Do this practice daily for a month and watch your self-confidence skyrocket. Heres a tip: write a script if you think it will help!Love,LillianGrand Master Lillian Too is undoubtedly the worlds most prolific and popular writer and advocate on living with good feng shui! She has written over 100 books that have been translated into 31 different languages, and over 10 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide.After graduating with an MBA from Harvard Business School, Lillian went on to pursue a highly successful business career in banking and finance in the 1980s in Hong Kong. Her business acumen, drive and abundant energy soon led her from the finance world to the world of luxury department stores and boutiques where, through a leveraged buy out, she became Chairman and shareholder of The Dragon Seed Group.All the while she was guided and taught by her feng shui masters in Hong Kong and China  and she attributes much of her monumental and quick rise to success in Hong Kong directly to them.Lillian soon decided to retire from active corporate life and return to Malaysia to raise her beautiful daughter, Jennifer, and spend more time with her family. It was at this time she began to devote her energy to writing and furthering her study of feng shui.She published her first book in Malaysia in 1995 that quickly became a best seller and the rest is history. Today she is Chairman of Wofs.Com, a feng shui franchise and merchandising company run by her daughter, Jennifer Too.She trains feng shui students and future consultants at her Certified Consulting Institute in Malaysia and is much loved by her readers, associates and students for the way she teaches practical feng shui in a user-friendly way, using ordinary situations and circumstances that interest people and affect their everyday lives.In November 2009, at the International Feng Shui Convention in Singapore, the well-deserved title of GRAND MASTER OF FENG SHUI was conferred upon Lillian Too. Immediately following this accolade, in early January 2010, she received the prestigious Brand Laureate Personality of The Year Award presented by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia! There seems to be no stopping her popularity and these days!Lillian believes everyone should know her secrets and learn how to adapt feng shui to modern life and she warmly welcomes you into her Mandala.You can learn more about Lillian by visiting her website at www.lillian-too.com Lillian Too Mandala  North American Office3840 Blackhawk Rd,Danville, CA 94506Toll Free Info and Customer Servce : 1 866 508 8806Email: info@lilliantoomandala.com Fax: +1 925 736 6177Love those perfect little Bonsai plants? These may by beautiful to look at but unfortunately they suggest stunted development. Its always better to use a living plant that is healthy, green and flourishing. If the plant is dying or in poor health, replace it immediately.It is said that be moon influences your moods  you are affected by the pull of gravity, which may cause you to feel down and depressed according to how the tides ebb and flow. Make an effort to take control of your moods and resist this pull when it happens to you.


I wont waste your time trying to use Feeling Poorlygate as an excuse to play amateur doctor  plenty of people in the basket of deplorables are doing that already  because heres the sagacious bottom line:

Given what we already know about the 16 presidential candidates  combining their ages, this is the oldest duo in American history  its imperative that they both release their medical records. Only then can we begin to put Hillary Clintons ill health episodes, and notably her latest one, in the proper perspective. Only then can we begin to determine whether Donald Trumps rotten health habits  four hours sleep a night and an insatiable intake of junk food  are blinking yellow lights for an overweight 70-year-old man.

But neither of these candidates is particularly transparent, and theres no requirement that they come clean on the medical front. Indeed, their predecessors rarely went the extra mile. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney didnt share those personal histories in 2012. John McCain did it in 2008, but with a big caveat: He dumped 1,000 pages on a select few reporters, and gave them only a few hours to read up. So when Trump tweeted in August that he was willing to release detailed medical records, that he had no problem in doing so, it just read like a head fake.

But we do need to know, not just because the presidency is such a grueling job, but because in the absence of hard information, the conspiracy theories continue to metastasize  as weve long seen already, like when Karl Rove cited Clintons 12 concussion and conjured brain damage. And the public wants a lot more info. According to a national poll last month by the survey firm Morning Consult, 64 percent of registered voters want Clinton and Trump to release detailed records, a nine percent hike since the question was asked in May.

Still, it doesnt necessarily mean that the public will rationally assess the released info. Take a look at whats happening right now: Clintons doctor says she has pneumonia, and the usual loons and trolls, their hair afire, spent their Sunday tweeting pneumonia death stats. This is a big a reason why leaders often embrace secrecy  as arguably evidenced best by FDR. Post-polio, he hid the fact that he couldnt walk; back then, most Americans didnt look kindly on cripples. The truth would have damaged him politically; only after his death did people learn that Hitler was beaten by a guy who couldnt stand.

But now that were supposedly more sophisticated about these things, and about modern medicine, the scales should tilt toward transparency. At least the rational among us would know more than we know now.

And lest we forget, we know a lot less about Trumps medical fitness than we do about Clintons. All weve got from the demagogue is a four-paragraph letter written in five minutes nine months ago in the back of a limo. Trumps gastroenterologist, Harold Bornstein, did the honors, declaring in suspiciously Trumpy language that his strength and stamina are extraordinary, that his lab results are astonishingly excellent (no doctor talks that way), and that of course Trump would be the healthiest leader in the history of human endeavor.

With Clinton off the road for the next few days, the health speculation will only get worse. In theory, the best  one that has been floated for years  is to bring in an independent team of doctors to fully examine both candidates. The idea is to depoliticize the situation as much as possible. The potential upside, at minimum, is that the candidates (especially Clinton) would no longer be accused of hiding anything. On the other hand, I fear that everything is so politicized that if Clinton were judged to be basically healthy, the trolls would simply retaliate by sliming the independent doctors.

But heres one thing we can say for real: The vice-presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence is suddenly more important.

Dick Polman is the national political columnist at NewsWorks/WHYY in Philadelphia (newsworks.org/polman) and a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. Email him at dickpolman7@gmail.com.
About LMA Consulting Group  Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP

**MEDIA EXPERT: Supply Chain Management, Logistics, ERP, VMI, Social Networks for Business**

Ranked Number 16 in SAPs Supply Chain Influencers and recognized as one of the top 1% of consultants worldwide, Lisa Anderson has deep experience helping manufacturers and distributors maximize value.

Lisa is the founder and president of LMA Consulting Group Inc., a consulting firm that helps manufacturing and distribution organizations elevate business performance and maximize value. She is the author of the forthcoming book The Amazon Effect.

If it relates to improving the performance of a manufacturer, Lisa has done it. Her expertise encompasses the full scope of end-to-end supply chain business processes  from your suppliers suppliers through your manufacturing operations to your customers customers. Her unique talent resides in accompanying these processes with the appropriate organizational development, systems and financial expertise to help clients consistently deliver bold customer promises and substantial company profits.

She has architected leading edge, proprietary approaches for fast-tracking growth and profits, driving supply chain performance, achieving exponential results with SIOP (sales, inventory & operations planning) and ensuring ERP selection and design success.

Prior to founding LMA Consulting Group Inc., Lisa was the Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain of PaperPak, Inc. Her twelve-year tenure included transitions and promotions through the company transformation from a $100 million family-owned business, through a merger and acquisition of three businesses into one $350 million global company, followed by a management leveraged buyout in combination with an investment banking group.

With a blend of management, finance and operations, Lisa received her MBA with an emphasis in Finance from California State University Fullerton and her BSBA with an emphasis in Operations Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She is the President of APICS Inland Empire, the #1 trade association for supply chain and operations professionals, Group Leader of the Ontario group of ProVisors, the leading community of over 4000 trusted advisors, and Innovation Awards Chair of the Manufacturing Council of the Inland Empire (MCIE) Manufacturers Summit. Lisa is also a member of the Society for the Advancement of Consulting (SAC) and the ACA Group Alliance.

In demand as a speaker for conferences such as the Global Supply Chain & Logistics Summit and the APICS International Conference, Lisa has been quoted and featured in a variety of online and print publications, including the Wall Street Journal, ABC News, tED magazine, Global Trade Magazine, Industrial Distribution, California CEO, American Journal of Transportation, ISM, AMEs Target Magazine, Project Times, ThomasNet, World Trade Magazine and Industry Week.

Lisa has served as the Program Advisor for the Advanced Supply Chain Certification Program at Cal State University Fullertons Extended Education and is a member of the Advisory Board for Norco Colleges logistics program. She is Student Case Competition Chair for the APICS Southwest district and has grown the competition from 3 teams from Southern California to 25 teams from around the world. She has also been a featured panelist at the University of Southern Californias entrepreneurial studies program and for Pepperdines capstone course for MBA with concentration in entrepreneurship.

Lisa is the author of Leverage Social Networks to Drive Business Results and was named as a top 100 supply chain blogger by SupplyChainOpz. She created the Southern California Harvey Mudd executive roundtables with the Director of Harvey Mudds Manufacturing Practice and Engineering Clinic and has led over 25 webinars for the Financial Times ExecSense.

She is a global traveler with many stops in Europe, Central America, Australia and North America including a summer session attending Oxford University. Lisa plans in as many stops as possible in New Orleans to enjoy a beignet at the Cafe de Monde. And, in recognition of her extraordinary tenacity to accomplish goals, her colleagues fondly refer to her as pit terrier.
Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel.

Instant News Wire
This is the state of the Eagle Ford Shale: Houston-based BHP Billiton Petroleum had 42 drilling rigs working in the South Texas oil field in 2012.

Now it has one or two.

I call those the good times, Jon Krome, head of continuous improvement at BHP, said of the early years of the field when companies like BHP rushed to get wells flowing. Some people also call those the crazy times.

The bravado is gone from the Eagle Ford now that oil prices have tanked, down from more than $100 per barrel in 2014 to $43.58 Wednesday. But at the Hart Energy DUG Eagle Ford conference and exhibition, held this week at the Convention Center in San Antonio, operators and analysts talked about the field as a workhorse asset that has decades of production ahead of it.

Krome, a speaker at the conference, said that despite the diminished drilling activity, the Eagle Ford remains a gem for BHP, especially its acreage in Karnes and DeWitt counties, where a deep formation called the Karnes Trough is recognized as the most coveted slice of the 400-mile field.

Richard Mason, chief technical director of Hart Energy, said the industry in South Texas has switched from a boom mentality to one of figuring out how to drill better, cheaper wells.

The industry has moved from this land rush  scramble to get oil and gas out of the ground, Mason said. Two years into the price collapse, and the market has been able to adapt, he said. You concentrate on the best rock in the best plays. In the Eagle Ford, the parts that are viable are where innovations are taking place, he said.

Several conference speakers said the number of mergers and acquisitions in the field could increase over the next six months.

Mark Meyer, managing director and head of research for Tudor Pickering Holt & Co., and Mark Sooby, managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who both spoke Tuesday, said they expect some large operators in the Eagle Ford to let go of parts of their acreage that they dont plan to drill in the next few years. That would allow the companies to spend the money on either their core Eagle Ford land or deploy the money to the most fashionable place to spend drilling dollars these days, the Permian Basin.

But they said bargain basement prices are not likely to be found in South Texas.

Sooby said the average acquisition cost across the field has been $17,200 an acre.

He pointed to one of the larger, recent deals in the field as an example of its value. Houstons EnerVest Ltd. in the last year has spent $1.3 billion acquiring assets in the Eagle Ford, and Sooby valued its April purchase of 8,568 acres from San Antonios GulfTex Energy at around $65,000 per acre.

To me what it shows is the inherent value, the strategic value of the Eagle Ford stands the test of time, so even in the down cycle the values are still very strong, Sooby said.

Most of the deals have focused on Karnes and DeWitt County  around $22.2 billion. The rest of the field has seen $23.2 billion in deals, Sooby said.

Production in the Eagle Ford likely will keep dropping for the immediate future as companies pull back spending, but the University of Texas at Austins Bureau of Economic Geology at the conference released new research on the field this week that indicated the Eagle Ford still has a long way to go.

UT said the field holds around 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil, though it laid out different scenarios for the next 30 years of oil field activity that vary by oil price, the cost of bringing wells online and technology  factors that are always changing. This is very dynamic to look at, Svetlana Ikonnikova, an energy economist, said during a presentation.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

At $100 per barrel oil, the field would have 11.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil and around 93,000 wells. At $80 oil, it would have 10.9 billion barrels and 83,000 wells.

At $50 oil, the amount recoverable would fall 8.2 billion barrels with 47,000 wells.

jhiller@express-news.net

Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller
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Presumed cartel gunmen kidnapped 15 people from a bus near the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, the latest sign that a period of relative calm in that stretch of the border has ended.

On Monday, security forces in the town of Hidalgo, which sits across the Rio Grande from a mostly unpopulated stretch of Texas border between Laredo and Eagle Pass, questioned the driver of a commercial passenger bus heading from Nuevo Laredo, in the state of Tamaulipas, to Piedras Negras.

The bus driver told police that armed men stopped the bus shortly after it left Nuevo Laredo, according to a news release from the state of Coahuila, where Hidalgo is located.

The gunmen took all 15 passengers off the bus, officials said. The driver told police his life had been threatened, and he wouldnt provide descriptions of the kidnappers faces nor their vehicles. Coahuila state police asked the driver if he wanted to make a police report to Tamaulipas authorities, according to the news release, which he also refused out of fear of reprisals.

A spokesman for the Tamaulipas prosecutors office said authorities in that state havent received a report of the kidnapping. Its not clear in which state the kidnapping took place, the spokesman said. Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila all touch the Texas border in the 30 miles between Nuevo Laredo and Hidalgo.

The kidnapping conjures images of the town of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, about 280 miles southeast of Nuevo Laredo. In 2011, cartel members executed 72 Central American immigrants outside San Fernando. In the ensuing investigation, authorities found 200 bodies buried near San Fernando and received reports of abductions from buses in the region.

In 2012, a hit man for the Zetas drug cartel testified in a federal courtroom in Laredo that he took part in a 2005 training camp near San Fernando with 300 other cartel members. Those who hadnt committed a murder before were brought bound prisoners and ordered to kill them with machetes and sledgehammers, admitted killer Wenceslao Tovar told jurors.

The Zetas carried out killings in San Fernando, sometimes of innocent bus passengers, because they were afraid of infiltrators from rival cartels passing through their territory, said Gary Hale, a drug policy fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Foreign Policy. Something similar is likely happening on the stretch of border between Nuevo Laredo and Piedras Negras said Hale, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Before Mexican Marines killed Zetas leader Heriberto Lazcano in 2012 near Progreso, Coahuila, a town southwest of Hidalgo, the former Mexican special forces soldier had moved the gangs headquarters out of Tamaulipas and into Coahuila, Hale said. Now the gang is being torn by an internal struggle between those loyal to the gangs founding special forces operatives and family members of Miguel Trevino Morales, a longtime criminal from the border region who succeeded Lazcano as the Zetas leader and was arrested in 2013.

Anybody whos transiting, if they dont look like normal passengers on the bus  they take them off, they interrogate them and they kill them, and you never see them again, Hale said.

The Zetas internal struggle put an end to almost three years of quiet in Nuevo Laredo, which has seen on-and-off cartel fighting for much of the past 15 years. Last month, residents told the San Antonio Express-News that the fighting was limited to night hours and was taking place on the outskirts of town.

On Sept. 1, however, Mexican soldiers killed two people in a shootout less than a mile from the international bridges to downtown Laredo.

jbuch@express-news.net

Twitter: @jlbuch
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WASHINGTON  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, in his first public splash since seeking the presidency, clashed sharply with top Obama administration officials Wednesday over a plan he says will turn over control of the internet to an international body that includes authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China.

The confrontation played out in a packed Senate hearing convened by Cruz to block the turnover, which could take effect as early as Sept. 30.

Democrats have warned that Cruzs measure, if tied to a stop-gap government funding bill, could threaten another October shutdown.

The privatization of the global internet domain name system has been in the works for two decades, with the support of such technology giants as Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Cruz, however, recently has taken to calling it a giveaway comparable to the Panama Canal.

Pressing for a policy rider to maintain oversight by the Commerce Department, Cruz accused the administration of ignoring a law barring the U.S. government from relinquishing control of the domain name system, even while planning is underway.

Cruzs charge prompted an immediate rebuke from the panels star witness, Lawrence Strickling, an assistant secretary for communications and information at the Commerce Department, who testified his office has been mandated by Congress and a succession of administrations to prepare for the new system.

Cruz called it a tortured interpretation of federal law, and warned Strickling and other program administrators that they could be in violation of the federal Antideficiency Act barring unauthorized spending, opening them to criminal prosecution under a new administration in January.

I understand that you have a political mandate, Cruz said, cutting off Strickling as he tried to object. You are risking personal criminal liability of up to two years in prison.

Senator, we have followed the law, Strickling said, drawing a distinction between making preparations and actually relinquishing responsibility for the system, which would happen if Congress does not vote to block it. I am outraged that you are accusing us of doing that.

Despite past bipartisan efforts to privatize oversight of the internets address book, Cruz has sought to rally elements of Republican right to oppose the transfer by tying it to a short-term government funding bill, much as he sought to do three years ago in a fight over Obamacare that led to a government shutdown.

Senate leaders have been hoping to reach a deal to fund the government through Dec. 9, and Democrats immediately termed Cruzs internet provision an obstacle.

Talking to reporters Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, asked whether Republicans are willing to risk a shutdown.

Can Ted Cruz and Republicans dream up a more obscure and irrelevant issue to stop the business of the American government? Durbin said. If Senate Republicans cant control Cruz at this point, imagine when he gets in full gear and starts running for president.

Administration officials characterize the addressing system for the internet as a clerical function best left to the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has been doing the job for years under a government contract.

The Obama administration plans to let the contract expire Sept. 30, removing the governments role in the system for handling domain names, such as .com and .org, which form the root of all website addresses. The U.S. would retain control of .gov and .mil domains used by the government and the military.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that the approach reflects a consensus of technology experts, scientists and business leaders.

You might think that somebody who is an ardent champion of smaller government and getting the government out of the hands  or out of the business  of the American people would praise such an effort, Earnest said. So, it might lead you to conclude that Sen. Cruz is interested in something other than the merits of this specific proposal.

Cruz, however, has questioned ICANNs independence, calling it a United Nations-like organization run by global bureaucrats who could be influenced by unfriendly foreign governments that practice online censorship.

In a flurry of speeches, opinion pieces and a new website, Cruz has warned of a parade of horribles prompted by an international non-governmental entity that is not subject to the American free speech protections.

Once the government is out of the picture, Cruz said, First Amendment protections go away.

Cruz has described the transfer in increasingly apocalyptic terms, calling it a radical proposal that would cede control to the nations enemies.

In a Senate floor speech last week, Cruz said he didnt want to tell our children and our childrens children what it was once like when the internet wasnt censored, wasnt in the control of the foreign governments.

Backers of the plan describe California-based ICANN as a nongovernmental global internet multi-stakeholder community charged with managing the efficient flow, not the content, of internet traffic and websites.

An industry letter backing the transfer called it the final stage of the development of ICANN, allowing the government to seamlessly transfer stewardship of the internets addressing system to its global stakeholders.

Among the signers were Facebook, Intel and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Other groups, including some Libertarian and tech groups, have called for the transfer to go forward, though they also have raised questions about whether all the necessary legal and technical questions have been resolved.

Cruz has sought to turn the industry backing against the plans supporters, arguing that global technology giants Microsoft, Facebook and YouTube, which is owned by Google, are not bound by the First Amendment.

He also noted that in some cases they have been accused of cooperating with online speech restrictions in places like China and Europe.

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, the ranking Democrat on the panel, argued that ICANNs organization is not set up to censor internet activity, though it cant control how authoritarian regimes handle their own citizens access to the web.

He rejected Cruzs characterization of the transition as a giveaway, and warned the real threat to internet freedom would be the formation of an alternate internet body under the control of the United Nations or some other governmental body, as some authoritarian governments would prefer.

The United States does not own the internet, Coons said.

Defenders of the long-planned transfer have emphasized that ICANN, which includes representatives from some 162 foreign countries, remains subject to U.S. legal jurisdiction, including anti-trust laws.

Cruz and some Republican allies, including six Senate co-sponsors, argue theres no guarantee the organization will stay in the United States or wont change governing bylaws designed to ensure openness and accountability.

Cruz sparred repeatedly with Strickland and Swedish tech executive Goran Marby, ICANNs CEO and president, who told the Senate panel that a move to a foreign country would be unlikely.

The whole concept of ICANN is built around California law, Marby said.

Cruz also cited the case of Marbys predecessor, Fadi Chehade, who went on to work for Chinas World Internet Conference, a government-sponsored gathering that came under heavy criticism this year for defending government censorship.

Mr. Chehades decision to use his insider knowledge of how ICANN operates to help the Chinese government is more than a little concerning, Cruz said in his Senate speech.

Marby, pressed by Cruz on Chinas record of censorship, offered what he called a personal answer: The reason I took this job  is because I think the internet is a vehicle, as you believe senator, to be able to open up hearts and minds with people around the world. ICANN cannot prevent anyone, any country, any network owner from being able to prevent access to information on the Internet.  Its a voluntary system.

kevin.diaz@chron.com
AUSTIN  For the fifth-straight year, immigration and border security are the top issues on Lone Star State residents minds as they prepare to choose a new president, according to the Texas Lyceums annual poll released Wednesday.

A majority of Texas adults, 59 percent, said they opposed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trumps central campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, but that figure dropped to 48 percent when the poll considered likely voters.

The change is due, in large part, to the polls sample of adult Texans, which includes a younger and more ethnically diverse population than the states registered voter and likely voter samples that often are used in public opinion and election polling.

About 46 percent of those surveyed said they support the border wall idea Trump has advanced for more than a year in his White House quest. The question sharply divides Democrats and Republicans  11 percent and 67 percent back the idea, respectively  and support for the proposal among independent voters stands at 24 percent.

If youre used to looking at registered voters and election results, its very easy to characterize the state as a deep red place with uniform conservative views, said Joshua Blank, the polls research director. You miss the nuance that this poll highlights.

Fifty-four percent of the polls respondents said immigration helps the United States more than it harms, while 33 percent said it has more of a negative impact; 8 percent said it has a little of both.

Unlike the border wall question, the majority view of immigration as a net-positive for the country holds when applied to registered voters, at 55 percent, and likely voters, at 50 percent. Anglos and Republicans were far more likely than Latinos, African-Americans and Democrats to say immigration hurts more than it helps, the poll found.

Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said the Lyceum poll is consistent with other major polling on the issue, particularly from Gallup, that shows voters are in favor of some type of immigration reform but the specifics of a preferred policy are murkier.

The results are reflective of national public opinion, but its the people who go the polls who shape policy, Soto said. Most voters understand that its a complicated issue, but most folks are not saying deport them all and build a wall.

The influence of the 2016 presidential race was reflected by the polling on another tenet of Trumps campaign, whether to deny entry to the United States to anyone from a country that has a history of terrorism against the U.S. and its European allies.

The proposal won the approval of 40 percent of Texas adults, while 51 percent said they opposed it and 8 percent were unsure. Among likely voters, however, the answers resulted in a statistical dead heat, with 47 percent saying they support the ban and 46 percent opposed to it.

With less than two months until Election Day, the heated presidential race easily can spill into attempts to gauge Texans attitudes on their long-standing concerns about immigration and border security, said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at UT-Austin.

If you look at building the wall on the border, its very tricky right now because it has become so associated with Donald Trump and, at this point in the campaign, its probably not the best median measure for immigration attitudes, Henson said.

Democrats pounced on the new poll to continue their attacks on Trumps standing in the state, while other polls have shown a tightening race.

The fact that Donald Trumps proposals are rejected by a majority of Texans is even more evidence that Trump is outside the mainstream in Texas, unfit, and unqualified to lead, Manny Garcia, the Texas Democratic Partys deputy executive director, said in a statement.

The state Republican Partys spokesman, Michael Joyce, declined to comment until the second part of the poll is released today, which will include a snapshot of the presidential race in Texas.

The poll was conducted Sept. 1-11 and questioned 1,000 adult Texans. It was weighted by race, age and gender to meet state population projections and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

roberto.cervantes@chron.com
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The San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area posted the sharpest reduction in poverty rates among the nations 25 largest urban areas, U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday showed.

Poverty rates fell or remained flat in all of those major U.S. cities. But the San Antonio-New Braunfels area stood out because its share of impoverished residents showed the steepest decline, falling from 16.7 percent in 2014 to 14.6 percent last year.

The result  nearly 39,000 fewer people living in poverty.

The metro area, home to nearly 2.4 million people, also saw a boost in pay. Median household income jumped 4.4 percent last year, rising to $55,083.

Across Texas as a whole, the poverty rate and median income also improved. But the states childhood poverty rate remains significant. Racial and ethnic gaps persist among the impoverished.

Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter said he was a bit surprised by San Antonios strong showing because of the downsizing thats occurred in the drilling and fracking industry since the price of oil plummeted. Those financial woes were expected to take a bigger toll on the city.

The economy within San Antonio is kind of just percolating along in a fairly positive way, said Potter, a professor who directs the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Some observers had expected lower oil prices to drain the states economy and slow job growth, said Vance Ginn, economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative policy group in Austin.

We certainly had slower job growth throughout 2015. But  the economys still continuing to expand, Ginn said.

Like many states, Texas saw a boost in pay last year. Its median household income rose to $55,653  up 4.8 percent from $53,105 in 2014.

Poverty also declined across the state. Last year 15.9 percent of Texans were living below the poverty line  a marked improvement from 17.2 percent in 2014.

The census poverty threshold for a family of four, including two children, was $24,036 last year. For a person living alone, it was $12,082.

The positive trends emerged Thursday as the U.S. Census Bureau released one-year estimates from its 2015 American Community Survey, which analyzes 3.5 million households nationwide for demographic, social, economic and housing trends.

That survey is conducted in every county across the United States and provides snapshots of communities with 65,000 residents or more.

The improvements seen in Texas and its major urban areas arent isolated events. Poverty rates are falling or remaining stagnant across most of the country as Americans slowly recover from a long-running recession that has strained their pocketbooks.

Texas poverty rate now has returned to about where it was in 2008 before the recession struck, said Garrett Groves, economic opportunity program director at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a policy group in Austin that advocates for Texans earning low and moderate incomes.

There are several areas where the state still needs to improve.

One of those is the stark variation in poverty rates seen among Texans of different races and ethnicities.

Last year 22.8 percent of the states Hispanic residents were found to be living in poverty, while 21.4 percent of the states African-American residents were living in poverty.

Those gaps are persistent, Groves said. And in some cases, depending on the locality, theyre growing. Theyre getting worse.

Nearly a quarter of the states children  23 percent  remain below the poverty level, the data released Thursday show. And there, the racial and ethnic disparities become even more apparent.

Poverty rates for Hispanic children and African-American children in Texas are about three times higher than those for Anglo children and Asian children, Groves said.

Its especially concerning given that 7 million children live in Texas today, he said.

It really speaks to the future of our state. Without children of color in particular, Texas would be facing a demographic crisis. Wed be faced with a shrinking and aging population with few working-age adults in the workforce.

Texas also shows a strong disparity in incomes.

A census index measuring the proportional distribution of income among households placed Texas in the upper quartile of states for income inequality, Potter said.

Essentially, thats an indication that we have a fair number of people that are earning a pretty good wage and some people that are really wealthy  and then a lot of people that are poor, Potter said.

Jesse De La Cruz, 56, who lives alone on San Antonios West Side, is one of those Texans whos continuing to struggle despite the improvements in Texas economy.

While renewing his paperwork at the San Antonio Food Bank on Thursday, he seemed unimpressed by the dropping poverty rates for Texas and San Antonio.

You cant believe the numbers  I dont think its gotten better, said De La Cruz, who had to abandon construction work due to health problems and now is looking for other work. He receives food stamps and sometimes visits the food bank for help.

Im not used to living like this. I always used to work and had money in my pocket, he said.

The number of households in the San Antonio and New Braunfels area receiving public assistance income or food stamps has declined in recent years, census data show. Last year, 12.9 percent of households received some kind of assistance, down from 13.4 percent in 2014 and 15 percent in 2013.

While the metro areas unemployment rate has gone down in recent years, the workforce participation rate also has declined. Last year, unemployment in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area was 5.8 percent  down significantly from 8.7 percent in 2010. But the workforce participation rate also dipped to its lowest level in the past five years.

In the Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington metropolitan area, the percentage of residents living in poverty dropped by 1.4 percentage points last year. The area encompassing Houston, The Woodlands and Sugar Land saw a decline of 0.7 percentage points.

Poverty continues to be high in the Rio Grande Valley compared to other areas of Texas. In the area encompassing McAllen, Edinburg and Mission, 31.5 percent of residents were living below the poverty level last year. In the Laredo metropolitan area, 31.8 percent of residents were below the poverty level.

A significant number of Rio Grande Valley residents also lacked health insurance. Last year, 31 percent of residents in the McAllen, Edinburg and Mission area had no health coverage. In the Laredo metropolitan area, 26.2 percent of residents were uninsured.

In the San Antonio-New Braunfels area, 14.5 percent of residents were found to have no health insurance last year. That compares to the Houston area, where 17.3 percent of residents lacked health coverage, and to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where 16.3 percent of people were uninsured.

pohare@express-news.net

This article was updated to correct the racial and ethnic characteristics of Texans living in poverty last year.
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Discovery of a mosquito bearing the West Nile virus in far western Bexar County set off a new round of public warnings and abatement activities Thursday.

First responders went house to house in the Wildhorse subdivision, alerting residents to the multiple dangers posed by mosquitoes, and county crews treated the immediate area of the discovery with a larvicide.

Also Thursday, Metro Health District reported three new confirmed cases of the Zika virus in San Antonio, bringing the total here to 13.

Mosquitoes bearing the West Nile virus first were detected in Bexar County about a decade ago, and the state and San Antonio saw a serious spike in activity in 2012, when at least eight cases were detected in Bexar County and one local death was attributed to West Nile.

The latest activity was set off by this weeks confirmation by state health officials that a mosquito that turned up in one of the 27 traps set up by the county tested positive for West Nile. The trap was in an unincorporated area just south of FM 1560 and Shaenfield Road.

Weve not gotten any hits until this past week, said County Engineer Renee Green. We made the decision to be proactive with the neighborhood, to hand out fliers so the residents are supervigilant. There are no reported (human) cases of West Nile virus, she added.

Elements from the countys Public Works Department, Emergency Management team and from Emergency Service District No. 7 converged on the area Thursday to dispense information about the detection of West Nile and steps to stop mosquitoes from multiplying.

County officials said theyre continuing warm-weather mosquito eradication programs that began in April, including fogging in unincorporated areas to prevent the Zika virus, West Nile and Chikungunya. The programs will continue into the cooler weather, until overnight lows start dipping into the mid-60s, Green said.

At the same time, the public is being urged to use mosquito repellent and to eliminate standing water  indoors and outdoors  where mosquitoes breed in warm weather.

This weeks data from the Texas Department of State Health Services said Bexar County is one of about four dozen Texas counties with confirmed West Nile virus activity.

The state agency said most people infected with West Nile display no symptoms but some infections can result in serious illness or death.

The total of 13 confirmed cases of Zika is up three from last week. No identifying information about the 13 San Antonians was released, but they all were infected with the virus while traveling abroad.

The Zika virus can cause birth defects if its passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus.

There have been 3,176 confirmed cases of Zika in the U.S., the majority of which were travel-associated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Staff Writer Brittney Martin contributed to this report.

jgonzalez@express-news.net

Twitter: @johnwgonzalez
US sign 38 billion dollars defence deal with Israel

Published: September 15, 2016

United States has signed a 38 billion dollars Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israel to provide the country with military assistance over a 10-year period.

The MoU will be valid from 2019 through 2028. This defence deal is the largest such agreement the US has ever had with any country.

Under the terms of MoU

Israel will receive 3.8 billion dollars annually from US, up from the 3.1 billion dollars US currently gives Israel annually under a 10-year deal that ends in 2018.

US will also provide 500 million dollars for developing missile defence systems. Provided, Israel will not approach US Congress for additional budgets for missile defence systems.

In the event of an emergency, Israel can request additional budgets for missile defence systems, but only if the US agrees to it.

Once the agreement comes into effect, there will be a gradual phasing out of Israels right to use 26% of USs aid to buy equipment from Israel defence industries.

Besides, Israel will immediately stop using 14% of the USs aid to buy fuel for the Israel Defence Forces.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2016

Topics: Defence  International  US-Israel

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Far too often farm runoff is blamed for fish kills; however, serval factors can contribute.

On this humid, hot morning I look outside and see the pond across the road.

If you are a pond owner, you know the joys and the frustration that comes along with it.

Fish kills

Last week I received several calls from landowners concerned about fish kills that occurred within their ponds.

Far too often the immediate response is, Im sure it is from runoff from the neighboring farmer applying manure and chemicals to the fields.

Because I have been involved with the field of agriculture my entire life, I take extreme offense to comments such as these.

If for no other reason than this, I felt it important to explain some basic pond management issues.

Admittingly, agriculture may contribute to certain fish kills, but there are also many other potential reasons for a fish kill. Please do not always assume that it is the farmers fault.

Most fish kills are attributed to one of three major causes: Fish suffocation due to lack of oxygen, poisoning, or disease outbreak.

Unfortunately the only indication there is a problem is a fish kill. Little can be done to reverse a kill once it has started.

Suffocation

For the situations that occurred most recently in our county the fish kills were due to suffocation. These ponds experience an inversion, or sudden thermal turnover.

In both summer and winter, ponds may stratify by temperature. This happens because the water density differs according to the temperature.

Summer stratified ponds are characterized by having very warm surface waters that may be 10-15 degrees warmer than the bottom water.

The surface water usually has enough dissolved oxygen to support fish life. Bottom waters have little or no oxygen because it is being used up by bacteria breaking down organic matter.

This is especially true in heavily vegetated ponds. Once this stratification occurs, any event that causes the oxygen deficient bottom water to mix with the warmer surface water can result in a fish kill.

Mixing of these layers during summer is normally caused by a thunderstorm that produces heavy, cool rain and strong winds.

The rapid inflow of cool surface runoff combined with strong wind and wave action can lead to a turnover (inversion).

Small ponds with large watersheds can be especially susceptible to this.

The most effective way to help prevent this is to install and aeration system to circulate and aerate the bottom water that lacks oxygen.

Chemicals

In addition to a turnover, summer fish kills can also be caused by over-treating a pond with aquatic herbicides.

When chemically treating a pond it is important to know the temperature of the water, the type of vegetation you are trying to control and the volume of water in the pond.

It is strongly suggested to not treat a pond in the hottest part of summer because the dissolved oxygen concentrations will be very low.

In order to reduce the likelihood of a fish kill during this time, no more than one fourth to one third of the pond should be treated at any one time.

It is also recommended to wait about two weeks before applying an additional treatment.

Farm runoff

Fish kills can also be caused by runoff of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, petroleum products or by disease.

Proper farm management practices and adequate buffers will help ensure runoff is not a problem. Being aware of the watershed draining to your pond can also help.

I have only touched on a few of the most common pond management problems that occur in our county, but there is much more to proper pond management.

Additional resources

The Ohio Pond Management Handbook is a great resource for all pond owners. Please visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and type Ohio Pond Management Handbook in the search bar in order to access this document.

Understanding the dynamics of your pond may be very complicated. No two ponds are the same as they vary in age, size, construction, etc.

As with any resource issue, my suggestion is to educate yourself of all potential problems and not be so quick to point the finger.

Many times the finger may need to be pointed no further than at yourself or simply Mother Nature.
(Read to bottom for Parts 1 and 2 of this three-part series.)

As we pick up the story of Alice Ramsey, who was the first woman to drive a car across the United States from New York City to San Francisco in the summer of 1909, we find the four intrepid ladies reunited at Sioux City, Iowa, and the Maxwell gone over by the local dealer.

After a days delay due to heavy rain, the party crossed the Missouri River bridge and set out again across another stretch of bad road, through several miles of which the car had to be pulled by a team of horses.

As they progressed into western Nebraska the roads got better and their speed increased, until near Grand Island the other rear axle broke!

At Ogallah, they were held up for two hours by a sheriffs posse who were hunting for a man and woman suspected of murder. In Wyoming the road was little more than two faint tracks with many streams that had to be forded.

Quite the adventure

The road bridge across the North Platte River near Fort Steele had been washed out and the Maxwell had to bump across on the ties of the Union Pacific railroad bridge. In a little hotel at Opal, Wyoming, the girls were eaten up by bedbugs, causing Alice to write The town of Opal was  no jewel to us!

In Salt Lake City the Maxwell was completely overhauled, and the ladies rested and cleaned and repaired their clothes. In the barren country to the west, the car hit a prairie dog hole, a loosened bolt fell from the tie rod, and the front wheels splayed out breaking a front spring hanger.

They wired things back together well enough to limp a few miles to a ranch, where a blacksmith made temporary repairs. After nearly 40 hours without sleep the party slept on the ground or in the car and finally reached a tiny place named Fish Springs, where they breakfasted on the only food available from the general store, dry cereal, canned tomatoes and coffee.

Broken parts

Later, while crossing a deep arroyo, the patched spring mounting broke and damaged the front axle. Luckily there was a guide vehicle with them in which they all returned to Callao and wired San Francisco for a new axle.

Continuing by train

Alices three companions, with nothing to do in Callao, opted to go on to Ely by train. Meanwhile, a local blacksmith was found who offered to fix the axle if he had it in his shop, so Alice and Mr. Sharman, a Maxwell company man from Salt Lake who had accompanied the party in the other car, returned to the disabled Maxwell, removed the front axle, and brought it to Callao.

Since the new axle from Frisco was delayed, they reinstalled the repaired one and headed for Ely, Nevada. Upon leaving Ely, they drove on unimproved roads heading west. Along the way they saw a dozen Indians galloping toward them with arrows fitted to their bows  a frightening sight.

Turns out the men were pursuing a jackrabbit and swept past, ignoring the relieved travelers. Even with a guide car the way was frequently lost, as it was more trail than road across Nevada.

Flat tires

Several flat tires delayed them and they often stayed at lonely ranches. At one of these they were served lamb chops and chocolate cake for breakfast. Encountering much deep sand they let air out of the tires as recommended by so-called experts, but this caused the tire to shift on the rim and tore out the valve stems.

Finally, at about dusk they drove over a ridge along the Truckee River and saw the bright lights of Sparks, and just beyond it, Reno, in the valley below. After many dark nights in the uninhabited wastes of Utah and Nevada, it was a real thrill to see civilization again.

With 200 miles still to go, Mr. Sharman returned to Salt Lake City and two factory men from Sacramento and San Francisco met the ladies to guide them on the difficult crossing of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

After a stiff eight hour climb on a switchback wagon trail, where they had to stop often to cool the Maxwells engine, and covered but 70 miles, the weary travelers reached beautiful Lake Tahoe where they spent the night in a lakeside cottage on the California-Nevada line.

Next day, the quartet climbed a few more miles before beginning the relatively easy down grade run through Placerville and Sacramento, then south to Stockton, and 40 or so miles west to Hayward, where they spent the night after a perilous snack of hot tamales and cheese omelets.

Finishing the trip

The next morning, a short 20 miles to Oakland, escorted on their way by a convoy of Maxwells and other automobiles. Here they had to wait for a ferry to take them and the faithful Maxwell across the bay to their grand entrance into San Francisco, and the end of the historic journey.

Alice Huyler Ramsey entered the history books as the first woman to drive across the United States from coast to coast. But such fame is fleeting  and Alice herself never tried to capitalize on it  and hardly anyone today remembers her name.

This ends my rehash of Alices 1961 book, Veil, Duster and Tire Iron. Alice Ramsey went back to being a housewife and mother, although she was an inveterate motorist and made some thirty more drives across the country.

At the 1960 Detroit Automobile Show she was named Woman Motorist of the Century, and was the first woman inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2000, 17 years after her death in 1983.

When I told the lovely Miss Nancy I was writing about Alice, she said, Your lady readers will love it!

I hope they did, and I hope some men liked it as well. I think its a great story.

Related Coverage

Part 1: Before Thelma and Louise, there was Alice

Part 2: Alices cross-country drive continues
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio  Driving across the knolls and swales of his Knox County farm  Scott Harmon points through the window of his Gator, showing dozens of varieties of grasses and trees that hes established. Or, perhaps more accurately, they were established by nature.

In truth, theres a little of both, but nature is mostly in charge.

To the untrained eye, this looks like weeds, says Harmon.

But if you look a little closer, you can see young trees emerging beneath the grass, and in the distance  where the ground has been left alone the longest  the trees are many feet taller than the grass and will one day become mature timber.

Its all part of a popular farm and conservation program started 30 years ago, known as the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP. The program pays eligible farmers to enroll in conservation-minded contracts, that meet targeted conservation goals, and keep the land out of crop production.

Making a difference

The program was started in 1985, under the Ronald Reagan administration  and has been re-authorized by Congress and the farm bill ever since.

John Block, an Illinois farmer who was also U.S. secretary of agriculture at the time, said CRP was a way of compensating landowners for conservation  but also for taking some land out of production  in an effort to boost farm prices.

Its serving two purposes very effectively, said Block. Im quite proud of it.

Today, his family uses CRP on a little more than 150 of their 4,000-acre operation  mostly along creeks and rivers.

Block said the idea for CRP came from several people, but when leaders were discussing it, I was a champion pushing it.

In its 30th year, CRP is credited with preventing more than 9 billion tons of soil erosion, and reducing about 95 percent of nitrogen runoff and 85 percent of phosphorus runoff  compared to tilled cropland.

 

At Harmons place, just east of Fredericktown, the program has reduced erosion, improved plant diversity, led to reforestation, and better wildlife habitat.

It (CRP) maintains the biomass permanently, to keep the wind and rain from eroding the topsoil away, Harmon said.

If you look closely, youll even find a few pheasants. Harmon and his family released pheasants on the property several years ago  but the reason he still has them is because of CRP.

I know that the reason weve got birds now, is because of the habitat, he said.

Harmon and his son, Wyat, a senior at Fredericktown High School, are avid hunters. But they have a strong connection to agriculture, and chose CRP for more than just hunting.

Balanced approach

Scott Harmon is a veterinarian and rents his crop ground to a neighboring dairy farmer. He used to dairy farm himself, and said CRP allows landowners to have a balance between crops and conservation land.

They keep farming their best ground, and leave the rest in conservation.

Harmon enrolled his first CRP ground about 17 years ago, focussing on highly erodible ground and ground that was the least farmable. Today, he has about 126 acres in CRP, and his earliest CRP ground is supporting a healthy stand of trees.

When he enrolled, he said the program was paying about the same as he could get for renting the ground. CRP rental payments are re-evaluated on a regular basis, to keep up with the changing markets.

Youre not going to get rich from CRP, but nobody just gets rich from renting the ground out (to crops) either, Harmon said.

In Crawford County, grain farmer Tom Miller uses CRP in some form across most of his 3,700-acre operation. All of the land he owns has a buffer strip, and so does about 90 percent of his rented ground.

Conservation is a priority, said Miller, who is also a 12-year board member of the Crawford Soil and Water Conservation District. Whatever it takes to take care of the streams and lakes.

Conserving resources

He also uses cover crops and no-till, and believes the combination, along with CRP, has made a big difference in reducing nutrient loss and improving soil health. Only about 10 percent of his land drains north, into the Lake Erie watershed, with the rest going south, toward the Mississippi.

In Ohio, most water quality discussions have focussed on the Lake Erie watershed  but Miller said all water is important.

He said buffers could make an immense impact if more landowners would use them, especially in sensitive areas. But theyre just one tool among many, and Miller said it takes a combined effort  between rural and urban  to improve water quality.

 

Part of the reason more land isnt in CRP is because of the cap, or limit on accepted acres. When the program was started, in 1985, the goal was to enroll about 40 million acres.

Over the years, the cap has been reduced during farm bill discussions, and in the 2014 farm bill, was reduced to a record low 24 million acres.

The lower cap resulted in a rejection rate in the most recent general enrollment, despite landowners who offered 1.8 million acres to the program.

Sensitive issue

Setting the cap is always a sensitive issue.

Kent Politsch, chief of public affairs for the Farm Service Agency in Washington, said part of the decrease in cap was due to higher commodity prices, which led to more demand by farmers for more acres.

Another reason was cost of the program. Because CRP pays landowners for selected acres the government incurs a cost.

Learn more about CRP, CREP and the different programs available at USDA-FSA.

In fact, one of the biggest criticisms of the program is that farmers are being paid for not producing anything.

But thats not entirely true. While CRP acres may not be producing field crops  they do produce trees and timber, native grasses, filters for nutrient movement, and wildlife habitat  all on land that farmers agree to give up.

Jim Inglis, director of governmental affairs for Pheasants Forever  said CRP accomplishes all of its goals  including environmental improvement and wildlife habitat.

Ohio has experienced a wildlife resurgence over the past 10-15 years, especially with species like deer and turkey. According to the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Pennsylvania is the second-leading state in hunting-related retail sales, at $1.17 billion, and Ohio ranks sixth, with $714 million.

Inglis said CRP is especially important to Ohio and Pennsylvania, because of the water quality issues both states face. In Pennsylvania, the biggest concern is the Chesapeake Bay.

Making a sacrifice

Inglis said CRP can make a big difference in both watersheds  and if farmers are giving up land to that effect  they should be compensated.

If were going to expect agriculture to address some of these issues then we should compensate the landowners, he said.

Enrolling in CRP does not necessarily mean free money. The contracts, which typically last 10-15 years, usually include some kind of maintenance agreement.

In Harmons case, there are certain practices hes allowed to do, and certain practices hes required to do. Depending on the contract, some plots can be mowed a limited number of times per year, and invasive weeds can be sprayed.

He mows fire barriers between his grasses and woodlots, and he incurred costs when he first established the plots. Landowners can receive reimbursements for establishment costs, Harmon said, but not until the practices are in place, and receipts are shown.

A landowner has to be aware that establishment costs are his responsibility, Harmon said, adding theres definitely some maintenance involved.

Maintenance costs

Harmon cautions small and hobby farmers to think critically about the CRP option  because while it can work on a small-scale, it can also require resources like mowing and farm machinery, and working capital, to keep the plots maintained.

 

Many stories

The USDA is celebrating the 30th anniversary of CRP with a special website, that features success stories from across the country, and in Puerto Rico. In Pennsylvania, the featured farm is in Lancaster County, where Roger and Kandy Rohrer participate in the Chesapeake Bay Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, or CREP.

The CREP program is a variation of CRP, which uses state and federal resources to target conservation areas of top concern. The Rohrers have installed riparian buffers and a contour grass strip, aimed at improving water quality locally  and water that enters the rivers flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

Before we bought our farm, there was no conservation work being done, no nutrient management, no stream fencing, said Roger Rohrer. We implemented CREP to be proactive, and did it as part of a system of best management practices. 

The USDA also highlighted Gail Dunlaps Pickaway County farm, where her family uses at least a half-dozen conservation practices on their seventh-generation farming operation.

CRP is a blessing and it has helped me save our family farm by preserving the land and establishing wildlife habitat, said Dunlap.

In a video celebrating the 30 years, FSA Administrator Val Dolcini called CRP one of the most successful, federal conservation programs that government has ever administered, because it benefits not only rural landowners  but also people in cities and urban places.

Looking ahead

The program also benefits future generations  because it forces landowners to think long-term. Many landowners re-enroll their land after the 10-15 year period is up.

In Harmons case, he looks forward to the day someone can harvest mature timber from his CRP ground. That could still be 50 years away, and hes not sure who will own the land by then.

But someone will, and someone will have that opportunity.

This stuff will still be here, he said.
Download the app that gives you complete access to the schedule and maps for this year's Farm Science Review.

LONDON, Ohio  Now you can download an app that lets you access the complete schedule and maps for this years Farm Science Review.

The Review will be held Sept. 20-22 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.

The app lets visitors locate exhibitors and find educational seminars. Visitors can also personalize their own schedule so they dont miss any demonstrations, events or seminars.

Users can

View the complete show schedule and create a personal schedule.

Set reminders before specific sessions start.

View detailed session information, including speaker bios.

Provide feedback on sessions.

View a show map.

Locate food vendors.

View exhibitor information.

Get it now

The app is available for both Apple and Android smartphone and tablet users. Search the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store for FSR 2016, or by directing your mobile browser to fsr.osu.edu and clicking on the visitor tab.
Current levels of Bovine TB will cost Wales trade deals with Europe if there is no action to tackle it, the Farmers' Union of Wales have warned.

The Union said that unless "urgent and proactive" action is taken to manage the source of infection in both cattle and wildlife, post Brexit trade negotiations could be put at "significant" risk.

The Union said it welcomes the call for a debate on the eradication of bovine TB in cattle and wildlife at the National Assembly but stressed it is imperative that all AMs back the motion in a bid to achieve an effective change in levels of bTB outbreaks.

FUW President Glyn Roberts said he urges all the other Assembly Members to "throw their support behind the debate."

"Every single AM needs to recognise that the problem of bovine TB in Wales will have catastrophic consequences for our future trade negotiations if the disease status in our wildlife is not addressed as a matter of urgency," Mr Roberts said.

This debate is an opportunity for cross-party co-operation on an issue which has significant emotional and financial implications for many farmers in Wales and we need the support of the whole Assembly to achieve a change in policy.

The FUW continues to highlight that current levels of Bovine TB in Wales are in excess of what will be acceptable to other EU countries when the UK is outside the single market.

The Union explained it is "deeply concerned" that the current disease status has the potential to be a challenging negotiation tool, especially given the the vacuum created by post vaccination failure.

The motion was put forward by Plaid Cymru Mid and West Assembly Member Simon Thomas, Shadow Cabinet member for Energy, Climate Change and Rural Affairs and is supported by AM for North Wales Llyr Gruffydd, Mid and West Wales AM Neil Hamilton and Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies.
Dairy processors who are failing to improve their returns to farmers could face 'serious backlash' and shortage in supplies.

Wholesale dairy commodity markets have risen sharply over the past four months, and yet some processors remain extremely slow to raise the price they pay to farmers.

"The frustration being felt by milk producers is matched by their concern that milk buyers and processors are focusing on their own bottom lines rather than considering the health of the dairy industry as a whole," said Mike Butler, chairman of the board at Old Mill.

The prolonged period of low prices, caused by global oversupply of milk, has sent many farmers into a loss-making position, but a tightening of supply and the weaker sterling have boosted wholesale returns by almost 68% since April, to the equivalent of 26p/litre in August.

In contrast, the average farmgate price in July was 20.57p/litre, compared to a cost of production of around 28p/litre.

'Onerous milk contracts'

"Global and domestic milk output has dropped and UK dairy farmers have no appetite to keep production levels up while milk is so undervalued," says Mr Butler.

Mike Butler, chairman of the board at Old Mill

"The weaker pound against the euro has also made imported dairy products more expensive, fuelling the increase in the spot price of domestic milk."

UK spot milk prices typically track cream values, which in turn tend to follow currency movements, reflecting the importance of the import/export trade across the channel and the Irish Sea (see graph).

"Generally farmgate prices follow the trend of the spot market albeit with some small time delays."

However, since April, wholesale cream prices have jumped by 84%, to 1,470/t, and yet farmgate prices have failed to respond to this upward trend, showing only a 3% rise between June and July to 20.57p/litre  1p/litre below the April average.

So why is that? "Part of the answer may lie in onerous milk contracts which many producers are bound by," explains Mr Butler.

"Notice periods and penalty clauses are all contributing factors that allow processors to control their farm producers without taking reference to market forces."

Farmers 'extremely resilient'

Processors may feel they have the upper hand in the short term but all producers have the ability to serve notice and move their supply away, he warns.

"Furthermore, all processors require milk to run their plants and they have obligations to customers to fulfil.

"Its vital that they consider the medium to longer term and understand their business strategy and whats best for the industry as a whole."

Fortunately, some processors have recognised the need to address the dairy crisis and have begun to change contracts and move prices up.

"They recognise the value and security of milk supply their producers offer and are engaged in constructive dialogue to improve the situation by linking the prices they can achieve from their own customers with the price they can afford to pay their farmers."

But its vital that other processors follow suit, and fast.

"Farmers have proven extremely resilient in the current downturn, cutting costs to the bone and retaining a significant asset base," says Mr Butler.

"One thing is for sure, a milk processor will go out of business quicker than a farmer if they stop receiving milk from their producers.

"Those processors and milk buyers that ignorantly and perhaps arrogantly carry on taking advantage of the current market may well find that the honey they taste today may soon turn particularly bitter."
Wet weather this summer in many parts of the UK has led to large slug populations.

This means growers need to be 'extra vigilant' in monitoring crops for damage from slugs to ensure crops are protected during early stages of growth.

The use of metaldehyde-based slug pellets last autumn led to exceedances of the Drinking Water Directive limit of 0.1 ppb in many areas.

This has highlighted the need for close adherence to industry stewardship guidelines on metaldehyde use this coming autumn, says Dr David Ellerton, Hutchinsons technical development director.

"Although the overall threat from slugs is potentially high this autumn, field monitoring and judging the risk of slug damage on a field by field basis remains critical to avoid unnecessary pellet applications, whilst still protecting crops from slug attack."

Ideally, bait trapping for potential slug problems in oilseed rape should commence in the previous crop and also in stubbles for cereals, he advises.

"The thresholds for oilseed rape are four or more slugs per trap in the previous crop and one slug per trap in the previous stubble."

"The cereal threshold is four or more slugs per trap. However, trapping is only an effective means of monitoring slug activity when the soil surface is moist and slugs are active.

Crops are most vulnerable to slug damage in the first four weeks of growth - the cut off point for monitoring cereals is the start of tillering and for oilseed rape the four leaf stage.

Risk assessment for slug damage

He points out that a risk assessment for slug damage, including the current and previous crops, field history, soil type, seedbed quality, weather conditions and planting date, can be used in conjunction with trapping to judge the need for chemical control.

Slug pellets will continue to be the most important means of controlling slugs this autumn, ideally aiming for a minimum of about 40 pellets per square metre.

"However other measures including seedbed cultivations with adequate consolidation, seed dressings and depth of drilling can have a significant impact.

Dr Dave Ellerton

There are now only two main active ingredients available for slug control - metaldehyde and ferric phosphate.

For many years, metaldehyde has been the main active ingredient that farmers chose to use for slug control.

Nevertheless it needs to be managed carefully to avoid problems with drinking water contamination.

An industry led initiative coordinated by the Metaldehyde Stewardship Group (MSG) has established clear guidelines for operators to follow  the aim being to avoid this product being restricted or possibly withdrawn from use completely.

Metaldehyde has four routes by which it can enter water

 Direct  e.g. inadvertently spreading pellets into watercourses

 Point source  e.g. spills on hard surfaces which eventually get into drains

 Surface run off from fields following heavy periods of rain

 Water moving through the soil that carries metaldehyde with it into the field drainage system.

Scientific studies have highlighted field drainage as the main route by which metaldehyde reaches water courses highlights Dr Ellerton.

Moisture moving down the soil profile will take metaldehyde into the drainage system and from there into ditches and streams.

In order to limit water contamination, the annual maximum metaldehyde dose for the calendar year has been set at 700g of active ingredient per hectare and a maximum total dose of 210g ai/ha between 1st August and 31st December, the period when there is the greatest risk of metaldehyde peaks occurring.

Metaldehyde Stewardship Group best practice application guidelines

 Use minimum active per hectare to avoid drainage and run-off losses

 Maximum application rate 210g metaldehyde/ha*

 Maximum total dose from 1st August to 31st December: 210g metaldehyde/ha* for additional protection of water, suppliers/ BASIS advisors may recommend rates reduced to 160g a.s./ha or less*

 Maximum total dose rate: 700g metaldehyde/ha/calendar year*

 No pellets to be applied within 6 metres of a watercourse

 Do not apply when heavy rain is forecast

 If drains are flowing do not apply metaldehyde based slug pellets

*from any combination of metaldehyde products

A decision support tool to identify high risk situations for water contamination from a range of active ingredients including metaldehyde is the Wate Aware App which has been developed by Adama and has now been amended and upgraded for autumn 2016 to include SlugAware.

It helps growers to assess the risk of water pollution from key products based on current and future weather forecasts, soil type and water deficit at specific locations and is available to download onto Apple or Android smart phones and tablets.

This helps growers to identify the potential risk of water contamination from chemical applications and should be used to help avoid peaks appearing in water from metaldehyde and a range of oilseed rape herbicides.

Helping Water Companies

An additional way in which Hutchinsons agronomists are helping to reduce the movement of metaldehyde to watercourses is to provide information to water companies on molluscicide application timing, enabling them to predict high risk periods for metaldehyde reaching water.

Those companies which abstract water from rivers into reservoirs are then able to only divert water when the risk of metaldehyde peaks are low, thereby reducing exceedances and the likelihood of restrictions on the use of metaldehyde in future,  says Dr Ellerton.

"Subsequent to requests from water companies for such information, the Metaldehyde Stewardship Group (MSG) launched the Get Pelletwise! Agronomic Update system last autumn, providing a number of water companies with weekly electronic reports from agronomists."

The reports detail regional agronomic information to help them anticipate metaldehyde usage and inform water abstraction decisions.

"This initiative will be extended this autumn to cover some 14 water companies, an increase of some 20% on last season and will look to include over 40 counties throughout the UK."

"Currently the MSG and a number of water companies have set up metaldehyde pilot catchments in which high risk fields have been identified."

"Farmers with these fields are being requested to refrain from applying metaldehyde in order to protect water and levels in nearby water sources will be monitored to assess the impact of these measures."

"There have been encouraging results to date, although the success or otherwise is largely dependent on the involvement of farmers in the catchment.

In the meantime, he points out that more needs to be done to ensure there is no repeat of metaldehyde peaks appearing in water this autumn.

"Clearly minimising the amount of active ingredient applied to fields will make a significant difference. Selection of high quality pellets to reduce breakdown and minimise dust during application may also help."

"Yet one of the key methods would be switching to other products with different modes of action, where there is a high risk to water."

Alternative product  Ferric phosphate

The only other viable alternative for broad acre crops now is ferric phosphate which was launched in the arable market in 2009, the first new molluscicide for 30 years, he adds.

"Its key benefits are that it is as effective as metaldehyde, but is very specific to target only slugs and snails and so presents no threat to wildlife."

"It is also virtually insoluble in water and therefore may be used in situations at high risk of metaldehyde entering water; such as vulnerable water catchment areas, headland treatments adjacent to watercourses (where other pellets may not be used), and poorly drained heavy soils.

"It is important to remember that, unlike metaldehyde, slugs which ingest ferric phosphate do not die on the surface of the soil where they can easily be found, but will crawl underground to die."

"However, they will rapidly stop feeding and so the crop will quickly recover following treatment."

Preserving active ingredients

In summary if growers adopt sustainable slug control policies of only applying high quality slug pellets where risk of slug damage is high, abiding by the MSG guidelines and switching into an alternative mode of action in situations where there is a risk of metaldehyde entering water.

It should be possible to preserve the remaining molluscicide active ingredients in the market place, contends Dr Ellerton.

"However, it is crucial that the agricultural industry joins together in adopting best practice strategies to minimise the risk of metaldehyde reaching water courses and so maintain this vital active ingredient in the battle against slugs."
AMES, Iowa - The Iowa State volleyball team continues its challenging non-conference schedule this weekend at the Marquette Invitational in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Cyclones will take part in two matches, starting on Friday at 7 p.m. against hosts Marquette. ISU will then take on Missouri State Saturday at 11 a.m. Both matches will be played at the Al McGuire Center on the campus of Marquette University.



Tickets to the match can be bought online now through Marquette (click here), or the day of the matches at the Al McGuire Center. Single-match tickets are $5, but Marquette is offering an all-sessions ticket for $8 that will give fans access to all matches of the Marquette Invitational.



Iowa State's match on Friday against Marquette will be streamed live and for free via Marquette's MUTube. Fans can access the live stream here. There will be no live video of Missouri State-Iowa State.



Live stats for both Iowa State matches are posted on the Iowa State volleyball schedule, here.



The Cyclones will be looking to get back on winning track after suffering a five-set loss at UNI in one of the longest scoring matches in college volleyball history. The two teams combined to score 249 points, the highest combined points total in a Division I match since sets moved to 25 points in 2008. The second set went 40-38 to the Panthers, the longest and highest-scoring set in ISU program history.



The road for the Cyclones does not get any easier this weekend. Marquette, who will be having its home opener against the Cyclones, already has wins at USC and at Kentucky in 2016. The Golden Eagles swept ISU in Hilton Coliseum last season and are once again led by reigning Big EAST Player of the Week Taylor Louis, who is averaging 3.97 kills per set in 2016.



Missouri State also has two ranked wins to their name in 2016, winning at Illinois in week one, and taking down Ohio State last weekend at home. Two of the Bears' three losses have come at the hands of top-25 teams in Hawaii and UCLA. MSU is led by Lily Johnson, with the junior outside hitter averaging 4.14 kills per set and 3.21 digs per set.
As plans continue for the UK to leave the common market, farming unions are looking into trade relationships outside the European Union.

At a reception in Berne on Tuesday, companies and organisations involved in buying and supplying lamb gathered.

Despite not being part of the EU, Switzerland enjoys a trade relationship with member states by way of bilateral agreements.

The UK has not needed to hold a Swiss export certificate for red meat under its EU membership, although this will clearly change post-Brexit.

"Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, ranked first in terms of nominal wealth per adult," said Phil Stocker, National Sheep Association chief executive, who spoke at the event hosted by David Moran, the British Ambassador to Switzerland and Lithuania.

Mr Stocker presented an overview of UK sheep farming with a focus on its many sustainability credentials.

"This affluence means product quality is key and consumers have a good grasp on social and environmental issues.

"Switzerland is a net importer of lamb and its values and interests align well with the UKs high welfare standards and sustainable approach to sheep farming."

Engaging with Swiss buyers

Stocker said the trip this week provided an excellent opportunity to engage with Swiss buyers and suppliers of lamb in the presence of the British Ambassador and representatives of the British Department of International Trade.

"The guests accounted for the vast majority of the Swiss lamb trade and it was a unique opportunity to talk about the many benefits of UK sheep farming and how it is closely linked to landscape, environment, wildlife and rural communities.

"This type of work, ahead of major trade renegotiations as a result of Brexit, is essential and demonstrates the importance of activity by our Government departments and levy bodies.

"I am delighted NSA can support this work, which in turn creates business opportunities for UK processors and sheep farmers.

"Actions to safeguard and further develop existing markets, while encouraging new opportunities for additional outlets, is more important now than ever as we begin to consider our opportunities as a sector outside the EU."

Peter Hardwick, AHDB Head of Exports, adds: "Exports, both inside the EU and across the wider world, are vital to the stability and viability of the sheep industry in this country, with more than a third of production being exported.

"The whole industry will work alongside Government to safeguard our current trade flows as well as exploiting further opportunities for growth."
International contract caterer Compass Group PLC has announced a global commitment to go cage-free for all its shell and liquid egg supplies by 2025.

Nicki Crayfourd, Director of Health, Safety and Environment for Compass Group explained that improving the welfare of farm animals is a "key focus" for the company.

"We've supported the sourcing of cage free eggs since 2009," Miss Crayfour said.

"This commitment marks the next step in our responsible sourcing journey and we look forward to continuing to work with partners such as Compassion in World Farming, Humane Society International and The Humane League who provide invaluable support and guidance."

Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming, said: "I am delighted that Compass has become one of the leading businesses in the cage-free movement.

"I hope that their commitment to go cage-free globally on all liquid and shell eggs by 2025 will be a catalyst for others to follow their example.

"I couldnt be more proud of the work of our Food Business team, who continually engage with leading food companies to create positive change for farm animals on a global scale.

"The phenomenal market shift towards cage-free production we are witnessing this year is exactly what this work aims to achieve."

'Summer of cage-free momentum'

Compass move follows a summer of cage-free momentum during which many of the UKs major retailers and a growing number of businesses within the foodservice sector have publicly turned their backs on the cage.

These commitments build on decades of work by Compassion in World Farming and other animal welfare NGOs including the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and the Humane League, advocating for better lives for farm animals.

Todays announcement follows a similar commitment made recently by Sodexo, the worlds second largest food service provider, also to switch to a 100 per cent cage-free egg supply chain for its global operations.

Compass Group joins a growing number of companies that have committed to cage-free egg policies worldwide including Alsea, Unilever, Grupo Bimbo, Nestle, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Lidl.
A meeting about caged-eggs in Northern Ireland has attracted concerns over the level of debt in the sector.

The Ulster Farmers Union hosted the open meeting for Northern Ireland based producers and packers of enriched colony eggs.

The meeting attracted over 50 producers, all keen to give their views on the decision by the major retailers to end sourcing of enriched colony eggs by 2025.

The main concerns raised at the meeting surrounded current levels of debt in the sector.

The UK poultry industry has only recently completed a 400 million upgrade from battery cages to enriched colony systems.

Now with that investment made they face uncertainty, due to lack of clarity from retailers on what production system they want in the future.

The main concerns raised at the meeting surrounded current levels of debt in the sector

After the meeting, the UFU said it would discuss with the British Egg Information Council (BEIC) how to ensure this change is managed carefully.

It will also seek further information from retailers, so that producers will have more clarity about what is happening.

The UFU will also be urging banks and government to ensure support is available to the sector as it deals with this major change of approach by retailers.

NFU poultry board chairman Duncan Priestner warned that the decision to end caged-eggs would not just impact those using enriched cages but would have a knock-on effect on the entire egg sector.

He warned against snap decisions that could leave poultry farmers out of pocket.

'Minimal disruption' to businesses

"This change will impact greatly across all egg production systems so it is absolutely imperative that we and our members have clarity over retailers future plans and have our concerns addressed as soon as possible," said Mr Priestner.

"Although 2025 is nine years away, time is of the essence to allow our producers to make the necessary changes, with minimal disruption to their businesses and to our customers  the British public - a market worth an estimated 895m.

"We have built good relations with the retailers  UK agricultures biggest customer - and will be looking to those relationships to secure much needed clarification and certainty for our members.

"UK retailers have a very good track record on sourcing UK egg and we look to that commitment continuing."

The NFU says producers need more details to be able to effectively plan and make the necessary changes to their businesses in the remaining nine-year timeframe up until 2025.
Dairy cow health and lifetime productivity can be optimised by taking a marginal gains approach from birth, says Merial Animal Healths Veterinary Advisor Sioned Timothy.

Small changes to herd management throughout a cows life can result in big improvements in health, fertility and productivity, thus reducing costs and making dairy herds more efficient.

Key phases in a cows productive life include birth and early life, heifer growth, transition to the milking herd, and lactation.

The opportunity to improve productivity starts at birth.

On many farms, calf mortality is highest during the first month of life with neonatal scour the most common disease during this period, accounting for almost 50% of all calf deaths.

Nutrition from birth 'a key factor'

Good nutrition from birth is a key factor in ensuring heifers are healthy right through until their first calving.

"Optimising calf management at birth can help reduce the likelihood of scouring, says Ms Timothy.

Adequate intake of good quality colostrum is vital, ideally within the first 2 to 4 hours of life.

"Where there is concern about the quality of colostrum, or the level of challenge on the farm is known to be high, products such as Locatim, a lactoserum which is administered to calves soon after birth and contains specific antibodies against E.coli F5 (K99), can help to boost protection against disease.

Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is common in dairy calves and growing cattle, particularly during the housing period.

Calves which have a compromised immune system, through lack of maternally derived immunity, stress or malnourishment, are more likely to become infected with the bacteria and viruses that cause disease.

Impact of BRD

The impact of BRD is wide reaching and calf pneumonia accounts for almost 40% of deaths at one to four months of age.

Pneumonia infection can result in 66g reduction in daily growth in the first month of life alone3 and infections can impact on a lifetime of productivity with reduced milk yield in adulthood.

Taking steps to prevent BRD is always cheaper than treating outbreaks.

Calves should be housed in adequately ventilated buildings without draughts, and stocking density should be appropriate to the age of calves and the space available.

Avoid mixing calves of different ages and immediately quarantine any unwell animals to reduce cross-infection.

Temperature monitoring tools and careful observation of calves can help identify infections at an early stage, which can help reduce the severity of pneumonia.

Vaccination is also important in preventing BRD infections.

Bovalto Respi 3 and Respi 4 vaccines provide calves with protection against common causes of BRD, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza-3-virus (PI3), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1) and Mannheimia haemolytica.

Heifer rearing

Heifer rearing is the next key phase in a cows life where improvements can be made to lifetime productivity.

The wide ranging benefits of optimised heifer rearing systems are now well recognised, suggests Ms Timothy.

Efficient heifer rearing can support herd expansion without the need to buy in replacements and can also increase the rate of genetic improvement.

In order to achieve a 24 month average age at calving heifers must reach approximately 60% of mature weight by 14 months of age."

"This requires an average daily weight gain of at least 0.7-0.8kg during the period between weaning and bulling."

"However, its more important that growing cattle meet breed-appropriate target weights since the onset of puberty and breeding is more closely linked to cow weight, body size and condition score than age.

'Poor parasite control'

Losses in potential liveweight gain due to poor parasite control during a heifers first grazing season will not be recouped during the second year at grass.

Affected animals will not catch up, and this will impact on their ability to meet important growth milestones, which could result in an increased age at first calving.

The impact of parasite challenge as heifers approach reproductive age is supported by studies showing increased mammary development and earlier onset of puberty in strategically wormed heifers in comparison to those left untreated.

Effective worming with anthelmintics such as Ivomec Classic (ivermectin) can mitigate the effect of parasites on growth and fertility levels in growing cattle, while still allowing them to build the necessary immunity required to prevent clinical disease in adulthood, advises Ms Timothy.

This focus on growth must be maintained during pregnancy since a continued steady weight gain is required if heifers are to calve at 90% of mature weight, and transition well into lactation.

The weeks following calving present the next opportunity to optimise productivity, by minimising the effect of the energy gap.

Reduced body condition scores may impact on reproduction, increasing the time it takes to get cows back into calf.

The focus should be on maximising dry matter intake to correct the energy imbalance as quickly as possible.

Improved appetites

Studies have shown that cows treated for gutworm have improved appetites, and graze for up to an hour longer than untreated cows.

Parasite challenge during this period may also impact on fertility; heifers treated for gutworm around the time they calve down have been shown to have a 20% higher conception rate at first service than untreated cattle8.

Dairy farmers should look at employing a range of practical measures throughout the transition period to ensure cows are as productive and efficient as possible, says Ms Timothy.

In addition to the recognised impact of gutworm on milk production, parasite burdens have a broader effect on productivity so targeted worming with a zero milk withhold wormer such at Eprinex (eprinomectin) should be considered at this critical time.

The marginal gains approach can help improve the overall productivity and profitability of each individual cow and the herd as a whole.

It requires dairy farmers to focus on every phase in a cows life to improve calf health, heifer growth and fertility, efficient transition and optimised lactation.

This can be achieved through herd health plans and by continual assessment of cow health. Dairy farmers should ask their vet or animal health adviser for more information.
South West food producers are 'under serious threat' from a trade deal negotiated between Canada and the EU, according to the Green Party.

Molly Scott Cato MEP said she has received many letters and emails from constituents about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a 'lesser known cousin' of the highly publicised TTIP trade deal between the EU and US.

While TTIP is floundering due to French and German opposition and strong public opposition, critics say CETA would include many of the "damaging aspects" of TTIP and the deal is currently on the verge of being ratified, according to the Green Party.

The Canada-EU deal would involve substantial liberalisation of trade in agricultural products, the party said.

In Canada, 50% of food production comes from just 5% of farms and it is the third largest producer of GMOs in the world.

The country recently approved GMO salmon  a fish that matures at twice normal rate.

Tariff rates of 15% on salmon would be eliminated under CETA meaning more Canadian salmon flooding into the European market.

"The government needs to stand up for our small scale farmers post-Brexit," Miss Cato said

'Take us in the opposite direction'

Many of the worst fears we had about TTIP could become reality quite quickly if we adopt CETA," the MEP said.

"Food standards in Canada are much weaker than those in the EU and we could, for instance, see chlorinated chicken and foods drenched in pesticides, hormones and food dyes on the menu faster than we think."

Campaigners are also warning about the erosion of so-called Geographical Indications which ensure for example that Cornish pasties can only be called such if they are made in Cornwall and Dorset Blue Vinney named such if produced in Dorset.

Miss Cato said: France and Italy have negotiated 42 exemptions each to protect many of their unique products, including brie and parmesan cheese, but the UK appears not to be interested in offering such protection to our food producers.

"Under CETA, we could see cheap imported Cornish Pasties from Ontario and faux Dorset Blue from Quebec."

Small food producers 'must not be forced' to compete

Miss Cato is urging people to lobby MEPs to vote down CETA, despite the decision to leave the EU.

Miss Cato, who is Green Party spokesperson for EU relations, said: Some argued that leaving the EU would free us from having to sign up to damaging trade deals.

"While CETAs better known cousin TTIP does now look dead, the UK remains gung-ho for such deals.

Miss Cato concluded: "Our vital small scale food producers, many producing unique and high quality products, must not be forced to compete with inferior and intensively produced imports.

"The government needs to stand up for our small scale farmers post-Brexit and prioritise a transition away from intensive farming, towards an environmentally and ecologically sustainable agricultural industry.

"CETA will take us in exactly the opposite direction and risks a race to the bottom on food quality, environmental standards and animal welfare."
The UK government must 'play fair' in allocating Scotland's dairy farmers with EU emergency funding, Scottish rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing has said.

In a letter to George Eustice, Defra Minister, Mr Ewing said the distribution of EU emergency funding must be based on the long established and accepted model for sharing the UK's CAP budget.

"Its important that the allocation of the EU emergency support within the UK is fair and equitable," he said.

Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy Fergus Ewing

"Both dairy farmers and the wider livestock sector in Scotland has suffered greatly from the financial effects that the volatility within global markets caused.

Mr Ewing believes the situation has been made worse by the uncertainty caused by the outcome of the EU referendum.

"And the level of remoteness and limited access to processing facilities, which affects large numbers of our livestock farmers, also present pressures which are unique to Scotland," Mr Ewing said.

"Thats why agriculture takes on a much greater significance for the Scottish rural economy and for the sustainability of our fragile communities.

"This has long been recognised by the fact Scotland receives just over 16 per cent of UK CAP payments.

"Im therefore urging George Eustice to urgently reconsider this matter and play fair by Scotlands dairy farmers. The CAP model should be used to allocate this package of support across the UK."
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Manassas, VA (20110)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 63F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
Shane Cook, flight nurse and base clinical lead for the Farmington Air Evac Lifeteam base, was recently honored as the Region 1 Base Clinical Lead of the Year. Region 1 includes Air Evac bases in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. The Base Clinical Lead award is presented to the flight nurse or flight paramedic who demonstrates accountability, initiative, integrity, endurance, enthusiasm, dedication and a commitment to his or her own personal and professional growth as well as a commitment to the growth and development of colleagues.

John Landis, regional director of base operations, said Cook brings exceptional qualities in his role as flight nurse and Base Clinical Lead.

For a new intern, the transition from their previous roles is sometimes intimidating and can be quite challenging, Landis said. As the base clinical lead, Shane knows the information that the intern will need to learn and to be successful. He tasks himself and the other base personnel to set the best possible example and to make the high-paced environment a good one for learning.

Air Evac Lifeteam, headquartered in OFallon, Mo., is the largest independently owned and operated air medical service provider in the United States, with more than 125 air medical bases across 15 states. Air Evac is the preeminent provider of helicopter emergency medical services to communities in need of rapid medical transport to advanced emergency healthcare.

Flight crews, consisting of a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic, are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to the scene of an emergency, or provide transportation between medical facilities. For more information, please visit www.lifeteam.net, or like us on Facebook.
What was it like to be an Oath Keeper? John Zimmerman can tell you

John Zimmerman said he was active with the Oath Keepers from September to November 2020, then left after a falling out with founder Stewart Rhodes.
Telia chairman Marie Ehrling image (courtesy of Telia)Swedens Telia Company said Thursday it received a proposal from U.S. and Dutch authorities to pay $1.4 billion to settle allegations of overseas bribery.

The company said its initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high.

Telia chairman Marie Ehrling said Thursday the companys entry into Uzbekistan was unethical and wrongful.

The telecoms company was formerly known as TeliaSonera. The governments of Sweden and Finland are the biggest shareholders.

Former CEO Lars Nyberg was forced out of the company when the bribery scandal broke in early 2013.

In February this year, Amsterdam-based VimpelCom paid $795 million to resolve U.S. and Dutch charges of bribing an Uzbek official.

The U.S. penalties of $397.6 million landed VimpelCom sixth on our list of the biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions in history.

Last year the DOJ filed civil forfeiture actions to recover nearly $1 billion in bribe money that VimpelCom, MTS of Russia, and Telia allegedly paid to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

Karimova, 43, has been under house arrest in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent for corruption since September 2014. She hasnt been seen for several months and didnt attend her fathers funeral this month.

The 78-year-old president died September 2 from a brain hemorrhage.

As many as 60 of Karimovas alleged associates have been convicted in Uzbekistan of financial fraud and sentenced to long prison terms.

In a ruling last year, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter allowed the DOJ to impound $300 million held by Bank of New York Mellon Corp. in Ireland, Luxembourg, and Belgium, and in accounts at Clearstream Banking SA. The accounts were linked to companies in Luxembourg with ties to Karimova.

In 2014, prosecutors in Switzerland opened a money-laundering investigation into Karimova. The prosecutors seized about $820 million as part of the investigation.

The Swiss investigation reportedly includes allegations that Telia paid an intermediary  Gibraltar-registered Takilant  $320 million for 3G phone rights in Uzbekistan.

Takilant has been tied to Karimova.

* * *

Heres Telias September 15, 2016 release:

The U.S. and Dutch authorities have since the spring of 2014 investigated historical transactions related to Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan in 2007. On the evening of 14 September, Telia Company received new information from the authorities with proposals from them for a settlement with the company. The information received was general and did not go into much detail but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately $1.4 billion which corresponds to approximately SEK 12 billion for all investigations.

I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility. We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter. With that said, our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyze the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities, says Telia Companys Chairman Marie Ehrling.

_____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. Hell be the keynote speaker at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference 2016.
Central School District in Park Hills was one of the first of a growing number of districts in southeast Missouri to integrate its curriculum with the use of online technology through the use of Google Chromebook computers.

At the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, every student at Central High School was issued a Chromebook computer to use in class and to take home every day.

Last year, the same system was put in place at Central Middle School, with plans for West Elementary already well into the planning stages for its own Chromebooks program.

As planned, the program was put in place at the elementary school during the first full week of school last month. Every student at West Elementary now has his or her own Chromebook to use for assignments as instructed by each teacher.

Principal Keith Groom was excited about the program coming to his school, but didnt mind waiting in line behind the other two schools.

We knew it had to go to the middle school first, he said, which was fine with us because we wanted all the bugs worked out before it got to us. And I think thats really helped because those kids do so much more with the Chromebooks than what our kids are doing.

Because lessons and homework expectation for the younger kids are different than middle and high school students, Wests third and fourth grade students will not be taking their computers home with them for at least the first semester.

Fifth graders generally wont either unless a teacher specifically assigns a student to do so in order to complete an assignment or to perhaps work on lesson tutorials to help the student grasp a concept or learn something new.

Groom said the fifth grade students will also be allowed to take their Chromebooks home in instances of an extended absence so they can keep up with lessons and assignments.

Were going to do that for the first semester, he said, and then when we come back from Christmas break we may open it up to fourth grade and third grade just to see how it goes and then go from there. Its a learning experience. Change is good.

Like with the programs at the middle and high schools, Technology Director Chris Warden and his staff  Mike Dalton, the network administrator, Technician Matt Burgess and part-time SIS/MOSIS/Core Data Coordinator Melanie Dillard, who is also Wardens predecessor  were responsible for ensuring the implementation went smoothly.

To ease into things, each grade was assigned their computers on a different day, beginning with the fifth grade class.

At the beginning of each (first) day for the grade levels, we had these lessons prepared that focused on what you can do and what you cant do on a Chromebook, Warden said. So the very first morning, they spent time going through those lessons with the students.

The students were also given time to personalize their computers with a stick-on name tag that each kid decorated to his or her own taste.

Warden and his crew stood by those first days as each class logged onto their Chromebooks for the first time together.

West Elementary was in a different position (than the other two schools), though, said Warden, because they already had in previous years one computer to every two kids, so this was just like a big upgrade. Now theres one computer to every one kid. So the teachers already had experience with what computers are like in the classroom  how they can be used as tools.

With West, they already had all these computers. They already had Google accounts, they were already using Google Classroom  So it was different over here. They already knew how to use the tool; we just gave them more.

Like at the other schools, Wests teachers have embraced the versatility and value offered by Chromebooks.

I havent heard of any opposition from any of the teachers, said Groom.

Fifth grade teacher Angie Cagle said she likes the flexibility of being able to use the Chromebooks for different purposes and in combination with more traditional educational resources.

Monday and Tuesday we used paper and pencil, she said. We took notes, we discussed everything in the book for the specific lesson and then Wednesday they got to use the Chromebook. It splits it up and gives them a break from old boring paper and pencil  Id say we use them two days a week.

Third grade teacher Randi Bess didnt hold anything back when asked how she likes the program so far.

Its going awesome, said Bess. This is like the best thing ever. The parents were so worried about it, but its just  its great. As a teacher, its a big thumbs up.

The students share their teachers enthusiasm for the program.

They were totally stoked, said Cagle.

Plans for a Chromebook program at Central Elementary School are in place to implement an age-appropriate program for its students beginning next school year.
Kelsey Grammer is to become a father for the seventh time.

Kelsey Grammer and wife Kayte

The 61-year-old actor's wife Kayte Walsh was seen with a huge baby bump as she flew out of Los Angeles on Tuesday (13.09.16) morning, and insiders have now confirmed to E! News that the 35 year old - who already has four-year-old Faith and two-year-old Kelsey Jr. with her spouse - is around six months pregnant with a baby boy.

The couple previously suffered the tragedy of Kayte having a miscarriage in 2010, and during her pregnancy with Faith, she was carrying twins but lost a son before his birth.

Announcing their little girl had been born, they said at the time: "A glorious birth with a lingering sadness is ours today. We choose to celebrate the life that has been given to us."

The former 'Frasier' star is also a father to Spencer, 32, Greer, 24, Mason, 14, and Jude, 12, from his previous marriages.

Earlier this year, Kelsey's former wife Camille - who he split from in 2010 - slammed him for not co-parenting Mason and Jude with her and claimed the animosity between them is causing difficulties in terms of raising their kids.

She said: "It's very difficult because he refuses to communicate with me and coparent with me on any level. So what I do is: My kids go to therapy. I go to therapy. I used to think that there would be a day that would come along that someday I could co-parent with him, and he would be willing to talk to me because it would only help the kids."

The 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star went on to warn that Kelsey needs to put his children's needs above all else.

She continued: "He's just got to accept this and learn to hate me last and love his children. He's got to think of his children first. It's just been difficult. I take it one day at a time."
Paris Hilton doesn't have time for a relationship.

Paris Hilton

The 35-year-old star insists there is no time for a man in her life but would love to settle down one day.

She said: "I'm so busy with my work that I don't even have time for a relationship or even myself.

"I would love to find someone one day that I could trust to have a family with, but I don't know. In my line of work, it's very hard to do that."

And whilst Paris spends half her year in Ibiza on the decks, she doesn't think she'll meet a suitable boyfriend there.

She told The TODAY Show: "That's the last place I wanna find love [but] it's incredible, it's so much fun to DJ. Just being out there on stage, the energy. Amnesia is the most legendary club in the world, so it's a huge honour to be playing there."

Meanwhile, Paris previously admitted she is too worried about stalkers to think about trying online dating.

Asked if she's looked for love online, she said: "No, I never have. I would be too scared of stalkers. I've heard some crazy stories from my friends!"

However, that hasn't stopped her from running her own social media accounts.

She added: "Yes I do own my social media, definitely. I think it's important to talk to my fans myself. I do have a team member to help me post things I want, but I mostly Snapchat, tweet and post on Instagram myself. I love how social media means I can connect with my fans more personally and show them my life and hear their stories.

"But I don't pay attention to the comments online ... There have been so many weird lies written about me, but one of the weirdest was when they wrote that I dated Michael Jackson."
Paris Hilton has given $100 to a homeless man who wanted "pizza and sex".

Paris Hilton

The 35-year-old business woman was celebrating her Bella magazine cover at New York Fashion Week on Tuesday (13.09.16) when she handed the money to a homeless man outside Bagatelle - a popular French bistro.

A witness told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "He asked her for $100 as she left the party. She gave the man a crisp Benjamin Franklin."

Witnesses also told the publication that the unnamed man had been asking people for the money all night, telling them it was to pay for "pizza and sex".

If the mystery man wants to thank the blonde beauty for her help, his best bet is to find the star on social media, as she recently revealed that she runs all her own accounts.

She said: "Yes I do own my social media, definitely. I think it's important to talk to my fans myself. I do have a team member to help me post things I want, but I mostly Snapchat, tweet and post on Instagram myself. I love how social media means I can connect with my fans more personally and show them my life and hear their stories."

The news of Paris' good deed comes after she recently revealed that despite all her achievements in the business world, she still finds herself stereotyped as the "blonde bimbo" who appeared with Nicole Richie in 'The Simple Life', and she loves proving people wrong.

She said: "I find it really interesting. It makes me laugh because people expect me to walk in and speak like a baby and say, 'That's hot.' A lot of people are very surprised and blown away. I love that. There are so many misconceptions about me. It feels good to prove people wrong. It's a nice feeling."
'The age or occasion when one formally becomes an adult' - Coming of age is the often dramatic, challenging or amusing journey to adulthood. A 'rite of passage' that everyone undergoes in their own unique, comical and momentous way;

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Unfortunately, we can never again experience the triumphs and failures of growing up, reaching adulthood and gaining responsibility. A coming of age movie, however, provides the closest opportunity for us to relive this experience. The variety in the genre is quite notable; there are comedies, dramas, romance and many others. So what makes this genre so popular? Perhaps it's the use of lovable adolescent characters. Or the humorous and endearing storylines filled with excitement, hope, fear and discovery. Or is it because we can all somehow relate to these experiences and the genre provides an emotional, nostalgic and amusing opportunity to reminisce?

In celebration of the release of Kiwi legend Taika Waititi's new film, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, in UK cinemas September 16th, we take a look at our favourites in the coming of age genre.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople - Taika Waititi (2016)

Defiant young city kid Ricky has had a difficult upbringing, jumping between foster homes and heading towards juvenile lock up. But the wayward boy finds his place in the world after undertaking on an adventure with his cantankerous foster uncle.

Based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump, the pair are forced to put aside their differences in a hilarious and heartfelt adventure.

Stand By Me - Rob Reiner (1986)

Arguably one the best of all times, Stand By Me is a tale of four young teenagers who set out across Oregon in search of the body of a missing boy. Although not the most cheerful of storylines, the teenagers' journey to find the dead body is symbolic of an emotional and physical climb into the realities of adulthood. Centred on friendship, anybody watching is reminded of their own poignant friendships while growing up and how those friendships have shaped them as a person.

The Breakfast Club - John Hughes (1985)

From John Hughes, The Breakfast Club is a coming of age drama following five high school teenagers with few social similarities. However, during a 9 hour school detention the characters forget their differences and undertake a journey of transformation and human connection. Learning about each other and themselves, they break away from stereotypes and form a new group 'The Breakfast Club'.

American Pie - Paul Weitz/Chris Weitz 1999

The classic comedy American Pie is a story centred on a group of teenage friends who engage in a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate. The journey provides many obstacles and the characters' awkwardness and anxiety on the issue is hilarious throughout.

Boyhood - Richard Linklater (2014)

Filmed from 2002 - 2013, Boyhood invites the audience into the world of a young boy (Mason) and documents his physical and emotional growth through adolescence. Watched through the eyes of Mason, the daily challenges of growing up are seen in a film like never before.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople will be released in UK cinemas from 16th September 2016.
We have already cast an eye over some of the 2017 blockbuster films that we cannot wait to see and now we look at some of the other movies that we are already excited about.

A Monster Calls

2017 is going to be another terrific film year and there are already a whole host of movies that we cannot wait to see - from blockbusters to drama, musicals to sci-fi... there really is going to be something for everyone.

- La La Land - released 13th January

La La Land is already one of the most talked about films of 2017 and is set to light up the festival circuit this autumn.

The movie marks the return of Damien Chazelle to the director's chair as he tackles the musical genre for the first time.

This is Chazelle's first feature film since the huge success of Whiplash - as well as being in the director's chair, the filmmaker has also penned the screenplay.

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling reunite to take on the central roles of Mia and Sebastian. The pair has worked together on Crazy Stupid Love and Gangster Squad and I cannot wait to see them share the screen again.

J.K. Simmons, Finn Wittrock, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Jason Fuchs complete the exciting 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.

La La Land is a movie that is already surrounded in Oscar whispers and will be one of the first must-see movies of 2017.

- Dunkirk - released 21st July

It is always excited when a Christopher Nolan film is on the horizon... and he is set to return next summer with war drama Dunkirk.

We have only had a little teaser for the film so far, but Dunkirk looks set to be a sweeping war epic, which has also been written by Nolan.

This is the first film for Nolan since the huge success of Interstellar and the movie sees him reunite with actor Tom Hardy; with whom he worked on The Dark Knight Rises.

Cillian Murphy - who worked with Nolan on the Batman franchise - James D'Arcy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Harry Styles, and Aneurin Barnard are all also on board.

Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

Nolan has brought us some wonderful movies of the years but Dunkirk will be the first time that we have seen him tackle the war genre. Sadly, we do have a long wait until the movie hits the big screen but I am looking forward to the first full-length trailer.

- The Founder - released 17th February

Another movie to watch out for at the beginning of 2017 comes in the form of The Founder, which may just see Michael Keaton in the Oscar mix once again.

Keaton is set to take on the role of Ray Kroc, the founder of MacDonalds, in the film as he teams up with director John Lee Hancock.

Hancock is back in the director's chair for the biopic, in what is his first feature film since Saving Mr Banks. With Saving Mr. Banks and The Blind Side under his belt in recent years, Hancock is no stranger to the biopic genre and it is good to see him back.

The movie will chronicle Kroc's journey of establishing the most iconic fast-food chain in the world.

The director has brought together a terrific cast as Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, Nick Offerman, Laura Dern, John Carroll Lynch, and B.J. Novak will all star alongside Keaton.

Keaton was in the Oscar race two years ago, when he picked up a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in Birdman. Will 2017 see him go on step further? I guess we are going to have to wait and see - we all know how much the Academy loves a biopic.

- Ghost in the Shell - released 31st March

It was back in 1995 when the Ghost in the Shell animated film was released... fast-forward over twenty years, and 2017 will see a live-action adaptation hit the big screen.

Yes, we have not too long to wait now until Ghost in the Shell is released, which sees Rupert Sanders back in the director's chair. I am a big fan of the original film and cannot wait to see what he delivers.

Ghost in the Shell is only the second feature of Sanders' career and comes five years after he made his debut with Snow White and the Huntsman.

Scarlett Johansson is set to take on the central role of The Major and is joined on the cast list by Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbk, Juliette Binoche, Michael Wincott, Takeshi Kitano, and Chris Obi.

Ghost In The Shell follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9.

Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic's advancements in cyber technology.

Of all the movies that will hit the big screen next year, Ghost in the Shell is one that I am looking forward to the most and I cannot wait to see Johansson in action.

- Loving - released 3rd February

Jeff Nichols is one of the best filmmakers around and he returns in February with his new film Loving, which is already making waves.

The movie played in competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and Ruth Negga is already being tipped for a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her central performance.

Nichols has brought us movies such as Take Shelter and Mud in recent years and this will be his first feature since sci-fi film Midnight Special earlier this year. As well as being in the director's chair, Nichols has also penned the film's screenplay.

The film sees Negga team up with Joel Edgerton to man married couple Mildred and Richard Loving. They are joined on the cast list by Michael Shannon, Nick Kroll, Marton Csokas, Jon Bass and Bill Camp are all on board.

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 follow on that fine tradition.

- The Birth of a Nation - released 20th January

Another movie that is whipping up a lot of award excitement is The Birth of a Nation, which could find itself in the Best Picture race come the beginning of next year.

The Birth of a Nation is loosely based on the true story of Nat Turner, an enslaved man who led a rebellion in Virginia in 1831.

Nate Parker is set to make his feature film directorial debut with the movie and take on the central role of Turner. He really is a filmmaker to keep an eye on over the next couple of years.

Parker will star alongside Armie Hammer, Mark Boone, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott 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 a movie that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of 2016 and has been winning over audiences and critics ever since.

- Manchester by the Sea - released 13th January

Manchester by the Sea is another Sundance Film Festival 2016 that looks on course to be a huge success - but it will not be released in the UK until January next year.

The movie marks the return of Kenneth Lonergan to the director's chair in what is the third feature film of his career; coming after You Can Count on Me and Margaret. As well as being in the director's chair, Lonergan has also penned the film's 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.

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.

Manchester By The Sea is promising to be a great human drama - anchored by a great central performance from Affleck - and is already being tipped as a potential early Oscar contender.

- A Monster Calls - released 6th January

A Monster Calls is one of the January movies that I am looking forward to as it sees J.A. Bayona back in the director's chair.

Bayona has brought us movies such as The Orphanage and The Impossible and is one of the most exciting filmmakers around.

A Monster Calls is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Patrick Ness; the author himself has adapted his book into a screenplay. I cannot wait to see how it translates onto the big screen.

The director has assembled a terrific cast list as Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, and Toby Kebbell are all on board. We are also going to be further introduced to the acting talents of Lewis MacDougall, who takes on the central role of Conor.

MacDougall made his big screen debut last year with Pan but A Monster Calls is the biggest film role of his career to date.

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.

The first trailer for the fantasy movie promises much and it is a January movie that's not to be missed.

- T2 - released 27th January

It was back in 1996 when Trainspotting first hit the big screen and went on to be a huge cult hit... just over twenty years on, and T2 will be one of the 2017 films you just have to see.

T2 is a continuation of the Trainspotting story and will see us reunite with characters Renton, Spud, Francis Begbie, and Sick Boy - played by Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Robert Carlyle, and Jonny Lee Miller.

T2 is based on the Irvin Welsh novel Porno and has been adapted into a screenplay by John Hodge, who wrote the script for Trainspotting.

The movie will also see Danny Boyle back in the director's chair, for what is his first feature film since Steve Jobs last year.

While we know that T2 is going to reunite us with some of the characters from Trainspotting, the plot for the film is being kept under wraps for now.

Trainspotting remains one of Boyle's best movies and one of the best British films of all time - it will be interesting to see how T2 compares to its highly regarded predecessor.

Other movies that we are excited to see include, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Live By Night, The Snowman, and Split.

by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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German e-commerce company Zalando is eyeing unexplored markets with its decision to start its standalone own-label fashion business. This e-retail portal offers products from some top brands such as Gap, Top Shop and Adidas along with zLabels, its own unit. The company focuses more on third party brands, while its own label gets a small share of its sales.

Amazons expansion into fashion could be a concern for Zalando and the reason for starting the standalone business, according to media analysts. The German e-commerce company seems to be taking inspiration from ASOS, its UK-based rival which gives as much importance to its own labels as it does to third party brands.

zLabels chief Jan Wilmking is expecting the own-label business to grow between 20 and 25 per cent a year, a rate that is similar to Zalando. Strengthening zLabels outside of Zalando is said to be the main agenda for starting the own-label fashion business.

German e-commerce company Zalando is eyeing unexplored markets with its decision to start its standalone own-label fashion business. This e-retail portal offers products from some top brands such as Gap, Top Shop and Adidas along with zLabels, its own unit. The company focuses more on third party brands, while its own label gets a small share of its sales.#

Zalando sells over 1,500 brands in 15 different markets in Europe. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
For the full fiscal ended August 31, 2016, total sales at Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea Group, which welcomed 783 million shoppers to its worldwide store network, climbed 7.1 per cent year over year to 34.2 billion. Adjusted for currency impact, total revenue grew 7.9 per cent, while comparable stores sales increased 4.8 per cent.According to Ikea, China remains one of the fastest growing markets together with Australia, Canada and Poland, while Germany retained its position as the largest market for Ikea.

For the full fiscal ended August 31, 2016, total sales at Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea Group, which welcomed 783 million shoppers to its worldwide store network, climbed 7.1 per cent year over year to 34.2 billion. Adjusted for currency impact, total revenue grew 7.9 per cent, while comparable stores sales increased 4.8 per cent.#

Expansion also continued as per plans with the first stores in India and Serbia set to open in the current fiscal.In order to become a complete omni-channel retailer, the company is increasing its focus on integrating physical and digital commerce, to enable customers to shop in ways that suits their needs.In fiscal 2016, the Swedish retailer opened 12 new stores and 19 pick-up and order points, while putting efforts to create a flexible distribution network. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking.

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate in the YFA 2016 exhibition, can claim subsidy under the Marketing Assistance Scheme (MAS) of NSIC of 60-95% under various categories of MAS.

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

YFA 2016 aims to redefine the way fibres, yarns, fabrics and apparel accessories are sourced and bring renowned suppliers from the these four segments closer to buyers and also offer buyers a one-stop place to source all their requirements.

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

YFA 2016 will see exhibition space doubling from one hall to two halls in the 2016 edition. Additionally, WGSN, the global authority on fashion trends will be the Trend Partner.

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

There will be a special Chinese Pavilion, where around 40 Chinese exhibitors will showcase yarns, fabrics and garment accessories. A special highlight of YFA 2016 is the Denim Zone, which will see 20 top Indian denim fabric makers exhibiting their denim innovations.

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

To add an icing to the cake, the organizers have also arranged a conference in association with TIT-Bhiwani and the Textile Association of India (TAI). One more initiative is 'Titoba', an alumni meet with a gathering of more than 800 top industry professionals in association with TIT Bhiwani and again the Textile Association of India (TAI).

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

Vision Communications, the organizer has also planned fashion shows during the days of the show and additionally there will be a high-level conference which will see ministers, top government officials and industry leaders offering their views at the conference.

Exhibitors at the second edition of the Yarn, Fabric & Accessories Trade Show (YFA) 2016, which will run from November 23 (Wednesday) to 26 (Saturday), 2016, will now be eligible to subsidies offered by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a government of India undertaking. YFA 2016 is now supported by NSIC, and now MSME units who participate...#

The fair is organized by Vision Communications, supported by the Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) with AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council), TA(I) (Textile Association of India), PDEXCIL (Power loom Development Export Promotion Council), CMAI (Clothing Manufacturers Association of India), FOHMA (Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers Association), NAEC (Noida Apparel Export Cluster), NITRA (Northern India Textile Research Institute), U.P. Apparel Exporters Association and PTA Users Association as supporting associations.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Nadi, 15 September 2016  Fiji has been unanimously elected as First Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) at the 2016 CTO Council Meeting held today in Nadi.



The election followed Fijis successful hosting of the CTO Forum (Sept. 12-14), where representatives from member states and telecommunications organisations discussed a wide range of issues relating to the development of information and communication technologies.



Attorney-General and Minister for Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum thanked the CTO Council members for their participation in the weeks events.



We were pleased to play host to our fellow CTO members over this past week and we are appreciative of the confidence placed in Fiji in our successful bid for the First Vice Chairmanship. We are keen to work with the CTO to deepen engagement among member states and build upon the ideas and strategies put forward during the 2016 Forum and Council Meeting, he said.



During the Council Meeting, member states reviewed organisational activities and progress over the past year and discussed the CTOs expanded membership  particularly the re-engagement of the Republic of India and the entry of Samoa.



Fiji had previously served as the CTO Second Vice Chair.


The board of trustees of the local community college and school boards of two area districts will meet in regular sessions today.

MAC

The Mineral Area College Board of Trustees meets in open session at 2 p.m. in Library 201 on the Park Hills campus.

According to the tentative agenda, the board will be introduced to new employees, hear the state of Missouri report; receive updates on 2016 fall semester enrollment, College Park occupancy, MAC Foundation, College for Kids, Continuing Education and external grants; and hear reports from the Classified Staff and Faculty Forum.

In old business the board will hear updates on the state auditor tax rate summary and construction. In new business the board will consider approval of the overload and adjunct recommendation lists.

The board of trustees meeting is open to the public.

West County

The West County Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. for a regular session in the Board of Education room located at 1124 Main St. in Leadwood.

First up on the agenda will be a recognition ceremony for middle school and high school FCCLA students.

Board members will also hear various reports including a district curriculum report, one from the Professional Development Committee and presentations from administrators and the superintendent.

Items of old business will include updates on fundraisers, capital projects, the MSBA Fall Meeting and the adoption of an amendment to the 2016-2017 budget.

In new business, board members will hear a bond refunding presentation, MCE updates and approve substitute teacher applicants.

The meeting is open to the public.

Bismarck

The Bismarck R-5 Board of Education will be covering a number of items under new business when it meets in regular session at 6 p.m. in the elementary library.

According to the tentative agenda, the board will consider approval of the minutes, treasurer's report, payment of bills, Support Services annual report, the FY2017 school budget, substitutes and policy updates.

The meeting is open to the public.
HON PM BAINIMARAMA SPEECH AT OPENING OF THE TRIPARTITE GATHERING OF THE FIJI-AUSTRALIA-NZ BUSINESS COUNCILS





Honourable Ministers,Your Excellencies, members of the Diplomatic Corps.The respective Chairs of the Fiji-Australia, Fiji-New Zealand, Australia-Fiji and New Zealand-Fiji Business Councils,Our exporters and importers, businessmen and women,Distinguished guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,Bula vinaka and a very good morning to you all,Fiji treasures its close links with the people of Australia and New Zealand  our deep and longstanding friendships and our economic ties. So Im delighted to join you all today to formally open this tripartite forum of the Fiji, Australia and New Zealand Business Councils.You are the glue that binds our economic relationships together through the trade you conduct and the investments you have made in Fiji. And increasingly, the trade and investment that Fijian companies conduct in Australia and New Zealand.Last year, the combined value of Fijis trade with Australia and New Zealand reached one-point-six-six-eight billion dollars ($1.668). This represents 27 per cent of our nations total trade with the world in 2015. And we place the highest importance on increasing this trade for our economy and the prosperity of every Fijian.Ladies and Gentlemen, as you all know, I am assuming the position of Foreign Minister on Saturday on top of my duties as Prime Minister, Minister for Sugar and iTaukei Affairs. I intend to give Fijis relationships with Australia and New Zealand the high level of attention they deserve. And I intend to work closely with my Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Honourable Faiyaz Koya, to put trade at centre stage of our diplomatic efforts and streamline some of our existing processes.I intend first of all to strengthen the relationship between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Too often, trade hasnt been given the importance it deserves in our diplomatic relations with other countries. So I will be insisting that the two ministries work more closely together. And for our diplomatic missions overseas to be more focused on facilitating trade, with particular emphasis on promoting the Fijian Made brand of quality products and services.I am convinced that there are significant opportunities that still havent been tapped. And my message to our Heads of Mission  High Commissioners Yogesh Punja in Canberra and Filimoni Waqabaca in Wellington  as well as our Trade Commissioner in Sydney Zarak Khan, is to redouble our efforts to boost our performance and take it to another level. Both our High Commissioners and Trade Commissioner are in the room today and I urge you all to engage with them personally as we move forward together.Minister Koya will be speaking to you later about the finer details of the trading relationship, including clarifying Fijis position on the PacerPlus negotiations. But I want to use my own address to explore the wider parameters of our relationship and the political framework in which it takes place. And especially to give you all a detailed briefing of Fijis position on the events of the past week that have again produced a hiccup in our diplomatic relations with New Zealand. It is something that does not affect our trade or our people-to-people exchanges in any way at all. But it is definitely something we need to work on in the interests of our wider relationship and future cooperation.Let me begin by saying this: in common with most Fijians, I have a great deal of affection for Kiwis and Aussies as people. I appreciate their down-to-earth, unpretentious natures; their irreverent sense of humour; and especially their eagerness to come to the help of their mates when they are in trouble.In common with other Fijians, I will never forget the way New Zealand and Australia responded so quickly and so generously to our desperate need after Tropical Cyclone Winston struck these islands seven months ago. We are neighbours and friends and always will be. But we must work harder to align our sometimes testy political and diplomatic relationship more closely with the warm personal and vibrant commercial ties we share as people.It is the message I will be giving the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, when I meet him face to face in New York next week during the United Nations General Assembly. And it is the message that I bring to you all today.There is  to put it bluntly  a great deal of room for improvement in the quality of the relationships between our countries. We all know that New Zealand and Australia did a great deal after the events of 2006 to damage Fiji. From our perspective, we believe both countries fundamentally failed to grasp the reasons why we needed radical intervention to finally produce a level playing field for all Fijians and create a strong foundation for our economy. But as I told the New Zealand Prime Minister to his face when he came to visit us in June, we have delivered on our promise to return Fiji to parliamentary rule with our first genuine democracy of equal votes of equal value. And we are eager to let bygones be bygones and move forward together to a greater level of understanding.That requires a greater degree of mutual respect in the conduct of our relationship than we are currently witnessing. In particular, I have been very disappointed over the past week about what I regard as the highhanded manner in which Fiji has again been treated by New Zealand.You may have noticed the other day John Key saying that he hoped the Fijian Government wasnt going to be quote  silly - about enforcing the provisions of our Public Order Act. With due respect to my Honourable Friend, I dont think silly was the appropriate word to use in the circumstances. Just as I dont think it was appropriate for him to say last year that I was, quote, mouthing off about the Pacific Islands Forum.Being silly or mouthing off is what a parent might say about a wayward child or a teacher might say about a problem student. It doesnt suggest a relationship of equals. On the contrary, it carries a distinct tone of superiority. Some might even call it patronising or condescending. But I certainly dont think it shows appropriate respect for a sovereign nation and a democratically elected leader who is acting in the best interests of the Fijian people and Fijian economy. And let me explain why.Anyone with more than a superficial knowledge of Fiji knows that we have had a history of civil unrest at various stages of our development. Both in the colonial era and after Independence 46 years ago.In 1959, under British rule, a bitter industrial dispute led to rioting in Suva in which shops were looted and a military curfew was imposed. During the coup of 1987, rampaging extremists, egged on by politicians, attacked ordinary people on the streets and in their homes. In the 2000, our capital was trashed when police stood by while crowds looted central Suva and set fire to a number of buildings. And we are determined that such outrages will never happen again. It is not good for human dignity and it is not good for business.It was the British who introduced the Public Order Act and this Act  with various amendments  continues to this day. It exists to preserve public order and safety. It is there to protect the interests of every citizen. Because in each of these instances over the years, civil unrest damaged the economy and damaged peoples jobs.The Public Order Act then and now requires anyone wanting to hold a public meeting to apply to the Police for a permit. So the Police are aware of what is happening and can allocate the appropriate resources to cover any eventuality. Because many of our problems in the past have had their origins in such gatherings, when people have been incited to cause trouble.On Monday of last week, a group of mainly politicians held or attended a meeting in Suva without applying for a permit. Without a permit, any such meeting would be viewed as an unlawful gathering and the police acted accordingly.Several people were detained for questioning. Their human rights were respected. No one was beaten and no-one was manhandled. They were able to obtain legal counsel. They were fed and by their own accounts to the media, were well treated. And they were released within the 48-hour period that the law allows someone to be detained without having to be produced in court.They are now free while the police file goes to the independent office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for a decision of whether they should be prosecuted. And our courts will also deal with this independently if the DPP decides to prosecute these individuals. It is precisely the same standard of due process as in New Zealand or Australia.I note that even John Key says the process has been lawful. So why has this become an international incident? Why is the spotlight being turned on Fiji simply because it insists on its laws being upheld? Why all the unwarranted expressions of concern from foreign governments and organisations? The baseless allegations of human rights abuses? The absurd motion against Fiji introduced in the New Zealand Parliament? When all we are doing is enforcing a statute that our history tells us is not only necessary but vital to our national interest and economic well-being.Ladies and Gentlemen, I will not apologise for doing whatever it takes within the law to keep our people safe and our economy stable. We have had a record seven years of economic growth, with all that entails for the prosperity of our people. And nothing must be allowed to get in the way of providing them with the opportunities they deserve.I promised the Fijian people that the nightmare many suffered in the past arising from the successive breakdowns of law and order will never be repeated. And I intend to keep that promise.The rule of law must be upheld. And while any law remains on the statute books, the Police have a solemn duty to enforce it. It is only the democratically elected representatives of the people in Parliament who can change it now that we have returned to parliamentary rule.As it happens, His Excellency the President announced when he opened the Parliament on Monday that the Public Order Act will be among a range of laws to be reviewed in the coming session. And if Parliament eventually decides that it is time to change the law, thats when it will happen and not a moment before.My message to the New Zealand and other governments and to our other domestic and international critics is this: Let the Parliament do its work and please respect the law as it stands.Until now, we havent lectured you about the allegations of human rights abuses in your own countries. These include the extreme disadvantage suffered by indigenous people in New Zealand and Australia and in the case of Australia, the inhumane treatment of asylum seekers. We also refrain from commenting on the stark double standards of nations that preach to us yet fail to criticise the flagrant human rights abuses of their larger and more powerful allies. So please do us the courtesy of respecting our own processes and allow our elected representatives to do what is necessary in the interests of the Fijian people and Fijian economy as a whole.Ladies and Gentlemen, the Government is determined to provide you with the confidence  the certainty  that your investment in and trade with Fiji is safe. And given Fijis history, we can only maintain that confidence if we display zero tolerance for civil unrest or other forms of disruption. No more coups. No more mutinies or rebellions. A nation at peace with itself and eager to reach out to the world.We have put an end to the lost years in Fiji when everyone wondered what would happen next. Whether their businesses or their homes would be threatened again. When their jobs might suddenly vanish.We are more secure as a nation because we are more unified as a nation than at any time in our history. Everyone with equal opportunity, with a deep sense of focus on the economy and everyone a Fijian. And riding a wave of tremendous optimism in the wake of our Rugby Sevens gold medal winning performance at the Rio Olympics.We are supercharging our economy by investing more in improving our infrastructure than at any time in our history  better roads, better airports and more efficient ports. Our telecommunications have also been elevated to global standards. And we are continuing, with our education revolution, to improve the skills of our people, who already comprise a talented English- speaking workforce at the hub of the Pacific and the crossroads to other markets.Above all, we are a nation that has come to terms with its past, is unquestionably on the move and has a wonderful future ahead of it.Ladies and Gentlemen, Fiji is open for business. And on behalf of the Fijian people, thank you all for the contribution you are making to help us to build a more prosperous future. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible this morning. And now have the great pleasure to declare this joint forum of our respective business councils open.Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.
The Crazy, Stupid, Love famed actor Ryan Gosling praises his partner Eva Mendes, and their daughters Esmeralda and Amada, for making him a "better man" and helping him deal with his emotional blues.

In the event of the 'Toronto International Film Festival', the actor said, "All of them are doing amazing. I'm a lucky man - they really make me better."

Ryan Gosling also revealed that he is probably having the "happiest time" of his life with his family around.

"They're angels. It's the happiest time in my life," said Gosling.

On the other hand, Eva also credits her elder daughter to stay focused on doing things that are morally right. She terms her as a "moral compass."

"I love being an example to somebody. If I'm even like, 'Oh, what should I wear? Or, should I do this project?' all I have to think about is my daughter and her face and I know the answer immediately", said Eva.

"I guess she's my moral compass in a way. It's just beautiful to be an example for her." Eva added further.

The couple also revealed that they don't like to rely on a nanny to look after their children. Rather, they've split up the parental duties between the father and mother on an equal scale.
Namitha Pramod, the young Mollywood actress is extremely busy with some promising Telugu projects in her kitty. She will soon return to the industry after a short break, with Rafi's Fahadh Faasil starrer Role Model.

In the recent interview given to Star & Style magazine, the actress opened up about her future projects and career plans. Interestingly, Namitha revealed that she is planning to be more choosy in her career.

The actress states that she wants to play the characters, which will mark her presence in the industry as an actress. That is the reason behind Namitha's decision to concentrate in Telugu industry.

She feels that a break from the Malayalam movie industry was necessary, as it may help her to choose the characters which provide the scope to perform. The actress also wants to avoid being typecasted.

Namitha was approached for an Allu Arjun starrer project during the filming of Vikramadithyan. But she turned down the offer, as she felt that it was not the right time to make Telugu debut.

Similarly, the actress also refused an Emran Hashmi starrer, as she was not comfortable with the character offered. Namitha says that she has no plans to leave Malayalam industry for other languages.
Mitsubishi Motors Public Relations Department http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com +81-3-6852-4275

TOKYO, Sept 15, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announces that this month marks the tenth year since it started accepting Philippine trainees at its factories in Japan. Since the first group arrived at the Mizushima Plant in October 2007, some 200 Philippine trainees have acquired technical skills at MMC's factories in Japan including the Nagoya Plant. Currently some 70 trainees are undergoing training in Japan and the company intends to continue the program into the future.The trainees are graduates from a technical college in the Philippines and spend up to three years in Japan acquiring the skills necessary to work on a vehicle production line. A member of the 8th group of trainees and in his third year in Japan, Mr. Wilbert Florida Lopez said, "I experienced much during the last two years, and particularly my experiences at MMC have been precious." He added, "I hope to study hard and gain more skills and knowledge in my last year of the training." Mr. Reymond James Manluyang Aquino, who started his training in Japan this month, said, "I am very grateful to Mitsubishi Motors for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I am going to work as hard as I can not only in my work but also in learning Japanese."Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation(1) (MMPC) recently had its application to join the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program(2) (CARS) approved. In order to produce the Mirage and Mirage G4 (Attrage) in line with the CARS program, MMPC is investing around PHP 4.3 billion in plant and equipment, including about PHP 2 billion in the construction of a new stamping shop facility. The new stamping shop is due to come into full operation in the first half of 2018.MMC Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Mr. Osamu Masuko has said, "We wish to help in nurturing the Philippine automobile industry by providing assistance in the area of human resources, and to contribute to the growth of the country's economy."The construction of the new stamping shop facility will allow MMPC to produce large auto parts and components locally, one of the CARS Program requirements, rather than having to import them. It also has major significance for MMPC in bringing the stamping process, a core technology for an auto production plant, on site and will see the creation of new employment as well as the transfer of technologies from MMC.(1) The sole manufacturer and distributor of MMC in the Philippines.(2) A government initiative aimed at growing the automobile industry in the Philippines.About Mitsubishi MotorsMitsubishi Motors Corporation is the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.Throughout its history it has courted alliances with foreign partners, a strategy pioneered by their first president Tomio Kubo to encourage expansion, and continued by his successors. A significant stake was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1971 which it held for 22 years, while DaimlerChrysler was a controlling shareholder between 2000 and 2005. Long term joint manufacturing and technology licencing deals with the Hyundai Motor Company in South Korea and Proton in Malaysia were also forged, while in Europe the company co-owned the largest automobile manufacturing plant in the Netherlands with Volvo for ten years in the 1990s, before taking sole ownership in 2001.Source: Mitsubishi MotorsContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Public Relations Department, Eisai Co., Ltd. +81-3-3817-5120

TOKYO, Sept 15, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Co., Ltd. announced that its European regional headquarters Eisai Europe Ltd. has received license from the European Commission for anticancer agent Kisplyx (generic name: lenvatinib mesylate, "lenvatinib") in combination with everolimus for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma following one prior vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) targeted therapy. Following the United States, Europe marks the second region where lenvatinib has been licensed for the advanced renal cell carcinoma indication.This license was based on a Phase II clinical study (Study 205)(1) that evaluated the safety and efficacy of lenvatinib in combination with everolimus in patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma following one prior VEGF-targeted therapy. From the results of the study, the lenvatinib plus everolimus group (n=51) demonstrated a significant extension in the study's primary endpoint of progression free survival (PFS) compared to the everolimus alone group (n=50) (median PFS for the lenvatinib plus everolimus group: 14.6 months vs median PFS for the everolimus alone group: 5.5 months; Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.40 [95% CI: 0.24-0.68], p=0.0005). Furthermore, updated median overall survival in the study population was 25.5 months in the lenvatinib plus everolimus group compared with 15.4 months in the everolimus alone group (HR 0.59 [95% CI: 0.36-0.97]).(2) The most common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) reported in the lenvatinib plus everolimus group were diarrhea, decreased appetite and fatigue. The most common TEAEs of Grade 3 or higher (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) were diarrhea, hypertension and fatigue.The number of patients with renal cancer is estimated to be approximately 338,000 worldwide, including approximately 115,000 in Europe, 58,000 in the United States and 17,000 in Japan.(3) Renal cell carcinoma comprises more than 90% of all malignancies of the kidney,(4) and originates from malignant cells in the lining of the tubules of the kidney. The incidence of renal cell carcinoma in people over 55 years of age is rising, and it is more likely to affect men than women. For advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma that is difficult to treat with surgery, the standard treatment is molecular targeted drug therapy, however with low 5-year survival rates, this remains a disease with significant unmet medical need.In Europe, lenvatinib has been designated as an orphan drug for thyroid cancer and is marketed as Lenvima for this indication. In Europe, renal cell carcinoma does not meet the criteria for orphan drug designation. Accordingly, under European regulations, any licensed medicine that previously received orphan drug designation for an indication and subsequently receives license for a non-orphan indication must be marketed under a different trade name. As such, lenvatinib will be marketed as Kisplyx in the European Union for the indication covering renal cell carcinoma.Eisai positions oncology as a key therapeutic area, and is aiming to discover revolutionary new medicines with the potential to cure cancer. Eisai remains committed to providing further clinical evidence for lenvatinib aimed at maximizing value of the drug as it seeks to contribute further to addressing the diverse needs of, and increasing the benefits provided to, patients with cancer, their families, and healthcare providers.Please refer to the following notes for the licensed indications in the United States, Japan and Europe1. About lenvatinib mesylate (generic name, "lenvatinib")Discovered and developed in-house, lenvatinib is an orally administered multiple receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor with a novel binding mode that selectively inhibits the kinase activities of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors (VEGFR1, VEGFR2 and VEGFR3) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors (FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3 and FGFR4) in addition to other proangiogenic and oncogenic pathway-related RTKs (including the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor PDGFRalpha; KIT; and RET) involved in tumor proliferation. Currently, Eisai has obtained license for lenvatinib as a treatment for refractory thyroid cancer in over 45 countries including in the United States, Japan, in Europe, Korea, Canada, and Mexico, and has submitted applications for regulatory review in countries throughout the world including South Africa and Malaysia. Specifically, Eisai has obtained license for the agent indicated in the United States for treatment for locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, in Japan for the treatment of unresectable thyroid cancer, and in Europe for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, locally advanced or metastatic differentiated (papillary, follicular, Hurthle cell) thyroid carcinoma (DTC), refractory to radioactive iodine, respectively. Furthermore, lenvatinib was also licensed in the United States in May 2016 for an additional indication in combination with everolimus for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma following one prior anti-angiogenic therapy. Meanwhile, Eisai is conducting clinical studies of lenvatinib in several other tumor types such as hepatocellular carcinoma (Phase III), endometrial carcinoma (Phase II), biliary tract cancer (Phase II), and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor for various types of cancer (Phase Ib/II). Lenvatinib is marketed globally for use in the treatment of thyroid cancer and also in the United States for use in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma under the brand name Lenvima. Lenvatinib has been designated as an orphan drug for thyroid cancer by the regulatory authorities in Japan, the United States and Europe. Under European regulations, any licensed medicine that previously received orphan drug designation for an indication and now received license for a non-orphan indication must be marketed under a different trade name. As such, lenvatinib will be marketed as Kisplyx in the European Union for the indication covering renal cell carcinoma.2. About the Phase II Clinical Study (Study 205)(1)Study 205 was a multicenter, randomized, open-label study of the combination of lenvatinib (18 mg) plus everolimus (5 mg), lenvatinib alone (24 mg), and everolimus alone (10 mg) in patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma following one prior VEGF-targeted therapy, and was conducted in Europe and the United States. 153 patients were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to one of three treatment arms to compare the efficacy and safety of these three regimens. From the results of the study, the combination of lenvatinib plus everolimus group demonstrated a significant extension in the study's primary endpoint of progression free survival (PFS) compared to the everolimus alone group (median PFS for the lenvatinib plus everolimus group: 14.6 months vs median PFS for the everolimus alone group: 5.5 months; Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.40 [95% CI: 0.24-0.68], p=0.0005). Additionally, median PFS for the lenvatinib alone group was 7.4 months, demonstrating an extension in PFS compared to the everolimus alone group (HR: 0.61 [95% CI: 0.38-0.98]). The study also assessed objective response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS) as secondary endpoints. Regarding ORR, both the lenvatinib plus everolimus group and the lenvatinib alone group showed an improvement in ORR compared to the everolimus alone group (lenvatinib plus everolimus: 43%, lenvatinib alone: 27%, everolimus alone: 6%). Furthermore, regarding OS, updated median overall survival in the study population was 25.5 months in the lenvatinib plus everolimus group compared with 15.4 months in the everolimus group (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.36 - 0.97). The most common any-grade treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) reported in the lenvatinib plus everolimus group were diarrhea, decreased appetite and fatigue. The most common TEAEs of Grade 3 or higher (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) were diarrhea, hypertension and fatigue.(1) Motzer, R, et al. "Lenvatinib, everolimus, and the combination in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a randomised, phase 2, open-label, multicentre trial." The Lancet Oncology, 2015; 16, 1473-1482.(2) Kisplyx Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC), September 2016(3) Globocan 2012: Estimated Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide in 2012, http://globocan.iarc.fr/ Motzer, R, et al. "Lenvatinib, everolimus, and the combination in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a randomised, phase 2, open-label, multicentre trial." The Lancet Oncology, 2015; 16, 1473-1482.(4) Eble J.N, ed. Pathology and Genetics of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs. 3rd ed. World Health Organization Classification of Tumours, vol.7 (IARC, 2004).About EisaiEisai Co., Ltd. (TSE:4523; ADR:ESALY) is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Eisai focuses its efforts in three therapeutic areas: integrative neuroscience, including neurology and psychiatric medicines; integrative oncology, which encompasses oncotherapy and supportive-care treatments; and vascular/immunological reaction. Through a global network of research facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai actively participates in all aspects of the worldwide healthcare system. For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.Source: EisaiContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
HARRISON (dpa-AFX) - MasterCard Inc. (MA) plans to launch new biometric technology for verifying customer identities during online shopping transactions in the coming weeks with merchants and banks. The company has been testing facial and fingerprint recognition software, called Identity Check, in the Netherlands, Canada and the U.S., as a way to combat growing online fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported. In online transactions using Identity Check, the shopper submits a selfie or fingerprint via a mobile app from MasterCard that authenticates the image. Consumers shopping via laptop or desktop computer would receive requests for the biometric data through text message sent to their smartphones, the report said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Dell Technologies (NYSE: DVMT), ImageWare Systems (OTCQB: IWSY); Route1 (TSX VENTURE: ROI), GTX Corp (OTC PINK: GTXO)

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US "IN THE BOARDROOM"

Marc Blackmer, Product Marketing Manager, Industry Solutions, Security Business Group, Cisco

Mr. Ken Mills, Chief Technology Officer Surveillance and Security, Dell Technologies

Jim Miller, Chairman and CEO, ImageWare Systems

Tony Busseri, Route1, CEO

Scott B. Suhy, CEO, NetWatcher

And... From The Newsroom... GTX Corp Expands Distribution in Mexico

GTX Corp, an IoT platform in the personal location GPS wearable and wandering assistive technology business, announced the commercial launch of the GPS SmartSole with C&R Care Solutions, a privately owned company headquartered in Mexico City which sells and supports GPS-based tracking solutions throughout the country of Mexico. Please join Patrick Bertagna, GTX CEO, Founder, Chairman "In The Boardroom" here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_GTX_Bertanga.html

*****

IN THE BOARDROOM WITH...

Cisco

Mr. Marc Blackmer, Product Marketing Manager, Industry Solutions, Security Business Group, Cisco, told us, "We estimate that there will be 50 billion -- with a 'b' -- connected things by 2020, and that includes critical infrastructure, mining, manufacturing, energy production, and so on. Accordingly, malicious hacking is becoming more lucrative and impactful as this connectivity increases. We've already seen how malware can be used to help take down a power grid. Therefore, if we are to reap the benefits of greater connectivity, then we need to be sure we are connecting security to protect human health and safety, as well as environment safety."

For our complete interview with Mr. Marc Blackmer, Product Marketing Manager, Industry Solutions, Security Business Group, Cisco, please click here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Blackmer.html

*****

Dell Technologies

Mr. Ken Mills, Chief Technology Officer Surveillance and Security, Dell Technologies, told us, "I am very excited about the value Dell EMC will bring to the surveillance and security market. Mr. Dell has discussed on a number of occasions that Dell EMC is a 1 + 1 = 3 opportunity for our customers and partners. This is especially true in the surveillance market. Dell EMC brings together the industry- leading server portfolio from Dell, the industry leading virtualization platform from VMware, and the 5-time surveillance market leader in surveillance storage from EMC. The surveillance industry is rapidly moving to the datacenter and we are hearing more and more that our customers want open, scalable and reliable enterprise infrastructure for their surveillance compute and storage. Adding Dell's server, networking and OEM portfolio to EMC's edge to core to cloud storage architectures provides customers a validated end-to-end solution for surveillance infrastructure. Combining Dell with EMC will provide our joint customers more choice and more value than on our own. Dell EMC will reduce the complexity of deploying large scale surveillance solutions."

For our complete interview with Mr. Ken Mills, Chief Technology Officer Surveillance and Security, Dell Technologies, please click here or here: http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_DELL_EMC.html

*****

ImageWare Systems

ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: IWSY), the pioneer in biometric authentication, announced a new strategic partnership with Fortscale Security, a leading User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) provider. The combined solution will leverage Fortscale's award winning UEBA with ImageWare Systems' leading biometric platform to detect compromised credentials.

The joint offer will provide an unprecedented level of account security to the global enterprise security market. The companies also declare a joint strategy to continue co-developing of a broader, advanced, adaptive identity management suite. Modeling over 100 behavioral attributes, Fortscale applies advanced machine learning to form a behavioral baseline and alert whenever an account is performing either abnormal, risky, or malicious actions. ImageWare Systems' mobile biometric user authentication solution, GoVerifyID, will be integrated with Fortscale 2.7 to verify a user's identity when abnormal behavior, such as accessing restricted enterprise resources, is detected.

The integrated solution can function either as a cloud-based or on-premise deployment, and ensures seamless integration with other existing security and access providers.

"Enterprise security pros already know that user behavior analytics, like Fortscale's, offers the best defense against credential theft, hijacking, and abuse," said Idan Tendler, founder & CEO, Fortscale. "By integrating with ImageWare System's GoVerifyID, we deliver an automated, comprehensive, and seamless federated identity management for enterprises."

"Fortscale is an industry leading product that analyzes network user behavior to determine the presence of attackers," said Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems' Chairman & CEO. "By integrating GoVerifyID with Fortscale 2.7, we are enabling better threat detection with the highest level of identity assurance."

For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click here or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.html

For the latest ImageWare Systems news, please click here, or here: http://iwsinc.com/latestnews/

*****

Route1... recent announcements include:

Route1 Reports 2016 Second Quarter Financial Results

Route1 Launches MobiENCRYPT - Smart Card Based Full Disk Encryption Technology

Route1 Provides Q2 2016 Operations Update

For Route1 news: https://www.route1.com/investors/press-releases.html

For our discussions with Tony Busseri, CEO, and with Brian Brunetti, President, Route1, please click here, or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Route1_Brunetti.html

*****

NetWatcher

Scott Suhy, CEO, NetWatcher, told us, "We just launched into beta an endpoint that both works with locally deployed sensors when the user is on-premise as well as and with our cloud sensor when the user is at home or at the coffee shop. We agree that all security is moving to the cloud but we also believe that there is a transition period. Our architecture supports detection and response locally for on-premise users and IOT devices and it also supports the mobile workforce when they are not local. Most SIEM/security providers only support on-premise. What is unique with the NetWatcher Cloud Endpoint? 2 big things. The one I already mentioned -- it can work without local on-premise security infrastructure. The second area -- We are offering a free version of the endpoint that anyone can download and use for no cost."

For our complete interview with Scott Suhy, CEO, NetWatcher, please click here or here: www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Netwatcher_Suhy.html

*****

THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL ADVERTISING, CONTENT AND ALL OTHER MATERIAL AND INFORMATION WHICH APPEARS ON SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND/OR SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE AND/OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html.
Regulatory News:

BONE THERAPEUTICS (Brussels:BOTHE) (Paris:BOTHE) (Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the bone cell therapy company addressing high unmet medical needs in bone fracture repair, fracture prevention and spinal fusion, today announces that it has received a positive ruling regarding the application of the Belgian Patent Income Deduction (PID).

Under this favourable regime, 80% of all revenues from patents relating to its products PREOB and ALLOB plus two other earlier-stage products, MXBTM and JTATM, will be exempt from Belgian income tax. PREOB and ALLOB are currently in phase II and phase III clinical trials for a variety of indications including osteoporosis, delayed-union, spinal fusion and osteonecrosis. The 80% exemption results in a net effective tax rate of 6.8% before incorporation of losses carried forward and tax credits.

The PID regime allows for exemption of 80% of revenues resulting from:

Licensing income received through license agreements under the form of upfront payments, milestone payments, royalties or other payments relating to the granting of a license on the patents for which the ruling was obtained.

Technology embedded royalties integrated into the sales price of products covered by patents for which a ruling was obtained.

Following the notification of a positive ruling on the application of the Belgian PID regime, the Belgian Parliament subsequently approved a new law which has the effect of guaranteeing that Bone Therapeutics would be eligible to benefit from this regime up to 30 June 2021. New legislation is pending that will further align Belgian Law with current OECD directives. This new legislation will apply to patent income resulting from patents requested after 30 June 2016.

Wim Goemaere, Chief Financial Officer of Bone Therapeutics, said: "We welcome this ruling which enables Bone Therapeutics to benefit from the highly advantageous PID regime potential licensing revenues received up to 30 June 2021. The Belgian PID regime recognises the importance of encouraging and rewarding innovation by Belgian companies like Bone Therapeutics. We believe schemes such as this are of major benefit to our shareholders and to our ability to continue to invest in the discovery and development of ground-breaking technologies and products which can meet the needs of patients around the world."

About Bone Therapeutics

Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotechnology company specializing in the development of cell therapy products intended for bone fracture repair and fracture prevention. The current standard-of-care in this field involves major surgeries and long recovery periods. To overcome these problems, Bone Therapeutics is developing a range of innovative regenerative products containing osteoblastic/bone-forming cells, administrable via a minimally invasive percutaneous technique; a unique proposition in the market.

PREOB, Bone Therapeutics' autologous bone cell product, is currently in pivotal Phase IIB/III clinical studies for two indications: osteonecrosis and non-union fractures, and in Phase II for severe osteoporosis. ALLOB, its allogeneic "off-the-shelf" bone cell product, is in Phase II for the treatment of delayed-union fractures and lumbar fusion for degenerative disease of the spine, including a minimally invasive therapy for failed spinal fusions. The Company also runs preclinical research programs and develops novel product candidates.

Founded in 2006, Bone Therapeutics is headquartered in Gosselies (South of Brussels, Belgium). Bone Therapeutics' regenerative products are manufactured to the highest GMP standards and are protected by a rich IP estate covering 11 patent families. Further information is available at: www.bonetherapeutics.com

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors' current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Bone Therapeutics S.A. Rue Auguste Piccard, 37 6041 Gosselies Belgium (Europe) Phone: +32 (0) 2 529 59 90 Fax: +32 (0) 2 529 59 93  www.bonetherapeutics.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006324/en/

Contacts:

For further information, please contact:

Bone Therapeutics SA

Enrico Bastianelli, Chief Executive Officer

Wim Goemaere, Chief Financial Officer

+32 (0)2 529 59 90

investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com

or

For Belgium and International Media Enquiries:

Consilium Strategic Communications

Jonathan Birt, Jessica Hodgson, Lindsey Neville and Hendrik Thys, +44 (0) 20 3709 5701

bonetherapeutics@consilium-comms.com

or

For French Media and Investor Enquiries:

NewCap Investor Relations Financial Communications

Pierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Nicolas Merigeau, 33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

bone@newcap.eu
EMMEN, SWITZERLAND -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN) reports a change in its ownership structure. Due to the ongoing exchange of ALSO shares relating to the Exchangeable Bond issued by Schindler Holding AG, Schindler announced that Schindler Holding AG's investment holding of ALSO shares has fallen below 10 percent. Consequently the shareholders' agreement between a subsidiary of Droege International Group AG and Schindler Holding AG, which hold the shares of ALSO, will be terminated.

During the merger of ALSO and Actebis in January 2011, Droege Group and Schindler Group signed a shareholders' agreement to manage their holdings, which at that time comprised more than 81% in the new company, ALSO-Actebis Holding AG (now ALSO Holding AG). Because Schindler's ownership share has now fallen below 10 percent, the shareholders' agreement between Special Distribution Holding GmbH (a subsidiary of Droege International Group AG, majority shareholder of ALSO Holding AG) and Schindler Holding AG will be terminated as planned. Consequently, the contractually provided minority and representation rights of Schindler Holding AG will cease.

Special Distribution Holding GmbH remains the majority shareholder of ALSO Holding AG with a shareholding of 51.3 percent.

Direct Link: http://www.also.com/goto/20160915en

ALSO Holding AG (Emmen/Switzerland) brings providers and buyers of the ICT industry together. The company offers services at all levels of the ICT value chain from a single source. In the European B2B marketplace, ALSO bundles logistics services, financial services, supply services, solution services, digital services, and IT services together into individual service packages. ALSO's portfolio contains more than 160 000 articles from some 350 vendors. The Group has around

3 750 employees throughout Europe. In fiscal year 2015 (closing on December 31), the company generated net sales of

7.8 billion euros. The majority shareholder of ALSO Holding AG is the Droege Group, Dusseldorf, Germany. Further information is available at www.also.com.

Droege Group

(Major shareholder)

Droege Group (founded in 1988) is an independent consultancy and investment company under full family ownership. The company acts as a specialist for tailor-made restructuring programs with the aim of enhancing corporate value. Droege Group combines its corporate family-run structure and capital strength into a family-equity model. The group carries out direct investments in corporate subsidiaries and medium-sized companies in "special situations" with the use of equity. The motto of "The Art of Implementation" has made the group into a pioneer among hands-on implementation-oriented consultancies. Droege Group demonstrates its implementation excellence daily within its own portfolio. The seven corporate platforms which exist at present are aligned to the current megatrends (mobility, prevention, digitalization, demography, etc.). Enthusiasm for quality, innovation and speed determines our actions. In this way Droege Group has successfully gained a position in the domestic and international markets and operates with over 120 companies in 30 countries. In 2015 the sales volume of Droege Group was 9.2 billion euros.

More information: http://www.droege-group.com.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the ALSO management. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation, and performance of our Group. The Group accepts no responsibility for updating these forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or developments.

Contacts:

Brunswick Group GmbH

Dr. Marc Langendorf

+49 89 80 99 02 517

mlangendorf@brunswickgroup.com




Regulatory News:

In accordance with the decision by the Annual General Meeting of Semcon AB in 2016 the following persons have been appointed as members to the Nomination Committee:

 Ulf Gillberg, Chairman of the Nomination Committee, JCE Group AB

 Evert Carlsson, Swedbank Robur Fonder

 Mats Andersson, Nordea Investment Funds

 Tore Bertilsson, Chairman of Semcon AB

The Annual General Meeting of Semcon will be held at the head office in Goteborg, Wednesday April 26, 2017. Proposals to the Nomination Committee shall be e-mailed to valberedning@semcon.com by latest Wednesday March 1, 2017.

Semcon's Financial Calendar 2016/2017:

 Interim report January-September 2016: October 27, 2016

 Year-end report 2016: February 9, 2017

 Interim report January-March 2017: April 26, 2017

 Annual General Meeting 2017: April 26, 2017

 Interim report January-June 2017: July 19, 2017

 Interim report January-September 2017: October 27, 2017

 Year-end report 2017: February 8, 2018

Semcon is an international technology company that develops products based on human needs and behaviours. We strengthen our customers' competitiveness by always starting from the end user, because the person who knows most about the user's needs creates the best products and the clearest benefits to humans. Semcon collaborates mainly with companies in the automotive, industry, energy and life science sectors. With 3,000 specialised employees, Semcon has the ability to take care of the entire product development cycle, from strategy and technology development to design and product information. Semcon was founded in Sweden in 1980 and has offices in over 40 locations in nine different countries. In 2015, the Group reported annual sales of SEK 2.6 billion. Read more on semcon.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006471/en/

Contacts:

Semcon AB

Bjorn Stromberg, +46 (0)31-721 03 06

CFO
Another nationwide retailer is setting up shop in a local community.

On Wednesday, Farmington City Administrator Greg Beavers said tool retailer Harbor Freight is coming to Farmington.

They submitted an application to build into the R.L Jones Development, Beavers said. They will occupy the 16,000-square feet space formerly filled by the Rainbow clothing store.

Beavers said the company recently submitted applications for their building permits for the location.

According to the website harborfreight.com, the company started in 1977 when Eric Smidt and his father started Harbor Freight in a small building in North Hollywood, California. Originally known as Harbor Freight Salvage, the company began as a mail order tool business.

Only 17 years old at the time the company started, Smidt became president of Harbor Freight in 1985 at the age of 25 and he has been running the company ever since.

The site also says Harbor Freight opened its first store in 1980 and over the decades we opened many more stores and expanded our catalog, direct mail, and ecommerce business.

Today there are more than 700 stores and 30 million satisfied customers, the website reads.

The developers are making improvements to the shopping area where the store is to be located after the Farmington City Council approved a reauthorization of a Community Improvement District, or CID, and once again approved the redevelopment agreement for the property in June of last year.

Originally approved in December of 2014, the council had to reapprove the agreement after the developer did not fulfill the stipulation of having the agreement ratified in the 120 day time period.

A one percent sales tax will be imposed on all retail sales in the district to assist in the $2.4 million in improvement costs for the center, which was originally built in the early 1970s.

The rent revenues (for the location) wont generate the revenue on the site to operate it at the margins the developer needs to do those improvements. Council thought it was a project deserving of this kind of assistance, Beavers said following the June 2015 passage of the CID.

Sources say the new store could be open as early as November.
PARIS, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Eyevensys, a private biotechnology company developing its proprietary EyeCET platform, the first non-viral technology that allows a safe local sustained production of therapeutic proteins in the eye to address a wide range of ophthalmic diseases, announces that the total Capital Raised in the Series A is 9 million. This follows a funding extension which was led by Pontifax Venture Capital, a healthcare-dedicated venture capital firm focusing on ground-breaking innovations in life sciences. In conjunction with the closing of the Series A, Mr. Ohad Hammer from Pontifax has joined the Eyevensys Board.

Eyevensys will use the funds raised to secure the clinical development of its lead product candidate EYS606 that will enter into an open-label Phase Ib study in premier Ophthalmological Centres in France and in the UK by the end of 2016 as a potential treatment for Non-Infectious Uveitis (NIU). This study is expected to be completed towards the end of 2017.

EYS606 is the first non-viral product that has the potential to treat NIU patients for up to 6 to 12 months following one injection. The treatment uses the Company's proprietary electro-transfection injection system (ETIS) to deliver plasmids encoding for the production of anti-TNFa in the ciliary muscle of the eye. TNFa is a cytokine that has been shown to play a pivotal role in mediating intraocular inflammation in NIU. In January 2016, EYS606 has been granted an Orphan designation by EMA for the treatment of NIU.

Raffy Kazandjian, CEO of Eyevensys, said: "We are grateful that Pontifax, a leading health-care dedicated venture fund, alongside our existing investors, share our excitement about the potential of EyeCET's technology to deliver long-lasting treatment to address a wide range of ophthalmic diseases. This extension funding supports our clinical strategy on EYS606 and will also allow us to start to unlock the potential of our pre-clinical pipeline."

Ohad Hammer, of Pontifax Venture Capital, said: "Delivering drugs to the eye is one of the major challenges in the ophthalmology area. Eyevensys' innovative EyeCET technology brings a truly novel approach to treating ophthalmic diseases with the potential to offer significant clinical benefit as well as improved patient convenience. We are looking forward to supporting the Eyevensys team, with the guidance of the founder, Professor Francine Behar-Cohen, in developing innovative therapies to treat complex ophthalmic diseases."

For more information, please contact:

Eyevensys

Raffy Kazandjian, CEO

Raffy.Kazandjian@eyevensys.com

Tel: +33-184-791-060



Media Relations

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

David Dible, Sylvie Berrebi

eyevensys@citigatedr.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20-7638-9571





About Non-Infectious Uveitis



Non-Infectious Uveitis is a severe inflammation of the internal structure of the eye and rare-disease afflicting approximately 250,000 patients in US and EU. NIU is the 4th cause of blindness and a major one amongst younger individuals. The market potential is estimated around 270m growing at 6,5 % (CAGR).



About Eyevensys:



Eyevensys is a private biotechnology company developing its innovative EyeCET platform to enable the sustainedintraocular production of therapeutic proteins to treat a broad range of ophthalmic disease.

Eyevensys' EyeCET technology uses electroporation to deliver protein coding plasmids, which are safe and non-viral, into the ciliary muscle of the eye. This approach enables the ciliary muscle cells to sustainably produce therapeutic proteins locally.



Eyevensys believes its EyeCET technology can improve short and long-term therapeutic outcomes by greatly enhancing patient compliance and significantly improving the tolerability of treatment.



Eyevensys' lead product EYS606 is a potential new treatment for patients with non-infectious Uveitis (NIU). EYS606 consists of Eyevensys' proprietary electro-transfection injection system (ETIS) in combination with a plasmid encoding for the production of anti-TNFi, a cytokine that has been shown to play a pivotal role in mediating intraocular inflammation in NIU. EYS606, which has been granted an Orphan designation by the EMA for the treatment of NIU, is expected to enter the clinic in 2016.

Eyevensys was founded in 2008. It is headquartered in Paris, France, and is funded by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, BPI France, CapDecisif, and Inserm Transfert. To-date it has raised a total of 10.8 million (including 1.9 million public financing).



For more information about Eyevensys please visit www.eyevensys.com
Regulatory News:

In accordance with the decision by the Annual General Meeting, the members of the Nomination Committee of Investor AB (STO:INVEA) (STO:INVEB) (LSE:INU) should be appointed by the four shareholders/owner groups controlling the largest number of votes in Investor AB which desire to appoint a representative. In addition thereto, the Chairman of the Board of Directors shall be a member of the Nomination Committee.

On August 31, 2016, the four owners controlling the largest number of votes (taking into account owner groups) which desired to appoint a representative to the Nomination Committee were the Wallenberg Foundations, AMF, SEB Foundation and Alecta. Each such shareholder has appointed a representative, as shown below, who together with the Chairman of the Board will form Investor AB's Nomination Committee.

The Nomination Committee's members are:

Hans Wibom, Wallenberg Foundations

Peder Hasslev, AMF

Lars Isacsson, SEB Foundation

Ramsay Brufer, Alecta

Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman of Investor AB's Board

The four owner representatives of the Nomination Committee represent approximately 65 percent of the voting rights for all shares of Investor AB.

The Nomination Committee shall present the following proposals for approval by the 2017 Annual General Meeting:

Proposal for Chairman of the Meeting;

Proposal for Members of the Board of Directors;

Proposal for Chairman of the Board of Directors;

Proposal for remuneration to the Members of the Board of Directors, distinguishing between the Chairman of the Board of Directors and other Members of the Board of Directors and remuneration for committee work;

Proposal for auditors;

Proposal for remuneration to Investor's auditors; and

To the extent deemed necessary, proposal regarding amendments of the current instruction for the Nomination Committee.

Investor AB's Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at City Conference Centre, Barnhusgatan 12-14, Stockholm, Sweden.

Shareholders who would like to submit proposals to the Nomination Committee can do so via e-mail: nomination.committee@investorab.com, or by ordinary mail to the address: Investor AB, Nomination Committee, SE-103 32 Stockholm, Sweden, by March 8, 2017, at the latest.

Our press releases can be accessed at www.investorab.com Investor, founded by the Wallenberg family a hundred years ago, is the leading owner of high quality Nordic-based international companies. Through board participation, our industrial experience, network and financial strength, we strive to make our companies best-in-class. Our holdings include, among others, Atlas Copco, SEB, ABB, Ericsson and Molnlycke Health Care.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006484/en/

Contacts:

Investor AB

Stefan Stern, Head of Corporate Relations

Sustainability and Communications

Phone 46 8 614 2058, 46 70 636 7417

or

Magnus Dalhammar, Head of Investor Relations

Phone 46 8 614 2130, 46 73 524 2130
Regulatory News:

The U.S. and Dutch authorities have since the spring of 2014 investigated historical transactions related to Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan in 2007. On the evening of 14 September, Telia Company received new information from the authorities with proposals from them for a settlement with the company. The information received was general and did not go into much detail but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately USD 1.4 billion which corresponds to approximately SEK 12 billion for all investigations. "I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility. We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter. With that said, our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyze the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities," says Telia Company's Chairman Marie Ehrling.

Analyst and media telephone conference at 8.30 a.m. CET

Telia Company invites you to a conference call with Telia Company's President and CEO Johan Dennelind, General Counsel Jonas Bengtsson and CFO Christian Luiga.

Dial-in number: +44 (0) 1452 555566

Access code: 83137312

You can also listen to the conference call afterwards until September 20, 2016.

Replay number: +44 (0) 1452550000

Access code: 83137312

Telia Company AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instrument Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at time 7:45 on September 15, 2016.

Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in the press release relating to future status or circumstances, including future performance and other trend projections are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to many factors, many of which are outside the control of Telia Company.

We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at http://www.teliacompany.com/.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006485/en/

Contacts:

Telia Company AB

press office +46 771 77 58 30

or

visit our Newsroom (http://www.teliacompany.com/en/newsroom/)

or follow us on Twitter @Teliacompany

(https://twitter.com/Teliacompany)
Regulatory News:

Andreas Renulf, age 42, has been appointed as the new President and CEO of Pricer AB (STO:PRICB) and will take up his position on January 1, 2017. Andreas was previously CEO and Group Managing Director of Scan Coin AB, a company with significant operations in the retail sector which achieved strong growth in both sales and earnings under his leadership. Andreas left Scan Coin, whose principal shareholder was the Nordic private equity firm Segulah, following the sale of the company in 2015.

Andreas Renulf is currently working as a consultant with responsibility for the world-leading German engineering group Voith's digital transformation strategy. Before joining Scan Coin, Andreas Renulf had a longer career within ABB with senior management positions in countries including Singapore, Switzerland and Spain. He has a Master's Degree in Finance from Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden.

Bo Kastensson, Pricer's Chairman, commented on the appointment:

"Pricer is building it's offering on clear industry advantages that are supporting new digital services with key international retailers. We need to sharpen our growth strategy on that foundation. After an intensive search process, we have concluded that Andreas Renulf's profile, with his explicit customer and business focus, familiarity with international growth programs, and experience of the retail sector, makes him the person we seek to realize Pricer's growth potential. We see in Andreas a positive, proactive leader who combines an analytical with an entrepreneurial work approach.

Andreas Renulf commented:

"Pricer has inherent growth potential. I see skilled management dedicated to the business and I am truly motivated to join Pricer and lead the work and establishing our new targets as soon as possible and execute an explicit growth strategy."

Charles Jackson, who has been acting CEO since May this year, will continue in this role until Andreas Renulf takes up his position and will subsequently return to his role as Deputy CEO, responsible for strategy, sales and marketing. "I would like to thank Charles and the management team for leading the company during this period. Charles has declined to take part in the CEO selection process at an early stage and has full confidence in his new/old role," said Bo Kastensson.

This information is information that Pricer AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 8:30 CET on September 15, 2016.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160914006490/en/

Contacts:

Pricer AB:

Bo Kastensson, Chairman,

+46 8 505 582 00
Company announcement no. 9/2016Aalborg, Denmark, 2016-09-15 08:46 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --SUMMARYResults for the first half of 2016/17The results before tax amounted to DKK -9.3 million in the first half of 2016/17 against DKK -3.2 million in the first half of 2015/16. The results after tax amounted to DKK -9.8 million against DKK -7.2 million in H1 2015/16.The balance sheet total amounted to DKK 2,925.6 million against DKK 2,808.8 million at 31 January 2016. Consolidated equity totalled DKK 1,273.9 million, and the solvency ratio stood at 43.5 %.Breakdown by segment:DKKm Property Asset Unallocate development management d -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit/loss -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit/loss before tax 3.0 -7.2 -5.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Balance sheet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Development projects 769.8 - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Completed properties under asset - 1,174.3 - management -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other asset management projects - 130.2 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other assets 474.3 295.1 81.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total assets 1,244.1 1,599.6 81.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tied-up equity 637.7 569.8 66.4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Outlook for 2016/17Management still expects consolidated results before tax for 2016/17 to total DKK 10-30 million.This profit estimate is based on the expectation that a number of ongoing small and medium-sized projects will be executed before the end of the current financial year. TK Development is recording good progress on the individual projects. The time horizon for the projects means that the majority of them are expected to be completed, handed over to the investor and thus recognized in income in Q4 2016/17. The Group's most significant development projects are not expected to contribute to consolidated results until subsequent financial years.Property developmentThe results for this business area amounted to DKK 3.0 million before tax in H1 2016/17. At 31 July 2016 the balance sheet total came to DKK 1,244.1 million, and the equity tied up represented DKK 637.7 million.In H1 2016/17 TK Development sold a superstore of about 2,150 m in Rdekro and a plot of land, and also generated fee income on several projects.Moreover, TK Development has entered into agreements for the sale of several projects that will impact results positively in Q3 2016/17. These sales underpin Management's profit estimate for the 2016/17 financial year.Major development projects:-- Construction of the new shopping centre, BROEN Shopping, in Esbjerg, Denmark, is progressing according to plan, and the opening is scheduled for spring 2017. The current occupancy rate is 75 % of the premises.-- After problems caused by damage to a neighbouring property in connection with the startup of construction of the Strdet project in Kge, Denmark, which resulted in considerably delay, progress is now being made, and construction is still scheduled for completion in autumn 2017. The retail project, of which 74 % has been let, has been sold conditionally to the Finnish company Citycon together with the parking facilities. The sale to Citycon is still expected to have a significant positive impact on results in the 2017/18 financial year when the completed project is handed over to the investor.-- Construction of the Amerika Have residential project in Copenhagen, Denmark, is progressing as planned. The last apartments have recently been put up for sale, and in total 65 apartments out of 121 have been sold.-- The second phase of the residential project in Bielany in Warsaw, Poland, has been completed. 97 % of the units have been sold, and the handover of the individual units to the buyers is ongoing.-- In June 2016 construction started on the third phase of the Bielany residential project in Warsaw, Poland. The pre-completion sale is progressing satisfactorily, and 19 % of the residential units have been sold.-- In Arninge in Stockholm, Sweden, the municipality has chosen TK Development as its preferred partner for the development of a project of about 60,000 m, primarily retail stores and possibly offices as well.The projects in the pipeline are moving ahead at a good pace due to robust tenant and investor interest. Specifically, negotiations about the sale of several projects are ongoing, underpinning the Group's future earnings expectations.The Group's portfolio of land has been reduced by a further DKK 84 million since 31 January 2016, amounting to DKK 477 million at 31 July 2016.As from the 2017/18 financial year, the return on equity from the property development business area is expected to amount to 15-20 % p.a. before tax.Asset managementThe results for this business area amounted to DKK -7.2 million before tax in H1 2016/17. At 31 July 2016 the balance sheet total came to DKK 1,599.6 million, and the equity tied up represented DKK 569.8 million.The portfolio of completed properties in this business area consists of 156,200 m, amounting to DKK 1,586.9 million at 31 July 2016. This amount includes joint venture projects. The annual net rent from the current leases corresponds to a return on the carrying amount of 4.5 %. Based on full occupancy, the return on the carrying amount is expected to reach 6.1 %.Detailed development and operating plans have been drafted for each property, and good progress is being made in their realization in a number of areas.The expectations mentioned in this Interim Report, including earnings expectations, are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties, which may result in deviations from the expected results. Expectations may be impacted by factors generally applicable to the sector as well as the factors referred to in the Group's 2015/16 Annual Report under Risk issues and note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, Accounting estimates and judgments, including the valuation of the Group's project portfolio.Further information is available from Frede Clausen, President and CEO, on tel. +45 8896 1010.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=586322


NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Acasti Pharma (ACST)(APO.V) surged 123% on Wednesday, following positive data from its bioavailability study of CaPre for the treatment of patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia.



The bioavailability study compared CaPre given as a single dose of 4 grams in fasting and fed states with the approved hypertriglyceridemia drug LOVAZA (omega-3-acid ethyl esters) in 56 healthy volunteers.



The results support Acasti's strategy to pursue the FDA's 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway to gain marketing approval of CaPre.



ACST closed Wednesday's trading at $2.81, up 123.02%.



AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACRX) is all set to announce the results of its phase III clinical study of ARX-04 in patients who have moderate-to-severe acute pain following a surgical procedure on September 15, 2016.



Last month, the company reported positive topline results from a phase III trial of ARX-04 in patients who presented to the emergency room with moderate-to-severe acute pain associated with trauma or injury.



ACRX closed Wednesday's trading at $3.28, up 1.86%.



Shares of Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AERI) were up 61% in extended trading on Wednesday, following positive topline data from the first phase III trial of its investigational glaucoma drug Roclatan.



Roclatan is a fixed dose combination of Aerie's most advanced drug candidate Rhopressa and Latanoprost, a widely prescribed prostaglandin analog for glaucoma.



In the trial, known as Mercury 1, Roclatan demonstrated statistical superiority over Rhopressa and Latanoprost.



Another phase III trial of Roclatan, named Mercury 2, is underway, and topline data readout from this trial is expected in the second quarter of 2017.



AERI closed Wednesday's trading at $21.13, up 7.53%. In after hours, the stock was up 61% to $34.02.



Aviragen Therapeutics Inc. (AVIR) has completed 90% enrollment in the SPIRITUS phase 2b trial of Vapendavir for the treatment of human rhinovirus infections in moderate and severe asthmatic patients. The top-line data from the trial are expected around the end of the year.



The company has resumed enrollment in its phase 2a challenge study of BTA585, being developed for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. The top-line viral load data are expected to be available around the end of the year.



AVIR closed Wednesday's trading at $1.42, up 0.71%.



Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LXRX) will now have to wait till February 28, 2017 to know the FDA decision on telotristat etiprate, its oral drug proposed for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome.



The FDA's decision date was originally set for November 30, 2016. However, following the company's submission of additional clinical data analyses, the decision date has been postponed by 3 months.



LXRX closed Wednesday's trading at $18.83, up 2.06%.



The FDA advisory committees have recommend removal of boxed warning regarding serious neuropsychiatric adverse events from the label of Pfizer inc.'s (PFE) smoking cessation therapy, Chantix.



Chantix was approved in the U.S. in 2006. Following reports of unusual changes in behavior in people using Chantix, the FDA in 2009, required Pfizer to add a Boxed warning to the product labeling about the risk of serious mental health events including changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility, and suicidal thoughts when taking the drug.



The FDA panels' recommendation to remove the boxed warning regarding serious neuropsychiatric adverse events is based on the results of post-marketing requirement study of Chantix, dubbed EAGLES.



The EAGLES study, conducted at the request of the FDA and EMA, compared the neuropsychiatric safety of Chantix and bupropion with placebo and nicotine replacement therapy patch in adult smokers with and without a history of psychiatric disorders. The EAGLES study, the results of which were published in April of this year, demonstrated that there was no significant increase in the incidence of the composite primary safety endpoint of serious neuropsychiatric adverse events with Chantix or bupropion compared to placebo and nicotine patch.



Now that the FDA panels have given their views, it is now for the FDA to take a call on Chantix's boxed warning regarding serious neuropsychiatric adverse events.



Sales of Chantix have declined ever since it was slapped with a black box warning. Sales, which were $883 million in 2008, were down to $671 million in 2015.



PFE closed Wednesday's trading at $33.94, down 0.29%.



Shire plc (SHPG) has received FDA approval for CUVITRU [Immune Globulin Subcutaneous (Human), 20% Solution], for treatment of adult and pediatric patients two years of age and older with primary immunodeficiency.



Primary immunodeficiency refers to a group of more than 300 genetic disorders in which part of the body's immune system is missing or functions improperly. It affects up to six million people worldwide.



Shire expects to launch CUVITRU in the U.S. in the coming weeks. CUVITRU was approved in 17 European countries in June of 2016.



SHPG closed Wednesday's trading at $193.32, up 1.14%.



Spectrum Pharmaceuticals' (SPPI) Qapzola, proposed for immediate intravesical instillation post-transurethral resection of bladder tumors, has been voted down by an FDA panel, citing lack of substantial evidence of a treatment effect.



The FDA's final decision is scheduled for December 11, 2016.



SPPI closed Wednesday's trading 8.20% down at $5.04. In after hours, the stock gained 3.77% to $5.23.



Shares of Vitae Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VTAE) jumped more than 157% on Wednesday as the company agreed to be acquired by Allergan plc (AGN) for $21.00 per share, in cash, which equates to a total transaction value of $639 million.



The acquisition adds Vitae's VTP-43742, a potential treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders, and VTP-38543, a potential treatment of atopic dermatitis, both of which are phase II compounds, to Allergan's pipeline.



Allergan anticipates closing the transaction by the end of 2016.



VTAE closed Wednesday's trading at $20.85, up 157.41%.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) - Swedish telecommunication company Telia Company AB (0H6X.L, TLSNY.PK), formerly known as TeliaSonera AB, said that U.S. and Dutch authorities have proposed the company pay $1.4 billion to settle allegations the company paid bribes to win business in Uzbekistan. Telia Chairman Marie Ehrling said, 'I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility.' Ehrling said,' We are cooperating fully with the authorities to bring clarity to the matter. With that said, our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high. We will now have to analyze the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities.' The U.S. and Dutch authorities have since the spring of 2014 investigated historical transactions related to Telia Company's entry into Uzbekistan in 2007. On 4 September, Telia Company received new information from the authorities with proposals from them for a settlement with the company. The company noted that the information received was general and did not go into much detail but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately US$1.4 billion which corresponds to approximately SEK 12 billion for all investigations. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
CTO Jason Macy to Host Industry Experts at Inaugural London AMQP Summit

BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Forum Systems Inc. today announced that CTO Jason Macy will host a panel of industry experts at their London AMQP Summit on Wednesday, September 28 at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. During the inaugural event, attendees will learn tips and techniques for implementing the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) into their enterprise architectures and experience a live demonstration that showcases Forum Systems' award-winning API Security Gateway, Forum Sentry.

Developed by the OASIS open standards consortium, AMQP provides a platform-agnostic method for ensuring business information is safely transported between applications, among organizations, within mobile infrastructures and across cloud computing environments. Designed for security and reliability, the protocol helps global organizations avoid the pitfalls inherent in proprietary technologies, offering a means to lower the cost of enterprise middleware software integrations through open interoperability and commoditization.

AMQP's business value is unquestioned. Deutsche Borse, JPMorgan, NASA, Google and AT&T are just some of the world's most recognizable brands that have successfully leveraged AMQP to power their critical systems. Additionally, the UK Government is promoting their preference for AMQP-enabled products over proprietary middleware for cost savings, agility and vendor-agnostic implementations.

"AMQP has emerged as the next-generation messaging framework in place of proprietary JMS implementations, and the adoption of AMQP is growing rapidly, expanding into cloud providers and the Internet of Things," notes Macy. "We are pleased tohost this interactive session in London to discuss the principles and best practicesfor securing AMQP deployments."

In June, Forum Systems announced that Forum Sentry is the world's first secure proxy technology to support the AMQP 1.0 standard. Building on its industry-first NIST FIPS 140-2 and NIAP Network Device Protection Profile (NDPP) certification, Forum Sentry is now the only product with native secure AMQP proxy functionality, allowing organizations to perform seamless in-line, deep-content inspection and validation assurance of AMQP communications - without requiring code changes or incurring additional capital expenditure costs.

Kicking off at 11:30 a.m. BST, Forum Systems' London AMQP Summit is a complimentary, half-day event that includes lunch. The Summit will feature live demonstrations of Forum Sentry's built-in, point-and-click capabilities that enable the API Security Gateway to serve as the cornerstone of simplifying and securing AMQP implementations. Key topics covered by the panel of experts will include:

Foundations of API Security Gateway architecture design and in-line AMQP proxy.

The security of data privacy, integrity and threat mitigation of AMQP messaging.

Simplifying protocol mixing of AMQP with other protocols for easier integration.

Efficiency of no-code, policy-based, integrated AMQP capabilities.

For more information and to register, please visit: http://info.forumsys.com/forum-systems-amqp-london-2016

About Forum Systems

Forum Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crosscheck Networks, Inc., is the leader in API Security Management. Providing centralized security, identity and governance for SOA, REST and mobile communications, the Forum Sentry API Gateway enables enterprises to manage complex API access in an efficient, agile, highly secure manner. Processing more than 10 billion transactions per day worldwide, and architected on "security-first" design principles, Forum Sentry delivers unparalleled protection against HTML-, XML-, SOAP- and REST-based vulnerabilities. Forum Sentry is the industry's only FIPS 140-2 and NIAP NDPP-certified API Gateway for enabling secure connectivity between users, applications and the cloud. For more information, please visit www.forumsys.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 4:30 am ET Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics will release U.K. retail sales for August. Economists forecast sales including auto fuel to fall 0.4 percent on a monthly basis, reversing a 1.4 percent gain in July. The pound declined against its major rivals ahead of the data. The pound was valued at 0.8504 against the euro, 1.2885 against the franc, 135.24 against the yen and 1.3208 against the greenback as of 4:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
AMSTERDAM, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

University Benefits From Access to Elsevier's Scopus and SciVal

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and the University of the Arctic (UArctic)today announcedthe launch of a new report that assesses research related to the Arctic.

For the assessment, Elsevier contributed by providing data from Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed scientific literature, and access to SciVal, Elsevier's tool to analyze and benchmark the world of research, and part of Elsevier's Research Intelligence portfolio of tools and services. The UArctic Task Force on Science & Research Analytics defined the subject area and performed the analysis across various datasets. The report, titled Arctic Research Publication Trends: A Pilot Study, aims to monitor the state of Arctic research efforts across institutions and countries and to provide fact-based insights for the Arctic research community. It was launched at the 2016 UArctic Congress in Saint Petersburg.

Lars Kullerud, President of the University of the Arctic, commented about the report: "Better understanding of Arctic research output will be instrumental in developing the Arctic as a zone for peace and collaboration, and raising awareness of the main environmental, development and economic issues affecting the Arctic and its peoples. A very promising finding in the pilot report is that there already exists a high degree of international cooperation in Arctic research. We are looking forward to continuing this collaboration to explore more data in order to provide more insights for the Arctic research community and decision-makers."

"Elsevier has been an important partner in our large-scale pilot analysis to identify trends, challenges and gaps in knowledge about the Arctic research landscape," added Igor Osipov, Chair of the UArctic Science & Research Analytics Task Force (FEFU). "The results are crucial to improve the representation and visibility of Arctic research in research output globally."

Nick Fowler, Elsevier's Chief Academic Officer, said: "We're pleased that the University of the Arctic has selected Scopus and SciVal for its analysis, underscoring the quality and depth of Elsevier's data and metrics and value in supporting research excellence. We look forward to support the University in their future initiatives."

Note for editors

Journalists interested in a copy of the report Arctic Research Publication Trends: A Pilot Study can contact Scott Forrest of UArctic at scott.forrest@uarctic.org.

About the University of the Arctic

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is a cooperative network of universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations concerned with education and research in and about the North. UArctic builds and strengthens collective resources and collaborative infrastructure that enables member institutions to better serve their constituents and their regions. Through cooperation in education, research and outreach we enhance human capacity in the North, promote viable communities and sustainable economies, and forge global partnerships.

The Arctic is surrounded by eight countries: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (including Greenland and Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.

About Elsevier's Research Intelligence

Elsevier's Research Intelligence Solutions are a comprehensive research information management portfolio which improves the ability to establish, execute, and evaluate research strategies. The portfolio includes SciVal, thePuresystem, and our customAnalytical Services, as well as rich data assets likeScopus, and the reference management technology ofMendeley. Elsevier's Research Intelligence enables research organizations, funders, policy-makers, and individual researchers to make better decisions,improvecollaboration, attract investment, and optimize expenditure- all to enhance researchstrategy, execution, and performance.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligenceand ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com

Media contact

Elisa Nelissen

Press Officer, Elsevier

+31-20-485-2492

e.nelissen@elsevier.com


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Theme: Table2Gather

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southeast Asia's biggest furniture trade show Malaysian International Furniture Fair announces its call for entries for MIFF Furniture Design Competition 2017.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408215

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408217

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408216LOGO

Since launched in 2010 to inspire and groom the next generation of designers for Malaysia's furniture industry, MIFF FDC has emerged as the top annual furniture design award for young talent. It is open for young professionals and students below 30 years old.

The theme for MIFF Furniture Design Competition 2017 is "Table2Gather" in search for innovative and sustainable concepts of the ubiquitous table-and-chair set.

"The table is one of the most widely used furniture pieces and it brings people to gather together whether for fine dining or meals at home, to share traditions and experiences, to chit chat, make new friends or make new business," said Ms Karen Goi, General Manager of MIFF.

"We are certainly looking forward to the very best from the contestants, something that goes beyond the shape and function, a design that stands out and reflects the new desired living lifestyles for today and tomorrow. It can be a complete dining concept, a kitchen piece or stylish table for cocktails, coffee and snacks, the ideas are simply endless and we want to be impressed."

The top 10 entries will be presented and awarded along with exhibitor accolades during MIFF 2017 held from March 8 to 11 in Kuala Lumpur. The prototypes produced in partnership with local manufacturers will be put on display at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC), the co-venue of the trade show with Putra World Trade Centre.

Interested designers can check www.mifffdc.com for competition rules and conditions and entry form. Entries close 17 October 2016.

MIFF FDC is judged by an international panel of experts in design and industry under Chief Judge Philip Yap.

The winner is announced at the MIFF Prize Presentation Ceremony on Mar 10 for the top prize of RM10,000, the second and third-placed will receive RM5,000 and RM2,500 respectively, and the remaining finalists RM500 each.

For more information, visit www.mifffdc.com or follow MIFF FDC Facebook fanpage "MIFF Furniture Design Competition (FDC)".

Notes to Editors

About MIFF (www.miff.com.my)

Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) is an export-oriented furniture trade show held annually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is also a global leading trade show approved by UFI, The Global Association for Exhibition Industry. Since 1995, MIFF has nurtured invaluable partnerships between thousands of buyers and furniture makers across the globe.




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 30, 2017) - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (OTC Pink: BVTEF) (FSE: YQGB) (the "Company" or "Iconic") is pleased to announce that it has received complete geochemical results from the sampling of drill cuttings (the "Samples") taken from BC1602, the second test hole drilled at its Bonnie Claire project. Commencing at a depth of 820 feet (250 m) and continuing to the bottom of the hole at 1,990 feet (607 m) lithium values average 850 ppm. These highly anomalous results extend the mineralized zone discovered in hole BC1601. A map showing the location of both drill holes can be found on the Company's website.

The Samples were collected in 20 foot (6.1 m) intervals, during the drilling of BC1602. This hole is located approximately 1.43 miles (2.30 km) southeast of BC1601. BC1601 contains an intercept of 1,180 feet (360 m) averaging 1,307 ppm lithium and +500 ppm lithium values begin within 20 feet (6 m) of the surface. BC1602 contains an intercept of 1,170 feet (357 m) averaging 850 ppm lithium with the highest lithium value in BC1602 of 1,790 ppm occurring at the bottom of the hole. The intercept in the second hole is deeper because of alluvial and beach sand cover. The identical geology and geophysical signatures of these two mineralized intercepts indicate that lithium bearing sediments occur continuously between the two drill holes.

The drill cuttings sampling of BC1601 was conducted by an independent geologist following QC guidelines and shipped to ALS Chemex in Reno, Nevada for analysis. ALS Chemex is an ISO registered and accredited laboratory.

Initial leach testing of the mineralized intercept from BC1602 is in progress and will be reported when received.

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist (#11494) and CEO of Iconic is the Qualified Person who has prepared and reviewed this press release in accordance with NI 43-101 reporting standards.

Iconic's Bonnie Claire Lithium Property:

The Property is 23,100 acres located within a valley that is approximately 30 km (19 miles) long and 20 km (12 miles) wide, the associated drainage basin covers an area of 2,070 square km (800 sq mi). Quartz-rich volcanic rocks, that contain anomalous amounts of lithium, occur within and adjacent to the drainage basin. Geochemical analysis of the local salt flats has yielded lithium values up to 340 ppm, including lithium values up to 500 ppm which were performed by USGS (US Geological Surveys). The gravity low within the valley is 20 km (12 miles) long, the current estimates of the depth to bedrock range from 600 to 900 meters (2,000 to 3,000 feet). The current claim block covers the gravity low and the associated mud flats.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Kern"

Richard Kern, President and CEO

Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development

Contact: (604) 718-2800 ext 312

For further information on ICM, please visit our website at www.iconicmineralsltd.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com



Forward Statement: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Iconic expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE MKT: PZG) ("Paramount") ("the Company") announced today that Pierre Pelletier has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Mr. Pelletier will serve as an independent director on the Company's Board of Directors.

Mr. Pelletier is an environmental engineer with a Masters of Business Administration and is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. He has over 20 years of experience managing complex environmental and social impact projects. From 2012 through to the present, he has served as managing director of Environmental Resources Management Canada Ltd., a leading global provider of environmental, health, safety, risk, and social consulting services with an emphasis on the mining and oil and gas sectors. Prior to that, from 1998 through 2009, Mr. Pelletier served as a Project Manager for Rescan Environmental Services Ltd. ("Rescan"), managing project and technical development. In 2010, he became President and Chief Operating Officer for Rescan and remained in this role through 2012.

Commenting on the appointment, Paramount Chairman, David Smith noted that "Mr. Pelletier's environmental and permitting experience will be a great asset to Paramount as it commences with its Pre-Feasibility Study, at its recently acquired Grassy Mountain Project."

About Paramount

Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount has an unusually high ratio of ounces of gold in mineral inventory to shares outstanding, providing its shareholders with exceptional leverage to the gold price. For our mineral inventory, click here.

Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). Additionally, Paramount holds a 100% working interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which a PEA has been prepared and key permitting milestones accomplished. For the PEA, click here.

Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and realizing value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account.

Contacts:

Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Glen Van Treek

President, CEO and Director

866-481-2233



Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Chris Theodossiou

Investor Relations

866-481-2233




VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - U.K. shares rose slightly in choppy trade on Thursday after retail sales data showed little sign of post-Brexit vote slowdown. Official data showed that British retail sales declined at a slower-than-expected pace in August, after rebounding in the previous month. Retail sales volume including automotive fuel dropped 0.2 percent from the previous month, reversing a 1.9 percent climb in July. Sales were expected to fall by 0.4 percent. The Bank of England meets later today, with many expecting the central bank to leave rates on hold. Investors eagerly await the minutes released alongside the decision for hints at the scale and timing of future policy changes. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 8 points or 0.11 percent at 6,680 in midday trading after inching up 0.1 percent in the previous session. Informa shares rallied 3 percent. The publishing and events group has reached an agreement to buy U.S.-based information services company Penton from private equity firms MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co for 1.18 billion pounds ($1.56 billion). Morrison Supermarkets soared 8 percent on reporting a rise in interim sales and profits. Food wholesaler Booker Group climbed 2.5 percent on saying it remains on course to meet expectations for the full year ending March 24 2017. Electronics distributor Electrocomponents jumped 13 percent after raising its first-half sales forecasts. Next Plc fell as much as 5 percent. The fashion chain issued a cautious outlook for the second half after reporting a 1.5 percent fall in first-half profits. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - September 15, 2016) - Trustonic is pleased to announce that Line, one of the world's largest instant messenger services, has selected the innovative Trustonic Hybrid Protection (THP) solution to protect their hugely successful Line Messenger and Line Music services. THP technology exploits the best possible security for every device, utilising the Trustonic Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) hardware security where available, whilst leveraging sophisticated, white box cryptography and code protection from whiteCryption in all other devices.

THP will be used to safeguard against malicious software attacks for both the Line Messenger database, which resides in end-user devices, and also the DRM keys used in Line Music. THP-protected versions of both the Line Messenger and Line Music applications will be available to end users in the coming months. Furthermore, Line will expand THP protection into many other services, including gaming, and several other Line family apps which will be able to benefit from optimal mobile application security. In addition, with Trustonic Hybrid Protection, Line will be able to protect their applications across multiple platforms, including Apple IOS and Google Android.

Line's security team undertook an in-depth security evaluation and found Trustonic's THP product to be the most robust and reliable solution in today's market. Uniquely, Trustonic can deliver THP's combined hardware and software security solution through a single tool and single API integration into Line's applications, which was a key determining factor behind Line's decision. Line's CPO/CISO, Mr. Takeshi Nakayama, further explained, "It was important that we could offer a security solution across all platforms, with minimal integration effort. With Trustonic Hybrid Protection, all Line consumers will automatically benefit from the highest level of security available for their device; TEE hardware-based protection where available, supplemented with market leading software-based security for any non-TEE enabled devices."

Ben Cade, CEO at Trustonic, added, "Trustonic are delighted to have Line as one of our flagship partners for THP. The mobile industry has long recognized the need to adopt hardware-based security to protect sophisticated apps and valuable customer data from the software-based threats (viruses, malware, spyware and man in the middle attacks etc). Through our partnership with whiteCryption, THP is a truly unique product, and we are seeing strong interest and demand across numerous market verticals globally, at a time when security has never been more critical."

About Trustonic

Trustonic is a venture formed in 2012 by blue chip leaders in the semiconductor industry (ARM) and digital security (Gemalto). Trustonic's mission is to protect, enrich and simplify people's digital lives by enabling optimum security on all smart connected devices and associated services and applications. Trustonic has already pioneered the adoption of advanced Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) security technology into the world's leading mobile devices with working solutions today underpinning Samsung Knox, SamsungPay, Alipay and Symantec VIP. Trustonic TEE technology is available from 11 of the leading 12 Android smartphone manufacturers and is embedded in more than 700 million devices. Trustonic Hybrid Protection is an industry first which combines TEE based hardware security with sophisticated software protection to deliver optimal security to all connected devices, delivering a comprehensive security solution to all end users, service providers and application developers.

Press Contact:

Colin Eade

Marketing Communications Manager

Colin.eade@trustonic.com

+44 (0)7393 148294
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Highlights:

-- Steady state operations continue with 34,301 ounces produced in July and August 2016 -- H2 2016 production guidance increased to 100,000 - 105,000 ounces up from 90,000 - 100,000 ounces previously -- Mills operating at 10% over design capacity at 3.3Mtpa and gold recovery exceeding plan -- Crushing improvements being undertaken through Q1 2017 to increase mill throughput to circa 3.6Mtpa for 2017 -- New life-of-mine plan being optimized with higher throughput rates and gold production for 2017 and 2018 ahead of Phase 2 operations

Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX: AKG)(NYSE MKT: AKG) is pleased to provide an update on the Asanko Gold Mine (AGM), located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine declared commercial production on April 1, 2016 and reached steady state operations during Q2 2016. July and August production has been reflective of steady state operations with 34,301 ounces produced. As such, the Company has increased its production guidance to 100,000 - 105,000 ounces for H2 2016, previously 90,000 -100,000 ounces.

Asanko's improved guidance is the result of minor operational improvements made during Q2 2016 to optimize the processing facility which has resulted in the mills performing in excess of their original design capacity on a continuous basis. This, together with higher than planned recovery and ore grades approaching reserve grades being fed from the Nkran pit, has delivered a very encouraging performance so far for Q3 2016. In July the processing plant milled 274,325 tonnes at 2.1 g/t gold producing 17,042 ounces and for August 279,737 tonnes were milled at 2.0 g/t for 17,259 ounces.

Commenting on the strong production performance, Peter Breese, President and CEO, said, "The Asanko Gold Mine is performing extremely well, having now reached steady-state operations with current run rates through the processing facility above feasibility levels. The solid performance we have seen in July and August has given us the confidence to increase our guidance for H2 2016. Our focus now continues to be on bringing our operating costs in-line with expectations by the end of 2016."

The current mill capacity of 275,000 to 280,000tpm (equivalent to 3.3 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa")) is approximately 10% above design throughput rates. The bottleneck to increasing production further is primarily the ore crushing circuit. Modifications to the crushing circuit to improve throughput rates are currently being undertaken and will be completed in Q1 2017. In addition, in an effort to improve throughput rates even further, a new mobile crusher has been purchased and is expected to be operational by late September 2016. Once the crushing improvements have been implemented, the Company expects to achieve monthly production throughputs of 300,000tpm (3.6Mtpa) without further capital expenditure.

The Company is currently updating the AGM life-of-mine plan in conjunction with the Phase 2 Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS"). The new life-of-mine plan will be based on processing 20% more ore than planned at 3.6Mt in 2017. As such the Company expects the DFS to estimate in excess of 220,000 ounces of production in 2017, which is well above previous plans for that year. Ore feed will come from the Nkran pit, the two near-surface oxide deposits discovered earlier this year, Adubiaso Extension and Nkran Extension, and the Dynamite Hill satellite pit. The DFS is now expected to be published during Q4 2016, at which time formal production guidance for 2017 will be given.

Permits for Adubiaso Extension and Dynamite Hill have recently been obtained and the permit for Nkran Extension is expected in Q1 2017. Bush clearing and Grade Control drilling of the Adubiaso Extension pit has commenced in preparation for mining operations in Q4 2016.

The Company will be presenting at the Denver Gold Forum next week in Colorado Springs, USA. A copy of the presentation will be available on the Company's website: www.asanko.com.

Enquiries:

For further information please visit: www.asanko.com, email: info@asanko.com.

About Asanko Gold Inc.

Asanko's vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all its stakeholders. The Company's flagship project is the multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine is being developed in phases. Phase 1 commenced gold production in January 2016 and declared commercial production on April 1, 2016. Ramp-up to steady state production of 190,000 ounces per annum was achieved in Q2 2016.

Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.

Forward-Looking and other Cautionary Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, the timely renewal of key permits, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Asanko Gold Inc.

Alex Buck

Manager, Investor and Media Relations

Toll-Free (N.America): 1-855-246-7341

+44-7932-740-452

alex.buck@asanko.com



Asanko Gold Inc.

Wayne Drier

Executive, Corporate Development

+1-778-729-0614

wayne.drier@asanko.com

www.asanko.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic" or the "Company") (TSX: FR)(NYSE: AG)(BVM: AG)(FRANKFURT: FMV) announces today the resignation of Mr. Ramon Davila from its Board of Directors. Mr. Davila has served as Director of the Company since 2004 and was also its Chief Operating Officer until July 2014.

Mr. Davila commented: "I have made the decision to resign due to the fact that I have accepted a position as the new Minister of Economic Development for the State of Durango in Mexico. I look forward to continuing my support for the mining industry in this new senior position within the government for the benefit of both Durango and Mexico. I would like to thank the Board of Directors, management and the shareholders of First Majestic for their continuous support."

Keith Neumeyer, President and CEO of First Majestic, commented: "During Ramon's tenure as an Officer and Director of the Company, First Majestic grew into the second largest primary silver producer in Mexico. I would like to thank Ramon for his dedication and hard work over the past twelve years. We also look forward to our new relationship with Ramon in this very important role. On behalf of the Company, its management and shareholders, we thank him for his diligent service and positive contributions to the Company and wish him the very best in his new position."

ABOUT FIRST MAJESTIC

First Majestic is a mining company focused on silver production in Mexico and is aggressively pursuing the development of its existing mineral property assets and the pursuit through acquisition of additional mineral assets which contribute to the Company achieving its corporate growth objectives.

FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP.

Keith Neumeyer, President & CEO

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the price of silver and other metals; the accuracy of mineral reserve and resource estimates and estimates of future production and costs of production at our properties; estimated production rates for silver and other payable metals produced by us, the estimated cost of development of our development projects; the effects of laws, regulations and government policies on our operations, including, without limitation, the laws in Mexico which currently have significant restrictions related to mining; obtaining or maintaining necessary permits, licences and approvals from government authorities; and continued access to necessary infrastructure, including, without limitation, access to power, land, water and roads to carry on activities as planned.

These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in the spot and forward price of silver, gold, base metals or certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso versus the U.S. dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, Mexico; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining, including those currently enacted in Mexico; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves as properties are mined; the Company's title to properties; and the factors identified under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form, under the caption "Risks Relating to First Majestic's Business".

Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

Contacts:

First Majestic Silver Corp.

Toll free: 1.866.529.2807

info@firstmajestic.com

www.firstmajestic.com




PUNE, India, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Shotcrete/Sprayed Concrete Market by Process (Wet & Dry), Application (Underground Construction, Water Retaining Structures, Protective Coatings, Repair Works), System (Robotic and Manual), and Region - Global Forecasts to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size is projected to reach USD 8.30 Billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 8.0%, in terms of value, during the forecast period.

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Browse 114 market data Tables and 53 Figures spread through 178 Pages and in-depth TOC on"Shotcrete/Sprayed Concrete Market"

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The growth of this market is fueled by technological developments in the shotcrete market and increasing underground construction activities.

Wet Mix: The fastest-growing process of shotcrete

Wet mix is the fastest-growing process of the shotcrete market. Europe is currently the largest user of wet mix shotcrete process. This process accounted for nearly 80.0% share of the overall shotcrete market, in terms of value, in 2015. Wet mix process is used when high set concrete quality is specified and high output is required. It is the most popular process used in mechanical tunneling and mining. Efficient applications of concrete by wet mix process, its cost-effectiveness, and less production of rebound in the form of cementitious material drives the market for wet mix in Europe.

Underground construction: The largest application of shotcrete

Underground construction is the largest application for shotcrete, and this trend is projected to continue during the forecast period due to the increasing infrastructural developments, rapid advancements in technology and raw materials, and growing need for transportation & underground excavations. In Europe, shotcrete is largely used in the underground construction industry due to the accelerating tunneling and mining activities. Underground construction is also projected to be the fastest-growing application, followed by protective coatings, water retaining structures, repair works, and others, between 2016 and 2021, due to increasing urbanization and growing demand for civil construction in developing countries such as India, Nigeria, and the Philippines.

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Europe: The largest market for shotcrete/sprayed concrete

Europe is the largest Shotcrete Concrete Market globally, which accounted for the maximum share of the global market, in terms of value, in 2015, mainly because of the increase in underground construction activities in major economies, such as Germany, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. In addition, rapid advancements in technology and raw materials in shotcrete owing to Europe's green and ecofriendly approach for construction activities also contribute to the growth of the shotcrete market in the region. Norway and Sweden show promising demand for shotcrete, and this trend is expected to continue in the near future due to the rise in use of shotcrete as a permanent lining in the single shell tunnel, as well as increasing need for underground transportation. Europe shows higher investments in tunneling and mining projects because of growing application markets, demand for low-cost housing, need for underground transportation, and availability of raw materials for shotcrete technology.

Browse Related Reports:

Concrete Superplasticizers Market by Type (SNF, SMF, MLF, PD and Others), by Application (Ready-Mix, Precast, Shotcrete, High Performance, Self-Compacting, and Others), and by Region - Global Trends and Forecast to 2020

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Concrete Admixtures Market by Type (Superplasticizers, Normal Plasticizers, Accelerating Agents, Air-Entraining Agents, Retarding Agents, Waterproofing Agents, & Others), & by Application (Residential, Non-Residential, & Infrastructure) - Global Forecasts to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/concrete-admixtures-additives-market-768.html

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Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Croatia's consumer prices declined at a steady pace in August, figures from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The consumer price index fell 1.5 percent year-over-year in August, the same rate of decrease as in the previous month. The measure has been falling since July last year. Transport charges dipped 5.6 percent annually in August and utility costs slid by 2.5 percent. At the same time, health costs registered an increase of 1.9 percent. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged down 0.2 percent from July, when it fell by 0.3 percent. It was the third month of decrease in a row. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Country

Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
FRAMINGHAM, MA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Arch Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: ARTH) ("Arch" or the "Company"), developer of the AC5 devices for use in controlling bleeding and fluid loss in order to provide faster and safer surgical and interventional care, today announced it will be featured as a presenting company at the 2016 Aegis Capital Growth Conference. The presentation will take place at 1:00 PM PDT (4 PM EDT) on Wednesday, September 21st at The Encore at Wynn in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Terrence W. Norchi, MD, CEO of Arch Therapeutics, will provide an update on the Company and be available to participate in meetings with investors who are registered to attend the conference.

If you are an institutional investor, and would like to attend the Company's presentation, please click on the following link (www.aegiscapcorp.com) to register for the Aegis conference. Once your registration is confirmed, you will be prompted to log into the conference website to request a one-on-one meeting with the Company.

A live webcast of the presentation may be accessed by visiting http://wsw.com/webcast/aegis3/arth. Additionally, the presentation will be made available for download at http://ir.archtherapeutics.com.

About Arch Therapeutics, Inc.

Arch Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical device company developing a novel approach to stop bleeding (hemostasis) and control leaking (sealant) during surgery and trauma care. Arch is developing products based on an innovative self-assembling peptide technology platform with the goal of making surgery and interventional care faster and safer for patients. Arch's flagship development stage product candidates, known as the AC5 Surgical Hemostatic Device and AC5 Topical Hemostatic Device, are being designed to achieve hemostasis in surgical procedures.

Find out more at www.archtherapeutics.com.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, references to novel technologies and methods, our business and product development plans and projections, or market information. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with developing new products or technologies and operating as a development stage company, our ability to retain important members of our management team and attract other qualified personnel, our ability to raise the additional funding we will need to continue to pursue our business and product development plans, our ability to develop and commercialize products based on our technology platform, and market conditions. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in the reports and other documents we file with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov.

On Behalf of the Board,

Terrence W. Norchi, MD

Arch Therapeutics, Inc.

Contact:

ARTH Investor Relations

Toll Free: +1-855-340-ARTH (2784) (US and Canada)

Email: investors@archtherapeutics.com

Website: www.archtherapeutics.com



Or



Richard Davis

Chief Financial Officer

Arch Therapeutics, Inc.

Phone: 617-431-2308

Email: rdavis@archtherapeutics.com

Website: www.archtherapeutics.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. ("Oceanic", or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: FEO) announces the issuance of 500,000 common shares of the Company from treasury as settlement of its $100,000 2016 advance royalty payment to SPG Royalties Inc. ("SPG").

The settlement of its advance royalty payment is pursuant to the terms of an amendment in respect of its royalty agreement with SPG (the "Amendment"), originally announced on December 8, 2016. The price at which the common shares were issued was $0.20.

The common shares issued by the Company in connection with the settlement of the 2016 advance royalty payment are subject to a 4-month hold period as prescribed by the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable securities laws.

OCEANIC IRON ORE CORP. (www.oceanicironore.com)

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Chris Batalha, CFO and Corporate Secretary

This news release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements" as that term is used in applicable securities law. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and resources, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. ("Oceanic", or the "Company"), are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "scheduled", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "potentially", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that management believes are reasonable at the time they are made. In making the forward-looking statements in this presentation, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, the assumption that: (1) there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour/supply disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; (2) permitting, development, expansion and power supply proceeding on a basis consistent with the Company's current expectations; (3) certain price assumptions for iron ore; (4) prices for availability of natural gas, fuel oil, electricity, parts and equipment and other key supplies remaining consistent with current levels; (5) the accuracy of current mineral resource estimates on the Company's property; and (6) labour and material costs increasing on a basis consistent with the Company's current expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties " in the Company's MD&A filed November 24, 2016 (a copy of which is publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile) and elsewhere in documents filed from time to time, including MD&A, with the TSX Venture Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the ability of the Company to obtain necessary financing and adequate insurance; the economy generally; fluctuations in the currency markets; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of iron ore or certain other commodities (e.g., diesel fuel and electricity); changes in interest rates; disruption to the credit markets and delays in obtaining financing; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses; employee relations. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Statements. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise Forward-Looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Oceanic Iron Ore Corp.

Chris Batalha

CFO and Corporate Secretary

+604-566-9080

www.oceanicironore.com




HELSINKI (dpa-AFX) - Finland's producer prices continued to decline in August, though at a slower pace than in the prior month, figures from Statistics Finland showed Monday. Producer prices for manufactured products fell 2.6 percent year-over-year in August, following a 3.8 percent decrease in July. The measure has been falling since August 2013. The annual fall in August was particularly caused by reductions in the prices of oil products, manufacturing of basic metals and chemicals and chemical products. Both domestic and foreign market prices dipped by 2.2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively in August. Similarly, export prices slid 3.2 percent and import prices by 2.7 percent as compared to August 2015. Month-on-month, producer prices edged up 0.1 percent from July, when it dropped by 0.3 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.






- First close secured subscriptions of $215 million, a second larger close is expected in 4Q; Company pleased with solid support from existing investors and ability to attract new long-term institutional investors and other permanent capital type investors from the U.S., Europe and Asia.





- Total proceeds from this financing, as well as more than $500M in major milestones expected over the next 2-3 years, position the company very well through the first full year of launch for ITCA 650, as well as the planned progression of several pipeline programs into the clinic.





- Following a positive and constructive pre-NDA meeting, the Company expects to submit the NDA for ITCA 650 to U.S. regulatory authorities within the next 30-60 days. Upon U.S. NDA submission, Intarcia will also receive the 3rd and final $100M milestone payment from the $300M royalty/equity convert financing it completed last year.

BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the first closing of a major equity financing that puts the company in a strong strategic and financial position over the next 2-3 years as it prepares for the potential approval and launch of ITCA 650 late next year, and the parallel progression of several novel pipeline programs in major chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity and auto-immune/inflammation. The first close of $215M financing includes subscriptions from new world-class institutional investors, family offices, and our first large and long-term oriented VC/PE fund* located in China - where type 2 diabetes already impacts well over one hundred million patients. The first close also includes support from existing investors that have come into the company over the last 5-6 years. The Company expects a larger second close with additional top-tier investors in 4Q.

"Intarcia remains focused on building an innovative and important company in the chronic disease space - one dedicated to addressing serious unmet needs by disrupting the shortcomings of the pill and injection model in chronic disease management," said Kurt Graves, Chairman, President and CEO of Intarcia. "Ultimately, our goal is to open up a new pathway of delivering once or twice yearly medicines that fundamentally hold the potential to transform therapeutic and economic outcomes over time for millions of patients, and the healthcare system overall. At our core, our proprietary Medici Drug Delivery System' does this by stabilizing and optimizing the potential of the medicines we develop, enabling the medicine to be delivered just once or twice yearly, and by addressing the massive behavioral challenge of non-adherence with pills and injections that currently impacts the majority of patients in every chronic disease we face," added Graves. "It's an exciting prospect to create a potentially critical new pathway of delivering important medicines for some of the largest and costliest chronic diseases in the world, where very little progress in overall outcomes has been made. We're thrilled with the quality and strength of the shareholder base we're continuing to build for our future, and the ability we collectively have to deliver on our purpose and our mission - improving the lives of millions of patients."

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as sole structuring agent to Intarcia on this important transaction.

About ITCA 650

ITCA 650 (continuous subcutaneous delivery of exenatide) is being developed as a once or twice-yearly therapy for the chronic treatment of type 2 diabetes. The investigational therapy employs Intarcia's innovative technology platform, the Medici Drug Delivery System'. In its Phase 3 clinical trials for type 2 diabetes, ITCA 650 was evaluated while delivering a continuous and consistent drug therapy in a three-month initiation dose, followed by consecutive six-month doses. Exenatide, the active agent in ITCA 650, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that is currently marketed globally as twice-daily and once-weekly self-injection therapies for type 2 diabetes. If approved, ITCA 650 would be the first and only injection-free GLP-1 therapy. Intarcia Therapeutics successfully completed its FREEDOM global Phase 3 clinical trial program for ITCA 650, with each of the four studies meeting their clinical endpoints.

About the Medici Drug Delivery System'

Intarcia's novel technology platform, the Medici Drug Delivery System, is a proprietary subcutaneous delivery system comprised of three unique technologies:

A stabilization technology that allows for proteins, peptides, antibody fragments, and other highly potent small molecules to be stabilized at or above human body temperatures for up to three years or more

A matchstick-sized osmotic mini-pump that is placed just under the dermal layer of skin to deliver a continuous and consistent flow of medication

A placement technology including proprietary tools designed for a simple, quick and highly reliable user experience

Once trained, physicians, physician's assistants, or nurse practitioners can quickly and simply place the small device in a comfortable in-office procedure. Once in place under the skin, water from the extracellular fluid enters the pump device at one end - by diffusing through a semi-permeable membrane directly into a salt osmotic engine - that expands to drive a piston at a controlled rate. This allows the drug within the pump to be released in a steady, consistent fashion at the distal end of the device. Each osmotic mini-pump is designed to hold an appropriate volume of either mono or combination therapy, to treat a patient for up to a full year and beyond.

About Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.

Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies to enhance treatment outcomes by optimizing and improving the efficacy, continuous administration and tolerability of drug therapies. Delivering medicines for six-month periods of time, and potentially for up to a year and beyond, may improve outcomes by addressing patient adherence and persistence issues with prescribed drug therapies, which are very poor in most chronic diseases. Intarcia's drug development expertise and competitive edge are brought to life within the Medici Drug Delivery System, the innovative science and technology platform from which Intarcia plans to launch its pipeline of disruptively innovative drugs. Intarcia continues to research and develop treatments utilizing the Medici Drug Delivery System for major chronic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, autoimmune, and other serious diseases. For more information on the Company, please visit www.intarcia.com.

* Lucion Venture Capital Group, Ltd is the only publicly traded VC/PE company in China that is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its investment style focuses on series C or later rounds of financing for growing companies. It currently manages 29 VC funds with more than $4.7B to be invested across China, in Hong Kong and Europe, and is in process to set up an investment fund in the US. Lucion Venture Capital Group's parent company, Lucion Investment Holdings Group, Ltd is one of the largest asset management companies in China. At the end of 2015, Lucion Group had self-owned and entrusted assets of $45.3B.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.

Intarcia and its logo are registered trademarks of Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.

Follow us on Twitter @intarcia.
BERKELEY, CA and VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 15, 2016) -BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. ("BriaCell" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: BCT) (OTCQB: BCTXF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") with RK Equity Advisors LLC and TrueNorth Lifesciences LLC ("RK TrueNorth") for the provision of corporate advisory services. The Agreement is effective until September 30, 2017 and is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

Pursuant to the Agreement, RK TruthNorth will assist BriaCell in engaging select members of the international investment community, with a focus on increasing awareness of BriaCell and its unique growth strategy. RK TrueNorth will also assist the Company with the commercialization of its product and other market opportunities.

In consideration of the services to be provided under the Agreement, BriaCell will pay RK TrueNorth a monthly retainer of US$5,000 and, subject to approval by the board of directors of BriaCell, will grant RK TrueNorth incentive stock options to acquire 800,000 common shares of the Company. The term of the incentive stock options granted will be 3 years from the date of grant, with an exercise price of CDN$0.25 per common share of the Company.

RK Equity Advisors and its team members have specialized in advising and financing non-US micro-cap companies for the past 14 years and have relationships with institutional investors globally representing almost $1 trillion of assets under management. Since inception in 2002, RK Equity Advisors has worked extensively with Canadian issuers.

Founded in 2011, TrueNorth Lifesciences works with Fortune 500 pharmaceutical & biotechnology manufacturers as well as highly innovative lifescience start-ups, providing strategic consulting & financial advisory services to support commercialization efforts throughout the product lifecycle. TrueNorth Lifesciences' consulting services focus on areas related to lifescience commercialization, including health economics as well as pricing & market access solutions, launch readiness and portfolio optimization.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr. David Battleman of TrueNorth Lifesciences said, "We believe Briavax' represents a potentially important advance in the treatment of late-stage, relapse / refractory breast cancer. The Phase I/IIa clinical data is quite compelling from both a safety and efficacy standpoint and we are eager to see these data replicated in future trials." Howard Klein of RK Equity said, "We are excited to be partnering with BriaCell and TrueNorth to raise awareness of BriaCell with the institutional investment community."

Dr. Saeid Babei, Chairman of BriaCell said, "Following our discovery in late March of a gene signature potentially explaining why the BriaVax cancer vaccine was exceptionally efficacious, and our appointments of a highly regarded Contract Research Organization and Lead Principal Investigator, BriaCell is excited to be officially starting its clinical trials this fall and starting to communicate our story and upcoming milestones more broadly."

ABOUT BRIACELL

BriaCell is an immuno-oncology biotechnology company developing a more targeted, less toxic approach to cancer management. BriaCell's mission is to serve late-stage cancer patients with no other treatment options.

Immunotherapy has come to the forefront of the fight against cancer, harnessing the body's own immune system in recognizing and selectively destroying the cancer cells while sparing normal ones. Immunotherapy, in addition to generally being more targeted and less toxic than commonly used types of chemotherapy, is also thought to be a strong type of approach aimed at preventing cancer recurrence.

BriaVax', the Company's lead product, is a genetically engineered whole-cell vaccine derived from a human breast tumor cell line. This targeted vaccine is believed to generate strong antibody and T-cell responses, which in turn may boost the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells. The Company has already demonstrated encouraging clinical results, and is intent on building upon these results to further advance BriaVax' through additional FDA-approved clinical trials in order to help cancer patients with no other options. The results of two previous FDA Phase I clinical trials have been encouraging in terms of both safety and efficacy in patients with advanced solid tumors (17 breast cancer, 1 ovarian cancer).

In some cases, patient survival was three to five times longer than would have been expected. For more information, please visit www.BriaCell.com

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the Company and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation which involves known and unknown risks relevant to the Company in particular and to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in general, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. These risks are more fully described in the Company's public filings available at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Attachment Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/9/14/11G114273/BriaCell_Appoints_New_York-Based_RK_Equity_Advisor-ca4d8a804f81a2a8aa9247b97d4aa4b1.pdf

CONTACT INFORMATION



For further information contact:



BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.



820 Heinz Avenue

Berkeley, CA 94710



Ms. Farrah Dean

Manager, Corporate Development

Phone: 1-888-485-6340

Email: farrah@BriaCell.com


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Goldrea Resources Corp. ("Goldrea" or the "Company") (CSE: GOR)(FRANKFURT: GOJ)(OTC PINK: GORAF) announces that has completed a reconnaissance sampling and mapping program at its 100%-owned Gaspe Lithium property near the town of Gaspe, Quebec.

Outcrop and stream sediment samples have been submitted to Activation Laboratories in Timmins, Ontario. Results from the program will be released along with a detailed geological interpretation.

"The results from this survey will provide our team with a better understanding of the extent of mineralization on our Gaspe Lithium property. Based on this knowledge, Goldrea can determine calculated steps to enhancing this promising property," states Jim Elbert, CEO.

The Gaspe Lithium Project is located approximately 75 kilometres northwest of the City of Gaspe, Quebec, in NTS map sheet 22H03 and covers historically reported elevated lithium values obtained from stream sediment samples. The property is readily accessible, lying approximately 3 kilometres from Quebec Route 198. The area is underlain by Cambrian to Lower Ordovician metasedimentary rocks of the Riviere-Ouelle and Trois-Pistoles Formations. Lithological units are mudrock, sandstone, conglomerates, and limestones.

The highest recorded historical stream sediment sample from the Gaspe Lithium property returned a value of 159 ppm Li (1). For reference, the SIGEOM sediment sample database contains only five samples that exceed 150 ppm for the entire province of Quebec. Additionally, the highest assaying lake sediment sample near Nemaska Lithium's (NMX.V) proposed Whabouchi lithium open-pit resource returned a maximum of 10.9 ppm Li (2).

In addition to the 159 ppm sample taken from the property, another three stream sediment samples within the property boundaries include, using the first sample as a reference point for location: 105 ppm Li located 200 metres to the west (3), 24 ppm Li located 400 metres to the west (4), and 26 ppm Li located 700 metres to the north (5).

The technical contents of this release were approved by Mr. Case Lewis, P.Geo., an independent consultant to the company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The property has not yet been the subject of a National Instrument 43-101 report.

References

1. SIGEOM sample 1992011379 - stream sediment / heavy mineral sample. 2. SIGEOM sample 1957012628 - lake sediment sample. 3. SIGEOM sample 1992012530 - stream sediment / heavy mineral sample. 4. SIGEOM sample 1992012528 - stream sediment / heavy mineral sample. 5. SIGEOM sample 1992012531 - stream sediment / heavy mineral sample.. 6. "A preliminary deposit model for lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites", USGS Open File Report 2013-1008. 7. SIGEOM sample 1992012536 - stream sediment / heavy mineral sample.

Incentive Stock Options

The Company also announces the issuance of 1.5 million incentive stock options to its directors, officers and consultants buy Goldrea shares at $0.10 per share over a period of five years. These options will be used as incentive for the further advancement of the Company.

Forward-Looking Statements

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain "forward-looking statements", which are statements about the future based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate or true. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Contacts:

Goldrea Resources Corp.

James Elbert

President and CEO

(604) 559-7230

info@goldrea.com

www.goldrea.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: CXB) (the "Company" or "Calibre") is pleased to announce the third set of results from the 2016 drilling program on the Eastern Borosi Project, Nicaragua which is being funded by Calibre's partner IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD").

Highlights

-- Drilling to date in 2016 consists of 30 diamond drill holes for a total of 6,008 metres, with results for 8 new holes reported in this news release -- A step out hole on the East Dome Structure has intersected 15.35 metres grading 1.21 g/t gold and 120.9 g/t silver, including 3.00 metres grading 3.61 g/t gold and 348.7 g/t silver, and a second step out hole intersected of 16.50 metres grading 2.27 g/t gold and 127.9 g/t silver, including 3.38 metres grading 9.64 g/t gold and 404.4 g/t silver -- The first drilling on the Veta Loca gold target has intersected 6.31 metres grading 10.15 g/t gold and 6.9 g/t silver, including 0.79 metres grading 46.20 g/t gold and 10.5 g/t silver -- Diamond drilling of the Blag Gold-Silver Vein System continues to extend the defined mineralization at the Main Blag Structure with an intercept of 6.23 metres grading 2.60 g/t gold and 10.5 g/t silver

Recent Drill Highlights from Eastern Borosi Gold-Silver Project

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From To Length Au Ag Pb Zn Hole ID Target m m (m) (g/t) (g/t) (ppm) (ppm) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BL16-042 Main Blag 307.77 314.00 6.23 2.60 10.5 5,346 9,228 BL16-043 East Dome 97.65 113.00 15.35 1.21 120.9 53 74 including East Dome 110.00 113.00 3.00 3.61 348.7 93 78 BL16-044 East Dome 194.00 210.50 16.50 2.27 127.9 620 414 including East Dome 206.17 209.55 3.38 9.64 404.4 2,868 1,222 GP16-046 Veta Loca 88.00 94.31 6.31 10.15 6.9 17 53 including Veta Loca 88.00 88.79 0.79 46.20 10.5 77 57 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: - Intervals are core lengths / true width are estimated to be 70-80% of lengths - Length weighted averages from uncut assays.

IAMGOLD Option - Eastern Borosi Project

Exploration to date on the Eastern Borosi Project has outlined several tens of kilometres of highly prospective mineralized structures located in an historic gold-silver mining district. Targets have been defined by surface soil and rock sampling, trenching and drilling.

Drill holes completed to date in 2016 include: 30 drill holes with 8 at East Dome; 7 testing the Main Blag vein system, 3 on the Santos Trend; 3 at the BVS gold target, 5 on the Vancouver vein system; 2 at the California Vein, and 2 on the Veta Loca gold target Total meterage to date: 6,008.02 metres (1,651.39m East Dome; 1,497.00m Main Blag; 466.64m Santos; 621.26 BVS, 1,111.71m Vancouver; 362.94 California, and 297.08 Veta Loca). Results were previously reported for 22 holes (see News Releases June 8, 2016 and July 26, 2016). Additional results have been received and are being reported in this news release for the further eight (8) holes including two holes completed at Main Blag, two holes testing the East Dome, two holes testing the Vancouver Structure, and two holes at the Veta Loca Structure. On-going drilling continues to test the Main Blag and East Dome Systems.

Diamond drilling of the Main Blag Gold-Silver Vein System continues to extend the defined mineralization, with hole BL16-042 intercepting 6.23 metres grading 2.60 g/t gold and 10.5 g/t silver - the deepest intercept to date intersecting the structure between 307.8 and 314.0 metres down hole (approximately 260 metres below surface). A second hole targeting the structure was lost. Additional drilling is on-going at the Main Blag Structure.

Two step out holes on the East Dome Structure have intersected 15.35 metres grading 1.21 g/t gold and 120.9 g/t silver, including 3.00 metres grading 3.61 g/t gold and 348.7 g/t silver (BL16-043) and a second intercept of 16.50 metres grading 2.27 g/t gold and 127.9 g/t silver, including 3.38 metres grading 9.64 g/t gold and 404.4 g/t silver (BL16-044). The two holes have further extended the East Dome mineralization to the south under the topographic high and tested a vertical extent to the mineralization of 125 metres. The intercepts extend the mineralization 75 metres to the south, stepping out from drill hole BL16-040 which intersected 2.78 metres grading 2.69 g/t gold and 431.6 g/t silver. Further step-out drilling is planned for 2016.

The first drilling on the Veta Loca gold target, located 500 metres south of the Guapinol-Vancouver Structures, has intersected 6.31 metres grading 10.15 g/t gold and 6.9 g/t silver including 0.79 metres grading 46.20 g/t gold and 10.5 g/t silver with a second hole 150 metres north returning no significant values.

Two step-out drill holes were targeted at extending the Vancouver Vein Structure; however, GP16-043 did not intersect any significant values and GP16-044 was lost before reaching the structure.

Calibre is committed to best practice standards for all exploration, sampling and drilling activities. Drilling was completed by independent firm Kluane Drilling Ltd. Analytical quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the sample strings. Samples are placed in sealed bags and shipped directly to Acme Labs (a Bureau Veritas Group Company) in Managua, Nicaragua for sample preparation and then to Acme Labs in Vancouver, Canada for 50 gram gold fire assay and ICP-MS multi element analyses.

The technical content in this news release was read and approved by Gregory Smith, P.Geo, President and CEO of the Company who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

About Calibre / IAMGOLD Eastern Borosi Project

Calibre and IAMGOLD entered into an option agreement dated May 26, 2014 whereby IAMGOLD can earn a 51% interest in the Project consisting of 176 km2 within the Borosi Concessions, Northeast Nicaragua, by incurring US$5 million in exploration expenditures and making US$450,000 in payments to Calibre by May 26, 2017, the first and second anniversary US $150,000 payments having been made in May 2015 and May 2016 respectively. The total potential investment by IAMGOLD to earn a 70% interest in the Project is US$10.9 million. The Project hosts gold-silver resources in two deposits and a series of well-defined low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver targets.

About Calibre Mining Corp.

Calibre controls a 100% interest in over 340 km2 of mineral concessions in the Mining Triangle of Northeast Nicaragua. Additionally the Company has an option agreement with IAMGOLD covering 176 km2 of concessions, an option agreement with Centerra Gold on 253 km2, joint venture exploration programs underway with B2Gold Corp. on 66.1 km2 of concessions which includes the Primavera gold-copper porphyry discovery and the Monte Carmelo Gold Zone, and a joint venture on the 33.6 km2 Rosita gold-copper-silver project with Rosita Mining Corporation. Major shareholders of Calibre include gold producer B2Gold Corp, Pierre Lassonde and Management.

Calibre Mining Corp.

Greg Smith, P.Geo., President and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or does not expect", "is expected", anticipates" or "does not anticipate" "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements including but not limited to those with respect to the price of gold, potential mineralization, reserve and resource determination, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the Company involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Atlas to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements

Contacts:

Calibre Mining Corp.

Ryan King

604 628-1012

www.calibremining.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked Blackline Safety (TSX VENTURE: BLN) No. 228 on the 28th annual PROFIT 500, the definitive ranking of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies. Published in the October issue of Canadian Business and at PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT 500 ranks Canadian businesses by their five-year revenue growth.

Blackline Safety made the 2016 PROFIT 500 list with five-year revenue growth of 243%.

"Companies become a part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit," says James Cowan, Editor-in-chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. "These firms demonstrate what Canadian entrepreneurs can achieve, both at home and across the globe."

"Ranking on the PROFIT 500 list for a fourth straight year highlights the value customers see in our growing family of connected safety products," says Cody Slater, CEO and Chairman of Blackline Safety. "This recognition helps to remind us of our mandate to increase workplace safety by solving real-world client problems. Blackline has big plans in store for the fall - a new generation of technology will launch, propelling connected safety into the future with never seen-before capabilities."

Blackline Safety has launched a teaser campaign to promote the launch of its next generation safety technology - stay connected at www.FutureOfSafety.com.

Blackline's broad safety monitoring portfolio empowers organizations in all industries and geographic locations with real-time safety incident awareness, delivering help within minutes instead of hours or potentially days later. To learn more about Blackline's work-alone safety monitoring solutions, visit www.BlacklineSafety.com and follow Blackline on Twitter @blacklinesafety.

About PROFIT and PROFITguide.com: PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success is Canada's preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 34 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT online at PROFITguide.com.

About Canadian Business: Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total brand readership of more than 1.1 million, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. We provide concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and great photography. Canadian Business-what leadership looks like.

About Blackline: Blackline Safety Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BLN) is a wireless location leader that develops, manufactures and markets products and services for lone worker safety monitoring. Targeting every industry, employee role and location, our Loner solutions are promoted through offices in Calgary, Los Angeles and the United Kingdom, and sold through a growing network of international resellers. Loner products alert monitoring personnel of a safety incident, locate the employee and empower the most efficient emergency response - Alert. Locate. Respond. Our vision is to become the leading supplier of wirelessly connected lone worker safety monitoring products in the world. For more information, visit www.BlacklineSafety.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Blackline Safety Corp.

Cody Slater

CEO & Chairman

+1-403-451-0327

cslater@blacklinesafety.com



Blackline Safety Corp.

Kelly Meyers

Media Relations

+1-403-605-4156

kellymeyers@blacklinesafety.com



Blackline Safety Corp.

+1 403 605 4156

+1 403 451 9981 (FAX)

www.blacklinesafety.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Eurocontrol Technics Group Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EUO)(OTCQB: EUCTF) ("Eurocontrol" or the "Company"), a Canadian public company specializing in the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative energy security, authentication, verification and certification technologies, is pleased to announce that Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked Eurocontrol No. 316 on the 28th annual PROFIT 500. Ranking Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies by five-year revenue growth, the PROFIT 500 profiles Canada's most successful growth companies. A joint venture between Canada's premier business brands, the PROFIT 500 is published in the October issue of Canadian Business and online at PROFITguide.com.

Eurocontrol made the 2016 PROFIT 500 list with five-year revenue growth of 171% - $2.9 million in 2010 increased to $7.9 million in 2015.

"Companies become a part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit," says James Cowan, Editor-in-chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. "These firms demonstrate what Canadian entrepreneurs can achieve, both at home and across the globe."

Bruce Rowlands, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated: "We appreciate being acknowledged for the third year in a row on the PROFIT 500 list of Canada's Fastest Growing Companies. It is an honour to be included on this list that recognizes dynamic Canadian companies that provide innovative products, services and technologies to the world establishing Canada as having one of most progressive business environments globally."

About PROFIT and PROFIT guide.com

PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success is Canada's preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 34 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT online at PROFITguide.com.

About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total brand readership of more than 1.1 million, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. We provide concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and great photography. Canadian Business - what leadership looks like.

About Eurocontrol Technics Group Inc.

Eurocontrol is a TSX Venture and OTCQB traded company that specializes in the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative authentication, verification and certification technologies. Eurocontrol has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Xenemetrix Ltd. and XwinSys Technology Development Ltd. and an agreement with SICPA S.A. for earn-out payments of 5% (minimum $9 million) on revenues generated from the oil and gas marking and monitoring field relating to the sale of its former subsidiary Global Fluids International (GFI) S.A. Xenemetrix is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of ED-XRF systems, a technology that is the most accurate and economic method for determining the chemical composition of many types of materials, including the analysis of petroleum oils and fuel. Xenemetrix has an exclusive long-term supply, maintenance and support agreement with SICPA/GFI to supply SICPA/GFI with Xenemetrix products and services related to the oil and gas marking and monitoring field. XwinSys is in the final stage of developing a fully automated metrology system for the semiconductor industry that combines 2D and 3D image processing technology with Xenemetrix's ED-XRF technology.

For further information on Eurocontrol, please visit the Company's website at www.eurocontrol.ca.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Contacts:

Eurocontrol Technics Group Inc.

Bruce Rowlands

Chairman and CEO

(416) 361-2809

browlands@eurocontrol.ca

www.eurocontrol.ca






Goldplat plc / Ticker: GDP / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration



15 September 2016



Goldplat plc ('Goldplat' or 'the Company')



Completion of Anumso Gold Project Earn-in Option Agreement



Goldplat plc ('Goldplat' or 'the Company'), the AIM quoted African gold producer, is pleased to announce that further to the announcement of 14 July 2016, on 14 September 2016 it has executed an earn-in option agreement (the 'Agreement') with Ashanti Gold Corp. ('Ashanti') (formerly Gulf Shore Resources Ltd) which gives Ashanti the option for a US$3 million earn-in to Goldplat's 90% owned Anumso Gold Project in Ghana (the 'Project').



Anumso Gold Project



Goldplat has a 90% interest in Anumso Gold Limited ('Anumso'), which is the holder of a ten-year renewable mining lease for gold and associated minerals covering an area of 29 sq km and located in the prospective Amansie East and Asante Akim South Districts of the Ashanti Region of the Republic of Ghana. The Project has a current JORC compliant resource of 166,865 oz of gold at 2.04g/t. In the year to 30 June 2016, the loss attributable to the Project was 5,539.



Terms of the Agreement



The Agreement provides Ashanti with the exclusive option to earn 75% of Goldplat's interest in Anumso (67.5% of the overall project interest) in two instalments by expending an aggregate of US$3.0 million on exploration on the Project.



The Agreement provides for two option periods. During the first 18 months of the Agreement (the 'Initial Option Period') Ashanti will be given the option to earn 51% of Goldplat's interest in the Project by expending US$1.5 million on exploration on the Project (the 'Initial Option'). Ashanti has the unilateral power to terminate the Agreement within the first 6 months of the Initial Option Period, and expenditure on the Project during this period will be at its sole discretion. Should Ashanti not exercise its right to terminate the Agreement during the first six months, it will be obliged to expend US$1.5 million on Project expenditure during the Initial Option Period or pay the deficiency to Goldplat. Should Ashanti meet the expenditure condition within the Initial Option Period, it will be entitled immediately to exercise its option and receive an initial 51% of Goldplat's interest in the Project (45.9% of the overall Project licence).



Conditional upon exercising the Initial Option, Ashanti will be entitled to give Goldplat notice that it intends to invest further in the project, which will trigger a second period of 12 months (the 'Subsequent Option Period') in which it will be given the option to earn an additional 24% of Goldplat's interest by expending a further US$1.5 million on exploration on the Project during the Subsequent Option Period or by paying the deficiency to Goldplat (the 'Subsequent Option'). Expenditure during the Subsequent Option Period will be at Ashanti's sole discretion and will not be reimbursable if Ashanti does not exercise the Subsequent Option. Should Ashanti meet the expenditure condition within the Subsequent Option Period, it will be entitled immediately to exercise its option and receive a further 24% of Goldplat's interest in Anumso (21.6% of the overall Project licence).



Ashanti will be the operator of the exploration and development programme during the option periods, with a Joint Technical Committee being established to agree upon the work programmes. If Ashanti does not give Goldplat notice to trigger the Subsequent Option Period, or once the Subsequent Option has been exercised, a Mining Company will be formed, under a Joint Venture Agreement and the mining licence will be assigned to this Company. Both parties will contribute pro-rata to further development with either non-contributing party being diluted. If either party is diluted to 10%, this interest will be converted into a 1.5% Net Smelter Return ('NSR'), which can be bought out by the other party for US$100,000 per 0.1% NSR, for an aggregate of US$1.5 million.



Gerard Kisbey-Green, CEO of Goldplat commented: 'I am very pleased to be able to announce a transaction with Ashanti. Goldplat has not been able to make capital available for development of this project over the past few years. This Agreement will allow the Company to retain an interest in the developments of the Project with a competent partner, in Ashanti, committing capital, operating and enhancing the value of the Project.'



** ENDS **



For further information visit www.goldplat.com, follow on Twitter @GoldPlatPlc or contact:



Gerard Kisbey-Green CEO Goldplat plc Tel: +27 (71) 8915775



Colin Aaronson / Jen Grant Thornton UK LLP Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100 Clarke / Daniel Bush (Nominated Adviser)



Andrew Raca / Justin VSA Capital Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 3005 5000 McKeegan (Broker)



Charlotte Page / Susie St Brides Partners Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Geliher



The information contained within this announcement is considered to be inside information, for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014, prior to its release.



This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.



Source: Goldplat plc via GlobeNewswire



B0HCWM4R22



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked CEMATRIX Corporation (TSX VENTURE: CVX) (the "Corporation" or the "Company" or "CEMATRIX") 171 on the 28th annual PROFIT 500, the definitive ranking of Canada's Fastest- Growing Companies. Published in the October issue of Canadian Business and at PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT 500 ranks Canadian businesses by their five-year revenue growth.

CEMATRIX made the 2016 PROFIT 500 list with five-year revenue growth of 372%.

"Companies become a part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit," says James Cowan, Editor-in-chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. "These firms demonstrate what Canadian entrepreneurs can achieve, both at home and across the globe."

"CEMATRIX is proud to be recognized for our accelerated growth over the last five years and want to thank our team for their tireless efforts as well as our shareholders for their continued support," stated Jeff Kendrick, President and CEO of CEMATRIX."

About PROFIT and PROFITguide.com

PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success is Canada's preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 34 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT online at PROFITguide.com.

About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total brand readership of more than 1.1 million, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. We provide concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and great photography. Canadian Business-what leadership looks like.

CEMATRIX is an Alberta corporation with its head offices in Calgary, Alberta. The Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary, is a rapidly growing, cash flow positive company that manufactures and supplies technologically advanced cellular concrete products developed from proprietary formulations. This unique cement based material with superior thermal protection delivers a cost-effective, innovative solution to a broad range of problems facing the infrastructure, industrial (including oil and gas) and commercial markets.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information: This news release contains certain information that is forward looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties (such statements are usually accompanied by words such as "anticipate", expect", "would' or other similar words). Forward looking statements in this document are intended to provide CEMATRIX security holders and potential investors with information regarding

CEMATRIX and its subsidiaries' future financial and operations plans and outlook. All forward looking statements reflect CEMATRIX's beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statements were made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward looking information. CEMATRIX undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward looking information except as required by law. For additional information on the assumptions made and the risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer the CEMATRIX's Management Discussion and Analysis dated August 3, 2016 under CEMATRIX's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and other reports filed by CEMATRIX with Canadian securities regulators.

Contacts:

Jeff Kendrick

President and Chief Executive Officer

(403) 219-0484



Jeff Walker

The Howard Group

Investor Relations

(888) 221-0915 or (403) 221-0915

jeff@howardgroupinc.com




Regulatory News:

The Management Board of Arctic Paper S.A. ("the Company") (STO:ARP) makes public the information regarding the list of shareholders holding no less than 5% of number of votes at the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting ("ESM") from 14 September 2016.

No Shareholder Number of votes registered at ESM Number of votes from shares registered at ESM Share in number of votes at ESM Share in total number of votes at ESM 1 NEMUS HOLDING AB 39 736 000 39 736 000 85,29% 57,35% 1 THOMAS HAAKON ONSTAD 5 848 658 5 848 658 12,55% 8,44%

This information is disclosed pursuant to the Article 70 section 3 of Public Offering Act and was submitted for publication on 14 September 2016 at 4:00 pm CET, in reference to Arctic Paper's current report no. 21/2016 filed with the Warsaw Stock Exchange

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005869/en/

Contacts:

Arctic Paper

Per Skoglund, acting President of the Management Board

tel. +46 733 21 70 09


LONDON, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

At an exclusiveGorkana, Cision and PR Newswire media briefing event, Christian May, editor ofCity A.M., explained why the "optimistic newspaper" takes a differentapproach towards corporate and financial news.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408321 )



May, whose background is in communications, was hired as editor of City A.M., his first newspaper role, just over 12 months ago (June 2 2015). The decision was characteristic of the newspaper's identity as a "risk-taker," May told an audience of PR and comms professionals at the event. He explained how he too has made unconventional hiring choices since joining the title, creating a more diverse editorial team.

The event was the first Media Briefing after a short summer break, and is the first briefing to be hosted by both Gorkana and PRNewswire, which was recently acquired by Gorkana's parent company, Cision.

Among topics favoured by City A.M. are, according to May: cyber security/crime, property and mid-sized deals (such as AIM floats). He also said that interesting research and fresh data is useful, and that, at the moment, everyone's views on Brexit are of interest.

May also revealed City A.M.'s plans to launch two new magazines: one on luxury travel (in January) and one on food and fine dining. The newspaper's current portfolio of magazines includes: Bespoke, Bespoke Living and Money.

Here are a some of May's guidelines from yesterday's (September 14) event, hosted at 1 Wimpole Street in London's Mayfair and chaired by Philip Smith, head of news and content at Gorkana:

City A.M.likes "good news"

The newspaper likes to cover good news and success stories, said May. It also likes stories about individuals. Unlike, perhaps, other financial papers, May suggested,City A.M.is, "more interested in the peoplebehind the deals."

The print paper is here to stay

For some people, City A.M. is a part of the morning routine, May said, and for that reason, the print paper is here to stay. However, the paper also has a digital team who take the early morning shift. This ensures that, by the time the print paper is out, news that has come out since midnight (when the physical paper goes to press) has been posted to the City A.M. website. The print paper is however, according to May, "the most up-to-date print paper you'll find."

City A.M. welcomes commercial content

The paper has launched a third party content platform, City Talk,which allows brands to produce content, and publish it directly onto the newspaper's CMS. May said: "It's not news, but it is expertise, and it is insight." He argues that this approach actually encourages transparency because the commercial content does not, in any way, purport to be editorial.

And itwould like to host more videos

According to May, the paper does not necessarily have the means to create its own video content, but it would like to publish more video. It is therefore looking to receive fully-formed video content from PR professionals.

City A.Mis very close to its readers

"We feel like trade press because there's little difference between our patch and our readers," May said. He described the paper's readership as well-informed and vocal.City A.M.'s,"Tight geographic and demographic patch",ensures that its readers also have an influence over the content of the paper. "They are, for example, quick to point out if a mistake is made in the daily crossword", May joked.

Cision is a leading global media intelligence company, serving the complete workflow of today's communication professionals. Offering the industry's most comprehensive PR, IR and social media software, rich analytics, content distribution and influencer outreach, Cision enables clients to engage audiences, enhance campaigns and strengthen data-driven decision making. Cision solutions include PR Newswire, Gorkana, PRWeb, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and iContact brands.

Headquartered in Chicago, Cision serves over 100,000 customers in 170 countries and 40 languages worldwide, and maintains offices in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. For more information, visit http://www.cision.com or follow @Cision on Twitter.

For more information, visit http://www.gorkana.com | http://www.cision.com or follow @gorkana | @Cision on Twitter





For media information please contact:

Victoria Morrison

Head of Events and Marketing Manager

Victoria.Morrison@gorkana.com

Gorkana

+44(0)20-7674-0200



Video:

https://youtu.be/lRJ1_AI1kWI


DUBLIN, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global WLAN Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The report forecasts the global WLAN market to grow at a CAGR of 14.16% during the period 2016-2020.



The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global WLAN market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of WLAN products and solutions to enterprises and individual customers.



The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:



Americas

APAC

EMEA

The report, Global WLAN 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.



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:



Cisco Systems

HP/ Aruba

Ruckus

Ubiquiti

Aerohive

Belkin

Buffalo Technology

D-Link

NETGEAR

Samsung

Zebra Technologies

ZTE



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: Key WLAN deployments in 2015



PART 07: Market segmentation by technology



PART 08: Geographical segmentation



PART 09: Market drivers



PART 10: Impact of drivers



PART 11: Market challenges



PART 12: Impact of drivers and challenges



PART 13: Market trends



PART 14: Vendor landscape



PART 15: Appendix



PART 16: About the Author



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9v7tgc/global_wlan



Related Topics: WLAN

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
OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 01/12/17 -- Saint Jean Carbon Inc. ("Saint Jean" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: SJL), a carbon science company engaged in the design and build of green energy storage, green energy creation and green re-creation through carbon materials. The Company is pleased to announce that it is starting a significant drill program on one of its Buckingham mining properties, based on the helicopter born survey that was completed in the fall and the digitalization of the previous drilling. The goal of the drill program is to cover as much of the properties as possible and twin drill existing holes to verify historical information. The end result will help determine a resource model.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO, commented: "It's great to be back on the ground and working. All of the summer and fall work projects were successful and have lead us to start drilling; what will hopefully be the future of a certain number of small pit operations. As previously demonstrated, the blended graphite we created produced the highest possible quality, high performance lithium-ion batteries. As demand for spherical, carbon coated graphite continues to grow, knowing that we can make this product is half the way to success. The other half is figuring out how much we can make."

Christian Derosier, P.Geo., D.Sc., commented: "The drill program is planned for fifteen drill holes and will cover about 1,500 meters in length spread over many shallow new holes and twin holes next to historical holes for verification and to be in compliance with NI 43-101. The rejects and the pulps of the core samples will be sent out to determine grade, element analysis and quality. The cores will be blended for further scientific research and to work towards creating a mine signature for assurance of duplicating the results on a much larger scale."

The Company will use the results of the work program to continue to develop an engineering model and equipment designs for the high speed first commercial shaping and coating mill in North America. The Company is constructing the first stand-alone patent pending mill, as previously announced in a press release dated May 19, 2016. The mill will grind, size, shape and coat graphite for the lithium-ion battery industry for use in electric cars and bulk energy storage. Presently any material for production is sourced from a number of off shore graphite mines. The Company will release the results from the drill program as they become available.

Christian Derosier, P.Geo., D.Sc., is the qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and, acting on behalf of Saint Jean Carbon, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About Saint Jean Carbon

Saint Jean is a publicly traded carbon science company, with specific interests in energy storage and green energy creation and green re-creation, with holdings in graphite mining and lithium claims in the province of Quebec in Canada. For the latest information on Saint Jean's properties and news please refer to the website: http://www.saintjeancarbon.com/

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Saint Jean Carbon Inc.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO and Director

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Saint Jean's business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "intends" "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. The forward-looking statements in this news release assume, inter alia, that the conditions for completion of the Transaction, including regulatory and shareholder approvals, if necessary, will be met.

Although Saint Jean believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct.

Statements of past performance should not be construed as an indication of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Saint Jean assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Information Contact :

Email: info@saintjeancarbon.com

Tel: (905) 844-1200




WATERLOO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

In a period of low economic growth, Canada needs to invest in developing the talent and skills of its people. Canada should also focus on scaling up start-up companies and using the government's purchasing power to drive innovation. These conditions will create good-paying jobs for the middle class and those working hard to join it.

The Government of Canada's Innovation Agenda aims to make this country a global centre for innovation-one that fosters long-term growth and yields benefits for generations to come.

This is the message that the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, delivered today to an audience of business and public sector leaders at the Waterloo Innovation Summit.

In his remarks, Minister Bains emphasized the need for both government and the private sector to make smart investments in three key areas:

-- Talent: Expand work-integrated learning programs, such as internships, apprenticeships and continuous learning opportunities, for Canadians at every stage of their careers-from new graduates right up to the highest- ranking executives. -- Research: Set big-horizon goals and create broad-based partnerships to fund ambitious research projects that solve complex, large-scale problems and spark commercial opportunities for the private sector. -- Scale-up: Leverage the buying power of government, as the single-largest purchaser of goods and services, to support the growth of small and medium-sized companies that have the most innovative solutions.

Minister Bains concluded by issuing a challenge to the business community to spend more on research and development as well as talent development.

Also at the Waterloo Innovation Summit, the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, and the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, reinforced these messages during a panel discussion that covered important issues such as supporting women's entrepreneurship, promoting diversity, and encouraging women's participation in both business and science.

Quotes

"Low growth does not have to be Canada's fate. We can seize the future and position Canada to outperform the rest of the world. An innovation economy that creates good-paying jobs for the middle class is within our grasp. Our government stands ready to be a meaningful partner in nurturing homegrown talent while attracting the best and brightest from around the world. We are investing in people, infrastructure and research excellence, which are the cornerstones of an innovation economy. But I also challenge our business leaders to make similar investments, which will power our country to a bright and prosperous future."

- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"The Government of Canada recognizes the significant contributions of women entrepreneurs to the Canadian economy. I am fully committed to helping develop a truly inclusive innovation agenda that helps businesswomen reach their full potential and thrive in their endeavours."

- The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

"Innovation is built on discovery and fuelled by diversity. By supporting women scientists and entrepreneurs, we are not only encouraging greater diversity but ultimately enhancing the pool of ideas and innovation that will open doors to the future."

- The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science

Quick facts

-- The Waterloo Region is recognized as one of the fastest growing start-up ecosystems in the world. The University of Waterloo created the Waterloo Innovation Summit to foster global innovation conversations with the power to effect change and drive prosperity. Since June 22, Canadians have engaged with the Government of Canada more than 90,000 times online and in person as part of the inclusive Innovation Agenda consultation process. -- The innovation conversation does not end with the formal engagement. As we continue on the path to an innovative future, Canadians are encouraged to provide more comments and ideas to drive growth, create jobs and improve the lives of all Canadians.

Associated links

Waterloo Innovation Summit

Canada's Innovation Agenda

Backgrounder on the Innovation Agenda

Video: Canada: A Nation of Innovators

Follow Minister Bains on social media.

Twitter: @MinisterISED

Contacts:

Philip Proulx

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and

Economic Development

343-291-2500



Media Relations

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

343-291-1777

ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- China Wind Power International Corp. (the "Company") announces that it has mailed its Management Information Circular (the "Circular") and related voting materials to shareholders of the Company (the "Shareholders") in connection with the special meeting of Shareholders to be held on October 13, 2016 (the "Meeting"). The Meeting will be held at 199 Bay Street, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, Ontario at 10:00 a.m. (Toronto time). The Circular has also been filed under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

As previously announced, the Meeting will be convened in connection with an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") between the Company and Ruihao Trust ("Ruihao"), a major shareholder of the Company, pursuant to which it is proposed that the Company will sell all or substantially all of its assets to Ruihao for $12,310,000 by way of a plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the "OBCA"). Upon completion of the Arrangement, it is expected that the Company will voluntarily dissolve (the "Dissolution") pursuant to Section 237(a) of the OBCA. For additional information on the Arrangement Agreement, Arrangement and the Dissolution, please refer to the Company's July 29, 2016 press release.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

Certain statements that are not historical facts made in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (forward-looking information and forward-looking statements being collectively herein after referred to as "forward-looking statements") and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Statements containing words such as "will", "could", "expect", "may", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "plan" and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements that represent management's beliefs at the time the statements are made and are based on certain factors and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the date and time of Meeting, the Arrangement and the expected Dissolution.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties involving the closing of the Arrangement, the completion of the Dissolution, the expected benefits of the Arrangement to the Shareholders, and receipt of the necessary Shareholder and regulatory approvals and other risks and uncertainties as more fully described in the Company's regulatory filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which are available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other actors are not exhaustive; therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.

Contacts:

China Wind Power International Corp.

Walter Huang

Senior VP

416-916-4205

walter.huang@yahoo.com




DUBLIN, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --





Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "World LTE Markets - 5G Initiatives & MBB Spectrum" report to their offering.

Markets at December 2015 & Forecasts to 2020



Markets - Players - Technologies - CapEx - Pricing

The bundle World LTE markets - 5G initiatives & MBB spectrum includes two deliverables dealing with both LTE and spectrum issues:



1. A database (updated half-yearly): quantitative & qualitative data for 46 countries, 6 zones & world consolidated - 76 LTE operator sheets are also available. It gathers information about spectrum issues, technologies, revenue & subscriber data & forecasts up to 2020. It presents the current status of the main mobile broadband frequency bands and results of auction processes including allocation modes, prices paid by each licensee, quantity of spectrum acquired by player, technology, price paid per MHz per PoP for 10 years and detailed information on the regulatory status.



2. A report (updated half-yearly) providing you with the state-of-the-art regarding LTE: overview of dynamics in LTE markets up to 2020 by geographical area and by technology. It also provides you with analyses of the worldwide LTE market status, LTE pricing, new services, technological issues, recent pieces of news on spectrum allocations, spectrum prices comparison, roaming, chipsets and devices.



With regards to spectrum, latest developments in the field are highlighted. Information include the main evolutions of the regulatory framework, spectrum sharing issues and new radio technologies, 5G developments, mobile spectrum in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, North and South America, and Africa Middle East, and spectrum valuation.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive summary



2. Methodology



3. World LTE market



4. LTE Market in Europe



5. LTE Market in the Americas



6. LTE Market in Asia-Pacific



7. LTE Market in Middle East and Africa



8. LTE spectrum



9. Technology update: LTE-Advanced, VoLTE and 5G



10. LTE pricing



Companies Mentioned



3

Base ( Belgium )

) Belgacom ( Belgium )

) Chunghwa Telecom ( Taiwan )

) Claro (Brazil)

Cosmote ( Greece )

) CSL ( Hong Kong )

) Deutsche Telekom ( Germany )

) Dish Network ( USA )

) DNA (Finland)

EE (UK)

Elisa (Finland)

E-Plus ( Germany )

) MobileOne ( Singapore )

) Orange ( France )

) Orange ( Spain )

) Swisscom ( Switzerland )

) Tango ( Luxembourg )

) Telcel ( Mexico )

) Spark New-Zealand ( New-Zealand )

( ) Telefonica Moviles ( Spain )

) Telenor Mobile

TeliaSonera

Telstra ( Australia )

) Telus ( Canada )

) TIM ( Italy )

) TMN ( Portugal )

) T-Mobile

US Cellular ( USA )

) Verizon Wireless ( USA )

) VimpelCom ( Russia )

) Vivo (Brazil)

Vodafone

Y!Mobile ( Japan )

) Yota ( Russia )



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dzlx9p/world_lte_markets



Related Topics: 4G and 5G

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Editors Note: There is a video associated with this press release.

Good Earth Coffeehouse (Good Earth) is proud to announce its highly anticipated expansion into the Vancouver market with two new coffeehouses on Alma Street in the Point Grey neighbourhood and at Capilano University. The new openings mark the company's arrival in BC's lower mainland as part of Good Earth's national growth strategy.

Good Earth is committed to offering exceptional coffee and fresh, wholesome food with a down-to-earth attitude, making Vancouver an ideal market for the rapidly expanding coffee franchise to continue to grow into. With the opening of the two new locations, the 25-year-old company will continue to increase the reach of its brand across western Canada and solidify its position as one of the leading coffeehouses in the country.

"Vancouver is a vibrant, energetic city with a dynamic coffee scene, and discerning coffee aficionados," said Nan Eskenazi, Founder, Good Earth Coffeehouse. "The opening of our first two Vancouver coffeehouses is an excellent fit and lays the foundation for our future growth in BC."

Good Earth is dedicated to providing the best quality food and beverage products to its customers and believes in exceptional coffee quality, responsible farming, direct trade and small-batch roasting. With their coffee roaster, Good Earth seeks out farmers who promote environmental sustainability, and establishes direct trade practices to help improve communities where coffee is grown. A variety of great food is also made fresh in Good Earth's kitchens every day, using wholesome and nutritious ingredients, including whole grains, flours, nuts and seeds, whole fruits and vegetables, and real dairy.

"Our vision is to establish local gathering places that foster a strong sense of community and create a social environment where community comes first," said Gerry Docherty, President and COO, Good Earth Coffeehouse. "We offer our customers a place where they can gather in a comfortable environment, much like the coffeehouses of old."

The Alma Street location will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, September 17 at 2505 Alma Street, and the Capilano University location will hold a grand opening event on Wednesday, September 21 at 2055 Purcell Way on the Capilano University Campus.

Good Earth continues to see significant growth and will have 50 coffeehouses operating Canada-wide by the end of 2016. For more information about Good Earth, please visit www.goodearthcoffeehouse.com.

About Good Earth Coffeehouse:

Good Earth is a network of authentic coffeehouses with over 45 locations throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario. The first Good Earth Coffeehouse opened in Calgary in 1991. Founders Nan Eskenazi and Michael Going, began with a desire to serve exceptional coffee and wholesome food, with a down-to-earth attitude. Good Earth has focused on creating a unique experience for customers through the combination of a distinctive coffeehouse environment with social and environmental responsibility. The company has grown through franchising, and remains true to the original mission... to be a coffeehouse with good food.

To view the video associated with this release, visit the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKJBx1enHGk

Contacts:

For media inquiries, please contact:

Leanna Kruk

Brookline Public Relations, Inc.

403-538-5641 ext. 121

lkruk@brooklinepr.com




SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Tri-agency Institutional Programs SecretariatThe Government of Canada understands the central role of science in building a thriving, clean economy and providing the evidence necessary to make sound policy decisions that have an influence on our health, the environment, and public safety. That's why the government is committed to investing in research that improves the safety and security of Canada's food supply. This kind of world-leading science will help develop the innovative approaches we need to improve the well-being of Canadians and strengthen the middle class.

As part of this commitment, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, today announced an investment of $10 million over seven years to bring one of the world's most respected experts in food security to Canada. A recognized leader in crop adaptation to marginal soil environments, Leon Kochian will become the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Food Systems and Security at the University of Saskatchewan.

The United Nations estimates the world's population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. Ensuring sufficient nutritious food will therefore be one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Working out of the university's Global Institute for Food Security, Kochian will lead a multidisciplinary team to unlock the secrets of a plant's "hidden half"-the root system-an unexplored aspect of plant breeding.

His research will develop new root-based approaches to crop improvement that will enable breeding for improved root system structure and function, producing new varieties with higher yields and greater capacity to thrive in difficult conditions. Kochian will identify and map the genes linked to root system traits that are specifically responsible for nutrient and water uptake under drought conditions. He anticipates this research will enable increased crop production in less fertile areas.

QUOTES

The Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program continues to establish Canada's growing reputation as a global leader in research and innovation. Dr. Leon Kochian is an internationally recognized authority on plant mineral nutrition and crop adaption to marginal soils. I am confident he will provide visionary leadership in Canada's efforts to improve global food production. His work will benefit from partnerships within the strong agri-food research hub in Saskatchewan and help to establish Canada as a leader in addressing global food security."

- The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science

"The arrival of Leon Kochian as Canada Excellence Research Chair in Food Systems and Security is a coup for the University of Saskatchewan and for Canadian research. As we examine the social and societal implications of climate change, his work will help strengthen Canadian agriculture - and make our economy more resilient, which will improve our collective well-being and strengthen the middle class."

- The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"Canada stands at a watershed moment in agriculture, where we can realize an exciting and prosperous future for this key sector of our economy. Dr. Leon Kochian's arrival at the University of Saskatchewan's new Global Institute for Food Security holds great promise for multidisciplinary research to deliver the new food crop knowledge that Canadians can apply to meet the world's food security challenges."

- B. Mario Pinto, President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

"Researchers, such as Leon Kochian, become leaders in their field by pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Combining his expertise in food systems and security with access to state-of-the-art facilities and labs, Dr. Kochian will further bolster the University of Saskatchewan's rich capacity for agri-food research, and help position Canada as a global leader in food security solutions."

- Gilles Patry, President, Canada Foundation for Innovation

"With Leon Kochian's research pre-eminence and leadership, supported by the Global Institute for Food Security, our $37.2-million Canada First Excellence Research Fund program in food security, and the world-class facilities and expertise in our renowned agri-food cluster, we are poised to provide transformative and sustainable research solutions to help feed a growing world."

- Peter Stoicheff, President, University of Saskatchewan

Quick Facts

-- Leon Kochian is the University of Saskatchewan's second CERC after Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security. He becomes the country's 27th CERC. -- The Government of Canada's Canada Excellence Research Chairs program awards universities up to $10 million over seven years to support world renowned researchers and their teams to establish ambitious research programs at Canadian universities. -- In total, Leon Kochian's research will receive support worth almost $21 million. The Government of Canada is also providing $800,000 through the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The balance will be invested by the Global Institute for Food Security ($7 million) and the University of Saskatchewan ($3 million). -- In 2015, the University of Saskatchewan received more than $37.2 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund for its global food security initiative.

Additional Links

Biography of Leon Kochian

Backgrounder on the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program

Getting to the roots of global food security: Spotlight on Leon Kochian

More about the Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program

World population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050

Contacts:

Veronique Perron

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Science

343-291-2600



Michael Adams

Communications Advisor

Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program

613-944-1758

Cell: 613-219-7523



Kathryn Warden

Director, Research Profile and Impact

University of Saskatchewan

306-966-2506




Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recentglobal submarine battery market 2016-2020report. This research report also lists three other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.

Countries such as the US, Russia, China, Japan, and India, are investing heavily in the procurement and development of submarines to strengthen the respective countries' sea border security and to gather intelligence.

Ask an analyst: http://www.technavio.com/content/ask-analyst?report=53039

Ask Technavio's lead analysts a question about this market and they will have your answer within 24 hours.

Competitive vendor landscape

According to the report, highly competitive vendors serve the global submarine battery market. Competition in the market is based on many factors, such as brand recognition, product quality, reliability, durability, energy density, and price. "It is expected that the market will continue to evolve and that global and other diversified manufacturers will have a competitive advantage over small and new vendors by offering better products at a competitive price," says Thanikachalam Chandrasekaran, a lead energy storage analyst from Technavio.

EnerSys, EverExceed, Exide Technology, HBL Power Systems Ltd., and Sunlight Systems are the major lead-acid battery (LAB) vendors in the market. Companies, such as GS Yuasa, Saft, Kokam, Arotech, and Toshiba, are aggressively developing Li-ion batteries for submarines and investing in R&D to reduce the cost and match the LAB specifications for the submarines.

The report also states countries, such as Japan, China, and Russia, are focusing on the Li-ion battery technology for the submarines. Russia is also planning to develop Li-ion battery technology for Kalina submarines in collaboration with China.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=53039

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Technavioenergyresearch analysts provide the following information about the vendors:

EnerSys

EnerSys manufactures, markets, and distributes industrial batteries and related products such as chargers, outdoor cabinet enclosures, power equipment, and battery accessories. It offers related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries. EnerSys markets and sells its products to more than 10,000 customers in over 100 countries via a network of distributors, independent representatives, and its own sales force.

EnerSys in the global submarine battery market offers submarine batteries, which include CYCLON batteries and Quallion batteries.

EverExceed

EverExceed is engaged in the wholesale distribution of electrical power equipment for the generation, distribution, transmission, control of electric energy, and electrical construction materials for power transmission lines and electrical systems, bulbs, and electric light fixtures.

EverExceed in the global submarine battery market offers high-quality submarine batteries for all types of conventional submarines. It offers long plate positive tubular plate, double decker tubular positive plate, and tailor made cells technologies. The applications of submarine batteries include western-type submarines, such as U209, U214, Scorpene, Agosta, and Daphne; eastern type submarines, such as Romeo, Foxtrot, and Kilo; and offers submarine batteries for classes up to U206, Vastergotland, and U212.

Exide Technologies

The company serves the complex stored energy needs of customers worldwide. It provides services and systems to enhance vehicle performance and fleet utilization with an aim to reduce the risk of temporary power supply disruptions.

Exide Technologies offers manufacturing and distribution of submarine batteries. The submarine batteries are sold under various brand names such as CEAC, Sonnak, Tudor, and Hagen. It finds application in different classes of submarines such as 205, 206, 209, 212, Scorpene, Kobben, Vastergotland, Agosta, and Redoutable.

HBL Power Systems Ltd.

The company is involved in the manufacturing and distribution of batteries and other power electronic products. It offers nickel cadmium pocket plate cells and control power converters.

HBL Power Systems Ltd. in global submarine battery market is involved in the design and manufacturing of a wide range of submarine batteries. The company's products include batteries such as LABs, nickel-cadmium batteries, and advanced product batteries. The primary product that is used for submarine application includes product range from 12,391 Wh to 40,300 Wh.

Sunlight Systems

Sunlight Systems is engaged in the development, production, and marketing of batteries and offers energy storage systems for consumer, industrial and advanced technology applications. The company is a major player in the global energy sector with approximately 98% of its production value exported to over 100 countries worldwide.

Sunlight systems in global submarine battery market is involved in the designing, production, and distribution of battery power solutions such as motive power solutions, reserve power solutions, advanced technology batteries, consumer batteries, energy solutions, and submarine batteries. The company provides battery monitoring systems and the hydrogen eliminator for submarine batteries.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Submarine Payload and Launch Systems 2016-2020

Global Submarine Power Cable Market 2016-2020

Global Submarine Market 2016-2020

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005029/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
CLEVELAND, OH -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Securus Medical Group, Inc., a privately held medical device company, announced the closing of a $10 million Series C financing led by Boston Scientific Corporation. Boston Scientific joined with existing investors RiverVest Venture Partners, 3X5 Special Opportunity Fund, and the University of Michigan MINTS program, as well as another new investor, the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center. Series C proceeds will be used for continued product development and clinical investigation of the Company's recently FDA cleared infrared thermographic system [IRTS]. IRTS is a proprietary, intrabody thermal measurement device that is intended for continuous esophageal temperature monitoring.

"We are pleased to have Boston Scientific as an investor and a representative of Boston Scientific as a Board member. Securus Medical Group's expanded investor base now includes a world-class medical device company, top-tier venture capital funds, and world-renowned healthcare systems," said Steven Girouard, President and CEO of Securus Medical Group, Inc.

Commenting on the transaction, Board member Karen Spilizewski, Vice President for founding investor RiverVest Venture Partners stated, "This financing accelerates Securus Medical Group's technology development, and importantly it enables further validation of the Company's core technology which holds great potential to change the standard of care for esophageal temperature monitoring."

About Securus Medical Group, Inc.

Securus Medical Group, Inc. is developing easy to use, real-time, noncontact, thermal mapping systems to determine intrabody tissue temperatures. The Company maintains administrative headquarters at Cleveland Clinic's Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center and has R&D operations in Massachusetts.

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: http://www.bostonscientific.com/.

About 3x5 Special Opportunity Fund, L.P

3x5 Special Opportunity Fund, L.P. is a St Louis and Portland-based closed-end private investment fund focused primarily on direct investments in later-stage companies within the healthcare and clean-tech sectors. The fund closed in early 2013 at approximately $80 million in committed capital, which has been deployed to six portfolio investments.

About RiverVest Venture Partners

RiverVest Venture Partners is a venture capital firm focused on identifying and shaping early stage life science companies to create significant shareholder value. With hands-on, high-level expertise and financial resources, RiverVest supports entrepreneurs by helping them achieve near-term objectives that position their companies for exit. For more information, please visit www.rivervest.com.

About the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center

The Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC) is a cardiovascular product development consortium led by Cleveland Clinic made possible through a $60 million grant from the State of Ohio's Third Frontier Program. Founded in 2007, GCIC is focused on the formation, attraction, expansion and retention of cardiovascular companies to create jobs and facilitate economic development in the State of Ohio.

Steven Girouard

sgirouard@securusmg.com




According to the latest market study released by Technavio, thepallet market in Europeis expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 5% during the forecast period.

This research report titled Pallet Market in Europe 2016-2020 provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes an up to date analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions.

A pallet is a flat panel that serves as a base for storing and transporting raw materials and finished products. It is designed to be lifted by forklifts and pallet jacks. The use of palletized storage and transportation is one of the key considerations in modern logistics as it enables operational efficiency in terms of material handling.

Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=52326

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

The report categorizes the global pallet market in Europe market into three major end-user segments. They are:

Manufacturing sector

Retail sector

Transportation and warehousing sector

Ask an analyst: http://www.technavio.com/content/ask-analyst?report=52326

Ask Technavio's lead analysts a question about this market and they will have your answer within 24 hours.

Manufacturing sector

The manufacturing sector requires pallets for the transportation of processed materials within inventory houses and the safe delivery of products to distribution centers. According to Sharan Raj, a lead analyst at Technavio for warehouse and storage research, "This sector accounts for more than two-thirds of the EU's exports and thus is a major customer segment of the pallet industry."

The recovery of the manufacturing sector in Europe and the projected economic expansion worldwide are expected to increase the demand for the material transport sector. As of August 2014, Europe's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 51.8 (a PMI 50 indicates expansion). It is further expected to increase during the forecast period. To meet the high level of manufacturing and transportation needs, the demand for pallets will also increase. Procurement and supply chain activities are poised to benefit with an increase in industrial and manufacturing output. Investments in the market depend on downstream demand from manufacturers, which is determined by industrial production and business confidence in the economy.

Retail sector

The retail sector is the second major end-user of pallets. Most retailers receive shipments and stack their inventory in warehouses on pallets. This sector adopts pallet leasing and pallet pooling as the major strategies for their pallet needs. The retail sector suffered a downturn during the economic recession of 2008. However, with economic recovery, retail consumption is expected to increase. This will increase the volume of consumer and durable goods transported. As the demand for pallets is directly proportional to the volume of consumer and durable goods transported, the demand for pallets in this sector will also increase.

The retail sector primarily uses wooden pallets. This is because plastic pallets are costly, and as most pallets are not returned to the distributors in this sector, the retail sector avoids bearing the cost.

Transportation and warehousing sector

The transportation and warehousing sector is one of the important end-users of pallets in Europe. Transportation and warehousing involve the delivery and storage of inventory, supplies, raw materials, and other goods. The logistics companies involved in the transportation and warehousing sector partner with pallet companies to procure pallets to ship products and return pallets to manufacturers once the shipment is delivered.

Exports from countries in the EU were valued at more than USD 180 billion in February 2015. The pharmaceutical, food, and manufacturing sectors contributed the maximum revenue to the pallet market. Exports from countries in the EU increased by 1.3% in 2014 and were valued at more than USD 6 trillion.

A rise in exports and shipments in Europe will require producers to add pallets to their existing stocks to handle the high output. "Manufacturers are outsourcing logistics to third-party suppliers to reduce shipping costs while improving services. This is a viable opportunity for pallet companies to expand their existing logistics services. As companies are focusing on making supply chains lean, venturing into these types of services will prove profitable for pallet companies," says Sharan.

The top vendors highlighted by Technavio's transportation and logistics research analysts in this report are:

CHEP

PGS Group

Rehrig Pacific

Schoeller Allibert

SSI SCHAEFER

Browse Related Reports:

Global Palletizing Equipment Market 2016-2020

Global Pallet Market 2016-2020

Pallet Market in the US 2016-2020

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160915005039/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd. announced today that highly regarded environmental consultant, Sandra Thompson, is joining SLR as its Canadian Advisory Services Manager. Thompson also joins the Canadian Management Team, reporting directly to COO Richard Johnson.

Thompson comes to SLR Consulting most recently from ERM, where she served as their Transaction Services Leader. In this role, Thompson developed tailored environmental due diligence programs designed to help limit liability exposure for a broad portfolio of clients. Over her career she has accumulated a wealth of expertise in business and client relationship development as well as practicing in the environmental services field.

At SLR, Thompson will have oversight of the Advisory Services group across Canada and, in addition to her focus on transactional consulting for SLR's existing clients, she will continue to build SLR's due diligence client and service portfolio and expand other Advisory Services.

Richard Johnson, SLR Canada COO expresses delight and noted, "We are focused on expanding SLR's brand to include more consultation in the Advisory space, and the addition of Sandra to our team will be a key factor in propelling us forward in this area. I'm positive our clients will immediately notice the impact that Sandra can and will bring to their business."

Looking forward to the opportunity to work with SLR's clients, Thompson said, "Our goal is to help our clients understand and manage environmental risk. This can be during a transaction or as part of their operational strategy. In addition to standard 'property due diligence', we work with clients to look at associated risks such as regulatory compliance, product registration, health and safety management, and social aspects and translate them into financial terms and forward looking action plans. Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)

policies are no longer a nice-to-have for financial investors, but they are becoming necessary for firms to raise new capital. We can help our clients create these policies and to complete their diligence in compliance with them."

Thompson will join SLR Consulting in its Markham Office, but will be permanently based in SLR's new downtown Toronto Office. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, at King and Yonge, SLR's expansion allows the firm to build a closer relationship with its many clients in the downtown core.

"The time is right for us to open this new office," said Johnson, "The doors we've opened with our Markham office have given us a strong foothold with our Toronto-based clientele with operations stretching nationally and internationally. Having the downtown location available to us allows us to be even more responsive to our clients' needs."

SLR's Toronto Office opens November 2016.

For additional information visit: www.slrconsulting.com/news

Notes to editors:

SLR is an international environmental consultancy, based near Oxford in the UK, with over 1,100 employees working from over 70 offices in Europe, North America, Australasia, and Africa. It is considered one of the top five niche global specialist environmental consultancies.

It provides global advice and support on a wide range of strategic and site-specific issues to a diverse and growing base of business, regulatory and governmental clients. Key areas of

SLR's business are across the following client sectors: built environment, infrastructure, industry, mining, oil and gas, and power.

In North America, SLR employs over 400 staff working out of 26 offices across Canada and the United States.

Contacts:

Steve Neville

Business Development & Marketing - Canada

SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.

+1.604.738.2500

sneville@slrconsulting.com




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A water infrastructure bill including funding to address the drinking water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, easily cleared the Senate on Thursday. The Senate voted 95 to 3 in favor of the Water Resources Development Act, which authorizes around $10 billion in water-related projects around the nation. The bill included a provision to provide $100 million in funding to help repair lead-contaminated pipes in Flint and other communities. The provision also provides $50 million to address the health care needs of children who have lead exposure and $70 million to activate water infrastructure loans. Republican Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., were the only Senators to vote against the bill. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said passage of the legislation is an important reminder to the nation that the crisis in Flint is far from over. 'Today families still cannot drink the unfiltered water that comes out of their faucets!' Stabenow said. 'Now, our colleagues in the House need to act as quickly as possible. It's also essential that the State of Michigan fully meet their responsibilities to solve the water crisis.' However, the bill is said to face a more uncertain future in the House, which is expected to vote on a water projects bill without the drinking water provisions. The underlying Senate bill authorizes $4.5 billion worth of water-related infrastructure projects and $4.9 billion over five years to repair systems related to drinking water, according to The Hill. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Highlighting Regulatory Developments, Trends in CRA, HMDA, Fair Lending

Wolters Kluwer today announced the roster of featured speakers for its 20th annual CRA & Fair Lending Colloquium, to be held Nov. 13-16, 2016, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. New Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rules, along with increased regulatory examination scrutiny, will be among the topics on this year's agenda.

Vanita Gupta, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, is scheduled to present the opening keynote address on Monday, Nov. 14. Grovetta Gardineer, senior deputy comptroller for Compliance and Community Affairs, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Patrice Ficklin, fair lending director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will provide honorary keynote addresses on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Additionally, the following individuals are among the industry experts set to participate in this year's event:

Sameena Shina Majeed, chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Mark Pearce, director, Division of Depositor and Consumer Protection, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Eric S. Belsky, Ph.D., director of the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Peggy Twohig, assistant director for Supervision Policy, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Donna Murphy, deputy comptroller for Compliance Risk, OCC

Bryan Greene, general deputy assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

"The increasing scope and complexity of regulatory change continues to challenge financial institutions across many levels of their organizations in keeping current with regulatory compliance obligations," said Timothy R. Burniston, executive vice president, Advisory Services and Regulatory Relations, Wolters Kluwer. "For two decades, the Colloquium has been an invaluable forum for fostering substantive discussion among banks, credit unions, regulators, financial services consultants, and other industry leaders. Attendees will leave this event better informed-and prepared-for navigating through this regulatory compliance environment."

Sponsors of the 2016 Colloquium include the American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, and the Nevada Bankers Association.

For more information on registration or a complimentary press pass, please visit www.CRAColloquium.com.

About Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk Compliance

Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk Compliance (GRC) is a division of Wolters Kluwer which provides legal, finance, risk and compliance professionals and small business owners with a broad spectrum of solutions, services and expertise needed to help manage myriad governance, risk and compliance needs in dynamic markets and regulatory environments. The division's prominent brands include: AuthenticWeb, Bankers Systems, BizFilings, Capital Changes, CASH Suite, CT Corporation, CT Lien Solutions, ComplianceOne, Corsearch, Expere, GainsKeeper, LegalVIEW, OneSumX, Passport, TyMetrix 360, Uniform Forms, VMP Mortgage Solutions and Wiz

Wolters Kluwer N.V. (AEX: WKL) is a global leader in information services and solutions for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. Wolters Kluwer reported 2015 annual revenues of 4.2 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,000 people worldwide.

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CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. ("Peyto") (TSX: PEY) confirms that the monthly dividend with respect to September 2016 of $0.11 per common share is to be paid on October 14, 2016, for shareholders of record on September 30, 2016. The ex-dividend date is September 28, 2016.

Dividends paid by Peyto to Canadian residents are eligible dividends for Canadian income tax purposes.

Shareholders and interested investors are encouraged to visit the Peyto website at www.peyto.com to learn more about what makes Peyto one of North America's most exciting energy companies. The website also includes the President's monthly report, which discusses various topics chosen by the President and includes estimates of monthly capital expenditures and production.

Certain information set forth in this document, including management's assessment of Peyto's future plans and operations, contains forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond these parties' control, including the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of reserve estimates, environmental risks, competition from other industry participants, the lack of availability of qualified personnel or management, stock market volatility and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Peyto's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that Peyto will derive therefrom. The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.

Contacts:

Peyto Exploration & Development Corp.

Darren Gee

President and Chief Executive Officer

(403) 237-8911

(403) 451-4100 (FAX)

www.peyto.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/15/16 -- Just Energy Group Inc. ("Just Energy" or the "Company") (TSX: JE)(NYSE: JE) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters (the "Underwriters"), pursuant to which Just Energy has agreed to issue, on a "bought deal" basis, $160,000,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible unsecured senior subordinated debentures (the "Debentures") at a price of $1,000 per Debenture (the "Offering"). The Debentures will bear interest from the date of issue at 6.75% per annum, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears on December 31 and June 30 of each year (each an "Interest Payment Date") commencing on December 31, 2016. The Debentures will mature on December 31, 2021 (the "Maturity Date").

Just Energy has granted to the Underwriters an over-allotment option (the "Over-Allotment Option") to purchase up to an additional $24,000,000 aggregate principal amount of Debentures at the same price, exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of up to 30 days following closing of the Offering, to cover over-allotments.

Just Energy intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with other external and internally generated sources of capital, to redeem the remaining $55 million aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Company's 9.75% senior unsecured notes due 2018 and redeem a minimum of $225 million of the aggregate principal outstanding under the Company's 6.0% Extendible Unsecured Subordinated Convertible Debentures due June 30, 2017 (the "2017 Convertible Debentures") following closing of the Offering. Assuming the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the Company intends to redeem an additional $24 million of the 2017 Convertible Debentures. Just Energy is evaluating additional sources of financing with the intention to redeem the balance of the outstanding principal amount of the 2017 Convertible Debentures.

Each $1,000 principal amount of the Debentures will be convertible at the option of the holder at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of the Maturity Date and the last business day immediately preceding the date fixed for redemption, into 107.5269 common shares of Just Energy, representing a conversion price of $9.30 (the "Conversion Price"), subject to certain anti-dilution provisions. Holders who convert their Debentures will receive accrued and unpaid interest for the period from and including the date of the latest Interest Payment Date to, but excluding, the date of conversion.

The Debentures will not be redeemable at the option of the Company on or before December 31, 2019. After December 31, 2019 and prior to December 31, 2020, the Debentures may be redeemed in whole or in part from time to time at the option of the Company on not more than 60 days and not less than 30 days prior notice, at a price equal to their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest, provided that the weighted average trading price of the common shares of Just Energy on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") for the 20 consecutive trading days ending five trading days preceding the date on which the notice of redemption is given is at least 125% of the Conversion Price. On or after December 31, 2020, the Debentures may be redeemed in whole or in part from time to time at the option of the Company on not more than 60 days and not less than 30 days prior notice, at a price equal to their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest.

The Debentures will be offered by Just Energy in Canada under a short form prospectus to be filed in each of the provinces of Canada and in the United States in reliance on applicable private placement exemptions. Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about October 5, 2016. Completion of the Offering is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of various conditions, such as the receipt of normal regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX and the New York Stock Exchange and the consent of Just Energy's lenders.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Just Energy in the United States nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of the Debentures in any state or other jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Debentures described in this news release (and any common shares of Just Energy issued upon the conversion, redemption or maturity of the Debentures) have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered, sold or delivered in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state or other jurisdictions' securities laws.

About Just Energy Group Inc.

Established in 1997, Just Energy is an energy management solutions provider specializing in electricity, natural gas, solar and green energy. With offices located across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Just Energy serves close to two million residential and commercial customers. The Company offers a wide range of energy products and home energy management services including long-term fixed-price, variable price, and flat bill programs, smart thermostats, and residential solar solutions. Just Energy Group Inc. is the parent company of Amigo Energy, Commerce Energy, Green Star Energy, Hudson Energy, Tara Energy, Just Energy Solar and TerraPass.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Just Energy's press releases may contain forward-looking statements including statements pertaining to the closing of the Offering and the timing thereof, the use of proceeds of the Offering and any exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, the ability of the Company to reset its debt profile and to achieve its capital allocation strategy. These statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the failure to satisfy any of the conditions to the completion of the Offering, levels of customer natural gas and electricity consumption, rates of customer additions and renewals, rates of customer attrition, fluctuations in natural gas and electricity prices, changes in regulatory regimes and decisions by regulatory authorities, competition and dependence on certain suppliers. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Just Energy's operations, financial results or dividend levels are included in Just Energy's annual information form and other reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities which can be accessed through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, on the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov or through Just Energy's website at www.justenergygroup.com.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the New York Stock Exchange has approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

Contacts:

Patrick McCullough

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: (713) 933-0895

pmccullough@justenergy.com



Michael Cummings

Investor Relations

Phone: 617.461.1101

michael.cummings@alpha-ir.com




Lucapa Diamond Company Ltdhas announced that it had record processing volumes last month.At its Lulo Diamond Project in Angola, the company saw record monthly processing volumes of 22,870 bulk cubic metres  after a recent investment in earth moving fleet and equipment.Diamond production in August at Lulo totalled 2,882 carats, which the company says is its second best month on record. The companys August yield included 39 large Special diamonds of up to 80.5 carats.Last month, the average monthly diamond grade was 12.6 carats per 100 cubic metres.Lucapa reported a net loss of $3.6 million at 31 December 2015.
BitSight, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of a security ratings platform, closed a $40m Series C financing round.

The round was led by GGV Capital with participation from previous investors Flybridge Capital Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, Menlo Ventures, and Shaun McConnon, as well as the venture capital arms of Comcast Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, and Singtel Innov8. In conjuntion with the funding, GGV Capitals Glenn Solomon will join BitSights Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate global expansion and product innovation.

Led by Shaun McConnon, CEO, BitSight provides a security rating platform that generates objective, outside-in ratings on companies security performance. Using evidence of security outcomes from networks around the world, it applies algorithms to produce daily security ratings ranging from 250 to 900, where higher ratings equate to lower risk.

BitSight provides Security Ratings to more than 450 companies, including Lowes, Ferrari, Hess, Mondelez and The Hartford, among others.

FinSMEs

15/09/2016
Iris Plans, an Austin, Texas-based tech-enabled Advance Care Planning (ACP) service for people facing serious medical conditions, raised $750k in seed funding.

Backers included Better Ventures. In addition to its investment, Better Ventures Co-Founders and Managing Directors Wes Selke and Rick Moss have joined the Iris Plans Board of Advisors.

The company intends to use the funds for new release of technology platform and launch of major partnerships.

Led by Steve Wardle, CEO, Iris Plans provides a service that uses targeted technology and algorithms to allow strategic partners, mainly health insurance plans, to identify patients with serious medical conditions who will most benefit from Advance Care Planning (ACP).

FinSMEs

15/09/2016
Unified, a marketing and analytics technology company, closed a US$10 million growth financing.

Wellington Financial LP, a privately-held specialty finance firm, provided the financial resources.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations.

Led by Calvin Lui, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Unified provides a marketing and analytics technology platform that connects marketing data sets to optimize investments across the customer journey. Its software and services enable global brands and agencies to tailor messages, and optimize channel investments based on real-time signals and advanced analytics.

The company has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

FinSMEs

15/09/2016
ViSenze, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence company that develops visual technology for e-commerce and digital businesses, completed a US$10.5m Series B funding round.

The company intends to use the funds to further invest in proprietary image recognition technology, expand headcount and grow its international offices.

The round was led by Rakuten Ventures, WI Harper Group and Enspire Capital with participation from SPH Media Fund, the investment arm of media company Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), FengHe Fund Management  an Asian alternative asset management firm founded by Alibaba ex-CTO John Wu, Raffles Venture Partners, Phillip Private Equity, and UOB Venture Management.

Led by Mr. Oliver Tan, Co-Founder and CEO, ViSenze is an Artificial Intelligence company that develops advanced visual search and image recognition solutions for businesses in e-commerce, retail and content publishing. Built on technology combining machine learning and computer vision, ViSenze recommends visually similar items to online shoppers, either on e-commerce platforms when they browse or search by uploading a picture, or on content publishers platforms like social media and video networks. These solutions are used by large e-commerce companies like Rakuten, ASOS, Myntra and Lazada.

The company, a spin-off from NExT, a research centre jointly established between National University of Singapore and Tsinghua University of China, has offices in San Francisco, New Delhi and Singapore.

FinSMEs

15/09/2016
Is Pink the feminist film we need and deserve?

Early reviews coming in for the Amitabh Bachchan-Taapsee Pannu starrer certainly seem to suggest so.

The film, director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Hindi debut,has been almost universally praised in the reviews out so far, after press screenings were held on Wednesday evening.

The early screenings are also a sign of how much confidence the Pink team  headed by creative producer Shoojit Sircar  has in the project; several films of late, mostly the big banner ones, have opted to do away with previews entirely, or hold them on Friday morning, by which time the matinee shows are well under way.

Pink is the story of three single women living together in Delhi (Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang, whose lifestyles are the subject of much scrutiny by close-minded neighbours, a metaphor for society itself. When the girls have a run-in with the son of a politico (Angad Bedi), they find themselves the target of a false legal case.

Amitabh Bachcan plays the lawyer (Deepak Sehgal) who steps in to help the girls navigate the legal morass they find themselves in.

Kunal Guha, in Mumbai Mirror, gives the film a rating of four stars, and writes:

"Being a single woman in Delhi makes for fragile existence. Constantly scoped by the prying eyes of neighbours who deduce her character based on when she returns home and the guests she entertains, it is an unsettling world. This is the backdrop of Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Pink, which effectively transfers the fears and frustrations of its characters onto the audience. The most pertinent point this film underlines is the feudal mindset of the milieu, amplified by the sense of male entitlement that eliminates consent."

Mayank Shekhar, in Mid-Day, offers a four-star rating as well, and says:

"...more significantly, the film, up until the closing credits, does not even visually describe the said incident. It grips you still with a gently piercing background score, moments of silence and dialogue, building up the tension, while the audience wonders what really could have happened one unfortunate night when three girls found themselves in a Surajkund resort with three guys. And one of the boys got seriously injured thereafter."

Reviewers have noted that in terms of the theme it tackles and the setting it uses to expose society's attitude to women, Pink is reminiscent of the Sunny Deol-Meenakshi Sheshadri-Rishi Kapoor film Damini. However, they have added that Pink is perhaps the first film to bring the concept of "consent" into the public space, and highlighting it in a sensitive way.

BollywoodLife's Anusha Iyengar concludes, having given the film another four-star rating:

"The courtroom scenes are cut-to-cut without any unnecessary scenes about interrogations and finding proof, or any songs for that matter. There is not one soul in the movie that disappoint(s) with their acting. The dialogues are to the point and witty... (But) Amitabh Bachchan steals the show in the second half."

With Pink being called Bachchan's "next Renaissance, after Te3n" we'd say the film has earned high praise indeed.
There seems to be no end to the Tata Docomo financial dispute. Even as both the companies (Tata Sons and Japan's NTT Docomo) are locked in a legal battle over a payment issue involving a JV company here, India's finance ministry has now asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate the $2.5 billion joint venture deal.

According to a Bloomberg report, the finance ministry has asked the ED to find out whether Tata Sons violated the country's foreign exchange rules while selling a stake in its wireless unit in 2009 to the Japanese company.

"The Enforcement Directorate will probe if the transaction, which took place in 2009, breached India's foreign exchange management act," the Bloomberg report said quoting unidentified people.

Tata Sons in an email reply denied of any knowledge about the ED probe of the financial transaction, the Bloomberg report said.

Tata DoCoMo deal

In March 2009, DoCoMo, Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and Tata Sons signed shareholder agreement for the business alliance. DoCoMo picked up 27.31 percent stake in Tata Teleservices for Rs 12,924 crore and 20.25 percent in Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd - the listed arm of TTSL - for Rs 949 crore. Overall, DoCoMo holds 26.5 percent in Tata Teleservices.

Post the exit of Docomo from the Indian JV in 2014, both the companies have failed to arrive at a solution, and the Japanese firm instead chose to go for international arbitration.

In June this year, the London Court of International Arbitration ordered Tata Sons to pay $1.17 billion to the Japanese wireless carrier for failing to uphold the contract, the Bloomberg report added.

The joint venture agreement had a clause that promised DoCoMo at least 50 percent of the value of its original investment if it decided to exit in five years.

Tata Sons had in November 2014 made an application to the RBI to purchase DoCoMo's 26.5 percent stake at Rs 58.045 per share (totalling about Rs 7,250 crore) - half the price which the Japanese firm paid in 2009. DoCoMo had invested $2.2 billion in Tata Teleservices.

However, the RBI rejected its earlier proposal to buy DoCoMo's stake in the struggling joint venture for about Rs 7,250 crore or Rs 58 a share.

Following a fair value arrived at by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the Tata group then offered to buy out Japanese telecom giant's stake in Tata Teleservices at Rs 23.34 per share, more than 50 percent lower than earlier offer of Rs 58.

This enraged DoCoMo, which then moved the London Court of Arbitration to get a valuation of Rs 58 per share.

Although the London Court has directed Tatas to honour the agreement, the Indian government cited that Docomo's overall stake value has fallen below 50 percent of its investment due to accumulated losses at Tata Teleservices, and hence the Japanese major can now exit at just a 'fair value'.

While Tatas have deposited $1.17 billion with the Delhi High Court, the case is still pending with the court for the enforcement of the award.
New Delhi: State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has signed definitive agreements with Russian state-run oil major Rosneft OAO to purchase additional 11 per cent stake in JSC Vankorneft.

"The daily production from the field is around 421,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil on an average and together with the earlier acquisition of 15 per cent, ONGC Videsh's share of daily oil production from Vankor will be about 110,000 bpd," ONGC said in a statement here.

"Vankor -- that operates the Vankor oil and gas fields in Siberia -- is Rosneft's second-largest field by production and accounts for 4 per cent of Russia's production," it said.

The definitive agreement was signed in Moscow on September 14 by ONGC's overseas arm ONGC Videsh Ltd's (OVL) Chief Executive Officer Narendra K. Verma and Chairman Igor Sechin of the Rosneft board of directors, ONGC said.

The deal is expected to receive approvals from the boards of the companies as well as the Indian and Russian governments by the end of 2016, it added.

Once the transaction is completed, OVL will have 26 per cent stake in JSC Vankorneft, along with the 15 per cent acquired in May 2016.

According to ONGC, the acquisition of this extra 11 per cent would add about 30 per cent to OVL's existing production, and about 2.2 million tonnes of oil and 1 billion cubic metres of gas annually, the statement said.

Following his Russia visit in June, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had announced here that a consortium of Indian oil companies led by ONGC Videsh was considering purchase of a part of the $11 billion stake that Russia was selling in Rosneft.

"OVL is the company heading the discussions now. Others may join later," he had said.

Russia plans to sell 19.5 per cent stake in Rosneft as part of a wider privatisation plan for 2016. In May, Rosneft completed the sale of 15 per cent stake in its Vankor oilfield OVL for $1.268 billion.

It has also signed an agreement in March to sell another 23.9 per cent in Vankor to a consortium of Oil India, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum for another $2 billion.

Rosneft had also signed the preliminary agreement to sell this additional 11 per cent stake in Vankor to OVL.

"When all these transactions close, Indian companies will have nearly 50 per cent stake in Vankor," Pradhan had said.

He also said India plans to invest in the Yamal mega project of Russian natural gas major Gazprom.
The death toll due to chikungunya-triggered complications stood at 12 on Thursday, with two new cases reported from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), prompting Union Health Minister JP Nadda to seek a report from the Delhi Government on the rising deaths and number of patients.

Delhi's Water Minister Kapil Mishra also appealed to all legislators and councillors to keep aside political differences and fight the vector-borne menace together. Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung also urged the people to rise above considerations of politics and fight chikungunya and dengue unitedly.

On Wednesday, city-based Indraprastha Apollo Hospital confirmed the deaths of five patients in the last three weeks. The latest were of two men  aged 50 and 30  who were suffering from kidney ailments, that got aggravated due to the virus. The two died on Tuesday.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda said there was no dearth of medicines and testing kits in the hospitals.

He said that 11 advisories have been issued to all states and they have been requested to declare dengue as a notifiable disease, for improving reporting and for taking preventive measures in affected areas.

On Thursday, Delhi's Health Minister, Satyendra Jain, told people that they need not panic because chikungunya cannot cause death.

"People of Delhi have no need to panic. The state government is ready to provide help at all cost. But one should get admitted only if the doctor advises them to do so and not because they are scared," he said.

That's why Delhiites need not panic, he remarked to mediapersons. All people need to do is to take precautions and go to the hospital, but that too, only if they experience symptoms of the vector-borne disease, Jain said.

Several awareness programmes through print and electronic media and issuing of advertisements for controlling the diseases have been initiated by the government.

Gearing up to tackle the rising cases of chikungunya and dengue, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra along with BJP parliamentarian from North East Delhi Manoj Tiwari conducted fogging in Sonia Vihar area of Karawal Nagar.

Earlier on Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain held a review meeting with the officials of all the civic bodies and health departments, saying, "We are not satisfied with the fogging supposed to have been done by the North, South and East municipal corporations. There was a need to carry out fogging in the whole of Delhi."

Stating that there was no need to panic, Jain stated that the Delhi government hospitals are fully capable of providing proper treatment to the patients.

The Lt Governor also urged all stakeholders to make all-out efforts to check dengue and chikungunya cases.

"I appeal to all to rise above political considerations and fight the menace unitedly. Historically, in emergencies, people have come together and fought. That is what is required now," he said.

The Delhi Government asserted in the High Court that fewer number of dengue and chikungunya cases were reported in the national capital this year compared to last year.

According to hospitals, the patients were also suffering from diabetes and kidney ailments.

Municipal Corporation data said the number of dengue, chikungunya and malaria infections stands at 1,158, 1,057 and 21 respectively.

According to the civic bodies, the highest dengue cases were reported in 2015 with a total of 15,876 people infected by the vector-borne disease with 60 deaths.

Health experts have said there are more chances for the elderly to succumb to chikungunya due to their low immunity levels.

Terming the process as trigger mechanism, experts  treating chikungunya, dengue and malaria patients, also categorically stated that no one dies of chikungunya, but if a person has a history of a chronic disease then it may get aggravated or reactivated by the chikungunya virus, leading to death.

"It's all about the immunity level. Though chikungunya cannot kill someone it can trigger the problems of an old chronic disease. In case an elderly patient suffering from kidney or cardiac disease gets chikungunya, then there are chances of the kidney and the cardiac disease to become severe, leading to death, as immunity level is very low then," Sumit Ray, who heads the critical care unit at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told IANS.

Dengue

With dengue claiming seven more lives here in Uttar Pradesh capital in the last 24 hours, the toll in the city stands at 68 on Thursday. The government claimed things were "under control" although there was panic among patients.

At least 63 new patients were admitted on Wednesday and 216 tested positive for dengue in the Elisa test  confirmatory pathological test for dengue, an official of the health department told IANS.

More than 1,000 cases were reported from various parts of the city.

The latest deaths included that of Deputy Director of the Social Welfare Department M.P. Singh, who passed away at the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences on Wednesday.

The state health department claimed that the situation was "by and large under control" although people alleged that even basic preventive measures  fogging and spray of anti-larva pesticide  was not carried out.

The designated malaria wing of the health directorate is reportedly ill-equipped and short of manpower to take on the spread of vector borne diseases, said insiders.

There was only one person for every five lakh population, who sprayed pesticides on a bicycle.

West Bengal has reported the highest number of dengue deaths in the country so far this year with the figure till August end standing at 22, Union Health Ministry has said on its website. Dengue deaths in West Bengal this year is up from 14 in 2015 when Delhi had earned the distinction of recording the highest number of deaths due to the disease at 60.

A list on the website of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme under the Directorate General of Health

Services of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed that 5,129 dengue cases were reported in West Bengal

till 31 August.

According to the last figure given by state Director of Health Services Biswaranjan Satpathy, West Bengal has 23 dengue-related deaths with 5,639 people affected by it from January to 31 August.

Several calls to state Health Minister Sashi Panja, health secretary and DHS over this figure went unanswered. West Bengal is followed by Odisha and Kerala, both recording nine deaths each. Karnataka so far has registered six deaths due to dengue, while two people died in Delhi till 31 August, the website said.

There have been 60 dengue deaths with 27,879 dengue cases reported from different states and union territories in the country so far this year. There were 220 dengue deaths and 99,913 cases of the vector-borne disease last year, it added.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: A 60-year-old woman with a cardiac problem died in a hospital in New Delhi after contacting chikungunya, taking the death toll from mosquito-borne disease to 14, officials said on Thursday.

The woman was admitted to the Shalimar Bagh Fortis Hospital with sepsis and cardiac problem, hospital sources said.

The woman had tested positive for chikungunya on Sunday. She succumbed to her deteriorating health condition on 11 September.

So far, Delhi has witnessed the death of 13 people who had tested positive for chikungunya.

Doctors say all those who died had been suffering from some chronic diseases, including kidney ailment and diabetes, which got aggravated due to the chikungunya virus.

Ganga Ram Hospital and Indraprasthan Apollo Hospital have reported five deaths each due to chikungunya and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences two deaths. One person died in Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

The death toll due to dengue has also risen to 14, with nine new cases reported by AIIMS on Thursday.
A scholar, statesman, educationist and perhaps the most celebrated engineer in India, Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was the embodiment of everything a country needs to strive for a better future.

This year will mark the 48th Engineers Day celebrations in India, held in commemoration of Visvesvaraya's 155th birth anniversary.

Visvesvaraya played many parts in his life and the day is marked as a remembrance of his achievements and spirit of progress.

Born on 15 September 1861 in the village of Muddenahalli in the Kingdom of Mysore (now in Karnataka), Visvesvaraya lost his father, Srinivasa Sastry, when he was 15. Following his death, Visvesvaraya moved with his mother Venkatalakshamma to Bangalore where his maternal uncle H Ramaiah lived.

At Bengaluru, he was admitted to the Wesleyan Mission High School in 1875. Later he joined the Central College from where he graduated with distinction. He then moved to Pune to join the College of Science to study engineering, where he passed his engineering examination in 1883, standing first. He specialised in Civil Engineering.

Visvesvaraya took up a job with the Public Works Department (PWD) of Bombay (now Mumbai) and was later invited to join the Indian Irrigation Commission.

As part of his usual work in the Public Works Department he was engaged in road construction, maintenance of public buildings and laying out plans for city developments, in many important towns.

The Block System of Irrigation, a scheme prepared by Visvesvaraya, was a big achievement. The scheme was prepared at the instance of the President of the Indian Irrigation Commission, 'to make irrigation works in the Bombay Presidency more popular and profitable and yield a reasonable return on the outlay that Government had incurred on them.'

During his stay in Bombay Presidency he came in close contact with men like Mahadeo Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915) and Bal Gangadhar Tilak(1856-1920).

He also designed and patented a system of automatic weir water floodgates which were first installed in 1903 at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune. These gates were first used at Khadakvasla dam to control the flood of the Mootha Canal flowing through Pune. The gates similar to the ones developed by Visvesvaraya were later used in the Tagra Dam in Gwalior, Krishnasagar dam in Mysore and other large storage dams.

Following the success and at the invitation of Nizam's Government Visvesvaraya took up the appointment of the Chief Engineer at Hyderabad in 1909. Here, he designed a flood protection system to protect the city of Hyderabad from floods, and subsequently earned a celebratory status, reports The Hindu.

Later the same year, Visvesvaraya joined the Mysore Service as Chief Engineer. After three years of his services as the Chief Engineer, Visvesvaraya was appointed as Diwan of the Mysore State by its ruler, Krishnarajendra Wodeyar. Visvesvaraya served as Dewan for six years.

Visvesvaraya received India's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955 and was also knighted as a Commander of the Indian Empire by King George V for his myriad contributions to the public good.

With inputs from agencies
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"What will happen if peace-loving Kannadigas take revenge?''

"Is it okay if we retaliate in Bengaluru. How will Jayalalithaa react?''

"In Karnataka, we also have Tamils and Tamil Nadu registered vehicles. Amma, be warned.''

The lines got blurred in Karnataka. Who am I? A pro-Kannada activist indulging in arson on the streets of Bengaluru? Or a Kannada news channel reporter, on the Bengaluru-Mysuru road, with arson taking place in the backdrop? Or a news anchor?

Over the past one week, Kannada news channels have delivered news on the Cauvery crisis in default sub-national jingoistic mode. Almost as if the activist and the journalist signed an MoU to set Karnataka on fire together. One physically, the other verbally and visually. The vernacular television journalist chose to wear his Kannada identity on his sleeve and his microphone.

During a press conference on Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had pointed out that he was aware of the role played by the electronic media. "Please cooperate in the interest of the state,'' he had said, without going into specifics.

"As a journalist, I am embarrassed,'' said Sugata Raju, editorial director of the Asianet group, that publishes the daily Kannada Prabha and broadcasts Suvarna News, a Kannada news channel. "Instead of disseminating information, TV channels became agent provocateurs.''

This over-the-top approach was similar to how national channels deal with news related to Pakistan. With political shelling across the Cauvery, the Pakistan-like treatment fitted into the narrative of "our" Karnataka taking on "enemy" Tamil Nadu across the 'River of Control.'

Kannada channels said they are not entirely to be blamed as Tamil Nadu media started it first. On Saturday evening, an engineering student from Tamil Nadu was assaulted by a group of activists of a fringe group called Yuva Karnataka. The student had posted memes on Facebook ridiculing Kannada film stars for taking part in Karnataka bandh on Friday. The footage went viral on social media.

A few Tamil channels played up the incident all day on Sunday. The footage of the assault was provocative, only adding to the Tamil-Kannadiga divide. And as feared, it ignited a reaction. Late on Sunday night, petrol bombs were thrown at New Woodlands hotel in Chennai and a Kannadiga driver assaulted in Rameshwaram on Monday.

Kannada channel editors said on Monday morning when the Chennai and Rameshwaram incidents were being reported, came the order of the Supreme court, extending the period of disbursal of Cauvery water till 20 September. Some of those manning the newsrooms in the 11 Kannada channels in business said, it was akin to "sprinkling salt on Karnataka's wounds''.

"What is happening is a natural corollary of regionalism,'' said HR Ranganath, chairman and managing director of Public TV. "The constituency of the channels is Karnataka, not pan-India, the perspective obviously is different from say, a national English news channel.''

The hoodlums who ruled the streets in north and south-west Bengaluru on Monday too were indulging in competitive arson. At times like these, getting two minutes of airtime is like new-found reputation and helps in the business of extortion. The TV clips on their smartphones became digital proof of thuggery that were encashed later. And some TV cameras in the quest for footage of "exclusive" vandalism were unfortunately more than willing to play accomplice.

"It is a competition between channels on who is showing more violence. Every such clip of human misery and economic loss is labelled exclusive,'' said Hemantha Kumar, senior journalist.

"Karnataka was being incited by rabble-rousers sitting in TV studios to defy the Supreme Court order. Our fraternity has bungled. I am very angry about it,'' he added.

The problem was also with wrong information being put out deliberately. A little after noon on Monday, many Kannada channels had started flashing that Section 144 was being imposed in Bengaluru. The police clarification that it was not the case came much later, but by that time the damage had been done. Bengaluru was in panic. What was worse was the manner in which the flash was justified.

A Kannada news anchor is reported to have explained it thus: "We voluntarily reported that prohibitory orders have been invoked with the intention of preventing riots in Bengaluru. But the police went and clarified that they had not done so. What does one make of their sense?''

The language used by journalists during the reportage also came in for criticism. As opposed to calling them "hoodlums" and "vandals", those indulging in destruction of private property were called "activists" on vernacular media, as if they were being complimented for fighting for a social cause.

As the day progressed, more and more people tuned into news on the television but soon revulsion began to set in. Pawan Kumar, a filmmaker put out this status message on his Facebook page: "Turn off your televisions, talk to your family, sleep, write a poem or count the ants. STOP WATCHING NEWS.''

Bengaluru resident and brand communication expert Smitha Sarma Ranganathan called the media headlines on regional channels "caustic and furthering regional divides''. "I tune in to a channel to get the latest update, not to hear coloured perspective of news anchors,'' she said.

But even as there is condemnation for the falling standards and for restraint not being a virtue in the newsroom, the fact remains that in a TRP-driven market, the 'rival channel is showing the violence footage' becomes the yardstick to jump the traffic signal as well.

Faced with criticism of having fanned the violence, editors pointed to the anti-Tamil riots over the same Cauvery issue in Bengaluru in 1991 in which 28 people died. Where was TV then, they asked.

The fact is that while TV channels did cross the line, the damage was caused much more by WhatsApp messaging. "Only a fool will think people are influenced by TV news,'' said Ranganath.

"TV is inside the home, not for people on the streets. At best, a person watching the news may feel outraged and shout at home. The hooligans on the street consume content on WhatsApp and Facebook.''

It is this unregulated, unedited content that is delivered to your smartphone in a personalised manner that is far more dangerous. Television news at least has some gatekeeping, even if it has proved to be largely irresponsible in this case, but WhatsApp journalism has none.

However, in many cases, it is the provocative content on TV news that comes alive in its avatar as WhatsApp forwards.

"On the wall, TV may be a dead machine but phone gives it life. The virtual privacy that is created in the manner a WhatsApp video message is delivered to an individual on his handset gives it credibility,'' said Raju.

While senior editors responsible for newsroom operations in real time either took the call to deliver news in hyperventilating mode or were too close to the events unfolding to be able to do otherwise, the government also bungled in not reining them in soon enough. The Karnataka police did not crack the whip and the advisory from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry only came the next day.

Next Thursday, the ratings for TV channels would be out for this week. If the most screechy and shrill channels win the TRP race in the Kannada news market, balanced and unbiased journalism would have lost the battle. It would also expose the hypocrisy of the viewers that while they criticise the nature of coverage, a majority of them in fact, choose to consume the same combative content.

PS: While the Kannada channels have come in for flak, Hindi news channel ABP News became the butt of jokes, thanks to this ticker, which announced that the Cauvery crisis is a fight over water between Karnataka and Bengaluru.
New Delhi: As a doctor working in a Mohalla Clinic in an urban city like Delhi, Alka Choudhary could not just sit tight when she came to know of a pregnant woman who was being treated medically by a quack in her vicinity. She persuaded and warned the expecting woman about the perils of being ill-treated by a professionally unqualified person and convinced her to visit the nearest government health facility.

It is a daily battle waged by doctors in the Mohalla Clinics opened by the Delhi government in the poverty stricken areas of the city  to educate uninformed patients about the dangers of being treated by quacks, or jholachap doctors as they are more commonly known. Even as the Delhi government plans to expand the network of such clinics, from 102 in numbers to 1,000, these fake doctors continue to risk the lives and health of the commoner in the

"As a health practitioner I am not empowered by any law of the land to initiate action against quacks or jholachap doctors. But counselling patients not to attend their clinics is something that we have made part of our daily routine. Number of patients visiting such clinics have drastically fallen as a result of it, but some still continue to visit them, said Choudhary, doctor in-charge of a Mohalla Clinic at the Peera Garhi slum in Delhi.

The Mohalla Clinics in Peera Garhi and Patparganj see up to 400 patients every day, but that has not been enough to put the quacks operating in those areas out of business. It is seen as a strange phenomenon in Delhi by medical professionals, where many patients from poverty stricken areas pay up to Rs 30-40 per visit to a quack, in spite of the fact that they are entitled to free diagnostic tests, medicines and doctors advice at the mohalla clinics.

Looking for a quick fix and the tika

People in these areas are mostly daily wage earners. They have to join work the very next day when they fall ill. Quacks play into their necessity, Choudhary said.

It is suspected that the quacks use steroid injections on patients to give them a sense of fast relief.

We exactly do not know what medicines they use on patients. But many patients say that people suffering from fever are often pushed injections which give them a sense of relief. It is suspected that those are steroid injections, which could have a dangerous impact on the patients health and life, she said.

city.

Additionally, as Basit Nazar, who is a doctor and works in another mohalla clinic points out, the steroid injections could flare up some dormant infections and could also lead to the patient's death. Prolonged use of steroids could lead to weakness in bones and could also damage the kidney. But many of the patients, who are treated with steroid injections by these quacks, are completely unaware of the consequences.

Pawan, a vegetable seller suffering from fever since the last two days, says that he has been successfully treated by a jholachap doctor. Though he has not recovered completely, he is able enough to continue his work as the doctor had treated him with a tika  the Hindi word slum dwellers use for an injection.

His complaint against the mohalla clinics is that they are not good enough for fast relief, since they dont use the tika. Hence, looking for a quick fix, he decided against proper medical care. Pawan further adds that the treatment in a clinic of a jholachap doctor is convenient for him as medication there starts as soon as he steps in, and that he does not have to wait for any results of diagnostic tests.

Girish Tyagi, registrar of the Delhi Medical Council  a body that had served hundreds of closure notices to such illegal clinics recently, says that the quacks are infamous for providing patients with wrong and often fatal treatment. They continue to treat patients even without knowing what the root disease is, only treating for the symptoms.

Quacks play upon the slum dwellers yearning for fast relief, especially when the slums in Delhi are struck with viral fever, malaria, dengue and chikungunya in the rainy season.

Lopsided distribution of health facilities

Gudiya, a mother of four children, nowadays visits the mohalla clinic for the medical care her family needs instead of the jholachap doctors clinic she used to visit earlier. But she says that the people living in the Peera Garhi locality are left with no option other than visiting the jholachap doctors at night time, since there is not a single doctor available in the Peeragarhi locality after work hours.

We sometimes see saviours in these death merchants. For they are the only ones whom we can rest our hopes on in case a medical emergency arises at night, said Kalpana, another resident of the locality.

The same Delhi, that boasts of its world class health facilities, is highly ineffective in increasing the outreach of health care as most of the infrastructure is located in posh localities of the city, leaving vast poverty stricken areas like Peera Garhi unattended by any healthcare professional.

The Delhi Medical Council uploaded a list of 40,000 registered medical practitioners working in Delhi to its website in 2009. Interestingly, in the same year, the Association of Medical Consultants came up with a study that stated that there are an equal number of quacks in the city.

The proliferation of mohalla clinics in slums has definitely made a difference, by striking a balance in the number of health facilities between slums and posh localities of the city. But due to lack of awareness, many slum dwellers still continue to visit these quacks.

The only hope for now, as the doctors suggest, is the dissemination of healthcare information from the mohalla clinics in the slums.
Besides the Aedes Aegypti mosquito  the main culprit behind the spread of chikungunya  somebody from the human species too will have to stand up and take responsibility for the chikungunya outbreak in the national capital.

Who is going to own up the failure to prevent this civic disaster that has claimed 12 lives till date  will it be the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government, the Centre or the citys municipal bodies?

While political war of words continues over the outbreak of vector-borne disease that has virtually taken the shape of an epidemic, the residents of Delhi are at the receiving end.

Even after 12 deaths and an exponential surge in the cases of chikungunya, which has crossed the thousand mark, the government and the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) have been claiming that theres no outbreak and people neednt panic, as the situation is "under control".

The question thats doing the rounds in the national capital is  who will finally deal with the menace  the Centre, the Delhi government or the municipal corporations of Delhi (MCDs)?

What the Centre says?

Addressing a press conference after a review meeting on Wednesday, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said the Centre has assured the Delhi government of providing every kind of support to combat the crisis.

As chikungunya has always been a dominant issue in Delhi, the central government has issued 11 advisories and conducted three video conferences on vector-borne diseases with state health ministers, including Delhi. The urgent need is to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. Both government and individual citizens have to ensure that there shouldnt be any water-logging and accumulation of garbage in any area or home, said Nadda.

I have spoken with Delhis Health Minister Satyendra Jain and he told me that the Delhi government has been working as per the protocol. Ive assured him of all kind of support from the Centre. There is no dearth of medicines and testing facilities. Following the deaths of chikungunya patients, we have asked for a detailed report from Delhi government, he added.

What Delhi government says?

Immediately after returning from Goa, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain in a press conference claimed, There is no outbreak (of chikungunya). It has been created by you (media) by spreading panic. We had made all the preparations to deal with any outbreak situation four-five months ago, but the Delhi government-appointed health secretary was suddenly transferred by the L-G. And, the new health secretary appointed by Najeeb Jung has been given a 15-day leave at a time when dengue and chikungunya are on the rise. This has paralysed our health system.

While, Jain slammed the three BJP-led MCDs, another senior official in Delhi government told Firstpost, Whos responsible for keeping the capital clean, free from garbage and ensure no water-logging takes place? Its the MCDs, but they have failed in their duty. It has resulted in the breeding of mosquitoes, as fogging machines dont work.

What Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957 says?

Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957 clearly mentions that its the primary responsibility of the MCDs to keep the city clean of garbage. These municipal corporations get funds from Delhi government to tackle vector-borne diseases, the official added.

According to Delhi governments Department of Health, following measures have been taken to deal with vector-borne diseases:

- Additional 1,000 beds for fever patients have been dedicated in Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital and Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital.

- Dedicated fever clinics in 26 hospitals, 262 Delhi government dispensaries and 106 mohalla clinics.

- DHS Control Room established with helpline number 011-2230 7145 for public assistance.

- Directions to hospitals to prepare a platelet registry and maintain adequate blood supply in blood banks.

- Dengue task force constituted.

- Inter-sectoral coordination and review meetings with local municipal bodies and departments concerned.

The ground report suggests that residents in a large number of localities have severe grievances against the condition of cleanliness and unhygienic condition prevailing in south, east and north Delhi.

In my family of six, four have been suffering from chikungunya. The drains in our area are overflowing as the sewer lines are choked due to garbage. Its a breeding ground for chikungunya and dengue mosquitoes. Theres hardly any cleaning or fogging by MCD in this area, complained Rajeeb Das, a resident of Govindpuri in south east Delhi.

A shopkeeper near Max Hospital at Patparganj quipped, Over the last fortnight the dirty water with foul smell from septic tanks has been overflowing on the street, but theres no one to take care. Is our municipal body listening?

What MCDs say?

MCD South mayor, Shyam Sharma alleged that there had been a constraint of funds as Delhi government didnt provide funds meant for school education, health, community hall, etc.

Every responsibility is that of the Delhi government. The municipal bodies are under the jurisdiction of state government and not the Centre. But, the AAP governments only job is to tell lie and level false allegations against everyone from President, PM and L-G to MCDs. They dont give us fund. We diverted funds from other heads to buy fogging machines and 12 mobile dispensary vans. Were not called in the meetings. Instead of tackling the situation, Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers are either travelling abroad or to Punjab and Goa. Hardly 10 days ago, the Delhi government put up billboards displaying photos of Kejriwal and a mosquito to create awareness. Why waste money in advertisements? he questioned.

Despite lack of funds, the MCDs have been trying its best to clear garbage from streets, pay sanitation workers and simultaneously combat spread of vector-borne diseases in Delhi. While, the entire city has been reeling under chikungunya and dengue, the CM never had time even for an hour to visit any hospital to take stock of the situation, Sharma told Firstpost.

MCD East mayor Satya Sharma said despite allegations against the MCDs, its they who have been actually performing the field work.

Instead of allegations and counter-allegations, its time for all of us to work united and combat chikungunya and dengue outbreak for the betterment of Delhi public. Even, if we have to divert funds from other heads, well do it for the purpose, she added.
Amid raging feud within the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday announced that he would take out a 'Samajwadi vikas rath yatra' (chariot march) from 3 October.

The 'chariot ride', which he will take in a special van, would allow Akhilesh to make contact with people in all parts of the state and highlight the achievements of the government, an SP strategist said on Friday.

Assembly elections are due in the state early next year.

The entire programme was chalked out by a young team of party leaders that is coordinating with the chief minister's secretariat for dates and other logistical support, including security.

Akhilesh had also held a state-wide 'rath yatra' ahead of 2012 Assembly elections in which his party had won a clear majority, enabling him to become the youngest chief minister of the state.

He had held the previous rath yatra in 2011, during which he had covered around 5,000 km across UP. According to an earlier report in The Hindu, the 2011 yatra was dubbed then as a "yatra for political change in Uttar Pradesh by ousting the corrupt' and inept' Bahujan Samaj Party regime".

Akhilesh Yadav had actually used a bicycle to travel the rural areas and the places where the motorised rath could not reach.

Even after he became a Member of Parliament for the first time in 2001, Akhilesh had undertaken a bicycle yatra in the state, which had marked his entry into politics.

In fact, it was SP supremo and Akhilesh's father Mulayam Singh Yadav who had taken out a Kranti rath, gifted by former Haryana CM Chaudhary Devi Lal, back in 1987, said the report.

Akhilesh had made a lot of promises in the 2011 rath yatra ahead of the 2012 Assembly polls.

Attacking the then CM Mayawati, Akhilesh had alleged that the then Mayawati government was corrupt and was responsible for the bad law and order situation in the state. "The CM (Mayawati) stopped the Rs 20,000 which the SP government used to give to an intermediatepass girl under the Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojana. Our government also used to give Rs 500 a month to unemployed youth. Mayawati diverted these funds to her parks. It was your money. If you bring the SP to power, the schemes will be restarted," an earlier India Today report had quoted Akhilesh as saying in 2011.

It is ironic that the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government in Uttar Pradesh now faces similar allegations. The government is today held responsible by many Opposition leaders and groups of people for the law and order situation, which is still bad in the state.

Akhilesh's current rath yatra will also be launched as the party is mired in controversy after an open fight broke out between CM Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav and broadcasted the fissures within the family.

However, SP leaders are trying to reach a compromise. Ramgopal Yadav, SP national general secretary and Mulayam's cousin, met Akhilesh in Lucknow on Thursday in a bid to defuse the situation after the CM stripped his uncle and cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief.

"Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP)," Ramgopal, who is known to be close to Mulayam's son Akhilesh, told reporters before the meeting.

"He (CM) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal). Some misunderstanding has taken place and there is nothing more to it," he said.

He asserted that there is "no crisis" in Samajwadi Party.

"Many times some decisions are made due to which people feel that there is some problem in the party. There is nothing like that. This happens in all parties in different situations," Ramgopal said.

With inputs from agencies
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi reached Allahabad on Thursday as part of his month-long Kisaan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh to kick-start the partys campaign for the Assembly elections.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's Kisaan Yatra in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) pic.twitter.com/K6VVoPd4Fv  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Rahul continued to direct his barbs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav while in Allahabad.

Our PM is playing with the trust of the people, he said during his rally.

Humare pradhaan mantri Narendra Modi logon ke bharose se khel rahe hain: Rahul Gandhi in Allahabad pic.twitter.com/RGitwBxhob  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Even in Mirzapur, Gandhi on Wednesday accused Modi of being busy globe trotting while the farmers of the country were facing problems.

"Modi has waived off loans of Rs 1.10 lakh crore of industrialists but we will be waiving off the loans of poor farmers," he had said.

He did not spare Akhilesh and remarked on the ongoing fued in the Yadav clan."Tyre of the cycle is already punctured, yesterday Akhilesh Yadav ji threw the wheel out, he said.

Referring to the Samajwadi Partys symbol of a cycle, he added Chunav say kuch maheene pehle Akhilesh cycle theek karna chahtay hain, voh toh hogi nai (Just months before the elections, Yadav wants to repair the cycle.

Akhilesh should have removed the defects from the cycle four-and-a-half years back. Now with elections hardly six months away, what does all this mean?" he asked the farmers at his Mirzapur rally.

Senior Congress leader Javed Urfi told The Times of India that the party has done a lot of groundwork during the yatra.
Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging think tanker, aspiring novelist, "tribal elder", parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, Speedboat, proudly banned from Twitter so officially more dangerous than the Taliban, eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday told CNN-News 18 that the controversy over former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin getting bail has been created by the BJP and the media and the matter should be decided only by the courts.

He refused to comment on the action that the Nitish Kumar government is planning to take against Shahabuddin and said that it has been created by the media.

Won't comment on reports on Nitish govt challenging Shahabuddin's release, it's all media's creation: Lalu Prasad Yadav to @maryashakil  News18 (@CNNnews18) September 15, 2016

Lalu Prasad had earlier ruled out any signs of "turmoil" within the ruling grand alliance of the JD-U, RJD and Congress; he asserted that Nitish Kumar is the leader of the mahagathbandhan.

Meanwhile, after facing criticism from all quarters, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government is likely to challenge the bail granted to Shahabuddin in the Supreme Court soon.

"The state government has decided to appeal against the Patna High Court bail to Shahabuddin in the apex court," an official told IANS.

A ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader close to Nitish Kumar said the decision was taken in the wake of protests by the Opposition over the release of Shahabuddin. He also dismissed allegations that the government have been "soft on Shahabuddin," who was released from jail after 11 years.

"It is wrong and baseless to say that the state government was soft on Shahabuddin. His release is part of a judicial process, politics has nothing to do with it," he said.

Shahabuddin, who was released from on bail four days ago in connection with the murder of a witness in the killing of two brothers in Siwan, said on Tuesday that whatever action the Bihar government wants to take, including invoking the Crime Control Act (CCA) against him, he will live by his rules.

"Sarkar agar CCA lagana chahti hai to lagaye, lekin mai apne tarike se jeeta hun (If government wants to invoke CCA against me, it can but I will live as per my style)," Shahabuddin told the media while meeting his supporters.

The BJP has demanded that CCA be slapped against the former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP.

With inputs from IANS
The Yadav brother who has always sided with Akhilesh has finally stepped in and assured that the problems between the Yadavs won't last for too long.

Ramgopal Yadav, who according to reports reached Lucknow to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday, said that there is no crisis in Samajwadi party at all, "there is no sankat or rift."

There is no crisis in SP at all, there is no "sankat" or rift: Ram Gopal Yadav in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/nEsgDpzYaE  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Its natural for a CM of state to take some decisions on his own, some differences arise in minor point those can be resolved: Ramgopal Yadav  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Ramgopal did not shy away and hinted that Amar Singh (bahri log) are taking advantage of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

There was just a little misunderstanding, nothing else. I will meet UP CM, ask him what he meant about "bahri logh": Ramgopal Yadav  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

There are some people who take advantage of Netaji's simplicity, and these people dont have party's well being in mind: Ramgopal Yadav  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

There are some people who take advantage of Netaji's simplicity, and these people dont have party's well being in mind: Ramgopal Yadav  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Ramgopal also said Akhilesh and Mulayam are likely to have a meeting in the coming days.

They (Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Yadav) can have a meeting tomorrow or day after: Ramgopal Yadav,SP pic.twitter.com/OGjIFF0q3d  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Ramgopal, while accepting that a chief minister should have been taken into confidence before being asked to step down as UP party president, hinted that a compromise formula is being worked out by SP to iron out differences between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal.

Reports also said that Mulayam Singh Yadav will convene a parliamentary board meeting on Friday in Lucknow. "A recipe of disaster" is how many channels described the ongoing tussle in SP, especially with the crucial Assembly polls merely three months away.

As all the key leaders in SP rushed to damage control, Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra, a close friend of Amar Singh and Shivpal, also met Mulayam in Delhi on Wednesday. According to The Times of India, Akhilesh has stopped all communication with his father and uncle.

Matter escalated on Wednesday when after meeting the party supremo Mulayam Singh, Shivpal told him that he was being painted as a villain despite following orders. Shivpal, who is the younger brother of Mulayam, reached Delhi to meet the party chief at his official residence. In his over four hour long meeting, Shivpal told Mulayam that in the past four-and-a-half years, he has followed the party supremo's directions despite having a difference of opinion on certain issues, according to PTI.

Sources close to Shivpal said he gave examples that as a senior minister in the Akhilesh government, he never publicly opposed the decisions taken by Akhilesh or Mulayam even though he may have expressed a difference of opinion to them in private.

Later talking to reporters, Shivpal, however, rejected suggestions that there were differences within the party and the Yadav family. "Neither I nor Netaji (Mulayam) is angry. We all are happy... There are no differences," he said.

He also said that the decision on Cabinet portfolios is the discretion of the chief minister. "But Netaji has decided to appoint me as the party's state unit chief. My role is to bring back SP to power in next polls. I will fulfil my responsibility...I will not resign...I am still part of the cabinet," he said.

News18 however reported that there are chances that Shivpal might get his portfolios back. News18 also reported that there was a chance that Akhilesh could be made the party national president.

Akhilesh, with his youthful appeal and his promise of the SP turning over a new leaf, had played a major role in convincing the UP electorate that the lawlessness, which marked the SP's earlier tenure between 2002 and 2007, would be a thing of the past.

With Assembly polls inching closer, Akhilesh has been concentrating on sprucing up the image of his government and recently overturned the decision of his father on the merger of the Quami Ekta Dal (QED).

Shivpal was said to have shepherded the merger of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari's QED with Samajwadi Party.

When Akhilesh publicly nixed the merger Shivpal felt he was publicly humiliated by his nephew.

QED, an eastern UP-based political party is headed by ex-SP MP Afzal Ansari, who is the elder brother of Mukhtar, now in jail in connection with the murder of a BJP MLA.

Akhilesh was adamant that the merger be called off because he wanted to maintain his clean image, once he had sought to establish by opposing DP Yadav in the party before the 2012 Assembly polls. His stand had won the party political mileage after it had lost power in 2007 on poor law and order, a matter snowballing into a major poll issue this time too.

Fearing that these issues might damage SP's electoral prospects, Mulayam has of late been quite critical of corruption and land grabbing by some ministers. This prompted the chief minister to sack two of them  Mining Minister Gayatri Prajapati and Panchayati Raj Minister Raj Kishore Singh  recently in an exercise to come out as "Mr Clean".

The image of his government took a hit so much so that BJP president Amit Shah kept saying at public meetings that UP is run by three-and-a-half CMs  Akhilesh, Shivpal and Mulayam, besides Azam Khan.

Recently, Mulayam gave a stern warning to Akhilesh that the party would split into factions if Shivpal chose to walk away after the senior cabinet minister threatened to resign claiming that his repeated pleas to root out corruption was going unheeded.

Analysts say fragmentation of the vote bank will be of no help to the Yadav clan. As of now, all eyes are on Mulayam, who is huddled in a meeting with senior party leaders in Delhi for a patch-up between "chacha-bhatija (uncle-nephew)".

The internal tussles within the SP have also given fuel to opposition BSP to target it.

BSP chief Mayawati recently urged the Election Commission to declare the state elections early  by January-February next year, arguing that the family feud within the ruling SP and "jungle raj" in UP would lead to chaos in governance in coming months and cause difficulty in holding "independent, impartial and peaceful" elections in view of "infighting within the first family".

With inputs from PTI
It has now been revealed that Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, in a fit of anger, sacked his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav from the post of Uttar Pradesh president for the party and ordered that his brother, Shivpal Yadav, be instated with immediate effect.

More so, the man who guided the mighty Mulayam Singh Yadav or Netaji to take this decision, which unleashed a civil war in the ruling Yadav clan, was none other than the "outsider" Amar Singh. In effect Mulayam only did what Amar Singh wanted him to  unceremoniously remove son Akhilesh from the most important organisational post in the party.

In doing so, he wanted to go for a shock and awe effect, leaving no time for Akhilesh to react or have an opportunity to resign. The bare minimum courtesy was not followed by Mulayam in case of his son, who rules the country's most populous state.

These revelations were made by Professor Ram Gopal Yadav, Rajya Sabha MP, Mulayam's brother and Secretary Parliamentary board of SP, in an unusually candid interview to ETV. It was the kind of interview where a ruling party leader bares all secrets, to the extent possible, about the internal strife within the Yadav clan.

Akhilesh too, on Wednesday, had made a mention of an "outsider interfering" in family matters, in an apparent reference to Amar Singh.

Incidentally, as the secretary of the Parliamentary board of the party, it was Ram Gopal Yadav who had signed on the SP supremo's order for the removal of Akhilesh Yadav and the appointment of Shivpal Yadav. But he says that he had no option.

The manner in which a straight and terse order came from Netaji to him over the phone, to promptly issue the letter, there was no chance of an argument, logical reasoning or clarification.

The moment Ram Gopal Yadav conveyed the message to Akhilesh  that his father had called the former five minutes back to order his removal in an angry and agitated tone  it set off a chain reaction.

Ram Gopal painted Amar Singh as the villain who, according to him, is using his proximity to Mulayam and the latter's "simplicity" to take undue advantage of the situation, which is detrimental to the party's interests. It's a different matter though that it does not paint Mulayam Singh Yadav in good light either.

Netaji comes off as a leader who cannot differentiate between good and bad; someone who keeps flip-flopping on his stand; and as someone who can easily be tricked into doing things in haste by someone he trusts, only to repent later.

"Netaji is a simple-hearted person in politics, even though he has built his party up from the scratch. Some people (read Amar Singh) have been taking undue advantage and those who kept abusing the party and even Netaji, now get him to do things that they want," Ram Gopal told ETV.

Ram Gopal went on to narrate how, despite the resistance and distaste of all concerned, Mulayam used his unquestioned authority to re-induct Amar Singh in the party and make him a Rajya Sabha MP, on a party ticket.

On being asked a question about Amar Singh professing his commitment to Mulayamvad and not Samajwad, Ram Gopal responded by saying that it was a manifestation of his thought that, "party bhad me jaye (let the party go to hell)...Kaise waqt me raita faila diya...agar koi dhikare aur apmanit karke hata de (Akhilesh's removal as state party chief) toh uska tatkalik reaction ho jata hai, baad me pachtana pade." Ram Gopal hoped that it was time Mulayam took action against him.

It is interesting to note that Ram Gopal did this plain speaking first at a press conference and later in greater detail in an interview with ETV, after meeting Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Ram Gopal is a known Akhilesh backer in the ruling Yadav clan.

Another powerful leader, Azam Khan, who happens to be the Muslim face of the party too came out in the open to make it known that he had opposed Amar's candidature for Rajya Sabha.

But if one thought that Amar had got isolated and that Mulayam could be forced to act against Singh, one would be mistaken. The family feud in the Yadav family has gone too deep to rest all the blame on the controversial Rajya Sabha MP, who had only recently returned to the political mainstream from oblivion.

But there is yet another twist in the saga.

Minutes after Ram Gopal expressed his all pervasive anger against Amar Singh and reflected on Akhilesh's hurt, another man in the eye of the current family storm, Shivpal Singh Yadav, held a structured press conference and effectively negated Ram Gopal's assertions on Amar.

"Sabko jodne se sangathan majboot banta hai...party me har tarah ke log hone chahiye (an organisation gets strength by adding one and all. Party should have all kinds of people). This is election time and we should all remain united so that no questions are raised on us," Shivpal said.

It seems that now Amar has become the proxy through which salvos would be fired from either side.

Shivpal's take was equally interesting. To a pointed question on how he regarded Akhilesh's position as chief minister and whether he would like to see Mulayam replace Akhilesh as CM, Shivpal's response was loaded and open to interpretations:

"He has been made CM by the organisation and as such that is acceptable to me. As of now, Akhilesh is the chief minister. My current task is to attain majority in the elections and as per the questions raised for the (CM), a call will be taken after we get the majority mandate, " Shivpal said.

Interestingly, Shivpal was opposed to Akhilesh's elevation as chief minister in 2012 and does not appear to have changed his outlook yet.

Till Tuesday evening, Shivpal held 10 ministries and had control over nearly half of the budgetary allocations of the UP government. His profile has now been reduced to minister of social welfare, relief and rehabilitation.

Mulayam is reaching Lucknow later on Thursday evening. Rounds of meetings will start thereafter but it's important to note that the father and son have not spoken in the past few days, nor have the minister chacha and the chief minister bhatija (Akhilesh and his uncle). Trust Amar Singh to keep the pot boiling.
New York: The Hillary Clinton campaign has released updated health information for the Democratic presidential candidate. Her doctor wrote in a letter that she had a "mild" and non-contagious form of pneumonia and remains "healthy and fit to serve as president".

Clinton's doctor, Lisa Bardack, wrote on Wednesday that she was recovering from her pneumonia. She is "recovering well with antibiotics and rest," after she became overheated, dehydrated and felt dizzy at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City on Sunday.

The statement said she was treated with an antibiotic called Levaquin, which was prescribed for 10 days.

Clinton's doctor said she is "healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States".

Clinton's physician also found that the remainder of the Democratic candidate's complete physical exam was "normal" and she is in "excellent mental condition".

Clinton's aides say she'll return to the campaign trail on Thursday.

Clinton's collapse on Sunday was captured on video, which went viral. Its release followed speculation that the candidate had broader health issues, rumored to be why she spent most of August campaigning in private.

There was also conjecture that the Democratic National Committee was considering replacement candidates, from vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine to current Vice President Joe Biden.

Questions were also raised about how contagious her pneumonia was, with Clinton seen in close contact, talking with others, especially a young girl that day.
Afghanistans president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani's working visit to India is taking place at a time when the Taliban has been stepping up attacks across the country and Kabuls relationship with Pakistan is becoming increasingly bitter. As Afghanistan faces threats from the Taliban and as foreign secretary S Jaishankar put it, those "on the east" of the country, there were expectations that India would provide more helicopters and other military hardware.

But there was no direct reference to military aid though during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ghani; terrorism was on top of the agenda.

Although Pakistan was not mentioned by name, the reference in the joint statement issued after the talks, was obvious.

Stressing that elimination of all forms of terrorism, without any discrimination, is essential, they called upon the concerned to put an end to all sponsorship, support, safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists, including for those who target Afghanistan and India.

The two leaders discussed the regional situation and expressed grave concern at continued use of terrorism and violence in the region for achieving political objectives. They agreed that this phenomenon presented the single biggest threat to peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond.

Ghani arrived on Wednesday morning and met with Modi for consultations on bilateral and regional issues. The disussions carried on over a working lunch at Hyderabad House. Briefing reporters after the talks, Jaishankar said that the talks were warm as the two leaders who have met eight times so far have a level of "ease and comfort" with each other. Their countries also share "strategic convergence" and much of this is because of the threat both India and Afghanistan face from terrorism emanating from the region.

One billion dollars

New Delhi announced another billion dollars of aid for future development assistance. The projects have not yet been identified but the funds will be used for schemes that will touch the lives of the common citizen. Indias developmental assistance to Afghanistan, amounting to over $2 billion in the past, has been warmly appreciated by the people of Afghanistan.

Three agreements were signed during the visit, including an MoU on peaceful uses of outer space, which could give information for agriculture and weather patterns to farmers, an agreement on cooperation in civil and commercial matters and an extradition treaty.

Wheat

India had promised to provide 1.7 lakh tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan to ease the shortage the country was facing. However Pakistan has so far not allowed the wheat to transit through. Delhi, which also provides substantial amounts of medicine and other pharmaceutical products to Afghanistan, hopes to increase the number of flights from India. These will help to transport medicine. The transit issue came up during talks between the two leaders and with it the need to make the Chabahar port link operational as quickly as possible. India and Afghanistan will also cooperate in solar energy.

Joining the Dots:

Although few details were shared about defence cooperation, Jaishankar referred to the joint statement and asked reporters to "join the dots" when asked about defence ties: "Both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to counter terrorism and strengthen security and defence cooperation as envisaged in the India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement." He said capacity building, security and defence cooperation are the dots that need to be linked.

He also pointed to the recent visit of Afghanistans chief of general staff to India. Clearly the government does not want to spell it all out at the moment. It is likely that more attack helicopters will be provided. Three were given before Modis visit to Kabul in December last year. India has two sets of trilaterals with Afghanistan. One is between India, Iran and Afghanistan the other is between India, US and Afghanistan. In these trilaterals, both economic, political and the changing security situation are discussed.

India was the first country with which Afghanistan had signed a defence pact, called a strategic partnership agreement, in October 2011 during former president Hameed Karzais tenure. Pakistan was opposed to extending the Indian footprint in Afghanistan and was especially wary of military ties. Even Karzai, a leader who did some blunt talking to Pakistan, was cautious after signing the deal with India. He told reporters in Delhi "This strategic partnership is not directed against any country, this is to support Afghanistan." And what surprised all was his reference to Pakistan as a 'twin brother'.

Apart from taking in Afghan officers for training in Indias defence colleges, there was little more to the defence partnership. The UPA government did not provide the helicopters and other defence equipment that Karzai needed at that time. The US and Nato allies were at that time backing Pakistan in the hope that Islamabad would bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. The West encouraged and praised India for its development work in Afghanistan, but New Delhi was not encouraged to do any more, because of Pakistans strong objections. Disillusionment with Pakistan and the Talibans reluctance to come for talks has changed the situation on the ground.

India under Modi is likely to be much more willing to give the Afghan National Army a helping hand with equipment.
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Sony has launched a new 10,000mAh power bank (CP-SC10) and a new charger (CP-AD3) with fast charging support offering maximum output of 3.0A. The power bank has USB Type-C ports. Both these comes with USB Type-C cable.

The 10,000mAh power bank can charge two Type-C devices concurrently with its dual USB Type-C ports at a combined output of 6.0A. The CP-SC10 also allows for pass through charging for users to charge both the portable charger and USB Type-C device at the same time. It has four LED light indicators to know the charge left.

The power bank is manufactured using Sonys Hybrid Gel Technology so the lithium ion polymer battery can provide up to 1,000 charges in a lifecycle. The charger is also able to retain 90% of its battery capacity after 1000 charges, said Sony.

The Sony 10,000mAh USB Type-C power bank (CP-SC10) comes in Grey and Gold colors in India and is priced at Rs. 5,990 (MRP). The Sony USB Type-C AC Adaptor CP-AD3 comes in White color and is priced at Rs. 2,390 (MRP).

These are available across Sony Centers, major electronic stores and E-Commerce portals from today.
After Airtel, Vodafone India has announced that it will increase PoIs (Point of Interconnect) between the company and Jio by thrice and accordingly increase the capacity to connect, following guidance from TRAI.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently told Indias leading telecom providers and Reliance Jio Infocomm to resolve the contentious interconnect issues among themselves and also said that it would intervene if the quality of service declines and consumers suffer.

Vodafone India has always provided Points of Interconnect (PoI) to other operators for all their fair, reasonable and legitimate requirements and will continue to do so, said the company.

Earlier this week, Airtel announced that it will provide additional PoIs (Point of Interconnect) to Jio, making the total number of PoIs 3 times the present number of PoIs.

Vodafone also said that it is hopeful that all issues that it has raised with TRAI and Jio will be duly considered and resolved at the earliest.
Investors looking at Big Oil companies are typically looking for one thing: A steady, income-paying investment in the energy industry. Over the past couple of years, they've been let down, as many companies have seen their share prices decline 16% to 40% ever since oil prices started to drop in earnest back in July of 2014.

If there's one thing investors should know about the energy industry, it's that it is highly cyclical. The current oversupply will eventually give way to undersupply. With that in mind, it seems now is a good time to invest in Big Oil companies. Today, three that stand out as attractive investments are ExxonMobil (XOM 2.93%), Total SA (TTE 0.96%) and BP plc (BP -0.24%). Here's a quick look at why these three look attractive today.

Still got it after all these years

There is a reason that ExxonMobil has remained solidly at the top of the oil and gas industry for as long as it has: It is probably the best capital allocator in the business. It is constantly looking to cut costs and increase returns on invested capital, and it has the foresight to invest through the cycle that so many seem to overlook.

A great example of this was the news story that for the first time in years ExxonMobil didn't replace all of its production in 2015 with new reserves. Financial pundits and media personalities were quick to give their hot takes that ExxonMobil was losing its edge as a company. Yet so far this year, it has announced the results of a major discovery -- the Liza well off the coast of Guyana -- and an acquisition -- the $2.5 billion purchase of InterOil -- that have combined recoverable resources in the 2.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This is more than enough to replace this year's production and cover any shortfalls it had this past year. Even more promising is that the company still has plenty of potential at just these two sites. The area of the exploration block where the Liza well discovery took place is equivalent to the size of Maryland, and the recoverable reserves from InterOil only count two of the company's five exploration sites. These are just a couple of examples of the things that ExxonMobil is working on that should ensure its future success.

With the best balance sheet in the business, a stable record of exploration and development to keep the company chugging along for decades, and its track record of high returns; ExxonMobil still has its fastball. That makes today's shares trading at 2.1 times tangible book value -- near the lowest valuation in over 20 years -- look pretty attractive for long term investors.

Well positioned for today's (and tomorrow's) market

Based on the most recent results from Total and the strategic plan that its management team has put out over the past couple years, it appears that Total is set up best to succeed among the Big Oil companies. The company's large spending push to complete several projects was 2015 and 2016, and it has allowed the company to more quickly respond to the drop in oil prices with cuts to capital spending than the others. It also helped that the completion of those projects over the past 18 months or so have mostly been lower cost sources that have not just increased production, but have been decently profitable in today's low cost oil environment.

So while being decently profitable is a big plus, this big wave of project completions does not mean that the company's growth is going to stagnate. Total's management projects that it will increase total oil and gas production by 4% annually between now and 2019, so there is still plenty of room to grow in the next few years, and that doesn't include the major Al-Shaheen contract it won a couple months ago that will add another 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of very low cost production.

Total may not have the reputation that ExxonMobil does, but it does appear to have a very bright future ahead of it. To top it all off, shares look very attractive today with a dividend yield of 5.8% that is a nice cash payment to wait for the oil and gas market to return.

Not the safest bet, but could be a big payoff

I'll admit that BP is by far the most speculative of these three picks. The company is still grappling with its Gulf of Mexico spill and litigation related costs that won't be going away any time soon, and the company has struggled for many years with maintaining a balance between cash generation, capital spending, and dividend payments. If we start looking toward the future, though, there are some signs that things are getting better, and it makes today's share price look semi-attractive.

Every integrated major oil and gas company has an identity to some degree. BP's was that it was deeply rooted in hierarchy and that it was difficult to enact the necessary changes to its cost structure. Recently though, CEO Bob Dudley has done a lot to change that. Today, the company is much more selective about its growth projects and focuses more on higher return production and modest growth rather than lower returns for faster growth. Also, as a means to give the company some more operational flexibility, it has internally spun off its lower 48 US operations -- basically, the part of the business that is pursuing shale -- such that it has the freedom to allocate capital as it sees fit rather than work through the entire BP structure. This could be very helpful for the company as, as we have seen, shale production has a much faster development cycle than deepwater and other traditional oil sources. The ability to more quickly respond to market conditions in this business segment could be helpful in the long term.

Overall, though, the important thing is that these moves are leading to lower operations costs and more prudent capital allocation; something BP has needed for years. Based on these new initiatives, BP's management estimates that it should be able to cover its capital spending and dividend payments with oil in the $50-$55 per barrel range in the coming years. If it can fully execute on this plan, then today's share price and the 7.2% dividend yield that comes with it could be promising.
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For the past four years, Wells Fargo (WFC 1.53%) was the most valuable bank in the United States. But that's no longer the case. Thanks to fallout from an unfolding scandal, Wells Fargo's market capitalization has now been eclipsed by JPMorgan Chase (JPM 1.19%).

Wells Fargo's current market cap is $237 billion. That's down from just under $300 billion in August of last year. JPMorgan Chase, meanwhile, has seen its own market cap temporarily settle at just over $240 billion.

The fact that Wells Fargo was ever able to exceed JPMorgan Chase in terms of market value, much less to stay in the lead for nearly half a decade, is impressive when you consider that JPMorgan Chase is a much larger bank. At the end of the second quarter, JPMorgan Chase had $2.5 trillion worth of assets on its balance sheet. Wells Fargo stood at only $1.9 trillion, a third smaller than JPMorgan Chase.

Given their respective sizes, you'd be excused for wondering how it was possible for Wells Fargo to be worth more than JPMorgan Chase. The answer is that its shares traded for a higher multiple to book value. In August 2015, Wells Fargo's share price topped out at 1.8 times its book value per share. That compares to JPMorgan Chase's valuation which briefly topped out at 1.2 times book value around the same time.

Thus, while JPMorgan Chase was approximately a third larger than Wells Fargo when it came to the size of their balance sheets, Wells Fargo's valuation was roughly a third bigger than JPMorgan Chase's. The latter had tipped the scales in Wells Fargo's favor when it comes to market cap.

Wells Fargo's decline can be traced to the recent revelation that thousands of its employees fraudulently opened as many as 2 million deposit and credit card accounts for customers without customers' knowledge or content. Chairman and CEO John Stumpf intimated in an interview on CNBC that this figure represents accounts that "couldn't be ruled out" as being fraudulently opened. Regardless of the number, this was allegedly done in order for the bank's employees to keep their jobs in the face of unreasonably high sales quotas.

In the wake of this revelation, Wells Fargo's shares have dropped much more than its peers, including JPMorgan Chase. For instance, here's how shares of the nation's eight systemically important banks have performed this month:

The takeaway here is one that Wells Fargo's largest shareholder knows better than anyone. As Warren Buffett has opined in the past: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."
This is destined to be the first presidential election to be determined, not by which candidate voters like, but by which candidate voters hate. Its not a question of who you support, but whether youre a #NeverTrump or #NeverHillary fan. While strange, thats not the strangest aspect of this election cycle.

For the first time I can remember  and Ive been around longer than Im willing to admit  corporate executives and business leaders are openly displaying their utter contempt for the candidate they love to hate.

All good intentions notwithstanding, Im way too cynical to believe theres not a smidgen of peer pressure, approval-seeking, grand-standing and disingenuous self-promotion going on here, especially among the anti-Trump crowd. In some circles, youre almost an outcast if you dont openly declare your hatred for Donald Trump.

From my purview here on the far left coast, business leaders are generally reluctant to show open disdain for the Democratic candidate, lest they be labeled a card-carrying member of what Hillary Clinton calls the basket of deplorables, meaning Trump supporters who are racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.

It should come as no surprise that few CEOs are willing to risk losing customers by being branded a [fill in the blank]-ist or -ic in these politically correct times. While the Republican nominee has plenty of executives in his basket of deplorables, only a handful  Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens and Peter Thiel, to name a few  are rich and powerful enough to admit it.

Its telling that, in a recent TV interview, noted tech journalist Kara Swisher came right and said that everybody she talks to  and she knows pretty much everyone whos anyone in Silicon Valley  is against Trump. Except Thiel, that is. Now you know why the examples Im about to serve up are all #NeverTrumps. It isnt me.

Citing Trumps immigration reform policy  notably the wall hes promised to build between the U.S. and Mexico to keep illegal immigrants and drug traffickers out  Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz said he feels compelled to pledge $20 million in an effort to defeat the Republican nominee. He apparently likes inclusiveness  as long as it doesnt include Trump.

Serial entrepreneur Amit Kumar actually launched a #NeverTrump voting app that determines which of your contacts are in battleground states and automatically sends them messages reminding your buddies to get out and vote on election day.

Why did he do it? Kumar considers Trump an existential threat to immigrants like he and his wife. Never mind that they both became U.S. citizens the legal way, which Trump supports. Wonder if all the PR his startup Trimian is getting from promoting the app has anything to do with it. Nah.

Back in July, 145 tech elites came out against Trumps candidacy in an open letter that made no mention of Clinton whatsoever. Again, they seemed motivated primarily by Trumps stance on immigration and non-PC rhetoric. Never mind Silicon Valleys well-documented white-maleness and age discrimination issues. Hypocrisy at its best.

One venture capital firm, CRV or formerly Charles River Ventures, has apparently taken this to extreme, adding a bright red overlay to their homepage with F-Trump in bold white letters, although they were more explicit about it. While that may seem remarkably low brow for a VC firm, there might be more to it than you think.

The VC game has become highly competitive and it isnt easy for a relatively small, early-stage firm like CRV to get attention and gain access to hot opportunities. A particular issue is that the firm is based in Cambridge, Mass., while the vast majority of highly coveted deals are on the opposite coast.

Two years ago, the company made a strategic move to rebrand as CRV  presumably, as I would guess, to hide the Charles River reference and promote its Silicon Valley branch, even though it has just four partners there. The firm also appears to be trying to make a name for itself as an immigrant-friendly investor. Aha.

In a recent TV interview, general partner George Zachary said that half the firms portfolio companies are founded by immigrants. He also said that they came up with the idea for F-Trump during a strategy meeting. Funny how this PR campaign just happens to align perfectly with their rebranding effort. Coincidence? I dont believe in coincidences.

Look. Americas immigration system has been broken for decades. Trumps policy deals with national security, illegal drug trade and resolving the problem of millions of undocumented workers in low-paying jobs. As I see it, that has nothing to do with what all these business leaders seem to be up in arms about. But then, looks can be deceiving.

Is it possible that smart CEOs and VCs cant tell the difference between legal and illegal immigration? Doubtful. Much of this anti-Trump rhetoric, in my opinion, is a load of disingenuous nonsense. Its duplicitous and hypocritical. Its more hateful and divisive than anything Trump has said. These people shouldnt be looking at Trump. They should be looking in the mirror.
Social media has essentially become the air we breathe online. It's where customers increasingly spend more of their time, with social applications challenging browsers as the entry point through which users interact with the web. Businesses need to know absolutely everything they can about each prevalent social networking appfrom social ground rules and how customers are using the platform to all of the different features and data of which your organization can take advantage to engage its social audience.

LinkedIn is the social network that's most synonymous with business. According to the company, LinkedIn has more than 450 million members, including 40 million students and recent college graduates. Whether you're part of a small to midsize business (SMB) or a large enterprise, LinkedIn can be your Swiss Army Knife. Rolled into the website are a content publishing and sharing platform, messaging, and networking, as well as a human resources (HR) platform that combines a job board, recruiting, applicant tracking (AT) tools, and more.

LinkedIn also offers a social listening gold mine of customer and marketing data, not to mention all of the ways the platform will evolve now that it's under the Microsoft bannerfrom software and services integrations to building out a one-stop business communications and productivity platform. Microsoft didn't set a new social media acquisition record for no reason: the tech giant spent $26.2 billion to snatch up the "social network for professionals."

Content Creation and SharingOn the laundry list of features and functionality in LinkedIn, creating and publishing LinkedIn-specific social content is the first things users see (but this is probably one of its least compelling features from a business perspective). That said, the way to make the most of the news feed and your company page updates is to follow the same golden rules of content creation as those for Facebook. LinkedIn gives you more flexibility of content types than do Twitter or Instagram, so your LinkedIn post queue should be a combination of short updates and long-form articles (LinkedIn has a "Write an Article" option when creating new posts). Attach images and videos whenever possible to make your posts more engaging.

The long-form article optionwhich opens an intuitive LinkedIn Publishing article creation interface that's similar to Mediumis also a good way to give company blog posts or promotional content published elsewhere a new life on social. Republishing a blog post or article excerpt on LinkedIn, with a link to the source material, makes a static blog post inherently more shareable; it can help kickstart some social buzz on a great piece of content your business has had trouble promoting. Don't sleep on SlideShare either, the web-based virtual presentation app that's similar to Microsoft PowerPoint which LinkedIn acquired in 2012. SlideShare is another easy, built-in way to diversify your content, particularly for online presentations and webinars.

More importantly, make sure that LinkedIn marketing content is tied directly to your company's sales goals and customer relationship management (CRM) strategy. Your company's social media team and salespeople should be in sync on key performance indicators (KPIs) for your brand and the type of engagement you're looking for from target audiences, and should keep an eye on daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Check out PCMag's social media marketing checklist for more information on this.

Groups and NetworkingLinkedIn Groups have long been a favorite way for businesses and marketers to find and engage targeted audiences and prospective customers, be it through creating your own group or joining and becoming an active member and networking in other groups. If you already have an active community around your brand, then a LinkedIn Group can be a great place to start discussions and create a more engaged audience. A few tips: Use keywords in the group title to help it surface in LinkedIn's organic search, take advantage of the weekly email feature to keep group members up to date, and designate the group as a Featured Group that you can highlight on your company page.

We won't spend too much more time on groups, but it's worth going over the golden rule if you plan on joining other groups and using them as marketing outreach and promotion for your business. Particularly if it's an invite-only group, don't spam it. Start discussions and participate in conversations but add value as a member beyond just pushing your brand. If a targeted audience of LinkedIn users would benefit from the resources and services your business provides, then tell them. But be a brand ambassador, not a shill. There's also a standalone Groups mobile app (as part of LinkedIn's app bundle) available.

Groups are a great networking tool in that way but they're far from the only useful way to use LinkedIn to facilitate connections. Integrations with services such as Evernote allow you to use LinkedIn as the bridge between analog networking and digital connections. Using the Evernote Scannable app, business cards scanned with Evernote can pull data from LinkedIn's database, with a new note scanned for each card including contact information, a photo, and a link to their profile so you can follow up right away with a connection request.

Job Boards and RecruitingOf all the LinkedIn tools for businesses, maybe none is more valuable than its role as an all-in-one HR and recruiting tool. LinkedIn's Job Board includes more than 6 million listings, but for businesses the LinkedIn Talent Solutions suitewhich includes LinkedIn Recruitermakes up the bulk of the company's revenue, and for good reason. LinkedIn Recruiter typically costs around $8,000 per seat depending on organization size, so it's not cheap. The value is in the unlimited access it gives recruiters to anyone in the LinkedIn database, plus advanced search filters and custom candidate profiles. Most importantly, it gives you a built-in AT pipeline if LinkedIn is your company's primary recruiting ground, including reporting and analytics on the your recruiting team.

LinkedIn also has a handful of other apps and services on the HR front. LinkedIn Referrals is also part of the AT pipeline; it allows employees in your organization to suggest LinkedIn connections for the right open roles, share jobs, and track the hiring process. The LinkedIn app bundle also includes Lynda.com, the online learning website acquired in 2014 for $1.5 billion. Lynda.com offers more than 4,000 online courses, a standalone Job Search app for job seekers, a Lookup app serving as a company's HR intranet to search for coworkers on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn Students, which helps companies tie recruiting more closely in with specific colleges. Soon-to-be grads can see suggested jobs based on their education, a list of companies that have hired from their school, and profiles of recent alumni with their major. For entry-level recruiting, businesses should factor the school-specific outreach facilitated by LinkedIn Students into their recruiting strategies.

Prospect and Lead EngagementThere's a lot you can do with LinkedIn when it comes to marketing and engagement. But the first thing your business needs to get a grasp on is how to research prospects and leads. LinkedIn's database pulls in every piece of identifiable information and content about a user, but tapping into the right information means you need to ask the right questions. At a macro level, you can use the LinkedIn Economic Graph to identify larger demographic trends such as geography and job type to tailor marketing campaigns. But at a micro level, it means everyone in your organization should be perpetuating an inbound marketing strategy by actively posting, updating, and engaging with other users. Make sure all of your employees have their accounts associated with your company page.

How do they go about performing inbound engagement on LinkedIn? Sending messages and InMail on LinkedIn without the feeling that you're spamming your prospect is a tricky proposition. But Brent Johnson, PCMag's modern marketing columnist, laid out seven steps to ensure you're not overpaying for InMails that don't get you anywhere. While response rates on marketing messages in LinkedIn will never be through the roof, taking the time to chat with a LinkedIn prospect and provide them some useful content before diving into a pitch can lead to more sales success.

Marketing Research and Database MiningBeyond the base lead identification and targeted marketing efforts, LinkedIn also allows you to do much deeper dives and take full advantage of its marketing database gold mine. Johnson's aforementioned column goes into all of the means of data mining, customer research, and prospecting available through LinkedIn. The column starts with the most straightforward features: the "People Also Viewed" widget on the right-hand side of a user profile.

A marketing manager or salesperson who is combing through LinkedIn for leads should research your current customers and prospective clients through the "People Also Viewed" feature; this allows them to hone in on similar roles to target within different organizations. The LinkedIn Economic Graph can help here, too, but the true data mining value lies in LinkedIn's advanced search filters. Beyond "My Network" and "People You May Know," advanced searches allow marketers to add not only kewords but companies and job titles for a more complex query. If your organization has paid for a Premium membership, you can begin to build Boolean-level listening queries that incorporate function, company size, interests, associated groups, seniority level, years of experience, and other more granular metrics that tie in every other aspect of the platform into one, high-powered search tool.

The Microsoft FactorMicrosoft has begun to reveal some of its plans for LinkedIn, but there's a lot we still don't know about all of the software, services, and data possibilities of the acquisition. For starters, businesses and users should begin to see services such as Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Skype integrated into the LinkedIn experience.

Beyond that, LinkedIn has the potential to become the front-facing social hub for Microsoft's converged vision of business and productivity. Microsoft's productivity suite could become natively available content creation and sharing tools within the social network. The company could tie all of the AT and HR functionality of LinkedIn Recruiter in with Microsoft Dynamics or make LinkedIn credentials as ubiquitous as Facebook for one-click login across Microsoft services. In the next year or two, we'll begin to see LinkedIn reshaped and enhanced in accordance with Microsoft's larger enterprise cloud strategy. If your organization is already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, then that could be very good for business.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Q. I dont think I have good investment choices in my 401K plan, but Ive always saved the max. Does it make sense to save to an IRA instead and put the rest in some other kind of account where I can choose the investments?  Analyzing

A. Theres a lot to consider here.

If your employer offers a 401K and will match a percentage of your contributions, you should definitely take advantage of it, said Lisa McKnight, a certified financial planner with Lassus Wherley in New Providence.

She said most employers offer a matching contribution up to a certain percentage of your salary.

For example, if your employer will match your 401K contributions up to 6% of your salary, you should always contribute at least 6%, McKnight said. Thats equivalent to a 100% return on investment.

It would take years in an IRA to achieve that same 100% return, she said.

Over time, those contributions compound, leading to far more growth over the long term.

Next, consider taxes.

All the money you contribute to a 401K is pre-tax, she said. You are not taxed on that money during the year that you earn it. Rather, it is taxed when you withdraw it in retirement.

McKnight said in 2016, you can contribute up to $18,000 of pre-tax money to a 401K and if you are over 50, you can contribute an additional catch up contribution of $6,000.

She said saving to a 401K is easy and disciplined with automatic payroll deductions.

As you noted, in a company-provided 401K, you are limited to choosing among the investment choices, typically mutual funds, that the plan offers.

While your company may give you information about the funds, youll need to figure out which ones are best for you, she said. Since youre bearing all the risk, its important that you choose wisely.

McKnight said although you are limited to the funds within the plan, you do have control over which ones and the types of investments to use.

These should be based on your risk tolerance and investment horizon, she said.

She said your employer may offer tools to help you familiarize yourself with the risk/reward relationships. You will want to familiarize yourself with your choices.

There should be a few target date funds, stock and bond funds and blended funds, McKnight said. Within each of these categories, there should be a number of funds to choose from, each with a different investment strategy and level of risk.

If you do not feel comfortable choosing your own funds, then a target date fund may be the way to go.

Target date funds will align with retirement dates such as Target 2020, Target 2025, etc., she said These funds invest more conservatively as you near your retirement date.

Target date funds are great options for people who want to invest in a fund that will automatically adjust the overall risk level as they near retirement, McKnight said.

Even if you end up investing in a target date fund, you may still want to invest in some other funds to further diversify your portfolio, she said.

There are funds that focus on a wide variety of different investments, all with differing levels of risk. You will likely have options that include funds that focus on international stocks, emerging markets or real estate.

If you are more of a do-it-yourselfer and want to choose your own funds, she recommends you look for index funds.

Most plans will have a handful of index funds.

Index funds are style specific, low cost and track the performance of various indexes, such as the S&P 500, Russell 2000 or the EAFE, McKnight said. If your plan offers several low cost index fund choices, perhaps an S&P 500 or total stock market index fund, an international stock index fund and a bond index fund there is enough variety to serve as the core of a diversified portfolio  the division of your funds between stocks and bonds.

If you are stuck with choosing from investment options consisting only of actively managed funds, she suggests you pick the ones in each asset class with the lowest expense ratio.

Avoid all funds that hit you with a sales charge, she said.

Additionally, you will want to avoid company stock, she said. Some companies encourage the purchase of company stock in 401K plans, and they may even make matching contributions in company stock.

McKnight said you should avoid purchasing company stock.

You are already invested because you depend on your company for your paycheck. It would be a financial blow if your company went out of business and you lost your job, she said. Dont compound that risk by adding company stock to your 401K plan.

Now lets look at IRAs.

McKnight said if you have a poor 401K plan and your employer does not make any matching contribution, you may want to consider participating in a self-directed plan such as an IRA or Roth IRA, or you can save to both.

She said you dont have to choose between an IRA and a 401K as long as you are qualified and you heed contribution and income limits.

Be aware that there are restrictions with IRAs and Roth IRAs such as contribution and income limits.

If you are able to participate in an employer-sponsored plan, then the deductibility of your IRA contributions will be subject to income limits, McKnight said. If your income is too high, you cannot deduct contributions.

In 2016, your ability to deduct contributions to a traditional IRA begins to phase out if you earn more than $61,000 as a single tax filer or $98,000 if youre part of a married couple filing jointly.

Roth IRAs do not provide a tax deduction for deposits, but allow you to withdraw money tax-free in retirement, McKnight said.

There are income eligibility limits starting at $116,000 for single taxpayers and $183,000 for married couples filing jointly. Those with earnings less than the income limits are eligible to deposit up to $5,500 into an IRA or Roth IRA in 2016. Those age 50 and older are able to deposit up to $6,500 in their account for the year.

Those above the income limits can still contribute up to the maximum to an IRA, but lose the ability to deduct the contribution, she said.

One drawback of an IRA is that it doesnt offer the same level of creditor protection as a 401K plan, McKnight said.

Another downside of IRAs is that the onus is on you to vet investment options, she said.

Most 401K plans offer a limited number of investment options, whereas with an IRA you are open to a much larger universe of investments, she said. It is your responsibility to vet and choose wisely.

McKnight recommends you be aware of high fees and avoid higher-priced commissionable products. Your IRA may end up being more expensive than it needs to be.

Despite these restrictions, an IRA does offer more freedom of where you want your money to go, McKnight said.

Both are great tax-advantaged ways to save for retirement.

Regularly contributing to either one is a great way to grow your investments for retirement. The more you contribute, the more your assets can compound over time, she said. You should strongly consider maxing out your contributions, especially if they are eligible for an employer match.

McKnight suggests you consider the following:

1. If your employer offers a company match, then first fund your 401K up to the point where you get the maximum matching dollars.

2. Direct the next investing dollars to an IRA  a traditional IRA for upfront tax deductions or to a Roth IRA to get a tax break in retirement when you start making withdrawals.

3. After maxing out the IRA, return to your 401K plan to take advantage of the higher contribution limits and the higher current year income tax break.

More from Credit.com

This article originally appeared on Credit.com.

Karin Price Mueller is an award-winning writer and money expert. She's the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com, a new website that offers smart and objective advice on everything money. She also writes the Bamboozled consumer affairs column for The Star-Ledger. Mueller has won several national and local journalism awards, including nods from the Society of Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), the New Jersey Press Association (NJPA) and the Financial Planning Association. More by Karin Price Mueller
Two of the worlds largest farm suppliers  Bayer, a German drug and crop chemical maker, and Monsanto (NYSE:MON), the worlds largest maker of genetically modified seeds  announced a $66 billion mega-merger Wednesday that could potentially reshape the worlds food supply.

This deal is a disturbing step in the corporate consolidation of our global food supply. Monsanto owns approximately a quarter of the worlds seed supply and Bayer is one of the worlds top 10 chemical companies, Megan Westgate, director of the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit group aimed at getting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) labelled, tells FOXBusiness.com.

GMOs have been a controversial topic for decades and account for 75% of conventional processed foods currently in the U.S. And, according to Consumer Reports, 72% of Americans says they try to avoid buying them when they shop.

GMO crops dont offer any consumer benefits, and they pose a lot of risks. The public is increasingly demanding food that has not been genetically engineered or sprayed with chemicals, adds Westgate.

And, major food corporations are changing to keep up with consumer demand. Last year, Campbells Soup (NYSE:CPB), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Mars, Kelloggs (NYSE:K) and ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) all announced they will label GMOs on their products.

GMO has evolved to be a top consumer food issue reaching a critical mass of 92% of consumers in favor of putting it on the label, Campbells CEO Denise Morrison said in a statement.

Now food activists are worried that this merger could result in more genetically modified crops in an already over-saturated U.S. market as well as other countries around the world that have banned or partially banned the seeds. There are at least 26 countries, including Russia, Italy, Poland, Greece, France, Hungary and Australia that have bans in place.

This new mega corporation could now own one-fourth of the combined global market for seeds and pesticides. When a company verges this close to a monopoly of our food system, alarm bells should ring out all around the world, says filmmaker Daryl Wein, who directed Consumed, a dramatic thriller that explores the controversial world of genetically modified food.

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann tells FOX Business Anchor Liz Claman that this deal is extremely beneficial to not only shareholders but farmers too.

If you look at humongous challenges that growers are confronted with of having to produce evermore on limited acreage in order to feed ever-growing populations, our purpose is to bring better solutions faster to growers so they can increase yield and with that contribute to feeding a rapidly growing population, Baumann said.

Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant reiterated those sentiments to Claman.

I have been talking about this for yearsthat unlocking the innovation and bringing chemistry, seeds, biotechnology and data science together  I think that is a big piece for the future of this industry.

Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, a scientist and CEO of CytoSolve, Inc.  a biotechology company focused on developing therapeutics, nutraceuticals and functional foods  says this deal is a way for Monsanto, which is widely known as a controversial company, to hide under a more iconic brand.

It provides Monsanto an opportunity to hide within the cover of Bayers brand, known primarily to the public as the manufacturer of Aspirin  a far less dangerous brand equity than being known as creators of dangerous pesticides such as Round Up (Glyphosate) and untested GMOs, Ayyadurai tells FOXBusiness.com. I am not pro- or anti-GMO. However, our research shows that the current safety assessment standards for GMOs are non-existent.

"Last year, the World Health Organization classified Glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. So most GMO foods that you eat have been sprayed by a chemical that is likely to cause cancer," says Westgate.

Christi Dixon, a Monsanto spokesperson, says that GMOs are safe and identical to their non-GMO counterparts in terms of nutrition, taste and flavor.

In thousands of independent studies since the 1980s, not one health issue has ever been identified, Dixon told FOXBusiness.com last year.
Image source: Ritchie Bros.

One of the most exciting, albeit risky, developments for investors is when a company makes a significant acquisition. It's a quick way to grow the top line revenue through incremental sales, and also a way to juice the bottom line as companies strive to create synergies between the two and leverage the larger business scale. It's even better when the excitement helps drive up the stock price.

It's that general idea that should have investors of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA) thrilled, because after the announcement it would be acquiring IronPlanet in a deal worth $758.5 million, its stock jumped 23% on the day of the announcement, suggesting that this could be a great acquisition. Let's take a look at a few reasons this deal makes a lot of sense for Ritchie Bros. and its investors.

In this case, more is better

There are plenty of examples in life of when more isn't always better, but in this case, Ritchie Bros.' acquisition of IronPlanet should only improve the company's existing network effect. Ritchie Bros. operates in a fragmented industrial auction industry and its sheer size means it's more attractive to customers trying to sell its products quickly and efficiently. That, in turn, creates a larger pool of product that lures in the largest buyer base in the world.

It's a virtuous cycle, and one that sets Ritchie Bros. apart from smaller competitors and its acquisition of IronPlanet will only improve the impact of its network effect. Not only does the acquisition increase the size of Ritchie Bros.' network effect, but IronPlanet provides entry to new customer segments such as government and private label dealer auctions.

While the multitude of brands under Ritchie Bros.' umbrella are focused on different products with different auction specifications, they fit together like a puzzle.

Image source: Ritchie Bros. IronPlanet acquisition presentation.

The cat's out of the bag

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and its dealers own a minority position of IronPlanet, and after completing the acquisition, Ritchie Bros. will operate live on-site auctions for participating Caterpillar Dealers under the Cat Auction Services brand. The initial agreement is for a five-year term and calls for Ritchie Bros. to provide Caterpillar and its dealers access to proprietary auction platforms, software, and other services.

It's an alliance that makes a lot of sense as Caterpillar will gain access to very effective auction tools and a large global audience while Ritchie Bros. will become Caterpillar's preferred global partner for auctions with Caterpillar equipment, ensuring its global customers have more access to "best-in-class" equipment. It was the alliance between Caterpillar and IronPlanet that pushed the latter into its impressive growth phase, and that alliance will only be strengthened with Ritchie Bros. added into the mix.

Factors that shouldn't be overlooked

When a company is acquired, there are a number of small benefits that are easily overlooked. Sure, the expanding network effect is nice, but many investors miss the fact that Ritchie Bros. Financial Services can now be extended to IronPlanet customers as the two combine. Ritchie Bros. just recently announced it acquired the remaining 49% of Ritchie Bros. Financial Services, and as it expands the latter, it could become more impactful on the company's bottom-line earnings.

Another overlooked aspect is that IronPlanet's business will be positively impacted by Ritchie Bros.' more established tax planning. On the flip side, Ritchie Bros. stands to benefit from some of IronPlanet's tax loss carry-forwards. Both of those factors should help juice the bottom line.

Investors shouldn't forget that this essentially takes a threat to Ritchie Bros. and turns it into an opportunity. One of the knocks against Ritchie Bros. in the past has been that start-up companies such as IronPlanet could take market share quickly through innovative online-only auctions. Ritchie Bros. was working diligently to build out its online presence -- and as you can see below, to a decent amount of success -- but acquiring an innovator in online-only auctions will certainly accelerate that process.

Image source: Ritchie Bros. IronPlanet acquisition presentation.

Consider that IronPlanet brings an online database of more than 1.5 million users with bidder tracking and a network of equipment inspectors for equipment sold online. This acquisition will fit nicely into Ritchie Bros.' forward-looking strategy of online auctions.

The price is right

Looking at the specifics, Ritchie Bros. agreed to purchase 100% of IronPlanet at 13 times 2017 estimated EBITDA. Ritchie Bros. has said all along that it would aim for transactions that would be quickly accretive to earnings, and management expects this transaction to be accretive within the first year, excluding acquisition related costs.

As with any no-brainer acquisition, there are cost synergies to be realized after the deal is closed. Management expects annual synergies of about $20 million to be achieved by 2018 and that NPV of tax synergies will be about $100 million.

Fortunately, for investors concerned about the cost of the transaction, Ritchie Bros.' balance sheet was solid. In 2013, net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1 times and that level dropped to 0.6 times in 2014 and 0.5 times last year. Now, as Ritchie Bros. takes on debt to finance the purchase, its debt will jump from about $125 million at the end of the second quarter of 2016 to roughly $850 million when the deal closes in the first half of 2017. That would equate to a net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 3 times, which management believes will shrink back down to 2.5 times, the company's evergreen target, shortly thereafter.

Honestly, if you're invested in a company that has a solid balance sheet within a fractured industry, this is exactly the type of acquisition you want to see. It checks the boxes in just about every way: expands the company's online presence, enables annual cost savings and synergies, provides a key strategic partner in Caterpillar, and will quickly become accretive to earnings. For those reasons, it's no surprise Ritchie Bros.' stock soared on Tuesday.

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.

Daniel Miller has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
In this segment of theRule Breaker Investingpodcast, David Gardner offers up one of his favorite quotes from one of our cleverest Founding Fathers, whose pointed comment on why letting division would doom the American Revolution still applies in a host of ways to both politics and business.

A transcript follows the video.

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.

This podcast was recorded on Aug. 17, 2016.

David Gardner: All right, quote No. 2. Quote No. 2, we're going to stick with the 18th century. This is not a theme that runs all the way through this podcast, but for the first two, I'm going to go back -- in fact, for No. 2, it comes from one of my very favorite Americans. I'll first give you the line. Maybe you can guess who said it, and I quote: "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."

Well, that is a quintessentially American line. It was spoken in the Continental Congress just before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and it was spoken by Benjamin Franklin. And I just love that line: "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall hang separately."

And what I want to say about that is simply that there's a spirit of unity that's in that line that was obviously in our country, here in the United States of America, from its founding. And I think it's such an important spirit, as I think about today's world. Not just in America, not just about politics, but really about unity. We must, indeed, all hang together. That's such an important theme for our time. So often there are forces both political and often in the media, a lot of times, trying to pit people against each other, and I don't think it's very helpful.

One of the things I love about business is that commerce and trade -- we have to trade with each other. We make each other more prosperous when you specialize in your thing and I specialize in mine, and we buy and sell from each other. It's so much more efficient than the proverbial, if you've heard it, $1,200 chicken sandwich that sometimes you'll read about, where somebody actually tries to make a chicken sandwich him- or herself. For a few months, raising a chicken. Growing the bread. All of this, it costs about $1,200, which is a lot more than a chicken sandwich costs, even a very good one at a restaurant today.

When you find a place like a restaurant, or a chef who specializes in making chicken sandwiches, and you, on the other hand, can sell him or her your talent, that is such a great world, and unity, I think especially in 2016, is especially important. I'm always sad when I think about forces in our world that are designed specifically to divide people, that pit one group of people against another, when really, going back to the Greeks, part of what made the Greeks great -- I remember from reading my Edith Hamilton back in my schoolboy days -- is the Greeks understood, in contrast to other cultures up until the ancient Greeks, they looked for what was common in the spirits of all men. Of course, "men," there, gender inclusive. In the spirit of all of us. Looking for the things that brought us together, as opposed to things that separated us.

So thank you, Benjamin Franklin, and just like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Franklin and Rousseau just as true, just as wise a few centuries later.

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.
A Chariot shuttle bus and a Ford GoBike in San Francisco last week. Image source: Ford Motor Company.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) surprised investors with a pair of "mobility"-related announcements last week. It said it's buying Chariot, a crowdsourced shuttle-bus service, and that it will create a Ford-branded urban bike-sharing program in conjunction with bike-sharing leader Motivate.

If you've been listening to Ford CEO Mark Fields' recent statements around the Blue Oval's interest in "personal mobility," the purchase of Chariot makes some sense. But many investors were left scratching their heads over the bike-sharing thing. What does Ford, of all companies, want with bicycles?

It turns out the bikes have a lot to do with the shuttle buses. Read on.

How the bikes fit in with the shuttles

Jim Hackett is the CEO of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary created to "design, build, grow and invest in emerging mobility services." The LLC is a big part of Fields' plan to expand Ford's business into transportation services beyond traditional vehicle ownership. It's the entity that is buying Chariot and launching the bike service.

Hackett explained the significance of the bike-sharing service in a presentation to investors on Wednesday. But first, we need to understand what Chariot is about. Chariot is a shuttle-bus service that currently operates in and around San Francisco. Its buses run on routes that are crowdsourced, via requests made by rides using Chariot's smartphone app. Ford's vision for Chariot is that it will be expanded to many other cities as a lower-cost alternative to ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

So, here's the thing: The more information Chariot has about desired routes, the more efficient it can be. That's where the bikes come in. Here's what Hackett said:

Here's the key slide from Hackett's presentation that ties the bike-sharing to the shuttle service.

Image source: Ford Motor Company.

Long story short: The bike-sharing program is how Ford will sniff out potential new routes for its new shuttle-bus service.

Is this going to make any money for Ford?

Here's what Fields said on Wednesday about Ford's long-term targets for operating profit margins (emphasis added):

And here's what Hackett said a little while later about Chariot (again, emphasis added):

Long story short: Ford expects this new venture to be quite profitable. We'll know more as Ford's plans for Chariot unfold.

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.

John Rosevear owns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. 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.
According to court documents obtained by FOX411, Toby Willis was charged Friday with child rape after a relative accused the reality star of sexual assault.

The court documents reveal Willis has been ordered to stay away from his children and wife.

Willis wife Brenda released a statement Wednesday following her husbands arrest.

"I was shocked and devastated by the revelation of events leading to Toby Willis arrest," Brenda Willis' attorney said in a statement on her behalf. "As these are very trying times for the Willis family, I kindly ask all to respect our familys privacy. As a mother of twelve, my first priority remains with my children and helping them through this traumatic event.

"We are cancelling all appearances for the foreseeable future to focus on the children and their well-being. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We have, and will continue, to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials and ask that you direct all inquiries regarding Toby Willis case to the District Attorneys office who have our complete support."

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation charged the 46-year-old with one count of child rape after an investigation revealed a sexual encounter he allegedly had with a child in 2002.

He was arrested in Greenville, Kentucky where he had travelled to avoid arrest. He appeared in court on Monday without an attorney and did not oppose extradition. This means that the state of Tennessee has 60 days to bring him back to their state to face charges. Willis will be given an opportunity to enter a plea when he is formally charged in Tennessee.

"The Willis Family" premiered last year on TLC and follows Willis, his wife Brenda and their 12 children whose names all start with the letter "J." The family of entertainers first became known when they reached the quarterfinals on season 9 of "America's Got Talent" in 2014.

Before their TLC show, they had a reality show on GAC called "The Willis Clan."

"TLC did not renew The Willis Family and new episodes have not aired since April 2016. We are shocked to hear this news," the network told FOX411.
Hillary Clintons physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, on Wednesday released a statement describing the Democratic nominees illness as a mild non-contagious bacterial pneumonia, adding a CT scan had revealed a small right middle-lobe pneumonia.

Bardacks diagnosis led skeptics to question whether Clinton was, in fact, not contagious. Dr. Milton Wolf, a diagnostic radiologist running for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, tweeted Theres no such thing as non-contagious bacterial pneumonia. Thats pure fiction. Find a medical textbook with it.

Wolf is technically correct: non-contagious bacterial pneumonia" is not used in medical terminology. But there are bacterial pneumonias that are essentially non-contagious, experts who spoke with FoxNews.com said.

When we talk about pneumonia, we dont necessarily talk about whether its communicable or not unless its one of the diseases of great public interest, such as influenza, Legionnaires disease, and tuberculosis, Dr. Richard Wunderink, professor of pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern Medicine, told FoxNews.com. Its very important to report tuberculosis, but we dont even report if you have, say, pneumococcal pneumonia, the most common bacterial pneumonia, or mycoplasma pneumonia, another common bacterial pneumonia.

Wolfs comment is way too simplistic, said Wunderink, adding theres a debate in the scientific community over whether bacterial pneumonia is communicable. Unlike viral pneumonia, which has a clear correlation for example, a sick child comes home with a virus, and soon the parents have the illness as well that doesnt happen so much with bacterial pneumonia.

You dont see whole families getting pneumonia, said Wunderink. There is an increased risk, but its not as dramatic as it is with viral [infections].

With bacterial pneumonia, there is a significantly lower risk that superficial contact will spread. And even in a case of close physical contact, a bug that spreads to another persons respiratory tract doesnt necessarily mean it will develop into pneumonia.

Examples of non-contagious bacterial pneumonia include aspiration pneumonia, pneumonia following a procedure such as surgery within and around the lungs, and post-viral bacterial pneumonia, a secondary infection following influenza, according to Dr. Frank Esper, assistant professor in pediatric infectious diseases at Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital in Cleveland.

There is no test of whether a pneumonia patient is contagious. And pneumonia patients treated on an outpatient basis are typically not tested to determine the exact bacteria that caused their illness.

In fact, a study published last year by Wunderinks team, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that with a very aggressive diagnostic approach, researchers could not find the cause of 64 percent of patients illnesses.
An old-school form of discipline remains popular in Alabama. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has found that almost 19,000 children2.5% of the state's studentsgot paddled in public schools during the 2013-2014 school year, reports AL.com.

Boys get hit more than girls, and black children were paddled at a disproportionate rate compared to whites. It's a long-standing (and legal) disciplinary tradition in the state that locals don't seem terribly motivated to change: The National Education Association wants the practice banned, but the Alabama Education Association has stayed mumdespite the fact that it's illegal to paddle an adult in the state, per an opinion piece on AL.com.

UNICEF's "Violence Against Children" report doesn't exactly support paddling enthusiasts, noting that studies have linked corporal punishment to poor mental health, social issues, and academic problems.

And many educational and child advocacy groups, including the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, agree it's ill-advised. But a 1977 Supreme Court decision ruled corporal punishment was not cruel and unusual and that schools could decide whether to use itand in 1995, Alabama lawmakers gave public schools the right to do so.

Most of the states that allow paddling (21 states reported it in the 2013-'14 school year) are in the South.

This article originally appeared on Newser: Alabama Paddled 19K Students in One School Year
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NASCAR driver Danica Patrick may live life in the fast lane, but that doesnt mean shes thrown health and wellness out the window. In fact, the 34-year-old, who fills her Instagram with photos of homemade paleo recipes and yoga poses, is a driving force behind Healthy Mouth Movement, a campaign to promote dental health care with a special focus on veterans.

Patrick first learned of the campaign through her racing teams partnership with Aspen Dental. At the time there were talks of a MouthMobile, a 42-foot-long bright blue fully equipped dental office on wheels that would travel the country offering dental care to whoever needed it. Patrick was on board when the concept came to life and again when it changed directions.

The program started out with the Healthy Mouth Movement and the MouthMobile and donating free oral care, Patrick told FoxNews.com. What they found was that a vast majority of the people that were coming in for care were veterans, and so the focus then shifted in 2015 to help veterans because they were the ones in the most amount of need.

In 2015 the campaign partnered with Got Your 6, an organization dedicated to empowering veterans and strengthening communities by uniting veterans organizations and working to bridge the civilian-military divide. As part of that effort, Aspen Dental initiated the Smile 4 Your Service program, which is giving 1,000 veterans and guests a VIP experience at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 in Charlotte on Oct. 8.

Patrick will meet some of the guests before the race, which she counts as a perk of her partnership.

Their lives are changed, she said. Its really amazing to meet those people.

Since 2014, more than 7,000 volunteers have helped deliver more than $6 million worth of free dental care to nearly 11,500 patients across 33 states.

For more information, visit AspenDental.com.
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After giving birth on Sept. 18, 2011, Jara Herron was basking in the joy of motherhood, but 10 days afterward, as she went to pick up her newborn for nursing, a heavy weight overcame her chest, her left arm went numb, she vomited and, after screaming for help, everything went black.

Herron, 41, had only ever been in the hospital to give birth. This time, she found herself admitted to the ICU after suffering spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a type of heart attack that disproportionately affects young women without heart disease risk factors, and cardiogenic shock, a potentially deadly condition wherein the hearts pumping function fails.

She was on deaths door, Dr. Tom Kalapura, an interventional cardiologist at St. John Medical Center, who treated Herron, told FoxNews.com.

Herron fell into a coma for 30 days as doctors tried to revive her repeatedly performing CPR, placing six stents in her coronary artery, implanting a heart pump to reverse organ failure, putting her on dialysis, and removing three-fourths of her large intestine. She defied the odds not only to live but to conceive a daughter, her seventh child.

I knew that after going through all of that, I was not going to die of pregnancy, Herron, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, told FoxNews.com of her decision to have the child despite the possibly fatal risks. It seemed so implausible in the grand scheme of life and in Gods plan for me.

On Jan. 30, 2014, Herron welcomed her to the world in the same hospital room where she almost died nearly two years before.

They had seen all this life



Although doctors arent sure what causes SCAD, the condition appears to affect peripartum women, said Dr. Robert Haas, medical director at St. John Medical Center. Haas worked on Herrons case but did not treat her directly.

Hormonal changes during pregnancy lead to a softening of tissues around the pelvis to aid in childbirth, but sometimes, they can cause other tissues, like the coronary artery, to soften too. In some cases, the layers of these tissues can soften so much that they separate or tear from one another, and that was the case for Herron, who at the time was 39 and had no heart disease risk factors, Haas said.

[Herron] had a massive dissection of the main coronary artery, Haas told FoxNews.com. That supplied two-thirds, or [about] 65 percent, of her heart muscle with blood. That much was deprived.

Haas said the effects of SCAD are transient, meaning this softening isnt cumulative with each new pregnancy. Put differently, Herrons multiple pregnancies didnt put her at a higher risk of experiencing the condition.

Although she was unconscious at the time, Herron said her husband has recalled to her being rolled out on a gurney in the driveway of their home as her five older children looked on in horror. Two neighbors saw the ambulances, and took the five children and infant in their care as Herrons husband, Jason, followed the ambulance.

Jason said the EMT driver was crying in his steering wheel, Herron said. They had seen all this life in the house they were so worried that the mother was going to die.

At St. John Sapulpa Hospital, a smaller sister hospital for St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, doctors identified the tear in Herrons left coronary artery, and implanted six stents to restore blood flow to and from her heart. She began suffering from cardiogenic shock, a condition that occurs in 5 to 10 percent of heart attack cases. Cardiogenic shock has a death rate of nearly 50 percent, Haas said.

Herron was transferred to the cardiovascular ICU at St. John Hospital, and within 24 hours doctors placed her on a heart transplant waiting list as her organs began to fail. She was immediately rejected because, based on her diagnostics, doctors did not expect her to survive.

They kept preparing my family that I might not make it through the night, Herron said.

As Herron filled with fluid, doctors placed her on dialysis and administered treatment for hypothermia by lowering her body temperature. They put 28 IV bags worth of cardiac medicine into her body a record for the hospital, Herron said that was notable enough to include in their newsletter.

The medication meant to help save Herrons life ruined the lining of her stomach, causing internal bleeding. Herron said her husband and father witnessed her begin to drool pink saliva as her heart coded again and again, and doctors tried to resuscitate her.

It was like a horror movie, Herron said. They were doing the defibrillators, they were pumping my chest, and there was fluid flowing from my mouth. They were thinking, This has to be it.

To rest her heart during the necessary gastrointestinal surgery that followed, doctors implanted the Impella 2.5, a heart pump that helped reverse Herrons organ failure. Doctors ended up salvaging her colon, which had become damaged from internal bleeding and swelling, but removed three-quarters of her large intestine.

The next few days were touch-and-go, Herron said, as she experienced respiratory distress, was switched from using a respirator to a tracheotomy, and suffered a life-threatening blood clot in her left arm.

Four weeks after the initial event, she began coming back to life. But the fight wasnt over.

God gave me a grace

Herron, a small business owner of a beauty salon in Tulsa, said one of her first concerns when she came to was whether her 35 employees were being paid.

But Herron also worried about her children. She knew her then-newborn daughter, Paloma, now 4, was being looked after, as were her other kids, Josephine, 14, Genevieve, 12, Penelope, 11, Jonas, 9, and Gemma, 7. Her main concern was her older children those who could understand what was going on see her look weak. When Herron regained consciousness, she limited their visitation hours to the hospital during her stay.

I feel one of my biggest responsibilities as a parent is that my children dont have to worry about the life of an adult, she said. I was very concerned about my children seeing me in any kind of state that would scare them.

Upon being discharged from the hospital 60 days after she was admitted, she required a wound vac and a trach to help her breathe post-surgery. Doctors prescribed a blood thinner, beta blockers and mild diuretics, and she received a pacemaker and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a battery-powered device thats connected to the heart with wires. Together, the devices worked as a two-step system to keep her heart rate in check.

Its been five years this month since that happened, and its been a process of living with heart failure now, said Herron, who has since received a biventricular defibrillator that synchs the upper and lower chambers of her heart.

In May 2012, Herron returned to work full time, hiring a handful of new employees and scaling back on her hours. As she grew her business, she learned she was pregnant again.

I have a faith-based system where I do not use birth control, and Ive always been very trusting in that, said Herron, who said, given her health issues, the prospect or possibility of another child had never been part of the conversation among she and her physicians.

I was 40 with six children, she said. [Pregnancy] wasnt on my radar or my physicians.

While the news scared her and she faced criticism from friends, family and her primary care doctor who advised her to terminate the pregnancy she decided to go through with it.

Kalapura, who attends the same church as Herron, said he warned her of the risks, but she wanted to go through with the pregnancy regardless.

[Kalapuras] response was very surprised, but he also said it was an amazing sign of how much my body had healed and recovered, Herron said. Mentally and emotionally I liked his to take on it.

Haas, the doctor at St. John who didnt directly treat Herron, said, after a woman experiences SCAD, having children would not be remotely safe unless the individuals heart pumping function becomes significantly restored. But, he said, For me, even if the pumping function had recovered fully, Id still say theres a risk because she had SCAD. Its high enough that it doesnt make sense to have more kids safely.

Kalapura said Herrons pumping function improved by 5 to 10 percent after she suffered SCAD.

The first half of Herrons pregnancy felt normal, but by the third trimester, I felt what someone experiences at end-stage heart failure, she said.

I didnt work; I couldnt even stand, Herron recalled. I really believed that I would get immediate relief once I delivered the baby. Having gone through that many pregnancies, I know that feeling of immediate relief.

She and her doctor planned to induce labor six weeks early, and on Jan. 30, 2014, she welcomed newborn daughter Winnie, who would stay in the ICU until her term date.

Herron gave birth in the same room where she had nearly died about two years before.

It was an amazing experience coming full circle, experiencing life and death in that room, said Herron, who described her recovery as a miracle.

Herron knows that she will need a heart transplant eventually, but for now, she said her faith and family are helping her live in the present.

I believe God gave me a grace as a child, that I have a strong sense of faith and trust, and knowing when things are out of your control and when they arent, she said. I try to enjoy this moment and not worry about the future thats wasted energy on my heart. I want that to reflect most importantly to my children: that how you face adversity and how you handle it is a complete reflection of your personality.
I have the most exceptional readers in the world.

When there is wrongdoing in their hometowns, they are the first to let me know  and were proud to jump on those stories like a pit bull on a pork butt.

Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: a must-read for Conservatives!

The other day Lisa Erskine, of Barnegat, New Jersey, alerted me to a bizarre story involving Islamic cleaning rituals and a second-grade class at Cecil S. Collins School.

Yes, Islamic cleaning rituals.

The Asbury Park Press reports that a second-grader came home with a health and hygiene worksheet that included references to hijabs and thawbs  clothing worn by religious Muslims.

The worksheet also included a reference from the Koran: Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure.

Journalist Amanda Oglesby first exposed this peculiar incident  interviewing parent Chris Sharpe.

Everybody was up in arms, he told the reporter.

So why is a public school in New Jersey teaching children about Islamic cleaning rituals?

Well, the Barnegat Township School District tells me it was all a great big mistake. A whopper of a mistake.

This worksheet  which was neither carefully reviewed by the teacher nor approved by an administrator  contained a religious reference, in clear violation of district policy, Supt. Karen Wood told me in a statement.

She blamed the incident on a novice instructor who downloaded a worksheet from the online sharing site Pinterest and utilized it during a lesson.

So the kids are being taught how to clean the hijabs by a novice?

We recognize the significance of this error, she added. Our parents have been extremely supportive as we take measures necessary to ensure that this remains an isolated incident.

As you might imagine, folks around Barnegat are a bit upset over what happened.

If this had the name of Jesus on it, there would be an even bigger outrage, Mrs. Erskine told me.

Thats a good point. The Good Book does tell us that we can be washed whiter than snow.

I hope that proper precautions are made to prevent further indoctrination of Islam, she added.

Rob Russo has a child enrolled in the same school district and he is equally disturbed. He said zero accountability is simply unacceptable.

While I understand that mistakes happen, I am seriously disappointed to learn that a teacher made independent changes to a lesson plan, resulting in information being given that didnt follow subject matter, or state and local curriculum plans and chose to promote what seems to be their own agenda, he said.

Meantime, I hope the school district doesnt mind if I offer some unsolicited advice regarding Islamic laundry rituals.

Just tell the kids to use Tide Plus  with Downy. Youll get the brilliant clean you love along with a hijab thats Downy soft and fresh.
The U.Ss first ballistic missile test was a complete disaster. The Atlas Missile Program, which began in the early 1950s, attempted its first ballistic missile launch on June 11, 1957. The rocket flew for 24 seconds before blowing up. It took two more years before the first successfully armed test flight took place.

Failed weapons tests are necessary components of the weapons development process. That is why the U.S. needs to pay more attention to North Korea. They just tested their fifth underground nuclear test. Pyongyang claims it now has the capability to attach a nuclear warhead to a ballistic missile. If their claim is not true today, we can bet on it being true in the future if we continue to allow them to test and develop weapons.

The Obama administrations policy of strategic patience implies the U.S. will wait patiently until Kim Jong Un decides to engage with the international community about North Koreas nuclear capacity. It prescribes no proactive actions to deal with this very pressing issueand that is simply dangerous. Curbing North Koreas nuclear weapons program will require dedicated U.S. leadership, not passivity.

The next occupant of the White House will have to grapple with four strategic questions to decide how we solve the North Korea dilemma:

1. Is Kim Jong Un a leader with whom nuclear talks are worth pursing?

The Six Party Talks with North Korea failed in December 2008 because Pyongyang continued to pursue nuclear capabilities aggressively throughout the negotiations.

The question we must consider is whether engaging in talks under Kim Jong Uns leadership would yield different results.

On one hand, his behavior and rhetoric toward the U.S. are arguably even more aggressive than his fathers. Human Rights Watch also called North Koreas abuse of human rights without parallel in the modern world.

On the other hand, keeping the potential for negotiations open expands our options for how to deal with North Korea.

2. How can we persuade China to pressure North Korea to roll back its nuclear program?

China is a critical piece to the North Korea puzzle. It is the only country that has any real influence over North Koreas behavior. It is North Koreas largest trading partner and closest political ally.

Although Beijing has implemented sanctions on some North Korean products, they still allow certain North Korean businesses to operate within the Chinese economy, giving the North Koreans the ability to avoid sanctions. The PRC has also taken measures in recent years to block the UN Security Council from implementing harsh punitive sanctions against North Korea for conducting illegal missile and nuclear tests.

At the same time, the U.S. and China share a number of concerns about North Korea: they do not want to see a nuclear-capable Korean peninsula.

They also have expressed concern about Kim Jong Uns tyrannical style of leadership. He has purged a number of high level officials with whom China had positive relations.

Our North Korea strategy must focus on leveraging our shared interests with China in order to persuade them that more action is needed to address this issue.

3. How can we convince China that our presence in the region and our alliance with South Korea does not pose a threat to them?

A China-friendly North Korea serves as a buffer between southern China and the U.S.s sphere of influence in the regionsomething of which China is perpetually skeptical.

The main reason China entered the Korean War was out of fear the U.S. would conquer the whole peninsula after U.S. troops crossed the 38th parallel in October 1950.

A feasible North Korea strategy must consider how to reassure China that our objectives on the peninsula are not aggressive. We can do this by deliberating ways to support improved relations between China and South Korea. Helping to smooth out this relationship will be critical to maintaining stability on the peninsula.

4. Is Korean unification an antiquated concept, or an objective we should work toward?

This is a tricky question to pose, let alone answer, because Korean unification is one of South Korean President Park Geun-Hyes top foreign policy priorities. Realistically, she has a ways to go to convince her own society that unification is a worthy goal.

The Seoul National University Institute for Peace and Unification Studies found that more than 50 percent of South Koreans aged 20-34 who participated in a Unification Attitude Survey in 2015 believed inter-Korean unification was unnecessary. Even senior leaders of Parks Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation are having difficulties gaining consensus amongst a divided South Korean society on how to pursue this objective.

While South Korea leadership has been steadfast in their belief that the only way to achieve reunification is through peaceful means and not regime change in North Korea, the decision will have to be made on what parts of North and South Korean society should be integrated and whether this is a process in which Kim Jon Un is willing to participate.

Every day North Korea gets closer to obtaining a fully functional nuclear-equipped ICBM. The U.S. cannot delay in rolling out a comprehensive plan to address the developing North Korea threat. No presidential candidate has presented anything close to such a plan.

I sincerely hope the next administration makes this an early priority.
The Hillary Clinton campaign on Wednesday released what it called a comprehensive update on the candidates medical information, describing the illness that took her off the trail this week as a mild and non-contagious bacterial pneumonia.

She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest, said Dr. Lisa Bardack, Clintons physician, who provided the information to the campaign.

Bardack also said Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, remains healthy and fit to serve.

The report follows Clinton having public coughing spells in recent weeks and stumbling on Sunday morning during a 9/11 memorial service in New York City.

Several hours after that incident, the campaign said that Clinton had been diagnosed Friday with pneumonia and was leaving the campaign trail for a few days to convalesce.

Bardack said she detected a small sign of pneumonia in the right middle-lobe of Clintons lung during the examination last week. And she described the pneumonia as mild and non-contagious bacterial.

The release Wednesday also shows Clinton takes thyroid medication and the blood-thinner Coumadin, which had been previously known.

Clinton also was recently prescribed Clarinex and Levaquin, which treats bacterial infections, to help get rid of the pneumonia.

Bardack, chairwoman of Internal Medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, N.Y., diagnosed the pneumonia after taking a CT scan of Clintons lungs.

The campaign said Bardack also examined the 68-year-old Clinton on Wednesday and indicated she continues to improve."

The report appeared to show all of Clintons other health indicators in the normal range, including her blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels.

Bardack also found Clinton to be in excellent mental condition, according to the campaigns release.

In December 2012, when Clinton was secretary of state, she fell, hit her head and sustained a concussion.

Aides said she fell because she had a stomach virus and became dizzy. About two weeks after the fall, doctors found a blood clot in Clintons head that was dissolved through medication. A July 2015 report confirmed the incident.

Clinton later said she needed about six months to fully recover from the problems related to the fall, including double vision.

That report and the one released Wednesday also shows Clinton suffers from allergies.

Her running-mate, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, released a letter Wednesday from his congressional doctor stating he is in excellent medical health.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday shared a summary of the results of his latest physical with television host and doctor Mehmet Oz. The show is set to air Thursday.

The details were provided during a taping. The Dr. Oz Show said in a press release that Trump "shared with Dr. Oz the results of his physical examination performed last week by Dr. Harold Bornstein," Trump's longtime doctor.

Oz also "took Mr. Trump through a full review of systems," including his nervous system, hormone levels and family medical history.

Trump running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has vowed to release his records soon.

Clinton is expected to return to the campaign trail Thursday.

She did not attend fundraisers in California and a rally Wednesday in Nevada, instead turning to a reliable surrogate: her husband and former President Bill Clinton.

He hobnobbed with wealthy donors earlier this week at a pair of Beverly Hills fundraisers, including a $100,000-per couple dinner at the home of designer Diane Von Furstenberg. And he snapped selfies with fans during a surprise stop at a trendy coffee shop in Los Angeles before heading to swing state Nevada.

"I'm glad to have a chance to stand in for Hillary today," he told voters in Las Vegas on Wednesday. "She did it for me for a long time. It's about time I showed up and did it for her."

Having a former president on standby is an unprecedented luxury for a White House candidate. It's also a reminder to voters that, when it comes to the Clintons, the couple is a package deal, for better or worse.

Campaign aides quickly called Bill Clinton's chief of staff to see if he could step in for a few days. The timing wasn't ideal. His schedule was packed with interviews and other events in New York ahead of next week's last-ever meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, a wing of the family's philanthropy.

But aides said he quickly agreed to clear his schedule and fly to California. He reportedly has been calling his wife multiple times a day to check on her health and report back on conversations with donors and other Democrats.

"She's married to the best surrogate in the world," said Jerry Crawford, an Iowa Democrat and longtime Clinton ally.

For all his political gifts, Bill Clinton has been an imperfect messenger on his wife's health this week.

He volunteered in an interview that she had had episodes like this before and on Wednesday said she had flu, not pneumonia. A spokesman said he misspoke and meant pneumonia, but such moments provide grist to conspiracy theorists who think Hillary Clinton is hiding health issues.

In Nevada, Clinton said, I just talked to her, and shes feeling great and getting back out there. And last time I checked, millions of people still get the flu.

Hillary Clinton has an impressive stable of other surrogates on hand for the campaign's final stretch. President Barack Obama, whose favorability is on the rise in his final year in office, campaigned for her on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Vice President Joe Biden opened the week in North Carolina. Michelle Obama, the hugely popular first lady, will help rally voters in Virginia on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Anti-Defamation League called on Donald Trump's eldest son to apologize Thursday for making a Holocaust reference during a radio interview.

Appearing on a Philadelphia radio station, Donald Trump Jr. accused the Democratic National Committee of rigging the party's primary system with the media's tacit approval.

"Theyve let [Hillary Clinton] slide on every indiscrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of this thing," Trump Jr. said. "If Republicans were doing that, theyd be warming up the gas chamber right now."



The ADL, an international anti-Semitism organization, tweeted Thursday that "trivialization of the Holocaust and gas chamber is NEVER ok."

.@DonaldJTrumpJr: We hope you understand the sensitivity and hurt of making Holocaust jokes. We hope you retract.https://t.co/jL2ZC9Z8pH  ADL (@ADL_National) September 15, 2016

There has been no immediate response from the Trump campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
As poll after poll shows the presidential race tightening, Hillary Clinton has already fired most of her heavy artillery at Donald Trump.

She has called him temperamentally unfit, too dangerous for the Oval Office and ignorant about foreign policy. She has said he makes racist statements and that many of his followers are in fact racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic and Islamophobic. She has said hes built his campaign on prejudice and paranoia. She has denigrated his business record, mocked his corporate bankruptcies and accused him of stiffing small contractors.

What else has she got? How do you stage an October surprise if youve gone nuclear in July, August and September?

No wonder Democrats are getting nervous.

After all the stuff dumped on Trump by the Hillary camp and the media, hes tied in the CBS/New York Times poll, trailing by 1 point in a new Fox News poll, and ahead in such crucial states as Florida and Ohio. So what should Clinton do now?

Rich Lowry made the point quite concisely in Politico:

The Clinton campaign has already used his greatest hits of most offensive statements in countless TV ads. I was appalled that Trump mocked a disabled reporter, but even I am sick of seeing the clip every other time I turn on the TV. If none of this has sunk Trump and the race gets even closer, whats left that is going to have a new and different shock value?

This was always the danger in making the Clinton campaign primarily about demonizing Trump in a change election in which she is undeniably the establishment candidate. He does the same to her, but Trump is identified with a few signature issues: immigration, terrorism and using his business background to create jobs.

Clinton has position papers on everything under the sun, but no single issue that generates excitement and no shorthand to sum up her candidacy. The other guys crazy isnt the most inspiring slogan.

One thing that Clinton could do is sell herself as the better choice to the white working-class voters who are defecting to Trump. What will she do to make their lives better? These are folks who are drawn to the Trump brand because theyve heard so many empty promises over the years and want to shake up Washington.

One thing shes barely done is to accuse Trump of flip-flopping after having supported Democratic policies in the pastprobably because she doesnt want voters to think hes actually a closet moderate.

Trump, hardly an orthodox Republican, is trying to make inroads onto Democratic turfand appeal to womenby proposing paid maternity leave and child-care tax credits. Clinton has her own proposals, but Trump got more attention by using his daughter Ivanka as a TV surrogate. Its been fascinating to watch conservative pundits say they dont favor an expansion of the welfare state, then quickly pivot to why this is good politics for Trump.

Theres no question that Clinton, back on the trail yesterday after fighting pneumonia, will continue hammering Trump, in part because thats what generates headlines. She asked whether America can put a loose cannon in charge of the country. But have we reached the point where were desensitized to the terrible things these candidates say about each other?
The test results are in  but the release of new medical details on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is unlikely to stop the jabs between the two camps about each others fitness for office.

As Trump released the results of his physical on Thursday, following a new letter from Clintons doctor a day earlier, both candidates tried to settle questions about their personal health.

Those questions have stemmed in part from the candidates ages; Trump is 70 and Clinton is 68. The Democratic nominees health drew intense attention, though, after she was seen stumbling away from a 9/11 memorial event Sunday  and then dropped off the campaign trail for three days to recover from what the campaign revealed was a bout of pneumonia.

As Clinton returned to the campaign trail Thursday, she assured shes feeling better.

Its great to be back on the campaign trail, she told voters in Greensboro, N.C.

Discussing his own medical details in an interview broadcast Thursday on "The Dr. Oz Show, Trump said he sees a much younger man when he looks in the mirror.

"I would say I see a person that's 35 years old, Trump said.

CLICK TO READ THE MEDICAL DOCUMENTS

But if anything, Clintons health scare on Sunday has made fitness for office a campaign issue unlikely to go away.

Even Trump is grappling with a new narrative being pushed by Democrats that hes too overweight. Earlier this week, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Trump is not slim and trim.

Ex-Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told MSNBC Trump would be the heaviest president weve had, candidate weve had, since William Taft. Theres a legitimate issue.

Trump is listed as 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing 236 pounds, which makes him overweight for his height.

Trump acknowledged Thursday he would like to lose 15 pounds.

However, Clinton did not include her weight and height in any medical summary, so the candidates cannot be directly compared on those grounds.

But there are plenty of other details for voters to look at.

In some ways, the results they provided to the public are similar.

Trump has a cholesterol level of 169, while Clinton had a total level of 189. In terms of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), Clinton was at 56 and Trumps good cholesterol was at 63.

Their levels of bad cholesterol were similar with Clinton at 103 and Trump at 94.

Trumps blood pressure rate is 116 over 70, compared with Clintons rate of 100 over 70.

Trump takes a cholesterol-lowering drug and a low dose aspirin. Currently, Clinton is taking thyroid medication as well as a 10-day course of Levaquin, an antibiotic used to treat infections.

Clintons update came in the form of a letter from her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack.

Trumps longtime doctor Harold N. Bornstein provided a summary of the GOP nominees status.

Clinton has long faced questions about her health, in the wake of her 2012 concussion. Trump has questioned her stamina and did so again at a rally on Wednesday, when he asked the crowd whether she would be able to stand up there as long as he was.

His campaign also jabbed that Trump has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign, when it released his records.

The Clinton campaign, meanwhile, has gone on the offense charging Trump is hiding something from the public.

Her campaign manager, Robby Mook, said in a statement that Trumps Doctor Oz charade is as completely unserious as his original joke of a letter written in five minutes.

Clinton told radio host Tom Joyner on Thursday her level of disclosure exceeds the standard of other presidential candidates, including President Obama and Mitt Romney, and very shortly more would be released.

I think the real questions need to be directed to Donald Trump and his failure to meet even the most minimalistic standards that we expect of someone being the nominee of our two major parties, added Clinton.

Some analysts suggest the chatter over candidate health will pass.

I don't think health is as big a challenge for her as stealth. She is a relentless, indefatigable person, I can attest to that. But the concern's that people have run to the other thing, and they ended up creating a bigger story than the one they were trying to avoid, former Obama aide David Axelrod told NPR.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared to brush off the controversy surrounding former Secretary of State Colin Powells leaked emails in which Powell describes Trump as a national disgrace and suggests the party is crashing and burning.

Trump wrote in a Twitter message late Wednesday, "I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!"

Powells email messages were leaked earlier by the website DCLeaks.com, which is believed to have ties to notorious hacker Guccifer 2.0. The leak was first reported by Buzzfeed News. A spokesperson for Powell confirmed to Fox News that they were his emails and that he had been hacked.

In the emails, Powell admits to staying relatively quiet during Trumps meteoric rise. "To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him," Powell said.

To a former aide he writes, "No need to debate it with you now, but Trump is a national disgrace and an international pariah."

He also criticized Trump for backing the false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

"All his lies and nonsense just pile up," Powell wrote. "I just go back to the unforgivable one. Trying to destroy the President elected by the American people with his fictitious investigation into this source of birth. Absolutely disgraceful."

Powell also suggests frustration with the state of the nations politics as well as his thoughts about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton trying to connect him to her private email server scandal.

Powell has acknowledged using a private email account with both senior U.S. officials and for back-channel communications with foreign dignitaries. Clinton used a private email server located in the basement of her New York home.

Powell wrote that he had told Clinton's "minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try." In another spot, he declared of Clinton that "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris."

The messages contain comments that reflect that he, too, sought to use private email as a way to avoid creating documents retained by the government. Decrying "friggin record rules," Powell wrote that he "saw email more like a telephone than a cable machine."

Congressional Democrats have seized on the use of a private email addresses by Powell and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a foil for Republican attacks on Clinton. By suggesting that he didn't view work conducted via private email as a permanent government record, Powell could offer those Democrats additional ammunition.

The release of Powell's emails is the latest in a string of leaks that appear intended to influence the 2016 presidential election. The FBI is investigating how thousands of Democratic National Committee emails were hacked and released, an embarrassing breach that Clinton's campaign maintains was committed by Russia to benefit Trump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The minister of a Methodist church made national headlines after she scolded Donald Trump for injecting politics into a campaign stop.

The Rev. Faith Green Timmons came on stage and stopped Trump in the middle of his remarks at Bethel United Methodist Church.

Click here to join Todd's American Dispatch: a must-read for Conservatives!

She told him to stay focused on the water crisis and not Hillary Clinton.

I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, not give a political speech," the reverend told Mr. Trump.

Trump graciously complied with her demand.

But something doesn't pass the smell test. Consider this screen grab from the minister's Facebook page:

"We have our chance to show Donald Trump that this nation is filled with intelligent, wise black citizens of integrity many of whom live right in Flint, Michigan," she wrote. "What he will see is how we are braving a man-made catastrophe. HE WILL NOT USE US, WE will EDUCATE HIM!!!"

Click for more at ToddStarnes.com


Donald Trump is surging in new battleground and national polls at a time when Hillary Clinton faces tough questions not only about her health but her sweeping criticism of her Republican opponents supporters.

Several surveys appear to show the Republican presidential nominee effectively ending, at least for now, a post-convention slump that saw Clinton leading in virtually every swing state. Now, a Monmouth University Poll shows Trump taking a narrow 2-point lead in Nevada; a Bloomberg Politics poll shows Trump leading Clinton by 5 points in Ohio; and new CNN/ORC polls show Trump leading in Florida and Ohio.

In the latter survey, Trump leads 46-41 percent among likely voters in Ohio, and 47-44 percent among likely voters in Florida.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles Times tracking poll shows Trump taking a 6-point national lead.

Weve really had a good month, Trump told Fox News Fox & Friends, claiming hes enjoying renewed enthusiasm from voters.

Clinton, though, plans to return to the campaign trail Thursday afternoon after taking three days off to recover from a bout of pneumonia. While her campaign dispatched high-powered surrogates to the stump in her absence -- including Bill Clinton and President Obama -- the Democratic nominees presence could help reset the race once again.

The contest remains tight, and the polls are hardly uniform. A Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday showed Clinton leading 48-43 percent among likely voters.

But that still represents a narrowing of the race since a late-August survey showing Clinton up 10 points.

The recent surveys come as Clinton grapples with new controversies on two fronts: Her comment at a Friday fundraiser that half of Trumps backers are in a basket of deplorables, and her campaigns handling of a health scare on Sunday during a 15th anniversary ceremony honoring victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Clinton has since expressed regret for her deplorables comment, though Trump has called on her to outright retract it. And Clintons campaign has sought to answer questions about the former secretary of state's health, after Clinton was seen stumbling at the 9/11 memorial event in New York City.

The campaign said she was overheated and dehydrated, and revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday. While the incident revived long-simmering questions about her health, the campaign on Wednesday released additional medical details. Dr. Lisa Bardack, Clintons physician, said she is recovering well with antibiotics and rest.

Bardack also said Clinton remains healthy and fit to serve.

Trump, too, has tried to answer questions about his own health. He discussed the results of a recent physical with TVs Dr. Oz, and told Fox News on Thursday they were good. The discussion with Dr. Oz will air on his show Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign maintains they always knew states like Ohio would be competitive  and they are building out their operation there.

The campaign announced that they will open a half-dozen new offices in the state, bringing their total to 54.
It's an enigma no longer. A big red patch on Charon, Pluto's biggest moon, came from a nearby source: Pluto.

Charon orbits around Pluto about every 6 days, and the rest of the moons in the system orbit around both of those celestial bodies, almost like a binary planet. Now, NASA has announced that the rust-colored spot on Charon came from Pluto methane gas escaped from Pluto and eventually caused the red color on its biggest moon.

"Who would have thought that Pluto is a graffiti artist, spray-painting its companion with a reddish stain that covers an area the size of New Mexico?" Will Grundy, a New Horizons co-investigator from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and lead author of a new study announcing the finding in the journal Nature, said in a statement.

At 753 miles in diameter, Charon is frequently compared to the size of Texas, but unlike the Lone Star State, it wouldnt be a comfortable place to live: at the moons poles, 100 years of sunlight gives way to 100 years of darkness. Its very cold during the dark phase; the temps get down to -430 Fahrenheit.

The methane freezes in that cold environment.

The methane molecules bounce around on Charon's surface until they either escape back into space or land on the cold pole, where they freeze solid, forming a thin coating of methane ice that lasts until sunlight comes back in the spring, Grundy said in the statement.

The end result after sublimation (when a solid becomes a gas) and the suns light on whats left behind is the red material. The scientists think the same thing happens at the other pole.

NASAs New Horizons spacecraft gets the credit for taking the picture of Charon and its red pole when it flew by Pluto in 2015.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger
A newly discovered species of bee does things the hard way, gnawing its nests out of solid rock even when softer dirt is available.

This hard work appears to pay off, however, by providing the bees greater protection from the vagaries of life in the desert Southwest. The species, dubbed Anthophora pueblo, has been found in Utah, in southwest Colorado and in Death Valley in California, where it pocks vertical sandstone rock faces with tiny holes. Though the bees seem to be solitary nesters, they build these rocky alcoves next to one another, like insect apartment-dwellers.

"The bee is very unusual," study researcher Michael Orr, a doctoral student in biology at Utah State University, told Live Science. [See Images of the Sandstone Bee Nests]

Hidden discovery

The first hint of Anthophora peublo's existence dates back to the early 1980s, when entomologist Frank Parker  an author on the current study and the former head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bee Lab in Utah  discovered bees nesting in holes dug into sandstone in Utah's San Rafael Desert. Parker chipped out a couple of blocks of sandstone and reared the bees until they emerged from the rock; the nests and bee specimens then sat in a museum collection, unstudied.

Flash forward to the present day, when Orr began doing fieldwork studying other members of the Anthophora genus. He'd seen bees using the sandstone nests, and when Parker told him about the original discoveries in the 1980s, he knew he had to investigate more fully.

He did some detective work to rediscover Parker's original field sites, where the gap is still visible from the chunk of rock he chiseled out 36 years ago, Orr said. Something else remains the same, too.

"One of the greatest moments for me of this project was going back and revisiting that site from almost 40 years ago, and just walking up and the bees are still there," Orr said. "They're still using this same spot."

Orr and his colleagues discovered the sandstone-dwelling bees at seven sites total, the researchers reported on Sept. 12 in the journal Current Biology. They're mostly found in natural rock formations, but some nest in ancient Pueblo dwellings made by human hands  lending them their species name.

The bees, which are covered in the familiar black-and-yellow stripes, nest in sandstone at all but two sites, Orr said, where they burrow into silt. At these silt sites, the sandstone is about 2.5 times harder than the sandstones that the bees burrow into.

"They prefer it up until it's at a certain hardness threshold and then it doesn't make sense for them anymore," he said.

Costs of excavating

There's a cost to burrowing in stone. Older female bees commonly show wear and tear on their mandibles, Orr and his colleagues reported, and it takes more energy and time to dig through sandstone than dirt. However, there's evidence that building nests to last confers benefits to the bees' offspring, which may reuse their parents' tunnels. The bees are also able to hole up in their dwellings and delay emergence for up to four years when times are lean and not many desert flowers are blooming; sandstone probably protects the bees from erosion or flash floods better than dirt during these long quiescent periods, the researchers wrote.

While long-lasting nests used through multiple generations can attract parasites, the sandstone also seems to stymy freeloaders, the researchers found. In the sandstone blocks found in 1980, the nesting sites had been colonized by parasitic beetles called Tricrania stansburii. The larva of these beetles hitch rides on bees back to the bee nests. However, only six out of 69 larvae had successfully emerged from their nesting cells, Orr said. The rest died, unable to get out of the tough stone. The hardness of the rock seems to help keep the parasite population in check. [The 10 Most Diabolical and Disgusting Parasites]

The sandstone should also deter microbial parasites. "Sandstone has relatively little organic matter in it naturally because of the way it's formed, and because of that most of the microbes that are using it are making their own food through things like photosynthesis," which requires sunlight, he said. "Anything making its own food through photosynthesis will be much less likely to invade a bee's nest and eat the bee's food."

The bee nests also provide a sort of secondary shelter for insects and arachnids that can't chew through rock on their own, Orr said. At least 20 species use the burrows, about half of which are parasites. Other "renters" of the rock apartments include spiders, other bee species and wasps, he said.

In the future, Orr hopes to track the bees as they come and go to find out if they're entirely solitary or if they cooperate to share nests. He's also working to get the local Native American community involved in the study and to draw more non-scientists into noticing these odd bees.

"I'm hoping to build kind of this sort of citizen science network where people can report these nest sites to me," he said. Acting on tips and doing his own explorations, he's found more than 50 new nesting sites since the paper was submitted to the journal, he said.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
It's been a long time coming, but Samsung has now officially recalled its Galaxy Note7 smartphone in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the government agency charged with protecting the public from unsafe products.

The recall comes nearly one month after the phone went on sale in the U.S., and two weeks after Samsung announced that it was stopping sales of the phone in response to fires and explosions.

The recall affects 1 million phones in the U.S. According to the CPSC, Samsung has received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including fires in cars and a garage.

Not all Galaxy Note7 phones are affected. To see if your phone should be returned, you can locate the unique IMEI number on the back of the phone or the packaging, and either enter call Samsung or enter the number into an online tool at the company's website.

The announcement was made by Elliot Kaye, the chairman of the CPSC. Now that the phone has been recalled, federal law bars any person from selling a Galaxy Note7.

Customers can get a refund or exchange their phone for a different phone. New Note7 phones are expected to be available to consumers on Sept. 21.

Samsung called on retailers to stop selling the phone on Sept. 2, but on that day Consumer Reports found it available at several retailers.

Samsung faced criticism from Consumer Reports and others for not informing U.S. regulators when the first fires were reported in late August, and for failing to initiate a formal recall process.

"We welcome this action by the CPSC and Samsung," says Maria Rerecich, the head of electronics testing at Consumer Reports. "These phones represent a serious risk, and we urge consumers to participate in the recall as quickly as possible."

U.S. law requires companies to inform the CPSC quickly after discovering that a product may pose a significant safety risk. However, Samsung announced its own program without involving regulators. CPSC officials have not said when they were first contacted by the company.

Kaye said companies that think they can adequately handle a safety issue without involving the CPSC "need more than their phones checked."

On Sept. 8, the Federal Aviation Administration called on airline passengers to keep Note7 phones shut off throughout their flights, and to avoid storing the phones in checked baggage. However, an FAA spokesperson told Consumer Reports that the agency could not legally ban the device on flights unless a recall was put in place.

Copyright  2005-2016 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission. Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this site.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced an official recall of Samsungs Note7 phone.

The consumer protection agency cited serious fire and burn hazards when it announced the Samsung recall Thursday afternoon. The lithium-ion battery in the Galaxy Note7 smartphones can overheat and catch fire, posing a serious burn hazard to consumers, it said, in a note on its website.

This recall involves the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone sold before September 15, 2016, it added, in its statement. The recalled devices have a 5.7 inch screen and were sold in the following colors: black onyx, blue coral, gold platinum and silver titanium with a matching stylus. Samsung is printed on the top front of the phone and Galaxy Note7 is printed on the back of the phone. 

The recall affects 1 million devices, according to the CPSC. "Samsung has received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including fires in cars and a garage," it said.

Last week the CPSC urged users of the smartphones to stop using the devices. The warning followed reports of the new Note7s exploding or catching fire. Earlier this month, Samsung ordered a global recall of the jumbo phones after its investigation of explosion reports found the rechargeable lithium batteries were at fault.

Announcing the global recall on Sept. 2, Samsung confirmed dozens of cases where Note 7 batteries caught fire or exploded, mostly while charging. It plans a software update that will cap battery recharging at 60 percent capacity to help minimize risks of overheating. But it is urging owners to keep the phones turned off until they can get them replaced, beginning Sept. 19.

Last week the Federal Aviation Administration took the unusual step of warning passengers not to turn on or charge the Note7 during flights.

The Note7, which offers iris scanning technology to unlock the phone, was unveiled in a blaze of publicity last month and garnered rave reviews. The phones speed, new software features and  not least  the estimated nine hours it would run between charges, were lauded by reviewers. But all that power comes at a price: users began reporting the phones were catching fire or exploding, in one case incinerating the SUV it had been left in.

On Sept. 2, Samsungs Mobile President Koh Dong-jin said that an investigation turned up a "tiny error" in the manufacturing process for the faulty batteries in the Note7s that was very difficult to identify. The end of the pouch-shaped battery cell had some flaws that increased the chance of stress or overheating, he explained.

Samsung has not recalled Note7s sold in China, but the company has refused to say which of its two battery suppliers made the faulty batteries or clarify whose batteries are used in which Note 7 smartphones. The company also refused comment on South Korean media reports that it has stopped using batteries from Samsung SDI, one of its two suppliers, in the Note7.

Health Canada announced a formal Samsung Note7 recall Monday. Mexico's PROFFECO made a similar announcement Tuesday.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Apple has delivered a solid upgrade that lays the groundwork for future iPhones, according to initial reviews.

Maybe the positive reviews are having an impact. The company has already sold out of initial stock of some models of the iPhone 7, according to a Reuters report early Thursday morning.

The elimination of the headphone jack, a sore point for some consumers, was a major focus of all reviews. But probably the phone's biggest downside is also the most obvious: it looks pretty much identical to the two-year old iPhone 6, as all reviews mentioned.

Heres a brief roundup.

Ars Technica:

The iPhone 7 gives you more of everything thats important in a smartphone today, including more speed, better camera, better screens, faster LTE, more battery life, more water-resistant, Ars Technica said in its iPhone 7 review. Except for one thing you get less of: the venerable 3.5mm headphone jack.

Apple believes that wireless audio is the future, but instead of waiting for the future to get here, the company is forcing the issue, Ars Technica wrote. Note, however, that Apple is already known for forcing or accelerating the obsolescence of technologies, like the floppy disk and optical drive. And Apple has eased the pain of the transition by providing an adapter in the box that allows you to plug in your old 3.5mm headphones.

The new wireless AirPods ($159), which use Apples more stable version of Bluetooth (courtesy of Apples W1 chip thats inside the AirPods), got a thumbs up. But theyre pricey.

AirPods may be expensive, but at least youll get an audio-quality upgrade if you spring for them, Ars Technica said, citing things like clearer and louder bass. But the review noted that they have come under switf and unforgiving criticism for their appearance when you put them in your ears.

And what about the iPhone 7's new camera tech?

In our sample shots, the 7 and 7 Plus cameras don't look all that much better than the 6S and 6S Plus cameras when there's plenty of light available, Ars Technica said. It's in low light where the 7 and 7 Plus cameras really shine. The review cited big improvements in shots taken at night.

Wall Street Journal:

Smartphone battery life is a perennial complaint. Here, the iPhone 7 seems to excel. In [the Journals] punishing lab tests, the iPhone 7 lasted 10-and-1/2 hours. The 7 Plus...lasted about 10 hours, the Journal said, adding thats about 1.5 hours better than a new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, respectively.

The phones water resistance lives up to its billing too. The iPhone 7 survived a half-hour in a fish tank according to the review.

Like many reviews, the Journal devoted space to the elimination of the headphone jack. While acknowledging that not everyone will agree with the move, the Journal points out that it was done for a practical reason. It freed up a ton of space inside a phone thats already more packed than a subway car to do more practical things we really want.

Besides, its time to make the move to wireless headphones, according to the review. The most convenient workaround to not having a headphone jack is to make the leap to wireless earphones, the Journal said.

The Verge:

The Verge sees the iPhone 7 as a statement about things to come from Apple. Despite having a physical design almost identical the iPhone 6/6s, everything else about the iPhone 7 is a decisive statement about the future, The Verge said.

The reviews cites, for example, the dual cameras on the bigger and more expensive iPhone 7 Plus which promise to usher in a new era in mobile photography. In short, the future of smartphone photography is dual cameras. While the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both have a new f/1.8 (28mm equivalent) wide-angle lens, the Plus adds a second f/2.8 (56mm equivalent) lens. (Those f numbers basically translate as: the smaller the number, the wider the lens aperture is, which generally means brighter images.)

By having that extra lens on the Plus, you can do a true optical 2x zoom, a first for an iPhone. The only downside is that the second camera isnt quite as good as the main camera, meaning zoomed photos wont be as high quality as non-zoomed photos.

Overall, however, the main iPhone 7 camera held up pretty well in side-by-side comparisons. We conducted some pretty extensive camera testing against a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, an iPhone 6S Plus, a Fuji XT10, and a Canon 5D MkIII...The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus clearly hold their own, but I dont think they blow the pack away, The Verge said.

The iPhone 7 also has a better front camera. Its now 7 megapixels, a decent step-up from the 5-megapixel camera of the iPhone 6s.

The New York Times:

Like most reviews, the Times was impressed with Apples new A10 processor. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are tremendously fast  more than double the speed of the two-year-old iPhone 6, the Times said.

The verdict on the missing headphone jack was mixed. After a while, I didnt miss the headphone jack as much as I thought. Apple is pushing people toward wireless earphones...I found AirPods to be a decent first attempt at wireless audio, though there were glitches, the Times said.

The next iPhone: Maybe the most interesting part of the The New York Times review of the iPhone 7 was a tidbit about the next iPhone. Next years iPhone will have a full-screen face with the virtual button built directly into the screen, the Times said, citing two people at Apple, who spoke anonymously to the Times.
It looks like a Star Trek Bird of Prey, and acts like a drone that terrorists cannot escape: A new military aircraft thats powered by the sun and can conduct missions without landing for 45 days.

Airbus Defence and Space calls the new drone the High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), but its been dubbed the Zephyr. Whats a pseudo satellite? It has satellite-type capabilities like extreme surveillance but is on demand with the flexibility and versatility of an unmanned aircraft.

Unlike a satellite, the Zephyr can be landed, modified with alternative tech, and quickly re-launched to provide different capabilities as required.

The Zephyr could fly without landing to provide the military with non-stop high- resolution imagery for a remarkable month and a half, and it could give teams accuracy down to 6-inch resolution.

Flying at about 12.5 miles high at a fixed location, Zephyr can see over 250 miles to the horizon and provide imagery in excess of 386 square miles.

In addition to providing high bandwidth communications, the drone could gather data over these vast areas and equip forces with persistent, real-time, enhanced level of detail actionable data. This sort of capability could prove particularly handy for special operations teams.

What does it look like?

Star Trek, a show where starships are regularly featured, just had its 50th anniversary. Folks have been describing the look of this futuristic drone as similar to the Klingon Bird of Prey.

While the Zephyr wont be flying in space, it can get awfully close. The drone can reach heights higher than 70,000 feet. At those heights you can see the curvature of the earth.

How high is that? For starters, if youve taken a commercial aircraft, then youve flown half as high as this drone.

The legendary aircraft, the U2 or Dragon Lady, regularly flies those extreme heights, skimming space and sky.

At these heights, the new drone can very easily evade tough weather conditions, jet stream winds, and air traffic while also reducing risk of detection and maximizing the ability to surveil great swathes of enemy activity on the ground.

The Zephyr S has a 74-foot wingspan, yet is lightweight. Light enough to be launched by hand.

How does it work?

This aircraft harnesses solar power to fly during the day. Using sunlight, it also recharges its lithium ion batteries. The batteries then power night flying. Since the Zephyr does not rely on fuel, it is not limited by how much fuel it can carry, like other UAVs.

Five warfighters working together can launch the lightweight drone from flat ground. After it has been launched, the same team on the ground can operate it. Warfighters can currently use the Zephyrs control station to fly it over a range of up to 250 miles. But it can also be remotely operated by a team located anywhere in the world.

The drone is equipped with an antenna that allows it to communicate, and satellites can help relay commands to the Zephyr from operators at anywhere on the ground.

The Zephyr is designed to be autonomous so it can also fly itself without an operator directing its every move. With its remarkable endurance, it could be launched from Yuma in the United States and then collected weeks later in Afghanistan at the completion of its mission after several weeks.

Warfighters can deploy the Zephyr to provide persistent eyes in the sky to track enemy movements. The drones camera could provide real-time video and reveal adversary activities and movements.

In addition to surveillance, Zephyrs could be used for things like missile detection, navigation and C4ISTAR [Command Control Communications Computers Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance] relay.

Whats next?

There are two military variants underway: Zephyr S and T (twin). The larger size of the Zephyr T vehicle enables it to accommodate payloads heavier payloads with higher power demands.

The Zephyr solar-powered drone family was originally built by Qinetiq and is now in further development with Airbus Defence and Space.

The Zephyr 8 prototype could reach full operational capacity next year. This current Zephyr prototype can carry HD Optical / IR Video, NIIRS 6 imagery, AIS, Narrowband mobile comms such as Tetra and 100 Mbps broadcast.

Future versions could involve a larger platform with more payload capacity. It is expected going forward it could carry sophisticated NIIRS 8 imagery, RADAR, LIDAR, ESM/ELINT electronic surveillance, and broadband communications.

Testing and development will continue. The Zephyr has already flown safely for over 900 hours. The company states it holds three world records including the endurance record of 14 days. In recent tests, it has even operated at 70,740 ft, circling the Yuma desert.
Chinas never-ending quest for the most impressive bridges just reached new heights.

The Beipanjiang Bridge in Chinawhich hangs over 1,800 feet above a rivercompleted construction on Saturday, the Guizhou provincial transport department announced in a statement.

Sections linked up on world's highest bridge in SW China https://t.co/672wSIH6dd pic.twitter.com/VpLijHUQ0A  China.org.cn (@chinaorgcn) September 13, 2016

The two edges of the impressive bridge were linked on Saturday, allowing the structure to become Chinas highest bridge. The bridge spans 2,362 feet between mountains, 1,854 feet above the Beipan River.

The previous record holder was the Si Du River bridge. It crossed a valley in the Hubei province and hung 1,627 feet above ground.

Beipanjing Bridge is expected to open later this year and will be used mostly by automobiles. It is expected to make travel from the Guizhou to Yunnan provinces nearly twice as fast.

When opened, the bridge will also gain the esoteric honors of second longest steel-trussed cable-stayed bridge and the 10th tallest bridge tower in the world.

Of the 20 main hyper-long bridges in the world, China has 17. Guizhou province alone has seven of them.

Last week, Chinas longest bridge, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon bridge, closed for repairs only two weeks after opening. Officials cited too much visitation as a main factor in the closure.

Cailey Rizzo writes about travel, art and culture and is the founding editor of The Local Dive. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @misscaileyanne.
A Special Forces soldier left paralyzed from the neck down after diving into stormy waves off Florida to save a young girl from drowning is determined to walk again.

Sgt. 1st Class Tim Brumit, 32, broke his neck in the tragic July 26 accident, but now the father of two and a Bronze Star recipient is hoping to resume a normal life through his familys willpower, spiritual faith and the healing hands of his doctors, the Military Times reported Saturday.

Were not built to lay down and die, his father Randy Brumit, a retired Army chief warrant officer who also served in Special Forces, told the newspaper. When he showed up to the hospital, he was totally paralyzed from the neck down, and expected to remain that way for the rest of his life. Thats what we were told.

Instead, emergency surgeries have enabled Brumit to regain the use of his arms while he amazes physical therapists with his dedication and hard work during rehab, the newspaper said.

The Green Beret dove off a pontoon boat anchored off a beach community near his post at Eglin Air Force Base when he heard cries for help and spotted a young girl, 13, struggling in surf roiled by heavy winds and pelting rain. Brumit dove in without giving it a second thought.

The Times said Brumit later told media he misjudged the waves passing under his boat, not realizing how shallow the water was at that spot.

After his head hit the sand, a fellow soldier pulled Brumits body onto a surfboard to wait for help. Other boaters saved the girl.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Colby Maher has been treating Brumit at the Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. He is being moved in the next few days to the Atlanta Spine Center.

The Times said Brumit has served 8 years with 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and has earned his Special Forces Tab.

Throughout his recovery, he has embraced the family motto instilled by his father: what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.

Thats how we special operations guys look at it. He challenged the physical therapist, Whats your record? Ill beat it, Randy Brumit told the Times.

He said his son has told his surgeon from his bed, Im going to walk back in and shake your hand and thank you for what youve done with me.

According to the Times, Randy Brumit knows that seeing his son walk again is "very far away." He has created a Facebook page to provide updates on his son.

Tim hard at work in focused rehab doing neck and shoulder workouts, the father reported Sunday. He said his son was also doing sitting triceps and shoulder weight workouts.

His attitude remains positive and is loving the hard workouts, the report said.
Police on New York's Long Island are investigating the deaths of two teenagers in a possible gang-related attack.

Police say 15-year-old Nisa Mickens was found dead from an apparent beating near an elementary school in Brentwood Tuesday night. She reportedly had lacerations and head trauma.

A 16-year-old friend of Mickens, who police say was with her the night she was killed, was reported missing.

On Wednesday, police announced that a body fitting the description of the friend was discovered in a wooded area near where Mickens was found. Police have not revealed her cause of death.

No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.
A 32-year-old Florida man has been arrested and is facing a charge of arson and hate crime in a fire that heavily damaged a mosque that Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen attended, authorities announced Wednesday.

Joseph Michael Schreiber was arrested without incident Wednesday afternoon and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Maj. David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.

Thompson told a news conference that Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere. He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

The fire was set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreiber's home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. The records show he served his first sentence from March 2008 to July 2009 and his second from June 2010 to August 2014.

At the news conference, Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber on Wednesday evening, and he didn't say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded. He professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.

A weekend surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approaching the building with a bottle of liquid and some papers, then leaving when there was a flash and shaking his hand as though he may have burned it, Thompson said. The first 911 calls were made about 45 minutes later after the fire had spread to the attic. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

No one had claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities said.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation into the fire. Sheriff's officials had released the video and asked for the public's help in identifying the arsonist.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida, responded to social media posts by Schreiber claiming to be a Jew who was fighting back.

"He obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation," Ruiz said.

Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and Mateen as "degenerates" and "punks."

"Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateen's actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Mr. Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion," Saleh said.

Saleh said the Muslim community will not seek revenge against Schreiber's family or any religious group he belongs to.

The fire was part of an escalating series of threats and violence perpetuated against the mosque and its members, said Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a Florida spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations. He said the mosque began receiving threatening phone calls shortly after the Pulse massacre. And in July, he said, a member was punched in the face as he arrived for morning prayers.

Sunday's fire has left the mosque's members "saddened and scared," said assistant imam Hamaad Rahman.
The mother of a 10-year-old New Mexico girl who was found dead and dismembered told police she looked for men online and at work to sexually assault her daughter, according to search warrants in the case.

The documents showed Michelle Martens told police that she had set up encounters with at least three men before the girl was drugged, raped and killed last month.

The single mother told investigators she didn't set up the sexual assaults for the money but did it because she enjoyed watching, according to the warrants. It's unclear how long she had been arranging meetings before Victoria Martens' death or if police have identified any of those men.

Police found the girl's dismembered body inside the apartment she shared with her mother on the day she was expected to celebrate her 10th birthday. The slaying ignited outcry and vigils.

Laura Bobbs, a local minister and spokeswoman for the family, cried when she learned about the details outlined in the search warrants.

"Jesus Christ. My poor baby, my poor baby," she exclaimed, referring to Victoria. "She never told us this was going on. I would ask her all the time, 'Are you OK?' She would tell me yes."

Bobbs reiterated Wednesday that there were no indications from Michelle Martens or the girl that anything was wrong.

"I would see this woman every day. There were no signs. How did she hide this from us?," she said. "This thing gets worse and worse and worse."

Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzales and Jessica Kelley  a cousin of Gonzales'  have been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated criminal sex penetration of child under 13. Victoria was stabbed and strangled.

Martens' attorney, Mark Earnest, did not immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press.

Martens, 35, told investigators that one of the men she solicited was a co-worker. Two others she met online, including Gonzales, 31. He was to be the last.

Martens told police she used the dating website Plenty of Fish to look for men to sexually assault Victoria.

Her statement to police is included in nearly a dozen search warrants to search a safe in Martens' apartment, her car, and electronic devices discovered during the investigation, including a camcorder they believed may have been used for sexual exploitation of children.

Investigators also sought DNA evidence from the suspects, as well as multiple electronic devices and a camcorder they believed may have been used for sexual exploitation of children.

The Albuquerque Journal was first to report on the warrants late Tuesday.


Two more prisoners who were released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center in the first six months of the year have returned to the battlefield, the White House said Wednesday.

A report from the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) revealed that nine people who have been released from Guantanamo have rejoined militant groups since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to Reuters.

The number of militants freed by the Obama administration that the U.S. suspected of rejoining fighting in the Middle East has dropped from 11 to 12, the report said.

Obamas hope since his first year in office was to close Guantanamo. A fast track plan he rolled out in February drew scrutiny from Republican and some Democrat lawmakers. The detention facility was opened in 2002 to hold foreign terrorism suspects.

Click for more from Reuters.
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Jimmy Carter says the United States is experiencing "a resurgence of racism" and he's calling on Baptist faith leaders to foster change in their communities.

The former U.S. president spoke Thursday at a summit hosted by the New Baptist Covenant, which he convened in 2007 to unite Baptists. Carter's keynote address came during a three-day summit in Atlanta aimed at creating partnerships between black and white churches.

Carter says some white Americans stay quiet when they see racism or discrimination, fearful of losing a "position of privilege" in society.

Carter's is a lifelong Baptist and often spoke about his faith during his political career. Now 91, he continues to teach Sunday school lessons several times a month at a church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
An appeals court has upheld an approximately 6 -year sentence given to a once-prominent Orthodox rabbi who pleaded guilty to secretly videotaping nude women at a Jewish ritual bath in Washington.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals upheld Rabbi Bernard Freundel's sentence in a ruling issued Thursday.

Freundel's lawyer had argued that the sentence should have been limited to one year in prison.

Freundel was arrested in 2014 after one of his recording devices was discovered at the National Capital Mikvah in Washington.

Prosecutors found he filmed some 150 women using recording devices hidden in a clock radio, a fan and a tissue box holder. He ultimately took a plea deal in the case, acknowledging that he made the secret recordings from 2009 to 2014.
A Dutch-Turkish man has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Federal officials announced Thursday that 58-year-old Irfan Demirtas pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Officials said Demirtas was charged in a 2011 sealed indictment related to actions between 2006 and 2008 when he was a Netherlands resident and an IMU fundraiser and facilitator. The government said the militant Islamic group formed in 1991 aims to overthrow Uzbekistan's government and create an Islamic state. In his plea, Demirtas admits providing funds to the group's leader.

Demirtas was arrested in Germany in 2015 and extradited to the United States. He faces a statutory maximum of 15 years and financial penalties at sentencing on Nov. 30.


The family of a Marine recruit who died during training in South Carolina has disputed the determination that he killed himself amid a widespread culture of hazing and abuse in the Marine Corps.

Shiraz Khan, the attorney for the family of Raheel Siddiqui, released a statement, saying theres lack of evidence that the 20-year-old Michigan native killed himself March 18 at Parris Island by jumping into 40-foot stairwell.

Khan said in a statement to the Detroit Free Press that Siddiqui didn't have any "disqualifying conditions, medical or otherwise, during recruiting and processing into the U.S. Marine Corps. It's impossible for his family and friends to accept that he took his own life."

Family members contend that Siddiqui may have been targeted because he was a Pakistani-American Muslim, the newspaper reported. Marine officials told the Free Press hat his drill sergeant was abusive toward Siddiqui and a previous recruit who was Muslim, according to Marine officials.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the abuse allegations, investigators found that the drill sergeant had previously told another Muslim recruit that he was a terrorist and was involved in the 9/11 terror attack. The drill sergeant also allegedly stuffed the person in a dryer.

The Journal reported that the drill sergeant also told Siddiqui he was a terrorist.

The Marine Corps has said the death could lead to punishments for as many as 20 officers and enlisted leaders, some of whom have already been fired. The findings resulted from three investigations conducted by the Marines.

Last weekend U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, (D-MI) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) traveled to the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot located on the South Carolina coast about 75 miles southwest of Charleston.

Siddiqui's family lives in Dingell's district. She and Issa met with depot commander Marine Brig. General Austin Renforth, and other senior Corps leaders about changes the Marines are making.

The Corps has said it is increasing oversight over training activities and will have no tolerance for hazing including mandatory suspension of any personnel investigated for abuse or hazing.

"General Renforth has assured me this is personal to him and he is committed to working toward real change to help prevent a tragedy like this from happening in the future," Dingell said in a statement.

About 500 drill instructors are assigned to Parris Island, which trains male recruits from east of the Mississippi River. It is the only base that trains female Marine recruits who are trained separately from the men.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To the Blackfeet tribe, the Badger-Two Medicine is sacred land -- 115,000 acres of mountains, ridges, river valleys and wetlands along Montanas Rocky Mountain Front that was home to its members for more than 10,000 years.

It is also the center of a decades-long legal fight between an energy company and the U.S. government over access to drill for oil and gas.

Solenex LLC, a Louisiana-based energy company, is asking a federal judge to reverse the cancellation of a 33-year-old oil and gas lease on 6,200 acres of the Badger-Two Medicine -- part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest -- that it had acquired in 1982.

After years of legal hurdles, U.S. Interior Department officials cancelled the lease in March, arguing it was improperly issued in part because environmental studies did not consider the effects of drilling on the tribe.

Lawyers for Solenex, however, claim the terrain in dispute is not "pristine" wilderness, and note the land is no longer part of the Blackfeet Tribes reservation. It was ceded to the U.S. government in 1896.

On Monday, the company filed court papers seeking a judgment in the case that's before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C. Government attorneys must respond to the company's request to restore the lease within two weeks.

The fight over exploratory drilling in the area -- which sits just outside Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation -- is a complex one.

While the land no longer belongs to the Blackfeet, tribal leaders argue that such "illegally granted oil and gas leases" threaten the Blackfeet's history and sacred and cultural values. And some members say the tribe should never have lost the land in the treaty that turned it into what is now a section of the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Eighteen other tribes, including the Sioux, Crow and Northern Cheyenne, have asked the government to cancel leases in the Badger-Two Medicine.

Several conservationist groups have joined the tribes in their opposition, claiming the drilling would be destructive to wildlife and the environment.

Steve Lechner, an attorney representing Solenex, told FoxNews.com Thursday, "Were talking about one well. Were talking about an area that is not pristine. The well site is three miles from the Great Northern Railroad, U.S. Highway 2 and private land. Its not in wilderness."

"All these arguments about conservation have only recently come up in an effort to block the well," he claimed. "When the lease was issued in 1982, there were no protests or appeals  nobody cared. Thirty years later, its allegedly the most pristine part of the country, which is simply not true."

Lechner -- who described the Badger-Two Medicine as a "prime prospect" for natural gas -- also took issue with the word "sacred" when calling the land off-limits.

"Its not on the reservation. The Blackfeet gave the land back to the United States in 1896. Even if it was 'sacred,' you cannot deny someone the ability to exercise their property rights in the name of religion because that violates the First Amendment," he said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Interior was not immediately available Thursday. In 2006, Congress acknowledged the cultural and ecological significance of the Badger-Two Medicine and banned any further oil and gas leasing.

"That is a very big statement," former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who served under the Clinton administration, told Montana Public Radio last year.

"That is a national policy statement about the primary cultural and environmental importance of this area. And obviously taking into account the important opinions of the Blackfeet Tribe," said Babbitt, who suspended the Solenex lease and others in 1993 -- after it was finalized earlier that year following 70 appeals.

"After all this is their historic area. Its not formally a part of the reservation, but theyve been there for a long time and they have a lot of use rights," he told the radio station. "It sort of melded into their cultural and spiritual values, and the United States Congress has recognized that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A former airman at Dover Air Force Base has been given 18 months of probation in the death of a 21-month-old boy who was left in his care while his mother was deployed overseas.

Justin Corbett, who had been charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 death of Evan Dudley, was convicted in July on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

The judge suspended a maximum eight-year prison sentence for 31 days time served and probation, citing Corbett's lack of a criminal background and his exemplary military record.

Prosecutors, along with the victim's mother, had asked the judge to sentence Corbett to eight years behind bars.

Corbett maintained that the boy accidentally fell down a set of stairs after being left alone briefly with another child.
A 77-year-old man who shot three people, killing one, at the senior apartment complex where he lived had grown distant recently and had been angry about frequent poker games in the building's common area, according to people who knew him.

One person died at the Heritage Court Apartments and two others were wounded. Larry Rosenberg, the shooter, killed himself as police closed in on him in a neighborhood about a mile away, Cheyenne police said.

Mary Eastman, 80, said Rosenberg handed her a letter as she headed out to shop the morning of the shooting. Eastman said she left the letter in her apartment and didn't read it until later -- after she returned to find the building a crime scene.

Police eventually let her back in to get her dog.

"His problem really was that damned poker gambling. That was it. That was all he complained about," Eastman said of what Rosenberg wrote.

She said police had the letter. Cheyenne Police Department spokesman Dan Long said Wednesday he couldn't immediately confirm that statement.

But Eastman said Rosenberg wasn't the only person with concerns about poker games held three days a week in the common area. The issue came up at a recent meeting at which residents told the apartment complex managers about any concerns they had, she said.

"Sunday, Monday and then Wednesday," Eastman said. "That's too much. To haul them people in we don't even know. We don't want to know them. No, we don't. They're taking up our space. Sleeping on the sofa. Sleeping on the recliner."

Heritage Court Apartments has 32 affordable housing units for households with at least one member age 62 or older, according to its website. Messages left with the complex's owner, Accessible Space Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota, were not immediately returned.

Eastman said she liked Rosenberg and they often went to yard sales together. But Eastman's daughter, Margaret Rosso, said Rosenberg had become standoffish in recent months.

"He started getting more and more distant, complaining about the facility and about people and just kind of pulling away, isolating himself more and more," Rosso said.

Long did not identify the victims or provide information about the conditions of those who were wounded. Attempts to reach Rosenberg's family weren't successful.

Police comforted a distraught woman at the scene. What appeared to be a covered body was visible within an area cordoned off by authorities.

Multiple shootings are rare in Cheyenne, Wyoming's capital city with a population of just over 60,000. City police handled six homicide cases last year, the department's annual report said.
When David Bladow and Matthew Schwab decided to build their floral delivery startup, BloomThat, they thought theyd be helping forgetful guys like themselves scramble to send bouquets to their loved ones.

Never mind that most of their customers ended up being women. It turned out that women are more thoughtful than men, Bladow tells Entrepreneur. Go figure! Who would have thought that? My wife reminds me of that all the time!

That was minor compared to their other miscalculations.

Once BloomThat expanded from San Francisco to the greater Bay Area, then Los Angeles and finally New York, the company learned that providing on-demand delivery to customers in three of the countrys largest markets was going to put them out of business. BloomThat was losing money on the average order -- and burning $560,000 per month. It only had enough money in the bank to sustain four more months of operations.

Related: 4 Keys to Early-Stage Growth That Will Maintain Your Momentum

That was the era of, Hey, Uber grew 20 cities last month -- what have you done? says Bladow, BloomThats CEO. I think that thats something you see in a lot of venture backed companies today. They grow quickly, but can they continue to grow if they werent subsidized?

As delivery startups struggle to stay competitive, they seek to keep wait times and prices down and fees out of the picture. The on-demand model is difficult to maintain, especially when navigating aspects such as worker classification and retention on top of, well, demand. The now out-of-business home-cleaning startup Homejoy suffered its fate due to a combination of these challenges. On-demand valet parking startups have also folded or pivoted.

On-demand financing peaked in the third quarter of 2015, in terms of both the number of deals and dollars, and the pace is slowing. In Q3 15, on-demand businesses made 90 funding deals, compared with 54, 66 and 55 in the following three quarters. Still, funding today far exceeds 2012 levels. Total disclosed funding for 2012 amounted to $672 million. Whereas in the first half of 2016, on-demand companies raked in $8.4 billion, according to CB Insights.

Not every company can function on-demand everywhere, and not everyone needs to. BloomThat learned that the hard way, luckily not at the expense of its customer base or core employee team. Today, a year after making some major adjustments and concessions, BloomThat says it is profitable. In June 2015, BloomThat snagged $5.5 million from Forerunner Ventures, which brought its total funding to $7.6 million.

Were a company that still believes in on-demand, but it doesnt unilaterally apply to everything, Bladow says. "We do it where it makes sense.

You cant transcend the laws of economics, but you can adjust your focus and play up your strengths. Following BloomThats example, click through to learn how struggling startups can recover from the pitfalls of on-demand thinking.

1. Eliminate one-size-fits-all thinking.

BloomThat

Bladow and co-founders Schwab and Chad Powell founded BloomThat in 2012. They shipped their first bouquet in January 2013 and graduated from Y Combinator later that year. (Powell left the company within its first year.) Initially, they viewed speed as their primary differentiator in the $8 billion a year floral industry of 13,765 ( in 2013) florists, but theyve since widened their delivery windows.

In the South Bay Area, BloomThat has saved about 25 percent per order just by transitioning from one-hour to two-hour delivery. More drastically, it temporarily shut down same-day delivery in its Los Angeles market, where it had been burning about $20,000 a month.

Now, BloomThat boasts same-day delivery in Manhattan and in parts of L.A., the Bay Area and Brooklyn. Starting in February, it began next-day deliveries to the rest of the continental U.S., catering toward, say, San Franciscans with moms in Seattle. As of July, L.A. is on-demand again, with two- to three-hour delivery windows, and BloomThat earns about $20 profits per order.

The company has also partnered with couriers.

2. Be up front with your customers.

BloomThat

Then there was the feature BloomThat had once vowed never to implement: delivery fees. Before, product prices were all-in, but now deliveries to the West Coast and Northeast require a $9.99 fee, and deliveries to the center of the country range from about $19 to $24.99. Although BloomThat had to shut down some of its distribution points last year, Bladow says that the company is working on establishing distribution locations in the center of the U.S. soon to get the delivery fee down to $9.99 everywhere.

We sent this email to our customer base and said, like, hey, were shutting down Los Angeles, and at the same time, were also adding a delivery fee, Bladow says. I think just by handling it in a transparent way, the reaction from our customers was very accepting. They were like, I get it.

Related: How One Young Entrepreneur Pivoted a Business Failure into Success

3. Reflect on what truly differentiates you.

BloomThat

After pivoting from on-demand delivery, BloomThat emphasizes that its products set it apart from its larger competitors, such as 1-800-Flowers, FTD and ProFlowers. From the beginning, the founders committed to a limited selection of standardized bouquets. They wanted to make sure that what customers see online is what their recipients get, which is often not the case with major floral retailers.

I dont need 100 choices that are all like variations of bad, Bladow says with an interrogative inflection. You dont have a preference if you receive 1-800-Flowers or ProFlowers. The brand preference there is just whatever domain you thought of.

Bladow opposes the commoditization of flowers, and hes banking on the fact that millennials like himself will gravitate toward his more curated arrangements. His branding team is composed of detail-oriented ex-Apple marketers, and his wife, Callie, heads up the floral design team. Every month, BloomThat starts with 15 to 25 options and narrows down to five. The final iterations factor in whats in season, which flowers will have the longest vase life and which will be able to endure travel, in addition to visual appeal.

The way a 1-800-Flowers would work is they would say, heres our, well call it the Firework Bouquet, and its red rose, white flower, blue flower, green filler, Bladow says. The way that we work is, were saying, we want a free spirit rose, we want a specific type of eucalyptus, we want a specific varietal of yellow tulip.

4. Diversify.

BloomThat

BloomThat also updated its offerings during its overhaul. It pushed customers toward a $35 (including delivery) bouquet, only to discover that, even though customers latched onto it, the product did not perform well for the company from an economic standpoint. It added a couple of stems and bumped up the product to $45.

It also introduced an $85 product as well as low-cost Bunches, an economy line that lacks some of the bells and whistles of the other bouquets, according to Bladow. Launched in June, Bunches rotate every two weeks and start at $35 (all prices before shipping). Bladow alluded to a subscription model for BloomThat in conjunction with Bunches, though he did not share specific details.

Related: 8 Ways To Pivot Your Business To Kickstart Growth

The company had also previously avoided upselling, or adding non-floral gimmicky items to orders. But more recently, its partnered with brands such as Sugarfina to offer gummy snacks and Method for foaming hand soap. The goal is to provide products that align with millennial tastes and values -- and that arent available at the nearest drug store. As BloomThat pivots further, positioning itself as a gifting company rather than simply a florist, it hopes to cash in on the holiday season, when flowers are not always the appropriate choice.

Some of our customers have been telling us, Ive already sent two flowers this month. What do I send next? Bladow says. We try to be that point of curation for you and maybe add an element of discovery. You come to BloomThat, you see whats new, and you say, oh, Im gonna send you something from a cool brand.
Every smart entrepreneur knows that you need to use social media to effectively market your business and your brand.

I realized that back in 2008, when I opened my camera store in New Jersey and had to compete against the largest camera store in the world - B&H Photo -- and the biggest competitor of them all - Amazon. I had to acquire customers, and build our brand with little time and even less money. Social media turned out to be the fastest way to do that. But one of the problems I immediately faced was how to get engagement on our posts, when we didnt have a big following on any of the social platforms.

Related: Your Employee Advocacy Program: Measuring the Right KPIs

This is a problem that many entrepreneurs face today.

In many cases, your social media accounts do not have very many followers, connections or interactions. So, if for example, you post on Facebook, your relatively small number of followers will mean Facebooks algorithm will keep engagement very low. But is there a way to increase your engagement without investing a lot of money boosting posts?

The tactic I discovered back in 2008, and one that I have honed with great success today, is employee social advocacy. Here are the 10 steps I've used to implement and run an employee-driven, post-boosting program, which you can start doing today.

1. At the next staff meeting, it should be announced that you are looking for all team members to promote posts on their personal social media accounts - Facebook, LinkedIn, beBee, Twitter and Instagram -- on a regular basis.

2. There should be an email sent to All@YourCompany.com with an explanation of what employee advocacy is, why it is done and what will be accomplished for the company. Ask staff to reply with their willingness to participate. I would not require any staff member to do it that doesn't want to, but let them know there will be rewards for the people who do it the most.

3. In a follow up email, ask everyone to follow and like all of your YourCompany pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, beBee, Twitter and Instagram from their personal social media pages.

4.There needs to be a social leader in the company. It works best if its the owner, president or stakeholder. He or she will lead the charge on the personal posting side. Let everyone know who that will be. There can be more than one leader.

5. All participating members need to connect with the social leader. It's ok if someone is not on every social platform. Let them participate where they can.

Related: Let's Get Social: Craft a Strategy to Create Powerful Brand Advocates

6. The social leader then creates a post on their personal social media accounts. Use all the social networks if it makes sense for the posts content. The post needs to be interesting and engaging and include no direct selling. That post should be shared on all company pages by the company page owner.

7. Send an email to All@YourCompany.com with all of the links to the leaders posts asking everyone to share on their accounts with a personal comment added that relates to their friends, fans or followers.

8. When you start this advocacy program, do one post per week until your staff gets use to it. Then do up to three per week, but that is the maximum you should do. The staff will get tired of it and so will your followers.

9. To jump start the program, give everyone who follows No. 2, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 7 a $20 giftcard or something similar. Many, who agreed to do it, won't - especially the first time. A personal note or visit from the social leader asking them to participate again is the way to go here.

10. Create contests, and publicly hand out prizes. The top employees with the most engagement, receives a money prize, extended lunch, day off or something else intriguing. You should post a leaderboard and hand out prizes for the top performers for each month and for the year.

Related: 4 Ways to Boost Customer Advocacy -- Fast

Employee social advocacy is an incredibly cost-effective way to build your brand and business. It also builds employee morale and creates a corporate culture where staff feels like they have directly contributed to the success of the company.

You now have the formula to turn your staff into an engagement engine. Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines now.
You may have heard people urging you to switch your website to the HTTPS security encryption. They cite Googles announcement that HTTPS is a ranking signal and that failure to switch could mean your ranking will take a hit.

Related: 5 Growing Cyber-Security Epicenters Around the World

And that would mean less traffic and less business.

But, can a product that costs around $100 per year really make that much of a difference? And if so, how straightforward is it to make the switch?

Lets face it, until recently, HTTPS was really used only by ecommerce sites for their payment pages. Things can get confusing, and the question many business owners face is whether or not the hassle of switching to HTTPS is worth it.

So, lets look at the arguments for and against. But first of all, what exactly is HTTPS?

What is HTTPS, and why do you need it?

HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol. Its a protocol that allows communication between different systems. Most commonly, it is used for transferring data from a web server to a browser to view web pages.

The problem is that HTTP (note: no "s" on the end) data is not encrypted, and it can be intercepted by third parties to gather data being passed between the two systems.

This can be addressed by using a secure version called HTTPS, where the "S" stands for secure.

This involves the use of an SSL certificate -- "SSL" stands for secure sockets layer -- which creates a secure encrypted connection between the web server and the web browser.

Without HTTPS, any data passed is insecure. This is especially important for sites where sensitive data is passed across the connection, such as ecommerce sites that accept online card payments, or login areas that require users to enter their credentials.

Whats the process for switching to HTTPS?

If you are familiar with the backend of a website, then switching to HTTPS is fairly straightforward in practice. The basic steps are as follows.

Purchase an SSL certificate and a dedicated IP address from your hosting company. Install and configure the SSL certificate. Perform a full back-up of your site in case you need to revert back. Configure any hard internal links within your website, from HTTP to HTTPS. Update any code libraries, such as JavaScript, Ajax and any third-party plugins. Redirect any external links you control to HTTPS, such as directory listings. Update htaccess applications, such as Apache Web Server, LiteSpeed, NGinx Config and your internet services manager function (such as Windows Web Server), to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS. If you are using a content delivery network (CDN), update your CDN's SSL settings. Implement 301 redirects on a page-by-page basis. Update any links you use in marketing automation tools, such as email links. Update any landing pages and paid search links. Set up an HTTPS site in Google Search Console and Google Analytics.

In terms of the setup of the SSL certificate -- points one and two above -- this is fairly straightforward, and your hosting company will be able to assist you.

Also bear in mind that for a small website this will be fairly straightforward, as some of the above points wont apply in scenarios such as code libraries and CDNs. However, for a larger site, this is hardly a non-trivial event and should be managed by an experienced webmaster.

Up until this point, the only decision youll make is whether you want to use an SSL that has a green "secure" browser bar. These types of SSL usually require some form of identity verification before they're issued. This is one of the reasons they tend to cost more. Besides that difference, SSL certificates work under the same principle.

If you are not technically adept, you will probably need assistance with the above steps.

Its worth pointing out that, for a small site, say less than 50 pages, this process wont take too long. However, for larger sites, the full update of links and page redirects should be performed by an experienced developer.

The case for switching to HTTPS

Simply put, the strongest case for switching to HTTPS is that you are making your website more secure.

Sure, there are limits to this. HTTPS is not like a web application firewall. Its not going to prevent your website from getting hacked. Its not going to stop phishing emails getting sent, either.

If youre using a content management system (CMS), like WordPress, or you have any other login where you host any kind of sensitive data, then setting up a secure HTTPS login is the absolute minimum precaution you should take.

In reality, HTTPS is the basic price of security these days. Its the very minimum you can offer your visitors.

Aside from security, HTTPS also improves trust.

Related: 6 Reasons Smart Small Business Owners Invest In Security

According to research performed by GlobalSign, more than 80 percent of respondents would abandon a purchase if there was no HTTPS in use.

Thats fine for ecommerce merchants, but does HTTPS improve conversion and trust for businesses which dont take online payments? There is evidence that the use of security seals can improve lead generation by over 40 percent.

Not only do your visitors pay attention to your site's security, but so does Google. Security is at the heart of what Google does these days. Thats why the company has listed HTTPS as a ranking factor.

So the biggest reason to switch to HTTPS is to future-proof your website. Sooner or later, youre just going to have to bite the bullet, and make the switch.

The case against switching to HTTPS.

Recent research has shown that for smaller B2B websites, the uptake of HTTPS is low.

Reasons include a lack of awareness of the growing importance of SSL or the perceived complexity of switching to HTTPS, and in particular, the potential negative SEO impact.

And SEO is one of the most important considerations, especially for websites that have a good ranking. As the saying goes, "If it aint broke, dont fix it."

It's easy to empathize with this point. In fact, research that we conducted on more than 540 UK B2B businesses showed that the uptake of switching to HTTPS was in the 2 to 3 percent range. There was not a strong correlation between using SSL and getting a higher ranking, though.

Other factors, such as on page optimization, number of Google reviews, total number of pages and the number of backlinks, had far more bearing on a high ranking than switching to HTTPS.

In short, we concluded that HTTPS as a ranking factor is of low importance right now.

My personal view is that if your website is not seeing any significant impact from not using HTTPS, then you will not experience any significant negatives if you do not switch now or in the immediate future.

However, this comes with an extreme health warning. Failure to make the switch could leave you open to a sudden algorithm change. A worst-case scenario would be to see your rankings disintegrate overnight.

Google's notice of mobile friendliness gives some reassurance that this wouldn't happen overnight.

A contingency would be to engage with a skilled developer to plan everything and document it so that you can move quickly in the event that Google were to start to give significantly more weight to HTTPS signals with short notice.

This is an especially good idea for larger sites. As mentioned above, the SEO changes required, such as updating internal links, are not trivial matters, and in the case of updating htaccess, these should not be performed by a non-technical person. If they were to be performed in a rush, or by a less skilled developer, you could experience a hit to your rankings.

Also bear in mind that in the unlikely event that there were to be an overnight algorithm update which penalized non-HTTPS sites, skilled developers would be in demand and would have the whip hand in terms of dictating the costs. Planning to switch now would be a prudent move regardless of whether you implement the change immediately or later.

But it's worth reiterating that failure to switch is just postponing the inevitable.

HTTPS offers the base level of website security. Whether or not you should switch to HTTPS is a decision increasingly being driven by Googles search algorithm.

Switching to HTTPS is fairly straightforward for smaller websites. For larger websites, its more complicated, from an SEO perspective and requires skilled technical staff to make the changes.

Related: Here's How to Build a Strong Security Team to Keep Your Company Safe and Sound

However, the direction of travel is clear. Using HTTPS will increasingly be the norm rather than the exception, and you should plan to migrate sooner rather than later.
The Latest on the arrest of a suspect in the arson fire at a Florida mosque (all times local):

9:45 a.m.

The man accused of setting fire to a Florida mosque will not be released on bond.

St. Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci ordered 32-year--old Joseph Michael Schreiber held without bond Thursday on a charge of second-degree arson with a hate crime enhancement. Yacucci cited Schreiber's two previous prison stays for theft and said he is a danger to the community and a flight risk.

St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies arrested Schreiber on Wednesday, saying he set the Sunday night fire at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen had occasionally attended the mosque.

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3 a.m.

The man accused of setting fire to a Florida mosque posted anti-Islamic statements on Facebook.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrested 32-year-old Joseph Michael Schreiber on Wednesday and charged him with arson for allegedly setting fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce late Sunday. Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen had occasionally attended the mosque.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber stated that, "IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical." Schreiber is Jewish.

Maj. David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office told a news conference Schreiber was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video.
The Latest on an Ohio abduction case that led police to a kidnapping suspect and the remains of three people (all times local):

3 p.m.

An Ohio man arrested after a woman called 911 to report being held captive has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.

The Ashland County prosecutor said Thursday that 40-year-old Shawn Grate is charged with killing Stacey Stanley and a second woman whose body hasn't yet been identified.

Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell says Grate abducted the woman who called 911 so he could have sex with her.

Authorities are trying to identify a third body found inside a house in neighboring Richland County.

It's unclear whether Grate has an attorney.

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12:15 a.m.

A decision on additional charges in the case of an Ohio man arrested at a house where two bodies were found will come on Thursday.

Authorities are working to identify one of those bodies as well as a third body found at a house in neighboring Richland County.

A woman's report that she was being held captive at a home in Ashland led to the arrest of Shawn Grate, a murder confession and the discovery of the remains of the three other people.

Grate remains jailed on an abduction charge. It was not immediately clear if the 40-year-old, who is homeless, has an attorney.
A judge has entered a not guilty plea for a man accused of burning a missing Missouri woman's vehicle last week.

Kylr Yust is charged with knowingly burning 21-year-old Jessica Runions' vehicle. The woman from the Kansas City suburb of Raymore was last seen leaving a party a week ago.

Police say Yust is a person of interest in the 2007 disappearance of an ex-girlfriend, Kara Kopetsky, who was 17 when she vanished days after filing for a protection order against Yust. She was last seen at her high school in Belton, south of Kansas City.

Yust has not been charged in the disappearance of Runions or Kopetsky.

During Yust's brief court appearance Thursday, the judge also read Yust his rights and scheduled his next court appearance for Sept. 29.
A New York City man is facing a murder charge after his wife was found dead with her throat slashed.

Police said officers found 45-year-old Karen Ashley late Tuesday in the driver's seat of her car, which was parked outside her Brooklyn apartment. She was declared dead at the scene.

Beresford Ashley, 55, later surrendered himself, according to police. The New York Daily News reports prosecutors said he told police he believed he had "committed an offense" and had fought with his wife in front of her apartment.

Beresford Ashley faces charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He has been ordered jailed without bail.

The husband said nothing as he was escorted out of a precinct building Wednesday.

It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney.


A man wielding an 11-inch meat cleaver gashed an off-duty NYPD detective Thursday evening before he was shot by other officers following a foot chase through midtown Manhattan.

Incoming NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill told a press conference that two other officers were injured in the incident, but did not disclose how those injuries occurred. The detective was in serious condition after reciving a six-inch cut from his temple to his jaw. The suspect was in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.

Fox Exclusive video obtained of man with butcher knife being shot by nypd in front of Manhattan mall. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/Tdh2RRZ12I  Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) September 15, 2016

A law enforcement official told Fox News special agents from the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force responded to the scene. However, the attack was found to have no ties to terrorism.

The shooting at Broadway and 32nd Street, just a block from Macy's department store and Madison Square Garden, closed down several busy streets at the height of the evening rush hour.

The drama began shortly before 5 p.m. when two officers confronted the suspect, 32-year-old Akram Joudah of Queens, as he was attempting to remove a boot from his car. O'Neill said Joudah drew the cleaver from his waistband and fled.

Other officers joined the pursuit, including the off-duty detective. Outgoing NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said that the detective was en route to Penn Station to catch a train home when he spotted the chase.

"He did what we would want any New York City police officer to do," Bratton said, "self-engage."

After officers unsuccessfully deployed a Taser, the suspect climbed on top of a police car and slashed at the detective, who had attempted to tackle him.

"They grabbed his arm to put handcuffs on him, he swung his arm, pushed away from them and then opened his car and pulled out this butcher knife and started swinging," witness Khadim Hanne told Fox News.

In response, three officers fired 18 shots at the suspect. Bratton, who is retiring Friday, said he believed officers acted appropriately.

"We have a character running down the street, waving a cleaver," he said.

"They shot until the threat was stopped," said O'Neill, who is succeeding Bratton as commissioner.

A bystander, Jonathan Schneier, said when he left work to get coffee he saw a balding man holding a cleaver, surrounded by a small group of officers yelling at him to drop the knife. One officer had a Taser out. Others had handguns.

"I give credit to the police officers. They gave him many opportunities," Schneier said. He said the man with the knife "did not look very stable."

Corey Melton, a photographer, was checking his phone on the street corner when he heard "a series of gunshots go off."

Photos he took show a gray, four-door sedan with bullet holes in the windshield and numerous police cars with their emergency lights on. His photos also show a man sitting on the ground handcuffed behind the car.

O'Neill said Joudah may have been living out of his car when the officers confronted him. He noted that the suspect had "a number of arrests on his record."

Fox News' Bryan Llenas, Matt Dean and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from The New York Post.
The city of Orlando released more 911 calls Wednesday from the mass shooting at a gay Florida nightclub after the FBI said the records are no longer a part of its investigation.

The calls came from a patron who had just been inside the club but managed to run out with a friend who was shot and from a brother who was texting with his sister who was shot in her ribs and leg and was trapped in a nightclub bathroom. The brother passed on information from his sister to a police dispatcher in several calls.

"She is saying, 'Please hurry up ... She says 'Try to get someone in there because he's getting ready to shoot,'" the brother relayed to the police dispatcher in the second hour of what would be a three-hour standoff between gunman Omar Mateen and police. "She just says there is a lot of blood."

The dispatcher told the brother that police officers were going room-to-room in the club, rescuing trapped patrons.

"Why can't they find her?" the brother asked. "She is losing a lot of blood. It's making it kind of hard for me to talk to her."

Mateen, who had pledged alliance to the Islamic State, was killed in a shootout with SWAT team members rescuing police officers after a three-hour standoff on June 12. The hours-long rampage killed 49 people and required hospitalization for 53 others in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history.

The release of more than a dozen 911 calls Wednesday came three months after the massacre and as a legal fight between two dozen media groups and the city of Orlando over the records is heading toward a conclusion.

The Associated Press and other media organizations sued for the release of the more than 600 calls made to emergency dispatchers, as well as communication between Mateen and police, saying they could help the public evaluate police response to the massacre.

The city countered that the recordings were exempt under Florida's public records law, and that the FBI insisted their release could disrupt the investigation.

The FBI said last week withholding the records was no longer necessary.

The city had previously released a handful of 911 calls, and like the ones made public Wednesday, they are from family members or friends who were outside the club.

In one call released Wednesday, a woman says her friend has been shot and they are outside the club.

A dispatcher tells her police officers are at the club, but that he can't stay on the phone since he is fielding other calls about the shooting.

"But my friend is shot," the woman said, crying. "She is shot. My friend is shot!... She is bleeding. She is right here!"

The dispatcher tells her to stay on the line so she can be transferred to the fire department where dispatchers can walk her through providing first aid to her friend.

"Stay on the line. Don't hang up," the dispatcher said.
State prisoners around the country have organized protests in recent days to draw attention to range of grievances, from compensation to prison conditions.

Prisoner advocacy groups said they have received reports of work and hunger strikes in prisons in states such as Alabama, Florida and Michigan.

The complaints include inadequate health care, solitary confinement, the level of pay for work done by prisoners and physical mistreatment of inmates by staff.

The protests were largely organized around the 45th anniversary last Friday of the uprising at Attica Correctional Facility in New York state, they said.

However, not all of these reports could be confirmed with prison officials and the accuracy of some was challenged by those authorities.

The Kinross Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Mich., remains under lockdown following a weekend of protests and vandalism involving several hundred prisoners, said Chris Gautz, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

He said the facility is currently quiet but the lockdown remains in place while an investigation of the matter continues and repairs are made.

The protest began Friday when prisoners assigned to the kitchen didnt show up for work. On Saturday, about 400 of the prisons 1,300 inmates staged a more-than-threehour peaceful protest march in a commons area in front of the facilitys housing units.

Eventually, the protesters were persuaded to get back inside and a group of prisoners met with the warden to present grievances. Those grievances included pay levels for prisoner workers, which range from 74 cents a day to $3.34 a day.

To continue reading, click here.
A wounded fugitive wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a police officer in North Carolina was captured by police in Rhode Island on Wednesday and was arraigned, state police said.

Authorities surrounded a Coventry apartment where Irving Fenner surrendered peacefully early Wednesday, state police said.

Fenner was taken to a hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound. State police Col. Steven O'Donnell said Fenner was wounded during a shootout Saturday with Shelby, North Carolina, police Officer Tim Brackeen, who had been trying to serve him with a warrant.

Brackeen died Monday. His funeral is scheduled for Friday afternoon at Shelby High School, Principal David Allen told The Shelby Star.

Fenner was released from the hospital and taken to state police headquarters, where he was arraigned Wednesday night on charges of murder and being a fugitive from justice. He appeared in hospital scrubs and a sling, and was ordered held without bail. Fenner has outstanding warrants for robbery and kidnapping out of North Carolina. He couldn't be reached for comment while in custody, and it was unclear whether he had a lawyer who could comment for him.

Fenner, of Grover, North Carolina, was picked up and driven Monday to Rhode Island, where he has many family members, police said.

The Rhode Island state police tactical team, federal agents and local police raided a home in South Providence on Tuesday night in hopes of finding Fenner, but he wasn't there.

Police did, however, arrest Fenner's half-sister on a charge of harboring a fugitive. She also was wanted on a warrant out of North Carolina on a charge of being an accessory after the fact. It was unclear if the warrant was related to Brackeen's killing.

Two occupants of the Coventry apartment where Fenner was found also were arrested and were charged with harboring a fugitive. One was Fenner's uncle, the other was his uncle's girlfriend.

All three were arraigned Wednesday night.


A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a road rage incident involving a gun that occurred on the southbound shoulder of I-205 near Oregon City, Oregon.

Police said the incident happened in the area of mileposts 9 and 10 at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

Several people reported the situation to police and provided officers with a video that shows a firearm being used during the incident.

Fox 12 spoke with Russ Ceperich, who recorded the road rage incident.

Ceperich said he was taking his daughter to school Friday morning when he got stuck on I-205 traffic in Oregon City. Then, what he saw next made him stop, pull out his camera and hit record.

"When the guy got out of the car, my first reaction was, is that a gun? Like, I can't believe he has a gun."

Ceperich captured 18 seconds of the heated moment between the two men. In the video, you can see one man walk up to the other with a gun.

At the end of the video, it shows both men going back to their vehicles.

Ceperich said he saw a lot of anger and believes the situation could have been avoided.

"I don't think he ever had to stop his car. I think he deserves to pay the price. I don't know what that price is, but I think that you can't get away with that."

According to Oregon State Police, Bradlee J. France was arrested Tuesday evening on charges of menacing, disorderly conduct and pointing a firearm at another.

Click for more from Fox 12.
The American Family Association is praising Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for urging Target to re-examine its controversial transgender bathroom policies after a second man was caught recording women undressing in changing rooms.

"After this latest incident, I hope Target finally recognizes the importance of protecting its customers, especially in environments where they can be at their most vulnerable. I am offering them the resources of my office to help assist them in improving their safety procedures," Paxton said in a message to Target last Friday.

Paxton was referring to police reports searching for a man who peered over a changing room wall with a cellphone at a Target store on Northwest Highway at Abrams. It is the second such incident reported, after a similar crime occurred back in May at a Target store in Frisco, Texas.

AFA, a conservative group that has lead a nationwide boycott against Target for allowing men to go into women's bathrooms and dressing rooms if they identify as female, praised Paxton's inquiry, arguing that he is taking a "courageous stand against Target's unsafe and dangerous policy."

"And he's not afraid to step on some corporate toes to make sure companies don't put women and children at risk from sexual predators," the group added in a statement on Tuesday.

The AFA noted that Paxton sent a similar letter to Target's corporate management back in May, where he said that allowing customers who are men according to their birth sex to go into women's restrooms has the potential of leading to criminal activity.
The Dalai Lama has praised the European Union for preserving national cultures while pursuing collective goals, suggesting it could be a model for Tibet within China.

On a tour of Europe, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said Thursday: "We are very much impressed by the spirit of the European Union - independent, sort-of sovereign states" in which "the common interest is more important."

It was rare praise for a bloc struggling for unity after Britain's vote to leave.

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile are seeking autonomy for Tibet but not independence.

"We happily join or remain within the People's Republic of China provided they must respect our unique culture including language," he said in Strasbourg at the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights authority.
A former Guantanamo prisoner on a hunger strike slipped into a coma Wednesday, said a doctor in Uruguay, where the ex-detainee was taken in as a refugee nearly two years ago but has been demanding to move elsewhere to reunite with his family.

Abu Wa'el Dhiab was unconscious and extremely dehydrated when paramedics arrived at the apartment where he is staying in Montevideo, said Dr. Julia Galzerano of the Medical Union of Uruguay, who was treating the former prisoner from Syria.

"We hope that it is reversible. We can't know" for a while, Galzerano said. The doctor said she was told Dhiab had gone 12 days without water.

Dhiab was being treated at an apartment in keeping with his wishes not to be hospitalized during his protest.

He drew international attention by hunger-striking during his 12 years of occasionally confrontational confinement at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was released from Guantanamo in December 2014 but could not return to his homeland and was allowed to resettle in Uruguay.

Dhiab has grown increasingly disgruntled in the South American country and launched the hunger strike to pressure the government to allow him to join his family in Turkey or to go to another country.

Christian Mirza, the former prisoner's liaison with the Uruguayan government, said officials have been working "at the highest levels" to find another country to accept him.

The 45-year-old Syrian was one of six freed Guantanamo prisoners taken in by Uruguay as a humanitarian gesture by then President Jose Mujica. While the others settled in, Dhiab has struggled. He announced in a Sept. 6 video that he had been on hunger strike at that point for 23 days and that he had taken nothing but water over the preceding five days. His weight was not publicly known.

At Guantanamo, where he was detained as an enemy combatant with suspected ties to militants but never charged, his weight dropped at one point to about 155 pounds (70) kilograms, gaunt for a man over 6 feet tall (183 centimeters). Authorities there said he often struggled with guards, who forcibly removed him from his cell at least 48 times in less than a single year of his protest. Troops also said he assaulted them with feces and vomit several times.

In Uruguay, Dhiab has stayed out of the public eye recently, protected by activists from several generally anti-government groups who have taken up his cause.

Jon Eisenberg, a California lawyer who represented Dhiab in the past, said he had not spoken with him since Aug. 31 and was unable to get direct information.

"I have no doubt that he is quite ill and in despair, but I fear that the people now surrounding him are exploiting his personal despair in pursuit of their own political agenda and are not acting in his best interest," Eisenberg said.

It was the latest turn in the case of a man who has become an international headache for Uruguay's government.

Less than two months after his arrival in Uruguay, Dhiab turned up in neighboring Argentina, in violation of an agreement not to travel, and denounced the U.S. failure to close Guantanamo. He appeared in a mock orange prison jumpsuit, an icon of the prison that was opened in 2002 to hold suspected enemy combatants in the war against al-Qaida and the Taliban following the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Dhiab then began publicly complaining about life in Uruguay, to the increasing irritation of the government, and protesting outside the U.S. Embassy, angering members of Congress. In July, he set off alarms when he vanished for several weeks, then turned up in Venezuela, which rejected his request to be sent to Turkey to join his wife and children and sent him back to Uruguay.

Ambassador Lee Wolosky, the U.S. special envoy for Guantanamo closure, expressed bewilderment Wednesday about Dhiab's situation, saying Uruguay's government had been in "very advanced stages" of bringing his wife and children from Turkey when he took off to Venezuela.

"I think that Dhiab has been offered every opportunity by the government of Uruguay to move on with his life and he has disgracefully repudiated the extraordinary hospitality and generosity of the government of Uruguay," Wolosky said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The envoy pointed out the former prisoner had agreed to the resettlement offer and said Uruguay provided him with a $500 monthly stipend and an apartment and offered language and vocational classes. The resettlement of the other five has been a "success," in contrast with Dhiab, he said.

"He has gotten more support than refugees receive in that country in the normal course by far and he has received more support than many Uruguayan citizens receive," Wolosky said. "He's had every opportunity to make good choices and be reunited with his family and he has instead made bad choices."


The president of the European Parliament says he fears that a victory in the U.S. presidential election for Donald Trump, whom he labels "apparently irresponsible," could boost what he calls "imitators" in Europe.

Martin Schulz, a member of Germany's center-left Social Democrats, told German magazine Der Spiegel in comments published Thursday that the Republican nominee is a problem "for the whole world."

Schulz was quoted as saying: "If a man sits in the White House who flirts with having no idea and labels expertise as elitist baloney, a critical point is reached." He said that would mean "an apparently irresponsible man" being in a position that requires the highest sense of responsibility.

Schulz, who leads the 28-nation European Union's legislative assembly, added: "My concern is that he could also boost imitators in Europe." He didn't elaborate.
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Police on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali say a German woman was killed and about 20 other people injured in an explosion on a speed boat ferrying them to neighboring Lombok.

Karangasem police chief Bambang Sudarso says Thursday that the "Gili Cat 2" fast boat had more than 40 people including crew on board. He says all the passengers have been evacuated from the boat.

He says the explosion occurred about 200 meters (220 yards) from the port of departure and was preceded by smoke billowing from the engine.

Aside from Germany, the passengers were foreign tourists from Australia, Britain, France and South Korea.

Police are questioning the boat's captain.
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Police say some 100 officers had to get between far-right Germans and asylum-seekers who were fighting in the eastern German town of Bautzen.

Bautzen police spokesman Thomas Knaup said Thursday around 80 Germans and 20 migrants were attacking each other Wednesday night on a market square.

Police had to separate the groups and were attacked with bottles by some of the asylum-seekers.

The far-right protesters were shouting nationalist slogans and followed the asylum-seekers back to their shelter while police tried to keep the groups separated. Later, some of the far-right group threw stones at an ambulance preventing it from getting close to the shelter to attend to an injured migrant.

In February, onlookers celebrated as fire damaged a former hotel that was being turned into a refugee home in Bautzen.
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The Dutch defense minister has welcomed to the national military museum a historic U.S. flag flown on the stern of the boat that led the first American troops onto Utah Beach on D-Day.

The fragile flag was flown to the museum in a Chinook transport helicopter and greeted on Thursday by dignitaries that included a group of American World War II veterans.

Dutch businessman Bertram Kreuk, who bought the 48-star flag at an auction in Texas for $514,000, has loaned it to the museum.

Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert says the flag "should remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted."

The Dallas-based auction house that arranged the flag's sale in June says the banner bears a bullet hole that is believed to have come from a German machine gun.
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Every year Raju Laljibhai Dipikar goes out with his wife and three daughters and chooses an elaborate statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god so dear to devout Hindus.

For two days the god "lives" with the family in their tiny apartment in Mumbai, his presence bringing them joy. And in return for the love the family showers on him he takes away all their problems, Dipikar says.

So it is for tens of millions of other families across western and southern India when they mark the birthday of Ganesha.

Beautiful idols of the god are purchased and brought home, where they are worshipped. After a few days  every family has its own tradition  the idols, made from plaster of Paris or clay, are carried to a large body of water and ceremonially immersed.

Nowhere is the festival celebrated with more fervor than in Mumbai. For 10 days every year the pace of India's bustling business capital slows to welcome the god, known as the one who blesses new beginnings and removes obstacles.

Apart from the small idols installed in people's homes, massive statues are set up in temporary structures.

Flowers and coconuts and incense are offered to the god as is his favorite sweet treat  dumplings called "modaks," made of a crude sugar and coconut.

The last day of the 10-day celebration is the biggest day, with massive crowds singing and dancing as they carry their idols through the streets, to immerse them in the water, an act that symbolizes sending the god back to his mythical home in the snow-capped mountains taking all the worries and problems of his worshippers with him.
A Kosovo prosecutor has charged five ethnic Albanians, including four imams, with crimes that include carrying out terrorist acts and inciting hatred.

The national Prosecutor General's office said in a statement Thursday said that a special prosecutor has accused two of the Muslim leaders of committing terrorist acts and the two others of inciting national, racial, religious or ethnic hatred.

The statement did not detail the alleged activities that led to the charges, but said the most serious charges would be punishable by up to eight years in prison.

Authorities say no Kosovo citizen has joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq this year, although about 70 still are believed to be active there.

The fifth defendant was charged with calling for resistance to legal institutions.
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Germany's chancellor and France's president are meeting in Paris to coordinate strategy a day before an informal EU summit in Slovakia.

The French presidency said Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are working "very closely" to agree on proposals for Friday's meeting of 27 EU leaders in Bratislava, with Europe's security at the top of the agenda.

Hollande and Merkel want to create a permanent EU military headquarters which could dispatch European troops quickly when necessary  a long-standing project opposed by Britain.

The French presidency said Thursday the two leaders will also push for better protection of the EU's external borders and improving cooperation among police, justice and intelligence services.

Britain, which has voted to leave the EU, was not invited to the meeting.
The Israeli military says it has struck three Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire toward southern Israel.

There were no reports of injuries or damage on either side Thursday.

Israel and the Hamas militant group fought a 50-day war in the summer of 2014. Since then, a cease-fire has largely held. But militant groups in Gaza occasionally launch rockets toward Israel.

Israel holds Hamas, which controls Gaza, responsible for all attacks emanating from the territory.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has inspected construction work on a mammoth bridge intended to link the Crimean Peninsula to mainland Russia.

Putin, who was in the Crimean city of Kerch Thursday, visited the construction site for the 19-kilometer (12-miles) bridge across the Kerch Strait set to open in December 2018

After annexing Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, Russia has moved to improve the Black Sea peninsula's transport and energy infrastructure. Those efforts have grown more urgent as the Ukrainian government last year barred all commercial transport from crossing into Crimea via a strip of Ukrainian land.

Russia has also laid undersea power cables to Crimea to end its reliance on Ukraine. Crimea last year experienced severe shortages after anti-Russia protesters in Ukraine blocked power supplies.
Britain says it's embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara will be closed on Friday for security reasons.

The British government posted the one-day closure notice on its official website on Thursday, but did not elaborate on the reasons for the decision.

It also advised against all travel to within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of Turkey's border with Syria and to the city of Diyarbakir in the country's southeast.

Turkey launched military operations into northern Syria last month to battle back Islamic State group fighters and to contain the expansion of Syrian Kurdish militia.

Britain's announcement came a day after Germany temporarily closed its embassy, all other consular offices and a school in Turkey following a newspaper report about fears of a possible attack.
Syria's military began withdrawing from a major artery into Aleppo on Thursday evening, shortly after the U.N. envoy for Syria blamed President Bashar Assad's government for obstructing aid access to the contested city.

With the U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire for the war-torn country holding for its third straight day, calls intensified to have the government permit aid access to besieged opposition areas.

The U.N. says it has 40 trucks ready to distribute aid in the country, and it would prioritize delivery to the embattled, rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo.

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GOVERNMENT

In Geneva, the U.N.'s envoy to Syria, Staffan De Mistura, called humanitarian access the "second dividend" of the U.S.-Russia cease-fire deal, after tapering violence.

However, de Mistura said the Syrian government had not provided the necessary "facilitation letters," or permits, to allow for convoys to reach opposition areas, disappointing even Russia, the Syrian president key backer.

Russia's military announced on Thursday evening that the Syrian military was beginning to withdraw from a contested route to Aleppo, suggesting a breakthrough to the deadlock could be coming.

CLASHES FOR IS-HELD DEIR EL-ZOUR

In the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, clashes and shelling over the past 24 hours between government forces and the Islamic State group in the provincial capital, also called Deir el-Zour, have killed at least three people, including a child, according to activists and state media.

Elsewhere in the same province, an airstrike Thursday on the IS-held town of Mayadeen killed at least four people and wounded dozens, said opposition activists and Deir el-Zour 24, an activist collective. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the airstrike killed seven people. It wasn't known who carried out the airstrike.

The cease-fire does not cover territory held by the Islamic State group.
Paris Baguette Continues Aggressive U.S. Franchise Expansion with First Multi-Unit Deal

Premier Global Bakery Inks Deal to Roll out New Locations in Northern California

September 15, 2016 // Franchising.com // Sunnyvale, Calif.  The fast casual bakery-cafe franchise with more than 3,700 worldwide locations, Paris Baguette, announced its first multi-unit franchise deal in Northern California. Local entrepreneur, Joshua Kim, will open the new restaurants in the growing brands most successful state. With 11 locations already open an operating throughout Northern California, Kims next location is expected to open in the first quarter of 2017 in the city of Sunnyvale, California.

Kim, who is Paris Baguettes first franchisee since the company began franchising in September 2015, opened his first location in San Jose this past April. With a degree in industrial engineering from DongGuk University in Seoul, Korea, Kim grew up with a passion for food, watching his mother run a restaurant in Korea. He went on to open a string of Belgian Waffle stores in Korea from 1997-1999, further solidifying his transition from engineering to the food industry. Now, as the owner of Refresh Foods, Inc. and Paris Baguette San Jose, Kim is eager to further develop Paris Baguettes presence, making it the go to bakery-cafe throughout the region.

We expect the success in Northern California to act as a catalyst for further expansion across the state, inspiring like-minded entrepreneurs to get in on the ground level with an established restaurant brand building its U.S. presence, said Larry Sidoti, chief development officer of Paris Baguette. The brand is very well-known overseas, and we want to drive that same success and brand loyalty here in the United States by finding the right franchise partners that fully understand the history, international popularity and growth potential of the brand.

With over 70 years of experience in the baking industry, Paris Baguette first debuted in the United States in 2005. With proprietary dough that is lighter, more airy, and less sweet than typical dough, its products offer guests a unique and sophisticated taste. The fast casual bakery provides its higher quality, value-driven experience through a combination of self-serve stations and over the counter service in all locations. Traditional locations average 1,800 square feet to 2,500 square feet as well as non-traditional venues such as airports, hotels and casinos.

Featuring high quality baked goods, savory eats and beverages, Paris Baguette currently has 47 U.S. locations stretching from the West Coast to the East Coast. Worldwide, the company has over 3,700 locations throughout South Korea, China, Singapore, Vietnam and France. Further expansion plans across the United States will focus on 18 key target markets including continued development throughout California and the Northeast. By the close of this year, Paris Baguette is on track to add 15 new locations.

For more information visit: www.parisbaguetteusa.com. To learn more about franchising opportunities, visit: http://parisbaguettefamily.com/home/franchise-information/

About Paris Baguette

Paris Baguette was born out of a concept which first began in Korea in 1945. As the company grew, it adapted to peoples ever-expanding palates, and the focus on premium baked goods led to the founding of Paris Baguette in 1988. Specializing in French-inspired recipes, the company uses proprietary dough that is lighter, more airy and less sweet than traditional dough to create decadent, unique, and sophisticated desserts, in addition to its offerings of chef inspired sandwiches and signature coffee. Currently Paris Baguette has more than 3,700 locations in South Korea, China, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States. After reaching 43 locations spanning the West Coast to the East Coast, Paris Baguette began franchising in 2015 and now has more than 45 locations with a projected 350 additional stores by 2020.

SOURCE Paris Baguette

Media Contact:

Elida Coseri

ecoseri@fishmanpr.com

847-945-1300

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"Most victims are women, injured and disfigured by jilted partners or relatives."

Attack in eastern India happened days after a court handed down a landmark death sentence verdict to a man found guilty of murdering a nurse in an acid attack





NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Three girls in eastern India are being treated in hospital after acid was thrown on them, said police on Monday, just days after a court handed down a landmark death sentence verdict to a man found guilty of murdering a nurse in an acid attack.





The teenage girls were attacked late on Sunday in West Bengal's Bankura district as they were returning home from tuition classes and were waiting near a bus stand.





Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyabrata Bhoi said they were taken by three men in a car where they were attacked and acid thrown on them. The three men have been arrested, he said, adding that the victims were now recovering in hospital.





"A Bolero vehicle and three persons have been arrested -- a driver and two other persons -- and cases have been registered against them," Bhoi told Asian News International (ANI).





Acid attacks - meant to maim, disfigure or blind - occur in many countries. They are most common in Cambodia, as well as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. Most victims are women, injured and disfigured by jilted partners or relatives.





Previously classified under grievous harm, acid attacks became a specific offence in India in 2013 after public pressure forced the government to improve laws to protest women following the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in 2012.





According to India's home ministry, there were 222 cases reported in 2015 compared to 309 the previous year. Activists say the number is under-reported as many do not report cases for fear the perpetrators will seek revenge.





On Thursday, a man in the city of Mumbai was sentenced to death for a fatal acid attack on a nurse at a busy railway station three years ago in what is seen as a legal landmark.





Preeti Rathi, who was 23 when she was murdered, had just arrived from Delhi to join the Indian navy as a nurse. Her neighbour Ankur Panwar attacked her after she rejected a marriage proposal.





It is the first such sentence for an acid attack in India. While certainty of justice and punishment is crucial, regulating the sale of acid is also essential, say campaigners.





"It is shocking that despite the Supreme Court guidelines, acid is so easily available to people like those who did this to these girls," lawyer and women's rights activist Abha Singh told reporters.





"The Supreme Court has given very clear guidelines that you cannot easily sell acid over the counter and is it the responsibility of local authorities to do surprise checks to see if acid is being sold illegally."





India's top court in 2013 ordered the government to curb the sale of acid to control attacks on women.





It made it mandatory for anyone wishing to buy the chemical, which is cheap and used as an everyday household cleaning product, to be over 18 years of age and have an identity card.





Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation , Nita Bhalla, Ros Russell, September 12, 2016. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org

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Menopause Weight Gain Feel Beautiful Increase Self Esteem Guide Released

Menopause Morph has just released it new Menopause Self Esteem eBook, a guide highlighting 50 tips for women experiencing menopause to improve self-awareness and build self esteem during this tough transition.

--

Menopause Morph, an online source of facts and myths surrounding a woman's mid-life change, has just released its new Menopause Self Esteem eBook guiding women through the tough times of transition. Creator Pauline McCarthy, graduate of Stow College, Glasgow, Scotland, hosts a weekly podcast interviewing experts on this multifaceted life stage that affects every woman.

More information can be found on Menopause Morph website at: http://menopausemorph.com.

The number of post-menopausal women in the world is projected to be 1.1 billion by the year 2025. More than one-half of women believe depression is a 'normal part of aging' and that it is normal for a woman to be depressed during menopause according to a Mental Health America survey.

As women enter menopause, their levels of physical activity decrease. Science Daily reports that researchers from the University of Missouri found a connection between the lack of ovarian hormones and changes in the brain's pleasure center, a hotspot in the brain that processes and reinforces messages related to reward, pleasure, activity and motivation for physical exercise.

In the Menopause Self Esteem eBook: Support System, 50 Tips to get through the tough times from The Pearls of Pauline - Pearls of Wisdom, Compassion & Joy for Menopausal Women, Pauline introduces women experiencing the unknowns of menopause to a process of understanding their strengths and faults to empower them to move through their lives with confidence, faith in themselves, morale, dignity and self-assurance.

The 50-tip eBook defines self esteem and what it means at any age. It also addresses women's approaches to their daily lives, being mindful and journaling to notice changes and trends and acknowledging the positives. It stresses the process of growing and understanding of self in order to enjoy the most fulfillment out of life.

Along with the 50-tip eBook, the Menopause Morph web page and podcast address topics such as hot flashes, brain fog, memory loss, night sweats, mood swings, low libido, painful sex, menopause age and peri-menopause.

The site compares myths versus facts concerning change of life, like the myth that weight gain during menopause is inevitable. The fact is that weight gain can be prevented with the right food choices and regular exercise. Another example is the myth hot flashes are the first warning sign of menopause. The fact is that signs and symptoms are random and individual.

Menopause Morph reveals symptoms associated with menopause including hair thinning and losing its luster, teeth loosening and gums receding, headaches and hot flashes, backaches, breasts drooping and flattening, vaginal dryness, itching and shrinking, bone mass loss and becoming more fragile and risk of cardiovascular disease.

More about these topics can be found by visiting the website listed above.

For more information, please visit http://menopausemorph.com

Contact Info:

Name: Pauline McCarthy

Organization: Menopause Morph



Release ID: 132735

For more information visit r



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"Remember the Flor Contemplacion case?"

VICE President Leni Robredo on Wednesday appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to exhaust all available remedies and steps to save Filipina drug convict Mary Jane Veloso from Indonesian death row.





"Mary Jane's case is emblematic of the hardships faced by millions of our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). We must keep her welfare in mind, along with the welfare of all OFWs, as they remain under our government's protection and support despite working overseas." Robredo said.





Robredo also recounted how the past administration and the Filipino people were able to successfully spare Veloso from her scheduled execution.





"A year ago, the Filipino nation came together in prayer and unity to appeal to the Indonesian government to spare Mary Jane's life. Our prayers were answered when she was given a reprieve, and as 1 nation, we rejoiced." Robredo said.





Meanwhile, some Senators also expressed support for Veloso's plight.





"It should be remembered that she went there with the sole intent of becoming an OFW, and her misfortune is the reason why every year, we set aside funds to help victims like her," Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto said





Meanwhile, according to Senator Francis Escudero, Duterte was put in a difficult position during his meeting with Indonesia President Joko Widodo.









---------------------------------------

*** Flor Contemplacion, a 42 year old Filipina maid, was convicted by a Singaporean court of killing another Filipina maid, Delia Maga and Nicholas Huang, the three year old Singaporean son of her employer on May 4th, 1991. She had originally confessed to the murders. It was, however, later claimed that she made the confession under duress, and it has also been claimed that she was of doubtful sanity at the time they were committed, although this seems unlikely.

She was hanged by Darshan Singh, at 6.00 a.m. on Friday, the 17th of March 1995 together with three male drug traffickers, amidst scenes of unusually tight security. Eight policemen, including two armed with machine guns and wearing flak jackets, stood outside the prison gates with two dogs. Police cars and motorcycles patrolled the street continuously, apparently to deter protests by the estimated 75,000 Filipinos working in Singapore.

Anger swept the Philippines as the news of the execution broke. Leftist and feminist groups, human rights activists and the media denounced Singapore as a barbaric, tyrannical and totalitarian state with no respect for human rights. The Roman Catholic Church called Singapore a state without mercy. The execution caused a major diplomatic row between Singapore and the Philippines, after Singapore rejected an appeal from the Philippines President, Fidel Ramos. There were protests outside the Singapore Embassy in Manila. (Source: Capital Punishment UK "I totally disagree that Mary Jane should be put on death row. In fact, we should do everything we can to stop it, delay it. Remember the Flor Contemplacion case?*** We unrelentingly appealed for her case. But we are in a unique position now because the administration is batting for death penalty for drugs," Escudero added, referring to Duterte's tough war versus illegal drugs.---------------------------------------***

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Source: Sun Star, Sept. 14, 2016
Asher College Among Schools Welcoming ITT Transfer Students in Sacramento, Dallas and Las Vegas

Asher College announces that their accredited campuses will provide transfer opportunities to students affected by the recent closure of ITT Educational Services, Inc.

--

Asher College announces that their accredited campuses will provide transfer opportunities to students affected by the recent closure of ITT Educational Services, Inc.

On Tuesday, one of the largest for-profit career colleges in the United States, ITT Educational Services, Inc. (ITT), closed all of its campuses. The closure of ITT will leave an estimated 35,000 students in a difficult situation with their studies and training unfinished. In response to this situation, Asher College, an accredited career college with campuses in three states, has announced that their campuses are open to accepting former ITT students seeking to complete their education. Asher would like to offer their assistance to these students.

For students who were scheduled to start classes at ITT this term, the closure is certainly inconvenient. But for students who had already earned credits at ITT, and especially for those who were about to graduate, the closure poses bigger problems.

Switching schools mid-training can be difficult between the change in learning environment and the hassle of transferring credits. However, the difficult situation is being alleviated in part thanks to established and accredited educational institutions such as Asher College that are willing to accept transfer students of now defunct ITT.

David Vice, President and CEO of Asher College, states, "Students who are forced to transfer schools due to closure find themselves in a tough situation. Asher College is committed to working with those individuals to see how their unique educational circumstances can be accommodated and make the transition to their new school as smooth as possible."

Asher College is a vocational college and career trade school that was established in Asher College Sacramento, California in 1998 and that now operates in Asher College Dallas, Texas as well as Asher College Las Vegas, Nevada. Asher's commitment to providing quality education to its students is demonstrated in its 18-year track record and national accreditation through ACCET.

Contact Info:

Name: Kim Gasper - Corporate Director of Admissions

Email: info@asher.edu

Phone: (888) 211-8829

Organization: Asher College

Source: http://www.prreach.com/pr/26003

Release ID: 132779

For more information visit r



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The Genesis Academy Hires New Director Deborah Heiderich Ahead Of New School Year

The Genesis Academy has appointed a new director in Deborah Heiderich, who has introduced a new curriculum and approach to the preschool in time for the new academic year.

--

Schooling is an essential part of children's lives, and the earlier they start to develop their academic understanding, the better they are able to adapt to its challenges as they grow older. As a result, preschool is becoming an essential part of children's futures. The Genesis Academy is a Cypress preschool that offers the highest quality education to children in their most formative years, helping set them up for success. They have just appointed a brand new director, Deborah Heiderich, who has revolutionized the curriculum in time for the new school year.

The new director has continued the preschool's 20 year commitment to Christian values, with children enjoying daily Bible time, which is reinforced through each of the individual subjects, and especially in music.

Deborah Heiderich has been instrumental in creating a curriculum that promotes imagination, and the value of pretend and make-believe. New activities will help develop communication and social interaction, grow the vocabulary and more. The school also helps children understand the value of cooperation, which in turn creates better friendships for life.

The school is also committed to child safety at all times. New innovations give them the freedom to play, explore and develop while remaining totally safe and secure. This allows parents to feel relaxed about preschool, knowing their children are protected and nurtured in a supportive environment.

A spokesperson for The Genesis Academy explained, "Deborah Heiderich is an experienced educator and an inspirational woman, and we are thrilled that she has joined us as a director. We are already seeing the benefits of her appointment, with a revolution in the way we are going to approach preschool education that still fulfills our core purpose as a Christian school. Our existing students are going to have the best time this year, and we look forward to welcoming our newest members into the fold at this exciting time for the Academy."

About The Genesis Academy: Since 1996, The Genesis Academy, a Cypress preschool, has offered quality Christian preschool and childcare to children ages 3-5. They are a ministry of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church located in the Copperfield area of Northwest Harris County.

For more information, please visit http://www.thegenesisacademy.com/default.asp?sec_id=180000056

Contact Info:

Name: Deborah Heiderich

Email: thegenesisacademy@sbcglobal.net

Organization: The Genesis Academy

Address: 16650 Longenbaugh Houston, Texas 77095

Phone: 281-859-6200

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/the-genesis-academy-hires-new-director-deborah-heiderich-ahead-of-new-school-year/132809

Release ID: 132809

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Aroga Worldwide Is On The Move In South Africa And Neighboring Countries After Signing Agreement With TACC In August

Aroga worldwide, announced today that Aroga's planned Africa expansion with TACC is progressing well, with even better than originally forecast product sales.

--

After signing a major agreement, just a few weeks ago with TACC, Aroga Worldwide CEO Grove Bennett, announced today, that Aroga Africa's Acu-Point Hologram sales are much greater than originally forecast. Twelve Apostles' Church in Christ (TACC) began distribution of Aroga's Acu-Point Holograms shortly after signing the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Aroga. The SLA provides for TACC to acquire 250,000 Acu-Point Hologram customers within the first six months of the agreement. The plan includes beginning distribution in South Africa, but will also include expanding distribution into other African countries, and ramping up distribution to over 1 million customers within the first twelve months, with expected annual gross revenues to exceed $40 Million USD from sales in Africa, alone.

Mr. Bennett traveled to South Africa in August to meet with TACC's Chief Apostle and Chairman, Professor, Caesar Nongqunga, to finalize the agreement, which provides for distribution of Aroga's products and services throughout Africa. According to Grove Bennett, this SLA between Aroga and TACC is unique, and not common within the Direct Selling Industry.

"We are breaking new ground in our industry, with this SLA between Aroga and TACC. To my knowledge, it's the first SLA of this type, between a Direct Sales Company and a major Church Organization. Our agreement with TACC is something that I am truly honored to be a part of. I am so looking forward to to touching, and changing many lives throughout Africa with Aroga's products and opportunity. I am deeply honored to be working with such a fabulous group of incredible individuals, like Chief Apostle, Caesar Nongqunga and the other members of TACC. "~ Grove Bennett, Aroga CEO

Mr. Bennett is planning an additional trip to Africa on September 15th, to oversee expansion of Aroga Africa into the countries of Nigeria and Zimbabwe. During this expansion trip, Mr. Bennett is scheduled to attend a special Thanksgiving Service with Chief Apostle, Professor Caesar Nongqunga and TACC Members. According to Bennett, this second visit to Africa will allow Aroga to open up additional distribution channels and finalize new agreements.

Aroga Worldwide has been enjoying an impressive growth curve after entering the Direct Sales Industry, little more than 1-year ago. Since then, Aroga has expanded its Acu-Point Hologram distribution into 138 Countries, opened new offices in South Africa, acquired a new Global Payment System, and signed several major agreements, all of which provide for acquiring large groups of customers for Aroga's products and services.

About TACC:

The more modern roots of the Twelve Apostles' Church in Christ are to be found in the Catholic Apostolic Church, founded in 1832 in England by John Bate Cardale, Henry Dalton, Henry Drummond and others. The movement quickly spread to Europe, particularly to Germany (the northern States) and the Netherlands. As a result of doctrinal differences in the Church, schisms took place and out of these schisms what became known as the New Apostolic Church emerged.

But the modern day roots go back even further, to 1650 in England when the 1558 Act of Uniformity was repealed and freedom of religion in England became a fact of life. With this development, Churches that had been operating in secret, e.g., the Baptists, a secret Church since 1616, could now come out into the open. At the same time several new sects emerged, importantly, sects that no longer placed emphasis on the Bible but insisted on the role of The Holy Spirit. Groups which queried the fact that the Bible is the word of God, the teachings not to be taken literally but rather be subject to interpretation.

Apostle Ceasar Nongqunga leads the church today with over 6 million members. In 2010, Apostle Nongqunga and his wife re-created the Twelve Apostles' Church in Christ Women's League with emphasis on the role of women in the community. The members are encouraged to initiate and/or support projects in their communities for the alleviation of hardship and to make families self-supporting.

Twelve Apostles' Church in Christ, is an independent Apostolic Church with its Head Administration Office in East London, South Africa. Membership is well in excess of 6 million. In addition to the numerous congregations throughout South Africa, there are many additional congregations in other African countries, and, as a result of labor and political migration, congregations in the United Kingdom, as well. In addition, TACC also has an affiliated Church in India, Twelve Apostles' Church in Christ in India, based in Hyderabad. Other TACC churches are located in Ghana, and Bangladesh, with additional congregations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and even the United States Of America.

For more information, please visit https://arogaworldwide.com/africa/home

Contact Info:

Name: Eric Grant

Organization: Aroga Worldwide



Video URL: https://youtu.be/Ho6FZmd8Btc

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/aroga-worldwide-is-on-the-move-in-south-africa-and-neighboring-countries-after-signing-agreement-with-tacc-in-august/132656

Release ID: 132656

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MaxBulk Mailer 8.5.5 release

Maxprog is proud to present a new release of its bulk email software, MaxBulk Mailer, available now on Maxprog website with several interesting new features and improvements.

September 15, 2016 (FPRC) -- Maxprog is proud to present a new release of its bulk email software, MaxBulk Mailer, available now on Maxprog website with several interesting new features and improvements.



Email Marketing is spreading around the whole world because of its high effectiveness, speed and low cost. If you want to introduce and sell your product or service, the best way is to use e-mail to contact your targeted customer. Targeted e-mail is no doubt very effective. If you can introduce your product or service through email directly to the customers who are interested in them, this will bring your business a better chance of success.



MaxBulk Mailer is a bulk email software and internet marketing tool for macOS and MS Windows that supports plain text, HTML and rich text formats including optional plain text alternative and attachments. It includes document and contact management, support for multiple lists and remote lists, multiple accounts with POP and ESMTP authentication, SSL, groups, mySQL and postgreSQL imports, unicode support, double opt-in list subscription manager and message opening/click-through tracking, 40 encoding for virtually any language and hundreds of exclusive features.



MaxBulk Mailer is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch and Portuguese for macOS 10.7 and Windows 7 (or higher).



Product sheet: http://maxbulkmailer.maxprog.com

Demo movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrTCeJ4tyUw



Maxprog has created the ultimate tool for all of the email marketing needs. MaxBulk Mailer allows the user to design and send professional looking emails to customers and prospects for as little as fractions of a penny. MaxBulk Mailer is a powerful mail-merge tool that allows to send out customized press releases, price lists and any kind of text or HTML documents.



Sample message: http://www.maxprog.com/site/blog/post.php?id=476&about=MaxBulk_Mailer&topic=Sending_beautiful_e-mails_with_MaxBulk_Mailer



MaxBulk Mailer vs Web-Based email marketing systems:

http://www.maxprog.com/site/blog/post.php?id=497&about=MaxBulk_Mailer&topic=MaxBulk_Mailer_vs_Web-Based_email_marketing_systems



MaxBulk Mailer is fast, fully customizable and very easy to use. MaxBulk Mailer handles plain text, HTML and styled text documents and gives full support for attachments. Here is a breakthrough tool from Maxprog that will allow marketers to increase profits, strengthen customer service and sending messages to new markets.



What's new: http://www.maxprog.com/site/misc/news_us.php?sku=4



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Now promotional messages will jump off the screen with HTML email! MaxBulk Mailer HTML allows the use of graphics, fonts and colors turning messages into professional online brochures. Any user can utilize their full lists of contact information with MaxBulk Mailer reaching everyone in the database without worrying about integration or compatibility issues.



Max Programming, LLC. also known as Maxprog(R) is a privately held company dedicated to macOS, MS Windows and Linux software development founded in the early nineties by French-born programmer Stanley Roche Busk, after over 15 years of experience in the high-tech networking industry and computer software development, now Chief Executive Officer of the company. Since its creation, Max Programming has built firm business relations with thousands of clients from over 136 countries with products localized in up to 14 different languages.



You can download MaxBulk Mailer for macOS and MS Windows here:

http://download.maxprog.com



Copyright (C) 2002-2016 Max Programming, LLC - All rights reserved.





Send an email to Stanley Roche Busk of r

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Ceroc and Modern Jive Dance Party scheduled for September 17 at Concord RSL Club

Ceroc & Modern Jive Dance Company is hosting a dance party on September 17, 2016, which include a beginner class before the dance party, according to the school's marketing manager, Minh Ta, who made the announcement today.

--

Ceroc & Modern Jive Dance Company is hosting a dance party, which include a beginner class before the dance party, according to the school's marketing manager, Minh Ta, who made the announcement today.

"This dance party, which takes place at Concord RSL Club located at Cnr Nirranda St & Nullawarra Avenue, Concord, has a Mexican Fiesta theme and people attending are encourage to dress up for the theme," said Minh, who announced the dance party is scheduled for Saturday, September 17, 2016, and will run from 7.30 pm through to midnight.

There will be a beginner class from 7.30 pm through to 8 pm for new students, and then the dance party will start from 8 pm to midnight.

Ceroc & Modern Jive Dance Company, which is a dance school teaching a dance style called Ceroc, (also known as Modern Jive), has 10 venues around Sydney, including Wentworthville, West Ryde, Canada Bay and Concord where the dance party is also being held.

"Students can learn to dance by attending the school's weekly dance class or having private lessons with one of the school's qualified dance teacher," said Minh.

Minh is expecting attendance from students ranging in ages from 25 to 60 year olds, who are being encouraged to dress-up for the Mexican Fiesta theme.

"These dance parties are a great way for Ceroc students to improve their dance skills by dancing with other students with varying skills from beginner dancers to advanced dancers," added school director Julie Gunn, who said their themed dance parties are always fun as people take the extra step of dressing up for the theme.

Explaining further, Julie said their "Dance parties always have a more social element to them than a dance class, and that's why we encourage students to bring their non-dancing friends and that why we have a beginner class before the dance party so non-dancers or newcomers can learn some basic moves to dance during the dance party."

Entry cost is $17 for casual entry and $15 for students with a monthly pass.

For more information, please visit http://www.ceroc.com.au

Contact Info:

Name: Minh Ta

Organization: Ceroc and Modern Jive Dance Company

Address: 26 Crabbes Ave, Willoughby NSW 2068 Australia

Phone: +61 2 9410 1111

Release ID: 132168

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SWEET HOME  The City Council Tuesday evening gave Police Chief Jeff Lynn the green light to proceed with the renovation of the training area at the Police Services Building into a new Municipal Court.

Lynn provided the council with bids totaling more than $45,000 for the project.

In May, the council approved the transition, moving Municipal Court from a double-wide trailer annex behind City Hall. Moving the court into the Police Department will provide more security for staff and free up the annex building.

The following bids were approved: AK Carpet & More, $4,114; Empower Digital, $10,182; Day Wireless, $5,770; Cascade Computer, $620; Benton Electric, $4,998; McCubbins Quality Homes, $12,120.

In a written report to the council, Lynn noted the project will include the removal and relocation of several cabinets, the installation of two doors and installation of protective glass for both the Dispatch Center and the Municipal Court office.

The project also involves overhauling the computer network, moving the current communications system, upgrading the surveillance camera system and installing new carpet in three rooms.

In other business the council:

 Approved a three-year contract with the AFSCME union which represents the citys general workers. The contract calls for a 2.5 percent wage increase for each of the three years.

 Was asked to contribute $1,000 for support of the South Santiam All Lands Collaborative by coordinator Sharon Kanareff. The collaborative is a multiagency effort that hopes to develop projects to provide employment, watershed restoration, and recreation opportunities near Sweet Home.

 Held a first reading of a proposed ordinance to change the meeting times of City Council meetings from 7:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The ordinance must be read and approved two more times before becoming official.

 Was told by Finance Director Pat Gray that a Zombie Zoup Run will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 29 at the Jim Riggs Community Center. After a 2-mile run/walk, participants will be invited to enjoy a soup lunch. This is a fundraiser for Sunshine Industries. To learn more, visit www.zombiezouprun.weebly.com.

 Approved increasing interim City Manager Christie Wursters hours from 20 hours to up to 28 hours per week until a new city manager is selected.

 Was reminded that the three finalists for the city managers position will be in Sweet Home on Monday. There will be a meet-and-greet opportunity for the general public at noon at the Jim Riggs Community Center and face-to-face interviews with the candidates starting at 4 p.m. Both are open to the public.
A few years back I interviewed Peter Hargreaves, one of the founders of Hargreaves Lansdown. The article received a lot of flak from grumpy advisers, annoyed that the feature seemed to imply that HL was a role model for all IFA firms.

I was reminded of this article with the news last week that HLs chief executive Ian Gorham, who has steered the firm to even greater success since Mr Hargreaves and fellow founder Stephen Lansdown stepped back from day-to-day management, is also to step down in a years time.

I wish Mr Gorham the best of luck with his future and to his successor Chris Hill, the current group chief financial officer. Both deserve to see the business continue to prosper.

Looking back, the interview with Mr Hargreaves appeared at about the time the company was about to float on the stockmarket for about 1bn, making a number of directors millionaires overnight and grabbing the financial headlines.

HLs main success was selling off the page, now online of course, but even then it had a growing financial planning arm which has continued to expand. So perhaps not a typical IFA firm in many senses, but a company which could, I have always believed, be one model for IFA expansion.

Why, though, does it provoke so much envy from other IFAs? Some criticise it as just being a selling operation, but clearly that is not the full story. Those clients who want advice can get it, but clearly many do not need it all the time. Why does Hargreaves Lansdown provoke so much envy from other IFAs?

I would never hold up HL as the only growth model for IFAs, many of whom run successful and expanding businesses, but it is an object lesson in business success. In some ways HL is the Apple of the IFA world, thriving in a sector that has struggled to grow.

It is worth remembering that chartered accountants Mr Hargreaves and Mr Lansdown started their fledgling business in a spare room as recently as 1981, after spotting a potential gap to sell investment products to clients who just wanted to invest some spare cash without the bother of going through an adviser  a need not being met at the time.

Today, the company is part of the FTSE 100 index and employs nearly 1,000 people. Its record, even recently, is hugely impressive: client numbers have risen since 2010 by more than 500,000 from 330,000 to 836,000; pre-tax profit tax in the same period rose from 86.3m to 218.9m; assets under administration were up from 17.5bn to 61.7bn (+252 per cent); and so on. HL has shown that running an investment business dealing with retail clients can be hugely successful and profitable. So why are there not more Hargreaves Lansdowns?

This is a question that baffles me. To be fair, a number of firms are trying a similar approach and doing pretty well. Tilney Bestinvest and others spring to mind, and the fund supermarkets offering a consumer option, such as Fidelity FundsNetwork, have done well. Even so, more could try the same approach. If retail investing is to become a genuine mass market in the UK, we need half a dozen Hargreaves Lansdowns with the same drive and ambition.
An early commitment to South Africa, despite political and economic turmoil, has paid off for the JPMorgan Emerging Markets fund as returns kicked in over the summer months.

Leon Eidelman, manager of 1.1bn fund, said he topped up on South African stocks at the start of 2016 despite the country struggling with three finance ministers in as many days and a tumbling currency.

The move paid off as South African stocks in the fund, including FirstRand and Sanlam, recovered by between 30 and 40 per cent, in addition to a rebound in the rand.

The countrys economy also saw a bounce, posting a 3.3 per cent rise in annualised GDP in the second quarter, versus a 1.2 per cent contraction in the first.

The currency has come back to normal valuations after having been meaningfully cheap. But also the reality is that the market was panicking and we were able to take positions at prices that were very cheap, Mr Eidelman said.

While banking some returns from South Africa  where exposure remains above 17 per cent  Mr Eidelman has maintained an underweight to China. This is despite the funds largest individual position remaining Chinese internet company Tencent, at 4.4 per cent.

He said Tencent was an exception to the aversion to China due to its connection to the consumer and the real economy rather than to the state.

The overinflated financial sector in China is of particular concern. The country has grown its aggregate amount of credit over the past five years to the equivalent of the entirety of the US banking system.

Chinas industrial policy for a very long time has been to suppress the cost of money so that corporations can borrow relatively cheaply.

When you do that, you effectively create a relatively low hurdle for investment, which had made it a very difficult place to invest, Mr Eidelman said.

A 22.3 per cent exposure to India paints the opposite picture to the Chinese position, with Indian financials the largest overweight, including a position in the Mumbai-based HDFC Bank.

The way you have to think about the Indian financial system is that youve got about two-thirds of the system being dominated by the public sector banks, and about a third of that being run by 10 to 12 private sector banks.

Mr Eidelman believes India is relatively underpenetrated in terms of banking services, as the percentage of Indians using these services and the amount of credit extended relative to household wealth is low.

The manager has begun to take profits in the funds 11.2 per cent Brazilian exposure as he felt the market already priced in anticipated reforms after the removal of Dilma Rousseff as president. He compared the situation to India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi first came to office.

Brazil feels a little like India did. If you were looking at markets when Modi got elected a few years ago in India there was real exuberance and hope that hed make changes to what had been holding back the Indian economy[but] its coming in three years later and markets had been pricing it in from the day the guy got elected.
Pensions freedoms will drive people into workplace pensions and keep more people in them, a senior member of The Pensions Regulator has said.

Speaking at the FTAdviser Retirement Freedoms Forum in Harrogate, Neil Esslemont, head of industry liaison for The Pension Regulator told delegates the pension freedom and choice regime has made more people aware of their need to save for a financially healthy retirement.

Mr Esslemont said: We believe the new regime will keep more people in pensions and drive them in, whether into an auto-enrolment scheme or another form of workplace pension.

AE has already been driving up pensions engagement and we believe we will see an increase in opt-ins and a decrease in opt-outs.

He said AE was crucially needed, especially given the demographic changes in the UK. He said 10 years ago, for every one retired person there were four of working age. But by 2050 this ratio will halve, to just two people of working age.

By introducing AE now, a programme based on inertia, we are finding opt out rates are remaining low, at approximately 10 per cent.

In response to a question from a delegate, Mr Esslemont agreed the current contribution rates - set to rise to 8 per cent minimum in 2019 from the current 1 per cent - were still relatively low.

He said: I know these do not seem that high and people do ask if these will rise in the future, but this is a matter for government.

There is at this time no tangible plans by government to raise the contribution rates.

He also encouraged IFAs to get engaged with their small or micro employer clients, many of whom might not realise how much is needed to get them to comply with the legislation by their staging date.

The TPR has brought more companies within its scope just recently, revising up the number of eligible employers to 950,000 who have employees they need to auto-enrol.

As at the end of August, so far 234,589 employers had completed their declarations of compliance, covering 22.8m employees.

Mr Esslemont added: I would urge IFAs to consider their duties to inform clients. Consider the ethical standards by which you operate and consider your professional indemnity insurance.

simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
A new rule forcing non-domiciled UK residents to pay tax on all their earnings could encourage the wealthiest to leave the country, taking with them at least 545m in potentional tax revenue, a tax advisory firm has claimed.

Mark Davies, managing director of Mark Davies and Associates, lodged a freedom of information request with HM Revenue & Customs, which revealed that in 2014-15 non-dom UK residents contributed a total of 4.92bn in tax revenue.

Long-term non-dom residents who had lived in the UK more than 12 years were the highest tax payers according to the firms calculations, contributing on average 147,297 per person.

Currently non-doms who have lived in the UK for more than 12 years can retain their non-dom status indefinitely, provided they pay an annual remittance basis charge of 60,000 a year. That means they only pay tax on foreign income that they bring into the UK, as well as income earned in the UK.

It was that 60,000 that bumped up the tax contributions of long-term non-dom residents, Mr Davies said.

But as of April 2017, non-doms who have been in the UK for more than 15 years will no longer be allowed to pay the remittance basis charge, meaning they will have to pay income tax on all their foreign income.

Mr Davies argued that this would be a powerful incentive for such non-doms, many of whom are domiciled in Russia and the US, to leave the UK altogether.

Some of these people are billionaires, he told FTAdviser. The UK is a tax haven for them, effectively. So if they were just there for the tax, they would leave.

He said a number of his own clients intended to leave the country as a result of the new rules. He predicted the 3,700 non-doms who had been in the UK more than 12 years would be first to leave.

This group contributed approximately 545m in 2014-15, according to Mr Davies calculations based on HMRC figures.

Mr Davies said, because there were only 3,700 in this group, HMRC could have contacted them to find out whether the new rule would encourage them to leave the country. He said HMRC had informed him it did not keep records of how many of these non-doms had left the UK.

He added that, while HMRC had made provisions to allow non-doms to keep funds in trusts, many would not be able to rearrange their affairs in time.

Currently non-doms who have been in the UK for less than seven years do not need to pay a remittance basis charge to remain non-doms. Those who have been in the country for more than seven years must pay 30,000, and those who have been here for more than 12 years must pay 60,000.

Below is a break down of how much each group contributes, according to HMRC figures and calculations by Mark Davies and Associates.
A company director has been disqualified by the High Court for conning investors out of at least 13.3m through a number of scams which claimed to invest in renewable energy.

Ian Hamilton, the director of Industry RE Ltd, a company which claimed to help reduce carbon emissions and develop sources of renewable energy, operated a number of investment scams between 2009 and 2013.

The company ran two principal schemes, both of which have been branded dishonest by HM Revenue & Customs.

One was a money circulation scheme selling land for an Eco Resort that Mr Hamilton claimed would be built in Dominica, but was in fact land which the company never owned.

Investors were promised a return of 80 per cent on their investment within two years, and Industry RE managed to rake in 7.6m from those who signed up, none of whom have received any return.

In another scheme, investors thought they were purchasing carbon credits, which Industry RE said it would repurchase within 12 months for 30 per cent more than investors had paid, and sell the credits onwards to a connected company in Dubai.

Industry RE had made payments totalling more than 8.6m to customers which claimed to be investment returns, but the investigation found the firm had not engaged in any of the claimed investments and did not receive any profits that it could use to pay investment returns to investors.

A smaller scheme involved solar bonds which promised a return of 10 per cent per annum for five years, when investors were told they would get all their money back.

However, the firm did not invest in any such solar scheme and did not receive any profits from which it could make payments to its investors, with payments of interest actually made from the deposits of newer investors in a Ponzi scheme arrangement. As is so often the case, if an investment scheme appears too good to be true, it probably is Tony Hanon

Industry RE was also involved a subcontracted telesales operation to cold call members of the public, selling alternative investments in a variety of projects.

An investigation by a specialist team of the Insolvency Service found that the 37-year-old director had systematically misled consumers and encouraged them to give him money with the promise of returns.

HM Revenue & Customs has now wound up the company.

A number of customer updates were circulated by Industry RE between December 2012 and August 2013, where Mr Hamilton said the firm had relocated to Dubai and gave a number of purported explanations why the company was delayed in making payments to customers.

In December 2012, more than 1m was transferred from the companys bank account in a single day.

Mr Hamilton told the specialist unit at the Insolvency Service the money was being held by a connected company in Dubai, but he failed to provide any information to support his version of events, or to cooperate in any way with the official receiver or the liquidator.
Story Highlights 65% of Americans satisfied with healthcare system, down from 67% in 2014

Americans with government health plans most satisfied

Republicans much less satisfied than Democrats

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sixty-five percent of Americans are satisfied with the way the healthcare system works for them, down slightly from 67% in 2014. Americans with Medicare, Medicaid and military or veterans' insurance continue to express the most satisfaction, at or near 75%, while uninsured Americans report the lowest (40%).

Satisfaction With the U.S. Healthcare System, by Insurance Type 2014 2015 2016 YTD* Difference between 2014 and 2016 % % % pct. pts. Overall satisfaction 67 66 65 -2 Medicare 77 76 75 -2 Military or veterans' 78 77 75 -3 Medicaid 75 74 73 -2 Union 74 71 71 -3 Current or former employer 69 68 66 -3 Plan fully paid for by you or family member 66 64 62 -4 Uninsured 39 40 40 +1 Gallup, *2016 data are from Jan. 2-Aug. 31, 2016

Since 2014, personal satisfaction with the way the healthcare system works is down among all insured groups, including a four-percentage-point drop, from 66% to 62%, among adults who pay for their own insurance, and three-point drops among those covered by an employer, union, or military or veterans' insurance. Even though satisfaction has declined, Americans whose healthcare is subsidized by the government have consistently expressed the highest satisfaction.

Republicans Least Likely to Be Satisfied With Healthcare System

Republicans (58%) and independents (62%) are less satisfied than Democrats (75%) with the way the healthcare system works for them. While Democrats' satisfaction has been stable between 2014 and 2016, Republicans' satisfaction has declined four points. These differences could be, at least in part, a result of Republicans' more negative views of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Only 9% of Republicans approve of the ACA, compared with 78% of Democrats.

Among other key demographic groups, satisfaction with the healthcare system displays little variation. Low-, middle- and high-income Americans show similar satisfaction. About seven in 10 blacks, Hispanics and Asians say they are satisfied with the way the healthcare system works for them, while whites express the least satisfaction (63%). Americans aged 65 and older are more satisfied than their younger counterparts, which comports with Americans' high level of satisfaction with Medicare -- the government's health insurance program for older Americans.

Satisfaction With the U.S. Healthcare System, by Key Demographic Groups % Satisfied Annual income Less than $36,000 64 $36,000-$89,999 63 $90,000 or more 67 Age 18-29 67 30-49 59 50-64 61 65+ 77 Race White 63 Black 72 Hispanic 69 Asian 70 Gallup, 2016 data are from Jan 2.-Aug. 31

Bottom Line

Americans' satisfaction with the healthcare system has declined slightly since 2014, even as the percentage of Americans without health insurance has reached its lowest point in the more than eight years that Gallup and Healthways have tracked it. Americans' concern about the quality of healthcare could be contributing to somewhat-decreased satisfaction, as the number of Americans who described their healthcare coverage as "excellent" has fallen in recent years. Additionally, since the ACA was implemented in 2014, Americans have cited cost and access to healthcare as urgent problems facing the country.

Americans' slightly reduced satisfaction with how the U.S. healthcare system is working for them comes during a presidential election campaign in which the ACA has been hotly debated. While Hillary Clinton supports the ACA signed into law by President Barack Obama, Donald Trump advocates repealing it. The politicization of the ACA has, in part, colored Americans' satisfaction with the U.S. healthcare system more broadly, as both parties continue to debate the fundamental nature of the country's healthcare system and the government's role in it.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 2-Aug. 31, 2016, as part of Gallup Daily tracking, with a random sample of 119,931 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

Learn more about how Gallup Daily tracking works.
One Punch Man Season 2 Air Date, News & Update: Saitamas First Defeat Confirmed?

"One Punch Man" Season 2, Saitama encounters his most awaited opponent Garou. Garou will use all of his evil strength to defeat the hero for mere fun and wishful qualms.

The bald hero's long awaited opponent has finally arrive. According to Christian Today, "One Punch Man" Season 2 rumors says that Saitama will lose his power after defeating the villains Amai Mask and Boros. Now Garou will give him the best fight he has ever longed for and it might be his first defeat ever.

The first successful season of the popular manga "One Punch Man," contained seven volumes and every episode only has three to five chapters. Created by manga master Yusuke Murata, there is more than meets the eye for the segment.

meanwhile, surprisingly, it takes four months to complete one volume of "One Punch Man" so fans may have to wait for at least two years for the complete season. Right now the anime series is presumed to be underway, but that remains unsettled as well.

ANIME RUMOR: One Punch Man season 2 to be released this month?? https://t.co/4TCUmVJnEX pic.twitter.com/SU0nm3jgLP  The Anime Podcast (@OutlawBarzPod) September 3, 2016

Moreover, "One Punch Man" Season 2 also showcased that Saitama will also fight a stronger and better Genos. Saitama's faithful disciple and ally in Season one might be Saitama's downfall. Also, Lord Boros will sense that Saitama would struggled and it might be the cause of his demise because Saitama will surely knock him down as reported by News Everyday.

"One Punch Man" Season 2 will feature a very different fighting power of Saitama from Season One. Madhouse or Yusuke Murata, the creator of "One Punch Man" Season 2, did not give any confirmation yet on the series' air date.
Samsung Galaxy 8 Latest Rumors, Release Date & Update: Next Flagship Replacing 3.5 MM Jack With Something Special

Earlier this month, rumors pointing to what the Samsung Galaxy S8 could come with were revealed, the most interesting part of which was related to cameras. Now there are speculations that the Korean company could be following Apples lead, ditching the 3.5 mm jack.

As mentioned in that previous post, the cameras were to cover Iris scanning and dual-lens cameras, another iPhone 7 feature. You can read back on that here.

Seeing how Samsung is struggling to cope with the exploding battery tied up to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, word on the Samsung Galaxy S8 could possibly calm the storm. Also, here is hoping that he Galaxy S8 does not get linked to the unfortunate issue.

Why is everyone hating the 3.5 mm jack?

Depending on ones take, it seems interesting why Apple and possibly Samsung are taking out the iconic feature. While the obvious intent is to make devices thinner, it also means added cost since potential buyers are forced to buy wireless headsets.

On the part of Samsung, it may be a different story. Taking out the 3.5 mm jack is possible but word from Digital Music News claims it will be replaced by a different kind of jack.

If so, Samsung may have just addressed a concern by some  that is charging the device and listening privately at the same time. Referred to as a proprietary jack, this would separate Samsung from the rest. This is with reference to headphone manufacturers who would need to come up with new kind of interface needed for Samsung users to listen privately.

Right now, this is unconfirmed and unreliable due to its complicated nature. If ever Samsung does ditch the 3.5 mm jack, the easy way to explain it is using Bluetooth interface or via the USB/USB-C interface, unless they have something like the Airpods in the works.
'Girl Meets World' Season 4 Cancellations & Updates: Disney Sets Rowan Blanchard & Sabrina Carpenter As Scapegoats; Series Replaced By 'Boy Meets World' Again?

Updates regarding "Girl Meets World" Season 4 is not boding well. Claims have surfaced that the series is facing cancellation. There are also claims that Disney will use Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter as scapegoats to justify the cancellation. Rumors have also risen that the series would be replaced by "Boy Meets World" again.

Although there has not been any affirmations that "Boy Meets World" would replace the successful franchise, the claims are still surfacing regarding the cancellation of "Girl Meets World" Season 4. Even the rumors that Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter getting the blame is debunked as well.

In a post from Parent Herald, it relayed that Disney is still having doubts to renew or cancel "Girl Meets World" Season 4. Although entire details for the cancellation is indefinite, since no reasons has been given regarding the segment.

The same report mentioned that even a spinoff series is still unverified for now. With Disney still unsure of what to implement for the series, the fans and followers have been calling out support for the renewal of "Girl Meets World" Season 4.

Disney also did not place any blame to anyone or the cast of the series. However, the creators and showrunners have remained tight lipped on providing the enthusiasts with the current standing of the segment. With "Girl Meets World" Season 4 facing negative downturns, it days are not boding well for the viewers.

In a different note, while the air date of "Girl Meets World" Season 4 remains unknown, another hurdle is underway for the main stars. M Magazine relayed of some rumored issues regarding the two powerhouse, Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter. There are notions that the girls are having some minor problems towards each other. However, that presumption should be taken with a grain of salt mind.

For the fans and followers of "Girl Meets World" Season 4, there is no definite standing of the segment. Disney did not affirm the renewal nor the idea of providing a spinoff series for the segment.
MacBook Pro 2016 Release Date, News & Update: Apple Laptop Confirmed Arriving October 2016? Headphone Jack Removed? FingerPrint Scanner, More Features Revealed!

There's no doubt that the MacBook Pro 2016 is one of the most anticipated devices to be released this year and fans are very eager to see the new features of the upcoming laptop. Many fans expected that the MacBook Pro 2016 will be released together with Apple's new iPhone 7 but, sadly, the laptop was a no-show at the latest event Apple hosted.

Lately, there have been rumors that are circulating online that the MacBook Pro 2016 will not be released because Apple might put an end to the Mac line. However, according to a report from MacRumors, Apple's CEO Tim Cook confirmed that they will not stop producing new Macs. In fact, Cook said in an email that they love the Mac and they are very committed to it and fans should stay tuned. This might mean that the MacBook Pro 2016 is still under development.

Why is the MacBook Pro 2016 taking too long to be launched? This is one of the questions frequently asked by Apple fans. There are also reports that the release of the Apple's latest laptop will depend on the processor it will use.

The MacBook Pro 2016 is rumoured to have the latest Intel's Kaby Lake chipset, having this new processor will highly upgrade the laptop's ability to perform tasks compared to its predecessors. But, it is also expected to have a much higher price because of its high specs.

According to a report from iTechPost, the MacBook Pro 2016 might also have an OLED Touch bar instead of using the function keys on the keyboard. It might also have a Finger Print scanner in order to improve its security feature. The Finger Print scanning feature is used on most of the Apple's smartphones and it is not impossible that its new laptop will also have it.

The upcoming MacBook Pro 2016 is expected to have a USB-Type C port and a Thunder Bolt 3 function that is known to its fast data transfers and charging. But, the MacBook Pro 2016 might have its headphone jack removed, following the trend that Apple made to iPhone 7. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more MacBook Pro 2016 news and updates!
Microsoft Surface Pro 5, Microsoft Surface Book 2 Release Date, News & Update: October Launch Confirmed; Surface Pro 4, Surface Book Revamped?

It's probably high time that Microsoft announces some details about its high-anticipated devices Microsoft Surface Pro 5 and Microsoft Surface Book 2. The company can at least confirm whether the devices are coming any time soon or not.

Microsoft can also clarify during its October 2016 event certain rumors that have been making rounds for a long time now such as existence of a Surface Phone and cancellation of its Lumia Windows Phone series. Dearth of any official statements from Microsoft regarding Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is making fans restless.

While it is impossible to say what the company will reveal during the October event, it should announce some of its devices that are lined up for release, writes iTech Post. Fans have nearly given up hope for a 2016 release of the new Surface devices, including Microsoft Surface Pro 5 and Microsoft Surface Book 2.

However, the excitement surrounding the devices is still alive and kicking though Microsoft has reportedly decided to refresh Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book instead. A source close to the company has revealed that Microsoft will be using the October event to release better processors for the two devices, which include Microsoft Surface Pro 5 and Microsoft Surface Book 2.

The Verge had reported last week that Microsoft is planning to launch a new Surface device this year and in 2017, it would launch three more. This was hinted by the company about two months ago. Naturally, everyone expected a Microsoft Surface Book 2 or a Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release as the All-In-One Surface PC was not on anyone's radar.

Thus, it seems Microsoft Surface Pro 5 fans will have to wait a bit longer for their favorite device to be even announced. All they are getting as of now are revamped previous models. The Surface All-In-One Surface PC, known as Cardinal, may be revealed in the October event.

As Microsoft is reportedly including the Intel Kaby Lake processor in the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 model, the launch does not seem like now but in 2017. The Kaby Lake processors are set to be launched later this year. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for more Microsoft Surface Pro 5 news and updates!
Bridget Jones Baby News, Spoilers & Reviews: If Jack Is The Father, Why Is She Marrying Mark? Renee Zellwegers Onscreen Magic Revealed!

"Bridget Jones' Baby" is a wonderful comeback movie for Renee Zellweger, whom we have not seen in the last six years. It was also 15 years ago since the world was mesmerized with Jones' "Diary."

"Bridget Jones' Baby" is as complicated as it is hilarious which Renee Zellweger portrayed to perfection. As we have known, Bridget Jones is a 40 year old single Brit. She broke up with Mark Darcy, portrayed by Colin Firth, in the hope that she can climb faster in her career as a news producer. Everything seems to fall into place even with her new set of friends.

The complication in "Bridget Jones' Baby" started when, during one outing with her friend, she met Jack Qwant, portrayed by Patrick Dempsey, an American tech magnate whom she quickly became intimate with. Thereafter, she met up again with Mark. When Bridget Jones realized that she is pregnant, she is at a loss of who the father is.

We have seen Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy sharing a 10 year history with Mark as the human rights lawyer and ex-boyfriend. However, Bridget knows that he cannot prioritize their relationship even as they are united again in "Bridget Jones' Baby." Now, here comes Jack Qwant, who seems to be the opposite of Mark. He was even excited to know that he might be the father of Bridget's baby.

In the final scene of "Bridget Jones' Baby," Bridget is seen walking in the church with Mark Darcy, while Jack Qwant is holding the baby according to Inquistr. Viewers can assume that she is marrying Mark even though Jack is the father of her baby. However, Mark tells Jack to give him back his son!

Renee Zellweger brings to life the character of Bridget Jones with colors, thanks to the "onscreen magic" by film director Sharon Maguire and her leading actress according to a review by Empire Online. "Bridget Jones' Baby" will hit the big screen on Sept 16.
Apple Launches iOS 10 For iPhone, Ipad In Sept.; Offers New Features, Tweaks Unveiled

iOS 10, the new mobile operating system software from Apple for the iPhone and iPad devices, came to non-developers through a Public Beta on July 7. This has made it possible for them to download the software's preview version prior to its final release, which is set later this year.

Although the tech giant has already announced this during the WWDC 2016 event on June 13 in San Francisco, reports indicate that it is unlikely to be finished, and that compatibility and bug issues may likely come with some apps.

As the public launch of the iOS 10 comes near, its main features are believed to be already done, and that beta releases are finishing up the features and resolving the bugs that were discovered in the testing phase. According to Apple Insider, the immediate release of beta 7 is likely indicative of Apple's quick discovery of a bug found in iOS 10 beta 6.

Level Up & Go Live, right from your iPhone or iPad! FIND OUT HOW HERE> https://t.co/F4cOPedx73#LiveOnMobcrush pic.twitter.com/KPOw6liw25  Mobcrush (@mobcrush) September 13, 2016

Beta 3 was released by Apple on July 19, adding some new tweaks to the iOS 10, while beta 4 was released to bring more features and add a green water gun to replace the pistol revolver emoji. In addition, beta 5 was released to the public, while beta 6 to developers both in the middle of August. Although the beta version of iOS developer preview is available as well, a developer account is needed to acquire it.

Twelve South Debuts New HiRise 2 for iPhone and iPad https://t.co/g3wrEzIXdK by @julipuli pic.twitter.com/RCJyeY9JGW  MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) September 13, 2016

Apple usually announces its new iOS iteration every June during its WWDC event in the US, as the final release date coincides with the launching of the company's new iPhones in September. That being said, the iOS 10 is expected to be available in September of this year, prior to the release of the upcoming iPhone 7, according to MacWorld.

While iOS 10 is set for release in September, there are rumors that it will be available sooner than the supposed released scheduled. According to reports, the iPhone 7 is expected to be made available on either Sept. 16 or 23, pre-loaded with iOS 10. In addition, the current iPads and iPhones are also believed to receive the update earlier, which is likely on Sept. 14.


General Hospital Latest Spoilers, Cast News & Update: Tyler Christopher Done With Playing Nikolas Cassadine, Who Replaces Him?

"General Hospital" cast update finally puts to rest speculations about some of its absent cast members. This time, the series finally confirms the status of one of its main actors Tyler Christopher, who plays Nikolas Cassadine in GH.

Tyler Christopher, who was expected to return to the "General Hospital" cast by September will not be reprising his role after all. Finally, It is now officially confirmed that Tyler won't be returning to the series, reports The Wrap.

The confirmation that Tyler Christopher will not return to the "General Hospital" was made by a spokesperson of the series. However, there was no reason given as to why the actor will not be reprising his role.

For now, Tyler Christopher's camp has not commented on the actor's announced exit from the long-running ABC series. But speculations point to the possibility that Tyler's departure could be a result of the breakdown of contract talks between the actor and the "General Hospital" management, reports TV Line.

Tyler Christopher is a long-time member of the "General Hospital" cast. He first joined the series back in 1996 playing the role of Nikolas Cassadine for a total of ten years. Tyler Christopher superbly portrayed the role of the Nikolas Cassadine and even got the nod from critics. This year, the actor was awarded the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

However, the actor went on a hiatus from his "General Hospital" acting starting May this year. While fans were still hopeful for a return, the actor posted on Twitter saying "Slow down every1 I said I THINK Sept. will b my return 2 #GH. Nothing official yet," hinting the possibility that he won't be returning to the series.

In his absence, actor Nick Stabile was contacted by "General Hospital" to fill in temporarily the Nikolas Cassadine role in Tyler Christopher's absence. With the recent announcement, it now appears that Nick Stabile's days in the series has been lengthened but a final announcement regarding his tenure in the series is expected soon. Stay tuned to GamenGuide for updates.
Star Trek: Discovery' Update: CBS All Access & Netflix Release Date Moves to May; Fans Blame Crude Special Effects

"Star Trek: Discovery" release date is suspended until May next year instead of original January. Creative team for the TV series cites quality issues for the unexpected hold up.

According to executive producers Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, they don't want to launch half-baked series so sufficient time should be given to post-production elements. "Star Trek: Discovery" duo said that they evaluated the situation with TV network CBS. Both arrived at conclusion that extra months are needed. They also called the TV series as deserving of "very best" so January date was now off.

CBS All Access will now deliver "Star Trek: Discovery" in May 2017 without any tentative date. There will be premiere on CBS TV Network and distribution to 188 countries will follow immediately via Netflix. In Canada, fans can catch USS Discovery through Bell Media, according to official Star Trek announcement.

Now for fans that worry about changes from the plot announced in July, CBS confirms that the screenplay remains intact. Though adjustments for USS Discovery crew is possible because casting is still ongoing.

Also, it is not clear if the main protagonist will still be a female space ship commander or will change to follow the tradition of male captains. To clarify, fans should not confuse "Star Trek: Discovery" with previous TV series because it will not share the same timeline with Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise.

Meanwhile, observers point to crude special effects during the trailer presentation as one of the reason that creative team needs time to tweak "Star Trek: Discovery." According to The Verge, Fuller and Kurtzman refer to "space-based physical and post-production demand" as top reason for rescheduling.

Because of vacuum that "Star Trek: Discovery" left at CBS time slots, "The Good Wife" will step in. This series is originally scheduled for May but will now move ahead to February.
Sister Wives News & Update: Kody Brown & Wives Appeal To Legalize Polygamy In Utah? Mormon Church Against It?

"Sister Wives" clan is now making headlines with their plea to legalize their way of life: polygamy. After a victory in court, the Brown family is trying their hand in the high court to change Utah's polygamy law.

Polygamy To Legalize?

"Sister Wives" clan is requesting the high court to review and make necessary changes to Utah's polygamy law, NY Daily report. Currently, the Utah's polygamy law does not allow cohabitation of all parties involved regardless being legally married to one of them. The appeal was made right after the Brown family won in a court, ruling the law violating polygamists' privacy and the right to religious freedom.

"Sister Wives" clan believe that the current law in Utah keeps families such as them from living freely. "Plural" families are forced to live in hiding out of fear of being prosecuted. The law indicts polygamists for crimes such as underage marriage and sexual assault. As a result, the Brown family lives in Las Vegas, unable to return home to Utah. Kody Brown and his wives would like to challenge the law, Fox13 reported.

'Sister Wives' appeal polygamy ruling to U.S. Supreme Court https://t.co/hMqqSSuRHg via @sltrib  Downriver (@Downriver5) September 15, 2016

Polygamy As A Religious Practice

Currently, there are around 38,000 fundamentalist Mormons, who follow or believe the concept of polygamy. However, Utah and other Western states prohibit such practice. The mainstream Mormon Church has since abandoned the practice in the 1890s. "Sister Wives" star Kody Brown and his four wives (Meri, Christine, Janelle and Robyn) are planning to file a petition for certiorari with the nation's top court.

According to Brown's legal representatives, the family has shown unwavering resolve to stand up for religious freedom during the hearing. "Utah is a state that was founded by courageous citizens seeking these very protections from government abuse and religious inequality," the family attorney Jonathan Turley said. "This lawsuit is true to the original dream of those seeking freedom in Utah," he explained."
Teen Mom 2 Latest News & Update: Jenelle Evans Criticized For Insensitive 9/11 Tweet; Kailyn Lowry Left Kids While on Hawaii Vacation?

"Teen Mom 2" stars can't seem to catch a break. Recently, two of them have been criticized heavily for their actions and decisions. Jenelle Evans may have rubbed some of her followers the wrong way when she posted a tweet, which was supposed to sympathize with the family of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Jenelle Evans' first tweet read "Flying back from NYC and cannot believe that tragedy happened," which was then followed by a statement that was intended to sympathize with the victims' families. However, there was one line that raised some eyebrows. "Sorry for everyone that lost their family or friends. My uncle retired a week before. I can almost relate," the pregnant "Teen Mom 2" star wrote.

It was the "I can almost relate" tweet that ticked off some or the "Teen Mom 2" star's followers, labeling her as insensitive for making a comment. Soon, the 24-year-old tried to explain why she made such comment in another tweet, which has since been deleted, according to Us Weekly. Evans wrote that her uncle would've been dead by now if he hadn't retired then, adding that 140 tweet characters wouldn't be enough to explain her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Kailyn Lowry was criticized heavily after she went to Hawaii without tagging her kids along. That's typical in the world of "Teen Mom 2" stars - to be criticized when going out on a fun excursion without the kids by their side.

The 24-year-old "Teen Mom 2" star, who is also a mom of two, recently shared photos of her trip to Hawaii and soon, haters were hot on their keys, throwing some negative comments about her. But Lowry isn't the kind to back down; she even responded to some of her critics. She mentioned about how she deserved the Hawaiian vacation because besides attending school full time, she's been taking care of her kids the past six to seven months.
Health officials said the local coronavirus outlook remained stable this week, though they continued to warn against a potential winter surge.
Corvallis police have released the identity of the transient man found Saturday night near the BMX Track Park.

Stephen Mathews was 50.

Mathews body was discovered at about 11 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area northeast of the BMX Track Park off of Southeast Chapman Place, according to Corvallis police. The Oregon State Medical Examiners Office is conducting an autopsy on the cause of death. Lt. Dan Duncan of the Corvallis Police Department said Wednesday that the medical examiners report likely wont be completed before next week.

Mathews lived in Corvallis for about a year before his death, Duncan said, and that during previous contact with police, Mathews said he moved to Corvallis from San Francisco.

Authorities have not ruled out foul play and the death is being investigated like its a suspicious death, Duncan said.

Duncan also said previously that police had not determined how long the body had been in the wooded area before it was found Saturday night.
SWEET HOME  Highway 20 has reopened at the Sheep Creek Bridge about 26 miles east of Sweet Home, right on time and on budget, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The highway had been closed since Aug. 2 to repair the bridge that had been damaged over time by landslides.

The projected time schedule for Phase II of the two-year project was six to eight weeks, and contractor Wildish Construction Co. of Eugene came in on schedule, according to ODOT spokesperson Angela Beers Seydel.

Seydel said the contract for the $1.6 million second phase called for a cash incentive of $14,000 per day to finish on time and the same amount as a disincentive if the project ran long.

Wildish will receive $196,000 for its efforts.

The bridge and highway opened about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Seydel added that traffic may be confined to a single lane as workers put finishing touches on the project in coming weeks.

The original plan was to get it done between six and eight weeks, she said. We are very happy to get it done in six weeks.

According to Seydel, Phase I of the project  driving large pilings into the ground on the north side of the bridge to reduce soil movement  cost about $770,000 and was completed last summer.

We are really happy to have the road reopened, she said. We so appreciate everyones patience working with us and taking the detours.

Seydel said some members of the public were concerned and didnt think ODOT could close a scenic federal road.

But after we talked to them and explained what we were doing and why it had to be done, they got it, she said. It came out beautifully. Its now safe and maintainable, and we hope will lost for many years to come.

ODOT did not close the highway until Aug. 2, allowing traffic to flow until after the Oregon Jamboree in Sweet Home, which attracts a number of guests from the Bend area.

The original bridge was constructed in 1962 in the known slide area. It was designed to move a few inches at a time. But in recent years, movement had become extensive.

Adjustments were made over the years.

Phase II included rebuilding the east end of the bridge. While the bridge was closed, ODOT crews also removed the roller coaster undulation of the road surface on the east side of the bridge.
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.
Corporate Merger : Bayer buys Monsanto for 66 billion dollars

Leverkusen German drug and chemical maker Bayer negotiated a successful deal to take over the U.S. seed company Monsanto.

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German pharmaceutical giant Bayer made a successful bid for the U.S. seeds company Monsanto on Wednesday. They offered 128 USD per share, increasing their previous offer and putting the total bid at 66 billion USD (around 59 million euros). It is the biggest merger ever for a German firm.

Hugh Grant, Monsantos Chief Executive said the merger was a positive move for shareholders. The move comes at a time when grain prices are at their lowest level in years and farmers are cutting costs by saving on tractors, but also on seeds and crop chemicals. There is enormous pressure to consolidate in the agribusiness sector.

Monsanto is a seed specialist while Bayer specializes in crop chemicals. Combining the two means farmers will have one place to go for all of their needs in terms of seeding and crop chemical operations.

Monsanto has been criticized in Europe for engineering genetically modified crops. It has also come under fire for unfriendly behavior towards customers. It uses the chemical Glyphosat, which is suspected of being a cancer causing agent.




(San Pedro Mountains Mummy discovered in Wyoming in 1932)

We spend a lot of focus on the tall people of the Americas - ancient giants and Sasquatch, but what of the "little people" of as I call them, "Littlefoots."





What? You haven't heard of the Littlefoots?





Well, let's delve into this, both in legends and archaeological digs around America (and the world).

From the book The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee by John Haywood (starting page 200 on reprint edition from Amazon):

Referred to as "pygmies," these skeletons were found buried in crypts just outside of Sparta, Tennessee in the County of White and reported in the Nashville Whig in June 1820.

These graves had many bodies, all of them quite small. Some of the crypts were as small as 18 inches by 12 inches. The first grave was 2 feet long and inside the small skeleton and its teeth had the researcher wondering if it was canine or monkey. He had them sent off to be examined.

They were buried with care in a stone crypt and had shells and urns with them. The bones were so old they crumbled quite easily . One skull the examiner held up was 5" across from side to side. Most individuals were from 18 inches to 2 feet 10 inches long. One find was a 5 foot 5 inch individual found with the smaller ones. The taller skeleton had a head that was longer, eyes much wider asunder, the forehead much higher above the eyebrows, and the under jaw measured one inch longer on each side than the smaller fellows. Atop the head of one skull had bright silver grey fine hairs.

There was great dissimilarity in skull shapes, the size and shape of the bones, and looked to belong to different tribes of people. Just 8 miles away, a 7-foot giant was found.

These finds were packaged and sent for examination in Nashville. The prevailing opinion was that they were not children. No 1 skull belonged to some carnivorous animal of the canine genus; but that the skull belonged on an adult person of small size, not much exceeding 3 feet in length . Cylindrical bones and teeth appeared canine. Others gave the same odd opinion.

Source: V.R. Pilapil, for example, asserts that the disputed Tennessee graves really did contain pygmy remains. Not only that, but he hypothesizes that the pygmies arrived in ancient times from southeast Asia, probably the Philippines , where today's diminutive Aetas live. To support his case, Pilapil recalls B. Fell's examination of the Tennessee skeletal material. Fell noted that: (1) The skull brain capacity was equivalent to only about 950 cubic centimeters, about the volume of a non-pygmy 7-yearold; (2) The teeth were completely developed and showed severe wear characteristic of mature individuals; and (3) The skulls were brachycephalic (flat-headed like dogs) with projecting jaws (like dog). Fell had, in fact, described skulls very much like those of today's adult Philippine Aetas. Another line of evidence adduced by Pilapil involved the traditions of British Columbia tribes, which recognized a tribe of very small people called the Et-nane . More significant is the oral history of the Cherokees, which mentions the existence of " little people " in eastern North America.





Note from blog author: Remember my saying "kernels of truth" found in ancient Native legends - they add magic to explain odd occurrences or things they cannot compute that actually happened or exist- kind of like what our archaeologists and anthropologists do when they find stuff they can't fit into their educational model.





Source: Anthropological Institute, Journal, 6:100, 1876:

An ancient graveyard of vast proportions has been found in Coffee county. It is similiar to those found in White County and other places in middle Tennessee, but is vastly more extensive, and shows that the race of pygmies who once inhabited this country were very numerous . The same peculiarities of position Observed in the White County graves are found in these. The writer of the letter says: "Some considerable excitement and curiousity took place a few days since, near Hillsboro, Coffee county , on James Brown's farm. A man was ploughing in a field which had been cultivated many years, and ploughed up a man's skull and other bones. After making further examination they found that there were about six acres in the graveyard . They were buried in a sitting or standing position. The bones show that they were a dwarf tribe of people, about three feet high . It is estimated that there were about 75,000 to 100,000 buried there. This shows that this country was inhabited hundreds of years ago." Anthropological Institute, Journal, 6:100, 1876:

Note from blog author : It would appear that in the 1800s, they had no concept of the age of these graves - as the first find the bones crumbled, showing they were thousands of years old, not hundreds







"hairy-faced dwarfs" in stories, petroglyphs illustrations show them with horns on their head and traveling in a group of 5 to 7 per canoe. Source: The Native peoples of North America told legends of a race of "little people" who lived in the woods near sandy hills and sometimes near rocks located along large bodies of water, such as the Great Lakes. Often described asin stories,

A graveyard unearthed in the 1830s in Coshocton County, Ohio was believed to contain skeletons belonging to a pygmy race. In fact that the graves, only about three feet long, were "bone burials" containing disarticulated or bent bones packed together.





The physical remains of tiny people have been reported found in various locations in the western United States, particularly Montana and Wyoming. Typically these are described as being found in caves with various details such as descriptions that they were "perfectly formed", dwarf-size.

Source: Yunwi Tsunsdi. The Little People of the Cherokee are a race of Spirits who live in rock caves on the mountain side. They are little fellows and ladies reaching almost to your knees. They are well shaped and handsome, and their hair so long it almost touches the ground. They are very helpful, kind-hearted, and great wonder workers. They love music and spend most of their time drumming, singing, and dancing. They have a very gentle nature, but do not like to be disturbed.



CROW: The little people of the Pryor Mountains. Crow folklore says the "Little People" live in the Pryor Mountains, a small mountain range in Carbon County, Montana. Petroglyphs on rocks in the mountains, the Crow said, were made by these demon-like creatures. Because the Little People live there, the mountains are sacred to the Crow. The Little People are said to be no more than 18 inches (46 cm) (or knee) high. Crow folklore differs slightly from that of other tribes in describing the Little People of the Pryor Mountains as having large, nearly round bellies; incredibly strong but short arms and legs; and little or no neck.

(San Pedro Mountains Mummy was discovered in Wyoming in 1932)

(Palau skull finds)

Homo floresiensis found in Indonesia). Some of these people lacked chins and had deep jaws, large teeth, and small eye sockets. Anthropologist, William Jungers, anthropologist, points out that the hobbit is distinguished from modern humans by jaw structures called transverse tori, which are seen in human ancestors, such as australopithecines and some Homo erectus fossils, he noted. Source: The South Pacific Nation of Palau (just east of the Phillipines) has unearthed thousands of human bones that are rather unusual. The bones reportedly are 900 to 2500 years old and appear to be homo sapiens, but also reveal signs of archaic or primitive breeding. The bones were found in a cave. These people were 3-4 feet tall, perhaps 70 to 90 pounds (similar in size to thefound in Indonesia). Some of these people lacked chins and had deep jaws, large teeth, and small eye sockets. Anthropologist, William Jungers,

In the case of the homo floresiensis (Hobbit) from Indonesia; unlike the Palauan bones, the hobbit fossils include a skull with an exceptionally small braincase. Its volume is much smaller than that of small-bodied peoples living today on other Pacific islands and in the forests of Africa. It is also smaller than that of the early Palauans.

Dean Falk is an anthropologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee who received National Geographic funding to compare the Flores skull with both microcephalics and modern humans without disease. She and colleagues from the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology concluded in a study published last year that the hobbit was not microcephalic. Falk said the finding closed the microcephaly argument. The Palauan remains, she added, are just a set of small bones, representing small-bodied people." But being small does not make one comparable to Homo floresiensis," she noted. "It makes one smallperiod.

Tiny tribes have been reported throughout the islands of the South Pacific. Some scientists suggest that limited resources made them smaller, but that would take hundreds of thousands of years and that lack of resources would have killed them long before then. So, I will hazard a guess that they originated from Madagascar as an evolutionary offshoot of the lemur/lorises branch of the tree, whereas homo sapiens came from the primate branch.

It may seem like a wild idea, but so is man from primate! We came from the same tree as lemurs/lorises and in the isolation of Madagascar for millions of years, a race could have not only evolved long before we did, but were intelligent enough to take to other islands and look for more resources, hence populating the South Pacific, ending up in Peru finds and up into America re we ever considered leaving Africa 100,000 piddly years ago.

As you can see, there was a common ancestor and a division with one branch going to tarsiers, monkeys, apes and humans and another branch that goes to lemurs and lorises. *Please take note of the lemur/lorices branch's skeleton dude with no name - down below I explain him*



Source: The discovery, in China, of some fossilized foot-bones believed to be from Eosimias , an early species already known of from fossilized jawbones, led to the announcement, in 2000 A.D., of Eosimias as a candidate for consideration as an early ancestor present in the family tree of humans / primates. (guess whose side of the tree? Mr. Lemur/lorices )

(above: New graphic that includes the Eosimias)



Source: Most of the mammals that evolved after the age of dinosaurs are known for their enormous sizes, but not so Eosimias, a tiny, Eocene primate that could easily fit in the palm of a child's hand. Judging by its scattered (and incomplete) remains, paleontologists have identified three species of Eosimias, all of which probably led a nocturnal, solitary existence (sound like anyone we know??? - more on a future post) high up in the branches of trees (where they would be beyond the reach of bigger, land-dwelling carnivorous mammals, though still presumably subject to harassment by prehistoric birds). The discovery of these "dawn monkeys" in Asia has led some experts to speculate that the human evolutionary tree had its roots in the prehistoric primates of the far east rather than Africa, though few people are convinced.





(Eosimias were the oldest primate found - but found in China, not Africa)





Conclusion



In summary, I'd like to say shame on archaeologists and anthropologists. They have really fed us a line of bull about the evolutionary process of man and that there was only homo sapiens in the human genus after the 29,000 year mark when they say Neanderthal ended.

There appears to be strong evidence of hairy giants in our woodlands, elongated skull people in Peru found to not be of homo sapiens or Neanderthal lines (DNA testing of elongated skulls), and there are so many variations in skull shapes, teeth, height and more that it's obvious that there were many lines of man and perhaps not all from the primate branch, maybe even the lemur/lorises branch. And, imagine the hybrid variables if the lemur branch of man and the primate branch of man were to mate?

I wish researchers would quit discarding anything that is "out of place/out of time" because these insane standards they have are arbitrary. There is much more in the ground and in caves yet to be found than has already been found and a vast majority we had no idea about like the recently discovered Denisovans. In fact, this newest find in China was just 14 years ago and it proved to be the oldest primate that they never knew about and from OUTSIDE of Africa - a notion they wouldn't entertain. So, be humble, keep your minds open, and don't think you know how everything relates, let the evidence tell you how it relates, don't tell the evidence how it relates!

Next time someone scoffs at the existence of Sasquatch, they might want to take a look at recent finds of ancient giants and elongated skull people (ones that were not flatboarded), and the Littlefoots before they dispute the notion. We honestly have missed a huge amount of variations of humans that have lived on the earth and it's time to get to the ground and make more finds, as well as poking in every cave - the places earlier men sought refuge. There is a whole world yet to be uncovered, so long as the finds come to light and aren't buried away in some warehouse or morphed into something they aren't depending on covert agendas.





Native Tribes from around the country consistently have stories of the little people. That nearly all of them have explanations of little people tells us that there was likely a universal influence around America that made the legends need to be born to explain something they encountered.





California sprites were called Akeki

Pains are tiny magical spirits in the traditions of many California Indian and Northwest Coast tribes. Pains usually take the form of miniature, fairy-like people, although in some tribes they appear as tiny animals or magically powerful inanimate objects. Pains may be summoned by medicine people or witches, or they may remain within a Native American family through generations. In some tribes, Pains are primarily positive spirits, seen as guardians and granters of magical powers (though they can also cause harm to people.) In other tribes Pains are viewed more negatively, associated with disease, curses, and witchcraft (though they can still be a source of healing power to properly trained medicine people.)





Albawitches (Pennsylvania, Chickies Rock, Lancaster County): These little people are reported even today and explained as a population that nearly went extinct in the 19th Century, but are still seen today upon occasion. (Pennsylvania, Chickies Rock, Lancaster County): These little people are reported even today and explained as a population that nearly went extinct in the 19th Century, but are still seen today upon occasion.





Kawi Anukasha (Choctaw): The

Little People in Choctaw folklore. They have strong magic and can be very dangerous, but they sometimes also bestow powers upon people who treat them respectfully. Their name literally means "forest dwellers."





Although benign races of small magical creatures exist in many Native American tribes, the Little People of the Shoshone and Paiute tribes are dangerous man-eaters and enemies of humankind. "Nimerigar" is a corruption of the Shoshone and Paiute words meaning "people-eaters", and "Nunumbi" (and its many variants) means "little person."

Makiawisug (Mohegan Tribe): This Connecticut tribe described the little people as good spirits that one leaves gifts and food for. One should never look directly at them (a repeated theme in many Native legends of the little ones). If they catch you staring, they can use powers to hold you still while they take your belongings. And, you are not to speak of them.





Memegwesi are small riverbank-dwelling water spirits. They are generally benign creatures, but sometimes blow canoes astray or steal things when they are not shown proper respect. In some Ojibwe traditions, Memegwesi can only be seen by children and medicine people; in others, they can appear to anyone, and may help humans who give them tobacco and other gifts. Most often Memegwesi are described as being child-sized and hairy with a large head and a strange voice that sounds like the whine of a dragonfly. The Cree and Innu describe them as having narrow faces, and some Menominee storytellers have said that they have no noses. It is sometimes said that Memegwesi were originally created from the bark of trees. Memegwesi are said to carve symbols on rocks and sometimes carve small canoes for themselves out of stone. Some people believe that their name comes from the Ojibwe word for "hairy," memii, since Memegwesi are usually described as having hairy faces and bodies. Other people believe that their name is related to the word for butterfly,

memengwaa

Little people are reported in legends of nearly all the world's people from Australian aborigines to the Norse, the Celts to the Greeks. Just some are Tommyknockers, fairies, elves, trolls, gnomes, brownies, pixies, leprechauns.





The interesting thing is the running theme throughout - they are earth beings, mischievous, can be friendly and help you or play nasty pranks and hurt you. They accept gifts and that keeps them from causing more harm.





When people around the world report giants that want to eat them and little people within their woods, you have to wonder about those "kernels of truth." Are they reporting actual beings they shared the earth with, whom they could not seem to console their existence and so made up extraordinary and spiritual backgrounds for them?





Today, people often report seeing "little ones" and most often in the company of "big ones," or as we know them, Sasquatch. Some believe you don't speak of the little ones or even look at them, that it could cause some kind of bad or evil. Others revere them as old knowledge within the woodlands, keepers of nature of a sort. Most people today see them as mythological or mystical or even make believe, but there are those who say that the little people that once openly lived around the world, are still there, like the tall ones, only know to stay hidden....





So far as the subject of the Littlefoots, I can't stop thinking of this scene from "Trilogy of Terror." A little guy can do a lot of damage!








Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
kacylee at 15-09-2016 07:25 AM (6 years ago) (f)



The Nigerian Navy has apprehended the leader of the militant group, Bakasi Strike Force, Uduak Etim Thompon. Thompson was arrested alongside four other members of his group The militant leader was arrested at his hideout in calabar Leader of the militant group, Bakasi Strike Force (BSF) has been apprehended by the Nigerian Navy. The navy said on Wednesday, September 14, that it has arrested five Niger Delta criminals including the leader of a notorious militant group, one Uduak Etim Thompson. Among crimes said to be perpetrated by the militants are attack on market women and other traders, siphoning of crude oil and destruction of pipelines.

The Nigerian Navy has apprehended the leader of the militant group, Bakasi Strike Force, Uduak Etim Thompon. Thompson was arrested alongside four other members of his group The militant leader was arrested at his hideout in calabar Leader of the militant group, Bakasi Strike Force (BSF) has been apprehended by the Nigerian Navy. The navy said on Wednesday, September 14, that it has arrested five Niger Delta criminals including the leader of a notorious militant group, one Uduak Etim Thompson. Among crimes said to be perpetrated by the militants are attack on market women and other traders, siphoning of crude oil and destruction of pipelines.

A statement signed by Commodore Christian Ezekobe, Director of Navy Public Relations said,

As part of efforts to eliminate unwholesome activities perpetuated by criminals in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Navy has arrested one of the top leaders of a group which goes by the name Bakassi Strike Force (BSF). The suspected Militant Mr Uduak Etim Thompson aka SANGATA was arrested on 12 September 2016 at his hideout in Calabar by a joint team from Nigerian Navy Ship VICTORY and Defence Intelligence Agency.  It would be recalled that some top members of the BSF had earlier been arrested. In a related development, the patrol team deployed by Naval Outpost (NOP) Ikuru arrested 4 suspected notorious sea robbers who were alleged to be responsible for several attacks and robbery incidences at Oyorokoro, Ataba, Kaa and Oyorokoro communities in Andoni Local government area of Rivers state. The gang was alleged to have particularly attacked market women on 4 September 2016 at Oyorokoro Community. These arrests bring to fore the commitment of the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies to stamp out the menace of criminal brigandage in the region. Investigation into these untoward activities have commenced and the perpetrators will be handed over to prosecuting agencies for further action.

A statement signed by Commodore Christian Ezekobe, Director of Navy Public Relations said,

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 15-09-2016 07:25 AM (6 years ago) | Addicted Hero
clarajancita at 15-09-2016 03:25 PM (6 years ago) (f)

A notorious leader of the Bakassi Strike Force has been captured by the Nigerian Navy along with four others. The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday, September 14th, arrested five Niger Delta criminals including the leader of a notorious militant group, one Uduak Etim Thomson of the Bakasi Strike Force.

A notorious leader of the Bakassi Strike Force has been captured by the Nigerian Navy along with four others. The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday, September 14th, arrested five Niger Delta criminals including the leader of a notorious militant group, one Uduak Etim Thomson of the Bakasi Strike Force.

This was released in a statement signed by its spokesman, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, This was released in a statement signed by its spokesman, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, Quote "As part of efforts to eliminate unwholesome activities perpetuated by criminals in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Navy has arrested one of the top leaders of a group which goes by the name Bakassi Strike Force (BSF).



"The suspected Militant Mr Uduak Etim Thompson aka SANGATA was arrested on 12 September 2016 at his hideout in Calabar by a joint team from Nigerian Navy Ship VICTORY and Defence Intelligence Agency. It would be recalled that some top members of the BSF had earlier been arrested.



"These arrests bring to fore the commitment of the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies to stamp out the menace of criminal brigandage in the region.



"Investigation into these untoward activities have commenced and the perpetrators will be handed over to prosecuting agencies for further action."

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 15-09-2016 03:25 PM (6 years ago) | Hero
Israeli spy sat shows signs of malfunctioning after launch: Reports

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:31AM

Hours after its launch into space, an Israeli spy satellite reportedly shows signs of experiencing multiple malfunctions.

Ofek 11, expected to mainly serve the military and Israeli intelligence apparatuses, was shot into space at an airbase south of Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

"There are a number of things that worry us," said Amnon Harari, the head of Space Directorate at the Israeli Ministry for Military Affairs, Israeli paper Ha'aretz reported.

"There are a few matters that don't seem routine, but the process of diagnosing the satellite's situation is continuing," Ofer Doron, aerospace chief at Israeli Aircraft Industries, also said.

Israeli Aircraft Industries Chief Executive Yossi Weiss, meanwhile, blasted the regime for "not looking at what's going on around it. It invests smaller sums than what's happening in the world, and it's far from where it should be."

It could be days before authorities could say whether the orbiter would function properly as it could only be accessed for a short period of time each day.

Earlier in the month, a test launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida, was hit by an explosion that destroyed Falcon 9, a rocket belonging to the US aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, and Amos-6, the Israeli "communication satellite" it had been due to carry into space.

Isaac Ben-Israel, the chairman of Israel's space agency, reacted bitterly to the incident, saying, "As far as the Israeli communications satellite industry is concerned, this is a very severe blow which could place the future of the industry in doubt if it is not dragged out of the mud."

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The Sentry's Report on Corruption in South Sudan

Press Statement

Mark C. Toner

Deputy Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 14, 2016



The United States welcomes The Sentry's report chronicling public corruption among South Sudan's leaders, including President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar.

The track record of corruption in South Sudan is extensive  including abuse of preferential access to foreign currency, theft of state assets, and corruption in contracting and procurement. While corruption is harmful in any part of the world, it is especially appalling in a country on the verge of famine and struggling to build a government after only five years of independence. We and other partners have consistently made clear to South Sudanese leaders that they must implement reforms to fight corruption and increase the transparency of public finances, as part of implementing the peace agreement.

While leaders have been pillaging government coffers, international donors including the United States have remained steady supporters of the South Sudanese people, providing basic services including health and education that are essential for the population's future, as well as massive lifesaving assistance that has helped avert famine over the last two years. The U.S. Government provides no direct financial support to the Government of South Sudan.

As Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth made clear last week during congressional testimony, the Department of State is pursuing measures it can take to deter corruption by South Sudanese officials. We are working closely with The Sentry to ensure the information it has collected is used to that end.

The United States remains a friend of the people of South Sudan and we are deeply disappointed that their leaders, given the opportunity to build a successful country at independence and a second chance to harness peace for progress with the August 2015 peace agreement, have failed to put aside personal power struggles and individual enrichment for the good of their people.

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Counter-ISIL Strikes Target Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 15, 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 the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, seven strikes destroyed 21 ISIL supply routes, an oil well head and two oil tanker trucks.

-- Near Dayz Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIL oil well head and an oil tanker truck.

-- Near Mara, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions and a mortar system.

Strikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Huwayjah, two strikes engaged an ISIL chemical weapons storage facility and destroyed a rocket system, a rocket rail and a mortar system.

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a building.

-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIL bomb factory.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed three mortar systems, a fighting position, four rocket rails, a tunnel and inoperable coalition equipment.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL tractor trailer, a front-end loader and a fighting position.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, four strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit, two headquarters buildings and a vehicle bomb factory. Twenty-five watercraft, a headquarters building and the vehicle bomb factory were destroyed. A mortar position was suppressed.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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U.S.-Russian Officials Hold Video Conference on Syrian Airspace Safety

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016  The Defense Department yesterday held a video conference co-chaired by Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin and Navy Rear Adm. Michael J. Dumont, deputy director, J-5, Strategic Plans and Policy on the Joint Staff, with Russian Ministry of Defense counterparts, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

This was a regular session of the department's dialogue with the Russian Ministry of Defense under the memorandum of understanding for the safety of flight in Syria to ensure that each side continues to adhere to agreed-upon measures to mitigate incidents in the air over Syria, Cook said.

Department officials discussed the safety of operations since the two sides last met to discuss the implementation of the current memorandum, including the need to enhance current measures to avoid incidents, the press secretary said. The two sides, he said, reiterated the need to adhere to measures to enhance operational safety and avoid accidents and misunderstandings in the airspace over Syria.

Cook said yesterday's meeting follows previous video conferences between the Defense Department and the Russian Ministry of Defense on this topic. This video conference was in keeping with the established safety of flight over Syria memorandum of understanding and was not part of separate discussions taking place on the possible stand-up of the joint integration cell, he said.

The conversation was constructive and the two sides agreed to continue safety discussions in this format in the future, Cook said.

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Israeli fighter jets carry out new airstrikes on Gaza Strip

Iran Press TV

Thu Sep 15, 2016 6:33AM

Israeli military aircraft have carried out three air strikes against areas in the Gaza Strip in yet another act of aggression across the region.

The first airstrike struck an open area northwest of Beit Lahia city in the early hours of Thursday morning, Arabic-language Safa news agency reported.

The second attack targeted the Shima'a area northwest of Beit Lahia, causing a fire. The third attack hit eastern Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City.

There were no immediate reports about the possible casualties.

The airstrikes came hours after Tel Aviv claimed that a mortar shell fired from the coastal enclave had hit an open terrain in the Eshkol regional council. The projectile reportedly did not cause any damage.

The Israeli military frequently bombs the Gaza Strip. The disproportionate force is always used in violation of international law, and civilians are often killed or injured.

The regime has added Syria to its regular aerial targets, attacking the Golan Heights where the Syrian army battles Takfiri terrorists.

On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes targeted Syrian government artillery positions, claiming that mortar shells had been launched from the Golan Heights into the occupied Palestinian territories.

Syria says Israel is aiding Takfiri militant groups operating inside the Arab country. The Syrian army has repeatedly seized Israeli-made weapons from armed groups.

The Syrian army said this week it had shot down an Israeli warplane and a drone following an Israeli attack on an army positions in the country's south.

Lebanon is another target of Israeli aerial incursions, with warplanes carrying out overflights in the Arab country's airspace from time to time.

Gaza is still reeling from Israeli invasions - the last launched in 2014 in which nearly 2,200 Palestinians were killed.

The coastal enclave of 1.8 million has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007, where the living standards have sharply declined amid unprecedented levels of unemployment and poverty.

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US Lawmakers Question Afghanistan Spending

By Esha Sarai September 15, 2016

As the United States prepares to mark 15 years since the start of the U.S.-led offensive in Afghanistan next month (October 7), American lawmakers are questioning the continuing military and humanitarian spending aimed at trying to end the war and stabilize the government.

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expressed concerns over the progress of the war, and the effectiveness of programs aimed at rooting out corruption.

Richard Olson, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. State Department, said the U.S. gives Afghanistan about $5 billion per year - $4 billion in support of the Afghan national security defense forces and roughly another billion in the form of civilian assistance.

But Senator Corker of Tennessee expressed his concern that year after year, the U.S. continues to spend similar amounts of money in Afghanistan - the fruits of which may not be immediately seen by the American people.

"They (U.S. people) weigh $10 billion a year ad infinitumhow would you express the value of this to Americans?" he asked the panel.

Donald Sampler Jr., assistant to the administrator of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at USAID, stressed the importance of ensuring order and a certain threshold of quality of life.

"Overlaying that with our national security interests, coming from a military background, ungoverned spaces are the worst [possible thing we could allow to reemerge," Sampler said. "So supporting the government of Afghanistan and supporting their ability to govern their own space and doing that proactively to prevent insurgencies rather than having to counter them is in my opinion a good investment."

Senators also discussed concerns that the Islamic State terror group's influence is growing in the region, through its Afghan affiliate known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP).

"We believe that they have a few thousand fighters 1,500 to 2,500 mostly concentrated in the Nangarhar Province in the east," Olson said. "They are actively being fought against by the government of Afghanistan and of course our own forces are carrying out airstrikes against them."

But Olson clarified that the Taliban and Islamic State are not working together in Afghanistan, but instead oppose each other as the Taliban focuses its objectives domestically and Islamic State has a global agenda.

Although the United States has dramatically scaled back the number of American troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. remains deeply involved.

Obama requested $3.45 billion in the 2017 budget to help fund Afghan security forces. He recommended that his successor maintain funding at that level through 2020. U.S. military trainers continue to advise Afghan forces, and U.S. warplanes carry out strikes to help Afghan units fighting on the ground.

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Protracted Afghan Political Tensions Worry UN

By Ayaz Gul September 15, 2016

Afghan officials say leaders of the beleaguered national unity government are resolved to overcome internal differences so they can jointly tackle security and many other challenges facing the war-torn country.

The pledge comes a day after the United Nations declared the political situation "precarious," stemming from internal disputes between President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and called for a prompt resolution.

A political deal, mediated by the United States to end a protracted election dispute between Ghani and his election rival Abdullah, enabled the two leaders to establish the national unity government in September of 2014. The agreement allowed for the creation of a new chief executive post to share power with the president.

But both Abdullah and Ghani have recently criticized each other of violating commitments of the political deal, publicly exposing simmering tensions as the government marks completion of its two years this month.

Abdullah has complained Ghani does not consult him on key policy decisions as well as governmental appointments, and blamed the president for not moving swiftly on electoral reforms to prevent a repeat of the irregularities that marred the 2014 presidential election. The Afghan president rejects assertions of fraud in the poll.

UN calls for action

The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Tadamichi Yamamoto, underscored the political agenda must progress constructively to maintain political stability in the country.

"The current precarious political situation, including the tensions between the two leaders of the government, must be brought to a resolution. A way must be found to ensure stability in the government for the long term," Tadamichi said while briefing the Security Council on Wednesday.

"The National Unity Government is at a defining moment. A way forward must be found through realistic and flexible compromise and a show of true statesmanship. The leaders must show to the people of Afghanistan and to the international community that they are able to govern effectively," he said.

A spokesman for President Ghani, when contacted by VOA, declined to comment on the U.N. criticism of the political tensions.

Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Abdullah, played down the criticism. He told VOA the political differences are "for the best and betterment of the country" and they could not be termed as political crisis or political instability.

"The president and the chief executive are shareholders, they are partners in this national unity government. So, we know that the only option we are left with, the only solution we have to overcome these problems and challenges is to work together," Faisal said.

Ghani and Abdullah have held four meetings since they went public with their reservations about the 2014 political agreement.

Faisal insisted the two leaders have come up with "some good solutions" in the meetings and are preparing to hold another round soon to ensure the remaining issues are sorted out.

Peace owed to Afghan people

In his speech, UNAMA Chief Yamamoto also appreciated the "sincere" efforts the Afghan government has been making to conclude a peace agreement with the Hizb-e-Islami insurgent group, led by notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

President Ghani this week promised the peace deal would be finalized in the near future, though critics cite differences in Abdullah's camp over inclusion of Hekmatyar in the Afghan political mainstream for preventing the government from concluding the truce.

But Faisal dismissed the impression.

"The (government-appointed) High Peace Council in Afghanistan is in dialogue with the Hizb-e-Islami. We hope we will have an agreement with Hizb-e-Islami in the near future and those people will be part of a peaceful and prosperous future of Afghanistan," he said.

Yamamoto said measures should also be taken to pave the way for "substantive" peace talks with the main Taliban insurgency, reminding the Council of unprecedented levels of civilian casualties this year due to an intensified Taliban insurgency.

"It is imperative that avenues for peace be explored with the utmost urgency and seriousness ... I would therefore urge both sides to come together to find a lasting peace for Afghanistan," said the U.N. envoy.

Political cover for strongmen

Hekmatyar is a longtime guerrilla commander whose forces fought against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, using equipment supplied by the CIA. Later, his militias battled the Taliban for control of Afghanistan in the 1990s. Human rights groups accused Hekmatyar of committing massive abuses.

The ethnic Pashtun warlord was designated a "global terrorist" by the United States in 2003 for allegedly participating in and supporting attacks by al-Qaida and Taliban forces against U.S. troops. Meanwhile, Ghani's government, like its predecessor, is under fire for bolstering Afghan strongmen for political gain.

"Hekmatyar is not alone in enjoying impunity for his crimes. None of the Afghan warlords has been held accountable for similar crimes," Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher at the Human Rights Watch, told VOA.

"This lack of accountability and the failed disarmament of abusive militia forces has crippled reforms needed to build effective government institutions essential to a lasting peace. As the war churns on, killing an ever-increasing number of civilians, it's clear how high a price Afghans have paid for appeasing the warlords."

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British Armour Between the Wars

Light tanks year mark GS * name tons gun built 193_ Mk.I Vickers 5 7.7mm 10 193_ Mk.II Vickers 4 7.7mm 66 193_ Mk.III Vickers 4 7.7mm 42 193_ Mk.IV Vickers 3 7.7mm 34 193_ Mk.V Vickers 4 15mm 22 193_ Mk.VI Vickers 5 pdr 1652 193_ Mk. VII A17 Tetrarch 8 2pdr 177 193_ Mk. VIII A25 Harry Hopkins 10 2pdr 100 193_ Mk. E Type B Vickers 6 Ton 7 47mm 153 Medium tanks year mark GS * name tons gun built 193_ Mk.I Vickers 12 3pdr 140 193_ Mk.II Vickers 12 3pdr 167 193_ M4 Firefly 30 17pdr 2100 Heavy tanks year mark GS * name tons gun built 193_ A1E1 Independent 32 47mm 1 193_ TOG I 64 6pdr 1 193_ TOG II 81 17pdr 1 193_ Mark IV A22 Churchill 41 75mm 7368 193_ A33 Excelsior 40 75mm 2 Cruiser tanks year mark GS * name tons gun built 193_ MkI A9 14 2pdr 125 193_ MkII A10 16 2pdr 175 193_ MkIII A13 16 2pdr 65 193_ Mk.IV A13 Mk.II 16 2pdr 655 193_ Mk.V A13 Mk.III Covenanter 18 2pdr 1771 193_ Mk VI A15 Crusader 19 6pdr 5300 193_ Mk.VII A24 Cavalier 27 6pdr 500 193_ Mk.VIII A27L Centaur 27 6pdr 950 193_ Mk.VIII A27M Cromwell 27 6pdr 3066 193_ A30 Challenger 32 17pdr 200 193_ A33 Cromwell 41 75mm 2 193_ A34 Comet I 34 77mm 1186 193_ A35 Cromwell 36 75mm 0 193_ A41 Centurion I 62 17pdr 4423 Infantry tanks year mark GS * name tons gun built 193_ Mark I A11 Matilda MG 140 193_ Mark II A12 Matilda 2pdr 2890 193_ Mark III A13 Valentine 16 2pdr 65 193_ Mark IV Valentine 17 6pdr 8275 193_ A38 Valiant 27 57mm 1 193_ A43 Black Prince 49 17pdr 6 Self-propelled guns year mark GS * name tons gun built 193_ Mk I Deacon AEC 12 6pdr 175 193_ Mk.I Archer 15 17pdr 655 193_ A30 Avenger 30 17pdr 230 193_ M10 Achilles 30 17pdr 1100 193_ Sexton 25 25pdr 2150 193_ Mk.I Bishop 18 25pdr 149 193_ A39 Tortoise 78 94mm 6 NOTES * General Staff specification

see G.Matthews for complete list cal.303 7.7 mm .30 in 59 cal 15mm .59 in 2pdr 40mm 1.57in 3pdr 44mm 1.73in 6pdr 57mm 2.24in 17pdr 76mm 3.00in 25pdr 88mm 3.46 in

The British Royal Tank Corps was notable exception to the views prevalent after the Great War. Although reduced to only four battalions, it was saved from the postwar fate of the French and American tank units. Its independence and the possession of new tanks, the Vickers Mediums  with mechanical performance greatly in advance of anything previously built  created conditions favorable to further progress.

The independence and the early experiments were only achieved because of a hard struggle by a small band of enthusiasts against an abysmal lack of understanding and prejudice. The most prominent in this group of pioneers was Fuller, but it included others like CPT Basil Liddell Hart and GEN Giffard Martel. Fullers own ideas evolved from his Plan 1919 and were on the lines of formations composed almost entirely of tanks. Their operations were to resemble those of fleets at sea  this landship influence, incidentally, being quite strong in all early British tank philosophy. Other arms were at best regarded as subsidiary. Such all-tank views, which, of course, corresponded to the tank corps natural wishes, exerted a strong influence on the experiments carried out in England in the 20s and early 30s.

While great stress was placed on developing the advantages of mechanized mobility, striking power tended to be overlooked. This and financial stringency produced a crop of fast, light tanks with very limited combat power. And while the strategic potential of mechanized forces were rightly stressed, the tanks tactical limitations were glossed over. The result was that instead of being a versatile, dominating arm  as the exponents of the all-tank views originally claimed  tank formations developing on those lines became of somewhat limited utility. Suitable perhaps, for the role formerly performed by the cavalry  i.e., that of a complementary mobile arm  but, like the cavalry of the previous 50 or hundred years, incapable of really profitable participation in all stages of the battle.

Tanks from Independent in 1926 until the end of WW II were mostly given 'A-number' General Staff (GS) ordnance designations. Other GS designations included B for tractors and carriers, D for armoured cars and L for light tanks. Before this they had descriptive titles, with a Mark and possibly a name, such as Tank, Medium Mark A 'Whippet' or Tank, Mark I. British tank doctrine split tanks into Light Tanks, used for scouting and reconnaissance roles of light horse cavalry, Cruiser tanks, fast and well armed, meant to act as the heavy cavalry of old, and Infantry tanks, slow and heavy, meant to provide direct support to the infantry.

At the end of the Great War, Britain led the world in tank design, production, and tactics. At the start of World War II, she trailed the world in all categories, and never reached parity with the Germans during the War. Generally speaking, British armored vehicles tended to maximize either mobility or protection. Both the cavalry and the Royal Tank Corps wanted fast, lightly armored, mobile vehicles for reconnaissance and raiding -- the light and medium (or "cruiser") tanks. On the other hand, the "army tank battalions" performing the traditional infantry-support role required extremely heavy armored protection in order to advance successfully against prepared enemy defenses that included antitank guns.

By the late 1920s the standard tanks in use were the Mark I, Mark IA and Mark II light tanks. The average cost of these three marks varied slightly, but, excluding the guns, was approximately 7,700. Apart from these, by 1927 there were some tanks of wartime manufacture which were gradually being replaced as opportunity offered. There were 336 tanks and 158 armored cars in possession of the Department. Some 199 of the tanks are of war design and many of them would require overhaul before they would be fit for active service. Just 16 of the armored cars required complete reconditioning, and 16 tanks and five armored cars were under construction. In 1937 the British resolved to motorize all divisional artillery units and create a division of mechanized and motorized elements. After two years, however, there was little progress toward these goals.

The British Army held a prominent position in the eyes of many American officers in the 1930s. Its mechanized development since the Great War placed it foremost in the field, and its ranks included officers who envisioned a future battlefield radically different from that of the Great War. Chief among them was Col. John F. C. Fuller, whose vision of future warfare forecast the tank as the preeminent weapon. The impression was of the British dramatically modernizing their army through widespread incorporation of motor vehicles.

British armored theorists did not always agree with each other. Basil Liddell Hart, a noted publicist of armor, wanted a true combined arms force with a major role for mechanized infantry. Fuller, Broad, and other officers were more interested in a pure-tank role, in part because they experienced difficulty cooperating with the other arms. G.L.Martel, one of the most innovative theorists and tank designers of the period, was fascinated with the idea of using extremely small armored personnel carriers, capable of transporting one to three men and a machine gun, to assist the infantry in its attacks. Unfortunately, the machine gun carriers designed at Martel's instigation participated in experiments both as reconnaissance vehicles and infantry carriers, and proved inadequate for either function. Not until the eve of World War II did the British develop a reliable machine gun carrier, and even then it was dispersed in small numbers within infantry battalions that attacked on foot.

Despite these differences of opinion, the next step in developing the role of armor was to form an independent mechanized force of division size. This was undertaken as an experiment in 1934, using Col. Percy Hobart's 1st Tank Brigade, a newly formed unit of the type envisaged by Broad, and Maj. Gen. George Lindsay's partially mechanized 7th Infantry Brigade. Unfortunately for the British, personality differences, lack of training, and artificial restrictions from the umpires turned the resulting exercise into a disaster. General Lindsay, one of the few senior officers who was genuinely committed to the development of a combined arms mechanized division, was so discredited by the fiasco that he ceased to have any influence over policy.

Instead, the conservative Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Gen. Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, chose to create a permanent "Mobile Division" by mechanizing large portions of the British cavalry. The Mobile Division authorized in December 1937 consisted of two armored cavalry brigades, each almost entirely mounted in light tanks and armored cars, plus one tank brigade, two mechanized Infantry battalions, and limited amounts of artillery, engineers, and support units. Such a formation was quite appropriate for performing the functions of reconnaissance and security, whether in the empire or on the continent. It did not, however, integrate the different arms at a sufficiently low level to fight in fluid operations as an armored formation against a sophisticated enemy. In most cases, reconnaissance, medium armor, infantry, and artillery were under separate brigade-level commands. with various minor changes, this mobile division became the 1st Armoured Division, which sacrificed itself piecemeal in France in 1940. A second mobile division formed in Egypt, providing the basis for later British operations there.

In the period up to the end of 1938 British armored forces consisted of eight battalions of the Royal Tank Regiment equipped with light tanks, which were armed only with machine guns, obsolescent medium tanks, also armed with machine guns, and two cavalry armored car regiments. This, of course, was during the period of disarmament. The mechanized cavalry and tanks could not coordinate their actions during maneuvers. The Armoured Divisions evolution marked an effort to find a balance of infantry, artillery, armor, antitank, and antiaircraft elements that would be manageable and versatile. The division organizations, however, remained tank-heavy and deficient in their combined-arms ability. The German preparations had already long begun and were being carried out with great thoroughness and on a tremendous scale.

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DPRK FM Briefs Asian Diplomatic Envoys on Situation

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

Pyongyang, September 14 (KCNA) -- The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK held a briefing on the situation for Asian diplomatic envoys here on Wednesday.

Present there were the Mongolian, Vietnamese, Lao, Indonesian and Indian ambassadors to the DPRK and the charges d'affaires ad interim of the Cambodian, Malaysian, Iranian and Pakistani embassies here.

Choe Hui Chol, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Department of the ministry, informed them of the principled stand of the DPRK on the recent nuclear warhead explosion test.

The test made it possible for the DPRK to produce various type smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads with high striking power as many as it desires, he said, stressing that the U.S. outrageous nuclear threat and blackmail only compel the DPRK to bolster up its nuclear attack capability hour by hour.

The DPRK will never lay down its nuclear weapons in the future, too but steadily bolster the state nuclear force both in quality and quantity to put a definite end to the U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK, he noted.

He called upon Asian countries to properly understand the root cause of the tension on the Korean peninsula and thoroughly maintain impartiality and neutrality as regards the issue of the peninsula.

Then he informed them in detail of the flood damage in the northern part of North Hamgyong Province.

He told them that the Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government suspended all the important construction projects including the construction of Ryomyong Street and are directing all human, material and technical potentials to the campaign to recover from the flood damage in hearty response to the noble intention of Marshal Kim Jong Un that there is no more urgent emergency than alleviating the pain of the people and there is no more important revolutionary work than mitigating their misfortune.

He appealed to the Asian countries which have the long-standing friendly and cooperative relations with the DPRK to proactively cooperate in the work for recovering from the flood damage in the northern part of North Hamgyong Province.

The briefing provided the diplomatic envoys of Asian countries in the DPRK with an occasion of having a more correct understanding of the fact that the DPRK is bolstering up its nuclear force for self-defense to defend its sovereignty and vital rights and the right to development in order to cope with the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and nuclear threat to it that have lasted for several decades.

The diplomatic envoys expressed deep sympathy with the huge human and material damage caused by flood in the DPRK and their willingness to recommend the governments of their countries to deal with the issue of offering emergency humanitarian aid in the shortest period and to work hard to realize it. -0-

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Projected Frantic Anti-DPRK Leaflet-scattering Operation under Fire

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

Pyongyang, September 14 (KCNA) -- The whole planet is stunned by the news of the DPRK's successful nuclear warhead explosion test.

Horror-stricken by this news, the south Korean puppet forces are again resorting to a despicable psychological warfare.

They opened to media their plan to prod the wicked non-governmental reactionary organizations into scattering anti-DPRK leaflets with the Harvest Moon Day as an occasion.

According to it, more than 40 human scum including Pak Sang Hak, representative of the "Alliance for the Movement of Free North", are reported to send 300 000 leaflets "criticizing" the DPRK's nuclear test and slandering its socialist system and one-dollar notes to the north side by use of more than ten balloons from the "observation deck for unification on Mt. Odu" in Phaju City, Kyonggi Province.

Then they decided to hold a "joint sacrificial rite" to incite the confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north.

Pak Sang Hak, the human scum without an equal in the world, blustered that he is mulling scattering leaflets towards the north before holding the rite on the day, adding that although it is an annual event, it is quite different event because of the north's fifth nuclear test.

The above-said actions are nothing but the last-ditch efforts of the human scum to prolong their remaining days through the confrontation as they fled to ditch-like south Korea after betraying the benevolent country which brought them up and their parents, brothers and sisters.

The puppet regime, keen on antagonizing, distrusting and standing in confrontation with the fellow countrymen, has gone more reckless to use the folk holiday as an occasion of stoking confrontation by hurling the above-said human scum into the area north of the "civilian passage restriction line" after fixing the anti-DPRK smear campaign as a "state policy".

The units of the south Korean puppet army in the frontline areas are now heightening "firepower alert posture" and taking steps for provide military backing to those reactionary organizations' anti-DPRK leaflets scattering operation.

The puppet forces' moves to scatter anti-DPRK leaflets with the Harvest Moon Day as an occasion are aimed to impair the prestige of the DPRK markedly raised thanks to the great success in its nuclear warhead explosion test and, at the same time, rattle the nerves of the Korean People's Army and compel it to take retaliatory counteraction and then brand it as "provocation" and escalate tension in a bid to weather their most serious ruling crisis.

Their desperate efforts to do harm to the DPRK through such leaflets scattering operation are as foolish as trying to get the sun eclipsed with a palm.

Korean-style socialism which has taken its deep roots in the hearts of the popular masses is like a natural fortress standing invulnerable in the face of any tempest caused by the imperialists.

The army and people of the DPRK will never overlook the anti-DPRK psychological warfare such as despicable leaflet-scattering operation of the puppet forces.

It is as clear as noonday what fate the chieftains of the anti-DPRK leaflets-scattering operation and other psychological warfare conducted under the eyes of the DPRK will face and what the sites of leaflets-scattering operation will look like.

The south Korean puppet forces should not forget even a moment that their persistent and despicable psychological smear campaign against the DPRK will only precipitate their self-destruction. -0-

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U.S. Hostile Policy toward DPRK Is Bound to Go Bankrupt: Rodong Sinmun

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

Pyongyang, September 14 (KCNA) -- The U.S. is making much fuss, pushing its allies to "announce a statement" and apply an "additional sanctions" at the UN over the successful nuclear explosion test for judging the power of nuclear warhead conducted by scientists and technicians of the DPRK Nuclear Weapons Institute, says Rodong Sinmun Wednesday in an article.

The U.S. can never escape from the blame for pushing the DPRK to have access to nuclear weapons and should draw a due lesson from this, the article notes, adding anyone is not entitled to say this or that about the DPRK's nuclear deterrence for self-defense, the article says, and goes on:

The DPRK has built all edifices startling the world people despite the harsh sanctions imposed by the U.S.-led imperialists. So, the DPRK's succeeding in strategic ballistic rocket, SLBM and nuclear explosion tests is a demonstration of its determination and will to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists, the sworn enemy.

The U.S. persistent sanctions and pressure on the DPRK would only be a waste of time for it and the DPRK's capability of nuclear strike will immensely be bolstered as much.

The DPRK's Juche-based defense industry which has been consolidated for decades is fully prepared to cope with all wars wanted by the U.S.

The DPRK will in the future, too, continue taking measures for bolstering the state nuclear force in quality and in quantity to defend its dignity and vital rights and safeguard genuine peace from the U.S. ever- increasing nuclear war threat.

The U.S. anachronistic hostile policy toward the DPRK is bound to go bankrupt. -0-

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China Against Unilateral Sanctions Against North Korea

Sputnik News

06:22 15.09.2016

China is opposed to imposing unilateral sanctions on North Korea, according to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

BEIJING (Sputnik)  Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says his country is opposed to imposing unilateral sanctions on North Korea.

"With all sides focused on the authoritative channel of the [UN] Security Council, China opposes unilateral sanctions that are unhelpful to resolving the issue," Wang Yi said after Wednesday telephone talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, as quoted by The Daily Express newspaper on Thursday.

The Chinese foreign minister also said that there has to be "a necessary response" to the situation on the Korean peninsula and that China was ready to cooperate on that issue with members of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

On Wednesday, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said that the UNSC was going to work on another sanctions resolution against Pyongyang.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly ordered the government on Sunday to prepare a raft of unilateral sanctions against North Korea to restrain Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Pyongyang confirmed on September 9 that it had carried out a nuclear test, at its northeastern nuclear test site. The nuclear experiment is believed to be the fifth and largest since Pyongyang started pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile programs, drawing condemnation from the international community.

Pyongyang's January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch in February resulted in the tightening of sanctions against North Korea in a new UN Security Council resolution adopted in March.

The United Nations previously imposed sanctions on North Korea for three tests it carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

 Sputnik

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Iran Unveils a Powerful New High-Speed Ship

Sputnik News

06:55 15.09.2016(updated 06:58 15.09.2016)

Tehran unveiled a speedy new helicopter-carrying double-hulled ship, Iranian state TV reported Tuesday.

Capable of carrying one helicopter and 100 crew, the ship is reported to be 55 yards long and 14 yards wide, with a speed of up to 28 knots and an operating range of 10,000 kilometers. Currently, a banner with the words "Go to the Bay of Pigs; the Persian Gulf is our home," is said to be displayed on the vessel, in a pointed remark to US ships in the region.

"Bay of Pigs" refers to a failed military invasion of Cuba backed by the US in 1961. Earlier this year the Republican-dominated US House of Representatives introduced a resolution reading that current Iranian military actions were eroding stability in the Persian Gulf.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated, "The Persian Gulf is our home. It is the Americans who must explain why they have come here from the other side of the world to launch war games."

"They come here from the other side of the world to perform a military exercise? Well, look the other way, towards the Bay of Pigs," he said.

In August, a US ship in Persian Gulf waters fired three warning shots in the direction of an approaching Iranian ship. In January, ten US Navy sailors were detained by Iran after they drifted into Iranian waters.

Ali Fadavi, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC) Rear Admiral, said, "There is no reason for the presence of the US in the Persian Gulf and we have always regarded and will regard it as a factor behind insecurity and evil acts."

 Sputnik

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Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq Totals Over $1 Billion

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 14, 2016



The United States is providing more than $181 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the Iraqi people to address critical humanitarian needs, including those expected to occur with Iraq's planned military offensive to liberate Mosul from Da'esh occupation. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced this new funding today, bringing U.S. humanitarian assistance for Iraqis to nearly $1.1 billion since FY 2014. The humanitarian assistance supports the operations of the United Nations, other international organizations, and non-governmental organizations to help respond to one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the world. The United States remains committed to supporting the Government of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Regional Government, in their response to the humanitarian crisis, as well as supporting the Iraqi people during their time of need.

The United Nations anticipates the upcoming offensive could result in the displacement of more than one million people from Mosul and surrounding areas, exacerbating an already dire crisis that has left an estimated 10 million people  nearly a third of the country's population  in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 3.3 million Iraqis displaced inside their own country as a consequence of Da'esh's brutality. With this additional funding to international and non-governmental humanitarian organizations, the U.S. government reaffirms its commitment to support Iraq and provide assistance to displaced and conflict-affected Iraqis.

The new funding enables the prepositioning of emergency food assistance and basic relief items to displaced Iraqis in preparation for the Mosul campaign. It also supports the procurement and distribution of emergency relief and shelter supplies, and it will provide basic health care, including maternal and child health care services, as well as education, camp coordination and camp management services, psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention and mitigation programs, among other services. This money funds essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services that will provide displaced Iraqis with safe drinking water, clean latrines, and shower facilities. It will also enable partners to strengthen humanitarian coordination efforts through support to the International Organization for Migration's Displacement Tracking Matrix.

In addition to the funding to support Mosul preparedness, U.S. funding will support UNHCR and other agencies' efforts to provide assistance to the estimated 230,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey, including shelter, cash assistance, protection, and other forms of assistance. It will also support ongoing operations in Iraq to provide for the humanitarian needs of those already displaced by the conflict with Da'esh, including livelihoods support and social cohesion efforts, education, cash assistance, and protection monitoring services.

Next week the world will come together at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and will further focus on Iraq and other global humanitarian crises including at a summit on refugees hosted by the President of the United States. The U.S. encourages other donors to follow our recent announcements with their own commitments to provide timely additional assistance for Iraqis, including for the forthcoming needs for Mosul, as well as for other global crises.

For further information, please contact the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at PRMPress@state.gov or visit PRM's website, or contact USAID at USAIDPressOfficers@usaid.gov or visit USAID's website.

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US, Israel Sign Record Military Aid Agreement

By Michael Bowman September 14, 2016

The United States and Israel signed a landmark 10-year military assistance agreement Wednesday, as U.S. lawmakers of both political parties stressed that Congress will determine actual aid levels to the Jewish state.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) promises to provide Israel with a record $38 billion from 2019 through 2028, boosting the yearly commitment from $3 billion to $3.3 billion and locking in an additional $500 million annually for Israeli missile defense.

White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice underscored the "ironclad bond" between the United States and Israel at a signing ceremony held at the State Department.

"This [MOU] marks a significant increase over our existing funding, and it will ensure that Israel has the support it needs to defend itself, by itself, and to preserve its qualitative military edge," Rice said.

Representing Israel was Acting National Security Advisor Jacob Nagel, who said the aid package "strikes the right balance between the needs and capabilities of both countries" and "enables Israel to better defend itself, by itself" against any threat.

Nagel said the MOU will fund "a robust missile defense" to counter threats in the region.

'Backdoor effort'

The aid package was the product of months of delicate negotiations between the U.S. and Israel, and included stipulations that rankled some U.S. lawmakers. Israel agreed to use the aid to buy American-made weaponry and agreed not to lobby Congress for additional funds.

"That is a backdoor effort to basically take over the appropriations process," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told VOA. "Under this construct, Congress has been dealt out, and I will not accept that.

"The MOU is not binding on Congress. It's an annual appropriation," added Graham, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee.

On that point, the Senate's second most powerful Democrat agreed.

"The actual funding is going to be subject to congressional action," said Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. "They [the administration] can make a recommendation of what we expect to give to Israel, but Congress makes the final decision."

Graham said the MOU provides Israel with certainty about the assistance it will receive, but at levels below the $4 billion in total military assistance that committees in both houses of the Republican-led Congress formulated for 2018.

"It's hard for me to believe that in 2018 the conditions in the Mideast are going to be such that we need to lock in a lower [aid] number," Graham said. "I think it's nickel-and-diming Israel."

Durbin was more upbeat on the MOU.

"I am prepared to support it," he said. "We stand behind Israel's right to exist."

U.S. commitment 'unwavering'

The signing ceremony provided a rare moment of congeniality between the Obama administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said the MOU underscores that "the United States has been Israel's greatest friend and partner. This commitment to Israel's security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the State of Israel."

Obama restated America's commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that the MOU will help further a core U.S. objective: "that Israelis can live alongside their neighbors in peace and security."

"The president is a true friend of Israel," Durbin said. "It's also true that he disagrees with some of the policy decisions made by the Netanyahu government, particularly when it comes to settlements and negotiations.

"But the president has been committed to Israel. This memorandum of understanding is a long-term commitment by our nation to continue this alliance," the Democratic senator added.

"I wish the administration had been as hard on the Iranians as they have been on Israel," Graham complained. "They are walking on bended knee through glass to keep the Iranian agreement that's a disaster. They are accommodating Iran at every turn, but they are grinding Israel down here."

VOA's Nike Ching contributed to this report from the State Department.

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Libya Report Slams British, French Ouster of Gadhafi

By Henry Ridgwell September 15, 2016

A group of British lawmakers has strongly criticized the intervention by Britain and France in 2011 that led to the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The report from the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee said a lack of planning for the aftermath meant that Libya quickly descended into chaos, with rival militias battling for power, and the terror group Islamic State gaining an increasing foothold in the country.

The damning verdict comes exactly five years after then-British Prime Minister David Cameron and then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy stood triumphant in Benghazi's Liberty Square in September 2011, cheered by huge crowds. Their joint campaign of air and missile strikes had swiftly ousted dictator Gadhafi.

The Libyan leader had threatened to attack the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

The report, however, concluded that Britain and France had 'failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated.'

"The decision makers here were being presented with a blood-curdling assessment as to what was going to happen in Benghazi and therefore the need to act," said lawmaker Crispin Blunt, chairman of the committee.

He added that past failures by the international community led to a rushed decision.

"Overhanging that was the history of Srebrenica and the failure of the international community to protect the people of Srebrenica back in 1995, and it was in that climate that decisions were taken."

Blunt was referring to the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995 during the Bosnian war. They were murdered when troops commanded by a Serbian general overran the U.N. enclave protected by Dutch troops. It was the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II.

The report by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee regarding Libya says the initial aim of protecting civilians drifted into regime change. That was one of the earliest mistakes that the British-French coalition made, says analyst Riccardo Fabiani of the Eurasia Group.

"One of the biggest mistakes that France and Britain made during the Libyan intervention was first of all to refuse to establish any dialogue, any real possibility of a compromise with the Gadhafi regime. So they changed the rules of engagement from protecting civilians to overthrowing the Gadhafi regime."

The British government was also criticized for failing to understand the nature of the rebellion. Fabiani said the chaos could have been predicted.

"What happened afterwards was not surprising at all, when you move from a one-man strong regime to a coalition of militias and political parties and municipalities with very little cohesion and no leadership. Nobody should be surprised when the country after that collapsed into chaos."

David Cameron has since defended his action, and the British government says the military action was requested by the Arab League and approved by the United Nations Security Council.

Chaos continues on the ground in Libya. Two rival administrations - one backed by the U.N. and based in Tripoli, the other in the eastern city of Tobruk - signed a unity government deal in December, but there's been little progress in enforcing the agreement.

The lawlessness has allowed Libya to become the main gateway for migrants trying to reach Europe. More than 125,000 people have attempted the crossing this year alone; an estimated 3,000 of them have drowned.

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U.S.-Burma Relations

Fact Sheet

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 14, 2016



Aung Sang Suu Kyi's historic visit in her new capacities as State Counsellor and Foreign Minister is testament to the far-reaching change Burma has undergone in the past few years. Burma now has a civilian-led, democratically elected government focused on bringing peace and national reconciliation, economic prosperity and social welfare, and respect for human rights to its people.

Building on this progress and in close coordination with the new government, President Obama has decided to make significant adjustments to our policies to help State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, her government, and the people of Burma continue their process of political reform and broad-based economic growth and prosperity. These changes include: forthcoming termination of the national emergency with respect to Burma, reinstating Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits for Burma, establishing a U.S- Myanmar Partnership, expanding people-to-people ties, deepening bilateral economic engagement, continuing to work toward an Open Skies Treaty, and initiating a new USAID loan portfolio guarantee.

Terminating the National Emergency

President Obama's announcement that he will terminate the national emergency with respect to Burma, which has been in place since 1997, reflects Burma's tremendous progress toward democratic consolidation and our continued commitment to help the new government deliver on expectations for democracy and economic growth.

The economic and financial sanctions imposed on Burma under the national emergency were intended to encourage democratic transition. The forthcoming termination of the national emergency will serve to recognize the enormous transformation Burma has achieved through the democratic election of a civilian-led government and its commitment to achieving peace, national reconciliation, and inclusive economic growth. In terminating the national emergency, all of the restrictions implemented by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) will no longer be in effect, including the removal from OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List of individuals and entities designated pursuant to the Burma sanctions program (although some Burmese SDNs may remain designated under other OFAC authorities).

The forthcoming termination of the national emergency does not end our commitment to support ongoing democratic consolidation in Burma. With the Government of Burma as a democratic partner, however, the United States will have more constructive channels and tools to support change and progress. The United States will use all of our available engagement tools to deepen democratic gains, promote good governance and transparency, and strengthen democratic institutions.

For additional information on the specifics on the termination of this measure, please see our "National Emergency Fact Sheet."

Reinstating of GSP Benefits

The President signed a proclamation that designates Burma as eligible for trade benefits under the GSP trade preferences program. We believe this step has the potential to make an important contribution to goals we share with the new government: creation of jobs; reduction of poverty in a country with a per capita income estimated to be $1,280, the second-lowest figure in ASEAN and East Asia; and ultimately, the success of democratic reform.

This action will take effect on November 13, 2016 following a 60-day Congressional notification period.

For additional information concerning the reinstatement of GSP benefits, we refer you to the press release from the United States Trade Representative's Office.

Establishing U.S.-Myanmar Partnership

On September 14, 2016, President Obama and State Counsellor Aung Sang Suu Kyi launched the U.S.-Myanmar Partnership to enhance cooperation, based on mutual respect and common interests. Acknowledging the dramatic transformations that have taken place in Burma, including the inauguration of a democratically-elected government, the announcement of a new partnership reflects our shared desire to build a broad, forward-looking relationship between our two countries.

The Partnership will provide a framework for advancing key priorities in our bilateral relationship, and will create mechanisms for cooperation in areas including political and diplomatic relations, trade and economic ties, science and technology, education and training, environment and health, defense and security, protection and promotion of rule of law, human rights, and people-to-people connections.

In support of the U.S.-Myanmar Partnership, the two countries will hold annual meetings led by the U.S. Department of State and Burma's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The location of the meetings will alternate between the two countries.

The key thematic areas of engagement could include:

- Supporting Burma's efforts to achieve peace and national reconciliation

- Building a strong economic and commercial partnership

- Promoting inclusive economic development that benefits the people of Burma, protects its environment, and builds resilient communities

- Encouraging Burma's democratic transition and support for the protection of human rights and the rule of law

- Building people-to-people and educational ties

- Cooperating on regional, multilateral, and global issues

Expanding People-to-People Ties

The United States seeks to strengthen people-to-people ties with Burma by multiplying the connections between the young people of our two countries, including through the President's Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI). Recognizing that 55 percent of Burma's population is under age 30, the United States intends to engage the next generation of young leaders through the full range of U.S. exchange programs, including by providing a 50 percent increase in funding for educational advising to encourage and assist more Burmese students to study in the United States. The funding would expand our reach to more states and regions across Burma, including funding a new advisor in Mandalay.

We will also strengthen English language teacher capacity in Burma through additional direct training for 1,500 English Access Micro-scholarship teachers and other Burmese English language educators from across the country. The training will include workshops and networking opportunities with subject experts on modern teaching methodologies.

Finally, we will also launch a new International Visitor Leadership Program -- the U.S. Department of State's premier professional exchange program  focused primarily on engaging Burmese participants on models of democratic federalism.

Deepening Bilateral Economic Engagement

The United States and Burma recognize their shared interest in enhancing bilateral economic engagement and exchanging views on laws and practices that affect bilateral investment flows and foreign investment, including the elements of a high-standard Bilateral Investment Treaty.

New Loan Portfolio Guarantee

In Burma, a lack of access to credit is one of the largest constraints to small business growth: 74 percent of formal enterprises and 58 percent of informal enterprises lack access to credit. To address this constraint, USAID/Burma intends to launch a Development Credit Authority (DCA) loan guarantee program with five microfinance institutions, mobilizing over $10 million in loans. This DCA guarantee will target micro, small, and medium-sized businesses working in agriculture, livestock/poultry, and trade and other post-production services. This program will increase the availability of and access to food. It will also foster economic growth and business development involving some of Burma's poorest people. Many of the targeted enterprises are expected to be owned or operated by women. This loan program will be accompanied by technical assistance to both the microfinance institutions and the government on regulatory changes needed to expand access to credit.

Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labor Rights and Practices in Burma

The U.S. Government is working with Burma and partners in the international community to develop and support new tools to help Burma improve fundamental labor rights and set a strong foundation for sustainable growth and development.

Launched in 2014 during President Obama's visit to Burma, the governments of Burma, the United States, Japan, Denmark, the European Union, and the International Labor Organization are working together on a joint Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labor Rights and Practices in Burma. The Initiative is intended to help modernize Burma's labor code, improve compliance with international labor standards, and foster a robust dialogue between the government, business, labor and civil society.

At the first Stakeholder Forum in 2015, the Government of Burma and partners committed to an ambitious agenda of labor law reforms, stakeholder consultations, and efforts to build enforcement capacity. The newly elected government has reiterated its strong support for the approach and will convene the 2nd Stakeholder Forum September 29-30 in Yangon.

Peace Corps' Burma Program

The United States and Myanmar look forward to the arrival of the first group of Peace Corps volunteers later this month, who will train English teachers as well as teach students in middle and high schools.

Global Health Security Agenda

The United States and Burma are committed to advancing global health security. In 2017, Burma will complete and publish a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of national capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. The United States completed and published a JEE in 2016. President Obama hopes that together we can make significant progress on the goals of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) this year as partners in building capacity against the threat of infectious disease.

The United States seeks enhanced ASEAN regional engagement and domestic member state action through the GHSA, to help build the capacities necessary to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats regardless of source. In particular, we are encouraging ASEAN member states to take advantage of the World Health Organization's JEE process, the World Organization for Animal Health's Performance of Veterinary Services Pathway Standards, and other technical expertise from donors interested in the region, including the Republic of Korea, United States, and other G-7 members.

These are global objectives, but the work is particularly critical in the ASEAN region. The issue is not that ASEAN governments are recalcitrant or unaware of the threats - rather they are dealing with risks that are extremely complicated and getting more so. Several serious infectious diseases are endemic (found naturally in the environment). Key conditions in the region - including population density, human-animal contact, international travel, climatic conditions, and limitations in health infrastructure - are increasingly favorable to the spread of disease.

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Terminating the National Emergency for Burma

Fact Sheet

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 14, 2016

On September 14, President Obama announced his intent to terminate the National Emergency with respect to Burma, nearly 20 years after economic and financial sanctions were first imposed on Burma. The announcement came after the President met and discussed these issues with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, during her first visit to the United States in her new capacity.

This historic visit is testament to the tremendous change Burma has undergone in the past few years. Burma now has democratically-elected civilian leadership for the first time in over half a century, and is focused on bringing peace and national reconciliation, economic prosperity and social welfare, and respect for human rights to its people.

Much has changed for Burma's people, but our goal remains the same: to see a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma in which all people live in harmony and are able to fully enjoy their rights, and to continue to build a close friendship between the people of Burma and the United States.

As partners of Burma, and in support of requests by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected administration, President Obama decided to make significant adjustments to our policies to assist her and the rest of the Government of Burma as they continue the process of political reform and seek to deliver much needed economic growth and prosperity.

President Obama announced his intention to take action to lift Executive Order-based economic and financial sanctions on Burma. In particular, he intends to terminate the national emergency with respect to Burma, which has been in place since 1997, an action that reflects Burma's progress on democratization and human rights. For more information, please see the website of the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Pages/default.aspx.

At the same time, significant challenges remain with respect to the realization of a full democratic, civilian government, and human rights of all people of Burma, including the country's diverse array of ethnic groups. The United States will continue to support the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma, and will work closely with the government to develop new policies to address these challenges, including the disproportionate role of the military in the economy and the need for responsible and transparent investment and business practices, in particular in the jadeite and gemstones sector.

President Obama also welcomes Burma's commitment to work with the U.S. Government on strengthening Burma's ability to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, an effort that is critical to Burma's reintegration into the international financial system.

In this regard, several restrictions remain in place. JADE Act visa ineligibilities remain in effect, including with respect to military leaders and those who provide substantial political and economic support to the Burmese military. Remaining restrictions on foreign assistance to Burma include limitations on assistance to Burma's military.

We look forward to continued close engagement with the U.S. Congress as we implement these remaining restrictions and consider any future adjustments, as necessary.

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US Lawmakers Meet With Aun San Suu Kyi, Speak Out on Myanmar Sanctions

By Michael Bowman September 15, 2016

U.S. lawmakers met Thursday with Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and expressed mixed reactions to President Barack Obama's intention to lift economic sanctions on the country formerly known as Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi held separate talks with prominent House and Senate members of both parties at the Capitol. Sanctions played prominently in the discussions, according to several lawmakers who spoke with VOA afterward.

"The message was clear, that Burma's a different country today than it was when those sanctions were imposed," said Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Cardin stressed that America's attention is still needed in Myanmar, but that U.S. influence can be exerted more with carrots than sticks.

"There is a continued role for the United States, but it's going to be in a much more positive way," he said.

"The president acted unilaterally [lifting sanctions] in a way that was unfortunate," said Republican Cory Gardner, chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific. "There are a number of concerns with military involvement and crony business operatives participating in illicit activities that warrant continued sanctioning."

"We should make sure that the military doesn't have access to ways to enrich itself, as it has been for decades, and to make sure that we continue to provide leverage against the bad actors who have created so much difficulty for the people of Burma," Gardner added.

At the White House on Wednesday, Obama cited Myanmar's "remarkable social and political transformation" as he signaled his administration's readiness to lift those sanctions that can be scrapped without congressional authorization.

Earlier, the president sent a letter to Congress saying the administration is moving to restore trade benefits to Myanmar that were suspended more than two decades ago because of human rights abuses.

The announcement contrasted sharply with a statement issued by the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Bob Corker, who met with Aung San Suu Kyi earlier in the day at Vice President Joe Biden's residence.

"While we certainly appreciate the work Aung San Suu Kyi has done to ensure a democratic transition in Burma, I am somewhat appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country," said Corker.

"After witnessing her lack of regard for Burma's dismal track record on this issue, I plan to pay very close attention to her government's efforts to prevent innocent human beings from being trafficked and sold into forced labor and sex slavery," Corker said.

Corker has been a leading voice in the Senate against global human trafficking.

"Senator Corker and I talked about his conversation [with Aung San Suu Kyi]," Cardin said. "I followed up on it during our meeting [with her at the Capitol] and got a much more responsive reply in regards to what their [Myanmar's] actions are going to be dealing with human trafficking. I was pleased to see that there was a detailed response and the issue was taken very seriously."

Sitting next to Obama Wednesday, Aung San Suu Kyi urged a lifting of U.S. sanctions, saying that "unity also needs prosperity, because people, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important."

She pleaded for people to visit and invest in the country, saying, "I expect businessmen to come to our country to make profits."

Aung San Suu Kyi said she expects Myanmar's legislature to pass a new investment law she hopes will be very attractive to countries around the world.

"She's made remarkable progress," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. "There's a long ways [to go]."

"It's been truly remarkable to see the changes that have taken hold in Burma in recent years, changes that once seemed literally unattainable," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, in floor remarks before meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

McConnell said challenges remain, however, "like addressing much-needed constitutional reform and the military's disproportionate power in parliament, like ending decades-long conflicts and peaceful reconciliation among ethnic groups, like encouraging economic development."

This was Aung San Suu Kyi's first visit to the U.S. as state counselor and foreign minister  a position she assumed after her party's decisive win in last November's elections. The country's military era constitution bars her from holding the title of president because her late husband and children are foreign citizens.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent more than 20 years under house arrest in the country. Her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office is viewed as another clear indication that she is Myanmar's de facto civilian leader.

Over the past couple of decades, the White House and Congress have maintained a long list of sanctions on Myanmar, including restrictions on jade and gemstones, and also on businesses linked to the sales of arms and illegal drugs. Obama eased some of those sanctions in 2013.

VOA White House correspondent Cindy Saine contributed to this report

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US-Russian Deal: Syrian 'Moderate' Rebels Pose a Challenge to the Agreement

Sputnik News

21:42 14.09.2016

The so-called Syrian moderate rebels discredited by colluding with al-Nusra Front and other terrorist groups on the ground may pose a challenge to the US-Russian ceasefire deal.

The US-Russian agreement on a 48-hour ceasefire in Syria has marked an important milestone in the course of the Syrian war.

Although some critics of the US-Russian deal referred to the possibility of jihadists regrouping amid the ceasefire to deal a heavy blow to Syrian government forces in Aleppo, Russian journalist and analyst Yevgeny Krutikov stresses that the Islamist defense lines around Aleppo have been de facto breached.

"Although three months ago terrorist groups managed to launch counter-offensive in the south-west of the city [Aleppo] that led to heavy battles [between jihadists and the Syrian Arab Army], today such developments are technically impossible. The government forces are capable of resolving the Aleppo conflict and do not need specific assistance," Krutikov writes in his article for Russian online media outlet Vzglyad.

Meanwhile Russian military forces have maintained control over the Castello Road, a major artery into Aleppo, Krutikov notes, stressing that there is nothing left for the US-backed rebels but to reconcile themselves with this reality.

However, the Russian journalist warns that some of the so-called "moderate" rebels still remain a stumbling block in the way of the Syrian peace process.

The crux of the matter is that many of today's "moderates" in Aleppo, Hama and Damascus used to be "inveterate" jihadists, the analyst remarks referring to Syrian rebels which have been repeatedly spotted colluding with al-Nusra Front, former al-Qaeda affiliate.

To protect the Syrian rebels, "forced" into an "uncomfortable marriage of necessity" with the al-Qaeda franchise, Western decision makers called upon Russia to suspend aerial operations against jihadists and al-Nusra Front located near rebels positions.

However, according to Krutikov, the so-called "moderate" rebels were well aware of al-Nusra Front's terrorist activities. Many of them supported the jihadi regimes imposed on civilians on occupied territories as well as Wahhabi version of the Islamic teaching. Lots of "moderates" were involved in al-Nusra's brutal terrorist operations on the ground in Syria.

"Although American and European mass media continue to paint these rebels in glowing colors, in reality all of those who collaborated with al-Nusra Front and other 'cannibals' (including those of Fatah Halab) should be disqualified forever," Krutikov deems.

Unfortunately, Washington is reluctant to designate these groups as terrorists, the analyst remarks.

Meanwhile the US-Russian deal has sparked a heated debate among international observers.

Two opposite camps have emerged: while some experts claim that Washington has "capitulated" to Moscow by signing the agreement, others insist that Russia has been outmaneuvered by the United States and Western proxies in Syria.

Amid the media fuss, Russian journalist Petr Akopov of Vzglyad notes that the deal is a compromise that allows both Washington and Moscow to ensure their geopolitical positions on the ground.

The deal allowed the US to present itself as an influential player in the Middle East, while Russia has "legalized" the new balance of power in the region, favorable to Damascus, Akopov suggested.

However, Krutikov believes that the secrecy surrounding the US-Russian deal may prompt some forces to manipulate public opinion.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called upon the United States to make the diplomatic deal transparent, stressing that Russia has "nothing to conceal."

"In order to brush away any doubts on how we will fulfill our commitments in the way in which they were stipulated in the agreement, we suggested revealing these agreements and not keeping them secret, as our American partners wanted," Lavrov emphasized.

However, Washington continues to insist that aspects of the Syrian ceasefire deal brokered with Russia "are too sensitive to release to the public," according to US State Department.

 Sputnik

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Russian Jets Eliminate 250 Daesh Terrorists Preparing Attack on Palmyra

Sputnik News

17:30 14.09.2016(updated 18:09 14.09.2016)

Russian Aerospace Forces targeted a group of terrorists preparing an offensive on the Syrian city of Palmyra. The airstrikes destroyed 250 militants and 15 vehicles.

"The fight against Daesh goes on. Yesterday, the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted airstrikes to the north of Palmyra where a group of Daesh terrorists was preparing an offensive on the city," Lt. Gen. Viktor Poznikhir, first deputy chief of the General Staff's Main Operational Department, said at a news briefing in the Defense Ministry.

According to Poznikhir, some 250 terrorists were killed and about 15 vehicles armed with large-caliber machine guns were destroyed in the airstrikes.

Russia has been conducting a counterterrorist campaign in Syria since September 30, 2015, at President Bashar Assad's request. On March 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to withdraw the bulk of the Russian military contingent from Syria.

 Sputnik

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With Syria Cease-fire Holding, Aid Deliveries Await Assad's OK

By Jamie Dettmer September 14, 2016

A Syrian cease-fire brokered by the U.S. and Russia appeared to be generally holding across the war-torn country Wednesday, but aid distribution to besieged towns and areas - a key part of the deal - remains on hold. The Syrian government has insisted any humanitarian assistance to the city of Aleppo has to be coordinated with Damascus.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tried to break the impasse, urging Washington and Moscow Wednesday to push all warring sides in Syria to agree safe passage for desperately needed aid.

"It's crucially important [that] the necessary security arrangements" are agreed, Ban said. "I have been urging the Russian government to make sure that they exercise influence on the Syrian government, and also the American side to make sure that Syrian armed groups ... also fully cooperate."

But the secretary-general's appeal had little immediate impact. Trucks loaded with a month's food supply for 40,000 people are stuck at the Turkish border, although Russian media report some supplies were distributed in Syrian government-held areas of Homs by Russian forces.

'Significant drop in violence'

Aid agencies say they are waiting in other cases for guarantees of safe passage from not just President Bashar al-Assad's regime but also from other warring parties. Staffan de Mistura, U.N. special envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva, there has been a "significant drop in violence" and that the situation on the ground had "dramatically improved, with no airstrikes."

ut he added that aid has not yet been delivered because the Syrian government hadn't sent a letter of authorization to the U.N., although he said he hoped aid conveys waiting on the Turkish-Syrian border would be able to commence deliveries some time later on Wednesday to the 250,000 civilians estimated to be in rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo.

Activists, skeptical of the chances of the cease-fire holding, noted to VOA that another cessation of hostilities brokered by Washington and Moscow earlier this year, which lasted for just weeks, also was undermined by the blocking of aid delivery.

"We need to enter an environment where we are not in mortal danger," Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N.'s humanitarian office [OCHA] said. More than half-million Syrians are estimated by the U.N. to be living in besieged areas.

Small cease-fire violations reported

Since the truce came into effect at sunset on Monday, coinciding with the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, both the rebels and Assad regime and its supporters have accused each other of sporadic violations of the cease-fire  although there have been no reports of any civilian deaths. Russian military officials claim U.S.-backed rebel groups have violated the cease-fire since it went into effect nearly two dozen times on the Castello road, a key route into insurgent-held parts of Aleppo.

A pro-opposition monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said pro-regime forces shelled two villages in Aleppo province and a suburb of Damascus as well as conducting airstrikes in northern Hama province since Monday night.

Rebel factions remain highly skeptical of the U.S.-Russia brokered cease-fire. In a statement after the cessation of hostilities went into effect more than 20 armed rebel factions, including the Washington-backed Free Syrian Army, said they were "fully aware of the trap being set to make us sink in a quagmire of concessions or lead us to infighting that divides our ranks and disunites us."

Rebel groups have doubts about targets

Rebel groups are also critical of the proposed joint U.S.-Russia targeting of the former al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, arguing "this would weaken the military power of the revolution and strengthen the Assad regime and its allies."

The chances of the cease-fire holding in many ways rests with what happens to aid deliveries and whether the regime allows humanitarian assistance to be distributed without either blocking it or directing it where it wants the help to go for political purposes, say activists.

The politics of aid in war zones is always complex but it has become especially so with the Syrian conflict where all sides have used aid to further their war aims, although the Assad government is seen by aid agencies as the biggest culprit of all.

Last week, more than 70 NGOs said they would refrain from information sharing with the U.N. because they believe the Assad regime has been allowed to manipulate aid and has too much influence over the $4 billion relief effort. In a joint letter to the organization they said "manipulation of humanitarian relief efforts by the political interests of the Syrian government that deprives other Syrians in besieged areas from the services of those programs."

Little progress in reaching needy

Relief organizations complain that the U.N. has given contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to associates of the Assad regime, including some who are under U.S. and EU sanctions. According to an investigation by Britain's Guardian newspaper on Monday U.N.-sponsored aid convoys only reach "on average 33 percent of people to whom access was requested."

Twenty trucks carrying food and flour entered northern Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu on Monday, according to Reuters news agency. The aid convoy was not a U.N. one and it was unclear how far into the war-torn country it would be able to go.

The French medical charity Doctors without Borders said Tuesday that there are more than 150 medical facilities that are in urgent need of resupply. They urged all parties to allow the injured to be evacuated. But that is another issue that is likely in the coming days to prove controversial. The Syrian government wants medical evacuees from eastern Aleppo to be evacuated to areas it controls and not be sent to Turkey or to rebel-controlled areas.

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Russia Adheres to Syria Ceasefire Accord Unlike US

Sputnik News

13:12 15.09.2016(updated 15:55 15.09.2016)

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that Russia, unlike the US, "has fulfilled its obligation to enforce the ceasefire regime on Syrian territory" following the ceasefire announcement made by Russian and US diplomats in Geneva on September 9.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia has adhered to its side of the Syrian ceasefire agreement reached with the United States from day one, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Thursday, contrasting Moscow's faithfulness to the agreement with that of Washington.

"Russia has from the first minute fulfilled its obligations to enforce the ceasefire regime on Syrian territory. At the same time the various US State Department and Pentagon officials' statements about the prospects of 'Russian fulfillment' of the agreements reached on Syria are puzzling," Konashenkov said.

The spokesman pointed out that "only the Syrian Army adheres to the silence regime" in the three days since its enforcement following the September 9 announcement in Geneva by the Russian and US diplomats.

"At the same time, the US-led 'moderate opposition' builds up the number of attacks on residential neighborhoods. Moreover, it seems that the goal of Washington's 'verbal smokescreen' is an intent to conceal non-compliance with its part of the obligations. First of all, on the separation of 'moderate opposition' forces and terrorists," he stressed.

 Sputnik

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President reaffirms commitment to improve cross-strait ties

ROC Central News Agency

2016/09/14 17:27:46

Taipei, Sept. 14 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () on Wednesday reaffirmed her commitment to improve Taiwan's relations with China and pledged to help Taiwanese businessmen solve problems they face on the mainland.

The government has never wavered in its determination to maintain cross-Taiwan Strait peace and stability and will do its utmost to promote amiable interactions between the two sides in the hope of building a pragmatic, stable and long-lasting relationship, Tsai said at a forum held in Taichung by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) for China-based Taiwanese businessmen.

She said the development of cross-strait relations is the shared responsibility of both sides and expressed hope that new SEF Chairman Tien Hung-mao () will inject new elements and opportunities into relations and create new milestones in cross-strait ties.

With his experience and professional background and support from the Mainland Affairs Council, Tien can definitely provide the best service for Taiwanese businessmen operating in China, she said.

She also promised that the government will protect the rights of the businessmen and help them solve problems.

The SEF is a semi-official organization in charge of negotiating with China and dealing with cross-strait affairs in the absence of official ties.

Exchanges between the SEF and its mainland counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), have stalled since Tsai assumed office on May 20.

Beijing has insisted that Tsai accept the "1992 consensus" as the political foundation for cross-strait dialogue, but Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have never recognized its existence.

The consensus as perceived by the previous Kuomintang administration is a tacit agreement with China that there is only one China in the world, with the People's Republic of China on the mainland and the Republic of China on Taiwan free to interpret its meaning.

(By Chen Chia-lun and Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/ls

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US ambassador not a Turkish governor: Cavusoglu

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 14, 2016 9:1AM

Turkey's foreign minister has censured the latest remarks by the US ambassador to Ankara concerning suspension of dozens of mayors over alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), arguing that he is not in charge as a governor in Turkey.

"Some statements make us sad, especially when we are fighting terrorism. No elected official can be spared if they are aiding terrorists," Mevlut Cavusoglu said in the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya on Tuesday.

He was reacting to a statement by US Ambassador to Ankara John Bass on September 11, in which he voiced concern over the Turkish government's decision to relieve 28 governors of their posts, calling for early local elections as soon as possible.

Cavusoglu further complained that "the Americans feel entitled to say anything.""None of you are the bosses of Turkey  If you want to have a strong relationship with Turkey, you need to view Turkey as an equal partner. It is not a second-class country," Cavusoglu said.

"Your diplomats are not governors in Turkey. They should do their jobs properly within the framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the Turkish foreign minister added.

Cavusoglu also reiterated that Ankara has officially requested Washington to hand over US-based opposition leader Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkish officials accuse of being behind the failed July 15 coup attempt.

"Gulen should be extradited to face trial. All those who have fled abroad are linked to the failed coup, and have to be held accountable at last," he stated.

Additionally, president of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has slammed US John Bass's comments, saying Turkey is not a state of the United States.

"The US ambassador is exceeding his limits. He is disrespectful and hurling insults at Turkey. But Turkey is not a state of the United States. Turkey is an independent state," Devlet Bahceli said.

Ankara dismissed 28 mayors, who mostly belonged to the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), on September 11 over suspected affiliation to the Kurdish PKK militant group.

Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended his decision for the suspensions.

He said those who misuse their executive power in support of terrorism are not "mayors in the real sense of word."

"Being elected does not give anyone the right and authority to offer given resources to terrorist organizations," Erdogan pointed out.

In a similar move days earlier, Ankara suspended about 11,500 teachers over suspected links to the PKK.

The Anadolu state news agency said the Education Ministry suspected that the teachers had been involved in activities "in support of the separatist terrorist organization and its affiliates," in an apparent reference to the PKK.

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Libyan intervention based on erroneous assumptions; David Cameron ultimately responsible

14 September 2016

The Foreign Affairs Committee has published a report examining the intervention and subsequent collapse of Libya.

2011 intervention

In March 2011, the UK and France led the international community to support an intervention in Libya to protect civilians from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.



The inquiry, which took evidence from key figures including Lord Hague, Dr Liam Fox, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, military chiefs and academics, concludes that decisions were not based on accurate intelligence. In particular, the Government failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated and that the rebels included a significant Islamist element.

A policy which had intended to protect civilians drifted towards regime change and was not underpinned by strategy to support and shape post-Gaddafi Libya. The consequence was political and economic collapse, inter-militia and inter-tribal welfare, humanitarian and migrant crises, widespread human rights violations and the growth of ISIL in North Africa.

National Security Council

Libya was the first test of the National Security Council (NSC), a Cabinet Committee established by David Cameron to oversee national security, intelligence co-ordination and defence strategy and intended to provide a formal mechanism to shape foreign policy decision making. In contrast to the relatively informal process used during Tony Blair's Premiership, since criticised by Sir John Chilcot's Iraq Inquiry, every NSC meeting on Libya was minuted, documenting David Cameron's decision-making process.

Chair's comment

Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Crispin Blunt MP, commented:

"This report determines that UK policy in Libya before and since the intervention of March 2011 was founded on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the country and the situation. Other political options were available. Political engagement might have delivered civilian protection, regime change and reform at a lesser cost to the UK and Libya. The UK would have lost nothing by trying these instead of focusing exclusively on regime change by military means. Having led the intervention with France, we had a responsibility to support Libyan economic and political reconstruction. But our lack of understanding of the institutional capacity of the country stymied Libya's progress in establishing security on the ground and absorbing financial and other resources from the international community. The UK's actions in Libya were part of an ill-conceived intervention, the results of which are still playing out today. The United Nations has brokered an inclusive Government of National Accord. If it fails, the danger is that Libya will sink into a full scale civil war to control territory and oil resources. The GNA is the only game in town and the international community has a responsibility to unite behind it."

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IMF Approves $1 Billion Loan For Ukraine After One-Year Delay

September 15, 2016

by RFE/RL

The International Monetary Fund on September 14 approved a loan disbursement for Ukraine of $1 billion after a delay of more than a year that reflected concern about corruption and stability in the war-torn nation.

The IMF in March 2015 had agreed to provide Kyiv with $17.5 billion over four years as long as the government continued to make progress on improving its management of the economy and fighting corruption.

To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion of the loans. The latest disbursement was less than the $1.7 billion Kyiv hoped to get, showing the fund still has concerns about stalled reforms.

But the IMF said its executive board approved waivers allowing loans to resume despite Kyiv's failure to meet targets on limiting debt, boosting international reserves, and easing foreign exchange restrictions.

President Petro Poroshenko hailed the IMF's decision as a triumph, saying it would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.

He said a Russian attempt to block the IMF's decision had failed, and that the new loans would help keep the hryvnia currency stable and aid the economy.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said on Twitter.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September.

Ukraine's economy has suffered a deep decline after two years of war with Russia-backed separatists in the east, where most of its industries are located. Its economic output plummeted by 9.9 percent in 2015.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that Ukraine is showing "welcome signs of recovery" and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies, and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system.

"While the social and economic cost of the crisis has been high, growth is expected to be higher in the period ahead," Lagarde said.

"A sustainable recovery requires completing the structural transformation of the economy, where much remains to be done, including combating corruption and improving governance," she said.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/ content/imf-approves-1-billion- dollar-loan-ukraine-after-one-year- delay-corruption-concerns/27989129.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Over 9,600 Killed, 22,400 Wounded in Donbass Conflict  UN Mission

Sputnik News

11:39 15.09.2016(updated 14:49 15.09.2016)

The death toll in the two-year conflict in eastern Ukraine surpassed 9,600 people with more than 22,400 wounded as of Thursday, the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner's (OHCHR) monitoring mission in Ukraine said.

KIEV (Sputnik)  Head of the mission Fiona Frazer told reporters in Kiev it recorded a total of 32,071 civilian casualties of the conflict, 9,640 of whom had been killed and 22,431 wounded.

Ukraine's southeast has been severely affected by Kiev's special military operation, launched in the southeastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014. The operation was a response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government in the country.

Head of the mission Fiona Frazer who presented OHCHR report on Ukraine told reporters in Kiev it recorded a total of 32,071 civilian casualties of the conflict, 9,640 of whom had been killed and 22,431 wounded.

According to the report, the number of the civilian casualties rose by 66 percent percent over the period from mid-May to mid-August, compared to the the previous reporting period.

"While the situation has improved since the ceasefire was restored on 1 September, the situation along the contact line remains deeply unstable, as demonstrated by the incidents which took place last week-end," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said.

Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities, which came to power as a result of a coup.

In February 2015, Kiev forces and eastern Ukraine's militia signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement, the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.

On September 1, a new ceasefire regime came into force in the region. The ceasefire agreement was reached between Ukraine's conflicting sides during a Contact Group meeting in August.

 Sputnik

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Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months.
French President Francois Hollande greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Merkel and Hollande meet in Paris to coordinate their strategies for an EU without Britain ahead of a key EU summit in Bratislava, Slovakia.
For almost five hours Thursday, Danville Police negotiated the surrender of an armed man who barricaded himself inside a residence.

The suspect, Andrew Steven Petrick, 35, was wanted on two counts of grand larceny and six counts of forgery/uttering, according to the Danville Police Department.

At 9:28 a.m. Thursday, Danville Police received information about Petrick being in a residence on the 100 block of Marshall Terrace, according to a Danville Police Department news release. Officers knocked on the door to establish that a person was in the residence, but Petrick refused to come out, said Lt. Mike Wallace with the Danville Police Department.

 There was also some information that the person may have had a weapon inside the residence, Wallace said.

The owner of the residence Petrick was in  and the type of weapon he had during the standoff  were not disclosed.

Petrick made contact with police through 911, Wallace said. Petrick did have a firearm in his possession and would not surrender, the news release stated.

As Danville Police worked to resolve the standoff, residents were prevented from returning to their homes on Marshall Terrace, which is located just south of West Main Street.

The entire street was blocked off as members of the Danville Police Department, Danville Life Saving Crew, Danville Fire Department and Virginia State Police worked.

After nearly five hours of talk between Petrick and trained police negotiators, he surrendered to members of the S.W.A.T. team, the news release stated.

Petrick slowly walked toward police with his hands on his head. He was instructed to slowly get on his knees as police came to arrest him.

He was transported to Danville Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.

According to online court records, Petrick entered guilty pleas on 11 convictions of forgery, uttering, grand larceny, attempted breaking and entering, breaking and entering and obtain money by false pretenses in Danville Circuit Court in 2012.

A booking photo is not available at this time.

Wallace did not say if there was another person inside the residence with Petrick. The home was cleared later after [Petrick] was taken into custody, and there was no one in there, Wallace said.

There was great relief that no one was injured from the standoff, Wallace said.

Livingston reports for the Danville Register & Bee.
Highlights:

The Titiribi NI 43-101 resource estimate has a measured and indicated resource of 4.63 Moz gold and an inferred resource of 3.25 Moz gold at a 0.3 g/t gold cut-off (See Tables 1 and 2 for details on tonnage, grade and contained metal);





The mineral resource estimate for the Titiribi Project has resulted in Brazil Resources? global gold resource increasing by 146% in the measured and indicated categories and 46% in the inferred category;





The inclusion of this resource estimate increases BRI's global measured and indicated resource to 7.8 Moz gold (10.4 Moz gold equivalent) and inferred resource to 10.3 Moz gold (12.6 Moz gold equivalent) (see table 3 for details);





Approximately 144,779 metres of diamond drilling in 270 holes has been completed on the Project;





Project has excellent infrastructure including paved roads, high power electrical transmission lines 3 km from the property and water; and





Nearby gold projects in development or production include AngloGold?s Ashanti?s Quebradona, B2Gold?s Gramalote, Continental Gold's Buritica, Red Eagle?s San Ramon, and Gran Colombia?s Marmato projects.

VANCOUVER, Sept. 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Brazil Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Brazil Resources") (TSX-V: BRI; OTCQX: BRIZF) is pleased to announce the results of a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") mineral resource estimate for Titiribi Gold-Copper Project (the "Titiribi Project" or the "Project") located in Antioquia Department, approximately 70 kilometres southwest of the city of Medellin, Colombia.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407866)

Garnet Dawson, CEO, stated: "We are pleased to report this NI 43-101 resource estimate for the Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia, three of 9 mineralized porphyry-epithermal targets identified on the Titiribi Project. The inclusion of this resource estimate increases BRI's measured and indicated resource to 7.8 Moz gold (10.4 Moz gold equivalent) and our inferred resource to 10.3 Moz gold (12.6 Moz gold equivalent). In conjunction with advancing our existing project portfolio, the Company continues to evaluate resource-stage projects in the Americas for potential acquisition."

The Titiribi Project occurs within the Mid-Cauca Porphyry Belt and consists of several near surface bulk tonnage gold-copper porphyry and associated epithermal gold systems. A total of 270 diamond drill holes, totaling 144,779 metres, have been drilled at the Titiribi Project, with nine mineralized areas identified to date. The Titiribi Project is comprised of one concession that covers an area of approximately 39.19 square kilometres. The project is located between 1,200 to 2,200 metre elevations, below the elevation of the Paramo tropical mountain ecosystems, and is road accessible by paved highway from Medellin with high power electrical lines passing within three kilometres.

The Mid-Cauca Porphyry Belt hosts several gold projects in development or production in the last decade, including AngloGold's Ashanti's Quebradona, B2Gold's Gramalote, Continental Gold's Buritica, Red Eagle's San Ramon, and Gran Colombia's Marmato projects. This has largely coincided with the government encouraging foreign development in a region that has not seen, until recently, the implementation of modern exploration programs.

Titiribi Resource Estimate

Brazil Resources has engaged Behre Dolbear & Company (USA), Inc. to prepare an independent NI 43-101 technical report for the Titiribi Project, including updated resource estimates for the Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia deposits. The resource estimates, which have an effective date of September 1, 2016, for the measured and indicated, and inferred resource categories at various gold cut-offs are shown in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively.

Table 1: NI 43-101 measured and indicated resource estimates for the Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia deposits.

Deposit Classification Au Cut-off Tonnage Grade

Contained Metal Au Cu AuEq Au Cu AuEq1 (g/t) (Mt) (g/t) % (g/t) Moz Mlbs Moz Cerro Vetas Measured 0.2 75.5 0.415 0.156 0.673 1.01 258.9 1.63 0.3 51.6 0.492 0.172 0.776 0.82 195.1 1.29 0.4 30.9 0.588 0.190 0.903 0.59 129.7 0.90 0.5 17.4 0.698 0.209 1.044 0.39 80.3 0.59 Indicated 0.2 231.8 0.38 0.133 0.601 2.84 678.3 4.48 0.3 132.4 0.483 0.157 0.744 2.06 459.3 3.17 0.4 73.3 0.593 0.176 0.885 1.40 284.3 2.09 0.5 38.0 0.731 0.195 1.054 0.89 162.8 1.29 Chisperos Indicated 0.2 140.3 0.350 - 0.350 1.58 - 1.58 0.3 62.1 0.484 - 0.484 0.97 - 0.97 0.4 32.2 0.616 - 0.616 0.64 - 0.64 0.5 19.3 0.733 - 0.733 0.45 - 0.45 NW Breccia Indicated 0.2 73.2 0.447 - 0.447 1.05 - 1.05 0.3 39.7 0.618 - 0.618 0.79 - 0.79 0.4 24.1 0.796 - 0.796 0.62 - 0.62 0.5 15.2 1.001 - 1.001 0.49 - 0.49 Base Case  M+I 0.3 285.8 0.50 - 0.676 4.63 654.34 6.21

Table 2: NI 43-101 inferred resource estimates for the Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia deposits.

Deposit Classification Au Cut-off Tonnage Grade Contained Metal Au Cu AuEq Au Cu AuEq1 (g/t) (Mt) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (Moz) (Mlb) (Moz) Cerro Vetas Inferred 0.2 196.4 0.309 0.051 0.394 1.95 219.9 2.48 0.3 70.8 0.429 0.050 0.511 0.98 77.9 1.16 0.4 30.5 0.542 0.049 0.625 0.53 33.2 0.61 0.5 14.3 0.657 0.049 0.738 0.30 15.4 0.34 Chisperos Inferred 0.2 122.2 0.329 - 0.329 1.30 - 1.30 0.3 51.1 0.452 - 0.452 0.74 - 0.74 0.4 23.4 0.580 - 0.580 0.44 - 0.44 0.5 11.0 0.737 - 0.737 0.26 - 0.26 NW Breccia Inferred 0.2 150.0 0.423 - 0.423 2.04 - 2.04 0.3 86.0 0.555 - 0.555 1.54 - 1.54 0.4 48.0 0.722 - 0.722 1.12 - 1.12 0.5 35.1 0.826 - 0.826 0.93 - 0.93 Base Case  Inferred 0.3 207.9 0.487 - 0.515 3.25 77.9 3.44

Table 1 and 2 Notes:

Gold Equivalence estimated using $1,300 per ounce gold at 83% recovery and $2.90 per pound copper at 90% recovery. A 0.3 g/t gold equivalent cut-off has been highlighted as the base case cut-off. Totals may not represent the sum of the parts due to rounding. The Mineral Resources have been prepared by Behre Dolbear & Company (USA), Inc. in conformity with "CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves 2014

The Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia are three of several porphyry-epithermal mineralized centers identified on the Titiribi Project (Fig. 1). The central Cerro Vetas deposit contains both gold and copper whereas the Chisperos deposit located to the east-northeast is primarily gold as is the NW Breccia located to the north of Cerro Vetas; the deposits are open at depth. Gold-copper mineralization is associated with quartz + magnetite stockwork and disseminations hosted in potassically altered diorite intrusive rocks, whereas gold-only mineralization is commonly hosted in diatreme breccia, fracture zones and receptive stratigraphic units.

The Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia deposits were modelled on a series of cross-sections and level plans and geological wire frames constructed for the various geological units. Diamond drill holes (254) totaling 141,586 metres were used to define the model. Erratic high grade outliers for gold and copper were capped within the various solids. Composites 5 metres in length were formed within each of the domains that honoured the domain boundaries. Variography was used to model the grade continuity and to determine the search ellipse orientations and dimensions for interpolation. Ordinary kriging was used to estimate gold, silver and copper into blocks measuring 5 x 5 x 5 metres in dimension. A total of 6,820 specific gravity measurements were used to convert volumes to tonnes. A gold cut-off grade of 0.30 g/t was chosen as a possible open pit cut-off based on similar types of mineralization found at other near surface deposits in the world. Validation of the model was completed by comparison of the block model and drill hole grades by visual inspections in section and plan across the deposit. There are no known legal, political, environmental or other risks that could materially affect the potential development of the mineral resources.

Quality Control  Quality Assurance Program

The above resource estimate was based on drill programs completed by previous operators that incorporated control samples including blanks, duplicates and standards as part of their Quality Control  Quality Assurance Program. The control samples from these programs have been reviewed and verified by the Qualified Persons (as defined herein) and the assay results were deemed suitable for resource estimation.

Qualified Person Statement

The resource estimate disclosed herein on the Titiribi Project was prepared for Brazil Resources by Mr. Joseph Kantor and Dr. Robert E. Cameron of Behre Dolbear & Company (USA), Inc. (the "Qualified Persons"). Both are recognized as qualified persons as defined in NI 43-101, are independent of the Company and have reviewed and approved the disclosure regarding the resource estimates for the Titiribi Project disclosed herein.

A technical report respecting the above resource estimate will be filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR in due course. There is no new material scientific or technical information respecting the Titiribi Project since the effective date of the resource estimate.

Paulo Pereira, Brazil Resources' President, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Pereira holds a bachelors degree in Geology from Universidade do Amazonas in Brazil, is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 and is a member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario.

Table 3: Brazil Resources Inc. Mineral Resource Statement.

Project Cut-off Tonnes Gold Silver Copper Gold Eq Gold Silver Copper Gold Eq

(g/t) (Mt) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (Moz) (Moz) (Mlbs) (Moz) Measured Resources Cerro Vetas 0.3 51.600 0.49 - 0.17

0.82 - 195.10 1.290 Indicated Resources Sao Jorge 0.3 14.420 1.54 - - 1.54 0.715 - - 0.715 Cachoeira 0.35 17.470 1.23 - - 1.23 0.692 - - 0.692 Whistler 0.3 79.200 0.51 1.97 0.17 0.88 1.280 5.03 302.00 2.250 IM 0.3 31.080 0.49 1.10 0.06 0.55 0.485 1.10 41.12 0.547 Cerro Vetas 0.3 132.400 0.48 - 0.16 0.78 2.06 - 459.3 3.17 Chisperos 0.3 62.100 0.48 - - - 0.97 - - 0.97 NW Breccia 0.3 39.700 0.62 - - - 0.79 - - 0.79 Total

376.370 0.58 0.51 0.10 0.74 6.992 6.13 802.43 9.134 Measured and Indicated Resources Total

427.970 0.57 0.44 0.11

7.812 6.13 997.52 10.424 Inferred Resources Sao Jorge 0.3 28.190 1.14 - - 1.14 1.035 - - 1.035 Cachoeira 0.35 15.667 1.07 - - 1.07 0.538 - - 0.538 Boa Vista 0.5 8.470 1.23 - - 1.23 0.336 - - 0.336 Surubim 0.3 19.440 0.81 - - 0.81 0.503 - - 0.503 Whistler 0.3 145.800 0.40 1.75 0.15 0.73 1.850 8.21 467.00 3.350 IM 0.3 82.020 0.47 1.02 0.05 0.53 1.237 2.69 90.43 1.390 RW (shallow) 0.3 31.680 0.40 5.39 0.06 0.55 0.409 5.49 41.91 0.563 RW (deep) 0.6 51.760 0.68 3.74 0.10 0.86 1.130 6.22 114.13 1.428 Cerro Vetas 0.3 70.800 0.429 - 0.05 0.51 0.98 - 77.9 1.16 Chisperos 0.3 51.100 0.452 - - - 0.74 - - 0.74 NW Breccia 0.3 86.000 0.56 - - - 1.54 - - 1.54 Total

383.027 0.54 1.19 0.06 0.66 10.298 22.61 791.37 12.583

Table 3 Notes:

Gold cut-off for all projects except for Whistler, Raintree West and Island Mountain, which is gold equivalent cut-off. Gold equivalent grade for the Whistler resource assumes metal prices of US$990/oz gold, US$15.40/oz silver and US$2.91/lb copper and recoveries of 75% for gold and silver and 85% for copper. Gold equivalent grade for the Island Mountain resource assumes metal prices of US$1,250/oz gold, US$16.50/oz silver and US$2.10/lb copper and recoveries of 90% for gold (cyanide), 80% for copper (flotation) and 25% silver (recovery in copper concentrate). Gold equivalent for the Raintree West resource assumes metal prices of US$1,250/oz gold, US$16.50/oz silver and US$2.10/lb copper and recoveries of 75% for gold, 85% for copper and 75% for silver. Gold equivalent for the Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia resource assumes metal prices of $1,300/oz gold and US2.90/lb copper and recoveries of 83% for gold and 90% for copper. "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Sao Jorge Gold Project, Para State, Brazil" prepared by Porfirio Rodriguez and Leonardo de Moraes, with an effective date of November 22, 2013. "Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Cachoeira Property, Para? State, Brazil" prepared by Gregory Z. Mosher, P.Geo., with an effective date of April 17, 2013 and amended and re-stated October 2, 2013. "Technical Report on the Rio Novo Gold Project and Resource Estimate on the Jau Prospect, Tapajos Area, Para State, Northern Brazil" (Surubim Project) prepared by Jim Cuttle and Gary Giroux, with an effective date of November 22, 2013. "Technical Report on the Boa Vista Project and Resource Estimate on the VG1 Prospect, Tapajos Area, Para State, Northern Brazil" prepared by Jim Cuttle, Gary Giroux and Michael Schmulian, with an effective date of November 22, 2013. "Technical Report on the Whistler Project" prepared by Gary Giroux, with an effective date of March 24, 2016. An updated technical report on the Titiribi Project including the Cerro Vetas, Chisperos and NW Breccia resource estimates will be file on SEDAR in due course. For further information regarding the Company's projects, please refer to each of the technical reports set forth above, copies of which are filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR.

About Brazil Resources Inc.

Brazil Resources Inc. is a public mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of gold projects in Brazil and other regions of the Americas. Brazil Resources is advancing its Cachoeira and Sao Jorge Gold Projects located in the State of Para, northeastern Brazil, its Whistler Gold-Copper Project located in the state of Alaska, United States of America, its Titiribi Gold-Copper Project located in Antioquia Department, Colombia and its Rea Uranium Project in the western Athabasca Basin in northeast Alberta, Canada.

Cautionary Note

Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in the "indicated" and "Inferred" categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves with demonstrated economic viability or that inferred mineral resources will be converted to the measured and/or indicated categories through further drilling. In addition, the estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies.

Forward Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Brazil Resources with respect to its business and future events, including statements regarding the estimation of mineral reserves and the Company's expectations respecting the Titiribi Project. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the markets in which Brazil Resources operates. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including: the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Brazil Resources' expectations, accidents, equipment breakdowns, title and permitting matters, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in operations, fluctuating metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, commodity price fluctuations, regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions, or any failure to integrate acquired companies and projects into the Company's existing business as planned. These risks, as well as others, including those set forth in Brazil Resources' filings with Canadian securities regulators, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward looking information, will prove to be accurate. Brazil Resources does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE Brazil Resources Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 14, 2016) - Brixton Metals Corp. (TSX VENTURE: BBB) (the "Company" or "Brixton") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced brokered private placement of units and flow-through common shares for aggregate gross proceeds of $3,270,015 (the "Private Placement"). The Private Placement was brokered by Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. and M Partners Inc. (together, the "Agents"). The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement to advance its Thorn project and its Langis project, and for general working capital.

The Private Placement consisted of the issuance of 2,885,700 units ("Units") at a price of $0.70 per Unit for proceeds of $2,019,990 and the issuance of 1,666,700 flow-through common shares (the "FT Shares") at a price of $0.75 per FT Share for proceeds of $1,250,025. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one common share purchase warrant ("Warrant") with each Warrant exercisable by the holder into one common share of the Company at a price of $1.00 per share for a period of 24 months from the closing date. On closing of the Private Placement, the Agents were paid a commission comprised of a cash fee in the amount of $228,901.05 and were issued an aggregate total of 318,668 Agents' warrants. Each Agents' warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.70 for a period of 24 months from closing of the Private Placement. All securities issued under the Private Placement, including securities issuable on exercise thereof, are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from closing date.

Langis Project Update

Brixton has completed a total of 15 core holes at its Langis Project for a total of approximately 3,150 metres. The first 3 holes were released August 11, 2016, where hole 3 intersected 4.15m of 4.90 g/t Au and 397.00 g/t Ag from 156.05m and from 179.40m a 3.13m interval returned 1,944.60 g/t Ag. The results for the balance of this initial drilling shall be released as they become available. The Company plans to conduct an IP geophysical survey for the area and is continuing its historical data compilation and further drilling will be designed based on results.

Thorn Project Update

The Company currently has crews at its Thorn Camp for a gold focused exploration program consisting of: a soil-rock sampling for approximately 2,000 samples; a 20 kilometre IP Geophysical survey over the newly identified Chivas gold zone; and 3000-4000m of core drilling at the Outlaw and Aberlour gold targets combined. Brixton has increased, through staking, its total land holdings at Thorn to 99,560 Hectares or 996 square kilometers.

Corporate Update

The Company granted 2,600,000 Options to Employees, Directors, Executives and Consultants of the Company as per the Company's stock option plan approved at its recent annual general meeting. The options are exercisable for a ten year period at a price of $0.70 per share.

About Brixton Metals Corporation

Brixton Metals is a Canadian exploration company focused on the advancement of its gold and silver projects toward feasibility.

The Langis project is located 500 kilometres north of Toronto, Canada near Lake Timiskaming. The high-grade silver mineralization occurs as steeply-dipping veins within any of the three main rock types: Archean volcanics, Coleman Member sediments and Nipissing diabase. The Cobalt camp has historically produced over 500 million ounces of silver. Brixton wholly owns two past producing mines in the Cobalt-silver camp, the Langis and Hudson Bay mines. The Langis mine produced 10.4Moz Ag at 25 oz/t Ag and the Hudson Bay mine produced 6.4 Moz Ag at 123 oz/t Ag.

The wholly owned Thorn Project is located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, approximately 105 km ENE from Juneau, AK. The Thorn project hosts a district scale Triassic to Cretaceous volcano-plutonic complex with many styles of mineralization related to porphyry and epithermal environments. Targets include sediment hosted Au-Ag, Ag-Au-Pb-Zn diatreme-breccia, Au-Ag-Cu veins; and volcanic hosted structurally controlled Au-Ag. Brixton has established a maiden inferred resource of 21.5Moz AgEq from 7.4 Mt at 89.75 g/t AgEq based on limited drilling.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Mr. Gary R. Thompson, Chairman and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, including statements that address potential quantity and/or grade of minerals, potential size and expansion of a mineralized zone, the proposed use of proceeds, proposed timing of exploration and development plans, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the exploration potential of the Langis property based on historical information resources estimates on the Thorn Project are forward looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mineral exploration; fluctuations in commodity prices; title matters; and the additional risks identified in the annual information form of the Company or other reports and filings with the TSXV and applicable Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA / TheNewswire / September 15, 2016 / MGX Minerals Inc. ("MGX" or the "Company") (CSE: XMG / FKT: 1MG / OTC: MGXMF) is pleased to announce the Company has entered into a binding Letter of Intent (the "LOI") to acquire an initial 50% interest in PurLucid Treatment Solution (Canada) Inc. ("PurLucid" or collectively the "Parties") in exchange for a $5 million (CDN) staged investment over two years and the right to acquire a 100% interest for an additional investment of $10 million (CDN). PurLucid has exclusive licensing to, assisted in development of, and deployed proprietary and patented technology that separates oil, to a high degree of purity, from lithium bearing brine, removing one of the major hurdles of oil field lithium brine production. Up until now the presence of hydrocarbons in lithium brine presented a potentially significant long term hurdle to efficient large scale production of lithium from oil field brine. PurLucid brings world class experience in oil field brine treatment engineering and will oversee the integration and commercialization of an integrated oil separation and lithium extraction plant.

About PurLucid

PurLucid's technology has been designed for the environmental services industry to separate impurities from oil industry waste streams producing clean water as a final product. PurLucid partnered with David Bromley Engineering by licensing and applying patented Nanoflotation technology to wastewater treatment. The novel approach uses a removable membrane coating to capture particles. The technology provides the ability to operate at a third less cost on a continuous basis, with little to no downtime, and is projected to require half the capital expenditures, and reduce the carbon emissions of water treatment by 90% when compared to conventional environmental technology in thermal facilities. The PurLucid technology will remove heavy metals and hydrocarbons providing a continuous stream of partially concentrated lithium brine, very low in impurities, with a higher overall grade of lithium for processing with MGX's rapid lithium production process.

PurLucid, working with MGX and its proprietary process design for lithium extraction will engineer, fabricate and deploy combined treatment and lithium recovery plants. PurLucid's management includes some of the foremost experts in oil field wastewater management, which will augment, improve the efficiencies of MGX's already state-of-the-art lithium brine production process.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada Investment

PurLucid was awarded $3.2M in grants from Sustainable Development Technology Canada ("SDTC"), an independent research group funded by the Government of Canada. The purpose of the SDTC grant has been to fund penetration of the Nanoflotation technology into the oil and gas sector. PurLucid, with support from MGX, is preparing to increase this original award to $10M, at the request of SDTC, by including additional process integration and funding from the Climate Change Emissions Management Corporation ("CCEMC") which will include small commercial deployment of brine processing technology. The Nanoflotation technology has been recognized as a major success by SDTC.

PurLucid Customers

PurLucid currently holds a master vendor and services agreement with CNRL for produced water and slop oil treatment. PurLucid fully staffed, trained and deployed a slop oil treatment system for CNRL in under 3 weeks and ran it for 5 months as they trained CNRL staff, generating over $1 MM in revenue. Nanoflotation was also tested at the CNRL Horizon mine in a 1-yr field test with two 4 month, 24/7 periods, beating all competitors in efficiency by a factor of 10. PurLucid and its staff have completed tailings processing work for Shell, Suncor, Imperial and Syncrude and have active contracts to process oilfield wastewater and brines from numerous producers.

Integration and Development Plan

The companies will combine their proprietary and patented technologies for the purpose of extraction of lithium and other valuable metals, minerals, and hydrocarbons from lithium bearing oil well brine and other highly mineralized oil industry by-product streams. The Parties have developed an initial plan to integrate the technologies and plan to complete engineering over the next 10 weeks and deploy an initial integrated small commercial oil separation - lithium carbonate production plant shortly thereafter.

"In PurLucid, we have found an ideal fit in terms of advanced brine processing technology as well as scientific and engineering expertise in brine management that will take oil field lithium brine processing to the operational phase in operating oil fields. The combined technology will likely yield the most advanced and robust industrial technology for the production of lithium and other valuable minerals from oil wells in the world," stated MGX's CEO Jared Lazerson. Adding, "We plan to have the engineering phase completed shortly and are looking at starting physical installation of a test plant in Q1 2017, in line with PurLucid's existing engineering and construction schedule."

About MGX Minerals

MGX Minerals (CSE: XMG) is a diversified Canadian mining company engaged in the development of large-scale industrial mineral portfolios in western Canada that offer near-term production potential, minimal barriers to entry and low initial capital expenditures. The Company operates lithium, magnesium and silicon projects throughout British Columbia and Alberta. MGX recently released a maiden National Instrument (N.I. 43-101) compliant mineral resource estimate for its Driftwood Creek magnesium project, which outlined 8 million tonnes grading 43.31% magnesium oxide. In January the Company received a 20-year Mining Lease for Driftwood Creek. Additionally, the Company recently acquired the advanced-stage Sturgeon Lake lithium brine project in west-central Alberta, increasing the Company's lithium brine land position to over 376,000 hectares throughout the Province. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.mgxminerals.com.

About PurLucid

Purlucid is a water and wastewater treatment services company comprised of seasoned professional staff from existing large oil and gas service companies. Purlucid's distinct advantage over its competitors is its expertise in the industry and its technology portfolio that reduces costs, is much more efficient and can operate at high temperature in a vastly reduced footprint compared to conventional water treatment technologies.

CEO & Founder, Dr. Preston McEachern, is a respected leader in water management in the oil and gas industry with 23 years' experience in solving water challenges from mine tailings to industrial discharge. He is actively engaged by clients in advisory roles, holds three faculty appointments with Canadian Universities, and was the Vice President of Research and Development at a large North American Oil and Gas Service company (Tervita) prior to forming Purlucid Treatment Solutions.

President & COO, Pat Whelan, has more than 25 years in the Service sector. Pat founded Atlantic Directional Inc. in 2001 and successfully negotiated the sale of this company in 2011 to a large publicly traded drilling contractor. Having worked in Canada, USA, India, South America, and Middle East he has held such roles as: Technical Sales, VP Operations, Director of International Business Development as well as President and CEO.

Contact Information

Jared Lazerson

Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1.604.681.7735

Email: jared@mgxminerals.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evolving Gold Corp. (CSE:EVG) (FSE:EV7) (OTCB:EVOGF) (the Company) is pleased to report that it has increased its land position by staking 166 new claims for a total of 88.26 square kilometres (km2) in the vicinity of the Lithium Lakes property. The newly acquired claims have been named the Toro property by the Company. The recent discovery of a circular high magnetic anomaly coincident with a topographic low on the Lithium Lakes property has expanded the Companys focus to include diamond exploration (see news release dated September 8th 2016). The new claims cover other magnetic anomalies of circular shape and of significant size that may be related to kimberlite pipes. (It is important to note that other geological structures could also generate similar magnetic anomalies and field validation has yet to be conducted.)



The new targets are located in the La Grande and Opinaca geological sub-provinces identified as the eastern extension of the North Caribou Terrain (Japart et al, 2014), which hosts the Victor diamond mine operated by De Beers Canada. (Victor is hosted in a kimberlite pipe belonging to an 18 pipe swarm, of which 16 are diamondiferous.) Janse (1994) has demonstrated that the worldwide distribution of diamondiferous kimberlite is located in the oldest part of Archean cratons, where the thick continental crust extends below the graphite-diamond stability boundary. The mantle-derived diamonds may then be transported by kimberlite magma during extremely high velocity eruptions to the surface. Using the high S-wave velocity (laterally and vertically), a 3D tomographic model of the cratons thickness can be built. Faure et al (2011) have used the average velocity perturbations beneath the Archean North American cratons to define an envelope that is believed to represent the depth of the highly depleted subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Figure 1 shows the claim blocks location in relation to that envelope, as well as other diamond properties and projects. Geostructural analysis by Stephane Faure, et al (2003) has indicated that deep rooted linear features cross the Property in a NW-SE trend and could be related to ancient faults that were permissive for the transport of kimberlite magma to the surface.

Figure 1: Location of the Toro Kimberlite Targets within the Archean Superior Craton (Modified From: Faure et al, 2011: Seismic Architecture of the Archean North American Mantle. For more information about the abbreviations used in the figure, see Faure et al, 2011.)

The magnetic signature of most kimberlite pipes of the Canadian Shield is, at high magnetic latitudes, a circular positive anomaly (Keating and Sailhac, 2004). The newly staked targets all cover large amplitude magnetic anomalies of circular to sub-circular shapes. In glacial terrain, kimberlites are expected to generate locally negative topographic reliefs because of their relative softness compared to the surrounding host rocks.

Furthermore, some of the acquired targets, based on their Keating anomalies, were already defined by Isabelle DAmours (2011) as kimberlite exploration targets (black dots in Figure 2) as part of a research program conducted by Geology Quebec, a division of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. Keating anomalies are defined by comparing observed aerial magnetic geophysical signals with models of the magnetic response generated by infinite vertical pipes of known radius. The comparison yields a ratio, expressed as a percentage, between the observed magnetic anomaly and an anomaly that would be produced by a vertical pipe such as a kimberlite. Values greater than 90% were defined as kimberlite exploration targets by DAmours.

Six key factors for kimberlite exploration (age of craton, magnetic high, topographic low, target shape, relationship with deep linear features and Keating score) were used to select the Toro anomalies, making them significant targets for diamond exploration. The company intends to perform a full desktop geophysical review of the different targets before proceeding with field exploration, which includes indicator tracing from till samples collected with the assistance of a helicopter. Table 1 provides descriptions of the newly staked targets. Figure 2 shows their locations.

Detailed maps showing the magnetic signature and topographic setting for each of the Toro targets can be found on the Companys website at:

http://www.evolvinggold.com/s/MagneticAnomalies_Toro_Quebec.asp.

Table 1: Characteristics of the Toro Kimberlite Exploration Targets

Target Topography Magnetic

Gradient Length

(m) Shape Keating Anomaly

(%) Toro 1(mentioned in NR dated September 8th 2016) Low

High

1200 Sub-Circular N/A Toro 2 High High 900 Sub-Circular 90 % Toro 3 Low High 900 Circular 90 % Toro 4 High High 900 Circular 95 % Toro 5 Flat High 900 Circular 90 % Toro 6 Flat High 900 Circular 90 % Toro 7 Low High 900 Sub-Circular NA Toro 8 Flat High 1000 Sub-Circular NA Toro 9 Flat High 1100 Sub-Circular NA Toro 10 Flat High 700 Circular NA Toro 11 Flat High 800 Circular NA Toro 12 Low High 1200 Circular 90 % Toro 13 High High 900 Circular 90 % Toro 14 Flat High 800 Circular 93 % Toro 15 Flat High 800 Sub-Circular 90 % Toro 16 Flat High 700 Circular 93 % Toro 17 Low High 900 Circular 90 % Toro 18 Low High 750 Circular 90 % Toro 19 Low High 800 Circular 90 % Toro 20 Flat High 1000 Circular 95 % Toro 21 Low High 750 Circular 93 % Toro 22 Flat High 800 Sub-Circular 90 % Toro 23 Low High 700 Sub-Circular 93 % Toro 24 Low High 800 Circular 90 %

Figure 2: Lithium Lakes/Toro Property Mineral Claims, Highlighting the Toro Magnetic Anomalies

Evolving Golds Chief Executive Officer, Mr. R. Bruce Duncan stated, The identification of a possible kimberlite target on the Lithium Lakes Property led us to review regional geophysical and geostructural data, seeking similar anomalies in the vicinity of the Lithium Lakes Property. This analysis allowed us to identify and stake a number of additional anomalies with the same circular magnetic signature, in a region of Quebec previously unexplored for diamonds. We will immediately begin the planning of a field work program which will allow us to prioritize our future exploration activities on the Toro targets.

References

DAmours. Isabelle. (2011). Leve magnetique aeroporte de la partie sud-est de la Sous-province de Nemiscau et de la partie nord de la Sous-province dOpatica, Baie-James, Quebec. Government of Quebec. Geology Quebec. Online at MERN SIGEOM: DP 2011-02. 8 Pages and 92 plans.

Faure, Stephane., Beaumier, M., Togolo, N. and Moorhead, J. (2004). Le Diamant, les cheminees de kimberlites et les lineaments profonds au Quebec. MRNFP, preliminaire. 1 plan.

Faure, S., Godey, S., Fallara, F. and Trepanier, S. (2011). Seismic Architecture of the Archean North American Mantle and Its Relationship to Diamondiferous Kimberlite Fields. Society of Economic Geology, v106, pp.223-240.

Janse, A. J. A. (1994). Is Clifford's rule still valid? Affirmative examples from around the world. In: Kimberlites, Related Rocks and Mantle Xenoliths, Proceedings of the Fifth International Kimberlite Conference, Araxa, vol. 2. Meyer, H.O.A. and Leonardos, O.H. ed., CPRM Special publication 1/A, Brazil, pp. 215-235.

Keating, P. and Sailhac, P. (2004). Use of the analytic signal to identify magnetic anomalies due to kimberlite pipes. Geophysics, Vol. 69, No. 1 (January-February 2004), pp. 180190. http://phineas.u-strasbg.fr/sailhac/liens/Publi/2004KeatingSailhacGeophysics69_180.pdf

Qualified Person

Jean-Philippe Paiement, P.Geo, M.Sc., of SGS Canada Inc. is an independent Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101 guidelines, and has reviewed and approved the geological information provided in this news release.

About Evolving Gold

Evolving Gold is exploring the 72.5 square kilometre (total area) Lithium Lakes property in Quebec, located about 10 km north of the Route du Nord and between eight and 30 km from Nemaska Lithium's Whabouchi Project. The Companys exploration goal is to discover economic quantities of lithium mineralization, hosted in pegmatite.

Evolving Gold is also exploring the 88.3 square kilometre (total area) Toro property, in the vicinity of the Lithium Lakes property. The Companys exploration goal is to assess numerous circular magnetic targets for their diamond potential.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

EVOLVING GOLD CORP.

R. Bruce Duncan

President, CEO & Director

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Investor Relations:

Tel: 604.685.6375

TF: 866.604.3864

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect managements current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).
Ford vehicles sit on the lot at a car dealership in Brandon, Fla. Ford Motor Co. expects its pretax profit to fall in 2017 but improve in 2018 as it invests in emerging businesses. Ford updated its outlook on Wednesday. associated press file

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Assembly migration to take 2-3 years

By Greg Gardner, Detroit Free Press (TNS)

DETROIT  Ford is shifting all North American small-car production to Mexico, CEO Mark Fields told investors Wednesday.

"Over the next two to three years, we will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States," Fields said.

The auto industry has known for decades that domestic manufacturers struggle to make a profit on small cars. Shifting assembly to Mexico can reduce costs to a point. But some of these cars are over-engineered.

For example, Fields said the current Ford Focus can be ordered in 300 different configurations of options and colors. Ford wants to reduce that number to 30, which will make the production process simpler and less expensive.

Americans increasingly prefer larger vehicles, especially pickups and higher-riding SUVs and crossover vehicles for their personal use.

The future of smaller cars in the U.S. may depend on the ability to electrify their powertrains and introduce them to ride-sharing fleets where they can generate revenue from fares paid by multiple riders.

Along those lines, Fields and other Ford executives on Wednesday outlined an aggressive $4.5 billion investment plan that will unfold over the next four years. The investment will result in new models in segments such as commercial vehicles, trucks, SUVs and performance vehicles, the execs said.

Ford also reiterated its commitment to developing an autonomous vehicle by 2021. The company believes that autonomous vehicles could account for up to 20 percent of vehicle sales by 2030.

The day's announcements came as Ford gave a presentation on corporate strategy to more than 100 analysts and investors. The meeting came as the U.S. auto industry's six-year recovery is cooling and the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union has presented a new challenge to Ford's rebound in Europe.

Then there is the high-stakes competition to develop and refine fully autonomous vehicles that initially will be used in ride-sharing services.

Ford shares have fallen 12 percent from the beginning of the year from $14.09 to $12.16 in afternoon trading Wednesday.

Fields spent the first half of his 45-minute presentation assuring analysts that Ford's core business remains strong, especially in its most profitable segments such as full-size pickup trucks, commercial vans and its resurgent Lincoln luxury brand.
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By John C. Moritz, USA Today Network Austin Bureau

AUSTIN  More than 400 public school campuses across the state earned all "distinction designations" applicable to their individual school based on a variety of academic standards, the Texas Education Agency said Wednesday.

Among those earning the distinction were campuses in San Angelo, Abilene, Corpus Christi and El Paso school systems.

Distinction designations are awarded to campuses that have already cleared TEA's "Met Standards" benchmark for the 2016 accountability ratings. The distinction designations are based on achievement in performance indicators relative to a group of 40 campuses of similar type, size and student demographics.

Depending on campus grade levels and type, the number of potential distinction designations vary.

Two schools in San Angelo ISD were honored  Fannin Elementary School and Fort Concho Elementary. Fort Concho made news in April when one of its third grade classes made a presentation to the San Angelo City Council to promote a safety program for schoolchildren.

Other Concho Valley schools earning full distinctions were Junction Elementary, Miles High School and Wall ISD.

"Earning one or more campus distinctions is noteworthy and should be a source of pride in a community," said Education Commissioner Mike Morath. "Earning all possible distinctions is a significant accomplishment and should signal to parents that there is extraordinary work taking place on that campus."

Among the performance indicators the TEA used were Academic Achievement in English Language Arts/Reading; Academic Achievement in Mathematics; Academic Achievement in Science; Academic Achievement in Social Studies; Top 25 Percent: Student Progress; Top 25 Percent: Closing Performance Gaps; and Postsecondary Readiness.

In Abilene ISD, the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math & Science was honored. The academy opened in 2009 and graduated its first class in 2013. According to the Abilene school district, 94 percent of its graduates have been accepted into post-secondary schools.

Windsor Park Elementary in Corpus Christi also made the list. Windsor Park is a magnet school qualifying first-fifth grade students who live in the Corpus Christi Independent School District. It is also classified as a "world school" under the International Baccalaureate Programme.

Six districts in the El Paso school district made the list: Silva Health Magnet High School; Transmountain Early College High School; Hughey Elementary School; Collins Elementary School; Cielo Vista Elementary School; and Polk Elementary School.

Transmountain was developed in partnership with El Paso Community College to provide students an opportunity to earn a high school diploma and an associate's degree at the same time.

See all the ratings at tea.texas.gov.
Molly walks through the grass of South Concho Park with owner Russell Jacoby. Jacoby, president of the San Angelo chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has proposed turning a portion of the park into San Angeloas first dog park.

SHARE PATRICK DOVE/STANDARD-TIMES Russell Jacoby, president of the San Angelo chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, walks through South Concho Park with Molly. The park along the Concho River on the east side of town could become San Angeloas first dog park. The park would have an area for large and small dogs as well as an agility area. PATRICK DOVE/STANDARD-TIMES Russell Jacoby, with his dog Molly, stands in South Concho Park, part of which could become San Angeloas first dog park.

By Justin Zamudio

Leashes optional might become a real option for dog owners with the creation of the citys first dog park.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of San Angelo is in the midst of working with the San Angelo Parks and Recreation Department to establish a first-class dog park.

Its still conceptual, and were OK to it conceptually, said Carl White, director of the city parks department. The maintenance budget, which will be about $7,000 a year, didnt get a favorable response from the City Council.

Russell Jacoby, president of SPCA of San Angelo and the main backer for the park project, said he plans on proposing the item for the City Councils agenda in the coming weeks. He said initially he had a number of proposed locations, but he and the parks department agreed on a roughly 3-acre tract of land on South Concho Drive, just north of Lone Wolf Bridge. Jacoby named the proposed park Lone Wolf Dog Park after the name of the nearby bridge and because the wolf is a cousin to the dog.

Dog parks are everywhere, there are over 700 in the U.S., Jacoby said. All the mistakes have been made, and Im doing the research to make this one the best in Texas.

Earlier this month, Jacoby went to Dallas to snap some photos of a recently opened dog park there to analyze the design and equipment. He said the location on Rio Concho Drive is ideal for a dog park because of the proximity to the river and the many trees that provide plenty of shaded areas.

Its a long ways from any residential area, so the barking wont be a problem. You couldnt find a better location. It has everything you need for a dog park, he said.

Jacoby said that the park would cost about $50,000 to build and that he plans to pursue grants and streamline the necessary fundraising. He said about half the cost would be devoted to building a heavy duty, 6-foot-high chain-link fence around the park. He said that based on his previous work experience, he would save money by coordinating the construction on the project, cutting the cost of hiring a general contractor.

It wont take maybe a couple of months to build, Jacoby said. The parks and recreation department will do maintenance, which will mainly be mowing and cleanup.

The park will have a section for large dogs and another for small dogs, both equipped with water and items dogs enjoy playing with. There will be an area devoted to dog agility training, a sport in which owners direct their dogs through an obstacle-style course. Jacoby said the agility part of the park will be able to serve as a location to hold dog competitions, as well.

Signs will be posted throughout the park reminding owners that they must pick up after their dogs. The plans also call for a number of benches in shaded areas where fellow owners can socialize.

Dog parks have become really popular throughout the state, White said. Its more of a social place for dog owners than the dogs.
SHARE MONICA JOY MARTINEZ

Monica Martinez murdered nearly 20 years ago

By Jennifer Rios

A letter, written by Monica Martinez in April 1992 and kept by her mother for five years, led police to pinpoint the date of her death.

From there San Angelo investigators tracked down the 18-year-old's killers. In 1998 the two were convicted of beating, drowning and dumping her body near O.C. Fisher Reservoir and later at Twin Buttes Reservoir.

Nearly 20 years after her death, letters may be what keep her murderers in prison.

Robert Villescaz and Timothy James Rodriguez, known as Jaime, were convicted of killing Martinez and sentenced to 40 and 75 years respectively.

Before the end of the year the men, who entered the parole review process in April, will have had their cases ruled on by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

"I've offered to speak and bring my paperwork," San Angelo police Sgt. Rusty Herndon said.

In his office sat a white cardboard box labeled "M. Martinez Homicide file" with the word "life" tucked in the corner. Inside were interviews, police reports, letters and newspaper clippings that chronicled the years after Martinez's death.

Martinez, who had left home before, was initially considered a runaway. About four years later, with no word from Martinez, an aunt in California worked to get her name on a list for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

At that point police resumed the investigation, which led to discovery of the letter written to her boyfriend in Dallas, but never mailed, before Martinez left with Villescaz and Rodriguez on April 1, 1992.

A crime tip led investigators to Villescaz, who was in the military and stationed at Fort Collins, Colo., at the time, and Rodriguez.

Herndon, a San Angelo detective who investigated the case, said that during interviews with law enforcement the two confessed to the killing and gave directions on where to find the body.

Over six months a 5-acre lagoon at Twin Buttes Reservoir was drained and 15 acres were searched a minimum of 6 inches deep by city, county, state and federal officials, Herndon said. U.S. Customs helicopters flew over the site repeatedly and at one point a psychic was consulted.

"It was just heart-breaking having to stop and knowing she was out there," Herndon said. "It was really frustrating."

In 2008, remains were found by hunters at the south shore of the north pool at Twin Buttes. A year later DNA tests that compared Martinez's baby teeth to the remains confirmed it was her.

Jack Hamilton, with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Victim Services Division, said in an email that the Board of Pardons and Paroles will make a decision on the release of Villescaz and Rodriguez later this year, possibly around September or October.

Molly Thurman, victims service coordinator with the San Angelo District Attorney's Office, said the office receives notice of paroles on a daily basis. When a case of this type comes through, victims services calls the family and, if the family agrees, starts writing letters to the parole board.

These letters portray feelings of the family and friends, who get to describe how the crime affected their lives. Special conditions may be requested, such as the offender not having contact with the victim's family upon release.

"We're doing everything we can to facilitate the family," she said. "And keep (the killers) in prison."

Families may request to go to the hearing, but it is unclear if Martinez's mother or sister have asked. All decisions on what to admit into consideration come from the parole board, Thurman said.

Family members declined to comment for this story.

Eligibility for parole does not guarantee that parole will be granted.

Under current Texas law, murder falls in a category with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. If convicted of one of these crimes a person must serve at least 50 percent of his or her sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

But because Martinez was murdered in 1992 the crime falls under the 1990 version of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which did not include murder in the category mandating that at least half the sentence be served.

Diane Wilson, a criminal investigator with the Tom Green County District Attorney's Office, worked closely with Herndon on the case, conducting interviews both before and after the convictions.

She died Dec. 31, and Herndon said she was pleased that she had played a role in helping to close the case.

"It was a high point in our career that we were able to bring Monica home," Herndon said.

"Murder is always a personal crime," Herndon said. "It never goes away. And the longer (Villescaz and Rodriguez) stay in, the safer the family feels."
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The following editorial appeared in the Sept. 6 Los Angeles Times:

The U.S. labor movement may have the GOP-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 U.S. 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 its 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 declared 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 the 11 other nations  and that both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have pledged to kill the deal if elected president.

With time running out in President Obama's term, it looks like five years of delicate negotiations may be rendered moot by the toxic politics of the 2016 elections. That's a shame, because whatever flaws the TPP has, it is still in the country's 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 similar 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 China's rise as an exporting superpower.

But that transformation was happening anyway, as advancing technology globalized markets and supply chains. The question for policymakers isn't how to reverse the irreversible. It's how to steer the world toward a set of rules that open markets, raise global standards of living and allow companies in the U.S., with its comparatively high wages and regulatory costs, to thrive.

That's 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 U.S. hasn't 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 wouldn't necessarily cut off that supply; instead, it would give patent holders more say in who the supplier will be.

The pact also seeks to give Pacific Rim nations more access to markets in Japan and the West so they won't be so dependent on China. Unlike the U.S., China isn't pushing its trading partners to set wage floors or cut back on pollution. Letting China define global trading rules would in no way be good for U.S. workers. And abandoning the TPP now would be a huge blow to U.S. credibility and influence in Asia.

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 U.S. Yet by improving wages and working conditions around the world, they eventually reduce the pressure on U.S. companies to slash their workforces or offshore their manufacturing. Although that's 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, Congress should give Obama's signature trade deal a chance to pass before he leaves office.
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By David Currie

I knew Bill Sims my entire life. But I have a few special memories of what he taught me.

In the 1980s, he was state Sen. Sims as well as executive director of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association. I was the sheep and goat specialist for the Texas Department of Agriculture, so we often spoke together at meetings, usually he first. After he spoke, I would get up and say this:

"You know, the Simses came to Paint Rock in 1878 and the Curries came in 1879. I think it was because after the Simses got there, God realized he needed to raise the moral climate of the community and sent my great grandfather David Currie."

No one laughed harder and enjoyed that little bit of fun as much as Sims. He taught me real leaders never take themselves too seriously. They stay human, they stay "one of us." They never forget where they came from.

On another occasion, we were having lunch in Austin. He looked at me and said, "You know, I thought when I first got here my job was to just vote no on everything, but I've realized we can help people and be smart, things like Head Start programs that save money in the long run."

Now he never stopped being a conservative by any means, but he truly was a "compassionate conservative." He was open to learning, growing and he wasn't a "knee-jerk" anything; he thought through things, took the vote he had seriously and did what he thought was right.

I also think it's interesting he stayed a Democrat, yet I wasn't surprised. The good ones don't change according to how the current wind is blowing. They stay true to themselves and their values. Bill Sims, who died Aug. 29 at age 84, was a good one. I wish our current state was full of leaders with the integrity of Bill Sims.

Tom Green County Democratic Party Chairman David Currie grew up in Paint Rock.
Texas Tribune According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. is 31st among the 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development when it comes to voter turnout.

SHARE thinkstock Texas lags behind other states, ranking 48th in turnout in 2012, according to the U.S. Elections Project.

By Ross Ramsey

If voter turnout is really going to be used as the measure of civic health in Texas, legislators should make voting compulsory.

You know that's not going to happen  and that's OK because not voting is also a way of registering your opinion. Perhaps you don't care who wins, you don't put much importance on a particular election or a particular lineup of candidates makes you want to hold a pillow over your face and scream.

So don't vote if you don't want to. It's your franchise, to do with as you will.

Yours, that is, except when lawmakers impose regulations that make voting more difficult: restricting when people are allowed to register to exercise their right to vote, limiting early voting times and locations and which kinds of proof of identification the authorities will allow.

If lawmakers wanted everybody to vote, they would make it easier.

They would be working to find and remove impediments to voting, the same way successful businesses smooth the path between their customers and their products.

You still have to stand in line to see a bank teller once in a while, but it's rare. Any grocery store that's on the ball will open more checkout lanes when traffic picks up. Cities that have their acts together sync up the traffic signals so you can hit green lights on the way out of town.

Not everyone is good at this. Long lines are regular features at ball games and concerts. Those lines are a specialty of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Companies introduce smartphones without headphone jacks and tinker with the recipe for the most successful soft drink in history.

At least the stadium vendors are trying to solve it. New Coke evaporated. Someone will design a jack for the jackless phone.

Texas voter turnout really does stink in comparison with some other states, and turnout in the United States is lower than in other countries.

Rated against its peers, the United States is in the bottom half for turnout. According to the Pew Research Center, we are 31st among the 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the 2012 presidential election, 53.6 percent of the country's adults voted. That's better than Switzerland (38.6 percent in 2015) and Latvia (51.7 percent in 2014), but not nearly as good as Mexico (64.6 percent in 2012) or Turkey (84.3 percent in 2015).

And in a nation that lags behind other nations, Texas lags behind other states, ranking 48th in turnout in 2012, according to the U.S. Elections Project, with turnout of 49.6 percent (not as high as Latvia's!) of the adult population. Our own Texas secretary of state's office offers up a better number and a worse one for that year: As a percent of registered voters in 2012, Texas turnout was 58.6 percent; as a percentage of the voting age population, it was 43.7 percent.

You might conclude that we harbor a lot of lazy voters. You might mind, or not, that unmotivated voters stayed at home. And you might think that the turnout would have been the same without voter photo ID laws. Or with same-day voter registration. Or if voter registration was automatically included on citizens' driver's licenses. Or if the political districts for members of Congress and the Texas Legislature were drawn to give voters more choices in general elections instead of to protect the incumbent parties from fickle Texans.

That's what the courts are starting to say in response to a wave of lawsuits challenging voter ID and other laws  that some states are intentionally or unintentionally disenfranchising their own voters.

North Carolina's case got the most attention because it drew the sharpest rebuke from a federal appeals court. But the Texas law also ran into interference in federal court.

So don't vote if you don't want to. It's your franchise, to do with as you will. Yours, that is, except when lawmakers impose regulations that make voting more difficult.

Perhaps lawmakers will take the hint and try to set up elections the way a business would set up a service, with the goal of making it as easy as possible to securely vote.

It'll never be perfect. ATMs get robbed once in a while, but the banks have managed their security problems without getting in the way of their customers. This is a frame-of-mind issue: Voting is designed around worries about what might go wrong. People who are eligible to vote are sometimes denied that right when the state tries to keep the smallest thing from going wrong.

Voter ID is an example: State officials said identification voter fraud was "rampant" but couldn't substantiate the claim in court. Meanwhile, their opponents proved the remedy stranded 600,000 eligible Texas voters who didn't have any of the Legislature's required forms of identification.

You might deride the couch potatoes who didn't vote, but you can't blame those 600,000. Maybe they would have voted and maybe they wouldn't have, but at least it would have been their own personal choice.

Here's a thought: Stop blaming the voters. Instead, blame the people who make it harder to vote.

Maybe that would increase turnout.

Ross Ramsey is executive editor of the Texas Tribune online newspaper.
S. Koreas E-mart to scale up investment in Vietnam

The retail giant plans to pour $200 million more into operations and social activities in HCMC.

E-Mart, South Korea's biggest discount store chain, signed an agreement with Ho Chi Minh City last week to invest $200 million into the southern economic hub, the Korea Herald reported.

The sum would be allocated for retail stores, supermarkets and other commercial facilities, as well as social development of local communities, according to the report.

In July, the company launched a 160-square-meter toy library and gave 10,000 helmets to Vietnamese children.

E-Mart said that they are making plans to import more Vietnamese products, including fruit and seafood.

The South Korean retailer opened its $60 million hypermarket in Ho Chi Minh Citys Go Vap District last year, after studying Vietnams economic climate for four years.

E-mart expects to expand its network to 10 stores across the country by 2020.

Vietnam, whose retail market is forecast to reach $109 billion in sales next year, is becoming an apple in the eyes of foreign investors.

Japanese discount retail brand Miniso has just opened its first three outlets in Hanoi, targeting 12 stores by the end of this year.

A few weeks earlier, upscale department store Takashimaya, also from Japan, rocked the retail scene in HCMC when it arrived at a large downtown shopping center as an anchor tenant.

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven has laid out its expansion strategy for Vietnam, with the first store to be open early 2018.

Related news:

> Japanese discount retail brand opens first stores in Vietnam

> Foreign invasion threatens domestic retail market share
Executive Councilor Chris Sununu of Newfields has won the Republican nomination for governor, having edged out conservative newcomer Frank Edelblut of Wilton by a razor-thin margin of about 800 votes out of more than 63,000.Edelblut will not be seeking a recount.The first-term state representative conceded the race in a joint news conference with Sununu on the State House steps Wednesday with a pledge to work aggressively on Sununu's campaign in the November election.The Secretary of State's Office posted results showing Sununu with 32,391 votes to Edelblut's 31,587. Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas had 21,812; state Sen. Jeanie Forrester of Meredith had 18,599; Jon Lavoie of Hollis had 1,383. The totals do not include write-ins."I am happy that I will have the opportunity to vote for Chris Sununu for governor, and (Democratic nominee) Colin Van Ostern had better pay attention, because we're coming," Edelblut said."I'm going to be actively out campaigning to help Chris win this race in November," he added. "I'm going to continue to advocate for a good, solid conservative agenda."Sununu congratulated Edelblut on a well-run, positive campaign and said he valued the endorsement."We're going to continue talking about the things that matter to the people in New Hampshire," he said.Gatsas, who came in third, congratulated Sununu on the victory."For too long, Democrat governors have pushed a disastrous tax-and-spend agenda that threatens the New Hampshire Advantage," Gatsas said in a statement. "Colin Van Ostern would continue this tradition of failed leadership in the corner office by hiking taxes, increasing bloated government spending and implementing more burdensome regulations on small businesses."Van Ostern, an executive councilor from Concord, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday. In his victory speech, Van Ostern said he would commit himself to improving the state's economy without a sales or income tax.Democrats have held the corner office since 2004, when John Lynch defeated first-term incumbent Craig Benson, R-Rye.State Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said Sununu was a weak candidate, who is "far to the right of New Hampshire voters.""Sununu has embraced Donald Trump's destructive, divisive and disastrous candidacy. He has cast the deciding vote to defund Planned Parenthood, and voted to block Medicaid expansion," said Buckley. "He opposes establishing a state minimum wage and denies that climate change is real and man-made. He has expressed support for discriminatory anti-LGBT legislation."New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn congratulated Sununu and commended all four candidates for a hard-fought, fair primary."Our state needs Chris Sununu as its next governor, and it's time for all Republicans to unite behind his candidacy," she said."For years, the Democrat governors have implemented big government policies in Concord that have pushed New Hampshire closer to the brink of an income tax. Chris Sununu has the fiscally conservative values needed to reverse this troubling trend and restore independent leadership in the corner office."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's trip to Flint was billed as a visit to learn about the Flint water crisis in a community that has been suffering through more than two years of using bottled water for the most basic of needs.He swept in and was greeted by groups of supporters and critics alike at Bishop International Airport in Flint, as well as those who lined the streets along his travel route and outside of his scheduled stops. Trump took a brief tour of the Flint water treatment plant before heading to Bethel United Methodist Church, where opponents booed loudly as his motorcade arrived and left.Trump spoke to about 70 guests at the church, but his remarks were cut short by protesters and a pastor who politely admonished the New York businessman to stick to a non-political speech. Trump, in turn, politely abided by the pastor's request, ending his comments by saying he would fix the problems in Flint -- a dearth of jobs and the water problem -- if he were elected president.But he offered no concrete solutions or specific plans on how to make the transition from bottled to safe drinking water, or bring back jobs. And his comments and appearance were taken with a grain of salt in a city with a population that is majority African American and that predominantly supports Democrats, especially in presidential elections."It used to be that cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico. And now the cars are made in Mexico and you can't drink the water in Flint," Trump said at the church. "It's terrible."His remarks were interrupted -- he spoke for just over five minutes -- after protesters interrupted his speech with questions about housing discrimination and Bethel's pastor, the Rev. Faith Green Timmons, stepped in when Trump began criticizing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for supporting trade deals like NAFTA that he called one of the worst trade deals in the history of America, "probably in the history of the world," and that he said have contributed to the economic downfall of cities like Flint.Trump wrapped up his comments by saying the damage that has been done in Flint can be corrected "by people who know what they're doing ... I will say that we can fix this problem. It's going to take time. It's amazing the damage that has been done."Before he left the stage, Trump also commented on one of the big news stories of the day -- that Ford was moving 100% of its small car production to Mexico."We shouldn't allow it to happen," he said. "They'll make their cars, they'll employ thousands and thousands of people, not from this country ... and we'll have nothing but more unemployment in Flint."Explaining her actions after Trump's speech, Timmons said: "I thought he wanted to see that we gave out food and water, and when his statement went beyond what he originally said, I asked him to stick to what he was originally going to say. He's welcome to come and see what we're doing in Flint. We're doing well. We're helping those in need. And I wanted him to see the best of Flint."And some of the statements I've heard him say about African-Americans and Hispanics have been degrading," Timmons added.Erik Shelley, of the Michigan People's Campaign, was inside the church with about 70 other people and tried to ask Trump a question about claims that his family had discriminated against blacks in rental housing. But Trump didn't acknowledge the question and Shelley was asked to leave the church."We hoped there would be a question and answer period and there wasn't," Shelley said. "What he was trying to do was use us as a backdrop. The people of Flint are real, they're not a backdrop."Brittany Ross was one of the few Trump supporters who hoped to catch a glimpse of Trump at the church, saying she was going to cast her first-ever vote for president for Trump."I love that he truly is an anti-establishment politician," said the 21-year-old Mt. Morris resident. "I truly believe that Trump is the best way to get away from what we've had with the last few presidencies."And Jerome Barney, an attorney from Southfield who also was inside the church, said he thought Trump was sincere, although he had hoped that more Flint people would have been allowed into the church to hear his remarks."He just said that Flint is in a bad situation and if he's elected to president, he'll alleviate the situation," Barney said. "He's here to win a presidency. He's here to say he's here for everybody. We understand that black folks have a certain mindset, they listen to forces that haven't done anything for them for the last 40 years."Before his talk inside, a gaggle of curious onlookers and media had gathered outside Wednesday afternoon, waiting for Trump's arrival.Many may have wanted to hear what Trump was going to say, but they were out of luck. The meeting was closed to the public and all but a select pool of mostly national media.Sharon C., a Flint resident who didn't want to give her last name, sat outside the church helping to hand out the cases of water that residents in Flint still have to depend on instead of drinking tap water that has been contaminated with lead."We'll give him respect and let him come, but I don't follow the things that he's said," she said. "I don't think he's sincere coming here to the black neighborhood. He's just doing a photo op."Clyde Edwards, 85, of Flint, said he has no intention of voting for Trump, adding that Hillary Clinton is his only choice for president."What is there to like about him? He's been bankrupted so many times," he said. "Why would I vote for someone like that?"
When it comes to chipping away at pension liabilities, there arent a lot of options. In some places, lawmakers can freeze cost-of-living increases to pension payments or move back retirement dates for existing employees. But thats not legal everywhere. So the majority of pension reforms in the past decade have targeted new employees and focused on controlling the growth of future liabilities.But some places are getting more creative.In Philadelphia, where the municipal pension plan is less than half-funded, Controller Alan Butkovitz is pushing a buyout of sorts aimed at the citys most expensive workers. In exchange for taking an upfront cash payment based on their estimated lifetime benefits, the employee or retiree would accept a reduced level of pension benefits going forward. The benefits would be equivalent to what newer Philadelphia public employees are receiving now.Weve settled on benefits right now that everyone agrees are reasonable and humane, said Butkovitz. Their survival and living standard is protected. If youre going to give them a lump sum of money, behaviorally, people prefer that approach.The buyouts would be offered to 31,000 city retirees and 2,500 active employees who are members of Plan 67, the citys oldest and most generous pension plan in which employees can receive up to 100 percent of their final salary in retirement. Plan 67 is responsible for $5 billion of the citys roughly $6 billion in unfunded liabilities.If every eligible plan member takes the buyout, it would reduce Philadelphias unfunded liability by $1 billion, according to an independent audit. And, the idea goes, those who opt for the lump-sum payment could use it as an opportunity to pay off debt or a mortgage, or start a new business.Philadelphia isnt the only place where hamstrung officials are considering unconventional solutions for their pension plans.In Illinois, where courts have ruled against any changes to retirees payments, lawmakers have contemplated lump-sum payouts to reduce their unfunded pension liability. The states public employees plan is currently 34 percent funded.In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy is pushing a plan that would split its troubled state employees pension fund into two, as a way of isolating the unfunded liability.Experts say the main difficulty with these approaches is that they tend to be more complicated than they are effective. The proposal in Connecticut doesnt reduce the actual amount the government owes its retirees -- it merely pays for the more expensive pension benefits directly out of the state's annual budget so the liabilities are not on the pension funds balance sheets.The split is a helpful accounting exercise, but it really comes down to: Are you really putting in today what you need for the future? said Greg Mennis, director of The Pew Charitable Trusts public-sector retirement systems project.Connecticut, he added, has a history of not paying its pension bills, which is why the system is so underfunded. S&P Global Ratings said last year that the split could worsen the states unfunded liabilities and warned it could downgrade Connecticut if it moved ahead with Malloys proposal."There are no panaceas, said Mennis.Pension buyouts have worked in the corporate sector where employees have taken a lump-sum payment at a slight haircut. But they havent been done in the public sector, thanks to the different accounting rules for public pensions that make their liabilities appear lower than comparable corporate-sector plans, said Josh B. McGee, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and vice president of public accountability at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.That can mask what a government would actually owe an employee who wants to cash out today. Indeed, an initial analysis of Bukovitzs original idea of a straight pension buyout proved to be too expensive for the city.The optics are also a challenge, said McGee. Politically, youre saying youre going to cash out and give someone a lump sum. The public perception of that is not that great.As for whats next, Butkovitz said the pension board this month is discussing a number of issues it would like to address via a member survey, including the minimum threshold for participation, the age range of people opting in and whether those who take a lump-sum payment would also agree to financial management classes.
Gov. Christie, surprising skeptics, on Wednesday approved a bill that will allow people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to use medical marijuana when conventional treatments fail.Patients and their advocates had lobbied for the bill for more than a year, citing statistics that show military veterans with PTSD have a high rate of suicide."I'm ecstatic, I'm happily surprised, I'm going to go get my card," said Don Karpowich, 57, an Air Force special operations veteran from Morristown with PTSD who has attended several demonstrations at the Statehouse over the past year to push for the bill.Christie had said at several town halls that he did not want to expand the medical marijuana program. Two years ago he turned down a petition submitted by Coalition Medical Marijuana New Jersey to add PTSD to the list of a dozen ailments that qualify for cannabis use.But a month and a half after the bipartisan bill was placed on his desk, Christie signed it with a statement explaining his reasons.Christie cited statistics of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs estimating that 20 percent of veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade suffer from PTSD."Throughout the country, significant resources are being used to research PTSD and increase access to traditional treatments, such as psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. This bill would provide struggling veterans and others with the ability to use medical marijuana to treat PTSD, but only after it has been determined by a physician or psychiatrist that conventional medical therapy is ineffective," he wrote.Christie said that "requiring conventional medical therapy to be ineffective in treating PTSD before medical marijuana can be prescribed is an appropriate threshold safeguard to deter misuse."He said he will also direct the health commissioner to create new regulations to further prevent misuse, an issue he has raised in the past to explain why he does not favor expanding the program.Many patients and advocates, however, have criticized the health department for promulgating too many rules, saying that makes the program unwieldy and prevents people with serious illnesses from qualifying to use cannabis.Some saw Christie's action as being motivated by his role as a key adviser in the presidential campaign of Donald Trump."I wonder if Trump had something to do with this," Karpowich said.Christie approved the bill only a few days before it would have become law automatically, without his signature, if he did not veto it.He said that "the mere potential for abuse by some should not deter the state from taking action that may ease the daily struggles of our veterans and others who legitimately suffer from PTSD."Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic) a primary sponsor of the bill, said that "post-9/11 veterans are the group most affected by PTSD" and that there are about 428,000 veterans in New Jersey."The VA has stated that it wants each veteran to find the medication with the least amount of side effects that allows them the optimum level of independence. For many, medical marijuana is the drug that best fits that criteria and the only one to provide veterans with significant relief from the anxiety associated with PTSD," Mazzeo said.PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by a traumatic event such as a physical or sexual assault, childhood neglect or physical abuse, a natural disaster, exposure to combat, or other extreme or life-threatening events, according to the bill.Symptoms can include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts about the event, emotional distress, physical symptoms, feelings of numbness or detachment, engaging in dangerous or self-destructive behavior, and experiencing suicidal thoughts."We know that individuals with PTSD are using marijuana that they are getting from the streets and, unfortunately, they are at risk of purchasing a substance that may be laced with a dangerous additive and of getting a criminal charge," said Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Union), another primary sponsor. "This will give them the ability to obtain marijuana legally that is regulated by the government."
A Dane County judge on Monday ruled a state commission violated the open records law last year when it refused to quickly turn over information about a union election."I just find that (this case) is a violation of the open records law. I do believe it is appropriate for this court to enter a declaration to that effect," Dane County Circuit Judge Peter Anderson said.He called the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission's decision not to release records to a Madison teachers union "pretextual," "thin on consistency" and an apparent attempt to make it harder for the union to retain its ability to negotiate over wages. Commission officials said they would appeal.Under the 2011 labor law known as Act 10, most public-sector unions must hold annual elections to determine whether they can continue to bargain for raises.The unions must win support from 51% of all eligible members, not just those who cast votes. In effect, if someone doesn't cast a ballot, it counts as a "no" vote.The elections are overseen by the commission and held over 20 days, with ballots cast over the phone and over the Internet. Unions want to monitor who is voting so they can encourage those who haven't done so to cast their ballots.The union Madison Teachers Inc. on Nov. 10 sought documents under the open records law that would show who had voted so far in the election that ran from Nov. 4 to Nov. 24. The commission's chairman, James Scott, denied the request while the election was ongoing.After the election -- which the union won overwhelmingly -- the commission released records showing who had voted.The union then sued the commission, a three-member panel appointed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, the architect of Act 10.The commission had to promptly make available information about who had voted because the records law requires documents to be produced "as soon as practicable and without delay," the union argued in its lawsuit.Anderson agreed the records were wrongly withheld. He said the matter was important to resolve because it could come up again this fall, when hundreds of public-sector unions will hold elections.The commission maintained it could not release the records while the election was pending because doing so could result in "voter coercion." It also contended releasing the records would undermine the secrecy of the ballots because non-votes are considered "no" votes.Anderson called that logic inconsistent because the commission ultimately did release information about who had voted and who hadn't.By keeping that information from the union while the election was ongoing, the commission made it harder for the union to win the election because it could not target its get-out-the-vote efforts to those who had not yet voted, Anderson said.Anderson said he would likely have taxpayers pay the union for its legal fees, as is typical when those bringing lawsuits prove the government wrongly kept records from them. He will decide that issue in November.The union is also seeking $1,000 in punitive damages.The union's attorney, Susan Crawford, said Monday's decision set an important precedent that would help public-sector unions around the state in the next round of elections.Scott issued a statement saying the commission would appeal."The principle of keeping one's vote secret during the election is essential to conducting a fair election," his statement said.
D.C. police will be required to confirm to dispatchers that they have turned on their body cameras when they respond to a call or interact with citizens, a change ordered Wednesday after a fatal police shooting in which a camera was not activated until after the incident, city officials said.Terrence Sterling, 31, of Fort Washington, Md., was shot after police said he crashed his motorcycle into a cruiser early Sunday. Officers in the cruiser were responding to a report of a motorcycle being driven erratically and were trying to make a traffic stop, police said.The officer who shot Sterling turned on his body camera after the shooting, as opposed to having the camera on when the interaction began, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said Monday.After a discussion with Bowser on Wednesday, Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham made the policy change, which is expected to take effect by the end of the week. It will be read at roll calls and included in dispatch newsletters that are emailed to all officers.
The Trans Pacific Partnership could cost Vietnamese taxpayers untold millions in arbitration fees and rulings.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would allow foreign entities to sue the Vietnamese government for taking actions that harm their investments, Tran Ba Cuong, a senior official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at a workshop on the country's retail sector yesterday.

Led by the United States, the trade pact strives to eliminate tariffs between 12 countries in the Pacific rim. The pact would also allow foreign companies and investors in signatory countries to challenge Vietnamese regulations, rules and government actions before an international trade tribunal.

A single lost arbitration could force Vietnamese taxpayers to cough up millions of dollar in damages, Cuong pointed out.

The senior trade official offered the hypothetical problem amid the flood of foreign retailers scrambling to gain market share by acquiring or partnering with local businesses.

Mergers and acquisitions involving local companies hit $3.2 billion in the first seven months of this year and are expected to hit $6 billion for the whole year, beating the 2015 record. Cuong said that, should a provincial government reject an investment plan under the TPP, the authors of that plan could bypass local courts and take the matter straight to international arbitration.

It would cost us a lot of money to sit through an arbitration that could last a couple of years, said Cuong.

These suits could likely result in fines that would dwarf the initial investment by a factor of three or four, Cuong continued.

Prized for its potential, Vietnams retail market is growing rapidly. Government statistics show that retail chains meet only 25 percent of the countrys demand; the rest of which is catered for by traditional markets.

Vietnams total retail revenue, which grew 10.6 percent in 2015 to $110 billion on-year, is expected to hit about $179 billion by 2020.

As a signatory to a variety of free trade agreements, including the pending TPP, Vietnam is poised to attract a growing number of foreign investors.

Related News:

> Vietnam to approve TPP this year, but all efforts may be in vain

> Flood of foreign retailers forces Vietnam to take action

> Vietnamese retailers call for safeguards to fight off foreign rivals
A federal jury has found that Miami city officials defrauded bond investors in 2009 by playing shell games with public money, making the municipality the only one in the country to have been caught twice committing securities violations.After deliberating for less than four hours Wednesday on a civil case the Securities and Exchange Commission brought in 2013, jurors returned a unanimous verdict that found the city liable on two counts of violating the federal Securities Act and one count of the Exchange Act. The nine-member jury also found former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux, the accused architect of the city's scheme, liable on one count of violating the Securities Act and two counts of the Exchange Act, but not liable on a fourth count.In issuing its verdict, the jury -- the first in the country to decide a federal securities case against a municipality or its officers -- declared that the city attempted to trick investors in 2009 into believing some $153 million in bonds were better investments than was actually true, and acted "knowingly" or with "severe recklessness" in making misrepresentations or material omissions in crucial bond documents."We will continue to hold municipalities and their officers accountable, including through trials, if they engage in financial fraud or other conduct that violates the federal securities laws," Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said in a statement.Miami taxpayers could now be on the hook for civil penalties, although SEC lawyers have not yet said how much they will seek.The SEC has been scrutinizing the city since 2009, after the Miami Herald and a scathing city audit raised questions about a series of financial transfers that moved money out of capital projects and restricted accounts in the late 2000s in order to shift millions into the city's depleted general fund. The transfers -- akin to a person moving money from a home improvement fund into a main checking account -- were recommended by Boudreaux and approved by Miami commissioners.But SEC investigators determined that Miami officials moved the money in order to pad the city's reserves and make the city seem financially healthy as they prepared to take three bond issues to the market. They said the city's budget projections showed Miami was going bankrupt, and the transfers were equivalent to cooking the books, since many of the raided accounts were either filled with highly restricted dollars, money already spent, or dollars that were still needed to pay for ongoing expenses.Ultimately, the transfers contributed to a financial meltdown that forced the city to raise taxes and slash employees' pay and benefits."I found out from [then-CFO] Larry Spring that spending was still going on in some projects and what I told Mr. Spring at the time was that it could not be true," former city manager Pete Hernandez testified during the trial, which lasted longer than two weeks. "If we had known at the time that those projects continued to spend, we never would have recommended [the transfers] at all."For the city, which spent more than $2 million in legal fees while defending itself and its employees, Wednesday's verdict is a blow to its credibility. Miami, which Ceresney referred to Wednesday as a "recidivist violator of the federal securities laws," was caught defrauding bond investors in the 1990s and slapped in 2003 with a cease-and-desist order. Ceresney said the SEC expects Judge Cecilia Altonaga to find that the city violated the prior SEC order.The verdict could also be damaging to the city's taxpayers, who might be on the hook for steep civil penalties. The SEC has until Sept. 28 to file a motion for an injunction barring the city and Boudreaux from committing further violations of securities laws, and seeking civil penalties."We have to live with the sins of the past," said Mayor Tomas Regalado, whose administration returned millions of transferred dollars to their sources in 2010 after he was elected mayor in late 2009. "But what I really hope doesn't happen is the residents of the city have to pay for the sins of the past."Miami City Attorney Victoria Mendez said in a text message that her staff is considering its options. She did not respond to a question about whether the city made a mistake by declining to settle the case before it went to trial."While we respect the jury and the judicial process, we are disappointed in the jury's verdict," she said. "We are reviewing the record to determine how to proceed at this point."As for Boudreaux, jurors found he used a "device, scheme or artifice to defraud" in violating the Exchange Act. But his attorney, Ben Kuehne, said it was crucial to note that the jury also found the SEC did not prove the first of the four counts brought against the former budget director, since he was found to not have engaged in a scheme to defraud in violation of the Securities Act. Kuehne indicated his client was considering an appeal."That the jury found Mr. Boudreaux didn't engage in a fraud raises significant questions as to the validity of the entire verdict," Kuehne said.Boudreaux, who was fired by the city in 2010 amid the SEC's investigation, bowed his head as he listened to Altonaga read the verdict. The former budget director contended in court that he handled all his recommendations with transparency, and blamed problems that cropped up later on mistakes associated with a new citywide accounting program.Kuehne said during the trial that his client, currently a business manager for a nursing home in New Orleans, hopes to one day return to government work. Afterward, Boudreaux said, "I'm just very disappointed by all of this."
Description

GIS  15 September, 2016: Mauritius has what it takes to act as a catalyst for students and experienced academics and researchers from overseas to opt for the country as a destination for higher studies or pursuing a career in higher education, said t he Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, on 12 September 2016.

The Minister was speaking at the launching of the Global Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) programme of the ESSEC Business School held in Medine Education Village.

The Global BBA is ranked first in France across BBA programmes for its attractiveness. It has been designed with the student in mind, offering practical workshops, internships and international experiences. The four-year programme allows students to move across the Global BBA campuses in Paris, Singapore, Morocco and Mauritius.

In her opening address, the Minister stated that one of the priorities her Ministry has set for itself is most definitely to facilitate the upscaling of educational institutions as the objective is to ensure that all of them are geared towards excellence and a level that is internationally comparable. Excellent institutions, as we know, are a signpost towards human resource excellence. And such highly qualified and developed resources are more likely to be better equipped to face global challenges, economic or otherwise, she pointed out.

Speaking about the importance of employability, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun observed that it has become the by-word and it is universally recognised today that careers and jobs for life are fast becoming a thing of the past. People entering the labour market are expected to have a rich diversity of aptitudes and competences that guarantee their adaptation to and sustenance in a labour market whose requisites and demands are constantly changing, she pointed out. The Global BBA is a welcome step in this direction, the Minister said.

Moreover, Minister Dookun-Luchoomun called for the private sector to continue to bring in their collective support to complement the efforts of the Mauritian Government to enable a greater internationalisation of the higher education sector. This can only augur well for the development of our human resources, she added.
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GIS - 15 September, 2016: The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this morning with the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) for the promotion of local handicraft through the web as a strategic tool for visibility and marketing. The Mou makes provision for the setting up and maintenance of the webpage Creative Mauritius on the portal www.taxfreeshopping.mu . The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this morning with the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) for the promotion of local handicraft through the web as a strategic tool for visibility and marketing. The Mou makes provision for the setting up and maintenance of the webpageon the portal

The ceremony was held in Port Louis at the headquarters of MyBiz in presence of the Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr S. Bholah and other eminent personalities.

Minister Bholah lauded this collaboration between the SMEDA and the MCCI for the promotion of local artisans and handicraft. He underlined that this initiative will help boost this sector and called upon local artisans to make good use of this tool by promoting authentic local products of good quality.

The Minister highlighted that the MCCI will host a webpage, free of cost, for all the artisans and that they should seize this opportunity to promote online shopping that will in trn bring a further boost to the local handcraft sector.

For his part, the President of the MCCI, Mr A. Currimjee, recalled the various and longstanding collaboration between the two institutions and urged local artisans to use this portal to promote the artistic and cultural aspects of their handicraft. He also elaborated on the various means used by the MCCI throughout the year to promote the visibility of the portal amongst tourists.
Georgia apps test state

Feeding apathy or empowering voters?

Cutting through political noise

(TNS) -- Atlanta software developer Horace Williams traces the inspiration for his new mobile app to the outpouring of anger and activism that occurred in the wake of the 2012 shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin It was the first time a public issue on television made me break down and cry, Williams, 32, said. And I was like, Nobody knows what to do. Nobody knows how to act.The son of a Brooklyn lobbyist and community activist, Williams knew political power is based on building connections. Those connections allow you to get access to your elected leaders when you need them.Thats when he came up with the idea for Empowrd, an app that instantly shows you who your elected leaders are and connects you with their phone numbers and email addresses. Using geolocation and a heavy set of overlapping databases, the app traces your leaders from the president and congressmen down to state lawmakers, local school board members, city councilors, prosecutors and judges.And as an African American, a millennial and a software designer, he was in the sweet spot to think differently about how to leverage technology so citizens could easily reach out to their leaders.The maze of government is hard for many people to negotiate and often they never know who their leaders are, he said.The complexity around the system is something no one wants to be a part of, he said. There is nothing accessible about it.You can find these people with a Google search if you know what you are looking for, but Williams said Empowrd cuts through the mystery of jurisdictional lines and just points you to the leaders. Williams sees Empowrd as a way to straighten out the lines of communications that frustrate citizens and elected officials alike.So far, folks who download the app have instant access to their governors, congressional representatives and other constitutional offices, no matter where they live. About 16,000 elected officials are in the apps database, although Georgia is the only state fully represented so far.Williams said the Peach State is a perfect place to test Empowrd. First, its kind of a swing state in terms of the relative balance in voting-age residents who describe themselves as Republican and Democrat, although elected officials are predominately Republican.Williams said the states massive number of counties (only Texas has more) and complex jurisdictional lines provided just the right challenge for the software.Also, he said, the Southeast hasnt been a hotbed for mobile political apps, so it gives Empowrd a chance to get up and running with voters and elected officials without a lot of market confusion.The app is part of Williams personal development in becoming an active part of Atlantas civic life. Although he came from a political family in New York, his personal consciousness emerged more gradually.Williams came to Atlanta to work for the social marketing firm Vitrue, which had purchased the tech startup he worked at in New York. When Vitrue was itself purchased in 2012 by California-based Oracle, Williams started thinking about his next steps and how to mesh his software expertise with growing desire to engage in civic life.The entrepreneurial side of him saw vacuum in the mobile app arena when it came to politics and social activism. For years, Williams said he worked on software that marketers paid millions of dollars for to make millions of dollars.That same amount of effort isnt put toward our democratic process, he said.Kurt Young, chairman of the Clark Atlanta University Political Science Department, said he sees the development of apps around political communication and activism as a logical step with a lot of promise. It just so happens that the technological advances that make apps like Empowrd possible are happening during a dynamic political period for a young, diverse electorate, he said.What we are seeing unfolding now is the beginning of a shift in the political culture, whether its Trayvon Martin or Ferguson (Missouri) or this pipeline discussion with Native Americans, Young said.This shift, he said, has a technological component embedded within it. Remember, he said, Black Lives Matter began as a hashtag.However, Young said whether apps like Empowrd deliver a high-quality of political communication is yet to be seen. Other internet-based revolutions that have promised to democratize communication have produced mixed results, at best. (Im looking at you, Twitter.)It can have the potential of feeding into (voter) apathy and normalizing a kind of low civic education, he said. In short, tap the app and shout at your elected official may be direct, but its not necessarily an improvement.Williams said the app is actually attempting to cut through the noise of misdirected political communication and steer it into the right channels.For example, Williams said he might get a link to a Change.org petition on some environmental issue in Colorado. Thats great. I press the like button, he said. But the Colorado leaders on the other end of that petition arent interested in what someone in Atlanta thinks in the same way they are about their own constituents, he said.Thats where hyper-localization is so important, he said.New features expected to come online in the coming weeks will allow more direct communication between constituents and officials, including isolating officials by topic areas, like guns or health care. Leaders will be able to identify and reach out to voters in their district as well, he said.At the very least, Williams said he and his team of developers have quickly become very plugged into Georgia politics.I didnt know a single elected leader in Georgia 18 months ago, he said. Today weve got close to 100 that are interested in our system.
Jurisdiction Share in Poverty or Age 75+ Share in Poverty, Age 75+ or Under 18 Share Unemployed, Workers Earning Below Poverty Level Flint, Michigan 45.3% 55.8% 74.4% Detroit, Michigan 44.1% 54.8% 73.5% Camden, New Jersey 42.9% 59.1% 70.2% Athens-Clarke County, Georgia 42.1% 51.6% 66.1% Reading, Pennsylvania 41.1% 53.9% 68.1% Bloomington, Indiana 40.7% 50.7% 60.9% Cleveland, Ohio 39.7% 51.1% 66.8% Greenville, North Carolina 39.4% 50.6% 63.1% Gainesville, Florida 38.8% 49.8% 60.9% Merced, California 38.7% 54.5% 73.0% Dayton, Ohio 37.6% 50.3% 66.9% Buffalo, New York 37.2% 48.1% 62.2% Brownsville, Texas 36.9% 53.4% 68.3% Rochester, New York 36.4% 48.5% 63.4% San Bernardino, California 35.6% 53.1% 67.2% Jackson, Mississippi 35.4% 49.2% 63.8% Hialeah, Florida 35.3% 46.5% 62.1% Syracuse, New York 35.3% 48.3% 62.4% Kalamazoo, Michigan 35.2% 48.8% 60.1% Fort Smith, Arkansas 35.2% 48.0% 64.9% Hemet, California 35.1% 53.5% 72.7% Gary, Indiana 35.0% 48.9% 69.0% Birmingham, Alabama 34.8% 45.8% 61.1% Dearborn, Michigan 34.6% 49.6% 66.1% New Haven, Connecticut 34.4% 47.4% 58.8% College Station, Texas 34.3% 49.8% 58.5% Iowa City, Iowa 34.2% 49.1% 56.7% Pompano Beach, Florida 34.0% 46.1% 61.8% Edinburg, Texas 33.9% 50.7% 63.5% Pharr, Texas 33.8% 55.3% 71.5% Laredo, Texas 33.4% 52.4% 65.0% Lake Charles, Louisiana 33.0% 47.0% 60.8% Paterson, New Jersey 32.9% 48.0% 64.8% Tallahassee, Florida 32.5% 45.0% 57.8% Newark, New Jersey 32.4% 47.6% 64.3% Cincinnati, Ohio 32.2% 45.6% 59.0% Waterbury, Connecticut 32.2% 47.0% 62.3% Pueblo, Colorado 32.1% 46.3% 64.1% Decatur, Illinois 32.1% 45.5% 60.8% Fresno, California 32.0% 49.3% 64.9% Macon-Bibb County, Georgia 31.9% 46.0% 63.5% Miami, Florida 31.8% 43.3% 56.8% Erie, Pennsylvania 31.8% 46.4% 60.4% Springfield, Missouri 31.6% 44.4% 58.1% Akron, Ohio 31.5% 43.6% 58.7% Springfield, Massachusetts 31.5% 48.2% 62.6% Waco, Texas 31.4% 48.2% 61.6% Toledo, Ohio 31.4% 44.2% 60.2% Chico, California 31.3% 46.1% 61.2% Providence, Rhode Island 31.2% 46.7% 60.1% Lynchburg, Virginia 31.2% 46.3% 59.8% Savannah, Georgia 31.2% 44.7% 59.3% Scranton, Pennsylvania 31.1% 43.6% 57.1% South Bend, Indiana 31.0% 47.5% 60.9% New Britain, Connecticut 31.0% 46.5% 61.1% Lansing, Michigan 30.9% 43.9% 58.2% Hartford, Connecticut 30.8% 46.2% 62.2% Milwaukee, Wisconsin 30.5% 46.5% 59.7% Tucson, Arizona 30.5% 44.6% 61.1% Hesperia, California 30.4% 49.9% 69.5% Memphis, Tennessee 30.3% 44.7% 60.1% Miami Gardens, Florida 30.2% 46.2% 65.4% Knoxville, Tennessee 30.2% 41.7% 54.8% Allentown, Pennsylvania 30.1% 46.3% 60.3% Wilmington, North Carolina 30.1% 42.9% 58.1% Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 30.1% 43.9% 60.4% Eugene, Oregon 29.7% 43.6% 59.3% High Point, North Carolina 29.7% 44.2% 60.3% Boynton Beach, Florida 29.7% 43.6% 60.7% Trenton, New Jersey 29.4% 46.3% 61.7% Medford, Oregon 29.4% 45.4% 61.5% Baton Rouge, Louisiana 29.3% 44.5% 58.3% Provo, Utah 29.1% 49.5% 60.6% Evansville, Indiana 29.1% 41.1% 56.6% St. Louis, Missouri 29.1% 41.4% 56.7% Lawrence, Massachusetts 29.0% 44.7% 58.9% Lawrence, Kansas 29.0% 45.7% 56.5% Yakima, Washington 28.9% 45.9% 60.3% Tuscaloosa, Alabama 28.9% 41.4% 60.9% Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 28.9% 39.7% 54.6% Richmond, Virginia 28.9% 40.4% 55.0% Champaign, Illinois 28.8% 43.1% 54.6% New Bedford, Massachusetts 28.6% 43.1% 57.7% Shreveport, Louisiana 28.5% 45.0% 61.8% Albany, New York 28.5% 38.8% 53.0% McAllen, Texas 28.4% 47.9% 64.4% Fayetteville, Arkansas 28.4% 44.4% 56.9% Rockford, Illinois 28.3% 44.5% 61.9% Las Cruces, New Mexico 28.3% 44.3% 63.5% Roanoke, Virginia 28.1% 41.8% 58.1% Montgomery, Alabama 28.1% 43.6% 59.6% Chattanooga, Tennessee 28.0% 42.9% 59.1% Grand Rapids, Michigan 27.9% 43.3% 56.3% Pine Hills, Florida 27.8% 46.9% 58.0% Columbia, Missouri 27.8% 44.4% 55.0% Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia 27.8% 43.1% 63.5% Hammond, Indiana 27.7% 41.3% 59.6% Ann Arbor, Michigan 27.7% 39.1% 55.2% Tyler, Texas 27.6% 43.2% 58.4% New Orleans, Louisiana 27.5% 40.7% 56.9% Bellingham, Washington 27.4% 42.0% 56.6% Arden-Arcade, California 27.4% 41.7% 58.4% Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27.4% 43.2% 59.2% Springfield, Illinois 27.3% 41.4% 57.2% Warren, Michigan 27.2% 40.3% 59.5% Lubbock, Texas 27.2% 44.8% 56.9% Baltimore, Maryland 27.2% 41.1% 58.2% Yuma, Arizona 27.1% 44.3% 66.1% Mission, Texas 26.8% 48.9% 68.4% El Monte, California 26.8% 40.8% 60.6% Wichita Falls, Texas 26.8% 44.0% 57.9% Worcester, Massachusetts 26.8% 40.7% 56.0% Atlanta, Georgia 26.7% 38.3% 52.2% Columbus, Georgia 26.6% 43.7% 65.8% Independence, Missouri 26.6% 41.6% 57.8% Columbia, South Carolina 26.6% 40.4% 57.0% Lehigh Acres, Florida 26.4% 44.4% 64.4% Modesto, California 26.3% 43.8% 63.9% Lakeland, Florida 26.3% 43.0% 61.9% Fall River, Massachusetts 26.3% 37.6% 57.5% Sunrise Manor, Nevada 26.3% 43.1% 60.8% Tulsa, Oklahoma 26.2% 42.8% 56.1% Redding, California 26.2% 42.1% 59.5% Kansas City, Kansas 26.2% 44.2% 57.2% Glendale, Arizona 26.2% 43.9% 60.5% Visalia, California 26.2% 46.9% 65.3% Lancaster, California 26.1% 46.4% 65.4% Stockton, California 26.1% 45.3% 64.8% Mobile, Alabama 26.0% 41.7% 59.3% Phoenix, Arizona 26.0% 43.6% 58.1% Ogden, Utah 25.9% 44.0% 58.5% Dallas, Texas 25.7% 42.6% 55.6% St. Joseph, Missouri 25.7% 42.2% 55.4% Racine, Wisconsin 25.6% 45.1% 59.1% El Cajon, California 25.6% 44.3% 60.8% Inglewood, California 25.6% 42.5% 59.4% Lafayette, Louisiana 25.6% 42.8% 55.1% Elizabeth, New Jersey 25.4% 43.3% 57.0% Boulder, Colorado 25.4% 37.4% 50.1% Brockton, Massachusetts 25.3% 42.1% 55.3% Westland, Michigan 25.3% 38.1% 56.2% Albuquerque, New Mexico 25.3% 41.6% 58.1% Victorville, California 25.2% 48.8% 68.6% Fort Myers, Florida 25.2% 38.6% 57.0% Topeka, Kansas 25.2% 42.7% 57.5% East Los Angeles, California 25.2% 43.2% 61.2% Huntsville, Alabama 25.2% 39.7% 56.4% Waukegan, Illinois 25.2% 43.7% 56.5% Santa Maria, California 25.1% 47.4% 59.7% Gastonia, North Carolina 25.1% 41.7% 58.3% Perris, California 25.1% 46.6% 63.7% Bryan, Texas 25.1% 42.0% 55.2% Compton, California 24.9% 45.0% 63.2% Bridgeport, Connecticut 24.9% 41.0% 57.0% Tampa, Florida 24.9% 40.2% 55.8% Chicago, Illinois 24.8% 39.6% 55.3% Largo, Florida 24.7% 38.3% 55.4% Berkeley, California 24.7% 37.2% 51.0% Indianapolis, Indiana 24.7% 41.7% 56.1% Hawthorne, California 24.7% 41.7% 56.3% Sacramento, California 24.7% 42.1% 59.4% Fort Lauderdale, Florida 24.7% 38.3% 54.1% Norfolk, Virginia 24.7% 40.3% 60.1% St. Paul, Minnesota 24.7% 41.2% 54.3% Los Angeles, California 24.6% 39.8% 55.1% Yonkers, New York 24.6% 40.0% 55.6% Hollywood, Florida 24.6% 39.3% 54.9% Poinciana, Florida 24.6% 41.8% 65.3% Melbourne, Florida 24.5% 38.6% 57.7% Peoria, Illinois 24.5% 43.9% 60.6% Houston, Texas 24.5% 41.4% 55.4% New York, New York 24.5% 39.5% 55.6% Lowell, Massachusetts 24.3% 40.9% 56.7% Salinas, California 24.2% 45.0% 60.5% Columbus, Ohio 24.2% 40.0% 52.4% Westminster, California 24.1% 38.2% 55.3% Spokane, Washington 24.0% 40.5% 59.3% Longview, Texas 23.9% 43.2% 58.3% Santa Ana, California 23.9% 43.9% 58.8% Boston, Massachusetts 23.9% 36.3% 48.9% St. George, Utah 23.9% 43.1% 62.7% Little Rock, Arkansas 23.9% 40.8% 55.4% Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky 23.8% 39.7% 52.8% Jersey City, New Jersey 23.8% 38.5% 53.3% Duluth, Minnesota 23.8% 39.2% 51.5% Fayetteville, North Carolina 23.6% 41.5% 65.3% Spring Hill, Florida 23.6% 38.1% 64.9% St. Petersburg, Florida 23.5% 37.1% 54.3% Town 'n' Country, Florida 23.5% 37.2% 53.0% Oakland, California 23.5% 37.8% 53.1% Warner Robins, Georgia 23.5% 44.7% 60.4% Tempe, Arizona 23.5% 37.2% 50.2% West Palm Beach, Florida 23.5% 36.4% 55.4% Mesa, Arizona 23.5% 41.2% 56.7% Portsmouth, Virginia 23.4% 40.2% 60.5% Lynn, Massachusetts 23.3% 40.2% 53.5% Asheville, North Carolina 23.3% 36.8% 51.2% Corpus Christi, Texas 23.2% 41.0% 56.7% Salt Lake City, Utah 23.2% 38.1% 50.9% Paradise, Nevada 23.2% 38.1% 56.3% Jonesboro, Arkansas 23.1% 41.4% 56.5% Kennewick, Washington 23.1% 44.8% 58.8% El Paso, Texas 23.0% 42.9% 61.1% Davenport, Iowa 23.0% 42.1% 56.6% Spokane Valley, Washington 23.0% 40.2% 59.5% San Angelo, Texas 22.9% 41.3% 59.0% North Charleston, South Carolina 22.9% 41.7% 57.1% Palm Bay, Florida 22.9% 40.3% 61.8% Baldwin Park, California 22.7% 40.0% 58.6% Gresham, Oregon 22.7% 40.5% 55.2% Long Beach, California 22.7% 39.6% 55.9% Buena Park, California 22.7% 40.7% 59.4% Beaumont, Texas 22.7% 43.6% 59.5% Vista, California 22.6% 42.2% 56.1% Green Bay, Wisconsin 22.5% 41.5% 53.6% Minneapolis, Minnesota 22.4% 37.0% 47.2% Orlando, Florida 22.4% 36.8% 50.5% Garden Grove, California 22.3% 38.5% 55.8% Kansas City, Missouri 22.3% 39.5% 53.2% Cicero, Illinois 22.3% 43.4% 59.1% Clearwater, Florida 22.2% 35.5% 55.0% Madison, Wisconsin 22.1% 36.9% 47.8% Salem, Oregon 22.1% 41.1% 57.4% Menifee, California 22.1% 44.1% 65.1% Fort Wayne, Indiana 22.0% 41.5% 55.8% San Antonio, Texas 22.0% 40.6% 57.7% Kenosha, Wisconsin 22.0% 41.1% 55.9% Deltona, Florida 21.9% 38.9% 59.3% Louisville/Jefferson County metro government, Kentucky 21.9% 39.3% 55.1% Durham, North Carolina 21.9% 38.1% 51.4% Cape Coral, Florida 21.9% 38.2% 59.3% Reno, Nevada 21.9% 39.0% 54.5% Richmond, California 21.8% 37.7% 56.0% Palmdale, California 21.7% 43.9% 64.9% Indio, California 21.7% 43.2% 60.4% Greensboro, North Carolina 21.7% 38.7% 54.8% Wichita, Kansas 21.6% 40.7% 55.2% Nampa, Idaho 21.5% 46.9% 60.9% Springdale, Arkansas 21.5% 42.5% 58.5% Newport News, Virginia 21.5% 39.1% 57.5% Pomona, California 21.5% 41.3% 60.4% Norman, Oklahoma 21.4% 38.4% 52.4% Fort Collins, Colorado 21.3% 38.0% 50.5% Des Moines, Iowa 21.3% 39.1% 51.7% Omaha, Nebraska 21.3% 40.1% 52.4% Palm Coast, Florida 21.3% 36.6% 64.4% Washington, District of Columbia 21.3% 34.8% 48.3% Pasadena, California 21.3% 36.6% 51.2% Las Vegas, Nevada 21.3% 39.8% 58.2% Santa Barbara, California 21.3% 34.6% 46.5% Greeley, Colorado 21.2% 44.3% 59.0% Denton, Texas 21.1% 39.0% 53.0% Oxnard, California 21.1% 41.9% 57.8% Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government, Tennessee 21.1% 36.7% 49.7% Miami Beach, Florida 21.1% 33.0% 45.8% Amarillo, Texas 21.0% 42.4% 54.7% Upland, California 21.0% 36.2% 55.2% Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 21.0% 40.7% 55.1% Tacoma, Washington 21.0% 37.3% 56.6% Jacksonville, Florida 20.9% 38.2% 55.5% Deerfield Beach, Florida 20.9% 34.1% 50.1% Hampton, Virginia 20.8% 37.0% 57.5% Sioux City, Iowa 20.8% 41.4% 52.9% Alhambra, California 20.7% 34.3% 53.4% Manteca, California 20.6% 42.1% 64.4% Abilene, Texas 20.5% 40.8% 57.3% Scottsdale, Arizona 20.4% 32.8% 51.1% Oceanside, California 20.3% 37.0% 55.9% Escondido, California 20.3% 38.0% 55.5% Baytown, Texas 20.3% 39.3% 56.8% Jurupa Valley, California 20.3% 38.5% 60.4% Bakersfield, California 20.3% 42.3% 59.5% Urban Honolulu, Hawaii 20.2% 34.5% 50.1% San Diego, California 20.1% 36.7% 53.8% Santa Fe, New Mexico 20.1% 37.1% 53.7% Mesquite, Texas 20.0% 41.2% 56.9% Tustin, California 20.0% 38.8% 52.8% South Gate, California 20.0% 40.5% 59.1% Arlington, Texas 20.0% 39.9% 53.7% Vallejo, California 20.0% 36.4% 58.2% Lawton, Oklahoma 20.0% 40.6% 59.2% Port St. Lucie, Florida 19.9% 38.3% 61.0% Ontario, California 19.9% 41.4% 57.0% Danbury, Connecticut 19.9% 34.8% 50.1% Everett, Washington 19.8% 36.4% 52.6% Portland, Oregon 19.8% 35.1% 50.0% Spring Valley, Nevada 19.7% 36.0% 51.6% Bend, Oregon 19.7% 38.1% 54.5% Riverside, California 19.7% 38.1% 56.6% Lincoln, Nebraska 19.7% 39.6% 50.1% Bellflower, California 19.7% 42.3% 61.0% Fort Worth, Texas 19.6% 41.6% 55.6% Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 19.6% 35.9% 52.1% Orem, Utah 19.5% 42.8% 58.3% Cedar Rapids, Iowa 19.5% 39.3% 49.1% Denver, Colorado 19.4% 35.3% 48.4% Boca Raton, Florida 19.4% 34.0% 51.3% Pasadena, Texas 19.3% 42.6% 60.2% Santa Rosa, California 19.3% 36.7% 52.7% Fontana, California 19.2% 42.5% 59.6% Rapid City, South Dakota 19.2% 38.3% 52.7% Charlotte, North Carolina 19.2% 37.9% 51.9% Raleigh, North Carolina 19.2% 36.9% 49.8% Avondale, Arizona 19.1% 43.4% 57.5% Glendale, California 19.1% 33.6% 53.8% Southfield, Michigan 19.1% 36.9% 55.1% Metairie, Louisiana 19.1% 33.8% 49.6% Appleton, Wisconsin 19.0% 38.4% 52.3% Manchester, New Hampshire 19.0% 35.2% 48.1% Vancouver, Washington 18.9% 38.7% 54.9% Murfreesboro, Tennessee 18.9% 38.0% 53.1% North Las Vegas, Nevada 18.9% 40.2% 59.7% Evanston, Illinois 18.9% 37.7% 51.0% Rialto, California 18.9% 38.6% 60.6% Anaheim, California 18.8% 37.9% 53.3% Longmont, Colorado 18.7% 38.5% 53.7% San Marcos, California 18.7% 40.7% 56.8% New Rochelle, New York 18.7% 37.4% 52.1% Suffolk, Virginia 18.6% 37.9% 55.9% Sioux Falls, South Dakota 18.6% 38.2% 48.2% Citrus Heights, California 18.6% 36.7% 57.4% Fullerton, California 18.5% 36.6% 53.3% Beaverton, Oregon 18.4% 35.8% 50.9% Quincy, Massachusetts 18.4% 32.1% 45.8% Silver Spring, Maryland 18.3% 36.5% 47.8% Cheektowaga, New York 18.3% 34.1% 50.6% Burbank, California 18.3% 37.6% 54.2% Irvine, California 18.2% 37.0% 53.8% Fargo, North Dakota 18.1% 36.7% 46.1% Sterling Heights, Michigan 18.1% 33.8% 53.9% Moreno Valley, California 18.0% 40.6% 59.7% West Valley City, Utah 17.9% 41.2% 53.5% Wyoming, Michigan 17.8% 39.7% 53.2% San Francisco, California 17.8% 29.8% 44.0% Meridian, Idaho 17.6% 43.2% 61.0% Brandon, Florida 17.5% 34.7% 52.4% Garland, Texas 17.4% 38.0% 52.6% Sunrise, Florida 17.4% 35.7% 52.1% Joliet, Illinois 17.4% 40.9% 54.0% Cambridge, Massachusetts 17.4% 27.9% 39.2% Clarksville, Tennessee 17.3% 38.6% 63.0% Boise City, Idaho 17.2% 37.5% 52.1% Rochester, Minnesota 17.1% 38.1% 50.6% Orange, California 17.1% 35.3% 52.2% Austin, Texas 17.1% 34.0% 46.3% Colorado Springs, Colorado 17.1% 36.8% 55.1% Bloomington, Minnesota 17.0% 33.7% 46.4% Cranston, Rhode Island 17.0% 35.7% 51.4% Federal Way, Washington 16.9% 36.3% 53.0% Costa Mesa, California 16.9% 34.4% 47.2% Irving, Texas 16.8% 37.8% 51.0% Killeen, Texas 16.8% 41.5% 67.6% Plantation, Florida 16.7% 35.4% 49.5% Nashua, New Hampshire 16.7% 35.4% 47.9% Parma, Ohio 16.7% 32.4% 49.0% Antioch, California 16.6% 38.7% 58.1% Daly City, California 16.6% 30.6% 47.7% San Leandro, California 16.6% 32.4% 49.2% Bloomington, Illinois 16.6% 36.9% 50.9% Sparks, Nevada 16.5% 37.8% 55.8% Aurora, Illinois 16.5% 41.1% 52.8% Murrieta, California 16.4% 39.9% 60.2% Charleston, South Carolina 16.3% 31.1% 46.9% Norwalk, Connecticut 16.3% 31.3% 46.0% San Buenaventura (Ventura), California 16.3% 35.8% 54.7% Napa, California 16.3% 36.7% 50.4% Concord, North Carolina 16.3% 40.2% 54.7% Farmington Hills, Michigan 16.2% 35.5% 53.0% Newport Beach, California 16.2% 33.7% 53.8% Concord, California 16.1% 33.7% 51.1% Kent, Washington 16.0% 36.4% 52.0% Clifton, New Jersey 15.9% 34.1% 52.8% Chino, California 15.9% 37.3% 54.0% Seattle, Washington 15.9% 29.3% 42.1% Huntington Beach, California 15.9% 33.6% 51.3% Fairfield, California 15.9% 37.5% 58.1% Davie, Florida 15.9% 31.4% 44.2% Aurora, Colorado 15.8% 37.1% 51.4% Grand Prairie, Texas 15.7% 37.4% 51.7% Clovis, California 15.7% 36.5% 56.2% Carson, California 15.6% 32.3% 53.3% Hillsboro, Oregon 15.6% 35.7% 53.1% Torrance, California 15.4% 33.9% 52.3% Renton, Washington 15.4% 37.2% 51.5% Surprise, Arizona 15.4% 40.6% 61.6% Elgin, Illinois 15.4% 38.1% 53.6% Chula Vista, California 15.2% 37.4% 56.7% Roseville, California 15.2% 36.4% 55.3% Norwalk, California 15.1% 34.1% 55.5% Billings, Montana 15.1% 34.8% 48.1% Lakewood, Colorado 15.1% 32.1% 46.3% Vacaville, California 15.1% 35.8% 56.0% Henderson, Nevada 15.1% 33.5% 54.3% Odessa, Texas 15.0% 40.1% 54.0% Hayward, California 14.8% 34.2% 52.8% Whittier, California 14.6% 32.9% 52.1% Miramar, Florida 14.6% 35.7% 52.5% Arvada, Colorado 14.6% 33.5% 48.0% Carrollton, Texas 14.5% 34.7% 49.3% Chesapeake, Virginia 14.5% 34.9% 55.0% Corona, California 14.5% 36.0% 53.4% Somerville, Massachusetts 14.4% 22.3% 33.8% Loveland, Colorado 14.3% 36.7% 54.7% Sandy Springs, Georgia 14.2% 34.3% 48.6% Santa Monica, California 14.2% 28.3% 44.1% Redwood City, California 14.2% 33.3% 49.6% Coral Springs, Florida 14.1% 36.4% 53.0% Lake Forest, California 14.1% 33.3% 47.3% West Covina, California 14.0% 32.8% 52.3% Auburn, Washington 14.0% 32.6% 51.2% Stamford, Connecticut 13.9% 33.6% 46.7% San Jose, California 13.8% 34.5% 51.6% Richardson, Texas 13.8% 34.8% 51.7% Edmond, Oklahoma 13.8% 37.1% 53.1% Livonia, Michigan 13.7% 30.9% 48.7% San Tan Valley, Arizona 13.6% 42.8% 60.3% Arlington Heights, Illinois 13.6% 32.8% 48.6% Downey, California 13.5% 32.2% 51.6% Bellevue, Washington 13.2% 32.3% 48.9% Alameda, California 13.2% 31.1% 50.2% Westminster, Colorado 13.2% 30.6% 48.0% Rio Rancho, New Mexico 13.1% 36.1% 56.6% Peoria, Arizona 13.1% 36.9% 55.2% Toms River, New Jersey 13.1% 34.8% 52.5% Goodyear, Arizona 12.9% 34.9% 55.2% Alafaya, Florida 12.9% 33.5% 50.4% Virginia Beach, Virginia 12.8% 33.0% 53.2% Santa Clarita, California 12.8% 34.1% 51.0% Pembroke Pines, Florida 12.7% 32.2% 48.7% Sunnyvale, California 12.6% 32.9% 49.0% Chandler, Arizona 12.6% 34.9% 49.7% Rancho Cucamonga, California 12.6% 34.0% 53.2% Lewisville, Texas 12.6% 34.8% 47.9% Plano, Texas 12.5% 32.6% 48.3% Kendall, Florida 12.5% 28.2% 45.8% Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 12.4% 36.1% 49.8% San Mateo, California 12.3% 31.8% 46.5% Elk Grove, California 12.3% 36.2% 54.2% Layton, Utah 12.2% 39.3% 53.9% Milpitas, California 12.1% 33.6% 52.5% Roswell, Georgia 12.1% 34.1% 46.8% Mission Viejo, California 12.0% 29.0% 48.8% Riverview, Florida 12.0% 38.2% 54.9% Alexandria, Virginia 11.9% 27.7% 41.6% Carlsbad, California 11.9% 33.0% 50.9% Rochester Hills, Michigan 11.7% 34.1% 53.4% Schaumburg, Illinois 11.6% 33.0% 47.0% Tracy, California 11.6% 34.0% 51.8% Warwick, Rhode Island 11.6% 29.1% 46.6% Thornton, Colorado 11.5% 36.3% 49.6% Anchorage, Alaska 11.5% 33.0% 50.3% Santa Clara, California 11.4% 30.2% 45.5% Troy, Michigan 11.3% 32.8% 52.2% Newton, Massachusetts 11.3% 34.0% 48.8% Columbia, Maryland 11.2% 33.5% 48.4% Lee's Summit, Missouri 11.1% 36.9% 50.4% Overland Park, Kansas 11.1% 32.8% 47.4% Midland, Texas 11.0% 35.7% 48.8% Plymouth, Minnesota 10.9% 33.6% 45.7% Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 10.9% 35.9% 48.9% Round Rock, Texas 10.9% 34.0% 47.8% Hoover, Alabama 10.8% 35.4% 48.7% Enterprise, Nevada 10.8% 31.4% 45.9% League City, Texas 10.8% 31.3% 48.1% Kirkland, Washington 10.8% 27.7% 46.1% Lakewood, California 10.7% 31.2% 52.9% West Jordan, Utah 10.5% 38.0% 51.1% Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 10.4% 35.1% 51.0% Thousand Oaks, California 10.3% 32.1% 50.9% Arlington, Virginia 10.1% 26.7% 38.3% Union City, California 9.9% 27.9% 50.4% Fremont, California 9.8% 31.4% 50.5% Sandy, Utah 9.8% 35.8% 51.2% The Woodlands, Texas 9.7% 37.8% 56.9% Centennial, Colorado 9.7% 31.4% 46.5% Carmel, Indiana 9.5% 34.7% 48.0% Temecula, California 9.5% 35.3% 55.8% San Ramon, California 9.4% 38.1% 54.7% Livermore, California 9.4% 32.7% 47.1% Simi Valley, California 9.3% 30.7% 48.8% Atascocita, Texas 9.3% 35.4% 53.5% Sugar Land, Texas 9.3% 29.9% 49.2% Naperville, Illinois 9.2% 33.6% 49.8% Pleasanton, California 9.2% 34.6% 52.0% Olathe, Kansas 9.0% 36.7% 49.3% McKinney, Texas 8.9% 37.0% 53.1% Folsom, California 8.9% 32.0% 50.6% Highlands Ranch, Colorado 8.5% 35.9% 48.3% Germantown, Maryland 8.5% 32.2% 47.1% Cary, North Carolina 8.3% 31.3% 47.0% Chino Hills, California 8.2% 28.8% 49.0% Gilbert, Arizona 8.2% 36.6% 51.2% O'Fallon, Missouri 7.6% 34.4% 46.0% Johns Creek, Georgia 7.5% 33.7% 53.2% Mountain View, California 7.5% 28.7% 41.3% Waldorf, Maryland 7.1% 32.9% 47.7% Fishers, Indiana 6.4% 38.3% 48.1% Allen, Texas 6.3% 33.7% 48.4% Pearland, Texas 5.5% 32.8% 46.0% Frisco, Texas 5.1% 36.8% 51.6%

Data notes

Demographic data can say a lot about who lives in a city. It can also be an indicator of that city's finances.Generally speaking, if a city has a high number of residents who consume more public resources than they contribute to the tax base, there will more likely be potential problems for that city's fiscal outlook.New 2015 estimates from the Census Bureaus American Community Survey published Thursday provide an updated demographic snapshot for localities. Weve compiled data on a few key measures -- poverty, aging populations and employment status -- for the 500 largest cities, showing places facing steeper demographic hurdles.High poverty rates, high unemployment and older populations can stretch a city's services thin. While state and federal programs provide a lot of support, localities inevitably are burdened with additional costs.In fact, some research suggests there's a tipping point when it comes to these measures. The more services a city needs to provide, the more tax revenue it must raise from residents. If the proportion of a city's residents who are either elderly or living in poverty gets high enough, it could cause middle-class residents to move away.Robert Inman, a University of Pennsylvania professor, has conducted research exploring how bad demographics act as a risk factor for cities. Hes devised a figure -- 35 percent of a citys population being either elderly or living in poverty -- that, if exceeded, could signal significant fiscal problems. Its based on the assumption that at this level, middle-income residents will pay roughly 20 percent higher taxes for the same services as they would in nearby jurisdictions, leading them to consider moving out of the city.Cities are going to feel this kind of demographic pressure on their budgets, said Inman. But good economies and good policies can overcome the demographic disadvantage.In Flint, Mich., the latest Census estimates suggest that people either living in poverty or age 75 and up account for a staggering 45 percent of the total population -- the highest share in the country. Estimates for Detroit and Cleveland arent too far behind.Of the nations 500 largest localities, 22 exceeded the 35-percent population threshold in 2015. Nationally, about 20 percent of Americans were living in poverty or at least 75 years old.Within some regions, stark demographic divides exist.Consider Camden, N.J., where 43 percent of residents live in poverty or are elderly, compared to about 18 percent for the rest of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area.Factoring both poverty rates and employment serves as an alternative measure. The cities where more residents are either unemployed or hold jobs and earn less than the poverty rate mostly mirrors Inmans metric. On average, about 55 percent of cities' total population -- including children and those of retirement age -- fall into this group.GoverningEconomically depressed cities, along with a few college towns, are characterized by exceptionally steep demographic hurdles. By contrast, the elderly and poor make up less than a tenth of the population in 30 other jurisdictions reviewed. Places where large portions of the population are both employed and earn more than the federal poverty rate include Somerville, Mass.; Arlington, Va.; and Cambridge, Mass.But poor demographics don't necessarily spell doom for a local governments tax base. For one, strong economies help overcome demographic disadvantages in many cities.Cities can also prosper under more-favorable revenue structures or those that incorporate greater revenue sharing with the state or other local jurisdictions. Inman contends that efforts like regional funding for poverty obligations or increased state aid can help overcome cities demographic woes.This burden should not fall entirely on the budgets of the cities, he said.Revenue sharing takes many different forms. Allegheny County, Pa., provides poverty services for Pittsburgh and other localities within the county, for example. Inman also cited the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., region, which shares a portion of new commercial property tax revenue among its local governments.By and large, though, such polices remain relatively rare. Given the political realities involved with convincing voters in better-off suburbs to share their taxpayer dollars with larger cities, thats unlikely to change anytime soon.Percentages for the first measure represent each jurisdictions share of the total population (for whom the poverty status was determined) living in poverty plus the share of residents age 75 and over not living in poverty. The alternative measure represents the total population share (for whom the poverty status was determined) not employed or not reporting income in the past 12 months at or above the poverty level. Data are one-year estimates with larger margins of error for smaller jurisdictions. Estimates are shown for the 500 most populous Census-designated places.
(TNS) -- Westmoreland County, Pa., needs a coordinator to create a hub to match employers with students so they can acquire on-the-job training to help them pursue a successful career, a workforce development leader said Wednesday.It's most critical for students and employers. It will give our students a chance for a clear path to the future where they are more likely to invest their time, energy and resources into it, said Franklin Regional Superintendent Gennaro Jamie Piraino, the new chairman of the Westmoreland County Forum for Workforce Development.That organization consists of 41 members, including business leaders, all 17 of the county's public school superintendents and administrators from the three career and technology centers.Piraino told more than 180 educators and business leaders at the forum's annual program at the Greensburg Country Club in Hempfield that a coordinator could set common standards for students seeking internships, externships and apprenticeships. Those common standards will be beneficial to students as well as the employers, Piraino said.The workforce development forum has been working with the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce to create the position and pursue funding opportunities with foundations and other sources, Piraino said.We need to have the conduit between the schools, the post-secondary institutions and the business community, said Chad Amond, president of the Westmoreland Chamber.The workforce development forum was launched in June 2014 under the auspices of the Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland to position students for college and career paths by building public-private partnerships to address what business and educators have called the skills gap.Our goal is to bring the business, industry and educators together ... to align our curriculum to what business and industry is looking for to make sure students are prepared for those jobs that are changing so quickly, Hempfield Area Superintendent Barbara Marin said.It's important to put a strong focus on creating career pathways for students as early as middle school, Marin said. By having students prepared for careers and with the skills needed by employers, it will make sure this is where companies want to locate.These (workforce) challenges can't be solved in a silo. The crisis can't be solved by one single institution, Amond said.While praising the efforts of the public-private partnership that is attempting to create a workforce to match employers' needs in Westmoreland County, state Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera said the state must invest in career pathways for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as in post-secondary education.There is no one strategy that supports all our children, said Rivera, who was superintendent of the Lancaster School District before becoming the state's education secretary in June 2015. By using multiple pathways to success, we can excite our education system, Rivera said.Rather than focusing all the educational resources on improving that one test score. it would be better to take the system back to focusing on what is best for the students, Rivers said.Norwin Superintendent William Kerr, the former workforce development forum chairman, said college students need career pathways. Many graduate with high debt, but without the skills for gainful and meaningful employment.Kerr said he sees a need for what he called gold-collar workers, referring to students with sophisticated technological skills, strong academic skills and a commitment to personal excellence.Technical education and career readiness are central to economic growth, Kerr said. That's a winning combination.2016 Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) -- Self-driving cars could be on the streets of Boston in a matter of months now that the city has inked a deal with the World Economic Forum to test autonomous vehicles and develop policies for the groundbreaking technology.If this technology is going to yield benefits for the consumer, we want to make sure it works in the city of Boston, said Chris Osgood, the citys chief of streets. We want to make sure were doing our due diligence and understanding what the implications are. How do we set up the right policies and take the right approach to this so its going to have the biggest net benefit?The partnership with the Switzerland-based WEF, which will be formally announced today, will lead to a yearlong collaboration aimed at studying and implementing tests and policies for self-driving cars. That includes putting autonomous vehicles on the streets of Boston soon, the city said.We are definitely looking at doing testing in the city of Boston sometime by the end of the year, said Kris Carter, co-chairman of the Mayors Office of New Urban Mechanics, City Halls experimental division. Weve been talking with a large number of partners.Although details for a pilot program are still up in the air  including where, how long and how many cars  Carter said the city and WEF have already been talking to a variety of self-driving car companies.Carter declined to name the companies, but did say the city will look to tap into the wealth of talent at local universities, area startups and work with car giants that have set up research labs here  including Toyota and Audi.Massachusetts has also launched its own initiative to develop self-driving car policies that includes the possible development of a testing facility at Devens, the former U.S. Army base.Karl Iagnemma, chief executive of Cambridge-based nuTonomy, which launched a self-driving taxi pilot program in Singapore last month, said Bostons fickle weather, complex streets and infamous drivers will make the city an ideal place to test out self-driving cars.Were definitely interested, Iagnemma said. It offers the entire range of driving difficulty and complexity, from easy driving environments to really the most complex driving environments.Prior to moving ahead with the tests, city officials will host a series of focus groups to talk about autonomous technology and find out what residents are comfortable with.In a statement, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Boston is focused on the future of our city and how we safely move people around while providing them reliable mobility choices.
Carbon trading schemes are, in a word, controversial. New Jersey is fighting to exit from a regional carbon market in the northeastern U.S., and California is fighting against businesses who want to declare that states efforts an illegal tax. Elected officials worry about their potential to raise costs for consumers, while experts hem and haw over exactly how big an impact on greenhouse gas emissions can be fairly attributed to the setups.But they do make a difference, at least at the ground level.As the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative  the carbon market in the northeast, and the first of its kind in the country  celebrates 10 years of existence, the advocacy group Environment America has released a report highlighting a series of case studies showing how funding from the project has led directly to benefits for people in the states involved.As always, the benefits are somewhat complicated to quantify. Cap-and-trade schemes involve high-polluting companies paying for their emissions  so even as those payments go to help low-income families, theres a chance that the carbon pricing leads utilities to raise consumers electricity rates.But there are other benefits too. Cleaner air should mean fewer respiratory health problems. Efficiency upgrades, solar installations and other projects stir up local economic activity.And then theres the money savings inherent in so many carbon-reducing efforts.An example in the report: Two Massachusetts towns, Swampscott and Wenham, managed to cut their power bills more than $100,000 per year by switching old light bulbs with LEDs. Thats a big deal for two small towns  especially Swampscott, where street lighting alone eats up 11.5 percent of the local governments budget.Together, the lighting projects have prevented 294 tons of carbon pollution from entering the atmosphere each year. Thats the same as taking about 62 passenger cars off the road, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Efficiency projects abounded throughout the report. In Maine, an efficiency utility helped a data center cool its equipment using the states frigid outdoor air during the colder months. In New Hampshire, rebates helped a beer brewery buy more efficient equipment in a new facility. In Connecticut, an efficiency fund helped a childrens hospital cut down on its refrigeration and air conditioning costs.These stories showcase how people, businesses and communities can participate in and benefit from work to protect our climate  and provide a glimpse of the future benefits the Northeast region could see under a sustained commitment to cutting dangerous carbon pollution, the report reads.
A restaurateur in Southern California might need as many as 26 licenses and permits before they can start serving food. That means filling out the same information on multiple forms. It means dealing with myriad agencies and government representatives. It means days and days, or even weeks of time spent on regulation.So two Southern California cities  and a whole host of other governments nationwide  are trying to smooth out the process with technology. On Sept. 14, Los Angeles launched an open source business portal based on San Franciscos own website, and at the beginning of October Long Beach plans to officially launch its own Welcome to the age of the business portal. Governments in California, Nevada Ohio and more have all set up places to help guide businesses through the often complex system of commercial regulation that exists at all levels of government.The idea for Los Angeles and Long Beach was to help entrepreneurs through all steps of the process  before, during and after launching their enterprises. They can look for funding opportunities, figure out which forms theyll need from which agencies and then learn how to market and grow after theyve opened their doors.What we heard from businesses when we started down this path is that its often hard for them to even know where to begin, said Amanda Daflos, director of Los Angeles' innovation team.It's a problem that becomes even harder when you add small, technology-enabled businesses into the mix.We need to provide resources now to help them succeed if we want economic growth," said John Keisler, Long Beach's innovation team director. "We cant rely on big employers that hire 10,000 people. There are going to be a lot more smaller employers that cant navigate this process on their own.So both governments began by asking established businesses about their journey through the process. Embracing the concept of user-centered design, both plotted out a map of the steps that entrepreneurs in different areas of business went through en route to success and used that as a guide  as opposed to beginning with what the governments needs were.The goal is that, if theyre better prepared, that they would have a quicker path to approval, Keisler said.Thats one metric the cities can use to see how successful their portals will be. According to Keisler, the average time it took for a business to get final approval to operate in Long Beach in the past year was more than 24 days  though that fluctuated based on the type of business. He wants to watch that drop to 10-12 days.But thats not all. The two cities also will be watching the number of businesses opening up, the number of people using the portal, the places in the process that users take the longest to get through and how long the businesses stay open after starting.There are other benefits. Keisler thinks the portals could help out city staff by shifting the work of warm bodies to a system where users are able to help themselves, giving those employees the ability to focus on other work. It will also mean that users will be able to help themselves 24/7. No more relying on city halls business hours.But as many benefits as Keisler and Daflos see in the portals, they arent quite one-stop shops for entrepreneurs just yet. They can help people navigate the system and build a smarter business, but they face some big obstacles in the way of helping business owners.For example, many business portals rely on showing users what they need to do, as opposed to allowing users to do them in one place. If an entrepreneur needs a permit to serve alcohol, they wont necessarily be able to do it through the business portal. The portal would just tell them where they need to go to get that permit.Some states have achieved a measure of integration in their portals. But its a lot trickier to build such a system than it might seem, Keisler said.One methodology would be to actually build an interface between a single login profile and the back end  permitting database, he said. Were not doing that, because that alone  writing an interface like that, and just creating a nicer user interface on the front that helps people to navigate but then is connected with the database and interacting with that system  that would be another phase of development that would take a lot longer.And many of those databases and back-end systems were built on older, siloed technology that often relies on proprietary code from vendors.[The vendors] own all the code in their database and they dont allow developers to go in and monkey around, he said.So developing a system where a user is able to register with many agencies at once could mean going to each individual agency along the business registration process and integrating their technology. It could take a long time and a lot of resources. Keisler and Daflos both want to explore that idea in the future.But the business portals are a first step.
The growing mobile-only population

Re-evaluating mobile delivery

Mobile delivery of every government service?

Solve constituents pain points

People sometimes feel anxious accessing government services because they dont know what steps to take or which agency oversees the process they need to complete. Mobile delivery can help alleviate such pain points. For example, agencies can work collaboratively to create a single process that allows citizens to complete transactions from their smartphones across multiple levels of government. Create greater citizen engagement

Mobile is an ideal platform for engaging citizens because most people monitor their smartphones throughout the day. In Arkansas, the State Highway and Transportation Department reaches more than 80 percent of drivers in the state thanks to a mobile-optimized site, IDriveArkansas.com. This high level of citizen engagement allows the department to reach citizens at critical times, such as during a winter weather event. Ease the burden of compliance

Government can increase citizen compliance with required tasks, such as paying taxes, through a mobile approach. For example, text notifications are one way government can remind users of deadlines and allow them to complete the required task in the moment using their phones.

A decade ago, renewing a drivers license meant taking hours off work and standing in an interminable line. Registering a new business required calls or visits to several government agencies, filling out lengthy forms and making multiple payments to cover various agencies registration fees.Today, a citizen might complete those tasks while waiting for an elevator or standing in line at the grocery store.The difference? A soaring base of constituents who expect to be able to interact with government day or night, quickly and efficiently, wherever and whenever its convenient for them  using mobile devices.In other words, if government wants to meet its citizens where they are, it should deliver services via mobile.In many states, the perception still exists that mobile devices arent widely used to access government services. Some believe the costs of mobile devices and service plans prevent all but the wealthy from owning them, while others believe limited rural-area connectivity prevents reliable service for too many constituents. In many cases, these beliefs are far from the truth.The number of regions lacking connectivity is dwindling, and smartphone data plans are more affordable than traditional home Internet connections are in many areas.Numerous studies have documented the skyrocketing, nationwide growth of smartphone use. In addition, a 2015 Pew report revealed that nearly 20 percent of Americans access online services using their smartphones either because they dont have Internet access at home or because they have few options for online access apart from their mobile phones. Seven percent of the population relies exclusively on smartphones for online access. Rather than being wealthy, these users tend to be younger, minorities and lower-income households.Because government is established to serve all citizens, it must provide services that are accessible to everyone, including the growing population of mobile-only users. Effectively serving those users  and the millions of others who gravitate toward smartphone use because of its convenience  means more than simply making government forms mobile-ready online. It requires new thinking that focuses on creating a satisfying citizen experience.In one example, Arkansas re-engineered a process for unclaimed property filings, first designing a mobile experience that suited constituents, and then working backward to achieve what state government needed.Claiming unclaimed property required citizens to get notarized verification of ownership. Finding and engaging the services of a notary public, though, turned out to be a barrier that prevented many people from claiming what was rightfully theirs.To ease the claim process for its growing number of mobile users, the state established an identity verification system that no longer required a notarys service. Government decision-makers also recognized that users whose claims originated from mobile devices were unlikely to have access to printers that would allow them to mail in or fax the claim forms, so the revised system allowed citizens to submit their claims via a smartphone.The state also ran ads about unclaimed property during the time people were most likely to conduct searches on their phones  while theyre at home watching TV in the evenings  and adapted the process so it can be completed from start to finish via users mobile devices. These changes boosted total filings for unclaimed property by 134 percent in the first year, with 71 percent of filings originating from mobile devices.Delivery on a mobile device might not work for every government service, but far more services could be provided via mobile than are available today. While certain services may need to remain desktop-based, many other services can become mobile-ready if government leaders are willing to consider providing a slightly different customer experience.For example, lengthy forms might not translate to smaller mobile screens and keypads, but government can review such forms to eliminate duplication or otherwise streamline them. Or, a mapping application might not be able to display an entire map on a mobile screen. However, government could provide a list of key map point options, sorted by distance first, allowing the user to easily secure the needed information. As long as users can achieve the desired outcome, the experience doesnt have to mirror exactly the desktop computer experience.To decide which  or whether all  of its services can or should be delivered via mobile, government leaders should think through three areas:Theres no longer a question about the value of mobile delivery in government. The focus now should shift to how government can leverage mobile devices to create great citizen experiences for a large portion of constituents.
An aedes aegypti mosquito is seen inside Oxitec laboratory in Campinas, Brazil, February 2, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Paulo Whitaker

The woman was reportedly stung by a mosquito in Vietnam prior to traveling to Japan where she was diagnosed with Zika.

Vietnams Health Ministry on Thursday said the female traveler who was diagnosed with the mosquito-borne Zika virus while recently in Japan is not Vietnamese but German.

She has recovered and has come back to work in District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, the ministry said.

Health officials in the district where the woman lives have been directed to apply necessary monitoring and preventive measures.

Japan Times on September 12 quoted Japanese health ministry official Shoji Miyagawa as saying that the woman, who is in her 40s, was stung by a mosquito in Vietnam. She experienced a headache and rashes on her body on September 5 before coming to Japan on September 8.

Because she also suffered from other symptoms, including pain in her joints and pink eye, she visited a hospital on September 9, and a public health center in Tokyo confirmed her infection the following day.

She is the 11th Zika case in Japan since 2013 and the fourth in Vietnam.

From April to early August, Vietnam confirmed three cases of the Zika virus in Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and the central province of Phu Yen.

Zika is primarily spread by mosquitoes but can also be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected person. A case of suspected transmission through a blood transfusion in Brazil has raised questions about other ways it may be spread, according to Reuters.

Related news:

> Vietnam on alert as Zika virus threatens to spread from neighbors

> Southeast Asia needs to up its game to combat Zika: experts
Former Massachusetts CIO Bill Oates caught up withduring the 2016 Massachusetts Digital Government Summit, sharing his perspectives on life after the public sector and where he sees the commonwealth heading from a technology perspective.Now working for Perkins Solutions, a line of business within the Perkins School for the Blind that provides innovative assistive technology products and consulting services, Oates said his roles as CIO of both the state and the city of Boston translate across to his work in the nonprofit sector.At the end of the day, he said, the work being done in the public sector must benefit the constituents, not just the government.
(TNS) -- Facebook has chosen the village of Los Lunas outside of Albuquerque for its new data center after a topsy-turvy contest between Utah and New Mexico to attract the social media giant.The companys decision, announced Wednesday, drew wide praise from New Mexico officials and offered welcome relief in a state that has been dogged by stuttering job growth, high unemployment and gaping budget deficits. The company said it expects to break ground on the sprawling facility, which will be entirely solar powered, within the year.Los Lunas agreed to give up property taxes for 30 years in exchange for annual payments from Facebook starting at $50,000 and going as high as $500,000. The village council in June also approved an ordinance allowing for the issuance of up to $30 billion in industrial revenue bonds to lure the facility to Los Lunas. West Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake City, also offered a generous tax package but did not enjoy the same political backing, at one point even withdrawing from the contest before jumping back in the next day.Gov. Susana Martinez, New Mexicos five-member congressional delegation and state Attorney General Hector Balderas, as well as the Public Service Company of New Mexico, which created an energy proposal to help attract the center, all released statements enthusiastically welcoming the company to New Mexico.The governor said she and her team began courting Facebook more than a year ago during a meeting with company executives in California.When we first sat down with Facebook executives 13 months ago, we werent even on their radar, Martinez said. But we made a strong case and laid out how competitive we have become.Martinez attributed this to her efforts in creating a business-friendly administration by lowering business taxes, creating corporate incentives and developing a closing fund.Balderas called it an exciting opportunity for the state, and the congressional delegation said, Facebook will bring innovative opportunities for our economy and much needed jobs. As a leader in energy development, New Mexico is an ideal fit for the new facility.The proposed $250 million data center is expected to span 850 acres and use at least 30 megawatts of solar and wind power to fuel technology at the site that will come online by 2018, with the potential to expand to 100 megawatts in the coming years. Facebook also has committed to a minimum of 30 full-time workers in Los Lunas, with the potential for thousands more during the construction phase and a promise to source workers and materials locally.In Prineville, Ore., a Facebook data center that broke ground in 2009 has so far cost $450 million and employs 165 full-time workers, but has offered 3,800 temporary jobs over the last seven years, with a gross economic impact of $637 million, according to the companys fiscal impact reports.Tomas Furlong, vice president of infrastructure at Facebook Data Centers, said the company is excited to announce this initial investment and looks forward to future phases of development.In June, the village of Los Lunas approved an ordinance for up to $30 billion in industrial revenue bonds for Facebook subsidiary Greater Kudu LLC to construct a data center campus and related facilities within Los Lunas.And in mid-August, the five-member state Public Regulation Commission unanimously approved PNMs proposal, first pitched in July, to bring the data center to New Mexico. PNM will power the data center, and a subsidiary of the company will build solar arrays and eventually add wind power. Facebook will cover the costs of both investments. PNM also will provide backup power, should renewable energy be insufficient to meet the demands of the center.But while New Mexico officials have been steadfast in their support of the company coming to Los Lunas, other states have been more hesitant about the environmental impacts of a large data center.After initially competing with New Mexico for the Facebook center, Utah officials and residents raised concerns late this summer about the amount of water the center would require to cool its computers and the cost of tax breaks.Facebook hasnt released specific statistics on projected water usage, but the company said it is expected to be far less than the theoretical maximum quoted publicly. And during winter months, it said, New Mexicos cool temperatures and dry weather will mean the data center will consume very little water in comparison to hot, humid days.A 2015 Wall Street Journal article reported that a midsize data center in California running on 15 megawatts (half the initial usage of the Los Lunas data center), relies on 130 million gallons of water annually, according to industry estimates, roughly the same usage as three hospitals or a 100-acre almond orchard. In its first year, the Los Lunas data center could use 700,000 gallons of water each day, and if it reaches its 100-megawatt capacity, that number could spike to 1.4 million gallons daily.The coal-fired San Juan Generating Station, in contrast, uses 7 billion gallons per year, twice the consumption of the city of Santa Fe, while Intel uses approximately 2.5 million gallons daily.Los Lunas Mayor Charles Griego said the numbers cited by The Wall Street Journal sounded about right, but he didnt provide details. He said the company would take water from the villages public wells at the same cost as other users.We have the infrastructure and the ability to deliver, he said. I do not see any negative impacts at all.The village launched a 10-year plan to expand and rebrand Los Lunas in 2013, and water was a central element of that development proposal. The community pumps some 750 million gallons of groundwater a year from its four public wells, serving more than 6,300 taps.Eleanor Bravo, an organizer for Food & Water Watch New Mexico, said she supports development of a clean energy industry, but there are so many unknowns about the Facebook project.We really would like to see what the water use is going to be and what they intend to do with it, she said.Mona Blaber, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, said water use is always a crucial question regarding development in New Mexico.We must ask these questions [about water use] whenever we look at development and take into account whether the benefits of the development are worth the water consumption, she said, adding that renewable energy tends to use less water than conventional industries.But Regina Wheeler, CEO of Positive Energy Solar, said Facebooks model for solar creates a blueprint never before used in the state, allowing an industry to use solar nearly independent from the electric grid. And this could be applied to other industries use of solar in the future.There were huge hurdles before this, she said. It seems like the administration is acknowledging that solar power is important in attracting big  businesses to New Mexico.This is a total game-changer for solar in New Mexico, she added.
There is literally nowhere to put all the cars that are flooding the capital's streets.

Hanoi has about 5.5 million private vehicles, but cars account for a mere 10 percent of them, with motorcycles continuing to rule the road, according to data from Hanois Traffic Police Department.

However, the number of cars is estimated to be rising by 17 percent per year, while the number of motorcycles is only growing at 11 percent.

The rising number of private cars has put pressure on Hanois transport infrastructure, which takes up about 50 percent of the citys total expenditure each year.

The city plans to build 88 parking lots, but only 20 have been completed.

In mid-2015, Hanoi allowed parking on central streets like Ly Thuong Kiet and Tran Hung Dao, as well as other large streets with less traffic like Xa Dan, Tran Dai Nghia and Trung Hoa.

Cars are allowed to park along two sides of many central streets, narrowing the roads used by other vehicles.

Owners leave their cars on Ngo Thi Nham Street no-parking signs in Hang Bai Ward.

A no-parking sign in front of a store on Ngo Van So Street.

To reduce traffic congestion caused by narrow roads, the Department of Transport is working on a plan for cars to stop on one side of streets instead of both sides.

The scheme will be piloted on Da Tuong Street and small streets like Tran Quoc Toan and Nguyen Gia Thieu.

The Hanoi Transport & Services Corporation has constructed multi-story car garages to reduce the number of private cars parking on the street.

Chairman of Hanois People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said the city will build five more underground parking lots to cater for the rising number of cars. The city has hired Japanese experts to set up these parking zones.

Related news:

> Radical proposal to limit Hanoi's motorcycle traffic

> Traffic jams cost Ho Chi Minh City $820 million each year
Sebastian Vettel on Thursday did not deny rumours linking Mercedes chief Paddy Lowe with a move to Ferrari.

It is not the only rumour swirling in the Singapore paddock.

Another is that Mercedes is using an innovation that mimics active suspension that cannot be outlawed by the FIA until 2018.

"To what extent it is on the edge of legality or not, I cannot judge," Vettel is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

"But for sure if you have something, you want to exploit it for as long as possible. We also have some clever things on the car," the German added.

As for the rumours linking Mercedes' technical chief with a move to Maranello, Vettel answered: "When someone of his calibre is available, of course you have to think about it.

"But to my knowledge he is not available," he added.

Finally, Vettel was asked about F1's takeover by Liberty Media, and he said: "I think they will not have much influence on the cars.

"But if they do, I would like twice as many cylinders and less complicated electronics. And maybe air conditioning -- we could really use it here in Singapore," Vettel joked.

(GMM)
The cause of his death remains unknown.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City are looking into the death of an Australian man whose body was found inside an apartment on Ky Con Street in District 1, the Phap luat Plus news site reported on Thursday.

On September 14, employees of the block decided to break down the door of the mans apartment on the 12th floor after reports of a strange smell coming from the apartment. Inside they found the dead man and immediately reported it to local police.

The building in Ho Chi Minh City where the Australian man was found dead. Photo from Phapluatplus.vn

Initial investigations found that the Australian had entered Vietnam on a tourist visa on September 6 and rented the apartment by himself.

Related news:

> Vietnam court upholds death sentence against Vietnamese-Australian drug dealer
Frozen pangolins are seen at a wild animal rescue center in Hanoi, Vietnam September 9, 2016. Picture taken on September 9, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Kham

More than 2,600 pangolins had been seized in Vietnam over the last three years.

Environmentalists have urged governments attending a global wildlife conference in South Africa this month to impose maximum restrictions on the trade of endangered pangolins, a scaly mammal that is the inspiration for two Pokemon characters.

The long-snouted, nocturnal pangolin, the size of a small dog and found in Africa and Southeast Asia, is the world's most illegally trafficked mammal, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

Vietnam is at the center of the trade, said Bui Thi Ha, the deputy director Of Education For Nature Vietnam, an organization that works to reduce consumer demand for wildlife products.

She said more than 2,600 pangolins had been seized in Vietnam over the last three years, along with more than 30 tons of frozen meat and scales.

"Vietnam is both a transit point for pangolin trafficking, as well as a large consumer market. The destination for most of the pangolins is China, but the demand for them is on the rise, especially in the big cities," she told Reuters.

It is unclear how many pangolins are left in the wild.

A woman holds the scales of a pangolin at a traditional medicine shop in Hanoi, Vietnam September 13, 2016. Picture taken on September 13, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Kham

A pangolin climbs on a tree at a wild animal rescue center in Cuc Phuong, outside Hanoi, Vietnam September 12, 2016. Picture taken on September 12, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

A pangolin is seen at a wild animal rescue center in Hanoi, Vietnam September 9, 2016. Picture taken on September 9, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

A man holds a pangolin at a wild animal rescue center in Cuc Phuong, outside Hanoi, Vietnam September 12, 2016. Picture taken on September 12, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Kham

Employees weigh a pangolin before its release to the forest at a wild animal rescue center in Hanoi, Vietnam September 9, 2016. Picture taken on September 9, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

ENV said pangolins are shipped from Africa to meet demand in Asia, where products made from pangolins are prized for their supposed medicinal value and have led to local numbers falling.

The pangolin trade is already limited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Environmentalists are pressing CITES to increase the trade restrictions to "only in exceptional circumstances" - the highest level of protection.

CITES, an agreement among 183 governments to ensure trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival, will consider the request at the September 24 - October 5 meeting in South Africa.

Don't catch them all, warn Pangolin protectionists The plight of the pangolin

Related news:

> Australia blocks Vietnam slaughterhouses for animal cruelty

> Tigers seized from Thai temple
Why So Hurry On Swiss Challenge?

The Chandrababu Naidu government's unusual hurry in getting the controversial Swiss Challenge method implemented for the construction of core capital city of Amaravati has once again met with legal hurdles.

The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday rejected a lunch motion petition hurriedly filed by the AP government challenging the order given by the single judge bench of the court earlier giving stay on the Swiss Challenge method. Since Wednesday was the last day to receive bids for the challenge, the Naidu government had to move the lunch motion.

The High Court division bench said it would look into the petition on Thursday and adjourned the next hearing on Swiss Challenge model to October 31.

The Hyderabad High Court rejected a house motion petition by the AP government on Tuesday as well. The AP Government is exploring ways to tap Supreme Court in this regard.

With the stay order coming into force, all the activity in Amaravati capital city construction has been halted.

Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) on August 18 issued a tender notification inviting competitive bids based on the proposals by Singapore consortium was also halted by the High Court.

The AP Government has not even announced the revenue details in the bidding process. Amending previous notification, the AP Government on August 28 issues another draft and this was also considered to be null and void.
70,000 households lose access to water again after the Da River pipeline burst yesterday.

The Da River pipeline burst yesterday, flooding the surrounding area for the 19th time since it was opened, according to a statement made by Vinconex, the project's investor.

The rupture forced the company to cut water to 70,000 households. The company claimed that the rupture and subsequent repairs all took place in a single evening.

The pipe has burst 19 times since it came online in 2009 leading to the loss of an estimated 1.5 million cubic meters of water.

An affected resident named Hanh told VnExpress: The pipeline has broken so many times that my family has bought five 20-liter plastic cans to fetch water from elsewhere. The company never notifies us so some households have burned out their electric pumps trying to draw water from empty tanks.

Massive ruptures on the brittle pipeline have been attributed to substandard pipes Vinaconex purchased from a Chinese contractor.

A police investigation revealed that 13 Vinaconex executives had violated construction and investment regulations. Criminal charges were later dropped against five of the company's executives since they were first-time offenders with good personal records. The rest are awaiting trial.

The Da River water pipeline project was launched in 2004 and divided into two phases. The first phase of the project supplies 300,000 cubic meters of water to the capital every day.

The second phase kicked off last October and was supposed to double the total capacity to 600,000 cubic meters.

Related news:

> Court overrules Hanois decision to drop charges in water pipeline scandal

> Chinese firm kicked out of Hanoi water pipeline project
A daughters quick thinking is credited with saving her mothers life Aug. 31.

What started as a normal morning for Robyn Stoeger and her daughter CeAnna Sadberry became terrifying after a persistent cough Stoeger suffered from gradually worsened.

I felt kind of dizzy, Stoeger said. I was coughing because I couldnt get air into my lungs.

As her cough worsened, Stoeger decided to go outside and get some fresh air, thinking that would alleviate the cough. Upon stepping out on to her porch, Stoeger lost consciousness and collapsed. The sound of her body falling onto the porc...
Many residents without power

About 1,600 Rocky Mountain Power customers were without power after this unattended truck severed a power pole on Shoshone Avenue last Thursday.

An unoccupied truck that rolled down a hill and into a power pole caused a power outage Thursday around noon.

According to Luke Benson, Green River Police detective and public relations specialist, at around 11:55 a.m. the GRPD received a call about a truck hitting a power pole on Shoshone Avenue.

The accident happened after a 1986 gray Chevy truck, which was being worked on by Green River resident Daniel Gilbert, 54, rolled 81 feet downhill into a power pole.

Gilbert told officers he was working on the truck and thought he had set the parking brake, but the vehicle, which was parked in fro...
Agnes M. Okano, 83, of Salt Lake City, passed away Aug. 16, 2016 at her home where she resided for the past year. She was a former longtime resident of Rock Springs, Wyoming and died following a lengthy illness.

She was born on Aug. 6, 1933 in Rock Springs, the daughter of Kenichi Ota and Yoshiko Nakayama Ota.

Okano attended schools in Rock Springs and was a Rock Springs High School graduate.

She married Jiro Okano in Rock Springs Sept. 3, 1955 and he later preceded her in death on Sept. 15, 1987 in Farson.

She was the office manager at the Bureau of Land Management for 31 years and retired Dec. 31, 1985. She then worked for the Sweetwater County Library System as a librarian for 10 years and retired on April 30, 1996.

She was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion.

Her interests included being devoted to family activities, reading, needlework, and traveling.

Survivors include three children; Dr. David Okano of Salt Lake City, Dr. Gary Okano and wife, Laurie Perdue of Simi Valley, Calif., Karen Wells, and husband, Michael of Sacramento, Calif.; one brother, Dr. Roy Ota, and wife Mabel of Las Vegas; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three sisters, and one brother.

Following cremation, a service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Friday, at the Rock Springs Holy Communion Episcopal Church in Rock Springs. Inurnment will be in the Rock Springs Municipal Cemetery following the funeral luncheon.

The family of Agnes M. Okano respectfully suggests that donations in her memory be made to Sweetwater County Library Foundation, the Huntsman Cancer Institute or the University of Utah School of Dentistry Annual Scholarship Fund.

Condolences may be left at vasefuneralhomes.com.
By John Barrasso, M.D.

U.S. Senator

With Congress out of session in August, I traveled around the state extensively and visited with folks in communities across Wyoming.

I also fought harmful new Obama administration executive actions on carbon-based energy and on our Second Amendment rights. Both of the presidents proposals hurt small businesses and law-abiding individuals around our state.

White House Finalizes Climate Change Directive

On Aug. 2, the White House Council on Environmental Quality released its final direction to federal agencies forcing them into considering climate...
Grants, community support and volunteers keep the Sweetwater County Food Bank going.

Recently, the Food Bank, which operates Green River and Rock Springs locations, received a $60,000 grant from United Way of Southwest Wyoming. This money will go toward operating expenses, including building and van insurance, pay roll and office supplies, Executive Director Kathy Siler said.

With these items covered, the food bank can focus on whats really important  providing food to those who wouldnt have any otherwise.

This is the time of the year when various organizations, schools, church gro...
Green growth and less reliance on carbon fuels are the key to sustainable development.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Viet Nam and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) on September 14 signed a Letter of Intent to support the development of green growth in the Southeast Asian nation, according to the official website of GGGI.

This agreement is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between GIZ and GGGI in 2011 to battle climate change and promote sustainable green growth in developing countries.

The agreement covers five main areas, the most important being biomass energy, feasibility studies for sugar cane pulp power plants and green growth development.

The GIZ and GGGI plan to help Vietnam protect the environment. Photo from hanoimoi.vn

The GIZ has been working with Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade to enhance the use of renewable energy to beef up energy efficiency.

The deal will also increase technology transfer between companies in Germany and Vietnam, while reducing poverty through sustainable development in Vietnam.

"This partnership will increase biomass-to-energy, reducing Vietnams emissions from the power sector, the largest current and future emitting sector. This work will be crucial in Vietnams transition to green growth and achievement of their Nationally Determined Contribution, said Adam Ward, GGGI's Country Representative in Vietnam, at the signing ceremony.

Over the past 20 years, Vietnams economy has grown rapidly, helping to improve living standards, but the developing country is coping with new challenges. In 2012, the government kicked off the Vietnam National Green Growth Strategy, focusing on the reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and switching to alternative energy.

The GGGI is an intergovernmental organization based in Seoul, South Korea. The main function of the GGGI is to support and promote green growth through cooperation with countries to support the utilization of natural resources and a less carbon intensive environment that is more resilient to climate change.

GIZ is a German federal enterprise focused on international cooperation for sustainable development. GIZ has been working in Vietnam since 1993 with 25 programs and projects aimed at protecting the environment.

Related news:

> French eyes in the sky to help Vietnam monitor the environment

> Ho Chi Minh City pledges to clean up business environment

> Environment official admits Hanoi air quality degrading
Avenue Q may be in the same neighborhood as Sesame Street, but its a decidedly more adult location.

The Community Theatre of Greensboro is bringing the popular musical comedy back to the Triad starting Sept. 16. Avenue Q is a departure for CTG (and most theater companies, for that matter) in that it features puppets alongside the actors.

But although the puppet co-stars may look like cousins of Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, they include such characters as Princeton, the recent college graduate struggling to find a job; Rod, the uptight banker whom the other puppets suspect of being gay; and Trekkie Monster, a weird neighbor obsessed with surfing the Internet for things far more adult oriented than cookies.

Some of the shows song titles include What Do You Do with a B.A. in English? Everyones a Little Bit Racist, It Sucks to Be Me and There is Life Outside Your Apartment.

The characters are young adults living in an urban neighborhood and facing grown-up problems for the first time.

Along the way, the characters form relationships, find new career opportunities and discover things about themselves that they never knew.

Your first take is How cute! or How sweet! But as soon as they open their mouths, you realize they are talking about issues relevant to young professionals, said Mitchel Sommers, CTGs executive director.

They address everything you could possibly imagine  college, sex, religion, LGBT issues, phobias, you name it ... Nothing is held back, but in some theatrical way, it is incredibly entertaining. Since they are puppets, they can get away with it, Sommers said.

He said staging a live performance that incorporates puppets presents a tremendous challenge from a production standpoint. The actors are onstage with the puppets, sometimes interacting with them, sometimes giving center stage to their felt co-stars. So Avenue Q requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience.

Id think the actors would find it challenging and exciting  and the audience would, too, Sommers said.

CTG first staged Avenue Q five years ago, and it proved to be such a hit that Sommers felt it would be welcomed back. The play received a similarly warm reception on Broadway. After opening in 2003, it ran for more than 2,500 performances and picked up three Tony Awards (including Best Musical) along the way. Bobby Bodford, who directed CTGs original production of Avenue Q, returns to direct this production.

Sommers said part of the appeal is that in the play, everyone says whats on their mind. And unlike in our world, they work it out.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump recently spoke to a predominantly black audience in a Detroit church and humbly told them, I am here to listen.

He spoke of the discrimination committed against people of color and how, as president, he would do all in his power to right those wrongs and what school choice and well-paying jobs would mean to them.

For this, he was trashed in the media as being a showman and a con artist while the views of the few anti-Trump protesters outside the church were given priority over those inside the church, who gave Mr. Trump a standing ovation following his comments.

The media are little more than propaganda outlets for the Democratic Party, which, by the way, owns Detroit and every other major crime-ridden and economically blighted inner-city community in the country.

When can we expect the News & Record to show a side-by-side comparison of private-sector jobs created by Donald Trump versus private-sector jobs created by Hillary Clinton?

After all, the News & Record is all about presenting all views so the voting public can form an opinion based on fact and not political bumper sticker slogans ... right?

John Parson

Stokesdale
September 15, 2016 | 01:58 am PT

Visitors were wondering if she'd left the rest of her clothes at home.

A foreign woman was asked to leave a pagoda in Da Nang on Tuesday for wearing impolite clothes that included shorts and a bra-like top.

A video shared on Facebook showed a Vietnamese woman approaching the foreign tourist at Linh Ung Pagoda in Da Nang, saying that her outfit was impolite and not good.

The foreign woman who was asked to leave a Da Nang pagoda on September 13 for her skimpy clothes. Photo by VnExpress

Nguyen Thuy, the Vietnamese woman who posted the video on her Facebook page, said in the video that the outfit is not something one should wear to a pagoda or similar holy place in Vietnam.

The foreigner was seen making a light nod before she left. Her nationality was not identified.

Thuy, from Hanoi, said many visitors at the pagoda were staring at the foreigners outfit, but she was the only one who decided to speak up about it.

Skimpy outfit gets foreigner kicked out of Vietnam pagoda Skimpy outfit gets foreigner kicked out of Vietnam pagoda

She said the tourist was surprised and left the main temple, but continued taking photos around the complex.

Vietnamese pagodas and temples do not impose a very strict dress code like those in nearby countries like Cambodia or Thailand, but visitors are asked to wear clothes that cover their knees and shoulders to show respect.

Related news:

> Audio service to guide tourists through Vietnam's ancient capital

> Foreign tourists to Vietnam surge in August despite typhoons

> Vietnam visa fees granted to US tourists set to skyrocket from late August
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A fish tank you might find in someones home usually holds five or 10 gallons of water. So, can you imagine the size of one that holds 3,000 gallons?

Thats how big the newly opened Coral Reef exhibit is at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, and its filled with nearly 50 species of colorful reef fish. One of them even looks like its wearing lipstick.

Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth said the attraction is more than a showcase for these strikingly beautiful fish from the Indo-Pacific (north of Australia and near the Philippines), its a place where visitors can learn why coral reefs are so important. Displays explain the connections between reef animals and Long Island Sound.

The first thing people will notice is that these fish have more vibrant, brilliant colors than some of the local species we display here in the aquarium, Sigworth said. Some of these creatures are found in the Caribbean, but as a total population theyre from the Coral Triangle, where the Indian and Pacific oceans meet.

The fish have special adaptations that help them survive in their environment. They are able to dart in and out of holes in the reef system to hide for safety, so they are on the smaller side, he said. Their shapes are interesting, too. Reef fish are rounder than say, a bluefish, or a sailfish with a long body to sail through the water. When you look at reef fish head-on, youll see they are narrow  part of their adaptation.

Others have a crazy long snout to feed on small bits of plankton. Their colors and patterns, everything from stripes to spots, make them unique.

More Information The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, 10 N. Water St. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. $22.95 adults, $20.95 youth (13-17) and seniors (65-plus), $15.95 children (3-12). Admission includes one IMAX film. "Jean-Michel Cousteau's Secret Ocean" daily 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., "National Parks Adventure" daily noon and 3 p.m., "A Beautiful Planet" daily 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Times accurate through Monday, Oct. 3. 203-852-0700, maritimeaquarium.org See More Collapse

Sigworth said part of the challenge of keeping these fish in a home where they can thrive means making sure everything is as it should be, regarding such conditions as water temperature and salinity, among other things.

Were sort of cheating a bit here in that the coral in the reef is not real, so we dont have to worry about keeping the coral alive, he said. Coral requires sunlight, and where this is in the aquarium  past the sea turtles  theres no chance to have sunlight in there. Thats why we would not be able to maintain a living coral reef. The fish, though, we can do.

Sigworth said the coral has been created to look just as it would in the ocean and that gives the fish the environment they need.

Its all very pretty, he said, but people may wonder why we are doing this if our mission is to focus on Long Island Sound. We want to talk about the reef as part of the global environment, just as the Sound is part of it.

Ocean water circulates, Sigworth said, and the thinking in the marine ecology world these days is that its all one ocean.

What we do in Long Island Sound can have a world of impact. We want people to be aware of that. World conservation begins with conservation at home. As we take care of Long Island Sound, we are also taking care of coral reefs on the other side of the world.

In connection with the exhibit, some of the tiniest water creatures are celebrated in a newly opened IMAX movie at the aquarium, Jean-Michel Cousteaus Secret Ocean. Narrated by acclaimed oceanographer Sylvia Earle, it was filmed over three years in vibrant marine environments from the Bahamas to Fiji.

Secret Ocean provides a compelling new look at this world within the ocean that may just tell the biggest story of all  how the smallest life in the sea is the mightiest force on which we all depend.

lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter @LindaTKoonz
Leaders are difficult to find, leaving many companies scrambling when a higher ranking employee decides to leave. The Global Workforce Leadership survey from Workplace Trends found that almost half of the companies surveyed in February and March 2015 said that leadership is the hardest skill to find in employees.

How can companies manage the transition when leaders leave or when management positions are open? These changes in leadership shouldnt be a catastrophe. By building a talent pipeline of future leaders, employers can simply fill urgent talent needs with a qualified internal hire.

However, building a talent pipeline is not just an event to do as needed. Its a fully integrated process that requires more than just a set-it-and-forget-it philosophy.

Related: Why You Need to Invest in a Leadership Development Program

Lets take a look at how to build a talent pipeline of future leaders:

1. Create an employer branding message.

Growth opportunities are great for attracting top talent and retaining employees. LinkedIns "Why and How People Change Jobs" report found that 45 percent of the 10,536 people surveyed who changed companies between late 2014 and early 2015 say they left because they were concerned about a lack of advancement opportunities. Fifty-nine percent say they started a new job for a stronger career path and more opportunity.

In other words, start marketing the companys emphasis on career development and growth opportunities. Cater the employer branding messaging to those who aim to become leaders and make sure it is clear and consistent.

The companys online presence should make it clear that employees have a lot of room to move and grow within the organization. Share employee testimonials to highlight real-world examples for interested job seekers. This adds a level of credibility and authenticity to the message.

Related: 5 Keys to Inspiring Leadership, No Matter Your Style

Utilize social media outlets to expand the brands reach. For example, if a new department is in need of some entry-level workers, share the job listings on Twitter and Facebook. Make the most of visual platforms as well, like Instagram. Post images of the office or live stream video from a training seminar to show job seekers what its like to join the team.

Consider updating the core values and mission statement to incorporate employee development. Remember, creating a culture based on personal growth doesnt just happen overnight. The best method for this involves a documented, fully developed talent mobility program.

2. Start a talent mobility program.

Talent mobility programs are essential for building a robust talent pipeline, especially for filling future leadership positions. Unfortunately, finding an employer with a leadership program is nearly impossible. The 2015 Global Human Capital Trends report from Deloitte found that while 53 percent of younger workers want to take on leadership roles, only 6 percent of organizations have strong leadership programs in place.

Talent mobility attracts more job seekers and improves retention rates. After all, employees who are being invested in will want to stick around. Investing in the workforce builds a strong relationship between the employer and employee that is based on trust and respect.

When creating a talent mobility program, incorporate leadership training so employees can start developing those valuable skills theyll need when it comes time for them to succeed higher-ups.

Start encouraging participation within the company by promoting the benefits of the program through email notifications, signage in the office, meetings and other tactics that can catch their attention and engage them with the program. Raise awareness by clearly defining how it is advantageous to employees who want to move up in the company.

Related: Why Leadership Development Needs to Be Updated

Some employers fail to make the most out of their talent mobility programs. To maximize the results and to understand the talent pipeline well, start measuring and tracking.

3. Use performance analytics.

Performance data gives employers and management visibility and insights about the talent on hand. Track how employees are faring with succession activities in the talent mobility program and provide feedback consistently to guide them toward achieving their goals and becoming a better leader.

Use data to assign tasks that they can succeed in, but also push them out of their comfort zones so they learn new skills or further develop ones they already possess. When employers fully understand each persons strengths, they know who their best candidates are for future leadership roles.

Measuring and analyzing performance data helps companies make the right decisions. They can hire more confidently with predictive analytics. Promoting from within is not a guessing game. Talent mobility programs empower companies to build deep talent pipelines where they can choose from the best of the best to ensure the future of their company remains in good hands.

Related:

3 Tools to Build a Leadership Pipeline

This Is Why Securing Your Business Is More Important Than Ever

5 Tips for Dealing Better with Workplace Diversity



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Its an exciting time to be a small business owner in the United States. According to recent data from financial information company Sageworks, businesses with less than $5 million in annual revenue experienced an average 7.8 percent annual sales growth last year.

Small business owners often enjoy having more autonomy over their career and taking a more involved role in setting standards for work-life balance, the hiring of employees, company culture and driving the overall mission of the company. And, with shows like ABCs Shark Tank gaining popularity, the appeal of being an entrepreneur has reached new, mainstream heights.

Related: Cybersecurity Planning is Finally Demystified (Infographic)

While owning a small business has its perks, many small business owners are faced with tight budgets and find themselves stretched thin, performing many different tasks and earning the title of Jack of all Trades. When juggling company finances, recruitment and the other inevitable day-to-day demands of the business, cyber security often gets put on the back burner. At our identity protection and fraud detection company CSID, weve noticed this trend and for the past few years have conducted an annual survey to take the temperature on small business security in the United States. Are small businesses taking the necessary steps to defend against cyber attacks? The answer is no.

This is concerning because cyber criminals are catching on and targeting small businesses with increased frequency. Symantecs 2016 Internet Security Threat Report revealed that 43 percent of all phishing attacks were targeted at small businesses in 2015, up almost 10 percent from 2014. The stat is especially alarming when comparing against a timeline of four years: in 2011, just 18 percent of attacks were targeted at small businesses.

While attackers do continue to target large enterprises more frequently, small businesses are proving to be an emerging gold mine as they store the same valuable information, but have fewer resources to defend themselves against threats. In our most recent survey, we found that despite the majority of small businesses reporting being concerned about cyber attacks, a third were not taking any proactive measures at all to mitigate cyber risks, and only 12 percent had a breach preparedness plan in place.

Related: Expert Hacker Shares 3 Ways Small Businesses Can Minimize Cybersecurity Threats

So, why arent small businesses taking any action? We found that there is a significant educational disconnect for small businesses when it comes to understanding the value of the data they store, and how vulnerable they really are. Our survey revealed that while the majority (58 percent) of small businesses dont feel they store any valuable data, 68 percent store email addresses, 64 percent store phone numbers, and 54 percent store billing addresses. In my last piece, I shared how one email address allowed attackers to take down an entire small business within an hour.

Attacks on small businesses are showing no sign of slowing, so if youre a small business owner, its important to understand the unique threats facing your business and take action to defend against cyber threats.

Awareness, education, monitoring and response, will all play a role in helping you safeguard your company information. There are a number of free, easily accessible resources, like the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Federal Communications Commission, for information on security best practices. Consider baking-in these best practices to your business plan and corporate cultures and invest in arming your employees with the information they need to play an active role in keeping the business secure. Enlisting the support of a third-party monitoring service to alert you of fraudulent activity can also help you stay one step ahead of cyber threats. And finally, have a response plan in place to minimize the damage of an attack and bounce back more quickly.

Related: 7 Cybersecurity Layers Every Entrepreneur Needs to Understand

By being aware of the threats and taking the necessary steps to defend against attacks, you can go back to focusing on whats most important: running your business.

Related:

This Is Why Securing Your Business Is More Important Than Ever

How Criticism Can Save Your Small Business

The Small-Business Guide to Managing Minimum Wage Increases



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Vietnam officials try to clean up the country in tourism push

Harassing street vendors is one of the problems faced by many foreign tourists in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/T.Hang

Filthy toilets and traffic chaos: Why tourists don't return to Vietnam.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism is planing to fix the biggest problems encountered by foreign visitors in the country, like traffic and dirty toilets.

Government officials have named unsafe traffic, dirty food, thieves, beggars and poor services as the reasons that plague visitors to Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a meeting on Wednesday that the new plan, which is set to make tourism a strategic part of the economy, must give priority to solving these problems.

Vu Quang Minh, a spokesman from the Foreign Ministry, said pollution is the main reason many tourists do not return to Vietnam.

They are terrified by our poor hygiene. We are falling behind many neighboring countries in this respect, Minh said.

Vietnam is loved for its beautiful lanscapes and diverse food culture, but major attractions are largely hindered by poor hygiene. Many destinations are notorious for their lack of clean public toilets and littering.

Huynh Van Ti, vice minister of social affairs, agreed that public hygiene is the most painful matter.

Ti said the problem can be fixed with better management, starting with hotels.

If we do not have clean, green hotels, we cannot attract tourists.

The plan will also help tourists by simplifying visa procedures and reducing visa fees, officials said.

Vietnam welcomed more than 6.4 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of this year, up 25.4 percent from the same period last year.

But still, many first-time tourists surveyed said that they would not return, which means there is a lot of work to do if Vietnam wants to reach its target of attracting 14-15 million foreign visitors a year by 2020.

Related news:

> Filthy toilets and robberies: Deputy PM names tourism nightmares in Vietnam

> Foreign tourists to Vietnam surge in August despite typhoons
Big Soda is very worried about the everyday purchasing power of Philadelphians. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

It took a while, but Big Soda has kicked off its long-anticipated legal challenge to Phillys impending soda tax. The American Beverage Association  the lobby group Coke, Pepsi, and other soda makers belong to  yesterday asked a judge to declare the tax invalid before it takes effect in January. The trade group contends the 1.5-cent-per-ounce levy violates state law by meaningfully diminish[ing] the everyday purchasing power of Philadelphia residents. The industrys best argument, it seems to feel, is that the measure is a regressive tax that will fatten Philadelphias coffers by emptying the pockets of the people who can afford it the least, as the ABAs chief counsel put it to Reuters.

City officials wasted no time defended the legality of the tax, which is supposed to help fund citywide pre-K. Mayor Jim Kenney said he thinks what the industry is doing is repugnant, though added hes not surprised given the $10 million dollars they have already spent opposing the tax. At least publicly, hes not showing too much concern, though. I have no doubt well be successful in defeating the lawsuit, he said in a statement.
Bostock, twice-baked brioche flavored with orange-blossom water and layered with frangipane and toasted almonds. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

After interminable delays, online baker Umber Ahmad has an opening date for her long-awaited brick-and-mortar shop. Next Thursday, the West Village will become home to the first physical destination for the entire Mah-Ze-Dahr line, including the crackly edged brownies, cocoa-cookie-crusted cheesecake, and brioche doughnuts that have earned Ahmad and her chef-partner Shelly Acuna Barbera a devoted following since Ahmad launched the brand in her apartment three and a half years ago. In the interim, shes baked out of borrowed spaces at Hot Bread Kitchen in East Harlem and the commissary kitchen of Tom Colicchio, an equity investor in her business.

Although Ahmad and Barbera have mostly sold their pastries online and shipped nationwide, a few select items have been available at Intelligentsias Chelsea coffee bar, and the brownie has become a staple at Colicchios wichcraft. But the new digs allow the partners to bake on site; to host events in a spacious back room; and especially, to interact with customers face to face in a comfortable cafe setting. With its tufted banquette, stone display case, and outlet-equipped standing counters on either side of a passageway connecting front and back rooms, the elegant space befits the womens handiwork. Heres a look at the new bakery and what you can expect to find there, including menu additions like savory hand pies, the French almond-toast delicacy called bostock, and buttermilk biscuits. (And yes, there will be gluten-free options.)

The design is clean and modern, with the pastries at center stage. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

The connecting passageway is equipped with standing ledges and wall outlets  the only ones in the entire space. (That deep-blue shade? Amalfi Navy, by Ralph Lauren.) Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

The back room will be used for classes, private events, and some baking. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Spinach hand pies with feta and zaatar. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Buttermilk biscuits. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Vanilla cake with layers of Chiboust pastry cream, macerated strawberries, and crushed and whole strawberry-scented meringue. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Brioche doughnuts come with their holes. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Cookies, including an unorthodox riff on the black-and-white. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

On tap: cold-brewed Intelligentsia coffee, iced tea, and sparkling water. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Brioche in cinnamon and dark-chocolate varieties. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Cardamom-scented Nisu. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

Bars, brownies, scones, doughnuts, and hand pies. Photo: Melissa Hom/New York Magazine

28 Greenwich Ave., nr. W. 10th St.; 212-498-9810
Local authorities hope to push the elephant toward a conservation area.

A wild elephant killed several animals and damaged crops in the northern mountains of Son La Province.

Over the last two years, the elephant has claimed one buffalo, five cows and 1.57 hectares of rice and 23.55 hectares of corn and cassava in Song Ma District. A district official claimed the lone elephant had done over VND430 million ($19,040) in damage to the local economy - VND179 million in this year alone.

District authorities in Song Ma advised locals to take care not to injure the animal in their efforts to drive it away. They also called on provincial and central government authorities to drive the animal toward a conservation area.

A group of wild elephants in Anh Son District, Nghe An Province in March, 2014. Photo by Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper

The number of elephants in Vietnam decreased sharply in recent years due to deforestation and poaching; the total population fell from roughly 1,000 in the mid-1980s to about 120 in 2014, according to statistics presented at a conference last year.

In August, the World Wildlife Fund described small herds of wild elephants scattered throughout the country. The central province of Dak Lak contains between 60 and 65, according to those numbers; Dong Nai Province (which borders Ho Chi Minh City) allegedly has 14. The north-central province of Nghe An contains between 10 and 11.

Related news:

> Rampaging elephant forces tens of villagers run for their lives in Dong Nai

> Wild elephant destroys motorbike
Well done, chef. Photo: Sarah L. Voisin/Washington Post/Getty Images

Next week, chef-restaurateur and Trump Organization arch-nemesis Jose Andres will be honored as one of 12 2015 National Humanities Medal recipients in a ceremony presided over by the president himself. A fan of the chefs, Obama has patronized Andress D.C. eateries, called him the quintessential American success story, and even once brought him to Cuba as official U.S. culinary ambassador, so it will probably be a touching moment. The National Endowment for the Humanities says the award recognizes the Spanish-born chef for cultivating our palates and shaping our culture, describing him as a pioneer in the kitchen as well as an inspiration to new Americans. (He famously and proudly won U.S. citizenship in 2013.)

Hes not the first chef to win the medal, and in fact follows immediately in his great friend Alice Waterss footsteps. Still, gotta give props to Obama for celebrating a tremendous chef in a way that also raises a casual middle finger to his would-be replacement.
Earlier this year, you might remember, President Barack Obama swung by Hanoi, Vietnam, to join Anthony Bourdain for a casual meal at what the Parts Unknown host called a working-class joint. It made quite the impression on Hanoians, who, Bourdain tells Esquire, were thrilled that Obama was eating bun cha, which is a specifically Hanoian thing, and not at a formal banquet. The pairs meal will be featured on the next episode of Parts Unknown, which airs on September 25, but, in the meantime, you can catch a glimpse of their conversation and Bourdain teaching the president how to properly eat bun cha.
Samsung will rely on battery company ATL (Amperex Technology Limited) to supply the batteries for the Galaxy Note7, according to Reuters citing a person with knowledge of the company's plans.

Insofar, Samsung counted on its own subsidiary SDI to get the job of supplying the phablet's battery pack. According to analysts, SDI is responsible for 70% of the battery packs used for the Galaxy Note7, whereas ATL has supplied around a third. ATL's battery packs are predominantly found in devices in China.

ATL is reported to take over the battery supply for the Galaxy Note7 from now on. Joe Kit Chu Lam is ATL's chief operating officer and, while he didn't comment on deal specifics, he noted that the firm received a "significant increase" in business this month.

ATL is owned by Japan-based TDK Corp, and is also in charge of supplying part of the battery packs for Apple's devices.

Source
New York City MTA urges riders not to use Note7 on public transit

New York Citys Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) officially acknowledged the Galaxy Note7 debacle that has been circulating the news and tech world for the past couple of weeks or so. The MTAs official twitter page urges both customers and employees to cease using their Galaxy Note7s due to the potential of batteries igniting.

MTA customers are urged not to use or charge their #Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile device on trains and buses.  MTA (@MTA) September 13, 2016

MTA customers should turn off #Samsung Galaxy Note 7 before entering station or boarding bus due to concerns device's battery can ignite.  MTA (@MTA) September 13, 2016

The MTA was also quick to state that there have not been any reports of Note7s poofing up on the transit systems property.

No reported cases of #GalaxyNote7 igniting on MTA property, but customers and employees should avoid using them.  MTA (@MTA) September 13, 2016

Naturally, the MTA is concerned about the recalled devices tendency to go up in smoke as more reports of exploding Note7s continue to circulate the news like wildfire (pun intended). The MTA moves 5.6 million people on an average weekday, so safety is definitely a concern.

Believe it or not, this isnt the first time a product was banned from the New York Citys public transit system for risk of ignition. Toward the beginning of this year, the MTA completely banned the possession, riding, or transporting of hoverboards anywhere on MTA property. Which is a more severe ban than the current Note7 advisory.

Again, the Note7 isnt banned from the trains; call it a soft ban if you will. Users are only urged not to use or charge them while onboard any trains or busses.

Via
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Acting opposition leader Kem Sokha was sentenced to five months in prison for refusing to appear in court for a case related to an alleged sex scandal.

A leading Cambodian opposition politician was convicted Friday in a trial slammed by rights groups as long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen's latest effort to hobble rivals ahead of 2018 elections.

"The (court) decided to convict Kem Sokha, age 63, to five months in jail," said judge Keo Mony.

The politician has spent the past few months holed up in the headquarters of his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to avoid arrest, amid threats from Hun Sen that he could be jailed at any time.

But he made a rare appearance Friday morning to speak to hundreds of supporters gathered outside the party's office.

He condemned the one-day trial, which he boycotted, and accused the government of trying to "end my political career".

"Using the court to violate my political and election rights is not only making the upcoming election illegitimate, but it also threatens Cambodia's democracy," he told a crowd as police looked on.

Human Rights Watch has lambasted the case as the latest move in "an increasingly violent Cambodian government campaign to prevent free and fair elections in 2018".

According to the watchdog, two opposition MPs are currently in prison, at least 10 more are facing charges, and more than 20 political activists and rights workers have faced legal action over the past year.

The opposition party's top leader and Hun Sen's chief rival, Sam Rainsy, has spent nearly one year in self-imposed exile to avoid arrest warrants he claims are politically-motivated.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen is using every trick in the book to neutralize the opposition," HRW's Asia Director Brad Adams said in a statement ahead of Friday's trial.

The wily premier has loomed over Cambodian politics for three decades, steering the impoverished nation out of the ashes of civil war.

But opposition groups have gained ground amid growing disillusionment with endemic corruption, rights abuses and political repression.

The opposition CNRP accuses Hun Sen of denying it a majority by rigging the 2013 election in his favor, a charge the premier denies.

Related news:

> Facebook criticisms of Cambodian PM are 'personal opinions': Vietnam's foreign ministry

> Cambodian opposition MP arrested over 'fake' border map on Facebook

> Cambodian PM denies role in ASEAN U-turn on disputed waters
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Published on 2016/09/15 | Source

Added episode 8 captures for the Korean drama "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" (2016)

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Directed by Baek Sang-hoon, Kim Seong-yoon

Written by Kim Min-jeong-II, Lim Ye-jin

Network : KBS

With Park Bo-gum, Kim Yoo-jung, Chae Soo-bin, Jin Young, Kwak Dong-yeon, Kim Seung-soo,...

20 episodes - Mon, Tue 22:00

Synopsis

'Moonlight Drawn by Clouds' is a palace romance inspired by the genius Crown Prince Hyomyeong in the later era of Joseon, who loved etiquette and music. The drama will tell the coming-of-age story of youthful romance in Joseon era which was unwritten in the history.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2016/08/22

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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.

09:44, 30 OCT 2022
Former death squad member Edgar Matobato testifies during a senate hearing in Manila on September 15, 2016. Photo by AFP/Noel Celis

Rodrigo Duterte shot dead a justice department employee and ordered the murder of opponents, a former death squad member told parliament Thursday.

The self-described assassin told a Senate hearing that he and a group of policemen and ex-communist rebels killed about 1,000 people over 25 years on Duterte's orders, one of them fed alive to a crocodile.

Many of the others were garroted, burned, quartered and then buried at a quarry owned by a police officer who was a member of the death squad. Others were dumped at sea to be eaten by fish.

Edgar Matobato, 57, made the allegations before the Senate, which is investigating alleged extrajudicial killings in Duterte's anti-crime crackdown that police said has left 3,140 people dead in his first 72 days in office.

The then head of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator Leila de Lima, told the inquiry Matobato had surrendered to the investigatory body in 2009 and had until recently been in a witness protection scheme.

Duterte's spokesman said the allegations had already been investigated without charges being filed while his son, Paolo Duterte, called the testimony "mere hearsay" of "a madman".

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director Ronald Dela Rosa gestures as he attends a senate hearing in Manila on September 15, 2016. Photo by AFP/Noel Celis

Matobato said that in 1993, he and other members of the death squad were on a mission when they approached a Davao road blocked by the vehicle of an agent from the justice department's National Bureau of Investigation.

A confrontation led to a shootout that left the agent wounded and out of bullets. Rodrigo Duterte, the Davao mayor at the time, then arrived on the scene, Matobato said.

"Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off. Jamisola (the justice department official) was still alive when he (Duterte) arrived. He emptied two Uzi (submachine gun) magazines on him."

"I didn't kill anyone unless ordered by Charlie Mike," he said, telling the senate it was the death squad's coded reference to Duterte, who was then mayor of the southern city of Davao, using the phonetic alphabet.

Residents used to refer to Duterte as CM, standing for city mayor.

"Like chickens"

Matobato's testimony fleshed out in gruesome detail for the first time long-running allegations Duterte was behind a death squad that killed more than a thousand people in Davao, where he was mayor for most of the past two decades.

"Our job was to kill criminals, rapists, pushers, and snatchers. That's what we did. We killed people almost on a daily basis," said Matobato.

"The people of Davao were being slaughtered like chicken," he said, adding the death squad killed mainly criminal suspects and personal enemies of the Duterte family between 1988 and 2013.

Duterte's spokesman, Martin Andanar, said he doubted that the then mayor could have ordered the killing of 1,000 people.

"I don't think he's capable of giving a directive like that. The Commission on Human Rights already investigated this a long time ago and no charges were filed," he said.

Another spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the allegations needed to be properly scrutinized.

"Whatever testimonies, statements that the chairperson (of the Senate committee) are saying, we will have to have a proper investigation regarding that."

Duterte, who took office more than two months ago, won May elections in a landslide on a promise to kill thousands of criminals.

Matobato said the death squad received orders either directly from Duterte or from active-duty Davao police officers assigned to the mayor's office.

Many of the victims were abducted by members of the group who introduced themselves as police officers, then taken to a local quarry where they were killed and buried, he added.

"The officers told us ordinary killings won't do. They are sadists," he said, describing how the victims were strangled.

"Then we'd remove their clothes, burn the bodies and chop them up," Matobato said, adding that he had personally killed "about 50" people.

"Disembowelled bodies"

The bodies of other victims were disembowelled and dropped at sea, while others were left on Davao streets, their hands made to clutch a handgun, he added.

One of the victims was a foreign man suspected of being an "international terrorist", another was the boyfriend of Duterte's sister.

One was Davao broadcaster Jun Pala, who constantly criticized Duterte, four were bodyguards of a local rival, while two were enemies of Duterte's son Paolo, who is now Davao vice mayor, Matobato said.

In response, Paolo Duterte called Matobato's testimony "mere hearsay". "I will not dignify with an answer the accusations of a madman."

President Duterte has earlier denied ordering Pala's 2003 Davao ambush but described him as an extortionist and a "rotten son of a bitch" who "deserved it". The comments were roundly denounced by the U.N. and rights watchdogs.

De Lima said the rights body later dug up several skeletons of unidentified people at the Davao quarry.

She said the Senate committee's findings would be referred to the Philippine Ombudsman, although she acknowledged sitting presidents are immune from prosecution and could only be removed through impeachment.

Matobato said the death squad "tortured" him when he asked to leave the group in 2013, prompting him to surrender to the justice department's witness protection program.

However Matobato said he left the program and went into hiding when Duterte won the presidency.

Asked why he left the death squad, he replied: "I am bothered by my conscience."

Related news:

> Philippine police, vigilantes shoot dead six drug suspects

> Deadly Philippine bomb attack 'terrorism': Duterte

> Duterte threatens to pull Philippines out of UN
Health for All and All for Health! How the EU is helping Member States optimise their health systems by Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Health and Food Safety, European Commission How can the Commission help make health systems more effective, resilient and accessible? It's a complex challenge  Member States have their own national healthcare systems  their own networks of people, institutions and resources working in the field of health  so how can the EU provide added value?



As outlined in its Communication in 2014 on health systems, the Commission promotes cooperation at EU level with a view to strengthen effectiveness, increase accessibility and improve resilience of the national health systems in the EU.



To strengthen effectiveness, for example, the EU promotes [...]
A national aviation ground handling and services company has been ordered to pay $4,800 in compensation after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found it had unfairly dismissed an employee for posting several controversial statuses on Facebook.



Nirmal Singh commenced employment with Aerocare Flight Support in August 2014. His employment was suspended with payment on 4 October 2015 when a number of posts came to light that allegedly breached the firms social media policies.



After attending a number of meetings from 6-8 October 2015, his employment was terminated on 8 October.



The applicant publicly published his support for ISIS/Hizb ut-Tahrir and its actions/activities and made radical statements against the Australian Government, Aerocare wrote as a response to Singh contending the dismissal.



In the most controversial post  about demonstrations held in Lakemba, Sydney against US and Russian intervention in the war in Syria  Singh added the words We all support ISIS.



Despite the content, the FWC found that the worker had been unfairly dismissed as the firm had not taken the time to properly review Singhs Facebook account.



If time and attention had been taken to review [Singhs] Facebook newsfeed, Aerocare would have discovered that [Singh] is not, in fact, a supporter of ISIS, said Commissioner Jennifer Hunt.



The firm was informed of this within the investigation but was not satisfied with Singhs response that he was simply being sarcastic, he added.



Alternatively, [Singh] could have been invited to explain to [Paul Brunyee, manager customer experience] all recent posts made by him on Facebook. This exercise would have taken no more than 1-2 hours, and satisfied Aerocare that [Singh] was not an ISIS supporter.



The Commissioner also said that Aerocare had failed to properly explain the situation to Brunyees superiors, instead choosing to relay any information through a brief, ten-minute phone call during a meeting held in October 2015.



It is impossible for [Brunyee] to have adequately explained during this telephone call all of the matters that were discussed during the meeting.



Additionally, Greg Shelley, general manager of employee relations, claimed that no one reported to him that Singh had apologised for the posts during this meeting.



[Shelley] was a member of the management team tasked with making a determination on [Singhs] disciplinary interview, Hunt said. [Brunyee] failed to adequately report to [Shelley] and other decision makers the full account of the meeting held on 8 October 2015.



It would have been more appropriate for the firm to have continued Singhs suspension, distributed the notes of the meetings, and made further inquiries about his Facebook account, she added.



I find the decision of Aerocare and its reliance on posts that on its own witnesses admissions do not breach the [social media policy] does not constitute a valid reason for dismissal.



This judgment however did not suggest that this type of behaviour was acceptable for employees working in an airport environment, Hunt explained.



[Singh] did a very stupid thing, she said. The ISIS post does not even have the look of sarcasm. It is not witty. It is not funny. It is a ridiculous post.




DOE recently released a congressionally-mandated report, Long Term Strategic Review of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Among other things, it documents a number of problems with logistics and maintenance of the petroleum reserve. In June, in an interview with Platts, the DOE official responsible for the SPR admitted that the infrastructure, which currently stores 695 million barrels at four sites along the U.S. Gulf Coast, is nearing the end of its design life and is in need of a roughly $2 billion makeover. He also admitted that there had been several significant equipment failures over the last couple years that have affected our operational capability.

Created in response to the 1973 oil embargo, the SPR was seen as a way to prevent producing countries from embargoing oil sales to the United States. In 1973, the oil embargo was made worse by government decisions involving excessive meddling in the oil market. These resulted in steep price increases and rationing that made shortages worse by creating long lines at service stations.

The national goal was to store at least a 90-day supply to offset a disruption of indeterminate duration. Currently, the SPR has enough oil to offset about a 71-day loss of imports. In 1973, the concern was about control and dominance of Persian Gulf producers. Today, Persian Gulf producers are less of a concern because sources of supply have shifted, imports have declined, and U.S. production has reached levels not seen since 1973. At the same time, imports have dropped from over 9.million barrels a day to 7.3 million in 2015. Today, our leading sources of imports are Canada and Mexico.

The creation of the SPR was an ill-considered overreaction to the 1973 embargo. Its continued existence validates Ronald Reagans observation that the closest thing to perpetual life is a government program. The embargo lasted from October 1973 until March 1974 and imports from OPEC countries were reduced from 2.6 million barrels a day in October1973 to 1.4 million in February 1974. While the loss of over 1 million barrels a day is not trivial, it was a gradual reduction, not an immediate cutoff.

If the market had been allowed to work, tanker traffic carrying oil would have been adjusted to reallocate the destinations of OPEC oil, since the embargo only applied to the United States, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Since oil is a fungible commodity, Saudi oil, for example, that would have gone to the United States could have been rerouted to a non-embargoed country and oil going to that country could have gone to the United States. Costs would have been higher because of this but it is doubtful they would have been as high or persisted as long as the effects of the government created problems.

In the EU, responsibility for meeting stockpiling obligations was largely delegated to oil companies. There is no reason why the same approach could not be followed in the United States. Indeed, oil companies have every financial incentive to hold sufficient reserves to accommodate a potential interruption. That is just good business planning. According to the Energy Information Administration, private crude oil inventories stand at 511 million barrels. Absent the SPR, investors and oil companies would be able to handle most if not all but the most extreme disruptions, such as closing the Straits of Hormuz.

The existence of the SPR leads to political pressures to use it anytime there is a spike in prices. In 1996, President Clinton used it to counter rising gasoline prices and again two months before the 2000 election to help Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore. Over its 40-year existence, however, it has only been used five times.

A decision to shut down the SPR would have to be done gradually so as to not disrupt markets. The billions obtained from the sale of SPR oil would be a good down payment to deficit reduction.

The lesson of the SPR, which the government never seems to learn, is that policies adopted during times of crisis are often wrongheaded and should be put in place with a fixed duration rather than in perpetuity.

William O'Keefe is the President of Solutions Consulting. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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SNIPS Everything But the Kitchen Sink Sale Sept. 24

SNIPS (Spay Neuter is a Positive Solution) Everything But The Kitchen Sink Sale on Sat. Sept. 24th from 8am until noon in the Precision Printing Parking Lot on Blowing Rock Rd in Boone. A treasure trove of collectibles, vintage items, and crafts for sale with ALL proceeds going to fund public low-cost spay neuter programs of the Watauga Humane Society SNIPS.

Howl-O-Ween and Holiday Sale for Humane Society Sept. 30

The 2nd 9/30/2016 & 10/1/2016 : HOWL-O-WEEN & HOLIDAY SALE EVENT!

Join us for our Howl-O-Ween and Holiday Sale Event! Friday, Sept 30th from Noon until 6pm and Saturday, Oct 1st from 8am until 4pm . Holiday Decorations and Accessories, Halloween Costumes, Thanksgiving & Fall Decor, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Winter Wear -costs, scarves, sweaters, gloves, etc. All proceeds to benefit the animals of Watauga Humane Society!

Pet Supplies Plus Adoption Event Oct. 14

Friday, Oct. 14th from 11am until 4pm . We will have lots of animals available for adoption and would love to help you find your Best Friend! Your next Best Friend is Waiting! Please join the Watauga Humane Society at Pet Supplies Plus for an Adoption Event onfrom. We will have lots of animals available for adoption and would love to help you find your Best Friend! www.wataugahumanesociety.org

Soil and Water Board to Meet Sept. 28

The Watauga Soil and Water Conservation District Board will hold its regular Board meeting Wednesday September 28, 2016 at 8:00 am at the Soil & Water Office located at 971 West King Street, Boone NC 28607.The public is invited to attend.

Dine at Gamekeeper on Sept. 29 to Support OASIS

On Thursday, September 29th, well be bringing our best to benefit our friends at OASIS, who work tirelessly to end domestic violence and sexual assault in our community. Bring a friend, or two, (or twenty!) and dine with us. The more diners, the higher percentage of gross sales gk will give. We will start at 10% of gross sales, but lets work together to seat 100 people and 35% of gross sales will go to OASIS. The more the merrier! (And selected bottles of wine are 1/2 price.) Reservations can be made at gamekeeper-nc.com CCC&TI Announces 100 Percent Passage Rates in Two Programs Ophthalmic Medical Assistant The 2016 class of CCC&TI Ophthalmic Medical Assistant graduates recently achieved a 100 percent passage rate on the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology Certified Ophthalmic Assistant national certification exam. Pictured seated from left to right are Health Sciences Department Chair Barbara Harris, Courtney Morton, Megan Baker, Falyn Peacock, Heather Chester and OMA Coordinator and Instructor Faith Race. Standing, left to right are Tate Fulbright, Gina Guifarro, Ariana Trejo, Missy Rowe, Kristen Millsap (did not sit for exam), Jalen Chambers and Callie Hoover. Basic Law Enforcement Training Spring 2016 graduates of CCC&TIs Basic Law Enforcement Training program achieved a 100 percent successful completion rate of the states Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission Exam. Pictured are front row, left to right, Dillon Benge, Jared Spray, Bradley Beach, Jr. and Kyle Hartley. Back row left to right are Joshua Reuscher, David Gragg, Robert Campbell and Jordan Williams. Toe River Arts Council Free Studio Tour Dec. 2 The Toe River Arts Council hosts their bi-annual FREE premier open studio tour in the mountains of WNC this December. Artists and galleries will open their doors to visitors for an weekend of awe-inspiring art and craft in Mitchell and Yancey counties. Since 1993, TRAC has offered studio tours unparalleled in the countryJune and December. The tour begins on Friday, December 2 , at 10am . At 5pm , visitors stop, relax for a moment then head on over to the Spruce Pine Gallery at 269 Oak Avenue for the Meet-The-Artist reception from 5:30 to 7:30 . They can meet the artists, see a sampling of their work and plan their route for the next two days. On Saturday and Sunday , the tour continues from 10am to 5pm . Guides, including maps, will be available mid October at arts councils, galleries, and regional retailers. Call 828.682.7215 or visit the website, www.toeriverarts.org for more information. FACTS: Tour dates: December 2-4, 2016 Tour times: 10am to 5pm Location: Mitchell and Yancey counties Reception: 5:30 to 7:30pm , Fri, Dec. 2 at Spruce Pine TRAC Gallery, 269 Oak Avenue, Spruce Pine, NC 28777 Cost: Free All ages/Outdoor and indoor Info: [email protected] Phone: 828.765.0520

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Editors Note: This post was initially published in the fall 2016 edition of The Learning Leader, Watauga County Schools newsletter.

The General Assembly delivered a much appreciated pay hike to teachers this year, one that averages 4.7%. However, the actual increase received by individual teachers varies from zero to 13.1%, depending on where they are on the pay scale.

While its too soon to know the impact of the increase on the states ranking in teacher pay, it is hoped that it will at least lift NC out of the bottom 10 states in the country. It remains a given that teachers in NC will, on average, still earn considerably less than their counterparts nationwide.

Until recently, NC ranked dead last in the country in pay increases granted to teachers over the last decade. While that may no longer be the case, low teacher pay has not been the only headwind for public schools in NC in recent years.

State budget cuts for supplies, textbooks and similar educational resources, big reductions in teacher assistants positions, and the elimination of the states Teaching Fellows program (scholarships that encouraged high caliber students to enter the field of education in NC) have also contributed to reduced interest in the teaching profession. The result of these trends is now showing up in the teacher pipeline: enrollment in teacher education programs in the NC university system is down about 30% in the last five years.

As a result, teacher recruitment is becoming more difficult for school districts across the state at a time when enrollment is rising and a large number of educators are becoming eligible to retire. The challenge is most pronounced for teachers in middle school, high school math and science, and in special education.

Were very fortunate that we can still find high quality applicants for our openings, noted Assistant Superintendent and Human Resources Director Dr. Stephen Martin, but it is getting more difficult in certain areas, and some other districts are facing a real problem getting the quality candidates they need.

Dr. Martin and his team in Human Resources, along with principals and district administrators, have been very busy filling the positions that became vacant in the school system since last spring: 65 people have been hired in WCS in the last five months (out of about 650 positions total), continuing the recent trend of a hectic hiring season in the spring and summer of the year.

Dr. Elliott noted that a declining supply of teachers in the pipeline at a time of rising need is a serious concern going forward. I think teaching is the noblest and most rewarding profession anyone can pursue, but our state needs to do much more to make it attractive to students in high school and college who are making decisions about their field of study and the careers they will pursue. North Carolina needs to make a career in teaching more inviting through better compensation, more opportunities for professional growth, and by demonstrating a consistent commitment to a well-funded system of public education. Great teachers are the lifeblood of our schools and supporting their work should be our number one priority.

The state budget for many categories of public school funding is still below the levels of seven years ago even as statewide enrollment has continued to rise. Meanwhile, state funding of vouchers for private education, with no accountability to the taxpayers, has risen dramatically, and the General Assembly endorsed a plan earlier this year to add tens of millions of dollars to the budget for private school tuition in coming years. Tax cuts for high income house-holds and for corporations have also made it more difficult to fund public education in NC.

To date, the legislature has not considered a plan for raising teacher salaries to the national average or a goal of restoring previous cuts to funding for school supplies and other needs.

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The following information is provided by local law enforcement agencies.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Compiled by Jessica Isaacs

The following were provided by the Watauga County Sheriffs Office.

Sept. 6

INCIDENT: Simple possession of Sch VI CS, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of malt beverage by person under 21 was reported at 119 Fodderstack Ridge in Boone.

INCIDENT: Maintaining a vehicle/dwelling/place for CS, PWISD Sch VI CS and felony possession of Sch VI CS were reported at North Pine Run Road in U.S. Highway 421 S in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 2278 Silverstone Road Unit 1 in Zionville.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 598 Frozenhead Ridge Road in Sugar Grove.

ARREST: A male suspect, 55, of 380 Moss Hill Road in Boone, was charged with OFA/FTA, no insurance, no registration and fictitious plates. Secured bond: $3,000. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 26, of 6440 N.C. Highway 194 N in Boone, was charged with contempt of court/perjury/court violations. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 42, of 852 U.S. Highway 221 N in Deep Gap, was charged with simple assault. Trial date: Oct. 18.

Sept. 7

INCIDENT: Fraud was reported at 120 Campground Road in Vilas.

INCIDENT: All other offenses were reported at 370 Arnett Hollow Road in Vilas.

INCIDENT: Fraud was reported at 6252 Old U.S. Highway 421 in Zionville.

INCIDENT: Harassing phone calls were reported at 1255 Laurel Branch Road in Vilas.

INCIDENT: Vandalism was reported at 8807 N.C. Highway 105 S in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny and burglary were reported at 341 Mesa Circle Unit 3 in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 211 SPI Road in Deep Gap.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 478 Deck Hill Road in Boone.

ARREST: A male suspect, 48, of 6669 Roan Creek Road in Butler, Tennessee, was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Secured bond: $5,000. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 63, of 220 Owl Rest Lane in Deep Gap, was charged with assault and battery.

ARREST: A male suspect, 57, of 370 Arnett Hollow Road in Vilas, was charged with resist public officer. Secured bond: $1,000. Trial date: Oct. 18.

Sept. 8

INCIDENT: Motor vehicle theft was reported at 849 N.C. Highway 105 Bypass Unit 1 in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 3861 U.S. Highway 194 N in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny  from motor vehicle was reported at 615 Fallview Lane in Boone.

ARREST: A female suspect, 17, was charged with possess marijuana paraphernalia. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 18, of 265 Vannoy Lane in Boone, was charged with felony possession of Sch VI CS, maintain veh/dwell/place for CS, PWISD Sch VI CS and misdemeanor possess marijuana paraphernalia, possess drug paraphernalia, simple poss Sch IV CS and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. Secured bond: $5,000. Trial date: Trial date: Oct. 20..

Sept. 9

INCIDENT: Communicating threats was reported at 198 Pinola Lane in Banner Elk.

INCIDENT: Harassing phone calls and cyberstalking were reported at 181 Lomax St. in Boone.

INCIDENT: Registered sex offender use social media was reported at the sheriffs office.

ARREST: A male suspect, 21, of 275 E King St. Room 6 in Boone, was charged with felony sex offender use social media. Secured bond: $10,000. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 23, of 218 Tarleton Circle in Boone, was charged with felony possession of firearm by felon. Secured bond: $20,000. Trial date: Oct. 18.

ARREST: A female suspect, 24, of 1121 Circle Drive in Mountain City, was charged with felony FTA. Secured bond: $5,000. Trial date: Oct. 3.

Sept. 10

INCIDENT: Breaking and entering and larceny from buildings were reported at 120 Irish Wk in Boone.

INCIDENT: Drug violations were reported at 342 Blue Bird Lane in Boone.

ARREST: A male suspect, 31, of 338 Brook Hollow Road in Boone, was charged with felony drug violations and misdemeanor carrying concealed weapon. Secured bond: $3,500. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 17, was charged with felony larceny of a firearm. Trial date: Oct. 18.

Sept. 11

INCIDENT: Resist/obstruct/delay was reported at 240 Meadow Hill Drive Apt. 402 in Boone.

INCIDENT: Assault with a deadly weapon was reported at WMC ER 1354 Hopewell Church Road in Boone.

INCIDENT: Calls for service were reported at 151 Summit Woods Drive Apt. A6 in Blowing Rock.

INCIDENT: Carrying a concealed weapon was reported at 739 Roby Greene Road in Boone.

INCIDENT: Calls for service were reported at the N.C. Highway 105 extension near U.S. Highway 421 S in Boone.

ARREST: A male suspect, 33, of 36 Ridgeline Drive in Castlewood, Virginia, was charged with carrying concealed weapon. Secured bond: $500. Trial date: Oct. 20.

ARREST: A male suspect, 32, of 240 Meadow Hill Drive Apt. 402 in Boone, was charged with OFA nonsupport. Bond: $500. Trial date: Sept. 27.

ARREST: A male suspect, 47, of 1935 Silverstone Road in Zionville, was charged with FTA. Secured bond: $1,000. Trial date: Oct. 24.

Sept. 12

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 142 Brown Farm Road C in Boone.

INCIDENT: Calls for service were reported at 604 Howards Knob Road in Boone.

ARREST: A female suspect, 23, of 136 Ivy Drive in Boone, was charged with felony parole and probation violation and misdemeanor FTA possess meth and drug para and FTA worthless check closed account. Secured bond: $25,000. Trial date: Oct. 26.

ARREST: A male suspect, 32, of 1876 Cecil Miller Road in Boone, was charged with contempt of court/perjury/court violations. Secured bond: $18,000. Trial date: Oct. 18.
All articles are produced independently. When you click our links for purchasing products, we earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about how we earn revenue by reading our advertise disclaimer.

Transparent Labs CoQ10 High-potency

Only one ingredient

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Veggie capsule Life Extension Super-Absorbable CoQ10 (Ubiquinone) with d-Limonene Super-absorbable

Contains D-Limonene that promotes the stability of CoQ10 in your body

No genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) or gluten, sugar-free Marys Ruth CoQ10 Gummies Formula safe for kids

Vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO

Based on pectin

Dietary supplements have risen in popularity over the years with dietitians and nutritionists recommending them in almost every meal plan and nutrition program.

From multivitamins and combinations of minerals to fitness-related pre-workouts and post-workouts, there seems to be a supplement for every function in your body.

Some seem to be great for your heart and cardiovascular system, some promote your fertility and reproductive health, and others bring various benefits toward increasing your energy levels and mood.

Even though all dietary supplements and micronutrients bring on some specific health benefits to the table, its always best to check your levels to know if youre deficient and whether or not taking the said supplement is absolutely necessary in your case.

However, always check with your healthcare provider or doctor before starting any new dietary supplement, especially if youre undergoing a specific medical treatment or taking prescription medication.

General guidelines might benefit you most, but its always best to assess your health situation and know exactly how much of the specific vitamin or mineral you need to thrive and function at your best.

What is CoQ10? CoQ10, also known as coenzyme Q10, ubiquinol, and ubiquinone, is one of the most powerful[1] antioxidants naturally produced in the human body. Its responsible for protecting your heart, brain, and muscles, and its involved in a variety of biochemical reactions as well as the production of cellular energy in the mitochondria.

As humans age, the levels of coenzyme Q10 decrease, and its important to maintain its levels at their optimal level for as long as possible. CoQ10 has been used as an anti-aging supplement, significantly reducing wrinkles[2], but there is not enough human research to declare it as an anti-aging treatment.

Additionally, as an antioxidant, it has a strong anti-inflammatory effect, fighting off free radicals and their oxidative damage. This way, CoQ10 supports the health of your nervous and immune system, promotes cardiovascular health, improves physical performance, and protects you from a variety of different diseases, infections, stress-related disorders, and chronic inflammation.

CoQ10 is found in every cell in your body, but its mostly[3] concentrated in organs and tissues that require the most energy production, such as your heart, liver, brain, kidneys, and lungs. Its therefore important for their optimal function as well as the function of your reproductive[4] system, supporting fertility and healthy pregnancy.

As you age, you naturally start to lose adequate amounts of CoQ10, as we just mentioned. Fortunately, you can replenish your levels through specific high-CoQ10-containing foods and dietary supplements. Most people can get enough of CoQ10 through a balanced diet, but some people might need supplements due to a certain health condition causing impaired absorption.

Foods[3] that are high in CoQ10 include

Eggs (whole, egg whites, and egg yolk)

Nuts

Oily fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel)

Organ meats

Chicken

Whole grains

Having optimal levels of CoQ10 in your system is important for your overall health and longevity, and deficiencies[5] have been linked[6] to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. Some of the main reasons[7] for CoQ10 deficiencies include

Genetic mutations and defects

Side effects of statin medications

Oxidative stress caused by aging

Mitochondrial diseases

Other nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin B6 deficiency

Diseases that cause an increase in demand for CoQ10 in your tissues

In order to prevent deficiencies caused by aging, medications, and other factors; its important to focus on quality supplements and your nutrition.

Who Should Not Take CoQ10

Even though theyre generally considered safe, there are some people who should abstain from taking CoQ10 supplements. You should not take this supplement if pregnant, breastfeeding, or under age 18. Use with caution[8] if you have diabetes, liver failure, kidney disease, or heart failure without the consent of a physician.

How Do CoQ10 Supplements Work?

CoQ10 supplements help replenish your nutrient stores and keep them at the optimal level, preventing deficiency and promoting optimal cardiovascular function as well as necessary energy production in your cells. Adequate CoQ10 levels also help support heart health, reduce blood pressure, reduce fatigue, lower blood sugar and promote healthy cholesterol levels.

They could also be beneficial[9] for preventing congestive heart failure and helping treat migraines. CoQ10 supplements come in various forms, and you can find them as pills, chewable tablets, wafers, syrups, or an intravenous (IV) solution.

The Line Up At A Glance

Best CoQ10 Supplement To Buy In 2022

Transparent Labs CoQ10 See Transparent Labs Reviews Transparent Labs CoQ10 is a high-quality CoQ10 supplement to help improve your heart health and increase energy production. High-potency

Only one ingredient

60-Day money back guarantee

Vegetarian capsule Does not ship to all countries worldwide Transparent Labs CoQ10 supplement supplies you with 100 milligrams (mg) of CoQ10 per serving and helps promote your heart health and an increase in energy production. Its a clean product with only one ingredient that comes packaged in a vegetable-based capsule, making it suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Made with high-quality and high-potency CoQ10, its designed to help reduce[10] your fatigue after exercise and other forms of physical exhaustion, relieve fibromyalgia symptoms[11], lower[12] blood pressure, improve sperm[13] quality, and minimize oxidation[14] caused by physical activity. Since it contains no other ingredients, this product is labeled gluten-free, sugar-free, and made without any artificial colorings, fillers, thickeners, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Life Extension Super-Absorbable CoQ10 (Ubiquinone) with D-Limonene See Life Extension Reviews Life Extension Super-Absorbable CoQ10 (Ubiquinone) with D-Limonene is one of the best CoQ10 supplements that provides superior absorption compared to other brands on the market. Super-absorbable

Contains D-Limonene that promotes the stability of CoQ10 in your body

Non-GMOs

Gluten and sugar-free Contains gelatin, and its therefore not suitable for vegans and vegetarians Life Extension Super-Absorbable CoQ10 (Ubiquinone) with D-Limonene provides 100 mg of high-quality CoQ10 per serving and comes with D-Limonene that helps stabilize it in your body, so you dont become depleted too fast. Its highly absorbable, supports cardiovascular health, provides antioxidant support, improves cellular energy production, and promotes brain, kidney, and heart health. It comes in soft gels containing gelatin, so its not suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Loyal customers report noticeably feeling better after only a short time taking it, and they applaud the size of the soft gel, reporting its easy to swallow and convenient to take. Mary Ruths CoQ10 Gummies See Mary Ruths Reviews Mary Ruths CoQ10 Gummies are a delicious, high-quality, vegan CoQ10 supplement for adults and kids. Formula safe for kids

Vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO

Based on pectin

Free of most allergens Contains cane sugar and tapioca syrup Mary Ruths CoQ10 Gummies are one of the rare CoQ10 supplements with a vegan formula thats suitable for those who dont eat animal products. Its based on pectin and has a delicious raspberry flavor, making this supplement convenient and easy to take daily. One gummy provides 60 milligrams (mg) of CoQ10 and helps promote heart health, cellular energy production, brain health, cognitive function, healthy aging, and cellular growth. Its important to note that this product contains sugar, other sweeteners, and some ingredients you might be sensitive to. Live Conscious CoQWell See Live Conscious Reviews Live Conscious CoQWell has a powerful and high-absorbing CoQ10 formula containing vitamins A and E for better immune health and overall wellbeing. High-absorbing and dairy-free

Contains vitamins A and E

Third-party tested Contains silicon dioxide, which has been shown to cause intestinal inflammation[15] Live Conscious CoQWell supplement has a highly absorbable fat-soluble CoQ10 formula that helps promote cardiovascular health and increase cellular energy production. The added vitamins A and E strengthen the antioxidant defense, preventing free radicals from causing oxidative damage to your cells. This product comes in the form of soft gels that raving customers report is easy to swallow and add to their daily routine. They also report feeling better after around a week of taking it, but it has to be taken with food. Live Conscious CoQWell is manufactured in the USA, following the manufacturing process standards set by Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). Its also third-party tested to ensure quality, potency, purity, and an absence of harsh chemicals, heavy metals, toxins, mold, and pesticides. Puritans Pride Q-SORB Co Q-10 200 mg See Puritans Pride Reviews Puritans Pride Q-SORB Co Q-10 200 mg is a high dose formula of CoQ10 that provides optimal antioxidant support and supplies your body with cellular energy. One serving contains 200 mg of naturally fermented CoQ10

Rapid-release soft gel

Highly-absorbable formula Contains soy and gelatin Puritans Pride Q-SORB Co Q-10 200 mg comes in a rapid-release soft gel that contains 200 mg of naturally fermented CoQ10. Its also highly purified, making it one of the better CoQ10 supplements on the market thats more bioavailable and easier to absorb. Taking one soft gel a day helps promote your heart health and blood pressure, increases energy production in your cells, protects your nervous and immune system, and promotes oral and gum health thats linked[16]to good overall cardiovascular health. The soft gel does contain soy and gelatin, making it unsuitable for vegans, vegetarians, and those hypersensitive or allergic to soy.

Why You Should Add CoQ10 To Your Diet

Coenzyme Q10 is an important antioxidant and a key factor in cellular energy production naturally made by our bodies, but its production drastically declines with age. Studies[17] show that CoQ10 levels peak in our 20ies and decrease up to 50% by the time we are 80. Many vitamin tablets do not contain coenzyme Q10 or dont contain enough to replete depleted levels.

Unfortunately, most people dont get enough of CoQ10 through their diet, leading to deficiency. Additionally, other factors can contribute to a rapid deficiency, such as taking statins and other medications. Statins alone[18] can decrease CoQ10 levels in your plasma by up to 51% in just 30 days of use. Ubiquinone supplement pills may be the only way to regain those levels.

If taking supplements isnt easy for you, start by increasing your intake of foods containing CoQ10, such as oily fish, nuts, eggs, chicken, and organ meats. If youre vegan or vegetarian, youll probably have to resort to CoQ10 supplements, as most foods containing high levels of this nutrient are from animal sources. The best non-animal sources are peanuts, soybeans, cauliflower, spinach, and broccoli.

CoQ10 is crucial for cellular energy production, and when you have lower than optimal levels, your heart and other organs with high-energy requirements cannot function properly. Highly purified, high-quality, and highly-absorbable CoQ10 formulas help keep those levels up and prevent heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases, including improving blood pressure as well as supporting your overall health through antioxidant effects.

When Should CoQ10 Be Taken?

CoQ10 is fat soluble, so its best taken with meals, especially fatty foods. Some people report[19] having trouble falling asleep if taken too close to bedtime, so its better to take it in the morning or afternoon.

When it comes to dosage, the typical recommendation is 90-200[5] mg per day, but research shows how even extremely high doses such as 1,200[20] mg per day are mostly well tolerated.

What to Consider When Buying a CoQ10 Supplement

In order to choose the best within a plethora of CoQ10 supplements on the market, there are some important factors to consider:

Quality  as with all dietary supplements, its always important to ensure high-quality from a trusted source. The higher the quality of ingredients, the better the absorption and bioavailability.

Third-party tested  this ensures high potency, purity, and an absence of chemicals, heavy metals, mold, and pesticides.

Suitable for vegans  if youre following a vegan or vegetarian diet, choosing a CoQ10 supplement that doesnt contain gelatin and is dairy-free is important. There arent many CoQ10 supplements out there that are suitable for vegans in soft gel form, so try looking for tablets, capsules, or gummies.

Pharmaceutical grade  if youre on specific medication or drug therapy, and need extremely pure dietary supplements, look for pharmaceutical grade labels.

Additional micronutrients  some brands contain additional, highest-quality vitamins and minerals in their CoQ10 formula, supplying you with more important nutrients to promote better health and wellbeing. Some micronutrients and plant compounds can even help improve the absorption of CoQ10 and promote its long-lasting effects on your body. One of these is vitamin C.

Clean ingredients  whether the formula contains only one or a variety of ingredients, the best CoQ10 supplements are gluten-free, sugar-free, and free of GMOs, as well as any artificial fillers colorings, thickeners, additives, or sweeteners.

Medications that you may be taking may interact. Coenzyme Q10 is contraindicated in conjunction with insulin, glyburide, atorvastatin, warfarin, chemotherapy, or fluvastatin. Consult your physician before starting this supplement if on medication.

Final Thought

Coenzyme Q10 is one of the most important antioxidants in the human body, supplying all cells with the energy needed to function properly. Our cells use the energy to transport oxygen and other important nutrients to all muscles and organs, promoting their health and optimal function. This is especially important regarding heart health, brain support, immune health, and reproductive function.

Over time, our bodies start producing less and less CoQ10, depleting our cells of energy and making our bodies struggle to perform in the best way possible. Increasing your intake of foods containing high levels of CoQ10 and taking high-quality supplements to help keep optimal levels of this important antioxidant in your body and prevent potentially serious health conditions like heart failure, cognitive decline, and inflammation caused by harmful oxidation of free radicals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do CoQ10 supplements work? Yes, many studies show their potential benefits and success in maintaining optimal levels of CoQ10 in the body. Many people dont take in enough food or nutrition, so supplementing is crucial to maintain optimal levels. Are CoQ10 supplements safe? Generally, CoQ10 supplements are safe, but they can interfere with specific medications, so its always best to consult with your doctor before starting a new supplement. Extremely high doses of 1000mg have resulted in some side effects[21] in those who are sensitive to CoQ10. These include diarrhea, headaches, skin rashes, and nausea. What is the best dose for CoQ10 supplements? The recommended dose for CoQ10 supplements is between 90 and 200 mg per day, but the best dose for you might depend on various factors, from your age and diet to your health status and whether or not youre taking any medications. How to take CoQ10 supplements? Coenzyme Q10 supplements should be taken in the morning or afternoon with a meal containing at least one fatty food. Which CoQ10 is the most effective? CoQ10 is known under two main forms, ubiquinone and ubiquinol. The former is the oxidized form of CoQ10, and the latter is the reduced form of CoQ10. Some research[22] suggests that ubiquinol is more[23] bioavailable and therefore absorbable, but a study[24] from 2020 showed no significant difference in bioavailability between the two forms of CoQ10. Whats the best CoQ10 supplement for fertility? As ovaries and sperm need the energy to function properly, any type of dietary supplement containing CoQ10 that will increase cellular energy production will promote[4] fertility and reproductive health.

How much CoQ10 should be taken daily? Standard daily doses[25] range from 50 mg to 200 mg, depending on the patients age, health, and condition. The most common supplemental range is 90-200 mg. Dividing the dose into two or three times per day will reduce the likelihood of any side effects.
Wahlroos reiterated his support for basic income schemes yesterday in a speech broadcast live by Ilta-Sanomat by suggesting that basic income is one of the few ways for the country to succeed in the modern-day world.

Finland will have to face a decline in the standard of living unless it adapts to the demands of globalisation, warns Bjorn Wahlroos, the board chairman at Nordea and Sampo.

The only alternatives to reforms are a social crisis and constantly growing unemployment, he said. And the alternative to globalisation is a constantly falling standard of living.

Wahlroos also expressed his doubts about the demands of trade unions that wages be maintained at a high enough level to cover the cost of living by estimating that the current minimum wages will make it impossible to maintain full employment in the future. The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), for example, has stated that earned income must always be enough to cover the cost of living in Finland.

It's a beautiful idea, admitted Wahlroos. I've said that it's the most brilliant and beautiful idea to a number of SAK chairmen, but unfortunately it won't be realistic in the future.

We'll have to develop  and develop ourselves towards  a society where it'll be possible to guarantee the income level and well-being of people without ravaging the labour markets. And the solution will be a basic income scheme  be it this one or another one.

A well-designed basic income scheme, he estimated, will reduce inactivity traps and enable people to accept job offers with wages lower than the minimum wages prescribed under the collective agreements. The Government's proposal for a limited basic income experiment, however, is not the answer due to its design flaws, according to Wahlroos.

He also urged the country to do its utmost to remain at the forefront of product development by ensuring that the living conditions are attractive for both the winners and losers of digitisation. The policy decisions made to attract the winners of digitisation, he added, must also be considerate of the disadvantaged.

A basic income scheme would be one way to achieve that, he reiterated.

Wahlroos also urged policy-makers to distance themselves from the labour market organisations in order not to grant them a veto right on all decisions concerning the labour markets and the society at large.

They have traditionally opposed a large share of [labour market] reforms, he reminded.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Petteri Paalasmaa  Uusi Suomi

Source: Uusi Suomi
The objective should be to develop co-operation in the defence sector with a particular emphasis on concrete aspects. It should also be considered in more depth what mutual assistance and solidarity mean in practice, he says in a blog post on Puheenvuoro .

Finland will seek to actively influence the drafting of a common defence strategy for the European Union, states Jussi Niinisto (PS), the Minister of Defence.

Niinisto also commented on the annual state of the union address of Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, by estimating that it contained few new proposals. Juncker stated yesterday that it is necessary to develop defence co-operation both within the European Union and with Nato, and proposed that a military headquarters be established as the first step towards a common military force.

Europe, he estimated, is currently paying up to one hundred billion euros a year for the lack of defence co-operation.

Niinisto writes that creating synergies and patching up holes in the defence capacity is key for the defence co-operation between the European Union and Nato. It is great if the EU can finally take concrete action to develop central aspects of itself, such as the defence of Europe, he acknowledges.

I am not holding my breath, however, he adds.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
LOCAL BRIEFS: Uber, Pork Chop Hill, AT thru hike

Related Stories

Yep, Uber's here

Need a ride?

You can get one the new way. Hendersonville now has Uber.

The app-based taxi service launched in Hendersonville earlier this summer and covers Henderson County destinations. According to a check of the app, a ride from the Historic Courthouse to the Flat Rock Playhouse would cost $6-8. It would cost you $17 to $22 to get to Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Mills River. And a ride down the hill to the Purple Onion in Saluda would set you back $14 to $19, according to fare estimates the Uber app provides.

The ride service also offers UberXL for larger groups. It cost more but the vehicles seat at least six people so cost-sharing is a common option.

Pork Chop Hill hero to attend film screening

Joe Clemons, a Hendersonville retiree who was one of the U.S. Army heroes of the famous Battle of Pork Chop Hill in the Korean War, will be on hand Saturday for a showing of Pork Chop Hill at the Henderson County Heritage Museum in the Historic Courthouse at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Gregory Peck played Clemons in the 1959 movie about the bloody battle in which American troops fought off the Chinese Army to take the pivotal hill.

1st Lt. Joseph G. Clemons Jr. was one of the infantry leaders in the battle, which was known as one of the most intense artillery battles in U.S. military history. Nine artillery battalions of the 2nd and 7th divisions fired 37,655 rounds on the first day and 77,349 rounds on the second.

As a fresh Chinese assault made its way up a ridge Clemons radioed his battalion, I must have water, plasma, more medical assistance, flamethrowers, litter, ammunition, several radios. Only a little water and C rations arrived, according to an account of the battle in Military History magazine in April 2003.

Clemons led the 135-man Company K of the 31st Infantry, which suffered 125 casualties, including 18 killed, in the fierce battle. A 1951 West Point graduate, Clemons was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in the battle. A career officer, he rose to the rank of colonel and became commander of the 198th Infantry Brigade in 1969.

City advisory committee announces downtown survey



The Citys Downtown Advisory Committee is conducting a customer survey to find out why people come downtown and what they enjoy most about downtown.

The committee is asking what draws you in and what makes downtown a place you enjoy? To take the survey visit DowntownHendersonville.org and click on Take The Survey. The survey consists of 13 questions and only takes a few minutes to complete.

If you have a question or would like to hear more about the survey, contact Lew Holloway at lholloway@hvlnc.gov or 828.233.3216.

Barr presents slideshow of Appalachian Trail hike



Peter Barr, the trails and recreation coordinator for the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, will present a slideshow about his 2010 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Henderson County library.

Barrs movie and slideshow set to music chronicles his 161-day hike of the 2,181-mile Georgia to Maine trail. His hike included more than 100 miles of side hikes to peaks, waterfalls, views and other highlights. The program, presented by the Friends of the Library, is free.
Three cars with a combined value of around 90,000 were stolen from the same south Dublin home in just a matter of seconds.

Donnybrook gardai are investigating the theft of the three cars which happened in the Abbeyfield estate in Milltown shortly before 5am on Monday.

No arrests have been made and none of the vehicles have been recovered yet after an Audi A4, BMW I series and a VW Scirocco were taken by a gang of at least three criminals.

Targeted

The three stolen cars were last seen driving in convoy in the Milltown area, heading towards Dundrum, immediately after the robbery.

The criminals involved in the burglary are suspected of having the property under surveillance before they picked a lock and broke into the house.

They then robbed three separate car keys from a hall stand in the house before escaping in the stolen cars.

It is understood that a garda patrol had been in the area just minutes before the crime unfolded.

The three occupants of the house - two men aged 30 and a 29-year-old woman - were all asleep upstairs during the robbery.

One of the men was awoken by noise but by the time he went to investigate what was happening, the raiders had fled the area in the three stolen cars.

Gardai were called and rushed to the scene but there has been no major developments in the investigation since.

"People need to be aware of criminals who may be watching houses and looking to target potential victims in this type of crime," a source said last night.

Violent

"The reality is that the occupants are probably lucky that they were not awake to confront this gang as those situations can often end violently," the source added.

Earlier this week, it emerged that over 170 vehicles stolen by criminal gangs in Ireland and destined for sale abroad have been seized by gardai in less than two years.

Operation Waste has already been responsible for recovering motors worth 2m, including similar models to those taken on Monday morning in Milltown.
A Dublin man who was allegedly foiled in his attempt to rob a pharmacy by an off-duty sergeant has been sent forward for trial.

Jason Halpin (43) was allegedly confronted by the off-duty officer who tackled him to the ground.

The accused is also alleged to have been found with a kitchen knife after the officer intervened.

Mr Halpin was served with the book of evidence when he appeared on bail before Blanchardstown District Court this week.

The accused, with an address at Corduff Road in Blanchardstown, is charged with attempted robbery.

The attempted robbery allegedly took place at Lloyd's Pharmacy, Castleknock Shopping Centre, on March 9.

He is also accused of the unlawful possession of a sharply-pointed kitchen knife in the same incident.

The DPP previously directed trial on indictment in the circuit court in relation to the allegations, which has greater sentencing powers than in the district court.

Evidence

A State solicitor said the book of evidence was ready and had been served on Mr Halpin, who goes forward to the next sittings of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge David McHugh gave Mr Halpin the formal alibi caution. The judge also assigned defence solicitor John O'Doherty and one junior counsel on free legal aid.

Given the seriousness of the charges, Mr O'Doherty applied for a senior counsel.

However, Judge McHugh refused to grant the request, saying the solicitor could make that application before the circuit court.

In relation to the charges against Mr Halpin, Garda Adrian Kildea previously alleged that Mr Halpin was observed by an off-duty garda while approaching the pharmacy and acting in a "very suspicious manner".

Gda Kildea claimed the sergeant contacted the local garda station when he saw the accused man running into the pharmacy. He followed him into the premises and he saw Mr Halpin grab a woman and push her behind the counter, Gda Kildea had alleged.

The court previously heard that Mr Halpin was confronted by the off-duty officer and he was restrained on the ground.

"He was in the process of carrying out a robbery," Gda Kildea alleged.

"He was found in possession of a sharply pointed knife - a kitchen knife with a black handle."

Mr Halpin has not yet indicated a plea to the charges.
Mourners at the funeral mass of Caitriona Lucas in Liscannor, County Clare.

Well over a thousand mourners turned out to pay tribute at the removal of Caitriona Lucas, the first coast guard volunteer to die in the line of duty.

There were devastating scenes as the heartbroken community of Liscannor, Co Clare, gathered to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by Caitriona, who had been the first to volunteer in the search for missing school teacher

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David McMahon.

Parish Priest Fr Denis Crosby said the silent crowds had said it all with their respect for Caitriona.

They were here from Valentia and Donegal, from Dublin and beyond. Her light has shone right through the land, he said.

It would have been beyond her wildest imagination because she was not that kind of person. It wasnt her way.

A light has gone out with Caitrionas death, he said.

Those who knew Caitriona recalled her as a person with a great aura of calmness around her. She was so helpful, said retired county librarian Noel Crowley, who had worked with Ms Lucas for about eight years.

She never thought of what she had done, but what she could do next, he said. She was a great team member.

He revealed that only within the last month, Caitriona had helped to organise a guard of honour at the funeral of a colleague at the library.

The 41-year-old lost her life on Monday after the rescue boat she was in overturned off the coast of Kilkee, Co Clare.

Unit

Amongst those present at the removal last night were volunteers from coast guard units all around the country, sympathising with Caitrionas husband, Bernard  also a coast guard volunteer at Doolin  as well as the couples two children, Ben (20) and Emma (18).

One of the first groups to pay their respects was from the unit at Achill, Co Mayo.

There were also volunteers from the unit at Kilkee, Co Clare  which often works with the Doolin coast guard, where Caitriona had been based, as well as volunteers from Kilrush and many others.

Members from the Garda sub-aqua unit, the Civil Defence and from Cork City Fire Brigade also paid their respects.

Mattie Shannon, Officer in Charge (OIC) with Doolin Coast Guard, said he was

overwhelmed by the great outpouring of sympathy from around the country.

She was such a fantastic person, he said.

All coast guard services work in tandem and they have come together at this time to mourn a member of the family, he said.

Meanwhile, a book of condolences drew dozens of locals to the library in Ennistymon, Co Clare where Caitriona worked.

Her regular readers left messages of support for her husband and two children.

She was very good with her hands and had great ideas and always did things on her own initiative, her colleague Tim Murphy said.

She organised a Lego club, where the kids build things together, which is all about teamwork. It was actually so popular we had to spread it out over a longer time because there was so many people who wanted to do it.

The importance of team building was obviously something that she picked up from working with her colleagues in the coast guard. She was great for helping readers if they were trying to select and they loved that, Mr Murphy said.

This week Caitriona had organised an event which was due to take place on Wednesday evening for children to mark the centenary of author Roald Dahls birth.
'James Quinn (p) is being questioned about the murder of Gary Hutch'

A nephew of veteran criminal Martin 'The Viper' Foley has been arrested by Spanish police investigating the murder of Gary Hutch last September.

Feared south inner city criminal James Quinn (34) was arrested by Spanish police at Madrid Airport late on Tuesday.

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He is expected to appear before a local court today.

Quinn is being questioned about the murder of Gary Hutch (33), who was gunned down by a lone gunman at the Miraflores apartment complex near Marbella on September 24 last year.

Gardai worked with Spanish police in the arrest of Quinn and helped their counterparts in the nearly year-long murder investigation.

Hutch's murder started the deadly feud between his associates and the Kinahan cartel that has now claimed 10 lives and left city communities terrified.

Quinn is well known to gardai for his involvement in organised crime and has strong links to the Kinahan cartel.

It is understood that Quinn has been living in Spain's Costa del Crime for several years, where he has built up a fearsome reputation as an enforcer.

As part of their investigations, Spanish police seized a yacht worth 100,000 and a Bentley car worth 200,000 in raids yesterday.

Hammer

Quinn has around 70 convictions here and in July 2013 he received a one-year jail sentence for attacking the car of a bouncer with a hammer while he was stopped at traffic lights because he was thrown out of a pub in May 2008.

The criminal smashed the front driver's window of the car in the Red Cow area of the capital.

A month earlier, in a separate case, he was convicted of assaulting Garda Nigel Daly on South Great Georges Street on April 23, 2008.

He also pleaded guilty to wilfully obstructing the garda.

The court heard that Quinn lunged at Gda Daly. The garda drew his baton and told Quinn to get back before hitting him on the leg.

Quinn retreated before again lunging at the garda with a clenched fist. Gda Daly hit him again and Quinn told him to "f**k off".

Quinn was also arrested in relation to an incident where a drug addict was shot in the leg and beaten up at his home in Basin Street in June 2008.

At the time he was regularly seen at his uncle Martin 'The Viper' Foley's side, but has not been seen in his company much in recent times.

After Foley miraculously survived a gun attack in February 2008, it was Quinn who collected him from hospital.

Foley (65) was officially warned by gardai earlier this year about an active threat against his life because of the capital's gangland feud, which he is not involved in.

Meanwhile, it emerged during the summer that investigators were looking into reports that the Kinahan cartel and Hutch mob had already been in dispute over a 4m cash haul for months before Gary Hutch was shot dead in Spain.

The cash, the proceeds of a robbery by the Hutch gang, was given to the Kinahan cartel to launder - but it was instead stolen, according to sources.

This led to huge tensions between the two major criminal organisations, which exploded when Daniel Kinahan survived an assassination attempt in August 2014, and the dispute ultimately led to Gary Hutch's murder last September.

Informant

It has also been investigated whether Hutch was shot dead because he was accused of being a garda informant by the cartel and had been stealing drug money from the mob.

Hutch had tried to escape out of a back exit at the gated Costa del Sol estate where he lived when he was cornered and shot dead.

He was murdered after a chase around the communal swimming pool of the Angel de Miraflores apartment complex, near Marbella.

Hutch is believed to have been shot twice in the back, but managed to flee.

The masked assassin chased him down before shooting him in the chest and head.

Witnesses said the gunman ran away before slowing to a walk on a steep hill leading out of the complex.

He then escaped in a stolen BMW, which was later found gutted outside a restaurant a 10-minute drive away.

The Hutch slaying kicked off a deadly feud which has led to nine other murders, including the Regency Hotel gun attack in February which was revenge for Gary's murder.
Spanish police seized a 100k yacht and a Bentley car worth 200,000 in raids connected to the ruthless Kinahan cartel.

The huge operation that kicked off at dawn yesterday on the Costa Del Sol - a known Kinahan bolthole - also saw the seizure of significant amounts of cash.

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As part of their investigation, Guardia Civil officers raided the MGM Gym in Puerto Banus near Marbella, which has suspected links to the cartel.

It followed the arrest of James Quinn (34), a nephew of veteran Dublin gangster Martin 'The Viper' Foley, on Tuesday night in connection with the murder of Gary Hutch (33). He was gunned down by a lone gunman in Marbella in September last year.

As well as the search of the gym, police seized the yacht and luxury vehicle.

These images show garda and police officers standing at the scene as the white yacht is searched amid blue skies in the upmarket Spanish port.

A dark coloured Bentley car was also searched by investigating officers.

This came as a raid on the nearby MGM Gym continued as part of a international operation involving raids on properties on the Costa del Sol and Dublin.

Footage released by police showed an officer leading a sniffer dog around a bedroom while a colleague forced his way into a safe after brushing it down for fingerprints.

Large wads of 500, 100 and 50 notes were found in the gym's safe and were counted before being bagged up.

Masked officers were also filmed sifting through paperwork and analysing a gun that appeared to have been found on the premises.

A garda who had flown in from Ireland to see the operation was clearly visible in the footage as Spanish officers examined the weapon.

Detectives used bolt-cutters to force their way into the MGM Gym just after 7am local time.

They took away cash and computers.

Hunt

Investigators were spotted loading several boxes into unmarked vans parked on the pavement outside the gym.

They also used sniffer dogs, which are believed to have been trained to hunt out cash and drugs.

The gym was empty when the police turned up in more than half-a-dozen unmarked cars and Guardia Civil vans.

A caretaker arrived to find the door had been opened and scores of officers inside.

Clients arriving later in the morning were turned away and told the gym would not be opening for business until today.

The operation lasted around four hours, until just after 11am.

There was no sign of Daniel Kinahan, who is reported to have taken over control of the family's business empire from dad Christy.

Police remained at the premises after taking away property from inside.

Several police and Guardia Civil vehicles were spotted at the scene, including a van used by Guardia Civil forensics experts.

Former Irish, British and European Middleweight Champion Matthew Macklin, a pal of the Kinahans, who is not involved in crime, founded the MGM Gym.

"The officers said they were looking for two men who used to use the gym but no one believes them.

"They took everything - computers, paperwork, the lot," said a source.

The ongoing feud between the Hutch and Kinahan families has been blamed for 10 deaths in Spain and Ireland.
Councillors have slammed a raunchy new advertisement that has sprung up on billboards around Dublin.

Fashion company 6th Sense Global Designs has been criticised for an 'explicit' advert that was plastered on billboards on both sides of the city.

The one pictured here was on Dublin's North Strand Road.

The billboard - advertising men's clothing - features a man slickly dressed in a suit and a young model sporting nothing but black lingerie. The logo 'dress to impress' accompanies the advert.

Gratification

City councillors were less than impressed with the advert, with both independent councillor Damien O'Farrell and Green Party councillor Ciaran Cuffe lodging complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority Ireland.

Mr O'Farrell said the billboard implies that women are there for "men's gratification".

"It's obviously a marketing ploy, but a highly questionable one from an ethical perspective," the inner city councillor said.

"I believe this advertisement is inappropriate for a public thoroughfare.

"We have watershed time on TV for very valid reasons.

"Parents go to great lengths to protect their children from sexually explicit material on the internet, and yet when they go out on the street they are going to be exposed to it."

In a letter seen by the Herald, Mr O'Farrell told Dublin City Council (DCC) he was "very disappointed" that they would allow this type of advertising.

"I'm requesting a report of this matter and the removal of the material as a matter of urgency," Mr O'Farrell told a council official.

DCC responded saying that while they appreciate the councillor's "dismay regarding the content" of the advert, the council has no powers to regulate advertisements' content.

"However, I will request Planning Enforcement to investigate whether or not the structure has planning permission and to take any action as appropriate," a DCC official told Mr O'Farrell.

"It's pretty sexist and exploits the sexuality of the women. It is a good example of everyday sexism," Mr Cuffe told the Herald.

Meanwhile, Cllr Mannix Flynn described the poster as "outrageous" and "insulting".

"This is reckless and gratuitous. It is a shameless sexualisation of women and their body to sell products," he said.

"Placing this in the face of passing public and young children is very wrong."

The company behind the billboard did not respond to queries by the Herald.
Lifelong resident, Paul Sawyer, was known for his dedication to improving Elko in higher education and historical preservation. If there was a major project, Paul was behind it, said friend Steve Dondero.

Paul C. Sawyer was born in Winnemucca in 1917 to Edna and Orrin Sawyer. His family moved to the IL Ranch in northern Elko County before moving to Elko where Paul started school.

In the first grade, he met his future wife, Phyllis Blair, who he married after they graduated from Elko County High School. Together, they had three daughters, Renee, Carla and Blair.

Paul worked for Western Pacific Railroad before starting his career in the automobile business by becoming a partner in Nevada Motors in 1945. He owned a Dodge dealership called Paul Sawyer Motor Company and later owned a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile franchise under the name Sawyer Chevrolet Company.

Sawyer was honored by Time Magazine and the Nevada Automobile Association for best sales in the state. He sold the Chevrolet business to Dewey Nelson in 1976 and remained in the auto leasing business through the 1980s.

In 1967, Sawyer, along with other Elko businessmen and professionals, established Elko Community College, now Great Basin College. Paul started a fundraising campaign that raised $46,000 which covered the costs of hiring a president and faculty. In 1992, he was given an honorary degree from the Board of Regents in recognition of his efforts in starting the college.

In retirement, Paul became interested in the history of the California Trail and the Hastings Cutoff that the Donner Party used in crossing northern Nevada. As a member of the Humboldt Highroad group, he volunteered and joined the Bureau of Land Management in marking the trails.

Pauls involvement led him to see a need for a center dedicated to the emigrants and pioneers who crossed Nevada on the California Trail. Together with Dale Porter, Sawyer worked to build the California National Historic Trail Interpretive Center.

The location, near the Hunter Exit off I-80, was suggested by Sawyer for its historic significance where the Donner Party resumed the California Trail from the Hastings Cutoff.
ELKO  Photographer Robert Fahey is the Northeastern Nevada Museum Gift Shops artist of the month for September.

Faheys photographs, ranging from abandoned vehicles to Nevada landscapes, are for sale at the gift shop and a reception to meet him will be held Saturday, Sept. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission to the reception is free.

I have always been interested in photography, but never did anything about until 2 years ago, said Fahey, who moved to Nevada after living in New York and Ohio.

I just see something that interests me and take the picture, he explained. I do some editing, but very little because Im colorblind.

Fittingly, Fahey named his photography business Colorblind Studios last December when he lived in Las Vegas, shortly before moving to Elko a few months later.

His photographs are printed in Crystal Archive Pearl metallic paper that seems to offer a two-dimensional quality to the subject, which Fahey learned about while touring Peter Liks photography exhibit at Caesars Palace.

Currently working at Elko Motors, Fahey uses days off to drive around rural Nevada for ideas to take pictures and hone his skills. He has been to Jarbidge, Eureka, Austin, Ely and Nelson, Nevada, which is south of Las Vegas.

I havent taken any classes or courses, said Fahey, who uses a Nikon DLSR for his work. I just keep playing with the settings until I get what I want.

Fahey noted that his work has gained more notice since he arrived in Elko. He was recently commissioned to photograph of the Las Vegas strip at night for a guy who owns Internet cafes. He hired me to get a panoramic of the strip.and put it on a three-piece canvas.

The Northeastern Nevada Museum is located at 1515 Idaho Street. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 738-3418 or email giftshop@museumelko.org.
ELKO  Elkos business community is answering the call when it comes to enhanced 911 with a $1,000 donation from Century 21 Gold West Realty.

To steal the saying from the real estate industry, location, location, location, said Police Chief Ben Reed, reiterating the difficulty in locating individuals with the current system.

The support for this issue continues to grow as it has received both the support of the local government and the community.

Emergency service and law enforcement officials from the Elko Police Department, City of Elko Fire Department, the Elko County Sheriffs Department, the Elko County Fire Protection District, Elko County Ambulance Service and Elko Combined Dispatch were there to accept the honor.

All present expressed the need for this system in the community and their gratitude for the efforts made thus far in kickstarting the process.

Century 21 really values the enhanced 911 program, said Delmo Andreozzi, public relations and marketing director, explaining the firm wants to be part of the process, especially when there is an opportunity to help gain faster implementation.

We believe this saves lives, he said. We feel like thats really important for us and I think weve heard Chief Reed say in the past that, If we cant find you, we cant help you, and theres so much to be said for that.

Andreozzi said this system can help those who are unable to communicate with authorities, such as victims of domestic violence or even those suffering from an immediate illness.

Were so thankful that a number of the businesses in the community recognize the importance of this issue and are stepping up. This is awesome, said Reed.

Chief of the Elko County Fire Protection District Linda Bingaman said the Century 21 donation is a wonderful opportunity for all emergency services to have access to the enhanced system.

The whole first response thing that we do is to get somebody there immediately, hopefully within under three minutes, have somebody at your side and start that patient assessment and start the healing process, said City Fire Chief Matt Griego, explaining the benefits of a faster response as in a lot of cases, seconds actually count in those medical emergencies, with strokes and heart attacks.

Enhanced 911 adds value to the 911 service, said Elko County Ambulance Director Lee Cabaniss, explaining information, such as the location, aid in a faster response.

Other identifiers, including the callers telephone number, are also displayed.

Both Cabaniss and Elko Combined Dispatch Director Donna Holladay thanked the community.

I just think its great that the community gives the way that they do. ... Theyre always giving, this is a great community to live in, she said, discussing there is much excitement for the installation and utilization of E911.

Commissioner Cliff Eklund said Century 21s donation and the promise of the proposed system means the County is being brought into the 21st century in reference to dispatch.

It modernizes the whole communications system  Weve had instances where people made a 911 call, didnt give an address and couldnt call back and police had to try and locate them based on a street, he said.

The commissioner recognized the cost for such a system and said donations are greatly appreciated as they make it possible.
ELKO  The body discovered by a hunter in a shallow grave Sept. 4 in Elko County has been identified by authorities as a Ryndon woman.

We do have a person of interest that were looking at in this particular case, said Undersheriff Ron Supp.

The grave was approximately 30 miles north of Elko just off of Mountain City Highway. The body was exhumed from the site and sent to the Washoe County Medical Examiners Office.

Carmen Magallanes-Sanchez, 34, was identified through fingerprints, said Supp.

She was reported missing from her home in the Ryndon area by her boyfriend Aug. 24.

The victim left behind a young child, who is currently with extended family out of state.

The Elko County Sheriffs Department does not have cause of death and is waiting for the autopsy report, said Supp.

The investigation continues in an instance that originated as a missing person case and bled in now to a homicide investigation, said Supp.

When asked about the details of the previous investigation involving Magallanes-Sanchez, Supp said she was just gone. Some details of the previous investigation have transferred to the current inquiries.

At this time, authorities do not believe there is a serial killer or the public should be afraid. However, the department wants the public to be careful in the wake of an unsolved homicide.

Deputies have canvassed the neighborhood.

No matter what you think it may or may not be, if you know anything we would encourage someone to call. Sometimes the smallest, little things that people dont think have anything to do with anything are what solves cases, said Supp, explaining this can include individuals who she could have been in company of.

Those with knowledge of her or her disappearance are asked to call the detective division at the sheriffs office at 738-3421. Other avenues include the agencys Facebook or Secret Witness at 738-4357.
ELKO  Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital will offer free health tests Sept. 17 at its 31st annual health fair.

The event will take place from 7 to 10 a.m. and will offer free health screenings. The free tests offered include, diabetes screening, liver and kidney function, and body minerals.

A new function of the health fair will be a focus on child safety. Bicycle safety in particular will be emphasized. Free DNA identification kits for children will also be available.

Director of Marketing and Community Relations Bill Applegate said he is excited the hospital has brought back the event that is always popular with attendees.

This is the thirty-first year that our hospital has conducted the event because the community response is always so positive, he stated in a press release. Attendees will be also able to interact with health-related booths and receive health, wellness and support group information during the event.

The free health screenings are available to everyone over the age of 18 and participants are encouraged to not consume any food or drinks at least eight hours prior to having their blood drawn. Children under the age of 18 are welcome to visit the various booths.

The basic screening tests, a comprehensive metabolic panel and lipid panel, include albumin, glucose, total protein, phosphorus, direct bilirubin, hemoglobin, A1C, total bilirubin, alkaline, phosphatase, chloride, calcium, sodium, AST CO2, potassium, BUN and creatinine

PSA Testing for men over 40 will no longer be offered at the health fair.

For more information visit NNRHhospital.com
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Hillary Clinton has a long history of hiding the whole truth about herself. The latest example  declining to reveal for 48 hours that she was suffering from pneumonia  was a serious mistake that chewed another chunk out of her already shaky credibility.

But the controversy surrounding Clintons illness overshadowed a fascinating moment when she overcame her penchant for privacy and gave a revealing interview to the website Humans of New York (HONY). Just days before she stumbled, literally and figuratively, on a New York sidewalk, Clinton told the story of taking a law school admissions test as a college senior during the height of the Vietnam War.

One of only a few women in a big classroom at Harvard, she described the scene: While were waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: You dont need to be here. And Theres plenty else you can do. It turned into a real pile on.

One of them even said: If you take my spot, Ill get drafted, and Ill go to Vietnam, and Ill die. And they werent kidding around. It was intense. It got very personal. But I couldnt respond. I couldnt afford to get distracted because I didnt want to mess up the test.

That experience, she went on, helps explain one of her biggest political weaknesses. I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions, she said. And thats a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you dont want to seem walled off. And sometimes I think I come across more in the walled off arena.

Clintons interview was posted minutes before Steve taught a class at George Washington University called Media, Politics and Government. The laptops and cellphones of his students immediately pinged and swooshed as dozens of their friends shared the post. Her words ignited a level of interest in Clintons campaign that has been painfully lacking among younger voters.

The HONY post seemed to reach my peers in a more personal way, said one female student, who received 26 links to the interview. Hillary sharing an anecdote about being a senior in college really worked, if her goal was to reach seniors in college and other millennial women.

The episode says a lot about Clintons continuing struggle to find a narrative that connects to the hearts and hopes of ordinary voters. One of the main reasons she lost to Obama eight years ago was his brilliant ability to tell stories that conveyed a strong but simple message: Im just like you. And as she said in the HONY interview, she might not have that talent, but she knows it when she sees it.

Im not Barack Obama. Im not Bill Clinton, she said. Both of them carry themselves with a naturalness that is very appealing to audiences. Its hard work to present yourself in the best possible way. ...

And that can be more difficult for a woman, she added. Because who are your models? If you want to run for the Senate, or run for the presidency, most of your role models are going to be men. And what works for them wont work for you. Women are seen through a different lens.

Of course they are, and many commentators on the HONY interview echoed Clintons lament. Women all over the world know this as fact, all too much, posted Michelle Jenkins. Be quiet, but not too quiet. Be smart, but not too smart ... it goes on and on. Added Robin Kennedy: Be pretty, but not too pretty ... be firm, but not too bitchy ... on and on.

Clinton knows how important it is to tell compelling stories, and shes tried out several during the campaign: her immigrant grandfather working in a Scranton, Pennsylvania, lace mill; her mother running away from an abusive home at 14; Facetiming with her granddaughter, Charlotte.

But those anecdotes have not connected with many younger voters. The Washington Post, for example, reports a tightening race in Pennsylvania, and quotes one pollsters explanation: We know who is not turning out: the college students and the minorities.

If Steves students are any guide, Clintons tale of being berated by hostile men who didnt think she belonged in law school touched a chord of recognition, especially with the younger women she needs to energize. The lesson: Leave her walled off fortress more often, and tell stories that reveal both her struggles and her strength.
Earlier this week, Washington Post published a piece on the violence in Karnataka over the sharing of the Cauvery waters with Tamil Nadu. It asked a simple but a critical question: Indians are rioting over water. Is this a glimpse into the future?

Yes, it is.

This round of violence over the Cauvery waters got prime-time attention because it happened in Bangalore, Indias swish info-tech hub. But there are several low-intensity water wars happening across the country, and some may also go out of hand, if they are not tackled now. Unfortunately, many such skirmishes/battles over water go unnoticed because they take place in rural areas.

Read: Cauvery cocktail: River dispute exposes Karnataka, Tamil Nadu fault lines

In June, I was in Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, a perennially water-starved district in the Bundelkhand region. In one of the villages, I met Shankar, a farmer. Last night, people from our neighbouring village stole our water, he said angrily.

They brought their cattle to our water tank we will take this up with their panchayat leaders because we hardly have water left for our cattle. Ours tank is the last source of water in this area, he explained.

Read: Cauvery water wars: 5 reasons why Karnataka is upset with SC order

Villagers have now decided to take turns to guard the tank at night.

Shankars neigbour Arvind did not mince words: There will be violence if they dont listen to us.

Experts say that water wars will become a norm in India due to climate change. Rainfall is expected to increase with greater variability, which could mean more droughts and floods. The Post report mentions a 2013 study by Princeton University and the University of California at Berkeley that looked at 60 case studies on climate change and found strong causal evidence linking climate events to human conflicts. For each standard deviation in change in climate toward warmer temperatures or extreme rainfall, the authors showed, the frequency of interpersonal violence rose 4% and intergroup conflict rose 14%.

Read: Dont blame nature for the drought in Bundelkhand

More evidence comes from the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJOLT), which aims to map 2,500 environmental conflicts and injustices by the end of 2017: It shows that more than 200 conflicts in India are caused by ecological disputes and scarcities of basic resources such as water and forests.

Conflicts related to water management appear highest in India with 59 cases, followed by conflicts in fossil fuels and climate justice category with 47 cases and the industrial and utilities conflicts category with 36 cases, VV Krishna, EJOLT project director and professor at the Centre for Studies in Science Policy at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, said in a recent interview.

Read: The water mafia is sucking India dry

Speaking to HT on the Cauvery water conflict, KJ Joy, who co-edited Water Conflicts in India: A Million Revolts in the Making, said that Cauvery-type water wars break out also because tribunals (including the Cauvery Tribunal) dont give a clear direction as how to share during shortages and also institutional mechanisms to deal with it.

Very often conflicts over sharing of water arise in distress years. And then this is exploited by identity-based organisations. Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should have foreseen the situation arising out of the Supreme Court verdict on September 5 and taken preventive steps, he added.

These conflicts also arise because there is lack of real time data, leaving room for rumour-mongering. Only now there seems to be a directive to the Central Water Commission to put real time hydrological data on the public domain, he added.

As India firefights the Cauvery issue, a similar conflict is brewing over the Mahandi waters between in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh government had proposed constructing more than a dozen barrages on the Mahanadi. Odisha fears that such projects would hamper water flow into the Hirakund dam built on the river that originates in Chhattisgarhs Dhamtari district.

Read: Shifting IPL matches or good rains wont end our water woes. Heres why

Then there is Andhra Pradesh and Telangana jousting over the Krishna and Godavari waters (one of the important issues underpinning the demand for a separate state had been water), and Punjab, Haryana and Delhi over the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal. Add to this is Karnataka and Goas fight over the sharing of the Mahadayi river waters.

If rivers have become source of conflicts, so have dams. There have been the strong protests against the Sardar Sarovar Project and the Polavaram dam. Similar protests have been seen in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. Other categories of water conflict include the one between industry and agrarian sector; water pollution and privatisation of the critical resource.

There is a virtual institutional vacuum in deal with micro watershed, sub-basins and basins in negotiated settlements around water allocation, and for conflict resolution. Though the different water polices have been talking about river basin organisations there is nothing on the ground.

This is all the more important in the case of inter-state water conflicts  we need institutions that cut across administrative/political boundaries and can engage with the sub-basins and basins as integrated hydrological entities. In fact we need democratic, multi-stakeholder platforms for every sub-basin and basins in the country which are legally mandated, said Joy.

Paradoxically, India has been able to resolve, at least to some extent, some of the trans-boundary conflicts with its neighbours. For example, despite all the tensions, the Indus Water Treaty still functions. There are occasional problems, but they are sorted out through discussion and dialogue.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about inter-state water conflicts.

Probably thats what promoted some years ago Priyaranjan Das Munshi, former Union minster for water resources, to say: I am not a minister for water resources, but for water conflicts.

The author tweets at @kumkumdasgupta.

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Reliance Jio has sought the industry watchdogs intervention over the three main telecom operators -- Airtel, Vodafone and Idea -- refusing to allow porting of their subscribers to its own network, in an alleged disregard to licensing norms.

Reliance Jio Infocomm, vide letters dated September 2, 2016, sent individually to Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, who are the incumbent dominant operators, informing them that Reliance Jio would be commencing its services from September 5, the company said in its letter.

In spite of being under legal and contractual obligation to port the numbers after a valid request is made, the incumbent dominant operators have rejected all the requests made for porting between Sep 5 to Sep 12, said the letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The letter said against 201 total requests made to the three operators -- to Airtel the most, followed by Idea and then Vodafone -- 161 of them have violated the contractual obligations and eight were subject to wrong coding, among other issues.

None were successfully completed, it said, elaborating portability regulations.

Please note that these rejections are in addition to the rejection of mobile number portability request of 4,919 corporate mobile numbers issued to employees and members of Reliance Industries Group by Bharti Airtel in August 2016, it said.

Reliance Jio sincerely requests that the TRAI take serious cognizance of this complaint and intervenes by taking strict action against incumbent dominant operators under the relevant provisions of the mobile number portability regulations and the unified licence, it said.

The letter comes just as the incumbent operators and Reliance Jio appeared to be in the process of settling their differences over providing enough points of inter-connect for calls from the latters network to go through to their own subscribers.
The government is all set to overhaul the union budget from 2017. With this mission in mind finance ministry is likely to present the proposal to the Cabinet, when it meets next week.

The proposal is to advance the budget presentation by a month to the last week of January from next year, move to outcome-based budgeting and merge the rail budget with it.

The PM has given a go-ahead to the proposals and finance ministry will get it cleared by the Cabinet at the earliest, said an official in the finance ministry who did not wish to be quoted. He added that the urgency is keeping in mind that there are barely four months to go if the budget has to be presented in January.

Though the budget is presented in February, several tax proposals kick-in only from June after Parliament passes the annual finance bill in May. Income tax changes come into force only after the finance bill is passed, but these are retroactively implemented from April 1.

By advancing the budget all the constitutional formalities can be finished before the beginning of the new fiscal, said the source quoted above. It will also allow individuals and companies more time to firm up savings and tax payout plans.

Sources in finance ministry say that parliament sessions will have to be rejigged to allow budget-presentation in January. The winter session will start in November and the budget session will begin a few days before Republic Day. So far that is the understanding, said the source mentioned earlier.

By scrapping the distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure and moving to an outcome-based budget, the finance ministry is trying to shift from traditional performance-based budgeting by planning expenditure to fixing appropriate targets and quantifying deliverables of each scheme.

Rail minister, Suresh Prabhu told Rajya Sabha on August 9 that he has asked the finance minister to merge the Railway Budget with General Budget in the long-term interest of national transporter as well as the countrys economy.

If the rail budget is merged then, Railways will not have to pay the annual dividend, for the gross budgetary support, to the government, said a top source in the government who did not wish to be named.

Discarding the rail budget is a politically sensitive issue. This 92-year old practice has seen it being used as a populist tool to announce new trains and routes by coalition governments to reach out to their constituencies.

Apart from the cabinet nod, the move to advance the budget and merge the rail budget will require bi-partisan political support as it will involve changes in Parliament sessions.

The Congress is not in support of the plan.

What is the logic behind changing a time-tested method? If the Budget is presented in January, the finances of the country will not be clear by then, said Veerappa Moily, Congress Lok Sabha MP and a former law and corporate affairs minister. He also alleged that the government should first consult with all political parties before taking a decision on this.

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Delhi-based Zexus Air is on the verge of getting a national scheduled airline permit with the aviation regulator coming out with a public notice to invite comments. This is usually the last stage before granting the license.

Zexus along with two others  Air One Aviation Pvt. Ltd and Premier Air  had received a no-objection certificate aviation ministry in 2014 to launch nationwide operations subject to clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

M/s Zexus Air Services Pvt. Ltd. has applied for grant of Air Operators Permit (Scheduled) for the purpose of providing Scheduled Air Transport Services in India, the DGCA notice said. The documents submitted by the applicant are being processed in this office. In order to comply with the requirements of Schedule XI of Aircraft Rules 1937, a notice is hereby given to the public and all the persons likely to be affected by the grant of this permit to submit their objections or suggestions, if any, on M/S Zexus Air Services Pvt. Ltd. within 15 Days of the issue of this notice, it said.

According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) website, Zexus Air plans to launch services with Embraer E175LR equipment. It was registered in April 2013.

Industry experts said more airline launches could be in offing as the government prepares to roll out its ambitious regional connectivity scheme (RCS). The booming passenger traffic in the countrys smaller towns and cities is a big incentive. India is the fastest growing aviation market in the world and domestic passenger traffic grew by a record 25.82% in July.

The RCS will further boost operations to smaller towns with the government offering incentives to airlines in the form of a viability gap funding (VGF). The RCS would ensure that operational costs are covered with VGF support from the government thus making operations to smaller cities viable, said aviation expert Rajji Rai.

RCS  touted as the centre-piece of the National Civil Aviation Policy  provides for a fare cap of Rs 1770-Rs 4070 for flight durations between 200km to 800 km respectively. The government has suggested a VGF of up to Rs 4170 per seat for fixed wing planes and Rs 7200 for helicopters. Both the existing big carriers as well as charter operators, who can apply for a Scheduled Commuter Airlines license, will be eligible to operate flights under the scheme.

Under RCS unveiled in July, government plans to extend air connectivity to smaller towns and cities. There are a total of 394 un-served airports and 16 under-served airports in the country, which would be upgraded by AAI. The aviation ministry has already sought a budgetary provision of Rs 4,650 crore to revive 50 un-served and under-served airports.

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Clearly affirming that it takes a lot to invest ones life savings and future earnings to get a roof above ones head, the Supreme Court today directed Parsvnath Developers to deposit Rs 12 crore within four weeks as compensation to the 70-odd buyers who had invested in its Ghaziabad project almost nine years ago. This order in favour of homebuyers is one among many passed over the last few months which according to real estate experts is in line with rules of the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) and an attempt to win back homebuyers trust.

The Supreme Court has consistently been taking a stand against builders who have been selling false dreams to buyers, taking on the role of Sapnon ka Saudagar. Builders cannot run away with the lifes savings of homebuyers and give lame excuses that they are battling a slowdown, had not received project approvals or this trend or do not have the money to refund buyers when they have collected over 95% from homebuyers, says advocate M L Lahoty, who appeared on behalf of the aggrieved buyers in this case.

Arguing on behalf of homebuyers, Lahoty insisted that the developers should refund the money to homebuyers and told the bench that Ghaziabad Development Authority had even withdrawn the sanction for the project and that there was no possibility of Parsvnath completing the project in 12 months.

Realty experts also say that the apex courts order is in line with RERA norms.

This order is practically in line with RERA and is an attempt to make developers get into the self discipline mode. It is also an attempt to instill positivity into the market and bring back the trust and confidence of homebuyers, says Sudip Mullick, partner, Khaitan & Co.

On August 27, Parsvnath Developers had expressed inability to refund homebuyers for not handing over possession of flats, saying that the company was suffering from a severe liquidity crunch but assured the court that the project will be completed in a year. The project Parsvnath Exotica was launched in 2007 with the promise of handing over possession by 2011. Over 800 families have put in their money but flats have not been delivered. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCRDC) had directed the company to refund money with interest to 70 homebuyers who had filed the case against the builder.

In a related case, the Supreme Court on September 7 had issued a stern warning to Supertech, when the builder expressed its inability to pay refund money to homebuyers who were not keen to hold on to their flats, saying it was not concerned whether the real estate major sinks or dies. Whether you (Supertech) sink or die, we are not concerned. You will have to pay back the money to home buyers. We are least bothered about the financial status, a bench of justices Dipak Misra and Adarsh Kumar Goel had said when it was pointed out that builders did not have funds to pay back consumers.

The apex court directed the company to pay 10% per month of the invested amount from January 5, 2015 to the buyers within four weeks. Seventeen buyers have filed a petition before the court, complaining Supertech is refusing to refund the money they paid for buying flats in the Emerald Towers project. The company will have to submit a chart of payments to the court before the next hearing, which is October 25.

On September 12 the Delhi High Court had granted an opportunity to beleaguered real estate major Unitech Ltd to complete its delayed housing projects and hand over possession of flats to buyers by opening escrow accounts and using the money deposited in it solely for these projects.

The bigger issue here is what happens if more builders claim that they do not have the cash flows to restart stalled projects? Till date, there are around 6,000 projects out of a total of 13,500 that have been delayed in the top eight cities of the country, as per estimates by real estate research firm Liases Foras.

Legal experts are of the opinion that in case a developer fails to pay up or deliberately flouts the court orders, contempt proceedings can be initiated against him. The (Unitech) order sets a precedence. If a developer has promised a project, he had better deliver it. The country is not a banana republic and buyers cannot be taken for a ride. The order also emboldens the RERA Act under which there are stringent rules to deal with violations, says S K Pal, a Supreme Court lawyer.

The basic principle of law is if a party breaches a contract he will be bound to pay all losses incurred in the natural course. The question as to whether the defaulting party can actually pay the compensation is a different matter. If the defaulting party does not have the money, it will be wound up (if its a company) or have to declare insolvency (in case of individuals) for which the consequences are grave. Usually, neither a company nor an individual would allow this to happen unless they are truly not in a position to repay. In case of liquidation, the assets of the company will go to a liquidator and under the supervision and process of court, such assets will be sold and sale proceeds will be distributed in the manner as provided for under the Companies Act, explains Sudip Mullick from Khaitan & Co.

The buyers claim against the builder is not only limited to the property or compensation in lieu thereof , they can also proceed against the builder under the applicable criminal law in case the builder intentionally defrauded them,says Mullick.

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Are you skeptical about consuming ayurvedic and unani drugs? Get ready for a double dose of assurance about the quality of manufacturing, efficacy and side-effects.

Discarding the process of easy grant of licences, companies should get ready to answer tough questions while applying for approvals for drugs. Apart from the already existing patent regime, the government is set to form a new body to screen and clear applications for the proprietary drugs filed by ayurvedic, siddhi and unani drug makers, including Himalaya, Dabur, Patanjali, Zandu and Hamdard.

India is considered to have a long and great tradition of saints and hermits who evolved their own indigenous systems of healthcare, such ayurveda, yoga and siddha, and is the land of genesis of such medicines. Ayurveda offers affordable solutions to these non-communicable diseases, lifestyle-related diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancers, have become the greatest health challenges.

We are in process of forming a central technical advisory commission (CTAC) to screen and approve new patents. After getting the clearance from the commission, the company will apply for licence to manufacture and sell from the concerned state licensing authority or may apply for the grant of patents, Ajit M Sharan, secretary, Ministry of Ayush (ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homeopath), told HT.

Companies currently only apply for licences by submitting the papers on clinical trials and efficacy evidences to state licensing authorities. In case of innovation they approach the patent office directly, but applying for patent is voluntary. Many small companies have been introducing new formulations without proper scientific studies, which had led to unethical practices and promotions involving cheap gimmicks. This will also help ensure that the number of fancy applications will come down and only the serious applications will be processed, said J L N Sastry, R&D head (Ayurveda) at Dabur India, which has filed 14 patent applications in the last four years.

The government also has similar concerns.

It is easy for companies to just apply for state licence. However, the objective of introducing a new body is to pass drugs with unique discovery to boost innovation in the industry. We want to assure consumer about the quality and efficacy of ayurvedic and unani medicines. The procedure to manufacture and sell these medicines is lenient today. But companies should get ready for tough questions ahead, pointed Sharan.

According to estimates, more than 600 drugs come for licence approvals every year. The number is growing by 25% year-on-year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced several initiatives to promote ayurveda. Creating a vertical structure for AYUSH drugs in the Central Drug Standards Control Organisation, control over misleading advertisements and extension of financial support to the states under National AYUSH Mission for quality control activities are important initiatives that are underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the Global Ayurveda Festival in Kozhikode in February.

The ministry plans to device steps for approvals of patent applications based on two segments  low risk and high-risk drugs. The drugs that have higher metal and mineral ingredients would fall into the high-risk category and companies would be pushed to file more details on research and evidences, Sharan added.

Applying for patents is a cumbersome process so manufacturers try and skip it and prefer going to the state authority for manufacturing and marketing licence, said an official in the patent office.

After the entry of Baba Ramdevs Patanjali, the market is gearing up for tough competition. While Hamdard plans to launch about 10 new products across categories this year, another popular herbal brand, Dabur, is reviving its old ayurveda brand Ayush. Multinational FMCG firm Hindustan Unilever has also brought back its ayurveda brand, Lever Ayush.
With regulation on pollution from automobiles getting stringent world over, carmakers finally moving towards electrics, but not in a hurry.

Companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volvo plan to start off with eco-friendly models of vehicles in their portfolio.

On Wednesday, Swedish carmaker Volvo launched Indias first plug-in hybrid SUV, XC90 T8 Excellence. On full charge, the car can cruise for 40km without consuming a drop of fuel.

Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and so there is a need for a plug-in hybrid car, said Tom von Bonsdorff, managing director of Volvo India.

To be sure this not an all-electric vehicles. Volvo will continue to have internal combustion gasoline engines alongside battery linked engines, before India builds enough charging stations. The all-electric cars run for only 100-150km.

Moreover, the technology is not cheap. And apart from the 7.5% rebate on value added tax in Delhi, the government does not give a subsidy on electric vehicles. In Europe, owing to subsidy, electric cars cost the same or even less than gasoline models.

Thats another reason why electric technology will first come to luxury cars. The price of a mid-size sedan (with an average price of 10 lakh) becomes costlier by nearly 50% with electric technology. The same differential is 6-12% of a luxury cars value.

Next-generation technology is first introduced in high-end cars Thereafter, the adoption happens faster in the mass market, said Wilfried Aulbur, India head of consulting firm Roland Berger that is headquartered in Munich.

Volvo aims to sell a million electrified cars by 2025. The Centre, too, aims to get everyone to buy an electric car by 2030.

German luxury car brand Audi is looking at a whole range of electric vehicles for India. Some strategic models will come first. But it is unlikely that all models will have an electric vehicle, said Joe King, head of Audi India. But a lot of work needs to be done before we finally bring in the cars.

Nissan, Japanese auto major, will launch the Xtrail in October. Some countries in northern Europe and in some states in the US, electric cars are working well, because the governments are giving subsidy, said Guillaume Sicard, president of Nissan India.

Mercedes-Benz, which is also working on a portfolio of electric cars, too, is studying the market but is waiting for the infrastructure to come up.

As far as King is concerned, In the next 10 years, Audis electric car portfolio will grow rapidly, he said.

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NEW DELHI: A 73-year-old man was found murdered with multiple injuries on his body in South Delhis Defence Colony on Wednesday.

According to the police, it appears the man had a scuffle with the men who came to the house, reportedly with an intention to rob.

The men allegedly ransacked the house after killing RC Choukhani by attacking him with a blunt object.

The victim, a retired businessman, lived on the first-floor of a building in B-block of Defence Colony with two sons and three daughters. He was alone at home when the incident happened.

According to the police, Sukhanis son returned home on Wednesday evening and found him lying in the drawing room. He rushed his father to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. He then called the police.

Police said the entry to the house was friendly which shows Choukhani knew the men. Police said it looks to be a case of a property dispute as some documents are missing from the house.

Family members told the police that Choukhani stayed alone in the evening and was attended by a help. Police have detained five people for questioning. A case of murder has been registered.
NEW DELHI: Amid raging blame game over chikungunya deaths in the city, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday called for bridging gaps between the government and other stakeholders, including the BJP-ruled civic bodies.

The AAP leaders on Wednesday underlined the need to rise above politics in tackling the health crisis the city is battling with.

The development came a day after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be questioned over the issue, as all powers regarding the citys governance rested with them.

Delhi water minister Kapil Mishra too had said that Jung deliberately sent the Delhi health secretary on 15-day leave even as he (the L-G) himself left on a personal trip abroad.

On Wednesday, Mishra wrote an open letter to all his political opponents, urging all stakeholders to get rid of the barriers among the Delhi government, the Lieutenant Governor, civic bodies and the Centre in favour of # OneDelhi a hashtag that the party pushed on Twitter.

AAPs Delhi convener Dilip Pandey also made a similar appeal, saying everyone  including the elected representatives of BJP and AAP  should work together to combat chikungunya.

Delhis seven MPs, 70 MLAs and 272 municipal councillors can do it together by hitting the streets and undertaking fogging exercises, wherever possible. In fact, the MPs should lead the programme and guide the MLAs, Mishra said.

Later in the day, Mishra and BJP MP from northeast Delhi, Manoj Tiwari conducted joint fogging in Karawal Nagar, the assembly constituency of Mishra that falls in northeast Delhi.

We all need to work together to provide relief to people. I thank Union health minister JP Nadda and Kapil Mishra for taking a step ahead in the right direction, Tiwari said. Mishra and Tiwari walked with bicycles carrying the fogging machines as part of the fumigation drive to prevent mosquito breeding in their constituency.

Surprised, residents took to the streets and came out on their balconies to catch glimpses of the duo, even as party workers raised slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Matram.

Residents, however, claimed Wednesday was the second instance of fogging being conducted in the area. Every second house here has a patient or two of chikungunya. What happened today was also more of a political gimmick, said Ram Jaiswal, a local pharmacy shop owner.

Others said that the drains are not cleaned for months. A private clinic in the area was packed with patients having symptoms of dengue, chikungunya and viral fever.

I see 12-15 cases of chikungunya every day. Despite that no real preventive measures were taken, said, Dr D K Biswas, who runs the clinic.

I see 12-15 cases of chikungunya every day. Despite that no real preventive measures were taken , said, Dr D KB is was, who runs the clinic.
NEW DELHI: The death toll from chikungunya in Delhi rose to 10 on Wednesday after a private hospital reported five deaths, forcing the Union health ministry to call an emergency meeting and ask states to check mosquito breeding.

Health minister JP Nadda also sought a report on the health crisis that has gripped the Capital, which is battling one of its worst outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases.

The citys Apollo Hospital said five people had died of the viral disease in the last three weeks. One of the dead, a 31-year-old man, tested positive for both chikungunya and dengue, which are spread by the bite of the same mosquito  Aedes aegypti.

Four have died of dengue, which used to be the bigger worry. But this year, chikungunya has taken everyone by surprise. The viral disease causes fever, debilitating joint pain but rarely kills.

The deaths are being investigated by the government.

We are analysing the cause of deaths as in most cases it turns out associated illnesses triggered multi-organ failure, said an official from the national vector borne disease control programme.

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, which has reported four deaths, also called for an investigation.

These are patients who came to us with classic chikungunya symptoms and tested positive for it. They died within a day or two of admission and the trigger was multi-organ failure. We cant say whether chikungunya was directly responsible for deaths or not, said Dr DS Rana, chairman, Ganga Ram. It requires research.

In healthy people chikunugunya can be managed at home but causes complications in people over 65 and those with poorly-controlled diabetes and heart disease, say doctors.

There was no need to panic, as hospitals were prepared to deal with any eventuality, Nadda said.

Politicians who have come under fire for passing on the blame and responsibility put up a united front on Wednesday.

LG Najeeb Jung asked parties to rise above politics and fight the menace unitedly.
Nevada Lands Council members take great offense at some of the statements contained in last weeks news story by Suzanne Potter of the Nevada News Service, in which she reported that the Nevada Wildlife Federation and associated groups were seeking commitments from the presidential candidates to keep our public lands under federal control.

The reporter contended that there was very little public support for the transfer and quoted Nevada Wildlife Federation President Robert Gaudet as saying that the state would sell off the land if it gained control and it could never afford the associated responsibilities.

All three of those allegations are false.

First of all, the idea of transferring the lands to state control has been proven to have a great deal of support. The 2013 Nevada Legislature established a task force comprised of one county commissioner from each county to study the prospect of the state managing its own public lands.

Over the following year, the task force held 13 meetings and sought input from every conceivable stake holder. After each meeting, the task force members were instructed to report back to their separate county commissions to gather input. In the end, the 17-member task force voted unanimously to recommend the state pursue the transfer.

The 2015 Nevada Legislature heeded that recommendation and passed SJR 1 calling for the transfer and the bill was signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval. U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei then introduced the Nevada bill in Congress as H.R. 1484.

In our mind, the support of all 17 counties, the Nevada Legislature, Gov. Sandoval and Rep. Amodei suggests widespread, grassroots support for the idea.

To the next point, land sales would be restricted to a very limited level. The bill calls for the transfer to take place in two phases. In the first, the state would select seven million acres and sell only those lands already earmarked for disposal by the federal agencies, mainly lands surrounding metropolitan areas, and the checkerboard lands along the railroad corridor that have proven to be difficult to manage. The rest would remain public lands under state control.

The remaining nearly 50 million acres of public lands in the state would be transferred 10 years later and the bill specifically states that none of it could be sold. The bill also clearly states that all existing rights and uses must transfer with the land. Elko County Commissioner and chairman of the Nevada Task Force Demar Dahl states emphatically, Anything you can do today, you will be able to do after the transfer.

To the third point concerning the states ability to afford the responsibility, the Nevada Task Force commissioned a study by Intertech Services Corporation to analyze the economic implications. The study found the state could expect to earn a minimum of $350 million a year.

Last weeks story also quoted National Wildlife Federation President Colin OMara as saying his group was seeking the commitment to continue federal management for the good of everyone that loves the outdoors, everyone that likes to hunt or fish or camp or hike or bird and for the nations wildlife and water supplies and our natural resources.

The NLC thinks everyone should support the transfer to state management for exactly the same reasons Mr. OMara stated.

We should all be able to agree on goals for our public lands, such as lush landscapes, abundant wildlife, easy access and thriving local economies. Once we reach that agreement, we are left with the simple choice of who can best manage our backyards  the federal agents back in Washington, D.C., or our representatives right here at home. The NLC thinks we can do a better job than the feds.

We invite members of the NFW and any other interested group to visit our website and contact us. We would be happy to visit with anyone interested in the transfer.
NEW DELHI: Chikungunya cant be cause of death, Union health minister JP Nadda told the nation on Wednesday, the day 10 people died of chikungunya-related complications.

Medically, there are no deaths due to chikungunya, but media is showing deaths due to this disease. I want to make it clear that chikungunya is not fatal, said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday, the day two hospitals confirmed five chikungunya deaths in Delhi.

They are both wrong.

Chikungunya outbreaks have caused death across the world, shows World Health Organisation (WHO) data.

In 20052006, Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean reported around 2.6 lakh chikungunya cases and 254 deaths.

Till April 2015, 13.79 lakh chikungunya cases and 191 deaths attributed to the disease have been recorded in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the US.

The WHO confirms that while most people have mild disease and recover fully, some may develop eye, neurological and heart complications.

Serious complications are not common, but in older people, the disease can contribute to the causes of death, states the WHO on its Chikungunya factsheet.

NO DEATHS OR MISSED DATA?

Indias worst outbreak was in 2006, when 13.9 lakh chikungunya cases were reported but there are no deaths that can attributed to the disease.

Cases, as well as deaths may be missed if the symptoms are mild and the infection is not diagnosed or goes unrecognised. People often dont get tested if the disease is not endemic in the area, said Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, clinical director and director, internal medicine, Max Healthcare.

Epidemiologists say the mosquito that spreads the disease could also be affecting disease outcomes.

The dominant vectors (mosquitoes that spread the disease) in Reunion Island are aedes albopictus, but its aedes aegypti in India, which could be a reason why India had no deaths. We need to investigate the disease more closely, said a microbiologist with the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi.

The aedes albopictus thrives on open spaces that have water-filled breeding sites. But aedes aegypti, the mosquito behind the Delhi outbreak, breeds in flower vases, water storage vessels and concrete water tanks in bathrooms.

UNSOLVED DEATHS

The 2006 chikungunya outbreak in India affected 151 districts in eight states/union territories  Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu  with Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat the worst hit.

Ahmedabad (with a then population of 3.8 million) reported 60,777 suspected cases between August and October.

To assess the effect of the outbreak, public health experts at the Indian Institute Management-Ahmedabad compared the death rates in 2006 with those in 20022005 for the same

period and found that the death rates had increased by 22% in August, 57% in September and 33% in October.

They found 2,944 excess deaths occurred during the chikungunya epidemic when compared with the average number of deaths in the same months during the previous four years. These excess deaths may be attributed to this epidemic, the authors said in their study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

They said since hidden or unexplained cause of death is also possible, public health authorities should thoroughly investigate this increase in deaths associated with this epidemic.

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NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Wednesday rejected claims that Delhi was facing the worst dengue crisis, saying the figures were less than last year due to preparatory activities.

The government told the Delhi High Court that till September 10, four dengue deaths, 1,158 dengue cases and 1,057 chikungunya cases have been reported in the capital.

Owing to early start of preparatory activities of Delhi government, this core mandate has been effectively discharged, the government said in an affidavit filed before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal.

The government said of the 1,158 dengue cases, 804 are from Delhi and 354 from outside.

It said 1,057 cases of chikungunya were also reported but no death has been attributed to this disease till September 10 as per the report of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

During the hearing, petitioner advocate Shahid Ali pointed out that a number of deaths have been reported due to chikungunya.

Delhi governments senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra said they have done everything based on the experience of last year and released funds to the civic bodies in advance to combat the situation.

The bench, after the hearing, asked the petitioner to come up with suggestions on the steps required to be taken in this regard and fixed the matter for orders on September 20.

We will consider all the aspects and pass orders. If we are not satisfied, we may again call the government, the bench said.
BENGALURU: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday underwent a five-hour throat surgery at a private hospital here for a persistent cough, which troubled him for about 40 years.

The surgery corrected an anatomical abnormality of Kejriwals oral-pharyngeal and palatal area, which was causing small amounts of saliva to trickle into his air passages whenever his nose breathing was affected by allergy or other factors, said Narayana Health City in a statement.

Kejriwal, who arrived in the city from New Delhi on Tuesday, was first diagnosed by the hospitals medical director Paul C. Salins for his coughing.
NEW DELHI: Delhi health minister and the Lieutenant Governor on Wednesday held separate meetings with senior health officials to review preparedness for preventing spread of dengue and chikungunya.

L-G Najeeb Jung appealed all to rise above political considerations to deal with vector-borne diseases which have claimed several lives this season. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain had accused on Tuesday the L-G of paralysing the citys health system by creating hurdles in the functioning of the AAP government.

Municipal officials told the L-G about fogging and mosquito breeding checking programmes.

But the Delhi government was not satisfied with their efforts.

The municipal corporations have said they have been carrying out fogging aggressively since the beginning of September, but we havent seen it happening, Jain said.

We have asked the corporations to provide data on their breeding control measures. They have said that domestic breeding checkers have visited all the houses in Delhi five times. We have asked the corporations to provide the names and phone numbers of the people so we can verify, Jain said.

The minister said the government will advertise phone numbers of the control rooms set up by the three municipal corporations. If anyone wants to get fogging or anti-larval medicine, they must call these numbers, the minister said.

Municipal officials told the L-G the north MCD is running round-the-clock fever clinics, the east MCD is running eight mobile dispensaries, and the south body is running nine fever clinics and has 12 mobile dispensaries.

Officials said the number of patients visiting the OPD of Delhi government hospitals, dispensaries, polyclinics and mohalla clinics have doubled  from approximately 1 lakh to 2 lakh daily.

To cope with the rush, leaves of all the doctors and medical staff have been cancelled. We have also asked hospitals that are facing a shortage of doctors or staff, to hire them for at least two months, said Jain.

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NEW DELHI: Dressed in a branded suit and shiny shoes, his hair gelled, he looked like an affluent businessman. He would confidently walk in any five-star hotel, pretending to talk over the phone in fluent English, reach the valet counter and pick up any car key he found, as if it was his.

He would reach the driveway and drive away with the car. The guards at the valet counter never dared to stop him.

The man, Satendra Singh Shekhawat (35), an MBA in marketing, allegedly stole over 20 luxury cars including Audis, Mercedes and BMWs from different hotels using the same modus operandi. He finally landed in the polices net on Tuesday and the police recovered an Audi Q7 he stole from Hotel Holiday Inn from him.

Shekhawat had reportedly earlier been arrested thrice and had served punishment in jails of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan for stealing cars.

Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Ravindra Yadav said, With his arrest eight cases of motor vehicle theft have been worked out.

The matter came to the notice of crime branch on August 26, after one Arjun Garg complained that his car was stolen from the drive way of Holiday Inn, Aerocity. He said he had given the keys to the valet parking attendant but when he came out of the hotel after dinner, he was surprised to find the keys missing from the valet parking desk. When he asked around, he was told that someone had taken away his Audi Q7 car. On checking CCTV footage, one person was seen talking on the mobile phone near the valet parking desk and taking away the key of the car. On the complaint, a case was registered and teams formed to trace the man.

During investigation, it was found that there had been several cases of theft of high end luxurious cars using the same modus operandi in several metro cities including Gurgaon, Pune and Mumbai. The dedicated teams studied all cases and zeroed down on the prime suspect.

On September 12, the police received a specific information that Satendra Singh Shekhawat would come near Hyaat Regency Hotel to steal cars. A trap was laid and an Audi car with Maharashtra registration number was intercepted. Singh was questioned and apprehended. During checking, the Audi Q7 was found to be stolen from Holiday Inn hotel.

Shekhawat was then interrogated at length. During questioning it was revealed that he was a known interstate criminal and had earlier been arrested by the police of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan in several cases of theft, robbery and assault. In February, 2016 he came out from Jodhpur jail and again started stealing high end vehicles, Yadav said.

He added, He stole vehicles in such a simple way that nobody could suspect him to be a thief. He would come very nicely dressed and approach the keys stand of a valet parking. For those managing the valet parking area,he would seem like an ordinary businessman talking on his mobile

phone. He would wait for an opportune moment and as soon he got one, he would just remove one key from the key stand and would drive off with his catch of high end cars.

During interrogation, he revealed that he disposed off the stolen vehicles to his trustworthy receivers who would in turn use these vehicles to transport narcotic substances from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to their desired destinations.
NEW DELHI: Residents of over 1.2 lakh houses in the city were found to have done little to prevent mosquitoes from breeding around them. This year, municipal workers found mosquito-breeding in every 15th home in Delhi.

A joint report by South, East and North Delhi Municipal Corporations said health workers visited around 15 lakh houses between January 1 and September 10 this year. According to census 2011, Delhi has 33 lakh households.

Data shows that it has become a trend. Every year since 2013, over one lakh homes are found to have larvae breeding.

Last year, when the national capital witnessed the worst dengue outbreak in 19 years with 16,000 cases and 60 deaths, mosquito-breeding was detected in every eighth home. In 2014 and 2013, one in 13 houses inspected by the municipalities had larvae breeding. Together, the three civic agencies survey 15 lakh homes every year.

Experts say no lessons have been learnt from the past.

By Wednesday, 10 people had died of chikungunya and eight of dengue. This is the first time chikungunya deaths have been reported in the city. Both diseases are caused by the virus spread by the bite of aedes aegypti mosquito that breeds in clean, stagnant water.

Delhi is the only state where dengue breeding checkers go door-to-door for inspection. Yet people do not co-operate, said municipal health officer BK Hazarika.

We face a lot of resistance from people. Our workers are not even allowed to enter the gates of the affluent neighbourhoods, he said.

Dr DK Seth, the head of hospital administration in North Delhi corporation, said citizens must act responsibly.

Why is that you need a municipal staff to come to your house? It will take not more than five minutes for people to check breeding in their own homes, Dr Seth said.

The disease can only be controlled if people will support the measures taken by civic bodies, he said.

This year, the corporations have issued a legal notice to 10.5 lakh households, which come with a warning of a fine of Rs 500 to Rs 3,000. Occupants of 10,500 other houses have directed to pay the fine or appear before a municipal magistrate.

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Two days after three people arrested for extortion were found to have links with Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) Matiala MLA Gulab Singh, police said the MLA maybe asked to join the probe. Singhs Innova was allegedly used by the trio for committing a crime on Tuesday.

The three, identified as Devender, Satish, and Jagdish were booked for extorting money from two builders  Deepak Sharma and his partner Ranku Diwan  in Bindapur area.

Satish and Jagdish were overpowered by the builders with the help of locals and handed over to the police. Devender, who managed to flee in the Innova, was caught later in the night. The Innova bearing MLAs stickers was also seized, police said.

Investigators said Devender is a cousin of the Matiala legislator and his permanent driver. The MLA is camping in Gujarat for the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections since September 6.

As the MLAs personal vehicle was used by his relatives and two alleged supporters in a crime, we will probe his role in the case as well. The MLA has not been given a clean chit so far. He may be called for questioning if we find any evidence against him, said a senior police officer.

Speaking to HT, Singh said that he was not in Delhi when the crime took place. The legislator claimed it a political conspiracy against him by his political rivals for standing against illegal constructions in Matiala.

Though the MLA admitted that Devender and Satish were known to him, he denied having any association with Jagdish. Singh defended Devender saying he was being unnecessarily dragged into the matter.

I will resign from my post and partys membership if Devenders and my involvement is established in the case, said the MLA.

Asked if the police have asked him to join the probe, the MLA said that he was contacted by SHO of the Bindapur police station only to inform him about the incident. Till date, I have not been asked to join the probe. I will appear before them (investigators) without any delay, if they ask me to come, he said.

Meanwhile, interrogation of the three revealed that they had extorted money from the two builders twice last week. They allegedly extorted `1.5 lakh on September 8 and `50,000 on September 10 after threatening them that buildings constructed by them would be demolished or sealed if the money was not paid.

On Tuesday, the three reached the builders office and extorted `1.5 lakh again. As they were about to leave, the builders raised an alarm and alerted locals. Satish and Jagdish were caught on the spot. Devender was caught later.

A case of extortion and common intention was registered and the three were arrested. We are probing the case further to establish if more people were involved in the crime, said Surender Kumar, DCP (southwest).
The TM Bhagalpur University (TMBU) in Bihar is set to initiate a move to cancel the law degree issued to former Delhi law minister Jitendra Singh Tomar.

The university on Wednesday decided to place a proposal for cancelation of Tomars degree before the examination board next week, an official of TMBU said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter.

The examination board was almost certain to approve the proposal, he added.

Following the approval by the board, the TMBU syndicate would also have to give the proposal a go-ahead, he said, adding that the matter would then be sent to the chancellor for his assent.

Action is also likely to be initiated against employees indicted in the report of TMBUs internal inquiry. More than one dozen employees, including some senior ones, have been indicted.

Meanwhile, a three-member Delhi Police team that arrived here on Tuesday in connection with the case, visited the university campus on Wednesday again. Sources said, the team continued cross-examination of TMBU employees and officials and found several irregularities in issuance of the law degree to Tomar.

Read: Tomar taint may cost Munger law college its affiliation

Tomar had claimed that he had been a student of Vishwanath Singh Institute of Legal Studies (VNSILS), Munger, which is under TMBU, between 1994 and 1998 and got his LLB degree after passing the examinations on September 15, 2012.

It has been alleged that Tomar never attended classes and managed to get the degree in connivance with some employees of the law college.

Tomar, however, said he has not received any communication from the university in this regard. I have no information about the issue. But I dont think, the university can do that as per law. The matter is sub-judice, Tomar said.

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A 54-year-old man from Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar died on Wednesday in the Capitals All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) of multi-organ failure from chikungunya-related complications, taking the death toll in Delhi to 11.

He was brought to AIIMS with many complications. He had a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a long-term inflammatory lung disease that obstructs the airflow and makes it difficult to breathe. He also had sepsis and septic shock as a result of complications of an infection. He finally died of multi-organ failure, a senior doctor said.

He had a report from a private laboratory showing that he had chikungunya, but we do not know what was the ultimate cause of death, he added.

The central as well as the state government, which are facing flak for passing the blame and responsibility, have said the viral disease spread to humans by infected mosquitoes is not fatal.

Read | What you must know about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment of Chikungunya and Dengue

Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain even accused the media of creating panic.

Please dont spread panic. Prove it medically (death due to Chikungunya). Medically Chikungunya can never b cause of anyones death, he said.

But the World Health Organization (WHO) data shows that chikungunya outbreaks have caused death across the world. Serious complications are not common, but in older people, the disease can contribute to the causes of death, the WHO says on its chikungunya factsheet.

The first death caused by health complications triggered by chikungunya was that of a 22-year-old woman on September 1 at Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

At least five people died of chikungunya over the last three weeks at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. One of the deceased, a 31-year-old man, tested positive for both chikungunya and dengue, which are spread by the bite of the same mosquito  Aedes aegypti.

Four deaths have also been reported at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Only one of the deceased was from Delhi.

Delhi heath minister Jain has ordered an inquiry into the four deaths at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, insinuating that private hospitals were mishandling chikungunya cases.

Union health minister JP Nadda has also sought a report on the health crisis that has gripped the Capital, which is battling one of its worst outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases.

Read | Does chikungunya kill? Yes, minister, it does. And there is evidence

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Despite permission from the police to avoid confusion over the sacrifice of buffaloes on Eid-al-Adha, two men were beaten up allegedly by a group of cow vigilantes.

The two men were beaten a day after Eid in outer Delhis Kirari village on Wednesday when they were on their way to dump the remains of animals, sacrificed in their madrasa in Outer Delhi on Wednesday.

The victims Hafiz Abdul Khalid, 25, and Ali Hassan, 35, are residents of Prem Nagar-2 of outer district. Family members said they were carrying the remains of the buffaloes sacrificed on behalf of over 100 people.

Hundreds of residents had contributed money for the sacrifice of 18 buffaloes at the local madrasa. The madarsa administration said that it had sought permission from the police for the same.

Its a common practice on Eid for people to contribute money to offer sacrifices to god. Madrasas are often the venue for the sacrifice of buffaloes since it requires space and the religious schools get donations for it.

The incident took place at 7.30pm, when a group of 25 people chased the three people who were in an auto, loaded with remains of buffalos. One of them, 14-year-old Abdus Salam, managed to flee.

Salam narrated the incident to the family, which called the police asking for protection. The police officials had already taken the two injured people to hospital by then.

Read: Mewat rape victim says accused part of cow vigilantes

Salam was frightened when he came back. He had seen how badly these youth were beaten up. I called the local police station, but I was informed they already know about the incident. The police officer asked me to reach the hospital, said Qari Mohammad Lukman, rector of madarsa and father-in-law of Khalid.

The family alleged that there was an over two-hour delay in treating the victims by the hospital staff.

The locals, who accompanied the victim, named Jaibeer and Virender as suspects in the case because the two had reportedly been following them for the past few days. According to the locals, last year the duo had issued threats.

Khalid and Ali have been admitted at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and will remain under observation. They have sustained head injuries apart from the injuries in other body parts. Khalid teaches students at a madarsa, while Ali Hassan is a driver.

Dr Shekhar Shivam, a surgeon at the hospital said, The condition of patients is stable. Both have head injuries so both will remain under observation.

DCP (Outer), Vikramjit Singh, said that four men have been arrested. Singh said that on Wednesday, locals gathered on being informed that animal meat was being carried. They asked them to stop and explain the meat, which triggered a fight. Other locals also joined in and thrashed them. We have booked all of them for attempt to murder and are on lookout for others.

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TWIN FALLS  Hollywood stuntman Eddie Braun is dead serious.

On Saturday, Braun will pay homage to his life-long hero, Evel Knievel, when he straps himself into a projectile and his team of rocket scientists shoots him 1,600 feet across the Snake River Canyon.

The rocket? The Evel Spirit: a replica of Knievels steam-powered X-2 Skycycle that famously failed a similar jump 42 years ago.

Knievels Skycycle was not the only thing launched that day in September 1974; then-12-year-old Eddie Brauns future as a stuntman also started to take shape.

Braun met Knievel at a time when the daredevil  who survived motorcycle crash after crash while attempting seemingly impossible jumps  commanded a world-wide audience.

Evel Knievel was the ultimate showman  a superhero, cape and all, said the 54-year-old Braun, a 30-year veteran of film and television. Knievel inspired a generation. I wanted to be him.

But theres a difference between being a daredevil and being a professional stuntman, he continued.

Daredevils defy death while leaning heavily on luck; stuntmen use all the science available to reduce risk, and details are meticulously combed.

Braun climbed inside the cockpit of the Evel Spirit Thursday and sat with his eyes closed as he visualized the upcoming jump. Stunt engineer Craig Adams watched intently. Adams can pull the plug on the stunt anytime he senses a serious risk.

Lets get rid of this, Braun said, pointing to something in the cockpit. Ill never use it.

Now youre scaring me, Eddie, Adams challenged.

Im a technician, Braun said. Scott and I have gone over every detail a thousand times.

Scott is Scott Truax, Brauns partner in this adventure and son of Skycycle designer Robert Truax.

Knievels failed jump in 74 was blamed on the premature deployment of the Skycycles parachute, which could be seen dragging behind the rocket as it climbed the ramp. The rocket engine blew the parachute cover off its housing and released the chute, Scott Truax said, which slowed the Skycycle and dragged it into the canyon.

Truax is determined to vindicate his fathers design by proving Knievels attempt at the canyon would have succeeded had the parachute opened properly. He started his project before his fathers death in 2010.

I wish he could have seen it to the finish, he said.

Over the last 8 years, Truax has used his fathers designs to piece together Brauns rocket from scratch. Now, the Return to the Snake River team is taking it a day at a time. The jump is scheduled for Sept. 17. If conditions arent right, it will be postponed until conditions are right, Truax said.

But one way or another, the jump will be over in seconds.

Three point nine seconds  thats how long the rocket will fire, Braun said.

In those few seconds, the steam-powered rocket, with Braun in it, will go from zero to 430 mph. Thats not the speed of a bullet, but its enough to cause Braun to feel a mighty punch to the gut, Adams said.

Eddie will experience 6 Gs, and hell weigh over 1,000 pounds at that point, Truax said.

When the 1,300-pound rocket reaches its 2200-foot apogee, Braun will pull three handles  painted red, white and blue to release the chutes in order to slow the Evel Spirits fall.

I needed something to remember the order to pull them  even in a panic  and red, white and blue was already ingrained in me, he said.

The canyon at the jump site east of the Hansen Bridge is narrower than the canyon at Knievels original jump site, east of the Perrine Bridge. But Braun plans to jump 1,600 feet  the same distance attempted by Knievel. The ramp points southwest so the rockets path will angle across the canyon to achieve the full distance.

Itll be a better view for spectators, Truax said.

Fewer than 500 handpicked spectators will watch the jump from the site, but the team landed a contract with a major network to cover the private event, which is scheduled to air nationally on Sept. 19. Organizers have not announced details about the TV broadcast.

A Kickstarter campaign with 604 backers and $52,202 was canceled when the network contract was signed, Truax said.

The Evel Spirit will launch from Kelly Klostermans property in Jerome County. If all goes smoothly, it will fall to the ground on Chuck Coiners farm ground in Twin Falls County. Braun has a do-not-resuscitate order in place, just in case things dont go smoothly.

The team does not anticipate any traffic or trespassing issues, Truax said.

Nevertheless, Idaho State Police plan to add extra patrols on the day of the jump, said ISP Lt. Robert Rausch.

Im not doing this to make money, said Braun, who has put $1.5 million of his life savings into the project. Its not about money; its about doing something for the pure coolness.

Evels jump far outlasted him, Braun said. Whatever happens, this jump will outlast me.

He wants his four children, aged 12 to 19, to see their father achieve his goal with integrity  something that Knievel failed to do.

Painful memories still reside in the valley where Knievel tread four decades ago. But Twin Falls Mayor Shawn Barigar is excited about Brauns jump and plans to watch the jump when it is televised.

Any time theres an event like this that gets a lot of attention  in a positive way  is good for our community, Barigar said. It gives us a good chance to showcase the other good things that happen here.

Right now, Braun is taking the stunt one step at a time, like an action sequence. The emotion will hit me later.

He knows just how monumental the jump is.

Very few things are determined in 3.9 seconds, Braun said. These 3.9 seconds will determine the rest of my life.
The Delhi governments preliminary findings on what caused 12 chikungunya-related deaths in city hospitals is likely to be sent to the Union Health Ministry on Friday.

The Delhi government is conducting an independent investigation on the cause of the deaths. We have spoken to the Delhi government, and sought the investigation report. We will get some parts of the report by Friday, which will clear the air somewhat, said a senior official from the Union health ministry.

The Delhi government is examining if chikungunya infection killed people or if they died of complications not related to the mosquito-borne infection.

The infection is known to cause complications and lead to death in the elderly.

Even after the death of 12 people over past one month, both the Centre and the state government are clueless on how to certify the death a person who died of complications caused by chikungunya infection.

The Centre says it is for the Delhi government to investigate why people with chikungunya are dying but the state says it doesnt have the expertise to conduct an in-depth investigation, and would need technical support.

Read: Does chikungunya kill? Yes, minister, it does. And there is evidence

The health ministry denies having received any request for help.

We would certainly help if asked for it. So far, we have not received any such requests from the Delhi government. They are conducting an independent investigation, said the health ministry official.

The growing number of deaths in people diagnosed with chinkungunya has experts worried. The World Health Organisation issued a statement on Thursday, saying chikungunya is also outbreak-prone like dengue.

We cant call these chikungunya deaths per se as theres no concrete evidence they died of the disease. Most of these patients were in their 60s, 70s and 80s, with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, kidney problem, hypertension etc., said Dr DS Rana, chairman, Ganga Ram Hospital.

The hospital reported five deaths due to multi-organ failure in chikungunya positive patients.

We never said the deaths were due to chikungunya. They may or may not have died of the viral infection, we dont really know. The cause needs to be investigated, said Dr Rana.

During the 2006 chikungunya outbreak, deaths were reported from Kerala that National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) had begun investigating.

There was no outbreak after that and studies cant be done in an artificial environment. Our teams are working on the subject, said Dr AC Dhariwal, director, NVBDCP.

Dengue can be contracted through four viral strains while chikungunya is caused only by one strain.

The disease was largely limited to south India. But with an explosive outbreak in Delhi this year, experts are suspecting variation in the strain that is infecting people in the north, who dont have immunity against the disease.

Read: Chikungunya and Dengue: What you must know about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Also, in dengue cases, some strains are more virulent than other ones. The number of rising cases of chikungunya this year after the 2006 spike could be due to an evolution in its strain, which needs to be studied, said Dhariwal.

The latest person to succumb at Ganga Ram is a 75-year-old who had tested positive for chikungunya on Thursday morning.

Five died in Indraprastha Apollo, one each in All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Hindu Rao Hospital.

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The ground zero of a crippling chikungunya outbreak in Delhi is in the backyard of the countrys premier hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Ayur Vigyan Nagar, a residential colony housing doctors and staffers from AIIMS, and neighbouring Gautam Nagar and Masjid Moth have recorded the highest number of chikungunya cases in Delhi this year, according to data provided by municipal agencies till September 10.

At least 12 people suffering from chikungunya have been killed in the Capital this year in one of the worst outbreaks of the mosquito-borne ailment that causes acute joint pain besides fever.

Read: Need to strengthen Indias disease surveillance network: WHO

After Dwarka, which has officially reported 20 cases, Ayur Vigyan Nagar, with 18, is the second worst affected neighbourhood in Delhi, where the Safdarjung Hospital is also located. But unlike Dwarka, a sprawling sub city over a 56 sq km radius, Ayur Vigyan Nagar is a gated community with 1,300 staff quarters and spread over one square km.

Neighbouring Masjid Moth has reported 12 cases and Gautam Nagar nine.

Twenty-year-old Bharat Agaria, whose death due to dengue last year had led to unrest among AIIMS staffers, was also a resident of AV Nagar.

Dr Manju Saini, 32, got a high-grade fever in the last week of August and was diagnosed with chikungunya. As a doctor, she had studied about chikungunya in the third year of medical school and knew that the symptoms  high fever, rashes and joint pain  could be managed at home.

However, her condition worsened and she had to be admitted to AIIMS. Three days later, her five-month-old daughter started running a temperature too.

We havent even named her yet, said Saini, whose husband is also a junior resident at AIIMS.

South Delhi Municipal Corporation head Puneet Goel suspects the (AIIMS) staff is infected inside the hospital, leading to spread of the disease in the locality.

Read: Delhi govt report may clear air on chikungunya deaths

Ask anyone in AV Nagar, they would know a neighbour, a relative or a friend who is down with a mosquito-borne illness.

I know of at least seven people here who have been diagnosed with chikungunya and several others who have fever and joint pain, said Manjeet Bhalla, 57, a nursing staff at the cardiology department of AIIMS. She herself is recovering from chikungunya.

Bhalla, however, attributed the high numbers in the locality to awareness among the residents who go to the hospital to get tested.

The greenery, crammed quarters and overflowing pools of water were said to the reasons for the high number of mosquitoes and mosquito-borne illnesses.

Also, the houses here are very close to each other, if one person gets dengue or chikungunya, the chances are high that several others would, Saini said.

Bhalla, on the other hand, blames the water that collects in front of her house from the water the overflows from the over-head tanks.

A malaria inspection officer, who has been in the area for eight years, said, The residents love for greenery is the main reason behind the increasing number of cases at AIIMS residential quarters. This has been the trend for many years.

Read: Does chikungunya kill? Yes, minister, it does. And there is evidence
Delhi Police arrested on Thursday four of five youth who allegedly gangraped two teenage girls in Delhis Aman Vihar area the night before.

The victims, aged 17 and 18, were with two male friends at an isolated spot near Mundka metro station in outer Delhis Kirari when they were assaulted late on Wednesday, police said.

The youth beat up the accompanying boys and scared them away before they took turns raping their victims.

Four of the suspects were identified and arrested by Thursday night. The fifth, though identified by police, is on the run.

The suspects and the girls lived in the same locality, but were not known to each other.

A case under protection of children from sexual offences (POCSO) Act and India Penal Code was registered at the Aman Vihar police station, Vikramjit Singh, deputy commissioner of police (outer), said.

Read: Delhi: 21-year-old allegedly raped by two auto rickshaw drivers

Sources said a few of the suspects were minors. Police have yet to ascertain the ages of the suspects.

One of the suspects is an undergraduate student (distance learning). The others are unemployed.

India brought in more stringent laws against sexual offenders after the fatal gang-rape of a student in Delhi in December 2012, but they have failed to stem the tide of violence against women across the country.
The funding for and motivations of NGOs have often been a bone of contention between the government and civil society. So it is a positive move that the Supreme Court (SC) has stepped in and decided to review laws governing NGOs with the aim of looking into the adequacy of the regulatory mechanism to prevent financial irregularities and ensuring that funds are used for the stated goals. This has taken place after it was ascertained that there were about 2.9 million NGOs functioning across the country. Assam and Haryana have a 100,000 NGOs each. There is no doubt that there are many fly-by-night NGOs that serve no public purpose. But any registered NGO has to comply with the law when it comes to being transparent with its balance sheets. In Haryana, it now transpires, only 8% of NGOs have disclosed their financial affairs and in the country as a whole the figure is a dismal 10%.

Read | SC asks Parsvnath Developers to deposit Rs 12 cr for delayed Ghaziabad project

The regulatory mechanism should serve to separate the wheat from the chaff. Hopefully, this will also lead to more synergy between the government and NGOs for the latter serves a useful complementary role to the former. NGOs often come up with innovative solutions to social issues and can help in areas where the governments resources are stretched. However, past experience has shown that the government is often unnecessarily adversarial when it comes to NGOs by taking criticism badly. Civil society and NGOs have every right to be critical, as do all citizens, when government schemes do not work or there is suspicion of apathy or fraud. This should be taken in the right spirit.

Read | Apex court junks plea against Centre funds for J&K separatists

With a legal framework, many of the grey areas surrounding NGOs and their funding should be removed, enabling them to play a positive role. Many NGOs like the one run by Kailash Satyarthi have highlighted and fought social evils like child labour as also many who work in the field of women, health, environment and legal rights to mention a just a few. Their work can help the government frame more equitable policies and learn from best practices employed by them. That the court has stepped in could mean a more constructive phase in the NGO chapter in India.
The Supreme Courts rejection of the PIL (public interest litigation) petition that sought stopping security for the separatists cannot be faulted legally or constitutionally. The apex court has rightly said that security and facilities for separatists is a political decision and not for the courts to take. The court was of the opinion that this is not a judicially manageable proceeding and hence, it did not wish to enter this arena. The larger point made was that of the indiscriminate use of PIL petitions. Such petitions need to serve the interests of the public. In many cases, PIL petitions are filed as obstruction tactics or on utter baseless grounds. Such is the extent of frivolity thats there in some of such petitions that when Amartya Sen got the Nobel Prize for economics, there was a petition challenging the award because economics was not mentioned in the will of Alfred Nobel, after whom the prize is named. The petitioner was let off with a stern rebuke. In this day and age, when courts are already overburdened with cases, there should be a way to delineate what constitutes public interest and what doesnt. In the case of the one regarding the separatists, the court refused the petitioners premise that funding separatists was akin to spreading unrest in the Valley. While the apex court itself signalled its feeling that the separatists while undermining the writ of the state were not averse to the benefits extended by it, it indicated that it was difficult to arrive at the truth behind the allegations made in the PIL.

Read: Apex court junks plea against Centre funds for J&K separatists

Also, it said that when it came to law and jurisprudence, nobody could be described as a separatist on the basis of judicially established principles since there was no law that calls anyone a separatist. And from common knowledge it is known that there are opinion differences among the separatists and all of them cannot be tarred with the same brush. Most importantly, it is the duty of the State to provide security to its citizens and if there is a threat to anybodys life and property, the first and foremost duty of the government is to step in. This applies to all citizens of the country. Hence any denial of security to the separatists would have meant that the law was keeping them beyond the pale of citizenship. This would have had implicit meanings detrimental to the countrys unity and integrity. Besides, separatist leaders are often put under house arrest, which presupposes being under the watch of security persons. The courts refusal to entertain this PIL will also serve as a precedent for other such efforts where emotion or mischief rather than merit is behind seeking judicial intervention in an issue.

Read: When security of separatist groups becomes statecraft
A 28-year-old Indian-origin MIT scientist has won a prestigious award for his research on radio waves, solving a problem that had stumped scientists for almost 150 years and enabling a host of new applications from Internet of Things connectivity to motion tracking.

Dinesh Bharadia, a graduate of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, was honoured with the 2016 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award that carries a cash prize of $ 4,000.

Bharadias research disproved a long-held assumption that it is generally not possible for a radio to receive and transmit on the same frequency band because of the interference that results.

His work culminated in making full-duplex radios a reality through the development of effective self interference cancellation technology. Bharadia, who pursued his PhD from Stanford University in the US, will receive the award in November in California.

Lets say you are shouting at someone and they are shouting at you. Neither of you can hear the other, because you are both shouting in the same frequency, said Bharadia, currently a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

The noise in your ears (interference) from your own shout prevents you from hearing the other person. Thats a good analogy for why radios have needed to use two different frequencies to transmit and receive simultaneously, he said.

Its also why solving the challenge of developing full duplex radios effectively doubles the amount of available spectrum, Bharadia said.

The problem is more difficult than it sounds, said Bharadia. First, the interference is extremely strong - nearly a hundred billion times stronger than the signal that the radio might be trying to receive.

The resulting interference depends on the environment and its reflectors, changing in real-time as people move around. Typical radios (eg Wi-Fi) span many frequencies and use multi-antenna systems. Bharadia was able to demonstrate systems that overcame all these obstacles.

Read more: Indian-origin scientist wins $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize in US

He turned full-duplex radios into a commercial reality by inventing new formulas that could in real-time, model the non-linear, time-varying self-interference as well as analog and digital self-interference cancellation circuits to apply the model to the known transmitted signal and cancel the self-interference.

The analogue cancellation filter Bharadia developed, also unleashed the potential for many more applications. The unique architecture had to allow cancellation in all environments.

Dineshs work enables a whole host of new applications, from extremely low-power Internet of Things connectivity to motion tracking, said Sachin Katti, Bharadias PhD advisor at Stanford.

It has the potential to be used for important future applications such as building novel wireless imaging that can enable driverless cars in severe weather scenarios, help blind people to navigate indoors, and much more, Katti said.
It is super Sunday for fashion fans in India and Meghalaya designer Rupert Wanlambok Lynrah. The Shillong-based fashion designer will showcase his tradition-meets-modern collection at London Fashion Week. The five-day fashion gala, one of the biggest fashion events in the world, officially kicks off on Friday.

More than his creations, Lynrah hopes to promote ryndia, an indigenous silk from Meghalaya.

The 37-year-old designer said his fashion house RWL Designs has been trying to revive the rich indigenous textiles of Meghalaya by featuring organic and eco-friendly ryndia and muga silks.

Weaving has traditionally been the main source of income for women in rural areas of Meghalaya. Weavers use a variety of loom - lion, backstrap and flying shuttle - but due to decreasing demand for these exquisite, labour-intensive creations, they are giving up their age-old traditions in search of other work, Lynrah said.

An RWL creation at North East India Fashion Week 2016. (Facebook)

Elaborating on ryndia, he added: Ryndia comes from a silkworm reared by rural people in Meghalaya. It provides warmth in winter and cool comfort in summer, like a natural product is supposed to.

But working on ryndia is a challenge, he stressed.

If you give the fabric some twist, like an embroidery or a lace detail, like I have done, it can add value to a garment, Lynrah said.

Models present RWL creations at North East India Fashion Week 2016. (Facebook)

The designers efforts for almost a decade paid off and he came up with the Ethnicity with a Mod Twist collection featuring jainsems  traditional wraparounds that Khasi and Jaintia tribal women wear.

The collection, Lynrah said, has a 1960s air about it.

Lynrah would also be showcasing a Hollywood Glamour collection, an assortment of heavily embellished gowns inspired by stars of yesteryears such as Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Vivien Leigh.

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Taking smiling selfies with your smartphone and sharing them with your friends can help make you a happier person, say computer scientists at the University of California, Irvine.

This study shows that sometimes our gadgets can offer benefits to users, said senior author Gloria Mark, Professor of Informatics.

Our research showed that practicing exercises that can promote happiness via smartphone picture taking and sharing can lead to increased positive feelings for those who engage in it, lead author Yu Chen, a post-doctoral scholar, added.

By conducting exercises via smartphone photo technology and gauging users psychological and emotional states, the researchers found that the daily taking and sharing of certain types of images can positively affect people.

Chen and her colleagues designed and conducted a four-week study involving 41 college students.

The participants -- 28 female and 13 male -- were instructed to continue their normal day-to-day activities (going to class, doing schoolwork, meeting with friends, etc.) while taking part in the research.

Each was invited to the informatics lab for an informal interview and to fill out a general questionnaire and consent form. The scientists helped students load a survey app onto their phones to document their moods during the first control week of the study.

The project involved three types of photos to help the researchers determine how smiling, reflecting and giving to others might impact users moods. (Shutterstock)

Participants used a different app to take photos and record their emotional states over the following three-week intervention phase.

The project involved three types of photos to help the researchers determine how smiling, reflecting and giving to others might impact users moods.

The first was a selfie to be taken daily while smiling. The second was an image of something that made the photo taker happy. The third was a picture of something the photographer believed would bring happiness to another person (which was then sent to that person). Participants were randomly assigned to take photos of one type.

Researchers collected nearly 2,900 mood measurements during the study and found that subjects in all three groups experienced increased positive moods.

Some participants in the selfie group reported becoming more confident and comfortable with their smiling photos over time, said the study published in the journal Psychology of Well-Being.

The students taking photos of objects that made them happy became more reflective and appreciative.

And those who took photos to make others happy became calmer and said that the connection to their friends and family helped relieve stress.

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Hollywood actor Sarah Jessica Parker has hinted that there might be another Sex and the City film - not right now but at some point in the future.

Sarah featured in Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw.

The HBO television series spawned two movies, Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, and whilst the 51-year-old actor has admitted that there are no current plans to make a third big screen installment, she has hinted that it might be a possibility in the future, reported Female First.

Read: Heres why Sarah Jessica didnt want to do Sex and the City

Today the answer is its not on the table but that doesnt mean its not in the warming drawer. she said.

In the 90s, writer Candace Bushnell prompted women to openly discuss topics such as sex, dating and womanhood through her popular column, Sex And The City (SATC), in the New York Observer. Later, her articles were compiled in a book, made into a famous TV series, and subsequently, adapted into two films.

Read: Sex and the City resonated with women, says writer Candace

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British writer Frederick Forsyth announced he is retiring from thrillers on Wednesday as his wife told him he can no longer travel to adventurous places. Im tired of it and I cant just sit at home and do a nice little romance from my study, said the 78-year-old, who revealed in a memoir last year that he had worked extensively for the MI6 spy service.

With a dozen novels and 70 million book sales, Forsyth also has some 15 films to his credit. Most of these were written for television.

Heres a look at five of his best thrillers that we saw on the silver screen:

1. The Day of The Jackal (1973)

Directed by Fred Zinnemann, The Day of The Jackal was about a professional assassin who plans to kill the President of France. It got Ralph Kemplen the BAFTA award for film editing that year and was also nominated for the Academy Awards.

2. The Fourth Protocol (1987)

John Mackenzie directed The Fourth Protocol that starred Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan and Ned Beatty in lead role. Forsyth produced the film as well. It is the story of a British agent aiming to prevent the Russians from detonating a nuclear explosion next to an American base in the UK.

3. Death Has A Bad Reputation (1990)

Produced by Forsyth and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, Death Has A Bad Reputation traces a British agent chasing a famous terrorist. It was made as a TV film.

4. Rooz-e-Sheytan (1994)

Directed by Behruz Afkhami, Rooze Sheytan was a Persian ada[[tation of Forsyths novel. It starred Ali Dehkordi, Atila Pesiani and Abdolreza Akbari.

5. Love Never Dies (2012)

Brett Sullivan and Simon Phillips directed the musical drama that starred Ben Lewis, Anna OByrne and Maria Mercedesin lead roles.

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Rita Barbera leaving her home on Wednesday evening. Monica_Torres (EL PAIS)

Rita Barbera, a veteran member of Spains Popular Party (PP) who served for 24 years as mayor of Valencia, turned in her party membership on Wednesday as a result of her alleged involvement in a corruption probe.

But the 68-year-old politician only did so after resisting party pressure over previous days, and refused to give up her seat in the Spanish Senate, as she had also been asked to do.

I am expressing my will to remain in the Senate. Doing otherwise could be construed as an admission of guilt

Rita Barbera

The PPs leadership had been hoping for more from Barbera, whose image has been tarnished after her name turned up in Operation Taula, an investigation into illegal financing in PP-run towns and cities across the Valencia region.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court announced that it will investigate her alleged role in an illegal party financing network thought to have operated out of Valencia City Hall. She could soon become an official suspect in the case.

In a message sent around 5.30pm to the party leadership, Barbera wrote that she was taking the painful decision to renounce her PP membership, but not her senatorial seat.

Barbera refuses to give up her senatorial position. Emilio Naranjo (EFE)

I am hereby expressing my will to remain [in the Senate seat], as the law allows me to do, because doing otherwise could be construed as an admission of guilt, she wrote.

Party leaders had been asking her to give up both since Tuesday, but PP sources say that Barberas reply was: Its my seat.

A personal friend of acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, she has supported him through difficult times in the past. On Wednesday, Rajoy deflected reporters questions about the issue.

Barberas refusal to give up her Senate seat  which affords her immunity from the lower courts  will hurt the PP, which is already struggling with a string of corruption cases ahead of regional elections in Galicia and the Basque Country.

Spain in deadlock

At the general election of December 20, 2016, the PP lost its absolute majority and was incapable of finding allies to form a government, because opposition leaders did not want to associate themselves with Rajoy or the PP.

The deadlock led to a fresh election on June 26, which the PP won again while still falling short of a congressional majority.

Ciudadanos, the only party to have reached a preliminary deal with the PP in an effort to form a government  although support from third parties would still be required  required Rajoy to sign a document pledging to suspend any elected official who is under investigation for corruption.

The caretaker PM was recently voted down in a reinstatement bid, and Spain remains stuck in a political limbo that could see a third election take place on Christmas Day.

English version by Susana Urra.
Tanks were used for the first time 100 years ago in the Battle of Somme during World War I, ushering in a new era of armoured warfare. The Somme campaign in France was the first major offensive for the British Army against the Germans.

Hindustan Times takes you through the history of tanks in the Indian Army on a day tank warfare hit a milestone.

1. Tanks that the Indian Army operates

Russian-origin tanks are the mainstay of the Indian Army. It operates more than 2,500 T-72 tanks and has ordered a total of 1,657 more modern T-90 tanks.

2. The T-90s

The T-90s are a replacement for the T-55 tanks and the older variants of the T-72s. More than 1,000 T-90s have been inducted. The army has also inducted the indigenously developed Arjun tank.

The T-90 battle tank kicks up dust during a Shoor Veer military exercise. (AFP)

3. Post Independence

India deployed a mix of tanks in the early years post-Independence, including British-origin Centurion tanks, French AMX-13s and US-origin Stuart tanks. The Russian T-54 and T-55 tanks were inducted in the 1960s. The late 60s also saw the Vickers tank being built in India under licence. It was named Vijayanta.

4. India's home-grown Arjun tank

The army contracted 124 Arjun tanks from the Defence Research and Development Organisation more than 15 years ago. All have been inducted. The defence ministry has given its nod for buying upgraded 118 Arjun Mk-2 tanks at a cost of more than Rs 6,600 crore. One of the most significant upgrades in the new tank is its missile-firing capability.

5. Indias most famous tank battles

The Battles of Asal Utar and Basantar during the 1965 and 1971 wars have a become a part of military folklore. At Asal Utar in Punjab, a lone cavalry unit destroyed several M-47 Patton tanks of a Pakistani armoured division. The Centurions also destroyed many Patton tanks in the Battle of Basantar in the western sector. Lt Arun Khetarpal of the Poona Horse, who was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, is credited with decimating seven Pakistani Patton tanks.
Two Indians abducted in Libyas Sirte, an area controlled by the Islamic State, have been freed, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Thursday.

Four Indian men were detained at a checkpoint about 50km from Sirte, hometown of former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, in July while on their way back to India. Two of them  Lakshmikanth from Raichur in Karnataka and Bengaluru resident Vijay Kumar  were released after two days in captivity.

I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued, Swaraj posted on Twitter.

The families of both the men were in Hyderabad and they planned to return via Tunisia and Dubai when they were abducted.

The abduction of the four Indians came a year after 39 Indians were kidnapped from the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Most of Sirte fell to the Islamic State in May and the university, where the four were working, is located in the IS stronghold. The university has not been operational since February this year and government officials believe that the four had perhaps stayed on to collect their dues.

There are 2,000 Indians at present in conflict-hit Libya, who stayed back despite many advisories urging them to leave the country.

Since most of the Indian mission staff to Libya is now based out of Tunis, it is proving to be difficult task for officials to track the developments inside the trouble-torn country.

The ministry was in regular touch with the families concerned and all efforts were being made to ensure the well-being and early release of the Indian nationals, the government said in July.

With PTI inputs

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A 23-year-old engineer was allegedly hacked to death in Coimbatore by a spurned man who later tried to commit suicide by consuming poison, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified only as Zahir, hails from Kerala and was working in a mill at Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, which has been rocked by similar incidents of stalking and murderous assaults over spurned advances.

In 2013, India made stalking a crime with punishment up to three years in jail but harassment of women leading to tragic incidents continues to take place across the country.

According to police, the victim, S Dhanya, was alone when the accused allegedly entered her house and hacked her to death on Wednesday. The incident took place around 8 pm. Dhanyas body was found later by her mother Sharada.

Zahir is currently in an ICU ward in Palakkad. We have registered a case of murder against him, a police official said. We havent arrested him yet.

Dhanya was engaged to be married and had recently joined a private engineering firm. The police said that Zahir, 27, was Dhanyas family friend and had known her for over a year.

Last month, a 20-year-old engineering student was beaten to death inside a college classroom by a senior in Karur district, around 400 km from Chennai. Sonali knew the alleged killer, Udhaya Kumar, but had stopped speaking to him after he was suspended.

A day later, N Francina, a 24-year-old teacher, was beaten to death inside a church in Tuticorin. Her assailant was found hanging at his home a few hours later.

In July, a 24-year-old Infosys employee, Swathi, was hacked to death at a busy railway station in Chennai, prompting outrage across the country. Her attacker, Ramkumar, is currently awaiting sentencing.
Alwar police found the carcasses of 36 cows in the jungles of a village on the Haryana border on Thursday. The police are awaiting an autopsy report even as twelve persons were arrested in this connection.

Several police teams are still raiding the villages along the state border in search of the other accused, said superintendent of police Rahul Prakash.

The police official said on Wednesday evening that the police had received a tip-off that some Meo Muslims were killing cows in the jungles that fall under Nagaon police station, 60 km from the city.

Our teams rushed to the spot around 11 pm and arrested 12 people, he said.

Police recovered a truck, four motorcycles, knives and ropes, and rescued six cows from the spot.

Of the 36 cows, 35 had been killed earlier while one carcass suggested a recent burial, the officer said. The police are awaiting the autopsy report.

A police officer, not wanting to be named, said that it looked like a case of animal sacrifice on Eid-ul-Zuha.

Those arrested have been identified as Noor Mohammad (55), Shaukat Ali (39), Javed (25), Hakmuddin (48), Fakruddin (32), Khurshid (32), Irfan (26), Rashid (20), Ameen (45) and Sajid Khan (20) from Raghunathgarh, and Shaukeen (22) and Altaf (24) from Firozpur, Haryana. They have been booked under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995, and will be presented in court on Friday.

Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria said that the government was making all efforts to curb cow smuggling, and added that strict action will be taken against those involved in the illegal trade.
In the wake of the confrontation between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing of Cauvery water, which took an unprecedented violent turn, the Centre has decided to mediate a dialogue between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to resolve the dispute over sharing of Krishna river.

Union minister for water resources Uma Bharati has called a meeting of the Apex Council on Water Disputes on September 21 in New Delhi to find a solution to the water problem between the two Telugu states.

The council, headed by Bharati, with Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu as members, has been constituted as part of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. However, the council has never met in the last two years.

Read: Glimpse into future? India, brace for more Cauvery-like water wars

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the ongoing dispute over construction of two lift irrigation schemes  Palamuru-Ranga Reddy and Dindi by the Telangana government on Krishna river, which Andhra Pradesh has been opposing on the ground that they would reduce the inflows into the downstream of the river and affect cropping in Krishna delta.

The Telangana government, however, has been arguing that the Andhra government has constructed Pattiseema project on Godavari river to divert over 80,000 million cubic feet of water to Krishna basin.

According to the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal award, upper riparian states have a share in the water diverted from Godavari to Krishna basin. As such, it has every right to construct lift irrigation schemes on Krishna river.

The meeting is being convened on the directions of the Supreme Court, which heard a batch of petitions filed by Andhra farmers against the two projects in Telangana. The Supreme Court said it would entertain the petitions only if the apex council failed to arrive at a consensus.

Read: As Cauvery protests singed Karnataka, did local media add fuel to fire?

Interestingly, unlike in the case of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, both Andhra and Telangana chief ministers have agreed to resolve the dispute through negotiations. We are always open for negotiations to sort out any differences, a senior official of the Telangana irrigation department said.

Meanwhile, the water resources ministry set up a five-member body headed by irrigation expert and former Central Water Commission chairman AD Mohile to decide the powers of the Krishna River Management Board and the guidelines for management of the river water.

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A month after the video of a helpless Dana Majhi walking back home with the body of his wife on the shoulder triggered nationwide outrage, the Odisha tribal received a red carpet reception during a days visit to the city to collect financial aid.

My life has turned upside down, the dazed farmer from Kalahandi confessed on Thursday as journalists and camera crews jostled to get a closer look at him.

Earlier in the day, he was at the embassy of Bahrain to collect a cheque of Rs 8.87 lakh sent by ruler of the tiny Gulf kingdom. The Sunni monarch, accused of brutally cracking down on pro-democracy protests by predominantly Shia subjects, was reportedly moved by Majhis heart-rending video.

Read: Odisha: Denied a mortuary van, man carries wifes body on shoulders

In August, an impoverished Majhi was forced to walk for about 10 kms with the body of his wife, Amangdei, after his pleas for an ambulance or a hearse failed to melt the heart of officials at the district hospital in Bhawanipatna. One of his sobbing daughters accompanied him till startled bystanders alerted a local TV journalist. The journalist organised a vehicle for the body to be finally taken to his Melghar village, still some 55 kms away.

I pleaded but none listened to me then, Majhi recollected. But at the lounge of a plush downtown Delhi hotel, journalists waited patiently to hear from him.

Dressed in a wrinkled shirt and a folded lungi, he looked bewildered with his near-celebrity status. Incidentally, this was his first visit outside Odisha. For that matter, he had never stepped out of his Thuamul Rampur block until he had to take his wife for treatment to Bhawanipatna.

Life was harsh, Majhi said. As a marginal farmer, his earnings rarely exceeded Rs 2,000 a month. But all that has changed once he hit the headlines. Apart from the Bahraini king, he has received another Rs 9 lakhs in donations from other organizations.

The Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) has also promised free education to his three daughters. I hope to see them educated and well-settled in good jobs, Majhi said. Promod Patra, the deputy CEO of Kiss, said his organisation will do everything to help Majhi.

But his video that went viral remains a blot that Odisha will find hard to erase. Known for being high on deprivation and low on hope, Kalahandi first shot into notoriety in the 1980s when Panas Punj, a tribal woman, sold her niece to a blind man for Rs 40. Majhis lonely walk showed little had changed.

Read: Dana Manjhi, who walked with wifes body, in Delhi to receive aid from Bahrain
The Samajwadi Party appeared split down the middle on Thursday even as a crisis gripped the ruling family in Uttar Pradesh ahead of next years state elections.

In the latest episode in what many have dubbed a family feud, Ramgopal Yadav, party chief Mulayam Singhs Yadavs cousin, backed chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Akhilesh appears to be locked in a turf war with his uncle, Shivpal Singh Yadav. Some party leaders, meanwhile, blamed outsider Amar Singh for the political crisis.

Akhileshs father, Mulayam, rushed to Lucknow from Delhi and is expected to hold talks with his son and other leaders in a bid to control the damage.

Samajwadi Party national general secretary Ramgopal, who met Akhilesh in Lucknow, said the leadership had committed an unintentional mistake by removing Akhilesh as the partys UP president.

He said that differences had arisen due to some misunderstanding even as he made a veiled attack on Rajya Sabh MP Amar Singh.

The feud had spilled into the open after the chief minister stripped Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios on September 13, hours after he was replaced with Shivpal as the partys state unit chief by his father.

Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved.... The leadership, though not deliberately, had made a mistake when CM was removed from the post of (state) president (of SP), Ram Gopal told reporters.

When asked about the chief ministers statement regarding role of outsiders in the family tussle, Ram Gopal said, There is a general perception in party workers, leaders and people about this....

Singh, who was expelled from the party in 2010, rejoined the SP recently.

Cabinet minister Azam Khan also took a swipe at his bete-noir Amar Singh, though he refrained from naming him, and said the Chief Minister was right in his assessment.

If the chief minister is saying it, he must be right as he is in a responsible position. We had such apprehensions and that is why we had strongly opposed the return of such people who had a black history. Their only job is to make recordings and blackmail, he said.

Partys Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal said if there is any outsider, who is interfering, he should stop immediately and asserted that Akhilesh will be the chief ministerial candidate of Samajwadi Party in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

With party leaders critical of Singhs alleged role in the current feud, Shivpal defended him by saying an organisation is strengthened by taking everyone along.

Taking everyone along makes an organisation stronger. There are all kinds of people in a party. One has to apply his mind also.
The BJP is set to hold a brainstorming session in the capital next week on ways to shrug off its anti-Dalit image that has been on the rise since the suicide of Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula early this year.

Over 100 Scheduled Caste leaders of the countrys ruling party will gather here on Monday to share thoughts about countering the issue and evolving a strategy amid certain key states going for assembly polls next year.

Our leaders need to communicate and set the records straight, BJPs SC front chief Dushyant Gautam told HT.

The event seeks to stem bad publicity the BJP has of late been earning on social, print and electronic media. Divided into four sessions, the workshop will get a picture from the partys SC leaders on how they see people view the matter.

Gautam said the BJP felt the press was not being kind to us in reporting incidents of alleged Dalit atrocities. There is impression going out as if the BJP was opposed to Dalits. This, when our governments effort is to empower that community, he added.

The party is also planning a nationwide series of Dalit youth conferences. Delhi will host one next month, the dates of which are being finalised.

Over 20 crore peoplenearly 17% of Indias populationbelong to various Scheduled Castes. As voters with a largely similar political attitude, their near-similar voting pattern makes them a vote-bank.

Dalits are crucial in poll-bound Punjab (32%), Uttar Pradesh (21%) and Uttarakhand (19%). The BJP is desperate to retain Punjab and win the other two states.

Starting with the 17 January suicide of Vemula, a Hyderabad Central University scholar to flogging of Dalits at Una in Gujarat in July to continuing beef-related incidents, the BJP has been in the Oppositions line of fire.

The gravity of the matter prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appeal to stop attacking Dalits. If you want to shoot, shoot me, he told a Hyderabad rally on August 8.

At a different event a day before that, he said cow vigilantes (who attacked Dalits) make me angry.

In May, BJP chief Shah took a dip in river Kshipra in Ujjain along with Dalits and broke bread with them. Shah also lunched at a Dalits house during his Uttar Pradesh tour last month.

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As Karnataka government prepares itself for another round of legal battle with Tamil Nadu over the raging Cauvery dispute, police decided on Thursday to continue prohibitory orders in the violence-hit city where normalcy has been restored.

As a preventive measure, Section 144 has been extended till September 25 midnight in Bengaluru, senior police officials said, adding that life is normal everywhere.

Prohibitory orders were clamped on Monday after violence erupted, with dozens of buses and lorries with Tamil Nadu number plate being set on fire as mobs let out their fury over reports of some incidents of attack on Kannadigas and their property in the neighbouring state.

As the violence flared up soon after the Supreme court gave its amended order, directing Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu till September 20, police had clamped curfew in 16 police station limits of Bengaluru City, which was lifted on Wednesday.

Despite the call given by pro-Kannada organisations for a rail roko on Thursday to protest against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, train services remained normal across the state.

In the city, police stopped protesters who were marching to a railway station mid way.

Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj and several other Kannada Okkoota (federation) members were detained by the police.

Speaking to reporters before being detained, Nagaraj said, Tomorrow, they have called a Tamil Nadu bandh, against which we will observe black day across the state. Pro-Kannada organisations across the state will hold demonstrations with black flags in front of deputy commissioner offices.

Due to heightened security, the rail roko was unsuccessful in Mandya, Mysuru, Hubballi, Shivamogga and other places where protesters tried to enter railway stations were stopped and detained by the police.

In Kolar, protesters managed to stop the Kolar-Bangalore passenger train for some time.

Meanwhile, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held a consultation meeting with retired judges of high court and advocate generals to discuss the course of Karnatakas legal battle in order to get justice in the Cauvery water sharing case.

Former judges Rajendra Babu, J Rama Jois, J Vishwanatha Shetty, J A J Sadashiva, J Kumar, and retired advocate generals BV Acharya, Ashok Haranahalli, Ravivarma Kumar were present in the meeting along with the ministers and the legal team.

The chief minister also wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa, requesting her to ensure protection of the lives and properties of Kannada-speaking people in view of the bandh to be observed there on Friday.

Speaking at an event in Gauribidanuru, Siddaramaih said the state government would continue its legal battle and was committed to protecting the interests of the people.
On Monday night, when pro-Kannada activists were running riot in Indias Silicon Valley, a wave of fear swept through the 1,000-odd residents of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar.

Residents of this tin-shed cluster that houses construction workers and men and women who survive on odd-jobs, claim their forefathers were brought from Tamil Nadu to build Bengaluru city.

For many of them, ghastly memories of the anti-Tamil riots of December 1991, also on the Cauvery water-sharing issue, has come back to haunt. Their colony was razed completely during those dark days, when they spent the nights in biting cold on pavements, holding small babies and scared stiff, wanting to escape to the land of their forefathers.

The then local MLA, S Ramesh of the Congress, a follower of S Bangarappa, persuaded them to stay put and helped them resettle in their lives.

Social worker Ramachandran addresses the slum dwellers in a confidence-building measure in Sanjay Gandhi Nagar of Bengaluru. (HT Photo)

In comparison Mondays attacks by the shouting brigades of youth was less scary, but we are afraid nevertheless. And the fear still lives in us, but we are hopeful that now things are different. At least, within two days things are returning to normal and we had people coming here to reassure us, said S Nirmala, who was a victim of the 1991 anti-Tamil riots like several others in this shanty.

Read | Cauvery cocktail: River dispute exposes Karnataka, Tamil Nadu fault lines

She recalled that some women were molested and raped then. But this time around, volunteers of the Tamil Sangam visited the colony and ensured police protection was there.

There are 450 shanties cheek-by-jowl, a tin sheet separating the 15 x 5 feet metal box that the families call house. The Sanjay Nagar, located in the Nandini layout of North Bengaluru nestles between two industrial estates, off the Mysore-Tumkur highway, falling in the Rajagopalanagar police station limits that was one of the most disturbed areas and under a curfew.

A lady worker sits outside her house -- one of the metal sheds in Sanjay Gandhi Nagar

Bengaluru has some 2,350 slums housing six lakh people, out of which 95 per cent are of Tamil origin. Other prominent localities where Tamils are in large numbers are Gandhi Nagar, Lakashmir Narayanpuram, Prakash Nagar, Ramachandra Puram, Sriramapuram, Chikpet, Yelahanka, Binipet in North Bengaluru and Chamrajpet, Shanti Nagar, Basavannagudi in South Bengaluru, Jayamahal, Mallesawaram, Shivaji Nagar and Bharati Nagar in Central Bengaluru.

The Tamil dominated areas that witnessed violence and were disturbed included Rajagopalanagar, Peenya, Kamakshipalaya in North Bengaluru and Nyandalli, Kengeri in West and Nice Road, South Bengaluru.

As the city slowly limped back to its daily grind--schools, shops and offices cautiously resuming workTamil residents of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar slum cluster, idle workers and womenfolk huddled around wondering where the next meal would come from.

Our main worry at present is one of livelihood as we are out of work and may be till few more days. Please ask the government to help us, wailed Vijayakumari, a casual labourer.

S Dhanabhagyam, an 80-years-old widow who lives with her four sons, a daughter and 12 grandchildren in two shanties, said: We have lived through the worst of times. We will live through this too. Whatever they (Kannada protesters) do, this is the only place we have and we will not go anywhere else.

Social worker Ramachandran was speaking to the residents at Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, exhorting them to display the courage and good sense and frustrate the efforts of those fomenting trouble.

There are others, like L Tamiladiyan, a functionary of Naam Tamilar Katchi, who smells conspiracy of Kannadigas to use the excuse of Cauvery waters to kick out people of Tamil origin. Several of these workers were brought from Tamil Nadu many decades ago to build the Vidhan Soudha, Kannambadi Dam, ministerial houses, multi-storey buildings and much of the new Bengaluru, he said.

Statue of Tamil saint poet Tiruvalluvar at Ulsoor lake, where security personnel has been deployed. (HT Photo)

For generations we have been living here without any problem with Kannadigas and consider Karnataka as our Thai (mother), he said, adding,

This (current violence) is not about Cauvery at all, but is a ruse to oust Tamilians.

However, M Velu Nayakar, BBMP Corporator of Lakshmirdevi Nagar that encompasses Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, rubbishes this theory.

There is a pattern to the violence that occurred on the outskirts but did not touch the central areas of Bengaluru. The lumpen elements and the unemployed youth from rural areas joined in the violence and looting, some for fun and some to rob, he says.

Clearly, the state government did not anticipate that things would escalate to this level, said Nayakar, adding it could also be a political ploy to defame the ruling Congress government.

Read | Cauvery water row explained: Why Tamil Nadu, Karnataka fight over river usage?

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Pope Francis in the Vatican this Wednesday. OSSERVATORE ROMANO (EFE)

More information El Vaticano acepta mediar entre el chavismo y la oposicion

The final shape of round-table talks between the government of Venezuela and opposition forces, designed to end the political crisis in the country, is slowly becoming clear.

The Vatican confirmed in a letter sent in August it was prepared to help facilitate dialogue between Venezuelas ruling party and forces opposed to the presidency of Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro has confirmed receipt of a letter outlining the Holy Sees offer but has not stated whether his government will make a formal petition requesting Vatican involvement.

If Vatican representatives do join talks, they will sit alongside facilitators including former Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

If Vatican representatives do indeed join the talks, they will sit alongside facilitators including former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the former president of Panama, Martin Torrijos, and Leonel Fernandez, the ex-president of the Dominican Republic.

And while Maduro has not yet officially replied to the Vatican, the head of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition opposition forces, Jesus Torrealba, confirmed on Wednesday that the group will do so.

The [Vaticans] letter arrives at a time when authorities are trying to tarnish the image of the opposition. We are prepared to talk with anyone as long as the time frames for a referendum on a change of president in Venezuela are respected, Torrealba said.

Carta enviada desde el Vaticano a Unasur.

Venezuelas opposition forces have said they will continue to protest on the streets until they have a date for the collection of the signatures of 20% of registered voters  a necessary condition for the calling of a recall referendum on the presidency.

Those signatures must be collected within three days for the referendum to get the go-ahead.

If that referendum takes place on or before January 10, 2017, and Maduro loses the vote, new elections will be held. If, however, the referendum is held after that date and pro-MUD forces win the vote, Maduro will be simply replaced by current Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz, who will remain in power until new general elections in 2019.

Maduros popularity continues to wane on the back of the countrys economic crisis and the latest arrests of political opponents. Shortages of food and medical supplies are also taking their toll while the national electoral commission  controlled by the ruling party  has come under fire for hampering efforts to see the referendum on the presidency held this year.

Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez, charged with verifying signatures collected by opposition forces, has accused MUD of committing fraud in the process, while anti-government figures have filed numerous complaints against the electoral commission.

Maduros popularity continues to wane on the back of the countrys economic crisis

Forces opposed to Maduro are planning a protest on Friday, calling on the government to declare it the first day of the three-day period for collecting signatures needed for the holding of a vote on the presidency.

Venezuelas political crisis is starting to take its toll internationally. On Tuesday, fellow members of the Mercosur trading bloc said the country would not be allowed to take over the groups rotating presidency.

Venezuela was also at risk of being kicked out of the bloc if it does not meet membership requirements within three months, the new president of Brazil Michel Temer said in a statement signed by fellow bloc founders Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

English version by George Mills.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formally registered the case related to murder of Siwan journalist Rajdeo Ranjan, even as the Janata Dal (United) leadership slammed the agency and the Centre for delay.

Officials said, the CBI has registered a case under sections 302,120-B, 3 of IPC and section 27 of Arms Act against unknown assailants for the murder of Rajdeo on the request of the Bihar government and further notification by the Centre.

The CBI has taken over the investigation of the case from the Bihar police, which was earlier registered vide FIR No 362/ 2016 on May 13 at Siwan town ona complaint filed by wife of the deceased, Asha Ranjan.

Rajdeo, 42, was shot dead at a busy fruit market in Siwan town on May 13.

The agency would now formally start investigations into the case. A team would be dispatched to Siwan shortly, they added.

The CBI takeover of the case comes close on the heels of a furore over Mohammad Kaif, the wanted conspirator in the murder case, who was spotted next to former RJD parliamentarian Shahabuddin when he was released from prison.

Kaif is one of the accused in the murder of Hindustan dailys Siwan bureau chief Rajdev Ranjan.

In the video clip, Kaif can be seen standing right next to Shahabuddin and cheering him on, as he spoke to media after being released on bail on Saturday at Bhagalpur. He was latter seen at Shahabuddins residence at Pratappur in Siwan.

The Siwan police has now revived an extortion case involving Kaif of earlier and on Thursday carried out several raids for his arrest, even as sources close to Kaif said he could surrender.

Read: Violence stalks journalists across India as perpetrators roam free

The BJP had launched a scathing attack over the development, stating that Kumar had become helpless, while questioning his silence over a murder accused walking scot-free and the police being unable to trace him.

Meanwhile, the JD-U said it was unfortunate that even after the announcement of the Bihar Government on May 16, the Central government took four months to take over the Siwan scribe murder case, adding that this was the result of laxity on part of the ruling dispensation at the Centre and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It is unfortunate that even after announcement of the Bihar government on May 16, the Central government took four months to take over the matter, JD(U) leader KC Tyagi told ANI.

When Rajdevs wife had requested for inquiry, chief minister Nitish Kumar had asked for it. I want the CBI to probe the matter within a time frame and take action against the accused. We always say that neither do we frame anyone, nor do we save anyone. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders should display remorse for the delay, he added.

Meanwhile, Asha Ranjan, wife of murdered journalist Rajdev Ranjan on Thursday thanked the CBI and the Central government for taking over her husbands murder case.

Read: Reporting under duress: Journalists in India work amid increasing danger

I am thankful to the CBI and also to the Central government. But why did it take so much time? Why did the CBI take four months to take up the issue? I would ask the state government to help in the matter so that the culprits get punishment. I have been with Rajdev for the last 18 years and I have never seen Bunty Kaif with him. May be they used to talk over the phone...that is different. Rajdev had gone to Buntys reception on his invitation, Asha said.

Asha said Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar should have seen to it why the CBI did not take up the matter even after his announcement on May 16.

Nitish ji had called for a CBI probe on May 16 itself but he could have seen where the matter is stuck. He has failed somewhere in doing so and that is why there is delay in the matter. Now I would want Nitish ji to give full cooperation, she added.

In a major development, the CBI is set to take over the probe into the murder of Rajdev.

(With ANI inputs)
Dana Majhi, who walked for 10 kilometres with his wifes corpse on his shoulder in Odishas Kalahandi district last month, will be in Delhi on Thursday to receive a cheque of Rs 9 lakh - an assistance promised by the Prime Minister of Bahrain.

The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, where his three daughters have been admitted recently for free education, has brought him to the Capital to collect the cheque. The amount will be saved as a fixed deposit in the name of his daughters - Chandini (13), Soni (7) and Pramila (4).

Read: Odisha incidents remind us that State expenditure on health needs to improve

Majhis 42-year-old wife, Amang Dei, died of tuberculosis at the district hospital at Bhawanipatna. His daughter Chandini accompanied him till a local reporter spotted the duo.

They called up the district collector and arranged an ambulance for the remaining part of the journey to Melghara village, around 60 kilometre away from Bhawanipatna.

Since the video of Majhi carrying his wifes body made headlines, donations have started pouring in for him. Bahrains PM Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa was reportedly moved by his plight and offered to help the grieving family. A report in Gulf Daily News earlier said the premier was upset by the news and he felt he had to do something to help.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav appears to have gone into an overdrive to ensure quick disposal of issues concerning governance even as senior Samajwadi Party leaders, including party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav and state party president Shivpal Singh Yadav met to find a solution to the family disharmony causing fissure in the party.

Keeping in mind the upcoming assembly polls, Akhilesh has been devoting more time to governance than political issues since Monday when developments in the Yadav family began unfolding, indicating a feud.

On Wednesday morning, when Shivpal was leaving Saifai (Etawah) for New Delhi to meet elder brother Mulayam, the chief minister was meeting a delegation of computer instructors at his residence. His assurances resulted in their weeks-long dharna finally ending . He also handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to family members of a woman computer instructor who died due to illness during the dharna.

A few hours later Akhilesh also announced the implementation of the Samajwadi Kisan Evam Sarvhit Bima Yojana across the state to provide insurance cover to farmers between 18 to 70 years of age, and having a family income of less than Rs 75,000 per annum.

He made the announcement in the presence of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who was appointed as brand ambassador for the scheme.

Chief minister is also holding meetings with his officers and close confidants and no major files are pending for approval, an official spokesman for the state government said.

Akhilesh also decided to expand the Samajwadi Pension Scheme and asked senior officers to identify poor families in urban and rural areas that had been deprived of benefits of the scheme.

Sometime later, Yadav ordered the transfer of 23 IAS officers, 117 sub-divisional magistrates and 13 PCS officers.

On Thursday, he posted ousted chief secretary Deepak Singhal as chairman of the state vigilance commission. He also made the chief secretarys chief staff officer Bhuvnesh Kumar the new divisional commissioner of Lucknow, replacing Anoop Chandra Pandey. Pandey was made the new principal secretary, finance.

The post of principal secretary, finance fell vacant after Rahul Bhatnagar was made the states new chief secretary.

The rejig comes after Akhilesh dismissed two cabinet ministers  Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and Raj Kishor Singh  accused for corruption, and removed chief secretary Deepak Singhal on Tuesday.

Akhilesh also divested his uncle Shivpal of three key portfolios after the latter was made Uttar Pradeshs Samajwadi Party chief in his place. Within minutes of taking away the public works department portfolio from Shivpal, the chief minister also announced the launch of a scheme for repairing the damaged public roads across the state.

Although the scheme was scheduled to be launched on Wednesday, Akhilesh cancelled the programme, apparently to avoid further embarrassment to his father, who had begun making efforts to resolve the family crisis.

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The families of two Indians, who were freed from the captivity of the Islamic State in Libya after nearly 14 months, said on Thursday they were relieved and celebrated the news of their release by offering prayers at a temple.

T Gopi Krishna and C Balaram Kishan were abducted by Islamic State terrorists at a check post near Sirte, an area which is said to be their stronghold, in July last year along with two other Indians. They were working as assistant professors at the University of Sirte since 2007.

Lakshmikanth from Raichur in Karnataka and Bengaluru resident Vijay Kumar were released after two days in captivity.

I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 15, 2016

Gopi Krishna called his family in Tekkali in Srikakulam district late on Wednesday to tell them about his release and said he would come back home as soon as possible.

It was just a half-a-minute call from Gopi. He spoke to his wife Kalyani, father Narayana Rao and me to inform that he had been released and he would be coming to India shortly, Gopi Krishnas brother Murali Krishna told HT.

He said he was at present under the protection of military forces. Today, he would be handed over to the Indian embassy which would make arrangements for his travel to India at the earliest, Murali Krishna said.

Read | Hope, anxiety, flurry of emotions for Indians abducted in Libya

His wife Kalyani and their two children Jhanvi, 11, and Eshwar, 5, went to a temple to perform special prayers after they received the news of his release.

Gopi Krishna, however, did not say anything about how and where he had been in the captivity of the terrorists. He said he would reveal all the details once he returns, his brother said.

Balrams wife Sridevi, a part-time teacher at a private college in Hyderabad, said she could not believe she was talking to him when he called her on Thursday morning.

It was just for half a minute. All that he told me was that he was safe and healthy and he enquired about our welfare. He told me that he would be brought to India as early as possible, after the completion of formalities, she said.

The couple has two sons - 20-year-old Vijaybhaskar, a third-year student at IIT Kharagpur, and 13-year-old Madhusudhan who is in Class 8.

My elder son will be coming to Hyderabad after September 20, after completing his semester exams to see his father. All the trauma we underwent for the last one year is now gone and we are now eagerly awaiting my husbands arrival, she said.

The ministry of external affairs was in regular touch with the families and all efforts were being made to ensure the well-being and early release of the Indian nationals, the government said in July.

There are 2,000 Indians in conflict-hit Libya, who have stayed back despite many advisories urging them to leave the country.

Read | Over 40 Indians abducted by IS, kin living on Centres assurances
A Delhi court would next month decide on whether to summon Union minister Smriti Irani on a complaint filed against her for allegedly giving false information regarding her academic qualifications in affidavits to the poll panel for contesting various elections.

Metropolitan magistrate Harvinder Singh, who was scheduled to pronounce the order on Thursday, fixed the matter for October one, saying the order was not ready.

The court had on September 3 reserved its order after hearing arguments advanced by complainant Ahmer Khan, a freelance writer, and going through the reports submitted by the Election Commission and the Delhi University regarding Iranis educational degrees.

The court was earlier told by an official appearing for the poll panel that the documents filed by Irani regarding her educational qualification were not traceable. However, the information on this was available on its website, it had said.

In pursuance to the courts earlier direction, DU had also submitted that the documents pertaining to Iranis BA course in 1996, as purportedly mentioned by her in an affidavit filed during 2004 Lok Sabha elections, were yet to be found.

The court had on November 20 last year allowed the complainants plea seeking direction to the officials of EC and DU to bring the records of Iranis qualifications after he said he was unable to place them before the court.

The complainant had alleged that Irani had deliberately given discrepant information about her educational qualifications in affidavits filed before the poll panel in 2004, 2011 and 2014 and not given any clarification despite concerns being raised on the issue.

Khan had alleged that Irani had knowingly furnished misleading information about her qualifications in affidavits filed before EC and that a candidate, deliberately giving incorrect details, could be punished under provisions of the IPC and under section 125A of the Representation of the People Act (RPA).

Section 125A of RPA deals with penalty for filing false affidavit and entails a jail term of up to six months or fine or both.
India is close to finalising a long-delayed deal to buy 36 fighter jets from Frances Dassault Aviation, a defence ministry official said on Thursday, with the cabinet set to meet next week to agree a price.

Indian television channel NDTV reported that India had agreed to pay 7.87 billion euros for the jets and would sign the deal on September 23.

There have been several leaks to the Indian press this year that a deal had been reached that proved to be premature, as the two sides haggled over price and other terms of the deal.

A senior defence ministry official in New Delhi, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak with the media, said Indias cabinet committee on security would meet on Wednesday to discuss the deal.

We expect to sign the deal once the cabinet approves, the official said.

A spokesperson for Indias defence ministry said he was not aware of any specific date for signing but that a cabinet meeting was scheduled for next Wednesday. Dassaults spokesman declined to comment.

President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened in the procurement for the Rafale jets in 2015, ordering government-to-government talks after several years of commercial negotiations with Dassault had collapsed.

The leaders agreed to scale back an original plan to buy 126 Rafale planes to just 36 in fly-away condition to meet the Indian Air Forces urgent needs as it tries to modernise and face an assertive China and long-time foe Pakistan.

Read: All you need to know about the Rafale jet deal
India on Thursday said it would continue to raise the Balochistan issue so long as human rights violation and repression exist there and urged Pakistan to expedite the trail of Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008.

Till the time Balochistan faces repression, and human rights violations continue there, India will raise this issue, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. He was answering questions on India raising the Balochistan issue at the United Nations Rights Council in Geneva.

India and Pakistan are locked in a series of verbal exchanges over Jammu and Kashmir after the recent flare-up in the state.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary S Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart suggesting ways to expedite trial in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case in the neighbouring country but is yet to get a response.

Jaishankar wrote the letter on September 6 which was hand-delivered by the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on September 9, Swarup said.

Swarup said that if Pakistan is serious about bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack, it must act on the suggestions as the entire strike was planned from Pakistan, was carried out by Pakistani nationals and all evidence are in Pakistan.

Baloch leaders to stage dharna at Pak high commission

Leaders of the Balochistan freedom movement, who are currently in India to garner support from their brethren settled in west UP cities, have decided to stage dharna at the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi. They want to highlight Pakistans alleged human rights violations in Balochistan before the global community.

The Balochistan movement apparently gathered momentum after PM Narendra Modi voiced concern over the issue during his Independence Day speech. Recently, a delegation of Baloch freedom movement leaders reached Baghpat, Meerut, Shamli and Aligarh to urge their brethren to support the movement.

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India has lodged a complaint against the United States with the World Trade Organization (WTO) accusing it of favouring its domestic solar industry through subsidies, three years after the US got a similar subsidy stuck off from the national solar program.

This is the first complaint against the US domestic clean energy policies and officials in New Delhi say more would be filed to expose subsidies that hinder fair competition in violation of WTO rules prohibiting such largesse.

The TRIMs Agreement under WTO calls for treatment of imported products no less favourable than the ones produced domestically in terms of trade and distribution.

The commerce ministry in the complaint said that incentives provided to solar companies in eight American states - Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota - were in violation of national treatment and other provisions of the WTO.

The California solar incentive program prescribes manufacturing of photovoltaic modules and solar power equipment within the limits of the City of Los Angeles. Other states have replicated the California module to boost domestic solar industry which was hit by cheaper solar photovoltaic from China.

India said sellable renewable energy credits was being offered to companies for each megawatt hour of power generated provides the equipment used in manufactured in these states. In addition, the workforce should be a resident of these states.

This distorts the level playing field for companies, a senior government official said, explaining that most Indian companies will not be eligible to compete in these states.

As a first step, the US will have to respond to the complaint filed on September 9 within 30 days and after that India can call for an establishment of a dispute settlement plan if the two sides fail to amicably resolve the issue.

The complaint is, however, a tit-for-tat action from India after the US complained against 33% domestic content requirement in the solar photovoltaic projects funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

In 2013, a settlement panel of WTO ruled in favour of the US terming the requirement a violation of norms for fair trade. The programme provides a guaranteed rate of return for a period of 25 years through a tariff fixed through auction.

The solar tariff has fallen below Rs 4 per unit in the latest auctions, probably among the lowest in the world.

The low tariff provides India with a business opportunity in the global market as it can provide cheaper solar energy while giving a push to domestic manufacturers through domestic content requirement.

We can be global players in the solar market if we have a strong domestic market and for that, we need a favourable WTO ruling, an official, who was not willing to be quoted, said.

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Foreign secretary S Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart, suggesting ways to expedite the trial in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks case, but is yet to get a response.

Jaishankar wrote the letter on September 6 and it was hand-delivered by the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad on September 9, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Swarup said that if Pakistan is serious about bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack, it must act on the suggestions as the entire strike was planned from Pakistan, was carried out by Pakistani nationals and evidence is in Pakistan.

Noting that the trial in Pakistan has not progressed expeditiously, although it will be eight years soon since the dastardly attack, Swarup said: In order to bring the guilty to book, our foreign secretary has recently written to his counterpart in Pakistan suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited through cooperation through the legal channel.

He said the step was prompted by the delay in bringing to book the persons in Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai terror attack.

As you know, the entire attack was planned from Pakistan, was perpetrated by Pakistani nationals, all the evidence are in Pakistan, but eight years have passed and trial is happening at a snails pace, he said.

Swarup said the countrys focus is to check terrorism and the government wants to bring the Mumbai case trial to expeditious conclusion.

We are prepared to offer suggestions on how it can be done through the proper legal channels, he said.

Asked if India has heard back, he said, No.

On September 9, a former Lashkar operative arrested by Pakistan for his involvement in the 2008 terror attack was acquitted.

Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency said that no allegation has been proved against Sufayan Zafar, who was accused of financing Rs 14,800 for the attack and providing Rs 3.98 crore to co-accused Shahid Jameel Riaz prior to the attack.

Zafar was hiding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case. He was arrested early last month from his hideout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab, approximately 80 km from Lahore, Zafar was among 21 absconding suspects wanted in this high-profile case.

Six suspects -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum -- have been lodged in the Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi, since 2009 for abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.

Prime suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, is in hiding after getting bail over a year ago.

166 people, including many foreigners, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by 10 Lashkar terrorists. Nine of the attackers were killed and lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and later hanged in 2012.
US Army staffer Balreet Kaur Khaira is more than an asset for the force, especially when they are in conflict zones in Iraq or Afghanistan or in India for a joint military exercise.

Her expertise in Hindi and Urdu has helped her act as an interpreter between US and Indian forces, and locals.

More than 400 US Army personnel and the Congo Brigade of the Indian Army are getting familiar with each others organisational structure, weapons, equipment and tactical drills at the 12th edition of Yudh Abhyas, the joint military exercise between the forces at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand.

In addition to her tasks as a staffer, Balreet doubles up as an interpreter between US and Indian soldiers. Soldiers from either side look for her whenever they have problems communicating with their counterparts.

Born in Moga in Punjab, and raised in Chandigarh, the 27-year-olds fluency in Urdu came handy during her posting in strife-torn Iraq and Afghanistan.

I know Hindi and Urdu, and that helped me a lot in Afghanistan. I was able to connect with the locals and they too were happy to communicate, Balreet told HT.

The 12th edition of Indo-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhiyas at Chaubatia. (Rajeev Kala/HT Photo)

Fellow troopers have nicknamed her and her sister Jasleen, who also works in the force, as cultural diplomats.

But it has not been an easy journey for her in the US force, being an Indian and a woman. Then there were only few Indians working in the US force (when I joined in 2004). Being a woman, it was not easy to adjust.

Her family moved to the US a week before the September 9, 2001, attack on the two World Trade Centres in New York. Balreet was 14 and Jasleen 12 then.

My father is in port business and kept on moving to different countries before deciding to finally settle down in the US. We reached America a week before 9/11. Post the attack, Indians and Sikhs in particular faced lots of issues, she said.

Raised in Chandigarh for most of their childhood, it took the young girls a while before they adopted the American culture while not forgetting their Indian traditions.

Balreet joined the US Armys medical wing at the age of 16 as a soldier and later moved to the infantry division.

Jasleen followed her sisters footsteps. Over the years, Balreet has been promoted to the rank of staffer.

Kaur sisters had participated in three joint military exercises -- one in US, two in India -- including the one held at Chaubatia in 2014.

As the armys diplomat, Balreet is happy that perceptions towards Indians have changed, at least among their colleagues.

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Spanish training instructor working with Iraqi troops. Inaki Gomez

It took 36 days of fierce fighting to take the Iraqi city of Fallujah from so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in June. By the end of August, Iraqi armed forces were able to overrun Qayara in just 48 hours. In 2014, the jihadist militant group swept through the country, taking a quarter of its territory, scattering Iraqi troops before it. Two years on, ISIS is in retreat and has given up 40% of the areas it once controlled: the only important city it now holds is Mosul.

By the end of this year there will be fighting in Mosul, thats for sure, says the Spanish lieutenant colonel in charge of his countrys special operations unit in Iraq.

It remains to be seen if the patchwork Iraqi armed forces, sown together from tribal clans, can hold out

We are ready to liberate Mosul. The how, when and who is a decision for the politicians, says Colonel Mustafa, the Iraqi joint commander of the Emergency Response Division (ERD) being trained by Spanish commandos.

The optimism after the successful turnaround in Iraq is due largely to Operation Inherent Resolve, a coalition of more than 40 countries led by the United States focused on defeating the so-called caliphate ISIS has set up in Iraq and Syria, in which Spains role is limited to training Iraqi forces.

Managing the coalition requires diplomacy on the part of General Steven J. Townsend, who leads Operation Inherent Resolve out of Kuwait. The sacking of the Iraqi defense minister earlier this month left him with no government interlocutor, while Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, whose position is far from secure, has banned foreign troops from traveling by road so that the population they have supposedly come to protect does not see them, meaning overseas military can only move around by helicopter at night. This doesnt impede the United States, but it means that junior partners such as Spain have to get permission before they can do anything.

The lack of coordination and rampant corruption in Iraq constantly creates problems: a few days ago, a Spanish Hercules transport plane was held up at Baghdad airport because the head of air traffic control would not authorize the aircraft to move the 100 meters that separated it from the US terminal. Iraq was chaotic without ISIS, but with ISIS in the mix, I cant begin to tell you what its like here, says the Spanish commander.

The head of the Spanish green beret contingent says ISIS is defeated militarily

The training methods used by the 300 Spanish soldiers teaching their Iraqi counterparts are basic. In Spain, training a soldier can take up to three years, but here we have to compact that into a few weeks. Its impossible to prepare them for everything contingency, so we limit training to the specific situations they will face, says Colonel Pedro Vazquez de Prada, in charge of the Besmayah base, where the Spanish contingent is located. This is the only such base not under direct US command, and the Spanish soldiers here have trained around a third of the 25,000 Iraqi troops involved in Operation Inherent Resolve. For the moment, those Spanish forces are teaching Iraqi soldiers how to detect improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, but not how to dismantle them. If they cant explode them, then they just mark their location, says Colonel Vazquez de Prada.

The Iraqi government is in a hurry and has cut back training time. The first soldiers the Spanish forces worked with were given up to three months training at Besmayah, a small town around 40 kilometers east of Baghdad. The most recent recruits are given one month.

A team of Spanish green berets has recently been stationed at a base near Mosul to train Iraqi commando units in situ. The idea is to use them in the upcoming battle to take the city.

General Sabah Yones, head of Iraqs 36th Cavalry Brigade, and who is now being trained by the Spanish forces, hopes his men will be the first to go into Mosul. But he also complains that he doesnt have enough resources, due to government cutbacks. He is a Sunni, and the war against ISIS has brought long-standing rivalries between Iraqs Sunni and Shiite communities to the fore, along with differences within Shiites themselves, as well with the Kurds. Asked his opinion about the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, he replies: Were fighting together against ISIS, but thats all I will say.

The optimism in Iraq is due to the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve, a coalition of more than 40 countries

ISIS is defeated militarily, says the head of the Spanish green beret contingent, known to his men as Indio, adding that Mosul will fall sooner or later.

General John E. Novalis, second-in-command of the coalition, is more cautious. Were beating them, but we havent beaten them yet. They have lost the ability to hold onto territory they have conquered, but the jihadists that are still in Mosul [estimated at around 3,000] arent going to disappear, theyll simply go somewhere else, he warns.

Baghdad is presumably one likely destination: there are now around half-a-dozen attacks in the capital every day, few of which make the international news.

It remains to be seen if the patchwork Iraqi armed forces, sown together from a ragbag of ethnic groups, religions and tribal clans, can hold out against the tensions of the post war reconstruction.

Nobody knows what is going to happen after the different groups no longer have a common enemy, warns Indio. The war is won, the risk now is losing the peace, again.

English version by Nick Lyne.
The Samajwadi Party was thrown into turmoil on Tuesday night after Akhilesh curtailed uncle Shivpal Singh Yadavs powers, within hours of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav taking away the partys state presidentship from his chief minister-son and giving it to brother Shivpal.

Shivpal rushed to Delhi and met Mulayam, a Lok Sabha MP, but left without speaking to waiting journalists. He said he accepted all decisions taken by Mulayam.

On Thursday, first Ramgopal Yadav, senior SP member and then Shivpal addressed media.

Here is what the two SP leaders said on the issue:

-- I accept whatever decision netaji takes: Shivpal on being asked if he is fine with Akhilesh being SPs UP CM face for 2017 elections

-- We all have to remain united, it is election time and we have to form government again in 2017: Shivpal Yadav

-- In what circumstances he (CM) took this decision (of taking away ministries from Shivpal), we cant raise a question mark over that: Shivpal Yadav

-- Decision of department allocation is of the CM. It is his right: Shivpal Yadav

-- Whoever is given responsibility, whatever it be we have to follow that: Shivpal Yadav

-- Rahul Gandhi kuch bhi kahe hume comment nahi karna, jinki khatiya uth gayi ho unpe hum kya kahe? (Rahul Gandhi may say anything but we wont comment.What can we say about someone whose cot has been taken away.)

-- There are some people who take advantage of Netajis simplicity, and these people dont have partys well being in mind: Ramgopal Yadav.

-- They (Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Yadav) can have a meeting tomorrow or day after: Ramgopal Yadav

Ramgopal Yadav also said it was wrong for the party to have removed Akhilesh Yadav from the Uttar Pradesh chiefs post without consulting with him.

Had the party asked him (Akhilesh) to quit the post in view of the elections and focus on the chief ministerial job and that he (Shivpal) will take up the state presidents job, he would have resigned, Ramgopal, who is the SPs general secretary and a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters.

An open war broke out on Tuesday in the Samajwadi Party with Akhilesh Yadav stripping his uncle Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after his removal as the partys state unit chief and appointment of the latter in his place.
Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav quit the government as well as his position as chief of Samajwadi Partys state unit on Thursday, in what is seen as a blow to the party ahead of state elections due early next year.

The move signalled an attempt by Shivpal to distance himself from his nephew and chief minister Akhilesh with whom he has been involved in a bruising fight for influence. It was not immediately clear if a split in the party was in the offing, but sources said the turn of events meant Akhilesh might have emerged stronger for now.

Sources said Akhilesh rejected Shivpals resignation from the cabinet, but the party had made no decision yet on his offer to quit as its state chief.

As Shivpal came out of his house late on Thursday, his supporters who had gathered to meet the leader erupted in joy. Go home. Go to bed. I too will sleep, Shivpal told them. Na soeyengey, na soney denge (We wont sleep, we wont let others sleep), the crowd replied.

Shivpal addresses his supporters outside his house late on Thursday. He told them that he will speak to them on Friday. (Deepak Gupta/HT photo)

The late night development came after a day of separate meetings between party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, his brother Shivpal and Akhilesh raised hopes of a truce between the uncle and nephew.

Mulayam met with the two separately to ask them to end their feuding. A meeting between the uncle and nephew lasted barely 15 minutes at the Akhileshs office.

Two days ago, Akhilesh stripped Shivpal of three top departments after the chief minister himself was removed as the partys state chief and Shivpal given the post. Their differences, a badly kept secret for years, had become public over the past months.

The partys Rajya Sabha MP, Amar Singhs, alleged role in the crisis also figured in discussions during the day, with Akhileshs second uncle Ramgopal Yadav and party leader Naresh Agarwal hinting at his interference in party matters.

Akhilesh Yadav had also mentioned about an outsider which is seen as a reference to Amar Singh, who is seen as close to Shivpal.

Earlier in the day, Akhilesh found support from Ramgopal, who said the party should have consulted the chief minister before sacking him as state party president.

Differences do take place on some minor point and they can be resolved, Ramgopal said.

He (CM) should have been asked to resign and he would have tendered it. He could have been told that elections are coming and you continue as CM and the work of state president will be taken care of by him (Shivpal). Some misunderstanding has taken place and there is nothing more to it, he said.

Shivpal also spoke to journalists in Lucknow and asserted that the party was not in any kind of trouble.

Whoever is given responsibility, whatever it be...we have to follow that. The party is not in trouble. If I am given a responsibility, I will work to the fullest for it. Nobody can challenge netajis (Mulayam) decisions, he said .

In 2011, when I was the state president, back then I was removed and Akhilesh was given responsibility and I accepted that. Netaji took that decision carefully and after consideration surely.

(with agency inputs)
Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda will begin a three-day state visit to India from Thursday at the invitation of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dahals visit to India is his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office as Nepals Prime Minister for the second time, when he took oath on August 4 this year.

A ministry of external affairs (MEA) statement said that Dahal will be accompanied by a high-level delegation.

During his visit, Dahal would hold talks with the Indian leadership. He will also visit the Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project, a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej River in Himachal Pradesh. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production of 1,500 megawatts capacity.

Prime ministers Modi and Dahal will meet for delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday. That meeting will be followed by a signing of bilateral agreements and the issue of statement to the media. Among the dignitaries expected to call on the Nepal Prime Minister are external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley and power minister Piyush Goyal. PM Dahal would also call on President Pranab Mukherjee.

Read | How Nepal PM Prachandas relationship with India turned with the tide

His visit to India is expected to provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, as well as seek ways to strengthen the age old, close and friendly ties between the two countries in diverse sectors, the MEA statement said.

Dahal has been warned by his predecessor KP Sharma Oli, who is the chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), not to sign any agreement with India that could jeopardise Nepals independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Bihar-based journalist Rajdeo Ranjan might have been killed by political mafia because of his critical reporting, a fact-finding committee of the Press Council of India (PCI) stated.

In light of a spurt in criminal defamation cases against journalists, the council accepted two fact-finding reports on the deaths of Rajdeo Ranjan, Hindustans bureau chief in Bihar, and Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a TV journalist for Chhatra in Jharkhand.

The report, which the council accepted last week, suggested Singh might have been killed over a demand of money by a Naxalite group.

The finding inter-alia suggested that Rajdeo Ranjan was killed by the political mafia because of his critical reportage and on the other hand, Akhilesh Pratap Singh though not perhaps had been murdered due to professional activities but may be due to demand of money by a Naxalite Group, the councils statement on the reports said.

The council, currently headed by Justice (retd) C K Prasad, has been concerned about the situation, and in a meeting on September 9, called for details from all states and Union territories on cases that were registered against journalists.

Meanwhile, the CBI formally filed a case in the murder of Rajdeo Ranjan on Thursday against unknown assailants at the request of the Bihar government. The case was under sections 302,120-B, 3 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act. Ranjan was shot at while on his way home on May 13 this year.

Read | CBI to probe murder of Hindustan journalist Rajdeo Ranjan
Nine dengue deaths and one chikungunya death over the past fortnight were confirmed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday. These are yet to be added to the Municipal Corporations of Delhis (MCD) data.

However, according to MCDs official count till September 10, 4 people had died of dengue and none from chikungunya.

Chikungunya -related deaths in government and private city hospitals add up to 12.

Another 75-year old man died of chikungunya at New Delhis Ganga Ram Hospital on Thursday morning. The hospital has 23 chikungunya positive patients admitted currently.

Five people have died of chikungunya in Ganga Ram, five in Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, and one each in AIIMS and Hindu Rao Hospitals. .

AIIMS first chikungunya death occurred on Tuesday night when a 54-year-old man from Uttar Pradeshs Muzaffarnagar died of multi-organ failure from chikungunya-related complications.

He was brought to AIIMS with many complications. He had a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a long-term inflammatory lung disease that obstructs the airflow and makes it difficult to breathe. He also had sepsis and septic shock as a result of complications of an infection. He finally died of multi-organ failure, a senior doctor said. He had a report from a private laboratory confirming it was chikungunya.

The central as well as the state government, which are facing flak for passing the blame and responsibility, have said the viral disease spread to humans by infected mosquitoes is not fatal.

Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain even accused the media of creating panic.

Please dont spread panic. Prove it medically (death due to Chikungunya). Medically Chikungunya can never b cause of anyones death, he said.

But the World Health Organization (WHO) data shows that chikungunya outbreaks have caused death across the world. Serious complications are not common, but in older people, the disease can contribute to the causes of death, the WHO says on its chikungunya factsheet.

With the nine deaths at AIIMS, the unofficial death toll of dengue has gone up to 17. The Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD) have reported only four deaths till September 10.

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A group of Union ministers today deliberated on the governments stand to be taken in the Supreme Court on the issue of Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi discussed the issue during an hour-long meeting.

Sources said no final decision has been taken by the Group of Ministers (GoM) and it will deliberate the issue further before finalising the governments stand to be taken in the apex court.

The development came after a Muslim woman, who was divorced by her husband through a phone call from Dubai, challenged the Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala, leading the Supreme Court to seek response from the Centre on her plea.

Talaq-ebidat is a Muslim man divorcing his wife by pronouncing more than one talaq in a single tuhr (the period between two menstruations), or in a tuhr after coitus, or pronouncing an irrevocable instantaneous divorce at one go (unilateral triple talaq).

Nikah halala refers to the marriage of a woman with another man who subsequently divorces her so that her previous husband can remarry her.

While dealing with the plea of the 26-year-old woman from Kolkata, whose husband divorced her by saying talaq thrice over telephone from Dubai, a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, had issued notice to the Ministry of Minority Affairs and others.

Petitioner Ishrat Jahan has sought a declaration from the court that Section 2 of Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 was unconstitutional as it violated fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 21 (life) and 25 (religion) of the Constitution in so far as it seeks to recognise and validate talaq-e-bidat (triple talaq) as a valid form of divorce.

My husband and his relatives are constantly attempting to drive me out of my matrimonial home, Jahan had said, adding that her four children were also forcibly taken away from her.

The petitioner does not have any support as her parents are residing in Bihar. She is surviving with her sisters help. The police are also not making any effort to trace her children, the petition said while seeking urgent directions from the court for her and her childrens protection.
Petitions challenging triple talaq among Muslims have evoked sharp reactions from those defending the arbitrary practice as also its opponents.

Surprisingly, many Muslim individuals and organisations  on both sides of the divide  have chosen to base their arguments on the Quran, Sunnah or reforms in Muslim law in Islamic countries; and not on the Constitution of India  the supreme law of the land.

Some Muslim women have challenged the validity of age-old practices having gender bias; asserting their fundamental right to equality, right to non-discrimination and right to live with dignity.

Read | Muslim womens group demands complete ban on Shariah courts

Regrettably, All India Muslim Personal Law Board has defended triple talaq in the SC, saying it is better to divorce a woman than kill her and that men were emotionally more stable. In its affidavit, the board has gone to the extent of saying that rights given by religion couldnt be questioned in courts and the SC could not rewrite personal laws in the name of social reform.

The affidavit reflects the regressive mindset of those running the board and their ignorance of constitutional provisions.

Read | Triple talaq: The inhuman practice that violates rights and dignity of women

Courts decide cases on the basis of law and not religions texts. Right to religion is the weakest of all fundamental right as its subject to public order, morality, health and all other fundamental rights. In case of a conflict between right to religion and any other fundamental right, the former must give way to the latter.

So far Parliament and judiciary have adopted bottom up approach leaving it to the Muslim community to reform these social practices. But history tells us this approach does not yield desired results in social reforms. It was for this reason that the British adopted top down approach to ban Sati way back in 1829. Had it been left to the Hindu community to reform itself, perhaps it would have taken centuries.

While social and religious reformers can carry on with their attempts to convince the Muslim community of Islams egalitarian principles, courts must do their job of dispensing justice to those who knock on their doors for realisation of their fundamental rights. They cant tell the petitioners that its for Parliament to take a call on the issue. Shying away would be tantamount to abdication of duty cast on judiciary by the constitution.

Read | SC to examine Muslim personal law, aim to end gender bias

Law is a tool in the hands of courts for resolution of conflicts. One good thing which has happened in the past 66 years is that people in general have accepted courts as impartial arbiters and judicial verdicts as the last word on contentious issues. Anti-reservation agitation is the best example.

In the recent years, India has witnessed a spate of litigation involving conflict between law and religion. Be it ensuring the entry of women into Haji Ali mausoleum in Mumbai or their access to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra, it is the courts that have helped reform male-dominated social practices and deal with the clergys refusal to be guided by logic, reason or law.

The manner in which the SC adjudicates on these conflicts between law and religion would determine the direction in which India would move as a nation.
A Maoist operative was killed in an encounter with security forces in a forest area in Odishas Kalahandi district on Thursday, the police said.

The encounter took place when personnel of the Special Operation Group (SOG) and the police on a combing mission came across a group of Maoists in a forest in the Bijepur area, Kalahandi superintendent of police Brijesh Rai said.

While the body of the woman Maoist was found after the gun-battle, the other members of the group fled the scene, he said, adding that four weapons -- an INSAS rifle, one SLR and two rifles -- were recovered from the site.

The ultra belonged to Vansadhara-Ghumusar-Nagavali division of the outlawed CPI(Maoist).

Search operation was conducted inside the forest in a bid to trace the fleeing rebels and to ascertain whether they had suffered more casualty, Rai said.

A clear picture about the outcome of the encounter would be available after the search operation in the forest was complete, the police said.
The Jodhpur police have stumbled up on a human trafficking racket that spans from Bangladesh to West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Delhi, police said on Thursday.

It was a bank deposit slip found at the rented house of Sukhjant alias Tumpa alias Nandini, 35, arrested on September 4, for kidnapping a 3-year-old girl from the Saraswati Nagar neighbourhood of Jodhpur that led police to the suspected kingpin of the human trafficking racket in a village on the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengals North 24 Parganas, said deputy commissioner of police (east) Vinit Kumar.

Sujoy Biswas, 32, a small shopkeeper from Laxmipur Bihara village of the district was arrested who police suspect is the mastermind of the cross-border trafficking racket, he said.

Police arrested Biswas on September 12 and produced him at a Jodhpur court on Wednesday.

Investigation has reveled that Biswas often rows a boat across the Kopotakho River into Bangladesh to pick up girls aged between 10 and 15. These girls are then trafficked into India and dispatched to different parts of the country where they are forced into prostitution, he said.

Police investigation has revealed that Tumpa operated through her father in Bangladesh who helped her and Biswas lure minor girls. It is not clear yet if the girls were kidnapped or bought. But, Biswas told police, that he bribed BSF guards to get the girls past the international border.

After police arrested Thumpa from Saraswati Nagar, two girls, kept hostage by her in a house in the Raikabagh neighbourhood of the city, were rescued.

The girls told police that Thumpa who claimed that she was a resident of West Bengal but police verification revealed that she was a Bangladesh citizenbrought them from Bangladesh. They said that they were forced into prostitution by the woman.

It is possible that the girls parents sold them to Biswas and Thumpa as the girls are hard nuts to crack and didnt reveal anything easily. Biswas too has said that he shared 50% of the money that the girls earned from prostitution with agents in Bangladesh, Kumar said.

Police have found documents of bank transactions in Biswass account of Rs 1 crore in the last three years. Police suspect that he bought the girls from Bangladesh for Rs 3,000-5,000 and sold them to agents in cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune for Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.

Agents deposit money in Biswas bank account after the girls are delivered, investigation has revealed, police said.

Udaimandir police station chief Madan Beniwal said police have got Thumpa on production warrant from the Jodhpur central jail and will bring her face-to-face with Biswas to know more about the racket.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal underwent a corrective throat surgery in Bengaluru on Wednesday to fix a persistent cough that has troubled him for most part of his adult life.

Kejriwals chronic coughing and the ubiquitous muffler to protect his throat from the cold and smoggy winter air had become a frequent theme on social media, leading to endless memes and conjecture on what was ailing Delhis articulate and vocal chief minister.

The surgery, which was done at Narayana Health City in Bengaluru, corrected an anatomical abnormality in Kejriwals oropharynx -- the middle part of the throat including the base of the tongue, tonsils and the walls of the pharynx  that led to small amounts of saliva trickling into his airways whenever he developed nasal allergy or infection.

Dr Devi Shetty, the founder chairman of Narayana Health, refused to say anything beyond: The chief minister will comment on the surgery when he is ready.

Another doctor who is part of the team treating 48-year-old Kejriwal said the aim of the surgery was functional restoration rather than treating a disease.

Hospital sources say the initial diagnosis was based on the pattern of Kejriwals bouts of coughing and extensive imaging. The diagnosis was confirmed after detailed computer analytics of cephalometrics (measuring dental and skeletal bones in the head), modelling simulation, dynamic MRI and video fluroscopy (swallowing exam).

He coughed because his enlarged soft palate and uvula (fleshy hanging extension at the back of the soft palate) and a slightly larger tongue caused kinematic problems and made it difficult for his tongue to move freely in the restricted space, said the doctor.

It involved the correction of a septal spur and the repositioning the base of his tongue.

Dr Suhel Hasan, head of otolaryngology and Dr Paul C Salins, medical director of Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre, performed the surgery with assistance of surgeons from Narayana Health Citys department of craniofacial surgery.

Sources said Kejriwal had a few sips of water after the surgery and spoke to his family. He is well and is expected to fully recover in a couple of days.

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The Amazon.es best customers, in blue jackets, at the companys five-year anniversary party Wednesday. carlos rosillo

Alejandro Iino still has a record of his first Amazon purchase on his phone: a Kindle that he purchased five years ago. Since that date he has hit the proceed to checkout button around 1,000 times.

A lot of the time Im buying things for friends or family, Iino explains. Initially his basket was mainly stuffed with video games but now that he is a father, diapers also make it onto the virtual shopping list. Mostly though, its technology products.

The customers were handed a 500 voucher before being given a round of applause and showered with confetti

Iino is one of three hugely loyal Spain-based customers who were inducted in the Amazon customer hall of fame during an event at the companys logistics center in the outskirts of Madrid on Wednesday.

The celebration, marking five years of the company in Spain, saw Iino and other fellow long-term customers walk the length of an orange carpet in the presence of the director general of Amazon.es, Francois Nuyts, and Fred Pattje, who is the general director of operations for the firm. They were then handed a 500 voucher before being given a round of applause and showered with orange confetti.

Pattje used the festivities to celebrate the rapid growth of the company in Spain: from 2.3 million products available on the opening day of trading on September 14, 2014 to the 157 million products currently up for grabs, and from a mere 40 employees to the current crop of 1,372 staff.

That growth can be measured in purely physical terms too. Floor space at the warehouse in San Fernando de Henares has increased from 28,000 square meters to 77,000 square meters.

In terms of the recipe for that success, Pattje put it down to the magic behind the click.

Pedro, Alejandro and Cristian are applauded by Amazon employees. Carlos Rosillo

If people dont buy, we cant invest and we cant create jobs, the operations chief said.

Things never stop here, added Ivan, who has been with the company for four years.

Amazon.es general director Nuyts praised his fantastic team, one that has allowed for the successful roll-out of the companys Prime Now express delivery service, which Amazon launched this summer in Madrid and which promises delivery on some items within the hour. While the company is tight-lipped on precise details, it says take-up of the service has been fantastic, with the Spanish capital now using the service more than any other European city.

Nuyts also boasted of Amazons highly competitive prices, and unbeatable delivery times, but did note that clients have to adapt to Amazon and not the other way around. Its a very powerful machine.

Floor space at the warehouse has increased from 28,000m2 to 77,00m2

Rapid expansion is also expected in the next five years, with the firm planning to open a new logistics center near Barcelonas El Prat airport toward the end of 2017: a 60,000-square meter facility that should generate some 1,500 jobs over three years.

There is still room for improvement though. One of the new hall-of-famers told Nuyts not everything was about speed of delivery: the company needed to establish more pick-up points for products, while product descriptions needed to be better.

I almost always have to go to the products home page to get more information about it, explained loyal customer Pedro.

English version by George Mills.
A mandal in Fort -- Shree Ashtavinayak Mitra Mandal  took the concept of eco-friendly celebrations to another level. Not only did they keep their decorations eco-friendly, but they also made a 22-ft green idol of the Lord.

The idol, sitting cross-legged on a lotus flower, has been painted using water colour, which easily dissolves in the sea without harming the marine eco-system. Our idea was to show that you dont need to use plaster of Paris (PoP) to make 20-ft tall idols. We have replicated the look of the idols placed by Ganesh Galli and Lalbaug mandals in their inaugural year, said Ravi Shetty, mandal president.

Read: From chocolate to cow dung, Ganpati to come in all forms this time

Six hundred A4 size papers were used to mould the bamboo to make the idol. The process took nearly two months, after which we got 35mm synthetic grass from Kalyan and Koparkhairne. It was stuck on the idol using natural gum, said Shetty, adding natural grass could not be used owing to inadequate water and sunlight in the pandal.

The idol will be stripped of the artificial grass and the bamboo used to build the frame will be immersed at Girgaum Chowpatty on Thursday. PoP idols leave deposits on the seabed, which is harmful to marine life. We request all mandals to shift to eco-friendly idols and compete for the best idol in this category next year, said Shetty.

Read: Demand for eco-friendly idols rises

Officials from the state pollution control board identified the mandal as eco-friendly crusaders.

For the past five years, this mandal has been making eco-friendly idols with an average height of 20-ft using clay or paper pulp. The concept is fantastic as they are challenging famous mandals to shift to environment-friendly ways of celebrating the festival, said Sanjay Bhuskute, public relations officer, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board.

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In the past six months, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has acted only on 18% of encroachment complaints filed on its website www.removalofencroachment.mcgm.gov.in. Data accessed by HT reveals that though the BMC received 9,412 complaints since March 1, it served notices to only 1,743.

The number of demolitions undertaken is even lower. Between March 1 and September 14, the BMC demolished 249 structures. However, the data reveals that of these 9,412 complaints, 1,046 were duplicated, which means similar complaints were registered by different citizens.

The BMC initiated prosecution, acting on 25 complaints in the past six months.

The website was launched earlier this year as a platform for citizens to report illegal structures or shanties that were built in their areas. Once a complaint is registered, the civic body conducts a site inspection, following which, a show-cause notice is sent. According to data, the BMC filed 3,576 inspection reports in the past six months.

The civic body gives the owner/occupier 15 days to submit the relevant documents. If the proof is found to be unsatisfactory, the BMC issues a notice to demolish the structure in seven days.

Civic officials confirmed that they received complaints about illegal alterations in actor Kapil Sharmas ground-plus-two storey Andheri bungalow on the website. Following this, they served Sharma a notice under section 354 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and demolished the illegal extensions.

The BMC blamed its poor performance on procedural delays and difficulties in adapting to the digital format for registering complaints. The scrutiny takes time. We have improved in the past 2-3 months as far as adapting to the online process is concerned. We are expecting better results post-monsoon, said a senior civic official from the encroachment department.

Citizens who want to complain about illegal structures can post pictures on the portal. They can also geo-tag the location. Once a complaint is registered, citizens will receive a complaint number via mail, using which, they can track the status of their complaint.

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The most popular mandal in the city, Lalbaugcha Raja, has worked out an immersion plan for Friday.

For the first time in the history of the festival, mandal members have acquired a specially designed, electrically operated raft, which is in the form of a small ship that has a separate portion at the centre for the Ganesh idol to be seated during immersion. This portion will tilt at an angle of 45 degrees to immerse the idol 3km into the Arabian Sea from Girgaum chowpatty at 8am on Friday.

Read: You can now have darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja in less than 60 mins

We have spent two years acquiring and implementing this technology to immerse Bappa, said Balasaheb Kamble, president, Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal. Earlier this year, our mandal members visited Bharuch, a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat, where we got in touch with a private shipping company that helped us acquire the raft. After observing several trial runs in the Narmada , the raft was finally selected for this years immersion.

The main idea was to carry out the whole procession smoothly and with this automated immersion technology, the chances of any mishaps at sea are negligible, said Kamble.

Priced at Rs28 lakh, the 19x19-foot reddish-brown raft is five-foot-high and weighs 12 tonnes. The separate 8X8-feet portion is where the 1.5 tonne idol will be placed . A 10-kg generator, which powers the raft, will tilt this separated portion at a 45-degree angle.

The 19x19-foot reddish-brown raft is five-foot-high and weighs 12 tonnes. (HT)

Previously, the idol used to be carried on a much smaller raft with more than 50 mandal members, devotees and lifeguards immersing the idol manually. In 1934, when the mandal was formed, the idol would be taken into the sea using small boats. Over the years, the style kept evolving, until rafts started being used. Today, we have successfully implemented a mini ship with an automatic immersion technique, Kamble said.

Mandal members have taken all the precautionary measures. Even if the electric generator fails, there is a backup to immerse the idol. Using hydraulic machinery, a manually operated handle is located at one end of the raft, which will allow the portion where the idol is seated to slowly tilt. We will have mandal members to support the idol if anything goes wrong, said Kamble.

In its 83rd year, the pandal has been designed as a palace (made from fibre) with a 12-foot idol, made of Plaster of Paris, which is covered in 4.5kg gold over the hands, trunk and crown. The idol also wears a gold necklace, thread and ring . Last year, the pandal was visited by 1.25 crore people over 11 days. This year, there has been an attendance of 15 lakh per day.

Devotees surround Lalbaugcha Raja idol of Hindu god Ganesha on the last day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Lalbaug area Mumbai on Thursday. (Vijayanand Gupta/HT Photo)

The mandal

Almost 82 years ago, when Peru Chawl was shut down, fishermen and vendors who were ousted from their marketplace prayed for a permanent one and vowed to build a Ganpati mandal if their wish came true. After sustained efforts by local leaders and residents, the landlord agreed to give them a plot in 1934, which is the present-day Lalbaug market. The Lalbaugcharaja is perceived to be the fulfiller of wishes.

Location: Lalbaug market, GD Goenka Road, Lalbaug

Nearest stations: Western line: Lower Parel, Harbour line: Cotton Green, Central line: Currey Road

Best time to visit: Anytime during the day

Immersion venue: Girgaum Chowpatty

Tentative time: 8 am (Friday September 16)

The Raft

Size of the raft: 19X19-feet in length and breadth, five-foot-high and weighs 12 tons

Colour: Reddish-brown

Acquired from a private shipping company, located at Bharuch, a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat

Price: Rs 28 lakh

Separated portion where the idol will be seated: 8X8-feet portion that moves

Size and weight of the idol: 1.5 ton and 12-feet high

How does the raft function: A 10-kg generator powers the raft that tilts the separated portion by 45 degrees where the idol is seated and it is slowly immersed at sea

Backup function: Even if the electric generator fails, using hydraulic machinery, a manually-operated handle located at one end of the raft that will allow the portion where the idol is seated to slowly tilt.

Immersion: 3km into the Arabian Sea from Girgaum chowpatty

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Even as the controversy over destruction of mangroves to extend actor Kapil Sharmas bungalow at Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) layout at Sardar Vallabhai Patel Nagar in Andheri (West) continues, similar violations have been reportedly carried out at another property in the area  which has Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Narendra Varma as its trustee.

The Andheri tehsil (local revenue) office had sent a letter to the K-west ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in May asking them to issue a notice to the authorities of the Jankidevi Public School under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act. Sharmas bungalow and the school are both located on Jankidevi Public School road. While the forest department pointed out how bungalow owners, including Sharma, destroyed mangroves, the school authorities also committed irregularities by constructing a road within 50m of mangroves, according to the letter, a copy of which is with HT.

Civic officials said they are waiting for the decision on the case, which is being heard by the Lokayukta. Varma said, After the letter was issued in May, detailed inspections were carried out, where the various authorities presented their positive report in front of Lokayukta, as he had taken suo motu cognisance. In various hearings, the authorities said there was no destruction of mangroves. The HC order has not been violated as there is no construction of a structure within 50m of mangroves and only paver blocks have been placed to avoid dust and muck. The HC had also allowed construction for a few housing properties and our plot is one of those. We have got a stay from the city civil court in this matter against all notices issued by various authorities.

The tehsil office, in its letter, said 50m of the road belonging to the school, which is being used by the authorities to park buses, was within mangroves, which is a violation of the high court order. In 2005, the Bombay high court banned all construction within 50m of mangroves.

An inspection was conducted by mangroves cell officials of the forest department in May, where they confirmed the construction had violated the HC order. The Versova police registered a first information report in May, but the BMC is yet to take action.

Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner of K-west ward, said, The complaint is being heard by Lokayukta and the BMC has answered all questions. We are waiting for his directives, after which action will be initiated.

Activists asked if the civic body can take action against an actor, why are they sparing the school. Vivekanand Gupta, BJP Mumbai secretary and complainant in this case, said, The civic body should take immediate action. The ward officer is busy siding with a politician and so has not demolished the road in spite of complaints.

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Amboli police booked Rahul Raj Singh, boyfriend of late television actress Pratyusha Banerjee, for allegedly molesting an aspiring actress, 21, and assaulting her male friend outside a restaurant in Andheri West early on Monday. A woman who was accompanying Singh has also filed a cross complaint.

Read: Rahul checked into hotel with ex-girlfriend a day before getting bail: Pratyushas parents

Earlier this year, the Bangur Nagar police had arrested Rahul for allegedly abetting Pratyushas suicide who is said to have taken the extreme step in an inebriated condition on April 1 after a fight with him. He is currently out on bail in the case.

Rahul Raj Singh is currently out on bail in the case of Pratyushas abetment to suicide. (PTI)

Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe confirmed the registration of an FIR against Singh.

According to Dudhe, the incident took place at Bora Bora restaurant where Rahul was having dinner with a female friend.

Read: Rahul bought cocaine after Pratyushas death

The complainant arrived there with her male friend, a producer. Rahul had a heated argument with the producer and they assaulted each other, the police said. The complainant was abused by Rahul whose female friend also faced verbal assault from the producer, they said. Dudhe said, We have registered a cross case as both women lodged complaints. The officer, however, refused to identify the producer.

Both the FIRs have been registered under sections 354 (sexual harassment), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapon), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. No arrests have been made so far. The police said they will check if there are any CCTV cameras in the vicinity.
Cooperate with the police, ensure womens safety and dont allow use of contraband  these are some of the guidelines issued by the umbrella body of Ganesh mandals for the immersions on Thursday.

The Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS) held a meeting on Tuesday with heads of mandals and briefed them on the steps to be taken to keep the festivities peaceful. After speaking with the police, the civic body, lifeguards and others involved in immersions, we came up with a list of guidelines for all mandals. If we receive complaints from any governing bodies, strict action will be taken against the mandal, said Naresh Dahibhavkar, president, BSGSS.

Mandals have been told that use of alcohol and drugs during processions is banned. If workers from any mandal are found using any such substance, they will not be allowed to celebrate the festival next year, said Dahibhavkar.

Read: @MumbaiPolice turns into virtual control room during Ganeshotsav

He said the guidelines emphasise on adhering to noise pollution rules, as stated in a recent Bombay high court order. We will make sure there is noise rule violation this year. We have told them to avoid the use of loudspeakers, DJ sets, and use drums and dhols instead, said Dahibhavkar, adding that the mandals have also been told to avoid dance processions.

Devotees during immersion of Ganesha on the seventh immersion day of Ganesh Chaturthi at Dadar chowpatty in Mumbai on Sunday. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

Members of Lalbaugcha Raja mandal said they have been asked to keep one lane free for traffic. We will abide by all guidelines. Mandal members have been sensitised about it and we will communicate via walkie-talkies during the procession, said Balasaheb Kamble, president, Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.

Read: High-decibel noise drowns out the rules, but no one faces the music

Dahibhavkar said the police personnel asked the umbrella body to submit a list of trucks that will carry idols during immersions and details of the drivers. After the attack in France earlier this year, the police personnel have stepped up security for citizens travelling by foot. We submitted the list on Wednesday, he said.

Special trains

The Central Railway (CR) will operate eight special trains on Anant Chaturdashi for devotees returning home later after the immersion. Two services will run between CST and Kalyan, two between CST and Thane and the remaining on the harbour line.

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As the ten-day Ganeshotsava comes to a close with the visarjan yatra, heres a quick round-up of the festival that took the country, especially Mumbai, by a storm of festive, holy air.

22-foot-tall eco-friendly Bappa in south Mumbai thats actually green

As the 11-day Ganeshostav festivities draw to a close, this year Mumbai witnesses its maximum share of eco-friendly concepts for idols and decorations as compared to previous years.

A 22-foot-tall idol of the elephant god made of synthetic grass  a symbol for protecting the environment - at the Shree Ashtavinayak Mitra Mandal, Fort, south Mumbai. (HT photo)

@MumbaiPolice turns into virtual control room during Ganeshotsav

The room from where the Twitter team of the Mumbai police operates has become a virtual control room since September 5 (the start of Ganeshotsav). Reason: incessant queries and complaints related to the festival on their Twitter handle, @MumbaiPolice.

60 sweet shops booked for overcharging during Ganeshotsava

The Legal Metrology Organisation (LMO) registered at least 60 cases of overcharging, short-delivery and wrong declaration against sweet and decoration shops just before the start of Ganeshotsav.

High-decibel noise drowns out the rules, but no one faces the music

After Day 5, the sixth day of Ganeshotsav too saw restrictions on noise levels being violated as activists recorded sound levels much above permissible limits at several locations in the city, including Silence Zones on the occasion of Gauri Visarjan on Saturday.

Vikhroli Ganesh mandal prays for pothole-free Mumbai

The death of a local in an accident that was caused due to a pothole propelled a Vikhroli mandal to decorate its pandal using the Pothole-free Mumbai theme this Ganeshotsav.

(Ht photo)

When Bappa calls, humanity wins and religion doesnt matter

For 29-year-old Munira Shaikh, visiting pandals during Ganesh Chaturthi is nothing out of the ordinary. She has been pandal hopping during the Ganeshotsav ever since she was a kid.

Man assaults policewoman over entry into Lalbaugcha Raja pandal

A woman police officer on Monday registered a case with Kalachowkie police station against a resident of Ganesh Nagar, the residential area around the famous Lalbaugcha Raja pandal, for allegedly assaulting her.
The Mumbai police have cancelled leave of all police personnel on Thursday, for Anant Chaturdashi immersions, which mark the end of the 11-day Ganesh festival.

The Mumbai police have appealed to people to stay alert and not believe rumours. Citizens should immediately dial 100 or alert a policeman if they spot any suspicious object or person. The Mumbai police will conduct checks at strategic locations across the city and also at entry/exit points.

Devotees surround Lalbaugcha Raja idol of Hindu god Ganesha on the last day of Ganesha Chaturthi festival in Lalbaug area Mumbai on Thursday. (Pratham Ghokale/HT Photo)

Aerial surveillance has been improvised to ensure there is no any untoward incident. We have cancelled weekly-offs and police personnel will be on roads to ensure security, said Deven Bharti, joint commissioner of police (law and order) told HT. We have increased the number of drones.

The Mumbais control room that monitors CCTV cameras installed across strategic locations in the city has been asked to remain vigilant. A general alert has been sounded, while security has been stepped up at immersion points in the city such as Girgaum, Juhu, Shivaji Park, Versova and Powai lake, among others. Coastal security has been beefed up with high-speed patrol boats constantly monitoring the situation.

Read: Top shot: Expert photography tips for Ganpati Visarjan

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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will interact with homebuyers next week through videoconferencing to address their grievances, Phatturam Bhojwani, adviser to Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities said on Wednesday.

Around 3.5 lakh homebuyers in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas have been suffering for four to five years as the builders have failed to deliver houses on time citing slowdown in the realty market.

There are 86 under-construction group housing projects in Noida, 95 in Greater Noida and 13 in Yamuna Expressway area that are running way behind the schedule.

I met chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on September 12 and discussed the issues concerning the homebuyers with him for nearly an hour. He asked me to make a list of all the buyers as well as builders whose projects are delayed. I will share the list with the chief minister. He will interact with homebuyers through videoconferencing next week, said Bhojwani.

Bhojwani, who is known to be close to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, was recently appointed as the adviser to Uttar Pradesh industrial and development department and was allotted accommodation and office in the Noida authority.

When asked whether the alleged conflict between Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav would affect the functioning of the government and the Noida authority, he said, The trouble will be over very soon and the chief minister will resolve all issues aptly. Akhilesh has full control over the Samajwadi Party and the government with the blessings of his father. Akhilesh wants that general public, particularly homebuyers and investors, should not suffer, said Bhojwani.

Bhojwani meets people in the authoritys Sector 6 office and also at his house in Sector 44.

Earlier, people could meet authority officials only between 10am and 12 noon on working days. But I am available in the office for the public from 10am to 5pm. Any person who is facing any problem can also meet me at my house in Sector 44 from 5 pm to 6 pm, said Bhojwani.

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The Centre is contemplating its position to a Supreme Court reference on a raft of petitions challenging the practice of arbitrary triple talaq, a matter which has become an albatross around the neck of a religion that 1,500 years ago gave dignity and status to women.

I recently wrote an article on the Haji Ali judgment as a wake-up call for urgent reform within Islam. I argued that since women were welcomed by the Prophet himself into the Masjid-e-Nabawi in Medina, what right do we, with our imperfect knowledge, have to stop their entry in any religious place and thereby violate Sunnah of the Prophet himself?

Sixteen years ago, I presented the same argument about rights of women in Islam in a report I wrote as a member of the National Commission for Women. I had written it after a meeting with the chairman of Muslim Personal Law Board (MPLB), Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, in 1998.

I have presented the report to Muslim organisations, commissions and successive governments over 16 years as a roadmap for reforms based on injunctions of Islam and oral testimonies of thousands of Muslim women from across the country at public hearings.

The looming tragedy before us Muslims is the stance taken in this matter by MPLB. They aver that arbitrary triple talaq, along with polygamy, is a buniyadi (basic) tenet of Islam. This argument reflects neither the spirit nor the intent of Islam. I have spent 20 years explicating the Quranic text to prove my point.

Let it be understood for once and for all and I repeat, the question of arbitrary talaq is a settled law of the land. In 2002, the Supreme Court in the case Shamim Ara totally banned arbitrary triple talaq, allowing it only after consent of the wife and second party arbitration, exactly as enjoined in the Quran. After this judgment, several high courts in the country followed suit. There was no need for Shayara Bano to go to the Supreme Court with a case that was already settled law.

In January 2016, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the misery of Muslim women, while examining the Hindu Succession Act. Shayara Banos case was tagged along with it and a matter, which had been settled as far back as 2002, was once again raked up.

But what has the MPLB done? It has submitted an affidavit, which brings extraneous matters into play and opens a host of issues, which have no bearing on the case. It may result in opening up matters we dont want to touch. Its contents are neither in accordance with Quranic injunctions nor do they respect the dignity of Muslim men and women; for example, their arguments in favour of TT are violative of my self-respect.

The stance they have taken proves that they dont speak for a majority of Muslim men and women who they profess to represent. I would add that they dont even represent some of the most well-reasoned voices one hears from within the board itself.

In a world where gender justice is steadily gaining ground, Islam should have been leading from the front given that an entire Surah of the Quran is devoted to gender rights. We Muslims want that perspective to be propagated.

(Syeda Saiyidain Hameed is a social and womens rights activist, educationist, writer and a former member of the Planning Commission of India. The views expressed are personal.)
Lula da Silva earlier this month. MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL (AFP)

Hopes of a comeback by the most popular president in Brazils history, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, were severely set back on Wednesday after Brazilian prosecutors accused him of being the top commander of the huge Lava Jata (carwash) corruption network that cost state oil company Petrobras millions of dollars.

Prosecutors claim that Lula, who is hoping to stand for re-election in 2018, is guilty of corruption, money laundering and receiving bribes from construction company OAS, one of the engineering and construction firms at the center of the Petrobras scandal. His wife, Maria Leticia,is also accused of direct involvement.

Investigators say Lula must have known of corruption at Petrobras

Prosecutors say Petrobrass total losses stemming from the inflated contracts amount to some $12.7 billion.

Without Lulas decision-making power, this network would have been impossible, said public prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, having described the president who ran the country between 2003 and 2010 as the conductor of this criminal orchestra.

After taking over as president, Lula ordered the creation of a criminal scheme to siphon off public money for his personal enrichment, to stay in power by criminal means, to buy parliamentary support, and to finance very expensive electoral campaigns, said Dallagnol during a two-hour press conference.

The two-year-old Operation Carwash anti-corruption investigation, based in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, has uncovered how political appointees named by Lulas Workers Party (PT) and its allies handed out overpriced contracts to engineering firms in return for illicit party funding and bribes.

The scandal contributed to the fall from power last month of Lulas chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached by Congress in a separate case of breaking budget rules, amid rising anger over her handling of Brazils worst recession since the 1930s.

A hero of Brazils poor, Lulas policies helped millions escape poverty

As well as receiving $1.1 million, Lula is accused of accepting a luxury apartment in Guaruja on the coast of Sao Paulo from OAS. Lula has denied ownership of the three-floor condo, and his lawyers have dismissed the charges as a political plot to stymie his political comeback.

OAS was one of several leading Brazilian companies that allegedly overcharged the oil giant for contracts and split the extra money with corrupt Petrobras executives while setting aside some of the loot to pay off politicians who provided cover for the graft.

The same construction company also paid the rental fees for a warehouse where, over a period of five years, Lula stored the gifts he received during his 2003-2010 presidency, Dallignol said.

Prosecutors say total losses at Petrobras from inflated contracts amount to some $12.7 billion

Those benefits were payment for three refinery contracts totaling some $26.4 million that were illegally awarded to OAS, Dallagnol added.

Lula has separately been indicted by a court in Brasilia for obstruction of justice in a case related to an attempt to persuade a defendant in the Petrobras scandal not to turn states witness.

The former shoeshine boy and union leader who led nationwide strikes against Brazils military dictatorship during the 1970s and 1980s, contributing to its downfall, was elected the nations first working-class president in 2002 after three failed campaigns.

A hero of Brazils poor, Lula implemented social policies that helped millions escape poverty and join the middle classes. He left office in 2010 with an 83% approval rating and an economy growing at more than 7% annually.

But two years ago, as the Petrobras probe became public, prosecutors began to close in on the former president.

Investigators charge it is not possible that Lula was unaware of the institutionalized corruption and political kickbacks taking place at Petrobras and other state-run companies before and during his mandate.

English version by Nick Lyne.
A local court on Wednesday convicted six accused in the case involving kidnapping of a Canada-based NRI in April 2012.

The court of additional district and sessions judge RK Jain held Pradeep Malik, Sanjeev Kumar alias Soni, Anil Kumar, Ajit Singh, Nitin and Sukhdev guilty in the case. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Friday.

The NRI, Navneet Singh Chatha, was kidnapped on April 10, 2012, for Rs 1 crore ransom. A UT crime branch team rescued him after an extensive operation in a Kurukshetra village within a few hours.

The NRIs brother, who is also a Canadian resident, had received the ransom call. The police laid a trap and arrested the accused.

The UT police had arrested the six on charges of kidnapping, robbery and wrongful confinement.

Soni owned the farmhouse where the victim was kept. A trap was laid at the farmhouse and after an exchange of gunshots between the police and the kidnappers, the accused were nabbed.

The Kurukshetra police had registered a separate case of attempt to murder against the six accused.

The UT police had recovered Rs12.5 lakh, 300 Canadian dollars, victims Honda Accord car besides a Maruti Swift Dzire car robbed from a person in Panchkula and two mobile phones.

The NRI was allegedly robbed of his purse and belongings at gunpoint.

Victims brother got clue in ransom call

Recounting the sequence of events, Chatha appearing before the court through video conferencing last year said, I usually refer to my brother as Ginnu or Garry in our conversations, but that day I called him by his complete name  Gurneet Singh Chatha  to drop a hint that something is wrong.

I could not have told him that I was kidnapped as the kidnappers had forced me to call him at gunpoint and demanded Rs 1 crore.

I told my brother that the money was for a land deal and it made him suspicious. He immediately called for help, said Chatha.

The accused had fired at the police team and when I tried to escape, they tried to shoot me but their pistol got jammed and I was rescued, he had said.

Recording his statement though video conferencing, the NRI identified Pradeep, Sanjeev, Anil and Ajit Singh by the colour of their shirts.

Navneet Chatha, however, failed to identify Nitin and Sukhdev.

Navneet had expressed his inability to travel to India due to alleged threat to his life.

The case

1) Canada-based NRI Navneet Singh Chatha was kidnapped on April 10, 2012, for Rs 1 crore ransom. A UT police team rescued him after an operation from a Kurukshetra village within hours of kidnapping.

2) The NRIs brother, who is also a Canadian resident, had received the ransom call

3) The victim was kept in a farmhouse owned by one of the accused

4) A trap was laid at the farmhouse and after an exchange of gunshots between the police and the kidnappers, the accused were nabbed
A nine-year-old girl died when an iron scaffolding of the under-construction visitors gallery collapsed and hit her at the Attari border near here on Thursday evening. Three people were also injured in the incident.

The deceased had been identified as Srinandana, who had come to Attari to watch the retreat ceremony with her parents from Kerala.

The collapsed scaffolding. (HT Photo)

The incident took place when an electric cable got stuck in an earthmoving machine. The cable brought down the scaffolding, which hit the girls head killing her on the spot.

The construction has been going on for the past few months to extend the visitors gallery in order to accommodate the increasing flow of visitors at the Indo-Pak border.

An ambulance carries the injured persons from the mishap site. (Sameer Sehgal/HT Photo)

The machine operator, Jagtar Singh, was arrested after being booked for negligence. Amritsar deputy commissioner Varun Roojam has marked an inquiry to the sub-divisional officer-2.

After the incident, the Border Security Force asked hundreds of tourists to return. Each day, more than 30,000 people visit Attari to witness beating retreat ceremony conducted by the BSF and Pakistan Ranger in the evening.
At 5.15pm on Thursday, Chandigarh International Airport actually became international as a flight from Sharjah landed with 128 passengers onboard a 186-seater plane. At 6.35pm, an Air India Express plane carrying 182 passengers to Sharjah departed too, this being the first flight from this airport to a foreign destination.

The flight to Sharjah takes off. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

Union civil aviation minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on the occasion that government-owned carrier Air India will start a flight to Singapore by March. Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani added Bangkok to the list. These will be thrice a week. Immediately next up, from September 26, IndiGo airlines will start a daily flight between Chandigarh and Dubai.

Passengers from Sharjah coming out of Chandigarh International Airport on Thursday. (Keshav Singh/HT Photo)

In the presence of Punjab chief minister and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal, who led a 40-member trade delegation in the flight to Sharjah, Raju said, Sky is the limit now for Punjab and all Punjabis putting across the world. In India, civil aviation is the fastest-growing industry at 20% a year.

He called the airport a magnificent gift of the NDA government (at the Centre) to Punjabis settled in different parts of the world as it will enable them to stay well-connected with their roots.

A water salute for the first flight from Sharjah at Chandigarh International Airport on Thursday. (Keshav Singh/HT Photo)

Meanwhile, as the airport land falls in Punjabs Mohali (SAS Nagar), the Badals and also many welcome hoardings called it Mohali international airport, to which Haryana took umbrage as it is a partner in the project. The airport is eventually expected to be named after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Raju also said, The people of the region should not be having any problem if it is called Chandigarh International Airport.

About likely flights to the West, Raju said, Its a continuous process. Several airlines, particularly the Indian players, are showing interest.

Chandigarhs first international flight, to Sharjah, just after take-off on Thursday. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

CM Badal chose to remain quiet during the media interaction. Later he, in a press note, and Sukhbir termed a red letter day. A major promise made to the people of the Punjab has been fulfilled by the state government, said Sukhbir, adding that it will boost industry.

Also read | Chandigarh? Mohali? Bhagat Singh? Airport international, but name row spoils air

Among those present were Punjab minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Dera Bassi MLA NK Sharma, who accompanied Sukhbir on the flight to Sharjah, from where they would go by road to Dubai nearby for a trade meet. Principal secretary, civil aviation, Viswajeet Khanna and Mohali mayor Kulwant Singh were also at the airport on the occasion.

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The much-awaited appearance of Chandigarh on the international aviation map was marked by a controversy over the name of the airport on Thursday.

While it is officially called Chandigarh International Airport, the Punjab government referred to it as Mohali International Airport in its advertisements and hoardings as the land as such falls in Mohali (SAS Nagar). Haryana, an equal partner in the project, took umbrage and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar sent a terse letter to his Punjab counterpart, Parkash Singh Badal, objecting to the misleading advertisement campaign.

Also read | Sharjah first, done! Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok next

Hoarding of the Punjab government inside the airport uses Mohali. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

I am deeply anguished by the advertisements... this is factually incorrect. The fact is that the nomenclature of this airport has not yet been decided by the Government of India, he wrote, urging Badal to look into the matter and take remedial action.

A hoarding by the AAI uses Chandigarh for the airport.. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

Asked to comment, Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who was present at the Sharjah flight launch, said the Centre has received several requests to name the airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh. We are considering it. But it is a long process, he said, sitting next to CM Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal, who did not say anything. Sukhbir, who touted the airport as one of his mega projects for the state, later took the inaugural flight. Khattar was to attend the event, too, but did not.

Note, however, that Raju also said, The people of this region should not have any problem if it is called Chandigarh International Airport.

A man shows his boarding pass for the first Chandigarh-Sharjah flight on Thursday. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

The Punjab government issued a press statement in the evening wherein Badal repeatedly referred to the airport as Mohali International Airport, not mentioning the word Chandigarh at all. This international airport at Mohali, second in [Punjab] after Amritsar, was a result of persistent efforts made by the state government, the statement read, adding that it will help in showcasing Punjab as the most preferred investment destination. On the other hand, Khattar, in his letter, termed the first international flight of Air India as a welcome culmination of our persistent efforts with the ministry of civil aviation.

Thursdays episode has revived the bitter memories of an old dispute between the two partner states over the name of the airport. The airport is managed by a joint venture entity, Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL), in which the Airports Authority of India has the majority stake of 51%, and Punjab and Haryana are equal partners with 24.5% each.
Even as Manjit Kaur, 50, prime accused in two month old abduction case, was arrested on Tuesday, police are still not clear about the whereabouts and existence of the 8-year-old child who was abducted by her, along with her son and his friend.

While her son, Manjinder Singh, and his friend, Harjinder Singh (from Pandori village), were arrested few days after the FIR was registered against them.

Manjit was still at large and was staying at Patna (Bihar), from where she returned few days ago.

After getting a tip-off through a informer, the Amritsar police (rural) nabbed her from village Talwandi Nahar Chowk, falling in Ramdas police station. The missing child, Baaz Singh, along with his eight month old brother, Fateh Singh, was allegedly abducted by the trio on July 23.

The incident took place when the victims mother, Gurmeet Kaur, of village Maulwi Kot in Gurdaspur, brought them to a mazaar to pay obeisance. There, she met Manjit and got friendly with her. Manjit lured them to go to her house.

At night, along with her son and his friend, Manjit kidnapped the victims by giving the mother some chemical in food, thereby pushing her into a state of unconsciousness. When Gurmeet woke up on the next morning, she enquired about her sons. The abductors started thrashing her and injured her seriously. Considering her dead, the trio threw her near a canal. But she was alive and went to her house.

She explained the incident to her husband, Balwinder Singh, and lodged a complaint with the police.

After this, the police had recovered the younger son from a cult of a tantric, based in Dera Baba Nanak of Gurdaspur district.

After arresting Manjinder and Harjinder, the police found out during the interrogation that the elder child was killed and his dead body was dumped on some place.

As a result, the police of Ramdas added Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the FIR.

Manjit told almost similar story to the police, but when she was asked to disclose the location where the dead body was dumped, she took the cops on some place. After digging that place, no dead body was found.

This has left the local police in a fix.

We cannot say whether the abducted child has been killed or is still alive somewhere as we have not found his dead body yet, said Sukhjinder Singh, station house officer (SHO) of Ramdas police station.

The interrogation of all three accused is still on and hopefully the case will be solved soon, he added. Senior superintendent of police (SSP rural) Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said that they got one-day remand of the arrested woman to further question her.

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Proposing the idea of day-boarding in the city, Punjab governor and UT administrator VP Singh Badnore suggested initiating the concept of extended schools here. He recommended that schools should get students to play games and finish their home-work post school hours on the campus itself so that kids are free to relax and spend time with family post 5pm.

This suggestion was made during the concluding function held at Government Model High School (GMHS), Manimajra, after its inauguration including three other schools: GMHS-48; GMHS-49 and Government Model Middle School (GMMS), Modern Housing Complex, Manimajra, on Wednesday.

Also read | CBSE says no school bags, homework for Classes 1 and 2

We can initially try this in three or four model schools and seek feedback from parents depending on which, it can implemented in more schools, added Badnore while talking about extended schools.

He was also the chief guest at the event. Local member of parliament, Kirron Kher, UT advisor Parimal Rai, education secretary Sarvjit Singh, inspector-general Tejinder Singh Luthra and director school education Rubinderjit Singh Brar were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, Badnore congratulated the administration for their efforts to expand the quality of education by opening four new government schools simultaneously in the city. He said that education plays a vital role in shaping a kids personality and setting role-models for society and imbibing moral values.

Addressing the audience on the occasion, Kirron Kher said, It was the desire of the residents of these areas to have a model school which has been fulfilled today. She further appreciated the fast-track efforts taken by the adviser to the administrator in ensuring that the schools are ready in stipulated time.

GMHS in Sector 48, 49, Pocket number 1 and GMMS, Modern Housing Complex in Manimajra have been set up to cater approximately 4000 students with around 95 classrooms in all the four schools.

Education secretary Sarvjit Singh said that the inauguration of new schools was the need of the hour. He said students from surrounding schools will be adjusted in the new schools.

Also present on the occasion were chief principal secretary MP Singh, deputy mayor Harmeet Singh, deputy director school education Chanchal Singh, district education officer Vinay Sood, deputy director of school education and other senior officials of the education department, area councillors and principals.

Other suggestions made by VP Singh Badnore

1) He suggested that retired generals, admirals, governors, judges and senior civil retired officers residing in the city can come to the schools as guest faculty and share their experiences/stories thereby preparing and motivating the future generation. The UT adviser, Parimal Rai, had made a similar suggestion during the Independence Day function recently post which the education department had invited applications and had received a positive response in this regard. Over 50 applications had already come in.

2) He also emphasised on the need to build confidence and good leadership skills in students from the beginning. Badnore said, We may arrange 2 to 3 minute speeches daily in every class for students to make them a future orator and bring in the confidence.

3) Social work: He encouraged students to take forward the Swacch Bharat campaign and requested education department officials to arrange trips to the slum areas and colonies.

DSE promises education quality improvement in 6 months

After students of Dhanas government school complained about the absence of teachers from schools during an interaction with MP Kirron Kher, she took it upon herself to address the issue. She said, A building does not make a school but teachers do. I was very upset to hear that teachers were not taking their duty seriously and request all the staff members to give more quality time to students and nurture them. She even thanked the adviser and other education department officials for reacting to her concerns and formulating a committee for surprise inspections. DSE Rubinderjit Singh Brar promised that within the next six months, there will be a remarkable improvement in quality of education. He told HT, We will begin the inspections on Thursday and will ensure that it reaps immediate results. The committee holding surprise inspections headed by Brar himself consists of five members.
No one expected the last session of Punjab assembly before polls early next year to be uneventful. Especially, when all sessions in the five years of the present House have had their share of controversies. But the last one takes the cake.

The Congress, which was found wanting on floor strategy in the budget session in March and scored many a self-goals, was able to outwit the Akalis through a publicity coup  its dramatic two-night sit-in on the floor of the House after its no-trust motion was declared defeated by assembly speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal without a debate.

Also read | Caste slur, shoegate, and all the drama as curtains down on Punjab assembly

But it lost the advantage on the last day after one of its MLAs, Tarlochan Singh Soondh, hurled a shoe at the treasury benches. Though he later found an excuse for the action, it did bring the Congress some blushes. The party tried to undo the damage by holding a mock session and giving media bytes to chew on.

Punjab cabinet minister Madan Mohan Mittal (centre) shows the shoe that was hurled by Congress MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh inside the assembly on Wednesday. (Keshav singh/HT Photo)

But its senior leaders seemed visibly upset as events unfolded. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Lal Singh, Brahm Mohindra and Preneet Kaur were not seen in the sit-in or the mock assembly. Though they returned on Tuesday morning to show solidarity for the protesting MLAs as they made headlines and Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh backed them with food and kudos, it was clear who was in the driving seat.

Some senior leaders such as Sunil Jakhar and Tripat Bajwa did play along for the sake of team spirit by being a part of the sit-in but their discomfort with the partys floor strategy or lack of it was all too obvious. Some senior leaders, on condition of anonymity, said there was near unanimity at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet that Jakhar would open the no-confidence motion debate. It was to be followed by speeches of others and end with that of incumbent leader of opposition Charanjit Singh Channi.

Also read | On back foot, Punjab govt gets away with umpires aid

But Channi wanted to be the first speaker. When the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has passed the baton of assembly to the young brigade, we have to go by what they decide. It would have been much better if we were able to corner the government over important issues, a senior MLA said. Though Channi defended use of provocative words as quotes out of Guru Granth Sahib, he served Akalis the ammunition to disrupt his speech on a platter.

In his bid to balance seniority and youth, Rahul entrusted the job of handling elections to veterans such as Capt Amarinder Singh and Ambika Soni but went for a generational shift by replacing Jakhar with Channi, Bharat Bhushan Ashu (deputy leader of opposition) and Navtej Cheema (chief whip). The other young turks of the party, who were driving the two-day protest, were All India Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Kuljit Nagra and Gurkirat Kotli.

After the shoe-hurling episode in the House, senior Congress MLAs were seen returning to their seats, something that did not go unnoticed by the ruling benches. Punjab revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia told reporters later that Congress senior leaders were looking embarrassed by the incident. Jakhar, Bhattal, Preneet and Lal Singh, all went back to their desks after the shoe was hurled. But they were told by Amarinder to stand by Soondh. The story of caste slur was fabricated as an afterthought. If he was insulted, why did Soondh not raise the issue in the House? Do you think our Dalit MLAs would have allowed one of us to abuse their community, he said.

The Congress was able to outwit the ruling Akali-BJP in game of grabbing headlines and many of its MLAs have turned celebrities after their videos and pictures went viral on social networking sites. It was also able to put up a rare show of unity. But it missed the opportunity to outclass the ruling benches through a debate. No kudos can go to Akali-BJP for not letting the debate take place, neither to Congress for missing the goalpost.

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High drama was witnessed outside DAV Public School, Pakhowal Road, on Wednesday morning when parents protested for around three hours outside the gate in the support of 13-year-old Atharva Gupta, a Class-8 student who jumped off the 5th floor (the top floor) of the school building on September 8.

Must read | Why did Atharva jump? Parents, school authorities keep mum

Parents demanded action against the four schoolteachers accused of beating up Gupta, who is now on ventilator, at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMHC), Ludhiana. Gupta was thrashed because he reportedly talked to a girl student.

During the protest, that started at 7.45am and lasted till 10.30am, the school authorities closed the main gate and didnt allow the protesting parents to enter the school. Only the parents who were in a favour of school management were allowed to enter the school premises. The female teachers of the school physically encircled the protesting parents, thus restricting their entry to the school. When the parents raised slogans against the school authorities and demanded arrest of the culprit teachers, the female teachers hooted them.

Police force was deployed outside the school to handle the situation and assistant commissioner of police Surinder Mohan tried to pacify the parents to end the protest.

A heated argument ensued between the group of parents supporting Atharva Gupta and those defending the school authorities. With the latter group asking the protesting parents to withdraw their children from the school, if they are not satisfied.

Why do you care about Atharva: DAV teachers

School resorting to threatening tactics, claim parents

A parent, requesting anonymity, said that, My son is studying in Class-4 and his classmates have been warned by their teachers to not to give any statement to anyone. If they do so then, the school will deduct marks in the internal assessment.

Another parent, who wished not to be named, said, Where is the CCTV footage? Why is the school not coming out with the footage if they are honest? For the last two hours we have been protesting outside the school and the principal has not bothered to come out and talk to the parents.

Student Organisation of India (SOI) leader Meetpal Singh Dugri reached the school at 9.30am. He said, I dont want to make it a political issue and thats why I didnt come in the morning. But when I started receiving calls from parents, I decided to come here and exhort the parents to end the protest.

SP Gupta, Atharva Guptas uncle, said, After first information report (FIR) was lodged against the school principal and the four teachers, the school stopped providing financial aid for the treatment of Atharva. Earlier the school has deputed teachers on rotation basis at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital but today no teacher has come to see Atharva Gupta.

Questions haunt parents

* Where is the CCTV footage?

* Why the school authorities did not inform the police about this incident and

* Why they have not taken any action against the accused teachers?

CBI inquiry sought

The city-based non-government organisation (NGO) Mahatar Sathi Jagriti Manch has written to Rajnath Singh, Union home minister and national commission for protection of child right, New Delhi, to mark a CBI inquiry into the case. They asserted that to uncover the truth in this case, the accused teachers must take lie detector or polygraph test. School principal Satwant Kaur Bhullar could not be contacted in spite of repeated attempts.
High drama was witnessed and the police resorted to mild lathicharge against the 1984 riot victims trying to stop them from entering the mini-secretariat on Wednesday afternoon.

Members of the 1984 Riot Victims Welfare Society have been protesting against the government for the past many d ays with four of the members were sitting on hunger strike.

On Wednesday, when nearly 40 members tried to enter the mini secretariat to meet deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat, the police closed the gates and did not allow them in.

The protesters got into a scuffle with the police personnel after which a mild baton charge was used to disperse them. No one was severely injured in this.

The protesters even burnt an effigy of the state government and demanded immediate relief.

Gurdeep Kaur, president of the society, said that the government has failed to fulfil genuine demands of the riot victims. The government is not willing to meet our demands and now they used batons on us,said Kaur.

The welfare committee has been demanding flats, `2 lakh compensation from the state government, clearance of pending red card files, 5% reservation in jobs besides `5 lakh compensation from the Union government for the riot-hit.
It was the last assembly session of the current government and the treasury benches managed to wriggle out of two difficult situations, with a big help from speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal.

The session was expected to be stormy and the ruling-alliance legislators of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had their fingers crossed. The Congress had moved a no-confidence motion against them, a motion which the speaker cant deny. The alliance was confident that it had the numbers to defeat the motion but were expecting a lot of flak during the debate on it.

Must read | Caste slur, shoegate, and all the drama as curtains down on Punjab assembly

The government was on the back foot on the issues of law and order, rampant drug addiction, and police atrocities, and the Congress was all set to go to town with these. The SAD issued a whip to ensure that its MLAs were in full strength on Monday to face the motion. All senior officers, including director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora were called to the assembly hall.

Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal called a hurried meeting of all SAD and BJP MLAs to prepare a floor strategy to tackle the no trust move. But nothing could be discussed because of the presence BJP legislator Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was among the first to arrive, said an Akali MLA. The alliance doesnt trust Dr Sidhu, since she is expected to join the new political forum of her husband, former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The deputy CM prepared notes comparing the crime figures of Punjab and other states and on the number of positive dope cases in a recent police recruitment drive. But a proper who will say what had not been finalised, the MLA said.

The opportunity to respond, however, never came. In the first five minutes of his speech, leader of opposition Charanjit Singh Channi launched a frontal, abusive attack on the Badals. Sukhbir gestured his MLAs to get up from their seats to protest and pandemonium broke out. Before anyone could make sense of what was going on, the speaker put the motion to vote and declared it defeated by voice vote.

We didnt even realise that the motion had been put to vote, said an angry Sunil Jakhar, senior Congress leader, on Wednesday. The speakers conduct has been most unfair. He has denigrated the position of his chair.

Also read | Shoe-thrower turns speaker as Punjab Cong finds its voice in mock assembly

The Congress anger was directed at the speaker also for his brazening it out on the sessions final day. Despite our unprecedented 40 hour sit-in protest, the speaker did only what the Akali-BJP combine wanted, said Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, one of the 20 MLAs to camp inside the assembly since Monday evening.

As the Congress MLAs continued their protest on Wednesday morning, demanding resumption of the discussion on the no-confidence motion, the speaker suspended the question hour and zero hour and went straight to the legislative business. The SAD-BJP wanted its bills, amendments, and ordinances passed. Many of these were to give effect to the last-minute sops cleared by the cabinet last week in view of the coming state elections.

If the speaker didnt brazen it out, he braved through the rest of the proceedings certainly, passing 21 bills in an hour amid abusive slogans and paper missiles hurled at him from the opposition benches. Half a dozen members of the watch-and-ward staff along with the office staff shielded the speaker from the projectiles.

Counter complaints from Congress, SAD

Congress legislators led by Tarlochan Singh Soondh gave a written complaint to the speaker against Akali MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha for his abusing the Dalits. Akali Dalit legislators filed a complaint against Soondh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, and Sukhjinder Randhawa for shameful conduct disgracing the Dalit Samaj. Both complaints were forwarded to Punjab Scheduled Castes Commission.

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Leon Trotsky at his desk inside his house in Mexico. AFP

More information Cartas contra Trotski

While an elderly Leon Trotsky cared for his beloved cactus plants and wrote about politics, Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas kept receiving letters requesting the deportation of the Russian revolutionary.

The exiled legend of the Russian revolution, the roaming scourge of the Kremlin, the man whom Stalin wanted to see dead, very much dead, had to be persecuted and harassed everywhere he went. And Mexicos Stalinists certainly contributed to the strategy to bring down Trotsky.

A neighborhood association claimed he was the leader of an international gang of muggers

From every corner of the country where a Communist cell might be found, a telegram or letter was sure to be sent complaining about that agent of oil companies and Yankee imperialism, in the words of the Bricklayers Union of Papantla, a village in the state of Veracruz.

We may assert that Trotsky has not brought Mexico any benefits, but instead has come here to slyly work against our good regime and to issue slanderous statements against Mexican workers, wrote the Carpenters Union of Tampico.

The Alma Huasteca Society of Avant-Garde Students judged him to be a dangerous foreigner [] whom all of Mexicos youth is complaining about, out of fear that he will engage in shameful political intrigues in this country.

One of the letters preserved in the archive. Archivo Historico de la Nacion

And the the Municipal Womens Committee of Arcelia, in the state of Guerrero, considered him workers number-one enemy.

Most of these letters petitioned the president to kick Trotsky out of Mexico. One group with a mouthful of a name, the Regional Committee for the Defense of Nationality Against Imperialism and Reaction, sent Mexican authorities a letter with a list of 11 priority issues the government should address for the good of the nation. The third point was to drive out Trotsky, and this came before other matters such as guaranteeing medical attention for Mexicos peasant population, or ensuring access to clean drinking water.

The government files containing these letters are kept in the General Archive of the Nation. EL PAIS has had access to the copies held by the Leon Trotsky Home and Museum, where the Russian revolutionary lived and died.

Most of the documents date back to the summer of 1940. In May of that year, a commando attacked the house, riddling it with bullet holes. But the target and his family survived the attack. Several Communist activists were arrested, and a wave of letters ensued in the following weeks in a bid to get the suspects released and Trotsky deported under Article 33 of the Mexican Constitution, concerning inconvenient foreigners.

The mastermind Esteban Volkov, 90, is the director of the museum that bears his grandfathers name and is a tenacious researcher of the historical facts surrounding Trotskys persecution and assassination. Volkov asserts that the mastermind behind the attack was Vicente Lombardo Toledano, secretary general of the Workers Confederation of Mexico. He was on Moscows payroll according to the Venona files, a US intelligence program to decipher encrypted KGB messages, he says. Volkov is still grateful to Lazaro Cardenas for not buckling under the pressure to deport his grandfather. The Stalinists waged a tremendous campaign, he says, adding that Lombardo mobilized all of his cells in order to flood the government with protest telegrams and letters. But Cardenas held his ground. He would not take orders from Stalin or from anybody. He never once hesitated.

But the archive also contains letters written prior to Trotskys arrival in Mexico. On December 7, 1936, the Alliance of Tramway Workers sent the government a telegram asking it not to let in the worlds greatest counter-revolutionary, with ties to German fascism.

Trotsky arrived by boat the following January and remained under the protection of General Lazaro Cardenas, whose foreign policy made it a point of pride to grant asylum to exiles during those times of major global upheaval.

The letters contained all kinds of accusations against Trotsky. There was a neighborhood association that claimed he was the leader of an international gang of muggers. The Mexican Communist Partys Yucatan State Committee accused him of working as an agent of the English intelligence services.

He was a fateful instrument of International Imperialism to the Mexican Committee in Favor of Reorganizing Schools and Redeeming the Blind. And a member of the Mexico for the Mexicans Club wanted Article 33 of the Constitution to extend to all Spanish refugees living in Mexico.

But Cardenas ignored the campaign against his guest. The president never met personally with Trotsky because he did not want to give the Stalinists more fuel for their propaganda. He had no ideological ties to Trotskysm, yet never broke his personal commitment to provide Trotsky with shelter.

It all ended on August 20, 1940, when Trotsky was assassinated by Ramon Mercader, a Spaniard working for Soviet intelligence services.

Days after the legendary Bolsheviks death, the Mexican governments offices were still receiving letters complaining about him. Trotskys postal persecution had followed him into the grave.

English version by Susana Urra.
The Punjab Rice Millers Association (PRMA) may boycott paddy lifting this season in the state. The association alleged that the government has been ignoring their demands for long as they do not constitute a big vote bank. We will not approach any government agency till October 5 for allotments, said Tarsem Lal Saini, president, PRMA. The association will take a final decision on the boycott at its general house meeting on October 5 in Jagraon, he said. There are around 3,200 rice millers in Punjab.

Ours is a small scale industry and we demand electricity at Rs 4.99/unit as the government has done for other industries, said Saini. He added that some of the millers have been enlisted as defaulters for non-payment of interest on the late delivery of rice during previous seasons. But, the government had already paid interest to the agencies. So, why are they now putting us in the defaulters list? asked Saini.

Millers alleged that the Punjab government had failed to implement many decisions of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as well. The government did not implement the FCIs decision on depreciation of C class gunnies, which may lead to a loss of Rs 15-20 lakh per rice miller, said an office-bearer of the association, Nakesh Jindal. According to the association, the FCI had released payment of gunnies for 2013-14, 14-15 and 15-16 to agencies but it was not transferred to millers.

Transportation Issue

Millers alleged that state agencies were not paying transportation charges despite the fact that the FCI had already released the money to them. They alleged that transportation charges of rice delivered for more than 8 km from 2003-04 to 13-14, that have been paid by the FCI to state agencies were still not transferred to millers. Transportation charges of the stock delivered from 0-40 km in 2014-15 and 15-16 was also released to agencies by the FCI, but that too has not transferred to millers. Transportation charges of the stock delivered outside respective districts were not even considered by FCI.

No to GST

Rice millers termed goods and services tax (GST) a threat to the rice industry as it will lead to a financial crisis in the industry. According to the association, the total output value of a consignment comes out to be 35,000, including 20,000 of paddy husk and 15,000 of rice bran. If the proposed GST of 18% on byproducts is implemented that would be 6,300. Apart from that no milling charges (around Rs 4,000 per consignment) will be paid to millers from 2016-17 crop season, as per the tariff commissions proposal rather Rs 20 per quintal will be charged from the miller, which comes out to be Rs 8,000. Total loss on a single consignment will be Rs 18,300. Said Jindal. It will lead to a huge loss to the rice industry. He said that byproducts were tax free as of now.

What recovery?

The millers said that the state governments move of levying Rs 3 per quintal recovery from 2002 to 2013 was not acceptable. A number of millers have been served recovery notices for the past 11-12 years.

This is wrong in itself as we are only bound to keep records of last eight years. So, how can they ask us to pay for 12 years? How could we tally our records with the notices? said Jindal. Moreover, some of the millers had taken mills on lease and some had sold the property, now how would they find the old records? he further asked.
Thousands of tribals staged a massive rally in Ranchi on Thursday against amendments proposed to two tenancy laws, disrupting normal life in the state capital as authorities were caught off guard at the unannounced storming.

The BJP government through the ordinances has sought to amend the Chottanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act to allow acquisition of tribal agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes in Jharkhand, drawing flak from opposition and social organisations.

Carrying banners and placards with slogans Gaun Gaun Mein Naara Hai Jharkhand Humara Hai (every villager knows Jharkhand is ours) and Adivasion Ko Unka Haq Do (give tribals their due rights), tribals from villages marched in hordes into the city choking every entry point.

Ambulances, school buses, motorists, and even police vehicles were caught in a traffic jams that lasted for eight hours as the protesters, under the Adivasi Buddhijeevi Manch, gathered at Morhabadi ground in the heart of the city.

The police and the administration apparently had no information about such a huge gathering. Around 100 constables were put on duty to control traffic, but the huge strength of the protesters rendered them useless.

We had deployed all the police constables available on Thursday at Morhabadi to control the traffic. The police can do less when nearly a lakh people are out on the streets, said Ranchi traffic superintendent of police Sanjeev Kumar Singh.

The rally led to long traffic jams at Morhabadi, Kutchehri Road, Bariatu, parts of Lalpur and Circular Road, the busiest areas of the state capital.

Barring a few incidents of minor vandalism, the rally remained largely peaceful. Agitators reportedly damaged some vehicles on MG Road.

Premchand Murmu, member of Adivasi Buddhijeevi Manch said the rally was not political and had no backing from political parties.

The indigenous people of Jharkhand have assembled here for their rights, he said.

Karam Munda, a daily wage labourer from Khunti, said he did not know what changes the government has made to the tenancy laws, but I know they will take away our land.

He sacrificed his days earning of around Rs 200 and joined the rally along with his wife, three daughters and one son.

The state government had made unprecedented security arrangements for the May 14 state-wide band called by main opposition parties including the JMM and Congress over the domicile policy.

Several control rooms were set up in Ranchi and prohibitory orders were issued. All these measures were missing on Thursday.

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Be it the activist-lawyer from Shahid or the desperate migrant from Citylights, Rajkummar Rao is an actor who has proven his mettle every time we have seen him onscreen.

Adding to his kitty is the Bengali film Aami Saira Bano where he is playing a transgender.

The National Award-winner actor, who shaved his body for the role, said, Its a story about a boy who is a girl from inside and is drawn towards the transgender community who rechristen him Saira Bano. It was a fascinating story and character and challenged me as an actor.

Rajkumar Rao spent two months learning Bengali for the film.Earlier, he learned Gujarati for Kai Po Che! (2013) and Malayalam for Aligarh (2015). He also lost weight for this role.

As part of his preparation for the role he also spent time with some transgenders in Kolkata listening to their stories.Some of the stories were really sad but they themselves are chilled out and happy people, Rao said.

Sources said Aamii Saira Bano is currently stuck due to financial reasons. The film is being directed by Rahul Mukerjee.

The actor was hopeful that the film will be revived soon: I would love to play a part like this again, he asserted when asked about a Hindi version of the film.

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Leaving ones family behind and moving to distant destinations for professional reasons is not uncommon. Neither is the phenomenon limited to the armed forces. Thousands of Indians move to the UAE, and several other countries, in search of lucrative job opportunities. For those who cant take their spouse or kids with them, these decisions bring with them a unique set of challenges that affect not only the family, but also the performance of the person who is moving away. Perhaps, this is why the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the India-Pakistan border have been granted permission to move their families to their posts.

Rakesh Kumar, a BSF constable, from Uttar Pradesh, became the first jawan to bring his wife and five-year-old son to live with him at the border. A difficult choice Manoj Singh* (54) has been working in Kuwait as a driver for more than two decades. His wife, Archana Singh* (46), takes care of their children in Mumbai, and admits that Manojs absence has made her strong. They have been my responsibility for almost 24 years. It was difficult when our children were young. But now, we have become used to living without Manoj. Thanks to my husbands good salary, we live a comfortable life here, she says. Manoj visits his family once every year. But not all such marriages are smooth-sailing. Living away from your family can have various and serious repercussions, points out psychiatrist Gittanjali Saxena. Living apart could lead to insecurities and fears. In these scenarios, if one partner is not totally loyal and ready for such a relationship, the couple might drift apart. So, there needs to be a conscious effort to stay in touch, says Saxena.

A family needs to spend quality time together. (Hindustan Times)

Stay at home

The other concern in such cases becomes the missing parents bond with his or her children. Because my husband left the country when our kids were young, the children never understood his role in their lives. Initially, they used to ask me where their father was. But as they grew older, they realised that I used to do everything for them. Their father did not matter, says Archana. Saxena points out that the parent who is taking care of the children needs to be a homemaker to fill this void. That parent needs to take care of the emotional needs of the kids. This is the only way to make the distance easier for the child, she says, adding that if both the parents work, it may affect the childs psyche. It is the parents responsibility to maintain a bond with their kids. This will be beneficial for the mental health of their family, she says. Relationship expert Vishnu Modi adds, If the parent who stays with the child doesnt pay attention to the childs emotional needs, his or her future can be compromised.

Get Help from outside

Other family members can also be of great help, says relationship expert Riddhish Maru. They should talk positively about the parent who is away, and remind the children that their father or mother is away so that they can lead a comfortable life. Children may not understand the reasons initially, but the family members can help instill confidence into them, he says.

Technlogy can also help address relationship issues. (Images Bazaar)

Use technology

The use of video calling technology, which is slowly becoming more affordable and accessible, can also help address these relationship issues. Alex Pereira (53) works in the UK at an automobile company. He says he keeps in touch with his daughter through Skype. Im aware of every little thing that happens in her life. I also guide her at every step, he says. Maru, too, feels that video calling is a good alternative. Parents should talk to their kids every day through this medium as they would if they were living with the children. The parent who is living with the child should also share every detail of the kids life with the parent who is away. The spouse who lives away should actively share his or her opinions on matters that affect the kids, from their schooling and hobbies to their friends and other problems, if there are any, adds Maru.

*names changed on request

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Casting for Hope Text and photos by Burhaan Kinu



The Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the country. Every monsoon, however, allows the river to cleanse itself. Gusty, upstream rains recharge the flow of the river and it becomes home again to teeming fish.

Their boats, which are at times made from rejigged pieces of wood and aluminium sheets, can be built within five days.

While the water flow during peak summer is too meager to support a healthy fish population, during monsoon, fish can finally flourish. Fishermen move in to inhabit Delhis Kalindi Kunj river bank.

During the monsoons, they tend to construct makeshift tents on the river bank, from where they launch their boats every morning and keep a keen eye on their livelihood the rest of the day.

These fishermen, mostly migrants from Bihar and West Bengal, spend hours making or working on their nets and boats. They construct makeshift tents, from where they launch their boats every morning.

Fishermen sometimes travel 25km beyond Delhis Badarpur border to catch fish. After Diwali each year, they move to Agra and places in Rajasthan in search of fish.

Smaller nets, measuring a couple of hundred feet, take a week to make, while the bigger ones which can measure up to one thousand feet are laborious, taking up to two years to weave. The fishing boats, which are usually made from re-jigged pieces of wood and aluminum sheets, take five days to build.

About a hundred fishermen work through the rainy season on the Kalindi Kunj stretch of the river, their nets often sandwiched between the lifeline bridges connecting Delhi to suburban NOIDA.

About a hundred fishermen work through the rainy season on the Kalindi Kunj stretch of the river, their nets often sandwiched between the lifeline bridges connecting Delhi to suburban NOIDA.

Raman Haldars face is a study of the many years spent in the grueling sun and tough fishing schedules.

Raman Haldars face speaks of the many years spent fishing under a grueling sun. Fishermen sometimes travel 25km beyond Delhis Badarpur border to catch fish. After Diwali each year, they move to Agra and places in Rajasthan in search of fish.

Some of these fish are exotic enough to attract bids at the wholesale fish market that sprouts up on the riverbank every afternoon. However, trucks carrying several quintals of fish from Haryanas Mewat region, gives stiff competition to us, one of the fishermen said.

Some of these fish are exotic enough to attract bids at the wholesale fish market that sprouts up on the riverbank every afternoon. However, trucks carrying several quintals of fish from Haryanas Mewat region, gives stiff competition to us, one of the fishermen said.

In August, on good days, a group of five fishermen can catch up to 20 kg or more in the Kalindi Kunj stretch of the river. Half of what that is owed to the contractor, the man responsible for the annual contract to fish in a particular stretch of the river. He chooses the ones who will go in armed with their nets. There are about a hundred fishermen working at the moment in this particular stretch of the river.

During this time of the year, on a good day, a group of five fishermen can catch up to 20 kg or more in the Kalindi Kunj stretch of the river. These are the days when they can return to the shore with a net full of fish  rohu, milan kar, mangoor, birgat, singhi, bhata, hilsa, pangas, jhenga, jalmas.

The day starts early for these river men around five in the morning, when they go in for the first catch. They come back after four-odd hours, to cook their first meal of the day

Half of the catch is owed to the contractor, the man responsible for the annual contract allowing them to fish in the river. The contractor decides who can go in to the river, armed with nets.

Roma Haldar, 42, looks on as he inspects his net for tears before he makes the trip to launch it into the Yamuna, in Noida, India, on Saturday August 20, 2016. (Photo by Burhaan Kinu / Hindustan Times)

Fisherman Roma Haldars life is in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Indian capital. The day starts early, at the crack of dawn, when fishermen set out to reel in the days catch.

This river-based livelihood is reflected in what they eat  fish that they have caught themselves, cooked in different styles, and that, too, twice a day.

After spending about four hours in the river, the fishermen return around 9 a.m. for the first meal of the day. This river-based livelihood is reflected in what they eat  fish that they have caught themselves, cooked in different styles, and that, too, twice a day.

Its been a well deserved rest for Mona Raj Bansi, 31, after a tiring fishing trip into the River Yamuna. He recently moved base after four months of fishing in nearby Rajasthan, to harvest the better catch in the Monsoon swollen waters of the river.

Fisherman Mona Raj Bansi catches some well deserved rest after a tiring trip. He moved base to Kalindi Kunj area recently, after four months in nearby Rajasthan, to harvest the good catch in the monsoon-fed river.

The 22-km stretch in Delhi then starts becoming its usual self. A 2015 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report said that on most months, the Yamuna is clogged with additives such as pesticides, garbage, grease and effluents.

By the end of August, the 22-km long stretch of Yamuna in Delhi starts receding to its usual self. Though their families live in villages near Noida, the retreating water level in the river can force the fishermen to live a nomadic lifestyle, shifting from place to place in search of the best catch.

Despite thousands of crores spent on various projects to clean the river, the Yamuna, over the years, has just become more and more polluted. Only in monsoon, with fresh clean water, the river cleanses itself and river water fish arrives and flourishes.

Despite thousands of crores being spent on various projects to clean the river, Yamuna has become increasingly polluted and its characteristic stench has remained unchanged.

no Caption

It is a fickle profession, wholly based on the whims of weather and river. In a good month, we can earn 20 to 30 thousand rupees, and in a bad month, less than ten thousand. Our wives share the burden and work as maids in Noida homes, a 50-year-old migrant from Bengal said.

Raman Haldar, 45, and most other fishermen are migrants from West Bengal and Bihar. They spend hours making or working on their nets and boats. Smaller nets, measuring a couple of hundred feet, take a week, while the bigger ones that can measure up to a thousand feet are a labour of love, taking as much as two years to make.

Raman Haldar attends to his nets in the relative cool of his shack, as another day draws to an end for these fishermen.

In these days of sudden dark clouds and surprising showers, even the murky waters of the Yamuna is full of rohu, milan kar, mangoor, birgat, singhi, bhata, hilsa, pangas, jhenga and jalmas. This is the one time of the year, in the monsoons, they get a full net of fish.
With the premiere just two weeks away, Amazon finally revealed the trailer of their much anticipated new show, Crisis in Six Scenes, written and directed by the legendary Woody Allen. The series also sees the return of pop star Miley Cyrus to television after five years.

The six-episode series is set in 1960s United States. A suburban Jewish couple, played by Allen and Elaine May are visited by a very hippie guest, Miley, who turns their household upside down with her strong communist ideologies.

The trailer itself has a lot of hilarious moments like the one where a goofy Allen tells his barber of his intentions of creating a TV show. The barber, however, is way ahead of him. He asks, Oh I see, the usual dysfunctional family with the wise-crackin wife and kids and much-harassed husband kind of thing? and Allen realises how generic his idea is indeed. The last scene is really witty too with Allen telling May (his wife in the show), God is gonna punish us for this, to which she replies, Gods not gonna punish you. You are an atheist. Allen replies, But if Im wrong, were in big trouble!

With the look and feel of the trailer it seems the entire series will be a real treat. (Amazon)

Want more? This one is cherry on the cake:

If I ever end up in prison, I am never taking a shower. 

Mileys character and look reminds us so much of her TV magnum opus Hannah Montana. She is an unapologetic, marijuana-slinging free spirit who says it like it is. When Allen wonders why she hates him so much, she just tells him I dont dislike you just everything that you stand for.

John Magaro seems to be playing a helpless romantic, trying his luck everywhere. (Amazon)

The series also stars Rachel Brosnahan of House of Cards and John Magaro of Orange is the New Black. With the look and feel of the trailer it seems the entire series will be a real treat.

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Actor Kishwer Merchant is in a blissful space in life. And it is not only because she will tie the knot in December but also for her hectic schedule that makes her a content person professionally.

I have been doing theatre and now I am also part of a fiction show. Since both the mediums are energy consuming, I am left drained by the end of the day. But this just makes me happier that I am busy doing what I love the most, says Kishwer.

Read: Kishwar Merchant spills the beans on her December wedding

The actor whose popularity grew with reality show Bigg Boss 9, believes that it is important for every actor to challenge her limits. I cant never get too tired of my hectic schedule. At the end of the day I want to tell myself that I have done justice to my work. It is very important for every actor to challenge his or her limits and that is what I love the most, she says.

Merchant will tie the knot with boyfriend Suyyash Rai in December this year.

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After exiting the show Balika Vadhu last year, Shashank Vyas has been on a break. He played the role of Jagya in the serial for nearly five years. During that time, the actor says he was unable to dedicate enough time to his fitness. Now, however, he is taking extra care of his health. I have been relaxing, catching up on my sleep, travelling and exercising. I feel, in the long run, you have to be fit to work in any profession. Health is wealth, he says.

Shashank believes that his health also influences his work as television actors often have hectic shooting schedules to follow. If I have a headache during my shoot, it will affect my work. Actors are expected to shoot for long hours  be it during the monsoon or in the scorching heat, he says.

The actor aims to build his strength and stamina, but doesnt want six pack abs. We are actors, not wrestlers. It is important for an actor to have a fit body and a lean frame. However, everything else is unnecessary. I guess to each his own. Having said that, I feel having a muscular body restricts you, as you cant play all kinds of roles convincingly, he adds.

Catch ravish....;) A photo posted by Shashank Vyas (@vyasshashank) on Sep 13, 2016 at 12:51am PDT

Back again

Shashank is looking forward to returning to the small screen. He reveals that he was fascinated with the idea of joining the Indian Army when he was young. Thats why hes glad that he has got a chance to play the role of a military man in an ongoing show Jaana Na Dil Se Door. When I was 15, I realised that you have to be studious to clear the necessary exams [to join the Indian Army], says Shashank, jokingly.

Hwz new look A photo posted by Shashank Vyas (@vyasshashank) on Sep 9, 2016 at 9:53pm PDT

To suit the part, he has grown a moustache. After maintaining a stubble, a moustache will be a good change. A lot of people said that this look will not allow me to take up other roles. But I feel it will help me deliver a better performance, says the 29-year-old, who wants to break away from his chocolate boy image.

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Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail by addressing a rally in North Carolina, armed with a letter from her doctor that says the Democratic nominee is healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States, notwithstanding her recent bout of pneumonia.

The two-page note details her illness - the impact of which was captured on video by a bystander as an unsteady Clinton was hoisted into a van after she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial service - the medication and her health in general.

Donald Trump, who has come under pressure to also disclose more about his health as a result of his rivals health situation, released a similar note from his doctor to The Washington Post, which called the Republican nominee overweight and said he takes a cholesterol lowering drug and low-dose aspirin. Otherwise, he is in excellent physical health.

Trumps note is expected to be made public on a popular TV health show that airs on Thursday. Trump produced it unexpectedly during the recording of the show on Wednesday, after his campaign had said he wouldnt, and he gave it to the host, who was seen taking a long look at it in promotional clips.

The health of the two nominees had been an issue before Clintons illness forced it centrestage because of their age. If elected, Clinton, who is 68, will be only the second oldest individual to make it to the White House after Ronald Reagan, who was 69. And Trump, at 70, will be the oldest.

They have been certified as fit and healthy by their doctors - in hyperbolic terms by Trumps - but they have been under pressure to disclose more. Clintons first medical note, released by her campaign in January 2015, was a little longer, at two pages, than Trumps four paragraphs issued last December.

Health is an important issue for any candidate, but its especially true with two candidates who would be governing in their 70s, David Gergen, who worked in Bill Clintons White House and has served three Republican presidents, told The Wall Street Journal.

We need to make health records part of the standard. The standard is you release them and if you dont, voters can assume that youre hiding something, he added.

There are calls for the two nominees to match the more than 1,000 pages of medical records released by Senator John McCain, a Republican, when he ran for president in 2008  he was 71 then, and there were widespread concerns about his age.

Trump hasnt had any health scares like Clintons and likes to boast he is in better condition. He has called Clinton low on stamina and insinuated, fanning unfounded right wing conspiracies, that she could be in worse health than is known. After keeping quiet about her latest health scare, Trump asked supporters on Wednesday, I dont know folks, do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday released new medical records showing she is fit to serve as president and recovering from mild pneumonia as she prepares to resume her campaign.

The disclosure came as her Republican rival Donald Trump -- in a media-savvy move -- released new health data of his own during the taping of a nationally televised medical chat show set to air Thursday.

Both candidates, among the oldest ever to run for the White House, were under intense pressure to share more medical information after Clinton fell ill during a 9/11 ceremony in New York on Sunday and was forced to leave.

Recent opinion polls have shown the gap between the two candidates narrowing, with less than two months to go before Election Day, and the presidential hopefuls disclosed fresh information in a bid to score points with undecided voters.

In a detailed, two-page summary update on Clintons health, her personal physician Lisa Bardack wrote that the 68-year-old was bouncing back after a diagnosis of mild, non-contagious pneumonia.

She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest after being laid low over the weekend, when she suffered from fatigue and a low-grade fever, although her vital signs remained normal, Bardack said.

The Democratic White House nominee continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States, she wrote, noting she is in excellent mental condition.

After Clinton was seen stumbling limp-legged into her vehicle Sunday at Ground Zero, it took several hours for her personal physician to disclose she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier, drawing criticism of her campaigns transparency.

Clinton was at home in Chappaqua, New York for a third straight day Wednesday, recovering from a health scare that has rocked her bid to become Americas first woman president.

News of Trumps appearance on The Dr. Oz Show -- though it appeared to reveal little detail -- had earlier flooded the US airwaves on Wednesday, upping the pressure on Clinton to share more health data before returning to the trail Thursday with appearances in North Carolina and Washington.

- I have it right here -

So far the 70-year-old Trump had released only four, gushing paragraphs on his health, written by his doctor Harold Bornstein in December 2015.

Following the revelation of Clintons pneumonia, Trump vowed soon to release very, very specific numbers from a recent check-up with Bornstein.

Team Trump had raised -- then dropped -- the possibility of releasing them during an appearance on Dr. Oz.

But during recording of the segment Wednesday morning, Trump finally did present its celebrity host with the results, according to a statement on the shows website.

In a snippet teased on the site, Mehmet Oz -- who is also a professor of surgery at Columbia University in New York -- is seen asking Trump:

If your health is as strong as it seems... why not show your medical records?

Well, I have really no problem in doing it, Trump responds. I have it right here. Should I do it? I dont care.

The Republican nominee goes on to pull the documents from his pocket, to cheers and applause from the show audience.

- Slightly overweight -

A statement from the medical chat show said their hour-long one-one-one interview touched on Trumps cardiovascular health, family medical history and history of cancer, among other topics.

But the actual details revealed appeared to remain very generic.

According to US media who attended the taping, Oz declared Mr. Trump slightly overweight at 267 pounds (120 kilos) for roughly six foot two inches (1.88 meters).

Audience member Kelly Platt -- a pharmacist intern and Trump supporter -- told CNN that Oz deemed Trumps cholesterol to have come down to a safe level, thanks to medication.

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook ridiculed Trumps TV appearance.

His Doctor Oz charade is as completely unserious as his original joke of a letter written in five minutes, Mook said. He continues to hide his taxes and business dealing behind fake excuses. And it begs the question: what is he trying to hide?

- On the trail -

Trump continued his barnstorming of key battleground states Wednesday with stops in Michigan and Ohio. On Thursday, he is due to deliver a major economic speech.

During a stop in Flint, Michigan on Wednesday, Trump was interrupted by the Methodist pastor at a church he was visiting when he launched into a critique of Clintons foreign policy.

Mr Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, not give a political speech, said the pastor, Faith Green Timmons.

bur-bd/ec-sst/mdl
If US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wins the election in November, it would be problematic for the entire world and encourage copycats in Europe, European Parliament president Martin Schulz told a German magazine.

Trump is not only a problem for the EU but also for the whole world, Schulz said in an interview with Der Spiegel published online on Thursday.

If a man who shows off by not having a clue and by saying that specialist knowledge is elitist rubbish ends up in the White House, a critical point will have been reached, said Schulz, a German centre-left Social Democrat.

Such a scenario would mean that there is an obviously irresponsible man sitting in a position that demands the utmost sense of responsibility, Schulz said.

He added that he was concerned that Trump getting into power would spur on copycats in Europe. Thats why I want Hillary Clinton to win.
Six people were killed and more than 150 injured when a passenger train collided with a freight train in Pakistans Punjab province early on Thursday, raising questions about the safety of the countrys ageing railway infrastructure.

Most of the passengers on the Karachi-bound Awam Express were returning home after the Eid holidays which ended a day earlier, officials said. The Awam Express, which originated in Peshawar, struck a stationary freight train at a stop near the southern Punjab city of Multan.

Most of the injured were taken to Multans Nishtar Hospital. Officials of the Edhi Ambulance service, a private rescue organisation, said some serious cases had been airlifted to Karachi.

Locals gather at the scene where two trains collided near Multan. (Reuters)

There was chaos at the site of the accident as railway staff were attacked by angry passengers. Railway officials blamed the driver of the Awam Express for not stopping at a red signal ahead of the crash site.

TV news channels aired footage of injured people waiting to be transported to Multan. The footage also showed rescue officials working around crumpled and overturned bogies in the darkness.

Edhi staff said the government had initially made no arrangements to transport the dead and injured to nearby hospitals and this was done with the help of private volunteers.

News agencies later quoted an official of the rescue emergency service in Multan as saying that rescue operations had been completed. He said 40 ambulances and 200 rescuers from Lodhran, Muzaffargarh and Multan participated in the operations.

All rail traffic to southern Pakistan came to a halt because of the accident. Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, ordered an inquiry into the accident.

Much of Pakistans railway network dates back to the British Raj but services have been affected by a lack of modern locomotives and infrastructure.
He urged extremists to kill in the name of Allah. But Jesse Morton says hes now a different man, countering in Washington the very same ideology that brought him in the shadow of al Qaeda.

A Pennsylvania native who got out of prison just a year and a half ago and now conducts research at George Washington University, Morton had a rough childhood.

His mother beat him, and no one else cared for him. He lost trust in society. He left home at the age of 16, lived on the street and sold drugs.

I had no sense of belonging or American identity, I was seeking something, anything, said Morton, 38, recalling those early days.

But his is a redemption story: He offers a rare glimpse into the recruitment of a jihadist who eventually found his way back into mainstream society from radical Islam.

Morton converted to Islam when an ultraconservative Muslim friend asked him to recite a few words in Arabic -- words whose meaning he did not know -- during a standoff when they were surrounded by police.

Those words were the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith in which one declares there is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet.

I recited them and we didnt get in trouble (with the police) so I thought, Wow, this is like magic, Morton said.

Some time later, during a stay at a prison in Richmond, Virginia, he learned to become a real Muslim.

In one sense, it was indoctrination from above, in another sense, it was me seeking out something and finding... meaning inside of this worldview, said Morton, who continues to practice his Muslim faith, although he has renounced extremism.

During his jihadist days, he frequented the Islamic Thinkers Society, a group that is an offshoot of the Al-Muhajiroun extremism that seeks to restore an Islamic caliphate.

Back then, he said, he had direct contact with Abdullah al-Faisal, a radical Jamaican imam who spent four years in prison in London. He recruited people to his cause outside mosques.

We were looking for lions, Morton recalled.

Morton got out prison shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks -- which he praised at the time -- and took the name Younus Abdullah Muhammed.

In late 2007, he co-founded Revolution Muslim which would relay Al-Qaeda messages online.

Among the Islamic radicals who ended up being influenced by the group was Colleen LaRose -- also known as Jihad Jane -- an American woman arrested in late 2009 as she was plotting to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who was targeted for drawing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

Turning from jihad

Police went on high alert in 2009, when Revolution Muslim threatened to kill the writers of popular animated satirical series South Park for an episode that featured the Prophet Mohammed in a bear suit.

In early 2010, Morton fled to Morocco, where he was arrested by the FBI in October 2011 after a stint in Moroccan jails.

Education was the key to his turn from the path of jihadist thinking.

While held in solitary confinement, a guard let him visit the prison library at night. Morton says he read a lot, including Enlightenment writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

I started to realize that these principles are universal, humanist, he said, adding that they allow people to be free.

Turning informant

The FBI was keen on obtaining intelligence from Mortons extremist past and his contacts in that world, so he cooperated with the US federal police agency from his cell.

They made me realize that they were only protecting the public and not waging a war against Islam, Morton said, adding that his contributions led to a very successful series of counterterrorism operations.

Thanks to his collaboration, Morton only served less than four years of his 11.5 year prison sentence. His recruitment by George Washington University was a first in the United States.

His life story is instructive, said Lorenzo Vidino, who heads the universitys program on extremism.

Morton was not only somebody who radicalized himself, but also somebody who was radicalizing and recruiting other people, Vidino said.
Having achieved his ambition of a Brexit vote, Nigel Farage will leave the UK Independence Party (UKIP), that he co-founded in 1993, in a precarious position when he hands over the reins on Friday.

Britains departure from the European Union had been the 52-year-old former traders dream ever since setting up the party after leaving the Conservatives in 1992 following the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, which deepened European integration.

Everything Ive done in politics revolves around the referendum, absolutely everything, he told AFP during the campaign.

Farage spent the last 24 years undermining European institutions and mocking its leading lights, a mission that culminated with the June 23 vote that saw Britain vote to leave the EU.

He announced his decision to step down as party leader -- a position he has held almost uninterruptedly since 2006 -- a week later, explaining that my political ambition has been achieved.

Energetic survivor

Farage was born in 1964 to an affluent family in Kent, southeast England. His father was a stockbroker and an alcoholic and his parents divorced when he was five.

He was educated at one of Englands top private schools, Dulwich College in London, before becoming a commodities trader.

Farages first brush with death came in 1985 when he was hit by a car after a night out, suffered serious head and leg injuries and had a cancerous testicle removed months later.

Once recovered, he married his nurse, and the couple had two sons. Following their divorce in 1997, Farage married second wife Kirsten Mehr, a German, with whom he has two daughters.

His most recent scare came in May 2010 when a light aircraft in which he was campaigning on election day crashed on take-off after a banner got caught in a propeller, but he escaped with broken bones and a punctured lung.

Farages political destiny was cast with the co-founding of UKIP in 1993, and with his election to the European Parliament in 1999, aged 35.

He became UKIPs leader in 2006 before standing down in 2009 and then being re-elected the following year, stamping his charisma and anti-establishment humour on the party as it soared in popularity.

With the partys image and Farage becoming intertwined, and with the Brexit vote achieved, UKIP now faces a vacuum of leadership and identity.

Despite his high profile, Farage failed in six bids to become an MP in Britains parliament, dogged by accusations he was an ill-tempered populist who appealed to racists.

Failure to win election to the House of Commons allowed Farage to spend more time behind enemy lines in the European Parliament, railing against the corrupt and undemocratic EU.

Smokes and drinks too much

Much of Farages appeal lies with his everyman image, the result of many hours spent swilling pints of ale down the pub, cigarette in hand.

Voted Briton of 2014 by the Times as UKIP swept the board in European Parliament elections, Farage maintained a high-profile before the referendum, but he was kept out of the official campaign, which feared his brand was too divisive.

Only Boris Johnson in the official Leave campaign was able to command such media attention, while Farage hammered away at the issue of immigration, a cause of concern to more moderate Brexit supporters.

Criticism peaked when he unveiled a poster of refugees under the phrase Breaking Point.

The Brexit vote helped vindicate some of Farages methods, but they came at a price.

He smokes and he drinks too much, his wife complained.

During the referendum I said I wanted my country back ... now I want my life back. Farage said in his resignation speech.

Although withdrawing from front-line politics, Farage vowed to watch Brexit negotiations like a hawk.

He also hinted at another career as an international speaker after addressing a Donald Trump rally in the United States, where he called Brexit a victory for the little people, for the real people.
Want to try your hand at a fun way of solving six of Agatha Christies greatest murder mysteries? Heres your chance.

Britains Royal Mail issued six stamps on Thursday to mark the centenary year of the Queen of Crimes first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, which Christie reportedly based on a mysterious, unsolved death at Mussoories Savoy Hotel.

The stamps, which launched on the same day as Christies birthday (she was born 126 years ago in 1890), contain hidden clues to help unlock the answer to her best-loved mysteries.

The stamp for And Then There Were None. (Royal Mail)

So how do you solve them?

The stamps contain key elements of the complex plots of (and tips to solve) six of Christies mysteries  Murder On The Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, The Body In The Library, And Then There Were None, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd and A Murder Is Announced

UV light, body heat, a magnifying glass and some old-fashioned detective work are the key to unlocking the clues.

The stamp for The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd. (Royal Mail)

Hints to some of the stamps to get you on your way

And Then There Were None: A poem integral to the plot is reflected by the moon, and an important face appears at the window in this stamp.

The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd: Key characters are hidden in fire and shadows.

Murder On The Orient Express: The red kimono character is really a red herring  the real killers behind a heat sensitive ink curtain. The stamp also features the names of the suspects and Hercule Poirot, Christies fictional Belgian detective.

The Mysterious Affair At Styles: The bottle of poison contains some tiny but vital clues. Royal Mail has created a 3D animated version of the artwork on this stamp and users who download the Aurasma app, can explore the scene being played out on the stamp and interact with the scene lighting.

A Murder Is Announced: The word Switzerland, crucial to the mystery, is hidden in microtext and the newspaper held by the woman seen in the stamp has more clues.

The stamp for A Murder Is Announced. (Royal Mail)

What the creator says about the stamps

Jim Sutherland, who designed the six stamps, told Creative Review: The books themselves are beautifully written with such clever plots and twists  I was keen to reflect that in the scenes chosen from each story.

Sutherland worked with illustrator Neil Webb to create a style that fits Christies era but was also modern.

Philip Parker, head of stamp strategy at Royal Mail, said: We are celebrating the genius of Agatha Christie with some mysterious and striking stamps. As the solving of mysteries is the focus of Christies art, it is fitting that the public have to turn detective to find the hidden words and images in each stamp.

The stamp for The Mysterious Affair At Styles, which was reportedly based on a mysterious, unsolved death at Mussoories Savoy Hotel. (Royal Mail)

100 years of delicious detecting

Agatha Christie wrote 66 crime novels, 150 short stories and 19 plays, and went on to become the bestselling novelist of all time, outsold only by William Shakespeare and the Bible . Her books have sold roughly 2 billion copies and been translated into more than 100 languages.

But it all started with The Mysterious Affair At Styles. The novel launched her literary career and introduced the iconic character of Poirot, who went on to delight generations of readers with his eccentricities and insight.

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Protesters throwing planks of wood and Molotov cocktails clashed with Paris police firing tear gas and dispersion grenades on Thursday, as unions staged a last-ditch bid to dismantle a labour law that weakens their powers.

While thousands of union activists marched peacefully through the French capital chanting about workers rights and capitalist abuses, sporadic violence broke out between helmeted riot police and small groups of protesters.

At least six people were injured and five arrested, according to the Paris police headquarters.

Reporters for The Associated Press saw one protester with his face covered in blood and several people hit by police grenade pellets. One officer suffered leg burns after protesters tossed bottles containing flammable liquid at a cluster of riot police.

The protest was part of a day of nationwide labour actions against a law adopted this summer that allows employers more freedom to extend workweeks and lay off staff.

A series of strikes and huge protests against the law earlier this year frustrated tourists, stained Frances image and reflected poorly on President Francois Hollandes government.

The government hopes the measures will make France more competitive by encouraging hiring and investment. Unions say it damages hard-won worker rights.

CGT trade union leader Philippe Martinez (centre) marches during a protest in Paris. (AP Photo)

Conservative critics, meanwhile, say the changes are too modest to invigorate the French economy, which has lagged behind those of Germany and other European nations over the past few years.

So far, the strikes have caused only minimal disruption to schools, transportation and other public services. The civil aviation authority said 15% of flights were cancelled Thursday at Paris-area airports.

In the capital, riot police charged repeatedly at scattered groups, some of whom lit a bonfire in the middle of a street off the plaza at Place de la Republique. Some demonstrators wore masks or scarves to conceal their faces and protect themselves from tear gas and pepper spray.

The protests earlier this year failed to stop the government from abandoning the law, and it was forced through parliament without a vote because of opposition on the left and right.

Now that the law has been adopted, union leaders told demonstrators that they would find other ways to defeat it, such as through lawsuits targeting specific measures.
A functional toilet made of solid gold called America may soon open to public at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, reports said.

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan replaced a Kohler toilet in one of the restrooms in the museum with a 18-karat-gold working replica.

According to the museum the artwork has made  available to the public an extravagant luxury product seemingly intended for the 1 percent.

Its participatory nature, in which viewers are invited to make use of the fixture individually and privately, allows for an experience of unprecedented intimacy with a work of art, read the museums description.

Theres the risk that people will think of it as a joke, maybe, but I dont see it as a joke, Cattelan told The New York Times in an interview earlier this year.

According to the article, the toilets name was inspired by Franz Kafkas novel Amerika.

The restroom will be available for all museum visitors.
Police on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali said Thursday a German woman was killed and about 20 other people injured in an explosion on a speed boat ferrying them to neighbouring Lombok.

Karangasem district police chief Bambang Sudarso said the Gili Cat 2 fast boat had more than 40 people including crew on board. He said all the passengers have been evacuated and the injured are being treated at a local medical clinic.

The explosion occurred about 200 meters (220 yards) from the port of departure, Padang Bai, and was preceded by smoke billowing from the engine, he said.

One of the passengers died from bad injuries after being hit by boat debris that also caused injuries in others, Sudarso said.

Aside from Germany, a manifest showed that passengers were from several other countries, including Britain, France, Italy and Spain.

Police are questioning the boats captain.
Three rights groups launched a campaign on Wednesday to try to persuade President Barack Obama to pardon former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden on U.S. theft and espionage charges before Obama leaves office in January.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the time was right to rally support for a pardon for Snowden, who leaked documents about top-secret U.S. surveillance programs to journalists in 2013, fled to Hong Kong and was granted asylum in Russia. The ACLU provides legal representation for Snowden.

Read: On the back of new Snowden biopic, Amnesty appeals to Obama for a full pardon

Speaking on Wednesday via video, Snowden told a news conference in New York City that he was comfortable with the decisions I made but whether or not he gets a presidential pardon is not up to him.

I do not myself ask for a pardon and I never will, Snowden said.

Snowden said he could not receive a fair trial in the United States because a law he was charged under, the 1917 Espionage Act, does not let him explain to a jury his reasons for leaking.

This World War I-era law does not distinguish between those who freely give critical information to journalists in the public interest or spies who sell it to a foreign power for their own, said Snowden, who lives in Moscow.

Snowden said that while the Founding Fathers created checks and balances to guard against government abuses, whistleblowers, acting in the public interest, often at great risk to themselves, are another check on those abuses of power, especially through their collaboration with journalists.

He said whistleblowing is democracys safeguard of last resort, the one on which we rely when all other checks and balances have failed and the public has no idea whats going on behind closed doors.

A pardon now may make sense for Obama, the groups said, because he may be seeking to burnish his legacy and be able to act with less concern for politics. Obama, a Democrat, will leave office at the end of his second, four-year term on Jan. 20.

Presidents normally take some of the most difficult actions of their eight years in office in the final months, Anthony Romero, the ACLUs executive director, told the news conference.

Snowden was charged by U.S. federal prosecutors in 2013 with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person.

The campaign for a pardon includes a website, www.pardonsnowden.org, that people can use to write to the White House, and the groups ran ads in the Washington Post and Politico newspapers, saying Snowden exposed unlawful programs and prompted reforms.

The campaign coincides with the release of a film, titled Snowden, directed by Oliver Stone.

It also comes at a time when U.S. authorities are investigating whether hackers backed by Russian spy agencies have been interfering with the U.S. presidential campaign by stealing and releasing documents and emails principally to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

U.S. officials have said they will not budge on their demand that Snowden be prosecuted for stealing thousands of classified intelligence documents, the release of which they say damaged national security.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday that Snowden is charged with serious crimes, and its the policy of the administration that Mr. Snowden should return to the United States and face those charges.

The House of Representatives intelligence committee on Thursday was scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting to vote on a report it has prepared examining Snowdens background and activities. While most of the report is expected to remain classified, a congressional official said the panel will also vote on whether to publicly release an unclassified summary.

With inputs from AP.
The United States reminded India of the joint commitment of the two countries to ratify the Paris climate agreement before the end of the year when President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Laos.

The leaders noted our joint commitment, fulfilled by the US in advance of the G20 Leaders' Summit, to join the Paris Agreement this year, a White House official said on Wednesday, giving a more detailed account of the meeting of the two leaders.

Implicit in the statement was an expectation from the US to see India fulfil its end of the commitment. The US announced it had ratified the agreement, which was signed by 180 parties at the meet in Paris last December, during Obamas visit to China for the G-20 meeting.

In all, 27 countries have ratified the deal so far and 28 more ratifications are needed for it to go into force.

India, which is a signatory to the agreement and supports every aspect of it, has made its ratification conditional to the US helping it gain membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 48-member group that controls trade in nuclear material and equipment around the world.

Indias admission was blocked by China and a few other countries at the groups last plenary in Seoul, ostensibly because it is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which recognises only five countries as nuclear weapon states - the US, Britain, France, China and Russia.

The US is supporting Indias membership of the NSG  and Obama underscored it at his meeting with Modi, the official said  but New Delhi believes Washington can do more to bring around countries opposing it.

As the US did in 2008, to bring around member countries of the same group opposing a waiver for India to allow it to purchase nuclear equipment and material needed for plants it proposed to contract under the civil nuclear deal with the US.

The US has said it expects to see India become a member by the end of the year.
Police in Ohio responding to a report of an armed robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who they said pulled a gun from his waistband that was later determined to be a BB gun.

It happened Wednesday night in Columbus.

Police said officers were responding to a report of an armed robbery involving multiple suspects. When they arrived on the scene, they said the victim told them that a group of people approached him and demanded money. The victim said that one of them had a gun.

Police said the officers saw three males matching the descriptions of the suspects and tried to speak with them, when two of the suspects fled on foot.

Officers followed the males to the alley ... and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, police said in a statement early Thursday. One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times.

The suspect, later identified as 13-year-old Tyree King, was taken to a childrens hospital, where he died.

The male with King was identified, interviewed and released pending further investigation. Police said additional suspects were being sought.

The officers and the other suspect were not injured.

Police said upon further investigation it was determined that King gun was actually a BB gun with an attached laser sight.

Police said the incident is under investigation.
The US warned on Thursday that Pakistans fight against terrorism would not succeed until it makes a decisive shift in its policy of tolerance towards externally-focused groups and targets all militant groups without discrimination.

While the progress Pakistan has made through its recent operations is laudable, its struggle with terrorism will not come to an end until it makes a decisive shift in its policy of tolerance towards externally-focused groups, Richard Olson, the special US representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told member of the Senate foreign relations committee during a congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

US officials have been very clear with the most senior Pakistani leadership that Pakistan must target all militant groups without discrimination -- including those that target Pakistans neighbours -- and close all safe havens, Olson said.

Olson, who is the Obama administrations point person for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told senators that Pakistans leaders have assured the US of their intention to do so.

In this regard, we welcomed chief of army staff General Raheel Sharifs statement on July 6, in which he directed Pakistani military commanders, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement agencies to take concrete measures to deny any militant group safe haven or the use of Pakistani soil to launch terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Olson said as top American Senators lashed out at Pakistan for its behaviour against terrorism.

Pakistan continues to be tremendously duplicitous partner in this. They are working against our interest there (in Afghanistan). They are supporting the Haqqani network, Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate foreign relations said.

In his testimony, Olson said the US continues to support the India-Afghanistan relationship, including through the revival of a US-India-Afghanistan trilateral, which will take place next week on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

We welcomed Indias provision of training and non-lethal security assistance to Afghanistan and its significant development contributions over the past decade-plus, he said.

Chinas role in the region continues to evolve, and includes its participation in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group.

We have also welcomed Chinas bilateral development aid and look forward to seeing China at the Brussels conference, he added.

Olson said while international support for Afghanistan remains strong, regional support continues to be filtered through complex national priorities.

Despite greater regional cooperation overall, regional players continue to hedge so long as they have doubts about the viability of the Afghan state. We continue to support Afghanistan as it works to improve relations with its neighbours and near-neighbours, promoting broader regional stability, he observed.
Donald Trumps overseas investments in real estate including in Pune and Gurgaon could have implications on the US foreign policy if the Republican presidential nominee wins the November general elections, a major US weekly said on Wednesday.

In its cover story on Trumps investments in properties overseas, the popular Newsweek said as the Republican National Convention was about to get underway in July, the Trump Organisation declared it was planning a massive expansion in India.

That is a chilling example of the many looming conflicts of interest in a Trump presidency, the weekly noted.

If he plays tough with India, will the government assume it has to clear the way for projects in that aggressive pipeline and kill the investigations involving Trumps Pune partners?

And if Trump takes a hard line with Pakistan, will it be for Americas strategic interests or to appease Indian government officials who might jeopardise his profits from Trump Towers Pune? the weekly asked.

According to the weekly, several Indian political leaders and major political parties have established close relationship with the Trump family as a result of its real estate investments in Pune and Gurgaon.

In India, the conflicts between the interests of the Trump Organisation and American foreign policy are starker, Newsweek said.

Trump signed an agreement in 2011 with an Indian property developer that wanted to construct a 65-story building with his name on it.

Leading the talks was a director of the company who would later become the exclusive representative of Trumps businesses in India, the weekly said.

However, government regulatory hurdles soon impeded the project, the cover story said, adding that Donald Trump Jr. flew to India to plead with authorities asking them to remove the hurdles.

But state authorities in Maharashtra refused to make an exception for the Trump Organisation, the report said.

It would be extremely difficult for a foreign politician to make that call if he were speaking to the son of the President of the United States, Newsweek said.

Last month, scandal erupted over the development, called Trump Towers Pune, after the state government and local police started looking into discrepancies in the land records suggesting that the land on which the building was constructed may not have been legally obtained, the weekly said.

The Indian company says no rules or laws were broken, but if government officials conclude otherwise, the projects future will be in jeopardy and create a problem that Indian politicians eager to please an American President might have to resolve, Newsweek observed.
Britain gave the go ahead on Thursday for a $24 billion nuclear power plant, ending weeks of uncertainty that strained ties with China and France and put a question mark over Prime Minister Theresa Mays investment policy.

In a statement, Mays government said it had decided to proceed with the Hinkley Point C project in southwest England after a comprehensive review, but made clear Britain would have greater control over future deals when foreign states were involved in buying stakes in critical infrastructure.

May stunned investors by putting Hinkley on hold in July, just hours before a deal was to be signed, saying she needed time to assess the project under which French utility firm EDF would build Britains first new nuclear reactor in decades, backed by $8 billion of Chinese cash.

Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the governments agreement, business minister Greg Clark said in a statement.

Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.

The statement said the government would be able to stop the sale of EDFs controlling stake before completion, without the prior notification and agreement of ministers.

Critics of the deal had expected Britain to try to renegotiate the price, which they say was set too high before oil prices fell, dragging energy costs lower.

But the statement said the price had not changed for the energy which is needed to fill a supply gap as the countrys coal-fired plants are set to close by 2025.

The decision to go ahead with Hinkley goes someway to easing concerns that May, a former interior minister, was closing the door to foreign investment, particularly from China.

According to a former colleague, ex-business minister Vince Cable, May had expressed concern at the gung-ho attitude that her predecessor David Cameron took towards courting Chinese investment.

Chinas foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China began a three-day national holiday on Thursday.

There were also questions about whether the French investor was able to conclude the project after delays on similar schemes and board-level concerns about the high up-front costs for the project.

But an aide to President Francois Hollande said May had called the French leader to say she supported the launch of the Hinkley project.

The new controls may, however, affect future deals with foreign energy partners. The government said it would take a special share in all future nuclear new construction projects to ensure that significant stakes cannot be sold without its consent.

EDF and China General Nuclear Corporation (CGN) plan to build and operate a new nuclear power station at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex, southeast England. Bradwell would be a Chinese-led project, using Chinese technology.
A Maryland woman who pleaded guilty to killing two of her children and injuring two of their siblings in what she believed was an exorcism in 2014 will go to a psychiatric hospital, not a prison.

Judge Terrence McGann ruled on Thursday that Zakieya Avery of Germantown, Maryland, was not criminally responsible in the deaths of her children. Avery pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Averys roommate, Monifa Sanford, who participated in the killings, previously took a plea deal in the case that committed her to a psychiatric hospital. Sanford said that the women stabbed the children because they believed they were possessed by demons.
The European Unions chief executive shared kisses and posed for selfies with young people on Thursday, in a live YouTube broadcast meant to soften his image as an ageing man shut away from Europes crises.

Sitting in a studio decked out as a colourful apartment, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker took questions from three German, French and Polish budding video stars, one with more than a million followers on YouTube.

Juncker admitted he had little interest in social media but denied he was above ordinary people.

Im not a movie star. Have I kissed you? Juncker told his Polish interviewer. Why not now?, he said, standing up to kiss him on the cheek.

Juncker has faced accusations in European media that he drinks too much and, as a 61-year-old smoker, is in no shape to run an EU executive overseeing legislation affecting 500 million Europeans. A Twitter hashtag #AskJuncker set up for the broadcast was peppered with anti-EU comments.

Juncker denied he had a drinking problem in a separate interview with the French newspaper Liberation on Tuesday, saying he sometimes stumbles in public because of a car accident in the 1980s. The subject did not come up in the hour-long YouTube broadcast.

Wearing a purple tie, relaxed and sharing jokes in English, French and German, Juncker said was dealing with a range of issues, from the rise in militant attacks in Europe to corporate tax evasion.

He also spoke emotionally about his father, a veteran of the second world war who died this year. Juncker said young people needed to defend the idea of a united Europe.

My father was obliged to serve in World War Two. He experienced the lack of Europe ... Today it is a question of the future (of Europe), Juncker said to a question from YouTube celebrity Jonas, a 19-year-old German with more than a million followers on YouTube.
A 77-year-old man shot three people Wednesday at a senior citizen apartment complex where he lived, killing one before he killed himself nearby as officers closed in on him, police said.

One victim was shot inside the Heritage Court Apartments in Cheyenne, and two were shot outside, said Dan Long, spokesperson for the Cheyenne Police Department.

Larry Rosenberg fled after the shootings armed with a handgun and rifle. He killed himself as officers approached him in a neighbourhood about a mile away, Long said.

No motive was disclosed for the shootings but a woman who knew Rosenberg said he had grown distant recently.

He started getting more and more distant, complaining about the facility and about people and just kind of pulling away, isolating himself more and more, said Margaret Rosso, whose mother lives at the complex.

Long did not identify the victims or provide information about the conditions of the victims who were wounded. Attempts to reach Rosenbergs family werent successful.

Rossos mother, 80-year-old Mary Eastman, said she and Rosenberg went to yard sales together.

Eastman said she saw Rosenberg before the shooting, went out shopping and came back to find that the complex had turned into a crime scene.

Police comforted a distraught woman at the scene. What appeared to be a covered body was visible within an area cordoned off by authorities.

Heritage Court Apartments has 32 affordable housing units for households with at least one member age 62 or older, according to its website.

Messages left with the complexs owner, Accessible Space Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota, were not immediately returned.

Multiple shootings are rare in Cheyenne, Wyomings capital city with a population of just over 60,000. City police handled six homicide cases last year, the departments annual report said.
LONDON: A report by the Foreign Affairs Committee of British parliament on Wednesday came down heavily on former prime minister David Camerons government for intervening in Libya in 2011, and alleged the action was founded on erroneous assumptions.

The report severely criticises Britain and France for the intervention that led to the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and accused Cameron of lacking a coherent strategy for the air campaign.

It said the intervention had not been informed by accurate intelligence, and that it led to the rise of the so-called Islamic State in North Africa.

However, the Foreign Office said the action had been called for by the Arab League and authorised by the UN Security Council.

Crispin Blunt, the chair of the committee, said: This report determines that UK policy in Libya before and since the intervention of March 2011 was founded on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the country and the situation.

He added, Other political options were available. Political engagement might have delivered civilian protection, regime change and reform at a lesser cost to the UK and Libya. The UK would have lost nothing by trying these instead of focusing exclusively on regime change by military means.

The committee said that Britain, having led the intervention with France, had a responsibility to support Libyan economic and political reconstruction.

But our lack of understanding of the institutional capacity of the country stymied Libyas progress in establishing security on the ground and absorbing financial and other resources from the international community, Blunt said.

In January, Cameron had defended his handling of the situation, telling MPs that action was needed because Gaddafi was bearing down on people in Benghazi and threatening to shoot his own people like rats.

But the parliamentary panel said the government failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated, adding it selectively took elements of Gaddafis rhetoric at face value.

The report will add to the woes of 49-year-old Cameron, who stood down as an MP this week. He resigned as prime minister in June after Britain voted in a referendum to exit the European Union.

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BEIJING/TAIPEI: China on Wednesday warned Taiwan not to allow exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to visit, after a high-profile Taiwan legislator invited him to the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own, a trip that would worsen already poor ties.

China regards the 80-year-old monk as a separatist. Taiwans new president, Tsai Ing-wen, elected in January, has not said whether the government would allow a visit by the Dalai Lama, who congratulated Tsai on her remarkable victory.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news briefing in Beijing that the Dalai Lama wears religious clothes to carry out separatist activities.

The intention of some forces in Taiwan to collude with separatists seeking Tibet independence and to create disturbances will have a severe impact on relations across the Taiwan Strait, Ma said. We firmly oppose any form of visit.
WASHINGTON: The Iranian military threatened to shoot down two US Navy planes flying over the Strait of Hormuz, a defence official said. Two maritime patrol aircraft were flying missions in international air space this month. The US planes reportedly ignored the warning.

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Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

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There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

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This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

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COLOMBO: Exiled Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has said he is in talks with the former president, who repeatedly threw him in jail, to legally topple the current leader of the country. He said he wanted to bury the hatchet with Gayoom, amid reports of a rift between him and his half-brother, President Abdulla Yameen.

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CILVEGOZU/BEIRUT: Two convoys of aid which crossed the Turkish border destined for Syrias Aleppo city were waiting in no-mans land on Wednesday, as disagreements between warring sides and fears about security delayed deliveries on the third day of a ceasefire.

Russia called for a 48-hour extension of the Syria truce it brokered with the United States last week and said rebels had violated the ceasefire 60 times since it came into force on Monday.

The aid convoys, each of around 20 trucks carrying mostly food and flour, entered Syria from the Turkish border town of Cilvegozu, about 40 km west of Aleppo, on Tuesday but could go no further than the Turkish customs post.

The international communitys first goal since the truce came into effect is to get aid to Aleppo. The city, Syrias biggest before the civil war that broke out in 2011, is now divided, and its rebel-held area is besieged by government forces.

Things are taking longer than wed hoped, David Swanson, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Reuters. He said 20 UN trucks were waiting at the border ready to go.

Disagreements between the warring sides were blocking aid getting into opposition-held eastern Aleppo, Swanson added. Some groups are looking to gain political mileage out of this, and this is something we need to put aside, he said.

The UN envoy for Syria said if the cessation of hostilities holds there may be a meeting of the coalition of some 20 countries trying to end the conflict on the sidelines of next weeks gathering of world leaders at the UN in New York.
KATHMANDU: When Nepals Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda arrives in New Delhi on Thursday for a state visit, the focus will be on mending ties and boosting trust and confidence with Indian leaders.

The visit comes after bilateral ties hit an all-time low over the economic blockade of key border trade points and inconclusive dialogue over the promulgation of Nepals controversial new Constitution. Several attempts by the Nepal government to address shortcomings raised by agitating groups led to little success.

Prachanda told Parliament on Wednesday that his visit is aimed at boosting confidence and trust with India. Dispelling the impression that he would sign new agreements, he said he would instead focus on implementing earlier treaties.

Discussions would also be held on economic and physical infrastructure projects, said Prachanda, who is embarking on his maiden foreign visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Talks will be held on immediate launching of the first phase of construction works of the postal highway, the second phase of construction and the implementation of Power Trade Agreement and Pancheshwar Projects study report, he said.

Work on check posts at Bhairahawa, Biratnagar and Birgunj will figure in the talks.
It seems like Colin Powell - the US Secretary of State during former President George W. Bush's administration, is keen on supporting neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton for the presidency if his personal emails are to be believed.

Hackers managed to gain access to Powell's personal emails, which contain scathing remarks against both Trump and Clinton. The former four-star general ripped the Republican Party nominee apart, calling him a "national disgrace" and "international pariah," The Washington Post reported.

"Yup, the whole birther movement was racist. That's what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn't keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim," said Powell in one of his emails accusing the real estate mogul of being a birther in an NPR report.

Powell's email to Emily Miller - his deputy press secretary at the State Department, sent on June 17, 2016 criticized Trump for being "in the process of destroying himself, no need for the [Democrats] to attack him" and called him a birther. The stolen emails have been given to DCLeaks.com.

USA Today said that members of the Democratic Party as well as computer experts admitted that DCLeaks.com may be connected with intelligence forces from Russia. Concerns that the website may be intended to sway the results of the US presidential election have also been floated.

Clinton wasn't spared from Powell's attacks. In another email sent back in March 9, 2015, Powell told the Clinton camp that "they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try. The media isn't fooled and she is getting crucified."

Another set of emails dated May 2016 show that Powell criticized Clinton for citing his private email account usage to justify her use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State. He added in an August 18, 2016 email that "everything [Clinton] touches, she kind of screws up with hubris."

Another email sent in August 2016 to NBC News reporter Andrea Mitchell said that Powell "told [Clinton] how I was using my personal computer for [unclassified] emails. I said nothing about servers, basements, domains, Clinton foundation, government employees..."

Powell didn't confirm whether the leaked emails were authentic. "I wasn't aware of any infiltration of my Gmail account...If accurate my privacy has been violated," said the retired statesman in an interview with The Daily Caller.

Watch The Washington Posts footage Leaked Colin Powell emails criticize Trump and Clinton here:
President Barrack Obama will host a summit in New York next week to discuss the need of the U.S. to augment its refugee programs as it gears to welcome 110,000 more refugees in the next 12 months.

The meeting was scheduled ahead of the U.N. General Assembly gathering to spotlight the need to increase money for aid agencies, resettle more refugees and provide education and job assistance.

The on-going civil war and conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan prompted the U.S. government to raise its goal of taking in 110,000 refugees.

Of these numbers, 40,000 will come from the Middle East and South Asia; 35,000 from Africa; 12,000 from East Asia; 4,000 from Europe; 5,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean; and 14,000 unallocated slots for refugees from any region.

The target is 30 percent higher than this year's 85,000, according to a ranking official of the Obama administration who requested not to be named as he is not authorize to discuss the matter on official capacity.

According to a Military Times report, the 110,000 goal covers a 12-month period that will start this October.

Amid doubts that war refugees could be utilized as instrument by terror groups to carry out their evil plans, the White House maintained that the program is safe and doesn't pose a major threat to national security.

The concern was heightened last year after terrorist attacks in European cities that connected to some people who had spent time in Syria.

The U.S. government assured that potential refugees would continue to be subject to rigorous screening process that typically lasts more than a year and involves both in-person interviews and examination of biographical and biometric information.

The issue sparked debates especially among Republican governors who refused refugees' entry into their states. The Obama administration however insisted that states cannot legally prevent war exiles from coming in.

The U.S. has encouraged other countries to increase their contribution to alleviating the refugee crisis in Syria. Millions of Syrians have been displaced by a civil war that has killed roughly half a million people.

Increasing the U.S. target this year accordingly reflected Obama's belief that all nations need to do more to help the flight of war refugees from around the world.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect who lit a Muslim woman on fire in Manhattan, New York.

This as the NYPD are on the hunt of a male suspect who cruelly lit the victim while she was walking outside a luxury department store along Fifth Avenue last Sept. 10.

"It is important that the perpetrators of these crimes be apprehended and their motives be established," said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the council, as quoted by NY Daily News.

"The spike in incidents targeting American Muslims and their institutions is the inevitable result of the ongoing mainstreaming of Islamophobia we are witnessing in our society," he added.

Police investigation revealed that the 35-year-old victim Nemariq Alhinai was walking outside the store when the suspect lit her traditional Islamic dress.

As the victim quickly patted out the flames, she saw a man standing next to her with a lighter in his hand, police said.

Police are yet to determine if the incident was a hate crime motivated by the victim's religion.

A report from the New York Post last week also disclosed of an incident where a woman was charge after allegedly punching, kicking and trying to rip the veils of two Muslim women who were pushing baby carriages in Bath Beach.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Venues for marijuana users will be the next big thing for American states who want to legalize the use of medical weed. Although there areas across the United States that allow the use of the cannabis plant, none allows it to be smoked or used in public.

Washington, Colorado, Oregon and the District of Columbia have laws that allow users to possess a specified amount of grass. In addition, the places where they are allowed to use it is within the confines of their homes or in houses where they are guests.

Early voter initiatives have ruled out the utilization of public areas to accommodate cannabis users. This is actually a major hindrance for visitors or tourists who have nowhere to put their weed habit in place. Considering that most hotels have instituted a ban on cannabis consumption, the idea of instituting halls or shops for marijuana users is a welcome development.

In November last year, the Alaska Marijuana Control Board has issued draft regulations to define when and where on-site consumption will be permitted. Voting for its approval is yet to happen.

When Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012, its intention is for private consumption only. This fall, the state will have a chance to legalize the weed's public use through the polls.

The key, however, to this initiative is the issuance of permit from the local neighborhood association, business improvement district or merchant group prior to the approval of Denver's licensing officials.

Considering the legality of the grass, it is possible that the government will institute regulations. A huge part of this approach involves the revenues to be earned on matters related to the weed.

There will be safety precautions in terms of manufacturing. Certification for laboratories will also be needed. Of course, tax revenues will not be far behind.

Considering the parameters of legal consumption, regulating the act is much better than having people use marijuana clandestinely. In the course of marijuana distribution, the production of synthetic forms is highly likely for a growing market.

For instance, the approval of Syndros by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is part of the regulatory campaign of the agency. This liquid version of the synthetic cannabinoid pill Marinol can be used to treat ailments in AIDS and cancer patients.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
One look at the skies made UFO seekers find an amazing sight: A massive Star Wars style spaceship in the clouds. Many fans said that the shot could prove their beliefs.

It was in Peru. A filmmaker, 'Misterio Canal' made his camera run and claims he captured the spaceship by chance, even when he tried to record a time-lapse video of the sky.

He said: "It is a mysterious phenomenon in an area where others have recorded sightings of white objects floating in the sky."

It was a "giant, dark-steel-coloured object", which appears to have a rough exterior with windows," and seemed to be right out of a multi-billion movie.

The video has flashed across the Internet, even as it showed an enormous, black shape, exactly like a 'Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer', that flashes briefly on the screen.

The video has been seen and exulted upon by UFO expert Scott C Waring. He wrote on his website UFO Sightings Daily "This video looks legit, and its 100 percent proof that UFOs do hide within clouds of their own making.

"This UFO looks like its made from the same nonreflective black buildings I and others have found on every planet and moon in our solar system in NASA photos."

Another user said that "It may be something that came from the future to collect something or prevent something from occurring.

Mr. Waring had said earlier that there had been one jerky astronaut who may have disclosed NASA's code word for aliens during a live feed.

Hence, outer-space experts say that when there was a live feed from the International Space Station, he had blurted out "gospel." This was mentioned when a strange, red-coloured UFO flashed on the screen.

How did he? said Mr. Waring.The sudden appearance of the UFO on the ISS live video feed even when the astronaut said "gospel" gave some clue of something mysterious. "It was significant and could not be a coincidence," he said.

Sceptics have the usual theories to give the footage: One critic said: "I guess whoever created it didn't have enough on the bottom so decided to mirror it before inserting it into this fake footage."

Another added: "The 'ship' looks traced perfect - so I call this [video] a fake."



YouTube/V.R.T.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
It is rumoured that HTC will build the upcoming Nexus smartphones in 2016 for three years as reported by a Chinese source. The Taiwanese phone maker build its first Nexus phone called Nexus One in 2010 following with Nexus 9 tablet in 2014. Rumours indicate that HTC will build new Nexus smartphones for Google.

Google, the tech giant is reported to release new devices with 3D Sailfish or Google Pixel feature as posted in a 360 degree video on YouTube. It was also reported that the HTC is currently working on two handsets named as "Sailfish" and "Marlin" and is rumoured that Google Pixel devices will be incorporated with Android Nougat 7,1 operating system. The video also rumoured that the back of the phone has finger print reader below the camera as per the bit bag.

Through the pressure-sensitive display, the 3D Touch feature will help the Nexus phone to distinguish different kinds of touch gestures on the screen, according to the IB times.

As Android Authority reported, the handset is rumoured to have the following specifications - measuring 143.8 mm x 69.5 mm x 7.3 mm (at bottom) and 8.5 mm at the thickest point (the top), a USB-C port rather than microUSB port, dual stereo speakers- both placed at the bottom of the handset, headphone port is located along the top/left edge of the metal frame.

It is also speculated that there are expectations of full HD 5.2 or 5.3 inch display, the Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, 5-inch AMOLED display. Both Pixel and Pixel XL will share Sony IMX179 8-megapixel sensor on the front and the Sony IMX378 12-megapixel sensor at the back. 12MP rear camera, an 8MP front camera and a rear mounted fingerprint sensor, powered with 2770 mAh battery. Also, rumored that the phone is build with metal and glass.

No official statement has been released yet by Google on the release of Google Pixel line up.

Exclusive: 360-degree render of the HTC Nexus 'Sailfish'

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Shavarsh Kocharyan: I am not accountable to you (video)

When there are decrees, you will know, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shavarsh Kocharyan after the Government session, in reply to the question whether there will be personnel changes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the appointment of new PM. Is the news that Head of Presidents staff Vigen Sargsyan will be appointed a new minister, Shavarsh Kocharyans answer was the same, When there is a decree, you will know. The reply of Deputy Minister to the question whether he is pleased or not with the work of current minister Edward Nalbandian, was the same, Now, when there are no appointments, I wont make any comments. As for the NK conflict resolution, in this case the words of Deputy Minister were more concrete, The fact that Vienna and Saint Petersburg agreements havent been fulfilled, thats the reason that in reality there cannot be any progress in the negotiations process. So, everything depends on the fulfillment of those agreements. In reply to the question of one of the reporters whether Shavarsh Kocharyan will return to the opposition field, if he isnt included in the new Government, I am accountable both for my biography and my future, but not to you.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump surprised "The Dr. Oz Show" when he gave a two-page, general summary of his health and medical information after earlier refusal of doing it.

"I got to say as a doctor, if he was my patient, they are good for a man of his age," said television doctor Mehmet Oz as quoted by NBC News.

The two-page report included a summary of a battery of tests that Trump went through including general physical status, family medical history, and Alzheimer's disease, to name a few.

Though the test did not provide specifics, the report stated that the physical exam was performed by Trump's personal physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, who previously claimed that Trump would be the healthiest elected president.

Though the medical information seemed to indicate a healthy man, Trump reportedly expressed that he wanted to lose weight as his body mass index (BMI) pointed to a "slightly overweight" result. Several reports have claimed that his weight was caused by his affinity to fast food.

Trump, 70, will be the oldest president to assume office if he is elected.

Despite being under considerable heat from her recent health issues, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton also released her medical information hours after Trump did.

In contrast to Trump's summary of his medical records, Clinton released a detailed record complete with the specifics of her recent mild, non-contagious pneumonia diagnosis, which she has been recently criticized since the public caught wind of her condition.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States," said Clinton's personal physician Dr. Lisa Bardack in a letter.

According to her doctor, Clinton was travelling when she experienced fever, cough, and fatigue. She was then immediately advised to see Dr. Bardack who initiated a chest CT scan that revealed pneumonia.

Aside from her current illness, Clinton's medical records revealed that she is currently taking Armor Thyroid, Coumadin, temporary Levaquin, Clarinex, and B-12. Furthermore, Clinton's vaccination, including Prevnar, is updated.

Overall, Clinton's physical examination yielded normal results and excellent medical condition.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Angelina Jolie Brad Pitt divorce has been one of the most-followed celebrity news items in the recent past. It has taken the media as well as their fans by storm but the couple has always maintained a dignified silence on the subject and now reports claim that the two are committed more than they ever were to each other.

The golden couple of Hollywood has no plans to part ways and are very much together, working out things between them, claims reports. According to sources, they recently celebrated their second marriage anniversary and the occasion gave them the perfect moments to renew their marriage vows and rekindle the said loss of romance in their conjugal life. Both are working hard on their marriage ever since and are positive about their future together.

The good thing is that the positivity bug has caught some media sources too and no longer does one see only stories of Angelina Jolie Brad Pitt divorce. A source revealed to Hollywood Life a few weeks back that despite their busy schedule, Brad and Angelina have made it a point to stay committed. In fact, they are more in love than ever. Also, family time is a big priority for them and they make sure to spend time with each other as well as their kids.

Well, this is definitely a soothing song to the ears of the couple's fans. However, in other news, it is being said that Angelina Jolie was not dressed appropriately during her humanitarian work in Azraq. The report states that the actress' choice of clothing was not decent for the event as her wardrobe showed her nipples. Though the report has been slammed by media outlets, it only goes to show the sexist mindset of rumor-mongers who do not hesitate from irresponsible reporting for the sake of publicity.

It is worth mentioning here that Angelina Jolie is well-known for her social work and she has been very vocal about the rights of women and children. She is the U.N. Special envoy for refugees and recently met refugee children in a camp in Jordan and touched thousands of hearts with her moving speech.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Samsung has recalled its Galaxy Note 7 units across the globe following reports of 35 battery explosions while the units were being charged. It is likely that the South Korean giant manufacturer will lose around $1 billion due to the battery cell issue. Sales of the Note 7 have been immediately stopped.

On its UK website, Samsung has declared that the company is prioritizing the safety of its customers so it is voluntarily replacing Galaxy Note 7 devices with new ones.

In its investigation, the tech organization has found that battery overheating kicks in when the anode comes into contact with the cathode. This flaw comes from a mistake in the actual production of the battery.

The glitch puts too much pressure on the plates of the battery causing it to overheat. Once overheating sets in, the battery undergoes a thermal runaway phase.

Along this stage, the temperature of the battery increases more and more until it reaches saturation and flash point. Samsung has also added that the incident is a rare manufacturing process error.

As of Sep. 1, Samsung's customer service centers have received 17 complaints in Korea, 17 in the United States and one in Taiwan.

During a media conference, the company has not directly addressed if the source of the faulty batteries came from its own Samsung SDI division.

SDI has been the company's primary provider of batteries for the Galaxy Note 7 considering that 70 percent of the phone units used batteries from this division. The other 30 percent has been manufactured by China's Amperex Technology Limited (ATL).

It is reported that Samsung increased ATL production so that replacement units will be manufactured as soon as possible.

Next week, the South Korean phone maker will begin shipping replacement units in multiple countries across the globe. It intends to compensate around 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in total.

Furthermore, many airlines as well as buses and trains have banned the Galaxy unit for fear of the product catching fire.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
This year's European Union (EU) State of the Union Address, delivered by European Commission (EC) President Jean-Claude Juncker, focused on issues concerning a "permanent" military structure for the union and the impact of Brexit on the UK's single market access.

In a BBC report, Juncker said that the EU keeps on wasting money on missions in the absence of a common military force. He said that there is a need for the bloc to establish a common military headquarters in order to realize that vision.

The Commission President went on to urge the UK to start and facilitate negotiations for Brexit in the soonest time possible. He gave the reassurance that the EU isn't at risk of falling out following the country's decision to leave the union.

The EU's push for a common military force strengthened with the Brexit vote, since the UK has long contended that a greater defense cooperation within the bloc conflicts with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) role. Juncker defended that such a move "should be in complement to NATO."

Juncker, in further defending the plan, added that "more defense in Europe doesn't mean less transatlantic solidarity." To push for the common military's research and development efforts, a European Defense Fund will be established.

Civilian and military operations have been organized by the EU since 2003 under the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Six military operations are currently taking place, as per the BBC:

- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Implementation of the 1995 Dayton Agreement, which effectively stopped the Balkan Wars. EU forces replaced those of NATO in 2004

- Coast of Somalia: Anti-piracy Operation Atalanta, since 2008

- Mediterranean Sea: Anti-migrant trafficking Operation Sophia, since 2015

- Somalia, Mali, and the Central African Republic (CAR): EU-organized military training programs

As for the UK's sudden decision to leave the EU, Juncker noted that it's practically impossible for the country to gain single market access if it hinders free movement of people and goods. An "ala carte access to the single market" isn't possible once Brexit takes effect.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis admitted that it would be "very improbable" for the UK to have single market access following the country's decision to exit the EU. Prime Minister Theresa May, however, hit out at the remarks, saying that Davis has a poor understanding of Brexit.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
After over two years, a large debris of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was discovered off the coast of Tanzania, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The bureau made the confirmation after the Italian part manufacturer asserted that the recovered parts belong to the missing plane.

The fragment was part of the inboard section of the right and outboard flap of the plane bearing date stamp, Boeing part numbers and an "OL" numbers that were all unique to the manufacturer.

The debris was recovered last June off Pemba Island, Tanzania.

Investigators believed that the recent development will shed light to the fate of the missing plane that was carrying 239 people when it went missing in March 2014. The plane was on its way to Beijing, China from Kuala Lumpur.

"At the time of writing, the flap section was being examined for any evidence of interaction with mechanisms, supports and surrounding components (such as the flaperon, which abuts the inboard end of the outboard flap) that may indicate the state of flap operation at the time of separation from the wing," revealed the report of the Australian investigating team as quoted by the BBC News.

Earlier, HNGN News and Global Headlines reported that the search teams have scaled around 110,000 sq.km. in search for the missing plane with over 20 nations embarking the search operations.

In the course of the investigation, bits of debris have been sighted in South Africa, Mozambique and Madagascar.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Lawmaker doesnt know what business is (video)

Businessman-lawmaker Samvel Aleksanyan has heard for the first time that businesses are taken away from people in Armenia. Then the businessman learnt that just yesterday newly appointed PM Karen Karapetyan said that, Yes, Karen Karapetyan told the truth. Republican Karen Avagyan doesnt know why Premier talked about culture of snatching a business in Armenia, I have recently returned to the country and I think there is some misunderstanding connected with snatching a business. Head of Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) faction Vahram Baghdasaryan thinks that when touching upon snatching a business, Karen Karapetyan didnt mean snatching the business, He simply wanted to say so that everybody remains calm, that the businesses cannot be at risk. Republican Hamlet Harutyunyan supposes that the new PM didnt formulate what he wanted to say in a right way, I dont think that until now businesses have been taken away. But if the PM said so, it means he knows what he says; the lawmaker personally even doesnt know, what the business is, Business is far from me by about 4 billion kilometers. But the lawmaker agrees that Armenia is in wild capitalism with shortcomings peculiar to it, Snatch, deceive, but fortunately I am very far from those processes. No one has tried to snatch a business from owner of beer factory Hakob Hakobyan. So, the businessman-lawmaker doesnt know what Karen Karapetyan meant, when he was speaking about snatching businesses, Is there anything like that in our country? Hakob Hakobyan is aware of closing businesses. He knows that Armenia is in very difficult economic situation. But why has the person, who worked for four years in Russia and was appointed head of the executive body, made such an irresponsible statement on snatching businesses, It is more obvious from outside than inside.
Hope College continues operating at capacity with 3,224 students this year.

The total achieves the colleges goal of enrolling approximately 3,200 students, a reduction from the higher totals of recent years as Hope has sought to lower its headcount.

Were pleased that so many students and their families value the colleges transformational blend of outstanding academics, meaningful engagement with faith and welcoming community, said William Vanderbilt, vice president for admissions and retention at Hope. Were grateful for the strong interest that has seen enrollment steadily increase across the past several years, but increasingly have recognized that in the long-term well best be able to sustain the high-quality experience that we have traditionally provided and that our students deserve by decreasing enrollment to better match our campus capacity and staffing levels.

Hopes enrollment began exceeding 3,300 in 2012 when the college enrolled the largest class in its history, the recently graduated Class of 2016. Last years total was 3,407, and Hope had enrolled a record high of 3,433 during 2014-15.

Hopes students are from 40 states and 28 foreign countries, and approximately 40 percent are men and 60 percent are women. The enrollment by class, with last years class in parentheses, is: freshmen, 737 (778); sophomores, 789 (779); juniors, 709 (766); seniors, 870 (951); and non-degree-seeking students, 117 (133).

Hope has enrolled 733 students who are in college for the first time, including freshmen and several of the colleges non-degree-seeking students. Another 58 students have transferred to Hope from elsewhere.

The states from which students are attending include: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

International representation in the student body includes: Barbados, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Congo Brazzaville, Cuba, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestine, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda and Vietnam.

Hope College was chartered in 1866 and is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The college offers majors through more than 50 departments leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
Bethesda, Md. -- Moxy Hotels, Marriott International's bold new experiential brand, has been named a finalist in the Branded Environments category of Fast Company's prestigious 2016 Innovation by Design Awards. The 5th Annual competition honors the industry's best work, highlighting the most innovative design solutions to today's business problems. This year's judging panel, comprised of the world's best design minds, selected the finalists from more than 1,700 international submissions, from 41 different countries, across 11 categories  the most ever.

Moxy Hotels, along with other finalists and winners, will be highlighted in Fast Company's October print issue  the annual Design Issue  which hits newsstands September 20.

Moxy Hotels, which is amongst honorees such as Facebook and Target, is a fresh and innovative brand that combines stylish design and approachable service at an affordable price point. Moxy Hotels fully embraces today's fun-hunting traveler with smartly designed tech-enabled rooms featuring motion sensor lighting; internet TV in-room featuring Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Pandora and Crackle; selfie photo booth elevators; Moxy Digital Guestbook; abundant power and USB outlets; furiously fast and free Wi-Fi for ultimate connectivity; and Moxy 'B&F' (beverage & food) strategy that offers 24/7 self-service to give guests access to what they want, when they want it.

"Moxy's ambition is to shake up the traditional economy segment," said Vicki Poulos, Global Brand Director, Moxy Hotels. "Affordability shouldn't be a sacrifice of style, comfort or a good time. Design plays an integral role in offering Moxy's guests, fun hunters, a communal environment that feels like home but with a bartender."

Moxy Hotels first launched in Milan in September 2014. Moxy Tempe and Moxy Munich Airport opened in March 2016, followed by Moxy New Orleans in May 2016 and Moxy Frankfurt Eschborn in August 2016. The brand is entering the market in a bold way, with several additional identified projects slated for major metropolitan locations including New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Berlin, Oslo and London.

To learn more about Moxy Hotels, please visit www.MoxyHotels.com.

Fast Company is one of the world's leading business media brands, with an editorial focus on creativity and innovation in technology, ethical economics, leadership, and design. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc. and can be found online at fastcompany.com.

About Marriott International

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 8,100 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 139 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy, its highly awarded travel program. Connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

Victoria Hart

Director, Public Relations, Lifestyle + Luxury Brands

301-380-8825

Marriott
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Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

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Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

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The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

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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

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ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression
In year-over-year comparisons, the industry's occupancy fell 1.4% to 62.8%. However, average daily rate increased 1.8% to US$118.58, and revenue per available room was nearly flat (+0.3% to US$74.45).

The U.S. hotel industry recorded mixed results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 4-10 September 2016, according to data from STR.

In year-over-year comparisons, the industry's occupancy fell 1.4% to 62.8%. However, average daily rate increased 1.8% to US$118.58, and revenue per available room was nearly flat (+0.3% to US$74.45).

Among the Top 25 Markets, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota-Wisconsin, reported the largest year-over-year increases in occupancy (+6.3% to 68.5%) and RevPAR (+12.8% to US$77.59). ADR in the market rose 6.1% to US$113.26.

Two additional markets experienced double-digit RevPAR growth for the week: Los Angeles/Long Beach, California (+10.8% to US$121.41), and Oahu Island, Hawaii (+10.0% to US$189.51).

In ADR, Los Angeles/Long Beach (+8.8% to US$160.02) and Oahu Island (+8.5% to US$224.75) posted the week's top percentage increases.

Boston, Massachusetts, reported the only double-digit decrease in occupancy (-10.1% to 72.2%) and the largest drop in RevPAR (-13.5% to US$137.98). ADR in the market fell 3.8% to US$191.12.

The largest ADR decline was reported in New York, New York (-5.9% to US$284.92).

Outside of Boston, only one other Top 25 Market reported a double-digit decline for any of the three key performance metrics. Houston, Texas, saw RevPAR drop 12.9% to US$48.20.

View weekly U.S. hotel performance review

About STR

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.
G6 Hospitality yesterday announced the signing of three new franchise agreements with Latina Promohoteles, S.A. de C.V., to build three new Hotel 6 properties in the cities of Queretaro, Leon and Irapuato.

The new signings are part of the company's efforts to bring its unique brands to Mexico. In 2014, G6 Hospitality signed an area development agreement with Latina Promohoteles, a subsidiary of Promodesa Commercial to open up to 55 new-construction Hotel 6/Estudio 6 properties by the end of 2020.

"We are thrilled to continue our development efforts in key regions in Mexico to offer leisure and business travelers with the best lodging options for budget-conscious guests and their families," said Dean Savas, Executive Vice President, Franchise and International Development at G6 Hospitality. "We are very excited to continue our expansion's plans in Mexico to fulfill the needs of international and domestic travelers, but most importantly, we are thrilled to do so with Latina Promohoteles, who has been a reliable partner with a renowned reputation in the country."

With an estimated investment of three million dollars per location, these new properties will feature elements of the company's award winning, modern-style Phoenix design. "The new Hotel 6 properties will satisfy the growing lodging demand in these important markets while offering travelers everything they need for a comfortable stay at reasonable rates," said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Vice President of Latina Promohoteles.

Once completed, these new locations will feature modern rooms and spacious areas for social gatherings as well as unique amenities including complimentary breakfast and internet, laundry facilities, parking, and the affordability the iconic brand is known for. The properties in Queretaro and Leon are targeted to open in 2017 while the location in Irapuato will be ready by 2018.

With its established network, ambitious renovation efforts in the US, and the strong appeal of its Motel 6, Studio 6, Hotel 6 and Estudio 6 brands, G6 Hospitality continues to establish itself as the leader of the economy lodging segment in the U.S., Canadaand soon to be in Latin America.
Auberge Resorts Collection To Manage Newly Acquired Solage Resort In Napa Valley

Auberge Resorts Collection today announced that the company will manage Solage, a contemporary resort located in the heart of California wine country, following the property's recent acquisition by a joint venture formed between Flynn Properties and Auberge Resorts Collection. The resort returns to the Auberge portfolio as the company's third managed property in Napa Valley.

"Auberge has demonstrated an ability to deliver results and has been an excellent operator and partner with us at our other Auberge resort, Esperanza, in Los Cabos," said Greg Flynn, Founder and Chairman of Flynn Properties, Inc. "We're excited to expand our relationship in another spectacular destination. Solage will be in superb hands under the leadership of Auberge."

"The Auberge story began in Napa Valley, and today, Auberge is the pre-eminent luxury leader in California wine country," said Craig Reid, President and Chief Executive Officer, Auberge Resorts Collection. "Together, Flynn Properties and Auberge will bring commitment, creativity and expertise to Solage, which will allow us to enhance the style and contemporary hospitality that has come to define the resort."

Situated on 22 acres and surrounded by panoramic mountains and sweeping vineyards, Solage is an 89-room design-focused, environmentally conscious resort offering a fresh, comfortably cool experience. A must-visit destination for epicureans and a favorite among wine country locals, the resort's seven-time Michelin Star-rated restaurant, Solbar, serves a dichotomous menu of healthful cuisine alongside more indulgent comfort food in a lively indoor-outdoor setting.

The award-winning 20,000-square-foot Spa features geo-thermal soaking pools, a state-of-the-art gym and yoga and movement studio with complimentary daily fitness classes, and a 130-foot outdoor swimming pool, the largest in Napa Valley. A destination-inspired treatment menu offers a range of therapeutic and restorative services, including a contemporary twist on Calistoga's legendary mud and mineral water therapies.

"Solage offers a fresh, active and social experience that perfectly complements our other two iconic Napa Valley resorts," said Mark Harmon, Founder and Managing Partner, Auberge Resorts Collection. "Having three distinctive resort experiences in wine country will enable us to create more unforgettable opportunities for our guests."
13-year old Tyree King was shot and killed on Wednesday night by Ohio Police, after allegedly pulling a bb gun out of his waistband during a chase.

According to reports, officers were responding to reports of an armed robbery when they spotted King and two others who matched the suspects description. When officers approached the trio, King and one of the other boys ran down an alley and thats when he allegedly pulled his bb gun. He was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at Nationwide Childrens Hospital.

A crime unit investigating the scene confirmed that the weapon King pulled out, which was originally thought to be a handgun, was a bb gun with a laser attached to it. The other suspect was questioned but later released- its unclear whether they were involved in the armed robbery.

The Columus Ohio Police released the following statement regarding the shooting.

[Via]

Tyree King
The Midnight Navy Air Jordan XVI, thats Air Jordan 16 for those who arent roman numeral experts, is making a return 15 years after the original release, but they wont come cheap.

The bizarre looking Air Jordans, complete with the tumbled leather, removable shroud, will reportedly retail for $250, similar to the way the Copper Air Jordan 17s were priced. Many sneakerheads will agree that the Air Jordan line fell off after the 14s, but theres still plenty of folks who will be happy to see this cult classic returning- even if its with an increased price tag.

A release date has been pegged for next Thursday, December 22nd. You can check out official images of what to expect from the Midnight Navy Air Jordan XVI in the gallery above.

Would you like to see Jordan Brand keep going with the 16s and bring back colorways like the Ginger and Black/Varsity Red or should they shut it down after this release?

Air Jordan 16
The Blackpool post-punks hit Clonakilty Guitar Festival and Fibber Magees

Following their roof-raising support to Therapy? last year The Membranes return to these shores to play Clonakilty on Friday and Dublin on Saturday.

The Clonakilty show is part of the towns Guitar Festival and the band will hit

the DeBarras stage at 11pm. The Dublin gig will take place in the basement of Fibber Magees on Parnell Street and support on the night comes from Protex, I Am A Carcrash and Alien She.

The band, who released the lauded album Dark Matter / Dark Energy in 2015 are in the process of preparing a remix long-player on which The Manic Street Preachers, Mark lanegan, Killing Joke and work re-work their tracks.
Three Houston school board members on Thursday evening publicly urged voters to oppose a measure that would authorize the district to forfeit $162 million to the state.

Trustees Jolanda Jones, Harvin Moore and Rhonda Skillern-Jones went on the offensive at the live-streamed board meeting, asking voters to join them in voting "no" on the Nov. 8 ballot measure required under the state's school-finance system.

The board members are taking a gamble, calling on state lawmakers to revamp the funding system to relieve the Houston Independent School District when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

"We are King Kong in this state," Jones said, noting that the Houston school system is the largest district in Texas and should have influence.

The Houston school district is in this predicament because, for the first time, it is considered so property wealthy that it must send money to the state to help fund poorer districts under the so-called "recapture" or Robin Hood system. The district needs authorization from voters to send the money  thus, the ballot measure  or else the state education commissioner has the power to assign HISD's wealthiest commercial properties to poorer districts for taxing purposes.

Here's the rub: If the ballot measure fails and the education commissioner detaches property from HISD  an unprecedented move  the district will not be able to tax those properties to fund the repayment of debt. And the district has significant debt, including the ongoing $1.9 billion construction bond program approved by voters in 2012.

The district overall cannot take a position on the measure. However, it has launched an educational campaign, focused on the confusing state-mandated ballot language that will ask voters whether they approve purchasing attendance credits from the state. A "yes" vote to the credits means the district sends the $162 million.

If the funding system does not change, the Houston school district estimates that its "recapture" payment will rise to $257 million in 2017-18, $308 million in 2018-19 and $386 million the following year.

Houston-area districts that paid recapture last year include Galveston, Spring Branch, Deer Park and Sheldon.
AUSTIN - For the fifth consecutive year, immigration and border security are the top issues on Texans' minds as they prepare to choose a new president in less than two months, according to the Texas Lyceum's annual poll released Wednesday.

A majority of Texas adults, 59 percent, said they opposed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's central campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, but that figure dropped to 48 percent when the poll considered likely voters.

The change is due, in large part, to the poll's sample of adult Texans, which includes a younger and more ethnically diverse population than the state's registered voter and likely voter samples that often are used in public opinion and election polling.

About 46 percent of those surveyed said they support the border wall idea Trump has advanced for more than a year in his White House quest. The question sharply divides Democrats and Republicans - 11 percent and 67 percent back the idea, respectively - and support for the proposal among independent voters stands at 24 percent.

"If you're used to looking at registered voters and election results, it's very easy to characterize the state as a deep red place with uniform conservative views," said Joshua Blank, the poll's research director. "You miss the nuance that this poll highlights."

Fifty-four percent of the poll's respondents said immigration helps the United States more than it harms, while 33 percent said it has more of a negative impact; 8 percent said it has a little of both. Unlike the border wall question, the majority view of immigration as a net-positive for the country holds when applied to registered voters, at 55 percent, and likely voters, at 50 percent. Whites and Republicans were far more likely than Latinos, African-Americans and Democrats to say immigration hurts more than it helps, the poll found.

Mirrors other polls

Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said the Lyceum poll is consistent with other major polling on the issue, particularly from Gallup, that shows voters are in favor of some type of immigration reform but the specifics of a preferred policy are murkier.

"The results are reflective of national public opinion, but it's the people who go the polls who shape policy," Soto said. "Most voters understand that it's a complicated issue, but most folks are not saying deport them all and build a wall."

The influence of the 2016 presidential race was reflected by the polling on another tenet of Trump's campaign, whether to deny entry to the United States to anyone from a country that has a history of terrorism against the U.S. and its European allies. The proposal won the approval of 40 percent of Texas adults, while 51 percent said they opposed it and 8 percent were unsure.

Among likely voters, however, the answers resulted in a statistical dead heat, with 47 percent saying they support the ban and 46 percent opposed to it.

With less than two months until Election Day, the heated presidential race easily can spill into attempts to gauge Texans' attitudes on their long-standing concerns about immigration and border security, said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at UT-Austin.

"If you look at building the wall on the border, it's very tricky right now because it has become so associated with Donald Trump and, at this point in the campaign, it's probably not the best median measure for immigration attitudes," Henson said.

"Consistency on border security as the most important problem  suggest that it is on the minds of Texans for a decade now, but what that does not tell you is what kind of specific policy preference they have and why it is on their minds," he said.

Discrimination issues

Democrats pounced on the new poll to continue their attacks on Trump's standing in the state, while other polls have shown a tightening race.

"The fact that Donald Trump's proposals are rejected by a majority of Texans is even more evidence that Trump is outside the mainstream in Texas, unfit, and unqualified to lead," Manny Garcia, the Texas Democratic Party's deputy executive director, said in a statement.

The state Republican Party's spokesman, Michael Joyce, declined to comment until the second part of the poll is released on Thursday, which will include a snapshot of the presidential race in Texas.

The poll from the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan statewide leadership organization, also focused on questions that have received significant media and public attention in recent months, including racial discrimination and transgender students' access to public school bathrooms.

In results similar to last year's poll, the survey showed that 51 percent of black Texas adults recalled a specific instance when they felt discriminated against by police.

That number dropped to 23 percent for Hispanics and 6 percent for whites. In last year's survey, 45 percent of black adults said police officers had discriminated against them; 24 percent of Hispanics and 4 percent of white respondents said the same.

When it comes to employment, the trend among black adult Texans held, with 45 percent telling pollsters they have felt discriminated against by an employer or potential employer; 25 percent of Hispanics and 13 percent of whites responded the same way.

Transgender rights

A majority of Texas adults, 54 percent, also said transgender students should have access to public school bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender assigned at birth.

According to the survey, 31 percent said the decision should be based on gender identity and 15 percent said they were unsure. Democrats favored gender identity over gender at birth, 47 percent to 37 percent, and Republicans chose gender at birth by an overwhelming margin of 77 percent to 16 percent.

The most noticeable divide on the issue revolved around age.

At 53 percent, Texans between 18-29 were more likely to support transgender students' rights to use school facilities that correspond with their gender identity. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed in that age range chose gender at birth.

The poll was conducted Sept. 111 and questioned 1,000 adult Texans. It was weighted by race, age and gender to meet state population projections and has a margin of error of plus- or minus-3.1 percent.
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Cape Breton Island has seen tourism surge this year, and it can thank Donald Trump  at least in part.

Tourism to the Nova Scotian island has risen 14 per cent for the year to date, said a Wednesday news release from Destination Cape Breton.

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The island saw 24 per cent more tourism in May over last year, 15 per cent more in June, and 14 per cent more in July.

And Destination Cape Breton CEO Mary Tulle is chalking up the bump to Trump, so to speak.

Earlier this year, radio DJ Rob Calabrese came up with the website, "Cape Breton if Donald Trump Wins" as a way to capitalize on Americans who say they'll leave their country if he wins the presidency.

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"We're living on an island where the population is decreasing," he told The Huffington Post Canada in February.

"As a joke, we thought of it to maybe get the word out there that, 'Hey, you should come here!'"

The website helped to spike interest in Cape Breton. CNN sent a crew to document the island and at least one lodge in the rural community of Ingonish saw increased bookings.

"We continue to marvel at the opportunity Rob Calabrese's website and our subsequent 'Trump Bump' has presented to us," Tulle said in a statement.

There are numerous other factors that could be working in Cape Breton's (and Canada's) favour when it comes to tourism.

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The Canadian dollar is slumping against the U.S. greenback, and fears about the Zika virus are making travellers wary of venturing to Mexico and parts of Latin America.

U.S. air travel to Canada was already up 15.6 per cent for the first six months of the year, according to the Toronto Star.

Tulle agrees that Cape Breton may be benefitting from various trends.

But she has little doubt that Trump has boosted his own people's interest in being somewhere else entirely.

Canadas no stranger to taking in refugees seeking political asylum even if its our neighbors from the South fleeing from Donald Trump.The brash business mogul is currently the front-runner for the U.S. Republican Party. Should things keep swinging in his favor, America could have a sexist and xenophobe in the Oval Office by the fall.And some Canadians are well aware of the political fallout. This is Cape Breton if Donald Trump Wins.Its offering the island of something of a safe haven for anyone looking to escape living in an America with a President Trump.The website is part joke, part personal project of Nova Scotian radio DJ Rob Calabrese. He says he created the site ahead of the anticipated mass exodus of Americans threatening to move to Canada should Trump win.A beautiful coastal town where Muslims can walk freely and women can choose to have abortions? What could Trump that?

Also on HuffPost
UPDATE: The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia has revealed that it intends to sue Weirton Police and the West Virginia State Police for refusing to comply with part of a freedom of information request related to Ronald D. Williams Jr.'s shooting.

"During the course of looking into the incident, it was brought to our attention by Mr. Mader that he was terminated for trying to deescalate the situation," said the organization's interim executive director, Jeff Martin, in a press release.

"This is unacceptable."

He said that the organization would be filing a new freedom of information request for records and documents about Mader's termination.
A New Jersey teacher got quite a shock Monday when she discovered one of her kindergartners playing with a packet of heroin.

The teacher, who works at the International Academy of Trenton in Trenton, N.J., thought it was a candy wrapper and told the boy to put it away, a police spokesman told The Trentonian newspaper.

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When he took it back out, she confiscated it and realized it was heroin.

But there was more where that came from. She found 29 more packets of the drug in his lunchbox.

The Trenton, N.J. school where 30 packets of heroin were found in a child's lunchbox. (Photo: CBS 3 Philly/Screenshot)

Hospital tests found no trace of the drug in the five-year-old's system, according to CBS Philly. Officials also don't believe any kids ingested them.

Police say they're trying to figure out how the boy got access to the substance.

No one has been arrested, and police are working with Child Protective Services.

But parents at the school were horrified.

"Horrible, and I'm grateful that this kid didn't digest this. Thank God he wasn't giving it to another student, said one parent interviewed by WPVI.

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Also on HuffPost
Canada is back  well, at least on Jeopardy! host Alex Trebeks stage.

After a season of being disallowed from applying to be a contestant, officials confirms Canadians are once again eligible for a spot on the long-running quiz show.

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Alex Trebek moderates the All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development Launch at Ronald Reagan Building on Nov. 18, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage)

The American show issued a press release last week, including a reaction from a delighted Trebek now that a solution for a registration issue has been found.

We look forward to seeing more of my fellow citizens from the north on the show soon, Trebek said.

The beloved television personality is Canadian himself, born in the Sudbury, Ont. area.

Showrunners did not clarify what exactly went amiss in the first place. But a change to Canadian privacy laws under the previous Conservative government is suspected to have played a role in the registration hiccup.

All Jeopardy! applicants are required to take a online test. But after Canadas anti-spam law went into effect in 2014, it affected rules surrounding what kind of information can or cannot be shared over the Internet.

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Showrunners were forced to shut out applications from hopeful Canadian contestants in February.

Approximately 23 million people watch the show weekly, according to CBS.
OTTAWA  Canadian Kevin Garratt has been freed from a Chinese prison and is back home with his family.

Garratt was detained in August 2014 along with his wife, Julia, who was later freed, on suspicions they were gathering military intelligence. The Garratts had lived in China for more than 30 years and had run a coffee shop since 2008 in Dandong, which borders North Korea.

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A government official said the Liberals were "delighted Kevin is home now, and reunited with his family." Garratt arrived in Vancouver Thursday.

His release comes one week before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to visit Canada.

In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was delighted Garratt had returned safely to Canada and was reunited with his family once more.

"We remain deeply impressed by the grace and resilience of the Garratt family, especially Kevin and Julia," the prime minister said.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shakes hands with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a news conference in Beijing, China, on Aug. 31, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)

"The Government of Canada has been seized of this case at the highest levels," he added, thanking consular officials who had worked behind the scenes.

Government officials declined to say how the government managed to secure his return. The Conservatives had actively tried for more than a year.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion and Trudeau continuously raised Garratt's case at the highest levels, he said. "I'm not going to interpret what people were thinking, we're just glad he's back."

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In a statement, the family said it "thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers, and also thanks the many individuals who worked to secure Kevin's release."

Statement from the family of Kevin Garratt. #hwpic.twitter.com/VBW9Ix6ozx  Katie Simpson (@CBCKatie) September 15, 2016

Allegations seen as retaliation

The allegations against the Garratts were widely seen as a retaliation and bargaining tactic after Canada arrested a Chinese man in Vancouver named Su Bin. He was wanted by American authorities who believed he had hacked computer networks to obtain military secrets.

Su was arrested five weeks before the Garratts' detention. Earlier this year, Su waived extradition and reached a plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors.

The Garratts' eldest son, Simeon, called the allegations at the time "absurd." When they were not serving customers, his parents spent their time helping locals practice their English and raising money for a charity they had established to help North Koreans, he said.

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In February 2015, Julia was freed on bail and she later returned to Canada. But Kevin, whose health was deteriorating, was indicted on charges he had helped Canadian espionage agencies gather military intelligence on China.

Story continues after slideshow:

Canadians Detained In China Over Alleged Espionage See Gallery

During Trudeau's visit to China earlier this month, the Chinese premier promised that Garratt would be treated lawfully and humanely, according to Reuters.

"For these cases, the departments of both sides will continue to remain in touch and we believe it's essential for our two countries to remove disturbances and work together to uphold the other interests of China-Canada relations," Li said.

In a statement, Garratt's family responded that they were "extremely frustrated and disappointed" by the lack of progress in securing his release.

PM pushing closer ties with China

The family "implores the Canadian and Chinese leadership to set aside their differences and reach a resolution to allow Kevin to exit China and obtain critically needed medical treatment and to return to his family," they said.

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Further incarceration would be detrimental to his health, they said.

At the time, Trudeau said that he had highlighted a number of consular cases, including Kevin Garratts, and looked forward to a closer collaboration with China.

With files from The Canadian Press

Also on HuffPost
Lupita Nyong'o just landed her third Vogue cover. And it's just as special as her first two.

The oh-so-elegant 33-year-old actress returned to her home of Kenya for the October issue of the glossy and she got emotional when she first saw the cover.

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Posted to her Instagram on Thursday, the Academy Award-winning star shared a heartwarming video of herself opening a box with her issue inside. Gripping the glossy in her hands, tears filled Lupita's eyes and we see her moved. The first word out of her mouth? "Home."

I have a secret that I can finally share Guess who came to see me back home in Kenya?! A video posted by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:00am PDT

Looking enchanting on the cover in a colourful Chanel dress embellished with textured floral details and beading, Lupita dons a silk Cult Gaia headwrap and drop earrings by Cathy Waterman. Her beauty look is kept simple with golden eyes and highlighted cheeks.

On the issue's cover, shot by Mario Testino and styled by Tonne Goodman, a quote from Lupita sets up her interview beautifully: "I want to create opportunities for people of colour."

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"Being able to use my platform to expand and diversify the African voice. I feel very passionate about that. It feels intentional, meaningful," Lupita tells Vogue.

The rest of the spread features the actress, who was raised in Mexico, in an array of "glorious prints." The photoshoot took place in Kisumu County and many of the shots feature Lupita showcasing her culture and the Kenyan people.

In the interview, Nyong'o also notes that her new film "Queen of Katwe," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, is an important piece of work as it "changes the narrative" and "offers a new lens on African identity."

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#vogue #october2016 #lupitanyongo : Mario Testino A photo posted by Stylist/Image Consultant   (@_genesis7_) on Sep 15, 2016 at 7:51am PDT

"She's just relentless in her pursuit of authenticity and specificity of the character," playwright Danai Gurira told Vogue of Lupita.

And that's why we love Nyong'o: she's authentic.

TBH, we'll be rushing out to buy Lupita's issue of Vogue. Sorry, Kendall.

LOVE. Thank you @VogueMagazine, @MarioTestino, @TonneGood, @VernonFrancois, @DilokritBarose, @TeamID. #QueenOfKatwe A photo posted by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on Sep 15, 2016 at 5:05am PDT

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The issue hits newsstands Sept 21st.

Follow Huffington Post Canada Style on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter!

Also on HuffPost
Lupita Nyong'o is a big believer in the power of dreams.

While promoting her new movie "Queen of Katwe" at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival this week, the Oscar winner shared her advice for people struggling to figure out what to do with their life.

The Disney film follows Ugandan girl Phiona Mutesi, a chess prodigy, who becomes a Woman Candidate Master after she competes at the World Chess Olympiads.

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In an interview with HuffPost Canada, Nyong'o said she hopes the film inspires young viewers to remember the power of having a dream and a passion.

"When you dream you can create new possibility," she said.

When asked what she hopes viewers will get out of the film, she said: "How important it is to find something you're passionate about and then to find the support to pursue what you're passionate about."

Watch the video above to learn more about the movie's inspiring heroine.

Also on HuffPost
A Conservative leadership contender is welcoming the endorsement of Canada's so-called "Prince of Pot."

Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, whose campaign is built around libertarian principles, won over notorious British Columbia-based marijuana activist Marc Emery on Wednesday.

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A spokesperson for Bernier's campaign says it is another example of the big tent Bernier is trying to construct.

Tory MP Maxime Bernier speaks at the 2016 Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto June 7. (Photo: Eduardo Lima/The Canadian Press)

"Mr. Bernier is trying to build the largest possible coalition of Conservatives, and people who have never voted for the CPC, in order to win this campaign and defeat Justin Trudeau," Maxime Hupe, the Bernier campaign's director of communications, told The Huffington Post Canada in an email.

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"He welcomes the endorsement of everyone who believes in his plan for more freedom, respect, responsibility and fairness."

It's a safe bet Emery's endorsement will raise eyebrows. The activist called former prime minister Stephen Harper a "tyrant" in 2014 when he returned to Canada after serving a prison sentence in the United States for selling marijuana seeds.

Emery said at the time the Tory government "betrayed" him by turning him over to U.S authorities in 2010, and vowed political revenge by campaigning for Justin Trudeau's Liberals.

Tories mocked Emery in an online attack ad and MPs also blasted him the House of Commons as a "criminal and drug dealer."

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Emery's wife, Jodie, sought to run for the Liberals in Vancouver but was not given the green light from the party's candidate review committee. She urged voters to elect a Liberal government, anyway.

Supported Liberals out of obligation

Emery told 580CFRA radio host Evan Solomon Wednesday that he is a libertarian and agrees with "every single policy position" Bernier has taken so far.

"I've been waiting for a Conservative candidate in this country for 30, 40 years who wasn't anchored to all these backwards social conservative things that are settled policy, like abortion, like same-sex marriage," Emery said.

As a "cannabis leader," Emery said he had an obligation to support the Liberals in the last election because the party was committed to legalization.

He said he doesn't even know what Bernier's pot position is  and doesn't care.

'Absolutely I will join the Conservative Party'

"To me, legalizing marijuana is a settled policy," he said, adding that he thinks Bernier's position on the drug will be nuanced and consistent with libertarian principles.

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The activist said he has already given $60 to Bernier's campaign and plans to give more money.

"Absolutely I will join the Conservative Party in order to vote for him for leader," Emery said. "I've never been as enthusiastic in my whole life."

Since forming government, Trudeau's Liberals have pledged to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana, but have not budged on calls from New Democrats to decriminalize the drug in the meantime.

Absolutely I will join the Conservative Party in order to vote for him for leader.  Marc Emery on his support for Maxime Bernier

Bernier has said he supports marijuana legalization "in principle," but wants to see the Liberal plan before commenting further.

The Conservative MP would not tell HuffPost earlier this summer if he supports private businesses selling pot, once its legal, or Canadians growing their own for recreational use.

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Marc Emery speaks at a press conference in Windsor, Ont. on Aug.12, 2014. (Photo: Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)

The Tory MP has, however, accused the Trudeau government on social media of seeking to "expand bureaucracy and the nanny state" when it comes to pot.

Bernier has taken a number of policy positions this summer that he says advance free market principles and economic freedom. He has called for an end to the supply management system for dairy and poultry, the privatization of Canada Post and major airports, and deregulation of the telecom industry.

Last week, Bernier said Quebec's maple syrup producers should be allowed to sell their products as they see fit.

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With a file from The Canadian Press

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Late last week, Prince Harry quietly visited East London's Mildmay Mission Hospital  the same hospital his mother, Princess Diana, made famous back in 1989.

The hospital, which focuses on HIV patients, first gained international attention when the late Princess of Wales shook hands with and kissed an AIDS patient on its premises. The gesture shocked many as there was still a lot of stigma surrounding the illness.

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Princess Diana during a visit to HIV patients at Bethnal Green Hospital, London, February 1989.

During his visit on Friday (a follow-up from a previous public visit he made last December), the prince reportedly remarked, "How on earth did she get away with sneaking in and out?" and said, "If only I could do that!" referring of course to his mother's visit many years ago.

According to Kerry Reeves-Kneip, who showed the prince around that day, Harry confessed it was "very important for him to come [to the hospital]" because it was an important place to his mother and because she made numerous visits there, People magazine reports.

Nearly 20 years after her death, Harry is just as dedicated to fighting AIDS and HIV as his mother was. Earlier this year the prince (who turned 32 years old today) took an HIV test on Facebook Live to demonstrate how quick and easy it is to get tested.

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Prince Harry gets tested for HIV at Burrell St Sexual Health Clinic to show how quick and easy it is to be tested for HIV. It is a free, simple finger prick test and gives nearly instant results. Prince Harry believes that until everyone is relaxed about taking HIV tests - whether from higher risk groups or not - then tackling the stigma and fear surrounding this simple test will continue to allow the virus to win. Watch the test live on The Royal Family's Facebook page. www.facebook.com/thebritishmonarchy. A photo posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jul 14, 2016 at 3:29am PDT

Reflecting on the experience, the prince said his generation needs to be leaders in the fight against HIV or we will all lose the gains that have been made thus far in erasing HIV and AIDS stigma.

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Canadian seniors might live on fixed budgets and face mobility issues, but that doesn't mean they don't still want to be fashionable. But not only can clothing be inaccessible, the clothing industry is also among the world's most wasteful, polluting and deadly.

Garment workers in developing world sweatshops face terrible conditions to produce clothing that the average Canadian buys and then throws out to the tune of 14 kg of textile waste a year, which is 490 million kg total. That's a lot of clothes, though less than the average American, who throws out 32 kg of clothing, or the equivalent of 200 men's T-shirts.

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One of the best ways to reduce waste, of course, is to re-use and recycle, which is what New Circles does.

That's why The Huffington Post is turning the second phase of its ongoing Reclaim waste reduction campaign toward the fashion industry.

One of the best ways to reduce waste, of course, is to re-use and recycle, which is what New Circles does.

The charity runs Toronto's largest clothing bank, GLOW  aka Gently Loved Outfits to Wear  which gives away contemporary used clothing in a retail setting so that eligible low-income residents, including Syrian refugees, can still "shop" for outfits for themselves and their families.

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But that doesn't help the elderly who can't travel to GLOW for mobility or financial reasons, so since 2008, New Circles has been coming to them.

The New Circles Seniors' Mobile Mall travels to six Toronto Community Housing seniors' residences with racks of clothing so that residents can pick new, gently-used outfits.

"We knew a lot of seniors couldn't come to our space because of transportation and mobility limitations, thats how it was born. We chose six buildings in our community that we just saw a huge need for, there was a lot of seniors who were isolated," explains Poppy Phioukham, New Circles' clothing manager, adding that they specially select "great quality clothing" and serve between 800 and 1000 people.

"In Toronto the senior population is only growing, we have to think about all the services that we can provide to seniors, especially in low-income or priority neighbourhoods," she says.

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"I think of clothing as being a basic necessity just like food, just like shelter. I think its an important piece to the health and happiness of seniors."

"The pop-up shop comes twice a year and I look forward to getting some pants" - Vida Austin

Indeed, even the shopping aspect becomes a social activity. New Circles brings refreshments and hosts healthy living workshops, and the seniors get to mingle with others in the building, often hanging around long after the event is over. So along with being fun, it diverts clothing waste from landfills and gets seniors into some nice, new-to-them duds.

"The pop-up shop comes twice a year and I look forward to getting some pants," says Vida Austin. "This jacket that I'm wearing, I got that there, and I wear it all the time because I had a stroke and my arm gets cold sometimes. I can't wear anything really really hot, but I need something to cover my right arm. 

"It's something to look forward to. It's easy, its reasonable, well, it's free," she laughs.

"Yeah, I love it."

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Students have poured almost $60 million into real estate in one of Vancouver's most expensive neighbourhoods, the area's MLA said Wednesday.

A total of $57.1 million worth of housing in ritzy Point Grey was bought by people who marked down their occupation as students, according to a study of nine land title documents by B.C. NDP housing critic David Eby.

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The least expensive home was $1.85 million, while the priciest came in at $31.1 million.

That one is located on Belmont Avenue, home to some of the city's most valuable properties.

A student was also the buyer of a home for $7.19 million, which then sold just over a year later for $8.35 million.

But what really stuck out for Eby was that $40 million worth of the purchases were supported by mortgages from three Canadian banks: the Bank of Montreal (BMO), CIBC or HSBC.

And the provincial government isn't paying the issue nearly the attention it should be, he said at a Wednesday news conference.

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"The main issue here today, in my mind, is that when you have students buying tens of millions of dollars worth of property and flipping homes, that should be a red flag," he said.

"And especially when you see mortgages on the property, that should be a red flag for how do these students qualify for mortgages, where did the money come from, how is it that they're playing such a large part in the real estate market in Vancouver?"

Eby's analysis flowed out of a 2015 study he carried out with Andy Yan, an urban planner and acting director of Simon Fraser University's City program.

That study looked at 172 home sales in three Vancouver neighbourhoods on the west side over a six-month period.

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It found that 66 per cent of the homes were purchased by people with non-anglicized Chinese surnames, which suggested to Yan that they were recent arrivals to Canada.

The top occupation among all buyers was listed as "homemaker" or "housewife" on land title documents; businessperson was second; and students accounted for eight properties in that study.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson responded to it by saying, "What we don't need ... is the blaming of any one group of people  or any one kind of last name  for the challenge of housing affordability."

But Eby expanded on that work by looking at the student-owned properties in that study. And now he wonders about the lending practices of Canadian banks.

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Lending practices questioned

Canadians have to do a number of things to qualify for a mortgage, such as proving their income. So Eby questions how homemakers and students, who traditionally don't have any income, are qualifying for $40 million worth of mortgages.

"We should see a lot of pressure from our provincial government on the feds to fix this rule so that at least British Columbians have the same access to mortgage financing that everybody else does," he said.

"It shouldnt be that you work at a disadvantage because you live, work and pay taxes in Metro Vancouver.

Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister who oversees housing, said this week that the government is looking into concerns by Canada's financial regulator that income verification has been subpar for non-Canadians, The Globe and Mail reported.

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"We are clearly concerned by the fact that there may be ways in which Canadians are not being treated equally in having access to the housing market," he said.

Meanwhile, provincial and municipal governments have implemented a number of measures to boost housing affordability in Vancouver.

B.C., for one, implemented a property transfer tax of 15 per cent on homes purchased by foreign buyers, which came into effect on Aug. 2.

Sales have since plummeted, but they were already falling for months before that, so it's difficult to determine the influence it's having on the market.

The City of Vancouver, meanwhile, is looking to introduce a tax of two per cent on the assessed value of homes that are left empty, in an effort to make more rental housing available.

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Jupiterimages via Getty Images Thinking girl

Many people argue that the best way to help someone and improve their quality of life is to give them a job. This may be true, however, I would also argue that one of the best ways to help someone is to teach them and give them the skills and resources to become their own boss.

Most people would agree that we need to have a healthy private sector to support government programs and services.

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So, how can we nurture and develop our private sector?

We can tap into the skill, talent, creativity, and innovation of our youth to kick-start new business development ideas and start-ups.

The BC Ministry of Education can develop a new Business Development and Start-Up program for high school students in Grades 10 to 12. This can be a three year program with course credits and college and university transfer options.

Students can be provided with everything they need to develop a business plan, do market feasibility research, and launch the start up. Students can hook up with various non-profits after graduation to link them up to business mentors, further funding sources, and additional expertise.

Students can be taught not only about business basics and market economics in high school but also the social, political, environmental, and cultural impact their business ideas will have on society. The goal would be for our youth to develop sustainable projects that have maximum benefit for society as a whole.

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I think this is a great way to inject some fresh new ideas into our economy while providing an exciting outlet for youth to focus their energies on, especially away from drugs and gangs.

Not everyone is cut out for college or university. Even if you go and get a degree there is no guarantee you'll get a decent professional job afterwards. Even worse, you might end up thousands of dollars in debt.

Our high school students are full of energy, enthusiasm, and youthful exhuberance. Many are highly talented and creative. Why not tap into and direct this energy for the greater good? Not only will we be providing new jobs and opportunities and stimulating the economy, we will be diversifying our economy and potentially growing and expanding new business ideas over time.

This BC Business Development and Start-Up program is an investment in our future and can inject a lot of life and new hopes and dreams in our youth. We need to plant a seed and nurture and water it and watch it grow. An economy does not grow overnight. We need to develop the infrastructure to watch innovation and new ideas flourish.

Why not give it a chance and see what our next generation can come up with? Our youth may surprise us all. Especially with the rapid advances in the high tech and knowledge economy, our youth are well placed to develop advances in this area as they are often the front end users of the latest gadget.

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With this BC Business Development and Start-Up program in high school, BC may just end up being home to the next Microsoft, IKEA, or Facebook.

Alex Sangha is an award winning author and social worker based in Surrey, B.C. For more information check out http://alexsangha.com
(Photo: Martin Divisek/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In the September 5 edition of the Calgary Herald, we read that "A group that represents oilfield service and supply companies asked Ottawa earlier this year to use equalization payments as leverage to get reluctant provinces onside with pipeline projects."

Mr. Mark Salkeld, president of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada, recommended that Ottawa "amend equalization payment criteria such that transfer payments can be reduced or forfeit if a recipient province refuses transit of extra-provincial goods and/or products, or unduly impedes another province's market access, including unreasonable delays to transportation infrastructure projects."

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This is not the first attempt by fossil fuel companies to use equalization payments to essentially blackmail citizens and governments.

First off, equalization payments are an intrinsic part of the Constitution of 1982, meaning the spokesman for the Petroleum Services Association of Canada seems to be suggesting something illegal according to the fundamental law of the country.

Secondly, many groups in Quebec are demanding that the National Energy Board(NEB) for the Energy East project and its president should not be allowed to hold public hearings since they had secret meetings with Mr. Jean Charest, a consultant of TransCanada Pipeline at the time. Such meetings are unethical for a judicial or quasi-judicial institution like the NEB.

In addition, Commissioner Jacques Gauthier even admitted to insider trading a few years ago. Does Mr. Salkeld really consider that demanding a fair and ethical process under the law constitutes "unreasonable delays" and should warrant withdrawal of equalization payments?

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This is not the first attempt by fossil fuel companies to use equalization payments to essentially blackmail citizens and governments. Mr. Michael Binnion, CEO of Questerre Energy and president of the Quebec Oil and Gas Association (QOGA), made a similar pitch in April 2013. May I remind Mr. Salkeld and Mr. Binnion that in Quebec we are working overtime to get rid of corruption and collusion; these efforts can be observed in investigative journalism by organizatiosn such as Radio-Canada's Enquete, the Charbonneau Commission and the Permanent Police Against Corruption (UPAC). Would Mr. Salkeld claim that fighting corruption and collusion with due process of the law is creating "unreasonable delays?"

Mark Salkeld of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal)

Before using the threat of equalization payments as a "poke in the ribs" to provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec, perhaps the petroleum industry should rethink its own dependency on subsidies. It should be aware that it, too, is vulnerable to budgetary policy.

In Canada, federal and provincial taxpayers subsidize the fossil-fuel industry to the tune of $3.3 billion a year in cash handouts or tax breaks. The federal government's share is $1.3 billion. In other words, a percentage of the federal income tax I pay each year helps the already rich oil industry.

True, my tax dollar helped Ontario's automobile industry during the recession of 2008. That's OK! But why should my tax dollar help the oil industry instead of the renewable energy sector? Promoters of free enterprise regularly claim that subsidies are for inefficient companies that don't deserve to survive! So, why those billions to the oil industry?

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I am not the only one who believes that subsidies for the oil industry should be a thing of the past. In Reuters, (August 29, 2016), we read: "Insurers with $1.2 trillion under management called on Tuesday for the Group of 20 to set a timetable to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels by 2020 when they meet at a summit in China this weekend." To be consistent with the Conference of Paris, the governments of the G-20 must end costly tax subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

If questionable actions don't work behind closed doors, then TransCanada will undermine a government's self-determination with judicial and financial blackmail.

Over and above the call to remove equalization payments for provinces who question its pipeline projects, the arrogance of the petroleum industry is apparent when it applies brutal blackmail to browbeat legitimate and duly elected governments to do its bidding, invoking NAFTA's Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clause.

Last year, President Barack Obama rejected Keystone XL because he was convinced it was not "in the best interest" of his country. With many options possible, his administration chose one course of action for the good of the USA. Future historians will decide if he made the right decision. As in any public policy made for the common good, some people are happy with this decision, others are not. Such are the political realities of a free, open and democratic country.

Unhappy with this decision, TransCanada Pipelines chose to directly challenge the sovereignty of the government of the United States with a $15 billion lawsuit. As the public affair program TTIP, Might is Right by VPRO explained in October 2015, these ISDS clauses are often used to steamroll any government who dares to put the interest of people ahead of the interest of big money. If the American democracy won't accept its pipeline, then Trans Canada Pipelines demands that American taxpayers pay $15 billion out of the $16 billion required to build Energy East. What arrogance!

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Speaking of ISDS clauses, on March 16, 2016 in Levis, during the Quebec environmental review agency's (BAPE) hearing, Patrick Bonin of Greenpeace asked Mr. Bergeron, vice-president of Energy East for Quebec and NB, if his company would refrain from suing Quebec or Canada under NAFTA's chapter 11 if its pipeline should be rejected, either because it is inconsistent with the legal obligation to reduce green houses gases (GHG) or because it lacked social acceptance.

Mr. Bergeron dodged the question. In other words, if questionable actions don't work behind closed doors, then TransCanada will undermine a government's self-determination with judicial and financial blackmail.

Honesty is the best policy. With that in mind, my parents and my teachers taught me that the law is the supreme example of fairness in society. Furthermore, my readings, many rooted in the fifth report of the IPCC, have convinced me that mankind must head rapidly towards a low-carbon economy in the 21st Century.

These are my values. Does the use of financial blackmail based on the withdrawal of equalization payments and ISDS clauses to promote its 20th Century infrastructures represent the real values of the petroleum industry?

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Have you ever felt like this?

Sitting at my desk in my math class, I'm finding it hard to concentrate. The dry topic and droning voice of my teacher sends my mind elsewhere. I'm still upset about this morning. I don't know why my parents are always on my case.

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They nag at me for everything -- to clean my room, to be home by my ridiculously early curfew, to get better grades, to figure out what I'm going to do with my life... I'm 16 years old! Seriously, I have more than enough time. And anyways, how can I possibly figure out what to do with my life when my boyfriend just broke up with me for another girl at school, and my best friend has ditched me for her new science pal?

I'm going to fail this math course and my parents are giving me heat. They don't listen.

Suddenly, my heart starts beat rapidly. I feel dizzy and start to sweat. I don't know what's happening with me. I try to focus again on the teacher, try to pretend this is all in my head. But it makes it worse, I feel like he is speaking in slow motion. Everything is in slow motion. My chest starts to feel heavy, like someone is sitting on me -- I can't breathe -- everything is getting blurry -- what's going on?!

I hear the echo of my friend's voice asking me if I'm OK. I feel like I'm dying. I need to go to the hospital. Someone call 9-1-1. Something is wrong.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is the body's way of responding to danger and in fact is quite normal. It is an automatic alarm that goes off when you feel threatened, afraid or under stress. It motivates us to study harder and warns us when we are in dangerous situations.

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When you experience anxiety, your body's fight-flight-freeze response is triggered. You might feel like running from the situation (flight), yelling or crying (fight) or become more alert (freeze). However, this response can become a problem when the perceived danger is not actually dangerous at all.

Sometimes, the anxiety becomes so frequent and intense that it begins to take over our lives. Anxiety disorders can include panic attacks, phobias and social anxiety. In all of these cases, a person with an anxiety disorder has repeated anxious thoughts that interfere with daily life and is accompanied by noticeable, sometimes debilitating symptoms. It can affect how we think, feel and act.

Some causes of anxiety may include genetics (a family history of anxiety), a chemical imbalance in the brain or a significant stressful event(s) such as a death, break-up or ongoing bullying at school.

It may seem as though things will never get better. Know that anxiety is a treatable condition and that you can overcome this.

What does it feel like to have anxiety?

If you have anxiety or think you might, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Anxiety is the most common mental illness in Canada. In fact, one in four Canadians will have at least one anxiety disorder in their lifetime.

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You may experience just a few or all of the symptoms of anxiety -- it is different for everyone and, because of this, it might feel like no one truly understands what you are experiencing. It can feel like everything inside is racing and tense and you're about to burst out of your skin. Or a tightness in your throat and a knot in your stomach, mixed with obsessive worry and fear. Or a wave of exhaustion and the inability to focus on anything, making you want to avoid everything and everyone. Each person's story is unique.

Do I have anxiety?

It is certainly not unusual to worry or get the odd case of butterflies. But if anxiety is affecting your life and you are missing out on opportunities because of fears and worries, it may be important to consider seeking help.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I worry excessively about the future or bad things happening (for example, earthquakes, a loved one getting hurt or sick, failing a test)?

Do I often feel restless or on edge?

Do I often feel uncomfortable in social situations or when talking to unfamiliar people?

Do I spend at least an hour a day repeating things, such as washing, checking, arranging or counting?

These questions come from a quiz created by AnxietyBC, a leader in this area. If you answered yes to any of them or believe anxiety might be a problem for you, it is important that you talk to someone you trust like a parent, counsellor or trusted health professional.

Where can you go for help?

Of course, having the courage to ask for help can sometimes be easier said then done. This is especially true when your mental health and emotions are involved. Start by speaking to a trusted individual in your life: a parent, teacher, counsellor or health professional.

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At times, you may feel overwhelmed or alone, and it may seem as though things will never get better. Know that anxiety is a treatable condition and that you can overcome this. This is about your happiness and well-being. By speaking up and asking for help, you can start on your road to recovery.

There are also great online resources to assist you in finding out what help is available in your community:

Strategies to manage anxiety

With the right treatment and support, you can learn to better control and recover from anxiety. The recovery process might be different for everyone, but learning how to identify triggers that cause you to feel anxiety and use strategies to lessen the negative responses are ways to successfully control symptoms.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is one of the most common therapies used to help manage anxiety. It helps us to understand how thoughts and behaviours are connected to our feelings and how to change these negative responses into more realistic and positive problem-solving approaches.

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You can actually start to practice some of the skills taught in CBT in your own home! Find a quiet, comfy place and try some of these exercises:

We all know technology is cool (hey, you are probably reading this on your phone or iPad right now!), so mental health advocates have also developed a number of free apps to help you cope with anxiety and can be used in combination with other professional supports.

Here are some apps worth checking out:

Mindshift is an app designed to help teens and young adults cope with anxiety.

Headspace features "a gym membership for the mind" and includes meditation and mindfulness techniques to help manage stress and anxiety.

Self-Help for Anxiety Management takes on a holistic view of anxiety treatment so you can learn how to better manage your emotions and physical reactions to them.

What's Up? teaches CBT techniques to help you learn more about how you think and how your thoughts affect your emotions.

Take time for self-care

One of the most important ways to help manage anxiety is through self-care. Setting time aside each day to care for ourselves gives us more energy and focus in order to manage stress and make positive changes in our lives. Don't feel guilty for taking the time for you! Even if you have an incredibly long to-do list, take a few minutes in the day to reconnect with yourself. You deserve this time. And your mind and body will feel better for it!

Here are some self-care strategies you can try:

Listen to music

Keep a diary

Talk to someone you trust or spend time with friends and family

Get as much sleep as possible

Exercise and eat a healthy diet

Like many things in life, managing anxiety takes practice so try not to be too hard on yourself if you don't feel better right away. Take things one day at a time and celebrate your accomplishments, both big and small. Know you are not alone. Don't be afraid to ask for help if your anxiety is affecting your life. There are people and places around you who want to help and support you in your journey to recovery and happiness.

If you or someone you know is at risk please contact your nearest Crisis Centre or call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 to speak to a counsellor.

Frame Of Mind is a new series inspired by The Maddie Project that focuses on teens and mental health. The series will aim to raise awareness and spark a conversation by speaking directly to teens who are going through a tough time, as well as their families, teachers and community leaders. We want to ensure that teens who are struggling with mental illness get the help, support and compassion they need. If you would like to contribute a blog to this series, please email cablogteam@huffingtonpost.com

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The Liberal Party's hydro subsidy smacks of desperation. It's bad policy, and playing politics over rising electricity prices is going to be expensive.

Just like with the gas plant scandal, the Liberals are putting their political self-interest ahead of good public policy. They are trying to buy your vote with your money. It is going to cost us big time -- over $1 billion a year to be exact.

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This subsidy will do nothing to solve the reasons why electricity rates are rising. It won't help you save money.

It is a slap in the face of people who are trying to do the right thing by making ends meet while reducing their energy use.

What it will do is take money from one pocket and put it in the other. The eight per cent subsidy on your bill is being paid for with funds from the Ontario treasury. The same treasury you pay your taxes into. So, you pay either way -- on your tax bill or your hydro bill.

I'm sure you can think of many ways a billion dollars could be spent on improving public services, whether it's health care, education, job creation, or reducing poverty. We could even use some to reduce Ontario's sky high debt.

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Instead, the Liberals offer a perverse subsidy. It undermines conservation programs and primarily benefits the rich -- people with big houses who use more energy. The more electricity you use the more you benefit. It is a slap in the face of people who are trying to do the right thing by making ends meet while reducing their energy use.

Instead of expensive political games, the Liberals should try honesty and invest in real solutions that provide long-term relief.

One reason prices are going up is that Ontario is producing more electricity than we need and then selling it at a loss. We all pay for this in what is called the Global Adjustment (GA).

According to the Ontario Energy Board, 42 per cent of the cost increase in the GA is from money spent on nuclear, 26 per cent on natural gas generation, and 17 per cent on renewables such as hydro, wind and solar.

There is a better way. Here's a plan to meet our energy needs without adding billions to our provincial debt.

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First, halt all mega projects to spend money on more generation that we don't need. Why spend billions to rebuild outdated nuclear plants when we already produce more electricity than we use? No nuclear project in Ontario's history has delivered on time or budget.

Second, stop the fire sale of Hydro One. Numerous experts, including Ontario's Financial Accountability Officer, have shown that selling Hydro One is a money loser for Ontario. It could also lead to bad policy outcomes. Why would a privatized Hydro One want to help people save money by saving energy when it is more profitable for the company to maximize the amount of electricity flowing through its power lines?

Ontario needs honest solutions, not self-interested political pandering.

Third, help people save money by saving electricity, instead of rewarding them for using more. Canceling the rebuilding of nuclear plants would save billions that the government could invest in making your home or business more efficient. This would help you save money today, tomorrow and well into the future by reducing your energy use.

Reducing demand also means we won't need as much new generation. Whatever the source -- wind, solar, natural gas or nuclear -- new generation is expensive to build. Combined with responsible price relief by lowering the off peak price for electricity, we can save money by avoiding spending big bucks on peak load generation.

Fourth, we can import low-cost water power from Quebec if electricity demand exceeds supply. Quebec enjoys some of the lowest electricity prices in the world because of their abundant hydro resources. Much of the extra electricity is sold to the US at prices 1/3 the cost of rebuilt nuclear plants. Quebec and Ontario make good electricity partners since Quebec's peak demand is in winter and Ontario's is in summer. This solution is far less expensive than rebuilding nuclear plants.

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Ontario needs honest solutions, not self-interested political pandering. The Liberal plan to throw your money at their problem won't fix this mess. Powerful insiders want to preserve the status quo, wining and dining politicians who preserve it.

But the people of Ontario should come first. And they deserve real solutions that work long term.

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While travelling, I'm always looking to be inspired, get re-energized and experience new things -- this is especially true when I'm on the hunt for the next cocktail trend I can bring home. On a recent trip to Central Europe, I was able to merge my love of mixology with ingredients from around the world.

Three cities that really stood out for me are Prague, Budapest and Warsaw. Each offered a distinct take on the intersection between culture, cocktails and nightlife -- and each served a different kind of traveller. Below is a mini-guide to the area, with stops at some of my favourite bars as well as a cocktail recipe inspired by each destination -- so you can savour your trip even once you're back.

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For the Off-the-Beaten-Path Traveller

Throw away your guidebooks -- you won't need one if you're looking for an authentic drinking experience in Prague. The majority of the city's bars seem to pay homage to the Czech Republic's political break from Communism towards a more Western style of mixology. One of my favourite watering holes, Bukowski's, echoes this shift.

What really stands out in this cozy spot is the impressive list of cocktails and local beers, and, most importantly, the talented bar staff. The owner, a Canadian expat from Vancouver, isn't interested in having his place become just another pub-crawl destination, so you won't find it listed in most travel books. Enjoy sipping in peace! Here's my spin on a drink inspired by the Czech capital:

2 oz Becherovka

4oz tonic water

2 dashes grapefruit bitters

lemon zest

For the Nightlife-Loving Traveller

Budapest is one of Hungary's most popular cities for nightlife due to its romkocsma, or "ruin" pubs. Over the years, these cultural and social drinking hubs have become hot spots for tourists, too. With their bare-bones aesthetic and unique atmosphere, ruin pubs are used to showcase art films and live music from around the world, in addition to serving a great cocktail.

One of my favourite romkocsma is Szimpla Kert, which is known for attracting large crowds and an international following. The wild decor is matched only by the extensive drinks menu, including artisanal beers, wines and spritzers. Try my ode to a Budapest tipple:

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1oz Flor de Cana

 oz Zwack Unicum

1oz simple syrup

For the No-Frills Traveller

The zakaska bars are a nostalgic nod to the city's Communist-era vodka bars -- and a draw for visitors to Warsaw. Instead of focusing on the glamour of cocktail outposts with long drinks lists, these bars attract people looking for a truly authentic experience, offering a single brand of alcohol and beer.

My favourite is Pijalnia Wodki i Piwa, a Communist-themed bar known for its old school vibe. The bartender serves one type of Polish vodka -- respect! The eclectic vibe puts the focus on eating and drinking simply -- the true and traditional expression of a dive bar. Here's my Warsaw-inspired Mule:

1.5oz Bison Grass Vodka

4oz Ginger Beer

3oz fresh lime

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Until the end of September, you can catch summer seasonal non-stop flights from Toronto to Prague, Budapest and Warsaw with Air Canada Rouge. For more information, visit www.aircanada.com.

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Caribbean Tales In The North. TIFF Owns The South

When it comes to the downtown Toronto International Film Festival(TIFF) and the College Street Caribbean Tales Film Festival, (CTFF) it is the Two Solitudes of the movie world. TIFF has the Big Names, the Big Movies and a Big Army of volunteers to make sure that the ticket holders stay off the red carpets and out of the VIP parties. At CTFF, the actors, actresses, directors and crew are in-your-face minglers and if there was a red carpet they would be dragging movie fans onside to whine with them!

Case in point. Last Thursday the CTFF kicked off with a beer and pizza gala at the Cafe Diplomatico (aka the Dip) on College Street just steps from the Royal Theatre (festival home).

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Actors and actresses who are household names to Trinidadians and Jamaicans but unknown in Canada, were so willing to pose with fans, the Caribbean Media, and one lone CBC reporter, the selfie sessions spilled out onto College stopping street cars literally in their tracks.

Jacinth Sutphin outside the Dip - Caribbean Tales Film Festival Gala

At TIFF it was a similar but different scene. There were no streetcars on King Street to stop because the city has closed the road in front of TIFF headquarters for the duration of the festival. Movie fans jammed the new movie mall hoping to grab pics of the stars, but had to settle with selfies in front of the TIFF building (no fools, the Stars come into the theatre via the parking garage).

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TIFF is a well-run machine. Line-ups are orderly. Speeches are timed to the second. Everything starts on time. At the CTFF launch, the delays were endless, speeches took longer than the running time of the movie, and the theatre was oversold, causing organizers to offer free passes-for-life to anyone willing to give up their seats.

The African American/Jamaican movie Diary of A Badman (DOAB) opened the Caribbean Tales Film Festival. Winner of the 2015 Jamaica Film Festival, DOAB was getting its Canadian premiere. An unknown low budget movie to most, at the end of the 104-minute long police drama, the audience cheers could be heard out on the street.

Jacinth Sutphin and filmmaker Diemiruaye Deniran

American filmmaker Diemiruaye Deniran made Diary of A Badman on what many directors showing at TIFF would consider pin money. What made the audience so supportive was that underneath this bang-bang shoot 'em-up film was a story that dealt with issues that resonant in a Black Live Matters America.

This is how Deniran describes his movie:

"We are still fighting for freedom in this country. You overstand?" How far would you go for your career and to get the job done? Lady Detective, Simone Williams (played by actress/producer Jacinth Sutphin), a Jamaican immigrant to the U.S., dreams of working undercover on a high profile case. She finally gets her chance to go undercover to catch a notorious drug dealer, Winston Bailey aka Bucky. She falls victim to his charming personality; compromising her assignment. Lines begin to blur, as she gets in deeper. Over time, Williams develops a close bond with Bailey, and their loyalties are put to the ultimate test."

Jacinth Sutphin, according to Deniran, is about to make that move from the CTFF to the next downtown TIFF: "She is very driven, compassionate, outgoing, ambitious, spontaneous, and has this aura that lights up any room she enters. Jacinth hopes to one day be known as a very successful, inspiring, and influential award winning actress who represents her Jamaican origin very well on a mainstream platform."

"It was such a rush to go back to Jamaica. I was born and raised in St Mary's," she told me prior to the movie. " It meant everyone got see where I have taken (my talents). It was a lot of fun to take the movie to Cayman as well!"

After the movie Director Deniran was on stage with the cast, talking about what comes next! " I brought the script for the sequel with me, and was working on it in the plane here."

Deniran made DOAB with no Hollywood faces, and no investors. With the sequel, he says it is going to be different and he and Sutphin are going to be filming in Jamaica later this year). They are well aware that TIFF attracts not just the Big Stars but the Big Investors too. Script in hand they plan to head downtown this week and bridge the gulf between Toronto's Two Film Festival Solitudes.

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DOAB will next be screened in New York City, one night only, at the "Ocktober Film Festivall" October 8, 2016, Symphony Space Theater.
The five things you need to know on Thursday, September 15, 2016

1) NUCLEAR STRINGS THEORY

The row over Hinkley, with its complex financial strike prices and contracts for difference, is boring the wits off some people. But this isnt a little local difficulty affecting Somerset and energy wonks.

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The sheer scale of the projects cost, the jobs dependent on it, the signals it sends about other infrastructure schemes like HS2, as well as our future relations with China post-Brexit, are all good enough reasons to sit up and take notice.

ITVs scoop yesterday that the deal with the French and Chinese will now go ahead has been followed up with further confirmation from the BBC. The Times adds its intel to a Bloomberg report that French officials confirm Theresa May will approve the 18bn deal but with significant strings attached. Among those could be lower costs, a smaller stake for the Chinese and tougher regulatory hurdles.

Theres a strong suspicion in industry that the strict caveats could be enough to deter the Chinese from going ahead with building (as opposed to investing in) a new, more controversial plant in Bradwell, Essex. No.10 hinted yesterday that the two deals were very separate contracts, which is not really how the Chinese see it.

Theres a theory floating around that May is imposing such strict conditions that the French or Chinese just pull out, with the commercial strings just a cover for killing a deal that the spooks are very nervous about. But if it goes ahead, it could prove that May means business, and that if you bargain hard, you get what you want.

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There was a strong rumour that the announcement would come on Monday (when the House is in recess), but it now sounds like it will be in the Commons this afternoon in an Oral Statement.

2) HIT MAN AND, ER

Yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn had his best outing at PMQs in some time, seizing on the grammar schools row to make Theresa May look very uncomfortable (and flat-footed) indeed. The Tory leader had achieved that seemingly impossible feat of uniting the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Of course, some MPs have argued that the bar is so low for Corbyn at PMQs that he simply has to avoid tripping over his shoelaces and its a victory. But the Labour leader, albeit a week late, made the Tory backbenches squirm (their silence was palpable) by focusing on one issue, quoting Cameron back at May, and reacting to his opponents non-answers.

Yet within hours of the session, the Corbyn leadership campaign team released a hit list of Labour MPs who it felt had undermined him with their conduct and online abuse. Jess Phillips, Tom Blenkinsop, Frank Field, Anna Turley even Tom Watson, were all named (Ive been passed some of their offending tweets too, many of them monitored by the pro-Corbyn @LabourAbuse Twitter account).

A Corbyn spokesman had also urged Owen Smith to disown the MPs. The whole thing triggered a huge backlash, and not just from MPs. Senior Corbyn allies were furious that the media team had ruined a rare day of unity. And there were suspicions that this was down to the real 'hit man' on Team Jez: John McDonnell, who is thought to want a harder line on rooting out PLP rebels after Corbyn's expected re-election.

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One Corbyn insider texted me: It is Pound Shop Malcolm Tucker stuff..It is the height of incompetence from the leadership campaign media operation. A Labour source told me: It was mistakenly put out by a junior member of the team, who has been suitably chastised. Its unclear if chastised meant sent to the gulag.

But Corbyn himself seemed to endorse the hit list in the SkyNews hustings last night. There was information put out there which is statements that colleagues made on the record and its all stuff that is out there on the public record. Asked about Watsons remark that Momentum were a rabble, Corbyn replied He said it.

Corbyn has a Big Speech at Bloomberg today in which we are told he will lay out his economic plans. He may well want to renew the olive branch to former Shadow frontbenchers and the PLP.

Labour will move the writ for the Batley and Spen by-election today at 9.30am, with the poll on October 20 (and a female candidate all but certain). Will the Tories will move the writ for Witney, to avoid a November by-election?

3) BRUCE-Y BONUS

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley will today make a Commons statement on the BBCs Royal Charter, setting out plans for the Corporation over the next 11 years. The newly promoted Cabinet minister is keen to get on the front foot and the overnight brief is all about highly paid BBC talent.

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Bradley is tightening a clause in the charter so that all employees and presenters paid more than 150,000 a year will be identified. Currently, the BBC reveals the salary details of executives who earn more than 150,000, but the government wants it to go further.

The original plan set the level of disclosure at 450,000, which would have affected names including Chris Evans, Gary Lineker and Graham Norton, but the lower threshold would increase the number of current stars whose salaries would be made public from seven to 109. Strictlys Claudia Winkelman and newsreader/Antiques Roadshow queen Fiona Bruce may well feature.

The Beeb has argued that releasing stars' salary details would affect its ability to attract and retain top talent. And after the row over Bake Off this week, its defenders have a wider case to make about Tory cuts preventing it from delivering populist, public service television.

BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR

Watch this member of the SkyNews hustings debate say everybody HATES Tony Blair.

4) HERMANS PERMITS

Nigel Farage famously once told former EU president Herman van Rompuy that he had all the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk. That was back in 2010, which seems eons ago now (as EU leaders gather in Bratislava for a May-free summit), but today the ex-EU chief is back warning about the timetable for Brexit.

Van Rompuy has told the BBCs Today prog that no serious negotiations will take place on Brexit until after the German elections in October 2017 - even if the UK triggers Article 50. Hes kinda stating what many suspected, of course, but has the advantage of being very well plugged-in to the Brussels machine. So all this talk of work permits, visas, single markets and other big issues will be so much hot air for a year at least.

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Jean-Claude Juncker was unabashed yesterday as he repeated his calls for a common military force in the EU. He also used his annual state of the Union speech to declare Europe means peace. Farages message was more like peace off. He declared the EUs divorce lawyers such as Guy Verhofstadt were federalist fanatics.

Farages own exit looms though, from the UKIP leadership. The partys annual conference gets going in Bournemouth tomorrow and our man Owen Bennett has been sizing up the new era for the party.

5) SAFE SPACE CADETS

The whole idea of safe spaces in universities causes massive friction between its proponents and opponents. The concept originated as a way for gay people and others to meet without fear of being abused. But in the last few years the the term has been widened to include places where students can avoid offensive ideas. In the States, its a Big Thing.

Theresa May stepped into the row at PMQs (having rather bizarrely confirmed Christmas means Christmas), saying the idea of shutting down debate among students was quite extraordinary.

There was another dividing line with Corbyn here however. Labour sources later indicated that he did not agree with Mays position, highlighting his strong opposition to abusive behaviour in public debate. Corbyn believes the issue is a matter for universities, we were told.

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All cities are different, but what people want are essentially the same. Intelligent cities cherish and cultivate their artistic energy, but often disturb that nutritious force with high rents, intrusive government policies and starvation of Arts funding. Dublin, Ireland, is no exception. In Ireland, the Arts largely get rated based on their economic revenue instead of their social impact. Civilised societies throughout history can be somewhat measured on their success because of their creative contributions to the rest of that society as a whole. From ancient Greece all the way to modern-day New York City.

On a more prudent scale, one might venture something Irish writer Colm Toibin mentioned in a recent interview with Bridget Hourican, the whole idea of what an Arts Degree is supposed to be. When Toibin was a student in UCD, he always felt at the centre of things, that the Arts Degree was almost the one that mattered most, and that the Arts faculty mattered most. Toibin, currently Irene and Sidney B. Silverman professor in New York, where he teaches Literature courses, pointed out that "if a university isn't making it's Arts degree into the great degree, it also falls down in other areas. I noticed in Princeton and Columbia that there is a huge amount of energy put into the humanities, from the level of President down. If you don't pay attention to the humanities, something gets lost in the university's sense of itself and that effects everyone and all faculties. Excellence needs to be felt in every area."

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Many projects happening here in Dublin prove to be hideously interesting, not least of all, the project 'IN PLACE'. IN PLACE is a collective of artists from Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow. They are occupying vacant urban space in abandoned lots, and transforming them into galleries. Instead of allowing empty unused 'non-places' to be neglected, they are taking the initiative to transform them. A phenomenon, naturally, that visits many places the world over. It would be initiatives like this, one might suppose, that the government would channel particular concentration on helping to finance.

Finished up today @INPLACEDUB, had a great time! Thanks guys see on Friday.... pic.twitter.com/A2KosjBm33  Markus Davies (@MsDs13) August 22, 2016

One of the few consistent voices in the Irish Parliament attempting to draw attention to the lack of assistance to the Arts in Ireland, is Irish Senator Fintan Warfield, who drew up a snappy document entitled 'Creative Communities'. Warfield is one of the few competent young voices in mainstream Irish politics, a constituency of which I have had to endure for many years. Most young people in Irish politics just join a party, say what will appeal to the older members and get, to quote the great philosopher Beyonce, in Formation. 'Creative Communities' briefly outlined a number of key proposals, including: the reinstatement of funding for the arts, the overhaul of state boards, and safeguarding the right of every young person to explore their creative potential in order to broaden their own perceptions of what constitutes 'art'.

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Over the next month IN PLACE will be transforming 12 Tara Street, Dublin, from a vacant office building, in to a functioning art gallery, and will host their final exhibition in September. As a symbolic space, 12 Tara Street is proposed to be testament to the potential of so many empty and neglected spaces within Dublin. It includes many young Dublin artists like Conor Coughlan, Eric Stynes, Stephen Burke, Louise Rowland, Stephen Clarke, and Jordan McQuaid.

Work in progress shot from my grad show work 'Quantify'. A project surveying the vacant land in Dublin. A photo posted by Stephen Clarke (@clephenstarke) on Apr 24, 2016 at 6:20pm PDT

Funding an initiative like this could energise Dublin to compete with upcoming art studio based cities. The affordability and opportunity artists' studios provide is a authoritative judge of cultural cache. Edna O'Brien once told me that of all the shops in London during the riots over there, the only shop that had not been looted, was a 'Waterstones' - a book shop. How horrid, she remarked, that a book had not about it the same cultural cache as a pair of jeans. I hope one might not have the unfortunate opportunity to say the same of the city that inspired 'Ulysses'. Three of the pioneering places internationally that have benefitted from the art studio based communities include Havana, Cuba; Hong Kong; and Leipzig, Germany. Even in Brooklyn, the art communities exist alongside the hustle of everything else.

Havana has had a healthy art market since the 1980's. Unfortunately, for non-Cuban nationals looking to set up shop in Havana, a residency visa is hard to come by. It has drawn a lot of artists that were forced out of New York City due to the grotesque gentrification that ousted them from the city they helped build. This cultural erosion was something I discussed with many people while I lived in New York City. Everyone from Punk rock artist Patti Smith to my personal favourite writer, Gary Indiana, journalist Renata Adler and Chelsea Hotel resident and former dancer Merle Lister, all expressed irritation and some lamentation for what New York has become thanks to ignorant foreign billionaires looking to suburbanise their city.

In Hong Kong, they had record crowds at Art Basel in recent times, and they also do not tax on art. Many artists driven out of their cities because of gentrification and rent rises flocked to Hong Kong since the turn of the millennium, making use of industrial buildings left empty by the migration of manufacturing to China. Leipzig in Germany, is largely being heralded as "the next Berlin", a label that works to irritate people from both cities, as each of them have their own very individual perceptions of what they are. The new Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts opened in 2004, and the number of galleries and project spaces keep rising, and there are many inexpensive lots and halls, such as the many halls of the legendary Spinnerei building.

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The health of society depends quite as much on the independence of self-determined workers and respect for our own recognized identities that compose it, as much as with that of the society's social cohesion. We really need to rethink our whole approach to the arts in Ireland, including education. As David McWilliams once wrote about The Leaving Certificate, Ireland's secondary school paper:

"The standardisation process punishes other types of intelligence. The standardisation process elevates an academic type of brain. Anyone who has hung out with academics for long knows that this type of training can produce a bitchy, neurotic type of character more interested in narrow gauge point scoring than open ended, generous, general education.

A system like this ensures that there are plenty of reasonably clever people who leave school thinking they are actually stupid. This can stigmatise people for a long time.

More egregiously it also means that there are plenty of quite stupid people who leave school thinking they are really clever! This can elevate these types to positions in the real world for which they are not suited at all."
In a flashback to happier times, Ross and Demelza walk on the beach. It's a hot sunny day and Ross is wearing a heavy frock coat. If ever there was a time for getting your kit off, you'd think this would be it.

But no. Ross' naked torso stays firmly under wraps. The first rule of drama is to put your hero in peril and so back to the present, where the odds are stacked heavily against Ross. There's a long list of those testifying against him for his involvement in the plundering of the Queen Charlotte shipwreck.

Most have been bribed by snake-in-the-grass George Warleggan's lawyer, Tankard. Nomen est omen? Like a Toby jug you'd imagine a tankard to be jolly and portly, but not this one. We know he's not a good 'un, we only have to look at him: skinny, weasely, greasy-haired and clad in black, Tankard has a name that also sounds a bit like the rhyming slang for banker.

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"If I were the judge I'd sentence [Ross] to be returned to his wife without delay," says Caroline to Demelza. It's hard to tell if this is sincerely meant as Caroline has a dry sense of humour and, like Tankard, her character too is signified by the colour of her clothes. A scarlet woman, she could be trouble.

Nevertheless, she is a welcome splash of colour in a sea of dreariness. Despite her betrothal to would-be MP Unwin Trevaunance (with a name like 'Unwin' he's bound not to be elected, I'd have thought), she flirts with dishy doctor Dwight Enys. Interestingly, neither of them mentions her little Horace this time. Where is he? Last episode Caroline and her little dog were inseparable, before Enys prescribed him opium. Oh dear. I fear the worst for poor little Horace.

Meanwhile, at Trenwith, Elizabeth is pacing up and down, exasperated with Aunt Agatha's tarot card shuffling: "For pity's sake, must we always have these dire predictions? Not once have you forecast an outcome that has been remotely cheering."

Francis' death? I'd almost forgotten about him. His corpse, freshly slaughtered, blocks the door to his hotel room and dishy Doctor Enys can't get in. Enys thinks he may have to break the door down. Oh wait, no: the door's merely locked. Who should open it, but Francis?

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He didn't manage to kill himself after all. He pulled the trigger and, although there was a definite gunshot sound at the end of the last episode - "The flint went down," Francis explains - "the powder did not ignite." Those pesky pistols, you just can't rely on them.

Except for plot twists. So not only has Francis survived near-drowning, a shot in the neck and the putrid throat, but he's also evaded suicide. As he continues to list his woes - being owned by George and the possibility of Elizabeth still being in love with Ross - surely he should be congratulating himself for being invincible?

"Anyway, the thing's not done," Francis says to Enys, fondling his pistol as if he doesn't know whether to fire it or caress it. "So for the moment you have a talkative companion instead of a silent one." You have to feel for Doctor E.

After being turned away last week Demelza manages to smuggle herself under cover of darkness into the hotel where John Nettles is staying. In desperation she asks him to influence Justice Lister, the judge who will hear Ross' case. Somewhat appalled, John Nettles warns that would have the opposite effect. "It would prejudice your husband's case, not help it."

They then play Spot the Judge. "Is he a kindly man?" "Small and stout?" "Does he like his port?" Clever Demelza identifies her target and contrives an audience with Lister, in order to see if she can subtly influence him herself. Just as she is about to tell him the identity of the "body" who "knowed some other body who paid money so that other bodies might speak lies," snake-in-the-grass George Warleggan slithers into view, giving her game away and thwarting it. Demelza's attempts to help Ross are sabotaged at every turn.

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Over in court, the witnesses take the stand and the tension is cranked up as George and Tankard throw everything they can at the trial, including a testimony from Captain Bray, who describes the scene on the beach the night of the shipwreck as, "like Dante's Inferno... As close to hell as I ever hope to come."

Ross' doom is prophesied by everyone, despite Jud Paynter's unexpected testimony in support of him, and Enys' compassionately reminding everyone that Ross had had "no sleep for almost a week. His only child had died and was buried but a few days before the wreck. On the day itself I formed the opinion that he had suffered a mental breakdown."

As the prosecution lawyer condemns Ross as "a revolutionary... an obvious admirer of bloodshed and tyranny in France," it's anyone's guess which way the jury will vote.

Miraculously, Ross is found innocent and truth prevails. In the midst of the celebrations, Verity seeks reconciliation with Francis, who, disliking the cut of his jib, still cannot give her marriage to Captain Blamey his blessing. As her brother he's obviously immune to the delights of Verity's posset. Neither will he ever understand the appeal of Blamey's mast.

Having been defeated in his efforts to remove Ross, George, fuming, is left vulnerable and exposed. As he, like Francis before, fondles his pistol before bed, he should know that a gun isn't always the answer.

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However, with a beach party back at Nampara, Jud and Prudie back in Ross's good books, and Demelza pregnant again (at least Ross' shots didn't misfire), this time we end on a happy, if somewhat contrived 'have your cake and eat it' note.

I prefer pies, personally.
ADRIAN DENNIS via Getty Images

Obscene populism, authoritarianism and - in its most extreme forms - severe threats to democracy, human rights and the rule of law are on the rise around the world. Religious intolerance is increasing, disgusting racism is all too present, and civil society space is shrinking. Yet amidst this ugly mix is yet another depressing fact: politics, even in those societies that remain democratic, is becoming disturbingly negative.

I am a Conservative, and so when my party in Britain, at the time led by David Cameron, unexpectedly won an overall majority in the General Election in 2015, I was of course absolutely delighted. However, it quickly became apparent to me that all was not well. While David Cameron and the Conservatives had many positive messages - having rescued the economy from the brink of collapse, created more jobs than any other country in the rest of Europe, a vision for social justice and a record of public service reform - I realised that the reason we won was not so much because of a positive vote for that Conservative vision, but instead a fear that an Ed Miliband-led Labour government would wreck the recovery and a vote against the Liberal Democrats' broken promises. In other words, people voted against a worse option, and perceived hypocrisy, rather than for a positive vision.

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Similarly, in the referendum on our EU membership, there was a climate of negativity. Whichever way one voted, it was negative. If you voted Leave, it was because you were against the European Union - for a whole host of reasons, many of which were very legitimate and I respect. I voted Remain, though reluctantly and without enthusiasm, not because I endorsed the status quo but because I feared the alternative.

In Burma, where the people have struggled for democracy for decades - a cause to which I have devoted my life for the past twenty years - while the love for Aung San Suu Kyi is widespread, many - particularly among the non-Burman ethnic minorities - voted overwhelmingly for her and her party, the National League for Democracy, not because of a convincing manifesto but because they were desperate to rid the country of decades of military rule. Even then, under the constitution, the military retains 25% of the parliamentary seats and control of three key ministries.

The epitome of negative politics is the United States. I love America; I am as pro-American as you can find; but I am glad I am not an American in 2016. I never imagined I would hear myself say this, but I want Hillary Clinton to win. But not because I support her. I don't. I don't like her. I have questions about her morality, her ethics and her politics. I don't like the dynastic or familial nature of politics in a country that we look to as a champion of democracy. The Kennedys, the Bushes, the Clintons: politics as a family business - no thanks. But the thought of Donald Trump in the White House has turned me into Hillary Clinton's cheerleader. I don't have positive reasons for supporting her - or not many - but the alternative fills me with nightmares.

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All this is so wrong. We should engage in politics in order to champion a vision, values, ideas that we believe could make the world a better place - not simply to defeat those ideas that would make life even worse. We need politicians who articulate vision for change, not simply those who play on our moans and groans or strike fear into our hearts - and either make us vote for them for that reason, or vote for their rival because of our fear. Fear-mongers must be defeated by hope-wagers. When David Cameron said in a speech as Leader of the Opposition: "Let sunshine win the day," the cynics and the Victor Meldrews, Alf Garnetts and Basil Fawltys of politics jeered; I cheered.

On a flight recently I watched the film Our Brand is Crisis, about an American political spin-doctor recruited to help a hapless presidential candidate in Bolivia in an election campaign. It sums up the world's woes today - a cynicism beyond belief and yet depressingly realistic. He wins, he betrays his promises, and she has a long overdue moment of enlightenment.

In 2005 I stood as a parliamentary candidate in the City of Durham. I always knew it was unlikely that as a Conservative, I could win Durham, but I fought a campaign based on the vision and values that I wanted to project. I used the platform I had as a candidate to hold a public meeting on the future of the Middle East, hosting a wonderful Israeli and an amazing Palestinian Christian and giving them an opportunity to share their vision of how to achieve peace.

I also held a pro-life public meeting, addressed by Lord Alton of Liverpool, a former Liberal Democrat who left his party when they adopted a blatantly pro-abortion stand and now sits as an independent Crossbencher. He told a story in his speech which he had not told in a long time. It was the story of the Oxford Student, an undergraduate in 1987 who pleaded with his girlfriend, whom he had made pregnant, not to proceed with aborting the child as she planned. He launched a legal challenge, and so impressed was she with his courage that she agreed not to abort the pregnancy on condition that he raise the child and she have nothing more to do with them. The child was born, and a life was saved.

What Lord Alton didn't know as he told the story - a story that was not in his notes, he had not planned to tell, and came to him only as he was on his feet - was that anyone remotely associated with the story could be in the room. At the end of the event a man approached Lord Alton and myself. "I was the Oxford Student," he said. A few days later I had tea with him, his wife - who is not the mother of his daughter - and the young woman who, if it had not been for his courageous stand, would not be in the world today. The daughter who might have been aborted was about to start university. My mind went back a few days to when we were planning the event. A student helping me in the campaign asked me if it was an anti-abortion meeting. I shook my head. "It's a pro-life meeting," I said. It is all about tone, emphasis and values. What are you for, not just what are you against?

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Britain's new Prime Minister, Theresa May, might be beginning to challenge this status quo in politics. She shows signs of trying to build a different politics. She has talked about a government that works for all, not just the "privileged few", and about building a true meritocracy. There are the makings of a positive vision in Mrs May's Conservative Party, especially when pitched against Jeremy Corbyn's far left revolutionary threat. British politics might perhaps return to what it should be: a battle of ideas instead of the trench warfare of glitz and glamour, soundbite and public relations management.

In a recent lecture in Madrid, Standpoint's editor Daniel Johnson says this: "To be a conservative means to reject the politics of negativity -- anger, revenge, hatred, guilt and resentment -- and instead to pursue a positive vision: a liberal-minded vision of generosity and justice, of peace and prosperity, of democracy and conviviality under the rule of law. To be a conservative means, in other words, to take the best ideas of the past and apply them to the present: not in a negative spirit of reactionary fear of the future, but embracing this world as we find it, with all its defects and depravity, its opportunities and its glimpses of divine glory, in the hope of improving it before we leave it for a better place. Conservatives are conscious that the material world matters to us all, but that it is not the only one; just as we know, too, that those living in it are not the only people who matter, for we cherish the generations who have come before us and learn from them, while never forgetting that we are but the harbingers of posterity, the generations to come who will inherit the world that we bequeath them. Conservatives feel the weight of history not as a burden, but with gratitude for the responsibilities that have been placed upon us by God. We are responsible for the preservation of the civilisation that has formed us and of which we in turn must endeavour to be worthy. For us European conservatives, our primary duty is to the civilisation of the West; but our responsibilities do not stop there. Wherever in the world the forces of barbarism seek to destroy humanity and liberty, we must resist and overcome them. If we do not, they will seek us out sooner or later. Even if they fail in their attempt to annihilate us, physically and culturally, the barbarians may do great damage."
"When it came to Northern Ireland - so often an adjunct to British politics - David Cameron might not have been an expert, but he knew his own mind. One source says that although he believed in staying out of the fine detail, "when need be, he'd be very decisive with his interventions in Northern Ireland".

That confidence that Stormont was far more stable than its leaders claimed led him to repeatedly face down the Executive, and particularly Sinn Fein over its threats about not implementing welfare reform.

Although Mr Cameron did not prove entirely doctrinaire during the dispute with nationalists on welfare reform, and allowed Stormont some flexibility on how the changes operate in Northern Ireland, he was resolute on the core of the dispute: there would be no additional money for welfare in Northern Ireland.

Having been the first putative Prime Minister to campaign in Northern Ireland for more than three decades after re-establishing the Conservative Party's link with the Ulster Unionists, Mr Cameron came into office with more direct understanding of the Province - even if it was with a clear unionist bias - than many of his predecessors. If Stormont had fallen apart on his watch, his confidence would have seemed like detached recklessness, but through luck or judgement the various political crises in Belfast ended with minimal input from Downing Street. His approach was so low key that even in major negotiations such as those leading last year's Fresh Start deal the participants speak of the Prime Minister leaving much of the work to his secretary of state and the NIO.

Despite Mr Cameron left office with Stormont far more stable than when he was elected in 2010 (and he cannot take more than a small part of the credit for that), many people on this side of the Irish Sea still struggle to see his approach as being founded on anything other than indifference.

And yet even if that simplistic interpretation is correct, it is unquestionably the case that the DUP and Sinn Fein are far closer together today than was the case six years ago.One DUP figure familiar with that period says of Mr Cameron's arm's-length approach to Stormont that "we didn't mind that - the difficulty was Sinn Fein getting their heads round that"."
I probably shouldn't say this but, I don't get it. All the right ingredients are there; we have our first female prime minister in decades. Women are earning more than men in their 20's and we are, apparently, more empowered, educated and employed than ever before. So why doesn't the Domestic Violence situation in the U.K. reflect all of this progress?

This week, the 'not guilty' verdict in The Archers had millions of radio listeners celebrating as domestic abuse victim Helen Titchener was cleared of attempted murder. In a dramatic climax to the Domestic Violence storyline that has had the nation gripped for two-years, the mother-of-two was acquitted of trying to kill her husband Rob during a record-breaking hour-long episode. The issue is that for those of us who work with domestic violence every day, Helen's 'happy ending' is not a common one.

Yes, I have been impressed that Domestic Violence has been a gripping headline with over 5 million people tuning in as actress Louiza Patikas brilliantly portrayed her character's experience with Domestic Violence. Yet here in the real world, a third of local authority funding for domestic abuse services has been cut. A third of all referrals to refuges are being turned away as I write this.

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At the very same time as The Archers storyline was reaching its conclusion, the full impact of Domestic Violence in London emerged, with new figures showing that 25 murders were committed by domestic abusers last year.

The tally (which includes 17,676 crimes of assault with injury) represents over a quarter of all violent crimes committed in London. We read about Domestic Violence every single day. Just last week, media and communications lecturer Dr Lee Salter left his job.

The trouble was he left months after being found guilty of attacking a student, 24-year old Allison Smith who he repeatedly punched in the face, knocked out, stamped on and poured salt into her eyes and ears. He was handed less than six months and suspended for eighteen and the university allowed him to continue in his senior lecturing post. This is the reality for Domestic Violence victims. Criminologist Jane Monkton-Smith says her examination of over seventy domestic abuse killings has shown how sentences for manslaughter convictions have been mitigated by "ridiculous claims, like how much the perpetrator said they loved the victim. It's a refusal to have a robust approach to the offender. And even at the level of homicide we're seeing sentencing lower than the level we're seeing for stranger homicides."

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These cases are heart-breaking, frustrating and frankly infuriating. Abused women and children are just not getting the support and protection they deserve.

In 2008, Maria Stubbings aged 50, was murdered by Marc Chivers at her home in Chelmsford, Essex, in 2008. Her inquest heard she had begun a relationship with Chivers without knowing he had murdered his former partner in Germany. The jury concluded that Essex Police failed in almost every part of the investigation. The catalogue of errors began in July 2008 when Ms Stubbings first contacted police after being assaulted by Chivers. In December, despite several 999 calls, officers did not visit her house for a week.

Her daughter, campaigner and Ambassador of Domestic Violence charity Strength With In Foundation, Celia Peachey, said: "We are grateful to the jury for their finding of a whole catalogue of police failures in the final days of mum's life, that contributed to her death at the hands of Marc Chivers."

We must remember it is women and their children that suffer in domestic abuse situations. Just recently the nation was stunned by the murder of Ellie Butler, a child of Domestic Violence. Her father had already been convicted of assault after strangling an ex-girlfriend outside a nightclub in 2005. He went on to meet Ellie's mother, Jennie Gray, and the abuse started early on. Jennie had been so dominated and controlled by Butler that the judge ruled she had become incapable of defying him or protecting her children from him. The surviving sibling revealed that they had grown up watching him 'hit mummy and make her cry'.

In the weeks leading up to Ellie's death, Butler became more and more angry and frustrated about his relationship with his wife and resentful at having to look after the children whilst she worked. Ellie was the victim of daily beatings that culminated in her dying of head injuries like those sustained in a car crash.

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I could go on and on here since so many women and children have been failed by the system. Something has to be done. Whilst storylines like The Archers do a fantastic job in raising awareness for Domestic Abuse, the sad reality is that there is rarely a happy ending. I hope that the media continues to raise awareness for Domestic Violence on the level that BBC radio just has; but until things change, real life happy endings will just not be representative of the world we live in.
As the Brexit debate rages on and the country appears to be increasingly divided each day, I was reminded this week of an attitude that really frustrates me. An attitude by some that, if you're an immigrant in this country and you've lived here a long time, you should 'feel' British instead of still identifying with your country of origin, and an incredulous surprise at my lack of desire to acquire British citizenship.

A friend of mine shared a video from Channel 4 on Facebook, showing a Polish NHS worker receiving racist abuse while being interviewed about racism. The Polish woman on the video said she didn't feel welcome anymore (I know how she feels!) and my friend's comment was that she, and many like her, are very much welcome. But one of his friends then posted this in response:

"Is she Polish or British, she has been here most of her life, why does she still think of herself as Polish? I lived in Canada for 11 years, became a Canadian citizen and considered myself Canadian. If you are polish go back to Poland but if you stay here then be British. Just a thought."

This reminded me of a Twitter response I received during my interview on the Victoria Derbyshire show on the BBC (on 5th July, following Theresa May's announcement that she couldn't guarantee the status of EU citizens in the UK), telling me that if I've lived here for so long, surely I should want to 'feel English'.

I think this is an issue that affects many immigrants, whether they are from the EU, like me, or from other parts of the world. I have lost track of the number of times I've been asked "But why haven't you applied for British citizenship?"

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Why should we feel British just because we have lived here a long time? I am Italian and German and feel thoroughly European. I have lived in the UK for 25 years, sound like I was born and bred in Yorkshire and have been told numerous times that my English is better than that of many Brits.

The issue of what nationality we 'feel' goes way beyond what passport we hold. Having grown up in Luxembourg, as a foreigner in a country whose foreign population is rising and has now reached close to 50%, it took me a long time to feel a sense of national identity of any kind. I didn't feel Luxembourgish. I attended the German section of the European School, yet I didn't feel German. I mostly spoke Italian at home, yet I didn't properly feel Italian, either. When visiting Germany or Italy, I felt like I didn't quite belong, yet I didn't feel like I quite belonged in Luxembourg, either. I did, however, feel European.

Now, I am married to a Brit; my daughters are British, Italian and German. I have been here my entire adult life; I don't know how to be an adult anywhere else. My life is here, my work is here. I pay taxes and contribute to society. This is very much my home and, until the EU referendum and subsequent increase in xenophobia and racism, I felt very much like I had found a place where I do belong. Over the years, my sense of national identity has strengthened. I feel Italian and German, though I identify much more strongly with my Italian side. I feel European. I definitely do not feel British and have no desire to acquire British citizenship. That doesn't mean I don't like living in Britain or don't like Brits - I wouldn't have built my life here if that was how I felt.

But why should I, and the millions of others like me, need to feel British and want to become British? What is so wrong with a multinational, multicultural society full of rich variety?
Over the course of my twenty year career in financial services, I have kept a close eye on the changing face of the rental market in Britain and the increasing demand for properties available for let. That's why, it did not come as a surprise to me to hear that home ownership is falling in major English cities. Stories about millennials struggling to buy houses continue to dominate the media and the number of private renters has more than doubled since 2001 - this is projected to continue over the next decade. Articles along this theme leave no doubt in my mind that Generation Rent are here for the long-term.

Many reports blame steep rental prices as the sole issue millennials are facing. However, compounding the problem is that they are seemingly unaware of the wider impact renting could be having on their financial situation. In fact, recent Noddle research* found that two thirds of renters believe they will never own their own home so are putting off thinking about their finances as a result. Many are potentially being left high and dry when it comes to having access to financial products; not just mortgages but things like mobile phone contracts and car insurance, not to mention approval by letting agents to secure a rental property in the first place.

The research also found that over a third of renters have had an adverse financial experience while renting. Having deposits withheld when leaving a property or borrowing money from loved ones to be able to put down a deposit were high up on the list of negative experiences. One millennial, Cat Stevenson, 27, from London, told me that she had been renting privately for nine years and was financially in the position to purchase a property. However, when it came to it, she was unable to access her credit report and could not obtain a mortgage. She suspected it was most likely down to the fact that not enough credit information was held about her. She hadn't registered on the electoral roll at every rented address and utility bills were not in her name - this meant there was very limited information for the credit reference agencies to identify her. She explained it was stressful and frustrating having waited all that time to be in a position to buy a house and then come up against another hurdle.

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When considering the current rental market, part of Cat's story is relatively rare owing to her being a in a position to buy; however, not having access to a credit report due to a limited credit history when she wanted to buy a property is not. That's why Noddle has joined forces with the University of Edinburgh Business School, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the campaigning group Generation Rent to produce a helpful guide for renters so they are not in the dark about their credit report. The guide details a number of helpful ways renters can take action towards shaping up their long-term financial health and in turn taking steps to improve their credit score. Below are a few tips taken from the guide.

1.Spring clean your financial track record

Ensure you are on the electoral roll for your current property. Visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk to find out how you can register online for where you live. As well as giving you the ability to vote, this is also a major piece of information used to identify you for financial reasons. It's really important to re-register on the electoral roll every time you move.

Try to have a utility bill in your name at your current address. It makes it much easier to prove you live there when applying for any financial products.

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2.Make sure you're not vulnerable to any traps

When renting, it's easy to end up with financial 'links' to other people you live with - whether it's a partner, a friend or just someone you didn't previously know who you have happened to end up living with. Most frequently these links can come from having a joint account, even if it's just set up to pay bills.

Once you are no longer living together ensure the account is closed and the link dissociated on your credit report so you minimise the risk of any future credit issues on their part affecting you.

3.Don't stick your head in the sand

Noddle research showed that 12% of renters think their finances will improve by the time they have to worry about it. However, not building up a credit report now can cause problems further down the line. Start by looking on www.noddle.co.uk to check your credit rating and score (it's free).
Imagine a world of universally low-cost higher education. A world in which a student can choose one fully-accredited module from Stanford University, another from MIT and a third from Cambridge, each involving regular field trips to different world continents at no extra cost. Imagine a personalised programme of learning designed in the knowledge that this student loves to read but finds traditional lectures pretty tedious.

According to educational experts I interviewed at this year's EdTechX Europe event on behalf of EdTech Media, this vision could soon become a reality. With concerns over unaffordable tuition fees and unsustainable debt (together with the news that Leeds University will be the first to offer a fully accredited Mooc course), many predict that higher education will soon evolve beyond recognition. This means that baby Jack, who is currently three months old, will experience higher education very differently from his parents.

Sattya V. Nitta, Global Head and Program Director of Cognitive Science and Education at IBM, predicts that Jack will enjoy a highly customised, technologically-assisted university experience and that Massive Online Open Courses (Moocs) will be the most significant game changer.

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'A student turning eighteen in 2034 will be able to study a mix and match degree at a very low personal cost through the provision of Moocs' explains Nitta 'Artificial intelligence will also personalise the delivery of learning to account for cognitive and emotional needs'.

While Nitta is quick to explain that machines will be used to supplement, rather than replace, Jack's human teachers, it's worth bearing in mind that the modern school already incorporates an impressive level of technology that Jack and his classmates will probably take for granted.

With twenty-four hour schools, remote access learning and specialist maths tutors Skyped in from Bangladesh, education is already changing to accommodate students of the information age. Many classrooms have become unrecognisable to anyone born before 1995 and images of front-facing students filed in factory lines have become as anachronistic as the blackboard.

Jack's parents might be surprised to learn that the modern classroom - light, airy and flexibly arranged - is more GooglePlex than Victorian schoolroom. Designed for creative collaboration, Jack's learning space reflects the increasingly interconnected world that he inhabits. From Wikipedia for homework to Schoology for classwork, it's likely that Jack's learning will involve a host of web 2.0 tools, as well as interactive, immersive learning experiences that we cannot yet even imagine.

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Google's Jonathan Rochelle explains that children can now take field trips anywhere from Machu Picchu to the surface of the moon using cardboard technology and Google Expeditions. While virtual Reality (VR) technology has long been used for vocational training, it's predicted that VR will eventually evolve to the extent that it will become more normal for students to study through active exploration than a traditional textbook.

Adaptable and technologically sophisticated, it goes without saying that Jack's generation would sooner Google the President of China than copy the name from a board. For these students, the teacher is no longer the gatekeeper of all knowledge and many prefer to learn from each other at a pace that suits them.

'We are moving towards a pay-as-you-go-world and higher education is becoming more flexible'. says Matt Walton, Head of Product at FutureLearn 'We will see many changes and social learning will become a massive part of education in the future'.

Walton predicts that students of 2034 will build a portfolio of achievements through a combination of online and face-to-face learning, sharing Nitta's view that university will become scalable and more affordable. So Jack should enjoy a wider selection of learning modules while escaping the debt faced by today's students.

'Traditional education is costly, inconvenient and you have to travel' points out Walton 'Moocs will increase social mobility and bring together a community of learning'.

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Since it's expected that everyone will have internet access by 2034, a baby born across the world into an impoverished household in rural Pakistan will be able to study alongside Jack and receive the same accreditation. Plus, with the rise of flexible, part-time, work-related learning, it's likely that degree courses will comprise many more learners of different ages and life stages.
Tony C French via Getty Images

As far as I can tell the last time the House of Commons discussed agriculture, without having to do so in the context of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) of the European Union, would have been some time circa 1970.

This is set to change. Over the next two years the House of Commons, along with the farming community, the food industry and consumers, will need to debate and decide how, on leaving the EU, we will order food production and farming in the UK. What we decide will have a profound impact on the look of our rural landscape, where our food comes from and how many UK jobs result. Food and drink, including farming, is worth a 108 billion to our economy, so we better not mess it up, the stakes are high.

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To work out what our new domestic agriculture policy should look like we have some major questions to answer.

First: to what extent should the taxpayer continue to subsidise British farmers? Theresa May's government has guaranteed farmers that the existing level of EU subsidy - 3billion a year - will continue until 2020, but after that?

With 55% of UK farm income coming from CAP support it's hard to see many farmers surviving without some level of subsidy.

Hill farmers can receive as much as 80% of their income in EU payments, making lamb much cheaper for the customer than it otherwise would be but making their future without a hefty subsidy nigh on impossible.

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Should we subsidise all farmers or should we cap payments to the richer farmers, as they already do in Wales? Should the most uneconomic farms be simply allowed to fail? Should subsidies be slowly removed after 2020 or removed relatively quickly?

Second: to answer the subsidy issue you need to address the question of how much food should we produce in the UK and how much should we import? Currently we produce around 54% of our needs. We could produce more but to do so we would need to intensify production, which can have unwanted environmental impacts. However, if we were to produce more of our own food we would have shorter supply chains, something that is usually good for the environment.

Third: should farmers have to farm in a way that is good for the environment or should productivity be their overriding target? For instance, under the current CAP payments farmers can receive funding for deliberately not planting crops right up to the edge of their field and instead allow wild strips to develop for the benefit of birds and animals. In a recent YouGov poll 83% of UK respondents said they wanted to see the same or a higher level of wildlife protection in future than under the CAP.

Fourth: what about trees? Our forests do an amazing but hidden job; they absorb C02 the gas responsible for climate change. At a European level somewhere between 10 and 20% of the EU's carbon emissions are sequestrated by our forests and the timber products they produce. With the battle against climate change far from won there is a lot to be said for planting more trees on marginal agricultural land. Given the likely long term reduction or removal of subsidies to farmers the amount of marginal land will increase, so the opportunity to plant more trees and create new forests will soon arrive.

Fifth and finally: just as trees absorb carbon so do soils and peat. Healthy soils full of fibre and organic matter can significantly boost our work to tackle climate change. They also hold more water so during periods of heavy rainfall run off is slowed and hence the threat of flooding downstream, often in the places where people live, is reduced. Healthy soils need fewer fertilisers, which saves farmers money and results in a reduction of the amount of fertiliser having to be removed from our drinking water, an expense ultimately born by the customer. Consequently it could be argued that any future public subsidy to farmers should be dependent on their creating and maintaining healthy soils.

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Hello. My name is Sean Arbuthnot and I am a former Prevent officer.

Why does writing that sentence feel like an admission of guilt? As if I'd finally come to terms with my personal involvement in some Stasi-type, secret government programme of suppressing free speech, interrogating children and vilifying Muslim communities?

Because sadly that has become the dominant narrative regarding the Prevent Duty. Few people openly admit their involvement with Prevent because association with such a "toxic brand" damages credibility. The wider public has been exposed to such one-sided negativity that anti-Prevent sentiment is understandable, even inevitable. Calls to scrap Prevent are commonplace. The Liberal Democrats Home Affairs spokesman said that the party could no longer support the programme.

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Perhaps we only have ourselves to blame. We could have been more open and transparent about Prevent processes. It isn't perfect, far from it. But opposition is often based on simplistic misconceptions and myths that have somehow become engrained in the wider public consciousness.

So let's tackle some of the basic myths:

Prevent only targets Muslim communities. Religious observance is not a reason to refer somebody to Prevent. It deals with all forms of extremism and isn't limited to Islamist-inspired ideologies. 40% of my workload involved Far-Right extremism.

Prevent spies on communities. The Prevent Duty clearly states that it "must not involve any covert activity against people or communities." The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 covers police surveillance. As a CID Detective I often used this legislation during criminal investigations. As a Prevent officer? Never. Not once.

Prevent criminalises people. Actually it does the opposite. As a Prevent officer I never made a single arrest. Whilst somewhat unusual for a police officer this actually underlines that Prevent is a safeguarding responsibility that tries to keep people out of the criminal justice system.

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Prevent undermines free speech. The Prevent Duty tries to create safe spaces and promote open debate, particularly in education. It states that "Schools should be safe spaces in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism."

Prevent promotes a 'conveyor belt' process of radicalisation. I'm not sure why this accusation is consistently thrown around. I have only ever heard it mentioned by critics of Prevent. Prevent acknowledges that there is no single pathway to radicalisation.

Prevent views toddlers and children as potential terrorists. This is ridiculous. No child is an extremist. But a child can be at risk of significant harm because of extremism and require safeguarding. At its worst this culminates in families travelling to Syria to join Daesh. A sickening execution video released in January 2016 that featured a 4-year-old British child is a heartbreaking reminder that this is a child protection issue.

The reality is that Prevent is a safeguarding responsibility. It has changed, even saved, peoples' lives. Sharing successes can be problematic. If a Prevent referral doesn't want their story to be made public we must respect their choice. Who can blame them? After all, they haven't been charged with a crime.

I personally know individuals who were full of hate, openly racist and firmly believed that an apocalyptic race war was inevitable. I personally know individuals who seriously considered travelling to Syria to join Daesh. But Prevent support through mentoring, education or any number of bespoke care options, reduced their vulnerability to radicalisation. I'm privileged to have been involved with many local success stories.

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Nationally over 1,000 people have received Channel support. Since summer 2015 at least 50 people have been dissuaded from travelling to Syria. Last year 130 civil society projects reached over 25,000 people. Over 550,000 public sector workers have received Prevent training. Not bad for a strategy that supposedly isn't working and has no community support!

The recent Home Affairs Select Committee Report on Radicalisation rightly recommended that transparency around Prevent should be improved and that an independent review should be welcomed. I'm less convinced by the recommendation to change its name from "Prevent" to "Engage." Surely this would be little more than a short-sighted PR exercise.

In my experience Prevent has been overwhelmingly positively received at grassroots level, despite the supposedly toxic reputation, political opportunism and the broader national debate. As a Prevent officer and now a training consultant, I have found that most people with practical experience of Prevent (including referrals themselves) are supportive of the Duty.

Ultimately I work in Prevent because it makes a difference. It transforms lives and protects communities. I believe that it is the right thing to do. And when staunch critics are unable or unwilling to put forward credible alternatives, it is clear that at the moment it's the best we've got.

So, to be perfectly honest, I am proud to say that my name is Sean Arbuthnot. And I am a former Prevent officer.

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Ben Barokas, Co-Founder and CEO, Sourcepoint

Since the early days of online advertising, no conversation about the state of the industry, or the plight of digital publishers specifically, has been complete without a reference to monetization. The word monetization is central to the digital media ecosystem and  like the mythical Midas Touch  it evokes the concept of transforming objects to gold, resources to revenue.

But  as King Midas himself discovered  the ability to turn resources, including digital materials and online content to riches, does have its downsides. As publishers have emphasized monetization, online audiences have grown increasingly disillusioned with a user experience that seems to place maximizing advertising revenues above consumer preference, and users are turning to ad blockers in frustration.

The words we choose can be highly impactful and as a result, sometimes, with a simple change in terminology, conversation and attitudes can be shifted and dialogue elevated to a higher level.

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Faced with the rising use of ad blocking tools, the various stakeholders in the online ad industry are presented with great opportunity to look at the language we are using and contemplate the move from monetization to compensation, and in doing so, refocus on what is most important  the consumer.

Before we get into the crux of the discussion, it is first important to lay out exactly what these two terms mean. Monetization refers to the conversion of goods and services into profit, or coin into money; compensation is where something is given or received as an equivalent for services. While nuanced, there is a significant difference between the two: the first implies a one-way effort to extract revenues, where the other implies a combined agreement with something in return agreed by both parties.

So, just how widely embraced are these terms in the ad tech industry today? Even a quick search on trade publication, AdExchanger highlights the continued emphasis, where the term monetization returns 1740 results, but just 102 for compensation.

With this in mind, how can publishers and advertisers work together to place greater emphasis on compensation, rather than generation of dollars alone?

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Restoring value exchange

The digital advertising industry was founded on an unspoken, implicit understanding between publishers and consumers: media companies would provide relevant, high quality content for free and in return consumers would view the ads that funded its production. In the early days, companies like DoubleClick talked of keeping the internet free for consumers via advertising, but those mentions were typically confined to SEC documents and other narrowly distributed materials. The value exchange remained implicit with virtually no communication to consumers.

As the digital media matured and traditional media companies looked to digital advertising revenues as a way of remaining relevant when internet usage was growing, they did so on the fragile foundation of this unspoken and implicit understanding. The growth of ad blocker usage is a strong indication that audiences are not satisfied with the quality of advertising they are being exposed to, and that they are not aware of the role ads play in funding content. This is highlighted by YouGovs recent UK-based study which found that 56% of the population were unaware that blocking ads creates a direct loss in ad revenues.

To achieve sustainability, we can no longer look at our work as simply monetizing or deriving revenue from users. Ad block usage should prompt us to begin to think about the relationship between consumers and publishers as one in which compensation is exchanged  where something is given or received as an equivalent for services.

Offering flexibility and choice

It is important to recognize that every ad block user has their own reasons for installing an ad blocker  from data concerns to irritation with intrusive formats  and these objections cant be met with a universal solution. As our language evolves from monetization to compensation, publishers will need to engage with their users and offer them choices, enabling them to select the most appropriate compensation method from a range of options.

While many consumers will likely opt for the traditional advertising supported experience, by offering alternative compensation methods  be it an ad-free subscription model, allowing users to make micropayments for unique articles, or viewing a certain number of ads in return for content  the value exchange is being brought front and center, and consumers are empowered to pay for the content in a manner that suits their specific tastes.

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Although it is hard to imagine, if we are unable to evolve the current approach, and move from a mindset of monetizing content to providing compensation choice, then the internet that we have come to know, with its vibrant, content-rich ecosystem where digital publishers can fund their content development efforts, is most certainly at risk.

About the Author

Ben Barokas is the CEO and Co-founder of Sourcepoint, where he is driving the next evolution of the internet  content compensation  providing publishers with solutions to foster a transparent value exchange with consumers. Ben is a serial entrepreneur with a unique ability to identify market opportunities and the conviction to turn them into thriving companies.
Jennifer Gregory

Todays shifting talent landscape is creating a new set of requirements. Heres how your agency can foster a culture of diversity and flexibility in the workplace.

Do you know if your employees were excited to show up to work today? Research has shown that employees who enjoy their work and are engaged in the overall experience are most likely to be your top performers, ultimately leading to happier clients.

Thats why, according to Marie-Claire Barker, Chief Talent Officer at MEC Global, focusing on the employee experience could help your bottom line. Competition is tough for the best talent, and the power has now shifted into their hands. Creating an experience for them that makes them want to be there rather than have to be there is one of the biggest challenges facing leaders today.

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To create an engaging employee experience, a company must truly embrace the individual needs and differences each employee brings with them, and actually seek them out for the value they bring. And it goes beyond racial, gender, or cultural differencesit includes diversity of thought, work style, education, and experience. We no longer have a homogeneous workforce. We have a multigenerational, multicultural, diverse collection of people looking to have purpose in the roles they carry out, and each with a unique set of expectations, explains Barker.

Here are a few things to consider as you begin to design an engaging employee experience that attracts the right people to deliver for your business:

See your people for the talent they bringnot just the job they do.

Its a value exchange that, Barker says, is relatively similar to the customer experience. The idea is, we are benefiting from your unique skills and perspectives. In return, we are going to invest in you and ensure you have a more enriching experience with us than elsewhere.

The experience must begin at the first touchpoint.

The engagement journey starts with the persons first interaction with your brand as a potential employer. At the recent SXSW conference, instead of simply making attendees aware of MECs job openings, recruiters gave them a 3-D virtual reality experience, immersing them in the culture and allowing them to visualize themselves within the agencys walls.

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Provide a culture of flexibility for all employees.

Flexibility is not only for working moms and it doesnt just mean where and when you workit can mean changing role definitions, job sharing, and work styles. It's about how people get things done as well as how people learn and develop, explains Barker. Flexibility should be used as the currency to attract the talent you need, and leaders must lift the guilt from people who have other priorities outside of work. We have to fully embrace the concept that one size does not fit all, says Barker.

Look for talent in unexpected places to find the difference your company needs.

Rather than replicate the traditional campus-recruiting methods, MEC in the UK developed its Apprenticeship program for people who had not attended collegeand ended up discovering some exceptional talent.

If we keep using the conventional methods of recruitment and development, we'll miss out on some real gems, notes Barker. Instead, agencies need to create a relationship with talent. Its time to make a change.

To explore this conversation further, attend the Talent Track at #AWNewYork.
Effective 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, September 14, the administration of the LIU-Brooklyn campus ended its lockout of unionized faculty members. Faculty and administration agreed to extend the recently expired labor agreement through May 31, 2017, and to appoint a professional mediator to facilitate a fair contract.

Some labor-management conflicts have long-lasting implications, both negative and positive, for the labor movement and American workers. The night before New Years Eve 1937, automobile workers at the Flint, Michigan General Motors plant sat down at their machines shutting down the assembly line and refused to leave the plant. The Flint sit-down strike lasted 44-days, led to unionization of the automobile industry, and the astronomical growth in the union movement. A major reason for the high post-World War 2 standard of living for American workers was this defiant action. Union membership reached its peak in the early 1950s when more than a third of American workers were union members.

The sharp decline in union membership and the weakening of working-class political and economic power can also be traced to one strike, this time a failed strike, by unionized air traffic controllers in 1981. The strike, called by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, or PATCO, was against the law. Instead of pushing for negotiations with the union, President Reagan fired all 13,000 striking workers. The defeat of PATCO escalated a downward spiral in union membership which declined from 20% of the workforce in 1983 to about 11% today.

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At the start of the 2016-2017 academic year the administration at Long Island University's Brooklyn, New York campus barred its 400 faculty members who are part of the faculty union from campus. They also cut off salaries and health benefits. This appears to be the first "lockout' at a college campus in United States history. "Replacements" and university administrators, including many sympathetic to faculty, were assigned to teach pretend classes.

New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called the lockout "strong-arm tactics" and described it as "an injustice to the workers, and it's an injustice to the students who are not receiving that education."

The lockout was triggered by the expiration of the faculty's contract on August 31. The faculty union, which is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, agreed to extend the existing contract for five weeks so negotiations could continue and the school term could begin smoothly. University officials refused and initiated the lockout. It appears they were planning this action all summer and were lining up "scabs" to cover classrooms.

In response to the lock-out, real LIU faculty, joined by students, set up picket lines, organized protest rallies, and voted 226 to 10 to turn down a take-it-or leave-it contract offer from LIU and no-confidence in the university president.

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The fight against the lockout of faculty at the Long Island University Brooklyn campus has the potential to be another historic turning point for the American labor movement. The victory by unionized faculty may signal a rebirth of labor power and the movement for worker rights. A defeat would have empowered other employers to pursue similar tactics and might be the death knell for organized labor in the United States. This is why the victory by LIU faculty is a win for students and working people.
The future of hiring is here; it's just not evenly distributed.

That paraphrase of the Silicon Valley proverb from Alan Kay tells a lot about the problems in virtually every company.

Some companies are struggling to find good people. Some can't keep them. Some can't keep them busy. Some can't manage them. And others are just losing the perks arms race with hip startups.

Meanwhile, futurists have been saying that the future of work is the Gig Economy. And some experts say it's already here. They claim it makes these headaches go away.

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Need quick research on whether Chicago is a good market? Get it done with a marketplace like Catalent. Need help penetrating an elusive sales target? Use Emissary. How about an offsite presentation writer? Try Upwork or LinkedIn ProFinder.

Press the button, get it done, move on. No endless job descriptions, recruiting, rounds of interviews, sell days, training, and then the inevitable 50% that don't work out.

But most companies still do the latter.

Why is your company stuck in the mud?

Six reasons.

1. Your HR department



Conventional wisdom has been saying that more jobs will give way to gigs -- temporary, flexible and (hopefully) more fulfilling arrangements as the Internet makes it easier to connect people and projects.

You see it in Uber drivers and TaskRabbit taskers.

But companies are overwhelmingly filled with full-time staff. Many companies have remote offices in the US or offshore, full of those same roles. And often freelancers act like full-time staff, too.

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In New York this year at the Work Awesome conference, a panel of star human resource leaders with titles like "People Operations" and "Guild Leader" from startups like Spotify, Google, and Buzzfeed were asked: "can you tell us how you use on-demand, outsourced gig talent?"

"We don't," they all said with a shrug. "That's an ad hoc effort," "that differs by function" and "we use contractors a lot in [non-core] areas like customer support."

Huh?

"Well, actually they do," says Rich Gardner, an executive with on-demand expert platform Catalant. "We have at least one of those as a client."

Which points to the issue: HR focuses on hiring humans pretty much the old-fashioned way. Managers inside working departments are the ones who go outside and find solutions to their needs, sometimes just paying with their credit card and expensing it back.

2. Your management style



"Shovel-ready projects don't come along that often in the typical company," says David Hammer, the CEO of Emissary. Most management styles make big elaborate projects with bundles of ongoing activities. "Manage the accounts," or "get us customers" or "keep the warehouse working every week."

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But an increasingly popular movement in technology companies, called Agile Development, focuses on breaking big projects into small hour-long or day-long tasks. The approach focuses moving little "cards" forward one by one.

Cards are "make a poster design for Friday" or "transcribe this hour-long interview" or "contact these 20 leads with an email" or "make a list of 30 items we need in inventory." Makes sense. A big project has many small parts. But the key to embracing this movement is to just list the small tasks and start before you even list them all. It's a mistake to try to assemble the master plan -- it's always wrong.

As Jeff Sutherland, a creator of Agile, puts it in his book Scrum:

It's just so tempting: all the work needed to be done on a massive project laid out for everyone to see. I've visited many companies that have people whose only job is to update that Gantt chart every day. The trouble is, once that beautifully elegant plan meets reality, it falls apart. But instead of scrapping the plan, or the way they think about the plan, managers instead hire people to make it look as if the plan is working. Essentially, they're paying people to lie to them.



Certain innovative companies are applying this collaborative work approach to areas beyond coders -- to writers, designers, product management, operations. One of us has a short book, Ship While You Sleep, which has toured conferences from SXSW to DLD with an approach to large-scale collaboration and management.

When management starts orchestrating the movement of cards, some of those cards can be assigned as gigs. Suddenly it starts to be possible for employees to work seamlessly with gigsters from anywhere.

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But it only works if you start thinking in cards. Then you can bring in the shovels.

3. Your meeting style



Lots of companies use live meetings or calls to review progress. The agenda is stated live and the next steps are agreed in person. It can work well. Factory floor, retail store -- check. And many offices work this way even though everyone has email and laptops handy. The management of one of the world's largest e-commerce businesses, Adorama, the multi-billion-dollar online photo and video equipment store, "has never had a meeting," according to one consultant to their business. It's management by walking around, to turn the classic phrase about Hewlett-Packard's excellence in the 1980s.

"No meetings" or "live meetings" can work, but they are spoken not written, and mostly in-person. So it also means someone new to the team can't get up to speed by browsing through the last few meetings' notes. And someone working remotely can't get on the same page. They have to show up and hang around long enough.

Innovative companies have been moving to no-meetings cultures -- the most widely used software on the Internet, WordPress, is powered by a large, distributed team that literally never meets in person. A profile written of Team WordPress focused on how they had modified their own blogging tools to run their entire company virtually -- all in writing.

If you change the way you do meetings and go from oral to written tools, suddenly the meetings aren't just "happenings." They are repositories of knowledge, decisions, tactics, and contacts for anyone new to quickly get up to speed on.

And that's what makes this feature key to gigs.

4. Your tools are 10,000 years old



The biggest reason folks use live meetings? They work. They're also 10,000 years old.

Pen and paper, nearly as old. Has there been no innovation that helps us get more done in the office?

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Of course, there is. It's from roughly 1990: e-mail. According to research by McKinsey & Company and reported at the Inbox Awesome conference in New York, the average office worker spends 14% of their day in meetings and 28% doing email.

Your company surely uses a couple more tools that have revolutionized the workplace:

Smartphones, so you don't have to be at your desk

Chat (or even better, things like Slack), which can keep the short message traffic somewhere everyone can see and collaborate around

Project and task management (Basecamp, Asana, Trello, Atlassian's Jira)

Shared document editing and shared drives (Dropbox, Box, Microsoft's OneDrive, Google Drive)

Got all that? Hope so.

So what are you missing? Here's a secret in the engineering department that has changed everything: the software repository. It's been around for ages, and in recent years the flag-bearer of this technology is Github. It lets a developer "check out" a piece of code, download it to their computer, work on it, test it, check it back in, and then alert everyone that the work is done. The repo stores the history, lets multiple people work simultaneously in different places, but ultimately has all the knowledge, commentary, and work in one place.

It's what makes distributed coding teams so doable, and makes outsourcing, offshoring, and gigs completely seamless for most engineering teams.

Walk into an elite engineering office and people have headphones on. They could be anywhere for most of the time. Can it work for marketing, sales, operations or finance? Can business teams work this way?

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They can, and a generation of new tools are designed for this with something like a "Github for Management Workflows" model. Two examples: Quip, the mobile-centric chat and documents app acquired by Salesforce and Knotable, the "notes for teamwork" product one of the authors designed to keep teams on the same page.

5. Your interview process



Let's talk about how you interview people. The way you interview is perhaps the most risk-averse thing your company does. "One bad employee can destroy your entire company," goes the common saying.

Can't you fire that "hiring mistake" before they ruin the company? Of course. But nobody likes doing that. And often they don't do it at all. And you overcompensate on the front end.

Gig platforms that provide on-demand workers struggle with this step. Much of their marketing focuses on "we provide you the best talent." Gigster talks fancy degrees, TaskRabbit emphasizes vetting, and so on.

Multiple days of back-to-backs with every employee they'll touch. Your best candidates probably aren't making it through the gauntlet you've created for them.

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In fact, Google, the poster-child company for intensely demanding hiring, reviewed their results after tens of thousands of grueling interviews. How did interviews correlate with candidate success? "We found zero relationship," said Laszlo Bock, their head of people operations. "It's a complete random mess."

So here is a radical notion that becomes possible when you have fixed some of the worst management habits we are discussing. You can simply give someone a small assignment, or two or three, without interviewing them at all.

Using gig networks to source a few people, with the job nicely defined in Knotable or a Google Doc, with the context laid out in the tool and the team's past work all available to search in Slack or Asana....well, you can onboard folks in a few minutes. And if their work is great, maybe you can still interview them before you hire them.

6. Your definition of a job

Most people define a job by the "job listing" they put out for it. You hire a person to do that bundle of tasks. However, in a world where technology, globalization and other forces are making your company's business evolve quickly, the same is happening to the jobs people have to do inside the company. Which creates a trap: The more correctly you fill the job listing with the exact right candidate, the more likely they'll be bad at the new challenge their jobs evolves into.

Here's a way to separate gigs and jobs: If you want a specific set of skills, create a gig. If you want a long-term participant in your business and culture, make a hire.

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You will be surprised to get some benefits you hadn't expected. With more outsiders, you'll get more external ideas and innovation. With more people in more fractional roles, you'll have the chance to craft a more gender, race, and geographically diverse team. With more flexible hours and location schedules, you'll be able to include folks with different family care commitments or outside goals like continuing education. Bonus!

Now you're ready to go out there and hire like you've never hired before.

--
More than 263 million children and youth around the world are out of school, while more than 250 million children who are in classrooms cannot read and write, unequipped with necessary skills to succeed in school and in life.

These are not numbers. They are young people, our sisters and brothers, sons and daughters. As a result of their circumstance and the barriers that prevent them from accessing inclusive and equitable quality educational opportunities, their hopes are diminished and dreams a distant reality.

World Leaders Mobilize For Global Education Opportunity

In an effort to provide them a better and brighter future, Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, President Peter Mutharika of Malawi, and Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova co-convened The International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity. Launched at the Oslo Summit on Financing Education for Development in 2015, the organization aims to inspire global action and investment in education.

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Chaired by United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown and led by a group of esteemed leaders who are advised by expert panels on youth, technology, finance, and health, and an all-star secretariat, The Commission is doing just that, engaging a network of 30 research institutions, over 300 partners in more than 100 countries, and countless members of civil society.

Progress Made and Yet to Be Had

As a result of The Commission's activism, commitments to the education of young people, especially the marginalized and most vulnerable, have already been made. During the World Bank's spring meetings in Washington D.C., the World Bank pledged US $2.5 billion over five years to benefit adolescent girls worldwide, an initiative in partnership with Michael Obama and USAID's Let Girls Learn. UNICEF and the World Bank also established an alliance to promote early childhood education and development.

Furthermore, the Education Cannot Wait Fund, which was announced at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May, received an initial endowment of US $100 million from businesses to provide education to children and youth affected by emergencies and conflicts.

Although much has been done, much more needs to be done to close a multi-billion dollar annual gap to ensure that our sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, most who are living in low- and lower-middle income countries, poverty, conflict, and at the margins of society will learn and thrive.

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Launching A Learning Generation at the United Nations

Joined by presidents, prime ministers, nobel laureates, leaders of industry, academics, artists, teachers, technologists, students, and social entrepreneurs, The Commission will gather at the United Nations on Sunday, September 18th, 2016 to present United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the co-conveners with a report and agenda for action to realize A Learning Generation.

This event is a culmination of a year of global consultations and continuation of activations to mobilize capital to achieve universal education, enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Join The Education Commission on Sunday, September 18th, 2016 in New York at the United Nations. If you are unable to join in person, join online via Facebook Live and on Twitter. Use #LearningGeneration to interact with the global digital community.
NEW: READ THE SPECIAL REPORT & DATA REPORT





Abandoned Verizon Central Office in Kingston NY, (Photo Google Maps)

First, the news: On September 13th, 2016, the City of New York sent a letter to Verizon that it had defaulted on its cable franchise agreement with the city. By July, 2014, Verizon should have upgraded the networks so that all households could get a FiOS, Fiber to the Premises, "FTTP" service.

But, it is the charging of billions of dollars to build out the wireless networks and the abandoning (or not upgrading) of most of NY State's wired infrastructure (for retail services) that our new SPECIAL REPORT details. In New York, Verizon was granted multiple rate increases, starting in 2006, to pay for the "massive deployment of fiber optics", which was charged to every phone customer, including low income families and customers in rural areas. In fact, customers (including low income families, seniors, small businesses, etc.) in New York City that have or had phone service (2006-to-today), also paid extra for these upgrades, even if they didn't get them (or want them).

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The Story: Massive Cross-Subidies Go Unchallenged.

Verizon claims it is now a 'wireless-first' company. But Verizon also controls, state by state, the state-based wired utilities and business networks from Massachusetts to Virginia, with only a few exceptions. Verizon has no serious plans to upgrade or even maintain the existing retail copper wires. Even Verizon's FiOS fiber to the home deployments stopped in 2010-2012, except for areas with existing license agreements. And while Verizon claims that in Boston they are finally doing fiber to the home to deliver wireline broadband, it is a 'trial' to instead deploy and substitute wireless broadband, which still requires many wireless antennas to be connected to a fiber optic wire. (As of now, 5G is more a hyped next-generation mirage than a working service to replace fiber to the home.)

But there are more troubling issues. What should be of major concern to all Verizon municipalities and cities is that Verizon has diverted billions per state to build out its wireless networks by having the wireline state utility take over the capital expenditures' ("capex") budget, thus phone customers, pay for the capex. In just New York, Verizon built 5,515 cell towers and charged local phone customers and the state wired utility an estimated $2.8 billion for just 2010-2012. On top of this, Verizon Wireless pays a fraction of what its competitors, such as Sprint, pay for the use of the Verizon networks, known as "special access".

This diversion of funds is one of the primary reasons why the work in most cities along the East Coast abruptly stopped around 2010-2012, or the municipalities were never even offered service. And, this lack of payment back to the wired networks is also one of the primary reasons the local phone networks are 'unprofitable'; the financial books are manipulated to make local phone service pay the majority of expenses.

In fact, throughout the East Coast, from Massachusetts to Virginia, Verizon has left the majority of municipalities with a deteriorating copper network, which, depending on the state, should have been replaced with fiber optics. This has left most areas without direct, very fast broadband and thus cable competition, but also left most cities without serious upgrades of their town, or even working reliable service.

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In 2015, DSLReports summed up the current situation based on recent calls for broadband deployment in cities across the East Coast.

"With the exception of major city franchise obligations (and even those have lots of wiggle room), Verizon all but ended their FiOS expansion plans around five years ago. With so many un-served cities still begging to be upgraded Verizon continually has to remind folks that they're simply not interested in upgrading their fixed line networks any more. If you live in one of those un-upgraded cities like Buffalo, Boston or Alexandria, that's a tough pill to swallow."

NOTE: The opening picture is of a Verizon Central Office (CO) in Kingston, New York. That is testimony of this abrupt changeover. According to union personnel, the CO could have been 'lit' to deliver service, but was never implemented. Instead, the staff was deployed to do wireless deployments. (Note: Every city has a number of Central Offices, which are buildings where the wires and services are aggregated in the community.)

Unknown to most, depending on the state, Verizon was able to manipulate the accounting to charge local phone customers extra to fund the fiber-build out as well as to pay, via cross-subsidies, for the deployment of Verizon's other lines of business, such as special access, which has unchecked 'Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA), profits. Meanwhile, "Local Service" was left holding the proverbial bag to pay most of the expenses and thus loses money.

(In fact, as documented in "The Book of Broken Promises", the lack of fiber optic broadband can be traced to changes in state laws in the 1990's to have entire states, from New Jersey or Pennsylvania, completed with 45 Mbps bi-directional services.)

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Verizon and the other incumbent phone companies have also been able to hide the majority of access lines, all of the "special access" wires. These are the wires that go to the cell sites (sometimes called "backhaul") or carry retail data services, like alarm circuits and to ATM machines. Yet these wires are actually part of the state utility and are the same as phone wires, but, since they are under a different regulatory covenant, they have high profits because the accounting could be manipulated.

The Consumer Federation of America's 2016 report found massive special access overcharging and estimated the encompassing larger economic harms; the overcharging doesn't just harm the competitors or business users, but impacts consumers as well.

"Consumer Federation of America (CFA) estimates that large incumbent telephone companies have engaged in abusive pricing practices for high-speed broadband "special access" services, with overcharges totaling about $75 billion over just the past five years. As a result, CFA estimates that the indirect macroeconomic loss to American consumers doubles that damage to a total in excess of $150 billion since 2010."

New Networks Institute and Consumer Federation have combined analyses and filed comments and reply comments in multiple FCC proceedings pertaining to special access.

We believe that the first step is to document the cross-subsidies, then stop the diversion of the billions going to fund wireless and 'redirect' it. Wireless and all other affiliates would be paying market prices, which would not only supply money to build out the networks to residential and business customers, but dramatically lower rates, especially for the low income families and the elderly that funded the wired networks and FiOS through rate increases in New York. Unfortunately, the cross-subsidies appear to have occurred in every state telephone utility, as many were set via the FCC federal cost allocation rules.

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The irony is - wireless densification requires fiber optic wires. All of the "loss of lines" stories have been manipulated, as they do not count the growing special access markets--or the actual lines in service.

Why It Matters Now:

First, the ability to block a municipality from offering services in a growing number of states has been upheld by the courts after the FCC decided to take actions to change this situation and lost. The agency has decided not to appeal.

No city has asked for an audit of the accounting to deal with the cross-subsidies of wireline and wireless.

Most people don't like being gouged, among other complaints. From overcharging of special access to many states raising rates multiple times, which ended up going to fund the wireless business, the customers, the state economy--and the cities throughout the East Coast, have all been harmed.

While the cable companies have deployed more coverage areas in many states, (as opposed to the telco's broadband-TV deployments) they are also the "most hated companies in America", year after year, survey after survey. Worse, even where Verizon has rolled out its FiOS service, this is only a 'duopoly' at best; it is still not competition.

Economic growth for the city, business and family income is missing in many cities. There are thousands of studies pertaining to the benefits in economic growth or education from high speed services. See: http://www.baller.com/library/

Even the White House released a report "Community-Based Broadband Solutions: The Benefits of Competition and Choice for Community Development and High-speed Internet Access"

Every Verizon State and Municipality is in the Same Boat.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Verizon has been able to get rid of the requirement to offer a wireline service and can replace it with wireless service. Pennsylvania and New Jersey stand out as they both had commitments to rewire the entire state territory with fiber optics, by 2015 and 2010 respectively, and yet were able to have the laws changed to supply a slow 'DSL equivalent', which can be wireless.

In New York, funding for broadband build-outs by the state is being sued over as groups and companies feel that the distribution of500 million in state funding was not properly objective.

In Massachusetts, one of the state funds managed by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute just gave Comcast5 million to build in underserved towns they already serve but had not build out due to low density of homes passed. In the end, Comcast will own the state funded infrastructure, paid for by the government, meaning customers or tax payers or both.

Only a few municipalities have taken the leap to do an overbuild of the incumbent provider(s), as the expense and expertise are enormous for most cities and towns.

Google is not going to save every city. Google has recently stated that it, too, is doing a financial cut-back and is now questioning some fiber deployments to do wireless broadband instead.

Boston Is a 'Trial' to Shut Off the Retail Networks Completely, but have the Wired Customers (and Special Access) Pay for It--Statewide.

The developing story of Boston should have cities realizing that there will be no fiber to the home or even copper maintenance by Verizon. In April 2016, Verizon announced spending $300 million on a six year project to bring FiOS fiber to the home to all of Boston.

"Verizon to build $300M fiber network in Boston"..."Verizon will bring its fiber-optic FiOS network to Boston over the next six years, city and company officials announced..."



Unfortunately, this does not appear to be true. Verizon plans only to do partial coverage of the city, not even all of the neighborhoods, or the surrounding towns and cities. The real plan is to test whether customers will buy wireless broadband - because it is so much more profitable.

At the Oppenheimer 19th Annual Technology Internet Communications Conference, August 9th, 2016, Timothy Horan, Oppenheimer & Co. Analyst asked Verizon:

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"So are you deploying fiber differently now in Boston than you've done for FiOS in the past? Does each small cell need like their own fiber home run to that small cell? Are you going to be deploying a lot more fiber than you have historically?"

David Small, Verizon Communications, Inc. EVP responded:



"Yes, we will. And so, as it relates to FiOS, we've announced a few of the suburb areas, for lack of a better word, for cities, sub cities that we are going to be building into. But beyond that, if you think about the use case for small cells and the coordination elements of the radio access network that need to occur between its corresponding home macro and the small cell, that suggests that, as a general rule, you need home runs from that small cell directly back to that coordinating macro-level cell site. And that's exactly what we are doing."

Thus, the networks will not be using the fiber optic deployments for FIOS. Instead, Verizon will do a bait-and-switch and run wireless services. And there is no proof that what they want to do--replace wireless for the equivalent of FiOS, will work. 5G is years away, if ever. Worse, Verizon will NOT be building out most cities and towns with wireline broadband, especially in areas it hasn't upgraded for the last decade+.

Besides getting the municipalities upgraded, it is clear that examining the cross-subsidies of wireless and the other lines of business must be done. The alternative is that America is in for less service at higher costs with Verizon et al. controlling the wires as well as the wireless business.

And the prices for services, such as local phone service, are no longer based on 'fair and just' rates on all levels including Business Data Services. This also includes the rates for a competitor to rent the wires.

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We believe AT&T's plans are similar, if not identical. The plan is to claim the new fiber being installed is going to the homes publicly, but more/most goes for the wireless service. And on top if this, it is funded via the wireline budgets.

So, will Verizon even finish New York City without a legal challenge? It's doubtful based on Boston's bait and switch.

The SPECIAL REPORT is partial summary of what we have uncovered, followed by PART II: Data Report. I'll be covering the reports and their implications in future articles.

(The report includes this article and continues from there.)

"SPECIAL REPORT: HOW MUNICIPALITIES AND THE STATES CAN FUND FIBER OPTIC & WIRELESS BROADBAND NETWORKS

Proving Verizon's Wireline Networks Diverted Capex for Wireless Deployments Instead of Wiring Municipalities and Charged Local Phone Customers for It."

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I am attending the Our Ocean, One Future conference organized by the US State Department under the leadership of US Secretary of State, John Kerry. A number of major announcements are anticipated as States are expected to come to the table with specific ocean initiatives and achievements to share with their peers and the world.



Only a few days ago, some of the world's largest carbon emitters, including the United States China and Brazil, announced they will formally join the Paris Agreement, bringing the crucial climate deal a step closer to commencement. This should trigger far more ambitious action for the climate both nationally and internationally; action that will have a direct impact on the future of our oceans.



According to an IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) report on ocean warming published last week at the World Conservation Congress, we have only seen a small fraction of the likely impacts of ocean warming on key marine and coastal organisms and ecosystems. And while the cost of the ocean crisis is being felt by those people in coastal nations and communities who rely on the oceans for food and their livelihoods, the impacts are starting to become evident on a global scale.



Many of us have seen the heartbreaking images of beautiful coral reefs turning white and dying after temperature driven bleaching episodes. What is less well known is that in addition to urgent action on climate change and ocean acidification, protecting coral reefs from other stressors, such as overfishing, destructive fishing and pollution, can have a huge effect on their ability to cope with increasing ocean temperatures.

Creating large scale networks of ocean sanctuaries - "no-take" havens for marine life - increases ocean resilience against the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification, protects vital ecosystems and supports food security by rebuilding fish stocks. Ocean sanctuaries can also help to preserve important carbon sinks.

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Greenpeace has supported the scientific community's call for a global network of ocean sanctuaries covering 40% of the oceans. At one time this target was seen as too ambitious, but today more and more scientists and governments are calling for at least 30% of the ocean to be set aside as no-take areas. Just last week, a resolution at the IUCN World Conservation Congress called for governments to protect at least 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. This was adopted by a landslide vote.

The sooner we change the way we treat our Blue Planet the greater chance we have to safeguard key habitats and species, along with the livelihoods of the millions of people who depend on healthy oceans. There is much the governments attending the Our Ocean, One Future conference must do to kick-start this change.



Last week, U.S. President Obama announced the expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea sanctuary around Hawaii, now the largest no-take area in the world. A number of other countries including the UK, France and Palau have taken similar initiatives. However, only 2.1% of the world's oceans are under some form of protection - and far less than 1% of the high seas is protected. This is far below existing global targets, and sensitive and pristine marine environments such as the High Arctic and the Ross Sea are currently left open for business.

We will never achieve the protection levels science tells us are needed if the high seas, which cover two thirds of the ocean, are left unprotected. We will never secure a sustainable future for all if governments and corporations simply continue exploiting the ocean to meet short term economic interests.

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"There are no more natural ocean sanctuaries. It is up to us to create them," said Oscar- winning actor, writer and activist Emma Thompson. Her plea was delivered from the Arctic where she joined Greenpeace Canada and the Inuit community of Clyde River in pushing back against destructive seismic blasting (prospecting for oil and gas) in their home, to the nations represented at the plenary. Outside the conference room it reached more than four million people online who have united their voices for ocean protection.

Since 2014 the US has become a more constructive player in the UN negotiations. Today the need to take action is no less urgent and we are asking the US and other leaders currently gathered in Washington DC to show strong leadership in moving 'our ocean', including waters beyond national boundaries, to the top of the global political agenda.
As employers continue to improve their workplace environments, benefits, and perks to attract and retain millennials, who now comprise about two-thirds of the global workforce, it's time for them to consider switching gears and turn more of their attention to the next generation that will soon take the workplace by storm - Generation Z.

Born in the mid/late 1990's and arguably the most technologically conversant, Gen Z will be the next major generation of talent to enter and influence the workforce. With the oldest members of this cohort just about to enter college this fall, everyone, me included, is racing to understand them while they pursue their college education. In fact, this past summer I conducted a series of town halls on college campuses across the country to better understand the wants and needs of Gen Z. From learning about their career aspirations to the types of companies they want to work for, I was interested in how they related to, and differed from, their Millennial counterparts.

One student from DePaul University particularly stuck out to me. He said, "I have watched my parents work hard every day doing jobs they don't like. Watching this as I grew up made me realize I want a job that makes me feel fulfilled." Another student from Santa Clara University shared that sentiment, "I think my generation is more concerned with innovation and creativity, while my parent's generation was more focused on getting as far as you can in a business. I believe that your position in a job should not be the sole indicator of your success."

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Driven by passion and purpose? You bet. But we also learned that Gen Z is confident, assertive and ready to work hard. From where they want to intern, to what city they ultimately want to land their first job -- many of them have already envisioned their career trajectory. They also value flexibility, progressive benefits and opportunities to grow. Despite crushing student loans and fierce competition--they are a powerful force and, more importantly, a powerful resource, for employers who can evolve in the right way to tap into it.

Surprisingly, what I heard on campuses matched recent EY research that we conducted this past summer. As part of our Global generations 3.0 study, which looked at trust levels in the workforce, we surveyed 3,200 Gen Zers (ages 16-18) across 8 countries: US, UK, Mexico, Brazil, China, Japan, India and Germany; to learn about what factors might impact their trust in a future employer.

Interestingly, when thinking about a future employer, Gen Z cared most about opportunities to learn and advance, as well as equal pay and promotion. They also would consider an employer who encourages them to manage their work-life responsibilities and where and when they work. And lucky for us, when they are ready to enter their workforce, half of Gen Zers said they want to work for a large company.

This generation is not shy to say what they want in an employer and it's up to us to start listening and thinking about how we recruit them in the next five years. To best engage Gen Z, employers and recruiters should consider the following:

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Provide them with purpose: At EY, we drive our recruiting efforts through programs and outreach approaches that are aimed at setting ourselves apart from other companies. Since Gen Z values "purpose" and a measurable impact, it's critical that companies provide its people with opportunities to collaborate and do good in addition to doing well.

Total rewards need to reflect what Gen Z values: No longer driven by long-term benefits, companies should revamp their recruiting platform to ensure they are offering the right benefits and programs. Modern benefits for Gen Z could include corporate responsibility sabbaticals, flexibility in someone's work schedule, equitable opportunities for men and women to advance, student loan refinancing options and progressive parental leave policies.

Personalization: From shopping online to selecting classes or personalizing their devices and apps, Gen Z will expect a custom-tailored recruiting experience--and it's our job to give it to them. Consider sharing the array of opportunities available within your company with this cohort, which can help them determine what they might want to consider down the road. Rather than pigeon-holing them into one area right out of the gate, you can build better practitioners with a wider breadth of experiences before giving them the opportunity to choose the work that best aligns with their skills and interests.

Exploring new recruiting strategies today will give companies the edge they need to attract and retain Gen Z later on. Millennials forced companies to adapt their recruiting and workplace benefits; Gen Z will force companies to completely evolve.
Co-Authored by Maclen Zilber, Democratic Strategist and Campaign Consultant based in Hollywood, CA

It's being billed as the heavyweight fight of the year. In the left corner, the global swashbuckler, the pneumonia-battler, the Secretary of the Smack-Down, Hillary Clinton. In the right corner, weighing *mumble mumble* pounds, the yellow-haired yammerer, Donald "What do you have to lose" Trump.

With some of the polls tightening, as we look back in the history books, this first debate could turn out to be one of the most consequential moments in one of the most consequential campaigns in our nation's history.

Both candidates know full-well that having a bad debate performance can sink a campaign - a good one, can get voters to take a second look.

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In 1960, when Richard Nixon squared off with John F. Kennedy, Nixon's poor debate performance was widely considered as one of the central reasons for his decline in the polls. President George H.W. Bush's perceived moment of impatience when he checked his wristwatch mid 1992 debate later cost him dearly at the ballot box. More recently, in 2012, President Obama's less-than-stellar first debate against Mitt Romney led to a significant dip in his polling, which gave Democrats across the country chills down their spines.

As Hillary Clinton prepares for this important first debate, she must draw on the moments this cycle that have seen her at her best. There are three speeches she has given this cycle which, in our view, have represented the strongest, most compelling cases she's made against Donald Trump. Thematically, each speech is different, but they all also include some global elements that are somewhat similar. Every one of the trio of speeches centers around a different way to frame the race between herself and Trump, and in each oration, Clinton uniquely takes the stuffing out of her opponent, often using his own words against him.

Unlike the Hillary Clinton of the past, who is known for being overly polished and cautious, each of these three speeches showcase a raw, street fighter, ready to do political battle. This is when Clinton is at her best.

First up, was Clinton's March 23, 2016 event in Palo Alto, California:

Delivered at Stanford University, this speech was a defining moment in the campaign. It came on the heels of the Brussels terrorist attack and reflected Clinton's clear and coherent world-view that supports internationalism, collaboration with U.S. allies, and American leadership around the globe. It was also the first major step Clinton took in a formal address to screwier her soon-to-be general election arch-nemesis, Trump. In it, she questioned his chops for the job of President, lambasted his slogan-first and policy-second strategy and chastised Trump's naive brand of isolationism.

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A strong follow up to her Stanford speech was the one she served up on June 3, 2016 in San Diego:

Just days before the final matchup with her former Democratic primary foe in California's primary election, Bernie Sanders, Clinton lobbed a snarky and zinger fueled attack speech against Trump. Breaking out of her normally wonky, policy heavy comfort zone, Clinton hurled some of her most forceful attacks against Trump by balancing a delivery of unfiltered humor with repeating the billionaire's outlandish, racist, misogynistic and xenophobic words back at him. It was also a point in the race where Clinton began to frame Trump as, "temperamentally unfit," for the job of America's chief executive. The combination had a real impact. Not only did Clinton's address turn heads across the nation, but it instantaneously created an unwanted political firestorm for Trump because the bulk of Clinton's remarks consisted of the Republican's own words.

But the coup de grace was Clinton's remarks on August 23, 2016 in Reno, Nevada; her most hard-hitting and provocative to date:

Trump's hiring of Steve Bannon, the CEO of Breitbart News Network and one of the perceived cultivators of the 'alt right' movement, as his campaign's new Chief Executive Officers, validates nearly every claim that the GOP nominee both sympathizes with and is embracing the movement - and its white supremacist underbelly. Loosely defined as an accumulation of militants, white supremacists, survivalists, monarchists, and other extreme right-wing movements that don't fit in with modern conservatism, the alt-right movement stands against multiculturalism, immigration and holds views most Americans find abhorrent. Since the Bannon hire, Clinton has capitalized on it and use it as obvious evidence of Trump's favoritism for this fringe group. In Nevada, she handed down a blistering prosecution against Trump's embrace of the alt-right and its hate group powered movement. Her message was profound and drew a clear line in the sand between her mainstream-ism and the divisive nature of the alt-right that Trump has embraced as his base. It's a narrative that could help fan the flames around the idea that Trump falls outside of the spectrum of what is acceptable in American politics.

Hillary Clinton is at her strongest when she is counterpunching, and Donald Trump is at his weakest when he looks thin-skinned. Who can forget the classic debate moment when Lincoln Chaffee prosecuted an aggressive line of attack against Clinton, Clinton was asked if she'd like to respond, and she casually said "No."

Donald Trump's strength with voters is that he projects an image to many of them that he is strong, healthy and virile. But when he shows himself to be petty, thin-skinned, unable to take even the slightest jokes at his expense, he looks weak, pathetic and small. That's when Donald Trump gets put on the defensive.

If Donald Trump can make himself look like Idi Amin, physically dominating the debate, it almost doesn't matter what he says, he has at least drawn a tie. But if Clinton can make Trump look weak and petty, like a high school bully who has been exposed, the very alt-right voters who are supporting Trump because of his so-called masculinity and virility may find there's a tougher candidate in the room.
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 02: A Red Line Metro train pulls out of the Rhode Island Avenue station, September 2, 2016. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Public transit in Washington, D.C., is in rough shape. After years of safety issues, including several train collisions, the agency in charge, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is proposing to cut train service hours.

But another proposal may be even more troubling.

Two weeks ago, WMATA began taking bids from private companies to operate its parking facilities. In exchange for a big up-front payment to the agency, the winning company would collect fees from people parked at train stations for the next 50 years.

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Privatization would be foolish for a number of reasons.

It discourages public transit. In order for the private company to make a profit, parking rates will have to go up -- as much as 3% a year, according to WMATA. If it costs more money to park and ride the train, people may look for other ways into the city.

We lose control of assets we own. In a similar 75-year deal, Chicago handed over its parking meters in 2008 to banking giant Morgan Stanley for a one-time $1.2 billion payment. But that's not all it handed over. The city is penalized if they do anything that cuts into Morgan Stanley's profit, like adding bus or bike lanes. This makes it harder for Chicago to make innovative and environmentally sustainable changes to the city's transit plan for the next seven decades.

It's short-term thinking. The parking facilities currently pull in nearly $50 million a year for WMATA. Privatization would send that money--and more--to a private company instead of the public. In Chicago, Morgan Stanley is on pace to make back its $1.2 billion upfront payment by 2020, with more than 60 years of meter money still to come.

The potential deal begs a fundamental question about public goods and services. Who do we want to control them? Us, or a small handful of investors and Wall Street banks?

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The answer to that question is crucial, not only to D.C. public transit but also to the city itself. Journalist Erika Eichelberger recently summed up why: "As privatization undermines the very purpose and nature of a city, it also undermines the people's connection to the city, and their desire to invest in and contribute to it."

WMATA's proposed plan is a big deal. We could lose the ability to have a say in transit parking policies for 50 years.
Liberal Member of Parliament Denis Coderre speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa September 20, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (CANADA - Tags: POLITICS)

In the debate over whether pit bulls should be banned, Montreal's mayor has demonstrated rare grit. It takes backbone to stand firmly against every professional organization on the continent, and to embrace heroic ignorance. I stress: Mayor Denis Coderre is not rejecting "some" expert groups. He's not sneering at "the majority." He's rejecting every single one. Every. Single. One.

Bravo, mayor. Short may you prosper.

Ah, but the mayor laughs -- Ha! Je ris! -- at specialists who have studied the matter, and who have concluded that Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) does absolutely nothing to reduce dog bites, and means the slaughter of thousands of innocent pets.

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When local citizens oppose these worthless measures, they too are treated with royal contempt. I urge you to watch the video below. It's disgraceful. A Montreal resident, Kim Doucet, stands at an open hearing to confront the mayor with the proven fact that breed bans have worked literally nowhere in the world. Coderre's democratic response (midway through the argument) is: "Coupe le micro."

If you're francais-deprived, that means: "Cut the mic." And the mic is duly cut. Thank you, Mayor. You're a peach. May your silenced constituents vote you into oblivion.

Sure, but what kind of mayor listens to mere citizens? That's hardly his job. So let's revisit those expert organizations, shall we. By "experts," I don't mean pompous pseudo-scientists who hate pit bulls, but qualified professionals who rely on peer-reviewed articles written by actual scientists and published in major international journals. Perhaps you require names? Well, I've written about this recently, but to recap and expand, the legislation Mayor Coderre is forcing down the collective throat of his city has been scorned by the following (and this is by no means a complete list):

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1. Ordre des medecins veterinaires du Quebec

2, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

3. SPCA Montreal

4. Humane Society International/Canada

5. Ontario Health and Safety Board

6. Toronto Humane Society

7. Canadian Kennel Club

8. National Animal Control Association

9. National Animal Interest Alliance

10. National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors

11. International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants

12. International Association of Canine Professionals

13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

14. Best Friends Animal Society

15. Humane Society of the United States

16. American College of Veterinary Behaviorists

17. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

18. Association of Pet Dog Trainers

19. Animal Behavior Society

20. American Kennel Club

21. American Humane

22. American Bar Association

23. American Dog Owners Association

24. American Veterinary Medical Association

25. American Working Dog Federation

26. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior

27. The, uh, White House

Eyes glazed yet? Sorry, but sometimes ennui is instructive. Note that I'm restricting myself to a select group of North Americans here -- I'd hate to bore you even further with a more comprehensive list, but you're welcome to Google the entire civilized world.

Oh, come on: isn't there even one prominent group in Canada or the U.S. in favor of banning pit bulls? Not one? Okay, it's only fair to note that there is one. Not a professional organization, by any stretch, but famous. In the way that Kim Kardashian is famous. This would be PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA's argument isn't based upon anything remotely scientific, of course, but it's deeply felt. And that's what matters. Their caring founder goes further in the way of Breed Specific Legislation than most: she has called for every living pit bull taking refuge in a shelter to leave that safe haven in a body bag. (She's big on animals leaving shelters in body bags. It's more than just a hobby for her; you might say that it's a calling.) So, if you're the kind of person -- a sterling, Coderre-like type -- who stands firm with the vile, the confused, and the famous, you might wish to take this into account: PETA's on your side.

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The Dakota Access pipeline is a 1,172-mile pipeline beginning in northwestern North Dakota, crossing South Dakota, Iowa and terminating in Patoka, Illinois where it would connect with other pipeline systems. When fully operational, the pipeline would carry 470,000 barrels of oil a day.

The builder -- Energy Transfer Partners -- secured the required permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and started construction on the pipeline, which is 60 percent complete. The company estimates that more than $1.6 billion has been spent so far on the project.

However, the pipeline has garnered significant attention and controversy. Environmental groups argue that a pipeline accident could taint local water supplies. Native Americans, including the directly impacted Standing Rock Sioux, complained that the construction would disrupt sacred tribal sites.

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Opponents sued in federal court to stop construction but a judge ruled against them September 9, stating that the government had followed the necessary procedures and that construction could continue.

Later that day, three Federal agencies -- the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, and the Corps of Engineers -- issued a statement that the federal government may need to revisit questions about tribal consultation and asked Energy Transfer Partners to "voluntarily pause" its construction.
On November 5, 2015 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) issued a new and extreme anti-gay edict banning same-sex married couples and their children from the Church. During the past 10 months, there have been scores of Mormon LGBT teenagers who have committed suicide because of it.

The Church's latest hateful anti-LGBT policy was actually leaked by someone inside the Mormon Church, causing its PR department to scramble. The resulting "policy change" states that the children of legally married same-sex parents are not allowed to be members of the Mormon Church until they turn 18 years old. Then they will be forced to choose between their parents who raised them and their Church. If they choose the Mormon Church, they would have to renounce their parents and their parent's sexual orientation. Wow.

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At Least 32 LGBT Teen Suicides So Far

The suicides began immediately. It was reported that just in first few months after the new Church policy took effect, 32 Mormon teens took their own lives. Imagine the heartbreak for all those families who suffered the unimaginable loss of a child, a sister or a brother. Imagine all the despair, all the suffering and all the pain that Mormon Church leaders caused its LGBT members and their families. Thousands of angry Mormon Church members resigned immediately.

Mormon Apostle Dallin H. Oaks made matters worse when he said of the dozens of Mormon teen suicides, "I'm aware that those tragic things happen. Those things have to be judged by a higher authority than exists on this earth."

It became a PR disaster for the Mormon Church. In the months to follow the policy change, so many Mormon families were hurting that Church leaders finally issued a rare acknowledgement on all of the suicides. The Church owned Deseret News covered it with this headline "LDS Church Leaders Mourn Reported Deaths in Mormon LGBT Community."

It Was Really a Revelation

On January 10, 2016 the Mormon Church did an about face. Apostle Russell M. Nelson said in a speech at Church owned BYU Hawaii that it was not actually a policy change, but the LGBT ban came directly from God. That hard to swallow bit of damage control two months after the original Church edict led to tens of thousands of more Mormon resignations.

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125,000 Resignations and Counting

Church members started going online, talking to their Bishops and lining up by the thousands to fill out the necessary paperwork to officially leave their Church. One estimate is that up to 125,000 Mormons have resigned the Mormon Church in the last 10 months because of it. One attorney in Salt Lake City has personally handled 12,000 resignations alone. This figure is on top of the nearly one million Mormons who have resigned the Church after the it was outed as being the driving force and funder of California's Proposition 8.

Parent-Rejected LGBT Teen Suicide Attempt Rate -- 8 Times National Average

It's no coincidence that, according to studies by the Family Acceptance Project, LGBT youth with highly-rejecting families have 8 times the attempted suicide rate. This must stop.

A Simple Mormon Solution

There's an easy fix for the First Presidency and the 12 Mormon Apostles. Come up with a new and welcoming policy for LGBT Mormons and present it at your General Conference in Salt Lake City next weekend. Open your doors to all members of the LGBT community and their families just like you did for African Americans 40 years ago.

Simply issue a statement at the upcoming General Conference like you did on June 8, 1978, when the Mormon Church changed its 150 year old policy that banned African Americans from the Church.

Use loving words like you did back then when you said "All worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color." Just change it slightly to read, "All worthy members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for sexual orientation or gender identity." It's that easy.

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The Mormon Church would help lead the way toward equality for all by acknowledging that times and families are changing. Let everyone in the world know that they are welcome in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It would stop all your membership losses and instead help to grow the Church again.

But most importantly, you could end all these teenage suicides, the attempted suicides and go a long way toward stopping the scourge of depression and homelessness within the Mormon LGBT community.

Please take this recommendation to heart, President Monson and all Apostles. Welcome and embrace all God's children into the Mormon Church.


I had the privilege of attending the first Women in Green Forum in 2010. This conference is the brainchild of Jaime Nack, the President of Three Squares, Inc, a consulting firm specializing in developing sustainability plans. The mission of the conference has been to promote women's leadership across green industry and develop future solutions to the environmental crises facing our planet. Jaime's team does this by curating fabulous speakers, informative workshops, and break-out sessions that always leave me inspired and is the reason why I try and attend every year. This year she might have outdone herself.

The theme was "Business as (Un)Usual: Where Purpose Meets Profit" and included an assembly of renowned female professionals from the energy, technology, transportation, consumer products, professional services, and nonprofit sectors. We heard from leaders including Luanna Huber, Director, Environment & Conservation, TDM & Environmentality Integration at The Walt Disney Company, Rose Mckinney-James, Board Member at MGM Resorts International, Michelle Moore, CEO at Groundswell and Dr. Lisa Dyson, CEO at Kiverdi as to how they are addressing sustainability within their organizations. We even learned some practical feng shui tips from Lori Tierney, President and CEO of Tierney Management on how to keep the energy in your environment in balance.

There were several awards presented including the Women in Green Forum Trailblazer Award which went to Dolores Huerta, Activist and President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation for her work. And since there are no coincidences in my life, it was my friend Lora O'Connor who presented the clip of a documentary film on Dolores's life that has been submitted to Sundance.

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But what stood out the most for me was listening to what Natalie Mindrum, Director of Environmental Strategy at United Airlines had to say about their Eco-Skies commitment to protect the environment.

You might be surprised to know that a global airline has a strategy, much less a person to direct it, but increasingly companies are adding titles as high as Chief Sustainability Officer to their hierarchy. What really got my attention is that in addition to having a four-pillar commitment to the environment, which includes fuel efficiency and carbon management, sustainable travel products and services, alternative fuels, and partners in sustainability, United is the first airline to use biofuels - fuels produced directly or indirectly from organic material including plant and animal waste - to power their flights out of LAX.

They've partnered with AltAir Fuels, who took an idle commercial oil refinery in Paramount, California and retrofitted it to produce biofuel. Not only is the 30/70 blend of biofuel with traditional jet fuel expected to reduce carbon emissions by 60%, but it also created over fifty new jobs! I found it very impressive that an airline in a difficult economic period, would continue to make the environment a priority.

There has been so much progress made in sustainability since the Women's Green Forum started in 2010 and since I launched Greenopia in 2006, but there is also so much more to do. As always happens when I find myself in a room full of smart women passionate about building and creating sustainable businesses I leave with fresh, new ideas. The first is to work with Jaime Nack to help take this event to the global stage.

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The second is to make everyone aware that green initiatives don't need the budget of a United Airlines behind them to make a difference. Changes can be made, no matter how small your business, to make green thinking a part of your company's culture. They include choosing LED lighting over incandescent and fluorescent which contain mercury and other toxic gases, installing a water infiltration system to eliminate the use of plastic bottles and save money in the long run, using recycled paper, stocking non-toxic cleaning supplies, choosing green vendors to do business with (Greenopia has great listings!) and serving healthy and organic food at meetings.
Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you

Is worth savin'

Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'

- Bob Dylan

How many people do you know?

Really! How many? Just take a minute to think about it.

How many people's paths have you crossed or intersected with throughout your life?

In school, each year you most likely had different classmates.

How many people work in the same company that you do? How many do you know by name? How many you know by sight? How many you see, know they work there but may have never had a conversation with?

How many people do you shop from each day? Perhaps it is just buying a cup of coffee or a sandwich for lunch? Do you ever pass a stranger on the street, eye contact is made and perhaps even a smile appears on one or both of your faces?

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What total did you come up with?

Was it 10, 100, 1,000 or more?

Were you surprised?

...

June 30, 2016. Los Angeles, CA -- An estimated 0.6% of adults in the United States, or 1.4 million individuals, identify as transgender, according to a new study authored by researchers at The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. The study provides the first ever state-level estimates of the percentage of adults who identify as transgender throughout the United States, ranging from 0.3% in North Dakota to 0.8% in Hawaii.

This past June, the Williams Institute actually doubled the previous estimate that has been used for a number of years regarding the prevalence of transgender people in the U.S.A. Needless to say, taking an accurate count of trans folk has never been a task that is easily accomplished. The reasons for this are numerous, but include fear and shame for many individuals and their place in all of their relationships and society.

I personally find the new estimate that has doubled, from 0.3% to 0.6% of the adult population, a significant event, although my own sense is that it still may be conservative.

However let's put this in perspective. What does 0.6% of the adult population mean to you?

...

So, let me ask you once again... how many people has your very own journey crossed paths with in your lifetime?

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There is a common understanding -- whether it is true or not that most of the population states that they do not know a transgender person.

In November and December 2013, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) asked 4,509 U.S. adults if they had a close friend or family member who was transgender. Nine percent of respondents replied "yes" while 89 percent said "no." An additional 2 percent said "don't know" or refused to answer.

Over the past few years, the LGBT community has found itself in a new war. The transgender community is fighting this war on at least two fronts: acceptance and understanding.

Neither acceptance or understanding should be based on someone's judgments of who we are, yet there are many that are stuck in that judgmental space.

We will win the war of laws -- of this I am sure. It has not been and will not be an easy battle, but we will win. You don't need to be a math major to see this.

Transgender people are much more common than anyone has known.

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We are your mothers, your fathers and your children.

We are your aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews.

We are your grandparents and your grandchildren.

We are your teachers and your students.

We are your doctors, and your lawyers and your pilots.

We are your soldiers, and your sailors.

We are your neighbors, your shopkeepers.

We are your friends.



...

I am pretty sure that when you counted how many people you have known in your life, you came up with at least 167. There is a good chance that your own journey has intersected with a person who is transgender. Perhaps you never were aware of it. Perhaps they were not even aware of it at the time your pat's crossed. Nonetheless, it may well be true.

Transgender people are all around you, and as the times are a-changin' more and more of us are gaining self-acceptance, and "coming out" and being seen. Many of us are more than happy to help you understand our own unique journey.

Some day soon, I expect the estimate to be double again, and perhaps again. Maybe we will be one in eighty or one in forty. At some point it will not be news each day. We will be accepted as just the person we are who happens to be transgender, and not be judged for that part of our identity.

Yes, the times are still a-changin' -- and this is a good thing...

Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don't criticize

What you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin'

Please get out of the new one

If you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin'

- Bob Dylan

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###

Grace Anne Stevens inspires people to find their truth and live their authentic life! She is an inspirational and motivational speaker specializing on intra and interpersonal relationships. She is the author of No! Maybe? Yes! Living My Truth, and Musings on Living Authentically. Grace is available for speaking to all groups who would like to learn the values of, and how to live authentically. Visit her website at: http://www.graceannestevens.com/. Follow Grace on Twitter: www.twitter.com/graceonboard .
IF SOMEONE USES THE "WRONG" RESTROOM IN NORTH CAROLINA, POORLY-DRAFTED HB2 HAS NO ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM. THERE IS THEREFORE NO CONSERVATIVE OR LIBERAL REASON TO CONTINUE SUFFERING THE DAMAGE PAT MCCRORY HAS INFLICTED UPON NORTH CAROLINA. LET'S PLEASE END THE CARNAGE NOW.

As I've previously pointed out in McCrory's House Bill 2: A Brief Outline of its Five "Parts," only one part of that five-part bill is about bathrooms, and HB2 provides no remedy if anyone uses the "wrong" restroom. Thus, even people who believe in an imminent crisis of "wrong" restroom usage should want immediate repeal and replacement of HB2. They should want a more thoughtful bill that actually provides remedies for the supposed horrors. Furthermore, no reasonable person (conservative or liberal) wants to waste millions of dollars in legal fees (not to mention the awful continuing collateral damage to the state) to defend a bill that provides no remedy for "wrong" bathroom use to which they object. In the early aftermath of Pat McCrory's hasty signing of HB2, some projections of the potential damage to North Carolina's economy ran as high as five billion dollars per year. Though this might have seemed hyperbolic at the time, the current onslaught of such disasters as the loss of NCAA and ACC events on the heels of earlier losses make one wonder if such horrific projections are hyperbolic after all. Of course, such wondering is heightened by the vast and ever-growing damage to the State's reputation in the eyes of the entire world.

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What are we to do in the face of this mess? Since HB2 currently provides no remedy when people use the "wrong" restroom, even the most socially-conservative voter should want the following: (a) an immediate repeal of HB2 that stops the ever-expanding damage to the state and (b) the holding of careful and extensive legislative hearings on whether a bathroom problem really exists and what if anything we should do about it. I predict any such real and unrushed investigations will lead to a better understanding of everyone's concerns and thus lead to more tolerance and unity. That will in turn make it harder for politicians like McCrory to wreak havoc on the state with future miscalculated social wedge issue politics. Since Republicans currently control both the executive and legislative branches of government, the future of this state depends upon conservatives admitting that they have been played by Pat McCrory and insisting that he clean up his act.

Unfortunately, we know now that McCrory will very likely fight back even with the conservative constituents he claims to represent. He has dissembled for so long on his "bathroom bill" that he will likely see any change in position as tantamount to conceding his race for re-election. Additionally, McCrory has real problems accepting responsibility for his own mistakes and tends to lash out at others when he makes mistakes (even inanimate objects such as chairs). Furthermore, the powerful special interests who pushed the attack on workers under the guise of a bathroom bill are not going to want to see these attacks undone by a repeal of HB2.

Though I have faith that conservatives are good people and will rise to this challenge, fixing HB2 will therefore be a tall order as long as McCrory is in power. The tenacious Lake Norman Republicans fighting McCrory over what he has done to them with his I-77 Spanish company "market rate" toll contract know what I mean. Let's not be daunted however. Real North Carolinians embrace our great state motto: Esse quam videri--to be rather than to seem. Let's give the Ohio-born McCrory a lesson in what that motto means to North Carolinians. Let's evict him from the executive mansion in Raleigh if he can't grasp how seriously we embrace truth over deception, over sham, and over false virtue. Let's also remember: POORLY-DRAFTED HB2 HAS NO ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM IF SOMEONE USES THE "WRONG" RESTROOM. THERE IS THEREFORE NO CONSERVATIVE OR LIBERAL REASON TO CONTINUE SUFFERING THE DAMAGE FROM HB2 PAT MCCRORY HAS INFLICTED UPON NORTH CAROLINA. LET'S PLEASE END THE CARNAGE NOW.
Imagine, if you will, saving the lives of 159 people.

It must be a great feeling, knowing that your actions had a profound effect on so many.

The movie "Sully," which comes out today, takes a deep dive into the experience of one such person. Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.

Director Clint Eastwood offers his take on what happened to the pilot, after he successfully landed a U.S. Airways jet on the Hudson River in New York in 2009.

Just minutes after takeoff, the plane's engines sucked in a flock of geese and the aircraft engines died. But because of his training and experience, Sullenberger landed the plane on the river, saving the lives of everyone on board.

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A new American hero was born.

But Sullenberger was never comfortable being called a hero. In an interview on "60 Minutes" later that same year he spoke about how he struggled emotionally in the aftermath of the crash, questioning what more he could have done differently.

"I still feel a responsibility for everything that happened. That's literally part of the job," he said.

Surviving a trauma

People who survive trauma -- a plane crash, a natural disaster, a mass shooting, or a cancer diagnosis -- experience a litany of emotions in the aftermath.

Stress, fear, and anxiety are fairly common.

But the feeling that Sullenberger alluded to, "hero's guilt" or "survivor's guilt," is also very real, experts say.

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The American Psychiatric Association (APA) includes it as a common reaction of mass shooting survivors. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also calls it a common reaction after trauma.

"I think part of survivor's guilt is a natural response to grief," Tanis Taylor, L.M.F.T., told Healthline. She is a counselor at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Some of it's subjective, and some of it's objective."

Rita Helfrich is far too familiar with the feeling of survivor's guilt.

In 2012, she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. In 2015, the cancer came back but at stage 4.

This time Helfrich decided to seek treatment at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. For months she traveled six hours by car, roughly every three weeks from her home in Illinois to the center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Each treatment visit lasted two to three days.

During her time there, Helfrich made many friends. The patients usually bond quickly, she said, and when one of them doesn't make it, it's devastating.

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She mentions a woman named Rose she met early on. They both had a love for the St. Louis Cardinals. Last December when Helfrich came back to Tulsa, her friend was gone.

"When Rose passed away, I felt really guilty," Helfrich told Healthline, taking a moment to compose herself. "You ask yourself 'Why am I still here?'"

The crux of the problem

This is the same question Pauline Harris found herself asking after witnessing the World Trade Center's Twin Towers fall on 9/11. She lived two blocks from the buildings with her husband.

"I thought we were at war," she told Healthline.

For months after, Harris constantly thought about everyone in the towers and questioned why she and her husband escaped injury and death.

"All those people," she said. "I just felt horrible for them."

"Sully" shows in great detail what it was like for Sullenberger to land the plane, and the aftermath, including an investigation into what went wrong. But Eastwood also takes time to show a man who is reeling from a traumatic event.

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Sullenberger himself said on "60 Minutes" that the days immediately following the crash were "difficult," "intense," and "a blur."

Many scenes in the movie capture his restlessness. In particular, the camera follows Sullenberger as he runs through the deserted streets of New York.

In a New York Times interview, location manager, Patrick Mignano, said those scenes were designed to depict the internal strife.

"It's his isolation," he said, "He's in his head, and he's second guessing himself."

Second guessing is another way to describe survivor's guilt, Taylor said.

"Our brains are wired to ask "Why?'" she said. "When bad stuff happens, if we can figure out the 'why' then we have control."

Taylor said getting to the root cause of survivor's guilt is crucial in the recovery process.

"Are there other feelings underneath that?" she said. "It's important to recognize that loss and what it may trigger."

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Taylor uses art, dance, and music, plus many other therapeutic methods to help her patients work through survivor's guilt. The overall theme is mindfulness.

Through guided meditation, imagery, and deep low breathing, people with survivor's guilt -- regardless of the cause -- can amass the tools to help them through those time when they are "emotionally flooded," she said. The idea is to retrain the thought process during those desperate moments.

"You can tell yourself, 'I don't need to do that anymore, I don't need to run for my life,'" Taylor said.

Harris, who was also diagnosed with PTSD about four years ago, uses mindfulness to help keep the emotional wounds at bay.

"I put two feet on the ground and make myself feel present," she said.

Using faith

Helfrich, who received a clean bill of health earlier this year, also uses a number of methods to guide her out of her darkest days.

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But she attributes her faith as the number one reason for helping her beat back the cancer.

"I am spiritually engaged," she said. "That's a huge factor in my recovery process."

Jim Whitaker also credits his "foundation of faith" in getting him through, not one, but two plane crashes.

The architect was on the U.S. Airways flight that Sullenberger piloted. He is depicted as the man in the movie who holds a baby as the plane goes down.

Years earlier he was on an 11-seat prop engine plan that caught fire and had to make an emergency landing.

That crash left him "stunned" he said. The U.S. Airways crash had a more profound effect.

"When I got back to Charlotte, I had sleepless nights for sure for a short period of time and an inability to focus," Whitaker told Healthline.

The emotional toll that people face after a traumatic event, be it surviving a plane crash, watching the Twin Towers collapse, or beating back an aggressive form of breast cancer, can be overwhelming, Taylor said.

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If someone is experiencing feelings of survivor's guilt or any other emotional reaction that is making it difficult to live life, she added, it's important to seek medical care.

"There is no shame in seeking professional help," Taylor said.

By Carolyn Abate
TOPSHOT - A woman walks through life jackets which have been collected from the beaches of Chios, Greece and used by adults and children,on display at the Brooklyn Bridge park ahead of next week's UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York on September 16,2016. / AFP / KENA BETANCUR (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Lebanese woman Shouelly Ahmad el Hajji lives with 14 family members in a house in the Bekaa region in north-east Lebanon, near the border with Syria. For decades her family used a diesel fuel stove to help survive the freezing winters. But the protracted war in Syria saw more than 360,000 refugees cross the border and settle in the region.

The influx put pressure on local resources, pushing up the price of diesel fuel and other goods. Suddenly Shouelly's family, and many other locals, struggled to afford to keep warm. In response, UNDP worked with the Lebanese Government to deliver new stoves that burn environmentally-friendly briquettes, funded by the German Government. Shouelly said her family's joy was "inexpressible" and they could now buy food with the money previously spent on diesel fuel.

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As this family's experience shows, it's not just refugees and migrants who need more support as the world struggles to respond to unprecedented movements of people globally. A third group--host communities--are also deeply affected.

A host community might be people living around the edges of a refugee camp. They are often in cities too, since large numbers of refugees and migrants are moving into urban areas.

Over and over, host communities have shown extraordinary generosity, providing what the international community calls a 'global public good' by taking in large numbers of new people.

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Yet they have often been left to cope with the negative impacts on their own. As we have seen in Lebanon, the sudden arrival of many new refugees or migrants can put pressure on local services such as electricity and water, increase competition for jobs and livelihoods and strain social cohesion.

Further, many of these host communities are already vulnerable and living in poverty. They're often underserved and falling behind on key development indicators such as infant mortality, life expectancy and access to healthcare. When we urge the world to "leave no one behind" as part of Agenda 2030, this is who we're talking about.

So when the historic UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants is held in New York on 19 September, much of the focus will understandably be on the urgent needs of refugees and migrants.

However, UNDP will argue strongly for greater support for host communities as well. It's not only about offsetting negative impacts, but actually creating benefits for host communities. For example, new arrivals of people can stimulate a local economy through increased demand for housing, food and other commodities, they can meet labour shortages and pay income tax.

This is where development organizations, including the lead UN development agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), can help in this crisis. Here are five key ways these affected communities can be supported:

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1.Creating more sustainable livelihood opportunities for both host communities and refugees through vocational training, developing small and medium enterprises and funding cash-for-work activities. For example, in Lebanon--with the largest refugee population per capita in the world--UNDP has created labour-intensive jobs for host communities and refugees, working on infrastructure improvements such as roads, hospitals and schools.

2.Helping local governments by ensuring basic services continue, such as water, electricity and waste removal. In the town of Sid, in Serbia, UNDP renovated two wells to provide up to 50 percent more water for host and refugee communities. In the central Philippines, UNDP worked with the government of Naga City to mainstream migration into local development planning.

3.Building social cohesion between host and refugee or migrant communities. This could be through conflict mediation, or joint community projects. For example, in northern Ecuador, UNDP has worked with the government of Pichincha province to promote integration and mutual understanding between locals, migrants and refugees, including through an awareness-raising campaign.

4.Strengthening the resilience of host communities so they can cope better with future shocks, including by reducing poverty and reinforcing rule of law, justice and security and peacebuilding.

5.Supporting major new policies and practices adopted by governments, for scaling up or to promote as examples of the innovative thinking needed in this crisis. In a stand out example, the Ugandan Government gives refugees land and invests to develop settlement areas, backed by a soft loan from the World Bank. Together with the UN and the World Bank, the Government is developing a five-year economic development plan which will benefit not just 400,000 refugees but also some 4.7 million Ugandans.

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By investing in sustainable development for host communities, refugees and migrants, we're helping to ensure the world achieves the Sustainable Development Goals. And that is crucial for our future. We are also recognizing our shared humanity. And that is crucial for our present. This is why world leaders and the international community must implement the New York Declaration after the Summit, including a commitment to support countries rescuing and receiving large numbers of refugees and migrants. We must act to ensure that people like Shouelly Ahmad el Hajji and her family are not left even further behind in this crisis.
Last year, a Las Vegas attorney was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a "massive", multi-million dollar HOA fraud scheme involving conspiracy, double agents, recruitment of Board members, election rigging, and wire fraud.

Not even a year before, an 82-year-old Condominium Association President in West Palm was arrested and charged with allegedly embezzling over $20,000 in Association funds to finance a long distance affair.

In Polk County, Florida, the President of an HOA Board was arrested for threatening to shoot a father whom he believed to be trespassing in his community (he and his son had been visiting a neighbor and riding jet skis in the common lake).

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In the same county, a mother and son were arrested for stealing in excess of $120,000 from their HOA's coffers while the mother acted as Treasurer of her Board.

In April, a San Antonio HOA President and a former city contractor were charged with defrauding an Association out of more than $300,000 by writing bogus checks for repairs on things like a community pool that never even existed.

While these examples are extreme, major league scandals involving HOA and COA Board members are not uncommon. The reality is that these are just the tip of the ice machine in the community pool's cabana.

With 66 million Americans and climbing currently living in common interest communities such as Homeowners' Associations, Condominium Associations, retirement communities, vacation timeshares, and gated subdivisions, both the benefits -- enhanced control over their environment and property values -- and the problems -- bureaucracy, legal imbroglios, unexpected expenditures, and fines for everything you can imagine -- have become a part of the American way of life.

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When a common interest community, such as a gated subdivision, is built, the developer is in control of the HOA or COA -- which handles management of the neighborhood -- until 90% of the houses are closed. Then the Association is turned over to the residents, who, at that time, elect a Board of Directors whose raison d'etre is to enact and enforce provisions that protect the homeowners' investments.

Over the last two decades as the head of The Melrose Management Partnership, I have managed, on behalf of well over a thousand Associations, over 200,000 dwellings in 500 communities, as well as overseen Melrose franchisees who manage dozens of communities. I can tell you that Board member misunderstandings, machinations and malfeasance can result in chronic mismanagement of all of aspects of life in common interest communities. While proper Board management enacts and enforces provisions that are intended to protect homeowners' investments, quality of life, and security, Board mismanagement can bring these efforts to a screeching halt.



66 million Americans and climbing currently live in common interest communities such as Homeowners' Associations, Condominium Associations, retirement communities, vacation timeshares, and gated subdivisions. As a result, both the benefits and the problems have become a part of the American way of life.

As I attest to in part one of my HOAs Gone Haywire series -- When Homeowners Association Living Goes Haywire: How To Prevent The Common Problems Of Living Under An HOA or COA -- a more informed homeowner can prevent most Association-related conflicts, imbroglios and disappointments. Just a basic understanding that, to a degree, you have to give up being king or queen of your domicile in exchange for being part of your neighborhood democracy can take you far.

The same goes for being a member of an HOA or COA Board of Directors: above all else, your job is to run a democracy, not an autocracy. It's also very important to understand that the job is of a very sensitive and personal nature because it involves something very sensitive and personal at its core, which is someone's home.

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An informed Board member who understands this simple fact can prevent most of the common pitfalls of Association management.

Should you find yourself on your Association's Board, here are a few major key points that can help you protect homeowners' investments, quality of life, and security, while also helping you avoid ostracism from your neighbors -- or being slapped with a lawsuit -- along the way:



Hidden agendas are for politicians, not Board members: The first thing to understand about an Association Board is that it's not uncommon for members to have some kind of hidden motive or reason behind running for elected office. The pay isn't great (read: the pay is nonexistent) so often residents get on their Association's Board with a specific agenda: they want to change a bylaw in their favor, then resign; they're looking to fine a neighbor who doesn't mow the grass to their liking; or, in extreme and rare cases, they'd like to pilfer from the huge reserve funds that Associations tend to carry. The unfortunate results of this dynamic are often endless Board meetings, turf wars with residents, red tape, and even the occasional court date.

If, however, you get on a Board thinking of the common good first and foremost -- effectively managing the budget, bettering resident communication, enforcing the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, or CC&Rs -- there will be fewer problems, and you can spend more time lounging at the community pool and less time going to court with your neighbor over hedges that are an inch higher than stipulated.

If you're going to go on a power trip, save it for work -- not your Association Board: What you want to avoid is turning your community into a police state simply because you saw an opportunity to wield power. Can you use your position as Board President to make that trampoline you're sick of looking at in your neighbor's back yard a fineable offense? Probably. Should you? Probably not. If you're on a Board and your need to exert power over your neighbors disturbs their quality of life instead of enhancing it, you're a member for all the wrong reasons.

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Your job is to control when the pool gets cleaned, not when your neighbor's kids ride their skateboards: Associations essentially exist to control property, not people. When Board members try to influence behavior, such as deciding when and where children should play or whether a resident has too many parties in their home, the result is usually drama that would rival what you see on your favorite soap opera.



An HOA or COA Board member's job is to regulate property -- such as the maintenance of sidewalks -- not people's behavior -- such as when children play on them.

I've seen a Board member make it her personal mission to stop children from playing in the street, going as far as hiring a security guard to camp out and take pictures from the bushes to "catch them in the act". I've seen a man so angry at his neighbor over his perceived bad landscaping that, after trying and failing to get the neighbor fined, he vandalized his own garage door by spray painting the word "rat" in red and framed his neighbor for the act. Seriously. That happened. Remember, your role as a Board Member is to enforce the rules, not to dictate human behavior. It's best to let residents solve their personal issues themselves.

Have a problem? Pass the buck to a committee!: Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses and their own important issues they'd like to tackle within an Association. Committees are an excellent way to channel that energy toward common goals. If a resident is passionate about, say, landscaping and does nothing but complain about it, then who better to become Chairman of the Landscape Committee? They will either fix the problem or come to the realization that their remedies aren't as simple as they may have assumed.

A word to the wise: don't think that committees are exempt from those power dynamics I mentioned earlier. There was one Association whose parking committee was so tow-happy that we received calls multiple times per week from upset residents who couldn't even have family over without first obtaining guest parking passes. A dentist missed appointments with multiple patients because his car was at the tow yard, maintenance men returned from jobs to find that their work trucks had vanished, even home healthcare workers taking care of the elderly weren't exempt from the committee's strict rules. You should probably think twice before allowing a committee to enact such extreme measures in your own community.

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Being on a Board or a Committee just to be on a power trip -- like having residents' cars towed every time they turn their back -- does not enhance quality of life. It disturbs it ... not to mention turns neighbor against neighbor.

Be responsible for your decisions, but not legally responsible: If you're on the Board, make sure they have Directors and Officers Liability Insurance. This protects you from personal liability for the decisions you make on behalf of the Board. Can you really afford to be slapped with a discrimination lawsuit from an aggrieved homeowner who genuinely believes their outlandish request for a fuchsia fence was unfairly denied? If not, you'll want to be insured.

If the residents want the neighborhood to look like something on TV, make clear that they're going to have to pay for it: If Board members and residents want common areas to be mowed every week instead of once a month, the homeowners are going to have to pony up. If there are complaints about the gates not being properly maintained but current dues don't cover the kind of repairs that are needed, then the problem is with the budget, not the gates. As a Board member, it's your job to match expectations of the Association's services with the budget.



If the residents want the neighborhood to have the kind of landscaping they might see on a Real Housewives episode, they need to know that they have to pay for it.

I always advise arranging quarterly meetings with guest speakers -- it's the best way for residents to know where and how their money is being spent. Let the landscape contractor, the security company and the insurance provider come in to talk about what they're being paid for and exactly what to expect. That way, when the roses by the gate are looking a little worse for wear, the residents won't blame you for not calling the landscaper who is only contracted to stop by once per month.

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I want to make clear that this article is not meant to dissuade anyone from running for a position on an Association Board. Most of the Board members we work for are honest, have integrity, and truly want what's best for the community as a whole, not just their personal bottom line. But the reality is that it only takes one resident with beef against another, one power hungry homeowner, or one neighbor who wants to change the rules to suit their personal needs to put the kibosh on an otherwise healthy HOA or COA Board. It's also true that Board dynamics can change with one election, meaning a Board that works in the best interests of its homeowners today might be replaced tomorrow. This article is simply intended to help shed light on these pervasive problems so that you prevent these kinds of conflicts in your community.
While half of America went goo-goo, ga-ga over Uber's new self-driving taxis in Pittsburg, video unearthed on Chinese television of a fatal crash of a Tesla in Autopilot mode from the car's point of view exposed the true dangers of robot cars, as well as a major Tesla coverup.

Until yesterday, all America believed the first death from a car in self-driving mode took place in Florida in May when a Tesla in Autopilot crashed into a white semi-truck it mistook for sky. The Chinese video shows a grim January crash where the Tesla drives right into a street sweeper its camera and radar didn't see either.

If Tesla had made the public and safety regulators aware of the January Chinese wreck perhaps the Navy Seal who died in May, Joshua Brown, would be alive today.

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Did Tesla even tell federal safety regulators about the China crash during their investigation of the Florida death? It's a question the company and government need to answer now.

If I were a Tesla investor I would have wanted to know too.

The video from China is so damning because it shows us one of the big problems with the robot cars: the cameras and radar cannot yet see what humans see.

These cars are not ready for the road, not in Philadelphia, not anywhere. Yet President Obama's Transportation safety experts are rushing industry-friendly guidance out any day to pave the way for the industry's priorities.

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Consumer advocates have called for enforceable motor vehicle standards and a rule making process but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) head Mark Rosekind says he won't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

When it comes to highway safety, that's screwed. Particularly when Rosekind has refused to take vow not to work for the self-driving carmakers after he leaves his job, a revolving door that's led to four top former NHTSA officials heading the driverless car lobby's efforts with former colleagues like Rosalind.

President Obama needs to watch the video of the China crash and put the brakes on the runaway robot cars. There's time for thoughtful rules and debate. When we know more about the problems with Tesla's Autopilot from Chinese television than we do from Tesla and NHTSA it's clear that we cannot trust the company to develop this technology on a voluntary basis.
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 16: Dr Mehmet Oz appears to promote 'The Dr Oz Show' during the AOL BUILD Series at AOL Studios In New York on November 16, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Donna Ward/FilmMagic)

Dear Dr. Oz,

I come to you as an advocate. As someone on your side. I'm sure you can relate being the wonderful doctor that you are, an advocate who advises people to make better choices. Even when they'd rather make poor ones. (After all, we all know pizza tastes a lot better than kale!). So, for your own good, I'm staging this intervention: your choice to have Republican Presidential-nominee Donald Trump on The Dr. Oz Show is a highly damaging decision.

I've watched and supported The Dr. Oz Show since it's debut in 2009, loving your tireless approach to educating people on their health and your open-mindedness to alternative approaches both proven and experimental (even if your critics don't like it!). You have a talent at taking complicated medical information and distilling that down into easily digestible information. You haven't shied away from controversial topics either, and there's been times you've even been confrontational. But perhaps because you're such a warm, gracious and kind host -- and that's what viewers like about you -- some of the harder hitting stories have fallen on correspondents like (fair but tough) investigator Elisabeth Leamy and Consumer Reports contributors like Dr. Urvashi Rangan. And if Trump is going to be on your show he merits a hard-hitting interview on many fronts.

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Trump's agenda for being on your show is obvious. He's failing among suburban women. And minorities. And we both know who some of your biggest supporters are. (And I've been to a show taping, so I can attest!). Considering The Oprah Winfrey Show helped launch your television career (and Oprah's production company, Harpo, produces your show) it makes sense that you've enjoyed a crossover with her diverse audience. Trump will love having access to your audience considering he polls so low with them. But having Trump on your show -- this well-documented racist, sexist, xenophobic, mocker of the disabled -- is an insult to a large portion of your viewership. It's definitely to Trump's advantage to try and "soften" his imagine being interviewed by a nice guy like you. Especially when a Washington Post/ABC poll released just this past weekend reveal 60 percent of Americans believe Trump is "biased against women and minorities."

So, I must ask you, Dr. Oz: why use your platform to legitimize this voice? To join with this voice? If you ignore what Trump has said, you are complicit in it. An accomplice. An enabler. A bystander to the disgraceful things he has said to and about many members of your television audience. (And I won't even wade into the white privileged businessman helping another white privileged businessman argument, but I'm sure someone will...)

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You can try and justify it by saying the focus is on Trump's health. But from a medical standpoint, Trump's ridiculed and insulted the medical field as well. So far Trump has released the least amount of medical information of a Presidential candidate in modern history. And the letter he did release by his "personal physician" Dr. Harold Bornstein, the doctor admitted writing in just five minutes while Trump's limo waited outside, using such ridiculous language as his health was "astonishingly excellent."

The Washington Post deemed it "a comical four-paragraph letter." Bernstein also admitted: "I think I picked up his kind of language and then just interpreted it to my own." Hardly a serious medical document. Trump and his surrogates have also aired conspiracy theories on his opponent Hillary Clinton's health that many have deemed sexist. (Though perhaps unsurprising from Trump who gained political favor riding on another false conspiracy theory: that President Obama wasn't born in the United States.)

Will you be taking a hard look at Trump's mental health? Besides "the numbers" and physical health, there's a number of top U.S. psychologists who have openly expressed concern on Trump's mental well-being. Donald Trump is a "textbook" narcissist, says Harvard professor and researcher Howard Gardner. "He's so classic that I'm archiving video clips of him to use in workshops," George Simon, a clinical psychologist, told Vanity Fair. And as RawStory noted: "This puts Trump in the same category as a number of infamous dictators like Muammar Gaddafi, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Saddam Hussein."

Trump has already made a mockery of the health profession. Don't let him make a mockery of you. I understand you have reality stars on The Dr. Oz Show sometimes. But having a breezy conversation with random Housewives on health issues just isn't going to cut it this time. Just ask Matt Lauer. His town hall with Trump last week has caused considerable damage to his credibility. His daytime, lightweight interviewing style was no match for master media manipulator like Trump. So while the Trump interview might seem like a real coup for you, my guess is you'll end up a laughingstock. (I should add, MSNBC hosts are already having a field day digging into your credibility on this.)

As someone who works in television, I understand the need for ratings: everyone has a bottom line, and it was reported your last season started on a real slump (according to one report down 50 percent in viewership). Nonetheless, I shouldn't need to explain the need for a code of ethics to a doctor. Back in the late 1990s your mentor Oprah Winfrey made a critical, ethical decision for herself and her brand: she decided to distance herself from the tabloid tv topics and culture that she had become part of. In an interview with Morning Joe in 2011 she explained: "I made a decision in the 90s. I was interviewing skinheads in the Ku Klux Klan, and I made a decision... I was not going to use the platform for anything that I thought would not bring a little piece of light into people's lives."

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On 19 September 2016, Heads of State and Government will address the issues surrounding large movements of refugees and migrants and endorse a set of commitments and a global agenda for the future when they formally adopt the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

Ensuring gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls and the realization of their human rights, must be a central driving force of the historic opportunity in addressing the largest movement of refugees and migrants since the Second World War.

Women make up approximately half of the 244 million international migrants and 21 million refugees worldwide. As both migrants and refugees, women have specific needs and vulnerabilities. They are often forced to move by root causes such as conflict, poverty and inequality, and face a series of challenges which include psychosocial stress and trauma, health complications, physical harm and risk of exploitation. They often become separated from their families, and refugee women and adolescent girls can find themselves unexpectedly as head of a household.

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Displaced and migrant women and girls are commonly subject to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. On top of gender-based discrimination, they may be targeted on additional grounds such as race, disability or belonging to a minority group. This discrimination limits women's access to basic services and to decision-making processes, affecting their interactions within their households or communities, in the labor market, as well as their mobility - within and outside their countries of origin. Their voice and participation is frequently constrained and the risk of sexual and gender-based violence, an ever-present reality for all women worldwide, significantly increases.

Despite discrimination and risks, women migrants and refugees contribute in important ways to the well-being of their countries of origin, destination and transit. They bring energy, innovation and cultural diversity to their new communities. As migrants, they fill key gaps in employment, contributing to keeping the economies of their countries of destination vibrant and productive. In their home countries, their remittances are a very important source of income for their families and boost productive activities, in addition to the new skills which they can utilize at home upon return. As refugees, they protect and provide for their families, securing education for children, health care for all family members, and finding ways to earn or increase their income. These news roles that women, and oftentimes adolescent girls take on, can represent an opportunity for transformative change towards gender equality and women and girls gaining greater control over their lives and their futures. Women on the move must be seen as rights-holders and agents of development rather than as security threats.

The New York Declaration provides a good starting point for a gender-responsive action agenda for addressing large movements of migrants and refugees. The Declaration commits UN Member States in ensuring that the "responses to large movements of refugees and migrants mainstream a gender perspective, promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and fully respect and protect the human rights of women and girls." The Declaration vows to take into consideration the different needs, vulnerabilities and capacities of women, girls, boys, and men, and commits to tackling the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against refugee and migrant women and girls. More importantly, recognizing the significant contribution and leadership of women in refugee and migrant communities, there is a commitment to work to ensure women's full, equal and meaningful participation in the development of local solutions and opportunities.

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The Declaration's Annexes that will govern actions in the coming years on refugees and migrants set the stage for addressing the rights, needs and vulnerabilities of women and girl refugees and migrants and pave the way for their contributions to development and solutions through their meaningful participation in decision-making. They build on and expand global leaders' 2015 commitments to sustainable development for all in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At UN Women we are encouraged by the commitments that are captured in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the Annexes.

In the coming months, as the debate continues and the Global Compact on Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees are discussed, let us work together to raise awareness and advocate for these Global Compacts to tap women's agency; include them in program design and decision-making that affects their lives; and engage them in crafting a global solution to ensure that their needs are addressed and their human rights upheld. To combat sexual and gender-based violence and ensure that services and resources are readily accessible to victims; to provide basic services for migrant and refugee women and girls including cash programming and safe and decent economic opportunities to allow them to support themselves; and ensure that proper resources for these are allocated.

In the follow-up to the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, and particularly in the context of the consultations and negotiations towards the two Global Compacts to be adopted in 2018, the voices, participation and leadership of women from migrant and refugee communities will be the key to address and meet their specific psychosocial, health, and gender-specific needs.

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No single state can manage large movements of refugees and migrants alone. We hold a shared responsibility to take a global approach to addressing large movements of migrants and refugees and to do so in a human rights-based and gender-responsive manner.

In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and building on the global commitments of the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, gender equality must be an important part of the strategy in every way. Let us work together to protect and empower all women and girls on the move.
Lots of people talk to animals. Not very many listen, though. That's the problem.

--Benjamin Hoff

It's Friday night and I am sitting down to dinner. I want to relax, delve into an episode of Breaking Bad and savor my meal in peace. My beloved cat Jontue is gone. The salmon on my plate is safe. The soft tissue interior of my nose is not in danger of being ripped by her ferocious forepaw. My cheek won't be swatted either. And no one is staring at me with the intensity that could move a mountain. I miss that someone. That "fur person" as May Sarton said.

I first spotted Jontue in a pet store, a small kitty in a huge enclosure all by her lonesome, crying out for my attention as I shopped for cat food. I already had four at home. But this one's eyes were pleading take me; I need love. Those eyes also said, I can love you too. Of course you can, little cat.

A strange looking thing, Jontue was six months old and resembled a prehistoric creature with her brindled coat, fangs, and wiry tail. Exotic or not, no one wanted her. I understood this all too well. So I paid an extraordinary amount of money for the pure breed Cornish Rex because she needed a home, someone to take care of her.

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She entered my life when I was particularly vulnerable and lonely; she captured my heart and I like to think I captured hers. Over the years, I'd come to know Jontue so well. She was a cat driven by instinct and visibly affected by subtle shifts of energy. She was small and silky-haired and stuck close to me at all times. She was also needy, affable. She liked to hold my head in a firm grip with her paws and lick the tip of my nose.



Jontue was my last live connection to the desert, another planet called Tucson, the barren landscape where I lived a few difficult years of my youth in personal chaos. She was the fifth cat I adopted during those years when I was living by my lonesome and she was like all others in this one way: they were all abandoned and unwanted. That is, until I came along and laid claim. I adored all five of my cats. Jontue held an especially beloved place in my heart.

She was my protector, my nurse and deeply in tune with how I was feeling. When I'd cry myself silly or stare off into space feeling blue, she'd whack my cheek as if I was in a diabetic stupor. Mama, snap out of it. Caring for her and the other cats gave me the reason to drag myself out of bed at times when I was overcome with illness and depression, those heavy burdens of being human. When these feelings took over Jontue knew and she came and offered all she could: her soft coat to pet, her warm body and a purr, her kind eyes holding mine for a moment before looking away.

I've met many irresponsible people in my life but never an irresponsible cat.

--Rita Mae Brown, author of Pawing Through the Past: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery

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Jontue even made living in Tucson at times fun. She got frisky when she had a productive #2 and frolicked out of the litter box and across the kitchen tile floor like a filly with a belly full of bedsprings. A supreme hunter, she dismantled geckos in the apartment, danced about with flesh-colored scorpions, and swatted down flying insects with incredible precision (inside the apartment). Outside, she could leap six-foot fences in a single bound. Nimble, she was!

The Rex Club of the UK says this about Jontue's breed (my comments are in parentheses):

Cornish Rex cats make excellent pets (if you don't mind being treated like prey). Aristocratic in appearance (hmmm, not this one), they are charming (huh?), acutely intelligent (vibrational), very affectionate (suck you dry of the sentiment) and gentle (uh-uh) whilst full of mischief (yes), never seeming to grow old (she was the last of the fivesome). Their long toes are a distinctive feature which enables them to use their paws like little hands ("I slap my mama in the face"). The breed is adaptable to new environments (she yowled the entire 2,300-mile drive from Tucson to Boston) elegant (?), agile (incredibly so) and active, demanding constant companionship and closeness (as in Velcro). In some cases, they crave closeness so much that when their owner is out at work all day their Cornish Rex will go visit with a neighbor! (Segue: The Doberman story.)

Jontue once scaled a six-foot stockade fence and landed on all fours in my neighbor's Doberman pen. In the early evenings when the desert cooled off, I had a habit of letting my cats out into my "yard," an eighteen-foot square dirt floor absent of vegetation and enclosed by a fence. The cats would roam about, sniffing, digging, grooming and sprawling themselves on the warm earth without any concern for what lay beyond the fence. Watching them relaxed me; I wanted to learn their carefree nature.

Why that night? Why jump? I'll never know. In the blink of an eye, Jontue was over the fence. The first otherworldly wail shot the remaining four cats through the screen and into the house. My adrenaline soared and I froze. Fence. Dobermans. Cat. Screeching. What could I do?

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I cupped my hands over my ears and darted into the house. Leaning up against the closed door, my heart pounded. My flesh churned out perspiration. I was in a sort of paralyzed shock. Then the mama bear stepped in and I moved!

Back into the yard. I am a grizzly and begin tearing down the fence one picket at a time. Crashing through it with the fiercest mothering instincts I will save my young or be shredded by the hounds of hell while trying.

That's my cat, Dobes!

The crazed attack dogs are in full view. I'm in their territory now and I don't see Jontue. There's no flesh dangling from their teeth--I take note of this--but their focus has turned to me, canines barred, hackles raised. I'm about to be torn to pieces.

But where's the cat?

The enclosure is barren with the exception of a cinder block here and there, and a sizable pile of 2x4s, sticks and brush off to my right.



How could that flimsy form of refuge protect her?

I don't spend too much time on the question. I fall to my knees before the brush pile. The dogs are going to eat me rear-end first!

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Out of my periphery, I see a woman approaching, running, arms flailing. Her mouth moves, I hear nothing; it has no effect on my mission. I am feeling recklessly enthusiastic and plunge my hands into a desert den that would make even Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin hesitate (and we all know what happened to him). Colors and textures pan before my eyes; I'm chucking sticks and 2x4s over my shoulder. The woman is dodging the debris, unsteadily pulling back the frothing beasts while fragments of my terrycloth dress catch in their teeth.

Jontue is there, I've unearthed her. She is balled up, disoriented and trembling; her coat is slick with dog saliva. She does not look, as the Rex Club would describe, "charming" or "elegant."

I grab the cat, secure her to my chest; I turn my back on the beasts and my neighbor, and swiftly attempt to retreat through the makeshift opening in the fence. I can't make traction. I take a giant step forward then snap back to the fence like an elastic band. "Wait, wait, I'll help you!" my neighbor says, but now just as crazed as the dogs, I bulldoze forward and my dress rips even more. A long and twisting fragment of white terrycloth remains caught up on the nail, an ironic white flag signaling--a little late--for peace. Jontue's claws dig deeper into my chest, I'm bloodied yet free.

Dumping Jontue inside, I collapse flat on the kitchen floor and gaze at the geckos scurrying across the ceiling; wait for my respiration and heart rate to fall back into normal range. The other spooked cats tiptoe around and come in close; Jontue eventually perches on my thigh. She has fared much better than me--she doesn't have a scratch on her. She is safe. I would do it all again; I would have done just about anything for this cat.

Many years have passed since then. I left the desert and eventually lost Jontue's sisters to renal failure, ketosis, and lymphoma. Not one of them lived past thirteen years. But Jontue did, she moved residences a total of ten times with me in a span of eighteen years.

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Her life, dictated by mine, changed dramatically and often--fluctuations in places, people, animals and my emotions. Four months into our latest move, Jontue's health deteriorated in a matter of days. Just three of them. She wasn't well; at times she suffered from blindness and would curl up in her heated bed and stare into the space in front of her. I could read her eyes, her body; I could hear her thoughts--I feel terrible, I don't understand what's wrong, the pain won't go away.



The day after Thanksgiving, I made her pain go away.



Jontue. She was my last live connection to the desert, to that painful time of soul searching. But the pain made me a writer and I soothed this sorrow by bringing home cats. One after another and particularly the ones nobody wanted. And those felines repaid me--by making me laugh, making me play, giving me the strength to tear down a stockade fence when I thought I was broken and weak.

These unwanted animals are the best ones to love, they become the dearest companions because animals know when you have saved them. Our pets remember. In return they nurture us, protect us, see our truths, and they love us. What more is there possibly to ask?



There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.

--Albert Schweitzer


Photo: @UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

This September, the world's governments will come together at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to debate the crisis and response to large movements of migrants and refugees. The concept of "root causes" has been often cited in draft resolutions and speeches. It boils down to the fears and threats people are running away from, leaving behind their homes and countries. Conflict, climate shocks and lack of opportunity, repression and violation of rights, extremism and widespread poverty top the list of development failures that produce forced displacements. Successful development appears as one of the clearest solutions. Development policies need to adequately integrate and consider migration and displacement.

Responding quickly and effectively to sudden displacements is important. Migrations and other forms of human mobility should, above all, be safe and orderly, to protect those on the move. They cannot only be looked at through the prism of crisis and emergency. The bulk of displaced persons today have been living in protracted situations of fear and need. Thus, human mobility has to be included more comprehensively into long-term policy planning. National development strategies that aim at economic, social and rural development, the consolidation of the rule of law, climate action and peace and security, need to factor in migration and migrants, displacements and refugees.

The increasing activities related to human mobility by government agencies in a wide array of areas, such as health, education, urbanization, trade, investments, agriculture, environment, national security and justice is already a reality in many countries. UNDP and the OECD have developed a comprehensive set of indicators measuring human development of migrants and their families, in the communities of origin, transit and destination. Knowing what is happening is the first step to avoid panic reactions, populist demagoguery or simply ill-informed decision-making. Good policies, reversely, enhance the capabilities of people, promote integration and take advantage of diversity, enabling migrants and refugees to become proactive agents of development. This includes giving the right to work, with the necessary precautions to avoid shocks and deregulation of national labour markets, and the broad range of rights and freedoms that are universal, and independent from any residence status. Only so can they eventually become productive parts of the host societies and redo their lives, with a view to returning to their countries of origin. This is the only way to make human mobility work for sustainable and long-term development.

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International experiences showcase that governments in various parts of the world are establishing increasingly comprehensive migration regimes. But part of the response is international in nature; thus governments need to strive for a more coherent approach among them. Countries that host large numbers of migrants and refugees, countries affected by emigration and transit migration, as well as states and actors that fund sustainable development programmes in different parts of the world will find advantages in working together to generate security and prosperity for all affected by mobility. Just as international adaptation strategies are needed, local communities, cities and towns, are the locus where migration and refugee settlement most frequently happens. Local governance responses, community preparedness and local area development contain many needed solutions to the demographic change that population movements produce. Our Regional Refugee and Resilience (3RP), co-led by UNDP and UNHCR, works with more than 200 partners in a coordinated region-wide response to the Syria crisis inside Syria, and in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt - with the global, regional and local approaches converging to offer solutions.

The future of human mobility will see more people moving internally and internationally to seek better livelihoods, people displaced by disaster and climate change, and refugees and internally displaced persons fleeing war and violence. We know that coherent development responses to small and large movements of people across and within borders will promote development the world over. It is time to transform a problem into a dynamic condition of our common future.

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Saguirou has come a long way in his two years of life.

He is from Niger, where sparse rains resulted in a modest crop harvest, leaving Saguiro's mother able to feed her children only one meal a day.

When the toddler became sick with diarrhea, his mother took him to a stabilization center supported by Save the Children, where he received highly nutritious, fortified milk. Saguirou also received medicine to treat other complications that can come if malnutrition is not treated properly.

Fortunately, Saguirou lived. But millions of kids around the world are not so lucky.

Each year, treatable diseases like diarrhea or pneumonia, as well as malnutrition, claim the lives of 5.9 million children. That's 16,000 kids who are dying every day, unnecessarily.

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Mothers are also extremely vulnerable, with 800 moms dying each day from preventable complications during pregnancy and child birth.

These stories are heartbreaking and it may seem impossible to help save the lives of people who live on the other side of the world.

But there is something you can do to help - right from your own home. You can urge your member of Congress to cosponsor a bill that would put us on the path to ending these preventable deaths in a cost-effective way.

This bipartisan bill, called the Reach Every Mother and Child Act (Reach Act), would ensure that the U.S. focuses on the poorest and most vulnerable women and children, sets ambitious targets and has a strategy in place for meeting the targets. By scaling up the kind of low-cost, high-impact interventions that we know will work--like bed nets to protect from mosquitoes carrying malaria and encouraging moms to breastfeed--we can save the lives of millions.

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And because the U.S. cannot do it alone, the Reach Act would introduce new financing mechanisms to bring new investors to the table and improve the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

One year ago, more than 190 world leaders voted to adopt 17 Sustainable Development Goals--a new, ambitious set of policies aiming to improve the future of our world.

Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network are prioritizing Goal 3: Good Health, with a particular focus on ending preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children under the age of five.

To reach that goal, U.S. leadership is needed and that means there is an urgent need to pass the Reach Act right now.

You can make a difference today by asking your member of Congress to cosponsor the Reach Act.

Hearing from constituents makes a big difference to elected officials. The more a representative hears from folks in their district, the more likely it is that he or she will become a cosponsor.

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The amount of momentum around the bill is extraordinary - demonstrating some of the largest bipartisan congressional support for global health and international development in history. There are currently more than 185 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and 26 in the Senate. Our goal is to reach 200 cosponsors in the House by Thanksgiving. Support of that magnitude would send a powerful message to Congressional leaders and help provide the strong momentum necessary for Congress to pass this bill.

Investing in maternal, newborn and child health reduces poverty, stimulates economic growth and, most importantly, saves lives.

You can click here to send a letter to your member of Congress and ask them to become a cosponsor. Together, we can make a difference.
Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded.

It's Pretty Black and White: Saving BUB, Beautiful Unique Biodiversity, as in this Amazon treehopper and its child, is another reason to preserve carbon storing forests. Source Pinterest

Forests: the cheapest way to store carbon

Credit Mario Tama at Getty Images

OO More Diversity Helps Amazon Forests adapt to climate change a new study indicates - BUT overall adaptation remains low - there is low recovery in most scenarios.



Cutting Down A Rainforest Stops The Rain - and ultimately has caused drought in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and elsewhere. Source Greenpeace

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OO Watersheds Lost Up To 22% Of Their Forests In 14 Years -

Here's How It Affects Your Water Supply - Forest degradation has caused:

Drought in Sao Paulo, Brazil:

Flooding in the Himalayas;

Pollution in Sumatra.

Credit jarO at flickr

Because upstream forests, wetlands and other "natural infrastructure" play critical roles in:

supplying clean water downstream;

stabilizing soil, reducing erosion;

regulating water flow to mitigate floods and droughts;

purifying water.

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OO Burning Paradise: Conglomerate Accused Of Destroying Indonesia's Last Forests - one of Indonesia's few remaining expanses of pristine rainforest is at imminent risk of destruction by Korean-Indonesian conglomerate Korindo, says a new report.



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The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship if climate change doesn't spoil the fungal communication between these two infant trees, imbedded in the furry fungal networks surrounding their roots. Source www.nature.com

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OO Clearcutting, Climate Change Can Disrupt

Critical Networks Among Forest Trees - trees use a network of soil fungi to communicate their needs and aid neighboring plants. A network vulnerable to disruption. Among trees, these fungal networks:

transfer resources;

provide aid when needed;

communicate environmental dangers;

allow searches for kin trees;

enable dying trees to transfer resources to healthy ones.

Soil fungi are underground traders, exploring and harvesting nutrients and water that they trade with plants for sugar or other photosynthetic products.



When we harm forests, we harm ourselves.

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HOT NEWS

OO Hottest Temperature Ever Measured In September For Europe - with a record high of 114.3 F in Spain, and amazingly hot Kuwait recently clocked in at 124.2 F, which would be the second hottest September temperature ever recorded worldwide.



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CONNECTING THE DOTS

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@@ Weather, or Climate Change? An excellent short on the intersection of climate change with the weather, from the best experts in the field today.



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Follow the Dotted Line ... go to the webpage for the full sequence, a looong timeline scroll. Credit xkcd.com (Randall Munroe)

Love how the comment "[After setting your car on fire], Listen, your car's temperature has changed before." follows my cursor as it explores the timeline. And then comes the very real punchline:

@@ A Timeline of Earth's Average Temperature - love it, love it, LOVE IT! Gives you a great sense of where we've been, and headed, temperature-wise, touched with humor along the way.

If you're a stickler for prehistory and nitty gritty analytical details, you might get miffed, but he's nailed the general picture. No room for the entire scroll here, so check it out!



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FIXING CLIMATE CHANGE

@@ A Simple And Smart Way To Fix Climate Change given by Dan Miller in 2014 at a Ted talk suggests a way to profit as we tackle climate change, by finally charging those who sell and use fossil fuels - and distributing the revenues back to all of us.

The strategy is sure to speed transition to clean renewable energy. What's not to like? Check it out!

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SOCIAL REPERCUSSIONS

OO Smoke Signals: Teasing Out Adverse Health Effects Of Wildfire Emissions that can include a range of smoky harmful pollutants.



OO New York City: Flooding Of Coast, Caused By Global Warming, Has Already Begun - huge vertical rulers are sprouting beside low spots in the streets here, so people can judge if the tidal floods that increasingly inundate their roads are too deep to drive through.



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OO Connecticut Fishermen Struggle To Hang On - As climate changes, so do fish populations, but not the rules for catching them.



OO Africa: Climate Change Threatens

To Double Malaria Risk From Dams say researchers.



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SPEAKING OUT

Her Land, Her Future

OO North Dakota Oil Pipeline Protesters Stand Their Ground:

'This Is Sacred Land' - it could also endanger community drinking water.



Related Headline:

OO Dakota Pipeline Was Approved By Army Corps

Over Objections Of 3 Fed Agencies including the EPA, which echoed Sioux tribe's concerns.



OO Insurers Call On Top 20 Global Economies

To Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies By 2020 - at the recent G20 meeting. The insurers have $1.2 trillion under management.

OO Pope Francis Says Destroying The Environment Is A Sin - He:

calls for urgent action to stop climate change;

proposes that caring for the environment be added to traditional Christian works of mercy.*

*such as feeding the hungry and visiting the sick.





Related Headline:

OO Pope Urges Christians To Save Planet From 'Debris, Desolation And Filth' with concerted action against environmental degradation and climate change. Consumerism and financial greed, he said, were threatening the planet. How about too many people?



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GOOD IDEAS

Source www.mthome.com

OO How Three-Day Weekends Could Help To Save The World By:

Reducing levels of energy consumption,

Due to commuting and workplace maintenance.

This has been demonstrated in Utah.

It also improves mental and physical health,

And is demonstrated to improve productivity.

OO Baltimore, MD: Green Jobs Helping Ex-Cons Turn Over A New Leaf - the city is quietly hiring formerly incarcerated men to work on environmental restoration projects.



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OO Experts Call For A Unified National Conservation Network say agency scientists and conservation leaders.



OO Nature Conservancy Touts Conserving Ecosystems As Best Climate Change Solution says the director of carbon finance with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

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BUT...

OO Protected Areas - Effective Conservation Tools, But Useless Against Rising Temperatures - while great for curbing deforestation and preserving Earth's biodiversity, how much will heating limit their effectiveness?



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Green Grow The Drones - a new aid to reforestation. Credit DroneSeed



OO Tree-Planting Robots Could Save Northwest Forests - an Oregon startup is developing drones for planting, caretaking and monitoring trees on a large scale.



OO After The Flood: Feds Should Support Mitigation, Not Rebuilding - the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program, insuring 5+ million homes, is $23 billion in debt after a string of natural disasters this century. Analysts say it is time to shift from rebuilding to mitigating risk.



OO Maryland Fines Coal Power Plants $1 Million For Polluting Rivers - one of the largest penalties state environmental regulators have levied in years.



OO Australia: Big Sydney Project Aims To Recycle More Water Than It Uses - As rainfall drops, the Australian government is releasing billions of dollars to help fund building the water infrastructure required.



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NATURAL REPERCUSSIONS

OO Montana: Fish Deaths In Yellowstone River Tied To Warming Waters - as parasite that is killing tens of thousands of fish is blamed on low stream flow and warming waters, both impacts of climate change in the West.



OO Melting Antarctic Sea Ice

Might Speed Sea Level Rise, Disrupt Fisheries as the melt water decreases saltiness, which can create currents that speed up melt and suppress the deep sea mixing vital to supplying nutrients to important ecosystems and fisheries.



Feeling Feverish Yet? Ticks can carry some pretty serious diseases.

OO Alaska: Exotic Ticks Appear To Be Establishing Themselves

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GOOD CLEAN NEWS

Solar Is Powering a Job Revolution - creating 1 out of every 80 US jobs since the Great Recession. Photo Source www.solsystems.com

OO US Clean Energy Jobs Are Exploding:

Why Don't Mainstream Reporters Know? Some are still pushing a false narrative on this. For the record:

solar industry creates 1 out of every 80 new US jobs since 2008;

most of these new, blue collar, solar jobs pay an average21/hr;

The solar industry has:

hired more veterans than anyone else;

retrained coal workers;

provided a soft landing for unemployed oil and gas workers;

almost all are trained within 6 months, because their skills are transferrable.

Wind technician is the fastest growing US job;

Solar & wind manufacturing arms employ 10,000s of US jobs - and are expanding rapidly.

Credit Dennis Schroeder, NREL

OO Iowa: New $3.6 Billion Project Could Be One Of Many 'Mega' Wind Orders - MidAmerican Energy will leverage federal incentives to build 2 gigawatts of wind power by 2019. Others may follow suit.



OO Which State Is A Big Renewable Energy Pioneer? Texas - it has added more wind-based capacity than any other, as part of an aggressive energy diversification that seeks to skirt ideology.



Credit Tom Tole at the Washington Post

OO We've Only Just Begun: More Climate Fights Are Coming - the Paris climate agreement is likely to start this year, but is clearly inadequate. What else is cooking? Takeaways:



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Fossil fuel subsidies:

Cost global economy160 Million to5+ Trillion, depending on definition;

The "inefficient" ones will be eliminated by the top 7 global economies by 2025;

Maybe not the top 20 economies, but several African countries and India have stopped federal subsidies.

Source www.huffingtonpost.com

The US election:

Tougher CO2 targets need a Clinton win;

This could spur other countries to further action.

There's also some movement to:

Regulate aviation emissions;

Cut back on super climate changing HFC coolant emissions;

Increase the flow of wealth from rich to poorer nations.

A funded International Solar Alliance to spread solar power now exists.

A High Level Panel on Water is working to assure universal access to clean water.

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OO 3,500+ UK Churches Now Put Their Faith In Green Energy - rejecting fossil fuels and embracing the power of green energy.



OO The Eastern US Could Get A Third Of Its Power From Renewables Within 10 Years Theoretically. The political, social, and institutional changes are more difficult than the technological challenge.



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OO The Eastern US Grid Can Handle A 30% Penetration Of Wind, Solar Power



OO France: Energy Giant Leads $20 Million Investment

In Off-Grid Solar Startup for expansion in Africa. Energy giants are diversifying into distributed energy in developing markets.



OO Sweden Diverts 99 % Of Its Waste From Landfills - already leading environmentally with its electric roads and 100% fossil fuel-free by 2050 plan, it also:

recycles much of its waste;

generates electricity from about 50% of the country's garbage.

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FOSSIL FUEL FOLLIES

Source www.oilandgasjobsadvice.com

Coming Up Dry?

OO Oil Discoveries At 70-Year Low Signal Supply Shortfall Ahead - with 2015 explorers discovering only 10% as much oil as they have annually on average since 1960. This year, they'll probably find even less.

Daily Climate Editor Pete Myers: "Cheap fossil fuels have driven GDP growth for two centuries. The trend reported here does not bode well for continued growth."



OO Biofuels Could Be Bad For Bees research says, as more and more fields of corn and soybean are planted, which beekeepers prefer to avoid.



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OO As Coal Companies Go Bankrupt, Who Will Pay To Clean Up Their Old Mines?

Good question - likely taxpayers, in many cases.



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CLIMATE LEADERSHIP

The Clean Energy President Credit AP photo, Julie Jacobson

OO Obama Legacy:

Quiet But Big Changes In Energy, Pollution - with a quiet US transformation in how and where it gets its energy during Barack Obama's presidency, slicing the nation's output of polluting gases that are warming Earth.



OO Climate Change Looms Large In Obama's Final Trip To Asia



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ELECTION YEAR:

If You Don't Vote For Climate Action, You Can Forget The Rest - in a climate-changing world of famine, drought, rising seas, giant storms and heat waves, there will be no security in jobs, health, wealth, or national safety. There will be chaos ensuing from increasing crises and disasters. Vote.

OO Global Warming Policies We Set Today Will Determine The Next 10,000 Years - of global warming, a new study shows -- and whether our civilization survives or not: history shows that harmful climate change has destroyed civilizations before.

This time, it could be worldwide. Let's keep "The Hunger Games" in the realm of fiction.

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If we do not grow sustainably,

Our children will die inhumanely.



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@@ How Parents Can Help Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Teen childbearing cost US taxpayers $9+ Billion in 2010

And the costs of raising a child usually ensures decades, if not a life, of poverty for its mother.

- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Help prevent unintended pregnancies in your community:

publicize where women can access affordable contraception.

They can go here to find locations:

And there are many more actions you can do, right here.

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SOLAR KEEPS SURFING

OO US Vets Find A Home In The Solar Industry which employs them at above average rates, and are expected to grow in the overall solar workforce.



Check it out here, right now!

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WHY WE SHOULD ACT NOW: RISING RISKS

Daily Climate Change: Global Map of Unusual Temperatures, Sept 14, 2016

How unusual has the weather been? No one event is "caused" by climate change, but global warming, which is predicted to increase unusual, extreme weather, is having a daily effect on weather, worldwide.

Looking above at recent temperature anomalies, much of the US and the waters surrounding it are experiencing warmer than normal temperatures: the eastern Pacific warm spot continues and so does the drought in California. Meanwhile, Spetember heat records were broken in Europe, and the Mideast got very hot.

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Much of the areas surrounding the North Pole are experiencing much warmer than normal temperatures - not good news for our Arctic thermal shield of ice. Hotter than usual temperatures continue to dominate human habitats.

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There is, of course, much more news on the consequences and solutions to climate change. To get it, check out this annotated resource list I've compiled, "Climate Change News Resources," at Wordpress.com here. For more information on the science of climate change, its consequences and solutions you can view my annotated list of online information resources here.

To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out!
On this International day of Democracy, it seems fitting that we should take a look at our democracy. Here in the US, a robust campaign season is underway, with one highly qualified woman running for the Presidency after years of service in political life, and a highly unqualified man running against her on a conservative platform he adopted only after being nominated, on the heels of years as a business man with questionable ethics.

Yet, we insist on treating them as equals. They are each major party nominees who beat formidable foes to clinch the nomination. So we deem them as equals. Alas, they are not.

Focusing just on the way each manages their family foundations, we can scrutinize their personalities and work ethic, even their inner compass as people, and determine if they deserve parity in treatment as respectable political candidates for the highest office in the land.

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A Tale of two Foundations

In 2001 Bill Clinton left office a broken President. He had been married by the Monica Lewisnsky scandal, and had left an indelible image in the mind of most Americans by wagging his index finger behind the white house podium during one fateful press conference where he swore he had not had "sex with that woman", the name of whom seemed to have monetarily escaped him. He had gone on after that low point to rehabilitate his image, and left the white house with a 66% approval ratings. Still, he was inarguably scarred and his record tarnished by the scandal. Republicans had dug in their heels and ensured that the Clinton legacy would forever be marked by a stained blue dress, with Clinton DNA.

As all Presidents do when they leave office, Bill Clinton established a Presidential library in his hometown. Little Rock, Arkansas became the place where the Clinton presidency would be embodied, while Bill Clinton himself would go on to set up his office headquarters in New York City, where his wife, Hilary would soon launch a bid for the Senate. The Clintons rebuilt their tarnished image of an ethically compromised power couple. Although countless women forgive husbands for transgressions of all sorts over the course of an average marriage, Hillary Clinton's volition to forgive Bill and rehabilitate her marriage even in the face of national humiliation seemed to ring disingenuous to many. People accused her of being a "political wife", too willing to forgive her promiscuous husband for her own chance at gain and fame. I thought otherwise.

Hillary went on to win the junior senate seat from NY, and Bill rebuilt a reputation for caring about people - common people, that is. He established an office in Harlem, and walked the streets openly, proving that the nether reaches of upper Manhattan were indeed safe, even if colored, and people could visit and walk freely on the same streets as a popular modern-day President. He took on his post-presidential role in earnest and began advocating for the common good. He established the William J. Clinton Foundation, and later the Clinton Family Foundation, along with his wife, and began the work of collecting and giving away money, to make a better world for people he always reminded us, he was not among.

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At the same time, in the same city, another man was rising like a star (don't smirk Donald, there's more). He was coming off the heels of a near bankruptcy and to many, he already seemed like a gold gilded farce. To others, he was a brash risk taker with a mastery of brand building. Donald Trump had the overconfidence of an ill meaning swindler and his motives seemed squarely rooted in gain - his own, that is. He has been quoted saying he saved his business in the early nineties by taking advantage of weak people ("you play the weak spots"), and has boasted about his penchant for borrowing too much, and surviving even though he was "overleveraged". Eventually, he did not make his money in real estate, but in learning how to lease his brand name while building an image of opulence and celebrity to sell it high. The name TRUMP is often emblazoned on signature buildings we've come to recognize as Trump real estate. In fact, the real property is not owned by Trump, he's just responsible for the pomp.

Against this backdrop sit two family foundations. One is an image of philanthropy, with the objective of self-aggrandizement, perhaps even enrichment. One is the essence of charity with the purpose of global aid and advancement. Neither looks pretty under the glare of presidential election politics, and the scrutiny leading into October.

The Clintons established their family foundation in 1997, and since then have donated more than twenty Million dollars of their own money to the charitable foundation (according to annual IRS forms 990). By contrast, since forming his family foundation in 1988, Donald Trump has donated less than a few million dollars of his own money, to his arguably charitable foundation. The Clintons have accepted far less in outside contributions to their charitable giving than they have put in, whereas trump has accepted more than 90% of the money flowing into his charitable foundation, from others. The Trump foundation has been investigated more than once for IRS rules violations, and has had to pay a fine for skirting regulations to make political contributions. The Clinton Foundation has never been under investigation for misconduct.

The Trump foundation runs no programs of its own, merely donated to other charities, that Mr. Trump favors. Some included, The citizens United Foundation, The Clinton Foundation, The New York Military Academy, CURE for Epilepsy and Florida Attorney general Pamela Bondi's campaign (for which they ultimately had to pay a fine).

By Contrast the Clinton Foundation has donated millions of dollars to colleges and Universities in the Unites States to support scholarships and higher education grants to underprivileged students. Abroad, the Clinton Foundation has donated in force to establishing anti poverty initiatives, communication networks for rural areas where there formerly was none, medical relief programs for undeserved populations in continents far from our own. When disaster struck, at home or abroad, the Clinton Foundation raised and delivered aid to people near and far, including the tsunami in Indonesia, the earthquake in Haiti, crop droughts in Africa and floods here at home. As a stark contrast to the glitz that the "Trump" brand uses to turn philanthropy into gain, the Clintons use their celebrity status to turn the "Clinton" brand appeal, into benevolence.

Today, quite contrary to the mockery Trump and his campaign would like to make us believe, the Clinton Foundation is an example of modern post-presidential philanthropy of the effective kind. The well thought out charitable donations made by the Clinton foundation aim to solve some of the world's most obstinate problems. Through Vital Voices, they have tackled the issues that women face in dark corners of the world where they are barely ever seen or heard (see my earlier article here). They tackle AIDS, global climate change, human sustainability, clean energy, reproductive rights, global health care, and even life threatening disease research and prevention. The foundation aims to have a lasting impact on the world we live in, with global reach and an ambitious objective to make a difference in the lives of people the Clintons will never meet. By contrast, Donald J. Trump has never donated to a charity whose owner or Director he did not know.


Artist Melinda Hannah finalizing portraits of LGBT Mormons. Photo courtesy of Melinda Hannah.



"You can be gay, or you can be Mormon. But you can't be both."

I grew up hearing that a lot as a gay Mormon kid in Idaho. I guess in some ways it was no surprise to hear that from my Mormon friends, family and leadership since by and large, most of them didn't understand what it actually meant to be LGBT. But as I grew up, I heard it from some of my friends in the LGBT community as well -- and for a time, I actually allowed myself to believe it.

It was a painful place to be. I felt tossed back and forth between two communities, neither of them wanting to claim me as a whole, integrated person. One the one hand, I had no choice over whether or not I was gay -- I'm a firm believer I was this way before I came to this life and I'll be this way when I get to the next. And on the other, being Mormon is much more complicated than just an activity I practiced for a few hours on Sunday; it is a culture deeply steeped into my identity, and it's not something I could turn my back on without leaving behind a core part of who I am (not to mention my family, friends, and faith practice).

My world was full of people who weren't shy about telling me how to live my life -- and on any given day, I couldn't be Mormon enough for my Latter-day Saint family and friends, and I couldn't be gay enough for my LGBT community. I felt like a man with a foot in two worlds, but I didn't fully belong in either. No matter which one I chose, I still lost part of myself.

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But today that's different. Today, when someone tells me, "You can't be both gay and Mormon," I gently reply, "Watch me. I do it every day."

And I am not alone.

Today, there are thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of LGBT Mormons like me throughout the world, and we claim both our religious roots and our orientation without apology. We don't view ourselves as "broken and suffering," the way many inside Mormonism see us. Instead, we have come to realize that the only thing "broken" about us is the way we were taught to understand ourselves in relation to God and our fellow humans; and any "suffering" we have experienced has come largely at the hands of our brothers and sisters inside the Mormon church -- including our leadership.

Health, wholeness, and happiness for us comes not from choosing one side of ourselves at the expense of the other -- but instead, from integrating them and forging our path through life as LGBT Mormons. And while it may once have felt like we were people with a foot in two worlds that didn't seem to intersect, we've come to understand that those two worlds do indeed intersect -- and that we are that intersection point.

An art show opening in Provo, Utah later this month features portraits of some of these LGBT Mormons -- many of them alongside their partners and spouses of the same gender. The show runs from September 22-25 with a special reception on Friday, September 23 at 5:30 P.M., at Writ and Vision Rare Books and Fine Art in downtown Provo.

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The exhibit is officially named "The Hero's Journey of the LGBT Mormon," after the book by prominent Latter-day Saint author and LGBT ally Carol Lynn Pearson. The exhibit coincides with the annual conference of Affirmation, an organization run by and for LGBT Mormons.

Melinda Hannah is the artist and brainchild behind the event.

"I've long held that art can be a unique and powerful way to capture the beauty that is found inside authenticity, and the LGBT Mormons I've had the honor to work with in this show have a genuine spirit of authenticity and wholeness that I wanted to bring to life--and bring to others," said Hannah, who is based in Seattle.

Hannah has prior experience with communities who've suffered trauma yet emerged whole and healthy. Her art show in 2014 focused on women survivors of cancer and it's her passion for 'healing through art' that inspired her again here.

In November of last year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enacted a worldwide policy that mandates church discipline (the process that leads to excommunication) for LGBT Mormons who choose to live authentic lives and marry someone of their same gender and bars children with LGBT parents from being baptized into the faith until those children turn 18 -- and only then if they openly disavow the relationship of their parents.



"When the November policy was announced in church, I sat with a gay Mormon friend of mine for several hours one Sunday. I saw her pain, her fear, and I held her as she cried. I recognized that there is healing to be done here -- and I feel called to help," added Hannah.

She continued: "Not every LGBT Mormon is in the same place spiritually and emotionally as the ones depicted in the show -- it is my hope that their portraits will inspire others to begin to view themselves as whole and loved by God. Even if the Mormon Church itself is unable to welcome and love its LGBT members right now, I have a firm testimony that God certainly does. He always has."

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The LGBT Mormons featured in the show agree with Hannah. A few of my fellow LGBT Latter-day Saints featured in the exhibit shared their thoughts with me here.

"I have always believed that there could be a place for everyone in the Mormon Church, and that happiness and love could be a real part for everyone in this life, too. As a lesbian Mormon, I felt called to boldly be in the pews; to be tolerant while creating tolerance, and hold space to help stop so much unnecessary grief and pain. Like many that held this space before me and those that will follow, I feel a deep honor that I have had a chance to run my lap; to carry the baton for the team and pass it to the next gay Mormon advocate, until I am called to run another leg for change."

-A. Celeste Carolin, Seattle, WA

"I'm gay and very proud of it. I suspect I'm the first gay rights activist to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the November policy. I was baptized Dec. 5, 2015. I'm reclaiming the place I had in our pre-mortal family council, where all of God's LGBT children had an honored place. If we LGBTs didn't have an honorable place, we wouldn't have a body right now. We were loved and nurtured before the world began. My Heavenly Father manages this universe. He would not send me here only to forget about me. God is arranging all things gloriously for his LGBT children. We only have to watch it unfold."

-Derek Knox, Boston, MA

"Mormonism is my home -- it is my religion and the religion of my family--and through it I have developed a firm testimony of the Gospel of Christ. It is through Christ's Gospel that I found the courage to come out, to be honest about who I am as a gay man. A tenet of living the Gospel of Christ is living an authentic life. And because I am now living an authentic life as a follower of Christ, I have an abundance of peace and joy that I never had while I was denying my orientation. For me, living my truth is part of living the gospel--I cannot be a true follower of my Savior and be dishonest about who I am."

-Roger Sanchez, Roseburg, OR

Each of the LGBT Mormons in the art show have written similar statements about their journey as LGBT Mormons, and you can learn more about the show on the Facebook event page.

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I'm proud to walk with my LGBT Mormon brothers and sisters on this journey -- as some have called it, a Hero's Journey. And as we continue our journey, we welcome our Latter-day Saint fellows to walk by our side -- gay, straight, and everywhere in between. For those who cannot yet do so, we will hold a space for you. But we will no longer believe that we are broken, suffering, or unworthy of Christ's love and full inclusion.
The beginning of a new school year always brings so much promise and possibility--cracking open the spines of new books to challenge you, engage you, take you to new worlds. In honor of back-to-school season, here are seven eye-opening, thought-provoking books for a master class of your own.



An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The much-needed and long-awaited history of the United States from the perspective of its indigenous peoples challenges long-held myths and prejudices. Dunbar-Ortiz's careful research spans more than 400 years and articulates the colonialist attempts to completely remove the once 15 million Native people who called this country home.





Stiff by Mary Roach

Stiff is a hilarious and compelling tale of the afterlife that explores the active lives of human bodies postmortem. Throughout human history, cadavers have been appropriated for scientific experiments, medicinal research, and more. While not exactly for the faint of heart, Stiff is an oddly human tale that will change the way you look at our bodies.

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Read the review here



Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

Fierce, funny, and feminist, Rebecca Solnit crafts several brilliant--often scathing--essays on gender politics, violence against women, and her own personal encounters with men who felt the need to explain things to her. Men Explain Things To Me breathes new life into the feminist movement for the twenty-first century.





Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

A coming-of-age tale unlike any other, Persepolis is the memoir of a young Iranian girl as she lives through the 1979 Islamic revolution. Personal, political, funny, and heartbreaking, Marjane Satrapi's unique graphic depiction of adolescence demonstrates the human cost of war.





This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

This gripping, eye-opening text successfully argues that in order to combat climate change, a restructuring of the global economy is required. Naomi Klein demonstrates--in comprehensible language--that by reducing our greenhouse emissions, we can not only help the planet but also improve our political and economic systems.





Going Clear by Lawrence Wright

With years of research, dozens of interviews, and writing as rousing as the best thrillers, Going Clear is the astonishing tale of Scientology and its fraught relationship with Hollywood, the IRS, and its own members. Compelling and thought-provoking, Lawrence Wright asks us to evaluate just what constitutes a religion and how faith works in our modern times.



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Salt by Mark Kurlansky

Never has something so commonplace been so fascinating. Mark Kurlansky crafts a captivating history of salt, which has irrevocably shaped mankind, been used as currency, founded trade routes, and helped direct wars and empires. Salt will make you reconsider how vital this household item is to our history.



See the full list at Off the Shelf, a daily blog that connects great readers with great books.
Alyssa's nightmare experience with the debt trap of fines and fees in our criminal justice system began with a $25 ticket. It ended with a total bill of $2,900.

The first ticket was for failing to update the home address on her driver's license within the 10 days required by California law, an oversight we could all make. But Alyssa, like so many Americans living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to survive, couldn't afford to pay the fine.

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A traffic judge suspended her license, and she continued to accumulate fees and penalties for late payment until she owed almost $3,000. Worse, Alyssa lost her job as a bus driver and now is forced to rely on public assistance to survive.

How did a single ticket end in disaster for Alyssa?



Look no further than the cruel, ineffective system of fines, fees, and suspended licenses that has trapped Americans across the country.

Since 2010, all but three states have increased the number and amount of fees and fines for civil and criminal charges - on top of the original penalties. In some cases, counties finance court costs through these fees, giving judges every incentive to charge poor defendants ever-higher fines.

These charges have a way of multiplying exponentially.

In Alyssa's home state of California, for example, fees and penalties can raise a $100 fine to $490, or $815 if the initial deadline is missed. A $500 traffic ticket can actually cost $1,953, even if it is paid on time.

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As fines for everything from broken taillights to court appearances increase, many Americans are left unable to pay, and courts rarely consider people's ability to pay when assessing penalties. Faced with a tide of people unable to pay escalating fees, courts have responded in the least helpful manner possible: By regularly suspending driver's licenses.

In Virginia, nearly 1,000,000 people (1 out of every 6 people in the state,) had suspended driver's licenses due to one or more unpaid court costs or fines.

Last year, the DMV suspended almost 400,000 driver's licenses because of unpaid fines or fees - and 38 percent of those were for charges completely unrelated to driving.



Nationwide, 40 percent of people who lose their driver's licenses do so for reasons that have nothing to do with bad driving.



Experts say that not having a driver's license is one of the biggest barriers to getting a job.



In Texas, there are around 1.8 million people whose licenses have been revoked for failure to pay justice system fees and fines. The same is true of nearly 1 in 6 California drivers. These Americans are disproportionately black, brown, and poor. Many simply don't have the money to pay.

Suspending a license does not magically fill an empty bank account.

There is no evidence that suspending licenses helps recoup fees or change behavior. It just makes life harder - and can even trap people in a cycle of debt.

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Experts say that not having a driver's license is one of the biggest barriers to getting a job.

Even if you have a job, losing your license could make it impossible to get there. You may be unable to get your kids to school. And if you have no choice but to drive, and are caught? You could face misdemeanor charges, more and more fines, higher and higher fees.

You can even go to jail.



James Goodwin has a family with six young children. He paid thousands of dollars and served 7 months in jail for failure to pay a $35 traffic fine.

Kenneth Seay of Tennessee wants to work, but has trouble holding a good job because his driver's license was revoked and he keeps being tossed in jail for his inability to pay nearly $5,000 in penalties. Angel Hinton owns her own business. After missing a court date for expired tags that she wasn't notified of, there was a warrant issue for her arrest, and she struggles to work without being able to drive.

There are countless such stories, of Americans ground beneath the gears of a justice system that is too often unjust and ineffective.

So what can we do?



Thankfully, there are courageous organizations leading the charge to end this abuse. The Brennan Center is a non-partisan public policy institute dedicated to fundamental issues of democracy and justice, with criminal justice debt at the forefront of their work.

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They have released a powerful report on the failures of the current system, and a toolkit with materials and suggestions for better policies. Today, the Brennan Center is working with the Texas Public Policy Foundation under an Arnold Foundation grant to conduct a study to measure when and if issuing fines and fees makes financial sense.



Suspending driver's licenses takes people who are poor, and traps them in debt. It takes Americans hanging on by a thread, and robs them of their livelihoods.



The Texas Fair Defense Project filed a class action federal lawsuit against the City of Austin and the practices of the Austin Municipal Court on behalf of plaintiffs like Valerie Gonzales, who struggled with traffic fees and suspended licenses. It's part of their ongoing battle against policies that create modern-day debtors' prisons filled with poor people unable to pay court imposed fines and fees. They push for reforms that would allow indigent individuals to participate in pretrial diversion programs currently unavailable to them, instead of being trapped in debt.

In Virginia, the Legal Aid Justice Center, which provides legal representation for low-income individuals, filed a federal class action lawsuit against the state's DMV in July. The lawsuit claims Virginia's practice unconstitutional stating:

Those who can afford to pay, generally do, but hundreds of thousands of people have lost their licenses simply because they are too poor to pay, effectively depriving them of reliable, lawful transportation.

Suspending driver's licenses takes people who are poor, and traps them in debt. It takes Americans hanging on by a thread, and robs them of their livelihoods.

Those who are trying to change their lives after serving time, it puts on a path back to jail. And it does little to make the rest of us safer or more secure.
The EB-5 Investment Program creates thousands of American jobs across the country without costing taxpayers a dime. And at IIUSA, we're working for important reforms that improve rigorous vetting of both projects and investors, while allowing the program to continue transforming communities and providing quality American jobs.

Reform, reauthorization and enhancement of the EB-5 Program (the "Program") is essential to the U.S. economy in 2016 and beyond. From 2005-2015, over $15 billion of foreign direct investment ("FDI") flowed into the United States from across the world. In that time, and especially in the years that followed the Great Recession, the Program became a potent economic development tool for diverse communities and industries across the country. Over $14 billion of the $15+ billion (or 93%) in EB-5 capital was invested in the U.S. in the years after the global recession that followed the financial crisis of 2008.

Today, the EB-5 Regional Center industry needs to lead the cross-sector stakeholder community in educating the government, media, and public about the important work going on across the country thanks to the Program - creating vital American jobs at no cost to the taxpayer. With a September 30 expiration for the Program fast approaching, presidential and congressional election campaigns dominating the headlines, and the many considerations related to reauthorization and reform of the Program, it can be difficult to cut through the noise to navigate the now so we can envision and pursue a future of growth and opportunity for the industry.

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$18+ Billion Reasons EB-5 Must Continue

As stakeholders and lawmakers debate reforms, it is important to understand the real world consequences of potential outcomes in the reauthorization effort. Some key legislators have publicly stated that the Program would need significant and substantive reform included in this year's reauthorization package or the Program should be allowed to expire or lapse. But a lapse in the program would result in disaster for the economy with lingering damage that could not be undone.

If the program lapses, a minimum of $11 billion in community investment and 220K local jobs will disappear immediately. A further $7 billion in investment and 140K jobs would be destroyed by costly litigation. So at least $18 billion in economic development would be thrown into chaos along with the tens of billions of other project financing that is leveraged and reliant on the EB-5 capital in a project's finance structure. A lapse would essentially place a "closed for business" sign on the door to America, deterring future foreign direct investment.

Congress must hear from the industry about these realities to understand expiration is not a viable option. The outcome that enjoys strong support from stakeholders across all sectors is quite simple: reauthorization and reforms that enhance program integrity and expand economic opportunity.

EB-5 Federal Agency Actions Lead Way in Improving Program Integrity

Congress has prioritized program integrity, as we have seen in various bipartisan bills over the past year, including S. 1501 and S. 2415. Some of these measures include background checks for Regional Center owners, banning participation in the Program for anyone who committed certain crimes including drug trafficking and terrorism, and forbidding foreign ownership of a Regional Center. These measures address concerns of fraud that EB-5 could somehow be a vehicle for criminals to legally enter the United States. Overwhelmingly, IIUSA and the industry support improved integrity measures to weed out the fraudsters, cheats and criminals while allowing the rest of the industry to contribute to the American economy through job creation and economic development.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has EB-5 on the White House's "unified regulatory agenda" to update the Program's regulations for the first time since the early 1990s. This regulatory overhaul will proceed at a slow pace before being finalized and implemented and will occur as USCIS also implements administrative enhancements to its law enforcement capabilities. For example, after successfully embedding inter-agency partners it is adjudications process at the Investor Program Office ("IPO"), USCIS now has almost 200 employees working on EB-5 that include entire departments on stakeholder compliance, policy and strategy, and public engagement. No matter what reforms are included by Congress, USCIS is clearly taking steps to do everything in its power to bring EB-5 policy up to date with 21st century policy standards in fraud deterrence, national security, and international movement of capital.

IIUSA has a long history of supporting reforms that would improve program integrity - whether proposed via action by the legislative or executive branches. Several pieces of legislation have been introduced in Congress on EB-5 and are actively being considered in the process towards a single piece of broadly supported reauthorization and reform policy that results from constructive engagement and compromise.

Congress Must "Mend It, Not End it"

The pieces of the puzzle are already on the table and many of them are already in their place for EB-5 reauthorization and reform. As many supporters in the Senate stated in a hearing on EB-5 earlier this year, Congress must "mend it, not end it."

Years of advocacy and experience have led us to this moment. The EB-5 industry and Congress are ready to negotiate durable reform that results in a stronger, more efficient Program. But the EB-5 Program must be reauthorized without a lapse, or countless communities, Regional Centers, and investors will face desperate times and years of protracted, expensive court proceedings.
The annual Values Voter Summit brings Religious Right leaders and activists together with Republican officials who are courting their political support. Donald Trump and Mike Pence made this year's summit the first one ever addressed by a Republican presidential ticket, but it was Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin who made the most deplorable comments--no small achievement at an event featuring people who've supported the criminalization of homosexuality, the banning of abortion without exceptions and the denial of First Amendment protections to American Muslims.

Bevin, who was honored with the Distinguished Christian Statesman award on Friday night, demonstrated his "statesmanship" on Saturday morning when he used rhetoric normally heard from the fringes of the far right, suggesting that freedom would be so imperiled by the election of Hillary Clinton that the people sitting in that hotel ballroom and their "children and grandchildren" might have to shed blood to allow America "to recover as a nation."

During the Obama administration it has become almost routine to hear far-right leaders talk about the possibility of armed revolution against the federal government. But it was jarring to hear a sitting governor suggest that America might only survive the election of Hillary Clinton through bloodshed.

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"America is worth fighting for. America is worth fighting for, ideologically," he said. "I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don't have to do it physically," said Bevin. "But that may in fact be the case." He explained that it might take the shedding of the blood of tyrants and patriots for America to survive a Hillary Clinton presidency:

Somebody asked me yesterday, I did an interview and they said, 'Do you think it's possible, if Hillary Clinton were to win the election, do you think it's possible that we'll be able to survive? That we would ever be able to recover as a nation?' And while there are people who have stood on this stage and said we would not, I would beg to differ. But I will tell you this: I do think it would be possible, but at what price? At what price? The roots of the tree of liberty are watered by what? The blood, of who? The tyrants to be sure, but who else? The patriots. Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren. I have nine children. It breaks my heart to think that it might be their blood that is needed to redeem something, to reclaim something, that we through our apathy and our indifference have given away.



Bevin has since tried to downplay the extremism of his comments by claiming on Monday that he was speaking about "military sacrifice" and the need to "fight to preserve the exceptionalism and the promise of America." But, as journalist Matthew Yglesias wrote, Bevin's explanation is "completely at odds" with the actual speech, in which he "is very clearly talking about patriots winning back liberty from the tyranny of Democratic Party governance," with Hillary Clinton playing the role of the tyrant whose blood must be shed to water the roots of the tree of liberty.

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Bevin's comments, like the nomination of Donald Trump, reflect the conservative movement's increasing willingness during the Obama administration to embrace the far right. What were always fuzzy lines between "mainstream" conservatives and more extreme elements have virtually disappeared, exemplified by Trump's appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's radio show and the hiring of Steve Bannon, proud propagandist for the alt-right, to run his campaign.

Trump's path to the nomination was blazed by the conservative movement's embrace of know-nothing punditry, the vilification of liberals and mainstream media, and the promotion of conspiracy theories about President Obama's citizenship, faith, love of country, and supposed intention to invoke martial law to avoid relinquishing the White House after his second term. The Thomas Jefferson quote to which Bevin allude - "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants"--has been used by anti-government activists on issues ranging from health care reform to gun control to public land use. Timothy McVeigh was wearing a T-shirt with that quote on it when he was arrested 90 minutes after bombing the federal building in Oklahoma City.

The toxic consequences of the Republican Party's embrace of its far right have been all too evident this year, with violent clashes at campaign events and the reemergence of a white nationalist movement electrified and energized by Trump's attacks on immigrants, Muslims, and Black Lives Matter activists.

Republicans' decades of delegitimizing the federal government have brought us to such a dangerous level of division and distrust that it now feels as if they truly are playing with fire. The portrayal of the federal government as a tyrannical force has already led to armed standoffs between law enforcement officials and self-appointed militias. What will be the consequences of right-wing figures' suggestions that America could not survive a Hillary Clinton presidency?

Donald Trump's assertion that he could only lose Pennsylvania, where polls showed him well behind, if the election were rigged was irresponsibly setting the stage for an even more intensely divided country. Matt Bevin's suggestion that Trump losing the election might require violence from those who have been led to believe it's the only resort for those who love America is reprehensible and reckless.

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But rather than apologize, Bevin has dissembled. And on Thursday morning he sent a fundraising email in which he portrayed the criticism he has been receiving as a badge of honor, saying, "It goes to show how out of touch liberals are with our principles and values when they take offense to statements by our founding fathers."

Bevin's utterly unconvincing defense of his remarks about shedding blood if Clinton wins have led to calls for his resignation and impeachment. Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jay Bookman called Bevin's comments "dangerous, volatile and profoundly irresponsible." The Arizona Republic editorialized against Bevin on Wednesday, saying, "True patriots don't call for blood." The entire editorial is worth reading, as is its conclusion:



We are not a nation where political losers take up arms. Politicians hint at that as a solution may think they are just throwing out applause lines to people who know better. But they are also lighting fuses and presenting violence as a legitimate way to solve political differences. That is dangerous and un-American.
As in most instances everything we do or don't do is to some degree affected by the circumstances we face in our lives. Intimacy falls into that category.

I recently spoke with a middle-aged man who had just lost his job, a common experience in today's economy. While discussing his circumstances and uncertain future, our conversation brought back vivid and painful memories of what I had experienced almost 20 years ago.

As newlyweds, we were excited about moving to Atlanta from the DC area as I had accepted the challenge of turning around a struggling company.

In hindsight, the opportunity was doomed from the beginning. At the time, I had no way of knowing that my employers hidden agenda was to sell the company. That's exactly what happened. Seven months passed and the wealthy owner threw in the towel. The company was sold. In reality, I created my own unemployment. There was no severance pay and I never got the professional courtesy of a phone call from my employer.

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It was a knockout punch and I hit the canvas. My self-esteem hit the floor. I went from CEO to CIO! (Career Is Over) I felt embarrassed. My confidence was shaken and I began to doubt my self worth. Here I was at 57 feeling very vulnerable and unsure about my future. I felt overcome with emotion and then I had to face my wife.

Initially I felt stress and panic over this new situation. I didn't know exactly how I was going to tell her I was fired. Then, after thinking about it, I allowed clearer thinking to take over (prevail).

Knowing Bonnie and the strength of our relationship, I allowed myself to believe I would be strongly supported. I had to trust that my wife's compassion, empathy and love would prevail. I was right! So, I changed my focus.

I knew that the belief, trust and the open dialogue we so often shared would enable us to navigate the uncertain journey of my job loss and its implications. What I clearly came to understand, then and to this day, is that whatever challenges you and your partner might face, it's your commitment to each other, your willingness to be vulnerable and keeping your intimacy in tact, that will collectively create the strong foundation that ultimately will overcome any of your life's challenges.

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Sexy Grandpa and Sassy Grandma share their experience on the affect that job loss had on their relationship.
We, 20 leading academics and influencers from across the world, have joined forces today in an open letter to world leaders - asking that they do more to ensure refugees obtain an education. With two crucial international refugee summits next week in New York and with the release today of the UN Refugee Agency's first refugee education report - now presents a historic oppurtunity for change. One we may not see the like of again. The open letter - signed by myself, Gordon and Sarah Brown, Lee Bollinger, the President of Columbia University, Hanan Al Hroub, the winner of the Global Teacher Prize, and leading voices at other academic institutions - demonstrates a broad consensus on this essential issue of refugee education.

We invite you to read the letter:



Dear World Leaders,



Around the world, we know the consequences of children being out of school. They are vulnerable to exploitation, to marginalization and to a life of destitution. For refugee children, the risks are even greater - they have no country to protect them.



Education is therefore not only an investment in the future of a refugee child, it is also a lifeline to their protection. School is a place where they can learn life-saving information, a place where the devastation they fled can be left behind. A place where young minds can be inspired by science, technology and building a better society. The knowledge and skills acquired through education are things nobody can strip away.



Yet unfortunately, education is a distant dream for many refugees. Fewer than one in two refugee children are enrolled in primary school. This drops down to fewer than one in four for secondary school. It is unlikely any will go on to higher education, less than one per cent of all refugee children do.



We, institutions and individuals who support the rights of children, believe it is time to end the education injustice perpetrated on refugee children. In our roles, we see the life-changing impact education has on children and young people. We know the future security of individuals and societies is inextricably linked to the knowledge and values developed through education.



This is why we are supporting UNHCR's #WithRefugees petition, which asks that every refugee child get an education. Alongside the petition, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, also released its first State of the World's Education for Refugees report today.



We now have a historic opportunity for change. Two global refugee summits are taking place on the 19th and 20th September in New York. With enough support from States at these summits, all refugee children will be able to access education and go on to make a positive contribution to society. Please give them this opportunity. Please stand #WithRefugees.
You've seen the surveys:

Less than half of Americans think climate change is a serious threat.

Depending on the survey, between 40 and 50% of Americans disagree with the scientific concept of evolution.

Too many of us choose to believe in fantasies, in magic. We would rather ignore the facts that science has discovered. We refuse to get involved in politics. We resist changing our way of life even it means millions of people will die and we may even go extinct as a species along with millions of other organisms.

How do we protect our children from ignorance, charlatans and quacks? Give them bullshit meters. Also known as critical thinking skills. In my state, we've done this for almost 60 years through what we call Outdoor School. Sending classrooms of middle school students to the woods for a week to study science. To ask Questions about life, natural systems and natural resources. In the words one of the founders of Outdoor School: "We teach kids how to think, not what to think."

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After years of cuts to school budgets and the loss of this tremendous program in much of Oregon, a grassroots coalition--the Oregon Outdoor Education Coalition--came together to fix this. Their work led to the passage of a law establishing a statewide goal of universal Outdoor School and this fall the ballot measure they collected 140,000 signatures to qualify will be before voters.

Measure 99 sets aside $22 million a year to ensure 50,000 Oregon children get to attend a full week of Outdoor School. A small price for a lifetime Bullshit Meter.
The 2016 Presidential election is unprecedented. One reason is a female candidate. A (very) non-traditional contender is a second. But there is another "first" with perhaps even further-reaching implications: the emergence of care into mainstream political discussions. That could be a real game changer for generations to come, positioning the US to maintain its economic advantage and bolstering national security in the turbulent times ahead.

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Care, finally, is a political issue in play. Hillary Clinton has proposed paid family leave, capping child care expenses, universal pre-K, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and expanding Social Security so women's retirement income can catch up with men's. Donald Trump has floated a tax deduction for the national average cost of childcare. Jill Stein of the Green Party supports free, universal childcare, paid family leave and paid sick leave.

No doubt these candidates have noticed that better family policies have gained popularity with voters. A recent AP-NORC poll reports 72% of respondents support paid family leave, 83% support a tax break for caregivers, and 73% support Social Security credits for caregivers who take time away from paid work. Voters of all political affiliations support increasing access to early education and childcare. Specifically, 98% of registered Democrats, 86% of Independents, and 82% of Republicans are in favor, according to Hart poll conducted last spring. That's a remarkable level of consensus in these polarized and polarizing times.

Why is care commanding more attention now? Even if a family can afford a full-time caregiver (mother or father) at home, volatility in the labor market can keep both parents on the job as a second line of defense. More often now the wife and mother's earnings are essential to the household income. Two-thirds of women are either primary or co-breadwinners. Their families simply couldn't manage without that paycheck.

Changes in aging also play a role. We are living longer thanks to advances in medicine and science. But our ability to live independently and take care of ourselves is not part of the bargain. The number of Americans 65 and over will double by 2050. That same year, the baby boom generation will be over 85.

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As the need for care spikes, the number of potential family caregivers sharply declines. Women have flowed into the workforce, powering our economic expansion. Adult children live further away in this mobile society, and often can't be on hand to look after their parents or in-laws.

American families struggle to get by using tag team parenting. They stretch to pay the bills with what's left over after childcare is paid for. Women, who are still the primary caregivers, reduce work hours or come out of the labor force altogether to care for an aging parent, ailing family member, or young child.

Like a perfect storm, demographic and economic influences are pushing the demand for care higher and the supply of caregivers lower. The result is a care deficit.

Care is no longer a family or personal issue that all too often leads to great hardships. It is a national issue --with economic implications that stretch to the global marketplace. Neuroscience shows that whether or not children develop their capacities largely hinges on the quality of early care and education they receive. So policies supporting good care and education are essential for the US to have the high quality capital economists tell us is essential in our new knowledge/service age. The competitiveness of our future labor force hangs in the balance.

Yet despite all this, the US Congress has done nothing to support care. Because of this inaction, 4 states (California, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey) have enacted their own paid family leave programs, and 19 state legislatures have bills pending. The result is an inconsistent patchwork that means your family security depends entirely on where you happen to live - even though the polls show that the desire for better childcare transcends geography.

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The urgency of action on the national level is highlighted by the Center for Partnership Studies' Social Wealth Economic Indicators which show that the United States invests less than half what other wealthy nations do in family friendly policies, the least in early childhood education, and is the only developed nation without a national paid parental leave program. This keeps women's labor force participation down, blunts economic growth, imperils family economic security, and prevents access to the full range of our talent and creativity as a player in the global marketplace.

Here is a guide to help you bring care issues to the forefront this campaign season.

You can use the Caring Economy Campaign's Questions for Candidates to inform yourself and talk more meaningfully with candidates and others. Take it with you to a rally or Town Hall event, any place you are likely to meet a contender in this election. Use it to call campaign headquarters, or write letters to the editor or your local paper. You can post the questions on social media. Now that we know who the moderators of the Presidential debates will be, you can encourage them to put our questions to the candidates by tweeting them in the run up to the broadcasts! (@LesterHoltNBC, @MarthaRaddatz, @andersoncooper, and Chris Wallace at @FoxNewsSunday.)



As we've seen time and again in our democracy, grassroots action drives change. When the voters lead, the leaders will follow.
"I'm really a rude person. I'm enjoying my last time as a rude person," the Philippines' newly-minted President Rodrigo Dutetre promised shortly after winning a bitterly contested elections. "When I become president, when I take my oath of office...There will be a metamorphosis." His Kafkaesque promise, which raised hopes of a transformed rhetoric from the foul-mouthed leader, would soon be put to test.

Duterte relished a global diplomatic debut like none of his predecessors. It was his moment to shine. Barely three months into office, he was slated to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Vientiane, Laos to formally accept the regional grouping's chairmanship, which rotates on an alphabetical basis. (Rather comically, some of Duterte's staunch supporters falsely claimed that their leader was 'elected' to the position because of his sheer popularity and will to power.)

On the sidelines of the summit, which was also attended by global leaders from America, China, Japan, Russia, India, and the United Nations, the Duterte administration scheduled nine bilateral meetings. Without a question, the most anticipated one was with no less than the United States President Barack Obama, who was on his ninth and final trip to Asia.

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Just weeks earlier, Duterte ruffled some feathers in Washington when he uttered unflattering remarks about the outgoing American Ambassador Philip Goldberg. And amid Duterte's 'shock and awe' campaign against drugs, liberal hawks within the Washington also began to agitate for more explicit criticism of his human rights record. Tensions were beginning to build in bilateral relations, but the Obama administration constantly emphasised the durable amicability of the alliance.

To be fair, the latest dust up between Duterte and Obama is unlikely to undermine the sound fundamentals of bilateral relations. The Filipino leader has made it clear that he won't scuttle existing bilateral agreement with America, particularly the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which is yet to be ratified by the Philippine Senate. (Although he has -- so far just rhetorically -- asked American Special Forces to exit the troubled region of Mindanao).

Nonetheless, there are growing signs that the century-old alliance is heading into a 'new normal', wherein bilateral ties are strong but no longer as special and sacrosanct as before. American has to accept the fact that the Philippines has a fiercely independent-minded leader now. The new Philippine government is now seriously considering sourcing military hardware from unconventional sources: Russia and China. He has also called off, for now, joint patrols with America in contested waters in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Duterte is planning his much-anticipated state visit to Beijing, a remarkable departure form his predecessors, who mostly, almost by tradition, chose Washington as they first diplomatic destination.

Rocking the Boat

When Obama was asked about his upcoming meeting with Duterte, he made it crystal clear that human rights issues would be front and center. This may have ticked off his Filipino counterpart, who couldn't help himself from uttering expletives when he was, shortly before attending the summit, asked about his scheduled meeting with the American leader.

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For the fiercely independent-minded Duterte, America was interfering in his country's domestic affairs. Shortly after, the bilateral meeting was called off, when Obama questioned whether there could be any 'productive' exchange with the controversial leader. Soon presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump chipped in, turning a diplomatic incident into a domestic political issue.

The American president was just recovering from another embarrassing incident in China, where he was denied a red carpet stairway upon his arrival, while watching American reporters manhandled by Chinese security officials on the tarmac. In fairness, the Philippine government, worried about a potential diplomatic meltdown, immediately released a statement of clarification, expressing the sincere 'regret' of the Filipino president about his remarks. Duterte also clarified that he wasn't directly insulting the American leader. The Obama administration, in turn, clarified that bilateral relations are still 'rock solid' and there is no point for concern.

Obama himself reassured everyone that he didn't take the insults personally, and is well aware of Duterte's unorthodox habits and manner of speaking. So everyone began to heave a sigh of relief. But just when everyone thought that the dust was settled, the Filipino president (once again) went off-the-script and embarked on an anti-colonial tirade before global leaders attending the East Asia Summit, with Obama in the audience. Duterte reminded everyone about America's historical crimes against Filipino people, dating back to colonial days.

He even showed a picture to prove his point. This was unprecedented, triggering an awkward silence among the audience. Duterte also skipped the ASEAN-US summit, and reportedly there was no shaking of hands with Obama upon the conclusion of the global gathering.



Upon his subsequent visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, Duterte continued to push the envelope, criticising America and its lack of commitment to the Philippines, while praising Chinese assistance to the Philippines. Some began to wonder whether there would be irreversible consequences for bilateral relations, among the oldest and most intimate in human history.

Though immensely popular at home, the Dutetre administration couldn't shield itself from domestic criticism too. With Obama stepping down from office in coming months, and given the sheer breadth of complementarity in bilateral strategic interests, the two allies are in a great position to restore good will and avoid any downward spiral in diplomatic ties.

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New Horizons

Interestingly, Duterte's meeting with fellow Asian leaders went extremely well. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was eager on maintaining a recently-blossoming relationship with Manila, went so far as telling Duterte, "Mr President [you are] quite a famous figure also in Japan, and I am very excited to see you in person." Aside from Abe's fan-mode reception, Duterte cordially hobnobbed with fellow ASEAN leaders, including the charismatic Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who accompanied him through and through.

While many ASEAN leaders were scandalized by Duterte's diplomatic tiff with Obama, and the strange hiccup in Philippine-American relations, they nonetheless welcomed his paradoxically dovish position on the South China Sea. Duterte made it clear that unlike his predecessor, Benigno Aquino, he is not going to push the ASEAN towards a collision course with China.

If anything, he didn't even raise The Hague arbitration case, which was expected to be a huge blow to China. Since much of Asia is filled with autocratic regimes and faux democracies, hardly anyone raised concerns over human rights and civil liberties under Dutetre. In short, hardly anything divided them.

Duterte, who will next year oversee the ASEAN as its chairman, was much closer to the regional strategic consensus that his predecessor. The contrast in Duterte's diplomatic chemistry with fellow Asian countries, on one hand, and America and the United Nations, on the other, was too palpable to ignore. The message was clear: The new government in the Philippines isn't in any mood for criticisms from the West, particularly on the human rights front, and is ready to engage its neighbors on practical solutions to practical security and economic problems.

Thus, Duterte signaled his independence as an Asian leader. And as the Philippines' new caudillo, he is indisputably in charge of the country's policy apparatus. This was perhaps also designed to reassure China that his policy in the South China Sea is not influenced by any external power, thus simplifying the matrix of strategic calculations in bilateral negotiations. Nevertheless, reports suggesting Chines plans of constructing dual-purposes facilities on the bitterly-contested Scarborough Shoal put into question whether the two neighbors can ever find a mutually-satisfactory modus vivendi in the South China Sea.

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Many Filipinos are impatiently and suspiciously watching China's moves in the area. If negotiations fail to bear dividends within a year or so, it is highly likely that Duterte will double down on relations with America under a new leadership, preferably under Hillary Clinton. For now, however, it is clear that Duterte wants to break off from what some perceive as decades of strategic subservience vis-a-vis America, which is now struggling to build a regional coalition to rein in Chinese assertiveness. It's hard to escape the impression that Beijing is once again in the regional driving seat.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 05: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (2nd L) and fellow Republican senators (L-R) Sen. John Barrasso (R-UT), Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) talk to reporters following their weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol April 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. McConnell insisted that support among Senate Republicans has not waned for his refusal to hold confirmation hearings or a vote on President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Wells Fargo $185 million for the astounding abuse of opening more than two million unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts.

Now, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is employing a rarely used procedure to force a rushed vote on a bill to defang the CFPB.

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Ok, now here's a quiz. Can you guess which member of Congress with his wife holds more Wells Fargo stock than any other, at least according to the most recently available financial disclosure forms?

You guessed right! Mitch McConnell.

Let's walk this through in more detail.

On Friday, the CFPB announced $185 million in fines and penalties against Wells Fargo for the jaw-dropping, illegal practice of opening deposit and credit card accounts for consumers who did not request them and did not know they existed. Not just a few such accounts -- 2 million of them. According to Wells Fargo, more than 5,000 employees were involved in setting up the sham accounts.

One hundred million of that total penalty was imposed by the CFPB; $35 million goes to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and $50 million to Los Angeles. The $100 million fine is the largest ever imposed by the CFPB.

Enter Mitch McConnell.

This week, he announced plans to rush to the Senate floor S. 3318, "A bill to amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to subject the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to the regular appropriations process, and for other purposes," introduced by Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue.

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You might be curious to read the bill.

Too bad.

It was just introduced on Monday, and the text does not yet appear on congress.gov, the website where proposed bills are posted.

But the title tells you what you need to know. When the CFPB was created, Congress gave it budget autonomy -- it is funded by transfers from the Federal Reserve system, and its budget is set at 12 percent of Federal Reserve operating expenses. The CFPB creators built in this feature because they knew that otherwise the Big Banks could destroy the consumer bureau by stripping its funding. This isn't unique among banking regulators -- the Fed, the OCC, the FDIC and others all share this autonomy, as it has long been recognized that our cops on the financial beat should not be subject to appropriations while policing Wall Street. Since then, the Big Banks have lobbied hard to subject the CFPB to congressional appropriations, almost explicitly for the purpose of slashing its funding and stopping it from doing its job.

S. 3318 is not following the traditional pathway to the floor of the Senate. It has not yet been debated and voted on in committee. Instead, using a special procedure, Majority Leader McConnell is taking it straight the Senate floor.

Which raises the question: Senator, what's the rush?

Well, it just may be that Mitch McConnell brings a special passion to the issue, in the wake of the CFPB penalty on Wells Fargo.

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In his 2015 financial disclosure form, McConnell reports between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 in deferred compensation for his wife, Elaine Chao, from Wells Fargo. Chao, the former Secretary of Labor, serves on Wells Fargo's board of directors.

The bank paid her a not inconsiderable $291,027 in 2015 for her board service.

Quite something, right?

We cannot assume that McConnell is acting just to punish the CFPB for imposing a modest fine on Wells Fargo for its systematic misdeeds.

It's entirely possible -- arguably more likely -- that McConnell is acting to please his Wall Street paymasters, more than out of pique in response to the CFPB penalizing a megabank to which he's unusually close.

It's true that that can pass as a kind of ethics defense in Washington, D.C. (see the ongoing case of Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, also an auto dealer, who is defending himself against charges of wrongdoing related to the introduction of an amendment to benefit auto dealers on the grounds that he was not trying to benefit himself but was instead doing a favor for a lobbyist for the National Automobile Dealers Association). But it doesn't wash among Americans uncontaminated by Washington corruption.
For many foreign-born Americans, becoming U.S. citizens is an important turning point in their journey for better economic opportunities. With citizenship, an immigrant has access to better jobs, including many public sector jobs. According to the American Immigration Council, immigrants earn 8-11 percent more money once becoming citizens. As such, employment is a common driver for immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens. In fact, most immigrants come to the United States as working-age adults -- between the ages of 18 and 60 -- hoping to support themselves and their families. By becoming a citizen, an immigrant's economic outlook increases dramatically and is a critical step in their wealth-building journey; this is particularly true for low-income Latino immigrants.

Wealth is a key component of the American Dream; a necessary step to achieve security and take part in opportunities in the United States. Unfortunately, as it stands, there is a widening racial wealth gap in the United States. In 2013, Whites had 13 times more wealth than a Black family and 10 times the wealth of a Latino family. Furthermore, many Latino immigrant families are already at a disadvantage, as they tend to have lower incomes and struggle to establish savings, let alone build wealth.

According to the University of Southern California, Latino immigrants, who account for about half of foreign-born U.S. residents, tend to have lower incomes than other immigrants. Immigrants coming from Mexico and Central America have average incomes that hover around $45,000 for a family of 3.5 people, putting them at just over 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Similarly, Latino immigrants are more likely to be credit invisible--meaning they have no credit score--according to the CFPB's Credit Invisibles report and may have trouble accessing credit. It is because of this that the citizenship process can be an important crossroads for immigrant families, especially how a low-income Latino family chooses to pay for it.

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Naturalizing, the legal process for becoming a U.S citizen, is expensive. The application cost alone ballooned 610 percent between 1998 and 2008, from $85 to $680. In addition to the application fee, an applicant has additional expenses such as English classes, civics preparation, and legal filing assistance, all of which can add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to the process. The mounting expenses disproportionately impact low-income Latino immigrants who are most in need of the economic benefits that come with citizenship. Therefore, the citizenship process is an ideal time for Latino families to make financial choices that are constructive to their long-term financial future.

To help immigrants overcome costly fees for citizenship and also put them on a wealth-building path, NCLR has developed an initiative that combines small-dollar lines of credit with immigration legal services. Legal permanent residents receive both citizenship application assistance and assistance in accessing savings or loan products that can help them build their credit. This national initiative enables citizenship applicants to overcome financial barriers and enter the financial mainstream.

For Javier Moncada, a citizenship applicant who sought legal assistance from The Resurrection Project--an NCLR Affiliate based in Chicago--the immigration loan was the stepping stone he needed. During his legal consultation, Javier learned about a citizenship loan from Self Help Credit Union that could help him pay the citizenship application fee and build his credit. Within a few months of receiving the loan, Javier's credit score went from 0 to 620. He was then able to use his new credit score to seek a car loan from the same credit union. He plans to pay off his car and use his positive credit history and relationship with the credit union for a home loan.

Citizenship and small-dollar lines of credit are just an initial step toward economic mobility and building wealth for Latino immigrants. Successful borrowers will have the increased knowledge and improved credit scores to access larger lines of credit to secure other assets, like purchasing a home or starting a business. Let this Citizenship Day be a call to action to support policies, programs, and people who not only help aspiring Americans obtain U.S. citizenship, but begin their wealth-building journey.

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Why, post-nuclear deal, a strategy of softer seduction could position Tehran as a peace-and-security leader in the region

While much is made of Iran's hard power, the recent nuclear deal hints at the prospect of the country's untapped soft power being far more central to its long-term success in the 21st century. As the 13th-century Persian poet, Jalal ad- Din Muhammad Rumi, wrote:

"Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."

To be sure, in Iran's conflict-ridden neighbourhood, the military instrument is critical to deterring would-be aggressors. The devastating 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war taught Iranians this lesson at great cost in blood and national treasure. And yet hard power will not win the permanent admiration of Iran's neighbours, build lasting alliances, or indeed help Iran to leaven its relative isolation. As the Arab states of the Persian Gulf annually increase their military spending - largely in direct response to Iran's military capabilities - and with Tehran duly taking countermeasures, an acute security dilemma dictates the geopolitical logic of the region, fuelling instability and insecurity.

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The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal), concluded in July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1 and the EU, which received UN Security Council backing through Resolution 2231 and resulted in the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran, was not only a major success for Iranian diplomacy - a tour de force, without a doubt - but also boosted Iran's soft-power credentials as a real player in the preservation of international peace and security (through peaceful means). That deal has created a golden opportunity internationally - and political space domestically - for the government in Tehran to devise and implement a comprehensive strategy to project soft power in a way that both mitigates the regional security dilemma and serves the national advantage.

Since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iran has relied heavily on its unique Shia character as the basis of its soft power to galvanize support from pockets of Shia populations in a Sunni-dominated Middle East and Central Asia. This policy has been deliberate and strategic, with clear ideological underpinnings. While it has had its successes - including Iran's manifest clout today in Lebanon and Syria, or in Iraq after Saddam Hussein - its net effect is, by definition, limited in scope (and geography), constraining Tehran's ability to generate long-term strategic dividends.

Indeed, relying on the Shia character for soft power projection is arguably inconsistent with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, which requires the government to formulate its foreign policy on the basis of "fraternal commitment to all Muslims," and its general policies "with a view to cultivating the friendship and unity of all Muslim peoples." Moreover, just as it limits the full reach of Iran's soft power beyond the Shia world, this approach also plays directly into sectarian divisions in the region; indeed, further entrenching alliances along sectarian lines. This is manifestly self-defeating, as it not only complicates Iran's already difficult security environment, but also further isolates the country within its own geopolitical space.

Given Iran's historical role, as well as its linguistic and cultural ties, in the 'Greater Iran' region - encompassing the Caucasus, West Asia, Central Asia, and stretching to parts of South Asia - the country has the potential to exert soft power to a 'natural market' - as it were - to advance its national interests. On this logic, the country can acquire greater influence regionally if, in addition to religious bonds, it skillfully invokes common historical, cultural, ethnic and linguistic ties with neighbouring states. Part of this push can involve, over time, a de facto reversal of some of the consequences of the Treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828) - that is, closing the artificial gap that these Russo-Persian war capitulations created between Iranians and their brethren from the Caucasus over the last two centuries. President Rouhani's carefully worded Nowruz message in March of this year is an example of such soft power in action. In a letter addressed to the heads of state of nine neighbouring countries celebrating this ancient new year tradition, he stated: "Nowruz is a festival of moderation and the most ancient dynamic tradition in our common history." He went on to encourage "the countries of the Nowruz Zone to establish better and further relations with each other, in addition to friendship and reconciliation and create modern conditions for peaceful coexistence based on the historic nuclear agreement between Iran and P5+1 and the lifting of sanctions." Much more such public diplomatic seduction is required.

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Tehran should also capitalize on the momentum of the Iran nuclear deal to forge a network of states friendly to its interests, and to provide them with the necessary incentives to remain invested in such friendship through strategic partnerships, common projects, and financial cooperation. The tripartite agreement between Iran, India and Afghanistan, concluded this past May, to position the Iranian port of Chabahar as a transport and trade corridor is a case in point of a major national initiative that fits well into a larger soft-power push by Tehran. Such economic intermeshing may even lead to a common security regime over time, further integrating this triad. Other examples include efforts to revive the Silk Road trading route connecting Iran to China (through the Yiwu-Tehran train), the Iran-Azerbaijan agreement on trade and joint ventures to build hydroelectric plants and cooperation in respect of (increasingly scarce) water resources, as well as the International North-South Transport Corridor being explored between Russia, India, Iran and Central Asian states. Tehran should now look to extend similar projects to its Arab neighbours in the Persian Gulf, as well as to other states in the region and to other regional theatres - in full recognition of the fact that, with investment in political relationships and the necessary infrastructure, Iran could realistically become the region's principal international transit hub.

As I have argued in past, the Middle East is in dire need of a reengineering of the regional order through new institutions and structures that will enable it to better manage and avoid interstate conflict, and also to create opportunities for region- wide collaboration and integration. Of course, short of a comprehensive regional governance regime, Iran and Egypt were, in the 1970s, the first countries in the region to call for a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone. The recent Iran nuclear deal, then, arguably sits within this tradition of working toward a nuclear-free zone, and provides Tehran with an opportunity to champion the idea of a new regional security architecture based on the concept of common security, free of weapons of mass destruction and anchored in a non-aggression pact. This would, of course, be a long-term vision with undeniable challenges. In the immediate term, therefore, Iran should seek the support of regional partners to establish a standing regional security forum to discuss issues of strategic concern, including the threat from Daesh, cross-border terrorism, and internally displaced populations. By doing so, Iran - and the region- could gain immeasurably. Tehran should not be shy in positioning itself conspicuously as a leader in the promotion of regional peace and stability.

Turning to cultural and people-to-people diplomacy, given Iran's rich literary and artistic tradition, it stands to reason that the country's filmmakers, actors, musicians, writers, poets, craftsmen, artists and athletes should be better known and celebrated in the world than they are today. They are worthy of funding and support in their own right, but for strategic purposes, they are a major source of untapped Iranian soft power in the region and internationally. The arts create intangible bonds of affection and affinity amongst peoples. You can't hate what you admire; you can't demonise what attracts. In that sense, art can serve as that crucial connecting bridge between peoples. Iran's soft power will be all the more potent when its art power is on full display.

On this same logic, the promotion and mainstreaming of the Persian language abroad should be prioritized by strategists in Tehran. While some efforts are already underway in this regard, they need to be bolstered. Moreover, one of the other central pillars of Iran's cultural diplomacy should also be continued commitment to inter-religious dialogue, building on past initiatives such as the Dialogue Among Civilizations, introduced by former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami.

An exquisite Iranian rug adorning the interior walls of the North Delegates Lounge at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. The rug, which contains an inscription by the classical Persian poet Sa'adi (c.1184-1292), was presented to the UN by Iran in 2005, "honoring the UN Year of Dialogue among Civilizations." Photo credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

An effective soft power strategy would also require the agents of this crucial work to be conversant in the tongues of their audience. Many countries around the world - and particularly some of the most strategically astute countries - already profit from the competitive advantage of competence in a multitude of tongues. The more languages the Iranian knows, the more effectively she or he can make an imprint beyond Iranian borders.

While preserving Persian as the official language and script of the country, it is in Iran's interests to invest in a national languages strategy that will generate a critical mass of Iranians fluent not only in Persian but also Arabic (beyond grades six to 11), Turkish and other languages of the region. The English language should be taught earlier - ideally from the primary school level, as prescribed by countless pedagogical studies around the world. Scientific studies have indeed confirmed that learning additional languages at a young age has many benefits. In addition to ease in mastering the language itself, it promotes critical thinking, creativity, and overall strengthens cognitive ability. We might therefore eventually envisage an Iran where the average Iranian, in addition to Persian, also masters Arabic, Turkish, English and at least one other foreign tongue - say, French, Russian, Spanish, Chinese or German.

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Iran's ability to maximize its soft-power potential also surely rests on the quality of domestic governance - that is, its ability to keep its own house in order and ensure the general well-being and happiness of its citizens. Easing rigid state regulation of, and restrictions on, the private lives of Iranians, and taking steps to protect, and be seen to protect, human rights will be crucial not only for greater social cohesion and harmony - and ultimately, a stronger, united Iran - but also for Tehran's ability to credibly project soft power abroad. In this same vein, Iran's multiethnic, linguistic and religious diversity should also be seen as an important part of the country's soft-power toolbox. Iran should fully embrace this diversity not just for its intrinsic virtues, but also to ensure internal stability, and to demonstrate to the world that the country has an open and tolerant society. With a number of militant organizations, conceived on ethnic lines - and often supported by external elements - operating in Iran and posing a threat to national security and unity, Tehran's countermeasures should include a targeted strategy of winning the hearts and minds of the country's ethnic minorities in order to strengthen their loyalty to land and country.

It is conceded that Iran does not benefit from the safety buffer of geographical isolation. As such, concessions with respect to the country's minorities can have a geopolitical dimension. That said, the status quo is not sustainable and will only embolden Iran's enemies to sow the seeds of internal discord and disunity with serious risk for the country's territorial integrity. Where legitimate, the government should properly address the grievances of these minorities. Intense and active consultation with minority groups should form part of this strategy of redress. The socioeconomic health of ethnic minorities in the aftermath of the lifting of sanctions is one area in obvious need of attention by Tehran. So too is the opportunity to create new programmes to meaningfully celebrate Iran's multiethnic and multilingual population - something anticipated by Articles 15 and 19 of the Iranian Constitution.

Bref, diminishing internal discord in the country can only help Iran to more sustainably project influence beyond its borders, and also to parry disruptive forces and designs from outside the country. And while there is no substitute for hard power, which clearly has its place in Iranian strategy, the soft power dimension is for now underplayed and underappreciated in Tehran. But a proper national soft power strategy and push may be just the energy that the country and the region need to reckon with some of the vexing challenges of this early new century.

*The views expressed are the author's alone.
At 51 my body is changing. Overnight my feet swell and I spend the first 20 minutes of each morning like The Creature lurching out of The Black Lagoon.

My neck has also begun its long journey south. But, inspired by body image warrior Taryn Brumfitt and by the plight of the people suffering in refugee camps, I decided my body is not just an ornament, but also a vehicle for good.

In the video below I'm launching my Wall-Sit Challenge to help refugees. If you can beat me, you need do nothing, but if I can out-sit you, then you're on the hook.

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During the video I'll gasp-ingly regale you with my firsthand experience volunteering in refugee camps on the island of Lesbos in Greece.

They debunk any Donald Trumpesque beliefs you may have about the refugees. But first, roll up your pant legs and let's do this!

Despite the fact I just blacked out and awoke being transported by aliens to a watery planet I can still transmit information about how to support the refugees.

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Amazing and indefatigable volunteer organizer, Fred Morlet (who I met in Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos, Greece last fall) runs the NGO Humanitarian Support Agency.

You can pop over and visit their site HERE.

The U.N.'s refugee agency reports we are suffering "the highest number of displaced people ever -- surpassing even post-World War II numbers, when the world was struggling to come to terms with the most devastating event in history."



Every day HSA volunteers try to make the lives of this massive influx of humans livable.

Volunteers distribute food; clean, dry clothes; they've developed a community tea point for socializing; they provide safety and security and even a learning center in many of their camps; they clean up the shores of Greece where the refugees land and leave safety vests and other detritus.

What this agency is doing is taxing and super human, considering the tidal wave of people they serve. They need our support.

I suggest volunteering to anyone who feels adrift or simply like they need to be more useful and connected.

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But if you don't have the time or income to volunteer, you can donate much needed funds to HSA through their PayPal account at hsa.lesvos@gmail.com.



I trust Fred explicitly as I've seen firsthand how hard he works.

(Also, I once gave him my money pouch of donations and inside I accidentally left my passport! He found it the following day, approached me with a smile and said, "I think you might be needing this" as he handed it to me. Whew.)

Here's a look at the faces of the lovely people -- who we call refugees -- that I met last fall:

To read more about Shannon's time in refugee camps Click Here and be sure to Opt-In to her Updates Here.

Earlier on Huff/Post50:
Although it does not state it explicitly, the NIH announcement seems to have been triggered by Harvard professor George Church's research on growing humanised organ models in non-human animals, namely pigs.

Insoo Hyun, a bioethicist at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, followed with a perspective piece in PLOS Biology, stating that the benefits of this kind of research are so great that we should no longer hesitate to fund it.

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The piece by Hyun addresses traditional concerns in animal ethics, such as safety, the moral status of the non-human animal (in this case, the human/non-human chimera) and the exploitation of non-human animals in research.

We agree with his precautionary stance which, is consistent with the existent ethical standards for chimera research developed by the Internal Society for Stem Cell Research in 2007, and with more emphasis on animal welfare than on speculative concerns about moral humanization of the human/non-human animal chimera.

Ultimately, we find that Hyun's conclusions that 'most, if not all, of these [traditional] concerns can be reasonably addressed' are plausible.



However, Hyun fails to address the elephant in the room: why should we invest significant resources in the creation of humanised animal models in the first place?

Let's take a look at the two main assumptions in Hyun's piece.



First assumption:

'The shortage of human organs for donation is a pressing problem worldwide.' (Hyun 2016, 2)

He adds: 'The humanitarian importance of this research is both apparent and urgent. There is currently a dire shortage of organs for transplantation in the United States, leading to approximately 22 deaths per day among patients waiting for organs.' (Hyun 2016, 2).

Hyun is right about the numbers, but we believe that the urgency of the research is not by any means self-evident. What he fails to examine is whether the creation of humanised animal models is the best way to address this pressing matter, and he fails to acknowledge the existence of viable alternatives, such as opt-out policies to increase organ donation from human to human, (one example notable is Austria with an organ donation rate higher than 90 %; and in the UK a similar law was approved in Wales in December 2015.

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Second assumption:

'Given the noble aims of this research, it is puzzling to some why the NIH is so nervous about providing federal funds to researchers with a track record of success in this area.' (Hyun, p. 2)

When put in this way, it is difficult to object to research that aims to save lives and relieve suffering. The argument goes - We have the opportunity to save lives and we should do that. If we fail to do that, we are equally morally responsible (acts and omissions are morally equivalent). Such beneficence-based arguments are common patterns of moral argumentation about new and emerging science and technologies, but they risk to uncritically accept scientists' assumptions. In this case, the assumption being that the research has the noble aim of solving the shortage of human organs, and as along as precautionary measures are taken to ensure safety, and respect for the welfare the animals, then research should be allowed to go ahead.

In the UK, any research of this kind would need a specific licence granted on a case-by-case basis from the HFEA. In 2007, two research groups in the UK (the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory directed by Dr Stephen Minger at King's College London, and the group headed by Dr Lyle Armstrong at Newcastle) applied independently for a license to the HFEA to carry out interspecies somatic cellular nuclear transfer for the creation of 'cybrids', which were eventually granted after a period of deliberation and public consultation.

These applications, and the research itself, were motivated by the need to create to develop patient-specific stem embryonic stem-cell lines through interspecies somatic cellular transfer using oocytes derived from non-human animals (rabbits or cows), to avoid the scarcity of human oocytes. According to HFEA rules, research on 'human admixed embryos' can only be conducted in vitro, and these embryos cannot be placed in non-human animals or humans. In spite of the high hopes, and of the HFEA approval, however, the cybrid experiments did not yield the expected results, in part because of lack of funding, and in part because another more promising technology came about - namely, induced pluripotent stem cells, discovered by Nobel-prize winner Japanese Shinya Yamanaka in 2007.

It remains to be seen how much funding research groups working on humanised animal models for organ transplants will be able to attract. But at these early stages of deliberation, it is important to reflect that investing in this research is a deliberate choice that will shape our collective future. By choosing to invest in this kind of research, we are actively deciding how to allocate scarce resources to address the social problem of shortage of human organs for transplants.

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While we do not necessarily believe that the existence of viable alternatives should be used to ban humanised animal models outright, it is certainly a matter that deserves ethical attention. We need reflect on the fact that, by ignoring other potential solutions - or at least prematurely supporting one solution over another - we are actively privileging a medical/scientific solution over a political solution of devising and implementing policies to facilitate human-to-human transplants.
The UN Human Rights Council's (HRC) 33rd session began on Tuesday and Sri Lanka is on the agenda. The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) is set to officially release a report on the island nation. The report is already in the public domain, although this is the first time the document will be presented to the Geneva-based HRC.

Disappearances in Sri Lanka have been a longstanding problem. Appropriately, an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) is one of the four main pillars of the government's transitional justice process.

More broadly, parliament's recent passage of a bill to create the OMP should not go unnoticed, but the way in which the OMP was established should have domestic and international observers worried about forthcoming transitional justice mechanisms, especially the accountability mechanism to address alleged wartime abuses. Shortly after the legislation to create the OMP was passed, the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) issued a thoughtful statement.

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Here's part of that statement:

The CTF recognizes the significance of the decision by the Government to ascertain public views on the reconciliation mechanisms it has proposed. The CTF however notes the lack of information about the proposed mechanisms, the lack of awareness about the consultation process, and the persistence of fear in parts of the country of speaking out -- all of which, hinder this process.

Here's another paragraph:

The lack of information and awareness about the process by which the Office [of Missing Persons] was established, its role and functions has contributed to the fear and suspicion, including amongst the families of the Missing in Action (MIA), that the OMP will exclude them. Therefore whilst the government's commitment to expedite the establishment of these mechanisms is appreciated, the lack of information, awareness, and attention to incorporating public views, particularly of those families affected by disappearances, reveals a troubling lack of sensitivity to the widespread nature of the crime of disappearances in Sri Lanka, the manner in which it continues to haunt families across the country, and the failure on the part of the state to address its horrific complicity in this crime over several decades.

Over at Lawfare, I recently published an essay that looks at the plight of Tamil political prisoners and what that might tell us about the government's broader transitional justice agenda. One of the major takeaways is that, by failing to move on some of the smaller, less controversial reforms on its list, the government is sending the wrong message entirely. Relatedly, this reality should compel international observers to question how serious Colombo is about some of the more robust prescriptions outlined in the (co-sponsored) October 2015 HRC resolution on Sri Lanka, which deals broadly with transitional justice. (Importantly, Colombo's compliance with the resolution will be reviewed during the HRC's 34th session in March 2017.)

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The concluding paragraph of the Lawfare article is as follows:

Releasing political prisoners would be a strong early step toward this goal [of building trust between the Sinhalese-dominated government and the Tamil community]. Though politically controversial, providing a complete list of Tamil political prisoners (including the location where each individual is being held) and immediately releasing most of them is precisely the type of confidence-building measure that the government could use to establish its transitional justice bona fides. The longer Colombo prevaricates on this issue, the easier it is to believe that war-related reform in Sri Lanka may be on the rocks.

For Sri Lanka's transitional justice process, the coming months are crucial.
"Here it comes, my masterpiece, my Sistine Chapel, my Old Man And The Sea.

Aaand it's gone."

-Me, sitting at my laptop writing, every day.

Writing is difficult. If I could encapsulate writing I would say that it's the equivalent of stepping up to the plate and either hitting a 600 foot home run or taking the most embarrassing swing only to find you didn't come anywhere near the ball.

Some days I sit down and it seems like words I didn't know I had just keep flowing out of my fingertips, and other days it feels like my brain can't properly communicate with my hands to tell them what the hell to write.

It's annoying.

The other day I slapped myself in the face about five times in an effort to snap myself out of whatever spell I was in. True story.

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Whenever I tell people I'm a writer they look at me as if I just explained the inner-workings of string theory to them.

I write stuff. I write words. I try to find the proper way to say things in a way that's fun for other people to read. That's it.

Want to know what my day is like? I sit at my desk, hit my stride for about an hour, then I go and eat something. Then I watch a video, then I eat some more stuff, and then I stare blankly at the white page waiting for inspiration to come for two hours. Then I watch another video.

I love binging on ASMR videos. I also love listening to movie soundtracks, because there's nothing better than feeling like Aragorn when writing copy for an investment company. It works though.

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About a year ago I decided I wanted to become a writer. I graduated college and started to write a book that will never see the light of day. And something about sitting down to write just felt right. It felt like everything else in the world didn't matter, even though I didn't have a job and I was about to have a massive surgery.

There's something about suddenly discovering the proper way to explain that one thing that's always been swimming about in the back of your mind in real time. It's addicting. If somebody interrupted me while in my process I wouldn't be able to snap out of it.

You're watching Star Wars? Don't care.

You have President Obama on the phone? Nope.

You have gluten-free doughnuts? Okay, maybe.

But if you want to become a writer--whatever that means now that I think about it--there's a few things you need to know.

1. Throw Out All The Rules

Remember "I" before "E" except after "C?" Yeah, keep those rules because good grammar is a major key.

I'm talking about the unwritten rules that we need to sound professional and use big words to properly communicate our development strategy to segments of market vertic...... Sorry, I fell asleep writing that.

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Get this: Write like you would talk! Just like I'm doing now. Write like that.

Find your voice. Whatever feels right to write, is right, right? Bingo. No I didn't just drink three cans of Coke.

But seriously the key to finding your voice is to throw out the rules. Remember what your third-grade teacher told you about writing? Forget it. Remember what your professor in college told you? Throw out half of it. It's time for you to write how you want to write. There are no rules here. How about you change the face of writing yourself? I used to think that you couldn't open up a sentence with a conjunction. But that was the old me.

2. Writer's Block Will Happen, Either Sock It In The Mouth Or Go Do Something You Shouldn't

I was watching Creed the other day with my best friend and we both were about as pumped up as little kids on Halloween. Writer's block is like a heavyweight champion who stares directly into your soul saying "I will break you."

Don't let it intimidate you.

Yeah, it might beat you down for ten rounds, but guess what? Round 11 is the one where you'll land that perfect uppercut to send it into oblivion. That's how writer's block is. It looks and feels like you're putting up the worst fight of your life, but then suddenly your brain clicks, your eyes get wide, the hair stands up on the back of your neck, and you're absolutely off to the races. Your body might be in the room with your friends but your brain is 1,000 miles away and counting.

But, on the off chance that writer's block hits you with an Apollo Creed in Rocky 4 (look it up), go goof off. Go hang out with friends. Go to the arcade. Seriously, the arcade is like the ultimate writer's block cure. Try it.

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3. Writing Doesn't Work Around Your Schedule

The day after the Orlando nightclub shooting occurred I was on the second leg of my summer road trip heading to Austin, TX. I couldn't stop thinking about it. It got so bad that I pulled my car over to a nearby Panera Bread and started to write. Orlando was my home for two years, and I had actually just left there to drive to San Francisco a week before.

Many times when I think of something to write about I must write about it immediately, otherwise the motivation and clarity of that topic leaves me and hardly ever returns. If you want to be a writer, you need to understand that duty calls, very much like Clark Kent ripping off his dress shirt to go fight bald men with diabolical plans.

4. It's Extremely Satisfying

I can't think of anything more satisfying than sitting down and hitting the bullseye on something that's been plaguing my mind for weeks or months. Being an INFJ, I'm constantly in my head thinking about everything. My mind bounces from topic to topic like a pinball. Many times my friends stop me and ask, "How did you think of that?" Then I just shrug it off and act like I didn't just make a connection between five seemingly unrelated things in a matter of four seconds.

When our brains are like that, we need a place to dump our thoughts, otherwise we'll develop a really serious case of schizophrenia or something.

Let me tell you something. Most people walk around and notice things, but for some reason or another they might find it hard to express what's going on. When we as writers can express their pain, and ultimately our own, it's like we just unlocked a door at the end of the hallway that's never been opened before. Suddenly this rich clarity comes over us that hadn't been there before, and we're in a state of euphoria for a few hours afterward.

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Writing, when you do hit your stride, is extremely satisfying. It's better than buying a new car, or, yes, eating that gluten-free doughnut.

5. It's A Window To Connecting With People

Sometimes, but not often, I write something that really resonates with people. In fact, I've only written maybe three or so articles that have really taken off on the internet. But when I do write something that touches somebody or makes their day even in the slightest bit brighter, it's an incredible feeling.

Think about it, most people who read my writing don't know me at all, but something about one or two pieces that I've written have made people reach out to me to express their gratitude.

That's the best gift in the world, honestly.

Yeah, you could buy me a house in Palm Beach, but if you tell me something I wrote resonated with you then that takes the cake. Call me crazy. I don't care. These are my words.
It started with a Facebook post. Back in March of this year, the Prime Minister of Jamaica - the most Honorable Andrew Holness - posted that he had donated a Lenovo laptop powered by an AMD processor to a deserving student. David Bennett (AMD VP of Sales), who is from Jamaica, saw the post and inspired his colleagues at AMD to do even more. A team from AMD and Lenovo flew into Kingston, Jamaica and, with Prime Minister Holness and partners at Lenovo, donated another 40 laptop PCs to Jamaican students.

And this is the least surprising part of the story.

AMD was founded on the credo of "people first, products and profits will follow." So, when the team from our mobile products group contacted me about this donation, it fit into a well-known pattern of AMD folks helping others.

After more than twenty years working in corporate responsibility, it never gets old. Almost each week, people from across our company share their stories of working with the community to help make things better. These acts of kindness are inspiring and motivate other employees to do even more

This case caught my attention for a couple of reasons: First, this donation was not part of some larger corporate giving program, it was initiated by the business team. Second, and most significant, the business team sees this donation as a part of their "day-job."

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It may seem counter-intuitive that giving away computers could be justified as a business strategy, but in this case it was.

Jamaica, and many similar places, is full of bright young minds. Many of these people have not had the level of resources and opportunities as students in more developed economies. Nonetheless, these students are passionate and eager to learn.

Inspired by Prime Minister Holness, the AMD team realized that providing new PCs to deserving students in Jamaica could be a win-win scenario. Not only could they help forty scholars in Jamaica, but they could establish a powerful example of how digital technology opens up educational opportunities for millions more students.

Perhaps the essence of corporate responsibility is when the company's objectives align with the needs of society. Because each party benefits, this form of corporate responsibility (sometimes called "shared value) is truly sustainable and scalable.

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I remember being angry for at least seven years that our then feckless and incompetent President George W. Bush could not bring Osama Bin Laden to justice for his declaration of war on 9/11.

On that tragic day, I remember being dumbfounded that the world's largest superpower did not have the proper intelligence to stop an attack from a ragtag bunch of stateless terrorists. Isn't that why we pay so much of our taxes to support our country's massive defense infrastructure -- for the CIA, the FBI, military intelligence?

Three weeks before 9/11 Osama Bin Laden warned of "an unprecedented attack on America." How could George Bush and Dick Cheney, the worst president and veep in modern American history, miss that audacious warning? Later we learned that CIA director George Tenet tried to alert the administration to the unusual chatter from terrorists but his alarm went unheeded in those dog days of summer.

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When George Bush was elected, in a corrupt counting of votes in Florida that stole the election from Al Gore, the die was cast. After eight years of peace and prosperity under Clinton-Gore, our country was sent down a rabbit hole under leadership that was unqualified and which took us into two misguided wars that ravaged the Middle East and then our country's economy.

While Bush-Cheney sent our young troops to Afghanistan and Iraq to fight against the wrong people, the Most Wanted Man since Adolf Hitler was able to operate unfettered to plot more evil.

It was only a decade later, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and Barack Obama was President, that we were able to hunt down Bin Laden in Pakistan and skillfully execute the man responsible for more than 2,000 deaths on 9/11.

I was thinking about this as I watched the 9/11 memorial services this past Sunday. It made me realize how vitally important it is that we elect the right president in November.

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We cannot elect an incompetent president like George W. Bush again. Our country barely survived his eight years of reckless leadership, first in allowing 9/11 to occur, then in rushing to war in the wrong places and then, finally, in a near total economic collapse.

This is the scenario that once again could unfold if we elect a man who is clearly unfit for office. Who, like Bush, is an anti-intellectual who will not read intelligence briefings, who will lead from his gut.

We need a leader like Hillary, who pushed Obama to finally execute Bin Laden, who spent four years intensively crisscrossing the globe trying to maintain peace and important alliances.

Of course, she is a flawed candidate. She made a mistake in voting in favor of the Iraq war. She did not handle Benghazi well.

But none of that should in any way distract us from the stark choice ahead -- Hillary Clinton is a smart, tough, thorough woman who will sweat the details of governing. She will not make the mistakes that Bush made, the potentially tragic mistakes that I fear her opponent, Donald Trump, will make.

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On this solemn day, as I watch the news of Hillary Clinton's feeling unwell, I pray for her health. She is the only thing standing between us and another four years of unqualified leadership.

We now know from the experience of 9/11, Iraq and the Great Recession of 2007, what bad leadership can do to our great country.
One year after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, this 2016 session of the UN General Assembly is a key opportunity to highlight the importance of Goal #4, Education.

Over the past fifteen years, the work to achieve the Millenium Development Education Goal has had tremendous positive impact on the world. The Universal Primary Education target has helped bring total primary enrollment in developing regions of the world to over 90%, with vastly more girls and more boys in school, and with literacy rates continuing to improve.

As the founder of the film and education non-profit The Nobelity Project, I've had the opportunity to work in partnership with more than thirty rural communities in Kenya to build critically needed infrastructure and bridge other education gaps. We began this work soon after the Kenyan government launched their initiatives to make primary school free to all. The resulting flood of new students swelled primary schools where we were partnered to replace old mud-floor classrooms and build clean water systems, and where we met many great kids who shared the a strong belief that education shouldn't end after the 8th grade.

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Turk Pipkin presenting bikes and laptops to top-scoring girls and boys at Simbara Secondary

As UNESCO and many others have said, education is a fundamental human right and is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. The SDG Education Goal calls for free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. Not only is universal free secondary an achievable goal, it is an essential step in the work to transform our world. Education provides the broadest and most promising route to achieve many of the other development goals. Without universal education, our progress towards a sustainable and just world will grind to a halt.

I'm not an education expert. I'm just a writer and a filmmaker and the co-founder of a small nonprofit that is dedicated to the principal of Education for All. But I have learned a great deal about what works and what does not. There is no single pathway to universal secondary, but it's clear that there in very many countries, there are huge gaps in infrastructure, gaps in the number and quality of teachers, and gaps in the ability of economically stressed governments to pay for free public education. Somehow we have to bridge those gaps.

In partnership with local communities, The Nobelity Project has teamed to build four well-attended secondary schools in areas where other public secondary schools were either too far or already crowded with students. Our work is neither aid nor charity. The partnership with the communities make the work we do affordable and sustainable. Parents contribute to the building of the schools, either financially or with their own physical labor. When heavy rains stopped construction of Mahiga Hope High School, hundreds of parents turned out with shovels to spread rock and pave the road so the heavy materials could reach the job site. Six years later, Mahiga Hope High School is beautiful almost beyond description. Each day, hundreds of primary and secondary students pass through a large gate with the school motto, Hope Shines and Lights the World.

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Mahiga Hope and the other secondary and primary schools we've helped build belong to the communities and are run by a local Board of Governors and by the Kenyan education district. While primary education is free, the Kenyan government does not yet have sufficient funds to make secondary free, but I believe - despite the many challenges - that the SDGs will be met in Kenya. In the meantime, many parents are directing much of their income towards their children's secondary schooling. And with every new high school graduate, we see a young person with the potential to create positive change for their own communities, the nation and the world.

While we've been honored to find funds and to work with the communities to build these schools, the key questions are, why does it take small nonprofits like The Nobelity Project and countless others across the world to address education shortcomings? And what are the lessons from small successes than can be adapted on a large scale.

The key in our work to identify and fill critical education gaps has been relationships and partnerships. What small nonprofits and small communities achieve on a local scale is one of the keys to the giant strides that must be made worldwide. In our education work in the U.S. - where education is strong but still has many failings - The Nobelity Project often tell students that local acts have global impacts. When you act to change your corner of the world, the ripples of that change spread far and wide. When you connect to others, they will be forever connected to you.



The Computer Lab at Laburra Secondary in Kenya

But to achieve the goal of Universal Secondary Education, it's going to take more than local acts. Global acts are going to be required for the necessary local impacts. To reach every child, teamwork and partnerships on a wide and wise scale are going to be required. Only then can we all be connected. Only then can we truly transform our world.

Turk Pipkin, The Nobelity Project, www.nobelity.org

This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post to mark the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or, officially, "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"). The SDGs represent an historic agreement -- a wide-ranging roadmap to sustainability covering 17 goals and 169 targets -- but stakeholders must also be held accountable for their commitments. To see all the posts in the series, visit here.

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Some time back, we started hearing about 'post-democracy'. Looking at the present state and quality of democracies across the globe, this year's International Day of Democracy provides an exceptional opportunity to reflect and react to increasingly disturbing trends.

In certain countries, we see before us technocracy, growing authoritarianism or indeed populism, afflicting even some of our more mature democracies. With few other paradigms in sight, a post-democratic world would take us back to realities it took decades, if not centuries, to leave behind. In short, 'post democracy' vs. 'democracy that delivers'. Let's opt for the latter.

Citizens are perplexed--they know what they do not want, at times expressing their rejection through vigorous and even violent protests; but they have much less clarity about the future they do want and how to get there. The apparent row between the market economy and democracy is often blamed for this apprehension. How can a basically healthy coupling become a source of social tension? The answer lies in the persistent existence of excessive imbalances. As some of the G20 leaders pointed out during the Hangzhou Summit last week, if the global challenges of inclusiveness and inequality remain unaddressed, the populist backlash against globalization could endanger the global economy. Along these lines, the final G20 Communique states that leaders will "strive to reduce excessive imbalances, promote greater inclusiveness and reduce inequality in our pursuit [emphasis added] of economic growth".

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By definition, the market economy brings with it a certain level of economic and social inequality. Non-discrimination and equal opportunity, however, are fundamental aspirations of democracy. A balance, therefore, must be sought. Not tackling the need for this balance is today one of the persistent threats to democracy. Since the financial and economic crisis started in 2008--the year, by the way, in which International Day of Democracy was first celebrated---globalization has widened the income and income distribution gap within (but not among) countries. Irrespective of our different political beliefs and ideologies, it is evident that, when social inequalities increase within a country for a sustained period, the logic of capitalism prevails over that of democracy. Democratic institutions must be capable of effectively diminishing unreasonable inequalities and actively pursue, at the very least, equal opportunity.

It is not easy to tread the middle ground between long-term gain and short-term pain, particularly under conditions of economic stagnation and stress. Governments are often driven to reforms that, while meant to create growth in the long-term, end up imposing significant, short-term burdens on their citizens. The call for growth and trade as a means of achieving better and greater distribution is insufficient. A sustained regression in social and economic rights, particularly when it affects the poorest and most vulnerable sectors in society, constitutes an undeniable decline in the quality of democracy - and it also slows growth.

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The UN has decided to have this year's International Democracy Day focus on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, to which drafting process the Club de Madrid actively contributed. While the Agenda directly refers to democracy only in its Introduction, it does provide a basic framework for tackling a sustainable rebalancing of the market economy and democracy, way beyond the simple call for growth. Implementing it is our global democratic task.
With its wealth of temperate rain forest, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, Southern Chile is a global conservation priority place that stands out for its high levels of endemism and marine biodiversity. Chile has one of the world's longest coastlines, stretching close to 4,300 km along the Pacific Ocean, and close to 2,000 km of shoreline around channels, fjords and coastal islands. It is home to unique species, including the endangered blue whale. However, a range of pressures on natural marine resources, including unsustainable exploitation, habitat degradation and other human induced impacts continue to be considerable threats to the marine biodiversity along the Pacific coast of southern Chile.

The blue whale is the worlds largest animal on the planet and moves around Northern Chilean Patagonia during their feeding season in Austral waters, every summer. This area is also heavily used for salmon aquaculture, and this sharing of habitat is the crux of the problem. In order to contribute to the long-term protection of this important marine species, WWF Chile's Marine Program launched a campaign to create a positive change in the salmon industry, to work with producers and aid the industry in improving their approach to environmental and social issues.



During the last Our Ocean Conference celebrated in Chile, a partnership was developed among the Environmental Ministry, Consejo Nacional de Produccion Limpia, WWF Chile, Blue Whale Center (BWC), Universidad Austral de Chile, Los Fiordos, Aquachile, Blumar, Pesquera Camanchaca, Ventisquero and Multiexport commited to evaluate and mitigate the potential impact of the salmon industry on the blue whale habitat. Since then, a number of activities have been taking place according to the time table developed. These activities included one day navigation for blue whale sighting and tagging procedures observations in charge of the BWC experts and cetaceans sighting training courses. The identification of salmon farm installation that would be involved in the impact evaluation, allowed the development of whales and dolphin sighting training courses for all salmon farm workers. With the aim of making them part of a cetacean sighting network. During a blue whale tagging expedition, 3 animals were tagged in Chiloe inner waters. As result of this, it has been possible to see the whales mainly moving up north area in the Gulf of Ancud. Area highly used with salmon farm installations.

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Saving this iconic species is essential as it will be used as umbrella, flagship, and environmental species for promoting general conservation and management actions for the entire marine biodiversity. This specific partnership is part of a holistic approach for marine conservation, which includes effective implementation of Marine Protected Areas, science and stakeholder involvement, keeping at the same time sustainable development options open for local inhabitants, and the implementation of better practices from the private productive sector, such as aquaculture.
The world's current failure to protect the human rights of growing numbers of migrants is a terrible indictment--one that will not only hurt people on the move, but all of us. Already, cruel indifference and a shockingly militarized deterrence of these desperate and vulnerable men, women and children has contributed to the deaths and suffering of countless people. It has placed an impossible burden on countries responsible enough to live up to their commitments under international law. It has generated increasing hostility between countries. And within nations, it is leading to a rise in discrimination and xenophobia--cleaving communities, dividing societies and mainstreaming hate.

The vast majority of people caught up in today's large movements of people are compelled to do so. Conflict, persecution, bad governance, extreme poverty, climate change, and violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights have forced them to leave their countries and seek safety and opportunity elsewhere. Clutching their few possessions, traversing the Mediterranean or Andaman Seas, the deserts of the Sahel or the Americas, they are extremely vulnerable to severe human rights violations--including extreme violence, detention, kidnapping, extortion and other terrible abuse.

Wherever they are, these are people, with the same human rights as us all. They are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. I am shocked by the frequent demonization of migrants that we see in many countries whose people benefit from prosperity, peace and ease.

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I also oppose in the strongest possible terms the notion that migrants are a burden. On the contrary, as workers, consumers and taxpayers, they contribute to the economic growth of all societies, as many studies have demonstrated. They also refresh societies with a sense of innovation, and social and cultural diversity. I suggest all of us reflect for a moment on the courage, the endurance, the adaptability and the grit that refugees and migrants deploy. Migration is an essential component of the economic and social life of every modern State, and it has shaped the history of virtually every member of the human family. Few among us can claim that they or their ancestors have not benefited from migration.

Today we face a crisis of political will and moral courage. It cries out for sane, collective action. If the countries of the Security Council and regional powers can at last engage a concerted and principled effort to do so, we can put an end to the metastasizing conflicts that are ripping apart so many lives and driving people to flee.

The failures of governance and development that create extreme poverty can be resolved with a joint effort to fulfill the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Meanwhile, to minimize suffering and chaos--and maximize the positive benefit that migrants can bring - transit and destination states can adopt a rational, comprehensive and joint approach to governing large movements of people. They can give full support to countries which are welcoming the largest numbers of migrants and refugees. They can create channels for safe and regular movement, so that vulnerable people can avoid falling prey to traffickers and other dangers.

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And all of us can stand up and join forces to combat the growing tide of hatred and discrimination that is dividing communities, twisting public policies and poisoning our future. Because history teaches us how swiftly xenophobia and bigotry can be weaponized. As hate-speech spreads, communities will barricade themselves into fearful, hostile camps, with populists and extremists, as their commandants. The atmosphere will become thick with hostility and suspicion, ready to burst into violence at the smallest spark.

We must pull back from this dangerous trajectory. It is not enough to state our values; we must act on them, again and again, in every generation. Change begins locally, with small circles of people raising their voices, sharing their thoughts and developing a sense of responsibility for something greater than the self.

The United Nations Summit on Refugees and Migrants will be an important opportunity to put the world on a fresh path.

We can set our shared planet on a course of greater inclusion; more sustained prosperity; more justice; more dignity; more freedom; more peace. We can encourage leaders to embrace the voices of all members of society, and to ensure that all are given equal respect. Because the most effective way to create societies that are cohesive and resilient is to build a system that protects the full human rights of every individual, in equality, dignity and justice.
Buhler stopped the run but often got beat deep as Ark City wins 32-13

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After 15 years leading the Burke Ford Group of companies, which he co-founded, Dominic Burke wanted to explore other opportunities.I got to the point where I was perhaps not challenged, and some of my minority shareholders probably wanted to cash out, and I wanted to go forward, he says.So he knocked on the door of JLT. I was always greatly taken by the JLT culture, he says. I sought to join them in 2000, and they kindly agreed to buy my business.Today, Burke is the group chief executive of JLT, a role he took on five years after joining the multinational insurance broker. Asked to single out the greatest challenge hes faced in his 11 years at the head of JLT, Burke mentions the need he identified several years ago to provide the organization with clarity.I suppose itd be fair to say that, back in 2005 and 2006, there was some confusion around what JLT was, where it was going and what its strategy was, he says. I think that was clearly a significant challenge  to shape the direction of the organization.JLT always had a reputation of being fantastically smart transactional brokers and having good knowledge in one or two specialties, in particular marine and energy, he continues. At the same time, wed had some profit warnings under the previous leadership of JLT, and that meant that there was uncertainty around the long-term prospect of an independent JLT.In those first few years, probably the most difficult challenge I had was to articulate the strategy of the company, convince our people and all other stakeholders in JLTthat we could and would be able to build a business that can and does  every day now  challenge the major global brokers in the specialty segments in which we play.He attributes his success in addressing those challenges to the great people at JLT. We rallied together and articulated what the strategy was to be, and wevevery successfully executed on that, he says. JLT is perhaps unrecognizable from back in those days of 2005, save that the culture of the organization is still the coreof the organization. That culture of being great transactional brokers and putting your client first and doing the right thing and really being tenacious and fierce clientadvocates was, at its core, what the old JLT was and, at its core today, is absolutely what it is.As is the case industry-wide, cyber risk has presented a pretty significant learning curve for JLT.Everybody is still learning at a huge rate of knots, I suppose, Burke says, as to the types of exposures and where those exposures can come from, and also looking at how behavioral changes and risk mitigation can create a better outcome and reduce the exposures to corporates around the world. The insurance market is seeking to be innovative around cyber, but of course, from a capital providers perspective, its very difficult to truly measure the expense and the level of exposures and where those exposures may materialize. It is about an education to better processes, better technology, better behaviors by employees and corporates themselves in physical risk mitigation and then, obviously, the degree of risk transfer.For its part, JLT is taking some proactive measures to foster stronger client awareness around cyber.What were doing, Burke says, is spending a lot of time educating both our own people and our clients; seeking to innovate and push the boundaries of whats currently available in the insurance market; looking at pricing models using our analytics capability, which is very strong in this space; and helping map out the type of exposures and the way that we can help our insureds consider the degree of risk transfer they need to undertake.Burke adds that in todays world, its vital for insurance businesses to partner with technology companies in their endeavors to address cyber risk.Were now clearer as to where the exposures are, he says, but trying to grapple with them, trying to find the right level of indemnification and protection is primarilythrough insurance, but it is also very much technology-driven. If anybody thinks they can provide a solution without that, I think, theyd potentially be fooling themselves or theyre not going to be able to provide the right consulting and advisory processes or ultimately the outcomes that I believe clients clearly need.Burke is overwhelmingly positive about JLTs progress in expanding its US operations.Ive just spent two weeks doing a tour of most of our US operations, seeing a great number of clients and prospective clients, visiting our people in our offices, he says. Ive come back from the US really excited  surprised, on the upside, how far weve progressed in terms of brand recognition and the momentum around revenue and winning clients. We are having a profound impact, I think, and the momentum is building and building, and we now have over 200 people in our specialty business.We do intend to build a business of scale, relevance and impact in our specialty sectors, and the story is still early in chapter one. Theres a long way to go, but were ahead of the plan; were ahead of where we could have imagined or expected to be in terms of the number of talented people that have joined JLT, and that is critical. You cannot build a business without real talent. So were in great shape. Im absolutely delighted and excited by how much progress weve made and are making on a daily basis.Overall, Burke is confident about the direction the global broker is heading. Im convinced  as is my board, our people and clearly our clients  that were on the right track. And we will continue to stay on track and continue to invest and continue to build, whether thats in Australia, Asia, Latin America, Europe or in North America.
The growth in costs for employers of workers health benefits is expected to be 4 per cent for 2016/17 after changes such as switching carriers and raising deductibles.A survey from Mercer reveals that the underlying cost, if no changes were made, would be a new record low of 5.5 per cent, which would mean cost-shifting of 1.5 per cent, lower than the 3 per cent average in recent years.One reason employers may be doing less cost-cutting next year is the delay in the effective date of the ACAs excise tax on high-cost plans from 2018 to 2020, which was announced last December.Employers have been raising deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for the past few years and many are reluctant to go any further. The delay lets them take a breather and focus on longer-term strategies with the potential to improve the health care system, like taking advantage of provider payment reforms and quality initiatives, commented racy Watts, senior partner and Mercers leader for health reform.The study asked employers what they would like changed about in the ACA with 80 per cent of large employers (500 workers or more) wanting it scrapped and 61 per cent favoring the elimination of the employer mandate.Employers are less likely to end their own plans and send employees to the public exchanges with just 2 per cent of large employers and 9 per cent of small employers saying that is likely, down from 6 per cent and 20 per cent in 2010.The public exchange helps fill a critical gap in the U.S. health care system, but it hasnt proven to be an attractive alternative to employer-sponsored coverage, said Beth Umland, Mercers director of research for health and benefits. Employers are in the health benefits game for the long haul and need to work together to make that a sustainable proposition.Manulife Financial has appointed Richard Payette as president and CEO for its Quebec business.Payette also becomes a member of Manulifes Canadian Division Executive Management Team, and the Global Leadership Team, and reports to Marianne Harrison, President and CEO, Manulife Canada.The burgeoning insurance market in Southern China is the focus for a new office opened this week by Chubb.The global insurance group has based its regional office in the heart of Guangzhou and is licensed to provide commercial P&C and personal product lines to the Guangdong province."China is a strategic market for Chubb. Having a presence in Southern China is critical since the region is not only the trading and manufacturing center of the country, but also one of the fastest-growing insurance markets in China," said Zhang Bei, Chairman, Chubb Insurance Company Limited in China.An administrative glitch with an insurance policy grounded all flights by Nigerias largest airline Arik Air Tuesday.The airline said that operations were suspended pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal and that the delay had been exacerbated by a public holiday Monday.The airline resumed flights Wednesday including international journeys to New Yorks JFK.
Jennifer Trainer Thompson was announced as the new CEO on Wednesday.

Trainer Thompson Named New CEO Of Hancock Shaker Village

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  After 28 years at Mass MoCA, Jennifer Trainer Thompson will take the reins of Hancock Shaker Village.

The nonprofit museum of Shaker life and history announced on Wednesday that Thompson will take over as the new president and chief executive officer in December. She takes over for Linda Steigleder, who is stepping down from the position after five years.

"I've always loved Hancock Shaker Village and six or seven years ago when the directorship was open, I seriously contemplated it. But I had small children and it just wasn't the right time for me," Thompson said. "I went to a Quaker school and I love so many things about the village  the architecture, the spirit, the grace."

Thompson has most recently been the senior vice president of partnerships and external affairs at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Hancock Shaker Village, with 23 historic buildings spread out over 750 acres of scenic land, depicts the daily life of the Shakers who lived on the property.

"This is a momentous time for Hancock Shaker Village. For the past 55 years, we've been a museum celebrating an exemplifying the lives of Shakers who lived here for almost two centuries. The Shakers, as most of you know, are remembered for the self-sufficient communities, their equality between men and women, and the architectural beauty of their furniture and buildings," Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Seltzer said.

In recent years, however, the village was struggling financially. Steigleder helped guide the organization mostly out of financial burdens and embarked on a large scale project to restore the buildings.

"We could not be more enthusiastic in our deep appreciation for what Linda has accomplished in her five years as our leader," Seltzer said.

The next steps is to bring in new visitors, and keep them coming back, Seltzer said. And Thompson has the experience and know how to do that.

"It is so beautiful and remarkable as it is. But, I would love to see more programming and more activity to really encourage people to come often," Thompson said.

Thompson said the village means something different to different people - whether that be the textiles, the classic objects for archivists or the architecture, or the scenic beauty. She hopes to couple that with music, food, dance, and other art exhibits which will bring people back over and over again.

"Historic museums need to expand their vision. We need to be more than just a historic place. The old model for historic homes was adequate 50 years ago, maybe even 25 years ago. Now, we need to reach new audiences," Seltzer said.

In recent years, the organization has moved in that director by becoming a location for functions such as weddings and other special events. The hope is once people come for an event, it will bring them back for more. Thompson envisions partnerships with other cultural organizations to further strengthen what she sees as a growing cultural sector in the Berkshires.

"It is a jewel in the crown of the Berkshire cultural world," Thompson said.

The decision wasn't easy for her, though, because there was a time when she'd never thought she'd ever leave Mass MoCA. But, as that museum embarks on a new expansion, Thompson felt the time was right.

"I love Mass MoCA and there was a time when I never would have left, when it was so full, colorful, and fledgling. But Mass MoCA has reached a new maturity and I love Hancock Shaker Village so much. The time was right," Thompson said.

Those at Mass MoCA say they are sad to see her go, but wish her the best of luck. "On balance, this is unquestionable a gain for the cultural life of the Berkshires. But I can't tell you how much we will miss Jennifer at Mass MoCA. I joined the board and staff in launching Roman candles and in sending bouquets of flowers in deep, heartfelt gratitude for her decades of excellent and spirited service to this institution," said Hans Morris, chairman of the Mass MoCA Board of Trustees. Mass MoCA Director Joseph Thompson added, "Those who know Mass MoCA  and Jennifer's professional contribution to it  know that there would simply be no Mass MoCA without her. Those who know Jennifer and me personally also know that our partnership at Mass MoCA has been as profound as it could possibly be, leaving little off the field. "That said, Jennifer loves new challenges: with its fascinating historical context, rich collection, and plainly beautiful architecture  to say nothing of chickens!  Hancock Shaker Village is exactly Jennifer's kind of place, and it will be fun to watch her in action there. So, with warm affection, deep admiration, and outright awe, I wish Jennifer great things in this new phase of her professional life, and  more personally  also look forward to welcoming another great institution into the lives of our extended family."

Jennifer Trainer Thompson says being picked for the job at Hancock Shaker Village is "such a great honor" and she is continually impressed by the collection, architecture and scholarship of it. Thompson grew up going to a Quaker school, so the village has always been a special place for her.

"The Shakers were so ahead of their time. Gender equality, as Richard had said, sustainable practices, technological innovation, communal responsibility, farm to table, shared economy. If they had worn plaid shirts, I think they would be more Brooklyn than Brooklyn," Thompson said.

She added, "I think it is the best job in the world."

Thompson was picked out of 15 to 20 applications, Seltzer said. Those included from people with museum experience and executive experience. But, Thompson stood out as being the right match to further the mission of Hancock Shaker Village.
C.T. Plunkett Breakfast in The Classroom a Success

CHESHIRE, Mass.  Adams-Cheshire Regional School District staff and School Committee members have deemed the C.T. Plunkett Breakfast in the Classroom program a success.

Food Service Director Rosanne Schutz told the committee Monday that the grant-funded program that lets students eat breakfast in the classroom has increased the number of students eating breakfast in school by nearly 200 percent.

"Today breakfast participation is 91 percent, and in the year before breakfast participation was 30 to 33 percent in Plunkett," Schutz said. "It is going very well."

Because of the number of low-income students that attend C.T. Plunkett, Schutz was able to apply for grants that would allow all students to receive free breakfast and lunch. She also applied for grants that funded equipment, extra staff and additional supplies that allow students to eat breakfast right in the classroom.

"Breakfast runs from 8:15 to 8:30 and the kids are spot on with eating because the doors open at 8:10 and the kids go right up to their homeroom," she said. "I try to poke my head into the classrooms to see how it is going and it gets better every day ... the kids are helping themselves and they know the routine."

She said many children avoided breakfast in the past because the cafeteria was often noisy in the morning. She added that the 10 percent or so who do not eat breakfast opt out, are absent or have eaten at home.

Although too early to note the impacts, the nurse has reported less food-related visits and teachers have commented that pupils have more energy.

Schutz said the children get to choose their meal and anything they don't want goes into a "share bucket." Students can pick from the "share bucket" throughout the day and bring home what is left over.

The School Committee asked if the program could be extended to other schools. Schutz said at the moment only Plunkett and Head Start can apply for the program but it may be possible to bring it into the other buildings.

The committee members thanked Schutz for bringing the program to the district.

"It is really tremendous ... and I want to applaud you for it because no child should start the day hungry," member Edmund St. John IV said.

Superintendent Robert Putnam said both Plunkett and Cheshire Elementary School have unrepairable handicapped lifts.

He said the Plunkett lift from the hallway onto the stage has not worked for some time now and it was recently inspected by the Department of Public Safety and cited. The lift was installed in 2000 but was never inspected.

He said the citation carries a $200 a day fine with a maximum of $20,000 that will not be imposed if the lift is removed or replaced.

Putnam said he has requested quotes from lift carriers Bay State Elevator and Graventa.

As for Cheshire, the ramp that allows access to the older part of the school broke down over the summer and a repair looks to be impossible.

"Several visits from Graventa have failed to restore it to working order due to the age of the unit and the lack of available parts," Putnam said. "Graventa left today and said everything he has tried has failed ... it appears as though repair is impossible."

Putnam said he also requested quotes for this lift.

Because of this impending cost, Putnam said he is wary about hiring more custodial staff for Hoosac Valley High School. The custodial staff was cut down by two part-time workers and they have yet to be replaced.

The School Committee approved a Hoosac Valley trip to England and Scotland for 2018. Hoosac Valley Dean of Students Colleen Byrd said the trip would be over April vacation and 58 students have shown interest.
Vinny Tiernan of Hexagon Metrology demonstrates his company's Romer arm for laser measuring. Rod Jane, project director of the BIC, is confident funding can be found to move the project forward. One of the 3D printers for the BIC that will be stored at Taconic High. William Mulholland, BCC's vice president of workforce development, said arrival of the high-tech equipment is proof the BIC's mission is alive. The coordinated measuring machine, or Romer arm, allows for precision measurements. Charles Evans of Stratsys explains the uses of the 3D printer. A fully functional 3D-printed adjustable wrench. Paul Spatcher and Stu Reardon of Hexagon Metrology talk about the measuring machines. PreviousNext

BCC, BIC Show Off New 3D Printers, Laser Scanner



Charles Evans of Stratsys discusses the J750 3D printer. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  High-tech equipment for the Berkshire Innovation Center has arrived.

On Thursday, BIC officials and the vendors showed off three new 3D printers, a "coordinated measuring machine" uses laser scanning and a Romer arm , and software. The equipment is being stored at Taconic High School and is eyed to be moved to the BIC once the building is constructed.

Taconic and Berkshire Community College students and those companies that are members of the BIC will have access to use them.

"This is the first real showcase of the high-end equipment. The mission of the BIC is alive and well," said BCC Vice President for Workforce Development and Community Education William Mulholland.

BCC procured the equipment with a $960,000 grant from Massachusetts Life Sciences and the Massachusetts Workforce Skills Capital program. The Berkshire Innovation Center is being funded by a $9.7 million grant to construct a research and development center at the William Stanley Business Park. Companies and educational institutions can become members to have access to equipment  more technology is sought outside of these pieces  to help product development.

The BIC was supposed to have started by now but the bids for the project as design came in too high, leaving a funding gap of $3 million. But the first round of equipment has arrived.

"We're seeking a small additional amount to build the facility as designed. I believe that will happen," said Project Director Rod Jane.

The 3D printers were built by Stratasys. Representative Charles Evans said it is the newest model created and the first one sold to a college. The previous model used two types of materials and seven colors. The newest model allows for printing in full color and seven materials.

Evans provided an overview of the two types of printers  the FDM and the PolyJet  at the latest of the BIC's speaker series. The printers have an array of abilities to create and test new parts. He showed a video about Oreck using the printer to quickly create a new plastic part for testing on new models of vacuums. With the PolyJet, there is the ability to mix materials  opening up a new realm of chemistry experimentation on parts.

It is estimated that the printers have reduced 60 percent of the time and 40 percent of the cost for some companies. The models can be designed during the day and then left to print overnight. Those designs are stored online. Further, the printers can work in injection molding at a "high mix, low volume" rate for prototype parts. NASA uses the technology for covers and housings and on the newest Mars Rover design

"They are putting these 3D printed parts onto the equipment," Evans said.

They can also be used with sand casting and to print out complex models; Evans showed up a fully functional adjustable wrench that was printed on the machine to show how even movable parts are printed all at once. It is also used with silicon molding and another video showed a bottle company using the technology to do blow molding to get prototypes to test  what once cost some $2,500 and is now reduced to $280.

"We can do it faster. We can do it cheaper. We can do it with less waste and less material," he said.

Another video showed a company crafting rubber parts for firefighter breathing apparatus, another showing a new harmonica attachment to a microphone. Car manufacturers can also use it to make parts.

Michael Maruk of General Dynamics said his company owns one of the PolyJets already and "we find it to be useful for quick turnaround."

Jane said when purchasing the equipment "we wanted the biggest machine with the most features. We're looking for equipment that nobody has."



The coordinated measuring machine is useful in reverse engineering. The 3D printers will help with the design and creation of new parts. But, in many cases, companies need to find out exactly how a piece is made. The laser scanner does just that by providing precision measurements. The laser is also used for inspection of the pieces since such precision inspections are often required.

"There is not going to be a whole lot you aren't going to be able to measure," said Paul Spatcher of Hexagon Metrology.

Kevin Haynes of General Dynamics said often times his company has projects requiring specifications from products 20 years old. And, the current machines are incompatible with the files. With precision measuring, the company can take an old piece, use the measurements to reverse engineer it and build new design specifications. He said some contracts are asked to develop items that are similar to those older products and GD can craft one of those parts and use the laser scanner to get the measurements to base the next product on.

"We're excited to have that technology the BIC," Haynes said.

Spatcher said a lot of his work is with companies in the aerospace industry, which includes using the scanner to guide large parts together during assembly.

Jane said the model ordered is one that can measure anything from "microchips to a bumper."

For the educational aspect, the students will be able to take a piece, reverse engineer it, and then craft their own on a 3D printer. The technology helps construct the model that can be sent to companies for mass production.

"This is really highly technical equipment on its own right. But, what you do with it is more technical," Mulholland said.

BCC is now crafting advanced manufacturing certificate programs for students to earn through using the machines.
Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart) find themselves on the defensive in this dramatic telling of their famous landing of an airline jet in the Hudson River.

'Sully': Down to Earth Ace

Director Clint Eastwood's "Sully," detailing the little-told backstory of Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's "Miracle on the Hudson," is a competently dramatized paean to a very deserving hero, and much more entertaining than I had anticipated.



Sure, Tom Hanks is going to be as good as ever, and Eastwood will bring his journeyman skill to the work. But in capturing the idea of a human being functioning at his very best, Todd Komarnicki's swell adaptation of the book, "Highest Duty," by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow, puts it all across.



As you may have surmised by now in your traipse on this mortal Earth, our species is capable of both terrible and wonderful things, the bulk of us happily preferring the latter pursuit. Too often unable to discern the small, commonplace heroics hardworking folks accomplish almost every day, coupled with the absolute horror that the nefarious segment of our population regularly perpetuates, we pine for saviors  high-relief examples of our better nature. When these brave souls arrive just in the nick of time to save the day, we luxuriate in the chance to lionize them.



Thus, it only follows that if any suspicious detractor ventures to besmirch and then snatch this good guy or gal from our therapeutic idolization, we get darn indignant. How dare they? Such is the case shortly after the Jan. 15, 2009, casualty-free landing of U.S. Airway Flight 1549. While the world is busy extolling the courage of Sullenberger, naming streets and babies after him, the National Transportation Safety Board has thoughts and plans otherwise. Our better sense says they do important, indispensable stuff, while the skeptical wonder what powers that be deem to cast a pall on what can only seem wondrous and great.



You see, there's an astute movie thing filmmaker Eastwood does here in order to bring suspense to a story that otherwise seemed apparent and without hidden subtext. He bewilders the audience by substituting one tension for another. Going in, we all know what happened. Sully performed a water landing that facilitated the survival of all 155 passengers and crew. But suddenly there's trouble anew when the NTSB, represented in the film by characters who seem more like a star chamber, calls it a "crash." Gosh, it sure has all the earmarks of a witch hunt.



Flashing forward and back in a simple, classical style, bits of expository filigree are gathered, giving us a peek into the making of the Air Force ace who would ultimately shine in the scant few seconds fate would allot after a gaggle of Canadian geese fouled his engines. He's the All-American boy, a high school scholar whose Denison, Texas, roots created in him a trademark modesty. While we lately suffer the showboat antics of far too many athletes, we really prefer our icons graciously terse and bereft of bravado, like the cowboy film stars of early Hollywood. You know: "Aw shucks, ma'am, tweren't nothin.' "
Prayers for One of Israels Founding Fathers

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein | September 15, 2016

Dear Friend of Israel

This week, all Israelis thoughts are on one of our most beloved public figures, the distinguished statesman  and my friend  Shimon Peres, whose political career has spanned almost the entire life of the modern Jewish state. Peres, who is 93 years old, recently suffered a major stroke. Though as of this writing his condition is showing signs of improvement, it remains very serious, and he is greatly in need of our prayers.

It is a measure of his love for his country that, even after his retirement in 2014, Peres continued to be actively engaged in shaping Israel for the future, an activity he has been involved in for his entire adult life. In his youth he worked on a kibbutz as a farmer and shepherd, but then a life of public service beckoned. He was elected Secretary of the Labor-Zionist youth movement when he was 20. Four years later he was conscripted into the Haganah (the precursor of the Israel Defense Forces), and was responsible for arms and manpower during Israels War of Independence. He also served as the head of Israels navy, Director of the Defense Ministrys delegation in the U.S., and Director General of the Defense Ministry  and all of that was before he turned 30.

In 1959, Peres was elected to the Knesset (Israels parliament), where he held positions under 12 different cabinets, and served two terms as Prime Minister. He left the Knesset in 2007, when he was elected Israels ninth president, a position he held until his retirement in 2014. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, wrote 11 books, and was married to his wife Sonya for 66 years until her death in 2011. Together they had three children.

Peres has a healthy sense of humor. After his retirement, a video was circulated showing him packing up his presidential office, heading to the unemployment office, and trying out various jobs, such as gas station attendant, pizza delivery man, and grocery store cashier. Clearly, Peres knows that one of the secrets of maintaining a youthful outlook on life is having the ability to take yourself lightly, while taking your work seriously.

To say Peres is an inspiration is an understatement. The Bible speaks often of the importance of godly leaders, and holds those who step into leadership roles to a higher standard than the rest of us. God knows that these men and women have the ability to influence countless lives, and He holds those who would dare to do so accountable for this impact. Thankfully, Israel has been blessed over the years with many strong, godly leaders who have led the country and her people well.

I am grateful for the life of dedicated public servants like Shimon Peres, just as I am grateful for his strong support of The Fellowships work through the years. And I am most grateful that the ultimate leader of Israel is God Himself. As a Jewish state, we have a unique combination of democracy and spirituality, of citizenship and faith. We hope and pray for wise leaders, but our ultimate fate rests in the hands of God. It is this that gives me the greatest hope for Israels future.

Today, along with all of Israel, and the world, I thank God for the life of Shimon Peres, salute his exemplary record of service to his country, and pray for his swift recovery. May he continue to bless our nation with his gifts and presence.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

Founder and President
Whether youre hiking on the Olympic Peninsula or attending your cousins wedding, go beyond the flat photo or selfie. With Cardboard Cameranow available on iOS as well as Androidyou can capture 3D 360-degree virtual reality photos. Just like Google Cardboard, it works with the phone you already have with you.

VR photos taken with Cardboard Camera are three-dimensional panoramas that can transport you right back to the moment. Near things look near and far things look far. You can look around to explore the image in all directions, and even hear sound recorded while you took the photo to hear the moment exactly as it happened. To capture a VR photo, hold your phone vertically, tap record, then turn around as though youre taking a panorama.

Bugaboo Spire in B.C., Canada captured by Googler Adam Dickinson Starting today, you can also share your VR photos with friends and family on both iPhone and Android devices. Select multiple photos to create a virtual photo album, tap the share icon, and Cardboard Camera will generate a link (like this) that can be emailed, messaged, or posted in apps and on the web. With a VR viewer like Google Cardboard, your friends can relive those moments as if they were there.

From rock concerts to real estate to mountaintop vistas, more than 5 million moments have been captured with Cardboard Camera on Android. Share your VR photos with the #CardboardCamera hashtagwe cant wait to see the world through your lens.

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Imperial Valley News Center

Sentry's Report on Corruption in South Sudan

Washington, DC - The United States welcomes The Sentrys report chronicling public corruption among South Sudans leaders, including President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar.

The track record of corruption in South Sudan is extensive  including abuse of preferential access to foreign currency, theft of state assets, and corruption in contracting and procurement. While corruption is harmful in any part of the world, it is especially appalling in a country on the verge of famine and struggling to build a government after only five years of independence. We and other partners have consistently made clear to South Sudanese leaders that they must implement reforms to fight corruption and increase the transparency of public finances, as part of implementing the peace agreement.

While leaders have been pillaging government coffers, international donors including the United States have remained steady supporters of the South Sudanese people, providing basic services including health and education that are essential for the populations future, as well as massive lifesaving assistance that has helped avert famine over the last two years. The U.S. Government provides no direct financial support to the Government of South Sudan.

As Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth made clear last week during congressional testimony, the Department of State is pursuing measures it can take to deter corruption by South Sudanese officials. We are working closely with The Sentry to ensure the information it has collected is used to that end.

The United States remains a friend of the people of South Sudan and we are deeply disappointed that their leaders, given the opportunity to build a successful country at independence and a second chance to harness peace for progress with the August 2015 peace agreement, have failed to put aside personal power struggles and individual enrichment for the good of their people.
Imperial Valley News Center

Dr. Jill Biden and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcettis Op-ed in Inside Higher Ed

Washington, DC - A high school diploma is no longer enough to ensure that Americans have the skills they need to move into the good-paying careers they love. By the end of this decade, 65 percent of all job openings will require an education or skills-training beyond what any student receives in high school. In fact, 11 of the 15 fastest-growing occupations will require a postsecondary education.

Yet, rising tuition costs are putting college out of reach for far too many students. So if we want to ensure all Americans have the opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute to the success of our country, then we need to make sure higher education is more affordable and more accessible for more students. Its that simple.

Americas community colleges are uniquely positioned to fulfill this responsibility. Today, 90 percent of our population lives within 25 miles of one of our more than 1,300 community colleges. These schools are meeting students where they are, serving as gateways to a new career or a four-year universityfor a more prosperous life.

Thats why President Obama proposed Americas College Promisea common-sense idea to make community college free for all responsible students. He believes, as we do, that no hardworking young person should be denied the promise of an affordable, quality education. Two years of free community college will allow Americans to earn the first half of a bachelors degree or acquire a professional certificate without being saddled with decades of debt.

Americas College Promise is a smart investment. Since the President announced his proposal last year, more than 36 free community college programs have launched in states, cities, and community college systems all across our country. All together, these new college promise programs are raising over $150 million in new public and private investments to serve more than 180,000 students at community colleges.

Today, in partnership with Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), Los Angeles has become the largest American city to make this investment through the L.A. College Promise. Beginning with the class of 2017, graduates from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) can attend their first year at any of nine LACCD campuses tuition-free. This is a promise that will make a tremendous difference in the lives of so many Angelenos.

Starting a free community college program may not seem easy, but Los Angeles is joining more than 20 existing promise programs in California. We believe if the largest city in the largest state can make higher education universally accessible for responsible students, then communities everywhere can make the same investment.

Thats why yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released the Americas College Promise Playbooka free resource designed by school leaders, policymakers, and researchersso that communities can design the most effective free community college program. Los Angeles used the playbook to design the L.A. College Promise. It provides the best data and evidence-based research available, with steps that communities can take to get their own promise programs off the ground. It also includes real life case studies and advice from community colleges, cities and states all across our country on developing promise programs that adapt to their students needs.

We believe education is the key that unlocks the door of opportunity. So, we need more leaders and communities to step-up and make education available to every student in our country who is willing to work for it. This is about fairness, but its also about competitivenesscontinuing to make sure we have the best-trained, best educated workforce is the best way to compete in the global economy. We must make community college free for responsible students everywhere.
President Barack Obama on the Memorandum of Understanding Reached with Israel

Washington, DC - President Barack Obama: "As I have said repeatedly, Americas commitment to Israels security is unshakeable. Over the past eight years, my Administration has time and again demonstrated this commitment in word and deed. Since Fiscal Year 2009, the United States has provided Israel with $23.6 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funds and another $3.4 billion in funding for missile defense.

"The new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on security assistance that my Administration signed with the Government of Israel today is just the most recent reflection of my steadfast commitment to the security of the State of Israel. The new MOU constitutes the single largest pledge of military assistance in U.S. history, totaling $38 billion over 10 years, including $33 billion in FMF funds and an additional $5 billion in missile defense funding. Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are confident that the new MOU will make a significant contribution to Israels security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood. The continued supply of the worlds most advanced weapons technology will ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself from all manner of threats.

"For as long as the state of Israel has existed, the United States has been Israels greatest friend and partner, a fact underscored again today. This commitment to Israels security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the State of Israel. It is because of this same commitment to Israel and its long-term security that we will also continue to press for a two-state solution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the deeply troubling trends on the ground that undermine this goal. As I have emphasized previously, the only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine. Ultimately, both this MOU and efforts to advance the two-state solution are motivated by the same core U.S. objective that has been shared by all administrations, Democratic and Republican, over the last several decades - ensuring that Israelis can live alongside their neighbors in peace and security."
Navy's Most Advanced Warship, USS Zumwalt Arrives in Norfolk

Washington, DC - The Navy's newest and most technologically advanced surface ship, future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) pulled into Naval Station Norfolk Wednesday for another port visit on the 3-month journey to its new homeport in San Diego.

Crewed by 147 Sailors, Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power. They are capable of performing critical maritime missions and enhance the Navy's ability to provide deterrence, power projection and sea control.



Capt. James A. Kirk, Zumwalt's commanding officer, commented on the significance of the ship's visit to Norfolk.



"It is a great opportunity to bring Zumwalt to Norfolk, an area steeped in naval history and ever vital to the U.S. Navy," said Kirk. "It is a chance for the Sailors of Zumwalt to show their Atlantic Coast shipmates the teamwork, technical expertise and toughness it takes to operate a Zumwalt-class destroyer."



While in Norfolk, Zumwalt is scheduled to perform operational proficiency training, certifications and preparation for its October commissioning.



"Training is the foundation of every operation we perform in the Navy, and it is our job to ensure we use the time in Norfolk to get as much quality training as we can. Successful training pays dividends for Sailors out at sea," said Kirk.



Zumwalt departed Newport, R.I., Monday following a weekend of visits from students of several Navy schools, including the Naval War College, and distinguished government and military visitors.



"Our first ever port visit was to Newport, or the U.S. Navy's surface warfare center of gravity, where we were able to host tours and give our schoolhouse surface warfare officers and other distinguished guests a look at the future of the surface fleet," said Kirk.



USS Zumwalt will be formally commissioned during Fleet Week Maryland in Baltimore, Oct. 15.



"Each day that passes is one step closer to commissioning and one step closer to joining the fleet. The crew is ready to face the challenges in the coming months and excited to be operating this fine warship," said Kirk.



Following the commissioning ceremony Zumwalt will begin its transit to San Diego, making several port visits en route. Upon arrival in San Diego, she is scheduled to take part in a Post Delivery Availability and Mission Systems Activation and is expected to be integrated into the fleet in 2018 following test and evaluation.



Named for Adm. Elmo R. "Bud" Zumwalt Jr., former chief of naval operations (CNO) from 1970 to 1974, the Zumwalt-class features a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system, a wave-piercing tumblehome hull, stealth design and the latest war fighting technology and weaponry available.



A veteran of World War II and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, Adm. Zumwalt exemplified honor, courage and commitment during 32 years of dedicated naval service, earning a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.



DDG 1000 will be the first U.S. Navy combatant surface ship to utilize an integrated power system (IPS) to provide electric power for propulsion and ship services. The IPS generates approximately 78 megawatts of power, nearly what a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier generates, to meet the total ship electric power requirements and provide extra capacity to accommodate future weapons and computing systems.



In addition to its advanced weapon and propulsion systems, Zumwalt is much larger than today's destroyers. At 610 feet long and 80.7 feet wide, Zumwalt is 100 feet longer and 13 feet wider, and its flight deck is 93 percent larger than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.



Stealthy, powerful, and lethal, Zumwalt integration into the fleet will provide a vital link from the Navy's current needs to its future capabilities.




This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
Pakistan Fans are Rooting for India's Win Against South Africa in T20 World Cup With Memes
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Bridget Jones is back. Shes 43, and having a baby. And isnt sure who the father is.

Renee Zellweger is so good that the film is guaranteed to be a major box-office hit. When I saw it, people were laughing so hard I heard an actual snort from three rows back.

Watching the film was enjoyable. It wasnt like enduring Sex and the City 2, which felt as if two hours of my life had been brutally snatched. It was fun and funny, and made me nostalgic for the Nineties; for the halcyon days of Chardonnay and Marlboro Lights. When being single was something to be derided openly.

Bridget Joness Baby, the third in the film franchise based on Helen Fieldings novels, has arrived 12 years after the last one. An older Bridget is more in control: she has a good job, reliable friends and more godchildren than you could wish to babysit for. And (without giving away more than the trailer) she accidentally gets knocked up thanks to some eco-friendly condoms and cant be sure whether her old flame Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) or new love interest Jack (Patrick McDreamy Dempsey) is the babys father.

Theres something extremely uncomfortable about this set-up. It is a new take on the age-old soap story drama: one woman, one baby, two potential fathers. It is an extremely polite version of this kind of story arc. There is no Kat Slater-from-EastEnders-style screaming revelations of parentage. Emma Thompson is there as everybodys ideal sort of obstetrician, asking Bridget gaily to bring the father along, if you can work out which one he is.

While the audience is carried off on this light-hearted journey through conception, pregnancy, birth and parental revelation, there is an awkward  and far from plausible  sense of how nice everyone is being to each other during a deeply difficult time. Both potential dads want to be the daddy. They both seem to want Bridget. They dont care who lied to whom. In soap-land there would be a punch-up at the very least, murder at worst.

And thats where Hollywood seems to deviate from the grittier, television model when it comes to paternity issues. From Mamma Mia! to The Switch and Three Men And A Baby, instead of becoming messy, emotional and badly-behaved, Hollywood films are full of noble, well-intentioned men who appear to work through jealousy or betrayal to be the daddy, whatever It takes.

It is a departure from the Mark Darcy/Daniel Cleaver good man/bad boy conflict that has worked so well up to now in the Bridget Jones oeuvre. Its interesting that theyre both nice guys, Firth said in a recent interview. Because traditionally one of them was devilish, and thats where his charm lies. While the other ones, constipated, but morally upstanding. As Zellweger says: Its not a bad dilemma.

The fact that they both desperately want to be the father of Bridgets baby is a lovely, cuddly set of events. It is heartwarming. But the paternity test plotline is well-trodden narrative ploy, and some women argued when the test first became widely available that it was anti-feminist because it meant rather than taking a womans word for it a man could demand scientific proof. A recent study by a Belgian university estimated that one in 50 British fathers are raising a child which they believe to be biologically theirs but isnt.

The author of the research found this number to be considerably lower than predicted and claimed his findings debunked sexist social stereotypes that heterosexual women feel an evolutionary imperative to have multiple male partners to increase fertility rates, but do not inform the partners.

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Report author Maarten Larmuseau said: Media and popular scientific literature often claim that many alleged fathers are being cuckolded into raising children who biologically are not their own. Surprisingly, the estimated rates within human populations are quite low  around 1 or 2 per cent.

This is a stereotype that films such as Bridget Joness Baby play into adroitly. Bridget might have evolved from a haphazard, thirty-something eternal singleton into a slightly less hopeless forty-something pregnant lady. But she remains in need of rescuing  and is still obsessed with developing inner poise about not having a boyfriend, in order to obtain a boyfriend.

That her white knight might be one of two potential men is an example of Hollywood presenting an overly generous male stereotype compared with a female one that carries a subtext suggesting she just might be a slut. When Bridgets mother (a brilliant Gemma Jones) hears of her daughters predicament, she shrieks: Did you have a three-way?! The sentiment is as out-of-date as her mothers twinset and pearls.

So welcome back, Bridget. Your diary might now be an iPad, but you havent otherwise evolved to meet the modern world. As a geriatric mother (technical term), youre unlikely to die alone and be found three weeks later half-eaten by Alsations. Which is progress, of sorts.
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A Back to the Future fan who was pulled over by police for driving at 88mph in a DeLorean has had the gall to claim he wasnt trying to travel back in time to 1955.

Nigel Mills, 55, was caught speeding on the A12 in Essex, but police were unable to find a Flux Capacitor in his DeLorean, which he paid 22,000 for.

I wasnt trying to time travel, said Mills, as per the Guardian, It was at 11am on Sunday and the road was completely clear.

Mills appeared before Chelmsford magistrates court but the case was thrown out due to the two officers who caught him speeding being absent for the hearing.

He apparently recorded a top speed of 89mph, as opposed to the steady 88 required in the film, which might explain why hes still in 2016.

Mills said that he bought the DeLorean as a car fan and me and the rest of my family enjoyed the Back to the Future films. When Im out in it a few people recognise it, they slow down and take pictures - drivers take pictures out of their windows or try to film you and I get approached at petrol stations.

Free to go, it remains be seen whether the man is next seen putting a coin into a Zoltar Speaks fortune teller machine at a fairground in New Jersey.
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A couple of days after releasing semi-comeback single 'Perfect Illusion', Lady Gaga has revealed details of her fifth album.

Joanne will be released on 21 October and is almost ready for mastering, with Gaga telling Zane Lowe on Apple Radios Beats 1 that shes just spending a final 48 hours meditating with it.

Joanne is named after her late aunt, whose death still hangs heavy in Gagas family and who also lends her name to the familys Upper West Side Italian restaurant, Joanne Trattoria.

She explained to Zane: When Mark [Ronson] and I wrote it, the decision to name the album that was in tribute to my fathers sister who died when she was 19.

He was younger than her. She was very sick with lupus. The death of her in his family and life left a scar that never healed.

As I returned to my home life and spending time with my friends and family and getting out of the mainstream limelight for a minute, the experiences of our family and our challenges that make us who we are.

Its everything about Joanne, which also happens to be my middle name (i was named after her) its all the toughness of the pain of losing her that made us all strong and made us who we are.

She is the woman of my past who is becoming and helping me bring more of my honest woman self into the future.

'Perfect Illusion is expected to appear on the album, which Gaga also collaborated with Ronson, Tame Impalas Kevin Parker and Florence Welch on.


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Pornhub and YouPorn, the biggest adult websites in the world, have been blocked in Russia. And things have become very odd.

The site has been blocked by the Russian state watchdog Roskomnadzor, which is known in English as the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media. Among other things, that agency is in charge of monitoring the internet and blocking sites that the government doesnt want to be used.

And the latest sites to fall victim of that are Pornhub and YouPorn, the worlds biggest collections of free pornography. That move began on Tuesday but put in practice previously issued court decisions, according to the Moscow Times, and could be reviewed later.

'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton Show all 12 1 /12 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton 'Empty Porn Sets' by Jo Broughton (c) Jo Broughton 2013

It isnt the first time that the agency has blocked Pornhub  doing so in September 2015. And it isnt the first time that it has been roundly mocked on Twitter for doing so.

And at that time it replied to a message from one Russian citizen asking whether the the agency would at least suggest an alternative to the popular site.

 We need to talk about porn

Dear Lyolya, as an alternative you can meet someone in real life, the official account replied on Twitter.

And this time around the account has posted to internet fans that the post suggesting people just head outside rather than watching adult websites is still relevant.

That elicited a reply from the original user, who asked Roscomnadzor why it couldnt come up with something new? The agency replied to ask whether it was possible to enter the same river twice?

That philosophical remark drew further mockery. The original user, Lyolya, said if the site hadnt been blocked then the agency could watch a few videos about that on Pornhub; another replied to say You can enter anything twice, you would know that if you hadnt blocked Pornhub.

It also retweeted a pots by another Russian user who said that he had followed the agencys advice, and that as a result he was due to have his wedding soon.

But Pornhub itself has tweeted from its official account to the agency, in an attempt to win it around.

If we gave give you a guys Pornhub Premium account, will you un ban Pornhub in Russia? the account posted. The tweet was retweeted more than 2,000 times.

Both sites remain blocked.
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Desperate people denied treatment due to NHS funding cuts are risking their health by buying and self-administering medication from overseas countries despite serious concerns the tablets may be harmful. Doctors have warned patients could be risking their lives by using the so-called buyers clubs which have emerged in groups on social media sites such as Facebook. The online networks link up people denied medicine on the NHS with pharmacists in India and Australia who can then form their own sales agreements together, before the tablets are dispensed and posted them to homes in the UK.

Buyers, sellers and pharmacists say the medication is being dispensed in this way to an increasing number of British patients for conditions including hepatitis C, HIV and some forms of cancer. Critics say the practice is a national embarrassment which encapsulates how the NHS funding crisis has spiralled out of control and is pushing desperate people to potentially risk their health to access essential treatment they have been denied due to financial limits.

Medication can be much cheaper overseas as drugs have different licences in different countries. A drug costing thousands of pounds in England can therefore be produced for less than a hundred pounds in India or other developing countries. Pharmacists say they are generic forms of the same treatment, meaning they have the same effects for a fraction of the costs. Although it is not possible for the NHS as an organisation to order such medication in bulk from the countries, a loop hole emerges as individuals are entitled to import cheap generic drugs for personal use. Therefore, it is not illegal for individual patients to get medication from overseas in this way.

However, experts warn that people who do so have no way of knowing if the medicine which arrives is real. They have cautioned the drugs could be placebo or empty pills, or in a worst case scenario be actively dangerous. In addition, while doctors are able to monitor patients health during normal prescriptions, they cannot monitor patients who order pills in this way to the same extent, prompting concerns that they are vulnerable if an adverse reaction occurs.

The increasing strain on NHS resources Show all 4 1 /4 The increasing strain on NHS resources The increasing strain on NHS resources Breaking point: NHS strain The increasing strain on NHS resources Breaking point: NHS strain The increasing strain on NHS resources Breaking point: NHS strain The increasing strain on NHS resources Breaking point: NHS strain

Parag Jain is a pharmacist with Bull Pharmachem in India, he told The Independent: We have sent medication to around 70-80 patients in the UK. I think people are opting to import medication from India because we can produce generic copies at 2-3 per cent of the cost of the original branded medicines. The efficacy of these drugs is well known and they have been proven to be exactly the same as the branded ones.

Dr Will Nutland a researcher the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine set up the website www.prepster.info to help people who need HIV PrEP medicine after buying drugs online himself and taking them at home in the UK. The medication is currently the focus of a fierce legal battle after the high court ruled the NHS must provide the drug, but the health service insists it is too expensive. Dr Nutland told The Independent: I started to realise PrEP offers huge opportunities for the UK and could be one of the key turning points in treating HIV. The evidence for the medication is very compelling but the NHS wont fund it.

Then I heard of a website selling it from India and sending it to the UK. I started taking it primarily to be a guinea pig for the drug. I bought it online. I was wondering, will my credit card get wiped? But it didnt. I worried, will it even arrive? But it did. I started taking it and went to a HIV clinic where they did a monitoring test on me and the results were fine.

He now helps other people denied PrEPon the NHS to find out how to access the drugs from overseas through his website: We run these websites from virtually nothing, sitting at our kitchen tables. There have been hundreds of tests on these drugs that get sent over and theyve all come back saying its the real thing and not dupes. Were as confident as you can be that its safe.

Its impossible to know how many people have done this because many people are secretive about it due to stigma. But if pushed Id estimate 800 to 1,000 are buying PrEP in this way now.

Dr Andrew Hill is a researcher working with the University of Liverpool and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to analyse how people import generic drugs to the UK. He told The Independent: A year ago this would have been practically unheard of but now its quite common. Its happening more and more. The NHS just doesnt have enough money. I can see this expanding very quickly, especially as people see how much you can save.

Ive heard that some people are accessing it for cancer drugs too, but its very underground.

Dr Hill says that in his research, the drugs he has come across have been of high quality, despite concerns that false or dangerous drugs could be sent. He said: Weve research thousands of people and not seen any counterfeits. The drugs are of high quality. Which is lucky because you dont know what youre getting when you order online.

However, despite this, pharmaceutical experts have warned that patients who use buyers clubs are placing their lives and health in the hands of unverified and unverifiable doctors. Dr Jacintha Sivarajah, Head of Medical Affairs at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry told The Independent that the new phenomenon is of deep concern which puts patients health at risk.

She warned: Whilst we dont know the exact figures, we anecdotally hear that more and more patients are resorting to online Buyers clubs to purchase prescription medicines because drugs, proven as cost-effective by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), continue to get stuck in the system.

As a doctor, patients buying unregulated medicines from outside of the UK is of deep concern. We have a really robust system in the UK. The Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) work hard to ensure that medicines are closely monitored and regulated. By purchasing outside of this system, patients are putting themselves at risk especially as we know the internet is open to misuse. Whats more, the source, quality and genuine nature of these medicines can be difficult to verify.

From a clinical perspective, patient safety is paramount. If patients are considering sourcing drugs from outside of the UK, it is important that they speak to their healthcare professionals. Many prescription medicines have side effects that need to be closely monitored with ongoing specialist care, and patients could be inadvertently putting their health at risk by bypassing this.

Dr Hill added that doctors now face an ethical dilemma as official NHS guidance does not support the online buyers clubs, but many also feel they have a duty to inform patients if there is a way their health can be improved. He said: In London, they actively point some patients towards these websites  its the only way they can get this treatment. If youre a doctor and you dont tell someone about the possible treatment and they get sick, they could come back and say  Im very sick because you didnt help.

Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott told The Independent: It is a national embarrassment that thousands are turning to Facebook and other online groups for vital medicines. This Tory government has underfunded the NHS to the extent that people are resorting to precarious means for the treatment they need.

When approached by The Independent a spokesperson for Facebook said they are aware of the groups and are looking into them.

A spokesperson for NHS England declined to say how common such importations are. They told The Independent: The NHS is making major investments in new drug treatments this year, but it is also essential that drug companies price their products responsibly. The safest way to get medicines is through a pharmacist or doctor  patients who choose to buy medications privately are urged to ensure they seek the advice of a health professional as medicines bought online may not meet UK regulatory and quality standards.
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Plans for the first new nuclear power station in a generation in the UK have finally been given the go-ahead by the UK Government, after an unexpected delay in the summer.

How much energy will Hinkley Point C generate?

It has the capacity to provide 7 per cent of the UK's generation needs for 60 years.

When will it start generating electricity?

The latest schedule will see it begin generating power in 2025, a lot later than the promise made by EDF boss Vincent de Rivaz in 2007, who said Britain would be cooking Christmas turkeys on new nuclear power by 2017.

Why has it been beset by delays?

There have been issues with financing the 18 billion project by EDF, which seemed to have been finally solved when the French government, which owns 85% of EDF, provided fresh financial backing.

French unions have raised doubts about Hinkley, and problems with two nuclear plants under construction in France and Finland have also had an impact on the project.

But EDF gave it the go-ahead, didn't it?

With financing in place, EDF made its final investment decision in July, giving a green light to the new nuclear power station - although the vote by the company's board was close at 10-7 in favour.

But in a move that took everybody by surprise, the UK Government responded to EDF's announcement by saying it would review the project and make its decision in the autumn.

Was that not expected?

Absolutely not. Ministers were expected to sign documents securing the deal immediately.

Reports from the construction site in Somerset suggested the marquee for the VIP event was up and waiting and Chinese officials, whose Government has a third share in the scheme, were set to attend, but had to fly home empty-handed.

Why did the Government delay again?

Concerns had grown about the cost to consumers who will be locked into paying subsidies of 92.50 per megawatt hour of power generated for 35 years, which experts have estimated could cost close to 30 billion on energy bills over that time.

There were also security concerns about the role of the Chinese in the UK's nuclear power provision, particularly in its plans to design and build a reactor at Bradwell in Essex.

But don't we need Hinkley Point to keep the lights on?

The argument for Hinkley, and indeed a whole fleet of new nuclear power plants which the Somerset plant was supposed to herald, is that nuclear power is needed to keep the lights on at the same time as cutting carbon emissions to tackle climate change.

It would provide predictable base-load power, and is one of the lowest-carbon electricity sources available.

A number of coal-fired power plants and nuclear reactors have closed in recent years and the Government has pledged to phase out polluting coal by 2025. Nuclear currently supplies 20% of our electricity but most reactors will have closed by 2030.

So we do need Hinkley Point?

Concerns have been raised that the energy landscape has changed in the last few years, since the deal was first backed and the contract negotiated.

Renewables are much more mainstream and the costs of subsidising solar, onshore and offshore wind have fallen dramatically.

And the way the energy system is managed, with more balancing of supply and demand and growing use of storage, may mean a large chunk of base-load power running all the time - as nuclear would - is not needed.

Does nuclear have public support?

The latest surveying from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy suggests just over a third of people back the technology, while a little over a fifth are opposed. Some 42 per cent are neutral or don't know.

What have the Chinese said about the Government's go-ahead?

The Chinese state-owned company CGN welcomed the move and said it would now be able to deliver nuclear capacity at Hinkley Point, Sizewell and - controversially - Bradwell.

PA
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Chrissy Teigen has prompted outrage in the Twittersphere for saying she does not find the word oriental offensive.

Oriental is seen as a contentious term by some in America and President Obama signed legislation banning the word from being used in federal law in May. The new law stipulates that Asian American must be used instead of Oriental.

Teigen, a 30-year-old model, has now sparked a far-reaching debate on social media after she posted a tweet about oriental salad dressing on Tuesday.

I really really really really clearly am not a PC type of gal but I'm a little weirded out at the oriental dressing option on my flight, Teigen, who is half-Thai, said. Like if you're over 50 you can call me oriental to my face but this is a new menu and I'm not a rug.

The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Show all 10 1 /10 The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Leonardo DiCaprio On climate change: 'Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.' Getty The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Chrissy Teigen 'I will never stop talking about how horrible Donald Trump is. Even after he loses, I will set an alert to my phone to remind me to not stop. Getty The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Nicki Minaj On the war on drugs and US prison system: What it has become is not a war on drugs. It has become slavery. Or something crazier. When I see how many people are in jail, I feel like, Wait a minute. Our government is aware of these statistics and thinks its OK The sentences are inhumane. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for A+E Networks The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Emily Ratajkowski 'I am not shamed or apologetic of what my body might represent to you. Its the body I was given. I'm no less worthy of making political points about feminism or fighting for the reclaiming of female sexuality because of it.' Andrew Toth/Getty Images The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Jesse Williams On racial equality: Now what we've been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to de-escalate, disarm and not kill white people every day. So what's going to happen is we are going to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will restructure their function and ours. Getty The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Zendaya On claiming a magazine photoshopped her: Had a new shoot come out today and was shocked when I found my 19 year old hips and torso quite manipulated. These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Getty The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Jennifer Lawrence Im over trying to find the "adorable" way to state my opinion and still be likable! F**k that. I don't think I've ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It's just heard.' AFP/Getty Images The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind John Legend On Black Lives Matter: 'We should not have to jump through hoops to prove black people shouldnt be shot by police during routine traffic stops. So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a traffic stop is ok. ITS NOT OK.' Getty The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Amandla Stenberg On cultural appropriation: 'What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?' Getty Images The famous men and women who arent afraid to speak their mind Maisie Williams On feminism: I [also] feel like we should stop calling feminists feminists and just start calling people who arent feminist sexist  and then everyone else is just human. You are either a normal person or a sexist. People get a label because theyre bad.' Chris Jackson/Getty Images

After users began to argue the term oriental was derogatory, she explained that she found the word outdated but was not personally insulted by it.

Teigen then responded directly to a commenter who questioned whether she though the word oriental was offensive, writing: Not offensive, really. Just weird. Old school. Just say Asian.

Teigen suggested the term was not a slur and was instead an example of forgivable ignorance.

I disagree that it is a slur. But I'm not positive why, honestly. It just does not offend me, she continued.

Teigen said ignorance, with no intention to hurt, was something she would struggle to be personally offended by: "Ignorance without malice isn't something I can be offended by".

"I really appreciate all the non-Asians telling me what is offensive to Asians, though. Thank you. Writing it all down".

Despite the fact Teigen insisted she herself was not offended, this did not stop being becoming offended on her behalf.

Recommended Read more Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen join forces against critic

"I think we all get that you aren't offended @chrissyteigen. But you don't seem to get that it is offensive to most," wrote on Twitter user. While another said: "It might not be offensive to her but it's considered offensive to many. It perpetuates cultural ignorance".

Teigen is an avid tweeter and has frequently found herself in the limelight and even the firing line for her no-holds-barred, outspoken approach to the social media platform.

A representative for Teigen did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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In stark contrast to the doom and gloom-filled discussions surrounding Brexit, Sir David Attenborough has urged the government to use the vote to leave the European Union as an opportunity to go further in protecting Britains nature and wildlife.

The naturalist and pillar of British broadcasting argued it was time for the public to accept Britain had voted to leave the EU even if they feel unhappy about the decision.

Sir David said Brexit provided a window of opportunity to revise British legislation to be more in line with our distinct locality.

David Attenborough: Life in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 David Attenborough: Life in pictures David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1957 David Attenborough with his three-year-old daughter Susan, as they cover their ears while sulphur-crested cockatoo Georgie lets out a piercing shriek David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1950 David Attenborough with his wife Jane Oriel and older brother and film actor Richard Attenborough at St. Anne's Church, Kew Green David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1955 David Attenborough, holding his son Robert, whilst looking at an animal called a coatimundi, brought home from the combined London Zoo David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1955 David Attenborough and Jack Lester, curator of London Zoo's reptile house, plan their next expedition to British Guiana with the help of Gregory the parrot David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1956 David Attenborough with six-year-old Michael Webb of Kingsbury pets a Capybara after Sir David had lectured to children on the 'Zoological Expedition to British Guiana' at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1957 David Attenborough, with wildlife photographer Charles Lagus, preparing to depart for New Guinea to make 'Zoo Quest' at London Airport Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1958 Prince Charles with his sister Princess Anne meeting Sir David Attenborough and Cocky, the cockatoo brought back from his last Zoo Quest expedition, at the BBC Television Studios in Lime Grove, London David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1961 David Attenborough with two ring-tailed lemurs during a Christmas lecture at London zoo David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1963 David Attenborough with an armadillo from 'Attenborough's Animals' David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1965 David Attenborough after he was appointed the new head of BBC 2 David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1965 David Attenborough and Michael Peacock, Contoller of the BBC, with soft toy versions of Hullabaloo and Custard, the kangaroo mascots which were used as logos for the launch of BBC 2 David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1980 David Attenborough shows Charlie the Llama to schoolboy Patrick Flynn, the millionth child to attend London Zoo's educational lectures and tours David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1982 David Attenborough feeds orangutan David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1985 David Attenborough after being knighted by the Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace, London, with his wife Jane (right) and daughter Susan David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1985 David Attenborough signs his book 'the Living Planet' in a Sydney Bookstore in Australia 2004 Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1986 David Attenborough with Queen Elizabeth II filming the Christmas Message in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1990 David Attenborough poses for a photograph David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1995 David Attenborough watches nature during the filming of Natural Curiosities David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2000 David Attenborough and his wife at the Tate Modern Art Gallery opening party David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2002 David Attenborough with meerkat on his shoulder being filmed for BBC series Life of Mammals David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2003 A python greets Sir David Attenborough during a photo opportunity at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2003 Sir David Attenborough holds a baby salt water crocodile during a photo opportunity at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2005 David Attenborough poses with The Swan Hellenic Oldie of the Year Award at the 'Oldie Of The Year Awards' honouring veteran notables together with Britain's oldest celebrity superstars, at Simpsons in the Strand in London. Sir David Attenborough was announced as the Swan Hellenic Oldie of the Year at the 13th annual awards Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2005 David Attenborough plants a Wollemei Pine at Kew Gardens in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2005 David Attenborough signs copies of his latest publication Life In The Undergrowth, published in relation to the BBC One series, at the Natural History Museum in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2006 Sir David Attenborough and Lord Richard Attenborough robe up, before they are awarded the title of Distinguished Honorary Fellowships from the University of Leicester at De Montfort Hall in Leicester Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2007 Sir David Attenborough launches National Moth Recording Scheme at London Zoo in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2008 Sir David Attenborough sits in The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace in the Amazing Rare Things exhibition in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2009 Prince William, Dr Michael Dixon and Sir David Attenborough host the opening of the The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2011 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks with naturalist David Attenborough during a special exhibition of artefacts from the Royal Collection and Royal Archives at Buckingham Palace in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2011 Sir David Attenborough with the Specialist Factual award at the Philips British Academy Television Awards at the Grosvenor House in London David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2012 Sir David Attenborough poses with a floral sculpture of himself outside the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew Gardens in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2012 Sir David Attenborough at the UKTV Showcase held at the Saatchi Gallery in west London David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2013 David Attenborough during the filming of "Micro Monsters with David Attenborough," a series about insects David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2016 Sir David Attenborough attends the launch of the London Wildlife Trust's new Flagship nature reserve Woodberry Wetlands in London Getty Images

Like it or not Brexit has happened. All agriculture and environment treaties for nature and wildlife will have to be rethought. Its a great opportunity to refine the legislation to match our part of the world, the 90-year-old said to a crowd of conservationists at the launch of the 2016 State of Nature report.

The comprehensive scientific report, which brings together data and expertise from over 50 conservation organisations, including the National Trust, the RSPB, the Marine Conservation Society and the Natural History Museum, showed the UK was one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. It found that more than one in 10 of the UKs wildlife species are threatened with extinction and the numbers of the nations most endangered creatures have plunged by two-thirds since 1970.

The report is very important, explained said Sir David. Our wonderful nature is in serious trouble and it needs our help as never before. This document produces facts and figures. We are living at a time of climate change so we need to know what is happening to wildlife. It gives us a huge opportunity. I hope we can take it".

In the immediate aftermath of Britain voting to leave the EU, he voiced his concern for the environment. After being probed by The Guardian about the impact Brexit would have on the environment, he said: That is sad. Swallows arent members of the union, and migrant birds and so on.

Nevertheless, he said he hoped environmental issues would carry on being a global and collaborative focal point, saying: One just hopes that collaboration on these issues, conservation issues, will transcend political divisions".
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Donald Trump was in the headlines for a reason other than causing controversy this morning: someone had managed to shut him up, mid-flow, and make him do as he was told.

The Republican nominee famed for his ability to go off script and deliver long, meandering speeches was at the Bethel United Methodist Church in Flint, Michigan on Wednesday, where he was due to speak about the water crisis affecting 100,000 people.

Mr Trump was in the area as part of his bid to improve his support among black voters ahead of the Presidential election in November.

Recommended Read more Donald Trump shut down by Flint pastor during speech

But his speech soon veered into an attack on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton - until Reverend Faith Green Timmons intervened.

Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, Rev. Timmons said, patting him on the arm. Not to give a political speech.

Oh, oh, oh, OK, thats good, he replied, nodding and shuffling his papers. Then Im going back on Flint.

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

Speaking after her interruption, Rev. Timmons told CBS Detroit Mr Trump had promised to do one thing but she could see he was about to do another, prompting her decision to step in.

I could see he had three more pages of words to say, and I in no way wished to disrespect him, however, I needed him to stick to what he agreed upon, she explained.

I am a person of integrity, and when you come to me and say what your desire is  I honor that desire. When he went beyond that it was not easy to do by I felt it had to be done.

Who is she?

Rev. Timmons has been the lead pastor at Bethel United Methodist Church for the past five years, according to her Linkedin page. Before this, she was with the Calvary United Methodist Church for four years.

She has been with the United Methodist Church in Flint for 24 years as both an associate pastor and lead pastor.

Her background is actually in journalism: Rev. Timmons has worked as a radio journalist for seven years for stations including CBS radio news, ABC radio news and as an anchor for News Talk 760 WJR Radio.

Rev. Timmons also served as a media specialist for Harvard University. She graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in journalism and went on to study divinity at Harvard University.

She will shut down anyone who goes off subject

Mr Trump wasnt the only person she admonished during his speech. Later, when audience members heckled him and accused him of discriminating against black housing tenants, she had some strong words for them too.

He is a guest of [the] church and you will respect him.

I shut them down as well," she added.
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Prince Charless car has reportedly collided with a deer at the Queen's Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire.

The Audi he was driving was reportedly damaged in the incident.

The Independent understands that the Prince of Wales did not sustain any injuries. There is no news on the condition of the deer.

In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Prince Charles wearing traditional Saudi uniform, dances with sword during the traditional Saudi dancing best known as 'arda' performed during Janadriya culture festival at Der'iya in Riyadh In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Prince Charles dances with a sword during the a traditional Saudi dancing, known as 'arda' In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Saudi Arabia's second deputy Prime Minister Muqrin bin Abdulaziz (front 2nd R) escorts Britain's Prince Charles upon their arrival to participate in the traditional Saudi dance known as 'arda' In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Britain's Prince Charles, wearing a traditional Saudi attire In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Britain's Prince Charles arrives to participate in the traditional Saudi dancing known as 'Arda' during the Janadriya culture festival at Der'iya in Riyadh In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Prince Charles arrived in Saudi Arabia on a private visit In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Prince Charles surrounded by Saudi Emirs and security officers, while he leaves the traditional Saudi dancing In pictures: Prince Charles takes part in Middle Eastern knife dance Prince Charles visits Middle East Prince Charles talks with unidentified Saudi Emirs after the end of the traditional Saudi dancing

The crash took place over the weekend and left the car so badly damaged a specialist mechanic had to attend the Queens estate to repair it, according to an unconfirmed report by The Mirror.

The crash took place on the same weekend the Duchess of Cambridges family were visiting at the estate. Prince Charles was on a break from official duties. 

A spokesman for Clarence House said it could not comment on something that took place in his private time.
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Rolf Harris is reportedly being treated in hospital for suspected blood poisoning.

The Australian-born artist, 86, is serving a near six-year sentence at Stafford prison for historic sex abuse.

A source told The Sun: Harris was treated like any other prisoner in the circumstances.

He was escorted from Stafford by prison officers and has been monitored at all times.

He is likely to return to jail shortly."

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.

Blood poisoning, also known as sepsis, is triggered by an infection or injury and can be potentially life-threatening if left untreated.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told the Independent it could not comment on individual cases.

Recommended Read more Mystery as photos of Rolf Harris and jihadi bomber appear in Australia

The disgraced childrens entertainer was jailed for five years and nine months in July 2014 after being found guilty of indecently assaulting four girls. One of his victims was only seven or eight years old and approached him for an autograph when he groped her.

Harris will face trial over seven charges of indecent assault on girls and women spanning four decades and dating back to the early 1970s on 9 January 2017. Some of the offences were allegedly committed at the BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, west London. Harris has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In November 2015, The Daily Mirror reported that Harris, who is diabetic, had been taken to hospital and fallen ill after eating chocolate and sweets in prison.
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The road leading to the Holland Tunnel is already an automotive eyesore, even by Jersey City standards.

But there's one thing certain to make the execrable stretch of rundown warehouses and gas stations even more unsightly: Donald Trump's naked flesh.

That's exactly what thousands upon thousands of helpless motorists were treated to after members of the anarchist collective INDECLINE unveiled their latest, life-size statue of Trump on a warehouse roof several hundred yards from the tunnel entrance early Wednesday morning.

Last month, Trump statues were covertly deployed in public spaces in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. The statues upset some authorities, amused others, spawned endless selfies and burned holes into the eye sockets of thousands more.

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

This time around, an INDECLINE spokesman said, the statue appeared to generate another strong reaction among motorists as they crept toward the toll road outside Manhattan. (More than 316,000 motorists passed through the tunnel on average each day this year through June, according to figures from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.)

You would see that early-morning despondency among drivers, said the spokesman, who discussed the project with The Washington Post anonymously, following the anarchist collective's custom. Then they'd look at it  and then look at it again  and a big smile would break out across their face.

I saw a mom pointing it out to her kid, the spokesman added. We got a lot of thumbs-up and honking.

The property is owned by Mana Contemporary, a New Jersey-based art center that commissioned two additional statues for installation in Miami and Jersey City after the initial statues went viral. A rooftop billboard behind the Jersey City installation was also painted by INDECLINE and shows an upside-down American flag and a pile of fallen stars.

Unlike the first 5, these two are set to run until the election in November at which time they will be returned to INDECLINE and put up for auction, an INDECLINE statement notes. The statue placed there is highly visible to commuters from the nearby highway, the statement adds.

As an arts institution and privately-owned business, we feel responsible for bringing attention to Mr. Trumps dangerous rhetoric, Eugene Lemay, President of the Mana Group, said in a statement emailed to The Washington Post. We are doing what we can to communicate our values.

More than 1,200 miles away, the Miami statue was placed atop a billboard located in a vacant property and faces traffic on Interstate 95, according to NBC affiliate WTVJ.

Tony Albelo, who runs an event management team that oversees the former RC Cola factory property where the statue was erected, told the Miami New Times that he was shocked the see the statue appear overnight. I was driving in this morning, to my office right here by RC Cola, and I'm like, Holy cow, that wasn't there yesterday, he said. Somebody must have put it up at night.

We're not going to take it down, Albelo added. We're going to leave it there, not as a political statement, but as an art statement. Who are we to judge what graffiti is good or bad in Wynwood or what sculptures are good or bad? So it's going to stay up.

Miami police may feel differently, WTVJ reported. The station reported that police asked the property manager to remove the statue, but noted that the nude presidential hopeful is expected to be relocated closer to the iconic Wynwood Wall.

Unlike monuments of most political figures in cities across the globe, the Trump statues are far from flattering. Theyre oddly shaped, lack one key element of the male reproductive system and dramatically play down another.

The eyes scowl, the mouth pouts, and the veiny, almost reptilian skin looks like it was torn off a human-size frog and dipped in bronzer.

The job of conceptualizing and creating the statues fell to a man who goes by the name Ginger, a Las Vegas-based artist. Ginger told The Post last month that he has a long history of designing monsters for haunted houses and horror movies.

In addition to doing makeup for a Busta Rhymes video, Gingers resume includes another source of great pride for the artist: Hes a regular keynote speaker at haunted house conventions across the country. (We checked and, yeah, theyre a thing.)

When the guys approached me, it was all because of my monster-making abilities, he said, referring to INDECLINE members. Trump is just yet another monster, so it was absolutely in my wheelhouse to be able to create these monstrosities.

And thats not the only reason the sculptor considered himself the ideal candidate. Gingers mother gave birth to him via C-section and  before doctors had time to remove him from the womb  his hand popped out of the slit in his mothers abdomen, covered in maternal slime, he said, prompting a nurse to faint.

Before I was out of the womb, I was scaring people, he said.

The latest round of Trump statues won't be your last chance to get a glimpse of the nude Republican candidate. The INDECLINE spokesman said the group has been inundated by requests to create naked Trump action figures.

Those will be available on the website for $20 in the next few weeks, the spokesman said.
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The arrival of police officers from Poland after the killing of a Polish man in Harlow appears to have split the areas Polish community, with some saying they do not trust the police because of bad experiences with officers back in their home country.

Others say they have been reassured that two Polish officers have come to patrol the streets of Harlow after Arek Jozwik, 40, died after in the town on 27 August.

Police are treating the attack as possibly racially aggravated and the incident has contributed to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker condemning attacks on Polish people in the aftermath of Britain voting for Brexit in the EU referendum.

Mr Jozwicks death has also been linked by some commentators to the outpouring of so-called post-referendum racism that followed the June vote. Visiting Harlow last month, Arkady Rzegocki, Polands ambassador to the UK, spoke of much more racism occurring since the referendum.

Fears also intensified after two other Polish men were assaulted in Harlow town centre, just hours after attending a silent vigil for Mr Jozwick on 4 September.

The Polish police officers  Second Lieutenant Bartosz Czernicki and Chief Sergeant Dariusz Tybura, who will be working in and around Harlow with different communities for seven days  were patrolling with local officers on Thursday morning.

Asked if there had been any feedback from the Polish community, Chief Inspector Alan Ray, district commander for Harlow, said: Weve had mixed messages.

Some are saying to us, We don't trust police officers and thats from our experience from Poland. Others are saying, We welcome these Polish police officers in.

He added, however: The experiences weve had on the street with the Polish police officers have all been positive. Theyve been welcomed by the community.

A photo of Arek Jozwik amid floral tributes left near the spot where he was fatally injured (AFP)

Mr Ray explained: The Polish government made the offer to Essex Police to send Polish officers to Harlow to help with community engagement and we thought that was a good idea.

We welcomed them with open arms and theyre now policing the town, not using any powers as such but just on the community engagement side, to meet and greet the public and to reassure the community.

Mr Ray said the feedback had been fairly even in terms of positive and negative, adding: You'll get that if you ask questions to any community. Youll get positives and negatives. And our job now is to bridge those gaps and make sure the people of Harlow can talk to the police and report incidents to the police.

He said it is the polices role to build that trust with communities.

There is a fear of Polish police and there is a fear of English police, and that comes from all different communities. Some people will trust us, some people wont, he said.

The presence of the Polish officers is about reassurance in all communities, Mr Ray said, adding that over the last year only two per cent of victims in Harlow were Polish nationals.

Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell

One resident who chatted to a Polish officer and his British counterpart seemed happy. Paula Templeman, 36, said they were completely approachable and said the Polish officer seemed lovely.

Last week a Polish man was beaten by a group of up to 20 teenagers in a suspected racially aggravated assault in Leeds.

Theresa May called the Polish prime minister, Beata Szydlo, to express her deep regret and to stress hate crime has no place in UK society.

On Wednesday Mr Juncker used his annual state of the union address to declare: We Europeans can never accept Polish workers being beaten up, harassed or even murdered in the streets of Essex.

The organisers of an online page to raise money for Mr Jozwiks family have said the factory workers only crime was contributing to the British society, being a good citizen, but speaking another language.

When The Independent visited the town earlier this month, some immigrants admitted that they had thought of leaving Harlow in the wake of Mr Jozwicks death.

Others, however, insisted that Harlow was not a racist town and questioned whether the incident was more closely linked to anti-social behaviour by bored residents. One British-born resident complained of little scumbags looking for anyone to pick on.
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A man and a woman have been shot dead in north London, sparking a manhunt for a gunman who remains on the run.

Police were called to Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley shortly before 6.30am on Thursday and found the two victims inside a flat.

The unnamed man and woman were a 52-year-old mother, who had nine children, and her 21-year-old nephew, Sky News reported.

Residents were woken by at least three ambulances and five police cars arriving at the incident, with emergency services cordoning off the road.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said a man and a woman with gunshot wounds were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, adding: "Enquiries into the circumstances continue."

The Homicide and Major Crime Command have opened an investigation and no arrests have been made.

The London Ambulance Service said it was called at 6.22am and sent three ambulances, a paramedic and incident response officer, as well as the London Air Ambulance.

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. 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A spokesperson told The Independent she could not confirm whether the victims were alive when medics arrived.

Scotland Yard has recorded 1,958 gun crime incidents in London in the past year - a 2 per cent annual rise - including 79 in the borough of Barnet, which includes East Finchley.

Five murders were recorded in the borough during the same period, out of a London-wide total of 106.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Children of immigrants are more likely to get a university degree than those with British parents, according to a global education report.

Andreas Schleicher, from the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said this could be down to "greater levels of motivation" and a realisation that education would enable them to "move up the ladder".

The Education at a Glance 2016 report compares the performance and cost of education in several different countries, from early years to university.

The research found that, unlike most countries, third level education in England and Northern Ireland was more common among those with an immigrant background than among those without an immigrant background.

In England, 46% of 25 to 44-year-olds with native-born parents get third level education compared to 58% of those with foreign-born parents.

Similarly, in Northern Ireland 38% of 25 to 44-year-olds with native parents and 53% of those with foreign-born parents get third level education respectively.

On average, among OECD countries, roughly equivalent proportions of children get tertiary education, regardless of their parents' origin, with around two in five doing so.

Mr Schleicher said when someone had poorly educated parents they were less likely to be poorly educated if they were an immigrant than if they were British.

Asked about why he thought there was a difference between children of immigrants and children of native-born parents, he said there were immigrants who "put a great value on education in the UK".

He said the children of immigrants may say to themselves: "If I want to succeed in the UK, I better get my credentials right."

But he added: "What I can't answer is why this doesn't work for British. The same kind of factors should actually also work for people born in Britain."

In a briefing ahead of the report being published, Mr Schleicher said of the success of those with an immigrant background: "We don't know what the source of that is.

"It could be greater levels of motivation. They are coming into a country, see that education is their way to actually move up the ladder."

He pointed out that some people may think immigrants would be more likely to be at the "lower end of the performance spectrum", but said the UK did well "in terms of social mobility, in terms of giving immigrant children a great start".

Adults with immigrant backgrounds often face challenges in education due to barriers such as language differences or difficult financial situations, the report showed.
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The victims of a shooting in north London have been named as Anny Ekofo, a mother of nine, and her nephew Bervil Ekofo.

The pair were shot dead in Ms Ekofos home in Elmshurst Crescent, East Finchley, at around 6.25am on Thursday.

Five men burst into the flat and shot Ms Ekofo, 52, before shooting her 21-year-old nephew, relatives said.

Ms Ekofos husband and several of her children were also in the property at the time.

Mr Ekofos sister said her brother was shot while he was asleep in a case of mistaken identity.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, she said: He was in bed. Anny answered the door to the gang, they shot her and then shot Bervil while he was asleep on the couch. There had been someone staying at the house who was on the run from someone but had moved on.

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They were targeting him but got my brother instead. It was a case of mistaken identity. My brother was never in any trouble he was just staying at his aunties house. It was wrong place wrong time.

The shooting has sparked a man hunt for the gunman who remains on the run.

No arrests have yet been made.

Residents were woken by at least three ambulances and five police cars arriving at the incident, with emergency services cordoning off the road.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said a man and a woman with gunshot wounds were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, adding: Enquiries into the circumstances continue.

Scotland Yard has recorded 1,958 gun crime incidents in London in the past year - a 2 per cent annual rise - including 79 in the borough of Barnet, which includes East Finchley.

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

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
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Three out of four Britons oppose the Hinkley nuclear power project that has just been approved by the Government, according to a poll.

A quarter (25 per cent) of the 2,028 people surveyed in the Populus poll, conducted on 7-8 September, said they supported Hinkley, while nearly half (44 per cent) oppose the plans.

The findings indicate a continuous decline in support for the project, following a previous poll in April this year that showed support was at 33 per cent, down from 57 per cent in 2013.

It comes as Theresa May announced the Government had approved the project, but with new security conditions on the 18 billion deal.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said Hinkley was an important upgrade of our energy supplies and a major step forward for the UK's nuclear power programme, which he says could create 26,000 jobs.

But Ms May's decision prompted criticism, as it appeared likely the price promised to French-firm EDF for Hinkleys electricity had not been lowered under new terms.

There have been claims the price promised to EDF for Hinkleys electricity is too expensive, at 92.50 per MWh - more than double the wholesale price.

There are also concerns over environmental issues.

Green leader Caroline Lucas claimed that instead of investing in the "eye-wateringly expensive white-elephant, the Government should be doing all it can to support offshore wind, energy efficiency and innovative new technologies, such as energy storage.

A poll commissioned by Greenpeace in October 2015 revealed nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of people thought the Government should prioritise an energy system based around renewable energy.

Meanwhile, 16 per cent said the Government should prioritise nuclear and five per cent wanted gas-fired power stations prioritised.

More than 230,000 people have signed a Greenpeace petition calling on Ms May to drop the Hinkley Point investment and invest in renewable power instead.

The petition, addressed to Ms May and Chancellor Philip Hammond, was due to be handed in to Parliament on Thursday

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

John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace, said: Support for Hinkley is at rock bottom. The public knows what the government has yet to learn - investment in renewables should be prioritised over nuclear power.

Advances in renewable energy like offshore wind, alongside battery storage, energy efficiency innovations and wires that carry electricity under the sea connecting us to other countries, are the future for keeping the lights on.

"It is time the Government embraced these developments, rather than lock us into a contract that will leave future generations with more hazardous nuclear waste, higher bills and dependent on French and Chinese state owned companies for our power.

There are also concerns about Chinese involvement in British nuclear power.

Nick Timothy, a senior adviser to Mrs May, previously warned that China could use their role to build weaknesses into computer systems which will allow them to shut down Britains energy production at will.
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The UK's homelessness crisis is well documented.

According to a wide-ranging inquiry by MPs that published its findings last month, the number of rough sleepers in England rose by 30 per cent between 2014 and 2015  and the Government's welfare reforms were blamed for driving this spike.

An expanded private rented sector is often cited as another root cause - but some experts have pointed to a new model in Finland that has seemingly reaped rewards and help make the Scandanavian country the only one in the EU to have seen a decline in homelessness in recent years.

Juha Kaakinen is chief executive of the Y-Foundation, a group which offers rental accommodation to people who are having difficulties in finding a home for themselves. He says the "housing first" model could have a significant impact on the UK as well.

The model aims to reduce long-term homelessness by giving people a stable place to stay, he tells The Independent. It also provides on-site personnel to help tackle risk factors such as joblessness or addiction.

 Barber cuts hair of homeless

"The main thing is you have housing options and then support if it is needed," Mr Kaakinen believes.

The Y-Foundation lays out his theory on its website: "Each of us has the right to our own home and privacy.

"We help by offering affordable rental accommodation and by encouraging public discussion on themes related to homelessness.

"The Y-Foundation wishes that decision-makers would gain more understanding of how homelessness can be reduced and why its imperative to do so."

The Y-Foundation builds and renovates buildings across Finland to provide social housing.

The 10 happiest countries in Europe Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 happiest countries in Europe The 10 happiest countries in Europe Denmark Coulourful houses and boats seen in the Nyhavn district in Copenhagen The 10 happiest countries in Europe Switzerland The 10 happiest countries in Europe Iceland Iceland, Northern Lights The 10 happiest countries in Europe Norway Wheel deal: cycling in Norway Visit Norway The 10 happiest countries in Europe Finland Getty The 10 happiest countries in Europe The Netherlands The 10 happiest countries in Europe Sweden AFP The 10 happiest countries in Europe Austria Sean Gallup/Getty Images The 10 happiest countries in Europe Germany Getty Images The 10 happiest countries in Europe Belgium The city hall on Brussels' Grand Place is illuminated during a light show, December 30, 2015 Reuters

Mr Kaakinen says it is a more cost-effective method to reduce homelessness than temporary solutions such as shelters or hostels, and can save at least 15,000 (12,740) per person each year.

By the end of 2015, fewer than 7,000 people were homeless in Finland and the number continues to decrease as a result of supported housing blocks.

By contrast, a recent report by the Communities and Local Government Committee on homelessness said it was "cautious about investing further in housing first in England because of the severity of Englands homelessness challenge and the scarcity of funding and of social housing".

In response, Mr Kaakinen said: "I don't think in any Western countries there is a lack of resources for social housing. It's a political question if you are going to put money on social housing, because it is the main stock that makes it possible to get out of homelessness."

"Social housing is also a very good preventative measure," he added.
Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report 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

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Four women were removed from a flight to Ibiza after allegedly hurling "racist" abuse and "making rude comments" towards other passengers.

The women, who are thought to be in their early twenties, had to be ordered off the Monarch flight ZB504 at Manchester Airport by police after the captain and passengers called 999.

Amber Elouise Ferguson, a passenger who was sitting in front of the women on the plane, published a Facebook post describing the women as "racist" and "rude".

Miss Ferguson accompanied the post - which was shared more than 1,100 times - with a photograph of the women and asked whether anyone knew their identities.

She wrote: "Anyone know these three girls? Just delayed our plane to Ibiza, they've been racist, making rude comments and threatening people.

"If you know them or are related to them you should be ashamed to know such disgusting human beings."

She added that the women were under the influence of alcohol, although police have denied there was alcohol involved in the incident.

Miss Ferguson, from Old Trafford, later wrote a second Facebook post from Ibiza saying she had found the identity of the women.

She wrote: Too many people think they can be racist and get away with it, I think not.

She has reportedly since received a message on Facebook to say the same women behaved badly on a flight to Amsterdam in February.

Greater Manchester Police told The Independent: Shortly before 7.10pm on Tuesday 13 September 2016, police were called to Manchester Airport for assistance.

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

Four women were removed from a plane. No further action was required.

A spokesperson from Monarch said: "Four passengers on board Monarch flight ZB504 from Manchester to Ibiza on 13 September 2016 were offloaded prior to take-off due to disruptive behaviour.

"Monarch takes a zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour on board all of our flights. The safety and security of our passengers, crew and aircraft is our absolute priority."
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The number of people using their mobile phone while driving is on the increase, new research has found.

One in five people has admitted using their phones over the past twelve months, according to a survey of 1,714 British drivers.

In addition, the percentage of people who believe it is "acceptable" to take a quick call on their mobiles while driving has doubled from 7 per cent in 2014 to 14 per cent in 2016.

The survey found 14 per cent of British drivers have admitted to taking photos or videos while driving and 22 per cent admitting to taking photos or videos while in stationary traffic.

RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: There is clear evidence that the illegal use of handheld phones by drivers to talk, text, tweet, post, browse and even video call is, if anything, on the increase.

"It is alarming to see that some drivers have clearly relaxed their attitudes to the risks associated with this behaviour but more worryingly is the increase in the percentage of motorists who actually admit to using a handheld device when driving.

"The fact that drivers have little or no confidence that they will be caught when breaking these laws is a likely contributor to the problem and it is sadly the case that every day most road users see other drivers brazenly using their handheld phones when in control of a vehicle  a sight which should be a thing of the past."

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has promised to take "tough action" against the "unacceptable practice" of using mobile phones while driving cars.

Mr Grayling told MPs: "I am very clear that this is an unacceptable practice.

"It's one in which we intend to unveil shortly tough action on it."

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

The Transport department is due to publish the results of a consultation which set out plans for tougher punishments for illegal mobile use by drivers.

The minimum fine for non-HGV drivers is expected to rise from 100 to 150 while penalty points are set to increase from three to four.

Labour MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw has suggested such an increase in the fine would be "a totally inadequate response to this deadly menace on our roads".
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Britain was already isolated and lacking friends in Europe before it decided to leave the EU, the former president of the European Council has said.

Herman Van Rompuy, who led the EUs collective leadership from 2009 to 2014, said Britain had drifted to the periphery of European affairs because of its multitude of opt-outs on major issues.

Britain had already not many friends any more. I saw this clearly when I was in office when we had to vote on the candidacy of Jean-Claude Juncker for the Commission. Britain was isolated, the former council president told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

Still, we consider the Brexit as a political amputation of the first degree. Europe was a model of cooperation and integration for many countries, of how you can achieve peace and stability. That image of a strong Europe is tarnished a lot after Brexit.

The former president went on predict that negotiations on Brexit were unlikely to start in earnest until the end of 2017, when the German and French elections would be out of the way.

He warned that the EUs negotiators would fight to preserve the interests of the blocs remaining 27 countries, who wanted to make sure other countries did not leave the union.

Of course there is a reputation of some of them being anti-Britain and very, very tough. Of course they have to defend the EU-27 interests and principles, but they are pragmatic. Any negotiation will be a difficult negotiation, independent of the personalities, he said.

Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell

There is not a feeling of we have to punish, but on the other hand most leaders dont want to encourage other exits. There is a difference between punishing and not encouraging.

His comments come as the leaders of the EUs countries gather in Bratislava, the Slovakian capital, to discuss the future of the bloc following the Brexit vote.

Britain voted by 52 per cent to 48 per cent in favour of leaving the European Union in a referendum held on 23 June.

Correction: This article previously misidentified Herman Van Rompuy as the Commission rather than Council president
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Jeremy Corbyn has indicated a Norway-style model would be the best option for Britain when it leaves the EU.

Following a speech at the headquarters of financial data company Bloomberg, Mr Corbyn said in an interview with Bloomberg TV: "We're looking very closely at the Norwegian model. Not using their model, it's learning the lessons from Norway."

Mr Corbyn said the Labour Party will be pressing for full access to the European single market for goods and services but with some conditions.

We should not be falling back on a World Trade Organisation-only trade deal with Europe as that would potentially risk damage to the public finances and significant job losses, he said.

But there are directives and obligations linked to the single market  such as state aid rules and requirements to liberalise and privatize public services  which we would not want to see as part of a post-Brexit relationship.

Mr Corbyn said that shadow Brexit secretary Emily Thornberry will travel to Oslo next Thursday to see how the country, which is in the European Economic Area and has access to the single market but is not an EU member, operates.

Norway has full access to the free trade zone but must pay into the EU budget, accept its laws and accept the free movement of the bloc's citizens.

Theresa May has indicated that the referendum result means that controls will be placed on EU migration. The EUs negotiators have said access to the single market without free movement of people is impossible.
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The Government has announced an unexpected cut to funding for disability supported housing and homeless accommodation  arguing that the services need to make efficiency savings.

The supported accommodation services and others like them are mostly funded by housing benefit payments, administered through the welfare system.

Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green confirmed on Thursday that the DWP would cut the rent that supported housing providers  mostly charities  can claim back from the benefits system.

The changes, which will see an annual, rolling 1 per cent reduction in the rent payments for three years, will cost providers millions, with budgets already under pressure from years of sharp cuts to local councils.

Recommended Read more Former DWP minister suspended for leaking report to Wonga

Though some specialist providers, such as womens refuges, are exempt, other charities have said the changes threaten the future viability of their services for vulnerable people.

The Governments proposals will compromise the right for people with a learning disability to live independently, and must be reconsidered urgently, Dan Scorer, head of policy at the learning disabilities charity Mencap, warned after the announcement.

Meanwhile Howard Sinclair, the chief executive of the homelessness charity St Mungos, said the cut would leave the homeless charity with 3 million a year less to spend on services.

The rent reduction will threaten the financial viability of some of our hostels and other supported housing schemes and offers no direct benefit to vulnerable tenants who mostly rely on housing benefit to cover their housing costs, he said.

Separately, the Government has suspended a plan for another cut, which would have capped such housing benefit payments at the same rate as is paid out for council housing  despite the higher costs involved in supported accommodation.

Though the cap will still come in the year 2019/20, the Government says it will give local councils extra money to give to the charities to make up any extra costs. This money will be ring fenced, the DWP said.

That change has received a mixed response from providers, with some saying it will be unlikely to cover costs and lead to a postcode lottery, and others welcoming the change.

Decisions on this cut have been deferred for nearly a year since they were initially announced by the former chancellor George Osborne in the 2015 Autumn Statement  with Mencaps figures suggesting 80 per cent of housing projects having been put on hold since the initial announcement.

Mr Scorer of Mencap said the funding settlement would charities providing supported housing put under huge strain.

Whilst we welcome the further exemption of supported housing from the LHA cap until 2019/20, it was widely expected the Government would today secure a sustainable future for the sector. Instead the proposal risks adding to a growing housing crisis for people with a learning disability who need the safety and security that supported housing offers, he continued.

The system is currently under huge strain, with local authorities struggling to add the minimum of 1,000 new supported housing units required every year for people with a learning disability to keep up with demand.

Its unclear how this proposal of funding for supported housing via a localised pot will be able to keep up with this demand, and we fear it will create a postcode lottery causing anxiety and uncertainty for those desperately in need of the safety and security supported housing offers. It will further undermine the right of people with a learning disability to have their reasonable housing needs met.

We are also deeply concerned to learn that the 1 per cent rent reduction will now apply to supported housing going forward. This is adding an unexpected and additional strain on a sector struggling to provide much needed housing for people with a learning disability.

The viability of some homeless hostel projects is expected to be threatened (Getty)

The DWP says it is "confirming" the 1 per cent cuts will apply to supported housing "as planned".

St Mungos Mr Sinclair continued: We have been exceptionally worried about the future of supported housing services since the government announced plans last year to reduce rents and cap housing benefit for tenants.

It is good news the government has listened carefully and will not impose the LHA cap on supported housing tenants before the new funding regime is introduced. This takes a lot of the pressure off providers and helps to ensure vulnerable tenants continue to receive enough housing benefit to cover the costs of their specialist accommodation.

However, the Governments decision to push ahead with a reduction in rents for three years from April 2017 remains a serious concern. When we take into account the rental income we had anticipated over the three year period, this measure will cost St Mungos over 3 million.

We urge ministers to honour their commitments to ensure the sustainability of supported housing provision and protect services for vulnerable individuals by taking the rent reduction off the table. There should be no rent cuts imposed for supported housing services in the run up to the new funding regime.

Tim Cooper, the chief executive of the disability charity United Response, said the plans were "deeply worrying" and warned of a lack of detail about how the local top-up system would work.

Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green said the charities had to make efficiency savings.

7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Show all 7 1 /7 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Closing Remploy factories The Work and Pensions Secretary called time on Britains system of Remploy factories, which provided subsidised and sheltered employment to disabled people. People employed at the factories protested against their closure and said they provided gainful work. Is it a kindness to stick people in some factory where they are not doing any work at all? Just making cups of coffee? Mr Duncan Smith said at the time, defending the decision. I promise you this is better. The Remploy organisation was privatised and sold to American workfare provider Maximus, with the majority of the organisations factories closed. The future of the remaining sites is unclear 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Scrapping the Independent Living Fund The 320m Independent Living Fund was established in 1988 to give financial support to people with disabilities. It was scrapped on July 1 2015, with 18,000 often severely disabled people losing out by an average of 300 a week. The money was generally used to help pay for carers so people could live in communities rather than institutions. Councils will get a boost in funding to compensate but it will not cover the whole cost of the fund. This new cash also doesnt have to be spent on the disabled 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Cut payments for the disabled Access To Work scheme Iain Duncan Smith is bringing forward a policy that will reduce payments to some disabled people from a scheme designed to help them into work. The 108m scheme, which helps 35,540 people, will be capped on a per-used basis, potentially hitting those with the more serious disabilities who currently receive the most help. The single biggest users of the fund are people who have difficulty seeing and hearing. The cut will come in from October 2015. The charity Disability UK says the scheme actually makes the Government money because the people who gain access to work tend pay tax that more than covers its cost. The DWP does not describe the reduction as a cut and says it will be able to spread the money more thinly and cover more people 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Cut Employment and Support Allowance The latest Budget included a 30 a week cut in disability benefits for some new claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). The Government says it is equalising the rate of disability benefits with Jobseekers Allowance because giving disabled people more help is a perverse incentive. The people affected by this cut are those assessed as having a limited capability for work but as being capable of some work-related activity. A group of prominent Catholics wrote to Mr Duncan Smith to say there was no justification for this cut. Mental health charity Mind, said the cut was insulting and misguided 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Risk homelessness with a sharp increase disability benefit sanctions Official figures in the first quarter of 2014 found a huge increase in sanctions against people reliant on ESA sickness benefit. The 15,955 sanctions were handed out in that period compared to 3,574 in the same period the year before, 2013  a 4.5 times increase. The homelessness charity Crisis warned at the time that the sharp rise in temporary benefit cuts was cruel and can leave people utterly destitute  without money even for food and at severe risk of homelessness. It is difficult to see how they are meant to help people prepare for work, Matt Downie, director of policy at the charity added 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people Sending sick people to work because of broken fitness to work tests In 2012 a government advisor appointed to review the Governments Work Capability Assessment said the tests causing suffering by sending sick people back to work inappropriately. There are certainly areas where it's still not working and I am sorry there are people going through a system which I think still needs improvement, Professor Malcolm Harrington concluded. The tests are said to have improved since then, but as recently as this summer they are still coming in for criticism. In June the British Psychological Society said there was now significant body of evidence that the WCA is failing to assess peoples fitness for work accurately and appropriately. It called for a full overhaul of the way the tests are carried out. The WCA appeals system has also been fraught with controversy with a very high rate of overturns and delays lasting months and blamed for hardship 7 ways the Tories have helped disabled people The bedroom tax The Governments benefit cut for people who it says are under-occupying their homes disproportionately affects disabled people. Statistics released last year show that around two-thirds of those affected by the under-occupancy penalty, widely known as the bedroom tax, are disabled. There have been a number of high profile cases of disabled people being moved out of specially adapted homes by the policy. In one case publicised by the Sunday People last week, a 48 year old man with cerebral palsy was forced to bathe in a paddling pool after the tax moved him out of his home with a walk-in shower. The Government says it has provided councils with a discretionary fund to help reduce the policys impact on disabled people, but cases continue to arise

It is important that providers can continue to provide high-quality and cost-effective supported housing to meet the needs of their tenants. However, it is also important that supported housing should make efficiency savings in the same way as the rest of the social sector, he said in a written ministerial statement.

The effect of the settlement will vary across the supported housing sector. The charity Refuge, which runs womens refuges, said it was pleased that refuges had been exempted from the rises.

Refuge is delighted to learn that the Government will exempt refuges from new Local Housing Allowance rates and the 1 per cent reduction in rent charges, Sandra Horley CBE, the charitys chief executive said.

Both of these developments will help to safeguard the future of specialist refuges. We welcome the Prime Ministers continued leadership on violence against women and girls and are delighted that her new Government is prioritising the needs of women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Denise Hatton, chief executive of YMCA England, said in a statement released by the DWP that the YMCA welcomed the new plans.

Supported housing projects have been stalled while the decision took place (Rex)

We will be looking to work further with Government on any new arrangement to ensure the money ultimately ends up supporting young people to have a safe and secure place to live, she said.

Debbie Abrahams, Labours shadow work and pensions secretary said the cuts were cowardly and that the decision has left tens of thousands of the most vulnerable people in limbo.

The DWP secretary Mr Green added that the new model of funding supported housing would build a Britain that works for everyone.

We know the valuable role that these organisations play in communities across Britain. Womens refuges or housing for young people with learning disabilities are important parts of the support system for vulnerable people, he said.

As we build a Britain that works for everyone, not just the privileged few, our new funding model will help those people who need it the most.
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Britains failure to protect girls from female genital mutilation (FGM) has been described as a national scandal by a committee of MPs, who said it was beyond belief that, 30 years since it became illegal, not a single person has been convicted of the crime. They described it as a hidden crime and preventable child abuse.

The committee warned: FGM is not a religious or cultural rite of passage that deserves protection. When it is inflicted on a woman, it is a horrific crime. When it is inflicted on a girl, it is violent child abuse. It involves young girls genitalia being cut with scissors, a razor, a knife or even glass, usually with no anaesthetic or antiseptic.

Everyone involved in protecting children needs to be aware of, and prevent, this specific form of abuse.

The MPs criticised a lack of reliable and in-depth data on the issue, warning it is difficult to fully ascertain the extent and prevalence of the abuse without solid statistics. They said stronger sanctions need to be introduced to ensure teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals alert authorities where they come across evidence of FGM, under mandatory reporting laws which came in to force in 2015.

Other recommendations made by the committee include that Government departments should link up more to form a cohesive and united approach to addressing the issue, and that the FGM Unit should form better links with border-force operations and police to intercept families when they try and take a girl out of the country to cut her abroad.

FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Show all 12 1 /12 FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to a place where they will take off their clothes and wash during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls, draped in animal skins, sit on rocks during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS

The committee review was instigated after a petition campaign was launched calling on the Government to do more to address FGM. Leyla Hussein, an anti-FGM campaigner who launched the petition, told The Independent that while she welcomed the committees commitment to stopping FGM, more still needed to be done.

She said: Im glad theyve called it a national scandal, because it is. Training and awareness for people such as teachers and healthcare professionals is key. You cant ask people to prevent FGM if they dont know what it is.

She said that rather than specific FGM legislation the issue would be better tackled within existing assault or child abuse laws: Its not a cultural practice, its child abuse. We need to stop treating it like a new thing, or an exotic other  its not. Until that changes, well still be having these conversations in another 30 years.

She added that a centralised approach was needed instead of small, local level charities trying to address the issue: The Government needs to step it up and stop leaving it to small organisations. The Home Office is in a position to act. Its child abuse and wed not leave any other kind of child abuse to be tackled by small organisations.

Naana Otoo-Oyortey, executive director of Forward, a charity supporting and safeguarding African women and girls in the UK, told The Independent: FGM is a major human rights violation that requires a holistic and sustained evidence-based response. While legal measures are very important, and professionals need to be trained on their responsibilities and duties, there is urgent action for community-based prevention action and a national action plan that we can hold the Government accountable to deliver.

Tim Loughton, acting chair of the Home Affairs Committee, said: FGM can leave women and girls with significant lifelong health and psychological consequences. We intend to continue to draw attention to this horrific crime to improve the safeguarding of at-risk girls.

We are dismayed that there have been no convictions for FGM-related offences. When we next review FGM, the new laws against the practice will have bedded in and we expect to see a number of successful prosecutions.

We welcome many of the steps that the Government has taken to prevent FGM and our report calls for that work to be enhanced and strengthened with adequate resources and support for front-line professionals and other groups that work directly with practicing communities.

FGM is typically carried out on girls aged between five and eight. It involves total or partial removal of or injury to female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is often performed without anaesthetic or by someone without medical qualifications.

It is sometimes practised as it is believed to reduce a womans libido, thereby increasing her suitability for marriage and she is perceived as more faithful.

It is particularly common in countries in Africa and the Middle East, including Somalia, Guinea, Egypt, Sierra Leone and Sudan, and is practised in the UK by some communities from these backgrounds. Due to its covert nature, it is unknown how many women and girls have undergone the procedure in the UK. Experts estimate that more than 100 million people around the world are living with the effects of FGM.
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Theresa May is gambling the countrys future energy supply on the 18bn Hinkley nuclear power project despite claims it runs off unproven technology and the cost of its electricity is a lousy deal.

The Prime Minister ended weeks of speculation by approving the controversial project, but was immediately challenged over why ministers have not secured a better price for Hinkleys power than one set to cost British tax-payers 30bn.

Campaigners, green businesses and politicians from both opposition and Tory benches attacked the move, with some casting doubt over whether the scheme will ever happen given the unanswered questions surrounding it.

Proposals to build the EDF-led Hinkley Point C power station have been dogged by concerns over cost, design and national security, given the involvement of the Chinese state.

But in the Commons, Business Secretary Greg Clark gave the green light for the French firm to build two new reactors at the Somerset site, part funded with 6bn from Beijing, in what he called a rebooting of the UK nuclear industry.

The move immediately led to a state-owned Chinese firm announcing it would begin a push to build two further UK power stations.

Mr Clark said: The investment will secure 7 per cent of the UKs electricity needs for 60 years, helping to replace existing nuclear capacity that is due to be decommissioned in the decade ahead.

The electricity generated will be reliable and low carbon, and therefore completely compatible with our climate change obligations.

 Hinkley Point nuclear power station will go ahead

Hinkley Point C will inaugurate a new era of UK nuclear power, with UK-based businesses benefiting from almost two thirds of the 18bn value of the project, and 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships will be created.

His positive pitch was backed by the GMB union which represents nuclear workers and others, including MPs whose home seats could benefit financially.

But even before Mr Clark stood up in the Commons to deliver it, other experts from around the UK were sounding alarm bells.

They highlighted how at Flamanville in France, where a reactor of the same design is being built, costs have more than tripled and construction is six years behind. Problems have also dogged a similar project in Finland.

Most criticised, uniting detractors from the right and left of politics, was the price promised to EDF for Hinkleys electricity at 92.50 per MWh, more than double the current wholesale price.

Former Chancellor and ex-Energy Secretary Lord Lawson said every independent energy expert thought it a thoroughly lousy deal. He said EDF only had two similar reactors under construction in France and Finland - both of which were hopelessly behind schedule and in deep, deep trouble.

He called for an assurance that if Hinkley appeared to be getting behind schedule the Government would have no hesitation in ending this contract whatever penalties because it is a lousy contract and the sooner it is ended the better.

Ms May had paused the deal when she arrived in Downing Street with many expecting her to alter financial terms of the contract on the table when David Cameron left office.

Under the terms of the subsidy scheme now struck, British consumers must compensate EDF for lower wholesale electricity prices. It is a deal that has looked increasingly bad as energy values have plummeted due to a fall in the cost of fossil fuels.

Earlier this year the National Audit Office said Hinkley could cost energy consumers 30bn in such top-up payments.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said the Governments review was a lot of hot air.

He added: Even if EDF manages to get the technology to work, the UK will pay the price by saddling themselves until 2060 with an out of date, flawed and expensive technology.

A group opposed to the project, alongside Greenpeace, delivered a 300,000-name petition to Downing Street calling for it to be scrapped.

Michael Grubb, an energy and climate change professor at University College London, said the contract would commit UK consumers to pay tens of billions of pounds, adding: For this amount, we could now get about twice as much electricity even from the more expensive renewables like offshore wind energy.

In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-2.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-1.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-6.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-3.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-4.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-5.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Hunterston B nuclear power station will operate until 2023 power-st-7.jpg Getty Images

Former Chancellor George Osborne had indicated that Chinese support for Hinkley, could lead to the countrys government building other reactors in the UK.

The idea had displeased one of Ms Mays top advisors, Nick Timothy, who previously warned about Chinese involvement in infrastructure linked to national security.

Tory former minister John Redwood MP also indicated following the announcement that he thought, future power stations would be much better financed by private sector British investors or even, on occasion, by Treasury investment rather than foreign investors who will now be able to take enormous sums of money out of our country.

But following the announcement the state-owned Chinese firm helping to build Hinkley announced it was now able to move forward and deliver nuclear capacity at sites including Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk.

To allay concerns Mr Clark did announce new rules around future foreign investment that will see the Government take a special share in all new nuclear projects in a bid to control who owns the sites.

It will also examine the national security implications of foreign direct investment in any future project before it signs off a deal.

Mr Clark told MPs: These changes mean that while the UK will remain one of the most open economies in the world, the public can be confident that foreign direct investment works always in the countrys best interests.

But shadow Energy Secretary Barry Gardiner cast doubt on whether the new rules added powers to those already in place.

He said the deal was face-saving, adding: They have failed to get a better deal for bill-payers, theyve caused a crisis in investor confidence in the UK, theyve risked offending one of our key future trading partners, and in the end all they have done is to pretend to give themselves powers which they already had.

The GMB said it was delighted about the announcement, particularly focussing on the job and apprenticeship opportunities. But it too cautioned against handing vital UK infrastructure lock, stock and barrel to China.

Business groups the CBI and the BCC both welcomed the move and called for the Government to press ahead with big infrastructure decisions.

A Downing Street spokesman said Ms May spoke by phone with French president Francois Hollande before the announcement, while Mr Clark spoke with his counterparts in France and China.

He said: We are proceeding on the basis of robust new safeguards that will enhance security at Hinkley.

We are satisfied it is a good deal. It is worth pointing out that there will be no addition to anyones bills until Hinkley is constructed and up and running.
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Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of launching a purge of his Labour enemies after his campaign published a hit list of the 13 MPs most critical of his premiership.

It includes current deputy leader Tom Watson who described Momentum as a rabble, and also highlights Jess Phillips who is accused of swearing at Mr Corbyns ally Diane Abbott.

The list also contains Tristram Hunt, Stephen Kinnock, Ian Austin, Neil Coyle, Ben Bradshaw, Frank Field, Anna Turley, Karl Turner, Jamie Reed, and Tom Blenkinsop.

It was apparently issued by a junior member of the team and was not intended for official use.

Mr Smith seized on the news during Skys Labour leadership debate claiming Mr Corbyn is not serious about uniting the party.

He described the move to release the list and not being unifying and said it was deeply divisive.

I agree we need to come back together but I find that hard to reconcile with something your campaign did just this evening, Mr Smith said to Mr Corbyn.

Accusations were made that Mr Corbyn released the list as an attempt to ensure the deselection of MPs who oppose him  a claim that was denied.

The Labour leader stressed the need for the party to come together after the leadership election and said unity was of huge importance.

The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Show all 11 1 /11 The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He called Hezbollah and Hamas friends True. In a speech made to the Stop the War Coalition in 2009, Mr Corbyn called representatives from both groups friends after inviting them to Parliament. He later told Channel 4 he wanted both groups, who have factions designated as international terror organisations, to be part of the debate for the Middle East peace process. I use (the word friends) in a collective way, saying our friends are prepared to talk, he added. Does it mean I agree with Hamas and what it does? No. Does it mean I agree with Hezbollah and what they do? No. Reuters The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was a tragedy Partly false. David Cameron used this as a line of attack at the Conservative Party conference but appears to have left out all context from Mr Corbyns original remarks. In an 2011 interview on Iranian television, the then-backbencher said the fact the al-Qaeda leader was not put on trial was the tragedy, continuing: The World Trade Center was a tragedy, the attack on Afghanistan was a tragedy, the war in Iraq was a tragedy. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is haunted by the legacy of his evil great-great-grandfather False. A Daily Express expose revealed that the Labour leaders ancestor, James Sargent, was the despotic master of a Victorian workhouse. Addressing the report at the Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said he had never heard of him before, adding: I want to take this opportunity to apologise for not doing the decent thing and going back in time and having a chat with him about his appalling behaviour. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn raised a motion about pigeon bombs in Parliament This one is true. On 21 May 2004, Mr Corbyn raised an early day motion entitled pigeon bombs, proposing that the House register being appalled but barely surprised that MI5 reportedly proposed to load pigeons with explosives as a weapon. The motion continued: The House believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again. It was not carried. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He rides a Communist bicycle False. A report in The Times referred to Mr Corbyn, known for his cycling, riding a Chairman Mao-style bicycle earlier this year. Less thorough journalists might have referred to it as just a bicycle, but no, so we have to conclude that whenever we see somebody on a bicycle from now on, there goes another supporter of Chairman Mao, he later joked. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn 'Jeremy Corbyn will appoint a special minister for Jews' False so far. The Sun report in December was allegedly based on a rumour passed to the paper by a Daily Express columnist who has written pieces critical of the Labour leader in the past. The minister did not materialise in his shadow cabinet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn wishes Britain would abolish its Army False. Another gem from The Sun took comments made at a Hiroshima remembrance parade in August 2012 where Mr Corbyn supported Costa Ricas move to abolish it armed forces. Wouldnt it be wonderful if every politician around the worldabolished the army and took pride in the fact that they dont have an army, he added. The caveat that every politician must take the step suggests Mr Corbyn does not support UK disarmament just yet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn stole sandwiches meant for veterans False. The Guido Fawkes blog claimed that the Labour leader took sandwiches meant for veterans at at Battle of Britain memorial service in September but a photo later emerged showing him being handed one by Costa volunteers, who later confirmed they were given to all guests. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He missed the induction into the Queens privy council True. After much speculation about Mr Corbyns republican views and willingness to bow to the monarch, his office confirmed that he did not attend the official induction to the privy council because of a prior engagement, but did not rule out joining the body. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn refuses to sing the national anthem. Partly true. The Labour leader was filmed standing in silence as God Save the Queen was sung at a Battle of Britain remembrance service but will reportedly sing it in future. Mr Corbyn was elusive on the issue in an interview, saying he would show memorials respect in the proper way, but sources said he would sing the anthem at future occasions. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cheese True. The group lists its purpose as the following: To increase awareness of issues surrounding the dairy industry and focus on economic issues affecting the dairy industry and producers.

Our party was created by brave people in order to bring about a fairer and a much more just society and weve made some great achievements, he said during the debate, adding I regret that some colleagues including Owen resigned from the shadow Cabinet... Once this leadership contest is over lets come together and campaign on all those issues.

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: Owen Smith's campaign has become increasingly negative, focusing on attacking Jeremy Corbyn rather than presenting a positive vision for the party and country.

For the sake of party unity, Owen must explicitly condemn those who have threatened to split the party and tear it apart, as well as condemn the abuse instigated by his high-profile supporters. He must also make concrete commitments to doing his bit to foster party unity.

Jeremy Corbyn has consistently spoken about his desire to unite Labour in order to take on the Tories, and committed to continuing to appoint broad-based shadow cabinets should he be re-elected as leader.

The results of the Labour leadership election will be announced on 24 September.
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Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said he was absolutely furious at the leaking of a list of MPs who had been abusive towards Jeremy Corbyn, which he described as a setback after Mr Corbyns perceived success at Prime Ministers Question Time.

Labour MP Neil Coyle has threatened to sue Mr Corbyn for defamation for being named on the list, which Mr McDonnell described as a factual report.

Mr McDonnell said: That release came from the campaign, it didnt come from Jeremy. Weve apologised. It was inappropriate.

"It was one of our researchers, who saw a bit of incoming flak and then did a list of all the statements that had been made by other MPs, some of which were not particularly kind lets put it that way.

It was a briefing note that shouldnt have gone out, and we apologise for that. It certainly wasnt a list to attack anyone, it was a factual report."

Neil Coyle has said the accusation he was guilty of abuse was defamation.

Ive let the chief whip, the party general secretary and the party chair know Im upset. I let the leader know yesterday I was upset and wanted to know what I was being accused of, he told the BBC this morning.

If I receive a written apology from the leader and if this statement, this ridiculous, petty, student politics list is retracted, that would help.

But I will still be talking to a lawyer tomorrow. This is defamation. Ive been accused of abuse. That is completely unacceptable and its so unprofessional.

 Grammar schools dominate PMQs

Both Mr McDonnell and Mr Corbyn were appearing the Bloomberg Headquarters in London, where the Labour leader was giving a speech on Labours economic policy.

I, as you know, never abuse anybody, tempting as it sometimes is, Mr Corbyn said. I dont respond to unkind remarks that are thrown in my direction, because I believe that politics is far too important for that. We have to be relentlessly positive. Positive in putting forward an alternative.

My whole message is going to be the Labour Party comes together to oppose austerity, comes together to build houses, comes together to invest in industry, comes together to sustain the economy, and with our half million members, develops into that incredible campaigning force in every town and village across the country so that we carry that message across of decency and opportunity in society.

 Jeremy Corbyn: One year as Labour leader

When the issue was raised on last nights Labour leadership hustings on Sky News, Owen Smith said: That isnt unifying, that is deeply divisive and frankly, its where you began the contest by talking about de-selection.

Labours leadership contest concludes next week.
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The European Council's first President Herman Van Rompuy has predicted there will be no "substantive" Brexit talks for 12 months.

He reasoned such discussions will wait until Germany's new government is formed after elections in September 2017.

The former Belgian Prime Minister denied European leaders are looking to "punish" the UK for its decision to leave, but stressed negotiations will be difficult "independent of personalities".

He explained there are "huge economic interests" at stake but told the BBC: "There are also red lines. It is very well known that freedom of movement [of EU nationals] is a red line."

Mr Van Rompuy bluntly described the UK's referendum as "a historical mistake".

He said: "One of the rare examples where a country decides to vote against their own interests.

"For me, it was proof that referendums always gives the wrong answers to the question never posed."

Adding: "Of course it was not only about Europe, it was also about people feeling uncertain, people feeling anxious looking at the impact of globalisation."

 EU President Van Rompuy says "We told Cameron referendum was a mistake"

The senior EU official said Mr Cameron was warned against the referendum in 2013 when he announced his intention to go through with it.

"We all told him [David Cameron] that this kind of referendum was a mistake", Mr Van Rompuy said.

Once the UK decides to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, there is a set two year period for Britian to conduct negotiations before leaving the EU entirely.

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

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will not trigger Article 50 before the end of 2016, saying: "What is important is that we do this in the right timescale and we do it to get the right deal for the UK."

However, she is coming under pressure from senior Conservatives and Leave campaigners to begin Brexit negotiations as soon as possible

Former cabinet member and prominent Leave campaigner, Iain Duncan Smith MP said: "We shouldnt wait to see the outcome of the two elections in Germany and France, that suggestion is yet another attempt to turn this referendum result into a neverendum."
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A parliamentary super-committee has been left paralysed and split today after MPs were unable to agree what to do about the sale of British weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

In a bizarre twist of parliamentary protocol, three competing cross-party factions on Committee on Arms Export Control (CAEC) are putting out two separate reports recommending different conflicting courses of action.

CAEC was due to put out a report recommending a way forward on the arms sales, which Britain makes billions of pounds from despite accusations that they are being used to commit alleged war crimes.

Recommended Read more Government denies MPs a vote on arms sales to Saudi Arabia

A draft report leaked to the BBCs Newsnight programme last week had called for a ban, but later it later emerged that the recommendation was not supported by the whole committee, which has now reached an impasse on the issue.

CAEC is a so-called super-committee and draws its membership from the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Business Committee, the International Development Committee, and the Defence Committee.

Members of the Business and International Development committees have banded together to recommend a harsher approach against the autocratic petro state. They want a ban on arms to Saudi until an international investigation into alleged war crimes by the autocracy during the course of its operation in Yemen has concluded.

The Foreign Affairs Committee faction, led by Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, however believes that the legality of the weapons sales should be left to the courts. Campaign Against the Arms Trade has already launched legal challenge, set to be heard in the coming months, meaning arms sales will continue for now. It also backs an international investigation and says arms export control should be more widely addressed.

A Yemeni police bomb disposal team gathers around an unexploded rocket allegedly dropped by an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition in the centre of the capital Sanaa (AFP/Getty)

Meanwhile a third group, MPs drawn from the Defence Committee, are understood to be in such deadlock themselves have backed neither report. The split within CAEC is so bitter that MPs have not even been able to agree to designate one of the repots a minority report, as would be the usual practise when MPs have disagreements.

Foreign Affairs Committee chair Crispin Blunt, who supports leaving the legality of sales to the courts said: Saudi Arabia is a key partner of the United Kingdom in addressing our shared challenges in the Middle East. I am yet to hear any persuasive argument for how we better secure our many strategic objectives in the region without a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. This includes bringing about a political solution to the current conflict in Yemen, that was so deplorably precipitated by the armed Houthi rebellion in 2014.

However, the massive British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override our wider legal and moral obligations. It is crucial that the UK does everything in its power to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition.

Chris White, who chaired the inquiry of the Committees on Arms Export Controls and is a member of the Business Innovation and Skills Committee, said: During this inquiry we have heard evidence from respected sources that weapons made in the UK have been used in contravention of International Humanitarian Law. The Government can no longer wait and see and must now take urgent action, halting the sale of arms to the Saudi-led coalition until we can be sure that there is no risk of violation.

We call on the Government to continue the UKs long-standing commitment to IHL and lead the international community in establishing a strong, independent inquiry. The circumstances surrounding incidents in Yemen, such as allegations of the use of cluster bombs, must be firmly established and send a clear message to all combatants in Yemen that human rights must be respected.

Crispin Blunt is chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee (PA)

Stephen Twigg, Chair of the International Development Committee, said: Arms trade law is very clear that licences should not be granted where there is a clear risk that they might be used in a serious violation of IHL. It is hard to understand how a reliable licence assessment process would not have concluded that there is a clear risk of misuse of at least some arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

While much focus has been on the UKs arms sales to Saudi Arabia, it should not be forgotten that Yemen is one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world where 82 per cent of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance. The conflict has destroyed schools and hospitals, nearly 3 million people have fled their homes, the health system and the economy are on the brink of collapse and many parts of the country are teetering on the edge of famine. If anyone is paying the price for this conflict it is the people of Yemen.

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

The row in the super-committee could put the Government under even more pressure to call a debate and vote on the issue in the wider House of Commons. Green MP Caroline Lucas told The Independent on Wednesday night that the Government should bring a debate on the issue, following a move for a vote on the same issue in the US Senate this week  but MPs have so far been refused a say.

Figures reported by The Independent in July show the British government gave the go-ahead to 3.3bn in arms exports to Saudi Arabia during the first year of that countrys bombardment of Yemen.

Between April 2015 and March 2016 the UK signed off exports of 2.2bn worth of so-called ML10 licences  which include equipment like drones, helicopters, and other aircraft.

1.1bn worth of ML4 licences were issued  relating to bombs, missiles, grenades, and countermeasures. The UK also signed off 430,000 of licences for armoured vehicles and tanks.

In January a UN panel accused Saudi Arabia of breaking international humanitarian law during its assault on the country. The country has blown up schools, hospitals and weddings during the bombardment, according to observers.

Recent moves by the Foreign Office show the Government itself is also less confident than ever that Saudi Arabia is not committing war crimes. Previous statements by the former Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond were quietly corrected on the last day before parliamentary recess to water down endorsements of Saudi Arabian forces.

Mr Hammond had said the Government have assessed that there has not been a breach of international humanitarian law by the coalition. This was later changed to: we have not assessed that there has been a breach of international humanitarian law by the coalition.

Saudi Arabia is intervening in Yemen on the side of the internationally-recognised government, which has lost control of large swathes of the country to Houthi rebels.
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Britains intervention in Libya and the chaos and bloodshed that ensued sparked a violent reaction fuelling conflicts across Africa and the Middle East, as well as strengthening Isis and al-Qaeda, experts have said.

A scathing report released by the Foreign Affairs Committee this week held David Cameron ultimately responsible for failing to stabilise Libya after the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

The regimes fall at the hands of internationally-armed rebels and Nato air strikes in 2011 generated further violence, with opposition rebels and Islamists refusing to lay down their arms or accept new state security forces.

 Decision to intervene in Libya in 2011 was based on a 'blood-curdling assessment'

Bloody competition for territory spawned a second civil war that continues, leaving a state of lawlessness in parts of Libya allowing the smuggling of militants, weapons and refugees sent across the Mediterranean Sea.

But analysts say the consequences of the power vacuum left by Natos intervention has stretched far beyond Libyas borders.

Libyan weapons have been found in more than 20 countries, while its conflict has fuelled war, insurgencies and terrorism in at least 10 other nations.

Perhaps the most direct outcome was the conflict in northern Mali, where the United Nations is currently operating the deadliest peacekeeping operation in the world.

Paul Melly, an associate fellow in the Africa department at Chatham House, described how members of the Tuareg ethnic group serving in Gaddafis army fled Libya after his downfall with huge volumes of weapons they then used to start a separatist insurgency in Mali.

The Tuareg MNLA's campaign prompted a coup detat as the rebels overran northern parts of the country, later being ousted by al-Qaeda backed Islamist groups that enforced Sharia law in their territory.

Jihadist groups were pushed back by a French-led intervention in 2013 but continue to launch assaults and terror attacks, while fighting the Tuareg separatists they once supported.

A collection of 13th-century manuscripts had to be moved from Timbuktu when Islamist rebels Ansar Dine arrived (AFP/Getty)

Although intervention by French and African forces ended the jihadist control of the north, the region remains highly unstable, despite the presence of more than 10,000 UN peacekeepers, Mr Melly said.

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The disintegration of a stable state in Libya has created a vast mostly ungoverned space in the south of the country where jihadist groups are able to rest and resource themselves largely untroubled by external interference.

Marty Reardon, Senior Vice President of US-based security consultancy The Soufan Group, said a spill-over effect quickly spread throughout the region.

He told The Independent Libyas collapse contributed to the rise of well-armed criminal and militant groups in Tunisia, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan and Egypt.

Several terror attacks in Tunisia have originated in Libya, Mr Reardon said, while militants who crossed the border to fight in the civil war will eventually find their way home [to Tunisia] more radicalised and better trained than when they went.

Continued fighting in Libya created safe havens for fighters and seemingly unending supplies of weapons for Islamist movements in neighbouring countries and the region at large, he added.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is the largest group in the region, operating and funding a network of groups launching terror attacks and fighting insurgencies in nations including Mali, Algeria, Mauritania, Niger, Tunisia and Morocco.

Soldiers helping a man flee the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, during an attack by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in November (Getty Images)

Katherine Zimmerman, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), said al-Qaeda had benefited significantly from the destabilisation of Libya.

AQIM still runs training camps in southwest Libya and the group uses its sanctuaries inside the country to support efforts elsewhere in the Maghreb and Sahel region, she said.

Some of al-Qaedas training camps are also believed to be supplying foreign fighters to allies in Syria, including the group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra.

Another beneficiary of the chaos has been Isis, which has established a vital outpost from its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds in Libya.

While it is currently battling to hold the city of Sirte, Isis territories along the Mediterranean have allowed the group access to ports, large stores of weapons and established trans-Saharan smuggling routes, as well as a fertile recruiting ground for foreign fighters.

Emily Estelle, an analyst at the AEI's Critical Threats Project, said a Tunisia-focused Isis cell operating out of Libya has been linked to the attacks on the Bardo Museum in Tunis and in Sousse, where 38 people including 30 British tourists were massacred in June last year.

Isis may have also used Libya as an alternate jumping-off point to Europe, she added. Isis in Sirte may have links to a cell in Milan, for example.

In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Isis fighters parade through in Sirte in 2015 In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Islamic State (IS) group jihadists on the outskirts of Libya's western city of Sirte AFP/Getty In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte A photo of a billboard in Sirte, Libya, listing seven rules for women's clothing, saying they must be loose-fitting and undecorated HRW/social media In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Isis militants process down a street in the coastal city of Sirte in Libya this week; the group has heralded Libya as its strategic gateway to attack Europe AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte An Isis lecture on Sharia at the Ouagadougou complex in Sirte, Libya, in 2016. HRW/social media In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte A sign reading "The city of Sirte, under the shadow of Sharia" as smoke rises in the background while forces aligned with Libya's new unity government advance on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte on 9 June. Reuters In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Fighters loyal to Libya's GNA prepare to launch attacks against Isis as they continue their resistance on the outskirts of the western city of Sirte Getty In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government are seen during clashes with jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) on the western outskirts of Sirte on June 2, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Sirte Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government fire during clashes with Isis around 14 miles west of Sirte on June 2, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Isis' Libyan stronghold of Sirte Isis in Libya

Dr Amir Kamel, a lecturer in the Defence Studies Department at Kings College London, said the Libyan conflict has allowed the so-called Islamic State to extend its colonial ambitions beyond the Middle East.

Daesh [Isis] has been able to regroup, garnish support and continue to spread its message and violent acts in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, he told The Independent.

The removal of Gaddafi created an environment where any actor could benefit.

Dr Kamel said the end of the Brotherly Leaders oppressive management of tribal, regional and ethnic divisions in Libya sparked a violent reaction between a myriad of competing factions.

The Foreign Affairs Committee report came to a similar conclusion, saying the rise of militant extremist groups should not have been the preserve of hindsight for Britain and its allies.

But Elham Saudi, an associate fellow at Chatham Houses International Law Programme and Director of Lawyers for Justice in Libya, said attributing the rise of Isis solely to the overthrow of Gaddafi would be an oversimplification.

The bigger issue here is the void of the rule of law and the culture of the impunity prevalent in Libya, he told The Independent.

There are 150 militias reportedly operating in Tripoli alone. The political links that some of these militias have, and even governmental endorsement in some instances, only serves to undermine the rule of law further.

Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed battle Isis in Sirte, Libya, July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (Reuters)

Libyan-purchased weapons have been found in more than 20 countries in the Middle East and Africa and the United Nations Security Council will soon consider a resolution to lift an arms embargo on sales to the fragile Government of National Accord.

The union was formed in December last year but its constituent groups, the elected Council of Deputies and Islamist-backed General National Congress, are still backed by rival armed groups controlling swathes of the country.

With thousands killed, 425,000 Libyans displaced and 1 million fleeing the country, the instability and its ramifications look set to continue.

Mr Melly suggested that catastrophic policy failures may be partly attributable to Western governments perception of Libya as an Arab country without proper consideration of its relationship with surrounding African nations.

One has the impression that its crisis was viewed through the prism of policy towards the Middle East and the Arab Spring, he added.

As a result, policymakers in London, Paris and Washington perhaps paid less attention to the potential fallout for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Crispin Blunt, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the UKs 2011 intervention was based on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the country.

Having led the intervention with France, we had a responsibility to support Libyan economic and political reconstruction, he added.

But our lack of understanding of the institutional capacity of the country stymied Libyas progress in establishing security on the ground and absorbing financial and other resources from the international community.

The UKs actions in Libya were part of an ill-conceived intervention, the results of which are still playing out today.
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A Kenyan man has been sentenced to life in prison for having sex with his stepdaughter, after a High Court judge ruled that it was still classed as incest in the eyes of the law.

The Nairobi High Court heard that the man started a sexual relationship with his wife's teenage daughter, while also maintaining a relationship with his wife.

According to Kenya's The Standard newspaper, the girl told the court she first saw the man as a father figure, but that he provided for her in the same way as he did for his wife.

She said the relationship was kept a secret from her mother, and claimed the man threatened to kill her if she broke her silence.

Justice Said Chitembwe said the Sexual Offences Act did not specify whether stepdaughters were included in the definition of incest.

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But he ruled that the man was wrong to enter a sexual relationship with the younger girl while also being married to her mother, and that the fact they were not genetically related did not excuse this.

He upheld the man's life sentence, telling the court: "Although section 20 of the Sexual Offences Act does not include the term step-daughter in relation to the offence of incest, it is logical that the appellant could not have had sex with the mother and also have sex with her.

"A step-daughter comes within the definition of a daughter under section 20 (i) of the Sexual Offences Act. Any sexual relationship between the appellant and prosecution witness would fall within the ambit of incest."
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A nine-year-old boy hanged himself with a belt after enduring persistent bullying at school.

Jackson Grubb from West Virginia in the US was found dead after experiencing frequent bullying, his family said.

His body was found by his younger sister who reportedly went into his room to cheer him up.

His grandmother and legal guardian, Betsy Baber, told reporters the family had known something was wrong, but had not known the extent of his problems.

I was spending time with him, trying to get it out of him, but Jacks the type to hold things in. I knew something was wrong, but I couldnt get to him, she told NBC news.

Just speaking from my heart  I believe that he just couldnt take nothing no more. He had reached that point.

The boys grandfather, Shane Baber, added: They were bullying him and they were picking on him. They were saying things to him. They were touching him and that led my grandson to do the things that he did.

In America as many as 160,000 children a day do not attend school due to fears of being bullied, the US Department of Justice estimates.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

US anti-bullying campaign Stand for the Silent says 8,000 children a year  22 a day  commit suicide due to bullying in America.
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Manufacturing giant General Motors (GM) has vowed to run entirely on renewable energy by the middle of the century.

The company plans to generate its electricity - needed to power its 350 operations across the globe - entirely from renewable sources.

However, it remains to be seen how many of the 9.8 million vehicles it produces annually will be powered by sustainable energy.

Greenpeace have called the move "woefully inadequate".

GM consumed nine terawatt hours of energy last year to build its vehicles and power its buildings. The company said it would invest in increasing efficiency while also shifting where it gets its energy from.

This pursuit of renewable energy benefits our customers and communities through cleaner air while strengthening our business through lower and more stable energy costs, GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.

GM says it saved $5 million (3.8 million) a year from using renewables. Over the years, it claimed the science has saved them $80 million (60 million).

The car company has worked to change its public image  introducing renewable energy to its processes and disassociating itself from efforts to discredit climate change science.

In 2012 the company broke off a 20-year relationship with the climate sceptic thinktank Heartland.

The largest car manufacturer in the US, GM recently produced its first mass market electric-only car. GM beat electric car company Tesla in producing a model ready to hit the roads.

Currently the company has 22 sites which use solar power and four which are due to use wind.

The company also promotes landfill gas as part of its renewable plan, which it uses in three of its sites. Landfill gas burns rubbish to try to lower the amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Design inspired by renewable energies presented at Saloni Show all 2 1 /2 Design inspired by renewable energies presented at Saloni Design inspired by renewable energies presented at Saloni 357323.bin courtesy of Jaime Hayon Design inspired by renewable energies presented at Saloni 357324.bin courtesy of Jaime Hayon

Greenpeace spokesperson Paul Morozzo told The Independent: "This announcement sounds bold, but is actually woefully inadequate.

The company should be announcing that all their cars will powered by renewable energy, not just their operations. To have any chance of meeting climate targets agreed in Paris and protect our health from air pollution, all new cars need to be electric by at least 2030.

"A year on from the VW scandal this announcement shows neither the leadership nor the vision the car industry needs".

Transport fumes contribute about 14 per cent of global greenhouse emissions. One climate change study, backed by three European research groups, said the last cars powered by fossil fuels will have to be phased out by 2035 to keep global warming below 1.5C.

Leaders in Paris agreed global warming must be kept well below 2C while pursuing efforts for a 1.5C limit.
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Jonathan the lion has died at the age of 18 years old at Houston Zoo in Texas.

His death triggered an outpouring of grief and tributes to the handsome cat who was mostly to be found lounging in the sun alongside his pride of three females, often asleep as visitors peered through the glass into his enclosure.

Houston Zoo said it was heartbroken to announce his death after he was found to have a serious blood clotting issue and a low white blood cell count, conditions which, they said, were not uncommon in geriatric patients.

Recommended Read more Lion and tiger cubs appear to be best friends in cute pictures

The lion spent the night inside the zoos animal hospital and was given a full examination after zoo staff noticed he appeared to be unwell, but he died in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

He was rescued from a private owner and came to the zoo in 2006, and has been a guest and keeper favourite, the zoo statement read.

Jonathans impact on our keepers and guests will not be forgotten, said Dr Adrian Fowler, vice president of animal operations for the Houston Zoo.

Our team of keepers who have spent more than a decade caring and bonding with this incredible animal are grieving this loss, and we support them through this sad time.

The zoos Facebook post was flooded with pictures, comments and jokes about the big cat which was most often asleep on its back.

Leigh Ann Mitchell said: I always loved hearing him roar in the mornings. You could hear him clear across the zoo.

I am just thankful that he was well cared for and I know in great hands when he passed this morning. R.I.P. big guy, wrote Elizabeth Garney.

Another user, Janice Ariola Darden, wrote: I remember when he first arrived. He had the most beautiful mane!! We always stop by to see him every time we visit the zoo.

His passing is one in a line of well known big animals who have died in the last two years, including Cecil the lion who was shot by an American dentist, Harambe the gorilla who was shot after a young boy fell into his enclosure in Ohio, and 24-year-old gorilla, Bantu, who passed away in a Mexican zoo after he was sedated in order to be transferred to another zoo for mating.

On 3 July, Arturo, described as the worlds saddest polar bear also died at the age of 30 in Mendoza Zoo in Argentina.
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Donald Trump did not receive the heros welcome he likely expected during his recent visit to Flint, Michigan, amid the citys ongoing water contamination crisis  and in a photo with 9-year-old activist Little Miss Flint, the negative feelings from the town are quite visible.

Recommended Read more Donald Trump shut down by Flint pastor during speech

Little Miss Flint, whose real name is Amariyanna Copeny, became the de facto mascot Flints recovery efforts when she wrote a letter to President Barack Obama about the water crisis in May. And she was in the audience for Mr Trumps speech at the Bethel United Methodist Church on Wednesday.

In a photo with Copeny and Mr Trump, the young activist did not appear happy to see the Republican, whose talk was cut short by the church pastor as he attempted to deride Hillary Clinton.

People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Show all 8 1 /8 People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Miley Cyrus 'God he thinks he is the f***ing chosen one or some shit!  Honestly f*** this sh*t I am moving if this is my president! I dont say things I dont mean!' Jemal Countess/Getty Images People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Whoopi Goldberg 'I dont think thats America. I dont want it to be America. Maybe its time for me to move you know' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Samuel L. Jackson 'If that mother**er becomes president, Im moving my black ass to South Africa' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Raven Symone 'My confession for this election is, if any Republican gets nominated, Im gonna move to Canada with my entire family. Is that bad? I already have my ticket. I literally bought my ticket, I swear' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Cher 'If he were to be elected, I'm moving to Jupiter' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Neve Campbell 'Im terrified. Its really scary. My biggest fear is that Trump will triumph. I cannot believe that he is still in the game ... [I'll] move back to Canada' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Jon Stewart 'I would consider getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planets gone bonkers' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Randy Blythe 'He could just be a clown. If he is the president, though, I am leaving America 'till he's gone'

The photo stands in stark contrast of another picture taken in May of Copeny and Mr Obama mid-embrace following his address to the city in May.

Copenys mother, LuLu Brezzell, said she remains undecided about the election and wanted to see what Mr Trump could bring to the discussion.

Hillarys been here, we hear what she had to say, Ms Brezzell told the Flint Journal. Now I want to hear what [Mr Trump] has to say.

Ms Brezzell said her family has dealt with the effects of the high levels of lead in the citys water supply, which includes rashes. But she said Mr Trump had not yet said much about Flint, and she was curious about how he planned to help.

 Flint pastor interrupts Donald Trump

I dont expect him to come in here and say Im going to wave a magic wand and fix it, she said. It doesnt work like that, but I do want to hear what he can offer the city if he becomes elected.

Copeny wrote a letter to Mr Obama in April when she was 8, and the president promptly replied weeks before he visited the city to address the crisis.

I am one of the children that is affected by this water, and Ive been doing my best to march in protest and to speak out for all the kids that live here in Flint, she wrote.

Mr Obama replied: I want to make sure people like you and your family are receiving the help you need and deserve. Like you, Ill use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community.

The water contamination occurred after a state-appointed emergency manager switched the citys water supply from Lake Huron to the untreated Flint river in April 2014 to save money.The water leached lead from old pipes, which tainted the supply that flowed to sinks and showers of Flint homes.

At least nine government officials have received criminal charges.
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Melania Trump has released a letter from her immigration lawyer to stop the speculation that she arrived in the US illegally.

Ms Trump, the third wife of presidential candidate Donald Trump, posted a copy of the letter on social media and wrote she was pleased to show that she went through the legal process with 100 per cent certainty.

Her lawyer, Michael Wildes, wrote: It has been suggested by various media outlets that in 1995, Mrs Trump illegally worked as a model in the United States while on a visitor visa.

Recommended Read more The false allegations against Melania highlight our own prejudices

Following a review of her relevant immigration paperwork, I can unequivocally state that these allegations are not supported by the record, and are therefore completely without merit.

In August questions arose over the timing of Ms Trumps arrival to the US after the New York Post re-published photos of the former model at a fashion shoot, which appeared to place her in New York City in 1995, a year earlier than she had claimed to come to the country.

Ms Trump told CNN in February that as a younger model she was required to fly back to her home country of Slovenia to renew her visa every few months.

She said she then applied for a green card and became a naturalised US citizen in 2006.

"I obeyed the law. I did it the right way. I didn't just sneak in here," she said.

She also insisted that her husbands anti-immigrant rhetoric was only aimed at illegal immigrants, not everybody.

"He's not racist, he's not anti-immigrant," she said.

"He wants to keep America safe, he wants to have illegal immigrants taken care of, that they will not be in the country, that they don't pay taxes, that they are criminals and that they are not good for America."

Similar questions have also arisen over whether the possible future First Lady obtained a degree in design and architecture at the University of Slovenia.

Soon after speculation started, her Melaniatrump.com website started to redirect viewers to the website of the Trump Organisation.

Ms Trump has become an increasing focus of the Republican candidate's campaign, after she was accused of plagiarising Michelle Obama's 2008 speech at this year's Republican National Convention.

The Trump campaign released a statement after the convention from staffer Meredith McIver, who accepted responsibility for the error.

Ms Trump has also filed a $150 million lawsuit against the Daily Mail, arguing it published false claims about her past.
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US President Barack Obama has announced the creation of a 4,913-square-mile national monument off the coast of Massachusetts, the first such monument in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, some 130 miles from Cape Cod, is approximately the size of Connecticut. It contains canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon and submerged peaks higher than any mountain east of the Rockies, as well as rare and endangered species including corals, sperm whales and sea turtles.

Recommended Read more Grand Canyon tribe fears for its future in battle with uranium mining

The site, which has already been referred to as an underwater Yellowstone, is in a part of the Atlantic expected to warm around three times as fast as the global average in the coming years.

Were protecting fragile ecosystems off the coast of New England, including pristine underseas canyons and seamounts [and] were helping make the oceans more resilient to climate change, Mr Obama said as he unveiled the plan at the Our Ocean conference in Washington DC on Thursday, adding that the monument was being established in a way that respects the fishing industrys unique role in New England's economy and history.

The declaration nonetheless means most commercial fishing will soon be banned from the waters within the monument. However, lobster and red crab fisheries have a seven-year grace period before they must leave the area.

Bob Vanasse, spokesman for the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, told NPR that the monument would do serious damage to the regions fishing industry. We anticipate the offshore lobster industry will be affected to the tune of about $10 million per year, he said. On top of that, one of the most affected industries is going to be the Atlantic red crab industry. It is going to be very significantly impacted.

Mr Obama referred to his childhood in Hawaii as he made the announcement at the State Department on Thursday. I spent my childhood on those shores looking out over the endless ocean and was humbled by it, he said. If were going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then were going to have to act, and were going to have to act boldly.

Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act in 1906, allowing presidents to offer stronger protections to existing federal lands. Republicans have long criticised Mr Obamas use of the Act, arguing that it represents government overreach and an abuse of executive power.

Mr Obama has already created or enlarged 26 other national monuments, protecting almost 550 million acres of federal land and water  at least twice as much as any of his predecessors. Last month, he expanded the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument around Hawaii to 582,578 square miles, making it the largest protected area on Earth.
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When two National Park Service rangers saw a car parked along the shoulder of the Blue Ridge Parkway near a man and a little girl walking down a steep embankment, they thought they were simply investigating illegal campers.

Minutes later, the man, Seth Pickering, began building a campfire out of underbrush, according to a criminal complaint. Unaware that the girl, Pickering's own 6-year-old daughter, had been reported missing, one of the rangers walked toward the pair near the road in North Carolina.

"It's going fine, nothing going on," Pickering said, according to the complaint.

Then, out of nowhere, Pickering turned away and lunged at his daughter, who was standing a few feet behind him.

The ranger heard a thud and a high-pitched grunt, the complaint said.

The girl with curly hair fell to the ground with a knife on her chest.

"Did you just stab her?" the ranger asked Pickering.

As he handcuffed her father, the other ranger tried to resuscitate Lila Pickering, but to no avail.

When asked why he killed his own daughter, the complaint states, Pickering said: "Now they will never be able to take her away from me. She's happier now. ... It's what she wanted."

Pickering had been in a custody fight over his daughter, who weeks earlier was temporarily placed under the care of a custodian for the Buncombe County Department of Health Services.

The complaint does not say why the girl was placed under protective care, but Pickering was allowed supervised visits.

On Friday, at about 5:20 p.m., Pickering was supposed to have one such visit with Lila. But, according to the complaint, he took his daughter without the custodian's permission.

"Seth, please don't do this, they will put you in jail," the custodian told Pickering as he was placing Lila in his vehicle, according to the complaint.

Pickering shook his head and drove off.

The custodian reported the girl missing to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office.

Less than an hour later, the rangers happened upon Pickering's Dodge Avenger during a routine patrol.

In a recorded interview with a sheriff's detective, Pickering said he took his daughter to the parkway to go camping and was setting up a campsite when he saw the rangers, according to the complaint.

Shortly after one of the rangers approached him, Pickering said his daughter made him promise "that they would never take her away from me again," according to the complaint.

"I reacted the only way I knew that she could go to sleep without having to cry, 'Daddy I want to come home, '" Pickering told detectives. "I knew as soon as they showed up, they would take her away from me and never let me see her again."

Pickering, 36, has been charged with murder.

Investigators found two kitchen knife blocks in Pickering's home in Leicester, N.C.; each block was missing one knife, according to the complaint.

One set consists of knives with silver or metallic handles and a black, oval-shaped decorative peg where the handle joins the blade. The knife found on Lila's chest matched the knives found in Pickering's home, authorities said.

Autopsy results indicate that Lila was stabbed in the heart and a lung, according to media reports.

Pickering's estranged wife told the Asheville Citizen-Times that Lila was placed under protective care because her husband struck another woman. Seth Pickering moved to a duplex in Leicester about three weeks earlier and left the mobile home he'd shared with his wife, Ashley, the paper reported.

Hours before her daughter's death, Ashley Pickering said, a child protective services case worker from the county told her that her Lila "was happy and healthy and in a great home," the Citizen-Times reported.

"They were going to work on getting her back down here," said Ashley Pickering, who now lives in Florida.

But at about 2 a.m. Saturday, she got a call from a detective, who told her that her daughter had been killed and her estranged husband is the suspect, according to the paper.

"What they said to me just keeps playing in my head like a broken record," she told the Citizen-Times.

Ashley Pickering said she and her husband separated because he was abusive; they'd been locked in a custody battle for more than a year.

Still, she did not believe her daughter would be in danger. Seth Pickering was a loving father, she said, and his daughter adored him.

"She loved her daddy so much," Ashley Pickering told the paper. "She would jump in his lap and smile and laugh and be so happy when he was holding her."

Lila's relatives have set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for the cost of bringing her body to Florida.

More than $2,000 has been raised.

Seth Pickering, who is being held in the Buncombe County Detention Center, appeared in county court on Monday. Public defender LeeAnn Melton, who represented him there, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

The case has been transferred to federal court because the crime is alleged to have taken place on federal property.

Pickering is scheduled to appear before a federal judge next week, according to an online docket, which does not yet list a new attorney for Pickering.

On Monday, Lila's friends brought flowers to the first-grader's school and placed them at her desk, according to media reports.

Johnston Elementary School Principal Charlotte Hipps described Lila as a "precious" and "bubbly" girl.

Lila "just had a presence," Hipps told the Citizen-Times. "She was a very happy-go-lucky little girl, despite the circumstances in her life. It doesn't seem to ever get her down."

Her classmates also made cards for her.

"I hope you have a good time in heaven," one student wrote.

Washington Post
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By the time Amber Swink was strapped into a restraint chair in an isolation cell, she had already been pepper-sprayed once.

Barely able to open her eyes as she struggled inside a seven-point harness at the Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, Ohio, Swink could hear deputies laughing.

Moments later, for reasons the 25-year-old said she still doesn't understand, Sgt. Judith L. Sealey approached the chair and fired a burst of pepper spray into Swink's face at point-blank range.

Swink had been arrested during a night of heavy drinking at her home that evening. Swink admits that she was still somewhat intoxicated at the time but recalled that the pain was nearly unbearable as her face was coated with oleoresin capsicum.

"It felt like somebody just crushed up fresh peppers and made me use them as face cream," Swink told The Washington Post. "It took my breath away. You're fighting for air. I remember my mouth was filling with a thick slobber, like foaming up -- and that was also blocking my airway."

"I thought I might die," she added.

Jailhouse video appears to match Swink's description of the Nov. 15, 2015, incident.

In the four-minute clip captured by a camera in the isolation cell, Swink can be seen struggling and coughing; she appears to pass out after her face is covered with a bright orange substance.

Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said Tuesday that he hadn't viewed the video footage, but he acknowledged that Swink was pepper-sprayed while restrained, violating his department's use-of-force protocol.

He called it "an isolated incident."

"Thirty percent of my jail is people suffering from mental illnesses," Plummer said by telephone. "There are a lot of situations that the police officers should not be dealing with, but everybody wants to blame the police."

Late Tuesday, Swink filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Ohio, accusing members of the sheriff's department of using excessive force "that amounted to torture." The filing also alleges that department officials orchestrated a coverup aimed at destroying evidence of the incident.

Plummer -- who had not seen the complaint at the time he was interviewed -- said he could not comment on specific accusations from the filing.

But, he said: "We will definitely oppose the lawsuit. This isn't that egregious where she's walked away with any serious injuries. The officer she spit on should sue her."

According to a National Institute of Justice research brief, most U.S. law enforcement agencies have used pepper spray since the late 1980s "as a use of force option to subdue and control dangerous, combative, or violent subjects in the field. OC, with its ability to temporarily incapacitate subjects, has been credited with decreasing injuries among officers and arrestees by reducing the need for more severe force options."

An earlier paper from the NIJ -- a Justice Department agency -- noted that pepper spray "incapacitates subjects by inducing an almost immediate burning sensation of the skin ... and swelling of the eyes. When the agent is inhaled, the respiratory tract is inflamed, resulting in a swelling of the mucous membranes lining the breathing passages and temporarily restricting breathing to short, shallow breaths."

But the incident in Dayton appeared to violate widely accepted law enforcement practices.

"You cannot find any training manual that will tell you it is allowable to pepper-spray somebody who is restrained," said Kamran Loghman, a U.S. Naval Academy professor who helped develop pepper spray for law enforcement use. "It is used to avoid confrontation or injury, so you don't escalate to higher levels of confrontation. Pepper spray, therefore, should not be used if the subject is expressing verbal disagreement or anger."

Last month, a Georgia sheriff's deputy was fired and charged with a felony after an investigation determined that she'd used pepper-spray "to punish a jail inmate who spit in her face while his hands and feet were in restraints," according to the Associated Press. Sgt. Charlesetta Hawkins was charged with cruelty to an inmate.

Plummer, the sheriff, and Swink's attorney, Douglas Brannon, agree on much of the timeline from that night in November.

Both parties say Swink drank excessively before landing in jail, where "she exhibited a belligerent attitude." The complaint notes that Swink kicked at the arresting officer; Plummer said Swink spit on the officer and punched a cell window once inside the jail.

She continued to act disruptively by screaming and banging on the glass, both parties agree, leading Sealey to pepper-spray Swink the first time.

Although Swink was no longer causing a disturbance, the complaint states, Sealey ordered officers to place her in a restraint chair and move her to an isolation room.

After being unable to move for an hour and a half, Swink began yelling, the complaint states.

"Shortly thereafter, Defendant Sealey went into Plaintiff Amber Swank's cell with another can of OC spray and intentionally and maliciously sprayed Plaintiff Amber Swink's face and body with the OC spray until she became unconscious and suffered permanent, serious, and debilitating injuries."

Plummer agreed that there was no reason to pepper-spray Swink, since "she was already restrained."

"We don't tolerate once you're secured using pepper-spray on you because the threat is neutralized," he said. "That's the mistake that Sgt. Sealey made."

Plummer said Sealey received a written form of discipline known as a "letter of citation," which would remain in her file for six months. The sheriff said he couldn't remember when the incident came to his attention, but he said he hadn't seen the video because footage is stored only for 30 days before being deleted.

"It just got caught in that cycle," he said.

Plummer said Sealey would not be made available to comment.

According to the complaint, sheriff's department policy says any footage of a use-of-force incident is supposed to be permanently saved on a department hard drive and burned onto a disc that must be stored for at least seven years. Any time pepper spray is used on an inmate, the complaint continues, employees are also required to fill out a use of force report.

But Sealey never filled out the report, the complaint states, and Plummer never required her to -- "so that there would be a lack of evidence of the excessive use of force (OC spray assault) and less likelihood that the matter would be made public."

The complaint also alleges that "several private meetings were held" within the department to discuss how officials might conceal Sealey's actions. Department officials eventually decided to destroy electronic data and reports to prevent litigation, the suit states.

Plummer did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday, the morning after the lawsuit was filed.

But on Tuesday, he said Sealey has "learned from" the pepper-spraying incident.

"She is a very good officer, one of the best community officers we have," he said. "The public loves her. I wish I had 20 of her."

The sheriff noted that he personally promoted Sealey to captain and said she is the first minority woman on his department's command staff.

Swink's complaint claims that Sealey made captain because she is a black woman and that her promotion followed accusations that several deputies within the department sent racist text messages on their personal cellphones.

Brannon, the attorney, said Sealey should be charged with a crime and fired immediately.

"I can't fathom that the sheriff would even consider keeping this employee in light of the fact that her conduct was intentional, deliberate and abusive and directed towards an individual that was completely unable to protect herself," he said.

Swink said her pepper-spray exposure has left her with chronic breathing problems. A busy mother of four, she said she often finds herself gasping for breath the same way she used to as a child, when, she said, she suffered from asthma.

"It's hard to play with my kids," she said. "I have to stay inside with the air conditioning so I can breathe."

There are emotional scars as well, she said: She avoids police whenever possible and said she can't bear to watch the video that shows her face being blasted by pepper spray.

"My whole life, I looked up to law enforcement," Swink said. "They would come into our schools and talked to us and they were supposed to be some of the best people you could trust and call on.

"But now I wonder if there's really anybody watching out for me and my family."

Washington Post
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America may have banished the British yoke - a triumph of people power over royalty that presidential candidates love to recall - but New York is currently all agog over a new golden throne that is about to make its public debut on Manhattans Upper East Side.

This, however, will be a throne precisely of and for the people with no standing on ceremony for those wishing to use it. Roll up and take a tinkle (or more) in this very special, but fully functioning toilet half way up the helter-skelter ramp inside the famed Guggenheim Museum.

Golden does not do this particular bathroom fixture justice. It is solid gold. Even the seat is made of gold - remember to bend your knees if you need to lift it - and possibly the only disappointing feature is the cheap metal paper dispenser that is still attached to the loos wall. Even the well-funded Guggenheim could not stretch to turning that gold too.

You may also note that this is one of the very few public conveniences in the world with a guard permanently stationed outside. If that makes you nervous, you will have to forgo the experience. On account of it not being porcelain, its important to the museum that no one makes off with it. There is surely no more valuable a lav on the planet than this one.

There is a purpose to this very bling bog, which was created by the often satirical Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan. It is - of course - art that is meant to be social commentary also.

Maurizio Cattelan (Getty)

For an explanation - the piece is called 'America' - please refer to the museums website. Cattelan's toilet offers a wink to the excesses of the art market but also evokes the American dream of opportunity for all  its utility ultimately reminding us of the inescapable physical realities of our shared humanity.

Cattelan replaced the toilet in this restroom with a fully functional replica cast in 18-karat (sic) gold, making available to the public an extravagant luxury product seemingly intended for the one per cent, the website goes on.

So, indeed. As you ponder the otherwise entirely prosaic surroundings of your standard Guggenheim powder room also ask yourself how the Revolution has worked out for the one-time colony.

Its reasonable to guess that with 'America' - the installation opens to the public oin Friday - Mr Cattelan may also be poking a little fun precisely at one of those presidential candidates. The one who might be tempted to put in an order for a golden throne all of his own. Only because it would match his hair.
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Two former inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison have since returned to conflict with militant groups in the first half of 2016, the US government has confirmed.

Around 160 prisoners have been released from the infamous detention centre since 2009, with a total of nine rejoining fighting in the Middle East, according to a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

In the past six months, 17 inmates have been freed, with two returning to the battlefield with militant groups.

The ODNI report revealed the administration of President Barack Obama's predecessor George W. Bush released far more detainees from Guantanamo than the Obama administration has.

However around 113 of the 532 detainees released under former President Bush, over 21 per cent, have since returned to conflict - compared with just 5 per cent of those freed under President Obama.

The Guantanamo Bay facility was opened in 2002 to hold foreign terrorism suspects, with many held without charge or trial.

On August 15 2016, a record 15 prisoners were transferred out of the prison to the UAE on a single day, including 12 Yemeni nationals and three Afghans. Around 60 inmates remain under detention at the facility.

In November 2015, President Obama reiterated his pledge to close the facility before he leaves office at the end of the year, with all remaining detainees moved to other facilities.

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. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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Former Secretary of State Colin Powell recently said he agreed with the president that Guantanamo Bay should be shut down in the best interest of the US.

However the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, said he would use his votes to override any presidential veto during discussions relating to the closure of the prison.
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Police in Ohio shot dead a black 13-year-old boy who they said brandished a firearm which turned out to be a BB gun.

Teenager Tyree King was taken to hospital in Columbus where he died just after 8pm on Wednesday evening.

Police were responding to a call about an armed robbery in Columbus involving multiple suspects.

They said when they arrived on the scene, the victim told them that they had been approached by a group of people wanting money and one of them had a gun.

Police officers found three men matching the suspects description, two of whom fled on foot.

Officers followed the males to the alley ... and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, police said in a statement, as reported by the Associated Press.

One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times.

Police said what they thought was a gun being drawn from the childs waistband was actually a BB gun - a type of air gun that shoots steel pellets - with an attached laser sight. None of the officers was injured.

The killing comes almost two years after police in Cleveland, Ohio, shot dead 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was holding a pellet gun.

Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Show all 19 1 /19 Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty

Officers spoke with one of the male suspects who was with King. They interviewed him and released him pending further investigation. He was not injured.

The Columbus police division said, as with all police-related shootings, the officers will receive mandated psychological support counselling and will have the chance to take leave time to assist in recovery from a traumatic experience.

NBC reported that the officer who fired the gun worked for the force for nine years and had only recently been transferred to that neighbourhood.

As reported by WBNS-TV, police said they spoke with witnesses to the robbery and the shooting, and were still searching for the third suspect.

The shooting is still under investigation.

In 2014, police shot black teenager Tamir Rice within seconds of arriving on the scene.

His death sparked protests across the country. The two officers involved were not indicted last December and Tamirs family received $6 million in a civil rights lawsuit settlement in April.
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Columbus Police have identified the officer who shot and killed a black 13-year-old boy and placed him on administrative leave amid calls for further investigation of the shooting.

Officer Brian Mason, a nine-year veteran of the Columbus Police who is white, opened fire on Tyree King while responding to reports of an armed robbery. Police say Mr Mason opened fire on the black teenager after he allegedly brandished a firearm.

Authorities later determined the gun was a BB gun with a laser sight.

There is no known video of the shooting as Columbus Police are not required to wear body cameras.

Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon, said Police Chief Kim Jacobs Thursday morning, displaying a picture of the replica weapon. As you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you.

 Officer kills 13-year-old who drew BB gun

Mr Mason has been placed on administrative leave while internal investigators look into the shooting. He is expected to remain on leave for a week.

A neighbourhood witness told the Columbus Dispatch that he saw the officer giving chase to two young men in an alley behind his house. He reported hearing multiple gunshots seconds later.

We consider it a tragedy when something like this happens, Ms Jacobs added. This is the last thing that a police officer wants to do in their career.

Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Show all 19 1 /19 Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors lie in an intersection during a demonstration for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protestors demand justice for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stephen Maturen/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters march throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Protesters are arrested by NYPD as they call for justice throughout New York City. AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police AFP/Getty Images Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty Protests and outrage across the US following killings by police Getty

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther appeared emotional at the press conference and made calls for the community to come together.

There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets, he said. And a 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence.

He added: It is a dangerous time to be a police officer in this country. It is our job to protect them as well as the people they protect.

According to figures from the Officer Down Memorial Page, at least 39 police officers have been gunned down in the line of duty in 2016. Meanwhile, more than 700 people have been killed in officer-involved shootings this year, The Guardians The Counted database shows.

The killing comes two years after the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who succumbed to gunshots from a Cleveland police officer. CCTV captured the shooting and revealed police opened fire on Rice only two seconds after arriving at the scene.

A neighbour called 911 on Rice while the adolescent was playing with a BB gun in an area park.
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Donald Trump will attempt to clarify his economic vision on Thursday after a leading forecast company suggested America would lose one trillion dollars in output if he becomes president.

According to a report by Oxford Economics, growth in the US would be about 5 per cent lower than would otherwise be expected by 2021 if Mr Trump is elected to the White House and has reasonable success in enacting his policies. It would also adversely affect other economies.

Towards the end of the five-year forecast, U.S. GDP falls to a level around 5 percent below baseline. And the anticipated recovery in global growth is significantly undermined, it said.

Analysts will be looking for new details from Mr Trump when he addresses the Economic Club of New York at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan on Thursday. He was scheduled to appear there alongside his running mate, Mike Pence. Later he was due at a rally in New Hampshire.

In its report Oxford Economics suggests that the likely stunting of the US economy under a Trump presidency would be the result primarily of his promised tougher stance on trade and his plans to deport millions of undocumented workers currently in the country.

A victory for Mr Trump over Hillary Clinton on 8 November would also cast a chill around the world, the report suggests, by dint of it being unexpected.

This would transmit the shock across the globe, affecting not just countries directly impacted by the policies and not just businesses with significant direct trade exposures to the US, Mexico and China, it said. A weakening in confidence would most likely result in the scaling back of business investment plans, accompanied by the postponement of major household purchases.

The underlying notion that Mr Trump being elected would be a surprise may not hold true all the way to November, of course. After a flurry of new polls showing a tightening of the race with Ms Clinton, including in key swing states, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, the forecasting group, said on Thursday he was giving Mr Trump a 37.3 per cent chance of victory, a sharp improvement.

Mr Trump has insisted that his plan, with tax cuts, reduced regulation and retaliatory trade measures against some nations, would boost growth. Were going to provide opportunity, prosperity and security for all Americans, he said in a recent speech in Iowa.

The firm assumes Mr Trump would face a divided Congress - the Senate under Democrat control and the House run by Republicans - and that some of his policy prescriptions would therefore be diluted. Nonetheles it sees adverse consequences which would be amplified if he gets his way more comprehensively.

Should Mr. Trump prove more successful in achieving adoption of his policies, the consequences could be far-reaching  knocking 5 percent off the level of US GDP relative to baseline and undermining the anticipated recovery in global growth, the report said.

The Oxford Economics report takes as its baseline an economy that normally should grow at a fairly constant annual rate of roughly 2 per cent from 2017 reaching $18.5 trillion in 2021 after the next presidential elections.

However, it says that with Mr Trump at the helm, growth could drop close to zero by 2019 and overall GDP would only reach $17.5 trillion by the end of a first term.

The consequences are far-reaching, the economists who wrote the report, Jamie Thompson and Sarah Maxwell, said. Their report added that towards the end of the five-year forecast, US GDP falls to a level around 5 percent below baseline. And the anticipated recovery in global growth is significantly undermined.

Especially concerning, it warned, is the suggestion from Mr Trump that he would target China and Mexico with high tariffs to punish them for alleged unfair trade practices. The long-term knock-on effects for an array of countries, as well for US consumers who would find themselves being asked to pay higher prices for Mexican and Chinese goods, could be severe.

The candidate has also said he wants to scrap or renegotiate NAFTA, the 1993 free trade treaty binding the US with Mexico and Canada, and scrap the Transpacific Treaty planned with 11 large partner nations around the Pacific rim.

If US businesses and consumers were to switch away from higher priced Mexican and Chinese imports following the imposition of tariffs, some other emerging market economies might initially benefit, the report said. They might then suffer if the US were to respond by raising tariffs on a broader set of emerging market economies. US exporters would most likely suffer as well, as impacted emerging market economies retaliate.

Tariffs on Mexico could also seriously disrupt manufacturing supply chains in the US, the report warnings, noting that US-produced materials account for as much as 40 per cent of every dollar spent on goods imported to the US from Mexico.

A large-scale deportation of undocumented residents would also contribute to shrinking growth and impact labour supply across the US.
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Donald Trump criticised the pastor who interrupted him during an appearance in Flint, Michigan, calling her a nervous mess in an interview after his political blunder.

The Republican nominee visited Flint amid criticism that he was exploiting the water crisis for a simply photo op by the citys Mayor Karen Weaver, who said Mr Trump had not contacted her about his plans, nor did he propose any help to the city.

The dust up with the pastor only reinforced criticism of his intentions for visiting Flint.

Mr Trump gave a speech to the historically-black Bethel United Methodist Church on Thursday following a brief visit to the dormant Flint water plant. But his address was cut short when he launched into a tirade about the failures of his opponent Hillary Clinton.

 Flint pastor interrupts Donald Trump

Rev Faith Green-Timmons quickly stopped him and informed him that he was not invited to the church to make a political speech, but to thank them for the work they have done to help the Flint community.

However, in his response, Mr Trump accused Ms Green-Timmons of playing politics.

Everyone plays their games. It doesnt bother me, Mr Trump told Fox & Friends, adding that she was visibly shaking. But she was so nervous. She was like a nervous mess, and so I figured something  I figured something was up, really.

In pictures: Flint water crisis Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Flint water crisis In pictures: Flint water crisis Anthony Fordham picks up bottled water from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to deliver to a school after elevated lead levels were found in the city's water in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Michigan National Guard Staff Sergeant William Phillips (L) assists a Flint resident with bottled water at a fire station in Flint Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents Arthur Woodson, left, and Tony Palladino Jr. protest the arrival of Flint native and filmmaker Michael Moore as Moore accuses Gov.Rick Snyder of poisoning Flint water during a rally outside of city hall in Flint AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Flint residents pick up bottled water and water filters at a fire station in Flint. Michigan National Guard members were set to arrive in Flint to join door-to-door efforts to distribute bottled water and other supplies to residents coping with the city's crisis over lead-contaminated drinking water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard Flint prepare to give Flint residents bottled water at a fire station in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis Justin Roberson (L), age 6, of Flint, Michigan and Mychal Adams, age 1, of Flint wait on a stack of bottled water at a rally where the Rev. Jesse Jackson was speaking about about the water crises at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis A man sits next to a stack of bottled water at the Heavenly Host Baptist Church in Flint 2016 Getty Images In pictures: Flint water crisis The top of a water tower is seen at the Flint Water Plant. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Michigan and ordered federal aid to be used to help state and local response efforts to an area affected by contaminated water Reuters In pictures: Flint water crisis Rosie Wright, center, rallies with the crowd over Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP In pictures: Flint water crisis Rick Catherman participates in a rally around Flint's water crisis in Ann Arbor, Michigan AP

He added that members of the audience pleaded with the pastor to let him speak, although audience members at the sparsely attended event appeared to applaud the pastor in the video.

An NPR reporter present at the event disputed Mr Trumps claim, adding that some in attendance heckled the New York businessman. Ms Green-Timmons defended the candidate, however, and told hecklers that he was a guest of my church, and you will respect him.

In the Thursday morning interview, Mr Trump elaborated on the plight of Flint, echoing similar statements made in his apparent outreach to black voters.

The whole place [Flint] is  not only the water, the water is what  what they did with the water is horrible, he said, but the crime rate and all the other problems they have and people want to see  you know when I use the expression, I say, What do you have to lose? Im going to fix it. Im going to fix it. What do you have to lose?
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Hillary Clintons campaign has released further information about her health in an attempt to defuse the controversy around the candidates recent pneumonia diagnosis.

In a statement, Ms Clintons physician Dr Lisa Bardack said a physical exam conducted on Wednesday was normal and found the Democratic nominee in excellent mental condition.

The former secretary of state received a chest CT scan last Friday, which revealed that she was suffering from a non-contagious form of bacterial pneumonia, campaign officials said. She was prescribed the antibiotic Levaquin and told to keep taking the drug for 10 days.

That aside, Ms Clinton is reportedly healthy for her age, 68, with blood pressure of 100/70 and low cholesterol. She takes a thyroid medication and a blood thinner, Coumadin. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States, Dr Bardack said.

The statement added that Ms Clinton had suffered no long-term ill effects from a concussion sustained in 2012 while serving as Secretary of State  an incident that has since fuelled conspiracy theories about the presidential hopefuls overall health.

US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump shakes hands with Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of their first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York Reuters US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures President Barack Obama embraces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on stage at the party's convention in Philadelphia US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Donald Trump's wife Melania delivered a speech at the GOP convention in Cleveland that was later found to have been cribbed in part from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention address AP US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Hillary Clinton talks to reporters aboard her new campaign plane on Labour Day, 5 September, her first 'press conference' since 2015 (Getty Images) US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Donald Trump held a joint press conference with Mexican leader Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City in August, hours before reiterating his harsh immigration plans at a campaign rally in Arizona Reuters US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Bernie Sanders officially endorsed Hillary Clinton, saying his progressive vision for a transformed America would be best served by the defeat of Donald Trump Reuters US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Khizr and Gazala Khan appeared at the DNC to slam Trump for his stance on Muslim immigration, citing the case of their son Humayun Khan, who was killed in combat while serving as a Captain in the US Army in Iraq US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is doing better in polls than any third party candidate since Ross Perot, 20 years ago Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Green Party candidate Jill Stein (centre) marches with supporters in Colorado AP US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Hillary Clinton and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine at a rally in Kaine's home state in July, days before Ms Clinton tapped him to be her running mate Getty US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Trump on the campaign trail with his vice presidential pick, Indiana governor Mike Pence AP US election 2016: the race for the White House in pictures Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage appears at a Trump rally in Mississippi in August, where he told the crowd that he 'wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me'.

Questions about the health of both candidates have been at the forefront of the campaign in recent days, after Ms Clinton was caught on camera struggling to walk as she left a 9/11 memorial event in New York on Sunday. Only after the release of the video did the Clinton campaign reveal she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Asked why she had taken more than 48 hours to disclose the diagnosis, Ms Clinton told CNN on Tuesday that she didn't think it was going to be that big a deal.

On Wednesday her Republican rival, Donald Trump, gave a one-page summary of his latest medical exam to Dr Mehmet Oz, for an interview on Dr Ozs tabloid medical chat show to be broadcast on Thursday.

Mr Trump promised earlier in the week to issue very, very specific numbers regarding his health status.

 Are there double standards in how the media cover Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump?

After cancelling several events earlier in the week to rest up at home in Chappaqua, New York, Ms Clinton was set to return to the campaign trail on Thursday with a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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The President of the Philippines shot and killed a justice department employee while he was mayor of Davao city, a former death squad member has claimed.

Rodrigo Duterte has also been accused of ordering death squads to murder criminals, Muslims and political opponents.

In a televised committee hearing at the Philippines Senate on Thursday, former militia member Edgar Matobato said he and other members of the death squad saw Mr Duterte kill an agent from the justice departments National Bureau of Investigation in 1993.

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

He said the death squad was blocked by the vehicle of an NBI agent and a confrontation led to a shootout, leaving the agent wounded and out of bullets.

He then alleges Mr Duterte, who was Davao mayor at the time, arrived as the scene and shot the agent with a submachine gun.

Mayor Duterte was the one who finished him off, Mr Matoboto said under oath, according to a translation from AFP.

Jamisola [the justice department official] was still alive when he arrived. He [Mr Duterte] emptied two Uzi magazines on him.

Mr Matobato also admitted involvement in around 50 abductions and murders and claimed his gang fed a suspected kidnapper to a crocodile in 2007.

 Seven of Rodrigo Duterte's most controversial quotes

Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers. These are the kind we killed every day, the 57-year-old said.

He added that their targets were not only criminals but also opponents of Mr Duterte and one of his sons, Paolo Duterte, who is now the vice-mayor of Davao.

Philippine human rights officials and advocates have previously said potential witnesses refused to testify against Mr Duterte when he was still mayor out of fear of being killed.

The Presidents office said it would wait for the Senate hearing to conclude before issuing an official statement.

Additional reporting by AP
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A former death squad member has claimed the President of the Philippines ordered his group to murder criminals, Muslims and political opponents during his time as mayor of Davao city.

Rodrigo Duterte was nicknamed The Punisher because of his violent rhetoric and alleged links to vigilante gangs but has denied any role in extra-judicial killings.

Since he took office in June, more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed by security forces and vigilantes, raising international alarm over judicial process.

 Death toll rises as Philippines intensifies war on drugs

In a televised committee heading at the Philippines Senate on Thursday, former militia member Edgar Matobato was called to give evidence.

The 57-year-old admitted involvement in around 50 abductions and murders, including of a suspected kidnapper he claimed his gang fed to a crocodile in 2007.

Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers, Mr Matobato told MPs under oath said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Mr Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.

He claims to have been recruited when the future President became mayor in 1988 and that his involvement ended in 2013 when he left the Lambada Boys gang, who allegedly killed at least 1,000 people.

Recounting a series of gory incidents to the Senate, Mr Matobato claimed Mr Duterte personally issued the order to massacre Muslims in the mosques in 1993 in revenge for the bombing of Davaos Catholic cathedral.

He said he threw a grenade into the Bangkerohan Mosque but no one was killed, adding that the Davao Death Squad abducted and murdered other Muslim men and buried them in a quarry.

Edgar Matobato, a former militia member, at a hearing on the extrajudicial killings at the Philippine Senate in Pasay City on 15 September (EPA)

Martin Andanar, a spokesperson for Mr Duterte, denied the allegation. I don't think he is capable of giving those orders, he told reporters.

He said the Philippines Commission on Human Rights had found no evidence of a link between Mr Duterte and the death squad, adding that there were no charges filed during his time as mayor.

The Presidents office said it would wait for the Senate hearing to conclude before issuing an official statement.

Mr Matobato said his gangs victims ranged from petty criminals to high-profile figures associated with Mr Duterte's opponents, including a wealthy businessman from central Cebu province who was shot dead in his office in 2014, allegedly because of a feud with the mayors son over a woman.

Four bodyguards working for one of Mr Duterte's political rivals were also abducted and taken to the island of Samalin in 2010, Mr Matobato, where they were put in sand and strangled to death.

Others named included a suspected foreign terrorist, who Mr Matobato said he strangled then chopped into pieces, in 2002, and radio commentator Jun Pala, who was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen while walking home in 2003 after criticising Mr Duterte on air.

Some of the bodies were dumped on Davao streets or buried in unmarked graves, Mr Matobato claimed, adding some were thrown into the sea with their stomachs cut open and their bodies tied to concrete blocks so they would not float.

They were killed like chickens, said the killer, adding that his gang operated under the guise of a civil security unit in Davao city.

Relatives of an alleged drug dealer who was killed during a police operation against illegal drugs, mourning at the site of a police operation in Manila, on 9 September (EPA)

He entered a government witness protection programme after quitting the group but left it after Mr Duterte became President.

He left the protection program when Mr Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed. Mr Matobato said he decided to surface now because I wanted the people to know so the killings will stop.

He was called to testify by senator Leila de Lima, a critic of Mr Duterte and former chair of the national Commission on Human Rights.

She and Philippine human rights advocates have previously said that potential witnesses refused to testify against the President when he was mayor because they were afraid they would be killed.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president in May's elections, accused Mr Matobato of being part of a plot to unseat Mr Duterte in a heated exchange.

Ms De Lima eventually declared Cayetano, who was not a member of the committee, out of order and ordered Senate security personnel to restrain him.

Another senator, former national police chief Panfilo Lacson, warned Mr Matobato that his admissions that he was involved in killings could land him in jail.

In 2012 the Philippines' Commission on Human Rights confirmed earlier reports of targeted and systematic killings in Davao, on the southern tip of Mindanao island.

But Human Rights Watch said little had come of efforts to see death squad members and their masters prosecuted, while bodies continue to pile up.

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

Phelim Kine, deputy director of the groups Asia division, said Mr Dutertes apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings must be challenged.

Dutertes boastful brand of violent impunity should be a path to prosecution, not a platform for political office, he added.

Until the government adopts a zero tolerance attitude toward public officials who publicly endorse extrajudicial killings as an acceptable approach to governance, Duterte and others like him will pose a grave danger to the safety of the citizens they are elected to protect.

Were the ninth safest city - how do you think I did it? Mr Duterte said in May 2015. How did I reach that title among the worlds safest cities? Kill them all [criminals].

The President has hit out at US, the United Nations and other groups raising concerns over human rights and international law, calling Barack Obama a son of a whore earlier this month.

The UN has repeatedly condemned his policies, as has the Roman Catholic church, the dominant religion in the Philippines, but he has continued to champion a bloody crackdown on drugs.

In his final campaign rally before being elected President, Mr Duterte vowed that 100,000 criminals would be killed.

"Forget the laws on human rights, he said. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I'd kill you.

"I'll dump all of you into Manila Bay, and fatten all the fish there."

Additional reporting by AP
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It is already among the most expensive places in the world to buy cigarettes, but the cost of tobacco in Australia is about to rise even more.

A packet of cigarettes in the country will cost $40 (23) by 2020, after new legislation was cleared in the Australian parliament yesterday (14 September).

The levy on cigarettes will rise by 12.5 per cent over four years, increasing the price by more than 50 per cent and raising an estimated $4.7billion (3.5billion) in the process.

The price of 25 cigarettes in the country currently stands at the equivalent of between 13-15, compared with an average pack of 20 costing around 8 in the UK.

Australian treasurer Scott Morrison first announced the tobacco tax hike in May during his 2016 budget address, in a move that was billed as a health measure by ministers rather than a financial one.

The 2016 budget papers stated: One of the most effective ways to discourage smoking is to increase the price of cigarettes.

Increases in tobacco excise over the last two decades have contributed to significant declines in the number of people smoking daily.

Australia already has some of the most stringent anti-smoking laws in the world, including the 2011 Tobacco Plain Packaging Act, which requires that packets are not allowed to carry logos and must be plain aside from health warnings.

Previous tax increases in 2010 and 2013 have seen cigarette prices in Australia double over the past six years and the countrys smoking population plummet to less than 15 per cent.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. 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Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

A health survey of the Australian population conducted in 2013 estimated that 3.1 million Australians were smokers, amounting to around 13 per cent of the population, with 90 per cent of these people smoking daily.

Earlier this year the Australian government allocated $7.7 million in additional funding to combat the sale of illicit tobacco in the country.
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It was Boris Johnsons foray into being a statesman, playing a part in curbing the rising violence in Ukraine. He was a rather late and unexpected addition to the list of international visitors coming to Kiev to address the escalating crisis. But, he wanted to stress, Britain had an important role to play in this.

It was, however, the other B word which dominated the coverage, somewhat muted, of the British Foreign Secretarys trip. Father Brexit is Coming to Town was the headline of one local publication. Just how much clout will Britain have on the international diplomatic stage after leaving the European Union? Analysts openly wondered.

Also coming to the Ukraine on Wednesday were Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, bearing news hotfoot that a ceasefire porposed by the separatist leader of the Donetsk Peoples Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, has received the crucial backing of the Kremlin.

Recommended Read more Russia is teetering on the brink of war with Ukraine

Mr Johnson could offer nothing similar and received no name-check when Pavlo Klimkin, the Ukrainian foreign minister, declared that the presence of the German and French ministers in Ukraine showed that the Minsk Agreement, which brought a ceasefire two years ago, can be kickstarted.

The presence of Jean-Marc and Frank-Walter here in Kiev is evidence that the Normandy format [an international meeting where the UK was not present] works, that we must together force Russia to implement the Minsk Agreement, said Mr Klimkin.

It is one of Ukraines dearest ambitions (unlikely to be fulfilled in the near future) to be part of the EU. Mr Steinmeier and Mr Ayrault made a point of visiting a bridge destroyed in the fighting, in Slovyansk, in the east of the country which will be rebuilt with international aid, some of it from the EU.

The local media recalled some of Mr Johnsons controversial pronouncements on the EUs defence and foreign policy during the Brexit campaign. One speech led to former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt to tweet Johnson is absolutely ignorant about Ukraine, the EU and Russia, and accuse him with being a Putin apologist. Former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski asked: Boris, old boy, its time to make a decision, are you with the EU, President Obama or President Putin?

Mr Johnson was asked about his remarks when he faced the press following a meeting with Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko. He responded: Whatever you want to say about the EUs handling of the issues, the crucial thing now is that we maintain sanctions [against Russia]. Brexit or not, it makes no difference to us. We continue to be a major player.

In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Pro-Russian protests in Crimea Pro-Russian protesters, including one woman holding a sign that reads: 'The time has come to return my name! I am Russia. And not Ukraine!', hold up a giant Russian flag as they march in Simferopol, Ukraine, on 1 March. Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Pro-Russian protests in Crimea Pro-Russian protesters marching in Simferopol, Ukraine, on 1 March. Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Russian troops in Crimea A young man carrying flowers confronts heavily-armed soldiers displaying in a street in the city centre of Simferopol, Ukraine, on 1 March. Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Russian troops enter Crimea Two young women sit in a shop as heavily-armed soldiers stand outside in Simferopol, Ukraine, on 1 March. Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Pro-Russian protests in Crimea Pro-Russian protesters wave the orange and black colours of Russian military valour at an anti-American rally in Simferopol, Ukraine, on 1 March. Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Pro-Europe protests continue in Kiev A man walks with an EU flag at the bridge overlooking Independence Square in central Kiev on 1 March LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Russian troops guard Crimean parliament Heavily-armed soldiers guard the Crimean parliament building shortly after taking up positions there on 1 March in Simferopol, Ukraine Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Protests continue in Kiev A member of a so-called 'Maidan's self defence unit' looks at pictures of protesters who were killed during recent clashes, displayed in central Kiev on March 1 Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Russian troops in Crimea Women look on as troops guard the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol, Ukraine, on 1 March Sean Gallup/Getty Images In pictures: Russian troops in Crimea as Ukraine crisis continues Funerals continue in Kiev A woman holds a candle during the funerals of a man who was killed during the recent clashes with the riot police on Kiev's Independence square on 1 March. Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

It is has been claimed that Britain is, in fact, no longer a major player when it comes to Ukraine. The blame for that, however, cannot be laid on the door of Mr Johnson. During the Minsk talks, General Sir Richard Shirreff, the former deputy commander of Nato, claimed Britain has been sidelined in the worst crisis in Europe in a half-century. Where is Britain? Where is Cameron? He is clearly a bit part player. Nobody is taking any notice of him. He is now a foreign policy irrelevance, charged General Shirreff.
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For British business owners concerned at the prospect of operating outside the European Union following the Brexit vote, salvation may be at hand.

Estonia is offering an e-residency programme that allows foreigners to base their business and finances in the country via an online application process that takes minutes to complete.

The scheme has boomed in popularity, and offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to remain within the EUs legal framework, with the registration website claiming businesses can benefit from minimal bureaucracy and clear tax framework.

Unfortunately for those wondering whether signing up as an e-resident may be a route to an EU passport following the Brexit vote, successful applications do not mean foreigners will become citizens of Estonia.

Nonetheless, since the introduction of the system, Estonia has seen an additional 1,000 businesses based in the country in addition to the 60,000 that were already there.

 Nigel Farage: Brexiters were "mildly irresponsible"

According to the service, the UKs referendum result boosted applications for e-residency in Estonia from businesses in the UK tenfold.

The Estonian government is supportive of the scheme which it sees as a means of bringing more money into the countrys small economy.

Estonia has a working population of just 650,000 and that figure is expected to fall dramatically in the coming years due to emigration and an aging population.

Speaking to the Guardian, Taavi Kotka, Estonias chief information officer and government lead on the project said: Attracting immigrants is just not an option for us. People would rather choose Sweden or Norway.

Physically, were not able to improve our population. So why not do it online?

All you have to do to base your international business in Estonia is fill in a short form, scan your passport, upload a photograph of yourself, and explain why you want to become an e-resident.

Applications cost 100 (84).

The application is then reviewed by the Estonian police, and as long as you have not been involved in any money laundering cases, you are likely to be accepted.

Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way Show all 7 1 /7 Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65682.bin CARLOS JASSO Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65683.bin CARLOS JASSO Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65684.bin CARLOS JASSO Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65685.bin CARLOS JASSO Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65686.bin CARLOS JASSO Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65687.bin CARLOS JASSO Rustle up a Polish: Eating the Eastern European way 65688.bin CARLOS JASSO

The website proudly states that in 2009, Estonia received a Guinness World Record for fastest time to register a new legal entity, with a winning time of just 18 minutes.
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Europes efforts to stop the refugee crisis are failing to significantly reduce the number of people seeking asylum as migrants are forced on more dangerous and covert routes, a report has found.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a UK-based independent think tank, predicted that almost 900,000 asylum applications will be lodged this year, compared to 1.26 million in 2015.

Leaders have hailed the apparent success of the EU-Turkey deal to stop crossings over the Aegean Sea and vowed to tackle people smuggling in Libya, while Hungary and Slovenia have erected vast fences along their borders and the UK is constructing a new wall in Calais.

 Over 6,500 refugees rescued off Libyan coast

But analysts warn the measures are not stopping the refugee crisis but worsening it, pushing desperate men, women and children from overt to covert routes that are even more difficult to trace.

Marta Foresti, interim executive director of the ODI, told The Independent the dramatic reduction in sea crossings to Europe  standing at more than 165,000 so far this year  does not tell the whole story.

An estimated 60 per cent of refugees and migrants are now arriving via hidden routes, almost double the proportion in 2015, making the flow more difficult for authorities to control.

We dont know how they made it to the EU, Ms Foresti said. The real risk is that by having this crisis mode reaction and being seen to erect borders, more people are coming by covert routes and governments are even less capable of controlling and monitoring the phenomenon.

Overt routes are sea crossings to Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain, while more hidden channels being used include land crossings hidden in smugglers vehicles from Albania to Greece, and via Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.

Other covert methods include travelling by plane using false documents, or over-staying visas.

The ODI's report concluded that the 1.7 billion (1.4 billion) spent by European countries on border controls on deterrent measures and further 15.3 billion (13 billion) plunged into bilateral agreements and aid aiming to reduce the flow has had only a limited effect.

People arriving on the Greek island of Lesbos on November 17, 2015 (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Like countless humanitarian groups, the institute is calling on more safe and legal pathways to Europe to be opened for refugees.

It comes across as pretty radical in the current political context but it is a way governments could better monitor the flows and properly register migrants, Ms Foresti said.

This is about solidarity and humanity, but it is also pragmatic.

The findings come as world leaders prepare for the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.

A UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants on Monday will be followed by a separate summit on the issue hosted by Barack Obama the following day.

Human rights groups have been raising concern about the EU-Turkey deal, which sees all migrants arriving on Greek islands detained in camps and threatened with deportation if their asylum claims fail.

Oxfam warned millions of refugees are being forced to flee to countries ridden with conflict and insecurity, facing a struggle to access employment, healthcare and education while being left vulnerable to violence and abuse.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

Almost four million refugees and asylum seekers  almost 16 per cent of the worlds total  have swapped one warzone for another, the a new report by the charity has found.

Almost 290,000 refugees entered Iraq last year, where the government is fighting Isis insurgency, while more than 270,000 fled to Yemen  divided between rival governments, Isis and al-Qaeda in a bloody civil war.

Yasser al-Jassem, a Syrian refugee who was hunted by Bashar al-Assads regime for deserting the army before being targeted by Isis militants who killed his brother, said Jordan and Lebanon were also unsafe because of the presence of regime soldiers and extremists.

He now lives in Manchester with his wife and two-year-old daughter after reaching the UK via Turkey, Greece and Calais.

In Lebanon and Jordan the situation for refugees is miserable, its not safe, Mr al-Jassem said.

When I passed the Turkish border I started crying.

When I see Damascus I feel very sad. I dont want to stay in Europe, I just want a safe place for a while and then we go back to Syria.

I love my country, I love my city, I love my family and friends and I want to go back.

An aerial view of the Zaatari refugee camp on the Jordan-Syrian border, which houses 80,000 people (AFP/Getty Images)

Maya Mailer, Oxfams head of humanitarian policy, accused the UK and other European nations of outsourcing borders and shirking their responsibility towards refugees.

Passing the buck seems to be the general trend, she added. Asylum is a right under international law and its being eroded.

Mark Goldring, the chief executive of Oxfam GB, said the fact that so many refugees have been fleeing to other conflict zones show how limited their options are.

Families who have already been traumatised and torn apart and children who are travelling on their own deserve the chance of a safer future, he added.

At a time when the world is coming together to try to find solutions to this crisis, it is profoundly important that the UK honours its proud history of helping refugees and shows the world we're willing to play our part.

The charity is also calling for legal routes to be opened for refugees and for global efforts towards a more comprehensive strategy on migration, as increased transparency on the cost of attempted deterrents.

Ahmad al-Rashid, a refugee from Aleppo, said Syrians felt abandoned by the international community after taking in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Its a global responsibility now  its not just for Lebanon or the UK or the US, he said.

This crisis isnt going to go anywhere soon and we wont know what is going to happen next.
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A columnist for a state-run newspaper in Egypt has suggested the US invented Isis and set up the 9/11 attacks to justify its military interventions in the Middle East.

Is it possible to believe the official version, from the US government, of the events of 11 September 2001? wrote journalist Noha Al-Sharnoubi in Al-Ahram, a major national Egyptian newspaper owned by the government.

Ms Al-Sharnoubi said the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks could have been premeditated to "justify the war on terror in her column, published on 23 August.

She also cast doubt over the veracity of the actions of the so-called Islamic State, alleging the extremist group could have been made up to trick the world and validate US foreign policy.

Ms Al-Sharnoubi does not appear to shy away from controversial subjects. Her weekly column has recently discussed issues such as burkini bans, French military involvement in Libya and whether it is acceptable to sacrifice chickens, duck and geese.

 9/11 remembered 15 years on

According to an English translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri), Ms Al-Sharnoubi wrote: Is it a coincidence that the commanders of the September 11 attack trained at American flight schools?

Is it conceivable that four hijacked planes flew around so freely, penetrated US airspace and hit the towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon one by one, with an interval of 15 minutes and 30 minutes between the attacks," she added.

"All this took place without the Americans targeting the planes and downing them, despite all their intelligence, satellites and radars?

Or was the whole thing planned [in advance] in order to justify the war on terror, the [first] episode of which [later] began in Iraq?

Ms Al-Sharnoubi also questioned the contents of Isis propaganda videos, suggesting the militant group could be another story that was prepared in advance [by the West] to justify the devastation, partitioning and occupation of Middle Eastern countries.

Does it make sense that most Isis members are foreigners [i.e., Western nationals], unless ISIS is another story that was prepared in advance [by the West] to justify the devastation, partitioning and occupation [of countries] that is taking place and will continue to take place in the Middle East? she wrote, according to Memri.

Those who are murdered and [then] accused of perpetrating terror attacks in the West  are they the real culprits?

In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush was visiting Emma E Brooker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida as news of the attack on the World Trade Center broke In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The president and his staff, including Press Secretary Ari Fleischer (L) were then brought to a holding room at the school, where he prepared to address the nation In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush was then rushed onto Air Force One and was flown to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. He watched television coverage of the attacks from his office on the plane In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush talks on the telephone at the General Dougherty Conference Center at Barksdale Air Force Base In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush is seen with his senior adviser Karl Rove at Barksdale Air Force Base In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The president with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at Barksdale Air Force Base. Before leaving the base, the president held a press conference at which he said, Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The president was consoled by Lt Col Cindy Wright of the White House Military Office aboard Air Force One. After leaving Louisiana, the president was flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska before he headed back to Washington In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush arrived at the White House Presidential Emergency Operations Center around 7 pm. Here he is shown with his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 At 8:30 pm, the president addressed the nation from the White House. In his speech, he set the tone for the wars to come in Afghanistan and Iraq In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 Ive directed the full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice, the president said. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The presidents speech on the teleprompter In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 Immediately following the speech, the president had a national security meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and others

"[Perhaps Western] intelligence elements are behind the attacks and the bombings, and later Muslim citizens are arrested and killed and simply accused of perpetrating [the attacks] in order to justify what is happening in the Arab countries in the name of the war on terror, and in order to justify the plan to persecute the Muslims in the U.S. and Europe and expel them? Have we really been deceived, and continue to be deceived, to such an extent?!

Egypt is listed as number 159 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borderss 2016 World Press Freedom Index.

According to the report, journalists are obliged on national security grounds to report only the official version of terrorist attacks under an anti-terrorism law passed in 2015.
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When Russias Ministry of Defence organised a live news broadcast from the Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, the goal was to illuminate Russias role in helping secure the ceasefire introduced the previous day.

Instead, the event became a reminder of the enormity of the challenge of bringing peace to Syria.

In a video of the broadcast posted on social media by Russian news media, a Russian officer stands in front of the camera alongside a Syrian army officer.

He begins by giving a brief explanation of the ceasefire, part of a US-Russian agreement to try to end Syria's war.

The ceasefire generally is holding, he says, speaking from Castello Road, an important access route into Aleppo.

Then the gunfire starts. At first, the officer, identified as Lt Col Sergei Kapitsyn, looks confused. He and the Syrian officer clutch each other nervously.

Take cover! Take cover! someone positioned off camera yells.

As the shooting intensifies, the two officers duck, then dart out of the frame, presumably to find a safer location.

Later in the news briefing, the video transmission was cut off and replaced with the emblem of the Russian Defense Ministry.

In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish tanks driving to the Syrian-Turkish border town of Jarabulus yesterday AFP/Getty In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish-backed gather on the outskirts of Jarabulus, Syria, ahead of an offensive on 24 August 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish army tanks make their way towards the Syrian border town of Jarabulus, Syria August 24, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish soldiers return from Syria to Turkey with tanks after a military operation at the Syrian border as part of their offensive against the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria, Karkamis district of Gaziantep, Turkey, 25 August 2016 EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish army tanks and Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces move toward the Syrian border as pictured from Karkamis, Turkey, AP In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish tanks on their way to the Turkish-Syria border during an operation against Isis on 24 August 2016 EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Syrian opposition fighters being transported during preparations to enter Jarabulus in Karkamis, Turkey, on 24 August 2016. EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria An air strike hitting Isis-controlled territory near Jarabulus, near the Turkish border, on 24 August 2016. EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria A Turkish army tank and an armoured vehicle stationed near the border with Syria. Turkish media reports say Turkish artillery has launched new strikes at Isis targets across the border AP

The violence was a reminder of the challenge of imposing a cease-fire on the warring factions in Syria in the absence of a wider political agreement. Though Syrians had a welcome respite from air strikes and bombing on this first full day of the truce, there were scattered reports of shooting across many front lines.

It also suggested that Russian troops are going to be playing a bigger role in implementing the truce on the ground than had been known. The agreement has not been made public, leaving plenty of room for ambiguity in its interpretation by all parties to the conflict.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of being responsible for withholding the text of the accord and urged the Obama administration to release it in full.

According to the full version of the news briefing released by the Russian Defense Ministry, Kapitsyn, the officer who was forced to duck for cover, is the deputy head of Russia's Centre for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Syrian conflict in Aleppo.

The briefing also featured Russian officers speaking from the ground in two other locations in Syria. It was anchored by Lt Gen Viktor Poznikhir, who is based in Moscow at the Russian Defence Ministry.

Copyright Washington Post
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A Saudi prince has threatened to deter every aggressor amid a war of words with Iran over a deadly stampede during last years Hajj pilgrimage.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, accused heartless and murderous Saudis of deliberately causing the disaster that killed an estimated 2,000 Muslims near Mecca in 2015.

His comments prompted a fiery retort from Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of the holy city in Saudi Arabia.

He said the orderly conduct of this years pilgrimage, seeing an estimated two million Muslims travel to Mecca, is a response to all the lies and slanders made against the kingdom.

 Iran: Thousands mourn victims of Hajj stampede

Prince Khaled continued by relaying a message for the Iranian government on Wednesday evening, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

I pray to God Almighty to guide them and to deter them from their transgression and their wrong attitudes toward their fellow Muslims among the Arabs in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and around the world, he was quoted as saying. But if they are preparing an army to invade us, we are not easily taken by someone who would make war on us. When we desire, and with the help of God Almighty, we will deter every aggressor and will never relent in protecting this holy land and our dear country. No one can defile any part of our country if any one of us remains on the face of the Earth.

There has recently been a rise in rhetoric between politicians in Saudi Arabia and Iran over the Hajj disaster and continuing tensions over international relations and foreign intervention.

In pictures: Hajj stampede Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede Hajj pilgrims and Saudi emergency personnel carry a woman on a stretcher at the site where at least 700 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, at the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia Getty Images In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede In pictures: Hajj stampede

Saudi Arabia, with a Sunni Wahabi government, is allied to the US and UK, while Shia Muslim Iran has close ties to Russia and China.

The two nations are backing opposite parties in conflicts including Syria and Yemen, while tensions have been further inflamed by Saudi Arabias execution of a Shia cleric and ensuing violent protests.

Riyadh broke off relations with Tehran after its embassy there was attacked and set on fire by people protesting against Sheikh Nimrs death, for which Irans Revolutionary Guards promised harsh revenge.

Iran blamed the 2015 Hajj disaster on Saudi incompetence, with Ayatollah Khamenei saying Muslims should not let Saudi rulers escape responsibility for crimes he said they had committed in Middle Eastern conflicts.

More than 400 people killed in the stampede were Iranian pilgrims, crushed as they made their way down a narrow street to perform the Stoning of the Devil ritual in Mina.

An investigation has been opened by Saudi Arabian authorities.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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The Syrian government is breaking the terms of the US-Russian brokered ceasefire agreement by delaying letters of permission for aid conveys to travel into the country, a UN official has said.

The Syrian government promised permits for UN aid convoys before the ceasefire [that have] not been received, De Mistura said. This is something that is required to happen immediately, Staffan de Mistura, the UN and Arab League's special envoy to Syria, told reporters in Geneva on Thursday.

A much-needed aid delivery to 300,000 people in besieged East Aleppo was a key part of the agreement between the government and rebel groups, which came into effect on Monday. Letters of permission from the Syrian government for humanitarian deliveries were not part of the deal.

At least 20 trucks carrying enough supplies for 40,000 people are currently being held at the Turkish-Syrian border, unable to travel further without permission from the Damascus government. De Mistura said hundreds more trucks were ready to be mobilised, although it could still take days for aid to reach the city.

Inside Aleppo, the opposition civilian council has vowed to block aid deliveries, claiming they want freedom and an end to the five-year war, rather than just the agreed seven days' worth of peace.

There are also reports that fighters allied with Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which previously called itself al-Nusra, are attempting block the main road designated as an aid corridor.

A rebel fighter on the streets of Aleppo in April

De Mistura said that he had had reassurances from Russia on Thursday that they found the aid blockade disappointing, but did not elaborate on whether Russian diplomats would pressure their allies in the Syrian government to speed up deliveries.

The ceasefire, which began at sundown on Monday, appears to largely be holding, with no civilian deaths reported by monitoring groups in the last 48 hours.

The agreement was criticised for its lack of monitoring processes, and for not making provisions for the estimated 200,000 other people in Syria currently living under siege conditions.

Sure, this is less than perfect, US Secretary of State John Kerry said earlir this week. But flawed compared to what? Compared to nothing?
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Syrians are cautiously enjoying a period of relative calm this week thanks to the US and Russian-brokered ceasefire.

The agreement between several rebel groups and the Syrian government came into effect at sundown on Monday, timed to coincide with the beginning of the Eid-al-Adha festival. While several infringements have been reported, no civilians are thought to have lost their lives in the first 48 hours.

Russia has now agreed to extend the original seven-day agreement by another two days before the next stage of the plan, which involves coordinated airstrikes against Isis militants and Jabhat-Fateh al-Sham, the al-Qaeda affiliate which previously called itself al-Nusra. The extremist groups are not part of the ceasefire agreement.

The diplomatic community is beginning to hope that Syrias warring parties, exhausted by five years of conflict and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, may be entertaining the prospect a more lasting peace deal.

President Bashar al-Assad, despite an Eid address in which he promised to retake the whole country from rebels, is under pressure from Russian and Iranian allies to co-operate, as are rebel groups backed by the US and Turkey.

If thats the case, the reality is, talks will have to include the Kurds sooner or later, Ghadi Sary, an Academy fellow with Chatham Houses Middle East and North Africa programme. told The Independent.

In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish tanks driving to the Syrian-Turkish border town of Jarabulus yesterday AFP/Getty In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish-backed gather on the outskirts of Jarabulus, Syria, ahead of an offensive on 24 August 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish army tanks make their way towards the Syrian border town of Jarabulus, Syria August 24, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish soldiers return from Syria to Turkey with tanks after a military operation at the Syrian border as part of their offensive against the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria, Karkamis district of Gaziantep, Turkey, 25 August 2016 EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish army tanks and Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces move toward the Syrian border as pictured from Karkamis, Turkey, AP In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Turkish tanks on their way to the Turkish-Syria border during an operation against Isis on 24 August 2016 EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria Syrian opposition fighters being transported during preparations to enter Jarabulus in Karkamis, Turkey, on 24 August 2016. EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria An air strike hitting Isis-controlled territory near Jarabulus, near the Turkish border, on 24 August 2016. EPA In pictures: Turkey launches operation in Syria A Turkish army tank and an armoured vehicle stationed near the border with Syria. Turkish media reports say Turkish artillery has launched new strikes at Isis targets across the border AP

Many Sunni rebel groups are uneasy with the terms of the ceasefire: they fear attack by foreign government-allied Shiite groups, since there are no monitoring mechanisms in place to track violations.

But the Kurds - who are the only ground force to continuously succeed in driving back Isiss advance in Syria - are not even at the United Nations negotiating table in Geneva.

The Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) have evolved as a major player as the civil war has gone on: it was the the YPG, after six months of intense fighting and assistance from US military strikes, who managed to drive Isis from the Turkish border town of Kobani in March 2015.

The victory not only proved that Isis could be defeated, it cemented the Kurds position as a major military force in Syrias conflict.

The aftermath of an Isis suicide bomb attack during the battle for Kobani

The YPG, affiliated with the Turkish Kurdish PKK movement, and later the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a mainly Kurdish alliance of rebels, have managed to carve out a relative oasis of calm in northern Syria since the war began, despite the evolution of extremist groups such as Isis around it since.

Despite financial and military backing from the US, there has been no Kurdish delegation at international peace talks so far, thanks to a veto on their presence by some elements of the official Syrian opposition.

The Syrian Kurds are an important component of the country, so we need to find a formula in which they are able to express an opinion on the constitution and the governance of the country, Staffan de Mistura, the UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria, said earlier this year.

For their part, the Kurds, who faced decades of discrimination by the state before the war, are unwilling to let go of their hard-won autonomy.

Following recent victories in liberating several northern towns from Isis, but now dealing with advancing Turkish-backed forces too, the Kurds now stand at a crossroads in their history, Mr Sary said.

There is a danger if they become too expansionist. The model they have currently, of local governance, could be a model for Syrias future. As long as its local, thats fine - its on a large scale it wouldnt work. There would be too much friction with [the government] in Damascus.

Since Turkey entered Syria to drive out Isis militants from its border last month, the Kurds position has become more volatile: Turkey, which has long fought its own Kurdish insurgency, also wants to stop Kurdish groups from consolidating territory at all costs.

In response, the Kurdish Federation of Northern Syria, which governs Kurdish territory, has said that it will implement a new federal system of government to strengthen their existing administration.

Kurdish fighters belonging to the police force known as the Asayesh drive on the back of an armed vehicle in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on August 23, 2016, after they agreed to a truce with regime forces. (Getty)

In a recent interview, Hadiya Yousef, co-chair of the executive committee of the Kurdish Federation of Northern Syria, reaffirmed that the council is committed to implementing a new constitution in Kurdish-held areas, and that the democratic rights of all ethnic groups and women will be respected.

The Kurdish strategy in the civil war to date has been one of survival, Mr Sary added. So far, they have listened to criticism from other actors. We must assume good faith and engage them.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called the current ceasefire the last chance for a united Syria, and the sentiment has echoed in diplomatic circles. While thats also how the last ceasefire in February of this year was described, Mr Sary is also of the opinion that this opportunity for peace-building may be Syrias last hope.

If this works, then the Kurds must be bought in from the cold, he said. But Syria will be a different beast if this fails.
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Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Thailands not known for its wine; youre much more likely to think of beer when you think of this South-east Asian nation. But at Khao Yai National Park, around two hours by road from Bangkok, youll find a cluster of wineries, producing an array of reds and whites.

The locally run Thailand Wine Tours (thailandwinetour.com) take visitors on a tour of the national park where they can spot the huge white Buddha statue on a hilltop, as well as visiting two wineries. Prices start from 7,850 baht (169) for two people including transport from Bangkok, lunch, wine and English speaking guides.

The vines at Khao Yai (Shutterstock)

Lastminute.com has a week in Bangkok from 377pp including flights and two-star room-only accommodation.

Kefalonia, Greece

The Ionian island of Kefalonia, off the west coast of mainland Greece, has a beautiful landscapes and exceptional wines  some of which cant be exported, so a trip here is the only way youll get to taste them.

The Robola Wine Cooperative, in the Omala valley, is around an hour from all of the main resorts, and half an hour from the capital, Argostoli.

Thomson (thomson.co.uk) offers packages to Kefalonia from 534pp in October including flights and self-catering accommodation in Skala, and for an additional 45pp you can book a day trip to Argostoli and the Robola vineyards, where you can try a selection of whites, reds, and a very strong dessert wine  which I would describe as half way between a port and a sherry. In addition to the wine, the views of the valley are worth the visit alone.

Enjoy your wine with a view in Kefalonia (Anna Rhodes)

Jeruzalem, Slovenia

Ljubljana markets itself as a "City of Vine and Wine"; this despite there being no vineyards in or around the city. But if youre not satisfied with the Slovenian capitals numerous wineries, take a two-hour trip to the north-eastern village of Jeruzalem. Its renowned for its white wines and great views, which can be experienced in tandem on a walking wine tour.

The Ljubljana tourist board runs a Wine Routes of Jeruzalem tour (visitljubljana.com) in which youll visit Prlekija, a Slovenian region known for its wine, food and thermal springs, before heading to the wine hills of Jeruzalem.

Jeruzalem's vineyards (Marco Copo/slovenia.info)

The tour costs 102 including wine tasting, lunch and transfers. The tour is available from the beginning of March  30 October.

Expedia (expedia.co.uk) offers four nights in Ljubljana from 220pp including flights.

Oahu, Hawaii

Hawaii conjures imagery of fresh fruit, bright cocktails and exotic flavours, yet youll also find wine produced here. Island Mana Wines (islandmanawines.com), in Honolulus beachside Waikiki neighbourhood, on the isle of Oahu, is a wine tasting experience with a difference. The tipples here are not made with grapes, but instead include varieties produced from guava, mango, passion fruit and pineapple all sourced from organic fruit native to the island. Reservations must be made in advance; entry is free, you just pay for the wine you drink.

Sip tropical fruit wine in Waikiki (HTA/Tor Johnson)

Virgin Holidays (virginholidays.co.uk) offers a week in Waikiki from 1470pp in October, including flights and room-only accommodation.

Skane, Sweden

Skane, the region known for producing Absolut vodka, started to make a name for itself in the wine world during the 1990s. The main grapes of the region are solaris and rondo, which produce fruity whites and full-bodied reds. The Hallakra Vingard (hallakra.com), however, is renowned for its pinor noir. Groups of eight or more can book tours and tastings on request all year round (its open to the general public over the summer); prices available on request.

Hallakra Vingard (Miriam Preis/imagebank.sweden.se)

The vineyard is half an hour from the city of Malmo, or around an hour from Copenhagen  across the bridge in Denmark. easyJet Holidays (easyjet.com/holidays) has three nights in Copenhagen from 290pp including flights and hotel, room only.
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Every rail passenger has a view on whats wrong with our trains, and politicians are keen to tap into the public mood by depicting the railways as overcrowded and overpriced.

Jeremy Corbyn took to the floor of the 11am Virgin Train from London Kings Cross to record a video message. He claimed that the departure to York and Newcastle was completely ram-packed  prompting Sir Richard Branson to weigh in with images that sought to challenge the Labour leaders assertions about the absence of empty seats.

Ahead of next weekends Labour Leadership Conference to reveal whether Mr Corbyn will continue as Leader of the Opposition, I travelled on the longest main-line trip from London.

The journey extended via York, Newcastle and Edinburgh to Inverness in northern Scotland. But I didnt take the daily direct departure from Kings Cross station; I wanted to experience four different train operators in order to see how they compared.

I bought the ticket a few minutes before departure: a walk-up between London and Inverness allows you to switch train operators without formality, and indeed choose a wide range of routes: I could have included Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and even Reading in my journey plans.

A super off-peak return between London and Inverness costs 162.50. Overpriced? Well, not in comparison with a peak single from Manchester to Watford (166), or a rush-hour return between Bristol and the capital (198). The super off-peak conditions are not too difficult to meet: basically, you can leave London between 9am and 3pm, or from 7pm onwards. Heading south, the one restriction is that you cant catch a train that gets you to Kings Cross before 11.17am  which looks arbitrary but no doubt has a reasonable explanation.

The first link in the chain from southern England to northern Scotland was on German Railways, or Grand Central if you prefer to use the name of the subsidiary that runs trains on the East Coast main line. It is an open access operator that competes with Virgin Trains East Coast, serving destinations off the main network such as Pontefract and Sunderland. Crucially, it also runs non-stop from London to York, offering me a flying start on the route of the Flying Scotsman.

The Grand Central rolling stock comprises old diesel high-speed trains, the kind that have been mostly superseded on the East Coast main line by until the newer electric trains took over most of the service. About one-quarter of the seats were empty, in both Standard and First Class, including those which had a reserved card but are unoccupied. But non-stop proved wide of the mark: the train ground to a halt within a mile or two of leaving Kings Cross, for no apparent reason.

That gave me a chance to test the free on-board wi-fi. It was non-existent at first, but I assume someone gave it a kick and within half-an-hour it had woken up. Grand Central has a 50 megabyte limit per journey, which is easy to use in a couple of hours; for comparison, the Gatwick Express allows 40 megabytes on the half-hour journey between the airport and London Victoria.

After its false start, the 125mph train ran for several miles through Peterborough, which was more than enough to ensure that it arrived at York seven minutes late - too late for my connection to Cross-Country.

I had been hoping to make an illegal connection  nothing to do with fare dodging, but a transfer quicker than the eight minutes stipulated as the minimum required. But the unexplained delay meant I had to opt for Virgin Trains East Coast  the very train I had hoped to pick up later in the journey, at Newcastle. So I settled in for the long haul all the way to Edinburgh.

Virgin Trains now runs Anglo-Scottish trains on the East Coast as well as the West (pictured)

Again, about three-quarters of the seats were occupied, but lots of no-shows meant there was room for unreserved passengers such as me.

The train left six minutes late, due to being stuck behind the Grand Central service. A cup of tea, served at the seat, was 1.95  five pence cheaper than its German rival  but in Carriage C, where I was, free bottles of water were distributed by the train crew after an air conditioning failure.

The free wi-fi allocation is a miserly 15 minutes, though had I booked an advance ticket direct with Virgin then I would have been sent a code for free wi-fi for the whole journey.

The padding that train operators employ became clear when we hung around at the last-but-one stop, Berwick, for five minutes, and arrived three minutes early into Edinburgh.

It was the height of rush-hour in the Scottish capital, but I just had time to buy a supply of food for the third and final leg; a good investment, as it turned out. Considering that Inverness is one of the key Scottish destinations, along with Glasgow and Aberdeen, the departure platform was well concealed - even harder to find than Platform 9 and 3/4 at Kings Cross, whence the Hogwarts Express departs. But I managed to board the ScotRail service with a minute to spare (or rather two, because it left 60 seconds late).

At Waverley, more than half of the seats were unoccupied (Getty) (Getty Images)

For a journey of more than three hours, the train was not exactly a long-distance, luxury affair, being basically a commuter train. After leaving Waverley with about 60 per cent of seats occupied, it filled almost to ram-packed at Haymarket, the station at the west end of Edinburgh city centre. But once over the wonderful Forth Bridge and into Fife, it started to deposit commuters rapidly, and soon its wide, open spaces mirrored the scenery outside. Furthermore the price of a cup of tea was just 1.70. Whats not to like?

Well, the time-keeping. The tiny delay at the start of the journey built up steadily to Perth, where the single-track line to Inverness begins. Trains on this stretch are scheduled in order that they can pass one another at stations where the tracks are doubled. Once services start getting out of sequence, then delays increase rapidly.

After several pauses for southbound trains, including the (also late) Sleeper to London, the train arrived in Inverness 20 minutes late.

When thumbing a ride is quicker than an inter-city train, then theres a problem <p> </p>

The guard, to his credit, spent the last stretch of the journey checking with every passenger about their onward travel plans to ensure no-one was left stranded.

But both ScotRail and Grand Central showed an apparent disregard for passengers time, an experience that echoes through the long-distance rail network. The industry is now very good at paying compensation for extended delays, but passengers would far prefer efforts to be concentrated on running a decent, on-time service.

I happen to have hitch-hiked from Edinburgh to Aviemore, the stop before Inverness, last month, and despite a couple of longish waits outside both Dunfermline and Perth, the journey took significantly less than ScotRail train. When thumbing is quicker than an inter-city train, then theres a problem.

From my experience between southern England and northern Scotland, long-distance trains are neither overpriced nor overcrowded; they are simply under-reliable.
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Sometimes, I suspect, the ability of human beings to fool themselves with their own words over the Middle East is greater than the folly of war. One leads to another. I was crossing the Atlantic when the international crimes against humanity took place on 11 September 2001; my plane turned round over the ocean, shedding tons of fuel, before heading back to the safety of Europe. Safety then, of course. Not now. Before I landed, the third-rate politicians who would lead hundreds of thousands of Arabs  and, comparatively, a few of us  to our deaths in the Middle East had conned us all with their cliches.

The first of these mischievous remarks was that the attacks of 9/11 had changed the world forever. Politicians said it, newspaper editorials echoed it, populations repeated this dumb expression by the million. For if we really believed in the democracy, values and freedoms of the West which we suddenly rediscovered, it was our duty to ensure that the murderers of 9/11 did not change our societies. Not now  nor ever.

But there was another expression, which I missed at the time. The US was going to launch, we were told, a world war against terror. Its not the word terror that I failed to spot, a word whose generic, racist use became briefly pardonable after the attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, and then more disgusting than ever when it was re-used by Bush, Putin and any tin-pot dictator from the Middle East to Far East Asia to further their policies of brutality across the globe.

No, it was the use of the phrase world war which I didnt notice.

 9/11 remembered 15 years on

There were plenty of 9/11 parallels with Pearl Harbour  numerically understandable for that day in 1941, but preposterous in comparison to the mass slaughter of souls which it added to the Armageddon Hitler had already unleashed. No, the real comparison should have been the Great War of 1914-18, which destroyed the European order in a bloodbath which no-one predicted and which led, after 9/11 in our own age to an international outcry against the Wests propensity to bomb and bomb and bomb the Middle East.

The parallels, of course, are not exact. But 15 years after the event, I can see that our response to 9/11 had much more in common with August 1914 than September 1939  or December 1941, if we are going to recall Americas entry into the Second World War. In 1914, Europe had lived in a secure world, based upon a balance of power, its populations enriched by the industrialisation  and therefore modernisation  of transport, health, culture, science, even political understanding. The pre-war old world still contained the seedlings of revolution.

But no-one worked out two terrible explosive products within this mutual security pact. When one of these modern balances broke down  even over something so piffling as the killing of an archduke in Sarajevo  the rest would automatically collapse. So certain were we of our European security arrangements, that we had no way of preventing a simple disaster when someone blew a fuse in the system. This proved that, far from modernisation, we were still in the age of imperial war. The second development which we did not  or refused to  take account of, was that the one product of modernisation which would not fail us was war. The machine gun, the trench mortar, long-range artillery and air warfare would indeed change the world forever.

In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush was visiting Emma E Brooker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida as news of the attack on the World Trade Center broke In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The president and his staff, including Press Secretary Ari Fleischer (L) were then brought to a holding room at the school, where he prepared to address the nation In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush was then rushed onto Air Force One and was flown to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. He watched television coverage of the attacks from his office on the plane In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush talks on the telephone at the General Dougherty Conference Center at Barksdale Air Force Base In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush is seen with his senior adviser Karl Rove at Barksdale Air Force Base In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The president with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card at Barksdale Air Force Base. Before leaving the base, the president held a press conference at which he said, Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The president was consoled by Lt Col Cindy Wright of the White House Military Office aboard Air Force One. After leaving Louisiana, the president was flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska before he headed back to Washington In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 President Bush arrived at the White House Presidential Emergency Operations Center around 7 pm. Here he is shown with his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, Vice President Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 At 8:30 pm, the president addressed the nation from the White House. In his speech, he set the tone for the wars to come in Afghanistan and Iraq In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 Ive directed the full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice, the president said. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 The presidents speech on the teleprompter In pictures: President Bushs immediate response to 9/11 11 September 2001 Immediately following the speech, the president had a national security meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and others

We may still dispute Britains need to stand with France  a Brexit from the Entente Cordiale might have changed all that if a referendum had been held just over a hundred years ago  but we can scarcely dispute the unique fury with which we responded to Germanys attack on Belgium and France.

Cries of Hun barbarism  or Boch brutality  as the Germans stormed into Flanders, supposedly bayonetting babies and crucifying nuns on farm doors, form an immediate parallel to Islamist terror and whoever is not with us is against us. Oddly, there is another parallel: the 1914 Germans did indeed commit atrocities in Flanders (though not to the extent our propaganda would claim), just as the Islamists of bin Laden had committed atrocities before 2001.

The larger historical mirror shows two populations a hundred years apart setting off to war, with declarations of unity and patriotism and a strong hint of national superiority, without the slightest suggestion that the future may be on the side of mass death rather than mass victory. Self-righteousness, however justified, usually leads to the cemetery. Here, perhaps, we should not look back to the First World War, but to the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

For while Europe knew the facts that preceded August 1914, certain truths were kept from ourselves fifteen years ago. We could ask who had committed these crimes against humanity (19 men calling themselves Muslims) or how (box-cutters, airliners, tall buildings), but anyone who asked why (these included myself) were excoriated as terror lovers, friends of terrorists, etc.

Recommended Read more I can still smell the smoke from the Twin Towers as I write this

Any abuse could be uttered to prevent us asking why all the killers were Arabs, whether there was therefore a problem in the Middle East, how had such rage been kindled in a part of the world which had been ruled by our armies and then our pet dictators for the past century  since the end of the First World War, in fact. The identity of the 19 men  15 of whom were Saudis, as was Osama bin Laden  was morphed into the expression Arabs, as if the Sunni Muslim, Wahabi nature of the murderers had nothing to do with their country of nationality.

Thus, too, the final government report on 9/11 crucially excluded the 28 pages  in fact, 29 pages  of evidence about Saudi Arabias connections to the hijackers. The pages were jealously guarded, for security reasons, of course, until this year, when  blow me down  they were released with a few censored passages (or redacated as our pusillanimous journalists called them) and revealed only what we have known for a long time: that the Saudis had been funding groups who encouraged the killers.

The security label, however, was deadly serious. For if the Saudi identity of the whole operation had been acknowledged from the start, how could the US and the country led by a prime minister whose name I find it difficult to utter, have claimed so imperiously that Saddam Husseins Iraq  not Saudi Arabia  was behind the destruction of the Twin Towers. The very proposal to go to war in Iraq would have been highly questionable if we had absorbed the information contained in the censored passage of the 9/11 report. That  and that alone  was why the report was so important. It was tampered with so that we would attack Iraq and leave our Saudi allies in peace.

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No wonder the Muslim response on this fifteenth anniversary of 9/11 has been so indifferent. Iran and Lebanon were among the first nations to offer their condolences in 2001. But I am struck by the words of a Pakistani doctor a few days ago. Its a non-event, she said, when they see the damage the Americans have done in the Arab-Muslim countries, the 11 September is the last of their worries  and not because they support terrorism.

Exactly. And just as the Great War led to the Second, so the world war against al-Qaeda led, via Iraq, to the war against the apocalyptic Isis  the extraordinary word of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. We did try to stop history. Brits marched against Blairs murderous attack on Iraq before it began. But off we went. Forget Afghanistan  a good war, hadnt we defeated the Taliban?  and lets head for Baghdad for part two of the Great War.

It was folksy stuff. Secluded far from Washington after 9/11, George W Bush demanded to return to the White House. He asked after his wife and two daughters. Assured that they were safe, he asked: And Barney? Barney was the family dog. And from that moment, we all were.
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When Theresa May was placed at the far end of a row for the G20 family photograph, it was interpreted as evidence that the UK was no longer regarded as a major global player following the vote to leave the EU. Yet positions in G20 photos reflect only how long a particular leader has been attending. Mays position on the periphery is explained by the fact that was her first G20 as UK Prime Minister.

When European Union leaders meet for what is described as an informal summit in Bratislava tomorrow Friday, however, the line-up will permit only one conclusion: the UK really will be on the periphery, or beyond.

The EU will be meeting at 27  its new, post-Brexit, composition. The implications of the UKs departure have dictated practically the whole agenda. But Theresa May will not be there; she has not been invited.

On the day after the EU referendum  a day distinguished by the absence of any party line, and therefore of spin  Philip Hammond was asked about future relations between the UK and the EU. He was then Foreign Secretary, and he answered (with unusual clarity) that the UK would no longer have a voice at the table. That was it.

Now Chancellor, he may be back to his customary circumspection. But the Bratislava summit is where the reality of Brexit will be driven home. The UK will not even be able to register its dissent by wielding a veto. Its views, one way or another, will simply not count. And it had better get used to it. The European Union wants, and needs, to start moving on.

 Barack Obama: The US won't 'punish' UK over Brexit

Two directions of further travel can already be discerned. The first is a desire to demonstrate that the UK cannot expect any special privileges. This is not about punishment, but about discouraging others from following where the UK has led. The choice of negotiators  Michel Barnier for the EU commission and Guy Vanderhofstadt for the European Parliament  and a host of declarations about there being no preconditions, but no prospect either of an EU a la carte either, sends this message unambiguously not just to the UK, but to the rest of the EU.

The second is an attempt to devise a serious new EU project, around which the 27 member states will be able to rally. This new project has begun to take shape and it is a defence and security alliance of the sort that the UK was always wary of.

From the alacrity with which the French and the Germans have announced preparations and the prominent place the plan occupied in Jean-Claude Junckers annual state of the EU speech this week, it could be deduced that UK resistance is what had been stopping such an arrangement all along.

21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Show all 21 1 /21 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Portugal drinks more wine than France Tindo - Fotolia 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Young Italians, by some distance, are the most likely to live at home with their parents 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Britain is on course to overtake Germany as Europes most populated country 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Greek workers work the longest hours in the EU 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Estonia has, per capita, more drug-related deaths than anyone else 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe The fastest download speeds are to be found in Romania 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Slovenia, Malta and Poland have the smallest gender pay gaps 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe France hates its leader more than other European countries 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Eastern and Western Europe are very divided on the issue of gay marriage 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Germany has the most millionaires 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Everyone likes Christmas, apart from France 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Germany accepts by far the most asylum applications 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe The UK and France have some of the most positive views of Muslim people 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Europe's largest Muslim population is in Germany 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Danes are the most trusting Europeans, and Cypriots the least 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Finland has the worst economy in the EU 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Italy has cut back its military spending more than any other major European Nato member 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Everyone is sad about the refugee crisis 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe People in Spain are also the most likely to live in flats (Brits are most likely to live in houses) 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Spain is the most likely to feel neighbourly 21 maps and charts which will challenge perceptions of Europe Luxembourg is home to the highest proportion of foreign nationals

There is truth in this, but it is not the whole truth. What is true is that anything that even slightly hinted at the creation of a European defence headquarters was coldshouldered by the UK. Londons view was that any EU defence headquarters risked duplication and ambiguity in relation to the North Atlantic alliance and was to be discouraged by every possible means. Anything that might resemble a joint military force  or, heaven forbid, a real-live European army  was both ridiculed as impracticable and ruled out of order.

And for a long time, through the 1990s and early 2000s, this was Washingtons view, too. But it never quite convinced. On the one hand, the US wanted the European members of Nato to accept more of the expense and obligations of membership; on the other, it rejected outright any move to a coordinated EU defence that might help to do this. The British stood with the US.

Under President Obama, however, it seemed that Washingtons objections to EU defence coordination were softening. The calls for the European members of Nato to contribute more were as loud as ever. But the particular objections to the EU developing a defence arm were less often heard.

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Indeed, as the East and Central Europeans worried about a resurgent Russia in the wake of its annexation of Crimea, there seemed to be something almost akin to acquiescence in Washington that the EU might be part of a solution. Suddenly, the UK risked being the odd country out.

Brexit, or its prospect, could leave the US and the EU on the same page. It could even open the way for a new, trilateral, area of cooperation. By leaving the EU, the UK takes a chunk of the budget with it, and an even bigger chunk of its defence capability. Part of the EUs new security initiative may be about trying to plug that gap.

But it is also designed to respond to a new, and specifically EU, need, in the light of the migration crisis and its threat to the Schengen agreement. The inadequacies of EU security were highlighted in the summer of 2015 and the EUs defences remain a botched job, haphazardly reinforced by restored border controls and fences at vulnerable points.

A strong argument could be made for a pan-European defence force to remedy this. Border control, however, remains a national, not EU, competence, and one that is jealously guarded especially by the new EU members. Extending the remit even of Frontex is controversial. Yet it is hard to see how else the demands can be met on the one hand for a more secure external border and on the other for continued free movement. The joint defence initiative now being broached is a start.

EU President Van Rompuy says no Brexit talks until after German elections

It is a start, though, and it could lead to what has been called a two-speed EU, with an inner core of states that accepts the whole package  a single currency, free movement and joint defence arrangements  and an outer group for whom this whole package is unacceptable, either in principle or practice, or both.

It is coincidence, but also telling, that the EU presidency should be held at such a time by Slovakia, a member (with Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic) of the Visegrad group, which wants stronger defences and continued free movement but baulks at accepting a system of quotas for refugees on grounds of practicality and national sovereignty. Its biggest member, Poland, has also put its entry to the single currency on hold.

In essence, the very same contradictions and competing arguments that contributed to the UKs departure can be seen at the other edge of Europe, too.

And together, perhaps, they pose a question. Not a question about the viability of the original European project, but about the wisdom of expanding it  about the speed, the direction, and even whether some of those enlargements were a good idea at all.
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The powerful conclusion of the Home Affairs Select Committee on the brutal practice of female genital mutilation  When it is inflicted on a woman, it is a horrific crime. When it is inflicted on a girl it is violent child abuse  is indubitably correct. Powerful words, however, are not enough. Respect for culture or religious practice offers no sufficient excuse for the lack of progress in tackling FGM, as the group of MPs joining the debate today rightly points out. What is missing from Government is not the language to condemn but the willingness to act, and that is failure of grave proportions.

The mutilation of a womans genitals has been classified as a criminal act for three decades, yet across Britain it is still widespread. More than 1,200 cases of FGM were recorded in England in the three months to June 2016. Between January and March this year, there was 1,242 newly recorded cases of the practice noted by the NHS (which includes historic cutting becoming known authorities for the first time), according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre  and that figure included 11 girls born here in the UK. At least 2 per cent of all new cases were performed on girls under the age of 18.

In response, Janet Fyle, an adviser to the Royal College of Midwives, called for greater vigilance among her profession. And progress has, it must be noted, been made in the collection of information about FGM, on how and where it is still practised.

It is not just historic data though  far from it. The committees latest estimations suggest 137,000 women permanently resident in England and Wales have been subjected to FGM since 2011.

The failure, then, has come in translating the law from well-meaning policy into legal practice. The law states that FGM is illegal, and yet it goes ahead and its practitioners remain free men and women. FGM was outlawed in 1985, but more than three decades later not a single prosecution for the crime has been successful  a lamentable record, as the committee notes.

Last year a case against a London doctor accused of performing the practice collapsed, with the Crown Prosecution Service facing criticism for its handling of the case. No example has been set to prevent future incidents.

The purpose of FGM is to limit or eliminate sexual enjoyment in women in an attempt to prevent promiscuity. Like rape, FGM is a hidden crime that goes significantly under-reported because its victims fear (quite rightly, as the lack of convictions demonstrates) that seeking prosecution will ultimately end in failure, and in doing so they will have to expose themselves to scrutiny.

Some NHS clinicians, we now know, are ignoring rules which require the mandatory recording of FGM. It is not just in the courthouse that womens voices are going unheard.

The Government appears to have a sensible strategy in mind to tackle the problem, including the sharing of information between agencies and departments, and with schools and border agencies to prevent children being taken out of the country during what has become known as cutting season. This is one policy area where the benefits of big data are absolutely clear: if sharing information can help teachers, doctors, community leaders and immigration officials identify who is at risk of experiencing FGM and stop it from happening, that will be an example of good preventative action.

But given the Governments chequered record with projects or policies that are driven by data, it is fair to assume that in the meantime large numbers of girls and women will slip through the net. For them, prevention will not be enough. Prosecution is a more effective tool, but it requires the courage and commitment of all parties to see it happen.

Until the first person is sentenced for the crime of cutting a girl or woman, FGM will remain effectively legal practice in the UK. That situation, as the pain of its victims, cannot be allowed to endure.
Union sources have said there will be two more industrial action days by Dublin Bus drivers in September and 11 days in October

Union sources have said there will be two more industrial action days by Dublin Bus drivers in September and 11 days in October

Hundreds of thousands of commuters are facing weeks of disruption as Dublin Bus drivers step up their strike action in a deepening pay dispute.

Union bosses have confirmed 13 more stoppages over the coming one-and-a-half months.

The escalation will see the capital's bus fleet ground to a halt for more than a third of October.

Newly-announced stoppages this month will take place on September 27 and 28.

These are in addition to the 48-hour strike already scheduled for next week, on September 23 and 24.

Next month, further strike days are planned for October 1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 24, 26 and 29.

The capital is in the midst of a 48-hour stoppage after buses were ordered back to depots at 9pm on Wednesday.

Dermot O'Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU), blamed political leaders and transport chiefs for not negotiating with bus drivers on what he described as a long overdue pay rise.

"What is particularly galling here is the undisputed fact that this dispute will ultimately be settled around the negotiating table," he said.

"Allowing service disruptions to become the de-facto norm in the nation's capital is a sad indictment on those who are both elected and appointed to provide this vital service."

Trade union Siptu said five unions, including itself, the NBRU and Unite, had agreed to ratchet up the industrial action at a meeting on Thursday.

Organiser Owen Reidy claimed Dublin Bus bosses and Department of Transport officials have little interest in resolving the row.

"What is needed is for all sides to commit to a serious negotiation process and display fresh thinking concerning the funding of Dublin's public bus system," he said.

"Workers are no longer prepared to be a soft touch whose pay is suppressed to subsidise a declining state subvention."

Unite has already threatened a potential further escalation when the unions meet again next month to review their action.

Dublin Bus has denounced the walk-outs as unnecessary and unjustified.

"To date, this industrial action has cost the company in excess of four million euro and continues to impact the financial stability of the company," a company spokeswoman said.

"We will now assess the full implications of today's announcement."

Dublin Bus is adamant it is open to negotiations, but believes they must hinge on the terms of a Labour Court recommendation for a pay increase of 8.25% over three years.

Trade unions say the vast majority of their members have already rejected this recommendation and they want fresh talks on their demands for a 15% salary hike.

The city was hit with two days of traffic gridlock last week as people turned to private cars and taxis - which reported a threefold jump in business - during the first planned two-day strike.

Transport Minister Shane Ross said he greatly regrets the grave inconvenience caused to the travelling public by the ongoing dispute.

His spokesman said: "He is acutely aware of calls for him to directly intervene but must reiterate, that as any ministerial intervention could be interpreted as a commitment to open the State chequebook, it would be inappropriate for him to do so.

"He again calls on management and the unions to engage with each other immediately."
The funeral of Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas at St Brigid's Church in Liscannor, Co Clare

The family of a Coast Guard volunteer who died in a search operation have remembered her as an inspirational hero.

Thousands of relatives, friends and staff from the emergency services paid respects to Caitriona Lucas at her funeral at St Brigid's Church, Liscannor, Co Clare.

The mother-of-two - an artist, librarian, animal lover and life-saver - died on Monday when the rescue boat she was in with two colleagues capsized in heavy Atlantic swell off Kilkee.

As scores of Irish Coast Guard staff, in their distinctive black uniforms and white peaked caps, flanked the entrance to the church, Ms Lucas's husband Bernard and son Ben fought back tears to describe their loss.

Taking a leaf from his wife's philosophy on life, the widower told mourners: "Don't put things off, do them now. Time is short. Life is very precious."

With a trembling voice, the couple's 20-year-old son gave mourners in the packed church and grounds a glowing insight into his mother.

"My mother was an exceptional person in every way," he said.

"She loved life and gave everything she did 100%.

"She loved the sea and the Coast Guard, her work in the library, especially with the projects she did with the children.

"My mother had lots of great qualities. She was caring, loving, kind and above all dedicated.

"She was an inspiration to everyone around her and I always will remember her smile and her laugh.

"She will be missed by everyone and she will always be in our thoughts and our hearts.

"Goodbye to our wonderful mother. Love always. You are my hero."

Before the mass a video compiled by Ms Lucas's 18-year-old daughter Emma was played showing aspects of her mother's life.

Ms Lucas, 41 and originally from Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, was the first member of the Irish Coast Guard to die on duty.

She and her husband Bernard volunteered with the Doolin unit.

Ms Lucas had gone to sea off Kilkee on Monday in the search for missing teacher David McMahon, 33, from Lisseycassey, Co Clare.

Two colleagues, who were also thrown into the sea in the accident, coxswain James Lucy and Jenny Carraway, were rescued and suffered minor injuries.

Mourners heard how the family had kayaked the River Inagh last week and planned another trip.

Ms Lucas had also planned a Roald Dahl weekend for children at the library to mark the 100th anniversary of the writer's birthday, including painting windows and preparing masks for youngsters to complete.

Parish priest Father Denis Crosby told mourners flags were flying at half-mast as a mark of respect.

"To salute a great spirit, to salute a spirit of service and a gracious, wonderful woman," the priest said.

"Words will not sum up the occasion."

Fr Crosby recalled Ms Lucas's compassion, generosity and child-like spirit.

"She carried the light wonderfully into our world. She was a light in a world that's very often dark and careless," he said.

Fr Crosby said Ms Lucas embodied the spirit of helping a neighbour and recalled how she overcame her fear of heights while training to be a rescue volunteer and once went over a cliff edge in Carrigaholt to save a dog.

"In Caitriona's life we have the perfect living out and embodiment of the mystery of love. It wasn't just words and talk but actions and commitment.

"To give your life doesn't mean just to die. She gave her life, all her life, and she knew that living means giving.

"And the creed and the colour and the name didn't matter. As long as there was need she was there. First always to answer the call."

The funeral was attended by Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and representatives of President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Ms Lucas was buried in Kilmacreehy cemetery, Liscannor, with the thousands of mourners walking the road to the graveyard overlooking the Atlantic and the beach in nearby Lahinch.
Dublin city as seen from the 23rd floor of Capital Dock, currently being developed by Kennedy Wilson. The buildings offices are expected to be ready in the final quarter of 2017

Banks planning to move staff out of London after Brexit face a stark reality: there isn't much prime real estate up for grabs in rival cities. With vacancy rates for prime space in the business districts of Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam at the lowest levels in a decade, there are only a handful of empty and appropriate office buildings in those cities capable of housing the thousands of employees that banks might need to relocate, according to data from property broker Savills Plc. In Dublin, there are currently no buildings big enough.

"There is no obvious successor to London," said Matthew Fitzgerald, Savills's head of European tenant representations. It could take several years to see a financial cluster of a similar scale."

While the banks have so far waited to see what UK prime minister Theresa May's negotiating plan will be, first movers may gain an advantage given the limited stock of space. Bank executives are planning for the worst - an outcome where they lose the right to sell services freely around the European Union from London - and would want to have new or expanded offices set up elsewhere before the end of the two-year Brexit negotiation period.

The problem is particularly acute for Wall Street firms, who have a majority of their European employees in London. Eighty-seven percent of US investment banks' EU staff are located in the UK, which is also home to 78pc of the region's capital markets activity, according to New Financial, a think tank.

Given the scarcity of supply, banks are considering dispersing employees across a number of different European cities, according to three people with knowledge of their contingency plans. Regus Plc, the world's largest provider of serviced offices, has already said it's speeding up expansion plans in Frankfurt, should banks need temporary solutions.

"We might see a gradual spread of roles around Europe, and these would likely be department moves of no more than 200 staff," Fitzgerald said.

In the days following the June referendum, real-estate brokers say they were inundated with calls from panicked US investment banks asking about the availability of offices across the continent. Nobody has publicly signed a lease on new space yet, as executives weigh their options and wait to get a sense of what May's government is hoping to achieve from Brexit talks.

Last week, UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said the Swiss bank may have to move as many as 1,500 jobs from London to elsewhere in the region. Before the vote, JP Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon said he would relocate as many as 4,000 employees to the continent after Brexit. Morgan Stanley may move as many as 1,000 employees out of the UK, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. indicated they would also shift people abroad. European-based banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Deutsche Bank AG said they may have to move people or activities to France and Germany.

In Dublin, often touted as a likely destination for US investment banks given the common language and cultural ties, Big Tech has beat Wall Street to spaces that were once vacant after Ireland's debt crisis. Airbnb Inc. and Twitter Inc. have added space, helping to boost lease signings in Dublin by 25pc last year to a level last seen in 2007, according to agents Jones Lang Lasalle.

In the La Defense district of Paris, there are eight office buildings with contiguous space for 2,000 employees, Savills' data shows. In Frankfurt, that number dwindles to five.

If a bank wanted to move all of its staff and headquarters out of the UK tomorrow, then the options would narrow further. In the major financial hubs of Europe, only Paris and Frankfurt currently have an office complex big enough to accommodate 5,000 people or more, Savills says. Dublin, Madrid and Amsterdam have one development each in the pipeline that could house that many people, but those projects aren't scheduled for completion for at least 18 months.

It's little wonder that other countries are eyeing the spoils of the City of London. Financial services remain a crown jewel of the UK, accounting for more than 12pc of the economy and providing 2.2 million jobs. Banks paid the UK Treasury Stg66bn in tax in 2014, more than any other sector. (Bloomberg)
One of the Applegreen service stations on the M1 going north

Applegreen's two founders - chief executive Bob Etchingham and chief operating officer Joe Barrett - have sold a 7.5pc stake in the stock market-listed forecourt retailer for a total of 27m.

The pair continue to be major shareholders in the firm.

Their Malta-based B&J Holdings entity still owns 60pc of Applegreen's share capital, with Mr Etchingham owning 75pc of B&J, and Mr Barrett owning 25pc.

The shares in Applegreen were sold by B&J Holdings at 4.50 each, which represented a 5pc discount to the closing price on Tuesday. Shares in the company were changing hands yesterday at about 4.70. That values the remaining 60pc of Applegreen shares held by B&J at just over 226m.

The share placing was not public and it was handled by Goodbody Stockbrokers and Shore Capital.

Applegreen floated on the stock market last year, raising almost 92m and using the proceeds to help expand its presence in Ireland and the UK.

It operates a total of 220 sites, including motorway service areas across the island of Ireland. It also has a handful of US outlets in Long Island, and has recently inked a deal to expand the brand into Massachusetts. Last week, Applegreen reported that first-half revenue rose 7.4pc to 556.6m, while its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), was up 15pc at 13m.

Applegreen said that trading in Ireland was particularly strong during July and August, while it also picked up notably in the UK during the summer following the Brexit vote there.

At the end of this month, it will submit plans for what would be its first motorway service area in Britain. It would be located in Hampshire.

"We are the consultation stage with the public and the first formal planning application will go in later this month," said Mr Etchingham.

"We have a number of other opportunities that we're prepping for, and they will go into the planning system in the first quarter of next year. It'll be two or three years before we see any results from that work."

Applegreen generated 49.1m of its 68.5m gross profit during the first half in Ireland, with 18.4m made in the UK. In Ireland, food accounted for 37p of the gross profit figure here, with fuel contributing 31pc and its stores 32pc.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

European shares rose in early trade yesterday, breaking a four-day losing streak after markets had sold off globally on the back of concerns about the effectiveness of central bank policy.

Dublin bucked the trend, with Irish shares down very slightly.

The STOXX 600 index of euro-area shares was up 0.5pc, rebounding from one-month lows. Equities have been under pressure after the European Central Bank said last week an extension of its stimulus programme had not been discussed and amid speculation worries about a rate rise from the US Federal Reserve next week.

Shares in German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer rose after it clinched a $66bn takeover of US seeds company Monsanto yesterday, ending months of wrangling with a third sweetened offer that marks the largest all-cash deal on record.

The $128-a-share deal, up from Bayer's previous offer of $127.50 a share, has emerged as the signature deal in a consolidation race that has roiled the agribusiness sector in recent years.

Mark Dampier, head of research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said he expected markets to be nervous ahead of key meetings from the Fed and the Bank of Japan later in September.

"My view on the market is that it's going to be pretty flat, possibly down, over the next few days while they wait for yet another... macro-statistical event to come out," he said.

European stocks' recovery was led by a rise in basic resources shares, which were up 2.8pc, benefiting from a rise in copper prices which firmed on the back of positive US and Chinese economic data.

Swiss business support services firm DKSH was the top gainer, up 5.6pc at more than a one-year high on the back of an upgrade from Credit Suisse to "outperform".

Luxury stocks, however, came under pressure with France's Hermes falling 7pc after saying that it would no longer provide an annual sales growth forecast starting next year due to the uncertain trading environment.

Swiss watchmaker Richemont also fell after a disappointing update, down 3.7pc, with shares in Swatch Group pulled lower as well.

Britain's Ocado extended its losses from the previous session, down 6.6pc after BNP Paribas cut its rating on the stock to "underperform". Ocado fell on Tuesday after warning on margin pressure in its third-quarter update.

In Dublin, startup drug firm Amryt Pharmaceutic fell 8pc to 23 cents a share after financial results on Tuesday. While Ormonde mining was the big gainer, surging 18pc.
Ryanair's ownership structure could come under pressure following Brexit if UK investors in the airline are considered non-European Union residents for the purposes of shareholding rules.

At the airline's 20th annual general meeting as a public company yesterday, chief executive Michael O'Leary warned that in a worst-case Brexit scenario, the carrier's UK shareholders could be considered non-EU residents and could be forced to sell their shares.

Investors based in the UK currently own about 20pc of the airline.

Under EU rules no more than 49.9pc of an EU airline can be owned by investors from outside the Union.

Mr O'Leary also said that the airline could have to seek a UK air operator's certificate if it wanted to continue operating its three existing domestic UK routes.

But Ryanair chief financial officer Neil Sorahan insisted that the issue of whether UK investors would be considered EU shareholders would be a minor complication.

"Nobody knows what's going to happen with Brexit," Mr Sorahan said.

"The funds are very good at moving into Frankfurt, Dublin, Milan and places like that, so I'd see it as a very small issue from that perspective."

Ryanair also has an investor base in the United States, and it has previously taken steps to ensure that the airline doesn't breach EU ownership rules.

In 2001, it indefinitely suspended the issuance of new ADR shares in the US.

In 2002, it implemented additional measures to restrict the ability of non-EU nationals to purchase its ordinary shares.

As a result, non-EU nationals are currently effectively barred from purchasing ordinary shares in the airline. The carrier's directors also have the power to prevent non-EU holders of shares in the airline from speaking or voting at general meetings, and to require non-EU shareholders to dispose of their shares to EU nationals.

If a non-EU national shareholder is requested to but does not sell their ordinary shares to an EU national within a specified time period, Ryanair can then take legal action to compel such a sale.

At yesterday's AGM, Mr O'Leary also effectively dismissed concerns raised by UK corporate governance watchdog Pirc.

He said that he hoped chairman David Bonderman would continue to serve in his role for many more years.

Mr Sorahan said that the airline does not just pay lip-service to corporate governance rules.

"We're exceptionally lucky with the talent we have on the board and we'd be mad to ask any of them to step aside. They're extremely independent individuals," he added.

"David Bonderman brings huge experience and knowledge not only of aviation, but of all sectors, and has been helpful with our AGB (Always Getting Better campaign)."

Mr O'Leary also said that forward bookings for the remainder of the calendar year are about 2pc ahead for September and October, and 1pc higher for November and December, compared to last year.

However, he said that those bookings are being made on the back of lower fares.

Ryanair has predicted that it will make a profit of between 1.37bn and 1.42bn in the current financial year.

"That guidance remains very heavily dependent on no material adverse changes, and certainly no more negative events such as terrorist attacks across Europe or elsewhere," said Mr O'Leary.
The 92m sale of the Gresham Hotel in Dublin to Spains Riu group has been completed.

NAMA put the property up for sale earlier this year.

The iconic Dublin hotel was owned by Precinct Investments, which is controlled by builder Bryan Cullen. Precinct is the vehicle that was used in 2004 to take the then stock market-listed Gresham Hotel group private, in a 117m deal.

Riu beat competition from US private equity giants Apollo and Cerberus in the race to clinch the iconic hotel, which is almost 200 years old.

Dublin is now one of the most interesting cities for investment, said Luis Riu, chief executive of RIU Hotels & Resorts today.

Its tourism industry is booming, demand for rooms rising and the city is putting a lot of money into its infrastructure. We are extremely pleased with the purchase of this hotel in one of the most beautiful European capitals.

The group added that the Gresham, which was recently refurbished, will require only minor modifications.

Mr Riu added: "We are sure that it will be the perfect addition to our collection of Riu Plaza hotels and many returning RIU clients will be drawn to discovering this destination with us.

In an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent in June, Mr Riu said that he believed he would be able to but the Gresham at a price that made sense.

"There needs to be a balance between the owner's expectations and the profitability that the buyer thinks he can get, he said. But, if we didn't believe in this project, we would have left the bid already. So we think that we can definitely find this balance."

The Gresham hotel  now known as The Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin hotel - has 323 rooms and suites, 20 function rooms, a restaurant and a bar.

The Riu group is 49pc-owned by travel giant TUI, and is TUI's biggest hotel brand, operating more than 100 resorts and hotels around the world.

Last year, according to Luis Riu, his hotel group generated revenue of 1.8bn and he said the figure will rise 15pc this year to over 2bn. It has over 27,000 employees, and last year spent 350m on the construction of new hotels, as well as refurbishment projects. This year, Mr Riu said the group expects to invest about 500m.
THE head of the Irish Pharmaceutical Association, the umbrella body that represents some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Ireland, has warned of a major skills gap because of a shortage in the number of teenagers studying science, technology, engineering and maths to a high level.

Dr Leisha Daly, outgoing IPHA president and country director for Janssen - the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson - said that the promotion of STEM in schools was vital if Ireland is to maintain its reputation as a key location for highly skilled workers.

"It is a concern and will become a problem over time," said Dr Daly whose company currently has around 100 engineering vacanies.

"We need to keep encouraging students to take up STEM courses in university, but also to do subjects like maths and physics in secondary school."

Dr Daly steps down as IPHA president later this month following the completion of a new, four-year deal on drug pricing between IPHA and the State.

The deal will see the State experience savings of between 600m to 785m over the lifetime of the agreement which will be subject to an annual review.

Read Full Interview Here
Actress Sienna Miller attends the Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion grand reopening celebration last week in New York. Its parent company, Richemont, said operating profit is set to decline by 45pc

The crisis in the global luxury-goods industry deepened after Hermes International abandoned a long-standing forecast and Richemont predicted a profit plunge that Chairman Johann Rupert deemed unacceptable.

Richemont, the maker of Cartier jewellery, said first-half operating profit will probably decline about 45pc and warned it may have to deepen cost cuts. Kelly bag maker Hermes, traditionally among the industry's most resilient companies, scrapped a target for 8pc annual sales growth, replacing it with what it described as "an ambitious goal."

Shares of both companies slid, dragging other luxury stocks down with them. The industry is grappling with another year of waning demand as China's campaign against extravagant spending is compounded by a drop in tourism after terrorist attacks in France and Belgium, a situation Rupert characterised as a "fiasco".

Richemont's revenue slid 13pc, excluding currency shifts, in the five months through August, missing analysts' estimates. "The warnings show that macro and geopolitical uncertainties put near-term volume growth in question," said Zuzanna Pusz, an analyst at Berenberg. "The challenges facing the luxury industry are not over yet."

Hermes shares fell as much as 7.7pc in Paris yesterday, the steepest drop in almost three months, even as first-half profit beat estimates. Prior to yesterday, the stock had gained 24pc this year as other luxury stocks had stagnated or fallen. Richemont slid as much as 4.6pc in Zurich, while Swatch Group fell as much as 3.5pc.

Hermes anticipates earnings will be lower in the second half than the first, chief executive officer Axel Dumas said. (Bloomberg)
Here are the main business stories from this morning's papers:

Irish Independent

* The State's financial watchdog has found there was a potential loss to the taxpayer of Stg190m (223.5m) from the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland loans portfolio, Project Eagle.

In a damning report, Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) Seamus McCarthy raised questions over how the portfolio, at the time the biggest property sale in Irish history, was valued and marketed.

* Tipperary businessman Declan Kelly will be propelled to the premier league of Ireland's rich list next year, if the New York-headquartered consulting company he co-founded, Teneo, proceeds with a rumoured $1bn (890bn) stock market flotation.

Established just five years ago, Teneo has quickly evolved into a global consulting firm attracting heavy hitters such as former Conservative leader and one-time foreign secretary William Hague, and Northern Ireland peace envoy George Mitchell, to its ranks of advisors.

* Ryanair's ownership structure could come under pressure following Brexit if UK investors in the airline are considered non-European Union residents for the purposes of shareholding rules.

At the airline's 20th annual general meeting as a public company yesterday, chief executive Michael O'Leary warned that in a worst-case Brexit scenario, the carrier's UK shareholders could be considered non-EU residents and could be forced to sell their shares.

The Irish Times

* The Irish economy grew by 0.6pc during the second quarter of the year, new figures have shown.

According to the Central Statistics Office, the country's gross domestic product increased by 0.6pc in the three months to the end of June.

* EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has defended her finding that tech giant Apple was given billions in illegal state aid by the Irish government.

Ms Vestager said it was the responsibility of member states to make sure their tax legislation was compliant with the European Union.

* Ryanair's profit forecast could come under pressure in the second half of the year as the airline looks to cut air fares over the coming months.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary warned its 1.4bn forecast could be hit by falling ticket prices in the winter monhts.

Irish Examiner

* Economists have urged caution around true consumer spending after the Central Statistics Office published GDP growth figures for the second quarter of the year.

In the three month period to the end of June GDP increased by 0.6pc, but was up 4.1pc on the same period last year.

* Nine members of staff at a Dublin-based aircraft leasing firm last year shared a pay-pot of $4.4m (3.9m).

Accounts filed by BOC Aviation (Ireland) show that pre-tax profits last year rose by 10.4pc to $120.88m. Revenues at the firm increased from $292m to $308.5m. The accounts filed with the Companies Office show that the firm's nine employees each enjoyed an average salary of $488,888.

* Ireland's largest hotel operator Dalata is eyeing further growth abroad and is aiming to grow its UK room capacity by 15pc within the next two and a half years.

The company already has four hotels across the UK in London, Leeds, Manchester, and Cardiff.
Sterling is set to drop to 90p against the euro  and firms must look at hedging options

Without sounding too alarmist, many Irish SMEs are leaving themselves exposed to fluctuations in Sterling as the currency plummets in value, which could have the potential to wipe-out profits for many exporting SMEs.

With sterling to drop to 90 pence by December, we are advising Irish business who trade with the UK to move now to hedge against sterling, in order to protect their already significantly impacted profit margin - and there are three primary options available to Irish businesses to protect against currency fluctuations.

Only 12 months ago your euro would have bought you 70 pence. Post-Brexit, and the subsequent 21pc drop in the value of the pound, it is now heading for 90 pence. Irish businesses importing from the UK are likely to welcome a sharp drop in the price of imports from the UK. But Irish exporters are left having to consider 'hedging strategies' to guard against a likely further decline in the pound.

It's very important to consider where sterling is headed and what exactly that means for your margins. With many businesses working off a profit margin of 10pc-15pc, a 20pc-plus fall in price could push some into the red - thus threatening their viability and many jobs.

Reports from the UK earlier this year suggested 80pc of larger corporates have hedged against sterling exposure, but only 22pc of UK SMEs have - anecdotal evidence suggests to us that less than half that number of Irish businesses have taken steps to protect themselves.

What's the short-term future of the pound?

Markets are currently pricing sterling to drop to an expected 90 pence, and possibly even parity, by the end of 2016. A potential further decline of close to 20pc is also being considered. In recent weeks, Bank of England board member Ian McCafferty suggested that further rate reductions and additional QE purchases may be required if the UK economy shows further signs of a slowdown. One of the first things a business should do if they are sourcing from the UK is to contact suppliers and lock in pricing. With sterling weakening, UK suppliers will look to pass on price rises to Irish buyers as the cost of their own source of materials increase.

A weak pound - what does it mean for Irish business?

At this stage all businesses adversely affected by sterling weakness should be seriously investigating how to protect themselves against further fluctuation.

Even businesses that buy in sterling would be strongly advised to hedge against at least a portion of their exposure.

What options are available?

We would advise Irish businesses that trade with the UK to consider three options that could allow them to protect them from currency fluctuations:

1 Flexible Spot Facility

Similar to a forward contract, a Flexible Spot simply allows you to guarantee today's exchange rates for future currency exchange for a period of typically six to 12 months. Businesses may take the view that it is best to lock in today's exchange rates for a period, ie up to 12 months. This way you guard against fluctuation affecting your margins and know today what sterling is going to cost to convert in advance.

An example would be an Irish food distributor that supplies Tesco and Sainsbury in the UK with product and invoices amounting to approximately 150,000 every month. Over the course of the next six months, that business will receive 900,000, or close to 1,058,823, at today's exchange rates if fixed.

Should sterling move to parity, that 900,000 will yield over 150,000 less.

2 The 50/50 Approach

Some businesses will decide that protecting against the full exposure has the same risks as not protecting at all. In this case, an approach might be taken whereby the businesses calculates total exposure and protects against half of that.

In this instance above, this business may decide to protect against 450,000 of exposure. The benefit here is that the approach will be neither right nor wrong as you simply balanced your exposure.

3 Live Orders

A further demonstration of an option open to Irish business is a business that needs to pay 50,000. The exchange rate today is .86 and they feel that it may hit .87 this week, so they request an order for .87.

This order is now placed on the market and will be filled as soon as .87 hits. If sterling strengthens they can simply cancel the live order in the meantime. If .87 lands, the business saves close to 600.

Whatever measure you decide take, the message is simple: you need to act now. Those businesses that fail to move in advance of further drops in the pound are likely to suffer from their inaction further down the line.

Barry Dowling is co-founder of TransferMate Global Payments, Irish-based FX specialists
As if he wasn't already one of the world's most powerful executives in the tech industry, Lee Jae Yong is poised to become a whole lot more powerful.

While Jay Y's nomination to the board of Samsung Electronics comes amid the Note 7 battery crisis - inviting obvious and trite connections between the two - it's really no surprise that the scion of South Korea's largest business empire should be joining the directors' table.

If anything, we should be stunned that it took so long, given that his father Lee Kun Hee suffered a heart attack in 2014 and the only son has been shouldering more of the load since.

Should his appointment be approved by shareholders (which it will), Jay Y won't join the board for at least another six weeks. By that time the Note 7 crisis will have mostly blown over and he'll be left to deal only with the financial and reputational fallout. Just look at Toyota if you have doubts about consumers' ability to forgive and forget.

Rather than exploding smartphones, Jay Y will face an array of smouldering fires that he's going to have to put out once he actually detects them.

To be fair, if I can spot them then he probably has, too.

Let's start with the future of smartphones. Samsung is kicking it in global handset sales - current crisis notwithstanding - yet the market faces macro problems that even the Korean powerhouse can't avoid. For all the cliches about Apple-this, Apple-that, it's not Cupertino that Samsung's smartphone business needs to worry about. Instead it's the likes of Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo, which all have various levels of in- house technology that helps them compete against bottom feeders such as Xiaomi, Oppo and OnePlus.

To date, Samsung is the master of this technology-plus-devices domain, but Jay Y knows it won't last forever.

Then there are the chip and display divisions. Samsung is a world leader in both, and I've written before about how the cross-pollination between components and devices has helped both businesses. Yet don't imagine this will last forever.

More and more of Samsung's chip fabs are being devoted to creating products for clients that are also competitors; the same goes for displays. Apple is the most famous, yet Qualcomm also falls into the category. Apple has tackled this conflict head on by sending chips to TSMC, and will probably also turn to Intel more in future.

At the same time, Apple has been hard at work in Taiwan developing fundamental display technology, including recent moves to start producing its own organic light- emitting diodes.

Qualcomm has been trading TSMC and Samsung off against each other, and has other foundries it can tap.

History has shown that supplying your customers in one part of the business and competing with them in another isn't sustainable in the long term. At some point, Jay Y is going to have to consider a split.

Finally, there's the whole universe of technology that's not hardware: cloud computing, internet of things, communications and social networking, fintech, healthtech, edtech.

The list is long, yet for all its attempts, Samsung's depth in these fields remains shallow. M&A seems the obvious path, with the company itself outlining that as an area of focus for its new board member.

With a $197bn ship to steer and choppy waters ahead, Jay Y surely knows that a few exploding phones won't amount to much of a navigation hazard. (Bloomberg View)
The Dublin-based telecoms software firm Britebill has been acquired by an 8bn Israeli rival, Amdocs.

The acquisition price was not disclosed, although it is estimated to be over 60m based on guidance from Amdocs.

Britebill, which employs about 100 people in Dublin and several offices abroad, has an annual turnover of over 12m.

It primarily provides billing software to mobile phone carriers. Britebill was increasingly in competition with Amdocs to win business in the US mobile carrier market.

A source close to the company called the acquisition a "strategic fit" between the two companies.

He said that Britebill executives are expected to stay on after the completion of the deal.

Britebill counts the US operator Sprint and the Canadian operator Rogers as customers, as well as T-Mobile in Germany. In Ireland, its customers include Vodafone, Eir and Virgin.

The company's founder, Alan Coleman, is a previous Accenture executive who was shortlisted for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2015.

Earlier this year, Mr Coleman said that Britebill software processes over 25m individual bills, worth almost 5bn, every month. He said that the company has grown over 300pc in 2015 and was set to double its turnover in 2016. He said that Britebill was considering new markets such as healthcare, financial services and utilities.

Britebill was one of three software companies swooped on by Amdocs for a combined 230m. The other two firms, which Amdocs described as being "similarly priced" to Britebill, are the US-based Vindicia and Israel-based Pontis.

"I am excited by these companies joining Amdocs, as their cloud-based technologies will augment Amdocs' rich offering and shorten our time to market," said Eli Gelman Amdocs CEO.

"These acquisitions, alongside Amdocs' existing platforms which include multi-channel, digital care and commerce, customer management and big data analytics solutions, position Amdocs as the market leader to help communication and media providers on their journey.

"Communication and media service providers, including those with over-the-top offerings, are transforming to capture the world of on-demand services and digital immediacy.

"When combined with business-driven analytics behind the scenes, this ensures a simplified, intuitive and engaging customer experience."
It was February 2011 and the final televised leaders' debate of the general election when our then Taoiseach-in- waiting Enda Kenny vowed to open Nama up to new levels of transparency and accountability. Displaying all the bravado, bluff and bluster of a politician on the brink of power, he referred to Nama as a "secret society", and one which he intended to deal with once he was in office.

In the five years since, however, Mr Kenny, Finance Minister Michael Noonan and their colleagues in two successive Cabinets have failed both individually and collectively to do anything to penetrate, let alone remove, the shield of secrecy provided to Nama on foot of the emergency legislation that established it at the height of the financial crisis in 2009.

If it hadn't been for the dogged pursuit by Independent TD Mick Wallace of claims of wrongdoing in relation to Nama's sale of its 5.6bn Project Eagle loan book, and the subsequent decision by the BBC's 'Spotlight' team to focus its attentions on the alleged misdeeds of Nama's Northern Ireland adviser Frank Cushnahan, it's arguable that the agency's 'move along, nothing to see here' attitude would still be intact today.

Read More: 223m 'lost by Nama' in Project Eagle sale

Yesterday saw the publication of the Comptroller & Auditor General's report, and the Government's belated and reluctant acceptance that "all matters of concern" with regard to Nama's functions should be fully addressed.

But beforehand, Nama had been allowed to conduct its business unimpeded by anything approaching robust questioning of the manner in which it has gone about recovering the billions of euro owed to the taxpayer.

At the outset, Nama's chairman Frank Daly and its chief Brendan McDonagh vowed repeatedly to recover the full 74.1bn par value of the development and associated loans it had taken off the balance sheets of Ireland's broken banks.

Somehow over time, Messrs Daly and McDonagh revised that target downwards until it settled at the derisory 31.8bn Nama had paid Anglo, AIB, Bank of Ireland and the other Irish banks whose loans it had taken over. More recently, they've begun to boast of how Nama will deliver a profit by recovering more than the 31.8bn it paid for its loan book - somehow conveniently forgetting the 40bn shortfall the taxpayer will be left to make up.

And they have been allowed to do so in the absence of any proper questioning from our politicians - or from the vast majority of the media, many of whom seemed to derive far more satisfaction from producing stories with the able assistance of well-placed sources detailing Nama's dogged pursuit of developers.

Read More: Seven things you need to know about the C&AG report on NAMA

Nama set off with seeming abandon in selling off what effectively were Ireland's crown jewels - London assets such as Battersea Power Station, the Knightsbridge Estate, and a major stake in the world famous Claridge's, Berkeley and Connaught hotels - for knockdown prices to vulture funds and other international investors.

Meanwhile, the Irish public's views on Nama were largely being fed a tabloid narrative depicting Frank Daly and his cohorts as modern day versions of Eliott Ness and his 'untouchables' while property developers were cast as low-rent hoods.

For every question involving the sale of developers' loans or the assets securing them, tabled by TDs at Nama's appearances before Dail committees, the agency's stock response invariably included references to "commercial sensitivity".

Questions relating to the integrity of Nama's procedures or that of its several hundred personnel, meanwhile, were routinely rebuffed and dismissed almost as if they were beneath contempt.

Even as clear evidence emerged of the criminal behaviour engaged in by former Nama official Enda Farrell, through his leaking of confidential information relating to the financial affairs of Nama's borrowers to third parties, the agency's chiefs persisted with their insistence that, save for that one exception, all was well with its operations.

Following Farrell's guilty plea in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court last May to eight counts of unlawfully disclosing Nama information, another former Nama official Paul Pugh was brought before Dublin District Court on June 23 last. He was charged with the unlawful disclosure of confidential information in breach of the 2009 Nama Act.

Read More: Analysis: 'Bad bank' tackles man, ball and all in rebuttal of report's findings

Notwithstanding a finding of proven criminality in the case of one former Nama official and allegations of criminality on the part of at least one more former official, those in the media or in politics who have dared to question or criticise Nama's conduct or its modus operandi have, at times, been accused publicly by Mr Daly and Mr McDonagh of effectively peddling the agendas of aggrieved developers or others whom it believes hold a grievance against it.

And all throughout this, Mr Daly and Mr McDonagh, and Nama as a whole, have been vigorously supported by the Government, with Mr Noonan frequently volunteering as their mudguard against all criticism or questioning.

With the publication of the Comptroller & Auditor General's special report, however, and its finding that Nama lost 220m on the sale of Project Eagle after it departed from its normal loan sale process, Nama chiefs could soon find the political support they have always been able to take for granted is now in short supply.

As investigations by the UK's National Crime Agency and the SEC in the United States into Project Eagle continue, the prospect of an official investigation here could be the straw that finally breaks Nama's back.
Arts Minister Heather Humphreys is joined by bodhran player Ronan O Snodaigh and Louise MacNamara from alt-pop duo Heathers ahead of Culture Night. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

Be a "tourist in your own town" is the message from Arts Minister Heather Humphreys, who is telling people not to let striking Dublin Bus drivers interfere with their plans for Culture Night.

As the drivers plan to go ahead with a second round of industrial action this Thursday and Friday, Ms Humphreys told the Irish Independent that people could avoid any transport chaos by taking advantage of local events.

"There are over 3,000 free events taking place (around) Ireland this Friday, so there is something for everyone, wherever they are," Ms Humphreys said.

"I don't think the strikes will impact on Culture Night because aside from people wanting to be involved, the night isn't just about the city centre."

The 11th annual Culture Night will take place across the country on Friday September 16. Last year, some 370,000 people took part in Culture Night.

This year, artist Pauline Bewick, band Heathers and author Colin Barrett have been enlisted as Culture Night Ambassadors.

Blindboy Boatclub, of the Rubberbandits, will take part in a live RTE broadcast from Dublin Castle, and President Michael D Higgins will throw open the doors of Aras an Uachtarain for special tours.

In Wicklow, playwright Marina Carr will read a selection of her works in the majestic surroundings of Russborough House.

In Cork's Everyman Theatre, facepainters and performers from this year's upcoming panto 'Red Riding Hood' will keep crowds entertained.
A DATE WITH DESTINY: Seana Kerslake is set to become a household name with roles in a new movie and TV series

Seana Kerslake at the launch of the new season of 2016 programmes

Forget about going to check out the new Bridget Jones film, the new must-see girlie movie is the Irish film A Date for Mad Mary, starring Tallaght's Seana Kerslake.

The doe-eyed beauty has said she's thrilled with the reaction to the film.

Telling the story of a girl who leaves prison and then has to find a date for her best friend's wedding, the film is getting rave reviews from cinema goers.

"We're delighted with how it's gone down. People have really taken to it, from the comments I've received on Twitter, people have been so kind and so nice," she said.

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The actress (22) said she relished getting her teeth stuck into such a meaty role.

"Shooting it was ninety miles an hour, but it was a lot of fun to make and I got to work with some amazing people that are now in my life forever. It's really nice to work with such great writing that's so fluid," she said.

"I've gotten really nice, fully rounded and flawed, complex roles. So I've been really fortunate with the work I've gotten. We still have a long way to go with equal parts and representation, but it's definitely getting better."

Seana will also make her RTE debut on Monday with an hour-long screening of new comedy series Can't Cope Won't Cope.

friendship It sees her playing the part of Cork girl Aisling and the unravelling of a friendship between her and her friend Danielle, played by Nika McGuigan. Amy Huberman plays the part of her boss.

Seana admits there will be a few nerves when the show airs next week.

"TV is something I've never done before and it's extremely different in how accessible it is - it's in everyone's living rooms and it's kind of frightening. I'm definitely nervous, but I'm excited as well," she said.

Seana, who'll tread the boards at the Viking Theatre in the play From Eden, was at the Irish Film Institute this week for the launch of its new Player, featuring 1,200 minutes of content going as far back as 1910.
The broadcasting watchdog has rejected two complaints against The Late Late Show after journalist Paul Williams made comments in respect of the Special Criminal Court and Sinn Fein voters.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has unanimously ruled out two complaints which related to an episode back in February this year.

RTE invited the Irish Independent crime correspondent on the show to discuss the Kinahan-Hutch feud after the murders of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel and Eddie Hutch, brother of Gerry "The Monk" Hutch.

While on air, Williams profiled the big players in the gangland feud  giving a background on how it all began.

Towards the end of the interview, the crime journalist turned his attention to the topic of the Special Criminal Court, which had been hotly contested during the general election, with Sinn Fein leading the calls for it to be abolished.

Williams said the Court was the States most important weapon against organised gangland crime.

The only people who will vote for Sinn Fein, in regard to that part of their manifesto are the drug dealers, the killers and the kidnappers and the terrorists, Williams told Tubridy, who then tried to avert the conversation.

No wonder the guys walking on Francis Street were smirking  because they heard about this legislation. Thank God, Sinn Fein are going to get rid of that, were going to vote for them.

While RTE received 128 formal complaints, only two proceeded to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, who has now rejected them by a majority vote.

One of the complainants, Mr Enda Fanning, alleged The presenter allowed him to condemn and vilify those who vote for Sinn Fein. The complainant believes that there is no doubt that Mr Williams comments were an attempt to harm Sinn Fein in the then forthcoming General Election.

In rejecting the complaint, the Compliance Committee said Mr Williams comments had context and his assertions that Sinn Fein wanted to abolish the Special Criminal Court were factual.

In addressing the remarks about only drug dealers and terrorists supporting Sinn Feins calls for the Special Criminal Court to be abolished, the Committee ruled that the comments only related to some segments of Sinn Fein voters and they did not agree that it amounted to a comment on supporters of this party as a whole, as stated by the complainant.

The BAI also said Mr Tubridy responded adequately by trying to cut the conversation off, and as it was a live show, Mr Williams comments would have been "unplanned"
International crime boss Christy Kinahan has no interest in newspapers or any media - but if he was reading this mornings headlines about the super raids against his empire mounted by police in Spain and Dublin, he would probably be having a good laugh.

Christy Kinahan was nicknamed the Dapper Don by me almost 20 years ago.

He is an extremely clever and strategic criminal/businessman.

For over 20 years, he has been building an international network that reads like a whos who of some of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organisations in the world.

They include criminal outfits from Colombia, Mexico, the North American mafia, the Russian mafia, the Israeli mafia and the Northern Italian mafia.

He is the central dominating and controlling figure in Irish organised crime - and has been for almost 16 years.

Kinahan speaks several languages, he has a degree in environmental science and sociology and speaks with a very cultured neutral European accent. His empire is worth an estimated 700m to 1bn.

It was Christy who was one of the first gangland entrepreneurs to discover Chinese chemists who could replicate practically every illegal drug on the market.

He also enjoys business relationships with major legitimate companies across Africa, Eastern Europe, Europe and South America.

And the barbaric savages who are killing in his name are, in Christys eyes, not only beneath him but also dispensable pawns in his big game.

So what is all the point of this?

The point is that Christy factored in so-called offensives by international law enforcement agencies many years ago. While he has served time behind bars in Spain, he knows that he is so far removed from the real action that he wont be spending 15 years as a resident of a spartan cell anywhere on mainland Europe or Ireland.

The current gang war -waged by the Kinahan cartel against Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch - is being orchestrated by his son Daniel and Daniels close cohort of associates.

Daniel is very much a chip off the old block but , if I were a life insurance broker, I would politely turn down his business. Because thugs like Daniel have a good chance of meeting a sticky end.

The raids in Spain and Dublin, as well as the very high-profile cooperation between the gardai and La Guardia Civil is welcome.

But, the truth is, it is far too late.

This is how Christy Kinahan will view yesterday's events: A media friendly publicity stunt by the Irish authorities as they try desperately to regain ground that they have lost - ground that they have conceded through the chronic lack of resources.

The truth is that the gardai took their eye off the ball with regard to this pernicious criminal conspiracy.

For example, there was no intelligence gathered and no intensive surveillance deployed against the hardcore members of the Kinahan gang in Crumlin and South Dublin or in the North Inner City since the recession kicked in.

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One of the reasons why I can take this view is that yesterday had the feel of deja-vu about it.

In 2010 the international police offensive against the Kinahan cartel made headlines all over the world when officers in Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Spain and Brazil swooped on what the Spanish media called The Irish Mafia.

Operation Shovel had promised so much - but it failed to deliver anything. Nobody was put out of business, nobody was put in prison and their fortunes were left intact. And from his poolside on the Costa del Crime, Christy Kinahan continued to smile to himself.

Its heartening to see these animals finally being taken on. It is heartening that after years of neglect and denial, this government has finally given gardai some money to try and play catch-up with the mob.

There is another dimension for this. For the last three years, the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner insisted that there was no problem with organised crime and rural crime - but the criminals proved them wrong time and again.

It is interesting that our colleagues in the media were there to take pictures of yesterday's raids in Dublin.

This was just a political stunt by the Commissioner to assuage her political masters by putting on a show for the gullible Irish public.

On the other hand, several of my colleagues have found themselves under investigation for covering criminal raids which hadnt been sanctioned for coverage by the Commissioner or her Minister.

In criminology, there is a superb book titled the Carnival of Crime. It would have described yesterday's events as a spectacle, or an event designed to entertain and titillate.

When all the dust has settled from this latest round of raids there is one prediction that I can make here and it is with a heavy heart - I believe Christy Kinahan will be sitting by the pool this time next year, still smiling.
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has said he has confidence in Nama and the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), despite the agencies being at loggerheads over the investigation into Project Eagle.

Mr Donohoe said the Government accepted the C&AG report that criticises the sale of Nama's northern loan book, but insisted he had confidence in both organisations as the Government announced that there would be an inquiry into the transaction.

Fianna Fail, meanwhile, said the inquiry should include an examination of the "political backdrop" to Nama's sales strategy.

Independent TD Mick Wallace, who has been vocal in raising concerns over Project Eagle, said the proceeds of the sale should be frozen and all Nama activities suspended until the conclusion of "a truly independent commission of investigation".

Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald described the C&AG's report as "damning" and claimed that Fine Gael had sought to "frustrate and delay any inquiry".

Mr Donohoe said the Government was awaiting the publication of the C&AG report before announcing an inquiry into Project Eagle.

The C&AG's report found Nama incurred a potential loss to the taxpayer of 190m (223m) in the sale. Nama has rejected the finding, claiming it is based on an incorrect assumption of the discount rate used in the sale and that the probe was carried out by C&AG staff with no market experience of loan sales.

Despite the bitter disagreement between the agencies, Mr Donohoe said he had confidence in both.

He said Nama had "exceptionally important duties" that the State expected it to deliver, and added: "I have confidence in their ability to do this."

He also expressed confidence in the C&AG, saying it was an "exceptionally important body".

Mr Donohoe said that while the agencies had "differing views", the Government respected the reports of the C&AG and this was one of the reasons it believed "a further investigation is necessary".

Mr Donohoe said there would be consultation with opposition leaders today on what form the inquiry should take.

Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath said the "shadow of Frank Cushnahan looms large in the report". He said that when allegations of an "inappropriate fee arrangement" between Mr Cushnahan and Pimco - a bidder for the loan book - emerged in March 2014, "the whole process should have been stopped".

He said the sale instead went ahead to Cerberus, and added: "The sad part is we will never know for sure what the alternative outcome might have been, what return taxpayers may have got if a different process had been embarked upon."

Mr McGrath said the "political backdrop" to Nama's sales strategy should be included in the new inquiry.

He argued that in 2013 and 2014 "government strategy was that Nama was to accelerate its sales process".

He said Fianna Fail wanted to know the impact this had on the operation of Nama.
Richard Bruton is making a bold promise to turn Ireland's education and training system into the best in Europe within a decade.

The education minister, along with Taoiseach Enda Kenny, will today launch an ambitious Action Plan for Education, aimed at laying the foundations of a service that works better for individuals and the country.

He said fairness will be at the heart of policy-making in his department.

A feature of the plan, which covers 2016 to 2019 and will be updated at the start of each year, will be three-monthly reviews to track progress under hundreds of different headings,

While the Action Plan for Education is a three-year strategy, it presents a longer-term vision. It will set out more than 130 main actions, each of which will have multiple sub-actions.

Tackling educational disadvantage will be one of its pillars, and Mr Bruton said there will be new approaches to supporting schools in helping their pupils achieve their potential.

One of the minister's intentions is to increase the number of pupils in schools in disadvantaged areas, under the umbrella of his department's DEIS programme, who do their Leaving Certificate, and bring it up to national norms within a decade.

Around one in four schools in the country are in the DEIS programme. Ninety per cent of students who start second-level go on to do the Leaving Certificate, but in DEIS schools the figure is 83pc compared with 92pc in non-disadvantaged communities.

Among the actions to tackle disadvantage are significant increases in the reach of two programmes focusing on children's emotional needs that are currently employed in a limited number of DEIS schools.

The next three years will see a fivefold expansion of the Incredible Years programme - designed to prevent and treat emotional and behavioural difficulties in three to 10-year-olds - from 130 schools with 20,000 pupils to 626 schools with 104,000 pupils.

Mr Bruton is pledging a sixfold increase in a programme called Friends for Life, targeted at older primary age children and aimed at building resilience and reducing anxiety in children and young people. The programme is currently delivered to 25,000 pupils in 275 schools, and the aim is to expand that by 2019 to 172,000 pupils in 831 schools.

The Action Plan for Education is the first such and follows a consultation process in which more than 200 organisations, as well as members of the public, were invited to make submission about priority areas for action.

It builds on the model of the Action Plan for Jobs pioneered by Mr Bruton in his last ministerial role, a key plank of which was regular monitoring of what was being achieved. Since that plan was rolled out in early 2012, 18,000 jobs have been created, helping to reduce unemployment from 15pc to close to 8pc.

Speaking ahead of today's launch, Mr Bruton said few areas were more pivotal to Ireland's ambitions as a nation than education.

"I believe we can work together with all the people who work in and depend on the education and training service to collectively make the Irish education and training system the best in Europe and to de- liver on the goals that we have set ourselves as a country," he said.

"Excellent and innovative education and training are the pivot around which personal fulfilment, a fair society and a successful nation should revolve."
The son of heroic coast guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas has bade her an emotional farewell at her funeral, saying: Goodbye to our wonderful mother. Love always. You are my hero.

Ben Lucas (20) describing Caitriona as an exceptional person in every way and said she had given one hundred percent.

She had loved being a coast guard, he said.

The first volunteer coast guard to die in the course of duty, the 41-year-old mother of two lost her life on Monday when the rescue boat capsized. An experienced maritime rescuer, she was coxswain in the rigid inflatable as it set out in search for missing teacher David McMahon off the coast of nearby Kilkee.

Caitrionas husband, Bernard gave a short address of thanks for all the support the family have received in the wake of his beloved wifes death, saying: Were all family amongst the services.

In a moving reflection at the end of the mass for Caitriona Lucas, Bernard read a poem he had been given the night before as thousands first paid respects.

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Mr Lucas urged people to mimic his wife's attitude and seize opportunities to live life to the full.

"Caitriona, the call was made and you set out, in wind and wave and rain," he said.

"Your quest, to search and search, to ease a family's pain.

"You never hesitated once. That bleeper sounded loud.

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"Where others mattered more, Caitriona we're so proud.

"We're proud because we can all say we share this land and sea with you, our hero.

"We salute your immensity.

"We are very sad you have gone, we think we understand the parting. It's you we always loved.

"Your sacrifice will never be lost on us, your loyal crew.

"Anchors away, you beauty queen. You are in our hearts and souls.

"From your friends and lonesome crew, for now it's slan go foill (bye for now)."

And he urged mourners not to put things off in life.

Dont put things off - do them now, he said. Life is short and time is very precious.

Thousands of mourners again flocked to St Brigids, the parish church in Liscannor, Co Clare for the second day in a row, to pay their respects to the dedicated volunteer.

Chief mourners were Caitrionas husband, Bernard and children Ben (20) and Emma (18).

The President Michael D Higgins was represented by his ADC, LT Cdr Patricia Burke Butler and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny by his ADC, Lt Col Kieran Carey.

Caitrionas coffin was draped in the tricolour as it left the church for burial, amid a guard of honour given by the Irish Coastguard and volunteers from maritime units across the country.

Gifts brought to the altar representing her life included her climbing helmet  with Chief Celebrant Fr Denis Crosby noting that as a child, Caitriona had been terrified of heights but had conquered that fear through her indomitable spirit.

A sample of her artwork, together with a model lifeboat made by Caitriona was also brought up. Caitrionia had been a talented artist and had painted what she loved, said Fr Crosby  which was animals, cats and dogs, the rescue helicopter and the Doolin lifeboat.

A map of Oregon in the US was also brought up  which had been amongst the numerous destinations the couple had travelled to across the globe.

Fr Crosby said Caitriona had set an example to all through her selfless dedication to her community and in the way she had lived her life to the full.

She confronted her fears and triumphed. I confess in my life I have succumbed and given in to fear, Fr Crosby admitted.

He said Caitriona had mirrored the Kingdom with her compassion, her generosity, her childlike spirit and for the way she loved the world.

He said she had been a light in the world, a life in a world which can sometimes be dark and careless.

Singing a verse of song, the priest asked When I needed a neighbour were you there?

Yes, she was there, he said.

To give your life doesnt mean just to die  she gave her life, all her life, and she knew living means giving, said Fr Crosby.

Ben Lucas said that words were not enough to describe his mother but added: Im going to try anyway.

She was an exceptional person in every way, he said, describing her as honest and kind and above all, dedicated.

She was inspirational, said Ben, saying he could still picture her smile and her laugh.

Goodbye to our wonderful mother. Love always. You are my hero, he said.

Prayers were said for the children whose life Caitriona had touched and also for the safety of the rescue services.

A poem written by Caitriona was then read aloud by Bernard, which began; The call was made and you set out in wind and rain to ease a familys painyou never hesitated once, that bleeper sounded loud.

Then, in a fitting tribute, as the maritime rescue services stood to attention as the remains left the church for burial.
Patients with serious heart conditions are in danger of dying while they wait for vital cardiac procedures, senior doctors from the south east have warned.

The group of consultants, who are based in Waterford Hospital, outlined their grave concerns at a press conference in Dublin yesterday.

The conference was being held in the wake of a Government-commissioned report which turned down the hospital's request for a second catheterisation lab - where patients with heart disease are treated.

The report sparked a major political row as Independent Alliance Junior Minister John Halligan threatened to resign.

The doctors yesterday indicated their frustration that the need for a second lab, recognised by the HSE to reduce clinical risk in 2013, has been overshadowed by the "political story". The matter has focused on the "to-ing and fro-ing" between Mr Halligan and the Government while this was a health and patient welfare issue, they insisted.

Cardiologist Dr Patrick Owens said the existing lab cannot cope with demand, and 581 sick patients who need procedures such as angioplasty are waiting 18 months to over a year, with people from Wexford suffering the longest waits. The current lab, which can only operate from 9am-5pm, is lying "quiet and dark" as patients who have suffered a heart attack "take their chances in the back of an ambulance" and must be ferried to Cork or Dublin.

The doctors said the Government-commissioned Herity Report was flawed because it underestimated the population served by Waterford Hospital and the patients who have to travel elsewhere. "It has led to dangerously low population estimates," said Dr Owens.

Currently, patients with chest pain who are admitted to the hospital are waiting 10 days for an angiogram, an X-ray study of their blood vessels, that should be done in 48 hours.

Health Minister Simon Harris has refused to meet the doctors about the report. He plans to visit Waterford Hospital and will speak to them then.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Shane Ross has signed off on an 870,000 funding deal for Independent Alliance colleague Mr Halligan's local airport.

However, although his department has earmarked funds for the improvement of safety and security facilities at Waterford Airport, it won't receive a cent until it can secure a scheduled air service.
The more you pack, the more you get paid Lloyds told its staff

The Health Service Executive (HSE) was last night called on to reveal the full details behind a 12m settlement payment it received from the country's biggest pharmacy chain arising out of a scheme for vulnerable elderly people.

Lloyds Pharmacies paid the massive financial settlement to the HSE following an investigation into drug-dispensing fees it received for medical card holders.

Four other pharmacies are now under investigation for operating a similar scheme.

It comes as the cash-strapped HSE grapples with massive hospital waiting lists and growing hospital overcrowding.

The manner in which the scheme was run boosted the pharmacies' income from the HSE from dispensing fees to patients under its 'My Med' scheme. Lloyds confirmed it increased its income from the HSE by nearly 600 a year for a 'My Med' patient.

Under the My Med scheme, pharmacies can dispense drugs in compartmentalised trays which contain a weekly supply, with each set of daily medications in separate sections to make it easier and safer for a patient, such as an elderly person, to take them.

The pharmacy is paid a fee of around 5 by the HSE and another 3.27 for each weekly tray for the rest of the month's supply.

A medical card patient on five medication scripts would generate dispensing fees of 74.05 per month for the pharmacist in this scheme, compared with 25 if the medications were given as part of a normal month's supply - an increase of 66pc.

The HSE claimed Lloyds breached its contract by giving patients four trays in one visit instead of on a phased basis over a month.

Lloyds charged for each individual tray.

An internal newsletter found Lloyds had set targets for its stores and highlighted how staff visited local day care centres to sign up patients.

It gave each of the pharmacists in its branches monthly targets and said: "The more you pack, the more you get paid."

It operated a series of targets and penalties for each store operating the scheme and warned that it is better to hit targets early to make "a real dent on your overall profitability for the year".

The HSE yesterday said that a "satisfactory resolution" had been reached but declined to say what further actions are planned.

A spokesman for Lloyds said: "The matter has been resolved between the parties" and refused to comment further.

However, Fianna Fail spokesman on health Billy Kelleher said the response of the HSE was inadequate.

He said the full details of the settlement need to be disclosed. There remained major questions which need to be answered in relation to accountability and the practices employed by pharmacies in receipt of taxpayers' money.

It was essential that the matter be reported to the State regulator for pharmacies, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, he added.

"12m is a staggering sum of money and the HSE must bring the issue to the regulator to instigate an investigation into the whole matter," he said.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland is the watchdog and regulator for pharmacies and pharmacists.

It has the statutory powers to carry out investigations to ensure patients are not being put at risk and that proper standards are maintained.

The HSE's medical card section in the past has claimed it was under-staffed but it is increasingly able to examine dispensing patterns and trends which can alert it to a need for further investigation.

It is able to see if dispensing patterns are similar in different pharmacies.
Obesity expert Prof Donal OShea criticised the decision to delay introduction of the sugar tax here until 2018 (Stock picture)

The Government's proposed sugar tax will add around 10 cents to a can of fizzy drink, a spokesman for the Department of Health confirmed yesterday.

The controversial tax - aimed at tackling rising levels of overweight and obesity, particularly among young people - is due to come into effect in 2018.

While the method of calculating the tax, confined to soft drinks, has yet to be revealed, it is expected to be in line with the system already outlined in the UK which will see it based on the amount of sugar in the product.

Under the UK proposal guidelines, manufacturers of fizzy drinks would be subject to two bands: one for total sugar content above 5g per 100ml; and a second, higher band for drinks with more than 8g per 100ml.

Fruit juices and milk-based drinks would not be included.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said this week the sugar tax in Ireland will not be introduced until it also comes into effect in the UK in 2018.

One in four children and six in 10 adults are obese or overweight.

It comes as the Department of Health is due to shortly launch its obesity strategy, a Healthy Weight for Ireland. It is aiming for a 5pc reduction in our average weight over the next decade.

There will be particular emphasis on economically deprived areas, where the target will be 10pc.

PE will be introduced as a Leaving Cert subject to increase levels of activity.

Ireland will join a small but growing number of countries which are taxing high calorie food and drink.

Norway, for example, places taxes on chocolate and sweets while Finland has a tax for sweetened drinks.

Obesity expert Prof Donal O'Shea criticised the decision to delay introduction of the sugar tax here until 2018.
Colourful window paintings of Fantastic Mr Fox and Matilda, painted by Caitriona Lucas only last Saturday, look out onto the square in Ennistymon where she worked as a librarian.

The mum of two was keen to get children excited about reading - and had organised an event for local readers to mark the centenary of author Roald Dahl's birth. A Fantastic Mr Fox mask that she made as a template for children is being kept safe by her colleagues.

In the library, like with her job in the coastguard, Caitriona always went the extra mile.

"She was very good with her hands and had great ideas - and always did things on her own initiative," her colleague Tim Murphy told the Irish Independent.

Her organisation skills - which have been hailed by her colleagues in Doolin Coastguard - were honed in the busy library branches in Ennistymon, Lisdoonvarna and Corofin.

Her work with the Irish Coastguard couldn't have been more different from the time she spent in Clare libraries, where she worked for the past 16 years. But she found a way to bring her skills in the rescue service to work with her too.

"She organised a Lego club, where the kids build things together, which is all about teamwork. It was actually so popular we had to spread it out over a longer time because there was so many people who wanted to do it. The importance of team building was obviously something that she picked up from working with her colleagues in the coastguard.

"Rather than position one interfering with the other, they complemented each other."

Mr Murphy said she was always available to help people with their book selections.

"She was great for helping readers if they were trying to select and they loved that," Mr Murphy said. "She will really be a big loss."

Despite giving hundreds of hours to the coastguard and working between three libraries, sometimes on her own if necessary, Caitriona was also studying. She was doing Library and Information studies through distance learning.

The Ennistymon branch is used by both locals and people who holiday regularly in the area, who all know the quiet Clare woman who dedicated her life to helping others.

Although the library was closed, one of her colleagues was on hand to allow members of the public in to sign a book of condolences yesterday.

It was, Mr Murphy said, a great comfort for people who wanted to send a message of support in some way to Caitriona's husband Bernard and her two children Emma and Ben.
A number of flights have been cancelled today at Dublin Airport due to air traffic controller strikes in France.

Dublin Airport are advising passengers who are due to fly today to check flight information for the latest updates.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled as French air traffic controllers (ATCs) go on strike again.

From the UK, Ryanair said it was "forced" to cancel 22 flights on Wednesday night and 72 on Thursday as a result of the 14th French ATC strike this year.

A number of flights have been cancelled today @DublinAirport due to French ATC strike. Please check latest flight info with your airline.  Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) September 15, 2016

EasyJet cancelled 64 flights on Thursday, including 22 due to operate to or from the UK.

British Airways has offered customers due to fly to or from France on Thursday the opportunity to rebook.

The flag carrier will use larger aircraft where possible to enable passengers whose flights are cancelled to reach their destination.

The airlines warned passengers that in addition to the flights that were cancelled a number of others were likely to be delayed.

Lobby group Airlines for Europe (A4E), which represents airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways' parent company IAG, has called for the European Commission and governments to take action to reduce the impact of ATC strikes.

The organisation wants neighbouring countries to be allowed to carry out ATC in airspace affected by industrial disputes.

A British Airways spokeswoman said: "Yet again the French air traffic control trade unions are causing unnecessary frustration and disruption for customers.

"We continue to urge the French government and the trade unions to resolve their issues so that customers can go on their holidays and business trips without these frequent threats of strike action hanging over them."

Robin Kiely, head of communications at Ryanair, said: "It's reprehensible that Europe's consumers repeatedly have their holiday and travel plans disrupted or cancelled by the selfish actions of ATC unions, who use strikes as a first weapon rather than a last resort.

"This French ATC strike will impact hundreds of thousands of European consumers and throw their travel plans into chaos once more.

"It's high time that the European Commission takes action to prevent these repeated ATC strikes from continuously disrupting the travel plans of millions of Europe's citizens and their families."

A spokesman for the Luton-based airline said: "EasyJet is disappointed at this unnecessary strike action causing further disruption for passengers and airlines across Europe."
Spanish police and gardai with the handgun they seized; inset left, James Quinn

Gardai and Spanish police carried out simultaneous raids as part of their crackdown on gangland crime and arrested a nephew of veteran criminal Martin 'The Viper' Foley.

Dublin criminal James Quinn (34) was picked up at Madrid Airport by police investigating the murder of Gary Hutch, who was shot dead at an apartment complex near Marbella on September 24 last year.

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Hutch's (33) death sparked a bloody feud which led to a further nine murders, including the shooting of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.

Yesterday morning, gardai swooped on a number of properties across the capital.

Houses in Rialto, Tallaght, Clondalkin and Crumlin were targeted in the raids, which began at 6.30am.

Detective Supt Tony Howard of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau said that the investigation was heavily focused on money laundering.

"We've seized computers, phones, 23,000 in cash, false identification papers and financial documentation in relation to banks outside this jurisdiction," Det Supt Howard said. "I believe we will have arrests in the future."

He added that the operation was about evidence gathering and "disrupting and dismantling these organised crime groups".

Large numbers of documents were seized as part of a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) probe into the cartel.

Officers investigating the gang have seized around 1m in cash in recent weeks.

"This operation is the culmination of significant investigative activity to date and is supported by other law enforcement agencies, including La Guardia Civil," a Garda spokesman said.

At the same time as the operation in Ireland, La Guardia Civil carried out a number of raids in Spain and seized a yacht worth 100,000 as well as a Bentley car worth 200,000 along with cash.

The Spanish police, joined by their Garda counterparts, also searched properties linked to the killing.

Det Supt Howard said gardai have helped Spanish police identify suspects as part of the Gary Hutch investigation.

"In terms of sharing information around the murder of Gary Hutch, we can help them interpret documentation and vice versa. We have several members there on the ground assisting and interpreting documents for the Guardia Civil and identifying suspects. It is ultimately about identifying suspects to bring before the courts, either here or in Spain," he said.

He thanked members of La Guardia Civil who were in Dublin.

Quinn is extremely well known to gardai because of his involvement in organised crime and he has strong links to the Kinahan cartel. He is expected to appear before a local court today. It is understood Quinn has been living in Spain for several years and had built up a reputation as an enforcer.

He has around 70 convictions here and in July 2013 he received a one-year jail sentence for attacking a bouncer's car with a hammer. He used to be regularly seen at his uncle 'The Viper' Foley's side, but has not been seen in his company much in recent times.

Foley (65) was officially warned by gardai earlier this year about an active threat against his life because of the capital's gangland feud, which he is not involved in.
It has not been a good fortnight for Michael Noonan. In fact it seems to be a long, long time ago since he was being hailed as the saviour of the Irish nation whose fortitude and folksy wisdom helped us all out of the slough of the bailout and onward towards better times.

Mr Noonan was to have been the cornerstone of the Fine Gael campaign to win back power. Given that the party actually lost one-third of its TDs last February, it is reasonable to conclude that not enough of the voters rated him such a saviour after all.

The veteran Limerick politician had played his "second coming" in national politics quite brilliantly and redeemed a reputation which might otherwise have been largely recorded as having led his Fine Gael party to electoral meltdown in the May 2002 General Election.

But much of that comeback was driven by not having to take any ownership of the mess he was clearing up. It was, he reminded us from time to time, the work of the "other crowd".

Well, he has come back from the summer holidays with a very rocky start to a new political term. First, the EU Commission's legal ruling on August 30 left Ireland as piggy in the middle in a row over 13bn in back taxes for the Apple conglomerate.

Mr Noonan could have not "owned" the Apple conundrum as it arises from things on the "other crowd's" watch. But he did not look great when the Coalition's initial response was sluggish and disunited. Critics claimed he was "asleep at the wheel" and not having played his part in developing a "whole-of-Government response".

Now there is a pretty damning report by the taxpayers' spending watchdog, the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG), into the workings of the National Asset Management Agency, a body he has long staunchly defended.

Mr Noonan has long opposed a full-blown inquiry into Nama and Project Eagle which happened on his watch. As late as this Monday he was talking about allowing the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to deal with Project Eagle first.

The Finance Minister grudgingly said he was "not ruling out" an inquiry - but let's just first see what the PAC makes of it all. The surprising thing is that by his own admission Mr Noonan has had the C&AG report since early last month.

Yet he still seemed to believe that political foot-dragging could stave off a full inquiry into Nama. Lurid accusations in a BBC 'Spotlight' programme, a strong reaction from Fianna Fail, and a similar response from the Independent Alliance, made Mr Noonan's response untenable.

Now he faces big questions on what he knew of conflicts of interest in this process; and how the bidding process was conducted. The Opposition are asking why he did not shout 'Stop' in 2013 or 2014. Ironically, he may get to answer these questions at the PAC.
A Dublin mother who used to search the back lanes and flats of the city for her daughter at 3am  not knowing if she was dead or alive  has said she is backing proposals for medically supervised injection centres for others in the same situation.

Brigid Sugrues daughter Fiona died at the age of 20 after four years of heroin use, and now Brigid is sharing her experience in the hope that others may know and learn from her familys pain.

Fiona had it all as a child. She was in the top three in her class, enjoyed horse riding and swimming, and had a very bright future ahead of her.

But succumbing to heroin use in her mid-teens was to lead her into a life of despair until she died at the age of 20.

Brigid tried everything to help her eldest child fight her demons.

Fiona was our first child. She excelled in school and was very close to us all. There were no problems at all, Brigid explained from her Finglas home.

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Everything seemed perfect. Its so difficult to believe how things ended up, but I can trace it back to when Fiona was around 14 and she changed quite rapidly in second year of school.

It was like lighting a piece of paper and watching it burn. Thats how quick it seemed.

From the September she started second year to that December, Fiona became a different person.

She wouldnt listen to us, she lost her friends and started hanging around with other people, then she started staying out at night.

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The gardai started calling, her schoolwork suffered, and it was just a horrific time where we could not understand what was going on with her.

Despite all of this I still loved the bones of her. The school insisted on having her assessed and we were told Fiona was psychologically and psychiatrically perfect but that she just wanted total autonomy of her life, even though she was just 14.

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Then she was caught shoplifting. Ill never know what happened to her. It was like she hit a self-destruct button.

Fiona was caught shoplifting so many times that she would be in court every Wednesday. Eventually a judge sentenced her to two years detention in the Oberstown centre for young offenders, from where she would escape regularly.

Fiona started using heroin at the age of 16, said Brigid. We had heard it from a friend first, but then Fiona herself told us she was using it, saying she was not addicted and she was moving out to stay with friends. But she became a huge heroin user in a short space of time.

From the age of 16 until she was 20, Fiona had been with social workers, treatment centres, medical hospitals, and psychiatric hospitals. She used to beg on the streets for money.

We lost her to the streets. We wouldnt know where shed be. Fiona was self-harming and injecting heroin, her mother said.

She remembered looking across the city for Fiona, not sure if her young daughter was dead or alive.

I would find myself in back alleys and city flats complexes at three in the morning looking for her, asking addicts if they had seen her, said Brigid.

When Fiona was 18, she had a baby with a man she was in a strong relationship with, and for a very brief period it looked like she could get well again.

But when she slid back into addiction, the baby was placed into foster care.

Fiona would never miss a visit with the baby. I would never miss a visit. The only day Fiona missed a visit was the day she died on March 30, 2004, said Brigid.

It is my belief that Fionas heroin use started as a method of self-medication for the darkness she felt she was living in. She had made attempts on her life before but that day she drank a lot of methadone and died.

Through all her ordeal Brigid got great comfort from the National Family Support Network and is encouraging anyone who has a family member suffering from drug use to seek the network out. She said outside support is vital.

Brigid is also backing the proposals for centres where drug users can inject under medical supervision, which would prevent overdoses and the health risks to heroin users and the public from street injecting.

Advocates of such centres hope that legislation before the government is passed over the coming months and the centres become a reality in 2017.

Nobody plans to become a user, so these centres are necessary, Brigid said.

Does anyone want to imagine their own child in a dirty back lane injecting heroin on their own. Its too awful.

Ireland has the third-highest rate of deaths from overdoses in Europe, with one person on average dying every day as a result.

Last week, Minister for State Catherine Byrne launched a HSE evaluation on a pilot Naloxone project which prescribed the medication to addicts, and is already credited with saving five lives.
Arlene Arkinson disappeared aged 15 in 1994 after a night out at a disco in Donegal

Police searching for missing Irish schoolgirl Arlene Arkinson are examining a new site in Tyrone.

The new site is located at a field near Killen, outside Castlederg.

Arlene vanished aged 15 in August 1994 after a night out in Co Donegal.

She was last seen being driven off down a country road late at night by convicted child killer Robert Howard. The field being examined by specialist teams is about a mile from that road.

Howard was acquitted of the schoolgirl's murder in 2005 by a jury not told about his lengthy criminal history, which included killing another teenager, Hannah Williams, in south London several years earlier.

Arlene's body has never been found despite extensive searches. Howard remained the prime suspect until his death in prison last year.

The full inquest formally opened in February after years of delays.

Det Ch Supt Raymond Murray, head of Serious Crime Branch, said: "The family of Arlene Arkinson have been advised of this development purely as a precautionary measure.

"It would be premature to draw any inference from this initial report or the police response to it at this time."
FRESH concern has been raised about the health of Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

Mr Noonan missed yesterdays Cabinet meeting  which was dominated by the issue of Project Eagle  after being diagnosed with cellulitis.

According to the HSE, cellulitis is a painful skin condition that causes the affected area to turn red, hot and swollen.

Mr Noonans illness has caused concern among his Cabinet colleagues. There was speculation among some ministers yesterday that he had suffered an insect bite while in Bratislava. But his official spokesman denied that this was the case.

Mr Noonan engaged with the Cabinet meeting over the telephone and he is expected to return to work on Monday morning, according to a government spokesman.

The minister, while not in attendance at the Cabinet meeting, took full part over the phone at various key stages, the spokesman said. The minister is currently undergoing a course of antibiotics to treat a case of cellulitis and is expected to be back at his desk on Monday morning.

Its understood the condition does not have any link to Mr Noonans previous health conditions. The Limerick politician has suffered from a number of health problems during his tenure as finance minister.

In June 2014, Mr Noonan announced that he was receiving treatment for cancer.

The news of Mr Noonans illness comes as Fine Gael TDs continue to press for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to spell out his plans to step aside as leader.

Mr Kenny faced further criticism after inviting backbenchers to shadow ministers in a bid to gain experience.

The offer, made by Mr Kenny at the Fine Gael think-in in Kildare, caused great annoyance among some members of the party.

One deputy described the offer as representing job-bridge for TDs, while another said it appeared the Taoiseach wants them to engage in work experience.

Mr Kenny stunned TDs after insisting that he has no plans to step aside in the near future. A group of backbenchers have discussed the prospect of tabling a motion of no confidence in Mr Kenny if he does not step aside before the Christmas break.
The EU is trying desperately to stay united in the wake of Brexit, but fault lines are emerging as it struggles to forge a new identity.

The UK has not yet triggered divorce proceedings following its June vote to leave the EU, but the political fallout on a continent already reeling from the financial crisis, a surge in migration and a spate of terror attacks has been savage.

Even European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker admitted this week that the bloc was facing "an existential crisis".

In his annual speech to the European Parliament, Mr Juncker tried to rally support by promising to boost security and revive the moribund economy.

However, his suggestion to create a quasi-European army with shared assets and a single military HQ is likely to deepen the divisions between EU countries.

Mr Juncker said being a soft power was not enough in a world that was becoming "ever more dangerous", and the EU should "move towards common military resources that, in certain cases, could be called upon by the union, in full compatibility with Nato".

He also wants to create a single military headquarters for joint EU missions and a "European defence fund" to boost research and development.

While the move will have support in Germany and France - and, to some extent, in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary and other eastern European states - it could cause a rift with Ireland, Austria, Sweden and Finland, the EU's "neutral" states.

The creation of a "common defence" requires a unanimous vote under the EU treaty, but a group of countries can set up "permanent structured cooperation", which requires only a majority vote.

Ireland has a specific opt-out on this, which says the Lisbon treaty "does not provide for the creation of a European army", but there could be problems if a group of "cooperating" states decided to intervene in Syria under an EU banner without consulting their EU partners.

The move would not have been possible before Brexit as the UK has been traditionally against any challenges to the primacy of Nato, but the EU sands are now shifting.

However, Donald Tusk, the man who chairs the regular summits of EU leaders, is keen to avoid sweeping gestures that he fears could backfire.

"Cooperation should be as much as possible concentrated on practical things," said one senior EU official of Mr Juncker's comments.

"Too much of a discussion on grand visions which will not necessarily materialise can, in principle, be counter- productive."

At a meeting of EU leaders in Bratislava tomorrow, Mr Tusk will try to forge some kind of consensus between countries in the east, who are warring with the EU on refugee quotas; those in the south, who want more done to revive jobs and growth; and those in the north, who are struggling to govern against populist, anti-EU political movements.

His strategy is to focus on border control and anti- terrorism or, as he describes it, "bringing back the feeling of security and order" to the EU.

He wants to return decision- making to governments, taking it away from Brussels which, in the words of Slovak premier Robert Fico, has "negative connotations".

Mr Juncker sensed the political tide was turning and did not make any power grabs.

Instead, his speech sought to win European citizens round with promises to double the EU's investment fund to more than 600bn, roll out faster broadband across the continent, extend jobs training and funding for the under-25s and create a European volunteer corps.

Crucial

He said it was a "crucial time to deliver a better Europe, a Europe that protects and preserves the European way of life".

It was a speech that also sought to appease EU governments. For example, Mr Juncker rowed back on singling out Ireland for censure over the Apple case. While his prepared remarks mentioned Apple's "illegal backroom deals" here, his speech made only a vague reference to fair taxation.

The speech made no mention of divisive issues such as the EU-US trade deal, relations with Turkey or further eurozone integration.

However, he complained that there was still not "enough union" in Europe, a theme likely to resurface as the bloc prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary next March.

Mr Tusk's letter to the Taois- each and other EU leaders ahead of the Bratislava summit also spoke of the need to forge a "sense of our community" before the historic anniversary.

However, he has worked hard to dampen expectations ahead of the meeting tomorrow , the EU's second without Britain, but certainly not its last.
A GAA club in Co Donegal has become just the second club in Ireland to bring in a smoking ban at their grounds.

The GAA has today said it hopes to make all 2,300 club grounds smoke-free over the next ten years.

St Marys GAA club in Convoy, became just the second club in Ireland to introduce a smoking ban this week.

Executive members decided to follow the example set last year by the St John Volunteers Club in Wexford.

Grants and signage are available from the GAA under its Healthy Clubs initiative for other clubs who want to follow the example.

Stacey Cannon. The National Health & Wellbeing Co-ordinator at Croke Park, said the organisation is keen to encourage clubs to introduce smoke-free communities rather than introducing a ban.

We know this is not going to happen overnight. Its about wanting to normalise the fact that smoking no longer takes place sat the side of a pitch or training ground, she said.

The GAA, she said, would promote healthy lifestyles through county health and well-being officers.

Its like smoking in pubs, its now accepted thats they are smoke-free and we want to see that behaviour at GAA clubs and it may take ten years to do that.

Lorena Barron, the Childrens Officer at the St Marys club, said she was delighted to see her proposal backed by the club executive.

The mother-of-two, whose daughter Ellie is captain of the Donegal U14 ladies gaelic team, said she hopes other clubs will follow suit.

I just didnt think it was fair that I could be watching a game and someone could light up a cigarette beside me and send smoke over the dug-outs, she said.

We want to encourage a healthy lifestyle and this is one way of doing that.

Its not about being anti-smoker either. Smokers will have to go outside the gate and Im hoping it will discourage others, especially our younger members, from taking up the habit and perhaps help some to give up smoking altogether.

The club is being helped by the quit.ie website.

The GAA has asked clubs who want to introduce the initiative to email community.health@gaa.ie
When you hear the word pneumonia, chances are you envision someone elderly or infirm. An infection of the lower respiratory tract, it's commonly associated with older people in hospitals and nursing homes, and thought of as something that can kill.

However, pneumonia is currently in the news since Hillary Clinton's diagnosis was revealed at the weeked. The 68-year-old Democratic presidential nominee was on the campaign trail at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York, when she became visibly unwell and was escorted out of the event early.

News has since come out that she had been diagnosed with "walking" pneumonia days earlier by her doctor, and was recommended to rest. However she continued to campaign against medical advice, later saying: "I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal."

But how big a deal is pneumonia? Is it possible to continue with life as normal when suffering, and how do you tell the difference between it and the common cold? After all, the initial symptoms of a high temperature, headaches, dizziness, dehydration and exhaustion can be attributed to several different conditions.

"Pneumonia occurs when a respiratory tract infection moves down and enters the air sacs in the lungs. It's a major killer worldwide, but it's also extremely common and usually very mild," says Dr Mark Murphy, the chair of communications for the Irish College of General Practitioners.

"It's usually easily treated with oral antibiotics, doesn't require hospitalisation and most patients recover quickly Normally it's treated by a GP in the community."

So it's a condition that can be quite serious, but typically is not. "It's one of the most common infections GPs come across, and it's easy enough to deal with, but if there are complicating factors it can potentially be very serious. If a patient is over 65, is confused, has low blood pressure or severe breathing difficulties, then that often requires hospitalisation."

Dr Murphy says that the term "walking pneumonia" isn't used in Europe, and that what Clinton has been diagnosed with would be referred to as "atypical pneumonia" here in Ireland.

"This is when the patient doesn't have typical symptoms, or if the pneumonia isn't showing up on an X-ray. It's usually mild, and caused by an atypical bacteria, not the usual streptococcus. It's also easily treated with antibiotics though."

So where does pneumonia get its terrible reputation from then? "When someone is extremely unwell, has a terminal illness or is in the last few weeks of their life, it can be typical for a pneumonia to occur and in that context, it can be a fatal illness."

Hence why we often associate it with nursing homes and hospitals. Dr Murphy says that smoking can make people more vulnerable to respiratory tract infections too.

However Dr Murphy also says it would be unusual for GPs to recommend bed rest for pneumonia, except in extreme circumstances.

"It would be taken case by case, but bed rest is rarely used for any condition like this. The patient may need to augment their working habits, but if they get lots of sleep, drink lots of fluids, take the prescribed antibiotics and manage any pain with paracetamol or ibuprofen, the condition should improve."

Since Hillary Clinton is 68-years-old and still on the hectic campaign trail, perhaps her doctor was erring on the side of caution advising her to take it easy. It's best to listen to your GP; if they have any doubt in a diagnosis, they can send patients for a blood test or X-ray. However Dr Murphy says very few cases would end up in hospital.

Helen Purcell, 28 from Dublin, has had pneumonia twice. "The first time I was 20, and the second time was about two years after that. I was sick for about six weeks all in all each time. I was a heavy smoker at the time, so I thought it was just a normal infection that wouldn't go away.

"I hadn't been to the doctor because I wasn't earning much and thought it would clear up eventually. My mother talked me in to going after a few weeks of me having a hacking cough in work, and I was then signed off for three weeks."

Helen says that she probably would have made herself "power through" if she hadn't been advised to take the time off, and she was surprised at her diagnosis. She was prescribed antibiotics, and says that if she were to get a similar diagnosis now, she wouldn't force herself to go to work.

Since news of her diagnosis was made public, Clinton has told CNN that she was feeling "so much better" and that she had ignored her doctor's "wise" advice. "I felt dizzy and I did lose my balance for a minute, but once I got in (the van), once I could sit down, once I could cool off, once I had some water, I immediately started feeling better," she said.

Campaign sources said she hadn't wanted to reveal the nature of her diagnosis in case her opposition attempted to exploit it - her detractors have questioned her health before. However Clinton tweeted that she was anxious to get back to work soon, and plans to release new medical records to ease any concerns the voters might have.

Pneumonia: what to look out for

 Have you had the flu or a severe cold recently that hasnt quite cleared up?

 Have you had a bad cough that wont go away?

 Have you had a fever or chills?

 Have you been dizzy or experiencing a rapid heartbeat?

 Have you been feeling very tired?

 Have you been having any difficulty breathing?
Queen Victoria moored off Cobh in Ireland before taking part in a service to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Lusitania Photo credit: Cunard/PA Wire

Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas ship created a spectacle when it called into Cobh over the May Bank Holiday weekend in 2012. MSC's Splendida is even larger.

Cobh is the second-best cruise port in Western Europe, according to readers of one of the world's top cruise websites.

CruiseCritic.com's first Cruisers' Choice Destination Awards saw the Co. Cork town named after Amsterdam as Western Europe's top-rated port.

Cobh ranked ahead of Greenock (Glasgow), Lisbon (Portugal) and Bruges (Belgium) in the awards, which are based on consumer reviews from the website.

The awards span 15 regions, with other winners including San Francisco, Sydney, St. Petersburg and Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.

We are simply thrilled with the result for Cobh," said Captain Michael McCarthy, Commercial Manager, Port of Cork.

"Every year the Port of Cork puts a huge amount of effort into preparing and promoting the Cork region for cruise companies and their passengers and this has really paid off."

Expand Close Queen Victoria moored off Cobh in Ireland before taking part in a service to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Lusitania Photo credit: Cunard/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Queen Victoria moored off Cobh in Ireland before taking part in a service to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Lusitania Photo credit: Cunard/PA Wire

Captain McCarthy commended a collaborative effort. "This award is about a port and a City working together to make the passenger experience entirely better."

Cobh was the last port of call for the ill-fated RMS Titanic in 1912.

Cruise traffic has been growing in recent years, with 58 calls this year and 66 cruise liners expected in 2017, carrying some 170,000 passengers.

Cobh itself is also continuing to invest in tourist infrastructure, with Spike Island now open to visitors, new exhibitions added to the Titanic Experience, and reports that the town's 'Heartbreak Pier' will be refurbished next year.

Failte Ireland has also financed an expansion of the Irish Emigration Story at Cobh Heritage Centre, as part of its Ireland's Ancient East capital grants scheme.

The new development follows a major upgrade of the Centre in 2012 for the Titanic 100 commemorations, and again in 2015 for the Lusitania 100 commemorations.

A cruise isnt just about the ship," said Adam Coulter, Cruise Critic's UK editor.

"Picking the right itinerary is imperative. Cruises enable travellers to explore a number of amazing destinations, offering culture, beauty and history.

"With such a variety of unique destinations to choose from, these awards aim to highlight, and celebrate, those rated highly by travellers to offer inspiration and guidance to cruise planners.

Read more:
Holidaymakers view flowers left on Marhaba beach where 38 people were killed in a terrorist attack in June 2015 in Sousse, Tunisia

Terror attacks are fundamentally changing Irish holiday destination choices, according to data gathered exclusively for Independent.ie Travel.

Fresh data collected by hotel price comparison website HotelsCombined.ie provides a unique snapshot of changing Irish holiday trends.

Terror attacks in France, Belgium, Turkey and North Africa have combined with swinging exchange rates to alter the holiday landscape, the data shows.

Meanwhile, similar trends in the UK have given rise to a new holiday phenomenon, the 'Fearcation', according to PA reports this week.

Here are three basic takeaways from the research.

1. Terror is changing our holiday choices

Expand Close Sun loungers on a beach in Turkey. Photo: Deposit / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sun loungers on a beach in Turkey. Photo: Deposit

Irish hotel bookings are down 35pc in Belgium, 55pc in Egypt and 37pc in Turkey, according to a data trawl of over 1.6m searches in the past year.

Searches are down 5pc in France, but up significantly for destinations perceived as tried-and-trusted, including Spain (+23pc) and the UK (+15pc).

The figures tally with a recent survey by 123.ie, which found that 80pc of Irish holidaymakers will avoid places at risk from terrorist attacks.

Croatia (+49pc), Cyprus (+119pc) and Malta (+19pc) are all enjoying strong increases," said Dmitrijus Konovalovas of HotelsCombined UK & Ireland, "perhaps offering comfortable alternatives for Med fans with safety concerns about Turkey.

The Balkans, Baltics, Sweden and the Netherlands also showed big jumps in searches and bookings, though off a lower Irish travel base.

But its worth noting that - although down - searches and bookings for recently troubled destinations continue, suggesting the Irish holidaymaker is not easily deterred, Konovalovas added.

Irish holidaymakers are not alone in changing their behaviour.

"Fears of terrorist attacks, coupled with negative online reviews, have given rise to new phenomenon, dubbed the 'Fearcation'," writes Sarah Marshall of PA.

"According to a survey by Villa Plus, 75pc of Brits worry about terrorism when booking a holiday, and 50pc claim online reviews cause them anxiety when booking."

2. Exchange rates matter

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Irish hotel searches in South Africa (above) are up 119pc, with bookings up 49pc, year on year. In the same period, the rand has fallen from 13.88 to 15.51 against the euro, offering one of the best exchange rates for overseas holidays.

Other exchange rate flips include the UK, where Brexit is among the factors seeing a swing from 70p to 84.5p in 12 months.

Irish hotel bookings are up 15pc to the UK, HotelsCombined.ie says, though the flipside of this is an obvious concern for British visitor numbers to Ireland.

Long-haul destinations whose currencies remained comparatively flat against the Euro  such as Australia and USA - have maintained their appeal while other destinations in that category  including Canada - appear to be losing favour," Konovalovas adds.

Searches and bookings are also rising for long-haul destinations like the Maldives, Malaysia and the Philippines, where currencies have fallen against the euro.

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3. Were still a staycation nation

Expand Close Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick O'Donovan with John McConnell, Innovation and quality, An Post, Foyne headmistress Maeve McNamara and Fiona Monaghan, Head of Wild Atlantic Way, Failte Ireland. Photo: Pat Moore. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick O'Donovan with John McConnell, Innovation and quality, An Post, Foyne headmistress Maeve McNamara and Fiona Monaghan, Head of Wild Atlantic Way, Failte Ireland. Photo: Pat Moore.

HotelsCombined.ie's research shows Irish hotel searches up 49pc, and bookings up 15pc, in the past year. The figures broadly tally with similar home holiday data released by the CSO and Failte Ireland in recent months.

Select Irish hotel bookings 2015 v 2016 YTD*

Australia: +20pc

Belgium: -35pc

Boznia & Herzigovina: +80pc

Canada -23pc

Croatia: 49pc

Cyprus: +118pc

Egypt: -55pc

Estonia: +55pc

France: +2pc

Ireland: +15pc

Lithuania: +65pc

Malaysia: +54pc

Maldives: +33pc

Malta: +19pc

New Zealand: -8pc

Philippines: +55pc

Portugal: +9pc

South Africa: +49pc

Spain: +23pc

Sweden: +73pc

Thailand: 0pc

The Netherlands: +92pc

Turkey: -37pc

UK: +15pc

US: +14pc

*Source: HotelsCombined.ie.

Despite the manner in which terror attacks and other factors are impacting on our choice of holiday destinations, overall trips continue to recover out of Ireland.

The most recent CSO overseas travel figures show a 3.7pc rise in overseas trips by Irish residents from May to July, compared to the same period in 2016.

"This is very positive news for the Irish travel industry and a very welcome result after the many challenges the sector has faced in recent years," said Pat Dawson, CEO of the Irish Travel Agents' Association (ITAA).

NB: The HotelsCombined.ie data was based on 1,627,599 Irish searches in the year to date from 2015 to September, 2016.

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Brendan Keenan: 'Better laws and foreign money needed to overcome worrying homes shortage'

There is a district in Belfast known as the Holy Land. Not because of its religiosity, but because the streets - Jerusalem Street, Damascus Street and so on - are called after places in that region. Once, there were others; Little Crimea, India, and so on. Seemingly, houses were built so quickly for the city's huge expansion in the 19th century that it was too much trouble to think up original names. They eventually gave up altogether, so far as names were concerned. The Shankill area got First Street, Second Street etc, all the way up to Tenth.
Leprechaun economics was a term coined by an American economist two months ago. He did so after it emerged that the Irish State's statisticians revised their 2015 figures on the size of the economy. According to the number crunchers, the Irish economy grew by 26pc in a single year. Last week, the Kremlin's international TV station discussed Ireland. The set was bedecked with leprechaun stuffed toys.

The aforementioned American chap was not alone in his wonderment back in July.

The eyes of dismal scientists everywhere popped out on stalks when they saw the figures. Ireland's world-beating economic growth made news across the globe. But it did so because it was far too good to be true. Economies just don't grow that fast.

The staggering figure was down to the huge, and usually hugely positive role multinational companies play in the Irish economy.

But it also underscored how their activities can distort traditional ways of measuring economies (GDP), something hammered home across the world again earlier this month when the European Commission slapped a 13bn back-tax bill on Apple.

It was probably with some relief that the statisticians - not the kind of people who are prone to seeking out international limelight - had nothing earth-shaking to report yesterday when they published their first batch of GDP numbers since the 'Leprechaun economics' episode.

But if their July effort massively overstated underlying growth in 2016, their latest stab at measuring economic activity looks to have understated it in the first half of 2016.

They reckon the economy was smaller in the first six months of 2016 than in the last six months of 2015. That doesn't feel right. And it doesn't look right given all the other indicators are pointing to medium to strong growth in 2016.

But, it must be said - mainly for the legions of conspiracy theorists out there - that the civil servants at the Central Statistics Office are not up to any Greek-style shenanigans. They are merely doing their sums as set down in the enormous international manuals on how GDP should be totted up.

What's messing up the measurements is the multinational sector. Foreign companies may have made Ireland rich, but some are involved in funny business cooked up by creative minds in the bean-counting industry.

Yesterday's figures suggest that more such activity may have taken place in the spring and early summer. But as that can be tricky to explain, let's leave it until last and focus first, and very briefly, on other things, including how GDP is calculated.

Traditionally, it is measured in two ways. One way is to add up the value of everything that is produced in every industry sector, from farming to pharma.

The second is to add up everything that is spent in the economy. That, in turn, is broken into four components: households, the state, companies, and foreigners who hand over cash for exports.

When it comes to the contribution to GDP of households and government spending, the stats have been reliable and nobody believes they are being messed up to any degree by the multinational effect. Before yesterday's figures for the second quarter of the year were published, household spending was expected to grow solidly because most indicators of activity have been showing an economy whirring away. Most importantly, the quarterly jobs report for the same three months, which was published two weeks ago, showed booming employment growth - recall that the numbers at work in the economy surpassed the two million threshold. With more people earning, there are more pay packets coming into more homes. That should mean more consumer spending.

Surprisingly, yesterday's figures showed the opposite. In the second quarter of this year, the amount spent by consumers fell back on the first months of the year.

If that is very likely to be a blip, the bigger picture is that households are collectively spending almost as much as at peak level just before the economy crashed. But if anyone thinks that this means we have finally left the slump behind, they would be wrong. That is because there are almost 300,000 more people in the country today compared with 2008.

When we consider how much the average person spends on goods and services in a three-month period (currently under 5,000), it is less than half-way between the 2008 peak and the 2013 trough.

Another usually reliable component of the overall GDP figures is spending by the State on goods and services. Austerity after the crash was reflected in a big decline in that chunk of national spending, amounting to almost one-fifth from peak to trough.

But since the public purse strings started to be loosened three years ago, public spending has rebounded. It is now running at levels last seen at the end of 2006.

Now back to the multinational issue. Here, we are interested in the spending component of GDP that involves companies.

Traditionally, that was simple and straightforward. For example, companies bought new machines for their assembly lines and the money spent was added to GDP.

In today's hi-tech, globalised world things are rather more complex. Productive capacity isn't just about factories, plant and machinery. Today, "intangible assets", such as software and patents, make up a big chunk of corporate spending.

In the second quarter of this year, companies based in Ireland spent a staggering 8.8bn on such assets. That was double the spend in the previous quarter. It was, by a country mile, the highest on record.

One suspects that there will be quite some interest in the figure in a certain Belgian city.
Career prospects are bright for anyone placed on the Jameson Graduate Programme, which involves an international placement

World leading Irish whiskey brand Jameson offers a three-year international graduate programme which gives the opportunity to kick-start a career in sales and marketing through an international placement in one of 42 countries.

Irish Distillers Jameson International Graduate Programme currently has 75 Jameson brand ambassadors in markets across all five continents making it the largest programme on offer to Irish graduates within the Irish spirits sector.

The programme offers Irish graduates the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the operations of one of Irelands largest export groups, with real long-term career opportunities within Irish Distillers and the wider Group Pernod Ricard portfolio.

In 2016, registration for the programme was up 45% and applications were up 10%. Since the graduate programme was established in 1991, 34% of all graduates have been retained within the company.

According to graduate programme manager Sinead DArcy, the graduates are a vital addition to the wider Irish Distillers operation across the globe, and graduates are placed in markets with clear roles and responsibilities to support the local team.

Irish whiskey is experiencing a global renaissance, with Irish Distillers whiskeys leading the way. Jameson is one of our key strategic growth brands and our Jameson ambassadors are at the coalface of our international growth, driving brand awareness while developing their own skill-set through the programmes award-winning training and development offering, she says.

With over 30 new distilleries planned in Ireland, their skills will be in high demand in the years ahead. While over 70% of our graduates stay within Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard on completion of the programme, there will be no shortage of jobs in the international marketing of Irish whiskey in the years ahead.

DArcy continues: Our goal is to recruit the future leaders not just for Irish Distillers but also for the wider Pernod Ricard Group and so far, were proud to say we have been successful in doing so. In our Dublin-based international marketing team for example over 50% launched their careers through the programme, including our international marketing director Simon Fay who started as Jameson brand ambassador for South Africa in 1998.

Applicants have to get creative if they want to apply for the Jameson International Graduate Programme, DArcy advises: Working as a Jameson brand ambassador requires motivation, passion and confidence. By requiring applicants to submit videos as part of the application process, we gain a real insight into their personalities and what motivates them; aspects that are often lost in conventional application processes.

Those wishing to apply for the programme should visit www.jamesongraduateprogramme.com where applications open in late September. Jameson is looking to recruit graduates for markets such as Germany, France, Spain, UK, Russia, China and Japan.
Graduates who join Aldis Area Manager Graduate Training Programme get the opportunity to manage a store within months

One of the standout success stories of the Irish economy in recent years, global discount retail chain Aldi now has 126 stores across every county in the Republic of Ireland with plans to open many more.

This year it is seeking up to 20 ambitious graduates to join its Area Manager Graduate Training Programme, according to Brian OShea, personnel development director.

At Aldi our philosophy is that only the best will do. Its an approach that has driven our growth and its what our customers have come to expect when they shop at our stores, he says.

We value our staff very highly, only accepting the most determined, talented and driven graduates. We want leaders possessing the commitment and ambition to succeed in a very demanding and fast-paced retail environment.

The 12-month intensive training programme at Aldi covers the complete spectrum of the business. Graduates start their career by learning the workings of an Aldi store and are managing a store within months, applying their leadership skills, commercial awareness, technical and management ability directly.

Our programme is very fast-paced  after a period at our regional head office learning about product development, store operations, financial administration, employment law, logistics and property management, our graduates are provided with in-at-the-deep-end exposure, as they are given the responsibility of managing the multi-store portfolio of another area manager as part of their training, says OShea.

To join the graduate programme and train as an Aldi area manager a minimum 2.1 degree in any discipline is required. Graduates from a variety of different academic backgrounds have joined, learnt and developed their careers on the programme.

We have had successful graduates from disciplines as diverse as law and food science to history and engineering. The most important qualifications we are seeking from our graduates are passion and determination, notes OShea.

We offer fantastic career prospects for graduates seeking to challenge themselves. Rewarding talent and ability, the programme affords graduates the unique opportunity to take responsibility for a multi-million euro business within a year as they are given a portfolio of three to four stores.

No other programme can offer graduates such responsibility so early in their career. Also, for those graduates showing the greatest ability, there are opportunities for secondment abroad and to progress to a director position.

Achievement is rewarded at Aldi. The remuneration package includes a starting salary of 61,000 rising to 95,750 after four years, a fully-expensed Audi A4 from day one, a pension scheme, private healthcare and five weeks holidays a year.

Applications to Aldis Area Manager Graduate Training Programme can be made online via the award winning website aldirecruitment.ie. Recruitment to the programme is ongoing and there is no closing date for applications.
Engineering and construction are on the up and Kirby Group Engineering wants graduates to help drive its growth

Kirby Group Engineering has created a number of new graduate roles for qualified electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and quantity surveyors across its Ireland and UK offices as part of its graduate programme.

These new positions represent Kirbys commitment to supporting our communities and forms a major part of our talent management and growth plans, says Fergus Barry, associate director and group head of HR at Kirby.

Looking after staff and providing the opportunity for professional development has always been a key ingredient to the success at Kirby Group Engineering and our people are the key to our success.

Our professional team of over 600 employees deliver each and every project with pride and integrity. The company places a strong emphasis on training and development and continually nurtures and mentors its people to achieve their maximum potential.

Kirbys graduate programme targets high-performing engineering and surveying graduates with the aim of developing them into technical, people and commercial leaders.

Graduates move through a structured rotation programme over two years that involves Irish and UK site assignments as well as working in the professional engineering and commercial functions.

The programme aims to identify and develop leaders early and includes 25 days of structured training and development focused on leadership development, construction industry functional excellence and Lean.

Commenting on the importance of the graduate programme, Mark Flanagan, group operations director at Kirby, explains: For our new employees, this is more than just a job. It is an opportunity to grow a long-term career with a dynamic company that has a proven track record of success and strong financials.

With our focus very much on the future and continued growth this is a hugely exciting time for everyone involved with our company and for Irish engineering and construction in general. Many new opportunities are coming on stream and new employees will get the opportunity to work with new technologies and techniques on a vast array of complex projects.

Technology moves so fast that engineers and surveyors will always be challenged to use it to their full advantage and with Kirby they are well-placed to do just that. Engineering and quantity surveying are professions that never get dull - they are constantly evolving and changing. With Kirby, no two days are the same and we will always challenge you to be the best you can be.

Founded in 1964, Kirby has grown from a small electrical contracting business to a respected international, multi-disciplinary, high-value engineering contractor with seven offices across Ireland, the UK and Europe and earning an annual turnover of over 150m in 2015.

Kirby provides mechanical piping, HVAC, electrical/instrumentation, electrical transmission and distribution, turnkey and engineering services to a large international client list from a range of sectors including industrial manufacturing, biopharmaceutical, medical technology, mission critical, utilities and renewables, power generation, food and beverage and petrochemical.

To find out more about Kirbys graduate programme go to: http://kirbygroup.com/careers/graduate-programme/
The resurgence in interest in careers in the property and construction areas is welcome.There is an increase in new students into the professions of about 20 percent, although there will be shortages of graduates for years to come. Around now, estate agents and other firms in the sector are taking in their new graduates, and it is a time of great excitement and potential. But, whether you are a newly employed graduate or an employer, what should you be looking for?

As a graduate, you will be trained and assessed over the next two years, but be aware that the firm has, informally at least, already identified the 'stars' in your group. This perception will be largely based on your performance at interview and on the impression you make in your first few days. HR experts and employers are rarely wrong in these assessments and it underlines the importance of 'first impressions'. Your ability to interact with your employers, your peers, and eventually clients, is the key to your success in the business.

That said, there is a huge opportunity for all graduates to stand out and become the person that all the departments want, strengthening your own 'brand value' and earning power along the way. The most crucial characteristic to display is enthusiasm, which is a seductive quality, loved by clients, colleagues and bosses. Volunteer for every piece of work that you can. Do it to a higher standard than anyone anticipated, finish it quicker than expected and go looking for more work. You'll soon stand out.

Be at your desk 10 minutes early every day. Spend a little extra money and time in making sure that you are well presented and polish your shoes every day. It may seem old-fashioned but display the best of manners. Open doors for people, offer others your seat and stand up when a woman enters the room. Until you are told otherwise, address people older than you as 'Mr' or 'Ms' and not by their first names.

Groups of older people are not 'guys'.

Never regard your mobile phone as more important than anyone. If you have to answer a call when in company, firstly apologise, then take the call discretely.

Graduates develop a strong loyalty to their firm and an element of competition can develop with other graduates. However, you must never denigrate another company - always describe them as "a very fine firm." Never talk about your firm's business with graduates from other firms.

Employers must ensure graduates get the required spread of experience. In busy times, it can be very disruptive to move a 'star' graduate to another department, but cutting corners soon causes problems. If you are not renewing a graduate's contract, do so on the best possible terms. Within a few years, they'll be working for a client and will have a loyalty to where they trained; if treated fairly.

Lastly, alcohol. Graduates will soon be introduced to team-building events and office nights out, usually with a free bar. Graduates need to be careful - I've seen careers curtailed by drunken disasters. Employers are increasingly liable where they supply alcohol to employees and then expect them to get themselves home safely.

Thoughts From Italy

Last week I visited some Italian cities and there are lessons to be learned from these destinations.

There was one tower crane operating in Venice, squeezed onto a sliver of land. Otherwise, I observed several building projects and marvelled as materials were delivered in boats and hoisted upwards on ropes. Venice was thronged with tourists. It's proof that if you create something special, enough business will be generated to cover the extra construction costs. That's why those schemes in Ireland which 'go the extra mile' in design and quality, perform best in the long term.

Venice and Verona are spotless with a near absence of signs of homelessness. Another surprise was that wheelchair users travel free on city bus tours and on boats on Lake Garda. That's a courtesy we could extend to our visitors.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte ordered a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead, a former militiaman has told the country's Senate.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised committee hearing that he heard Mr Duterte order some of the killings when he was still a city mayor.

He said he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including that of a suspected kidnapper who was fed to a crocodile in 2007 in Davao del Sur province.

The Senate committee inquiry was being led by senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Mr Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June.

Expand Close Former militiaman Edgar Matobato testifies before the Philippine Senate (AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former militiaman Edgar Matobato testifies before the Philippine Senate (AP)

He has accused Ms de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.

The killings of the suspected drug dealers have sparked concern in the Philippines and among UN and US officials, including President Barack Obama, who have urged Mr Duterte's government to stop the killings and ensure his anti-drug war complies with human rights laws and the law.

Mr Duterte has rejected the criticisms, questioning the right of others to raise human rights issues, when US forces, for example, massacred Muslims in the country's south in the early 1900s as part of a pacification campaign.

"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Mr Matobato said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Mr Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.

The killings he said he has knowledge of started in 1988, when Mr Duterte first became mayor, and go up to 2013, when he expressed his desire to leave the death squad, prompting his colleagues to implicate him criminally in one killing.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Mr Duterte's time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of real evidence and witnesses.

Ms De Lima and Philippine human rights officials and advocates have previously said that potential witnesses refused to testify against him when he was still mayor because they were afraid they would be killed.

There was no immediate reaction from Mr Duterte, who has denied any role in extra-judicial killings when he was the mayor of Davao and after he assumed the presidency.

Mr Matobato said the victims in Davao allegedly ranged from petty criminals to people associated with Mr Duterte's opponents, including a wealthy businessman from central Cebu province who was killed in 2014 by a gunman in his office in Davao city allegedly because of a feud with Mr Duterte's son over a woman.

Other victims were a suspected foreign terrorist, who Mr Matobato said he strangled then chopped into pieces and buried in a quarry in 2002. Another was a radio commentator, Jun Pala, who was critical of Mr Duterte and was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen while walking home in 2003.

After a 1993 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral, Mr Matobato said Mr Duterte ordered him and his colleagues to launch attacks on mosques in Davao city. He testified he hurled a grenade at one mosque but there were no casualties because the attacks were carried out when no one was praying.

Some of the victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three unmarked graves, he said, adding some were disposed of in the sea with their stomachs cut open and their bodies tied to concrete blocks so they would not float.

"They were killed like chickens," said Mr Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection programme.

He left the protection programme when Mr Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed. He said he decided to surface now because: "I wanted the people to know so the killings will stop."

His testimony set off a tense exchange between senators allied with Mr Duterte and those critical of him.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president in May's elections, accused Mr Matobato of being part of a plot to unseat Mr Duterte.

"I'm testing to see if you were brought here to bring down this government," he said.

Ms De Lima eventually declared Mr Cayetano, who was not a member of the committee, "out of order" and ordered Senate security personnel to restrain him.

Another senator, former national police chief Panfilo Lacson, warned Mr Matobato that his admissions that he was involved in killings could land him in jail.

"You can be jailed with your revelations," he said. "You have no immunity."
Separatist rebels and government troops have both reported violations of a ceasefire that was supposed to begin in eastern Ukraine at midnight.

Rebels on Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire, and visiting German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the following day that Ukraine had agreed to observe the truce.

Russian state television has quoted rebel officials as saying their forces came under mortar fire.

Ukrainian army spokesman Ivan Arefyev said fighting subsided at midnight but rebels used small arms and hand grenades in the morning, the Interfax news agency said.

The foreign ministers of France and Germany, key mediators in the Ukrainian peace process, met the Ukrainian president on Wednesday and are expected to travel to the east on Thursday.

AP
China has launched its second space station in a sign of the growing sophistication of its military-backed programme.

The Tiangong 2 was carried into space atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts on board to dock with the station and remain on board for a month.

The station, whose name means "heavenly palace", is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

China's first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year.

AP
Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP talks with European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans ahead of a debate on The State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, September 14, 2016 Picture: REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

Some of the pre-Brexit referendum pledges made by Leave campaigners were "mildly irresponsible", Nigel Farage has admitted.

Brexiteers who spearheaded the campaign to persuade the British people to leave the EU have been heavily scrutinised after a number of pledges appear to have been backtracked, including a Vote Leave campaign poster that promised to spend 350m of EU funding a week on the NHS and plans to create a points-based immigration system.

When challenged over the failed promises, the former Ukip leader and prominent Brexit campaigner said some pledges were "mildly irresponsible", adding "there were lots of promises - lots of idea get discussed at any election".

The admission comes after the co-chair of the official campaign to leave the EU, said the pledge regarding NHS funding was only an "example" of how such funds could be allocated.

Gisela Stuart downplayed the policy, which was printed on the side of a giant red bus during the campaign, telling the BBC Daily Politics programme on Monday: "No, the NHS was the example of that if you're spending that amounts of money and you don't have control of what to do with it, I would spend it on the NHS."

Mr Farage's recent comments echo those he made on the morning of the EU referendum result when he dismissed the pledge as a "mistake".

Although not affiliated with Vote Leave, Mr Farage did not speak out against the figure during the campaign, but told broadcasters hours after the votes were counted: "No I can't [guarantee spending 350m on the NHS], and I would never have made that claim. That was one of the mistakes that I think the Leave campaign made."

Earlier, Mr Farage launched a scathing attack on the EU, saying after EC President's Jean-Claude Juncker's State of the Union speech that there had been a "declaration of war" on Brexit negotiations.

A weary-eyed Mr Juncker was seen holding his head in his hands as Mr Farage accused the European Parliament of already appointing its "divorce lawyers" by selecting Guy Verhofstadt as its chief Brexit negotiator.

Mr Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister and leader of the liberal MEPs, has been unpopular with Brexiteers and previously stressed he would not agree to a Brexit deal that allowed Britain full access to the single market without retaining the free movement of people.

Following Mr Juncker's call for Brexit talks to begin "as soon as possible", Mr Farage said: "In terms of Brexit, you're probably right to be slightly critical of the British government, who ought to get on with it.

"But the EU is getting on with it and you've already appointed your divorce lawyers. On behalf of the European Parliament, we've got Guy Verhofstadt. He's the man who is going to be negotiating Brexit.

"If you were to think of this building [the EU Parliament] as a temple, well, Mr Verhofstadt is the high priest. A fanatic. In fact, there is only really one nationalist in this room and it's you [Verhofstadt] because you want flags, anthems, armies . . . you are an EU nationalist.

"I frankly think that this appointment amounts to pretty much a declaration of war on any sensible negotiation process."
Flats in in Elmshurst Crescent in East Finchley, north London where a man and a woman with gunshot wounds have been found dead

A man and a woman have died and a third person injured following a shooting at a flat in London.

Armed police were called to the scene at 6.25am on Thursday to reports of two people injured at an address in East Finchley.

Residents at Elmshurst Crescent raised the alarm after hearing shots fired.

Detectives have launched a murder inquiry.

A spokesman for the Scotland Yard said: "Officers attended and found two people  a man and a woman suffering gunshot injuries. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

"The Homicide and Major Crime Command have been informed."

No arrests have been made.
Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey stands outside the Nursing and Midwifery Council in Edinburgh after she was cleared of professional misconduct by a panel following a probe into her return to the UK with the virus. Photo: David Cheskin/PA Wire

A Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for patients in Sierra Leone was cleared yesterday of allegations she had put the public at risk by hiding the fact she had a raised temperature when she returned to Britain.

Pauline Cafferkey (40), was infected in 2014, during an outbreak of the highly contagious disease that killed more than 11,300 people in three West African countries.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council, which regulates the professions in Britain, held a two-day hearing in Edinburgh to investigate allegations that Cafferkey had allowed a wrong temperature to be recorded at Heathrow Airport on her return.

She was also accused of failing to flag up her true temperature to medical staff at a screening area in the airport. The panel dismissed both charges after hearing that she had been impaired by illness as she went through the screening area.

"Throughout her career Pauline has been motivated by a genuine desire to help other people even if this meant putting her own life at risk. She would never have knowingly put anyone in danger," her lawyer said.
The head of the Mexican agency investigating the disappearance of 43 college students has resigned.

Tomas Zeron was in charge of the criminal investigation agency for the Attorney General's Office, and his dismissal had been demanded by the families of the students, who have not been seen since being taken away by police in Iguala in southern Guerrero state.

Mr Zeron was at the centre of the investigation that has failed to determine the whereabouts of the students, who were allegedly handed over to a drug gang and killed.

No reason was given for the resignation of Mr Zeron, who oversaw not only the agency's investigators, but also its forensic work.

The government's probe into the students' disappearance has been criticised within Mexico and by international experts for focusing on an early theory that their bodies were incinerated at a dump rather than on investigating other leads.

The case has become an embarrassment for the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Two independent, international teams of experts cast doubt on what a former attorney general dubbed at the time the "historic truth" of what happened to the students.

Many of the suspects rounded up in the investigation have complained they were tortured into backing the government's version of what happened.

Court documents obtained by The Associated Press in May showed that 10 of the suspects described similar treatment at the hands of authorities and some even said they were given planted evidence or prefabricated stories.

In April, the students' families called for Mr Zeron's firing over mistakes in the inquiry. They called for him to be investigated for "crimes related to obstruction of justice".

The Attorney General's Office, which oversees the agency led by Mr Zeron, said at the time that it had opened an investigation through its internal affairs unit.

The families will hold a news conference on Thursday to address Mr Zeron's resignation.

Experts sent by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had criticised Mr Zeron for not clearly documenting how burned bone fragments - the only physical evidence of the students - were found in a river near the dump where the government says they were disposed of after the fire.

Mr Zeron acknowledged that some bone fragments had been registered as found a day before they actually were. One fragment was later tied by DNA testing to a missing student.

The experts said Mr Zeron visited the river on October 28 2014, with one of the suspects who complained of torture. The government said the bone fragments were found there the next day.

The students attended the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa, a teachers college. They were in Iguala on September 26 2014, to hijack buses to use for transport to a rally in Mexico City.

They were attacked on the buses by local police and allegedly handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.
Hillary Clinton waves after leaving an apartment building in New York on September 11 (AP)

Back on the campaign trail, a reflective Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that her three-day, doctor-mandated break gave her new perspective on why she is running to be president.

"I am running for everyone working hard to support their families, everyone who has been knocked down but gets back up," Mrs Clinton said at a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The rally marked Mrs Clinton's first public appearance since Sunday, when she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial service after getting dizzy and dehydrated.

After a video emerged showing her stumbling and being supported by aides, Mrs Clinton's campaign said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

"Sitting at home was pretty much the last place I wanted to be," Mrs Clinton said with a smile on Thursday, after walking on stage to James Brown's song I Feel Good.

Mrs Clinton's Sunday incident prompted new questions about both candidates' openness regarding their health.

Donald Trump released a new letter from his doctor on Thursday detailing his blood pressure, cholesterol and medications, one day after Mrs Clinton made public a letter from her physician with similar information. Both candidates' doctors declared them fit to serve as president.

Mr Trump's letter said the Republican is 6ft 3in and 236lb (16st 12lb) - giving him a body mass index falling into the "overweight" range.

The 70-year-old has blood pressure of 116 over 70 and his total cholesterol is 169, his doctor says.

Nr Trump's team appeared to take a swipe at Mrs Clinton's brief absence from the campaign trail in a statement accompanying the new health information.

"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Mr Trump is in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure - uninterrupted - the rigours of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president of the United States," the campaign said.

Until Thursday, the only information on Mr Trump's health had come in a widely ridiculed letter from his doctor declaring he would be the healthiest person to ever serve as president. Before releasing the new details to the public, Mr Trump turned over a copy to Dr Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Dr Oz's TV show.

Mrs Clinton mocked Mr Trump's television roll-out of his health records, saying: "I'll never be the showman that my opponent is - just look at the show he put on for Dr Oz today."

With two months until Election Day, the race between Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump is far tighter than many in both parties expected.

Mrs Clinton continues to be dragged down by voters' mistrust in her, but she still maintains more pathways than Trump to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

Mrs Clinton's confidence in the electoral map was underscored in her decision to make her first stop this week in North Carolina, the only battleground state President Barack Obama lost in 2012.

Mr Trump almost certainly needs to carry the state in order to win the White House, while Mrs Clinton's team is eager to block his path.

Mrs Clinton slammed North Carolina governor Pat McCrory for signing a law to prevent transgender people from using lavatories in schools and state government buildings that do not correspond to the gender on their birth certificates.

The decision has angered businesses in the state, and this week the NCAA announced it was pulling seven sports championships from North Carolina.

"This is where bigotry leads, and we can't afford it, not here or anywhere else," Mrs Clinton said.

Mr Trump, after releasing his health information, spent Thursday laying out plans to lower taxes by 4.4 trillion US dollars over a decade and cut regulations, including some of those currently intended to protect the food Americans eat and the air they breathe.

The Republican said his plans would raise the nation's economic growth rate to at least 3.5%, well above its current rate of about 2%, and create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years.

The heart of Mr Trump's plan is a revised tax code, which includes a pledge that no business should pay more than 15% of its income in taxes, down from the current 35% highest corporate tax rate. Few businesses now pay the full 35% rate, taking advantage instead of many deductions in the existing tax code.

AP
The United States will provide Israel's military with $38bn (34bn) during the next 10 years, the biggest batch of mili- tary assistance the US has ever pledged to another country.

Following months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the State Department said the two countries had reached a 10-year agreement. They have not disclosed the exact sum, but officials familiar with the deal said it totals $3.8bn a year.

Under the agreement, Israel's ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be gradually phased out, eventually requiring all of the funds to be spend on American military industries. Israel's preference for spending some of the funds internally had been a major sticking point in the deal.

The agreement also eliminates Israel's ability to spend a fraction of the funds on fuel for its military. In another apparent concession, it has agreed not to ask Congress to approve more funds than are included in the deal unless a new war breaks out.

In February, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu quietly floated the prospect of waiting for President Barack Obama's successor in the hope of securing a better deal.

However, the Obama administration has been eager to lock in the agreement before leaving office to help bolster Mr Obama's legacy and undercut the criticism that his administration was insufficiently supp- ortive of Israel.

Mr Obama's relationship with Mr Netanyahu has been fraught for years, and ties between the countries worsened significantly when the US and world powers struck a nuclear deal with Iran. Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat and disagreed sharply with Mr Obama's contention that the deal actually made Israel safer by limiting Iran's nuclear programme.

Securing the deal ahead of the US presidential election in November also ensures that Mr Obama's successor will not have to delve into the issue during his or her first few months. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton have both vowed to protect Israel's security if elected.

The new US-Israel deal also includes, for the first time, funding for missile defence programmes. Under the previous arrangement, Congress approved funds for missile defence separately and on an annual basis.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the biggest pro-Israel lobbying group, praised Mr Obama for completing the deal and said it would send "a strong message of deter- rence" to Israel's enemies.

"With these funds, Israel will be able to modernise and better equip its armed forces," the group said.

However, the agreement angered pro-Palestinian groups, who said the US should not reward Israel with unprecedented aid despite its settlement-building in the disputed West Bank.

Last week, the US was incensed by a video that Mr Netanyahu released in which he equated criticism of settlement-building to support for "ethnic cleansing".

He said it was "outrageous" that Palestinians wanted their future state to include "no Jews" and rejected the notion that the settlements were an obstacle to peace.
The man accused of setting fire to the mosque sometimes attended by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen is to be held without bail after a judge called him a danger to the community and a flight risk.

Joseph Michael Schreiber looked down during most of the brief hearing before St Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci. He told the judge he could not afford a private lawyer and was appointed a public defender. He also acknowledged two previous stints in prison.

Schreiber, 32, was arrested without incident and charged with second-degree arson with a hate crime enhancement, a crime that carries a maximum 30-year sentence.

The fire was started late on Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque's main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Judge Yacucci also noted that Schreiber had made anti-Islamic posts on social media. Last July, he posted on Facebook that "All Islam is radical" and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, "IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical. ... ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country."

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber "obviously doesn't know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation."

Omar Saleh, a lawyer for Cair, described both Schreiber and Mateen as "degenerates" and "punks".

"Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateen's actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Mr Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion," Mr Saleh said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.

Schreiber was previously sentenced twice to state prison for theft, according to records from the Florida Department of Corrections. The records show he served his first sentence from March 2008 to July 2009 and his second from June 2010 to August 2014.

A weekend surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approaching the building with a bottle of liquid and some papers and then leaving when there was a flash. The first 911 calls were made about 45 minutes later after the fire had spread to the attic. It took about four-and-a-half hours for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation into the fire. Sheriff's officials had released the video and asked for the public's help in identifying the arsonist.

Rabbi Bruce Benson, a chaplain with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, was outside Schreiber's home. He said Schreiber attended his synagogue for about a month last spring to study the Torah, but left little impression and gave no indication he might act violently in the future.

Rabbi Benson said Schreiber's father went to his office after his son was arrested, even though he was not a member of his synagogue.

"I guess he didn't know where else to go," Rabbi Benson said, adding that Schreiber's parents are "shocked, just like any of us would be if it were our child".

He said his reform synagogue, Temple Beth El Israel, has tried unsuccessfully in the past to reach out to the mosque.

"We would welcome the opportunity," Rabbi Benson said. "They're a community feeling under attack. If we could all talk a bit, maybe things like this wouldn't have to happen."

AP

According to a St Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit, Schreiber was developed as a suspect in part because of a tip.

Detectives said that after his arrest, he admitted starting the fire, said he had no intention of hurting anyone and was embarrassed to have committed the crime.

AP
Victoria Martens was due to celebrate her 10th birthday before she was murdered

The mother of a 10-year-old girl found dead actively searched for men to rape her daughter, police in Albuquerque Police have revealed.

Michelle Martens, the girls 35-year-old mother, told investigators that she sought out men online dating websites and at her place of employment, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Police said that she willingly admit that she didnt do it for money, she did it because she enjoyed watching.

Michelle said yeah when asked if she would agree with them over the internet or over the phone that they would come over and have sex with her children, one investigator outlined in court documents.

One man she met online, Fabian Gonzales, 31, allegedly raped, killed and dismembered the young girl with the help of his cousin. The mother also admitted to giving her daughter methamphetamine to calm her down before Mr Gonzales raped and choked to death. However, Mr Gonzales denies the accusation.

Victoria Martens' dismembered remains were found in her family's apartment in Albuquerque by New Mexico police officers.

It is reported she had been injected with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed before she was dismembered.

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden Jr. said the murder was the "most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen".

Police said all three suspects in the case are being held in jail on a $1 million bond.
Mr Grooms was planning a similar attack on a 3-year-old boy before he was caught Wapello County Jail

A teenager in Iowa who sexually assaulted a toddler and live-streamed the attack has not received a prison sentence.

Kraigen Grooms pleaded guilty to raping a girl aged between one and two years old in April 2013. A second man recorded the abuse and posted it on the internet.

Mr Grooms, who is now 19, received a 10-year suspended sentence and five years of supervised release. He will be registered as a sex offender for life and could be ordered to spend 10 years in prison if he violates his release conditions.

Investigators said the assault was premeditated and Mr Grooms had been planning a similar attack on a three-year-old boy before he was caught. Mr Grooms was 16 when he raped the toddler, according to local reports.

The evidence of the rape was discovered by Homeland Security officers as part of an international child pornography investigation. A video recording of the sexual abuse was found on a computer in Ireland, according to investigators.

"Forensic analysis of computers used in the transfer of the video recordings shows that the defendant reported that he found the incident so hot, investigators said.

Photographs found on a computer at Mr Groomss home showed pictures of a three-year-old boy, they added.

A statement from investigators said Mr Grooms did not regularly babysit the baby was not often left alone with her. Instead he had to intentionally seek out the opportunity to commit the abuse at a time and location where the subject in New Orleans could view and record the abuse."

Mr Grooms was initially charged with second degree sexual abuse, a class B felony which carries a 25-year prison sentence.

Social media was used to trace the suspect after the authorities discovered the video.

A website called MissingCases.com posted images of the suspect on it's Facebook page that led to the arrest of Mr Grooms.

Website owner, Tim Caya told the Ottumwa Evening Post: There were hundreds of comments saying that they knew [Grooms], some went to school with him and they thought the person in the flyer looked just like him. I started looking at his pictures, he did look just like the guy on the flyer.

Its sad. He is such a young kid. Usually when you hear about this, it is old guys.

It makes you wonder what was going on in his life to get him to this.

"Im glad I helped catch him, but it makes you wonder about what is going on these days with kids doing this at such a young age.

Mr Grooms remained in custody for more than two years - first in a juvenile detention and then the Wapello County jail - until he pleaded guilty on July 25. He was released after his plea but was required to submit to GPS monitoring.

While in custody, Mr Grooms underwent several psychological evaluations, court documents show.

The decision not to give Mr Grooms a custodial sentence by Judge Randy Degeest has attracted widespread criticism. A petition has been started online to have the judge fired
A vendor displays T-shirts for sale before former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks on behalf of his wife Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a campaign event at the College of Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., September 14, 2016

Hillary Clinton is "recovering well" from pneumonia and remains "fit to serve as president of the United States", her doctor said in a letter released by her campaign.

The health details made public by the Democratic presidential nominee included a description of the pneumonia diagnosis Mrs Clinton received last week.

Her illness became public after she left Sunday's 9/11 memorial service early and was seen on video staggering while getting into a van.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," said her doctor, Lisa Bardack, in a letter released by her campaign.

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"She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States."

Mrs Clinton has spent the past three days out of the public eye, recuperating at her suburban New York home. She will return to the campaign trail on Thursday.

"She's feeling great and I think she'll be back out there tomorrow," former President Bill Clinton said on Wednesday, when he stepped in for his wife at a campaign event in Las Vegas.

"It's a crazy time we live in, you know, when people think there's something unusual about getting the flu."

The memorial service episode fuelled long-simmering conservative conspiracy theories about Mrs Clinton's health.

It also provided a fresh line of attack for rival Donald Trump, who has frequently questioned whether she has the stamina to serve as commander in chief.

At a Wednesday evening rally in Canton, Ohio, Mr Trump noted the room filled with 5,000 people was hot.

"You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this?" he asked. "I don't think so."

He later added: "We want her better, we want her back on the trail."

The Republican nominee, meanwhile, handed over a one-page summary of a recent physical examination to the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Oz's talk show.

But voters will have to wait another day for details as the show does not air until Thursday.

Mr Trump was earlier heckled when he attacked Mrs Clinton during what was supposed to be a speech on helping where the government had failed the people of Flint, Michigan.

"Mr Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," said the Rev Faith Green Timmons, the pastor of the Bethel United Methodist Church.

The Republican nominee said he would go back to talking about the water crisis that has hit Flint's citizens.

But the interruption seemed to embolden those in the sparse crowd.

One woman shouted that Mr Trump had used discriminatory housing practices in his buildings, causing the celebrity businessman to respond: "Never, you're wrong. Never would."

Mr Trump abruptly ended his speech, which had lasted six minutes. More heckling followed him out.

Mr Trump also came under fire in a trove of leaked emails sent by former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

He called the tycoon "a national disgrace" and suggests his own Republican Party is "crashing and burning".

The emails were sent between March 2015 and last month by the respected retired Army general who was secretary of state under President George W Bush.

Mr Powell, 79, has said that he does not deny the emails' authenticity.

In the emails, he said he stayed relatively quiet during the rise of Mr Trump: "To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him."

To a former aide he writes: "No need to debate it with you now, but Trump is a national disgrace and an international pariah."

He also criticised Mr Trump for backing the false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

"All his lies and nonsense just pile up," Mr Powell wrote. "I just go back to the unforgivable one. Trying to destroy the President elected by the American people with his fictitious investigation into this source of birth. Absolutely disgraceful."

Mr Trump hit back in a Twitter post late on Wednesday, saying: "I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!"

Meanwhile Mr Trump's wife Melania released a letter on Wednesday from an immigration lawyer that provided more detail on what she said was her legal pathway to US citizenship.

The two-page letter from Michael J Wildes, posted on Mrs Trump's Twitter account, marks the first time that she has publicly identified the type of visas she held and gave specifics about her entry into the US.
A former mayor who dedicated his life to Jesus repeatedly sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl and blamed her for being a willing participant.

Richard Keenan, who served as mayor of Hubbard, Ohio, between 2010 and 2011, has been indicted with eight counts of rape and 12 counts of attempted rape and gross sexual imposition.

He pleaded not guilty last month, but prosecutors said he had admitted the assault to his wife, a pastor, a social worker and his brother and sister-in-law, as reported by the Youngstown Vindicator.

The period of assault, he reportedly admitted, spanned a three-year period, starting when the girl was four years old.

The child told his wife about the abuse and she confronted Keenan.

I did it, he said, according to court documents.

Keenan reportedly checked himself into a psychiatric facility as he felt suicidal. He told a social worker that he had started assaulting the child in September 2013 but that she had "initiated" the abuse, calling her a willing participant.

Spouses may testify if they wish under Ohio law, while the pastor will not be forced to testify about any admisions Keenan made to him.

In 2010, Keenan, who also worked for the city council in the 1990s and was a probation officer, told the same publication that he had dedicated [his] life to Jesus.

The former mayor will stand trial in April and has been released on $75,000 bail with the order to not have any contact with minors.

He faces life imprisonment.
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte ordered a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead, a former militiaman has told the country's Senate.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised committee hearing that he heard Mr Duterte order some of the killings when he was still a city mayor.

He said he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including that of a suspected kidnapper who was fed to a crocodile in 2007 in Davao del Sur province.

The Senate committee inquiry was being led by senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of Mr Duterte's anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he assumed the presidency in June.

He has accused Ms de Lima of involvement in illegal drugs, alleging that she used to have a driver who took money from detained drug lords. She has denied the allegations.

The killings of the suspected drug dealers have sparked concern in the Philippines and among UN and US officials, including President Barack Obama, who have urged Mr Duterte's government to stop the killings and ensure his anti-drug war complies with human rights laws and the law.

Mr Duterte has rejected the criticisms, questioning the right of others to raise human rights issues, when US forces, for example, massacred Muslims in the country's south in the early 1900s as part of a pacification campaign.

"Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Mr Matobato said under oath, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Mr Duterte and one of his sons in Davao city.

The killings he said he has knowledge of started in 1988, when Mr Duterte first became mayor, and go up to 2013, when he expressed his desire to leave the death squad, prompting his colleagues to implicate him criminally in one killing.

Presidential spokesman Martin Andanar rejected the allegations, saying government investigations into Mr Duterte's time as mayor of Davao had already gone nowhere because of a lack of real evidence and witnesses.

Ms De Lima and Philippine human rights officials and advocates have previously said that potential witnesses refused to testify against him when he was still mayor because they were afraid they would be killed.

There was no immediate reaction from Mr Duterte, who has denied any role in extra-judicial killings when he was the mayor of Davao and after he assumed the presidency.

Mr Matobato said the victims in Davao allegedly ranged from petty criminals to people associated with Mr Duterte's opponents, including a wealthy businessman from central Cebu province who was killed in 2014 by a gunman in his office in Davao city allegedly because of a feud with Mr Duterte's son over a woman.

Other victims were a suspected foreign terrorist, who Mr Matobato said he strangled then chopped into pieces and buried in a quarry in 2002. Another was a radio commentator, Jun Pala, who was critical of Mr Duterte and was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen while walking home in 2003.

After a 1993 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral, Mr Matobato said Mr Duterte ordered him and his colleagues to launch attacks on mosques in Davao city. He testified he hurled a grenade at one mosque but there were no casualties because the attacks were carried out when no one was praying.

Some of the victims were shot and dumped on Davao streets or buried in three unmarked graves, he said, adding some were disposed of in the sea with their stomachs cut open and their bodies tied to concrete blocks so they would not float.

"They were killed like chickens," said Mr Matobato, who added he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a government witness-protection programme.

He left the protection programme when Mr Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed. He said he decided to surface now because: "I wanted the people to know so the killings will stop."

His testimony set off a tense exchange between senators allied with Mr Duterte and those critical of him.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president in May's elections, accused Mr Matobato of being part of a plot to unseat Mr Duterte.

"I'm testing to see if you were brought here to bring down this government," he said.

Ms De Lima eventually declared Mr Cayetano, who was not a member of the committee, "out of order" and ordered Senate security personnel to restrain him.

Another senator, former national police chief Panfilo Lacson, warned Mr Matobato that his admissions that he was involved in killings could land him in jail.

"You can be jailed with your revelations," he said. "You have no immunity."

AP

Rights groups have long accused Mr Duterte of involvement in death squads, claims he has denied even while engaging in tough talk in which he stated his approach to criminals was to "kill them all".

Mr Matobato is the first person to admit any role in such killings and directly implicate him under oath in a public hearing.

He said Mr Duterte once even issued an order to kill Ms de Lima, when she chaired the Commission on Human Rights and was investigating the mayor's possible role in extrajudicial killings in 2009 in Davao.

He said he and others were waiting to ambush her but she did not go to a part of a hilly area - a suspected mass grave - where they were waiting to open fire.

"If you went inside the upper portion, we were already in ambush position," Mr Matobato told Ms de Lima. "It's good that you left."

Mr Duterte has immunity from lawsuits as a president, but Ms de Lima said that principle may have to be revisited now.

"What if a leader is elected and turns out to be a mass murderer?" she asked in a news conference after the hearing.
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

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Carolene Mays-Medley executive director of White River State Park suffered an aneurysm Tuesday morning at her home. Mays-Medley was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery.

Doctors say while she still has a way to go in her recovery, the businesswoman is incredibly blessed to have survived such an incident. Currently, Mays-Medley is recovering at a local hospital. Heath care personnel are optimistic that she will make a full recovery.

We are grateful for all the prayers and calls of support our family has received this week, said Fred Medley, Mays-Medleys husband. Our family is God-centered and he continues to be our guiding light. Id personally like to thank everyone for their concern and respect for our familys privacy at this time. Please continue to lift Carolene up in your prayers.

Mays-Medley was publisher of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper for 13 years before leaving in 2010 when then-Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed her to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. She also served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2002  2008. Currently, she is executive director of White River State Park.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community owns and operates the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Photo from Facebook



Tribal gaming contributed $1.8 billion to the economy in Minnesota last year, according to a report from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association

Tribal casinos and related businesses employ more than 15,000 people, according to the report . The employees earned more than $500 million in wages and paid about $126 million in taxes in 2015, the report stated.

But the effects of gaming are felt elsewhere, the report stated. Tribes made more than $717 million in purchases last year and attracted nearly 23 million people to the state in 2015, according to the economic study.

"Indian gaming has given Minnesotas 11 sovereign Tribal Nations a means to improve the lives of their people, foster economic development and strengthen self- government," the report stated. "It has helped tribes begin to reverse extreme poverty, provide for tribal members health and education, preserve Native cultures and achieve important goals that were previously unattainable. Indian gaming has also strengthened local economies by providing jobs, supporting local vendors, boosting tourism, and generating new tax revenues."

The 11 tribes operate 19 gaming facilities in several regions of Minnesota. Four are considered "urban" because they lie within 75 miles of the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. The rest are considered "rural."

Read More on the Story: Casinos boost Minnesota's entire economy, tribal report says (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 9/15)

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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and ICBC President Yi Huiman (Source: VNA)



In a reception for President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Yi Huiman, the PM made it clear that Vietnam welcomes prestigious banks with high liquidity operating in Vietnam, including the ICBC.

In such spirit, he asked the ICBC to work with the State Bank of Vietnam to devise effective and practical ways of cooperation.

Yi, for his part, spoke highly of Vietnams socio-economic achievements, especially in the field of finance-banking.

As one of the five Chinese banks operating in Vietnam, the ICBC is funding a number of key socio-economic projects in Vietnam and 80 percent of its staff is Vietnamese, he said.

He affirmed that the ICBC wants to contribute more to Vietnams industrialisation, modernisation and infrastructure upgrade.

Meeting President of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) Zhou Mubing, the Government leader lauded the ABC for its trans-border payment service over the past years, contributing to boosting Vietnam-China economic and trade ties.

He told his host that the State Bank of Vietnam will consider ABCs proposal to open a branch in the country.

Zhou described Vietnam as Chinas largest trade partner in the ASEAN, adding that the ABC has joined a number of projects to elevate bilateral economic and trade ties.

He wished that the Vietnamese government would facilitate ABCs credit activities in Vietnam in the near future.

During a meeting with Asia Director of Zhongxing Corporation Fan Hu and Vice President of Huawei Corporation Wanghui, the PM asked the two leading Chinese telecommunications firms to forge closer ties with Vietnamese partners.

He said he supports their proposal to join hands with Vietnamese localities to build smart cities and transport systems in Vietnam.

The executives expressed their wish for continued support from the PM, ministries and local authorities to do business with Vietnamese partners in the mutually-beneficial spirit, for the sake of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries./.
Bitten by the travel bug, we often think of quitting the corporate life for a nomadic journey. But weve hardly ever gone past the thought.

Now that we can see how beautiful the world is and the kind of exquisiteness it entails, we constantly find ourselves thinking about a life on-the-go.

With the same thought and will, a young lady from the Philippines quit her job in the pursuit of never-ending travel.

Aileen Adalid was summoned by the corporate world at the age of 19. Like most of us, Aileen wasnt quite content with her job after graduation. She was working with Deutsche Bank - which paid just $300 per month.

As a result, she quit her job and started a perpetual journey of everlasting travel.

For the initial years, Aileen freelanced in graphic design, web design, SEO management, and online marketing; largely sustaining on the income she sourced from one client who paid her twice the amount of her previous salary.

Such flexibility and independence earned her the congenial backing for travelling freely around the world.

In May 2014, she also started an online retail business with a friend of hers that sells health and outdoor accessories. She now earns more than $5000 (INR 335102) a month from her online venture and a lot more from her freelancing projects.

She confesses on her blog that being a digital nomad is quite exciting and shes thoroughly enjoying it.

Shes now based out of the Philippines (her home town) while she travels once a month to places throughout Europe and Asia.

You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog.
After India outright rejected the UN Human Right Commissioner, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein's plea to visit Kashmir, the war of words between India and Pakistan at UN further intensified. Though Pakistan claims that the mere mention of the situation in Kashmir by UN Human Right Commissioner is a diplomatic victory, India reacted sharply accusing Pakistan of aggravating tension in Jammu and Kashmir.

AFP

"The present situation arose from the death of a self-acknowledged commander of the terrorist organisation Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. It was further aggravated by sustained cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Terrorism is the grossest violation of human rights and should be so acknowledged by any impartial and objective observer." said Indian Envoy at UN on September 13.

Pakistan in response to this said that "Kashmir was not a part of India  the UN high commissioner for human rights visit will help end the culture of impunity that exists in India-occupied J&K (IoK) where human rights violations are rampant". The latest upsurge was triggered by the extra-judicial execution of a 22-year-old Kashmiri on 8 July. It is characteristic of oppressive regimes to label those struggling for their rights as terrorists, said Pakistani ambassador to the UN, Tehmina Janjua, to the UNHRC.

Reuters

Pakistan which had earlier allowed the UN Officials to visit POK also claimed that since India has denied permission to UN officials to visit the valley, India has something to hide. India while using its Right of Reply (RoR) responded heavily and attacked Pakistan Achilles heel Balochistan and raised the question of grave human right violation by Pakistan army in Balochistan, a province forcefully occupied by Pakistan in 1948.

India cornered Pakistan while stating that the state which advocates for restraint in Kashmir kill its own people in Balochistan. The country has no hesitation to use air-power against Baloch people and it's a no surprise that Pakistan had failed to convince the international community to secure a seat at the HRC. "All of us are prepared to help if the creators of this monster wake up to the dangers of what they have done to themselves, India told the council while further cornering Pakistan.

Pakistan in return also used it RoR and accused India of misleading the world about situation Kashmir. "India has insulted the intelligence of the council with their usual twisting of historical facts and traditional Indian pattern of obfuscation and denial," said Pak.

AFP

Pakistan also invited the Indian delegation to admit to indiscriminate use of pellet guns. "Since 1989, 98,000 people have been killed in IoK. Can the Indian delegate deny that the UN has called for the holding of an impartial plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of Kashmiri people, Pakistan asked.

India also snubbed UN Chief on Human Right for comparing Indian Kashmir with Pok. "The former has a democratically elected Government, while the latter has seen a Pakistani diplomat arbitrarily appointed as its head. Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is administered by a deep state and has become a hub for the global export of terror," it said reacting to UN High Commissioner on Human Rights' suggestion asking India and Pakistan to grant it "unconditional access" to both sides on the Line of Control to establish an "objective assessment" of the situation in Kashmir.

The fierce war of words between two Asian nuclear powers at UN is a clear message for rest of the world, especially the West, that the possibility of peace between two nuclear powers isn't feasible, at least not in the near future.
105-year-old Kunwar Bai, who was felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building toilet by selling off her goats, has been chosen as the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' mascot. Prime Minister Modi will felicitate Kunwar Bai in the national capital to mark 'Swachhta Diwas' on September 17.

pradesh18.com

Kunwar Bai had sold-off her 8-10 goats to build two toilets at her home. Subsequently, she started showing other villagers the toilets at her home while informing them about its importance.

youtube.com

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February touched her feet during a rally in Rajnandgaon.

The Prime Minister, who was in Chhattisgarh to launch the ambitious Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban (rural-urban) Mission, felicitated Kunwar Bai from Kotabharri village of Dhamtari and then touched her feet to seek blessings.

Also Read: Bihar Woman Mortgages Her 'Mangalsutra' So She Can Build A Toilet In Her Home
Last Thursday, when a final-year student of Lady Shri Ram College returned to her paying guest accommodation and went to fix herself lunch in the kitchen, she felt the presence of someone else. Soon, a youth aged about 20-21 years placed a can of beer on the counter. He then unbuttoned his pants and exposed himself to the girl. The girl managed to pull a chair and push him away. She alerted the caretaker who locked the offender in the PG.

hirunews/representational image

However, it's not the sexual harassment that disturbed her. The landlord's daughter-in-law allegedly stopped them from informing the police. She also had to brave the apathy of the PG owner who just beat up the youth and threw him out of the house.

The girl, who is suffering from Chikungunya, left for Dehradun the next day and told her story to TOI over the phone.

The youth, the girl feels, followed her friend into the PG, who locked herself in her room. He stood outside and kept knocking on her door for around 10 minutes and then entered another room.

"The owner's daughter-in-law did not allow us to call the police. She, instead, called the owner who took about 40 minutes to arrive. During this period, the locked up youth used the magazines and rubber bands belonging to the occupant of the room, a woman who works in Gurgaon. When the owner reached, he beat up the youth and sent him out," the girl said.

cherylshireman/representational image

"When the occupant of the room returned around 11pm, she was disgusted with the state of her things and insisted on filing a police complaint," the girl added.

The PG owner then called the beat constable, who was known to him. The indecent exposure was incidentally captured by a CCTV camera.

The landlord and the cop watched the CCTV footage and started laughing saying it was "funny".

"The owner tried to defend the accused saying that he had seen him grow up. Even if a complaint is filed, he won't stay in custody for more than a day. They said that they'd rather talk to my parents. The owner blamed us for going out late at night and roaming around with boyfriends in the parks," the girl said.

They continued to harass until the woman submitted a statement saying that she doesn't want to file a complaint. "They argued with us till 2am," said the student.

Discouraged by the reaction of the policeman and furious with the situation, the girl reported the matter to Pinjra Tod  a group fighting sexism in students' residences. Pinjra Tod posted her story, without naming her, on its Facebook page. The post says that she was warned that the youth's friends may come back for "revenge" and that she may "become a victim of acid attack or something."

Senior police officers said that they have taken cognisance of the Pinjra Tod post and will approach the woman to record her statement.

They added that a suo motu cognisance of the issue would be taken and action initiated against the accused youth.

"A mail has been sent to me by the student. We are not fully aware of the facts as the incident happened outside the college. If she approaches the police, we shall extend our full support to her," said Rukshana Shroff, students' welfare advisor, LSR College.
In an interesting return of love, Delhi Tourism and Water Resources Minister Kapil Mishra shared two personal numbers of television journalist Deepak Chaurasia on Twitter after the latters news channel  India TV  flashed the numbers of all Delhi ministers during a show in which the journalist was discussing the issue of rising dengue and chikungunya cases in the national capital.

BCCL

In the tweet, which was later deleted, Mishra wrote, Dear Deepak Chaurasia, you just flashed my personal number on your television channel. I thought the love should not be one-sided. So I am sharing both your numbers. Enjoy.

Soon after his number was made public by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader public, Chaurasias received floods of threatening calls and messages from unknown numbers.

Chaurasias wife Anusuiya Roy later approached the police complaining that her husband was being flooded with threat calls on intervening night of September 13 and 14 between 11 pm to 4 am.

A criminal case has been filed at Safdarjung Enclave police station under sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 354-D (following or attempt to follow a woman repeatedly to foster personal interaction) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

BCCL

Investigation has been taken up and serious efforts are on to identify the culprits. The case is transferred to the Special Cell. Security arrangements outside the residence of the journalist has been beefed up, the Delhi Police said in a statement.

Mishra justified his action when asked about the incident. They (the channel) were calling me, but I could not respond because I was busy with fogging drive being undertaken under my supervision. My number was flashed on their live show. People from across the country began calling me and some of them were hurling abuses. Therefore, I put out his (Chaurasias) phone numbers as well so that he gets a taste of his own medicine, Mishra told Indiatimes.

Earlier this week the sudden outbreak of chikungunya in Delhi dominated the news agenda of all Delhi-based channels. Channels competed with each other to launch attacks against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP government.

    deleting my tweet On Dipak Chaurasiya, hopefully he hs realized by now wht was he trying to do & why I made him realize.  Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) September 14, 2016

As the blame game started, the chief minister was quick to remind people how the Delhi High Court had transferred the absolute administrative power to run the national capital to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.

Jung is touring the United States when the mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and malaria are taking the toll on the city, with at least 10 deaths reported in the last two days.

While the number of chikungunya cases has risen to over 1,000, dengue cases have shot up to 1,158 in the national capital with nearly 390 of them being recorded in the first ten days of September.
A lot of people in love can die for their partners, but a lot more can kill. In a similar situation, a 23-year-old woman in Coimbatore was allegedly killed by a man she turned down.

The murderer was a family friend and had proposed to the girl with intentions of marrying her. However, the girl and her parents rejected his proposal.

Apparently, he could not stand the rejection and hence sneaked inside her house and killed her.

thenewsminute

The accused himself committed suicide after killing her.

S Dhanya was alone in the house when Zahir entered through the rear door. Her parents had gone out for shopping and thus there was no one to save her from the attack.

Police said that the accused, a mill worker, was a family friend and had known Dhanya for over a year. However, Dhanya's parents rejected his proposal of marrying their daughter.

This is definitely not the first time such an incident has occurred. Another woman named as Swathi was murdered in Chennai when a young man hacked the Infosys employee to death in broad daylight at the Nungambakkam railway station.
Reliance Communications announced its long-awaited merger with unlisted telecom operator Aircel, marking the first move toward consolidation in the space and creating the country's fourth-largest phone company in terms of customers and revenue.

BCCL

This gives them a combined subscriber base of around 180 million. Reliance Communications announced its long-awaited merger with unlisted telecom operator Aircel, marking the first move toward consolidation in the space and creating the country's fourth-largest phone company in terms of customers and revenue.

Upon completion, the merged entity will also rope in a third partner by diluting about 25% equity to raise around Rs 6,000 crore, said people aware of plans. Talks have already been initiated with Russia's Sistema, which already holds 10% in RCom, to also invest in the merged company. Once a third partner enters, Reliance and Aircel will dilute stakes on a proportional basis.

"Together with our partners, Maxis Communications Bhd (MCB), we are delighted to have taken the lead in consolidation of the Indian telecom sector," said Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani in a press statement.

The Reliance Communications board signed off on the deal that has been in negotiations since October last year shortly after the company's quarterly results were filed on Wednesday.

BCCL

RCom will turn its wireless business into a special purpose vehicle in a slump sale, excluding the tower and overseas arms of the Ambani company.

Turn Heading: Ambani, Ananda Krishnan to Stay Out

This special purpose vehicle in turn will get merged into the mobile business of Maxis Communications Bhd-owned Aircel. Both partners will have joint 50:50 ownership of this new entity that will remain unlisted in the initial years and operate under a new brand name that is yet to be decided.

RCom and Aircel will have equal board representation. Sources said Ambani and Maxis Group promoter T Ananda Krishnan will stay out of this to ensure that an independent professional team runs the company under board supervision.

BCCL

The new brand name and CEO of the combine are yet to be decided. The new label will not share any identity with either parent.

The combine will be one of the country's largest private sector companies, with an asset base of Rs 65,000 crore. Economies of scale will create synergies worth Rs 20,000 crore ($3 billion). The new unit will leverage the 4G network of Reliance Jio Infocomm, run by Ambani's brother Mukesh Ambani, experts said. RCom and Jio already have spectrum trading and sharing alliances.

4.bp.blogspot

RCom will transfer Rs 20,000 crore of its debt into the new combine that includes Rs 14,000 crore of long-term debt and Rs 6,000 crore of installments payable to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) over 10 years for spectrum purchases by both RCom and Sistema. Aircel will also transfer Rs 14,000 crore of its debt to the entity. Earlier this year, Aircel repaid part of its debt after selling 4G spectrum to Bharti Airtel in eight circles for Rs 3,500 crore.

The combined subscriber base is estimated to be around 180 million along with a revenue market share of 6% each. However, analysts put the number of active subscribers at 120 million.

Deal To Be Closed In Early 2017

The transaction is likely to be closed in six to eight months in early 2017 and will need regulatory, court and shareholder approvals.

"This deal further reinforces MCB's commitment to India. Since acquiring Aircel in 2006, MCB has invested in excess of Rs 35,000 crore ($5.2 billion) into Aircel, making this one of the largest foreign investments into India, not only in the telecom industry but across all sectors," a Maxis spokesperson said. "The magnitude of this investment, and the further equity commitment in support of this deal, are underpinned by MCB's belief in the long-term growth potential of both India and the Indian telecom sector."

The merged entity will have the second-largest spectrum holding in the country with 2G, 3G and 4G operations. RCom posted a 6.3% rise in net profit at Rs 54 crore in the June quarter from the year earlier. Revenue dropped 3.8% to Rs 5,361 crore. ET was first to report on the merger talks in October 2015 and in its June 13 edition this year had reported on the final deal contours.

BCCL/representational image

India's telecom industry is expected to embark on a wave of consolidation as smaller companies find it difficult to cope with high spectrum costs and an inability to provide nationwide services at a price that makes business sense. These pressures have intensified with new entrant Jio providing free voice calls for life and charging less for data than incumbents, undercutting the key source of revenue for phone companies.

"Mergers and consolidations are now inevitable," said Sandip Das, chairman, Maitreyi Capital and ex-CEO of Aircel. "However, this is not just about mathematics but the chemistry also. Culturally, bringing two organisations together will be a challenge."

The current levels of debt are also likely to be "burdensome", particularly when prices are plummeting, he said.

RCom's tower, optic fibre portfolio and its undersea cables arm Global Cloud XChange will be kept out of the ambit of the merger.

Goldman Sachs, SBI Capital Markets, Standard Chartered Bank, Strategy&, AT Kearney, BMR Advisors, PwC, SR Batliboi & Co LLP, EY, KPMG, Khaitan & Co, JSA Law, Kirkland & Ellis, and Slaughter & May were the financial, strategic and legal advisers for the transaction.

RCom and Aircel will rope in a third partner. "Both Aircel and RCom will dilute and eventually plan to hold around 37.5% each while Sistema can potentially own 25% in the mega alliance. The entity will also be separately listed in a few years," said an executive aware of the plans.

However, a Sistema spokesperson said: "The merger of telecom assets of SSTL (Sistema Shyam Teleservices) with RCom is an independent process. The said process is on track which includes taking due legal and regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities. It is also significant to note that there is no legal right or commitment from the shareholders of SSTL to participate in RCom's deal with Aircel."

Changing Dynamics

The launch of Jio has put pressure on operators to lower costs.

"They (RCom and Aircel) have both been voice players, not data, which is the market opportunity today. To be able to transform to a data player will need serious financial and operational commitment," said Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of Bharti Airtel.

Although a trailing operator has never made it to the top anywhere in the world, the move to consolidate is the right one for these two entities to survive.

"This is a highly leveraged entity with little or no scope for capex at a time all operators are reinventing," said an analyst with an MNC brokerage, asking not to be named. "From Jio it may get some synergy in ICR (roaming) agreements, but not too much financially."

BCCL/representational image

Apart from Malaysia-based Maxis, shareholders of Aircel include its affiliate group companies and Sunita Reddy.

Sources familiar with deal details had earlier said both partners agreed to invest $580 million each to create a Rs 7,600-crore equity pool for the new entity to help it expand business. The money will in part be used to liberalise RCom's around 80 MHz of airwaves in the 1800 MHz band, i.e. paying fees that will allow the company to use them for data and voice without restrictions. The price for that will be benchmarked to the upcoming spectrum auction, said an industry expert.

RCom is also in discussions with Canadian asset manager Brookfield to sell a majority stake in its tower arm Reliance Infratel for an enterprise valuation of $2.5-3 billion. If both transactions (wireless and tower) go ahead, that will help RCom cut its debt to Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 42,364 crore.
When they said, "where there's a will there's a way", they weren't lying.

Because Jayavel crafted his own success story by determinedly choosing to make studies his priority, thereby making a wonderful rags-to-riches narrative for others who are searching for the light at the end of the tunnel.

A rocky start

Jayavel's family came from Nellore where a failed crop season forced them to move and take to the streets of Chennai for earning a livelihood.

The Indian Express

Jayavel was one of the many children who was forced into begging by his parents. "We used to sleep on one such pavement. If it would rain, we would try to find other shelter in any nearby shop until the cops came and chased us out of there," he said, reports India Today.

Even though strangers offered their generosity to the young boy, Jayavel's earnings were always used to feed his mother's drinking who became an addict after her husband's death.

The light at the end of the tunnel

But then entered Uma Muthuraman and her husband, who took Jayavel under their wing. The couple wanted to make a documentary on Chennai's street kids named "Pavement Flower".

"My people actually didn't like them. We even tried to hurt them as we had so many people approaching us under the pretext of helping. But they only used our name to get government funds," recalled Jayavel. But his view changed after seeing Uma's genuine concern for helping the children.

suyam.org

And in 1999, through their Suyam Charitable Trust, the couple were able to offer Jayavel a proper education.

"Everyone in the school knew about me and my family. As we used to live right on the corner of the school on the pavement but that didn't make any difference to me. Though I hated to study in the beginning and only wished to play, my attitude changed as I began to see the difference in life of other people and mine and how Uma and Muthuraman were struggling to educate me," explained Jayavel.

The big break

Jayavel passed with flying colours in 12th standard which earned him donors who funded his higher education. This edged Jayavel forward and after winning a seat in Cambridge University's entrance examination, he got enrolled in Glyndwr University, Wales where he studied 'Performance Car Enhancement Technology Engineering'.

uniswales

The boy is now on his way to University of Turin, Italy for further studies.

Lack of government support

In a sorry state of affairs, once again, the lacking government support continues to dampen things for the Suyam Charitable Trust. The couple borrowed 17 lakh to fund Jayavel's education in London. Now they have to borrow another 8 lakh for his Italy stay.

But while some officers lent their support, it never came close to being enough. The struggle to educate children by taking them off the streets is real and the government's apathy only creates more roadblocks.

The road ahead

Jayavel wants to come back to India after he has finished his studies. He wants to help the couple run their trust and repay them for their generous contributions that made him the man he is today.
President Tran Dai Quang and Moroccan Ambassador El Houcine Fardani (Source: VNA)



At a reception in Hanoi on September 14th for the ambassador, who is ending his tenure in Vietnam, President Quang also appreciated the diplomats role as the head of the diplomatic corps in Hanoi.The President thanked Moroccan King Mohammed VI for his invitation to attend the 22nd Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22) in Morocco in November this year.

He praised Morocco as one of the leading countries in Africa in committing to dealing with climate change, especially in clean energy development, and affirmed Vietnams determination to realise sustainable development goals relating to environmental protection and climate change adaptation.

President Quang thanked Morocco for supporting Vietnams candidacy for a non - permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and for seats on the UN Socio-economic Council and the UNESCOs Executive Council. At the same time, he asked the African country to support Vietnams candidacy for the post of UNESCO General Director for 2017-2021, a seat on the International Law Commission and re-election to the Executive Council of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 2017-2020.

He called for closer coordination between the two countries at regional and global forums, and in the South-South Cooperation Mechanism and Non-Aligned Movement.

For his part, Ambassador El Houcine Fardani expressed his joy at Vietnams socio-economic development achievements, saying that Vietnam has become a model for developing countries.

He affirmed that he will continue making more contributions to the Morocco-Vietnam relationship./.
A four-day-old baby girl which was to be buried alive by a heartless man was rescued by an autorickshaw driver in Karnataka's Ballari dsitrict.

Police said the baby's parents were reportedly upset that it was a girl child and hired a man to bury it alive. The man put the baby in a covered basket and hired an autorickshaw to go to the Hospet graveyard. He told the driver that the baby died soon after birth and that he had all the hospital documents for its burial.

dailymail/Representative image

The unsuspecting driver, Ramesh Hosa Amaravati, got his first doubt when the man almost dumped the baby in a canal on the way to the burial ground. "I reproached him for his act. Some 100 metres short of the graveyard, I heard the baby crying. Shocked and surprised, I stopped my vehicle," Ramesh said.

When the man tried to stifle the baby's cries, Ramesh thought something was amiss.

"When he refused to show the baby's face, I snatched the basket from him," he said. The baby was alive, healthy. "I called my friends for help. The man confessed to the crime, shared the address of the hospital from where he had brought the baby," Ramesh said.

Ramesh and his friends took the baby back to the hospital and filed a complaint with Hospet Rural police station. In the meantime, the man escaped.

The infant is now with the Child Protection Committee. Ballari district child protection officer Mohammad Sarwar said, "We are searching for the baby's parents. The hospital register does not contain their complete address. It just mentions Ginigera village in Koppal district."

newindianexpress

District records said a girl was born at a private hospital four days ago, and that the mother discharged herself against medical advice on Sunday. Investigations, Sarwar added, indicated the mother had identified herself as Mallamma, and the address was fake.

No CCTV footage

Deputy superintendent of police Kumarchandra said since the hospital CCTV cameras aren't functioning properly, they haven't got the footage to glean leads on the case.

"We are questioning nurses, doctors and other hospital personnel about the baby's parents," he added.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is known for his humility and is one of the ministers in the Modi cabinet who rose through the ranks despite having no political background. Stories about his life have been an inspiration for many - and he doesn't mind if the lessons he learnt in life help others become better people.

AFP

His recent story about the watermelons in his native village, Parra in Goa, and how villagers used to organise a watermelon eating competition between kids of the village is certainly an inspiration and source of learning, especially for our education system which has needed a revamp for ages .

Here is the story

I am from the village of Parra in Goa, hence we are called Parrikars. My village is famous for its watermelons. When I was a child, the farmers would organise a watermelon-eating contest at the end of the harvest season in May. All the kids would be invited to eat as many watermelons as they wanted. Years later, I went to IIT Mumbai to study engineering. I went back to my village after 6.5 years. I went to the market looking for watermelons. They were all gone. The ones that were there were so small.

I went to see the farmer who hosted the watermelon-eating contest. His son had taken over. He would host the contest but there was a difference. When the older farmer gave us watermelons to eat he would ask us to spit out the seeds into a bowl. We were told not to bite into the seeds. He was collecting the seeds for his next crop. We were unpaid child laborers, actually. He kept his best watermelons for the contest and he got the best seeds which would yield even bigger watermelons the next year. His son, when he took over, realized that the larger watermelons would fetch more money in the market so he sold the larger ones and kept the smaller ones for the contest. The next year, the watermelons were smaller, the year later even small. In watermelons the generation is one year.

In seven years, Parras best watermelons were finished. In humans, generations change after 25 years. It will take us 200 years to figure what we were doing wrong while educating our children. Unless we employ our best to train the next generation, this is what can happen to us. We must attract the best into teaching profession."
Feminists repeatedly maintain the 'teach boys not to rape', Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), wants to teach women to outrun their attackers.

In a list of tips issued to women, 'avoiding alcohol and drugs' and 'wearing sneakers to run' find mention.

Taharrush - The Sickening And Terrifying Arab Rape Game That Is Spreading Across Europe

dailymail

Women have also been advised to "trust their intuition" to avoid situations where they may trapped, and take detours through areas they find suspicious. Finally, as last resort, women have been told to fight back, along with "loud shouting", asking passers-by to call the police.

^ Mayor of Cologne Henriette Reke issues 'behaviour guidance' to German women, and not to the male perpetrators?? https://t.co/DNjZ58owEo  Maajid (@MaajidNawaz) January 5, 2016

Right at the end of the list are "self-defense classes."

Ed Schipul flickr

So the sequence is avoid - run - scream - and then call the cops and may be after all that fight!

German Gangs Are Beating Up Immigrants After Syrian Refugees Sexually Assault Germany's Women
Indian-origin scientist Ramesh Raskar has just won the prestigious LemelsonMIT Prize, one of the world's largest single cash awards worth $500,000, for his path-breaking inventions and work to improve lives around the world. The Lamelson-MIT prize, presented by the school of engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), celebrates mid-career U.S inventors who, through science and technology, are trying the improve the world.

Len Rubinstein/Lemelson-MIT

Nasik-born Ramesh Raskar, 46, is founder of the Camera Culture research group at the MIT Media Lab and an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences.

Raskar is the winner of the 2016 USD 500,000 LemelsonMIT Prize for his groundbreaking inventions, commitment to youth mentorship, and dedication to improving our world with practical yet innovative solutions, a media release stated.

With more than 75 patents to his name, and having written more than 120 reviewed publications, Mr. Raskar is the co-inventor of radical imaging solutions including Femto-photography, an ultra-fast imaging system that can see around corners; low-cost eye-care solutions for the developing world; and a camera that allows users to read pages of a book without opening the cover.

Len Rubinstein/Lemelson-MIT

Changing the world on a massive scale

Seeking to catalyse change on a massive scale by launching platforms that empower inventors to create solutions to improve lives globally, he combines the best of the academic and entrepreneurial worlds to achieve milestones in improving the lives and health of people in industrial and developing societies, the announcement said.

Raskar is a multi-faceted leader as an inventor, educator, change maker and exemplar connector. In addition to creating his own remarkable inventions, he is working to connect communities and inventors all over the world to create positive change, said Stephanie Couch, executive director of the LemelsonMIT Program.

Mr. Raskar told MIT News that he plans to use a portion of the prize money to launch a new effort using peer-to-peer invention platforms to help young people in different countries to collaborate. Everyone has the power to solve problems and through peer-to-peer co-invention and purposeful collaboration, we can solve problems that will impact billions of lives, he said.
31 year Russian police lieutenant Magomed Nurbagandov was suddenly attacked by 4 militants on an ordinary workday in the forests of Dagestan (South Russia). Accompanying him was his cousin.

The militants took the two hostage immediately, and demanded that Magomed tell his police colleagues to quit their hunt against terrorists, while they recorded it on their cellphones.

Instead, what he said has Russian authorities attempting to honour him after his death.

  .    . . pic.twitter.com/3fCtPFoyOE    (@strecha75) September 11, 2016

The militants, as per protocol recorded how they executed both and uploaded it to Islamist websites. They edited out a few seconds. The video, in its entirety, was found on the phones of the militant after they were gunned down last week.

Also read: This Angel Of Death Iraqi Rambo Has Killed Over 1500 ISIS Members. Beast!

"Keep on working, brothers. What else is there to say?"

The video shows the defiant cop, now famous as 'Russian Robocop', giving his captors a cold, fierce stare at gunpoint, as he tells the camera - "Keep working brothers".

This was the last thing he ever said  he was shot dead.

This, even when the terrorists shot his cousin dead  it should have been a devastating blow to his resolve.

Irina Volk, spokesperson for the Russian Interior Ministry, said: "In days to come, the leadership of the ministry will meet with Magomed Nurbagandovs family to personally thank his parents for bringing up such a decent son."

Also read: Surrounded By ISIS Militants, This Badass Russian Rambo Ordered An Air Strike On Himself, Wiping Them Out!
A representative from the city Department of Information and Communications speaking at the press conference. (Photo: CPV)

The information was released by a representative from the city Department of Information and Communications at a press conference, held by the Hanoi city Party Committee on September 13th.

The seminar, titled Creating start-up ecosystem for Vietnam - Practical lesson from Israel, is considered the largest event of its kind so far. It will be attended by more than 200 delegates from the Government, ministries, centrally-run agencies, Hanoi authorities, foreign embassies, international organizations, universities, research institutes, business associations, investment funds and start-up groups.

The attendance of well-known investment funds such as Dragon Capital, FPT Ventures, Cyber Agent, Unitus Impact, 500 startups, IMJ and IPP is expected to heat up the event with practical speeches.

The event will also highlight the experience of Israeli experts in luring capital, as well as innovating and creating products.

On the sidelines, a cooperation program between the Hanoi Business Incubator, the Vietnam Innovative Start-up Accelerator program and Israel partners is due to be signed./.
Israeli Firster Lindsey Graham To Netanyahu Over Defense Deal - Tell Obama Administration To Go F*** Themselves By Deborah Danan September 14, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Breitbart " - TEL AVIV  Israel and the U.S. are reported to have reached an agreement on a landmark defense aid package to the tune of $3.3 billion, but the White House is reluctant to sign the deal due to opposition from Senator Lindsey Graham, who claims to have told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Tell the administration to go F themselves. The Memorandum of Understanding, which has taken more than a year to formulate, would increase the 10-year deal from $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion, beginning in 2018. However, The Washington Post reported that Graham was advancing a deal for $3.4 billion. Im offended that the administration would try to take over the appropriations process. If they dont like what Im doing, they can veto the bill, Graham said. We cant have the executive branch dictating what the legislative branch will do for a decade based on an agreement we are not a party to. In a phone conversation with Netanyahu following the spat, the latter said he was willing to sign the deal but that it was being held up due to Grahams opposition. The Israeli prime minister told me the administration is refusing to sign the MoU until I agree to change my appropriation markup back to $3.1 billion, Graham said. I said, Tell the administration to go F themselves. The MoU includes a stipulation that Israel will not seek additional funding from Congress. According to Israels Channel 2, Netanyahu agreed to this, effectively siding with the White House over Graham. U.S Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said the deal would be the U.S.s biggest aid package to any other country in history. In keeping with Americas commitment to preserve Israels qualitative military advantage, by the end of this year the Israeli Air Force will take delivery of the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Shapiro said. This is the latest manifestation in a long history of Americans helping Israel defend itself with cutting-edge airborne platforms. Israel is hoping the aid package will allow it to maintain a military edge  especially in light of the fact that Iran is awash with cash now that sanctions have been lifted as part of the U.S.-led nuclear deal. Graham and other senators were put out by not being part of the nuclear deal, and according to the Post, Republicans are now doubly aggravated by some of the aid deals provisions, including phasing out the purchase of weapons from local contractors in Israel.
Getting Fooled on Iraq, Libya, Now Russia After the British report exposing falsehoods to justify invading Iraq in 2003, a new U.K. inquiry found similar misconduct in the 2011 attack on Libya, but no lessons are learned for the Wests new propaganda about Russia, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry September 15, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Consortium News " -A British parliamentary inquiry into the Libyan fiasco has reported what should have been apparent from the start in 2011  and was to some of us  that the Wests military intervention to protect civilians in Benghazi was a cover for what became another disastrous regime change operation. The report from the U.K.s Foreign Affairs Committee confirms that the U.S. and other Western governments exaggerated the human rights threat posed by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and then quickly morphed the humanitarian mission into a military invasion that overthrew and killed Gaddafi, leaving behind political and social chaos. The reports significance is that it shows how little was learned from the Iraq War fiasco in which George W. Bushs administration hyped and falsified intelligence to justify invading Iraq and killing its leader, Saddam Hussein. In both cases, U.K. leaders tagged along and the Wests mainstream news media mostly served as unprofessional propaganda conduits, not as diligent watchdogs for the public. Today, we are seeing an even more dangerous repetition of this pattern: demonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, destabilizing the Russian economy and pressing for regime change in Moscow. Amid the latest propaganda orgy against Putin, virtually no one in the mainstream is exercising any restraint or finding any cautionary lessons from the Iraqi and Libyan examples. Yet, with Russia, the risks are orders of magnitude greater than even the cases of Iraq and Libya  and one might toss in the messy regime change projects in Ukraine and Syria. The prospect of political chaos in Moscow  with extremists battling for power and control of the nuclear codes  should finally inject some sense of responsibility in the Wests politicians and media, but doesnt. When it comes to Putin and Russia, its the same ole hyperbole and falsehood that so disinformed the public regarding the threats from Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Just as President George W. Bush deceptively painted Husseins supposed WMD as a danger to Americans and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dishonestly portrayed Gaddafi as genocidal, U.S. officials and pundits are depicting Putin as some cartoonish villain or some new Hitler. And, just as The New York Times, Washington Post and other mainstream media outlets amplified the Iraq and Libyan propaganda to the American people  rather than questioning and challenging it  these supposedly journalistic entities are performing the same function regarding Russia. The chief difference is that now were talking about the potential for nuclear annihilation. [See Consortiumnews.coms The Existential Madness of Putin-Bashing.] According to the new U.K. report on Libya, Britains military intervention  alongside the U.S. and France  was based on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the reality inside Libya, which included a lack of appreciation about the role of Islamic extremists in spearheading the opposition to Gaddafi. In other words, Gaddafi was telling the truth when he accused the rebels around Benghazi of being penetrated by Islamic terrorists. The West, including the U.S. news media, took Gaddafis vow to wipe out this element and distorted it into a claim that he intended to slaughter the regions civilians, thus stampeding the United Nations Security Council into approving an operation to protect them. That mandate was then twisted into an excuse to decimate Libyas army and clear the way for anti-Gaddafi rebels to seize the capital of Tripoli and eventually hunt down, torture and murder Gaddafi. Ignored Terror Evidence Yet, there was evidence before this regime change occurred regarding the extremist nature of the anti-Gaddafi rebels as well as those seeking to overthrow Bashar al-Assad in Syria. As analysts Joseph Felter and Brian Fishman wrote in a pre-Libya-war report for West Points Combating Terrorism Center, the Syrian and Libyan governments share the United States concerns about violent salafist/jihadi ideology and the violence perpetrated by its adherents. In the report entitled Al-Qaedas Foreign Fighters in Iraq, Felter and Fishman also analyzed Al Qaedas documents captured in 2007 showing personnel records of militants who flocked to Iraq for the war. The documents revealed that eastern Libya (the base of the anti-Gaddafi rebellion) was a hotbed for suicide bombers traveling to Iraq to kill American troops. Felter and Fishman wrote that these so-called Sinjar Records disclosed that while Saudis comprised the largest number of foreign fighters in Iraq, Libyans represented the largest per-capita contingent by far. Those Libyans came overwhelmingly from towns and cities in the east. The vast majority of Libyan fighters that included their hometown in the Sinjar Records resided in the countrys Northeast, particularly the coastal cities of Darnah 60.2% (53) and Benghazi 23.9% (21), Felter and Fishman wrote, adding: Both Darnah and Benghazi have long been associated with Islamic militancy in Libya, in particular for an uprising by Islamist organizations in the mid?1990s.  One group  the Libyan Fighting Group   claimed to have Afghan veterans in its ranks, a reference to mujahedeen who took part in the CIA-backed anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, as did Al Qaeda founder, Osama bin Laden, a Saudi. The Libyan uprisings [in the 1990s] became extraordinarily violent, Felter and Fishman wrote. Qadhafi used helicopter gunships in Benghazi, cut telephone, electricity, and water supplies to Darnah and famously claimed that the militants deserve to die without trial, like dogs, Some important Al Qaeda leaders operating in Pakistans tribal regions also were believed to have come from Libya. For instance, Atiyah, who was guiding the anti-U.S. war strategy in Iraq, was identified as a Libyan named Atiyah Abd al-Rahman. It was Atiyah who urged a strategy of creating a quagmire for U.S. forces in Iraq, buying time for Al Qaedas headquarters to rebuild its strength in Pakistan. Prolonging the war [in Iraq] is in our interest, Atiyah said in a letter that upbraided Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for his hasty and reckless actions in Iraq. The Atiyah letter was discovered by the U.S. military after Zarqawi was killed by an airstrike in June 2006. [To view the prolonging the war excerpt in a translation published by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, click here. To read the entire letter, click here.] Hidden Motives This reality was known by U.S. officials prior to the Wests military intervention in Libya in 2011, yet opportunistic politicians, including Secretary of State Clinton, saw Libya as a stage to play out their desires to create muscular foreign policy legacies or achieve other aims. Some of Clintons now-public emails show that Frances President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to be more interested in protecting Frances financial dominance of its former African colonies as well as getting a bigger stake in Libyas oil wealth than in the well-being of the Libyan people. An April 2, 2011 email from Clintons personal adviser Sidney Blumenthal explained that Gaddafi had plans to use his stockpile of gold to establish a pan-African currency and thus to provide the Francophone African Countries with an alternative to the French franc. Blumenthal added, French intelligence officers discovered this plan shortly after the current rebellion began, and this was one of the factors that influenced President Nicolas Sarkozys decision to commit France to the attack on Libya. Another key factor, according to the email, was Sarkozys desire to gain a greater share of Libya oil production. For Clinton, a prime motive for pushing the Libyan regime change was to demonstrate her mastery of what she and her advisers called smart power, i.e., the use of U.S. aerial bombing and other coercive means, such as economic and legal sanctions, to impose U.S. dictates on other nations. Her State Department email exchanges revealed that her aides saw the Libyan war as a chance to pronounce a Clinton doctrine, but that plan fell through when President Obama seized the spotlight after Gaddafis government fell in August 2011. But Clinton didnt miss a second chance to take credit on Oct. 20, 2011, after militants captured Gaddafi, sodomized him with a knife and then murdered him. Appearing on a TV interview, Clinton celebrated Gaddafis demise with the quip, we came; we saw; he died. Clintons euphoria was not long-lasting, however, as chaos enveloped Libya. With Gaddafi and his largely secular regime out of the way, Islamic militants expanded their power over the country. Some were terrorists, just as Gaddafi and the West Point analysts had warned. One Islamic terror group attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other American personnel, an incident that Clinton called the worst moment of her four-year tenure as Secretary of State. As the violence spread, the United States and other Western countries abandoned their embassies in Tripoli. Once prosperous with many social services, Libya descended into the category of failed state with rival militias battling over oil and territory while the Islamic State took advantage of the power vacuum to establish a foothold around Sirte. Though Clinton prefers to describe Libya as a work in progress, rather than another regime change failure, U.S. and U.N. efforts to impose a new unity government on Libya have met with staunch resistance from many Libyan factions. Since April, the so-called Government of National Accord has maintained only a fragile presence in Tripoli, in Libyas west, and has been rejected by Libyas House of Representatives (HOR), which functions from the eastern city of Tobruk. Over the past few days, military forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Hafter, who is associated with HOR in the east, seized control of several oil facilities despite angry protests from Western nations, including the U.S., U.K., and France. But Western nations have little credibility left inside Libya, which not only faced colonization in the past but has watched as the U.S.-U.K.-French military intervention in 2011 has led to widespread poverty, suffering and death. Inept Intervention The U.K. report only underscores how deceptive and inept that intervention was. As described by the U.K. Guardian newspaper, then-Prime Minister David Camerons intervention in Libya was carried out with no proper intelligence analysis, drifted into an unannounced goal of regime change and shirked its moral responsibility to help reconstruct the country following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, according to a scathing report by the foreign affairs select committee. The failures led to the country becoming a failed state on the verge of all-out civil war, the report adds. The report, the product of a parliamentary equivalent of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war, closely echoes the criticisms widely made of [then-Prime Minister] Tony Blairs intervention in Iraq, and may yet come to be as damaging to Camerons foreign policy legacy. Earlier this year, Cameron stepped down as prime minister following the approval of the Brexit referendum calling on the U.K. to leave the European Union, a position that Cameron opposed. This week, Cameron also resigned his seat in Parliament. Though Blair and Cameron have at least faced personal disgrace over their roles in these two failed regime change invasions, there has been less accountability in the United States, where there were no comprehensive examinations of the policy failures that led to the wars in Iraq and Libya (although studies were undertaken regarding Bushs false claims about Iraqs WMD and the Obama administrations failure to adequately protect the U.S. consulate in Benghazi). There has been even less accountability in the mainstream U.S. news media, where, for instance, The Washington Posts editorial page editor Fred Hiatt, who repeatedly reported Iraqs non-existent WMD as flat fact remains in the same job today pushing similar over-the-top propaganda regarding Russia. A New Cold War As with the fiascos in Iraq and Libya, U.S. policymakers continue to ignore or sideline American intelligence analysts who possess information that would cast doubt on the escalation of hostilities with Russia. Even as the Obama administration has charted this new Cold War with Russia over the past two years  a prospect that could cost U.S. taxpayers trillions of dollars and carries the risk of thermonuclear war  there has been no National Intelligence Estimate getting a consensus judgment from Americas 16 intelligence agencies about how real the Russian threat is, according to intelligence sources. One source said a key reason why an NIE had not been done was that U.S. policymakers wanted a more alarmist report than the intelligence analysts were willing to produce. They call [the alarm about Russia] political, not factual, the source said. They werent going to do one, period. They cant lie. The source added that the analysts would have to acknowledge how helpful Putin has been in a number of sensitive and strategic areas, such as securing Syrias agreement to surrender its chemical weapons and convincing Iran to accept tight limits on its nuclear program. Israel has nuclear weapons and a crazy leader, the source said about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. If not for Putin, the guy may have used it [a nuclear bomb] in Iran. He [Putin] calmed things down in Syria. They [CIA analysts] arent that stupid. To tell the truth, you have to say he [Putin] saved the Middle East a lot of trouble. U.S. intelligence analysts also might have had to incorporate their assessments regarding whether Syrian rebels  not Assads military  deployed sarin gas outside Damascus on Aug. 21, 2013, and whether an element of the Ukrainian military  not ethnic Russian rebels  shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Those two propaganda themes blaming Syria and Russia, respectively, were promoted heavily by mainstream Western media and various Internet-based information warriors. The two themes have been central to the Western-backed regime change project in Syria and to the new Cold War with Russia. If U.S. intelligence analysts knocked down those themes in an NIE, valuable propaganda assets would be exposed and discredited. Also, in the wake of the two British government reports undermining the propaganda that was used to justify regime change in Iraq and Libya, the blow to Western credibility if there were similar admissions about falsehoods regarding Syria and Russia could be devastating. Instead, the hope of Official Washington is that the American public wont catch on to the pattern of deception and that the people will continue to ignore the famous warning that President George W. Bush infamously garbled: fool me once, shame on  shame on you; fool me  you cant get fooled again. Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, Americas Stolen Narrative, either i n print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).
US Peace Council Returns From Syria



Syria Fighting an Invasion by the Most Powerful Country in the World By Alex Christoforou September 15, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Duran " - The truth about Syria and what is happening in Syria is all here, in the video below, outlined and documented during this press briefing by the US Peace Council (USPC). We cannot be sure how long this video will be allowed to stay on Youtube, but we urge everyone to take 45:00 minutes of your time to see this video, share this video, and finally spread the word about the vicious war being waged on Syria. Please share this post, and share this video, and share these excerpts, which may provide some life saving truth to an unjust, criminal warand a western media narrative that continues to push lies and confusion to what is a clear and blatant international crime. The Duran reported earlier today , as one of the few media organizations to expose this story A delegation from the US Peace Council (USPC) has recently returned to the US from a fact finding mission to Syria. The members spent 6 days meeting with Syrian Government Officials including, President Assad, Union Leaders, Government Opposition Members as well as Civil & Business Leaders, NGOs, Charities and Universities. The delegation stated that each member paid their own way and that the Syrian Government allowed them to meet whomever they wanted. They issued their report and held a press conference Press conference at the UN on 9th August 2016. Madelyn Hoffman, Executive Director of New Jersey Peace Action, Member of the Syria Delegation at the 17:15: This is not a civil war in Syria. Thats probably the first thing we heard, and we heard it over and over again. It is not President Assad against his own people. It is President Assad and the Syrian people, all together, in unity, against outside forces, outside mercenary forces, terror organisations, the names change everyday or every other day, to try to protect their identity, and maybe keep the connection between the country that funded it and that group, kind of a little bit more nebulous, but there are groups, mercenary forces, supported by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United States, and underneath it, Israel, the state of Israel. And these outside mercenary forces are the ones that are terrorising the Syrian people, and are attempting to divide the Syrian people. US Peace Council (USPC): H.E. Bashar Jaafari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic

Alfred Marder, President of the US Peace Council

Mary Compton, Member of the Executive Board of the US Peace Council

Henry Lowendorf, Member of the Executive Board of the US Peace Council, Head of the Syria Delegation

Joe Jamison, Member of the Executive Board of the US Peace Council, Member of the Syria Delegation

Madelyn Hoffman, Executive Director of New Jersey Peace Action, Member of the Syria Delegation

Donna Nassor, Professor and Lawyer also part of US Peace Council Henry Lowendorf, Member of the Executive Board of the US Peace Council, at the 12:30 mark: We saw villages, that are basically Christian villages, that have been besieged by the terrorists, but have now been liberated. And the damage done to a shrine in the village called Maaloula, which is a village where they still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. And the attacks on the Christian population. Their two things I want to mention, finally, that we feel are really important One isThat while the United States would like to divide the Syrians up, by religion or within a religion  by the different beliefs within that religion. There wasnt a Syrian we talked to who would accept that. We spoke to the Grand Mufti, and he said, People ask me how many Muslims there are in Syria? and his response is always 23 million. Thats is the population of Syria. And when we talk to the bishop of one of the Orthodox Churches, he answered the same thing, the number of Christians is 23 million. We will not allow ourselves to be divided up the way the United States has divided up the people of Iraq, or Libya, or Afghanistan, or so many other countries. We wont allow that. And that unity, I believe, has lead to the ability of the Syrians to withstand an invasion by the most powerful country in the world, and its most powerful allies in Europe, its most powerful allies in the Middle East, with what is a vicious attack on the Syrian people. The second is the sanctions. I have to admit that I did not know (before I went) that the United States has imposed sanctions on Syria in a way thats similar to the sanctions that the United States imposed on Iraq in the 1990s, in order to weaken that country and that government, that the United States admits killed 500,000 children in Iraq, during the 1990s sanctions. The Duran reported in a post entitled, Why the Syrian conflict is not a civil war Alfred Marder who, is the President of the USPC firstly acknowledged that the US peace and anti-war movement has been in a state of confusion about Syria and that this has caused division within the movement. He explained that the domestic tactic used by the US government to sway US public opinion, is, to demonise the leader of whatever country the US is targeting. Whether its Noriega, Hussein, Gaddafi, or Assad, theres a definite pattern here He said the story the US people have been told about President Assad and Syria have been purposefully false. Concerning the reporting he said This is not accidental. This is designed to confuse peoples opinions on these Leaders. Jamison was blunt in his assessment and likened this quote to the dangerous attitude of so many Americans who think they know about Syria and President Assad but .what they think they know, just aint so! In his opinion the US motive is to destroy Syria as an independent secular Arab state and make it compliant to US interests and policies, like Iraq and Libya have become since the US invasions and bombings of these two countries. Just like Libya before the NATO bombing, Syria has universal free healthcare and free education from childcare through to university. Jamison pointed out that the US government supports Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups (whose names change often) who they claim to be moderate rebels but who in truth are not moderate in any way and are affiliated either with Al-Qaeda or ISIS. He mentioned the foreign backed mercenaries (ISIS) are fuelled by the Wahhabi doctrine which he described as a sick medieval and backward ideology driven by the Muslim Brotherhood with its genesis in Saudi Arabia. He affirmed his opinion by describing how so called moderate Jabhat Al-Nusra mercenaries beheaded a 12 yr old boy during the time the delegation was in Syria. There is nothing moderate about beheading a 12 year old boy. The other major story they shared was the generally unreported sanctions that the US has imposed upon the Syrian people. The US government claims the sanctions target the Syrian government. However they are actually aimed at wearing down the resolve of the Syrian people. The US has imposed sanctions similar to the ones Iraq experienced before the invasion, which even the US admits killed half a million children. Syrians cannot get baby formula, common medication, medication for chemotherapy, child immunisation etc. These sanctions are so insidious that they affect medical clinics throughout Syria because they are unable to get parts for machines used in medical practice. Think: X-ray, CAT, MRI machines right down to dentists drills. President Assad has claimed from the beginning that there was no uprising and that the country was being invaded by foreign backed mercenaries. Gaddafi said exactly the same thing when NATO started bombing Libya. Coincidence? I think not. The same scenario was acted out in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and now Syria: invaded and bombed into submission without any politician, general or complicit media representative tried or held to account. There is not even an acceptance of error or a conciliatory voice of remorse. The campaign to confuse the American people has been intense.
Home Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter Assads Death Warrant By Mike Whitney Secret cables and reports by the U.S., Saudi and Israeli intelligence agencies indicate that the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline, military and intelligence planners quickly arrived at the consensus that fomenting a Sunni uprising in Syria to overthrow the uncooperative Bashar Assad was a feasible path to achieving the shared objective of completing the Qatar/Turkey gas link. In 2009, according to WikiLeaks, soon after Bashar Assad rejected the Qatar pipeline, the CIA began funding opposition groups in Syria.  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Why the Arabs dont want us in Syria, Politico September 15, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Counterpunch " - The conflict in Syria is not a war in the conventional sense of the word. It is a regime change operation, just like Libya and Iraq were regime change operations. The main driver of the conflict is the country thats toppled more than 50 sovereign governments since the end of World War 2. (See: Bill Blum here.) Were talking about the United States of course. Washington is the hands-down regime change champion, no one else even comes close. That being the case, one might assume that the American people would notice the pattern of intervention, see through the propaganda and assign blame accordingly. But that never seems to happen and it probably wont happen here either. No matter how compelling the evidence may be, the brainwashed American people always believe their government is doing the right thing. But the United States is not doing the right thing in Syria. Arming, training and funding Islamic extremists  that have killed half a million people, displaced 7 million more and turned the country into an uninhabitable wastelands is not the right thing. It is the wrong thing, the immoral thing. And the US is involved in this conflict for all the wrong reasons, the foremost of which is gas. The US wants to install a puppet regime in Damascus so it can secure pipeline corridors in the East, oversee the transport of vital energy reserves from Qatar to the EU, and make sure that those reserves continue to be denominated in US Dollars that are recycled into US Treasuries and US financial assets. This is the basic recipe for maintaining US dominance in the Middle East and for extending Americas imperial grip on global power into the future. The war in Syria did not begin when the government of Bashar al Assad cracked down on protestors in the spring of 2011. That version of events is obfuscating hogwash. The war began in 2000, when Assad rejected a Qatari plan to transport gas from Qatar to the EU via Syria. As Robert F Kennedy Jr. explains in his excellent article Syria: Another pipeline War: The $10 billion, 1,500km pipeline through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.would have linked Qatar directly to European energy markets via distribution terminals in Turkey The Qatar/Turkey pipeline would have given the Sunni Kingdoms of the Persian Gulf decisive domination of world natural gas markets and strengthen Qatar, Americas closest ally in the Arab world. . In 2009, Assad announced that he would refuse to sign the agreement to allow the pipeline to run through Syria to protect the interests of our Russian ally. Assad further enraged the Gulfs Sunni monarchs by endorsing a Russian approved Islamic pipeline running from Irans side of the gas field through Syria and to the ports of Lebanon. The Islamic pipeline would make Shia Iran instead of Sunni Qatar, the principal supplier to the European energy market and dramatically increase Tehrans influence in the Mid-East and the world Naturally, the Saudis, Qataris, Turks and Americans were furious at Assad, but what could they do? How could they prevent him from choosing his own business partners and using his own sovereign territory to transport gas to market? What they could do is what any good Mafia Don would do; break a few legs and steal whatever he wanted. In this particular situation, Washington and its scheming allies decided to launch a clandestine proxy-war against Damascus, kill or depose Assad, and make damn sure the western oil giants nabbed the future pipeline contracts and controlled the flow of energy to Europe. That was the plan at least. Heres more from Kennedy: Secret cables and reports by the U.S., Saudi and Israeli intelligence agencies indicate that the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline, military and intelligence planners quickly arrived at the consensus that fomenting a Sunni uprising in Syria to overthrow the uncooperative Bashar Assad was a feasible path to achieving the shared objective of completing the Qatar/Turkey gas link. In 2009, according to WikiLeaks, soon after Bashar Assad rejected the Qatar pipeline, the CIA began funding opposition groups in Syria. Repeat: the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline, he signed his own death warrant. That single act was the catalyst for the US aggression that transformed a bustling, five thousand-year old civilization into a desolate Falluja-like moonscape overflowing with homicidal fanatics that were recruited, groomed and deployed by the various allied intelligence agencies. But whats particularly interesting about this story is that the US attempted a nearly-identical plan 60 years earlier during the Eisenhower administration. Heres another clip from the Kennedy piece: During the 1950s, President Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers  mounted a clandestine war against Arab Nationalism  which CIA Director Allan Dulles equated with communism  particularly when Arab self-rule threatened oil concessions. They pumped secret American military aid to tyrants in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon favoring puppets with conservative Jihadist ideologies which they regarded as a reliable antidote to Soviet Marxism. The CIA began its active meddling in Syria in 1949  barely a year after the agencys creation. Syrias democratically elected president, Shukri-al-Kuwaiti, hesitated to approve the Trans Arabian Pipeline, an American project intended to connect the oil fields of Saudi Arabia to the ports of Lebanon via Syria. (so) the CIA engineered a coup, replacing al-Kuwaiti with the CIAs handpicked dictator, a convicted swindler named Husni al-Zaim. Al-Zaim barely had time to dissolve parliament and approve the American pipeline before his countrymen deposed him, 14 weeks into his regime.. (CIA agent Rocky) Stone arrived in Damascus in April 1956 with $3 million in Syrian pounds to arm and incite Islamic militants and to bribe Syrian military officers and politicians to overthrow al-Kuwaitis democratically elected secularist regime. But all that CIA money failed to corrupt the Syrian military officers. The soldiers reported the CIAs bribery attempts to the Baathist regime. In response, the Syrian army invaded the American Embassy taking Stone prisoner. Following harsh interrogation, Stone made a televised confession to his roles in the Iranian coup and the CIAs aborted attempt to overthrow Syrias legitimate government.(Then) Syria purged all politicians sympathetic to the U.S. and executed them for treason. (Politico) See how history is repeating itself? Its like the CIA was too lazy to even write a new script, they just dusted off the old one and hired new actors. Fortunately, Assad with the help of Iran, Hezbollah and the Russian Airforce has fended off the effort to oust him and install a US-stooge. This should not be taken as a ringing endorsement of Assad as a leader, but of the principal that global security depends on basic protections of national sovereignty, and that the cornerstone of international law has to be a rejection of unprovoked aggression whether the hostilities are executed by ones own military or by armed proxies that are used to achieve the same strategic objectives while invoking plausible deniability. The fact is, there is no difference between Bushs invasion of Iraq and Obamas invasion of Syria. The moral, ethical and legal issues are the same, the only difference is that Obama has been more successful in confusing the American people about what is really going on. And whats going on is regime change: Assad must go. Thats been the administrations mantra from the get go. Obama and Co are trying to overthrow a democratically-elected secular regime that refuses to bow to Washingtons demands to provide access to pipeline corridors that will further strengthen US dominance in the region. Thats whats really going on behind the ISIS distraction and the Assad is a brutal dictator distraction and the war-weary civilians in Aleppo distraction. Washington doesnt care about any of those things. What Washington cares about is oil, power and money. How can anyone be confused about that by now? Kennedy summed it up like this: We must recognize the Syrian conflict is a war over control of resources indistinguishable from the myriad clandestine and undeclared oil wars we have been fighting in the Mid-East for 65 years. And only when we see this conflict as a proxy war over a pipeline do events become comprehensible. That says it all, dont you think? Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. What's your response? - Scroll down to add / read comments Sign up for our FREE Daily Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust Donate



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Is Israel on the Brink of Tearing Itself Asunder? By Jonathan Cook September 15, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Is Israel on the verge of civil war, as a growing number of Israeli commentators suggest, with its Jewish population deeply riven over the future of the occupation? On one side is a new peace movement, Decision at 50, stuffed with former political and security leaders. Ehud Barak, a previous prime minister who appears to be seeking a political comeback, may yet emerge as its figurehead. The group has demanded the government hold a referendum next year  the half-centenary of Israels occupation, which began in 1967  on whether it is time to leave the territories. Its own polling shows a narrow majority ready to concede a Palestinian state. On the other is Benjamin Netanyahu, in power for seven years with the most right-wing government in Israels history. On Friday he posted a video on social media criticising those who want to end the occupation. Observing that a Palestinian state would require removing hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers currently living  illegally  on Palestinian land, Netanyahu concluded: Theres a phrase for that. Its called ethnic cleansing. Not only did the comparison upend international law, but Netanyahu infuriated the Obama administration by implying that, in seeking to freeze settlement growth, the US had supported such ethnic cleansing. A spokeswoman called the comments inappropriate and unhelpful  Washington-speak for deceitful and inflammatory. But the Israeli prime minister is not the only one hoodwinking his audience. Whatever its proponents imply, the Decision at 50 referendum is about neither peace nor the Palestinians best interests. Its assumption is that yet again the Israeli public should determine unilaterally the Palestinians fate. Although the exact wording is yet to be decided, the referendums backers appear concerned solely with the status of the West Bank. An Israeli consensus believes Gaza has been free of occupation since the settlers were pulled out in 2005, despite the fact that Israel still surrounds most of the coastal strip with soldiers, patrols its air space with drones and denies access to the sea. The same unyielding, deluded Israeli consensus has declared East Jerusalem, the expected capital of a Palestinian state, as instead part of Israels eternal capital. But the problem runs deeper still. When the new campaign proudly cites new figures showing that 58 per cent support two states for two nations, it glosses over what most Israelis think such statehood would entail for the Palestinians. A survey in June found 72 per cent do not believe the Palestinians live under occupation, while 62 per cent told pollsters last year they think Palestinians have no rights to a nation. When Israelis talk in favour of a Palestinian state, it is chiefly to thwart a far bigger danger  a single state shared with the enemy. The Decision at 50 poll shows 87 per cent of Israeli Jews dread a binational conclusion to the conflict. Ami Ayalon, a former head of the Shin Bet intelligence service and a leader of Decision at 50, echoed them, warning of an approaching disaster. So what do Israelis think a Palestinian state should look like? Previous surveys have been clear. It would not include Jerusalem or control its borders. It would be territorially carved up to preserve the settlement blocs, which would be annexed to Israel. And most certainly it would be demilitarised  without an army or air force. In other words, Palestinians would lack sovereignty. Such a state exists only in the imagination of the Israeli public. A Palestinian state on these terms would simply be an extension of the Gaza model to the West Bank. Nonetheless, the idea of a civil war is gaining ground. Tamir Pardo, the recently departed head of Israels spy agency Mossad, warned last month that Israel was on the brink of tearing itself apart through internal divisions. He rated this a bigger danger than any of the existential threats posited by Mr Netanyahu, such as Irans supposed nuclear bomb. But the truth is that there is very little ideologically separating most Israeli Jews. All but a tiny minority wish to see the Palestinians continue as a subjugated people. For the great majority, a Palestinian state means nothing more than a makeover of the occupation, penning up the Palestinians in slightly more humane conditions. After many years in power, the right is growing in confidence. It sees no price has been paid, either at home or abroad, for endlessly tightening the screws on the Palestinians. Israeli moderates have had to confront the painful reality that their country is not quite the enlightened outpost in the Middle East they had imagined. They may raise their voices in protest now but, if the polls are right, most will eventually submit to the rights realisation of its vision of a Greater Israel. Those who cannot stomach such an outcome will have to stop equivocating and choose a side. They can leave, as some are already doing, or stay and fight  not for a bogus referendum that solves nothing, but to demand dignity and freedom for the Palestinian people. Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism
Dutertes Power Play: Rocking the US-Philippines Alliance



By Binoy Kampmark I do not like the Americans. Its simply a matter of principle for me.  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, September 12, 2016 September 15, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Dissident Voice " - The frictions excited by the antics of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte have caused even greater heat over the last few days, with calls for the departure of US special forces operating in Mindanao. Having already made it clear to Washington that he intends pursuing an independent foreign policy, he has now insisted that the general root of ills in instability lie in the troublesome, headache-causing alliance with the United States. A continuing problem of that alliance remained US forces in Zamboanga on the island of Mindanao, ostensibly engaged in advising local troops on counter-terrorism operations. For as long as we stay with America, we will never have peace in that land [Mindanao]. We might as well give it up. It was therefore imperative that those [American] special forces, they have to go. He did not want a rift with the US, but they have to go. Nothing could stand in greater contrast to such sentiment than the pact of 2014 signed between Manila and Washington, a confirmation of all the ills Duterte despises. While that agreement did not countenance the reopening of US bases in the Philippines, something that would have had a constitutional hurdle to climb, it permitted roving and near unlimited US access to military bases across the country. Despite the pretence of being severed from the US umbilical cord in 1946, the neo-colonial aftertaste has remained. From 2002 to 2013, $441 million in security funding was provided to Manila. The Obama administration had set aside a hefty $120 million in military aid for 2016. As Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the Philippines Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, explained with the signatures on the agreement barely dry, the agreement was of limited value to the country, while being splendid for US interests. In signing the agreement, the US could claim that it has contained China, because the Asian countries involved, including the Philippines, are now bound by their respective agreements with America. This would, in effect, convert Manila into a compliant satellite to Washingtons goals in the Asia-Pacific. As if to emphasise that point, both states had agreed earlier this year to the deployment of thousands of American troops to five Philippine bases, measures that are hardly accidental given the spike in tensions in the South China Sea. President Barack Obama has preferred to avoid the terminology of containment and control, preferring to see such moves as pursuant to a self-proclaimed international order of norms. When one is attempting to be a decent bully on the international stage, cast a nod in the direction of international law. Our goal, he explained in 2014, is to make international rules and norms [that] are respected, and that includes areas of maritime disputes. The boisterous Duterte, a vastly different creature from Benigno Aquino III, has issued directives to his defence secretary to seek military supplies from China and Russia rather than US sources. I want weaponry and armaments. We dont need F16 jets, that is of no use to us. Jets were useless in counter-insurgency operations in the Philippines; far better stick, he suggested, to propeller-driven planes. Such moves are not suggestive of a total distancing from the United States; Duterte is evidently keen to widen his appeal to other powers, rather than clinging on the tired assumption that all that stems from Washington is somehow good. On that level, the politics is sound, an attempt to defuse a confrontation that risks involving China and the US in a regional punch-up. The Philippine military were also bemused by the Presidential directive, unclear about how they were to go about their new orders. In the words of a defence spokesman, We are awaiting guidelines on how the presidents policy statements will be implemented. On Tuesday, Duterte also explained that the Philippines would cease patrolling the South China Sea alongside the US Navy. What was less extensively reported by US media outlets is that he would prefer Filipino forces to be doing their own patrolling up to 12 nautical miles offshore, rather than having entanglements with either US or Chinese forces. All that said, a more than significant nudge is being contemplated in Beijings direction, while the president envisages refocusing the broader struggle on domestic maladies: drug trafficking and niggling insurgencies. Only China will help us, he claimed. America just gave you principles of law and nothing else. The old myopic view that Duterte is merely the resident buffoon and brute is delightfully simple, but one that has currency in the corridors of US power. It holds that he is an aberration, that his legacy will pass, and that his views are of no consequence. US officials persist doing this at their peril, attempting to place Manila, by proxy, in line of Beijings ire. As the distributed Nelson Report (September 14), a summary dispatch on foreign relations, put it, if you want to see what a Trump Presidency would look and sound like, watch the Philippines Duterte an impertinent reference to Trumps unpredictability, boorishness, lack of knowledge or sophistication, and penchant for ill-considered dramatics. The point that has been missed is that this entire revision has been stewing for some time. It has bubbled with fury, bypassing the traditional, submissive structures of power that have favoured an imperial influence for all too long. The point to see will be whether Dutertes legacy persists in its indignation and redirection, or fizzles in the great power game. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne and can be reached at: bkampmark@gmail.com.
Whats the FBI Hiding? By Andrew P. Napolitano September 15, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Creators " - Earlier this week, Republican leaders in both houses of Congress took the FBI to task for its failure to be transparent. In the House, it was apparently necessary to serve a subpoena on an FBI agent to obtain what members of Congress want to see; and in the Senate, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee accused the FBI itself of lawbreaking. Here is the back story. Ever since FBI Director James Comey announced on July 5 he was recommending that the Department of Justice not seek charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a result of her failure to safeguard state secrets during her time in office, many in Congress have had a nagging feeling that this was a political, not a legal, decision. The publicly known evidence of Clintons recklessness and willful failure to safeguard secrets was overwhelming. The evidence of her lying under oath about whether she returned all her work-related emails that she had taken from the State Department was profound and incontrovertible. And then we learned that people who worked for Clinton were instructed to destroy several of her mobile devices and to remove permanently the stored emails on one of her servers. All this was done after these items had been subpoenaed by two committees of the House of Representatives. Yet the FBI  which knew of the post-subpoena destruction of evidence and which acknowledged that Clinton failed to return thousands of her work-related emails as she had been ordered by a federal judge to do, notwithstanding at least three of her assertions to the contrary while under oath  chose to overlook the evidence of not only espionage but also obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, perjury and misleading Congress. As if to defend itself in the face of this most un-FBI-like behavior, the FBI then released to the public selected portions of its work product, which purported to back up its decision to recommend against the prosecution of Clinton. Normally, the FBI gathers evidence and works with federal prosecutors and federal grand juries to build cases against targets in criminal probes, and its recommendations to prosecutors are confidential. But in Clintons case, the hierarchy of the Department of Justice removed itself from the chain of command because of the orchestrated impropriety of Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton, who met in private on the attorney generals plane at a time when both Bill and Hillary Clinton were subjects of FBI criminal investigations. That left the FBI to have the final say about prosecution  or so the FBI and the DOJ would have us all believe. It is hard to believe that the FBI was free to do its work, and it is probably true that the FBI was restrained by the White House early on. There were numerous aberrations in the investigation. There was no grand jury; no subpoenas were issued; no search warrants were served. Two people claimed to have received immunity, yet the statutory prerequisite for immunity  giving testimony before a grand or trial jury  was never present. Because many members of Congress do not believe that the FBI acted free of political interference, they demanded to see the full FBI files in the case, not just the selected portions of the files that the FBI had released. In the case of the House, the FBI declined to surrender its files, and the agent it sent to testify about them declined to reveal their contents. This led to a dramatic service of a subpoena by the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on that FBI agent while he was testifying  all captured on live nationally broadcast television. Now the FBI, which usually serves subpoenas and executes search warrants, is left with the alternative of complying with this unwanted subpoena by producing its entire file or arguing to a federal judge why it should not be compelled to do so. On the Senate side, matters are even more out of hand. There, in response to a request from the Senate Judiciary Committee, the FBI sent both classified and unclassified materials to the Senate safe room. The Senate safe room is a secure location that is available only to senators and their senior staff, all of whom must surrender their mobile devices and writing materials and swear in writing not to reveal whatever they see while in the room before they are permitted to enter. According to Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the FBI violated federal law by commingling classified and unclassified materials in the safe room, thereby making it unlawful for senators to discuss publicly the unclassified material. Imposing such a burden of silence on U.S. senators about unclassified materials is unlawful and unconstitutional. What does the FBI have to hide? Whence comes the authority of the FBI to bar senators from commenting on unclassified materials? Who cares about this? Everyone who believes that the government works for us should care because we have a right to know what the government  here the FBI  has done in our names. Sen. Grassley has opined that if he could reveal what he has seen in the FBI unclassified records, it would be of profound interest to American voters. What is going on here? The FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton has not served the rule of law. The rule of law  a pillar of American constitutional freedom since the end of the Civil War  mandates that the laws are to be enforced equally. No one is beneath their protection, and no one is above their requirements. To enforce the rule of law, we have hired the FBI. What do we do when the FBI rejects its basic responsibilities?
A French friend viewing photos of President Ho Chi Minh at the exhibition (Photo: VNA)

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Ngoc Son reviewed the long road of hardship that the people of Vietnam have passed since President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence to give birth to the country of Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2nd,1945.

The Ambassador stressed that after 71 years, Vietnam has gained a worthy position in the region and the world; become a trusted, active and responsible partner of the international community.

He also affirmed that Vietnam would continue innovation policies in the spirit of the 12th National Party Congress Resolution.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Son recalled French President Francois Hollandes official visit to Vietnam on September 6th - 7th, an important event which he said would boost bilateral relations and opened a new chapter to develop the strategic partnership signed by the two countries in 2013.

He also stressed that Vietnam - France historical relations were established and fostered by President Ho Chi Minh.

Talking to a correspondent of Vietnam News Agency, Senator Catherine Deroche, Chairwoman of France - Vietnam friendly parliamentarian group at the French Senate, said she absolutely believed in Vietnams strong development in the future.

Since 2003, she has gone to Vietnam five times. Each time returning to Vietnam, she has been surprised by the rapid changes in Vietnam, especially in the fields of economic development and environmental protection.

She expressed her satisfaction because French President Francois Hollande paid the important visit to Vietnam, contributing to concretizing the strategic partner relations between the two countries.

Diplomat Jean-Pierre Bercot, former French Ambassador to several countries, expressed his pride in being born and spending his childhood in Vietnam.

He emphasized each time he came back to Vietnam, he recognized positive changes and added that Vietnam would continue to grow, thanks a young dynamic and innovative workforce.

Also at the ceremony, many international guests and overseas Vietnamese in France expressed their emotion at watching images of President Ho Chi Minh, who devoted all his life to the independence and freedom of Vietnam as well as contributed to the cause of peace, justice, freedom and equality around the world./.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has confirmed the death of four persons in a motor accident which occurred in Ebonyi on Monday.

The commissions Sector Commander in the state, Mr Charles Aborchi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Thursday that the accident occurred at Iyere, Afikpo South Local Government Area.

Aborchi said that the ill-fated vehicle had nine occupants, eight males and one female while the four that died were three males and one female.

The five remaining occupants were injured with one of them in critical condition; they are receiving treatment at the Ekoli-Edda General Hospital in the area.

The accident which occurred on a one-lane road involved a white mini-bus with registration number EDA 245 XA, he said.

The sector commander noted that the accident occurred in an inclement weather condition as it was raining and the spot was sloppy.

The affected vehicle somersaulted and the accident could be blamed on poor visibility and slippery road condition due to unfavorable weather, he said.

He noted that the commission would intensify efforts to check incidences of road accidents in the state, especially in the ember months.

We strongly advise motorists and commuters to shun night travel due to poor visibility and other inherent conditions.

They should also obey traffic regulations to stay alive for festive celebrations while curbing unwarranted carnage that cause deaths and injuries, he said
Thousands of Zimbabweans are calling for President Robert Mugabe to step down. He ran for a seventh term in 2013 and has now spent 36 years in office as Zimbabwes only President since independence.

It is not the first time there has been opposition to Mugabes leadership but it is the first time the opposition has remained sustained, with a campaign on social media calling on him to step down.

SEE ALSO: Zimbabweans Troll Statue Of Mugabe

There are four reasons theyre calling for Mugabes removal;
Three people have been confirmed dead in Wyoming, USA following yet another gun incident. The gunman has been identified as 77-year old Larry Rosenberg and authorities say he shot himself as police pursued him just after the shooting.

The incident took place at a complex for elderly persons and the motive of the shooter is yet to be identified.
Air travellers avoided the ticketing and reservation counters of Arik Air on Wednesday despite the fact that the airline commenced skeletal operations in the afternoon at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja.

Arik, Nigerias largest commercial airline, had announced a temporary suspension of its flight services on Tuesday due to issues of insurance documentation.

Late on Tuesday, the airline announced that it would resume normal operations on Wednesday from 11am.

Arik Air is pleased to announce that after a temporary disruption of flights on Tuesday, September 13, pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal, its scheduled flights will resume as normal operations from 11am tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14, 2016, the carrier had said.

But it appeared as if passengers were not aware of the resumption of operations by the airline at the Abuja airport, as only few travellers were sighted at its ticketing and reservation counters on Wednesday.

It was learnt that the airline had skeletal operations from the Abuja airport in a bid to meet the needs of some customers.

When contacted, an official at the NAIA, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, They (Arik) have resumed operations, but basically on a skeletal basis. Passengers are not visiting their counters because many people read about the suspension of their operations and most of the travellers are not aware that the airline has recommenced services.

But the good thing is that none of their passengers or the passengers of other airlines are stranded here at the Abuja airport. Everything is going on smoothly and we hope that as we progress, they will come back in full swing as it was before.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has yet to take a concrete decision on the intervention measures to be adopted in resolving the crisis in the aviation sector.

An official of the Aviation ministry had on Tuesday said the Federal Government would intervene in the crisis that has almost crippled the sector.

But a top government official confided in our correspondent on Wednesday that while the sector was facing a difficult time as a result of the harsh economic conditions in the country, which had forced three indigenous airlines to suspend operations, the situation was not peculiar to the aviation sector alone.

The official said while a lot of options were being considered to address the economic challenges confronting the country, it would be safer for the government to come up with a comprehensive package that would assist in stimulating the economy.

According to the official, announcing an intervention measure to solve the problems of a sector will be counter-productive as it will serve as a basis for other sectors to plead for governments intervention.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, We all know that the country is facing economic challenges. What is happening in the aviation sector is also affecting other sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, banking and others.

But as we speak, the government has yet to take any decision on possible intervention measures for the aviation sector.

When contacted on what the government would do to address the challenges in the aviation sector, a Deputy Director at the Ministry of Aviation, James Daudu, said Jet-A1 prices were deregulated and outside the control of the ministry.

He said, The petroleum sector is a deregulated sector and I dont see how the Ministry of Aviation can come into it directly.

The ministry cannot ask the government to reverse its deregulation policy, except there is a way to make it easy for the airlines to import Jet-A1.

Source: Punch
Four companies, Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Development Company Limited have pleaded guilty to laundering the sum of $15, 591,700 million for Waripamo Owei-Didafa, an Aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The companies pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against them by the EFCC before a Federal High Court Sitting in Lagos on Thursday.

They were all charged by the EFCC alongside the former aide to former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, a lawyer, Amajuoyi Azubuike Briggs & a banker, Demola Bolodeoku.

Meanwhile the other accused have all pleaded not guilty to a 15 count amended charge.

The cash is reportedly among the same money former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan claimed belong to her. It would be recalled that she filed ownership of the money seeking a fundamental rights enforcement suit on the money last week.

Mrs Jonathan had prayed to the court among other things to compel the EFCC to immediately remove the No Debit Order placed on the accounts where the monies are deposited.
Synopsis

Mike Okafor is invited by his childhood friend and buddy; Adetunde George Jnr, to have  DINNER and spend the weekend with him and his fiancee Lola Coker as they plan for their upcoming wedding. Mike decides to come along with his girlfriend Diane Bassey, as he plans to propose to her.

Things get out of hand when they arrive at Adetundes house and they get to find out secrets about each others relationship and the one person in the middle of it all. Thats the plot of the dramatic thriller, Dinner which will make you reconsider everything you thought you understood about relationships.

The movie is produced by Jay Franklyn Jituboh (director of the short film Once selected at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival) and Chris Odeh, while the executive producer is David Jituboh.

Dinner will be out in cinemas across the nation November 11th, 2016.

Checkout behind-the-scene photos.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, Nde Alexander Molwus on Wednesday lampooned President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent claim that he inherited no infrastructural and other projects from the PDP, which was in power for 16 years.

The party chieftain said it was time for the president to admit that he has no idea on how to run the country.

President Buhari had while speaking to reporters shortly after he observed the Eid prayers in Daura, Katsina State on Monday, said that his administration inherited nothing from the past PDP governments.

I want Nigerians to realize that what this government inherited after 16 years of the PDP government was no savings, no infrastructure, no power, no rail, no road and no security, he was quoted as saying.

The statement attributed to the president drew flaks from a former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who said either Buhari has lost his memory or he was not well-informed to have said the PDP administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umar Musa YarAdua and Goodluck Jonathan did not bequeath any legacy.

Adding his voice to the condemnation of the president, the Plateau PDP chieftain, in a chat with reporters in Jos the state capital, accused Buhari of being economical with the truth.

Molwus said: It is most uncharitable for Buhari to make such claim. And it appears whenever the president speaks, he does not rely on truth or verifiable information in the public domain.

According to him, how would any person agree that in sixteen years, there was no one or single positive thing that happened to enrich the profile of legacies in this country? Why is he limiting the socio-economic stagnation to the past 16 years and overlooking his coup constituency that took over from him in 1985?

Molwus said it was regrettable that a whole president will lie to the nation and misinform the citizenry, even when he has not been able to come up with any intervention programme as workable and effective as the SURE-P programme, which he inherited from the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Besides, Buhari is talking of bumper agricultural harvest this year because of the brilliant turnaround articulated and implemented in that sub-sector by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, and he has been commissioning projects in other sub-sectors such as railway transportation which were neither conceived nor initiated by his administration. So, what is Buhari really talking about?

Molwus advised President Buhari not to continue to bore the citizenry already disgusted with his dismal performance by attempting to hold past administrations responsible for his ineptitude, but should rise to the task of his office by exhibiting some pragmatism in governance such as arresting the outbreak of Kwashiorkor epidemic in the North East region caused by the fraudulent diversion of relief materials by a corrupt APC leadership.
A former US secretary of state, Colin Powell has called Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump a national disgrace.

The Presidential candidate is a controversial figure, and many of his comments on the campaign trail have drawn ire from even GOP figures. His comments were revealed following a leak of his emails by Buzzfeed.

In one of his emails, he wrote (referring to Trump), he is a national disgrace and an international pariah.Thats what the 99% believe. When Trump couldnt keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim,

Colin Powell has confirmed that he indeed sent the emails as his aide said, The emails are accurate. No further comment at this time.
A Federal High Court in Lagos, has fixed Friday, September 16, to deliver judgment in a suit, challenging the appointment of Hameed Ali, a retired colonel, as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit, which was instituted by a Human Rights Activist, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, in November 2015, was argued before Justice Sule Hassan.

Mr. Adegboruwa sought the interpretation of the court as to whether the president could appoint anyone as comptroller-general of customs without complying with Section 3 of the Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made on March 25, 2002.

He argued that the said gazette stipulated that only those within the rank of Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs could be elevated as substantive Comptroller- General.

The lawyer, therefore, asked the court to nullify the appointment.

In response to the case, the Nigeria Customs Service filed a preliminary objection dated April 29, 2016, challenging the locus standi of the applicant to file and maintain the suit.

The Customs Service contended further that Adegboruwas suit was a mere academic exercise raising hypothetical questions that the court must not entertain.

NAN reports that the court heard arguments from counsels to the parties on June 15 and adjourned for judgment.

The judgment is now slated to be delivered on Sept. 16.
The Danish government has indefinitely stopped the entry of refugees via the UN programme, the countrys immigration minister announced on Wednesday.

Inger Stojberg said: Denmark is full of refugees, that is why we have had to make this decision.

Under the UN quota, Denmark is expected to accept the entry of 500 refugees each year, however, it rejected the entry of 491 this year.

Denmark has come under fire after it introduced a jewellery bill which allows immigration authorities to confiscate valuables from refugees in order to cover the cost of their accommodation.

In 2015 it placed advertisements in four Lebanese newspapers announcing tighter regulations and cuts in provisions for asylum seekers. Warning that those granted temporary protection would not have the right to family reunification for the first year of their residence.
Kimi Raikkonen says having won last years Singapore Grand Prix does not give Ferrari any guarantee that it will be able to replicate its Marina Bay success 12 months on.

The Scuderia dominated the previous edition of the F1 night race, with Sebastian Vettel winning from pole position and Raikkonen coming home in third.

With Ferrari yet to taste victory since then, the Finn was asked whether this weekends race provided the team with the best chance to end its current drought.

Its the same story as any other race, Raikkonen replied. We have to see how it goes [in free practice]. Yes, its true we were good here last year but that doesnt give us any guarantee that its going to be the same story this year.

We hope it is but time will tell. Well start it as any other race weekend  we do our program and on Friday we get some ideas of where we are.

Despite a challenging 2016 campaign for the Maranello-based outfit so far, Raikkonen, who will continue to partner Vettel at Ferrari next year, insists the team has not stood still performance wise.

Obviously we want to win, we want to fight for wins, be up there and give ourselves, every weekend, very good chances of victory. That hasnt happened this year, unfortunately.

We are better than last year but obviously the others have improved more. Im sure we are doing the right things, we have great people and a good atmosphere, but the speed is missing a bit.

Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene recently said he was confident Ferrari could win on merit this year.

Romain Grosjean column: Drivers have a certain shelf like

Chris Medland's 2016 Singapore Grand Prix preview

TECHNICAL: Under the skin of the Red Bull RB12

2017 F1 driver line-ups so far

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has cautioned the media against coverage of military operations without due clearance from the military authorities.

The warning was contained in a statement issued by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar on Wednesday in Abuja.

The DHQ said that it has observed with concern that certain journalists embark on coverage of security areas in the North East for documentary purpose and the likes, without due authorization from the military authorities.

This practice is not only capable of jeopardizing the success of the on-going military operations in the area but also poses great concern to the safety of the journalists concerned.

Much as the military is not trying to gag the press from carrying out their legitimate duties, permission should be sought from the Armed Forces before embarking on such venture, Rabe said.

According to the Defence spokesman, this will enable adequate security to be provided for such journalists by the military.

The statement stressed that though Boko Haram has been substantially decimated, any roaming journalist could be a target of unsuspecting fleeing insurgent and this will not be in the best interest of media organizations and the nation at large.

Brig.-Gen. Abubakar, therefore, advised that any journalist desirable of covering conflict areas should seek permission from the military hierarchy so that adequate security arrangement could be provided by the troops on the ground.

It is also the responsibility of the military to safeguard the lives and property of the Nigerian citizenry including law abiding journalists in the theatre of operation and in Nigeria in general, he added.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Edo State has expelled its Publicity Secretary, Chief Paul Okolie and other members, over alleged anti-party activities.

This is just as the party insisted that its candidate for the September 28 rescheduled governorship poll in the state, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, is the solution to Edo peoples problem.

Mr. Okolie had on Monday led 1,000 of his supporters, including executive members and chieftains of APGA, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking with newsmen in Benin City, the state capital, the former APGA spokesman said his decision to defect was based on the conviction that only an APC government led by Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu, can sustain the good works already started by the Adams Oshiomhole outgoing administration.

Reacting to the defection of its spokesman and others to the APC, the Chairman of APGA in Edo State, Godfrey Ehizokhale Ehimhen and the Secretary, Aifuobhokhan Emmanuel, issued a joint statement warning members of the party across the state to desist from political prostitution or face sanction.

The statement added that Okolie and the partys Organizing Secretary, Chief Chidi Eze, alongside their supporters have since been expelled from the party due to their involvement in anti-party activities and are no longer members of the party.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State yesterday rose in defence of Governor Nyesom Wike over allegations that he mobilized militants to Edo State ahead of the September 28 governorship election in that state.

The party said the allegation, which was made by the Edo Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, was aimed at blackmailing Wike.

It said Gov. Wike had no link with militants and could not mobilise them to Edo State for the poll as alleged by Oshiomhole.

The party said Wike only advised the Edo electorate to vote for the PDP candidate, defend their vote and ensure that their votes counted.

Addressing reporters yesterday at the partys secretariat in Port Harcourt, the state capital, the states PDP Publicity Secretary, Samuel Nwanosike, said Wike could not be deterred by what he called cheap blackmail and allow his party to be manipulated.

Nwanosike accused Gov. Oshiomhole of desperation to win an election he knew his party  All Progressives Congress  would lose.

The Rivers PDP spokesman further said the APC-led government in Edo had lost its popularity, adding that instead of giving excuses and pointing finger, it should wait till the Election Day to see which party was more popular in the state.

He said: Wike has no link with militants. The statement credited to Oshiomhole shows that he is a desperate man who is looking for a way out. There is no truth that Wike and Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa provided N2 billion for the Edo State governorship election

On Wikes amnesty programme in Rivers State, the party said the governor was not giving financial support to cultists or militants but beginning a move that would improve their lives.

It said: At APC rally in Bonny, one of the chieftains accused Wike of giving money to cultists and militants in the name of amnesty. We are here to say that the governor cannot exchange the livelihood of the youths, which is paramount, to a mere stipend.

Governor Wike is a man who understands the plight of his people. He knows what is good for these boys. He doesnt want to give them money but an empowerment that could last forever. That was why the call for amnesty was necessary.
The Federal Government on Thursday took the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the cleaners, for reiterating its call on President Muhammadu Buhari to quit office, calling the opposition party a shameless irritant.

The former ruling party had in a statement on Wednesday, called on President Buhari and his team to return Nigeria to its state of booming economy before they assumed office last year May and then quit, to allow other capable leaders recover our ailing economy.

In its reaction, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhai Lai Mohammed, said it would not be deterred from its rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma.

According to him, the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts.

The Minister said if the PDP had understood the meaning of shame, it would never have dared to even make a single comment on the same economy that it did everything to kill.

While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.

Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari Administration which is left to pack their mess. PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation, he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said what the PDP has consistently put up as a vibrant economy under its watch was nothing but a bubble that was buoyed by massive corruption and chronic incompetence, an economy in which someone without any known means of earned livelihood would boast of $31.5 million (in veiled reference to the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan).

They keep saying we should stop talking of the past, yet the past will not stop rearing its head. They keep saying we should no longer refer to the past, but how can we forget so soon that our foreign exchange reserves plummeted from $62bn in 2008 to $30bn by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of $114 per barrel in 2014.

By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from $60 billion in 2008 to $120 billion in 2015.

The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we wont repeat the mistake. Take the excess crude account which fell from about $9bn in 2007 to about $2bn in 2015. The argument that it was the State Governors that depleted the account does not hold water since there were Governors in place when the account was being built up.

Worse still is the fact that up to $14bn in revenues from Nigerian LNG remains unaccounted for and indeed until the Buhari Administration came to office, State Governments never got any allocations from this source of funds which properly belongs to the Federation Account.

The naked fact on the revenue front is that there was just a failure of leadership. This was compounded by the non-transparent uses of funds. We are all witnesses to the sacking of a Central Bank Governor because he raised an alarm about $20 billion that had gone missing.

We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDPs watch, with $15 billion stolen from the defence sector alone. Perhaps most painful is that because of the way funds (about $322m) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, we now have to accept conditionalities before our stolen assets are even returned to us, he said.

The Federal Government said one of the achievements that the PDP has been touting is that it reduced the nations national debt.

However, at the time that we were earning such large revenues from oil, we only managed to double our external debt from $5.6 billion to $10.7 billion between 2011 and 2015. The case of domestic debt was even worse, almost tripling from N888 billion to N2.1 trillion in the same period.

Even these figures mask the extent of unpaid obligations to contractors and the huge plethora of uncompleted projects on which money continued to be spent without visible results. Payments to contractors stopped several years ago while not a single dollar was contributed to the Joint Venture activities. Over N4.5 trillion was spent on fuel subsidy in just two years under the PDP!

Despite a recent oil boom, Nigerians are indeed all victims of the dilapidated and decrepit infrastructure. The economy that the Buhari Administration inherited was certainly in dire straits, if the huge amount of salary arrears that were being owed at various tiers of government is anything to go by.

If, after earning so much resources and increasing the total debt stock, our governments were not able to meet salary obligations, sometimes for up to seven months, then something was definitely wrong somewhere and if this is not evidence of a collapsing economy, one wonders what it is.

Indeed, it was not so long ago that the fuel subsidy regime almost bankrupted the country. Through credibility and commitment to good governance, the current administration has managed to save up to N1.4 trillion that would have been spent on subsidies for PMS. Moreover, the daily demand for PMS has halved from 1600 trucks a day to 850 trucks a day. If we could achieve such savings, then clearly the petrol sector which was and remains a huge source of foreign exchange demand was not being well managed.

It is also important to point out that the poor security situation in the North East has had ripple effects on the economy. Apart from the dislocation of daily lives, there was extensive loss of agricultural production arising from the fact that our citizens in that zone could not go to their farms not to talk of planting and harvesting produce.

Yet, in just a space of about 15 months, the Buhari Administration has liberated this region from the clutches of Boko Haram, which is now left to release meaningless videos when it could no longer carry out spectacular attacks, he said.

The Minister said while the government will continue to welcome constructive criticism, it had nothing to learn from a party that was in charge of the nations affairs at a time of plenty, but ended up frittering away the commonwealth, looting the nation blind and setting the stage for today economic crisis, which the Buhari Administration is working tirelessly to put an end to.
The FirstNation Airways, which was earlier scheduled to resume flight operations today, September 15, has postponed it by a few days.

The airline had on August 17 announced a temporary suspension of its operations to enable a team of engineers from its aircraft manufacturers, come to Nigeria to service the planes in its fleet.

Following the delay in completion of servicing its aircraft, it was learnt that the airline might return to operations this Saturday.

A reliable source told reporters that the equipment needed to fix the airplanes was only released by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) a few days ago.

The source said: The airline had anticipated that all customs formalities would have been done last week Friday before the Sallah holidays.

It is hoped that the team of engineers would finish work on the engines before Sept. 16 as the airline plans to resume operations immediately after the engines are fixed.
Media reports say the four companies charged alongside a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo Dudafa, and two others charged with money laundering have pleaded guilty to the offence.

The four companies accepted that they were conspiring with Dudafa and the two others to avert a sum of $15,591,700 before a Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday, September 15.

Dudafa and the two others further revealed that the sum of $15,591,700 which supposedly belonged to the wife of former President, Patience Jonathan was laundered. They pleaded guilty before a Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday.

The companies are Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Development Company Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had since frozen the $15.6m found in the four companies accounts in Skye Bank.

It would be recalled that Patience Jonathan, the wife of former president Goodluck Jonathan revealed that the $15m, which was frozen in four companies accounts were to settle her medical bills while she was out of the country.

She has begged the Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu to intervene on the matter.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday approved a total sum of N740,461,432.00 as compensation for host communities of Parcel B comprising Yegunda, Abomiti and International Airport site of the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).

The States Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye, who announced the approval of the Governor at a media briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, said the development was in line the commitment of the Ambode administration to engender a sustainable cordial relationship between the host communities and investors in the LFTZ.

Ogunleye, who addressed the briefing alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce, Hon. Benjamin Olabinjo; Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Hon. Muslim Folami; the Managing Director of Lekki Worldwide Investments Limited, Dr. Tunde Sodade, among others, said ever since coming on board, Governor Ambode has seriously and holistically addressed the salient need to compensate the host communities, adding that remarkable progress had been recorded in that regard.

While stating that the State Government has continued to engage the host communities ever since the LFTZ project started in 2004, Ogunleye said the engagement principally centered on the need for the communities to recognize the multiplier effects of the project in terms of employment generation and the value to be added to the socio-economic lives of the people.

He said already, modalities were being put in place to ensure hitch-free payment of the approved N740 million, adding that the payment would be effected with immediate effect.

Responding to questions, Ogunleye said the compensation exercise was a continuous process, revealing that N65 million was paid early this year for land owners affected by the ongoing Dangote projects which included petrochemical plant, gas project, fertilizer and refinery project capable of refining 650, 000 barrels of oil per day.

He said before now, the host communities of the 3,000 hectares of land housing the LFTZ Development Agency, a company jointly owned by the State Government and a consortium of Chinese investors, were heavily compensated, adding that more land owners would be compensated in due course at the end of verification and valuation exercise.

Let me reiterate once again, the commitment of this administration to Community Social Responsibility (CSR) and its readiness to continue to heed the yearnings of our people in the areas covered by the LFTZ and its complementary projects. I also need to assure both local and foreign investors that all our projects in the corridor are fully on course and as an administration, we are fully committed to them.

At this time of economic downturn, our State as the nation and Sub Saharan economic hub is providing this investment platform with huge potentials as the best destination for direct investment. We are providing appropriate road infrastructure to ease the operations of investors in the zone and we will continue to sustain the friendly operating environment that now subsists, Ogunleye said.
Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, on Wednesday said the state government has established 28 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in readiness for flooding in the state.

The governor stated this at a one-day Anambra State Fire and Safety Summit in Awka, the state capital, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

He urged the flood prone communities in the state to be prepared and comply with governments directives on movement to avoid mishaps.

Pay attention to what the government is saying about flooding. Be alert, prepared and keep to the advice of the government to vacate your vicinity if you are in the prone communities, NAN quoted the governor as saying at the summit.

Obiano said the government had acquired 10 modern fire fighting trucks to reduce the rising cases of inferno in the state.
A mother of seven, Uzoamaka Onu, 39, has been abandoned by her husband at the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre, Nkpor in Anambra State over an unpaid medical bill of N520,000.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the woman had stayed in the hospital for four months following the non-payment of the bill.

Ms. Onu, a food vendor from Okpoto community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi, said that the husband had absconded and abandoned her to her fate.

She said she had lived in the hospital for four months and every attempt to reach her husband had failed.

My husband stopped visiting the hospital after I successfully underwent a surgery on my right breast, she said.

She said she did not blame her husband for absconding because he had suffered a lot since 2013 when signs of cancer started manifesting.

My husband sells rat poison and cannot afford the money to pay the balance and I think that is why he has run away.

I am appealing to good spirited Nigerians to come to my aid and help me to get back home.

My problem started in 2013 when I started experiencing excruciating pain in my body, specifically in my lungs.

I started visiting patent medicine stores for solution, but unfortunately that compounded my problems.

However, it was on the advice of some friends and family members that I decided to visit General Hospital, Abakiliki where I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ms. Onu said.

She said she had visited the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for solution.

Ms. Onu said that she also went to the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre where she had a successful surgery, leading to outright removal of her right breast.

She said that N750,000 was the total amount by the hospital management for the surgery, with her family paying N230,000, leaving the outstanding balance.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Ben Ossai, confirmed the incident, describing Ms. Onus case as pathetic.

Mr. Ossai said that the womans right breast was in a deteriorating state and was emitting offensive odour due to the devastation the ailment had caused.

We decided to perform a surgery on her to remove the affected breast, he said.

Mr. Ossai said the patient underwent a successful surgery and had long been discharged pending when her family would pay the balance of her medical bill.

But for four months now, her husband has not visited and we suspected he has absconded, he said.

(NAN)
A mother of seven, Mrs Uzoamaka Onu, 39, has been abandoned by her husband at the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre, Nkpor in Anambra over a bill of N520,000. It was reported that the woman had stayed in the hospital for four months following the non-payment of the bill.

Uzoamaka, a food vendor from Okpoto community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi, told reporters that the husband had absconded and abandoned her to her fate. She said that she had lived in the hospital for four months and every attempt to reach her husband had failed. My husband stopped visiting the hospital after I successfully underwent a surgery on my right breast, Uzoamaka said. She said she did not blame her husband for absconding because he had suffered a lot since 2013 when signs of cancer started manifesting.

My husband sells rat poison and cannot afford the money to pay the balance and I think that is why he has run away. I am appealing to good spirited Nigerians to come to my aid and help me to get back home. My problem started in 2013 when I started experiencing excruciating pain in my body, specifically in my lungs. I started visiting patent medicine stores for solution, but unfortunately that compounded my problems. However, it was on the advice of some friends and family members that I decided to visit General Hospital, Abakiliki where I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Uzoamaka said. She said she had visited the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for solution. Uzoamaka said that she also went to the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre where she had a successful surgery, leading to outright removal of her right breast. She said that N750,000 was the total amount by the hospital management for the surgery, with her family paying N230,000, leaving the outstanding balance.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Ben Ossai, confirmed the incident, describing Uzoamakas case as pathetic. Ossai said that the womans right breast was in a deteriorating state and was emitting offensive odour due to the devastation the ailment had caused. We decided to perform a surgery on her to remove the affected breast, he said.

Ossai said that Uzoamaka underwent a successful surgery and had long been discharged pending when her family would pay the balance of her medical bill. But for four months now, her husband has not visited and we suspected he has absconded, he said.

Source: Vanguard
The leadership of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for surreptitiously reminding innocent National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members of Igbo extraction serving in Daura Local Government Area of Katsina State, of the sordid experience of their kinsmen, during the 30-month old civil war.

Youth corps members serving in Daura, the presidents local government, on Monday, paid him Sallah visit at his private residence in the town.

The president, who specifically addressed corps members from the southern parts of the country, especially those from the Niger Delta and South-Eastern states, urged them to prevail on their brothers and sisters agitating for a sovereign state of Biafra, to forget about it.

Reacting to the presidents comment, the MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, argued that there was no point singling out Ndigbo out of the corps members that paid him the Sallah visit.

Madu, who made the groups position known in a press statement, yesterday, said Telling the Igbo youth corps members to inform their fellow Igbo youths in MASSOB to stop Biafran agitation, shows that he (Buhari) directly recognizes the corps members as Biafrans.

According to the MASSOB leader, Buhari still erroneously think that with his kinsmen in vital positions in the military, he will easily crush Biafra. MASSOB views Buharis constant negative comments on Biafra as a way of reawakening consciousness among Biafrans, even as he is jittery and unsteady about our doggedness towards actualizing our lofty dream.

We want President Buhari to continue to make similar statements that aptly express his frustration. No man can crush Biafra because God, history and humanity are on our side.

Mr. Madu also reminded President Buhari that the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu, Lotachukwu Okoli and a host of others, as well as the killing, persecution, prosecution, mesmerization, suppression and oppression of Biafrans, cannot quench the agitation.
The Nigeria Union in South Africa said on Thursday that a Nigerian petty trader, Monday Okorie, was killed in Potchefstroom, North West Province of that country, on Tuesday. Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, the President of the Union, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on phone from Pretoria, South Africa, that the victim was an indigene of Agwu in Enugu State.

He said that on receipt of the report, some national officers of the union travelled to the North West Province to investigate the incident. Anyene said that initial investigation showed that some unknown assailants shot and killed Okorie.

He said that the incident had been reported to the South African Police Department and other government agencies. According to Anyene, 20 Nigerians resident in the city were initially arrested by the police for protesting the murder and allegedly causing public violence. He said some of the Nigerians had been released after investigations while the nine charged to court were granted free bail. Anyene stated that the incident had been reported to the Nigerian Mission in South Africa and had been assured that there would be follow-up investigations.

Nigeria Union is satisfied with investigations done so far by the South African police. Our people and government are not happy with the way cases involving Nigerians in South Africa are being handled, vis-a-vis the high success rate of prosecution of crime in South Africa.  We told Nigerians resident in the province to remain law abiding and allow the police to carry out a thorough investigation of the incident, Anyene said.

Source: Vanguard
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State yesterday carpeted his Edo State counterpart, Adams Oshiomhole, over his penchant for lies and confirmed inconsistencies.

The governor was reacting to allegations by Mr. Oshoomhole that him (Wike) and his Delta State counterpart, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, mobilized 8,000 militants to Edo State, to unleash mayhem during the September 28 governorship election.

Wike, who denied the allegation as false, said the Edo governor was jittery over the rejection of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Godwin Obaseki, by voters in the state.

He also denied the allegation by Gov. Oshiomhole that him and Okowa sent N2billion to the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Edo, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Speaking when the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Rivers State paid him a solidarity call at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Governor Wike expressed shock that at his age, Oshiomhole still believes in drama and lies.

The IPAC delegation included representatives of all registered political parties except the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Mr. Wike said that he was shocked by Oshiomholes allegation because on the day of the campaign, he met with the outgoing governor alongside other APC Governors at the Airport in Benin City, where they all embraced.

Oshiomhole even cornered me and said dont mind these people, they dont know that we meet and talk, the Rivers governor said.

If Oshiomhole has lost the confidence of his people, he should not blame me. He brought the President and 10 APC Governors and he was not satisfied. Only because two PDP governors visited Edo State, Oshiomole is panicking.

Oshiomhole at his age should stop dramatising and telling lies. What will his children say when they see him behave like that? Wike queried.

If you cannot win election, you cannot win election no matter the number of security reports that you write.

Oshiomhole doesnt know when to stop lying. Why do you think that you will continue to deceive the people? This was the same man who praised former President Goodluck Jonathan for promoting free and fair election, one man, one vote which saw Oshiomhole win a second term. Today in his notorious inconsistency, anywhere Oshiomhole goes, he insults the former President. When President Buhari leaves office, Oshiomole will do the same to him, the governor added.

Wike noted that he was in Edo to campaign for the PDP the same way that Oshiomhole stormed Rivers State in 2015 to campaign for the then APC Governorship candidate in the state, Dakuku Peterside.

He further said that: What I told Edo people that has set Oshiomhole in panic mode is that they should not trust INEC or the security agencies because they will never be neutral. I still repeat that the Edo people must remain vigilant so that they their votes will count.

He charged Nigerians to disregard Oshiomholes lies as he is no longer pro-people, saying The Comrade in Oshiomhole has died long ago. There is no Comrade in him. From Khaki, he is now wearing costly imported Safari Suits.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the call for President Muhammadu Buharis resignation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as silly and a desperate plot to bring back corruption.

The Caretaker Committee of the PDP had on Wednesday asked President Buhari to return the economy to the state he met it before he took over on May 29, 2015 and then resign from office.

The Federal Government had described the opposition party as a shameless irritant, saying if it had any sense of remorse, it would have not called for Buharis resignation.

Following up the FGs response, the APC National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, on Thursday, likened the statement from the PDP caretaker committee to a call on the administration of President Buhari to return to the voodoo economics and reckless fiscal policies the country was subjected to during the former ruling partys reign.

The PDP faction by its demand to return the country to the years where looting of the public treasury was the order of the day, has taken its orchestrated plot to deflect attention from the economic mess it left behind to new insensitive and shameless heights.

Instead of this charade by the PDP, we advise the PDP and their cronies to apologise to Nigerians and toe the path of honour by returning public funds stolen under its watch.

While the PDP attempts to fraudulently re-write history and misrepresent facts on its misrule of the country, Nigerians are traumatised on a daily basis by disclosures of the startling level of pillage of the countrys commonwealth perpetuated under its watch. Instead of saving for the rainy day, past PDP administrations and their cronies literally looted the public treasury blind, using the loot to build luxury hotels and other properties, stashing loot in farmlands and hidden bank accounts, Buni also said.

He, however, stated that the APC-led administration is open to positive and constructive contributions to resolving the countrys economic challenges.

He further assured Nigerians that the Buhari administration is already employing all legitimate and innovative means to restore the countrys economy to health in the quickest possible time.

The results of the fiscal and economic agendas embarked by the President Buhari administration to tackle the effects of the countrys diminishing crude oil revenues, falling value of the Naira and resuscitate the economy will be evident soon, the APC scribe added.

The party, therefore, called for patience and cooperation from Nigerians as the APC-led administration works to pull the country out of the present hardships and restore the country on the growth path.
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Partys Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, on Thursday, expressed confidence that postponement of the Edo State governorship election would not affect the partys chances at the polls.

He stated this while speaking with newsmen in his home in Nasarawa, Nasarawa state.

The governorship poll, earlier slated to hold September 10, was postponed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to September 28 on the advice of security agencies over alleged security threat.

Mr. Jibrin said that PDP would win the election on the rescheduled date, and urged the partys supporters and electorate not to be deterred by the postponement.

He also urged them to remain loyal and sustain their confidence in the party.

Whatever led to the postponement of the election cannot stop the rainy days; what God has planned has already been planned and no man can change the outcome.

With what we have seen on ground and by all signs we have seen, whether the Edo state governorship election has been postponed 10 times or 20 times, PDP will still win the election, he asserted.

The BoT chair insisted that PDP was going to win the polls, saying there is no doubt about it.

So, we have no quarrel with anybody shifting the election; it is good for us and we are still on ground because what God has planned has been planned.

I want to call on our party supporters and other electorate not to be deterred by the postponement but to remain united and vote PDP in order to enjoy the much-needed dividend of democracy, he added.

On the leadership crisis rocking the party, Jibrin said it was being resolved amicably without fighting and quarrelling so as to make the party stronger.

The BoT and other stakeholders of the party are working tirelessly to bring back and unite all the aggrieved members so as to make the party stronger as well as to enable it win all positions in future elections, he stated.

He also assured the members that the party would provide a level-playing ground to those aspiring for positions to realise their ambitions.

The BoT chairman urged Nigerians, especially youths, to be law-abiding, respect constituted authority and live in peace, tolerating one another irrespective of ethnic, religion and political affiliations.
The Federal Government has berated the Peoples Democratic Party for demanding the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, said the PDP was shameless.

He described the former ruling party a shameless irritant, which was bent on distracting the government from its rescue mission and returning the country to Egypt.

Mohammed stated, We are on a rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma, and the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts. But we are not deterred.

The minister said if the PDP had understood the meaning of shame; it would not have dared to even make a single comment on the economy that it did everything to kill.

He added, While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.

Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari Administration which is left to pack their mess.

PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation.

Mohammed said what the PDP had consistently put up as a vibrant economy under its watch was nothing but a bubble that was buoyed by massive corruption and chronic incompetence.

According to him, under the PDP government, someone without any known means of earned livelihood will boast of $31.5m.

He stated, They keep saying we should stop talking of the past, yet the past will not stop rearing its head. They keep saying we should no longer refer to the past, but how can we forget so soon that our foreign exchange reserves plummeted from $62bn in 2008 to $30bn by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of $114 per barrel in 2014.

By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from $60bn in 2008 to $120bn in 2015.

The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we wont repeat the mistake.

Take the excess crude account which fell from about $9bn in 2007 to about $2bn in 2015. The argument that it was the State Governors that depleted the account does not hold water since there were Governors in place when the account was being built up.

Worse still is the fact that up to $14bn in revenues from Nigerian LNG remains unaccounted for and indeed until the Buhari Administration came to office, State Governments never got any allocations from this source of funds which properly belongs to the Federation Account.

The naked fact on the revenue front is that there was just a failure of leadership. This was compounded by the non-transparent uses of funds. We are all witnesses to the sacking of a Central Bank Governor because he raised an alarm about $20bn that had gone missing.

We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDPs watch, with $15bn stolen from the defence sector alone.

Perhaps most painful is that because of the way funds (about $322m) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, we now have to accept conditionalities before our stolen assets are even returned to us.

Source: Punch
The Police in Anambra State Police has said that it arrested eight suspects on Wednesday in connection with an attack on Nigerian Television Authority station in Onitsha.

It would be recalled that, the station was bombarded by unknown gunmen at the early hours of Wednesday burning down some equipment before being repelled by the police officers on duty.

Confirming the arrests, the State Police Commissioner, Mr Sam Okaula, said with the gates locked, the suspects made their way through the bush and set the Star Times store and a toilet on fire.

Mr Okaula also noted that they left a locally made explosive device at the security post and tried to detonate it with gunshots.

He added that the Anti Bomb Squad have defused the device and promised to beef up security in the area.
The United Kingdoms ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Simon Collis, has performed Hajj after recently converting to Islam.

The diplomat was pictured with his wife in the traditional white garments of the annual pilgrimage, which is compulsory for all Muslims to perform at least once in their lives.

Mr Collis has been posted in Riyadh, Saudis capital, since 2015.

He is the first British ambassador to perform Hajj. He is married to Huda al-Mujarkech, a Syrian Muslim.

He has previously served as Britains ambassador to Iraq, Bahrain and Syria  where he was kicked out by President Bashar al-Assad in 2012 when diplomatic relations collapsed in the face of the growing Syrian civil war.He has also served in positions in Tunisia, India, Yemen and the UAE.

He said that he had converted to Islam after spending 30 years in Muslim societies.

The cities of Medina and Mecca are off-limits to non-Muslims on the basis of a verse in the Koran. In terms of Hajj specifically, the pilgrimage is so over-subscribed that the Saudi authorities only issue visas to a proportion of those who apply each year.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday admitted that the current recession requires out-of-the-box thinking to deploy strategies that involve engaging meaningfully with the private sector to raise the level of private sector investment in the economy as a whole.

He stated this at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja at the ministerial retreat on the economy and the budget, with the theme Building Inter-ministerial Synergy for Effective Planning and Budgeting in Nigeria.

The president expressed optimism that the level of private investment would grow as his administration was determined to make it easier to do business in Nigeria by the reforms being introduced under the auspices of the Presidential Committee on Ease of Doing Business.

He said his government would continue to strategize on how to turn the current challenges into opportunities for the nation and especially for our vibrant youth on whose shoulders lies the future of this nation.

Buhari noted that this is the reason behind his administrations decision to embark on measures and actions that will open up opportunities that have been identified in Power, Housing, Agriculture, Mining, Trade and Investment, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Tourism, Transport and other sectors.

He specifically assured the youth that his government would remain steadfast in its effort to ensure greater progress and prosperity for them.

President Buhari observed that over the years, there had been a mismatch between planned targets and budgetary outcomes at the national and sectorial levels, adding that The Federal MDAs have not also benefited significantly from working together and building consensus around common national objectives. This has impeded growth and development of the country.

It is in this context that this retreat has been designed to discuss issues around the State of the Economy and build consensus amongst cabinet members and top government officials, he said.

He said the retreat would also serve as an opportunity to have a general overview of the economy and discuss the framework for the 2017 budget, its key priorities and deliverables.

Mr. Buhari said the retreat was coming at a critical time in the nations economic history when the Nigerian economy is in a recession, with significant downturn in performance in various sectors.

It is with regard to the importance of this retreat that I decided to sit through the first part of the session to listen to the views from experienced economists and development experts on how best to implement our plans to rid the country of its oil dependence and to diversify the economy and bring the country out of the current economic recession.

This is in line with our administrations determination to lay a solid foundation for growth and development as outlined in the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) of our Change Agenda.

Given that this retreat is a lead-up to the 2017 budget, my expectation is that we will come out of the these sessions with a determination and common position on how to have improved synergy amongst the various Ministries and Departments for the effective formulation and implementation of the 2017 Budget.

I also trust that the breakout sessions will enable you to discuss extensively amongst yourselves, the details of the four sub-themes and come up with practical solutions on the way forward in order to come out with a set of prioritized projects and programmes that will fit into the 2017 budget.

The president stressed that in 2017, because of the need to focus on key priorities, some ministries might get significantly less capital allocation than they received in 2016, while others may get significantly more.

He continued: You may notice that some key non-spending agencies, such as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), are participants at this Retreat.

This deliberate inclusion underscores the commitment of this Administration to leverage on private sector resources, through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and other arrangements, in order to augment the scarce budgetary resources at our disposal and to accelerate investments in building critical infrastructure.

He said while the government was taking the lead in the task of repositioning the economy for change, it could achieve this completely by itself.

We will need, and we ask for the support and cooperation of the private sectors domestic and foreign investors, the states and local governments, the National Assembly and the Judiciary as well as all well-meaning Nigerians in this important task. We are confident that working together, we shall succeed.

Finally, I trust that the cabinet members will learn from the experiences of the Resource persons and facilitators to prioritise their sector programmes and projects to bring the country out of the current economic recession and place it on the path of growth and development.

I therefore urge the Honourable Ministers and other senior government officials here present, to actively participate in the Second Technical Session, which I believe will provide you with deeper insight into the complex issues that will open opportunities for you to identify critical priority projects and programmes for the 2017 budget, he added.

The president said he was confident that ministers and senior government officials would benefit immensely from the experts expertise and wealth of experience.

He wished all the participants fruitful deliberations, saying he looked forward to receiving the report of the retreat.
A gubernatorial candidate representing the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the rescheduled governorship election in Edo state, Osaro Onaiwu, has called for further shift of the exercise to Oct. 1, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had last week announced the rescheduled date for Saturday, Sept. 28, following insecurity alert by security agencies.

Mr. Onaiwu told journalists in Benin that a further shift in the date of poll was necessary as Sept. 28 was the day students sitting for the ongoing General Certificate of Education (GCE) across the country would write Physics.

He said Oct.1 was the earliest possible date for the election. Mr. Onaiwu said the shift would afford eligible voters among the students to participate in the election.

According to him, education is number one pillar in APGAs manifesto, and the authorities must be wary of threats from some of the students that they would sue INEC if they were prevented from voting in the election.
Limit up on Wheat? Banghart Properties - Sat Oct 29, 7:09PM CDT News broke over the weekend that could help wheat trade limit up when it reopens.

Rains in the Plains, Dow soars Sidwell Strategies - Sat Oct 29, 8:38AM CDT 1st winter wheat ratings Monday; consider carbon for cash flow during drought

Open Enrollment 101: Make the Most of Your Benefits Young & The Invested - Sat Oct 29, 6:00AM CDT The 2022 open enrollment season will be a difficult one as workers have to factor in persistently high inflation while they choose their coverage. These tips can help you maximize your benefits.

Cattle Market Fades on Friday Barchart - Fri Oct 28, 4:39PM CDT Live cattle futures ended the weeks last trade day down by 35 cents to $1.02 with soon to expire October down the most. Cash trade picked up later in the week with some Friday catch up sales mostly... LEV22 : 150.375s (-0.68%) LEZ22 : 153.000s (-0.28%) LEG23 : 156.325s (-0.33%) GFX22 : 177.875s (-0.14%) GFF23 : 180.375s (-0.04%)

Hogs Rebound into Weekend Barchart - Fri Oct 28, 4:39PM CDT Lean hog futures ended the Friday round with 32 to 97 cent gains to fade the triple digit losses from Thursday. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price was $90.54 in the PM update, down by $1.15. The... HEZ22 : 86.100s (+1.15%) HEJ23 : 92.700s (+0.62%) KMZ22 : 96.125s (+0.37%)

Cotton Falls Triple Digits Barchart - Fri Oct 28, 4:39PM CDT December cotton ended the day locked limit lower on the 3c loss. The March contract worked back off the limit for the bell, but still went home down by 274 points. For the week, Dec cotton closed 702 points... CTZ22 : 72.11s (-3.99%) CTH23 : 72.07s (-3.66%) CTK23 : 72.30s (-2.99%)

Loss for Friday Wheat Barchart - Fri Oct 28, 4:39PM CDT Wheat futures faded on Friday with the front month contracts going home 6 1/4 to 9 1/4 cents lower in SRW. For the December contract that completed the week with a 21 1/2 cent loss. KC futures closed down... ZWZ22 : 829-2s (-1.10%) ZWH23 : 849-0s (-1.05%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.6281 (-1.18%) KEZ22 : 925-0s (-0.78%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.8324 (-0.81%) MWZ22 : 945-0s (-0.58%)
Elon Musk notably sounded the alarm about potentially catastophic artificial intelligence. As concern grows, Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tunas funding outfit is also paying attention, with several recent grants focused on the risks of AI, including one for $5.5 million.

Artificial intelligence research is booming, and the field has drawn a ton of private funds as a result, especially surrounding the race to bring autonomous vehicles to market. But a smaller research priority involves heading off enormous risks at stake as humanity creeps toward the advent of advanced artificial intelligence.

To paraphrase the great Dr. Ian Malcolm, theres more research being devoted to whether we could, than there is to whether we should. As it looks increasingly likely that humans could develop machine intelligence that outperforms our own, how do we make sure it doesnt pose a serious threat to humanity?

The latest funder to make this a chief concern is the Open Philanthropy Project, anchored by the wealth of Dustin Moskovitz and Cari Tuna, which this year bumped up artificial intelligence risk to near the top of its priority list. This has led to its biggest grant to the field yet, $5.5 million toward the launch of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence, led by UC Berkeley prof and AI pioneer Stuart Russell.

The center brings together other leading AI researchers from Berkeley, Cornell, and the University of Michigan to explore how we can ensure that the behavior of AI systems will align with human values. Other funders of the center are Elon Musk grantee Future of Life Institute and the UK-based Leverhulme Trust.

The Open Philanthropy Project is kind of a confusing entity, reminding us that transparency doesnt always translate to clarity. Its a joint project of Good Ventures and GiveWellthe former is the philanthropy of Moskovitz and Tuna, the latter a nonprofit that evaluates causes for donors and has been sort of a standard bearer for the effective altruism movement of philanthropy.

Related:Here's What Philanthropy Looks Like When Millennials From Tech and Finance Get Together

The two entities had been working very closely, with GiveWell pointing Good Ventures toward funding opportunities, and in 2014, made it official by calling their joint work the Open Philanthropy Project. One goal is to create a platform that engages other funders in learning and grantmaking. As we've reported, Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger and wife Kaitlyn are also involved with OPP.

Related: "Safer, Stronger Communities." A YoungTechCoupleEmbracesCriminalJusticeReform

Anyway, not long ago, GiveWells main guy Holden Karnofsky decided he was fully on board with the issue of AI risk, and the Open Philanthropy Project has given around $7.5 million total to the issue to date. The broader context is OPP's ongoing exploration of global catastrophic risks. It describes that work this way: "Governments and corporations arent necessarily incentivized to focus on preparing for potentially globally disruptive events, so were seeking opportunities to help civilization become more robust." Biosecurity and pandemic preparedness is the other top issue on OPP's radar.

Karnofsky, like a lot of people, was skeptical at first when it came to viewing AI as a catastrophic threat that should be considered alongside biological pandemics. It had been something of an obsession among the effective altruism community, which is made up of a lot of young tech guys, but gained more mainstream attention when high-profile people like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking expressed their deep concerns that AI might one day be the end of humanity.

Musk gave $10 million to the Future of Life Institute to research what hes called humanitys biggest existential threat. The institute boasts many highly respected researchers and has been building critical mass around this issue, hosting events and releasing open letters about risks surrounding artificial intelligence, such as creation of autonomous weapons. That letter has garnered more than 20,000 signatories to date.

Open Philanthropy Project has also funded the Future of Life Institute, which in part won over GiveWells Karnofsky to the cause and in turn prompted this latest grant to create something of a research foothold on the topic.

The new center builds on the research interests of Stuart Russell, who wrote a definitive text on AI and has been a vocal advocate for making sure it is designed to be beneficial. Russells concern is that, if machines reach a certain highly advanced level of intelligence, we need to be certain their functions are in alignment with human values. One philosophical example hes cited imagines telling a machine to make some paperclips, only to have it turn the entire planet into a junkyard of paperclips. A less dramatic example might be telling a machine to clean the bathroom, only to have it use a white dress to do so, not realizing the value of the dress is higher than the cleanliness of the bathroom. Russell suggests designing AI to learn human values by observing our behavior.

Whether youre an effective altruist or not, theres a solid argument that this is a worthy opening for private philanthropy. Its a risky, still emerging area of research, and one that doesnt have a lot of other money lined up behind it. Its also a field thats evolving very rapidly, and could benefit from philanthropys potential flexibility relative to government funding. And even though industry is putting a lot of funds behind AI, profit motives make them far more likely to heedlessly race to the finish, corporations not being known as champions of caution.

Theres also the fact that, even when supplied by easy targets like tech billionaires, high-profile funding will chip away at the Terminator Factor, a term I just made up that describes how everyone who talks about this issue inevitably makes a dumb joke about The Terminator. See even I just did it. Its a challenge to get people to take this stuff more seriously, and funding can help move it out of the margins.

Related:
On August 21, 2016, John Oliver stepped into the heated debate around charter schools. His segment reported on mismanagement and misspending at charter schools in several states. It also called into question the free market approach advocated by some in the charter school community. How? By, among other things, hilariously swiping at former presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasichs comparison between schools and pizzerias.

In response, the Center for Education Reforma charter school advocacy outfit funded by big names such as the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundationhas launched a $100,000 competition called Hey John Oliver! Back off My Charter School! in which it is soliciting responses to Olivers segment from charter schools around the country. The organization has noted that funding for this particular campaign will come from program funds that it collects from over 1000 donors each year. That said, these big-name funders have a long history of supporting advocacy efforts for charter schools and this effort is just the latest salvo in a long-running battle that is reaching its 25th year.

As the charter school advocacy movement comes of age, even the founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, Jeanne Allen, has tough words for its leaders. She notes that charter reformers have become our own worst enemy and that their agenda comes across as narrow, hollow and hostile. Earlier this summer, Allen released a white paper calling for a new direction for the charter school movement while calling into the question the money and muscle of funders and the organizations they sponsor to struggle every day to defend what already exists.

From 1991 to 2000, 36 laws were enacted governing the creation of new charter schools and two creating new full school choice programs. Since then, progress seems to have slowed and funders like Gates and Walton are beginning to ask why, even as they continue to cut checks. Part of this trend is obviously due simply to the initial ramp-up and early novelty of the movement when it was just getting started. Still, with all of this investment from major philanthropic institutions and withering critiques from major media figures like Oliver, many in the movement are questioning why it feels like more was accomplished in the early years of the movement than in the recent past.

As much as Olivers segment highlighted important distinctions between how charter schools and district schools operate, a 2015 report by the Mind Trust, a charter advocacy organization based in Indianapolis, found that most charters very closely resemble their district school counterparts despite claims about innovation in the sector. This is fueled by risk-averse authorizers and philanthropists who place big bets on well-established models, such as charter management organizations (CMOs), as opposed to radical new ideas.

Despite the mixed record for charters over the past quarter century, as noted by Oliver, major foundation dollars have flowed big time towards charters and away from traditional public schools. In fact, funding for charters increased from 3 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2010, while it was cut in half for district schools over the same period, according to Michigan State University researchers Sarah Reckhow and Jeffrey Snyder.

But we wonder what more recent data might show. As we've reported, some emerging big ed funders like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are looking beyond charters as they plot to reinvent American education. Personalized learning is one idea with the potential to edge aside charters in the competition for funder dollars, with major attention from Zuckerberg and Gates, as well as others from the tech philanthropy community.

A great many of the new activist philanthropists coming on the scene are focused on scalable solutions. Yet, as we've noted before, charters have struggled on this front. While large shares of students in some poor cities are now in charters, these schools still only educate 5 percent of all K-12 studentsafter 25 years of effort and billions of dollars in donor backing. Scaling the charters that are actually good is even harder.

If you're a young tech type looking at what new solution might sweep over and remake the K-12 landscape, it's not clear you'd see charters as an obvious candidate. How enthusiastic do you think Silicon Valley VCs might be about a product that had captured only 5 percent of market share after a quarter-century? At this point, funding charters looks more a bit more akin to backing direct services than fomenting a disruptive revolution.

All of which is to say that you can understand why charter backers might be so sensitive about John Olivers humorous broadside. As we've reported, the biggest charter funders have lately doubled down, but there's a growing struggle underway for the hearts and minds of new funders coming on the scene.
The facility manager at a Dollar Self Storage location in Corona, Calif., has been charged with seven counts of felony embezzlement and two counts of petty theft. Kimberly Mae Herrera, 57, was arrested on Sept. 2. She is accused of stealing nearly $18,000 from the company during a three-month period in 2015, according to the source.

Herrera, who managed the property at 1065 E. Third St., allegedly failed to deposit cash collected for rent payments. Bank and business records indicate the manager filled out bank-deposit slips for collected cash, check and credit cards on nine occasions but failed to make the night drop, according to the arrest warrant.

The warrant also indicates Herrera signed a promissory note to pay Dollar $15,165.05 in monthly $100 increments, but its unclear from court records if she made any payments, the source reported. Police calculated Dollars total loss at $17,936.25.

Herrera was released from jail after posting $5,000 bail. She is scheduled to enter pleas on Nov. 3.

Dollar operates 16 self-storage facilities in Arizona, California and Nevada. It has two properties in Corona.
The United Kingdom will provide assistance to Ukraine in reforming the customs sector and the judicial system.

"We've agreed that the UK will consistently assist us in the reform of our customs system and the introduction of a parliamentary system of transparency," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson, in turn, expressed his support for the reforms.

"We will contribute to the reform of the tax system, a few of our prominent experts, including tax attorneys, will work in Ukraine," he said.

Johnson said the parties also discussed the reform of the judiciary, providing the transparency and integrity of the parliament.
Safeguard Self Storage, which operates facilities throughout the eastern states, has completed the conversion of a former health club to self-storage in Massapequa, N.Y. Its the companys 69th storage property overall and 25th in the state.

The former Sunrise Health & Racquet club at 6000 Sunrise Highway is across from Westfield Sunrise Mall and 12 miles east of Safeguards West Hempstead, N.Y., facility. It comprises 59,725 rentable square feet of storage space in 689 units. Property amenities include climate-controlled and drive-up units, computer-controlled access, individual unit alarms and video cameras. The site is managed by facility manager Andrew Kosiewska and Kimeta Imeri, assistant manager.

"Safeguard is excited about continuing its expansion in New York and feels this store will be a great addition to its already large portfolio there, said Jim Goonan, senior vice president of development.

During the facilitys development, Safeguard received tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, which helps businesses relocate, expand and finance new investments nationwide. The agency granted the storage operator a $333,141 sales-tax exemption and a property-tax break that freezes the tax rate for five years, followed by a 1.66 percent increase in each of the next five years and a 2 percent increase in the final five years.

Safeguard has several other projects under development, including two in Chicago, five in Florida and three in New York.

We have been in the New York market since building our first self-storage facility there 15 years ago in 2001, said Ken Finlay, senior vice president of operations. These 25 stores, and the three additional stores in development, give Safeguard one of the strongest brand presences in New York and help us serve our customers there well.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Atlanta, Safeguard operates facilities in Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The company is owned and operated by Morgan Stanleys Prime Property Fund.
@targanl CLARENVILLE (September 14, 2016)  Targa Newfoundland reached the halfway mark in this years 15th annual tarmac rally today. Blue skies and warm temperatures made for an excellent day of competition on the Bonavista peninsula.

The day began with the Lethbridge stage followed by stages in the communities of Brooklyn, Lockston, and Trouty. Crews stopped for lunch at the Trinity Parish Hall midday, which is a favorite spot for many of the competitors each year the lunch is held there. After the second stage in Trinity, competitors then headed to stages in Champneys East, English Harbour, and finally completed the grueling day of 11 high-pressure stages in Port Rexton.

In Lethbridge, the Newfoundland team of Gordon Maxwell and navigator Wayne Lorenzen in their 2008 Mitsubishi Evo had an incident where the vehicle slide off course. The driver was given on-site medical attention and then transported to hospital. He has since been released, however will not continue in the competition. The navigator will continue on tomorrow in a different vehicle, a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta, in the Fast Tour division, which is the non-competitive portion of the Targa.

Andrew Comrie-Picard identified an engine issue in his 1996 Mitsubishi Evo 4 that has taken him out of the running for the time being. He is hoping to rejoin the event in the morning. John Robinson, of Nova Scotia, switched out his 1995 BMW M3 for a 2007 Chevy Suburban (their former service vehicle) this morning after engine issues also took him out of the event. He too is now in Fast Tour for the remainder of the event. And early this evening, one of the founding members of Targa Newfoundland, Doug Mepham, also had terminal engine issues in his MINI that has caused him to withdrawal from the event.

After three days of competition, and with multiple engine failures, the standings are starting to sort themselves out. In Targas Open division, there is still a very tight battle between defending champion Jean Luc Bergeron, multiple Targa winner Mike Davenport, and the two Lognay teams out of Quebec, all battling for the top spot. In Modern division, it still is neck and neck between defending champion Billy Anderson and John Hume Jr. In Classic, there are six teams within seconds of each other for the lead in that division. And in Grand Touring, the battle between John Hume Sr. and the Damms of Oregon is still going strong.

Tomorrow Targa heads to the northern portion of the Bonavista peninsula, starting off with a double stage of both Open Hall and Tickle Cove. The competition then proceeds to stages in Kings Cove, Keels, and Melrose. The day continues with two stages in Trinity Bay North, and concludes in the community of Little Catalina.

Owned and operated by Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited, Targa Newfoundland is one of three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world. The 2016 competition will start in St. Johns on September 12th and conclude back in the capital on September 16th. The rally will cover more than 1,600 kilometers of challenging roads in the central and eastern portions of Newfoundland. It includes over 440 kilometers of closed-road, flat-out Targa stages.

Contact:

Media: Robyn Quinn 709-727-8536 robyn@targanl.com

Competitors: Darren Sheppard 1-877-332-2413 registrar@targanewfoundland.com

Websites: targanfld.com  www.facebook.com/targanl  www.twitter.com/targanl  www.instagram.com/targa_nl

From: Darren Sheppard/ General Manager

Enjoy Targa: Watch from a Safe and Secure Place

Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited

303 Thorburn Road, Suite 2-D, St. Johns, Newfoundland & Labrador,

Canada. A1B 4R1

Tel: 709-722-2413 Tel: 877-332-2413 Fax: 709-753-7646

[targanfld.com]targanfld.com

www.facebook.com/targanl

www.twitter.com/targanl
This content is from: Opinion

Cryptos descent into hell, rather than sending institutional investors straight for the exits, has triggered a hunt for the next big bet.(Part of the crypto column series.)
On the surface, Rachael Palmer and her husband Richard appear to own the typical insurance broking business. Based on the high street in Clitheroe, Lancashire , Eden Insurance Services has just four members of staff and focuses on commercial business and personal lines  in Rachaels words if you name it, we will insure it.Sadly, however, it is these typical businesses that appear to have been stung the hardest by the SSP outage and the ongoing issue of getting brokers back online.We have our emails linked up to our phone and we thought we havent had any emails this weekend, thats really strange, said Rachael Palmer in an exclusive interview with Insurance Business UK, recounting the events of the weekend of August 26. Then we came in on the Tuesday morning after the Bank Holiday and found nothing worked.Palmer declares she has definitely lost business over the outage and adds that she doesnt believe for a second that 90% of brokers are now back online. However, the most disappointing aspect of this stressful time has been the lack of communication.There was nothing on their website straight away, she said. It was only when I rang up and asked why I couldnt log in that I heard a message on their answering service saying thered been a power outage, were working on it and well let you know.At the start you got an email twice a day but they faded out. You ring someone and try and get hold of somebody and youre waiting 40mins before you get through. I appreciate everyone is trying to ring and get information but those patronising emails from Lawrence are just ridiculous, as is the fact that no-one from SSP has actually called and said we know, were sorry, but were working on it and you matter. If I treated my customers the way that I have been treated by SSP I wouldnt have any customers.For Palmer, however, the problems with SSP far outdate the recent outage. Eden Insurance made the switch to the Pure system several years ago and she points to a host of problems ever since.For the first 12 months it was an absolute nightmare, she said.Nothing worked, essentially. Ive had people from Premium Credit ringing me and asking me how to do something on the SSP system.The finance integration didnt work, its so complicated to set up your own risk screens, and unless you know how to do double entry book-keeping its very complicated to manage accounts. I do all my accounts manually  I wouldnt want SSP to have control of that.Palmer believes that SSPs focus is on larger brokers and that there is a lack of support for companies like her own that are smaller and work on the high street.They were angling things towards companies like Swinton , she said. I dont know if Swinton are still on the system, but as an example if they wanted something they would get it and there were no conversations with brokers like how would you feel about this if we changed it from A to B. We are not the ones giving them vast quantities of money at the end of the month.We once got an email from Premium Credit saying SSP are increasing your rates by 0.25% - SSP didnt tell me that. So if we used the integrated system we were going to get charged more. So we said forget that, well just do it with the finance house so we dont get charged the difference. Everywhere theyre trying to cut down  even having to pay for registration look-ups for vehicles and postcodes and things like that is just obscene in my mind.They are not doing anything to support local brokers or to make the system more user-friendly.Despite this, Palmer plans to stay with SSP pointing to the difficulties with the migration of data, the overall cost and the problems with training staff on a new system as the reasons to stick with the devil you know.However, she firmly believes that SSP needs to take action to ensure that brokers are compensated for what has happened over the last month as she is still unable to fully access her system even though she can now get into client records again.As an absolute minimum there should be no charge at all for September, she said. But they have to do more than that. I could try to put a monetary value on the business I have lost  but its so hard to do.Certainly though, they have to be in with the FCA and taking absolute responsibility so there is no comeback on brokers.
There is a change coming through the cyber insurance market in Australia as buying habits continue to track in the right direction, according to a pair of industry experts.Cyber risk is front-of-mind for industries across the spectrum and businesses are starting to shift focus away from defense towards dealing with the aftermath of an attack.Andrew Taylor, cyber and management liability product head for Australia and New Zealand at Chubb , said that the industry in Australia is continually changing.There is certainly a change coming through the Australian market on this section of this risk, Taylor told Insurance Business of the cyber market.Businesses are starting to understand that this is not something that can be treated with front-end security; it is now mitigation. Risk transfer is a big part of it, also, and training and education of employees.We are certainly seeing a huge increase in the number of submissions and awareness I think it is a big change for how cyber is received in this market place.Tim Stapleton, vice president and cyber insurance product manager for overseas general insurance at Chubb, told Insurance Business that these changes have also had an impact on buying habits in the country.Whereas several years ago, it used to end at the interest level and that was about it, we are actually starting to see the buying behaviour pick up and increase, Stapleton said of the cyber market.Now we are seeing an increase in where there was an interest level in potentially buying a cyber policy, people have been educating themselves a little bit more, they have been speaking with their brokers, they have been talking to carriers and that is actually starting to translate into actual purchasing behaviour.Stapleton noted that one type of attack is on the rise in Australia and firms need expertise across the cyber spectrum to deal with different styles of cyber incident.Ransomware attacks are generally on the rise form a frequency perspective in Australia, Stapleton continued.In the majority of cases that we have spoken to from our outside vendor partners, we have been advised that only in a minority of cases are ransoms actually being paid out.With the likelihood of cyber attack ever increasing, Stapleton said businesses should start a cyber attack response plan with a risk management focus and look at the crown jewels of their business and work from there.Once identified, businesses need to bring together leaders from all areas of the company, alongside experts from external sources such as law firms, PR firms and forensic investigators, to help deal with the varied fallout from an event. The PR issues in particular must be closely monitored.You look at the reputational impact of it and that is why it is very important to work with a third party public relations firm to try to control and stem the reputational damage that could result from one of these types of attacks, Stapleton continued.The fallout could go to customer churn or a decrease in stock price or just the general value of the company. It is more of a long-term reputational impact and that is why it is very important that companies realise that.
Uber riders in Pittsburgh can get a glimpse of the future by summoning a car capable of handling most of the tasks of driving on its own.

Starting Wednesday morning, a fleet of self-driving Ford Fusions will pick up Uber riders who opted to participate in a test program. While the vehicles are loaded with features that allow them to navigate on their own, an Uber engineer will sit in the drivers seat and seize control if things go awry.

Ubers test program is the latest move in an increasingly heated race between tech companies in Silicon Valley and traditional automakers to perfect fully driverless cars for regular people. Competitors such as Volvo and Google have invested hundreds of millions of dollars and logged millions of miles test driving autonomous vehicles, but Uber is the first company in the U.S. to make self-driving cars available to the general public.

That pilot really pushes the ball forward for us, said Raffi Krikorian, Director of Uber Advanced Technologies Center (ATC) in Pittsburgh, the companys main facility for testing self-driving vehicles. We think it can help with congestion, we think it can make transportation cheaper and more accessible for the vast majority of people.

Removing the cost of the driver is one way to make rides more affordable. But that prospect didnt sit well with some Uber customers.

It scares me not to have a driver there with an Uber, said Claudia Tyler, a health executive standing near the entrance of an office in downtown Pittsburgh.

A reporter from The Associated Press tried out the service Monday. The ride through downtown Pittsburgh and over some bridges went smoothly, with the car waiting for oncoming traffic before making a turn and at one point stopping for a vehicle that was backing into a parking space. Parking, however, was a task the human driver had to perform.

Approaches to driverless technology differ. Google, a unit of Alphabet, and Ford Motor Co. want to perfect the fully driverless car  no steering wheel, no pedals  before letting the public climb in for a ride. Others are adding autonomous features in phases, while relying on the driver to take over in certain circumstances.

Many experts predict that it will be years, if not decades, before the public is being driven around in fleets of fully driverless vehicles under any condition.

Because vehicles are driving at seventy miles per hour on the highway, if something goes wrong, things could go wrong very bad, very quickly, said Carnegie Mellon engineering Professor Raj Rajkumar. This technology needs to be ultra-reliable before we can take the human out of the driving equation.

NuTonomy, a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, got the jump on Uber globally three weeks ago when it began picking up passengers in self-driving taxis in Singapore. The company said Tuesday that its six taxis  with backup drivers  havent had any accidents since the service launched.

The Uber vehicles are equipped with everything from seven traffic-light detecting cameras to a radar system that detects different weather conditions to 20 spinning lasers that generates a continuous, 360 degree 3-D map of the surrounding environment.

During the demonstration for reporters two engineers were seated in front  one ready to take control in case the car encountered a situation it couldnt handle, the other monitoring the cars 3D map and scribbling notes on how to improve the cars software. The engineers must undergo a week of safety orientation or more to drive the cars, with additional training as the vehicles continue to be refined.

Pittsburgh is a particularly good place to experiment, they said, because the city is a research hub of self-driving cars and has notoriously bad driving conditions, including snowstorms, rolling hills and a tangled network of aging roads and bridges. Uber executives are watching to see how the cars handle these challenges before saying when fully driverless vehicles will be ready to hit the roads.

We actually think of Pittsburgh as the double black diamond of driving, Krikorian said. If we can really tackle Pittsburgh, that we have a better chance of tackling most other cities around the world.

Pennsylvania also lacks stringent testing regulations at the moment, unlike other driverless car-testing venues such as California. The Uber trial is perfectly legal under current state law, Pennsylvania officials said.

Theres no requirement that you be touching the steering wheel, said Kurt J. Myers, deputy secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. But there is a requirement that you are a licensed driver and that you are in the drivers seat.

A task force commissioned by the state is expected to make policy recommendations in November.

Uber officials hope the initial trial will teach them how to ease public fears of adopting the bleeding-edge technology.

The Pittsburgh pilot is our opportunity for real world testing, so that we can learn more about what makes riders feel safe and comfortable, said Uber product manager Emily Bartel.

Ubers Silicon Valley roots means it tends to pivot quickly and plan, experiment, and adjust direction within weeks, in contrast to longtime carmakers like General Motors or Toyota who have yearlong timelines when bringing out new features, Rajkumar and Uber officials said. When the drivers are removed from front seats, the cars will likely be restricted to driving in specific locations under good conditions at first.

Id probably give them a little bit and let them work their kinks out, Patrick Holland, a Philadelphia-area student, said right before getting into a human-driven Uber. But I think a product thats well tested and its proven to work and safe  I think thats where were heading, and I think Ill eventually find myself in a driverless vehicle.

Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Auto Tech Pennsylvania
Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. (PIANY), a trade association representing professional, independent insurance agencies, brokerages and their employees throughout the state of New York, elected John C. Parsons II as president at a recent meeting of the associations board of directors.

Parsons is the executive vice president of Parsons & Associates, a Syracuse, N.Y., based insurance and risk management firm. He is a third generation professional independent agent, succeeding his father and grandfather as president of PIANY.

Parsons has been an active member of PIANYs board of directors since 2006, where he served as treasurer from 2010 to 2011, vice president from 2011 to 2014, first vice president from 2014 to 2015 and, most recently, as president elect in 2015 and 2016.

He is vice president of the Government Affairs and Nominations Committees and a member of the Executive/Budget & Finance and Company/Industry Relations Committees. Additionally, he is chair of the associations Syracuse Advisory Council.

Source: PIANY

Topics Agencies New York
The Lloyds of London insurance market has a queue of companies wanting to join, Chairman John Nelson said on Monday, even as Britains vote to leave the European Union casts doubt over its European business.

Nelson said last week that Lloyds, the worlds leading specialty insurance market, would have to operate some business from the EU after Brexit if Britain fails to keep so-called passporting rights for financial companies to sell products across the bloc.

A decision on where those operations might be based has yet to be made, but the Brexit uncertainty has not deterred would-be entrants to the market, Nelson told Reuters at the reinsurance industrys annual meeting in Monte Carlo.

The pipeline of people wanting to join the Lloyds platform is still very healthy, he said. There are quite a few whod like to come on, its a very attractive platform.

Recent entrants have come from Brazil, China, Mexico, the United States. From inside the EU, Frances AXA joined this year as part of its effort to expand in Africa in areas such as political risk.

Nelson did not name any potential newcomers but said they covered a broad geographical spread and comprised businesses looking to set up new operations or buy one of the markets existing 90 or so syndicates.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) could be one such acquirer and is reported to be in talks to buy U.S. insurer AIGs Lloyds operations.

About 11 percent of the 25 billion pounds ($33.28 billion) in gross written premiums at Lloyds last year came from the EU, though Nelson said that some of that was reinsurance business, which is less dependent on passporting rights.

While Nelson thinks there is a good chance that Britain will lose its passporting rights, he also believes that some agreement can still be reached because European companies want to continue selling their products in Britain.

A lot of EU businesses are on exactly the same page as we are, he said. ($1 = 0.7513 pounds)

(Editing by David Goodman)

Topics Excess Surplus Europe Lloyd's
Tesla Motors Inc. said it has no way of knowing whether its Autopilot system was involved in a crash in China that killed the driver because the car was too damaged to transmit data.

A court in Beijings Chaoyang district has accepted a lawsuit filed in July against Tesla by the family of the 23-year-old driver who died in January, state-run China Central Television reported. The family has asked for 10,000 yuan ($1,498) in compensation, according to the broadcaster, which aired dashboard footage of the Tesla hitting a cleaning truck from behind in the far-left lane on a highway in Hebei province.

We were saddened to learn of the death of our customers son, the Palo Alto, California-based company said. We have tried repeatedly to work with our customer to investigate the cause of the crash, but he has not provided us with any additional information that would allow us to do so.

Teslas Autopilot system has been under scrutiny following a May 7 fatal crash in Florida involving a 40-year-old Ohio man. In China, the worlds biggest auto market, regulators directed automakers in July to suspend road testing of self-driving cars while the government craft policies governing their use. Tesla altered the translation used to market Autopilot in China last month to clarify its a driving-assistance system, rather than a self-driving one, following a minor accident in Beijing.

Chinese companies including Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Baidu Inc. and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. have urged policy makers to speed up the process so that they dont fall behind competitors carrying out similar tests in other jurisdictions.

Topics Lawsuits China Tesla
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a message for doctors: The money youre taking from pharmaceutical companies may be clouding your judgment.

Research sites where Pfizer Inc. had paid doctors at least $25,000 in speaking, consulting or other fees reported sunnier results for its smoking-cessation drug Chantix, the FDA disclosed Monday. At those sites, doctors studying the drugs possible link to suicide risk and other behavior changes reported fewer side effects than at locations where colleagues accepted lower or no payments.

The FDAs findings  part of an agency review of Pfizers proposal to drop the most severe consumer warning on the drugs label  demonstrate the federal governments concern about the influence of consulting and speaking fees on medical decisions. President Obamas 2010 health law requires drug makers to report such payments for posting to a public database. The law followed years of efforts by U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to make drugmakers publicly disclose financial ties to doctors.

Blinded Study

James Rusnak, chief development officer for Pfizers cardiovascular and metabolic unit, said the Chantix study was blinded, meaning that doctors who helped conduct it didnt know whether patients were getting a drug or a placebo. Any doctors who might have downplayed side effects would have done so across the board and thus wouldnt affect the final outcome, he said.

The idea of blinded study is to remove bias, Rusnak said in an interview. Even if you have payments and even if those payments bias the investigators in favor of your drug, the investigator has no idea which is your drug. They can only guess.

Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, part of a coalition of consumer and other groups that petitioned to keep the warning on Chantix, said the FDA staff report shows that it doesnt trust the integrity of the data.

FDA clearly seems to be saying we cant trust the results of this study  the way it was coded, the way it was analyzed, and by the way theres conflicts of interest, Zuckerman said.

Safety Warnings

Outside experts are scheduled to meet Wednesday to advise the FDA about the necessity of the warning on Chantix. The pills black box label  the agencys strongest  currently cites risk of serious neuropsychiatric events such as suicidal thoughts or behavior. Chantix generated $671 million in sales last year, according to Pfizer.

In the FDA staff report, the agency offered an unusually pointed assessment of the payments and their relationship to doctors findings in the study. At two sites, the agency reported that doctors got as many as 60 separate honoraria for speaking engagements and consulting fees.

In sites where doctors received $25,000 or more from Pfizer, according to the FDA, only 1.8 percent of patients who had already been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder were reported to have side effects, such as anxiety, agitation, hostility or suicidal thoughts, during the study. At locations where physicians received less money or none at all, 6.4 percent of patients reported such problems.

The agency wasnt immediately able to provide exact details on what all of the payments were for, and the FDA staff report doesnt name the doctors who received payments.

The FDA routinely reviews the financial involvement of investigators at clinical trial sites for all applications, Michael Felberbaum, a spokesman for the agency, said in an e-mail. On a case-by-case basis, the agency does additional analyses to evaluate whether there is an impact in study outcomes.

Topics Drugs
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman welcomes the decision of the International Monetary Fund to allocate the next tranche to Ukraine.

"Funds tranche is not just an aid, which is necessary for the economy, it is also a signal to foreign investors that one can and should invest into the economy of Ukraine. We will have workspaces together with the investment," Groysman wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday night.

He also noted that the stabilization of the economic situation allows us to pose the question of raising social standards, "and we envisaged such decisions while forming the budget last week."
The state pressed on for more than a decade with civil fraud claims against a 91-year-old former chief executive of insurance company American International Group Inc. as a warning to other executives that wrongdoing wont go unpunished, a state attorney told a judge on Tuesday during a trials opening statements.

Assistant Attorney General David Ellenhorn said former AIG boss Maurice R. Greenberg was not your typical 91-year-old as he explained the states persistence in pursuing the case against him and the companys former chief financial officer.

Ellenhorn said he wanted to send a message to other top executives who may be much younger than Greenberg so they know you cannot manipulate the books of a public company to give a false impression of your company.

Greenberg is accused of manipulating AIGs accounting records in 2000 and 2001 to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from investors.

Ellenhorn called Greenberg, who sat with defense attorney David Boies, spry, active, vigorous and noted hed traveled recently to China and was running his own investment advisory firm.

Hes all over the place, Ellenhorn said.

Boies told state Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Ramos, who will decide the case without a jury, that Ellenhorn had not identified any witnesses or evidence to support his claims.

He relied exclusively on hearsay and speculation, Boies said. This case is devoid of any admissible evidence that ties Mr. Greenberg to anything.

Former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer made Greenberg one of his targets in his 2005 crackdown on Wall Street executives he believed cheated investors. Spitzer, a Democrat, later was elected as governor and resigned in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal.

When Boies cited the political nature of this case and referenced Mr. Spitzers outbursts of publicity about the case when he was attorney general, Ellenhorn objected. The judge let Boies proceed as Greenberg watched from the defense table.

The evidence we have is directly contrary to what they must prove, Boies said.

The state is seeking an order banning Greenberg from working in the securities industry or as an executive for any public company. It also is seeking $53 million, including bonuses Greenberg received during the period he is alleged to have manipulated the companys finances to hide losses.

Boies, who represented Democrat Al Gore after the 2000 U.S. presidential election against Republican George W. Bush, noted that Greenberg was praised by New York-based AIG when he left the company.

AIG, one of the worlds largest insurance companies, nearly collapsed in the fall of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis and received about $180 billion in bailout aid from the government.

The company paid a record $1.64 billion in February 2006 in a settlement of civil fraud charges with federal and New York state authorities, and it apologized for having deceived investors and regulators with misleading accounting practices stretching back two decades.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Reinsurance
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin plans to call lawmakers into session next week to cover West Virginias share of recovery costs after deadly floods in June caused about $300 million in damages.

Tomblin told reporters Tuesday that the administration is finalizing its damage totals. But in a worst case scenario, if the federal government will only cover 75 percent of the costs, the state would need to chip in about $75 million, he said.

The June 23 flooding killed 23 people in West Virginia, destroyed more than 2,100 homes, caused major damage to more than 1,300 others and inflicted minor damage on another 700. More than 8,800 households have applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid.

Part of the states share will likely come from the Rainy Day Fund, which has a $681.9 million balance. Those reserves have been tapped a few times in recent years to plug budget holes, largely due to falling tax money from the states depleted coal industry and from low natural gas prices.

FEMA has already approved $33.1 million in housing aid and $6.3 million for other individual needs.

The federal agency has said it would increase its cost share with the state from 75 to 90 percent if West Virginia can pinpoint about $254 million in damage costs or more.

Though the administration found about $300 million in damages, Tomblin said the higher federal cost-share isnt a guarantee.

Tomblin said hes also lobbying for West Virginia to be included in a congressional bill to aid Louisianas flood recovery.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is asking President Barack Obama for $2.8 billion in aid after floods damaged more than 84,000 homes in that state, many in the Baton Rouge area. More than 180,000 people there have registered for disaster aid.

Were doing our best to try to convince the White House to slide us in there to be able to do that, which would, I think, give us the 90-10 (cost-share), or at least itd be a direct appropriation to West Virginia, Tomblin said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood Virginia
A house fire that killed six children and three adults in Memphis was caused by an electrical malfunction in an air conditioning units power cord in the living room, authorities said.

The Memphis Fire Department released the cause of Monday mornings deadly fire as relatives and friends mourned their loved ones by hugging, crying and holding hands in prayer outside the house in a working class neighborhood in south Memphis.

Meanwhile, a 10th victim of the fire, a child, is fighting for life at a hospital.

Firefighters initially spotted light smoke outside the single-story wood-and-brick home when they arrived at 1:23 a.m. but encountered heavy smoke inside, Memphis Fire Services Director Gina Sweat said. The fire was brought under control in 19 minutes.

Fire crews found three adults and four children dead in the home, the fire department said. Two other children died after being taken in extremely critical condition to a childrens hospital, Sweat said.

One other child remains hospitalized, said Sweat, who called it the deadliest fire in Memphis since the 1920s. More recently, seven people died in a fire here in 2008, fire department spokesman Wayne Cooke said.

Investigators determined that the house did have a working smoke alarm, the fire department said. The inside of the home was charred, but the house didnt burn down and fire officials said only part of the house was affected by the fire.

The wooden-frame home has a brick facade and bars on some of its windows and doors. It wasnt immediately clear if those inside had tried to escape through the windows, Sweat said. Window bars present a danger for people trying to escape a house fire, though many window bars have releases that can open them from the inside, she said.

They could have been simply overcome by smoke and never had an opportunity to escape, she said.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland asked for prayers for family members of the dead, who werent identified Monday. Some of the victims had signs of smoke inhalation, while others had burns, according to authorities.

Its a very sad day, Strickland said. We are all in mourning.

Sweat went to the site and spoke with firefighters shocked by the loss of life.

You could feel the heavy in their hearts, and you could see the pain in their eyes, she said.

Hours after the fire, a woman knelt on the ground outside the home and wept. Other people hugged each other and prayed together along the street. A red motorized childrens toy truck and a red bicycle with no wheels sat outside of the home.

Felecia Wallace, 34, said she has known the family since she was in elementary school. She said she once needed bus fare to get to work and someone who lived in the house just gave it to her.

This is a loving family, Wallace said. If you needed anything, you could come right here. If you were hungry, you could come right here. If you needed a place to sleep, you could come right here.

A fund to help the family has been established at Regions Bank, under the name Toots Family Funds.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Business owners are anxious for federal health officials to lift a travel advisory warning pregnant women and their partners to avoid parts of Miami and South Beach that have been identified as zones of active transmission of the Zika virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it could lift its advisory for a 1-square-mile zone encompassing Miamis Wynwood neighborhood on Sept. 19 if no new locally contracted cases are confirmed, The Miami Herald reports.

Business owners and analysts say if Zika infections persist in Miami and a 1.5-square-mile portion of Miami Beach, visitors who have been waiting to make reservations in Miami-Dade County may turn elsewhere. The Wynwood Business Improvement District has asked the city of Miami for money to compensate for Zikas impact.

Cancellations since the first local Zika infection was confirmed in Wynwood in late July have forced Felipe Correa to lay off one employee from his company running tours in Miami, Key West and the Everglades.

My Miami tour basically collapsed  all of my pre-arrival reservations canceled, said Correa.

Connecticut resident Coco Lewis decided to move her annual birthday party from South Beach to Las Vegas next month because of Zika.

We dont want to chance it, said Lewis, 23. Its just too risky.

South Floridas luxury real estate market, already slumping because of weak foreign currencies, is reporting cancellations by potential buyers from New York and Europe.

Zika is a deal-breaker for clients who plan to have children, said Senada Adzem of brokerage Douglas Elliman.

The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has classified all Miami-Dade County as an area of widespread transmission. The United Kingdom has advised pregnant women to avoid the county for non-essential travel and consider postponing non-essential travel in the rest of Florida.

In August, leisure airfare prices fell 17 percent year-over-year at Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to an analysis by Harrell Associates. Hotel bookings in greater downtown Miami fell by nearly 3 percent in the first three weeks of August compared to last year, according to data collected by analytics firm Smith Travel Report.

Its not clear how much of that decline is attributable to Zika.

Zika infection can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including a dangerously small head, if women are infected during pregnancy. The mosquito-borne virus also can be sexually transmitted.

Of Floridas 56 non-travel-related Zika cases, 11 have been traced to Miami Beach and 29 to Wynwood. The rest are being considered isolated cases and have not prompted authorities to issue warnings of local transmission.

Miami-Dade County officials expect to spend an extra $10 million fighting Zika through the summer. The city of Miami approved $247,000 for special events meant to draw customers back to Wynwood. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is surveying local businesses about economic damage related to Zika.

Miami Beach officials are hoping to minimize Zikas effect on the local economy. Hotels regularly spray for mosquitoes, and planes fly over the beach with banners reading, Use insect repellent. No Zika.

Critics have been troubled by the release of information about Zika infections by Gov. Rick Scott and state agencies, saying not enough details have been provided about where infections are suspected and that the number of tourists contracting the virus in Florida may be under-reported.

Floridas health department told The Miami Herald that eight out-of-state residents have contracted Zika in Florida but are not included in the states total count of local Zika infections.

The department reports cases of Florida residents, spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said.

As of Sept. 9, health officials had confirmed 616 travel-related Zika cases statewide, including 84 pregnant women.

Topics Florida
The Oregon SAIF board of directors has decided to give workers compensation policyholders two dividends this year totaling $140 million.

One dividend is based on premium, and the another is tied to safety performance.

The board declared a $120 million primary dividend to be paid to all eligible policyholders based on their premium, and a $20 million safety performance dividend to be paid based on each policyholders safety results.

This is the seventh consecutive year in a SAIF has returned a dividend to its customers, but its the first time since 2000 SAIF has rewarded safety performance through a dividend. The safety component will be distributed on a graduated scale based on a policyholders losses and premiums, with the greatest amount paid to those with the best safety results as measured by paid losses to standard premium.

The premium and safety dividends represent a return of roughly 22 to 26 percent of premium that eligible customers paid in 2015. More than 46,000 customers are eligible for SAIFs primary dividend. Of those, roughly 95 percent are also eligible to receive all or part of the additional safety performance dividend.

They board deemed the dividends possible because of SAIFs overall financial results, including investment returns and favorable trends in claim costs.

Were able to pay dividends because of strong financial results, and the best driver of those results are the injuries that dont happen as Oregon workplaces become safer and healthier, Kerry Barnett, SAIF president and CEO, said in a statement. More importantly, safety and health programs have helped thousands of workers avoid the pain and anguish of a workplace injury. Thats the best dividend of all.

SAIF is Oregons not-for-profit, state-chartered workers compensation insurance company.

Related:

Topics Workers' Compensation New Markets Oregon
NBU waiting for arrival of IMF mission for third revision of EFF program soon

The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the third revision of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program could arrive in Kyiv soon, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Valeriya Gontareva has said.

"We hope that they will arrive soon," she said at a press conference on Thursday.

Gontareva confirmed that the new tranche that the IMF could provide by the end of this year will be $1.3 billion.

Among the important conditions for the successful revision of the program is the balanced 2017 budget, continuation of capitalization of the banking sector, transfer of some powers from the national commission for financial service markets regulation to the NBU and the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market, she said.
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.
What Was the New Deal?

The New Deal was a comprehensive and broad set of government-directed projects introduced by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in an attempt to help the United States economy emerge from the Great Depression. It launched in the early 1930s and was designed to bolster the United States economy, reduce unemployment, provide a social safety net, and instill confidence in the governments ability to protect its citizens.

Key Takeaways The New Deal was a series of domestic programs introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in an attempt to end the economic ravages of the Great Depression.

The New Deal also attempted to curb the excesses of untrammeled capitalism through such policies as setting minimum wages, regulating working conditions, promoting labor unions, and bolstering retirement security.

The New Deal made the governments role in steering the economy more important.

Understanding the New Deal

The stock market crash of 1929 began on October 24a day known as Black Thursday. It brought a period of roaring growth to a sudden halt. Companies and banks across the United States started failing, and the unemployment rate skyrocketed to the point that nearly a quarter of the workforce was unemployed.

President Franklin Roosevelt launched the New Deal after taking office in 1933. It consisted of a variety of government-funded programs aimed at getting people back to work, as well as legislation and executive orders that propped up farmers and stimulated business activity.

The New Deal engendered controversy by introducing a number of radical reforms and increasing the governments role in guiding the economy. Several of its programs were ultimately declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, including two major pillars: the National Recovery Administration (NRA)which set working conditions, minimum wages, and maximum hours, while guaranteeing the right of labor to bargain collectivelyand the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), which intended to stabilize farm prices.

Public opinion was for the New Deal, though, and, as a result, in February of 1937 Roosevelt tried to increase the number of Supreme Court justices in order to prevent future programs from being shuttered. Though he failed in this court-packing attempt, he succeeded in his objective. In May 1937, the Supreme Court declared the Social Security Act to be constitutional by a five-to-four vote after one of its justices changed his antiNew Deal stance. No other New Deal program was ever again judicially invalidated by the court.

The New Deal was enacted in two parts: the first in 1933 and the second in 1935.

History of the New Deal

The New Deal is often broken into two segments. The first New Deal was launched in 1933 during the initial two years of the Roosevelt presidency. In addition to the NRA and AAA, it consisted of measures to stabilize the banking system (Emergency Banking Act), ensure bank deposit security (Banking Act of 1933, known as the Glass-Steagall Act), and increase confidence in the stock market (Securities Act of 1933).

The second New Deal, in 1935, introduced perhaps the programs greatest and most enduring legacy: government-sponsored retirement plans in the form of Social Security. It also increased government employment (Works Progress Administration) and minimum wages (Fair Labor Standards Act).

Was the New Deal a Success?

Historians credit the New Deal with some success in reviving the countrys fortunes. The economy did slowly recover during the 1930s, confidence was restored to the banking system through federal deposit insurance, working conditions were improved, and labor unions strengthened the hand of workers.

It was World War II, however, that ultimately provided the impetus to get America fully back to work. The unprecedented spending worldwide on ships, arms, and planes propelled the country into full employmenta feat that the New Deal programs, despite their best efforts, were unable to achieve on their own.
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REE Stock News - Defense Metals (TSX-V: DEFN.V) (OTCQB: DFMTF) Drills 113 metres of 2.50% Total Rare Earth Oxide at Wicheeda

Vancouver, British Columbia - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mining / Metals / Green Energy Stock News - Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN / OTCQB: DFMTF/ FSE:35D) is pleased to announce high-grade Rare Earth Element ("REE") assay results from one additional core hole, totalling 383 metres (m), collared within the northern area of Defense Metals' 100% owned Wicheeda REE Deposit.

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Breaking EV Stock News: Pre-orders for Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) FIVE Electric-SUV Crossover Exceed Expectations as the FIVE 'Strikingly Different' Tour Begins

BREA, Calif. - October 28, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today that the Mullen FIVE "Strikingly Different" EV Crossover Tour which began yesterday, in Pasadena, California, is off to a great start with first day reservations exceeding expectations and overwhelmingly positive customer feedback.

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Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures Third Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA Worth Approximately $1.5M in Revenue for First two Fiscal Quarters of 2023

CAVE CREEK, Ariz. - October 27, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-derived, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured three key significant orders for its newly acquired, non-nicotine plant-based vape product, HYLA.

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Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses

NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore.

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Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, and IBM have announced a partnership that will enable Finland to use Watson cognitive computing to help doctors improve the health of its citizens, and strengthen and develop the Finnish innovation and business ecosystem in the fields of health and well-being. To facilitate the collaboration, IBM intends to establish a Watson Health Center of Excellence in Finland, the first Nordic Healthcare Competence Center, and the first National Imaging Center of Excellence outside the United States in Finland. These centers are expected to employ 150 people over the next few years.

Tekes anticipates this collaboration with IBM will create data-driven cognitive computing applications and solutions and it will lead to an expansion and growth of Finland's business and innovation ecosystem. Specifically, Tekes expects the partnership to accelerate creation of new start-up companies in Finland, gain new opportunities for Finland companies for global growth, and help to digitalize the country's healthcare business sector for companies of all sizes.

The combination of world-leading information and communications technology competences with health and well-being solutions are already creating world-leading health-tech innovations in Finland. In Finland, the close collaboration among health-tech companies, top-notch researchers and world-class hospitals has created a strong health eco-system, called the Health Valley, said Pekka Soini, director general, Tekes. I am positive that Watson cognitive computing capabilities will further boost innovation in Finland and put Finland at the forefront of game-changing health transformation, at the European level and in the global marketplace. Foremost, we believe the collaboration will benefit both IBM and Finland, and the development work conducted in Finland will further advance Watson's capabilities.

Finnish doctors and researchers will work with Watson Health data scientists, engineers, researchers and designers to develop a new generation of data-driven healthcare applications and solutions, advancing R&D and innovation in Finland.

Central Finland's Regional Governor Tapani Mattila remarked, In Central Finland there are several health related competence centers that would benefit from deployment of IBM Watson cognitive computing. We see this as an excellent opportunity to contribute to the common good for the region and the nation.

The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) is planning to work with Watson Health and employ cognitive computing to aid in the early identification of serious bacterial infections in prematurely born babies and to bolster imaging of cerebral hemorrhage patients. HUS is also evaluating Watson Health and employing cognitive computing to aid physicians in providing patients with personalized cancer care.

IBM anticipates that its new Centers will use the Watson Health Cloud, a health-data enabled, platform-as-a-service, to provide the foundation for cognitive offerings designed to help enable individualized insights and provide a more complete picture of the many factors that can affect peoples health. This will be done in compliance with any operational and security requirements for Finnish health data and data reservoirs.

Finland was selected as a destination country to implement various Watson Health capabilities, including the Watson Health Cloud, based on the country's vision to restructure and digitalize its healthcare system, its tech-savvy citizens and mobile capabilities, and a social environment that supports a culture of health, said Deborah DiSanzo, general manager, IBM Watson Health. The Tekes-IBM Watson Health partnership makes Finland a forerunner in health globally with Finnish citizens at the center as the ultimate beneficiaries. We are honored to work together to improve lives around the world.

Edited by Alicia Young
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) received some files supporting a request to investigate a criminal offence allegedly committed by Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, in compliance with investigative jurisdiction rules and its employees are scrutinizing them now, First Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Storozhuk said.

"There is no criminal case against Arsen Avakov. What we have got here is a court ruling following the motion filed by the Anti-Corruption Action Center. The court ordered the Prosecutor General's Office to launch criminal proceedings [...] under the Criminal Procedure Code. In accordance with investigative jurisdiction, this case was sent to the NABU where the check is underway now and these proceedings will be terminated if there are no elements of a crime," Storozhuk told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.

He went on to explain that the files in question are not relating to a specific individual, but "to the fact of a land parcel's allocation 15 years ago".

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko told Channel 24 in an interview that a criminal case had been opened against Avakov. "I daily receive [letters] from several dozen persons, including [Anti-Corruption Action Center head Vitaliy] Shabunin, and on the basis of his letter I have opened a criminal case against you would not believe who, Interior Minister Avakov, because everyone is equal. All appeals lodged with the Prosecutor General's office have equal procedural status," Lutsenko said.

Shabunin denied sending any letters about Avakov to the Prosecutor General's Office in his comments to the 112.Ukraine channel.

"Not about Avakov, no, our statements on a crime, a scheme that may involve Avakov, have not been filed with the Prosecutor General's Office because this is not their jurisdiction, this is the jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. So, the case mentioned by Yuriy Vitaliyovych [Lutsenko] is a great secret for me," Shabunin said.

In the morning of September 14, the Ukrainian interior minister's advisor Zoryan Shkiryak said the minister will continue fulfilling his duties despite the criminal proceedings against him.

Prosecutor General's Spokesperson Larysa Sargan said later in the day that the criminal proceedings launched by the Prosecutor General's Office following the report against Avakov will be closed.
Ryanair has cancelled 22 European flights due to depart this evening and 72 flights scheduled for tomorrow due to the 14th strike this year by French air traffic controllers (ATC).

Further delays are likely. Ryanair apologised to affected customers, all of whom have been contacted by email and SMS and advised of their options of a full refund, rebooking on to the next available flight, or rebooking onto an alternative route.
On Thursday night, ATO forces were shelled four times despite the statements by the representatives of separate areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on ceasefire, ATO headquarters Speaker Ivan Arefyev told Interfax-Ukraine.

"We have recorded four shellings since 24:00. All shelling cases were recorded in Avdiyivka in the Donetsk direction, where the enemy applied small arms. Novooleksandrivka [Luhansk region] experienced machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade attacks," he said on Thursday.

Arefyev stressed that the ATO forces did not open fire in response.

The previous day in Kyiv, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the ceasefire regime in eastern Ukraine would take force at midnight between September 14 and 15 to last for a week.

"Tonight, at midnight the ceasefire regime will take force, and [it will remain effective] for a week," Steinmeier told at a briefing conference that he attended together with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Kyiv on Wednesday.

On Thursday, foreign ministers of Ukraine, Germany and France will visit Kramatorsk and Sloviansk (Donetsk region).
Gerry Adams has said he has decided when he will step down as party leader and his departure will be part of a 10-year plan for Sinn Fein, writes Elaine Loughlin of the Irish Examiner.

The Sinn Fein president has said the party is "in transition" and it isn't a question of if but when he will allow someone else take over as leader.
In a moving reflection at the end of the mass for Caitriona Lucas, her husband Bernard read a poem he had been given the night before as thousands first paid respects.

Mr Lucas urged people to mimic his wife's attitude and seize opportunities to live life to the full.

"Caitriona, the call was made and you set out, in wind and wave and rain," he said.

"Your quest, to search and search, to ease a family's pain.

"You never hesitated once. That bleeper sounded loud.

"Where others mattered more, Caitriona we're so proud.

"We're proud because we can all say we share this land and sea with you, our hero.

"We salute your immensity.

"We are very sad you have gone, we think we understand the parting. It's you we always loved.

"Your sacrifice will never be lost on us, your loyal crew.

"Anchors away, you beauty queen. You are in our hearts and souls.

"From your friends and lonesome crew, for now it's slan go foill."

At the opening of the funeral mass, gifts were brought forward to symbolise Ms Lucas's life, including a helmet marking her work in emergency rescues and the efforts she made to overcome her fear of heights.

The @RNLI flag @ half mast in memory of Caitriona Lucas of @DoolinUnitIRCG tragically lost her life yesterday. pic.twitter.com/5NhQgGSOiM  Rhyl RNLI (@rhyllifeboat) September 13, 2016

Ms Lucas was described as a wonderful artist, painting many of her loves - cats and dogs, the Coast Guard helicopter and the Doolin unit's rescue boat.

She also made replicas of lifeboats out of "bits and pieces", a mark of her creativity, mourners heard.

Our station flag is at half mast this week to pay respect to Caitriona Lucas after this weeks tragedy in Ireland. pic.twitter.com/HsLP0WXF5R  Withernsea RNLI (@WithernseaRNLI) September 14, 2016

Parish priest Father Denis Crosby said: "Not only did she go to sea, she creatively put it together because she held it in her heart."

A map of Oregon was also displayed to symbolise her travels.
Once Britain begins formal negotiations for exiting the EU, known as Article 50, it will have two years until it ceases to be a member of the bloc.

Three of the most senior executives in the City of London told politicians yesterday that this was not long enough for banks to reconfigure business models.

Its a multi-year process if its going to be completed safely and not going to risk financial stability, Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch told a House of Lords committee.

I suspect its two to three years, he said.

A too-short transitional period could increase risks by forcing firms to move risk management and other financial products. You dont move nuclear waste in a race, he said.

HSBC Group chairman Douglas Flint said it would take several years for a bank in London to complete the enormous task of setting up a new subsidiary in the EU.

Mr Flint is on a panel of financial services chiefs advising the British government on new trading terms after Brexit.

Our role is not to lobby but to inform, and we have had very good engagement so far, Mr Flint said.

Banks in Britain depend on an EU passport to serve clients across the 28-country bloc from one base and lenders worry that these passporting rights will end after Britain leaves the EU.

EU leaders have said pass-porting rights would be scrapped unless Britain continues to accept the free movement of EU citizens, a condition seen as unlikely to be accepted.

Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the EUs executive European Commission which will negotiate new trading terms with Britain, said he wants to begin exit talks soon.

Part of this new order is that only those who respect the free movement of people and labour can have unlimited access to the single market.

There wont be single market a la carte, Mr Juncker said in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
This would effectively turn the internet into a place where everything uploaded to the web must be cleared by lawyers before it can find an audience, it said in a blog post after the European Commission unveiled draft rules that would also allow newspapers to demand payment when services such as Google News run their articles.

Google, owned by Alphabet, is already fighting three EU antitrust probes into search, phone software, and advertising.
The airline has continued to stick with the growth forecast it made in May  namely, for net profits of 1.375bn to 1.425bn for the 12 months to the end of next March.

However, chief executive Michael OLeary reiterated a cautionary tone when addressing shareholders at the companys AGM in Dublin yesterday. The airline made a net profit of 1.242bn in its last financial year.

Ryanair has been cutting fares as a way of tempting passengers who may be wary of flying since a number of high-profile terrorist attacks in mainland Europe over the past 12 months.

The airline expects average winter fares to fall by 10% to 12% (over the six months to next March) and Mr OLeary has said that if they fall by more than 12% management may need to review its annual guidance.

He said, yesterday, that the guidance remains a cautious one and is subject to downward pressure.

Ryanairs chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said after the AGM that if Europe were to see more terrorist attacks it would pose a downward risk to its annual growth forecasts.

Ryanair also yesterday maintained its calls for the European Commission to take action preventing French air traffic controller unions striking and to allow other air traffic controllers in Europe to operate overflights while unions strike.

Latest strike action, the 14th this year, has forced Ryanair to cancel 94 flights yesterday and today.

The airline called the French ATC union move reprehensible and selfish, saying the unions are using strikes as a first weapon rather than a last resort.

Ryanairs share price is down around 16% since the start of the year.

It was stagnant at just over 13 yesterday.

Last week, Davy Stockbrokers raised its 12-month share price target for Ryanair to 16, saying there is scope for the stock to rise as high as 25 per share.

It based this on increased ancillary revenue growth, the economic benefits of a modernised fleet and further momentum of the airlines Always Getting Better customer improvement programme.

Ryanair chairman David Bonderman yesterday said customers can expect further service improvements, with the policy already having led the company to raise its current full-year traffic forecast to 117 million customers.
The facility, on Dairygold land, has a capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes of butter a year and will initially create 65 jobs. Kerrygold retail sales stood at 750m last year, of Ornuas total c.2.5bn sales.

Ornua has rolled out new labneh (cream cheese) and feta for the Middle East and African markets. Kerrygold Park experts are also creating new products for Asia.

We will be sending a new range of butter, cheese and powders to China this year, said Kevin Lane, Ornua CEO.

The second part of our strategy for China will be a range of yoghurts, creams and other consumer products which will be manufactured locally in China.

All packaging and product development for the Asian market will be done here in our new innovation centre. The 65 jobs here are across the range, including new product development, manufacturing, culinary and research roles.

The plant will bring back to Ireland packaging and other functions which had been carried out in Ornuas operation in France.

Enterprise Minister, Mary Mitchell OConnor, recalling the popular Whos taking the horse to France? 1980s TV advert, told dignitaries at the launch to expect a new Kerrygold ad campaign.

Ornua is also expected to roll out new products, pack sizes and brand colours.

In 2015, Irish agri-food products were exported to 175 markets worldwide, and Ornua was in 110 of those, she said. Over 1,200 graduates applied to work with Ornua in the past 12 months. There will be good jobs with this company in the future.

Dairygold CEO Jim Woulfe said there would be huge transport savings and energy efficiencies from housing Kerrygold Park on the Castlefarm campus.

Dairygolds milk powder processing plant has a direct line into the new facility, whose butter will utilise a lot of cream and other byproducts from Dairygold.

Kevin Lane said the new plant would take milk from all of Ornuas nine member co-ops. Since the launch in May, Kerrygold Park is six to eight weeks behind output targets.

This shortfall will be made up by boosting output in the usually quiet months of November and December.

Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, said: The new plant is the result of a tremendous partnership between two giants of the dairy industry. The people in this new facility are helping to make their two companies global players. The opening of Kerrygold Park is a major vote of confidence in the future of Irish dairy.
The Republican candidate was in Flint, Michigan (a majority African-American city) on Wednesday to appeal to black voters to supporting his campaign for president.

Flint is home to a major water crisis which has contaminated the city's supply making it toxic.

"Hillary failed on the economy. Just like she's failed on foreign policy. Everything she touched didn't work out. Nothing. Now Hillary Clinton --," Mr Trump said before he was cut off by Reverend Faith Green Timmons.

"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," she said.

"OK. That's good. Then I'm going back onto Flint, OK?" Mr Trump replied who seemed to have been completely caught off guard.

Following the interuption Mr Trump was heckled by a member of the audience claiming the real-estate mogul "discriminated against black tenants," to which Mr Trump replied "No, I never, never would never would."

Rev Timmons once again stepped in but this time Mr Trumps defence.

"This is my church and you will respect him."

H/T - CNN.com
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault notes importance of establishing the regime of calm in Donbas, following which Kyiv should start to implement the political conditions of the Minsk Agreements.

Replying to a question about the order of priority of implementing the Minsk Agreements provisions, he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday: "I would like to compare this process to construction of a house and we are laying the foundation now. I mean ceasefire, of course, and withdrawal of forces in three pilot zones, which I mentioned while speaking of next week. A bill on local elections in Donbas, as well as on a special status, is added to that."
In 1962, the Kerrygold brand name was chosen by An Bord Bainne from 60 suggestions, when the brand was launched, not in Ireland, but in the UK.

The export emphasis continued, with markets such as Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Middle East, Gulf States, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean and Asia quickly accessed.

From 1973, Kerrygold was exported to EEC member states, including Germany, where it became the No 1 butter brand.

That was the same year Kerrygold went on sale in Ireland, 11 years after launching in the UK and around the globe.

In 1979, Kerrygold Regato Classic was launched in Greece. Today, nearly 4,000 metric tonnes of Kerrygold Regato are sold in Greece each year.

In 1989, Kerrygold became a proud title sponsor of the Dublin Horse Show.

Two years later, Bord Bainne expanded its range of Kerrygold cheese and butter products in the US. In 1994, Bord Bainne became the Irish Dairy Board, and the Whos taking the horse to France? ad became a TV classic.

Kerrygold milk powder in South Africa (1995), Dubliner cheese launching in the US (1998), and a German street being named Kerrygoldstrasse (2005), continued the brands progress. The logo you see today arrived in 2010, and 2014 was marked by planning approval for Kerrygold Park in Mitchelstown.

Two years ago, Kerrygold broke into a new category, launching an Irish Cream Liqueur in the US.

Under the new 2015 Ornua name for the Irish Dairy Board, Kerrygolds march continued with a new milk powder packing facility in Nigeria, and the launch of Kerrygold Yogurts in Germany earlier this year.
Millions of users were quick to access the free update when it became available. However, there have been mixed reports on social media, with some users reporting their smartphones and tablets crashing, with only a connection to a computer via USB fixing the issue, some have claimed.

Apple issued a statement confirming a brief issue with the software update process affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability, but this had now been fixed.
These findings are outlined by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), where the State financial watchdog looked at potential conflicts of interest regarding the northern loan book sale.

It finds that Mr Cushnahan, a businessman who was a member of Namas Northern Ireland advisory committee, had declared involvement with debtors with the agency. He at one stage declared involvement with up to seven debtors on the loan book, whose combined debt amounted to half of the Project Eagle loans, the report says.

The [C&AG) examination found that six of the seven debtor connections in respect of whom Mr Cushnahan disclosed an interest had a combined Nama debt at 31 December 2013 of 997 million. This accounted for 50% of the total Nama debt of the Project Eagle debtors.

At one stage, the underbidder in the loan book sale, US firm Pimco, contacted Nama in March 2014 to inform them there was a success fees structure in place regarding its bid.

This involved payment of 15m to 16m between law firm Brown Rudnick, Belfast-based Tughans solicitors and Frank Cushnahan.

The report concludes: Given the joint agreement between the parties to the success fee arrangement with Pimco, all of the payment  not just the payment to Mr Cushnahan  should have raised concerns for Nama,

The treasury building on Grand Canal St, Dublin, which houses Nama

The winning bidder, another US firm called Cerberus, later paid Brown Rudnick and Tughans success fees. This should have raised alarm bells for Nama, the report notes.

The understanding that Brown Rudnick and Tughans had allegedly been in an arrangement with a member of the NIAC [Mr Cushnahan] at any stage of the process should have raised concerns for Nama about potential impacts of such arrangements on the sale process, unless convincing explanations could be produced. 

The C&AG questions why Nama did not seek advice from its compliance unit about the issue. It also raises questions about why Lazards, a London agency advising it on the sale, was not informed of the fee structures alerted to the agency.

There are also questions about why Nama, despite Mr Cushnahan quitting the North advisory committee, was not asked by Nama for further clarity around his role with debtors.

The allegation of fees being shared with the two law firms and Mr Cushnahan at one stage warranted more action by Nama, notes the report.

It concludes: Nama appears to have taken a narrow approach, focusing on what were its legal obligations, rather than on what were the options for action that should be considered.

In a statement, Nama said the C&AG report establishes no link between the actions of Frank Cushnahan and the outcome of the sale process or the sale price ultimately achieved.
According to the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG), there was no indication that Nama had considered a bulk sale of its Northern Ireland assets until US law firm Brown Rudnick wrote on behalf of US investment fund Pimco in June 2013 proposing a short and exclusive sales process.

It found that, despite such a sale being a significant shift in Namas strategy and one which gave rise to a number of project risks, Nama did not seek any external expert advice in relation to the strategy.

The C&AG said the decision to sell the loans at a minimum price of 1.3bn involved a significant probably loss to the State of up to 190m.

Nama has said it strongly rejects this view.

However, the report stresses that it draws no conclusion on Namas decision to sell the portfolio in bulk.

The C&AG examined Namas three bases for valuing the Project Eagle loans and found that two of the valuations underestimated the value of the loans, while, in the third case, no valuation was made.

It also queried the process used by Nama during the sale process  stating it differed from its other large loan sale competitions.

The restrictions Nama implemented, relative to its standard process, reduced both the level of competition and the opportunity for potential bidders to assess the value of the portfolio. They acted as a deterrent for a number of bidders and had the potential to affect the price achievable, said the report.

On March 12, 2014, Pimco withdrew from the sales process having informed Nama of a proposed success fee arrangement involving Brown Rudnick, a Belfast law firm called Tughans, and a former member of Namas Northern Ireland advisory committee (NIAC), Frank Cushnahan.

This left just two firms  Cerberus and Fortress  in the competition, and both subsequently submitted bids.

Cerberus bid 1.241bn  11m higher than the revised minimum price  and Fortress bid 1.075bn  155m below the revised minimum. The Cerberus bid was accepted.

The report also pointed out that Mr Cusnahan had declared his involvement as an adviser to six Nama debtors and to a third party engaged in a joint venture with a seventh debtor. The loans of the six debtors represented about half the value of the Northern Ireland loan book.

The Nama board should have formally considered whether Mr Cushnahans engagement in discussion of the strategy  including the PIMCO/Brown Rudnick approach  was consistent with his ongoing involvement as financial advisor to a significant proportion of Namas Northern Ireland debtor connections, said the report.

Nama categorically rejected the key conclusions.
The Project Eagle deal with US investment fund Cerberus in 2014 has been dogged by scandal for more than a year, including 7m linked to it being found in an Isle of Man bank account.

The Government confirmed the Public Accounts Committee would first examine a Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) report into the affair before a formal inquiry is launched.

Project Eagle involved loans linked to over 800 properties in Northern Ireland being sold in one lot to the New York investment firm which boasts former US vice president Dan Quayle in its ranks.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is to meet opposition leaders next week to identify areas of public concern around the deal that need to be investigated and how that should be carried out. There have been calls for a cross-border inquiry due to the limitations of parliaments in Dublin and Belfast and their inability to compel witnesses from other jurisdictions.

The C&AG found Nama has losses of 162m on deals linked to Northern Ireland properties, the vast majority from Project Eagle. Its audit found the deal was worth 1.137bn, with Nama having paid about 2bn for the loans. The C&AG said there is no indication that Nama had considered a bulk sale of its Northern Ireland assets until US law firm Brown Rudnick wrote on behalf of US investment fund Pimco in June 2013 offering an exclusive deal.

The treasury building on Grand Canal St, Dublin, which houses Nama

It found that two of Namas valuations of its Northern Ireland loans in late 2013 and early 2014 underestimated their value.

The C&AG report also noted that Pimco withdrew from the bidding war in March 2014 after it told Nama about a proposed success fee arrangement involving Brown Rudnick, a Belfast law firm called Tughans, and a former member of Namas Northern Ireland Advisory Committee.

The 7m subsequently discovered in the Isle of Man was in an account controlled by a former managing partner of Tughans, Ian Coulter, who resigned after it was unearthed.

Tughans, which acted as a subcontractor for Cerberuss US lawyers, Brown Rudnick, insisted it was not aware of the transfer and all parties involved in the 2014 transaction denied wrongdoing.

The C&AG found Nama dropped its reserve price in late March 2014 to 1.23bn and on April 1 that year, Cerberus offered 1,241m and the only other bidder, Fortress, offered 1.075bn.

Project Eagle has been examined on previous occasions at the Public Accounts Committee. Investigations have also been launched into the deal by the UKs National Crime Agency, the US Department of Justices Securities and Exchange Commission as well as a parliamentary inquiry in Stormont.
An audit by the States financial watchdog of Project Eagle has concluded that the agency incurred a potential loss to the taxpayer of 190m. The Comptroller and Auditor General report has prompted the Government to agree to the potential further investigation.

Ministers have expressed confidence in both the C&AG and Nama, despite the latter contesting the findings.

Consideration will now be given to how cross-border legal difficulties may be overcome with any full inquiry, after the Cabinet agreed to leave the door open for a further investigation.

In the meantime, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will quiz Nama officials next month and ask Mr Noonan why he did not stop Project Eagle when he became aware of fixer fees.

The C&AG report highlights how restrictions were put in place for the sales process. This resulted in reduced competition and information for bidders compared to other Nama sales.

This acted as a deterrent and had the potential to affect the price achievable, says the report.

Namas board disputes this.

The C&AG questions whether Nama should have considered the role of Frank Cushnahan, a businessman and member of Namas Northern Ireland advisory committee. Between 2011 and 2013 he was advising six Nama debtors, who had loans estimated to amount to half the value of the loan book. A potential conflict of interest that arose through this should have raised questions about his role, says the report.

US firm Pimco in March 2014 told Nama of a fixer fee structure, where 15m was to be divided between law firm Brown Rudnick, Belfast solicitors Tughans, and Mr Cushnahan. The group was asked to withdraw from the bid and another US firm, Cerberus, went on to win it, paying 1.3bn for the loans that had been bought by Nama originally for 1.9bn.

Cerberus later informed Nama the two legal firms were to receive success fees.

The report concludes Nama should have had concerns around the fixer payments for Project Eagle and took a narrow approach in addressing problems.

Lazards, advisers for Nama on the sale, recommended Cerberus had the best bid. But the report notes they were not told of the success fee structure. Nama also never consulted its compliance unit about the fees and and it could have sought more details from Mr Cushnahan, who resigned in the bid period.

The report concluded that the agency incurred a loss of 190m for taxpayers after previous writedowns on some loans were included.

Nama chairman Frank Daly rejected the findings yesterday. His agency said findings were based on an incorrect assumption on the higher than normal discount rate applied to the sale, which was was needed compared to lower rates for better asset sales elsewhere.

Frank Daly, Nama chairman

C&AG staff who worked on the report also had no market experience of loan sales, argued Nama. Mr Daly said taxpayers had absolutely got full value for money with Project Eagle.

Opposition parties last night pushed for a full inquiry into the deal.

Fianna Fails Michael McGrath said there were very serious questions over why the deal was not axed when Mr Cushnahans inappropriate involvement emerged.

Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald called on other deals to be examined to ensure the controversy was just an outlier.

Independent4Changes Mick Wallace, who has raised the deal in the Dail, called for Nama sales to be put on hold and for other deals to be investigated.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is set to meet opposition leaders today about potential inquiry into the deal.
Irelands bad bank said the 1.3bn sale to US investment fund Cerberus two years ago was the best achievable result.

As an official report flagged concerns about a discount on the sale, Frank Daly, chairman of the toxic assets agency, said the so-called Project Eagle portfolio would not reach even near that price today.

It is clear to us that, if Nama had retained the Eagle portfolio, there would be no investor interest in buying it today  or in the foreseeable future  at anything close to the 1.322bn price that was actually achieved, he said.

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CA&G) found two of Namas valuations of its Northern Ireland loans in late 2013 and early 2014 underestimated their value.

The spending watchdog said Namas argument for a 10% discount on the property loans was not persuasive, adding the bad banks normal discount rate was 5.5%.

It has put Nama losses on deals linked to Northern Ireland properties, the vast majority from Project Eagle, at 162m. But Mr Daly categorically rejected the key findings and accused the CA&G of overstating the estimated value of the properties.

The watchdog incorrectly assumed a similar discount should have been applied to a poor quality Northern Ireland loan portfolio as to much higher quality assets in Dublin and London, he claimed.

The C&AG has performed a very important role in scrutinising our decisions and auditing our accounts over the past seven years but, regrettably, the key conclusions in this report are without the relevant loan sale market expertise, and as such, we have no option but regretfully to reject them categorically, said Mr Daly.

He said four of the worlds leading authorities on loan sales  KPMG, Eastdil Secured, Cushman & Wakefield and Lazard  backed the Nama position. There is nothing in the report that changes the unanimous view of the Nama board that the Project Eagle sale was the best achievable outcome for the State either back in 2014 or now in a post Brexit environment, he added.
Opposition parties made the claim as they called on all ongoing Nama transactions to be frozen immediately while an investigation into the State property groups deals takes place.

Responding to the report into the multi-billion euro Project Eagle controversy, Fianna Fail finance spokesperson Michael McGrath said there are very serious questions over why the deal was not axed when Mr Cushnahans inappropriate involvement became apparent.

Mr McGrath warned answers are needed on why no action was taken by either Mr Noonan or senior Nama officials when it became apparent Mr Cushnahan would benefit from the transaction.

The shadow of Frank Cushnahan looms large in the report. One cannot but reach the conclusion that in March 2014 when Nama and indeed the minister [Michael Noonan] was informed of the inappropriate, unorthodox fee arrangement in place between Pimco, Tughans, Brown Rudnick, and Mr Cushnahan, the entire process should have been stopped, he said.

Frank Cushnahan

Mr McGrath said it is clear from the Comptroller and Auditor General report that Nama was not considering the sale of Project Eagle in one transaction until they had the approach from Pimco.

Claiming the normal procedures were departed from by Nama during the deal, he insisted Mr Cushnahans involvement should have raised more alarms and that a full state investigation is now needed.

He said allegations raised in a BBC Spotlight programme which appeared to show Mr Cushnahan being given money by a developer needed to be addressed.

Both Mr Cushnahan and the developer have denied any wrong- doing.

Ultimately the final decisions were made in Dublin, so we believe questions need to be answered, said Mr McGrath.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the report shows all current Nama deals must be frozen while a State investigation takes place and called on other deals to be examined to ensure the Project Eagle controversy was just an outlier.

This report is damning in its conclusions, damning of Nama, damning of the decision to sell the portfolio, damning of the decision to bundle the loans, damning in its valuation, damning in the process by which bids were decided.

It leaves no doubt the sale of Project Eagle cost the taxpayer up to 250m. Given all of this, we believe all [Nama sales] should now be suspended. When there has been such a blow to processes in Nama, how could you credibly proceed and carry on as if nothing had happened?

The treasury building on Grand Canal St, Dublin, which houses Nama

Noonan unwell

- Juno McEnroe

Mr Noonan contributed to the Cabinet meeting about the Nama report from his hospital bed after he became ill from a skin disease.

Mr Noonan is on a heavy dose of antibiotics after he contracted cellulitis, and expects to return to work on Monday, a spokesman said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny spoke with Mr Noonan

during yesterdays Cabinet meeting so a draft statement could be agreed on the Governments reaction to the comptroller and auditor general report into Namas

Project Eagle loan book sale.

It is expected the Public Accounts Committee will ask Mr Noonan to come

before TDs and answer questions about his actions on Project Eagle and the Nama sales process.

A government spokesman yesterday confirmed Mr Noonan was in hospital: Minister Noonan participated in the meeting by phone. He is on an extensive course of antibiotics for cellulitis and due to return to work by Monday.

Government sources said his sickness had nothing to do with previous treatment for a cancer threat.
Caitriona Lucas, a 41-year old mother-of-two, became the first member of the volunteer service to lose her life when the Delta Rib (rigid inflatable boat) suddenly capsized throwing its crew of three into the sea.

A member of the Doolin unit of the service, Caitriona had been searching for missing Clare man David McMahon when the accident happened. She was on board the Kilkee Delta Rib along with two members of the local unit, Jenny Carway and James Lucey. Three days after the tragedy, members of the Garda Water Unit recovered debris from the sea where the tragedy occurred.
BoatWarden, based in Co Cork, will launch its new OutboardWarden marine security device at the Southampton Boat Show tomorrow with Barrus Marine.

But the Youghal-based company, which employs three people, is already in talks with a leading US engine manufacturer and with US insurance companies, and has opened an office in America. It has also been approached by agri-companies to explore potential in the agri-machinery sector.

Company founder Kevin Hennessy, an engineer and boating enthusiast who spent the last four years developing the device, said he is already planning to expand his workforce.

All the device components, except for a printed circuit, are manufactured and assembled in Youghal. This is an Irish company and an Irish product, he said.

No bigger than a packet of cigarettes, the device is attached to a boat engine and creates a wi-fi bond between it and the boat. It uses encrypted digital, wireless and GPS technology to monitor and report its location round-the-clock to the owner via a dedicated website and mobile app.

But once the bond is broken, the device triggers an alarm and pings its location, anywhere in the world, to an online platform also developed by the firm.

Owners will know exactly where their engine is headed and can share that information with the appropriate authorities, Mr Hennessy said. It will be able to track the whole journey, increasing the chances of a successful prosecution and return of the engine.

Insurance companies tell us claims are getting out of hand and so they expect premiums to increase unless a tracking system is in place.

Mr Hennessy said criminal gangs are stealing engines to order, before shipping them to Eastern Europe.

Barrus Marine has placed an initial order for 500 OutboardWarden units, with plans to order 500 more before the end of the year.

The device retails for around 345, with a 12.50 monthly subscription to the online tracking platform.

www.boatwarden.comor www.outboardwarden.com.
French-Ukrainian investment forum to be held in Paris in late Oct  Ayrault

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has said that a join investment forum with Ukraine will be held in Paris on October 28.

"An important investment forum between Ukraine and France is scheduled for October 28," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The French foreign minister added that he welcomes Ukraine's support by the IMF, which contributes to the implementation of reforms in the country.
Mr Thompson said Insurance Ireland has no problem whatsoever with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission investigation into anti-competitive practices in the industry. He said the company plans to fully comply.

Were satisfied there is no issue in relation to competition practice, said Mr Thompson.

As an industry we know exactly what the drivers are in respect of premium increases. Premiums are driven by the cost of claims and unfortunately in the claims environment weve seen a lot of volatility.

From our position, premiums are driven solely by the cost of claims. Insurance in some ways is a very simple product, claims have to be funded, he told Morning Ireland.

Increases in the level of awards, litigation costs, and in the frequency of cases have acted as contributing factors in determining motor insurance premiums, said Mr Thompson.

The court limits increase in February 2014 has had a retrospective effect, which has to be priced for now and obviously weve got the issue in relation to Setanta.

This is all feeding through in terms of the cost of claims. It ultimately feeds through into premiums.

If you look at the performance of the industry, from 2010-2015, total underwriting losses have come at 823m, motor underwriting losses have come in 853m  I think we have to try and move the debate along.

Various organisations have called for greater transparency within the motor insurance companies and requested insurance companies to publish data relating to claims during meetings of the joint Oireachtas committee this week.

However, Mr Thompson said Insurance Ireland does share information.

You could actually fill this room with the amount of information we supply our independent regulator, he said.

Mr Thompson said Insurance Ireland has shared information with the Personal Injury Assessment Board to contribute towards revisions to the Book of Quantum, as well as a detailed analysis of rates from the Central Bank in 2015.

Insurance Ireland is due to speak at a meeting of the joint Oireachtas committee today, following a week of sessions discussing the rising costs of motor insurance.
Picture credit: Consultant cardiologists working in the South-East, from left: Dr Rob Landers, clinical director, South/South West Hospital Group; Dr Patrick Owens, consultant cardiologist and clinical lead for cardiology, University Hospital Waterford; Dr Aidan Buckley, consultant cardiologist, Wexford General Hospital; Dr John ODea, consultant cardiologist, University Hospital Waterford; and Dr Mark Doyle, consultant in emergency medicine and medical adviser to the Prehospital Emergency Care Council.

Picture: Maxwellphotography.ie

That is according to a group of medical consultants in the South-East, in response to the Herity report.

A review into the hospital by Niall Herity found that the region did not need a second cath lab (used for heart examinations) and that it should cease its emergency cardiac service.

The review found that there was not enough demand on the cardiac services to justify a second lab. However, the consultants argue that because the current lab is only open 9-5, Monday to Friday, the real demand (including out of hours) was therefore not reflected in the report.

Dr Patrick Owens, consultant cardiologist at UHW, said Mr Harris now finds himself hiding behind its pages, committed to its flawed recommendations which we can tell you will adversely affect the wellbeing of our patients in the South-East.

This is where we are now, in a critical clinical situation.

Dr Owens said the issue affected far more people than those who lived in Waterford, as patients in Carlow, Kilkenny, south Tipperary, and Wexford used the service.

This is a story over several years, a struggle for basic cardiac care in the South-East, a story that affects the lives of several hundred thousand people. It has affected how we do care on a day-to-day basis for patients in the South-East.

The review was to right all that, it was to independently evaluate the clinical risk that threatens the South-East cardiac patients, due to constrained resources. It didnt do that. It now transpires that it wasnt asked to do that. It was asked to do something very different.

University Hospital Waterford

Dr Owens said the reports methodology to ascertain the populations need was incorrect.

In a nutshell, it attempted to calculate what the need in the South-East was for cardiac cath lab services and to recommend resourcing accordingly. It tried to calculate whats called a cath lab catchment and it got it wrong, he said.

He used an analogy to demonstrate how the true need was inaccurately discovered in the report.

Say the cath lab service is Croke Park on the day of the All-Ireland final and you want to know how many people want to be there on the big day. This method tries to discover this by counting the number of people in the stadium on the day. But the stadium is not infinite, it has a defined capacity; the number can never exceed 82,000, but clearly many more people want to be there.

This method under estimates the catchment of our cath lab as a result of the same fallacy. It mistakes constrained resource and low activity.

Since all the recommendations arising from the report ultimately derived from this figure, the report recommendations are therefore invalid.

Timeline of events at UHW
Officers from the Guardia Civil in Spain, the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the Criminal Assets Bureau and Europol worked together to plan and carry out the simultaneous early morning raids in southern Spain and Dublin.

Six homes in Dublin and five properties in Marbella and Malaga were searched and large amounts of cash and documentation seized.

Police in Spain also arrested a Spanish-based Dublin criminal for last years murder of Gary Hutch whose death kicked off the bloody Hutch-Kinahan feud and cost seven more lives, six of them in Dublin.

Detective Superintendent Tony Howard said the operation had taken weeks of planning and the Guardia Civil had provided invaluable assistance, as had members of the gardai working in Spain to assist their Spanish counterparts.

This type of operation will happen again. We have been talking to other law enforcement agencies in mainland Europe and in the UK and thats the way it should be because criminals dont recognise borders. We will follow the trail wherever it takes us, he said.

Guardia Civil and gardai arrest a Dublin criminal suspected of carrying out the murder of Gary Hutch.

The Spanish detectives in Ireland and the gardai in Spain were working chiefly on identifying and tracking suspects and on interpreting and assessing the importance of financial documentation and other papers in their respective languages, said Det Supt Howard.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, praised the operation and said it was an example of the kind of co-operation discussed when she and her Spanish counterpart met during the summer to cement their commitment to working together against organised crime gangs.

Organised crime operates with little regard for international borders and it is vital therefore that governments and law enforcement agencies work in close co-operation to combat the gangs involved.I am determined that Irish criminals will not escape justice by fleeing the jurisdiction, or by seeking to conduct their noxious activities from elsewhere, she said.

The man arrested in Spain is expected to appear in court there today. Under the Spanish criminal justice system, his case is expected to be assigned to an examining magistrate and he may be kept in pre-trial detention or released subject to conditions until a full investigation is complete.
The man, 35, who was originally from the Douglas area of the city but who, it is understood, had been living in West Cork, suffered fatal injuries when he was caught in a machine at the Architectural and Metal Systems (AMS) plant at Wallingstown in Little Island, at about 1.30am yesterday.

Yesterdays fatality brought to 27 the number of work-related deaths so far this year. There were 56 work-related fatalities reported to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in 2015, with 55 in 2014.

AMS, established in 1990, specialises in the design and manufacture of high-performance facades, and window and door systems.

It has more than 70 employees, runs a 24-hour shift pattern, and is one of the largest independent aluminium systems companies in Ireland.

It is understood the victim was working on a machine used to extrude aluminium when the incident occurred.

The alarm was raised by colleagues who administered first aid as an ambulance rushed to the scene. The man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

The area was sealed off and the body remained at the scene for a preliminary Garda examination before it was removed after 9.30am to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem.

Gardai and the HSA have launched separate investigations of the incident.

The company issued a short statement confirming a fatal incident. It said: Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.

Little Island Business Association chairman Michael Mulcahy said the tragedy had sent shockwaves through the local business and residential community.

This is a tightknit business community and we all feel the pain that his family and colleagues are feeling today Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his colleagues. We will do what we can to support them, he said.
Bridget Majella Daly claims she was placed under surveillance by a private investigator acting for the insurer after she launched proceedings against Zurich in mid-August over the insurers decision to cease paying her a disability allowance to which she claims she is entitled.

Ms Daly claims she was on occasion followed while driving one of her children to school, was photographed or filmed by a man while walking in a park on another occasion, and also saw a car drive past her home slowly.

The court heard while Zurichs lawyers had said in correspondence it would discontinue the surveillance, Ms Daly said in a sworn statement that the action was designed to intimidate me and fears it may resume.

The 48-year-old mother of three with an address at The Chase, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, has suffered from a condition known as ME or chronic fatigue syndrome for many years.

She is unable to work as a teacher and has been deemed medically unable to do so by the Department of Education.

Her barrister, Rory de Bruir, told Mr Justice Anthony Barr at the High Court yesterday that Ms Daly had, through her trade union ASTI, signed up to a salary protection scheme with Zurich.

Her initial application for payment under the scheme after she became unable to work was refused by Zurich, but was granted following an appeal.

Despite her illness, counsel said Zurich ceased paying her the benefits in April of this year. Counsel said the insurer informed her that her case was under review.

As part of that process Zurich said she must undergo a test called a functional capacity evaluation.

Counsel said there are six medical reports supporting Ms Dalys diagnosis and that she cannot work as a teacher. The test Zurich want her to undergo has been described in unrelated High Court cases as not being a medical diagnostic test, counsel added.

Counsel said that after she brought proceedings over Zurichs refusal to make payments she noticed that she and her children were under surveillance.

The first incident happened while she was taking her first walk of the summer in a local park, when she noticed a man taking images of her with a camera.

That and the other incidents, which upset both her and her family, were reported to the gardai.

A complaint was made to Zurichs legal representatives, who counsel said sent an email saying the surveillance would be discontinued. However counsel said there were no guarantees nor undertakings that the surveillance may resume.

Counsel said his client was distressed and upset over what has happened to her. Zurich also said Ms Daly had signed a clause in the policy allowing it to investigate claims.

Ms Daly said in her sworn statement that the dispute should be determined through medical evaluation and not by people spying on me and my family.

Mr Justice Barr

said he was not satisfied at this point to grant any injunctions without hearing from the other side. The judge adjourned the matter to next Tuesdays sitting of the court.
He said Europe does not accept powerful companies getting illegal backroom deals on their taxes.

The level of taxation in a country like Ireland is not our issue. Ireland has the sovereign right to set the tax level wherever it wants. But it is not right that one company can evade taxes that could have gone to Irish families and businesses, hospitals, and schools, he said.

The commission watches over this fairness. This is the social side of competition law. And this is what Europe stands for.

Mr Juncker also warned that the EU is in an existential crisis after Brexit and said leaders must pull together to stop it unravelling.

In his annual state of the union address to the European Parliament, Mr Juncker said the EU is not about to disappear  the EU as such is not at risk  but its ability to steer common policies has been jeopardised by splits, so it is at least in part, in an existential crisis.

Jean-Claude Juncker

Though addressed to mainly sympathetic MEPs in Strasbourg, his message was aimed squarely at the 27 national leaders who will meet in Bratislava tomorrow to try to find a way forward following the decision of the absent 28th member state, Britain, to leave the EU in Junes Brexit referendum.

Never before have I seen national governments so weakened by the forces of populism and paralysed by the risk of defeat in the next elections, said Mr Juncker.

There are splits out there and often fragmentation. That is leaving scope for galloping populism.

The coming year sees Dutch, French, and German elections, and anti-EU groups are riding high in polls. That limits appetite for big ideas from the commission, however much Mr Juncker sees his role as delivering proposals that governments can unite around.

While leaders are chasing votes by echoing eurosceptic opponents, Mr Juncker said that only by co-operating to revive growth, strengthen trade, fight terrorism, and secure EU borders could they regain the trust of citizens in their shared enterprise.

Europeans are tired of the endless disputes, quarrels, and bickering. Europeans want concrete solutions, he said.

In an admission of weakness from a man who a year ago tried, but failed, to force countries to accept mandatory quotas of asylum-seekers as a million arrived in Greece, he conceded he lacked power to impose unity and must appeal to states for solidarity.

As a result, the commission offered a legislative programme focused on modest areas of common ground. It included extending the Juncker plan for EU seed capital to bolster investment; a smaller scheme to help African business and so, perhaps, ease migration pressure; and reforms to promote the digital economy.

Mr Juncker also highlighted recent EU decisions to show how it was working for ordinary voters  such as by handing Apple the massive tax bill or scrapping planned curbs on mobile phone roaming seen as too soft on big telecom firms.
Our figures in recent years do not support the level of increase in claims and we cannot see how it would justify the level of increases that we have seen, said chief executive of the board Conor OBrien, at a meeting of the joint Oireachtas committee discussing rising motor insurance costs.

The board has assessed 100,000 claims since it was set up in 2003 to provide a low- cost alternative model for personal injuries claims.

Injury board compensation payouts have remained at a consistent level for the last five to six years, the board found.

The biggest issue is the lack of data, and the lack of the ability to target where the issues are, Mr OBrien said.

The board suggested that insurance companies should publish information relating to claims settlements, including the amount of injury claims, average settlement amounts, average fees being paid, and the length of time it takes to settle claims to allow for greater transparency.

The Society of Actuaries in Ireland also told the committee greater transparency is needed from the industry.

We believe that evidence-based research is vital to underpin informed policy making. We support Minister Eoghan Murphys call for greater transparency and we urge the Government to commission an annual analysis similar to that performed in other jurisdictions.

We believe that such an analysis should not just cover industry data, but also data from the Injuries Board and road safety data, said Gary Dunne of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland.

According to Mr Dunne, this has allowed the UK to identify the factors behind premium increases.

I think theres an awful lot of anecdotes around why insurance prices are going up and thats actually the reason why we need a committee because there are too many anecdotes and not enough evidence, he added.

The Society of Actuaries in Ireland said CSO figures show car insurance prices fell 27% between 2003 and 2010 and part of the recent rise reflects pricing being restored to correct levels.

The society says another reason for the increase is due to uncertainty in court payouts.

We do need a good robust analysis on this, in a transparent fashion which will highlight how much money is or isnt being made [by insurance companies] it will also hopeful allow us to find the factors behind that which will allow policy makers to make informed policy decisions,said Mr Dunne.

Revisions to the Book of Quantum  a guideline for the issuing of personal injury payments  will be issued in the coming weeks, which the board says will help determine injury payouts.

However iIts not a silver bullet for the current issues with insurance premiums, Mr OBrien warned. But if it is used consistently it will certainly help the issue.

The hearing continues.
Penny Pickard was speaking as a major search and excavation for the remains of her husband Charles Brooke Pickard continued in an area of forestry near the remote, high mountain pass of Ballaghisheen in south Kerry.

A Garda press conference in Killarney on Tuesday had heard the investigation was very much live.

Finding the remains would be significant, Supt Flor Murphy of Killarney said, but a fresh investigation into Mr Pickards abduction by five armed men in April 1991 at White Strand, Castlecove would continue.

A former forested site, approx 40sq m at Derrenageeha, Ballaghisheen, near where Mr Pickards van was found burnt out three weeks after he disappeared, was being cleared yesterday for the second day by a team of up to 20 gardai and army. Plant equipment and metal detectors are on site.

The area, which gardai described as difficult terrain, had been searched at the time, but not excavated.

The fresh activity at the site reportedly follows a new strand of information which cannot be ignored, gardai said.

The dig for the remains of the missing man will take at least a week.

Ms Pickard said she last saw her husband on the Friday morning of April 26, 1991.

She said he had been going to the bog to cut turf. But he never returned home.

The couple had moved to south Kerry from Leeds, in the UK, for an alternative lifestyle and had four children.

She has continued to live in the south-west.

Asked if she wished to direct her appeal to anyone, Ms Pickard said if she were to appeal to anyone, she would appeal to the people who did it.

Ultimately they are not going to get away with it in this life or the next. Their best option is to come clean, she said.

Ms Pickard experienced a second family tragedy when their daughter Lisa was killed in a road traffic accident, some years after Mr Pickards abduction.

Yesterday, Crohan Pickard  the second youngest of the couples three surviving children  said he too would appeal to anyone who knew anything to come forward.

Theres so many ways to give information anonymously, said Crohan, who was seven-years-old when his father disappeared.

He also lives in south Kerry and is married with his own family.

In an appeal to the general public during an interview on Radio Kerry and RTEs Morning Ireland, he asked anyone with information to imagine what their family would be going through if a loved one was missing.

He said the family had no real theory why it happened and would now like to know exactly why.

Crohan said: If they find a body that would give us an amazing sense of closure.

It was important to have hope, Crohan said, but he emphasised that the family was not going to raise its expectations for fear of the trauma of being disappointed.

Were expecting nothing but hoping for the best its important to have hope and not give up hope.

The missing man had been observed 25 years ago being bundled into his navy Ford Transit Van by five armed and masked men at White Strand, Castlecove.

Gardai, reportedly, have long believed Mr Pickards disappearance was linked to a dispute over drugs money and involved hired gunmen, possibly from Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, as the new search continues, a Garda liaison officer has been appointed to keep the family updated on the excavation.
Coastguard volunteer Jenny Carway, injured in the incident, was comforted by colleagues from both the Kilkee and Doolin units of the service during the brief ceremony at the Diamond Rocks in Kilkee.

She was on board the Kilkee Coast Guard Delta RIB capsized by a rogue wave which tossed its three- person crew into the sea.
Out in front with eight nominations is TV3s police drama, Red Rock, with Sean Mahon, who plays Brian McGonigle in the hit series, nominated for best male performance.

Sean, who played a corrupt copper, was recently killed off in the series that has grown into a serious police drama. Both Andrea Irvine, who plays Garda Sergeant Angela Tyrell, and Jane McGrath, in the role of Garda Sharon Cleere in the soap, are nominated for best female performance.

Meanwhile, in the award for directing for soap or comedy, Red Rock directors Diarmuid Goggins and Lisa Mulch are both nominated, while Paul Walker is nominated for best writer.

...and finally we've been nominated for best Irish soap!

WHOOP!

8 #IFTA NOMINATIONS! pic.twitter.com/uTHanvLY73  Red Rock (@RedRockTV3) September 14, 2016

It has also been nominated for the best soap/continuing drama alongside RTEs Fair City and TG4s Ros na Run, which is also in the running for the best Irish language award.

Fair City received a total of three nominations: Karl Shiels, who plays wheeler-dealer Robbie T, is in the running for best male performance, while Aisling ONeill, who plays Carol, his wife, is nominated for best female performance.

RTE comedy Bridget and Eamon, is nominated for best comedy, female performance (Jennifer Zamparelli), with Zamparelli, Jason Butler and Bernard OShea named for the best soap/comedy writers. Butler is also among the nominees for the title of best soap/comedy director.

Sharon Horgan, who stars in and co-wrote Catastrophe, a British sitcom first broadcast on Channel 4 in January last year, is nominated for best soap/comedy writer.

The English-born Irish actress, writer, director, and producer, is also known for the comedy series, Pulling.

Her brother Shane is a former Leinster and international rugby player and rugby analyst for RTE Sports.

Mrs Browns Boys, meanwhile, receives three nominations with comedian and actor Brendan OCarroll, nominated for best male performance and best soap/comedy writer.

With the awards being announced in Dublins Double Tree Hotel on Friday, October 7, the academys chief executive Aine Moriarty said they were proud to showcase the great Irish-made talent and acknowledge the hard work, creativity, and spirit of the people producing hundreds of hours of great television every year.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during a meeting with the foreign ministers of France and Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Jean-Marc Ayrault, urged them not to recognize the legitimacy of the elections to the Russian State Duma, which will be held on the territory of the occupied Crimea.

"The head of state called not to recognize the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections in Russia, which are also planned to be held in the occupied Ukrainian Crimea, the president thanked the OSCE and the EU for their decision not to send observers to the elections on the peninsula," the press service of the Ukrainian government reported after the meeting.
Details of the 15th Imagine event, which takes place October 20-30, were announced at Waterfords City Hall, and events include theatre, dance, music, visual art, discussion and debate, with a strong focus on home- produced work.

Artists from Waterford and across Ireland will be joined by their counterparts from the US and UK for the festival, which, according to festival director Olllie Breslin, will be an action-packed 11 days.

The streets, stages, and some unexpected venues in Waterford will be transformed this October by a creative collision of the arts, he said.

The 2016 programme is our biggest to date and represents another move forward for Imagine and the arts scene in Waterford, which is abuzz with talent and new energy.

The programme was launched by broadcaster and writer Manchan Magan who described it as a roll-call of the best of what Ireland is becoming  a socially inclusive, outward-looking society, keen to learn about local heritage and nature, to widen our horizons towards an international future, and to let our hair down and party from time to time.

The Art of Social History Films by Michael Fortune is something not to be missed at this years festival! pic.twitter.com/A45UCAYtBY  Imagine Arts Festival Waterford (@Imagine_Fest) September 13, 2016

Waterfords principal industrial school and Magdalene laundry will be potently commemorated by the Waterford Memories Project through performance, talks, and first-person accounts.

There are appearances from alternative rock, new folk, and political rap artists, talks with and about inspiring world travellers, visionary designers, and pioneers of social history, as well as a hoedown between Rinn Gaeltacht musicians and their Waterford City rivals.

An early morning hootenanny on Waterfords quays will explore the citys maritime labour and social history.

Among the highlights of the Imagine programme is the world premiere of The Green One, an opera by composer Eric Sweeney and poet Mark Roper; the final farewell gig of the acclaimed US band Richmond Fontaine; a 1916 gala trad music concert; and the unveiling of a new visual art exhibition curated by Colin Martin.
IMAGINE filming an action scene involving two young offenders whove stolen a stash of cocaine, a very irate drug dealer brandishing a nail gun, and rapidly approaching gardai.

Now imagine filming it while seven months pregnant.

Thats the drama that faced actress Hilary Rose  and just one of the manic but fun days on set in the eagerly-anticipated comedy, The Young Offenders.

The movie was a labour of love in more ways than one. Rose and the films writer/director, Peter Foott, were expecting their first child, Jake, while completing their first film together.

I always joked while making this film that I was making our baby and Peter was making our other baby, laughed the actress. Were very proud of both of them.

Though she had a healthy pregnancy, she recalls finding the filming of the movies climactic scene tough.

It took about four months to shoot the film because we were waiting on peoples availability. By the end I was very heavily pregnant. In the final scene, the kitchen scene, where everyones getting shot with nail guns, Im seven months pregnant.

It took us two very long days, probably 16-hour days. By the end of the first day, I was really struggling and I said to Peter: Im going to have to take it handy tomorrow. So he rewrote the scene that night, I get shot in the leg and I end up sitting on the ground!

Originally from Montenotte, Rose plays young offender Conors mother, Mairead, in the film. It was a really interesting experience to be playing a mum for the first time, knowing that I was going to become a mum for the first time. Shes struggling, shes trying to get by, shes a tough cookie. But shes got a soft spot, and her son is her number one priority.

Rose even jokes that her husband made her audition for the film  a wind-up on his part, you suspect, given that the role was written with her in mind. Its good working with him I have to say. He made me audition for the part which is hilarious! Were always testing each other  Id said to him I could put together a shortlist of actresses for the role. The two of us are always trying to stick it to each other for a bit of fun.

Using the real-life 440 million cocaine haul off the coast of West Cork in 2007 as inspiration, The Young Offenders is a vibrant comedy about two city teenagers who go on a road trip to steal some of the haul in the hope of bettering their lives. Shot last year on a tiny budget, the film has been getting rave reviews ahead of its nationwide release tomorrow.

Rose and Foott were introduced to each other by mutual friends. Different people would say to me: Youd be great with this guy. When they met in Dublin and she told him she was an actress he told her he never dated actresses and Rose quipped: Thats ok, were not dating. Theyve been together since.

Rose, an accomplished theatre actress, has worked with Foott before, fleshing out wacky characters including Handy Sandie in Republic of Telly and Russian streetwalker Irinka in hidden camera show The Fear.

But this was their first move into feature-length comedy, and she thought the film was a great idea from the outset.

One of the things that I love about Peter is he comes to me really excited and hes got this little glint in his eye. Ive got an idea  thats always what he starts with. The second he says it, I know that its going to be something really interesting.

Of course I knew it would mean all of us working on it, pitching in, not just, you know, on-screen, but behind the scenes as well. We have a good working relationship at this stage, were at it five, six years.

At the start its difficult to iron out your boundaries and not drag your personal stuff on set  but thats gone now. You cant. And one thing about that set that Ive noticed, there was never any fracas or tension. Everybody genuinely got on, and we just had fun.

Hilary Rose in The Young Offenders with Alex Murphy and Chris Walley.

We looked forward to our lunch breaks where we used to have cake-eating competitions. Just really silly fun.

The Young Offenders not only has the feel of becoming an instant Irish comedy classic, but has the potential to travel  its already been selected for the prestigious London Film Festival and you get the sense that others will follow.

Were Rose and the cast aware that they were making something special while shooting at locations across the county, or can that be a dangerous notion to have when youre still filming?

It is, it can be. Peter and I do have quite a lot under our belts TV-wise. There have been things in the past where weve gone: Its a definite hit and it wouldnt have been. You cant help but be excited about something but you also need to be a bit grounded about things, otherwise you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

The most important thing for me at this stage of my career is to look at a piece of work and go: Im really proud of that. That to me is success. Thats the way I try to look at things.
As the host of At Your Service, Francis Brennan has helped transform some of the countrys gloomiest guest houses from drab to fab over the past decade.

Now the makeover king is hoping to help fans give their home a five-star finish too after joining forces with Dunnes Stores.

Squishy towels, plump pillows and posh handwash are just some of the trimmings set to hit shelves here later this month as part of the chains new Francis Brennan collection.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner however, the renowned hotelier revealed how he almost threw the towel in.

It could be going on five years, but we never did anything about it until last year, Francis said of the fancy-but-affordable homeware range, which starts from 4 for a face cloth.

John, my brother, suggested to [Dunnes Stores chief executive] Margaret Heffernan, You should talk to Francis about doing a range of stuff because he knows all about the hotel business.

So then we had a chat and then we didnt do it and then we had a chat again, so were at it over a year now. It doesnt happen overnight.

Presiding over the plush Park Hotel in Kenmare for the past thirty years, the well-polished presenter certainly knows his tog rating from his thread count.

And hes in good company as he joins Pauls Costelloe and Galvin, among other celebrity designers snapped up by the revamped brand today less yellow pack than red carpet.

I think the collection looks terrific, said Francis, whos originally from Dublin but has lived in the Kingdom for more than four decades. Im delighted with the quality.

You can pay any money you like for linen  I know in the hotel we pay 169 for a single sheet  but I wanted to get very good linen that would be affordable for everybody.

I hope itll hit the mark for people who want a quality product at an affordable price.

With his perma-combed hair and signature pocket square, its perhaps no surprise that so many turn to the famously fussy business man for advice on overhauling their loo, and indeed lives.

Host with the most Francis previously penned a book of modern manners, Its the Little Things, in 2014, as well as a gratitude guide, Counting my Blessings, last year.

I always remember one night I was late-night shopping in Killarney, recalled the author, who started out as a waiter in some of the capitals top hotels including The Shelbourne. I was coming home from a ball so I was in a monkey suit.

Francis Brennan collection for Dunnes Stores includes luxury robes, 70. Picture: Barry Murphy. Stylist: Ann Marie OLeary

I thought, Ill run in here now and get a few bits because therell be nobody in here. So Im over rooting around the veg area looking at onions and this lady comes over to me and she says, Oh, would you buy the purple onions rather than the golden onions? Im thinking, Oh please, its twenty past two in the morning  I dont need to be discussing onions, and she kept me waiting twenty minutes.

I dont know  people probably think that I just know a bit about everything, continued Francis. After being in the business 40 years you do know a thing or two, I suppose  you dont even know you know it but you do know it.

I always say a hotel manager should know a little bit about everything and not a lot about anything, and you can get away with it then!

A generously proportioned bath towel and accompanying wash cloth are his two must-haves for impressing guests at home, the absence of either being his own pet peeve while travelling.

Globe-trotting Francis  recently seen leading his own Grand Indian Tour on RTE television  explained: Sometimes you get towels that are too small  that drives me mad.

Im not a big fat fellow, and they dont even go round me. I dont know what they do around a big fat fellow!

So the size of the towel [is important], and I like a face cloth in the bathroom too.

Francis Brennan collection for Dunnes Stores includes stripe hand towel, 12, stripe bath towel, 25. Picture: Barry Murphy. Stylist: Ann Marie OLeary

But callers to the Sneem home where he lives alone are in for disappointment if theyre expecting Park-style silver service. I dont have a hotel at home, I have a home, insisted the 63-year-old. The way it is is the way it is if you come.

My nieces and nephews, who are now in their 20s and 30s, always loved coming to stay in Franciss house because they loved the duvets. I always remember the kids sort of getting lost in the duvet because it was so fluffy.

Apart from that, I just have white linen and white towels at home all the time.

Despite spending the past twelve months researching bed spreads, in-demand Francis confessed he doesnt have much time to snuggle up under his own.

As well as launching his first homeware collection, hes set to be reunited with sibling John on the ninth season of At Your Service, which hits small screens in the New Year.

John is with us again this year, revealed Francis. He came out of it last year because his business Dromquinna [Manor] was busy, busy, and he felt he wasnt giving it enough time.

But hes got a very good general manager there now and he can get away [more] so its great to have him back.

Its go, go, go, he added, but, listen, Im not afraid of hard work.

Once I get five or six hours sleep a night Im happy!

Francis Brennan The Collection is available from select Dunnes Stores and online from September 29.
Jeannette Brazels 15-year-old son just wants to get on with life  understandable, given the inroads eczema made on his life as a young boy. From the moment he was born, he started to scratch, says Howth-based Jeannette.

At his six-week check-up, covered in a rash that doctors diagnosed as infantile dermatitis, Jeannette was told this was common, hed be fine. Instead the eczema got worse. Hed wake at night, tearing at his hands and face, the sheet covered with blood. Id bathe him, use [a] steroid and an emollient. Itd clear slightly but once the steroid was finished, itd come back worse than ever.

On the internet, Jeannette found lots of conflicting advice that involved magic potions and lotions promising to cure eczema forever. Old wives tales persisted  use olive oil, use coal tar, put him on goats milk, put him on soya.

Things came to a head when he was 11 months and teething. We couldnt get his cheeks under control. They were on fire.

At Our Ladys Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, a dermatology nurse took charge. A proper eczema-care regime began. We were shown how to bathe him correctly, how to apply emollients and steroids when needed. We [learned about] special garments that protected his skin from damage caused by scratching.

Caring for a child with chronic eczema is exhausting and frustrating. The bathing, emollient, and steroid application could take up to two hours every morning and evening. At times the same treatment wouldnt have the same efficacy, says Jeannette.

She recalls a nightmarish holiday in Spain when her son was two and got seriously ill with eczema herpeticum. Doctors didnt know what it was and pumped him full of intravenous steroids. A dermatologist, recognising the illness, prescribed an anti-viral drug. The virus was so virulent he lost his fingernails and toenails. We were told children die from this condition  the virus can pass into the brain.

Some years went by without improvement. We followed treatments relentlessly, bathed him daily, used stronger steroids when advised, yet his legs were constantly infected.

The team at Our Ladys Hospital recommended immune suppressant therapy. It was a huge step but  with primary school imminent  his family felt it was the only option. After six weeks therapy, his skin was transformed.

It had plumped out. It was healthy and smooth on his legs and thighs. It looked normal. He lost the dry cracked area around his eyes and mouth. But junior infants wasnt easy, says Jeannette, who co-founded the Irish Eczema Society in 2004 to address the gap in information provision. (It since merged with other skin charities to form Irish Skin Foundation).

He still needed to be bathed and have his hands in gloves much of the time. He couldnt use finger paints and hold crayons. We explained he wasnt going to give anything to other children. Heat and sun through glass triggered his eczema  the classroom had a lot of glass so they installed new blinds to shade it.

So much had to be modified in primary school, but they worked through it, says Jeannette. Now in transition year, he doesnt want it to interfere with his life  he just wants to get on with being a teen.

Eczema affects one in five children and one in 12 adults in Ireland. Some 65% of children grow out of it by age 7; 75% by age 16. But for a quarter of patients, it continues to adulthood.

Mater Hospital consultant dermatologist Dr Niki Ralph (also a dermatologist for skincare brand La Roche-Posay), says eczemas impact on health-related quality of life cant be overstated. Impairment of quality of life is greater or equal to other childhood diseases such as asthma and diabetes. If your child has diabetes, people will say thats terrible, but if your child has eczema, theyll say oh, doesnt everyone?

What people dont realise, for example, is that for 60% of sufferers, itchy, sore skin causes sleep deprivation, leading to poor concentration and poor school/work performance. It causes mood changes  teens with eczema can become depressed and introverted.

Parents of children with moderate/severe eczema must establish a strict routine of daily baths, apply moisturiser at least three times daily, and apply topical steroids. Its time consuming. Parents can feel fatigued, frustrated, hopeless.

David McMahon, head of advocacy for Irish Skin Foundation (ISF), says eczema can affect self-image and confidence. Skin disease is very apparent to others. Youre prone to being looked at. Misconceptions arise people think: Contagious disease. This is very trying for children and particularly for teens. The micro-expressions can be very unsettling  when cashiers and people at bus-stops look at you twice.

For children on sleepovers, he cites the worry of waking next morning to blood-stained sheets  eczema causes skin to split, bleed, and flake. For young adults dating, there are further ramifications. Eczemas unpredictable. It can suddenly be there in a private part of your body or in a part youre sensitive about. In a dating context, this knocks confidence.

Then theres the expense. According to ISF, one 22-year-old college student reported annual cost of her eczema at approximately 330. This included GP and dermatologist visits, hygiene products, and emollient creams. As a student, she got discounted GP/consultant visits  cost would be higher for private patients.

Theres no cure for eczema but it can be managed  newer treatments are coming on stream all the time. Regular emollient therapy (specially formulated moisturisers) is the cornerstone of treatment. But, says McMahon, only three products are available on the medical card that suit eczema sufferers. These are limited, basic, and old-fashioned treatments. If they dont suit you or arent effective, you have to look to other brands  some of these more modern, advanced products are pricier.

With emollients needing to be applied generously (500g-600g weekly for adults; 250g weekly for children) up to six times daily to large parts of the body, people dont use the pricier products or, if they do, they use them sparingly. This vicious circle puts people in hospital or their doctor prescribes steroids  perhaps unnecessary if they had broader access to over-the-counter products. The ISF has made a submission to Government to address cost.

A free public Eczema Expert: Advice for life event takes place in the Red Cow Moran Hotel on September 17. Registration is vital  visit irishskin.ie.

ISF has a new booklet, What you need to know about eczema.

La Roche-Posay has launched a new product in its LIPIKAR range to help treat eczema symptoms.

irishskinfoundation.ie

larocheposay.ie.

Healthy tips on how to tackle eczema
While many Facebook users complain about baby pictures clogging up their News Feed, the subject of those photos may be just as unhappy in years to come. And one Austrian teen has taken a rather extreme course of action over her baby photos being posted to Facebook.

An 18-year-old woman, who has not been named under Austrian privacy laws, said that the photos were embarrassing and a violation of her privacy. Speaking to Austrias Heute newspaper, she said, They knew no shame and no limits.
I STOOD here a year ago and I told you that the state of our union was not good. I told you that there is not enough Europe in this union. And that there is not enough union in this union.

I am not going to stand here today and tell you that everything is now fine. It is not.

Let us all be very honest in our diagnosis.

Our European Union is, at least in part, in an existential crisis.

Over the summer, I listened carefully to members of this parliament, to government representatives, to many national parliamentarians and to the ordinary Europeans who shared their thoughts with me.

I have witnessed several decades of EU integration. There were many strong moments. Of course, there were many difficult times too, and times of crisis.

But never before have I seen such little common ground between our member states. So few areas where they agree to work together.

Never before have I heard so many leaders speak only of their domestic problems, with Europe mentioned only in passing, if at all.

Never before have I seen representatives of the EU institutions setting very different priorities, sometimes in direct opposition to national governments and national parliaments. It is as if there is almost no intersection between the EU and its national capitals anymore.

Never before have I seen national governments so weakened by the forces of populism and paralysed by the risk of defeat in the next elections.

Never before have I seen so much fragmentation, and so little commonality in our union.

We now have a very important choice to make.

Do we give in to a very natural feeling of frustration? Do we allow ourselves to become collectively depressed? Do we want to let our union unravel before our eyes?

Or do we say: Is this not the time to pull ourselves together? Is this not the time to roll up our sleeves and double, triple our efforts? Is this not the time when Europe needs more determined leadership than ever, rather than politicians abandoning ship?

EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that the EU still does not have enough union and that the bloc still needs more united action to move forward in the face of widespread opposition to more centralised powers. Picture: AP Photo/Jean Francois Badias

Our reflections on the state of the union must start with a sense of realism and with great honesty.

First of all, we should admit that we have many unresolved problems in Europe. There can be no doubt about this.

From high unemployment and social inequality, to mountains of public debt, to the huge challenge of integrating refugees, to the very real threats to our security at home and abroad  every one of Europes member states has been affected by the continuing crises of our times.

We are even faced with the unhappy prospect of a member leaving our ranks.

Secondly, we should be aware that the world is watching us.

Thirdly, we should recognise that we cannot solve all our problems with one more speech. Or with one more summit.

Europe can only work if we all work for unity and commonality, and forget the rivalry between competences and institutions. Only then will Europe be more than the sum of its parts. And only then can Europe be stronger and better than it is today. Only then will leaders of the EU institutions and national governments be able to regain the trust of Europes citizens in our common project.

Because I believe the next 12 months are decisive if we want to reunite our union. If we want to overcome the tragic divisions between east and west which have opened up in recent months. If we want to show that we can be fast and decisive on the things that really matter. If we want to show to the world that Europe is still a force capable of joint action.

We have to get to work.

I sent a letter with this message to president [of the European Parliament, Martin] Schulz and [Slovakian] prime minister [Robert] Fico this morning.

The next 12 months are the crucial time to deliver a better Europe:

a Europe that protects

a Europe that preserves the European way of life

a Europe that empowers our citizens

a Europe that defends at home and abroad

a Europe that takes responsibility

A EUROPE THAT PRESERVES OUR WAY OF LIFE

An integral part of our European way of life is our values.

The values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law. Values fought for on battlefields and soapboxes over centuries.

We Europeans also believe in independent, effective justice systems. Independent courts keep governments, companies and people in check. Effective justice systems support economic growth and defend fundamental rights. That is why Europe promotes and defends the rule of law.

Being European also means being open and trading with our neighbours, instead of going to war with them. It means being the worlds biggest trading bloc, with trade agreements in place or under negotiation with over 140 partners across the globe.

Being European also means a fair playing field.

Europe is not the Wild West, but a social market economy.

A fair playing field also means that in Europe, consumers are protected against cartels and abuses by powerful companies. And that every company, no matter how big or small, has to pay its taxes where it makes its profits.

This goes for giants like Apple too, even if their market value is higher than the GDP of 165 countries in the world. In Europe we do not accept powerful companies getting illegal backroom deals on their taxes.

The level of taxation in a country like Ireland is not our issue. Ireland has the sovereign right to set the tax level wherever it wants. But it is not right that one company can evade taxes that could have gone to Irish families and businesses, hospitals and schools. The Commission watches over this fairness. This is the social side of competition law. And this is what Europe stands for.

A strong part of our European way of life that I want to preserve is our agricultural sector. The commission will always stand by our farmers, particularly when they go through difficult moments as is the case today. Last year, the dairy sector was hit with a ban imposed by Russia. This is why the commission mobilised 1 billion in support of milk farmers to help them get back on their feet. Because I will not accept that milk is cheaper than water.

A EUROPE THAT EMPOWERS

We need to work for a Europe that empowers our citizens and our economy. And today, both have gone digital.

Digital technologies and digital communications are permeating every aspect of life.

All they require is access to high-speed internet. We need to be connected. Our economy needs it. People need it.

And we have to invest in that connectivity now.

That is why today the commission is proposing to fully deploy 5G, the fifth generation of mobile communication systems, across the European Union by 2025. This has the potential to create a further two million jobs in the EU.

Everyone benefiting from connectivity means that it should not matter where you live or how much you earn.

So we propose today to equip every European village and every city with free wireless internet access around the main centres of public life by 2020.

As the world goes digital, we also have to empower our artists and creators and protect their works. Artists and creators are our crown jewels. The creation of content is not a hobby. It is a profession. And it is part of our European culture. I want journalists, publishers and authors to be paid fairly for their work, whether it is made in studios or living rooms, whether it is disseminated offline or online, whether it is published via a copying machine or hyperlinked on the web.

The overhaul of Europes copyright rules we are proposing today does exactly that.

Empowering our economy means investing not just in connectivity, but in job creation.

That is why Europe must invest strongly in its youth, in its jobseekers, in its start-ups.

The 315 billion Investment Plan for Europe, which we agreed together here in this House just 12 months ago, has already raised 116 billion in investments  from Latvia to Luxembourg  in its first year of operation.

And now we will take it further. Today, we propose to double the duration of the fund and double its financial capacity.

With your support, we will make sure that our European Investment Fund will provide a total of at least 500 billion  half a trillion  of investments by 2020. And we will work beyond that to reach 630 billion by 2022.

Solidarity is the glue that keeps our union together.

And when it comes to managing the refugee crisis, we have started to see solidarity. I am convinced much more solidarity is needed. But I also know that solidarity must be given voluntarily. It must come from the heart. It cannot be forced.

We often show solidarity most readily when faced with emergencies.

When the Portuguese hills were burning, Italian planes doused the flames. When floods cut off the power in Romania, Swedish generators turned the lights back on. When thousands of refugees arrived on Greek shores, Slovakian tents provided shelter.

In the same spirit, the commission is proposing today to set up a European Solidarity Corps. Young people across the EU will be able to volunteer their help where it is needed most, to respond to crisis situations, like the refugee crisis or the recent earthquakes in Italy.

I want this European Solidarity Corps up and running by the end of the year. And by 2020, to see the first 100,000 young Europeans taking part.

By voluntarily joining the European Solidarity Corps, these young people will be able to develop their skills and get not only work but also invaluable human experience.

A EUROPE THAT DEFENDS

A Europe that protects is a Europe that defends  at home and abroad. We must defend ourselves against terrorism.

Since the Madrid bombing of 2004, there have been more than 30 terrorist attacks in Europe  14 in the last year alone. More than 600 innocent people died in cities like Paris, Brussels, Nice, or Ansbach.

Just as we have stood shoulder to shoulder in grief, so must we stand united in our response.

But we need to know who is crossing our borders.

That is why we will defend our borders with the new European Border and Coast Guard, which is now being formalised by parliament and council, just nine months after the commission proposed it.

By November, we will propose a European Travel Information System  an automated system to determine who will be allowed to travel to Europe. This way we will know who is travelling to Europe before they even get here.

And we all need that information.

Europe needs to toughen up. Nowhere is this truer than in our defence policy.

A scene from the Paris Attacks, last November

Europe can no longer afford to piggy-back on the military might of others or let France alone defend its honour in Mali.

We have to take responsibility for protecting our interests and the European way of life.

We should also move towards common military assets, in some cases owned by the EU. And, of course, in full complementarity with Nato.

The business case is clear. The lack of co-operation in defence matters costs Europe between 25 billion and 100 billion per year, depending on the areas concerned. We could use that money for so much more.

It can be done. We are building a multinational fleet of air tankers. Lets replicate this example.

A EUROPE THAT TAKES RESPONSIBILITY

The last point I want to make is about responsibility. About taking responsibility for building this Europe that protects.

I call on all EU institutions and on all of our member states to take responsibility.

We have to stop with the same old story that success is national, and failure European. Or our common project will not survive.

We need to remember the sense of purpose of our union. I therefore call on each of the 27 leaders making their way to Bratislava to think of three reasons why we need the European Union. Three things they are willing to take responsibility for defending. And that they are willing to deliver swiftly afterwards.

Slow delivery on promises made is a phenomenon that more and more risks undermining the unions credibility.

Take the Paris agreement. We Europeans are the world leaders on climate action. It was Europe that brokered the first-ever legally binding, global climate deal. It was Europe that built the coalition of ambition that made agreement in Paris possible. But Europe is now struggling to show the way and be among the first to ratify our agreement. Only France, Austria and Hungary have ratified it so far.

I call on all member states and on this parliament to do your part in the next weeks, not months. We should be faster. Lets get the Paris agreement ratified now. It can be done. It is a question of political will. And it is about Europes global influence.

The European institutions too, have to take responsibility.

I have asked each of my commissioners to be ready to discuss, in the next two weeks, the state of our union in the national parliaments of the countries they each know best. Since the beginning of my mandate, my commissioners have made over 350 visits to national parliaments. And I want them to do this even more now. Because Europe can only be built with the member states, never against them.

Being political also means correcting technocratic mistakes immediately when they happen. The commission, the parliament and the council have jointly decided to abolish mobile roaming charges. This is a promise we will deliver. Not just for business travellers who go abroad for two days. Not only for the holiday maker who spends two weeks in the sun. But for our cross-border workers. And for the millions of Erasmus students who spend their studies abroad for one or two semesters. I have therefore withdrawn a draft that a well-meaning official designed over the summer. The draft was not technically wrong. But it missed the point of what was promised. And you will see a new, better draft as of next week. When you roam, it should be like at home.

Being political is also what allows us to implement the Stability and Growth Pact with common sense. The pacts creation was influenced by theory. Its application has become a doctrine for many. And today, the pact is a dogma for some.

In theory, a single decimal point over 60% in a countrys debt should be punished. But in reality, you have to look at the reasons for debt. We should try to support and not punish ongoing reform efforts. For this we need responsible politicians. And we will continue to apply the pact not in a dogmatic manner, but with common sense and with the flexibility that we wisely built into the rules.

Finally, taking responsibility also means holding ourselves accountable to voters. That is why we will propose to change the absurd rule that commissioners have to step down from their functions when they want to run in European elections.

The German chancellor, the Czech, Danish or Estonian prime minister do not stop doing their jobs when they run for re-election. Neither should commissioners. If we want a commission that responds to the needs of the real world, we should encourage commissioners to seek the necessary rendezvous with democracy. And not prevent this.

I am as young as the European project that turns 60 next years in March 2017.

I have lived it, worked for it, my whole life.

My father believed in Europe because he believed in stability, workers rights and social progress.

Because he understood all too well that peace in Europe was precious  and fragile.

I believe in Europe because my father taught me those same values.

But what are we teaching our children now? What will they inherit from us? A union that unravels in disunity? A union that has forgotten its past and has no vision for the future?

Our children deserve better.

They deserve a Europe that preserves their way of life.

They deserve a Europe that empowers and defends them. They deserve a Europe that protects.

It is time we  the institutions, the governments, the citizens  all took responsibility for building that Europe. Together.
The state of the art in cardiac care is therapies such as stents and pacemakers. These are delivered in a unit called a cath lab. Acute life-threatening heart attacks must be treated with emergency care delivered rapidly, in a matter of minutes, in such a lab.

To deliver this level of care, the unit needs to have staff and equipment commensurate with the needs of the population. Otherwise, we get waiting lists for outpatient care, and in-patients with life-threatening illness waiting longer than is safe or acceptable for treatment.

It is against this backdrop that the cardiologists in the south-east, covering Wexford, Waterford, south Tipperary, south Kilkenny, and Carlow, recognised major shortfalls in the level of resource for our cath lab at Waterford, and this was flagged up to HSE management in 2013, and identified as a critical clinical risk since then.

We sought the additional funding for a second cath lab at that time, recognising this infrastructural development was key to adequate provision of service for our population.

Subsequently, the Department of Health initiated a clinical review of service, tasked to look at the catchment population for the south-east cath lab. We had no part in the drafting of the terms of reference of the review, although we had stressed the critical issue to be addressed was one of patient safety, in this hugely oversubscribed service.

The review in the SE consisted of a single visit to the unit at UHW, and did not seek opinions from the consultant cardiologists in Wexford General and south Tipperary who, as advocates for their patients, were clearly key stakeholders in the service. The review was finalised and submitted to the Department of Health without discussion of its findings with the consultants regionally. This was the Herity report.

In our view, this is a flawed report. It contains a fundamental logical error in its methodology. It calculates the demand for the service by determining the number of service users. This methodology cannot be used in a system running beyond its capacity.

It underestimates the catchment of our lab as a result of the same fallacy. It mistakes constrained resource for low activity. And since all the recommendations ultimately derive from this catchment figure, the report recommendations are invalid.

The minister has accepted the review, without question, and he has undertaken to put in place its recommendations. This includes withdrawal of the existing 9-5 acute heart attack service, and a derisory increase of eight hours per week in operational capacity. This will have no measurable effect on the capacity of the service. The lists at UHW for the SE will lengthen, and inpatients will have to wait longer in valuable beds for their procedures. All of this means the service will continue to expose patients to avoidable clinical risk.

We have written to the minister to ask for a meeting, to discuss our concerns, and try to find a way forward. He has refused. We hope he finds the courage and statesmanship to reconsider this, for the sake of the health of patients in the South-East.
Traditionally teachers deal with knowledge, attitudes and skills. They involve themselves with the cognitive and emotional capacities of young people and they try to induct them into the science and social and political structures of the time the adults live in.

Traditional teachers see themselves as standing between the young people they teach and wider society represented by sound and steadfast institutions like the Banks, the Church, the legislature, Big Government.

Adults know the way things work. Adults are then best placed to introduce the young to the social institutions they will need in the future.

Something, however, has happened.

There is no institution out there now that is presumed innocent until proven guilty, as it were, and the pace of social change is so fast that adults are now uncertain about how society will look in the future. Children are picking up on this uncertainty.

They quickly learn to look more globally for signs about what they will need in years to come. They are becoming globalised through social media, internet access and a general facility with computers.

The west coast of Africa is apparently ahead of Europe in 4G reception, even though in those same places water may be in short supply and polluted.

This is a key symbol of the priority given to the global over the local. It is an example of how education has changed and why teachers now find themselves helping children relate to postmodern (global) institutions rather than modern (local) ones.

Of course many people complain about this shift but they are not always the most reputable of groups.

ISIS wages war against local populations in the name of a stable religious structure.

Brexit campaigners complain about the way Big Government has left the little man in the lurch and Donald Trump sounds very plausible when he causes listeners to look at how the inequalities in American society negatively impact on the ordinary citizen.

Are children, teenagers, University students not to be affected by this general bad mood, this sense of political protest?

Of course, they have to be affected and yet they too are caught in the increasing virtualisation of the world, as if they cannot stop themselves being drawn into the spiders web of Twitter accounts and so called Reality YouTubes.

How can they seriously sit down and listen to a lecturer going on and on about an old society that has been replaced?

Oh, I know. Let us make it active. Let us get them to jump about the place and fill in questionnaires and feedback sheets.

Or no, better still, let us put the information online so that they can switch it off whenever they find it irrelevant. Which is most of the time.

Come to think of it, maybe we could resolve this whole matter by taking as experts those who operate well in the virtual world as distinct from those who are limited by their knowledge of the local world.

Aristotle, that strange man, once held that the ability to make the right kind of friendships is the best outcome one could expect from a moral education.

He had not heard of the modern appeal for knowledge, attitudes and skills.

Nevertheless, he may have been on to something.

Friendships, however, can sometimes be messy and they demand real world evidence. You cant pretend you are someone else or even claim to be two or three people wrapped into one if you want to be someones friend (human, that is).

You might even be called to order on a few things. Aristotle started going on and on about the qualities that attract us in a friend. The downside is that we are repulsed by other things. So a certain kind of negotiation has to happen and this can be awkward.

We postmoderns are lucky though that scientists in Harvard have just invented an autonomous robot which can be a constant companion. The robot might look like an octopus and mightnt be great at a party but he or she, though silent at the moment, could be programmed to tell you exactly what you want to hear.

Now this is the best kind of postmodern friend, because it ultimately reflects what you want to believe about yourself or your multiple selves. It is committed only to the virtual game arena and is not fazed by local issues like air pollution or the cost of accommodation.

Now if you are a bit of a drag and really insist on belonging to the real world and still face difficulties in doing so, then some minor chemical enhancements might help.

Ritalin, which is helpful in settling down kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) has also been found useful in sharpening the attention of normal kids. The American Congress has been worried by this trend since 2000 while anecdotally the use of enhancement drugs is on the increase.

Uppers can give you a more bubbly personality, while downers can prevent any hyperactive excesses. Of course we could try to imagine ourselves with metallic extensions like an iphone or google goggles, but that is so commonplace that we have crossed this Rubicon without so much as a comment.

The problem of postmodern education is how to teach and learn lessons about reality (whatever that is) while our preferred headspace remains in the Hollywood world of X-men and Transformers.

Dr Fiachra Long pictured in St Fin Barres Cathedral Photo: Dara McSweeney, Provision

Fiachra Long teaches in the School of Education where he is currently Head of School. A trained secondary teacher (UCD, 1976), Fiachra worked in the classroom teaching French and Religious Education to all levels along with Maths until 1983. Fiachra holds a doctorate in philosophy from Louvain-la-neuve, Belgium (1986) and subsequently taught at college level in New York before coming to UCC in 1990. He led the Professional Diploma in Education for a number of years (2008-2014) and prepared the groundwork for the accreditation of the new two year PME. Fiachra is author of Educating the Postmodern Child (Bloomsbury: 2013) and is currently interested in developing collaborative curriculum. His current writing projects include an edited collection with Routledge and a book on Transhumanism.
I WORE a purple dress the night I launched my book on the hatred of mothers in Irish society, Mother Ireland, six years ago. In her remarks my publisher said we needed more purple in feminism.

I was prepared for a backlash. After all I was attacking the central tenet of official Irish feminism: That the only freedom for mothers was freedom from their children. But I was not prepared for the clamp-down I met in some quarters. A friend and journalistic colleague looked at me and said, Lets just pretend you never wrote that book.

I received an email from another writer which called me an anti-feminist endorsing Article 41.2 of the 1937 Constitution and put this down to the fact that I was full of hatred for your own mother. I was accused, on national radio, of outlandish beliefs, such as that men are incapable of caring for children.

I wasnt even particularly talking about myself as a stay-at-home mother in Mother Ireland, because I am a writer and even when Im not writing Im thinking about writing.

I wrote out of outrage that the massive and fundamental task of rearing children was given neither support nor value, especially by official Irish feminism. This sticks in my craw because the reason it isnt valued is that women do it.

Then I moved on. I rehabilitated myself by doing more journalism about lots of issues. Though the wide-open editorial policy of this newspaper has allowed me to return to the topic several times, my book didnt impinge on the national debate about mothers.

Official feminism and official government economic policy sing from the same hymn sheet: get them into childcare so she can do some real work.

But in the UK my publishers wish that there be more purple in feminism is beginning to come true. A young mother called Vanessa Olorenshaw subtitles her new book, Liberating Motherhood, birthing the purplestockings movement.

The purplestockings get their colour from the bluestockings of literary suffragettes with the redstockings of 1960s radical feminists.

With a number of maternal feminist organisations like Mothers at Home Matter and All Mothers Work and the new Womens Equality Party, Olorenshaw, a former lawyer and trade union activist, is tackling head-on the grotesque devaluation of motherhood.

She puts it like this: The reality is stark: mothers are, in gradual steps, losing the rights, freedom and economic ability to raise their own children, within the patriarchal and capitalist project. She describes this as market-driven environmental and social destruction.

She cites most of the same writers I read, writers who dont feature in the canon of official feminism: Selma James, Daphne de Marneffe, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Melissa Benn, Ann Crittenden, Marilyn Waring, Steve Biddulph and she adds others such as Andrea OReilly , Naomi Stadlen and Antonella Gambotto-Burke.

But she is much braver than I was in tackling head-on the issue of maternal essentialism.

This is the belief that there are attributes which are essential to mothers and not shared by, say, fathers. Its bloody obvious there are attributes which are essential to mothers but this is absolute heresy in official feminist circles.

The fatwa against maternal essentialism was explained for me years ago by childcare guru Penelope Leach: Motherhood loses women status so its importance is too dangerous to admit.

But where does this society-wide fear of motherhood come from? Fear of the power and love of mothers. Gambotto-Burke nails it: fear of sensitivity, fear of what men identify as weakness, fear of mutability, fear of chaos, fear of intimacy.

Olorenshaw brilliantly shows how motherhood, the very giving and sustaining of life, is being erased from public discourse. The Midwives Alliance of North America recently made a play to erase the word woman from its literature and replace it with birthing person and pregnant person.

What next? Chest-feeding instead of breast-feeding, she suggests.

Olorenshaw brings this right back to Platos Republic which saw babies removed from their mothers and mothers made to breastfeed any baby other than their own. A shiver of fear ran through me as I typed that last line.

This is what we are still up against in Western culture: The demand that our babies and children be taken away from us and reared by persons unknown.

Whenever it is suggested that children suffer when their parents do not have enough time for them  such as in the report prepared by Cork University with the citizens participation unit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs which was leaked a couple of weeks ago  there is hysteria in case it will make working mothers feel guilty.

How about all the other things such evidence might tell us, such as that parents work in the home is vital to childrens mental and physical health and deserves support, not stigma and the risk of poverty? But you wont get this response from Official Feminism. Instead youll get demands for more and better childcare places.

Instead of supporting mothers, Official Feminism wants to substitute them, writes Olorenshaw. She calls for creative thinking on support for mothers  restoration of tax allowances, universal basic income, a parents income  and adds: If one more person says childcare Ill scream.

She adds: Feminist activism is not and should not be about pay gaps and the glass ceiling. It is about life; it is about women as a class; it is about humanity and the environment.

Take a look at our National Womens Councils pre-budget submission, Vanessa. The pension gap and the pay gap are on the front page as is female representation on boards but mothers are not.

Paradoxically the pay gap is nearly all down to time spent out of the so-called workforce doing mother-work and progressive countries with more opportunities for time out tend to have wider pay gaps.

The solution for women is to formally recognise, once and for all, that mothers working in their homes are among the most vital workers in any economy.

The vast majority of mothers would choose to take time out or go part-time in their childrens early years if they could. At some point official feminism must ask itself why it finds this desire so dangerous and discountable.

Ireland was behind the UK in providing the structures to allow mothers into the workforce and those who fought this fight are still in power.

It is high time that the mic was wrested from their hands so that the mothers voices are heard and the fear of mothers can begin its slow death. With the purplestocking of Vanessa Olorenshaw  an Englishwoman published in Shanagarry  twisted around its neck.

Liberating Motherhood: Birthing The Purplestockings Movement is published by Womancraft Publishing (www.womancraftpublishing.com)
Prior to a debate on the commissions Apple tax ruling in relation to Ireland, Juncker drew howls of laughter from MEPs, when he hailed the commissions efforts in the fight against tax evasion.

There were also a few titters when he spoke of the strength of the EU, and insisted that the union was not in danger of disintegrating, despite the existential crisis caused by Brexit.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during his visit to the U.S. may meet with the candidates for the U.S. presidency.

"On September 18-21, the Ukrainian president will go on a visit to the United States, where he will address the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council and hold bilateral meetings with leaders of key states. He is also scheduled to hold talks with both the presidential candidates in the United States. As of today, his meeting with Hillary Clinton has been confirmed," the president's press secretary, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, reported.

 presidential spokesman

KYIV. Sept 14 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during his visit to the U.S. may meet with the candidates for the U.S. presidency.

"On September 18-21, the Ukrainian president will go on a visit to the United States, where he will address the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council and hold bilateral meetings with leaders of key states. He is also scheduled to hold talks with both the presidential candidates in the United States. As of today, his meeting with Hillary Clinton has been confirmed," the president's press secretary, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, reported.
Burma Advocacy Group to Govt: Join UN Convention Against Torture

Photographs of former political prisoners are seen at an event honoring those who died in custody of Burmas military regime / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  An advocacy group for Burmese political prisoners urged State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to join the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) to help eradicate the practice in Burma.

U Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told The Irrawaddy that torture is still present in Burma, including in ethnic areas.

He said criminal suspects are tortured during interrogation in police custody, domestic workers are tortured by employers, and students are tortured by teachers.

The rights group has long claimed that Burmas military and policeas well as some non-state armed groupshave used torture to coerce civilians into confessing.

AAPP said in the statement on Thursday that ratification of the CAT would show the international community that Burmas new government is dedicated to human rights, would reduce ongoing torture of civilians, and encourage trust between ethnic factions.

According to a report by the AAPP and the Former Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) published in May this year, between 7,000 and 10,000 political prisoners have been imprisoned in Burma since 1962.

The report gathered data on 1,621 former political prisoners and stated that 72 percent of them had been subjected to physical torture and 75 percent were psychologically tortured. Eight of the political prisoners died during interrogation.

AAPP said that Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, formerly National League for Democracy Lower House lawmaker for Pwintbyu, Magwe Division and now chief minister of the region, submitted a proposal urging the previous government to sign the UN treaty back in 2013. The previous military-backed government said they would sign the treaty but did not follow through.

Signing the treaty is important for the dignity of the new government and to protect Burmese individuals security, U Bo Kyi of AAPP said. By signing and ratifying the international convention, we would also get assistance from the international community to eradicate torture in the country.

He added that after ratifying the convention, the government would need to prepare laws and form monitoring groups to successfully implement it. We need to bring awareness to armed groups, the authorities, and the public to take action against torturers, Bo Kyi said.

Burmas State Counselor and foreign minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is now on her official visit to the United States. She is scheduled to attend the 71st session of the UN general assembly in New York.
Features Facebook Post Inspires Landmark Case for Migrant Workers in Thailand

Burmese migrant worker, Tun Tun Win, 24, and 13 coworkers have filed a lawsuit at a Thai labor court. / Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters

BANGKOK, Thailand  Tun Tun Win and his coworkers from Burma thought life was fine at the Thammakaset chicken farm in central Thailand, where they reared hundreds of thousands of birds for export to the European Union.

The migrants clocked 20 hours a day for 40 days straight, shoveling litter and culling the sick among the birds as they grew from chicks to poultry for slaughter.

After that, they worked 10-hour days for three weeks cleaning the warehouse-sized coops at the Thammakaset chicken farm in Lopburi province.

And finally they got three days off.

All that work for what they figured was a fair wage: nearly US$7 a day, with free rent and electricity.

We thought our employer was a nice guy because he gave us rooms, and we didnt have to pay rent, Tun Tun Win said. We stayed for free, and we got our money.

More than 3 million migrants work in Thailand, the vast majority from neighboring Burma, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Many are exploited on farms and in factories across the country, facing an uphill battle for compensation and justice against multi-tiered corporate supply chains, rights groups say.

Thats if they even know theyre being exploited in the first place.

It was a smartphone and a Facebook post that opened Tun Tun Wins eyes to the severity of his work conditionsand led to a landmark lawsuit pitting migrant workers against a corporation at the top of the food chain.

The case highlights widespread ignorance among both workers and employers about labor rights, and workplace norms seen as violations in the closely scrutinized global supply chain.

It all began last year after Tun Tun Win bought a new phone, and a chicken doctorone of the farms veterinariansintroduced him to social media.

Lying in bed next to his wife one night, he saw a post about tuna plant workers from Burma who had been overworked and underpaid. They had received more than $1 million in an unprecedented settlement in March.

The Facebook post by the local non-profit Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) inspired Tun Tun Win and 13 coworkers to take action.

In a lawsuit filed at a labor court earlier this month following unsuccessful negotiations with the company and local authorities, they are demanding $1.3 million in compensation and civil damages.

The suit alleges forced overtime, unlawful salary deductions, passport confiscation and limited freedom of movement.

Crucially, the action is against both Thammakaset and the buyer of the farms poultry  agricultural giant Betagro, which exports food worldwide.

Test Case

Andy Hall, a prominent British human rights activist in Thailand who has consulted on several cases involving migrants, said the litigation was an important test case.

Were trying to hold Betagro responsible for the system of contract farming, he said. If we can, it will have huge implications for contract farming and the responsibility of corporate supply chains across Thailand.

Part of the workers evidence includes pictures snapped on Tun Tun Wins phone and shared on Facebook, including time-stamped cards  one showing a worker clocking in on May 24 at 6:54, out at 17:00, in again at 19:02, then out at 5:37.

Thats a total of 20 hours and 41 minutes.

In an interview, Thammakaset owner Chanchai Pheamphon said he had not fully understood the requirements under Thai law and agreed he had underpaid staff as well as illegally deducted rent and utilities from their daily wages.

But he denied charges of forced labor or limiting employees freedom of movement, and said he planned to file a counter defamation suit against the workers and MWRN.

Im now facing bankruptcy, he told Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that a decision by Betagro to halt business with Thammakaset amid the controversy had forced him to shut his 1.6 million-chicken, three-farm operation and lay off nearly 100 employees.

This NGO (MWRN) wants more money for these 14 workers, but what about the 100 others? he said. The world has already found me guilty, and they have stopped buying my goods. Theyve already sentenced me to death.

Betagro, one of Thailands largest meat producers and exporters, also denied the workers allegations.

There were no violations of human rights or anything resembling forced labor, as defined by the law on prevention and suppression of human trafficking, it said in a statement.

Other than the statement, Betagro did not respond to email and phone requests for an interview.

Abuse and Ignorance

Supply chains for goods such as food, clothing and electronics usually begin in countries with the cheapest labor.

Thailand has been at the center of scores of reports of slavery and human trafficking, with migrants from Burma suffering the worst exploitation.

In the face of mounting scrutiny of supply chains, Thailand has strengthened laws to crack down on labor exploitation, while other countries have passed legislation to address abuses abroad.

Britains 2015 Modern Slavery Bill requires businesses to disclose actions taken to ensure their supply chains are free of slave labor.

In February, US President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, banning imports of goods made with forced labor into the United States.

Yet at the lowest rungs of supply chains, rights groups say many businesses such as Thammakaset fall short of global standardseven if owners like Chanchai defend working practices.

He said staff voluntarily worked nights to rack up bonuses.

We paid them to work during the day, but we didnt forbid them from working at night, he said, adding that they chose to sleep in hammocks in the room next to the chicken warehouse.

They play on the Wi-Fi, then go and look at their chickens. They dont have to work, but they just might think that if they raise the chickens well, they will get more money.

Flipping through a bound file of documents, Chanchai showed photos of the workers drinking at a restaurant and swimming, and of the low fence around his farm that he said proved they were free to come and go as they pleased.

He said he deducted $2 from their $8.60 legal minimum daily wage for rent, drinking water and electricity, and made cuts such as a 14 cent fine for not picking up dead chickens.

With the fines collected, he would buy a gold necklace for a raffle at the workers year-end party, he said.

Hall, the rights activist, said the workers were told if they did not work overnight, they would face salary deductions  a charge Chanchai denies.

Commenting on the 14 cent deduction for not picking up dead chickens, Hall said: That is illegal. Any deduction from the salary is illegal. He has acknowledged that he has unlawfully deducted money from them.

Hall added that it was common for employers and officials to rationalize violations, revealing a mindset in which only the most extreme conditions or actssuch as putting workers in chains constituted crimes.

These people just dont understand that what theyre doing is abuse, he said. They dont think of it as forced labor or modern-day slavery. They dont understand how people could level such allegations against them.
News Govt Green Lights Hotels in Bagan Archaeological Zone

An ongoing hotel construction site in Bagan's Archaeological Zone. / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYIDAW  The government has decided to green light 25 hotels in Bagans Archaeological Zone that were built without the permission of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, said minister Thura U Aung Ko.

Existing laws prohibit commercial buildings in the archaeological zone without ministry approval.

The minister announced the approval to reporters after a parliamentary session on Wednesday. Because of weak cooperation between ministries during the power transfer from the previous government to the new National League for Democracy (NLD) governmentwhich won in a landslide 2015 election42 hotels were granted construction permits in Bagans Archaeological zone, of which 25 are 70-90 percent complete, while 17 have not yet begun construction.

Weve allowed 25 hotels that have already been built. UNESCO thinks hotels will break even after 10 years but businessmen demand it will take 15. Our ministry reached an agreement stating that these hotels will have to move to a hotel zone, which is seven kilometers away from the archaeological zone, after 15 years of operation, Thura U Aung Ko told the media.

He said the government would sign an agreement with hoteliers to ensure that they move to the hotel zone after 15 years in operation. The ministry will not allow the 17 hotels that have not yet been started, he added.

UNESCO demands that the hotels be demolished after 15 years, citing examples of world heritage sites like Borobudur Temple in Indonesia and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Thura U Aung Ko told The Irrawaddy.

According to UNESCO, there must not be any residential buildings or guesthouses within a five to seven kilometer radius of heritage buildings. The government has explained to UNESCO that it is not possible to demolish Nyaung U and more than 20 other villages in the area.

We urged them [UNESCO Myanmar] to try to inscribe the archaeological zone as a mixed ancient zone on the world heritage site list, on the condition that we wont allow any modern buildings to be built in Nyaung U or surrounding areas. We reached an agreement, in principle. If it happens, it will be inscribed as a new type of UNESCO heritage site, said Thura U Aung Ko.

In Bagan, hotels were not permitted under the Burma Socialist Program Party, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) or the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Hotels emerged in the area under former President U Thein Seins quasi-civilian government and have been officially recognized by the new government, said U Chin Po, a member of Bagan Lovers Group, a local civil society organization engaged in preserving the archaeological zone.

It is unacceptable to allow hotels in the ancient heritage site. Does this mean the new government is permitting things that were banned for successive periods? he asked.

According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, it is up to hoteliers whether to demolish the 25 approved hotels after 15 years or allow the ministry to use them as public spaces, recreations or schools.

On August 24, a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Bagan, damaging over 400 religious structuresabout 40 of which were significant in terms of historical, cultural and architectural aspects.

The stupas are easy to repair, and it will not cost a lot. But for the ancient temples, we will seek the assistance of UNESCO to repair them, Thura U Aung Ko told the media.
Burma Peace First, Education Second, Say Upper House NLD Parliamentarians

Khin Aung Myint, pictured in Naypyidaw in April 2015. / Reuters

RANGOON  The National League for Democracy (NLD)-dominated Upper House of Parliament voted down a proposal to expand ethnic minority language education on Monday, citing a need to first prioritize nationwide peace.

U Khin Aung Myint, a Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) lawmaker and former House Speaker, put forward a plan to improve education in isolated areas of ethnic states.

His proposal requested that the Union government provide continual support to ethnic education.

Some ethnic minority lawmakers backed the move, pointing out how their constituencies could benefit from an investment in education and also emphasized a need for their mother tongues to be taught in government schools.

Saying that the current parliamentary priority should be the attainment of nationwide peace, NLD lawmakers voted down the proposal 107 to 82. They did, however, suggest that the proposal be documented in the parliamentary record.

I decided to propose this issue as I thought that the government would not have many challenges in implementing it, said Khin Aung Myint. My proposal was intended to help the ethnic people who stay in isolated, mountainous areas. They have a really bad situation. They do not have education, and they have poor health care. Their lives are short, and then they die. They become human beings, but they are treated as having no value as human beings.

The proposal was timed, he explained, to be carried out in preparation for a future federal system.

Sheila Nang Tawng, an ethnic Kachin lawmaker from the NLD, said that Khin Aung Myints proposal could have helped to foster unity among Burmas many ethnic nationality groups.

If we have good education, then we could build permanent peace, she said.

In the Upper House session, she requested a program teaching about Kachin culture in government schools.

Nyi Sein from the Taang National Party in Muse, Shan State, said he owed Khin Aung Myint a thank you for his proposal, even if it did not pass.

There is a very low percent of people who can read and write, Nyi Sein said of marginalized ethnic communities in his area. There is not one school teaching our ethnic language in my constituency, but there are many Chinese language schools, which look like they came from paradisethats how brilliant and luxurious they are, he added.

Yet parliamentarians like U Aung Myo Latt from Mandalay Divisions Constituency No. 5 and the NLD, said that now was not the time to pursue changes in education.

The main problem is our country is political conflict. Our government has to work hard to have peace and national reconciliation, and a federal union, Aung Myo Latt said. When we have democracy and a federal union, then we can improve our education system. States could develop their education systems.

From Karen States Constituency No. 7, the NLDs Dr. Ah Khar Moe described her constituency as home to over 100,000 people but only 200 schools.

There were 15,000 students in primary schools, but only 100 graduate from high school, Ah Khar Moe said. First, we need peace in order to improve education. But we cannot build a better country in one day. The government had better learn what is needed on the ground, and help.

The proposal from U Khin Aung Myint should kept on the record, she added.
Books Review: Dissident Memoirs of Ma Thida and U Kyaw Win

Bertil Lintner reviews memoirs of activism, incarceration and exile by two renowned Burmese dissidents from different generations.

Prisoner of Conscience: My Steps through Insein by Ma Thida. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai, 2016. 248 pages. 625 baht.

My Conscience: An Exiles Memoir of Burma by U Kyaw Win. Resource Publications, Eugene, Oregon. 254 pages. US$24.

In times like these, when Burma is undergoing major changes, there is no shortage of essay collections in which Western academics and other observers try to make sense of a seemingly bewildering situation. But the quality of those writings varies and few, if any, reflect the views and sentiments of the Burmese themselves.

It is therefore refreshing to read these two books, one written by a prominent Burmese author, born and raised when General Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Program Party were in powerand who spent the years 1989 to 2008 in prison for her political beliefsand the other by an older Burmese exile who for many years was instrumental in organizing resistance abroad against the dictatorship.

Ma Thida was still at medical school when, in 1988, the people had had enough of decades of repression, misrule and economic decline. She gives a vivid account of how the protests began and developed into a nationwide mass movement against the regime, and how the military opened fire not only at demonstrators but also at a crowd of doctors and nurses.

Meanwhile, Ma Thida writes, government-owned buildings, factories, and storerooms were looted and destroyed at the instigation of the army; they wanted to downplay the intent of the demonstrators by portraying their actions as mere looting.

The medical student Ma Thida, who from an early age had been interested in writing, became an accomplished columnist at this time, contributing to the free journals that sprung up during the August-September 1988 pro-democracy uprising. She also joined the National League for Democracy (NLD), traveling around the country with its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and made friends with one of the most prominent members of the party, the veteran journalist and writer Win Tin.

Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest in July 1989, Win Tin was jailed shortly afterwards on trumped-up chargesand, in August 1993, Ma Thida was arrested. In October, Ma Thida, aged 28, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for endangering public peace, having contact with illegal organizations, and distributing unlawful literature.

Ma Thidas account of her years in jail serves as an important reminder of what Burmas military regime was capable of: As was customary with newly sentenced political prisoners, I had to spend one night in the hall where over five hundred prisoners slept, head to head, feet to feet in tight rows. The room was pungent with body odors and punctuated with an assortment of noises.

She could not help overhearing the vulgar words from trustees who had been put in chargesuch as the wealthier drug dealers and she noted that privileges could be obtained by bribing the guards.

She contracted tuberculosis while incarcerated in Rangoons notorious Insein Jail. What kept her in reasonably good spirits was her belief in Buddhism, and being able to practice Vipassana meditation in her cell.

In 1996, Ma Thida was also awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award and the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Three years later, she was released because of her ill health, and due to pressure from PEN International and Amnesty International.

Her prison memoir Sanchaung, Insein, Harvard was published in Burmese in 2012, the title alluding to the Rangoon township where she was born, then her time in prison, and the time from 2008 to 2010 when she was a fellow at Harvard University in the US. Prisoner of Conscience is an English translation of that book, and includes a forward by the late Win Tin, the literary icon who passed away in 2014.

Today, Ma Thida is the chairperson of PEN Myanmar, and has received more awards. On September 28, the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation will honor her at a ceremony at the Bohemian National Hall in New York. In the end, it is sherather than the generals who imprisoned herthat has emerged as a role model for the people of her country.

U Kyaw Win was stripped of his Burmese citizenship by the military junta that toppled prime minister U Nus democratically elected government in 1962. He was born in Thongwa in the Irrawaddy Delta in 1934, when Burma was still a British colonyinto a family where the father hated colonialism with a pitched passion.

Kyaw Win recalls his upbringing, during which he attended a Christian schoolnot uncommon in Burma in those days, regardless of the religions faith of ones parents. He lived through the Japanese occupation and, in the 1950s, went to school in Mussoorie in India, and later at universities in the US. While in the US, he married Riri, an Indonesian lady who became his companion for life.

But his marriage to a foreigner became an obstacle when he returned to Burma in 1959 wanting to work for the Foreign Office, perhaps as a diplomat. Unable to find a suitable job at home, he returned to the US in 1961. He and Riri were at the USA Army Language School at Monterey when General Ne Win seized power in March 1962

Kyaw Wins parents kept him up to date with events in Burma and, in 1969, he met in California the deposed prime minister U Nu and Edward Law-Yone, the exiled former editor of The Nation newspapertwo key figures in the resistance to Burmas new military government.

In 1973, as Burma grew increasingly repressive, Kyaw Win began writing and editing an eight-page quarterly newsletter, the Burma Bulletin, one of the first of many publications by Burmese exiles.

In 1975, he took part in the first demonstration in Washington DC against the Burmese military. In 1983, he was among the founders of the Committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Burma (CRDB).

Alliances were formed with ethnic rebel armies based along the Thai-Burmese border and, when the uprising broke out in 1988, the CRDB was one of the groups that linked up with the students and other pro-democracy activists who had fled to the border areas after the massacres in Rangoon and elsewhere, when the military stepped in to reassert power.

Kyaw Win gives a detailed, firsthand account of what was happening on the border at that time: the intrigues, the dashed hopes, and the personal conviction that kept him going through all the setbacks.

In 2001, Kyaw Win was able to able to return to Burma, his first visit in decades. Aged over 80, he now lives in a house in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. He writes: My hope now is that, by telling my story in this memoir, I will help educate those who know little of Burmas suffering and motivate others to take up the mantle.

Ma Thida probably knows more about suffering than most, but she and people of her generation and those even younger have indeed taken up the mantle. Read together, these two books give a better perspective on modern Burma than any academic thesis or essay ever could.

Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner is the author of several books on Burma, including Outrage: Burmas Struggle for Democracy and Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948.
Burma Thousands Flee, Casualties Reported in Karen State Conflict

A group of Burma Army soldiers deployed in the Myaing Gyi Ngu area. / Hsa Moo

CHIANG MAI, Thailand  Thousands of civilians have fled their homes and there have been reports of casualties as fighting persists in the Myaing Gyi Ngu and Mae Tha Waw areas of Karen State.

Volunteer aid workers in Myaing Gyi Ngu said that 3,800 villagers who have fled the fighting are staying at a hall in the village and in locals houses, while others have fled across the border to Thailand. The numbers are increasing, they said.

The villagers said the fighting is still happening, said, Hay Plah, a volunteer relief worker who just returned from Myaing Gyi Ngu. They are not sure about the number of casualties, but said many Border Guard Force (BGF) soldiers have been injured or killed.

One soldier from the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), who is currently fighting the BGF and Burma Army, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that two of its soldiers had been wounded and that many soldiers from the BGF and Burma Army have been killed or wounded.

I witnessed a pile of BGF soldier corpses. I guess there might have been around 100 of them, said the soldier who is fighting with Maj Saw San Aungs group. He added that DKBA troops also seized several weapons in clashes in the villages of Yeika Kone, Wa Klu camp, and Kalu Htaw in Myaing Gyi Ngu and Mae Tha Waw areas.

Sources close to NGOs in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border also reported that Myawaddy hospital has received many injured BGF and Burma Army soldiers from conflict areas. They said that casualties stand at around 40 and that many had been injured by land mines. The Irrawaddy was not able to confirm the number of casualties independently.

Saw Thaw Thee Bwe, joint secretary of the largest ethnic Karen armed group the Karen National Union (KNU), told The Irrawaddy, We know that so far more than 3,000 villagers from over 20 villages have fled and sought refuge in Myaing Gyi Ngu and Ka Ma Maung villages. Some also fled across the border to Thailand.

Humanitarian assistance by several organizations including the DKBA, as well as private companies and individuals, was also delivered to affected villagers in Myaing Gyi Ngu. About 200 villagers have fled into Thailands Tha Song Yan District.

On Tuesday, the KNU voiced concern over the ongoing fighting in Mae Tha Waw region in Karen State and called on all concerned parties, especially the Burma Army, to cease military activity, saying it could affect the peace process.
Burma US Announces Lifting of Burma Sanctions

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and US President Barack Obama at the White House / Carlos Barria / Reuters

WASHINGTON DC, United States  President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States is lifting economic sanctions and restoring trade benefits to Burma as he met with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The US has eased broad economic sanctions since political reforms began five years ago and Obama has visited the country twice. But the US has retained more targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. US companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asias last untapped markets.

Obama hailed a remarkable transformation in the country. Daw Aung San Suu Kyis party swept historic elections last November, and the visit by the 71-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, deeply respected in Washington, is a crowning occasion in the Obama administrations support for Burmas shift to democracy, which the administration views as a major foreign policy achievement.

The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time, Obama said as he sat alongside the State Counselor in the Oval Office. He said it was the right thing to do to ensure Burma benefits from its transition. Asked by a reporter when sanctions would be lifted, Obama said soon.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi concurred it was time to remove all the sanctions that had hurt the economy. She urged Americans to come to the country and to make profits.

Congressional aides said that Suu Kyi requested the removal of the national emergency with respect to Burma  the executive order authorizing sanctions that has been renewed annually by US presidents for two decades.

The Treasury Department said that Obamas decision will be legally effective when he issues a new executive order to terminate the emergency. A US official said that 111 individuals and companies will be dropped from a Treasury blacklist and restrictions will be lifted on new investment with military and on the imports of rubies and jade.

But penalties intended to block the drug trade and to bar military trade with North Korea would still apply, as would a visa ban barring some former and current members of the military from traveling to the US.

The official and aides spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The US Chamber of Commerce hailed the announcement as historic. But human rights groups say there are powerful reasons for retaining sanctions. Military abuses continue in ethnic minority regions. Rohingya Muslims remain displaced by sectarian violence and denied citizenship. The military and its associates still have huge stakes in the economy.

Obama and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi just took important tools out of their collective tool kit for dealing with the Burmese military, and threw them into the garbage, said John Sifton, deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch.

Transparency watchdog Global Witness said Burmas jade industrybased in a northern region plagued by civil conflictis dominated by a military elite, US-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies. It estimates the industry is worth nearly half of the nations economic output.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi addressed problems in western Arakan state, where more than 100,000 Rohingyas remain stuck in camps, separated from Buddhists who are the majority in Burma . She said everyone entitled to citizenship in Burma should get it.

We are sincere in trying to bring together the different communities, she said.

The White House also notified Congress on Wednesday it would be reinstating in November trade benefits Burma because of its progress on workers rights. The benefits were suspended in 1989, a year after the bloody crackdown on democracy protesters by the military.

Suu Kyi last visited Washington in 2012 when she was still opposition leader. On that occasion, she was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the legislatures highest civilian honor, which she had been awarded in 2008 while under house arrest.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest pushed back on the notion the US was undercutting its leverage over Burma on human rights and constitutional reforms by lifting sanctions. He said greater US engagement would promote its ability to promote change.
Business Industry Leaders Enthused by Reinstatement of US Trade Benefits for Burma

Burmas State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets with US President Barack Obama during her visit to Washington DC on Wednesday. / Myanmar State Counsellor Office / Facebook

RANGOON  Businessmen, industry leaders and members of government have expressed enthusiasm after statements from President Barack Obama that the US would soon re-admit Burma to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

President Obama notified the US Congress on Wednesday that it would reintroduce Burma to the preferential trade scheme in November, as part of further sanctions relief for Burma in recognition of recent democratic gains. The scheme would relieve the countrys exporters of US import duties in up to 5,000 product categories.

The announcement was made during the visit of Burmas State Counselor and Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Washington DC, where she met with President Obama and requested the removal of remaining sanctions on Burma.

Burma was removed from the GSP in 1989 due its failure to meet international labor rights standards, and in reaction to the militarys bloody crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy movement.

Industry insiders believe the GSP could help Burma meet the governments ambitious target of tripling Burmas export volume by the end of its current term in 2020although meeting US import standards would present a challenge to underdeveloped sectors in Burmas economy, including agriculture and fisheries.

Bans on US imports of jade and gemstones from Burma, and on arm sales to Burma, would not be affected by re-admittance to the GSP, and would require congressional approval to overturn.

Its really good news for us. Exporters are happy. Weve been waiting a long time to receive this benefit from the US, chairman of Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone U Myat Thin Aung told the Irrawaddy.

He highlighted the garment, agriculture and fisheries sectors as major export industries that would be boosted by the GSP.

For garment factories, there will be no taxes in the US when they export. Along with marine and agricultural products, they can better compete with other countries, and wouldnt need to export through other countries such as Thailand, he said.

If US trade benefits could include timber and mineral products such as jade, it would benefit our country even more, he said.

The Garment Association of Burma claimed it earned US$1.4 billion in 2014, rising to $1.65 billion in 2015. It expects 1,500 factories to be operational in Burma by 2025, with a focus on cutting, manufacturing and packaging.

U Than Aung Kyaw, deputy director general at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, told the Irrawaddy that the garment sector was currently among the top recipients of foreign investment in Burma, and would particularly benefit from the GSP.

U Than Aung Kyaw said that, despite the green light from the US government, it may take a while for the benefits of the GSP to be felt, due to internal processes in the US, but said in the meantime Burmese exporters need to address product quality.

He said exporters needed to familiarize themselves with US import standards: Im not worried for the garment sector, which has already met quality targets, but for agricultural and marine products, [producers] need to carefully check for quality, he said.

According to U Yan Naing Tun, director general at the Ministry of Commerce, Burmas export volume has been increasing year by year, receiving a US$300 million bump from April to the end of August compared to the same period last year, with growth in the garment sector accounting for much of the increase.

He also stressed the need to ramp up quality control, with the participations of concerned government ministries, to fully realize the potential gains of the GSP.

In 2013, the European Union re-admitted Burma to the Everything But Arms preferential trade regime, as part of a general relaxation of sanctions against Burma, which has particularly benefited the garment and fisheries sectors.
Ukrainian foreign ministry sues Russia over breaches of Convention on the Law of the Sea

Ukraine has initiated arbitration proceedings against Russia under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, aiming to defend its rights as a coastal state in waters off Crimea, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

"Ukraine requests arbitrators to confirm its rights as a coastal state and oblige the Russian Federation to cease international legal acts in the respective coastal waters, and also to give Ukraine appropriate representations and guarantees that the acts will not be repeated, and compensate for the damages inflicted by the Russian Federation to affect Ukraine," the ministry said in a request of arbitration that it has published.

"Ukraine seeks that Russian Federation cease to violate provisions of the Convention, alongside protection of its rights in the Black sea, the Sea of Azov and the Strait of Kerch, including Ukraine's rights to natural resources of the Crimean continental shelf that belong to Ukrainian people," it said.

In addition, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that on September 14, it sent a notification on the arbitration together with a request to initiate arbitration proceedings to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
London's first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, went head to head against hail riding company Uber after he pledged the city government's full support to the local taxi industry. This gives Uber another challenge to overcome in its aim to dominate the hail riding industry.

Bloomberg said that Mayor Khan, who is just four months into his job, is promising new policies to uphold the rights and needs of London's cab drivers.

In a statement released Tuesday, the mayor stated that the London's transport authority will "incorporate taxi booking information into its Transport for London journey planner mobile app by summer 2017." The mobile application will provide visitors and citizens alike traveling around London a travel itinerary which will reveal roads and schedules used by London's iconic black taxis.

Before the year ends, London's black taxis will be permitted to drive an additional 20 lanes through the city which before were only reserved for buses.

Bloomberg states that privately hired vehicles such as those from Uber are not allowed to use these less congested routes through traffic.

The Standard reported that Khan has decided to increase designated taxi pick-up locations throughout London from 500 to 600 by year 2020.

The publication further said that the mayor is also looking into supporting the educational needs of taxi drivers by requiring them to pass a license test - known as The Knowledge - which will be accredited as a formal qualification and can be used by drivers to apply for study loans.

"From my first day at City Hall I have been determined to drive up standards and improve safety for every passenger in London, while protecting the future of our iconic black cabs that provide a unique and invaluable service for Londoners," Kahn said.

According to Bloomberg, policies previously announced by the British government which was greatly contested in court by Uber, included a mandatory policy which requires all private hire drivers to pass an English language exam. Some of Uber's drivers are apparently immigrants or not British born.
Social media giant Facebook and premiere news social media network Twitter have joined forces for the First Draft, a network of over 30 news and technology companies that deal with the malicious impact of fake news on the internet.

First Draft aims to raise the quality of information users get from web sites and social media networks. Other prominent members of the group include New York Times, Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, and CNN.

According to Fortune, the coalition agreed to form a "voluntary code" of rules and regulation which will encourage "news literacy" among internet readers. The group hopes that the initiative will prompt online readers to check the veracity of news stories.

First Draft was first formed back in June 2015 under the leadership of Alphabet's Google.

The platform will roll out by October's end, according to Jenni Sargent who is managing director of the coalition.

Cnet quoted Sargent's blog post where she said: "There is a thriving community of specialists working around the world who have developed and honed social newsgathering and verification skills. With the launch of this partner network, people can work together on ideas and initiatives, including a train-the-trainer programme, the launch of a collaborative verification platform, and the creation of a voluntary code of practice."

Fortune opines that since Facebook is the world's most dominant social media network with approximately 1.7 billion monthly users, greater than the population of China, it has a responsibility to take on the fake stories that might lead to fraud or misinformation.

The publication also said that Twitter is equally responsible since it has about 140 million daily users and these users have a key role in shaping news and disseminating eyewitness accounts.

"The First Draft partner network represents an important opportunity for the news industry to work together on best practices, trainings, research and more. We're excited to help and support newsrooms that are experts in using eyewitness content," Aine Kerr, manager of journalism partnerships at Facebook, said in an emailed statement to Cnet.

Twitter told Cnet: "We are thrilled to be part of the network so that we can collaboratively shape best practices, ethical guidelines and tools when it comes to discovering and verifying eyewitness media."
Elon Musk has recently announced that his space-faring company SpaceX plans to recommence all flights by November this year after it experienced a disastrous launch explosion which destroyed its Falcon 9 rocket along with its Israeli communications satellite cargo.

SpaceX suspended all of its Falcon 9 flights as it is currently undergoing investigation on the causes that led to the destruction of its Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket exploded on its launch pad on Sept. 1 while being fueled during a prelaunch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, according to Fortune.

The Verge reported that Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, spoke to a satellite industry conference in Paris, saying, "We're anticipating getting back to flight, being down for about three months, and getting back to flight in November."

Shotwell also mentioned that the planned three-month turnaround was "the most optimistic scenario" for SpaceX.

According to Fortune, the SpaceX head did not give details on parts of the rocket that are being repaired but assured investors that the Space company will fly the skies again by November.

The company also has not given information on the cost of the Falcon 9's explosion which damaged the launch pad and ground support equipment. The accident also obliterated the $200 million worth of Israel's Space Communication satellite which was funded by Facebook to provide internet connection in the African continent.

SpaceX announced in the past that it had nearly-completed a second launch pad site in Florida, located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and which would be finished by November. The pad was last used five years ago to launch NASA's space shuttles.

Tom Engler, NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) deputy director of Center Planning and Development told Reuters: "We're confident that SpaceX will understand and recover from what happened. From our perspective, (the accident) changed nothing as far as our planning and implementation activities are concerned."
Online retail giant Amazon will bring its highly anticipated voice-activated smart home assistant "Echo" to U.K. and German consumers. The Seattle-based tech behemoth announced that its smart home product, Echo, will be available in U.K. and German retailers by fall this year.

This will be the first time Echo will sell in foreign markets outside the U.S. The device is priced at 150 in the U.K. while it will cost consumers 180 in Germany, the EU's strongest economy, based on a Bloomberg report.

According to the Telegraph, there are three different Echo devices sold in the US - the Echo, the Echo Dot, a smaller version for external speakers, and the Amazon Tap, a portable speaker.

Amazon said that customers can pre-order the device.

Echo debuted in 2014 and the screenless speaker device became an unprecedented hit for Amazon, catapulting the retail company to the forefront of voice activated home devices and giving the company a head start over Apple Inc. and Google which have also been trying to create smart home devices.

Echo allows users to listen to music while also permitting voice activated questions and commands, some of which are item orders from Amazon.

According to the Telegraph, Amazon positioned the Echo as an easy to use personal assistant Alexa that has the capability to do "around 300 different functions powered through third parties apps like Spotify and Domino's.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said in a statement that the Echo is a "fourth pillar" of the company's business, along with Amazon Prime, Amazon Web Services and its online retail marketplace.

According to Bloomberg, users can interact with Echo saying "Alexa," followed by a command. For Example: "Alexa, what's the weather going to be like today?" "Alexa, play Van Morrison songs." "Alexa, add paper towels to my Amazon order."

Other mobile apps like Spotify, Uber and other news organizations can also be accessed using Echo. For its European debut, Amazon announced partnerships European tech companies like Spiegel Online, Sky Sports, Just Eat and Skyscanner.

To cater to its U.K. and German customers, Echo was given a female-sounding voice that has a tinge of British for U.K. users while German consumers will hear a voice with a slight German accent. For instance, when a British user asks Echo how to spell "color," the device will give the British spelling: "C-O-L-O-U-R."

"It's really important for us as U.K. customers that we don't have to change the way we talk," said David Hardcastle, a senior manager in the Alexa voice recognition group in Cambridge, England.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin said that there wont be status quo in Donbas, Ukrainian citizens should return to normal life.

"Donbas is an integral part of Ukraine for me, but not only due to the fact that Donbas is the millions of citizens of Ukraine. The status quo, you are speaking about, is actually a protectorate of the Russian military men and special services, but we need to return peace to the Ukrainian citizens, and after all, just a normal life, so that they could feel themselves as people, now they do not feel like people there," Klimkin said at a joint press conference with the foreign ministers of Germany and France in Kyiv on Wednesday, answering the journalists' questions.

According to him, people in Donbas can not feel safe, as "Russia is practically making Donbas its colony, it actually occupied Donbas."

"The logic of the Minsk agreements is that Russia should leave Donbas. We should first regain control over Donbas with the OSCE's help. Normal life there should be resumed after holding free and fair elections," Klimkin said.
After decades of calmness and stillness, we might see the Sakurajima Volcano erupt again. The composite volcano recorded the most powerful eruption in twentieth-century Japan. It was in 1914 when the stratovolcano erupted and wreak havoc on thousands of people.



Days before the eruption, almost all of the residents evacuated the area due to huge earthquakes that signals a red alert that the volcano is about to erupt. The eruption was considered fiery, generating pyroclastic flows, and large lava flow.



Lava flows are not common in Japan but Sakurajima eruption is an exemption. Due to its high silica content, lava flows continued for months. The 1914 eruption measured about 1.5km cubed in volume," said the study's lead author Dr James Hickey, who has now joined the University of Exeter's Camborne School of Mines.



Japan has more than 100 volcanoes on its belt and Aira Caldera is one of them. The said archipelago is located on the Pacific ring of fire. Sakurajima is based on the edge of Kyushu, Japan. Its volcanic activity is more active now than ever. A series of small eruptions and ash discharge has transpired these past few weeks.



Japanese authorities are closely monitoring the said volcano. One of the two volcanoes are already at level 3. Which means that people are not allowed to go near the volcano or surrounding areas.



A report was made by Bristol University and the Sakurajima Volcano Research Centre which showed that magma increase is rampant and this prompted them to believe that Sakurajima might erupt in the next 30 years.



Evacuation plan is already being discussed as they don't want any casualties once the volcano erupts. "It has already passed by 100 years since the 1914 eruption, less than 30 years is left until a next expected big eruption," said Dr Haruhisa Nakamichi, Associate Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University.
Spoilers of The Young and The Restless drop hints that truly set the show and its long time viewers an entertaining tune that cannot be overlooked. While Justin Hartley confirmed his farewell from the show, it seems that a returning cast member will replace him as Adam Newman. Adding riot to the series that cannot be missed is the secret affair of Billy and Phyliss that will finally come out in the open.

Adam Survives The Explosion

iTech Post previously reported that Hartley verified the demise of his character (Adam) in the highest  rated daytime soap opera. He released an emotional statement in his Facebook page that he will not be returning in the popular drama and also extended his gratitude on their loyal fans.

A report stressed that Adams character cannot be dead, hence Michael Muhney is set to reprise his role. Is it realistic to see Adam in the persona of Muhney after the cabin explosion? Will surgery work for him? Will fans buy the involved tricks in Muhneys return?

Ashley Discovers Billy And Phyllis Secret

Ashley will be highly involved in the rift of Jack and Billy as things get complicated on the dark affair of Billy and Phyllis.

Enstars juicy details on the love affair of the two make the series more interesting. The report noted that Ashley has observed suspicious actions between one of her brothers and the other brother's wife. When she learned the degree of what occurred between Billy and Phyllis in the Brash & Sassy office, she is set to interrogate her brother to admit the real score between him and Phyllis.

It is not easy to be in Ashleys situation especially that she is dealing with his brothers betrayal. When the truth comes out, things will get more difficult for Jack, Billy, and Phyllis. Ashley, for sure will do her best to pacify the challenging situation.

The Young and The Restless airs Monday to Friday on CBS.
Facebook and Twitter have joined Google's initiative, which aims to tackle fake news that has the tendency to spread throughout several social media platforms.

It has been a daily routine for people go to their social networking sites and search for news. However, the question of how credible these news reports are have come up, especially since there have been instances when news reports have proven to be a completely fabricated.

The two companies, Facebook and Twitter are now part of the First Draft Coalition (FDC), which was announced back in June 2015 along with YouTube Newswire. The FDC is a curated collection of confirmed eyewitness videos covering numerous news. The group is not only made up of journalists from partner publications but also individual users who can verify stories circulating online.

"Today, news breaks online. Today, the first images to emerge from a breaking news event have been captured by an eyewitness. Today, injustices that may never have been reported become global news stories because a bystander reached for their smartphone. Today, malicious hoaxes and fake new reports are published in increasingly convincing and sophisticated ways." Drafting Managing Director Jenni Sargent said on her report in First Draft News.

In particular, Facebook and Twitter are good additions to the list of allies in the FDC in spotting phony spam posts or fake news. The coalition will provides tools and services that can help platforms figure out if the news that is being posted is a hoax. As Reuters reports, the coalition's platform is scheduled to launch by the end of October.

Media such as Channel 4 News, the Telegraph, the New York Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, ABC News in Australia and Agence France-Presse are among more than 20 newscast groups who have signed up in partnership with the coalition which is being organized through Google-backed First Draft.
Michigan State University (MSU) has been developing a new mobile technology called iSee to help address the problem of mental health services at the University Counseling Center (UCC). The students and clinicians can now count on their own smartphones and wristbands to help battle depression, anxiety and other problems they might be experiencing.

The Reason Behind iSee

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), depression has become a serious mental issue among college students in the United States. Many are dealing with it more now than before. The UCC is specifically assigned to provide the students of mental health services. However, they face dilemmas that need to be solved.

The service that UCC offers is only accessible during working hours. Students suffer depression and anxiety beyond that allotted time. As such, they do not receive the needed treatment because of this constraint. By the time UCC becomes available to them, it may be too late.

Furthermore, the budget for some UCCs has been cut. As a result, there is a limited number of clinicians in UCCs to help students.

The current predicament of UCCs also lies in the students, who could easily give prejudiced and incorrect symptoms. Thus, the assessment of clinicians at times can be flawed. A wrong diagnosis is crucial. The NSF did not want to risk it anymore.

The iSee In Student's Smartphone

The iSee will monitor the behavior of the students and analyze the data for the clinicians. The technology will have sensors inside a smartphone or wristband. This is used to track the daily behavior of the user. A behavior analytics engine is needed to translate this data into meaningful analysis results. Machine learning and algorithms will run on the cloud used in the said engine.

This process will determine how depressed the student is. It will also identify the causes of the patient's current state.

A dashboard will display all this information. With it, clinicians could make a more factual and accurate assessment. Thus, they will be able to give the proper treatment to the students. Not to mention that iSee is convenient to use. It is both portable and more accessible.

How Is iSee Beneficial To Students And Clinicians?

According to Meritalk, iSee can assist the students to manage his or her symptoms. Meanwhile, clinicians will know the well-being of the students. They would discover who will need the most support.

MSU Counseling Center Director Scott Becker said that the iSee project is extremely innovative. It will significantly enhance the mental health treatments of students. Mi Zhang, the team leader of the project, added that the clinicians will be more accurately informed with iSee.

This new technology can be used in public hospitals and private clinics eventually with further progress. iSee can also be adapted to deal with other mental health conditions. Among these are anxiety, bipolar disorder, dementia and schizophrenia.
On Wednesday, Sept. 14, Uber has officially launched its driverless car. The company began deploying in Pittsburgh a small test fleet of self-driving cars.

Uber's Driverless Cars

This test marks the first deployment of self-driving cars in a ride-hailing capacity. Uber's self-driving cars are equipped with light-mapping systems, radars and sensors, according to the website pbs.org. The company uses in its test fleet of self-driving cars a Ford Fusion model upgraded with spinning light scanners, cameras, radars and sensors on the roof.

Uber customers in the city of Pittsburgh will have now the option to choose a driverless car pickup. As a measure of safety precaution, the self-driving cars will have drivers ready to take control in case of necessity. Actually, as part of this test, two Uber employees will accompany every trip in a self-driving car in order to monitor its self-driving capabilities. One Uber employee will be in the passenger seat with a laptop displaying the images and data coming from the car's sensors and one will be behind the wheel.

Uber's Overall Goal

The ultimate goal of the company is to enable customers to summon one of their cars on demand in any part of the city, with nobody in it. However, as part of this first test, the Uber autonomous cars will operate within a small select area of 12 square miles in downtown Pittsburgh.

Uber has limited the test of its fleet of the self-driving cars only to that space because it will only send its autonomous driving vehicle out to areas in the city already mapped in extreme detail. The cars will know exactly the streets, where they are allowed to make a U-turn, where pedestrians are likely to cross, what the speed limit is everywhere, which lanes are right-turn-only lanes, traffic signs locations and where every traffic light is.

According to The Verge, for Uber this is a significant moment in the history of the company, as well as for the future of transportation. Silicon Valley types, futurists and auto market analysts predict that driverless cars will fundamentally change the way we get around.
Internet security expert Bruce Schneier warned on Tuesday, Sept. 13, about the real dangers that internet could be taken down at one point by rogue nations or corporations.

Could Internet Be Taken Down?

According to SlashDot, Bruce Schneier, a well-known internet security expert, said that many major companies that provide the basic internet infrastructure are facing increased a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) attacks against them. These attacks are longer and of much larger scale than in the past.

Schneier said that a DDoS attach could be the easiest way to take a network off the Internet. Many of these DDoS attacks against internet infrastructure are designed to test the defense measures taken by companies. Schneier did not share specific details about the organizations that are under attack, but his warning is all consistent with what Verisign, the registrar for many popular top-level Internet domains, is reporting.

In case that Verisign goes down, there could be a global blackout of all e-mail addresses and websites in the most common top-level domains. Verisign publishes every quarter a PDF report detailing the latest DDoS trends.

According to the latest report, the attacks in Q2 2016 continued to become more complex, persistent and frequent. In the second quarter of this year, various forms of cyberattacks including DDoS attacks hit record heights. For instance, Web application attacks increased 26 percent over the number recorded in Q4 2015 and DDoS attacks increased 23 percent.

An average of 29 repeat DDoS attacks was reported by targets. Mega-attacks of more than 100 Gbps and multivectored attacks also increased.

The size, scale and persistence of these attacks points to state actors. It is possible that a nation's military cybercommand is preparing for a cyberwar. According to TechNewsWorld, these unknown attackers are possible trying to figure out how to take down the internet infrastructure. The likely culprits could be large nation states such as Russia or China.

The country of origin could be easily disguised. Because the exact origin of these attacks is unknown, it is difficult for potential targets to defend against them.
Ever since the announcement of the Nintendo NX, the console manufacturer has revealed barely anything about its upcoming release. And despite the company knowing that it needs to control expectations, there has been no official word from Nintendo itself. There has, in exchange, been plenty of speculation around the device.

When Nintendo Will Step Out Of The Dark

According to International Business Times, however, speculation could be proven true or incorrect very soon. In fact, it could be at the Tokyo Games Show 2016, which will begin this weekend, September 17 - 18, 2016.

This expectation is coming from the disappointment from the recently concluded GameStop expo. But while the console itself was absent from the conference, there was still plenty of talk surrounding the same.

What Was Discussed

Apparently, gaming personality Kevin Pereira asked the crowd just when they wanted the Nintendo NX to be announced, while pointing a finger at a Nintendo executive onstage. With the attention of the room, the executive answered," not yet, but very soon."

Why This Month

As Forbes points out, now is the best time for the company to release the Nintendo NX. Unlike what was expected, there are actually mixed reviews surrounding Sony's release of the PlayStation 4 Pro, which only means that there are people in the gaming industry who are still undecided and could very well jump onto the Nintendo boat.

Furthermore, the release of the PS4 Pro came just hours after Nintendo unveiled a new "Mario" game - which could prove to be the most successful one in the entire franchise. And yet, even with an event as large as the PlayStation Meeting, the spotlight hardly left the "Mario" stage.

But also, waiting any longer could prove detrimental to the gaming company. Fans are become restless as they wait for any real news on the Nintendo NX and patience is running out.


Pokemon Sun and Moon will soon feature two new Ultra Beasts threatening the Alola region. There are hints that other Ultra Beasts will be joining them soon.

Meet Ultra Beast UB-02 Absorption and Beauty

UB-02 Absorption will make its appearance in Pokemon Sun. This Ultra Beast is red colored, muscled with mosquito like features. Its skin is tougher than diamonds and able to hit enemies with super powerful punches, according to Pokemon.com.

In Pokemon Moon, the new Ultra Beast is known as UB-02 Beauty. This particular Ultra Beast has slender almost delicate frame. However, her appearance lies on the fact that she can execute super speed attacks. There are rumors that Pokemon, both male and female lose their ability or will to fight once they become enamored to her.

Many believed that UB-02 Beauty's unnatural effect on her opponent is possibly due to some kind of pheromones she is secreting from her appearance which may cause some hypnotic effect. No one really knows for sure - yet.

Ultra Beasts - Aether Foundation

The Aether Foundation is believed to be the one responsible for these flying Ultra Beasts. They are identified only by code names. The first Ultra Beast is UB-01 whose appearance seems to resemble a jellyfish with glass-like structure that continuously changes shape. It's hard to discern if it has a mind or it simply exists by using some kind of survival instinct. Others also mentioned that UB-01 moves like a little girl.

The video trailers also promised to introduce more Pokemon and Ultra Beasts in the coming days prior to the release of the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon 3DS games.

Pokemon Sun & Moon Game

Pokemon Sun and Moon are expected to be released on November 18, 2016. These two Pokemon role playing games (RPG) are only available in the Nintendo 3DS system.
The Microsoft Surface Phone might just be the most talked about phone these past recent weeks, especially after Apple finally unveiled the new iPhones. However, Microsoft has been very cryptic when it comes to confirming or denying the existence of the phone. But not until recently, when Microsoft Australia might have accidentally posted a Surface Phone confirmation.

Surface Phone News

According to EThe Express, Microsoft may have just revealed the biggest teaser ever through its Microsoft Australia Twitter account. The tweet actually showed an image that says "New One in Surface family!" In the photo, three objects can be seen - a Surface Book, a Surface Pro 4, and a darkened rectangle that is very likely to be a smartphone. This almost confirms the arrival of the Surface Phone.

With recent reports saying that the Lumia brand is already done and out, the existence of the Microsoft Surface Phone has been talked about over and over again. It sparked fans' interest as to what the company's Surface Phone concept is, now that they had allegedly accepted that Lumia's concept did not work out.

Surface Phone Release

One of the most recent news about Microsoft is that the company will be holding an event next month. While most reports say that Microsoft will be adding a new PC device under the Surface name, this new Surface Phone leak might have just confirmed that the phone can be announced in October as well. With that said, it's not that impossible that Microsoft leaked that image purposely to gather enough attention for next month's event. Needless to say, nothing is confirmed yet.

Microsoft's October 2016 Event

The leaked image of the Surface Phone teaser actually makes sense and it also supports previous rumors. According to reports, there will be no new Surface Pro and Surface Book devices this year. What's coming is a refresh of the Surface Pro 4 and the first Surface Book. The leaked image implies this too. The teaser just put focus on a new Surface device that's coming, and it very much looks like a smartphone.

So for everyone excited to buy the new Surface Phone, the best thing to do is to wait for October to find out if the rumors are true. As for the Microsoft Surface Phone's price, the only thing certain is that it would be way more expensive than your regular smartphone. This is just based on how Surface devices are priced. Since these devices are super high end, they usually come with price tags way higher than the competition.
According to John Holdren, director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, Earth is still vulnerable to a potential catastrophic asteroid strike and NASA has substantial progress in finding that asteroids can be a threat.

"We are not fully prepared, but we are on a trajectory to get much more so," Holdren said yesterday, Sept. 14 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, during a dialogue of the agency's planned Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM).

Holdren named the February 2013 meteor explosion over the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia and 1908 Tunguska airburst and these are reasons to take asteroid threat seriously.

Chelyabinsk was struck by a 65-feet or 20 meter-wide object resulting in 1,200 injured people. Whereas the Tunguska event was even more destructive. The space rock that hit Tunguska was about 130 feet wide or 40 meters and exploded over a mostly unpopulated region in Siberia. It flattened about 800 square miles or 2,070 square kilometers of the forest. Both of the events shocked the world.

"We know that this does happen." Said Holdren. "Strikes such as what happened in Chelyabinsk are thought to happen once in every hundred years, while Tunguska is regarded as a once in 1,000 years event."

The ARM can educate us, Holdren added. By late 2021, NASA is aiming to launch a robotic probe toward an asteroid near Earth. It is a 1,300 feet wide asteroid called 2008 EV5. After reaching the asteroid, the space probe will investigate the potential of a deflection strategy known as the "enhanced gravity tractor."

The agency officials said that the probe will return to Earth, eventually placing the boulder in orbit around the moon. Astronauts aboard NASA's Orion Space Capsule will then visit the purloined rock in the mid-2020s.

The ARM costs $1.25 billion. It is expected to help researchers learn more about asteroids and the resources they possess, demonstrate many of the technologies needed to get astronauts to Mars, help the agency practice human operations in deep space and improve the skills that will be needed to deflect a potentially dangerous asteroid someday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin says that the adoption of political decisions on Donbas without ensuring security would mean the legitimization of the pro-Russian regimes that exist there.

"We have got a lot of feedback - but these comments on statements by Steinmeier and Ayrault [the German and French foreign ministers, respectively] are targeting the wrong side, because everyone knows and they are well aware too that no further steps are possible without security," Klimkin said during his visit to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk region on Thursday.

"They are also aware that there should be a political way and the way of the release of hostages - nothing would happen without these components. This is what they mean when they speak about performance "in parallel." But they do not compel us, and you could talk to them before starting to do something. Because if we now accept this, this means that those who were appointed by Russia [to rule in Donbas] would be legitimized. That's it," the minister stressed.

Klimkin also stressed the need to work on strengthening the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and ensure their access to the entire territory of Donbas, including the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The Microsoft Windows Store will now be universal as it will already sell desktops apps, according to the company.

Next to the launch of Windows 8 in 2012, Microsoft's Windows Store was also released to distribute Universal Windows Platform Apps, first with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 and later with Windows Phone Store, Xbox Video and Xbox Music in 2015. The way Microsoft Store works is changing this week as third party developers can now distribute their desktop apps to people shopping through the Microsoft App Store.

The apps goes through Microsoft's Desktop App Converter (announced at Build 2015, codename Project Centennial) to make them compatible with Universal Windows Platform (UWP) format and work well with Windows-based desktops or laptops. Converted Win32 programs will then be made available to all Windows 10 devices, and the Xbox One and Windows 10 Phone are no exceptions.

Evernote is one of the launch apps that previously had a Windows Store app. Although it didn't have all of the Win32 desktop app features, it had been a way for the developer to create an app version that will work better on Windows 10 without having to rewrite it entirely.

"We're excited to bring our full-featured Evernote app to the Windows Store," Evernote VP Seth Hitchings said in a press release. "The Desktop Bridge vastly simplifies our installer and uninstaller."

Arduino IDE, Double Twist, PhotoScape, MAGIX Movie Edit Pro, Virtual Robotics Kit, Relab, SQL Pro, Voya Media, Predicted Desire and korAccount are other apps that are now available this week, and more apps are expected to come to the Windows Store in the coming months.

The drawback to these converted applications is that they are not universal. These apps are said to run only on desktop Windows systems with x86 processors. How this affects UWP's progress isn't clear yet.

During the release of the Project Centennial, Microsoft executives confirmed that there were 16 million Win32 apps already out on the market, marking a major expansion of what the Universal Windows Platform can offer.
A Little Background on Encryption

There is a growing consciousness about the desire to keep ones messages private. Some are concerned about hackers or worry about foreign or domestic government surveillance, but most people just agree with the general principle that what you say in your chat conversations ought to stay between you and the people you chat with. Its not a pleasant idea to think that your messages could be archived for perpetuity on a large companys server or analyzed by some algorithm. The quest for privacy has birthed a whole generation of apps that promise to give you exactly that. Services like Telegram Signal have turned the phrase end-to-end encryption into a popular discussion. Were here to help you figure out what this is all about, and which apps to try.

Before we look at some specific apps, heres a very brief explainer. Essentially, end-to-end encryption means that only the sender and the recipient can read the message. The message is encrypted on your phone and sent to the recipient, then decrypted. This prevents prying eyes from the telecom providers, government agencies, and even the company that hosts the service, itself from being able to read your messages. This means they wouldnt have the ability to hand over messages even if they were subpoenaed by a government agency. And if a hacker broke into the messaging services servers, they couldnt get at your conversations.

The desire for end-to-end (E2E) encryption isnt just about those who dont want the NSA to spy on them. In practice, its just about a basic sense that messages should be private. With that in mind, you have to be aware that just because something has the word encrypted doesnt mean it is end-to-end encrypted. Some services will encrypt the message between the endpoints of transmission; your conversations are stored encrypted on the messaging services servers, but since they encrypted them, they can decrypt them.

The services were looking at here all feature end-to-end encryption.

One of the most popular apps in this space is Telegram. Its been a pretty hot app for a couple of years, which is like 20 years in-app time.

The most painstaking part is you need to invite all of your contacts into your new, secret chat world through the apps navigation menu. Its the biggest problem with using over-the-top services, as it doesnt have the ubiquity of SMS messaging.

Telegram lets you create private or public channels for groups that you want to stay connected to.

Once youve done this, you can message people individually or create group channels for talking with an unlimited number of other users. The upside here is you can escape the limitations of MMS messaging that usually caps you at a particular number of people. Your group can even be public, giving you a mini social network without all the trolls that plague the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

The interface is a little barren, but Telegram makes the list for its robust privacy offering native apps for iOS, Mac, Windows, the web, and of course Android.

Signals claim to fame is that its the preferred messaging application of Edward Snowden. Its among the easiest to set up, as it automatically authenticates your number, and can even be used as your default SMS app.

As with Whisper, you can create a group for private banter with an unlimited number of other users. Signal also makes phone calls, which I found to be very clear when testing it out in a couple of different cases.

Signal offers a lot of different features that can serve as your main messaging app.

The signal isnt optimized for tablets, but the company says thats on the product roadmap. The design is no-frills with color variations for different contacts to help you from sending the wrong chat to an incorrect contact.

Another good option is Wire. It offers some fun messaging tricks, like the ability to doodle, share your location, send images, or record a video. The app also includes a chatbot, Anna, which offers somewhat useful answers to various questions about how to use the app.

Wire offers a chatbot and several different ways to get your message across.

You can optionally create an account with your phone number, which makes setup account deletion easy. The wire is great for one-on-one chats if you would prefer conversations with someone to be off the record. But it doesnt have the same type of social or group features found with some of the other offerings here.

You also cant forget about the uber-popular WhatsApp. Like the others on this list, it promises end-to-end encryption, so your messages stay private. The biggest advantage is that the service, which is owned by Facebook, has over a billion users. Theres a very good chance you wont have to convince all your friends, and family to download the app.

WhatsApp is a popular messaging app throughout the world.

That shouldnt be discounted, as one of the pains of moving to a messaging service is convincing everybody to jump aboard. However, WhatsApp is now owned by Facebook, a connection that could make some wary, especially since the social network recently announced itd be using some account information, including phone numbers, from WhatsApp. If your goal is a high threshold of privacy, then its worth keeping an eye on.

If you want to see messages disappear before your eyes, then Dust (formerly Cyber Dust) is the way to go. The brainchild of Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban, the messages can disappear in 24 hours or as soon as theyre read, based on your preferences.



Dust (formerly Cyber Dust) makes your messages disappear and offers an interesting social element.

The company spells out its encryption policy, in its data policy, and includes a couple of other features to ease your mind like chats that dont show usernames, so even if someone took a screenshot it couldnt necessarily be attributed to you.

The best app for you is going to depend upon your needs. Secure messaging is a huge growth area of consumer interest, but its worth the effort if staying secure is what youre after.
If you use any open source software, you have to make the rest of your software open source. Thats what former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said back in 2001, and while his statement was never true, it must have spread some FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about free software. Probably that was the intention.

This FUD about open source software is mainly about open source licensing. There are many different licenses, some more restrictive (some people use the term protective) than others. Restrictive licenses such as the GNU General Public License (GPL) use the concept of copyleft, which grants people the right to freely distribute copies and modified versions of a piece of software as long as the same rights are preserved in derivative works. The GPL (v3) is used by open source projects such as bash and GIMP. Theres also the Affero GPL, which provides copyleft to software that is offered over a network (for example as a web service.)

What this means is that if you take code that is licensed in this way and you modify it by adding some of your own proprietary code, then in some circumstances the whole new body of code, including your code, becomes subject to the restrictive open source license. It was this type of license that Ballmer was probably referring to when he made his statement.

[ Also on CIO.com: What CIOs dont know about open source software ]

But permissive licenses are a different animal. The MIT License, for example, lets anyone take open source code and do what they want with it  including modifying and selling it  as long as they provide attribution and dont hold the developer liable. Another popular permissive open source license, the Apache License 2.0, also provides an express grant of patent rights from contributors to users. JQuery, the .NET Core and Rails are licensed using the MIT license, while the Apache 2.0 license is used by software including Android, Apache and Swift.

Ultimately both license types are intended to make software more useful. Restrictive licenses aim to foster the open source ideals of participation and sharing so everyone gets the maximum benefit from software. And permissive licenses aim to ensure that people can get the maximum benefit from software by allowing them to do what they want with it  even if that means they take the code, modify it and keep it for themselves or even sell the resulting work as proprietary software without contributing anything back.

Figures compiled by open source license management company Black Duck Software show that the restrictive GPL 2.0 was the most commonly used open source license last year with about 25 percent of the market. The permissive MIT and Apache 2.0 licenses were next with about 18 percent and 16 percent respectively, followed by the GPL 3.0 with about 10 percent. Thats almost evenly split at 35 percent restrictive and 34 percent permissive.

But this snapshot misses the trend. Black Ducks data shows that in the six years from 2009 to 2015 the MIT licenses share of the market has gone up 15.7 percent and Apaches share has gone up 12.4 percent. GPL v2 and v3s share during the same period has dropped by a staggering 21.4 percent. In other words there was a significant move away from restrictive licenses and towards permissive ones during that period.

And the trend is continuing. Black Ducks latest figures show that MIT is now at 26 percent, GPL v2 21 percent, Apache 2 16 percent, and GPL v3 9 percent. Thats 30 percent restrictive, 42 percent permissive  a huge swing from last years 35 percent restrictive and 34 percent permissive. Separate research of the licenses used on GitHub appears to confirm this shift. It shows that MIT is overwhelmingly the most popular license with a 45 percent share, compared to GLP v2 with just 13 percent and Apache with 11 percent.

[ Also on CIO.com: What CIOs dont know about open source software ]

CIO/Terri Haas

Driving the trend

Whats behind this mass move from restrictive to permissive licenses? Do companies fear that if they let restrictive software into the house they will lose control of their proprietary software, as Ballmer warned? In fact, that may well be the case. Google, for example, has banned Affero GPL software from its operations.

Jim Farmer, chairman of Instructional Media + Magic, a developer of open source technology for education, believes that many companies avoid restrictive licenses to avoid legal difficulties. The problem is really about complexity. The more complexity in a license, the more chance there is that someone has a cause of action to bring you to court. Complexity makes litigation more likely, he says.

He adds that fear of restrictive licenses is being driven by lawyers, many of whom recommend that clients use software that is licensed with the MIT or Apache 2.0 licenses, and who specifically warn against the Affero license.

This has a knock-on effect with software developers, he says, because if companies avoid software with restrictive licenses then developers have more incentive to license their new software with permissive ones if they want it to get used.

But Greg Soper, CEO of SalesAgility, the company behind the open source SuiteCRM, believes that the move towards permissive licenses is also being driven by some developers. Look at an application like Rocket.Chat. The developers could have licensed that with GPL 2.0 or Affero but they chose a permissive license, he says. That gives the app the widest possible opportunity, because a proprietary vendor can take it and not harm their product or expose it to an open source license. So if a developer wants an application to be used inside a third-party application it makes sense to use a permissive license.

Soper points out that restrictive licenses are designed to help an open source project succeed by stopping developers from taking other peoples code, working on it, and then not sharing the results back with the community. The Affero license is critical to the health of our product because if people could make a fork that was better than ours and not give the code back that would kill our product, he says. For Rocket.Chat its different because if it used Affero then it would pollute companies IP and so it wouldnt get used. Different licenses have different use cases.

Michael Meeks, an open source developer who has worked on Gnome, OpenOffice and now LibreOffice, agrees with Jim Farmer that many companies do choose to use software with permissive licenses for fear of legal action. There are risks with copyleft licenses, but there are also huge benefits. Unfortunately people listen to lawyers, and lawyers talk about risk but they never tell you that something is safe.

Fifteen years after Ballmer made his inaccurate statement it seems that the FUD it generated it is still having an effect  even if the move from restrictive licenses to permissive ones is not quite the effect he intended.
No Ukrainian soldiers were killed but three were wounded in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone in Donbas in the past day, Ukrainian Defense Ministry speaker for ATO issues Oleksandr Motuzianyk said.

"In the past day, no deaths were reported among our servicemen, but three were wounded in hostilities. In particular, two were injured when they hit an enemy booby-trap in Stanytsia Luhanska district in Luhansk region, and another was wounded in an artillery attack in the town of Avdiyivka," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
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Six attacks with use of small arms since midnight 'ceasefire' in Donbas

Illegal armed formations in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, have considerably decreased the number of attacks on Ukrainian troops and they did not use heavy weapons, Ukrainian Defense Minister speaker Oleksandr Motuzianyk has updated.

"From midnight till now, a mere six instances of the violation of the ceasefire by the enemy were registered. Four of them were reported near the town of Avdiyivka, and one in the Luhansk and Mariupol sectors each. In all the cases, the enemy used small arms only," Motuzianyk said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

"Judging from the report, one can speak about certain de-escalation, and the number of armed provocations has declined. We'll see what happens next," he said.

Prior to that, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday, announced the ceasefire in Donbas from midnight on September 15 as "the pledge from Moscow."

"It would be a big step forward and would open a window of opportunity if weapons stayed quiet for seven days," he said at a press conference in Kyiv with his Ukrainian and French counterparts on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Steinmeier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and their French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault are visiting the Ukrainian-controlled towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine.
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State: Steer clear while deer breeding As deer begin mating during the rut, public safety officials are urging drivers to be cautious on the roads because herds tend to move around more frequently during this time....
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has approved an agreement with Romania revoking long-term visa fees.

According to government resolution No. 617 dated September 8, the agreement was signed by the governments of the two countries on May 6, 2016 in Solotvyne (Zakarpattia region).

According to the report, the agreement envisages free-of-charge registration of long-term visas  permitting Ukrainian citizens and Romanian citizens to enter Romania or Ukraine to register documents permitting stay or residence in these states for the period of over 90 days.

The implementation of the agreement would help to develop bilateral relations between the two countries, intensify contacts in social, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
All 25 regions in Ukraine should have the rights that so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) are demanding, but without special statuses, co-chair of the Opposition Bloc party Borys Kolesnikov has said.

"We cannot separate territories for special statuses. We have one Ukraine and all 25 regions are to have equal rights," the party's press service reported on Wednesday citing Kolesnikov.

He said that 3 million citizens are staying on non-Ukrainian government controlled territories, but Ukrainian authorities do not take enough efforts to help them.

"What efforts Ukrainian authorities have taken to save them? We do not hold negotiations. Greater countries with more democratic regimes had to hold negotiations and had to achieve results," the politician said.

"Lets put the ball in their court  and propose what so-called DPR/LPR asks for, but without any special statuses, to all 25 Ukrainian regions  make achieve decentralization. Of course no local or private armies can exist," Kolesnikov said.

He also said that the armed forces should be reformed.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces, as the police, should not have officers who get less than the sum equivalent to $1,000. The effective armed forces should be created with 100,000 troops," he said.

Kolesnikov also paid attention to the necessity of creating municipal police.

"Ukraine does not have municipal police. Local councils should sign contracts with so-called sheriff  head of the municipal police. Then there would not be such cases as happened in Vradiyivka or as happening now," he said.
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Federal prosecutors are investigating Wells Fargo & Co. in connection with the banks sales practices after it agreed to pay $185 million in fines for opening more than 2 million unauthorized accounts, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The probe by U.S. Attorneys in New York and San Francisco is in its early stages and could lead to a criminal inquiry, the newspaper reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for the prosecutors office in San Francisco declined to comment, while James Margolin, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in New York, didnt immediately return a call for comment.

The company last week settled allegations that it opened credit-card and other accounts for customers without their approval. Wells Fargo fired 5,300 workers over the matter and said it would eliminate sales goals regulators linked to its practice of cross-selling products.

Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf also sent an email to customers on Wednesday apologizing for the actions.

Prosecutors issued a subpoena for documents and other materials, according to the newspaper.

Mark Folk, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based bank, declined to comment on the report. Wells Fargo stock has slumped 6.5 percent since the settlement was announced.
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Joseph Michael Schreiber stands accused of having carried out an arson attack against a mosque in Fort Pierce, Florida, about an hours drive north from West Palm Beach.

The mosque was burned down on the first night of Eid al-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice, a major Muslim holy day that in part commemorates Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son at Gods command. The fire was set after midnight and it wasnt until 5 am until the local firefighters could put the blaze out.

The small congregation of 100 vows to rebuild the edifice.

Those who want to contribute to the rebuilding can do so at this page by clicking on support.

The Fort Pierce Islamic Center had a web page that wished visitors peace be upon you and described itself this way:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate, The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce is the oldest mosque in the Treasure Coast area, located on West Midway Road in White City. The purpose of this mosque is to cater to the needs of the greater Muslim community by providing a wide range of services, activities, programs, and classes. Over the years, the mosque has been a central point for the Muslim community and the center has been used for events, lectures, meetings, classes, and much more. We strongly condemn all acts of terror and violence.

It serviced a diverse community from 22 countries. Muslim-Americans in the Fort Pierce have been living in fear and suffering from severe harassment for several years.

Schreiber, 32, is single and is likely to remain so. He has a history of petty theft and faces 30 years in prison if he is convicted of the arson as a hate crime.

He at one point posted to his Facebook page a GOP National Committee picture showing Trump/Spence and the words The team that will make America great again!

It seems to me that Donald Trump bears some of the responsibility for the burning of the mosque and that the congregants should look into suing him.

Trump has said that Islam hates us, has advocated banning Muslims from coming to the United States and has baited President Obama for not using the phrase radical Islamic extremism. He might as well have handed the Fort Pierce arsonist a can of gasoline and some matches.

Schreiber at one point wrote IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical . . .

He also attacked President Obama and Sec. Hillary Clinton.

Actually, Muslim-Americans have served in the US military protecting the United States from terrorist and other threats. The community is thought to be at least 3 million strong in this country and so comprises 1 percent of the US population. They are disproportionately well educated. They agree that women should have their own careers if they want them, and the women in the Muslim-American community have even more higher degrees that the men. Muslim-Americans have a deep history on this continent. Many Latinos in the southwest were of Arab Muslim heritage from Andalucia, who had been forced to convert to Catholicism but sometimes kept some Muslim customs. Muslims were brought from Africa as slaves from the beginning of American history in the time of the British colonies, and at least 20% of the slaves were Muslim. Since Muslim slaves probably helped build the White House, it is only right that the African-American son of an African Muslim now inhabits it.

Schreiber does not appear anywhere to have mentioned Omar Mateen, who frequented a gay nightclub in Orlando seeking dates and later committed a mass shooting there. It is alleged that Mateen may have stopped in at the Fort Pierce mosque two or three times a year and that he attended there as a small child.

It is extremely irresponsible for the press to put Mateen in the headlines and the lede about the arson, since there is no known connection, and the members of the Fort Pierce congregation arent responsible for him. Many are high-powered physicians curing local Floridians of their ailments.

Indeed, foregrounding Mateen, who was not living in Fort Pierce and did not commit his crime there, is a form of blaming the victim and would never be done with regard to other religions.

If there were an arson at the Christian church would journalists dig up all the felons who had gone there and mention them in the headline?

The story here is not that the Fort Pierce Muslim community deserved what happened to them. It is that they were attacked by a racist bigot who appears to have been inspired by the anti-Muslim hate speech of Donald J. Trump and his acolytes. And mark my words, this is only the beginning.
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Maan News Agency |  

BETHLEHEM (Maan)  The Palestinian economy remains worrying as growth stagnation, delays in aid delivery, and Israeli restrictions continue to seriously impede improvements to the Palestinian financial situation, a World Bank report revealed on Thursday.

According to the report, which will be presented to the Ad Hoc Liaison committee (AHLC) this coming Monday, despite efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to consolidate its fiscal situation and reduce its deficit, the World Bank projected that the PA would face a financing gap of $600 million for 2016.

The World Bank estimated that the Palestinian economy would only grow by 3.5 percent in the medium term, adding that per capita income growth has almost stagnated and projected growth levels will not support an improvement in living standards in the occupied Palestinian territory.

As a result of the economy growing at too slow a pace to keep up with its populations needs, the World Bank said the Palestinian stubborn unemployment rate reached 27 percent  with 18 percent unemployment in the occupied West Bank and 42 percent in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian economic outlook is worrying with serious consequences on income, opportunity, and well-being. Not only will it affect the Palestinian Authoritys capacity to deliver services to its citizens, it may also lead to wider economic problems and instability, Marina Wes, the World Bank country director for the West Bank and Gaza, was quoted as saying in the report.

Despite Palestinian efforts, Israeli restrictions, aid delays heavily affecting economy

The World Bank report highlighted the PAs fiscal consolidation initiatives, citing general containment in the wage bill, as well as efforts to curtail net lending.

It credited these efforts with reducing the Palestinian deficit by 15 percent of the GDP, calling it an achievement rarely seen in other places around the world.

However, the report added that the PAs finances remained fragile due to a decline in budget support leading to the projected $600 million financing gap in 2016, which it said the PA could not fix alone.

The World Bank pointed at Israeli policies as being the main constraint to Palestinian economic competitiveness, noting that restrictions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip accounted for a third to a half of GDP lost growth.

Israeli restrictionshave pushed private investment levels to amongst the lowest in the world (in the Palestinian territory), particularly the ones on Area C which could increase Palestinian GDP by 35 percent and lead to a similar increase in employment, the report noted, adding that GDP losses in Gaza since the blockade of 2007 are above 50 percent.

Until there is a permanent peace agreement, the Palestinian economy will continue to perform below its potential and this will impact the economic and fiscal performance, the World Bank added.

The continued gap in financing was also attributed to the exhaustion of local borrowing opportunities, as the PA was reportedly very close to reaching the limit of funds lent by local banks as set by the Palestinian Monetary Authority.

However, the World Bank particularly focused on the slow-paced delivery of promised international aid as having a dire effect on the Palestinian economy, stating that donor support and in particular budget support is essential to avoid a fiscal crisis leading to wider economic problems.

Of the $3.5 billion pledged by the international community in 2014 to help rebuild the blockaded Gaza Strip in the wake of a devastating Israeli offensive, only 46 percent has so far been delivered, as the World Bank said donor aid for Gaza was $1.3 billion behind schedule.

The report further revealed that only 16 percent of recovery needs in Gaza has assessed following the 2014 war had been addressed in the past two years.

Over 70,000 people are suffering from prolonged internal displacement. Only 10.7 percent of the 11,000 housing units that were totally destroyed in the war have been rebuilt to date, and about 50 percent of partially and severely damaged houses still need to be repaired, Wes was quoted as saying.

The situation in Gaza is of great concern and the conditions required for post-reconstruction sustainable economic growth are not being put in place. she added.

World Bank recommendations to improve Palestinian economic situation

The World Bank issued a number of recommendations in its report to avoid further deterioration of the Palestinian economy, although it noted that the economy would not be able to reach its potential without a peace resolution.

The report commends the Palestinian fiscal consolidation efforts and the recent Israeli decision to increase the quota of Palestinian workers in Israel, however, bold steps are still needed to address the immediate crisis and place the economy and the public finances on a sustainable path, the World Bank wrote.

The international organization called on the PA to further reforms to enhance revenue collection and to reduce expenditures, as well as cut non-priority spending and improve competitiveness and generate jobs, while acknowledging that the potential contribution from these actions will not be enough to cover the full financing gap.

International institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund typically advocate for deregulation, privatization, and liberalization of economies  policies which have been criticized by a number of economists and activists as coming to the detriment of local populations and not properly taking into account the specific contexts of each country.

The World Bank, while not outright denouncing out Israeli policies for their severe negative effect on the Palestinian economy, stated that efforts by the Government of Israel can mitigate the stress of economic stagnation, notably by increasing the quotas of Palestinian workers allowed in Israel and further redressing some of the areas of fiscal loss under the current revenue sharing arrangements with the PA.

The Palestinian Authority has struggled under severe financial strain over the years, exacerbated by instances when Israel has withheld taxes it collects on the PAs behalf.

In a report released in April, the World Bank said that the PA was losing up to $285 million a year under its current economic arrangements with Israel.

More vocally, the World Bank called on donor states and institutions to meet their commitments vis-a-vis Gaza and the PA, calling their financial contributions vital to avoiding a worse economic situation given the dearth of alternatives.

While donors need to accelerate disbursement, material entry also needs to be accelerated, particularly as efforts shift towards long term recovery projects in Gaza, the report added, saying that complex infrastructure projects are facing long delays depending on the type of material and equipment needed.

Earlier this year, Israel banned the entrance of cement inside the Gaza Strip, a move which was widely criticized for exacerbating an already crippling near-decade blockade on the Palestinian enclave, as it prevented hundreds of Gazans who were made homeless during the 50-day 2014 war from rebuilding their homes, and suspending the jobs of some 40,000 workers employed in the construction sector.

The destruction from three Israeli offensives over the past six years and slow reconstruction due to the blockade led the UN in September to warn that Gaza could be uninhabitable by 2020.

In June, the World Bank stated that it had contributed a total of $1.025 billion in its Trust Fund for Gaza and the West Bank since its inception in 1993.

By comparison, the United States signed on Wednesday a new memorandum of understanding with Israel granting it $38 billion in military aid for the coming decade.

Via Maan News Agency

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

TeleSur English: Palestinian Economy Would Double If Israeli Occupation Ends
LAKEWOOD, CO, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE MKT:UUUU; TSX:EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that due to increased demand, it has entered into an amended and restated underwriting agreement (as amended and restated, the "Underwriting Agreement") with a syndicate of underwriters led by Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation and Rodman & Renshaw a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, acting as co-lead underwriters and joint book-running managers, to increase the size of the previously announced bought deal to US$13,050,000. Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the underwriters have agreed to buy on a bought deal, underwritten basis 7,250,000 units (the "Units") at a price of US$1.80 per Unit for gross proceeds of US$13,050,000 (the "Offering"). As previously announced, each Unit consists of one common share (each a "Share") and one half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable for five years following the closing date and will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Share upon exercise at an exercise price of US$2.45 per Share. The Company has applied to list the Warrants on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"), though listing will be subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the TSX. The Company intends to list the Warrants on the NYSE MKT within 90 days of the closing of the Offering, subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the NYSE MKT. The Company has granted the underwriters an option, exercisable at the offering price at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the day that is the 30th day following the closing date of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 15% of the base Units offered in the Offering (which may be exercised for Units, Shares, Warrants or a combination thereof) to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. The Offering is expected to close on or about September 20, 2016, subject to obtaining customary TSX and NYSE MKT approvals.

As previously announced, the Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering (i) to continue to finance the previously announced shaft sinking and evaluation at the Company's high-grade Canyon mine project in Arizona; (ii) to continue to fund wellfield construction at the Company's Nichols Ranch Project in Wyoming; (iii) to continue permitting of the Company's projects, including Roca Honda and Jane Dough; (iv) to repay principal on outstanding indebtedness; and (v) for general corporate needs and working capital requirements. However, management of Energy Fuels will have discretion with respect to the actual use of the net proceeds of the Offering and there may be circumstances where, for sound business reasons, a reallocation of the net proceeds is necessary.

The Company intends to file a final prospectus supplement (the "Supplement") in both Canada and the United States to its Canadian short form base shelf prospectus (the "Canadian Base Prospectus") dated June 14, 2016 and its U.S. shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the "Registration Statement") which was declared effective on May 5, 2016. Before investing, you should read the prospectus in both the Canadian Base Prospectus as well as in the Registration Statement and other documents the Company has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities regulators for more complete information about the Company and this offering. Copies of the Supplement and the Underwriting Agreement will be, and the Canadian Base Prospectus and the Registration Statement are, available for free by visiting the Company's profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml, as applicable. Alternatively, investors may ask the underwriters or the Company to send them the Supplement, when available, the Canadian Base Prospectus and/or the base prospectus contained in the Registration Statement by contacting Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, attention: Equity Capital Markets, 181 University Avenue, Suite 1500, Toronto, ON, M5H 3M7, email: href="mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. " rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Rodman & Renshaw a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, 430 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or the Company's Investor Relations department at (303) 974-2140.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, Units, Warrants or Shares in any state or province in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state, province, or other jurisdiction.

The Company intends to rely on the exemption set forth in Section 602.1 of the TSX Company Manual which provides that the TSX will not apply certain of its requirements to issuers whose shares are listed on another recognized stock exchange such as the NYSE MKT.

About Energy Fuels Energy Fuels is a leading integrated USbased uranium mining company, supplying U 3 O 8 to major nuclear utilities. Energy Fuels holds three of America's key uranium production centers, the White Mesa Mill in Utah, the Nichols Ranch Processing Facility in Wyoming, and the Alta Mesa Project in Texas. The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today and has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U 3 O 8 per year. The Nichols Ranch Processing Facility is an in situ recovery ("ISR") production center with a licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U 3 O 8 per year. Alta Mesa is an ISR production center currently on care and maintenance. Energy Fuels also has the largest NI 43101 compliant uranium resource portfolio in the U.S. among producers, and uranium mining projects located in a number of Western U.S. states, including one producing ISR project, mines on standby, and mineral properties in various stages of permitting and development. The Company's common shares are listed on the NYSE MKT under the trading symbol "UUUU", and on the TSX under the trading symbol "EFR".

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "Forward-Looking Information" and "Forward Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the expected closing date of the Offering, the timing for listing of the Warrants on the NYSE MKT and the TSX, and the use of proceeds from the Offering. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "may," "will," "plans," "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "opportunity," "goals," or "should". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, herein are considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the closing date of the Offering (if any) or the use of proceeds from the Offering to be different from those expressed by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such events to differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with: the Company's ability to satisfy the conditions to closing of the Offering and to use the proceeds from the Offering as expected, the ability to satisfy the requirements to list the Warrants on the NYSE MKT and the TSX, which could be affected by many of the risks described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 15, 2016, which is available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and its Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is available for review on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtmland in the Supplement dated the date hereof and which will be available for review on SEDAR and EDGAR shortly. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law.

SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.
(Xinhua) 20:33, September 14, 2016

The nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on September 9 has not affected China's environment, according to the country's environmental watchdog.

The DPRK announced the success of its nuclear warhead test September 9, the fifth by the country since 2006.

On the day of the test, the Ministry of Environmental Protection launched its second-highest level of emergency response to monitor radiation levels along the country's northeast border.

Readings over the past six days showed that radiation was within the normal range.

The ministry terminated its emergency response on Wednesday morning, but said it would continue monitoring the situation.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 15, 2016) -

Highlights:

Steady state operations continue with 34,301 ounces produced in July and August 2016

H2 2016 production guidance increased to 100,000 - 105,000 ounces up from 90,000 - 100,000 ounces previously

Mills operating at 10% over design capacity at 3.3Mtpa and gold recovery exceeding plan

Crushing improvements being undertaken through Q1 2017 to increase mill throughput to circa 3.6Mtpa for 2017

New life-of-mine plan being optimized with higher throughput rates and gold production for 2017 and 2018 ahead of Phase 2 operations

Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX:AKG)(NYSE MKT:AKG) is pleased to provide an update on the Asanko Gold Mine (AGM), located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine declared commercial production on April 1, 2016 and reached steady state operations during Q2 2016. July and August production has been reflective of steady state operations with 34,301 ounces produced. As such, the Company has increased its production guidance to 100,000 - 105,000 ounces for H2 2016, previously 90,000 -100,000 ounces.

Asanko's improved guidance is the result of minor operational improvements made during Q2 2016 to optimize the processing facility which has resulted in the mills performing in excess of their original design capacity on a continuous basis. This, together with higher than planned recovery and ore grades approaching reserve grades being fed from the Nkran pit, has delivered a very encouraging performance so far for Q3 2016. In July the processing plant milled 274,325 tonnes at 2.1 g/t gold producing 17,042 ounces and for August 279,737 tonnes were milled at 2.0 g/t for 17,259 ounces.

Commenting on the strong production performance, Peter Breese, President and CEO, said, "The Asanko Gold Mine is performing extremely well, having now reached steady-state operations with current run rates through the processing facility above feasibility levels. The solid performance we have seen in July and August has given us the confidence to increase our guidance for H2 2016. Our focus now continues to be on bringing our operating costs in-line with expectations by the end of 2016."

The current mill capacity of 275,000 to 280,000tpm (equivalent to 3.3 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa")) is approximately 10% above design throughput rates. The bottleneck to increasing production further is primarily the ore crushing circuit. Modifications to the crushing circuit to improve throughput rates are currently being undertaken and will be completed in Q1 2017. In addition, in an effort to improve throughput rates even further, a new mobile crusher has been purchased and is expected to be operational by late September 2016. Once the crushing improvements have been implemented, the Company expects to achieve monthly production throughputs of 300,000tpm (3.6Mtpa) without further capital expenditure.

The Company is currently updating the AGM life-of-mine plan in conjunction with the Phase 2 Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS"). The new life-of-mine plan will be based on processing 20% more ore than planned at 3.6Mt in 2017. As such the Company expects the DFS to estimate in excess of 220,000 ounces of production in 2017, which is well above previous plans for that year. Ore feed will come from the Nkran pit, the two near-surface oxide deposits discovered earlier this year, Adubiaso Extension and Nkran Extension, and the Dynamite Hill satellite pit. The DFS is now expected to be published during Q4 2016, at which time formal production guidance for 2017 will be given.

Permits for Adubiaso Extension and Dynamite Hill have recently been obtained and the permit for Nkran Extension is expected in Q1 2017. Bush clearing and Grade Control drilling of the Adubiaso Extension pit has commenced in preparation for mining operations in Q4 2016.

The Company will be presenting at the Denver Gold Forum next week in Colorado Springs, USA. A copy of the presentation will be available on the Company's website: www.asanko.com.

Enquiries:

For further information please visit: www.asanko.com, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

About Asanko Gold Inc.

Asanko's vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all its stakeholders. The Company's flagship project is the multi-million ounce Asanko Gold Mine located in Ghana, West Africa. The mine is being developed in phases. Phase 1 commenced gold production in January 2016 and declared commercial production on April 1, 2016. Ramp-up to steady state production of 190,000 ounces per annum was achieved in Q2 2016.

Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.

Forward-Looking and other Cautionary Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, the timely renewal of key permits, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Wealth Minerals Ltd. (the "Company" or "Wealth") - (TSXV: WML; OTCQB: WMLLF; SSE: WMLCL; Frankfurt: EJZ), is pleased to announce that it received TSX Venture Exchange acceptance to close the non-brokered private placement announced on September 9, 2016 ("Placement"), and the Placement closed on September 14, 2016. The Company also announces that it has entered into a formal option agreement giving it the right to acquire the Quisco Project within the Quisquiro Salar (see NR16-18, July 29, 2016) and has closed the option agreement with respect to the Jesse Creek Property, B.C. (see NR16-20, August 10, 2016), both upon the previously announced terms.

Non-brokered Private Placement

On the closing of the Placement, the Company issued a total of 3,660,338 common shares at a price of $0.70 per share to raise gross proceeds of $2,562,236.60. All shares issued in the Placement will have a four-month hold period in Canada ending on January 14, 2017. A total of $120,752.18 in cash (6%) was paid in finder's fees to Haywood Securities Inc., Euromerica Capital Group Inc. and Cesar Lopez Alarcon.

The net proceeds from the Placement are intended to be used to fund option payments on the Trinity and Atacama Lithium Projects, the costs of an initial exploration campaign on the Company's Chilean lithium properties (anticipated to begin later this year) and on the Jesse Creek property in BC (underway), the costs for the review and assessment of additional potential lithium mineral property acquisitions in South America, and for general and administrative expenses and working capital.

The Company is currently also involved in the review and evaluation of a number of prospective lithium mineral projects in South America for possible acquisition, and is engaged in active negotiations with respect to some of these. However, no agreements with respect to the acquisition of any such mineral projects has yet been entered into, and there can be no assurance that the Company will, in fact, be successful in entering into any such agreements or acquiring interests in any additional mineral properties.

This press release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Formal Option Agreement on Quisco Project, Quisquiro Salar

The Company has now entered into the formal option agreement ("Quisco Agreement") giving it the right to acquire a 100% royalty-free interest in the Quisco 1 to 9 exploration concessions (the "Quisco Property") located in the Quisquiro Salar in Region II of Antofagasta, northern Chile. The agreement has been submitted for registration with the Mining Registry of Calama. The Quisco Property is part of the Company's Trinity Lithium Project.

The concessions comprising the Quisco Property cover an area of approximately 2,400 hectares located in the southern portion of the Salar de Quisquiro in Region II of Antofagasta, northern Chile. The northern portion of the Salar de Quisquiro is held by Sociedad Quimica y Minera, one of two lithium-producing companies in Chile.

Under the Quisco Agreement, the Company's Chilean subsidiary, Wealth Minerals Chile SpA ("Wealth Chile") has the exclusive option to acquire a 100% royalty-free interest in the Quisco Property from the arm's length vendor (a private Chilean company) by making the following payments to the Vendor:

Date Payment Upon Signing Formal Option

Agreement (paid) USD 300,000 March 12, 2017 USD 100,000 September 12, 2017 USD 500,000 September 12, 2018 USD 700,000 September 12, 2019 USD 1,000,000

There are no work commitments under the Quisco Agreement, but Wealth Chile is responsible for maintaining the concessions in good standing during the term of the option.

The non-producing salars in Chile have had limited exploration work completed and most of them are yet to be systematically explored. Exploration will be required so that any potential resources can be identified and fully evaluated and quantified. Accordingly, the initial program to be carried out by the Company at the Quisco Property will consist of a program of prospecting and sampling to determine the existence, nature, extent and distribution of lithium at the Quisco Property.

Closing of Jesse Creek Option Agreement

The Company has received conditional acceptance from the TSXV to the option agreement giving it the right to acquire a 100% interest (subject to a 2% NSR royalty) in the Jesse Creek porphyry copper property ("Jesse Creek Property") located north of Merritt, B.C., Canada. Accordingly, on September 14, 2016 the Company made the initial payment of $40,000, and issued the initial 200,000 common shares, to the optionors (one of whom is non-arm's length, being a director of Wealth).

The Jesse Creek Property is situated in the Nicola Mining Division of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 2.5 km due north of the city of Merritt and 7 km east of the Craigmont Mine, and consists of 24 contiguous mineral claims, covering 6,952 hectares. Topography is moderate; access and infrastructure are excellent and it can be explored year round.

While there are numerous historical workings on the Jesse Creek Property, mostly targeting Craigmont-type skarn mineralization, recent work since 2012 has targeted alkaline and calc-alkaline porphyry mineralization principally within the Jesse Creek Stock. This work included an airborne magnetic gradiometer survey, a conventional IP/Resistivity survey, and seven drill holes totaling 2,043 metres completed by Dundarave Resources Inc. and Ocean Park Ventures Corp. in late 2012. The drill holes only targeted IP anomalies, as no soil geochemistry was available. Nonetheless, the northern-most four holes intersected minor copper, gold and molybdenum mineralization associated with significant potassic and phyllic alteration.

Recent geological mapping and petrographic work has provided compelling evidence that the Jesse Creek Stock is an analogue of the Guichon Creek Batholith (host to the Highland Valley porphyry copper deposits  Valley, Lornex, Highmont, Bethlehem and JA). Mineralization controls at Jesse Creek Stock are remarkably similar to those at Highland Valley (a core younger, more differentiated, phase and major intersecting faults). These characteristics were previously unrecognized because of extensive overburden cover and erosion of the Jesse Creek Stock at a shallower level.

The Company has commenced an initial exploration program at Jesse Creek, consisting of 757 soil samples, 27 line -kilometres of ground geophysics (Induced Polarization survey), and 2500 metres of drilling, and estimated to cost approximately $500,000. The program is anticipated to be completed by year-end, with the exception of the drilling, which will continue into 2017. Results will be announced as available.

Qualified Person

Keith J. Henderson, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release with respect to the Quisco Project and has approved the disclosure herein with respect thereto. Mr. Henderson is a consultant to Wealth, but does hold common shares and incentive stock options in the Company.

John Drobe, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release with respect to the Jesse Creek property and has approved the disclosure herein with respect thereto. Mr. Drobe is a consultant to Wealth, but does hold common shares and incentive stock options in the Company.

About Wealth Minerals Ltd.

Wealth is a mineral resource company with interests in Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile. The Company's main focus is the acquisition of lithium projects in South America. To date the Company has positioned itself to develop the Aguas Caliente Norte, Pujsa and Quisquiro Salars in Chile (the Trinity Project), as well as to work with existing producers in the prolific Atacama Salar. The Company continues to aggressively pursue new acquisitions in the region. Lithium market dynamics and a rapidly increasing metal price are the result of profound structural issues with the industry meeting anticipated future demand. Wealth is positioning itself to be a major beneficiary of this future mismatch of supply and demand. The Company also maintains and continues to evaluate a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration-stage projects.

For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company's web site (www.wealthminerals.com) and its Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WEALTH MINERALS LTD.

"Tim McCutcheon"

Tim McCutcheon

President

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the proposed use of the proceeds from the private placement; the Company's expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional lithium or other mineral projects, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are all forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities; the state of the commodity markets generally, and particularly with respect to precious metals and lithium; variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located; variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce; the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities; the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Caution Regarding Adjacent or Similar Mineral Properties

This news release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits, and the results of any mining thereof, on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties or any potential exploitation thereof.

SOURCE Wealth Minerals Limited
Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / September 14, 2016 - Pursuant to the press release dated August 2, 2016, NORTEC MINERALS CORP. (the "Company" or "Nortec") (TSXV: NVT) is pleased to announce that the Company's Joint Venture earn-in partner, Avalon Minerals ("Avalon") of Milton, QLD, Australia, has commenced diamond core drilling on the Satulinmaki gold prospect, Tammela Project, Finland.. The Satulinmaki prospect is located 5 kilometres north-west respectively of the Kietyonmaki lithium prospect (Figure 1). Avalon's press release can be referred to on http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20160906/pdf/439zg30nswh7yk.pdf

http://avalonminerals.com.au/

Tammela Minerals Oy, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Nortec, controls 100% interest in the Somero 1 to 12 and Tammela 1 to 3 claims comprising the Tammela Project. The property hosts the Kietyonmaki Lithium prospect and the Riukka and Satulinmaki gold zones. Avalon has also submitted applications for two Exploration Reservations over an area of 117 km2 around the Somero and Tammela claims. These reservations form part of the Joint Venture with Avalon.

Highlights

-Drilling has commenced on hole SMDD001 at the Satulinmaki gold prospect.

-The drilling program will test targets within a series of sub-parallel gold zones defined by historical drill holes including:

-18m at 4.1g/t, including 3m at 9.3g/t and 4m at 10.3g/t in hole R391

-10m at 2.7g/t in hole R416

-6 holes will be drilled for a total 930m, adjacent to, and deeper than the historical gold intersections.

-First gold assay results are expected to be returned in early October.

Six drill holes are planned at Satulinmaki for a total of 930m and these will test interpreted sub-vertical gold mineralized shoots based on historical diamond drilling that was completed by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) during the period 2001 - 2005. The diagrams below show the location of the proposed drill holes, and a cross section and long section which shows the currently interpreted geometry and model for drill testing

The drill program will test zones below historical holes that include intersections such as:

25.0m @ 3.17 g/t Au from 50m downhole in drill hole R391, including;

3.0m @ 9.3 g/t Au from 54m, and 4.0m @ 10.3 g/t Au from 66m

25.0m @ 1.7 g/t Au from 51m downhole in drill hole R413, including;

1.0m @ 9.8 g/t Au from 51.3m, 1.0m @ 8.6 g/t Au from 62.3m, 1.0m @ 4.2 g/t Au from 71.3m, and1.0m @ 6.2 g/t Au from 74.3m

3.0m @ 5.9 g/t Au from 33.9m downhole in drill hole R414

2.0m @ 1.89 g/t Au at the end of hole in drill hole R414. This hole ended in mineralisation (see figure 3)

10.0m at 2.7 g/t Au from 15m downhole in drill hole R416

4.0m @ 5.2 g/t Au from 101.3m downhole in drill hole R419

First assay results are expected in early October.

The historical data, comprising 60 shallow diamond drill holes, has been interpreted and a structural model proposed that comprises a series of sub-parallel NE trending gold bearing quartz veins within altered mafic volcanic schists. It is suggested that the plunge of mineralisation is sub-vertical. If this model is supported by the proposed drilling program then further targets along structural strike will be defined, and the results from the nearby Riukka gold prospect will be reviewed and drill holes proposed for this area.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1: Location of Satulinmaki gold prospect, 4km NW of the Kietyonmaki lithium project.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2: Satulinmaki gold prospect showing interpreted NE trending gold bearing vein systems. Figure 3 cross section is shown through the main target vein. Collar positions of historical holes are shown with red dots and grey, green traces. Proposed holes SMD001 to SMD006 are shown in white.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 3: Cross section showing target zone down plunge from mineralised horizons in historical holes R413 and R414.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 4: Long section on the main gold bearing zone showing existing shallow historical intersections, and pierce points of the proposed drill holes 1 to 5. The 5 proposed drill holes have also been planned to intersect several sub-parallel gold horizons parallel to this main zone.

Avalon - Nortec Heads of Agreement:

Details of the Heads of Agreement with regards to the formation of the Joint Venture Agreement between Nortec and Avalon can be referred to in the Company's press release dated May 19, 2016.

Avalon previously announced a 3000 metre drilling program on the Kietyonmaki lithium prospect (Nortec press release dated June 26, 2016). Historical drilling by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) identified a high grade lithium pegmatite deposit including diamond drill intersections of up to 18m @ 1.8% Li2O. Proposed work will deliver a mineral resource estimate and preliminary metallurgical studies by the end of 2016.

Other News:

The Private Placement announced on April 21, 2016 could not be completed.

About Nortec Minerals Corp.

Nortec is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Information on the Company's projects can be referred to on www.nortecminerals.com.

Mohan R. Vulimiri, M.Sc., P.Geo, CEO, Nortec Minerals, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Vulimiri has approved the corporate and technical content contained in this press release

On behalf of the Board of Directors, NORTEC MINERALS CORP. "Mohan R. Vulimiri" Mohan R. Vulimiri, CEO and Chairman

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept the responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This press release contains certain forward looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays and uncertainties not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performances or expectations implied by these forward looking statements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States.

NORTEC MINERALS CORP. TSX-V: NVT / FSE: WMQ / OTC-PK: NMNZF Suite 2000, 1066 West Hastings Street Vancouver BC V6E 3X4, Canada Phone: +1 604-717-6426 TAMMELA MINERALS Oy c/o Kalliolaw Asianajotoimisto Oy Etelaranta 12, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland

Phone: +358 9 6812 930

Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] released images from the desert no mans land between Jordan and Syria on Thursday showing thousands of refugees trapped in the area. The images show how dire the humanitarian situation has become, displaying makeshift grave sites and an estimated 75,000 refugees trapped in the area known as the Berm. Tirana Hassan, Crisis Response Director at AI, commented [press release] on the images stating

Its a desperate picture for people trapped at the berm, food is running out and disease is rife. In some cases people are suffering or even dying from preventable illnesses, simply because they are not allowed into Jordan and the authorities have blocked access for aid, medical treatment and a meaningful humanitarian response.

AI has called for meaningful dialogue and international action to address the refugee crisis as world leaders plan to meet in New York next week for the UN and Obama summits.

The rights of migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issues around the world, as millions seek asylum from conflict nations. Earlier this month Human Rights Watch and AI said [JURIST report] that the draft of the final outcome document for the upcoming UN summit on refugees falls short of dealing with the issue effectively. Also in September UNICEF released a report [JURIST report] that found that nearly 50 million children have been uprooted from their homes across the globe. In April in April UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged [JURIST report] world leaders to accept more refugees and to combat the growing international anti-refugee sentiments.
Bosco Ntaganda [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive], a former rebel in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has begun a hunger strike and is refusing to appear at his trial to protest the conditions of his detention. Ntaganda is on trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] on 18 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he has denied [ICC materials]. The presiding judge recently decided not to remove visitation restrictions for Ntaganda out of fear he might interfere with witnesses, but the judge stated that these restrictions do not prevent family visits. However, Ntaganda stated that he does not believe he will be allowed to see his family under normal conditions, leading him to begin the strike and tell his legal team not to act on his behalf. In a written statement, Ntaganda stated that he feels he no longer has hope that he can defend himself, and that he is ready to die. The judge has ordered his defense team to continue representing him, but also ordered a medical assessment of Ntaganda. Additionally, the judge said that a family visit should be arranged right away.

Ntagandas trial at the ICC began about a year ago, and he faces a maximum life sentence if convicted [JURIST report]. The rebel leader has pleaded innocent to the 18 charges levied against him, including rape, murder, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual slavery of civilians. He has been accused of killing at least 800 civilians between the years of 2002 and 2003 and keeping girl soldiers as sex slaves. In June 2014 the ICC confirmed charges [JURIST report] against Ntaganda. The ICC held the confirmation of charges hearing [JURIST report] in February 2014, reviewing approximately 69,000 pages of evidence. The previous year the ICC postponed [JURIST report] the confirmation of charges hearing in order to give prosecutors more time to prepare their case. The pre-trial chamber concluded that Ntaganda bore individual criminal responsibility for specific attacks as well as war crimes during the ongoing conflict in the DRC, referring him for trial at a future date. The Congolese general voluntarily turned himself over to the ICC in March 2013 following his surrender to a US embassy [JURIST reports] in Rwanda, marking the first time a wanted person has voluntarily surrendered to the ICC. Human Rights Watch had called for Ntagandas arrest on multiple occasions: most recently a direct appeal in 2012 to DRC President Joseph Kabila and previously in 2011 during an international conference after its previous request in 2010 [JURIST reports].
[JURIST] Several organizations filed a federal lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Wednesday challenging Georgias voter registration system. Since 2010, Georgia has required [AP report] voter applications to match databases managed by the Georgia Department of Driver Services and the Social Security Administration (SSA) [official websites]. Should a potential voters identification information not match such databases, the state sends a notification to the persons residence and requires a response within 40 days before canceling the application. The state has noted that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] was fully advised of this system in 2010 and that such measures are essential for preventing voter fraud. Plaintiffs Georgia State Conference of the NAACP (GA NAACP), Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda (GCPA) and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice  Atlanta [advocacy websites] have argued, however, that the states system is unconstitutional and violates the Voting Rights Act [text, PDF] by preventing many state residents from registering to vote. The organizations also claim in their lawsuit that the state system disproportionately affects minorities who may not have the proper knowledge to remedy any hindering application errors. The lawsuit requests that the judge terminate the current system and allow state residents with previously canceled applications to vote in the upcoming election.

Voting rights remain a controversial legal issue in the US. Last week the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit blocked [JURIST report] a proof of citizenship requirement imposed upon voters by Alabama, Georgia and Kansas. Earlier this month the US Supreme Court [official website] rejected [JURIST report] Michigans appeal of an injunction [text, PDF] that prevented the state from ban straight-ticket voting. The Supreme Court also denied a motion to reinstate [JURIST report] North Carolinas recently overturned law that limited early voting to 10 days and required voters to present approved identification cards. Last month the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] denied [JURIST report] an emergency petition for a rehearing regarding the Wisconsin voter ID law. Also last month the Illinois Supreme Court concluded [JURIST report] that placing a redistricting proposal on the ballot this fall would be unconstitutional. Earlier in August an Oklahoma court upheld [JURIST report] a controversial voter identification law allowing the law to be in place while early voting commenced for a primary run-off. In July voter restrictions were overturned not only in North Carolina, but in Kansas and Wisconsin [JURIST reports].
[JURIST] A transgender non-citizen from Mexico filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Tuesday against Indiana Governor Mike Pence [official profile] and two other state officials over Indianas law that prevents non-citizens from changing their names. The law was enacted [WSJ report] in 2010 to prevent identity theft and was primarily aimed at undocumented immigrants, though it equally affects immigrants residing in the US legally. The anonymous plaintiff has argued in the lawsuit, however, that the law subjects transgender non-citizens to harassment by not allowing them to assume a name that reflects their self-identified gender. The Transgender Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) [advocacy websites] are supporting the lawsuit and have stated the Indiana law discriminates based on national origin and violates the privacy protections of transgender persons. The state officials have yet to publicly respond to the lawsuit.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. On Saturday tens of thousands of people marched [JURIST report] in Mexico in protest after President Enrique Pena Nietos announced intention to recognize same-sex marriage. Last month the Belize Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a law banning sodomy, declaring it unconstitutional and adversely impactful to the LGBT community. Last December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 2015 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June 2015 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy websites] on Tuesday said that the draft of the final outcome document for the upcoming UN summit on refugees falls short of dealing with the issue effectively. According to the rights groups, the UN is missing an opportunity [AP report] by not proposing anything of substance. Salil Shetty, Secretary General of AI, stated [press release], [f]aced with the worst refugee crisis in 70 years, world leaders have shown a shocking disregard for the human rights of people who have been forced to leave their homes due to conflict or persecution. Originally, the outcome document included a proposal that would require member states to annually be open to 10 percent of the worlds refugee population. However, these proposals were removed from the final draft, leaving no concrete obligations regarding how member states must handle refugees. US President Barack Obama [official profile] will host a meeting of world leaders in New York after the summit to discuss refugee initiatives.

The rights of migrant populations has emerged as one of the most significant humanitarian issues around the world, as millions seek asylum from conflict nations. Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said [JURIST report] earlier this month that Austria will take Hungary to the International Court of Justice [official website] if Hungary does not begin accepting returning migrants that crossed into Austria from Hungary. Last month the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al Hussein [official profile] expressed concern [JURIST report] over Bulgarias criminalization of migrants leaving and entering the country. In June the European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website] rejected a challenge [JURIST report] to Britains refusal to pay family welfare benefits to unemployed EU migrants who do not have the right to reside in the UK. The judges ruled that such unequal treatment is justified on the basis of protecting a member states finances. Also in June the ECJ ruled that non-EU immigrants who illegally enter the Schengen area across an internal border should not be jailed [JURIST report] solely on that basis. In March the ECJ ruled that Germany may place residence conditions [JURIST report] on refugees. In February the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that new measures put in place by many European countries are too restrictive and place undue hardships [JURIST report] on refugees and asylum-seekers.
Human rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy websites], are calling [HRW press release] on US President Barack Obama to pardon former National Security Agency (NSA) [official websites] contractor Edward Snowden [BBC profile] with a campaign launched [AI press release] on Wednesday. The Pardon Snowden campaign [advocacy website] seeks to gain supporters to pressure the current administration to pardon Snowden on the belief that he performed a public service by leaking classified information as well as the probability that he would not be able to receive a fair trial if prosecuted for his alleged crimes. The groups are encouraging individuals to sign their name to the petition on the website in order to create public backing for the pardon.

But the 1917 Espionage Act, under which Snowden is charged, makes no allowance for whether a leak is in the public interest or what the leakers motivations are. All that matters is whether the leaks were shared with someone unauthorized to receive them, regardless of whether that someone is a foreign enemy or a reputable journalist. When Daniel Ellsberg was charged under this antiquated law for leaking the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times, a judge prevented Ellsberg from answering the question why he did it. Saying Snowden can explain his actions in court is simply wrongunder this law he cant.

The groups are also raising the issue of whistle-blower protection and rights.

Snowden, a former NSA contractor and computer professional, became famous in 2013 for leaking classified information. His leak ultimately led to significant revelations about global mass surveillance programs employed by various governments, particularly the US. Last October the European Parliament voted to approve [JURIST report] a resolution encouraging its member countries not to extradite Snowden and called upon its member states to drop all criminal charges against him and offer him protection as an international human rights defender. The ACLU and other US human rights organizations challenged the surveillance by the NSA, although the US District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed one such case [JURIST report] last October. The question of Snowdens guilt [JURIST op-ed] and the legitimacy of the charges against him have been debated and analyzed [JURIST news archive] widely in the U.S.
Xu Ting

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is caught in the crossfires of Chinas netizens. After the tragic death of the young actress Xu Ting, who publicly announced her decision to choose TCM over western medicine, many are calling into question the actual effectiveness of TCM. The 26-year-old actress didnt want to go through the pain of chemotherapy and refused treatment. Two months later, when her immune system had all but collapsed, she accepted chemo. It was too late by then, and Xu passed away.

Chinas online community has since criticized Traditional Chinese Medicine, blaming it for her death. Others have noted that chemo often fails as well, yet its still widely used.

Xu Ting in cupping therapy

Dr. Feng Li, Head of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing, believes that the problem lies within an incorrect public understanding of TCM.

Heres a translation of his piece in the Peoples Daily:

Is it that TCM is bad at treating tumors? Regardless of whether its Western medicine or TCM, malignant tumors are not something that can simply be treated using a single method. They require a synthesized approach, combining both eastern and western methodology.

For example, while western approaches like radiology, chemotherapy, and surgery are effective in shrinking the tumor. TCM is effective in reducing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, edema, and pain that comes with western treatment. Moreover, after the tumor is under control, TCM helps to repair the immune system, accelerate the bodys recovery, and minimize the chance of the tumor returning. Its irrational to blindly reject one treatment in complete favor of another. No medical professional would say with certainty that TCM or western medicine is superior. They both have their own advantages and shortcomings. Each case requires specifically tailored treatment according to the stage and pathology.

Therefore, in treating malignant tumors, solely relying on acupuncture and fire cupping is not enough. Its not that acupuncture and fire cupping are useless. Rather, the treatment was used on the incorrect area.

This incident reflects the mindset of some patients when considering treatment options. Some fear the agony and suffering felt by those undergoing chemo and radiation therapy. Out of a psychological fear, they choose to completely pursue the less painful option offered by Traditional Chinese Medicine. Some even feel that TCM has mystical powers, able to cure any illness.

Additionally, public dissemination of the popular science behind treating tumors is insufficient. After contracting an illness, many feel lost and will desperately seek out any doctor that presents a solution. This is a situation we all need to hereafter avoid and correct.

I recommend that once patients discover their illness, they go to a regulated, prestigious hospital and seek medical advice. On a national level, there needs to be an increase in regulation and supervision so that patients can receive a standardized level of treatment.
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A team of five Chinese doctors has been sent to Tanzania's northwest Kagera region to help save the lives of survivors of the Saturday earthquake which killed 17 people and injured scores of others, a statement from the Chinese embassy in Dar es Salaam said on Wednesday.

The statement issued by the Office of Public Diplomacy and Press Section of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania said the doctors included specialists in women, children as well as a surgeon and a general doctor.

On Tuesday, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Tanzania and the business community contributed about 700,000 US dollars and other relief supplies to help the survivors.

Among donors at the event, the Chinese Embassy pledged 50,000 US dollars and Chinese companies doing business in Tanzania also pledged about 70,000 US dollars.

The money was used to buy tents, food and medicines that were transported to Kagera region and the Chinese doctors were expected to arrive late Wednesday or Thursday morning, the statement said.

An earthquake, measuring at a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale, hit the Tanzania's Kagera region on Saturday. It left 17 people dead and over 200 injured, while thousands of houses were damaged.
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A symposium to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of renowned Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, dubbed the Shakespeare of China, was held in Beijing Wednesday.

Noting that Tang was an icon in Chinese literary and art history, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Liu Qibao encouraged the passing down of excellent traditional Chinese culture and analyzing Tang's works.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, told the symposium that traditional culture should be respected and China's confidence in its culture be strengthened.

He also urged more efforts to promote traditional Chinese culture overseas and through modern means.

Tang was born in Fuzhou in east China's Jiangxi Province. His masterpiece, "The Peony Pavilion," tells of a romance between Du Liniang, a daughter of a local official, and scholar Liu Mengmei, and depicts youthful pursuit of love and freedom.
China on top alert for ocean waves as Typhoon Meranti approaches

Eastern and southern Chinese provinces are bracing for high ocean waves brought by Typhoon Meranti, which is expected to make landfall on Thursday.

China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center (NMEFC) upgraded its warning for ocean waves triggered by Typhoon Meranti to "red" on Wednesday, the highest alert in a four-color warning system.

Gales and record high waves up to 17 meters have been observed off the coast of Taiwan as the 14th typhoon this year moves westward and is expected to hit the coast of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces on Wednesday and Thursday.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Fujian and Guangdong on Thursday and the State Oceanic Administration has initiated a class-II emergency response, the second-highest level.

Ships have been ordered to return to harbor and residents to stay indoors, according to the NMEFC. It also advised that dams should be reinforced.

Li Mei, a meteorologist in eastern China's Fujian, said that Meranti is among the strongest typhoons to hit China in recent years.

Schools and kindergartens in coastal cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian were closed Wednesday.

"The typhoon will bring gales and heavy rain when it makes landfall," Li said. "Parents are advised to keep children indoors and stay away from unsafe houses and advertising boards."

Provincial-level officials in Fujian are leading 13 work teams for disaster prevention work in areas most likely to be hit by the typhoon.

More than 40,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying districts in Zhangpu County, which is close to the sea.

Industrial production, classes and businesses have been suspended in Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian.

Passenger liners on eight routes between Fujian and Taiwan were canceled on Wednesday, as were at least 175 flights in and out of Fujian.

According to Chen Jianping, an official with Guangzhou Railway Group, services of many passenger trains have been stopped. Passengers may have their tickets refunded at railway stations.

More than 4,000 workers are patrolling railways to monitor potential risks, Chen said.

Under China's four-tier severe weather warning system, red is the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
The Sudanese government on Wednesday said China's minister of agriculture will pay a visit to Sudan on Sept. 21 to enhance bilateral cooperation in agriculture, official SUNA news agency reported.

"China's minister of agriculture will visit Sudan on Sept. 21, leading a high-level delegation of investors, as part of the joint cooperation between the two countries," Ibrahim Al-Dikhairi, Sudan's minister of agriculture and forests, was quoted as saying.

"The three-day visit of the Chinese delegation comes as part of the joint cooperation between the two countries and the Chinese president's initiative for investment in Arab countries," he noted.

He said Sudan would benefit from the visit of the Chinese delegation to develop the cooperation with China, particularly in the agricultural field.

He said the two sides would also hold meetings to discuss increasing Chinese investments in the country.

The two sides would sign a number of agreements in those fields, said the minister, pointing out that the Chinese delegation would visit Al-Rahad and Gezira agricultural schemes as well as GIAD industrial area.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidateHillary Clinton(C) arrives at a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of September 11 attacks at the National 9/11 Memorial, in New York, theUnited States, on Sept. 11, 2016. The United States on Sunday commemorated the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

As Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was scrambling to quell speculations about the U.S. Democratic candidate's health, a survey released on Wednesday found half of registered voters believe that Clinton gave false information about her health to the public.

Only 29 percent of voters think Clinton has given accurate information on her personal health to the public, while 50 percent think the opposite, according to the poll conducted by the Morning Consult polling company.

The share of voters who say that Clinton's health is below average or very poor increased from 26 percent in August to 41 percent now, said the survey.

Meanwhile, 37 percent of voters think Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has given false information on his personal health to public, despite the fact that Trump was recently bogged down in controversy surrounding his brief medical report that stated that he would be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

It was later disclosed that the doctor who wrote the only public documentation about Trump's health spent five minutes writing the report.

Clinton's campaign acknowledged on Monday it mishandled public concerns about her medical condition and said additional medical details of Clinton, 68, would soon be released.

The offer to release more medical details came after weeks of blunt refusal to do so and was the latest step for the campaign to quell long-time speculation about Clinton's health that climaxed on Sunday after she was videotaped being helped into a van while her feet appeared to be dragging on the ground.

Clinton on Sunday morning abruptly left a 9/11 memorial in New York and her campaign initially told reporters that Clinton had been "overheated."

Soon a video shot by a witness surfaced online, in which an apparently ailing Clinton struggled to steady herself and had to be helped by two Secret Service agents into her van.

About 90 minutes after the episode, Clinton emerged and waved to onlookers.

Almost five hours after the release of the video, the Clinton campaign released a statement from Clinton's physician which read that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday and left the memorial after becoming dehydrated and overheated.

The Clinton campaign did not disclose the diagnosis until the episode on Sunday.

While Republicans seized on the secrecy surrounding Clinton's medical record to attack her, even Clinton's allies criticized the Clinton campaign on Monday for lack of transparency.

"Antibiotics can take care of pneumonia," wrote David Axelrod, U.S. President Barack Obama's senior adviser on Twitter. "What's the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems?"

Both Clinton and Trump campaigns had pledged to release more information about the nominees later this week.
Consumers select imported wine at a free trade port zone in Qingdao, Shandong province. Cui Pengsen / For China Daily

Demand for affordable imported wine is on the rise in China and driving US exports.

Jeff Williamson, director of California State Trade and Export Promotion, told China Daily at the 27th Food Expo in Hong Kong in mid-August that California's wine exports to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are recovering from a sluggish 2014.

Chinese Customs released data that China's imported wine market made significant headway in 2015, with consumption volume of imported wine reaching 43.7 million - liter cases, a 37 percent increase over 2014.

Williamson said California's exports to China kept growing in double digits from 2007 to 2013, but then plummeted by about 10 percent in 2014. Thankfully, sellers adjusted to market changes soon.

He said US wine shipped to China has become more value-oriented. "Producers are making 20-dollar bottles of wine, or even below (that price), and they are doing very well on China market."

The rise of China's middle class is driving the imported wine market. A UK-based wine research institute, Wine Intelligence, said in its latest report - China Landscapes 2016 - in July that about 48 million urban upper middle class Chinese were drinkers of imported wine last year, up from 38 million in 2014. Wines priced in the 200-300 yuan range sold the most.

Williamson also found that sales of white wine are soaring. This variety has gained popularity particularly among women, he said. "The market for wine is becoming more mature and people are becoming more knowledgeable in the China market."

Dave Yip, a Hong Kong citizen in his 30s, started to import wine to Shenzhen in Guangdong province by the end of 2014. The volume of his imports in 2015 was about 20 containers.

He said drinking wine is becoming a fad among commoners. The most popular wine in his business is the one costing about 300 yuan.

Williamson said online channels are boosting sales of inexpensive wines in China.

He said in the last two years many companies visited California, the fourth largest wine exporter to China market, and selected products for sale on Taobao.com, Alibaba Group's online marketplace.

Low-priced wines attract low import duty and other taxes, thanks to the mainland's cross-border e-commerce preferential policy, he said.

So, products sold online with an import duty of less than 50 yuan are exempted from taxes, while mainland customs normally levy a 17 percent value-added tax and 14 percent tariff on imported bottles of wine.

Such bottles move quickly off online shelves that are favored by young buyers, whose numbers are growing to be on a par with the mainstream in China's wine market.

The China Landscapes 2016 report said approximately half of young consumers, aged from 18 to 29, buy wine online.

This is having an impact on sales and marketing strategies of wine importers. So are changes in the price range of popular wines, consumption channels and the mainstream consumer segment.

Zhu Hailun, a mainland wine supplier, said she will start selling imported wine this month on online wine selling platform Jiuxian.com. So far, the online outlet used to focus on Chinese white wine. Now, imported wines will retail between 200 yuan and 300 yuan.

Last year, she sold about 10 containers of red wine imported from Europe and the Americas.

She expects the business to increase this year, thanks to online channels and new international brand partners.
Police pictured at the crime scene [Photo: thepaper.cn]

A rare shooting case has been reported in central China, leaving a 50-year-old man and his 4-year-old grandson dead.

The police arrested the suspect in a family hotel in Changsha, central China's Hunan province on Thursday morning.

The shooting occurred around 9:30 pm on Wednesday. The suspect surnamed Zhang fired a gun at the two victims and escaped the scene.

50-year-old Tang died on the scene, while his grandson was shot in the head and later died at the hospital.

According to a preliminary investigation, the suspect is disputing with the boy's mother over some debt.

After failing to find the mother, Zhang then turned to her family.
The Dalai Lama' s recent terrorist-sympathizing remarks have again shocked the world, and provided for those in the West who used to exchange backing him for selfish political gains a chance to see the monk's true colors.

The fugitive Tibetan religious leader is now in France for a six-day visit "to promote Tibetan culture, language and ecological protection," as he has claimed.

While traveling in the European country, he urged talks with the Islamic State extremists, saying talks are "the only way" to end bloodshed in Syria and Iraq without explaining how that is possible.

It is not the first time the monk has made such a highly controversial remark, which has been savagely criticized in Europe and the wider world.

His call for Europe to take in refugees without conditions has also irritated many in the continent, who blame him for being purely hypocritical and totally devoid of common sense. That provides a good enough reason for Paris to shun him.

It is reported that no high ranking French officials, including President Francis Hollande, have plans to meet him. His itinerary was restricted to Paris and Strasbourg, while his audiences were limited to local residential Tibetans, some lawyers and religious leaders, as well as a small number of lawmakers.

Although the Dalai Lama has for long claimed to have abandoned politics and only focus on protecting the Tibetan culture, language and ecology, he devoted his visit to France to mainly spreading his political ideas in a bid to maintain influence.

In an interview with AFP, the Dalai Lama said the purpose of his visit was to meet people rather than shaking hands with the country's leaders.

But if one compares the Dalai Lama's current visit with his previous visits to France, it is easy to see his influence in the West has shrunk rapidly.

It is worth noting that the Dalai Lama, who has been living in India for decades, has never uttered one word about the rampant poverty in that country. On the contrary, he has often caused division and trouble in the Himalayan region and helped stunt economic and social development there.

Moreover, despite his repeated denial, the Dalai Lama has been trying to split Tibet from China.

It is never a secret that some Western politicians have treated the Dalai Lama as a tool to criticize China over its Tibetan policy so as to score cheap political points at home. With his shocking comments, the monk has become for them more of a political burden than an asset. It is also a fine opportunity for the Western governments to start thinking about what kind of relations they should have with the Dalai Lama in the future.

The choice between backing a separatist and terrorist-sympathizer and working with China on the basis of respecting its territorial integrity is not that difficult to make after all.
LINCOLN  Attorney General Doug Peterson launched a new attack Wednesday against a recent economic analysis that pegged the annual cost of Nebraskas death penalty at $14.6 million.

At a press conference in a satellite office in downtown Lincoln, Peterson contended that the report by Creighton University economist Ernie Goss contains serious inaccuracies. Peterson was joined by top prosecutors and appellate lawyers in his office, along with Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly.

We simply cant sit down and watch this number be used over and over as being a cost figure when we know it does not accurately reflect what goes on in Nebraska, Peterson said.

Goss on Wednesday again defended his study.

I continue to stand by my analysis that Nebraskas death penalty costs an average of $14.6 million annually above the costs of life without parole, he said in an email.

The pro-death penalty attorney general has repeatedly assailed the $16,000 study that Goss did on commission for Retain a Just Nebraska, an organization working to preserve the Legislatures 2015 repeal of capital punishment. Voters will decide a referendum Nov. 8 that would undo the repeal and reinstate the death penalty.

Peterson said one flaw of the Goss analysis stems from its reliance on studies conducted in other states that show death penalty cases generate higher defense costs, take more court time to resolve and generate more appeals than cases that result in life in prison.

Nebraskas costs are significantly lower, Peterson argued, because the state sets a high bar for death penalty prosecutions and ultimately sends a relatively small number of killers to death row.

It took an average of 14 days to seat a jury, conduct a trial and pronounce a sentence in a death penalty case in Nebraska, based on the attorney generals analysis of the 10 men on the states death row. But based upon assumptions in the Goss report, which were derived from other state studies, the average death penalty case would take 89 days, Peterson said.

The attorney general also said Goss assumed that it costs Nebraska more to house death row inmates, as it does in other death penalty states. But the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has said the cost of housing the condemned inmates is about $37,000, no different than other inmates at the Tecumseh State Prison where death row is housed.

Nebraska voters deserve accurate information, Peterson said Wednesday.

The attorney general said he could not estimate the cost of the death penalty in Nebraska, but he argued that the separate trial held for aggravating circumstances would be the only element that costs more than a life-in-prison case.

While Gov. Pete Ricketts and others also have questioned the accuracy of Goss $14.6 million estimate, another Nebraska economist who reviewed the report at The World-Heralds request said Goss used accepted methodology and produced evidence that the death penalty costs more.

Goss has said while he reviewed 19 death penalty cost studies from other states, his $14.6 million estimate resulted from an economic equation that factored justice cost data reported by Nebraska counties to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The analysis produced a margin of error of half a percent, Goss said.

During a death penalty debate held Wednesday by the Lincoln Independent Business Association, a question about the Goss analysis was posed to death penalty opponent State Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln and attorney Bob Evnen, co-founder of Nebraskans for the Death Penalty.

Coash said even if the death penalty costs less than Goss estimated, taxpayers arent getting what theyre paying for given that the state last conducted an execution in 1997. Evnen said the death penalty should cost more to protect the due process rights of the defendants.

This is not about saving money, its about a just punishment, Evnen said.
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This undated booking photo released by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Joseph Michael Schreiber, 32, who was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Fort Pierce, Fla., and is facing a charge of arson with a hate crime enhancement in connection with a fire that heavily damaged the Florida mosque Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen occasionally attended, authorities announced. (Florida Department of Corrections via AP)
The UK government on Thursday said that it had confirmed the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will go ahead following a new agreement with French company EDF.

The latest move came two months after the new government called for a review of the nuclear program.

British Secretary of State for Business Greg Clark said in a statement that the government had decided to give the green light to the country's first nuclear power plant in two decades but added that new measures would be taken to enhance security.

The Hinkley Point C plant, to be co-built by China General Nuclear Power Corp., which has a one-third stake, and French state-owned company EDF, would help address Britain's future energy demands.
Unique law violation: Party official expelled from the Party for receiving 27 cows for his mothers funeral

The Sichuan provincial disciplinary committee recently released eight cases of law violations. Among them, one stands out in particular. Yang Bing, former Deputy Director of Liangshan, an autonomous prefecture of Sichuan. Yang faced charges of accepting excessive amounts of monetary gifts. Except, not all the gifts were money.

When Yangs mother passed away, he held an extravagant funeral for her with friends, family members, and co-workers all in attendance. By the time he left the funeral, he was RMB530, 000 ($48,181) richer, all from monetary gifts given by his guests.

And while his pockets were filling with cash, his yard began overflowing with cattle  27 cattle, to be precise.

Despite a recent, widely publicized, crackdown on corruption and excessive flaunting of wealth, Yang somehow did not think 27 new cows would draw any attention.

Unfortunately, for Yang, the Sichuan disciplinary committee expelled him from the party and has already transferred the details of the case to judicial authorities. It seems you cant hide 27 cattle after all. With countless warnings from the central government about ceasing these types of grandiose affairs, Yangs behavior is dumbfounding.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15

Trend:

Armenias armed forces have 14 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Sept. 15.

The Armenian armed forces stationed in Vazashen village of the Ijevan district and on the nameless heights of Berd district opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions located on the nameless heights of the Gazakh and Tovuz districts.

Positions of the Azerbaijani army also underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near Marzili village of Azerbaijani Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district and the nameless heights of the Goranboy, Khojavand and Fizuli districts.

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.
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Physicians spend almost twice as much time each day typing on computers and filling out paperwork as they do seeing patients. That astonishing conclusion comes from research published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Just think about that. How would you feel if you spent two hours documenting every hour of work that you do? How would your boss feel about it? Youd be depressed and frustrated; your boss would probably be angry as hell.

Patients should be up in arms over this report. Taxpayers should be up in arms. Physicians already are up in arms because we already knew this was true  and we know its just going to get worse.

We know its going to get worse because we know whats causing it in the first place.

And thats whats missing in this study. Why? Why do physicians spend just 27 percent of their time on direct clinical face time with patients and 49.2 percent on electronic health records (EHRs) and desk work? From my nearly 50 years in medicine and thousands of conversations Ive had with my colleagues, I can guarantee you its not a willing choice.

But again, the question is why. Why is this happening? Part of it has to do with EHR systems that appear to have been designed by someone who never set foot in a physicians exam room. Theyre clunky, not intuitive, and dont fit the flow of how we examine, diagnose, and interact with our patients.

But the bigger issue is why we have to enter all of this data into a computer system in the first place. It comes back to an alphabet soup of government regulations that definitely were written by someone whos never been in the exam room with a patient. The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Meaningful Use (MU), and the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBM) program all aim to capture the quality of care were providing and score us on the cost of that care. MU  the worst-named government program ever  actually cuts our Medicare payments if we dont use an EHR.

A study published in Health Affairs earlier this year estimates the cost in physician time to comply with just one of those programs, PQRS, exceeds $50,000 per primary care physician per year. Thats a lot of money; but its also a lot of our time. Thats time the government has stolen from our patients.

And  as I mentioned earlier  its only going to get worse. The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), begins in January. MIPS is supposed to replace PQRS, MU, and VBM. But, as I wrote in this space in June, the new program looks to be far more costly, complex, and confusing than the costly, complex, and confusing programs it is replacing.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates MACRA will add $128 million a year in compliance costs above the costs of complying with the programs it is replacing. Texas Medical Association analysis finds that official number woefully low.

And all of that brings us to one more, even bigger question: Does the government know what its doing to physicians?

We went to medical school and dedicated our lives to helping people heal and stay healthy, not to become data entry operators. But thats what we have become, and thats taking a toll on physicians, our patients, and the entire health care system. Physicians are burned out and unhappy, patients have less time with their doctors, and everyone has to pay more to get less care.

Ive been a patient  a seriously ill patient  and I owe my life to the physicians who helped me recover from West Nile virus encephalitis. Like every patient, I dont want a burned-out, unhappy doctor whos enslaved by his computer. I want a bright-eyed, engaged, and satisfied physician who has the time and energy to put me  and my health  first.

Don R. Read is president, Texas Medical Association.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

The US position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not changed, says the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta.

We support the OSCE Minsk Groups activity, he told reporters in Baku Sept. 15.

Cekuta also recalled that last week the US Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick discussed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the conflicts resolution.

We continue thinking that this conflict needs to be resolved, that there has to be a settlement found, that the sides need to come together for stability and wellbeing of everyone in the region, added Cekuta. We continue to work with sides.

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.
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A father of two told a court that he took responsibility for a knife that was found in his vehicle.

William Harty, Apt 4, Maudlin Street was convicted of being in possession of a knife at Lower Bridge Street, Callan on December 17, 2015. He also admits being intoxicated in a public place and to engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at Maudlin Street on June 26.

The court heard that gardai found a knife in a vehicle belonging to the defendant. When asked who owned the knife the defendant said that he took responsibility for it.

In his direct evidence William Harty told the court that he had no knowledge of the knife and that he never knew it was there.

Judge Colin Daly told the court that he was satisfied that Mr Harty was found to be in possession of the knife and that he did not provide an explanation for it.

I am also satisfied that he took responsibility for the knife and that he was in possession of the knife, he said and convicted him of the offence under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act.

A plea was also entered to a number of public order offences. Sergeant Alma Molloy said that while dealing with a domestic incident gardai met with the defendant, who was highly intoxicated. He began to abuse gardai, calling them pigs and telling them to f**k off.

The court heard that the defendant has 43 previous convictions, including several convictions for offences under the Public Order Act.

The court heard that the defendant is engaging with the Probation Services, that there was nothing sinister involved and that the knife was found in the passenger pocket.

The court also heard that the defendant had given up drink since July 2015.

He had a relapse on the night. The Rod Stewart concert was on and there was a party atmosphere in the town, said Mr Hogan.

In relation to the knife offence Judge Daly adjourned the matter to November 8 and ordered that a Probation Report be ready on that date and that the report include a recommendation as to whether the defendant is suitable for community service.

Judge Daly convicted the defendant of being intoxicated in a public place, of engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and imposed fines totaling 401.
Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) held a ceremonious event on the occasion of the start of academic year 2016/2017.

Rovnag Abdullayev, MP and the President of SOCAR, Gordon Birrell, BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Dr. Carole Crofts, the UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan, as well as vice-presidents and managerial staff of SOCAR, the directors of various national and international companies attended the ceremony together with the BHOS faculty, students and their parents. Before the opening, the guests paid tribute to the memory of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev laying flowers at his bust located in the school building.

Opening the ceremony Elmar Gasimov, Rector of BHOS welcomed the guests and expressed his honor of meeting them at the ceremony. He extended his wishes of congratulation to the students admitted to BHOS with high scores, as well as to their parents on the occasion of the beginning of the new academic year.

Briefing on the achievements and implemented activities within a short period of time, as well as the perspectives, the rector said that this academic year the average entrance score to BHOS in specialization group No.1 constituted a total of 667 points. He also underlined that two students with the maximum entrance score of 700 points selected BHOS. Emphasizing the decree on establishment of BHOS issued by Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Rector Gasimov said that the higher school was a model demonstrating the realization of the motto We have to transform our oil capital to the development of human resources in practice.

The rector also extended his sincere congratulations to all Azerbaijani oil workers on the occasion of the forthcoming National Oil Workers Day celebrated on September 20th based on the National Leader Heydar Aliyevs relevant decree and expressed his strong belief in further contributions to this sector by the BHOS students. He also said that a total of 18 students admitted to BHOS this academic year had been awarded the Presidential Scholarship.

Taking the floor, the SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev congratulated the BHOS staff, students and their parents on the occasion of the beginning of the new academic year. He said that within a short time a wide range of measures have been implemented to ensure the development of the infrastructure and highly qualified human resources of the school established according to the Presidential decree, which resulted in great success.

Abdullayev expressed his strong belief in continuation and further expansion of these activities in academic year 2016/2017, while calling the students to take a more active part in this process. He congratulated the freshmen and their parents.

Then the BP Regional President Gordon Birrell took the floor and extended his pleasure of the existing relations and partnership between BP and BHOS. He highly appreciated the schools role in development of highly qualified young specialists saying that annually the BHOS students successfully participate in various projects implemented by BP. He added that BHOS was the most active higher education institution collaborating with BP and congratulated the students wishing them success in their further studies.

Later, Ravan Nazaraliyev, a freshman admitted to the Process Automation Engineering program scoring the maximum 700 points, took the floor and expressed his joy and honor of joining the BHOS students. He said he used to dream a lot of being able to be admitted to this school and was very glad that his wish came true. He expressed his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the opportunities created at BHOS with the view of ensuring high quality education.

In his speech, Entoni-Mario Suares, the citizen of Georgia and the first international student admitted to Petroleum Engineering faculty, said that he selected BHOS for its international status and was happy to begin his studies at this school.

Then, Elshan Mikayilov, a senior Process Automation Engineering student and the winner of BPs Techno Fest competition, spoke about the measures taken at BHOS to ensure high quality education and social opportunities for students underlining the facultys contribution in his success which was achieved based on the opportunities available at BHOS. Thanking the management of SOCAR and BHOS, as well as his professors Elshan called the freshmen to benefit from the opportunities provided by the school for students.

Later the floor was given to Rauf Nazaraliyev, the father of BHOS senior student Rashad Nazaraliyev, as well as his twin brothers Ravan (entrance score 700 points) and Nurlan (entrance score 685 points), who spoke on behalf of the parents and expressed his great joy and pride of the fact that his sons managed to join the students of BHOS.

Extending his pleasure of the opportunities created for students to develop as highly qualified specialists, Nazaraliyev wished great success to all the students admitted to the higher school this year and expressed his gratitude to President Aliyev for the provided opportunities and successful educational reforms thanking the management of SOCAR and BHOS on behalf of his family members.

At the end of the ceremony the guests presented the newly admitted students their student cards and notebooks on behalf of SOCAR.
The Artesian Quartet have debuted at the BBC Proms, been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3s In Tune, and tour throughout the UK and Internationally.

And now, finally, there are on their way to Kilkenny nd to one of the coolest places in the city to stage a gig.

They have won numerous prizes and awards around the globe with The Strad magazine stating ..great control and dynamic subtlety..their playing at once separated and integrated... The Artesians preform regularly in and around London, at such prestigious venues as Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room. Managing an increasingly demanding schedule, the quartets commitments are balanced with all four players opportunities and geographies. The individual versatility of its members creates a characteristic intensity in the overall depth and diversity of the quartet sound. Then next 12 months involve a number of exciting projects, including the release of a CD they recorded for Linn Records with Trevor Pinnock. The Artesians also pride themselves on working with contemporary composers, and have just completed concerts with Blai Coler and Paul Patterson.

They are tremendously excited to be performing for the first time in The Black Abbey, as part of their 3 concert tour in Ireland, presented by Project Music Management (www.projectmusman.com). Their programme will include works by Haydn, Shostakovich and Debussy, all chosen specifically for the wonderful acoustic in The Black Abbey. Tickets for this concerts are priced at 12 EURO, are available at the door or enquire on pmmtickets@mail.com. Come along and enjoy the beautiful and unique sound of The Artesian String Quartet, one of the UKs up and coming string quartets, critically acclaimed in all the major classical magazines.
Radical Politician, Peace Activist and Broadcaster George Galloway comes to Kilkenny City for Irish Premiere of his film 'The Killing$ Of Tony Blair'.

As part of Rhyme N Reason - Spoken Word Festival George Galloway will attend the Irish premier of 'The Killing$ Of Tony Blair' and be part of a Q&A after the screening in The Watergate Theatre Kilkenny on Sunday at 8pm.

This is the first year of Rhyme N Reason -Spoken Word Festival and the organisers are hopeful it will get people talking in a powerful passionate and peaceful manner.

With the focus on the mental health of the nation by other seminars the facilitors of Rhyme N Reason believe that listening to peoples concerns ideas and solutions is a great form of therapy for a sick society.

On describing the festival, organiser and artist facilitator Johnny Keenan said 'essentially its all about making the word fresh and giving a voice to the unheard' This is why most of our events are free. We want people to articulate there ideas, passion and anger in controlled environments as opposed to the anonymous online keyboard warriors'.

Rhyme N Reason Spoken Word Festival takes place in Kilkenny City 15-18 September 2016.

The festival encompasses all forms of spoken word including discussion, debate, poetry, storytelling, soap-box, theatre and film.

The programme caters for people of all ages and social status, with a voice and a want for change.

If you want to get some RNR check out full schedule of events @ www.facebook.com/rhymenreasonkilkenny/events

Events

Some Rhyme N Reason events of note taking place in Kilkenny City 15-18th September 2016

A Conversation on Cannabis for medicinal purposes will take place in The Hole In The Wall on Thursday 15th at 8pm (Free).

A documentary by award winning journalist Gemma O'Doherty, on Irelands longest missing person Mary Boyle: The Untold Story will have a free screening in The Watergate on Sunday 18th September at 2pm followed by Q&A with Gemma O'Doherty.

A Global Community event 'CounterCulture Night. Reciting The Lyrics Of Bob Marley' will take place on Friday 16th September outside Kilkenny City Court

House from 8-9pm (Free).

Anyone who wants to speak Bob's words can show their intent by emailing rebeltruemusic@gmail.com

As London has its 'Speakers Corner' so should Kilkenny have its Rhyme N Reason Soap-Box.

On Sunday 18th September at 12pm Kilkenny Castle and 5pm Peace Park citizens are welcome to discuss for maximum 5 minutes under the theme #IrelandMovingForward.

Please sign up at rhymenreasonkilkenny@gmail.com and briefly tell us what you want to discuss so the organisers can coordinate accordingly.

Lets (Listen, Evaluate, Talk) Stand Workshop for children will take place In The Hole In The Wall from 11.30am-2pm (Adm:-10) more info letsstand.eu

Kilkenny is a majestic and medieval city that lends itself beautifully to creative minds. Artists are influenced by many land marks and walks. 'A Breath Of Fresh Eire' around Poets Paradise' will set off from Canal Square on Saturday 17th at 3pm.

With theatre getting a word in through the guise of 'Portrait Of An Artist As A Young Man' by James Joyce. This 40 minute soliloquy will be performed by thespian Patrick McEneaney at The Hole In The Wall on Saturday 17th at 7pm.

More events to be added. For updates check www.facebook.com/rhymenreasonkilkenny/events

Trending #IrelandMovingForward
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has proposed revising and expanding tax breaks designed to reduce the cost of child care and elderly dependent care.

On Sept. 13, the Trump campaign announced a plan (opens in new tab) to allow families to deduct child-care expenses, up to the average cost of child care in their state. Parents who itemize as well as those who claim the standard deduction would be able to claim this tax break.

There are income caps for the wealthy. Couples with income of more than $500,000 and individuals with income exceeding $250,000 would be ineligible. Families could claim the tax break for up to four children; it would also be available for taxpayers with elderly dependents.

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Trump also wants to create a new savings plan that would allow parents to make tax deductible contributions to an account to pay for child care, after-school programs and private school tuition. Accounts set up for elderly dependents could be used for in-home nursing care, long-term care and other services.

Under current law, flexible spending accounts allow parents to put aside pre-tax money for child care, but these accounts are only offered through employers and qualified expenses are more limited than those permitted by Trump's plan.

In addition, money saved in FSAs must be used by year-end (or the following first quarter). Trump's plan would allow savers to carry over unused balances.

Trump would also allow caregivers to claim an above-the-line deduction of up to $5,000 to cover home health care, adult day care or similar services for an elderly family member.

Clinton has proposed (opens in new tab) capping child care costs at 10% of a family's income. The program would involve federal subsidies for low-income families and tax breaks for middle-income parents. (Clinton hasn't provided specifics on how this tax relief would work.) Clinton also wants to provide financial aid to the nearly 5 million college students who are raising children while attending school. Clinton wants to provide those students with scholarships of up to $1,500, which could be used for child care, transportation or emergency financial aid.

Trump has proposed guaranteeing six weeks of maternity leave to mothers who don't already receive paid leave from their employers. His plan, which he says would be paid for by eliminating fraud in the unemployment insurance program, would be limited to mothers.

Clinton wants to provide up to 12 weeks of guaranteed leave for workers who need to take time off to care for a new child or seriously ill family member. Under her plan, workers would receive up to two-thirds of their current wages, up to a ceiling, while on leave. She would increase taxes on the wealthiest taxpayers to cover the costs of the program.
SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Growth in international trade is lagging global income for the first time in decades, spelling more uncertainty for the world economy, Singapore's central bank chief Ravi Menon said on Thursday.

"I don't know if it is a short term blip in the data ... or this is indicative of something more structural. And it is particularly of concern to Asia," Menon, who is managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said at a seminar organised by the Milken Institute in Singapore "Are we entering a new era of uncertainty?" Menon queried, underscoring worries among global policy makers about the extent of a slowdown in world demand.

The World Trade Organization in June forecast sluggish trade growth in the third quarter of 2016 accompanying its publication of a quarterly trade barometer for the first time.

The WTO forecast in April the global value of trade in goods would grow by 2.8 percent this year, less than a previous forecast of 3.9 percent.

Trade growth has averaged 5 percent per year since 1990, but has not grown by more than 3 percent since 2011.

Trade-dependent Singapore expects its non-oil domestic exports to fall by 3 percent to 4 percent in 2016 from the year before.

Menon said the other worry for Asia is the tepid growth of private investments in the United States, highlighted by huge cash piles that are not being invested by companies.

A Moody's Investors Service report earlier this year said U.S. non-financial companies were holding $1.68 trillion in cash at the end of 2015, up 1.8 percent from $1.65 trillion the previous year.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Anshuman Daga; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
HANOI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official market and indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi at 0110 GMT.

Sept 15 Sept 14 USD/VND mid-point 21,958 21,965

USD/VND interbank 22,270/22,335 22,270/22,335 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.05/36.31 35.96/36.24

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank quotes are indicative bid/ask prices.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are 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)
(Adds statements from Poroshenko, Lagarde)

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said its board on Wednesday approved a long-awaited loan disbursement to Ukraine of about $1 billion after a review of the country's bailout program.

The IMF has agreed to pump $17.5 billion into Ukraine's economy in a four-year bailout, releasing the funds in installments subject to the government making progress on economic and anti-corruption reforms. To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion in the program launched in March 2015.

The latest disbursement was less than the roughly $1.7 billion anticipated, after some reforms required by the fund had stalled.

But the IMF said in a statement that the board had approved waivers for Kiev's failure to meet criteria related to international reserves targets, external payments arrears and foreign exchange restrictions.

President Petro Poroshenko said the disbursement would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.

In a statement, he said a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed, and that the funds' release would help keep the hryvnia currency stable and aid the economy.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognises that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said. Last week, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement after the board's vote that Ukraine was showing signs of recovery and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system. "Further progress in fiscal reforms is key to ensure medium-term sustainability," Lagarde said, calling for pension reforms and tax policies that would avoid higher deficits, and the restructuring of state-owned enterprises.

(Additional reporting by Matthias Williams in Kiev; Editing by Alan Crosby and Richard Chang)
(Kitco News) - Barrick Gold announced Thursday that it has suspended operations at its Veladero Mine in Argentina to assess the impact a leak in its heap leak process has had on the surrounding area.

Image provided by Barrick Gold

In a press release, the company said that on Sept. 8 a pipe carrying process solution in the heap leach area was damaged causing a small quantity to leave the leach pad. However, the mining company said that the environmental impact of the leak appears to be minimal.

No solution from this damaged pipe reached any water diversion channels or watercourses and the impacted area in the leach valley has now been remediated. The incident did not pose any threat to the health of employees, communities or the environment, the company said. Environmental monitoring of surface and sub-surface water has been intensified and no anomalies have been detected.



Barrick also said that the suspension is not expected to have any material impact on Veladeros production guidance for 2016. According to Barricks projections, the mine is expected to produce between 580,000 and 640,000 ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs between $780 and $860 an ounce. Last year, the mine produced 602,000 of gold.

By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com

Follow @Neils_C
KARLSRUHE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The head of the Bundesbank warned on Thursday against using the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme, which sees Germany secure the lion's share of the purchases, to bankroll the bloc's most indebted countries.

Faced by the risk of running out of short-term German bonds to buy, the ECB is looking at options to keep its 1.74 trillion euros ($1.96 trillion) money-printing programme running, including changing the amount of bonds it buys from each country. Jens Weidmann said targeting purchases towards crisis countries would endanger taxpayer money and recommended sticking to the 'capital key' rule, whereby purchases follow the relative size of each country's economy and are carried out by national central banks.

"We should stick to this benchmark of the current programme if we don't want to get the Eurosystem into hot water," he told an audience in Karlsruhe.

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa and Andreas Framke; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
* India commerce min to propose rupee devaluation-report

* India fin min denies the report

* Philippine peso hits 7-month low on stock outflows

* Rupiah up on Aug trade data, higher equities

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Jongwoo Cheon

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies eased on Thursday as investors remained wary of riskier assets due to concerns over the capability of major central banks to support growth, and weak oil prices added to their caution.

Both the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan are due to hold policy reviews on Sept. 20-21.

India's rupee eased after a television channel reported that the commerce ministry will propose the currency's devaluation to help exports, but it recovered some of the losses after the finance ministry issued a denial. The Philippine peso hit a near seven-month low as funds flowed out of the local share market. Malaysia's ringgit eased as most government bond prices slid, and the oil price fall overnight was also seen as negative for the oil and gas producer.

Indonesia's better-than-expected August exports data and strong local stocks helped the rupiah resist the weaker regional trend.

Emerging Asian currencies have recently come under pressure as investors sold higher-yielding bonds and currencies in the region due to doubts growing over whether the world's major central banks can offer more monetary stimulus.

"There seems to be a shift in market thinking that diminishing marginal returns of further monetary easing could slow the pace or intent of further easing," Maybank's analysts said in a note.

"Such bias and fear of rising bond yields could keep USD better supported on dips against the higher yielders."

RUPIAH

The rupiah hit a session high of 13,155 per dollar after data showed Indonesia's exports and imports declined only slightly. Local stocks jumped more than 1 percent, providing support to the currency.

The Indonesian unit pared some of earlier gains as most government bond prices slid.

PHILIPPINE PESO

The peso lost 0.5 percent to 47.69, its weakest since Feb 24.

Foreign investors were net sellers of Manila's stocks in the previous two sessions after dumping local equities in the prwevious four weeks.

The Philippine currency is likely to weaken past a chart support at 47.70, although the selling is already regarded as excessive, a senior Philippine bank trader said.

"It's heavily sentiment driven at the moment. In times like these, it typically disregards technical indicators," the trader said.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0605 GMT Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 102.28 102.43 +0.14 Sing dlr 1.3661 1.3636 -0.18 *Taiwan dlr 31.689 31.689 0.00 *Korean won 1118.80 1118.80 0.00 Baht 34.90 34.90 -0.01 Peso 47.670 47.475 -0.41 Rupiah 13160 13202 +0.32 Rupee 67.02 66.89 -0.19 Ringgit 4.1290 4.1210 -0.19 *Yuan 6.6734 6.6734 0.00

Change so far in 2016 Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move Japan yen 102.28 120.30 +17.62 Sing dlr 1.3661 1.4177 +3.78 Taiwan dlr 31.689 33.066 +4.35 Korean won 1118.80 1172.50 +4.80 Baht 34.90 36.00 +3.15 Peso 47.67 47.06 -1.28 Rupiah 13160 13785 +4.75 Rupee 67.02 66.15 -1.29 Ringgit 4.1290 4.2935 +3.98 Yuan 6.6734 6.4936 -2.69 * Financial markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan are closed for holidays.

(Reporting by Jongwoo Cheon; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
By U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert F. Cekuta

Our long term well-being depends on protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the biodiversity we share. This common natural heritage binds together the United States, Azerbaijan, and countries around the world. As I travel to different parts of Azerbaijan, including most recently to Zangezur National Park in Nakhchivan, and see what is being done to protect the environment, I see parallels to what we are celebrating this year in the United States as we mark the 100th anniversary of establishment of our national parks system.

National parks and protected areas are places where shared values are enshrined for generations to come. Parks all over the world benefit the public and celebrate land and sea and cultural treasures. The richness and biodiversity of Azerbaijans parks are no exception. They are a valuable resource, encompassing diverse ecosystems from the semi-deserts of Shirvan to the deciduous forests in Hirkan; from the beautiful high mountains of Shah Dag to the shores of the Caspian Sea in Samur-Yalama and wetlands in Absheron. Seeing Goygol last fall was like being back in the northeastern United States. Azerbaijans nine national parks, 11 state parks and 24 state reserves are home to a wide variety of wildlife including eagles, gazelles, bears, wolves, deer, and wild boar. Some parks are famous as stops on migratory routes for flamingoes and other birds. The parks embody the diversity Azerbaijanis value and which needs to be protected and fostered in todays world. This is one of the reasons I have greatly enjoyed visiting several of Azerbaijans national parks, including those in Absheron, Altagac, and Shirvan. My wife Anne and I firmly intend to visit all the remaining national parks in the year to come.

In the United States, we are celebrating the centenary of our U.S. National Park Service, which was established August 25, 1916. In 1872, the U.S. Congress established the worlds first national park  Yellowstone  which became the catalyst for a worldwide national park movement as countries adapted the model to suit their own circumstances.

We have found that national parks are vital to protecting biodiversity and marine environments, for combatting wildlife trafficking, preserving cultural heritage, and for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Parks help safeguard our shared environment by providing places for scientific collaboration, community engagement, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and education for our current and future generations. They have proven important as focal points for tourism and economic growth. For example, today more than 20,000 U.S. National Park Service employees care for U.S. National Parks, and each year visitors to U.S. Parks support more than 240,000 jobs in local communities and contribute over $27 billion to the U.S. economy.

I am proud of the role the United States has played in this global movement and see many of the things embodied by our National Park Service with each visit to an Azerbaijani national park. I encourage you to visit Azerbaijans parks and celebrate the great natural beauty that is this countrys rich heritage. Should you have the chance to visit the United States, you can find your national park (http://findyourpark.com)
(ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)) Recasts, adds details, closing prices)

* STOXX 600 rises 0.6 pct after touching six-week lows

* Morrisons leads gainers as company returns to profit

* But Next, H&M, Tod's fall on disappointing earning updates

* Lackluster US data further slim odds of immediate rate hike

By Danilo Masoni and Sudip Kar-Gupta

MILAN/LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday at the end of a choppy session that saw a key index hit a six-week low, with UK supermarket Morrisons leading gainers following a strong earnings update.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index , which had fallen for the last five days in a row amid concerns over tighter monetary policies, ended up 0.6 percent.

The index slipped as much as 0.1 percent earlier in the session to its lowest point since Aug. 4, but later recovered as Wall Street rose on the back of lacklustre economic data which further slimmed chances of an immediate rate hike. Futures prices reduced the chances of a Federal Reserve rate hike at the Sept 20-21 meeting to just 12 percent from 15 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Bankhaus Lampe strategist Ralf Zimmermann said he expected the Fed to raise rates in December or February but should there be an earlier hike it would be a negative surprise for many.

He said was downbeat about the prospects for equities due to a mix of factors from softer economic data, stagnating earnings and political risks including Italy's upcoming constitutional referendum and the U.S. election in November.

"There is more short-term downside to come as risks continue to dominate. The next 10 percent move is much more likely to be to the downside than to the upside," he said.

British supermarket operator Morrisons rose 7.5 percent, the top performer on the STOXX 600, after the company returned to profit growth. "A better-than-expected increase in like-for-like sales at Morrisons supermarkets saw the company deliver a very positive set of interim results which beat forecasts," said ETX Capital markets analyst Neil Wilson.

Zodiac Aerospace , which has issued a string of profit warnings over the last year, also rose sharply after reporting higher than expected full-year revenues. Shares in Next fell 4.69 percent, however, after the British clothing retailer warned of volatile trading as it reported a fall in first-half profits. Rival H&M also fell 4.2 percent after its sales growth missed analyst forecasts, while Italian luxury goods maker Tod's fell 6 percent after posting a fall in first half core profits. Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Geneva-based fund management and consultancy firm Prime Partners, said his firm had trimmed back its equity position, given the weak economic backdrop.

"The summer rally on equities was not really backed up by volumes and we are not out of the woods yet in terms of low economic growth," said Savary.

(Editing by Catherine Evans)
FRANKFURT, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Online pharmacy Shop Apotheke is planning a Frankfurt stock market listing to raise cash for its expansion, it said on Wednesday.

The company aims to issue new shares worth roughly 100 million euros ($112 million), and existing shareholders will offer to sell some additional shares if demand proves strong, it said.

The listing may value the company at more than 300 million euros ($338 million), people familiar with the deal said. While the owners have not yet decided on the volume of shares to be offered, they are planning to keep at least 50 percent of the company.

Shop Apotheke, which competes with online pharmacy DocMorris , offers about 100,000 products online and has 1.5 million customers.

It booked 125 million euros in sales last year, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of 0.84 million euros in Germany, its largest market. It did not disclose earnings figures for the group.

Shop Apotheke was founded in 2001, sold to Dutch Europa Apotheek Venlo in 2010, which was bought out by its managers. Shop Apotheke was spun out of Europa Apotheek last year.

Citi, Berenberg and Commerzbank are handling the IPO. ($1 = 0.8874 euros)

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
India's August exports shrinks 0.3 pct y/y - trade ministry

NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - India's merchandise exports contracted 0.3 percent year-on-year to $21.5 billion in August, government data showed on Thursday. Imports in August dropped 14.09 percent year-on-year to $29.2 billion, the data showed. The trade deficit for the month came in at $7.7 billion compared with $7.8 billion in the previous month.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon) 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
By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The Philippine government will release the results of a review of the operations of the country's 40 metallic mines on Sept. 22 instead of this week, the mining minister said on Thursday.

The world's top nickel ore supplier has so far suspended operations of 10 mines, eight of them nickel, for violating environmental rules, and the government has said more mines will be halted. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Lopez, a committed environmentalist who opposes open-pit mining, said the delay was due to scheduling issues, while the operators of additional mines to be suspended had yet to be informed.

"We are doing three days of show cause, then we suspend," Lopez told Reuters in a text message.

The crackdown is aimed at enforcing stricter environmental protection measures, with tough-talking President Rodrigo Duterte warning in August that the nation could survive without a mining industry. Miners have labelled the review a "demolition campaign", and questioned the inclusion of anti-mining activists in the audit teams which completed their inspections at the end of August. (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Richard Pullin)
Poland had 8.2 bln euros in FX funds at end-August - ministry

WARSAW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Poland's finance ministry said on Thursday it had the equivalent of 8.2 billion euros in foreign currencies at its disposal at the end of August, compared to 7.3 billion euros it had at the end of July.

(Reporting by Marcin Goettig) 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
HANOI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0417 GMT.

Sept 15 Sept 14 USD/VND mid-point 21,958 21,965 USD/VND interbank 22,305/22,310 22,270/22,335 USD/VND unofficial 22,300/22,310 22,300/22,310 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.06/36.32 35.96/36.24

Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.4-1.0 0.4-1.0

1 week 0.4-1.1 0.5-1.1

1 month 1.7-2.4 1.7-2.4

3 months 3.3-4.2 3.3-4.2

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom)
(Recasts and adds details on resolution, past debates)

By Ross Kerber

BOSTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Activist shareholders of Well Fargo & Co said on Thursday they had filed resolutions raising the prospect of deep changes at the bank in the wake of a fake accounts scandal that has knocked billions of dollars off the institution's market capitalization.

Investor Bart Naylor, who works for Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy group in Washington, called for Wells Fargo directors to study "whether the divestiture of all non-core banking business segments would enhance shareholder value, and whether it should divide into a number of independent firms."

Naylor has submitted similar resolutions in prior years but received little support, such as at JPMorgan where the idea was backed by just 3 percent of shares cast last May.

In addition, activist investor Needmor Fund said it filed a shareholder resolution calling on the San Francisco-based bank to split the roles of chairman and chief executive, saying management needs strong oversight from the board "in light of the recent scandal."

Wells Fargo representatives did not immediately comment on the measures.

The bank's agreement last week to pay $190 million to settle claims it created roughly 2 million accounts that customers did not want has shaken investors, with the bank's stock falling about 7.5 percent, cutting its market capitalization by some $19 billion.

The resolutions, meanwhile, have rehashed issues that have been hard-fought between investors and executives at other big banks coming out of the financial crisis, battles that to date Wells Fargo had largely sidestepped.

"The financial crisis that began in 2008 underscored potential weaknesses in the practices of large, inter-connected financial institutions such as Wells Fargo," reads the support statement on one of the resolutions.

The resolution filed by Needmor Fund of Toledo, which said it owns 2,225 Wells Fargo shares, calls for the split in management roles to "be phased in for the next CEO transition."

The bank defeated a similar resolution to split the jobs, both of which are currently held by John Stumpf, at its last annual meeting in April in Scottsdale, Arizona. Only 17 percent of votes were cast in support of the resolution.

Shareholder activist John Chevedden, who lives in Southern California, on Thursday called on the bank to hold its next annual meeting in the spring of 2017 in San Francisco even though it would probably draw more protesters, critical shareholders and media attention.

Despite the possible unwanted attention, Chevedden said, Wells Fargo should "face the music."

(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Alan Crosby)
Bremerton City Councilman Greg Wheeler (front) is followed by fellow Councilman Jerry McDonald as they disembark the new ferry Chimacum on Wednesday at Vigor Industrial's shipyard in Seattle.

SHARE Bob Corbin takes in the view Wednesday from one of the forward cabins of the ferry Chimacum at Vigor Industrial's shipyard in Seattle. Corbin will be a staff master aboard the new ferry when it goes into service in the spring on the Bremerton route. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN Lynne Griffith, head of the Washington State Ferries, breaks a bottle on the rail of the Chimacum as state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar (left) and Gov. Jay Inslee look on during Wednesday's christening at Vigor Industrial's shipyard in Seattle. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN Dignitaries of the christening of the ferry Chimacum (from left) Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent, state ferries chief Lynne Griffith, state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar and Gov. Jay Inslee line the rail after Wednesday's christening of the new ferry at Vigor Industrial's shipyard in Seattle. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN The Chimacum High School marching band performs Wednesday on the dock before the christening of the ferry Chimacum at Vigor Industrial's shipyard in Seattle. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN

By Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun

SEATTLE  At Wednesday's christening ceremony for the state's newest ferry, Gov. Jay Inslee said he'd conducted "deep research" that revealed the origin of the vessel's name, Chimacum.

"On budget and ahead of schedule," the governor said to laughs.

Inslee acknowledged the Chimacum community, whose cafe is home to his favorite apple pie, and the little-known tribe that was a remnant of a Quileute band. Within his joke, was an acknowledgment that the 362-foot-long ferry, built for $123 million, was cheaper than its two predecessors and is on target to enter service on the Bremerton-Seattle run in the spring.

The ferry's christening came near the end of its construction and as it prepares for sea trials. As it gently bobbed in a slip at Vigor Shipyard in Seattle, Lynne Griffith, head of the Washington State Ferries, smashed a bottle atop one of the vessel's pickle forks.

It's the first time in decades that Bremerton's route will welcome a new ferry. Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said the city had prepared through its revitalization efforts  she specifically mentioned the Louis Mentor Boardwalk in the 1990s and a new transit terminal and Navy museum in the 2000s  and through lobbying efforts in Olympia.

"This is an exciting day," she told those gathered, including the Chimacum High School marching band. "It will be an exciting time to have a dedicated ferry on the Bremerton run."

The Chimacum's 6,000-horsepower diesel engines will propel the vessel at about 17 knots, or almost 20 mph, along the route  "Hopefully for decades," Inslee said. The vessel includes spacious pickle forks  the viewpoints where passengers embark and disembark the ferry  and a sun deck.

Through the years, a common gripe among Bremerton commuters and riders has been the route tends to get older vessels. Inslee, who calls Bainbridge Island home, said he'll now be envious of the Bremerton's ferry.

"I think I'm gonna come to Bremerton just so I can ride the Chimacum," he said. "This is a beautiful boat."

The ferry also will alleviate capacity issues on the Bremerton-Seattle route. Most sailings, there's plenty of room for passengers and cars on the run. But increasingly stringent Coast Guard requirements have capped how many people the ferry can hold because of too few life rafts.

During the day, when two vessels work the route, it's assumed that one of the vessels would assist the other in an emergency, and thus the capacity is higher. But the Coast Guard has capped late night runs, when only one boat is present, at 600, which at times has left lines of passengers waiting in Seattle to catch what looks like a ferry with ample space.

The new ferry has rescue capacity for all 1,500.

The Chimacum is the third in a line of four 144-vehicle Olympic Class vessels that Vigor has produced. The first, the Tokitae, began running the Mukilteo-Clinton route in June 2014; the Samish, the second, started in the San Juans in March 2015. A fourth boat, the Suquamish, is under construction at the Harbor Island shipyard and will go into service in early 2019. The vessels are replacing the 1950s-era Evergreen State class boats.

Griffith, the ferries' chief, was successful at breaking a bottle  it was cider, not Champagne  in her first attempt.

"May she bring fair winds and good fortune to all who sail on her," Griffith said, before the clang of the bottle rang out.
By Christina Henry of the Kitsap Sun

SILVERDALE  CSTOCK and the Central Kitsap School District will work together to build a 200-seat performing arts center on the Ridgetop Middle School campus.

The announcement, made Friday at CSTOCK's opening performance of "Footloose," signifies a shift from earlier plans to purchase property off Bucklin Hill Road, near Clear Creek.

The not-for-profit performing arts group has been looking for a home since Kitsap County announced in December 2015 it would demolish the Silverdale Community Center, where CSTOCK leased space for a couple of decades. The group has been practicing and performing at Central Kitsap Middle School for the past year.

Under the preliminary agreement, approved Aug. 31 by the school board, the district will donate land on the Ridgetop campus for the performing arts center, which will be jointly operated and maintained by the district and CSTOCK.

CSTOCK will pay 75 percent of construction costs. The district will pay 25 percent, likely with state funds for which it will be eligible using CSTOCK's contribution as a local match.

"Last summer, CKSD saved CSTOCK by allowing the show to go on at Central Kitsap Middle School," CSTOCK Executive Director Stacey Saunders said. "Now they've committed to working toward a unique partnership that is an incredibly smart use of space and talent."

The district will use the performing arts center during school hours; CSTOCK will have its turn after school lets out. The arrangement is flexible, depending on each group's plans. There's likely to be considerable overlap, given CSTOCK's youth-oriented mission and history of joint ventures with the school district. The theater group, for example, hosted a performing arts camp this summer at Fairview Middle School in conjunction with the district's summer camp.

"Students will step from the classroom to the stage for hands-on learning experiences that include set construction, production technology, and all of the magic that comes with being part of live theater," Saunders said.

"We're excited about this opportunity to work with CSTOCK," Superintendent David McVicker said. "As a district, we've been looking at ways to give parents more choices for their child's education. Kids are different. They get excited about different things. This partnership with CSTOCK could lead to a school of choice for the arts."

Students in kindergarten through high school will benefit, district officials say.

The district will lead the design and construction process, with heavy input from CSTOCK. The theater group will have a long-term, renewable lease, essentially granting it access to the building in perpetuity.

CSTOCK, founded in 1986, is in the midst of a capital campaign to fund its portion of the center, with $587,000 raised to date, not counting the district's contribution of land and 25 percent of construction costs.

"The new partnership boosts us to nearly 40 percent of our overall fundraising goal," Saunders said.

Talk of a performing arts center at Ridgetop surfaced this summer out of collaboration between the district and CSTOCK. The CSTOCK board spent the summer doing a cost-benefit analysis of buying land versus leasing at Ridgetop.

The board voted in August to pursue a partnership with the district and to terminate its purchase and sale agreement on the Clear Creek property. Under terms of the agreement, CSTOCK was able to recoup all of its payments, Saunders said.
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Malcolm L. Smith

of Southworth

Sept. 10, 1948

to Sept. 7, 2016

Veteran

Malcolm (Hoagy) Leslie Smith, age 67, of Southworth, went peacefully to be with his Savior on September 7th. Memorial services and military honors will be 5 p.m. Friday, September 23rd at Bethany Lutheran Church. Cremation in the care of Rill Chapel.

A complete life story, tribute wall and video tribute can be accessed at www.rill.com.
Details added (first version posted at 12:01)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR may acquire the countrys AzMeCo methanol production company until late 2016, SOCAR Vice President for economic issues Suleyman Gasimov told reporters Sept. 15.

He said that the court's decision is currently expected, according to which AzMeCo for the debts will be handed over to Aqrarkredit CJSC non-banking credit organization. (Aqrarkredit CJSC manages the distressed assets of the International Bank of Azerbaijan).

The need to transfer AzMeCo to SOCAR arose due to AzMeCos debts to the other state-owned company, the International Bank of Azerbaijan. Thus, Azerbaijan plans to cover the debt of the Azerenergy national energy operator to SOCAR in the amount of 344 million manats.

The transfer process continues, Gasimov said. SOCAR has established a non-legal entity Methanol plant and is awaiting the courts decision. The plant may come under the control of SOCAR by late 2016.

Gasimov noted that the value of the asset [AzMeCo] has been determined, however, he didnt mention the exact amount.

He said that the sale of this asset to SOCAR will be managed by Aqrarkredit through an auction.

Gasimov said earlier that when AzMeCo is transferred to the balance of the SOCAR company, a unified chain of production will be introduced, which will increase the efficiency of the enterprise.

The plant will be also working on our gas, said Gasimov.

AzMeCo methanol production company is one of the largest investments in non-oil sector of the country. For the first time in Azerbaijan, the company received methanol after processing natural gas as raw material.

The main buyer of methanol produced at the AzMeCo plant is British company BP. During the mentioned period, the Georgian port of Kulevi was used mainly in the methanol supply chain. In addition, it should be emphasized that the AzMeCo has introduced innovations in the field of sale and transportation of methanol. For the first time transportation of methanol through the Volga-Don canal was carried out, and the large-scale loading of methanol was first held at the ports of Poti and Kulevi.

Methanol is exported to Turkey, Romania, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Belgium.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
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"Hey, more than 500 people have been murdered in Chicago this year," says one of my conservative friends. "I can't wait to see what you write about that."

Why? You didn't listen to me the last time. Are you really listening or just waiting for your own turn to complain?

"Jeez, why are you so touchy?"

I'm just tired of hearing your usual one-note analysis and solution: Black people are having too many babies out of wedlock. Hey, do you ever ask what happened to the jobs that used to enable workers to support a family? Do you ever notice how the poverty, crime, opiate addiction and out-of-wedlock birthrates are growing among poor whites, too? When are you people going to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps?

"Hey, you don't think fathers are important?"

Of course, we're important. But where are you going to find all the marriageable black men to fulfill your dream?

"Hey, OK, I'm listening. Tell me what you would do about the killers roaring out of control in Obama's adopted hometown."

Hey, that's President Barack Obama, pal. Respect. Look, 500 murders and it's only September? There's a horrible thing. But it's not a first. Violent crime is like a Zika virus. You don't know when or where it's going to surge but you have to deal with it when it does.

We've been through this before. I was covering Chicago cops as a young reporter in 1974 when murders in Chicago peaked at 970  or about 29 per 100,000  after rising for more than 10 years. And I remember when murders peaked again in 1992, this time at 943 or 34 per 100,000.

You could almost hear the rejoicing in December 2004, when the Chicago Tribune headlined: "City murder toll lowest in decades." For the first time in almost four decades, there were fewer than 500 murders in Chicago. Break out the Champagne.

"So what's that got to do with this year?"

First, it tells you that we've dealt with crime waves before. One reason murders look so high is because violent crime overall, including murder, has dropped since the 1990s. Second, everybody talks about how Chicago homicides this year outnumber those in New York and Los Angeles combined. But a number of smaller cities like Milwaukee and Houston have had big increases this year, too. So far, it's not a national trend, but it's not a uniquely Chicago problem either. There is no single, one-stop, one-size-fits-all diagnosis or prescription.

"Yeah, but you're not talking about Black Lives Matter and kids with cellphone cameras waging war on the police. The cops are afraid to get out of their patrol cars for fear of winding up on YouTube."

Frankly, some of them should fear winding up on YouTube, considering what we've seen on YouTube already.

But I notice you're not talking about how New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio pulled back on the city's aggressive stop-and-frisk profiling policy on the streets last year. Conservatives howled, but so far homicides have continued to decline.

"So you want to coddle the criminals and wage war on police?"

No, quite the opposite. I want to see more cops on the street, working in cooperation with local residents and community leaders. Community policing works, if you do it right.

Unfortunately, Chicago police are undermanned and pulling lots of overtime. The city and state are deep in debt, and, as much as Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about hiring more cops, nobody knows where he's going to get the money except from taxpayers who are feeling pretty tapped out already.

Ah, so, once again Democrats are screwing up our cities.

I know you'd like to make this a partisan issue, but it's not that simple either.

"Hey, Donald Trump recently said Chicago police could solve the city's crime problem 'in a week.' "

Oh, yeah? How? Is he going to give gangbangers scholarships to Trump University?

"No," he says the police only have to be "very much tougher" than they are now.

Oh, gimme a break. This is a guy who claims he knows "more about ISIS than the generals." Now he thinks he knows more than Chicago's police?

"He says one of Chicago's 'very top police' told him and Trump says he believed the guy '100 percent.' "

Right. That would make Trump as gullible as he hopes the voters will be in November.

Clarence Page is a member of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board. Readers may send him email at cpage@tribune.com.
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An old joke about lawyers starts with someone saying divers found 500 of them on the bottom of the ocean. "It's a start," goes the reply. Now let's turn to journalists. What if you found 500 of them on the bottom of the ocean? That's easy. You had always figured they would devise a means to sink even lower.

After all, they are not lazy, even if their actions are at times questionable. You can't call Sean Hannity lazy, can you? I mean he is boiling over with energy as he gives Donald Trump verbal hugs, reinterprets his fumbles to make them brilliant insights and somehow espies depths where the water is too shallow to dampen the soles of your shoes. Has he signed on as campaign manager yet? Does he love Trump more than Trump's own children do?

I don't mean to be picking on Fox News, which has fine journalists in such people as Brit Hume and Chris Wallace, for instance. It is often more balanced than people suspect and remains a needed antidote to the progressive leanings of the mainstream networks.

Hannity is a commentator and is not bound by the rules of straight-news reporters, but he is still going overboard. I've always figured him for a good, honest, capable guy, but temper it, fellow, temper it.

Right now he is almost outdoing Bill O'Reilly. Awhile back, the excellent columnist Charles Krauthammer tried to tell the Fox News TV host it was not permissible for Trump to say in a nationally televised debate that he planned to kill the families of Islamic State members. O'Reilly said it was not so awful because Trump was just doing it to win the election. Maybe his next book will be called "Killing Reflectiveness."

"PBS NewsHour" is one of my favorite news shows except that it is right now giving me grief. It is acting little different from all the commercial outlets that devote endless attention to who is or is not ahead in the polls, what the strategy of the day is, and what is working or not working in the campaigns. All of that can be interesting if it is not overdone, but issues of character, competence and policies matter so much more than guesses about outcomes.

The "NewsHour" still does worthy stuff, of course, as do so many other news outlets that then go overboard time and again, as in supposing Trump's talk about President Barack Obama being the "founder" of the Islamic State was meant to be taken literally when he would immediately follow up by saying that Obama made things easier for the terrorist group by withdrawing troops from Iraq. "Founder" was a metaphor, although not a good one. Trump stumbles about in the use of language. A better metaphor would have been to say Obama "opened the door."

Trump daily shoots himself in the foot, and for the media to shoot him there when he doesn't is not exactly adherence to high standards. Nor is the effort of some to say there are no serious ethical and other implications about the Clinton emails and the Clinton Foundation. Maybe this election year is so crazy that it inspires the condition in all who pay attention.

The latest nuttiness is journalists apparently thinking that their kin serving as moderators in a presidential debate should correct the perceived missteps of the candidates. That may be their role in journalistic interviews, but it is not their role as moderators. It is up to the candidates themselves. Cool the self-deification, folks.

Government is only trusted by 19 percent of the people. Journalism does better. It is trusted by 22 percent. There is far more good than bad in an enterprise that overall shines, but let's stick the bad in a bag, OK?

Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may email him at speaktojay@aol.com.
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Meredith Browand, Gig Harbor

A vote for Seaquist is a vote for schools

This November I am supporting Larry Seaquist for State Representative from the 26th Legislative District. Larry is a tireless advocate for our local schools and has earned my vote!

As a parent of children in the public school system I understand the importance of electing Larry Seaquist. He is the only candidate in the race with a clear plan for improving local schools throughout Washington. His Apple Action Agenda outlines the steps needed to ensure basic education is delivered to every student. Embedded in the agenda are "Needed Now" reforms that offer a clear roadmap to increasing the quality of education in Washington, overhauling the way we fund and budget schools, and streamlining the way that the state and local school districts work together.

I believe that a vote for Larry Seaquist is a vote for our children and the future of our local schools. His optimism for a better future and his comprehensive Apple Action Agenda will help bring essential educational reforms to the students, teachers, and staff of the 26th Legislative District. We can not afford to miss this opportunity to elect him as our state representative.
Rob Hosking writes:

I think I have diagnosed the Labour Partys problem. Okay, one of the Labour Partys problems. The problem is spreadsheets. Noses are buried so deeply into Microsoft Excel or whichever spreadsheet programme the Labour research team uses, they are losing sight of all political reality. The partys Parliamentary team, and certainly its back-office  or at least those who are left in its back office  are obsessed with data. Spreadsheets, graphs, data points, shifting trendlines and margin of error are all matters of weird fixation. They are treated like a combination of the Holy Grail and the Holy Bible: the subject of the ultimate quest and also matters of holy writ.



Data is very important but it is just one input. It is not a substitute for being in touch with the community.

But the style of thinking and personality type which is good at coming up with such data is  how shall we put this delicately  not always best at connecting with other human beings. Yet, Labours whole style of thought and strategic thinking now seems driven by this kind of worldview. The idea you can wave a graph in front of a struggling, not particularly motivated citizenry in poorer areas such as Clendon or Bell Block or Porirua or Christchurch East, and get them to vote for you, must be close to the ultimate in politically disconnected geekery. It is why Labour has been obsessed with the output of Statistics New Zealand  an admirable body, in my experience, and one whose staff are magnificently and stroppily resistant to any attempt by any politician to game their statistics or spook them into not reporting inconvenient facts. And so it is why Grant Robertson and fellow MPs Phil Twyford and Jacinda Ardern attacked the independence and integrity of Statistics New Zealand last month.



If the GDP figures out tomorrow are positive, will they attack Stats NZ on them?

In a different sort away, the infamous Chinese sounding names database Mr Twyford put together last year was a similar example of the same syndrome: the conviction that if data looks awesome on a spreadsheet in an office in Wellington it will be a powerful argument that will confound the partys enemies and gobsmack the humble Kiwi voter with its brilliance and vision.



Heh yes that seems to be their thinking.

The attack on Statistics New Zealand a month ago has been mentioned: this week, there was the  admittedly much less serious, but equally psychologically telling  refusal to accept the result of the Colmar Brunton poll. Now, a sensible reaction would have been to shrug, admit Labour is not doing as well as it would like, but perhaps add the classic, rather boring but politically prudent line about not commenting on individual polls. Instead, Mr Little damned the poll as bogus. To compound the matter he then released Labours own polling, which had several effects, none of which are helpful to the party. One is it kept the story going for another 24 hours. Two, while the junkies might know that UMR is a reputable pollster, undecided voters are only going to hear Labours pollster and decide the whole thing is a bit of a jack up. And even the political junkies are asking pointed questions about the weightings used in that UMR poll, what methodology, and precisely what questions were asked. Despite promising to release its methodology, Labour has not done so. Rattled

While the prime minister has not had a good year or two, and many National supporters are getting exasperated, at the minimum, with the growing arrogance coming out of the more elevated floors of the Beehive, a poll which says Andrew Little is more popular than John Key  as Labours private polling shows  just doesnt quite feel right. Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all, by releasing its own private polling Mr Little showed how rattled Labour is.



If Labour believed their own polls their MPs would be in a buoyant mood, Their leader is more popular than John Key and National is at its lowest level for 10 years with Labour/Greens on the verge of being able to govern alone.

The funny thing is their MPs dont look at all like they are on the verge of a massive victory.

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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 15

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan plans to allocate major part of investments to construction of TAPI gas pipeline, said the countrys President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov during a meeting of the Council of Elders.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Turkmen section of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline with the capacity of up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas was held in mid-December 2015.

The total length of TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers and 214 kilometers will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers - Afghanistan, 826 kilometers  Pakistan to Fazilka settlement on the border with India.

TAPI Pipeline Company Limited has been created for constructing and commissioning the pipeline. It is comprised of gas companies of the participating countries. Negotiations continue with other potential participants.

Berdimuhamedov also spoke about the main spheres in which it is planned to make big investments.

He pointed out that considerable amount of investments will be made in development of production of such expensive products as polyethylene, polypropylene and high-octane gasoline.

The president said that the volume of investments from all sources of financing will be 42.7 billion Turkmen manats ($1 = 3.5 manats) in 2017.

The investment program for 2017 envisages construction of around 400 facilities, including 270 production and 130 social facilities.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Iran may rent regional pipelines abroad instead of construction new routes to export gas to the EU, Alireza Kameli, head of the National Iranian Gas Company, said.

Kameli said one of the feasible ways of delivering gas to the EU is the construction of LNG plants in Iran, but aside from that, Iran can consider the pipeline export of gas, Mehr reported Sept. 14.

Currently, construction of the 3,500-km Southern Gas Corridor (SCG) from Azerbaijan to Italy is underway. SCG is expected to transit 16 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) of Shah Deniz fields gas to Turkey and Europe by 2021.

Iran has already announced that it is eyeing gas deliveries to the EU through SGC, though it may be not beneficial.

There is more than 5,000-km distance between Irans South Pars gas field and Italy, which is the destination of SGC.

There is a significant amount of idle capacity in SGC, which can be filled with Iranian gas. However, the gas flow from Azerbaijan to the EU is expected to reach 24 bcm/y by 2025 and 31 bcm/y in early 2030s.
Josh Spiegel unloads a conveyor belt in the House-Hasson Hardware Co. warehouse Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. The Knoxville-based wholesale hardware distributor has been on a growth spurt since acquiring an Alabama company in July that added 500 hardware dealerships to its network, plus about 20 jobs locally. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

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By Ed Marcum of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Knoxville's House-Hasson Hardware Co., rolled out some mobile applications this year meant to streamline the task for its independent hardware customers trying to do things from finding a vendor on a trade floor to placing orders for products.

When House-Hasson holds its annual dealer's market Oct. 20-22 at the Sevierville Events Center, dealers will be able to use a new app to find vendors on the market floor or specific parts or products that they might need.

House-Hasson President Don Hasson compared the app to a GPS for the event's market floor.

"Our market app tells dealers what vendors are there, what booths they're in, and what products are in that booth," Hasson said in a statement., "The dealer needs only to type the product name into the app's search function and it directs the dealer to that booth. It makes a market even more profitable for our dealers."

The app also keeps vendor contact and other information.

"If a dealer wants to contact that vendor after the market the information they want will be right there on their device," Hasson said.

Ron Yatteau, manager of dealer computer services for House-Hasson, said the company also has an ordering app that allows dealers to see information on all 55,000 products that House-Hasson stocks in its warehouses.

While it makes ordering more efficient, the app was actually developed for House-Hasson to become more green through eliminating paper use, Yatteau said.

"When you have 55,000 items, if you were to print a catalog, it would be about two feet tall," he said.

House-Hasson already had an online ordering system in place before the app, and it is still the primary means for dealers to place orders, Yatteau said. The phone app allows the dealer to get images and extra information on product.

"The phone app does more but it is not as fast," Yatteau said.

House-Hasson is the fifth-largest wholesale hardware distributor in the country, serving 3,000 dealers in 11 states and the Caribbean. It has about 500 employees in Knoxville and West Virginia.
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By Ed Marcum of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Virginia College, which has a Knoxville campus, will be accepting former ITT Technical Institute students and offering them assistance now that ITT is closing down all of its campuses.

ITT announced Tuesday that it was shutting down all of its campuses, leaving about 1,900 Tennessee students in academic limbo. Sergio Takahashi, president of Virginia College in Knoxville, said Thursday that the school is already hearing from some of these ex-ITT students.

"We have had some just walk in the door and some that have called and made appointments," he said.

Owned by Alabama-based Education Corp. of America, Virginia College has about 70 campuses, including the Knoxville location at 5003 N. Broadway, and Takahashi said the organization is offering help to former ITT students at all of its locations.

Virginia College has looked at what ITT credits can be transferred to its classes. Students who were in ITT programs that do not align with a Virginia College program will be helped to transfer to another program and their transfer credits reviewed case by case.

Virginia College will be offering special tuition rates for former ITT students and waiving other requirements.

"We are not going to charge them enrollment fees or registration fees and all residency requirements and entrance exams are waived. These students have already taken those," Takahashi said.

The ITT closures came about after the federal Education Department barred ITT from relying on federal aid  the main source of the company's revenue  and other stipulations. ITT's marketing, recruiting and job placement numbers are under investigation by at least 19 state attorneys general. These developments halted education and career plans for many students.

"Some of them were maybe a quarter away from graduating," Takahashi said. "

U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. issued a statement outlining two options for the students. Those currently or recently enrolled with ITT may be eligible to have their federal student loan debt at ITT discharged. Those wishing to complete their education at a different school may be able to transfer their credits.

More information is available online at the education department's ITT Announcements Page. More information about Virginia College is at www.vc.edu.
SHARE Kara Kay Israel (Knox County Detention Facility)

By News Sentinel Staff

KNOXVILLE  A former Knox County Schools teacher will serve three years' supervised probation after pleading guilty to having sexual contact with a teenager, court records show.

Kara Kay Israel, 35, resigned from her position as a first-grade teacher at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School in February, according to her personnel file.

Israel, who was hired by Knox County Schools in August 2004, initially had been suspended with pay pending an investigation into her possible violation of a drug-free workplace policy and the school system's civility code, the file states.

In June, she pleaded guilty before Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee in lieu of an indictment to a charge of sexual battery by an authority figure. The Class C felony is punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison.

Israel had sexual contact with a teenage boy between August and October of 2015, court records state.

The former teacher, who had no previous arrest record, also was placed on the state's sexual offender registry and was ordered to pay nearly $2,900 in fines and court costs.

More details as they develop online and in Friday's News Sentinel.
By Lynda Edwards, lynda.edwards@knoxnews.com

WASHINGTON  With the Obama administration poised to welcome thousands more Syrian refugees into the country, Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday he has confidence in the vetting process for those making a new home in Tennessee after fleeing a war zone.

His shift in perspective comes just four months after he agreed to let the state sue the federal government over refugee settlement, and just one day after the Obama administration announced it plans to sharply increase the number of refugees accepted by the United States to 110,000 in fiscal 2017.

Haslam told the News Sentinel on Thursday he doesn't object to Syrian refugees or others settling in Tennessee.

During an appearance at a luncheon in Anderson County, the governor said he recently met with U.S. State Department officials and Catholic Charities and is convinced "they're doing a good job" vetting refugees coming to Tennessee.

The Republican governor said there aren't many times he trusts the federal government, "but I do think they have all the right controls and procedures in place" regarding background checks and vetting for resettlement.

The Obama administration said the additional refugee intake is necessary to help stem a migrant crisis gripping Europe and the Middle East. The new target is a 29 percent increase over the 85,000 refugees accepted this fiscal year and a 57 percent hike over the 70,000 allowed in each year between 2013 and 2015.

More than 10,000 Syrian refugees have been allowed into the country this year, and new figures released Thursday provide a clearer picture of where they're resettling.

Some 240 have resettled in Tennessee, according to the State Department Refugee Processing Center. Of those, 124 are in Nashville, 112 are in Memphis, three are in Germantown and one is in Spring Hill.

Tennessee ranks 17th among states in resettled Syrian refugees.

Resettlement has proven controversial in many states, including Tennessee, where the Legislature voted earlier this year to instruct Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the federal government for noncompliance with the Refugee Act of 1980.

Proponents argued the legal proceedings were necessary because the federal government didn't consult with the state on the resettlements.

Haslam allowed the resolution calling for the lawsuit to take effect without his signature. Slatery, however, declined to file the suit, saying the state was unlikely to succeed.

At the White House, an adviser to President Barack Obama sought Thursday to reassure states worried about the influx of Syrians entering the country.

Syrian refugees must undergo extensive background checks that can last up to two years. U.S. and United Nations officials verify asylum seekers' stories and check possible ties to terrorist organizations, said Avril Haines, principal deputy national security adviser.

"Syrian refugees get a more extensive vetting than anybody else," Haines told reporters for regional newspapers across the country.

The vetting process is working, Haines said, adding that 80 percent of those allowed into the United States are women and children and just a small percentage are men over age 18.

"Looking at the process and looking at the track record should give people some solace in the vetting process," she said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 14

By Emil Ilgar  Trend:

Iran is still unable to access its revenues from the development of the Rhum gas field, despite that 9 months have already passed since the elimination of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Ali Kardor told Mehr Sep.14.

Iran is developing the Rhum gas field jointly with the UK. Ownership of Rhum is shared equally between BP and the NIOC.

The UK deposits Irans revenues from Rhum gas field to a bank account of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), but Iran is unable to access its funds.

Kardor didnt mention how much UK would pay Iran or how much is the current output of the field. The project itself, commenced in 2005, is worth some $656 million.

Gas production from the Rhum field was stopped in 2010 in relation to international sanctions against Iran, however UK announced in 2014 that it resumed gas production from the field and Irans revenues are being deposited to a frozen bank account.

It isn't clear how much is the field's current output, but at its peak, the output capacity is about 8.5 million cubic meters per day. According to the estimates provided by BP, the Rhum field contains 22.6 billion cubic meter of gas.

Iran and P5+1 Group including US, UK, France, China, Russia + Germany reached a nuclear agreement with Iran, which was implemented in January 2016. The agreement eliminated sanctions on Iran.
The current Tennessee specialty license plates for the Friends of the Smokies may change. (Submitted by Friends of the Smokies)

SHARE The current Tennessee specialty license plates for the Friends of the Smokies may change. Here are some of the options. (Submitted by Friends of the Smokies)

By Tyler Whetstone, tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com

The most recognizable specialty license plate in Tennessee may be getting a makeover.

The Friends of the Smokies, the charitable and fundraising organization that assists the National Park Service with the Great Smoky Mountains, has announced a survey that will allow residents to choose what the organization's specialty plate looks like.

According to Friends of the Smokies, the organization gets $30.75 of the $35 fee required for drivers to get the specialty plates, but with an increase in specialty plates across the state, funding has slowed.

The survey allows residents to choose between five different plates or to keep the current plate. Each of the five new plates have different sketched mountain backdrops with black bears on them.

According to the organization, the license plates have raised more than $8.3 million since 1997 for the park. It is the most purchased specialty plate in the state.

Funds raised go toward educating programs like the Parks as Classrooms program, preserving historic structures at the park and keeping black bears wild among other things.

"Specialty plates in Tennessee have raised millions of dollars over the last two decades, helping to fund major projects in Great Smoky Mountains National Park," said Brent McDaniel, director of marketing at Friends of the Smokies. "We hope Tennessee drivers will continue protecting their national park with a beautiful new license plate design for years to come."

The survey can be taken online at http://bit.ly/FOTSplate
SHARE Muwafa Albaraqi along with his daughters, Naba and Mariam, attend a naturalization ceremony in Gatlinburg. Muwafa's wife, and mother of Naba and Mariam, became a U.S. citizen on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Jay Miller/Special to the News Sentinel) Members of the United States Marine Corps Color Guard perform the Advancing of Colors during naturalization proceedings in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Jay Miller/Special to the News Sentinel) Maius Zakaria Ayl (foreground) and Napoleon Lim III await a naturalization ceremony in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Ayl and Lim III became U.S. citizens Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 during the ceremony. (Jay Miller/Special to the News Sentinel) Fourth-grade students from Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in Gatlinburg led the Pledge of Allegiance in Gatlinburg on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. (Jay Miller/Special to the News Sentinel) Related Coverage Editorial: Smokies an ideal spot to welcome newest citizens

By Jay Miller, Special to the News Sentinel

GATLINBURG  On a sunny Thursday morning in East Tennessee, 40 people became naturalized citizens of the United States in one of its most biologically diverse national parks, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The ceremony, held at park headquarters near Sugarlands Visitor Center, occurred just two days before Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, which recognizes people who have become American citizens in the past.

Clayton Jordan, deputy superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, said the setting was appropriate because the parks are representative of what it means to be American.

"(The parks) preserve so much more than just pretty postcards," Jordan said. "They tell our story and our collection of national ideals and values that identify who we are as a people. Values such as patriotism, heroism, exploration, equal justice, civil rights, freedom and sacrifice."

Muwafa Albaraqi was in attendance Thursday to witness his wife, Alyaa Albaraqi, become a naturalized citizen. Muwafa Albaraqi, who became a refugee during the Gulf War in 1990, is also a naturalized citizen.

"I was a refugee during the first Gulf War because I took part in an uprising against the government, Saddam Hussein's government," he said. "We fled to the U.S. forces and stayed in a camp in the middle of the desert until we got asylum in 1994."

Muwafa Albaraqi said Thursday was an important day for his family.

"It means so much that my wife has become a citizen," he said. "She can now vote and will have a better future because she can work."

Judge Thomas A. Varlan, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, presided over the ceremony. According to Varlan, applicants from 21 countries became citizens.

Napoleon Lim III, originally from the Philippines, was one of those applicants. Lim III said he came to the United States for the same reason thousands of others do each year.

"The opportunity you have here in the United States is amazing," he said "In the Philippines, we live in a Third World country and living there is not easy. There are things you can do here that you cannot do in our country. You can live a better life here."

According to Varlan, in 2015, his court conducted 24 ceremonies for a total of 1,102 naturalized citizens. In 2016 there have already been 28 ceremonies totaling 1,053 naturalized citizens with 13 more ceremonies planned for the remainder of the year.

Maius Zakaria Ayl, originally from Sudan, became a naturalized citizen Thursday morning. Ayl currently works at Texas Roadhouse in Alcoa. He said he was lucky to escape Sudan during a civil war 15 years ago. He says he wants to return to Africa to tell his family about America.

"Now that I am a citizen I plan to go back to Africa and explain to my family there how they should come here and become citizens," he said. "This changes my life a lot. At first it was kind of difficult, but now that I am a citizen it is going to change a lot."

As the ceremony concluded, Lim III summarized his reasons for wanting to become an American citizen.

"In a way you can sense the freedoms that are spoken of here in America," he said. "America has been blessed. That's why people come here, because America has been blessed."
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The Tennessee Supreme Court is using an East Tennessee judicial election dispute to resolve tricky legal questions about challenging election results.

Last week the justices heard oral arguments in attorney Tom McFarland's challenge of the outcome of his race for Circuit Court judge for the 9th Judicial District.

McFarland lost the 2014 race to Michael Pemberton. He subsequently challenged the outcome, alleging that Pemberton lived in Knox County and was not a resident of the district, which includes Roane, Loudon, Meigs and Morgan counties.

A trial judge and the state Court of Appeals have sided with Pemberton, however, because the Roane County Election Commission already determined that Pemberton met the residency requirement.

Pemberton filed a petition to run for the judgeship in February 2014. At the time, Pemberton had a home in Knox County, where he had a law office. His son went to school in Knox County. He bought a lakefront home in Roane County in July 2013.

The Tennessee Constitution requires a candidate for a Circuit Court judgeship to have lived in the district for at least a year before the election. Pemberton insisted he had been living in the Roane County home since he bought it and, therefore, met the residency requirement.

McFarland made a campaign issue out of whether Pemberton was really a Knox County resident, but he did not file a complaint with the Roane County Election Commission. Roane County resident Willis Hall did, however. The commission held a hearing, during which Pemberton produced U-Haul receipts, utility bills and other documentation supporting his Roane County residency. The commission voted to approve Pemberton as a candidate.

Pemberton narrowly won the contest with 50.6 percent of the vote. McFarland filed a lawsuit challenging the outcome based on the same residency issue the commission decided prior to the election.

In upholding the trial court's decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that the election commission's hearing was a quasi-judicial proceeding. If McFarland wanted to challenge Pemberton's residency, he had the opportunity to join in that complaint. Since he did not join Hall in the complaint to the election commission, the Appeals Court reasoned, he could not file a lawsuit after the election plowing the same ground.

During last week's oral arguments before the Supreme Court, Justices Cornelia A. Clark and Sharon Lee expressed concern over McFarland's right to take the dispute to court. "We have clear case law that says there is a right to file an election (contest) lawsuit," Clark said.

Both justices noted that an election commission  made up of lay people  might be wrong, and an unqualified candidate elected as a result. Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins and Justice Roger Page, on the other hand, questioned the notion that an election commission does not have final authority in determining a candidate's qualifications.

The questions raised in this case about the authority of election commissions are important for all candidates for office in Tennessee. The integrity of the election system must be guaranteed.
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This letter is for all the folks in the Black Lives Matter movement and for those professional athletes not standing for the national anthem. Our daughter is a CPA with a master's degree in business. She left the corporate world to teach mathematics in the inner city of a large Midwestern city. Recently one of her students brought her an orange. He said that he knew that it was supposed to be an apple but all he could steal was an orange. She thanked him and had him take it back. She called recently all excited because she had just taught her high school sophomores how to find the least common denominator and how to reduce fractions.

In her name we would like to offer a few suggestions. Anyone can protest. That is one of the beauties of being a citizen of the United States of America, but you Black Lives Matter folks should offer to volunteer in your neighborhood school; insist that your children give it their all in the classroom; demand that your schools teach; and remind your children that the joy of sex often leads to parenthood and responsibility. Then teach parental responsibility by being a good example, because most of our daughter's students are being raised by grandparents, single mothers or by themselves. Finally, demand that your local government take control of your schools, because the farther the government from the governed, the less efficient the governing.

As for you young and rich athletes on the sidelines, there is a saying from the book of James that goes something like this: "What good is it to tell someone to be warm and well fed and do nothing about it?" Put your money where your mouth is.

Thom and Linda Lakso, Knoxville
Legacy of Light: Boston Light Marks 300th Anniversary

By Walter Ham, U.S. Coast Guard

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 at 8:45 p.m.







After 300 years of service, the Boston Lighthouse continues to guide ships into Boston Harbor. America's oldest Aid to Navigation was first lit on Sept. 14, 1716. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Barresi







LITTLE BREWSTER ISLAND, Mass., Sept. 14, 2016  When the Boston Lighthouse was first lit 300 years ago today, sailors called on New England ports in wooden ships, pirates roamed the Atlantic Coast and the 13 colonies were under the British crown.



The light, which still guides mariners around Boston Harbors shoals, was the first of thousands of American Aids to Navigation, or ATON, that have saved lives, protected property and enabled prosperity for the last three centuries.



Managed by the Coast Guard Office of Navigation Systems and maintained by Coast Guard cutters and ATON teams around the nation, Aids to Navigation enable navigators to determine their position, chart a safe course and steer clear of hazards.



Located on Little Brewster Island, Massachusetts, nine nautical miles from Boston, the lighthouse was first lit on Sept. 14, 1716, using tallow candles. Today, the Boston Light has two 2 million candlepower lights that can be seen from 27 nautical miles away.





Historical Firsts, Lasts



Sally Snowman is the U.S. Coast Guards only remaining assigned lighthouse keeper. In 2003, she became the 70th Boston Lighthouse keeper and the first woman to hold the position.



Snowman, a Coast Guard Auxiliarist and native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, said the city and the region have grown because of the light.



Massachusetts prospered with Boston Harbor emerging as an international port in the 19th century, she said. For this to have occurred, the entrance to Boston Harbor needed to be properly marked to reduce the significant loss of life and cargo due to shipwrecks occurring on the ominous ledges.



Boston Light was built as the first major Aid to Navigation in Colonial America to mark the entrance and continues to provide this service today, Snowman said.



She noted that the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park offers weekend tours of the Boston Lighthouse in the summer.



During tours, Snowman dresses in formal clothes from 1783, the year that the Boston Lighthouse was rebuilt. British forces destroyed original structure during the Revolutionary War.



As a part of her duties, she manages more than 70 volunteers and maintains the lighthouse, keepers cottage and other buildings on the three-acre island.





National Historic Landmark



Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, the Boston Light is one of nine lighthouses honored by having an elevator named after it in the Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington.



On August 7, 1789, the ninth law passed by Congress created the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment to provide support, maintenance and repairs of all lighthouses, beacons, [and] buoys. The service would later be called the U.S. Lighthouse Service or Bureau of Lighthouses. Aug. 7 is designated as National Lighthouse Day in the United States.



After 150 years of keeping the lights shining, the Lighthouse Service was incorporated into the Coast Guard in 1939.



From the lone Boston Light, the Coast Guard Aids to Navigation system has grown to include more than 48,000 federal buoys, beacons and electronic aids that mark the more than 25,000 miles of waterways that make up the Marine Transportation System or MTS.



More than 73 million Americans are involved in maritime commerce, commercial fishing and recreational boating on our waterways, and we help them to get home safely, said Coast Guard Capt. Scott J. Smith, the chief of the Office of Navigation Systems.



Our vast Aids to Navigation system started with the Boston Lighthouse and we celebrate its enduring contribution to our nation, our economy and our maritime heritage, Smith said. Published September 14, 2016
Forty people naturalized at historic ceremony inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park

By Jeaneane Payne

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 at 1:06 p.m.





Forty people from various countries were naturalized inside Great Smoky Mountains National park today during an historic ceremony. Images by Jeaneane Payne.





Forty people from many countries around the world received their American citizenship inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) today at an historic outdoor court proceeding. Under a clear blue sky on the lawn of park headquarters, the forty individuals were naturalized in what was the first ceremony of its kind inside GSMNP.



The United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee conducted the moving ceremony with Chief Judge Thomas A. Varlan presiding. In our own Eastern District of Tennessee, our court conducted 24 ceremonies in 2015 totalling 1,102 naturalized citizens, said Chief Judge Varian. In 2016, we have already 28 ceremonies, totaling 1,053 naturalized citizens with 13 more ceremonies scheduled for the remainder of the year.



A total of 609,000 people have become naturalized citizens so far this year. Chief Judge Varian pointed out that he is the grandson of all four of his grandparents who immigrated to America from Greece.







Forty people became US citizens today.





Color Guard





Students from Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in Gatlinburg TN prepare to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.







Left to right: Chief Judge Thomas A. Varian, Marius Ayl and his mother of Sudan, and GSMNP Deputy Clayton F. Jordan.





Eighteen year old Marius Ayl of Sudan was naturalized today. Ayl, along with his mom and dad, 2 brothers, and a sister were brought to America during the war in Sudan in 2001. He stated that St. Paul Lutheran Church in Maryville took the necessary steps to make that happen.



Also naturalized today were people from Libya, Ukraine, Russia, Mexico, Romania, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, India, and various other countries.



Nahimana Claudine, Burundi

Alyaa Salmessa, Iraq

The U.S. District Court in Knoxville worked with the National Park Service and the Citizenship and Immigration Services to hold the ceremony inside the park. The purpose was to mark two special times  the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and National Constitution and Citizenship Day.



The federal courts often mark Constitution and Citizenship Day with special naturalization ceremonies. Chief Judge Varian said. The idea to join with the National Park Service during its anniversary year came from Rebecca Fanning, Washington, National Outreach Manager for the Federal Courts, part of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.



Man from Iraq register to vote in Sevier County.




Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday and on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement met with a number of foreign officials, including the Syrian envoy to the United Nations, IRNA news agency reported.

Zarif, during his meeting with Bashar Jaafari Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN examined the latest developments in Syria and also discussed with Jaafari promotion of cooperation between Tehran and Damascus.

Iran's top diplomat who is in Venezuela to attend the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement also received North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and the two discussed bilateral ties between Tehran and Pyongyang and topics on the current NAM meeting agenda.

Egypt's former Minister of Family and Population and the UNESCO director-general candidate Moushira Khattab was another official who met with the Iranian foreign minister.

Zarif and Khattab talked about different international issues as well as the non-Aligned Movement.
Prosecutors on Tuesday said they have indicted an opposition lawmaker on charges of illegally distributing rice to voters in violation of the local election law in the runup to April's general elections.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea is accused of distributing some 810,000 won ($726) worth of rice to 37 members of a local mountaineering club in February.

Cho Byung-don, the mayor of Incheon, some 80 kilometers south of Seoul, will also stand trial for similar allegations, prosecutors said.

The two have been denying the correlation between the rice and the April's elections, saying they only intended to advertise the regional specialty to the people who visited Icheon from Suwon, some 45 kilometers south of the capital city.

Prosecutors have been accelerating their probes into the country's lawmakers, as the statute of limitations for the offenses committed during the latest elections is slated to expire in mid-October. (Yonhap)
The United States will do everything it can to keep pressure on North Korea, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Monday, stressing it is unacceptable for the communist nation to have nuclear weapons.



Lew, who overseas U.S. financial sanctions, made the remark during a Council on Foreign Relations discussion, as the U.S. and other countries consider additional sanctions on Pyongyang for conducting its fifth nuclear test in defiance of the international community.



"North Korea is an enormous challenge. We're going to do everything we can to try and keep the pressure on North Korea. It's unacceptable for North Korea to have a nuclear weapon," Lew said.



"They have done more testing both of nuclear weapons and of missiles in recent months in a way that has the world's attention clearly focused, and we will continue to sharpen financial tools as we can. The goal is to change the policy," he said.



In response to the North's fifth nuclear test, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to seek "significant" new sanctions on the North. Since the North's fourth nuclear test in January, the U.S. led the U.N. Security Council to adopt the toughest-ever sanctions while imposing unilateral sanctions on Pyongyang.



Unilateral sanctions included blacklisting the entire North Korea as a primary money laundering concern, a powerful sanction designed to cut off the provocative regime from the international banking system by warning banks around the world they could be blacklisted if found to be doing business with Pyongyang.



Lew said that sanctions have effectively cut North Korea off from the global economy as countries around the world, including China, have rendered unprecedented cooperation in putting tougher sanctions in place.



"A lot of the flows between China and North Korea are for humanitarian goods, but there's also some leakage there in terms of other support for North Korea's economy," he said.



Lew also stressed the importance of China's role in carrying out sanctions.



"Having them follow through and implement those sanctions is something we press very hard on. We're not taking any option off the table. We can continue to review constantly what our options are to put more effective pressure on North Korea," he said.



Relaxing sanctions is possible only when the North changes its policy, he said.



"Sanctions can bring a country to the table, can make them want relief from the sanctions, but they have to choose to change their policy. Iran changed its policy on its nuclear program. There was relief from the nuclear sanctions," Lew said.



"We've seen no sign from North Korea of a change of policy. So I don't think that  I don't think we're in a  in a timeframe where relaxing sanctions on North Korea is the question. The question is how can they be more effective," he said.(Yonhap)




The flight by two U.S. B-1B bombers over South Korea demonstrates the "unshakable" U.S. commitment to its key Asian ally in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test, the U.S. Forces Korea commander (USFK) said Tuesday.



The supersonic bombers left U.S. Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Tuesday morning and arrived over the skies above the Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, at 10:00 a.m.



It flew past the U.S. air base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, accompanied by a flight of four South Korean F-15K and four U.S. F-16 fighter jets.



"North Korea's nuclear test is a dangerous escalation and poses an unacceptable threat. The United States has an unshakable commitment to defend allies in the region and will take necessary steps to do so, including operations like this one today, and the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) battery to the Korean Peninsula," USFK Commander Gen. Vincent K. Brooks told reporters at Osan air base.



"Today's demonstration provides just one example of the full range of military capabilities in the deep arsenal of this strong alliance to provide and strengthen extended deterrence," he said.



Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin said if North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons, it will meet retaliatory actions that will "shake the very founding of its regime."



The two generals also said the alliance military forces remain ready to meet mutual defense obligations against threats to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.



In recent years, Pyongyang has escalated its saber-rattling despite warnings issued by the international community. On Friday, it detonated its fifth nuclear device in the face of strong opposition to its weapons of mass destruction programs.



The U.S. has in the past taken a series of military counteractions following major provocations by the North.



On Jan. 10, four days after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test, the U.S. sent a B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber to the skies above the same air base as a show of force. The bomber can be armed with nuclear missiles and "bunker buster" bombs that are capable of destroying the North's hardened underground facilities.



In August, the U.S. Air Force forward deployed the B-1B bomber in the U.S. Pacific Command's Andersen Air Force Base on Guam partly to better counter the North's nuclear and missile threats.



The B-1B, which first went into operation with the U.S. Air Force in the 1980s, is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 1.25, or 1,335 kph, at very low altitude. It can carry nuclear weapons, as well as conventional guided bombs, such as the GBU-38 and the GBU-54.



The overflight, meanwhile, was originally scheduled on Monday but postponed due to "inclement weather conditions" in Guam, the USFK said. (Yonhap)




07:45(GMT+4) The death toll from train crash climbed to in Pakistan has reached 6 people, at least 150 injured, RIA Novosti reported.

05:20(GMT+4) 4 people died and 100 were injured on Thursday as Awami Express, which was going to Peshawar from Karachi, collided into another train in Multan, RIA Novosti reported.

According to sources, 4 boggies of Awami Express got off track, after crashing into the other train, which was there on the track without schedule. All the injured people were shifted to Nishtar Hospital.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Multan told that all those who were stranded inside train were rescued.
A meeting between our Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will take place next week on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York, according to Russian envoy to EU Vladimir Chizhov, Sputnik reported.

Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold a meeting with EU diplomacy chief Frederica Mogherini next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, Russian envoy to EU Vladimir Chizhov said Thursday.

"A meeting between our Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Frederica Mogherini will take place next week on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York," Chizhov told reporters.

The United Nations General Assembly opened its 71st session on September 13, with an emphasis on ensuring the implementation of the new global development goals, adopted by its 193 member states last year.
Germany has temporarily closed its embassy, all other consular offices and a school in Turkey, reportedly due to fears of a possible attack, Hurriyet reported.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported on Sept. 9 that the move was taken as a precaution after the Foreign Ministry learned of rumored attacks on consular facilities in Turkey during the Eid al-Adha holiday week.

The German Embassy in Ankara said on its official twitter account that the services at all German representative facilities in Turkey would provide limited service as meetings were cancelled until Sept. 16. It gave no further details.

The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the Bild report, but confirmed that its embassy in Ankara and other consular offices were closed to the public during the holiday week of Sept. 12-16, The Associated Press said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15

By Orkhan Quluzade  Trend:

Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, arrived in Turkey, TRT Haber news channel reported Sept. 15.

According to the report, as part of the visit to Ankara, Gerasimov plans to meet with Hulusi Akar, chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

Gerasimov and Akar will discuss the aspects of the settlement of the Syrian crisis.

On Aug. 24, the Turkish Air Force, with the support of the coalition aircraft, launched an operation to liberate the city of Jarabulus in northern Syria from the Islamic State (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh). The operation was dubbed the Shield of the Euphrates.

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, the YPG and the PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade
IELTS test format. (Photo : British Council)

The Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kong are the three best Asian countries in English language proficiency, said the firm that co-owns the world's most popular English language test for higher education and immigration.



This test is IELTS, or the International English Language Testing System. IELTS is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers.



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It's jointly managed by the British Council, IDP Education based in Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment and was established in 1989. Other major English-language tests in the world are TOEFL, TOEIC and OPI/OPIc. IELTS is a requirement for immigration to Australia and New Zealand.



A comparison by IDP Education of IELTS scores from the 40 countries and territories with the most test takers in 2015 showed the Philippines and Malaysia tied for first with an average score of 6.8. Hong Kong averaged 6.5. The average score for Taiwan was 6.1 and Mainland China, 5.7.



Hong Kong fell behind the Philippines and Malaysia mainly in the speaking and writing sections. Globally, Germany had the highest average IELTS score of 7.3.



There were over 2.7 million participants worldwide in 2015. In 2014, 2.5 million tests were taken in over 140 countries, up from 2 million tests in 2012.



No minimum score is required to pass the IELTS test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form will show a score from "band 1" ("non-user") to "band 9" ("expert user"). Participants with a score between 6 and 7 have an effective command of the language but occasionally use words that are inaccurate or contextually inappropriate.



An average score of 6.5 is good news since most test takers were students, and most universities overseas required applicants to have a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, said Patrick Wan, IDP's IELTS manager for north Asia.



"The number has been about the same for the past five years," said Wan. "In 2011, the score was 6.4."



Wan also said there had been no major change in any particular Asian country in terms of English proficiency.


Bayer's North American headquarters in New Jersey. (Photo : Bayer)

In a deal some say was influenced by the ravages of climate change, German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG has acquired U.S. agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology firm Monsanto Company in an all-cash deal worth $66 billion, the largest in world corporate history.



The deal ends eight months of tough negotiations and will form a company in control of over 25 percent of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry. There has been no indication of the name the new company will carry.



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Because of its huge worldwide impact, the merger will definitely face an intense and lengthy regulatory review in the United States, the European Union, Canada and in other countries. The merged firm will need to file in about 30 jurisdictions for the merger.



The political pushback against the deal is expected to be the strongest in the United States where Monsanto is the largest seed company but is also notorious for its championing the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in crops.



Already U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has called a hearing next week to examine the wave of consolidation. Senator Bernie Sanders, who recently ended a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, called the deal "a threat to all Americans."



"These mergers boost the profits of huge corporations and leave Americans paying even higher prices," said Sanders.



Analysts said the consolidation race in the worldwide agribusiness sector is being triggered by irrational weather patterns driven by climate change; intense competition in grain exports and a worsening global farm economy. Farm incomes are plunging because of the excessive worldwide supplies of grains.



Bayer's move to combine its crop chemicals business with Monsanto's industry-leading seeds business is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals mergers.



Analysts said Bayer wants to build a one-stop shop for seeds, crop chemicals and computer-aided services to farmers.



Bayer said it expected the deal to boost its core earnings per share in the first full year following completion.



"Monsanto is a perfect match to our agricultural business," said Bayer CEO Werner Baumann when the offer was made last May. "We would combine complementary skills with minimal geographic overlap."



"The acquisition of Monsanto checks all the boxes in terms of strategic fit and value creation potential," he added. "At the same time, ongoing consolidation activities in the industry make this combination by far the most attractive one."


When a stranger came to Zandile Mabuzas house offering her husband a job and gave them a skop to celebrate, the family tucked in.

But their joy soon turned to tears when Zandile and her two daughters were hospitalised and her granddaughter, Sinenhlanhla (2) died from food poisoning!

Zandile from Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni, said they realised something was wrong last Thursday at about 7pm when her eldest daughter started groaning in pain. As they were trying to phone for an ambulance, Sinenhlanhla started vomiting and she died before she could reach Far East Rand Hospital, while the other three survived after receiving treatment. Zandiles husband, Aaron Mabena (56), was not affected.



Aaron said: I met the man several days before the incident. He bought me a plate of meat and two beers. I was suspicious so I went to the toilet to speak to my ancestors and licked muthi before eating. I then ate the meat and nothing happened to me. He saw that his plan had failed and he came for my family. I dont know what this person wants from us.

An inquest docket was opened at Etwatwa Police Station and the stranger has not been seen since the incident.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Torrentz2.eu is the busiest indexing clone following the shutdown of Torrentz.eu. (Photo : YouTube/DIGITAL HacKeR)

Torrentz.eu clones, including Torrentz2.eu, Torrentz.etc, and Torrentz.to, have surfaced online following the voluntary shutdown of the original domain. Now, Torrentz2.eu has become the busiest indexing site raising the question on whether or not torrenting is illegal.



If downloading through torrent sites is unlawful, then millions of users are guilty on a daily basis. Most of them going online prefer torrents because of the flexibility of piecemeal download as opposed to waiting to download in one go. As a result, torrent is a friendlier alternative, especially for massive contents when a single download has slow internet speed.



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Torrenting is legal, but what raises the question of copyright infringement or fines depends on the content being downloaded, according to Make Tech Easier. There is absolutely no problem when content being downloaded is updates for video games, free OS, or free applications. Anti-piracy trolls will come in case a copy of, for example, Windows 10 or an in-cinemas-only movie is downloaded through a bit-torrent client.



KickassTorrents was shutdown on the United States government orders, and shortly, Torrentz.eu voluntarily closed the shop. The torrent community found solace when cloning meta search engine, Torrentz2.eu surfaced together with others like Torrentz.etc and Torrentz.to among others.



Torrentz2.eu tops the list of clones with an index of over 55 million torrent files across 64 domains. It appears to be the most active Torrentz alternative with a wide coverage, according to Torrent Freak. Currently, Torrentz.eu does not offer options such as bookmarks, voting, and commenting to its users.



The torrent community is encouraged to consider copyright before downloading any file whether direct magnet of torrent. There are anti-piracy trolls sniffing IP addresses from a list of peers to avoid the temptation of HDrip and similar content. What people may believe to be a harmless small file may become the last bit of evidence before ending up in prison.



Meanwhile, there have been reports that The Pirate Bay (TPB) may soon shut down following KickassTorrents and Torrentz.eu closure. However, owners believe that the site is here to stay for at least 20 or 30 years to come.



In fact, TPB has reclaimed its top position and it is now being hailed the "King of Torrents." Here is footage for further information on Torrentz.eu clones:






China Censors Court Hearing on Gay Students Lawsuit vs. Ministry of Education Over College Textbook Talk on Homosexuality

China's AIDS Awareness Campaigns Slowly Inform Public (Photo : Getty Images)

The staging of Chinas first Mr. Gay pageant was one of the rare times in the country that an event involving homosexuals was allowed to be staged in public.



Most of the time, events involving members of Chinas LGBTI community are censored like what happened on Monday after a Beijing court handled a lawsuit filed by Qiu Bai, a 22-year-old gay student from Guangzhou City, against the Ministry of Education. The case sought a change in the way college textbooks discuss homosexuality which it still calls a disease.



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A government official insisted the textbooks language dud not infringe on her rights as a gay student but refused to respond directly to Qius complaint that the textbooks were spreading false information. U.S. medical associations have delisted homosexuality as a psychiatric ailment in 1973, while China decriminalized homosexuality in 2001.



After the hearing, the judge said a decision would be made later and adjourned the hearing. Some members of Chinese media interviewed Qiu the same day. However, they told the student the government ordered them not to cover the case, reported Vox.



It appears the hearing was just for show with nothing concrete happening on Qius complaint.



In early September, a gay Chinese couple, Sun Wenlin and Hu Mingliang, filed a lawsuit after the local civil affairs bureau rejected their application for a marriage license. They filed a lawsuit, but a court rejected the case.






The start of September means students are back in school, tourists have returned to their hometowns, and San Diegans are at their jobs after summer vacation. For politicians, governing institutions and advisory boards, its also time to resume community projects left standing. The Light compiled an update on the works-in-progress La Jollans can expect some action on in the coming months. Residents added a few more of their own, see Views on page A26.

DecoBike Stations

The city confirmed that an updated plan for the installation of DecoBike bike-sharing stations throughout La Jolla will make an appearance at one or more local advisory boards later this fall. After a thumbs-down from all local community groups in 2014, the city came back this summer insisting that the project was necessary for the accomplishment of citywide gas emission reduction plans.

The city orginally hoped to install 17 stations with 12-16 bikes at each in La Jolla. However, the citys communication department said that draft is being revised for accessibility or Coastal Commission conflicts.

Sea Lions at The Cove

After Doyle Hanan turned in his report on the sea lion crisis at La Jolla Cove in June, the challenge for local advisory boards is to keep the momentum going and generate follow-up action. The Community Task Force on Sea Lions, a group created at La Jolla Town Councils Crisis in The Cove hearings comprised of representives from several La Jolla associations, is pushing the city to authorize a local entity to implement the legal provisions identified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act; section 109(h), to deter sea lions from the areas used by humans.

La Jolla Parks & Beaches (LJP&B) advisory board voted at their Aug. 22 meeting to send a letter to the Mayor, prompting him to appoint seal lion busters so that action can be taken.

Whale View Point Sidewalk

LJP&B member Ann Dynes said a final recommendation for a six-feet-plus-the-curb sidewalk along Coast Boulevard was submitted to the city. We have been led to believe, by the Transportation Department, that the design is being actively worked on, she said by e-mail.

The project will replace the existing decomposed grnite pathway with a concrete sidewalk to make it easier for baby strollers and senior citizens to access Whale View Point along Coast Boulevard. Construction is slated to start once the city crew is done working on another sidewalk. Dynes hopes the Whale View Point Sidewalk is available to the public before the end of 2016.

On a related note, new sand-colored lids were installed on the areas trash cans this summer, replacing the old blue lids.

Fay Avenue Bike & Pedestrian Path

Missing the curb cuts, the biggest item everyone wants, as LJP&B trustee Sally Miller put it, the Fay Avenue Extension project is almost complete. The Fay Avenue Bike & Pedestrian Path is an extension to Fay Avenue used by cyclists and pedestrians to go from Nautilus Street to Bird Rock away from big streets and traffic.

Among the improvements implemented are new bike/pedestrian warning signs and pavement markings alerting drivers of the presence of cyclists and pedestrians, and new bike lane symbols informing cyclists of their most advisable routes.

The curb cuts  which will allow cyclists and pedestrians easier passage through the intersections that undercut the Fay Avenue Extension on Via del Norte, La Canada and Via de la Costa  were included in the list of improvements the city agreed upon, however, there is still no word on when construction will start.

La Jolla Shores Map

From 2008 to 2015, a map of the underwater topography ornamented the area near the comfort station at Kellogg Park to the enjoyment of passers-by who could walk on it. After the recycled glass it was made from cracked, the city replaced the colorful map with decomposed granite.

President of Friends of La Jolla Shores (FOLJS) Mary Coakley Munk said at the June 8 meeting of La Jolla Shores Association that she and her husband Walter Munk were willing to contribute $275,000 for the installation of a new map, this time made out of Litho-Mosaic, a more durable material. T.B. Penick, the company that installed the first La Jolla Shores Map, agreed to pay $50,000 for the construction of a new map.

Munk reported that FOLJS is still in negotiations with the city to try to find an acceptable solution that meets the requirements of our agreement with T.B. Penick.

Sandwich Board Advertising

No significant advances have been reported in the effort to regulate the unsightly plethora of sandwich boards dotting the right-of-ways of Village streets since La Jolla Community Planning Association approved a motion at its July 7 meeting to strike a line from the community plan that read, In La Jolla, A-frame signs are not permitted. The idea behind the move, spearheaded by La Jolla Village Merchants Association (LJVMA) President Claude-Anthony Marengo, is to bring the citys Public Right of Way (PROW) policies to the Village that would regulate the presence of sandwich boards and could be enforced by the San Diego Code Enforcement.

New Businesses Survey

LJVMA board is also working on a business survey that contains information on what businesses would be successful in La Jolla. The results are expected at the next merchants association meeting and will be published in the Sept. 22 La Jolla Light.

Broken Beach Stairs

When the public beach access stairs at 100 Coast Blvd. were destroyed by a winter storm, LJP&B took it upon themselves to remedy the situation. After funding was identified and the city agreed to carry out the construction as a repair instead of a new project, an update given by trustee Nancy Linck at the Aug. 22 meeting revealed that the city had identified a constructor, who estimated the cost of the project at $250,000.

Linck added that a project timeline was pending from the construction company, which had to choose between redoing the current stairs attached to the retaining wall  or whats left of them  or constructing a new set of stairs elsewhere in the area.

The last city update, Linck explained, came with an advisory from lifeguard authorities, who argued that the stair construction involved a safety factor, There would be an increase in the time it would take to rescue someone there without the stairs. Linck concluded that the repair is moving forward at the citys pace.

Cove Pavilion Restrooms

The project to replace the restroom facility at La Jolla Cove, represented by LJP&B members Judy Halter and Patrick Ahern, is pending one more review of the drawing plans proposed by city-selected architect, Mosher Drew.

A preliminary review of the drawings revealed that the concept renderings approved earlier by the La Jolla community had been taken into consideration. They are going to build it as close to the design that the community funded as the permits allow, Halter said. However, Ahern pointed out that a secondary review is underway to agree on an aesthetic element.

The city plans to break ground on the restrooms in late 2017 with a grand opening in 2019.

The Village MAD

Over the summer, Enhance La Jolla received signatures from property owners (representing nearly 38 percent of the total amount to be assessed) on petitions requesting that the City of San Diego move forward with balloting for a Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) in the Village of La Jolla. This is 26 percent more than what is required by the city.

Application has also been made with the State of California to grant Enhance La Jolla 501(c) (3) status. The city requires groups managing a MAD to have 501(c) (6) status. Enhance La Jolla has applied for the higher non-profit level, which is a requirement of the La Jolla Community Foundation bylaws for Enhance La Jolla to be a grant recipient and thus provide for tax-deductible contributions.

It is a goal of Enhance La Jolla to raise private funds for capital improvement projects to supplement the fees received from property owners in the district for maintenance.

La Jolla High School Science Building

Organizers behind the project to construct a state-of-the-art biological science building at La Jolla High School hope to begin the detailed design and permitting processes in early 2017. While the fund-raising efforts continue, the La Jolla Community Foundation said it has exceeded raising 50 percent of the necessary monies. The building is poised to include world-class lab facilities and demonstration and lecture areas. To donate or learn more, visit ljhs-biosciencecenter.com
An easier-than-expected first mammogram experience HUNTERSVILLE  Scheduling a cancer screening probably ranks somewhere on your to-do list between "clean out the garage" and "donate those clothes that don't fit." Sure, you'll get to it at...

Chamber retreat helps discover strengths in communication The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce has proved that networking can come in many ways. It doesnt have to come at a luncheon or happy hour or Christmas party, but...
Indian infantry on patrol. (Photo : Indian Army)

The Indian Army has reinforced troops stationed at Jammu and Kashmir to put more muscle into a new push codenamed "Operation Calm Down" to rid the volatile state of Islamic militants and protesters.



The launch of Calm Down in South Kashmir came immediately after General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army, inspected army units stationed at Kashmir.



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Gen. Singh reviewed the security situation and operational preparedness with senior army officers. His inspection took him to Srinagar, headquarters of XV Corps (Chinar Corps).



Army troops in South Kashmir were reinforced by an entire brigade of 4,000 men as part of Calm Down. Troops were told to maintain "maximum restraint" in face of violent protests by the Muslim majority in Kashmir.



These protests were triggered by the death last July 8 of Burhan Wani, a popular commander of the Azad Kashmir-based Hizbul Mujahideen fighting for Kashmir's independence from India.



Wani was killed in combat against Indian security forces and is considered a martyr for Kashmiri independence. He is widely credited with reviving Islamic militancy in Kashmir.



The violent protests are the worst the valley has seen and comes after two years of relative quiet after Pakistan withdrew its support for Islamic militants (or "ultras") confronting India. Over 80 percent of Kashmir's population is Muslim.



Protests following Wani's death have led to the deaths of over 70 people. Some 7,000 civilians and over 4,000 Indian security personnel have been injured.



These anti-India protests inspired by Wani's death continue and last Tuesday, two youths were killed in Kashmir. Over 50 clashes were reported during the day between mobs and security personnel. A curfew was then imposed in all the 10 districts of the valley that evening with Operation Calm Down being launched the next day.



"There is deployment of extra troops in South Kashmir border area and hinterland to mark presence. We have identified 10 major areas of concern specifically in South Kashmir and Kupwara in North Kashmir along with Uri," said the army.



Army troopers assisted by men of the Central Reserve Police Force and state police are conducting patrols and clearing roadblocks consisting of felled trees, electric poles, huge boulders and burned out vehicles.



During his visit, Gen. Singh was briefed about the prevailing situation in the valley by General Officer Commanding XV Corps Lt. Gen. Satish Dua. Gen. Singh also reviewed the security situation in violence-wracked Kashmir, especially in the four worst-affected districts in south Kashmir.



COAS visited army units stationed in the north and south of the Valley to get a first-hand account of the situation from the officers on the ground. He was informed about the steps to be taken to help the civil administration restore normalcy, particularly in south Kashmir.



Gen. Singh toured forward positions along the LAC in Kupwara district to review the preparedness of the anti-infiltration grid.


The Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka condemns the nuclear test carried out by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 9th September 2016. Sri Lanka notes with concern that this is the second such test to be carried out by the DPRK this year.

Sri Lanka calls upon the DPRK to abide by its international obligations and refrain from any action which would compromise peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

14 September 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
Mayor Eric Garcetti didnt mention Donald Trump by name in his luncheon talk. Still, he managed a subtle rebuke to the Republican presidential nominee.

We are in a place, he said, referring to Los Angeles, where inclusiveness is part of life. He briefly contrasted that to the presidential campaign, marked by negativity and Trumps assault on immigrants, so important a part of the citys population.

He spoke Tuesday to a crowd of business, labor and political people at the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum, arranged by Emma Schafer, a public affairs consultant who also compiles the website Emmas Memos. I hadnt seen the mayor for some time. Hes evolved into a more interesting speaker, framing his accomplishments as stories rather than bureaucratic recitations. He talked of stitching a story and creating a narrative. Thats the style he used talking about the airport, street repairs and tree trimmings, turning the routine into something interesting.

Looking at the reporters in the audience, he conceded he wasnt making hot news. I know its not as sexy as a bloody nose, he said, but added that a bloody nose doesnt get you anywhere.

I was interested about what Garcetti said about his plan for a year of free community college tuition. Community colleges, he said, offer those who didnt do well in high school or ended up in jail a second chance. After lunch, I had planned to walk to Los Angeles Trade Tech College, a community college famed for giving young men and women a second chance and for the inclusiveness mentioned by Garcetti in his talk. The student body is 56 percent Hispanic, 27 percent African American, 6 percent Asian American and 6 percent white.

I was headed for the school to begin work on my column for Truthdig.com. The Palm, site of the luncheon, is close to Staples and LA Live and the big buildings of L.A.s new downtown, several blocks from the college. I left the big money district and walked south on Flower Street toward Trade Tech. As the neighborhood changed, I passed a body repair shop. Across Flower was a payday loan company. I peered through an open door into a large, dark room where women were sewing and sorting clothes. On the campus I walked among the ethnically mixed students and joined a bunch of them on the train when I took the Expo Line home.

I had passed immigrants sewing clothes; working class students determined to have a prosperous future; rich people eating the Palms big steaks near the glitter of Staples and L.A. Live. This was the L.A. Garcetti was talking about at lunch. The scene, with its contrasts, was a vibrant answer to the narrow, anti-immigrant campaigning of Donald Trump.
PRESS RELEASE

House of Commons Slams Libya Invasion; Responsible Cameron Quits

Sept. 14, 2016 (EIRNS)In what is being described as another Chilcot report, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee released a "scathing" report on former Prime Minister David Camerons war on Libya. It charges that Britains invasion of Libya was ill-conceived, and puts the blame directly on Cameron. Cameron, who resigned from the Parliament on Monday just before the report appeared, had refused to testify before the committee.

The report slammed the fact that with no proper intelligence analysis, the operation transformed itself into the unannounced goal of regime change and shirked its moral responsibility to help reconstruct the country.

"There is a debate about whether that intervention was necessary and on what basis it was taken, but having been achieved, the whole business then elided into regime change and then we had no proper appreciation of what was going to happen in the event of regime change, no proper understanding of Libya, and no proper plan for the consequences,"

Foreign Affairs Committee chair Crispin Blunt said.

The result of the intervention, the report said, was

political and economic collapse, inter-militia and inter-tribal warfare, humanitarian and migrant crises, widespread human rights violations, the spread of Qaddafi regime weapons across the region and the growth of ISIL [Islamic State]. Through his decision-making in the national security council, former Prime Minister David Cameron was ultimately responsible...."

On the change of goal from protection of civilians to regime change, the report states: "If the primary object of the coalition intervention was the urgent need to protect civilians in Benghazi, then this objective was achieved in March 2011 in less than 24 hours. This meant that a limited intervention to protect civilians drifted into an opportunist policy of regime change by military means."

Sir Alan Duncan, a serving Foreign Office minister, is quoted as describing the plans for postwar planning as fanciful rot. The committee concurred, saying:

"The possibility that militant extremist groups would attempt to benefit from the rebellion should not have been the preserve of hindsight. Libyan connections with transnational militant extremist groups were known before 2011, because many Libyans had participated in the Iraq insurgency and in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda. "We have seen no evidence that the U.K. government carried out a proper analysis of the nature of the rebellion in Libya. It may be that the U.K. government was unable to analyse the nature of the rebellion in Libya due to incomplete intelligence and insufficient institutional insight.... It could not verify the actual threat to civilians posed by the Qaddafi regime; it selectively took elements of Muammar Qaddafis rhetoric at face value; and it failed to identify the militant Islamist extremist element in the rebellion. U.K. strategy was founded on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the evidence."

In a faint response to the report, a Foreign Office spokesman cited the Arab League (i.e., Saudis) call for the intervention; and the UN Security Council resolution (which approved only protection of civilians, not deposing or assassinating the head of state).

Britains Guardian comments that the report is also bad news for Hillary Clinton, who, as Secretary of State at the time, was a full partner.

The report vindicates charges made by Russia that Britain, France, and the United States had double-crossed Russia when it supported the UN intervention.
PRESS RELEASE

Club of Rome Attack on New Silk Road Paradigm

Sept. 14, 2016 (EIRNS)The Club of Rome presented its new book-length report One Percent Is Enough in Berlin yesterday, calling for a drastic change of economic and taxation policies, the main target being a maximum economic growth rate of 1%. (The German title is Ein Prozent ist Genug or "One Percent Is Enough;" but the English title by sleight of hand is Reinventing Prosperity!)

The Clubs general secretary and the books co-author, Graeme Maxton (U.K.), attacked the idea of growth as "neoliberalist brainwashing" that would destroy the Earth. Jurgen Randers (Norway), the other co-author, proclaimed,

"My daughter is the most dangerous animal of the world, since she is consuming 30 times more resources than a girl in a developing sector country."

A main demand of the report is to tax consumption of resources, which calls to end linking taxation to incomes, rather than to consumption, in order to make energy-intensive things like heating and commercial air flights much more expensive, forcing people to seek to use a minimum of resources.

Other demands include: funding of green conjunctural programs, state subsidies for alternate energy sources, income subsidies for workers shifting from a job in traditional industries to one in a green sector; increasing the retirement age to 70 years; tax rebates and a premium for women who either have no children at all, or only one. Higher incomes will be taxed, inheritance taxes be increased in stages to 100%. The premium would be paid only after the recipient reached 70 years.

As for the 1% growth aspect, it is clearly genocidal, since even the United Nations has declared that Africa would need 7-8% growth annually in order to acquire the minimum capability to deal with its poverty, disease, and other problems. And the New Silk Road will work only at annual minimum growth rates of 7-10%.

The report met partial criticism even among some Greens: Kerstin Andreae, vice chairwoman of the Greens Bundestag group, said on the no-child policy: "We cannot act along the slogan: abandon man, then the environment will benefit."
One of the largest literary publishers of the West  west of the Hudson River, Counterpoints Charlie Winton points out, that doesnt operate as a nonprofit  has merged with fledgling New York publisher Catapult. When the companies announced the deal earlier this month, it came as a surprise. What is technically a merger will, in effect, transport ownership of Berkeley-based Counterpoint to Catapult, based in New York.

Thirty-nine years of this was fun, but its time for somebody else to take the reins, time for me to hand over the keys, Winton said when reached at his office in Berkeley. Over the years, Winton has headed up various publishers and navigated a number of deals, always keeping his attention focused on literature. Each book has been its own adventure, he says.



For the record: A previous version of this story quoted Andy Hunter saying he has worked with Elizabeth Koch for eight years; they have worked together for two years.

Current books on Counterpoints list include the powerful debut novels Grace by Natashia Deon and The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni, the history Water and the California Dream by David Carle and Tod Goldbergs Gangsterland, a thriller about a mob hit man who transforms into a Las Vegas rabbi to save his skin. Two perennial Counterpoint authors include Wendell Berry and Pulitzer Prize-winner Gary Snyder, both known for writing both poetry and prose.

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Catapults publisher and chief operating officer Andy Hunter praised the press. Counterpoint is the quintessential indie publisher, Hunter said. It seemed like a good fit. Reached by phone at his Brooklyn office, Hunter was preparing to leave for a Brooklyn Book Festival party, which Catapult was helping to throw.

Less than 2 years old, Catapult has major ambitions for a new independent publisher: it plans to release a dozen books a year, concentrating (so far) on literary fiction and memoir. Its editor in chief, Pat Strachan, is widely respected in the industry, and in its highest mark of achievement, it brought writers Seamus Heaney and Czeslaw Milosz to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, before they won Nobel Prizes. Catapult has expanded is offerings beyond a traditional publisher with an online community and literary magazine, along with writing classes that take place online and at Catapults offices.

The resources behind these start-up efforts, including the merger, come from Elizabeth Koch, a longtime quiet literary supporter who stood front and center last year when Catapult was profiled in the Wall Street Journal. Koch, the daughter of industrialist Charles Koch, has an MFA in creative writing from Syracuse University, where she studied with George Saunders.

Ive been working with Elizabeth for two years, Hunter says. I really think shes great. Shes a real passionate advocate of literature in a way that inspires me.

The long publishing history Counterpoint has with Berry and Snyder  and departed writers such as James Salter, Evan S. Connell and M.F.K. Fisher  made it an attractive property for a relatively new publisher. Older titles by these authors constitute a backlist  books that, with any luck, find an audience year after year. An enduring example is Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird; one week in late August, the book, originally published in 1960, sold 17,905 copies, making it the ninth-biggest-selling book in America, according to Publishers Weekly (that title, however, is published by Grand Central).

The way Winton calculates it, Counterpoints backlist will allow Catapult to be a functioning publisher early, relieving the pressure to have its new books start making a profit right away. Not having to have your frontlist support you, it moves their organization ahead five, seven years, Winton said.

Hunter, the new Counterpoint publisher, will stay in New York, where he also heads up the online magazine Electric Literature and the book news website Literary Hub. With Catapult, that makes three major literary ventures hes launched in seven years.

Andy Hunter impressed me, said Winton. I could see the energy, passion, the willingness to go slightly outside of the box, a risk-taker without being insane about it  thats important in a challenging marketplace.

Catapult will be making one major change from the start: it will move Counterpoints imprint Soft Skull from California back to New York. Founded with a radical ethos in 1992, the New York-based Soft Skull was purchased by Counterpoint in 2007 and transferred to the Bay Area in 2010, where it had been an uneasy fit.

I always had great love for Soft Skull, said Hunter, who has talked to its former editors Richard Nash and Denise Oswald. He notes that Soft Skull could be more Internet-savvy, and on the Internet there are so many great voices that are interesting, transgressive. Catapults Yuka Igarashi will become Soft Skulls editorial head.

With Hunter as publisher of Counterpoint, oversight will fall to Catapults Jennifer Abel Kovitz, based in Portland,Ore. (Koch wont be involved in the day-to-day Counterpoint operations.)

Winton isnt leaving Counterpoint completely behind; he will remain an editor at large. But before he undertakes another book project, he is looking forward to making time to play guitar.
Tesla Motors and parts supplier Mobileye broke up in July. Now the two sides are dissing each other with wildly different takes on what caused the split.

Safety was the issue, according to Mobileye, which makes cameras and video processors for Teslas driver-assist system, called Autopilot.

Tesla was pushing the envelope in terms of safety with Autopilots design, Mobileye Chairman Amnon Shashua told Reuters in a story published Wednesday. Autopilot is not designed to cover all possible crash situations in a safe manner, he said.

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But Tesla says that wasnt the reason for the companies split. A spokeswoman for the automaker told The Times on Thursday afternoon that the reason Mobileye was mad is because Tesla was developing a video-processing system of its own. When Mobileye found out, it attempted to force Tesla to discontinue this development, pay them more, and use their products in future hardware, the spokeswoman said.

When Tesla refused, she said, Mobileye discontinued hardware support for future platforms and released public statements implying that this discontinuance was motivated by safety concerns. At the time, Mobileye said it would end its relationship with Tesla when its current contract ran out.

Dan Galves, Mobileyes chief communications officer, said Thursday evening that each company holds a different philosophy on safety.

The reasons [Shashua] stated for the breakup are absolutely primarily the reason the relationship ended, he said. Were there commercial issues going on at the time? Yes, but those probably shouldnt be discussed publicly.

The July breakup came shortly after news that a Tesla Model S driver was killed in a crash in Florida this spring while using Autopilot. The sedan slammed into a big rig after Autopilot apparently failed to distinguish between the white truck and the bright sky behind it.

No matter how you spin it, [Autopilot] is not designed for that, Shashua told Reuters. It is a driver-assistance system and not a driverless system.

Tesla has repeatedly said drivers using Autopilot are warned to keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take full control of the vehicle at any time.

After the two companies parted ways in July, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the split was expected and would not have any material effect on the electric automakers plans.

Mobileyes ability to evolve its technology is unfortunately negatively affected by having to support hundreds of models from legacy auto companies, he said in a statement.

On Sunday, Tesla said it would upgrade Autopilot, and would beef up its radar systems to better augment the video system, even taking over for the camera in some situations. Musk also said the radar would become the primary sensor system on its automobiles, but a company insider told the Times Thursday that was not the word he would have used. The camera and the radar will work together, he said.

Teslas stock was up 1.98% to $200.30, at market close Thursday. Mobileye stock, down 9.7% since Monday, fell 0.35% to 39.68 on Thursday.

Bill Selesky, senior research analyst at Argus Research, said Shashuas comments raise questions as to whether this technology is ready for the public at this point.

Just the fact he came out with something, I think would be a negative for the company and ultimately the stock, he said, though he later mentioned that Teslas stock often doesnt react as expected.

Selesky said Shashua might be speaking out now, rather than in July when the partnership ended, because of the growing number of autonomous-vehicle developments from other automakers, such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors. The comments could be seen as a warning to be careful, Selesky said.

Also this week, Tesla is facing new scrutiny in China about Autopilot after a state television broadcaster said a man killed in a fatal crash in January had activated the driver-assist feature.

The report by state broadcaster CCTV included apparent dash-cam footage of the car slamming into a slow-moving orange truck. The cars driver, 23-year-old Gao Yaning, died in the crash.

An official interviewed in the report said the cars Autopilot feature was active at the time of the crash. CCTV reported that Gaos family has sued Tesla in a Beijing court, though the lawsuit was not available in online court records.

Tesla told the Associated Press that the car was too damaged in the wreck to transmit data to company servers and that Gaos family had not cooperated with the companys investigation.

Times staff writers Russ Mitchell and James F. Peltz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

ALSO

Self-driving cars wont always look this way

SpaceX faces a more crowded rocket launch market, even when it returns to flight

People want healthier food, so Cup Noodles is changing its recipe for the first time ever

UPDATES:

5:40 p.m. This article was updated with a comment from a Mobileye spokesman.

1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with remarks from a Tesla spokeswoman about the reason behind the split between Tesla and Mobileye.

10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with the current stock price and a comment from Elon Musk about Mobileyes involvement with the Autopilot update.

This story was originally published at 9:20 a.m.
Amazon Books, the e-commerce giants seemingly incongruous bricks-and-mortar venture, is now open in San Diego. The store marks the companys second foray into offline retail.

The 3,500-square-foot shop at a mall in the University City neighborhood premiered with little fanfare Sept. 7 and is open daily.

The opening comes 10 months after the first Amazon Books store debuted in Seattle. It arrives amid a shift in the offline book-selling business, which, after years of decline, has made a partial comeback. Last year, the total number of U.S. bookstores surpassed 2,200, up from 1,400 in 2009, according to the American Booksellers Assn.

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The physical stores reinforce Amazon.com Inc.s original mission as an online bookseller, said Miro Copic, marketing professor at San Diego State University.

Like the Seattle store, San Diegos Amazon Books location is crafted to sell a curated selection of books and to heavily promote Amazons Prime subscription service and its electronic devices.

Shoppers will find a limited number of titles (roughly 3,500 books in total), selected based on factors such as online customer reviews and sales data. Books are placed face-out on the shelves with an accompanying card that includes the average rating and a review  but not the price.

The store is designed to funnel shoppers into Amazons broader e-commerce marketplace. Sales associates most frequent refrain  Do you have the Amazon app on your phone?  is a reminder that something larger is at play. Shoppers are trained not only on how to download the Amazon app and scan books to check prices, but also are encouraged to pay with their Amazon account, via smartphone, at checkout.

Van Grove writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com

ALSO

Cup Noodles changes its recipe for the first time ever

NBCUniversal to cut 200 jobs in DreamWorks Animation takeover

Mobileye exec slams Tesla over Autopilot safety, but Tesla stock is jumping
Long lines are already forming outside several Apple stores Friday morning as customers vie to be one of the first to get their hands on an iPhone 7.

Photos on Twitter show crowds queuing inside malls in Orlando, Fla., outside stores in New York and a line forming in front of a San Francisco store at 1 a.m.

Hopefully those fanboys and fangirls arent expecting to walk out with a jet black iPhone 7. Or any color of the iPhone 7 Plus.

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Apple says only limited quantities of the iPhone 7 in black, silver, gold and rose gold will be available at retail stores.

The Cupertino, Calif., tech giant said initial supplies of the iPhone 7 Plus in all colors and the iPhone 7 in jet black sold out during the online pre-order period and wont be available for walk-in customers.

We sincerely appreciate our customers patience as we work hard to get the new iPhone into the hands of everyone who wants one as quickly as possible, Apple said in a statement.

The iPhone 7 starts at $649 and the iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769. The phones feature improved cameras, brighter displays and faster processors than their predecessors. They dont include a traditional headphone 3.5-mm audio jack, a shift Apple hopes will steer the industry toward a wireless future.

To some extent, the rush isnt new  analysts said there is always a short supply of new iPhones when they launch. But this time, demand seems even greater than usual.

Brian White, global head of technology, hardware, software and equity research at investment banking firm Drexel Hamilton, said Thursday that Apples supply chain even ramped up ahead of time to avoid the kinds of shortages that plagued the iPhone 6 launch.

People went into this launch expecting pre-orders to be muted, he said. It looks like this is a pretty strong launch for Apple.

But Abhey Lamba, managing director and senior technology analyst at investment bank Mizuho Securities USA, said Thursday the thin inventory at stores could be a sign that Apple was expecting a quieter than usual release and reduced supply accordingly.

All year, data points from the supply chain indicated that their initial plans were not as aggressive as historically weve seen, he said. This time around, they may have taken a cautious stance, given there was a lot of uncertainty in terms of what type of demand to expect.

In a way, Apple  or at least its investors  may benefit from the short supply. An uptick in sales around the holidays means a better quarterly report at a time when the company needs it most.

The last two December quarters were really strong iPhone shipment quarters, so it would help Apples financial results if there were more shipments in the December quarter than the September quarter, Lamba said.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

For more business news, follow me @smasunaga on Twitter.

ALSO:

With Series 2, Apple admits its smartwatch isnt for everyone

Why restaurants want you to place food orders on your smartphone

My ride in a self-driving Uber; or how I learned to stop worrying and trust the algorithm

UPDATES:

Sept. 16, 6:25 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information about lines forming outside stores Friday morning.

Sept. 15, 2 p.m.: This article was updated with pricing information on the iPhone 7 and the iPhone7 Plus.

This article was originally published on Sept. 15 at 1:35 p.m.
SpaceX has a good reason to get back on the launch pad as soon as possible. At least 10 rocket companies are fighting for satellite customers  and more could be on the way.

Hawthorne-based SpaceX said this week that it hoped to resume launches in November, even as it continues to investigate the cause of the Sept. 1 explosion of its Falcon 9 rocket and a communications satellite on a Cape Canaveral, Fla., launch pad.

Analysts say there should be enough business to go around, if even a fraction of the planned constellations of hundreds or even thousands of private-industry satellites become a reality.

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SpaceX has 70 missions on its launch manifest, worth more than $10 billion.

Because its going to be so many companies trying to launch so many satellites, I think most of these companies will take what they can get, said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst at the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense market research firm. The bigger issue is going to be who can launch sooner.

To drive that point home, United Launch Alliance on Tuesday announced a new RapidLaunch service that lets customers blast a payload into space about three months after they place an order.

The Boeing Co.-Lockheed Martin Corp. joint venture said it added additional hardware to its Decatur, Ala., rocket-production line to accommodate new customers and now will make customer-specific changes to rocket orders in the last few months of production so buyers can come to ULA with a shorter lead time. The company said it has availability on its 2017 Atlas V launch schedule.

Until the 1980s, satellites were launched by U.S., Soviet and other national space agencies. A French company, Arianespace, established the private-launch business in 1980, seizing on the potential for both government and commercial-launch contracts.

Today, the industry has mushroomed behind billions of dollars invested by legacy aerospace giants, some angel investors and venture capital, as well as billionaires Elon Musk (SpaceX), Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) and Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic).

Depending on the size of the payload and where its going, commercial companies have a few options for getting to space.

SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket can take satellites weighing up to 50,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit, as well as the higher geosynchronous transfer orbit. That places it in the middle of the market between small launch vehicles like Orbital ATKs Antares, which can take payloads of up to 17,000 pounds to low-Earth orbit, and heavy-lift rockets like the Delta IV Heavy, which can carry up to 62,000 pounds.

Falcon 9 is in the same category as the Atlas V, manufactured by ULA, and the Japanese H-IIA rocket, the main rocket for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency that has launched 30 times since its first flight 15 years ago.

SpaceXs main competitor in the commercial-launch market is Arianespace, whose Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle can hoist two satellites at a time. That rocket has launched 87 times with four failures, the most recent in 2002, according to the company.

Last week, Arianespace said it may add an additional Ariane 5 launch to its schedule to help the customers that may be in difficulty. The new addition would not affect the launch dates of current customers and will depend on market needs, the company said in an emailed statement. Arianespace would not elaborate on the customers in difficulty to which it was referring.

SpaceX elbowed aside a Russian launch provider a few years ago as the main commercial competitor to Arianespace. Workmanship issues with the Proton, considered the main Russian commercial-launch vehicle, led to concerns about reliability, said Bill Ostrove, aerospace and defense analyst at Forecast International.

But a new international competitor is looming on the horizon.

The Indian Space Research Organization has developed the PSLV, a smaller rocket that took its first flight in 1993 and generally ferries satellites to low-Earth orbit. Though it has mainly carried Indian government satellites, the PSLV recently launched a number of foreign commercial satellites from countries such as Britain, Singapore and the U.S.

Analysts say the Indian national space agency could be a major commercial player. Early on, it set up Antrix Corp., a commercial arm intended to promote and market the programs products and launch services. The agencys launch prices are considered low cost, Ostrove said.

It has yet to establish a regular launch rhythm, however. This year, the PSLV has launched four times  the same number of missions it had in all of last year. The Indian agency also has developed the GSLV, a larger launch vehicle, which has launched once a year since 2014.

Its proven to be pretty reliable over the last few years, and its been gaining some attention on the commercial market, Ostrove said of the PSLV. I think it would be a price competitor depending on what happens with SpaceX reusability.

Domestic rocket launch providers also are beefing up their commercial offerings.

Bezos-led Blue Origin unveiled details Monday of its New Glenn, a rocket that will be 23 feet in diameter and lift off with 3.85 million pounds of thrust. In an email to followers, Bezos said the rocket will come in two variants  a two-stage, 270-foot-tall launch vehicle, and a three-stage, 313-foot-tall vehicle that will be capable of taking payloads beyond low-earth orbit.

New Glenn is intended to launch commercial satellites as well as flying humans into space, Bezos said.

The ULA venture is now under pressure to ramp up its commercial business after losing its lucrative and longtime monopoly on U.S. national security launches. Last year, the U.S. Air Force certified SpaceX to compete for military launches, and in April, the company won its first contract to launch a government GPS satellite.

Clearly, Lockheed and Boeing understand the importance now that they can no longer rely only on U.S. government business, said Caceres of the Teal Group, that they have to diversify and increase their volume and be more competitive with SpaceX on pricing.

The move is also a response to the growing number of small satellites set to be launched to support services ranging from low-cost Internet access to high-resolution earth imaging.

A smattering of small rocket makers are dedicated to giving these tiny satellites a ride to space, such as Long Beach-based Virgin Galactics LauncherOne and Los Angeles firm Rocket Lab. Their ranks are likely to grow.

If you were to line up all the vehicles currently available worldwide  and those that are about to be introduced in the next few years, theres about 70 of them, said Phil Smith, senior space analyst at the Tauri Group.

SpaceX probably will continue to lead the market on low prices, especially if it is able to make good on its plans for reusability by turning around and re-launching its landed rockets, Ostrove said.

SpaceXs current starting list price for the Falcon 9 rocket is $62 million. Company President Gwynne Shotwell has said a reusable rocket eventually could cut that by 30%.

But in the future, price might not be the only factor, Caceres said.

Its who has a reliable vehicle thats ready to go up as soon as possible, he said.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

For more business news, follow me @smasunaga

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Tesla announced Thursday that it has been selected by Southern California Edison to build a battery project at the utilitys Mira Loma substation that will have the largest output of any existing lithium-ion storage facility.

When Teslas big battery system is expected to come online by Dec. 31, it will store 80 megawatt hours of energy, enough to power more than 2,500 households for a day, Tesla said.

The battery system is designed to increase reliability of the electric grid by taking a charge from it during off-peak hours and delivering power to customers during peak hours.

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Edison and other California utilities are under a 2013 order by the state Public Utilities Commission to install 1.3 gigawatts of storage capacity by 2020. One gigawatt is the equivalent of 1,000 megawatts.

Paul Griffo, an Edison spokesman, said the company was ahead of schedule in meeting its 2016 targets. And while cost for energy storage has been a factor in wider use of the technology, Teslas project met state regulators requirements for competitive prices, he said.

Much like renewable resources, we expect to see a declining cost curve in energy storage over time, Griffo said.

Projects already are under development that will have five times the output of Teslas.

AES Corp. is building a 100-megawatt system at the Alamitos Power Center in Long Beach.

In 2014, Edison announced the opening of its Tehachapi energy storage facility, which, at the time, was the largest storage building in North America. The Tesla project will be more than twice the size of the Tehachapi plant.

Accounting for power and duration combined, [Tesla] will be the largest for a bit, said Matt Roberts, a spokesman for the Energy Storage Association. But Roberts said the AES project is the largest lithium system ever announced, and is due to be completed in the next couple years.

Tesla responded to a request for proposals by Edison to create more electricity storage to supplement the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, which has been out of service following a leak in one of its wells last fall.

The Aliso Canyon plant is the states largest storage facility. Southern California Gas says the storage facility is needed to ensure ample supply of natural gas for power plants, homes and businesses in Southern California.

Bill Powers, of San Diego-based Powers Engineering, has argued at public hearings and in reports that Aliso Canyon isnt needed. Powers said Teslas battery project highlights that there are other solutions to meeting the energy needs of Southern Californians.

It is good news that it is being fast-tracked, said Powers, adding that installing the batteries at a substation such as Edisons Mira Loma facility makes it easier to deliver large-scale battery storage. Its not cutting edge, Powers said, but it is kind of the simplest way to do batteries.

ivan.penn@latimes.com

Twitter: @ivanlpenn

UPDATES:

2:20 p.m.: This article has been updated with comment from Southern California Edison spokesman Paul Griffo.

1:35 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional details and analysis.

The article was originally published at 10:25 a.m.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday blasted top management of Wells Fargo & Co. over the aggressive sales tactics of bank employees that led to a $185-million settlement with federal and state regulators.

The Massachusetts Democrat said there was a serious problem with senior management at Wells Fargo and complained that so far there had not been enough accountability by Wells Fargos top executives for the employees actions.

Warrens remarks set the stage for whats expected to be a contentious Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday, where Wells Fargo Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf is scheduled to appear. Warren is a member of the committee.

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I want to hear something about some accountability, Warren said in an interview with CNBC. The question is about senior management. Is it the case that they really didnt know what was going on? Because if they didnt, then this is a bank thats just too big to manage.

Were talking about a scandal here that involves thousands of their employees cheating tens of thousands of customers out of money and making millions of dollars doing it for the bank, she said.

Wells Fargo, which neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the settlement, declined to comment on Warrens remarks.

But the San Francisco-based banking giant reiterated that it was ready to provide the committee with information on this matter and to discuss steps we have taken to affirm our commitment to customers.

Wells Fargo last week agreed to the settlement with federal regulators and Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer over the sales tactics, which sources said are being probed by the Justice Department.

The tactics, first uncovered by the Los Angeles Times in 2013, involved thousands of bank employees opening as many as 2 million accounts that customers did not authorize in order to meet aggressive sales goals.

Investigations by the city attorneys office and federal banking regulators described some of the steps employees took to open the savings, checking and credit card accounts as fraudulent and illegal.

Top executives have blamed lower-level employees for the problem and said there were no incentives to take improper actions. The bank also said it discovered the problem itself and has fired 5,300 workers for improper sales practices since 2011.

Stumpf told CNBC earlier this week that he was accountable for the problems but did not plan to resign. The best thing I could do right now is lead this company and lead this company forward, he said.

james.peltz@latimes.com

For more business news, follow James F. Peltz on Twitter: @PeltzLATimes

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Thanks, Wells Fargo.

On behalf of all consumers, allow me to express gratitude for your living down to our sadly low expectations for bankers.

Without your attempt to fleece millions of customers with bogus accounts, and the $185-million fine you just got slapped with, and your cowardly move to blame the whole mess on wayward employees, its entirely possible that the banking industry and conservative lawmakers would have succeeded in overturning financial reforms put in place after the last time banks screwed over the public.

Thanks to you, however, legislation aimed at killing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is now on life support. The bills proponents still insist that banks be freed from burdensome regulations. But youve shown that, if anything, banks probably should be on an even shorter leash.

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The scope of the misconduct at Wells Fargo is breathtaking and demonstrates why our new consumer watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is essential, said Lisa Gilbert, director of Public Citizens Congress Watch division.

The agency played a key role in uncovering the fraud, and thats why it is outrageous that Republicans in Congress at this very moment are advancing legislation that would dismantle the agencys regulatory and enforcement powers.

If I may: Yes, the bureau played a key role in holding Wells feet to the regulatory fire. But that was after the Los Angeles Times first reported the banks sneaky practices in 2013 and after Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer filed a lawsuit last year.

Now, the U.S. Justice Department is getting involved, investigating whether Wells Fargos sales practices broke any laws. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for one, accused the bank of staggering fraud.

At issue  and Wells Fargo doesnt dispute this  is bank employees having opened as many as 2 million accounts without customers knowledge in an effort to boost sales numbers and reap bonuses from managers. That resulted in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau levying its largest fine ever, which it said reflects the breadth of the unfair and abusive practices.

Wells Fargo admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which would have been par for the corporate course if the bank had left it at that.

But it subsequently decided to make a play for the moral high ground. The companys chief executive, John Stumpf, told the Wall Street Journal this week that the problem wasnt the company setting unrealistic sales goals and creating a pressure-cooker environment in which underlings felt compelled to lie and cheat to impress their bosses.

Rather, the problem was that about 5,300 bank workers failed to honor the banks culture of treating customers with respect. So those thousands of maverick, loose-cannon workers, selfishly trying to improve Wells Fargos balance sheet, have been given the sack.

If theyre not going to do the thing that we ask them to do  put customers first, honor our vision and values  I dont want them here, Stumpf declared. I really dont.

So there.

Oh, and Stumpf, who received $19.3 million in compensation last year, was untroubled that the woman who ran the division involved with all the hinky accounts, Carrie Tolstedt, recently walked away with a reported $125-million severance package. He said she decided to retire after 27 years with the company.

I tried to get Stumpf on the phone, but a Wells Fargo spokesman said he wouldnt have any time for me this week. Probably not next week either.

Anyhow, enter stage right, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the Texas Republican who heads the House Financial Services Committee. His Financial Choice Act was approved this week by Republicans comprising the committees majority. It now moves on to a possible vote by the full House.

Hensarlings 500-page bill is a real piece of work. Among other things, it would eliminate the so-called Volcker Rule that prevents banks from gambling with customers money via risky investments. It would end regulators authority to dismantle too big to fail financial firms and would significantly increase fees for debit card transactions.

It also would cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been a target of Republican and financial-industry ire since it opened its doors in 2011. To date, the bureau has cracked down on payday lenders, introduced new rules for mortgages and provided almost $12 billion in relief to consumers harmed by questionable business practices.

The chances of the bill becoming law with President Obama in power are pretty much nil. But consumer advocates are worried that it could set a policy template for a possible administration under Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, or keep popping up like the Republicans votes to repeal Obamacare.

Hensarling said before this weeks committee passage that his bill substitutes market discipline for government control.

And theres the rub. His Financial Choice Act would gut consumer safeguards put in place after the Great Recession and restore the do-as-you-please approach that allowed financial firms to get us into so much trouble in the first place. Market discipline is code for Relax, no ones looking.

It took Republicans on the Financial Services Committee less than two hours of debate to pass Hensarlings bill because Democrats didnt bother submitting any amendments.

This bill is so bad that it simply cannot be fixed, said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). She called it a highly partisan, damaging piece of legislation.

Gilbert at Public Citizen was even more succinct. She said that, in light of Wells Fargos issues, legislative efforts to roll back Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are almost a joke.

By Friday, public astonishment over Wells brazen actions had grown so fierce that Republican lawmakers had no choice but to demand some splaining from Stumpf. He was summoned to testify before The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, and an appearance before Hensarlings House committee is being scheduled.

It wouldnt be at all surprising for Stumpf to reiterate to both committees how he and other senior executives werent to blame for thousands of employees taking advantage of customers.

The reality is that he and other managers are indisputably responsible for creating a climate in which such atrocious behavior was possible or for being stunningly negligent in their oversight of the banks day-to-day operations.

Either way, Wells Fargo has made a powerful case for why regulatory oversight is crucial and why the banking industry remains unworthy of the publics trust.

For that, thank you.

David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.

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Fox News parent 21st Century Fox has given a vote of confidence to recently named Co-Presidents Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy by signing them to long-term contracts.

Shine and Abernethy were promoted to their posts Aug. 12, several weeks after the resignation of Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, who left amid charges of sexual harassment by former employees.

Jack and Bill have been instrumental in Fox News continued dominance in the ratings and historic earnings performance, Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, said Wednesday in a statement. I am delighted theyve each signed new deals, ensuring stability and leadership to help guide the network for years to come.

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Shine, 53, was a close lieutenant to Ailes for more than 20 years, rising to executive vice president in charge of programming in 2014. There has been media speculation that he would be implicated in the companys investigation of the charges against Ailes.

Instead, the low-profile Shine was elevated and appears to be secure in his position because 21st Century Fox is looking for stability at its highly profitable news operation.

Fox News Channel is having the best year in its two decade history, ranking as the most-watched network in all of cable in recent weeks.

Shine runs all programming and editorial functions of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. He first joined Fox News in 1996 as a producer for the prime-time program Hannity & Colmes.

Abernethy, 60, oversees finance, advertising sales and distribution for the Fox News entities. He also oversees Foxs 28 owned and operated television Stations.

The two executives, who continue to report to Murdoch, were named to their posts after Ailes departure July 21. The powerful founding executive of Fox News was brought down by a lawsuit filed by former anchor Gretchen Carlson, which alleged that Ailes undermined her career in retaliation for rebuffing his sexual advances. Carlsons contract with the network was not renewed in June, and she filed the suit July 6.

21st Century Fox settled the lawsuit with Carlson, issuing an apology and paying her $20 million. The company also gave monetary settlements to other former employees who came forward about previous sexual harassment incidents after Carlson filed her suit.

Ailes, who left Fox News with a $40-million severance, has denied all allegations.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio
Walt Disney Co. is dominating at the box office this year, but the Burbank entertainment giant is still struggling to find its way in the competitive video games business.

Reflecting changes to the companys gaming strategy, Disney has laid off about 250 people in its Glendale-based consumer products and interactive media unit.

The cuts, which the company disclosed Wednesday, represent a roughly 5% reduction in the units workforce, the company said.

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The staff cutbacks include people who work on video games and administrative staff. In the face of slowing sales, Disney has been revamping its gaming strategy, shifting from the internal development of video games to licensing more content to such developers as Electronic Arts.

Among those affected by the cuts were people based at a studio in Bellevue, Wash., who worked on Marvel: Avengers Alliance, a game for mobile platforms and Facebook that Disney has said it would shut down Sept. 30.

Its a hit-driven industry, where you constantly need to come up with new content, said Jason Moser, an analyst for the Motley Fool. You can build it in-house and take a chance, or focus on the strength of your business. Where Disney is concerned, the strength of the business is intellectual property they already own and being able to license it.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

In May, the company said it would discontinue Disney Infinity, an internally developed series of action-adventure console video games that incorporates physical toys based on Disney characters into the on-screen action. That led to layoffs of roughly 300 people and the closure of the companys Avalanche Software studio in Utah.

At the time, Disney said it would no longer develop console video games in-house and instead license its characters for such projects. Disney Infinity, which included characters from Star Wars and The Avengers films and was available on platforms such as Xbox One, was first released in 2013. The company spent about $100 million to develop it.

I think they made the right call by not putting any more money into it, said Joost van Dreunen, chief executive of SuperData Research, a video game and interactive entertainment market research firm. If you are as rich in intellectual property as Disney, you should be doing licensing, not development.

The consumer products and interactive media unit has experienced a falloff in business this year.

It posted operating income of $324 million, which was off about 7%, for the fiscal third quarter that ended July 2. The company attributed the decline partly to a decrease in merchandise licensing.

For the fiscal second quarter that ended April 2, the unit had operating income of $357 million, which was down 8% from the same period a year ago.

The layoffs also partly affected support personnel who were made redundant by last years integration of the previously separate interactive media and consumer products units, said Brian Nelson, a spokesman for Disney.

The staff reduction, first reported by the New York Times, marks the second time in recent months that Disney, an employer of more than 180,000 people, has let workers go. In August, Glendale-based Disney Imagineering laid off an undisclosed number of designers and builders who dream up the companys parks and attractions.

daniel.miller@latimes.com

Follow @DanielNMiller on Twitter for film business news.

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details. It was originally published Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.
Ive always really flown  or tried to fly  very much under the radar, says casting director Carmen Cuba.

Thats proving increasingly difficult for the busy 47-year-old, who won a 2013 Emmy for her work on HBOs Behind the Candelabra, was recently invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and is currently earning kudos from critics, the public and such celebrities as Shonda Rhimes, Stephen King and Amy Schumer for her casting of Netflixs late summer buzzy hit, the supernatural thriller series Stranger Things.

Cuba has done many high-profile projects (The Martian, Magic Mike, Now You See Me, The Knick) but she admits she is especially pleased about the surprise success of Stranger Things.

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Really, it encapsulates everything Im about, says Cuba. My love of iconic actors  casting Winona Ryder was my idea. My love of amazing supporting actors getting a shot at a lead  David Harbour has always been brilliant but never gotten the lead role until now. My connection to authenticity  all the kids are getting tons of praise for feeling real.

I went to a party for a 1-year-old, and was held up the entire time talking to other guests when the word spread that Id cast Stranger Things.  Carmen Cuba

All this in addition to working on upcoming projects with filmmakers Steven Soderbergh, Ridley Scott and Oliver Stone.

Its strange, but yes, now more than ever, people seem to want to know about me, says Cuba, the married mother of two tween boys, seated in her office at Red Studios on Cahuenga Boulevard. I went to a party for a 1-year-old, and was held up the entire time talking to other guests when the word spread that Id cast Stranger Things.

Cuba appreciates the praise, but prefers to leave talk of her to others. Calling attention to yourself doesnt fit the profile of casting directors.

Were the silent people, says John Buchan, a casting executive for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation who worked with Cuba on Starzs The Girlfriend Experience. No one out of  or even inside  the business really knows what we do. Maybe its instinctual to just go with that. Were seldom center stage, so were not comfortable suddenly being thrust there.

Born to an American mother of Dutch, Italian and English descent, and to a Peruvian father who served as a political economist for the U.N., she spent her childhood shuttling between New York, Lima and La Paz, Bolivia. After moving to Los Angeles to complete her studies in journalism, she was spotted in an elevator and asked to audition for MTVs docu-series The Real World.

Diversity was a crucial aspect of that pioneering series. She met with producers, but, apprehensive about appearing on camera, instead requested a behind-the-scenes internship. That eventually led to casting subsequent seasons of The Real World and other series for the network. Within five years, Cuba had progressed to film, working for celebrated casting director Margery Simkin on such movies as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Erin Brockovich.

Buchan calls Cuba a perfectionist who wants to get every role  down to the most minor one  right. Shes more hands-on than most lead casting directors, he says, referring to her willingness to travel to remote settings to audition actors herself rather than leave that to her location team.

For Cuba the in-person interaction is essential for her job. I go back and forth from the location and audition actors in person so that I can form a very personal opinion of what their range and potential might be, not only for the role theyre reading for but for any other possibilities that may come up in the future. Its an added step which I love and am so lucky to get to do.

She thinks of casting as a tangible accomplishment that takes her from the earliest stages of a project to seeing the final result of what so many talented people have worked so hard together to achieve.

Cuba is Soderberghs go-to casting director; theyve worked together on 11 projects over the past 16 years. She doesnt default to whats fashionable or what everybody else is doing. She treats each project as a blank slate in which were building the universe, performer by performer, with the understanding that everybody who appears on screen matters.

Writer-producer-director Lana Wachowski thinks that a great casting director is in essence a great matchmaker.

Charles Dickens was incredible at naming characters; the names themselves helped make the world believable. Carmen does that for the films she works on.  Lana Wachowski

You have to understand the personality of the directors and the actors, and you have to have an instinct for whether they would be a good fit. And here is where Carmen is particularly brilliant, Wachowski wrote in an email from Seoul, where shes completing the upcoming second season of the Netflix series Sense8, which Cuba casts.

Added Wachowski: Charles Dickens was incredible at naming characters; the names themselves helped make the world believable. Carmen does that for the films she works on. The people she casts bring an added reality to the world.

Daryl Hannah  another 80s icon whose career Cuba rejuvenated  says that while she was thrilled to be brought in for Sense8, much time passed between her initial meeting and being cast. Carmen stayed in touch, [letting me know] Id be hearing from them soon. Id never had that type of communication with a casting director before.

Carmens the only casting director I know whos emailed actors directly and said, Heres what Im looking for on this next job. Do you have any talented friends who dont have agents that I should be seeing for this part? adds Hamilton, Frozen, and Glee alumnus Jonathan Groff, whom Cuba sought for HBOs Looking. At an initial audition, shell ask actors a lot about themselves to get a sense of their personality and make them feel comfortable.

Then shell work with them like a director does. She really does feel like a casting director  with emphasis on the director  because shes brilliant at making actors feel safe.

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What a treat it is to dive back into the cozy world of Bridget Jones, who is the kind of old friend you can pick up with right where you left off, no matter how long its been. Bridget Joness Baby opens with a familiar scene for our pal: Bridget (Renee Zellweger) celebrating her birthday alone to the tune of All By Myself, blowing out a candle on a single cupcake, guzzling white wine in her jammies. The pity partys over soon enough, though, as she skips the song and boogies instead to Jump Around. Has Bridget Jones gotten her groove back?

She does, in fact, have a groove, perhaps for the first time. Shes a producer on the television program Hard News, still has her great group of friends, even though theyre now all saddled with kids, and has achieved her ideal weight. But Bridgets always been one for self-improvement, so when it comes to her love life, shes is determined to make new mistakes, not old ones.

Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey), an American tech billionaire who has leveraged his match-making algorithm into a successful dating app, is the perfect new mistake, as opposed to old mistake Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), the fussbudget workaholic lawyer with whom things never worked out. Good thing Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) isnt in the picture this time around.

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 Watch the official trailer for Bridget Joness Baby, which hits theaters Sept. 16.

Bridget has a tendency to self-sabotage her romances, but biology doesnt let her off the hook this time, and at 43, she finds herself with child. Just who else is also with child in this scenario -- Jack or Mark --- is the question thats up for debate in the film.

While the neuroses of Bridget Jones have always been about bodies, Baby releases her from this anxiety and flips the script, letting Bridget reclaim the power of her own body. Weight: who cares? she types in her ubiquitous diary around Christmastime, when shes rounding the bend on nine months pregnant. She grew a human with that body.

Part of whats so refreshing about Bridget Joness Baby is that at 43, Bridget is effortlessly desirable, sexy, adventurous and, yes, adorable. The film just assumes this as fact, balancing Bridgets wryly self-deprecating inner monologue alongside the external perspective that sees her for the fetching beauty she is. Zellweger plays Bridget just as charmingly as she always has -- flawed but endearing; just right in her own idiosyncratic way.

This relatable (if somewhat aspirational) character comes not just from Zellwegers performance, but also from the assured direction of Sharon Maguire, who also helmed Bridget Joness Diary in 2001. Jones author Helen Fielding collaborated with Dan Mazer and British national treasure Emma Thompson (who also plays Bridgets OB-GYN) on the Baby script. The jokes reference beloved scenes from the first film, but it never feels like a re-hash of old material (they even manage to elicit laughs from a dated reference to Gangnam Style).

Yet it feels current because theyve allowed the character to grow. Bridgets still awkward and prone to embarrassing foibles, but shes older, wiser, comfortable in her own skin. Shockingly, it seems as though Bridget has learned to live in the moment. As Bridget Jones discovers her own kind of Zen, it makes for a third installment that proves to be v.v. satisfying.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service Critic

-------------

Bridget Joness Baby

MPAA rating: R, for language, sex references and some nudity

Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes

In general release

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 
A series of undercover sting operations to bust child-sex traffickers provides an involving, if not entirely gripping engine for The Abolitionists, a quasi-faith-based documentary from producer-directors Darrin Fletcher and Chet Thomas.

The films protagonist is Tim Ballard, a charismatic Homeland Security special agent devoted to freeing children from the bonds of sex tourism, a startlingly rampant and lucrative global industry.

The movie tracks Ballard and his specialized team of enforcers as they travel to Colombia and Haiti, posing as party guys in search of tween and teen sex partners. With the help of local law enforcement, they attempt to entrap the pimps and facilitators who enslave innocent, desperate youngsters.

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The success of Ballard and companys efforts varies here, highlighting the elusive, complex nature of this heinous business. Hidden cameras and surveillance equipment are deftly employed to capture the precarious rescue missions as well as those participants on both sides of the law.

Several teen girls are discreetly interviewed about their experiences as sex-trade victims. But as is mostly the case here, the filmmakers eschew overly explicit details and visuals, relying more on broader concepts and ghastly statistics (Every 30 seconds, a child is sold as a sex slave) to chill our bones.

Although that may help broaden the films audience, this vital, heartfelt portrait lacks the visceral gut-punch needed to fully resonate.

-------------

The Abolitionists

In English, Spanish and Haitian Creole with English subtitles

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disturbing content involving trafficking of children, and some sexual references.

Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes

Playing: Cinemark 18 & XD, Los Angeles

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 
Parents who emigrate for the sake of their children are often making a devils bargain theyre not aware of. Freedom and opportunity are doubtless there for sons and daughters, but the hidden cost can be a demoralizing social and cultural gap between the generations, a distance the insightful Fatima beautifully investigates.

Finely directed by Frances Philippe Faucon, whose films do not regularly get American distribution, and running a focused 79 minutes, Fatima was the surprise winner of that countrys 2016 Cesar for best picture (besting such favorites as Arnaud Desplechins My Golden Years and the Oscar-nominated Mustang) as well as Cesars for adapted screenplay and most promising actress for Zita Hanrot.

Part of the reason for Fatimas victory was no doubt its timeliness, with immigration and its attendant anxieties being very much the issue of the moment worldwide.

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But Fatima is noteworthy not because of its subject matter but because of the skill with which its been adapted by writer-director Faucon, who loosely based his script on Prayer to the Moon, a collection of poems and musings by an emigre named Fatima Elayoubi.

Faucon, whose own grandparents came to France without speaking the language, has a gift for artfully removing the melodrama from potentially overheated situations, leaving behind a scenario that is honest, direct and dramatic without any sense of special pleading or situations pushed too hard.

The Fatima of the title (well-played by non-professional Soria Zeroual) is a woman who immigrated to the Lyon area from Algeria. Divorced from her husband, she lives only for her two teenage daughters and the menial work as a part-time cleaner that makes their life in France and her dreams for their future possible.

The two sisters could not be more different. Eighteen-year old-Nesrine (Cesar winner Hanrot) is serious and studious, determined to let nothing get in her way as she begins the first of seven grueling years in medical school.

Her younger sibling, 15-year-old Souad (Kenza Noah Aiche), is fierce and rebellious, given to flirting with random guys on public transportation and, though she hides it from her mother as well as she can, not doing well in school at all.

We meet this trio in Fatimas opening vignette, where, accompanied by her sister and her mother, Nesrine and a friend are trying to rent an apartment near the medical school. But when the landlord sees Fatima in a head scarf, the possibility evaporates.

Giving Fatima a hard time about this and about everything in general, is Souad, who resents her mothers menial existence, bitingly calling her a living rag and saying things like, Im sick of this stupid life.

Though Nesrine is much more respectful, her life has problems as well. Shes worried that the cost of her education will be too much for her divorced parents, worried that she cant keep up with the schools demanding workload, worried about the responsibility she feels to succeed at all costs.

Fatima, who would do anything to help, finds that there are barriers. Her French is imperfect, as is her knowledge of the countrys customs and laws. That leaves her children, as she is painfully aware, almost hermetically sealed away from her in a universe she cannot access.

The mothers only consolation is her notebook, in which she writes her thoughts in lyrical Arabic that is a world away from her rudimentary French.

Though this may sound schematic, Fatima surprises you at every turn as all three women deal with the worry born of immigration that pervades each of their lives.

For one thing, the French bureaucracy, from the people who give remedial language classes to the medical establishment, are not the devils usually seen on screen but people genuinely trying to help.

And one of the biggest problems Fatima and her daughters face is not from xenophobic natives but from fellow immigrants who seem jealous of the small success the little family has achieved.

Low key though it is, Fatima has moments of real and lasting drama as well as the conviction that these stories have value. Though it may be an axiom of cinema, as director Faucon says in an interview, that a falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest, in this film he intended to tell the story of the growing forest and show just how dramatic that can be.

------------

Fatima

Not rated

In French and Arabic.

Running time: 1 hour, 19 minutes

Playing: Laemmles Royal, West Los Angeles

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 
I look like Gomer Pyle, Renee Zellweger said, staring at herself in the mirror. She fussed with the USO ballcap she was wearing, pulling it down further over her eyes.

This hat looks a little different than it did before I put it in the dryer. I left my house looking like a professional truck driver.

She laughed softly, giving up on trying to make the hat fit. She was dressed in athleisure wear, which she wears some version of every day in case she wants to pop into an impromptu spin class or go for a run on the Santa Monica beach.

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For someone who has had her appearance scrutinized in such detail in the lead-up to the release of the new Bridget Jones film, Zellweger on this August afternoon did not seem especially concerned with how she looked. Just a few weeks earlier, shed found herself the subject of a widely derided Variety column that questioned whether or not shed undergone plastic surgery.

I just hope, film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote, [her new film] turns out to be a movie that stars Renee Zellweger rather than a victim of Invasion of the Face Snatchers.

It upset me, she said, speaking just above a whisper. I could never sit down and make fun of somebody that I didnt know. I would just assume that that would be hurtful in some regard. And I have no interest in being the person who causes anybody else unnecessary pain. For any reason -- ever.

 Watch the official trailer for Bridget Joness Baby, which hits theaters Sept. 16.

At 47, Zellweger has spent the better part of the last decade fending off criticism about her looks. Much of the commentary has been directly related to her roles in the popular Bridget Jones franchise, whose long-awaited third installment opens Friday. Because the lovelorn protagonist has always struggled with her weight, the actress subsequently gained and lost pounds to play her.

Zellweger would always be asked about her weight fluctuations on Bridget press tours, and she disliked it. She found the obsession with the subject sad. So when the public started writing about her off-screen appearance too -- most notably after she attended the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards in 2014 -- she kept quiet. It was not in her nature, she said, to explain herself.

But something shifted when that Variety piece was published. She was in London at the time, finishing up dubbing work on Bridget Joness Baby. She sat down for an interview with a local journalist, who asked her opinion on the column. Afterward, she looked it up, and what she read shocked her.

So after keeping mum on the rumors for years, she decided to write an op-ed for the Huffington Post. In it, she said she did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes and implored the start of a conversation about societys fixation on physicality.

I realized, at that point, that if I didnt comment that it was going to escalate, Zellweger said of her choice to write the piece. And I was glad [the Variety critic] made the decision that he made, because it did encourage my standing up for myself and discussing some things that I find disheartening.

It was a move that was met with resounding support from her costars, including Colin Firth, who returns to his beloved role as Mark Darcy in the new Bridget film.

I think it was very good that she felt able to speak out, said Firth, who first starred with Zellweger in Bridget Joness Diary 15 years ago. No one wants to respond to gossip, and shed had a very dignified and gracious silence on the subject. But that was being exploited to further fuel it and interpreted wrongly. So good on her for making her voice heard.

1 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 2 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 3 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 4 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 5 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 6 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 7 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 8 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 9 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 10 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times) 11 / 11 Renee Zellweger (Matthew Lloyd / For The Times)

This is all, no doubt, not what Zellweger wanted to be discussing upon her return to acting after a six-year hiatus. (Her representatives, in fact, even called in advance of this interview to warn that she did not want to talk about her appearance.) After all, fans have been eagerly anticipating a new Bridget film since the last one hit theaters in 2004. In the new movie, the perennially single Bridget suddenly finds herself with a wealth of paramours. At 43, shes learned she is pregnant but doesnt know if the father is Mark Darcy or a charming American dating-site entrepreneur played by Patrick Dempsey.

Even though Zellweger has taken on a handful of other memorable roles -- Tom Cruises lover in Jerry Maguire, a Civil War-era farmer in Cold Mountain, for which she won an Oscar -- it is still Bridget Jones that she is most commonly associated with. As Bridget, Zellweger has always shined, hiding her native Texan twang in favor of a British accent and embracing the characters endearing, sometimes self-pitying high jinks.

Renee is brilliant at physical comedy. Shes like a latter-day Lucille Ball, said Sharon Maguire, who directed the first Diary and returned to the job for Baby. Bridget wears clothes that are a little bit too tight for her, so when she walked, her thighs would rub together. Renee created that walk. She has no vanity. Its almost the other way around. Ill say, Well, maybe weve gone a bit too far. Can we get her hair getting a bit nicer?

Zellweger said she never questioned signing on for a third Bridget, even though she had not acted in years before returning to London for the production. But when it comes to the forces that caused her to retreat from Hollywood for a spell, the actress is vague. She took some classes, pitched a television show and developed some projects that she did not want to elaborate on.

Im a private person, so its difficult for me to talk to the whole world like were all best friends.  Renee Zellweger

I dont want to talk about it. Its so boring, she insisted. Oh, its so boring! I think its much more interesting when people do stuff. Well just see what comes of it and maybe Ill talk about it later or something. It wasnt film-related stuff. Just different things that I had interest in when I was in college and never followed through on. And I promised myself that one day I would.

The time off, she allowed, did give her new perspective and gratitude for her career.

Its hard to find that gratitude when youve exhausted yourself, she said. She paused, dissatisfied with her use of exhausted.

That sounds so lame, she continued. I think of my dad, and if hed ever said he was just really tired of working a lot. He would drive two hours to and from work every day so that we could live in a really good school district. I guess I look at it a little differently. I didnt get tired of working. I was just working at different things, you know?

Growing up in Katy, Texas, Zellweger learned a lot from her parents. Her father worked as an engineer in the oil refinery business, and her mother was a governess. It was from them, she said, that she observed she was not to discuss her private matters: Dont hang your laundry on the lawn, so to speak.

Its maybe why shes so often described as uncomfortable during interviews. She isnt leery of the press, she said, but she does find it challenging to open up. She will often give short answers and doesnt seem to find herself as interesting as the public does.

Im a private person, so its difficult for me to talk to the whole world like were all best friends, she said. And I often find myself making up opinions about things that Ive never thought of before on the spot because I feel like I ought to be accommodating.  I mean, I understand that you would interview politicians because you need to understand where theyre coming from and what their perspectives are because theyre going to shape a nation. But me? Its very sweet. Its very flattering. Its just difficult.

But she said she will not be embarking on another self-imposed acting hiatus anytime soon. There are still plenty of roles shed like to tackle -- maybe something like Sigourney Weavers self-assured Ellen Ripley in Alien, she said. Something that shows off how tough shes become.

Im not saying I dont cry, she said. But your skin just gets thicker, doesnt it? I dont really have a choice.

amy.kaufman@latimes.com

Twitter: @AmyKinLA

Find me on Twitter @AmyKinLA

amy.kaufman@latimes.com
While transgender people are undoubtedly experiencing unprecedented visibility in Hollywood, theyve always been mainstays on screens large and small. This is the takeaway from the TransNation Festival, which on Thursday announced the lineup for its four-day event in October. Meant to celebrate transgender artistic and cultural achievements, the festival will screen films including 1967s The Queen and 1978s In a Year With 13 Moons as well as the recently premiered documentaries Free Cece and Major!

Beginning Oct. 20, TransNation will feature more than 20 films representing an almost-50-year span of trans presence in Hollywood. The goal is to not only uplift trans people but also to educate and galvanize the general public to support an underserved population. It will include a film festival, art exhibition and beauty pageant.

The festival is slated to benefit Los Angeles-based organizations that provide services to transgender people, including St. Johns Well Child and Family Center, whose transgender health program staff created the event. St. Johns program is one of the largest in the country. Proceeds will also go to the Imperial Court of Los Angeles and Hollywoods Nicole Murray Ramirez Scholarship Fund.

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Zackary Drucker, an Emmy-nominated producer for the docu-series This Is Me, producer of Amazons award-winning Transparent and a cast member on I Am Cait, is serving as guest curator of the film portion, which will take place at the Cinefamily Cinematheque in Hollywood. She said the festival would encapsulate a range of filmmaking including vintage films that have not been situated in the realm of trans representation in cinema as well as new content by trans folks.

On the older side of films, the documentary The Queen and drama In a Year With 13 Moons represent rare and underseen repertory trans pictures. The Queen, by Frank Simon, is the precursor to Paris Is Burning, featuring the drag queens of the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant in New York. It documents the pageant as well as contestant conversations about sexual identity and racism. In a Year With 13 Moons, written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, is about the last days of a fictional trans woman named Elvira.

Of the newer films, Free Cece  which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival earlier this year -- is about the case of Cece McDonald, a black transgender woman who was sentenced to a male prison after, in defending herself against a physical attack, she killed a man. Its directed by Jac Gares and executive produced by Orange Is the New Blacks Laverne Cox. And Major! is a documentary about transgender icon Miss Major Griffin-Gracy from co-director Annalise Ophelian. It won the Outfest Los Angeles audience documentary award as well as a special mention by the judges, who praised the film for its depiction of undying activism. Griffin-Gracy is a Stonewall riots veteran who has been advocating on behalf of the trans community for more than 40 years.

TransNations events include:

Oct. 20

Major!, followed by a Q&A with directors Annalise Ophelian and StormMiguel Florez

The Contortionist, directed by Greer Lankton

Female Trouble, directed by John Waters

Oct. 21

Industry panel featuring Geena Rocero and Allison Hoffman in conversation with Zackary Drucker

La Visita, directed by Mauricio Lopez Fernandez

The Queen, directed by Frank Simon

Something Must Break, directed by Ester Martin Bergsmark

Oct. 23

In a Year With 13 Moons, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Free Cece, followed by Q&A with director Jac Gares

Holly Woodlawn Tribute

TransNation Festival

When: Oct. 20 to 23

Where: Cinefamily Cinematheque, 611 N. Fairfax Ave.

Cost: $12-$14

More info: TransNationFestival.org.

Get your life! Follow me on Twitter: @TrevellAnderson.
Over 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims are performing the hajj this year

The number of Egyptian pilgrims who died of natural causes during the hajj in Saudi Arabia reached 35 cases Thursday, state news agency MENA reported.

The deceased pilgrims will be buried in Saudi Arabia, after Egyptian authorities consulted with their families, the news agency added, quoting the head of Egypt's Hajj mission Said Maher.

Over 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims are performing the hajj this year.

The hajj and the lesser umrah pilgrimages bring millions of Muslims to Saudi Arabia from around the globe every year.

The death of pilgrims due to heat exhaustion, fatigue and other natural causes is a regular occurrence on the hajj.

Fatal crowd stampedes are also common due to the high number of people along the pilgrimage route.

Saudi authorities have undertaken new safety measures after more than 2,000 died in a stampede last year including pilgrims wearing electronic safety bracelets.

One of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj is considered an obligation by all Muslims who can afford the costly and difficult trip at least once in a lifetime.

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From Tommy Hilfigers pier-a-palooza packed with carnival rides and an onsite tattoo parlor to Michael Kors spring 2017 collection unfurling around a Rufus Wainwright micro-concert, this round of New York Fashion Week shows has seen fashion brands go to great lengths to turn the once cookie-cutter runway show presentation into something more along the lines of a once-in-a-lifetime, buzz-worthy fashion happening. Partly a bid for eyeballs in the era of the live-streamed runway show and partly a bid for the wallets behind those eyeballs in the era of consumer-facing, see now/buy now, fashion shows, its resulted in some over-the-top, one-of-a-kind experiences unfolding over the last week and a half. Here are some highlights.

Pier Pressure

The PVH-owned Tommy Hilfiger label set a pretty high bar in the fashion extravaganza department with its high-profile, two-day takeover of Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport. The temporarily renamed Tommy Pier was a massive, immersive exercise in steroid-level lifestyle branding that included a Sept. 9 see now/buy now in-season runway show (featuring Tommy Hilfiger womens pieces as well as a collaborative collection with model Gigi Hadid) set against a backdrop that included a 40-foot Ferris wheel and a Tornado ride, tattoo parlor, on-site pop-up shops selling new and vintage Hilfiger items, and an assortment of fairground food that included burgers, lobster rolls, hot dogs and deep-fried mozzarella sticks.

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And, just in case a carnival-flanked, nautical-themed runway show with Taylor Swift in a front row wasnt enough to generate buzz, Tommy Pier was open to the general public for an eight-hour stretch the next day.

#Wangfest

It wasnt Alexander Wangs spring/summer 2017 runway show at the cavernous Pier 94 that took things to a whole new level as much as what happened immediately afterward  the surprise debut of his collaborative collection with Adidas Originals. It was revealed first in a grainy video projected on the wall, then by the all-black collection hitting the runway en masse and finally with the back wall of the venue disappearing altogether to reveal pop-up trucks crammed with merchandise, a stage (upon which a handful of acts  including Skrillex  would perform during the course of the evening), a mobile McDonalds mounted on an 18-wheeler, a 7-Eleven Slurpee truck pouring into custom plastic cups emblazoned with the hashtag #WANGFEST and an arcade-style claw game filled with products from Nars Cosmetics. The real genius of the #WANGFEST, though was that it not only created an indelible memory, but it did so in a way that organically included the bashs sponsor brands which, you guessed it, included McDonalds, 7-Eleven and Nars.

Carrie Brownstein, left, Natasha Lyonne and Fred Armisen at Opening Ceremonys Pageant of the People on Sept. 11 during New York Fashion Week. (JP Yim / Getty Images )

Purposeful Pageantry

Opening Ceremony was a pioneer in the fashion-tainment space two years ago when founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim commissioned Spike Jonze and Jonah Hill to write a one-act play to showcase the spring/summer 2015 collection. (The result, 100% Lost Cotton, was performed on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House.) This season they recruited the Portlandia duo of Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen to host a Pageant of the People at Javits Center.

Inspired by the American immigrant experience, the event consisted of asking a cavalcade of celebrity participants  among them Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Lyonne and Rashida Jones  beauty-pageant-type questions like: What is it to be an American? or What inspires you to be a participant? interspersed with runway looks from the fall II/winter collection accompanied by Brownstein and Armisens free-form badinage (things such as This model is completely CGI or These dresses will be for sale in two years).

The evening ended with Humberto and Lim taking to the stage to urge participation in the political process  and pointing out that theyd partnered with Rock the Vote to provide on-site voter registration. (The only downside, from a practical standpoint, was that the clothes everyone was ostensibly there to see ended up overshadowed.)

Musician Rufus Wainwright, left, with Michael Kors at the fashion designers spring 2017 runway show on Sept. 14. (JP Yim / Getty Images )

A Kors Micro-Concert

While Michael Kors live-streamed spring 2017 runway show looked and felt like an old-school runway show, he had a little help in the soundtrack department thanks to Rufus Wainwright, who, accompanied by a six-piece band, performed a four-song set to accompany the collection. Wainwright ended his micro-concert with a rendition of the Judy Garland classic Get Happy that had fashion editors tapping their toes and taking nearly as many photos of the Kors-clad crooner as they had of the clothes that came down the catwalk.

Where the exercise in experiential fashion branding ends remains to be seen, but based on the past weeks experiences alone, were pretty sure that if it can be Tweeted, Instagrammed or Snapchatted, some fashion designer somewhere is working on a way to sell clothes around it.

 Tommy Hilfiger runway finale on Sept. 9, 2016.

For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me @ARTschorn.

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The nerve center of Nevadas Democratic Party was abuzz with activity, like a dorm room full of grown-ups cramming for the Big Exam.

Dozens of campaign workers, arrayed around a hodgepodge of old furniture, tapped at their laptop computers and murmured into cell phones, a cardboard cut-out of Hillary Clinton standing sentry in the midst of the well-worn office suite.

A few miles away, in a sleek industrial park, Donald Trumps recently opened headquarters sat shiny and new and largely empty on a recent midday afternoon.

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A riot of red, white and blue campaign signs, several arranged to form a big T, overlooked tidy rows of vacant tables and unfilled chairs, like advertisements in a showroom awaiting its first customers.

Nevada is the presidential campaigns westernmost battleground and one of the most competitive states in the country, with polls suggesting a hairs breadth between Trump and Clinton.

It is also a proving ground for two vastly different approaches to winning the White House.

Here, as elsewhere, Clinton is relying on the grind-it-out mechanics of intensive organization, marrying computer algorithms and data-driven metrics to the old-fashioned practice of door-knocking, phone-banking and targeted messaging.

Her campaign is bolstered by one of the most formidable state parties in the country  built in the service of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid  a confederation of powerful labor unions and layers of free-spending Democratic interest groups. Guiding the effort is a group of campaign veterans practiced at scratching out tough victories in closely fought contests.

Trump, for the most part, has Trump.

It is almost as though Trump has stolen a line from Hollywoods Field of Dreams and turned it on its head: Dont build it, and they will come anyway.

The Nevada Republican Party is in shambles. The GOP nominee has been shunned by the state party establishment, including popular two-term Gov. Brian Sandoval, and spurned by Nevadas best and most experienced Republican strategists.

Trumps turnout operation, to the degree it exists, is piggybacked on the efforts of the national party and allies working in the states neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race and two House races in the Las Vegas area.

It is almost as though Trump, who mocks political convention, has stolen a line from Hollywoods Field of Dreams and turned it on its head: Dont build it, and they will come anyway.

We have an absolutely unreal amount of enthusiasm, said Charles Munoz, a California transplant and Trumps Nevada state director, who is running his first political campaign.

He predicted an overwhelming turnout of angry and frustrated voters  the kind who dont need prodding to the polls  that will shock people and turn Nevada from Democratic blue to Republican red for the first time since George W. Bush narrowly won the state in 2004.

You know that term the silent majority? Munoz said. Theres a lot of that.

Clintons organizational advantage here is not unusual. A survey by PBS NewsHour of the 15 most competitive states  Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina among them  found the Democrat with more than three times the number of field offices as Trump, who is also being vastly outspent on the television airwaves.

The disparity is unlike any in presidential politics since at least 1972, when President Nixon outspent Democrat George McGovern 2-to-1 on the way to a 49-state landslide. (Clinton, though, has nothing like the consistently massive lead that Nixon enjoyed in polls.)

Trump is convinced his way  big rallies, a provocative Twitter feed, an unending stream of controversial remarks that command hours of free TV time  is the winning way. Data-driven campaigning, he has said, is overrated.

He need look no further than Nevada to make his case.

Rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz both commanded superior organizations heading into the states February caucuses. Trump not only crushed the two senators, he won more votes than all four Republican candidates running in 2012 combined.

Once a GOP stronghold, Nevada has been on the leading edge of political transformation in the Mountain West, as a large and growing Latino population gathers strength and boosts Democrats presidential prospects. Clinton figured to be a heavy favorite, given her familys political history in the state  her husband, Bill, carried it twice  President Obamas consecutive victories and the assets Reid and his allies placed at her disposal.

Hillary Clintons campaign is relying on the grind-it-out mechanics of intensive organization married to the latest in data-driven technology. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images )

But Nevada still possesses a strong and stubborn anti-Washington streak, which has played to Trumps considerable advantage. In some places, Clintons long and impressive resume  first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of State  may be seen as top-notch training for the presidency.

In this state that amounts to, Oh, good, were going to have more of the D.C. crowd running the show, said Billy Vassiliadis, a longtime Democratic strategist and Clinton supporter.

Nevadas demographics  the state has one of the countrys highest percentages of people without college degrees, a core Trump constituency  also helps the Republican nominee.

Few things, however, have done more to set the terms of the presidential contest than the continued overhang of the Great Recession, which devastated Nevada like nowhere else. The state suffered the highest unemployment in the country and for months led the nation in home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies.

By objective measures, the state has bounced back smartly. Nevada is now one of the countrys leaders in job growth, having recovered nearly all the positions lost during the epic downturn. Employment in the Las Vegas area is at an all-time high, and the states construction industry, which flat-lined for several years, is growing at a brisk pace.

But those indices fail to measure the psychological toll, said Elliott Parker, who teaches economics at the University of Nevada in Reno, or the fact many Nevadans, although back to work, are making less money than they once did or living in homes still worth less than their outstanding mortgages.

Things are better, but compared to what? Parker asked. Certainly not compared to the kind of growth we were seeing before the Great Recession.

Clintons biggest advantage is a 6-percentage-point edge in Democratic registration and the way Trump has deeply antagonized the partys base of women, black and Latino voters. Their robust support is vital, which makes the Democratic get-out-the-vote operation key: In 2014, when turnout hit a record low, Republicans won every statewide office and seized control of the Legislature for the first time since the 1920s.

Its the task of Democrats to make sure that they are driving, cajoling, urging those key voter groups to the polls, Vassiliadis said. If they dont, she loses.

Last week, Democrats opened state field office No. 14 in a strip mall in Henderson, just outside Las Vegas. More than 100 people crammed into the space between Supercuts and a Rubios fish taco restaurant, and 50 or more spilled onto the concrete patio in 100-degree heat.

Candidates for Congress and the Legislature mocked Trump, his hyperbolic rhetoric and regard for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they invoked Clintons slogan Stronger Together. A Clinton staffer led the crowd in a chant of battle born, battle tested, riffing on Nevadas state motto.

Five campaign workers then circulated through the crowd, clipboard in hand, signing up volunteers to staff phone banks, walk precincts and hit the streets to register voters.

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The father and stepmother of former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon were found dead Wednesday as a result of a possible murder-suicide in the racers Orange home.

The bodies of Robert Gordon, 68, and his wife, Sharon Gordon, 57, were discovered at 5 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Kennymead Street, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Department.

Sharon Gordon was strangled to death and Robert Gordon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Orange Police Department.

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Outside the home Thursday, Robby Gordon fought back tears as he told reporters that he would explain what happened once the coroner says he can.

The truth will come out what went down there, he said.

Few details about the couples death have been released, but Orange Police Lt. Fred Lopez said family members asked a neighbor to check on the couple Wednesday because they couldnt reach them. The neighbor entered the home and discovered the bodies.

Property records show Robby Gordon, 47, owns the home.

I grew up on this property my whole life, he said. I learned everything about motorsports out in this tiny little barn over here.

Motorsports wasnt his fathers only passion, Robby Gordon said. He also had a love of horse racing, which started off in Los Alamitos.

He told me at a young age that One horsepower wasnt going to be enough, go do something different,  he said.

So Robby Gordon did.

I am completely shocked, said Tim Cecil, a friend of the Gordon family. I am very sad for the family. Its extremely heartbreaking.

Cecil has known Robert Gordon and his son for more than 20 years and raced with the elder Gordon. He met the father and son while working in the off-road racing scene.

Cecil, who owns a sign and graphics company, created stickers and graphics for the familys racing ventures.

He described Robert and Sharon Gordon as a nice couple who were always fun to hang out with.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, Cecil said.

Robby Gordon, who won fame racing in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, now participates in off-road vehicle competitions, such as the Baja 500 and the Dakar Rally.

Known as Baja Bob Gordon, his father competed in off-road racing. His sister, Beccy Gordon Hunter-Reay, is also an off-road racer. According to her husbands social media accounts, she gave birth to a boy Wednesday.

Her husband, Ryan Hunter-Reay, is a professional race car driver and won the Indianapolis 500 in 2014.

Robby Gordon told reporters that he and his three sisters were devastated.

Its going to be tough on all of us, he told reporters. Im so sad and I cant believe it.

The NASCAR community sent their condolences to the Gordon family.

NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Twitter that he was praying for Robby Gordon and Gordon Hunter-Reay.

Praying for friends @RobbyGordon @BeccyGordon and the Gordon family during this difficult time. Hope they find strength and support.   Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) September 15, 2016

Heartbreaking news this morning. Thinking of the Gordon family and friends.#BajaBob pic.twitter.com/N4N1Ux17Ke  Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) September 15, 2016

My heart goes out to @BeccyGordon and @RobbyGordon today.... Thoughts and prayers for you and your family.  Casey Mears (@CJMearsGang) September 15, 2016

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

ALSO:

Boy, 11, found dead in Echo Park closet weighed just 34 pounds

Man is killed and woman is injured in Long Beach shooting; man is arrested, police say

He was deported 4 times. His wife is accused of helping him flee to Mexico. Now, she faces 10 years in prison

UPDATES:

6:55 p.m.: This article was updated with the couples death investigated as a possible murder-suicide.

1:15 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Robby Gordon.

10:45 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from a friend of the Gordon family.

10:05 a.m.: This article was updated with reaction from the NASCAR community.

8:44 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information from police.

8:05 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information from the Orange County Sheriffs Department.

This article was originally published at 6:50 a.m.
For decades, environmentalists have rhapsodized about the tranquil beauty of Californias deserts while battling fiercely with energy companies, the government and within their own ranks over what if any power production should occur on those sun-baked, wind-blown, geothermally active expanses of land.

On Wednesday, U.S. Interior Department officials signed a blueprint that they touted as a finely tuned effort to balance conservation of Californias iconic desert landscapes with the states growing hunger for clean energy in the age of climate change.

Eight years in the making, the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan implicitly recognizes that green energy can be environmentally destructive.

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Weve all come together in a way that is a path forward for the rest of the nation  Interior Secretary Sally Jewell

It puts 9.2 million acres of federal land in the California desert off limits to solar, wind and geothermal development, while steering renewable projects to less ecologically valuable areas on about 800,000 acres, with a particular emphasis on roughly half that land.

Projects proposed for Development Focus Areas would enjoy streamlined permitting. Energy development would also be possible on other lands, totaling more than 400,000 acres, but without streamlining.

Increasing the amount of renewable energy produced on federal lands has been a key part of the Obama administrations climate change policies, which seek to cut fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.

You are the epicenter of that here in the Southern California desert, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told federal, state, local and tribal officials who had gathered at a signing ceremony in Palm Desert. Weve all come together in a way that is a path forward for the rest of the nation.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who has successfully shepherded major desert protection acts, praised the blueprint.

The deserts sweeping desert vistas and rugged mountain terrain provide vital refuge for everything from bighorn sheep and desert tortoises to Joshua Trees and Native American artifacts. The desert likewise holds great potential for utility-scale renewable energy, Feinstein said in a statement. We must ensure that the proper balance is struck.

Several environmental groups also lauded the announcement.

This plan is a thoughtful and balanced blueprint for the future of the California desert, said Dan Smuts, senior regional director for the Wilderness Society. It provides a model for the entire nation by addressing the urgent need for clean energy while protecting important lands for wildlife and plants.

At least one organization, the Center for Biological Diversity, faulted the Interior Department for not adopting stronger protections. While the document permanently conserves about 2.8 million acres, other lands could be opened to energy development under future plans, warned Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist with the center.

The blueprint, which was the subject of more than 16,000 comments and nearly a dozen public hearings, marks the first part of an effort to map renewable energy development on 22 million acres of the California desert.

The next phase will deal with private holdings in seven desert counties. To date, three counties have pegged 326,750 acres for renewables on nonfederal lands.

The push for renewables by the federal government and California has put the states sprawling desert lands in the cross hairs.

Wind turbines, solar panels and geothermal plants are essentially industrial facilities that can kill birds en masse and scrape the desert floor clean of vegetation as well as all the creatures that depend on it.

Some conservation groups have complained that the desert -- a place of spare charms that not all appreciate -- has been turned into a sacrifice zone in the war to slow climate change.

The Ivanpah solar plant west of Las Vegas, for example, is a magnet for insects and the birds that feast on them. Federal biologists say about 6,000 birds a year die from crashes or immolation while chasing flying insects around the facilitys three 40-story towers, which catch sunlight from five square miles of garage-door-size mirrors to drive the plants power-producing turbines.

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

Twitter: @boxall
Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson said Thursday that he has chosen himself to temporarily manage the San Fernando Valley district that had been represented by Felipe Fuentes.

Wesson, whose own council district stretches from Koreatown to South Los Angeles, will oversee services in the northeast Valley for the next six to eight months, depending on when the contest to replace Fuentes is decided.

The decision leaves Wesson responsible for an array of issues  trash pickup, sidewalk repairs and graffiti removal, to name a few  for twice as many constituents, or around 500,000 people. It also could require his involvement in the contentious issue of where to place a high-speed rail route.

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Wesson planned to meet with Fuentes former staffers on Friday. He said in an interview that Fuentes former constituents deserve to have a council member working on their behalf until voters pick a permanent replacement.

It is important to make the folks within the district feel there is an elected person that they can reach out to, he said.

Fuentes resigned from the council Sunday to become a lobbyist, departing nearly 10 months early.

Although Wesson will oversee operations in two districts, he will continue to have only one vote on the council, said his spokeswoman, Vanessa Rodriguez. He also will not receive additional compensation, she said.

Serving constituents in the Valley, even for a short period, could enhance Wessons political profile, helping him should he run for citywide office. But it could also produce headaches if Valley residents conclude that their needs arent being met, said Dermot Givens, a political consultant based in Hollywood.

Those neighborhood councils out there are very contentious and very active, Givens said. He better be on top of it. Because if hes not, hes going to get all the blame.

Wessons district has the multi-story office towers of Koreatown on one end and the African American cultural hub of Leimert Park on the other. Fuentes former district, by contrast, sits next to the Angeles National Forest and is known for its foothills and horse trails.

On the west are the heavily Latino neighborhoods of Sylmar and Pacoima. On the east is Sunland-Tujunga, where residents are so skeptical of development that they succeeded in stopping a Home Depot from opening a decade ago.

Givens described the two districts as worlds apart, both politically and geographically. Wesson, however, said residents in both districts have the same demands of City Hall: trees that are trimmed, roads that are fixed and parks that are properly maintained.

They may want it at a different level or a different pace, but usually the wants, needs and desires are pretty similar, he said.

Wessons decision was unusual for City Hall. In previous years, a little-known city department  the chief legislative analysts office  has been assigned to serve as caretaker when a council seat is vacant.

When a council member steps down early, city lawmakers have the power under the City Charter to fill the vacant seat temporarily or call a special election. Wesson ruled out a special election last month, in part to spare taxpayers the extra cost.

Fielding complaints from double the number of constituents will be a challenge, said former Councilman Richard Alarcon, whom Fuentes replaced in 2013.

Its a heavy lift, no question about it, Alarcon added. But if there is one person on the council who has the expertise to lift heavy tasks, its Herb.

The campaign to replace Fuentes already has 24 candidates, according to a preliminary candidate list on the Ethics Commission website. If no one gets a majority of votes in the March primary election, a runoff will be held two months later.

Wesson said he wants the winner to be installed ahead of July 1, to give the district elected representation as quickly as possible. The proposal will be introduced on Friday, Rodriguez said.

Lydia Grant, a neighborhood activist who lives in Lake View Terrace, said she hopes Wesson will reverse some of the actions taken by Fuentes over the last three years. One was his decision to push the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council out of a city building, she said.

Wesson may be able to undo some of those things that were done wrong, Grant said. So it actually could be beneficial.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

Twitter: @DavidZahniser

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UPDATES:

5:50 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reporting.

This article was originally posted at 11 a.m.
Already plagued by years of drought and a beetle infestation that has reduced millions of trees to kindling, California is facing yet another problem as it enters the brunt of wildfire season: a dwindling roster of prison inmates who can battle blazes.

The gap is due largely to Californias controversial realignment law, which mandates that inmates convicted of non-serious, nonviolent and non-sexual offenses serve time in county jails rather than in state prisons.

As a result, the pool of eligible firefighting inmates has been shrinking.

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Weve just had to scramble harder to find inmates we can get, said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. We still have to be selective about the inmates we choose.

Traditionally, prison inmates have accounted for at least 20% of the states wildfire fighting force and are paid just $2 a day when theyre working but not actually fighting a fire.

Currently, the state has 4,300 budgeted positions for inmates, but only 3,800 to 3,900 have been filled each year since realignment took effect in 2011, Sessa said.

Very nearly all of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection teams that dig containment lines around wildfires are made up of prison crews, and in major blazes, they are also called upon to help the U.S. Forest Service.

While the state corrections department has contracted with a dozen counties to pull firefighting inmates from county jails  including those in Los Angeles County  it still hasnt been able to fill all the vacancies.

In response to the shortfall, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service have turned to the California Conservation Corps.

In our eyes theres no difference in the work force, said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. As realignment continues to be rolled out here, were working closely with a number of agencies and thinking outside the box, making sure we have individuals who are in top shape and who are ready to work the fire lines.

After years of drought and a devastating bark beetle infestation that has killed tens of millions of trees across California, state and federal forests are primed for fast-spreading fires. Crews creating containment lines  for which they use chainsaws and other cutting tools to scrape swaths of land of any vegetation  are vital to the effort, Berlant said.

The California Conservation Corps has bodies to offer, albeit at a higher cost.

There are about 1,400 corps members, the overwhelming majority of whom do work that requires little training, like setting up or tearing down a fire camp and rolling up hoses, said corps spokeswoman Susanne Levitsky.

But only a fraction of the group  only 114 last year  are trained in firefighting like the inmates.

The firefighting is a big sell for the young people who may be pursuing a career, Levitsky said.

The groups tongue-in-cheek motto is: Hard work, low pay  and miserable conditions.

So far this year, the corps has trained 89 additional members in firefighting and plans to add more over the next two years, she said. The group opened up a camp in Butte County for the first time in years and expects to add more locations by 2018, she said.

Were happy to bolster their shortage, Levitsky said. Its a great opportunity for our people.

But using civilians is also more expensive. A civilian assigned to a fire and working a containment line is paid $10 an hour  the state minimum wage. An inmate with the same assignment is paid $2 an hour. If an inmate is not assigned to a fire, he or she is doing more general preventative work, such as clearing flood channels and hiking paths, Sessa said.

To boost the number of inmate volunteers, the the corrections department is showing prisoners a video highlighting the benefits of the work. Instead of receiving one day off their sentence for every day served in prison, firefighting inmates receive two days credit, Sessa said. Though the pay seems miniscule to civilians, it can help inmates pay restitution to a victim, Sessa said.

There are 1,500 new inmates being reviewed for the fire crews, Sessa said. But not everyone who is eligible will be assigned.

You can have two inmates in prison for the same reason, but you can look at their behavior in prison and say Im going to pick A but pass on B, he said.

Inmates ineligible for the program include anyone above minimum custody status, violent offenders, documented gang members, inmates with pending felony cases or warrants, inmates with medical, psychiatric or dental issues and inmates with a high profile due to their case or conduct in prison.

The department aims to pick inmates with five or six years left on their sentence to minimize turnover since inmates are assigned until theyve completed their sentence, Sessa said.

But if all of this isnt enough to fill the vacancies, Sessa said, there are internal discussions taking place on what changes, if any, could be proposed to boost the ranks. The changes would include changing the criteria of the inmates selected, he said.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
An ominous cloud of smoke that rose from the City National Tower in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday was caused by a kitchen fire, officials said.

A Twitter user shared a photo Thursday morning of smoke coming out of the building on Flower Street and said: That doesnt look good.

https://twitter.com/28Loki/status/776480736081645568

The Los Angeles Fire Department quickly took to Twitter to assure everyone that it was only a small fire. They received the call at about 10:58 a.m. and determined the fire was in a restaurant in the food court, fire officials said.

Firefighters were there about 15 minutes and there were no reported injuries.

The City National Tower, along with its twin Paul Hastings Tower, make up what is now known as City National Plaza. The properties were originally called ARCO Plaza.

https://twitter.com/LAFD/status/776487544976396288

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @brittny_mejia
Immigration officials have deported Jose Vega-Zuniga four times, but hes always returned, and usually landed behind bars.

But a recent DUI arrest culminated in a federal conviction this summer that carried up to 20 years in prison. So, prosecutors allege, he left of his own accord.

Days after a federal judge issued a warrant for his arrest, Vega-Zuniga, 38, crossed the border near San Diego, sitting in the front passenger seat as his wife drove her pickup into Mexico, prosecutors said.

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On Wednesday, nearly a month after the brazen escape, federal authorities arrested his wife, Elba Soto, at her Moreno Valley home, according to the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles.

U.S. Atty. Eileen M. Decker blasted Soto for taking her husband to Mexico so he could dodge his prison sentence.

If these allegations are proven, the defendant knowingly assisted a convicted felon avoid justice, Decker said in a statement.

The case began May 26, when immigration authorities learned that Vega-Zuniga was arrested in Riverside County on suspicion of driving under the influence.

During an interview with a federal agent, Vega-Zuniga admitted to illegally reentering the U.S. in 2011. He had been deported four times between 2000 and 2008, according to court papers.

The deportations usually coincided with the end of a prison term: Vega-Zuniga was sentenced to two years in state prison after being convicted of heroin trafficking in 1998. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2000 for illegally entering the U.S. In 2007, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in Riverside County, receiving another two-year prison term.

Federal prosecutors charged him with a count of unlawfully entering the U.S. after prior deportation and he pleaded guilty Aug. 3. He was also convicted of the DUI charge.

With his sentencing set for October, the Mexican national was allowed to remain free on $100,000 bond, according to court papers, but he was ordered to wear a GPS bracelet.

Prosecutors allege he removed the GPS monitoring device on or about Aug. 7, and Soto took the device to a pretrial services office. She said her husband was missing and she did not know his whereabouts, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald issued a warrant for Vega-Zunigas arrest. On Aug. 18, Soto allegedly drove her Ford F-150 truck through the Otay Mesa border crossing, according to court papers.

Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed Soto behind the wheel and Vega-Zuniga sitting in the front passenger seat, prosecutors said.

Under questioning by a U.S. marshal, Soto said she traveled to Mexico with her children. She insisted her husband was not in the car, according to court papers.

After her arrest, Soto appeared in a federal courtroom in Riverside on Wednesday afternoon. A judge ordered her held without bond.

Meanwhile, Vega-Zuniga remains at large and is believed to be in Mexico, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office.

Vega-Zuniga faces up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, Soto faces 10 years in federal lockup.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

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First the mayor accused a councilman of withholding money from the city. Then the city clerk accused the mayor of wrongfully cutting an item from the agenda. Then all five Maywood council members and the clerk got served with recall petitions as the meeting degenerated into wild jeers and thunderous applause.

And that was before the clown showed up.

Where do you come from? someone asked Edwin Thomas Snell, who wore a pink, curly wig, jumbo neon green glasses and a red nose.

Your mothers house, the sassy clown replied. Now the meeting is a circus, one man yelled as the riled-up crowd laughed.

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It took just 30 minutes for Wednesday nights Maywood City Council meeting to devolve into the latest bit of theater in a city thats struggled with financial issues and political infighting.

But in this case, much of the tumult seemed to arise from a case of political reefer madness: Many people who showed up were there to speak for or against a proposed amendment to the citys zoning codes that would permit marijuana dispensaries to set up shop in a tiny town of just over one square mile.

In an often vain effort to restore order, Mayor Ramon Medina spent the night banging a gavel.

The gavel is going to break, Jose Gaxeola, 65, exclaimed.

At one point, Medina seemed to run out of the energy needed to pound the wooden hammer, and few could hear him speak over the loud chants of recall and fuera (out).

Lt. Sam Arellano of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department had to try to reclaim calm at least seven times during the meeting, reminding people not to interrupt speakers.

Its the responsibility and duty of the mayor to control the crowd, he said. But sometimes we have to help.

The standing room only crowd often broke into shouting matches. Some residents held signs of a pot plant crossed over with the words No Marijuana.

Sara Mesa, 32, a Maywood resident, was among those who disapproved of the measure.

We voted for you guys to be here and represent us, and youre clearly not paying attention to what the people are saying, she said. We dont want that trash in our city.

Julio Sanchez, 36, who is suffering from Stage 2 testicular cancer and recently moved to Maywood, said he supported the measure. He said cannabis helps him manage his pain.

It helps my well-being, Sanchez said.

Despite the number of speakers who opposed the measure, the council voted in favor of it. Some residents immediately began to chant Recall, recall.

All we need now is for the dead politicians to come back and try to reclaim their seats, said Gustavo Pantoja, 65.

Standing nearby, Jose Guevera, 58, said he was an independent spectator at the meeting. He said he came to figure out whether the city council would move forward with the measure.

I was concerned because I have grandchildren that go to school here, he said.

Both men said they were not surprised by how the meeting fell into disarray, noting that Maywood has a history of politically testy meetings.

A speaker addresses the Maywood City Council on Wednesday evening. The meeting devolved into the latest bit of theater in a city thats struggled with financial issues and political infighting. (Ruben Vives / Los Angeles Times)

The meeting ended shortly after 10 p.m. By then, fewer than a dozen people remained in the council chamber.

Councilman Thomas Martin left the room before a reporter could ask questions about the recall notice. Councilman Sergio Calderon said he hadnt looked at it and didnt know what to say.

Mayor Pro Tem Eduardo De La Riva and City Clerk Gerardo Mayagoitia said they believed that they received the recall notices because they have been vocal critics of the council majority.

Me and Eddie have been a team, and the fact that the mayor and the new council majority have understood that we have been working together, of course theyre going to recall me, Mayagoitia said.

According to the recall notices for De La Riva and Mayagoitia, the grounds for the recall is that they refused to accept responsibility for their actions.

On the other side, Medina, the mayor, said he wasnt surprised to receive a recall notice. Ill just keep going until we do things right.

As for Councilman Ricardo Villarreal, he had a more simple answer: Im just going with the flow.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.
The boy in the closet weighed 34 pounds.

When police officers removed the mirrored doors behind which Yonatan Daniel Aguilar had died hours earlier, they found a crumpled blanket on the ground, obscuring his emaciated body  pale and stiff, curled in a fetal position, with cuts on his face.

One officer lifted a corner of the blanket and two cockroaches crawled out. The child was so tiny that officers thought maybe he was 6 years old or so. But he was 11.

Details about the condition of Yonatans body when it was found last month in his Echo Park home were disclosed in more than 100 pages of heavily-redacted case records and police reports released to The Times by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services this week.

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The records show that Yonatans risk of abuse at home had been marked as high four times from 2009 to 2012 by a county program intended to guide social workers level of intervention.

The boys family had been the subject of six prior reports to DCFS, according to the departments director, Philip L. Browning. Two reports in 2002 predated Yonatans birth and involved at least one of his three older siblings.

His mother, Veronica Aguilar, 39, pleaded not guilty last week to charges of murder and child abuse resulting in Yonatans death.

The departments involvement with Yonatan began in October 2009, after a school nurse called the police because he had several 2- and 3-inch scratches on his face, case records show. Yonatan, then 4, told a police officer his mother was angry at him for getting in trouble at school and that she had slapped and scratched him.

Aguilar, denied hitting her son and said he might have gotten the scratches because he sleeps on the floor, according to the familys case file.

Social workers calculated the familys risk with a computer program that is meant to take statistical information to help guide their level of intervention. The program, known as Structured Decision Making, uses a list of multiple choice questions to collect information. The program scored Yonatans risk of abuse as high in 2009 and recommended that social workers promote the report about the boy to an open case, records show.

Social workers declined to open a case, saying the allegations of physical abuse were inconclusive. Aguilar, they said, denied slapping or scratching her son, was actively involved in her kids school and agreed to take parenting classes, records show.

Officials with the Los Angeles Police Departments Juvenile Division told The Times last month that although allegations of physical abuse regarding Yonatan were reported to both DCFS and police, no police investigation was launched. They declined to provide details.

Det. Moses Castillo, the supervising detective on the case, said in an email Wednesday that the LAPD would make no further comments about the case. Yonatans autopsy report has been put on a security hold by law enforcement, and the cause of death could not be released, said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the L.A.county coroners office.

The countys child abuse hotline received another call about Yonatan and one of his siblings in December 2011, alleging neglect.

The caller said Yonatan was born premature in Mexico, and that Aguilar had been advised to leave him in the hospital for a few months, case records state. She refused to do so and left three days after his birth. He suffered from an inability to control his bladder and bowel movements. (The records have the childs name and ages redacted, but DCFS confirmed they were referring to Yonatan.)

On Dec. 18, 2011, Yonatans mother had heard him screaming and found him in the shower with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched, the shower running cold water. He was trying to wash his clothes because he had urinated on himself, records say.

When Aguilar tried to talk to him, Yonatan did not answer, so she called 911. Paramedics found him to be suffering from hypothermia and took him to the hospital, according to the records.

The boy was again deemed to be at a high risk of abuse, records show. Social workers did not open a case, saying neglect accusations were unfounded and that the mother took the proper steps in calling 911. The high-risk assessment, they said, was based on there being multiple children in the home and prior referrals  factors, DCFS spokespeople said Wednesday, that are weighted heavily, even when reports of abuse or neglect are unsubstantiated.

On March 15, 2012, Yonatan, a special education student with a learning disability, came to school with a black eye and told teachers conflicting stories about how he got it, records show. A school employee contacted DCFS, and police were alerted. No cases were opened.

Four days later, another teacher called DCFS. Yonatan, the teacher said, came to school dirty most of the time. He was always hungry, grabbing all the food he could from the cafeteria and bringing it into the classroom to eat, according to the case file.

Again, there was a high risk of abuse, records show. No case was opened and the allegation was called unfounded. Yonatan was being treated by a doctor and a therapist because of his food hoarding, and the teacher called in a referral before discussing it with his principal, social workers wrote.

A small memorial stands outside the Echo Park home where 11-year-old Yonatan Daniel Aguilar was found. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

The boy fell off the countys radar after 2012, Browning said. There were no other reports about him, and DCFS does not have the legal right to inquire about a child without a report, he said.

By 2016, Yonatan and his siblings lived with their mother and stepfather in a one-bedroom residence on Santa Ynez Street. One child slept in a shed in the backyard, records show.

On Aug. 22, Yonatans stepfather, Jose Pinzon, reported the boys death to police. Officers found him frantic and crying in the parking lot of a nearby 7-Eleven.

When officers got to the familys home, Aguilar was outside, walking a dog. After finding the body, records say, one of the officers grabbed the boys arm and shook it.

Are you OK? the officer tried asking. The boys arm was stiff.

Neighbors told police they had never seen a young boy at the home.

hailey.branson@latimes.com | richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson | @lacrimes

To read the article in Spanish, click here

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A delegation of the Evangelical Church left Cairo heading to the US Thursday to support Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during his visit to the United Nations headquarters to attend next week's UN General Assembly.

In an official statement reported by the state-owned MENA news agency, the Church said that delegations visit, that comes in coordination with Evangelical churches in the US, is an expression of support for the Egyptian state from the Church.

The Church added that it coordinated the visit following talks with senior Egyptian Evangelical Church officials in the US to support Egypt at such a critical stage in the history of the region. Church officials in the US called on supporting Egypt, the Egyptian president, the Egyptian economy, and for the world to visit Egypt.

The Church asked that next Sunday be devoted to prayer for the success of the visit and supporting Egypt in all fields.

El-Sisi is set to attend the UN General Assembly next week, as well as the UN Security Council summit on Syria on 21 September, a meeting on immigrants and asylum seekers, and an African leaders meeting on fighting climate change.

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The man who started the fire that killed 87 people at a New York City nightclub 26 years ago has died at an upstate prison.

The New York Daily News reported that a state corrections spokesman said 61-year-old Julio Gonzalez died Tuesday at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh. Gonzalez had been serving a 25-years-to-life sentence in the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in nearby Dannemora.

Authorities say Gonzalez was taken to the hospital after suffering what appeared to be a heart attack. An autopsy was planned for Wednesday.

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Gonzalez set fire to the illegally operated Happy Land social club in the Bronx in March 1990 after getting into an argument with his former girlfriend and being thrown out of the club.

Only six people inside the two-story club escaped, including his ex-girlfriend.
Rose Mofford, Arizonas first female governor and a shepherd for the state during a period of political turbulence, died Thursday. She was 94.

Mofford was injured in a fall last month and placed in a hospice facility, where she died, former spokeswoman and longtime friend Athia Hardt said.

A Democrat known for her signature beehive hairdo, Mofford served as governor from 1988 to 1991. She was the elected secretary of state when she took over for Republican Gov. Evan Mecham, who was impeached and removed from office by the GOP-led Legislature. Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor.

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Mofford did not run for her own term in 1990. She was succeeded by Republican Fife Symington, who resigned amid a real estate scandal in 1997. His fraud conviction was later overturned.

A Democrat in a traditionally Republican state, Mofford was revered by members of both parties.

Rising through the ranks of state government to our states top office, she shattered a once-thought-unbreakable glass ceiling and served as an unparalleled role model to many, said GOP Gov. Doug Ducey, who ordered flags be lowered to half-staff in her honor.

Mofford was the first of four female governors to lead the conservative state over the next two decades, including Republican Jane Hull, Democrat Janet Napolitano and Republican Jan Brewer.

During challenging times for our state, Gov. Mofford was the steady hand that led us through and held us together, Ducey said.

Former Arizona Atty. Gen. Grant Woods, a Republican, said Mofford stepped up when she needed to step up.

I dont think she ever really necessarily wanted the spotlight or wanted to certainly be governor, but she believed in public service and she believed strongly in the state, especially the rural areas of the state, Woods said.

He said Mofford had a very plain-spoken, blunt style.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, called her an Arizona original, a gifted and groundbreaking leader who provided the state with calming guidance.

Mofford came close to the governors office once before.

She had been appointed secretary of state and was serving in that post when Democratic Gov. Wesley Bolin died in 1977. She was not eligible to succeed him because she had been appointed, so Atty. Gen. Bruce Babbitt became governor.

When Mofford took over for Mecham more than a decade later, Hardt said she served on the transition team.

There was no staff, so everybody went up as volunteers, Hardt recalled. We felt like we were liberating the state and doing something that was doing good for the state.

Hardt said Mofford had this very wonderful image of being a mother  Mother Mofford shed call herself  and also being humorous and knowing everyone in the state. She had Rolodexes that were incredible.

Born Rose Perica, Mofford grew up in the town of Globe, about 85 miles east of Phoenix. She was married to T.R. Lefty Mofford, but they divorced in 1967. They had no children.
Arizona has announced an end to its practice of requiring police officers to demand the papers of people suspected of being in the country illegally  a move that pulls the last set of teeth from what was once the nations most fearsome immigration law.

The announcement on Thursday came as part of a settlement with the National Immigration Law Center and other immigrants rights groups that sued six years ago just after passage of the measure, referred to by its legislative shorthand, SB 1070.

The 2010 bill angered immigration activists, business leaders and the governments of more liberal cities, which announced boycotts of Arizona. A boycott from the Los Angeles City Council led Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce to threaten to renegotiate your power agreements so that Los Angeles no longer receives any power from Arizona-based generation.

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The state of Arizona will also pay $1.4 million in attorneys fees to the plaintiffs.

Arizona Atty. Gen. Mark Brnovich issued an informal opinion as part of the settlement that instructs police officers to ignore the provision in the law that requires them to investigate a reasonable suspicion that a person is in the country illegally  an element of the law that immigrants rights groups warned would lead to racial profiling.

Officers shall not prolong a stop, detention or arrest solely for the purpose of verifying immigration status, Brnovich wrote. Officers shall not contact, stop, detain or arrest an individual based on race, color, or national origin, except when it is part of a suspect description.

If officers suspects that a person is in the country illegally, they may contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless doing so would prolong the stop or detention, Brnovich wrote.

Furthermore, officers are no longer required to ask for papers, but now may do so at their own discretion, and Brnovich outlined multiple reasons to drop such an inquiry, such as a heavy call load, inadequate staffing, lack of an available backup or a response from ICE that they are unavailable to assist.

After the opinion was released, Brnovich issued a statement assuring Arizonans that elements of SB 1070 would remain valid, including that law enforcement officers are still allowed  but no longer required  to inquire about immigration status.

We have succeeded by keeping the key provisions of SB 1070 in place, Brnovich said. Our goal while negotiating this settlement was to find a common-sense solution that protects Arizona taxpayers while helping our great state move forward.

Immigration advocates championed the settlement as a major step for immigrant rights.

For the very first time since May 2010, there will be clarity to every law enforcement officer in the state that the only way to follow SB 1070 is to make sure no one is detained on their immigration status alone, said Karen Tumlin, legal director of the National Immigration Law Center.

Senate Bill 1070, formally titled the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, was signed by then-Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23, 2010. It contained elements of previous, failed attempts in Arizona at curbing the rights of people in the country illegally, such as a 2004 bill that would have restricted their use of social services.

SB 1070 was an omnibus of Arizona anti-immigration measures, collecting a decades worth of fears of Mexican drug cartels, competition for jobs and the states rapidly expanding Latino population into one piece of legislation. It passed the Arizona House, 35-21, and the state Senate, 17-11.

The law contained four major elements aimed at lessening the number of immigrants in the state illegally through attrition. It compelled police to ask for papers and allowed officers to arrest a person without a warrant if the officer believed the person has committed an offense that makes them deportable.

The law also made it a crime to fail to carry registration papers and for people in the country illegally to solicit work.

Multiple parties attempted to block its implementation, including the U.S. Department of Justice. Just a day before the law was to take effect, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that held back its most aggressive elements while lawsuits against the bill played out. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judges decision, and the case went to the Supreme Court.

In 2012, the Supreme Court, in a 5-3 ruling, blocked three provisions of the Arizona law, but upheld the provision that required officers to demand papers from individuals, a situation that even the conservative dissenters among the justices acknowledged could lead to improper detentions and arrests.

Despite the potential for problems, the Supreme Court ruled that the 9th Circuit had improperly blocked the provision without some showing that enforcement of the provision in fact conflicts with federal immigration law.

The court also warned of the potential constitutional problems with prolonging or extending a police stop, a clause which formed the crux of Brnovichs opinion. Brnovich also wrote that officers may decline to investigate an individuals immigration status if such an inquiry would hinder or obstruct an investigation.

The question now is: How will local police forces respond? How will they train themselves going forward? Tumlin said.

Arizonas immigration law inspired five states to enact similar legislation  Georgia, Utah, Alabama, South Carolina and Indiana. Those states laws have all been significantly rolled back by courts, including a similar show me your papers provision in Alabama.

SB 1070 was born amid a different conversation on immigration, one that centered on strident deportation policies and massive workplace raids. After former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed several versions of state bills that targeted immigrants, supporters of SB 1070 found a more accepting environment with Brewer.

Along with the five states that passed similar bills, illegal immigration opponents, emboldened by Arizonas stance, introduced show me your papers legislation in 18 other states. Today, the rise of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border shows that interest in a tough approach toward immigration remains alive and well.

Conversely, SB 1070 also energized immigrants rights activists and groups. Gallup polling has consistently shown increasing numbers of people in the U.S. accepting immigration as a positive force. Measures such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which shielded young people in the country illegally from deportation, have been spurred forward by legislation such as SB 1070.

The state of Arizona can take some claim for those actions, too. Napolitano, the former Arizona governor, advanced them as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Napolitano is now president of the University of California.

Follow Nigel Duara on Twitter: @nigelduara

UPDATES:

2:55 p.m.: This article has been updated with an additional comment from Atty. Gen. Mark Brnovich, who says key parts of SB 1070 remain in place.

2:25 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional background on SB 1070.

This article was originally published at 1:30 p.m.
Connecticut will appeal a controversial ruling by a judge that orders the Legislature to overhaul the way public education is funded and delivered in the state, from elementary to high school.

State Atty. Gen. George Jepsen said Thursday that the ruling represents a broad overreach of judicial authority.

This decision would wrest educational policy from the representative branches of state government, limit public education for some students with special needs, create additional municipal mandates concerning graduation and other standards, and alter the basic terms of educators employment  and entrust all of those matters to the discretion of a single, unelected judge, Jepsen said in a statement Thursday.

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Jepsens announcement comes eight days after Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher issued his sweeping decision.

Moukawsher gave lawmakers and Gov. Dannel P. Malloys administration 180 days to devise a new funding formula for public schools, calling the current method arbitrary and irrational, and declaring that it shortchanges poor children.

He also directed the Legislature to devise a new way of evaluating and compensating teachers, principals and superintendents, as well as instituting a graduation test for high school seniors and revising the way special education services are delivered.

The much-anticipated decision was the culmination of an 11-year legal battle between the state and the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding, an alliance of municipalities, boards of education, teachers unions and education advocacy groups.

The coalition filed a lawsuit against then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell, alleging that the states education cost-sharing formula violates the state constitution and places an unfair burden on local property taxes to support school spending.

Jepsen, whose office defended the state, said the ruling raises many legal questions. He is asking that the case be appealed directly to the state Supreme Court.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who is part of the coalition that brought the lawsuit, said he always believed the case would wind up before the Supreme Court. We waited 11 years to get into court, he said. We can wait a little longer for the Supremes to take it up.

Moukawshers 90-page decision sent shock waves in the education world far beyond Connecticut.

It left state lawmakers wondering how to formulate a response to profoundly complex questions on a tight, three-month deadline.

If this opinion were not appealed, a single unelected judge sitting at the Superior Court level would essentially become education czar for the state of Connecticut. Thats not how our system of government is set up, said state Rep. Andy Fleischmann, a Democrat from West Hartford and co-chairman of the education committee.

The appeal states that because the ruling encompasses issues far beyond the school funding formula, the citizens of Connecticut need to have the confidence that the policy changes ordered by Moukawsher have been reviewed by the states highest judicial authority.

However, Jepsen said his decision to appeal shouldnt be read as a signal that lawmakers can kick the problems plaguing public education down the road.

He said the ruling identified profound educational challenges that remain and must continue to receive serious and sustained attention  and action  at every level of government. Nothing about this appeal prevents policymakers from immediately addressing those challenges, and I urge them to do so without delay.

Malloy agreed, urging lawmakers to begin tackling the issues laid out by Moukawsher well before the case lands at the Supreme Court.

Altimari writes for the Hartford Courant.

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Relatives of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died last summer in a Texas jail after a contentious traffic stop, have reached a $1.9-million settlement in their wrongful-death lawsuit, the familys attorney told a Houston television station Thursday.

Local officials insisted that the agreement is not final and that it was supposed to remain confidential.

But attorney Cannon Lambert said the settlement is absolute and the civil lawsuit will be dismissed in several days.

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Lambert told the Associated Press in an interview at his Chicago office that the deal requires the county to have a nurse or emergency medical technician at the Waller County Jail during all shifts and to install electronic sensors to ensure staff are properly monitoring inmates.

Lambert said the county also agreed to advocate for state legislation to fund training of jail personnel to better care for prisoners.

Bland, who was from the Chicago area, died in her cell three days after she was arrested by a white Texas state trooper for a minor traffic offense. Her death was ruled a suicide, and Blands family later sued the county and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Blands mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said any legislation passed to benefit Waller County must be named in her daughters honor.

Its awesome, Reed-Veal told the Chicago Sun-Times. Its a victory for mothers across the country.

Waller County Atty. Larry Simmons confirmed Thursday that a potential settlement had been reached but said it was not final. He also said the parties agreed in writing to keep the agreement confidential until it was complete, and the county intended to honor this commitment.

Simmons said lawyers on both sides were still working through a few details and that any settlement must be approved by county commissioners. The county vigorously denies any fault or wrongdoing in Blands death, he said, and the settlement does not involve any such admissions.

The agreement would cost the county a modest $1,000 deductible under its liability insurance, he said.

Jeff Rensberger, a professor at the Houston College of Law, said the settlement showed that both the county and its insurance carrier wanted to get this behind them.

The cost of the settlement is good risk to them as compared to the risk what a jury might do in this case, he said.

The other provisions attached to the agreement, while unusual, are not rare or unheard of, particularly in a wrongful death lawsuit against a government agency, Rensberger said.

Part of the motivation for bringing wrongful death suits in cases like this is for reform purposes as well as compensation, he said. So this goes to that reform purpose.

Blands sister did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment from the Associated Press.

Bland, 28, was pulled over by a state trooper in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, for changing lanes without signaling. The stop grew confrontational, and the trooper, Brian Encinia, ordered her from the car before forcing her to the ground. She was taken into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant but could not immediately come up with the $500 bail, according to investigators.

Video from the July 10, 2015, traffic stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, I will light you up! She can later be heard screaming off-camera that the trooper was about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground. The video provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Encinia was later fired and charged with a misdemeanor perjury charge stemming from the arrest. He has pleaded not guilty.

In an affidavit, Encinias said he removed Bland from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation, but prosecutors said Waller County grand jurors found that statement to be false.

Bland, who attended Prairie View A&M University just outside Hempstead, was in the process of moving to Texas from the Chicago area to take a job at the school. Three days after her arrest, she was found hanging from a jail cell partition. A medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, and a grand jury declined to charge any sheriffs officials or jailers.

In their lawsuit, Blands family contended jailers should have checked on her more frequently and that the county should have performed mental evaluations once she disclosed she had a history of attempting suicide.

In her lawsuit, Reed-Veal also contended that Encinia falsified the assault allegation to take Bland into custody and that jail personnel failed to keep her daughter safe. County officials said Bland was treated well while locked up and produced documents that showed she gave jail workers inconsistent information about whether she was suicidal.

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UPDATES:

11:15 a.m.: This article has been updated with new information and comments throughout.

This article was originally published at 8 a.m.
Clinton urges Latino voters to get off the sidelines

(Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

President Obama is a tough act to follow, in more ways than one, Hillary Clinton said as she followed him onstage at a gala dinner in Washington on Thursday night.

And in her remarks that followed, the former secretary of State urged the diverse coalition of voters who powered Obama to two national victories to be just as committed to turn out to vote for her.

We cannot be on the sidelines, she said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute dinner. This is the most consequential election of our lifetimes.

Clinton thanked the group for traveling throughout the country to help register new voters she hopes will turn out for her.

You stayed focused no matter what kind of outlandish and offensive comments we have heard from my opponent and his supporters, she said before adding to laughter and applause: By the way, I personally think a taco truck on every corner sounds absolutely delicious. (A Trump supporter had warned last month that a flood of new immigrants would result in such a scenario.)

Clinton praised the role immigrants have played in American history, saying Latino voters in particular are not strangers or intruders, but our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends.

She also continued to test-drive a closing message for the final seven weeks to election day.

I intend to close my campaign the way I began my career: fighting for kids and families. It is the cause of my life. It will be the passion of my presidency, she said.

Donald Trump sinks even lower just when it seems he has already hit rock bottom, she said. She cited a newly released interview the Republican nominee did with the Washington Post in which he again declined to answer a question about whether Obama was born in the United States.

He still wouldnt say Hawaii. He still wouldnt say America, she said. This man wants to be our next president? When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry?

Trumps campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, and his running mate, Mike Pence, both have said Obama was born in the U.S. The campaign often has attempted to clarify Trumps positions when he has chosen not to do so himself.

Clinton said there were no dog whistles anymore with Trump, meaning he wasnt sending out messages only select followers could hear.

Its all right out there in the open now, she said. So weve got to come back twice as strong and twice as clear.

Clinton and Obama spent 15 minutes together between their two speeches, their first face-to-face interaction in weeks. The White House had previously not said whether the president had spoken with Clinton since she was diagnosed with pneumonia last week.
In Ohio, Trump tees off on Fords move to Mexico, says hed tax it for making cars outside U.S.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump signs autographs during a rally at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Ohio. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)

For Donald Trump, the timing could hardly have been better for Fords announcement Wednesday that it was moving all of its small-car production to Mexico: He was on a campaign swing through Rust Belt towns ravaged by manufacturings decline.

After a quick visit to Flint, Mich., a former General Motors town renowned for its urban decay and toxic drinking water, Trump arrived in northern Ohio with an I-told-you-so take on trade and immigration.

It used to be cars were made in Flint, and you couldnt drink the water in Mexico, Trump told several thousand cheering supporters in this heavy-manufacturing town south of Cleveland. Now, the cars are made in Mexico, and you cant drink the water in Flint.

With Hillary Clinton still recovering from pneumonia, Trump offered new variations on his long-standing charge that his Democratic opponent lacks the strength and stamina to lead the nation.

After bragging about defeating 16 career politicians in the GOP primaries, Trump said: Now we have one left. And in all fairness, shes lying in bed, getting better, and we want her better, we want her back on the trail, right?

Lock her up! was one of the many hostile catcalls that ensued.

After telling the crowd how hard he works and basking in cheers of Trump! Trump! Trump! he told the rowdy audience: I dont know, folks. You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour?

Trump also questioned President Obamas work habits and suggested he was misusing taxpayer money by campaigning for Clinton in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Why isnt he working instead of campaigning for crooked Hillary? Whos paying for that big plane that comes in?

Trump went on to blame Democrats for poverty, joblessness and failing schools in the inner cities, then vowed to wall off Mexico to stop those drugs from pouring in.

And who is going to pay for the wall? Trump asked. Mexico! the overwhelmingly white crowd shouted back.

Trump accused Clinton of secretly supporting the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that she backed as secretary of State but now opposes.

These deals we make, folks, its almost like we want to take it away from our country and let other countries make fortunes, he said. And you know what? All they do is laugh at us, disrespect us.

Turning to tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the Persian Gulf, Trump suggested American servicemen were itching to turn their weapons on Iranian counterparts who circle

Navy ships in their little boats.

Our great men are sitting there watching and saying, Boy, would I like to give it to them, he said.

As for Ford, Trump imagined what it would be like, after an announcement like todays, to call the companys chief executive from the White House.

If you think youre going to make cars and youre  going to sell them through our border like were stupid people  not going to happen that way, he said.

After a loud interruption of applause, he concluded, Were going to charge you a 35% tax on every car thats made outside the United States.
Its an adage that one should not speak ill of the dead. But when conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly died last week, I was among the many liberal writers who didnt hesitate to call her a hatemonger.

Schlafly, who built her 40-year career on stoking intolerance, was a vocal supporter of segregation and discrimination in housing, voting, and the workplace. She pushed to make anti-gay activism a core feature of the conservative movement. Even as the national consensus evolved toward greater rights for many Americans who had once been marginalized, Schlafly remained staunchly opposed to progress. By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I dont think you can call it rape, she said in 2007. In more recent years, she also spoke out against transgender people and immigrants.

When these well-known facts circulated along with fonder remembrances, some conservatives called foul. They charged that even mentioning the less-than-savory actions of the deceased was itself a hateful act. Radical Feminists Keep Attacking Schlafly Even After Her Death, read one indignant headline on the conservative site Breitbart.com.

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(If never speaking ill of the dead is the sites editorial policy, I can only imagine the loving, gentle memorial that it will publish on the occasion of, say, Hillary Clintons demise.)

Death does not put a public figures actions beyond reproach.

The conversation about Schlaflys legacy was a repeat of the ideological back-and-forth after Margaret Thatcher died in 2013 and after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, to name just two recent examples. Theres a time and a place, supporters say, for criticism  and thats later, much later.

The obvious problem with such restraint is that later, much later, no one will be paying attention; theyll have moved on. And bromides, even silence, could be interpreted as tacit approval of the deceaseds loathsome positions.

Granted, its indefensible to celebrate a political opponents demise. And theres a difference between critiquing an opponents legacy and simple name-calling. In 2012, New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman wrote, Speaking of pigs, the VP of PR for Chick-fil-A dropped dead of a heart attack the week after the chains latest homophobia/anti-gay marriage scandal. He quickly amended the post and issued an apology. The original was gratuitous and mean. And, incidentally, a fast-food executive isnt exactly a public figure like Schlafly or Thatcher or Scalia, and private citizens deserve more protection from public censure, in life and in death.

But death does not put a public figures actions beyond reproach, or somehow resolve disagreements. If anything, its the perfect occasion to assess the effect that this figure has had on our politics and culture. As Christopher Hitchens wrote after the Rev. Jerry Falwells death in 2007, The evil that he did will live after him. So should the criticism.

Of course even many decades on, its contentious to speak ill of the dead. Several college campuses are in the process of reassessing previous generations decisions to name buildings after slave owners and Ku Klux Klan sympathizers. To some, that seems indecorous (as the dead cant defend themselves), or even unfair (as our morals have evolved considerably since they were alive). To activists, its essential to shed light on the darker aspects of a public figures legacy; they argue that, otherwise, we cant possibly hope to reckon with the world they left us.

That reckoning should be the real goal of posthumous criticism. After Thatcher died, the English musician Billy Bragg  who once wrote a song decrying her and her supporters  cautioned against merely vilifying the former prime minister for her union-busting and privatization policies. Raising a glass to the death of an infirm old lady changes none of this, he wrote. The only real antidote to cynicism is activism. Dont celebrate  organise!

Go ahead. Speak ill of the dead and their past actions. Then address their legacy constructively.

Ann Friedman is a contributing writer to Opinion. She lives in Los Angeles.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
One-hundred-twenty countries make up the Non-Aligned movement though it is not certain how many will be represented in Venezuela

Egypt's deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral Relations and International Security Hesham Badr will participate in the 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which is set to take place on the 17th and 18th of September on Venezuela's Margarita island.

The ministerial meetings will take place on Thursday and Friday ahead of the summit.

The NAM, born at the height of the Cold War as a grouping of nations seeking to be independent from the US and the former Soviet Union, counts 120 members -- overwhelmingly developing nations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The summit, which was planned to take place last year, is expected to tackle current issues of concern such as terrorism, UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament, according to media reports.

The last Non-Aligned Movement summit was hosted by Iran in 2012, which ousted former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi attended.

Venezuela will assume the NAM rotating presidency after taking over this summit from Iran, which has been the chair since 2012.

At each summit, a new head of state formally becomes the chair, and assumes that position until the next summit.

The 120 heads of members-states are invited to attend. Venezuela has not published a list of attendees, but according to Reuters, so far Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, are expected to attend.

According to its mandate, the primary objectives of the non-aligned countries is "the support of self-determination, and the independence of non-aligned countries from great power or block influences and rivalries; rejection of the use or threat of use of force in international relations."

Egypt's former president Gamal Abdel Nasser is among the founders of the movement.

The preparatory meeting for the NAM was held in Cairo in June 1961.

The Non Aligned Movement came into being 55 years ago when leaders of 25 developing countries met at the Belgrade Conference in September of the same year.

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Donald Trump scaled back his grandiose plan for tax cuts while proposing more benefits for lower-income households in a speech Thursday, but experts say the numbers in his newly revised economic growth blueprint still dont add up.

In his most detailed economic plan to date, the Republican presidential nominee essentially halved the amount of tax cuts he will seek to $4.4 trillion over 10 years, in part by capping deductions. At the same time, Trump said his economic strategy  which includes overhauling government regulations, trade and energy policies  would boost U.S. economic growth to 3.5% a year on average, up from 2% in recent years. He promised that his plan would create as many as 25 million jobs over the next decade.

This is the most pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-family plan put forth perhaps in the history of our country, he said in a speech at the Economic Club of New York.

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While responding to critics that his previous tax and growth plans were vague and unrealistic, Trump nonetheless raised questions about how he could achieve such rapid economic growth  former candidate Jeb Bush was derided for promising 4% growth  and pay for what are still very large tax cuts to individuals and businesses.

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Its still very pie-in-the-sky, said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that advocates keeping government budgets under control.

Trumps plan would reduce the tax brackets for individual income tax to three from the current seven, with the highest rate dropping to 33% from 39.6%. Deductions would be limited at $100,000 for single filers and $200,000 for married filers, which would restrain high-income filers looking to deduct more for housing and charitable donations.

In attempting to appeal to lower- and middle-income Americans, Trump called for an expanded earned income tax credit and tax savings for child-care expenses.

In addition, it appeared that sole proprietorships, partners and other so-called pass-through entities, who tend to be used by higher-income filers, would not be able to take advantage of Trumps plan lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% from the current 35%, said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. Trumps speech and additional details released by his campaign did not make it clear.

This proposal is less skewed toward the high-income earners, said Gleckman. Still, he said, the lowering of tax rates, plus Trumps previously announced idea to repeal the estate tax and alternative minimum tax, would nonetheless still end up disproportionately benefiting higher-earning individuals.

Although Trumps plan would cut taxes overall by $4.4 trillion over 10 years, he said that the lost federal revenue would amount to about $2.6 trillion under a so-called dynamic growth model, which assumes that the tax cuts would stimulate growth and thus generate additional revenues. By its calculations, Trumps economic team would make up for about $1.8 trillion of the $2.6 trillion deficit largely by negotiating more favorable trade deals, reforming energy policies and eliminating costly government regulations.

The remaining deficit would be shaved by reducing government spending, although Trump said there would be no reduction in defense and Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which together make up about three-quarters of the federal budget.

Taken together, said Peter Navarro, a UC Irvine professor and Trump economic advisor, its really not a stretch at all to return the nations annual economic growth to the historical average of 3.5% from the end of World War II through 2000.

Its a fairly simple walk to 3.5%, he said Thursday from New York, where he joined Trump for his speech.

But other economists, conservative and liberal, are much more circumspect that Trumps plan could achieve such rapid growth.

If he could go from 2 to 3, that would be amazing; hed be in the hall of fame, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum.

The challenge for Trump is that economic growth is essentially a function of the number of workers and the rate of productivity growth, and both have lagged in the last decade as the population has aged and the increase in labor force has shrunk and productivity has sagged. Greater business investment and higher wages will help lift both measures, but many other economists believe Trumps tough trade promises  to renegotiate the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, and threats to impose big tariffs on China and other trading partners  will hurt global trade and end up subtracting from U.S. economic output growth.

Its fair to say that he has a fairly pro-growth policy to take growth north of 2%, Holtz-Eakin said. The trouble is, hes over-counting what he could get.  Theyre seriously responding to the critique and now theyre claiming it adds up  I dont think it does.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics, said that perhaps the best way to boost economic growth would be to increase legal immigration, which would increase the labor force and productivity, as immigrants tend to start businesses at a greater rate than native-born Americans. But thats simply not an option in a Trump presidency, Zandi noted, referring to Trumps hard-line stance on the issue, the signature of his campaign. Hes no fan of immigration.

Hillary Clintons campaign attacked Trumps plan as a benefit for him, not for workers.

It is astounding that Donald Trump doubled down on his tax plan benefiting billionaires while he continues to refuse to release his own tax returns that would reveal just how much hed be impacted by his own plan, said Clinton senior policy advisor Jacob Leibenluft. Trumps latest revision of his economic plan would benefit Trump at the expense of millions of hardworking folks across our country who deserve the opportunity at a better future.

Twitter: @noahbierman, @dleelatimes

Believe me: People say Trumps language is affecting political discourse bigly

Hillary Clinton returns to campaigning and says being sidelined at home was the last place I wanted to be

Trump and Clinton both release some medical details amid scrutiny over their health
Donald Trump released a one-page doctors letter Thursday saying he is in excellent physical health while pressing his case that he has more strength and stamina than Hillary Clinton.

The letter from Harold N. Bornstein, a Manhattan doctor who has treated Trump since 1980, said the Republican presidential nominee takes low-dose aspirin and a statin drug to lower his cholesterol.

It summarized lab findings from Trumps physical last week, saying his cardiac, liver, thyroid and other test results were normal for a 70-year-old man.

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Trump is 6 foot 3 and weighs 236 pounds  too heavy, the candidate conceded in a television appearance on The Dr. Oz Show that aired Thursday. Trump enjoys fast food and rarely exercises, but said he wants to lose 15 or 20 pounds. Trumps body mass index, calculated by weight and height, was 29.5, which is at the upper end of the overweight category and on the verge of entering the obese range.

Its tough, because of the way I live, he said.

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The TV appearance and the letter did little to clarify what had trickled out on Wednesday from audience members present at the shows taping. His campaign said Trump was releasing medical records, as many other White House contenders have done, but Trump disclosed nothing beyond the one-page note.

The letter said Trump had an appendectomy when he was 11 years old and has not been hospitalized since then. Trumps last colonoscopy, in 2013, was normal and found no polyps, it said.

It also said an EKG and chest X-ray this year were normal. His cholesterol levels fell in the range that experts deem normal.

Trump said Thursday morning that he would not have released his medical records if his lab tests were deficient.

I wouldnt be talking to you right now if they were bad, Trump said on Fox and Friends. If they were bad, I would say, Lets sort of skip this.

In Trumps television appearance, taped Wednesday, the host, physician Mehmet Oz, read some of the lab results in Bornsteins letter.

People are amazed, Trump said, because I dont get much with the colds.

Your testosterone is 441, which is actually good, Oz said, drawing laughter from the audience. Trump flashed a sheepish grin.

Bornsteins letter was incomplete, said Dr. Ranit Mishori, a family medicine physician at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Its a huge improvement over the last letter his physician wrote, but it still leaves something to be desired, she said.

Mishori said the letter was not written in the customary method for such assessments and is missing such routine information as immunization history, a description of the examination and lifestyle details including diet and exercise. And Trumps medical and family histories are incomplete, Mishori said.

The summary statement [says], This person is in excellent physical health. This letter doesnt show me the details for me to reach the same conclusion, said Mishori, who has no affiliation with Trump and hasnt examined him.

Trump released the letter came as Clinton, his Democratic opponent, resumed campaigning Thursday in North Carolina after a bout of pneumonia prompted her to scratch events in California and Nevada. Her campaign also released details about her health Wednesday, including a letter from her doctor saying shed prescribed Clinton an antibiotic after diagnosing her with pneumonia.

Trumps campaign has spread theories alleging Clinton is in failing health. At a rally Wednesday night in Canton, Ohio, Trump told the crowd how hard he works and asked: I dont know, folks, you think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour?

In all fairness, he said later, shes lying in bed, getting better, and we want her better, we want her back on the trail, right?

Clinton kept her pneumonia diagnosis secret until after she was caught on video stumbling as she stepped into a van on Sunday.

Trump has long argued that Clinton lacks the strength and stamina to be president, a phrase that critics have called misogynistic.

Trump has avoided the phrase since Clinton fell ill. But his campaign statement Thursday said his test results showed that Trump was in excellent health, and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented presidential campaign and, more importantly, the singularly demanding job of president.

On the Oz show, Trump said, I dont think you can represent the country properly if youre not a healthy person.

In its statement, Trumps campaign claimed incorrectly that Trump was setting records for number of events, size of crowds, and breadth of travel on the campaign trail. Presidential candidates candidates routinely travel more than Trump does, and President Obamas crowds in 2008 were far bigger than Trumps.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

michael.finnegan@latimes.com

Twitter: @finneganLAT

Believe me: People say Trumps language is affecting political discourse bigly

Clinton has enough policy to fill a book, while Trump has said little about how hed govern

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UPDATES:

1:50 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Dr. Ranit Mishori about the new letter from Donald Trumps physician.

12:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Donald Trump and details on his body mass index.

This story was originally published at 12:20 p.m.
While an aspiring model from Slovenia, the future wife of Donald Trump came to the United States on a tourist visa, but never worked illegally, according to a lawyer hired to review her immigration records. But Melania Trump has declined to release those records, and the account still leaves some open questions about her immigration history.

Donald Trump has made illegal immigration a central issue of his campaign, vowing to build a wall on the Mexican border and deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. Melania Trumps immigration status became an issue last month, when the New York Post published nude photos it said were taken during a New York photo shoot in 1995  raising the question of whether she came here on a tourist visa, and worked illegally, before obtaining an H1-B work visa in 1996.

In an attempt to end the controversy, Melania Trump hired immigration lawyer Michael Wildes, who has done work for Donald Trumps modeling agency and the Miss Universe pageant, to review her records. She released a letter from him Wednesday on Twitter.

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Based on his review of the records, Wildes wrote, allegations that she worked illegally are not supported by the record and are therefore completely without merit.

Melania Trump first entered the U.S. on a visitor visa in August 1996, Wildes wrote, and first obtained a work visa that October  the same month she posed with another woman in the nude shoot, according to Wildes. The Post on Wednesday corrected the initial story, saying the photographer had confirmed the 1996 date in an interview.

After that, Wildes wrote in the letter, Melania Trump obtained a series of four more one-year work visas because, at the time, one-year visas were all that were permitted under the U.S. agreement with Slovenia. She obtained a green card and became a lawful permanent resident in 2001, he said, applying as a model of extraordinary ability.

Wildes, who added other details in an interview, said Melania Trump first obtained a tourist visa in 1994, and repeatedly renewed it, just in case she got work  though she never traveled to the U.S. until 1996.

When I asked her why she went to the effort to go and get them, she indicated that she had to be poised to get jobs should they come in, Wildes said, adding that he did not press her for details on what she was doing before 1996. I didnt ask how she spent the years. I was not there to know all the aspects of what she was doing.

Under a tourist visa, he said, she could have had meetings or scouted for work without violating the law. She could come into America and talk potential work, that would not violate the visitor visa, he said. She knew the fine line and never worked in a way that would have breached the visitor visa.

Wildes acknowledged that models often arent exactly sticklers about following the letter of immigration rules, but said that wasnt the case for Melania Trump: Its definitely a loosey-goosey world, but not in her life. Its not in her DNA, and its not in her history.

In her own interviews, Melania Trump has given a somewhat different account of her visa history. I followed the law the way its supposed to be, she said on MSNBC in February. I never thought to stay here without papers. I had a visa. I traveled every few months back to the country to Slovenia, to stamp the visa.

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Paolo Zampolli, who worked as a modeling agent, says he first scouted Melania Trump in Europe and sponsored her work visa. Im 100[%] positive that she never worked here illegally. There was not a reason to do that, said Zampolli, who later worked for Donald Trumps real estate company.

Immigration experts have pointed out that flying back and forth every few months suggests a tourist visa, not the longer work visa. Immigration lawyer David Leopold said theres one easy way to settle the issues for good release her file to show whether she had visitor visas or work visas and when.

Leopold, a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Assn., served on the Democratic Partys platform committee and worked on the immigration plank.

There are plausible explanations for everything we know about her immigration history, said Leopold. Which begs the question: Why wont the Trump campaign simply show the American people the relevant immigration paperwork?

Wildes said Melania Trump considers the records private. Its her choice, he said.

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

Twitter: @jtanfani

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A majority of Californians support an initiative on the November ballot to require performers in adult films to use condoms during sex scenes, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll of registered voters conducted by SurveyMonkey.

Fifty-five percent said they would back Proposition 60 if the election were held today, the survey found. The measure, which was proposed by Michael Weinstein, the controversial president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is based on a similar initiative in Los Angeles County, Measure B, which voters approved in 2012 with 56% of the vote.

The Los Angeles County measure, which was sponsored by five people affiliated with the foundation, requires porn actors to wear condoms during scenes depicting anal and vaginal intercourse. The measure survived a legal battle over its constitutionality earlier this year.

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Of those polled, 32% said they would vote against the statewide measure, while 13% had no answer. The online poll of 1,909 registered California voters was conducted Sept. 1-8 in English and Spanish and has a margin-of-error estimate of 3 percentage points.

The poll found a 20-point gender gap among respondents: 64% of women polled supported the measure, while only 44% of men did. The measure had strong backing from minority voters, with 58% of African Americans and 63% of Latinos supporting it.

The initiative would also require adult film producers to pay for vaccinations and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Producers would have to get a state health license every two years and notify the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health whenever they shoot a film. Violations could result in fines of up to $70,000.

The proposition would likely lead to a loss of several million dollars in state and local tax revenues each year if porn production leaves the state, according to an analysis by the states independent Legislative Analysts Office. The cost to enforce the measure could exceed $1 million annually, though it could be offset by new revenue from fines.

Rick Taylor, a consultant for the Yes on Proposition 60 campaign, said he was pleased with the results.

Our numbers show us a bit higher, he said, referring to polling done by the campaign showing 70% voter approval. We think Californians are getting it: This is about workers safety.

But Doug Herman, a Los Angeles Democratic consultant, said the proposition is not a sure bet to pass.

The proposition has not gotten as much news coverage as other high-profile questions on the ballot including whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana or to further regulate ammunition sales, he said.

Fifty-five percent is not a position where you can bank on a victory, he said. You can start at 55%, but the other side is going to raise doubts and that is going to fall.

Updates on California politics 

The measure is opposed by the Free Speech Coalition, a Canoga Park-based trade association for the adult film industry, though both the state Republican and Democratic parties have come out against the measure, as have the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and AIDS Project Los Angeles.

One sticking point: The initiative would also allow California residents to ask the state to investigate alleged workplace health and safety violations and to pursue civil suits against an adult films producers or anyone with a financial interest in the production if the state does not take certain actions.

Opponents of the initiative say if the measure passes, it will open the floodgates to frivolous lawsuits.

In a letter opposing the measure, James Loduca, a senior vice president of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said those suits could lead to harassment of porn actors.

The adult film industry will be driven underground or to places that offer few protections for workers, he wrote. The measure also completely ignores recent developments in HIV biomedical prevention.

Mike Stabile, a spokesman for the Free Speech Coalition, criticized the measure as a heavy-handed and one-sided approach to regulation.

He noted that the board of the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health voted down a condom requirement proposal in February and has already begun the process of setting new safety standards. Some porn actors who spoke before the vote protested a particular part of the proposal that would have required performers to ensure that their eyes were protected from infection by blood-borne pathogens. They argued the state could eventually force them to wear safety goggles.

Just last month the board approved the creation of an advisory committee to determine new regulations that includes representatives from the adult film industry.

That is another reason some including state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) have opposed the measure.

The pending initiative undermines this process and seeks to dictate the outcome of the collaborative process, Leno wrote in a letter to the state Democratic Party this summer. This administrative process should go forward without interference from this pending initiative.

The Yes on Prop. 60 campaign has reported $1.8 million in contributions, all of it coming from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, while the opposition group has reported just $87,000 raised, according to the California Secretary of State.

javier.panzar@latimes.com

Twitter: jpanzar

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Californias November ballot will be crammed with contentious and complex state ballot measures, enough to give voters a migraine. But one of them shouldnt require two minutes thought.

Its Proposition 54, a motherhood-and-apple-pie proposal if there ever was one.

That doesnt mean theres no opposition. Theres plenty. Its just that hardly anyone  the state Democratic Party being one exception  wants to stand up and admit theyre against good government.

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Proposition 54 is all about trying to make the state Legislature more transparent and thoughtful  less secretive and, too often, slimy.

The measure would do three things:

First, and most important, it would require any bill to be in print and accessible on the Internet for at least 72 hours before the Legislature could pass it. No more last-minute cut-and-paste jobs covertly created by lobbyists, a handful of legislative leaders and the governor.

The 72-hour mandate could be waived if the governor declared a public emergency  in the event of an earthquake or flood, for example  and the relevant legislative house approved the move by a two-thirds vote.

Second, the Legislature would be required to video-record all its public meetings and post them online within 24 hours. The Senate already does this, mostly, but the Assembly is inconsistent.

Third, citizens would be allowed to record a public meeting and use the audio-video for any purpose, including in a negative campaign ad.

So drowsy committee members would need to duck out of the hearing room to avoid being caught dozing after lunch.

Dont say anything stupid. Dont pick your nose should be the legislators motto, says Proposition 54 strategist Rick Claussen.

What our elected representatives do on the public dais should be made public, says Kathay Feng, who heads the watchdog organization California Common Cause, a strong Proposition 54 supporter.

This is the kind of measure that legendary reform Gov. Hiram Johnson and other California progressives had in mind when they established the states initiative system 105 years ago. The idea was to create direct democracy by permitting citizens to bypass the special interest-dominated state Capitol and exercise power at the ballot box.

It hasnt quite worked that way, of course. Special interests themselves took over the initiative process and circumvented the Legislature. They pour obscene millions of dollars into jingoistic ads and play the role of circus barker for gullible voters.

But Proposition 54 is one of those measures no Legislature would ever pass  regardless of which party was in control  because it would weaken the power of leaders. They couldnt jam a proposal through the Legislature under the radar at the last second.

When I try to explain to people what happens at the end of a legislative session  and the very poor pieces of legislation that emerge  theyre shocked, Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis) told me three years ago when she sponsored a bill similar to Proposition 54. It was killed.

What commonly happens is an ugly 11th-hour gut-and-amend.

Some bill that has survived open committee hearings and a floor vote  just like the textbooks call for  is eviscerated and amended with entirely new content. Public scrutiny is avoided.

Neither the public nor most legislators have time to begin digesting the revamped bill before the voting deadline.

Its bad for democracy and frequently leads to flawed legislation.

One example of a major bill that wasnt concocted until the final day of this years legislative session was an appropriation of $900 million in pollution fee money. It was generated by the cap-and-trade program, which peddles permits to emit global-warming greenhouse gases.

If youre going to spend nearly a billion dollars of public money, it just seems like people should have a chance to know what its being spent on, says Dan Carrigg, a lobbyist for the League of California Cities, which backs Proposition 54.

Updates from Sacramento 

If a bill comes together and cant stand three days of sunshine with a couple of public hearings, it might not be a good law.

The state Democratic Party opposes the initiative, asserting on its website that Proposition 54 provides special interests like tobacco, oil and drug companies with new powers to block timely legislative action and would increase state costs by millions.

Balderdash. The estimated $1 million in annual costs for video recordings would come out of the Legislatures existing budget.

The only person candid enough to really speak out against the measure is political consultant Steve Maviglio, a former Capitol staffer and onetime New Hampshire legislator.

This just gums up the [legislative] process, he says, and at a time when most legislators are scared of lobbyists. Theyre not going to be able to accomplish much, sitting there for three days while everyone is coming out of the woodwork at them.

And it doesnt get rid of gut-and-amend. It just gets rid of three days worth.

The initiative was the brainchild of a former legislator, moderate Republican Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo. Its sole bankroller is Charles Munger Jr., a Palo Alto physicist and son of billionaire Charles Munger Sr., Warren Buffetts investment partner.

Munger Jr. has spent tens of millions on government reforms  mainly stripping the Legislature of its self-serving redistricting power  and trying to elect moderate Republican lawmakers.

As for Proposition 54, the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis put it best: Sunlight is the best disinfectant. And in Californias Capitol  as in most states  theres a lot to disinfect.

george.skelton@latimes.com

Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter

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The fringe-lipped bat hunts by ear.

The winged predator, found in South and Central America, eavesdrops on the male tungara frogs mating call and decides on the moment to strike. When the time is right, the bat flies from its perch, using echolocation to hone in on its prey and strike.

Many animals, like bats and owls, rely on sound to hunt, and a great many more make sounds to communicate. But as man-made noise pollution floods ecosystems, scientists are wondering how wildlife will adapt. What can a bat do when road noises mask the mating call of that tasty frog?

Dylan Gomes, then a researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, wondered whether some species would lean on other senses more heavily to accomplish the same task.

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So he and his research colleagues captured 12 fringe-lipped bats and brought them to an outdoor flight cage at a lab in Panama. The humans trained the bats to attack robot frogs that emitted recorded tungara mating calls, which sound something like a slide whistle played on a 1980s synthesizer.

On their perches, the bats passively listen for this call, but thats not all they can tune in to.

While the frogs ribbit away on the rainforest floor, they also inflate and deflate their vocal sacs. That gives the fringe-lipped bats an opportunity to echolocate the motion of the frogs throats.

Its the same way we humans talk to each other, said Wouter Halfwerk, an evolutionary ecologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam who worked with Gomes. We pay attention to the sounds, but we also look at lip movement.

To see how noise affects the bats ability to hunt, the researchers placed two robofrogs in the labs flightcage. Some of the prey had inflating vocal sacs, and some did not.

At times during the experiment, the researchers introduced computer-generated white noise that overlapped with the frequency of the frogs calls. That made it more difficult for the bats to locate the robofrogs using sound alone.

The experiment revealed that, compared with bats that didnt have to deal with noise pollution, the distracted bats doubled their use of echolocation and clearly preferred to attack the robofrog with the moving throat. The bats with unimpeded hearing attacked either type of robofrog at random.

See the most-read stories in Science this hour 

The findings, published Thursday in the journal Science, are the first to show an animal choosing between one mode of perception (hearing) and another (echolocation) as an adaptation to conditions in their environment.

This ability to shift strategies doesnt mean the bats are in the clear. In the presence of white noise, the fringe-lipped bats spent more time flying from perch to prey. In the wild, this would give frogs a better a chance to escape, the study authors wrote.

 A bat attacks a robofrog inside an outdoor flightcage. Researchers used pieces of fish as a reward to train the wild animal to go after the stand-in amphibian. (Barrett Klein and Andy Quitmeyer)

As sources of anthropogenic [human-generated] noise continue to expand, animals will, ultimately, have to face noise in one way or another, Gomes said.

Recent studies have shown that noise pollution reduces the survival and reproduction rates of some animal species  including making bats and owls less effective hunters. While the fringe-lipped bats can shift from one sense to another and continue foraging under noisy conditions, other species may not be able to do this, Gomes said.

Gomes said it is particularly important to understand how humans actions may affect bats. Farmers rely on bats to pollinate bananas, peaches and other cash crops. Theyre also the only natural pollinator of agave, which is used to make tequila.

At an ecosystem level, noise pollution could potentially reshuffle the animals found in certain areas based on those that can adapt and those that cannot.

It is likely that many animal communities would be altered by anthropogenic noise, Gomes said. Animals rely so heavily on sounds to communicate, find food [and] avoid predators  much more than humans do  we are quite visual creatures.

Follow me on Twitter seangreene89 and like Los Angeles Times Science on Facebook.

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Among otherwise healthy younger men with an early diagnosis of prostate cancer, foregoing aggressive treatment in favor of active monitoring spares patients an abrupt disruption of sexual and urinary function, new research shows.

But a long-awaited clinical trial has found that for men who watch and wait instead of treating their prostate cancer immediately, prostate cancer is twice as likely to spread beyond the affected gland in the 10 years following diagnosis. Over six years following their entry into the trial, men who proceeded directly to radiation treatment with hormones or surgical removal of the prostate gland suffered early blows to their quality of life compared to men assigned to the wait-and-see group. But those on active monitoring still reported a gradual decline in their sexual and urinary function.

At the 10-year mark, the findings of the Protect Trial (short for Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment) failed to find clear evidence that participants who were assigned to get active surveillance were more likely to die of cancer than were those who got early, aggressive treatment. Thats a reassuring finding at a time when growing numbers of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are opting not to proceed quickly to treatment.

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But the investigators, who reported their findings Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, did discern a weak but troubling trend among men over 65 who got monitoring over treatment: At the 10-year mark, they were slightly more likely to have died of prostate cancer than were men of the same age and stage of cancer at diagnosis who underwent treatment instead.

That finding fell a bit short of statistical significance  the point at which researchers are confident that an observed trend could not be a random fluke in their data.

But if that trend becomes more pronounced with time, wrote a prostate cancer specialist commenting in the New England Journal, it could change advice given to older prostate cancer patients. Rather than following the national trend in the direction of deferring treatment, wrote Dr. Anthony V. DAmico of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, otherwise healthy prostate cancer patients over 65 might better be advised to opt for aggressive treatment as soon as they are diagnosed.

The new research comes against the backdrop of debate and uncertainty over how best to treat men whose prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test indicates relatively early cancer. Just over three-quarters of the men participating in the Protect Trial had such PSA-detected disease, which specialists now consider at low or intermediate risk for aggressive progression.

Because many such men could live decades without becoming seriously ill, physicians are increasingly recommending active surveillance for them, taking action only if their PSA numbers rise markedly in a single year. And men are choosing that option in greater numbers, given the prospect of erectile dysfunction, low energy and libido and changes in urinary and bowel function that can come with aggressive treatment.

Currently, about half of American men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer opt not to treat it.

Its a really important public health question, said Dr. Christopher Saigal, vice chair of urology at UCLAs Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prostate cancer remains the most common cancer in men, and with so many men choosing to defer treatment, physicians needed evidence that the practice is safe, said Saigal.

In the new findings, death rates in all the groups were both very low and scarcely distinguishable, and thats great news, said Saigal.

In the active monitoring group in the Protect Trial, a man would be considered for treatment with radiation or surgical prostatectomy only if his PSA level rose by more than 50% in a given year. About half of the men in the Protect Trial, which was conducted in Great Britain, did end up getting one of the two treatments before the 10-year mark.

The Protect Trial findings made clear that, for men 50 to 69 years old who received a diagnosis of localized prostate cancer, the odds of dying of that cancer over the next 10 years were pretty slim: In a group of 2,264 trial participants, 169 died during the follow-up period of any cause. But only 17 died specifically of prostate cancer over a follow-up period of 10 years  a rate of less than 1%.

But 62 men, overall, saw their prostate cancer metastasize over the studys decade-long span, and the distribution of those men was clearly uneven: Men who were assigned to have their prostate gland surgically removed were least likely to see their prostate cancer spread to bones, viscera or lymph nodes. Those who were assigned to be treated with radiation and three to six months of male-hormone suppression were slightly more likely to develop metastases. Even though they were aggressively treated if PSA levels rose abruptly, the men assigned to have their cancer initially monitored were, as a group, more than twice as likely as the others to have it metastacize.

This group could really help us by reporting in five more years whether the three groups death rates begin to show differences, said Dr. Saigal.

Vanderbilt University urology chairman Dr. David F. Penson underscored that, while the latest findings are reassuring, much remains to be answered about how to treat the most common cancer in men.

I dont think any of us expected this study to answer all our questions definitively and I dont think it did, said Penson, who serves on the PSA screening panel of the American Urological Assn. The key is to figure out who are the right patients to be treated and who can safely forego treatment, he said. And this doesnt do that.

melissa.healy@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @LATMelissaHealy and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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Shortly after midnight Tuesday morning, during a City Council meeting that had stretched on more than six hours, Burbank City Manager Mark Scott said he planned to resign if a council vote did not go the way he wanted.

The issue  the creation of a new job title and salary range for an administrative position in the Public Works department  had been before council three times already.

In fact, minutes earlier, the council had approved it, but Councilman David Gordon indicated he would ask for it to be reconsidered because he had mistakenly supported it when he meant to vote against it.

Thats when Scott got up and quietly told Mayor Bob Frutos that if the item did not pass, he would submit his letter of resignation.

I didnt take his threat lightly, Frutos said around 1 a.m. Tuesday, before a scheduled flight later in the morning. He and Gordon are visiting Burbanks sister city Incheon, South Korea this week.

I am not resigning, Scott said in an email Tuesday evening. I am retiring. Have not picked a date.

When the item came up again, Scott asked the council members to explain why they were voting no and said that despite his offers to answer questions about the issue, no one had asked him outside of council meetings.

The only comments Ive heard to date relate to who I might appoint to the position, which isnt a City Council issue, he said.

The measure failed 3-2 with Frutos, Gordon and Vice Mayor Jess Talamantes voting against it. Then Frutos disclosed that Scott had said before the vote that he would resign if it failed.

Scott said he felt he was owed the courtesy of an explanation as to why the majority of council was voting down the measure, and the failure to show him that courtesy weighs heavily on me.

I wanted you to understand that I am certainly aggrieved of the idea that five City Council members who know very well the concerns Ive got about this issue, that I do not think the City Council has acted fairly on at all, that I think that you owed me  and I still think that you owed me  some discussion on that, Scott said.

Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy asked for a discussion of the vote and prodded Gordon for an explanation for his change, which he explained as a mistake due to the late hour. He also said he was uncomfortable with the salary.

Councilman Will Rogers pleaded for a discussion at another time, but it was already too late.

I got the message from three of you, loud and clear and thats all I needed to hear, Scott said, clarifying that the vote itself was not the message. I get it.

City spokesman Drew Sugars said Tuesday that Scott accepts the decision of the majority of the council.

Frutos had voted against the item each time it came up, beginning on Sept. 15, when he objected to the estimated cost of $154,000 a year for the position as too much money.

The actual added cost for the adjustment to the position was about $14,000 a year, which had been included in the fiscal 2015-16 budget. It would have effectively given a title change and raise to a current employee.

With Talamantes absent, the council agreed to continue the item until a full council was present rather than scuttle it after it had received a 2-2 vote. Gordon had also opposed it at the time.

Then, on Sept. 24, Scott and Frutos locked horns when it came up again. Frutos began asking questions about the specific employee involved. Scott said the discussion was inappropriate for the public meeting and abruptly pulled the item from the agenda.

At what point do you listen to the city manager? Scott asked at the time. Ive never seen a city council delve into this level of detail on one specific person.

The person in question is the administrative officer in the Public Works department who, according to Management Services Director Betsy Dolan, had taken on human resources functions, was supervising 14 employees and was responsible for the divisions safety program.

Scott said the employee was taking on so many additional duties that she had moved into a new job classification and would need to be paid more or have her duties reduced. He said it made sense to pay an extra $14,000 a year to have her continue with the added responsibilities.

The salary range is the same as the salary for a similar position at the citys utility with similar responsibilities, Dolan said.

Frutos disagreed with the reclassification and began to ask about the employees work history when Scott interrupted.

It just seems so inappropriate to do this kind of dialogue publicly, he said, and moments later withdrew the item from the agenda.

I would respectfully request that on a personnel matter that the City Council work with me as your city manager, Scott said. Its what Im designated as, you know, the person whos responsible for personnel.

Scott left the Sept. 24 meeting shortly after the exchange, before adjournment.

Its not clear what pushed Scott to threaten resignation this week, but Councilman Will Rogers said it seemed like a pretty classic example of micromanaging on the councils part to second-guess him on the personnel matter that he said really otherwise would have been ... routine.

Im surprised at the extent to his response to it, Rogers said, adding that he thought it was a topic for Scott to bring up during a performance review.

However, Rogers said, some council members had heard from other city employees who were concerned about the reclassification.

Frutos said he simply wanted to ensure a fair and transparent process for creating the new position and a competitive process for filling it.

The city manager basically said, No, this is what I want, he added.

In response to Frutos statement that he was seeking a transparent process, Scott said Frutos should reveal who his source was about the employee who was being reclassified.

Beyond that, I have respect for my mayor and will keep working hard for him and the council until I retire, Scott said.

Scott was hired by the city in June 2013 under a contract that, at the time, included a salary of nearly $300,000 a year. He has worked in city management for more than three decades, including as a city manager in five cities.

Rogers said Scott was unhappy with the often lengthy and sometimes painfully drawn-out city meetings.

Earlier this year, Scott put up $4,500 of his own salary to support community organizations in order to move a council meeting forward as it stretched into its fifth hour.

Its a challenging bunch, Rogers said of the council. I think [Scotts] been tired.

The council is not set to meet again until Dec. 8.

--

Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com

Twitter: @chadgarland
The Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday delayed voting on whether to add to existing rules regarding the trimming and removal of trees deemed the responsibility of the city until it knows more about the associated costs.

The council, though, appeared receptive in theory to two staff recommendations. One focuses on requests for maintenance of trees in areas identified on maps but not deemed official city property. This could prove costly if it involves title searches and surveys to determine who owns the land.

The second proposal concerns requests for the removal or trimming of a city tree that the complaining party says is blocking his or her view of the surrounding landscape. This could prove costly because, as Councilman Bob Whalen said, there would be ongoing maintenance costs to keep the tree from growing back into sightlines.

In the latter case, if excessive trimming is required, an arborist would be called in. According to the suggested policy, the requester would pay the bill, which the city said could range from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the type of tree, its age and size.

Whalen said the city should follow Lagunas view preservation and restoration ordinance, which applies to private property. In these cases, the owner of the vegetation in question must pay for ongoing trimming.

If you want to put it on a parallel, perhaps the requester pays the first time, Whalen said. The city should maintain on the restored view and not let it go back to what it was.

I dont know why we would exempt ourselves. That would fit with the good-neighbor policy.

Landscape architect Ann Christoph said she was largely satisfied with the staff recommendations but complained that under the proposal concerning views, there is no criteria for evaluating view info.

In our private ordinance, we have to have the applicant prove they had a view, she said. This has no provision [to prove] they had a view before. It opens it up to say, Oh, I could have a view there. Lets cut the public tree down.

Laguna budgeted $218,400 in fiscal year 2016-17 for maintenance of its 2,745 trees. The cost includes $160,000 for trimming and $58,400 for other expenses such as replanting, removal and pest control, according to a staff report.

Under the staff proposal regarding maintenance requests of trees in areas not considered official city property, a person would need to submit a request to the city, after which an arborist would inspect the trees overall health.

The council would decide whether the tree should be maintained by the city or property owner.

Any determination would hinge on verifying that the tree stood on property void of city responsibility.

But Whalen requested clarification about what would be done if uncertainty arose about the lands rightful owner.

At the meeting, city staff said a title search could cost $400 and a survey to determine who is legally responsible for the tree could cost $2,500.

Laguna doesnt have a list of the trees located on such gray-area land, City Manager John Pietig said.

In April, the council adopted a policy that requires a thorough vetting of a city trees health before a decision is made regarding whether it should be removed. This process could include an arborists analysis and an on-site meeting to gather public input.

Tree advocates cried foul this year when the city removed a eucalyptus tree in the Lumberyard mall area that experts said was at risk of falling.

And what prompted this recent deliberation of city tree procedures is an ailing, 50-foot eucalyptus next to Urth Caffe, at 308 N. Coast Hwy. A decision on its fate still has not been made, though the tree was given about three months to show some signs of recovery after an arborist initially looked at it.

City trees are trimmed either yearly or biannually, depending on the species and growing characteristics.

The three most prevalent species are Mexican fan palm, California sycamore and coast live oak, the staff report said.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce
A 45-year-old woman was hospitalized Thursday morning after a pickup struck her while she was crossing a Costa Mesa street, authorities said.

The woman, described as a transient, was crossing the intersection of Orange Avenue and 17th Street at 5:18 a.m. when a 1992 Ford Ranger hit her, said Costa Mesa police Lt. Victor Bakkila.

The woman was rushed to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where she was treated for a broken nose and abrasions, Bakkila said.

The driver of the pickup, a 28-year-old woman from Costa Mesa, was uninjured and was cooperative with authorities, Bakkila said. She was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, he said.

Police were investigating whether the pedestrian was intoxicated, Bakkila said.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter: @benbrazilpilot
Egypt is set to receive its second Mistral-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) warship from France on Friday, state owned news agency MENA reported.

According to MENA, the Egyptian navy chief Osama Rabie arrived in France leading a senior Egyptian military delegation to attend the inauguration of the LHD named after the late Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat.

The agency added that Rabie would raise the Egyptian flag on the helicopter carrier in the Saint-Nazaire harbour located in western France with the attendance of Frances marine chief Admiral Christophe Prazuck and a number of military leaders from both sides as well as representatives for the Mistral manufacturers DCNS.

Bilateral talks will also be held between the Egyptian navy commander and his French counterpart to discuss ways of boosting bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest in the MENA region.

This is the second carrier that Egypt is set to receive only three months after it welcomed the first Mistral helicopter dock -- named after late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser -- in June in Alexandria coming from the French city Toulouse.

The contract for the two Mistral carriers, which was finalised in September last year, was valued at 950 million Euros, according to AFP.

The Mistral deal is part of several defence contracts Egypt signed with France, with the European country now topping the list of countries to have signed military supply agreements with Egypt during the term of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

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A Long Beach woman is suspected of stealing more than $10,000 from large retail stores by using a short change scam, said Irvine police, who arrested the woman Thursday.

Ashlie Pentard, 29, is suspected of running the scam by making small cash purchases at the stores. Then, police said, When the cashier provided change, Pentard would quickly switch the large bills with smaller bills and insist the store had provided her with short change.

Investigators allege Pentard did this about 150 times since 2013 at Target stores in California, Arizona and Utah, stealing about $100 in each transaction.

Some of the Target stores Pentard hit were in Irvine, police said.

Irvine detectives identified Pentard as the suspect, police said, and after watching her allegedly use the scam at a Costa Mesa Target store Thursday they took her into custody on suspicion of commercial burglary.

Police said Target helped in the investigation by providing detailed documentation of the crime spree at its stores.
The Laguna Beach City Council this week considered the good and bad of a regional study looking at ways to improve safety on the 37 miles of Coast Highway in Orange County, but took no official vote on it.

The Orange County Transportation Authority and the California Department of Transportation teamed up to assess the state-owned highway from Seal Beach to San Clemente, beginning in 2012 at the behest of local municipalities.

The suggestions include pedestrian scrambles and illuminated crossings with advanced warning systems. With a scramble, all cars stop at the intersection, allowing pedestrians from all corners to cross at the same time.

At Tuesdays City Council meeting, council members and City Manager John Pietig appeared interested in scrambles, and Pietig didnt dismiss the concept of flashing crosswalk lights but said they need to be good and effective.

People walking in the crosswalk cant see whether the lights are on or not, he said about the citys current lighting system.

Study authors suggested adding bike lanes along Coast Highway throughout the corridor, which could mean the loss of street parking, but the idea generated concerns among council members for motorist and cyclist safety.

Weve looked at this and that is probably the most dangerous stretch in California, from [Laguna Art] Museum to Legion [Street], Mayor Pro Tem Toni Iseman said. Then you go a little bit farther and you get the car doors [opening] and pedestrians. If we were to encourage bikes on Coast Highway, I cant imagine how dangerous it would be.

Coming as no surprise to anyone, the studys authors concluded that heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic add to delays along Coast Highway.

Iseman pointed out problems leading to congestion.

She said the left-hand turn pocket from Coast Highway onto Broadway Street does not allow room for all the cars going in that direction, leading to a line of vehicles extending into a through lane.

And, Iseman said, the left-hand turn signal from Coast Highway onto Legion Street is too brief, giving only one or two cars an opportunity to move before it turns red.

Ultimately, cities will decide what, if any, changes they wish to make. In Lagunas case, that will probably mean working out details with Caltrans.

Joseph Alcock, OCTAs planning manager, suggested agencies apply for grant funding.

--

Bryce Alderton, bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce
Development projects, city debt and the future of Mariners Mile were among topics discussed Wednesday night during Speak Up Newports City Council candidate forum at the Newport Beach Civic Center.

About 100 people attended the event, moderated by Michele Gile, the Orange County reporter for KCBS-TV/2 and KCAL-TV/9.

Newport voters will decide Nov. 8 who should fill three available seats on the City Council.

Harbor Commissioner Brad Avery and law student Shelley Henderson are running for the District 2 seat, which represents Newport Heights and Newport Crest. The districts current council member, Tony Petros, is not running for re-election. Henderson did not attend the forum.

Businessman and community activist Mike Glenn, businessman Lee Lowrey and retired educator Jeff Herdman are vying for the District 5 seat, which represents Balboa Island, Harbor Island, the Fashion Island area and a portion of Big Canyon. Councilman Ed Selich, who currently represents District 5, is termed out this year.

Attorney and city Finance Committee member Will ONeill, attorney Phil Greer and former Planning Commissioner Fred Ameri are running for the District 7 seat, which represents Newport Coast and Newport Ridge. Councilman Keith Curry, who currently represents the area, also is termed out this year.

All of the candidates spoke in favor of Banning Ranch LLCs proposal to build 895 homes, a 75-room hotel, a 20-bed hostel and 45,100 square feet of retail space on 62 acres of coastal land.

The California Coastal Commission denied the project this month, citing a lack of cohesion between the developer and commission staff members who recommended the project be reduced to about one-third of the proposed size.

Avery said he would prefer the development to be about half the size.

Ameri, who in previous forums said he believed the development was too large but that the property owner has the right to build something on the land, said Wednesday that he believes its a good project that would clean up an old oil field.

The candidates also weighed in on the citys efforts to rejuvenate Mariners Mile, a stretch of West Coast Highway between Newport Boulevard and Dover Drive.

In 2011, the council identified Mariners Mile as one of six zones needing revitalization. Work in other areas, including Corona del Mar, Balboa and Lido villages, West Newport and Santa Ana Heights, has been underway for years.

However, a decision on how best to use the narrow Mariners stretch, which is hemmed in by bluffs on one side and Newport Harbor on the other, has long eluded city leaders.

City Council hopefuls spoke about improving the areas walkability through sidewalk expansions and maintaining the current traffic-lane count.

Greer said the city should use recent projects in Corona del Mar, such as a sidewalk expansion along East Coast Highway, as a template for how to make Mariners Mile more pedestrian-friendly.

Avery said he also supports making the area safer for pedestrians. The traffic is just violent, Avery said. Cars are going so fast, its uncomfortable to walk it right now.

Glenn said that while landowners along Mariners Mile likely would have most of the say in how the area develops, he indicated he would support a boardwalk and shuttle service there.

Lowrey also supported building a boardwalk.

ONeill said hed like to see a more open, walkable harbor area but is relying on residents to share their visions.

Herdman said he wants the area to be a nautical village with open harbor views.

Ameri said the city should maintain the same number of traffic lanes on the highway and perhaps remove street parking to be able to widen sidewalks.

The candidates also were asked about a recent proposal supported by Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon and Councilman Scott Peotter to place a charter amendment on the local ballot asking voters whether they want to require public approval before the city can use a certificate of participation or a lease revenue bond greater than $10 million.

A certificate of participation, a financial instrument for issuing bonds to fund capital improvements, was used in funding part of the Civic Center development project.

Lease revenue bonds are secured by lease payments made by the party, often a municipality, leasing the facilities that were paid for by the bond. Newport does not have any lease revenue bonds.

In August, the City Council decided to hold off on the ballot measure proposal and sent it to the Finance Committee for consideration.

Avery, Lowrey, Greer and Glenn indicated support for giving voters a say on city debt. Ameri said he agrees with it in concept.

Its the government. They are always going to want to get into your pocket, Glenn said. We need to protect ourselves through a voting mechanism. We never know whos going to be on the City Council in five, 10, 20 years. We need to be able to have that power ourselves as citizens.

ONeill said hes looking forward to discussing the proposal at the Finance Committee but that it isnt ready for the November ballot.

Herdman said he strongly opposes the measure because it could limit the citys ability to fund important projects, especially during an emergency.

As a city councilman, I would not want to have my hands tied, he said.

Voters in November will consider a different ballot measure spearheaded by Curry that asks whether a super-majority vote of the council should be required to approve tax increases.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
The world is often abysmal and dark as a bad dream. Utopians surrender any understanding of reality for the promise of societal perfection. The search for Nirvana is ultimately a futile and dangerous quest that encompasses and necessitates the death of reason. Its a precarious ideology that inhibits detente and empowers enemies.

William James essay, What Makes Life Significant, tells us there is no escape from anxiety and struggle. He contends, though, that the very ills of life give it its color. In our attempt to provide balance, and for survival, our only solution then is the legislation of morality. Morality does not evolve from the floor of the Senate; subsequently, a strong presence is worth considering.

Is the world any better this week, on the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001? We are even more polarized politically, socially, religiously and racially than we were on that fateful Tuesday morning, that changed our collective face. Our stature in the world has eroded. This happened while Americans slept.

Robert C. OBrien, a La Canada resident, recently authored a book, While America Slept. He asserts that under the current administrations lead from behind foreign policy, the world has become a more dangerous place.

OBriens professional and political vita are impressive. He earned his juris doctorate from UC Berkeley. He then joined the Judge Advocate Generals Corps of the U.S. Army and reached the rank of major.

OBrien was a senior legal officer with the United Nations Security Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Nominated by President George W. Bush and approved by the Senate, Robert OBrien served as the U.S. alternate representative of the United Nations General Assembly where he worked with Ambassador John Bolton. There, he addressed the General Assembly on the question of Palestine and represented the United States in discussions on international terrorism. He was the founding co-chairman of the Department of State Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan, serving under two secretaries of State, Condoleezza Rice and later Hillary Clinton.

In his book, OBrien offers essays backed by historical rationales as antidotes to the aggressions of Russia and China, a nuclear Iran, an unstable Middle East, Islamic terrorism, a weakened military, and the rise of ISIS. He cites a lack of American leadership that has traditionally provided a steadying influence in the chaos of our world.

In the first section of his book, he discusses the pitfalls of isolationism. Sections 2 and 3 support a peace through strength approach to world affairs. In Section 4 he discusses and emerging China. Sections 5 and 6 deal with terrorism and rationale, respectively.

In one of his essays, OBrien asks What would Churchill do? Winston Churchill, one of OBriens political heroes, warned of the impending dangers of then-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlains appeasement toward German expansion, which eventually engulfed the world in war. He draws a parallel between prewar Europe and the current affairs of the world. OBrien cautions that while America sleeps we might be going down the same path.

I find OBriens interest and endeavors in political ideology fascinating. He said his curiosity was spurred when his father, a Marine officer, took him to a Ronald Reagan political rally. There, he was mesmerized by the excitement of the event and by Reagans charisma.

After graduating from college, he assisted former President Richard Nixon write a book, The Real War, which was intended to have an impact on the presidential campaign of 1980.

Mitt Romney, whom the La Canadan advised in his 2012 presidential bid, said, OBrien is a five-tool player. He can do any job in any agency. I wouldnt be surprised hes the next presidents national security adviser.

--

JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
TripAdvisor reviewers ranked the USS Midway Museum in San Diego and the Getty Center in Brentwood as two of the 10 best museums in the U.S. The sites join a list that begins with the No. 1 ranked Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Based on positive reviews and ratings over a 12-month period, the Metropolitan Museum ranked tops in the world too, TripAdvisor said in a release Tuesday.

Because these are the most popular museums on the planet, you also might think about buying tickets in advance online.

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In the United States, these ranked highest:

1. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York ($25 for e-tickets)

2. Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago ($25)

3. The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City ($24 for museum admission)

4. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans ($26)

5. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington (free)

One of the aircraft featured at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times )

6. USS Midway Museum in San Diego ($20)

7. Getty Center in Brentwood (free, $10 to $15 for parking)

8. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Titusville, Fla. (starting at $50)

9. National Gallery of Art in Washington (free)

10. American Museum of Natural History in New York ($22)

Here are TripAdvisors picks for the best museums in the world:

2. Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago

3. State Hermitage Museum & Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia ($17.95)

4. Musee dOrsay in Paris ($13)

5. National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropologia) in Mexico City ($3)

6. The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York ($24 for museum admission)

7. Prado National Museum in Madrid ($17)

8. British Museum in London ($13)

9. Acropolis Museum in Athens ($5)

10. Vasa Museum in Stockholm ($15)

Check out TripAdvisors top 25 list of U.S. and world museum rankings.
Deep beneath the City of Light lies what some believe to be an energy bonanza ripe for harvest.

If the rosy forecasts are correct, France is sitting on one of the biggest deposits of shale gas in Western Europe, enough to supply the country for decades and even some neighboring ones as well. French companies such as energy giant Total already boast the know-how for conducting the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, needed to extract the natural gas.

Theres just one hitch: Fracking is forbidden in France. And the current government has pledged to keep it that way.

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French officials side with those who consider fracking dangerous and environmentally damaging because of its deep-bore drilling and use of high-pressured, chemically treated water to blast apart rock to release the gas trapped inside. Backers of the ban say that estimates of French shale gas reserves are wildly optimistic and that the focus should be on reining in fossil fuel consumption, not encouraging it.

But the energy industry warns that France is making a big, and costly, mistake.

At a time when Europe is talking urgently of the need to decrease its reliance on imported gas from a newly muscular Russia, to ignore a possible major source of energy here at home is inexplicable, critics say. The French government has outlawed not just exploitation but even exploration of potential shale gas reserves, making an informed debate on whats out there and what to do with it impossible, energy executives complain.

The fact that fracking is banned puts a lid on everything, said Jean-Louis Schilansky, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries. France is at a standstill, which could be, in the long term, a real problem.

France is the only one of the European Unions 28 nations besides Bulgaria to ban fracking for shale gas, although some other countries have adopted a cautious wait-and-see attitude. By contrast, across the English Channel, the British government has announced enthusiastically that it is going all out for shale and issued numerous permits for prospecting.

This has given rise to what Schilansky calls a strange state of affairs, in which French energy companies have invested millions of dollars in other countries such as Britain in pursuit of an activity theyre prohibited from undertaking in their own.

But environmentalists note that popular opinion in France is strongly against fracking  as high as 80%. Thats greater than the opposition to nuclear energy, which provides most of Frances electricity.

Both sides of the debate agree that public sentiment has been heavily influenced by the controversial 2010 documentary Gasland, which blamed fracking for polluting groundwater in the United States. The Oscar-nominated film, which famously shows a Pennsylvania man lighting the water from his tap on fire, struck a chord with the French, who cherish their tracts of unspoiled countryside and pride themselves on having given Evian and Perrier to the world.

The costs are a thousand times worse than the benefits, said Benoit Hartmann, spokesman for France Nature Environment, an umbrella organization of environmental groups. In Texas, you do digging, and its culturally accepted. But here its not like this. People say, Its our land; its our richness.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there could be nearly 4 trillion cubic meters of gas, about 80 times Frances current annual consumption of roughly 50 billion cubic meters. Most of the reserves are believed to lie beneath the Paris Basin, in northern France.

But critics say that the figure is little more than a guess since no comprehensive study has been conducted and that, in any case, not all the trapped gas would be extractable. They cite the example of Poland  the only EU country thought to harbor a larger shale gas supply than France  where colossally high estimates have been consistently revised downward. Some energy companies that rushed to lay their hands on prospecting licenses in Poland have begun pulling out in disappointment.

The energy industry argues that France should at least allow an assessment to be performed to lend context to public debate.

The key is to evaluate how much there is, Schilansky said. As long as were not doing that, its [just] throwing arguments about, like philosophy.

Whats not in dispute is the fact that, at present, France relies on other countries for almost all of its natural gas, importing it from Norway, the Netherlands and northern Africa.

Though it also receives some from Russia, France is less dependent on Russian supplies than other European countries, such as Germany and Italy. That may have fostered a lesser sense of urgency here than elsewhere in Europe of the need to develop domestic sources.

Yet as a leading member of the EU, which has made weaning itself from Russian gas a priority since Moscows annexation of Ukraines Crimea region, France is under pressure to be part of the solution. An EU energy strategy report released last month emphasized the need to pursue alternative, homegrown sources of gas.

If we dont want to be overdependent [on Russia], then we will have to do anything we can to meet our own energy needs, said Thierry Bros, senior European gas analyst for Societe Generale in Paris. We have no silver bullet ready to fire today. Its going to be a very lengthy and possibly costly process.

Advocates of shale gas say it offers a good transition for countries trying to reduce oil consumption and to increase cleaner fuel sources such as solar and wind, which currently account for a negligible, and usually quite expensive, portion of most nations energy supplies. Currently, 75% of Frances energy comes from nuclear power  the most of any advanced nation. About 15% is derived from renewable sources and the rest from fossil fuels.

Frances fracking ban may become politically harder to sustain if Britain successfully taps its reserves and starts seeing its gas prices drop. That would leave French industrialists wringing their hands over the high cost of doing business at home and bemoaning Frances loss of competitiveness.

My guess is that we are going to wait for the U.K. to see how theyre doing it. If the U.K. can do this in a profitable and environmentally efficient way, then France will have few options, Bros said. If you have companies leaving your country because of energy prices, you have to look at a Plan B.

The prohibition on fracking was enacted in 2011 by the conservative government of President Nicolas Sarkozy amid the wave of anti-fracking hostility that caught the energy industry flat-footed.

We were completely overwhelmed, Schilansky acknowledged. It was a kind of blitzkrieg. It started in February, Gasland was [broadcast] in March or April, and the law was passed in July. It was extraordinary.

A few prospecting permits that had already been issued by the government were suddenly revoked, drawing protests and a lawsuit from one of the companies. A high-court ruling last year struck down the suit.

Sarkozys Socialist successor, Francois Hollande, has promised to maintain the embargo as long as he is president, which, given his record low approval ratings, might be only through the end of his current term, in 2017.

Despite his stated opposition to fracking, Hollandes administration has sent mixed signals. His economy minister has suggested that shale gas is worth exploring, and the new environment minister  Hollandes fourth in two years  recently said of fracking that, if new technologies that arent dangerous emerge, why not?

Such equivocation alarms environmentalists intent on keeping France fracking-free.

Although public opinion is in their corner, theyre aware that the energy industry is lobbying politicians to allow at least some preliminary exploration and investment during a time of deep economic malaise in France.

We know that the arguments that our opponents make are strong, said Hartmann of France Nature Environment. We know that when you face a crisis like we are now, its more efficient to argue that youll create jobs, that youll reduce your dependency, that youre sitting on a gold mine.

But he believes that Frances natural beauty, the health of its people and the future of the planet will all be imperiled if energy companies are given free rein to extract shale gas, which remains, after all, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming.

We should be careful, Hartmann said. We know what the risk is. We cant take this risk.

henry.chu@latimes.com

Special correspondent Tracy McNicoll in Paris contributed to this report.
Seven years after leaving his village in northern India to find work in the bursting metropolis of Mumbai, Sundar Singh Jatav was struggling in a menial job at a video game shop. The $2.50 daily wage was hardly enough with his family back home deep in debt.

So in late 2015, when his boss introduced him to a man who promised to solve his financial problems, Jatav listened  and was shocked.

He suggested I sell my kidney, said Jatav, now 23.

What happened over the next several months would upend his life  and reveal a high-level kidney trafficking network inside one of the most reputed hospitals in Indias financial capital.

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At least 14 people, including four doctors and the hospitals chief executive, have been arrested since July when police, acting on information provided by Jatav, stopped a kidney transplant involving a 48-year-old patient who had presented forged documents purporting that the organ donor was his wife.

The ring is part of what one news outlet dubbed the Great Indian Kidney Racket.

Because the country harvests relatively few organs from people who die in accidents  the most common source of kidneys in the U.S.  the vast majority of transplants here involve living donors who give up one of their two kidneys.

To reduce the chances that money is changing hands, which is illegal in India and almost everywhere else, the law allows, with rare exceptions, only a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent or grandchild to act as a donor.

Sundar Singh Jatav, 23, shows the scar from his kidney operation. (Parth M.N. / For The Times )

For patients who dont have a relative with a suitable kidney or dont want to put a loved one through the small risk that donation entails, there is another option: a shadowy marketplace in which well-off patients can buy organs from strangers. The sellers are often impoverished, recruited from small towns by middlemen and made to present falsified papers  sometimes in collusion with doctors.

This is part of our VIP culture, said Dr. Sanjay Nagral, a surgeon and publisher of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. It comes from our larger understanding and our acceptance that if you have money in India, you can buy so many things, so what is so different about buying organs?

No one knows how many of the roughly 8,000 kidney transplants performed in India last year were illegal, but organ scams periodically surface. A month before the Mumbai arrests, a leading hospital in New Delhi was found to have performed at least three kidney transplants based on sham documents.

The case that Jatav exposed involved L.H. Hiranandani Hospital, a private facility in Powai, a prosperous suburb of wide boulevards and expansive apartments. Authorities are investigating at least four transplants at the hospital and have ordered it to temporarily stop carrying out the surgeries.

Obviously, this case is just an indicator of whats going on beneath the surface, Nagral said. We dont know the extent of it, but its very difficult for these kidney sales to be completely stopped.

The trade exists in part because of the large pool of Indians desperate enough to give up a vital organ. Just as surrogacy grew into a booming industry over the last decade, with thousands of childless Indian and foreign couples hiring Indian women to carry their babies, laborers surviving on a few dollars a day are ripe targets for agents who offer thousands for a kidney.

They basically use the poor man as a sacrificial lamb to prolong the life of the rich.  Suresh Gupta, activist with the Indian National Congress party

Jatav, the youngest of four siblings from Uttar Pradesh, is a prime example.

Slender and shy, with barely a fourth-grade education, Jatav had been forced to become the breadwinner: His parents were weakened from old age, his sister had died from an illness, and his two brothers were unable to work because of mental disabilities.

The family was more than $10,000 in debt, and Jatav was the only hope.

In an interview in a cramped Mumbai cafe, he described his role. At first, he declined to sell a kidney. But then the agent, Iqbal Siddiqui, put him in touch with a friendly, sweet-talking man who called himself Sandeep.

Sandeep arranged for him to visit Hiranandani, a sprawling medical complex overlooking a lake. There, the small-town young man sat in a room with three doctors who told him that donating a kidney was no different than giving blood, he recalled.

I trusted them, Jatav said. I thought they were good people wanting to help me with my financial condition.

Sandeep did not offer Jatav a specific price for his kidney, saying only that it would be enough to pay off his familys debt and promising to help him get a better job. To sweeten the deal, Sandeep moved Jatav, who had been sleeping on a mattress in a corner of the video game store, into a small apartment rent-free.

Jatav never saw the donor forms that were submitted on his behalf, which claimed he and the recipient  later revealed to be a 30-year-old woman from New Delhi  were siblings from suburban Mumbai. He was admitted to the hospital March 15 after undergoing blood tests.

Two days later, his kidney was removed. Within a week, he was discharged.

But he had not been paid, and Sandeep was dodging his calls. When they finally spoke, Sandeep was evasive about the money but offered to bring Jatav on as a sort of assistant, tasking him with carrying bags and files.

Jatav can barely read English. But he observed Sandeep meeting with other donors and realized that their documents also were being forged to show a blood relationship with a kidney patient.

Through a friend, Jatav contacted Suresh Gupta, an activist with the Indian National Congress political party, and slipped him two pages of a transplant application. On July 12, two days before Brijkishore Jaiswal, a 48-year-old sari merchant, was to undergo surgery, Jatav called Gupta, who tipped off police.

Jaiswal and the seller, a 42-year-old housekeeper, were arrested just before the operation was to start.

The three doctors who allegedly persuaded Jatav to give up a kidney were arrested and freed on bail. A preliminary inquiry conducted by state health officials and leaked to Indian news media suggests they were complicit in the scam, although a lawyer for the doctors called the allegations nonsense.

Police also arrested the hospitals transplant coordinator, who allegedly arranged phony documents, as well as Siddiqui and Sandeep, whose real name is Bhijendra Bisen.

Bisen, 42, is one of Mumbais most notorious organ traffickers. He was jailed a decade ago for a similar scam and has confessed to involvement in more than 30 kidney transplants over the last four years, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

Jaiswal had paid him more than $30,000 for the transplant, his lawyer, Shabnam Khadri, said in an interview. The hospital said it received $7,000. The seller was promised about $3,000. When police raided the transplant coordinators home, they reportedly found $12,000 in cash. It was unclear how the rest was to be distributed.

Gupta, the activist, said agents like Bisen exploit ignorance and vulnerability.

They basically use the poor man as a sacrificial lamb to prolong the life of the rich, he said.

India was once a top destination for transplant tourists  patients from the United States and other wealthy countries who traveled here to receive kidneys because of shortages in their countries. Facing criticism that the system exploited the poor and that the procedures were secretive and often unsafe, India passed a law in 1994 that banned organ sales and allowed only close relatives to serve as donors.

Researchers believe that 220,000 Indians need kidneys, but the nonprofit Indian Transplant Registry estimates that only 8,000 people got one last year.

One reason is that most transplants are performed in private hospitals at a cost of $10,000 or more, and few people have health insurance or the money to pay for it.

Those who can afford a transplant face another obstacle: The lack of a national system to collect organs from cadavers  such as the more than 100,000 Indians who die each year in car accidents  means that kidneys are in short supply.

Only about 15% of Indias transplanted kidneys come from deceased donors, although that figure has been rising steadily. Some eligible living donors are simply afraid to part with an organ, even for a relative, doctors say.

That has helped give rise to the black market for living donors posing as relatives.

Its a supply-and-demand problem, said Sunil Shroff, a urologist who runs the transplant registry. Families are sometimes pushed against the wall when theyre not able to find a solution. In desperation, they can do all kinds of stupid things.

It is unclear why Jatav was never paid. Had he been, it is likely the kidney ring would have remained hidden.

After going public, he said, he received threatening phone calls that prompted him to take his wife back to his village for her safety. Although he agreed to have his story told in an American newspaper, he has not revealed his role in the case to her or other family members.

He remains in Mumbai, where he has asked for police protection and is looking for a job, having quit the video store before the operation. A friend is paying his rent.

He lifted up his white button-down shirt to reveal a foot-long scar across the right side of his torso. His appetite has diminished, he has bouts of dizziness, and he cannot walk for more than a few minutes without fatigue  symptoms he blames on the kidney procedure, even though such complications are rare. He does not have money to see a doctor.

I was the only son who my parents thought could make some money for them, he said. With my health, what options do I have now?

But he is not the only one in this story to suffer.

Before his transplant was foiled, Jaiswal had been surviving on twice-weekly dialysis treatments and was usually nauseated and weak. He turned to the black market for a kidney, his lawyer said, because no one in his family was willing to donate.

After his arrest, he was granted bail because of his declining health and returned home to the neighboring state of Gujarat. He continued to get sicker and on Aug. 31, six weeks after Jatav blew the whistle, died of kidney failure.

Family members took his body to be cremated along the Ganges River in Varanasi, the holiest city in Hinduism, where all ones sins are believed to be absolved upon death.

Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia

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After her grandmother passed away five years ago, Urmi Jadhavs family abandoned her. They do not care whether she is dead or alive, Jadhav said.

My grandmother used to stand by me, said Jadhav, a 45-year-old transgender woman. After she passed away, my mother, sister and brother made my life miserable. That included shutting her out of her grandmothers inheritance, she said.

The estimated 500,000 transgender people in India face intense discrimination, prompting lawmakers last month to introduce the countrys first legislation aimed at guaranteeing their rights. But transgender activists say it could actually make their lives more difficult.

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The bill affirms the rights of transgender people to gain an education, hold a job, receive healthcare and rent and buy property. Anyone who violates the provisions would be subject to fines and jail sentences of six months to two years.

As if the humiliation we face in the society was not enough, the government has decided to inflict an added misery.  Urmi Jadhav, a representative of Humsafar Trust

The bill also reserves certain numbers of government jobs for transgender people, as India does for members of disadvantaged castes and tribes.

But to exercise these rights, the law would require people to obtain a certificate from a screening committee that certified them as transgender. The committee would be made up of health and welfare officials, a psychologist and a member of the transgender community, but the bill does not specify how transgender status would be checked.

Jadhav, a representative of Humsafar Trust, said she cant bear the thought of strangers determining her identity.

Who are they to decide whether I am transgender or not? Jadhav said. As if the humiliation we face in the society was not enough, the government has decided to inflict an added misery.

The bill defines a transgender person as someone who is not wholly male or wholly female, or is a combination of the two. Activists say the language perpetuates the binary categories of male and female that many transgender people find discriminatory, and say it conflates a persons sexual organs with their gender identity, which may not match.

Sex is about the biological presences in the body, while gender is something psychological, said Koninika Roy, advocacy manager at Humsafar Trust. Gender, she said, is disregarded in the bills definition.

The bill was passed by the Cabinet in July and this month was referred to a committee of experts who could suggest changes. It requires parliamentary approval to become law.

An Indian transgender woman dances during a demonstration Aug. 26 in Hyderabad. (Mahesh Kumar A. / Associated Press )

While the legislation was intended to be progressive, activists regard it as a step back from a 2014 judgment in Indias Supreme Court that affirmed a persons right to identify as a man, woman or transgender person.

Global human rights groups call for adherence to the Yogyakarta Principles, adopted after an international meeting in Indonesia in 2006, which call for legal recognition of a persons self-defined sexual orientation and gender identity.

South Asian countries have been relatively progressive in their adoption of laws based on, or similar to, those principles. Like India, Bangladesh and Nepal have passed legislation recognizing a third gender.

In June, clerics in Pakistan issued a decree saying that transgender people should be allowed to marry under Islamic law if they dont have visible signs of both genders. The decree  though not legally binding  came a month after a prominent transgender activist was fatally shot in a killing that underscored the marginalization the community faces.

India still has a colonial-era statute in place that criminalizes sexual relations against the order of nature, meaning a transgender person could be arrested for engaging in consensual sex. The transgender rights bill avoids the subject entirely, activists said.

The bill treats transgenders as asexual, Humsafar Trust founder Ashok Row Kavi said. It does not give them the right to love.

Transgender women  also called hijras  appear in ancient Hindu texts, and their blessings are thought to bring good luck at weddings and births. Despite their role in religion, they are cast off from mainstream society. Many turn to begging  one of their main means of income  or demand large sums to perform at religious ceremonies.

But begging is outlawed, and the bill does not protect transgender people from being arrested for it. Many turn to prostitution.

They endure humiliation at hospitals, where admission forms dont have a transgender category and doctors are often reluctant to check them physically.

Doctors verbally ask for symptoms and prescribe medicines, Jadhav said.

For transgender people who seek sex change operations, the stigma often forces them into shady clinics where procedures are unhygienic, resulting in medical complications and even deaths.

The bill empowers transgender people to complain to police, but one of the gravest sources of abuse they face is the police. Cops use anti-begging laws to harass and sometimes sexually abuse them, and many transgender people would be reluctant to approach the police to report an offense, Jadhav said.

The transgender community in India is organized and tightly knit, largely because many, like Jadhav, are abandoned by their families. The bill seeks to address discrimination by families, saying transgender people have a right to reside and be included in their homes, but activists say many families are not sensitized to accept LGBT children.

Row Kavi said the bill did not take into account the needs and preferences of the transgender community and would upset the social system the community has developed.

The government is trying to engage them in its own mythical way, Row Kavi said.

Parth M.N. is a special correspondent.

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Five Central American countries -- Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica -- started their Independence Day celebrations September 15.

For one weekend in September, more than 155 million people in six neighboring countries on one continent pull out all the stops to honor the birth of their nations. Mexico joins in the celebrations on September 16th.

September 15 also marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. During one month, latinos from representing countries gather to celebrate their traditions, food, music, history and overall culture and heritage.

Festivities, Celebrations and History

We asked people from each country to send in their best images from past and present Independence Day celebrations. From masked revelers in Guatemala to elaborately costumed dance troupes in Honduras, we received stunning images from nations proud to celebrate their beginnings.

The festivities are marked with fireworks, traditional folk songs, dancing and costumes. There are also parades, street parties, festivals and family gatherings, though each country in Central America has its own approach to the big day.

Since 1981, Belize has held "September Celebrations" to honor both its independence from the U.K. and The Battle of St. George's Caye, a battle between invading Mexican forces and resident woodcutters in 1798. The celebrations are unique for their mystique; the Queen of the Bay beauty pageant, a citizens' parade, and a carnival of wild costumes and dancing allow the country to celebrate its native Mestizo and Maya culture.

On Sept. 7, Brazil celebrates its independence from Portugal in 1822. When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal in 1808, the Portuguese monarchs moved the court to Brazil and gave the colony more administrative independence. Eventually, Brazil refused to return to colony status and declared independence.

Chile celebrates its independence from Spain on Sept. 18, (the year they achieved independence was 1810.) With food, music, parades, and historical reenactments, the country holds "national parties" that can last for weeks. The national rodeo finals are held in Rancagua, while thousands of people fly kites in Antofagasta.

"El Grito" in Mexico

On Sept. 16, Mexico celebrates the "Grito de Dolores," or cry for independence from Spain that marked the beginning of the Mexican War for Independence in 1810. Every Sept. 15 at 11 p.m., the president of Mexico goes to the National Palace in the capital, rings a bell, makes a cry of patriotism, honors the war heroes, and shouts "Viva Mexico!" from the balcony to the 500,000 people assembled in the plaza below.

Everyone applauds and sings the national anthem; this ceremony is replicated around the country. Festivities continue the next day, including parades, marching band performances, concerts, and more. School parades, governmental events and more are part of these celebrations.

The 190th anniversary of the independence of Nicaragua will be held with a varied program of activities to be developed in the first two weeks of September. Public events, cleanups, the Torch of Independence Tour, lectures on the thought of national heroes, and more, will be part of the events scheduled for these festivities.

The events for the "patriotic month," as September is called by the national government, began Sept. 1 and ended Sept. 15, the date the Central American countries were declared independent from the Spanish crown back in 1821. "We have organized a series of activities to homage the heroic actions of Nicaraguans in order to obtain their independence, sovereignty and freedom", stated the program of activities provided by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education.
Russia's top army official is set to discuss the Syrian conflict on Thursday with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara, a fresh sign of healing relations damaged by Turkey's shooting down of a Russian war plane last year.

General Valery Gerasimov will meet Turkey's Hulusi Akar to "discuss the current situation and the prospects of resolution of the Syrian crisis" as well as bilateral military cooperation, the defence ministry said.

Moscow and Ankara began to mend ties in August after months of crisis following Turkey's downing of a Russian jet on the Syrian-Turkish border, which saw Russia accuse Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of profiting from illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group.

Gerasimov's visit had been expected in late August after Erdogan went to Moscow, but was then postponed.

Moscow has flown a year-long aerial bombing campaign in support of forces loyal to Syria's Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has backed the opposition seeking to oust him.

However, Ankara has welcomed the fragile last-ditch Russia-US truce plan agreed last week, which went into effect Tuesday and is supposed to halt fighting across areas not held by Islamist militants.

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Russia on Thursday said Syrian regime forces have begun pulling back from around a key road into the ravaged city of Aleppo in accordance with a truce deal hammered out with the US.

"The Syrian armed forces are fulfilling their obligations and have started a gradual withdrawal of military hardware and all personnel from the Castello Road," senior Russian officer Vladimir Savchenko said in a briefing, insisting that rebel groups were not pulling back as agreed.

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Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail Thursday following a bout of pneumonia that sidelined her for three days and revived questions about both the Democratic nominee and Republican Donald Trump's transparency regarding their health.

Clinton's campaign responded with a new letter from her doctor Wednesday declaring her "fit to serve" as president and recovering well from her recent illness. The letter  the first substantial update on her health in more than a year  details the medications she is taking, her cholesterol levels and other results from a physical exam.

Trump says he, too, plans to release details from a recent physical, though it's unclear when that will happen and how much information he will provide. So far, the businessman has only released a widely mocked letter from his longtime physician declaring he would be the healthiest president in history.

In keeping with Trump's unusual approach to transparency, the Republican handed over a one-page summary of his recent exam to Dr. Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Oz's show. A release from the show said "Dr. Oz took Mr. Trump though a full review of his systems," including his nervous system, cardiovascular health, prostate health and family medical history.

The show is due to air Thursday. Trump's campaign has not made a copy of the summary public ahead of the airing, nor is it certain he will do so after.

While Clinton has released more information than Trump  both about her health and financial history  her campaign's handling of her illness underscored her penchant for privacy, something that has contributed to the public's lack of trust in the former secretary of state. With less than two months from Election Day, Clinton's standing with Americans has contributed to a race that is tighter than both parties expected.

Clinton will spend Thursday campaigning in Greensboro, North Carolina, and speaking to a Hispanic group in Washington. It's her first public appearance since Sunday, when she abruptly left a 9/11 memorial service in New York after feeling becoming dizzy and dehydrated. After a video emerged of her stumbling and being held up by aides, the campaign revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia days earlier.

Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton's communications director, said the candidate's break from the campaign trail helped her "sharpen the final argument she will present to voters in these closing weeks." Clinton's remarks Thursday will focus on lifting up children and families, as the campaign tries to break through with a more positive message.

The new letter from Clinton's doctor stated that a chest scan revealed she had "mild, non-contagious bacterial pneumonia." Dr. Lisa Bardack, chair of internal medicine at CareMount Medical in Mount Kisco, New York, said Clinton was treated with a 10-day course of Levaquin, an antibiotic used to treat infections.

Bardack said Clinton is up to date on all vaccines, including two given to help prevent pneumonia  Prevnar and Pneumovax. The letter did not state when she received those vaccines.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," wrote Bardack, who also authored a letter about Clinton's health released in July 2015. "She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."

Clinton, 68, has blood pressure of 100 over 70. Her total cholesterol was 189; her LDL or "bad" cholesterol was 103, and her HDL or "good" cholesterol was 56  all within healthy levels and not signaling the need for any medications. She has also had a normal mammogram and breast ultrasound, according to the letter.

The letter from Clinton's doctor made no mention of her weight, a key part of any medical exam, nor did a similar letter released last year.

She takes thyroid and allergy medicines and the blood thinner Coumadin, prescribed as a preventative after she suffered a blood clot resulting from a 2012 concussion.

The blood clot, which was in a vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear, led Clinton to spend a few days in New York-Presbyterian Hospital and take a month-long absence from the State Department for treatment.

Clinton running mate Tim Kaine also released a letter from his doctor, Brian Monahan, the attending physician of Congress. The letter says Kaine is in "overall excellent health," has never smoked and has "modest" alcohol use.

A spokesman for Trump's running mate Mike Pence says the Indiana governor plans to release records from a recent physical examination as soon as his doctor compiles the information

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A Pakistani mother-of-three and the man she was allegedly having an affair with were hanged from a tree on Thursday, with police blaming her husband, brother and father for carrying out the killings.

The grisly murders occurred in the village of Chak 56 around 55 kilometres (33 miles) northeast of the central city of Multan.

Hundreds of so-called "honor killings", in which the victim, normally a woman, is killed by a male relative or relatives for bringing shame to the family are carried out in Pakistan every year.

"A woman and her alleged boyfriend were hanged to death by the woman's father, brother and husband after the woman was caught on a date with her boyfriend in the backyard of her house," Sardar Afzal Dogar, chief of the local police station told AFP.

The victims were named as Khalida Bibi, who was in her late twenties, and Mukhtiar Muhammad, who was around 19.

He said all three suspected murderers were arrested and had confessed to their crimes, adding the woman's husband had brought the alleged affair to the attention of the others.

The incident was confirmed by other local officials at the police station. "They were beaten up before being strung up in the tree and hanged," another official said.

Pakistan's law minister in July announced that bills aimed at tackling "honour killings" and boosting rape convictions would soon be voted on by parliament, following a slew of high profile cases including the killing of racy social media starlet Qandeel Baloch by her brother.

A young British Pakistani woman, Samia Shahid, was also murdered in July, with her husband blaming her family for orchestrating the killing.

The perpetrators of honour killings often walk free because they can seek forgiveness for the crime from another family member.

The new law, which aims to do away with the clemency option, has not been made available to the public and no firm date has been set on when it will be tabled.

Observers say the government is fearful of blowback from the religious right who believe being able to forgive a murder in exchange for blood money is an essential component of Islamic law.

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The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it has held "very productive discussions" with authorities in China and Saudi Arabia about them contributing to $5 billion to $6 billion in additional bilateral gap financing needed for Egypt.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a news briefing that he expected to the Fund's board to meet in the next few weeks to consider a $12 billion financing program for Egypt.

"There were, at the G20 leaders summit, very productive discussions with China and Saudi Arabia" regarding contributing to the gap financing," Rice said. "We are helping to secure the necessary financing, and progress is being made."

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A 65-year-old man who has addresses in Allentown and Brooklyn is married to women in both places, the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office charges.

A Brooklyn resident the district attorney's office is calling A.R. contacted the office on June 13 to report that her husband, Arturo Roberto Reid, had married a woman in Lehigh County, according to a news release.

A.R. found a receipt dated February 2015 from the Lehigh County Marriage License Bureau, the district attorney's office said. Reid was listed as the "payor" on an application to marry someone the district attorney's office is calling I. R-T.

After an investigation by county detective Andrew Canepa, the county charges Reid, while married to A.R., was married March 13, 2105, to I. R.-T. by District Judge Karen C. Devine, the district attorney's office said. A.R. and Reid were married Nov. 26, 2004, in New York City and never divorced, the district attorney's office said.

Reid, of the 200 block of Lenox Road in Brooklyn and the 1100 block of North 19th Street in Allentown, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon before Devine on a charge of bigamy, the district attorney's office and court papers say.

Bail was set at $2,500 unsecured and Reid was released, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 10:45 a.m. Oct. 10 in Devine's court.

The charge is a second degree misdemeanor and punishable by up to two years in prison and no more than a $5,000 fine.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Former Saucon Valley High School Principal Eric Kahler is on paid administrative leave until his official resignation Nov. 1, according to his release agreement.

Former Saucon Valley High School Principal Eric Kahler is shown speaking at the 2016 commencement.

On Tuesday night, the Saucon Valley School Board approved Kahler's resignation and the release agreement, but little was said about the terms of the deal.

Kahler has been on leave since Aug. 15, according to the agreement. The popular principal was hired in 2009 and was paid $116,808 in 2015-16, according to OpenPAgov.org's salary database.

District Solicitor Mark Fitzgerald said Kahler's continued pay is not unusual for a negotiated separation and release agreement.

"That is just part of the overall agreement. It was a negotiated agreement," Fitzgerald said. "He was on administration leave and this agreement was finalized."

The attorney declined to say if there was a complaint filed or an incident that precipitated the leave. The Pennsylvania Department of Education's educator discipline system shows no action taken against Kahler and all of his certifications are current.

Saucon has agreed to provide Kahler with a "neutral/factual letter of reference" that the two sides will develop together. And the district has also agreed not to complete a 2015-16 performance review for Kahler.

Parents said rumors were swirling about Kahler's absence at the start of school and some were critical about the district's lack of communication regarding it.

Principal Ken Napaver has been handling day-to-day operations at the high school in Kahler's absence. School district Superintendent Monica McHale-Small said the district is still formulating a long-term plan for the high school leadership.

"We want to thank Mr. Kahler for his service to the Saucon Valley School District and we wish him nothing but the best in his future educational endeavors," she said after the vote Tuesday.

Board President Michael Karabin said that legally he could say nothing beyond what is included in the agreement.

School Director Ed Inghrim noted the agreement sheds no light on why Kahler resigned.

"I, as a board member, had no idea what was going on before the (Aug. 23) board meeting. I can't speak for the president," Inghrim said Wednesday. "As a board member, I have no clue why he resigned, other than the fact we were told he was on leave and he was resigning."

Kahler is not the subject of any criminal investigation in Northampton County, District Attorney John Morganelli said.

The board held a closed-door meeting to discuss a district employee prior to its regular meeting on Aug. 23.

Ingrhrim noted the silence surrounding personnel matters is standard in education. As elected officials, all of the board members have a right to know what led to Kahler's resignation, Inghrim said, so they can responsibly represent the citizens who elected them.

"I've had nothing but respect for him as a high school principal. I was shocked he was resigning," Inghrim said, adding he thought he did a good job managing the school. "I'm in the dark as well as everybody else."

The district has agreed to pay Kahler until Oct. 31, but if he gets a job prior to that the district's "obligation to pay shall be reduced by employee's new salary," according to the agreement.

He will be paid $7,274.57 for his unused vacation time and continue to receive medical benefits until Oct. 31. He has the option to extend his coverage through COBRA, but he must pay 102 percent of the cost, according to the agreement.

Kahler cannot change his mind about his resignation and he is barred from applying for jobs in Saucon Valley again.

Saucon has released Kahler from any legal action stemming from his actions during the course of his duties, except for any third-party legal claims for damages filed against the district stemming from an injury or action caused by Kahler's willful misconduct, which must be judicially or legally decided.

Both sides are bound by a non-disparagement clause. Kahler agreed to release all claims against the district.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

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The Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Bethlehem will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil its complete renovation.

The ribbon-cutting is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the hotel at 2201 Cherry Lane, just off Interstate 78 near Hellertown.

A new lobby and newly upgraded rooms and furnishings were part of the renovation project.

The hotel owners said they spent about $1 million on the upgrades to the 80-room hotel.

The ribbon-cutting is being held in conjunction with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Melissa Cooper is the hotel's general manager.

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The Hellertown area's former district judge, who is under fire for using excessive profanity and running a "fast food" court, says he was set up by spy employees and his conversations were recorded illegally.

Former District Judge David Tidd

The attorney for former Judge David Tidd responded to the allegations against him with a court filing Wednesday that accuses the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board of violating the state's wiretap law by obtaining illegal audio recordings of Tidd.

The 96-page complaint filed in August against Tidd says he bullied staff, swore frequently and brusquely handled cases at his counter before all the interested parties even arrived for court.

The response filed by attorney Samuel C. Stretton asks for charges to be dismissed due to the recordings or at least for the state to turn over copies of the recordings.

Northampton County Deputy Court Administrator Debra French said Tidd himself is responsible for the recordings. He is the only judge who asked for audio recording devices when surveillance cameras and shatterproof glass went in at various courtrooms around the county.

As long as the work came in under budget, she let each judge tailor the security system to his or her needs, so she didn't even know about the audio recording equipment until Stretton brought it to her attention.

She said it has since been removed. It was confined to the lobby area of Tidd's office.

Stretton's court filing alleges that Tidd's employees were told behind his back to report Tidd's conduct to either the county's president judge or to the judicial conduct board.

"These employees were essentially made to be spies," which created an impossible work environment, Stretton wrote.

Tidd allegedly slept on the floor of his office in his judicial robes once and used the robes as a pillow when sleeping on the floor another time. Stretton said this conduct does not rise to the level of "disregard of dignity."

"This conduct was in the judge's private office. Mr. Tidd apparently tired and didn't feel well and took a nap," he wrote.

Other allegations in the complaint include:

A pen Tidd used to sign the warrant didn't work so he threw it and screamed "(expletive) son of a bitch." A second pen didn't work, so he used two expletives and threw that pen.

"I really don't need to see his f---ing ass crack while I'm eating lunch," he allegedly told court clerks about one defendant with drooping pants.

To staff cooperating with authorities, he allegedly said, "You know, for you to say you got mistreated by me takes balls. Takes a lot of balls. Look me in the face and tell me I did that. Look me in the face and tell me I did that. Look me in the face and tell me I mistreated you."

His method of conducting abbreviated and informal trials and hearings in his courtroom's reception area earned him the nickname "the drive-through judge." "They don't pay me enough to hold hearings," he's alleged to have said, along with, "This is nothing but traffic court."

Stretton said some of the allegations date back years and should have been addressed long ago.

"By delaying five to eight years, he had no opportunity to change or reform his conduct," Stretton wrote.

Tidd resigned effective July 25, less than seven months into his second six-year term. He had resigned in March but reversed his decision, only to resign again in July.

If he's convicted, Tidd could be fined or barred from ever serving as a judge again, according to Robert A. Graci, chief counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
What did Wegmans do with lobsters stuffed down pants?

Frozen lobster tails are seen in this file photo. Wegmans, responding to an inquiry, says it tosses stolen food when it is recovered. (NJ Advance Media file photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

It's not an uncommon crime, stealing from supermarkets, but one that routinely ends in arrest -- thanks to loss-prevention tactics.

Lehigh Valley police have reported arrests for razors in pants and lots of meat and seafood taken, including one case involving pepperoni and Prevacid.

After Wegmans was victimized again over the weekend, a spokeswoman for the chain responded to the question of what do they do with stolen food.

"We do not sell any food that's been pilfered," Jo Natale said. "Even when it's recovered, it is disposed."

That, then, is the fate of lobster tails allegedly stuffed down the pants of 51-year-old Vincent Barca Jr., of the 500 block of North 10th Street in Allentown.

Colonial Regional police say officers arrested Barca after responding about 4:45 p.m. Sunday to Wegmans off Route 512 in Hanover Township, Northampton County.

"Upon arrival they spoke to Asset Protection, who related that they observed a male, later identified as Barca, select frozen lobster tails and put them in his pants," police say in a news release. "Barca left the store, passing all open registers with the lobster tails in his pants, without rendering payment.

"He was stopped in the parking lot, escorted back to the Asset Protection Office, where the lobster tails were recovered, and Barca was held until police arrived."

Barca was issued a summary citation for retail theft and released. Police did not indicate how much the lobster tails cost, but the grading of the charge as a summary indicates the value was less than $150.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Target of Easton heroin raid an unemployed felon, father

A 34-year-old man was arrested late Thursday morning as Easton police shut down a heroin sales operation on College Hill, Lt. Matthew Gerould said.

Lewis Mobley, formerly from the Passaic area of New Jersey, was picked up on the street as the city's Special Response and Vice units arrived to enter an apartment at 414 Cattell St., Gerould said.

Mobley was living in the apartment with his girlfriend and her two children, said an employee of the downstairs business, the Beauty Exchange.

Mobley was to be arraigned later Thursday in District Judge Antonia Grifo's court on one count of possession with intent to deliver drugs, Gerould said.

Police recovered about $600 in heroin and $350 in cash, including money used to make controlled buys from Mobley, Gerould said.

Mobley was delivering the drug to people in the 300, 400 and 500 blocks of Cattell Street and to others Downtown, Gerould said. The vice investigation lasted about a month, Gerould added.

Mobley and his girlfriend were "very noisy tenants," Beauty Exchange employee Brian Walker said. But that was true even before Mobley moved in, Walker said.

While there wasn't a constant steam of people coming into the second-floor apartment, which enters to at the rear of the building, Mobley "was constantly running in and out," Walker said.

When mail for Mobley was accidentally dropped off at the first-floor business, Mobley was angry when retrieving it, Walker said, something that surprised the employee.

And the landlord would often be turned away when he arrived for prearranged appointments to make repairs upstairs, Walker said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Historic sites in Bethlehem are opening their doors this weekend to continue celebrating the 275th anniversary of the community's founding.

Free events are planned Saturday and Sunday at Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites' 1741 Gemeinhaus, 66 W. Church St., and 1744 Single Sisters' House, 44 W. Church St. in the city.

The schedule at the Gemeinhaus, Bethlehem's oldest extant building, include these family friendly activities 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days:

Learn to make your own paper Moravian star.

Dip and dress your own beeswax candle.

Dress up with costumed docents.

Snap a photo at a cutout photo station.

Enjoy live musical entertainment.

Tour the original worship spaces of Bethlehem.

See the oldest fire engines in the area.

Following at 2 p.m. Sunday is the annual Jeanette Barres Zug Lecture in the Gemeinhaus. The speaker is Tim Noble, of Noble Preservation Services, discussing how the the five-level log structure was constructed.

Known as meticulous record-keepers, Moravian settlers from Germany began digging the foundation Sept. 19, 1741. Enough of the building was completed by December that Count Zinzendorf was able to stay there when he came to christen the settlement as Bethlehem, on Christmas Eve 1741.

RSVP for the lecture with Megan Keenan at mkeenan@historicbethlehem.org or 610-882-0450, ext. 10.

At the Single Sisters' House, built to house single women during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Christmas City Artisan Pop-Up Shop is scheduled 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Featuring 20 artists working in media prevalent throughout the last three centuries, the shop will offer goods for sale in ceramics, textiles, glassblowing, metalsmithing, woodworking, soap-making and more.

To see two of the participating artisans in action, visit noon to 3 p.m. Sunday when Denise Wilz, of Wilz Pottery in Macungie, will demonstrate her sgraffito technique on redware pottery created in the Moravian tradition and Germansville's Patricia DeVries will show her wheat-weaving skills.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
14th annual Freddy Awards held May 26, 2016

The State Theatre is currently seeking qualified volunteers for the 2017 season.

(Saed Hindash | For Lehighvalleylive.com)

The State Theatre Center for the Arts Inc. is seeking qualified evaluators for their Freddy Awards program, which awards excellence in the production of high school musical theater. The program runs from January to May.

Introduced in 2003, the program sends a panel of six official evaluators to review each of the approximately 30 high school musical productions entered throughout Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania, and in Warren County, N.J.

Evaluators submit evaluation forms in 21 performance and production categories (i.e. Outstanding Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role, Outstanding Use of Scenery).

Nominations are announced in early May and followed in late May with a ceremony at the State Theatre where nominees perform and award recipients are announced and presented with awards.

Candidates should have extensive work experience in one of the arts disciplines and have a strong sense of objectivity. They must be able to effectively evaluate student performances and production values.

All candidates must be outstanding writers with the ability to effectively communicate their impressions in a constructive manner. Also, a candidate must already be an avid theatre-goer and should possess a wide knowledge of the canon of the American Musical Theatre.

For details of requirements, email Frank Kutch, Freddy Awards coordinator.

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A 21-year-old man from Allentown was charged this week for allegedly stealing five vehicles over three months across four Lehigh County municipalities.

Kadeem P. Roberts, of the 400 block of South 17th Street, is accused of stealing the vehicles between May 14 and Aug. 14 in Upper Macungie, Salisbury, South Whitehall and Lower Macungie townships.

Seen during a news conference on July 7, 2015, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced charges against a 21-year-old Allentown man in the thefts of five vehicles across four municipalities. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

Each vehicle had been left unlocked with the keys inside prior to be taken, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. Residents are urged to be vigilant in keeping their vehicles locked and their keys in a safe location, District Attorney Jim Martin said.

Martin credited Detectives Salvatore Aprile, Joseph Conway and Chad Wasserman, all from his office's Auto Theft Task Force, with leading the investigation that led to Roberts' arrest. They are supervised by Chief Deputy District Attorney David J. Mussel, Martin said.

The investigators got their break in the case when a fingerprint was found at a garage burglary in June, according to Martin's office.

"The fingerprint was matched to the defendant, Kadeem Roberts," the DA's office says in a news statement. "Investigation determined that Roberts was a 'lookout' at that burglary, but he participated in the thefts of the five other vehicles."

Cooperation between the task force and local police ended the three-month spree, Martin stated.

"County units such as the task force are so effective because they 'connect the dots' and enhance municipal police efforts by coordinating seemingly unrelated incidents," the statement continues.

Martin also thanked Stephen R. Wheeler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority that funds the Lehigh County Auto Theft Task Force.

Roberts was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Michael Faulkner on five felony counts each of theft and receiving stolen property, in addition to five misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was ordered held in Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $100,000 and faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled Monday before Faulkner.

Roberts also faces charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and trespassing following an incident Aug. 23 in Allentown. Additionally, he was arraigned Monday before Faulkner on charges of burglary, trespass, theft, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle June 2 in Upper Macungie Township. He was ordered held in that case in lieu of $50,000 bail, with a preliminary hearing also tentatively set for Monday, Sept. 19, before Faulkner.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
What seemed to be burglars mistakenly picking a Lehigh County judge's house as a target was actually a sinister plot by a state inmate, according to prosecutors.

Four men were already arrested and charged in the case, but on Tuesday prosecutors filed charges against three other men involved in the scheme, including the alleged mastermind.

Efrain "Baby" Miranda III is currently serving a 12- to 29-year sentence handed down by Judge Maria Dantos in 2012 in a drug case, but prosecutors say Miranda wanted to shorten his time behind bars.

Miranda allegedly told prosecutors there was a plot to to kill a Lehigh County judge. Investigators did not identify the victim by name in court paperwork, and First Deputy District Attorney Steve Luksa also declined to name the judge.

Miranda then orchestrated an elaborate scheme where he told unwitting co-defendants to go break into a specific house in order to get drugs and guns, authorities allege.

The goal, according to prosecutors, was to have the co-defendants' armed home invasion confirm Miranda's tip, make his information seem reliable and lead to a shorter prison sentence.

Miranda, 33, was charged Tuesday night with criminal solicitation of burglary, criminal use of a communication facility and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Although he was already in the state prison in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Miranda's bail was set at $250,000.

Prosecutors allege Miranda directly plotted the burglary with two men: fellow Huntingdon inmate Robert "B.O.B." Bullock and Bethlehem resident Stephen "Shyne Po" Pearson.

Bullock confirmed providing the information to Pearson, and that he received it from Miranda, prosecutors said.

Bullock and Pearson, of the 2300 block of East Boulevard, were each charged Tuesday with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, criminal use of a communication facility, and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Each was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $250,000.

Two men at the door

Police were called by the judge the night of July 21 to his home in Allentown for a report of two men at his door.

The judge told officers the men repeatedly rang the doorbell, and the judge went to the door and asked who was there, police said. The men said they need help because they were having car trouble, and wanted to come in the house to use the phone, according to police.

When the judge said he would call the police, the men left the house and drove off, police said.

Prosecutors said they later learned the men were Tyrice Harvey and Roy Williams Jr.

A week later, a little after midnight on July 28, the judge reported two people tried to break into the house through a rear door, but fled after activating motion lights.

A surveillance camera caught the men, who were wearing masks covering their faces. One of the men carried a revolver and had gloves on, while the other man did not have gloves and was carrying a roll of duct tape, police said.

The man with the tape opened a screen door and began placing tape on the glass of the interior door, before the pair spotted the camera and disabled it, police said. As they disabled the camera, security lights were triggered and the pair fled, but left the tape, police said.

Fingerprints found on the door matched Antoine Johnson and latent prints matched Williams, who was also at the house the night of July 21, police said.

The 19-year-old Williams, of Philadelphia, was arrested Aug. 2 by Philadelphia County probation and the 27-year-old Johnson, of Allentown, was arrested Aug. 5.

Each man was charged with burglary, criminal trespass and loitering. Williams, who is being held on $250,000 bail, had his preliminary hearing in his case on Tuesday and all the charges were sent to Lehigh County Court.

Johnson waived his preliminary hearing and his bail was dropped from $500,000 to $100,000, records show.

Harvey, 24, was arraigned Sept. 7 on two counts each of burglary and criminal trespass, and four counts each of conspiracy. He remains in Lehigh County Jail on $250,000 bail.

A trail of calls and phone data



Investigators say in a June 28th recorded prison phone call, Miranda is heard talking to Bullock and Pearson about sending a "kite," code for letter, about who Pearson should take with him on the "job."

Pearson allegedly told police that he received information from Miranda about a burglary, but that he did nothing more than drive by the house.

In a recorded prison phone call with Bullock, Pearson admits being at the home on June 18 but said the door was locked, according to prosecutors. On July 5th, Pearson tells Bullock he went to the house the day before, but there was a cookout in the backyard, prosecutors said.

After Williams was apprehended, he reportedly admitted to the attempted burglary on the night of July 27 into the early morning of July 28, and told police he drove to the victim's house in a white Chevrolet Impala owned by Harvey, implicated in the July 21 visit to the judge's house.

Police stopped Harvey in the car on Aug. 2, and investigators searched "numerous" cellphones found inside. Police said forensic extraction on the phones showed the judge's address was sent and received in text messages, and was entered into one of the phone's navigation system.

The victim's address texted in the early morning of July 21 was from a phone number registered to a woman who has a child with Troy Butler Jr.

Butler is also an inmate at the Huntingdon state prison, and police said he told investigators Bullock provided him information about an old man with guns and drugs at his house, and a timeline of when the burglary needed to be done.

When investigators reviewed Butler's recorded prison phone calls, they discovered details of the crimes on July 21 and July 28 directly from the mouths of the defendants, according to court records.

Butler called his brother July 18 about a possible "move" for him and would give him the details the next day, prosecutors said.

In a July 19 call, Butler allegedly tells his brother the move is for "chickens, a toolbox and elbows," which investigators said is code for a kilogram of cocaine, guns, and pounds of marijuana.

Butler says the items are in the home of an old man, who may or may not be there, but that the mark has a "toaster in the holster," code for a gun, prosecutors said.

Butler gives his brother the victim's address, and says the "loot" will be split 50/50 with representatives of another inmate, investigators said. Butler's brother says he will do the job with "Rese," referring to Harvey, and "Shmurda," referring to Williams, prosecutors said.

On July 20, Butler calls Harvey and gives him the same information, including the address, but adds that the crime must be done by July 21, prosecutors said.

On July 22, Butler speaks to Harvey again, and Harvey describes the account given by the judge to police the night of July 21 -- that the pair went to the door, a man answered and they fled, prosecutors said.

Undeterred, prosecutors said, Butler called Harvey on July 25 and said the burglary could still be done, but it would have to be completed by July 28. Later calls reveal Williams and a man named "Neef" went to the house but fled when the motion lights were triggered, and that Harvey planned to go back with Williams the night of July 27th with tape to prevent the door's glass from shattering, prosecutors said.

In an interview with investigators on Aug. 18, Butler reportedly admitted contacting his brother and friends to plan a burglary, after being told by Bullock the home was occupied by an "old man who had guns and drugs."

Butler, 23, was arraigned the same day as the interview on two counts each of burglary and criminal trespass, and four counts each of conspiracy. He remains in Lehigh County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Jurors from Chester County, Pa., will decide the fate of Eric Frein, who is charged in the ambush killing of a state trooper in Pike County in 2014.

This booking photo, released by the Pike County Correctional Facility, shows Eric Frein, then 31, captured Oct. 30, 2014. (Courtesy photo)

The jury will be picked in March from Chester County, then participate in the trial in Milford, Pa., in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Frein, 33, is charged with fatally shooting Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass in the Sept. 12, 2014, shooting outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks.

Frein, a self-styled survivalist, led police on a 48-day manhunt across Pike and Monroe counties before U.S. marshals captured him that Oct. 30 near an abandoned airplane hangar.

He is charged with murder and related offenses and has pleaded not guilty.

Chester County Court officials are making arrangements to assist Pike County Court officials in selecting a panel, according to the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pa.

An order by the state Supreme Court in August declared Chester County as the site from which the jurors will be chosen, the newspaper reported Thursday.

Milford is about 140 miles from West Chester.

Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
Allentown police K-9 Harley

Harley, an Allentown police K-9, wears a vest supplied by Hounds on Working Leashes. Harley is one of more than a half-dozen police K-9s from Lehigh Valley departments to receive beds from Philadelphia-based Big Barker on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

K-9s from five Lehigh Valley police departments have new beds, following a donation Wednesday of Big Barker orthopedic beds.

Allentown officials announced the donations from the Philadelphia-based manufacturer, benefiting city's police K-9s Canto, Django, Harley, Fedor and Remi.

Also receiving beds were K-9s from the Salisbury, Lower Saucon and Bethlehem township police departments and Colonial Regional police, according to the announcement.

Big Barker touts its beds as offering superior orthopedic support and durability.

We're very honored that Big Barker beds are now being used by patients at Penn Vet's Ryan Hospital :) Posted by Big Barker on Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Representatives of the company passed along the beds during a ceremony at the Allentown Police Academy.

"Police K-9s work tirelessly to keep our communities safe, and it is an honor to be able to provide them with beds that allow them to them rest comfortably," Eric Shannon, Big Barker founder and president, says in a news release from the city. "These dogs are extremely active, so having a bed that supports them and keeps their joints off of the floor is key in maintaining their levels of mobility."

Mayor Ed Pawlowski and police Chief Keith Morris were on hand to help accept the donation.

"These dogs do a lot of difficult work and they earn a good night's rest," Morris says in the release. "The donation from Big Barker is very generous, and I know that our department appreciates it very much."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is expected to decide soon whether police have to release recordings from their dash cameras upon public request.

Pennsylvania has one of the more restrictive laws in the nation on disclosure of police videos. Many other states routinely make these recording available to the public.

In the case before the state Supreme Court, a woman who witnessed the aftermath of a traffic accident in which her friend was involved asked to see the police footage of the scene. State police denied the request, arguing that such evidence should be accessible only by litigants in criminal or civil procedures through the discovery process. A state police attorney said public release of videos would be expensive, could compromise some investigations, and expose personal details about citizens against their wishes.

Commonwealth Court and the state's Office of Public Records sided with the plaintiff, Michelle Grove, saying the police video should be released to her. Grove, who arrived at the accident scene about the same time as police, said her observations led her to doubt the fairness and accuracy of the police investigation. Her attorney argued that technology is making it easier to redact parts of video as needed, and that heightened public scrutiny of police actions justifies greater public access to video.

Many such disputes have played out in Pennsylvania, including a refusal by state police to release video in the fatal shooting of Richard Scheuermann III by Easton police, which had been sought by lehighvalleylive.com though an open records request. A Northampton County judge rejected a request by an attorney representing the Scheuermann family for video and audio recordings made by police or bystanders.

What do you think? Should Pennsylvania make police videos accessible to the public? Should access be limited to litigants as part of court procedures? The state Supreme Court's ruling is expected to set a standard for such requests.

Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to join the conversation in the comments section.
David Buczek

David Buczek, 46, was arrested Sept. 9, 2016, in Washington Township, N.J. He has been wanted since 2011 on a shoplifting charge in Virginia. (Courtesy photo)

An alleged shoplifter sought by Virginia authorities for the last five years was apparently living in Pennsylvania before being arrested last week in New Jersey.

Washington Township police said officers stopped a vehicle for driving without headlights about midnight Sept. 9 on Route 57.

A passenger, David Buczek, 46, was found to be wanted by the Chesterfield County, Virginia, Sheriff's Department and taken into custody, police said. Virginia court records and the sheriff's department confirmed Buczek was a fugitive, charged in 2011 with concealment of merchandise.

Washington Township police listed Allentown as Buczek's residence. Chesterfield County is just south of Richmond, Va., and about 250 miles from Allentown.

After his arrest in New Jersey, police allegedly found Buczek had a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was charged and sent to the Warren County jail.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The plan published by Laois GPs and Hospital Consultants represents a comprehensive road map to retaining services at the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise.

If one was cynical, one might suggest that this plan is the very reason why no consultation has taken place to date with either the medical profession or the public on the future of Portlaoise hosptial.

It presents a viable alternative to the kamikaze like fixation with downgrading the hospital, which seems to inform the upper echelons of health management.

The professionals who work in the system are those best placed to know and appreciate the realities of what is taking place on the ground.

It beggars belief to think that their opinion might not, indeed was not, sought on a policy which would have huge ramifications for healthcare in this entire region.

Instead, they have found themselves reduced to playing the role of Banquo's ghost at the feast, their few lines not comparable to the significance of their presence.

However, full credit must be given to them for standing up for the hospital at this critical juncture, as we wait for the full report to materialise from the phantom draft report.

This is the kind of document that Portlaoise hospital needs as it battles for its survival.

It makes its case succintly against downgrading Portlaoise.

It offers alternatives through the hospital networks and utililses the model of Portlaoise and the Coombe, in maternity, as a viable solution.

And it underlines, the real human cost and degradation of patient care that will take place if Portlaoise is downgraded.

The HSE need to listen. This is a document whose time has come.
Celbridge man Alan Herdman has scooped a 'Pride of Ireland' award for rescuing eight children from drowning.

The NUI Galway student was teaching a stand-up paddleboarding lesson at Rusheen Bay, near Barna, in July of last year when a passerby noticed a group of children in difficulty in the water and shouted for help.

My first thought was that not all of these eight children are going to live today, this will be about minimising casualties, said Alan.

I gauged at what stage of drowning the kids were at and then paddled to those who needed me most," he said.

The brave Kildare man plucked two children from the water and dragged them on to his paddleboard. He then jumped off his board to swim and save the others.

Alan struggled to keep his mouth above water under the weight of three other children clinging to him. A colleague entered the water to rescue the three remaining youngsters after hearing Alans whistle call for help.

Alan believes the chances of all the children surviving would have been one in a million had he of done anything different on that fateful day last July.

The third Pride of Ireland awards, presented by the Irish Mirror and sponsored by Lidl, took place in Dublin last Wednesday night. They were hosted by Amanda Byram. Former Miss World Rosanna Davison and model Roz Purcell presented Alan with his award.

The judges described Alan's rescue as "incredible".
The turning of the sod by Simon Harris, the Minister of Health on Wednesday 7th of September, marking the commencement of construction on the new Boyle Primary Care Centre at Elphin Street in Boyle, has been warmly welcomed by Senator Frank Feighan.

The facility, which will be approximately a floor area of 1,590 sq m, will include services such as Dental, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Public Health Nursing and other health services.

Senator Frank Feighan said he was delighted that the Minister turned the sod on the new Primary Care Centre.

I am delighted that Minister Harris accepted my request to turn the sod on this project, which is currently under construction on the grounds of the Plunkett Home, Senator Feighan said.

Minister Harris performed the ceremony before he travelled to Roscommon Town to officially open the new Endoscopy Unit at the County Hospital.

The centre will ensure that the local community has improved access to a greater range of health services on their own doorstep and under the one roof, Senator Feighan concluded.
On Monday at Liberal Democrat conference, party members will have the chance to debate policy motion F31 which endorses a new Liberal Democrat welfare policy paper, Mending the safety net.

However, as one of the members of the working group which wrote the paper, I strongly urge all members at conference to vote against the motion.

My reasons for saying this are simple: although the policy paper is called Mending the Safety Net, what it proposes is nothing of the sort. In fact, it actively endorses the current welfare system which is failing so badly that over a million people in the UK dont just live in poverty but are actively destitute.

This is undoubtedly one of the greatest social challenges facing our country  even if you set aside the human suffering it creates, poverty costs the UK 78 billion a year, blighting our national prosperity.

When set against that backdrop, the welfare policy motion is a failure.

In my opinion it lets down some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society by failing to offer real solutions to the problems they face, it spectacularly misses the opportunity to define a real and distinctive alternative approach to welfare for the Liberal Democrats, and, crucially, it cannot be made fit for purpose even if all the amendments to it on the agenda are passed.

Thats not to say theres nothing good in the paper. There are several changes proposed that are very welcome indeed. But when you look at the paper as a whole, all of these amount to little more than fiddling around the edges instead of tackling the big issues facing the welfare system.

Here are some of the ways in which the paper tinkers round the edges rather than actually fixing our broken safety net:

It proposes keeping benefit sanctions which can see benefit claimants left destitute and unable to afford to eat for crimes like being 2 minutes late to an appointment  while it proposes new safeguards, these are little better than the safeguards which have already failed in the current system

It perpetuates the notion that claimants should have to prove theyre looking for work by jumping through bureaucratic hoops if they wish to receive any support from the welfare system  and the best it offers to deal with the fact that many deserving people are unable to jump through these hoops is to promise 10 a week extra to those who do really well at proving theyre looking for work

It proposes keeping unfair disability benefit assessments that have seen many severely disabled people (including paralympians) lose vital support and equipment such as mobility cars and does very little to help carers

The biggest change it proposes is to introduce opt-out income protection insurance policies for people in work  a helpful addition to the safety net but one which only relatively well-off earners will be able to afford to pay for and benefit from

It fails to offer more than tokenism in tackling child poverty  giving the poorest families 5 a week extra and telling the second adult in a household to get a job will barely make a dent in the number of children living in poverty

But worst of all, at a fundamental level, the paper buys into the shared Labour and Conservative viewpoint that there are deserving and undeserving poor and that a social safety net should only be provided for the former.

For me, and many liberals, the role of the welfare system should be to provide a safety net for everyone. In the same way that we guarantee everyone access to healthcare via the NHS and education via state schools, we should be guaranteeing, at the very least, that no one in one of the wealthiest countries in the world is left homeless or unable to afford to eat.

The challenge of how to provide this is what the paper should have been trying to answer. In the process it could have given us a distinctive and utterly different policy that would have made the Liberal Democrats stand out and given us something to fight for with pride.

With the party on just 8% in the polls we cant afford to have bad or timid policy. We need radical, innovative policies which will grab attention and which offer a compelling vision for a better future for everyone in society.

Unfortunately, while amendments were submitted to the motion which could have made some real changes, the only ones selected for debate by Federal Conference Committee (FCC) simply dont go far enough to be able to fix the problems at the heart of the paper.

To make matters worse, under FCC rules, once a topic has been debated at conference it cant be debated again for at least another two years  meaning wed have to wait until 2018 to revisit the issue.

So, sadly, voting the motion down is now the only realistic option. No new policy on welfare would be better than conference approving bad policy  especially since our existing policy already commits us to opposing the Tory welfare cuts  and, by voting the motion down, members would create the opportunity for something better to be brought to next conference.

Editors Note: Jenny Willott, who chaired the Working Group, wrote a piece introducing it here.

* George Potter is a councillor in Guildford
A NEW security system that could halve waiting times in airport queues is being tested at Shannon.

The airport is testing the new checkpoint concept and is the first in the world to do so as part of the EU-funded XP-DITE project.

The new approach combines European and US pre-clearance checkpoints, replacing them with one system and the aim is that the trial will demonstrate that the system can be designed to comply with two different sets of regulations  the EU and the US TSA systems.

The combined checkpoint is the first of its kind in the world and has been designed to improve customer experience.

Passengers flying to the US will no longer have to queue up twice for separate security checks. It will run at Shannon for a ten week period.

Shannon Airport is delighted to have been selected to trial this new state-of-the-art technology, said Niall Maloney, airport operations director.

Passenger security is of paramount importance to us and being able to trial a new system that combines the highest level of security screening together with a customer focused operation is a win-win.

The elimination of the additional security measures in the U.S. pre-clearance facility in particular is a significant advancement in improving both our passengers and customer airlines experience.

We have literally just started trialling the new checkpoint and already we are getting positive feedback from our airport customers availing of the pre-clearance by the removal of a checkpoint.

We are delighted to have been chosen to be part of the XPDITE project team and would like to thank the Department of Tourism and the US Transportation Security Administration for their support in putting in place these enhanced arrangements, said Mr Maloney

Project co-ordinator Mark van den Brink said the programme could develop new approaches to airport security which could maintain a high level of security while improving the experience for passengers and reducing costs for operators.

The project is a collaboration between research organisations, universities, security companies and airports across Europe.
GARDAI have been given the green light to dispose of several Irish flags and dozens of whistles which were confiscated from an unclicenced trader during the Limerick city St Patricks Day parade two and a half years ago.

A Police Property Application, relating to the 44 whistles and ten tricolors was not opposed by the owner  Michael OBrien (44) who has an address at Clonmore Road, Tralee, County Kerry.

According to documents submitted at Limerick District Court in support of the application, the flags and whistles were confiscated by Garda Shane Hayes at OConnell Street during the 2014 parade as Mr OBrien did not have a casual traders licence.

The parade - the biggest outside Dublin  attracted more than 60,000 spectators into the city.

The flags and whistles, which have a nominal value, have been in the possession of gardai since March 17, 2014 as they were not reclaimed by Mr OBrien who did not attend the brief court hearing.

While is it an offence operate without a casual trading licence, there was no prosecution relating to the incident.

It was not disclosed in court how or when the confiscated property will be disposed of.

Judge Marian OLeary formally granted the application, which was made by Superintendent Derek Smart of Henry Street garda station.
THE MINISTER for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone will spend two days in the city to visit youth projects which are receiving 1.5m investment from her Department, this year.

This Thursday and Friday, the Minister will visit University of Limerick, Thomond RFC, the Limerick Youth Service, and members of the Southill community.

Speaking ahead of the visit, the Dublin South-West TD said: With one of the youngest populations in the country Limerick city is at a region high on my agenda. I look forward to seeing at first hand the impact of the 1.5m my office is investing in local projects with young people, this year.

I want to see on the ground how that funding is being translated into actions which benefit children and their families in terms of sport, the arts and learning. It is my hope that this funding is transforming young lives and communities.

The Minister will meet students of Corpus Christi National School, Thomond Primary School and Gaelscoil Sairseal.

She will also be briefed on progress of the development of the Southside Education Campus.

My visit to UL will also be used to confirm a ground-breaking research project between experts there and my Department. They will be looking at how and why children and young people get trapped into crime, why they repeat offend and what are the best ways to help them restart their lives, she stated.

In addition to viewing the Governments current investments, the Minister will launch a new National Research Project, to help prevent children and young people from falling into a life of crime.
A TOTAL of 2,709 Limerick students took a major step on their educational journey this Wednesday when they nervously opened their Junior Cert results.

Like every secondary school there were shrieks of happiness, tears of joy and, perhaps, one or two of disappointment in Colaiste Iosaef, Kilmallock. Grainne Barrett, aged 16, was definitely the former.

I got seven As and three Bs. I am delighted! I am just really happy because I wasnt expecting that. I started crying when I opened the envelope, said the student from Athlacca.

Her voice shakes with excitement as she speaks to the Leader before giving the good news to proud mum and dad, Aine and Victor.

I have to speak to them next. My dad is collecting me from school. My mum is working as a teacher so we are going to ring her together, smiled Grainne.

Shane Enright, 15, from Kilmallock, also got seven As and three Bs but is as cool as a cucumber.

It is better than I thought. I was surprised with some of the As but I did a lot of study. I rang my mum and dad, Eithne and Mike and they are delighted with them, said Shane, who would like to study veterinary in a few years.

Everyone is happy, there is no one disappointed, he adds. Regarding celebrations, Shane says: Were going out tonight anyway! Well deserved too.

Dylan Gubbins, Kilmallock, and Aine Ryan, Bulgaden, also have reason to celebrate after receiving six As and 4 Bs each.

I was really surprised I got As in some subjects. I didnt expect them in History and French, said Dylan. But he will take them and is considering a future career in teaching or IT.

Aine professes herself absolutely delighted.

I cant believe it, I am still in shock. I worked really hard but I dont know how I got that. I was really happy that I got As in Arts and History, said Aine, who hopes to go to college in Dublin. But first things first is to tell her mum and dad, Anne and Robert, and grandmother, Peggy, her good news.

Indeed, one could argue the only melancholy face in Colaiste Iosaef was principal, Sean Twomey, as it was his last official capacity before heading off to classrooms new. He has seen the school population almost double in his six year tenure.

There has been a lot of growth. We have a brand new building project due to start in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately I wont be there to see it come to fruition but I will be back for the grand opening, said Mr Twomey.

He says he is very happy for the 81 strong Junior Cert class but the most important thing is the kids are happy with them. They would have been a very good year group. They worked very hard and their results showed it, said Mr Twomey.

Another proud priomhoide is Donncha O Treasaigh, of Gaelcholaiste Luimnigh. Four of his students achieved 10 As while 8 other pupils secured 9 As and a B.

But after the excitement dies down in every school, Mr Twomey stresses the Junior Cert is one thing but the Leaving Cert is the major game in town.

It is about continuing and putting all that effort in once more. At the end of the day it is about reaching your potential and you only give yourself a chance to reach that potential by putting all that you can into it. For the ones that are disappointed the reality is life always offers a second chance and the second chance is the Leaving Cert. It is about knuckling down and getting into the hard work, concluded Mr Twomey.

High hopes and jangled nerves made for a heady mix at Colaiste na Trocaire when the results were handed out.

But long before the appointed time, when principal Mary Kenneally and vice-principal Susan Browne took up position with their precious bundle of envelopes, students had queued along the corridor, edgily smiling and hugging and hoping.

The sooner the better, one girl muttered while another groaned about butterflies in her tummy.

But hope grew as, one after another, their fellow students emerged with big smiles, delighted with their success.

Its a lot better than I expected, Matthew Lowry, Adare said. And he was particularly pleased with his A in English. I found the exams hard but I thought it was good. It prepares you for the Leaving Cert.

Matthew, who was planning to chill and relax for the rest of the day, is doing Transitional Year so doesnt yet have to face making subject choices. Not so Eoin Sheahan from Ballingarry who went straight into fifth year with a very solid bunch of As and Bs under his belt.

I am just exhilarated, Aoife Murphy, Kilfinny beamed. She had nine As and one B to her credit and was absolutely delighted that she had exceeder her own expectations. Like her classmate Matthew, Aoife saw huge benefit in the Junior Cert. The exams, she said, were long but I didnt find any of them particularly hard.

She already has a long-term plan for her future as a vet as has Holly OConnell from Adare who admitted she was very nervous about collecting her results. I didnt want to get my hopes up. But Im delighted. Thrilled. She has gone straight into fifth year but said it was a bit difficult to make her subject choices without knowing her results. But, she said: I had a good idea of what I wanted to do.

Besides, she added: I wanted to get back into study. I would probably get lazy otherwise.

Noirin Lenihan from Croagh, the first in her family to sit the Junior Cert, was particularly pleased with her A in history along with her 10 other honours while John OConnor from Creeves was delighted with his success across ten subjects, particularly his A in Maths and Woodwork.

As his mother, Anne-Marie held the piece that won him that A, John explained that students were asked to create an item with a historical reference. He chose a 1916/2016 theme. It was something I put a lot of work into, he said. But he added, he worked hard too for his other seven As and two Bs.

We are delighted, principal Mary Kenneally said. The students worked hard and we are delighted when it works out for them. And for those for whom it didnt, they have another go.

Students in the other second level schools in Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West, Dromcollogher and Askeaton were also celebrating results although some had to wait until the afternoon to know their fate.

Many of the students in the city received exceptional results, with two students in Villiers School  Vita Soldatkina, Caherdavin and Megan Coleman, Scariff  achieving an impressive 11 As each.

Gaelscoil Luimnigh also had four students who achieved 10 As in Juniuor Cert and eight other pupils secured 9 As and a B.

We are very proud of our two students who have achieved 11 As each in the Junior Cert, said delighted deputy principal Mary Quinn.

Over 80 students came to collect their results at the CBS on Sexton Street, where students of 37 different nationalities attend.

We have plenty of Limerick students here but we also have students from a multitude of nationalities  Africa, Asia, all around Europe  and we make them all feel welcome, said principal Denis OConnor, who just took over the post this year.

Ive only been principal here since the start of the year and I love it. The reason I love it is because of the students. Its great to see the smiles on their faces and the effort being put in and now theyre getting their reward.

Two especially happy students at the school were brothers Khalid (16) and Jamil (15) Muhammad, who joined mid-way through the school year after moving to Ireland late last year.

We moved to Ireland before Christmas from Afghanistan, said Jamil.

The two boys had very little English before starting at the school, but still managed to secure an impressive seven honours each in English, maths, history, geography, art, business and CSPE.

They both said that they were absolutely delighted to have achieved such high marks.

Khalid hopes to become a politician after school while Jamil wants to study business. They are currently living in Perry Square with their family.

We like it here a lot in Limerick. Its a really nice place. Everyone made us feel very welcome, said Khalid.

He also said that his parents will be very happy with his results while Jamil Joked: They will be surprised because I got good marks!

The happiest student of all in Colaiste Nano Nagle was Magdalene Postawa from Sexton Street, who received the highest marks in the whole school.

Im really happy. I studied for an hour every single day and it paid off, said the proud 16-year-old, who wants to study game development or computer programming.

One hour was enough, I wouldnt have been able to study for five hours! she joked.

Her friends Shannon Hickey (15) from Garryowen and Rebecca Kiely (15) from Raheen were equally as excited.

I was really happy with my results. They were better than I expected, I didnt think Id get so high, said Ms Hickey, who wants to pursue a career in medical engineering.

I did much better than I was expecting as well. I put in a lot of study and it paid off, added Ms Kiely, who wants to do cosmetic surgery.

St Munchins College was also full of happy young faces as over 100 students opened their brown envelopes early on Wednesday morning.

The students were delighted and the results were brilliant, said proud deputy principal Brian ODonoghue.

It really sets them up for the leaving cert and its great to see so many happy faces.
A SUCCESSFUL sting operation by gardai in Limerick has ended a run of crimes in the Adare area and over 100,000 in stolen goods have been recovered.

Gardai also succeeded in arresting members of the out-of-county gang, Inspector Brian ODonovan of Newcastle West garda district revealed this week. A number of cases are due to come before the courts shortly.

But he stressed there was no evidence of crime spotters operating in Limerick. Crime spotting involves local people collaborating with criminal gangs by putting information online about vulnerable homes or premises. Sometimes, this help extends to putting signs or other indicators at different locations.

But when this was raised at a meeting of Adare Rathkeale councillors this week, Inspt ODonovan said there was no evidence of such a trend in Limerick.

However, he urged people who saw anything unusual or suspicious to report the matter to the gardai.

Meanwhile, the inspector also revealed that senior gardai in Newcastle West and Bruff are preparing a new plan to combat rural crime which will span the garda divisions in Limerick West and Limerick East. Already, initial talks have been held which have included the IFA and the new plan will include rural patrols, he said.

His comments followed a presentation to councillors where his figures showed that crime incidents for the past three months were down compared to the same period last year.

In Rathkeale, the figure had dropped from 281 to 190, he said while in Croom they had dropped from 441 to 270 and in Ballingarry from 60 to 33. He had no overall figure for Askeaton but told councillors that incidents of burglary, theft, theft from vehicles, drugs and criminal damage were all down.

And while he acknowledged that people were possibly not reporting incidents, he felt that the decrease was due to proactive action by the gardai and to the fact that a number of prolific offenders had been targeted and were in custody.

The things that are happening we on on top of, he stressed.

And he cited the sting operation mounted in Adare which resulted in the arrest of members of an out-of-county gang and the recovery of over 100,000 worth of stolen property, including tools, goods from a shop and a quad bike.

But Cllrs Adam Teskey and Richard ODonoghue were concerned at the high level of thefts of quad bikes, in the Croom, Bruree and Ballingarry areas, claiming that a total of 27 had been stolen and none recovered.

The information has to be local, Cllr Richard ODonoghue said,

However, Inspector ODonovan clarified later that these thefts were not recent and in fact took place at the beginning of 2015. There had been none in the past number of months, he said.

There is a growing feeling among the electorate that there is an element of futility in reporting crime, Cllr Emmett OBrien said. There is a perception there is a lack of gardai in the area. There is fear out there.

People are afraid, and it not just elderly people but young families too. There is a perception, whether real or otherwise, that crime is a real issue, said the Pallaskenry councillor and barrister.

It is the visibility of the gardai that is making the difference, Cllr Richard ODonoghue said adding that a lot of Text Alert schemes were also being put in place.

Overall, Cllr Ciara McMahon said, the number of crime incidents was low. But she asked Inspt ODonovan to run ongoing community talks, and not just when an incident happens.
Apr 29, 2021, 5 AM

The Burma post-World War II set of 16 Military Administration overprinted stamps (Scott 35-50) is popular with collectors and a good buy in mint never-hinged condition at around $8.

By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Burma (officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar) hasnt had a lot of luck since gaining its independence from the British Empire in 1948.

In the 16th century, Burma controlled the largest empire ever assembled in southeast Asia. After the empire collapsed in 1599, Burma became the prize in a series of struggles between rival imperial powers.

After three wars in the 19th century, the British won out. Burma was placed under the administration of the British Raj (imperial government of India), but the Burmese resented the Indians running their country on behalf of the British. On April 1, 1937, Burma became a separate colony, issuing its first stamps on that date.

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The military, which has ruled the country since a coup in 1962, is dominated by the Bamar, one of the seven major ethnic groups in Burma. Many of the other ethnic groups have been in a constant state of war with the military government.

It was the military government that changed the countrys name to Myanmar in 1989. However, that name change was not recognized by the other ethnic groups or by many foreign countries.

The military government officially ended in 2011, and free elections were held in 2015. Tension remains between the new civilian government and the military.

Burma was invaded and conquered by the Japanese in World War II. After the Japanese were expelled, a British military administration temporarily took control of the country. The 16-stamp pictorial set of 1938-1940 (Scott 18A-33) were overprinted MILY ADMN (Scott 35-50).

The 2017 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue values the overprinted set at $8.80 in mint never-hinged condition and at $15.50 in used condition, with the value for used stamps in italics.

The set is a good buy in mint never-hinged condition at around $8 and in unused hinged condition at around $5. Postally used sets are not often encountered, and we expect that they would sell for more than $15.

This is a perfect example of the old, long, inexpensive definitive sets that many collectors love. With this set, you can own a great deal of history for very little money.
May 2, 2021, 5 PM

The first page of the United States section of the 1877 Scott catalog, from a PDF from the digitized Crawford philatelic library.

Home page of the Global Philatelic Library. To search the library compiled by James Ludovic Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford (1847-1913), click on the British Library logo in the center of the page.

By William F. Sharpe

Linns reported on May 4 that the contents of the Crawford philatelic library would be available online.

Those interested can now search the library. Click on the red British Library logo in the middle of the Global Philatelic Library home page to reach the search page.

You also can find links to the Royal Philatelic Society London Library, the Philatelic Union Catalog hosted by the American Philatelic Research Library, and the Smithsonian Library by clicking on the boxes on the left side of the page.

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Clicking on the word Libraries at the top of the home page takes you to a page listing 27 different libraries with a brief description of the contents of each.

To get an idea of whats available, you might want to download the full Crawford philatelic library index or separate parts of the index.

Note that the library covers only the years from 1861 to 1913. Click on the underlined Click here link to the right of the red library logo on the home page for more information about what is in this library.

From this link, you can read or download the entire catalog or various sections. I suggest that you also click on the middle document shown on the right side to view David Beechs 2016 supplement to the London Philatelist describing the catalog.

Pages 17 and 18 of Beechs supplement provide important information on how to use the search feature to find items of interest.

This supplement is also worth reading for its biographic information about James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847-1913), and Beechs efforts at conservation of the original documents.

The full index PDF (Portable Document File) is 42 megabytes, which will result in a long download time for anyone with slower download speeds. Many of the PDF documents in the Crawford philatelic library also are large.

My search for American Philatelist using the journal filter on the search page gave me 13 PDFs ranging in size from one to 1,036 pages.

I downloaded the first result, 24 pages comprising the first three issues of the American Philatelist magazine.

I was also able to find Stanley Gibbons catalogs from 1877 through 1913. Earlier catalogs were listed in the search results, but no PDFs were available.

Scott catalogs from 1877 to 1912 were available. The first page of United States stamp listings from the 1877 catalog is shown nearby.

The 1877 catalog included 140 pages, and the price was 25. Note that the minimum value for stamps on this page was 25. By the 1912 edition, the catalog had grown to 1,048 pages.

The Crawford philatelic library is a work in progress; not all of the holdings have been digitized yet.

For example, the search results for Scott catalogs indicated that the 1907 through 1912 PDFs were in progress when I visited the site in August.

Anyone interested in older philatelic literary information will find that the Crawford philatelic library provides a wealth of information. The links to other libraries on the Global Philatelic Library will include more recent documents.
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Call it a presidential game of 20 questions: The 2016 U.S. presidential candidates recently answered a slew of questions about science-related issues, offering a glimpse of their stances on everything from vaccinations to climate change to the country's growing opioid problem.

ScienceDebate, a coalition of 56 leading U.S. nonpartisan organizations representing more than 10 million scientists and engineers, called on the candidates to give their stance on top science, engineering, technology, health and environmental questions facing the country.

In their responses, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump touched on specific government programs and spending priorities, but the candidates diverged wildly on approaches to science policy. [Democratic Party Platform: We Fact-Checked the Science]

Climate change, in particular, was a hot-button issue.

A warming planet

Clinton said the science of climate change is "crystal clear" and the issue is "an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time." The Democratic candidate outlined her plan to address the issue, which focused on making America "the clean-energy superpower of the 21st century."

A growing body of scientific evidence confirms that human activities are contributing to rapid climate change, and scientists have warned that if the gradual heating of the Earth does not slow, the repercussions could be devastating. Recent data from NASA suggest that 2016 is on track to be the hottest year on record. In fact, 16 of the hottest years on record fall within the past two decades, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Melting ice sheets, rising global sea levels, collapsing ecosystems and an increased risk of extreme weather are some of the consequences of global warming, scientists have said.

For Trump, the issue of climate change was referred to in quotation marks. He said, "There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field." While the candidate noted the need for new energy sources to alleviate America's dependence on fossil fuels, he did not directly respond to how he would tackle the issue of climate change if elected. Instead, Trump offered alternative uses for the country's limited financial resources, such as increasing food production or fighting malaria. [We Fact-Checked the Science Behind the Republican Party Platform]

A growing problem

On the topic of opioids, ScienceDebate asked candidates how they would enlist researchers, medical doctors and pharmaceutical companies in addressing this issue. Powerful prescription painkillers  like hydrocodone (marketed as Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), morphine (Kadian, Avinza) and codeine  are highly addictive and dangerous with misuse.

Trump's solution to the growing prescription drug problem was to "stop the inflow of opioids into the United States," something he said his administration can and will do.

In Clinton's response, she noted that 52 million Americans over age 12 have misused prescription drugs. Clinton said the government must work with medical professionals to treat the issue on the ground, from how patients access the medications to how they are supported in recovery. Beyond opioids, Clinton discussed the need to combat all drug and alcohol addiction. She described a proposed $10 billion initiative that would support prevention, treatment, recovery and other areas of reform.

Presidential platforms

Beyond the science issues, the candidates also varied in the format of their responses. In general, Trump questioned the need for the federal government's involvement in a number of scientific issues, such as agriculture and ocean health. His answers were also short and took a broader approach in addressing the questions.

For instance, in response to the last question on scientific integrity  in which ScienceDebate asked candidates how they will ensure scientific evidence is transparent and free from political biases and pressure  Trump said:

"Science is science and facts are facts. My administration will ensure that there will be total transparency and accountability without political bias. The American people deserve this and I will make sure this is the culture of my administration." [6 Politicians Who Got the Science Wrong]

In contrast, Clinton was very detailed in her responses and outlined not only the role of the government but also specific plans for her presidency. To the same scientific integrity question, Clinton explained how her efforts would "ensure a culture of scientific integrity," which included the facilitation of open communication and public engagement. Clinton also discussed her concern over the interference of partisan political efforts in scientific endeavors and called for "the free exchange of ideas and data" and federal policies to reinforce public trust in the integrity of science.

One issue the candidates all agreed on was the need to expand the space program, including the importance of exploration and its inspirational aspects. Trump noted that a strong space program inspires students to pursue the so-called STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), while Clinton shared her personal awe of space and commended NASA's efforts thus far. Green Party candidate Jill Stein called for demilitarized and internationally collaborative space exploration.

Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson had not yet responded at the time of publication.

The candidates' full answers to all 20 questions can be found on the ScienceDebate website.

Original article on Live Science.
The sandstone concretions at Rock City are scattered across an area about the size of two football fields.

Rock City is a park in north-central Kansas that features more than 200 spherical rock formations, some with diameters that are up to 27 feet (8 meters). The site, which covers an area that's about the size of two football fields, has three clusters of these examples of sandstone concretions.

The spheres, known as "cannonball concretions," formed about 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, when areas of Kansas were covered by an inland sea, according to the Kansas Geological Survey. Over time, groundwater circulated through the sandstone and deposited a limy cement that grew outward in all directions from either calcite crystals or limy fossil fragments scattered throughout the sandstone. As the softer, uncemented portions of the sandy rock weathered away, the spheres of cemented sandstone remained.

Some of the formations have names. This one is Jupiter, although some people also call it Lips or the Death Star. It is about 12 feet (3.6 meters) in diameter. (Image credit: Tim Sharp)

The spherical concretions slowly increased in size as additional layers of sand grains were cemented, according to Rock City, the local nonprofit organization that owns and operates the park. Eventually, wind, rain and floods eroded the softer, surrounding sandstone. This left many of the cement-hard concretions totally exposed, while others are still partially embedded, with only their rounded tops showing.

The concretions at Rock City show signs of cross-bedding  angled lines that formed in the sand as it was deposited, probably by water currents  according to the KGS. The concretions vary greatly in size and shape. Some are spherical, while others have truncated, flat tops. Some are loaf-shaped. They range in diameter from 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) with an average diameter of 11.8 feet (3.6 m).

Settlers crossing the prairie at first thought the rocks were bison lying down in the tall grass. (Image credit: Tim Sharp)

History

It is not known who discovered the formations at Rock City. The first written reference to the rocks appeared in "Geology of Kansas," by B.F. Mudge, a book published in 1878, according to Paul V. Heinrich in a 2007 article in the Backbender's Gazette, the newsletter of the Houston Gem & Mineral Society.

"Well, they've been here forever, of course," Mary Koch, an employee at the Rock City information center and gift shop, told Live Science. "People from town have always come out to picnic and camp out here." Etched initials and expressions of undying love are evidence of generations of visitors spending time roaming around the rocks.

Koch said that there was an Indian legend that said that the rocks were Thunderbird eggs. (The formations are not, however, geodes, and should not be confused with thunder eggs.) The rocks were a landmark for the pioneers crossing the prairie, Koch said. From a distance, "at first they thought they were buffalo lying in the grass," she said.

The spheres formed as layers of sandstone became cemented by deposits of calcite. (Image credit: Tim Sharp)

Other concretions

There are several other sites where cannonball concretions have formed. The formations in Rock City, however, "are unique for their large size, number, and concentration in a small area, their range of shapes, surface ornamentation and accessibility," according to W.H. Schoewe, in "The Geology of 'Rock City,'" a 1937 article in the journal Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science.

According to Heinrich, other locations where similar cannonball concretions can be readily visited include:

Red Rock Coulee Natural Area, Alberta, Canada

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Koekohe Beach, South Island, New Zealand

Zavidovici, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The concretions range in diameter from 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) with an average diameter of 11.8 feet (3.6 m). (Image credit: Tim Sharp)

Visiting Rock City

Rock City was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1977. It is located 3.6 miles (5.8 kilometers) south of Minneapolis, Kansas, and it is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, from May 1 to Sept. 1. A small admission fee is charged.

Additional resources
The newest additions to the Dutch National Police (DNP) are North American "immigrants": bald eagles that are specially trained to take down airborne drones.

The initiative is a first for law enforcement, according to DNP officials. They announced in a statement, released Sept. 13, that the DNP is currently the only police force in the world to include raptors on its roster for drone defense.

For the past year, the DNP has tested eagles' prowess against flying drones, collaborating with a private company called Guard from Above that trains raptors to snatch drones out of the sky. The tests were so successful, the DNP reported, that the police force recently purchased juvenile bald eagles that it plans to train. Agents will work with the eagles hand in glove  literally, because eagle talons are extremely sharp. [Send in the Eagles! Dutch Police Use Avians to Deter Drones | Video]

The young eagle recruits have wingspans that currently measure about 3.3 feet (1 meter) long. When the eagles are fully grown, their wings could extend between 5.9 and 7.5 feet (1.8 and 2.3 m). The DNP expects that the eagles will be ready for action in about six months, according to the statement.

Michel Baeten, an operational manager for the DNP, told news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) that using birds of prey is one of several methods Dutch police employ to combat drones, alongside electromagnetic pulses and laser technology.

Baeten called eagles "one of the most effective countermeasures against hostile drones," the AFP reported.

(Image credit: Dutch National Police)

So, what drones might be considered "hostile"? These aerial vehicles could be a threat, for instance, to visiting diplomats, as the DNP demonstrated Sept. 9 in a mock "attack." In the department's test setting  enacted on video  a man playing a VIP emerged from a motorcade at a public location. As he greeted people, a drone flew toward him, and it was quickly intercepted by a trained bird.

The eagle-eyed trainees are taught to see drones as prey and respond accordingly, officials said in the statement. Just as eagles capture prey and bring it to their nests, the trained eagles not only disable the drones but also relocate a safe distance from crowds.

Tough, scaly skin on eagles' feet protects them against bites from most of their usual prey, and likewise protects them from being harmed by small drones' propellers. Larger drones, however, might prove more damaging. The DNP reported that the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) will design a special "claw protector"  called klauwbeschermer, in Dutch  that it will use to keep the eagles from being injured in the line of duty.

Original article on Live Science.
More than 170 years ago, British explorer Capt. Sir John Franklin and crew embarked on a journey to navigate the fabled Northwest Passage, but the expedition never made it back. Now, the second ship of that doomed voyage may have been found in the appropriately named Terror Bay, The Guardian reports.

Cued by Inuit word of mouth, archaeologists with the Arctic Research Foundation on Sept. 3 found what they think is the HMS Terror. The ship sits in about 80 feet (24 meters) of water and is nearly intact, according to The Guardian.

"This vessel looks like it was buttoned down tight for winter and it sank," Arctic Research Foundation spokesperson Adrian Schimnowski told The Guardian. "Everything was shut. Even the windows are still intact. If you could lift this boat out of the water and pump the water out, it would probably float." [In Photos: Arctic Shipwreck Solves 170-Year-Old Mystery]

Lost Expedition

Franklin launched the expedition to the Arctic in 1845, commanding two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror. He and his men were attempting to navigate the Northwest Passage, the sea route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean and was long-sought as a trade route by several explorers. In September 1846, during the attempt, the two ships became stuck in ice. A note found on King William Island in 1859 revealed that the ships were deserted in April 1848 and that Franklin himself had died on June 11, 1847. Eight other officers and 15 men had also died at the time of that writing  April 25, 1848  meaning that 106 men were left to face their fate. None would ever be heard from again.

Since 2008, a Parks Canada-led mission has been searching for the Franklin ships. In 2014, researchers discovered the wreck of the HMS Erebus in Victoria Strait. Divers discovered artifacts aboard the ship, including a bronze bell, a 680-lb. (310 kilograms) cannon, patent-medicine bottles and uniform buttons. [Photos: The HMS Erebus' Bronze Bell]

Lucky tip

A remotely operated vehicle entered the possible HMS Terror wreck on Sept. 11 and spotted plates and a can on the shelf of a food pantry, as well as wine bottles and a desk with open drawers. The wreck was found 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of where archaeologists had expected to find it. They were tipped off by an Inuit crewmember, Sammy Kogvik, 49, of Gjoa Haven, who had seen a hunk of wood in sea ice while on a fishing trip years before. Kogvik took pictures of the wood but lost his phone later that day, he told The Guardian.

The Royal Canadian Navy's HMCS Moncton vessel (shown here) was also part of the search for the HMS Terror. (Image credit:  Parks Canada)

He didn't tell anyone the story until joining the crew of the research vessel Martin Bergmann, which was searching for the wreck. Because of his tip, the vessel detoured to head toward the spot where the Terror was resting.

The next step, according to Parks Canada spokesperson Meaghan Bradley, is to confirm the wreck as the HMS Terror.

"The discovery of HMS Terror would be important for Inuit communities and Canada, reflecting the ongoing and valuable role of Inuit knowledge in the search and making a significant contribution to completing the Franklin story," Bradley wrote in a statement sent to Live Science.

Canadian government officials likewise heralded the discovery and the tip from the Intuit community that led to it.

"The multiyear contribution from Parks Canada and its partners in the Arctic has led to the discovery of two of the most famous and mysterious ships in Canada's history," Catherine McKenna, Canada's minister of the environment and climate change, said in a statement. "HMS Erebus was found through a unique combination of Inuit tradition knowledge and cutting-edge science, and Inuit knowledge was again central to this amazing discovery. This latest discovery will offer another unique and incredible opportunity for archaeological exploration and the sharing [of] Inuit history and culture with the world."

Original article on Live Science.
Once women hit age 60, those who are married and those who have never been married are equally happy, new research finds.

In a survey of more than 51,000 adults in the United States, married people generally reported the highest happiness levels, and people who were widowed, divorced or never married reported lower happiness levels.

But the exception was older, never-married women.

"Married people are happier than others, but there are plenty of exceptions to that," said study co-researcher Gary Ralph Lee, a professor emeritus of sociology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. [6 Scientific Tips for a Successful Marriage]

The survey didn't reveal why older women comprise one of these exceptions, but it could be that these women have found paths to happiness through their careers, friends or family, Lee said.

Marriage and happiness

Lee and his co-author, Krista Payne, a family and marriage research analyst at Bowling Green, did the investigation because although there are countless studies showing that married people are happier than nonmarried people, there is less research about the relative happiness levels of widowed and divorced adults, Lee said.

The researchers used data gathered over 38 years from the General Social Survey, an ongoing nationally representative survey conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago. Survey participants answered the question, "Taken all together, how would you say things are these days  would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy or not too happy?"

The researchers compared the reported happiness levels of different groups of men and women: married, unmarried, divorced and widowed people. Also, because widowed and divorced people are often older, on average, than married people, the researchers did a separate analysis for people age 60 and older.

Happy as a clam

The researchers were surprised to find that the reported happiness levels of "never-married, older women are, in a lot of years [of the survey], indistinguishable from [those of] married, older women," Lee said.

That trend didn't hold for older, never-married men, who reported less happiness than older, married men did, Lee noted.

"The never-married, older men are, in general, significantly less happy than the married men and generally not distinguishable from the divorced and widowed [men]," Lee said.

Furthermore, while widowed and divorced people tended to be less happy than married people were, widows and divorcees were at pretty much the same happiness levels as one another, Lee said.

"In some years, the divorced were a little better off than the widowed, and in other years that was reversed," Lee said. "The overall message is that being formerly married, whether it's [due to] divorce or widowhood, is associated with lower levels of happiness."

He added that it's not clear why married people tend to be happier. It could be that happy people get married or that marriage makes people happy, Lee said.

He presented the research at the American Sociological Association's annual meeting, which took place this year in Seattle in August. The study has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Original article on Live Science.
While much of the cosmos remains mysterious and unexplored, we know this much is true: space is big. Very big. To quantify the vastness of the cosmos, astronomers often refer to things being a certain number of light-years away. What does that really mean?

Though seemingly contrary to how it sounds, a "light-year" is a measure of distance, rather than time. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year. Specifically, the International Astronomical Union defines a light-year as the distance light travels in 365.25 days.

In a similar vein, you could describe 60 miles as a car-hour (the distance a car travels in an hour on a highway). In fact, we often tell people distances in terms of time  "I'm 10 minutes away," for instance. The term "light-year" was invented because, simply put, the equivalent distances in miles, meters or kilometers were huge. [The Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

How huge? Light moves at 186,282 miles per second, or 299,792.5 kilometers per second. That's 670.6 million miles an hour. The distance to the nearest star is 4.3 light-years, or 25.3 trillion miles (40.7 trillion km).

The first mention of light-years dates back to 1838 and a German scientist named Friedrich Bessel. He measured the distance to a star called 61 Cygni, and got a distance of 660,000 times the Earth's orbital radius. He noted that light would take about 10 years to get there, but he didn't like the term "light-year." (One reason was that at that time, it wasn't clear that light's speed was a fundamental constant of nature). In 1851, the term made a first appearance in Germany, in an astronomical publication known as Lichtjare. Later, astronomers adopted it and "light-years" are now a popular unit of measurement even in the scientific literature.

The light-year competes with the parsec, which stands for parallax-second, and is equal to 3.26 light-years. A parallax-second is the number of arcseconds (1/3600th of a degree) that a star's apparent position shifts when measuring its distance. British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, a prominent scientist in the early 20th century, preferred the parsec, calling the light-year "inconvenient." His was a losing battle, however.

Light-years can be divided into light-days, light-hours or even light-seconds, though those units are used less often. The sun is 8 light-minutes away, which means it takes light from the sun 8 minutes to reach Earth. [Quiz: How Well Do You Know Our Solar System?]

All this depends on knowing the speed of light, and that turns out to be hard to measure because it goes so fast. Galileo attempted it in 1638, and he described an experiment in which one person covers a lantern while another on a tower some distance away tries to time when the light gets there. The experiment failed, and Galileo could only answer that however fast light was, neither human reflexes nor the clocks at the time were speedy enough to catch it. (He did come up with an estimate of at least 10 times the speed of sound, but that was very much a guess.)

Danish astronomer Ole Rmer was able to make an estimate in 1676, using the timing of eclipses of Jupiter's moon Io. Later, in 1729, James Bradley used a phenomenon called stellar aberration, in which the apparent positions of stars in the sky seem to change slightly depending on the movement of the Earth, to get a closer estimate of light's velocity. Scientists kept refining these estimates, and by the 1860s, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell showed that electromagnetic waves travel at a certain speed in a vacuum. That speed is a constant, and at the time, most physicists thought of light as a pure wave. (We know now that it isn't  it can be a particle, too).

Finally, in 1905, Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity posited that light always travels at the same speed no matter where it is observed from. This was a big step because suddenly, the speed of light became one of the constants of the universe  and thus, more useful for measuring distances.

Original article on Live Science.
When Tropical Storm Hermine charged up the East Coast of the United States earlier this month, a number of aircraft sought shelter from the powerful winds and drenching rains in a NASA hangar  and a newly released photo shows that the result was akin to a game of aircraft Tetris, with almost 20 different planes squeezed carefully into the cavernous building.

The hangar at NASA's Langley Research Center, in Hampton, Virginia, provides 85,200 square feet (7,900 square meters) of open space to house aircraft ranging from small jets to massive Boeing 757 airliners. When Hermine was threatening the East Coast, however, the hangar already had a rather large resident: a C-130 Hercules four-engine military transport aircraft. [Supersonic: The 11 Fastest Military Airplanes]

With some maneuvering, the hangar at Langley Research Center was able to accommodate more than a dozen Air Force fighter jets, sandwiched in with a number of other planes, to provide protection from the tropical storm winds.

NASA Langley photographer David Bowman captured the Tetris-like image from the hangar's catwalk some 70 feet (21 meters) above the building's floor.

Normally home to 13 of NASA's own research aircraft, the hangar shares space with neighboring Langley Air Force Base during emergencies, because the facility is rated to withstand at least a Category 2 hurricane, according to NASA.

As weather conditions worsened, Langley Air Force Base reached out to hangar manager Dale Bowser to see if there was space for a few F-22 Raptors  stealth tactical fighter jets  to ride out the storm.

Tropical Storm Hermine moved up the Atlantic Coast over the course of about a week, starting at the end of August. After hitting Florida as a hurricane on Sept. 2, Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm as it churned along the Eastern Seaboard. Though the storm stayed just far enough offshore to avoid causing major damage, rain and strong winds were felt throughout the East Coast.

Built in the early 1950s, the hangar at Langley Research Center was designed to fit a B-36  a strategic bomber, known as the "Peacemaker," used by the Air Force. The hangar can also accommodate the Super Guppy, a wide-bodied cargo aircraft, which visited Langley in 2014.

Original article on Live Science.
A new type of therapy that uses sound waves to "balance" people's brain activity might help lower blood pressure and reduce symptoms of migraines, early research suggests.

The therapy is known as HIRREM, which stands for high-resolution, relational, resonance-based, electroencephalic mirroring. For the treatment, patients place sensors  which measure the brain's electrical activity, or brainwaves  on their scalp. The sensors are used to detect whether there are imbalances in the brain's activity between the left and right sides of the brain.

Such imbalances can reflect improper regulation of the autonomic nervous system  the system that's responsible for controlling unconscious bodily functions, such as breathing and heart rate, the researchers said.

A computer then identifies the dominant (or most prominent) brain frequencies, and a software program coverts these brain frequencies into auditory tones, which are played back in real time. Patients listen to these sounds through headphones.

The researchers call these sounds a "reflection" of the brain's activity. They say that the brain can recognize that the tones reflect what is going on in the organ. Once a patient starts hearing the tones, "the electrical pattern tends to shift towards improved balance," study co-author Hossam Shaltout, an assistant professor in the Hypertension and Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, said in a statement.

In one small study, the researchers tested HIRREM on 10 men and women with high blood pressure. They underwent about 18 HIRREM sessions over 10 days, after which their average systolic blood pressure was reduced from 152 to 136 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), and their average diastolic pressure was reduced from 97 to 81 mmHg. (Systolic blood pressure is the "top" number in a blood pressure reading and diastolic pressure is the "bottom" number.)

The participants' heart rate variability  which is a measure of the variations in the interval between heartbeats  increased, on average, from 43 to 57 milliseconds. This is a good outcome, because it means that the body has more flexibility to change heart rate in response to blood pressure, Shaltout said.

In another study, 52 adults with migraines underwent about 16 HIRREM sessions over nine days. At the end of the study, participants reported improvements in their headache symptoms.

Because the findings are preliminary and the studies are small, more research is needed to confirm the results, and to determine the ways in which the therapy could be working, the researchers said.

Dr. Kevin Weber, a neurologist and headache specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, who was not involved in the studies, pointed out that neither of these studies included a control group, or a group that received a placebo or "dummy" treatment. The inclusion of a control group is important, because it's possible that the results were due to the placebo effect, Weber said. A placebo effect is one that results from people's belief that the treatment works, rather than from any physiological effect of the treatment. [11 Surprising Facts About Placebos]

"I think it is a promising technology," Weber said. However, more research is needed "to make sure that it actually works, as opposed to just being a placebo effect," Weber said.

In 2013, the same group of researchers did conduct a smaller migraine study that included a control group. In that study, which was presented at the 2013 International Headache Congress in Boston, 16 people received the HIRREM treatment and 14 people received a placebo treatment. For the placebo treatment, the participants heard randomly generated musical tones, as opposed to tones that reflected their brainwaves.

The study showed that after the treatments, the likelihood of experiencing a headache was about the same in both groups. But this could have been because the study was too small to detect a meaningful difference between the groups, the researchers said.

Migraines are thought to be caused by abnormalities in the electrical activity of the brain, so it's possible that a treatment like HIRREM, which alters the brain's electrical activity, could affect migraines, Weber said. And the brain and nervous system also play a role in the regulation of blood pressure, so it's possible that HIRREM could have an effect on blood pressure as well, he said.

The researchers also noted that patients in the blood pressure study experienced reduced symptoms of insomnia and anxiety, which might also have an effect on blood pressure.

The studies will be presented this week at the American Heart Association's Council on Hypertension 2016 Scientific Sessions in Orlando. The HIRREM technology is a product of the company Brain State Technologies, which is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have been evaluating HIRREM since 2011, with funding mainly from nonindustry sources. The two new studies were funded by The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation.

Original article on Live Science.
Pets & Animal, Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 15 2016

ECOs report to the scene of a reptile owner who was bitten several hours earlier by his Egyptian saw-scaled viper, one of six venomous snakes he kept in his basement.

Suffolk County, NY - September 14, 2016 - On the morning of September 6, ECOs Jeff Hull, Marcia Goodrich, Emma Carpenter and Lieutenant Matt Blaising responded to a call from Suffolk County SPCA regarding a reptile owner who was bitten several hours earlier by his Egyptian saw-scaled viper, one of six venomous snakes he kept in his basement. In addition to the viper, the young man also owned an eastern diamondback rattlesnake, a western diamondback rattlesnake, an African puff adder, a monocled cobra (one of the deadliest snakes in the world) and a West African gaboon viper.

After being airlifted to Jacobi Medical Center, the victim was determined to have suffered a "dry bite," a wound in which no venom is injected into the victim's bloodstream. The consulting herpetologist stated that if the owner had received a full bite by that snake, or by any of the other five snakes for that matter, he likely would've died within an hour.

Long Island seems to be the epicenter for the possession of illegal venomous reptiles within New York State, with ECOs continually seizing illegal venomous reptiles. For ECO Carpenter, having just graduated DEC 21st Basic Academy on Friday, September 2, this was her first day on the job. An hour into her first shift, she found herself, with the help of a herpetologist, seizing some of the deadliest snakes in the world.

The owner of the snakes was issued summonses for six counts of possession of wildlife without a permit and another six counts of possession of dangerous venomous wildlife. All the snakes were turned over to a licensed venomous wildlife educator out of Massachusetts.
Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Press Releases

By Tom Needham Published: September 15 2016

Betting on Zero director, Ted Braun, Academy Award-Nominated director, Josh Aronson and Grammy-winning cellist, Paul Katz join Tom Needham on the Sounds of Film.

Stony Brook, NY - September 15, 2016 - Betting on Zero director, Ted Braun, Talent has Hunger director, Josh Aronson, and Grammy-winning cellist, Paul Katz, will be Tom Needhams special guests on Thursdays The Sounds of Film at 6 p.m. on WUSB.

Betting on Zero is a gripping financial documentary from Darfur Now director, Ted Braun, that features controversial hedge-fund titan, Bill Ackman, who is on a crusade to expose global nutritional company Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history. Meanwhile, Herbalife executives claim that Ackman is a market manipulator looking to profit by shorting its stock. The film also shines a light on working class people who believed that Herbalife could help them achieve the American Dream.

7:00 p.m. on Monday, September 19th at Theatre Three in Betting on Zero will be screening aton Monday, September 19th at Theatre Three in Historic Port Jefferson Village . The director, Ted Braun, will be a guest speaker.
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
By the end of the month Apple will have released vastly improved updates to all three of its operating systems but, of course, the real takeaway is how Apple cant do software as well as its competitors.

Writing for Quartz, software engineer Jon Evans says Apple should be worried  the future of tech is in software, not hardware. (Tip o the antlers to @CaffeineAndHate.)

Apple is, when you think about it, not unlike a tiny kitten, stranded on a small rock in the midst of an entire ocean of lava. This is verifiably true.

A specter is haunting Cupertino, California

A specter of savings! Thats right, come on down to Cupertino Cars, the Valleys largest collection of used cars, where we pass the savings on to boo! [points into camera]

the specter of a world increasingly defined by software.

And Apple has never designed software before, so spooky.

Behind the rote glitz and pizzazz of Apples iPhone 7 announcement last week lurked unspoken acknowledgements of an uncomfortable truth.

Phil Schiller is simply not that good at Super Mario Run.

The advantages that drove Apple to become the biggest publicly traded company in the world are beginning to disintegrate

Software guy says software is the only thing that matters. In related news, fish say life can only be maintained by breathing water.

Once upon a time, Apple had massive advantages in hardware design, UX design, and hardware manufacturing. But its competitors are catching up in all three fields

Where theyre not catching up is in being able to integrate those fields. Because they cant, they dont control the whole stack like Apple does.

More and more, every tech companys competitive advantages lie not in its hardware, but in its software.

Which is why Microsoft is scrambling to get into hardware.

If Evans argument is true then, because everyone is simply giving their operating systems away these days, that means the only way to make money in technology is by monetizing your user base through ads or selling their information. Gross.

If you looked closely, this new focus on software was very apparent at Apples recent event.

In other words, if you only look at the software parts of the event, software is very important. Evans example is the machine learning used by the camera in the iPhone 7. Why, Apple shouldnt have even bothered adding a larger aperture, motion sensor, dual cameras or any of that other garbage when everything can be done in software these days through the use of programming magic.

Lets assume for a second that software is the biggest differentiator in camera design these days. Well, Apple just made the best smartphone camera system available. And, yet, Apples supposed to be the one thats incredibly vulnerable because theyre not good at software.

Pretzels are delicious. Pretzel logic, not so much.

other flagship Apple software products range from the clumsy (iCloud and Siri) to the embarrassing (iTunes).

These criticisms are completely fair. iTunes is a bloated whale carcass slowly bobbing up and down in the surf. Just as years ago the government forced Microsoft to decouple Internet Explorer from its operating system, so now it should force Apple to break up iTunes into separate apps. Not for antitrust reasons, just as a favor to long-suffering Mac users.

But as the Macalope types these words, Gmail is down in the U.S. and Europe. Its not always sunshine and adorable Miffy-themed clothing and dinnerware using Googles software (before you even discuss Apples security advantage) but there is definitely a distinct tendency to overplay the purported lead of Apples competitors.

Will Siri and AirPods be better than Amazons Echo and its inevitable EchoPods?

The Macalope doesnt know, but he can tell you that AirPods will be better for anyone who isnt American since the Echo is, to date, English-only and can only be set to a location inside the United States.

Look how well this three-legged dog plays dead! Your greyhound isnt even interested in playing dead! Stupid greyhound!

Will people choose to use FaceTime rather than Facebook Live

Facebook, which just happens to be a client of Evans company.

If the iPhone 7 is Apples first step toward a virtual-reality strategy, as Stratechery suggests, its seems to fair to ask how it will compete with Microsofts HoloLens.

Indeed! How will Apples product that you can get on Friday compete with Microsofts product that will come out, er, some time in the indefinite future, probably not for many months if not years? These are the important questions we should be asking ourselves.

Eight and a half years ago pundits were saying that the iPhone was doomed by Windows Mobile 7. It never shipped. And still today we see that future Microsoft products beat current Apple products every time.

As fun as skewing this all in favor of Apples competitors is, there is an immediate example where Apple has utterly trounced the competition and this week serves only to exacerbate the beating theyre taking, and that is in smartphone software. watchOS 3 is legitimately a home run for the Apple Watch. Android Wear, meanwhile, is an abject failure (partly because Samsung has its own platform). Sure, you can argue its finally what it should have been in the first place, but its really good now.

Strange how pundits only want to talk about other devices like the Echo, even though the Echo has probably at best sold a tenth as many units as Apple has sold Watches.

As of this year, Apple may be the underdogagain.

If thats true then good. They do pretty well as the underdog.
Come Friday, Apple will start selling the iPhone 7, but all anyone wants to talk about is the next one. Even before Phil Schiller showed off the new iPhones cameras and jet black body, rumors about the so-called 10th anniversary phone had already blunted much of the excitement about this years model.

If even half of whats been reported comes true, the 2017 iPhone is going to be bigger than the last three models put together: OLED, edge-to-edge screen, wireless charging, and in-display Touch ID, just to tick off the highlights. But the iPhone 7 isnt just a way for Apple to squeeze a couple hundred million more sales out of the iPhone 6 before the company unveils the next truly big thing. It might seem like a relatively minor refresh on the surface, but theres no reason to panic about Apples ability to innovate.

Quite the contrary. From the technology inside it to the potential it presents, the iPhone 7 is simply part of a new phase for Apple, one that looks to be far more ambitious than the iPod, the iPhone, or even the Macintosh. And no matter how great the next iPhone looks, chances are well be using it a whole lot less.

Power move

The launch of the iPhone was one of the most masterfully-crafted pivots in tech history. Before then, Apple was widely viewed as a niche computer company that got lucky with the iPod. Even after the iPhone was unveiled, few people saw it coming, despite a massive teaser on Apple.com in the days leading up to the event: The first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007.

Plus, it with the launch of the iPhone that Apple dropped the word Computer from its official company name, solidifying its fate as a consumer electronics company and resetting its core business by pushing the Mac to the background. You need only look at the languishing lineup today to see how little Macs matter to Apples new mission.

While everyone was debating whether the iPhone was too expensive or too limited, Apple was preparing for a world ruled by pocket-sized devices able to handle many of the everyday tasks we turn to computers for. Apple took everything it had learned over three decades of Mac development and applied it to a new form of technology that fit much better into our lives. The iPhone didnt just displace the Macit gave Apple the ability to expand its vision and move beyond the PC phase. And less than 10 years after the second phase began, Apple is already laying the foundation for the next one.

Dashboard dynamics

With over 1 billion served and droves of developers dependent on the App Store, Apples next phase wont necessarily be about supplanting the iPhone. But we wont be using it nearly as much. Just like the Apple Watch has begun to reduce the number of times we need to reach into our pockets, Apples next phase will make us even less reliant on the iPhone.

Whether were talking about cables or iCloud, Apples goal for its devices has always been operational independence. Over the past few iOS versions, Apple has been working to enhance and expand the iOS experience, giving hands-free Siri a central role while de-emphasizing the importance of our apps. You can see it with the Apple Watch and the new AirPods, but nowhere is this more evident than with the CarPlay system. Just like the iPhone was imagined as something of a stripped-down and distilled version of macOS, CarPlay boils iOS down to its most essential functions and takes focused navigation completely out of the equation. Apps are present but theyre wholly unnecessarythe integrated system is what matters.

Reuters

The rub, of course, is that Apple doesnt have control over the hardware. But remember, back when the iPhone was just a pie-in-the-sky rumor, Apples first venture into cellphones was in the form of a partnership with Motorola on the ROKR E1, a clunky effort to bring iTunes to mobile devices beyond the iPod. CarPlay is something similar, an effort by Apple to explore a new product category without diving in too deep.

While the ROKR wasnt a success, it wasnt a failure either. It gave Apple intimate knowledge of how to design and develop for mobile phones, and helped prepare for a major shift in strategy. And it looks like Apple is doing the same thing with CarPlay as it prepares to enter the world of automobiles.

Pursuit of perfection

With dozens of manufacturers and models, CarPlay is a far more ambitious venture than the ROKR ever was. And so is Project Titan, the code name for Apples next venture into the car space. A mobile phone is somewhat in Apples wheelhouse, but an automobile is a whole new entity. Its not just a new product category, its a new company, one that might very well require a separate Apple Motors division.

Its a move thats going to take several more years at least, and its why we keep reading about shakeups and false starts. Had Apple been as scrutinized when the iPhone was being developed, the headlines likely would have been similar. As the saying goes, to make an omelet you need to break a few eggs, and Apple has both the capital and the clout to hire, fire, scrutinize, and scrap projects until the size and scope is just right.

Adam Patrick Murray

In the meantime, Apple will continue to push the iPhone into the background. Its not about what it looks like or how powerful the camera isthe ultimate plan here is to turn the iPhone into a portable smart hub that powers all of the devices in our lives, whether theyre on our wrists, in our ears, or in our cars.

Driving innovation

Project Titan is more than just a new way to get aroundit wants to expand its integration beyond the devices we carry around. Apple Watch is the beginning, but it wont be long before that always-on, frictionless methodology makes its way to Apple TV.

But make no mistakeProject Titan is the centerpiece. By the time Tim Cook is ready to drive the mythical Apple car onto the stage of the Campus 2 theater, he wont just be selling a vehicle. Itll be about a lifestyle, not merely in terms of status and luxury, but as a technology that it always at the ready wherever you go.

And while an iPhone may will presumably be required at the outset, it wont be for very long. Like the current crop of Macs, Apples next phase will be about pushing the iPhone to the background as input-based devices become secondary to cloud-based services and devices that dont need dedicated screens to anticipate and respond to our needs.

So while the new iPhone might not live up to the lofty expectations Apple has set for the better part of a decade, that doesnt mean Tim Cook and Jony Ive are out of ideas. It just means theyre skating to where the puck is going, not where its been.
Counsel at Red Lobster, Atlassian and two other companies say its hard to register descriptive terms, but that it can be worth the slog in some cases
Last month I shipped a library of books to ARIPO. There were about 813 of them, from practitioner to academic texts, covering almost all areas of IP in Europe, Latin America and Asia. The majority of them were published in the last decade, the latest in 2015, and some in the 1990s such as those dealing with international IP framework such as TRIPs.

The beneficiaries of these books are the students and staff on the masters programme in IP ARIPO runs in partnership with the WIPO Academy at Africa University. They were symbolically presented at a welcome ceremony hosted by Africa University on August 22 in Mutare, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. Mutare is one of the largest cities in the country and borders Mozambique to the east.

How I got the books

Kingsley sorting books Kingsley sorting books

On the afternoon of March 27 2014, at the London offices of law firm Olswang, Jeremy Phillips broke the news to me that he would retire later in 2015 and thereafter he will give away his collection of books. I vividly remember how Jeremy offered the books to me. "All yours if you want them," he said with a grin, leaning back in his chair with his hands on the armrest. It all began in 2010 when I sent Jeremy an email seeking further guidance on IP research ideas for my postgraduate studies at Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL). After several email exchanges, he noticed that I was eager to share my thoughts on what I was learning so he gave me the platform to do so. Over time he became my de facto mentor - Im sure he was for others too, especially young IP enthusiasts.

More about the programme This year-long programme was launched in 2008 by the WIPO Academy, ARIPO and Africa University, with financial assistance from Japan. Then it was the first of its kind in Africa. Admission is open to all but preference is given to nationals of African countries. The programme is taught in English by IP specialists from Africa and beyond. It is structured in three phases including practical training sessions at the offices of ARIPO. The students must also submit a dissertation. So far it has produced 221 graduates from 24 African countries. WIPO, in partnership with OAPI and University of Yaounde II, also offers a similar one targeted at French-speaking African countries. These educational programmes come under WIPOs IP capacity-building mandate to support developing and least developed countries. I understand they are demand-driven and tailored to the needs of the region.

Aside from his counsel, there was something special about our meetings: Jeremy always gave me copies of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice. To me, the gesture epitomises his character as someone who enjoys sharing knowledge and helping others succeed. I wish I could go into more detail about the mentorship but thats for another piece. Crucially, I guess not many knew about his keen interest and support for the dissemination of information on IP issues in Africa. But I digress.

Back to the offer, I accepted it and promised that I would give them all to a befitting university in Africa. Jeremy said it was up to me where they go, provided they are put to good use. I understand this was the third time he had passed on his books. So I took this on as an important project to deliver in 2016.

A couple of months after his retirement, on February 2 this year, Jeremy showed me the literature collection he kept at Olswang. There were well over a thousand books, of all sorts. I couldnt believe the firm allowed him to keep that many there!

Anyway, I wanted more so I asked Olswangs librarians Kim Austin and Amanda McKenzie if the firm had books to give away too. They obliged. I made my selections. With the help of my friend Deborah Sewagudde I also got some books from the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (QMUL), for which I thank the Director Spyros Maniatis.

Olswang also made logistics easy for me by allowing me to take my time to sort and store all the books at their offices until I was ready to ship. Id like to single out Austin for her cooperation and tireless effort in the whole process.

How and why I chose Africa University

The decision on which university should receive these books wasn't that straightforward. I could have easily chosen a university in Nigeria, South Africa or Kenya, in that order of preference. But I wanted the books to be used by as many people as possible from across Africa.

I decided to crowdsource suggestions on Twitter, after a failed attempt to obtain a list of African universities participating in the Oxford University IP Moot competition. It was at that point the ideal destination became clear. Thanks to Caroline Ncube I remembered that Africa University hosts the ARIPO/WIPO masters programme in IP.

A few days later I spoke with ARIPO Director General Fernando dos Santos about it. In particular, I wanted to know if the Office would be happy to be the custodian of the books. On the call Dos Santos agreed, mentioning the Offices efforts and plans to strengthen IP awareness and research in Africa. Then I knew I had made the right choice. I proceeded with final preparations and early last month shipped the books to the Office.

What I learned about the university

ARIPO kindly extended an invitation to me to join the welcome ceremony so everyone can hear about the books and why I chose Africa University. Managing IP was already supportive of what I was doing so sponsored me to be there to see things for myself. The ceremony was also attended by Japans ambassador to Zimbabwe Yoshinobu Hiraishi and Minister of State for Manicaland Mandi Chimene.

Truly pan-African

The keynote was delivered by Africa University Vice-Chancellor Munashe Furusa who provided some key information and words of advice to the students. The university officially started in 1992. Its pan-African vision is reflected in the diversity of its staff and students. Out of over 100 applications received for the programme, 34 students were admitted. Four students are self-sponsored while the rest are sponsored by ARIPO and WIPO. The gender representation is evenly balanced.

The students this year come from 17 African countries including two from Sao Tome and Principe and Congo Brazzaville, the first from both countries. The diverse professional backgrounds also impressed me. Among them are IP Office staff, legal practitioners, including a judge, and scientists. The Class President Temitope Ogunbanjo works with Nigerias IP Office.

Its worth noting that Nigeria is not an ARIPO member state. Nonetheless, the Vice-Chancellor wants more. As a pan-African university, this geographical spread of nations is what truly defines our identity and uniqueness and we continue to implore the sponsors of this programme to work tirelessly so that together we can increase the numbers by recruiting students from all countries in Africa and beyond, he said.

The need and vision

Furusa emphasised the importance of IP awareness in Africa: The study of IP, its theoretical foundations, its management and principles are all still poorly understood by most people. Intellectual property systems support creativity and innovation. These are two critical aspects seemingly still deficient in many African industrialisation and value addition efforts. He added that Africa Universitys vision is to create leaders in IP.

The university presented a paper on IP protection at this yearRIO-SET, an annual forum in Zimbabwe for those in R&D, science and technology, and is preparing to establish a Business Incubation Unit and a Technology Transfer Office.

Later this year the university will launch the African Journal of Intellectual Property and publish a textbook on IP. In his speech Furusa urged the students to help address the challenges in IP in Africa by contributing to policy briefs on issues such as copyright infringement across Africa. He noted that graduates from the programme are already making positive contributions in their respective countries. This was similar to my message to the students at the ceremony. I told them that I hope theyll use the books as source material to learn about IP law and practice in other countries, especially how it has evolved, and then help contribute to tailor-made reforms in their respective countries.

The visit to ARIPO

Visiting ARIPO Visiting ARIPO

Before I left the country I visited the offices of ARIPO, which is about 15 km from Harare Airport. When I got there I was struck by their massive building construction project, which I understand could be ready for its 40th anniversary celebrations later this year. I was given a tour of the buildings, and thereafter I met with representatives from Korea International Cooperation Agency who were visiting to evaluate the ICT project sponsored by the Korean government. I understand the project has modernised the workflow and connectivity between ARIPO and the IP Offices of its member states.

A beautiful environment to study

The universitys self-contained site is situated on about 600 hectares of land. I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, but in the nicest possible way. I stayed on-site at the universitys Ubuntu Retreat Centre, which is at the top of a hill. Just like what I saw on my way there, the scenery is gorgeous, especially the mountains. You could feel nature. I woke up with birds chirping away and warm sunrise. It felt like a resort. It is indeed a peaceful place to study.

I didnt get the chance to visit any of Zimbabwes tourist attractions - for example, Victoria Falls and the national parks - but the road trip from Harare to Mutare was a sightseeing experience. The distance is under 300 km and, by the way, I didnt notice any potholes. On this stretch of road you get a glimpse of Zimbabwes natural landscape: from tropical grasslands to spectacular rocks and mountains. I was in awe.

It was my first time in Zimbabwe, and I had preconceived ideas. No wonder the Vice-Chancellor advised the students to make the most out of their stay by taking time off their studies for some sightseeing. As Furusa rightly noted: This will allow you to share the stories about Zimbabwe from an experiential perspective.

Taking this forward

Managing IP has pledged to support this programme at Africa University but we cant do this on our own. Also I would like to see this go beyond Zimbabwe. Im thinking of places like University of Yaounde II (Cameroon), which hosts a similar programme; Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (Nigeria); Centre for IP and IT Law at Strathmore University (Kenya); The American University in Cairo (Egypt); and in South Africa there are a number of them for example Stellenbosch University.

Please do get in touch if youd like to partner with us to support any of these institutions or learn more my experience with this particular donation.
Thiruvananthapuram: In a shocking development in the Soumya murder case, the Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the death penalty on Soumya murder convict Govindachamy. However, court held him guilty of rape and sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment in a case that shocked the conscience of the state.

Breaking down upon hearing the news, Soumya's mother said that she will go to any extent to get justice in the case. However, the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence against Govindachamy in the case. With the latest order from the SC, Govindachamy will be freed after 16 months.

In 2013, the Kerala High Court confirmed the death sentence awarded to Govindachamy by a Thrissur fast track court for brutally raping and murdering Soumya by pushing her off from the compartment of the Ernakulam-Shornur passenger train on Feb 1st after trying to rob her. He then raped the injured Soumya, who died on Feb 6, 2011.
A European Union naval force deployed in the Mediterranean should turn back migrant boats after they leave Libya and prevent them from reaching Italy, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.

Italy is on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis, taking in more than 400,000 refugees over the past three years, many of them saved from rickety boats pushed out to sea by people smugglers based in north Africa.

The European Union launched Operation Sophia in 2015 in response to the crisis, with a mandate to disrupt the people trafficking networks and destroy smugglers' boats.

Johnson said part of the mission's work was to return boats back to shore after they had put to sea.

"I think personally (the boats) should be turned back as close to the shore as possible so they don't reach the Italian mainland and that there is more of a deterrent," Johnson said, speaking alongside his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni.

"I think I am right in saying we have turned back about 200,000 migrants," Johnson said, before a nearby diplomat hastily corrected him. "Sorry, saved, saved. Thank you. We have saved 200,000 migrants and turned back 240 boats."

It is illegal to turn back migrant boats once they reach international waters and a U.N.-backed government in Libya has not invited European ships into its territorial waters, saying this would undermine its own state-building efforts.

It was not immediately clear in what context the boats mentioned by Johnson were turned back to land. There was no immediate comment from Operation Sophia officials in Rome.

Johnson was in Italy for talks about Britain's decision to abandon the European Union.



(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Keith Weir)
nv charts has announced the release of their newly updated chart sets for Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean for 2016/17 in paper and digital format. In addition to being updated, the new NV.Atlas format brings a modern, handy design to the charts thats practical and easy to use.

The chart set includes a download of digital charts, including free navigation software, plus the free nv charts Mobile App for iOS and Android mobile devices. The App includes free digital updates for this chart set for 2016/17. nv charts are relied on for accuracy and dependability by recreational boaters, professionals mariners, and the US. Coast Guard.

The new chart sets now feature a compact, fold-over format, (unbound 'booklet') the NV.Atlas, reducing the physical size of the paper chart set by half (but not the cartography itself) for ease of use on today's smaller navigation stations and chart tables. "Since these charts are produced from our own cartographic databases, rather than simply copied from government sources, we have designed them so that no critical elements are in the crease, or fold, where they might lose definition over time from use and wear," states Hasko Scheidt, CEO.

The new chart sets release is updated and meticulously surveyed and now available just in time for cruising the Caribbean Sea during the upcoming winter months. The set is available in a variety of formats - paper, digital, SD Card devices. They are designed for sailors, motor boaters, fishermen and professional mariners, and cruising enthusiasts. They include the following:

- Passage Charts

- Coastal Charts

- Harbor and Anchorage Pilot (only Florida, Bahamas and Virgin Islands)

- GPS Charted Waypoints and Approaches

- Download of digital charts, including free Navigation Software

- Tide Tables and Recommended Courses

- Free nv charts Mobile App for iOS and Android

The chart set is based on reliable data from various sources including nv charts' own survey data, with clear cartography and conformity with international chart standards. nv charts offer unique features not found in other chart sets, e.g., more distinctive shore and shallows cartography, aids to navigation and light characteristics, tidal information, and even helpful pages in the back outlining symbols, legends, and other data that help the navigator interpret the information in the chart. The cartography is visually distinct; unique color differences make specific depths, shoals, reefs, exposed tidal areas stand out for quick, easy recognition. Also, lighthouses illustrate their light characteristics for better identification. Legend pages at the back of the set provide a guide to symbols, legends, and other data that help the navigator interpret the information in the chart. nv charts products in digital format are also available on SD memory cards for chartplotters including Lowrance, Simrad and B&G chartplotter systems.
Vigor expanded its growing portfolio of international sales with the delivery of two, 19m all-weather pilot boats to The Port of Duqm Company (PDC), SAOC, Sultanate of Oman. The Port has been undergoing a major multiphase expansion and the new pilot boats will play a key role in ensuring the safety of vessels calling on the port.



This is an important delivery for us, said Keith Whittemore, Vigor Executive Vice President of Business Development. PDC is a world class, state-of-the-art Port with a major commitment to quality and safety. Our team was honored to be chosen to help PDC achieve the objective of setting the new standard for pilot boats in the Middle East.



Designed by Camarc Design, Ltd., UK, and built at Vigors Ballard facility (formerly Kvichak Marine), the vessels not only function as pilot boats but also as search and rescue and oil spill recovery vessels. The all-aluminum vessels are powered by twin Cummins QSK-19 marine diesel engines rated for 800 hp @ 2100 rpm each and twin ZF 2000A transmissions driving NiBrAl 5-bladed fixed propellers providing an operating speed of ~20 knots. The pilot boats offer outstanding performance and safety in the harshest weather, including the high winds and stormy seas experienced in southern Oman during "Hareef" (typhoon) season.



With the arrival of the new pilot boats, Port of Duqm Company is preparing for the next level of professionalism and safety towards its customers, said Wim Aertbelien, PDC Harbor Master and Chief Pilot. Port of Duqm Company is determined to continue to maintain a close and solid relationship with the Vigor shipyard.



Beyond North American sales, over the years Vigor has successfully delivered vessels throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and South America. The delivery of Duqm pilot boats expands Vigors Middle East presence and helps further an international strategy in specialized commercial markets and foreign military sales.



Vessel Specifications:

Length, overall: 62.3 (19.0m)

Beam, overall: 19.7 (6.0m)

Draft, operating: ~3.0 (.91m)

Fuel Capacity: 1050gal (3975 l)

Fresh Water Capacity: 66 gal (250 l)

Onan 50 kW Genset

Palfinger PK11001MC deck crane

Popsure fender system

Lamor MSRm1411 manual boom reel

Lamor Minimax 60 oil skimming system

Lamor GTA 70 transfer pump

Lamor LPP 38 hydraulic power unit

Furuno navigation package

Seating: 2 crew, 8 pilots
Explorers have found the wreck of HMS Terror, the second of two British ships lost in the disastrous 1845 Franklin expedition to Canada's Arctic Northwest Passage, Britain's Guardian newspaper said on Monday.

The Arctic Research Foundation, a private group that sent a vessel to help look for the ship, found it in pristine condition at the bottom of a bay earlier this month, a spokesman told the paper.

Sir John Franklin and his 128-member crew in the Terror and HMS Erebus all died after the vessels became stuck in ice during a search for the fabled Arctic passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The fate of the ships remained one of the great mysteries in Canadian history for almost 170 years until a team found the wreck of the Erebus in September 2014.

Canada's federal parks ministry - which is coordinating the search for the Terror - said it was working to verify the report. Reuters was not immediately able to contact the foundation.

The expedition has become part of Canadian folklore, in part because of the crew's appalling fate. Tales handed down from the aboriginal Inuit people describe cannibalism among the desperate seamen.





(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
As well as being the established choice of scrubber for Emission Control Areas (ECAs), Alfa Laval PureSOx is proving its capabilities on the Great Lakes. The system will soon be installed on a cement carrier that will operate in the region as part of the NovaAlgoma fleet.

NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers Limited has recently expanded its fleet with the M/v Nacc Quebec. This ecologically efficient self-discharging bulker will be converted from an existing vessel in China and will begin her operation in 2017. Connected to its Wartsila four-stroke 6L38B main engine will be an Alfa Laval PureSOx exhaust gas cleaning system, configured with a U-design scrubber in a hybrid arrangement.

Scrubbers are a means of profitable compliance with sulphur legislation on the Great Lakes. Closed-loop scrubbing is necessary, however, due to the strict wash water discharge requirements of the US Vessel General Permit (VGP). PureSOx offers well-proven water cleaning technology based on centrifugal separation, which will allow the M/v Nacc Quebec to sail continuously in closed-loop mode. Nevertheless, a hybrid system was selected for full operational flexibility, giving it the additional ability to sail in open-loop mode when allowed.

Following careful consideration of both U-design and I-design PureSOx scrubbers, a U-design was also chosen for this particular installation. The U-design offered the best fit for the space on board, as well as the possibility of operating in bypass mode.

In selecting PureSOx for the M/v Nacc Quebec, prior experience with Alfa Laval and Alfa Laval equipment played an important role. We trust in the Alfa Laval brand and wanted to have the Alfa Laval PureSOx system in our fleet, says Mr Francesco Costagliola, Technical Director.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has established the International Maritime Center 2030 (IMC 2030) Advisory Committee to chart the future directions of Singapores IMC.

Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of BW Group, has been appointed as the Chairman of this committee.

As part of its work, the committee would review Singapores IMC development strategy and identify new growth areas to enhance Singapores long-term competitiveness and value proposition as an IMC.

Globally, Singapore is known as one of the worlds busiest ports and a top bunkering port. Beyond her status as a premier global hub port, Singapore has been ranked by international studies to be a leading IMC.

The latest Xinhua-Baltic Exchange Shipping Centre Development Index published in 2016 ranked Singapore as the top shipping centre among 43 global maritime hubs.

Singapore was also ranked first place as the worlds leading maritime capital in the last study conducted in 2015 by Norwegian consulting firm, Menon Economics, which benchmarked the top maritime cities around the world.

Singapores IMC which comprises the shipping and maritime services sectors has grown considerably over the years. In 2000, there were only about 20 international shipping groups with origins from countries including China, Denmark and Norway which had offices in Singapore.

Today, Singapore has one of the highest concentrations of international shipping groups; and is home to more than 130 international shipping groups as well as leading players in ship management, finance, broking, insurance, law and arbitration.

The newly established IMC 2030 Advisory Committee comprises members including global business leaders and experts in maritime and related sectors such as global logistics, finance and technology.

Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of IMC 2030 Advisory Committee said, I am delighted to be able to work on this initiative with a high-level group of global maritime leaders Leveraging the groups diverse expertise and knowledge, we will propose strategies for a more vibrant and competitive Singapore IMC.
System integrator and innovator of electrical and automation systems RH Marine has officially launched its own product family brand at the international maritime trade fair SMM in Hamburg last week.



RH Marine said product innovation is one of its main focusses. During the years this has resulted in multiple quality brands such as UniMacs integrated bridge and FT NavVision. To provide a clear overview of the RH Marine product portfolio, RH Marine has chosen to place all products under one new brand: Rhodium.



The new brand encompasses four product lines  the integrated bridge, hybrid energy, ship automation and electrical power. The four Rhodium product lines enable RH Marine to support customers from the design phase through the entire life cycle of the ship. Each product line has its own strengths and offers major advantages to ship owners by supporting them in their daily business.

As a system integrator, RH Marine said it can integrate the products to fully optimize the synergies between these product lines, ensuring safe, sustainable, comfortable and reliable solutions that lead to a lower total cost of ownership for the customer.
ASRY, a ship and rig repair yard in the Arabian Gulf, has welcomed its 100th rig repair job to the yard, as 2016 posts the highest number of rig repair contracts in the yards history. The project is on the high specification jack-up rig Bob Palmer, one of the largest jack-up rigs in the world, owned and operated by Rowan Companies, which is one of the worlds leading providers of offshore contract drilling services, and long-term client of ASRYs.



ASRYs diversification into rig repair has continually proven to be one of the yards most perceptive moves, with its revenue cycle complementing ship repairs cycle, commented ASRYs Chairman of the Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Al Khalifa. This sentiment was echoed by ASRY Acting Chief Executive Magdy Mustafa, who explained even during market downturns, having multiple and diverse revenue streams provides more opportunities, as is being visibly demonstrated by our recent rig repair successes.



This milestone is especially encouraging considering the enormous pressure the rig market is still under, added ASRY Offshore Services General Manager, Rob Bryant. While revenues remain under pressure, the number of rig projects coming to the yard makes ASRY the market leader for rig repair in 2016, with 20 already repaired by August. Earlier in the year there were 16 rigs simultaneously in the yard, a record since the division began in 2008.



However, the record number of projects is still not translating into record revenues. Margins are very tight, Bryant confirmed, so we are working closely with our clients to meet their repair needs in the most affordable way possible, without compromising the quality and safety standards that keep them coming back. ASRYs ability to find mutually beneficial solutions is a key factor in maintaining the long-term relationships that the yard is renowned for.



The increased movement in the rig repair market comes on the heels of an uncertain 2015, and more predictability going forward. Following the uncertainty that dominated the rig market in 2015 due to major global oil price fluctuations, Bryant explained, Mideast rig owners and operators have a clearer understanding in 2016 of the future course for the market. Repair scopes are still only including the essentials to meet Survey requirements, but a more predictable future is relaxing the anxiety that choked the market last year. Combined with the yards competitive pricing and strategic geographical location nearest to Saudi Arabia, ASRY is well positioned in comparison to other rig repair outfits in the region, to capitalize on a slightly loosened market.



ASRY is also pushing ahead with onshore rig work, after recently completed its first land rig refurbishment project. A second land rig project is due in Q4 2016, further expanding ASRYs diversified skill set.


Japan will step up its activity in the contested South China Sea through joint training patrols with the United States and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies, Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said on Thursday.

Inada said in a speech at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that Japan's increased engagement in the area, where Japan shares U.S. concerns about China's pursuit of extensive territorial claims, would include capacity building for coastal nations.

Inada, whose country has its own dispute with China over territory in the East China Sea, said that if the world condoned attempts to change the rule of law and allowed "rule bending" to succeed, the "consequences could become global."

"In this context, I strongly support the U.S. Navy's freedom-of-navigation operations, which go a long way to upholding the rules-based international maritime order," she said.

"Japan, for its part, will increase its engagement in the South China Sea through, for example, Maritime Self-Defense Force joint training cruises with the U.S. Navy and bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies," she said.

Japan would also help build the capacity of coastal states in the South China Sea, said Inada, before heading for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon.

Japan said this month it was ready to provide Vietnam with new patrol ships, in its latest step to boost the maritime law-enforcement capabilities of countries locked in territorial rows with China.

It also agreed to provide two large patrol ships and lend up to five used surveillance aircraft to the Philippines, another country at odds with China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea.





(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, editing by G Crosse and Chizu Nomiyama)
The Kipevu Oil Terminal at Mombasa Port will be relocated early next year, to Dongo Kundu area, as a result of the ongoing capacity expansion program, the Kenya Ports Authority announced.

The new oil terminal is expected to have a capacity to accommodate four vessels of up to 200,000 DWT. The project also involves building new cargo handling facilities with both subsea and land based pipelines and four berths capable of loading/discharging crude oil, HFO, DPK-aviation, AGO-Diesel and PMS-Petrol.

The other element is the topside, whose initial implementation will be for three berths but layout will recognize the need for implementation of the fourth berth at a later date. There will also be a subsea pipeline corridor and associated number of pipelines that will have an element of pre-investment to accommodate all the four berths. Others are on shore pipeline to a designated tie-in location and a SCADA and Control System.

The projects international tender for leading and supervising construction works saw more than 31 bidders from more than 15 countries, including England, South Africa, China, Japan, Australia, India, Dubai, USA, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Netherlands and Portugal among others. Tenders for construction went out on July 2016 ahead of actual construction early next year. The construction period is pegged at 30 months.

The short-listed companies for the planned offshore jetty at the Port of Mombasa are China Gezhouuba Group, Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation, Boskalis Dredging & Marine Experts, CPECC & Power China JV, China CAMC Engineering and Besix, CMR & Van Oord. Others are China Railway Construction Corporation, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, SAIPEM AFCONS Infrastructures, Jan De Nul, China Communications Construction Company and Dredging International.

Danish engineering firm Niras was in 2014 tasked with designing the new facility at a cost of $1.7 million (Sh172.3 million).

The jetty is expected to increase efficiency in delivery of imported refined fuel for Kenyas domestic use and export to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

KPA also plans to more than double the capacity of its fuel terminal in Nairobi to cater for the extra flow of petroleum products when a new pipeline linking the capital with Mombasa becomes operational in the end of this year.
1942 - USS Wasp (CV 7) is torpedoed by a Japanese submarine while operating in the Southwestern Pacific in support of forces on Guadalcanal. USS O'Brien (DD 415) and USS North Carolina (BB 55) are also struck by torpedoes from the same submarine.

1943 - USS Saufley (DD 465) and a Catalina Patrol Bomber piloted by Lt. W. J. Geritz from Patrol Squadron Twenty Three (VP 23) sinks the Japanese submarine RO-101 100 miles southeast of San Cristobal, Solomons.

1944 - USS Pampanito (SS 383) and USS Sealion (SS 315) rescue 73 British and 54 Australian POWs who survive the loss of Japanese freighter, Rakuyo Maru, after she is sunk by Sealion on Sept. 12, about 300 miles west of Cape Bojeador, Luzon. There had been 1,300 men on board Rakuyo Maru when she is torpedoed.

1950 - During the Korean War, after preliminary naval gunfire and air bombardment on Sept. 13, the First and Fifth Marines go ashore for the Inchon Invasion, which includes US Army and Korean forces.

2012 - USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) is christened and launched at Mobile, Ala. The joint high-speed vessel provides rapid transport of military equipment and personnel in theater.





(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)
Virtual Marine Technology said it has delivered a second lifeboat simulator system to Prosafe. The simulator was custom built for training lifeboat coxswains onboard the Safe Zephyrus, one of Prosafes newest accommodation rigs.

The Safe Zephyrus was constructed at Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd in Singapore. The vessel complies with Norwegian regulations and is capable of operating in the harshest environments and with the highest standards of safety. It can accommodate up to 450 people in single person cabins.

The installation of the lifeboat simulator took place in Scapa Flow, off the northeast coast of Scotland. Our colleagues onboard the Safe Boreas have been using their freefall lifeboat simulator since May of 2015, said Mike Young, Vessel Manager of the Safe Zephyrus. Feedback from the crew suggests the system is highly effective in training lifeboat coxswains for real emergency evacuations in extreme conditions and under significant stress. We are looking forward to having our Safe Zephyrus team trained in a similar fashion starting immediately.

In 2015, VMT custom-built and delivered a lifeboat simulator for Prosafes Safe Boreas, one of 13 accommodation vessels in the Prosafe fleet. Prosafe crew members who had completed conventional lifeboat training saw the benefits of the lifeboat simulator immediately, said Robert Rumbolt, Director of Operations at Virtual Marine Technology. They felt the simulator exposed them to a level of training not possible using conventional lifeboat training methods. The simulator has enhanced their confidence and abilities to effectively operate the Harding FF1200 lifeboats in an emergency situation.

The Safe Zephyrus is currently located at the Ivar Aasen platform offshore Norway.
Inmarsat will commemorate the untimely passing earlier this year of one of the architects of its Maritime Safety Operations network by sponsoring the first International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) H.E.R.O. Award for outstanding service to maritime search and rescue, 'The Vladimir Maksimov Award'.



The sponsorship is seen as a fitting tribute to Vladimir Maksimov, Inmarsat Director of SOLAS Services, who died on 4th May 2016 after a short illness, following 25 years with Inmarsat. Mr Maksimov played a central role in the Inmarsat safety team.



The H.E.R.O. (Honouring Excellence in Rescue Operations) Awards, launched by the IMRF in April this year, have been developed to draw attention to the extraordinary work done to save lives in maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) across the world. Their aim is to recognise and show gratitude for courage and exceptional performance, both by individuals and organisations, and progress IMRFs mission to improve global maritime SAR and prevent loss of life. Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Portugal on Tuesday, November 15 and streamed globally.



These Awards recognise individuals for courageous rescue missions, but they also celebrate the vital work done by those responsible for the support networks and organisations which enable such missions, said Peter Broadhurst, Senior Vice President for Safety and Security, Inmarsat Maritime. Inmarsat is especially proud to sponsor the IMRF H.E.R.O. Award to commemorate the exceptional contribution made by Vladimir Maksimov to the safety of life at sea.



An Engineering Graduate in Radio Communications and Navigation from Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy (AMSMA), and a Chief Radio Officer with Baltic Shipping Company for nine years, Mr Maksimov joined Inmarsat in 1990. He became Manager of Maritime Safety Operations in 2000 and he was later promoted to Director of SOLAS Services. Mr Maksimov was a champion of Inmarsats Maritime Safety Services and was at the heart of both the technical innovation and regulations enhancing safety until his untimely death.



Vladimir was committed to seafarers getting the help they needed as fast as possible in times of trouble and his contribution in developing the network supporting Global Maritime Distress Safety System is incalculable, said Broadhurst. As Inmarsat moves towards the launch of SAFETYNET II later in the year to enhance GMDSS, it is a real tragedy that he will not be with us to see the fruits of all of his hard work.



Frances Baskerville, Secretary-General of Comite International Radio-Maritime (CIRM) described Mr Maksimov as a great friend to many of us, who offered true expertise at meetings plus a straightforward and practical approach. An International Hydrographic Organization World Wide Navigation Warning Service tribute said his contribution throughout the establishment and expansion of the World-Wide Navigation Warning Service and the provision of Maritime Safety Information to the maritime community is unlikely to be equalled.
The first of ten ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at the APM Terminals Los Angeles Pier 400 facility was raised 33 feet (10 meters), making it the tallest port crane in North America and will be ready for vessel operations in the next few months.

To create an even safer place to work, an additional feature of the upgraded cranes is the installation of Light Emitting Diode (LED) illumination, which will improve operator visibility and accuracy of the cranes Optical Character Recognition (OCR) programs. The cranes will use 60% less energy than conventional lighting systems.

The crane heightening project is designed to prepare for regular Ultra-Large Container Vessel (ULCV) calls in the trans-Pacific trade lanes, carrying up to 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs) per vessel. For context, the largest ships that could be served prior to the upgrade were vessels carrying an average of 13,000 TEUs.

APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles operates a total of 14 STS cranes. The ten retro-fitted cranes will enable handling vessels that have a beam of 23-containers wide, and stacked ten containers high above deck.

The Los Angeles crane extension project, representing an investment of USD 40 million keeps APM Terminals at the forefront of infrastructure improvement and upgrades in US port operations, said APM Terminals CEO, Kim Fejfer. Our aim is to enable global trade through the safest, most efficient technology available for reliable port operations.

At 484 acres, APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles, which opened in 2002, is the largest single proprietary terminal in the world, featuring an ondock railyard that keeps thousands of trucks off nearby roads while reducing diesel emissions.

The Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex is the busiest in North America, with a combined throughput of 15.3 million TEUS in 2015. Throughput at APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles was 2.48 million TEUs in 2015.
A lawyer for Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd , the failed South Korean container carrier, said on Thursday a U.S.-bound vessel was held "hostage" by disputes over payments, adding to the struggles in getting $14 billion of cargo off its ships stranded at sea.

"There is no clear visibility yet on what will happen with this business," Hanjin lawyer Ilana Volkov said at a hearing, when asked by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood whether Hanjin was liquidating.

Hanjin, the world's seventh-largest container line, filed for bankruptcy last month, leaving more than 100 ships and their cargo at sea and threatening to snarl U.S. freight traffic as the year-end shopping season approaches.

Some ships chartered to Hanjin have been sold and more are up for sale.

Last week, Hanjin said a Korean judge authorized $10 million to pay tug operators, ports and cargo handlers to unload four of its U.S.-bound vessels.

Since then, the Hanjin Boston, Hanjin Greece and Hanjin Gdynia have begun to unload. But the fourth ship, the Hanjin Jungil, remains at sea off the coast of California, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

"We're negotiating with every service provider and they are saying 'I'm not going to let this ship berth,'" said Volkov at the Newark, New Jersey hearing. "My client is being held hostage."

She told the court that the Korean court had postponed hearing Hanjin's request to authorize another $50 million that would allow at least four more Hanjin ships to unload U.S. cargo.

Hanjin still has at least 10 U.S.-bound ships, although Volkov said some ships may not have picked up U.S.-bound cargo.

Cargo owners such as consumer products maker Dorel Industries Inc and the U.S. unit of musical instrument maker Yamaha Corp complained they were the hostages.

They said they were forced to make additional payments to get their cargo or were forced to retrieve it from the wrong location.

"This could destroy American businesses," said Alan Brody, a lawyer for Yamaha Corp of America.

Darren Azman, an attorney for Bermuda-based container owner Textainer Group Holdings Ltd, said Hanjin rejected leases on its 20,000 containers but failed to return the boxes to Asia as required.

However, the judge balked at Azman's suggestion that Textainer could force cargo owners to pay to return Hanjin's containers to Asia to get their goods.

"I will do whatever I can to stop you," said Sherwood.

(Reporting by Tom Hals, editing by Peter Henderson and Bernard Orr)
The U.S. Navys newest and most technologically advanced surface ship, future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), pulled into Naval Station Norfolk Wednesday for another port visit as part of its three-month journey to its new homeport in San Diego.

Crewed by 147 Sailors, Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power. They are capable of performing critical maritime missions and enhance the Navy's ability to provide deterrence, power projection and sea control.

It is a great opportunity to bring Zumwalt to Norfolk, an area steeped in naval history and ever vital to the U.S. Navy, said Capt. James A. Kirk, Zumwalt's commanding officer. It is a chance for the sailors of Zumwalt to show their Atlantic Coast shipmates the teamwork, technical expertise and toughness it takes to operate a Zumwalt-class destroyer.

While in Norfolk, Zumwalt is scheduled to perform operational proficiency training, certifications and preparation for its October commissioning.

Training is the foundation of every operation we perform in the Navy, and it is our job to ensure we use the time in Norfolk to get as much quality training as we can. Successful training pays dividends for sailors out at sea, said Kirk.

Zumwalt departed Newport, R.I., Monday following a weekend of visits from students of several Navy schools, including the Naval War College, and distinguished government and military visitors.

Our first ever port visit was to Newport, or the U.S. Navy's surface warfare center of gravity, where we were able to host tours and give our schoolhouse surface warfare officers and other distinguished guests a look at the future of the surface fleet, Kirk said.

USS Zumwalt will be formally commissioned during Fleet Week Maryland in Baltimore, October 15.

Each day that passes is one step closer to commissioning and one step closer to joining the fleet. The crew is ready to face the challenges in the coming months and excited to be operating this fine warship, Kirk said.

Following the commissioning ceremony Zumwalt will begin its transit to San Diego, making several port visits en route. Upon arrival in San Diego, she is scheduled to take part in a Post Delivery Availability and Mission Systems Activation and is expected to be integrated into the fleet in 2018 following test and evaluation.

Named for Adm. Elmo R. Bud Zumwalt Jr., former chief of naval operations (CNO) from 1970 to 1974, the Zumwalt-class features a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system, a wave-piercing tumblehome hull, stealth design and the latest war fighting technology and weaponry available.

A veteran of World War II and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, Adm. Zumwalt exemplified honor, courage and commitment during 32 years of dedicated naval service, earning a Bronze Star with Valor for his actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

DDG 1000 will be the first U.S. Navy combatant surface ship to utilize an integrated power system (IPS) to provide electric power for propulsion and ship services. The IPS generates approximately 78 megawatts of power, nearly what a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier generates, to meet the total ship electric power requirements and provide extra capacity to accommodate future weapons and computing systems.

In addition to its advanced weapon and propulsion systems, Zumwalt is much larger than todays destroyers. At 610 feet long and 80.7 feet wide, Zumwalt is 100 feet longer and 13 feet wider, and its flight deck is 93 percent larger than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
A rare Confederate naval sword left at a Goodwill donation site is going on the auction block and could bring the local installation of the nonprofit thousands of dollars.

Farmer Auctions in Salem is offering the sword, with an estimated value of $8,000 to $12,000, during its simultaneous online and live auction Thursday. As of Wednesday afternoon, four absentee bids online had already pushed the price to $7,000.

A news release from Goodwill of the Valleys said the sword was found in donations of goods, which the nonprofit processes and sells in its retail stores to fund its job training and employment programs, as well as its ex-offender re-entry program, which is funded solely by retail sales. The sword came in with goods donated in Franklin County.

Because it would be unsafe to put the sword on display in a store, it was sent to Goodwills eCommerce division, where the manager recognized it as something rare.

When I saw it, I questioned if we might have something unique, said April Dalton in the news release.

An appraiser at Farmer Auctions identified it as a sword made by Robert Mole and Sons of England and imported to the U.S. by Charleston, S.C.-based Courtney & Tennent.

We only know of around 20 in existence, said Jarrod Hines, the auction house owner. The last known sale of one, which was in immaculate condition, Hines said, drew $40,000.

Hines said the weapon was for dress purposes, and would have been a special purchase by an officer, not something issued by the Confederate Navy.

It was a very special sword, he said.

Confederate swords in general are rare, Hines said, because the South was less industrialized and ill-equipped to produce them. So they depended on imports.

Mindful that plenty of fakes find their way to auction blocks, Hines said his appraisers are convinced that the sword is authentic.

With a blade more than 30 inches etched with anchors, flags and crossed cannons, it features an ornate pommel and grip with a fish motif. The blade has some pitting in the metal. The swords total length is 40 inches.

It arrived in its scabbard, though the scabbard was damaged. One brass element of the scabbard is detached, and another spot was repaired with duct tape.

With all that, Hines said, early bidding indicates the sword will draw a good price.

Confederate swords of this nature are hard to come by, he said.

The auction begins at 3 p.m. Thursday and the sword, lot No. 311, is expected to come up for bid at about 6:30 p.m.
COLLINSVILLE  Henry County Public Schools revealed Wednesday that each school in the county received accreditation. Twelve out of 14 county schools are fully accredited and two are partially accredited.

Those receiving full accreditation status include Axton Elementary, GW Carver Elementary, Drewry Mason Elementary, Collinsville Primary, John Redd Smith Elementary, Mt. Olivet Elementary, Rich Acres Elementary, Sanville Elementary, Stanleytown Elementary, Laurel Park Middle, Bassett High and Magna Vista High.

The Virginia Department of Education designated Campbell Court Elementary and Fieldale-Collinsville Middle as partially accredited.

Based solely on Standards of Learning  or SOL  scores, the VDOE measures the proficiency of each public school in the Commonwealth. Schools surpassing certain marks gain various accreditation levels.

For full accreditation, students must achieve an adjusted pass rate of 75 percent in English-related skills, such as reading and writing, and 70 percent in other areas including mathematics, science, history and social science.

Campbell Court Elementary missed the benchmark for English by one percent. However, the students averaged five points higher in math, science and social studies than the previous school year. Close to full accreditation, Campbell Court received a status of partially accredited: approaching benchmark.

The tradition of hard work here at Campbell Court is evident in the amount of growth made on the Virginia Standards of Learning tests. I am confident that we will exceed the benchmark as the students, parents and teachers strive for excellence. Campbell Court Elementary School will continue to foster a culture of high expectations and independent learners, Principal Cherie Whitlow said.

Fieldale-Collinsville Middle missed the benchmark by six percent in English. In the other areas, the students surpassed required passing rates. Pupils demonstrated a noticeable increase in mathematics.

FCMS will continue our work of using impactful, research-based strategies in our classrooms to support students as they work toward mastery of concepts. We work to regularly provide opportunities for students to learn skills and to stretch their learning deeper understandings, Principal Corbin Campbell said.

Quelling concern over ratings, Monica Adams Hatchett, director of communications and organizational learning, assured parents and students that a schools accreditation  whether full, partial, or nonexistent  was not a college or employers primary concern.

Colleges and potential employers look at verified credits  listed on a students transcript  individual students earn. Accreditation is based on total scores from all students for a school. A schools accreditation status in a particular year does not necessarily impact the way a college or business would perceive an individual student, Hatchett said.

Achieving accreditation for an entire school system is an academic accomplishment. However, Lisa Millner, director of assessment and accountability, said that several elements go into measuring a students overall success.

SOL assessments are important to all stakeholders, but they are not the only indicator of student success. Our teachers differentiate instruction to meet their individual students needs and that is why our students are successful in the classroom, Millner said.

HCPS student growth is tracked by Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). MAP is an adaptive tool that allows students to be assessed at their own level and the results help teachers to make informative instructional decisions. Currently, HCPS students take the MAP assessment in grades K-8 in reading, math, and language. Teachers help students set goals for the year based on their initial results in the fall. Students work with the teacher to devise strategies to help the students meet their learning growth goals from fall to spring. In 2016, growth was demonstrated in reading and math in every grade level assessed.

In high school, each tenth grader participates in the Virginia Placement Test. Last school year, 69 percent of participants met the liberal arts entry requirement in reading at the college level.

Another assessment occurs for students whose native language is one other than English: the WIDA: Access 2.0 assessment. English Learners receive services and resources during the school year and are assessed for growth in English language development. During the 2015-2016 school year, 87% of the students who participated in this assessment demonstrated growth.

Striving for full accreditation next year, the school system plans to emphasize language arts skills.

Reading and writing is a priority for HCPS this year. All schools are focused on improving the reading and writing abilities of our students because we know that these foundational skills will help them in a wide array of areas, Hatchett said.

While standardized tests show strengths and weaknesses in the learning process, HCPS sees its students as individuals, not numbers.

Being college, career and citizenship ready is much more than scoring well on any particular assessment. A single test does not accurately demonstrate a students academic growth. A variety of methods for determining student learning is crucial in ensuring that our students are prepared for the next grade level and for their futures. We are working to ensure that our students learn and grow today so that they are prepared to be the leaders of tomorrow, Division Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton said.

Amie Pickeral reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. She can be reached at amie.pickeral@martinsvillebulletin.com
BASSETT  The students in Angela Morriss Biology class turned into environmental officials to start the semester. Their assignment? To solve an infamous case dealing with water pollution.

Morris started the year off at Bassett High with a project relevant to current environmental issues in the United States. Rather than learning just through books, they got a hands on introduction.

Flint, Michigan, was an introduction to Biology to hook them into this unit, Morris said.

We kind of, like, learned and tried to solve it at the same time, Sierra Dunn said. We got, like, some other stuff to put in it first. We mixed it up and made it cleaner.

Instead of documenting their findings strictly on paper, Morris instructed students to make a brochure, souvenir and video.

Collaboration is the purpose of everything because it is Bengal Tech, Morris said.

The depth of the projects showed Morris which skills the students mastered and concepts with which they experienced difficulty.

It shows me where they need help and gave me and idea of where theyre at, Morris said.

Stepping out of the classroom, students tested water in their own backyard  the creek that runs near Bassett High School.

They tested pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity  how cloudy the water is  phosphates and nitrates. It was actually a really good experience, Morris said.

Morris admitted that the local natural waters quality surprised her.

The creeks actually pretty decent, Morris said. It was a little acidic, but with all the pines, I think that would be normal.

One day, the class visited the Martinsville Water Purification Plant on Clearview Drive.

I can say that the city water is healthy, Morris said.

While the teacher said the students had a good time, she felt the aha moments occurred in class the following day.

I could hear them in the back going, Oh, thats what she was talking about, Morris said.

In the classroom, the fun continued.

I was showing them magic tricks that you could do with water, Morris said.

Quasia Hayes and Jose Reyes enjoyed an experiment involving a water, food coloring and rubbing alcohol combination, vegetable oil and glycerin. The class put each liquid in the same jar and watched as the fluids separated themselves.

The oil was my favorite because it was at the very top, Reyes said.

Hayes explained the science behind the outcome, the combination settling second and the glycerin last.

The oil is denser than the rubbing alcohol, Hayes said.

Kyeem Dicks said one experiment, where Morris flipped a glass of water onto a playing card without spilling a single drop, helped him learn the difference between cohesion and adhesion.

Cohesion is when water sticks to itself. Adhesion is when water sticks to something else, like a leaf, Dicks said.

Another water trick involved a micro pipette and a quarter. Students guessed how many drops of water a quarter could hold.

I thought about 20, Justin Hurley said.

The real number surprised Hurley.

I can get a penny to hold about 72, but I can get a quarter to hold about 40, Morris said.

Whether solving a crisis or playing with water, the first wave of Bengal Tech Academy students learned through memorable experiences.

Amie Pickeral reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. She can be reached at amie.pickeral@martinsvillebulletin.com
STUART  For the first time in three years, all of the Patrick County Public Schools are fully accredited by the Virginia Department of Education, according to Superintendent Bill Sroufe.

The seven schools received full accreditation for the 2016-17 school year in terms of students meeting objectives of the state Standards of Learning (SOLs), based on their performance on standardized exams, information released by the VDOE on Wednesday showed.

Were very excited, Sroufe said of school division officials. Our community, parents, students and staff have worked very hard to make the schools fully accredited.

Elementary and middle schools are fully accredited if students achieve passing rates of 75 percent of higher in English and 70 percent or higher in math, science and history. High schools must meet those percentages, but they also must attain a point value of at least 85 on a Graduation and Composite Index, the VDOEs website shows.

Under legislation approved by the General Assembly this year, schools that earn full accreditation for three consecutive years are automatically rated as fully accredited for three more years.

For 2015-16, Patrick County High School was fully accredited, as were Blue Ridge, Hardin Reynolds, Meadows of Dan, Patrick Springs and Woolwine Elementary schools. Stuart Elementary School received a rating of partially accredited: improving school-pass rate, the VDOE reported then.

Asked how Stuart Elementarys rating was boosted for 2016-17, Sroufe said school officials have put new instructional strategies into place, such as for developing students writing and critical thinking skills.

But we dont just isolate Stuart, he said, adding that when worthwhile strategies are developed for one school, they can easily be put into place at all schools, considering that Patrick County is a small school division.

Sroufe also credited parents, teachers and administrative staff for their dedication to helping students learn.

Every day, he said, division employees basically get up thinking, How can we do it (educating students) better?

They also analyze test results and other data, and they try to develop teaching strategies that will benefit individual students, Sroufe continued.

Yet there always is room to improve, he said.

Achieving full accreditation among schools is not an easy thing to do, Sroufe said, considering accountability standards are about as high as ever.

County residents should be proud of the accomplishment, he added.

Patrick County was one of 53 among the states 132 local school divisions in which all schools were fully accredited for 2016-17, the VDOE reported
Why does it matter where we got the drugs from? Thats such a loaded question in so many ways. Normally, I wouldnt be too concerned over the future of death row inmates, but theres a larger issue here.

On Wednesday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch announced it had obtained a contract between the Virginia Department of Corrections and a vendor that supplies the drugs needed for lethal injections. Theres just one problem. Under the law that took effect July 1, the vendors name stays secret. In fact, they dont even have to reveal how much the vendor is charging to provide the commonwealth with the drugs. Basically, from now on, you will no longer be able to learn the name of the pharmacy producing the drugs or the chemicals involved in the procedure. We also cant keep an eye on how much is spent on the product, which is key to making sure our friends in Richmond stay fiscally responsible.

It seems the pharmacies complained about negative publicity, as some protest groups staged rallies, passed out flyers and generally asked drug makers not to supply the materials, calling for the end of the death penalty itself. They dont like the protests or seeing their name in the news after those protests get reported. And so, they gave the state an ultimatum. Either let us operate in secret or well stop providing the drugs. The governor caved, the General Assembly caved and here we are.

Let us operate in secret or else. Thats never a good way to start negotiations because if the other side is smart, theyll call your bluff every time. Youre telling me these pharmacies will give up a major contract with the commonwealth because of protests? As soon as that happened, the companys board of directors would demand to know where theyre going to replace that revenue. Unless theres an answer, somebodys getting fired. So you call their bluff, force them to come back to the table and continue discussions. Any smart businessman would know this, its just business 101. So why didnt a self-proclaimed deal maker like Gov. McAuliffe?

I truly find it hard to sympathize with convicted murders sitting on death row. In a case like Ricky Gray, who killed multiple members of the Harvey family in 2006 in Richmond, there will be no tears shed on my part when hes strapped to the chair and the needle goes in. But its about setting a precedent more than whos involved. Consider this: What happens when another company decides they dont like being included in the states open records law? What happens when they walk up, point out that Virginia has already made an exemption for one operation, why not theirs? Then they proceed to do the same thing as the pharmacies, threaten to pull the plug on their contract, unless they get their way. My issue isnt about not knowing who the pharmacies are. My issue is the fact that through poor negotiation, the commonwealth has now opened itself up to problems down the line.

Every company looks for a competitive edge. Thats just what they do and we should expect it. For those lawmakers who voted for this exemption, do all of you truly believe another company wont jump up to try and get the same result? And then what happens? An open records law is there for the benefit of the people, so that deals are forced to be out in the public eye. Its a lot easier to cut corners and steal taxpayer investments when you do it behind closed doors. As the saying goes, You dont know what you dont know.

We keep these records not for gossip or finger pointing. We keep them so we can find out what are in these state contracts and if it benefits local residents. And yet, we willingly just gave that away because a group of pharmacies didnt like the protests that come with public deals. I think if we looked hard enough, we could have found another group willing to take that contract on, if they backed out. The problem and the point of open records is to do everything out in the open. Somehow, the point of that got lost in Richmond.

Brian Carlton is the editor of the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at brian.carlton@martinsvillebulletin.com
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Holyoke Credit Union.png

FEEDING HILLS - Holyoke Credit Union has announced the opening of its new branch at 14 North Westfield St, in Feeding Hills Center Oct. 3.

Holyoke Credit Union will offer a week-long Grand Opening celebration beginning Monday, October 17th. The event will include giveaways, raffles and refreshments.

"We are excited about the new branch in Feeding Hills and the great banking experience it will offer our members, in a beautiful modern setting," said Holyoke Credit Union President and CEO, Michael Murphy. "The Credit Union expects a seamless transition from our old branch in Agawam, to the new location. We look forward to serving current members and welcoming new members from Feeding Hills, Agawam, and nearby areas like Southwick, Westfield, and West Springfield. We invite everyone to visit us to celebrate the Grand Opening during the week of October 17th."

The new branch offers:

A multi-lane drive-thru

2 modern, more secure ATMs with deposit capabilities (located in vestibule and drive-thru) \A "Tech Bar" with iPads for members' convenience

Ample parking

Holyoke Credit Union has 3 branch offices conveniently located in Feeding Hills, Holyoke and West Springfield, and is also a leader in workplace banking, serving the banking needs of employees at over 100 companies in Western Massachusetts.
2013 Peter Pan bus.jpg

(Submitted photo)

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has awarded a total of $804,967 in grants to support four rural intercity bus carrier routes for one year, including $159,389 to Peter Pan Bus Lines for its Albany, New York,-Williamstown-Greenfield-Springfield service.

MassDOT announced the funding Thursday in a news release.

Other lines include:

*

True North:

Brattleboro, VT-Greenfield-Fitchburg-Worcester-Framingham-Boston: $191,034.

* Greyhound

: Pittsfield-Springfield-Boston: $184,544.

*

Plymouth & Brockton:

Hyannis-Provincetown: $270,000.

The grants, which are funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), are designed to provide regional connections for rural communities by supporting intercity bus routes serving communities such as Pittsfield, Williamstown, Springfield, Hyannis and Provincetown, according to the news release.

Award recipients were chosen based on projected annual ridership, financial capability, net operating deficit, and the degree to which they address state and federal priorities.

The grants are one-year contracts that can be renewed pending annual reviews of how well the companies have met goals, including ridership and financial viability.
SPRINGFIELD -- The threat of thunderstorms will not stop hundreds of marchers from participating in the 2016 Springfield Puerto Rican Parade this Sunday.

"We will be there rain or shine and we hope the community will come out and support us," said Lucila J. Santana, the Springfield Puerto Rican Parade Committee chairwoman.

The parade will make its way down Main Street on Sept. 18 kicking off at 11 a.m. at the corner of Main Street and Wason Avenue.

This year's theme is "Stand Up! !Por la Lucha!" -- meaning, "Stand up! For the fight!"

"The parade will serve as a platform where marchers will be able to express a cause that is important to them while inspiring others," Santana said. "This includes standing up for the future of our city, standing up for our youth, for the arts and culture and for Puerto Rico, among several other causes that are important to our community."

She added: "We understand that civic engagement is vital to the success of our region and with this theme we are creating awareness."

Over 130 groups are registered to march this Sunday.

As always, this year's parade will feature dance groups, schools, area businesses and organizations, live bands including Puerto Rican rapper, singer, actor, dancer and producer Tony Sunshine, Rene Robles y Orquesta La Yunquena as well as folk music group "Los Gigantes de La Plena." Several of the groups have been sponsored through a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council.

"We are very excited for Sunday's parade. Our committee so diligently works year round to organize an event that brings much joy to families while showcasing our culture and history," Santana said.

The new parade committee has been organizing the parade for the past three years. The first Springfield Puerto Rican Parade was held in 1990.

"Participation from the community and attendance continues increasing every year and we are grateful for the support," she said. "Our hope is that we may continue honoring the legacy of our ancestors, both here and on the island, and honoring the parade's founders who are the patriarchs of our community, while fostering the preservation of our culture," she said.

The parade is seeking volunteers as well as past honorees who may be interested in marching in this year's parade. Anyone who has served as an ambassador, padrino, madrina or grand marshal is invited to march on Sunday. Please contact springfieldprparade@gmail.com or call 413-351-0557 for more information.
The Kerala High Court last week stayed the appointment of Dr Priya Varghese as an associate professor at Kannur University.
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.
Because of the nuances of our anatomy, it is essentially impossible to get a cardiac lead into the endocardium of the left ventricle and have it securely stay there. Yet it is the left ventricle that is the best target to regulate cardiac rhythms in many circumstances. The result is that pacemakers are pacing the right ventricular side of the heart of all the patients out there. Soon there may be a better option that works on the left side as well as it provides more optimized therapy that leads to improved hemodynamics for the patients.

EBR Systems, a Sunnyvale, California firm, just obtained an Investigational Device Exemption from the FDA to initiate a clinical trial of its WiSE (Wireless Stimulation Endocardially) Technology that couples a traditional pacemaker with a new system to deliver electric signals to the left and right side of the heart. WiSE relies on an implant that detects the pacing signals of a traditional pacemaker and produces an appropriately matching ultrasound signal that is directed at a tiny electrode attached to the interior of the left ventricle. The electrode resonates and produces a small electric current, resulting in a wireless lead that avoids a lot of the complications of wired designs.

The system already received European regulatory approval, though further studies will be needed to truly assess the clinical value of the WiSE system.

Check out a video at this link that uses animation to explain the functionality of the WiSE system

Flashback: WiSE Wireless Technology for LV Pacing Without Coronary Sinus Leads Approved in EU

Source: EBR Systems
by Tanya Gazdik , September 15, 2016

Chevrolet is launching a global marketing campaign that encourages consumers to have a positive outlook on life.

Fueling Possibilities includes a tool using the IBM Watson platform that helps guide users toward activities for their next adventure. Commonwealth//McCann and The Martin Agency helped develop the concept in conjunction with Chevrolet.

The Chevrolet Global Positivity System is a mobile and desktop Web site that evaluates users social media presence to gauge their positive impact.The Chevy Global Positivity System is available at www.FindNewRoads.com in eight languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Portuguese and French Canadian.

We will continue to support the program throughout the year in other markets around the world, said Karen Toor, global content marketing manager for Chevrolet. A big component to the campaign includes the installation of fuel stations that utilize the Fueling Possibilities application.

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Using the platform, special fuel stations were created by Chevy in Calgary, Cape Town, New Orleans, and Buenos Aires that accepted positive social mentions as currency for fuel. In a few instances, the automaker met some of the fuel station patrons and turned their Watson-recommended experiences into a once-in-a-lifetime adventures.

The global integrated campaign includes paid digital, owned and earned media. Through paid digital media, Chevy is using targeted Facebook custom videos based on edited content from the campaign. The brand is running a promoted trend on Twitter across multiple global markets.

Chevrolet sought to create a tool that could provide the most accurate snapshot of a users social sentiment. In working with IBM to incorporate Watsons functionality -- a first for the automaker -- Chevy found what it calls the perfect solution to meet its goals.

Using IBMs Watson Personality Insights and AlchemyLanguage APIs, Chevys Global Positivity System is able to build a detailed personality snapshot for users that is based on multiple criteria, including a social media analysis to evaluate sentiment and a personality characteristic evaluation to help guide users toward activities for their next adventure.

The output also includes a score based on Watson Sentiment Analysis capability, which provides an interpretation of the positivity of users Facebook and Twitter posts. Users can then share their score with each other via social media and compare it to the average of the Global Positivity System community. The platform will also identify each persons most positive and least positive posts, as well as their most frequently used positive words and Emojis.

In addition to a positivity score and sentiment analysis, the snapshot highlights users top three personality traits identified by Watson Personality Insights, such as excitement and self-expression. The site then encourages users to Find New Roads that may appeal to their traits, such as touring a museum or taking on a new hobby.

We believe that the journey of finding new roads starts with a little positivity, so we wanted to go out into the world and prove it, Toor says. Setting up real pumps in existing gas stations allowed us to not only measure and reward online positivity, but to capture where the fuel they earned would take them.
by Chase Martin , September 14, 2016

Consumer interest in artificial intelligence-powered agents is high, but at least one agency executive says there might be more opportunity on the brand side.

Nearly half (45%) of U.S. consumers currently use intelligent agents, such as Googles Assistant, Apples Siri or Amazons Alexa, according to a new Forrester report.

The study did not focus on the voice aspects of digital assistants.

The intelligent agent market also is growing, with consumer usage of virtual assistants projected to reach 2 billion by 2021, according to recent research from Tractica.

Forrester defines such agents as personal digital concierges that know the user and her data and are discerning enough to interpret her needs and make decisions on her behalf.

When these capabilities act on behalf of a brand instead of an individual, a new dynamic will arise, along with great opportunity for richer brand experiences, according to Haydn Sweterlitsch, global chief creative officer at HackerAgency.

People are going to be having more experiences with brands, on the individual level, Sweterlitsch told the IoT Daily.

I really do see us coming to this golden era where machines that learn about you can interact with you on a one-to-one basis and deliver brand promises to you, in every area of your life.

The idea is to leverage the power of artificial intelligence, combined with user data already being stored by brands and other readily-available data across the internet or other connected devices from the consumer, to create an automated chatbot that can interact with the consumer in real time.

Ultimately, all of those capabilities together will enable the automated chatbots to establish human-like relationships with individual consumers on behalf of brands, according to Sweterlitsch.

When this automated approach becomes standardized, Sweterlitsch says consumers will not only hold the power in purchasing products, but will actively make those decisions based on brand experiences unrelated to the products themselves.

People talk about customer-centricity in marketing and I think theyre completely wrong. I think were well beyond that, were in an era of customer-directed marketing, Sweterlitsch said. The targets have the rifles now. Its not about the products performance, its my experience with that brand.

Brands need to be careful in how they use these capabilities, however, and that responsibility will be in the hands of those designing the experiences, according to Sweterlitsch.

The danger is if you dont design these things well. Lets face it, its going to be an automated conversation, but it has to be intelligent and non-intrusive, he said.

Moving forward, Sweterlitsch says technology will become a central part of the marketing industry as a whole.

Marketing agencies that thrive and really make saves in the next 5 to 10 years are not going to be marketing agencies with technology capabilities, theyre going to be technology agencies with marketing capabilities, Sweterlitsch said.
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, September 15, 2016

Along with funny cat videos and Keep Calm memes, photos of peoples kids are one of the basic currencies of social media, and indeed many parents seem to share these family snapshots reflexively  funny naked pics and all. They might want to reconsider this seemingly harmless habit, however, in light of the potential embarrassment to their kids, not to mention the potential legal ramifications for themselves.

In fact, in some countries your kids can sue you for posting childhood photos without their permission. Thats whats happening in the Austrian province of Carinthia, where an 18-year-old has filed a lawsuit against her parents for breach of privacy and data violations for sharing around 500 photos of her on Facebook without her consent beginning in 2009, including photos of her as a young child in which she is naked, having her diaper changed or in potty training.

The teen, who has not been named in the press, first found out about her familys online photo album when she joined Facebook in 2012. She told one Austrian newspaper: They knew no shame and no limit and didn't care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot.

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The teen asked her parents to stop posting the photos but they refused. In words that have echoed through family life from the beginning of time, the teen added: Im tired of not being taken seriously by my parents. The father certainly seems to be inhabiting a different world from his progeny, telling a weekly magazine: In the end this is our child, and for my wife and me, its a nice family album thats been well received by our Facebook friends. Okay dad, see you in court!

According to the teens lawyer, under Austrian law the photos may constitute a transgression against her right to a private personal life, in which case she has a very good chance of winning her case. If a judge finds in favor of the teen her parents may be liable for damages and may also have to cover her legal costs.

Concern about parents over-sharing on social media has been growing across Europe. Earlier this year the French national police force warned parents to think twice about posting photos of their children on Facebook or other social networks, due in large part to concern they may be violating their privacy, as well as exposing them to danger from unsavory adults. The French police posted the following statement on Facebook: You can all be proud moms and dads to your magnificent children, but be careful. We remind you that posting photos of your kids to Facebook is not without danger! Among other things they warned that these photos could contribute to social or psychological problems that children could face later in life.

Meanwhile in the U.S. a survey conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and University of Michigan found that one of the most common requests from children ages 10-17 was that parents stop posting photos on social media without their permission.
by Larissa Faw , September 15, 2016



Vodafone and Kinetic Worldwide in India are partnering for a creative initiative to showcase how advertising can be used for social good in the region.

The "Recharge with Rainwater" project consists of a network of five Vodafone billboards that harvest rainwater by utilizing U-curved aluminum sheets as collection funnels on top of the billboards. The funnels are channeled through tubes to water tanks installed at the bottom of each board, which stores the collected rainwater.

Each tank has been installed with Vodafone sim card-based water sensor technology. Once the tanks are full, an SMS is sent directing pick up of the water, which is transferred to water tankers and taken to farms for field and crop irrigation.

While many of the billboards currently advertise Vodafone, they are designed to support any brand or marketer, says the agency.

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These five billboards have gathered and donated more than 20,000 liters of water to the farmers of Wadebolai Village in Maharashtra since July.

Vodafone envisions this project as a long-term initiative. "At Vodafone India, we believe environmental sustainability is priority for growth, and were excited to launch such an innovative initiative in partnership with Kinetic, said Ashish Chandra, business head, Vodafone India.

Using billboards to collect water for sustainability projects is a relatively new use of the ad medium. In 2013, FCB Mayo and BPN Peru partnered with The University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) to create a billboard that captures moisture from the air and converts it into filtered drinking water.
by Sara Guaglione , September 15, 2016

In the same week as his promotion to president and CEO of Time Inc., Rich Battista today announced that Jen Wong has been named the companys first Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.

Wong joined Time Inc. in December 2015 as president of digital.

It is critical that our COO has a strong digital foundation as we expedite Time Inc.s return to growth, stated Battista.

Wong will continue to oversee Time Inc.s digital operations, strategy, product development and The Foundry, the companys creative lab and content studio.

Now, she will also work with Battista on the companys overall strategy and execution, assuming oversight of the companys Consumer Marketing + Revenue division, including Synapse, Bizrate Insights and TCS, according to a Time Inc. statement.

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Wong stated she will work on building out greater digital and data-driven capabilities that will make our consumer marketing business even more competitive and agile.

Battista was named president and CEO of Time Inc. on Tuesday, replacing Joe Ripp just a year after Battista joined the company.

This summer, Time Inc. underwent a sweeping reorganization affecting both the business and editorial sides of the company. It moved to slash costs with around 110 layoffs, most of them concentrated in the publishers sales and marketing force.

In other Time Inc. news, Caitlin Miller will be returning to the parent company as managing editor of Southern Living, starting Monday, October 3. Most recently, she was assistant managing editor at Country Living, where she helped launch the new office in Birmingham, Alabama.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, September 15, 2016

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler told lawmakers today that he anticipates finalizing broadband privacy rules later this year.

Testifying at a Senate hearing, Wheeler also hinted that the final regulations could differ from a proposal he put forward earlier this year. That initial proposal would require Internet service providers to obtain consumers' consent before drawing on their Web-surfing data for behavioral targeting. Ad networks, online publishers and other online advertising companies, by contrast, typically operate on an opt-out basis.

While Wheeler didn't elaborate on how the rules may evolve, he said in his prepared testimony that the Federal Trade Commission's input "has been particularly helpful."

Staff at the FTC recommended earlier this year that Internet service providers should obtain opt-in consent before using "sensitive" data for ad targeting, and allow consumers to opt out of the use of "non-sensitive" information.

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Some broadband carriers have argued that they should be able to treat sensitive and non-sensitive data differently. Verizon, for instance, argued in an FCC filing that it should only be required to obtain opt-in consent for "the most sensitive use cases."

But privacy advocates have argued against different rules for different types of data.

"A rule that varies based on sensitivity will be a much more complex, unpredictable, and less privacy protective one," privacy expert and former FTC adviser Paul Ohm recently told the agency.

What's more, he adds, figuring out whether information is sensitive "requires far more invasion of privacy as well as far more surveillance."

Ohm also points out that no one agrees on the definition of sensitive. (The self-regulatory organization Digital Advertising Alliance considers "pharmaceutical prescriptions or medical records related to a specific individual" sensitive health data. But a different self-regulatory group, the Network Advertising Initiative, the NAI takes a broader view; that group defines sensitive health data as precise information about past, present, or potential future health or medical conditions or treatments, including genetic, genomic, and family medical history.")

A group of 16 state attorneys general have weighed in against the Federal Communications Commission's proposed privacy rules for broadband carriers.

In a letter to the FCC, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, Texas AG Ken Paxton, Ohio's Mike DeWine and 13 other attorneys general declare -- without offering any empirical support -- that people don't view broadband carriers differently from ad networks or other companies.

"Consumers value their privacy and the security of their personal information, period," the attorneys general state in a letter obtained by Bloomberg BNA. "They do not differentiate between who has access to their information in the online environment."

Despite that assertion, some assertions, consumer advocacy and civil rights groups see some obvious differences between ISPs and other companies.

"It is alarming how much information broadband providers can collect about their subscribers. ISPs know where their customers live as well as their personal financial information," Free Press, the Center for Media Justice and other organizations say in a new FCC filing. "They can also monitor the content that users access on the internet when that content is unencrypted.... Their tracking and cataloguing of our lives is so invasive that it could allow them to determine -- and then profit from -- private information on subscribers' race, religious, health, income, employment status, and political views."
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, September 15, 2016

Airbnb is drawing support from Silicon Valley and digital rights advocates in a battle against a new San Francisco law regarding short-term rental services.

The San Francisco measure, passed earlier this year, requires Airbnb and other home rental services to verify that users who post ads have registered with the city as short-term rental hosts.

Earlier this year, Airbnb and HomeAway.com asked a federal judge to block the San Francisco law. They argue that the measure, which effectively requires the company to police its listings, violates the Communications Decency Act. That law broadly immunizes Web platforms from liability for users' activity.

The trade groups Internet Association -- which counts Amazon, Google and Facebook as members -- and CALinnovates say they agree with Airbnb on that point.

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It's "wholly inappropriate for municipalities like San Francisco to attempt to outsource their policing of third-party conduct to technology platforms," the groups say in a proposed friend-of-the-court brief.

"Nothing prevents San Francisco from pursuing claims against non-compliant hosts directly," the organizations add. "But intermediaries are not enforcers, and the CDA does not allow state and local governments to treat technology companies as extensions of their own police forces."

The digital rights groups Electronic Frontier Foundation and Center for Democracy & Technology also argue that San Francisco's law conflicts with the federal Communications Decency Act.

"Congress recognized that the Internet would be a far more limited forum if Internet service providers were forced to second-guess decisions about managing and presenting content authored by third parties," the EFF, CDT and several law professors argue in their own proposed friend-of-the-court brief. "Given the volume of information being published online, it would be impossible for most intermediaries to review every single bit of information published through their platforms prior to publication. ... It would be similarly impossible for intermediaries to comply with the enormous variety of international, state and local laws."

U.S. District Court Judge James Donato is expected to hold a hearing in the matter on Oct. 6.
A study published by The BMJ finds that surveillance systems in Europe could detect increases in microcephaly (babies born with an abnormally small head) due to the Zika virus of a similar magnitude to those observed in Brazil.

However, the smaller increases expected in Europe (due to the Aedes mosquitos not being indigenous in Europe) would be unlikely to be detected.

While Zika virus is an unlikely threat in much of Europe, the researchers call for clear diagnostic criteria for microcephaly to be adopted across Europe.

Zika infection during the first trimester of pregnancy increases the risk of microcephaly. The emerging microcephaly epidemic across South America was confirmed by congenital anomaly registries - highlighting the importance of ongoing, accurate surveillance to evaluate the severity of any new epidemic.

In Europe, congenital anomalies are monitored by a network of registers known as EUROCAT (the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies).

A team of researchers, led by Professor Joan Morris from Queen Mary University of London, set out to estimate the prevalence of microcephaly in Europe, find out if the diagnosis of microcephaly is consistent across Europe, and evaluate whether changes in prevalence would be detected by the EUROCAT system.

24 EUROCAT registries in 15 countries reported 100 cases of microcephaly not associated with a genetic condition among 570,000 births annually.

Sixteen registries responded to a questionnaire of whom seven (44%) used the EUROCAT definition of microcephaly (a reduction in the size of the brain with a skull circumference more than 3 standard deviations (SD) below the mean for sex, age and ethnic origin).

Three registries (19%) used a less stringent 2 SD cut-off, while five (31%) were reliant on the criteria used by individual clinicians. One registry changed criteria between 2003 and 2012.

The researchers found that the reported prevalence of microcephaly across Europe varied considerably, due to the different diagnostic criteria applied and varying levels of ascertainment. Overall prevalence was 1.53 per 10,000 births with registries varying from 0.4 to 4.3 per 10,000.

There was no indication that registries employing a more stringent diagnostic criteria had a lower prevalence compared with those with less stringent criteria. Registries with the 3 SD cut-off reported a prevalence of 1.74 per 10,000 compared with those with the less stringent 2 SD cut-off of 1.21 per 10,000.

The prevalence of microcephaly in Europe would need to increase by over 35% in one year or by over 300% in a single registry to be identified as a statistically significant increase.

In a linked editorial, Dr Russell Kirby at the University of South Florida says that surveillance is an essential part of the response to Zika and must be improved.

While birth defects registries perform a vital population health function, registers of pregnancies affected by Zika virus with long term follow-up of both mother and child "must be set up urgently to fully understand the natural history of the Zika syndrome and its impact on child growth and development," he concludes.

Article: Prevalence of microcephaly in Europe: population based study , Joan K Morris et al., The BMJ, doi: 10.1136/bmj.i4721, published 13 September 2016.
Researchers at VIB and Ghent University have discovered an important mechanism of sepsis, an overreaction of the body's immune system to an infection. In this condition, the brain is unable to curb an inflammatory response, causing organ failure or 'septic shock'. This scenario is the most frequent cause of death in intensive care units. As it turns out, information about infections is passed to our brain via extracellular vesicles, small particles in brain fluid. These insights will be published in the leading scientific journal EMBO Molecular Medicine and might give rise to new strategies to treat sepsis and even other inflammatory conditions.

In sepsis, acute inflammation is associated with low blood pressure and the formation of blood clots, causing the organs to stop working. While the root is an infection, similar inflammatory responses can occur in the case of physical harm, such as severe burns or injuries caused by traffic accidents. All these conditions are classified under the generic term SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome). While doctors can sometimes treat the underlying infection with antibiotics or provide artificial support for vital functions, no real treatment for SIRS or sepsis has been developed so far.

New blood-to-brain communication

The VIB-Ghent University research project, led by professor Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke, explored an underrepresented research field: the biological function of extracellular vesicles. It was long believed that these small structures in biological fluids were released from cells to rid them of cellular waste. However, the scientists proved that inflammation in the blood signals the brain's choroid plexus, the part that produces brain fluid, to release extracellular vesicles which transfer the inflammatory signal to the brain.

Prof. Vandenbroucke (VIB-Ghent University): "When trauma or an infection occurs, a specific part of the brain detects abnormal blood levels or the presence of foreign substances such as bacteria. Consequently, extracellular vesicles are released containing vital information about the body's condition. These vesicles then travel through the brain fluid to eventually reach the central nervous system and alert the brain. In brief, we found a new way of blood-to-brain communication that is detrimental in septic shock."

Missing link

The findings can be seen as the 'missing link' between an infection and a - sometimes life-threatening - full-body inflammation. The importance of these results was further illustrated by the research team's successful blockage of vesicle secretion in mice using an inhibitor of vesicle production. This suggests that, in time, inflammatory diseases such as sepsis could be treated this way in humans as well.

Prof. Vandenbroucke (VIB-Ghent University): "Our data show that the frequently occurring cytokine TNF, which is a substance released upon the occurrence of inflammation, also stimulates the release of extracellular vesicles. One of the next steps is to investigate the therapeutic potential of changing the process of extracellular vesicle release. All of this strengthens our hope in further exploring the links between vesicles and inflammation."

Article: Identification of a novel mechanism of blood-brain communication during peripheral inflammation via choroid plexusderived extracellular vesicles, Sriram Balusu, Elien Van Wonterghem, Riet De Rycke, Koen Raemdonck, Stephan Stremersch, Kris Gevaert, Marjana Brkic, Delphine Demeestere, Valerie Vanhooren, An Hendrix, Claude Libert, Roosmarijn E Vandenbroucke, EMBO Molecular Medicine, doi: 10.15252/emmm.201606271, published online 5 September 2016.
Costa Rica

Sept. 14, 2016

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's

October 9

Latin America

Europe

the United States

Jorge Sequeira

Costa Rica

Latin America

Alexander Mora

Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's

US$ 2 billion dollars

Costa Rica's

Costa Rica

Costa Rica

SAN JOSE,/PRNewswire/ -- For the third time,will host the largest Latin American forum in the Life Sciences field: the, an event organized by the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).The forum will gather some 350 international and national participants who will analyze the main trends in the life sciences industry, and explorepotential in one of the sectors with the greatest strategic positioning in recent years. It will have exposition space for 53 companies and key providers in the industry.The event will be held onand 10at Hotel Intercontinental, with presentations in areas such as: Device innovation, 3D printing and the future of medical manufacturing, innovative materials in medical devices, opportunities for clinical investigations inand the future of the life sciences sector, among other topics, to be presented by international conference speakers and prestigious specialists from universities in, and representatives from the main companies in the life sciences sector worldwide.Those interested in registering as participants in the forum can still do so on the web page www.lifesciencescr.comFor, Managing Director at CINDE, theis a platform from which the country can position itself even more prominently as a reference in the life sciences industry on a global scale. "For the third time,will put on the most important event inin the Life Sciences field. This shows us the importance and recognition that the country has acquired in recent years in one of the most buoyant international industries. For this edition we will have foreign and domestic panelists who will thoroughly analyze what will be happening in the coming years, from manufacturing to matters related to investigation and development."According to CINDE data, over the last five years the country attracted 47 investment projects in this sector, coming in seventh place in a global ranking in terms of number of projects initiated in the sector, according toAccording to, Minister of Foreign Trade, holding the event "will result in strengthening the country's image by showing the advantages and the potential thatoffers for establishing operations in the Life Sciences industry, thanks to the truly consolidated ecosystem that has been developed, and which combines multinational companies, academics and excellent-quality providers, allowing optimal conditions for companies that establish themselves inso that they can grow and successfully export their products to the rest of the world.He also pointed out thatLaw of Biomedical Research is duly regulated, thus it opens a wide range of possibilities for research and development in the country. "The Law is a very strong public political piece to also stimulate a series of medical investigative activities in the country, and it serves as a tie to establish the foundation of a productive life sciences ecosystem in which medical device manufacturing industries, research and development activities, and a series of sophisticated and complex services of extremely high aggregated value and scientific interest interact. To support this ecosystem, in the foreign trade area we work with a group of high-technology and scientifically based companies, in the Research & Development Council, which complements the efforts and which works a great deal in the private production sector," the Minister concluded.The complete schedule for the event can be found at the hyperlink https://event-wizard.com/LSFCR2016/0/pages/85626/With annual exports exceeding, medical devices as the country's main industrial export product and more than 19,000 employees working for the sector, the goal of this event is to collaborate in global market analysis of the medical industry andpotential to play a key role in that industry.is currently the second-largest exporter of medical devices in the Latin American region, housing more than 60 companies in the sector, including five of the ten largest companies in the global cardiovascular industry.This event is taking place thanks to the support of companies such as Coyol Free Zone, a diamond sponsor of LSF 2016. In addition, La Lima Free Zone & Business Park, Fedex, Kelpac Medical, Vital Med inc., Apollo Medical Extrusion, are platinum sponsors, and Boston Scientific, Contec, MicroTechnologies, BAC, The Green Park Free Zone and ThermoFisher Scientific, are gold sponsors.About CINDECINDE (the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency) is a private, non-profit organization, with more than 30 years of experience in attracting high and medium-tech companies in sectors such as services, advanced and light manufacturing, life sciences, agribusiness and food to: CINDECINDECostaRica@cinde.org+506-2201-2800

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/costa-rica-will-host-the-largest-latin-american-forum-in-the-life-sciences-industry-300327499.html



SOURCE Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency




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Dr. Stanley Lemon from the University of North Carolina who is one of the authors of the study said "The virus evokes a response in the infected cell that activates a pre-programmed cell death pathway. In effect, the cell commits suicide, sacrificing itself along with the virus in an effort to save the host. This results in inflammation within the liver that we recognize as hepatitis."The scientists have found that the destruction of the liver cells is not due to the immune response generated as a result of infection with hepatitis A virus but due to the activation of apoptosis or programmed cell death. Apoptosis is a part of the normal cycle of a cell but the revelation that infection of a virus can induce the cell to start this process of cell destruction is a new discovery.The symptoms of the disease includePatients are at a risk of relapse and should be safeguarded. The main cause of the spread of infection is poor sanitation.Another discovery that was revealed by these scientists from The University of North Carolina is that these viruses were found to jump species. The Hepatitis A virus has been known to infect humans and primates like chimpanzees and monkeys. However, when these scientists block intercellular anti-viral response in laboratory mice, they found that these viruses could grow and survive in these mice, essentially jumping species.Dr. Lemon said "The ability of the virus to jump into mice is dependent upon knocking out the mouse interferon system, which HAV cannot do on its own. Host species jumps are incredibly important for viral emergence, and the factors that control the odds of this happening are not well known. We have defined the host interferon system as a very important barrier to a host species jump."The mechanisms that have been identified by these scientists will aid in understanding the underlying pathways that lead to fatal conditions associated with the infection of Hepatitis A virus.The risk of liver damage that occurs during the infection of Hepatitis A virus warrants preventive steps to be actively taken in order to safeguard against infection.Source: Medindia
A facial, manicure and pedicure are all that a woman needs to pamper herself from a stressful week of juggling responsibilities at home and work. Some pink nail paint, a dash of top coat and your nails take on a life of their own. Chemical ingredients disguised in pretty colors on your nail polish can be surprisingly harmful and can lead to some serious health risks. Most nail care products contain toxic and hazardous substances that are silently damaging your health as well as that of individuals who work in nail salons. Here is what you must know about effects of nail polish ingredients, before you are torn between the shade of pink and red nail polish you want to buy.

The chemicals in nail polish pose health risks that vary from reproductive problems to cancer due to constituent agents such as toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate. This group of carcinogens are often called as the toxic trio. They have been nicknamed toxic trio because the harmful health implications caused due to the constant usage of these chemicals.

In addition to these chemicals, there are many others which are not only found in nail polishes, but are a staple of nail polish removers, gel polishes and other nail care products which can be a serious health hazard.

Usually, nail salons do not have adequate ventilation which prevents the escape of evaporated chemicals into the air. As a result, these chemicals circulate within the salon leading to constant exposure to these toxic chemicals for the clients as well as the salon workers.

Despite being aware of the harmful effects, most nail care products companies use industrial chemicals in their products which go largely unregulated by government authorities. The end result is that most of the nail polishes that are available in the market are hardly tested for safety and are being used by most of us regularly. Many of our kids also apply these silent toxic nail paints that could produce health hazards.

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Nail polish and Health Effects - Manicurists and pedicurists pay a huge price in terms of their health. Constant exposure to toxic nail paints and other nail care products can produce a number of health effects ranging from minor complaints like skin irritation, allergic reactions, nausea, to more serious troubles like respiratory problems, cancer and reproductive conditions. Recent studies also show that exposure to nail care products can cause uncontrollable muscle contraction and cognitive difficulties. Research shows that certain salon workers complain of breathing difficulties, headaches and irritations due to the solvents present in these products. Cancer and infertility are also becoming increasingly common in workers exposed to toxic vapors of nail paints.

Effects of Nail Polish Ingredients -The toxic trio are known to cause seriously toxic effects on the health of salon workers.

Toluene

This ingredient is a solvent added to create a smooth finish across the nail and keeps the paint from separating in the bottle. This chemical is usually used in gasoline that fuels our car. This harms the central nervous system and damages reproductive organs. Other adverse effects include headaches, numbness and eye and throat irritation.

Formaldehyde

A well-known carcinogenic agentused as a nail hardening ingredient. The long lasting nail polishes that you love contain this in abundance. Apart from this, it is used as a disinfectant which prevents bacterial contamination. Formaldehyde is also used as a disinfectant for the tools used during manicure and pedicure.

Dibutyl phthalate

This adds flexibility to nail paints ; however, can cause severe damage to the reproductive tract. They prevent the polished nails from cracking or turning brittle. Use of phthalates is banned in certain countries in Europe. The use of this ingredient is becoming less frequent due to its damaging effects.

Other toxic chemical ingredients include camphor which gives nail paints their gloss and strength, but can cause nausea, dizziness and headaches. Butylated hydroxyanisole is present in gel nail polishes. Many nail polishes have Nitro Cellulose which has film forming abilities. Acetone used to remove nail polish can not only dry your nails, but also cause severe allergic reactions and dermatitis.

Cancer and Nail Polish

Gel nail polishes are becomingly increasingly popular as they last longer without chipping. Researchers recently observed that the nail polish is not the main concern, how these nails are dried in salons pose a greater risk for skin cancer. The recent gel nail polishes consist of a hardening gel which requires exposure to UV light. This repeated exposure to ultraviolet lights is responsible for wrinkles and skin cancer, if used repeatedly. A safer alternative would be the usage of LED lights as the production of UV rays by these is very minimal.

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How to Choose Non-Toxic Nail Polish

Try and opt for products which come with a low rating of toxicity within 0-2. This can be difficult and tricky as most beauty products are not tested or authorized. Neither do have a toxicity index marked out on them. If you are unable to find any rating, a better option would be to check the label to be sure that the nail paint is free of chemicals such as toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and camphor. Organic nail paints are not yet easily available; however, if you refrain from usage of conventional nail paints gradually, the demand for organic and natural nail paints will increase. This will add pressure on companies to shift to natural, healthy nail care product alternatives.

Health Tips
On August 18, 2016, Ali Falaki, a retired general in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who commanded a brigade in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War and claims to have volunteered to fight in Syria, gave an interview to the Iranian website Mashregh, which is close to the IRGC. In it, he spoke of the "Shi'ite Liberation Army" that Iran has deployed on its three battlefronts in the Middle East - in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen - stating that it comprises divisions based on ethnicity that Iran has established for this purpose. These divisions, he said, are the Afghan division (Fatemiyoun), the Pakistani division (Zaynabiyoun) and the Iraqi division (Hayderiyoun), in addition to the Lebanese Hizbullah division that is operating in Lebanon and Syria. Falaki explained that these divisions comprise the Shi'ite Liberation Army that operates according to the ethnic model adopted by Iran in the Iran-Iraq war.[1]



Ali Falaki (Image: Farsnews.com)

Falaki stressed that while the Shi'ite Liberation Army forces on the various fronts are divided by ethnicity, their command structure is Iranian, and is headed by IRGC officers under the command of Qassem Soleimani, head of the IRGC's elite Qods Force, which operates outside Iran's borders. He added that Soleimani answers directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Falaki, who said that he maintains direct contact with the top echelons of the Iranian Army and IRGC, proudly reported that he had commanded, as part of the Afghan division, many Iranian Army soldiers who had volunteered to fight in Syria since February 2016. He said that it had been decided that they would be incorporated into the Afghan division of the Shi'ite Liberation Army as commanders. Falaki appears to be referring to February reports that Iran had replaced IRGC officers in Syria with Iranian Army soldiers and to relations between the IRGC and the Iranian Army, which have had their ups and downs.

Like other Iranian spokesmen, Falaki stressed that Iran is not sending Iranian forces to directly fight on the various fronts in the Middle East, but is creating local fighting forces that it provides with "guidance, organization, and management" by means of IRGC officers, and, when necessary also reinforces with the ethnic divisions of the Shi'ite Liberation Army. Wherever "there is a need for this army, the people in that region will be organized and supplied with the necessary forces," he said. He added that the Shi'ite Liberation Army was established "because of the existence of Israel," which Khamenei has vowed will cease to exist in about 20 years, though in practice the Shi'ite Liberation Army is fighting against Sunnis in the Middle East.

It should be mentioned that Falaki uses the term "Shi'ite Liberation Army" to mean two things: one, that its mission is to liberate Shi'ites, and two, that it is itself distinctly Shi'ite.

Following are excerpts from Falaki's interview on the Mashregh website:[2]

"The First Seed Of The Shi'ite And Muslim Liberation Army Was Germinated In Syria"

"We have certain weaknesses in Syria that I do not wish to currently discuss, but some of them stem from a weakness we have in Iran. From here [in Iran], we come to South Lebanon and support the Shi'ites there; we come to Bahrain and Yemen at great expense and support the Shi'ites there.

"In Lebanon, we found [Hizbullah secretary-general] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, but here [in Iran], we could find no leader among all the active revolutionary [Afghan] clerics willing to be on the frontlines [like he is], nor could we organize such large forces [as Hizbullah]. We were not able to properly support the three million Shi'ite Afghans [living in Iran as refugees], and it is very unfortunate that for 30 years we ignored Afghan Shi'ites who, despite their oppression, resisted the arrogance of the east [Russia] and the West [the U.S.] in Afghanistan. We saw them as mere laborers waiting [for work] at intersections or as criminals. This generation [of Afghans in Iran] stepped up and showed heroism, altruism, courage, and daring in Syria. They shone under the command of the Iranian forces...

"Under the command of [Qods Force head] Haj Qassem [Soleimani], the Afghans prevented Zaynabiyya, Damascus, and the airport from falling [to the Syrian rebels]... We must not think that we [Iranians] are fighting in Syria, [but rather that] the Afghans are being courageous there under our command...

"The name 'Fatemiyoun' refers to explicit aid from God. The name 'Fatemiyoun' produced two great events... [for Iran] in the world of Islam. First, during the [Iran-Iraq] War, we were tasked with creating unity among [ethnic] sects [in Iran] - Lors, Kurds, Baluchis, Persians, and Arabs - [albeit] in separate frameworks, [which all fought] the Ba'ath Party [in Iraq]. We transformed all the [ethnic] sects into military divisions, and during the war never dared to say that some of the brothers were Sunnis and some were [Shi'ite] Afghans.

"The Fatemiyoun banner was raised, and thus the first seed of the liberation army of Shi'ites and Muslims was germinated in Syria. Today we have the privilege [of forming the Shi'ite Liberation Army] because back then, we created the unity among the [ethnic] sects; now, we have created international [Shi'ite] unity. The [Pakistani] Zaynabiyoun division comprises Pakistanis under the command of IRGC officers. The [Afghan] Fatemiyoun division has several brigades comprising Afghans, and even has some Sunni members. IRGC [officers] guide this division. These divisions include IRGC commanders and [Afghani] commanders, from squad commanders to staff officers. These divisions have a single uniform and a single banner. They come under a single umbrella organization and fight on a single battlefront. We also have the Hayderiyoun division, which comprises Iraqis. We also have a Hizbullah division, which is divided into two: one part is Hizbullah in Lebanon and the other is Hizbullah in Syria, which comprises the people of Damascus, Nubl, and Al-Zahraa.

"The [Shi'ite] Liberation Army was formed because, with God's help, in 23 years there should be no such thing as Israel. These divisions are on the Israeli border. The Fatemiyoun have laid the groundwork for this fight.

"The second thing, that we are happy to see is spreading to everyone, is that our previous [patronizing] view of these [Afghan] brothers has changed..."

"Wherever There Is A Need For This Army, The People In That Region Will Be Organized And Supplied With Necessary Forces"

"The Shi'ite Liberation Army was established, and it is currently under the command of [Qods Force head] Haj Qassem Soleimani, who obeys the leader [Khamenei]. One of this army's fronts is in Syria, another is in Iraq, and yet another is in Yemen. The forces in this army are not meant to be only Iranian; [instead], wherever there is a need for this army, the people in that region will be organized [to form it] and supplied with the necessary forces...

"We [Iranians] are not meant to come [to Syria] as forces operating [on the ground]. We want [Iranian] elements who know how to teach, organize, and manage to come to Syria. This way, the forces in that region can spring into action...

"Some of the commanders of the army [of the Syrian regime] fled abroad, and some of its bases were captured. The crushed Syrian army units have today regrouped with renewed strength. Therefore, there is no need for us [in Iran] to send an army there. We can stand alongside the Syrian army, organize Syrian forces, and prepare them for battle. [In the future] we can remove the enemy occupation of Syria, just as we did in [Iranian] Kurdistan, which took a year or two - but controlling foreign incursions into Syria is up to the Syrians themselves and we cannot prevent it.

"Regime change and changes of president can happen only when the enemy is no longer [in Syria]... For example, we succeeded, within two years, to expel the enemy presence in Kurdistan in western [Iran], but it took us years to impose law and order there... Today, this region is considered one of the safest in Iran... even though 20 years ago, they were beheading IRGC personnel with pottery shards..."

The Iranian Army Felt It Had A Roll To Fulfill In Syria

"The Iranian army felt that it had to fulfill a role in this [Syrian] arena. According to my knowledge, the army told Qassem Soleimani that it wants to fulfill its duty in this matter [i.e. fighting in Syria]. Qassem Soleimani told this to the leader [Khamenei], and the leader gave his blessing... Some volunteers from various military units, who were mostly experts in aerial combat, were sent to Syria in mid-February 2016.

"These [Iranian army] forces were competent enough to operate independently, but we decided that they would operate as part of the [Afghan] Fatemiyoun [division]. God rewarded me by placing me in command of them as part of the Fatemiyoun [division]. I placed them in charge of the area and transferred means to them, and after a short period, the [Afghan] unit was placed under their command. Neither their rank nor their weapons in Iran were the same as they were [after they joined] the Fatemiyoun [in Syria]. But due to their presence in Syria and after a short time fighting alongside the [Afghan] Fatemiyoun brothers, they became one organization, wore the same uniform, and fought in the same trenches. They became fast friends.

"I also told [Iranian ground forces commander] Amir Pourdastan that I was proud to fight along with the brothers from the [Iranian] army on one of the global battlefronts outside of Iran, just like during the sacred defense period [the Iran-Iraq War]. [Back then] there was no difference [between us and them] and they were like the Basij boys [of the IRGC].

"I spoke with the commander who was tasked with sending [Iranian soldiers to Syria] and he said: 'One of my concerns is to curb the wave of volunteers who want to be sent [to Syria]. According to the needs of the [Iranian] General Staff, we only send the necessary amount of forces [to Syria]. Had I allowed it, we would have had several divisions of [Iranian] volunteers [in Syria].'

"The presence of these forces has been hugely beneficial [in the Syrian arena]. They also suffered martyrdoms and injuries, but this did not damage their morale or make them less determined. They were experienced, brave, and passionate...

"The [volunteers] coming from Iran to Syria are given a monthly stipend of $100."

"We Do Not Wish To Produce An Atomic Bomb... [But Rather] Prove... That [We] Can Reach Higher Than France [And] England... In All Fields... Even On The Military Level"

"Until our power grows, the world of the arrogance [the U.S.] will never let us be. Some wonder why there is a need for tension between us and the Western world. I must say that if we tolerate this tension for a while, we will be a match for [the enemy] and then they will no longer dare fight us. We do not wish to produce an atomic bomb. We only want to prove that our people and country can reach higher than France, England, Austria, and Denmark in all fields - humanities, science, economy, technology, as well as human rights, and even on the military level.

"If we destroy the enemy that is currently mobilizing against us, there will be no room for any other country [to mobilize against us]. When we show our true might, they will no longer be able to do anything against us..."

Endnotes:
Im digressing, Your Honour.

In Aniruddha Roy Chowdhurys Pink, these words are spoken by Deepak Sehgal (Amitabh Bachchan), a lawyer defending three women charged with physically assaulting the nephew of an influential Delhi politician, and for soliciting.

This is ironic because the women undergo severe mental trauma at the hands of the guys friends after the incident, including a late-night kidnapping and molestation of one of the girls. The tables are turned and the women find themselves defending themselves against the men whothey claimtried to force them into a sexual liaison on that fateful night.

The thing about Pink is: It makes all the right noises. Politically correct to a fault, the filmit wouldnt be wrong to sayseeks to capitalise on the growing (and fitting) anger and resentment among the urban population against acts of violence committed against women. Yet, while subtlety isnt one of Pinks strong suits, merely saying everything that is right or wrong about the issue at hand doesnt automatically make the material effective.

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So, as many as three story writers (Shoojit Sircar, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Ritesh Shah) are credited for a largely threadbare plot, made up of the incident and the eventual court case. To their credit, Pink makes some valid points about aspects that arent usually touched upon in our films. That alone, however, doesnt translate in a necessarily impactful film.

In court, the sardonic Sehgal gives out rules that must go into a Safety Manual for Women - women should not drink alcohol with strangers, women must not wear clothes that excite the opposite sex, etc. All of this is delineated by, who else but, Amitabh Bachchan in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. Even though scathing, it transforms the second half of the film into an elongated sermon broken up into scenes - a device that gets a bit too overbearing after a point.

Yet, the fact that Bachchan - him of towering personality and booming voice and credible acting - is the one spelling out the films message and putting into words the thoughts of several liberal, forward-thinking Indians is what makes Pink appealing. Still, the film lacks the punch of other, better films in a similar vein, like No One Killed Jessica, Talvar, or, if we hark back, Damini.

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Coming back to Sehgals words - Im digressing, Your Honour - said to the Judge right after a monologue that has little connection with the actual case at hand. Pink tends to do that a lot.

The access to an actor like Bachchan - legend, thespian, etc etc - must be a thing of such enormous privilege, it must waylay writers and directors from going beyond the needs of the story and their utmost fascination for the star (as seen in films like Wazir and Te3n earlier this year). Here too, the problem persists. Screenplay and dialogue writer Ritesh Shah seems acutely aware of the actors shadow looming over the character, hence manufacturing moments that allow histrionics, but dont necessarily blend with the rest of the film.

In a scene where Saigal cross-examines his own client, for instance, asking her uncomfortable questions like how and when she lost her virginity, the actors demeanour is a complete departure from how the actor plays the character till that point - stilted speech, stooped body, etc. Its in moments like these that Pink seems inferior to the film it could have been, given the unquestionably noble intent of the filmmakers.

Sadly, creative producer Shoojit Sircar, Shah, and two-time National award-winning director Roy Chowdhury cant plug the most obvious gaps. The kidnapping and molestation, for instance, doesnt get a mention during the entire court drama, even though the final outcome of the case is directly related to it. Sehgals back-story remains sketchy. The track of his ill wife is as standard as they come, and while there are references made to his mental illness, its a strand that gets forgotten as the film unfolds.

 YouTube

The performances range from impressive (Amitabh Bachchan, Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang and Vijay Varma) to unbearably over-the-top (Piyush Mishra, whose mere presence turns perfectly normal characters into caricatures). The politicians nephew, played by Angad Bedi, starts off as another Delhi bad boy, but turns into a vicious, potty-mouthed antagonist in the films dying moments. The good guys are made to look better due to the presence of unilaterally negative forces; theres no in-between. (I missed the presence of a character like the helpless cop [Rajesh Sharma] in No One Killed Jessica, a slave of the system he himself found repulsive.) Its what stops Pink from becoming a truly credible representation of real life, even though its what Roy Chowdhury seems to be gunning for, tonally.

Yet, theres a lot to take back, like the silences shared by the girls in the aftermath of the traumatic incident, a couple of tightly-framed, intense courtroom sequences, and the discomfort arising from the disconcerting questions the film throws at audiences. In that sense, Pink is essential viewing, not so much for audiences who will gain vicarious pleasure from seeing a topic close to their hearts finding representation on the big screen, but more as a lesson for those who live in our society while still clutching on to a feudal mindset.

Aniruddha Guha is former Film Editor, Time Out (India), and has been reviewing films for publications like DNA and Time Out since 2007.

Follow him on Twitter: @AniGuha
BAN vs ZIM, T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh Survive Dramatic Last Over to Edge Past Zimbabwe by 3 Runs

'The Game Will be Slightly in Favour of...': Gavaskar's Major Prediction for IND vs SA Tie in Perth
A New Haven jobsite received 17 serious violations for allegedly failing to protect workers from exposure to asbestos. Last November, an employee complained to the New Haven Health Department about suspicious activity in an empty building. Senior Sanitarian Brian Wnek looked into the situation and visited the location.

When officials went through the front, the crew working on the project went through the back door, said New Haven Environmental Health Program Director Paul Kowalski. Then, Wnek called the feds.

The Occupational Heath and Safety Administration (OSHA) then investigated the situation and issued 17 serious asbestos violations in May to the site owner Rakaj Companies equating to about $65,000 in federal fines.

Asbestos exposure has affected many workers across America and a wide variety of industries. As a result, theyre now at risk of developing mesothelioma cancer. Despite knowledge of the health risks posed by asbestos, many companies still used the material for its fire- and heat-resistant properties. Handling asbestos must be done with great care and according to state and federal regulations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Connecticut State Department of Health Asbestos Program, and OSHA ensured the work ended based on the violations.

Some of these violations included failing to provide lunch areas with safe concentrations of asbestos, failing to regularly monitor the concentration of asbestos in the air, and failure to use vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters to collect dust that may contain asbestos.

Other violations covered failing to wet the jobsite to help minimize asbestos exposure during cleanup, removal, handling, and cutting; failing to provide protective respirators to employees; and failure to provide shower areas to employees so they could decontaminate themselves after exposure.

The principal of the 206 Wallace St. property Aleks Rakaj is affiliated with the jobsite not only as the principal, but also as a member of CT Repair Services (former automotive occupant of the warehouse) and as a member of Arka Group LLC at 220 Wallace St., which is an extension of 206 Wallace St.

The property was originally owned by Yale University, but Sawco Associates purchased it from the school in 2009 for $1,250,000. Sawco sold it in 2015 to 206 Wallace St. LLC for $285,000.

The land on the property is 85,533 square feet and the building is 42,995 square feet. According to records, the property is in a light zoning district and used as an industrial warehouse.

Rakaj contested the violations in June and the case is currently in court.
Ministry proposes to use state money to settle banks bad debts

VietNamNet Bridge - One of the controversial points in the draft plan on restructuring the national economy in the 2016-2020 period drafted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment is the use of the states money to settle commercial banks bad debts.

One of the controversial points in the draft plan on restructuring the national economy in the 2016-2020 period drafted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment is the use of the states money to settle commercial banks bad debts.







The proposal has not been applauded by experts who believe that it is unfair to use public money for private business.Duong Quoc Anh, deputy chair of the National Assemblys Economics Committee, said he has not received any report on the issue. However, he said, in principle, credit institutions have to settle their bad debts themselves. If they cannot do this, they will sell the bad debts to the state at market prices.In Vietnam, the bad debt treatment is going this way, Anh commented.There are four major sources of revenue to the nation: households, businesses, the state budget and foreign investors. However, he believes that the state budget is the main resource to settle bad debts. Domestic businesses remain small and weak, while foreign investors are not interested in buying debts in Vietnam because of the legal provisions related to land use rights.Nguyen Tri Hieu, a renowned banking expert, commented that Vietnam still does not have a debt trading market in the true sense of the word. The Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), a state company, buys bad debts and pays in special bonds.VAMC just serves as the parking lot for bad debts, Hieu said about the role of VAMC.Regarding the states money to settle bad debts, Hieu believes this is a feasible solution.It is necessary to build up a debt market, where banks sell bad debts and receive cash, he commented.Regarding the bad debt prices, Hieu said to date, VAMC has bought bad debts at book value. However, if buying bad debt with money from the state budget, the price for trading must be the market price, or the real value of the debts, which will be lower than the book value.In order to change the situation, it is necessary to change our behavior toward the bad debts. This means that bad debts must be bought at real value and commercial banks take losses, he said.The State Bank of Vietnam said the bad debt ratio of the banking system by the end of June 2016 was 2.58 percent, which was 0.25 percent lower than May but higher than the 2.55 percent by late 2015.The Q2 reports from 15 commercial banks showed that the total non-performing ratio (NPL) had increased by VND10.42 trillion compared with earlier this year.
Huron County HDC hosts food pantry The Huron County HDC will be hosting a drive-thru food distribution on November 1 from 10 am to 1...

Trick or treat times around the Thumb In just a few days, children in costumes will be going door to door asking for trick-or-treat...

There are wars and rumors of war At more than 70 years old, Ive noticed that more things change the more that they actually stay...
HURON COUNTY  A recent fly over of Huron County resulted in the seizure of around two dozen marijuana plants by local authorities.

According to Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson, he and deputy Ryan Swartz accompanied a Michigan Air National Guard helicopter crew Tuesday, as they took a flight around the county in search of the drug. Assistance was also received from the Ubly Police Department during the effort.

Hanson said the group spent a little over two hours in the air, covering around three-quarters of the county. The two dozen plants seized were in different stages of maturity, including some that appeared to be ready for harvest.

A mature plant often yields one pound of marijuana, depending on several variables, including sun, water, nutrient quality and the actual genetics of the plant.

When the sheriffs office had its own helicopter, Hanson said deputies might go out several times per year. Now the office must work out a schedule with the military for use of its helicopter, so efforts have become less frequent.

Weve had rather large grows over the years that have occurred here, but the primary drug of choice remains intravenous, Hanson said.

Charges may result in at least one of the seizures, with deputies meeting with the Huron County Prosecutors Office in the near future. Hanson said additional marijuana plants were found at other locations around the county, which they are now monitoring.

There are plants out there being watched to see if whoever is responsible for them decides to come back and get them, he said.

He added that this time of the year is normally a good time to schedule a search.

A couple of reasons that its best to go out this time of year is that the plants are normally getting close to maturity, and secondly, the color of the plant differs from the color of its surroundings  especially in a corn field, Hanson said. So its easier to pick out.
HURON COUNTY  Exelon Corp. recently settled three years worth of wind turbine tax appeals, which officials hope may set a standard for hundreds of remaining appeals in Huron County.

The settled appeals are for disputed assessed values of 79 turbines in Bingham, Sheridan, Chandler, McKinley and Oliver townships, as submitted in a report to the Huron County Board of Commissioners this week.

Turbines outside of Huron County were also included in the settlement.

The value of nearly every standing turbine in Huron County is being appealed by various energy companies, leaving municipalities on the hook for potential refunds to wind companies.

The Exelon settlement is for 2013 through 2015, according to the report from the Michigan Renewable Energy Collaborative (MREC), submitted by coordinator Carl Osentoski, executive director of the Huron County Economic Development Corp.

No appeals have been filed for 2016, he said.

Were anticipating none for 2017 as well, Osentoski noted.

Exelon accepted the depreciation tables submitted by MREC, Osentoski said, and thats a good sign that other wind developers might do so as well.

A tax tribunal judge also recently ruled in favor of MREC in the case of 66 turbines in Blumfield and Gilford Townships in Tuscola County, which is part of MREC, along with Huron, Sanilac, Mason and Gratiot counties.

Although NextEra is appealing the ruling, it bodes well for MREC, Osentoski said. It indicates that hes leaning in our direction at least on that issue.

The hearing judge found in our favor. Exelon settled using our trending tables. Theres some momentum there and thats where were hoping to get this settled with the tax commission doing a modified depreciation table by the end of the year, so that in 2017, we dont have this.

The issue with NextEra has to do with a 1603 cash grant received by the company, Osentoski said.

NextEra is saying that if a wind park is worth $100 million, it would receive $30 million and is worth only $70 million, he said.

(If) I build a house for $100,000 and I have a nice uncle named Sam. He writes me a check for $30,000. That doesnt change the value of my house. It just means I have a wonderful uncle, Osentoski said.

Were still working through that process. The interesting part in all of this is that NextEra, DTE (Energy) and Consumers (Power) have all hired the same tax attorney, which helps in streamlining the process, he said.

I think the fact that Exelon had settled and agreed to that is a major  thats almost like a precedent, Board Chairman John L. Bodis said.

Its not that simple, Osentoski said. But thats what were hoping for. Its a start.
LINCOLN TOWNSHIP  A resident is questioning a private donation to Lincoln Townships legal fund, as the township takes steps to self-zone.

Arlene Schipinski persistently asked the Lincoln Township Board of Trustees at this weeks meeting about the townships overall finances and a donation of $1,100 to the townships legal fund.

The township established a $10,000 legal fund last month, and also adopted an ordinance allowing the township to establish a planning commission, and another that puts a moratorium on wind turbine development.

Board members refused to identify the donor or donors, and said they would have to consult with their attorney before disclosing the information.

I feel that the private donation basically is a bribe by the anti-windmill people to get the ordinance pushed through Lincoln Township secretively without Lincoln people having any say in this, Schipinski told the Tribune.

Township Attorney Michael Homier told the Tribune that he had not seen Schipinskis request for the township to disclose the donor(s), and therefore could not comment on whether the township is required to do so.

There are certain exemption under the Freedom of Information Act, but I cannot comment on what exemptions apply until I get that request, he said.

Schipinski also requested bank statements for checking, savings and investment accounts from January to August; township employee and government salaries for 2013-2016, copies of canceled checks for legal services this year, and the names of those who spoke at the August meeting.

Township Clerk Irvin Kanaski said that on advice of its attorney, the township cannot give out bank information because of routing numbers and account numbers.

Schipinski said those numbers could be blacked out.

Were going to get you the information, Township Treasurer Patricia Weber said. Its just not going to be tonight.

Schipinski said that the decision to self-zone could be costly, considering necessary regulations, training and insurance expenses.

Youre potentially putting the future of Lincoln Township in limbo because were unsure if Lincoln Township or the county is zoning. If I were building a house, and I was getting this runaround, Id be pretty ticked, she told the board.

Other residents questioned the board about the move to self-zone, while some commended the board on its actions.

Lincoln Township has had county zoning for 42 years, I think, said resident William Andrich. Why is it that at this particular time that you want to change the zoning if it isnt for the windmills?

Youve already got some windmills in Lincoln Township, and now youre going to try to change the zoning and tell me I cant have a windmill on my farm. And I dont think that thats right, Andrich said.

There were 11 members of the public at the Aug. 8 meeting when the ordinance was adopted.

It was a public meeting, said resident Don Rice. Anybody who wanted to be here should have been here. They werent. And now you guys are griping? How about all the other people in Lincoln Township that dont want windmills?

Denise Rice said that in March, the board wrote a letter stating its opinion.

If nobodys going to pay attention, the board has to do what the board has to do, she said.

The ordinance establishing the planning commission takes effect 63 days after its publication.

The moratorium ordinance took effect Aug. 17  the day after it was published, Homier said.

According to the Michigan Zoning and Planning Enabling Act, the township is required to notify the Huron County Planning Commission of the ordinance within 14 days after it is adopted.

Homier said it was faxed to Jeff Smith, county building and zoning director, on Aug. 17.

But Smith told the Tribune he has not seen it.

Smith said the only notification he is aware of was that copies of the ordinance were sent to the board of commissioners the morning of Aug. 23, when the board held a public hearing on the proposed wind overlay zone, most of which is in Lincoln Township.

The board then returned the proposal to the county planning commission for review.

The county planning commission met last week and postponed action on the advice of county corporate counsel Steve Allen.
The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.

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Bancolombia S.A. provides banking products and services in Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. The company operates through nine segments: Banking Colombia, Banking Panama, Banking El Salvador, Banking Guatemala, Trust, Investment Banking, Brokerage, International Banking, and All Other. It offers checking and savings accounts, fixed term deposits, and investment products; trade financing, loans funded by domestic development banks, working capital loans, credit cards, personal and vehicle loans, payroll loans, and overdrafts; financial support to real estate developers and mortgages for individuals and companies; factoring; and financial and operating leasing services. The company also provides hedging instruments, including futures, forwards, options, and swaps; and brokerage, investment advisory, and private banking services, including selling and distributing equities, futures, foreign currencies, fixed income securities, mutual funds, and structured products. In addition, it offers cash management services; foreign currency transaction services; life, auto, commercial, and homeowner's insurance products; and online and computer banking services. Further, the company provides project and acquisition finance, debt and equity capital markets, principal investments, M&A, hedging strategies, restructurings, and structured financing; money market accounts, mutual and pension funds, private equity funds, payment and corporate trust, and custody; internet-based trading platform; inter-bank lending and repurchase agreements; managing escrow accounts, and investment and real estate funds; and transportation, securities brokerage, maintenance and remodeling, and outsourcing services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 1,015 branches; 28,676 banking correspondents; 529 PAMs; 210 kiosks in El Salvador and 187 in Colombia; and 6,094 ATMs. Bancolombia S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Medellin, Colombia.
Dunelm Group plc retails homewares in the United Kingdom. The company offers furniture for bedroom, living room, dining room, and office; sofas and chairs; bean bags; bed frames, mattresses, storage beds, divan bases, and headboards, as well as kids beds; and bedding products, such as bed linens, duvets, pillows, mattress toppers, protectors, and baby and kids beddings. It also provides curtains, and poles and tracks; blinds; rugs, runners, and door mats; mirrors, pictures and frames, clocks, wallpapers and DIY, cushions and throws, and accessories; lighting products, including ceiling and wall lights, lamp shades, floor and table lamps, and outdoor lights; kitchen products, such as cooking, dining, utility, and electrical products; and storage products for home, clothes, and kitchen, as well as travel and luggage products. In addition, the company offers garden furniture and storage, garden decoration, and entertaining and dining products; and towels and bathmats, bathroom furniture, bathroom decor, and bathroom accessories, as well as trees and decoration, gifts, cook and dine, and trends Christmas products. It operates 175 superstores and 1 distribution centers, as well as sells its products through an online store at dunelm.com. Dunelm Group plc was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Syston, the United Kingdom.
Winnebago Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells recreation vehicles and marine products primarily for use in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The company operates in six segments: Grand Design Towables, Winnebago Towables, Winnebago Motorhomes, Newmar motorhomes, Chris-Craft Marine, and Winnebago Specialty Vehicles. It provides towable products that are non-motorized vehicles to be towed by automobiles, pickup trucks, SUVs, or vans for use as temporary living quarters for recreational travel, such as conventional travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding camper trailers, and truck campers under the Winnebago and Grand Design brand names. The company also offers motorhomes, which are self-propelled mobile dwellings used primarily as temporary living quarters during vacation and camping trips, or to support active and mobile lifestyles under the Winnebago and Newmar brand names. In addition, it offers other specialty commercial vehicles for law enforcement command centers, mobile medical clinics, and mobile office spaces; commercial vehicles as bare shells to third-party up fitters; and boats in the recreational powerboat industry under the Chris-Craft and Barletta brand names. Further, the company is involved in the original equipment manufacturing of parts for other manufacturers and commercial vehicles. The company sells its products primarily through independent dealers in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Winnebago Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1958 and is based in Forest City, Iowa.
The Army is taking a second look at the case of a Green Beret who was paralyzed in an accident last year and now faces the possibility of a discharge that could jeopardize his medical care, FoxNews.com has learned.

Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Brumit was paralyzed from the chest down after diving headfirst into shallow water in July 2015, attempting to rescue what he thought was a drowning girl. The Army has since determined his decision was reckless and negligent, citing his alcohol and drug use.

But after recent media and congressional attention on the case, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command asked Tuesday for a review of his case. In a memo, Lt. Gen. Kenneth E. Tovo urged U.S. Army Human Resources Command to "reconsider" the determination.

"[T]here are unknown factors that likely contributed to SFC Brumit's momentary lapse in judgment that resulted in his life-long paralysis," he wrote. "Based on the totality of the circumstances, a review of these unknown factors warrants reconsideration."

The Afghanistan and Iraq veteran, who has served eight combat tours, has argued that the Army "failed" him as he struggled with PTSD, traumatic brain injury and substance abuse. After the July 2015 incident, he was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent and traces of cocaine in his system.

He doesn't deny he was drinking. But Brumit told The Daily Beast, which reported Sunday on Brumit's case, that he had not used drugs that day -- and wasn't "drunk" when he made the decision to jump in the water. He reportedly heard a Coast Guard alert for a missing girl and thought he saw her, so jumped in. That's when he hit a sand bar and broke his neck, he told The Daily Beast. The missing girl apparently was later found safe.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who has advocated for Brumit, called the Army move to review the case a positive development that puts time on the clock for Brumit.

"The Army hates to open boxes up," Hunter told FoxNews.com. "The fact that they kicked it back at all makes me optimistic."

In looking into Brumit's case and his disability benefits, the Army had conducted a "Line of Duty" probe to determine the circumstances of his injury. Their determination that he was reckless increased the likelihood he would face an other-than-honorable discharge and potentially lose benefits.

For now, those medical expenses are paid for. Brumit lives at his parents' place in Georgia and has had seven surgeries to date. A denial of benefits could leave the family facing millions in lifetime medical costs, though some charity efforts have been launched.

In a letter earlier this month to Hunter seeking his help, Brumit claimed the Army "failed to support my requests for treatment for my PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and secondary Substance Use Disorder (SUD)."

He wrote, "I acknowledge that I have struggled, I have sought help and the Army failed me in that pursuit." He said the "vindictive" investigation has "denied me the medical care required for my current injuries." According to The Daily Beast, he was diagnosed by the Army with "adjustment disorder" but not PTSD.

Hunter initially wrote to Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning on Sept. 9 asking for reconsideration. He also said Brumit was prevented from getting necessary treatment, saying he was even removed from drug-and-alcohol treatment by the 7th Special Forces Group to return to duty.

Tovo, in his memo, maintained that it is "unknown" whether Brumit's substance abuse problems stem from PTSD, or whether he has PTSD, noting "his medical records do not reflect this." He also said Brumit got "extensive" assistance, noting he participated in more than 20 medical, behavioral health and substance abuse meetings, screening and surveys.

But he said "it is undisputed" that his multiple combat tours "created stressors at home" and likely contributed to substance abuse. He acknowledged it's possible this contributed to his "extremely poor decision" in July 2015.

"From a commander's perspective, erring on the side of the Soldier and presuming that his headfirst dive was not an act of willful negligence adds an element of empathy to this case," he wrote, in seeking "further review."
The high pace of operations overseas is delaying the Air Force's ability to outfit aircraft with new transponders required by the Federal Aviation Administration, officials said.

The service faces a Jan. 1, 2020, deadline to configure its fighters, bombers and other aircraft with the latest version of the satellite-based transponder known as the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B.

But because the Air Force isn't able "to sit the entire fleet down and look at what each aircraft needs" due to ongoing missions, it's likely going to miss the crucial date, Maj. Gen. Timothy Fay, director of strategic plans at the service's headquarters, told lawmakers on Wednesday.

His comments came during a hearing, "Next Generation Air Space Control -- Ensuring Air Force Compliance by Jan. 1, 2020," held by the House Armed Services' Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, headed by Rep. Randy Forbes, the outgoing Republican congressman from Virginia.

Fay appeared alongside Maj. Gen. Michael E. Fortney, vice commander of Global Strike Command; Brig. Gen. David Nahon, deputy director of plans and programs at Air Combat Command; and Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas, director of strategic plans, requirements and programs at Air Mobility Command.

"This is really concerning, obviously," said Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Missouri, whose district includes Whiteman Air Force Base, home to the service's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers.

The FAA issued a ruling in 2008 to establish the regulations and procedures for transitioning to ADS-B. The technology -- required for all aircraft flying at or above 10,000 feet -- uses global positioning satellites rather than radar to determine an aircraft's location, airspeed and other data, and broadcasts that information to a network of ground station.

Air Force officials have previously said the service was likely to miss the deadline because of limitations caused by spending caps known as sequestration.

While some newer Air Force aircraft, like the F-35 Block 4 configuration, will already come equipped with ATS-B, many of the service's planes won't be ready to make the transition in time without straining ongoing missions or testing, officials said.

For example, most Global Strike Command aircraft including the B-2, B-1B and B-52 bombers and Air Combat Command aircraft such as the F-16 Block 30 aircraft, F-22 and some F-35 fighters will miss the deadline. Even about 10 percent of Air Mobility Command aircraft such as the C-5 and other cargo planes will miss the deadline.

The change to the new technology won't affect the Air Force's "war-fighting effort," Fay said. However, it will have an impact on training and readiness missions because aviators will need to "fly longer and lower" so as to not violate the FAA rules, he said. In addition, pilots will have to be in contact with the proper air controller tower at least an hour before flight, he said.

When asked how far along allies are implementing the new technology, Fay said, "As far as global operations are concerned, the primary driver for us would be in the European theater," where a similar deadline is set to take effect "shortly after ours in 2020." In the Pacific, countries such as Australia and Singapore also plan to adopt the technology, he said.

When Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, asked if some upgrades could cost as much as $2.5 million per plane, Fay didn't dispute the figure. Adding the required hardware and software to older aircraft is almost always more expensive than doing so to newer aircraft such as the F-35, the general said.

Lt. Gen. James Holmes, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, in March told the same committee that spending caps known as sequestration shortchanged the program and warned panel members there would be a delay.

"Right now there is about a $1.2 billion difference between what we need to accomplish the mandate and what we have committed in our budget," he said at the time. The program called for $5.6 billion to modernize the whole fleet, with the Air Force only able to put forth $4.4 billion.

If Air Force fleets will knowingly miss their deadline, the generals said, they will petition to the FAA exemptions for certain aircraft.

--Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
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.
Caps on defense spending limit training, force service members to use old gear and may lead to an exodus of troops from the armed services, the four service chiefs told lawmakers Thursday.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps warned that a return of sequestration budget caps would promote fiscal uncertainty and take a deep toll on rank-and-file morale.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 put a temporary stay on a half-trillion dollar tranche of defense budget cuts, but the armed services must plan around the reductions for five more years if Congress does not again act to avert them.

For the Navy and Marine Corps, limited funding and delayed aircraft modernization have resulted in limited pilot flight hours. This summer, the Marine Corps resorted to an unusual measure, pulling 30 F/A-18C Hornets from the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and putting them back into service in an effort to maintain readiness ahead of F-35B Joint Strike Fighters entering the fleet in numbers.

"When our pilots are flying less hours a month than Russian and Chinese pilots are, we're going to have a problem," Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona who heads the defense committee, told the generals.

The chief of naval operations said limited flight hours also take a toll on morale.

"Our pilots join the Navy to fly naval aircraft; that's what they want to do," Adm. John Richardson said. "Money can help up to a point  but at the heart of the matter, there is a highly dedicated team that wants to defend the nation in high-performance aircraft, and that's what they want to do: They want to fly."

Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, said aircraft maintainers and aircrew were also at risk of being lost to commercial aviation companies and contractors as the service is forced to cannibalize parts and require staff to maintain productivity with fewer resources.

"We're making it now on the backs of those sergeants and staff sergeants out there that have to do work twice to get the part we want and put it on another [aircraft]," he said. "So I'm as concerned about maintainers sticking around."

Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said readiness and morale are inextricably linked for the service, and airmen who are not being used to their full potential will look for other opportunities.

"Pilots who don't fly, maintainers who don't maintain, controllers who don't control, will walk," he said. "And there's not enough money in the treasury to keep them in if we don't give them enough resources to keep investing."

Without reliable money to modernize, Goldfein said the service has had to lean heavily on Service Life Extension Programs to make its aging aircraft last longer -- an expensive and risky endeavor, he said.

"There's a reason [SLEP is] a four-letter word," he said. "The reality is, we only fix what we can accurately predict. Then we put the aircraft into depot maintenance, we pull the skin off, and what we find are things breaking that we never predicted."

With the service's F-15C Eagle, a steering problem fix turned out to require a part that hadn't been manufactured in five years. The Air Force was forced to commission new parts at significant cost.

The chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Mark Milley, said sequestration cuts would undercut plans to ramp up training for high-end threats, which had fallen off during the last 15 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"An armor officer today -- a tank officer up through rank of major -- has very little experience in terms of maneuvering tanks against an opponent who has armor," he said. "We have to rebuild that. That's going to take considerable time and effort on our part. Sequestration will take the rug out from underneath us."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said he found the lack of action in the face of troubling defense budget concerns "repugnant." With the return of sequestration, he confirmed with the service chiefs, some 30 ships would not be added to the Navy's fleet and the Army would lose between 60,000 and 100,000 troops. Neller confirmed that the Marine Corps, too, stood to lose personnel.

"Would you agree with me, general, that Congress is going to shoot down more planes than any enemy we could think of in the near term?" Graham demanded.

"Potentially," Goldfein responded.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck
The Pentagon and the Russian military traded accusations Thursday of failing to live up to the "cessation of hostilities" agreement in Syria, casting doubt on the viability of the proposed deal for U.S.-Russian coordination on operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

"We're waiting for the [Syrian] regime and the Russians to comply with the terms" of the cessation arrangement by guaranteeing safe passage to a convoy of aid trucks that has been held up at the Turkish border, said Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary. "There will be no military coordination until those terms are met."

Russia countered that the U.S. was guilty of "non-fulfillment" of its own obligations under the cessation of hostilities to stop "moderate" rebels backed by the U.S. from attacking areas controlled by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In a Facebook posting, Russia's Defense Ministry said, "Only the Syrian army has been observing the ceasefire regime within these three days of implementation of the agreements while the US-led 'moderate opposition' has been increasing the number of shellings of residential quarters."

"From the first minute, Russia has been meeting its obligations to enforce the cessation of hostilities in Syria," the Defense Ministry said.

Cook said the cessation of hostilities was largely holding, but Staffan de Mistura, the special United Nations envoy for Syria, said in Geneva that there was still a red tape "problem" with getting the aid convoys moving.

De Mistura said the Syrian government had yet to provide "facilitation letters" that would allow aid convoys to pass through army checkpoints and reach besieged areas. "We cannot let days of this reduction of violence be wasted by not moving forward," he said.

Under the deal worked out by Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, all parties involved in the Syrian civil war were to observe a cessation of hostilities starting on Monday that was to last seven days.

Kerry said Monday that the plan was "designed to advance the process of trying to reduce the violence so that we can get people to a table" and "begin to negotiate a political transition and the restoration of a peaceful and united Syria."

State Department spokesman John Kirby said, "For us, it gives us a real shot at keeping Assad from barrel bombing and gassing his own people as well as the opposition; and more critically, if a cessation of hostilities can be maintained and reduced violence can be established and sustained, and humanitarian access, it can get the opposition back to the table with the regime in Geneva under the [United Nations], get a political process started. That's the real goal here."

The difficult part for the Defense Department, if the cease-fire holds, is the Kerry-Lavrov deal to have the U.S. and Russian militaries work together under a joint cooperation agreement to coordinate operations and airstrikes against ISIS and the al-Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, which now goes by the name Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of Syria).

At a Pentagon news conference, Cook said coordination with the Russians would be run out of a Joint Implementation Center, but a location for the center had yet to be determined.

He also said that the U.S. and Russian militaries working together would require a change in the U.S. law barring military cooperation with Russia, but "we're putting the cart before the horse."

The U.S. is prepared to meet the legal requirements, but the Russians first must rein in Assad's forces and allow humanitarian aid delivery, and "that's not happened yet," he said.

Cook also denied recent reports of friction between Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter over cooperating with the Russian military, reflecting concerns within the uniformed military, which has traditionally treated Russia as an aggressor state.

In congressional testimony, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford has identified Russia as the main "existential" threat to the U.S. However, Cook said Carter "absolutely supports Secretary Kerry's efforts."

In the course of Syria's 66-month-old civil war, numerous efforts to arrange a cease-fire leading to peace talks in Geneva have failed. Most recently, the U.S. and Russia arranged a cessation of hostilities in February, but it fell apart within a month.

A surge in violence followed, displacing more Syrians internally and sending hundreds of thousands more refugees fleeing to Europe. According to the United Nations, about 6.6 million Syrians have been displaced and another five million have become refugees, mostly in squalid refugee camps in neighboring Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

Cook said the U.S. campaign against ISIS in Syria is continuing and will not be affected by the tentative agreements brokered by Kerry.

U.S. Central Command said that U.S. and coalition aircraft carried out 10 strikes in northeastern Syria on Wednesday against ISIS targets.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related Video:
A service member's military retired pay can be a valuable asset in a divorce, legal separation or dissolution of marriage.

In 1982 Congress passed the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act, which allows state courts to treat disposable retired pay either as property solely of the member, or as property of the member and his spouse in accordance with the laws of the state court.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no "magic formula" contained in the act to determine the appropriate division of retired pay. A state court can divide retired pay in any way it chooses (subject to the laws of that state). All 50 states treat military pension as marital or community property.

One of the popular misconceptions about military retired pay is that it is only divisible if the marriage lasted at least 10 years. A state court can award a share of the military retired pay to a former spouse of military member even though the marriage lasted less than a year.

However, in order for the Department of Defense to make direct payments of a military member's retired pay to the former spouse, the former spouse must have been married to the military member for a period of at least 10 years, with at least 10 years of the marriage overlapping a period of military service creditable to retired pay.

Also, direct payments will not be made for division of retired pay in excess of 50 percent or 65 percent if alimony or child support is paid in addition to division of retired pay. Disability pay is not subject to division as property but it is subject to garnishment for alimony or child support.

One very important provision of the USFSPA is that in order for a state court to be allowed to divide member's retired pay, the court must have jurisdiction over the member by:

-- His/her residence, other than because of military assignment, in the territorial jurisdiction of the court;

-- His/her domicile in the territorial jurisdiction of the court; or

-- His/her consent to the jurisdiction of the court.

For example, if John Smith is stationed in Ohio, but claims Nebraska as his legal domicile and if his spouse files for divorce in Ohio, the court would not be allowed to divide John's military retired pay unless John consents to the jurisdiction of the court.

In addition to a share of the military retired pay, the former spouse has a right to receive certain military benefits so long as he/she meets the criteria. As the benefits are statutory entitlements, they are automatic and not subject to negotiation or deviation by a divorce court and the member cannot confiscate the spouses ID card, or otherwise suspend the spouse's military privileges.

Former spouses will retain all military benefits and privileges, including medical, commissary, military exchanges, if he or she was married to the member at least 20 years, the member had at least 20 years of creditable service, and there was at least a 20-year overlap between the marriage and the military service.

If there is less than 20 but at least 15 years of overlap, the former spouse will be entitled to one year of transitional medical benefits only. Medical benefits are suspended while the former spouse is covered by an employer-sponsored health care plan and will terminate upon the former spouse's remarriage.
This Account has been suspended.
Myanmars top business body  the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry  has settled a hard-fought internal argument over proxy voting, just days before the organisation holds a triennial election.





The run-up to what will be the UMFCCIs second-ever democratic election has already seen heated debate over several issues, including which members can vote for which positions and whether sitting president and local tycoon U Win Aung should be allowed to run for another term.

U Win Aung ruled himself out of another three years as president last week, telling The Myanmar Times he would not put himself forward for nomination, which makes him ineligible for re-election on September 17.

At a press conference yesterday U Win Aung said the decision had been a very difficult one, but that it was important allow a new generation of business sector officials to take on the top posts.

The debate over proxy voting, however, was only publically settled yesterday. U Win Aung announced at a press conference at UMFCCIs Yangon headquarters that the rules around proxy votes would strictly follow the constitution. This stipulates only registered companies  which have a company membership with a single vote  are able to use proxies, and only pre-specified individuals employed at the firm, such as directors or managers , can carry out the vote.

A group of individuals on the UMFCCIs central executive committee (CEC), which included UMFCCI vice president U Zaw Min Win, were unhappy with such a strict interpretation of proxy voting. They said the rules risked preventing key company members that may be absent from Yangon or the country for some reason from being able to vote.

Voting must be done in person at the UMFCCIs headquarters in Yangon.





You cant say its a free election if we strictly [interpret the rules] for proxies, said U Hnin Oo, UMFCCI honorable joint-auditor, in a recent interview with The Myanmar Times. He and others felt that company members should be able to designate anyone they like as a proxy.

The rival CEC group, which included U Aye Lwin, one of the organisations secretaries general, was strongly opposed to loosening the rules. Some companies are no longer active, despite being registered UMFCCI members, he said, and the chamber had to be very careful about allowing such companies to pass on their votes through proxies.

One anonymous CEC member told The Myanmar Times last week that reaching a consensus on the issue was a nightmare. But the debate is now over and those in favour of the strict constitutional interpretation have won.

U Zaw Min Win said yesterday that although he had previously been concerned that some company voters would be excluded, he now felt that there was a risk that allowing free designation of proxies could lead to people selling votes for money.

U Win Aung said that he thought the constitution, which is now three years old, should be updated  although he did not specify how. He also said that changing the constitution can only be done by a majority vote at an annual general meeting, which takes place in August.

Just how much the ruling on proxy votes will affect the election is unclear. U Zaw Min Win said that he expected between 25 and 50 proxy votes in the election, and that perhaps 30 or 35 more would have been possible if the rules had been loosened.

Only 600 people are thought to have voted in the last UMFCCI election in 2013, but Htet Oo Linn, a public relations officer at the chamber, said some 1200 people had registered to vote on September 17.

They will elect around one-half of a 140-member of executive committee, with some 196 candidates having put themselves forward.

The other half of the committee is made up of automatically appointed representatives of various business associations. The executive committee then elects the CEC, which in turn chooses a group of around 20 senior management committee members  including one president and seven vice presidents.
With government reforms gaining traction, Myanmar is increasingly becoming an attractive place to do business, the countrys finance minister has told an international investment forum.





Speaking to hundreds of local and foreign business leaders at the opening of the 5th Euromoney Myanmar Global Investment Forum in Nay Pyi Taw on September 13, Union Planning and Finance Minister, U Kyaw Win said Myanmar had only just begun to open up to the world.

Both politically and economically, I believe that 2016 could be a transformative year for Myanmar, said the minister. Economic development is linked to the political measures that are being undertaken to achieve national reconciliation and peace in the country.

The country has learned from its neighbours, U Kyaw Win said, and was embracing an economic policy of strong and inclusive growth across the nation while ensuring a path of environmental sustainability.

Myanmar was opening up to trade, encouraging foreign investment and strengthening its financial sector, the minister told the crowd of business representatives.

Foreign investment began to enter the country following the political and economic reforms introduced by the previous government elected in 2010, after decades of military rule.

U Kyaw Win said that foreign firms were eyeing the progress of the new government closely and investment would flow with the implementation of its new economic policy.





In shaping an enabling business environment for private-sector development, a series of reform measures is being undertaken in the investment arena, he said. Improved legal and regulatory frameworks will create a more favourable investment climate in Myanmar.

With assistance from the Asia Development Bank, the government is updating its company law, and with assistance from the International Finance Corporation, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has drafted legislation to govern foreign and domestic investment, he said.

Under the new legislation, investors will be granted different levels of exemption depending on the type of business and its location. In addition, the new law will allow the MIC to delegate power to regional authorities to approve domestic investment with a view to creating job opportunities and spurring regional development. The process of granting approval for some projects would also be streamlined.

The MIC particularly favours investment in labour-intensive manufacturing, while allowing resource-based investment with minimum environmental impact. Moreover, FDI promotion planning has been implemented with help from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, participants heard.

Myanmar needs large-scale infrastructure investment  in power generation, transportation, SEZ and industrial zones  to realise its long-term growth and development, said U Kyaw Win.

Just 30 percent of the population has access to electricity, he said, adding that the government wants to achieve 100pc connectivity by 2030, which will require massive investment into the power sector.

Ken Tun, CEO of the Parami Energy group of companies, said the forum put foreign investors on notice that Myanmar would provide them with improved regulatory frameworks, transparency and good governance.

If the forum presents foreign investors with a positive impression, investment will definitely increase  perhaps more than we expect, he said.

Yanis Boudjouher, director of Infra Capital Myanmar, said the new government will need to get their policy mix right because competition for foreign investment was intensifying across the region.

Investors are very volatile. They can move anywhere  Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar  depending on where they can find the most favourable environment.

The country was now more open to private-sector investment, but there was work to be done to encourage investment into large projects, said Edwin Vanderbruggen, partner of VDB Loi.

The government needs private-sector help in public infrastructure, he said.

Speaking on the conference sidelines, U Aung Naing Oo, director general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, said that approved foreign direct investment for the year should reach about US$1 billion by September. This is well below this financial years estimate of $6 billion, but was to be expected during a year of leadership transition, he said.

Despite the under-performing FDI numbers, this years forum marked a sign of growing interest from international investors, he said.

The forum drew more attention from international investors than last years because the topics are more practical and related to investments that are needed in Myanmar, he said.

This article has been updated to reflect that DICA's FDI figures through September 2016 were approved, not actual. The Myanmar Times regrets the error.
Yangon City Development Committee has told the Sule Shangri-La hotel to dismantle and vacate a car park and signage area in front of its entrance as part of an effort to stop private buildings from encroaching on public land.





Under previous governments, YCDC collected taxes from hotels and other businesses that used public land for their private use, according to U Aye Ko, a spokesperson for the committees Department of Engineering. Two years ago YCDC stopped collecting these taxes, but continued to allow many buildings the use of public space, he added.

In the case of Sule Shangri-La, the area in front of the hotel now used for private parking and entrance features is public land on which YCDC wants to build a two-lane inner road for public traffic.

Weve ordered them to finish [vacating the space] and YCDC will start building the road within a month, said U Aye Ko. Once the road is done it will be easier for people to walk and traffic will improve.

Helene Acuna, communications manager for Sule Shangri-La, said that the hotel is working with YCDC to improve traffic flow in the area. On the issue of paying tax to YCDC for the use of public space, Ms Acuna said that the hotel has always paid any invoices received from YCDC.

She did not comment on the extent of the changes Sule Shangri-La would be required to make.

Yangon Region MP Daw Kyi Pyar (NLD; Kyauktada 1) said members of parliament had raised the issue of private entities using public space in a recent meeting of parliament.





When we met with YCDC to discuss this they said that in the past they had not wanted to allow private entities to use public space, but that there was often pressure from sources like related ministries, she said.

Daw Kyi Pyar said the issue was also raised at a Yangon Region parliament meeting, where mayor U Maung Maung Soe was made aware of the problem, which gave her hope that something might be done.

YCDC shouldnt collect [such taxes] and shouldnt give public space to private businesses, she said. This is one way of reducing traffic jams. There are very rarely public spaces for people to walk on in downtown.

Additional reporting by Steve Gilmore
High-rise building developers given the green light to resume construction after a ban imposed by the Yangon Region government in May say the unplanned disruption to their projects has led to significant financial and reputational losses.





The freeze on high-rise construction began with an announcement on May 14, which Yangon City Development Committee  an administrative body elected by municipal poll  issued at the request of the Yangon Region government.

That announcement stated that any building project with nine storeys or more that had received a permit under the previous administration would have to stop temporarily for a review.

The government assessment determined there to be 185 projects that had received an in-principle permit from the previous government, many of which had already started laying foundations. The Myanmar Times reported on September 13 that close to one third of these tentatively approved projects have been told by YCDC they will need to make retrospective design modifications if they want to receive a full building permit.

Meanwhile, some 64 additional projects under construction that did receive a full permit from the prior administration were also told to halt for inspections. After a complicated and at times confusing review process, all of these buildings were allowed to continue. Many have since resumed construction, but their developers say they have accrued losses during the period of government review.

Sites had to lay off workers, including hard-to-find specialists, scramble to satisfy lenders who expected steady returns, and placate the owners of the future apartments, who had already started paying for them in advance, developers say.

U Kyaw Kyaw Soe, associate general secretary of the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association and the administrative director of System Engineering, said the stoppage had a huge impact on an already sagging construction market, and damaged customers confidence.





My site has been allowed to resume work after a three-month pause. But I have to start from the beginning. Aside from the financial problems, its not easy to bring back skilled workers who were laid off while the site was suspended, he said.

The most difficult part of the build interruption, he said, was restoring trust among his clients.

Customers who had bought pre-sale rooms are now unwilling to make further deposits. Theyre waiting to see what happens next, he said.

Developers say the suspension order was a blow to the industry that had hoped a new government would revive the sector after a slowdown in the lead-up to the 2015 election. And the order had deepened industry uncertainty, because parliament has yet to issue by-laws for the long-awaited Condominium Law passed by the previous government.

U Kyaw Kyaw Naing, developer of i-Green company, said his high-rise project had been forced to take out unplanned bank loans in order to restart because pre-paying customers had stopped paying, uncertain the building would be finished.

Even though we can resume work, we cant start collecting the money were owed immediately, he said. People used to trust us, but now weve lost that trust, and buyers are saying they will pay us the 40 or 50 percent they owe, but only after construction is complete.

Wooing back workers laid off as a result of the stoppage was presenting problems industry-wide, said Asia Construction general manager U Yan Aung.

Everybody involved  entrepreneurs, workers and customers  has been damaged by this. We cant hand over completed apartments to the buyers on the date agreed, and new contracts have to be drawn up, he said. But the law is unclear on how to deal with construction-related problems.

Yet the government is sticking to its guns, saying that the review was needed to ensure a sustainable building sector in the capital.

If high-rise buildings in other countries do not meet standards the government will knock them down, said Ye Min Oo, spokesperson for the high-rise inspection team of the Yangon Region Ggovernment.

He said the review was needed and in the case of the 64 projects under construction they had not been asked to make retrospective amendments. But the industry as a whole needed to lift, he added.

We know the construction market is cooling, but management is also poor, he said.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe and Khine Thazin Han
Following local complaints, construction of the Taungthaman tourist resort is on ice again. The Mandalay Region government is reviewing potential negative impacts of the suspended project, and will submit a report by the end of this month, according to a Mandalay official.





The model village and cultural park, which was already approved by the previous government, was slated for two plots surrounding the iconic Taungthaman Lake in Amarapura township.

Part of the K10 billion development was suspended after a site inspection by the chief minister and mayor in May, with officials citing the need to examine any environmental consequences on the historic site. At the time, developer Taungthaman Thitsar said it was 90 percent done clearing the area, and 5pc into construction work.

Now the resort project, part of which is located less than 1900 feet (580 metres) from the historic U Bein Bridge, will be reviewed by an 11-member panel that was formed on September 7. The panels report is due to be issued by the end of the month, Mandalay Regions Minister of Resource and Environmental Conservation U Myo Thit told The Myanmar Times on September 13.

We will submit our findings to the regional government, said U Myo Thit, who is also the chair of the panel. Skilled local people will analyse the project through the lens of their respective sectors. If it will harm the environment, we will not allow it.

On September 10, Mandalay Region Mayor U Ye Lwin put a freeze on numerous aspects of construction until the report is complete. Construction is not allowed within 200 feet of U Bein Bridge, a signboard for the project must be taken down, construction of a smooth stone street near the lake has been halted, and buildings cannot be erected outside of one designated section of the project.

The first  a 40-acre (16-hectare) plot surrounded by the villages of Taungthaman, Nwarnotawsu, Tenanttha and Ywarthit southeast of the lake near the bridge  was given the go-ahead in March 2015. The second, a 58-acre (23-hectare) parcel, was approved on March 28, just before the administration changed hands.

Construction of the resort and cultural park began in April 2015 and is expected to take about five years to complete.





The developer could not be reached for comment, but in June had welcomed the new government to inspect the project.

Translation by Khine Thazin Han and San Layy
In a snub to the governments peace process, the largest alliance of ethnic armed groups is sitting out a two-day meeting that will lay the groundwork for the upcoming political dialogue.





The United Nationalities Federal Council confirmed yesterday that it would not attend the meeting, which will start tomorrow, due to a busy schedule.

We already have meetings on those days. Thats why we will not be able to attend, said Khu Oo Reh, leader of the UNFCs Delegation for Political Negotiation.

But analysts suggested the blocs absence has more to do with a stalemate. The government has yet to commit to eight points previously outlined by the powerful alliance of seven armed ethnic groups.

The UNCFs demands, which were laid out in meetings with government negotiators in June and August, include the bilateral declaration of a truly nationwide ceasefire by the government and armed ethnic organisations, the commitment to including all armed ethnic organisations in the peace processes, and the inclusion of international observers in the joint-monitoring mechanism.

The government did not respond to the demands prior to last months 21st-century Panglong Conference, but the UNFC decided to attend the landmark gathering in the capital anyway as a show of support for the new democratically elected government, bloc members said.

U Than Soe Naing, a political commentator, said the government should take the UNFCs points into account if it expects a smooth continuation of the peace and national reconciliation process.

I think the UNFC want to first sort out the points they demanded in previous meetings [before agreeing to further talks]. Addressing these points will ease other negotiations, he said.





In the last week of August, government negotiators, political parties and delegates representating both signatories and non-signatories to last years ceasefire agreement hit a major stumbling block at a review meeting for the political dialogue. The points of contention concerned who would be represented and who would retain decision-making power. The meeting concluded without a resolution to the disagreement.

Sai Kyaw Nyunt of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy said the government will need the UNFC behind it if it expects to press ahead in solving a decades-old civil war.

The purpose of the review meeting is to include the UNFC in the aftermath of the 21st-century Panglong Conference. I dont know how the government will deal with the matter, he said.

The Panglong Conference, the governments first major foray into the peace process, was also riddled with problems of inclusivity and major absences. Though hailed by State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a landmark event, the conference produced no agreements, and largely followed in the shadow of the previous administrations peace process.

Three major groups currently engaged in fighting the Tatmadaw in northern Shan State, the Northern Alliance  the Kokang, Taang and Arakan armed ethnic groups  were notably missing from Panglong after they failed to reach an agreement with the government over preconditions.

After a meeting last week in Chiang Mai, the UNFC released a statement congratulating the government for successfully holding the 21st- century Panglong Conference, but also noted that the government still has more work to do, and must include all armed ethnic groups in the peace process.

During the 21st-century Panglong Conference, we observed that the government cannot seem to manage the peace process independently of the Tatmadaw, said Khu Oo Reh.

And little progress appears to have been made since then on the inclusivity front.

Tar Aik Kyaw, a communications officer for the Taang National Liberation Army, said despite his groups desire to resume peace negotiations, he and his allies have yet to receive an official invite.

When asked what the governments peace commission is doing to resume negotiations with the three groups comprising the Northern Alliance, U Aung Kyi, leader of the advisory team, said he had no knowledge of the matter.

Since the peace process is a long-term task, I hope these groups will be able to join in the future, he said.
US President Barack Obama moved last night to restore trade benefits to Myanmar, saying broader sanctions would soon be scrapped as he hosted state counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the White House.





In a letter to Congress  timed to coincide with Daw Aung San Suu Kyis first visit to the White House since winning a historic election last November  Mr Obama also announced plans to revoke economic sanctions and reinstate preferential tariffs for Myanmar under the Generalized System of Preferences scheme, which were suspended more than two decades ago amid rights abuses by the ruling junta.

The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time, he said, adding that the move would come soon."

It is the right thing to do to ensure that the people of Burma see rewards for a new way of doing business.

Over the next two days, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with assorted cabinet secretaries, followed by talks with Mr Obama and a coveted Oval Office grip-and-grin photo shoot.

Obama did not say when he would rescind an executive order underpinning broader sanctions that declares Myanmar a national emergency, but offered his congratulations on the progress that has been made in Myanmar's political transformation.

It's a good news story in an era when so often we see countries going the opposite direction, he said, acknowledging that much work remains ahead.

The US presidents deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes has said the Obama administration is considering steps that can be taken to encourage US investment in Myanmar.





The United States GSP, set up in 1974, strikes duties off imports that come from 122 countries and territories. The status will grant Myanmar tax privileges on exports to the worlds largest economy and in turn fuel foreign investment into the industrial sector.

Myanmars GSP eligibility was suspended in April 1989, due to concerns about labour abuses. The country has been seeking to regain the trade benefits since 2013, the same year it gained GSP status from the European Union.

U Aung Win, vice chair of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, told The Myanmar Times that GSP status could bolster investor interest in the garment sector.

It was unclear last night which sectors the special tariff preferences would be applied to, and whether the fledgling garment sector would be included.

Search the OFAC SDN list here

Some policymakers worry lifting sanctions completely could weaken American leverage and may let the military off the hook.

Global Witness and other human rights groups have criticized Obama's move as a major setback for efforts to clean up Myanmar's notoriously corrupt and abusive business environment.

Lifting restrictions before the new government's reforms have borne fruit effectively invites US companies to do business with some of the worst figures from the country's past.

Its something that we continue to look at because the purpose of the sanctions regime was to support a democratic transition, and some of the sanctions even were tied to the treatment of [Daw Aung San] Suu Kyi specifically, Obama said of the sanctions at the ASEAN Summit in Laos earlier this month.

The move to reinstate Myanmars GSP status was made just months after the Obama administration downgraded Myanmar to the lowest tier status on the annual Trafficking in Persons report for failing to curb endemic forced labour tantamount to human slavery. The demotion to tier 3 status opened the possibility for further sanctions against the country, which Mr Obama waived.

Washington lifted a host of financial and trade embargoes on state-owned banks and businesses during the annual review of the national emergency measures in May, but maintained restrictions on the import of jade and gemstones and extended restrictions to seven businesses entities with Steven Law and Asia World group.

Trade between Myanmar and the United States is still minimal. Myanmars total bilateral trade for the 2015-16 fiscal year to November came to about US$17.1 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Meanwhile, bilateral trade between Myanmar and the US for the first six months of 2016 came to $238 million, according to the US Census Bureau.
A new bill was put forward in the United States Senate yesterday calling for an updated approach to Washingtons Myanmar foreign policy that balances human rights concerns while providing for the Southeast Asian nations economic development.





The move came amid speculation about sanctions-related announcements ahead of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis landmark meeting with President Barack Obama this week.

The Burma Strategy Act of 2016 was introduced by senators Ben Cardin and John McCain.

The legislation that we have introduced today seeks to build on Burmas progress while being clear-eyed about lingering concerns regarding human rights, the plight of the Rohingya, the role of the military in Burmese society and politics, ethnic and national reconciliation, broad-based economic development, and the constitutional reform necessary to facilitate and complete Burmas transition, Sen Cardin stated in a press release.

The bill proposes further paving the way for limited military-to-military engagement, as well as allowing direct support of civil society and development initiatives. It also singles out a Gemstone Strategy Report as a matter of priority.

Juman Kubba, a senior campaigner at resource transparency advocacy group Global Witness, said the proposed legislation was affirmation that sanctions remain an effective weapon in Washingtons policy arsenal  particularly when it comes to managing the corruption-riddled US$30 billion jade trade.

Congress has long been a staunch advocate for the democracy movement. This bill pushes back on moves to lift sanctions, sending a message that the US should instead use sanctions to help the new government tackle the powerful elites which threaten reform, she said.





The Senate proposal  as well as suggested sanctions easing  has been met by criticism from rights groups.

Senator McCain and Cardins legislation is both premature and wildly optimistic, and would emasculate whats left of US sanctions on Burma without getting anything in return in terms of progress on human rights, Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division, told The Myanmar Times by email yesterday.

At a time when Aung San Suu Kyi is still struggling with an authoritarian military and an undemocratic 2008 constitution, one really wonders why she is unilaterally giving up some of the last leverage she has, and why US legislators who have previously been champions of democracy in Burma are going along with this, he said.

However, Eric C Rose, lead director at Herzfeld Rubin Meyer & Rose Law Firm Limited, said he believes the bill is unlikely to get pushed through.

This is a Democratic leadership-proposed legislation which seems to have, other than Senator McCain, no Republican co-sponsors. It is hard to see how it would be passed by a Republican-controlled Senate and House, in particular as it would give a perceived advantage in foreign policy to [Democratic presidential nominee] Hillary Clinton, and fortify the legacy of President Obama.

Myanmar needs bold new initiatives, for a number of good reasons, in order to maintain its pace of growth while at the same time remedying past mistakes. Such radical changes cannot be made without the contribution of the United States, among other nations, he added.
An 18-year-old woman has returned home after a brief stint working in Malaysia as a maid for no money while suffering physical beatings, the Myanmar embassy said.





Ma San Thida arrived at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur on August 28, acknowledging that she had come to the country illegally two months prior using an agency that had arranged her employment as a maid. After she realised the harsh conditions, she fled.

I also witnessed many other girls in a similar situation, said Ma San Thida in a statement released by the embassy.

The embassy donated K150,000 (US$125) to Ma San Thida and granted her the Certificate of Identity she needed in order to return to Myanmar. The documentation fees were paid for by donors.

Myanmars overseas embassies in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are attempting to make lists of undocumented maids like Ma San Thida with the help of the host countries. The project began six months ago, according to Department of Migrant Affairs official U Thein Win, but negotiations with the countries are still ongoing.

There were many cases of abuse among maids who went abroad for work and that is why the government stopped sending domestic workers overseas in 2014, said Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Federation (MOEAF) migrant affairs official Ko Myo Win Yin.

The decree did not stop women from finding ways to get abroad to take jobs, however.

Most go to Singapore, said Nay Pyi Taw Anti-Human-Trafficking Police officer Ko Min Naing, and others go to Malaysia.





Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Singaporean Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), told The Myanmar Times in June that the number of Myanmar maids in Singapore grew an estimated 50 percent between 2013 and 2015, with over 30,000 there now, which was evidence that the ban was not effective.

The ban has not only failed to stop women from Myanmar going abroad to work  it has also led to a black market that puts the women at greater risk of exploitation and slavery, according to HOME, which was set up to protect migrant workers rights.

The MOEAF said in June that it has become harder for authorities to police the movement of domestic workers across Myanmars borders because large employment agencies have been replaced by individual human smugglers, often from within their victims social circles.

It is particularly difficult to track the trafficking of girls from Chin and Kayin states because their church is often involved, said U Win Tun, vice chair of the MOEAF.

There were 130 official cases of human trafficking in Myanmar last year, with a total of 641 victims. Chin State was the only region of Myanmar not to have recorded any official cases.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce is evaluating its past decade of work and preparing for its third five-year project, which will start in 2017.





The taskforce will try to find the weakness in the preventive measures we take for suppressing human-trafficking, Police Lieutenant Colonel Thet Naung said at an Anti-Human Trafficking Day ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw on September 13. We will also expose the human trafficking committed by locals.

The laws that govern human-trafficking are currently being updated, Pol Lt Col Thet Naung said.

We need to take our time updating the laws and by-laws because there are many details, he said. If they are not properly addressed, our effort will be for nothing. But it is too early to tell what amendments we will make.

They hope to submit a draft of the law to parliament before the end of the year, he said.

The taskforce has struggled in gaining cooperation from other ASEAN countries, as well as China, he said.

We are not satisfied with the outcomes of the work we do with other regional countries, he said. We worry about our people but the other countries respond slowly. From our point of view, our people are being trafficked but from their point of view, our people are illegally entering their country, so they make arrests. In cases like this, we cannot do anything but feel dissatisfied.

Victims of human trafficking who wind up in China, Thailand or Indonesia could be saved and sent home through collaboration with the relevant embassies, said Vice President U Henry Van Thio, who also attended the ceremony.





Another goal for the coming project is to help victims of human trafficking recover.

In the 2015-16 financial year, UNICEF and the anti-trafficking force jointly provided K99.6 million (US$82,000) to assist 708 victims.

Last year, the annual US Trafficking in Persons report downgraded Myanmar to the worst, tier-three ranking on the list for not doing enough to combat the scourge. The report called Myanmar a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. The fishing industry and armed forces were both particularly cited by the US as being rife with forced labour.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
A proposal rejecting the legitimacy of the Rakhine State Advisory Commission and its activities was approved by the Rakhine State legislature yesterday during a hluttaw session, in a vote of questionable practical significance.





Fourteen state MPs debated the motion, which was similar to a proposal in the Union legislatures lower house put forward and defeated last week. The Rakhine State parliaments objection to the commission received de facto approval yesterday after no one spoke against it.

The Rakhine State Hluttaw represents Rakhine peoples voices and desires, so I will support this proposal on the basis of the Rakhine peoples desire, said state hluttaw MP U Naing Kywe Aye (NLD; Thandwe 2), offering rare pushback from a National League for Democracy lawmaker against a commission his ruling party formed.

The crux of opposition to the nine-member commission, amplified by nationalist protests in recent weeks, has hinged on its inclusion of three foreigners, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.

Rakhine lawmakers yesterday offered similar justifications for rejecting the commission as those put forward by Union parliamentarians last week.

Fragile Rakhine States affairs needed to be approach in consultation with local stakeholders and with public support, and formation of the commission involved neither of these, went one argument. Its work could actually exacerbate problems, went another, in a state still grappling with inter-religious tensions between Buddhist Rakhine and minority Muslims self-identifying as Rohingya.

Other familiar refrains were also on offer: that the commissions foreigners posed a threat to sovereignty and that their outsider status rendered them unable to truly understand the states complexities.

The Rakhine State Hluttaws official rejection of the commission is likely of more symbolic than substantive importance, given that state legislatures have typically had little power relative to their Union counterpart. But the optics of the situation  a state hluttaw refuting, to little practical avail, an edict from Nay Pyi Taw  are not likely to help the NLD as it pushes a mantra of national reconciliation and pro-autonomy rhetoric about decentralising power to give ethnic minorities more say.





The Rakhine State Advisory Commission has been tasked with recommending durable solutions to the protracted inter-communal divide between Buddhists and Muslims since two bouts of violence between members of the two religions wracked the state in 2012, leaving more than 100,000 Rohingya displaced.

But Lieutenant Colonel Min Oo, a military MP, sounded a suspicious note yesterday, despite an earlier pledge from Mr Annan that the commission was not looking to conduct a human rights investigation in the state.

We need to carefully work not to be a culprit for the troubles [the state faces] because the Rakhine State Advisory Commission is being organised with foreigners, Lt Col Min Oo said. We need to watch very carefully the commissions activities.

State hluttaw MP U Tun Aung Thein (Arakan National Party; Buthidaung 2) said, The establishment of this commission, which comprises three foreigners including former UN general secretary Kofi Anan, is like we are trying to solve our internal affairs by looking abroad.

The Rakhine State Advisory Commission was formed by the Union-level government on August 23. Its members toured Sittwe township last week in its initial foray into addressing the states woes.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe
After Brexit, the United Kingdoms decision to leave the European Union, it was reported that some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were considering a similar move.





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There were references to a possible Sexit, namely that the first to quit might be rich little Singapore, which derives about as much benefit from ASEAN as Monaco does from the EU.

It is not going to happen, at least not just yet. But many officials, some in senior government posts, are increasingly  and angrily  demanding that ASEAN must change if it is to survive.

They bemoan how it has become a nebulous group of 10 nations, still searching, and still failing, to find commonality  a shared concept of governance, of economic policy, or just an agreed philosophy of survival.

It eludes them. They are stuck. Unless they change, they are finished and their savvier members know it, as do their key friends and allies.

On September 6, Robert Manning, a regional expert at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, wrote, The ASEAN way is a dead end.

It is not just that glaciers move kilometres while the members mull an issue; its that afterwards they so rarely come to a united decision.





Today, however, a confluence of portentous issues means that it is no longer feasible to kick root-and-branch reform of ASEAN down the road any longer.

For starters, as the group approaches its 50th birthday in 2017, there are major conflicts not only between members, but also with China and the United States.

Consider the US first. Its signature agreement with Pacific Rim countries, including four members of ASEAN, is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)  and it is about to be consigned to the ashcan of history.

If, as appears almost certain, the TPP is not ratified by the coming session of the US Congress, it will be left to the next president  and both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have said they strongly oppose it.

So it will bite the dust. And when it does, it will divide ASEAN further and infuriate members like Singapore and Vietnam, who will have nothing to show for years of negotiation to meet Washingtons high standards.

It is so bad that on September 9, veteran US Senator John McCain anxiously asked Singapores prime minister what will happen if Washington does not ratify the TPP.

The reply from PM Lee Hsien Loong, said McCain, was, Youre finished in Asia. Let me repeat. Youre finished in Asia.

Remember, Singapore is ASEANs closest friend and strongest supporter of the US. But perhaps no longer.

Bear in mind also that on September 12, after vowing to kick US troops out of his country, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, said, I do not like the Americans. Its simply a matter of principle for me.

Thats the view of two of ASEANs founding members. Now, lets turn to China, which has gleefully filled the vacuum both by boosting trade and investments and acting as a none-too-subtle regional ringmaster.

Today, when China cracks the whip, ASEAN jumps. That has been clear at the groups ministerial meetings and leadership summits when Beijing has controlled the agenda and vetoed communiques.

The reason all this has happened is quite simple. It is not only because China is huge and powerful but also because ASEANS fossilised structure of rule by consensus plays right into Beijings hands.

It means that nothing can move forward in ASEAN unless all 10 members agree, which may sound nice as an idealistic goal, but in practice it has proved a disaster.

So disastrous that when Beijing began systematically occupying disputed islands in the South China Sea, ASEANs claimant states could only protest individually  the group could do nothing collectively.

Whenever there was a proposal for ASEAN as a whole to protest, Beijing would tell one of its client states like Cambodia or Laos to object and thus the consensus would be broken and nothing would happen.

Toothless ASEAN, now increasingly estranged from the US, can huff and puff to no effect whatsoever.

But some members believe this has gone on for too long and after this years brazen heavy-handedness by Beijing, coupled with the shameful sycophancy of Cambodia and Laos, they have started to push back.

First, they managed to get mildly critical comments about Chinas behaviour included in the final communique issued after the summits in Vientiane earlier this month. Although it did not mention that a United Nations tribunal had invalidated Beijings claims, the communique did note, Several leaders remained seriously concerned over recent developments in the South China Sea.

Of course, the use of the term several leaders rather than saying the group as a whole reflected the deep divisions in ASEAN and the fact that some members want to chastise China and others do not.

That is why further changes are afoot, including a stronger form of the ASEAN Minus X formula, which currently offers an escape clause to members unready to sign up for new initiatives.

Unfortunately, the formula is not presently invoked for serious issues and hence even if only one member objects to something, then nothing gets done.

At last, however, that is likely to change because leading group members like Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are just fed up with the dead end situation.

There are now moves within ASEAN to scrap the need for a consensus and move to a system where decisions are made by a qualified majority.

The new procedure will be brought in initially for the groups senior level officials and then later extended to the leaders summit meetings.

When it does happen, it will be a momentous change that will bring the grouping into the modern world and perhaps enable it to move marginally faster than glaciers when making decisions.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kims nomination for a second term is inexorably moving forward with a lack of transparency that has become all too typical. Many observers are once again gnashing their teeth at the United States continued monopoly over the top post, despite the poor performance of past US nominees. As the late Yogi Berra once put it, Its like deja vu all over again.





The US has been particularly brazen in subverting the nomination process to ensure Kims re-appointment. For starters, despite having another 10 months left in his first term, Kim  surely with the US governments blessing  asked the banks executive board to accelerate the appointment process. The board agreed  with no notable dissent  and even shortened the selection process to a mere three weeks.

A compressed schedule makes it difficult for World Bank members to rally around an alternative candidate. And Kim already had a head start, after quietly lobbying member governments at the G7 summit in Japan this May and in personal visits to China and India in recent months.

Moreover, as the incumbent, Kim can grant favours to win support: make loans that play to influential shareholders pet preferences, promise certain countries spots on the leadership roster, and stamp the banks imprimatur on particular governments own domestic initiatives. Given the contents of Kims political toolkit, this match was never going to be played on a level field.

Many people can stomach questionable means if they consistently generate positive ends, but this has not been the case with Kim, who is among the worst presidents in World Bank history. His administration has been marked by authoritarianism and capriciousness, and he has forced out senior managers at unprecedented rates, sometimes requiring the bank to reach quiet settlements with those affected. In four years, the presidents office has had five chiefs-of-staff, and several of the banks senior women have left, hinting at a capricious leadership culture.

Last month, in a letter to the banks board warning of a crisis of leadership under Kim, the World Bank Staff Association wrote, We preach principles of good governance, transparency, diversity, international competition and merit-based selection. Unfortunately, none of these principles have applied to the appointment of past World Bank Group Presidents.

Kim has set such a low bar for the bank presidency that it would not be difficult to find a better candidate. A short list would include Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister of Nigeria; Nandan Nilekani, an entrepreneur who led an impressive bio-identification program in India; and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapores deputy prime minister.

But even if Kim were to go, Americas problematic role would remain. The US has long insisted that the banks president be a US national, and yet it has repeatedly nominated unsuitable candidates to run the institution. For example, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitzs World Bank stint, from June 2005 to July 2007, was a disaster, but the US faced no consequences (such as losing the right to choose the next nominee).





The US has chastised China for rejecting the Permanent Court of Arbitrations ruling against Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. And yet, in supporting Kim for another term  in the face of objections from the World Banks own staff  the US is showing itself to be no less defiant when its own interests are at stake.

There is nothing new or surprising about great powers making and breaking rules as it suits them. The surprise has been emerging economies apparent nonchalance regarding Americas roughshod reign at the World Bank. While other member governments often express outrage at the US monopoly over the banks leadership, and at Europes similar monopoly over the International Monetary Funds leadership, they too are willing participants in the charade.

One reason is that countries are happy to strike their own side deals to ensure generous lending. This fact is reflected in the World Bank Groups official leadership, where the first three people listed after the president  hailing from Brazil, China and India, respectively  are carefully distributed by nationality.

A second reason is that, while emerging-economy members dislike the US monopoly, they are even more worried about the prospect of a president from a rival emerging economy. The Europeans and Japanese have their own monopolies  over the IMF and the Asian Development Bank, respectively  and the Chinese have created their own with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

These arrangements amount to a cabal of mutual complicity, whereby world powers designate economic spheres of influence through regional governance institutions. Each major power knows that if monopoly control is threatened in one sphere, then it is threatened in all spheres, so they hang together to avoid being hanged separately.

But, perhaps most important, the worlds emerging powers no longer need the World Bank as much as they once did. Having found their own alternatives for most of what the bank does, their indifference to a second term for Kim suggests that they simply dont think the bank matters much anymore. Indeed, it is the US, whose global influence is waning, for which maintaining control at the World Bank matters the most.

So, because US President Barack Obamas administration has not bothered to follow credible procedures in making its nomination, much less select a better candidate, a failed World Bank president will get another crack at the job. By the time he leaves, his successor may well be welcomed with a collective shrug.

 Project Syndicate

Devesh Kapur is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania.
[September 15, 2016] Accenture Announces Intention to Acquire OCTO Technology to Expand Digital Capabilities in France

Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE:ACN) has agreed to purchase a 47.4 percent shareholding in OCTO Technology (ISIN code FR0004157428), a technology consultancy specializing in digital transformation and software development, with the intention to acquire the remaining shares. Under the terms of the agreement, Accenture will purchase the shareholding in OCTO from Francois Hisquin, founder and CEO of OCTO, other OCTO partners and Financiere Arbevel at a price of 22.50 per share and 1.7222 per equity warrant. Following the closing of the acquisition, Accenture will make a voluntary cash tender offer to acquire the remaining shares and equity warrants at the same prices. The price of 22.50 per share represents a 43.8 percent premium over the closing share price of OCTO on September 14, 2016 and a 76.2 percent premium over the volume-weighted average share price during the last 12 months. The tender offer values 100% of the issued ordinary shares of OCTO (on a fully diluted basis) at approximately 115 million. The supervisory board of OCTO unanimously supports the transaction and has appointed Ledouble SAS (News - Alert) to act as independent expert to issue a formal statement confirming the fairness of the tender offer. In accordance with applicable regulations, the supervisory board of OCTO will issue its formal recommendation on the tender offer once it has received the report of the independent expert and the opinion of OCTO's works council has been obtained. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in early Q1 of CY2017. Following successful completion of the tender offer, OCTO will join Accenture Digital to expand its capabilities and operations in France. OCTO's clients will have access to the global scale, broad capabilities and deep industry experience of Accenture for their major projects. "OCTO has built an extremely talented, enthusiastic workforce that will significantly enhance the existing capabilities of Accenture Digital in France," said Pascal Delorme (News - Alert), Accenture Digital lead, France and Benelux. "With its flexible working culture, OCTO will invigorate Accenture's operations in this region. OCTO's leadership have demonstrated their firm support for the acquisition. Together, we can focus on delivering the greatest possible returns for clients locally and globally, applying our shared pragmatic and agile approach to technology to drive digital transformations." "We have always been a firm with international ambitions," said Francois Hisquin, CEO and founder of OCTO, who will remain in his role post-acquisition. "The proposed sale of my shares and those belonging to OCTO's partners demonstrates the value of the transaction and a strong belief that in becoming part of Accenture Digital, we can pursue a joint ambition to offer end to end digital transformation capabilities to clients. OCTO people are passionate digital natives, and our commitment to fostering innovation and being trusted to deliver a range of digital solutions will continue when working alongside Accenture Digital, where we intend to take full advantage of the global reach and deep industry knowledge available." "The proposed addition of OCTO to our business in France demonstrates that we are committed to building a digital powerhouse for the country and the region," said Christian Nibourel, country managing director for Accenture in France and Benelux. "We recently launched an Innovation Centre in Paris, which along with this acquisition will give our clients in France access to the strongest skills, most strategic thinkers and the latest transformational technologies available. Together, we will help our clients rotate to the New to drive operational efficiency, adapt business models, and implement new capabilities for success." In addition, Sycomore Asset Management has irrevocably committed to tender its 4.6 percent ownership in OCTO to Accenture, once it launches its offer. Rothschild & Cie and Societe Generale are acting as financial advisors to OCTO and Accenture, respectively. About OCTO Technology

OCTO Technology is a technology consultancy specializing in digital transformation and software development operating in five countries: France (headquarter), Morocco, Switzerland, Brazil and Australia. OCTO has nearly 360 employees with specialized digital technology skills, including big data and analytics, user experience design, andmobile services delivery. Awarded the Great Place to Work award (companies under 500 employees) for each of its four participations, OCTO also runs the successful 'Unexpected Sources of Inspiration' (USI) event each year in Paris where leaders, industry innovators and technology entrepreneurs exchange ideas, draw inspiration and discuss the digital transformations in our societies.



About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions - underpinned by the world's largest delivery network - Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 375,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com. Accenture Digital, comprised of Accenture Analytics, Accenture Interactive and Accenture Mobility, offers a comprehensive portfolio of business and technology services across digital marketing, mobility and analytics. From developing digital strategies to implementing digital technologies and running digital processes on their behalf, Accenture Digital helps clients leverage connected and mobile devices; extract insights from data using analytics; and enrich end-customer experiences and interactions, delivering tangible results from the virtual world and driving growth. To learn more about Accenture Digital, follow us @AccentureDigi and visit www.accenture.com/digital.

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An appreciative, discerning audience assembled last Saturday, September 10 at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, for the launch of a 315-page book titled 'Six Strings and a Note, Legendary Agya Koo Nimo in His Own Word'.

The book, written by Mr E. Obeng-Amoako Edwards, is a captivating portrait of Daniel Kwabena Boa Amponsah, known widely in this country and around the world as Agya Koo Nimo.

Agya Koo Nimo, who is the leading exponent of what is generally known as palm wine music and a great patriot, is well-known for songs such as 'Aburokyire Abrabo', 'Naa Densua', 'Akura Dua Kube', 'Ohia Ye Ya', 'Odo Akosombo' and 'Efie Ni Fie.'

Speaking on 'The Koo Nimo I Know' at the launch, Prof Kwesi Yankah, Vice Chancellor of the Central University, said he personally owed the veteran musician a debt of gratitude for his role in shaping my scholarship as an ethnographer of communication.

He described Agya Koo Nimo as a rare artist, philosopher and teacher who has sung his way across the world and lectured in several universities, where he brings Ghanaian wit to life, with words and fingers.

Prof Nketia chaired the function and said Agya Koo Nimo's legacy of beautiful music and unique way of playing the guitar must be preserved in our educational system.

Music maestro, Kojo Antwi, bought the first copy of the book when it was auctioned by emcee, KSM.

The launch event was punctuated with performances by Agya Koo Nimo as well as the Seprewa Players, Osei Korankye and his 16-year-old daughter, Abena Serwa.

The book's author who is also an entrepreneur and philanthropist spoke at the book launch. He urged Ghanaians to accept their history and heroes in order to move ahead.

If we don't know where we are coming from, it is almost impossible to identify where we are going. There is so much we have here by way of our culture, our people and our country. If we don't take the time to cherish these things, chances are nobody will do it for us, Mr Edwards said.

According to him, he first met Agya Koo Nimo in Houston in the United States about five years ago and that was when he decided to write a book about him.

Emeritus Prof J.H. Kwabena Nketia wrote the foreword of the book which brilliantly details Koo Nimo's life with useful insight into the philosophy and psychology behind the music he creates.
Embattled Film Actor cum Producer, Michael Kwaku Afrane has taken a swipe against the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Bosiako for attacking his decision to contest as Independent Candidate for the Manso Nkwanta Constituency.

According to Michael Afrane, the action by the NPP Chairman is very unfortunate.

Reports suggested that the President John Dramani Mahama through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative arts have been given out vehicles to section of the industry players with the aim of buying their votes ahead of the December 7 elections.

Commenting on the development on Ashh fm afternoon talks show Key Note program, Chairman Wutumi accused Michael Afrane of been manipulated by the NDC.

According to him, the actor has been conniving with the ruling National Democratic Congress to split votes of the NPP in that constituency.

'' Michael Afrane is a strong member of the NPP in the Bosomtwe but because of greediness he has gone for a brand new Chevrolet from the NDC with the motive of contesting as an Independent candidate at the Manso Nkwanta constituency to split our votes".

But in an interview with SeanCitygh.com, Ace actor Michael Afrane disclosed that the price of the car is 50,000 cedis and they made a deposit of Gh10000 before they were handed over the brand new Chevrolet cars from the ministry.

He refuted the allegation that they were given the cars for campaign purposes, Its never true that we were given the cars so as to campaign for the president.

Michael Afrane said, if chairman wutumi says he will match me booth for booth then am also ready to face him.

 I want to tell chairman wutumi that only God can stop me from contesting as an Independent Candidate for Manso Nkwanta Constituency he insist.

He however listed some stars that were also given the cars as Wayoosi, Awurama Badu, Nana Ampadu, Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour), Tagoe Sisters, Honey Frimpong, and many others.
Stonebwoy, EL and Amakye Dede are booked to perform at the Ghana Music Week Festival in London. They will perform at indigo at The O2 on Friday, October 21, 2016.

Tickets for the event are on sale at axs.com and at shoobs.com .

Stonebwoy has been touring the world in recent weeks. He recently returned from Australia then went to Tamale where he was enskinned Sapashini (Dancehall Warrior) of Ghana.

EL has also released his Bar 3 album which features some talented artistes.

By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma has said the ruling ANC party is ready for its first female leader, days after his former wife was named by the party's influential women's league as its choice to succeed him.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who has four children with President Zuma, is the head of the African Union Commission and a leading candidate to take office as president at the 2019 general election.

Zuma is expected to step down as African National Congress (ANC) party leader at the end of this year. His successor is likely to become national president at the election.

Dlamini-Zuma, 67, has not declared her candidacy, but the ANC women's league last weekend gave her a major boost by publicly declaring its support.

"It is no longer a discussion in the ANC whether a woman can take a high leadership position or not," Zuma said.

"The ANC is ready for thatas in fact the party has been ready for some time.

"It will depend on the integrity that she possesses and whether members see her fit for the position."

Zuma, 74, who has been engulfed by corruption scandals and poor economic data since he came to power in 2009, completes the maximum two terms in office as national president in 2019.

In August, the ANC -- which came to power in 1994 under Nelson Mandela after the end of apartheid -- recorded its worst-ever election results at local polls.

Among Zuma's other possible successors are deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize.

Zuma survived an attempt by ANC rivals to oust him in November, shrugging off criticism of his conduct by the official anti-graft watchdog and the Constitutional Court.

Dlamini-Zuma is not seeking a second mandate at the African Union, a move that has increased speculation that she has ambitions to succeed her ex-husband at the ANC.

She has held a string of ministerial posts under South African presidents, including the foreign affairs and home minister portfolios.

Her four years at the head of the AU have given her an international profile which has further increased her status as an ANC heavyweight.
Lagos (AFP) - A top aide of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan pleaded not guilty Thursday to money laundering charges linked to the former first lady, as he appeared in a Lagos court.

Jonathan's special advisor on household and domestic matters Waripamo Dudafa is accused with two others and four companies of laundering millions of dollars in stolen public funds.

Former first lady Patience Jonathan claimed last week in a letter to Nigeria's anti-graft agency that she is the rightful owner of the over $15 million in multiple bank accounts, according to Nigerian news agency Sahara Reporters.

She told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that she had been withdrawing the money from the accounts to pay for her overseas health expenses.

The accounts were frozen in July, and she is arguing that the EFCC is trying to "harass or harangue her and short-change her of her personal funds in breach of her fundamental human rights".

The seizure of funds is "illegal, unlawful, wrongful and prejudicial" according an application she submitted to the federal high court in Lagos on Thursday demanding the release of the money.

Two other men pleaded not guilty along with Dudafa, while the representatives of the four companies pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and forgery. The trial is adjourned until September 27.

Anti-corruption campaigners said the Nigerian government should investigate the ex first lady, who has attracted attention from anti-graft agencies and activists in the past for her vast personal wealth.

Debo Adeniran, head of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders organisation, said she had "guts" to claim the money is hers.

"I only hope the present government will have the political will to pursue a trial to the end," Adeniran said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated Jonathan in elections last year, has launched a wide-ranging campaign against corruption targeting key members of the previous regime.

The focus on officials from the former ruling party has led some critics to claim Buhari is using the anti-graft crackdown as a way to target and silence political foes.

Former national security advisor Sambo Dasuki is currently facing a slew of charges over allegedly bogus arms deals in which money meant for military procurements to fight Boko Haram was diverted for political purposes.

Meanwhile, Jonathan's cousin Robert Azibaola is also standing trial for allegedly stealing millions in public funds.

But despite the arrest of his key confidants, Jonathan has yet to be charged with any offence.
Childrens rights in South Africa will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on 19 and 20 September in sessions that will be webcast live. South Africa is one of the 196 States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee of 18 independent experts.

In addition, members will examine South Africas implementation of another important legal instrument known as the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC).

Among the possible issues to be discussed between Committee members and a government delegation from South Africa are:

 High prevalence of violence against children, in particular sexual violence, child neglect and abandonment, and corporal punishment at home and school;

 Harmful practices, including child marriage, virginity testing, and violent initiation rites;

 Prevalence of child pregnancy, child malnutrition, drugs and substance abuse;

 Negative impact of high prevalence of HIV/AIDS on children;

 Poor quality of education and school facilities, and the insufficient provision of inclusive education;

 Severe restriction to access to social services due to the obstacles to obtain birth registration;

 Sustainability and adequacy of alternative care and social security for children deprived of family environment;

 Increasing number of unaccompanied migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children and the heightened risk they face;

 Displacement of indigenous children and children in informal settlements owing to development projects;

 Low age of criminal responsibility;

Regarding OPSC:

 Trafficking of children for prostitution, forced labour, sex tourism, and organ transfers;

 Regulation of illegal adoption, including selling of children by parents.

The full list of issues and South Africas submitted written report can be found here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1041&Lang=en

The discussions will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva on 19 September from 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-18:00, on 20 September from 10:00-13:00. The meetings are public and will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/ .

Committee members will base their evaluation on the delegations report and replies, as well as information from civil society groups.

The Committee will issue its findings on South Africa and the other countries being reviewed - Nauru, Sierra Leone, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Suriname  on 6 October. The findings, officially known as concluding observations, will be published here:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1041&Lang=en
The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture on Tuesday completed a high level advisory visit to the Republic of Mozambique.

During their visit, which took place from 5 to 9 September 2016, the experts advised the Mozambican authorities on the prevention of torture under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

The OPCAT ratification, back in July 2014, which was quickly followed by the designation of a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) to monitor places of detention, are clear signs of the commitment taken by the Mozambican authorities in preventing torture, said the Head of the SPT delegation, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, at the end of the visit.

The human rights expert noted that the National Human Rights Commission was officially mandated to monitor places of detention in its functions of National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), following the OPCAT ratification.

However, there is still some significant work pending in Mozambique, including the adoption of all the measures necessary to ensure that the NPM can carry out its mandate in an efficient and effective manner. This includes ensuring that the NPM operates in an independent way, and that it has all necessary means and resources, Mr. Madrigal-Borloz noted.

The SPT also stressed that much remains to be done in terms of access to places of detention. The principle of unhindered access to all places where a person is or may be detained is a cornerstone of the OPCAT, said the expert.

We deplore the fact that, during our visit, we received reports of restricted access of the NPM to police stations and other places of detention. We urge the Mozambican authorities to immediately put an end to these limitations, said the Head of the delegation.

During its five-day visit, the SPT held joint activities with the National Human Rights Commission and met with high State authorities, including the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Attorney General, the Minister and Vice Minister of Justice, the President and Vice President of the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman. The group also met with representatives of civil society, including the Bar Association.

The Subcommittee will submit its confidential report to the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, containing its observations and recommendations arising from the visit.

The SPT was represented by Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz (Costa Rica), Head of Delegation and SPT rapporteur on Mozambique, Ms. Nora Sveaass (Norway) and Ms. Aneta Stanchevska (FYR Macedonia).
Beijing, ACCRA, Sept 14 - (dpa/GNA) - China's national legislature has expelled 45 lawmakers representing the northeastern province of Liaoning for "unprecedented" election fraud, state media reports said Wednesday.

The move shows the Chinese Communist Party has "zero tolerance for bribery and vote buying," party mouthpiece People's Daily said in an editorial on Wednesday.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress convened for a special session on Tuesday, voting to unseat the 45 deputies elected by Liaoning provincial legislature for vote buying and bribery during the 2013 election, according to Xinhua news agency.

Rather than open elections, the almost 3,000 members of the national legislature are elected from provincial, county and township governing bodies.

The congress, decried as a "rubber stamp" parliament by critics, is showcased by the Communist one-party state as evidence of its development of "socialist democracy."

A total of 523 members were implicated in the election fraud and have either resigned or been sacked.

National lawmakers said a panel would be formed to temporarily exercise some of the Liaoning legislature's functions and powers as it was no longer capable of forming a quorum.

State broadcaster CCTV said the case was unprecedented in the People's Republic of China, founded in 1949.

"The system invites bribery," said Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based veteran independent political commentator.

"The voting progress is very intransparent. National People's Congress delegates are voted from provincial delegates, and the provincial delegates are voted from the city delegates. So it is an inner circle," Zhang told dpa.

Entrepreneurs in China are keen to get into this inner circle in order to gain a title that can help them "pull strings with politicians and increase their social status," Zhang said.

The scandal is the latest blow to Chinese president Xi Jinping's efforts to clean up corruption within the party.

The incident comes nearly three years after 518 of 527 members of the Hengyang Municipal People's Congress in southern Hunan province were found to have taken bribes to vote for candidates for the provincial legislature.

GNA
14.09.2016 LISTEN

By Justina Paaga, GNA

Shama, (W/R) Sept. 14, GNA - Mr Edward Ameyibor, General Secretary of the National Pensioners Association (NPA), has advocated the establishment of a Medical Endowment Fund and an enhanced post-retirement health care system, to promote the health needs of the aged.

He said when the fund is established it would go a long way to supplement the current Pensioners Medical Scheme (PMS), which takes care of the emergency health needs of the members of the Association, as a top-up to the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Mr Ameyibor said this on Tuesday at the opening of the 4th Quadrennial delegates' conference of the NPA at Shama in the Western Region.

The conference attended by more than 60 delegates drawn from all the regions was on the theme: 'Pensioners Medical Scheme, First Step to a Secured Post-Retirement Health Care.'

The General Secretary said with the successful take off of the PMS it has encouraged eight pensioner associations to partner the NPA in forming a federation of pensioners groups to lead an advocacy for a medical Endowment fund.

Mr Ameyibor said since the inception of the PMS the Association has been able to distribute 10,000 cards to it members nationwide with 45 health providers signing on to the scheme.

He said some of the members have started enjoying the benefits with some undergoing prostrate operations and eye services supported by the PMS.

He explained that the Association initially targeted two health providers per region but that four hospitals in each area are working with the NPA.

He said Komfo Anokye and Tamale Teaching Hospitals are working with the Association and negotiations are advanced with the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital as well as some faith based hospitals.

The General Secretary announced that very soon about 3,000 pensioners in the Greater Accra Region, would be issued with EBAN Transport cards by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to access public transport at 50 per cent discount.

He said the exercise would be extended to all the regions before the end of the year.

He said in Tema Pensioners who are landlords have been offered a 30 per cent discount on property rates by the Metropolitan Assembly.

He said the branch is compiling the list of pensioners' property owners for submission to the Assembly.

Mr Ameyibor indicated that next year the NPA would be celebrating 25 years of service to pensioners under the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme.

He said under the leadership of the Association in the past six years the monthly pension for the lowest paid pensioners has jumped from GHa 52 to GHa 276 since it now has a representative on the SSNIT Board.

Mr Eric Cobbina District Chief Executive of Shama, showed appreciation and acknowledged the importance of the aged in the Society since they have loads of experience and expertise they could share with workers.

He said everything is being done to make them comfortable, hence the introduction of social interventions for the aged to enable them live longer.

Nana Kwamina Dekye Guantoahen of Shama Traditional Area who presided over the programme, commended the Association for its contribution towards the welfare of pension in the country.

He suggested that as a nation it is imperative to develop and implement long term policies that would ensure the distribution of food to pensioners and the aged on month bases, adding: 'It is worth noting that pension is synonymous with age.'

Nana Dekye who is also the Manager of the Lower Pra Rural Bank Ltd said it is also important for the government to enact a law that would enable pensioners and the aged to board public transport for instance Metro Mass at no cost,

He said last the Shama Business forum spent GHa 60, 0000.00 on the aged when it hosted the first ever international day for the aged in the Region.

GNA
Accra, Sept 14, GNA - Tigo Ghana has launched onto the Ghanaian market an innovative service that allows customers registered on Tigo Cash to buy airtime for anyone on any network in Ghana and in 100 countries across the world.

Dubbed Tigo Cash International Buy Airtime, the service provides customers the unique opportunity to buy airtime for friends and family members in Ghana and those resident abroad.

The countries include the United States, United Arab Emirates, China and Togo.

Briefing journalists, Mr Tara Squire, Commercial Officer, Tigo Ghana said customers roaming on the Tigo network could equally purchase airtime for themselves and other international networks at no extra cost.

'With the customers being our main focus for innovation, we have rolled out a number of innovative products and services over the past two years,' he said.

The products, he said, include Self-Registration, Self PIN Reset, Cardless ATM Withdrawal and bill payment services.

Mr Squire said Tigo has the best Mobile Financial Service Solution in Ghana tailored to suit the different needs of Ghanaians and glad to be at the forefront of financial inclusion in Ghana.

Gloria Adutwumwaa-Frempong, Customer Strategy Manager Tigo Ghana, said to be able to buy the airtime for friends, customers would need to dial *501*2# and select International Buy Airtime, enter the country code, and select network the airtime is being bought for.

The customer is then expected to enter amount and recipients number. Confirm purchase with his/her PIN and recipient would be credited instantly.

She said customers would be given the exchange rate equivalent in cedis when buying for friends or family members outside Ghana.

The rate will be made known to them before they go ahead with the purchases, she added.

GNA
14.09.2016 LISTEN

By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA

Accra, Sept. 14, GNA - NewsBridge Africa, a non-profit media training, advocacy and mentoring organisation, would hold a two-day media training for journalists in the three northern regions, aimed at strengthening the capacities of journalists in the regions.

The training session, organised in conjunction with Ghana Business News and sponsored by the United States Embassy, would bring together a team of qualified and experienced professionals to share knowledge and experience with participants from September 15- September 17.

On the theme: 'How to pitch a story and tell it better,' the training would seek to educate participants on the basic essentials of journalism including how to pitch a story, storytelling, social media activism and ethics of journalism.

Mr Emmanuel Dogbevi, Managing Editor of Ghana Business News and Executive Director of NewsBridge Africa, said the residential training would also identify the inherent opportunities in journalism as a mechanism for change and good governance, as well as identify the relevance of new media and how to use it efficiently.

He said despite the plurality of media in Ghana, the country's position on the World Press Freedom Index of Reporters without Borders had deteriorated, falling from 22 on the 2015 index to 26 on the 2016 Index out of 180 countries.

Ghana's status on the Freedom House Index had been downgraded from Free to Partly Free.

'In addition to these developments, the media landscape has continuously faced credibility challenges and has to a large extent not evolved beyond politics, starving the population of the necessary information for progress,' he said.

Mr Dogbevi expressed the need for good public interest journalism, which is dire in the three northern regions that always feature at the lower rung of the development ladder.

He said high standards of journalism could be used to address poverty in these areas, thus the need for the training.

Ms Sara V. Stealy, Press AtachA at the US Embassy in Accra told the GNA that her country believes that a free, fair and professional press corps is crucial to democracy.

In line of this the US has supported Ghanaian professional media organisations to sponsor training that helps the local media fulfil their important role.

'The media are particularly important during elections. They convey information from candidates to voters, but the media's role goes beyond simply transcribing what is said in a speech or a press release.

'Journalists have a responsibility to question what is said; to analyse it and fact check it; and to present that information to voters so they can make an informed decision on Election Day about who best represents their vision for Ghana's future.

'We believe all Ghanaians benefit when we work together to sharpen journalists' skills, and we're pleased NewsBridge Africa has developed this program,' she stated.

She noted that journalism has seen tremendous change in recent years due to technology and social media and journalists, like any other professionals, have to stay abreast of changes and take responsibility for their own professional growth by seeking out opportunities to develop new skills and to refresh the basics.

Ms. Stealy notes that while Ghana has d a lively media scene and was recognized and lauded for its press freedom, media here faced many of the same challenges faced by media around the world, including, how to be profitable and sustainable in a competitive environment; how to successfully combine traditional and digital reporting; and how to produce solid, intelligent stories in a 'click bait' environment.

She said the training will help reinvigorate journalists' commitment to their responsibility to question and fact-check candidate claims and promises and provide balanced, issues-based stories to help voters decide who to vote for, instead of getting caught up in personalities and rhetoric.

'At the same time, voters have a responsibility to demand that type of reporting and to make a conscious choice to consume responsible, issues-based reporting,' she stressed, adding, 'NewsBridge Africa brings a wealth of practical experience and academic study to this programme. We hope that journalists will come away with a renewed sense of purpose about telling important, issues-based stories and that they'll come away with improved skills and knowledge about how to pursue and tell those stories so Ghanaian voters feel informed as they head to the polls in December.'

GNA
14.09.2016 LISTEN

By Samira Larbie, GNA

Accra, Sept. 14, GNA - The Government Hospital Pharmacists Association, (GHOSPA) has asked government to implement the National Labour Commission (NLC) ruling in 2013 and the Cabinet sub-committee recommendations to help resolve their problems.

The NLC ruling placed the working conditions of pharmacists at level 18 and the committee recommendations talked about level 114 as interim market premium for pharmacists.

Mr Agyemang Badu, the National Chairman of GHOSPA, speaking at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday said if government complies with these recommendations, their problems would be addressed for the benefit of all.

He said the strike which is in its ninth day would be their last attempt to send the message clear to government that they have endured enough of the inequality and injustices meted out to them by the Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC).

Mr Badu noted that GHOSPA has been battling FWSC over the issue for six years now for unfair placement on the Single Spine Salary Structure, payment of market premium and other working conditions.

'For this reason we have given government an additional 10 days ultimatum to come up with a clear cut commitment to address the issues,' he stated.

He said the 10 days is to allow institutions who are mandated to see the resolution of the issue because it lays in their remit to ensure this problem is resolved once and for all.

After the said days, he added that they would unleash additional measures if government did nothing to drive home their grievances.

'We can no longer buy into more promises of tomorrow. We want to assure Government that having waited patiently for six years we are ready to ensure this issue is resolved, but after 10 days we will begin to deploy additional measures to bring our plights to the attention of the president, government and the good people of Ghana," Mr Badu said

Mr Badu said there is no position such as 'Pharmacy Managers' and that the directive from government ordering all pharmacies to open would not work because such people are all members of GHOSPA and have been suffering for the past six years.

He thus urged patients, clients, colleagues and superiors at work to bear with public sector pharmacists in this trying moments.

GNA
The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, has said the 25-year private sector participation in the ECG can be reviewed, as he allayed fears by workers of the company that they would lose their jobs.

In an interview with the B&FT at the launch of the Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP) project, which is to develop a master plan for Ghanas power sector, Mr. Jackson said the Compact contains a review clause which allows government to pull out before the end of the 25 years if it is not satisfied.

The period of the Compact is 25 years but it can be reviewed during that time. It is 25 years because it will take a long time for a company to recoup US$500m it has invested. But there is a review clause in place whereby, if the government is not happy with the concessionaires operation, it can be revisited, he said.

Enough education and consultations, he said, have taken place to sensitize all stakeholders to appreciate the advantages the Compact will bring to the economy in the long term, hence, ECG workers have no cause to complain.

There has been a lot of education about the Compact. Union has been very involved in the development of the Compact and so I am not sure why there is the resistance. I think it is best to explain that.Are the people of Ghana happy with ECG? I think the answer to that question is no. Should 5,000 or 6,000 workers hold the whole country to hostage and hold back its development? That is the question Ghanaians need to be asking, he said.

I think the workers are fearful of change. No one likes change and managing change is a real challenge. But I think it is a good deal for Ghana and I think it will put ECG on a firm foundation for future growth.

I am saying that I dont think that their concerns are well-founded. They have made lots of allegations such as: they will see higher tariffs. But it is not up to the new concessionaire to set tariffs. It is up to the PURC. The utility will still be owned by the government, he said.

He further dismissed the insistence by other commentators that the concessionaire will be an American private company, saying: There is no American company among the concessionaires.

The Millennium Challenge Compact II, which was signed on August 5, 2014 between the Republic of Ghana and the United States of America, represented by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) became effective on September 6, 2016.

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), which is the implementing body on Ghanas side, announced last week that the country had met all the conditions precedent to entry into force of the Compact and submitted all the required documentation in that regard.

Out of the over 60 companies that expressed interest, MiDA shortlisted six, out of which one will eventually be selected as the concessionaire to manage the countrys biggest power distributor for the 25-year period. Out of the US$498 million Compact amount, about US$350 million will be invested in the ECG as part of plans to make it operationally and financially more efficient.

The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, has said the 25-year private sector participation in the ECG can be reviewed, as he allayed fears by workers of the company that they would lose their jobs.

In an interview with the B&FT at the launch of the Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP) project, which is to develop a master plan for Ghanas power sector, Mr. Jackson said the Compact contains a review clause which allows government to pull out before the end of the 25 years if it is not satisfied.

The period of the Compact is 25 years but it can be reviewed during that time. It is 25 years because it will take a long time for a company to recoup US$500m it has invested. But there is a review clause in place whereby, if the government is not happy with the concessionaires operation, it can be revisited, he said.

Enough education and consultations, he said, have taken place to sensitize all stakeholders to appreciate the advantages the Compact will bring to the economy in the long term, hence, ECG workers have no cause to complain.

There has been a lot of education about the Compact. Union has been very involved in the development of the Compact and so I am not sure why there is the resistance. I think it is best to explain that.

Are the people of Ghana happy with ECG? I think the answer to that question is no. Should 5,000 or 6,000 workers hold the whole country to hostage and hold back its development? That is the question Ghanaians need to be asking, he said.

I think the workers are fearful of change. No one likes change and managing change is a real challenge. But I think it is a good deal for Ghana and I think it will put ECG on a firm foundation for future growth.

I am saying that I dont think that their concerns are well-founded. They have made lots of allegations such as: they will see higher tariffs. But it is not up to the new concessionaire to set tariffs. It is up to the PURC. The utility will still be owned by the government, he said.

He further dismissed the insistence by other commentators that the concessionaire will be an American private company, saying: There is no American company among the concessionaires.

The Millennium Challenge Compact II, which was signed on August 5, 2014 between the Republic of Ghana and the United States of America, represented by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) became effective on September 6, 2016.

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), which is the implementing body on Ghanas side, announced last week that the country had met all the conditions precedent to entry into force of the Compact and submitted all the required documentation in that regard.

Out of the over 60 companies that expressed interest, MiDA shortlisted six, out of which one will eventually be selected as the concessionaire to manage the countrys biggest power distributor for the 25-year period.

Out of the US$498 million Compact amount, about US$350 million will be invested in the ECG as part of plans to make it operationally and financially more efficient.

- See more at: http://thebftonline.com/business/energy/20948/ecg-compact-can-be-reviewed-us-ambassador.html#sthash.v29FrSEX.dpuf
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged South Sudan's government to take immediate steps to allow a new regional force to deploy in Juba as it weighed imposing an arms embargo.

Following a closed-door meeting, New Zealand Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, who holds the council presidency, said it was time for "actions, not words" from President Salva Kiir's government.

The council voted last month to deploy the 4,000-strong regional protection force (RPF) in Juba, which will be under the command of the UN peacekeeping mission.

The new force will help provide security in the capital and at the airport, and help protect UN facilities after Juba was rocked by heavy fighting in July.

Council members "call on the government to abide by the commitments it made and to translate them into concrete steps immediately," Van Bohemen said following the meeting.

"They called on the government to finalize with the United Nations the modalities for the deployment," he told reporters.

After initially opposing the force, Kiir this month agreed to the deployment during talks with council ambassadors who traveled to Juba for meetings with the leadership.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said the joint communique agreed between the United Nations and the Juba government on the deployment of the force "had not been acted upon at all".

South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup

Ladsous said it was now up to the council to decide on the next steps.

In the resolution, the council threatened to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan if the government blocks the regional force or impedes the work of UN peacekeepers.

Russia opposes arms embargo

US Ambassador Samantha Power said Kiir's government must quickly show that it will follow up on its commitment or it will face an arms embargo.

"If the government of South Sudan does not allow the regional protection force to deploy or does not allow the UN to move in a way that it needs to move to protect civilians, the United States certainly will support an arms embargo," Power told reporters.

George Clooney speaks at a news conference in Washington, DC, to present a report 'War Crimes Shouldn't Pay: Stopping the looting and destruction in South Sudan'

But Russian Deputy Ambassador Petr Iliichev said Moscow does not support a ban on arms sales to South Sudan, arguing that it would not help advance peace efforts.

"The government is going to stop the cooperation" with the United Nations if an arms embargo is imposed, Iliichev said.

"It will get them deeper into the trenches."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the council in a report last week that the first advance teams of the new force could begin arriving in Juba by the end of this month.

Ban said he would report to the council in October on whether South Sudan's government is cooperating.

If he finds it is not cooperating, that would trigger a vote at the council on the proposed arms embargo.

New Zealand's ambassador said the council was ready to consider "the appropriate next steps" including a possible arms embargo.

South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 after Kiir accused his former deputy Riek 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, 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 in the conflict, the United Nations has reported shocking levels of brutality including gang rapes and the wholesale burning of villages.
15.09.2016 LISTEN

Folks, Ive been contacted by some prospective voters to answer their concerns on what criteria should inform the electoral decision that they make on December 7 to retain the incumbent John Mahama in office or to ditch him for the NPPs Akufo-Addo. I have responded to them on the basis of my knowledge about their performance in public office, considering where they came from to be where they are today, what they have either done or failed to do thus far to prove that they can be trusted to keep Ghana on an even keel or discountenanced as mere irritants seeking power to serve interests known to them and their handlers. Its all informed by a clear understanding of what they did where they started from to be where they are itching for. Of course, I have done so with a clear conviction that Mahama transcended lower-level barriers to be Ghanas President, something that the NPPs Akufo-Addo has been struggling with all these years. Any bias here? Up to you!

We begin by saying that in all that some of us have been writing on and hitting hard at, we've sought to draw attention to the fact that governance in this 21st century is not a (Boston) tea party to be attended by just anybody, dressed anyhow and making all kinds of noise to attract attention. It is a serious business to be done by those who have acumen to do so, based on their record as people tried and tested to keep nation, country, body and soul together so the country remains what it was before then and will be hereafter.

Those conversant with Ghanas history know the truth: that the old and prosperous Ghana Empire vanished into thin air because it was not a homogeneous entity (as the NPPs revisionist historian, Adu Boahen, recorded it). And the NPP people are proud that it was their Dr. J.B. Danquah who gave the name Ghana to the territory that had before Thursday March 7, 1957, been recorded as the Gold Coast. They have prided themselves on that fact and sought to be placed in power to call the shots, forgetting that times have changed.

In our comments on happenings, we've made it clear that governance, especially in our part of the world, where there is much suffering in the midst of abundant natural and human resources, hasn't served useful purposes because of many factors, especially those that border on the human aspects.

We've also tried hard to analyze the performance of the various leaders and governments that we've had in Ghana since independence. Of particular interest to us now as we make the crucial decision for leadership is the performance of the individuals leading the political parties toward Election 2016. They are mostly not new to us. We have records on them but should be interested in knowing more than they have presented so far or what their buffs have stood their grounds to defend about them. I have my own impressions, which I spill out now, especially about the leaders of the NDC and the NPP, who are undoubtedly the front runners.

I begin with John Mahama and the NDC front. Remember that the NDC is an organism that must grow and shed off what doesn't work for it over the period. So must the other political parties struggling to kill it. Do you, for once, ever pause to find out why the NDC still grows from strength to strength despite all the massive machinations against it? For the sake of the history that the peeved NPP people cannot write, let us say here that before the emergence of the Rawlings phenomenon, there were only two main political streams in Ghana: the CPP and UP. When Rawlings stamped his authority on the system, everything changed, pushing the CPP and UP out of joint. The NDC has remained potent, leaving the CPP and UP to their own fate. The bitter truth is that the UP faction (actualized by this despicable NPP of our time) would wish the NDC dead. Wishes have refused to be horses here for beggars to ride.

Let me just refer you to what the senile J.H.Mensah said at the time Kufuor won the elections in 2000. (Flashback: As the Finance Minister of the Busia government, this same J.H. Mensah had orchestrated the payment of salaries in advance for Busia and his team, including John Agyekum Kufuor. And Kutu Acheampong dealt them the blow that they least expected, his being one of their own but turning against them for their nation-wrecking exploits). Mensah had told the whole world that by the time Kufuor would complete his first time in office, the NDC would have been dead and gone. And everything that Kufuor did to spite the NDC aimed at killing it. Did the NDC die? No!! Why? Go and figure it all out.

The NDC remained resilient and sprang back to put the NPP where it never thought it would be because of all the massive support that its props in every field of national life place it. Is it the judiciary? The mass media? The business sector? The security services? The criminal industry of armed robbery and open murder for political purposes? Smuggling? The drug business? Just anything to sustain it?

My friend, the NDC transcended all that stupidity to trounce the NPP and its Akufo-Addo at Elections 2008 and 2012 and will continue to do so because it capable of doing so, being the choice of the masses. The Rawlingses had spearheaded its activities up to Election 2004 but have lost traction now, given the fact that their insatiable personal ambition for power has no place in our contemporary politics, which they can't accept but which is a reality that has for some time now reduced them to absurdity.

When was the last time any of them said anything worthy of public attention? Nana Konadu and her NDP have folded up because those supporting have read deeper meanings into the duplicity and found better ways to make their presence felt.

But the NPP people haven't learnt any useful lesson in how to tap into the Rawlingses or to avoid them for their own good. Of course, as the intelligent observers of human behaviour have noted, it is only one bad nut that spoils the taste of the entire soup (Chinua Achebe on my mind here).

The way the desperate NPP and its Akufo-Addo are snuggling to him for nurturing speaks volumes. In any case, the Lion of Gonja did without the Rawlingses at Election 2012 and will do so again at Election 2016. Let Akufo-Addo go and suck anything govern him by the Rawlingses. He will not get the succour to survive at Election 2016 because he lacks substance. The election is about substance and what one's performance in public office beams across to the electorate. Should Akufo-Addo be honest to do a serious self-introspection, he should know that all the 12 years that he had spent as the MP for the Abuakwa area gave his people nothing to write home about. Even when placed in the high echelons as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, he did nothing remarkable to reform the Ghanaian justice delivery system. He is better known for the shoddy move by Kufuor to pack the courts with political activists disguised as judges. I hope Justice Acquah and all others of his type who benefited from that laxity will come back to tell us that they regretted being so abused.

There is a lot more for one to raise regarding how the electoral decisions to be made by the voters will be informed by hindsight as far as the status of Akufo-Addo and President Mahama is concerned.. It is not about so-called personal success in private professional life. Even here, Akufo-Addo has more questions to answer because of the cloudy nature of his qualification to practice law in Ghana, knowing very well that he hadn't been certified by the institution t6hat admitted him for legal training. A huge credibility problem here won't serve him well.

Just a quick one here. President Mahama is also the son of an accomplished politician who served under Nkrumah but was so self-effacing as not to be noticed as is done Akufo-Addo's father. Indeed, Akufo-Addo's father took bold steps to shield him but couldn't succeed because his own streaks of deviance overpowered his father's cushioning.

Talk about his withdrawal from the prestigious Oxford University after dismally obtaining a 3rd class in Economics at the University of Ghana and teaching at the Accra Academy, where he acquired the skills of wee-smoking that would push him into the records of Wikileaks and the United States Embassy.

Too deplorable, not to talk about his sordid immoral encounters with under-aged peanut sellers (Maiguziwa) parading the East Legon and Nima estates area where his father had established a safe haven for him. Such irresistible immoral instincts surface anyhow, anywhere, as happened on the occasions when he was captured fondling the breast of a GBC worker and patting the backside of the late Theresah Tagoe. Too much to say at this level. Let Akufo-Addo go to court on this score.

We also have evidence of the NPP fronts damning of President Mahama as a womanizer who has many children out of wedlock. But there is nothing to damn him in his official capacity as the politician ruling Ghana. So, anything about that blot vanishes. He is in office, posing serious challenges to his opponents. What can they do to dim his light apart from mobilizing their uninformed followers to indulge in negative politics? Thats their lot, not mine.

Let's return to the area of performance in public office as a major criterion for the electoral decision that the voters will make. Even before Akufo-Addo's 12 years as an MP, President Mahama had already made his mark. He has not been well-received by the people of Akufo-Addo's stronghold, but he has solved the pertinent problems negating their lives (providing potable water and ensuring that they live their lives in some measured comfort. Will they push ethnicity to the background and do politics properly? It is up to them and their Okyehene).

Many more issues come up beyond this point. The truth, though is that the Lion of Gonja has what Akufo-Addo lacks, which explains why he is in power and doing everything to secure a second term on the basis of his accomplishments while Akufo-Addo is desperately running around begging Ghanaians to try him too. And he says he won't stop begging Ghanaians for that matter just because he has found a good way of appealing to them through machinations, including weird promises of one village, one dam; one man one wife; one village one factory; and what else? Such a loony!!

As President Mahama recently said, Akufo-Addo is still stuck to the unproductive archaic ways of wooing voters. He is old and remains a fogey, which explains why he can't adjust to the times to know that winning elections in Ghana goes beyond what he is fixated on. Indeed and truth, he will be poked again where it hurts.

Let him get out of his cocoon to smell the coffee. Unfortunately for him, while he runs away from reality (probably because he is not well-cut-out to face that reality, a lot is happening. All the surrogates doing his dirty political work for him are successful only in undercutting him for Election 2016.

As public intellectuals, have positioned ourselves to see goings-on and will comment on them as we see them define the future of the contestants. No hatred for anybody. Only the facts as we see them will speak. Those who doubt it can set up their own systems for monitoring goings-on to enrich the conversation. Only the best is good for Ghana; not so? Thanks for being with me.

I shall return
The South African Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande has announced plans to have witchcraft included in the curriculum from 2018.

Speaking to representatives from student unions around the country, the minister announced the shocking move and urged future university entrees to consider taking Witchcraft. There is a lot we can learn from witchcraft, like how they fly in that winnowing basket. Imagine if we learn that skill. It will eradicate traffic jams and everyone will just get in their basket and fly. It also means we will not be importing fuel anymore. Blade said.

The announcement was met with boos and bottle throws from the packed auditorium who had gone to the meeting hoping the minister would announce a 0% fee increase for the coming year. The unperturbed minister also invited renowned witches to make an appointment with his office so they can have their skills tested and those outstanding would then be hired as lecturers.

He also invited witches from across the border, promising them permanent residents permits. I spoke to Gibs (Minister of Home affairs Malusi Gigaba) and he agreed to issue witches from outside South Africa with permanent residence permits. I heard Malawi and Zimbabwe have an impressive collection of witches. We are hoping they will heed the call, he added.

Applications is said to be closing on the 30th of September at midnight, after which an appointed panel with conduct interviews. There currently is an opening for 109 witches.
A Belgian prison counselor was drawn into tears during a visit to the Kumasi Central Prison where she witnessed what she considered appalling conditions of inmates.

Turkish-born Fatima Betul says the prisoners deserve a better life than what they are going through presently.

She led a delegation of Betulabla Foundation, a Turkey-based NGO, to donate three cattle and ten bags of rice to the facility.

The teams visit to the Prison was to fulfill the wish of a Ghanaian imprisoned in Brussels, Belgium.

The unnamed inmates dream is to establish a foundation to reach out to inmates in Ghana who have been languishing in prisons.

The Kumasi Central Prison is one of the over-populated correctional facilities in the country.

With an original capacity of 414, the prison is now home to at least 1,700 inmates.

Nhyira News checks revealed inmates are plagued with diseases such as tuberculosis and chicken pox with infected persons exposing their relatives and other members of the public who visit them to cross infection.

Also, poor feeding has been the bane of inmates as officials struggle to maintain the centre.

For inmates, a taste of beef is not only a privilege but an honour.

Chaplain at the Prison, Superintendent Paa Kwesi Ansah believes the donation will make a difference in the lives of the inmates.

It will make a difference especially when they enjoy the meat and the rice as well. It has been a long time they tasted cow meat so I think they will enjoy, he revealed.

Led by Deputy Director of Prisons, Lord Nii Boye Tagoe, the Ashanti Regional Prisons Commander on the tour, members of the Turkish team were touched by the poor conditions in the prisons.

Speaking mostly through an interpreter, leader of the group told Nhyira News the inmates deserve improved conditions comparable with their counterparts in Belgium and elsewhere.

Betul is appalled circumstances in a prison in the Belgian town of Brussels where she has been working as a counselor, especially accommodation is much better than what is available for their counterparts in the Kumasi Central Prisons.
15.09.2016 LISTEN

A little over three hundreds Liberians professionals and casual laborers will benefit jobs for the next eighteen months as a result the Peoples Republic of China continues gesture to the People of Liberian in her reconstruction drives.

About a year plus now the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pay a two days visit to the President and people of Liberia just the Ebola crisis subsided and promised that China was ready in Liberias reconstruction drives and as evidence the engineers where to come back to continues the their assessment for the construction of ultra modern ministerial complex and the expansion of the National Legislature.

Foreign Minister Yi told the President of Liberia H.E Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in his remarked that his Country as sign of the good partnership between the Countries China was the first Country to risk her military medical team when touch down at the Roberts international airport with tons of millions dollars worth of medications for the Liberians people when the entire world was asking her people out of Liberia due to the Ebola decease.

In his concluding statement, the Chinese diplomat says that his government is joining with the government and people of Liberia in their drives for Liberias reconstructions and the development of the human resource capacities especially Liberias youthful community in giving them skills without attaching ant string!

Barely a forth night ago teams of Chinese engineers are seem in Monrovia the Liberian Capital at the various site including the seat of the first branch of government the Legislature for the expansion work s and the Israeli constructed uncompleted National defense headquarter of the Armed forces of Liberia in oldest Congo a suburb of Monrovia fencing the perimeters of the area.

Speaking in an exclusive but brief interview with this writer, via mobile phone the Deputy Head of the President Delivery Unit (PDU) at the Ministry of States Mr. Amos Siebo Jr. said that the Ministry of Public works and the Chinese engineers has been in series of meetings geared toward implementing the second more expensive undertaking by the Chinese in Africa in Liberia for months now.

Mr. Siebo indicated that the constructions work at the Capitol building and that of the Ministerial complex will last for 18 months affording a little over 300 Liberian professional and casual laborers benefitting jobs in various fields. Accordingly the Ministerial complex will be compares of six ultra modern buildings with five been use for agencies of government and ministries and one use for multipurpose facilities whiles the Capitol building will added with additional two wings facing the Executive Mansionhe asserted. He also said that the Chinese indicated that constant electricity and water system are prime priorities during their work at the seat of the law makers.

The deputy head of the President delivery Unit said that two companies are presently on the ground to carry on these constructions works including China Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co. Ltd. For the ministerial complex while China Jiangsu Jiangdu Construction Group Co. Ltd will do the Capitol building.

Mr. Siebo also indicated that the Ministry of Public works is seriously alongside the Chinese engineering team considering constructing an over path routes in order to decongest the traffic from Sinkorand that of the ELWA junction during the morning and evening hours. He said that the reasons are that vehicle owners who got no absolute activities at any of the ministries or agencies of government will have the free passage from either side whiles those wanting to transact business at these agencies and ministries will freely drive to the complex to do their activities.

In a related development Public Works Minister Judy Moore indicated that the Liberian ministerial complex and the expansion of the Legislature is the second more expensive undertaking by the Peoples Republic of China in Africa costing sixty millions United States dollars (60.000.000.00). Minister Moore made this disclosure recently in Monrovia when he appears on a local talk show.

It can be recalled that the Chinese government through the Ambassador accredited near Monrovia H.E Ambassador Zhang Yue at the farewell reception for the 2016 scholarship beneficiaries held the Chinese Embassy said that as part of Chinas promised to the people of Liberia the bilateral scholarship will be increase to additional 25 slogs thus making the Chinese government scholarship to 75 slogs for Liberia.

Speaking further, Ambassador Yue said that the Chinese government provided 11 slogs of one year Master scholarship and about 200 training opportunities for Liberians students, professionals and military officials just for this year programs.

He said in addition, the Chinese government has also provided the Chinese Ambassador scholarship and Chinese enterprises scholarship to good-performance students in the various universities and colleges inLiberia and it is of great significance that more than 300 Liberian students benefit from scholarship every year as part of the Chinese people promises to the People of Liberia in building up the human resource capacities as well.
In its quest to deepen the role of journalists in promoting parliamentary democracy in Ghana, a five member delegation of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC)-Ghana, last week paid a three day official visit to the Tanzanian Parliament.

The visit, which was upon the invitation of the Tanzanian Parliament, was to enable the delegation to interact with the leadership of the Tanzanian National Assembly as well as the Tanzanian Press Club also known as the Bunge Press Club.

It was also to afford the delegation the opportunity to learn of the best practices, specifically on how the National Assembly relates with the media so as to make practical recommendations to Ghanas Parliament for consideration.

The visit is coming on the heels of recent challenges confronting the media in Ghanas Parliament amidst complaints of unfair treatments, welfare issues and inconsiderate working conditions, among others.

The five-member delegation was led by the Dean, Andrew Edwin Arthur and four others, including the Secretary Stephen Odoi-Larbi, Financial Secretary, Francis Yaw Kyei, Vice Secretary, Jeorge Wilson Kingson, and Simon Ampasa Agianab, a senior member of the press corps.

In Tanzania the delegation met with the Speaker of the Tanzanian Parliament, and also had a brief interaction with the Prime Minister of Tanzania on the purpose of the visit. They were taken round the House by the Director of Public Relations of the Tanzanian National Assembly and the Deputy Director of International Relations of the House, Mr. Prosper Minja.

The delegation also had interaction with the members of the Bunge Press Club.

Receiving the Ghanaian delegation in his office at Dodoma, the Speaker of the Tanzanian National Assembly, Honorable Job Ndugai, recounted his school days in Ghana and how hospitable Ghanaians are and have been to him anytime he met with them anywhere in the world.

He said, Tanzania has followed Ghanas democratic journey over the years with keen interest and that, it was wonderful that, both countries are initiating moves to learn from each other.

The Prime Minister of Tanzania, Kassim Majaliwa, in a separate meeting with the delegation, also welcomed the initiative of an exchange programme among the two journalists associations.

The Head of Information, Education and Communications Unit of the Tanzanian Parliament, Owen Mwandumbya, who took the delegation round the various sections of his department and the operations of the House, explained that, they place premium on information management, which is why a separate structure has been created solely for the management of information. According to him, the media have been recognized as a key player in their democracy, as such, they always go the extra mile to make the journalist feel comfortable while at work.

The delegation met an organized press gallery with separate offices for the various arms, including Radio, Television, Print and Online.

The delegation was told that, Journalists and media houses that want to belong to the Bunge Press Club or cover specific meetings of the House are well scrutinized, especially their educational backgrounds before given accreditation.

In the Tanzanian Parliament, almost all their Committee meetings are opened to the media, the delegation was told.

Members of the Club, in an interaction with the Ghanaian delegation, shared their challenges and limitations when operating from the House.

Leader of the Ghanaian delegation, Andrew Edwin Arthur, in an interview said, the visit has been an eye-opener as it has enabled the team to learn from the best practices of the Tanzanian press club.

He gave the assurance that, all the lessons learnt would be put in an official report for presentation to the leadership of the Parliament of Ghana for consideration.

He said, the ultimate aim is to see an enhanced parliament-media relationship in the interest of Ghanas democracy. SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE VISIT BELOW

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The United States welcomes The Sentrys report chronicling public corruption among South Sudans leaders, including President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar.

The track record of corruption in South Sudan is extensive  including abuse of preferential access to foreign currency, theft of state assets, and corruption in contracting and procurement. While corruption is harmful in any part of the world, it is especially appalling in a country on the verge of famine and struggling to build a government after only five years of independence. We and other partners have consistently made clear to South Sudanese leaders that they must implement reforms to fight corruption and increase the transparency of public finances, as part of implementing the peace agreement.

While leaders have been pillaging government coffers, international donors including the United States have remained steady supporters of the South Sudanese people, providing basic services including health and education that are essential for the populations future, as well as massive lifesaving assistance that has helped avert famine over the last two years. The U.S. Government provides no direct financial support to the Government of South Sudan.

As Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth made clear last week during congressional testimony, the Department of State is pursuing measures it can take to deter corruption by South Sudanese officials. We are working closely with The Sentry to ensure the information it has collected is used to that end.

The United States remains a friend of the people of South Sudan and we are deeply disappointed that their leaders, given the opportunity to build a successful country at independence and a second chance to harness peace for progress with the August 2015 peace agreement, have failed to put aside personal power struggles and individual enrichment for the good of their people.
Education indeed plays a pivotal role in the development of a nation, thus, the proactive approach to improving accessibility and quality is not through political gimmickry, but through well-thought through policies.

It is, however, not expedient for any authority to attempt to bridge social inequalities through irrational distribution of national resources (Li, Savage , Ward 2008).

Clearly, our current crops of politicians are playing with our educational system. For, if that was not the case, how could a whole government promise one student one tablet as a means of advancing the students social mobility?

In Ghana today, it is pretty normal for many young people to come out of higher institutions without superlative employable skills that can improve their chances of securing a desirable employment that will help them realise their potential and enter the social mobility pipeline.

Sadly, however, we have arrived at this unfortunate situation because our politicians have failed miserably to provide the necessities for quality education.

In fact, it is not just the matter of the children passing through our unequipped educational system that will bring about their social mobility, but it is rather by providing them with positive outcomes (Bridge 2016).

To be quite honest, the NDC Partys manifesto pledge of one student one tablet is a sheer political inebriation that cannot be deemed as a well-thought through policy. For, it appears as a hasty votes buying gimmickry that wont add to the needed advancement.

The advantageous policy, however, is to go the United Kingdoms way of providing study resources to schools.

In the United Kingdom, schools have learning resource centres or libraries that are replete with study equipment such as computers, fax machines, scanners and printers.

As a matter of fact, the UK government does not buy individual students study equipment. The only exception though, is, the disabled people, who are often entitled to learning support, including study aids and equipment.

In fact, the eligible disabled students can get help towards their education under the Disabled Student Allowance scheme.

For example, the help towards the purchasing of specialist equipment such as accessible computer because of a disability (Full time and part time student may get 5212 for the whole course).

However, from 2015/16 academic year, eligible students will pay 200 pounds towards the cost of purchasing a new computer.

Moreover, a disabled student may get a non-medical help of up to 20,725 for full time students a year and 15,543 for part time students a year.

The non-medical help includes funding towards a notes taker or personal assistant.

Besides, an eligible disabled student may get help towards the costs of travel. A full time student may get 1,741 and 1,305 for part time student a year.

Lest I forget, the preceding disabled student entitlements are for the eligible undergraduate students. Whereas the eligible disabled postgraduate students may receive a lump sum of a little over 10,000 towards the procurement of study equipment such as accessible computer, and other expenses.

As a matter of fact, I view the UKs Disabled Student Allowance scheme as an innovative policy that ensures that eligible disabled students get help and support to go through the educational system and gain meaningful employable skills and qualifications.

Obviously, such an advantageous policy will produce more independent disabled people in society. They wont have to sit on streets corners begging for alms.

Now back to the NDC Partys irrational policy of one student one tablet ; once again, I must state that it is not an expedient policy that any serious and a committed leader has to put forward.

For if anything at all, the government has to set up community resource centres or libraries and equip them with study equipment that will help those school children in the vicinity.

In fact, there are similar community libraries in the United Kingdom that children whose parents could not afford study equipment often take advantage of. I strongly believe we could do similar thing in Ghana.

Lets face it, though, the school children dont need a gadget called tablet, they rather need free education that will equip them with critical thinking skills.

K. Badu, UK.
15.09.2016 LISTEN

Background:

Currently, Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines are regulated in Ghana under the auspices of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Practice Council of the Ministry of Health (TMPC).

Traditional or indigenous medicine is defined according to the World Health Organization as practice that is specific to a particular jurisdiction. Alternative and Complementary in Ghana is an imported or foreign practice of Medicine that is outside the jurisdiction of mainstream or conventional medicine. These Practitioners are licensed depending on their various levels of education and research in any form of the practices to operate legally in Ghana without interferences.

The focus of Medical Practice in Ghana is focused extensively on conventional medicine whilst almost about 80% of the populations have used any form of alternative medicine. More people are drifting to traditional and alternative system of medicine partly because it is patient friendly with minimal side effect. The philosophies of these practices are to do no harm to the patient.

In Ghana today, research into traditional and alternative medicines are underfunded but Ghana stands a chance of becoming one of the Medical World powers if special attention or Ministry is dedicated to Traditional and Alternative medicine. The Likes of China, India and other countries are typical examples of countries profiting from these therapies. Ghana can do better if it channels its resources to this area.

In this publication, I am bringing to the forefront of future governments and the Political Parties to have a second look and create a new Ministry to take charge of Traditional and Alternative Medicine. India currently has done this and it has sharpened their Alternative Medical System and today they are generating billions of dollars from these areas.

Literature Review of Summary of Case studies from India Ministry of AYUSH

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a mission to raise awareness and appealed for home-grown health treatments. The Prime Minister, Modi has repeatedly called for greater use of India's health remedies and exercises, part of a push to promote traditional learning. During his first address at the United Nations, he encouraged more people to take up yoga and called for an International Yoga Day.

"This is our system and it has not received enough prominence. We will take it to the masses," said Shripad Naik, who took charge of the Ministry of AYUSH

The formation of the ministry comes days after the government unveiled plans to set up a regulator for traditional drugs. India wants to expand its presence in the estimated $100 billion global market for alternative medicine, Reuters reported.

The success of the new ministry would depend on additional budgetary allocation, a government official told Reuters. The government allocated 10.69 billion rupees ($174 million) to develop and promote traditional health systems in the 2014-15 financial year.

Finally the Ministry of AYUSH was formed on 9th November 2014 to ensure the optimal development and propagation of AYUSH systems of health care. Earlier it was known as the Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H) which was created in March 1995 and renamed as Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in November 2003, with focused attention for development of Education and Research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy. Previously it was under the India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Bharatiya Janata Party, in its election manifesto, said it would increase public investment to promote AYUSH and start Integrated Courses for Indian system of Medicines and Modern Medicine.

So basically, the Current Ministry of Health in Ghana which has a department in charge of Traditional and Alternative Medicine should also be elevated to a new Ministry by an incoming government

Bodies under India Ministry of AYUSH

Bodies under the control of the Department of AYUSH are:

Research councils:

Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Medicine Science(CCRAS)

Central Council for Research in Siddha Medicine (CCRS)

Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM)

Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy Medicine (CCRH)

Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy Medicine (CCRYN)

Pharmacopoeial Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM)

Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL)

National Institutes (Education in Indian Medicine):

National Institute of Ayurveda Medicine, Jaipur (NIA)

National Institute of Siddha Medicine, Chennai (NIS)

National Institute of Homoeopathy Medicine, Kolkata (NIH)

National Institute of Naturopathy Medicine, Pune (NIN)

National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore (NIUM)

Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Medicine, Jamnagar, Gujarat (IPGTR)

Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth(National Ayurveda University), New Delhi (RAV)

Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga Science, New Delhi (MDNIY)

Professional councils

Central Council of Homoeopathy Medicine (CCH)

Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM)

Central Council of Sowarigpa (Tibetan) Medicine (CCTM) Central Council of Naturopathy Medicine(CCNM)

Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission

Collaborations

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL): Collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), set up in 2001, to prevent grant of "bed" patents on traditional knowledge and biopiracy. The digital library is being developed on codified traditional knowledge on Indian systems of medicines such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga. Nearly 805,000 Ayurvedic formulations, 98,700 Unani formulations, and 9,970 Sidha formulations have been transcribed in patent application format in five languages: English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese.

Indian Medicine Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL), Mohan, Uttaranchal (a public sector undertaking)

The Cabinet gave its nod to the agreement for collaborative activities to be signed in the area of traditional medicine between the AYUSH Ministry and the World Health Organization in Geneva.

The Case of Traditional and Alternative Medical Practitioners being unqualified charlatan Professionals

Critics of Traditional and Alternative Medicine often question the effectiveness of traditional remedies over modern medicine.

"There is a need for larger awareness in ayurveda. It can't be limited to a doctor only. Our ancestors made good health a part of life," Indian Minister of AYUSH said.

For instance, according to Dr. George Georgiou, the Academic director of Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine and Holistic Center in Cyprus article on Doctors attacked Natural Medicine Practitioners in Cyprus spoke a lot to reveal all the damming facts between Conventional Practitioners and Natural Medicine Practitioners.

According to his article, the tactics they are using are highly unethical and unprofessional; basing their attack on the fact that all natural medicine practitioners are unqualified charlatans and people should not trust them with their health he said. This was after a program called 60-minutes on one of the national channels Sigma, showed how paid comedians acting as patients would enter natural medicine practitioners clinics with hidden spy cameras and record the practitioner treating them. Excerpts from this were taken completely out of context and shown on this national TV channel.

The conclusion in all cases was that they were all charlatans and were not practicing proper medicine. Most of these practitioners are highly qualified and the most successful on the island.

The behavior was instigated by one Dr Vasos Economou who is the President of the Ethical Committee for Medicine.The Doctor feels that using spy cameras is quite acceptable and normal behavior and there is no ethical issue involved as it is for the protection of the people of Cyprus! This has become a legal past-time here in Cyprus, practiced by TV stations in collusion with the medical fraternity.

The true objective of this propaganda is to frighten potential patients to stop going to natural medicine practitioners who are apparently reducing the medics income. They do not want the natural medicine practitioners to "eat from the same pie." There is no thought to the benefits that patients can receive from natural medicine, only self-interests are at stake.

The implication of this bullying is that natural medicine practitioners do not know what they are doing and therefore are dangerous.

This implies that all the universities and their professors who teach natural medicine around the world are also charlatans out to exploit everyone, and teach dangerous diagnostic and treatment regimens to their practitioners.

It seems to be OK for medical practitioners to dabble in natural medicine without any training because they are medics Dr. George asked

However, highly qualified natural medicine practitioners with many years of university education, who may be scientific researchers, authors, clinicians and university professors, are all charlatans, along with the universities that awarded these degrees and diplomas.

DEFINITION OF CHARLATANISM

Dr. Georgiou asked the Medical Practitioner Dr. Economou who started the witch-hunt to define Charlatanism - the main idea of charlatans is that they swindle or cheat their patients to satisfy their own interests, Dr. George said.

Notwithstanding, Dr. George admitted that, Indeed, there are charlatans on both sides of the screen, both medical doctors and natural medicine practitioners - this is based on the practitioners personality, not their qualifications.

Dr. George further said that in Cyprus, with the organized medical industry of over 2,000 medical practitioners, charlatanism has reached its peak amongst them. Most doctors that belong to the clique receive back-handers from medical laboratories for sending patients to them for blood analyses, from pharmaceutical companies for prescribing drugs, from medical centers for referring patients for scans, as well as from colleagues for referring a patient.

The patient gets trapped in this group of medical professionals who certainly cannot be objective when there are so many monetary rewards for simply signing a piece of paper.

Dr. Georgiou, a media star Holistic medical practitioner therefore used this opportunity to define charlatism - who is the charlatan now, he asked?

The medical doctor who tries to bleed the patients finances for their self-interests, or the natural medicine practitioner who genuinely cares for his patients and wants them to do well, offering them only what they need for diagnosis and treatment.

CHARLATANS" DO NOT KILL PATIENTS!

The philosophy of natural medicine is its operate on patients friendly environment and does not kill patients unlike many of the lethal side-effects of drugs used by modern medicine, not to mention the negative consequences of surgery and radiation.

It is incredible when we look at the statistics regarding Iatrogenic Diseases - these are the diseases and symptoms that are actually caused by medical interventions, mostly drugs. In just the last five years there have been ten times more patients affected by iatrogenic diseases than the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War! Dr. George stated. He further backed his claim with a statistic that comes straight from the Journal of the American Medical Association after a study of drug side-effects.

Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu is a Research Professor of Prostate Cancer and Holistic Medicine faculty of Holistic Urology, Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine, Larnaca City, Cyprus. He is the National President of the Alternative Medical Association of Ghana (AMAG). A registered alternative Medical practitioner with specialty in orthomolecular oncology, Prostate Cancer Policy maker and researcher. He can be reached on 0541090045. E mail: [email protected]
15.09.2016 LISTEN

This is the continuation of the part 1.

PROFIT - MONEY AND MORE MONEY!

Dr. George said conventional medicine is all about medicine and in reality that we are living today.

Modern medicine is run by big pharmaceutical companies whose interest is in making money from patenting expensive drugs - there is no primary interest in curing people of difficult health problems.

The problem is that they also brain-wash medical doctors to believing that these magic drugs can solve all the health problems of the world. Wrong again! He said.

If this was the case, then why are the rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and many other health problems increasing? Surely, if drugs could solve all these degenerative diseases, then they would have been eradicated by now! He asked

Dr. Guylaine Lanctot, M.D. who wrote The Medical Mafia has this to say:

"The medical establishment works closely with the drug multinationals whose main objective is profits, and whose worst nightmare would be an epidemic of good health. Lots of drugs MUST be sold. In order to achieve this, anything goes: lies, fraud, and kickbacks.

Dr. George Georgiou further said Medical Doctors are the principal salespeople of the drug companies. They are rewarded with research grants, gifts, and lavish perks. The principal buyers are the public - from infants to the elderly - who MUST be thoroughly medicated and vaccinated...at any cost!

DEATH BY MEDICINE - THE STATISTICS!

Finding cure for a remedy is not luxury, it is a human need and no one should use this need to for personal gains. Something is wrong when people die of this need.

According to Dr. Georgiou, Something is also wrong when regulatory agencies pretend that vitamins are dangerous, yet ignore published statistics showing that government-sanctioned medicine is the real hazard.

Until now, no one had ever analyzed and combined ALL of the published literature dealing with injuries and deaths caused by government-protected medicine. That has now changed.

Backing his claim he said a group of researchers who methodically reviewed the statistical evidence and their findings are absolutely shocking.

The researchers have authored a paper titled Death by Medicine that presents compelling evidence that todays system frequently causes more harm than good.

This fully referenced report shows the number of people having in-hospital, adverse reactions to prescribed drugs to be 2.2 million per year.

The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million per year.

The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million per year. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million per year.

The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year.

It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US.

(By contrast, the number of deaths attributable to heart disease in 2001 was 699,697, while the number of deaths attributable to cancer was 553,251).

Each year approximately 2.2 million US hospital patients experience adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to prescribed medications.

In 1995, Dr. Richard Besser of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections to be 20 million

In 2003, Dr. Besser spoke in terms of tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually

Approximately 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually in the US, while approximately 8.9 million Americans are hospitalized unnecessarily.

The estimated total number of iatrogenic deaths - that is, deaths induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures - in the US annually is 783,936.

It is evident that the American medical system is itself the leading cause of death and injury in the US. By comparison, approximately 699,697 Americans died of heart in 2001, while 553,251 died of cancer.

The Campaign for Truth who conducted a lot of this research (www.campaignfortruth.com) also estimated that over a 10-year period a total of 7.8 million iatrogenic deaths occurred which is more than all the casualties from all the wars fought by the US throughout its entire history.

Their projected figures for unnecessary medical events occurring over a 10-year period also are dramatic.

These figures show that an estimated 164 million people - more than half of the total US population - receive unneeded medical treatment over the course of a decade.

IS CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE WORKING?

This is what they had to say to the question, Is American Medicine Working? which could of course extrapolate to medicine practiced all over the globe:

US health care spending reached $1.6 trillion in 2003, representing 14% of the nation's gross national product. Considering this enormous expenditure, we should have the best medicine in the world. We should be preventing and reversing disease, and doing minimal harm.

Careful and objective review, however, shows we are doing the opposite. Because of the extraordinarily narrow, technologically driven context in which contemporary medicine examines the human condition, we are completely missing the larger picture.

Medicine is not taking into consideration the following critically important aspects of a healthy human organism:

Stress and how it adversely affects the immune system and life processes

Insufficient exercise

Excessive caloric intake

Highly processed and denatured foods grown in denatured and chemically damaged soil

Exposure to tens of thousands of environmental toxins

Instead of minimizing these disease-causing factors, we cause more illness through medical technology, diagnostic testing, overuse of medical and surgical procedures, and overuse of pharmaceutical drugs.

The huge disservice of this therapeutic strategy is the result of little effort or money being spent on preventing disease.

They go on to conclude:

We are fully aware of what stands in the way of change: powerful pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, along with other powerful groups with enormous vested interests in the business of medicine. They fund medical research, support medical schools and hospitals, and advertise in medical journals.

With deep pockets, they entice scientists and academics to support their efforts. Such funding can sway the balance of opinion from professional caution to uncritical acceptance of new therapies and drugs. You have only to look at the people who make up the hospital, medical, and government health advisory boards to see conflicts of interest. The public is mostly unaware of these interlocking interests.

For example, a 2003 study found that nearly half of medical school faculties who serve on institutional review boards (IRB) to advise on clinical trial research also serve as consultants to the pharmaceutical industry.

The study authors were concerned that such representation could cause potential conflicts of interest.

A news release by Dr. Erik Campbell, the lead author, said,

"Our previous research with faculty has shown us that ties to industry can affect scientific behavior, leading to such things as trade secrecy and delays in publishing research. It's possible that similar relationships with companies could affect IRB members' activities and attitudes.

MEDICAL ERRORS - A GLOBAL ISSUE

A five-country survey published in the Journal of Health Affairs found that 18-28% of people who were recently ill had suffered from a medical or drug error in the previous two years.

The study surveyed 750 recently ill adults.

The breakdown by country showed the percentages of those suffering a medical or drug error were,

18% in Britain

23% in Australia and in New Zealand

25% in Canada

28% in the US.(113)

In 1995, a JAMA report noted,

"Over a million patients are injured in US hospitals each year, and approximately 280,000 die annually as a result of these injuries. Therefore, the iatrogenic death rate dwarfs the annual automobile accident mortality rate of 45,000 and accounts for more deaths than all other accidents combined."(23)

At a 1997 press conference, Leape released a nationwide poll on patient iatrogenesis conducted by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), which is sponsored by the American Medical Association (AMA).

Leape is a founding member of NPSF.

The survey found that more than 100 million Americans have been affected directly or indirectly by a medical mistake. Forty-two percent were affected directly and 84% personally knew of someone who had experienced a medical mistake.

MORTALITY RATES DROP WHEN DOCTORS GO ON STRIKE!

Making his argument on this assertion, Dr. Georgiou further said that it is interesting to see what happened in Israel in the year 2000 when Industrial action by public health doctors helped to reduce the death rates in most of the country.

A large number of doctors across the country went on strike for 127 days while funeral directors complained of less work. To find out whether the industrial action was affecting deaths in the country, the Jerusalem Post interviewed non-profit making Jewish burial societies, which perform funerals for the vast majority of Israelis.

HananyaShahor, the veteran director of JerusalemsKehilatYerushalayim burial society said,

"The number of funerals we have performed has fallen drastically."

Meir Adler, manager of the Shamgar Funeral Parlour, which buries most other residents of Jerusalem, declared with much more certainty:

"There definitely is a connection between the doctors sanctions and fewer deaths. We saw the same thing in 1983 when the Israel Medical Association applied sanctions for four and a half months." Interesting!

MEDICAL BRAINWASHING

On this particular issue, according Dr. George, When one discusses issues with medical practitioners there is definitely a brainwashing that does not correlate with the scientific literature or even their own personal experiences working with their patients.

They literally believe that if everyone in the world only had enough drugs in their bodies, we'd all be super healthy!

If we just had enough vaccines with Thimerosal, (a preservative used which contain 50% mercury to give to babies and has increased the autism rate), and enough cholesterol drugs for all the senior citizens, and enough antidepressants for all the middle-aged people, we'd all be healthier, they claim.

And the way to get more people healthier is, to push more drug ads to mandate more vaccinations. To require more "mental health screening" of schoolchildren, just in case they might need ADHD (attention deficit) drugs such as Ritalin

Watch out for the concluding part

Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu is a Research Professor of Prostate Cancer and Holistic Medicine faculty of Holistic Urology, Da Vinci College of Holistic Medicine, Larnaca City, Cyprus. He is the National President of the Alternative Medical Association of Ghana (AMAG). A registered alternative Medical practitioner with specialty in orthomolecular oncology, Prostate Cancer Policy maker and researcher. He can be reached on 0541090045. E mail: [email protected]
The flagbearer of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) has accused members of the ruling NDC of rejoicing at the demise of the late President John Mills.

According to him, although some NDC members pretend to be hurt by his death, many of their leaders believe that his death paved way for them to retain the presidency in the 2012 elections.

Addressing a rally in Cape Coast, the business magnate told residents of the region not allow themselves to be deceived again by the NDC in the upcoming election.

He said the NDC is not genuine about their promises to Ghanaians.

Mills was our kinsman and he became the president. Some people criticized and attacked him till he died. And some of the NDC people themselves, thanked God that Mills died, is that not strange? And after his death they came back here to tell us to replace him with another person from the Central region. After all that's how they go about provoking us that if Mills had not died, the NDC wouldnt be in government today....It appears as though they deliberately pushed him to the seat so they can commit the wrongs behind him," he said.

President John Mahama during his tour of the Central region urged the chiefs to accord him the same support as they gave late President Atta Mills, who was a son of the central region, as he is committed to developing the region just as the late Mills.

But Dr. Nduom has called on the people of the Central region to vote against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 7, election because they were not fair with the late law professor.
Ho, Sept. 14, GNA - Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli has cautioned stakeholders in the impending general election against making the polls a 'survival of the fittest contest'.

He said all must go by the country's constitution, which requires fairness.

Togbe Afede was addressing Volta Regional Executives and some members of Election Taskforce of the National Democratic Congress who called on him.

'We don't want Gabon here so we must give all players a level field,' he stated, and called on the political parties to shun tribal politics and unite the populace for peace and development.

Togbe Afede observed that insults are gradually characterising the election campaign and said the development was due to selfish interest of politicians.

'Because of their intent to short change the country, they insult and fight to win at all cost to enrich themselves. They have forgotten that leadership is call to service,' he said.

Togbe Afede also expressed concern about 'winner takes all' politics, saying it is not creating opportunity for all, with a few politicians getting all contracts and jobs, stifling initiatives of citizens.

He said politics is not an end in itself and asked politicians to use the platform to bring development and happiness to the citizenry. GNA

By A.B. Kafui Kanyi
Hon.Abdallah Abubakari

15.09.2016 LISTEN

Our greatest primary task is to transform Mamprugu. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. I am certain that my fellow mamprusis expected that on the induction of Hon. Abdallah Abubakari into the office of the regional minister, he will change and transform mamprugu with condor.

This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth,the whole truth,nothing but the truth,frankly and boldly. No need we shrink from saying the truth the ruling National Democratic Congress government and Hon. Abdallah Abubakari have really change and transformed mamprugu.

The first gentleman of the country his Excellency Wumpini John Dramani Mahama has fulfilled his promised to the people of mamprugu to establish college of education in mamprugu. The gambaga college of education is now among the public colleges of the country and the credit is directed to the ruling government. it is on records that there was a teacher training college in mamprugu but was converted into senior secondary school by the leadership of the vision less Busia-Danquah tradition in the 1970s.

This policy of the Busia government was a big blow to the people of mamprugu until his Excellency established the gambaga college of education. The first batch(pioneers) of the college have been posted to serve mamprugu and the nation as a whole.My distinguished fellow mamprusis if we don't want this what else do we want.

Aside the the gambaga college of education, the Nalerigu Health Assistant School has also witness massively infrastructural development and its subsequent upgrading to the status of general nursing and midwifery college.

The ruling government has chalked a lot of success on education not forgetting also the infrastructural development in all the senior high schools in mamprugu and every district within mamprugu have had its share of the national cake in terms of development which wouldn't have been possible even with a mamprusi vice president if NPP had won the 2012 elections. We now afirm the saying that a good friend is better than a biological brother.That is obviously what his Excellency Wumpini John Dramani Mahama is exhibiting to the good people of mamprugu.

It can be recalled that Hon. Abdallah Abubakari joined the the President to commissioned the Kparigu water project during the president accounting to the people tour of the northern region. A sod was also cut to construct Ghana education service district office complex in walewale. The work on the walewale-Nalerigu road was also inspected by the president and Hon. Abdallah Abubakari.

The regional minister and our member of Parliament hopefully come 7th December, 2016 also solved finally the acute water problem of the residence of Wungu and Nasia. Hon. Abdallah Abubakari has fixed the problem which would have taken about two decades to be solved if residence were ask to contribute for the water project as was the case of Wungu.

The ongoing works on the Walewale-Wungu road,walewale-Zangum road, Tampulingu road and the Akamara junction road linking the Nalerigu road are all through the efforts of the widely respected regional minister Hon. Abdallah Abubakari.

Hon. Abdallah Abubakari has equipped the west mamprusi district health insurance office with machines to facilitate the registration of the citizenry in the district. Aside the donation of the computers to the district health insurance office ,Hon. Abdallah Abubakari also made cash donation of six thousand Ghana cedis for the registration of the less privilege into NHIS.

As indicated in my previous article that Hon. Abdallah Abubakari also dug and drenched dams in five communities within the west mamprusi district. It evident that he is really the originator of the NPP one village one dam. Hon.Abdallah Abubakari has executed that already. Our opponents stole the policy of the distinguished regional minister and all what we can say is to give credit to the member of Parliament hopefully by the Grace of Allah.

Looking at the evidence based achievements of the ruling government in mamprugu nothing is expected of us than to come out in our numbers to retain Wumpini John Dramani Mahama at the presidency and also vote for each of the national Democratic Congress parliamentary aspirants in all the five constituencies in mamprugu for more development. Our agenda still remains unchanged. It is all about changing lives and transforming Ghana of which mamprugu is not exceptional.

I shall return with more biegya.JM Zang-tugi.

ABDUL MAJEED ALI(FOUNDING MEMBER AND AN INTERIM EXECUTIVE OF STUDENTS NETWORK FOR JM AND PC'S IN MAMPRUGU)


Residents of Ayigya, a suburb of Kumasi, watched in horror as a sexagenarian, said to be a former accountant of the Ghana Highways Authority, was killed in a ferocious fire on Tuesday night.

Sampson Silver Quaye was said to be sleeping in his room in the Boys' Quarters when the fire started around 8:30 pm.

An eyewitness, Isaac Amoah, a resident of the area, told DAILY GUIDE that three fire tenders rushed to the scene after the fire personnel received an emergency call 15 minutes earlier.

According to him, The fire officers found the remains of the man after they put out the fire about 30 minutes later, adding that neighbours and co-tenants were astounded by his death.

Mr. Amoah said the ferocious fire gutted the five rooms and several properties.

Although nobody, apart from the deceased, was injured, the house and everything in it were destroyed.

I have seen numerous home fires, but nothing compares to this particular one, the witness indicated.

Kumasi has recorded several major fires due to extreme dry conditions which have destroyed several homes, markets and shops, among others.

A fire officer disclosed that the building was severely damaged and that an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the fire.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi


A group calling itself Coalition Against Concession of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has accused the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) of impersonating the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in the privatization of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

Richard Asante Yeboah, convener of the group, speaking at a stakeholders' press conference recently in Accra, said the coalition had intercepted documents prepared by MiDA and International Finance Corporation (IFC) on tariff adjustments, which by law ought to be done by the PURC.

He said the role of MiDA in the whole privatization was scandalous and therefore the entire process should be abolished for further consultation.

The tariff adjustment document, which was made available to BUSINESS GUIDE, was a 'Draft Tariff Methodology' on the concession for the management and investment in the Electricity Distribution Business of the ECG.

The document, which was prepared by MiDA and its Transaction Advisor, IFC, proposed rates that would be charged for electricity services.



PURC Angry

However, PURC, upon chancing upon the document in circulation, wrote to the Authority to express its displeasure about the alleged illegal act.

It also reminded the Authority that the Commission has the sole mandate to fix utility tariffs in the country.

The Commission, in a letter written to MiDA, warned MiDA and IFC to take immediate steps to withdraw the document in circulation and take appropriate measures to avoid re-occurrence of the same situation in future.

Issuing of licence

This paper also sighted another MiDA draft document on Electricity Distribution and Sales License bearing the logo of the Energy Commission (EC).

The Energy Commission has been mandated under the constitution to ensure electricity distribution and sale of licence.

The Commission, after intercepting the documents, expressed dissatisfaction with the action of MiDA and IFC and disassociated itself from the document in circulation.

We wish to request MiDA to take immediate steps to withdraw the said document in circulation and put measures in place to ensure that this does not happen again in future, the Commission said in a letter written to the Authority.

Workers of ECG, who took part in the stakeholders' conference, urged government to look at other alternatives for private sector participation.

Government sued

Meanwhile, an advocate for the protection of public property has filed a suit at the High Court seeking to stop the proposed Private Sector Participation (PSP) in ECG.

The plaintiff, Saaka Salia of Kotobabi, Accra, wants the court to compel the authorities to suspend the process because of fraud and breaches of some laws.

He has cited the Attorney General, MiDA, PURC and the Energy Commission as defendants.

Five members of the Convention People's Party (CPP) have also sued MiDA over the privatization of ECG.

The five persons, in their statement of case, said it was risky to entrust the administration of ECG into the hands of a private company since electricity is a security asset of gross national importance and value.

Currently, MiDA has shortlisted six companies for the takeover of ECG.

By Cephas Larbi

[email protected]
Alfred Korlie Matey presenting the items to the police and supported by some executives of the association

Mobile Phone and Accessories Dealers Association has donated mobile phones and television sets worth GH36,355 to the Greater Accra Regional Police Command.

The items, which comprise 162 phones and 15 TVs, would support the police to monitor the December polls.

Alfred Korlie Matey, Chairman of the Association, who presented the items to the police, said the items would help the police to sustain a peaceful business environment for the businesspeople to operate, stating the kind gesture is also part of our social responsibility.

A month ago, we received a letter from the Accra Regional Police command, asking for assistance in the form of mobile phones with built in radios and television sets to enable them monitor the upcoming December 7 elections, hence our donation to the service, he said.

Mr Korlie Matey stated that members of the association contributed GH10,000 for the renovation at the Nima District Police Station.

If you add the Nima District Police renovation to this donation, the association has spent a total amount of GH46,355 on the Ghana Police Service, he said.

Korlie Matey pleaded with all the political actors to ensure peace before, during and after the polls.



Members of the association that donated the items include Freddies Corner, Gafkwa Trading Enterprise, Nellys Phones, Ericsther Phones, Siaka Phones, Rutabe Phones, Kwamena Phones, Keebee Phones, Capital Phones, Forest Phones, Franko Phones, De-Chris Company Limited, Ricamp Phones, Big Ben Phones, Majesty Phones, Mobile Zone-Techno, Big Amoateng Phones, Rosedan Pones, Vew Phones, Joe Agengo Phones and Osofo Phones.

ACP Paul Ayittey, Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, who received the items on behalf of the Command, commended the association for the kind gesture and called on others to emulate it.

Indeed, this is an attestation that our brothers in the mobile phone business are ready to partner the police to ensure that peace is maintained before, during and after the elections.

He said the items would go a long way to boost their operations to make the polls successful.

By Cephas Larbi

[email protected]
The vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, has expressed alarm at the vulnerability of the country's financial sector.

At a public lecture in Accra recently, Dr Bawumia cited Economic and Financial data from the Central Bank, which showed that non-performing loans have risen sharply from 11.2 percent in May 2015 to a critically high 19.3 percent in May 2016.

The Asset Quality Review of Banks conducted in 2015 shows significant vulnerability of banks to current economic conditions, and that if the affected banks were to provision fully for all bad loans, a significant number of them would collapse.

Eight banks were identified to exhibit significant weaknesses, with capital adequacy ratios below 10 percent (some below 5 percent) and nearing collapse.

He stated that the level of impaired loans in one of the largest commercial banks had quadrupled, adding that the situation was becoming widespread in the banking sector.

Complete loss

Available information shows that due to non-payment of these loans, the banks have declared GH2.4 billion of the outstanding stock of loans as a complete loss and are making provisions against profits. Certainly these are resources that could be channeled to create more industries in our communities.

Though Dr Bawumia did not mention the affected banks, analysts fear huge loans contracted from some 13 banks by the Volta River Authority (VRA) was to be blame for the development.

The affected banks, owed in excess of $2.2 billion as at March this year, included Ecobank, Stanchart, Unibank, Zenith Bank, GT Bank, UBA, UMB, CAL Bank, Access Bank, Stanbic Bank, Fidelity Bank, Firs Atlantic Bank and Ghana International Bank.

The figure does not include current interest, roll over fees.

Credit to private sector

Real credit to the private sector, he averred, was on the decline.

As at May 2015, the annual flow of credit to the private sector was GH4.5 billion (around $1.7 billion).

For the same period in May 2016, the yearly flow of credit from the banks to the private sector had declined substantially to GH1.7 billion (around $445 million). This is the extent to which private sector activity has been deprived of loan liquidity, a condition that is affecting their economic fortunes, including creating jobs to alleviate poverty and growing to also boost growth in the economy as a whole.

Public institutions

He further raised concerns about the ability of some public institutions to settle their indebtedness to players in the banking industry.

By some estimation, these public institutions are indebted to the banks to the tune of about 4-5 percent of GDP and this will require careful monitoring to avoid an explosive situation.

He also added that the poor state of the microfinance companies was equally of critical importance given the role they play in Ghana's economy in supporting micro-businesses.

By Samuel Boadi

[email protected]
Kingsley Kwasi Yeboah aka Kingsley Nyamekye aka Samuel Kingsley Yeboah aka Moses Aka Don

Kingsley Kwasi Yeboah, an alleged notorious armed robber, who purportedly shot and killed Corporal Francis Abalo attached to the SWAT Unit of the Accra Regional Police Command, has been killed in a shootout at Asofan, Accra.

He was killed after allegedly engaging the police in another exchange of fire at Nyamekye Fadama Junction at about 9:30pm on September 8, 2016.

His body has been deposited at the Police Hospital while one of his reported accomplices identified as Edem Kelvin Appiah, who was arrested on July 22, 2016, is facing trial.

The police are looking for three others (names withheld) who are still at large.

Confirming the story to DAILY GUIDE, ASP Effia Tenge, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Command, said Kingsley, upon seeing the police, opened fire on them, and the law enforcers returned fire, leading to his death.

Kingsley, who was said to be the leader of a gang of four, including Edem Kelvin Appiah, allegedly attacked one Otis Peprah and Paul Kwame Peprah who had returned from Canada for a funeral on May 19, 2016.

The suspects, reportedly armed with a pump action gun, locally made pistols and a dagger, purportedly attacked the victims at gunpoint in front of their house at Asofan and asked them to surrender all their belongings.

They robbed them of all the bags that they brought from Canada and took a total of $13,000, $4,000 Canadian dollars, GH250.00, a Bank of Montreal, Canada, Master card and three black berry mobile phones.

The taxi driver, who transported the victims from the Airport to their destination, was also robbed of his day's returns of GH650.

The suspects later marched the victims to one of the rooms and locked them up before they fled with the booty.

A complaint was later lodged with the police by the victims and while investigations were on-going, police received a tip-off that one of the suspects-Kingsley Kwasi Yeboah aka Moses aka Don  was hiding in a house at Asofan.

A police patrol team was dispatched to the place and their attempt to apprehend Kingsley led to the death of Corporal Francis Abaloo. He was shot by Kingsley before he escaped.

When a search was conducted in his room, the Master card belonging to Mr Otis Peprah was discovered. Two pairs of shoes, a pump action gun, two locally manufactured pistols with 16 live ammunitions, a dagger and torchlight were discovered in a bag in his room.

On July 22, 2016, police investigations led to the arrest of Edem Kelvin Appiah in Kumasi after he had allegedly taken part in another robbery operation.

Upon investigations, he mentioned Kingsley Yeboah as the ring leader, adding that after the robbery the items were shared in Kingsley's house and that each was given GH100 as transport.

By Linda Tenyah

( [email protected] )
Dear Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, a while ago, while you were addressing the 42nd General Council meeting of the Church of Pentecost, you charged Christians in the country to criticize your government if they see that things are going wrong.

I am currently far away touring the globe, and I initially wanted to have an excuse not to have published Simpa Panyin today. But I'm utterly inspired to stake a claim to your comment. For obvious reasons I am going to go straight to the point, and to make your reading very simple, unlike the complications Simpa Panyin has been noted for.

I am not sure if you spoke with your party men before making that statement, because I don't think they heard you, I don't think your party people get it. They don't, and I believe we need a lot of real reflective education, the kind of education that will purge our souls of the filth of thoughts, selfish intents, that which will rid us of the depth of madness, and empower us with the purity of governance, of nationhood, of citizenship; that is what we need.

I will like to ask you one question, before I proceed. Do you think I qualify to criticise your government? I am asking you this question because since resuming writing, there have been some people who feel that I should not involve myself in pointing out the wrongs in government, and that that terrain is too dangerous, it involves character assassination, blackmailing, and so on.

In my inaugral Simpa Panyin publication I did mention that I am waiting for whoever wins this year's election, then I will put the spotlight on that particular government. It is because I want to have a fair starting point by forewarning the would-be government, and surely it will be either NDC or NPP.

I am not sure if I have critised your government that much, you can go for all my publications and read things for yourself. Any objective minded person will agree that I have been very fair so far, of course except that those extremists will see only the things that go against them, not the things that go against others.

It appears to me, Your Excellency, that, in the next few years, and those years will soon come, that our governance and politics will have to be left to people of low substance. We face a real threat, a threat of seeing our Parliament occupied by people who would have insulted their way there, all the way up, to occupy our legislature. And since Ghana's constitution demands that the president appoints two thirds of his ministers from Parliament, we are nearing a point where the majority of our government ministers will be of no substance, and I predict that that day will soon come.

In recent times, the persons hardest hit by these political attacks have been Reverend Professor Martey, Reverend Dr Opuni-Frimpong, and Pastor Mensa Otabil. And I get so disappointed that their own members, members of ICGC, members of the Presbyterian Church, the Church of Pentecost, members of the affected church, who together can boast of millions of followers, can boast of thousands of schools, hospitals, universities, colleges of education, their own members are not rising in their defense; so disappointing.

I am not a member of any of those churches I have mentioned. I am a proud Methodist, but I feel utter pains when I see these men of God washed ashore by political communicators, and today I will focus only on Pastor Mensa Otabil.

Previously, I had made reference to an article authored by a supporter of your party, one Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor. Your Excellency, that article described Pastor Mensa Otabil in some unprintable terms, including being described as a charlatan, self-seeking, noise maker, and that he spews pure garbage and nonsense. That he speaks senselessly and loosely and unconscionably. That Pastor Otabil stoops so low in his madness. That Pastor Otabil is a rogue, is a crooked character, irritant, and ingrate.

His crime was that he had criticized your government, the very thing you have asked him (Pastor Otabil) to do.

But if I may ask; I am a private person, and I don't hold public office, so if my light goes off, who should I ask? If water is not flowing through my tap, who should I hold responsible? If I am feeling the pains of economic hardship, should I go to the opposition to ask why? Who exactly do I hold responsible for the failures in society?

People expect always that Pastors criticise the opposition parties in much the same way as they criticize the government. No, that is not how it should work. It is the work of the politicians to criticises each other, it is not my work to do so. My work as a non politician is to criticise the government, that is my role. I don't care about any opposition party, they are not the ones holding the purse, and they are not the ones with the duty to solve my problems.

Of course during elections, I can say I will vote for party A or party B based on their offerings, policies, and the issues they are campaigning on. But that is only related to election, it is not related to government business.

Currently I could be said to be one of the leading private employers in Winneba. With all of my companies together, I am nearing 200 staff on my payroll. Each year my organisation directly impacts over 1,000 children, youth, and women.

Your Excellency, do you think it will be fair for you to tell me that I should keep quiet over governance issues that affect Winneba? That I should not have a say in how the Effutu Municipal Assembly is governed? That I should sit down for the mess to be created, then I come back to lament? I should be okay, while I watch some people whose only experience has been how to upload pictures on facebook, I should watch such people to decide how to waste our money?

I promise you I will not involve myself in partisan politics, never (and I hope politicians understand the meaning of partisan politics). I will not offer myself for any partisan political elections, I don't even like it. But I will, wallahi, air my views on the rot, the loot, the bad governance, the shameful rape of our economy; that one I will say it, regardless of the political party in power, and I hope memebers of the opposition parties are listening too.

I used to shrink on these issues for fear of attacks. I used to want to please people by refraining myself, and keeping my thoughts to myself, but I believe sitting on the fence is not helpful, and what you have said has greatly encouraged me, to offer you constructive criticism to better govern me.

In the last few weeks, Pastor Mensa Otabil has been quiet. I am not sure if it is because he feels the insults are too much. But let us reason this way; that if I, a nobody, if I can speak on issues of national concern, why can't Mensa Otabil do same?

That man, from where he has come, he is deserving not only of national awards, but he has earned himself a position that when he speaks, the answers to his questions must come from those who have the moral turpitude, those who have the requisite knowledge, his answers must come from the likes of Seth Terkper (who holds the purse), Kwesi Nduom (a demonstrable industrialist), Ibn Chambas (a world class leader), Osei Kwame Despite (from zero to a mogul), the answers must come from people with deep thoughts, people who truly have Ghana's interest at heart.

Pastor Otabil's answers should not be coming from those who all they have achieved in life has been the amount of money they have stolen from the state, all that they have achieved has been using their political colors to rape our economy.

We have examples all over the world, of leading pastors who have helped shape the politics of their countries. We have classic examples in Reverend Jese Jackson and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr both of America, and we have Africa's example in Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

If Pastor Mensa Otabil, a person who, despite humble beginnings, has achieved so much for himself, and for his country, established a fully fledged university with thousands of youth benefitting, giving employment to thousands of people across this country, being followed by hundreds of thousands of worshipers across the globe, giving relief to hundreds of individuals, if such a person cannot criticize a failing government (if he thinks so), then who else does deserve to criticize the government?

Martin Luther King Jr once said, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. When good intentions refuse to speak, the goats will dance, the pot will fall, the soup will spill, and our lives will end.

James Kofi Annan
Since it is our civic responsibility as citizens to assist in the fight against corruption, we shall not keep quiet on any deliberate omission or overlook the recklessness of any Ghanaian who has a responsibility to serve the state.

Government and appropriate stakeholders have been petitioned on many occasions relative to the corrupt practices that reign in certain public institutions and although some of these dishonest systems have been severed,still many others are operational including the birth and death registry.

The birth and death registry is an office that is charged with the duty of recording all births and deaths in the country and the issuance of certificates to citizens. But unfortunately, this department has been turned into a stall for making unrealistic personal profits.

Workers in this department are charging huge amounts of monies for the services they render to the citizenry and amazingly, charges differ from one worker to the next and from one service point to the other.

To worsen the frustration of innocent applicants to these department, workers rain heavy drops of insults on anyone who dare demands a receipt or asks of the approved Government charges. This act of our public servants is simply Unghanaian,a denigrating instrument to the presidency and an affront on the entire Ghanaian society.

I already a have birth certificate but it's over ten (10)years and I need to update it to the recent computerized system. I trekked the births and death offices at the Cocoa Board near Adjabeng's court, the other one around the Accra Poly and the Assembly press as well as their head office which is closer to the ministry of Agriculture near the sea and there were series of revelations that proved the fraudulent practices and thievery that goes on there.

Each of these bureaus had a different price tag to the job they do. It ranged between thirty (30) and fifty (50) Ghana cedis.

There was no posted notice directing applicants how much is appropriate to pay and there were no issued receipts to support their deeds.

I am therefore by this means calling on all stakeholders to rise up to this complaint and act on them expeditiously.

Especially, the minister and directors responsible must do so to safeguard the integrity of the Registry and shed away the unnecessary stress it has mounted on citizens.

Thomas Akanyibah

Accra

[email protected]
With barely three months to the December 7 polls, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is compelled to re-run its parliamentary primary in the Karaga constituency of the Northern Region.

This is because the party's 2016 parliamentary nominee for the constituency Ibrahim Basha Shaharawi has stepped down on health grounds.

Three persons have picked nomination forms to contest the upcoming Parliamentary primary re-run.

They are a former District Chief Executive for Karaga, Baba Wahabu, Firdaus Basha and Sulemana Iddrisu.

The filing fee is pegged at Ghc20,000 cedis and about 400 hundred delegates are expected to elect a worthy successor to Ibrahim Basha Shaharawi.

According to the outspoken NPP Northern Regional Chairman, Daniel Bugri Naabu, the primary is scheduled to take place in Savelugu for security reasons.

He served notice that his administration will not tolerate indiscipline at the primary grounds and thus urged the contestants and their supporters to be obedient.

Daniel Bugri Naabu is hopeful the NPP will win the Karaga Parliamentary seat regardless of who emerges victorious at the end of the Parliamentary primary.

He encouraged the party's members to unite behind the regional secretariat and their constituency executives to win more Parliamentary seats in the Northern Region.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:37-39

In 2008, when Barrack Obama became the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the U.S.A, he adopted the slogans Change We can Believe in, Change We Need, Hope , Yes, We can. Obama was the first African American in history to be nominated on a major party ticket. On November, 4, 2008, Obama defeated the Republican nominee, McCain of Arizona. The Latinos helped to propagate Obama's slogan: Si, podemos (Yes, We Can). Literally: Yes, it can be done. This was the motto of the United Farm Workers of Arizona. There was magic behind the message. Whatever we decide to do, together we can do it, simple.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, US President, in May 1961 proposed the manned Moon Landing in a Special Message to the US Congress: Now it is time to take longer strides- time for a great new American enterprise I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out, of landing man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space, and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish Kennedy did not pledge to make U.S. first, butcertainly not U.S. first, and and definitely not U.S. first, if, he chose to make US first. (period). Kennedy knew little about the technical details of the project, but he was focused on what he sought to achieve, even though the 30% budget increase for the NASA project was frightening.

On April 12, 1961, the Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first person to fly in space, and this had reinforced US fears about being left behind in a technological competition with the Soviet Union. At exactly 4:17 EDT, July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 became the first manned spacecraft to land the moon with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins as the crew. Thus, while the Soviets were the first to fly a man in space, it was the US who first landed men on the moon.

Why all these references to the United States of America, some of its Presidents and their acts, some of their electioneering slogans and messages. The answer is obvious: Take it or leave it, we are only mimicking what others have done before. We cannot re-invent the wheel, but certainly we can build on the invention of the wheel and improve upon it further. We only have to have the will, exercise our brains, challenge our abilities. Look at the developmental stages of the mobile phone from telegraph (by Samuel Morse in 1836). The template is available, and all one does is to copy (and paste).

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has not officially launched its official manifesto, but we have got snippets of what is contained therein. Whenever the leader, Nana Addo goes, he drops a hint. He talked about one district, one factory. And people sneering at this! He follows it up with one village, one dam. And people are reeling with laughter, and suggesting the impracticability of the projects.

Akua Donkor carries the joke to dizzying heights when she promises: one fisherman, one sea. But President Mahama must have been serious when he promised one house, one meter to residents of a town in the Central Region.

A factory for a district is over-ambitious? Someone thinks it is even possible to have more than one factory in a district. What kind of factory are we talking about?  What is the size? . What are the raw materials to feed the factory? What capital will be needed to set the factory up? Go to Akenten Appiah Menka- the Apino Soap man. He will give you a lecture on the possibility of establishing one factory in every district in Ghana. Or see Apostle Kwadwo Safo and learn about the possibility of turning a bushy area into a first- class modern industrial enclave.

Murtala Mohammed, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry thinks the concept (one district, one factory) does not make sense: Now you can say that you are going to abolish all forms of taxes people in Ghana will then have to consume those goods alongside the goods that are imported into this country freely. It simply does not make sense. But Kofi Adams, the National Organizer of the NDC thinks the one district one factory is not Nana Akufo Addo's bona fide policy. He argues that such a policy was Jerry John Rawlings' creation with the proposal being mooted by Ambassador Dan Abodakpi who identified 100 districts with raw materials to kick- start the project. According to Kofi Adams, the policy had already started under President John Dramani Mahama.

And what about one village one dam for the North? Is it all the Northern villages that need dams? The man Akufo-Addo is talking about those villages that need them, and why can't we build sizeable dams for these villages? Small minds may be thinking about dams like the Tennessee Valley Authority or Ghana's own Volta and Bui Dams. Oh no! Check the dams at Professor Frimpong Boateng's farms in some regions in Ghana or check the okro farms at Agbakope and rice farms at Dabala. Go to Japan or Israel- see what great minds can do. Didn't National Health Insurance Scheme work under NPP despite the derision of the detractors? There used to be the School Feeding programme; there used to be free medical care for pregnant women. Where are all these?

Christopher Reeve says: So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.

At independence, there were over 100 industries in Ghana. The problem was that they were all state-owned, including laundries, subjected to mismanagement- because aban-adze, wotwi no daade(whatever is government-owned, we drag it in the mud). How many 'gari factories' are in Kwamoso, a village in Eastern Region alone? How many 'bread factories' are in Nsawam alone? When 'we' visited a city in China, 'we' saw a sizeable room where a family could produce a container-load of cigarettes in a month. Please, don't ask me the brand of cigarettes.

Ryan Shupe and the Rubberland's song 'Dream Big' advises us :when you cry, be sure to dry your eyes, cause better days are yet to come. And when you smile, be sure to smile wide. And don't let them know that they have won. And when you walk, walk with pride. And don't show the hurt inside Because the pain will soon be gone. [chorus] And when you dream, dream big. As big as the ocean blue, Cause when you dream it might come true, For when you dream, dream big. Si podemos Si, se puede.
President John Mahama has indicated that the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration to be under his watch will ensure the allocation of a percentage of the petroleum revenue for the funding of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The presidential candidate of the NDC said this at the Banquet Hall, State House, on Wednesday in Accra while giving the highlights of the party's yet-to-be launched manifesto.

The president stated that there was the need to rework the sustainability of the NHIS, hence the need to look for new sources of funding for the National Health Insurance.

He said, In the next four years, my proposal is that a percentage of the annual budget funding amount that comes from petroleum revenues should be allocated to the National Health Insurance Scheme.

The president argued that the proposal being made by his party would prolong the life of the scheme and make it more efficient.

According to him, We are taking out the fraud, we are introducing more computerisation, bringing in more claim centres and all that; and so it will make the scheme more efficient going into the future.

He rubbished claims by critics that the NHIS has collapsed, saying, NHIS has not collapsed. We need to rework the sustainability of NHIS. It means that we are going to look for new sources of funding for NHIS. We'll continue to improve the quality of healthcare by registering more vulnerable people on the NHIS.

New Mental Health facilities

Still under health, Mr Mahama disclosed that the NDC government would prioritise mental healthcare and ensure the strict implementation of the Mental Health Act, 2012, Act 846.

He proposed, among other things, the need to move the Accra Psychiatric Hospital from its current location to Pantang, and develop the Pantang Mental Hospital into a first class mental health facility.

In addition, he said the NDC would also build two more psychiatric hospitals in the Ashanti and Northern Regions to help reduce the congestions at the mental health facilities available currently in the country.

According to him, the NDC would promote mental healthcare when given the nod at the polls in December.

He further indicated that the NDC intends to build 10 polyclinics in the Central Region, five polyclinics each in the Greater Accra, Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions over the next five years if they are retained into office.

The president said the party would also support the large scale cultivation of medicinal plants across the country.

BY Melvin Tarlue
Nairobi (AFP) - As Kenya prepares to close the world's largest refugee camp, a rights watchdog said the repatriation of Somalis from the sprawling Dadaab camp is based on misinformation and violates international standards.

Human Rights Watch, which interviewed scores of people in the vast camp last month, said Thursday that many Somalis are returning home involuntarily, only to face danger, persecution and hunger.

Kenya wants to close the vast camp housing some 263,000 Somali refugees in north-east Kenya by November, insisting it is a security threat and a drain on national resources.

"Many refugees ... say they have agreed to return home because they fear Kenya will force them out if they stay," said the HRW report after interviewing around 100 people at the camp.

Refugees spoke of intimidation by the Kenyan government, lack of information on ways of remaining or on conditions in Somalia, as well as fears of losing a $400 repatriation cash grant if they wind up being deported at the end of the year.

The vast majority of residents of the Dadaab complex of camps near the Kenya-Somalia border fled Somalia's more than two-decade-long conflict

"The Kenyan authorities are not giving Somali refugees a real choice between staying and leaving, and the UN refugee agency isn't giving people accurate information about security conditions in Somalia," said HRW's refugee rights director Bill Frelick in a statement.

"There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary."

The Kenyan government dismissed the report, however.

"I have looked at the report, which is full of falsehoods with the sole purpose of fundraising using the crisis yet the refugees are not going to benefit from it," said interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka.

Njoka said 100 refugees "purportedly" interviewed by HRW was a small sample compared to the more than 30,000 Nairobi says have already relocated since a voluntary return programme began in 2014.

An estimated 18,000 have returned this year -- 10,000 since the announcement of the camp's closure.

"It is totally false that the Kenyan government is coercing the refugees to go back to their country. We are working with UNHCR and the Somalia government to take them back to safer areas of Somalia," said Njoka.

"They are just out to malign the whole process for their own selfish benefit, this is a process that is being carried out transparently and with the consent of the refugees themselves."

'Fear and misinformation'

The HRW said Kenya's repatriation programme, "fuelled by fear and misinformation, does not meet international standards for voluntary refugee return," set out in a 1951 international Refugee Convention.

Since sending troops into neighbouring Somalia in 2011, Kenya has come under repeated attack from Shabaab, East Africa's long-time branch of Al-Qaeda, Islamic State's rivals.

Nairobi has taken a hardline position, claiming Dadaab acts as a terrorist training ground for Shabaab Islamists, and has publicly and repeatedly said it would remove all Somali refugees from the country by the end of the year.

"The Kenyan government needs to make clear that Somalis who don't feel that they can go back to Somalia right now are still going to be welcome in Kenya," HRW researcher Laetitia Bader told AFP.

"They need to give Somali refugees an option," she said, adding the United Nations had a responsibility to provide reliable information to the refugees on what they were going back to.

"Right now they're not doing that," she said.

The vast majority of residents of the Dadaab complex of camps close to the Kenya-Somalia border fled Somalia's more than two-decade-long conflict. Many remain fearful of returning to a country where insecurity remains rife.
The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Ghana, on 16th June 2016 affirmed the decision of an Accra High Court decision on the Progressive Peoples Party Self-elected Presidential candidate, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduoms Gold Coast Securities Ltd, for using fraudulent and gang-style means to acquire a listed private company, Expandable Polystyrene & Products Limited (EPPL) no the Ghana Stock Exchange about 10 years ago.

It is becoming much much clearer per the judgment of the Appeals Court of Ghana as a verdict on the character and person of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, particularly in recent past when the former Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) Madam Samia Nkrumah, sacked him (Nduom) from the party after their visit to the former leader of Libya Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

The objective and purpose of that visit and the amount doled out by the Gaddafi family, would be made known to the public in the coming weeks.

On the 3rd of August, 2016, Bailiffs accompanied by Police from the High Court, Accra entered upon the offices of Gold Coast Securities Limited at Asylum Down and the Ridge enclave to seize a number of assets in execution of a Judgment Debt.

The presence of heavy police presence at Gold Coast Securities premises attracted lots of journalist from nowhere, which later calumniated into commotion and scuffle between the staff of Gold Coast Securities Ltd, for entering into their place to cover the event to public.

In the encounter some of the journalists from multi media and others, were severely assaulted, locked in one of the offices of Gold Coast and their shirts torn into pieces for daring to cover the event on video camera. Later, the assaulted pressmen were offered them T-shirts and some cash amount not make the news public.

Gold Coast Securities Limited is one of Several Companies within the GROUPE NDUOM or GN Groupe with virtually all its shares owned the controversial and self-elected presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples Party and his American Tax evasion name, Paul York, now, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom and his wife, Yvonne.

Gold Coast Securities is a licensed dealing Member of the Ghana Stock Exchange and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as an Investment Advisor and Fund Managers, but this current judgment, means, it may lose it license once the court orders are effected fully to the letter.

In an attempt for Gold Coast Securities to restructure and list a private company called Expandable Polystyrene & Products Limited (EPPL) to the Ghana Stock Exchange about 10 years ago, as the appointed Transaction Advisor, vested heavily in the EPPL by paying some of its huge debts to Debtors, some of whom had obtained Court Judgment against it.

Gold Coast entered into an Agreement with the then Majority Shareholders in EPPL and gradually acquired shares held by them, first 18% and later 65% to assume controlling interest of 83% of the equity share capital  with all the powers to appoint 4 out of 5 of the Directors, all the Management Team, signatories to all Bank accounts for over 10 years.

Gold Coast has run the business of EPPL to this day and succeeded in pushing the other shareholders out of the Company.

The Accra High Court delivered her judgment against Gold Coast Securities Ltd. on 16th January, 2015 which was later affirmed by the Court of Appeal on 16th June 2016.

In the judgment, the Court of Appeal stated inter alia as follows:

To accept the argument of the appellant that the respondent never transferred any shares to it can only mean that the respondent had been illegally muscled out of his company without recourse to the law.

The implication is that the appellant had been running the company gangster-style. I am sure that is not what the appellant wants this court to believe happened.

I therefore think that the trial judge was right when he made the finding of fact that the respondent had legally transferred 65% of his shares in the company to the appellant who now has 83% of the shares of the company. That being the case, the learned trial Judge was right in ordering the appellant to obey the terms of the Share Transfer Agreement (Exhibit E) by paying the amounted to the respondent

Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom has remained inaudible as his star company has failed to pay its just debts making people wonder whether by failing to managing a small business, he can manage the Republic of Ghana, when given the opportunity.

Considering Nduom unknown and hiden character and personality, sheltered by some paid journalists, media houses and showbiz personalities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is monitoring development to see how Investors Money may be touched to pay the debt of Gold Coast.

I shall follow up on developments.
Just a few days after having a heated debate on disclosing the health status of presidential candidates before elections, news burst out about Hillary Clinton and her pneumonia diagnosis. The issue has been a topic on media circles this whole week, and it is refusing to be a nontrivial matter as election is fast approaching.

In our argument at the debate, my team raised points about the need for transparency on health issues of candidates, the health requirements of a political leader as stated in the Constitution, the longevity of tenure of office of leaders, the need to have strong and sound leaders for better governance, among others.

We cited leaders such as H. E. John Atta Mills and Nelson Mandela, both of blessed memory, as examples. Both were very good leaders who ruled the affairs of their nations well. What they had in common was how weak and unhealthy they were as leaders; mostly being sent to the hospital to receive medical attention. This indirectly affected their response to governance as a whole. What I am driving to the table is that they could have done a better job if they were much healthier.

Ghana was in total shock after the death of Atta Mills who died while serving as president making him unable to finish his tenure of office. This brought the nation to a sudden halt and chaos. A mighty tree had fallen and had left the nation in grief. A lot of issues come into play after such sudden unannounced matters arise. All too soon, such a leader who was firm, visionary, and full of positive ideas, had left the nation confused. What was the guarantee that his Vice who was to be sworn in as the next President was competent enough to take over? However, he was sworn in anyway, and the dire consequences of such occurrences are countless. Aside that, the citizens are denied the opportunity to decide if the really want this "new" to rule them or not.

In the same way, Nelson Mandela made waves as a leader. But truth be told, he was not fit enough to run around and monitor accountability very well due to old age and its related health issues. Well, we still cannot overlook his many accomplishments within the short period he reigned. Come to think of it, who is totally fit anyway? We all are "sick" one way or the other. Our only concern is for presidential candidates to be well screened in order for serious health problems to be identified earlier for treatment. This will also allow for voters to be aware of who they are choosing as a leader, and not to be taken aback by future surprises.

Hillary Clinton has by far come as the favorite of majority of Americans through polls which have been undertaken so far. The totality of her unique capabilities has won her many admirers and followers. The incident that happened on stage leading to the further announcement of her illness came as a blow. Surprisingly, her following has not changed significantly but this may go against her if matters are not handled properly and quickly. So here is the case where the health issue of a presidential candidate can go a long way of churning out votes for the other opponent, as may be the case of America, if care is not taken.

In view of this, we cannot overlook the need for a good health condition of someone who is aspiring to lead a nation. Such people must be proven to be intellectually, morally, and emotionally sound. In cases where there is a reason to doubt their health status, voters will have to decide whether they still would have them as leaders or not. They cannot be forced down on us by not disclosing their deadly health problems, and ending up using state resources to treat such ailments. That will be a deception on the part of the whole political party and the electoral commission in the sense of it.

Justica Anima

[email protected]

Switstica.blogspot.com
15.09.2016 LISTEN

Today, 15 September, is International Day of Democracy (IDD). It is the ninth commemoration since 2007 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 62/7, deciding that every 15th September should be observed as the international Day of Democracy. Last year, 2015, the IDD focusing on Space for Civil Society, emphasized the role of ordinary citizens in promoting democratic principles.

This year the theme is Democracy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; making it clear that the international community is serious about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has said that the implementation of the Goals must be underpinned by a strong and active civil society that includes the weak and the marginalized. Adding that We must defend civil societys freedom to operate and do this job of delivering development to ours and future generations.

Indeed, democracy is relevant only if it yields strategic dividends for development.

For this and other reasons, it is important, at least on such occasions, to without reinventing the wheel, rigorously interrogate the concept of democracy in the context of some practical, if evolving, observations. In doing this, we unavoidably have to examine things like human rights, governance and development. While the world hails as victory the virtual demise of monarchically ruled kingdoms and perfect autocracies; touting so loud what we claim to be huge strides of civilizations progress because of democracy, we cannot play ostrich to the significant level of insecurity and inequality that taunts us every day.

The roars of terror across the Middle East are not only causing trembling knees in the West; they are also establishing some credible surrogates in hitherto secured and ignored blocs and creating reprisals threatening a quest for bigotry from the least suspects . Now, as the head of the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, has said, the European Union is facing an existential crisis as it confronts the twin challenges of rising nationalism and Islamic terrorism. 62 individuals have a combined wealth more than that of three billion people and since 2004 there have been about 30 terror attacks in Europe, about half of which have occurred in just the last year.

Is our Democracy delivering the promise?

The operationalization of the Concept of Democracy

Democracy is a system of governance. Some sum it up in the now iconic phrase Abraham Lincoln made in his November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address: Government of the people, by the people, for the people. In many ways it is a process by which the well-being of a people is entrusted to the hands of a mandated cohort with the right to access and control the management of (national) resources in a manner that makes better the welfare of all citizens.

So it may be considered that Democracy begins with the construction of the framework for the process. Thus the formulation of a constitution is crucial. In Ghana, many have contended that the 1992 Constitution has decisive provisions that unduly benefit the political elite, especially the incumbent.

Perhaps this was a reason for which the aborted Constitutional Review process was themed to reflect a more developmental, rather than political, approach to governance. In other jurisdictions, arrival at a more stabilizing Constitution has been more tumultuous. Americas was preceded by a horrendous civil war. The practice of constitutional democracy is predicated on assumption that the interpretation of constitutional provisions would be objective. But reality is different. Thats why America and others make a big deal of who gets on the Supreme Court. At the end of it is the sad situation that politics is the critical determinant of how the pendulum of democracy swings.

Enter Politics: the quest for access and control of resources, driven by self-interest, for perceived enhancement of the peoples well-being. Intricate weave, in practice as well.

Self-interest and disinterestedness do not have to be mutually antagonistic. Disinterestedness is not uninterested-ness in self. But when self-interest leads, disinterestedness shrinks. This is what IMANI tried to point out on Bawumias NPP political delivery last week of the state of Ghanas economy. It is what Mahamas highlights on NDCs manifesto demonstrated this week: political parties and politicians have wired themselves to manipulate information for their self-interest. Thats what Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump are epitomizing on behalf of the Democratic and Republican Party in the U.S. Politics has hijacked Democracy and politicians across the world are making industry of it at the expense of their peoples.

More serious is the global dimension, where geo-politics wears the cloak of global democracy to destroy whole nations through imperialist self-interest.

If the U.S invasion of Iraq is dead news without its resurrected currency in their up-coming elections, the France-U.K-U.S led destruction of Libya and opening it up for ISIS invasion is fresh evidence of the recalcitrant hypocrisy of politics and politicians. In the name of promoting democracy in Lybya, the Western Allies started the bombings with and original aim of protecting Benghazi from Gadhafi threats. This goal was achieved in one day. Why then did the military intervention continue? The just released Report by the U.K. Parliament indicates the intervention was a calamitous invasion. Brexitically resigned U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, tried to shift responsibility by blaming the people of Libya for failing to take their chance of democracy, as reported by the Guardian. When we do things like this, we twist the concept of true democracy.

What we are practicing as Democracy is increasing veering away from what we promised ourselves at the turn of the twentieth century.

Our concept of democracy seems to have some interesting assumptions that 1. We are intelligent beings therefore we will act reasonably; or its more dangerous variant, to wit, we are intelligent beings so we are reasonable. 2. We are free so we act freely or we are free so we will act freely. 3., the majority (will) have their way. 3. The minority are marginalized 4. The minority should have their way otherwise they are being denied of their rights. Lets put these through brief discourse.

The 2015 World Development Report, authored by the World Bank and titled Mind, Society and Behaviour used extensive empirical data to underscore the present reality that, deviating from the premises of standard economic theories, people make choices based more on their automatic thinking system rather than their deliberative thinking system. In other words, most of the decisions and choices people make are not informed by well thought-out considerations. We assume ourselves to be rational beings when we actually arent often. Rather, nearly all our judgements are made automatically based on our mental frame.

The Report boldly disrupts our claim to thorough rationality: we normally think of ourselves in terms of the deliberative system-the conscious reasoning self-yet automatic operations generate complex patterns of ideas that influence nearly all our judgements and decisions. It explains that although often perfectly capable of more careful analysis, people are hard wired to use just a small part of the relevant information to reach conclusions. This is why here in Ghana, many dont care about Manifestoes. They will vote based on the campaign rhetoric of one-promise-two-excuses.
Introduction

To qualify for a Schengen visa, you must generally establish three things. One, you must justify the purpose and condition of your stay in the Schengen country. Two, you must show that you have the intention to depart before the expiry of your visa. Three, you must show that you have sufficient means of subsistence for your visit. Though there are other requirements, these three account frequently for most visa refusals.

Justify the purpose and condition of your stay

You must provide documents showing the purpose and condition of your stay. If you are visiting as a tourist, you must provide information detailing your plans for the visit. These should include a travel itinerary, hotel and flight booking, etc. However, the production of documents alone is not sufficient. You must explain your purpose well at the interview with clear knowledge about your plans for the visit. You must show sufficient knowledge about any places you wish to visit, the duration of your stay, entry and departure dates, and why the Schengen country is your preferred tourist destination. You must provide your answers in a clear and coherent manner to assure the consulate that you have sound reasons for your visit.

If you visiting a family or friend, you must show that there is a genuine relationship between you and the person. Evidence may include phone records, Whattsapp, Viber, Facebook or other means of communication. You may submit money transfer receipts if you are ordinarily dependent on the person. You must show adequate knowledge about the person including the nature of the relationship, the last time you met the person, how often you communicate, and information about the persons work, family and other personal details. Uncertainty in your answers may cause the consulate to doubt the claimed relationship.

How can you show that you will depart?

Generally, you must show that you have a stable socio-economic situation in your home country. You may prove this by your bank statements, employment letter, pay slips, business documents, etc. You may also provide ownership of real estate by title deeds, land certificates, indentures, leases, etc. You must provide these documents even if someone is paying for you.

In the case of students, the consulate would usually not expect to see a stable economic situation. However, you must prove your social or other ties as strongly as you can. You may prove your educational ties by your school fees receipts, hostel fees, academic transcripts, etc. You may obtain letters of reference from your academic heads detailing their personal opinion about your academic or other abilities as known to them. If you hold any leadership position in your school, you may provide a letter on headed paper stating your roles. If you are dependent on the person inviting you, provide evidence of the dependency.

How to show that you have sufficient means of subsistence.

Sufficient means of subsistence simply means that you have adequate funds to maintain yourself. Usually, the consulate will estimate the cost of your stay and the reliability of the financial documents you presented. If your accommodation is being provided free of charge or the cost of your stay is covered entirely or partly by your sponsor the assessment will be lower than the standard cost of living in the Schengen country.

If your sponsor provides you with a certificate of sponsorship and accommodation the consulate would usually accept that you have adequate funds to maintain yourself. However, you must provide proof of your own social and economic circumstances even if someone is paying for you. The reason is that even if the consulate accepts that someone is paying for you that is no proof that you will depart the territory.

Conclusion

The Schengen visa is both a documentary and interview based application. Do not rely on your documents alone to prove your eligibility. If you provide the most convincing set of documents but fail to confirm their contents with sound explanation at your interview, the consulate will be less likely to grant you a visa.

Emmanuel Opoku Acheampong

Disclaimer: This article only provides general information and guidance on Schengen immigration law. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of the use of this information. The writer is an immigration law advisor and a practicing law attorney in Ghana. He advises on U.S, UK, and Schengen immigration law. He works for Acheampong & Associates, a law firm in Accra. He may be contacted on [email protected] or www.acheampongassociates.com
Many first-year college students may get anxious at the thought of navigating their new campus and making friends, but 18-year-old Melanie Salazar already has someone older and wiser to show her the ropes: her 82-year-old grandfather.

The story of Salazar and her grandpa, Rene Neira, is going viral after she tweeted a photo from her grandpas first day of class this semester at Palo Alto College .

The octogenarian is in his second semester at the San Antonio, Texas community college with just one class left before he finishes his associates degree in economics. Salazar, meanwhile, has just started her studies there.

Grandpa and I are very close, Salazar told The Huffington Post. I like to say hes my best friend and its great to have him here with me.

She said that its nice to have her grandpa on campus, whether theyre walking to class together or grabbing lunch.

Neira first went to college in the 1950s, but after getting married and starting a family he had to put his dream of getting a degree on hold. He took classes throughout the years, but its only now that hes finally close to reaching his goal.

Salazars sweet social media post is inspiring dozens across the internet, young and old, by proving its never too late to accomplish great things.

My grandpa is very hardworking, she said. He will spend hours in the library studying on his own time because hes that dedicated to his education. Its amazing that his story can inspire so many people in this way.

With plans to graduate soon, Neira wont just stop with his associates degree. He hopes to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio to get his bachelors.

Incredible.
The flagbearer of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom has accused members of the ruling NDC of rejoicing at the demise of the late President John Mills.

According to him, although some NDC members pretend to be hurt by his death, many of their leaders believe that his death paved way for them to retain the presidency in the 2012 elections.

Addressing a rally at Cape Coast, the business magnate told residents of the region not to allow themselves to be deceived again by the NDC in the upcoming election.

He said the NDC is not genuine about their promises to Ghanaians.

Mills was our kinsman and he became the president. Some people criticized and attacked him until he died. And some of the NDC people themselves, thanked God that Mills died, is that not strange? And after his death they came back here to tell us to replace him with another person from the Central region.

After all that they go about provoking us that if Mills had not died, the NDC wouldn't be in government today.It appears as though they deliberately pushed him to the seat so they can commit the wrongs behind him, he said.

President John Mahama during his tour of the Central region urged the chiefs to accord him the same support as they gave late president, who was a son of the central region, as he is committed to developing the region just as the late Mills.

But Dr. Nduom has called on the people of the Central region to vote against the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 7, election because they were not fair with the late law professor.

-Starrfmonline
15.09.2016 LISTEN

A three storey building has collapsed completely at Ahenema Kokoben in Kumasi. According to the neighbours, they just heard heard something unusual similar to an explosion.

They rushed out and realized the three storey building has been brought down as it appears only God knows what happened.

The incident took place around 3am in the morning. Fortunately, nobody was harmed or injured.

More details soon.
The Unemployed Registered Nurses Association of Ghana has demanded that the Ministry of Health fasttrack the postings of its members or face its wrath.

According to the Association, the Ministry of Health has neglected them over the last five years, following the completion of their courses, denying them the opportunity to put their skills to good use.

The Association also accused the Ghana Health Service of some form sabotage.

Speaking to the media after picketing at the offices of the Ministry of Health yesterday [Wednesday], Spokesperson of the group, Benson Amoako also alleged that, this year a communication was sent to all the directorates of the Ghana Health Service across the country to ensure that no university graduate should be given the opportunity to buy the forms.

He also said he the association had hard evidence to back these claims saying,we have copies of such communications that have actually brought a lot of frustration.

Mr. Amoako lamented that the Ministry of Health has totally neglected nurses trained from the universities, but said his association was ready to fight this to the end.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
A Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mary Nsenkyire, has ordered a man caught with 1,013.0 grams of cannabis to be held in prison custody.

Kwabena Frimpong Darkwa, alias Righteous, a 33-year-old shoemaker, has been charged unlawful possession of narcotic drug and he pleaded not guilty.

He would make his next appearance tomorrow, September 15.

Police Chief Superintendent Emmanuel A. Akunnor told the court that the accused was arrested on November 25, last year.

He was found with the hard drug on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter passenger bus, traveling from Kumasi to Nyinahin.

Police officers had stopped the bus for routine check, when the dried leaves were found.

Darkwa admitted ownership, arrested and handed over together with the substance to the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Police for further investigation.

The prosecution said the accused mentioned one Rasta in Abuakwa as his source of supply but could not lead the police to the said man.

Sample of the leaves sent for forensic laboratory examination proved to be cannabis.
The South Sudan Commission on Human Rights just concluded its first mission to South Sudan. This Commission was established by the Human Rights Council in March 2016 under resolution 31/20. The Commission has been tasked with the following mandate:

(a) To monitor and report on the situation of human rights in South Sudan and make recommendations for its improvement;

(b) To assess past reports on the situation of human rights since December 2013 in order to establish a factual basis for transitional justice and reconciliation;

(c) To provide guidance on transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation and healing, as appropriate, and  once the transitional Government of national unity is fully formed, operational and commits to ending the violence against the civilian population and to cooperating with the hybrid court for South Sudan  to make recommendations on technical assistance to the transitional Government of national unity to support transitional justice, accountability, reconciliation and healing;

(d) To engage with other international and regional mechanisms, including the United Nations, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the African Union and its African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission Chair and civil society, with a view to providing support to national, regional and international efforts to promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses

The Commission began its mission in Juba, South Sudan on 8 September 2016 during which time it met various actors including UNMISS senior leadership including the deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Civil Society and internally displaced persons in the UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites (PoC). The Commission also met Ministers of the Transitional Government of National Unity of South Sudan including the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, the Minister of Justice and the UnderSecretary for Foreign Affairs. In addition, the Commission met with the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) as well as several members of the Assembly.

The meetings with government were carried out in a spirit of mutual cooperation and touched on critical issues of accountability particularly in respect of previous and current investigations and inquiries that the government had either conducted, instituted or committed to. Commission members also raised with Ministers the establishment of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS) as well as access to reports of the various military courts-martial with reference to the number of people who are reported to have been executed. In respect of the Hybrid Court, Government officials including members of the TNLA indicated their willingness to cooperate with the African Union on its establishment in accordance with the provisions of the August 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the

Conflict in the Republic in South Sudan (the Peace Agreement). The Commission also raised access to the Bill amending the Penal Code to incorporate international crimes. Commission members raised the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing as well as the Compensation and Reparations Authority as set out in Chapter 5 of the Peace Agreement. In respect of the Chapter 5 Institutions, Government Ministers advised that they were in discussions with UNDP which is providing technical assistance.

Regarding investigations of allegations of human rights violations and abuses, the Ministry of Justice undertook to make available various reports requested by the Commission including the report of the National Investigative Commission headed by former Chief Justice John Wuol.

Commission members also met with civil society groups including religious leaders. While the Commission had planned to visit the PoC site in Juba, this was not possible given the security situation at that time. However, UNMISS officials facilitated a meeting with the PoC leadership in order to receive their feedback on the human rights situation and the violations and abuses reportedly committed in Juba.

Commission members travelled to Bentiu and made a stop in Malakal. The visit proved to be extremely useful as the Commission was able to visit the Malakal UNMISS PoC site housing IDPs and obtained an extensive briefing on the human rights situation there. The Commission observed the deplorable conditions under which the IDPs live.

In Bentiu, the Commissioners met with the UNMISS Head of Field Office and her team who provided a briefing on the human rights situation. Commission members also met with the Committee of Elders from the POC site in Bentiu. Commissioners were taken on an extensive tour of the POC sites in Bentiu. Commission members also held two meetings with women in the POC sites where they were able to hear directly from women on the human rights situation and the human rights violations and abuses they had suffered. Commissioners were told that the current violence in South Sudan has increased insecurity and intensified the vulnerabilities they face on a daily basis. Women were extremely vocal in these meetings and spoke out on their experiences of sexual violence particularly when they venture outside of the POC site in search of food and firewood. Women both young and old gave accounts of being gang raped by armed men in uniform. Both in Malakal and Bentiu food patrols have been instituted to provide protection. The women also raised the issue of numerous checkpoints mounted by government soldiers who extort taxes from them.

The issue of checkpoints has been raised by IDPs and UNMISS on several occasions with the government. Women also spoke about the ongoing attacks and killings of women by armed men in uniform, while carrying out livelihood activities outside of the PoC site. Women and children continue to face increasing socio-economic rights violations as a result of the ongoing conflict. Humanitarian actors working in Bentiu have raised concerns that women and children in South Sudan are severely malnourished.

Commissioners were also informed by the women that they continue to suffer a multiplicity of violations including forced and early marriages, domestic violence and other forms of gender based violence. The women also raised the prevalent practice where young women are forcibly married off by their families in return for cattle. The women in particular have said that their lives are defined by the conflict increasing their vulnerability. Some of them including Widows and a number of old women expressed disbelief and horror at being gang raped by young men and boys who are young enough to be their grandchildren. On a more positive note the women confirmed that they were pleased that they are receiving medical treatment and education from the humanitarian actors operating in the PoC site. Some of them have been providing adult literacy programs to the women at their request. Commissioners also met with members of the committee dealing with dispute resolution in the POC site to hear from them on the cases they are dealing with.

On their return to Juba the Commissioners met with the Chief Justice and members of the Judiciary. The meeting was cordial. Commission members also met with members of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and the Inspector General of Police.

Commissioners also met with senior members of the UN and separately with members of the Diplomatic corps to debrief them on the mission.

Following this first visit, the Commission remains concerned by the following issues:

1 The diminishing space for civil society which includes ongoing intimidation and harassment of its members, forcing many of them to flee to neighboring countries;

2. Media Freedom and the continued intimidation and harassment of journalists and media houses;

3. Restrictions placed on access by UNMISS and the Humanitarian actors which inhibits their ability to reach the most vulnerable in order to carry out their work;

4. The escalation of sexual violence against women and girls perpetrated by armed men in uniform;

5. The ongoing impunity and lack of accountability for serious crimes as well as human rights violations in South Sudan, without which lasting peace cannot be achieved.

The Commission is also deeply concerned at the slow progress on the implementation of the provisions of the Peace Agreement which is fundamental to ending the conflict, human rights violations and normalization of the lives of South Sudanese.

The citizens of South Sudan who met with the Commissioners made a poignant plea for peace, justice and accountability. The Commission appreciates the right of the South Sudanese people for peace and justice and rejects the false dichotomy between peace and justice. Many have said, and we agree, that one of the root causes of the current tragic situation is an unfortunate lack of accountability reaching back through many conflicts and unresolved grievances. Only justice and accountability will give the South Sudanese people the genuine and durable peace which they deserve. There is a broad acknowledgment in the country that breaking the cycle of impunity requires holding perpetrators of abuses and serious crimes accountable. The Commission is of the view that establishing the institutions under the Chapter 5 provisions of the Peace Agreement are absolutely critical to building sustained peace in South Sudan.

The Commission wishes to acknowledge that UNMISS and the humanitarian actors are working under conditions of extreme stress and often great hostility. Nevertheless, they continue with dedication to serve the most vulnerable in South Sudan.

The Commission returns to South Sudan later this year to continue its work in terms of its mandate.
A landlord has been found dead in a female tenants room at Shalom estate near Adenta in Accra after the two allegedly had sex, a police report has said.

Twenty-four-year-old Cynthia Nubuor is being held by the Adenta Police command over the matter.

In a statement to the Police, Ms. Nubuor said she left the deceased, Achi Ogu, who is a Nigerian, in her room for work Thursday afternoon after he had forcibly had sex with her. She said she left a note asking him to lock her door if he wakes up since he was sleeping after the act.

According to the Adenta Police, they received a distress call around 8:30pm and rushed to the scene only to recover the body of the deceased from the tenant's room where he died.

The body has since been deposited at the Police hospital mortuary for an autopsy to be conducted into the actual cause of death.
The Peoples National Convention (PNC) national Chairman, Bernard Mornah has described the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) as doomsayers.

According to him, the hate speech exhibited by some leading members of the two major political parties exposes their desperation for power at all cost.

He accused the NDC and the NPP of sowing seeds of animosity among the electorate ahead of the December 7 polls.

He is optimistic rejecting the NDC and the NPP is the panacea to sustain the nation's peace and stability.

Bernard Mornah was addressing members of the Association of Small Scale Industries in Tamale.

He touted the PNC as the most tolerant and susceptible political party which he said is capable of deepening national cohesion when elected.

We are not a party that insults we are talking about issues. We encourage people to talk about issues because we think that decency in our choice of words is important.

It is not just about the PNC to bring about peace, reject the NDC and the NPP and you will have peace forever in Ghana.

The PNC national Chairman further called for disbandment of political party sheds scattered all over the country.

He explained that the party sheds are breeding grounds for political intolerance leading to upheaval during elections.

These days the fashionable thing that political parties are doing is to go and create sheds and these sheds have become the war camps that are there.

Even in the same constituency for the same party you see that we create two different camps and these camps belong to two different persons and they become a source of confrontation, Bernard Mornah lamented.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
By By Joyce Danso, GNA

Accra Sept. 14, GNA - A laboratory technician who allegedly compelled a 16 -year old boy to rub his penis until he ejaculated has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with indecent assault.

Eric Owusu, in the company of his counsel, pleaded not guilty.

The court presided over by Mrs Ruby Naa Adjeley Quaison has remanded Owusu, 27, into lawful custody to reappear on September 27.

This was after the court had turned down a bail application put in by defense counsel Mr Isaac Owusu.

Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbire told the court that a 42 -year old driver residing at Kporbikorpe, near Sapieman is the complainant. Owusu also resides at Sapieman in Accra.

The victim resides with complainant who is also his step-father. On August 21, this year at about 0900 hours Owusu approached the victim at St John near Dome when he went to purchase Cerelac at the accused persons shop.

Prosecution said the accused persons approached the victim that he wanted him to be his friend hence demanded the victims telephone number.

Detective Inspector Atimbire said the following day, at about 0600 hours Owusu called the victim to meet him at Macedonia junction for them to go to St John's together where the victim's mother also sells her ware.

According to prosecution, Owusu met the victim at Macedonia Junction at 12:00 mid-day and told him to accompany him to the house so could dress properly before they set off.

They both entered the accused person's room and Owusu offered him seat. Owusu then locked the door and demanded to have anal sex with the victim, prosecution said.

Detective Inspector Atimbire said the accused person took a knife on top of his refrigerator and placed it on the table threatening that 'he should allow him have anal sex with him if he actually wanted to leave the room.'

According to prosecution the accused person poured a cream into the victim palm and asked him to rob the cream on his penis until he ejaculates and he did.

Prosecution said the victim alleged that accused person further threatened to have anal sex with him and asked him to remove his trousers and lie on the bed.

Victim alleged that out of fear, he removed his penis and inserted the accused person's anus.

After the act, prosecution said the victim went home and informed his parents and formal complaint lodged with the Domestic Violence and Victim's Support Unit at Amasaman. The victim was therefore issued with a medical form to seek medical attention.

GNA
15.09.2016 LISTEN

By Gifty Amofa/Mispah Tumtuo, GNA

Kumasi, Sept 14, GNA - A Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire, has ordered a man caught with 1,013.0 grams of cannabis to be held in prison custody.

Kwabena Frimpong Darkwa, alias 'Righteous', a 33-year-old shoemaker, has been charged unlawful possession of narcotic drug and he pleaded not guilty.

He would make his next appearance tomorrow, September 15.

Police Chief Superintendent Emmanuel A. Akunnor told the court that the accused was arrested on November 25, last year.

He was found with the hard drug on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter passenger bus, traveling from Kumasi to Nyinahin.

Police officers had stopped the bus for routine check, when the dried leaves were found.

Darkwa admitted ownership, arrested and handed over together with the substance to the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Police for further investigation.

The prosecution said the accused mentioned one 'Rasta' in Abuakwa as his source of supply but could not lead the police to the said man.

Sample of the leaves sent for forensic laboratory examination proved to be cannabis.

GNA
By Hafsa Obeng, GNA

Accra, Sept. 14, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh on Wednesday remanded two persons who were said to have conspired and attempted to rob.

Kwabena Adomako, Drivers Mate and Richard Annor, Driver were said to have acted together with a common purpose with one other now at large to commit crime to wit robbery.

The two have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been remanded by the court to reappear on September 22.

The facts of the case as presented by Police Chief Inspector Kwabena Adu are that the Kwabena is a Driver's Mate, while Richard is a Driver, and an accomplice, Kwasi is also a Driver's Mate.

He said on August 19, the accused persons went on a robbery expedition at Madina and its environs. When they got to Madina Social Welfare in Richard's Urvan bus, they noticed that their movement was suspected by an unknown masked man who shot severally at their car.

The prosecution said in the process, Kwabena sustained gunshot injuries on his knee, but they managed to escape and decided to take the injured to Asuboa near Akim Oda for herbal treatment.

Police Chief Inspector Adu said on the same day the police on duty at Asanteman barrier near Oda, intercepted a Nissan Almera Taxi and a search conducted in the car disclosed Kwabena in a pool of blood.

He told the court that the accused persons were arrested and Kwabena was sent to the Oda Government Hospital where the pellet was removed from his knee.

They were transferred to the Police Regional CID, Accra and they were re-arrested.

According to the prosecution, during interrogation, it was revealed that the accused persons conspired with eight others now at large and had been robbing shops in Accra, Tema and its environs.

He told the court that several efforts made by the police for accused persons to identify their victims and scenes of crimes had proved abortive.

Police Chief Inspector Adu said the case was still under investigations, whiles efforts are underway to apprehend the others.

GNA
By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA

Agogo (Ash), Sept 14, GNA - Youth activists of four political parties in the Asante-Akim North constituency have pledged to work together to starve off trouble in the area in the coming election.

They said they would do everything to avoid any acts of political provocation and misconduct.

The parties include the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), Convention People's Party (CPP) and the National Democratic Party (NDP).

This is contained in a communique they issued at the end of a day's workshop'on peaceful election'held for them by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the European union (EU)in Agogo.

Organized under the theme 'Empower the youth to stand up for Ghana for a peaceful election', about 40 young political activists were on hand to participate.

The communique entreated everybody to uphold the political parties' code of conduct and accept to play it fair.

It also called for the Electoral Commission (EC) to engage competent people as election officers to prevent unnecessary disputes during and after the election.

The NCCE must also scale up voter education to help significantly reduce the number of rejected ballots in the December polls.

It asked that the security agencies demonstrated high sense of professionalism - must be even-handed and firm.

Mr. Johnson Opoku, Director of Programmes of the NCCE, praised the youth for the bold stance taken and asked that they 'walk the talk'.

He underlined the need for tolerance and respect of divergent views and said that was the way to grow the nation's democracy.

GNA
15.09.2016 LISTEN

By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - A consultant on Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs), has called on stakeholders to take a critical look at the support received by businesses to harness their potential for national growth.

Mr Daniel Nii Otokunor Sackey, the Managing Consultant of Ephesus Consulting, a Ghanaian consulting company that provides consulting for SMEs, made the call on Wednesday in Accra.

He said it is estimated that SMEs account for 70 per cent of Ghana's gross domestic product but SMEs are not getting the required support that helps to boost the sector and 92 per cent of its transactions are expected to grow over time

Mr Sackey who was addressing the maiden SMEs seminar organised by the NDK Financial Services said since the SMEs are increasingly being recognised as productive drivers of economic growth and development for most African countries, there is the need for critical attention to be accorded them in their development.

'In view of the increasing emergence of SMEs across the Ghanaian landscape and the potential they hold, it is important to take a critical look at the kind of support SMEs receive in order to harness their potential for success,' he said.

Mr Sackey mentioned the lack of access to credit, lack of formal governance, management and financial structures, a centralised structure often dominated by owners, lack of soft management skills in marketing, Information Technology, Human Resources and risk management as some of the challenges facing SMEs in Ghana.

'These challenges make it difficult for SMEs to compete in the market and are therefore unlikely to gain the critical market share for profitability and growth,' he said.

Mr Sackey called for effective measures such as good governance, management and financial structures to help the operations of SMEs as well as to enable better the transition into larger entities capable of competing in marketplaces.

Speaking on the theme: 'Positioning your Business for Investments and Succession' for SMEs, Mrs Kuorkor Ayisa, the Deputy Managing Director of NDK Financial Services, said the engagement was aimed at facilitating discussions to extract the real needs and opportunities for SMEs in Ghana.

She said the seminar, which seeks to be an annual event forms part of the company's silver jubilee celebrations.

'Dubbed the 2016 SME seminar for the NDK Financial Services it is our primary goal to explore proven ideas and strategies for scaling up and aiding small and medium enterprises access to finance.

'Encouraged by the rapid economic growth in Ghana and Africa as a whole, entrepreneurs are looking to explore new business opportunities in order to grow hence our engagement,' she said.

Ms Roselyn Aboagye, the Head of Investment of NDK Financial services, advised participants to invest in their future as doing so would help them to create short and long lasting wealth.

Mr Martin Holm, the Business Development Executive of the company, urged participants to take advantage of the seminar towards the growth of their businesses to meet their goals, visions and missions in their careers.

Some participants who spoke to the Ghana News Agency lauded the company for the training that sought not to only help the SME sector but the financial growth of the country at large.

GNA
By Patience A. Gbeze, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - The Peoples' National Convention (PNC) has outdoored Mr Emmanuel Kwaku Amenuvor Anyidoho, a Social Scientist as the party's Vice Presidential candidate for the December 7 general election.

Giving his inaugural address in Accra, Mr Anyidoho said he was humbled and proud to be selected by the National Executive Committee of the party to partner Dr Edward Nasigrie Mahama, the PNC flagbearer for the New Ghana of 2017 and Beyond Agenda.

He said the New Ghana is envisioned on the three pillars of a New Beginning, New Deal and New Force as enshrined in the PNC Manifesto.

'A New Beginning is towards public sector reform with uncompromised efficiency; A New Deal is to provide substantial support to upscale productivity in key sectors such as Agriculture and Industry, while the new Force is to harness the great untapped potential of our energetic youth of 18 to 35 years to drive the wheels of national development, while reducing unemployment considerably," he said.

Mr Anyidoho questioned the sales of factories to churches when the government could revamp them to enhance the private sector and thereby ensure national growth.

He promised that the PNC led government of 2017 would arrest all these misdemeanours through simple fiscal discipline.

He announced that the PNC has the panacea to close the energy deficit and produce affordable energy for a comfortable life for the citizenry and as a cheap input into industry to enhance output, employment and incomes.

He blamed the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress for the unemployment situation in Ghana and called on them to own up to their failures.

Dr Mahama said he knew Mr Anyidoho for the past 10 years and believed that they have chosen the best partner to help fix the three pillars of the economy.

He promised to be the servant of the people when given the nod to lead the country.

Mr Bernard Monah, National Chairman of the Party, called on all party members to come on board to wrestle power from the ruling party.

The Harvard Trained Economist had worked with United Nations, African Union (AU), the Ministry of Finance and also lectured at the University of Ghana.

Mr Anyidoho was born on March 7, 1956 and hails from Adidome in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region and graduate of the University of Ghana, Legon with BA Honours in Economics with Sociology in 1977.

He subsequently graduated with M.Sc in Economics in 1982 and while taking a break in his International Career, he graduated with Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in University in 2001 specialising in Economic and Public Policy and Financial Management.

He was Economics and Mathematics Teacher at Achimota School from 1977 to 1981 and lectured at Department of Economics, University of Ghana in 1981; University of Liberia from 1983 to 1991; and later joined the Ministry of Finance in1991 where he held several portfolios.

Subsequently, he joined the UNDP in Ghana as National Economist in 1995 and later worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in 1997 to 1998 and with AU in 1998 to 2000 where he was development expert.

GNA
15.09.2016 LISTEN

By GNA Reporter

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Youth Bridge Foundation, (YBF), a non-governmental organisation, has called for the institution of a regulatory framework that would stipulate an agreed time by which political parties would issue their manifestoes.

A statement signed by Mr Seth Oteng, the Executive Director of YBF, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday said the timely release of manifestoes by the various political parties would ensure citizens' review and interrogation of the issues raised on all media platforms, including discussions in the local languages for broader public education.

It said: 'YBF maintains that this is in the best interest of the youth whose aspirations are hinged on the policy blueprints of the various political parties seeking to govern.

'The development of an informed citizenry empowered with knowledge to hold government accountable must be prioritised.'

'Noting that a projected 60 per cent of the registered voter population shall be youth (18 to 35 years), we are deeply disturbed by the neglect of this important constituents and the larger citizenry as important stakeholders in the electoral and political processes,' it said.

The statement has also called on the Electoral Commission, the National Commission for Civic Education and all political parties, as a matter of urgency, to engage the citizenry in the electoral process, particularly the electorates.

'Political parties too need to be open to embrace recommendations and make room for adaptation after their manifestoes have been reviewed by the citizenry, political parties must also welcome invitation host policy dialogue with the youth,' it said.

The statement has therefore called on the media and civil society organisations to organise co-ordinated youth friendly educational programmes to decipher the key issues in the manifestoes issued by the political parties.

The statement recalled YBF's May 11, press statement in which members expressed concern about the delay in the release of manifestoes from the various political parties.

'Four months later and barely three months to the December 2016 elections, the National Democratic Congress release their manifesto on September 13, September and the New Patriotic Party yet to announce a date.'

'We acknowledge that beyond the repeated assurance that the manifestoes will be released soon, there has also been sporadic mention of their intent and the challenges in the country they hope to address should they be elected. This, in our opinion, does not constitute adequate preparation of the electorate,' it said.

GNA
15.09.2016 LISTEN

By GNA Reporter

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Ethiopian Airlines has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Addis Ababa University, to initiate strategic collaboration in the areas of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The MoU calls for, among other things, exploring and promoting cooperation between the two institutions with the view of conducting industrial projects, research and consulting on issues of mutual benefits.

Areas for research include Internet Booking, Big Data Analytics, Customer Data Hub, Distributed Data Storage, Adaptive Crew Solution, Intelligent Warehouse.

Mr Tewolde GebreMariam, Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ethiopian Airlines, said in today's era of digital revolution and Artificial Intelligence, ICT plays pivotal role for the success of any organisation.

He said Systems Development is one of the pillars of its 15 years' strategic road map and Vision 2025.

He said currently, the Airline is implementing and incorporating the latest Information Technology systems in Aviation Technology and it is heading towards a totally paperless operational environment.

'I believe this agreement for collaboration with Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia's largest and oldest academic institution is a step forward towards ensuring concerted research and projects,' he added.

The CEO said besides using the latest aviation technology, Ethiopian has recently revamped its website offering its customers streamlined menus with clean navigations allowing for an easy access to the essential information of their interest regarding all Ethiopian Airlines products and services.

GNA
15.09.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - On the occasion of the International Day of Democracy, the British High Commission in Accra, has lauded the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana's democratic dispensation.

A statement issued by the High Commission and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday said Ghana is rightly proud of its civil society.

It said successive governments had protected freedom of expression and assembly, and enabled the growth of many diverse and vibrant organisations.

It said these have played an important role in every election since 1992; from critiquing manifestoes, to hosting debates, to supporting the drafting of codes of conduct.

It added that the United Kingdom is proud of the support it had given them.

"In 2016 we are again supporting Ghana through a range of bilateral and multilateral interventions to achieve free, fair, credible and peaceful elections," it said.

"We hope these will be another milestone in deepening Ghana's democratic transformation and cementing its leadership in Africa," it added.

The UN has designated September 15, International Day of Democracy.

This year the theme is "Space for Civil Society."

The statement noted that both have a particular resonance in Ghana as it looks towards elections on December 7.

"A free, strong and active civil society is a crucial part of any functioning democracy. It asks questions, it convenes, it conducts research and it drives debate all to inspire thinking and to hold people to account," it said.

It said specifically on civil society, the UK, in partnership with the EU and Denmark, is funding a second phase of the STAR Ghana Programme and investing 22 million to support more effective and sustainable work in this field over the next four years.

It noted that the programme aims to provide comprehensive, co-ordinated and strategic support to a range of organisations to enable Ghana's citizens to hold those in power to account.

It said as it does, there are particular challenges that civil society need to overcome to maintain and use the space it had been given.

The statement said it must avoid becoming politicised; it must co-ordinate and work effectively when the moment demands; and it must do more to connect with and mobilise all Ghanaians, not only speak to an influential few.

It said at no time were these things more important than ahead of elections.

It said that is why the UK is helping fund 35 civil society organisations, including some media organisations, to achieve crucial objectives.

Some of the objectives are improving inclusion through support to the Ghana Federation for the Disabled to assist Persons with Disabilities, by tackling physical/cultural barriers and stigmas to ensure this marginalised group can participate in the electoral process and have their interests represented.

Others are strengthening accountability through Presidential and Parliamentary debates organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation and Institute for Economic Affairs; and increasing national oversight of electoral processes through domestic observation, promoting national oversight of democratic process, through the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers.

In addition, the UKs Deepening Democratic Governance Programme has provided  4m of support to civil society and key Electoral Management Bodies, promoting collaboration between state and non-state actors.

"We are also engaging with local media houses; debating their role in the elections, including responsible and non-biased reporting.

"Furthermore, we are supporting Joy FMs Joy Ballot Box programme which will tour Ghana gathering and discussing issues raised by the electorate.

"Engaging with the electorate and giving them a voice in this way is essential ahead of any election," the statement added.

In marking the day, British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Jon Benjamin said: "The 2016 International Day of Democracy should encourage us to think about the impact of local civil society in pushing for better governance in Ghana.

"The UK Government has a long history of support to civil society organisations in Ghana, spanning well over two decades, including the Ghana Research and Advocacy Programme, Rights and Voice Initiative and more recently, Strengthening Transparency Accountability and Responsiveness Phase one and two.

"Crucial to all of these is sustainability and helping civil society to move from voice to action.

"This is particularly true ahead of the elections where civil society has a crucial role to play in holding Electoral Management Bodies, political parties, the media and other key stakeholders to account.

"We encourage civil society organisations to reach out to all Ghanaians, to canvas the views of everyone and represent those views fairly.

"We are proud of the work we are funding and hope that it will support Ghana to deliver free, fair, credible and peaceful elections in three months' time."

GNA
By Iddi Yire, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - A week-long Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Insurance Seminar on the theme: "Risk-based Supervision and Dealing with Troubled Insurers," is underway in Accra.

The seminar, which is being attended by 50 delegates from 18 countries including Ghana, is being jointly organised by the Financial Stability Institute (FSI) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS); in collaboration with the National Insurance Commission (NIC) of Ghana.

It brought together middle and senior level insurance supervisors from the Sub-Saharan Africa Region to learn about current best practices in maintaining efficient, fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders.

Mrs Mona Quartey, a Deputy Minister of Finance in her opening statement remarked that the aftermath of the global financial crisis had stirred a new consciousness in insurance regulators worldwide on the need to increase the levels of communication, coordination and cooperation among regulators.

"Regular engagement among insurance supervisors is therefore, vital to understand risk trends that could impact on their domestic insurers and policyholders in an era of an exponential growth in the global insurance market," she said.

The Deputy Minister noted that insurance plays very important roles in the transformation of emerging economies.

She said insurance enables appropriate risk mitigation and mobilisation of much needed funds for long term investments.

"Insurance not only promotes investment opportunities, which in turn increases capital formation and stimulates the production of goods and services, but creates employment and generates wealth, which leads to overall economic growth and poverty reduction," Mrs Quartey said.

"Africa however, lags behind the other emerging market regions of the world namely Latin America and Asia, in terms of contribution of insurance to gross domestic products," she stated.

She cited that the Swiss Re Economic Research and Consulting wing, which estimates that the average Sub-Saharan Africa insurance penetration rate is about 1.2 per cent.

She explained that this was largely because African economies were yet to fully harness the positive potential contribution of the insurance and pension sectors to the economy; declaring that African insurance remains very small.

"The total premium income of the continent represents just about 1.3 per cent of the total global premium income.

"As supervisors, it is your responsibility to take steps to improve upon this undesirable situation," she added.

She mentioned that effective regulation and supervision with gradual adoption of the international standards would allow strong regulatory environment and also ensure that regulatory requirements are practicable and executable within the context of a developing financial system.

Mrs Quartey said the regulatory environment needs to be tailored to reflect the characteristics of Sub-Saharan Africa.

She said the harmonisation of regional insurance regulation and cross border supervisory co-operation would ensure that firms that operate across the region are well regulated in a consistent and holistic manner.

She said training and investment in staff and firm capacity building would also promote knowledge transfer and the development of a skill labour and high quality practices for the industry.

"Risk Based Supervision relies heavily on good corporate governance, effective risk management practices, availability of actuarial resources and risk based solvency and capital adequacy frameworks.

"There is an urgent need to build capacity in all these areas both in the supervisory authorities and the insurance industry," she said.

Mrs Quartey said the Government is committed to support the insurance industry in all aspects as part of efforts in transforming the financial sector for an inclusive growth.

She said the NIC had over the last couple of years reviewed its supervisory models and activities in pursuance of its objectives.

Ms Lydia Lariba Bawa, the Commissioner of Insurance, said the insurance sectors of the various countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region share similar characteristics, the commonest being the very low penetration; stating that" this is however, changing. There is a very good sign of growth in the horizon".

She said Risk Based Supervision is an obvious prerequisite for an effective implementation of the current IAIS Insurance Core Principles.

Ms Gunilla Lofvendahl, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, Financial Stability Institute, said insurers should focus on problem prevention, however, if they happen, there is the need for them to be addressed.

She said, risk management and good governance practices are essential in problem prevention.

GNA
By Josephine Nyarkoh, GNA

Kumasi, Sept 15, GNA - The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has asked the political parties and their supporters to accept to play by the rules of decency and fairness to keep down the political temperature.

Mr. Samuel Akuamoah, the acting National Chairman, said the resort to mischief and deception were not the right thing for anybody to do and must be avoided.

He was speaking at a day's workshop held for political party youth activists in the Tafo-Pankrono constituency in Kumasi, which has been identified as one of the election flashpoints.

The goal was to talk them out of acts of misconduct, lawlessness and political violence.

The programme, organized by the Commission with support from the European Union (EU) provided the platform to educate the participants on the electoral laws and the political parties' code of conduct.

Mr. Akuamoah cautioned against insults, name calling and peddling untruths about political opponents to make them look bad and said that was unhelpful to the growth of the nation's democracy.

He also spoke of the need for all to support the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct a credible election, the outcome would be incontestable.

That he said, entailed, avoiding anything likely to erode public confidence in the constitutional body mandated to manage elections in the country.

The unjustified criticism, castigation and unfounded allegations against the EC should stop, he said, adding that, all should be measured in everything they said about the EC.

He asked that the parties focused their election campaign on message to help voters to make informed choices.

Mr. Alhassan Yakubu, Ashanti Regional NCCE Director, told the youth not to deface posters of political opponents and said that offended the law.

They should be tolerant and show respect for views different from what they held, he added.

GNA
By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA

Konongo (Ash), Sept 15, GNA - A GHE268,000.00 bungalow built to provide decent housing for police officers in Konongo has been inaugurated in a ceremony.

It was funded by the Asante-Akim Central Municipal Assembly from its share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

Police Superintendent Bossman Ohene-Boadi, the Divisional Commander, hailed the project as a welcomed relief, considering their struggle with accommodation.

About 50 per cent of officers in the division, he indicated, was without official accommodation, a situation that needed to be tackled head-on.

He added that this was unhelpful to effective policing and should not be allowed to continue.

Supt Ohene-Boadi called for increased public support to help house police officers posted to the various stations across the municipality.

He applauded the assembly for the strong backing over the years and said he was confident that this would be sustained.

Alhaji Braimah Boyong, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), said the assembly would give every necessary assistance to the police to enable them to perform.

He reminded the officers to maintain high standards of professionalism - should be firm and even-handed in the performance of their duties. GNA
Presidential candidate of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) is accusing functionaries of the governing party of shedding crocodile tears over the death of president John Mills.

Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom said the NDC cannot pretend to be sad about the death of the late president and at the same time jubilate over something they said was the reason why they won the 2012 elections.

He was speaking to voters in Cape Coast during his campaign Wednesday.

President John Mills, a native of Ekumfi Otuam in the Mfantsiman East constituency of the Central Region of Ghana died on July 24, 2012 after a short illness.

The exact cause of death and the circumstances surrounding the death have not been made public. The death came barely four months to the 2012 Presidential elections.

Then Vice-President, John Mahama was sworn in as president. He contested the elections and retained the seat.

Some pundits attributed the victory to sympathy votes whilst others believe president John Mahama brought some excitement into the campaign which inured to the benefit of the governing party.

Four years after his death and with barely three months to go for the 2016 elections, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, who leads the PPP believes the NDC rejoiced over the death of the president.

Speaking in his native Fante, Dr Nduom said after Mills' death, the current president came pleading with the people of Central Region to take him as their son, which they did only for his people to turn around to mock the late president.

He said the same people who rejoiced over the death of the late president will return to Cape Coast like they did in 2012 to seek their mandate and when they do, the people must ask them what they did with the late president.

Dr Nduom also stated that Ghana is endowed with lots of resources and does not deserve to be where it is.

Joy News Central Region correspondent Richard Kojo Nyarko said the statement by the PPP leader was received with mixed feelings.

According to him, some of the residents were stunned by the comment whilst others cheered him on.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Niger is increasingly becoming a target for Boko Haram attacks, as the Islamists come under sustained military pressure in Nigeria while reeling under a leadership struggle, analysts said Thursday.

Despite a decline in the frequency of attacks this year in northeastern Nigeria, the experts warned of escalating raids across the border, especially in Niger.

"Niger's southern border with Nigeria represents a relatively soft flank for Boko Haram, particularly in its eastern stretches," Roddy Barclay, intelligence analyst at consultancy firm Africa Practice, told AFP.

"The porous national border is under-policed and adjoins some of the most insecure territories in northeastern Nigeria."

IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC) said Boko Haram carried out 22 attacks into Cameroon, Chad and Niger in 2014 and 62 in 2015, when it aligned with the Islamic State group.

There were 41 cross-border attacks this year until the end of August with Niger bearing the brunt of the violence, including a raid on a military base near the southeastern town of Bosso in June in which at least 26 soldiers were killed.

People hold hands as they take part in a march 'against' Islamist group Boko Haram

"Before Boko Haram allied with the Islamic State, it did carry out cross-border attacks outside their core territory of north eastern Nigeria," said Matthew Henman, head of IHS JTIC.

"But since 2015, the number of cross-border operations rose dramatically as the group retaliated against the West African coalition fighting to defeat them."

Henman said the Bosso attack -- and subsequent strikes against government and other military targets in the region -- indicated a shift in Boko Haram to IS methods.

This focused "less on the indiscriminate killing of fellow Muslims and more on targeting regional security forces".

IS announced in August that Abu Musab al-Barnawi -- the son of Boko Haram's founder Mohammed Yusuf -- had replaced Abubakar Shekau as head of the group, which now styles itself Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Barnawi has criticised Shekau for the indiscriminate killing of fellow Muslims: at least 20,000 people have been killed in northeast Nigeria in a wave of raids, suicide attacks and bombings since 2009.

The shadowy Shekau has maintained he is still in charge but there have been recent reports of clashes between rival factions in the north of northeast Nigeria's Borno state, near Lake Chad.

JTIC said it still expected attacks on civilians from the Shekau camp to continue, while those aligned with Barnawi would conduct operations against the military and government.

The upsurge in attacks in Niger was an indication Boko Haram may have already begun to regroup, contradicting the military's version that it was on the run and struggling, Henman told AFP.

He also said the jihadists' aim appeared to be to undermine the Multi-National Joint Task Force of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, which is operating in the Lake Chad region against them.

Overstretched military?

The regional force, whose deployment has been long delayed, depends on coordination and cooperation between countries not known for working together or sharing mutual trust -- and Boko Haram could play on that, said Henman.

"IS has been very good at picking apart alliances and coalitions, pitting allies against one another. They will try to sow discord in that coalition," Henman said.

Niger's army convoy arrives in the city of Bosso on June 17, 2016 following attacks by Boko Haram fighters in the region

Nigeria is facing security threats on multiple fronts: Boko Haram in the northeast; ethnic violence in the central region; Biafran separatists in the southeast; and oil rebels in the south.

"The military build-up (in northeast Nigeria) can't be sustained indefinitely", even if the threat in the Niger delta does not develop, he added.

While Nigeria boasts one of the largest armies in Africa, Barclay warned that fighting multiple fronts could expose political mismanagement and corruption in the military and undermine recent gains.

"The military technically has the resources to operate on two fronts," Barclay said. "But it risks becoming stretched and seeing some of its internal dysfunction exposed," he said.

"Any shortfalls in discipline, management and logistics are likely to be accentuated."
The Movement for Truth and Accountability, has called on the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, to bring to book, the Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress in the Adansi South District of the Ashanti Region.

This follows comments made by Robert Owusu on a local radio station that,  they in the NDC have sharpened their machetes and are prepared to attack innocent persons.

The Movement for Truth and Accountability, led by Mr. Joseph Bediako at a press conference claimed that, the NDC have planned to create confusion and chaos in the upcoming elections and blame it on the NPP.

Evidence available to the Movement of Truth and Accountability makes it abundantly clear that, these statements are not mere political rhetoric, intended to incite party supporters to violence. But rather the opening phase of an elaborate plan by President Mahama and the NDC, to plunge this country into total chaos and violence, as a way of ensuring that when he loses the elections, the victor which is the NPP, will be unable to govern a united, cohesive country.

The Movement says these are very serious revelations which require immediate action by relevant state agencies especially the security services, asking the CID and other state security agencies to ensure that Mr. Owusu is brought to book.



By: Lauretta Timah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The GCB Bank has dismissed as complete fabrication, publications that its officials have granted some unauthorized loans to some individuals and companies.

A statement from the Bank says the publications are malicious and are without a basis.

They should, therefore, treated with the contempt that they deserve.

It should be noted that GCB Bank has some of the most stringent rules and procedures in the banking industry for granting of loans, the statement added.

It said under the leadership of Board Chairman, Mr. Dan Owiredu, the bank has continued on its growth path and put in place robust risk management systems.

As a listed company, GCB Bank cant possibly have granted unauthrised loans, the statement said.

The Bank said it is committed to guarding its reputation and would therefore file a complaint with the National Media Commission.

Story by Ghana I Myjoyonline.com
In what can best be described as a shocking twist, the Vice-President, H.E. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has cancelled his planned Public Lecture which was expected to be a response to the Lecture delivered last week by NPP Running Mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

In a supposed tweet from the Vice-President's twitter handle, the cancellation was blamed on the light rains in Accra this morning. Due to the Rains this morning we have decided to call off my Public Lecture. A new date will be communicated in the coming weeks, the tweet said.

The Lecture, was advertised under the theme  Ghana's Economy  Separating Truth from Fiction.

An announcement of the event, which was put out first on social media, indicates that Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and former Presidential Advisor, Ato Ahwoi will be the Chairman for the Public Lecture which was also scheduled for the National Theatre, the same venue for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's Lecture last week.

The event which would have come off exactly a week after Dr. Bawumia's Lecture titled  The State of the Ghanaian Economy  a foundation of concrete or straw; was advertised to kick off at 1pm.

The Vice-President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur on Sunday gave the strongest indication that he was arming himself to respond to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who on Thursday, chronicled a tall list of issues backed with empirical data to show that President John Mahama's government had been the worst government for Ghana's economy.

Speaking at an NDC rally in Ashaiman, the Vice-President stated at the appropriate time, we shall respond in full measure to all the lies that have been told; at the appropriate time, we shall correct him and teach him the things that he doesn't know but thinks he knows.

Reporters who visited the venue of the Lecture saw an empty hall with virtually no officials present aside a few persons clad in NDC paraphernalia.

The Lecture was widely advertised on pro-government and NDC social media accounts and which was confirmed on Peace FM'sKokrokoo programme by Communications Specialist at the Presidency, Sam George on Wednesday, who insisted that the Vice President was not just going to respond to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia but to set the records straight on the performance of the economy after he was queried by NPP MP for Bantama, Kwabena Kokofu.

-Peacefmonline
Ghanaian Civil society group, the African Centre for Energy Policy, ACEP, has revealed through its partners, the Public Eye, how Swiss commodity trading firms are exporting what they call 'dirty diesel' to Africa.

ACEP in a statement signed by its Deputy Executive, Benjamin Boakye, made this known in a report it launched on Thursday, September 15, titled Dirty Diesel, published by its partner Public Eye.

The report reveals how Swiss commodity trading firms exploit lax regulatory standards to sell to African consumers, fuel with high sulfur content.

Produced by the trading firms themselves, these types of fuel have long been banned in Europe, and they contribute significantly to the rapidly rising air pollution in African cities and jeopardize the health of millions of people.

In a petition addressed to Trafigura, Public Eye and its West African partners called on the Geneva-based commodities giant only to sell fuel that meets European standards in all of its operations around the world.

Based on three years of research, the Dirty Diesel study highlights for the first time the pivotal role played by Swiss commodity trading companies in Africas fuel industry; and reveals the scandalous business model behind a supply chain completely controlled by these companies in their multiple roles as producers, suppliers, and  in some regions operators of gas station networks.

In West Africa especially, Vitol, Trafigura and Addax & Oryx, ruthlessly exploit weak regulatory standards, and make the local urban populations pay with their health.

Public Eye researchers drew fuel at local pumps in eight countries. The result was shocking: as the analysis revealed, the diesel samples contained up to 378 times more sulfur than is permitted in Europe.

Furthermore, other toxic substances, such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were also found in concentrations that are also banned in Europe.

The 160-page report, also shows that the trading companies do not only ship dirty diesel and dirty gasoline  and in some areas even sell it at their own pumps  but also produce both fuels themselves.

On land or at sea, they mix up a petrochemical cocktail from refinery products and other components known in the industry as African Quality.

These toxic fuels are mainly mixed in the ARA-Zone (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) where Swiss trading firms have their own refineries and storage facilities. Many West African countries that export high grade crude oil to Europe receive toxic low quality fuel in return.

Producing and selling such products is illegitimate, violates the African populations right to health.

According to a recent UN study, the populations in the continents major urban centers suffer from the most rapidly increasing levels of air pollution in the world.

The prestigious organization, ICCT**, estimates that by 2030, Africa will have three times as many deaths from traffic-related particle dust than Europe, Japan, and the US combined.

Respiratory illnesses are already a major health issue and diesel fumes can cause cancer.

To disarm this timed bomb, the governments of the affected countries need to set and enforce stricter standards.

But the Swiss commodity companies too, must respect human rights wherever they do business  and comply with the UN-Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011.

CEO Jeremy Weir wrote in last years sustainability report that Trafigura (the leading Swiss oil trader in Africa), wants to become acknowledged sector leaders in the way we manage corporate responsibility.

The company also intends to adapt its business practices to the aforementioned UN guidelines. In order to remind the commodities giant of its good intentions, Public Eye and its West African partner organizations will be shipping a container full of toxic air from Accra, the capital of Ghana, back to Geneva in late September.

With this symbolic Return to Sender-campaign, the NGOs are inviting Trafigura to put its money where its mouth is, and stop selling fuel that does not meet European standards anywhere in the world.

We also call on African governments to immediately take steps to tighten regulations to stop commodity traders from trading the health of hard working citizens for profit. The example of Kenya to limit Sulphur content to 50ppm is worth emulating by the rest of the continent. It is therefore a collective duty on all- government, regulators, Civil Society, the Media and the relevant stakeholders to be part of the advocacy to reduce pollution and its attendant health risks, the statement concluded.

About Public Eye

For around 50 years, the Swiss NGO Public Eye (formerly Berne Declaration), has offered a critical analysis of the impact that Switzerland, and its companies, has on poorer countries.

Through its research and campaigning, and with the support of its more than 25,000 members, Public Eye fights against injustices with a significant link to Switzerland and demands the respect of human rights throughout the world.

In May 2014, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) discovered that a US Jetta and a US Passat released four times as much nitrogen oxide on the street as they did in the laboratory.

The non-profit organization informed the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Californian Air Resources Board about this manipulation  and thereby caught the world's attention with what became known as the VW scandal.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
Ghanaian Civil society group, the African Centre for Energy Policy, ACEP, has revealed through its partners, a Swiss NGO, Public Eye, how Swiss commodity trading firms are exporting what they call 'dirty diesel' to Africa.

ACEP in a statement signed by its Deputy Executive, Benjamin Boakye, made this known in a report it launched on Thursday, September 15, titled Dirty Diesel, published by its partner Public Eye.

The report reveals how Swiss commodity trading firms exploit lax regulatory standards to sell to African consumers, fuel with high sulfur content.

Produced by the trading firms themselves, these types of fuel have long been banned in Europe, and they contribute significantly to the rapidly rising air pollution in African cities and jeopardize the health of millions of people.

In a petition addressed to Trafigura, Public Eye and its West African partners called on the Geneva-based commodities giant only to sell fuel that meets European standards in all of its operations around the world.

Based on three years of research, the Dirty Diesel study highlights for the first time the pivotal role played by Swiss commodity trading companies in Africas fuel industry; and reveals the scandalous business model behind a supply chain completely controlled by these companies in their multiple roles as producers, suppliers, and  in some regions operators of gas station networks.

In West Africa especially, Vitol, Trafigura and Addax & Oryx, ruthlessly exploit weak regulatory standards, and make the local urban populations pay with their health.

Public Eye researchers drew fuel at local pumps in eight countries. The result was shocking: as the analysis revealed, the diesel samples contained up to 378 times more sulfur than is permitted in Europe.

Furthermore, other toxic substances, such as benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were also found in concentrations that are also banned in Europe.

The 160-page report, also shows that the trading companies do not only ship dirty diesel and dirty gasoline  and in some areas even sell it at their own pumps  but also produce both fuels themselves.

On land or at sea, they mix up a petrochemical cocktail from refinery products and other components known in the industry as African Quality.

These toxic fuels are mainly mixed in the ARA-Zone (Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp) where Swiss trading firms have their own refineries and storage facilities. Many West African countries that export high grade crude oil to Europe receive toxic low quality fuel in return.

Producing and selling such products is illegitimate, violates the African populations right to health.

According to a recent UN study, the populations in the continents major urban centers suffer from the most rapidly increasing levels of air pollution in the world.

The prestigious organization, ICCT**, estimates that by 2030, Africa will have three times as many deaths from traffic-related particle dust than Europe, Japan, and the US combined.

Respiratory illnesses are already a major health issue and diesel fumes can cause cancer.

To disarm this timed bomb, the governments of the affected countries need to set and enforce stricter standards.

But the Swiss commodity companies too, must respect human rights wherever they do business  and comply with the UN-Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011.

CEO Jeremy Weir wrote in last years sustainability report that Trafigura (the leading Swiss oil trader in Africa), wants to become acknowledged sector leaders in the way we manage corporate responsibility.

The company also intends to adapt its business practices to the aforementioned UN guidelines. In order to remind the commodities giant of its good intentions, Public Eye and its West African partner organizations will be shipping a container full of toxic air from Accra, the capital of Ghana, back to Geneva in late September.

With this symbolic Return to Sender-campaign, the NGOs are inviting Trafigura to put its money where its mouth is, and stop selling fuel that does not meet European standards anywhere in the world.

We also call on African governments to immediately take steps to tighten regulations to stop commodity traders from trading the health of hard working citizens for profit. The example of Kenya to limit Sulphur content to 50ppm is worth emulating by the rest of the continent. It is therefore a collective duty on all- government, regulators, Civil Society, the Media and the relevant stakeholders to be part of the advocacy to reduce pollution and its attendant health risks, the statement concluded.

About Public Eye

For around 50 years, the Swiss NGO Public Eye (formerly Berne Declaration), has offered a critical analysis of the impact that Switzerland, and its companies, has on poorer countries.

Through its research and campaigning, and with the support of its more than 25,000 members, Public Eye fights against injustices with a significant link to Switzerland and demands the respect of human rights throughout the world.

In May 2014, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) discovered that a US Jetta and a US Passat released four times as much nitrogen oxide on the street as they did in the laboratory.

The non-profit organization informed the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Californian Air Resources Board about this manipulation  and thereby caught the world's attention with what became known as the VW scandal.



By: citifmonline.com/Ghana
15.09.2016 LISTEN

A three-storey building has collapsed completely at Ahenema Kokoben in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi. According to eyewitnesses, a deafening sound comparable to that of an explosion was heard around within neighbourhood around 3:00am in the morning.

They rushed out and only realised the three-storey building had been brought down. Fortunately, nobody was harmed or injured.

More to follow.
Oko Nikoi Dzani, Managing Director of NDK Financial Services

15.09.2016 LISTEN

Owners of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises are being cautioned against prioritizing the interest of their families at the detriment of their businesses.

Such tendencies according to the Managing Director of NDK Financial Services Oko Nikoi Dzani could cripple most Ghanaian startups.

He was speaking at a days capacity building workshop on the theme Positioning Your Business for Investment and Succession for some selected SMEs in Accra.

Opening the forum, Deputy Managing Director of NDK Financial Services Ltd, Deputy Managing Director, Mrs. Kuorkor Ayisa says the initiative which is the firms corporate social responsibility forms part of his outfits 25th anniversary Celebration.

According to her the objective of the workshop seeks to explore proven ideas and strategies for scaling up and aiding SMEs access to finance.

which attracted forum sought to enlighten SMEs on the need to build an effective organizational structure and clear successive plans to sustain their business.
By Iddi Yire, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), has inaugurated its newest branch at the Banking Square of the University of Ghana (UG), Legon campus, Accra.

This new branch features UMB's signature beautiful branch layout and a 24- hour Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).

The branch also expands the UMB branch network to 30 branches.

Mr Benjamin Amenumey, UMB Chief Operating Officer, speaking at the launch, lauded the UG for undertaking the Banking Square project, to bring players in the financial services industry closer to the students and the University Community.

He said the new branch was another indication of the UMB's commitment to playing a critical role in developing the next generation of Ghanaian leaders.

Mr Amenumey outlined some student friendly initiatives that the Bank had undertaken in recent times.

"In 2014, we introduced the Aspire Account, an account designed for students to help them understand and practice financial discipline.

"We have also organised several student seminars to introduce them to use topics such as entrepreneurship, personal branding, financial discipline and investment opportunities for students," he added.

Mr Lawrence Appiah-Baiden, UMB Director of Retail, said tertiary students constitute a key target for the Bank; "because in the next few years, these students will become the entrepreneurs and leaders, who will be making critical decisions that, will affect the fortunes of our nation".

He announced that, in the coming months, UMB would be opening more branches on a number of university campuses throughout the country.

UMB's Director of Marketing and Communications Ms Yvonne Botchey said: "UMB has a strong brand that appeals to young people, especially, tertiary students and we are happy that we can finally bring our services closer to students of this great University".

Reverend Dr Stephen Wengam, the Lead Pastor of the Cedar Mountain Assemblies of God and Chairman of the Prisons Council Board, hailed UMB for its innovative banking services.

He urged Management to maintain and improve upon the high standards they have set over the years.

UMB is a full-service financial institution specialising in customised banking products and services.

It opened on March 15, 1972, and is a leading Ghanaian indigenous bank with considerable financial expertise.

UMB is recognised for its entrepreneurial approach, innovative use of technology and distinctive banking solutions.

It currently has 30 branches and a vast network of ATMs.

GNA
15.09.2016 LISTEN

By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, Sept. 14, GNA - The Northern Regional Secretariat of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has inaugurated campaign taskforces for all 31 constituencies in the region to work towards achieving its (NDC) reelection agenda.

As part of the inauguration, each constituency received four motorbikes and boxes of NDC -branded t-shirts to advance their activities.

Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru Limuna, Coordinator of the Northern Regional Campaign Task force of the NDC, assured members of the constituency campaign task forces of the needed resources to prosecute effective campaigns.

Alhaji Limuna, who is also Minister for Food and Agriculture, called on party members to close their ranks and unite to work for victory.

Mr Kofi Adams, National Campaign Coordinator of NDC, urged party supporters to work hard to recapture all the 31 parliamentary seats in the region.

Mr Adams, who is also National Organizer of NDC, called on party supporters to educate the electorate on the achievements of the NDC government to enable them to vote for the party.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and Minister for Roads and Highways, said this year's general election was about trust and track record and appealed to the electorate to vote for President John Mahama, who was a unifier and hard working.

GNA
Bolgatanga, Sept. 15, GNA - The poor infrastructure at the Bolgatanga Nurses' Training College (NTC) is negatively affecting academic activities.

The College is saddled with uncompleted structures, inadequate lecture halls inadequate, accommodation for tutors, poor road network to the College, inadequate books in the library and is unable to meet the needs of the growing population of about 525 students.

Mr William Sebil, the Vice Principal of the College, said this at a ceremony to welcome the Vice President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur as part of his campaign tour of the Northern and Upper East Regions.

He said the school was noted for its high academic performance and discipline and had a pass rate which placed it on a high pedestal per the results released by the Nurses' and Midwifery Council (NMC) of Ghana in August 2015.

Mr Sebil said the College was the oldest in the Region and had churned out many registered nurses working all over the country since its establishment in the 1950s.

The Vice Principal expressed gratitude to government for providing 300 double beds and 600 mattresses to the institution and appealed to government for book and research allowance for tutors.

Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Minister of Science, Environment, Technology and Innovation, assured the students who carried placards which read 'No allowance, no vote', that government was committed to making sure NTCs were improved.

He said government will work to reduce the burden on them as it would be reintroducing their allowances in a different form.

GNA
By Gifty Amofa/Mispa Tumtuo, GNA

Kumasi, Sept 15, GNA - Six accused robbers including a woman, have been ordered by a Kumasi Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire, to be held in prison custody.

Emmanuel Ampabeng, alias 'Shole', Kofi Gyimah, alias 'Barima Yena', Kofi Nti, alias 'Eto', Kwadwo Owusu, alias 'Buggie', Richard Kwabena Kyere alias 'Thunder' and Kate Appiah, alias 'Maame K' are charged with conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.

They pleaded not guilty and would make their next appearance on Tuesday, September 20.

Police Chief Superintendent Emmanuel A. Akunnor told the court that the accused, armed with guns, attacked the Petroland Filling Station at Nkoranza near Kumasi, beat up the fuel attendants and made away with cash of GH 11,200.00 and a car battery.

The incident, he said, happened on May 12, at about 0130 hours.

The prosecution said the group again broke into a shop at Asenua in the Kwabre East District, two weeks after, and fled with an amount of GH 6,583.00.

They had earlier inflicted deep cutlass wound on the security man, Mohammed Halidu, leaving him unconscious.

Chief Supt Akunnor said the accused were arrested through the joint effort of the Asokwa police and the Counter Terrorist Unit.

Two vehicles - BMW and Toyota Corolla, alongside safe boxes, iron bars, steel cutter and chisels, were retrieved from them.

GNA
By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA

Nkroful (W/R), Sept. 15, GNA - The Electoral Commission (EC) has called on the leadership of the various political parties to educate their members on proper thumb printing and folding of ballot papers in the December polls.

It said this could help minimize the incidence of rejected and spoilt ballots come the December 7 polls.

Mr Emmanuel Kwame Aidoo, the Ellembelle District Director of EC, said this at a day's stakeholders' engagement with political party representatives, opinion leaders and chiefs at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region,

He said for instance 'during the political parties' primaries, I realised that some political party members did not know how to thumb print the ballots and this often resulted in many rejected and spoilt ballots, adding 'at one point, an executive member of a political party after casting his ballot put the ballot paper at the corner of the enclosed screen instead of the ballot box'.

The event was organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) under the theme:' Empowering the Youth to Stand Up for Ghana for a Peaceful Election 2016' and funded by the European Union.

He said 'prospective voters must first fold their ballots vertically after casting their votes before folding them horizontally so that the ink does not print on another candidate's space'.

Mr Aidoo, who gave an overview of the C.I. 94 as well as electoral offences and sanctions, said elections are a cumulative process involving registration of eligible voters, exhibition of voters' register, voter transfers and the filing of nominations among others.

Mr Alphonsus Arthur, the Western Regional Director of the NCCE, said the December General Election would only be successful if all the electoral stakeholders work together to ensure a free, fair and transparent poll.

He urged the participating political parties, the Electoral Commission, the electorate, the media and the civil society organizations, as well as the local and international observers to work collaboratively to ensure a successful election.

Mr Arthur, who spoke on the 'Code of Conduct for Political Parties', said every election is regulated by laws and regulations and urged the leadership of the political parties to educate their members and activists on the new Constitutional Instrument C.I. 94 which would govern this year's election.

He said election is a contest of ideas, policies and programmes and all political party activists must tolerate the views of others to ensure a violence-free poll come December 7.

The NCCE Regional Director warned against committing electoral offences such as snatching ballot boxes from the polling stations, disruption of electoral processes and opponent's rallies and defacing of posters.

'The youth have a lot of energy, however, you should not allow yourselves to be used by politicians and political parties to cause mayhem but rather think about the consequences of your actions which could end you in unpleasant situation', he said.

Earlier in his welcoming address, Mr Obeng Boampong, the District Director of the NCCE, urged all the electoral stakeholders to use dialogue to settle their differences instead of resorting to violence.

GNA
By Patience A. Gbeze/ Doris Ablordey, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Mr Emmanuel Bombande, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has reiterated government's continuous commitment to provide enabling environment for foreign businesses to operate in the country on a win-win basis.

He said many investment opportunities abound in the country for investors in a wide range of areas, including agriculture and agro-processing, health and pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, manufacturing, mining, construction and infrastructural projects, energy generation, transportation, tourism, education and youth development projects.

Mr Bombande was speaking at the second session of the Ghana-Russia Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation, currently ongoing in Accra.

He said Ghana and Russia have been working diligently to solidify the cordial bond of friendship and cooperation existing between the two countries for the mutual benefit of the people from the respective countries.

The Russian Commission, led by Mr Evgeny Kiselev, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, are in the country to explore investment partnership in the area of ICT, transport, housing, energy and natural resources, trade, economic, investment, agriculture, immigration and legal.

Mr Bombande said a recent demonstration of these efforts is the holding of the Ghana-Russia Business Forum organised by Ghana Embassy in Moscow in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, in which Mr Kiselev graciously participated and delivered the keynote address in 2014.

'Without a doubt, the business forum set off productive dialogue among our business people, thereby providing an invaluable opportunity for fruitful networking between our business communities,' he added.

He said the Joint Commission could now be said to have become one of the key driving forces behind the bilateral relations.

'Today's session is yet another welcomed opportunity for us to assess our bilateral cooperation over again through a multifaceted lens of, but not limited to, economic, scientific and technical diplomacy as well as to identify new avenues of cooperation, while fortifying the existing ones simultaneously.

'The inaugural session, successfully hosted in Moscow in October, 2014 culminated in the signing of the communiquA covering a wide range of issues relating to bilateral cooperation... It did set for us a firm foundation on which to further concretise our relationship with tangible evidence.

'On the implementation of the conclusion of the inaugural session, much as appreciable progress has been made in realising some of the conclusions reached, particularly in the nuclear energy arena, a lot more, however, needs to be done to achieve the desired results,' he added.

Mr Bombande said the two were tasked to ensure that agreements emanating from the joint commission sessions bear fruits for their people.

'It, therefore, behoves us to encourage the private sector in our respective countries to foster stronger bonds among themselves as we put in place the enabling environment that would make private investment flourish with ease,' he said.

Mr Kiselev was appreciative of the warm welcome from their counterparts and pledged to ensure that all protocols and projects initiated under the joint commission are completed.

He said they conceive Ghana a very respective country in terms of bilateral and economic cooperation and commended the Government for the important role it is playing in the growth of the West Africa Region.

Mr Kiselev said it is also important to highlight on cultural exchange and educational programmes between the two, as currently 650 Ghanaian students are studying in Russia.

He, therefore, extended invitation to the Ghana to attend an economic forum at St Petersburg in 2017.

GNA
By Joyce Danso, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - The head pastor of Faith Words Ministry accused of fondling and kissing a church member during prayers, has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with indecent assault.

Edmond Karikari Adjei, 40, who is said to have conducted his nefarious act at Nii Boi Town, Accra has pleaded not guilty.

The court presided over by Mrs Ruby Naa Adjeley Quaison has admitted Pastor Adjei to bail of GH E 10,000.00 with two sureties one to be a public servant earning not less than GH E 1,000.00.

He is expected to reappear on September 26.

Prosecuting Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbire said the complainant is an 18- year old student residing at Chantan with her mother and other siblings.

Detective Inspector Atimbire said the victim and her mother are members of the accused person's church at Nii Boi Town.

On July 26, after closing from a prayer meeting, Pastor Adjei told the victim's mother that he had had a revelation about the victim and requested that he meets him.

Based on that on August 30, this year, the accused person called the victim and her mother again over the revelation.

Prosecution said on the same day, the victim went to the accused person house to see him flowing instructions from her mother.

During their meeting, prosecution said accused person indicated that he had had another revelation showing that she had abdominal pains.

Accused therefore brought out anointing oil and asked the complainant to sit by him in a three sofa chair and she obliged.

Prosecution said Pastor Adjei folded the complainant's sweater up and pulled her trousers downwards and administered the anointed oil on her navel and abdomen.

According to the prosecutor the accused person lifted the complainant from the sofa chair, held her tight, fondled and kissed her.

A report was made to the Police and Pastor Adjei was arrested. In his caution statement, he admitted the offence.

GNA
By Cecelia Diesob/Deborah Apetorgbor, GNA

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Local aphrodisiacs such as tree roots and barks, acclaimed for improving the sexual capacity of especially males, are on high demand in Accra.

Some of the products on display are 'Kraman Kote', 'Damram' and 'Waist and Power'.

Other products on sale are also packaged and imported ones in the form of syrups, capsules, ointments and powder.

Some of these include Sexmen and Bigman. Often these packages are accompanied by sexually provoking images.

Madam Comfort Yaa Boatemaa, a vendor, at Tema Station in Accra told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that some people request for a bottled preparation of some of the barks.

She claimed that officials from the Food and Drugs Authority often come to inspect her products and the harmful ones are seized, so 'the ones I have are very safe'.

Dr Hubert Simpson, Medical Doctor at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, expressed concern about the long-term effects of aphrodisiacs.

He said users often report with complaints ranging from priapism- prolonged erection, dizziness and headaches.

However some patrons, who spoke to the GNA, do not seem to worry about the problems associated with the drugs.

They rather testified of the efficacy of the local aphrodisiacs and said as long as they receive the immediate relief from using them, they are okay.

GNA
By Jerry Azanduna, GNA

Tempane (U/E), Sept.15, GNA - Dr Francis Adam Asaana, an independent parliamentary candidate for the Tempane Constituency, has said he will make education and access to good health top priorities on his development agenda for the area.

He said those two were the primary needs that when given the needed attention would project the development of the people and promote the quality of livelihoods in the area.

Dr Asaana said little has been done in the constituency in relation to health and education and this has retarded development in the area.

Dr Asaana, a medical practitioner and an entrepreneur operating in the Bawku area, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Garu in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the way political leaders in the constituency served the people saying he was dedicated to serving the people the way Dr Kwame Nkrumah served the nation.

Dr Asaana said the area lacked social infrastructure including accessible road network, schools and health facilities, which could help improve the living standards of the people.

He pledged to organise skills training in various trades for the youth as this would give them employable skills and enable them generate good income.

Dr Asaana called on the people to give him the nod to go to parliament so that he could articulate their concerns on a national platform.

GNA
It is the wish of all well-meaning and peace loving people across the nation and the world that events leading to the presidential and parliamentary elections in December will be peaceful. With the request by the electoral commission for political parties to go for nomination forms for their candidates many political parties and independent candidates have already gone for their nomination forms.

They are expected to return them by the end of this month. On radio and television and political platforms leading members of the parties are busy selling their programs for the elections to the people. But even before things get to the boiling points tension is mounting.

Leaders of the main parties the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who have begun mounting platforms to present their manifestoes and policies to the electorates have begun trading accusations and counter accusations on each other for stealing policies of one village one dam for irrigation, the creation of more regions, improvement on the National Health Insurance Scheme among others.

Apart from NPP and NDC the other political parties like PNC and CPP have also been accusing the two political parties of stealing portions of their manifestoes especially on the health insurance and the creation of factories and free education policies.

Since Ghana is one nation with one people and a common destiny, we need to tone down on the accusations and counter accusations on intended policies by the political parties. Each of the parties must concentrate on bringing out good policies on education, energy to kill dumsor, industrialization to create job as we increase productivity, health and agriculture among other things.

What we must all know is that whichever party comes to power it is not likely that it can succeed in implementing its policies all alone without the help of other political parties. As Ghana is made up many political parties but the winning party will need the help of civil servants parliament traditional rulers and religious leaders who do not all belong to the same political party that will include the ruling party.

For that matter all the parties must tone down on the tension building among them that is likely to lead to conflicts.

Already tension is brewing in some parts of the country between the ruling NDC and the opposition NPP supporters. at Kukuom in the Brong Ahafo Region the offices of the NPP and that of the NDC have been vandalized perhaps due to misunderstandings arising from the exercise of transfer of voters by the Electoral Commission .

This should not result in conflict. The police have taken steps to deal with the incidents. But there is the need for the perpetrators of the crimes to be arrested and prosecuted. The issues must not be played down or considered political.

In Accra the newspapers have reported that some aggrieved people in two vehicles belonging to the NDC have also launched an attack on the head of the Lands Commission in Accra. For whatever reason it is wrong for those people to take the law in their hands. This has led to the police rescuing the persons concerned others with the law enforcers embarking on investigations on the matter. The issue must be taken serious and considered a criminal matter. This way the offending group would be punished to serve as a deterrent to others who might wish to take similar steps

Executive Director

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Books act as a mirror. If you never see yourself in the mirror, what are you being told about who you are?

Recently a video was uploaded on YouTube and it was basically about why diversity doesnt matter. In the video the person claimed they dont care about diversity, while spouting racist rhetoric and claiming that diversity is historically inaccurate. They argued that diversity of opinion is enough i.e. opinions told by and for straight, cis, able-bodied Caucasian people.

The book community, including a large proportion of the YA community, spoke up and tried to make diverse voices louder than those spreading hatred.

Lets take a step back for a minute and pretend that all books, especially those aimed at young people, are written for and about people who are straight, cis, able-bodied and Caucasian. These books are a constant reinforcement to these identities. To these people they say: you are normal and you are loved. But to the people out there that are POC, LGBT+ or disabled these books say you are not normal, you are the other, you arent loved and you should try to act more like the default.

I think what people who see mirrors of themselves reflected in fiction a lot dont understand is that not having these mirrors hurts.

If you dont see yourself, if all there is is diversity of opinion, you suffer. You internalize these messages and try to consciously (and even subconsciously) remake yourself to fit into a box that will never fit you. You straighten your hair because having thick, curly hair isnt normal. You try not to act queer around people, even if there is a really cute person right there, because that isnt normal. You feel ashamed when you look in the mirror and see that youre not the default. You do everything you can to act normal because every message you see tells you that you arent.

This is why diversity of opinion isnt enough and why well always need diverse fiction, especially for young people. Because everyone is normal and being yourself is healthier than trying to fit in a box that was forced on you.

While there are diverse books out there, there still arent nearly enough to reach out to the diverse community and tell them that their experiences are normal and that whoever they are they can still go on adventures. We need to raise up diverse fiction written by people of diverse identities. We need to speak with our money and tell publishers, agents and booksellers that not only is diverse fiction important, but it sells. And the more popular these books are, the more people of that identity ithey will reach.

These are just a few great diverse books, written by diverse authors. Thanks to @nattystales, @findmereading and @missdahlelama for recommending them to me.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen follows Maya, whose father the Raja forces her to marry out of political convenience to stop a rebellion. She becomes the queen of Akaran and the wife of Amar. Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most including herself.

Roshanis work draws from her Filipino and Indian heritage. She wrote The Star-Touched Queen because she wanted to honor the childhood stories I heard growing up. I wrote it to see someone who looked like me as the protagonist.

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Juliet Takes a Breath is a queer coming-of-age story that follows Juliet Palante, a queer Puerto Rican from the Bronx, as she travels to Portland, Oregon for her summer internship to work for her idol  a white feminist author named Harlowe. Throughout her journey, Juliet comes out to her family, deepens her feminist views and radical politics, learns what queer community is all about, finds some badass mentors, falls for a rad girl and unearths some truths about herself.

About the representation in her book, Rivera said I wanted to show what it means to be half-Jewish and half-Puerto Rican, to be a middle-class Latina who lives in a hood where there are Black and brown working-class and poor folks, to have a brother who is super smart and a little nerdy. I sat down and was like, where can I place these people that it makes sense? I didnt want to token any identity, but I didnt want to make the fear of tokenization prevent me from naming folks.

Outrun the Moon by Stacy Lee

Outrun the Moon is set in 1906, San Francisco and follows fifteen-year old Chinese-American Mercy Wong as she struggles with poverty and an earthquake that destroys her home and school.

Lee is Chinese-American. In an interview with KALW, Lee said that as a child she wanted to read stories about people like her.

On The Edge Of Gone by Corinne Duyvis

A comet is scheduled to hit Earth and Denise, her mother and sister are assigned temporary shelter to wait it out. But with her family scattered, Denise doesnt know if theyll make it in time.

They find out that theres a ship due to leave Earth, but each passenger must be able to contribute to the new world theyll colonize. Denise is autistic and fears she wont be deemed worthy enough to get a spot.

Duyvis wrote The Edge of Gone because she wanted to write a post-apocalyptic story that dealt with how disabled people are approached in these genres, and Id wanted to write an autistic protagonist, and I suddenly had the plot bunny of writing about a generation ship before it actually left the planet, to see what the process of boarding and preparing would look like.

Run by Kody Keplinger

Despite Bo Dickinson having a wild reputation and Agnes Atwood being dateless thanks to her parents overbearing rules to keep their legally blind daughter safe, Bo and Agnes become best friends.

So when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, with police sirens wailing in the distance, desperate to get out of town, Agnes doesnt hesitate to take off with her. But running away and not getting caught will require stealing a car, tracking down Bos dad, staying ahead of the authorities, and  worst of all  confronting some ugly secrets.

On representation for disabled people and the creation of the site Disability in Kidlit, Keplinger stated:

[a]s a disabled woman myself, representation of disabled people in literature has always been important to me, and I was eager to see disability become part of the bigger diversity conversation.

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Councilwoman Marilyn Librers, a nearly 40-year resident of Morgan Hill, is running for her third consecutive term on the city council in order to contribute to a bright and exciting future for the city.

Since her first four-year term, which started in 2008, Librers counts fiscal responsibility, the preservation of Morgan Hills charming small-town feel and solid public safety services among the citys attributes she hopes to maintain.

This community has a unique mix of family life, recreation, tourism and agriculture, said Librers, who has two adult children and a granddaughter who live in Morgan Hill. I believe as a City Council member, I have contributed to all of these.

Librers is a strong supporter of Measure S, the citys growth control ordinance update on the same ballot as Morgan Hill City Council and mayoral races. While other candidates have doubts about the measure, Librers thinks it can effectively manage local growth and prevent surges of construction.

I support slow planned residential growth, development of downtown businesses and strong economic growth in our industrial areas, Librers said.

She also counts public safety as an ongoing priority if re-elected, as the citys police and fire services account for more than 75 percent of Morgan Hills general fund budget.

Another important issue to Librers is the maintenance of city streetsan area of city services that is vastly underfunded. If re-elected, she said she will seek funding for street maintenance and upgrades through grants and by taking a look at utility expenses to ensure that infrastructure is up-to-date and safe.

Furthermore, she encourages voters to vote Yes on the Valley Transportation Authoritys Measure B half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 8 ballot, which is projected to provide about $800,000 annually to Morgan Hill to fix potholes and maintain streets.

Librers is retired from the Mt. Madonna YMCA, and is a former Morgan Hill Parks and Recreation Commissioner. For the last eight years, she has been the Executive Director of the Morgan Hill-based nonprofit Pauchon Research Foundation.

She is also President of the nonprofit China-Silicon Valley, which promotes economic ties between the two regions. Librers has traveled to China numerous times to promote these ties.

Librers is also a past board member of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, former representative of the Morgan Hill Sister Cities Association and has held various posts with the League of California Cities as a representative of Morgan Hill in recent years.

This article is part of a series of profiles on the five candidates running for Morgan Hill City Council in the Nov. 8 election. Candidates are incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers, and challengers Mario Banuelos, Armando Benavides and Rene Spring. There are two seats open in the election, and voters will get to select two candidates on the ballot. The top two overall vote getters will win the seats. Click the links at the bottom of this page to view the other candidates profiles.
Editors note: This article was originally published Feb. 8, 2016.

Campaign season for the November 2016 city election is underway, as Planning Commissioner Rene Spring has formally announced his candidacy for one of two City Council seats up for grabs.

Spring, 52, is running on a platform that consists of slowing down the growth that Morgan Hill has seen in recent years, and planning for smart growth in the future.

Im really worried about the direction our town is going, Spring said. I dont know anyone who moved to Morgan Hill for the urban experience. Im really worried about the explosion of buildings weve seen across town. As a planning commissioner, Im really worried about some of the policies the council still has in place that enable this to happen.

Spring is a 12-year resident of Morgan Hill, having immigrated to the U.S. from Switzerland a few years before he moved here.

He has served on the seven-member planning commission since 2012. Members of that body are appointed by the elected City Council.

The council doesnt want to change. They cater to the builders and developers, Spring added.

He doesnt think some of the councils recent key decisions on land use reflect how the majority of Morgan Hill residents feel. He cited the Southeast Quadrant project as an example, where the council has regularly advocated an annexation and Sports-Recreation-Leisure plan for the agricultural area for more than a decade, despite the protests of other local agencies and residents who insist the effort is not compatible with its surroundings.

When (the SEQ) came up, I strongly advocated including that in the General Plan Update, Spring said. The City Council two years ago declined to include the projected commercial growth of the SEQwhich would include a private Catholic high school if it gains approval from the countyin the General Plan Update effort. It will not do anything to preserve our agriculture in the Southeast Quadrant.

Another eye opener on the commission, for Spring, was when the Oak Meadows annexation project in west Morgan Hill. On that agricultural property, the owner planned to build up to 48 new homes. I thought that was a beautiful area. When it came up (at a planning commission meeting), I was the only commissioner that voted against the project, Spring said.

The current council last year ultimately rejected the Oak Meadow annexation by a 3-2 vote.

We need to stop annexing land outside our city as long as we have lots of land inside our Urban Service Area, Spring added.

Spring added he has also differed with the current council on the conversion of industrial land to residential and commercial. We want companies to move down here and make this land available for well-paying jobs.

Furthermore, Spring said the citys downtown plans suffer from safety shortfalls, and have forced small businesses to move out to the detriment of the city.

I do not think (the downtown) is family friendly, he said. It is unsafe, especially for kids. I want to keep our innovative and community-building small businesses in downtown, and we need to attract other business.

Two council seats up for election in November 2016 are currently held by incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers, neither of whom has formally announced their intent to run for re-election. Councilmembers serve four-year terms.

The mayors seat, currently occupied by five-term incumbent Steve Tate, will appear on that ballot as well. The mayors term is for two years.

The city election will take place Nov. 8.

Spring is Director of Program Management for Cadence Design Systems. He has served on the board of directors for Leadership Morgan Hill, and is currently President of the Board of Directors for the Morgan Hill Community Foundation.

This article is part of a series of profiles on the five candidates running for Morgan Hill City Council in the Nov. 8 election. Candidates are incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers, and challengers Mario Banuelos, Armando Benavides and Rene Spring. There are two seats open in the election, and voters will get to select two candidates on the ballot. The top two overall vote getters will win the seats. Click the links at the bottom of this page to view the other candidates profiles.
A Morganton family thought their lives would be forever changed one day in late May, but with the quick thinking and preparedness of the Burke County Emergency Services a life was spared.

On Friday morning, Greg Shell, 54, and his family walked up the pathway to the EMS Base No.7 in Morganton to thank the paramedics that saved his life.

There to greet them as they walked in were Paramedics Melissa Suttles and Tina Byrd along with EMT Adam Rawls. Suttles and Byrd were the first two responders to show up at Shells house when they were called to assist a person who had gone into respiratory distress, which led into cardiac arrest.

I always go to bed and by 9 p.m. I am gone, said Marie Shell, Gregs wife. That night I had an infection in my foot, so I was on antibiotics and I was sick.

Unusually, she was still up at 1:30 a.m. and walked into her living room and was sitting in the quiet, when she heard Greg coughing.

I thought Well I better go check on him and I walked in there and all he said was I am having some trouble getting air in, Marie said.

She asked him if he was okay and he kept on coughing. Back in March, Greg was having congestive heart failure and had a stint put in to help with blood flow to his heart.

Marie left the bedroom to tell their son that they were going to the hospital to have him checked out and when she returned he was coughing up a froth-like substance.

I dont remember anything else after that, Greg said.

Once Suttles and Byrd arrived, they knew he was in severe distress. He ended up coding right as the paramedics entered the room.

You were like Give me oxygen you were just begging for that oxygen, Suttles said.

While working on Greg, Marie paced the hallways praying to God non-stop because it was all she could do.

Once he coded, I got on the radio and called for help, Suttles said.

He was the flown to Charlotte and they were told later on he would fully recover. Greg has since then lost 45 pounds and his heart is much healthier.

My heart doctor has kind of given me the go ahead to do whatever I want to do, Greg said.

The Shells are very thankful for the swift and precise work of Burke County EMS.

As an ex-firefighter and she (Marie) being a ex-EMT very few people want to go back to thank the people who helped save them and I wanted to make sure that they knew I appreciated every minute of training, every hour they have spent away from home, every night they have had to stay (at the EMS base) sometimes under the most worst conditions possible and driving in the worse possible weather, Greg said. I just wanted to thank them.

He knows that the EMS workers are doing their jobs to help save lives, not to get a pay check, he said.

They gave us our life, Marie said. Our lives would have changed forever without him. I wanted to tell them thank you from my heart I wanted to tell them thank you.

Burke County has the best paramedic program, Greg said.

I am not saying that because I am standing here or because this is Burke County, but bar none this is the best emergency medical services anywhere, he said.

While in Charlotte, a doctor told Marie that Greg was going to be alright, but only because of accurate work of the paramedics.

It is very rare that paramedics interact with their patients after they have been treated.

I have been doing this for 13 years and he is the first one I have actually gotten to see make it out of the hospital and meet, so that means a lot to me, Byrd said. You (Greg) were one of the worst people I have seen. That was nothing, but God because I never ever expected you to make it out of the hospital.

This was also the first time for Suttles as well, who has been a paramedic for six years.

It is a true blessing and it is ultimately why we do this job is to care for people and to help people, Suttles said. We dont always get the outcome we hope for, but fortunately in this case it has been a true blessing.

The Shell family and Burke EMS also wanted to thank Morganton Public Safety Department for their assistance on that night.

They help us out all the time, Suttles said of MDPS.

The Shells not only wanted to meet the paramedics to thank them, but to also see how they could help promote education of CPR, so others in Gregs situation might be saved as well.

For those who may find themselves in Maries shoes with another person going into, paramedics say to immediately get the person onto a hard surface and start chest compressions.

If you are initiating that early CPR, you are circulating the blood leftover in the heart event though they are not (profusing) the blood you doing the chest compressions is doing it for them and there for you have a reserve of oxygen in your blood, which is providing the oxygen to your brain, Suttles said.

Burke EMS has been emphasizing the importance of hands-only CPR. They sometimes have trouble getting people to learn CPR because of the old standard of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that was in place.

People nowadays are not going to do mouth-to-mouth, so they dont know what to do, Suttles said. We are trying to get out in the community and educate the citizens about hands-only CPR because studies have shown that the major turnaround that we have is from early CPR and basically all you have to do is compressions.

A CPR training session will be held at Food Lion in Hildebran on Oct. 9 from 12:30-4:30 p.m. to kick off the Fire Prevention Week for Burke County for those interested in learning.

All emergency services personnel that responded to assist Greg included Byrd, Suttles, Captain Scott Brasecker, Paramedic Mike Bailey, Sergeant Nikki Carswell and multiple officers with Morganton Department of Public Safety.

Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.
On Sunday afternoon at Burke United Christian Ministries, Jill King officially said good-bye to the organization shes directed for the past four years at a reception held in her honor.

A few weeks ago, King resigned her position as executive director of the ministry to return to education. She took a position as a counselor with Marion Elementary School in the McDowell County School System. She spoke about what factored into her decision.

It has been a wonderful four years, King said. I feel privileged to have been here to serve the community. Its been a prayerful decision. I felt like the Lord was ready for my next season. I believe there are seasons of servanthood, and hes just leading me into that next season.

I had just started feeling the tug back to education, and I knew I wanted to go back in as a school counselor. I received an offer from McDowell County Schools to do just that in an elementary setting. Its always been a line of service for me.

The Rev. Dr. Kevin Frederick, chair of the board of directors for BUCM, shared his feelings about Kings service in a recent press release.

I, along with our entire board, want to share our gratitude for Jills service to BUCM, Frederick said. She will be greatly missed, but has left the organization in a stronger place to continue serving the people of Burke County.

The press release elaborated on the positive impact King had during her time leading the ministry.

During Kings tenure, she built a strong foundation for BUCM to focus on meeting the needs of residents in Burke County, the statement read. As an administrator, King successfully carried out the organizations goals to become a more efficient and effective ministry. She also did a phenomenal job promoting the organization at numerous church and community events. Under Kings direction, BUCM grew community church support to 64 active congregations. Most importantly, she led the organization to become more client-focused with the purpose of sharing Christs love with the Burke County community.

Board member Beth Burleson recognized King at the reception, presenting her with a framed print of a poem handwritten in calligraphy on behalf of the ministry. King also had received a silver pendant from the staff that was engraved with a cross and a special message.

One of the best things the board ever did was to hire Jill, Burleson said. She brought a fresh perspective. She helped all of us to look more at our individual clients. Jill is an extreme people person, and she taught us to recognize clients not as a number on a paper, but as individuals with individual stories. Shes had a great passion for those people, and it shows in the way she cares. Its not an easy group of people to serve, but Jill has always done it with love and compassion, and she has done a wonderful job for us here.

Board member Leslie McKesson also shared her thoughts about Kings work at the reception.

I think she is one of the most loving people I have ever known, McKesson said. I dont care where you see Jill, shes got her arms stretched out and shes looking you straight in the eye with a face full of love. I know that she will bring that same love and grace to her next level.

King expressed her appreciation with those gathered at the reception.

I learned things here (at BUCM) that I would have never learned anywhere else, King said. I could not have set up a better classroom than what God set up here for me. Ive loved the people, and the staff and volunteers have always been supportive. And I appreciate the board  thank you for your support.

She announced that she was able to implement a special set of classes to educate families on getting out of generational poverty before she left.

It was hard for me to come in and just put Band-Aids on problems, because thats not a solution, King said. Its about improving lives.

She thanked former Burke County Superintendent David Burleson, who was in attendance, for hiring her to work in the school system in the late 90s.

King said she will continue working to help people in need, noting that the school she is working for is serving a local shelter, where some of the students are staying.

She also thanked Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant for attending the reception, and for the sheriff departments support of BUCM.

You are a man of integrity fighting for our clients, and fighting the drug war, King said.

The board has chosen Rosemary Ohnesorge, a social worker with BUCM, to serve as an interim executive director until a permanent director can be put in place. Beth Burleson described what that process would entail.

Its in the hands of the executive committee, Beth Burleson said. They are taking applications and resumes for the position, and getting that down to a smaller group based on the qualifications were looking for. From there, theyll begin the interview process. I think the goal is, within the next few weeks, to narrow that down to three or four selections, and those will be put through a further interview process, and eventually theyll bring a couple of people to the board for an interview. The goal for the board is to have someone in here before the end of the year.

King said she will miss the people she worked with the most.

(Ill miss) staff, clients, volunteers  the relationships Ive built, King said. But nothing is goodbye; its just, see you later.

Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com.
Brand new technology, same old witch.

Sixteen years after "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" disappointed the "Blair Witch Project" cult by doing something different, "Blair Witch" does as little different as possible. There are more characters this time, and they're outfitted with GPS, GoPros, walkie-talkies and a drone-mounted camera. But they're on the same woodland path as the first movie's hapless trio.

Aside from having an essentially identical plot, this sequel links to the original genealogically. James (James Allen McCune) is the baby brother of Heather, who supposedly vanished in the haunted woods near Burkittsville, Maryland (a town that in reality is much closer to Harpers Ferry than to hell). He's obsessed with learning her fate and has a fantasy of rescuing her.

James heads for the forest with not-quite-girlfriend Lisa (Callie Hernandez), his lifelong pal Peter (Brandon Scott) and the latter's paramour, Ashley (Corbin Reid). Lisa is a film student who intends to turn their trip into a documentary, but all three of them are loaded down with cameras.

So are Lane (Wes Robinson) and Talia (Valorie Curry), horror buffs who found (and posted online) new video of Heather's doomed excursion. They insist on accompanying the other four, which provides added opportunities for personality conflict  as well as more fake footage to be cut into the make-believe movie supposedly assembled from the video remains of their quest.

The six campers' extensive video capability should allow them to be myth-busters, but what fun is that? So their devices begin to fail, along with the basic laws of physics. Time itself turns to taffy, a joke on the idea of real-time video that doesn't quite pay off. Director Adam Wingard and scripter Simon Barrett ("You're Next," "The Guest") occasionally wink at the material but then quickly return to playing this nonsense for thrills rather than laughs.

"Blair Witch" runs only eight minutes more than the original, yet it feels about a half-hour longer. The new toys  especially the drone  allow for fresh situations, and there's more blood and supernatural affliction than before. Mostly, though, the filmmakers just repeat familiar moves and expand established locations (while shooting in British Columbia, not Maryland).

Like all movies that purport to use found footage, "Blair Witch" includes angles that couldn't have been produced by its characters, and scenes shot by people who in a rational universe would have dropped their cameras and scrammed. Unlike the first film, however, this one doesn't conjure the headlong motion of terrified people on the run. Instead, the image more often jumps, swipes or chaotically pans.

These camera jolts are amplified by a pummeling soundtrack, the movie's most impressive technical achievement. At its noisiest, "Blair Witch" at least sounds like something you haven't seen before.
A Valdese man will spend at least 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking on Wednesday.

Franklin Raye Shell, 35, of Valdese, was sentenced to 18 to 23 years by Superior Court Judge W. Todd Pomeroy, of Lincoln County, after pleading guilty to trafficking in opiates by possession and trafficking in opiates by transportation during Burke County Superior Court.

His sentence will be served in custody of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

On May 18, 2015, Shell picked up 120 Oxycodone pills from a local pharmacy with a forged prescription, marking the eighth time he committed such an offense in a two-month period. He would use some of the pills himself and sell the others.

The case was investigated by Scott Lanning of the Burke County Sheriffs Office and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Frank Webster.

Shell has previous convictions for obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, forgery, and false state insurance benefits.
#Seoul mayor Seoul mayor cuts short visit to Europe after Itaewon stampede Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon arrived back home Sunday after cutting short his trip to Europe in the wake of the deadly crush in Seoul's Itaewon district that killed over 150 people. ...

#parties Ruling, opposition parties vow measures to handle aftermath of Itaewon stampede The ruling and opposition parties held emergency response meetings on Sunday to discuss ways to investigate the cause of a deadly stampede in Seoul's Itaewon district and handle th...
On Friday June 24 you did not feel like there were blue skies ahead, says Indriatti van Hien, deputy manager of the Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust (HSL).

The Government looked in disarray, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney remained bearish and markets had fallen dramatically.

As a result, van Hien and the trusts lead manager Neil Hermon took the decision to sell out of a number of economically sensitive stocks, a reaction that with hindsight has proved to be of mixed success. One of the less successful trades was SSP Group (SSPG), an operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

We regret selling SPP Group, admits Hermon. It has since rallied 10%. But on the day airline groups Lufthansa and AIG had issued Brexit related warnings  and there had been a number of terror attacks in the preceding months.

The team also sold half of their stock in Howdens (HWDN); concerned about the future spending power of the UK consumer. The stock fell from 5.10 the day of the referendum, to 3.41 on Friday June 24 when the result was announced. It is now 4.27 a share.

Hermon points to LSL Property Services (LSL) as a stock they were right to sell, reducing their position by 1.5 million. Riding high at 2.95 prior to the result, it then fell to 2.20 and has failed to make back the loss since.

Profiting from the Brexit Fall-out

Good quality companies were dragged down with the bad following the Brexit vote, creating plenty of buying opportunities. Hermon added to positions in wealth manager Brewin Dolphin (BRW), fund manager Jupiter (JUP) and housebuilders Crest Nicholson (CRST) and Balfour Beatty (BBY)  all of which have rallied considerably since the end of June. Since June 24, Brewin is up 28%, Jupiter up 27%, Crest has rallied 33% and Balfour has made considerable gains of 52%.

The team sees opportunities within the infrastructure space, which they expect to benefit from the new Chancellors Autumn Statement. We see the Autumn Statement as a catalyst for markets, says van Hien. The Government is committed to spending, and it is not priced in to stocks yet as the details are unclear  we dont know where the spend will be, or how much it will be.

Concerns About Domestic Growth

Despite positive recent economic data, it is still early days for Britain  the Government has yet to trigger Article 50 and it will be years before we really know what the post-Brexit landscape will be.

Hermon admits that small and mid-sized companies are more sensitive to domestic economic concerns, but says there are plenty of stocks to choose from with in-built protection from a potential slowdown.

We are looking at our holdings and we are aware which export to Europe. At the moment the lower sterling value has active as a shock absorber for those stocks but that may not always be the case, he said. We used to have 52% of our portfolio in pure UK stocks, now it is 48%. The exporters we own are global businesses, market leaders with revenues from the US and Japan such as Vitrex (VCT) and Renishaw (RSW)  these wont be affected by Brexit.
By Alison Auld



HALIFAX - Candidates vying for the leadership of the Conservative Party took aim at the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, saying its endorsement of the Trudeau government's "left-wing ideology'' will only kill jobs and plunge the country further into debt.



Leadership candidate Tony Clement went so far as to accuse Christine Lagarde, the head of the respected international body, of "spouting left-wing ideology'' when she praised the fiscal policies of the federal government a day earlier in Ottawa.



"I don't care if it's the Queen of Sheba _ if you're advancing theories based on left-wing ideology that means more tax and more spend, it will not create jobs,'' he said on the last day of the Conservative caucus retreat in Halifax.



"We're not going to fall down the same cliff again just because some expert from outta town has said it's ok.''



Lagarde met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday and gave her stamp of approval to his economic initiatives, adding that she hoped they would "go viral'' and spread to the European Union.



Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose downplayed the endorsement, saying the IMF had praised the policies of the Tory government under Stephen Harper during the global recession.



Instead, Ambrose said the party is paying closer attention to domestic indicators and the opinions of the Bank of Canada, the Conference Board of Canada and ordinary Canadians who are struggling with unemployment and increasing debt.



"These are people who are out of a job, these are people that are worried about their paycheques,'' she said at the close of the two-day retreat.



"Things are quite grim in a lot of parts of our country right now.''



The IMF's support of Ottawa's "growth strategy'' could serve to weaken the Conservatives' criticism of Trudeau's economic policies, sure to be one of its main targets when it heads back to Parliament on Monday.



But Conservative finance critic Lisa Raitt said that while it's nice to have Lagarde's approval, both she and Trudeau failed to explain how the federal Liberal government will pay for its spending.



"My fault in what she said is it's one thing to say it's ok to spend, it's another thing to tell us how we're supposed to pay it all back,'' she said.



"This government has shown us nothing on how they're going to pay it back.''



Leadership contender Maxime Bernier said it was a wrong-headed policy at a time of flagging growth in Canada, and that billions in federal spending has done little to spur economic recovery.



"The reality is that after nearly a year you don't have any growth in Canada,'' he said.

"We need growth of four per cent and the way to do that is with less government and more private investment.''



The MPs made the comments as they wrapped up summer meetings that were dominated by discussions over immigration, electoral reform, party unity and the nascent leadership contest.



Much of the debate in the hallways of the Halifax hotel centred on controversial remarks by leadership Ontario MP and candidate Kellie Leitch, who has proposed screening newcomers for ``anti-Canadian values'' as a way to assess their views on issues like gender equality.



The proposal has already caused dissension between some declared candidates, with Michael Chong calling it "unworkable nonsense'' and Deepak Obhrai saying it is "anti-immigrant.''



Caucus members also looked at ways to make a comeback in Atlantic Canada, a region that shut out the party in all 32 ridings in the last federal election. They met with the Conservative leaders from the four Atlantic provinces, adding that they chose Halifax as the site of their retreat in a bid to reassert their presence.



"We are here, we get it, we know we have work to do but we want to earn back your vote,'' Ambrose said. ``We want you to think of us when the time comes on election day in 2019.''


Following a report by the national newspaper alleging two major banks favour foreign homebuyers, the countrys banking regulator weighs in



Whether the borrower is foreign or domestic, OSFI expects that institutions will take reasonable steps to verify income; and where income verification is inadequate, to have compensating controls, Annik Faucher, communications specialist with OSFI, wrote in an email to MortgageBrokerNews.ca. As we mentioned in our July 7 letter to the industry, OSFI expects mortgage lenders to verify that their mortgage operations are well supported by prudent underwriting practices, as well as sound risk management and internal controls that are commensurate with these operations.



But it seems some lenders havent heeded the regulators requirements.



According to a report by the Globe and Mail, both the Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank make allowances for foreign buyers not afforded to Canadians when purchasing a home.



Both allegedly provide mortgages to foreigners with no credit history and without having to prove income.



Scotiabanks guidelines specify that loans officers do not need to verify foreign clients sources of income if they make down payments of 50 per cent. At BMO, such clients need only 35 per cent down to qualify for mortgages up to $2-million, the Globe said in the report. The criteria from both banks show income verification is also not required for new immigrants who have been in Canada less than five years if they put 35 per cent down.



This seems to be in direct opposition of OSFIs July letter, which states it expects all financial institutions to exhibit rigour in the verification of a borrowers income as it is a critical element in the residential mortgage underwriting process.



We asked OSFI if it will investigate the allegations brought forth against two major banks by a Globe and Mail report.



We have nothing more to add other than what is contained in our July 7 letter, Faucher wrote in a follow-up email.
Wells Fargo may be in trouble, but the executive in charge of the unit that caused the banks headaches seems to be leaving the bank with a giant payday.Wells Fargo just agreed to pay $185 million -- including the largest fine ever imposed by the CFPB  to settle claims that it defrauded its customers. But Carrie Tolstedt, the executive in charge of the unit where the fraud occurred, is leaving the bank with a $124.6 million golden parachute, according to a Fortune report.Employees in Tolstedts unit opened more than 2 million customer accounts  largely without the knowledge or authorization of the customers involved. The practice, known as sandbagging, was apparently a routine tactic to drive up sales numbers and earn compensation incentives. Wells Fargo said it had fired 5,300 employees over five years for sandbagging, according to Fortune.But Tolstedt is departing with $124.6 million in stock and options, according to NPR. And her compensation during the five years the CFPB targeted for investigation included a yearly incentive of $5.5 million in stock  in addition to base pay and bonuses. And despite clawback provisions instituted by Wells Fargo in the wake of the financial crisis, the bank does not appear to be moving to force Tolstedt return any of her pay, Fortune reported.A spokesperson for the bank said Tolstedts departure was a result of her own decision to retire after 27 years, according to Fortune. And Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf said Tolstedt had been a standard-bearer of our culture and a champion for our customers.CFPB head Richard Cordray, however, had harsh words for the units incentive programs, which he said encouraged employees to open the unauthorized accounts. According to Cordray, financial incentive programs, if not monitored carefully, carry serious risks that can have serious legal consequences.At the same time, its not clear if Tolstedt was aware of the widespread fraud at her unit, Fortune reported. The CFPB did not name her directly in its investigation. Nor did the Los Angeles City Attorneys Office, which sued the bank over the matter. But a CFPB official said that Wells Fargo itself was aware of the practice of sandbagging for longer than it should have been without stopping it.
Oil prices have swung wildly between $39 and $49 over the last six weeks as OPEC officials have hinted at freezing production, U.S. companies have filled storage tanks and drillers have restarted rigs.

Houston oil workers, though, shouldnt get their hopes up for another boom. The oil and gas industry may have hit bottom, but long-term trends point to a new normal of minimal drilling activity, which is what creates jobs in Houston far more than high oil prices or robust production. Thats bad news for the 70,000 Houston-area residents who have lost their oil and gas jobs since late 2014, according to the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston.

Industry analysts have been talking about a recovery ever since the price of West Texas intermediate bottomed in February, at around $26 a barrel and began working its way upward. Higher prices usually spur oil companies to hire more people to design and drill new wells, and thats what happened this summer, with the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count rising from 404 in May to 508 last week.

The volume of oil in storage, though, kept climbing, and in late July prices tumbled again. Thats when OPEC oil ministers boosted prices by agreeing to discuss freezing production at an informal Sept. 26-28 meeting in Algiers, with Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran agreeing to join. That led to higher prices and more drilling.

Prices got more support when Irans oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said last week that $50 to $60 a barrel was a good price range for OPEC because it is low enough to lock out competitors, including most deep-water and U.S. drillers, but high enough to help cash-strapped OPEC governments. That helped international oil hit $50.

What drillers and oil traders missed, though, was that Zanganeh also said his country would agree to a freeze only after it was pumping 4 million barrels a day. Since Iran is currently pumping 3.8 million barrels, that suggests that other OPEC nations would need to cut production by 200,000 barrels a day to reach a deal or give Iran a pass to pump more into an already-flooded market.

That makes the chances pretty slim for a strong, enforceable deal coming out of Algiers later this month.

All the while, the stockpile of crude and refined fuel inventories kept setting records. Last week, the U.S. had 511.4 million barrels of crude in storage, about 80.6 million barrels above the five-year average, according to S&P Global Platts, which tracks energy markets. And even that number is misleadingly low, because Hurricane Hermione disrupted deliveries, and there is about a three-week backlog of oil tankers waiting to unload.

The reason so many analysts have been wrong in their predictions is that U.S. drillers have continued to pump, despite a 70 percent cut in capital spending since 2014. U.S. companies slashed rigs from a high of 1,900 down to 404, but they are pumping just as much oil as they did in 2014.

U.S. engineers are responsible for this black magic, finding new ways to produce more oil from fewer, cheaper wells. The break-even cost for a barrel of oil from the best locations, using the best horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques, has fallen from $80 a barrel to $40. Some companies brag that their break-even price is down to $20 at some wells. Apache Corp. announced a huge find in West Texas last week that it says can make money at $35 a barrel.

Lower break-even costs mean companies can afford to drill again, but the greater efficiency means a cap on how many rigs they will add. Operators also have a backlog of 4,117 wells already drilled and waiting to be completed when the price is right, according to the latest forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency doesnt expect prices to hit $100 a barrel again before 2030.

Low prices and less drilling mean less cash for Houston. When oil was averaging $100 a barrel, the lower 48 states were producing about 8 million barrels a day, generating roughly $800 million a day for the industry. Last week, the lower 48 also produced about 8 million barrels a day, generating only $450 million a day.

An operating drilling rig supports about 27 jobs. When the rig count peaked, that represented about 51,000 jobs  at current levels they support 10,900. In 2013, Houston added 120,000 new jobs  this year it will likely lose 4,600, according to the Institute for Regional Forecasting.

The 70,000 lost oil jobs will only come back when more rigs return to work, and thats highly unlikely given that drillers are getting more efficient every day, and global demand growth for oil is weakening, according to the International Energy Agency. Only an extreme shock to the supply chain can drive prices higher, and the current troubles in Libya, Nigeria, Sudan and Venezuela are unlikely to do the trick.

Two years after the current oil bust began, Houstonians should accept that todays economic conditions are the new normal. The sooner people can find income from outside the oil industry, the better.
NEW YORK (AP)  The next book from former President George W. Bush will be more about pictures than words.

"Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors" will feature 66 oil paintings and a four-panel mural by Bush of military veterans and those in active service, the Crown Publishing Group told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The book is scheduled to come out Feb. 28, 2017, and will include an introduction by Bush and forewords by former first lady Laura Bush and by Gen. Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"This is a book about the men and women who have been tremendous national assets in the Armed Forces  and who continue to be vital to the future success of our country," Bush writes in the introduction. "The greatest honor of the presidency was looking them in the eye and saluting them as their Commander in Chief. And I intend to support and salute them for the rest of my life."

The book will be released in two editions: a $35 hardcover and a $250 "deluxe" volume, cloth-bound and signed by Bush.

According to Crown, "Portraits of Courage" also will have stories written by Bush in "his inimitable voice" about each of the subjects. "As the stories unfold  some of them inspiring, some of them heartbreaking  readers will encounter the faces and the hearts of those who answered the nation's call and learn from their bravery on the battlefield, their journeys to recovery, and the continued leadership and contributions they are making as civilians," the publisher's statement reads.

No financial numbers were disclosed. Bush was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who has also handled book deals for President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton. Bush's previous books include the best-sellers "Decision Points" and "41," about his father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Bush, who has become an avid painter since leaving the White House, is donating any net author proceeds to the George W. Bush Presidential Center and its Military Service Initiative, which helps post-Sept. 11 veterans and their families' transition to civilian life.

Bush was expected to mention the book in a speech Wednesday at the Fort Carson Military Community Transition Summit at Fort Carson, Colorado. The paintings from "Portraits of Courage" will be on exhibit in 2017 at the Bush Center, in Dallas, from March 2 through early October.
Midland County Precinct 3 is without a constable.

Theodore Macklin has submitted a letter to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement surrendering his license(s) and all certificates used by TCOLE, which according to Sheriff Gary Painter means he no longer serves as a constable.

Midland County Judge Mike Bradford said that at a meeting next week commissioners will discuss the avenues in front of them as it pertains to filling the Precinct 3 constable position through the end of the year and possibly beginning next year.

Macklin is still on the November ballot as the Democratic Partys candidate for the constables position in Precinct 3, according to the partys county chairman, David Rosen.

The last day for candidates to withdraw or be declared ineligible was Aug. 26, according to the Texas Election Code 145.032, 145.035, Rosen said.

Rosen stated if the Democratic Party candidate (Macklin) gets more votes in November than the Republican, then there would be a need to appoint someone.

This (appointment) can be for up to two years, Rosen wrote. At the end of the two years there must be a special election. If the Republican wins the election, he will take office Jan. 1 and serve the entire new term.

The Republican on the ballot for constable in Precinct 3 is Jeffrey Rowland. Precinct 3 is generally parts of east Midland and most of south central Midland and extending that direction into the county.

According to the Texas Association of Counties website, a constable:

- serves as a licensed peace officer and performs various law enforcement functions, including issuing traffic citations;

- serves warrants and civil papers such as subpoenas and temporary restraining orders; and

- serves as bailiff for justice of the peace court.
HOUSTON (AP)  A lawyer for the family of Sandra Bland, a black Chicago-area woman who died in a Texas jail after a contentious traffic stop last summer, says a $1.9 million settlement has been reached in the family's wrongful death lawsuit.

Attorney Cannon Lambert tells Houston television station KTRK the settlement includes a provision that the Waller County Jail have a 24-hour nurse or emergency medical technician on duty.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP)  Authorities say one man has been killed and another hurt in a fiery tank explosion at a South Texas asphalt plant.

Corpus Christi Fire Department officials say the explosion happened before dawn Wednesday at a Haas-Anderson Construction site.
DALLAS (AP)  Orderly lines of small homes in the shadow of Interstate 30 in Dallas are a sign that Texas is embracing a national trend of giving the homeless permanent, subsidized housing and augmenting it with support services.

Dallas officials this month unveiled the first of what's expected to be 50 tiny homes that will shelter the city's most chronically homeless. The $6.8 million project is seen as a fresh approach to reducing the number of homeless people in the city and a departure from the tent cities that sprout underneath highway overpasses.

These projects often generate heavy criticism from nearby homeowners and businesses, but the Dallas homes  quaintly named Cottages at Hickory Crossing  are bounded by interstates and have few neighbors.

The development is in keeping with a philosophy gaining ground nationally of providing the homeless with permanent housing and offering them social, medical and other services, or so-called wrap-around support. The approach replaces the longstanding model of shepherding the homeless to shelters and then transitional housing in the hope they find permanent options from there.

"We're solving a problem for people who are homeless today, but it's having a ripple effect on the way we fund and on our policies across the state," said Mandy Chapman Semple, who heads homeless initiatives for Houston as a special assistant to the mayor.

The revamped approach to housing, along with other factors such as a greater push to help homeless veterans, has proven effective. There were some 647,200 homeless in the U.S. in 2007, and that number fell to about 564,700 last year, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, which bases its annual report largely on numbers provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

From 2010 to 2015 the number of homeless in Houston dropped by more than 25 percent, according to a Houston Chronicle report. Semple said the decline was largely driven by "permanent supportive housing"  part of a "Housing First" strategy  coupled with case managers who helped ensure people received the behavioral health and other care they needed.

Texas was slower than some coastal cities such as Boston and San Francisco to embrace this approach, but cities in the state have shown they could promptly drive down the number of homeless once they did, Semple said.

Larry James, CEO of CitySquare, the nonprofit behind the Cottages project in Dallas, said city officials know by name the 300 homeless people who place the greatest burden  and cost  on social services. The small homes near I-30 will go to 50 of them, along with the treatment needed to address addiction, behavioral disorders or other afflictions.

But James said there are obstacles to providing the number of homes or apartments that are needed, such as limited public dollars and a state tax credit program that's not attractive enough to developers. And then there are the neighbors.

"One of the biggest challenges we face is where do we put these things?" James said. "What neighborhood is going to take them?"

A man moving into one of the Dallas homes said he was grateful to start a new chapter in his life following bouts with drug and alcohol addiction.

"It's going to be a totally new beginning for me," Randall Daniels told The Dallas Morning News. "It makes me feel like a man again."
WACO, Texas (AP)  A grand jury declined to recommend charges for three Waco, Texas, police officers who shot bikers during a gunfight between rival motorcycle clubs in which nine people were killed and 20 others were hurt, the police department said Wednesday.

The gun battle happened in May 2015 outside a Twin Peaks restaurant where motorcycle clubs had gathered for a meeting, including members of the Bandidos and Cossacks, which the state considers to be gangs.

The McLennan County district attorney's office asked the grand jury whether the shootings were justified after the officers had been cleared by an internal police investigation, according to Waco police spokesman Sgt. Patrick Swanton. The officers, who were placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, will return to full duty immediately, Waco's interim police chief, Frank Gentsch, said in a news release.

Ballistics reports seen by The Associated Press show that four of the people killed were struck by the same caliber of rifle round fired by Waco police, and that two of them were struck only by that kind of rifle.

More than 150 bikers were indicted following the shootout on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. The investigation is ongoing, and no trial dates have been set.

The grand jury hearing "allows the police to clean their hands" of the shooting, said Dallas attorney Don Tittle, who is representing more than a dozen bikers in lawsuits against the city. Tittle added that it was "routine" for prosecutors in Texas who do not want to bring charges in an officer-involved shooting to refer the matter to a grand jury.

Police and the district attorney's office have defended the officers' use of force, claiming that bikers had also opened fire on police.
Photo: Provided By Matthew Aucoin

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)  A Texas A&M University student holding a sign that pleaded with rocker Bruce Springsteen to share a song on stage had his wish come true in Philadelphia.

KBTX-TV (http://bit.ly/2c8GT0K ) reports Matthew Aucoin's (ah-KWIN') homemade sign said: "Can a college kid play 'No Surrender' with you?"
ST. PAUL, Texas (AP)  Former President George W. Bush has helped dedicate the first school in Texas named for him by encouraging students to hit the books.

Bush, who lives in Dallas, was on hand Thursday at George W. Bush Elementary School in the town of St. Paul, in the nearby Wylie Independent School District.
Midland County has changed the way it summons people for jury duty. The new internet-based system is designed to ease the process of filling out juror questionnaires, but its rollout has confused some people.

The new system randomly selects people who are eligible to serve on a jury to receive a postcard in the mail. The postcard includes instructions to complete a juror questionnaire online or on a touch-dial phone.

District Clerk Ross Bush said some in the county have received scam phone calls from people pretending to be Midland County employees. He said the callers have asked for payments for not filling out the questionnaire, but the county will never request money over the phone.

Theyre calling people, saying theyre threatened because theres a warrant issued, Bush said. People get frustrated and upset.

Bush also said some people werent sure if the postcards were legitimate because they have a different design than previous jury summons. The official postcard includes the county seal and Bushs name.

After people complete the questionnaire, qualified jurors are entered into a database. When a judge needs to summon jurors, the system will randomly select people for appearances.

Midland County is licensed to use software from Judicial Systems Inc. for the new jury notification process. The company runs software across the country, catering its system to fit the needs of specific counties.

Gary Dower, president of Judicial Systems, said the turnout rate for jury duty rose from about 20 percent to 95 percent after courts implemented the system.

[Residents] enter their information in the system when they fill out the questionnaire, Dower said in a phone interview. They will be sent a reminder starting two to three days before so they dont forget.

Bush hopes the new process will lead to higher turnout in Midland County. The county normally sends 1,000 jury summons a week, but on average only about 170 people report.

My No. 1 hope is to provide judges in all the courts with enough jurors needed weekly, Bush said.

Bush also hopes to save taxpayers money by avoiding postponed trials. Judges need about 250 people to constitute a jury pool during voir dire.

Dower said initially asking for questionnaire information helps solve the problem.

By pre-qualifying, instead of summoning 1,000 people to get 250 people, you send it out to 260 people because you already have their questionnaires, Dower said.

The system will take full effect Oct. 3. The county has already sent postcards to eligible jurors and will continue to send them two to three weeks ahead of appearance dates.

Under Texas law, residents who fail to comply with a summons are subject to fines. Through the new system, people can defer jury duty online up to two times. Bush said the system is beneficial because it gives people the control to choose alternate dates.

You already fill out the questionnaire saying you meet all the qualifications, Bush said. You have the choice that maybe if you cant be here that date, you can come another date.
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
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We have been cursed with leaders ...
It's All Ireland Sunday this weekend as the reigning champs Dublin take on always-the-bridesmaid Mayo in what's set to be an unmissable match.

The two sides previously met in an All Ireland final back in 2013, with Mayo losing out by just one point, so the lads from the west will be out to make amends. Although Mayo have lost a heartbreaking six finals over the last two decades and haven't won Sam since 1951, surely it's finally their year? Although there is that pesky curse to contend with...

If their training regime looks anything like below however, they may just do the job. The sketch was made by comedy duo The 2 Johnnies, and gives an 'insider' look at what the preparation might be like in the Mayo and Dublin camps ahead of this weekend's match.
President of the European Commission Juncker yesterday (14 September) addressed the European Parliament in his annual State of the European Union speech, which comes right before the Bratislava summit on 16 September. The speech kick-starts a dialogue with the European Parliament and Council to prepare the Commissions 2017 Work Program and the discourse on the future of the EU among the 27 Heads of State.

President Juncker spoke about the need of investment in young people, job seekers and start-ups to boost innovativeness and job creation. Mr Juncker further proposed an ambitious Investment Plan for Africa to prevent migrants from having to risk their lives for a better life. The EU leadership has also presented plans to guarantee that every European village and city has a free wireless Internet network by 2020. The EU also wants to ensure fair pay for journalists, publishers and authors wherever their work is published and shared.

On top of these issues, the speech also addressed the protection of EU borders and the project of an EU army. The Commission President said in Strasbourg that the EU needed a military headquarters to work towards a common military force. According to the EU leadership, the lack of a permanent structure resulted in money being wasted on missions. Mr Juncker emphasized that the EUs common military force would be an addition to NATO as more defense in Europe doesnt mean less transatlantic solidarity. All EU member countries have military forces and some of them are members of the Alliance. As such, many of them have extensive experience with operations abroad, while the EU aims to improve command and the control of facilities.
A tracked stolen iPad led to the arrest of a man suspected in a robbery at an Orlando-area hotel Wednesday night, according to an Orange County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit.

Man arrested in connection with I-Drive-area hotel robbery

Woman's stolen iPad was tracked, found

Deputies are still looking for 1 more man



Malcolm Lee, 26, of Orlando was arrested late Thursday night in connection with the robbery at the Comfort Inn & Suites at 7495 Canada Ave., near International Drive.



Lee is charged with home invasion robbery with a firearm.

According to the affidavit, a woman who reported being robbed at gunpoint in her hotel room said two men took her phones, iPad and stun gun and fled. The woman was not injured.

Deputies tracked the iPad to an apartment complex near the intersection of Silver Star and Pioneer roads, then later to the intersection of Hiawasee and Silver Star roads, where they found Lee, who matched a description provided by the woman.

The other man whom the woman said was involved in the robbery is still at large.



Last week, a man from Turkey visiting Orlando on his honeymoon was shot and killed at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, just a few blocks away on International Drive. The area is busy with tourists and resort hotels that cater to the nearby theme parks.


LUBBOCK -- Plains Cotton Growers commends the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Trade Representative, and a bipartisan group of members of Congress who announced that they are launching enforcement actions against China at the World Trade Organization for their government support mechanisms for corn, wheat, and rice that the USTR says exceed China's agreement under the WTO.

"One of the greatest threats to agriculture here in the United States -- and particularly cotton -- is other countries and their high subsidies, tariffs and other trade barriers that prevent our producers from competing in the world market," PCG Executive Vice President Steve Verett said. "We've reformed our domestic farm policy to come under compliance with the WTO, and we appreciate the fact that the USDA, USTR and these lawmakers recognize that other countries should be examined with the same scrutiny. Our producers deserve that level of oversight."
COLLEGE STATION - As producers across the state are planting winter wheat, it is important they consider crediting soil nitrogen in their management plans, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist.

Dr. Jake Mowrer, AgriLife Extension state soil fertility specialist in College Station, said producers can save money in fertilizer costs by taking advantage of existing soil nitrogen and still make expected yield goals.

Each year producers must determine what and how much nitrogen they will use to fertilize their crop, Mowrer said. His study is determining how soil testing can help producers know how much nitrates their soil already contains so they can credit that to their overall needs.

He said a study in the Hill Country on the effect of reducing nitrogen fertilizer applications to wheat based on soil test nitrates at depths as great as 3 feet was the first of its kind on a cool-season crop.

Previous studies on warm-season crops such as corn, sorghum and cotton suggest nitrates may be credited to 24 inches without affecting yield, Mowrer said.

We know that crediting nitrogen fertilizer could save an estimated $23 per acre for cotton and $31 per acre on corn and grain sorghum. But what about wheat - how does it respond to this program?

Working with a producer in Itasca on a project funded through the U.S. Department of Agricultures Southern Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education, he said their goal was to produce 60-bushel per acre wheat. Soil samples were taken to 48 inches prior to planting in October 2015. The soil is Houston black clay.

Nitrogen from the soil was credited in different plots down to 36 inches. The wheat was harvested June 10. The full application of nitrogen performed the same as a credit to 6 inches and 12 inches, Mowrer said.

Our results indicate that yield in wheat was not affected by crediting nitrate-nitrogen in the soil profile to a depth of 12 inches, Mowrer said. However, yields in this study were adversely affected when fertilizer was reduced by crediting nitrate deeper in the profile.

He said the reason for this may lie in the different efficiencies at which wheat takes up nitrogen already in the soil, as compared to nitrogen that is applied at the surface.

At 24 and 36 inches, there was a range of 10-60 pounds of nitrogen, Mowrer said. Surface application of a liquid fertilizer was less efficient than recovery of existing soil nitrate. This result will be explored more closely in the next growing season.

Mowrer said soil fertility is the most limiting factor in plant growth, right after water.

We know the best you can do production-wise is determined by the amount of water. Nitrogen is the input needed for crops right behind water.

And, he said, the timing of any necessary fertilizer applications once the soil testing is done will affect the growth of wheat.

We recommend putting out a third of the nitrogen upfront, and then right before jointing put out the other two-thirds, Mowrer said.

But remember, we cant manage the rate unless we know what is in the soil to begin with, he said. Voluntary soil testing isnt as widespread as we would like to see it. Soil testing is a really, really important part of managing our nutrients, particularly for nitrogen.

Mowrer said his recommendation is to put about 1.5 pounds of nitrogen for grain production or 2 pounds per acre of nitrogen for grass.

If there is some nitrogen in the soil, we can adjust that rate, he said. But you dont know what is there unless you test it. We recommend you can credit what you find all the way down to 2 foot.

Another study he is working on is examining the different root systems to see if they make a difference in what nitrogen can be utilized, as well as determining if types of soils matter.

Following up on the results in the previous years wheat study will be a top priority in the coming season, Mowrer said.

Although topdressing with surface applications is the recommended procedure for wheat at jointing, there are new technologies for fertilizer delivery that may hold the potential for increased nitrogen-use efficiency over what we see today with stream bars and tips.
Diane Chapa is the latest student to receive her GED through Plainviews Adult Learning Center. After two years of persistent study, she passed all four tests -- Language Arts, Science, Math and Social Studies. Chapa is a former Cargill worker who benefitted from Texas Workforce funds for updated education and job retraining. Because the ALC is open 20 hours a week, Chapa treated her studies just like she would a job, arriving first thing in the morning and working until the center closed.

Chapa has lived in Plainview her entire life. In 2002, she married Michael Chapa. They have three daughters. Her next steps begin immediately with working as an elementary substitute teacher and attending South Plains College to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
BRIDGEPORT (AP)  The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protections Wildlife Division is asking Connecticut hunters to provide them with deer heads to test for a relatively new disease.



The Connecticut Post reports (http://bit.ly/2czTwCS ) DEEP wants to examine the heads for signs of chronic wasting disease, which could cause negative long-term effects to deer herds if its allowed to spread.



DEEP says CWD has not yet been detected in Connecticut. The request for the heads was made as a precaution.



Hunters interested in participating should fill out a Deer Head Collection Tag to accompany their contributions. Arrangements can be made to have the heads picked up by Connecticut Fish and Game officials.



DEEPs request comes at an opportune time with bow hunting season set to begin on Thursday.







Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com






FLINT, Mich. (AP)  Donald Trump was cut off, chastised and then heckled after he attacked rival Hillary Clinton during what was supposed to be a speech on helping where the government had failed the people of Flint, Michigan.



Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what weve done in Flint, not give a political speech, said the Rev. Faith Green Timmons, the pastor of the Bethel United Methodist Church. The Republican nominee quickly stopped, then said OK, thats good, Then Im going to go back to Flint and its water crisis that had sickened its citizens. But the interruption seemed to embolden those in the sparse crowd. One woman shouted that Trump had used discriminatory housing practices in his buildings, causing the celebrity businessman to respond, Never, youre wrong. Never would.



Trump abruptly ended his speech, which had lasted six minutes. More heckling followed him out. The visit was part of the campaigns effort to persuade voters that the celebrity businessman can appear empathetic and presidential in a crisis. Trump also has his eye on a good showing in the industrial Midwest, though polls have him down in Michigan, which last went Republican in 1988. The poverty-stricken city had lead detected in its water supply in April 2014. More than 100,000 had their water contaminated after the city left Detroits water supply and started using improperly treated Flint River water.



Trump did address the crisis, saying at the church We will get it fixed and it will be fixed and effectively and Flint will come back. Most importantly, well bring jobs back.



Trump visited the African American church in the impoverished city to pay tribute to the citys resiliency. But then, he attacked Clinton, saying everything she touched didnt work out. Timmons then stepped up and interrupted him. Others began to heckle the GOP presidential nominee. The pastor stepped in and silenced them too, saying that Trump is our guest who should be honored.



But when Trump abruptly ended his speech, a few more in the crowd yelled at him as he walked off stage.



One black woman, Reneta Richard, yelled at him What do you mean, African-Americans have nothing to lose? repeating back to Trump his recent call for African-Americans to turn their back on Democrats and vote for him.



The reverend had said in a statement distributed to reporters that the visit in no way represented an endorsement of Trumps candidacy.



What we pray is that it conveys a fine example of a faithful, intelligent, historically African-American congregating at work, serving and volunteering among the people of Flint as we work through this crisis of national impact, read the statement. We cannot let this story drift from national attention for any reason.



The visit to Flint, where most residents are African-American, comes as Trump has increased his outreach to minorities, arguing that Democratic policies have left inner cities impoverished and dangerous.



Critics say Trump paints an overly bleak picture of life in urban African-American communities, where crime has fallen and the life expectancy has risen in recent decades. Some black leaders have also suggested that Trumps outreach to minorities is mostly about proving to undecided white voters that hes not racist.







Reach Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JonLemire






Lucy Koh, who has refereed Silicon Valley wars over patents and employment in six years as a federal judge, moved a step closer to a federal appeals court seat Thursday when the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination.

Despite the 13-7 vote, which included support from four Republican members and all nine Democrats, Kohs confirmation to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is uncertain. Senate Republican leaders have refused to take up President Obamas nomination of Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court and have held up Senate floor votes on some of his lower-court nominees for a year or more.

Koh, a former federal prosecutor and the daughter of Korean immigrants, was appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in 2008 and was nominated to U.S. District Court in San Jose two years later. She was confirmed 90-0 by the Senate and became the nations second-ever Korean American federal judge. Obama nominated her to the appeals court in February.

As a federal judge, she presided over a lawsuit by thousands of employees that accused Apple, Google, Intel and other technology powerhouses of conspiring to hold down salaries by agreeing not to hire one anothers workers.

More for you Man charged with stalking Black Rifle Coffee employee

Koh refused to dismiss the suit in January 2014 and later rejected an initial $324.5 million settlement proposal as too low. The companies have since agreed to settlements totaling $435 million.

She also heard a lawsuit by Apple that accused Samsung Electronics Co. of copying Apples iPhone and iPad. A jury found patent violations in 2013 and awarded Apple $930 million in damages, an amount that Koh upheld but that an appeals court later reduced to $548 million.

The lone argument against her Thursday came from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who criticized Kohs July 2015 ruling requiring federal agents to get a search warrant from a judge before obtaining data from cell phone companies that would track a phone users movements. State and federal courts have been divided on that issue, but Cornyn contended Kohs decision defied U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

The ruling is an example of the kind of judicial activism that betrays a lack of regard to the plain text of the Constitution and binding legal precedents in favor of what the judge views as better policy, Cornyn said.

But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the Supreme Court has yet to resolve the issue, as indicated by the split in lower courts. She noted that the court, in rulings by Chief Justice John Roberts and the late Justice Antonin Scalia, has required police to obtain warrants before searching cell phones they seize from suspects and before attaching GPS tracking devices to suspects cars.

Feinstein said Koh has impeccable credentials and support from Republicans like former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stanford Law Professor Michael McConnell, a former federal appeals court judge.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Miracle Mattress will reopen "as soon as possible" with new employees and training after sparking national outrage with its advertisement for a 9/11-themed "Twin Tower Sale" during the 15th anniversary of the attacks, the San Antonio company said Thursday.

The ad prompted a deluge of social media outrage and international media coverage last week after the company posted a video to its Facebook page showing manager Cherise Bonanno and two employees proposing to honor the deadliest attack on American soil by selling mattresses of all sizes at twin bed prices. In the video, Bonanno knocks the two employees into two towers of stacked mattresses, toppling them as the three screamed. Bonanno closes the video by saying in a somber tone, We will never forget.
ITT Shutdown Leaves Students Scrambling

Students seeking alternatives to traditional universities and community colleges have for decades found a willing home in for-profit universities. Well-known brands like the University of Phoenix and ITT Technical Institute have been aggressively marketing to non-traditional college students nationwide.

Unfortunately, too many for-profit schools overpromised and under-delivered to their students in ways that were questionable enough to require regulatory actions. Too often, these students were given inadequate training to succeed in their chosen field while being burdened with student loan debt  making them worse off than they were before.

Over the past few years, a perfect storm of bad publicity, declining enrollments, and new regulations has taken a toll on for-profit universities. Multiple for-profits have closed entirely, including some of the larger national schools. ITT Tech's recent closing of all locations leaves more than 40,000 students in search of a new degree program.

While this action protects new students from acquiring massive debt for sub-par learning, it leaves many current students and those planning to enroll in the lurch. Where do they go now to further their education, and how will students deal with any debt that they have already incurred?

Crackdown or Extinction?

In 2014, the Department of Education (DOE) noted that less than 50% of students in public universities borrowed money for higher education as compared to 80% of those at for-profit universities, and that income from student loans often accounted for 90% of the income at for-profit schools. Because of the poorer outcome rate, for-profit students accounted for 44% of federal student loan defaults even though they represented only 11% of all higher-education students.

That year, the Obama administration announced regulations to hold for-profit schools more accountable for the outcomes of their students. To retain access to federal student aid programs, for-profit universities had to be transparent about their student's success rates and take steps to prevent excessive student debt and improve outcomes. In other words, their students must show suitable return on their collegiate investment.

DOE cleverly tied student loan debt into the regulation by making student loan access dependent on a typical graduate's estimated average loan payment compared to his or her income. The typical loan payment could not exceed 20% of the typical graduate's discretionary income or 8% of total income.

The effect has been profound. Since the regulations took effect in June of 2015, for-profit universities have been dealing with increasing fines, sharply declining enrollment, and closures. Corinthian College closed in 2015 after being hit with a $30 million fine for misrepresentation of their student's success in job placement. The Wall Street Journal reports that enrollments at for-profit universities DeVry University and Bridgepoint Education have declined by more than half of their 2012 enrollment.

Industry advocates cry foul, saying that while there are bad actors within the industry, the DOE approach is overly broad and heavy-handed. The enforcement mechanism that limits access to federal student aid squeezes the cash flow of for-profit institutions in several directions.

The ITT Tech case illustrates the cash-flow problem. DOE requires an irrevocable letter of credit from for-profit universities on probation in order to fulfill any liabilities in case the school should abruptly close ($80 million in 2014 in the case of ITT Tech). In April 2016, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools considered pulling ITT Tech's accreditation because of concerns about financial viability  causing DOE to raise the line of credit to $123.6 million. ITT Tech subsequently notified investors that it could have trouble meeting other DOE demands because of the amount of cash DOE already held in escrow, furthering the spiral.

There is a simple way to avoid this problem  meet the requirements and don't go on probation in the first place. However, it's fair to ask whether non-complying schools have been given enough time to meet the requirements, and whether the thresholds will take out useful programs as well as questionable ones. Colleges can control the quality of education they provide, but not that their students will take full advantage of it  nor can they control the job market that their students will face.

The Student Debt Effect

The for-profit crackdown should prevent future students from incurring more student loan debt than they can afford to pay off, but it is unlikely to stem the avalanche of collective student loan debt. Rising college costs have pushed overall student loan debt levels into new territory. The St. Louis Federal Reserve shows that the collective student debt has topped $1.36 trillion, trailing only mortgage debts in American volume of debt.

Student debt may drop slightly due to one mechanism: debt forgiveness. The collapse of Corinthian College resulted in $170 million of student debt relief. The ITT action is likely to top that number to keep students out of an untenable debt situation  one of the very situations the Department of Education wanted to prevent.

In a cruel irony for abandoned ITT students, those who have the ambition and the ability to transfer to another school to complete the same degree are not eligible to have their federal student loans forgiven under a closed-school discharge. This mechanism allows students affected by a closed educational institution to cancel their debt and clear adverse effects of the loan with the credit bureaus.

Students have an alternate path to discharge debt if they can prove the school used "illegal or deceptive practices" to induce them to borrow their college funds in violation of state law, but the Washington Post reports that there are 350 such claims from ITT students as of June 2016 with no loan cancellations granted so far.

In the short term, abandoned ITT students must tread carefully to avoid being stuck with debt in spite of government assistance. In the longer term, we will all likely end up paying for that relief with our tax dollars.

The Takeaway

For-profit universities and colleges have had a mixed history, and the Obama administration is justified in pressing for students to receive a suitable education for their investment. To further this aim, the administration has chosen the effective tool of the pocketbook.

It is effective, but dangerous, to tie student loans to incomes because this assumes a relatively stable and growing job market. Imagine if this rule had been applied immediately before the Great Recession. Would any for-profit institution have survived DOE scrutiny, regardless of the quality of their curriculum? How would non-profit schools have held up under the same standard?

The end result is painful for students in transition and it will probably be even more painful for taxpayers as loan forgiveness options are put forward. According to The Wall Street Journal, a proposed DOE plan to forgive loans of defrauded students at both for-profit and non-profit institutions could cost as much as $43 billion by DOE estimates.

Let's hope the government puts just as much effort into the front end of the problem  how to reduce the cost of a quality higher education and find legitimate career-training alternatives for those shut out by the recent crackdown on for-profit schools.
The legal team for a Richmond teen who catalyzed sexual misconduct investigations involving numerous police officers said they filed claims against various Bay Area cities Thursday, just hours after the attorneys railed against law enforcement officials at an Oakland news conference.

Were filing claims against every last one of them, said Charles Bonner, one of the two civil rights attorneys for the 19-year-old woman The Chronicle is identifying only as Jasmine. If a cop was involved, we will file a claim.

Though Bonner didnt list the cities against which they were filing claims, Jasmine  who has also used the name Celeste Guap  has said officers who had sexual contact with her were from the Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco and Livermore police departments, as well as sheriffs offices in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. A representative for Oaklands city attorney, though, said the office hadnt gotten the claim Thursday.

The action is the first step to filing civil rights lawsuits against the cities or counties whose police officers, the lawyers say, sexually abused Jasmine and obstructed investigations.

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Bonner confirmed that claims would be lodged Thursday following statements he and attorney Pamela Price gave to the media on the steps of Oakland City Hall. There, they alleged Bay Area police engaged in a criminal enterprise to keep their sexual relations with Jasmine under wraps and to send her across the country to a drug rehabilitation clinic in Florida in the midst of multiple criminal and internal affairs investigations, despite her not being addicted to any substances.

Price and Bonner alleged various police officers conspired together to cover up the claim that nearly 30 officers had sex with Jasmine  some while she was underage, others in exchange for payment or perks, such as warnings about prostitution stings. Price said other young women in the East Bay have contacted her in recent days with similar allegations against police.

Shes still stuck at 12 years old because her childhood has been ripped away, Bonner said, referring to how old Jasmine was when she said someone first paid her for sex. These cops cannot have a pass. They violated the law, they violated their own oath, they violated their own promise, and now they must be prosecuted, and they must go to jail.

Bonner and Price flew back to California on Wednesday with Jasmine after she spent 17 days in a Martin County, Fla., jail. Staff at the rehabilitation facility refused to let her call her father, the lawyers said, and when she tried to escape they illegally restrained her, prompting Jasmine to bite a man who put her in a bear hug before she was injected with an unknown substance.

Police initially arrested her on suspicion of felony aggravated battery, but prosecutors reduced the charge to simple battery, a misdemeanor, and released her Wednesday.

Jasmine appeared before reporters in Florida shortly after her release from jail, but did not speak. She was not at Thursdays news conference.

Jasmine is safe, Bonner said. She is a new lady, and shes committed to a new course of conduct.

Bonner alleged that Sgt. Matt Stonebraker of the Richmond Police Department arranged for Jasmine to be sent to the facility against her will. But Richmond city and police officials said that the teen went on her own accord and that they simply referred her to resources that assist victims of crime.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley  who said last week that she protested and wasnt involved with Jasmine going to Florida  credited the young womans absence with a delay in filing charges against five current and former Oakland police officers, one former Livermore officer and one former Contra Costa County sheriffs deputy.

Jasmine is ready to testify against the officers and wants to see them go to jail, Price said, though neither she nor Bonner was briefed by prosecutors on when criminal charges will be filed. The attorneys were told that OMalley was on vacation this week and that no charges had been filed yet.

Some Oakland City Council members who watched Thursdays news conference expressed frustration with the Police Departments internal affairs investigation  which they said failed to review supervisors, commanders and ex-Chief Sean Whent. They also criticized the lack of information Mayor Libby Schaaf and City Administrator Sabrina Landreth have shared with them.

The City Council as a whole has been learning our information from the press, said Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan. We have not been receiving updates from the mayor or the administration, neither has the public.

Councilman Noel Gallo added, Its absolutely inexcusable. They should all be terminated from the ground floor to the very top.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
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Author Sandra Cisneros said she was astonished.

Conjunto accordion legend Santiago Jimenez Jr. said he jumped like a little kid, when he heard the news, like they were going to make me a pinata.

Cisneros and Jimenez are among the 12 recipients of the 2015 National Medals of Arts announced Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Cisneros, a former San Antonio resident whose 1984 debut novel The House on Mango Street has become essential reading for high school and middle-school English classes; and San Antonio native Jimenez, son of conjunto pioneer Don Santiago Jimenez and younger brother of another accordion legend, Flaco Jimenez, will receive their medals Sept. 22.

President Obama will present the medals during the ceremony, which will be streamed live from the East Room of the White House.

The medals, awarded annually by the National Endowment for the Arts, are the highest honor given to artists and art patrons by the U.S. government.

Cisneros and Jimenez join a stellar list that includes Hollywood legends Mel Brooks and Morgan Freeman, cutting-edge composer Philip Glass, Broadway star Audra McDonald, playwrights Moises Kaufman and Luis Valdez, Motown record-label founder Berry Gordy, dancer, conceptualist and choreographer Ralph Lemon and abstract artist Jack Whitten. Also on the list is the Eugene ONeill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, which was cited for its 50-year support of American theater.

Previous winners from San Antonio include singer-songwriter Lydia Mendoza and country music superstar George Strait.

Cisneros, 61, was lauded in a statement from the NEA for enriching the American narrative. Through her novels, short stories, and poetry, she explores issues of race, class, and gender through the lives of ordinary people straddling multiple cultures. As an educator, she has deepened our understanding of American identity.

I never visualize these awards, said Cisneros, who also recently won the prestigious PEN Center 2016 Literary Award for her latest book, A House Of My Own: Stories from My Life (Knopf). I never say, I want to win that. It makes me feel a little embarrassed actually. My goals are more about writing the story that tells everyones story.

Cisneros had just returned to her home in central Mexico from San Antonio, where she caught a performance of Classic Theatres stage production of The House on Mango Street, which she praised.

She said she wanted to tell Obama so much about issues such as immigration, but she didnt think she would be able during her upcoming Washington, D.C., visit.

So, she said, shes going to present the president with books by Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, whose writings changed my life.

Im going to wear a locket with my mothers and fathers picture in it (to the medal ceremony), she said, because they would be the ones who would love going to the White House. So theyre going to go with me.

In the same statement, Jimenez was praised for expanding the horizon of American music. He has helped spread traditional conjunto music, blending the sounds and cultures of south Texas and Mexico. His lively melodies performed on the two-button accordion have captivated audiences around the world.

Jimenez, 73, known as El Chief, is a revered and respected musician in the conjunto, norteno and Tex-Mex music world. Because he plays two-row button accordion, like his father, and performs his fathers working-class polkas and corridos, he is considered the keeper of a musical legacy that dates to the late 1920s, when his father was making his earliest recordings.

I stayed with the old-school style of my dad, Jimenez said. I told him, If you ever pass away, Im going to keep your music alive.

Don Santiago Jimenez, a pioneering conjunto songwriter with songs La Piedrera, Viva Seguin, La Inundacion de Piedras Negras and many others, died in 1984.

Jimenez learned of the prestigious award earlier this month. He received a phone call at home.

I was drinking coffee here at home with my wife and all of a sudden the phone rang and some guy told me, You want to hear the good news? Im calling from Washington. Youre going to be at the White House with the First Lady and the President of the United States, he recounted.

Unlike his brother Flaco, a six-time Grammy recipient (including a Lifetime Grammy Award), Santiago Jimenez rarely has ventured into the pop and rock n roll world. But it was the younger Jimenezs playing on Doug Sahms bilingual remake of Carole King and Gerry Goffins Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow in the early 1980s which became the template for the Tex-Mex supergroup the Texas Tornados.

This is not Jimenezs only prestigious honor. He is a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship recipient, considered the highest honor for a folk musician, as well as a Texas Medal of Arts Award winner.

He dropped out of school after seventh grade when he was 15. He worked with his father as a custodian at the Good Samaritan Center but was determined to make it as a musician. He got his chance when he was 18.

Jimenez recorded his first album in late 1961. Featuring Flaco Jimenez on bajo sexto and recorded at a tiny garage studio on the West Side, El Rey y El Principe de la Musica Nortena was released on the Lira label. Its album cover showed the two brothers at Woodlawn Lake.

His personal favorite songs written by his dad are Margarita Margarita and Vive Feliz (Live Happy).

Jimenez considers himself and his family blessed.

We are lucky to be musicians, he said. Weve hit the jackpot many times with the response of the people everywhere. Were still kicking. Its a very proud moment.

Staff writer Robert Johnson contributed to this report.
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Snowden features an ominous soundtrack, foreboding government characters and camera angles that look as if the director of the film was spying on his actors during production. Even a spaghetti colander is shot with maximum suspicion.

In other words, Oliver Stone is back where he belongs. Its unfair to play the his best film since  game, because Stones cinematic output is so polarizing. Just know that he has a subject he cares about, a budget to execute his vision and the kinetic scriptwriting matched with narrative momentum that made films such as Salvador, Platoon and JFK so memorable.

Snowden is not quite as excellent as that holy trinity, but it comes close. Stone and co-screenwriter Kieran Fitzgerald compensate for the lack of traditional action with a coherent web of escalating menace. The only guns discharged by major characters in the film are used to shoot at pheasants. But to leave the theater is to feel the exhaustion of a dozen firefights.

The film begins like a Jason Bourne movie, without all the punching and car chases. CIA employee-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets a trio of journalists in a Hong Kong mall and rushes them to a hotel room, where he tells his story. Then we go into flashback, from Snowdens early military training, to his rise in the CIA, to his crisis of conscience that led to his decision to copy and leak classified National Security Agency information to journalists.

This story itself was more journalistically told in Laura Poitras Academy Award-winning documentary Citizenfour, a fact that Stone seems to acknowledge, making Poitras a key character and leaving a clear trail to check out her work.

Stone instead goes for narrative excess, clearly meant to shame his critics on the right and test the conspiratorial limits of his potential allies on the left. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton arguably come off much worse in Snowden than George W. Bush.

Snowden *** Quick take: Oliver Stone is on his game again See More Collapse

In the movie, sympathetic CIA middle managers offer warnings to Snowden wrapped in riddles. (Sometimes the more you look, the less you see.) When its time to confront a superior, Snowdens CIA mentor (a sinister and almost unrecognizable Rhys Ifans) appears on a TV screen that looks as if it was brought in from Times Square. Kylo Rens conversations with Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: The Force Awakens were less grandiose.

There are no patriot-or-traitor debates in this film. Snowden is an unquestionable hero in Stones telling, seemingly guided by swelling strings or the staccato drums of a military salute every time he makes a decision to betray his employer.

None of the above makes Snowden an outstanding film. Stone does that, with his ability to keep everything coherent despite the fast pace, to give potentially mundane circumstances the feel of a good heist film and to make the stakes clear at all times  in the plot of the film, and then to the audience as the credits roll. Theres a uniformity to the urgency on screen, as if Stone injected everyone with a little bit of Al Pacinos DNA before the film started.

The actors seem to know Stones work, and buy in wholeheartedly. Gordon-Levitt is solid, adopting a deeper voice and a sober quirkiness as Snowden, and it never feels like an imitation. Nicolas Cage and Keith Stanfield offer depth as CIA allies. Actors as accomplished as Ben Chaplin and Joely Richardson show up for single scenes.

The only real misstep is the overemphasis on Snowdens romantic relationship with his girlfriend, Lindsay (Shailene Woodley), which begins as a lens into his motivations, then becomes repetitive. At 140 minutes, Snowden is rarely a slog, but there are a few minutes to be shaved here.

Our screening for critics was preceded by a message from Stone, suggesting that audience members throw out their cell phone, before seguing into a joke about keeping silent during the movie. By the time the credits arrive, with the real Edward Snowden included, the idea of abandoning the grid seems a lot more serious.

Moviegoers will love or hate Oliver Stone and his politics until the end of time. With well-made movies such as Snowden, though, his skill as a filmmaker becomes much harder for the detractors to debate.

Running time: 140 minutes
Wrestler and San Antonio resident Alberto Del Rio may be out of the WWE ring, following his recent release, but he hasn't tapped out of the business world  he revealed his new Alamo City "authentic" Mexican restaurant will open at the end of the month and is the "first" of its kind in the United States.

The Mexico native and his love interest, Total Divas' Paige, said on Instagram that his new venture, La Cantinita, will host a star-studded grand opening weekend from Sept. 29 - Oct. 1.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Brian Keith Cook was convicted of raping a child under one year old, citing a Darien police report. However, Idaho court documents show Cook was convicted of the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.

DARIEN  The cries and laughter from children can be heard throughout Cherry Lawn Park on most days.

But the mood among parents and child caretakers was much different on Thursday after the discovery this week of a convicted sexual offender camping out in the parks woods.

Im shocked, said Cathy McIntyre, 49, as she kept an eye on her friends young daughter, who was riding a slide to the ground and bouncing up the steps to the top.

I came here with my own kids when they were little and it is surprising, McIntyre said. We dont go by the woods that much, but occasionally we go down by the pond. It is super-safe and clean. It would never cross my mind that someone like that would be out there.

Brian Keith Cook, 35, of Idaho, was found sleeping under a tarp behind the Darien Nature Center on Tuesday morning. Cook, who was convicted in 2011 of the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, was out on parole and taking what he described as a cross-country trip to Canada when he was found Tuesday, police said. Authorities said he had a 10-inch machete.

Pushing her 21-month-old son Colin on the swing, Melissa Dunn said the discovery of someone with a criminal history like Cook was surprising in the typically quiet town.

You always have to be aware of your kids and worried about the situation around them, even if you are in Darien, said Dunn, who lives in the Springdale neighborhood of Stamford. This is a very nice town and you dont think of much crime here, but you have to watch your kids. It is very surprising.

Norwalk resident Anna Gibbons, 31, who was with her 3-year-old son Robert, said she often brings her child to the parks popular playground.

More for you Convicted child sex offender caught camping in Darien park

Its horrible and its crazy, especially around the kids," she said. You dont want people like that around anywhere.

Court records show Cook provided alcohol to a 13-year-old girl and raped her between 20 and 30 times in a period of several weeks, according to the Post Register of Idaho Falls, Idaho. The victim initially denied any sexual contact with Cook, but later admitted he abused her, the newspaper reported. Court records show the victims father was aware of the sexual relationship and Cook told his fiance he was going to marry the victim when she turned 18, according to the Post Register.

Cook was convicted of rape in August 2011 and sentenced to five to 20 years in prison, according to Jeff Ray, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Correction. Cook was allowed to enter an intensive treatment program at a minimum security prison and released on probation in February 2012, Ray said. However, he was arrested on a theft charge in October 2012 and sent back to prison, Ray said.

Cook was released on parole in December 2014. But he failed to maintain contact with his parole officer this year and an arrest warrant was issued, Ray said.

Ray said after Idaho officials pick up Cook later this month, he will go right to prison on the sentence he got for the rape conviction. Cook will likely be jailed until March 2031, Ray said.

During his arraignment in state Superior Court in Stamford on Wednesday, Cook pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon in connection with the machete. He was also charged with interfering with police and violating a Darien ordinance prohibiting camping in town parks.

Darien Police Sgt. Jeremiah Marron said Cook is being held on a combined court appearance bond of $300,000.

Marron said there was no indication Cook had been in Darien for more than about nine hours.

Cook told police he was on a cross-country trip to Maine in honor of his daughter who died of leukemia. Cook told officers he planned to cross into Canada when he reached Maine, according to a police report.

The Nature Center was closed at the time, but we are in open communications with the Darien Police Department who understand our concern about the safety of Cherry Lawn Park and have assured us that extra patrols will be provided, Nature Center Executive Director Leila Wetmore said.

jnickerson@scni.com
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Albany

Last year in at least two instances, the Cuomo administration speedily filled requests for emails between any of the 200 or so people that work in the governor's office and specified individuals outside the government.

But this week  with a federal probe swirling  the administration said it lacks the technological capacity to fulfill the same kind of requests.

The Times Union recently requested emails between any Executive Chamber official and four individuals who have tangential connections to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's ongoing probe into the Cuomo administration's upstate development deals.

They are housing consultant Bill Eimicke, mortgage broker Abraham Eisner, lobbyist and former Cuomo administration official John Regan, and former top Cuomo aide Howard Glaser. None are thought to be targets of the investigation.

While Glaser and Regan worked for the Cuomo administration, the Freedom of Information Law requests for emails were almost entirely concerned with periods when they were not on the state payroll. (Internal communications or those between state agencies are generally exempt from disclosure under FOIL.)

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Still, Cuomo records access officer Mongthu Zago on Monday said requests for emails between Glaser, Regan, Eisner or Eimicke and the Executive Chamber did not "reasonably describe" the records sought.

"The Chamber employs over 200 individuals and does not maintain e-mails in a manner that allows all e-mails sent and received by all employees on a given day to be readily accessed, segregated, and reviewed," Zago said. "Your exceedingly broad request makes no effort to identify any particular Chamber employee with whom email communications were exchanged to enable us to facilitate a search and locate responsive records."

Last year, the Times Union made two identical Freedom of Information Law requests, which were fulfilled without mention of the limitations of the chamber's email retention system. One was for emails between Executive Chamber employees and Kingston-based developer Steven Aaron, the other for emails between anyone in the governor's office and lobbyist Allison Lee, who works for Aaron.

Reminded that the technology seemingly existed to fill these broader requests last year, Zago took a different tack Tuesday, and said that the Glaser and Regan requests produced too much content, while offering no further explanation for rejecting the Eisner and Eimicke requests.

"Unlike the previous requests you referenced, the information you're seeking covers two long time employees of the administration"  Regan and Glaser  "with communications potentially covering a wide variety of individuals and subject areas. This is an overly broad request as stated in our response," Zago said.

But the Times Union did not ask for emails when Regan and Glaser were on the state payroll  except, accidently, for January 2015, Regan's final month before he left the administration. Glaser left the administration in June 2014.

Zago declined to say whether the Executive Chamber emails could be searched for by date, a strategy that would seemingly reduce the volume of emails considerably.

Zago also declined to answer questions about whether there was a central system through which the emails of all Executive Chamber employees could be searched.

A Cuomo spokesman did not answer a question concerning why email records for Eisner and Eimicke  who were never in Andrew Cuomo's administration  were not provided, while the requests regarding Aaron and Lee last year were able to be fulfilled.

Robert Freeman, executive director of the State Committee on Open Government, said that the "breadth" of a FOIL request  such as how many pages are required to respond to it  is not a relevant legal issue when considering whether state government should fill it.

Instead, the legal issue is whether records can be produced with "reasonable effort," he said.

"I could search my inbox, and with reasonable effort find hundreds or thousands of emails," Freeman said.

During the course of Bharara's federal investigation, the Cuomo administration in several instances denied FOIL requests by citing a different exemption: that certain records were being "compiled" for "law enforcement purposes."

In responding to one request for an employee's work timesheets, the Department of Homes and Community Renewal, the state's affordable housing agency, recently confirmed that the agency had been subpoenaed in Bharara's probe.

On Monday  less than an hour after the Executive Chamber denied the four FOIL denials  HCR's Valerie Molinaro issued a denial that used the same rationale: The Times Union's request, she said, was too broad.

In this case, the request for records was much narrower than those sent to the Executive Chamber, and asked only for emails between six current or former HCR officials and Eimicke, the housing consultant.

Molinaro wrote that HCR employees "are not required to engage in herculean or unreasonable efforts to locate records."

By denying the FOIL as overly broad, Molinaro's response hinted but did not confirm that the emails could be of interest to Bharara's probe.

"Notwithstanding the overly broad nature of your request, to the extent that certain responsive communications may exist, records that fall substantially within the subject matters of publicly-disclosed ongoing law enforcement investigation would be exempt from disclose," she wrote.

Eimicke has worked as a consultant for COR Development, a company of interest in the probe.

Regan is a lobbyist and former Cuomo official who once worked for Todd Howe, a figure at the center of the inquiry.

Eisner is a longtime Cuomo insider and mortgage broker who has provided mortgages to Howe and former top Cuomo official Joe Percoco, another person at the center of the probe.

Glaser served as Cuomo's director of operations.

cbragg@timesunion.com  518-454-5303  @chrisbragg1
GREENWICH  The New Lebanon Building Committee has spent the past week visiting district RTM meetings to answer questions before Mondays vote on the future of the proposed new school.

At stake is a 61,000-square-foot facility, and the town and state money needed to build it. Its a school that has been debated and its plans modified for more than a year. Its construction depends on how the Representative Town Meeting will vote at its Monday meeting.

On June 7, the town Planning and Zoning Commission gave the school district its first approval to move forward with a site plan.

In July, Byram resident

Mat thew Popp filed an appeal of that approval, arguing the school was too large for its neighborhood, among other objections.

On Monday, the RTM will consider Popps appeal. If the appeal is upheld, the building committee would have to redesign a new school.

Without preliminary site plan approval  known as municipal improvement status  the project would not get funding from the town and not qualify for any funding from the state, members said. Current plans call for construction to start in June 2017. The state is expected to reimburse the district as much as 80 percent of the cost.

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The project is much larger than needed to serve the current or future needs of the Byram neighborhood, Popp wrote in his appeal. In addition to the larger building, the project includes a large parking lot, an oversized bus loop, wider driveways and larger drainage systems. The project will compromise Byrams natural landscape by clearing Byrams last remaining sizable mature woodlands.

Committee members have disagreed with Popps characterization.

Stephen Walko, chairman of the New Lebanon Building Committee, said if the town builds the school too small, it will regret it later.

Were seeing that in Glenville now, he said. They just rebuilt Glenville School, and now its overpopulated.

The new school is larger in size because it is designed to bring kindergarten  now located off site  back to the New Lebanon School campus, allow more space for the magnet program to grow and ease the overcrowded classrooms, members said.

Clare Kilgallen, Building Committee member and incoming New Lebanon PTA co -president, opposed the notion that the need for a larger school was unfounded, citing the March 2014 Feasibility Study.
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GREENWICH  Legendary photographer George Tice is known for his iconic shots of the American urban landscape.

Seven of those shots are on display at the Greenwich Librarys Flinn Gallery as part of an exhibit unveiled last week that focuses on preserving memory and history.

On Thursday, Tice and photographers Bruce Wodder, Peter Bosco and John Langmore were on hand for the formal opening of American Lens: B&W Photography. The show will run through Oct. 19.

The exhibit features 60 photos by Tice, Wodder, Bosco, Langmore and Bank Langmore, John Langmores father, that focus on archiving disappearing places or moments in time.

One of the themes of the show is preserving memory, preserving places and White Castles that are going away, said York Baker, Flinn Gallery co-curator, gesturing to one of Tices photos of a White Castle restaurant.

The Flinn Gallery has spent the past year preparing the exhibit. It is one of the few exhibits devoted exclusively to photography that the Flinn has displayed.

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People love photography shows, said Baker, and this is really a very special one.

All of the photos in the exhibit are for sale.

Tice, who began taking photos more than 60 years ago and had his first solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 1972, is known in particular for his iconic shots of the American urban landscape. The Flinn exhibit features his famous photos taken from the Chrysler Building in New York City, among others.

The photos of Wodder and Bosco, both students of Tice, include several capturing industrial life and fading places in the New England and tri-state areas. Some of their photos include shots from Milford and Hartford.

The work of both Langmore men preserves a different American way of life, that of the cowboy. Bank Langmore is considered the preeminent photographer of the American cowboy in the 1970s. He traveled more than 20,000 miles in seven years to produce his photos.

What we did was we mixed up the father and the sons prints ... because theres both similarity and difference and we thought that would be interesting to recognize, Baker explained. One of the things that John Langmore, the son, said, The cowboy has been idealized and idolized, but has been documented far less. And these are really documentary photos of cowboys actually at work and their lives.

Wodder and Bosco teamed up to make a documentary about Tice, their mentor, called George Tice: Seeing Beyond the Moment. The film will be shown as part of the Friends Friday Film series at 8 p.m. Sept. 30 at the library.

The duo will be on hand for a 6 p.m. reception before the film is shown. They will hold a question-and-answer session at the end of the film.

emunson@hearstmediact.com; @emiliemunson
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Democrat Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate to be president, but many feel shes not honest enough for the job, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released Thursday.

American likely voters say 62 - 38 percent that Clinton is qualified to be president and 61 - 38 percent that Republican candidate Donald Trump is not qualified.

But voters say 55 - 43 percent that Clinton is not honest enough to be president, the poll found. Likely voters are divided on Trump as 50 percent say he is honest enough to be president and 48 percent say he is not honest enough.

Despite terrible marks on honesty, despite what voters perceive as a level of arrogance that puts her above the rules, voters say almost 2-1 that Hillary Clinton is qualified to be president, and say by a wide margin that Donald Trump is not qualified," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Clinton tops Trump 48 - 43 percent in a head-to-head matchup. With third party candidates in the race, results are too close to call, with Clinton at 41 percent, Trump at 39 percent, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson at 13 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein at 4 percent.

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American likely voters say 61 - 35 percent that "the way Donald Trump talks appeals to bigotry." White voters believe this 56 - 41 percent and non-white voters agree 73 - 19 percent.

And voters say 75 - 20 percent, including 60 - 31 percent among Republicans, that Trump should publicly release his tax returns.

Looking at Clinton, voters say 56 - 42 percent she "does not believe that she has to play by the same rules as everyone else."

American likely voters say 54 - 37 percent that Trump is more transparent than Clinton. Voters give both candidates negative grades for honesty, but Clinton's are lower, as voters say 65 - 32 percent she is not honest. Trump is not honest, voters say 57 - 40 percent.

Clinton vs. Trump on key qualities

Voters say 68 - 31 percent that she has the right kind of experience to be president and 65 - 34 percent that Trump does not have the experience;

Voters say 88 - 11 percent that Clinton is intelligent and 69 - 29 percent that Trump is intelligent;

Clinton cares about average Americans, voters say 53 - 46 percent, while Trump does not, voters say 55 - 44 percent;

Clinton is level-headed, voters say 63 - 55 percent, but Trump is not, voters say 69 - 27 percent;

Both candidates get a 76 - 23 percent score for being "a strong person."

Good leadership skills are most important in a president, 26 percent of voters say, while 20 percent most want a president who cares about average Americans and 16 percent want a president who is honest.

Clinton has good leadership skills, voters say 55 - 43 percent, and so does Trump, voters say 54 - 43 percent.

American likely voters are tied 49 - 49 percent on whether Clinton or Trump would make the right decisions concerning the economy. Clinton would do a better job keeping the U.S. safe from terrorism, 49 percent of voters say, while 47 percent say Trump would do better.

Clinton vs. Trump on key issues

Voters say 51 - 46 percent that she would do a better job on immigration;

Voters trust her more than Trump, 52 - 43 percent, to make the right decision about sending U.S. troops overseas;

Voters trust her more 57 - 39 percent, to handle foreign policy.

"Trump trails Clinton on foreign policy, immigration, experience, intelligence and level headedness, but perhaps most damning, American likely voters say 61 - 35 percent that 'the way Donald Trump talks appeals to bigotry,'" Malloy said.
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Life-saving heart pumps, space-age work-out clothes and refrigerators in remote Africa that keep vaccines below the temperature of a cold beer are just some of the thousands of inventions from the Johnson Space Center that continue to shape the world.

More than 1,500 "spin-off" products and innovations come out of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration each year, with some emerging directly from the massive complex of labs and testing centers in Clear Lake, a bedroom community in southeast Houston.

"We're so ubiquitous with all the technologies that we've spun off over the past 50-plus years of existence that you just see this stuff everywhere," said NASA tech executive Daniel Lockney based in Washington, D.C. "It's amazing to me that the benefits of NASA are so far and wide."

NASA is well-known for innovations of light-weight materials and advances in aerospace and robotics, he said. But myriad other ground-breaking inventions are "serendipitous by-products," including material that makes mattresses feel cooler, a handheld device that lets firefighters see flames through walls or even a better way to pressurize beer.

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Not all the new inventions from NASA come directly from the Johnson Space Center, though the scientists and engineers at all of the agency's facilities collaborate, Lockney said.

The cooperation and inventive spirit has led to such real-world applications as the cameras in everyone's smart phones or the super filter that purifies water in virtually every dentist's office across the country.

More Information NASA inventions Here are some of the hundreds of household products built with technology pioneered at NASA and the Johnson Space Center: Evenflo child's car seats CHI hairstyling irons, brushes, nail lacquers and hair dryers. Sealy beds Timberland shoes and boots ?-KO Water, Filtration Bottles ThrustMaster joysticks Jockey undershirts New Era caps Slumbercloud bedding Silhouette glasses and sunglasses Rejuel skin cream TIMEZ5 prayer mats VersaClimber exercise equipment and heart rate monitors DreamSaver safes TaxaOutdoors camping trailers (Courtesy NASA Technology Transfer Program) See More Collapse

In Houston, NASA and the world-famous Texas Medical Center have had some legendary collaborations. Chief among those may be the ventricular assist device, a heart pump designed by famed heart surgeon Michael DeBakey and David Saucier, one of the engineers from JSC.

Later generations of the device are still used today to help heart patients as they wait for transplants.

"This pump's gone through seven distinct iterations since it was created," said Rodger Ford, CEO of ReliantHeart, the company that succeeded MicroMed, the original company that built the device. "It all relates back to the original design work that NASA did. It was that 'foundation design' that has carried the day."

Ford marveled at how a NASA fuel engineer who was one of DeBakey's patients helped revolutionize a medical device because they both lived in Houston.

"It never would have happened otherwise," he said.

In another uniquely Houston medical story, NASA was deeply involved in trying to help David Vetter, known to history as "the boy in the bubble." David was born in the early 1970s with a fatal immune disease and became internationally famous. He lived out his life in the Texas Medical Center inside a series of sterile plastic bubbles and a miniature space suit that had been built by the space agency. He died at age 12 waiting for a cure.

Others who have worked at JSC say their peers encouraged them to follow their passions past the invention.

One of those inventors is David Bergeron, a former NASA engineer at JSC who is living in Hungary because of the spin-off he helped create.

Bergeron, who grew up in Dickinson, was an outside contractor who spent 18 years designing satellites. He also cultivated two hobbies befitting a mechanical engineer: alternative energy technology and the thermodynamics of refrigeration.

When his satellite work ended, he wrote a proposal for the NASA lab on solar-powered refrigeration. That led to a job working on the technology he would later patent.

Bergeron founded a company called SunDanzer, to make high-tech solar refrigerators that work great for keeping vaccines viable throughout Africa. Before Bergeron and his peers at NASA cracked the code, all solar-powered refrigerators either had to have a generator, a battery or both. Bergeron's refrigerators use solar power to slowly start and power the compressors; they never have to be plugged in.

"It solved a problem the World Health Organization was having with the medical refrigerators in the past  the batteries failed pretty quick," he said. "They wanted a new technology that they could deploy and come back 10 years later and have them working fine with very little maintenance."

Beer, it turns out, may be more of a muse to NASA engineers than the space agency wants to admit. Another JSC spinoff began with efforts to corral the carbon dioxide on Mars in the event humans ever colonize the Red Planet. That technology led to affordable systems for microbreweries to turn waste CO2 created by brewing beer into bubbles that carbonate the beer, saving money and putting less of the greenhouse into the environment, according to Spinoffs, the magazine the agency puts out detailing its technological applications.

In the early 1990s, a Colorado company licensed the rights to use "phase change material" - the textile that was originally engineered for use in astronaut's gloves and helps balance temperature in space.

More than two decades later, Outlast Technologies has modified and re-engineered the spin-off and sells material to national brands such as Sealy, New Era, Evenflo, Jockey and Timberland, said Heather Manuel, a representative of the company.

Several creations, however, are mistakenly credited to the agency.

Hard as it may be to believe it, Tang, Teflon and Velcro are not spin-offs of the space race.

In an oft-quoted release from NASA, the agency explains General Foods developed the powdered orange drink Tang in 1957. In 1962, when astronaut John Glenn performed eating experiments in orbit with the drink mix, it landed forever on the public's conscience as the space drink.

Teflon, a material invented for DuPont in 1938, became more famous when NASA applied it to heat shields, space suits and cargo-hold liners.

Velcro was used during the Apollo missions to anchor equipment in zero gravity situations, although it was a Swiss invention from the 1940s.
Mainlanders chase overseas foods in HK Updated: 2016-09-15 08:17 By Chai Hua in Shenzhen(China Daily)

Japanese brand Calbee's breakfast cereal with dried fruit and nuts has been on the must-buy list of mainland shoppers in Hong Kong.

The breakfast cereal's price is about triple that of other oatmeal. But in just one year, it has garnered a 1.7 percent market share and doubled the sales of breakfast cereal category in China, according to global research company Kantar Worldpanel.

Evidently, Chinese consumers are willing to pay more for a high-quality product.

This willingness may save the sluggish fast-moving consumer goods market, whose sales grew just 3.5 percent in 2015, a five-year low, according to the China Shopper Report 2016 published by Bain & Company and Kantar Worldpanel.

Jeff Williamson, director of California State Trade and Export Promotion, attributed the rising demand to the increasing purchasing power of middle and upper classes in China.

Williamson made the remarks at the 27th Food Expo in Hong Kong in mid-August. He said, "There are about 225 million middle class people and another 60 to 70 million upper class people in China, so the market overall is almost larger than that in the United States."

Authentic, original products, particularly foods, are shaping buying decisions now, he later told China Daily, adding health foods from California are doing very well in China.

The Crunchies Natural Food Company this year launched freeze-dried fruit products in Hong Kong, where many mainlanders buy high-quality imported foods.

Products like groceries and certain food items bought in Hong Kong in moderate quantities for personal use are exempt from customs and import duties for mainland visitors to bring back across the border.

Typically, mainland visitors buy imported milk, cosmetics, diapers and luxury bags in Hong Kong because of relatively low prices and high quality.

But such exemptions are not applicable to electronic gadgets and appliances.

Astor Kwong, head of sales for the Asia Pacific Consumer Products Division, Crunchies Natural, said baby and children products are received "very well" in the Hong Kong market.

As top-quality snacks are priced relatively higher, Kwong said the company also developed smaller, low-priced packages to make inroads into the Hong Kong and mainland markets.

It's a strategy used by other brands as well.

Wu Ting, a distributor of a chili sauce made by US-based Huy Fong Foods Inc, said the price of 9 oz (255g) bottle is about 20 yuan in China's supermarkets - about the same as a local brand.

But the imported sauce is better because it is fresh and healthful, she said, adding the manufacturing process takes only two hours, from plucking chili to packing the sauce in a bottle, without adding water or pigments.

Up to 400 tons of the sauce have been exported to China and Hong Kong so far, and the company expects rapid growth in sales, she said.

Besides foods, high-quality imported goods for everyday use enjoy demand from mainland visitors in Hong King.

Ray Schuschu, vice-president of international sales at Earth Friendly Products, a US-based brand of plant-derived cleaning products, said the firm's business in China is growing at 10 percent annually.

He said Chinese families, especially those with children, are becoming "more aware of what they are cleaning their house with".

grace@chinadailyhk.com

(China Daily 09/15/2016 page9)
Imported, affordable, heady Updated: 2016-09-15 08:17 By Chai Hua in Hong Kong(China Daily)

Inexpensive foreign wines sold on e-stores convert middle class and young consumers into oenophiles

Demand for affordable imported wine is on the rise in China and driving US exports.

Jeff Williamson, director of California State Trade and Export Promotion, told China Daily at the 27th Food Expo in Hong Kong in mid-August that California's wine exports to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are recovering from a sluggish 2014.

Consumers select imported wine at a free trade port zone in Qingdao, Shandong province. Cui Pengsen / For China Daily

Chinese Customs released data that China's imported wine market made significant headway in 2015, with consumption volume of imported wine reaching 43.7 million - liter cases, a 37 percent increase over 2014.

Williamson said California's exports to China kept growing in double digits from 2007 to 2013, but then plummeted by about 10 percent in 2014. Thankfully, sellers adjusted to market changes soon.

He said US wine shipped to China has become more value-oriented. "Producers are making 20-dollar bottles of wine, or even below (that price), and they are doing very well on China market."

The rise of China's middle class is driving the imported wine market. A UK-based wine research institute, Wine Intelligence, said in its latest report - China Landscapes 2016 - in July that about 48 million urban upper middle class Chinese were drinkers of imported wine last year, up from 38 million in 2014. Wines priced in the 200-300 yuan range sold the most.

Williamson also found that sales of white wine are soaring. This variety has gained popularity particularly among women, he said. "The market for wine is becoming more mature and people are becoming more knowledgeable in the China market."

Dave Yip, a Hong Kong citizen in his 30s, started to import wine to Shenzhen in Guangdong province by the end of 2014. The volume of his imports in 2015 was about 20 containers.

He said drinking wine is becoming a fad among commoners. The most popular wine in his business is the one costing about 300 yuan.

Williamson said online channels are boosting sales of inexpensive wines in China.

He said in the last two years many companies visited California, the fourth largest wine exporter to China market, and selected products for sale on Taobao.com, Alibaba Group's online marketplace.

Low-priced wines attract low import duty and other taxes, thanks to the mainland's cross-border e-commerce preferential policy, he said.

So, products sold online with an import duty of less than 50 yuan are exempted from taxes, while mainland customs normally levy a 17 percent value-added tax and 14 percent tariff on imported bottles of wine.

Such bottles move quickly off online shelves that are favored by young buyers, whose numbers are growing to be on a par with the mainstream in China's wine market.

The China Landscapes 2016 report said approximately half of young consumers, aged from 18 to 29, buy wine online.

This is having an impact on sales and marketing strategies of wine importers. So are changes in the price range of popular wines, consumption channels and the mainstream consumer segment.

Zhu Hailun, a mainland wine supplier, said she will start selling imported wine this month on online wine selling platform Jiuxian.com. So far, the online outlet used to focus on Chinese white wine. Now, imported wines will retail between 200 yuan and 300 yuan.

Last year, she sold about 10 containers of red wine imported from Europe and the Americas.

She expects the business to increase this year, thanks to online channels and new international brand partners.

grace@chinadailyhk.com

(China Daily 09/15/2016 page9)
The great tide was born where the Qiantang River meets the sea

If you look at the coastal line of the Chinese mainland, you will find the shape of a horn at Hangzhou Bay, where the Qiantang River enters the East China Sea. It's here that one will find the world-famous Qiantang bore - the monthly formation of sea-like waves on the brackish water, when tides pull sea water up the Qiantang River against the current.

Every year, in mid-August on the lunar calendar, tourists will come and enjoy the view of the Qiantang bore. The year 2016 is special: the Qiangtang bore coincides with the G20 Summit, held in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province where the Qiantang bore occurs.

On Sept 14, 2014, tourists capture the moment of the Qiantang bore with their smartphones.

The Qiantang bores are at times so powerful that sight-seers must first plan a route of escape and get ready to run before approaching to experience or photograph the phenomenon.

As the tidal forces reach their peak around Aug 18 on the lunar calendar, the waves of the Qiantang bore can be as high as five meters and there can be a gap of 10 meters between the highest and lowest points. The Qiantang bore has already become a natural feature of Haining.

Haining is not the only place suitable for watching the Qiantang bore. After watching the peak of the tide in Haining, you can watch similarly unique tides in several neighboring areas. In Nanyang town at the southern bank of the Hangzhou Bay, people can watch pillar tides, a unique phenomenon in which the water rising like pillars.
Having long nails is a treasured feature for many women, but one Texas woman has taken it to another level.

Ayanna "Yani" Williams is a Houston woman who is used to turning heads, thanks to her 20-inch nails that took her 20 years to grow. These nails are jaw-dropping and can stop a person in their tracks.

"My nails are 20 to 25 inches long," Williams say in the video above. She admits that they prevent her from doing the dishes and she struggles with putting fitted sheets on the bed due to her lengthy nails.

BEST OF THE BEST: Best nail salons in Houston, according to Yelp

"You don't want to be behind me in the grocery store, because it takes me forever to get my money," she says.

Williams is the founder of the Real Nails Qweenz, a group of women who support each other's natural, extremely long fingernails and toenails. Her mother was her inspiration for growing out her nails, though she admits that her mom's nails were "not this extreme."

RELATED: These Houston salons have inspection violations

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Her eyes are set on the Guinness World Records, but she's got a way to go to be the world record-holder for longest fingernails for a female: a remarkable 28 feet and 4.5 inches, held by Lee Redmond of the United States.

And if you're wondering about a manicure, consider the hour it takes yours as being lucky. For Williams, the process can take up to a week  which includes backfills, repairs for cracks and painting intricate nail art, according to Eye Opener.
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It ended with a whimper and without a feared federal takeover of Texas. But, for some, that doesn't mean the threat from Jade Helm is over, even a year to the day after the federal troops left the state.

That's right, the federal military exercise - and conspiracy theorist wonderland - known as Jade Helm 15 ended Sept. 15, 2015, one year ago Thursday.

The seven-state Special Operations exercise that took place over two months prompted local rumblings about it being a federal move to oppress the people of Texas. It eventually made national headlines when Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed the odd idea and ordered the state guard to monitor the military, leaving people across the country scratching their heads.

READ MORE: Come out of the bunkers, Jade Helm 15 is over

The frenzy over the military exercises near the Central Texas town of Bastrop stemmed from a single 12-page document put out by the Army. The document described the unorthodox exercise and labeled Texas as "hostile" territory on the map.

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According to the document, hundreds of soldiers with the Navy SEALS, Green Berets and other Special Operations groups would be sneaking undercover through the backwoods and small towns of Texas. That was the perfect tidbit for the blogosphere to run wild with. (And some bloggers still are.)

Stories popped up online about federal plans to round up Texans, confiscate guns and send the people to concentration camps.

READ MORE: Obama picks 'Jade Helm' as favorite conspiracy theory about presidency

If those camps were full, they might be sent to one of two Walmarts in Texas that closed at the same time so that they could be converted into extermination centers, according to some bloggers.

And if they didn't survive the punishment, their bodies might get moved in mobile morgues disguised as Blue Bell trucks (because the military is known to use sweet deliciousness as a disguise for portable death).

The thing is, there never was a federal government plot to take over Texas (Texas is already a state, obviously), intern Texans in camps or take guns. And, if there were such plans, they failed miserably. (Although it did inspire a board game.)

READ MORE: How did this happen? A timeline of Jade Helm

The exercises ran through the summer with no conflicts between the Texas state guard and no reports of soldiers or government agents slipping into neighborhoods and making Texans disappear.

The civilian death toll from Jade Helm 15? Zero. Number of Texans involuntarily being held at Walmart? Zero.

While little has been revealed about what the the military learned from Jade Helm 15, Texas remains free from martial law one year later. (No one tell Alex Jones that the government still has more than 170,000 troops in Texas.)
China launches second space lab into orbit Updated: 2016-09-15 22:07 By By Zhao Lei in Jiuquan, Gansu province, and Cao Yin in Beijing(chinadaily.com.cn)

China sent its second space laboratory, the Tiangong II, into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gobi desert on Thursday night.

The space lab lifted off atop a Long March 2F carrier rocket at 10:04 pm.

The lab is 10.4 meters high, 3.35 meters in diameter and weighs 8.6 metric tons. It is designed to stay two years in space, according to the Chinese space authority.

The space lab has two cabins with separate functions. The experiment cabin will be hermetically sealed and will act as the astronauts' living quarters, while the resource cabin will contain solar panels, storage batteries, propellant and engines.

During its mission, Tiangong II will receive visits by the Shenzhou XI manned spacecraft and Tianzhou 1 cargo spaceship.

The space lab's major tasks will be to accommodate astronauts' medium-length stay in it and test life-support technologies, to demonstrate in-orbit refueling and repair plans and to conduct experiments pertaining to space medicine and space sciences, as well as to examine technologies for a future manned space station, the China Manned Space Agency said.

China launched its first space lab, Tiangong I, in September 2011. With a designated lifespan of two years, the Tiangong 1 was in service for four and a half years and conducted six automatic and astronaut-controlled dockings with the nation's Shenzhou VIII, Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X spacecraft.
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The City Council unanimously approved the municipalitys annual budget Thursday morning, a $2.5 billion spending plan that includes funds for pushing the hourly entry-level wage for city workers from $13 to $13.75, adding more police officers, a Smart Cities initiative and Animal Care Services, among other things.

The budget, which takes effect Oct. 1, keeps the property tax rate flat. The citys rate has not increased in 24 years, and has been lowered four times in the past 10 years.

In last-minute amendments, the council successfully pushed for funding to cover retirement contributions, car and cell phone allowances, tuition assistance and increases to health care for their council aides, who are not city employees but rather are contract workers. Council members said in a Wednesday meeting that those aides are the backbone of council offices and should be compensated better for their work.

RELATED: Mayor Taylor shelves plan to bring Triple-A baseball team to S.A.

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The council also agreed with a call from the COPS/Metro organization to again increase the entry-level wage for city employees from $13 to $13.75 an hour. COPS/Metro and some council members want to city to stay on a path to a $15 hourly wage over the next few years.

Despite concerns aired Wednesday by Councilman Joe Krier, the citys budget includes $1.1 million for implementation of the SA Tomorrow comprehensive plan.

The budget maintains General Fund spending on public safety at 66 percent, a policy set a few years ago by the council. Maintaining that policy was a bit easier in this budget because the city and the San Antonio Police Officers Association agreed to a new contract, giving a level of certainty to the city on the cost of health care for officers.

RELATED: S.A. considering bid for displaced NCAA championship events

The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, meanwhile, is still without a contract and has not begun negotiations for a new one. Without a contract, the city is continuing to cover nearly the full cost of health care for firefighters and their families. City officials have said that the lack of a new contract is one reason why the Fire Department cant add a new EMS unit this year, though one is sorely needed.

Mayor Ivy Taylor said the budget addresses competing interests well.

Weve struck a great balance, she said.Im pleased with what we have right now.

For more on this story, visit www.expressnews.com later or read the Friday edition of the San Antonio Express-News.

jbaugh@express-news.net
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A 21-year-old Fort Bliss soldier was arrested and charged with murder this week after police say he killed a transgender woman in El Paso last month.

Anthony Bowden was arrested Tuesday and charged in the death of Erykah Tijerina, 36, formerly Eric, whose body was found with obvious signs of foul play, Aug. 8, according to an El Paso Police Department news release. Bowden is being held in El Paso County Jail on a $750,000 bond, according to online county records.

RELATED: Alexis Arquette, Transgender Actress and Activist, Dies at 47

Tijerina was a transgender woman who went by Erykah, her family members told KFOX14, adding that they believe the homicide was a result of a hate crime.

Police are not ruling out Tijerina's murder being a hate crime, which is defined by the FBI as being a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity."

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"We are looking into that (hate crime) aspect," Keith A. Byers, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI in El Paso, told the El Paso Times.

The El Paso Police Department did not immediately respond for comment.

Tijerinas body was found at the 200 block of Lisbon Street in El Paso and forensic evidence later led to Bowdens arrest, according to the release. Tijerinas cause of death has not yet been released.

LTC Patrick Husted, spokesman for Fort Bliss, confirmed in an email Bowden entered the Army in July 2013 and was assigned to Fort Bliss in January 2014.

RELATED: Deputy: Transgender woman stabbed 119 times

Bowden is a Patriot Launching Station crewman assigned to Fort Bliss' 5th Battalion and the 52nd Air Defense Artillery.

"On September 13, 2016, a Fort Bliss Solider, SPC Anthony M. Bowden, assigned to the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, was arrested by the El Paso Police Department as part of an ongoing murder investigation. This incident occurred off-post, and as such, we are cooperating with local authorities, who are exercising jurisdiction in this matter. As this is an ongoing criminal investigation, we cannot provide any further comment," Husted said.

The Human Rights Campaign listed Tijerina as one of the 18 known transgender people who have been fatally shot, stabbed and killed by other violent means, so far this year. Her family set up a GoFundMe page to help with the funeral expenses for Tijerina.

For all the ones she loved and she helped we asked you find in your heart to help us with this for her, Kathleen Tijerina Gonzales, Tijerinas sister, wrote on the page. This is so important to us because we unexpectedly had to receive this news so soon. Its hard for us to accept it let alone be able to arrange her funeral arrangement.

So far, $1,747 has been raised.

RELATED: Texas AG Ken Paxton calls Target's transgender bathroom policy a crime risk in letter to execs

Were still in shock about it. It was unexpected, Pearl Tijerina told the Fox TV station, describing her sister as funny, giving and unapologetic. Shes the one that told me to stay strong and not care.

Tijerina is the third known transgender woman to have been killed in Texas this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Monica Loera, 43, was a transgender woman who was fatally shot in Austin Jan. 22. Shante Thompson, 34, was a transgender woman from Houston who was beaten and shot April 11.

In 2015, the Human Rights Campaign recorded 21 known transgender people who were victims of fatal violence. Two were killed in Texas.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
For nearly seven months, a Twitter-based "Fight Club" account called @santa_fe_fights" has been sharing footage of brawls among students in the hallways of what appears to be a Sante Fe ISD campus.

The page invites anyone to send clips by saying "dm (direct message) me if u have videos and I'll get them posted."
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An Austin woman was arrested Tuesday for allegedly performing oral sex on a 15-year-old boy on Mothers Day at a small church on the city's east side, according to court documents.

Randricka Houston, 34, faces a second-degree felony charge of sexual assault of a child. She is being held on a $20,000 bond, according to Travis County Jail records.

RELATED: Iowa teen gets probation after raping 1-year-old girl on camera

Court documents obtained by mySA.com state Houston allegedly approached the boy on May 8 while he was attending a church service at St. Peters United Methodist Church and told him to meet her in the restroom, which was located in the toddlers room. The two met in the bathroom, where Houston allegedly performed oral sex on the boy, the document said.

A family friend walked into the bathroom when the alleged assault was occurring and alerted members of the church, which has a congregation just over 100, according to their website.

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RELATED: U.S. Army Sergeant accused of child sex assault toured Afghanistan, Iraq, received service medals

The victim told police on June 8 that he had known Houston since he was either 7 or 9 years old. He said the woman has touched him inappropriately in the past, having performed oral sex on him once near the end of spring break. During that instance of alleged sexual assault, Houston allegedly took the boys hand and placed it on her breast and her buttocks, the affidavit said.

RELATED: Records: Mom solicited men to sexually assault daughter, 10

During a Sept. 1 interview, Houston admitted to police that she had performed oral sex on the boy and said she had been banned from the church since Mothers Day.

If convicted, Houston faces up to 20 years in prison.

Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
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SAN ANTONIO - A man accused of sexually assaulting two teenage sisters at knife point in 1999 was arrested Wednesday.

Robert F. Acosta, 35, faces two counts of aggravated sexual assault after he was recently linked to the case by DNA evidence, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

SAPD spokesman Sgt. Jesse Salame said Acosta was posing as a police officer at what was then the McCrelles Mall when he approached the sisters and ordered them into his vehicle.

He drove them to another location where he sexually assaulted both of them at knife point, detectives said.

RELATED: Records: Mom solicited men to sexually assault daughter, 10

Acosta was 19 at the time, according to police.

"That incident was thoroughly investigated," Salame said. "We couldn't develop any suspects. They actually issued a composite sketch of him at the time."

Detectives matched DNA evidence to Acosta after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in 2010, with whom he was in a relationship with.

"The person he victimized knew him," Salame said, noting she came to police after the assault.

Detectives began working backward from that incident and matched his DNA with evidence collected from the 1999 case.

Investigators also matched him with a sexual assault from 2006, police said.

In both of the older cases, the victims assaulted were strangers to Acosta, Salame said.

Police are anticipating more charges.

"He knew that we were investigating him," Salame said. "He claims he didn't know for what." Salame noted that the composite sketch from 1999 was a close match with Acosta today, adding that he had distinct green eyes.

"There's always a possibility that he could be connected to more (sexual assaults)," Salame said. "We're asking anybody who recognizes him ... to please call the Special Victims Unit." The unit can be reached at (210) 207-2313.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. We're here to help," Salame said. "We need to get people like this off the street."

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, told CNN Wednesday that Russians had hacked the Republican National Committee then later recanted the statement saying operatives had been hacked.

The Republican National Committee denied the breach after CNN's report and McCaul swiftly said he meant to say that Republican operatives had been hacked, according to a report in Business Insider.
SAN ANTONIO  A woman in her 40s was pinned inside a vehicle Thursday morning after crashing into a bridge column of Austin Highway on the Northeast Side.

Emergency personnel responded shortly after midnight Thursday to the intersection of Ira Lee Road and Austin Highway, where the woman was reportedly traveling east on Ira Lee when she crashed into a bridge column, pinning herself inside her vehicle.
Huabuzhu Hilla stunning local attraction unknown to tourists Updated: 2016-09-15 11:06 By Li Yang and Zhao Ruixue in Jinan(China Daily)

Huabuzhu Hill is located in the northeastern suburb of Jinan, Shandong province. It may not be a well-known scenic spot for tourists, but it is an inalienable part of local life. Provided to China Daily

Huabuzhu Hill in the northeastern suburb of Jinan, in Shandong province, may not be a well-known scenic spot for tourists, but it is an inalienable part of local life.

"Although I grew up at the foot of the hill, I had not climbed it until the 1990s. It is a mysterious place," says Wang Qinghua, the writer of a book on Jinan's most famous hill: Huabuzhu.

The 192-meter tall circular-cone-shaped hill stands alone on a vast plain to the south of the Yellow River, and appears higher than its actual elevation.

For most of the time, from the 1940s to early 1990s, the isolated peak was used by the armyit had anti-aircraft guns on top and barbed wire along its perimeter at the bottom.

It is said that the hill, which is covered with huge earth-colored stones, had also been hollowed out to be used as an ammunition depot.

Wang recalled that his first visit to the hill in 1998 was like treasure-hunt, a view shared by many of the residents of the 17 villages who lived in the vicinity of the hill.

Describing his first visit, Huang Jianhua, a local villager, says: "We found dozens of broken stone tablets along a wild dirt path.

"The pieces were inscribed either with ancient Chinese characters or delicate patterns."

Now, many residents climb the mountainhalf an hour to the top via neat stone steps.

At the top one can see the stone foundation of a temple.

There is also a large well-preserved Taoist temple dating back to the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) at the foot of the mountain, besides a small Taoist temple about halfway up.

The large temple is called Huayang and consists of 17 halls and several courtyards.
AUSTIN  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leads his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, by 7 percentage points among likely voters in Texas with just about 50 days until Election Day, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The Texas Lyceums survey showed Trump winning 39 percent support to Clintons 32 percent. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson garners 9 percent, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein wins 3 percent.

Among registered voters, however, Trumps lead in the 4-way race shrinks significantly and leads to a statistical dead heat. In that scenario, Clinton trails Trump by 1 percentage point. However, Clinton pulls ahead of Trump in a two-way race, 39 to 35 percent.

Registered voters are more diverse than the pool of voters who historically show up in Texas elections, but the combination of the slow march of demographic change and Trumps rhetoric appears to have made Texas registered voter pool more Democratic than we have seen in previous presidential races, Joshua Blank, the polls research director, said in a statement.

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The poll also found that 17 percent of likely voters did not say or did not know who they would support for president. Trump and Clinton, among the most disliked presidential candidates in history, have not seemed to increase the chance of split-ticket voting in down ballot races, according to the poll. Among likely voters, 2 percent of Trump supporters said they will vote for a Democrat in a congressional race or a state house race. For Clinton backers, 6 percent said they would support a Republican candidate for Congress, while 4 percent said they would support a GOP nominee for the Texas Legislature.

Overall, among likely voters surveyed, 39 percent said they would vote for a Republican candidate to represent them at the Texas Capitol and in Congress, while 31 percent said they would vote for a Democrat in those races.

Trump was an overwhelming favorite among likely voters when asked which candidate can do a better job of changing the culture in Washington, D.C. He won 58 percent to Clinton's 29 percent, and 13 percent said they did not know. He also edged out Clinton on handling crime, terrorism, health care, immigration, and the economy. While not winning a majority in most categories, Clinton beat Trump on the environment, foreign policy and education.

Texans surveyed also gave high marks to President Barack Obama and Gov. Greg Abbott, though their job approval ratings were predictably split along partisan lines. A total of 58 percent of respondents said Obama was doing a "very good" or "somewhat good" job as president, when the poll considered the opinions of adult Texans. When it looked at only registered voters, Obama's job approval rating dropped to 56 percent. Abbott, a Republican, garnered a 61 percent overall approval rating. About 88 percent of Republicans approve of the job Abbott has done in his first term, while he won 40 percent support from Democrats.

The poll was conducted Sept. 111 and questioned 1,000 adult Texans. It was weighted by race, age and gender to meet state population projections and has an overall margin of error of plus- or minus-3.1 percent.
Claudio Cruz/AP

Gunmen dragged 15 people off a bus traveling between two Mexican towns on the Texas border, according to authorities in that country.

On Monday, security forces in the town of Hidalgo, which sits across the Rio Grande from a mostly unpopulated stretch of Texas border between Laredo and Eagle Pass, questioned the driver of a commercial passenger bus heading from the border city of Nuevo Laredo, in the border state of Tamaulipas, to Piedras Negras. According to a news release from the state of Coahuila, where Hidalgo is located, the bus driver told police that shortly after leaving Nuevo Laredo, the bus was forced to stop by gunmen.
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Im supporting the Libertarian Party candidates Gary Johnson for President and his running mate Bill Weld for Vice President. Both gentlemen are former Republican governors in blue states  Johnson in New Mexico and Weld in Massachusetts.

They stand for things I believe in: immigration reform highlighting a more efficient method of providing work visas that will contribute to the growth of our economy; implementing a balanced budget without raising taxes, and my personal favorite, limiting government regulations (compliance) that cause an undue burden and stifle economic growth.
By Satyajit Das, a former banker. His latest book is A Banquet of Consequences (published in North America as The Age of Stagnation to avoid confusion as a cookbook). He is also the author of Extreme Money and Traders, Guns & Money

Electorates believe that business leaders are qualified for and likely to be effective in politics. Yet, with some notable exceptions, business people have rarely had successful political careers.

The assumption is that corporate vision, leadership skills, administrative skills and a proven record of wealth creation will translate into political success. It presupposes personal qualities such drive, ambition and ruthlessness. The allure is also grounded in the romantic belief that outsiders can fix all that is wrong with the political process. The faith is misplaced.

First, the required skills are different.

Successful business leaders generally serve a technical apprenticeship in the business, industry or a related profession giving them familiarity with the firms activities. Political success requires party fealty, calculating partisanship, managing coalitions and networking. It requires a capacity to engage in the retail electoral process, such as inspirational public speaking and an easy familiarity with voters in a wide variety of settings. It requires formidable powers of fund raising to finance campaigns. Where individuals shift from business to politics in mid or later life, he or she is at a significant disadvantage to career political operatives who have had years to build the necessary relationships and organisation to support political aspirations.

Second, the scope of the task is different. A nation is typically larger than a business. The range of issues is broader, encompassing economics, finance, welfare, health, social policy as well as defence and international relations. Few chief executives will, during a single day, have to consider budgetary or economic issues, health policy, gender matters, privacy concerns, manage involvement in a foreign conflict in between meeting and greeting a range of visitors varying from schoolchildren to foreign dignitaries as well as attending to party political matters.

Political leaders must also manage for the entire population rather than the narrow interest of investors. They must take into account the effect of decisions on a wide range of constituencies including many implacably opposed to their positions.

Third, business objectives, such as profit maximisation, are narrow, well defined and constant. Political objectives are amorphous and ideological. The emphasis is on living standards, security and social justice. Priorities between conflicting objectives shift constantly. The benefits of decisions by governments in infrastructure, education and welfare are frequently difficult to measure and frequently will not emerge for a long time.

Business decisions rarely focus on the societal impact. Firms can reduce workforce, shift production overseas, seek subsidies or legally minimise taxes. Politicians must deal with the side effects of individual profit maximisation decisions such as closed factories, reduced employment, welfare and retraining costs, security implications as well as social breakdown and inequality or exclusion.

Fourth, the operating environment is different. Businesses usually operate within relatively defined product-market structures. In contrast, governments operate in a complex environment shaped by domestic and foreign factors, many of which they do not control or influence. Government actions require co-operation across different layers of government or countries. Businesses can withdraw from certain activities, while government do not have the same option.

Fifth, within boundaries set by laws and regulations, business leaders enjoy great freedom and power to implement their policies. Boards of directors and shareholders exercise limited control, usually setting broad financial parameters. They do not intervene in individual decisions. Most important government actions require legislative or parliamentary support. Unlike commercial operations, government face restrictions, such as separation of powers, restraints on executive or governmental action and international obligations.

Business leaders have unrivalled authority over their organisation based on threats (termination) or rewards (remuneration or promotion). Political leaders cannot fire legislators. They face significant barriers in rewarding or replacing public servants. Policy implementation requires negotiations and consensus. It requires overcoming opposition from opposing politicians, factions within ones own party, supporters, funders and the bureaucracy. It requires overcoming passively resistance from legislators and public servants who can simply outlast the current incumbent, whose tenure is likely to be shorter than their own.

The lack of clear goals, unrivalled authority and multiple and shifting power centres means that political power is more limited than assumed Many Presidents of the United States, regarded as the most powerful position on earth, have found that they had little ability to implement their agendas.

Sixth, unless they choose to be, business leaders are rarely public figures outside business circles. Politicians cannot avoid constant public attention. Modern political debate and discourse has become increasingly tabloid in tone, with unprecedented levels of invective and ridicule. There is no separation of the public and the personal. Business leaders frequently find the focus on personal matters as well as the tone of criticism discomforting.

There are commonalities. Both fields attract a particular type of individual. In addition, paraphrasing John Ruskin, successful political and business leaders not only know what must be done but actually do what must be done and do it when it must be done. A further commonality is the ultimate fate of leaders generally. Enoch Powell, himself a long-serving Member of the British Parliament, once remarked that all political lives end in failure. It is also true of most business leaders.
Yves here. Since an increasing number of studies have concluded that an overly-large financial sector is a negative for economic growth, many readers might take the view that the hand-wringing about the damage that Brexit would do to Londons status as a financial center is overdone.

However, even if you accept the view that Leave voters accepted the warnings of the Remain campaign, that a departure would entail economic costs, the members of the Government tasked to manage Brexit seem to be in denial that there will be much in the way of transition costs of a Brexit. And as a result, they seem to be equally unwilling to accept the idea that Britain would need an explicit national strategy during its economic restructuring, as opposed to the neoliberal answer of a national strategy by default (i.e., one in the hands of the politically best connected industries).

This article sketches out at a high level how dependent the UK has become on the City and how even the optimists estimate of how much business it would lose in a Brexit would still have a big impact on tax receipts and incomes. And it illustrates why the financial markets are complacent about Brexit. The clear bet is that it wont happen, with the cynics believing that the Tories never planned to follow through, and others anticipating that once the party leaders come to grips with the risks and the costs, they will be forced to find a way to back out.

By Nicolas Veron, Senior Fellow at Bruegel. Originally published at Prospect Magazine; cross posted from Bruegel

Brexit frees us to build a truly global Britain, enthused Boris Johnson in his Telegraph column immediately after being appointed Foreign Secretary. If anything presently embodies the vision of Global Britain, it is the City of London, that marvel of a world-leading, cosmopolitan, ferociously competitive and efficient financial centre that serves as a powerhouse for the entire UK economy. But just as the City owes much of its current awe-inspiring prosperity to European integration, the brutal realities of Brexit will make it shrink, not thrive.

All this is bleak news, not just for the City but for the national economy. Londons financial sector is a huge generator of tax receipts for the government: according to the City of London Corporation, in the year to March 2015, the City paid 66.5bn in tax, equivalent to almost two thirds of the national education budget. It also provided revenue and profits for innumerable non-financial businesses, not to mention easier access to capital for many UK companies. For all the anger directed at fat-cat financiers, their mass emigration will do the nation no good. The reason, in a nutshell, is that the European Unions single market has always been much more than a free trade zone. From its very inception as the 1950s European Coal and Steel Community, the EU has been about removing behind-the-border barriers to business and creating a single economic space regulated by supranational authorities. (This is why EU-level competition policy is so central to the whole project.) Deep economic integration goes hand-in-hand with supranational administrative capacity, especially in economic sectors that require intrusive public oversight, such as regulated services and especially finance. As Dani Rodrik, the Harvard economist, put it in his 2011 book The Globalisation Paradox: Markets are most developed and most effective in generating wealth when they are backed by solid governmental institutions. The EU project, for all its twists and turns, can largely be summarised as applying this insight to a continent-sized region. The fact that the single market vision is still far from fulfilled, especially in the service sectors, does not invalidate the logic of deep integration.

Until now, the City has benefited disproportionately from the EU single market. London achieved its current dominant position in international finance in three phases: a head start in the 1970s with the development of international currency markets; a sharpened competitive edge in the 1980s thanks to the de-regulatory big bang of the Thatcher era; and in the 1990s and 2000s, a centralisation of most of Europes wholesale financial activity thanks to the aggressive dismantling of national barriers by EU legislation on investment services, financial instruments, fund management, accounting standards, market infrastructure, and much more. Crucially, the structure of the EU single market allowed non-EU financial firms, including financial behemoths in the United States, to conduct most or all of their European business from a single locationLondonallowing for significant cost savings. On most measures of wholesale financial activity, Londons share of the EU financial market rose sharply after the early 1990s, typically to three-quarters or more, while the other contenders such as Frankfurt or Milan or Paris all shrank to single-digit percentages.

These benefits, of course, might be preserved if the UK stays inside the European single market. But the more one explores possible scenarios, the clearer it becomes that Brexit means Brexit not only from the European Union, but also from its single market. This is only partly about free movement of people, the issue that tends to dominate English debates. Even assuming all sorts of emergency brakes on foreign workers, UK membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) would provide the exact opposite of the Leave campaign slogan of take back control. On almost all issues of financial regulation, and many more in other sectors, the UK would have to submit to EU diktats over which it would have no influence, an essentially unacceptable position for a sovereignty-focused post-Brexit government. It is no coincidence that all EEA members are nations whose independence is rather recent (1866 for Liechtenstein, 1905 for Norway, 1944 for Iceland) and who make comparatively less of a fuss about national superiority. There is (to paraphrase George Osborne) a remorseless logic that will lead the UK to leave the single market as it leaves the EU, at best with a few years additional delay. Only a reversal of the entire Brexit process could prevent this from happening, but that would certainly require a second referendum, which for the moment appears improbable.

In sum, by far the most likely scenario for the Citys future post-Brexit is one in which there might be access to the single market, but from outside, as is currently the case for jurisdictions such as the US, Canada or Japan. In some market segments, EU regulations and bilateral agreements may allow for equivalent status, but not in all areas and presumably not forever. One may call this scenario Switzerland-minus. Switzerland is not a member of the EEA and has its own sovereign framework for financial regulation. It has agreements with the EU that grant its firms some access to the single market. But this stops well short of single market membership. Not coincidentally, much of the large Swiss banks services to EU clients are provided through their London affiliates, rather than directly from Zurich.

The impact on the City of being outside the single market is inevitably a matter of speculation, given the complete absence of precedents. The optimistic view is that only a limited share of the Citys business, perhaps somewhere between 15 and 25 per cent of its activities, will need to remain inside the single market and thus will move outside the UK, with the rest unaffected by Brexit. It would be a significant blow, but far from a fatal one. This view, however, downplays the risk-management and cost advantages of keeping all parts of a business contained within one single entity. In the current system, the UK affiliates of large international financial firms internalise a vast array of operations, which would be split if a significant subset had to move to a separate jurisdiction. For at least some of these firms, it might be preferable to move the bulk of the business, rather than suffer the consequences of fragmentation. If so, the financial services that move onto the continent may drag a much larger volume of activities along. The network effect, which has been the Citys best friend in the past 20 to 30 years, could become its most implacable enemy.

Or look at it this way: the City has thrived in recent decades because it was the best place to do financial business in its part of the world, which the financial set refers to as Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Post-Brexit, the loss of single market membership will become a clear disadvantage in comparison to EMEA financial centres inside the EU, which the Citys other comparative advantages may not offset. British firms such as, say, Barclays or Aviva may endeavour to keep as much of their business as possible in the home country. But non-domestic ones, whether from America, Asia, or the EU itself, will have no sentimental or otherwise non-bottom-line-related reasons to linger in London if there are better business conditions elsewhere. A number of places will jostle to eat the Citys lunch, including Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh (if Scotland has serious prospects of staying in the EU), Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, and others as well. Given the enormous opportunity, these cities and their respective countries will compete hard to burnish their existing credentials and remedy some of their handicaps in terms of attractiveness for financial services. It may be that neither of the two most often cited contenders, Frankfurt and Paris, will be winners in this contest, because of unchangeable rigidities such as onerous labour regulations. But there are enough places in the EU with top marks in cultural vibrancy, physical infrastructure, English proficiency, independent judiciary, and other key factors, so that it is likely that at least one and possibly even several (in a first phase) will become, as London has been so far, the best place to do financial business in EMEA.

Attitudes of regulators may further tip the balance. In the EU, national and euro-area authorities have been effectively prevented from discriminating against UK-based firms thanks to the single market framework and its enforcement by the European Commission and European Court of Justice. Such protections will erode when the UK leaves. Perhaps less evidently, the US authorities stance may change as well. In recent decades, American federal regulators have tended to be rather accommodative in their relations with their British counterparts, since operations from the UK provided US firms access to the vast EU market. When this beachhead function disappears, one may expect them to become more demanding in terms of UK regulatory standards as they are with smaller offshore placesseeing no particular advantage in having US firms conduct activities from London rather than from New York, Boston or Chicago. Similar incentives may apply in other non-EU jurisdictions.

To be sure, London is set to remain the largest financial centre in EMEA for the foreseeable future. It is currently so dominant that it will presumably take a very long time for any of its regional competitors to surpass it. There are also factors that will make it burdensome for some activities to move elsewhere, such as the depth of case law from English courts that cant be easily replicated. But that will be little comfort. For the reasons given above, the City is likely to decline in absolute size, and even more so in relative terms as global financial activity can be expected to keep expanding overall. The EU will probably pursue further cross-border integration, perhaps implementing its project of a Capital Markets Union alongside the ongoing reshaping of the euro-area banking landscape under the policy framework known as Banking Union. Meanwhile, financial activity will probably keep growing at a rapid clip in Asia. Over the long term, at least one major financial centre may emerge inside the EU, and at least one also in Asia, that would grow enough that they would eventually outrank London. Given the likely continued strength of New York, the City would then drop to fourth place globally, if not lower. The future of London outside the EU single market may resemble the present situation of Tokyo in Asia: a highly developed financial centre with respected institutions, but too insular to maintain itself in the truly global leadership league.

What can the British (or, if Scotland secedes, English) government do to improve the Citys prospects against this grim future? Two different paths may be pursued, and it is possible that both will be tried at different times, or perhaps even simultaneously, in the years to come. The first strategy, which may be labelled near-remain, is to stay as close as possible to the single market, by emulating most EU rules and maintaining close cooperation between UK financial authorities (such as the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority) and their counterparts in the EU. The second strategy is of going alone, enhancing the difference between the UK and its larger neighbour and boosting the Citys competitive edge on at least some market segments through more favourable tax and regulatory treatment, as most off-shore financial centres do. But these two strategies are largely incompatible with each other. Furthermore, none of them is exactly a winning one: near-remain will never be as good as being in the single market in terms of mainstream EU financial business; going alone implies focusing on a limited number of niche segments and losing the one-stop-shop position that the City currently enjoysnot to mention possible retaliation from the EU and others in case the stance becomes overly aggressive. Different firms in the City, and different factions within government, can be expected to advocate either strategy. If, as may be the case, UK policy shifts from one to the other and then back, it will fail to reap the full benefit of either.

The market reaction has been rather muted so far, but this may only be because the harsh reality of Brexit has not fully surfaced yet. Reliable data about the Leave votes impact on investment or capital outflows will not be available until this autumn. Moreover, the international financial media, being largely headquartered in London, have various incentives to focus on the bright side. The London-based financial community, which normally acts as a ruthlessly unemotional processer of information, may also be biased in its initial judgment, not least because so many of its members have themselves voted in the referendum. The rest of the world, including non-European investors, is critically dependent on these two clusters of sourcesLondon-based international media, and City analystsfor their own assessments. On this particular issue, then, global information channels may be viewed as temporarily impaired. But this gap cannot last forever.

Recognising the high probability of the City hollowing out as a consequence of Brexit is not about talking down the UK economy, but rather acknowledging an impending tragedy. The future described here is terrible news not just for London and England, but for Europe as a whole. No prediction is ventured here about the pace of decline, which, among many other things, will be highly dependent on the occurrence of financial crises. But its reality appears inexorable, and only secondarily dependent on the specific political motivations of policymakers in London, Brussels, Berlin, Washington and elsewhere in the years ahead. The golden age of London in the 2000s and early 2010s, a place of blatant excesses but where everything seemed possible, that made Paris and even New York or San Francisco feel provincial, a de facto capital of the world, may be wistfully remembered as a fleeting wonder. It will be sorely missed by many.
A senior consultant at South Tipperary General Hospital has warned of an overcrowding disaster at the hospital this winter after the HSE failed to earmark any money in 2016 year for the anticipated patient hotel.

Dr Paud ORegan said that the Clonmel hospital will not be able to cope with the surge in demand for beds this winter without steps being taken to alleviate the pressure.

However, the HSEs winter initiative published last Friday said that two options are being considered by the HSE to alleviate over-crowding at South Tipperary General Hospital: a modular build extension to the existing hospital and fitting out space in an area currently under construction.

The HSEs examination of patient hotel type service will proceed in parallel, the initiative states, but no money has been allocated for the proposal in this years budget, with 700,000 allocated for 2017.

There were hopes that a 40-bed patient hotel could be in place by late October but the HSE said in its winter initiative that it has yet to deal with cost benefit analysis, procurement issues, and planning/construction issues associated with the idea.

We were confident that it would be announced in the winter initiative and had been assured by the minister of that, Dr ORegan said. He and consultant surgeon Peter Murchan met with health minister Simon Harris during the summer.

The hospital hasnt lost hope that the patient hotel will happen, he said, but it wont be in time for this winter.

We feel that the hospital will not be able to cope with the winter influx of patients, in view of the fact that we have run at 150pc medical bed occupancy during the summer and, when the winter surge comes, we will not be able to cope.

He blamed the HSE for not making a decision on the patient hotel proposal. Everybody agrees its needed but its the HSE that is holding it up. New ideas to them are like holy water to a vampire.

The consultant added: Were facing into a disaster.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath accused his fellow independent Michael Lowry of irresponsibly raising expectations regarding the assigment of a patient hotel to Clonmel.

The Winter Initiative Plan, like most HSE documents, is high on aspirations but extremely vague when it comes to firm guarantees, Mr McGrath said in a statement.

Deputy Lowry in his haste to use the crisis in STGH as a means of securing a political base in the south of the county has been left looking politically embarrassed The assurance he gave that the patient hotel was a done deal, and that relief was imminent for the many suffering patients and their families who have to endure the chronic chaos in our A&E, have both regrettably fallen completely flat.

For his part Michael Lowry, in a statement on Monday, said he spoke to Minister for Health Simon Harris last Friday about the winter initiative. The Minister reminded me that this is the first time that a HSE officialised document has formally referenced and included a patient hotel for Clonmel, he said.

He stated the initiative was still in the progression stage and the Health Service Executive were committed to progressing the unit in parallel with the upcoming winter initiative.

It was originally intended to fast track this project but it is now accepted that because of the nature and scale of this modular unit planning will have to be sought and the unit subject to national procurement policy. Taking account of the preparation and planning application and the statutory times involved in the planning process we are talking in terms of 12-14 weeks. The Minister has informed me that he was concerned in that context, that we are going to miss the winter bulge activity in the hospital.

The constituencys other independent TD, Seamus Healy, said the HSEs winter initiative was generally disappointing, particularly regarding the need for extra beds in STGH.

While the modular/hotel type beds proposal is included, it is not definitive and is only referred to as one of two options. These beds must be approved and delivered without delay as we approach the autumn/winter period.

He called on Minister Harris to formally confirm these additional beds when he visits the hospital next month. Should the Minister fail to do so it will be clear that the government commitment is not serious.

Mr Healy also called on all political representatives to rally behind the hospital. The last thing we need is political wrangling, point scoring and disunity. He warned that people power will be back on the streets of Clonmel if the extra beds are not delivered.
WASHINGTON  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders have lost another court decision in their efforts to overturn an agreement that allows the Treasury Department to capture most of the government-sponsored enterprises' profits.

A U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky ruled that the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not exceed its authority in entering into an agreement with Treasury in 2012 that sweeps the GSEs' profits into the U.S. Treasury.

The decision handed down by Chief Judge Karen Caldwell builds on a decision in Perry Capital LLC v. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The 2014 decision brought by hedge fund Perry Capital was the first setback for private shareholders who are suing the government.

In Arnetia Joyce Robinson v. FHFA, the GSE shareholders contended that FHFA has failed to rehabilitate the two mortgage companies and said a net worth sweep of the GSEs' quarterly profits will lead to a "nationalization of the two companies."

In her Sept. 9 decision, Judge Caldwell stressed that Congress gave FHFA extraordinary powers in managing Fannie and Freddie if they were placed into conservatorship.

FHFA's authority under the Home and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 "exceeds the normal bounds of a conservatorship," Caldwell says in the decision.

Caldwell also affirmed that FHFA has the authority to wind down the GSEs and sell off their assets. Under FHFA's direction, the GSEs have been reducing their mortgage investment portfolios.

"FHFA is undoubtedly authorized to wind down the GSEs as a receiver," Caldwell says. "Plaintiff has offered no argument why FHFA is unable to convert its conservatorship into a receivership and, in fact, HERA clearly envisions the possibility of just such a conversion."

"In short, this Court finds that so long as FHFA "is exercis[ing] judgment under one of its enumerated powers" such as "disposing of assets...when acting as its conservator...a quintessential statutory power of FHFA" this court may not enjoin that act "merely because someone alleges" that it is "improperly or even unlawfully exercising a function or power that is clearly authorized by statute," the judge says.

Investors Unite, which has supported the shareholder lawsuits, criticized the decision.

In dismissing the lawsuit, the judge "declared a federal agency acting as conservator has the right to plunder privately held assets," according to Tim Pagliara, chairman and chief executive of Investors Unite.

But industry analysts said the judge's decision made sense.

HERA is "incredibly protective in terms of judicial review of FHFA's receivership powers," said Edward Mills, a policy analyst at FBR Capital Markets. And HERA is "incredibly permissive in allowing FHFA to run the conservatorships."

"So for Fannie and Freddie shareholders seeking relief  their beef continues to be with Congress," Mills said. "The courts have not been willing to side with the investors."

At the same time, going to Congress is "perilous" for the GSE shareholders, he said. "There are some powerful forces on Capitol Hill that want to be sure the legacy shareholders never are compensated for their investment" in Fannie and Freddie, Mills added.

FHFA's wide ranging authority also gives the GSE regulator the flexibility to reverse course and allow the GSEs to retain a capital cushion, according to Scott Olson, executive director of the Community Home Lenders Association.

"The simple fact is that FHFA has the legal authority to have the GSEs retain quarterly profits to build a modest capital buffer and avoid a contrived Treasury advance  and FHFA should use that authority," Olson said in a written statement Monday.
Drug companies pay fake 'doctors' to promote vaccines to real ones

Merck 'hit lists' seek to discredit, destroy doctors who question vaccines

(NaturalNews) The corruption of the pharmaceutical industry runs deep, with new documents recently uncovered by's Jeffry John Aufderheide revealing that drug companies routinely spend millions of dollars to indoctrinate physicians into promoting the latest drugs and vaccines. Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc., maker of Gardasil, reportedly spent nearly $20 million in "speaking fees"to promote its drugs and vaccines, a small price to pay for the billions of dollars in profits it rakes in as a result.Entitled "Merck & Co., Inc., Disclosure of Payments to U.S. Speakers for Promotional (non-CME) Medical Education Activities conducted in 3Q and 4Q 2009," the 72-page document outlines all payments made to so-called doctors for speaking engagements made on behalf of company interests during the stated period. Publicly released to set a precedent of transparency at Merck, which ironically ceased after this first report was published, the document outlines all payments disbursed for speaking engagements throughout the country.This document can be accessed as a PDF here:As you will notice, there arein this document foron HPV (human papillomavirus), diabetes, antibiotics, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), and other health conditions for which Merck sells drugs. And all these engagements took place just in the second portion of 2009, which shows just how much Merck spends on direct marketing.On average, each one of these individuals who claims to be a doctor, but who is really just a whore for the drug industry, was paid upwards of $2,000 per speaking event, and sometimes far more. When added up collectively, the sum amount paid by Merck for drug and vaccine promotion during the second half of 2009 was nearly $19 million -- and this is just for half a year.Though documents outlining subsequent speaking disbursements have not been made publicly available by Merck, a rough estimate based on this document suggests that Merck spends some $40 million annually paying off doctors not only to promote drugs and vaccines to other doctors but also to act as authoritative representatives in vouching for the safety and efficacy of these same drugs and vaccines.Fortunately, not every doctor is this easily persuaded by the enticements of greed and perceived elevated status within mainstream medicine. But those who buck the industry format and think for themselves, or who merely question the safety of drugs and vaccines, are often blacklisted, or worse. As explained by Aufderheide in a recent piece on the issue, internal Merck memos reveal that the drug giant actually has "hit lists" for doctors who refuse to go along with its agenda."Court evidence now available on-line at the University of California library shows drug giant Merck systematically targetted [sic] 'hit lists' of doctors to discredit, neutralize or destroy critics of the safety and effectiveness of Merck's drugs," explains. "One memo stated: 'we may need to seek them out and destroy them where they live."Likewise, Merck and others within the drug industry have long had a revolving door policy that rewards those in the regulatory sector who cater to its interests with cash sums or high-level executive positions. One such corporate whore is Julie Gerberding, a former head at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who was awarded the position of President at Merck's Vaccine Division after paving the way for the approval of the HPV vaccine Gardasil, which has injured and killed thousands of young girls.
Two unconfirmed cases of leprosy at Riverside County elementary school

Leprosy symptoms can take up to 20 years to develop

District officials say classrooms are an unlikely place for transmission

(NaturalNews) An elementary school located about an hour outside of Los Angeles, California, is receiving a wave of unwanted media attention following reports that two students may have Hansen's disease, more widely known as leprosy.On Friday, September 2, parents received a letter from Indian Hills Elementary School, warning them about two unconfirmed cases of leprosy, while offering information about the rare disease. The school is located in Jurupa Valley, and enrolls approximately 650 students."Duchon said a parent notified the school's nursing staff of a preliminary diagnosis of Hansen's disease for a student at the school. He would not say whether the two suspected cases were in the same family," reports theElliott Duchon is the district superintendent for Jurupa Unified School District.Barbara Cole, director for disease control for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, said the students were not hospitalized, adding that they live in the western part of the county where the school is located.It's currently unclear whether either of the children has traveled to a region affected by leprosy or had contact with someone infected with the disease.Resulting from a germ or bacteria, leprosy may cause nerve damage and muscle weakness that sometimes leads to deformities, crippling, blindness and isolation, according to Leprosy.org The infection adversely affects the skin, nerves, eyes and nose. Nerve damage caused by leprosy often affects a person's ability to feel pain, resulting in accidental injury, infections and tissue loss."Fingers and toes become shortened and deformed as the cartilage is absorbed into the body. Repeated injury and infection of numb areas in the fingers or toes can cause the bones to shorten. The tissues around them shrink, making them short."While rare in the U.S., the disease was reported in 106 countries last year. Early symptoms of leprosy include red spots on the skin, normally appearing on the arms, legs or back. These spots can become numb and have hair loss."If left untreated, hands can become numb and small muscles are paralyzed, leading to curling of the fingers and thumb. When leprosy attacks nerves in the legs, it interrupts communication of sensation in the feet. The feet can then be damaged by untended wounds and infection. If the facial nerve is affected, a person loses the blinking reflex of the eye, which can eventually lead to dryness, ulceration and blindness."The disease is spread through coughing, sneezing and long-term contact with others who are infected. Leprosy is not very contagious. In fact, 95 percent of the population has a natural immunity against the disease.Those infected are typically given antibiotics , with treatments lasting from 6 months to a year. Indian Hills Elementary School says it has taken precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease, which includes disinfecting some classrooms, thereports.Furthermore, district officials say that they will follow the health department's guidance, but don't consider schools to be a typical place of transmission."Even if the cases were confirmed ... leprosy is not easily transmitted to others, and we don't feel like there's a risk in the school setting," said Cole. "It's not a highly contagious disease."The World Health Organization reports that leprosy is a slow developing disease with symptoms sometimes taking two decades to develop."In 2016 WHO has launched a new global strategy  ''  which aims to reinvigorate efforts for leprosy control and to avoid disabilities, especially among children affected by the disease in endemic countries."
Police departments are offering free testing of methamphetamine for the Zika virus

CDC says most people who contract Zika have little to no symptoms

Brazilian doctors suspect something other than Zika may be causing birth defects

(NaturalNews) Law enforcement authorities in Michigan have found a more creative way to crack down on the use of illegal substances. The Bath Township Police Department published a posting on Facebook on September 6 stating that as a result of online reports about methamphetamine possibly being contaminated with the Zika virus, they are offering free testing services, and will even come to your door.The post reads, "Breaking News. We have read reports online about meth possibly containing the Zika virus! We DO NOT want this to happen to you. If you recently bought some meth, you can bring it into the Bath Township Police Department and we can test it for you. Your safety is our #1 priority! Please SHARE so everyone knows."Another police department in Salley, South Carolina, is seemingly also using Zika as a means to bust drug addicts. The Salley Police Department issued a warning to this effect on its Facebook page on March 24.The police department post warns the public that recently purchased meth in the Wagener, Perry or Windsor areas may be contaminated with the Zika virus. "Please bring your meth to the Salley Police Department for testing. We also make house calls. Thank you for your participation!!"Admitting the post was comedic, the Bath Township Police Department said that it takes the health and safety of its citizens "very seriously," adding that their primary goal is to help those suffering from addiction.At the time of this writing, the Bath Township Police Department post had 2,800 shares, hundreds of comments and nearly 1,000 Facebook Likes.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states on its website that most people who contract Zika do not have any symptoms, and when they do, these are typically mild and include things like joint and muscle pain, headaches and fever."People usually don't get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika," the CDC says. "Once a person has been infected with Zika, they are likely to be protected from future infections."The agency says that the only people affected by the virus are pregnant women, and claim that Zika causes a birth defect known as microcephaly, resulting in decreased head circumference.However, because the predicted outbreak of microcephaly did not occur in Brazil, where cases of the virus are concentrated, health authorities in that nation are beginning to question whether another cause might be responsible."We suspect that something more than Zika virus is causing the high intensity and severity of cases," Fatima Marinho, director of information and health analysis at Brazil's Health Ministry, told the journalZika infections have continued to rise, but birth defects have not. A new and more expansive study has also found that Zika and microcephaly aren't as closely correlated as was previously believed.A study published in theobserved nearly 12,000 pregnant women in Colombia infected with Zika. None of them gave birth to a baby with microcephaly "Four cases of microcephaly were reported with women who didn't have Zika symptoms and were not part of the study, which is consistent with the normal expected number of cases,"reports."Based on estimated numbers there should be about 60,000 pregnant women in Colombia with the Zika virus , yet there are hardly any cases of microcephaly. If the link to Zika is legitimate, there should have been a dramatic increase in the number of babies with microcephaly."
At least 10 adult polar bears as well as cubs have surrounded the base of a weather station on Troynoy Island in Russia, trapping a group of meteorologist stationed in the area. The group is now asking for rescue as they have ran out of flares to scare away the polar bears.

According to a CNN report, the scary incident started last Aug. 31. Some of the polar bears killed the station's two dogs, said Vadim Plotnikov, the head of weather station. Scientists could not also go out of their station as a female bear made the area below the station's window its sleeping spot.

The five researchers are now left stranded inside their base, unable to do their work because of the"siege" of polar bears.

Flares and other devices will soon be delivered to the scientists by their colleagues from the weather bureau in Arkhangelsk, located 1,200 miles south. However, it will take a week by boat to get to the seiged station. The state research agency, Sevrgidromet, will send flares and dogs but is expected to arrive in the area after a month.

This is not the first instance of a polar bear seige, according to Washington Post. Five polar bears also got near in another weather station in Vaygach Island, which is located far north.

Polar bears are not unusual in the Arctic, as this has always been their home. However, due to climate change, melting sea ice and shifting patterns have forced the bears to go farther from their habitat to find food.

These giants are considered endangered species that killing them is illegal. That is why meteorologists resort to flares to scare the polar bears away.

According to Vassiliy Shevchenko, the head of the organization that maintains the weather stations, said that it is possible that by the end of October, the bears will leave the scientists alone as the near shore off waters will freeze.

Read More:

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NASA launched an airborne mission to conduct health checks on the worsening condition of corals reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The premiere U.S. space agency is committed to understanding the ecological-sensitive coral reefs in Australia especially now that the ecosystem is suffering from the effects of climate change. NASA will conduct a two-month airborne investigation of the Great Barrier Reef, the largest reef ecosystem in the world.

CORAL will take images of the Great Barrier Reef from 8.5 kilometers in the sky, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The NASA Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) will collaborate with its Australian counterparts in conducting the investigation. The objectives were discussed during a recent media briefing at Cairns Airport in North Queensland, Australia.

"CORAL offers the clearest, most extensive picture to date of the condition of a large portion of the world's coral reefs," CORAL Principal Investigator Eric Hochberg of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) said in a statement. "This new understanding of reef condition and function will allow scientists to better predict the future of this global ecosystem and provide policymakers with better information for decisions regarding resource management,"Hockberg added.

CORAL, tasked to investigate the health conditions of the corals on the Great Barrier Reef, will use combined aerial data of the innovative airborne imaging spectrometer technology by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The airborne investigations will give scientists a new perspective on the conditions of coral reefs across the Pacific Ocean. The data will aid in looking for the relationship between reef condition and both natural and human-produced biological factors that obviously affect the health condition of coral reefs.

The Great Barrier Reef will be the subject of CORAL's survey, but the mission will also look into the reef systems in Hawaii, Mariana Islands and Palau. Main investigation sites will include six large sections of the Great Barrier Reef especially the Capricorn-Bunker Group and Torres Strait. While Lizard Island Research Station will serve as a base for water-based experiments.

The $15 million coral reef airborne mission aims to find answers and provide solutions to the worsening health of corals not just in Australia but all over the world.

Read More:

Great Barrier Reef Nears Its Death, Tourists Rush to Australia

The Great Barrier Reef Has Been Hiding Massive Donut-Shaped Reef For Years

Coral Bleaching Gets Worse, Shows No Signs of Stopping
China dreams of being the next "space giant." In line with that, they are continuously strengthening their space program. This Thursday, the second Chinese space lab Tiangong-2 will be launched in space. A manned mission will follow it next month.

All these are in preparation for China's planned permanent space station to operate in 2022. Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that his government will establish the country as a space giant. Since then, various space missions have been launched and a lot more are in the works.

With the success of China's experimental space mission Tiangong-1 in 2013, the country is more confident more than ever to proceed with their plans in putting a Chinese space station in orbit. Tiangong-2 is scheduled to launch after 10:00 pm on Sept. 15 from the Juiquan launch pad in Gobi dessert.

After the space lab is in place, another Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou 11 will dock into Tiangong-2 to carry two astronauts to man the station. This mission is reportedly going to take place next month. The astronaut's mission will last for a month in space, the longest Chinese manned mission in space.

Tiangong-2 will be equipped with scientific instruments to enable it to monitor physics in outer space including the study of microgravity and gamma rays. The new Chinese space station is capable of studying at least 10 gamma rays each year.

Tiangong-2 has not left the launch pad yet, but reports say that a successful lift off will entail celebrations during China's National Day starting on Oct. 1. It will also coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations and the full moon.

"Launching Tiangong 2 is a key battle in comprehensively completing the space laboratory stage mission, and will establish a firm foundation for our country's continued space station construction and operation," Wu Ping, mission spokesperson said in a statement.

China also launched the first "quantum satellite" last month and the Chinese Space Agency is currently working on the hack-proof communications "quantum key transmission" between based on Earth and space.

The success of former space projects and the eminent launched of Tiangong-2 further strengthen China's aspirations of being the next space giant. "It shows we have got the basic skills to handle large-scale space applications." Spokesperson Wu Ping said in another statement.

Based on reports, Tiangong-2 has more suitable living conditions for the crew that will allow the completion of the longest Chinese manned mission in space that will last for 30 days.

Read more:

China Advances in Space Technology, to Launch New Space Lab Next Week

China to Build Oceanic Space Station in South China Sea
Global warming has demonstrated its capacity to influence many industries on Earth such as coffee farming, coral reef growth and it has even instigated sea level rise. However, there are more pressing effects that need immediate solution. According to NASA, polar bears now have a shorter season to hunt and breed due to melting sea ice and shorter seasons.

The ice caps in the Arctic sea are one of the most visible measures of climate change. But the melting sea ice does not only signal the result of global warming, for polar bears, this means worse. The decline in the Arctic sea-ice level every year directly affects polar bears because they are heavily dependent on sea ice when hunting and breeding.

NASA funded a study with the University of Washington researchers to find a trend toward ice melt during spring and ice growth in the fall. The study covered 19 polar bear subpopulations. Based on their findings, the current trend can "negatively impact" polar bears' ability to hunt and breed.

The study was published in the journal The Cryosphere, the first study to correlate sea ice changes to polar bear subpopulation in the Arctic region. "This study shows declining sea ice for all subpopulations of polar bears," co-author Harry Stern, a researcher with the University of Washington's Polar Science Center said in a statement.

The melting and freezing of sea ice directly affect polar bears in a bad way since the frozen season is now shorter, this means they have lesser time to hunt or to find a mate. This is true because polar bears does not swim as good as their prey, so they used sea ice when hunting. They also rely on ice when traveling for greater distance instead of swimming.

The analysis shows that the critical timing of the sea ice break-up and sea ice freeze-up is changing in all areas in a direction that is harmful to polar bears. Currently, the shorter frozen season is already threatening the hunting and breeding patterns of polar bears.

"Sea ice really is their platform for life," co-author Kristin Laidre, a researcher at the University of Washington Polar Science Center said in a press release. "They are capable of existing on land for part of the year, but the sea ice is where they obtain their main prey," Laidre added.

The study used 35 years worth of data. The study greatly alarmed conservationists because the hunting and breeding seasons of polar bears were greatly affected by abrupt melting of sea ice. What bothers scientists more is the fact that the trend seems "linear" and no signs of it improving yet.

Read More:

Climate Change Poses Threat on US Military Operations, May Lead to International Conflicts

Teachers' Climate Change Beliefs May Influence Students, Study Shows

Careless Consumption: Developed Countries Responsible for Worsening Pollution in East Asia
Popular EurekAlert!, a Science press site, is currently offline due to an attack made by an unknown hacker last Sept. 9.

As of press time, AAS (the company that runs EurekAlert) is "working diligently" to address the recent security breach, especially after the hacker released an embargoed news release publicly, according to a statement released by the website.

The website is the go-to science portal of many journalists because this is where they can find recent scientific studies, journals and press releases. EurekAlert! uses an embargo system, where experts can share their academic writings and findings to the site. However, the releasing of these journals are usually withheld until it is such time to release it publicly.

According to Ginger Pinholster, Chief Communications Officer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAS), they were alerted of a potential breach in their system last Sept. 11. In a report posted in IBT, the alert came from a reporter-registrant. An unidentified person reached out to the informant through Twitter and offered to share EurekAlert's login information.

This prompted an investigation concerning the breach, and it turns out that it all started on Sept. 9, when there was an "aggressive attack" on their system. The move made all usernames and passwords of the registrants, which mostly are journalists and press officers, to be compromised and in danger from stealing information. As the company worked on to fix the breach, the hacker released an embargoed EurekAlert! news release to the public. The company then decided to bring the site down immediately. Pinholster told Popular Science that by bringing down the site, it will make other data inaccessible.

As of the moment, the team behind EurekAlert! doesn't have any idea who could be the possible hacker. However, they were informed about a Twitter account that is possibly related to the hacker.

"There was a Twitter account (@eurekek) associated with the hacker. We have contacted Twitter, asking them to contact authorities if they can identify this individual." Pinholster said. "We do not know the hacker's motivation. He seemed to be motivated by a desire to see whether he could breach our site."

Pinholster also assured everyone that their IT team is doing their best to recognize and close the wormhole that permitted the hacker to breach the site. He also said that "this has been a round-to-clock effotrt," and that he can't predict yet until when they can fix this .

Fortunately, financial information of the registrants are not compromised as these data are not posted in the website.
An international team lead by scientists from the University of St. Andrews in United Kingdom have discovered that the critically-endangered Hawaiian Crow, or locally known as Alala, is a highly proficient tool user.

Their discovery, described in a paper published in the journal Nature, could play a significant role in the conservation of the Hawaiian Crow, which is now extinct in the wild.

"These birds had no specific training prior to our study, yet most of them were incredibly skilled at handling stick tools, and even swiftly extracted bait from demanding tasks. In many regards, the 'Alala is very similar to the New Caledonian crow, which my team has been studying for over 10 years," said lead author Dr Christian Rutz, from the University of St Andrews, in a press release.

For the study, the researchers tested 104 of the 109 Hawaiian crows that are alive during their research. The researchers observed that majority of the Alala spontaneously used tools, specifically sticks, to extract food from wooden logs or hard to reach places. This suggests that tool use is part of the bird's natural behavioral repertoire.

The researchers believe that the straight beaks and extremely forward facing eyes of the Hawaiian crow played a crucial role in their ability to use tools. The straight beaks of the crows make it easier for them to maneuver stick, compared to the curved beaks.

The Hawaiian crow is now the second crow species that have been discovered to be a proficient tool user. The first to be discovered is the New Caledonian crows, which is endemic in the island of New Caledonian in the Pacific.

The New Caledonian crow, which is characterized by their straight beaks and large eyes, became the basis of the researcher's hunt for other tool-using crows.

There are more than 40 species of crows and ravens out there, with so many of them still understudied. Their findings emphasize the need to protect other species in order to learn more about their behavior.
Romania is working on a new initiative to save the last of its untouched woodlands.

The Romanian government teamed up with Greenpeace and other environmental NGOs to help them map the threatened forests and add them to a new national database that will ensure federal protection. The national database will track the country's expansive forests and is expected to go online within the next six months.

A large number of Romania's virgin beech forests are candidates for UNESCOS's world heritage list, and could attract tourists, wilderness hikers and wildlife enthusiasts.

"Virgin forests were preserved on valley bottoms, rocky areas, near alpine terrain," Valentin Salageanu, Greenpeace forest campaign coordinator for Central and Eastern Europe, told Reuters.

"They are forests that were hard to reach, maybe that is why they were saved."

Legal and illegal logging have destroyed some of Romania's forests during the past 10 years, Salageanu said, and corruption is also partly to blame. He added that about half of the 250,000 hectares of forest had been destroyed since 2005.

Because of this the Romanian environment ministry had overhauled forest management, reinforced the roles of guards and imposed steep fines for illegal logging activities.

The ministry has also launched a mobile app called Forest Inspector, which enables citizens to monitor and track logging trucks. "This is super-important because I believe in the future it's only through this electronic monitoring that we can in fact reduce illegal logging," Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Romanian environment minister, said in the same statement.

Moreover, the ministry also provided funds to help small private forest owners protect their land, which is a legal requirement many forest owners could not afford.

In 2015, thousands of Romanians took to the streets to campaign against illegal logging activities, BBC reports. According to environmentalist groups, illegal logging had already inflicted a loss of about $5.7 billion since the late 80s.
Barely 24 hours after giving birth to her third child, Hilaria Baldwin posed for a mirror selfie inside the hospital bathroom sporting only lingerie.

The 32-year-old yoga teacher, who married "30 Rock" actor Alec Baldwin in 2012, welcomed son Leonardo Angel Charles Baldwin Monday evening. Baldwin snapped a shot to share on Instagram after removing her postpartum pads, because "there is a limit to how much you need to see," she says in the post. Baldwin wore a black and pink bra, with matching black underwear. Through the image, she said she hoped to promote body positivity and show the beauty of childbirth.

"I feel that in the age of such strong body shaming, I want to do all that I can to normalize a real body and promote healthy self esteem," she wrote.

That goal is nothing new for Baldwin. Throughout her last two pregnancies, she has been a vocal proponent on social media for appreciating mothers bodies, often publishing pregnancy photos with accompanying words about health.

In another scantily clad Instagram post three weeks ago, Baldwin bragged that she had never been affected by stretch marks, but also cautioned those who are expecting to "embrace all that comes with these babies."

Her body-positive message aside, Baldwin said she's eager to lose the baby weight. In her post-delivery Instagram from Wednesday, she made it clear that she would be "getting back in shape" and invited her followers to join her as part of her #366daysoflivingclearly hashtag initiative.
The mainland United States's first official outbreak of Zika virus may be declared over by early next week, NBC News reported.

But another, in Miami Beach, is going strong, and on Thursday Florida health officials reported seven more Zika cases acquired locally, one of which involves a visitor from out of state.

It's been almost 45 days since Zika first started spreading locally, in Miami's Wynwood district, and "the clock is ticking" on that outbreak, Lillian Rivera, of the Florida Department of Health, told a Miami Beach City Council meeting Wednesday.

If no one new is infected in Wynwood by Monday, after the 45-day period that represents three full incubation periods for Zika virus, it can be declared free of active Zika transmission. Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that countdown Thursday.
The Hayward Unified School District board voted to terminate Superintendent Stan "Data" Dobbs early Thursday morning, as its Wednesday meeting extended past midnight.

Dobbs had been suspended after the completion of a three-month-long investigation, which sifted through alleged wrongdoings committed by Dobbs during his tenure.

Before the meeting, Dobbs remained positive.

"I hope that they will make a decision that's in the best interest of Hayward," Dobbs said, adding that he believed he should be reinstated.

In June, Dobbs came under fire for inviting former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald, who was previously accused of domestic violence and sexual assault, to speak to students at Tennyson High School in Hayward about self-discipline. The students were not made aware of McDonald's criminal history before his motivational speech.

Before that, Dobbs' run of controversial behavior began back in September 2015 when he allegedly got tangled up in a physical confrontation with two school board trustees during a closed-door meeting. During the tirade, the board members also claimed that Dobbs fired a profanity-laden rant toward the other board members during that meeting.

Dobbs said he was targeted.

"The issue is how do you respond to the vendetta," he said. "My goal has always been to stay professional."

One of those trustees who filed a police report following that outburst said the board does not hold any grudges against Dobbs.

"Well, there are plenty of rumors out there, but one thing I can assure you, there will be a school board meeting tonight and it will be like any other board meeting," board member Luis Reynoso said. "We're not here to fire anyone. We're here to do what's best for the kids and we will take action on items that are best for the kids."

Dobbs, who denies any misconduct, started his stint with Hayward Unified in 2013 before being placed on paid administrative leave in June.

A Change.org petition, which has grabbed 368 supporters as of late Wednesday morning, is currently in circulation voicing support for keeping Dobbs in office. It credits him for increased test scores and higher graduation rates in the district.

Dressed in blue T-shirts, dozens of students and their parents flocked to the meeting at Hayward City Hall to support Dobbs. Melissa Sigars has two children in the district and believes Dobbs is the right leader for them.

"Hes been this solid force thats been invested in the kids and the community," she said.

Wednesday night's meeting began with closed-door deliberations at 5 p.m.
Just like her admittedly more famous doppelganger, Teresa Barnwell returned to the campaign trail Thursday.

But the Hillary Clinton lookalike didn't address foreign policy, immigration reform, education or healthcare. Instead, she performed comedy skits as her favorite politician  something she's done all around the world.

"I'm pooped and tired, just like Hillary," Barnwell said.

The 61-year-old took a few days off after a demanding performance schedule. Although her exhaustion is not tied to pneumonia like Clinton's was, Barnwell played a role in conspiracy theories this week.

On Sunday, after video surfaced of Clinton being helped into a van at the 9/11 memorial in New York City, some asked if Barnwell had been immediately hired by the campaign to be the Democratic presidential candidate's body double.

Barnwell briefly fueled the speculation on Twitter. When asked if she was in the Big Apple, she replied, "Maybe I was."

However, Barnwell quickly clarified that it was a joke. Shes been resting in Los Angeles since last weekend.

Having fun with Clintons persona is something Barnwell has been doing since 1993, just before she and her husband moved to the Bay Area where she worked as an advertising executive for the Contra Costa Times. The couple lived in Livermore and then moved to Tracy, and now reside in Southern California.

Her idea to professionally impersonate Clinton started after friends exclaimed, "Hey! You look like the First Lady!"

The two met in Los Angeles in 1996 during a book signing event for Clinton's It Takes A Village.

"Has anyone told you that you look like me?" Barnwell asked Clinton.

Clinton chuckled.

Then a woman behind Barnwell told Clinton, I think thats your evil twin.

Clinton laughed again, Barnwell recalled.

Getty Images, Sonia Keshishian

Barnwell doesn't only resemble Clinton, though. She genuinely admires the former Secretary of State.

Im with her this November, I was with her in 2008, and been with her since she entered the White House as First Lady, Barnwell said.

The one-sided love affair has turned into ongoing paychecks for Barnwell. With gigs paying hundreds of dollars an hour, shes impersonated Clinton in numerous movies and television shows, including NBCs The Tonight Show.

Now Barnwell cant go anywhere without being stopped out and asked, Are you Hillary Clinton?

Lately, Barnwell has taken to explaining Clintons' gaffes.

Clinton came under fire last week for saying that "half of Trump's supporters" are a "basket of deplorables."

In response, Barnwell told audiences: Hillary has been trying to learn Spanish from her running mate Tim Kaine and she was talking about flowers, so she actually meant basket of de-florables.

For her part, Barnwell doesnt plan on slowing down anytime time soon. Whether Clinton wins or loses in November, her impersonator is staying in the spotlight.
Brion Nuda Rosch wandered down a plain, white hallway, devoid of any ornamentation, explaining how the former industrial warehouse has become a veritable savior of San Franciscos arts scene.

He pointed out doors leading to artist studios where bursts of colorful art works stood in sharp contrast to the buildings more monotone arteries.

Its a building with 30 studios for 35 working artists, Nuda Rosch, the building's program director said, to pursue their careers in contemporary art.

The building at 1240 Minnesota St. in San Franciscos Dogpatch neighborhood is the companion piece to the Minnesota Street Project, a building with 10 galleries the public can visit opened earlier this year by entrepreneurs Deborah and Andy Rappaport, who are offering below-market rents in an effort to save the citys struggling arts scene.

The public gallery sits just down the street from the studio spaces, which just began taking in its new artist tenants.

They have made a commitment to many people, Nuda Rosch said, to change the face of what could happen here in San Francisco.

Joe Rosato Jr.

The woeful tales of San Franciscos artists have compounded in recent years as skyrocketing rents and loss of studio space have cast artists adrift  many seeking refuge in the East Bay. Artist Rachelle Reichert said she and her partner had begun considering a move out of the city following an eviction notice earlier this year.

Just the conversations we were having, Reichert said, were basically moving to another city.

Reichert was among more than 300 artists applying for 35 studio openings in the new 1240 project. Her moving plans changed after she was picked to take one of the studios.

I mean, its kept us here in San Francisco, Reichert said. It totally changed our plans in a good way.

Nuda Rosch said San Francisco artists have long lacked security as designated arts spaces are turned into other commercial uses or knocked down to make way for condominium projects. In contrast, he said the new studio is the first in the Bay Area dedicated solely for the arts with rents at or below market rate.

This building has been committed for studio space, Nuda Rosch said, work space for artists for a long-term period, which is very rare in San Francisco.

Mixed-media artist Dana Hemenway said the prospect of new studio space is generating excitement across an arts community that has had little to celebrate in recent times.

Not only was it stagnating, it was going backwards, Hemenway said. And then all of a sudden that changed.

The new building includes individual studios, a wood shop and a computer lab that will be stocked by Adobe. The space will host artists-in-residence and rotating art showcases. The blank walls, Nuda Rosch said, are the canvas for the imagination.

Still, he admits, the 35 artist slots wont immediately put a huge dent in the citys struggling arts scene. But he hopes others will use the Minnesota Street Project as a model for future artist-based developments within the city.

This is one drop in the bucket, Nuda Rosch said, but at least its something positive.
San Francisco officials certified the sinking Millennium Tower as safe for occupancy in 2009 despite apparently unanswered safety questions about the troubled building.

They are asking questions about life safety systems, and they are getting absolutely inadequate answers, Supervisor Aaron Peskin said. I want to know what the city knew and when it knew it and what it did about it.

Peskin is referring to an exchange between city officials and the engineering firm for the building that dates to February 2009. In a letter on Feb. 2, Raymond Lui asks DeSimone Engineers about the extent of the sinking and possible life safety considerations.

The response is not in city files. But the developer provided it to Peskin and NBC Bay Area. Whats amazing is that this was not in the citys file, he told NBC Bay Area.

In their response, Millennium engineers acknowledged the building has sunk 8.3 inches and could sink another 4 inches. Millennium officials also say they were aware of any uneven or differential sinking.

That uneven sinking soon showed up in the monitoring data compiled for the nearby Transbay terminal project, which planned to build a protective wall to protect Millennium.

Peskin said the city should have done more in light of Millenniums responses.

This should lead the city to say: 'Boy you need to have ongoing monitoring regimen and some correction action,' but instead they issue the certificate of occupancy and completion, Peskin said.

It is unclear, he said, if the city did anything or even got the letter before issuing the final certificate in August 2009

Did the city every follow up on this letter at all? Peskin asked. Did the city ever get this letter? What was the citys response to this letter?

He noted that the city asked about the possibility that the sinking could undermine life safety systems of the building, but the developers engineers did not address that possibility in their reply.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Millennium spokesman PJ Johnston said that at the time the buildings sinking was within the revised predicted safe ranges that the developer had reported to the City.

It was only after the construction on an adjacent wall built by the Transbay terminal project, he said, that the tower settled more than originally anticipated due to Transbays construction activities. Transbay officials have blamed Millennium for not anchoring the building to bedrock.

Peskin, who says he suspects political meddling in the citys review process on the Millennium project, plans to press for answers at a hearing Sept. 22.

Millenniums representative, meanwhile, called the accusation of such interference outrageous.

Rhys Williams, a spokesman for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, told NBC Bay Area: I have no idea what Aaron Peskin is referring to.
In a new push to clear the streets of San Francisco of homeless encampments, the city turned its focus on the Mission neighborhood, where dozens of tents recently popped up.

Police and public works crews in a couple of weeks will go in and move out the people living in those tents.

The cleanup is an experiment by the city's newly established Department of Homlessness as it tries to find new ways to humanely clear out encampments like the one on Folsom Street, near 16th Street.

Some residents such as Jonathan Lane are skeptical because the problem is just too big.

"There's human feces on floor, people actually shooting up outside our door," Lane said. "Sebenty-five percent of them used to be tenants here, and theyve got no place to be."

The department said it's working with an increase of $29 million in funding from last year to this fiscal year.

But even the people seeking help have their doubts. Richard Presley is new to the Folsom camp; he says two weeks ago, he was kicked out of a different spot.

"The rest of the places, cops and people want us to move, of course," Presley said.

Supervisor David Campos said the issue is top priority. The goal, he said, is no more homeless encampments in the Mission in four months.

Thats the hope; thats what were going to do," he said.

In March, a homeless cleanup on Division Street moved hundreds of tents, after the city declared the encampment a danger to public health. With police supervising, public works crews took them down.

Before the cleanup, however, outreach teams offered the homeless help, including spots at shelters as well as job and housing services at the navigation center, where the city says it has placed a few hundred people into permanent housing since March.

Now, the city is hoping that can happen in the Mission.

"Once thats done - outreach is there sometime next month - were looking at having our crews go in and clear out encampments," said Rachel Gordon, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works. "We want to do it methodically. We want to do it with sensitivity."

Gordon said there is more help on the way to appease frustrated residents, including an increase from three to five so-called "hotspot" crews who perform daily tasks such as steam cleaning sidewalks of human feces and disposing of drug needles.

And the city said its working on bringing more permanent housing solutions, including three new buildings set to house up to 300 of the most vulnerable homeless on the streets by the end of the year.

"I dont want to set the expectation that there will never be a homesless person in the Mission again or tents won't reappear, but the current situation is unsustainable," said Sam Dodge, of the Department of Homelessness.

For Dino Ruiz, a solution is near because his wife just got a job. But he doesnt believe in the citys plan to clear out the encampments.

"Theyve tried that before," Ruiz said. "City tents are going to be here. There's been homeless here since Jesus days; it aint ever going to be rectified or resolved."

The problem has worsened since last year. Public Works said crews picked up an average of 49 tons of trash and 1,900 needles a month in fiscal year 2016. Last year, the numbers were 35 tons of trash and 1,300 needles.
A day after being released from a Florida jail, the teen at the center of a police exploitation scandal returned to Oakland, where her newly hired civil rights attorneys attacked men, public safety officials and blamed them for abusing a "child sex slave victim."

"She is not the problem," attorney Charles Bonner said Thursday at a news conference at Frank Ogawa Plaza at Oakland City Hall. "She is not to blame. Men are the problem."

Bonner said Jasmine wants justice against the officers because she knows there are other young victims out there.

"She has seen them," Bonner said. "She feels sorry for them. She feels the only way we can save them and rescue them is for the cops to be held accountable and go to jail."

Bonner and civil rights attorney Pamela Price, who ran an unsuccessful campaign two years ago to replace state Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, are both representing a 19-year-old formerly known by the pseudonym Celeste Guap, who asked on Wednesday to be called by her real name.

NBC Bay Area does not usually name victims of sexual abuse, but has decided to refer to her now by her first name of Jasmine.

Civil rights attorney Pamela Price addresses the media at Oakland City Hall about teen involved in police sexual misconduct scandal.

"Since May 2016, citizens of the Bay Area have been shocked and appalled by revelations of abuse of power by police officers in six different law enforcement agencies," Price said. "The central figure caught in the eye of the storm is a teenage girl, who says that she has lived in the Bay Area's commercial sexual exploitation marketplace since she was 12.

She said in her last interview from jail I was having sex with men because thats all I knew," Price added. "All kids make bad decisions. All kids do things their parents are shocked by. The question is how does the community respond. ... This child deserves a second chance."

Price and Bonner once again pointed fingers at the Richmond Police Department for allegedly sending her clear across the country for rehab, something the Richmond police and city officials has denied.

"They made arrangements, they suggested, they appointed, they designated this facility as a place for this child to go," Price said. "It's all going to come out. Every lie has an expiration date, and it's all going to come out."

She added: "This was an obstruction of justice at the highest level."

Jasmine has accused dozens of police officers across the East Bay of having sexual relationships with her over the years. And Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley announced last week that she would pursue criminal charges against seven current and former law enforcement officers, including five from the Oakland Police Department, for conduct related to Jasmine. The most serious charges the officers will face is felony oral copulation with a minor.

O'Malley couldn't proceed with the charges until Jasmine returned from Martin County, Florida, where she was charged with biting an employee from a drug rehab center. Jasmine pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge on Wednesday and was set free after serving 17 days in jail.

Bonner explained on Thursday that the reason Jasmine bit the worker was because he had put his arms around her and she was trying to leave his grasp. Jasmine also said she didn't feel feel the rehab facility was on the up-and-up.

Meanwhile, the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office released a statement Thursday regarding additional allegations in its jurisdiction, saying it is working with its fellow law enforcement officials to investigate.

"It goes without saying that our office will always investigate any alleged sexually assault or human trafficking crimes that occur within our county, and were committed to holding anyone who committed such crimes in Contra Costa County accountable for their actions," District Attorney Mark Peterson said in the statement.

Price had a scathing response to Peterson, too.

"My response to Contra Costa county decision to continue to investigate is one of great concern," she said. "I think the district attorney, Mark Peterson, should explain to the citizens of Contra Costa County why it has taken him more than a year to reach a conclusion to an investigation."

Jasmine, who has given several media interviews over the last several months, stayed silent during Wednesday's news conference. She was not present at Thursday's event.

NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez and Cheryl Hurd contributed to this report.
Race to Watch is a twice-weekly Ward Room Column dedicated to helping voters familiarize themselves with candidates in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 general election. This edition's focus is Illinois House of Representatives District 20.

Incumbent Republican state Rep. Michael McAuliffe is facing a tough bid for reelection against Democrat Merry Marwig in Illinois' 20th House District.

The district includes portions of Chicagos Northwest Side, as well as parts of Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Schiller Park, Norridge, Harwood Heights, Niles, Rosemont and Franklin Park. McAuliffe has represented the district since 1997. He was elected following the death of his father, former state Rep. Roger McAuliffe, a former Chicago police officer who served in the Illinois General Assembly for twelve straight terms.

While in office, McAuliffe has worked to address what his campaign calls the areas most problematic issue, noise from OHare International Airport. He has called for the expansion of outdated noise contour and demanded tax credits for noise insulation for those under new flight paths. The Republican has also worked to provide incentives to airlines that adhere to Fly Quiet rules.

McAuliffe, an advocate of fiscal responsibility, has stood up against higher taxes and overspending in the state. The state representative believes that keeping our roads safe and funding state services and schools are essential parts of Illinois government.

The Republican also wants to bolster the states health care, advocating for increased cancer screenings, strengthening the Illinois family medical leave act and raising awareness for Hepatitis C treatment and screenings, a personal issue for McAuliffe.

In Springfield, he has advocated for police and fire workers, voting to override Gov. Rauner to protect their pensions. In the past year, he has co-sponsored legislation that would guarantee surviving spouses of Chicago police and fire workers are properly taken care of if anything happens to their loved ones, something Rauner has since vetoed. Additionally, he sponsored legislation that would institute harsher punishments for assaulting officers.

McAauliffe, a Republican serving a district that includes portions of the largely blue Chicago, claims he is committed to finding bipartisan solutions to the state's problems. He has worked with Democrats to expand personal sick leave and has voted against Rauner on legislation defending Illinois prevailing wage.

I have consistently worked with my colleagues across the aisle to get things done, McAuliffe said in a statement. I have fought to bring OHare noise relief for homeowners, crossed party lines to protect the wages of workers in private unions, and worked with my state senator, John Mulroe, to ensure women have access to 3D mammograms. Leaders in both parties need to take more cues from rank-and-file legislators like myself who are willing to put politics aside in order to govern effectively.

Bi-partisanship is not a luxury in the State of Illinois, it is a necessity, he added.

On Monday, the Illinois Republican Party released an ad tying Marwig to powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan. The ad accuses Marwig of having her property taxes lowered twice as part of an inside game" that has saved Madigans friends millions and forced taxpayers to pay more.

Marwig rebuffed the attack Thursday, faulting McAuliffe for taking money from Rauner.

For Mike McAuliffe  a 20-year politicians who has personally benefitted from a property tax appeal  to use money from Bruce Rauner  who also benefitted from property tax appeals  to attack my family for going through the legal process of correcting a government error in an unfair tax bill is another sad example of whats wrong with the politics and hypocrisy that local residents are so fed up with, Marwig said in a statement. It also serves as proof that our communities need a new voice in the state capitol who will put the needs of struggling families ahead of hypocritical political games.

Marwig, a political newcomer who lives in Chicagos Norwoord Park neighborhood, previously worked with a local company that manufactures tea in Illinois. She helped the company expand its business from operating in 13 stores to 180 in less than a year.

Her campaign told Ward Room shes running for office because she is fed up with the partisan bickering and gridlock in Springfield that results in nothing getting done for local residents.

The businesswoman is dedicated to standing up for working families in Illinois. She supports a property tax freeze and is pushing to keep taxes at their current rates for the middle class. She also supports the hiring of additional police officers and improvements to local infrastructure to address local flooding issues.

Like McAuliffe, she looks to reduce airplane noise at OHare. She is pushing to increase the areas that qualify for airport noise abatement insulation and windows.

However, Marwig differs from McAuliffe on some fundamental issues. She supports a womans right to choose, while McAuliffe doesnt, even in cases of rape and incest. The candidates are also divided on requiring insurance companies to cover birth control and funding for womens health services, things McAuliffe has opposed.

The Democrat also opposes some of McAuliffes stances on gun control. Marwig's campaign noted that he didnt vote to ban assault weapons and voted to allow people to carry loaded guns near playgrounds, day cares, parks, public libraries and mass transit, points the two candidates differ on.
Vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine received the official Chicago welcome from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan during a campaign stop Wednesday.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was busy at a City Council meeting but was quick to defend Hillary Clinton as she rests, recovering from pneumonia, on the same day she released her medical records.

"She's one tough cookie," Emanuel said. "I know she'll make a speedy recovery."

Donald Trump is set to disclose his medical records on a Wednesday episode of "Dr. Oz," including what medications he takes.

The release of the candidate's medical records comes after new polls show the race tightening in battleground states like Ohio and Florida.

Kaine says Clinton released far more information than Trump.

"It seems like something 'Wizard of Oz,' it's just like surreal," Kaine said. "This is a job interview, and there's some basic information that the American people have the right to expect.

Kaine was slated to attend two Chicago fundraisers Wednesday night, including one at the home of Bill Daley, brother of former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.

Clinton is set to return Thursday to the campaign trail after being diagnosed with pneumonia.

"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," said her doctor, Lisa Bardack, in a letter released by her campaign Wednesday. "She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States."
In his first official visit to North America as Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is visiting Montreal, Chicago and New York.

The trip aims to promote London as a key destination for investment, business and tourism, especially after the Brexit vote. Khan also plans to highlight the need for building bridges rather than walls a reference to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trumps plan to build a wall along the US Mexico border.

In a recent op-ed for the Chicago Tribune, Khan wrote, Its not for me to get involved in your presidential election. Its up to you to decide who runs your country. But I will say this: We play straight into the hands of the extremists and terrorists trying to divide us when we buy into the belief that its not possible to hold Western values and to be a Muslim.

Khan is the first Muslim mayor of a western capital. He is set to speak Thursday at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Sen. Mark Kirks neurosurgeon issued a letter declaring that the Republican has made a full cognitive recovery from a 2012 stroke that kept him out of the Senate for nearly a year, the Chicago Sun-Times Lynn Sweet reports.

The letter from Dr. Richard Fessler, who performed Kirks brain surgery after the stroke, noted the senator has also made rapid improvements in his physical recovery.

In his letter, which was written in July and obtained by the Sun-Times, Fessler noted that Kirk no longer has use of his left arm or hand and has only limited use of his left leg, which is strongest near his hip and weakest near his foot. As a result, Kirk uses a brace on his lower left leg and a cane.

The doctor said it was unlikely that Kirk, who turned 57 Thursday, will regain additonal range of motion on his left side, although he continues to undergo physical therapy to build strength.

Kirks stroke has also affected his speech, which is occasionally halting but much improved, according to Fessler. Additionally, the stroke didnt affect the left side of the senators brain, which is responsible for cognitive and verbal functions. His vision in his left eye is, however, impaired.

Despite the strokes lingering physical effects, Fessler claimed Kirk is generally in good health. Nevertheless, the letter doesnt include information on Kirks medications, the results of basic lab tests, his blood pressure or electrocardiogram results. It also doesnt discuss what medical specialists Kirk has seen since the stroke.

Kirk's campaign manager Kevin Artl told the Sun-Times that the senator undergoes physical therapy and rehab 3-5 times per week and sometimes requires a staffer to assist him in Washington. Among other things, the staffer pushes the senators wheelchair, although Kirk reportedly doesnt require 24-hour assistance.

The Republican senator is presumably releasing the information to quell speculation about the lasting effects of his stroke. Kirk's cognitive status has been called into question following some of his more controversial remarks, like when he referred to South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham as a bro with no ho last year.

Kirk is facing a tough bid for re-election against Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is also disabled. They both use canes and wheelchairs and sometimes require the assistance of attendants. Duckworth, who served in the Army National Guard, lost both her legs piloting a Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down in Iraq in 2004.

Duckworths campaign told the Sun-Times a medical report was being compiled on the congresswomans health, but wouldnt say when it would be released. The paper has reportedly been requesting detailed records from both candidates since early this year.

Medical records have become a hot topic in the presidential race since Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton abruptly left Sunday's 9/11 anniversary ceremony in New York after feeling overheated. Her doctor later revealed she was diagnosed with pneumonia last week. As a result, her campaign released additional medical records Wednesday. Clinton is 68 years old.

Clintons opponent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, discussed his health and shared results from a recent medical exam in a taped appearance with Dr. Oz Wednesday. Critics have urged the 80-year-old real estate magnate to release more thorough medical records.
As ordered by a Cook County Judge, Kenilworth Police Chief David Miller released a memorandum Wednesday, outlining thousands of pages of secret evidence from the 50 year old murder of 21-year-old Valerie Percy.

But the 12 page document was heavily redacted, so much so that little was revealed about the baffling and still unsolved case.

It confirms that Kenilworth is basically arguing that any time the police havent solved a crime, the public cant see a single word in a single document out of its investigation files, said attorney Matt Topic. It police can withhold the entirely of the file, the public cant monitor the police department.

Kenilworth insists the case is a very active and open investigation despite the six decades since Percy, the daughter of millionaire businessman Charles Percy, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death in the familys Kenilworth mansion. Less than two months later, Percy was elected to his first term in the United States Senate.

New York attorney John Kelly has sued Kenilworth for release of the investigative files from the September 1966 case. But Kenilworth is fighting release of those files, arguing that any such release would compromise their work. One week ago a judge ordered release of the 12 page outline. But when it arrived in inboxes today, multiple pages of the document were totally blacked out.

In my professional opinion, disclosure of this information would materially jeopardize our ongoing investigation into Ms. Percys murder, Miller wrote. We have relied upon the confidential nature of our investigation file to pursue several leads, discount others, and continue our investigation into this brutal murder.

But Kellys Chicago attorney Matt Topic argues there is no active investigation.

Its crucial for the public to be able to scrutinize that investigation, to determine whether it was properly conducted, and whether theres lesson we can learn from the way that that investigation had been conducted, Topic said. Its just unfathomable to us that theres no information that they can release out of those files, especially given everything thats already been released, and especially given how important it is to scrutinize the police department, in an unsolved crime.

Another hearing on the matter is set for next month.
Former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson was released from a minimum-security prison camp in West Virginia Wednesday.

The wife of Jesse Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2013 and was sentenced to one year by a federal judge. The prison camp where she served her sentence housed just over 1,000 women in Alderson, West Virginia, and is the same facility where Martha Stewart notoriously did time.

The 53-year-old was required to report to prison 30 days after her husband, former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., completed his 30-month prison sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and false statements.

Jesse Jackson Jr. was released Sept. 18, although was still ordered to complete 500 hours of community service.

Sandi Jacksons attorney had earlier requested she be assigned to a correctional facility in Florida so she could stay close to her children.

"I've grieved every day, every single day, over the fact that my mistakes have resulted in my end of service as an alderman," Sandi Jackson said in court. "It's caused disappointment in my community, and it's put my family unit in peril. ... I stand here today asking for mercy."

Sandi Jacksons attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jackson previously represented the citys South Side 7th Ward until 2013, when she resigned before she and her husband pleaded guilty to the felony charges.
A man faces up to 30 years in prison after being convicted of killing his roommate during an argument hours after moving into the man's Naperville townhome in 2014.

Grant Muren, 24, was found guilty Wednesday evening of second-degree murder, aggravated arson and residential arson following a bench trial in DuPage County.

Prosecutors say Muren beat and strangled 55-year-old Charles Clark after they had a sexual encounter and Clark told Muren to leave his home.

Muren, who was 21 at the time, had just moved into Clarks west suburban Chicago townhouse less than eight hours earlier, prosecutors said.

Authorities say the Clark, a self-employed computer specialist, met Muren after the younger man answered Clark's Craigslist posting for a new roommate.

A neighbor told NBC 5 that Clark lived alone and was a nice man. He said Clark had a girlfriend, who visited occasionally and that Clark asked him before if he knew someone looking for a place to rent. The neighbor said he warned Clark not to put out the ad.

Clarks girlfriend discovered his body on Jan. 22, 2014 and called 911.

When police arrived at the Estes Park neighborhood home, responding officers smelled natural gas and found Clark dead in a bedroom with contusions to his face and head, officials said. The tips of one of his fingers also appeared to have been bitten off, prosecutors said.

Following the murder, prosecutors allege Muren removed his personal belongings from the home and attempted to burn a lease agreement the two had drafted by putting it in the toaster oven.

Muren then took Clarks cash and turned on the gas to the stove and left the oven door open in an attempt to blow up and/or burn down the house, investigators said.

Defense lawyer Paul DeLuca argued that the killing was self-defense, but called the trial and ruling "fair."
A man accused of setting an apartment building fire that left four people  including three children  dead three weeks ago in Chicago allegedly started the fire because a woman in the building refused to have sex with him, prosecutors said.

Reginald Hester, 51, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated arson causing bodily harm, all felonies, according to Chicago Police. He was ordered held without bail Wednesday.

Prosecutors said in court that Hester, who goes by the street name "Church," was asking a woman who lived in the building to have sex with him when she reminded him he owed her $10. Hester paid the woman but she then went back inside, leaving him outside.

"Located outside this witness' back door were several, large cardboard boxes, an old couch, a barbecue grill and a container of lighter fluid," said Assistant State's Attorney Becky Walters.

Hester told police "he was pissed" and "really wanted to scare that b***," prosecutors said.

The deadly blaze was reported just after 1:30 a.m. Aug. 23 in the three-story, 32-unit apartment building in the 8100 block of South Essex in the city's South Chicago neighborhood, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Fire officials reported heavy flames on the second and third floors of the building, and the stairwells were consumed by fire, forcing several people to exit through windows.

A witness told NBC 5 he had tried to save himself and the 3-month-old girl who lived in the building by jumping from a third-story window with the baby in his arms.

That 3-month-old girl, Melanie Watson, was taken to Comer Childrens Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. An autopsy showed she died from injuries from a fall from height, and smoke inhalation.

Crews searched for hours after the blaze was put out for the other three victims who were unaccounted for before they were found dead in two different areas of the building.

Four-year-old Madison Watson and 7-year-old Shaniyah Staples were killed in the blaze, along with 56-year-old Kirk Johnson.

All four deaths were ruled homicides, the medical examiners office said.

Three additional adults were taken to area hospitals.

Shortly after the blaze, a resident told NBC Chicago she had an argument with a person she believed set the fire after a squabble over $10.

"I didn't know it would escalate to this," she said.

Hester, who lives in the 8000 block of South Essex, was identified that night by witnesses and was arrested reportedly smelling of smoke.

He was initially questioned immediately after the blaze, but was released two days later. He was arrested again Tuesday morning.
Chicago police issued a warning for CTA riders after a string of robberies near train stations on the citys West Side.

Authorities say multiple robberies were reported in August and September near CTA Blue Line stops in the Homan Square and West Garfield Park neighborhoods.

In each instance, the victims were approached either on the train or near the platform and robbed by a group of four teenage boys ranging from 10 to 18 years old, according to police.

The crimes were reported around the following times and locations, police said:

12:45 p.m. Aug. 22 in the 600 block of South Kedzie Avenue;

10:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at 530 S. Kedzie Ave.;

9:30 p.m. Aug. 31 at 530 S. Homan Ave.;

1:40 p.m. Sept. 1 at 532 S. Homan Ave.;

4:54 p.m. Sept. 3 at 555 S. Pulaski Road.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.
Attorneys for the family of Sandra Bland say they have reached a $1.9 million settlement in the wrongful death case they filed, stemming from the Chicago area womans death in a Texas jail.

But Blands mother was quick to add, that she also received assurances, of changes in the way future detainees will be handled in the Waller County lockup where her daughter was found hanged in the summer of 2015.

I believe that this is going to spearhead other people saying no, you dont get a chance to just give me a couple of dollars, said Geneva Reed-Veal, about her quest to codify permanent change in the aftermath of her daughters death. Now you have to hold your people accountable.

Authorities in Waller County insisted the deal is not yet final. But Cannon Lambert, the attorney representing Blands family, says it will include provisions calling for electronic logging of routine cell checks, a new rule requiring a paramedic on each shift, and retraining of jail staff.

Lambert says authorities also say they will solicit new state legislation to fund revised booking and intake training, which they say will be named for Bland if it is passed.

The reality of it is that when you have an in-custody death, there are people responsible, Lambert told NBC5. And weve been able to hold them accountable today.

In July of 2015, Bland was arrested after a contentious traffic stop at the hands of officer Brian Encinia. She was found hanged in her cell three days later, a death officially ruled as suicide.

The whole world does not know what happened to my daughter, Reed-Veal said. I dont know what happened to Sandy. I wish I did.

The attorneys called the settlement unusual because of its demands for revised procedures, something they say Blands mother insisted on from the beginning.

You arent able to provide change at trial, said attorney Larry Rogers Jr. You can only provide change by a resolution like this.

Reed-Veal says while she feels she still has not received the full story on her daughters death, she is hopeful that the changes called for in the agreement will prevent future tragedies.

Now we have the beginning to someone saying ok, were going to make sure that we dont do things the way we used to do them, she said. Lets stop looking at what happened, and start looking at what happens now.

In a statement, Larry Simmons, the attorney representing Waller County, said the parties are still working through some details.

The Waller County defendants intend to honor this commitment, he said. The Waller County defendants also emphasize they vigorously deny any fault or wrongdoing, and the potential settlement does not involve any such admissions.
New Hampshire's largest newspaper, the Union Leader, is breaking with a 100-year tradition of backing the Republican presidential nominee.

The Granite State paper has endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld.

In an editorial published online Wednesday, publisher Joseph W. McQuaid wrote that rather than picking between the "lesser of two evils," the Union Leader has chosen to endorse Johnson and Weld.

"In todays dark times, they are a bright light of hope and reason," McQuaid wrote.

Of Trump, who is headed to New Hampshire Thursday, the paper denounced his candidacy, calling the businessman a "liar, a bully, a buffoon. He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him."

Though his most blistering attacks were reserved Trump, McQuaid hardly spared Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, calling her "a selfish, self-centered, sanctimonious prig."

The Union Leader is the latest conservative-leaning newspaper to break from tradition and refuse to endorse the Republican nominee.

The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle have both announced their endorsement of the democratic ticket, backing Clinton and Kaine, while North Carolina's Winston-Salem Journal and Virginia's Richmond Times-Dispatch have recommended Johnson.
A Waterbury mother is grateful to have her son home safe after a school bus driver left the child nearly two miles from home and the bus company said they have fired the driver.

Samantha Paneto said her 5-year-old son was dropped off near the Cheshire line instead of at his usual bus stop on Monday afternoon.

"According to my son, the bus driver said 'I can't find your stop, you need to get off here,' and left him two miles away from my house," Paneto said.

Instead of leaving the Generali Elementary School kindergartner at the corner of Oldham and Manchester avenues in Waterbury, just steps from his home, Paneto and Waterbury School officials said the bus driver dropped the boy off at the last stop of the route, Byam Road, which borders Cheshire.

Paneto's son wore a bracelet indicating that he shouldn't be dropped off at all unless there is a parent there waiting for him.

"Those students are wearing these bands. That means they don't get dropped off unless there is a parent there waiting for them," Robert Brenker, interim chief operating officer, chief of staff and the director of personnel for education for Waterbury schools, said.

Paneto also said her son also had identification that included his name and address.

"He had a name tag around his neck and that tag had his name, his school bus number, our address, and the bus stop location." Paneto said.

Bus company Durham School Services released a statement saying, in part:

It is our policy to have kindergartners and first-grade students to be met by an adult, and in this circumstance it did not occur. We are taking this matter very seriously; the driver has been terminated.

Waterbury school administrators said a Cheshire police officer who was overseeing construction near the area where the boy was dropped off spotted the child and brought him to Waterbury police.

"He told me that he was a very confident kid. He had his mind set on walking home even though he had no idea where our house was," Paneto said.

While the bus company now agrees to drop Paneto's son in front of his house, mom finds it hard to shake off such a bumpy ride.

"As a parent, that's always going to stay in the back of my head," Paneto said.

Administrators said they've been using this bus company for more than three years and this driver was experienced.

They are also holding a meeting tonight to discuss what occurred.

Waterbury Police also said they are investigating to see if any criminal charges can be filed.
Connecticut's attorney general will appeal a landmark court ruling that declared the state's education funding system unconstitutional and called for reforms.

Attorney General George Jepsen announced the appeal to the state Supreme Court on Thursday and said the legislative and executive branches -- not a judge -- determine state education policy.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement that the attorney generals decision to appeal does not negate the urgency to take action for students.

It would be prudent to address the systemic problems in our educational system, particularly fair funding, in a serious manner once and for all in the 2017 legislative session. Legislative action is always preferable to a judicial decision, Malloy said.

He said the state began investing hundreds of millions of dollars in education and students are showing progress in math and reading on state tests, but there is more work to do.

We hope that this moment marks the start, rather than the stalling, of a statewide dialogue around finding a better way to fund our schools, which ultimately results in a better solution for our students and communities, Malloy said. We should act together, and we should do it sooner rather than later.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher ruled last week in an 11-year-old lawsuit that the state must submit plans to overhaul its education system and change its school funding formula within 180 days.

The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of cities, towns, school boards, parents and students. The plaintiffs say the current system relies too heavily on local property taxes and favors wealthier towns, resulting in a big gap in test scores between students in rich and poor towns.
An FBI warning has been issued about a scam targeting companies around the globe and here in Connecticut.

The businesses being targeted are losing tens of thousands of dollars and not only do they lose a significant amount of money, but it's also not clear where the money is going.

"Our concern is theyre being funneled to fund terrorist organizations to fund drug cartels, to fund expanding cyber criminal organizations and you know what? When you have money theres a lot more stuff you can do," Supervisory Special Agent Martin McBride with the FBI New Haven Field Office said.

McBride said the FBI field office in New Haven is highly concerned with this scam called the executive email compromise," which targets law and manufacturing firms.

"In the state of Connecticut, weve had cases where they've lost as little as $80,000 and as much as $1.5 million, with the average of several cases around $400,000, McBride said.

"This exact type of crime happened to a company in Connecticut that we responded to, we investigated. We were able to track the perps down to Nigeria," Hartford-based attorney Ryan McGuigan said.

But feds say the scam is not just in Nigeria, but everywhere.

"Companies and individuals have to be very careful about what they click on on the Internet because literally it's how it begins with curious clicking," McGuigan told NBC Connecticut.

"The red flag is the body of the message telling you to do something different. If theyre telling you to change anything financial, added McBride.

In one case, scammers hacked the email account of the CEO or other top executives and then directed a subordinate to wire funds to what turns out to be a phony account controlled by the suspects.

"They were able to get the dot-com address of the CEO and put slight changes to it," McGuigan added.

McBride created these dummy accounts for the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters and l in Jill Konopka's name was changed to the number one to create a look-alike domain. The real thing can then be copied then pasted to victims, so simply.

"Its not complicated in its structure, but complicated in its application. They have to employ hundreds of people on computer terminals because it happened over a number of years. It was pervasive, like a virus and even after we alerted the FBI it continued to happen over and over and over again," McGuigan said.

Another version of the scam is when a businesss email is cracked and used to blast a bill to a legitimate customer, directing them to wire funds to an account controlled by the scammers.

When people dont believe a $400,000 loss to a big business is a big deal who cares? Well, we care because that money put in the wrong hands can support all kinds of nefarious activities against us," McBride said.

He urges corporations to take simple steps, aside from email, to verify requests for money.

"Pick up the telephone, send a text message, do something you have control over," McBride said.
New documents linked to the Trinity College porch collapse obtained by the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters reveal the building's safety violations.

More than two dozen Trinity College students were sent to the hospital with broken bones and other injuries after a deck collapsed during an off-campus party on Saturday night.

The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters were able to obtain the first glimpse of a violation report filled out by City of Hartford inspectors within minutes of that terrifying rear porch collapse at 1713-1715 Broad St.

The third-floor balcony was pancaked onto the second floor balcony before crashing to the ground, according to city officials.

Both balconies were filled with students.

At 11:26 p.m. Saturday night, minutes after the collapse, city officials cited "violations and unsafe structures and equipment."

Inspector P. Looney noted, The second and third floor are not protected from opening at this time."

The action needed to resolve the issue is to "make application for removal or reconstruction of exterior rear porches. Do not start any work until permits are applied for and issued immediately, secure second and third floor rear exterior doors to prevent use at this time."

On Wednesday, Trinity school officials confirmed SML Real Estate Inc. is the property manager.

A statement from their attorney says, "SML Real Estate Inc. has contracted with Trinity College for many years to provide safe and affordable rental services and routine maintenance of numerous off campus properties owned by the college. The company does not provide nor contract for structural inspections and improvements to those buildings."

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters learned the City of Hartford has no documents indicating there were ever any decks installed on the property but it's unclear when the decks were put up.

Trinity College released this update at on Wednesday afternoon:

"Trinity College is investigating the cause of the accident, and we are working with structural engineers and claims adjusters who are on campus over the next few days to evaluate the safety of all college-owned properties in which our community members are living. The property manager, David Lemkuil of SML Real Estate, Inc., is working with the college to assess the situation. Given the level of due diligence necessary to conduct a thorough review, we expect to receive additional information within the next two to three weeks.

"Our priority continues to be the needs of our students and our faculty will continue to be as supportive as possible in making accommodations for students with issues directly impacting their academic work including physical injuries, concussions, and emotional needs."
Students at Bugbee School in West Hartford have been warned to stay away from a path that leads to the elementary school because of a bear in the woods.

Someone spotted a bear near the end of the path, at Birchwood Drive, on Tuesday and the school sent a warning not to use the path and instead use a detour, which adds three or four minutes to the walk.

A DEEP spokesman said the bear seen near the path is very large, but very gentle and has been in West Hartford for years.

Residents of the area said they have been hearing about the bear.

I have not seen this bear but I heard from some friends and neighbors that it was very large, Laura Punt, of West Hartford, said.

They see you, they run the opposite direction, Beth Graywolf, of West Hartford, said. I've never been bothered by them.

DEEP has logged 245 sightings of bears in West Hartford over the past year and between 500 and 700 black bears in the whole state.

Anna McFaul, of West Hartford, said she thinks people have to share their space.

I don't know if all my neighbors feel the same way but what can you do about it?, she said.
Two people from Bristol have been arrested for impersonating the IRS and scamming tens of thousands of dollars from victims.

Nancy Frye, 50, and Douglas Martin, 53, were arrested on Thursday for falsely representing themselves as employees of the IRS to obtain money from victims, the U.S. attorney's office said.

In October 2015, Frye was recruited by scammers to pick up money that was wired through MoneyGram and Western Union in order to deposit it into specific bank accounts, prosecutors said.

Typically, scammers would call unsolicted victims, claiming to be the IRS, and demand money for false outstanding debts.

Frye recruited Martine and others to assist her in picking up the wire funds from locations in central Connecticut.

Between October 2015 and May 2016, Frye and those working for her receieved approximately $547,000 in wire funds. Frye would get $40 per transaction, amounting to about $500 a day, prosecutors said.

"The IRS will never call anyone and demand immediate payment or threaten arrest. If you receive one of these calls, just hang up and report the call to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. attorney Daly said.

Frye and Martin are each charged by federal criminal complaint with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They appeared om court on Thursday and were released on bond.
A Connecticut resident has gotten rid of her lemon of a car and will be getting a refund after reaching out to NBC Connecticut Responds for help.

Jennifer Salazar, a 23-year-old full-time student who also works full time, needed a reliable car for her commute and thought she was worry-free buying a brand new car from Gengras in East Hartford.

I bought this car, I was super excited, she said. I was over the moon about it.

She bought the Chrysler 200S in July 2015, but it stopped working two weeks later, she said.

Gengras fixed the issue and gave the car back, only for it to break down three more times while Salazar was driving. At that point, she refused to drive it and told Gengras and Chrysler she didnt feel safe.

Jonathan Gengras put me in a loaner Jeep. He made sure I didnt have to drive that car again knowing I didnt feel safe. Theyve been very wonderful, Salazar said.

Chrysler Corporate was only willing to try and fix the car instead of replace it, so Salazar called NBC Connecticut Responds.

NBC was the first that got back to me, she said.

Our consumer team looked into her complaint.

You need to file with the Lemon Law, file with DMV get all your bases covered and see where you go from there, Salazar said.

After she opened a Lemon Law case with the Department of Consumer Protection, Chrysler made Salazar an offer, but she declined, took them to court and won her case.

Chrysler is paying off the remainder of her car loan, which is a little over $29,000.

The court estimated she got about $17,000 of use out of the car before it was considered a lemon, which she already paid.

Glad we could help her out during this issue. We wish Chrysler would have acted in a more expedient manner but were glad it finally came to a resolution, Jonathan Gengras said about the decision.

NBC Connecticut reached out to Chrysler for comment.

"FCA US LLC had negotiated a buyback with Ms. Salazar but she objected to our mileage offset and thought she could pay less by going through with the arbitration. However, the arbitrator in fact came back with a decision requiring Ms. Salazar to pay more of an offset than FCA originally offered," the statement says.

Salazar said that final offer came the day before they went to court and Chryslers attorney wanted an immediate answer, but because she was at work, she declined.

Salazar did received about $3,100 back for other fees associated with the purchase of the car.

I was just thrilled that I had won, she said.

She now has her winnings and a new car that feels just right.

It was months in the making, but Salazar was finally able to move on from this experience with money in hand and a new more reliable car.

Im just relieved that its over, Salazar said.
The man accused of setting fire to the mosque sometimes attended by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen was ordered held without bail Thursday after a judge called him a danger to the community and a flight risk.

Joseph Michael Schreiber looked down during most of the brief hearing before St. Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci. He told Yaccuci he couldn't afford a private attorney and was appointed a public defender. He also acknowledged two previous stints in prison.

Authorities said Schreiber faces felony first-degree arson. Officials classified the attack as a hate crime.

St. Lucie Sheriff's deputies say tips from the community led to the Schreiber's arrest Wednesday. He was picked up by police while walking in Port St. Lucie.

Officials revealed that surveillance video showing the suspect on a motorcycle also helped them connect the dots. Authorities also conducted a search warrant at the suspect's home after the arrest.

No one was injured in the fire, which was started late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce and burned for more than five hours before it was extinguished Monday.

The surveillance video from the mosque showed a man on a motorcycle approach the building with a bottle of liquid and some papers, then leave when there was a flash.

The fire was started on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The mosque had been attended by Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen.

Authorities said Schreiber has made anti-Islamic comments on his Facebook page. They also said he has a criminal past.

If convicted, Schreiber faces a minimum 30-year prison sentence.
A state audit has uncovered another case of a state administrator receiving high pay even after leaving the job.

Among the auditors findings in the 43-page audit was "excessive compensation" and the report says the head of the University of Connecticut Libraries received his $203,000 salary for a year after stepping down from his management position, even though he was functioning as a part-time consultant.

UConn contends the administrator was paid that rate for eight months and in the future people who step down from management positions should be compensated at a level consistent with the work they are performing.

These revelations come on the heels of news the Connecticut Lottery president will step down and receive well above her $206,000 annual salary as she serves as a senior adviser to the lottery board and her successor is chosen.

At the time that was announced, the quasi-public Lottery Corporation explained the outgoing president was there for a decade and helped deliver seven years of record returns.
A Dallas police officer whose termination was overruled after he was no-billed in an excessive force allegation is suing city and Dallas Chief of Police David Brown.

Officer Jesus Martinez was charged with official oppression after a Dallas Police Department investigation said he used unnecessary and/or inappropriate force against Joe Wesson, a citizen suspected of panhandling.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Martinez straddled Wesson June 8, 2014 while trying to detain him. Bystander video shows the pedestrian screaming in pain as Martinez pushed the pedestrian's handcuffed hands and elbows upward. Officials said Martinez alleged that the pedestrian was resisting, but the witness who described the incident did not see any resistance.

A Dallas County grand jury declined to indict Martinez in the case and said there was no basis for the charge. Martinez's attorneys said the city's Civic Service Appeal Board eventually overruled Martinez's termination and he was reinstated with the Dallas Police Department after about 10 months.

Martinez said Thursday that after he was reinstated by the department he was told he'd receive back pay for the time he was away. Martinez said that didn't happen and, instead, the department wanted to deduct money he'd earned part-time during his appeal.

[[393602101,C]]

"They deducted the pay from my outside work while I was gone, that I made. As an officer we get part-time work all of the time, but does the city deduct the part-time income earned by officers from the city of Dallas from their paychecks? I was surprised by this and very hurt by it," Martinez said. "The city wrongfully fired me and then it wanted to penalize me for getting my job back."

Martinez is asking for unspecified damages because he said he was not reimbursed by the city for his time away from the department and he said the incident caused him mental anguish and damaged his reputation.

"I love the Dallas Police Department. I love being an officer. I love Dallas and I absolutely love my neighborhood Deep Ellum. But that love for all of this does not mean I'll sit back and let the department take from my wife and my family," Martinez said. "This is the only way we can get Dallas to admit what they did to me was wrong."

Martinez's lawyer, Andy Adkins, said his client isn't seeking millions, only to be made whole. When asked what the amount was, Adkins declined to elaborate.

During a news conference Thursday, Martinez said the last two years have been very difficult for his family and that they have suffered both financial and personal hardships, including the damage to his reputation as a police officer.

Martinez has worked for the Department since April 2006 and was assigned to the Central Patrol Division.
The iconic Lakewood Theater in East Dallas is officially a protected historic landmark after action by the Dallas City Council Wednesday.

Neighbors pushed for the action over the past year with support from the building owners.

But co-owner Craig Kinney said the year-long process was twice what was promised and delays cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Id like to get it leased and get it used, and have the Lakewood residents using the Lakewood Theater again, Kinney said.

Neighbors worried demolition was starting last year when they saw old seats removed and workers inside the 1938 structure.

Katherine Seale, the leader of the Dallas Landmark Commission, started the historic protection process without the owners request.

Of course, at that time, we didnt know about how the owner felt about the building, said Seale. Literally thousands of people in East Dallas came together and said 'this is what matters, this is a beacon.'

The owners agreed to building should be protected and they received praise from city council Members Wednesday.

Councilman Philip Kingston said the Lakewood Theater in many ways is the soul of East Dallas.

We should offer sincere thanks to the owners of the building who did not have to go along with this, Kingston said. The key to preserving Lakewood Theater is long term, viable tenants in the historic structure.

Kinney said it is unlikely the building will be a theater again, but there are several restaurant tenants interested in leasing portions of the theater space. That will require another round of city review.

It is allowed under the designation to divide the property. Now we have specific things we have to do when we do that. Its all subject to Landmark Commission saying its appropriate, Kinney said.

Neighbors Wednesday said they are anxious to see the Lakewood Theater building used again.

I would love for it to stay exactly like it is. It looks great. And its old. It brings texture to the community, said Lakewood worker Sonya Burkins.

Contractor Mike Hernandez works and lives nearby.

I think its something that distinguishes this part of town from any other part of town, Hernandez said. If you go to all these suburbia, little pop up deals, they all look the same. This makes us a little different from everybody else.

Kinney said work last year was environmental remediation required by the state. Renovation permits could not be obtained until after Wednesdays city council approval. Now, Kinney said talks with potential tenants will move forward to refine renovation plans.
A West Dallas family has filed a lawsuit against their landlords claiming their lease is not in compliance with state law.

Joanna Pena and Sergio Rendon filed the suit late last week. It alleges that their landlords, Hanna Khraish and his son Khraish Khraish, who operate HMK Ltd., "illegally omit providing their tenants of statutorily mandated notice of their rights to demand repairs."

Pena gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday, but the couple is apprehensive about bringing the child home due to the condition of their home.

"The bathroom, the kitchen, the main problem is the door. They installed a new one but it still wouldn't lock," Rendon said. "There's a lot of holes because of the mice. I've sealed them myself and the people from maintenance ignore the problem."

The lawsuit calls Hanna and Khraish Khraish "the most prolific slumlords in Dallas County who operate a business which preys on the most vulnerable of Dallas County's citizens."

"The lawsuit alleges that the lease used by this landlord violates Texas law and it fails to notify tenants of their rights," said the family's attorney, Michael Hindman. "Second of all, it transfers or obligates the tenants to provide services the landlord is required to provide by state law."

A copy of the lease attached to the lawsuit says tenants are responsible for "fumigating for insects and/or rodents." Hindman said that is HMK's responsibility.

"Anything that affects the physical health and safety of the tenant, the repair responsibility goes to landlord," Hindman said.

Khraish Khraish denied the allegations outlined in the lawsuit.

"Our current lease follows all state and local laws regarding property rentals," he said. "I honestly believe that these tenants are being misguided by their attorneys."

John Carney, a consultant for HMK, said "the documentation that HMK has with their tenants is a 10-part document that shares the responsibility of home operation with the tenants. It's compliant with state and federal regulations."

Carney said the tenant's property is treated for pests before the move in.

"According to the code if the property is treated before they take occupancy the landlord can make the tenant responsible for a single-family home's hygiene while they occupy," Carney said. "The existence or problem they might have from pests is a product of their hygiene not of the product that was delivered by the landlord. We are in complete compliance, and not only that HMK has been more than responsive to the tenants' request for repairs, whether it's health and safety or otherwise."

HMK leases about 450 properties in Dallas. Hindman said multiple tenants have called his office, and that the litigation could turn into a class-action lawsuit. The suit comes as the city of Dallas is finalizing its minimum housing standards.

"This may be the only way, by the tenants being together, certified as a class action, to have the power to bring real change and force them to change the way to do business," Hindman said. "There's no incentive for the landlords to comply with the law because the penalties for failing to do so are relatively minor."
Texas is a big state with big money. This political season, Texans are shipping millions of dollars out of state, trying to influence the most important races in the country.

This year alone, between contributions to candidates and political action committees, Texans have donated more than $250 million, according to Federal Elections Commission filings. The donations rank Texas third in the country, behind California and New York.

It's no surprise to former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Wade Emmert.

"Dallas is the ATM for the United States," Emmert said.

So are many Texas cities. The ATM effect started years ago, long before there were cash machines on every corner.

Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, says it all started with Lyndon Baines Johnson.

"LBJ, when he was a member of the House  before he even got elected to the Senate, let alone president  tapped Texas oil money and took it to Washington and it made him very prominent in the House because he was funding a lot of other people's races. Texans saw that. They have been doing it ever since," Jillson said.

That influence continues today.

"The big money coming out of Texas wants to have access not just to two Texas senators, but to 30 Republican senators that they help elect to office, so when the phone rings in those offices out of Texas somebody picks it up and says, 'Yes, sir,'" Jillson said.

NBC looked at federal election filings from the races that are toss-ups and could potentially flip the majority of the Senate. Lone Star State donors are ponying up big for races in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Nevada.

In New Hampshire, Texas GOP donors contributed more than $450,000 to Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is locked in a close race. The Democrats in Texas have kicked in well over $107,000 for Ayotte's challenger, Gov. Maggie Hassan.

And in Wisconsin, the numbers show more influence from the Lone Star State. Texans have given more than $280,000 to Democrat Russ Feingold, and more than $300,000 to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.

In both states the Texas donations add up to about 6 percent of total donations. That is not a surprise to U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, who chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee and knows fundraising well.

"When you come from a state like New Hampshire or Wisconsin, where there is not a vibrant Republican base, there is not a huge bit of economic activity in those two states. They are just as equal as one vote as a Texas senator would have, so they become equal in importance to an agenda," Sessions said.

Republicans are giving more than Democrats in seven of the eight important races we examined. But in Nevada, Texas Republicans have donated more than $223,000 to Republican Joe Heck, while the Democrats have gone in big for Catherine Cortez Masto, shipping more than $280,000 to the Democrat.

"If I am a wealthy Democratic donor in Texas, I get very frustrated giving in Texas races because my money goes down the drain. They get beat every time so it's a lot more sort of fulfilling to send money out of state where a Democrat has a chance of winning," Jillson said.

Democrat donor and Texas State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, is encouraging some out-of-state checks right now.

"I'm encouraging persons to support senate candidates outside the state of Texas," West said.

He is encouraging that because of the future of the U.S. Supreme Court. He said he wants to see the Democrats get the Senate majority and get liberal nominees confirmed. But he is hoping for the day when other states start spending their money to Texas for Democratic races.

"I'm hopeful that we will begin to have some viable candidates for the U.S. Senate seats, and so we can get other states and treat them like an ATM," West added.
Months after a lawsuit was filed against Honda for using an eco-friendly material experts say attracts rodents, a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles suggests there could be tens of millions of defective Toyota vehicles and drivers left to pay for thousands of dollars in repairs.

Al Heber says rodents  in this case squirrels  are gnawing away at the wiring inside his Toyota pickup truck. Tired of paying for repairs, Heber's getting creative.

"I've tried a lot of different things, from trapping them to putting cayenne pepper," Heber said. "I've placed mothballs in the vehicle. Finally, right now, we're using cats."

But nothing has worked.

The soy-based coating used to protect wires from the elements is actually attracting the rodents, he says. The issue is causing displays on his truck to malfunction, including the fuel gauge, anti-lock brakes, four-wheel drive and check engine light. They're recurring problems he says Toyota will not cover under his warranty.

So far, he's out $2,200.

"I feel like it's a warranty issue because the materials are poor quality," Heber said.

His attorney, Brian Kabateck, has filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota, claiming many 2012 to 2016 used soy-based wiring known to be a problem. While rodents have a documented history of damaging vehicle wiring, he says the soy makes the wiring a food source.

"It may have started out as a good idea, an eco-friendly idea. It's just ill-conceived," Kabateck said.

The I-Team first uncovered the problem of rodents chewing through wires in March. At that time only Honda was facing a class action lawsuit. But Kabateck says that Honda lawsuit should have been a wake-up call to Toyota.

"You don't make a product that is edible," he said. "A consumer purchases a car, they don't know this is a problem."

Mechanic Mark Buche says it's not just Toyotas using soy wire coating, though many of his repairs are.

"We've seen ground squirrels, raccoons, we've seen rats," Buche said. "We've been pretty busy."

A repair can run up to $1,500 each time.

The I-Team reached out to Toyota about the soy wiring. The company responded, "We decline to comment."

Toyota has not yet responded to Heber's lawsuit, either.

Uneasy about driving his own truck, Heber feels it's on Toyota to fix this problem for its customers.

"I don't think I could sell this vehicle this way," Heber said.

Heber's attorney does not know how many vehicles Toyota has produced with the soy wiring, but the company sells about 10 million new vehicles every year. The attorney says it's possible this lawsuit could expand to include other years and even other manufacturers using the soy wiring.

Honda said in a statement: "Since there is pending litigation involved, we will not be able to offer detailed comments about that suit at this time. However, before airing a story based on plaintiff's allegations, please research, in general, the long-known history of rodents chewing wires of all types. Rodents' teeth grow throughout their lives, and they are compelled to chew on things, wherever they nest, to keep the teeth filed down. They are known to chew home wiring, car wiring or wires wherever they nest, and, particularly in the winter, they try to find warm locations, like a home or a vehicle's warm engine compartment.

"It is true that Honda has offered a potential solution to this age-old problem by selling a rodent-deterrent tape infused with capsaicin, the core element of spicy peppers, to use in cases where a customer has experienced rodent damage. This is a good solution for our customers who live in areas where rodents like to nest in vehicles."
Funeral services will be held Thursday for Edmund D. Edelman, who spent 20 years as a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and nine on the Los Angeles City Council.

Edelman died Monday at the age of 85 following a long illness, according to Joel Bellman, who was his press deputy when he was a supervisor. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City on Thursday.

Edelman was diagnosed several years ago with atypical parkinsonism, a neurodegenerative brain disorder that gradually impairs mobility and muscle function in those afflicted.

"Los Angeles has lost a true giant of a public servant," said Zev Yaroslavsky, who succeeded Edelman on both the City Council and county Board of Supervisors.

"Above all, he was a man of great personal, professional and political integrity whose example is a model for all political figures to follow.''

Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who served with Edelman, heaped praise on his former colleague during Tuesday's board meeting.

"Ed was especially devoted to his cello (and) would practice that cello in his office every day," sometimes heading over to Walt Disney Concert Hall with the instrument in tow, Antonovich said.

Edelman represented the county's Third District from 1974-1994, which for most of his tenure stretched from the Pacific Ocean to East Los Angeles and included portions of the San Fernando Valley and the Westside.

Edelman's signature issues included homelessness, public transportation, public health, parks and open spaces, and the arts. He was also an early and outspoken supporter of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community and staunch advocate for AIDS services and treatment.

Edelman was particularly dedicated to protecting abused and neglected children, and led the effort to establish the county's Department of Children and Family Services, and to create a dedicated children's dependency court in Monterey Park that bears his name.

Edelman graduated from Beverly Hills High School and UCLA, where he majored in political science, and the UCLA Law School.

He served as staff counsel to legislative committees in Washington and in Sacramento, and as an attorney with the National Labor Relations Board, before being elected in 1965 to the Westside's Fifth District seat on the Los Angeles City Council, defeating incumbent Roz Wyman.

Edelman is survived by his wife, Mari; two daughters, Erica (Jeme) Edelman Benadon and Emily (Bryan) Glickman; four grandchildren, Jonah and Juliette Benadon, and Adam and Alexandra Glickman; a sister, Sandra Becker; and a brother, Raymond Edelman.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Ed Edelman Endowment for Chamber Music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, and the Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Institute at the Colburn School of Music.
A Santa Clarita man suspected of breaking into a series of residences and attempting to sexually assaulting a woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to seven felony counts.

Russell Malcolm Harris, 34, is charged with one count each of assault with intent to commit rape during the commission of a first-degree burglary, first-degree residential burglary and attempted first-degree residential burglary, along with four counts of first-degree burglary with a person present.

Harris allegedly broke into a woman's home Aug. 1 and sexually touched her before fleeing.

She said he told her: "You're pretty. I want to make you mine," before grabbing her.

He is accused of breaking into three more residences the same day, and breaking into or attempting to get into three other residences on Aug. 2, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Harris allegedly went to apartment buildings and homes and checked doors to see if anybody was home.

"In a couple of incidents, he was able to make entry, where he confronted the occupants of the home and he attempted to commit sexual acts with them,'' said Los Angeles police Lt. Joe Losorelli, who heads the Rampart Detectives Division.

Harris was initially arrested Aug. 9 by Pasadena police responding to a call of a suspect trying to enter a home. Pasadena police subsequently got a call of a suspect in a yard and determined that he had broken his leg while trying to elude officers, according to the LAPD.

Los Angeles police said they subsequently got a tip from an Antelope Valley citizen who recognized him after seeing a news report, and investigators were able to determine that he was the man who had been taken into custody by Pasadena police.

Losorelli said investigators showed a "six-pack'' containing a photo of Harris to one of the alleged victims, who "positively identified him as the person that entered her apartment and tried to sexually assault her,'' and other alleged victims also "positively identified him as the individual in the Rampart area and Hollywood'' who had tried to break into their apartments.

The defendant is wanted in New York "for the same type of violation'' and has an "extensive criminal record,'' according to the LAPD.

The criminal complaint alleges that Harris has prior convictions in New York.

If convicted as charged, Harris could face up to life in state prison.
Halloween Horror Nights: Viral videos of haunted house visitors shrieking their way through mazes have racked up the views in recent years, and understandably. Many people know the visceral thrills of being scared, over and over, in a well-themed environment. The annual Universal Studios Hollywood creep-tacular is a master of this macabre art form, and its movie-quality walk-through experiences are key. Find your courage and enter the worlds of "The Exorcist," "American Horror Story," "Krampus," "Halloween," and more scream-worthy stories, starting on Friday, Sept. 16.

East Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day Parade: Southern California boasts a beautiful bevy of meaningful processions and parties, but few possess the history of this yearly East LA celebration. Music, dance, and community are all woven through the day, with Fernando Allende and Jose Luis Orozco on the bill, and the post-parade festival brims with savory fare and more family-sweet goings-on. Want to join in? Be at Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Mednik Avenue for the parade's 10 a.m. start on Sunday, Sept. 18. (NBC4 is a part of the celebratory day.)

Emmy Awards: You may be on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Sept. 18, rehearsing your acceptance speech in your head, or you may be hosting an at-home party, the better to catch the stars of the shows you love best. If you're planning on doing it up, consider a stop by a Patina Restaurant Group eatery. This is the outfit catering the 2016 Emmys, and they've got a line-up of libations saluting the small-screen accolades, from "Writer's Block" to "Director's Cut."

Nautica Malibu Triathlon: The ocean-close community is pretty darn Instagrammable most days, but few Malibu moments are as big as this swim-bike-run competition. As is tradition, several stars compete, with Scott Eastwood, Max Greenfield, and James Marsden all expected to join in at the 2016 event. Can you watch the Sept. 18 water-land showdown? You can  look for the bleachers near lifeguard tower #14. All the information on getting to the early-in-the-morning Zuma Beach to-do is right here.

CicLAvia's pLAy Day in LA: The thrice yearly close-the-streets, ride-your-bike bash is now a staple of local life, but, up to now, there's never been a CicLAvia fundraiser. That'll all change on Saturday, Sept. 17 when the bike-walk-roll extravaganza throws an afternoon party at 613 Imperial Street in the Arts District. This isn't the usual CicLAvia bike ride but a day filled with raffles, eats, Golden Road brews, helmet decorating, games, and more activities. Cost to help out this beloved organization? It's a hundred bucks for an adult. Join in now.
A man living at a Wyoming nursing home shot one person dead and wounded two more before killing himself as cops closed in Wednesday, NBC News reported.

Larry Rosenberg, 77, opened fire with a .22-caliber handgun at the Heritage Court Apartments in Cheyenne, where he lived, according to a Cheyenne Police Department spokesman.

The gunfire began around 11 a.m. at the sprawling facility, for reasons still unclear.

Rosenberg fled after shooting one person inside the the residence and the others in the parking lot, police said. The chase ended about three miles from the nursing home, when police caught up with the suspect.
The grandmother who was pictured in police photos passed out in an SUV from an apparent heroin overdose while her 4-year-old grandson sat in the back seatwas sentenced to 180 days in jail Wednesday, NBC News reported.

Rhonda Pasek pleaded no contest to charges of endangering a child, public intoxication and a seat belt violation. She was sent back to the Columbiana County jail, according to Gisele Stevenson, a deputy municipal court clerk in East Liverpool.

It was the latest setback for 50-year-old Pasek, who lives in West Virginia, across the Ohio River from East Liverpool. According to her sister, she has struggled with substance abuse addiction for many years.

Several days after Pasek was arrested on Sept. 7, custody of the boy was awarded to his great aunt and great uncle, who live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, officials said.
A man fell victim to a gun-toting thief while filling up at a North Miami gas station.

Police released surveillance video of the violent armed robbery Wednesday.

The video from Aug. 18 showed the suspect creeping toward a man pumping gas at the Caraf Gas Station located on Northwest 137th Street and 7th Avenue. Detectives said the suspect pointed a gun at the victim and demanded his cell phone.

In the video, the victim is seen backing away, before the crook tackled him to the ground and shot him. The suspect stole the man's cell phone and watch then ran away, police said.

Video showed the victim struggling to get up and walk back to his car. Police said he suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stopper at 305-471-TIPS.
All 34 public high schools in Broward County already offer extensive computer science courses. Now the district is emphasizing the early grades, starting the basics of coding in kindergarten, giving it the importance of reading and writing English.

"We are making it a fundamental, foundational skill and component, we believe theres a dual literacy opportunity here for our students," explained Superintendent Robert Runcie. "We have to make sure our students are writing and reading and comprehending at a proficient level by third grade, but we also need to insure that theres digital literacy."

NBC 6 observed a third-grade class at Indian Trace Elementary School in Weston. The kids were learning to write algorithms which they would then turn into symbols for the computer to understand.

"Teaching students to read and write code is just as important as teaching them to read and write stories, its the future," said principal Amy Winder. "Its tricky at first but the students are really engaged and theyre interested and theyre determined to get it right."

This is part of Browards effort to integrate computer coding into all academic subject areas.

"And within the last three years weve really moved the needle, so to speak,"said Christine Semisch, one of the districts architects of the policy. "We have close to 50,000 students this year that will be exploring computer science in their studies."

Semisch and one of her colleagues, Lisa Milenkovic, was invited to speak at the Summit on Computer Science For All at the White House, to share their strategy on coding for every grade level.

"Were going to share that story, so how weve infused it in the curriculum from elementary school all the way up through high school, so it becomes part of the day, not an addition to the day," Milenkovic said.

As an example, we saw fifth graders combining history with coding. Their task was to program their computers to recreate the routes of famous explorers. The district is actually researching the extent to which learning coding skills helps in other subjects.

"The types of skills that our students need to utilize in dealing with computer science translates into their critical thinking abilities in other courses, Runcie said.

The superintendent jumped on the coding train in 2013, making Broward Public Schools one of the first school districts in the nation to partner with Code.org to highlight the importance of coding. Why is this so important?

"Theres going to be a shortage of over a million computer jobs in the next few years and were either going to fill them with our kids that are here in the United States and prepare them to take those jobs, or theyre going overseas somewhere," Runcie said.
For the second time in nearly a week, a Florida driver watched their car go up in flames  all thanks to a Samsung cell phone.

Crews responded to the scene Tuesday night in Port St. Lucie according to NBC affiliate WPTV, where a man says his Galaxy Note 7 phone exploded and set his entire car on fire. He wasnt hurt, but the car was completely engulfed in flames.

Rescue crews have not confirmed if the fire was caused by an exploding phone, but a man in the Tampa Bay area experienced a similar incident when his car caught fire while his Samsung device was charging inside.

The Galaxy Note 7s have been recalled in the past weeks because it was found that their batteries have to chance to explode and catch fire.
The man accused of making threats of a Pulse nightclub-style attack against the LGBT community in Wilton Manors was indicted Thursday for posting threatening communications, officials said.

Craig Allen Jungwirth, 50, is charged with the interstate transmission of a threatening communication, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Jungwirth was arrested by the FBI in Orlando earlier this month and remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service. He's expected to be brought to South Florida to face the charge.

Jungwirth allegedly posted on social media threatening to launch a Pulse nightclub-type attack over Labor Day weekend.

"It's time to clean up Wilton Manors from all you AIDS-infested losers," Jungwirth allegedly wrote in one Facebook post.

"If you losers thought the Pulse Nightclub shooting was bad, wait 'til you see what I'm planning for Labor Day," he allegedly wrote in another.

Jungwirth denied posting the threats when he was questioned by investigators, according to a criminal complaint.

If convicted, Jungwirth faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine, officials said.
Nearly three weeks have passed since 8-year-old Jada Page was shot in the head in a Northwest Miami-Dade drive-by shooting.

Her parents were at Miami-Dade Police headquarters Thursday asking for tips - in a case that grows colder every day.

"The guy jumped out and opened fire," said her father, James Page. "The only thing could think of is my kids were outside."

James Page was also shot that day in the area of NW 101st Street and 25th Avenue. Investigators say he was the intended target.

"Looking at the rest of my kids, we got no answers for them," he said. "The only thing we could tell them is she is in heaven. Two of them understand, the other two don't."

Jada died in the hospital a few days after the shooting. Hundreds rallied for justice in her name while also sending a message that these senseless killings must stop.

"Give us some sort of peace of mind, you know," said her mother, Rosalind Brown. "They say 'Justice for Jada', at least if not for us, for her."

The best lead police have made public in this case is that there were at least two suspects involved, who drove off in a black Ford Fusion. There's a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
At first, he was a person of interest before police called Eddie Sabastian Mosely the prime suspect in a double shooting that left a 24-year old woman dead in Hallandale Beach.

Now, police are announcing Mosely is under arrest - saying he was taken into custody early Thursday morning:

Detectives released a surveillance photo of Mosely walking out of a barbershop in Hollywood, where he may have changed his appearance. Hallandale Beach Police tweeted a picture of Mosley with a newly shaved head.

Officers responded to a shooting early Wednesday at a house near Southwest 4th Street and 7th Avenue. Marlena Turnquest was shot on the front porch of her grandmother's house. Dorothy Bolt said she heard her granddaughter's screams.

"Then, I heard her scream out 'oh no'", said Bolt.

Turnquest died at the scene. Mosely's brother, Deneil Merritt, was also shot. He was taken to the Memorial Regional Hospital, where he underwent surgery.

According to detectives, there had been some sort of disturbance between Mosely and the victims. They have not released the details of that disturbance.

"She was just a fun person, she never was really angry with other people, that is why I am trying to understand why he would do that to her," sister China Preston said.

"We are still hurt about her being gone but it is a relief that he is now caught," said Egypt Gibson, another sister of the victim.
A 33-year-old Florida woman was arrested after authorities say she hid marijuana inside a child's lunchbox during a traffic stop.

Shortly before 9 p.m., Broward County Sheriffs deputies pulled over Tasha Sims in Pompono Beach Wednesday because the registered owner of the car she was driving didn't have a valid license.

A deputy approached the car and saw a young girl sitting in the front seat without a seatbelt, according to the arrest report. The deputy said he smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car and asked Sims if she had anything illegal inside.

Sims admitted to hiding marijuana in the child's lunchbox because she knew her license was suspended and got scared when he pulled her over, the report said.

She was placed under arrest and charged with child neglect, possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license.

Sims was booked into the Broward County jail and was being held on $1,000 bond Thursday, records showed. It was unknown if she's hired an attorney.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man who posed as a police officer and sexually battered a woman.

Deputies believe the suspect may be traveling to Miami-Dade County.

A composite sketch of the suspect was released Wednesday.

The incident happened Tuesday at the victim's home in Bonita Springs.

The suspect wore what appeared to be a police tactical vest and police-type insignia, deputies said.

According to the police report, the suspect presented himself as a police officer, so the victim felt no reason to dispute him and allowed him to enter her home.

That's when the man sexually battered the woman.

Deputies said another woman and a 4-year old child were inside the home at the time of the incident. They were not hurt.

The suspect fled the area in a silver or tan sedan.

Anyone with information is asked to call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.
What to Know The I-Team first reported on complaints of illegal strip searches last November

Now more than 25 women have come forward alleging they were abused by correction officers at NYC jails

The Department of Correction says it has zero tolerance for mistreatment of visitors

More than 25 women have now filed notices of claim against New York City alleging they were sexually abused by correction officers during visits to jails.

The I-Team first reported on complaints of illegal strip searches in November.

The women claim they were abused in the visitors center on Rikers Island, as well as at the Manhattan Detention Center and the Brooklyn House of Detention. Much of the alleged abuse was in recent months, after the head of the city's Department of Correction expressed concern over the I-Teams reports.

Department of Correction guidelines prohibit body cavity and strip searches. Limited pat frisks are allowed, but only over clothing, after signed consent, and with a supervisor present.

The latest notice of claim was filed by Pamela Roth, the attorney for Lyshineek Morales, who said she was subjected to a body cavity search on Rikers Island in late August. Morales told the I-Team she was ordered to pull her underwear down and then squat and cough.

"Honestly, I was fighting back tears, she said.

Several women claimed they were also ordered to squat and cough, and said they were told they had been randomly picked to be strip searched.

Lanique Green told the I-Team she was ordered to pull her pants down during a visit to the Manhattan Detention Center in April. Its just humiliating, she said. She said her genitals were completely visible.

Nasheeka Spencer, another woman involved in the court proceedings, claimed she was subjected to a body cavity search at the Brooklyn House of Detention in July. I was violated, she said.

Alan Figman, who represents 25 women, said many of his clients have been interviewed by investigators in the Bronx district attorney's office, and several sources familiar with the situation tell the I-Team the prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation into the matter.

The city's Department of Investigation is also looking into the claims.

A spokesman for the Department of Correction said the agency has "zero tolerance for the mistreatment of visitors" and takes all complaints seriously.

"In order to ensure that all consented searches are done properly, cameras have been installed in the search area of the Benjamin Ward Central Visit Facility (on Rikers)," the spokesman said.

The DOC did not say if there were cameras in visiting areas of jails in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Figman said the Department of Justice should implement a monitoring system.

"The Commissioner acts like it isnt happening, but its rampant, its all over," Figman said.
Two 22-year-old New York City men have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the 2011 beating and stomping death of a teenager perceived to be gay.

Prosecutors say Jonathan Echevarria, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He'll be sentenced to 18 years in prison. Nolis Ogando, of Queens, pleaded guilty Wednesday to gang assault. He'll get eight years in prison.

Messages left with their attorneys weren't immediately returned.

Eighteen-year-old Anthony Collao (kohl-YOW') of Bethpage on Long Island had just left a party with another person when the attackers chased them.

Collao was thrown to the ground and beaten. He died two days later. Police said the suspects made anti-gay slurs and recovered a bloody metal pipe and a piece of fencing.

Four other defendants were previously sentenced to prison.
The IRS says it has raided a New York City car-parts shop and a Long Island mansion in an investigation involving relatives of the late mobster John Gotti.

IRS spokesman Gregory Tranchina and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to discuss details of the case Thursday.

The Old Westbury mansion was once the setting for the short-lived A&E realilty show "Growing Up Gotti." The show starred the Teflon Don's daughter, Victoria Gotti, and her sons John, Carmine and Frank.

The Daily News says the sons run the Queens auto-parts shop that was raided Wednesday, along with the Long Island mansion.

Attorney Scott Leemon said the Gottis had authorized him to decline comment on the investigation.
What to Know A 33-year-old Seaside Heights man is facing charges for allegedly beating a 10-year-old Bichon Frise to death

Prosecutors say the dog died of multiple blunt force trauma injuries

The dog's owner found her dead on the bathroom floor, according to prosecutors

A New Jersey man has been arrested, accused of beating a 10-year-old dog so severely that a neighbor could hear her yelping amid loud banging sounds before the dog was found dead by her owner, police said.

The 10-year-old Bichon Frise named Booshu died Aug. 19, when her owner found her on the floor of her bathroom.

The owner told police that the suspect, 33-year-old Nicholas Piccolino, was alone with the dog in her kitchen, and an upstairs neighbor heard several loud banging sounds and a dog yelping in the kitchen below, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Piccolino told the dog's owner shortly afterward that something was wrong with her dog, according to the prosecutor's office.

Piccolino allegedly claimed that Booshu had soiled herself in her crate and that while he was cleaning her up, he dropped her.

Booshu was taken to Red Bank Animal Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. A necropsy revealed she suffered multiple blunt force injuries to her head and body.

It's not clear where the owner was during the alleged beating of the dog, or what her relationship to the suspect is. The prosecutor's office would only say the dog's owner and the suspect "were known to each other."

After receiving the necropsy report Tuesday, police arrested Piccolino on charges of animal torment resulting in its death.

Piccolino was remanded to Ocean County Jail and bail was set at $35,000. Attorney information for him wasn't immediately available.
Police are investigating after they say a kindergarten student in New Jersey's capital city brought 30 packs of heroin to school.

Police were called to the International Academy of Trenton Charter Schools Belleveue Avenue campus on Monday.

Police tell The Trentonian that a teacher thought the 5-year-old was playing with a candy wrapper when she looked in his lunchbox and found 29 other packets of the drug.

The boy was taken to a hospital, where he tested negative for opiates.

Police are trying to determine where the child got the drugs and no one has been charged. International Academy of Trenton Charter School released a statement on the incident on their Facebook page.

IAT is following the procedures specified by the law and is working closely with local authorities to handle this matter, a spokesperson wrote. IAT is fully committed to providing a safe, healthy environment in which all our students can be engaged, high-achieving learners and positive role models.




What to Know A woman was stabbed repeatedly by a stranger in the lobby of a luxury building in East Harlem housing condos and an asthma center

Sources say the victim is a Department of Health employee

Police are looking for the suspect, who used a sharp object like a screwdriver to attack the victim

A man allegedly stabbed a Department of Health employee with a screwdriver as she was leaving the asthma center in East Harlem where she works Wednesday night, police say.

The victim, 58 years old, was leaving the office at 161 East 110th St. at about 5:30 p.m. when a man holding a sharp object attacked her, sources said. The suspect was arrested Thursday after police received an anonymous tip.

Police said the man used a screwdriver to repeatedly stab the woman in between two sets of lobby doors at the luxury residential building, which houses the asthma center on the ground floor.

The man allegedly said to the woman, "How are you doing, miss?" before stabbing her, according to police.

One witness who didn't want to be named told NBC 4 New York that it appeared that the woman was stabbed as part of a robbery.

The NYPD is searching for a man they say slipped into a doorman building and slashed a woman with a sharp object. Ray Villeda reports.

The woman was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was listed in serious condition with injuries to her leg.

After releasing surveillance video of the suspect, police arrested 31-year-old Ryan Watson on a felony assault charge at his home near First Avenue and East 115th Street in East Harlem Thursday evening.

Sources said Watson has a history of mental illness.

The building where the woman was attacked houses luxury condos above the office on the ground floor. A resident in one of the apartments, who said he recently moved in a few weeks ago, said the block was very quiet and filled with families.

"It's very safe and nice, and so far no issues," said Nick Profita. "That's really sad."

"It's crazy that would happen right in the middle of a lobby that's in a building that's actually very nice," said neighbor Paul Rosa.
The head of a Texas company building the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline told employees Tuesday that it is committed to the project despite strong opposition and a federal order to voluntarily halt construction near an American Indian reservation in North Dakota.

The memo to employees, which was also released to some media outlets, is the first time in months the company has provided significant details of the four-state, 1,172-mile (1886-km) project.

It came the same day as a planned "day of action" in cities around the U.S. and in other countries, including a rally that drew hundreds in Washington to hear Sen. Bernie Sanders and others speak. Authorities also arrested 22 people for interfering with construction on the pipeline about 70 miles (113 km) northwest of the main protest site near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota.

Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren told employee the pipeline is nearly 60 percent complete and that "concerns about the pipeline's impact on the local water supply are unfounded." The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others argue the project will impact drinking water for thousands of tribal members and millions downstream.

"I am confident that as long as the government ultimately decides the fate of the project based on science and engineering, the Dakota Access Pipeline will become operational. ... So we will continue to obey the rules and trust the process," he wrote.

Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II said he and the thousands of others who have gathered at an encampment in southern North Dakota to protest won't budge.

"People are still coming down here and are committed to stopping the project," he said.

The tribe is challenging the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant about 200 permits at water crossings for pipeline, which goes through the Dakotas and Iowa to Illinois. The tribe says the project will disturb sacred sites and impact drinking water. Energy Transfer Partners disputes those claims, saying the pipeline would include safeguards and that workers monitoring the pipeline remotely could close valves within three minutes if a breach is detected.

"We have designed the state-of-the-art Dakota Access pipeline as a safer and more efficient method of transporting crude oil than the alternatives being used today," his memo said.

The tribe's effort to temporarily block construction near its reservation was denied by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Friday. But minutes later, federal officials ordered a temporary halt to construction on Army Corps land around and underneath Lake Oahe  one of six reservoirs on the Missouri River. Three federal agencies also asked ETP for a "voluntary pause" in work for 20 miles (32 km) on either side of Lake Oahe.

ETP removed about 30 pieces of damaged or vandalized construction equipment from the area near the protest site Tuesday, according to Morton County Sheriff's Department spokesman Rob Keller. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it has halted construction in that section or is backing down on its plans to build the pipeline, but has said construction continues elsewhere.

About 70 miles (113 km) northwest of the main protest site in southern North Dakota, protesters "swarmed" construction workers and two people chained themselves to equipment, according to Morton County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donnell Preskey. Twenty people face charges of criminal trespassing, and two who "attached" themselves to equipment also face charges of hindering law enforcement and disorderly conduct, she said.

In Washington, Sanders was joined at the rally by a couple of Standing Rock Sioux members, including a girl who had joined about a dozen people this summer in running a petition signed by 140,000 people from North Dakota to Washington. The speakers encouraged President Barack Obama, who visited the reservation in 2014, to back their cause.

"It is vitally important that we show solidarity with the Native American people of this country," Sanders said. "The second issue of global consequence is that we understand that the future of energy in this country is not more oil, it is not more pipelines, it is not more carbon emissions. It is the transformation of our energy system away from oil, away from pipelines and away from carbon."

Warren's memo noted that because of what it called "misinformation" in the news, the company is working to "communicate with the government and media more clearly in the days to come."

Warren said the company had consulted with more than 55 tribes, including the Standing Rock Sioux, and added that ETP values and respects "cultural diversity and the significant role that Native American culture plays in our nation's history and its future and hope to be able to strengthen our relationship with the Native American communities as we move forward with this project."

Archambault said the consultations were one-sided and that "they met with us after their plans were already made."

Associated Press videographer Bill Gorman contributed to this report.
A sideways scaffolding marked the scene where crews rescued two workers at a Delaware hospital building Thursday morning.

The high-angle rescue took place around 10:45 a.m. at a building on the Christiana Care Health System campus along Ogletown-Stanton Road, said New Castle County dispatchers.

Both workers needed help coming down after the scaffold malfunctioned and are expected to be OK, said Christiana Care spokesperson Hiran Ratnayake.

"... a scaffolding malfunction temporarily caused two workers to be stranded on a scaffold at Christiana Hospital until fire rescue personnel were able to safely help them down from the building," said Ratnayake's statement. "Both workers are safe and did not receive any injuries."

As SkyForce10 hovered overhead a short time after the incident, you could see a scaffolding dangling on its side from the side of the building.

It wasnt clear how high up the workers were when they became stuck, said dispatchers.
A former airman at Dover Air Force Base was given 18 months probation at sentencing Thursday in the death of a 21-month-old boy who was left in his care while his mother was deployed overseas.

Justin Corbett, who was charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 death of Evan Dudley, was convicted in July on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

State guidelines call for a presumptive sentence of zero to two years in prison for criminally negligent homicide, with a maximum sentence of eight years.

Prosecutors, along with the victim's mother, asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

Superior Court Judge Robert Young handed down an eight-year sentence but immediately suspended it for 31 days time served and probation. In sentencing the 28-year-old defendant, Young noted Corbett's lack of a criminal background and his exemplary military record.

Corbett maintained Thursday that the boy accidently fell down a flight of stairs after he left him alone briefly with another child.

"I will bear the burden of this tragic accident for the rest of my days," he told the judge.

Prosecutor Josette Manning dismissed defense arguments that Evan's death was accidental. Manning pointed to medical experts who concluded that the boy suffered "inflicted trauma."

"Good people do bad things, but they still should be punished for what they've done," she said.



Evan's mother, Nicole Dudley, who was within days of returning from a deployment to Qatar when her son was injured, also asked for the maximum sentence. She recounted the pain she has endured and recited a litany of life events she will never be able to share with her son.



Dudley said Corbett not only took her son's life, but destroyed hers as well.

"He took my life away from me," she told the judge. "I will never know what happiness feels like again."

As supporters of both Corbett and Dudley looked on, some in tears, Young noted that no sentence could undo "a terribly tragic event."



"No one can imagine Ms. Dudley's pain," added the judge, who said the jury concluded that the boy's death was neither murder, nor simply a tragic accident.

Dudley expressed her disappointment as she left the courthouse.

"Just because you're in the military doesn't mean that you shouldn't be held accountable for your actions," she said. "I think the jury failed, I think the judge failed and I think justice was not served."
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney addressed the United Nations in New York Wednesday.

Kenney spoke about IMPACT 2030, a global sustainability project.

Kenney also talked about fighting poverty and his desire to establish universal pre-K schools in Philadelphia, which he hopes will catch on elsewhere.

Kenney said he was honored to be standing at a podium where world leaders like various popes and Nelson Mandela have stood.

Our eighth grade class trip was to New York City from South Philadelphia, Kenney said. This building was one of the stops. It was amazingly impressive to me in 1971 and to be here standing in this place speaking to you in that same building as mayor is just kind of overwhelming tom me.




Montgomery County drivers will pay $5 more to register a vehicle after the county commissioners approved a new fee to pay for bridge and road work -- but not before contentious debate by the governing body.

Lone Republican Commissioner Joe Gale railed against not only the increase in the annual vehicle registration from $36 to $41, but also the way he is treated by the two Democrats who control the boards legislative agenda.

Gale accused Democrats Josh Shapiro and Val Arkoosh, the board chair and vice-chair respectively, of setting the monthly boards agenda before letting him know whats on it.

This means the agenda is finalized prior to my briefing and my input is not even being considered, he said in a speech to open the meeting. He went on to accuse the Commissioners chief clerk of total and gross insubordination for ignoring his pleas to be included in setting the agenda.

Shapiro and Arkoosh, who adamantly defended their staff, later pointed out that county staff briefs the commissioners twice a month at info sessions on what will appear on upcoming agendas.

I have worked with staffs of all caliber and types and I will tell you the senior staff here is among the most professional, highly competent group of individuals, Arkoosh said. I have had no trouble getting what I have needed for the last 19, 20 months.

Shapiro and Arkoosh voted to approve the $5 fee while Gale voted against it. Before the final vote, Gale introduced a motion to table the vote until the fee received more public input. But his motion received no second from Arkoosh or Shapiro.

The extra $5 for all 693,000 vehicles registered in Montgomery County will raise an estimated $3.25 million in 2017, county officials said. That money can only be spent by the county on transportation infrastructure, according to the 2013 state law that allowed the fee.

The commissioners said the new money would go toward reconstruction of eight county bridges that have been deemed structurally deficient. Arkoosh said the eight bridges will add to four that the county already scheduled for reconstruction in 2017. The 12 bridges next year would take a bite out of the 63 county bridges in total that are currently structurally deficient.

Several county agencies voiced their support for the $5 fee increase, including the Montgomery County Planning Commission and Montgomery County Transportation Association. Two state representatives, Democrat Tim Briggs and Republican Mike Vereb, also spoke in favor of the fee, noting that it was part of Pennsylvanias transportation funding reform Act 89. They said its purpose was to give counties control over some of their transportation project planning.

When you use county money, you can get through things very quickly, county planning commission staff engineer Matt Edmond told the commissioners.

Arkoosh said the situation facing county bridges is dire.

We cannot wait any longer for state or federal funds, she said.

The four bridges currently scheduled for reconstruction in 2017 are: Moreland Avenue; Mayor Road; Davis Grove; and Lutheran Road.

A county spokeswoman said that, based on preliminary recommendations by county enginners, the potential list of eight bridges that the new $5 fee would fund in 2017 are: Stump Road; Waverly Road; Rostowski Road; Swamp Pike; Mill Creek Pond; Sterigere Street; Plymouth Road; and Camp Wawa Road.

To explore the list of Montgomery Countys structurally deficient bridges, go to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportations link here. To go directly to an Excel spreadsheet of all the bridges, click here.
The three-headed Montgomery County Board of Commissioners could come to verbal blows Thursday at their monthly meeting over a proposal by the two Democrats to increase annual vehicle registration fees by $5.

Lone Republican Joe Gale has fought the proposal for more than a month since the fee was first put on the August meeting agenda. However, the ordinance, which would raise the annual registration from $36 to $41, was pulled from the agenda before the meeting began.

The fee hasn't appeared out of the blue. Its origin comes from the state Legislature's transportation funding plan, Act 89. Montgomery County would be the 12th county in Pennsylvania to enact the fee. All revenue raised by the extra $5 would be required to go directly to county transportation projects.

Gale, who has made the fight against the fee his main cause at the moment, said Monday that for the second straight month, the Democrats gave him less than a day's notice that the ordinance would on the agenda. He said he received the agenda Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the 10 a.m. start Thursday.

He also said the fee will add to the already expensive burden of driving for Montgomery County residents.

"The Democrats already raised county property taxes by 9.87 percent and Pennsylvania already has the highest gas tax in the nation," Gale said Wednesday. "It is time to say, 'Enough is enough.'"

Commissioner Val Arkoosh, who is one of the two Democrats along with Josh Shapiro, told the Times Herald of Norristown two weeks ago that the $3.5 million raised by the new fee would go to much-needed bridge and road repairs.

The staff recommendation was that enacting this fee would bring about $3.5 million in revenue to the county each year, Arkoosh told the paper. That would be a very positive impact on our ability to carry out our most primary responsibility, which it so maintain infrastructure in the county.

The agenda for the meeting can be found here.
A Jersey Shore resident shot and killed his wife then turned the gun on himself, said Atlantic County Prosecutors.

Police responded to a home on North Oxford Avenue in Ventnor at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in response to a call to check the well-being of the residents inside. When they arrived they found a man and woman both dead of single gunshot wounds to the head.

On Friday, police identified the residents as Marianne Wilson-Allen, 59, and Richard Allen, 60. The county medical examiner ruled Wilson-Allen's death a homicide and Allen's a suicide caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

If you have any information on the incident, please call the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666, or the Ventnor City Police Department at 609-822-2101.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
On Wednesday, San Diego's dynamic music duo Strat & Mouse released a new edit of their music video "Turn You On."

Strat & Mouse will be strutting onstage at SoundDiego LIVE at U-31 on Friday (get on the guest list here while you still can), and to help kick off the event, dropped a splashy update of their video, featuring live-show footage taken when the pair toured with Jane's Addiction.

"Let me hear the bass kick and drop/Cause I know it, I know it, I throb," purrs Strat's partner, Mouse, at the start of "Turn You On," clarifying a bit later, "I'm more than just the sound that I hear."

Just the right notes to hit for our Friday event.

Strat & Mouse, featuring Bryan Stratman (formerly of Hyena), will be strutting onstage at SoundDiego LIVE at U-31 on Friday (get on the guest list here while you still can). On Wednesday, San Diego's dynamic music duo Strat & Mouse released a new edit of their music video "Turn You On." Strat & Mouse will be strutting onstage at SoundDiego LIVE at U-31 on Friday (get on the guest list here while you still can), and to help kick off the event, dropped a flashy update of their video, featuring live-show footage taken when the pair toured with Jane's Addiction. "Let me hear the bass kick and drop," purrs Strat's partner, Mouse, at the start of "Turn You on, adding, "Cause I know it, I know it, I throb" -- memorable high notes we'll be kicking off Friday's free party with. "Strat," of course, is the musical mastermind Bryan Stratman, who runs downtown's Capricorn Studios and is one-half of one of our favorite SoundDiego LIVE acts ever, the electronic-infused Hyena, who blew the roof off of Firehouse in Pacific Beach five years back. SoundDiego LIVE emcee-- and 91x on-air personality -- Tim Pyles is looking forward to finally seeing the band live. "Here's your chance to witness the mesmerizing vocals and moves of Mouse with Strat manning the melody machines," Pyles said. Strat & Mouse are sharing a bill with Bang Pow, the electronic-music phoenix from the reggae-band ashes helmed by longtime local-music fixture Tommy Dubbs.Closing out the night will be a house party hosted by San Diego standout DJ Ayla Simone.

"Strat," of course, is the musical mastermind Bryan Stratman, who runs downtown's Capricorn Studios and is one-half of one of our favorite SoundDiego LIVE acts ever, the electronic-infused Hyena, who blew the roof off of Firehouse in Pacific Beach five years back.

SoundDiego LIVE emcee -- and 91x on-air personality -- Tim Pyles is looking forward to finally seeing the band live: "Here's your chance to witness the mesmerizing vocals and moves of Mouse with Strat manning the melody machines."

Strat & Mouse are sharing a bill with Bang Pow, the electronic-music phoenix from the reggae-band ashes helmed by longtime local-music fixture Tommy Dubbs.Closing out the night will be a house party hosted by San Diego standout DJ Ayla Simone.

Get on the guest list NOW for SoundDiego LIVE Friday at U-31
Police were seeking help from the public in the search for an 88-year-old man driving at risk who was last seen leaving his San Diego home Wednesday.

Jack Bird suffers from medical conditions where he is confused easily, making him an "at risk" driver.

By 1 p.m., Bird had been found safe, officials said.
Authorities are asking for the public's continued help in finding an 'armed and dangerous' suspect wanted in connection with two violent sexual assaults, more than a month after the assaults occurred.

Jeremiah Williams, 24, is wanted for two August attacks: the University City sex assault and another assault that happened the day after at a Motel 6, according to San Diego Police Department Capt. Brian Ahearn.

Authorities are asking for the public's continued help in finding the suspect.

Williams is described as being 5-foot, 11-inches and 180 pounds. He has the numbers "210" tattooed on his right wrist and an outline of the State of Texas tattooed on his left forearm. He also has wings tattooed on both upper arms.

Anyone who sees Williams is asked to call 911. Police believe he is still in the San Diego area.

Physical evidence from the scene of the first University City sex assault linked Williams as the suspect, Ahearn said.

The University City sex assault happened on Saturday, Aug. 13 when a woman was attacked at the Venetian Condominiums on Nobel Drive.

The woman had been dropped off outside the complex around 10:30 p.m. and was walking to her apartment when she thought someone was following her.

Before the victim could unlock her door, the man knocked her to the ground and asked her for money at gunpoint. After giving him the money, the woman was dragged into her apartment where police say she was beaten and sexually assaulted.

Three days after that incident, San Diego Police were called to Sharp Memorial Hospital for a report of a separate attack. A 23-year-old woman told police she had been violently sexually assaulted on Sunday, Aug. 14 at a Motel 6 on Alvarado Canyon Road in Mission Valley.

"The suspect, who she had recently met, entered her room choked and sexually assaulted her and then hit her in the head with a hand gun," Ahearn said.

After the interview, sex crimes detectives went to the motel and collected evidence.

During their investigation, detectives found that officers initially responded to the incident at the motel as a report of a man hitting a woman.

Witnesses told police Sunday night they heard the victim yell for help, and the suspect fled on foot.

The Motel 6 manager told NBC 7 that the victim smashed a window in the room and drove off in a car before police arrived at the scene.

In a strange twist, investigators say police officers had the suspect in handcuffs after the second attack but weren't aware of the allegations until days later when the victim came forward.

Authorities located the suspect in a nearby canyon with a hand gun, Ahearn said. Initial statements given to California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers placed Williams at the scene, and he was cited with a misdemeanor gun charge and released.

It was only days later that police linked Williams as the suspect in the motel sex assault.

Physical evidence and victim interviews linked Williams to the Motel 6 sex assault and to the University City sex assault, Ahearn said.

The suspect remains at large; he is considered armed and dangerous. He has a criminal background in California and Texas.
Details of the separation agreement between Superintendent Randy Ward and the County Office of Education came to light Wednesday afternoon.

Ward resigned Tuesday night after calls for his removal and being placed on paid administrative leave in July. A lawsuit alleges Ward took unauthorized pay hikes under a controversial "me too" clause that say every time teachers get a raise, the superintendent and potentially other top district officials do too.

The board agreed in closed-session to pay Ward about $35,000 to resign by Nov. 15 in a 5-0 vote, according to NBC 7 sources familiar with the negotiations.

The board also agreed to pay any legal fees Ward incurs because of pending lawsuits brought against the district and Ward.

There's a caveat though: the legal funds won't cover any criminal defense and Ward agreed to return the money if he is convicted of any criminal charges.

Community members who spoke with NBC 7 on Wednesday say now that Ward is gone, it is time for the district to move on.

"I think that people should be able to move on," said Reverend Shane Harris from the National Action Network. "The board is going to move forward and start selecting a new superintendent and I think the community needs to start moving forward now to focus on education."

Harris was vocal in criticizing the district on transparency over how public funds are spent and one of the county schools' top attorneys, Dan Shinoff.

The lawsuit alleges Ward's extra pay increases amounted to between about $70,000 to $100,000 between about 2008 and last July.

The board released a statement on Tuesday night, which in part, read:

"Dr. Ward and the Board have agreed that it would be in the best interests of all involved to reach an amicable separation at this point in time. We also wish to reiterate that the placement of Dr. Ward on leave was not, nor was it intended to be, any kind of assertion that the allegations of the California Taxpayers Action Network lawsuit have any merit."
The San Diego County District Attorney says an early morning crash on Interstate 15 that killed a grandmother and a toddler is "all under review."

Officials did not file charges against an accused drunken driver arrested for the crash at his scheduled arraignment Wednesday, which was canceled.

A spokeswoman with the DA says the office plans to file charges, but decisions on what those charges may be have not been made.

The accused driver is currently in custody for unrelated cases and is not eligable for bail, according to Barbara Medina with the DA's office. He will remain in custody and an arraignment date will be announced.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials said the deadly crash happened around 1:45 a.m. on Saturday on southbound I-15 at Scripps Poway Parkway, near Mercy Road.

Lina Nebrida, a 64-year-old grandmother, was in her family's Honda with her 35-year-old daughter, her five year old granddaughter and her two-year-old granddaughter Kiera Magat when a silver Cadillac CTS crashed into them, according to authorities.

The driver of the Cadillac -- identified by officials as Grant Stewart Thoren, 31 -- stopped momentarily on the right shoulder of the freeway, but then fled the scene.

CHP officials said that due to the damage from the hit-and-run collision, the Honda became disabled in the traffic lanes.

Moments later, a man driving a red pickup truck, accompanied by a passenger, failed to see the disabled Honda and slammed into the vehicle. That driver remained at the scene.

When emergency crews arrived, the Honda was so mangled they had to extricate the family from inside.

Nebrida and her 2-year-old granddaughter did not survive, CHP said.

The 35-year-old woman the 5-year-old girl, who have not yet been identified, were rushed to local hospitals with major injuries. The girl suffered a concussion and is currently being treated at Rady Children's Hospital. Her mother was hospitalized but has since made progress with her recovery, according to a family spokesman.

The passenger in the red pickup truck was also taken to a local hospital with unspecified minor injuries. Officials said the driver of the truck was not injured.

Investigators launched a search for the driver of the Cadillac who fled the scene. Hours later, CHP officials confirmed Thoren had been arrested at his home in Vista on suspicion of driving under the influence, thanks to a tow truck driver.

Anyone looking to help the family with medical costs can donate to their GoFundMe by clicking here.

The investigation is ongoing.
A United Airlines flight heading to San Diego from Newark, New Jersey was diverted to Denver International Airport in Colorado after "possible security concerns" on Wednesday night.

After it was several hours into the flight, Flight 1243 landed at Denver airport around 9:30 p.m. after someone alerted the flight crew that there was a suspicious device on the plane. The person had heard beeping.

An emergency landing was initiated as a precaution.

The plane was parked in a remote area and passengers were taken to a terminal, where they sat on a bus as FBI agents and Denver police combed the plane.

According to law enforcement officials, nothing was found on the plane. Passengers were able to board the plane again after being re-screened.

Denver police, the lead investigators on the case, said the device turned out not to be dangerous, though they declined to say what it actually was.

The flight then headed to San Diego, landing just after 1 a.m. Thursday.

Passengers on board the flight were relieved it turned out to be nothing, though they said the situation was definitely scary.

"I actually was surprised they didn't land the aircraft sooner because I thought this could be serious," said passenger Phyllis Jones.

"Certainly the word you don't want to hear on a plane is suspicious device," echoed passenger Jim Amos. "And the first thing you think is something dangerous. Thank God it was really nothing, I think, and everything turned out OK."
An Eastlake family contacted NBC 7 Responds after they said a company voided the warranty on their trampoline, citing bad weather in San Diego as one of the reasons behind the decision.

Carol Grady has three active boys but one of them faces a challenge.

There are three things our autistic child loves: trampoline, sand and water, Carol Grady said. It brings him a world of happiness.

Not only does he love it but she says its one of the few things that helps him socialize and exercise each day.

Carol said she was concerned though when she discovered a hole in the safety netting that surrounded the trampoline. The Gradys had purchased the trampoline from Kmart and were offered a two-year warranty plan at the checkout stand. When Carol called after finding the hole, she says things didnt go smoothly.

They initially told me it wasnt covered due to the weather, Carol said. Carol said the representative told her San Diegos winter rains voided the warranty but the fine print of the warranty didnt say anything about rain.

They list tornadoes, hurricanes, high winds, if it had been struck by lightening or had rolled over, Carol explains.

But, Eastlake and San Diego County, rarely experience this type of weather. So, after three months of trying to get the warranty honored, Carol decided to call NBC 7 Responds.

About a week after NBC 7 Responds reached out to Kmart, a representative with the store said instead of replacing the net they would send the Gradys a gift card to buy a brand new trampoline and net.

Kmart also refunded the Gradys money for the first trampoline including taxes and the warranty.

In a statement, a representative from Kmart said, "After learning of this concern, the member services team worked quickly to research the warranty in question. The team has since spoken to the member and resolved the concern to her satisfaction by issuing a full comparable replacement of the trampoline. We value our members' and customers' experiences above all else and are happy to have this matter resolved."
A San Diego woman was found dead, shot seven times, after going out partying with friends in Tijuana last week, officials told NBC 7 San Diego.

The victim, who has been identified as 18-year-old Desteny Memory Hernandez, was found dead last week, according to the Baja California Attorney General's office.

Hernandez was an Imperial Beach resident with a kind and loving heart, her brother, Francisco Hernandez, told NBC San Diego.

Student registration systems show Hernandez was not currently enrolled at Mar Vista High School, despite previous reports.

The details of what happened and what lead to her death were not immediately clear. Her brother said she was out partying at a nightclub with friends on Tijuana's popular Avenida Revolucion on Wednesday, Sept. 7, the night he last heard from her.

He said he immediately knew something was wrong when he didn't hear from Desteny ecause she always stayed in touch with her family.

Text messages that are part of evidence in the case show Hernandez texted friends, saying she had just met some handsome guys and she was going to one of their houses in the El Florido neighborhood of Tijuana, La Frontera newspaper in Tijuana reported.

The Tijuana medical examiner's office received the body Thursday, Sept. 8. Her cause of death was determined to be gunshot wounds to the thorax, abdomen and head, Dr. Cesar Gonzalez Vaca said. She was shot seven times. Officials said there was no signs of sexual assault.

Her body was identified by the family and released to on Tuesday, according to the medical examiner's office.

"Were aware of the case, and we have offered our sincere condolences to the family. Were providing all appropriate assistance and services," the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana said in a statement.

Francisco Hernandez said his sister was a fun-loving, sweet and outgoing 18-year-old senior. He remembered her as someone who always cheered everyone up, and who loved being with her family and friends. Before her body was identified, fliers had been posted on social media asking for her whereabouts.

Mexican homicide investigators are investigating the shooting, though Desteny's brother said his family does not feel comfortable talking with Tijuana police about the killing.
A local school was awarded a $10 million grant on Wednesday to become a super school in San Diego County.

Vista High School was declared one of the 10 winners out of 700 applicants for the XQ Institutes The Super School Project. The goal of the project is to give all students an interactive, hands-on learning experience that they can apply outside of the class room.

"The Super School Project was born out of the conviction and commitment that every child from every background has a right to a quality education that prepares them for a future none of us can easily predict," said Russlynn Ali, Chief Executive Officer of XQ Institute.

The Super School Project was created by Emerson Collective in 2014 as part of President Obamas My Brothers Keeper Initiative. Participating high schools were asked to offer ideas and create models which challenge students to become critical thinkers to solve real world problemsas a form of the next level of high school learning.

The high school was selected after an 11-month application and evaluation process that began in March of this year.

A group of Vista High students created a model for a new learning platform which was submitted to XQ. After students put that platform to use this year, those who struggled in a traditional style of learning in the classroom are already seeing improvement.

"The statistics for the other kids, theyre going to grow tremendously because every student will be able to go through this new model, said student Bella Rivera.

Rivera, a senior at Vista, played a major role in creating the model for the learning platform.

"Instead of just learning about it, we get to do something to make a change, she said.

Although she will not be able to experience the model being implemented at the school, she said she is excited about the opportunities it presents for other students.

"I had no words honestly. I was just shocked, she told NBC 7, speaking of the moment she found out that her school was a winner. So, I'm just really excited to see what that's going to do for Vista High School."

Vista High School Prinicipal Anthony Barela said they are thankful for being chosen as the winner and excited for students to tackle issues outside of the classroom.

"Real world problems such as poverty, quality education and giving them the skill set to be change agents not only within our site, within our city, but worldwide, he said.

The school will receive the $10 million over the next five years to implement the new learning model.
A woman, a man and a juvenile male were shot and injured Wednesday night in Manassas, Virginia, police say.

Manassas City Police said the three people were walking in the area of 9800 Maury Lane when someone shot them from a vehicle. The vehicle quickly left the scene, police said.

Officers were dispatched to the shooting about 7:30 p.m.

All three victims were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Police said the suspects were in two vehicles, a dark gray Mercedes sedan and a dark Honda sedan with loud exhaust. The suspects are described as "several Hispanic males."

Police said the shooting does not appear to be random and the department is working with the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force and the Prince William County-Manassas-Manassas Park Vice Narcotics Task Force.

Police are asking anyone with information to call (703) 257-8000.
A 6-month-old boy is brain dead after he was allegedly found unresponsive at a man's house in Capitol Heights, Maryland, police said.

Lenwood Pearson, 48, picked up the baby, Demetri Hooper, from daycare Tuesday, police said.

Demetri's father was running late to the daycare and asked Pearson, his mother's husband, to get the baby, police said.

When Demetri's father later went to Pearson's home in the 300 block of Zelma Avenue to pick the boy up, he saw the child was unresponsive.

Relatives told News4 Demetri is brain dead and has a fractured skull and broken ribs. He is at Children's National Medical Center.

Police arrested Pearson and charged him with first- and second-degree child abuse.

Stay with News4 and NBCWashington as we continue to update this developing story.
Police have made an arrest in the killing of Deeniquia Dodds, the 22-year-old transgender woman shot in Northeast D.C. this July.

Shareem Hall, 22, was arrested Thursday, Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham announced at a news conference.

"In all likelihood, we believe the motive in this case was robbery," he said.

Dodds, known to loved ones as Dee Dee, was shot just a few blocks from home, on the 200 block of Division Avenue NE, police said.

"Her murder reminds us all of how often the transgender community is targeted for violence in our society," LGBT activist Earline Budd previously said in a statement.

Family members worried about Dodds' safety because she worked as a prostitute, according to Joeann Lewis, who raised her.

Hall, of District Heights, Maryland, was charged with murder while armed. Hate crime charges and an enhanced penalty will be "a serious consideration," Newsham said. Hall did not know Dodds, the interim police chief said.

Newsham thanked the Metropolitan Police Department's homicide unit and witnesses who called in information. Criminals will be held accountable, he said.

"Whenever we lose a life in our city, we take it personally," Newsham said. "We want folks to know that we are going to continue to work to make sure we hold people responsible for this kind of violence on our streets."

Dodds was "a beautiful person," according to Joeann Lewis, who raised her.

"Loved to make you laugh. Loved to make you smile," she previously told News4.

Transgender people face an increased rate of violence, and more transgender people were killed in 2015 -- 21 people -- than in any other year on record, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy organization.

Five other transgender people have been killed in D.C. since August 2002, according to police records.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
Gov. Larry Hogan's daughter is getting married at the governor's mansion this weekend, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The governor and first lady Yumi Hogan's daughter, Julie Kim, will be married on Saturday at Government House, the name of the executive mansion. The groom is Taesoo Kim. They share a last name common among Koreans and Korean Americans.

The governor will walk the bride down the aisle.

Churchill said Hogan is covering the wedding costs. About 150 people are scheduled to attend. On Wednesday, a large tent was being assembled on the front lawn of the residence.

The bride and groom both attended the University of Michigan. They met while traveling abroad in Japan.

It will be the first marriage ceremony at the mansion since then-Gov. Parris Glendening married his deputy chief of staff, Jennifer Crawford, in 2002. That quiet and brief civil ceremony inside the mansion happened months after rumors about their relationship surfaced, following Glendening's separation from his former wife of nearly 25 years.

Hogan will be hearing wedding bells for another member of the family this month. Churchill said the governor will be attending his brother Tim Hogan's wedding in Italy, after the governor's trade mission to Israel this month. Churchill said the governor will be paying the expenses for the private trip to the Florence area.

Hogan is scheduled to return Oct. 2.
The Maryland mother charged with killing her two small children in an "exorcism" has been found not criminally responsible.

Zakieya Avery had faced life in prison, but she will be sent to a mental health institution instead.

She and a housemate were charged with killing Avery's two toddlers and wounding her two older children in January 2014 at their Germantown townhouse. Avery's toddlers were found dead inside the house, and their older brother and sister were seriously injured.

Avery and the housemate, Monifa Sanford, told police they were demon assassins and they were performing exorcisms on the children.

Avery, now 31, entered a guilty plea in court Monday but claimed she was insane at the time of the murders. The judge described the murders as "gruesome and chilling" when accepting the plea.

In court, family and doctors testified that Avery had a long history of mental illness, including hearing voices. The defense submitted video of police questioning Avery right after the murders as proof of her mental illness.

The doctors said Avery was insane at the time of the murders and should not be held criminally responsible.

On Thursday, the judge issued a ruling agreeing with this assessment.

"I conclude Miss Avery's motive was an exorcism to rid her children of demons," Montgomery County Judge Terrence McGann said.

He ordered her committed to Clifton T. Perkins mental hospital for treatment.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said he respects McGann's decision.

"As long as I am state's attorney we will be fighting to make sure that during the time I'm state's attorney she stays locked up," he said.

"We are very happy with the outcome because we do believe that she's where she needs to be," Avery's cousin Kaliha Brooks said. "She definitely needs psychiatric help she didn't belong in a prison."

She said Avery is just beginning to understand what happened.

"She didn't remember any of those things, especially the footage from the police cameras, so it was news to her and all very heavy," Brooks said. "If you were in the courtroom, you know she was breaking down crying along with the rest of us."

Sanford was also found not criminally responsible after she pleaded guilty last January. She was committed to a psychiatric hospital.

Women Told Police They Tried to Drive Demons Out of Children

According to the state's evidence, in the year leading up to the killings, the two women had become increasingly obsessed with demons.

After the attacks, Avery and Sanford told investigators that they believed evil spirits jumped between the bodies of the children and that they needed to perform an exorcism to drive the demons out, Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy has said.

The women were charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Norell Harris, 1, and Zyana Harris, 2, as well as two counts of attempted first-degree murder for stabbing and wounding Avery's 5-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son.

When being questioned by police, the women told investigators that they had tried multiple methods to remove the presence of demons from the children, progressing from attempting to break the neck of the youngest child to strangulation to stabbing.

A neighbor called 911 after seeing a car with an open door and a knife that appeared to have blood on it. The timing of that 911 call likely helped saved the lives of the older children, police have said.

Prosecutors said the women left the bodies of Norell and Zyana Harris on a bed. The older children were found with stab wounds.

Authorities said Sanford had recently moved into the townhouse where Avery had been living with her four children. The women identified themselves to investigators as members of a group known as the "demon assassins."

Avery described herself as the commander and Sanford her sergeant.

Edward Leyden, a lawyer for Sanford, told reporters after a hearing in January 2014 that "everyone who is involved in this case is in deep pain."
Police are investigating a series of assaults in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.

Four assaults were reported between Aug. 3 and Sept. 12, police said.

The most recent assault happened Monday in the 1300 block of 35th Street NW at about 10:40 p.m. According to police, the suspect approached the victim from behind and groped her while exposing himself.

The man the exposed himself to another victim as he ran from the scene.

Similar attacks have been reported in other parts of the popular neighborhood.

On Sept. 5, a man groped a woman in the 1200 block of Potomac Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. Two weeks earlier, a woman told police a man grabbed her near the intersection of 37th and T streets at 10:10 p.m.

On Aug. 3, a man armed with a knife grabbed a woman and tried to sexually assault her.

Police say the crimes could be related.

Anyone with information about these crimes should call police.
What to Know Parents of a 4-year-old boy with special needs say they were told video from a school bus shows their son being molested.

They were told the same thing happened to another child on the bus.

PGCPS confirmed the aide and his supervisor are on administrative leave.

The school bus aide accused of molesting students on a Prince Georges County, Maryland, school bus denied any wrong doing Wednesday.

No I did not, he said when asked if he molested any children.

Child Protective Services told a number of parents at James Ryder Randall Elementary School their special needs pre-kindergartners may have been molested after the aide was allegedly seen doing inappropriate things on bus cam video.

The parents of a 4-year-old boy with special needs said they were told bus cameras caught the abuse and they were shown enough video to identify their son, but they have not seen the alleged abuse.

The parents said they were told the same thing happened to another child on the bus.

The children involved have verbal delays and trouble communicating.

Prince Georges County Police confirmed they are investigating the incident, which was reported to CPS May 24 and to police June 20. The boy reported more information to police in August, according to sources. The boy's father said the incident happened in November.

The aide has not been charged.

PGCPS CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell said he didn't find out until August, when school started.

County Executive Rushern Baker said he told Maxwell he expects him to get a handle on issues surrounding student safety.

My job is to look at him and have these issues dealt with, he said. I have all the confidence he can deal with them, and I want them dealt with.

Prince Georges County Public Schools confirmed the aide and his supervisor are on administrative leave. The driver of the bus is no longer with the school system, a source close to the investigation told News4.

Seven months ago, the community was horrified after learning a former teachers aide was reportedly sexually abusing students at another county school.

The school year began with the Prince Georges County school system losing $6.4 million in federal aid after an investigation revealed alleged abuse within the countys Head Start program.
An inmate in Maryland left a work detail Wednesday and went to a bar 10 minutes away, according to the Frederick County Sheriffs Office.

Andrew Willett, 28, left a Frederick County work release center about 6 a.m. Wednesday with another inmate and went to his job in Frederick, according to the sheriffs office.

A coworker told an investigator he was supposed to drive Willett back to the work release center, but Willett said his mother was going to pick him up and take him back and that she was an authorized driver for him, which she isnt, according to the sheriffs office.

Willett's coworker also told the investigator Willett made many phone calls to a woman throughout the day and it sounded like they were arguing each time.

After Willett failed to return to the work release center by 7 p.m., the Frederick Police Department assisted the sheriffs office in searching for him.

Just after midnight, police found Willett, in the Olde Town Tavern in downtown Frederick. He tried to run but was quickly taken into custody.

Willett faces a charge of escape, the sheriffs office said.
A man accused of stabbing two people blocks away from the U.S. Capitol Building had his probation for a previous domestic violence conviction revoked about a week before the attacks, according to court records.

Jerome Swinson, 39, of southeast Washington, was arrested Tuesday. Police and witnesses said Swinson approached an elderly man who was sitting in a chair at an Exxon station at Pennsylvania Avenue and 4th Street SE and stabbed him in the neck.

Employees of the gas station helped the victim and chased the attacker. One employee followed the attacker in his car while calling police. But as the suspect fled, he encountered another man and stabbed him, police said.

Swinson was on probation after being convicted for a domestic violence incident that happened in 2014, according to court records.

Swinson's probation was declared "terminated/unsuccessful" on Sept. 6 after he failed to show up for eight court-ordered drug tests.

It is unclear if the D.C. probation office, a federal agency, would have to notify D.C. police that Swinson had violated probation.

"My children go to school close by. I mean, it's a tight-knit community over here and just... an unprovoked stabbing - hearing something like that - it's just jarring and shocking," said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Jennifer Samolyk who lives in the area of the stabbings.

Samolyk said she and other residents were frustrated to learn Swinson had is probation revoked.

According to law enforcement sources, Swinson was also stopped a couple of times over the weekend for behaving erratically, but police had no basis to arrest him. Officers would not have had access to the information about his probation, the sources said.
Authorities in New Hampshire are investigating a deadly shooting in Manchester Wednesday evening.

Manchester police say officers responded to Merrimack and Beech streets just before 7 p.m. for a report of shots fired, where they found an injured man who had been shot in the chest.

The man, later identified as 25-year-old Jonathan Vazquez-Ojeda, later died at a hospital.

The New Hampshire attorney general's office said his death has been ruled a homicide after an autopsy.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call Manchester police.
A New Hampshire second grader is rescued during recess after getting stuck in a sinkhole on the playground.

The incident prompted a full rescue response from the fire department in Keene.

Afternoon recess at Fuller Elementary School ended abruptly on Wednesday, and Fire Chief Mark Howard was the first on scene.

"The child was in a hole with one leg up to his hips," Howard said.

He says a teacher was hanging onto the student.

"As soon as I said to her, 'what's underneath,' she agreed and said, 'I don't know that's why I haven't let go of him,'" Chief Howard recalled. "She was afraid he was going to fall into something bigger than it really was."

Firefighters freed the second grader within 10 minutes and he went home with his parents.

"I think his mom was real happy," Howard said.

He says the hollow ground was three to five feet wide, but only about two feet deep, so it turns out the child was never in any real danger.

Still, parents are glad to hear how school and fire officials handled it.

"We're living in a world where things are changing in our environment everyday and it's better to be cautious than not react," said Wanda Lanigan.

Principal Emily Hartshorn says the little boy showed up for school Thursday morning with quite a tale for show and tell.

"He was a trooper about it and he retold the story with quite a flare this morning," she said. "This child is going to remember it for the rest of his life."

School officials tell necn the hole was likely caused by a rotten stump underground. It's now filled in and safe for recess for the 360 kids at Fuller Elementary School.
A former police officer in Maine has changed his plea after being charged with sending sexually explicit material to a person he believed was a teenager.

Former Brunswick Police Officer Garrett Brosnan, 25, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Wednesday after being arrested and initially charged in June.

The investigation began when the family of a 13-year-old Arizona girl reported she had an intense, 5-day online conversation that turned sexual in nature.

Investigators tracked down Brosnan's IP address, and eventually created a fake online account, posing as a 14-year-old girl, and messaged him.

Federal investigators say Brosnan then sent the undercover agents photos of his genitals.

Brosnan faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
A sign in front of Faith Christian Church in Fitchburg that read, Marriage is one man + one woman and you know it was vandalized with the word, Love Tuesday night.

Don Long, the Pastor of the Church, said, "I thought, well, we got a reaction, adding, Who could be against love? But I think the implication of someone spray painting love on our sign was to indicate that we hate."

Pastor Long says his church didnt mean any harm by it; they were simply stating their belief.

"We have a right of free speech. For all of us to be able to say, this is what we believe, is important, said Long.

Pastor Long reported the vandalism to police, but he doesnt plan on pressing any charges. Fitchburg Police Captain Steven Giannini told NECN, "Having a difference of opinion is certainly everyones right. But we wish they would express it in a way than criminal acts such as vandalism."

Long hopes the incident will begin an open conversation. "What I am interested in is to create a dialog in the community where we could say, how can we discuss our differences, said Long.

The discussion has already started.

Fitchburg Resident Evan Cornell expressed, "Marriage is all about love. If you love somebody, it doesnt matter. Guy-guy, girl-girl."

Army Veteran Tanner Rockwell said he fought for our countrys freedom and everyone has a right to voice their opinions. Its about freedom of speech, said Rockwell.

The incident also has people on social media talking. Some are even thinking about protesting in front of the church this weekend. Pastor Long says hell be ready for them. He plans to pass out fliers that explain his beliefs if they show up.

He explained, People want to carry signs or whatever, thats their right, I would trust they would give us the same right."
Police in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, arrested a man after he was caught watching pornography and performing a lewd sexual act at the Bridgewater Public Library.

According to police, officers responded to a call on Wednesday afternoon around 3:30 p.m.

Once officers arrived they observed the suspect, Fred W Higgins, 43, of 50 Ledgewood Circle, Bridgewater, watching pornography on one of the computers.

Officers also observed Higgins performing a sexual act on himself.

There were 15-20 people in that area of the library, including numerous teenage children, during the incident.

A 14-year-old was sitting next to Higgins at the table.

Police arrested Higgins and charged him with lewd and lascivious conduct, accosting and annoying a person of the opposite sex, and disorderly conduct.

Higgins was arraigned at Brockton District Court on Thursday.
A Massachusetts man charged with gunning down a former Army sniper who served in Iraq and Afghanistan is heading to trial.

Opening statements started Thursday in the murder trial of Salem resident Peter Castillo after jury selection wrapped up the day before.

Prosecutors say the 28-year-old Castillo shot veteran Stephen Perez in the back in the early morning hours of April 28, 2012, following an altercation between two groups of people in Boston's Theater District.

Authorities say Castillo fled to the Dominican Republic after the shooting. He was captured in January 2015.

Castillo is being held without bail after pleading not guilty. His attorney has not commented.

Family members have said the 22-year-old Perez, of Revere, was in college and hoping to join a federal law enforcement agency.
A Massachusetts plumber charged in the 1993 murder of a south Boston nightclub owner along with former New England Mafia boss Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme has been denied bail.

The Boston Globe reports U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell ordered 61-year-old Paul Weadick held on Wednesday in Boston federal court.

Cabell wrote in his detention order that the Burlington man would likely flee and "pose a risk of harm to the public" if he was released.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Wyshak argued at a hearing last week that Weadick is a violent man with ties to high-profile mobsters who could aid his escape or intimidate witnesses.

Weadick and Salemme each pleaded not guilty to the murder of 43-year-old Steven DiSarro to prevent him from testifying against Salemme and his son.
A North Attleboro, Massachusetts, police officer has been charged with multiple counts of assault and battery after allegedly attacking two other police officers in an apparent love triangle.

Wednesday, a clerk magistrate ruled that there was probable cause for Police Sergeant David Gould to be arraigned on charges.

The incident happened back in July, after Gould apparently caught his girlfriend, who is a Plainville police officer, kissing another Plainville officer.

A police report shows Gould followed his girlfriend and the man, punched him in the face and allegedly beat his girlfriend later at home.

Gould is now on paid administrative leave.
Criminal cases in Braintree, Massachusetts, dating back years could be thrown out and convictions possibly overturned, following an investigation into thefts from the police department's evidence room.

Braintree officials released the results of an audit on Wednesday about missing drugs, guns and money from the police department's evidence room dating all the way back to 1999.

In the report, auditors found that 4,709 pieces of narcotics evidence was missing, more than 60 guns were unaccounted for, and more than $400,000 in cash seized from criminals was also missing.

The report found that investigators are trying to figure out if much of the unaccounted evidence "should be attributed to the previous evidence officer, Susan Zopatti."

necn learned that Zopatti committed suicide in May, shortly after the investigation into the evidence room began.

Most of the missing guns have been accounted for, but 12 remain missing.

It's unclear how many criminal cases could be impacted by the missing evidence but six drug cases have already been dismissed this week by Massachusetts prosecutors.

Massachusetts has had a string of scandals involving tainted evidence. Thousands of drug cases were dismissed following the discovery in 2011 that former state chemist Annie Dookhan had tampered with drug samples and falsified test results.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office in Maine has apologized for the improper release of booking photographs that showed two Muslim protesters with their hijabs removed.

Sheriff Kevin Joyce said Wednesday that jail officers followed the correct protocol but released the wrong photos to the public after the women were arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland.

Four Muslim women were among the 17 people arrested during the July 15 protest organized by the Portland Racial Justice Congress. But when the group's booking photographs were released, only two were shown wearing hijabs.

A hijab is a traditional head scarf worn by Muslim women when in the presence of adult males outside their families.

Joyce apologized in a statement that said the department was "ill prepared for the types of arrests."
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Kaine both visited New Hampshire Thursday.

Trump's visit to the Granite State came on the same day that the conservative Union Leader chose to endorse Libertarian Gary Johnson for president, the first time in 100 years the newspaper has not endorsed a Republican.

Trump, speaking at Laconia Middle School, however did not address the endorsement and remained on good behavior.

Kaine campaigned in Portsmouth and Exeter on Thursday.

In Portsmouth, he met with leaders for Stay Work Play, a nonprofit group that encourages young workers to stay in the state.

Addressing a Democratic organizing event in Exeter, Kaine referred to Trump's 2015 book "Crippled America," which criticizes the direction of the country under Democratic leadership.

He described Trump as out-of-touch, saying the billionaire businessman's philosophy is "a view out of the penthouse of a tall tower." He continued: "I do not recognize this picture of our country. This is not who we are."

Kaine is also scheduled to attend a private fundraising event in Maine later on Thursday.
Donald Trump Jr. made a reference to "a gas chamber" during a radio interview on Wednesday while accusing the media of being a surrogate for Hillary Clinton.

"The media has been her number one surrogate in this," he said. "Without the media, this wouldn't even be a contest, but the media has built her up. They've let her slide on every in-discrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of the thing.

"If Republicans were doing that, they'd be warming up the gas chamber right now," he continued.

Trump Jr. made his comment during a radio interview with Philadelphia-based talk radio host Chris Stigall on 1210 WPHT.

Leaked emails showed that members of the Democratic National Committee played favorites during the primaries and tried to undermine U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

Trump Jr. said that the American Left was trying to ensure that moderators were unfair to his father during the upcoming presidential debates.

Hillary Clinton's campaign released a response to the remark, calling it an example of the Trump campaign being "insensitive, divisive and reckless."

"Offensive references to the Holocaust are never acceptable, especially from a Presidential campaign," said Sarah Bard, Hillary for America's director of Jewish Outreach.

The Anti-Defamation League, which works to counter anti-Semitism around the world, tweeted that trivilization of the Holocaust and gas chambers "is NEVER okay" and called on Trump Jr. to retract his comment.

.@DonaldJTrumpJr: We hope you understand the sensitivity and hurt of making Holocaust jokes. We hope you retract.https://t.co/jL2ZC9Z8pH  ADL (@ADL) September 15, 2016

The Trump campaign issued a statement in light of the media coverage on Wednesday afternoon, saying Trump Jr. "was clearly referring to capital punishment to make the case that the media continues to take words out of context."
Events kicked off in honor of Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day, which included an opening ceremony and the first lap of a 24-hour run, here, Sept. 15.

The events were held to not only pay homage to those who gave their lives fighting for their country, but to also honor and show remembrance for those who are still missing today.

Our task is to remember the sacrifice of those heroes and to remember those that have families and loved ones who bear that painful burden when their Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine or Coast Guardsman is not there anymore, said Col. Donald Borchelt, 1st Fighter Wing vice commander.

Borchelt ran the first lap with U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret.) Barry Bridger, 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4 Phantom pilot, during the 24-hour POW/MIA run. Bridger was an aircraft commander in 1966 during a flying mission in North Vietnam, when he was shot down, captured and imprisoned for 2,232 days (six years) in North Vietnam.

Airmen and civilians applauded in reaction to seeing the POW run the first lap.

It was awesome! He jumped in there like it was no problem, dress shoes and all, said Master Sgt. Vanessa Reeves, POW/MIA committee chairman. It was a proud feeling when the Airmen saw him out there smiling on the track. You cant help but to feel motivated from that.

The POW/MIA flag must be carried by someone throughout the 24-hour run. It bears the emblem of the national league of POW/MIA families.

The iconic black and white POW symbol reminds us all of our warrior commitment to never leave a fellow countryman behind, Borchelt said. [Whats most important] is that motto of our unwavering commitment  you are not forgotten.

Within the white disc of the POW/MIA flag is a black silhouette of a man, a strand of barbed wire and a guarded watch tower in the background. A black and white wreath wraps below.

The Defense Authorization Act of 1998 requires the POW/MIA flag to be flown six days each year.

It is a legacy of honor, Reeves said. Without service members before us making the sacrifices they made, I wouldnt be able to have some of the freedoms I have today.

The third Friday in September has been observed as POW/MIA Recognition Day since 1986. Since World War I, more than 150,000 Americans have been held as prisoners of war and more than 83,400 service members are still unaccounted for.

My first thoughts when POW/MIA comes to mind are of the survivors and those that did return, Reeves said. I also think of the families of those that are still missing. I cant imagine not having that closure of losing a lost one.

Some of that closure families of the POWs get comes from stories shared by POWs.

Our Air Force and U.S. military is different today than it was during World War II or the Vietnam War, Reeves said. You hear many stories about how difficult it was to fight a war during those times.

Technology is a big difference between wars fought throughout the 20th century compared to contingencies of today, Reeves said.

Today we have social media and Facetime, Reeves said. They didnt have any of that. Imagine having your loved one going off to war, and youre hoping you get that last letter or piece of communication from them.

Having that last piece of communication before families never see their loved ones again is crucial to moving on peacefully, Reeves said.

Closure gives that family [of the POW] comfort of knowing what happened to their loved one during the last moments of their life before giving the ultimate sacrifice, Reeves said. Its like a missing piece of a puzzle.

Bridger will speak about his experiences during his own event at JBLEs base theater today at 2pm.

A closing ceremony will be held tomorrow at Team Langleys memorial Grove Park (across the street from the hospital on Nealy Ave.). In case of inclement weather, the alternate location will be the base theater.

Were hoping that when he shares his story with everybody, he makes that personal connection and answers a few questions that our young Airmen have, Reeves said. Our closing ceremony will be on POW/MIA Recognition Day as we take a pause and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.

The Airmen who volunteered to set up events participated not because they were ordered to, but because they wanted to, Reeves said.

Were looking forward to the upcoming events and were going to hopefully have a few more local POWs make it out to tomorrows closing ceremony, Reeves said. Were giving them a four-ship F-22 fly-by at 1600, which is exciting.

Airmen and civilians will have an opportunity to meet and greet with the POWs after tomorrows closing ceremony.

Im looking forward to seeing how Airmen react during the interactions they have, Reeves said. When you meet the POWs, you realize they are very humble. They dont necessarily want the spotlight, but I like showing them what were doing to honor them and seeing the appreciation on their faces.

(Editors Note: This is part one of a three-part series in honor of Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition Day)


YMCA Norfolk has a ball celebrating 160 years

YMCA Norfolk celebrated its 160th anniversary with 160 people attending an Anniversary Ball at Sprowston Manor Hotel near Norwich on September 9 raising over 14,000 to support its vital work with vulnerable young people.

The Ball was hosted by YMCA Norfolk President General the Lord Dannatt, who spoke about the YMCAs Christian identity and its long history in Norfolk and the need to ensure it is still around in another 160 years time. He also thanked the evenings main sponsors Gleave and Associates for their generosity. Other sponsors were Trinity Wealth Management, Lovell, Hollinger Print and Survival Systems International (UK) Ltd.



During the three-course meal, guests also heard, first-hand, the real-life stories of four young people whom YMCA Norfolk has helped to give a brighter future.



Luke Millman, Aimee Moore, Jason Middleton and Chelsea Hishon spoke from the heart about how YMCA Norfolk had helped them to face up to issues of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health.



Chelsea told guests: The YMCA literally stopped me from attempting to kill myself again, as now I have discovered who I am and what I want to do in life. But I really couldnt have done it without the YMCA as I completely lost my way.



Luke said: Without any of you I would be dead or mentally too far gone to be helped, but because of you guys I have a second chance for a good life and every day Ill remember and thank you.



YMCA Norfolk chief executive, Tim Sweeting, said: The reason we do what we do is because we believe in the potential of every young person. We recognise that every young person doesn't always have a great start in life but it is our privilege and responsibility to help them towards a brighter future.



"By supporting tonight you are helping to support the 243 young people we give a safe home to every night across Norfolk, 365 days a year."



Tim also said that an exhibition exploring YMCA Norfolk's 160-year history was currently on display at the Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell until October 17.



The evening was rounded off with a silent auction and raffle in which two lucky guests successfully bid for a tour of the House of Lords, including lunch with Lord Dannatt, and an opportunity to observe a sitting in the House of Lords.



Other prizes included an overnight stay at Sprowston Manor Hotel, a signed Norwich City shirt and flights from Norwich Airport to Malaga or Alicante courtesy of Norwich Airport and Flybe.



Pictured above is Lord Dannatt (left), Kristian Gleave from Gleave & Associates and Tim Sweeting, at the ball.



For a full Flickr picture gallery by Julia Holland, see link below.






Testing the Moto G4 Play during the past week was pleasant, if not nostalgic.

In a way, the Moto G4 Plays removable battery, microSD card and one-handed, light, sturdy plastic form factor has a retro-design and feel to it. A metal and glass premium exterior is not a reasonable expectation because at $149 it is a budget-priced phone. In the budget category, it is good option.

The removable batteries and microSD cards that were designed out of smartphones a few years ago over consumers objections are nice features. microSD cards have started to reemerge in some phones, offering 128GB of ROM and promising to increase that to 1TB when compatible cards become available. Few phones, though, have a removable battery.

Removable batteries are the most convenient mobile power source. A spare battery fits more conveniently into a pocket or purse than a charger and cable. And unlike power banks, they dont tether the user to an awkward power source module with a USB cable.

Reminiscent of the Nokia 6610

The retro impression of the Moto G4 also comes from its form and carrier-agnostic design. It reminds me of the Nokia 6610 (announced 2002) bar phone, which many people have fond memories of. A photo of the 6610 I posted on Facebook recently received more 100 Likes and affectionate comments of former owners.

When I owned the Nokia 6610, assignments regularly took me to international destinations where prepaid mobile services were more common than contracts and changing carriers was frictionless. I could pop off the back, remove the SIM from the previous country stop, and add the SIM for the carrier at the next stop.

Competition is moving the U.S. market in this direction, forcing carriers to drop phone subsidies and motivating consumers to shop for the best non-contract deals. Carrier-agnostic phones are good for vacation travel, too.

The Moto G4 and Nokia 6610 were both designed to be shoved, worry-free, into a pocket and forgottenunless, of course, it is needed.

Durable design

No worries about dropping the phone or sitting on and bending the metal framelike one does with some more expensive phones. Motorola, maker of the shatterproof Turbo 2 and Moto Z Force, doesnt release drop testing information about the Moto G Play. However, my experiences show the phone is pretty resistant. After dropping the Moto G4 Play accidentally a few times, I purposely dropped it a couple times on the marble floor from chest height without any apparent damage.

Decent power, but graphically intensive games drag

Designers made some trade-offs in designing the Moto G4 Play because, well, no one can build a glass and metal flagship phone with a Snapdragon 820 for $150.

The design decisions produced a good phone for consumers who want to please themselves. They dont have to pay three times the Moto G4 Plays price to make an iPhone-like fashion statement. The typical portfolio of appsFacebook, Gmail, Snapchat, WhatsApp and mobile web searchall run well, imperceptivity different from how they run on more expensive phones.

The Snapdragon 410 at 1.2Ghz that powers the Moto G4, though, doesnt have enough horsepower for real-time graphically intensive realistic games.

Here are the specs:
One stock that might be an intriguing choice for investors right now is Banco de Chile BCH. This is because this security in the Foreign Banking space is seeing solid earnings estimate revision activity, and is in great company from a Zacks Industry Rank perspective.



This is important because, often times, a rising tide will lift all boats in an industry, as there can be broad trends taking place in a segment that are boosting securities across the board. This is arguably taking place in the Foreign Banking space as it currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 57 out of more than 250 industries, suggesting it is well-positioned from this perspective, especially when compared to other segments out there.



Meanwhile, Banco de Chile is actually looking pretty good on its own too. The firm has seen solid earnings estimate revision activity over the past month, suggesting analysts are becoming a bit more bullish on the firms prospects in both the short and long term.

BANCO DE CHILE Price and Consensus



BANCO DE CHILE Price and Consensus | BANCO DE CHILE Quote

In fact, over the past month, current quarter estimates have risen from $1.21 per share to $1.30 per share, while current year estimates have risen from $4.88 per share to $5.11 per share. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which is also a favorable signal. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



So, if you are looking for a decent pick in a strong industry, consider Banco de Chile. Not only is its industry currently in the top third, but it is seeing solid estimate revisions as of late, suggesting it could be a very interesting choice for investors seeking a name in this great industry segment.



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What if one blood test could screen for more than 50 types of cancer?
(Corrects paragraph 7 to show that three marine mammals died within four months in late 2015 and early 2016 instead of three orcas died at SeaWorld's San Antonio park within a six-month span in 2015)

By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 21 (Reuters) - A member of the regulatory commission that controls coastal development in California was fined by the state's ethics watchdog on Thursday for voting on an expansion of SeaWorld's San Diego theme park while his wife owned stock in the company.

Gregory Cox, who is also a longtime member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement Thursday he did not know that his wife had purchased 500 shares of SeaWorld stock in January of 2015 for her personal retirement account, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

"When I discovered the purchase, the stock was sold and the facts were reported," Cox said. "Both my wife and I deeply regret the oversight."

About three months after Cheryl Cox bought the stock for $8,679, SeaWorld filed an application with the California Coastal Commission to expand a facility at which captive orcas, or killer whales, are held and shown to the public.

Cox introduced a motion to support the project with limitations on the number of orcas involved, voting ultimately to support an amended version calling for an end to SeaWorld's orca breeding program. On Thursday, the California Fair Political Practices Commission voted to fine him $3,000.

The SeaWorld shows, which the park has since said it would end along with its orca breeding program, have been controversial for years, with public opposition growing after the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" depicted the captivity and public exhibition of killer whales as inherently cruel.

The criticism intensified after three marine mammals, an orca, a beluga whale and a white-sided dolphin, died at SeaWorld San Antonio within four months in late 2015 and early 2016.

SeaWorld said last month that it would stop breeding killer whales in captivity, bowing to years of pressure from animal rights activists. The company has also said that it will phase out its signature "Shamu" killer whale shows in San Diego with modified presentations of the animals that focused on conservation.

Story continues

Cox told the FPPC he discovered that his wife owned the stock in January while preparing his taxes and his annual disclosure of economic interests as a public official.

He asked her to sell the stock, and reported the conflict to the FPPC, documents show.

But the FPPC said Cox and his wife, a former mayor of the city of Chula Vista who sold her stock for about $9,593, were longtime elected officials who "had a high level of awareness" of conflict of interest laws.

Cox should have known that he had a conflict, the FPPC said.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Overcast with showers at times. High 57F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
We are excited to announce the launch of the very first cohort of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme, on 12 September 2016.

The pioneering, year-long Accelerator programme, the first major programme of DigitalHealth.London, will provide in-depth knowledge of the NHS to a cohort of 32 high potential small and medium digital health businesses (SMEs) as they adopt and refine their innovations  to improve the lives of patients and the efficiency of the NHS and wider healthcare sector.

Among the innovative businesses selected to be part of the first cohort is Sense.ly, a mobile app offering a virtual nurse, which uses artificial intelligence to guide patients through their health query 24/7  directing them to either a 111 clinician, or to schedule a GP appointment, locate clinical services, or get medical information and advice. MumoActive is a diabetes tracking tool, enabling people with type 1 or 2 diabetes to track their key health metrics, including sugars, medicines, insulin and carb intake, to really take ownership of their health, while DrDoctor is an appointment management tool facilitating communication between the hospital and the patient  letting patients choose their appointment times and complete digital assessments to avoid unnecessary extra visits.

A dedicated team of skilled Digital Health (NHS) Navigators will work alongside the SMEs, helping them engage with healthcare experts, to understand and respond to the needs of the market and gain first-hand advice on products in development.

Jenny Thomas, Accelerator Programme Director, said:

Were delighted to welcome our very first Accelerator cohort and look forward to working with them closely over the next year. This is a completely new and innovative programme  the first of its kind in London  that works by engaging with businesses, the NHS and wider healthcare sector, to close the gap between product development and the uptake of new solutions within hospitals and other healthcare settings. We believe that our unique approach has the ability to help businesses engage with the NHS in the most efficient way.

With ever-increasing pressures on health and care services, our ambition is to speed up the adoption of innovations at scale, ensuring that greater numbers of patients benefit from emerging new technology, more rapidly. The companies we will support frequently talk about how complicated it can be to navigate and engage with the NHS, particularly finding the right person to talk to. We believe  and lots of the companies have told us  that the Accelerator has the ability to change this, and we are delighted to be giving our first cohort the chance to work with the NHS in a completely new way.

Professor Keith McNeil, Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS England, said:

Digital innovation has the power to directly enhance patient care, improve the sustainability of our systems and transform the way people access NHS services and manage their own health. We are already seeing the benefits to patients and NHS staff as we harness the potential of smart technology and we are investing hundreds of millions to move faster in realising such benefits across the entire health and social care system.

The 32 companies that make up the 2016  17 Accelerator programme cohort are: 11 Health & Technologies Ltd, Affigo, Breaking Free Online Limited, Circular Wave Limited, Cinapsis, Club Soda Limited, Cupris Health, DefinitiveDX, DrDoctor, Healthlogistics Limited, Helicon Health Limited, Inhealthcare, iPlato Healthcare Ltd, LiveSmart UK Ltd, Lumeon, MedicaliQ, Medopad, Meedoc, MedShr, Molecular Warehouse, mumoActive, myrecovery, Now Healthcare Group, OurPath, Oviva, Perfect Ward, Physitrack, Propeller (part of Selfless), Revere Care, Sense.ly UK, SIME Diagnostics and Written Medicine.

119 excellent companies initially competed for a place on the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme on the very first 2016  17 cohort, and a group of over 60 senior NHS, commercial and technical experts assessed each companys business credibility and the likely benefit their innovations could deliver at a pan-London level.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme launch event, at which the 32 chosen companies will be officially announced, takes place on Monday 12 September 2016 at the Digital Catapult on Euston Road, London. The event is by invitation only.
Hamilton researchers are conducting a ground-breaking new trial looking at fecal transplants to help treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children.

Fecal transplant treatments have been found to be beneficial for adults with IBD, but the pediatric fecal transplant for ulcerative colitis trial - or PediFETCh - is the first such study for children with IBD in Canada, and the first randomized controlled trial of its kind in the world.

Dr. Nikhil Pai, principal investigator for the PediFETCh trial, says the study is particularly significant given that rates of IBD in children in Ontario are among the highest in the world and rising steadily. Dr. Pai is also a pediatric gastroenterologist in the Centre for Child & Youth Digestive Health at McMaster Children's Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Study collaborators include Dr. Christine Lee (Division of Infectious Disease at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton), Dr. Paul Moayyedi (Division of Adult Gastroenterology at McMaster University), and Jelena Popov, research coordinator, with support from the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute at McMaster University.

"One in 150 Canadians have inflammatory bowel disease," says Dr. Pai. "About 30 per cent of people with IBD are diagnosed before the age of 20, and Ontario has one of the highest rates of childhood-onset IBD in the entire world. Over the past five years, IBD has increased most rapidly in children under the age of 10 years old."

Ulcerative colitis (UC) - one of a group of diseases known as inflammatory bowel disease - can have a severe impact on a child's life, leading to stunted growth; debilitating pain; negative effects on the liver, bones, skin and eyes; and the need for surgery and frequent hospitalizations.

Fecal transplants involve the transfer of fecal material from a healthy donor into a patient's gastrointestinal tract through an enema, endoscope, or catheter. In adults, repopulating the gut with healthy bacteria has been shown to treat patients with recurrent infections from a common, hospital-acquired bacteria known as C. difficile. A 2015 McMaster University study of adult IBD patients was the first to show that fecal transplants can improve symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

"The PediFETCh study will help determine - for the first time - whether fecal transplants can be a viable treatment for children with UC who cannot control their disease with their current medications, or who want to avoid moving onto higher doses, different medications, or surgery."

"This is a potentially life-changing treatment option for kids and teens affected by this increasingly common disease."

Patients six to 17 years old who have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis are eligible for recruitment to the PediFETCh study.
Intensive treatment to lower systolic (top number) blood pressure to below 120 would save more than 100,000 lives per year in the United States, according to a study led by Loyola University Chicago researcher Holly Kramer, MD, MPH.

Two thirds of the lives saved would be men and two thirds would be aged 75 or older, according to the study, which was presented at the American Heart Association's Council on Hypertension 2016 Scientific Sessions. Current guidelines recommend keeping systolic blood pressure below 140 mm Hg.

"When the treatment goal was lowered to a maximum of 120 mm HG, there was a huge reduction in mortality," said Dr. Kramer, the study's first author. "Few other medical interventions have such a large effect."

Dr. Kramer is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Department of Medicine of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

To determine whether intensive treatment to lower systolic blood pressure could alter mortality, Dr. Kramer and colleagues applied findings from a multicenter study called SPRINT to the U.S. adult population. (SPRINT stands for Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial.)

Loyola University Medical Center was among the centers that enrolled patients in the SPRINT trial, which included more than 9,350 adults ages 50 and older who had high blood pressure and were at high risk for cardiovascular disease. The SPRINT trial found there was a 27 percent reduction in mortality from all causes when systolic blood pressure was lowered to below 120 mm Hg, compared to the standard care of lowering blood pressure to below 140 mm Hg.

While saving lives, an intensive blood pressure regimen also would cause serious side effects. The study by Dr. Kramer and colleagues estimated that approximately 55,500 more episodes of low blood pressure, 33,300 more episodes of fainting and 44,400 additional electrolyte disorders would occur annually with implementation of intensive systolic blood pressure lowering in U.S. adults who meet SPRINT criteria. Most of these effects would not be expected to have lasting consequences and would be reversible by lowering blood pressure medications, Dr. Kramer said.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems. An estimated 1 in 3 people in the United States has high blood pressure. Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Systolic blood pressure refers to the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. The bottom number, diastolic, refers to the pressure between beats.

In the SPRINT study, patients who were treated to achieve a standard target of less than 140 mm Hg received an average of two different blood pressure medications. The group treated to achieve a target of less than 120 mm Hg received an average of three medications. (The study excluded certain patients, including diabetics and smokers.)

Using data from the National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers determined that more than 18.1 million American adults met the criteria of patients enrolled in the SPRINT trial. Dr. Kramer and colleagues estimated that, among these 18.1 million adults, fully implementing an intensive regimen to lower systolic blood pressure below 120 mm Hg would prevent approximately 107,500 deaths per year.

Source: Loyola University Health System
Thanks to an exciting collaboration between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), medical charity Cobalt and Siemens Healthineers, the pioneering Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) will benefit from an innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research facility, to be known as the ITM Imaging Centre. Cobalt will invest 2m to develop this new facility which will house a state of the art Siemens Skyra 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner and a purpose designed building for the QEHB site.

Institute of Translational Medicine benefits from a new MRI research facility thanks to a collaboration between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Cobalt and Siemens Healthineers

This exciting new venture represents another significant milestone for Cobalt, working in close partnership with QEHB and Siemens Healthineers. This project will fulfil our objective to further increase research capacity, particularly in oncology and neurology, above and beyond the significant contribution we already make from our Imaging Centre in Cheltenham. We are very proud to be involved with the Institute of Translational Medicine states Peter Sharpe, CEO, Cobalt

The MAGNETOM Skyra MRI system from Siemens Healthineers will allow research professionals at QEHB to use a range of different scanning positions and obtain the high image quality required for the studies taking place. Its innovative Tim 4G and Dot technology incorporates an ultra-high coil element density, which helps to deliver the quality images. The wide bore design also ensures that participants taking part in the research are comfortable and compliant, and image quality is not compromised.

Peter Harrison, Managing Director UK at Siemens Healthineers, commented:

As a city with varying clinical requirements, Birmingham is well placed to act as a hub for translational research that can bring real benefits for patients across the UK and Europe. Research into the fields of oncology and neurology is certainly high on the government agenda and the MAGNETOM Skyra MRI system will provide researchers with the excellent images they need to support vital and comprehensive research in these areas. We will be working closely with QEHB and Cobalt to ensure the Skyra MRI is utilised to its full potential, supporting its ambition to become a leading force for imaging research in Europe.

The ITM Imaging Centre is likely to be launched in January 2017. This service will enable a broad range of research for many specialties on the QEHB site; including oncology, neurology, cardiac and liver, utilising the very latest technology, including evaluating techniques not currently commercially available. This new service will be delivered by both Cobalt and QEHB staff.

Paul Brettle, Commissioning Lead for QEHB added:
The Pittcon Short Course Committee is pleased to announce the 2017 Short Course program which runs from March 4  9. PIttcon will be held March 5-9, in Chicago, IL, in the West Hall of McCormick Place.

Courses, offered at beginner and intermediate levels, range from one-half day up to two-days. With more than 100 from which to choose, there are a wide variety of classes covering relevant analytical topics in food science, water/wastewater, environmental, life science, pharmaceutical. Courses for broad-based application and general lab functions include lab management, quality control, technical writing, statistics, data management, and lab safety.

This year, there are more than 40 new courses added to the schedule on topics such as, LC, GC, advanced techniques in HPLC, LIMS, scientific/technical writing, and data analysis, to name a few.

Short Course Chairman Stephanie Wetzel commented:
A large European research consortium headed by the University of Twente (UT) is to receive grants of more than five million euros, predominantly from the EU, to develop a new imaging device for the diagnosis of breast cancer. A prototype of the device will be ready for large scale testing and production in four years. Not only will it provide improved photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging, it will also be able to combine the images generated by both techniques. The expectation is that the new imager will improve and accelerate the diagnosis of breast cancer, and also be applicable for younger women.

Worldwide, every year more than 1.5 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer; half a million women die from the disease. Current techniques for detecting breast cancer - x-ray mammography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - have shortcomings. The most significant disadvantage of these techniques is that they cannot always clearly distinguish a tumour from healthy tissue or a benign abnormality, so that tumours are missed, and often unnecessary - and stressful - biopsies have to be carried out. A large European research consortium, will therefore develop a completely new device for the diagnosis of breast cancer. The proposed device is expected to shorten the time to accurate diagnosis substantially. It will also be suitable for younger women, where x-ray mammography usually does not perform well. The device does not use radiation or contrast media which are potentially harmful, and does not cause any pain to the woman being examined.

The consortium is to receive a grant of 4.35 million euros from the European Union and the rest from the Swiss government, for the development of the device. Project leader Srirang Manohar calls the proposed device, which has been dubbed 'PAMMOTH', a 'dream imager'. "We will be working on this prototype with the best partners in Europe and actively involving doctors and patient associations for their inputs and advice in the design and testing processes."

Combination

PAMMOTH will combine existing photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging techniques, and elevate both to a higher level at the same time. Manohar: "The images from the two systems will be combined together. This will result in simultaneous three-dimensional information about disease specific optical contrast, as well as about the ultrasound properties which provide anatomic information within the breast. Further we wish to do this combined imaging in real time."

The improvement of both systems will, incidentally, not only be useful for the final clinical prototype on which the researchers will be working. Manohar expects the project to lead to various improved subsystems for data acquisition, ultrasound detection and a new powerful laser.

Photoacoustics

Although photoacoustics is a relatively new imaging technique in the medical world, the UT has been conducting research in its application in breast imaging, which is called photoacoustic mammography or PAMmography, for some time now. In PAMmography, the breast is illuminated with laser light. This laser light is converted into ultrasound in regions where higher concentrations of blood are present, such as the areas around malignant tumours. The ultrasound produced travels from the tumour to the surface of the skin, where it can be detected. The partners participating in the PAMMOTH project will improve the technique and introduce various novel functionalities. For example, various colours of laser light will be used to improve visualisation of the tumor, as well as, to yield information about the oxygen saturation of the blood in tumours, which can indicate whether they are malignant or benign.

Ultrasound

The researchers are also hoping to take significant steps in the field of ultrasound. They will develop technology which will yield a three-dimensional image, with the ultrasound waves being generated in an unconventional manner. Contrary to regular ultrasound imaging, hand-held scanners will not be used in this project so as to images from being affected by the operator of the device.

Research consortium

The research consortium will be coordinated by Srirang Manohar from the Biomedical Photonic Imaging group part of the UT research institute MIRA. Besides coordination, the UT will focus on the photoacoustic imaging part, and will conduct research for generating ultrasound for the ultrasound subsystem. PA Imaging, a UT spin-off company, will develop rapid, low-noise electronics for the detectors and will ensure that the various partners' components are integrated into the functioning clinical prototype. At the end of the project, Medical Spectrum Twente (MST) will, together with the University of Twente, conduct a pilot study to test, the performance of the system in imaging the most common breast tumours. Researchers from University College London will work on image reconstruction methods, and will be responsible for the mathematics and calculations required to compute the images. One of the proposed methods, will make possible quantitative image reconstruction. The developed mathematics will be converted into usable and rapid algorithms to enable real-time imaging at the Brno University of Technology. Scientists from the University of Bern will have a role in the analysis of ultrasound images, and will develop specialized breast phantoms from materials having the correct acoustic and photoacoustic properties for testing the system. The French company Imasonic will design highly sensitive multi-element detectors for detecting the ultrasound, the Lithuanian company Ekspla will develop the lasers needed for the system, and the German company TP21 will be responsible for the management of the project, and the requisite internal information infrastructure.

Horizon 2020

The project will be financed by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme which has reserved a total of 80 billion euros for research and innovation between 2014 and 2020. Essential criteria for eligibility for funding by the programme are excellent scientific research, cooperation between different scientific disciplines and with industry, and whether the research addresses large social problems.
New Delhi: The 29 people on board the AN-32 plane that went missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22 have been "presumed dead" and their families informed, Indian Air Force officials said on Thursday.



Officials from both IAF and Navy however said that search for debris of the ill-fated aircraft will continue.



The AN-32, which was going to Port Blair from Chennai, had on board six crew members, 15 personnel from the IAF, army, navy and Coast Guard, and eight civilians who were family members of the personnel.



"The families have been informed, but the search still continues," Indian Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee said.



"Search for the AN-32 is still in progress with ships from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and Geological Survey of India, Samudra Ratnakar and Sagar Nidhi," a Navy official said.



The official the Navy, IAF, and Coast Guard are all making efforts to search for the missing plane.



The aircraft, an upgraded AN-32 belonging to 33 Squadron, took off from Tambaram Air Force Station in Chennai at 8.30 a.m., and was expected to land at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 11.30 a.m., in what officials said was a "routine sortie".


New Delhi: Some unidentified persons allegedly broke into and ransacked the house of a Union Minister but left without stealing any valuable items from there, police said.



The incident was reported on Monday after some men allegedly broke the grill and ransacked the house of Minister of State for Tribal Affairs J S Bhabhor, a senior police officer said.



Initially, the minister's employees had alleged that mobile phone, tablets were missing but later they found them in the house,the officer said.



Although no valuables were missing from the house, a case has been registered and the police is probing the matter.



The CCTV footage from the house and the area are being scrutinised, police said.










Mumbai: A fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in north Mumbai on Thursday, fire brigade sources said.



No casualty was reported, they said.



The fire broke out on the topmost floor of 'Heritage' building in Kandivli area, the sources said.



The fire is confined to the 32nd floor of the building, which has two basements, a ground floor and a podium.



Six tankers and an ambulance have been rushed to the spot, they added. The building has been fully evacuated, but search operation is still on. The cause of fire is not yet known.



Further details are awaited.






New Delhi: Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart suggesting ways to expedite trial in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case in the neighbouring country but is yet to get a response.



Jaishankar wrote the letter on September 6 which was hand-delivered by the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad on September 9, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.



Swarup said that if Pakistan is serious about bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack, it must act on the suggestions as the entire strike was planned from Pakistan, was carried out by Pakistani nationals and all evidence are in Pakistan.







Noting that the trial in Pakistan has not progressed expeditiously although it will be eight years soon since the dastardly attack, Swarup said, "In order to bring the guilty to book, our Foreign Secretary has recently written to his counterpart in Pakistan suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited through cooperation through the legal channel."



He said the step was prompted by the delay in bringing to book the persons in Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai terror attack.



"As you know, the entire attack was planned from Pakistan, was perpetrated by Pakistani nationals, all the evidence are in Pakistan, but eight years have passed and trial is happening at a snail's pace," he said.



Swarup said the country's focus is to check terrorism and the government wants to bring the Mumbai case trial to expeditious conclusion.



"We are prepared to offer suggestions on how it can be done through the proper legal channels," he said.



Asked if India has heard back, he said, "No". On September 9, a former Lashkar operative arrested by Pakistan for his involvement in the 2008 terror attack was acquitted.



Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency said that "no allegation has been proved against" Sufayan Zafar, who was accused of financing Rs 14,800 for the attack and providing Rs 3.98 crore to co-accused Shahid Jameel Riaz prior to the attack.



Zafar was hiding after being declared proclaimed offender in the Mumbai case. He was arrested early last month from his hideout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.



A resident of Gujrawala district of Punjab, approximately 80 km from Lahore, Zafar was among 21 absconding suspects wanted in this high-profile case.



Six suspects -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younus Anjum -- have been lodged in the Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi, since 2009 for abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attacks.



Prime suspect Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, is in hiding after getting bail over a year ago.



166 people, including many foreigners, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by 10 Lashkar terrorists. Nine of the attackers were killed and lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and later hanged in 2012.



(With inputs from PTI)










































































The World Health Organization on Thursday called for strengthening India's disease surveillance network by engaging private healthcare sector more for reliable counts of cases of dengue and chikungunya, which have claimed over 80 lives and affected more than 50,000 people across the country.



Terming engagement with private healthcare sector as "critical", WHO said that even probable dengue cases during outbreaks need to be reported to get more effective estimates while noting that strong surveillance, vector control, early diagnosis and case management and public awareness are key to control these vector-borne diseases.



The World Health Organisation said that in recent years, globalisation of travel and trade, unplanned urbanisation and environmental challenges including climate change has had a "significant" impact on transmission of vector-borne diseases.



"Surveillance for dengue and chikungunya in India presently captures only those patients that are laboratory confirmed at government identified sentinel hospitals, most of these are in the public sector.



"Given that substantial population visits the private sector for seeking health care in India, it is important that information from private hospitals and facilities is captured and well-represented for better understanding and estimation of the national disease burden of these infections," said Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India.



Observing that in addition to lab verified cases, probable cases of dengue, especially during outbreaks need to be reported for a more effective estimate of the numbers, WHO also called for continued investment in enhancing surveillance and laboratory capacities.



According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) under the Health Ministry, dengue has affected 36,110 people across the country and has claimed 70 lives, the maximum 24 in West Bengal and ten each in Odisha and Kerela.



The death toll due to dengue in the national capital on Thursday rose to 18 while the number of cases crossed 1,100. Similarly according to NVBDCP, 14,656 cases of chikungunya have been reported across the country with 9,427 alone in Karnataka. In the national capital, 12 people have reportedly died from Chikungunya.



WHO said that it is also encouraging countries including India to explore judiciously the use of promising new techniques for vector control including using genetically modified mosquitoes.
Geneva/New Delhi: As the Valley unrest neared 70 days, the UN Human Rights chief said that an international probe was "needed crucially" in Kashmir, even as India hit back saying the violence was "choreographed from across the border". India also questioned the reference to Indian and Pakistan-administered areas, stating that the entire Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.



UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, said he had requested India and Pakistan to allow teams from his office to visit both sides of the Line of Control -- "in other words the India-Administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir".



Hussein said they had received reports of "excessive" force used against civilians on the Indian side and also of "conflicting narratives from the two sides" about the unrest, that has seen over 80 deaths so far.



"I believe an independent, impartial and international mission is now needed crucially and that it should be given free and complete access to establish an objective assessment of the claims made by the two sides," Hussein said, adding that while Pakistan has acceded to his request for a visit to its side, "but in tandem with a mission to the Indian side", India had yet to do so.



India, in its reply, said that while it acknowledges the role of the OHCHR for protection of human rights "more would be gained if primacy were accorded to cooperation over confrontation" as the guiding principle.



India sharply rebutted the UN Human Rights chief's reference to India and Pakistan - administered Kashmir. It said the whole State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and "Pakistan remains in illegal occupation of a part of our territory. The two cannot and should not be equated".



"The neutrality of the phrase 'Indian Administered Kashmir' is, therefore, artificial," it said, adding that Jammu and Kashmir has an elected democratic government, but that is not the case on the Pakistani side.



It hit out at Pakistan, saying the current unrest "has been choreographed from across our border since the death of a known terrorist belonging to an internationally proscribed terrorist organization" in July - referring to Hizbul commander Burhan Wani. India said it has shared evidence of terrorists "who came across the border with instructions to target our security forces by mingling with protesting crowds and using human shields".



"Terrorism, I would emphasise, is the most egregious violation of human rights," the statement said.



It said that Jammu and Kashmir has started to move towards normalcy after sustained efforts by both the Central and state governments, "including the exercise of maximum restraint" by security forces, 7,000 of whom have sustained injuries.



In a strong rebuttal of the UN Human Rights chief's request for unconditional access to both sides of the LoC, the statement said "India's robust democratic institutions and processes have sufficient tools for redressal of grievances".



It stressed on constructive dialogue and cooperation as best means for the protection and promotion of human rights, adding "countries often have unique national circumstances, and it is important to invest trust in their efforts".



The statement said that while India has been appreciative of the High Commissioner's efforts at improving efficiency and streamlining OHCHR's work, it remains "concerned at persisting ambiguities in OHCHR governance and administrative arrangements".



"High Commissioner's proposed Change Initiative requires more clarity," it said.



India's curt response comes amid marked escalation by Pakistan at internationalising the Kashmir issue. Relations between the two neighbours has reached a low point.
Washington: When India and the US cooperate, they can do incredibly important things not only for themselves but for the entire world, the White House has said nearly a week after American President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Laos.



"The United States and India have been able to work together on a number of shared priorities. There was a lot of scepticism internationally about whether the Paris climate agreement would be reached if India was not prepared to engage constructively in pursuit of a solution. But to his credit, that is exactly what Prime Minister Modi did. And he did that frequently consulting with President Obama and other world leaders," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday.



"But I think it's a testament to the fact that the world's two largest democracies, when we cooperate, can do incredibly important things, not just for our two countries, but for the planet and the president is proud of the legacy of the US-India relationship that's been established under Prime Minister Modi and President Obama's leadership," Earnest said in response to a question.



Obama and Modi met in Laos last week on the sidelines of the 14th India-Asean Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, their eighth meeting in the last two years.



"I know that the President enjoyed the opportunity that he had to sit down with Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders have cooperated extensively on a range of shared priorities particularly with regard to the climate agreement that was reached in Paris at the end of last year," he said.



"The President has obviously engaged in an effort to encourage other countries around the world to join that agreement before the end of this year. And certainly, Prime Minister Modi is well aware of the significance of this international agreement. I know that he is supportive of the contents of the agreement because of the positive impact it would have on the future of his nation," Earnest said.



Typically, when the President has the opportunity to sit down with Modi, they don't just talk about climate, they also talk about other extensive ties between the US and India, particularly with regard to economy and national security, he noted.
Mumbai: Hansal Mehta has often been at loggerheads with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the director has appealed the film fraternity to come together against censorship.



The 48-year-old Aligarh helmer said people in the industry should stand for each other and not only fight for their own films. "We fight censorship only when it affects our own film. After that fight and a lot of rhetoric nothing changes. Same rules, same board," Mehta tweeted.

The Shahid director called for the need of certification instead of censorship.



"So many associations and bodies of producers, technicians and artistes cannot influence what is imperative - Certification not censorship."

The director, who got involved in a battle with censor board during the release of Aligarh, starring Manoj Bajpayee in lead role, was upset with the chopping of word "homosexual" in the TV premiere of the movie.



"The #Aligarh you saw last night on TV was a film with the word 'homosexual' muted and a few shots cut out for the U/A Certificate. Yes, it was painful..." Mehta posted after the TV telecast.
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday left for Lucknow to meet senior party leaders amid a raging feud between his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh and brother Shivpal.



Mulayam was to leave for the Uttar Pradesh capital on Friday but he decided to leave this morning itself, party sources said.



Party general secretary Ramgopal Yadav said on Thursday that Mulayam will meet Akhilesh to end the standoff.



"Everything will be resolved once netaji (Mulayam) and CM will talk.... He is coming to Lucknow," he said after meeting Akhilesh in Lucknow.



On Wednesday, Mulayam gave a patient hearing to Shivpal for four hours to get his side of the story.



Though both Akhilesh and Shivpal have hardened their stands, the SP chief would ensure that the two make a climbdown so that the party and the government stop suffering due to the feud which came out in open just months before the assembly polls due early 20174, the sources said.



In an open showdown on September 13, the CM stripped his uncle and Cabinet Minister Shivpal of key ministerial portfolios, hours after Mulayam replaced him with Shivpal as the party's state unit chief.
Puducherry: The Puducherry unit of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) on Thursday announced its support to the bandh called by several Tamil outfits, on Friday, to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka in the wake of Cauvery row.



"The BJP will extend its support to the bandh being observed in the Union Territory tomorrow to condemn the against the violence against Tamils in Karnataka," President of the Puducherry unit of BJP V Saminathan in a release said.



"The Congress government in Karnataka is ignoring and dishonouring the Supreme court order to release water to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry," he said.



More than 30 Tamil fringe outfits including Tamizhar Desiya Iyyakkam, Makkal Vazhuvurimai Iyakkam and Tamizhaga Makkal Vazhuvurimai Katchi had announced a 12-hour bandh in Puducherry on September 16 to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka.



Protests by Kannada groups had turned violent on Monday with two persons getting killed in police action, including one in firing, in Bengaluru.



Vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu registration were also torched and damaged even as commercial establishments owned by Tamils were targeted in Karnataka.



In Tamil Nadu, restaurants owned by Kannadigas and vehicles bearing Karnataka registration were attacked by fringe outfits in some places on September 12.
: LALU Prasad Yadav in Patna, and a few hours later, Nitish Kumar in New Delhi re-asserted on Thursday that all was well with the Mahagadbandhan in Bihar, but top sources told CNN-News18 that the grand coalition is now on a shaky wicket and its not just about Mohammed Shahabuddin.Nitish Kumar is furious about recurring statements issued by RJD vice-president and Lalu confidante Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, which he suspects were aimed at denigrating his stature."The chief minister is unhappy with comments challenging his authority from senior RJD ministers, especially leaders like Raghuvansh Prasad Singh," a top JDU leader told CNN-News18 on condition of anonymity.Singh has been taking digs at the Bihar CM ever since the Mahagadbandhan swept the Assembly polls so much so that a JDU spokesman had commented a few months ago that he should either be kept under control or suspended from RJD.On Thursday, Singh while making a larger political point had wondered how an RJD worker can accept Nitish as his leader.A few days ago, Singh had taken another swipe at Nitish saying he was not happy with the coalitions decision to make him the chief minister."Lalu Prasad is our leader and we wanted him to be chief minister. When the grand alliance was formed, then its leaders decided that Nitish Kumar would be their leader. I did not agree with it but obeyed," he had said.The JDU-RJD combine that rules Bihar had come under fire on Sunday after the don-turned-politician and RJD leader Shahabuddin was released on bail after a decade in prison on a battery of charges. Opposition BJP had alleged that the dons release proved its fears that Jungle Raj would return to the state under the Nitish dispensation with Lalu as his main partner.Earlier in the day, speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, Lalu had clarified that Nitish Kumar was very much the leader of the Mahagadbandhan. "BJP wants to create confusion between us. I will sort out all the confusion with Nitish," Lalu said, asserting that the understanding between RJD and JDU were intact.The RJD strongman accused a section of media of blowing up the Shahabuddin issue for "BJP's benefit".In New Delhi, Nitish refused to answer pointed questions by mediapersons on Shahabuddin saying the law will take its own course.Also read: Nitish Kumar is the Leader, No Confusion Between Us: Lalu Yadav
NEW DELHI: The Centre is exploring ways to remove a former top aide of Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on charges of corruption, top sources told CNN-News18.



Chatter Singh, who was raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Manesar land scam case, was Principal Secretary to Hooda when he was the chief minister of Haryana.



Singh was appointed as a member UPSC immediately after his retirement.



The CBI has reportedly found incriminating documents relating to the case, according to the sources. Singh is a retired Haryana cadre IAS officer of the 1980 batch.



Earlier the Modi government had forced AP Singh, former CBI chief, to resign from UPSC after reports of his involvement in the Moin Qureshi case.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the Cabinet that people with questionable credentials cant continue in Constitutional posts.



According to the Constitution, a member or Chairman of UPSC can be removed on ground of misbehaviour which is proved in an inquiry conducted by the Supreme Court after a reference is made by the President to the Supreme Court to conduct such an inquiry.



The Chairman or UPSC member can also be placed under suspension by the President until report of Supreme Court into inquiry of alleged misbehavior is pending.
Lucknow: After two days of hectic political activity, Samajwadi Party leader Shvipal Yadav resigned from the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday evening and submitted his resignation to party chief Mulayam Singh and Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Shivpal Yadavs resignation came on a day when party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed that all is well within the party and the final decision on all party matters rests on him.

Shivpal has resigned from all party posts and also from his cabinet positions in the UP government under his nephew Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Shivpals wife Sarla have also resigned from the post of the Etawah District Co-operative Bank respectively.

However there is no clarity on Shivpals son Aditya Yadav who holds the position of chairman of the UP Pradeshik Cooperative Federation.

According to ETV, Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav have both rejected the resignation of the Shivpal family.

Raj Bhawan has told CNN News18 that no resignation letter has reached the Governor.

Earlier, Mulayam had backed his brother Shivpal Yadav and said he will continue as partys state unit chief.

The SP chief, however, refused to comment when reporters asked him if Shivpal will get his ministerial portfolios back which were taken away by CM Akhilesh Yadav.

After holding a meeting with squabbling family members he sent out a message that all is well in the family and the party.

Mulayams decision is now being seen as a big blow to son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who is reportedly upset with the decision and influence of Amar Singh over his father.

Party national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav clearly said that Mulayam was the final word in the party and everyone would abide by his decisions.

Speaking to Network18, Ramgopal said that the current rift in the party would affect its image. Without naming party MP and Mulayams close confidante Amar Singh, Ramgopal said, Only Netaji (Mulayam) can force Akhilesh to do things, no one else can do that. The party is getting affected by this rift.

Blaming Amar Singh for the feud, Ramgopal said The party workers think that an outsider (Amar Singh) is one of them. Amar Singh never thinks in partys interest. He always thinks about himself. He (Amar) said he is a Mulayamwadi not a Samajwadi. Mulayam Singh should think about the people who are doing bad to the party, and those people have been identified.

Addressing the media Shivpal said that he would not comment on Cabinet portfolios and declared that he will go by Mulayams decision.

Taking dig at his nephew Akhilesh, with whom he has a running battle, Shivpal said, All cannot be like Mulayam Singh Yadav and all cannot be like Akhilesh Yadav. Different people have different capabilities and mindsets.

Commenting on Akhileshs reaction, Shivpal had said that he didnt feel that the Chief Minister will react so swiftly and strongly as he did this time.

In a swift development, Mulayam had on Monday removed Akhilesh from the post of SP state unit chief and appointed his younger brother Shivpal Yadav to that post.

An hour later Akhilesh hit back at them by stripping Shivpal of all cabinet portfolios except wasteland development.

After Mulayams diktat he may not get the portfolios back and Akhilesh may not get SP state unit chief post back till the assembly election due early 2017.

Meanwhile, a small group calling itself the Mulayam Singh fan club held a minor protest against Amar Singh in Mumbai.

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Lucknow: After two days of hectic political activity, Samajwadi Party leader Shvipal Yadav resigned from the Uttar Pradesh government late on Thursday evening and submitted his resignation to party chief Mulayam Singh and Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in what could be seen as more trouble within the first family of the state.



Shivpal Yadav's resignation came on a day when party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed that all is well within the party and the final decision on all party matters rests on him.



Shivpal resigned from all party posts and also from his cabinet positions in the UP government under his nephew and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.



Shivpal's wife Sarla too resigned from the post of the Etawah District Co-operative Bank.



However there is no clarity on Shivpal's son Aditya Yadav who holds the position of chairman of the UP Pradeshik Cooperative Federation.



According to ETV, Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav have both rejected the resignations of the Shivpal family.



Raj Bhawan has told CNN News18 that no resignation letter has reached the Governor.



Sources have told CNN News18 that when Shivpal met Akhilesh in the evening on Thursday he wanted the CM to reinstate his cabinet portfolios which according to him was a decision taken in a hurry.



Shivpal also felt that the message has gone around in the party that he is not important for the party anymore which could have forced him to take this drastic step.



Reacting to development SP Leader Ravidas Mehrotra told CNN News18 that Mulayam Yadav has got 50 yrs of experience and all issues will be resolved soon.



"Tomorrow's SP parliamentary board meeting will resolve the issues. Akhilesh & Shivpal will start working together," Mehrotra said.



Congress leader RPN Singh however slammed the late night development and said that the Yadav family never thought about the welfare of the state and was always busy fighting amongst themselves even as the state's development suffered.



Earlier, Mulayam had backed his brother Shivpal Yadav and said he will continue as party's state unit chief.



The SP chief, however, had refused to comment when reporters asked him if Shivpal will get his ministerial portfolios back which were taken away by CM Akhilesh Yadav.



After holding a meeting with squabbling family members Mulayam had sent out a message that all is well in the family and the party.



Mulayam's decision was being seen as a big blow to son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav who is reportedly upset with the decision and influence of Amar Singh over his father.



Party national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav clearly said that Mulayam was the final word in the party and everyone would abide by his decisions.



Speaking to Network18, Ramgopal had said that the current rift in the party would affect its image.



Without naming party MP and Mulayam's close confidante Amar Singh, Ramgopal said, "Only Netaji (Mulayam) can force Akhilesh to do things, no one else can do that. The party is getting affected by this rift."



Blaming Amar Singh for the feud, Ramgopal had said, "The party workers think that an outsider (Amar Singh) is one of them. Amar Singh never thinks in party's interest. He always thinks about himself. He (Amar) said he is a Mulayamwadi not a Samajwadi. Mulayam Singh should think about the people who are doing bad to the party, and those people have been identified."



Addressing the media Shivpal said that he would not comment on Cabinet portfolios and declared that he will go by Mulayam's decision.



Taking dig at his nephew Akhilesh, with whom he has a running battle, Shivpal had said, "All cannot be like Mulayam Singh Yadav and all cannot be like Akhilesh Yadav. Different people have different capabilities and mindsets."



Commenting on Akhilesh's reaction, Shivpal had said that he didn't feel that the Chief Minister will react so swiftly and strongly as he did this time.



In a swift development, Mulayam had on Monday removed Akhilesh from the post of SP state unit chief and appointed his younger brother Shivpal Yadav to that post.



An hour later Akhilesh hit back at them by stripping Shivpal of all cabinet portfolios except wasteland development.



After Mulayam's diktat he may not get the portfolios back and Akhilesh may not get SP state unit chief post back till the assembly election due early 2017.
Mumbai: With India's telecom space hotting up to competition and just ahead of the largest spectrum auction due from next month, Reliance Communications on 14 September announced yet another pact to consolidate its wireless operations - this time with Aircel.



Officials said in this unique deal, the wireless operations of Reliance Communications will be merged with Aircel and the new entity will be renamed, along new re-branding. The new company could also be saddled with a debt of Rs 28,000 crore, equally divided between the two groups.



But for the promoters of the two groups, the debt will reduce by Rs 20,000 crore or over 40 per cent in the case of Reliance Communications, and Rs 4,000 crore for Maxis upon completion of the transaction, expected in 2017.



The board will have equal representation from the two sides, with 50 per cent shareholding each, said a statement from Reliance Communications.



"We expect this combination to create substantial, long-term value for the shareholders of both Reliance Communications and Maxis (holding arm of Aircel), given the benefits of wide-ranging spectrum portfolio and significant revenue and cost synergies," Chairman Anil Ambani said.



"Since acquiring Aircel in 2006, Maxis has invested in excess of Rs 35,000 crore into Aircel, making this one of the largest foreign investments into India, not only in the telecom industry but across all sectors," the Malaysian company said.



"The magnitude of this investment, and the further equity commitment in support of this deal, are underpinned by Maxis' belief in the long term growth potential of both India and the Indian telecom sector," it added.



In November last year, Reliance Communications had announced the takeover of the telecom business of Indo-Russian venture Sistema Shyam (brand name MTS) in a deal valued at Rs 5,000 crore ($730 million), involving both a stock-swap and payment towards spectrum.



This business also goes to the new entity to be formed with Aircel, which will have an impressive 451 MHz of spectrum pan-India - Aircel's 187.6 MHz, Sistema Shyam's 39.4 MHz and Reliance Communication's 224 MHZ.



This will be the second-largest spectrum holding amongst all operators, said the company, spread over 448 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands. It will enjoy an enhanced business continuity through extended validity of spectrum holdings till 2033-35.



Aircel is India's fifth largest GSM-based mobile service provider with a subscriber base of 65.1 million. Following the merger, officials said, the subscriber base of Sistema Shyam, Aircel and Reliance Communications wireless combo will be over 180 million customers.



Aircel is majority owned by Malaysia's Maxis Communication and Sindya Securities and Investments.



The announcement was made after the closing bell on Indian stock exchanges, where the shares of Reliance Communications ended at Rs 51.05, up Rs 1.35 or 2.72 per cent over the previous close.




Sony India today launched new portable charger CP-SC10 for users of the latest smart phones, tablets and other portable devices. This new charger comes equipped with USB Type-C ports that enable fast charging of Type-C devices, for users who constantly rely on their devices.



Along with the new USB Type-C Portable Charger, Sony has also introduced a USB Type-C AC Adaptor CP-AD3, which can be used to charge up the USB Type-C portable charger or as a standard power adaptor for charging of any USB Type-C devices with a maximum output of 3.0A. Addition to this, Sony has also introduced USB-C-C Cable and USB-C  Micro USB Cable.



The powerbank comes with a battery capacity of 10,000mAh CP-SC10 is able to charge two Type-C portable devices concurrently with its dual USB Type-C ports at a combined output of 6.0A.



The powerbank is manufactured using Sonys Hybrid Gel Technology, the lithium ion polymer battery is able to provide up to 1,000 charges in a lifecycle. This charger is also able to retain 90% of its battery capacity after 1000 charges as claimed by the company.



The CP-SC10 is priced at Rs 5,990 and the CP-AD3 is priced at Rs 2,390. The USB Type-C Portable Charger, CP-SC10 is available in Grey and Gold, while the USB Type-C AC Adaptor CP-AD3 is available in White. These new products will be available across Sony Centers, major electronic stores and E-Commerce portals from 15thSeptember, 2016.


Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is to consult the Hurriyat leaders and legislators of "Azad Jammu and Kashmir" ahead of his speech in the United Nations General Assembly later this month, a media report said on Thursday.



Welcoming the decision, Prime Minister of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider said the gesture would send a "positive message across the Line of Control".



"Prime Minister Sharif will visit Muzaffarabad on Friday before leaving for New York. He will consult the Kashmiri leadership regarding his speech at the UN session," Haider told Dawn News.



Sharif will hold separate meetings with legislators in the region and with a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, AJK chapter.



The prime minister will take the Kashmiri leadership into confidence over the content of his speech to be delivered at the UN General Assembly session.



On Wednesday, the UN rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein called for an independent, impartial and international mission to assess the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where over 80 civilians have died in clashes with security forces since July 9.



Meanwhile, Pakistan, at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in a right of reply, again questioned India's "unabated atrocities" in Kashmir and urged the international community to come to the aid of Kashmiris facing "massive human rights violations".



Pakistan underlined that "India is in a state of denial about the facts on ground" in Jammu and Kashmir.
A House Committee has advanced a bill that would give federal recognition to six Indian tribes in Virginia, bringing them one step closer to the end of a multi-year fight for acknowledgment of their place in the nation's history.

Legislation granting federal recognition of the Amherst County-based Monacan Indian Nation as well as the Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock and the Nansemond tribes can now go to a full vote in the House and Senate, where it has stalled in the past.

The House Natural Resources Committee voted 23 to 13 last week to recognize the Virginia tribes as part of a on a package of bills that, if successful, would give Congress the ultimate authority to recognize tribes. The executive branch currently holds that authority.

There are currently more than 500 federally recognized Indian tribes but many had to navigate an expensive and time-consuming administrative process through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Federal recognition confers certain benefits on tribes; they become eligible for housing, education and health-care funding. Indian tribes need to meet several criteria that rely on historical documentation.

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., a sponsor of the House bill, said he wants Congress to decide whether to recognize tribes because it would carry the force of law.

His goal is to protect the identity of tribes whose ancestors played a critical role in the nation's history, he said. Virginia tribes made it possible for the first permanent English settlement in America to succeed when others failed, he said.

One reason the tribes have not been formally recognized by the federal government is because they made peace with England before the country was established and never signed formal treaties with the U.S. government, according to Wittman.

"These tribes shouldn't be denied federal recognition because of one-size-fits-all requirements that fail to account for circumstances beyond their control," he said. "Federal recognition isn't just a tribe priority, it's a Virginia priority, and I will keep fighting until the federal government rights this wrong."

Wittman, who is running for governor, noted Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D, and past governors of both parties have supported federal recognition legislation. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have also pushed for Senate passage.

To receive federal recognition, Indian tribes need to meet several criteria that rely on historical documentation. Although the six Virginia tribes are officially recognized by the commonwealth, they have faced roadblocks to federal recognition because of gaps in official records.

In the hope of winning political support, the six tribes gave up the right to open casinos or other gambling ventures.

Last year the tiny Pamunkey tribe east of Richmond, which claims Pocahontas as an ancestor, became the first tribe in Virginia to win federal recognition.
Pacific Lifes expansion into Lynchburg is on schedule.

The company, projected to add 300 jobs to the region, has hired 79 people so far and is on track to employ 120 by the end of the year.

Were tracking to our project schedule to be ready to do business by the end of this year, said Michael Shadler, the companys vice president of Lynchburg operations. Weve got an extremely positive response in the community.

The company will continue to hire in phases, reaching full employment of 300 people by early 2018.

Pacific Life is hiring for positions including customer-service representatives, information technology professionals, administrative assistants and insurance underwriters. The average salary for employees is about $51,000 per year, according to Shadler.

In June, Pacific Life completed its purchase of Genworth Financials downtown Lynchburg building and its new term life insurance business.

While Pacific Life is investing $4 million dollars into the expansion, it also received $500,000 in grant money from the Commonwealths Opportunity Fund, a state business-incentives program.

The company also has received federal funding through the On the Job Training Program. Facilitated through the Region 2000 Workforce Development Center, the program provides money for workers who have been affected by layoffs in the region and have been out of the workforce.

If an employee qualifies for the program, Pacific Life receives anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000 per person to provide job training. According to Ben Bowman, Region 2000 workforce development director, the program has budgeted about $100,000 to help train employees.

Genworth just laid off 200 people, but Pacific Life coming in lets us make lemonade out of lemons, Bowman said, referring to Henrico County-based Genworth Financials February round of Virginia layoffs that included 200 job cuts in Lynchburg. Its a blessing for the community that we have this kind of a quick turnaround making some good things happen.

The company also has begun community involvement initiatives, such as sponsoring the Get Downtown festival and becoming a part of the annual United Way of Central Virginia campaign, which encourages employees to give donations to the charity.

Were not only located downtown, but were giving back to the community as well, Shadler said.

Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Life has been selling insurance since 1868 and specializes in annuities, investment products and mutual funds but is expanding into the mass market insurance business.

The company is ranked first in indexed universal life insurance sales and seventh in total life insurance sales, according to the 2015 Confidential Annual Sales Survey of Participating Companies. It is ranked 387th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. companies.
A rare Confederate naval sword left at a Goodwill donation site is going on the auction block and could bring the Salem installation of the nonprofit thousands of dollars.

Farmer Auctions in Salem is offering the sword, with an estimated value of $8,000 to $12,000, during its simultaneous online and live auction Thursday. As of Wednesday afternoon, four absentee bids online had already pushed the price to $7,000.

A news release from Goodwill of the Valleys said the sword was found in donations of goods, which the nonprofit processes and sells in its retail stores to fund its job training and employment programs, as well as its ex-offender re-entry program, which is funded solely by retail sales. The sword came in with goods donated in Franklin County.

Because it would be unsafe to put the sword on display in a store, it was sent to Goodwills eCommerce division, where the manager recognized it as something rare.

When I saw it, I questioned if we might have something unique, said April Dalton in the news release.

An appraiser at Farmer Auctions identified it as a sword made by Robert Mole and Sons of England and imported to the U.S. by Charleston, S.C.-based Courtney & Tennent.

We only know of around 20 in existence, said Jarrod Hines, the auction house owner. The last known sale of one, which was in immaculate condition, Hines said, drew $40,000.

Hines said the weapon was for dress purposes, and would have been a special purchase by an officer, not something issued by the Confederate Navy.

It was a very special sword, he said.

Confederate swords in general are rare, Hines said, because the South was less industrialized and ill-equipped to produce them. So they depended on imports.

Mindful that plenty of fakes find their way to auction blocks, Hines said his appraisers are convinced that the sword is authentic.

With a blade more than 30 inches etched with anchors, flags and crossed cannons, it features an ornate pommel and grip with a fish motif. The blade has some pitting in the metal. The swords total length is 40 inches.

It arrived in its scabbard, though the scabbard was damaged. One brass element of the scabbard is detached, and another spot was repaired with duct tape.

With all that, Hines said, early bidding indicates the sword will draw a good price.

Confederate swords of this nature are hard to come by, he said.

The auction begins at 3 p.m. Thursday and the sword, lot No. 311, is expected to come up for bid at about 6:30 p.m.
Two new sets of data released this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Education Trust illustrate a promising trend in health care costs and outcomes in Virginia.

Kaiser and the Health Research and Education Trust released the results of a survey Wednesday that found that nationally, the average premiums for families with employer-sponsored health plans grew 3.4 percent in 2016.

The findings were consistent with a trend of lower-than-usual average increases in premiums since 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was enacted. In the 2000s, premiums rose sometimes by as much as 9.5 percent on average, according to a Department of Health and Human Services  HHS  press release.

In Virginia, premiums for employer-sponsored health plans grew an average of 4.8 percent per year from 2010 to 2015, compared with 7.6 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Since the Affordable Care Act was passed, weve experienced five of the slowest growth periods reported since Kaiser started doing its survey, said Aviva Aron-Dine, a senior counselor with HHS, during a news conference Wednesday to discuss the reports.

Kaiser is a nonprofit organization that frequently releases analysis on national health issues. The Health Research and Education Trust is a health care research and education nonprofit group. The two groups conduct their survey on premiums for employer-sponsored health plans annually.

Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a report Tuesday showing that hospital re-admissions for Virginia Medicare beneficiaries dropped 6.3 percent from 2010 to 2015. That means that Virginia Medicare beneficiaries avoided 2,302 re-admissions just in 2015, compared to if re-admissions had stayed constant at 2010 rates, the HHS news release states.

The reports come in the midst of new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau that found that the national uninsured rate has dropped since the Affordable Care Acts implementation, including in Virginia, where the number of uninsured residents fell from 10.9 percent in 2014 to 9.1 percent in 2015.

While premiums for the employer-sponsored plans are growing at a slower rate, premiums on the Affordable Care Acts public exchanges have been increasing, with an average rise of 14 percent expected next year for Virginia consumers.

Aron-Dine attributed that to the exchanges age, and said insurers are still adjusting their premium rates to meet the needs of the population that uses the exchange. For example, she said, insurers can no longer take pre-existing conditions into consideration when charging premiums, so they have been adjusting their prices accordingly.

She called 2016 a transition year for the exchanges.

I am confident that as the marketplace emerges from that transition year, it will emerge strong, she said.
Rum industry experiencing a global renaissance

exporTT stands ready to provide information on market intelligence, facilitate trade missions and a range of other services that can help build export capacity.

Gopee-Scoon made the statement after noting that according to the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA), over 60 percent of the regions rum production is exported, which is approximately US$550 million annually. This industry is therefore a significant earner of foreign exchange and we would like to see these figures go up.

The minister was speaking on Monday evening during the opening ceremony of a Technical Workshop hosted by WIRSPA and Angostura Holdings Limited (Angostura) at the CL Financial booth, Queens Park Oval, St Clair, Port-of-Spain.

WIRSPA members from Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana. Jamaica St Lucia, Suriname and of course TT, spent this week (September 12 to 15, 2016) in workshops at the Angostura distillery in Laventille.

There, staff from Angosturas own quality department will provide practical demonstrations and presentations on how to improve quality assurance in distilleries.

Gopee-Scoon noted that, According to the International Wine and Spirits Record (UK), following a 15-year period of exponential growth, global rum sales, by value, are expected to continue rising given the propensity towards higher-value rum products.

Conditions such as an increasing trend towards premium and super premium rums, increased popularity of cocktails among younger generations and a growing preference for spiced or flavoured rums augur well for this industry in both mature and also in emerging markets.

The Trade Minister added that Caribbean territories have come to recognise the imperative of pursuing sustainable economic growth to achieve their social and economic development initiatives.

In Trinidad and Tobago (TT), emphasis is on the diversification of the non-energy sector. In neighbouring CARICOM countries, generally the focus has tended towards a few agricultural products and tourism. Consequently, when faced with exogenous shocks in these areas, all spheres of society are challenged to ramp up initiatives that will widen our countries economic bases, Gopee-Scoon stated.

Looking at the broader manufacturing sector in TT, the Trade Minister announced that Government is in talks with the relevant authorities to implement a US Dollar Credit Line for the sole use of manufacturers.

Government is aware of some of the challenges facing the manufacturing sector as they pertain to shortages of skilled labour, obtaining foreign exchange and regulatory issues, among others. I want to assure you that we are working assiduously on short, medium and long-term measures to address all of these.

To this end, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is engaged in exploratory discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to implement a US Dollar Credit line that will be reserved for local manufacturers only. These may be small steps but they reflect the Governments undertaking to support the business community, Gopee- Scoon stated.

The Minister acknowledged WIRSPAs on-going efforts to get redress for what it argues are unfair have rum subsidies in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

The Caribbean rum industrys strength is well recognised as demonstrated by your engagement with pertinent authorities on rum subsidies in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and the willingness to take this issue to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

I too feel that I am better poised to represent you at COTED (the Council for Trade and Economic Development) meetings when these discussions come up. This industry is well organised, steeped in capacity building initiatives and an aggressive defender of fair-trade practices. This is applauded, Gopee-Scoon declared, much to the appreciation of the WIRSPA members present on Monday evening.

Angostura Chairman, Dr Rolph Balgobin, spoke of rums special importance to the Caribbean, reminding that having been produced in the region for centuries, rum is now recognised as one of the last remaining high added-value sectors in the region. A sector that provides employment for 10,000 people and indirectly supports the livelihood of many more  in fact, WIRSPA has estimated the number at 100,000 persons, Balgobin stated.

Today we see the industry experiencing a global renaissance, rum is now a global drink, and we remain the centre of the rum production world. It is part of the image of the Caribbean and is intimately linked to the tourism product of CARIFORUM countries. And yet, Balgobin lamented, of the 60 percent of rum exports, most of the revenue earned is from bulk rum, not branded Caribbean rum.

The Angostura chairman pointed out that the dilemma WIRSPA continues to face is the fact that the real value lies in the branded rum business - of the 28.8 million litres of global imported rum volumes (IWSR 2014), 42 percent is sold by four players: 21 percent is sold by Bacardi, 14 percent by Captain Morgan (Diageo), four percent by Barcelo and three percent by Appleton.

Of these, the significant shares of the top two appear to be supported, at least in part, from the Rum Cover- Over tax subsidy, which is paid by the US government to overseas territories.

Balgobin made it clear however that while we would take issue with terms of engagement which appear so manifestly unfair, we have not rested on our laurels.

WIRSPA has worked hard on the ACR (Authentic Caribbean Rum) Marquee program, and has provided a framework and vision of where to take the Caribbean rum industry, beyond the lifetime of EU trade preference. We thank them for it and we re-affirm our support for it. Weve even changed our labels to include the mark.

Balgobin also said that as part of its commitment, Angostura will continue the move from Bulk to Branded business, so that it can avoid the historical mistake of exporting commodities or near commodities for low margins.
DADDY UPSTAIRS

This, according to Rehana Singh, was how her teenaged daughter Shivani Persad reacted when told that her (Shivani) father Vishnu Persad, had been shot and killed on the weekend. Fourteen-yearold Shivani, who went missing last week Wednesday, rushed into her Rio Claro home on Tuesday night, shortly after being rescued by police, looking for her father.

She burst into tears on being told that he was dead. In disbelief, the youngster insisted her father was not dead but in a room upstairs.

As she hugged her daughter tightly, Singh yesterday said her daughter was left traumatised by her fathers murder and may be in need of counselling. Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Vishnu Persad, 36, was shot and killed at the familys Mahabalsingh Trace, Navet Village, Rio Claro home, while his daughter was still missing.

Saying she does not know how her daughter will cope when they gather today to bid Persad a final farewell at his funeral, Singh said she feels hurt that her child is going through such stress and trauma but is relieved that she (Shivani) is alive and safe.

She said that although Shivani had heard on the news - while she was still being kept unlawfully by a man - that her father had been murdered, she did not believe the news. Last week Wednesday, Shivani left home to attend classes at the Rio Claro East Secondary School, but never returned home.

She was found and rescued by police on Tuesday evening while in the company of a 25-year-old man at a mall in Chaguanas.

Both the teen and the man were taken to the Rio Claro Police Station.

Prior to her disappearance last week Wednesday, Singh said, both she and Vishnu had confronted the 25-year-old man about his interest in their daughter. When Shivani went missing, Singh told Newsday, she and Vishnu wondered if the 25-year-old man had abducted their daughter. When they went in search of the man, he could not be found.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, Vishnu returned home after searching for his daughter when he shot and killed. Shivani and her father were very close and I know that she is really hurting. She is silent but hurting. This is going to be very hard for her to deal with. It is hard for me as I have lost my husband.

He was murdered and I know his death has something to do with the disappearance of my daughter...

nothing else is adding up. I am sure this man who police held, knows something, Singh said.

Police reported that shortly after Persad returned home after searching for his daughter, gunshots were heard and he was found by relatives dead on the floor near a doorway in the house. There is so much to deal with right now. I am happy my daughter is safe and back home because I was fearing the worst, especially as I kept hearing talk of a murder/suicide being committed. I prayed and begged God not to let this talk be true. So I was so overjoyed when I got the telephone call from police yesterday (Tuesday) that Shivani had been found alive and nothing happened to her, Singh said.

During the interview yesterday, Shivani stood at her mothers side but said nothing. I know my daughter may be in need counselling, because she is still in a state of shock and disbelief. I still cant believe all of this is happening, Singh said. Struggling to hold back tears, the mother said she and her husband were very strict about raising their three children.

When this young man approached us about wanting to start a relationship with Shivani, I was upset because I want my children to focus on their education so they could have as best a future as possible, she said. Singh said the man took advantage of a childs naive mind.

Shivani is a child...my child and he took advantage of her. As mothers we have to be more careful about such men who prey on young innocent children. I know Shivani would break down when she sees the body of her father at the funeral tomorrow (today) because in her mind, somehow she believes he is still alive. Persad will be laid to rest following a funeral service at the family home today. During the period of her disappearance, the teenagers surname on her Facebook profile was changed to the surname of the 25-year-old man. Police officers of the Rio Claro Police Station are continuing investigations.
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(Newser)  Rangers in South Africa's biggest wildlife park are killing about 350 hippos and buffalos in an attempt to relieve the impact of a severe drought, the AP reports. The national parks service says the numbers of hippos and buffalos in Kruger National Park, about 7,500 and 47,000 respectively, are at their highest level ever. Meat from the killed animals is being supplied to poor communities on the park's perimeter.

Parks service spokesperson Ike Phaahla says the two species consume large amounts of vegetation and that many of the animals are expected to die anyway because of the drought. The southern Africa drought has been called the worst in 35 years. A drought in the early 1990s reduced Kruger's buffalo population by more than half to about 14,000, but the population rebounded. (Read more South Africa stories.)
(Newser)  Police have arrested a suspect in the fire that left a 100-square-foot hole in the roof of a Florida mosque occasionally attended by Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, WKMG reports. According to Reuters, 32-year-old Joseph Schreiber is believed to be behind Sunday's arson at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce. Scrhreiber was caught based on tips and surveillance video, the Palm Beach Post reports. The arson charge against Schreiber carries a hate-crime enhancement.

Schreiber has been arrested at least 11 times since 2003 and spent time in prison in 2008 and 2010 for theft. As a "prison release re-offender," he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years. He could get life in prison if convicted as a "habitual felony offender." Police say Schreiber made anti-Islamic posts to social media. The Post quotes one such post, which reads: "ALL ISLAM...should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMINALS and all hoo participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM." No one was injured in the arson, and it's unclear if the mosque was targeted because Mateen went there. (Read more arson stories.)
(Newser)  The final insult was a rape joke. When her male colleagues joked in July about an intruder coming to rape everybody, a woman engineer at Apple decided enough was enough: She took her complaints about a "toxic" office atmosphere to CEO Tim Cook. "I do not feel safe at a company that tolerates individuals who make rape jokes," she wrote to Cook in an email obtained by Mic. In more than 50 pages of emails leaked to Mic, the unidentified engineer was among a dozen current and former employees at the tech giant who complained of a sexist culture rife with offensive comments, fear of retaliation if they protested, and a glass ceiling that kept them out of leadership positions. An employee said several colleagues who quit without exit interviews cited a "white, male, Christian, misogynist, sexist environment."

One ex-employee emailed a "plea to help" to Apple's Business Conduct contact after a meeting in which her male colleaguesshe was the only woman presentstarted ragging on their wives and girlfriends. Even a man wrote that he was repeatedly "referred to as an emotional man that resembled having the qualities of a woman" and asked if "I was on my 'Man Period.'" Apple wouldn't comment on the allegations, citing employee privacy, but told USA Today in a statement that it "is committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect." The paper notes that like other tech companies, Apple has a significant gender gap; nearly seven out of 10 workers are men. Apple has touted its progress in hiring more women, saying last month that 37% of new hires in the last year were women. (One writer thinks women should just ditch Silicon Valley.)
(Newser)  Donald Trump is in charge at Trump Tower but the Rev. Faith Green Timmons is the boss at Flint's Bethel United Methodist Church, the candidate discovered Wednesday. The pastor walked onto the stage and interrupted Trump mid-speech after he started attacking Hillary Clinton's record on the economy and foreign policy, Politico reports. "Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint," she said. "Not to give a political speech." "Oh, OK, that's good," Trump replied, per the Detroit News. "Then I'm going back on Flint," he said, switching over to talk about the Michigan city's water crisis.

After the pastor's interruption, others in the crowd of 60 or so heckled Trump, including a woman who accused him of discriminating against black tenants, until Timmons asked them to "respect him" as a guest of the church. The AP reports that Trump, who spent 15 minutes touring a water plant before speaking at the black church, ended up finishing his speech abruptly after around six minutes. During his remarks, he addressed the news that Ford is moving small-car production from Michigan to Mexico. "It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico," he said. "Now the cars are made in Mexico, and you can't drink the water in Flint. That's not good." (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
(Newser)  The Syrian civil war has been going on for years, and celebrities are finally now getting involved. A number of them, including George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, and Zoe Saldana, have signed an open letter to the Nobel Peace Prize committee urging that this year's prize go to the Syria Civil Defense group, also known as the White Helmets. The volunteer rescue workers go to the scenes of airstrikes to render aid; they say they have pulled some 60,000 people from the rubblealive. The New York Times wonders why it's taken celebrities so long to get involved in the conflict, and determines it probably has something to do with the "complicated nature of the conflict."

To that point, there are dozens of rebel groups involved in the conflict, some of which are linked to terrorist groups; the conflict has also been blamed for helping lead to the rise of ISIS. But one writer notes that there's no doubt the White Helmets are among the good guys, so that makes it easy for celebrities to get behind them. One Syrian asylum seeker who works with the campaign to get the US to act against the Assad regime notes that the celebrities could bring quite a bit of attention to the work of the White Helmets. "I have more faith in the devil than in politicians," he says. "But movie stars and celebrities dont have elections to win, so they can say whatever they want or whatever they believe is right." (Read more Syria stories.)
(Newser)  A former Filipino militiaman testified before the country's Senate on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead. Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings and acknowledged he himself carried out about 50 of the abductions and deadly assaults, including a suspected kidnapper they fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao del Sur province, the AP reports.

The Senate committee inquiry was being led by Sen. Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead since he took office in June. "Our job was to kill criminals like drug pushers, rapists, snatchers," Matobato testified, adding some of the targets were not criminals but opponents of Duterte and one of his sons in Davao City. Matobato said he backed away from the killings after feeling guilty and entered a witness protection program. He says he left the program when Duterte became president, fearing he would be killed. (Duterte says he wants US forces to leave and says Filipino forces won't join the US in patrols of the South China Sea.)
(Newser)  Ford Motor Co. says it's moving all of its US small-car production to Mexico. Ford CEO Mark Fields confirmed the long-expected move Wednesday during an event for investors and Wall Street analysts, the AP reports. Ford already makes its Fiesta subcompact in Mexico, but its Focus and C-MAX small cars are made in suburban Detroit. Making them in Mexico would boost company profits because of low wages there. The company is building a new $1.6 billion assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and will make small cars there starting in 2018. "Over the next two to three years, we will have migrated all of our small-car production to Mexico and out of the United States," Fields told investors.

Donald Trumpwho has threatened to slap a 35% tariff on cars from Mexicoslammed the Ford move while campaigning in Flint on Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press reports. "We shouldn't allow it to happen," he said, warning that the move would increase unemployment. "They'll make their cars, they'll employ thousands of people, not from this country, and they'll sell their [cars] across the border." The Detroit News, however, reports that Ford says the move will not cost any jobs at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, which is expected to switch to making Ranger pickups and Bronco SUVs. (Read more Ford stories.)
(Newser)  The New Hampshire Union Leader says it isn't going to tell its readers to hold their noses and vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump when there's an option that doesn't stink: Gary Johnson. In a front-page editorial in New Hampshire's only statewide newspaper, publisher Joseph W. McQuaid endorses Libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld as a "bright light of hope and reason" compared to the "selfish, self-centered, arrogant prig" Clinton and Trump, who is "a liar, a bully, a buffoon." Trump "denigrates any individual or group that displeases him," McQuaid writes. "He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives."

It's understandable that voters are sick of the status quo that Clinton represents, but "they kid themselves if they think Trump isn't pretty much a part of that status quo as well, or that he is in any way qualified to competently lead this nation," writes McQuaid, who denounced "Biff Trump" during the primaries and "unendorsed" Chris Christie after the New Jersey governor endorsed Trump. The New York Times notes that the endorsement of Johnson could make a real difference in New Hampshire: Clinton is just 2 points ahead of Trump in the state, while Johnson scored 15% in the latest poll. Click for McQuaid's full piece. (Read more New Hampshire Union Leader stories.)
It's that time again! Jim Cramer rang the lightning round bell, which means he gave his take on caller favorite stocks at rapid speed:



Macy's (NYSE:M): "You want to keep that stock. More than 4 percent [yield]. I saw the upgrade today, and I believe there is going to be a catalyst of it closing 100 stores. I say buy, buy, buy."

Community Bank System (CBU): "It's OK. You know what, that group is under pressure right now because of another bank, Wells Fargo. I would tell you that I think it is just an OK situation. Not expensive, not cheap. Not enough for me. No edge."

Smith & Wesson Holdings Corp (SWHC): "I like the stock, I think it is too cheap. I think you want to own the stock now. You want to own it during these periods where people feel it's rolling over. It represents good value."

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA): "I have to admit that stock is going higher. I don't like to recommend Chinese stocks, but that stock has the most momentum of any international stock. I think you've got a good one there. I was actually kind of shocked at how good it does sound. I know my friends who are bears on the name can't believe it, but wow, there is momentum there."

Intrexon Corp (XON): "I think it's a good spec for zika. It's not my favorite stock because it's expensive, but it is a good spec. And I'm not going to deny that."

Spectra Energy Corp (SE): "I like that combination. That is a good one with a good yield, just the opposite by the way, of Intrexon. Not a lot of risk there."

Questions for Cramer?

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(Newser)  About 150 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., lies an ecosystem teeming with puffins, whales, underwater mountains, and fissures "deeper than the Grand Canyon," reports National Geographic. That 4,913-square-mile areaan "underwater Yellowstone," per NPRwill now be protected from commercial activity as President Obama designates it the US' first Atlantic marine national monument, CNN reports. The creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which Obama is to announce Thursday, will ban drilling and mining within the monument, as well as commercial fishing. "Teddy Roosevelt had the foresight to protect the treasures of America's landscape," says Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "With that same boldness, President Obama is conserving the crown jewels of our nation's seascape."

This "epic" designation, per the NRDC, will help the ocean resist climate change, Suh adds. Local fishermen aren't exactly pleased, saying the area's economy will suffer. "We anticipate the offshore lobster industry will be affected to the tune of about $10 million per year," a National Coalition for Fishing Communities rep tells NPR, adding the Atlantic red crab industry will also take a hit; the Washington Post says, per industry estimates, that fisheries in the area are worth about $50 million. But the administration says it took fishing's "unique role" into account when coming up with the monument, giving red crab and lobster fisheries seven years to exit; all others have just 60 days, though recreational fishing will still be OK. "We're phenomenally excited," an NRDC activist says. (The NRDC lays out its reasoning for the monument here.)
(Newser)  A police officer fatally shot a 13-year-old boy carrying a BB gun after he ran from officers in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, authorities say. Officers were investigating an armed robberyin which the victim said a group of people, one of whom had a gun, had demanded money from himwhen they saw three males matching the descriptions of the suspects about a block away, reports the AP. As officers approached them, two suspects took off running, police say. "Officers followed the males to the alley ... and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," police say. "One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times."

Tyree King, 13whom police later determined was carrying a BB gun with an attached laser sightwas rushed to a children's hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:22pm, reports NBC News. WCMH identifies the officer who shot King as a nine-year veteran of the force who had just been transferred to the zone where the shooting occurred. No one else was injured. The male suspect with Tyree was interviewed by police and released. Officers say they are still looking for other robbery suspects. (Read more police shooting stories.)
(Newser)  When 15-year-old Rayouf Alhumedhi went searching for an emoji to express herself in a group chat room, she came up short. So the Berlin teen chose to create a symbolthe hijab, or headscarfthat has ignited a debate in Europe and beyond about religious freedom, multiculturalism, and women's rights. I wanted something to represent me, alongside the millions of women who wear the headscarf every day, Alhumedhi tells the Washington Post. The teen, originally from Saudi Arabia, wrote to Apple but got no response, reports the New York Times. She then sent a short pitch to the Unicode Consortium, the non-profit that approves new emojis, and a member of one of its subcommittees helped her flesh it out, complete with a design.

"Roughly 550 million Muslim women on this earth pride themselves on wearing the hijab," the proposal says. "With this enormous number of people, not a single space on the keyboard is reserved for them." Alhumedhi tells the BBC that "emjois are everywhere" and "people want to be acknowledged  and recognized, especially in the tech world." Controversy has raged in countries such as Francewhere the burkini controversy dominated the summer's newsas to whether Muslim dress symbolizes the oppression of women and should be limited. Alhumedi took issue with that view on Tuesday in a Reddit forum. "Might seem baffling, but when I wear the headscarf I actually feel liberated because I'm in control of what I want to cover," she wrote. If approved, look for the teen's emoji in 2017. (These emojis are meant to empower women.)
(Newser)  An unusualand unusually longtrial has ended without charges in Arizona. In the case, a 32-year-old yoga teacher was accused of exposing her newly augmented breasts to a group of seven boys, ages 11 to 15, at a bar mitzvah party, inviting the boys to touch them, and performing oral sex on a 15-year-old. Prosecutors opted not to pursue felony charges given a scarcity of evidence, and Lindsey Ann Radomski was found not guilty on all 18 misdemeanor counts, reports the Arizona Republic. Radomski maintains that she remembers almost nothing from the party, alleging that someone slipped her a date-rape drug.

"In this case, Lindsey Radomski is the one whos being charged when she was the one who was attacked," argued her lawyer, per the Washington Post. The high-profile trial lasted seven weeks, rare for one involving misdemeanor charges, and Radomski could have faced six months in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted. This might be the longest trial thats ever taken place in misdemeanor court," adds her lawyer, as quoted by 12News. The party was held at her employer's yoga studio and, given the circumstances, the resulting legal charges attracted national and international headlines. "I'm just incredibly happy it's over," says Radomski. (Read more weird crimes stories.)
(Newser)  The widow and children of a man who went to a rural Hawaii health center with a sore throat in 2013 and ended up dead will receive a $4.2 million settlement from the federal government, the widow's lawyer said Wednesday, per the AP. Antonio Marrero, 32, went to the emergency room of Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where a doctor determined he had an abscess in his tonsils and arranged for him to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist, lawyer Richard Fried said. The doctor then decided to further evaluate him under sedation, but Marrero lost consciousness and died, Fried said. Before sedating him, the doctor should have known Marrero weighed nearly 300 pounds, which would make it difficult to protect his airway, the lawsuit filed by Fried notes. There was no anesthesiologist there, and the doctor gave Marrero too much of the sedative, Fried said.

At a news conference to announce the settlement, Marrero's wife, Rachel, recalled her shock when she was told the father of her three young sons had died. She told health center workers, "He just had a sore throatwhat do you mean he passed?" After the presser, the health center's execs hugged her and offered condolences; they declined to disclose the ER doctor's name, but the suit named Dr. Robert Bonham. The health center implemented changes after the death, including a new ER director overseeing operations and a full-time compliance officer; a new ER facility is also set to be completed within a year. "I don't hate or judge," Rachel Marrero said. "I just hope ... the [center] does make everything better for other families." The feds will pay the settlement because the center is a federally qualified health center insured by the Federal Tort Claims Act, the center's CEO says. (Read more settlements stories.)
(Newser)  The Chinese billionaire who owns a majority stake in Grindr will be slightly less of a billionaire after his divorce from his wife, Forbes reports. Zhou Yahui agreed to transfer 278 million shares of his company, Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology Share Company, to his wife, Li Qiong. The shares are worth an estimated $1.1 billion. However, the New York Times reports Li won't be able to cash out those shares until 2018. It's one of the largest divorce settlements in Chinese history.

The Telegraph calls Zhou and Li "China's richest young couple," and CNN reports their combined wealth is estimated at $3.5 billion. Zhou made his fortune developing games for the internet and mobile devices. His company bought a controlling stake in the gay dating app Grindr for $93 million last January. The divorce settlement will leave Zhou with about 388 million shares in his company, good enough to maintain a 35% majority stake. The divorce rate in China is rapidly increasing from next to nothing, going from 1.7% in 2008 to 2.8% in 2015. (Read more Grindr stories.)
(Newser)  Auto racer Robby Gordon says his family is in shock and grieving the loss of his father and stepmother, who were found dead inside their Southern California home, the AP reports. Gordon spoke briefly to reporters Thursday near the gated house in an upscale neighborhood in Orange where police discovered the bodies of 68-year-old Robert Gordon and 57-year-old Sharon Gordon. Police say a rifle was found at the scene Wednesday, and investigators do not believe a suspect is at large. A neighbor said the Gordons were longtime residents of the quiet neighborhood where large homes sit on expansive hillside properties and many people own horses. Gordon says he will speak about the deaths again once authorities conclude their investigation. The former NASCAR star thanked the racing community for its support.

Another neighbor, Greg Saunders, tells the AP everyone in the area knew the family. He said Robert Gordon had a horse feed business and would regularly drop hay off at neighbors' homes. The younger Gordon, 47, said his father, a one-time off-road racer, instilled in him a passion for motorsports and competition. Robby Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father. Known as "Baja Bob," Robert Gordon was also an accomplished off-road racer. Gordon says an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned. Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps. (Read more California stories.)
NASA's Launch Services Program awarded the launch services contract to United Launch Alliance (ULA)- the makers of the Atlas V rocket. This selection was resulted from a competitive procurement under the NASA Launch Services contract.

The Mars 2020 rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet, and will address high-priority science goals for Mars exploration: characterizing the climate and geology of Mars, looking for signs of past life, and preparing the way for human crews to explore the planet.

The mission is scheduled to launch in July 2020 aboard an Atlas V 541 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. At this time wherein the Earth and Mars are at opposition, the planets will be on the same side of the Sun and making their closest approach to each other in four years, being just 62.1 million km (38.6 million miles) part. This mission will launch aboard an Atlas V 541 vehicle, which includes a 5-meter diameter payload fairing and four solid rocket motors.

The rover will conduct geological assessments of its landing site on Mars, to determine the habitability of the Martian environment and search for signs of ancient Martian life. This will include taking samples of soil and rock to learn more about Mars' "watery past", and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers. This mission will also attempt to find actual evidence of ancient microbial life.

Addition to this, another new feature is the rover's drill system will be used, which will collect core samples and store them in sealed tubes and leave in a "cache" on the surface of Mars for potential return to Earth by a future mission to the Red Planet - which will constitute the first sample-return mission from the Red Planet.

The total cost for NASA to launch Mars 2020 is approximate $243 million, that includes the cost of launch services, processing costs for the spacecraft and its power source, launch vehicle integration and tracking, data and telemetry support.

The Mars 2020 rover will be the latest in a long line of orbiters, rovers and landers that are seeking to unlock the mysteries of the Red Planet and prepare it for human visitors!
The United States is strongly divided over killings by police officers, especially those of young black men. in news that is stranger than fiction, a police officer from West Virginia was fired this year for not shooting an armed black man.

Stephen Mader, 25,is a Marine veteran and ex-member of the Weirton, West Virginia Police Department. On May 6 Mader answered a call about a man threatening to kill himself.

Upon arrival, the suspect Ronald D. "R.J." Williams Jr. told Mader to shoot him. Williams Jr. had a gun at his side, pointed toward the floor.

Identifying a "suicide by cop" situation, which is where a suspect is threatening toward a police offer in order to be shot, Mader chose to de-escalate the situation instead of shooting.

"I told him, 'Put down the gun,' and he's like, 'Just shoot me.' And I told him, 'I'm not going to shoot you brother.' Then he starts flicking his wrist to get me to react to it." Mader said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Two additional officers arrived on the scene. Williams Jr. walked toward them while waving his gun, at which point one of the newly arrived officers shot and killed him.

The gun was later found to be unloaded. Mader believes his previous colleague made the right decision since he had a different set of information to assess - Williams Jr. was no longer pointing the gun at the floor and it's unclear whether the additional officers knew whether the call was solely for self-harm.

As per protocol in an officer-involved shooting, all three offers were placed on a short administrative leave. On June 7, Mader was terminated because he "failed to eliminate a threat."

West Virginia is an "at-will" employment state, so Mader has no legal recourse to get his job back. He is working on getting his commercial license to drive trucks.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Deutsche Bank to pay $14 billion to settle an investigation into its selling of mortgage-backed securities, Germany's flagship lender said on Friday. The claim against Deutsche, which is likely to be negotiated in several months of talks, far outstrips the bank's and investors' expectations for such costs. While it is yet to become clear what the final payment will be, if it were to be as high as $14 billion, this would be a severe strain for Deutsche's fragile finances and would likely further rock investor confidence in the bank. "Deutsche Bank has no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the number cited. The negotiations are only just beginning. The bank expects that they will lead to an outcome similar to those of peer banks which have settled at materially lower amounts", Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Friday. The Department of Justice declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the department's demands. In a similar case, rival Goldman Sachs agreed in April to pay $5.06 billion to settle claims that it misled mortgage bond investors during the financial crisis. [nL2N17E0XB] That settlement included a $2.39 billion civil penalty, $1.8 billion in other relief, including funds for homeowners whose mortgages exceed the value of their property, and an $875 million payment to resolve claims by cooperative and home loan banks among others. Deutsche Bank's settlement will comprise a different list of recipients, a source close to the matter said, adding that the lender had already settled some claims three years ago. Citigroup agreed in 2014 to pay $7 billion to resolve a U.S. government investigation into shoddy mortgage-backed securities the bank sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, capping months of negotiations, during which the government demanded $12 billion. In late 2013, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle claims that it defrauded U.S. government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, America's biggest providers of housing finance, into buying $14.2 billion in mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis. Deutsche was once one of Europe's most successful players on Wall Street. Like many of its peers, it has since faced a slew of lawsuits that often trace back to the boom years before the crash. Its litigation bill since 2012 has already hit more than 12 billion euros. Claims filed by individuals, companies and regulators against Deutsche, outlined in the bank's 2015 annual report, relate to mis-selling of subprime loans and manipulation of foreign exchange rates or gold and silver prices. Other lawsuits are for the rigging of borrowing benchmarks Libor and Euribor, used to set the price of mortgages and derivatives. In July, Chief Executive John Cryan said he hoped to close the four largest remaining litigation cases this year. These are the mortgages and FX cases, an investigation into suspicious equities trades in Russia and allegations of money laundering. [nL8N1AD0QY] Deutsche Bank's overall legal provisions stood at 5.5 billion euros at the end of the second quarter. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze, editing by G Crosse and Bernard Orr)
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.
Lucknow/New Delhi:

The feud in ruling SPs first family in Uttar Pradesh showed no signs of ending even as party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav stepped in to defuse the crisis and his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh sought to downplay differences.

An open war broke out on Tuesday in the Samajwadi Party(SP) with Akhilesh Yadav stripping his uncle Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after his removal as the partys state unit chief and appointment of the latter in his place.

(Read More: Yadav family feud: Won't resign, will follow Mulayam's directions, says Shivpal)

An indication that the crisis in the SP lingered on came when Shivpal told Mulayam that despite following his orders he was being painted as a villain.

Shivpal, who is the younger brother of Mulayam, reached Delhi to meet the party chief at his official residence. In his over four-hour-long meeting, Shivpal explained that in the past four-and-a-half years, he has followed the party supremos directions despite having difference of opinion on certain issues.

Sources close to Shivpal said he gave examples that as a senior minister in the Akhilesh government, he never publically opposed the decisions taken by Akhilesh or Mulayam though he may have expressed difference of opinion in private to them.

Though, later talking to reporters, Shivpal rejected suggestions that there were differences within the party and the Yadav clan.

Neither am I angry nor is Netaji (Mulayam). We all are happy...there are no differences, he said.

(Read More: Watch Video: Fight in govt, but everyone in family abides by what Mulayam says)

The SP top brass swung into a damage control mode earlier in the day to keep the flock together ahead of Assembly polls, with Mulayam calling Shivpal for a meeting in New Delhi.

Mulayam is likely to reach Lucknow on Friday morning amid indications that he may have a one-on-one meeting with Akhilesh there.

As the SP plunged into crisis, the chief minister stayed put in his 5, Kalidas Marg official residence in Lucknow since morning to take stock of the situation and did not attend two official engagements.

(Read More: Akhilesh vs Shivpal: All out war breaks out in SP ahead of UP polls)

Amid differences with his uncle, Akhilesh was combative on the decisions taken by him that have led to internal feuds coming out in the open even as he said that there might be problems in the government, but not in the family.

Akhilesh said that he too will follow the directions of his father.

If I have taken any decision, it was in consultation with netaji, but at times one has to apply his own mind and I too took some decisions on my own, he said.

But to a question, he said, As far as family is concerned, everyone abides by what netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) says and will accept his words.

(Read More: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav strips uncle Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios)

There may be problems in the government, but not in the family, he said on the sidelines of an event at his official residence.

Apparently referring to Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh, who had recently hosted a dinner in Delhi where Deepak Singhal, who was shunted from post of Chief Secretary, was present, Akhilesh asked if outsiders interfere, how would the party function.

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New Delhi :

The chikungunya outbreak in Delhi claimed six more lives, taking the total number of deaths to 11. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain will hold a crisis management meeting soon to tackle the menace. A day after intense bickering over chikungunya deaths with the BJP-ruled civic bodies, the ruling AAP pitched for One Delhi as it extended olive branch to the Opposition, saying the health crisis has to be tackled together.

In line with the partys emphasis to rise above politics and bridge differences, Water Minister Kapil Mishra was joined by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari during a fumigation drive in north east Delhis Sonia Vihar area on Wednesday afternoon.

Mishra also quoted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as having said no matter what, various agencies and political parties will have to work together to tackle chikungunya that has claimed several lives in Delhi this season.

The political cool down came a day after Kejriwal said Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be questioned over the issue as all powers regarding the citys governance rest with them.

Striking a conciliatory note, Mishra said the barriers among the Delhi government, the Lt Governor, the civic bodies and the Centre should be brought down in favour of one Delhi as passing the buck would only trouble the residents of the national capital.

We have to fight these diseases together, forgetting politics. No matter what, we will have to be united in eliminating these diseases and mosquitoes, Mishra quoted Kejriwal as having told him.

Delhis seven MPs, 70 MLAs and 272 municipal councillors can do it together by hitting the streets and undertaking fogging exercises wherever possible. In fact, the MPs should lead the programme and guide the MLAs and Councillors, Mishra said.

AAPs Delhi convener Dilip Pandey also made a similar appeal, saying everyone, including the elected representatives of BJP and AAP, should work together to combat chikungunya.

Passing the buck around doesnt solve anything, Delhi Gov, MCD and LG must work together to ensure people come first. #OneDelhi above politics, allegiances and personal interests. @KapilMishraAAP offers the olive branch to all, ensuring health comes first.

#OneDelhi cannot be crippled by fractured politics. All responsible must come together to solve the vector borne disease outbreak. MCD must handle prevention, while Health Ministry will ensure quality treatment. #OneDelhi must together overcome this crisis (Sic), Delhi AAPs official handle tweeted.

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Ahmedabad:

Dalit organisations, fighting against atrocities on the community in Gujarat, on Wednesday announced holding of rail roko agitation at some places in state on October 1.

Dalit leaders associated with Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti and Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch said they will stop trains at two to three places.

The call was given at a gathering of dalits held in the city tonight.

To highlight the issue of atrocities on dalits in state, we have called for a rail roko protest on October 1 at some places in Gujarat. We have also urged dalit leaders in other parts of country to engage in similar kind of protest on that day, said Subodh Parmar, who is associated with both these dalit bodies.

Parmar claimed the stir is not limited to the cause of dalits only, but they also wanted to highlight issues concerning tribals, OBCs and farmers as well.

At the gathering here, dalit leaders sought explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is scheduled to visit tribal districts of Dahod and Navsari.

Modi will celebrate his 66th birthday in tribal-dominated Dahod district on September 17.

As our PM is coming here, we want to ask him what happened to more than 12 lakh pending applications of tribals, who are demanding land rights since many years? he said.

Dalits have upped their ante since some youths of the community were flogged at Una in July, allegedly by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow.

In a bid to highlight the issues affecting them, many dalits have stopped disposing of carcasses in many parts of the state.

The Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti and Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch yesterday launched Badbu (stench) Gujarat Ki campaign and sent around 1100 postcards with a small message to Bollywood icon and Gujarat tourism brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan.

Badbu Gujarat Ki is a parody of the Tourism Departments famous television advertisement Khushbu Gujarat Ki (scent of Gujarat) featuring the megastar.

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Patna/Siwan:

Facing flak over controversial RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddins release, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar is mulling moving the Supreme Court for cancellation of his bail even as opposition NDA demanded his arrest in the journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case.

This has been an established process followed by Nitish Kumar government in the past 11 years that if the state is not satisfied with the bail of somebody, it goes in appeal in higher court, JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok said.

It has been done in the past and would be followed in the present case of Shahabuddin too, he said.

He said in such cases the concerned district administration makes a proposal if any condition of the bail has been violated and an appeal is moved for cancellation of bail.

(Read More: Shooter wanted in Siwan journalist murder case spotted with Shahabuddin)

Chandrakeshwar Prasad of Siwan, whose three of four sons were murdered allegedly by gangster-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, on Thursday file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging Patna High Courts order granting bail to the former RJD MP.

Advocate Prashant Bhushans office said they were giving final shape to the petition in which they are challenging how bail can be given to a history sheeter.

We are filing the appeal on behalf of victims father Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chandra Babu. We are on way to give final shape to the appeal and it will be filed tomorrow in which several grounds are taken.

(Read More: Lalu Prasad Yadav defends Mohammad Shahabuddin)

We will be challenging how bail has been given to a person who is a history sheeter. Facts are being verified about the number of cases etc and convictions that have taken place against him, advocate Rohit Singh from Bhushans office said.

With BJP questioning delay in appeal for cancellation of bail, the JD(U) spokesman said courts were closed for festival and hence it is wrong to talk about delay.

Meanwhile, Siwan Superintendent of Police Saurav Kumar Sah said the district police was scrutinising if any condition of the bail has been violated in the case of Shahabuddin, a former RJD MP.

If any evidence comes to the surface indicating violation of condition of bail we will move for cancellation of bail in the case, the SP said.

(Read More: Shahabuddin justifies his circumstantial comment on Nitish, calls Lalu Yadav his only leader)

The SP had said yesterday the police has taken cognisance of photograph of absconding suspects Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed in the killing of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan with Mohammad Shahabuddin after his release from Bhagalpur jail on Saturday last on bail granted by Patna High Court.

Notice would be send to Shahabuddin in this connection and police would also question him on it.

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New Delhi,:

A woman doctor on Wednesday alleged that a male attendant misbehaved with her at a hospital, police said.

The incident happened at the RML Hospital in the reception area.

The attendant got irked after the doctor, didnt see his ailing brother whom he had brought to the hospital for treatment, a senior police officer said.

He allegedly shoved her and used abusive language, the officer said.

Sources said the hospital doctors have threatened to go on a strike after the incident.

The police said they were awaiting a written complaint from the doctor on the matter, adding, the accused attendant has been detained.

Our officers are there. We are awaiting written complaint and have apprehended the person involved, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal said.

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Washington:

Indian-American physician-author Abraham Verghese, whose work has emphasised empathy in medicine, has been selected for the prestigious 2015 National Humanities Medal, the White House has announced.

US President Barack Obama would confer the honour upon Verghese, along with 11 others, and the recipients of 2015 National Medal of Arts at ceremony on September 21.

Currently a professor of medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, 61-year-old Verghese has authored several acclaimed books, including My Own Country and Cutting for Stone.

In a statement, the White House yesterday said Verghese has been given the award for reminding us that the patient is the centre of the medical enterprise.

His range of proficiency embodies the diversity of the humanities, from his efforts to emphasise empathy in medicine, to his imaginative renderings of the human drama, the White House said.

Abraham Verghese is not only an exemplary clinician, he is an exemplary humanist, said Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.

Every day in the classroom, he teaches his students that professions such as medicine benefit from an understanding of the human condition.

We are so proud that his breadth of scholarship has been recognised with this honour, Tessier-Lavigne said.

Inaugurated in 1997, the National Humanities Medal honours individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nations understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities subjects, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities website.

Up to 12 medals are awarded each year.I am humbled and excited by this honour, Verghese saidin a statement issued by the Stanford University. He completed his education at the Madras Medical College.

The names of previous recipients include writers I most admire. It is a wonderful affirmation of a path that in the early years I wasnt sure was the right path, even though it was one I felt compelled to follow, Verghese, who is also the Linda R Meier and Joan F Lane Provostial Professor, said.

Verghese is known for his emphasis on empathy for patients in an era in which technology often overwhelms the human side of medicine, the university said in a statement.

I felt strongly then and now that what I was writing about, and my interest in the human experience of being ill or caring for the ill, was as much a part of medicine as knowledge of the function of the pancreas, for example, said Verghese, who is also a Vice Chair of Stanfords Department of Medicine.

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New Delhi:

A plea seeking directions to the Centre and the Election Commission to debar convicts from contesting polls for life like they are prevented from entering the judiciary and the executive, today led the Supreme Court to seek their responses.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and P C Pant issued notices to the government and Election Commission on the plea which also seeks a direction to fix minimum educational qualification and a maximum age limit for persons to contest elections.

Apart from terrorism and naxalism, the most serious problem our country is facing is extensive corruption and criminalisation of politics.

In the Executive and Judiciary, when a person is convicted for any criminal offence, he/she is suspended automatically and debarred from his services for life. However, this rule is applied differently in case of convicted person in a legislature, the petition, filed by advocate and Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, said.

Even after conviction and undergoing sentence, a convicted person can form his own political party and is eligible to become the office bearer of any political party.

In addition, a convicted person is eligible to contest the election and eligible to become Member of Legislature and even Minister after expiry of six year period from the date of conviction, it said.

The petition has also sought implementation of electoral reforms proposed by Election Commission, Law Commission and National Commission to review the working of the Constitution.

Upadhyay has also submitted that decriminalisation of the polity was impossible without debarring convicted persons from electoral politics for life, as done in the case of convicted persons being barred from the executive and judiciary.

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New Delhi :

An open war broke out on Tuesday within the Samajwadi Party (SP) with UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav stripping his uncle Shivpal Yadav of key ministerial portfolios, hours after his removal as the partys state unit chief and appointment of the latter in his place.

(Read More: Mulayam steps in but feud in Samajwadi pariwar far from over)

On Wednesday, Shivpal Yadav met elder brother and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at the latter's official residence in New Delhi.

After meeting his brother Shivpal said, "Neither I nor Netaji (Mulayam) is angry. We all are happy... There are no differences."

According to sources, Shivpal said in the meeting he gave examples of how as a senior minister in the Akhilesh government, he never publicly opposed the decisions taken by Akhilesh or Mulayam even though he may have expressed difference of opinion to them in private.

(Read More: Yadav family feud: Akhilesh says no rift; Mulayam, Shivpal hold high-level meet in Delhi)

"The decision on Cabinet portfolios are the discretion of the chief minister," Shivpal told mediapersons outside.

While talking to media persons, Shivpal siad, "Netaji has decided to appoint me as the party's state unit chief. My role is to bring back SP to power in next polls 2017."

Im still a minister, plus new big responsibility. Netaji is our leader & we all follow his directions: Shivpal Yadav pic.twitter.com/oafHIf3DsT  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 15, 2016

Shivpal denied rumour of his stepping down from the post. "I will fulfil my responsibility...I will not resign...I am still part of the cabinet," he said.

Sab theek hai. Chunaav ka waqt hai badi zimedaari mili hai, SP phir se 2017 mei jeetegi: Shivpal Yadav

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Vadodara:

The Gujarat BJP will ensure that at-least seven lakh people download the 'Namo App', a party office bearer said on Thursday.

"This will be gift from the BJP unit in Gujarat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 67th birthday on September 17," Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said after addressing party workers in Vadodara,.

"The state unit of the party will ensure that at-least 7 lakh people download the 'Namo App'," he added.

Meanwhile, the party's state unit has organised week-long programmes including cleanliness drives to celebrate Modi's birthday.MP Ranjanben Bhatt and mayor Bharat Dangar were also present on the occasion.

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Puducherry:

Several Tamil outfits have called Puducherry bandh on Friday to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka in the wake of Cauvery row. The Puducherry unit of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) has pledged its support to the bandh.

The BJP will extend its support to the bandh being observed in the Union Territory tomorrow to condemn the against the violence against Tamils in Karnataka, President of the Puducherry unit of BJP V Saminathan in said.



The Congress government in Karnataka is ignoring and dishonouring the Supreme court order to release water to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, he added.

A 12-hour bandh in Puducherry has been called by more than 30 Tamil fringe outfits including Tamizhar Desiya Iyyakkam, Makkal Vazhuvurimai Iyakkam and Tamizhaga Makkal Vazhuvurimai Katchi on September 16. Bengaluru witnessed violent protests by Kannada groups on Monday. The widespread protests had left two persons dead.



Vehicles bearing Tamil Nadu registration were set on fire and damaged even as commercial establishments owned by Tamils were targeted in Karnataka.



In Tamil Nadu, restaurants owned by Kannadigas and vehicles bearing Karnataka registration were attacked by fringe outfits in some places on September 12.



(With inputs from PTI)

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Albuquerque:

Social media giant, Facebook has chosen a village on the edge of New Mexico's largest metropolitan area as the location for its new data center, an announcement that spread quickly as elected officials celebrated a hard-sought win that could have ripple effects for the state's struggling economy.

Wednesday's news of the social media giant's decision to build in Los Lunas, just south of Albuquerque, comes after a roller-coaster contest between New Mexico and Utah to attract the facility. US Senator Martin Heinrich broke the news on social media, and the rest of the congressional delegation followed minutes later. Governor Susana Martinez in a statement welcomed what she described as a stellar, cutting-edge company. In Los Lunas, village officials were rejoicing.

"This is huge for the state of New Mexico, for the region, for the whole Southwest. This is a big win," said Ralph Mims, the village's economic development director. The courting of Facebook began more than a year ago with a meeting between the Republican governor and Facebook executives.

During a visit to California, Martinez and her economic development team pitched the sparsely populated state as a good place to do business. New Mexico wasn't on the radar before that August 2015 meeting. "With the improvements we've made over the past several years, New Mexico is finally competing again, and in this case, it's a big win for the people of our state and our economic future," the governor said.

While the project has enjoyed broad political support in New Mexico, local leaders in Utah pushed back against a tax-incentive plan they saw as too generous. Utah supporters said the project would bring a high-tech cachet that could draw other companies to West Jordan, but critics said the cost was too high for land that could attract other development.

The village of Los Lunas, meanwhile, agreed to give up all property taxes for 30 years in exchange for annual payments from Facebook that start at USD 50,000 and top out at less than USD 500,000. The complex economic development agreement also involves tax breaks on billions of dollars in computer equipment over time.

In Utah, an initial USD 240 million tax-break plan publicly fell apart one night in August after several leaders said the lure was too rich. Talks were revived the next morning, but two weeks later, Utah Governor Gary Herbert said the deal looked dormant, if not dead. (AP)

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New Delhi:

It appears that Health Minister of Delhi Mr Satyendra Jain, who has been criticised for making insensitive remarks on chikungunya outbreak in the national capital, relies of Google. He has once again come up with a bizarre statement saying one cannot die of chikungunya because Google says so.

He said because Google has assured him that chikungunya cannot cause deaths, Delhiites need not panic.

"People of Delhi have no need to panic. The state government is ready to provide help at all cost. But one should get admitted only if the doctor advises them to do so and not because they are scared," he said.

"Chikungunya deaths are not happening across the world. Why is it only in a select few Delhi hospitals? And upon enquiry, I have discovered that most of the deaths are of people who were aged and already sick with other ailments," the minister added.
New Delhi:

The BSE Sensex closed at 28,413, ending with a gain of 41 points. The BSE Sensex opened at 28,398 touched an intra-day high of 28,444 and low of 28,311. The NSE Nifty breached the 8700 mark to close at 8,749. The NSE Nifty opened at 8,744 hitting a high of 8,752 and low of 8,704.35.

As per financial analyst, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices have been trading pretty flat as investors had a cautious outlook ahead of the policy meetings of the Bank of Japan and US Federal Reserve. Bank of Japan and the Fed policy review will be held on 20-21 September.

Cipla, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, ITC, RIL, Sun Pharmaceuticals and ICICI Bank are among the major gainers, whereas Axis Bank, Infosys, Hero Motocorp, Tata Steel, Power Grid and Wipro are losing sheen on BSE.

Pharma, FMCG, consumer discretionary and utilities sectors witnessed active buying while metal, IT, tech, banking, and metal sectors were bearish on the BSE.

On the international front, the Bank of England will be a focus as the central bank eased off monetary policy last month, amid signs it overestimated the initial shock to Britain's economy from June's Brexit vote.

India's wholesale-price index (WPI) rose 3.74% in August, quicker than the 3.55% increase in July.

In the primary market, the IPO of L&T Technology Services, an arm of engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T), was subscribed 71 per cent on the second day of the three-day bidding.
New Delhi:

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday claimed that the political feud in Yadav family will be resolved after a face to face meeting with UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Mulayam, who reached Lucknow earlier in the day, confirmed that after all the rapid shuffle in the party, Shivpal Yadav will continue to be the Uttar Pradesh SP chief.



Meanwhile, Shivpal Yadav said that he did not complain when he was removed from the post of state party chief in 2011 to make way for Akhilesh. I will make sure that I discharge my duties responsibly.



Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, had kicked the hornets nest by taking away key portfolios from his uncle Shivpal Yadav, following which his father Mulayam removed him from the position of state party chief.



Also read: Akhilesh vs Shivpal: No rift in SP, will fix if something is wrong, says Mulayam Singh on Yadav family feud



Lets have a look at who said what in the ongoing family saga:



Mulayam Singh Yadav:

#Shivpal Yadav will continue to be state head

#Shivpal is not angry he is a simple man #Will talk face to face with chief minister

#Will soon resolve the family rift

#SP supremo and Ramgopal will lead the meeting



Shivpal Yadav:

#No one is the party has power to disregard Netajis (Mulayam) word

#Will responsibly discharge my duties as state party chief

#Will meet CM tomorrow

#Was removed from the position of state chief in 2011 but I didnt object

#There is no feud, everyone is together



Ramgopal Yadav:

#A person who is not Samajwadi (Socialist) how can he be Mulayamvadi

#CM should accept Shivpal as state party chief

#This does not make Akhilesh weak

Mayawati:

#Mulayam Singh Yadav should retire from politics

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Patna:

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Thursday that a three-day international Sikh convention would be held here ahead of the Prakash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh. He launched a website to provide information on the celebration of 350th Prakash Utsav of the Sikh guru early next year.

The website has been developed by tourism department and provides information to visitors about how to reach Patna and where to stay during the function, he said at the function held on the occasion. Elaborate arrangements would be made for the mega celebration of Prakash Utsav of the 10th Sikh Guru Govind Singh and a three-day public holiday would be announced, he said.

Widespread publicity of Prakash Utsav would be made, including on TV and Bihar government would arrange accomodation for 20,000 devotees in pandals in Gandhi maidan, he said adding Proper parking facility would be provided to the vistors.

Kumar also flagged off a tourism department vehicle for publicity of Prakash utsav. Tourism minister Anita Devi, principal secretary to tourism department Harjot Kaur and development commissioner Shishir Sinha were present on the occasion.

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New Delhi:

Wife of Muthukrishnan, one of the presumed deceased in the missing AN-32 IAF plane, has said that she has not received any letter form government indicating death of her husband. Instead, she said the government has reassured her that fresh search operations have been launched to find the missing persons.



Muthukrishnan who was a Coast Guard officer in India Air Force, along with 28 other people, was onboard the ill-fated AN-32 which had vanished over the sea after it took off from Chennai for Port Blair on July 22.



Speaking to media on Thursday, after IAF said that all 29 onboard are presumed dead, Muthukrishnans wife said, We haven't received any letter regarding death of our family member. Spoke to officials recently and enquired, they said they have deployed new ships for search ops.



Also read: Missing AN-32 : All 29 aboard presumed dead



We hope that the Government will find them soon,she added. The families of those on board the missing AN-32 aircraft of the IAF were on Thursday informed that their relatives are presumed dead as the search operations for the ill-fated aircraft continued.



The Court of Inquiry, upon very careful scrutiny of the circumstantial evidence available and in light of extensive search and rescue operations carried out, has concluded that it is unlikely that the missing personnel on board the ill-fated aircraft would have survived the accident.



It is with a feeling of profound sadness that the Court of Inquiry has recommended that your son/daughter be presumed to have been fatally injured, read the August 24-dated letter from Indian Air Force to the families of those in the aircraft.



IAF sources said the families have been given the information so that they can go ahead with insurance and other administrative formalities.The letter came annexed with a certificate of presumption of death. The search for missing AN32 is still in progress, defence sources said.



The plane did not have an underwater locator system, which has made the search difficult.



No fewer than 201 search and rescue sorties, using all suitable aircraft at our disposal were undertaken. Approximately 2,17,800 square nautical miles (Sq Nm) have been covered multiple times by these aircraft, the letter stated.



International emergency response teams and satellites from USA also did not help in getting any concrete information about the missing aircraft, it added.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Mumbai:

The country has recorded a five per cent deficiency in rainfall this monsoon, the IMD on Thursday said as it forecast very heavy rain in Mumbai and parts of central Maharashtra over the next two days prompting the BMC to ask devotees to remain alert during Ganesh idol immersion.



An IMD bulletin today said cumulative rainfall for the country as a whole during this years monsoon upto September 14 has been five per cent below Long Period Average (LPA).



It said the actual rainfall between June 1 and September 14 has been 766.1 mm compared against LPA of 808.1 mm.



While east and northeast India recorded a deficiency of 13 per cent, South Peninsula and Northwest India recorded a deficiency of 11 and 2 per cent respectively. Central India, however, received 1 per cent of excess rainfall compared to the LPA for the region.



In the national capital, it was a sunny day as high relative humidity levels, between 46-92, troubled Delhiites.



The maximum temperature was recorded at 35.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, while the minimum settled at 25.7 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal.



The weatherman has predicted very heavy rainfall over the next two days in parts of Mumbai and certain areas in Central Maharashtra due to a low pressure area which is moving towards the Western side.



This will cause very heavy rainfall in Mumbai, along with parts of Central Maharashtra, the Konkan region, Marathwada and Goa as well, IMD Mumbai Director V K Rajeev told PTI.



In the wake of forecast, the BMC has issued a high-tide warning for city and asked people to stay cautious during Ganesh immersion. A high tide of 1.21 meters is expected at 11.22 pm, a BMC official said.



Ganesh idol immersion processions in Mumbai typically continue overnight to next day morning.



Two persons were killed and their wives injured after being struck by lightning at Palli Padmanavpur in Odishas Ganjam district on Thursday.



The victims had taken shelter under a tree during a sudden downpour when the lightning struck, said inspector in-charge of Berhampur sadar police station, S S Mohapatra.



In Bihar, Water Resources Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh allayed fears trigerred by seepage of water in the left embankment of Punpun river and said it has been blocked and most major rivers are flowing below their danger marks.



He said water levels of Kamlabalan and Punpun rivers are above their danger marks. But there is nothing to worry. All the embankments including left embankment on Punpun river are safe, he said.



The weatherman has forecast light to moderate rains in different parts of West Bengal over the next two days. There was no to little rain in the state in the 24 hours since yesterday morning.

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New Delhi:

CBI has taken over investigations in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan as it registered a case on Thursday against unknown assailants.

The move comes four months after Bihar Government recommended a CBI into the murder of Ranjan, bureau chief of Hindustana Hindi daily. A team of agency sleuths will leave shortly for Siwan, the sources said.

The sources said name of former RJD MP Shahbuddin who has been released recently on bail was under the scanner of Bihar Police which was probing the case till recently. The case has again come into limelight as a photograph appeared of absconding suspects Mohammad Kaif and Mohammad Javed with Shahbuddin after his release from Bhagalpur jail on Saturday last on bail granted by Patna High Court.

They said it is suspected that the killing was the handiwork of some influential persons. CBI sources said they have taken over the investigation in the murder case which has been registered under the IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, murder and arms act.

According to the rules, CBI takes over same FIR which has been registered by the state police. However, the sources said, the investigation of the agency are completely free and it may arrive at any conclusion which may or may not be in concurrence with the state police.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case under section 302, 120-B, 34 of IPC and section 27 of Arms Act against unknown assailants relating to alleged murder of senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan on the request of Bihar Government and further notification from Government of India, CBI Spokesperson said.

She said CBI has taken over the investigation of the said case which was earlier registered vide FIR no. 362/2016 dated May 13, 2016 at Police Station Siwan town, Bihar on a complaint from wife of deceased.

The state government had issued a notification requesting the CBI to take over the investigation of the murder case on May 16.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The much anticipated deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets has reportedly finalised as both India and France have finalized the details for the deal, which will cost about Euro 7.87 billion. According to media, the two nations will sign the deal on September 23.



Along with the 36 fighters, India will also get spares and weaponry, including the Meteor missile, considered among the most advanced in the world.



Of the 7.87 billion Euros, about 50 per cent will be covered under offset, which means either France will reinvest this amount in India or source equipment of this value from India.



French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will be in India for the signing of the deal, the rpeorts said.



India needs at least 42 squadrons of fighters and has an existing strength of 32. The fighter fleet will go down further by about 10 squadrons as the MiG-21 fighter will have to be decommissioned.



The new fighters will begin entering service in 2019.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Colombo:

India on Thursday signed a MoU with Sri Lanka to support livelihood of the fishing and farming communities by providing them equipment worth USD two million in the countrys southern Hambantota district.

The agreement was signed at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development by Y K Sinha, High Commissioner of India and W M M R Adikari, Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development in the presence of Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development.

The project envisages gift of equipment and tools such as grub hoes, bicycles, life jackets and sewing machines worth 300 million rupees (USD two million) to the fishing and farming communities in Hambantota district.

More than 75,000 people in the district will get direct benefit from the project. The project will be implemented on consultation with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and relevant authorities.

High Commission of India will float a tender to procure the gift items through a competitive bidding process.

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New Delhi:

South Korean auto giant Hyundai is recalling about 41,000 small SUVs in the US owing to a software glitch can stop the vehicles from accelerating.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had asserted some pressure on the automaker to recall the vehicles.

The recall covers 2016 Tucson models with seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions made from May 20, 2015 to May 31, 2016. Hyundai says it started getting reports in June that the engines would rev but the SUVs wouldn't move after coming to a stop.

The problem was intermittent and often didn't repeat itself, the company said in government documents. Engineers traced the problem to the transmission control computer that monitors driving to refine gear shifting.

If the gas pedal is repeatedly cycled, the Tucson's may not accelerate, increasing the risk of a crash. Hyundai at first sent a service bulletin to dealers but decided to do a recall after meeting with the safety agency on August 10. The recall began September 7. Dealers will reprogram the transmission computer.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav on Thursday resigned from all party and government posts following a 20minutes long meeting with his partys supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, earlier in the day. Shivpals wife and son also resigned form their respective posts bestowed by the party.



The former SP state chief Shivpal was centre of the Yadav family feud after he was removed from three cabinets posts by his nephew Akhilesh and was made state SP chief as retaliation by his brother Mulayam.



Before the matter escalated to mass resignations by the Shivpal family, the Yadavs had stuck to the statement that there is no rift and that minor difference would easily be resolved after a face-to-face with the CM. But the tide seems to have taken the opposite turn.

Also read: Akhilesh wins first round in Yadav Pari'WAR', Shivpal quits as minister and SP chief in UP



Here is who said (or did) what about the matter until last updated:

Shivpal Yadav, SP leader:

#Shivpal resigns from UP government cabinet

#Shivpal Yadav's son Aditya also resigns as the Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Federation (PCF) chairman

#His wife Mrs. Sarla Yadav quits (Not clear from where)

#Shivpal reisgns from state party chief post

#Shivpal plans to vacate govt bunglow also



Akhilesh Yadav, UP Chef Minister:

#Akhilesh Yadav rejects Shivpal's resignation



Ravidas Mehrotra, SP leader:

#Everything will be alright by morning

#SP parliamentary board meeting will resolve the issues

#Akhileshji and Shivpalji will start working together

BJP:

#This is political drama, which is affecting the state's development:

BSP:

#Mulayam Singh Yaav should quit politics in the interest of state and its people

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
(The following statement was released by the rating agency) SINGAPORE, September 14 (Fitch) The Malaysian government's decision to grant lending licences to property developers could add to the risks associated with rising household debt, says Fitch Ratings. The scheme is likely to encourage unregulated lending to households with weak financial profiles, and could undermine the strength of the financial system if not implemented prudently. Tan Sri Noh Omar, Minister for Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, announced on 8 September that property developers could now apply to his ministry for a licence to make housing loans worth of up to 100% of a property's value. Mr Noh emphasises that the move will provide an additional financing source for borrowers who may not qualify for a bank loan. Cabinet was briefed on the programme on 14 September, after some members expressed reservations. Mr Noh reported afterwards that he had been asked to adjust the plan to avoid its misuse, but it is not being abandoned. Several developers have already been given the licence, says Mr Noh. Lending by property developers will fall outside the purview of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), which means that it will not be subject to the same level of scrutiny, risk management and underwriting standards as lending by the banks. The scheme also runs counter to measures introduced by the central bank over the last six years to rein in the rise in household debt. In January 2014 BNM banned the developer interest bearing scheme (DIBS), which allowed homebuyers to put down a small amount upfront and pay the rest upon completion. The programme appeared to have stoked property speculation. Since 2010, BNM has also introduced property gains taxes for properties sold within five years, raised the maximum loan-to-value ratio, and reduced the maximum tenure for residential mortgages and personal loans. Fitch believes macro-prudential tightening has been largely successful. Household debt growth eased from a peak of 16.8% in 2011 to just 7.3% in 2015 - the slowest in eight years. The composition of new household loans has also improved: lending by the unregulated non-bank sector has cooled more than lending by banks, while growth in unsecured consumer loans has slowed more than mortgage lending.
FRANKFURT, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Germany's antitrust regulator raided eight drug wholesale companies, including a subsidiary of U.S. healthcare services provider McKesson Corp, on suspicion of illegal collusion.

A spokesman for Germany's Cartel Office, who confirmed the raids on Thursday, declined to provide the names of the companies targeted.

Germany-based Gehe, a drugs distributor which McKesson controls as part of its 2014 purchase of most of Celesio AG's shares, said in a written statement its offices had been searched and that it was fully cooperating with antitrust authorities, declining to comment further.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)
The rates of asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations dropped in many Connecticut communities, according to the latest data from the state Department of Public Health.

Overall, 58 percent of communities saw a decrease in the age-adjusted rate of emergency room visits, while 63 percent saw a decrease in the rate of hospitalizations for asthma, according to a C-HIT analysis of the data. Some 36 percent saw improvement in both areas. The data compares age-adjusted rates for each town for 2005-2009 and for 2010-2014 per 10,000 people.

Meanwhile, the states overall rate for emergency room visits in 2014 was lower than recent years but still was higher than it was 10 years ago. The 2014 rate was 66.2 visits per 10,000 people, down from a rate of 73 in 2011, according to a state health scorecard.

The rates help state health officials determine how well Connecticuts 9.2 percent of adults and 10.5 percent of children with asthma manage the disease. The illness cost $135 million in hospital care in 2014, according to Connecticut hospital discharge data, an increase of about $22 million since 2009.

This is a problem that everyone is looking at, said Daun Barrett, the director for Community Outreach and Parish Nursing at Griffin Hospital in Derby, which serves the lower Naugatuck Valley.

Bright Spot

Several towns in the Naugatuck Valley saw some of the biggest improvements in emergency room visit rates, the data show.

The improvements can be attributed to better education, more physician focus on asthma, and Putting on Airs, a state-sponsored home visit program that regional health departments have implemented, Barrett said.

In Derby, the emergency room rate decreased from 115.9 visits per 10,000 people to just 78 in the latest data. In Ansonia the decrease was from 120.7 to 94.7. Seymour dropped from 70.7 to 46.2 while Beacon Falls decreased from 46.7 to 24.5.

Still, the emergency room at Griffin averages one patient a day with asthma symptoms, not counting those who end up being admitted, Barrett said.

We want to see a decrease in emergency room visits, Barrett said. When you have to go to the emergency room, its a quick fix, not a long-term approach.

Mixed Results

The states cities continue to have high rates of hospitalizations and emergency room visits for asthma. While some of those rates decreased in the most recent data, others saw increases in both measures.

Bridgeport had the state's third highest rate of hospitalizations in 2010-14, at 29 people per 10,000. The rate increased from 27.5 in 2005-2009. Bridgeports emergency room visit rate increased during the same time, from 126.3 to 131.4.

In Hartford, 216.6 people per 10,000 used the emergency room for asthma in 2005-2009. The rate increased to 247.1 in the latest figures, the highest in the state. The rate of those who ended up getting admitted to the hospital increased from 35 to 37.6 during the same time frame.

State officials dont know precisely why the town-by-town numbers fluctuate.

Marie-Christine Bournaki, director of the state Department of Public Healths asthma program, said the statistics allow us to identify where the hotspots are, and thats where, from a program perspective, we strategize intervention in those particular regions.

Putting On Airs

Across the state, nurses, asthma educators and respiratory therapists visited the homes of about 938 people with asthma between 2010 and 2014 under the Putting on Airs program.

A 2010 study by researchers at the state Department of Public Health found that participants in Putting on Airs had fewer unscheduled emergency asthma doctors visits, fewer days missed from school or work, and fewer times using their rescue inhaler after six months.

Asthma education is more than providing knowledge, said Bournaki, the state asthma director. Its also helping the person to change their behavior and take control over their asthma. You can imagine its very difficult to be teaching in a context where the person is probably exhausted, going to the emergency room and being discharged.

Bournaki said that during home visits, the asthma educator works with the patient to practice using inhalers, talks about their asthma action plan and assesses the home for environmental triggers for asthma attacks. The program involves three follow-up phone calls to touch base and gather more data.

A lot of people, their asthma is not controlled because theyre not using the medication properly, Bournaki said. Its very critical to spend time assessing how the person is administering the medication.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Hospital Association is working with doctors and emergency rooms across the state to also coordinate asthma education.

The initiative is training hospital workers to help patients with medications and push for more patients to have asthma action plans to keep them out of the hospital.

In 2013, only 32.7 percent of Connecticut residents with asthma had ever received an asthma action plan, shy of the states 40 percent goal, the latest data show.

For the most part, [asthma is] well managed in an outpatient setting, like a community health center or a primary physicians office, said Madeleine Biondolillo, vice president of population health for the Connecticut Hospital Association, which launched the Connecticut Asthma Initiative last year.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
Pumpkins weighing nearly 2,000 pounds will be hauled to Ridgefields Ballard Park on Sept. 25 for the fourth annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and will feature live music, clothing sales, farm stands, and childrens crafts and games. There will also be a pumpkin decorating contest with four different categories: best tiger or town themed, best decorated, silliest and best carved.
BizCast

Doug Grimsted's software development company Aginity has an analytics hub that powers the entire enterprise. Aginity makes software that revolutionizes the way companies create, manage and deploy analytics, allowing companies to establish analytics as a new and valuable class of asset.

Grimsted is a seasoned technology startup and growth executive. He's an expert at determining where the puck is going and creating companies to serve the need and capture the value of being first. He's been recognized in Deloitte & Touche's "Fast 50" Program for Chicago, he won the prestigious KPMG Illinois High Tech Award in 1999, he's a member of the Chicago/NW Indiana Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and he was a finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1999 and 2000. He's also the chairman of a database ANSI Committee.
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has sent Earthlings a few more photos to look over as it continues to explore the landscape of the Red Planet.

And this batch of photos looks oddly familiar.

The photos are from an area of the planet called the "Murray Buttes," which is a region of lower Mount Sharp. The Martian buttes and mesas rising above the surface are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone that originated when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp had formed.

MORE MARS: 'Skeletal remains' spotted in NASA Mars rover Curiosity photo

"Studying these buttes up close has given us a better understanding of ancient sand dunes that formed and were buried, chemically changed by groundwater, exhumed and eroded to form the landscape that we see today," Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada says in a news release.

These findings could lead to more proof to the theory that Mars once hosted life. Furthermore it comes after the rover successfully found evidence in 2014 on the surrounding plains of Mount Sharp that ancient Martian lakes could have offered conditions that would have been favorable for microbes if Mars ever hosted life.

OTHER WORLD BEAUTY: NASA rover takes interactive 360-degree panorama of Mars

We haven't found any conspiracy theorists claiming they see a Glock, or an alien's skull or anything else, but we'll keep you updated if the theorists' imaginations can form something we can't.

But for the meantime, take a look at the rock formations shared by NASA and the conspiracy theories already created with other photos from Mars in the gallery above.

MORE SIGHTINGS? Pretty sure this skull found on Mars is that of an alien or Bigfoot
When my kids went off to college, I gave them an important piece of advice: If they didnt take a basic Shakespeare course, I wasnt going to help them out.

They listened; they did. That advice seems more relevant today for a number of reasons. He is the final word on most things and its the 400th anniversary of his death  a worldwide cause celebre.

To join in the party, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., the repository of all things Shakespeare in this country, is loaning each of the 50 states one of its 82 First Folios of his complete works throughout 2016.

A First Folio, gathered and printed by two actors in 1623 seven years after Shakespeares death, is the earliest known printing of 36 of his 38 works. (Pericles and Two Noble Kinsman are not part of it.) Some 230 extant folios exist out of the original 750. (One folio is a pile of ashes in a collectors home.)

Some of the plays had been published as single quartos, but the First Folio is complete and more importantly, includes18 previously unprinted works including Julius Caesar, Macbeth and Twelfth Night, which might have been otherwise lost.

Lucky UConn: It learned in the spring of 2015 it was the winner of the Connecticut Shakespeare lottery and under the watchful eye of student guards, security cameras and museum officials, the First Folio is on display at the universitys William Benton Museum through Sept. 25. It is open Tuesdays through Sundays 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekends, 1 to 4:30 p.m.

The multidiscipline contributions from segments of the university (plays, special seminars, graphic arts posters, puppet making workshops, and other events) enhanced UConns chances for selection. It is among 20 universities, 23 museums, libraries and historical societies loaned a folio.

A massive 900-page book with the iconic Martin Droeshout engraving of Shakespeare, the Bentons display is in a climate-controlled case, on a sturdy stand, supplied by the Folger. It is turned to Hamlets To Be or Not To Be speech (what else?) on pages 264-65.

For a month prior to its arrival, (by special courier who didnt let it out of her sight for days), the Benton was required to send daily temperature and humidity reports to the Folger.

UConns Connecticut Repertory Theater Managing Director Mark Pugliese was present when it was assembled over two days in late August.

It was very exciting. I had a cold though, and I just kept telling myself I couldnt sneeze on it, he said. The CRT is presenting King Lear, from Oct. 6-16 and the Bard is being celebrated at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury Sept. 24-25 with productions of Much Ado About Nothing in the Aquila Theatre, Danbury.

Lindsay Cummings, an assistant professor of dramatic arts, was in docent training when the book arrived but later came back by herself and confessed she had an emotional reaction when she actually laid eyes on it.

As did I in the chilled silence of the Benton gallery, even though that summer I had viewed one of the folios at the British Library during a hastily planned trip to London, which has been celebrating Shakespeare since the first of the year.

While in London, I saw an out-of-the-box Kenneth Bragnah production of Romeo and Juliet, in which 77-year old Derek Jacobi played 20-something Mercutio like a Vaudeville song and dance man, a testimony to the ageless quality of the playwright. Somehow he managed to kill Tybalt, a quarter of his age but hey, willing suspension of disbelief and all that. Poetry on the Tube, a standing feature of London transport, posted on the subways a Shakespeare sonnet, Ariels song from The Tempest, and Lears poor naked wretches storm speech.

Throughout London, library and theater exhibits showcased recordings of soliloquies of a ton of Hamlets from melancholy Laurence Oliver to a much younger Jacobi, who emphasized the antic disposition of the vengeful Dane. In one exhibit, headphones dangled from blood red skulls.

But thanks to the hard work of UConn Shakespeare committees, no one need travel far to view the First Folio.

Sadly, as the month winds down, Hamlet will pack up Yoricks skull, Macbeth will sheath his dagger, Marc Antony will gather his Friends, Romans and countrymen and theyll all trundle off to the next stop on this delightful traveling road show.

Terese Karmel teaches journalism at the University of Connecticut.
OTTAWA, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - In a decision released today, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ("Tribunal") found that the Canadian Government (INAC) has failed to comply with the Tribunal's January 26, 2016 order finding Canada racially discriminates against over 163,000 First Nations children by providing flawed and inequitable child welfare services and failing to properly implement Jordan's Principle. The Tribunal ordered the federal government to immediately cease its discriminatory conduct. In April of 2016, the Tribunal issued another order noting the slow pace of change and ordering the government to properly implement Jordan's Principle by May 10, 2016 and provide detailed reports on why Budget 2016 investments were sufficient. The federal government provided the reports and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society subsequently argued that Canada's actions on Jordan's Principle and vague reports failed to comply with the Tribunal orders.

In today's decision, the Tribunal makes clear that "it rests on INAC and the federal government to implement the Tribunal's findings and orders and to clearly communicate how it is doing so, including providing a rationale for their actions and any supporting data and/or documentation, ensures the Panel and the parties that this is indeed the case." The Tribunal finds that the federal government has not addressed the most egregious discriminatory effects of its child welfare program pending longer term reform despite knowing about solutions to fix many of the problems over a decade. According to the Tribunal, Canada's failure to deal promptly with key findings of the Tribunal's January decision in a timely manner is ''reflective of INAC's old mindset that spurred this complaint" and ''this may imply that INAC is still informed by information and policies that fall within this old mindset and that led to discrimination''. The Tribunal ordered Canada to take immediate action to ensure its program budget responds to the unique needs of First Nations children and families and to apply Jordan's Principle to all First Nations children on and off reserve. In addition, the Tribunal orders INAC to produce detailed evidence to support its claims that investments announced in Budget 2016 and the more recent announcement of $382 million for Jordan's Principle comply with the January order. The reports are due on September 30, 2016 and October 31, 2016. The Tribunal will retain jurisdiction over the complaint.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission listed child welfare reform and implementation of Jordan's Principle as its top Calls to Action. In response to today's decision, Dr. Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations First and Family Caring Society, said: "I was shocked we even had to file this case to get the Government of Canada to treat First Nations children fairly in the first place and now I am profoundly disappointed to see the government's ongoing failure to comply with repeated legal orders to stop its discriminatory conduct. Every Canadian should be concerned that the federal government is acting as if it is above the law and First Nations children are below the law."

"We have to remember that this is first and foremost about children and their safety and well-being," said AFN National Chief Bellegarde. "I welcome today's ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal but it is disappointing to see that Canada has to be pushed to respect human rights and end discrimination against First Nations children. Canada must be more transparent and work with us a on a better system to reform the federal First Nation child welfare program that is supported by fair funding based on real needs. This is, after all, about working together in the interests of our children."

Professor Sebastien Grammond, one of the lawyers representing the Caring Society, added that "ensuring compliance with human rights requires enforcement orders such as those issued by the Tribunal today. These orders put the responsibility for compliance squarely with the government. We could not be more pleased with the decision."

About: The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (Caring Society) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the wellbeing of First Nations children and their families.

Background

The case was filed in 2007 by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (Caring Society) and the Assembly of First Nations. The Canadian Government spent millions on at least 8 separate unsuccessful attempts to get the case dismissed on legal technicalities despite its own officials and documents detailing the funding gaps incentivizing the removal of First Nations children from their families and placing them in "circumstances that are dire." The case finally went to trial before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in 2013 but hearings were disrupted as an access to information request revealed that the Canadian government failed to disclose over 90,000 documents which were highly prejudicial to its case. Hearings resumed in the late fall of 2013 and concluded a year later.

In the January 2016 decision, the Tribunal found that the government's provision of First Nations child welfare services to over 163,000 children created perverse incentives to place First Nations children in foster care and failed to reflect their distinct needs and circumstances. The Tribunal also found Canada's narrow interpretation of Jordan's Principle, a measure to ensure First Nations children can access government services on the same terms as other children, was discriminatory on the basis of race and national ethnic origin. The Tribunal ordered Canada to cease its discriminatory conduct immediately and reform First Nations child welfare program and Jordan's Principle in compliance with the order.

The case is the subject of a National Film Board documentary directed by master film maker Alanis Obomsawin entitled "We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice." The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) hosted the world premiere of the documentary earlier this week.

To read the Tribunal orders and for more information on the case: www.fnwitness.ca. Learn more about Jordan's Principle at www.jordansprinciple.ca

SOURCE Assembly of First Nations

For further information: Cindy Blackstock, PhD., R.S.W., Executive Director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, Professor, McGill University, Languages: English only, Phone: (613) 230-5885, Mobile: (613) 793-8440, Email: [email protected], Twitter: @Caringsociety #Witness4FNKids; Sarah Clarke, Clarke Child and Family Law, Legal Counsel, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, Languages: English, Phone: (416) 260-3030, Email: [email protected]; David Taylor, Power Law, Legal Counsel, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, Languages: French and English, Phone: (613) 702-5563, Mobile: (613) 282-5309, Email: [email protected]; Sebastien Grammond, University of Ottawa, Legal Counsel, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, Languages: French and English, Mobile: (613) 808-3620, Email: [email protected]
WINNIPEG, Sept. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS) will release its 2016 third-quarter results in a conference call with the financial community on Wednesday, November 2, 2016 at 6 p.m. ET. Participants will include Jay Forbes, Chief Executive Officer and Paul Cadieux, Chief Financial Officer.

To participate, please dial toll-free 1-888-231-8191 or 647-427-7450. A replay will be available until November 9, 2016 by dialing 1-855-859-2056 and entering passcode 83510121.

Investors, media and the public are invited to participate on a listen-only basis by logging in to the live audio webcast of the conference call at the Investors page of MTS' website at about.mts.ca/investors/ or by entering: http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1268541&s=1&k=7A1A3B7B8D8C6365803F9C1B649B16D3.

A replay of the conference call will be available on MTS' website for one year.

About MTS

At MTS, we're proud to be Manitoba's leading information and communications technology provider. We're dedicated to delivering a full suite of services for Manitobans  Wireless, Internet, TV, Phone Service and Security Systems plus a full suite of Information Solutions, including Unified Cloud and Managed Services. You can count on MTS to make connecting your world easy. We're with you.

We live where we work and actively give back to organizations that strengthen our communities. Through MTS Future First, we provide sponsorships, grants and scholarships, value-in-kind support and volunteer commitment in Manitoba.

MTS Inc. is wholly owned by Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (TSX: MBT). For more on MTS' products and services, visit mts.ca. For investor information, visit www.mts.ca/aboutus.

SOURCE Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.

For further information: Investors: Brenda McInnes, (204) 941-6205, [email protected]; Media: Christine Payne, 204-941-8576, [email protected]
AdirondackLojFoliage-25.JPG

Early fall foliage on Adirondack Loj Road in the Adirondack Park. Mike Lynch for newyorkupstate.com

(Mike Lynch for newyorkupstate.co)

The Adirondak Loj Trailhead has become so popular that state officials are already warning the parking lot is likely to be full on weekends from now until Columbus Day,

State forest rangers will turn motorists away from the trailheads on the Adirondak Loj Road at South Meadow Lane, they warn.

Instead, the state Department of Environmental Conservation wants hikers to try other trails that also have spectacular views and challenging climbs.

Rocky Peak

The East Trail in the Giant Mountain Wilderness ascends 6.7 miles and 3,600 feet from the trailhead on Route 9N to the 4,420-foot summit of Rocky Peak Ridge and its 360-degree view. Much of the trail is along an open rocky ridge with constant views of the mountains, forests and waters to the north, east and southeast. There are several renowned points along the way to stop and enjoy the magnificent surrounding scenery including Blueberry Cobbles, at the 1.9 mile mark; Bald Mountain at the 3.9 mile mark; the remote and picturesque Marie Louis Pond at the 6.1 mile mark. The summit provides views of the Sentinel Range, Hurricane Mountain, Lake Champlain and the surrounding valley, the Green Mountains of Vermont, Dix Mountains, the Great Range, eastern High Peaks, and nearby Giant Mountain. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.1499degN, 73.6268degW

Baxter Mountain

This trail in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest ascends 1.0 mile and 725 feet from the trailhead on the State Route 9N to the 2,400-foot summit with 360 degree views which includes the Sentinel Range, Hurricane Mountain, Giant Mountain, the Dix Mountains, eastern High Peaks, and nearby Giant Mountain. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.2205degN, 73.7492degW Google Maps

Owl's Head Lookout

The North Trail in the Giant Mountain Wilderness ascends 2.5 miles and 1,110 feet from the trailhead on State Route 9N to a 0.1-mile spur trail that ascends 150 feet to the 2,530 feet lookout point. The lookout provides scenic views of Hurricane Mountain, the Boquet River Valley, Lake Champlain and the surrounding valley, the Green Mountains of Vermont and nearby Giant Mountain. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.2119degN, 73.6788degW Google Maps

The Crows

This trail in the Hurricane Mountain Wilderness ascends 0.9 mile and 845 feet and 0.9 mile from the Hurricane Road Trailhead to the 2,535-foot summit of Little Crow Mountain. The summit of 2,815-foot summit of Big Crow Mountain is located 0.6 mile and 280 feet further up the trail. There are numerous scenic views from ledges along the way and the summit. Hikers can descend 0.5 mile from Big Crow Mountain to the Crow's Clearing Trailhead to a vehicle or hike O'Toole Road and Hurricane Mountain Road for a 3.5 mile loop hike back to that trailhead. Trailhead Coordinates: (Hurricane Road: 44.2583degN, 73.7529degW) (Crow's Clearing: 44.2609degN, 73.7330degW)

Whiteface Mountain

The Whiteface Landing Trail in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness ascends 6.0 miles and 3,320 feet from the trailhead on State Route 86 to the 4,867-foot summit and its 360 degree views. The first 2.5 miles from the trailhead to the Whiteface Landing on the shores of Lake Placid ascends only 310 feet. The summit provides views of Lake Champlain, Lake Placid, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the High Peaks region, and a large portion of the northeastern Adirondacks. Those seeking a much shorter hike to the summit can drive the recently renovated Whiteface Mountain Veteran's Memorial Highway (fee required) to a parking area near the summit and hike the 0.15 mile trail ascending 200 feet to the summit. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.3002degN, 73.9302degW Google Maps

Scarface Mountain

This trail in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest ascends 3.3 miles and 1,400 feet from a trailhead on the Old Ray Brook Road to an open area .35 mile and 80 feet below the summit. The open area provides views of the western High Peaks, the Saranac Lake Chain of Lakes, McKenzie Mountain and more. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.2981degN, 74.0835degW Google Maps

Copperas & Owen Ponds

This trail in the Sentinel Range Wilderness extends 1.7 miles between two trailheads located on State Route 86. The trail ascends 450 feet for 0.5 mile to shore and clear waters of Copperas Pond and then continues 0.7 miles to the shores of Owen Pond. The trail provides views of the scenic wilderness ponds, their picturesque shorelines and 3,616-foot Stewart Mountain and 3,892-foot Kilburn Mountain. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.3349degN, 73.9003degW Google Maps

Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain

The Observer's Trail in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest ascends 1.9 miles and 1,280 feet from the trailhead off State Route 9 to the 2,162-foot summit with 360 degree views and a fire tower. Views from the summit include the Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and much of the northeastern Adirondacks. The trailhead is just 5 miles south of Exit 33 of the Northway (I-87). Trailhead Coordinates: 44.4019degN, 73.5029degW Google Maps

Catamount Mountain

This trail in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest ascends 1.8 miles and 1,540 feet from the trailhead on Forestdale Road to 3,168 feet bedrock summit. The hike includes one steep and exposed scramble. The view from summit includes Taylor Pond, Silver Lake, Union Falls Pond, the Wilmington Range, the Stephenson Range and Whiteface Mountain. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.4431degN, 73.8799degW

Silver Lake Mountain

This trail in the Taylor Pond Wild Forest ascends 0.9 mile and 900 feet from the trailhead on the Silver Lake Road. The summit offers views of Silver Lake, McKenzie Mountain, Moose Mountain, Taylor Pond, Catamount Mountain, Whiteface Mountain and the Wilmington Range. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.5110degN, 73.8483degW Google Maps

Bear Den Mountain

This trail in the Whiteface Mountain Intensive Use Area ascends 1.6 miles and 1,160 feet from a trailhead near the parking area for Kid Campus of the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area to the 2,400-foot summit of Bear Den Mountain. The trail is part of the Flume Trail Network and is open to the public for day use free of charge. Bikes are allowed on the first 0.4 mile of the trail. The summit provides views of the West Branch Ausable River Valley, the Sentinel Range and the Stephenson Range. Parking at Kids Campus is free. Overnight parking is prohibited. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.3595degN, 73.8576degW

Cobble Lookout

This trail in the Wilmington Wild Forest extends 1.3 miles with little change in elevation from a trailhead on Gillespie Drive (aka Franklin Falls Road) to a large rocky ledge with views of nearby Whiteface Mountain, and across the Ausable River drainage to Jay Mountain, Hurricane Mountain, and many other peaks. Trailhead Coordinates: 44.4040degN, 73.8789degW

Clements Pond

This trail in the Wilmington Wild Forest ascends 1.5 miles and 650 feet from a trailhead on Styles Brook Road to the shores of Clement Pond where hikers can enjoy views of the scenic pond, shoreline and nearby 2,550-foot Clement Mountain. The trailhead is across the road from the parking area. Trailhead Parking Area: 44.3001Ndeg, 73.7672degW
heroin.jpg

A drug user prepares to inject heroin in this file photo.

(New York Times)

OTTAWA -- The Canadian government has approved new regulations allowing doctors to prescribe heroin to treat severe addicts who have tried other treatments without success.

Any doctor in Canada can now apply to Health Canada for access to diacetylmorphine, as pharmaceutical-grade heroin is known, under a special-access program, according to the Washington Post.

The government said this kind of treatment will be available for only a small minority of users "in cases where traditional options have been tried and proven ineffective" and that it is important to give health-care providers a variety of tools to face the opioid-overdose crisis.

A government-funded clinic in Vancouver that opened in 2005 has been conducting a clinical trial of prescription heroin for addicts.

It provides diacetylmorphine to 52 addicts under a special court-ordered exemption, but expects that number to double over the next year if supplies can be obtained.

Colin Carrie, a Conservative member of Parliament and the party's spokesman on health policy, said his party remains adamantly opposed to the use of prescription heroin as a treatment option for addicts. "Our policy is to take heroin out of the hands of addicts and not put it in their arms," he said.

But the decision was lauded as an effective harm-reduction strategy by many Canadian doctors who have pushed for prescribed heroin for severe addicts for years.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245
Former state Assemblyman Joseph Errigo will replace Bill Nojay on the Republican line in November for a Rochester-area seat.

Errigo was selected by Republican leaders in the 133rd Assembly District, which covers parts of Monroe, Steuben and Livingston counties. The unusual selection process came after Nojay killed himself last Friday, just four days before the primary.

Nojay's challenger, Honeoye Falls Mayor Richard Milne, did not want the Nov. 8 slot, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.

Nojay was facing a fraud trial in Cambodia and reportedly under FBI scrutiny when he went to his family's cemetery plot in Rochester and shot himself in front of an arriving police officer last Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Errigo will face Democrat Barbara Baer and Conservative Party candidate the Rev. Jason McGuire in November.
Norwegian Air is the worlds fastest growing airline and it is leading the way in low cost international fares Norwegian is Europes third largest budget carrier after Ryanair and EasyJet. In October, 2015 they announced that an order for 19 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners at a price of $5 billion. It will take delivery of the planes between 2017 and 2020, and has an option to order an additional 10.

They already have one way flights as cheap as $150-200 from the US to Europe. The plan is have US to Europe sales with prices as low as $69 one way in 2017 when new 737 Max planes are delivered.

Norwegians long haul operations will continue to focus on leisure markets, with growth coming particularly on routes between the US and European cities such as London, Paris, Barcelona and Rome. We dont see any problems in placing these Dreamliners into the market, he said. Meanwhile, Norwegians Asian long haul network remains limited to its Bangkok services from Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. Its ability to add further Asian routes is currently held back by the limited availability of traffic rights through Russian air space.

787 Dreamliners and updated 777X will transport the number of people that used to require a jumbo jet will enable airlines like Norwegian to have multiple flights per day on the same route. This will mean they can compete for the international business traveller. This will provide better economics for discount international carriers.

The Quarterly financial presentation reports their future growth plans, their profitability and price competitiveness.

Norwegian is using about 11 long range Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes for their current international flights. They will be adding about 10 Dreamliners each year, which will be used to increase the routes and frequency of flights. They will use 737 Max planes to fly from the east coast of the US to Europe.

By the of 2017, Norwegian will have twice their international fleet of 787s.

This could see fairly frequent one way West coast US to Europe fares below $150 one way. Currently prices occasionally get below $200 one way.

By the end of 2018, Norwegian long haul fleet will triple its current size and will likely see fairly frequent one way West coast US to Europe fares below $100 one way.

Other airlines have tried a low-fare approach on long-haul flights, with little success. But Bjorn Kjos, Norwegians ebullient chief executive, is confident that his unconventional approach will allow the airline to offer fares 50 percent cheaper than the competitions.

Boeing 787 Dreamliners have longer range and can connect secondary international airports like Oakland and Sweden directly with no transfers.

Direct flights to non-hub airports means existing airlines cannot block out the gates at the hubs.
Users of Ingram Micro Inc.s IM Cloud Marketplace in Mexico can now avail Dropbox, Cirius and BitTitan services as well. This takes the total number of cloud solutions accessible through Ingram Micro in Mexico to approximately a dozen. However, the financial details of the deal have been kept under wraps.



About The Services



Dropbox is a file backup service that offers cloud-based file management, storage systems and client software. It enables users to access and synchronize files and use applications through multiple devices. Users can create a special folder on their computers, which can be synchronized for viewing on any computer. Files placed in this folder are also accessible through websites and mobile phone applications.



The Cirius Messaging platform helps users to send, receive and secure email and attachments on any device, anytime and anywhere. It protects data breach and information, maintains regulatory compliance, speeds up workflow and enhances the performance of enterprise networks.



BitTitan is a leader in cloud services and helps to send or receive mails from almost any source. It provides solutions that empower IT consultants and managed service providers to sell, onboard, and service cloud technology. Founded in 2007, BitTitan supports many leading cloud ecosystems including Microsoft MSFT Office 365, Amazon AMZN, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, and Dropbox.



Deal Benefits



Through Ingram Micros Cloud Marketplace, channel partners can now seamlessly deploy these services in real time, providing customers with a complete and affordable solution that addresses the need to transition to the cloud in a simple and seamless fashion.



First launched in North America, the Cloud Marketplace was quite well received. This prompted the company to launch it globally. The integration of these services into Ingram Micro is aimed at making it easier for people and organizations to work with files on the go. Also, it will help to enhance the companys Security and Communication cloud solution offerings.



Moreover, it will broaden Ingram Micros capabilities as a cloud solution provider, thereby helping it to capitalize on the increasing opportunities in the space. Its easy accessibility will ensure monthly recurring revenues for Ingram Micro.



On the other hand, leveraging Ingram Micros distribution channels, Dropbox, Cirius and BitTitan will be able to market their products easily and expand in newer markets. According to Octavio Maynez, General Manager at Foro Web, "Ingram Micro continues to provide the innovative resources that help us preserve our trusted IT advisor status with customers". He further added, "We are excited to leverage a broader cloud catalog, powered by a leading automated marketplace to accelerate our go-to-marketing capabilities and effectively address business demand."



Story continues

INGRAM MICRO Price

INGRAM MICRO Price | INGRAM MICRO Quote

Bottom Line



Ingram Micro has been signing distribution deals with a number of original equipment manufacturers, thus expanding its product portfolio. The companys exposure to the cloud computing segment is also expected to act as a significant growth driver.



Additionally, managements focus on high-margin markets and strategic acquisitions to grow market share should help.



Though Ingram Micros high debt burden is a concern, we remain fairly optimistic about its strategic relationships with network giants such as Juniper Networks Inc., Cisco and International Business Machines Corp.



Currently, Ingram Micro carries Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Interested in IPOs? Check out the special edition of Zacks Friday Finish Line below, where Editor Maddy Johnson and Content Writer Ryan McQueeney interview Kathleen Smith of Renaissance Capital about the IPO market in 2016 (see part two here).

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Four companies involved in a money laundering case linked to former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, have pleaded guilty before a federal co...

The first of the four companies involved in a $26 million money laundering case linked to former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, abruptly pleaded guilty before the judge.The representatives of the other three companies  Sea Gate Property Development and Investment Company Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited  followed suit and pleaded guilty before Justice Babivision of the Federal High Court.Waripamo Dudafa, who served as Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan; Amajuoyi Briggs, a former presidential aide; and Adedamola Bolodeoku, a former Skye Bank official, who were arraigned alongside the companies, however, pleaded not guilty.The judge adjourned till September 27th for trial.The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned the suspects on a 15-count amended charge of money laundering, stealing, and forgery totalling $15.5 million before Mr. Kuewumi.According to the EFCC, the offences were committed between November 2013 and May 2015.In Count 1, the suspects were accused of conspiring to launder $15.5 million on or about the 13th of November 2013.Counts 2  9 accused them of stealing of various sums ranging from $250,000 to $1.2 million.Counts 10  15 said Messrs Dudafa, Briggs, Bolodeoku, and one Sompre Omiebi (who is still at large) forged documents to open accounts in Skye Bank and Wema Bank in the name of the listed companies.During their investigations, the EFCC had frozen the accounts.But last week, Mrs. Jonathan filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit before the court claiming ownership of the money found in the companies accounts, asking that the no-debit order placed on them be lifted.In an affidavit deposed to by one Sammie Somiari, a lawyer, Mrs. Jonathan said she asked Mr. Dudafa to assist her to open the bank accounts which the EFCC had frozen.The former First Lady said the monies were meant for her medical treatment.Before the pleas were read, the first three defendants lawyers argued that the four companies representatives  who did not have legal counsels  ought to provide a letter from their respective companies authorizing them to appear before the judge.Anybody can be called upon from the street to come and represent a company, said Tochukwu Onyiuke, counsel to the second defendant, Mr. Briggs.Gboyega Oyewole, counsel to Mr. Dudafa, said the defendants were in a joint trial.It cannot be severed, he said.Whatever plea pleaded by the defendants will tell on the companies. Worst case scenario, my Lord will discountenance them and enter a not guilty plea for them.But Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the EFCC, argued that the representatives were listed as directors in the companies Corporate Affairs Commission registration records.If they (defence counsels) are objecting to their plea being taken, it is extremely immature to bring it up at this stage, it is after their plea had been taken, said Mr. Oyedepo.If they want us to show that the persons appearing the court are listed in the CAC as directors, we have the proof.After the plea was read, the judge granted Messrs Briggs and Bolodeoku bail in the sum of N250 million each, with two sureties.The judge refused to allow Mr. Dudafa to continue on a bail granted him in another trial before a different judge, remanding him in prison and insisting that his lawyer must file a bail application before his court.Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos based lawyer, revealed that the implication of the companies representatives pleading guilty means the money found in the bank accounts would be forfeited to the Nigerian government.The companies representatives cannot be sent to prison because they are not charged as individuals, Mr. Ogunye said.The company that pleaded guilty, of course, cannot be made to serve custodial punishment. But is it very instructive that they pleaded guilty realizing that it doesnt make any sense of them to deny such an obvious guilt on their part.As the case continues, it is not clear how much Mrs. Jonathan can do to prove the money truly belongs and be returned to her and not forfeited to the government.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, on Thursday challenged Gov. Nyesom Wike to reveal how the Independent National Electoral Co...

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, on Thursday challenged Gov. Nyesom Wike to reveal how the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) planned to rig the legislative rerun election in the state.This is contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by Mr Chris Finebone, APC Publicity Secretary in the state.Finebone said that the APC was not surprised by what it termed wild allegations by the governor, stressing that it was in line with his character.According to the party, the allegation is part of Wikes preparations for electoral mischief.If indeed the governor is serious about his discovery and he was referring to the APC when he made reference to the opposition, then we challenge him to make public his findings.We believe that it is mere smokescreen by Wike to divert attention from his readiness to deploy from his unholy book of electoral mischief and the APC is ready for him, he said.Finebone urged INEC not to be distracted, but to carry out its duties transparently to ensure credible election. INEC must ensure that every aspect of the forthcoming rerun elections in Rivers is transparent and credible to prove Gov. Wike wrong, he said.The APC spokesman also berated the Rivers House of Assembly for amending some laws to enable the governor appoint local government caretaker committees in perpetuity.We believe that what the Rivers Assembly has been goaded into doing is a naked rape of democracy reminiscent of the dark ages. Those embarking on this political journey will ultimately find out that they will be held to account for their actions someday, he said.
Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take disciplinary action against the Ins...

Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take disciplinary action against the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, and two officers for violating their individual and collective rights.BBOG accused the IGP of falsely declaring their peaceful advocacy as a security threat that must not trample on other peoples rights through over-dramatisation of emotions, self-serving propaganda and disrespect of public (office) holders.They also accused the IGP of attempting to cause disaffection between the group and fellow Nigerians without any evidence to back his claims.BBOG made the demands yesterday at a news conference in Abuja. A member of the group, Veronica Bakam, read the statement signed by leaders of the group, Oby Ezekwesili and Aisha Yesufu.The group demanded that IGP Idris tender an unreserved apology to them for orchestrating a hate campaign and disseminating false information against them, with the intention of tarnishing the reputation of their movement.The statement reads: Following a week of zero communication and inaction by the President, our movement embarked on a series of strategic engagements to compel decisive action to BringBackOurGirls. Top on this was the communication of a list of six demands and a commitment to re-engage the President through a protest march to the State House after every three working days.The demands were:That the President swiftly made a firm decision for the immediate rescue of our girls based on the three available options. 1. Military operation. 2. Negotiation with the terrorists. 3. Combination of 1 and 2. With the information available, the President must pursue the lowest risk option of these three. That the President addressed Nigerians on his Rescue Plan and Timelines of our #ChibokGirls TODAY. That the President constituted a #ChibokGirls Rescue Operation Monitoring Team, made up of representatives of the Federal Government, parents of Chibok Girls, KADA community and #BringBackOurGirls. This multi-stakeholders platform acts as a transparent mechanism for feedback on evidence of Mr. Presidents sustained action towards bringing back our ChibokGirls. That the President immediately presides over National Emergency in the Northeast Conference to articulate a cohesive response plan to the Humanitarian Crisis and designate a Special Envoy responsible for the inter-agency collaborative work required, as well as mobilise the private sector, Nigerian public, and the International Community. That the President directed the Attorney General and EFCC to set up Special Desk with the responsibility for fast-tracking trials of the Arms Procurement Fund and providing regular updates. We rejected any suspension or termination of any of the trials without reaching a legal conclusion. That the Chief Justice of the Federation prioritised the trials of all Counter-Insurgency related corruption cases. Cases should be placed on fast-track with no long adjournments.In addition, we mobilised support for rescue efforts through engagements with embassies of the United Kingdom, France, Canada and the United States as well as European Union and Economic Community of West African States. Thesem, we believed, were necessary allies of our government due to the wealth of resources to be gained from sharing knowledge assets, security and intelligence infrastructure, as well as relevant experience.While engagements with the diplomatic community were completely successful, our democratically elected President refused to grant us an audience. Despite three blockades at the access road to the State House, by the Nigeria Police, our resolve to communicate our demands never waivered.Our reputation as a well-organised and disciplined citizens movement that strictly respects the constitution and the laws of the land was built over the last nearly 30 months of our advocacy for the abducted school girls.Sadly, on Tuesday, September 6, 2016, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command displayed an unacceptable level of intolerance and blatant disregard for our constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of thought, conscience, association, peaceful assembly and movement. By unleashing a detachment of over a 100 anti-riot policemen on our civil movement and going further to attempt several cordons against our fourth march of the series, the Police ignored a judgement of a Federal High Court.Furthermore, by falsely declaring our peaceful advocacy as a security threat, whose activities must not trample on other peoples rights through over-dramatisation of emotions, self-serving propaganda and disrespect of public (office) holders, the Inspector General of Police deliberately attempted to pitch us against fellow Nigerians without any evidence to back those claims.In addition, we consider it injurious to our carefully built reputation as a global movement known for order, decency, civility, and discipline, whose model is often recommended by some of the worlds top-rated publications and researched by students of the worlds top universities at doctoral and post-doctoral levels.
The Presidency. on Wednesday, said President Muhammadu Buhari feels the pains of Nigerians and is working assiduously towards alleviating ...

The Presidency. on Wednesday, said President Muhammadu Buhari feels the pains of Nigerians and is working assiduously towards alleviating their hardship.An official of the Presidency who pleaded not to be mentioned had in a chat with newsmen also disclosed that the Presidency will not dabble into the affairs of the Senate over its decision to question the Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, on the state of the nations economy.Recall that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had last week said the Senate upon resumption will summon managers of the nations economy to explain the reasons why the nation is in recession.Reacting to Sarakis comment, the official said, We are not going to engage the Senate on this matter with the ministers involved in the management of the economy because we have a binding pact with the Nigerian people to end corruption and make life better for them.The truth of the matter is that President Muhammadu Buhari deeply feels the pains that Nigerians are passing through as a result of the pains inflicted on them through unmitigated corruption and wastefulness of the past and he is working assiduously with his cabinet to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.This is not the time for unnecessary rhetoric to please the audience but a time to do serious work to change the landscape and put food on the table for Nigerians.
President Muhammadu Buhari will today chair an extra-ordinary retreat in Abuja to seek for ways of pulling the economy out of recession.

President Muhammadu Buhari will today chair an extra-ordinary retreat in Abuja to seek for ways of pulling the economy out of recession.Expected at the one-day retreat are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and heads of relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).Also expected are private sector facilitators and some economic experts, who have been invited to offer perspectives during the technical sessions.In a statement, the Ministry of Budget & National Planning said discussions on measures to revamp the economy will be the focus of the retreat.According to Budget & National Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma, the meeting would also provide the forum for the Federal Government to present and discuss priority areas of next years budget and realign its priority areas of the MDAs with national growth and development objectives.The statement by the ministers spokesman Akpandem James reads: The key objective of the retreat is to discuss the 2017 budget as well as steps being taken to get the economy out of recession.The meeting is part of a scheduled arrangement to fine-tune and set the right parameters for the 2017 Budget. It (the meeting) will provide an opportunity to discuss the framework of the 2017 Budget, the key priorities and the deliverables of the budget.The retreat is expected to deliver improved understanding of the measures being taken to get the country out of recession; improve synergy among the various ministries for enhanced implementation of planning and budget; and enhance knowledge of how to develop 2017 budget which is effectively linked with the medium term plan.The meeting will also review prioritised projects and programmes of ministries to fit into the 2017-2019 MTSS, 2017-2020 Medium Term Plan and 2017 Budget; and improved understanding on budget ceiling for MDAs for 2017 Budget, he said.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, on Thursday said the Federal Government would soon begin the d...





The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, on Thursday said the Federal Government would soon begin the disbursement of soft loans to market women. Lawal made this known when the President, National Council of Womens Societies (NCWS), Mrs Gloria Shoda, visited him in his office in Abuja.He said that the government would support the councils programmes that would add values, morals and aspirations to the country. According to him, government targets on women and youths includes 500,000 youths in agriculture, school and guaranteed internship scheme.Lawal advised women to use their position to instil good moral values in young persons, saying that morals began at the homes. Women play a prominent role to the government, youths and children as they are better in doing that; they should take the baton and help their various communities.The moral values begin from home and for the `Change Begins with Me campaign by the President Muhammadu Buhari to work, the women cannot be left out; the government demands a lot from you as mothers of the nation, he said.The SGF said that collective energies of women as key contributors to nation building were a globally recognised phenomenon.He said that women in key positions in the country had proven competent, and were doing a good job. Earlier, Shoda had observed that the government had adopted a gender-friendly approach in key areas of governance.She, however, appealed to the government that issues concerning women should continue to be at the front burner of the nations development agenda, especially in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment.Shoda called for increase in number of slots for women to attend the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), saying that the training would broaden opportunities for women.Nigerian as a growing democracy needs the input of all her citizens in the continuous enhancement of her status on the international stage.We believe women should be wholesomely equipped to actively participate in this vision. The process of public service and nation building is one in which women are very keen to participate in, as equal partners, she said.She appealed to government to appoint women in board of government parastatals and agencies, saying that women would be able to contribute to the countrys growth and sustainable development.She said the launch of the Change Begins with Me campaign by the president would change hearts, homes and communities.It is part of our duties as teachers, counsellors and mentors of the society to educate on behaviour and how we should all conduct ourselves within the larger society.We assure you of our willingness to work in tandem with you, to promote the values towards achieving the goals of the noble orientation campaign, Shoda said.
The Federal Government has fired back at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for calling for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Federal Government has fired back at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for calling for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.The FG advised the former ruling party to bury its head in shame by trying to distract the government from its rescue mission and returning the country to Egypt.Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday said if the PDP knew the meaning of shame, it would never utter any word following its ouster from power last year.According to Mohammed, We are on a rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma, and the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts. But we are not deterred,While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari Administration which is left to pack their mess. PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation, he said.The minister said the former ruling party led Nigeria to this present situation.He said, They keep saying we should stop talking of the past, yet the past will not stop rearing its head.They keep saying we should no longer refer to the past, but how can we forget so soon that our foreign exchange reserves plummeted from $62bn in 2008 to $30bn by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of $114 per barrel in 2014.By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from $60 billion in 2008 to $120 billion in 2015.The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we wont repeat the mistake.Take the excess crude account which fell from about $9bn in 2007 to about $2bn in 2015. The argument that it was the State Governors that depleted the account does not hold water since there were Governors in place when the account was being built up.Worse still is the fact that up to $14bn in revenues from Nigerian LNG remains unaccounted for and indeed until the Buhari Administration came to office, State Governments never got any allocations from this source of funds which properly belongs to the Federation Account.The naked fact on the revenue front is that there was just a failure of leadership. This was compounded by the non-transparent uses of funds. We are all witnesses to the sacking of a Central Bank Governor because he raised an alarm about $20 billion that had gone missing.We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDPs watch, with $15 billion stolen from the defence sector alone.Perhaps most painful is that because of the way funds (about $322m) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, we now have to accept conditionalities before our stolen assets are even returned to us, he said.Mohammed added that one of the achievements that the PDP has been touting is that it reduced the nations national debt.However, at the time that we were earning such large revenues from oil, we only managed to double our external debt from $5.6 billion to $10.7 billion between 2011 and 2015. The case of domestic debt was even worse, almost tripling from N888 billion to N2.1 trillion in the same period.Even these figures mask the extent of unpaid obligations to contractors and the huge plethora of uncompleted projects on which money continued to be spent without visible results.Payments to contractors stopped several years ago while not a single dollar was contributed to the Joint Venture activities. Over N4.5 trillion was spent on fuel subsidy in just two years under the PDP!Despite a recent oil boom, Nigerians are indeed all victims of the dilapidated and decrepit infrastructure.The economy that the Buhari Administration inherited was certainly in dire straits, if the huge amount of salary arrears that were being owed at various tiers of government is anything to go by. If, after earning so much resources and increasing the total debt stock, our governments were not able to meet salary obligations, sometimes for up to seven months, then something was definitely wrong somewhere and if this is not evidence of a collapsing economy, one wonders what it is.Indeed, it was not so long ago that the fuel subsidy regime almost bankrupted the country. Through credibility and commitment to good governance, the current administration has managed to save up to N1.4 trillion that would have been spent on subsidies for PMS. Moreover, the daily demand for PMS has halved from 1600 trucks a day to 850 trucks a day. If we could achieve such savings, then clearly the petrol sector which was and remains a huge source of foreign exchange demand was not being well managed.It is also important to point out that the poor security situation in the North East has had ripple effects on the economy. Apart from the dislocation of daily lives, there was extensive loss of agricultural production arising from the fact that our citizens in that zone could not go to their farms not to talk of planting and harvesting produce.Yet, in just a space of about 15 months, the Buhari Administration has liberated this region from the clutches of Boko Haram, which is now left to release meaningless videos when it could no longer carry out spectacular attacks, he said.
For allegedly pouring a poisonous substance in a neighbours pot of soup, a trader, Gordon Daniel, on Thursday appeared before an Ebute Me...





For allegedly pouring a poisonous substance in a neighbours pot of soup, a trader, Gordon Daniel, on Thursday appeared before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates Court in Lagos.The accused, 39, is facing trial on a charge of attempted murder. When the charge was read to the accused, he pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Cpl. Hafsat Ajibode said that the offence was committed on Aug. 17 at about 10.00 a.m. at No. 7, Baale Ayetoro St., Ajegunle, Lagos.Ajibode told the court that the accused had attempted to kill his neighbor by pouring the substance into her pot of soup. She said the offence contravened Section 228 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.The Magistrate, Mrs K.A. Ariyo, granted the accused bail in the sum of N500,000, with two sureties in like sum. Ariyo ordered that one of the sureties must be a blood relation of the accused and must show proof of tax payment to the State Government.The case was adjourned to Oct. 11 for receipt of advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). The suspected poisonous substance, Snipper, is a gammalin 20-based liquid insecticide that is common in Nigeria for ridding homes of all insects and small rodents.
Five days after, outrage continues following the deadly attacks by some masqueraders in some parts of Ado Ekiti, including invasion of S...

Five days after, outrage continues following the deadly attacks by some masqueraders in some parts of Ado Ekiti, including invasion of St. Andrews Anglican Church in Oke Ila.It was gathered yesterday the masqueraders stormed the church on Friday night during a prayer vigil, and smashed the head of a worshipper with a broken bottle.The victim was left in a pool of his blood.The church vicar, Venerable Zacchaeus Olu Ibitoye, described the attack on the church as barbaric and sacrilegious.He said Gods sanctuary must be hallowed and respected.The cleric said he and other worshippers were in the church when one of their members, who was returning home after prayers, was chased back by cudgel-wielding masqueraders.Ibitoye added that the case was reported at the police station, and the culprit was arrested.The victim, he said, was rushed to hospital after losing much blood.The cleric, who added that palace chiefs visited the church on a fact-finding mission, said the incident was also reported to the Bishop of Diocese of Ekiti, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Reverend Christopher Omotunde.The alleged excesses of the masqueraders made the Ewi, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, to announce a ban on their activities on Saturday, calling on the police to arrest any masquerader sighted anywhere in his kingdom.The government followed up with a public announcement on Monday, outlawing masquerades in the state capital.It was alleged that Paragogo masqueraders were behind the attacks on the church, shops, offices, vehicles and motorcycles.They collected money from innocent citizens, motorists and motorcyclists.But the Odogun of Ado Ekiti, High Chief Obayemi Aladetoyinbo, said the attack on St. Andrews Church was carried out by suspected robbers and cultists.Aladetoyinbo explained that the attack occurred at 5 AM on Friday, a day preceding his festival, and that it will be wrong to point fingers at his people.He added that he had reported to the police several times about cultists in Oke Ila, and wondered why nothing has been done to abate the situation.He said: I have taken time to report activities of cultists during a meeting of Ado-Ekiti Security Advisory Committee about these cultists, who have taken over Oke Ila.At times, they will be shooting into the air sporadically in the daylight, and this is becoming so bad, and I think they were responsible for the attack, and this is condemnable.They stole money, bags and phones that Friday, and we were holding our preparation on Saturday when they came here. What happened at the church was not a masquerade issue. Those boys had gone there to lay siege to people who went for vigil.We invited Governor Mr. Ayodele Fayose to our festival, and I dont think we could invite the governor, and at the same time be fomenting trouble.The masqueraders that came from Oke Ila are not my masqueraders. There is no masquerader that can come out before 5 AM. I myself that is here, my life is in danger because the boys are always there smoking Indian hemp.Police spokesman Alberto Adeyemi said some suspects have been arrested in connection with the attacks.He declined to mention the number of suspects arrested.
Chairman of Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mr. Ben Kure, yesterday disclosed that there had been multiple tremors in Kwoi sin...

Chairman of Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mr. Ben Kure, yesterday disclosed that there had been multiple tremors in Kwoi since the first occurred on Sunday.Kure, who confirmed that experts had visited the area to assess the situation, said there were more than 15 occurrences.He told Daily Trust that Sunday tremor was so severe that it shook building foundations while the second early Monday was also intense.Villagers in Bathang, the area worst hit, said they experienced several tremors, both mild and severe.One Mrs. Felicia Isaac, whose house was felled by the vibration, stated that most residents now live in fear, while many had fled the area.Adamu Kwasau, the village head of Bathang, corroborated the statement.Kwasau recalled that a number of villages moved out as the vibrations continued.Since there are promises of assistance from several quarters, I am appealing to the people not to run but stay calm, he said, urging federal and state governments to expedite action in resolving the tremor.
The Federal Government has berated the Peoples Democratic Party for demanding the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Federal Government has berated the Peoples Democratic Party for demanding the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser, Mr. Segun Adeyemi, said the PDP was shameless.He described the former ruling party a shameless irritant, which was bent on distracting the government from its rescue mission and returning the country to Egypt.Mohammed stated, We are on a rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma, and the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts. But we are not deterred.The minister said if the PDP had understood the meaning of shame; it would not have dared to even make a single comment on the economy that it did everything to kill.He added, While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari Administration which is left to pack their mess.PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation.Mohammed said what the PDP had consistently put up as a vibrant economy under its watch was nothing but a bubble that was buoyed by massive corruption and chronic incompetence.According to him, under the PDP government, someone without any known means of earned livelihood will boast of $31.5m.He stated, They keep saying we should stop talking of the past, yet the past will not stop rearing its head. They keep saying we should no longer refer to the past, but how can we forget so soon that our foreign exchange reserves plummeted from $62bn in 2008 to $30bn by 2015, at a time when oil prices were at a historic high, reaching a level of $114 per barrel in 2014.By comparison, Indonesia, another oil producing economy with a high population, increased its reserves from $60bn in 2008 to $120bn in 2015.The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we wont repeat the mistake.Take the excess crude account which fell from about $9bn in 2007 to about $2bn in 2015. The argument that it was the State Governors that depleted the account does not hold water since there were Governors in place when the account was being built up.Worse still is the fact that up to $14bn in revenues from Nigerian LNG remains unaccounted for and indeed until the Buhari Administration came to office, State Governments never got any allocations from this source of funds which properly belongs to the Federation Account.The naked fact on the revenue front is that there was just a failure of leadership. This was compounded by the non-transparent uses of funds. We are all witnesses to the sacking of a Central Bank Governor because he raised an alarm about $20bn that had gone missing.We are indeed still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDPs watch, with $15bn stolen from the defence sector alone.Perhaps most painful is that because of the way funds (about $322m) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, we now have to accept conditionalities before our stolen assets are even returned to us.
The suspected armed robbers who allegedly attacked Ogenyi Onazis family house this week in Jos have been arrested, the Super Eagles star has revealed.Onazis father was hurt as the robbers made away with a car, cash and other items but, thankfully, no lives were lost.The five armed robbers that robbed my family home In Jos have been apprehended at Epe, Lagos, Onazi tweeted on Thursday. I really thank God almighty.Jos in Plateau State where the robbery took place is about 1,000 kilometres from Lagos where the suspects were caught.The Nigeria and Trabzonspor midfielder then expressed his gratitude to the police for their commendable work.Officially,I thank the DIG Abuja Mr Joshak Habila; CP Plateau State, AIG and CP Lagos State, and most importantly Mr Victor Ugoh.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, yesterday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to face the challenges of ...





















The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, yesterday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to face the challenges of governance and stop agonizing over misdeeds of past administrations.Nigerians, according to the clergyman, didnt vote a government to complain about yesterday. If we wanted yesterday, the new government would not be there.Kukah spoke with newsmen at a dinner organized by Ondo State Government after the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigerian, CBCN, in Akure, the Ondo State Capital.He spoke as leaders of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday continued their attacks on President Buhari over his comments that he inherited nothing from PDP administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Musa YarAdua and Goodluck Jonathan.Asked to comment on the blame game of the present administration, Kukkah said: The previous government didnt only do bad things, it did a lot of good things.I think the business of government is not our business; our business is: if the previous government did bad, that is why we voted a new government. It is really about taking responsibility. No matter how much you praise or abuse Jonathan, he is not the President of Nigeria. I think people must understand, you take power to solve problems, not to agonize.As the head of a family, no matter how bad things are in the house, you, as a father, cant enter the house crying. It is the question of developing the mechanism. Even my best friends in APC now realise that nobody can sing the song about Jonathan being responsible for the problems we are in.We are not asking you to change the whole world. Jonathan created problems but we are now riding a train between Abuja and Kaduna; the train wasnt there before. Things that Jonathan did that can help Nigeria, lets continue with them.On the bad things that Jonathan did, those who deserve to go to prison should go to prison, but sending people to prison will only be useful if it puts bread on the table of people.On the war against corruption, the Catholic Bishop said: I have always said, you cant cure malaria by just providing tablets; you might provide tablets to cure malaria but you have to look at the cause of malaria. As long as dirty waters and mosquitoes are around, there will still be the disease.My argument has always been that we are really fighting corruption, we started off with the assumption that corruption is all about people stealing money. But stealing money is actually the other end of corruption.The reason we dont seem to make much progress is based on the kind of diagnosis. I still believe that unless we get to the root cause of poverty, inequality, which are really the evidence and symptom of corruption, you can talk of fighting corruption as very little is going to happen.
Nollywood actor Femi Branch is really not happy that musicians and comedians were addressed as major artistes in Nigeria.Read what he wrote below... plus the video of Mark Zuckerberg addresing them all as 'major artistes'
-- Josh Gottheimer, the Democrat seeking to unseat Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey's 5

th

Congressional District this fall, appeared at Exchange Place this morning to attack Garrett as a "coward" for not supporting federal legislation backed by families of 9/11 victims and first responders.

Flanked by a group that included the widow of a pilot whose plane was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center 15 years ago, Gottheimer tore into his Republican opponent and vowed to wage a more aggressive war on terrorists around the globe if he is elected in November.

Standing on the waterfront with One World Trade Center as a backdrop, the 41-year-old Wyckoff Democrat called Garrett "the walking definition of weak on terror" and accused him of hewing to his conservative views at the expense of his constituents.

"Scott Garrett is a coward who would rather put Americans at risk than risk his perfect Tea Party record," said Gottheimer, a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton.

Garrett's campaign responded by saying the remarks made by Gottheimer and his surrogates today are offensive lies.

"Scott has fought for our first responders and he has opposed efforts to politicize their struggles," Robert Knapp, a former Oakland volunteer fire chief, said in a statement.

Gottheimer has ratcheted up his criticism of Garrett regarding the 9/11 attacks, sparked by a press release Garrett issued last week touting his co-sponsorship of a federal bill named for James Zadroga, a New York City police detective who is believed to be the first 9/11 responder to die of exposure to toxins at the World Trade Center wreckage site. The law assists emergency workers sickened by the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath.

Garrett ended up voting against a reauthorization of the Zadroga Act, saying his no vote came because the reauthorization was included in a "bloated" omnibus spending bill he opposed.

Zadroga's father, Joe, stars in an ad for Gottheimer and appeared alongside the congressional hopeful today, as did Ellen Saracini, the widow of Victor Saracini, the captain of the plane that was flown into the south tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Jaime Hazan, an EMT who assisted in the cleanup effort after the towers collapsed, also appeared alongside the Congressional candidate.

Saracini has been pushing for a federal law requiring a barrier to cockpit doors -- a second door that would create a secure vestibule when pilots need to exit the cockpit -- but the legislation has stalled in Congress. The bill is opposed by an airline industry trade group, which says the decision on including barriers should be left to the airlines. Garrett is not one of the bill's 81 co-sponsors.

9/11 hijackers would not have been able to access the planes' cockpits if there had been barriers present, Saracini said today. She noted that you can find barrier doors at dog parks to keep dogs from escaping.

"We have this courtesy that we offer dogs in America," she said.

The 5th District, which includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties, is a reliably Republican district that Democrats targeted aggressively two years ago.

In response to today's Gottheimer event, Garrett's campaign offered three statements from Garrett surrogates who praised the congressman and blasted his opponent. Assemblyman Parker Space, R-Sparta, a former fire chief for Wantage, called Garrett "a champion" for men and women in uniform.

"Any suggestion otherwise is a shameful smear manufactured to score cheap political points," Space said in the statement. "As a third generation firefighter, I'm deeply offended by the lies cooked up by some Washington, D.C., political operatives in a ploy to obscure the truth here in New Jersey."

Garrett was first elected to Congress in 2002.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Mark Browne is facing 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murdering Darryl Williams, 24, who was found dead behind a North Bergen gas station in 2012.

(Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY -- The Newark man left to die beneath a mattress weighted down with cinder blocks behind a North Bergen gas station struggled to save himself and left a bloody trail as he crawled toward Tonnelle Avenue before dying on New Years Eve 2012.

The disturbing images were shown to the jury this morning at the murder trial of Mark Browne -- one of six people charged in the death of 24-year-old Darryl Williams. The victim's body was found by a passerby behind a gas station on Tonnele Avenue near Route 3.

According to pictures shown to the jury and testimony from Matthew Stambuli of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Squad this morning, Williams had been brutally beaten and his hands were bound behind his back. Duct tape was also wrapped around his throat and mouth, and a pillowcase had been placed on his head when he was left beneath the mattress.

The images show the cinder blocks still on the mattress and Williams lying dead some 20 or 30 feet away, with a zigzag of blood streaks on the ground between him and the mattress. Williams wasn't wearing shoes, while his pants and other items of clothing had come off as he struggled to crawl away, leaving his elbows and knees covered in abrasions.

A crisscross of tire tracks was also found in the blood and blood was smeared on the side of a nearby U-Haul truck. A glove was also beside the mattress and there was a matching glove beneath the mattress. A bloody scarf lay nearby, as well.

Officials have said they believe Williams was severely beaten with a table leg in Newark. Stambuli said investigators recovered security video of the vehicle they believe was used to bring his body to the North Bergen location.

When Daeshawn Jennings was sentenced last year for his part in the killing, authorities said Jennings was asking for money outside of a Newark chicken restaurant when people inside the restaurant offered to pay him to help with a "cleanup."

Jennings said he got into a car with the people who had been in the restaurant, drove to the victim's home, and attacked him with a table leg. After Williams was beaten, he was tied up and driven to the gas station, officials said.

Jennings was sentenced to 18 years in state prison for aggravated manslaughter, while Kathleen Jones was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July after pleading guilty to the same charges.

Also charged in Williams' death are Qudeera Adams, Nydia Mozee, and Latoya Mozee, all of Newark. They await trial.

Officials previously said Latoya Mozee was in a relationship with the victim. It was believed the couple had been in a physical altercation prior to Williams' fatal beating.

Also today, a forensic pathologist testified Williams suffered blunt force trauma that cause abrasions and lacerations to his forehead; skin tears on both eyelids; hemorrhaging in his left eye; lacerations on both ears; cuts to his upper and lower lips; chipped teeth; a laceration to his nose; bruises to his left temple, cheek and chin, and more.

Browne faces 30 years to life if convicted.

The forensic pathologist is expected to give the cause and manner of Williams death when she continues testifying before Hudson County Superior Court John Young in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.
Since Wednesday morning, motorists heading into the Holland Tunnel have been greeted by a distressing sight: Donald Trump in the flesh. Literally.

Yes, a new iteration of Naked Trump -- a giant, life-like nude statue of the Republican Presidential nominee -- has popped up on a Jersey City rooftop, just west of the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.

Drivers have INDECLINE, a group described by The Washington Post as an "anarchist collective," to thank for the provocative statue. The newspaper reports the building the naked figure is standing upon is owned by Jersey City's Mana Contemporary, which commissioned a pair of naked statues for Jersey City and Miami after the first batch of Naked Trumps were deployed in major cities this summer.

"Unlike the first 5 (Naked Trump statues), these two are set to run until the election in November at which time they will be returned to INDECLINE and put up for auction," INDECLINE said in a statement, the Post reported. "The statue placed there is highly visible to commuters from the nearby highway."

Whether you think it's hilarious, gross, just plain wrong, or all of the above -- you can't ignore it.
JERSEY CITY -- Criminal charges have not been filed against the federal police officer whose son is accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old early Monday morning on Van Horne Street.

Jacob Pommerehn, 18, was charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection with 17-year-old Anthony Rios' homicide. Pommerehn's attorney said he is the son of a federal police officer and argued the killing was an "accident."

Sgt. David Somma, a public information officer for the United States Park Police, told The Jersey Journal the 18-year-old's father is John Pommerehn, a police officer with the marine patrols unit. Jacob Pommerehn's attorney Anthony Pope previously identified the officer as a sergeant with the force, which was inaccurate, Somma said.

Jacob Pommerehn's criminal complaint accuses him of possessing a Beretta .09 handgun and Walther P22 .22 handgun at the time of the shooting. Somma said those model weapons were not issued through the department and he did not believe there were any disciplinary actions being taken against the officer.

Officials previously said both guns belonged to John Pommerehn and his son took them from his boat without permission.

Soma directed further questions to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. Ray Worrall, a spokesman for the department, said no charges have been filed against the officer. He could not comment on if any theft charges were lodged against Jacob Pommerehn.

When reached by phone Wednesday, Pope said he thought the officer was a sergeant. He declined to comment any further on the case.

The 18-year-old remains at Hudson County jail in Kearny on a $200,000 cash or bond bail as of Wednesday evening.

John Pommerehn -- who was described as a 20-year veteran on the police force-- was featured in a story by The Jersey Journal in 2009 for saving a dog that drifted into the Hudson River. He is also credited with being one of the first two officers to respond when a plane landed on the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
With the advent of social media, human vanity has been amplified like never before. One particular aspect of vanity - taking pride in your most superficial qualities - can be measured in how many followers, or "friends," one has. The Jersey City Theater Center's (JCTC) latest series is exploring this world of "Vanity" with a capital "V," starting with tomorrow's free visual art exhibition on the theme - and continuing through Nov. 11 with a variety of performance art shows.

Tomorrow's art show/gallery opens at 6 p.m. at Merseles Studios, 339-345 Newark Ave., with a talk-back and performances at 8 p.m. This is the latest entry in JCTC's exploratory series, in which it has previously presented the work of artists on notions of identity, whether in race or gender, and on the nature of justice.

"Vanity not only is one of the most extensive JCTC series to date - showcasing dozens of artists - but perhaps its most topical," the JCTC says in a press release.

Lucy Rovetto, JCTC visual arts coordinator, says she found her way to Merseles Studios because of their mission to be a center for all of the arts - a sentiment that mirrored Rovetto's experiences of cross-pollination as an art student sneaking into her college's theater for inspiration.

"The first show I curated, "Origins," happened kind of organically. There was a need for a curator, the topic tied into a piece I was working on at that time called 'Meek' and honestly I thought it would be a one-time thing," says Rovetto. "I love the vision of JCTC to encourage thought- provoking works that spark conversations and bond the community together. As an artist I am always questioning my motives, my work and the world around me. JCTC's approach appealed to me; they were asking more questions then offering answers."

Rovetto offers a similar approach when asked about vanity now being seen as a virtue.

"If you use the definition of virtue as 'a quality to be desired,' I have to agree that people are admired for making public their appearance or achievements," she says. "As artists must we have a certain amount of vanity to be successful? Is it talent or self-promotion that sells?"

That's a question that can speak to many aspects of life in and surrounding Jersey City, but rest assured, there's certainly a lot of talent in JCTC's "Vanity" show.

Artists include (alphabetically): Luis Alves, Catalina Aranguren, Mediha Ayub, Miguel Cardenas, Willie Cole, D.J. Flores, Frank Ippolito, Yelena Lezhen, Fermin Mendoza, Kristianne Molina, Bruno Nadalin, Nupur Nishith, Christy O'Connor, Shannon Rednour, Ka-son Reeves, Myssi Robinson, Theda Sandiford, Giovani Santoro, Athena Toledo, Susan Ward, Anthony Wills Jr. - along with an interactive exhibit by Myssi Robinson called "The Thumbs Up Project."

Is it a thumbs up for vanity? You'll have to go to the show to find out. On Saturday, Sept. 17, the JCTC will feature a new play reading by Joe Sutton at Merseles Studios. Sutton's "Miss Tennessee" is a cautionary tale about the "tyranny of beauty": a former beauty contestant abandons her family to take up with a wealthy businessman when her youth slips away, according to a press release. There's a $5 suggested donation for this 7 p.m. show.

Visit www.jctcenter.org to keep up with the upcoming entries in JCTC's "Vanity" series and find out what they're doing next.

"We live in a rich culturally diverse area," says Rovetto. "Art has power to educate, crossing economic, social, cultural divides. Beauty, creativity makes a statement that we can't avoid and we all get to come to the table and hash it out. Art is where we all get to have a voice. It seems like the most obvious thing to do - take topics that are relevant to our times, and create opportunity for conversation, to question what we are being told, between artists themselves, (and) between artists and community."
* Palm demand seen weakening on October export tax hike

* Lower than average output could keep stockpiles low

By Emily Chow

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A hike in Malaysia's crude palm oil export tax for October is expected to dampen already weakening demand for the tropical oil, but likely below-average output in coming months could support prices.

Crude palm oil (CPO) prices have risen about 9 percent since July due to tight supplies following last year's El Nino dry weather pattern, which damages crops across Southeast Asia and lowers palm yields.

The price rise led the world's No.2 producer after Indonesia to increase its October CPO export tax to 6.5 percent from 5 percent in September. The tax kicks in at 4.5 percent when a calculated palm oil reference price tops 2,250 ringgit a tonne and stops at 8.5 percent.

"The main question now is are we able to export? Exports have already been dropping and consumers are not buying at these high levels," said a trader from Kuala Lumpur, adding that the higher tax will further dampen demand.

"Furthermore soy is showing signs of weakness. When you have competing oils coming down, consumers have avenues to look for alternatives," he added.

A narrowing spread between palm and its rival oilseed soy, which could narrow further on growing soybean supplies, makes soyoil a more attractive choice for buyers.

Palm oil shipments for the first half of September fell 8.7 percent on slowing demand from India, the largest buyer of Malaysian palm oil, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services.

Traders said demand was expected to slow in the next two months even without the export tax hike.

"Last month we saw India pick up on restocking activities. Current port levels suggest there's no need for further buying," said David Ng, derivatives specialist at Phillip Futures.

"At China, port levels are relatively high, indicating restocking activites could be lower ahead of winter season."

The lingering impact of El Nino, however, could offset the slowdown in demand, helping to keep stockpiles around current levels after they fell to a near six-year low in August.

Story continues

Palm oil production in August grew 7.3 percent to 1.7 million tonnes from a month earlier, in line with seasonal trends, but was at its lowest August level since 2012. (MYPOMP-CPOTT)

"Already some regions in Peninsular Malaysia are experiencing a drop in the oil extraction rates, thus it is supply constraints that is pivotal versus any other variable," said Lingam Supramaniam, director at Malaysia-based commodities firm Pelindung Bestari.

Malaysia calcuated the October reference price at 2,879.47 ringgit. Benchmark palm oil traded 0.6 percent higher at 2,580 ringgit ($625) a tonne at noon on Thursday. ($1 = 4.1250 ringgit) (Editing by Richard Pullin)
In the diagram above, Entergy New Orleans provides an overview of the $75 million transmission rebuilding project slated for fall 2017.
Phipps has served 21 years of a 30-year sentence for the shooting death of a man at a club in Slidell.
kim

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Following the flight of US Air Force bombers over South Korea, the North mocked the show of force in a statement from Pyongyang's controlled media.

"They are bluffing that B-1Bs are enough for fighting an all-out nuclear war," a Korean Central News Agency statement said.

On Tuesday, the US dispatched two US Air Force B-1B Lancer strategic bombers from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in response to North Korea's latest and largest nuclear test.

bomber

The long-range supersonic strategic bombers were joined by Japanese F-2s for training to "enhance operational capabilities and the tactical skills of units."

The bombers were then joined by South Korean F-15s and US F-16s for a low-level flight in the vicinity of Osan, South Korea. Upon completion of the bilateral flight, the B-1Bs returned to Andersen Air Force Base.

"The US imperialists keep letting their nuclear strategic bombers fly over South Korea in a bid to seek an opportunity of mounting a preemptive nuclear attack," a Korean Central News Agency statement said.

"These flights demonstrate the solidarity between South Korea, the United States, and Japan to defend against North Korea's provocative and destabilizing actions," US Pacific Commander Adm. Harry Harris said in a statement.

"North Korea continues to blatantly violate its international obligations, threatening the region through an accelerating program of nuclear tests and unprecedented ballistic missile launches that no nation should tolerate. US joint military forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific are always ready to defend the American homeland. We stand resolutely with South Korea and Japan to honor our unshakable alliance commitments and to safeguard security and stability."

bombers

Story continues

On Monday, South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesman said the rogue regime is ready to conduct an additional nuclear test at any time.

"Assessment by South Korean and US intelligence is that the North is always ready for an additional nuclear test in the Punggye-ri area," spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said, according to Reuters.

Later this weekend, US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in New York to discuss responses to North Korea's latest nuclear test.

NOW WATCH: Meet THAAD: Americas answer to North Korean threats





More From Business Insider


A map of Colonial Pipeline's Line 1, which carries gasoline from refineries in Houston to suppliers along the east coast and ends at New York Harbor. (Courtesy Colonial Pipeline)
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)  Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
The federal government plans to pour $125 million into the fight against a mysterious disease that has ravaged corals in Florida and much of the Caribbean, and now poses a dire threat to the treasured reefs off the Louisiana and Texas coasts.
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.
(Adds details on "splitting" strategies)

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Apple Inc and other U.S. multinationals will face new curbs on tax loopholes under a rule imposed by Washington on Thursday, part of a scramble among governments worldwide to bolster their corporate tax bases.

Acting shortly after a European Union grab for billions of dollars in back taxes from Apple, the U.S. Treasury said it was tightening restrictions on companies' use of foreign tax credits to reduce what they owe in U.S. taxes.

"We are closing another tax loophole that contributes to the erosion of our tax base," Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark Mazur said in a statement.

The fight for multinational tax revenues escalated on Aug. 30 when the EU ruled Ireland was giving improper state aid to Apple in the form of a deal for low taxes. The EU ordered Apple to pay Ireland 13 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in back taxes, prompting U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to express concern the EU ruling could undermine the U.S. tax base.

Analysts have speculated whether Apple would be able to cut its U.S. tax bill by claiming foreign tax credits for its extra tax bill in Ireland.

Under normal circumstances, U.S. companies can reduce the taxes they owe the U.S. government by the value of the tax credits they claim for taxes paid abroad on foreign profits. No U.S. tax is due on those profits until they are brought into the United States, or repatriated.

The new rule will prevent companies faced with back tax bills from "splitting," a strategy that allows companies to bring foreign tax credits into the United States without repatriating the income from which they were derived.

Apple had no comment on Treasury's tax notice. The technology giant is not the only U.S. company in the crosshairs of EU state aid investigations.

Starbucks Corp has been ordered to pay up to 30 million euros ($33 million) to the Dutch state, while Amazon.com Inc and McDonald's Corp are under investigation by the EU's executive arm.

Story continues

The new rule was likely to ratchet up transatlantic tensions over corporate taxes while eliminating one more strategy U.S. companies can use to cushion the blow from increasingly aggressive EU tax collection efforts.

The tax notice specifically cited European Union state aid investigations as a risk to U.S. revenues.

The Treasury had no comment on whether its notice would have an impact on Apple directly, but a spokesperson said the notice applies to all companies required by a foreign government to pay additional taxes, including those hit by state-aid cases.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Howard Goller)
Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 74F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

Mostly sunny skies. High 76F. Winds light and variable.
Welcome to non league daily news now - your number one spot for all things relating to the National League System. Our dedicated reporters have come straight from the sidelines to bring you news fresh from the dugout - but not before theyve stopped off at the burger van first!

We know that non league football fans are full of heart, passion, and belief. You trust the manager, you believe in the team, and, for some strange reason, you trust those rickety stands, too! Here at Non League Daily, we hope we can become your trusted non league news resource - a platform thats just as passionate about non league daily news now as you.

Come rain or shine, well be out reporting on the latest non league fixtures. Well also be scouring the news, refreshing social media, and sourcing information from team websites in the hopes of finding the latest breaking non league daily news for our readers.

As youll soon see, weve got exclusive match reports on the Vanarama National League, weve got transfer speculation thatll affect the National League South, weve found great stories thatll spice up the National League North, and weve even got news on the latest giant killers of the FA Cup.

We may not be able to agree on who is going up this year, but we can all agree that any news on the NLS worth knowing will be published here, at Non League Daily.
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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.
Natural gas-focused energy company Questar Corp.s STR proposed merger with Virginia-based Dominion Resources, Inc. D was recently okayed by the Wyoming Public Service Commission. The approval was subject to certain terms and conditions of an agreed settlement stipulation.

The duo crossed a major regulatory hurdle in August when they received consent from the Public Service Commission of Utah. The approval from Wyoming Public Service Commission was the final regulatory permit required the companies. The transaction is now expected to be completed on Sep 16, 2016.

The entity formed by the combination of Questar Corp and Dominion Resources will serve about 2.5 million electric utility customers and 2.3 million gas utility customers across seven states. Moreover, the integrated energy company will be operating more than 14,400 miles of natural gas transmission and generate approximately 25,700 megawatts of electricity.

Post merger, Questar will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Resources and maintain its significant authority, local management arrangement and headquarters in Richmond, with its Western operations based in Salt Lake City.

QUESTAR Price

QUESTAR Price | QUESTAR Quote

Dominion Resources is a major energy company engaged in regulated and non-regulated electricity distribution, generation and transmission businesses. In addition, it sells electricity at wholesale prices to rural electric cooperatives, municipalities and wholesale electricity markets.

Questar is a natural gas-focused energy company with three principal subsidiaries  Wexpro Company, Questar Pipeline, and Questar Gas Company.

Both Questar and Dominion Resources currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which implies that these companies will perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

Some better-ranked players from the broader energy sector include NGL Energy Partners LP NGL and Matador Resources Company MTDR. Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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For a few days in September every year, Navy Pier feels like the hip center of the international art world.

More than 140 galleries from across the world will be featured in the fifth annual Expo Chicago Sept. 22 through 25. The International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art attracted more than 35,000 visitors last year.

"Each year we continue to refine and develop new programming to support our exhibiting galleries while expanding on global partnerships to attract international curators and collectors from around the world," director Tony Karman said.

Chicagos Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is coordinating Expo Chicago Art Week from Sept. 19 through 25 in conjunction with the art expo to showcase the city's art scene to visitors. Museums all across the city, including The Art Institute, Chicago Cultural Center, Intuit, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Hyde Park Art Center, and the Block Museum at Northwestern University, will host special exhibits.

There also will be music, theater and dance performances, public art projects and outdoor installations at places like Millennium Park.

"Expo Chicago has set the stage for The City of Chicago to rival the rest of the art world," Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Michelle Boone said. "In five short years, this international art fair has allowed the city to highlight its unique cultural vibrancy on a global scale. It is incredible to see not only residents enjoy and appreciate their own city, but to see tourists and art lovers from around the world taking in the diverse palette of culture that sets Chicago apart from the rest."

Main exhibitors at Expo Chicago include Marianne Boesky Gallery from New York, Anthony Meier Fine Arts from San Francisco, and Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects from Los Angeles, The Breeder from Athens, the Buchmann Galerie from Berlinn, and the Edwynn Houk Gallery from New York and Zurich.

New galleries include Hezi Cohen Gallery from Tel Aviv, David Risley Gallery from Copenhagen, Galeria Joan Prats from Barcelona, and Carpenters Workshop Gallery from Paris, London and New York.

FYI: The exhibit at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 23, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 24, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 25. For more information, visit expochicago.com.
New images released late Wednesday give a clear picture of a man identified as a person of interest in a Winfield bank robbery, and sheriff's police are asking residents to help identify him.

Lake County sheriff's police responded to the First Midwest Bank branch at 10858 Pike St. in Winfield about 11:40 a.m. Saturday for a robbery, according to a news release.

The images released Wednesday are from the bank's surveillance video system, police said.

The man was seen driving a beige, four-door Buick Century, possibly made between 1997 and 2004, with white-wall tires and an Indiana license plate.

The robbery caused some commotion Saturday in Winfield as a police helicopter hovered over several subdivisions and police stopped motorists and used dogs to search for a suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lake County Police Department at (219) 660-0019. Callers may remain anonymous.
VALPARAISO  Want to do your part in helping the election process while earning a few extra bucks?

Join the team of poll workers for the upcoming Nov. 8 general election, said Kathryn Kozuszek, Democrat director at the Porter County Voters Registration office.

More workers are needed as the big day draws near, she said.

Poll inspectors are paid $135 a day, while judges and clerks are paid $110, she said. All workers receive a $15 meal allowance.

Workers must attend a two-hour training class.

Democrats can call (219) 465-3496 and Republicans can phone (219) 465-3594.
INDIANAPOLIS  Secretary of State Connie Lawson urged Hoosiers to verify their voter registration status after at least 10 fraudulent attempts to alter the addresses of registered voters recently were submitted to central Indiana county

clerks. State police are investigating an organization known as the Indiana Voter Registration Project for producing the allegedly forged voter registration applications.

The group has no website, no social media presence and is not a registered business in Indiana. Its not known whether the organization is tied to any political party, interest group or specific cause.

According to the secretary of state, the group submitted voter registration forms that changed the addresses of currently registered voters and which included forged signatures.

The advantage of falsely changing a voters address remains undetermined. Under Indiana law, a person still is entitled to cast a ballot on Election Day even if the address on his or her photo identification card does not match the registration address.

Voter registration officials in Hendricks and Marion counties initially became suspicious of the address change requests because other items on the forms either were inaccurate or left incomplete.

Election integrity and security is a top priority, Lawson said.

We are working with the state police to ensure this matter is addressed quickly. I encourage all Hoosiers to be vigilant at this time and to monitor their voter registrations until the close of the voter registration deadline.

Capt. Dave Bursten, a state police spokesman, said he does not yet know whether similar false voter registration forms were submitted in Northwest Indiana, or elsewhere in the state.

Our investigation is very young, and its still an active investigation, Bursten said. Time will tell as they move forward, and they will take this where the evidence takes them.

Hoosiers can verify their voter registration online at IndianaVoters.com or by calling the secretary of state toll-free at (866) 461-8683.

The deadline to register to vote in this years general election is Oct. 11.
CROWN POINT  State leaders scoffed early Thursday at talk that Hillary Clinton is gaining on Donald Trump in Indiana.

They arent going to win this state, Tony Samuel, vice chairman of the Trump-Pence Indiana Campaign, told Republicans who gathered early Thursday at Twelve Islands Restaurant on the citys courthouse square.

I guess (Democratic vice presidential candidate) Tim Kaine was here yesterday, and he said they are only down by 7 percent. There have been recent polls where we are up by 24 and another by 19. We are doing well and would love to win up here, Samuel said.

The road to the White House appears to run through Lake County with Kaine and Trumps state Republican campaign leaders all meeting with county voters this week.

Susan Litke, of Griffith, like dozens of others, came to Twelve Islands, ordered breakfast and a healthy serving of the Republican message. I was hoping to grab a sign. I wanted to see how many ladies came, because they make it sound ladies dont like Trump. Bull, she said.

Rex Early, the state Trump-Pence chairman, said, He loves Indiana because we pushed his campaign over the top in the spring. Vote a straight ticket. That is our battle cry.

We have a theme, vote early for Trump, Samuel said. We want to be the earliest state on Nov. 8 to be called for the Trump-Pence ticket. We are going around the state to make sure there is no chance for the Democrats or the Hillary campaign to look at Indiana.

Trump is peaking at the right (time) with less than eight weeks. The battleground states are going our way. The national trend is going our way. He is doing everything right as far as his policy speeches and on issues people care about, Samuel said.

Be encouraged, but dont take all these numbers for granted, state GOP chairman Jeff Cardwell warned the crowd. This is still a battle. There is one creature with more lives than a cat, a politician.

It is very important for you to get out and speak to all your neighbors, your friends, co-workers, your club, your church and invite people to get involved. Let people know you are excited about the campaign. Speak out. Lets push him over the top. You have House and Senate races in this area that matter, Cardwell said.

Samuel and Early also planned to visit with voters in Porter County from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Valparaisos Viking Chili Bowl and in Jasper County from 4 to 6 p.m. at Clauss Bakery and Cafe in Rensselaer.
CROWN POINT  A 21-year old Lake Station man, who pleaded guilty Thursday in Lake County Criminal Court to aggravated battery in a July 2015 case, returns to court today on a new felony charge.

In July 2015, Jacob A. Cortina was charged with attempted murder, a level 1 felony, and other felony counts for entering a Lake Station home, grabbing a woman from behind and stabbing her three times in the neck.

Although Cortinas face was partially covered during the July 13, 2015 attack, the woman told police she recognized him because he had lived with her family for five weeks, according to court records.

The woman also was shot three times after her son, armed with an unloaded gun, tried to confront Cortina, court records indicate. Cortina was armed with a silver handgun and grabbed a rifle belonging to the womans husband.

The woman was shot when she jumped in front of Cortina after he pointed one of the guns at her son, the probable cause affidavit stated.

This case was set to go to trial on Oct. 3. However, on Thursday Cortina appeared with defense attorney Thomas Vanes before Pro-Tem Judge William Enseln in Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquezs courtroom. In a plea agreement, the defendant pleaded guilty to the felony level 3 count of aggravated battery. The agreement with the Lake County Prosecutors office calls for Cortina to serve 12 years in the Indiana Department of Correction.

The victim, who sat in the gallery with her husband, wiped tears from her cheeks as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Nadia Chivers outlined the womans injuries.

Enseln took the plea agreement under advisement and set sentencing for Nov. 3 before Vasquez. The trial date was vacated and the prosecutors office agreed to drop the other charges.

On Friday, Cortina returns to Vasquezs courtroom for a formal appearance on a new case that was allegedly committed on Aug. 31 in New Chicago while he was out on bond in the 2015 case.

Cortina was arrested Sept. 8 and charged with robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, aggravated battery, criminal confinement resulting in serious bodily injury and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

He is being held in Lake County Jail.
GARY  A two-thirds scale replica Tuskegee Airmen fighter plane will permanently soar over Gary.

A replica of the P-51 fighter planes the pioneering African-American fighter group flew during World War II was elevated this weekend on a steel pole 35 feet into the air at Marquette Park. The plane was installed at the Gary Aquatorium, a National Historic Landmark that's often rented out for weddings because of its sweeping view of Lake Michigan.

The nonprofit Chanute Aquatorium Society, which saved the former Gary Bathhouse from demolition in the early 1990s, raised the funds for the tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen at the historic special events venue in the Miller section of Gary, which complements a bronze statue of a Tuskegee Airman there.

More than 150 people contributed to the project, Chanute Aquatorium Society President George Rogge said. A dedication will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday.

"It's kind of spectacular," he said. "It has a 24-foot-long fuselage with a 24-foot-wide wingspan and it looks like it's taking off to the east."

The plane is supported by a 7,000-pound steel pole and 6-foot-by-6-foot steel rods that go more than 20 feet deep into the ground.

"There's more money in the ground than on the plane," Rogge said. "When it's attached to the ground, the plane can't lift or dive, so we have to make sure a 100-mile wind can't rip it apart. It's rated for up to a 182-mile wind."

The new plane is one of two bookends at the Gary Aquatorium  on the other side, there's a life-size replica of the biplane hang glider that local aviation pioneer Octave Chanute flew over the sand dunes in 1896, inspiring Wilbur and Orville Wright.

The replica Tuskegee plane was made in Ohio and painted at Republic Frame & Axle in Gary, which war hero Robert Martin  a Tuskegee airman who won the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart  visited earlier this week.
CHESTERTON  Porter County residents on Wednesday packed the Westchester Public Librarys service center for a public hearing on a proposed charter school originally targeted for Valparaiso that would serve students Regionwide.

The hearing was hosted by Grace College, which received the application to be the authorizer of South Shore Classical Academy.

While the overwhelming majority of people there to hear more information on South Shore Classical Academy were opposed to the charter school, voices in support of it were heard as were some that were undecided, like Michael Miller, Corporate College executive for Ivy Tech Community College.

Miller, who said he was not there representing Ivy Tech, is undecided on the charter school proposal.

He said he was concerned about the attitude in the room and was surprised not more people are undecided on the matter.

I would like clarity and more information so that I can make a decision, Miller said. The bottom line is I want the best possible education for my children and I want a choice and I want to be a part of that choice of whether we should invite in or not invite in a charter school.

One of the speakers prior to Miller was E. Ric Frataccia, Valparaiso Community Schools superintendent, who has already called plans for the charter school bogus. He didnt mince words at the hearing when he told the charter school board that he would make it his lifes mission to put them out of business if they come.

We dont need it  its a waste of public resources, he said. The quality of education in Porter County is exemplary. The position of a charter school is to fulfill a need in an area that has under-performing or failing schools. Where are we under performing? Get real about this.

Most of the charter schools board spoke, including Peter Kanelos, dean of Christ College, at Valparaiso University, which is not associated with the proposed charter school. Kanelos said those who want to bring the school to the area are not ideologues, political and have no religious agenda.

Our intention is to open a truly regional school, he said. We have no desire to place ourselves in competition with any single school district.

According to its charter school application to Grace College, SSCA says it identified property at County Roads 700 North and 50 West, owned by St. Iakovos Greek Orthodox Church, with a plan to lease the land from the church to use for its modular classroom buildings.

That led to The Rev. Jim Greanias of St. Iakovos to say earlier in the week that the church was blindsided by the news and they have not had any formal negotiations with the charters board to use their property.

At the hearing, Kanelos said the board apologizes for the impression they unintentionally fostered, and they have not yet fixed their location.

Kanelos said about 8 percent of their students would come from Duneland schools, with 16 percent coming from Valparaiso schools, meaning when they open they would only draw about a few dozen students from each school district.

These students will bring with them about $6,000 in state funding a piece, he said. This is a far, far cry from the millions currently circulating around the social media rumor mill.

Plans are for a total enrollment of 450 students with 54 students per grade level, with 27 students per class in first through 10th grade and 18 students per class in kindergarten.

In its application, the charter school board stated it had begun to meet with the Chicago Street Theatre to discuss avenues for collaboration.

We have never been approached and we had no knowledge of the application, said Kelley Weisenbacher, who is on the theaters board.

Weisenbacher said the theater is undecided about the proposed charter school.

Duneland Schools Superintendent David Pruis said regardless of the charter schools intent, it cannot exist without taking resources away from public school corporations.

In our view, the proposed charter school does not fulfill a void or need, he said. We dont believe such a need exists. Not in Duneland, not in Valparaiso and not in Porter County. If the proposed charter school is authorized and established here, it will undoubtedly dilute our human and fiscal resources. We believe any students that could be served by the proposed charter school are best served in their current school corporations.

Other opponents included Portage Township School Board member Cheryl Oprisko, who said the board drew up a resolution stating its opposition to the proposed school.

Porter County Councilwoman Sylvia Graham also spoke against the school.

SSCA board member Dan Granquist said schools are not one-size-fits-all and no two students are alike.

We dont all have to agree on the best method or style of education, he said. There is no best method because students learn differently and thrive in various settings. A school or classroom or teacher or curriculum that works well for one student may not be the best for another student to learn and grow.

Granquist said South Shore Classical Academy is excited about the opportunity that Indiana provides to families to serve different learning styles and needs of their children.

Its sad and selfish for an educator to want to put a school out of business and to reject the opportunity to parents to choose whats best for their children, he said. Were not in competition trying to put each other out of business, but in cooperation to compliment each other, trying to put ignorance out of business and helping our students to learn.

If approved by Grace College, South Shore Classical Academy plans to begin enrolling students in March for the 2017-18 academic year and serve grades kindergarten through 10th. Plans are to add 11th grade in 2018 and 12th grade in 2019.

The Grace College board of trustees plans to make a decision by Oct. 10.
WASHINGTON  The United States on Wednesday signed an unprecedented new security agreement with Israel that will give the Israeli military $38 billion over 10 years.

The deal, the largest such agreement the U.S. has ever had with any country, amounts to $3.8 billion a year beginning in budget year 2019, compared with $3.1 billion the U.S. gave Israel annually under the current 10-year deal that expires in 2018.

"This commitment to Israel's security has been unwavering and is based on a genuine and abiding concern for the welfare of the Israeli people and the future of the state of Israel," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

After months of negotiations that took place after a particularly tense time in the relationship amid disputes over the Iran nuclear deal, the memorandum of understanding was signed at the State Department by Israel's national security adviser, Jacob Nagel, and Thomas Shannon, the third-highest ranking U.S. diplomat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted those tensions but stressed that the agreement proves that "relations between Israel and the United States are strong, powerful."

"This doesn't mean there are not disagreements from time to time, but these are disagreements within the family," he said. "They do not impact the great friendship between Israel and the U.S., friendship that is evidenced in this agreement that will greatly help in forging Israel's power in the coming decade."

Obama's national security adviser Susan Rice, who witnessed the signing, called it a sign of Washington's "unshakable commitment" to the security of the Jewish state.

She said the agreements makes clear that the U.S. "will always be there for the state of Israel and its people today, tomorrow and for generations to come."

Nagel hailed the agreement as an indication of the "rock-solid alliance" between Israel and the United States.

"Israel has no better friend, no more reliable strategic ally, no more important partner than the United States of America," he said. "Everyone can see and feel the special relationship between our countries and our people."

Under the agreement, Israel's ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be phased out and eventually all of the money must be spent on American military industries. Israel's preference for spending some internally had been a major sticking point in the deal.

The total includes $33 billion in foreign military financing funds  which is money used to buy materiel and ammunition  as well as $5 billion in missile defense funding. Under the previous arrangement, Congress approved funds for Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system separately and on an annual basis.

The new agreement eliminates Israel's ability to spend a fraction of the funds on fuel for its military. In another apparent concession, Israel has agreed not to ask Congress to approve more funds than are included in the deal unless a new war breaks out, according to U.S. officials.

The agreement concludes many months of negotiations that involved a delicate calculation by Israel about whether to strike a deal with the outgoing U.S. president. In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quietly floated the prospect of waiting for Obama's successor in hopes of securing a better deal.

But the Obama administration was eager to lock in the agreement before leaving office to help bolster Obama's legacy and undercut the criticism that his administration was insufficiently supportive of Israel.

Obama's relationship with Netanyahu has been tense for years, and ties between the countries worsened significantly when the U.S. and world powers struck the nuclear deal with Iran. Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat and disagreed sharply with Obama's contention that the deal actually made Israel safer by limiting Iran's nuclear program.

___

Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
CHEYENNE, Wyo.  A 77-year-old man shot three people Wednesday at a senior citizen apartment complex where he lived, killing one before he killed himself nearby as officers closed in on him, police said.

One victim was shot inside the Heritage Court Apartments in Cheyenne, and two were shot outside, said Dan Long, spokesman for the Cheyenne Police Department.

Larry Rosenberg fled after the shootings armed with a handgun and rifle. He killed himself as officers approached him in a neighborhood about a mile away, Long said.

No motive was disclosed for the shootings, but a woman who knew Rosenberg said he had grown distant recently.

"He started getting more and more distant, complaining about the facility and about people and just kind of pulling away, isolating himself more and more," said Margaret Rosso, whose mother lives at the complex.

Long did not identify the victims or provide information about the conditions of the victims who were wounded. Attempts to reach Rosenberg's family weren't successful.

Rosso's mother, 80-year-old Mary Eastman, said she and Rosenberg went to yard sales together.

Eastman said she saw Rosenberg before the shooting, went out shopping and came back to find that the complex had turned into a crime scene.

Police comforted a distraught woman at the scene. What appeared to be a covered body was visible within an area cordoned off by authorities.

Heritage Court Apartments has 32 affordable housing units for households with at least one member age 62 or older, according to its website.

Messages left with the complex's owner, Accessible Space Inc. of St. Paul, Minnesota, were not immediately returned.

Multiple shootings are rare in Cheyenne, Wyoming's capital city with a population of just over 60,000. City police handled six homicide cases last year, the department's annual report said.

Ben Neary and Bob Moen in Cheyenne contributed to this report.
Upstart companies with sound business models typically seek to build and cultivate businesses based on need.

If consumers are hungry for a service an upstart can provide, the future can be bright.

But attempt to build such a business in an area already flush with established, high-quality options within the same or a similar field, and huge questions marks surround potential viability.

With those principles in mind, its hard to see a sound way forward for a group seeking to establish a new charter school in Valparaiso.

Weve repeatedly praised the merits of the charter school concept in Region communities where public schools struggle to provide safe, quality education.

Charter schools are best suited for areas such as Gary, where parents and students deserve alternatives to perennially failing public schools. Public school dollars rightly follow students to those charter schools.

However, the South Shore Classical Academy seeks to open its doors in Valparaiso.

The Porter County community already is home to some of the best public schools in the state, and its hard to imagine parents, en masse, pulling their children from a winning system to enroll them in an unknown quantity.

Proponents of the would-be Valparaiso charter school have applied for the charter through Grace College, which held a public meeting about the proposal Wednesday.

The proposed schools application states it intends to provide a rigorous education program, grounded in the humanities, sciences and arts for up to 450 students in grades kindergarten through 10.

But thats what the Valparaiso public schools already provide  and very well.

Valparaiso Community Schools boasts just under a 97 percent graduation rate, among the states and Regions best in that category, Indiana Department of Education data show.

Valparaiso High School also ranks within the top quarter of the schools in the state for graduates who pass at least one advanced placement test. That means Valparaiso public school students are getting a strong foundation for learning in their lower and secondary grade levels.

Valparaiso is on the short list of many people seeking to live in Northwest Indiana as they weigh quality of place, of which sound schools are an essential factor.

Charter schools are all about creating alternatives for students and parents  and frankly competition for underperforming school districts. So we question why anyone would seek to establish such a school in a district where golden opportunities for students already abound.

Earlier this week, we were made even more suspicious of this charter school plan.

In its application, the proposed academy indicates it plans to lease land from St. Iakovos Greek Orthodox Church upon which to build and operate the charter school.

But the Rev. Jim Greanias, of the church, said he was blindsided by that proposal when its details became public last week. Greanias said there have been no formal discussions of such a plan.

We were blindsided by the inclusion and details of the application since we knew none of it and certainly were not included or privy to their vision and plans for us, Greanias said.

This uncertainty regarding the schools purported location seems like a bad start for an education alternative seeking to establish in an area already served by high-caliber public schools.

The proposed charter school has a lot to prove if it wants to divert students and funds away from a thriving public school system.
The American Federation of Teachers says the lockout of LIU Brooklyn faculty is over.

In a press release, the AFT says the Long Island University Faculty Federation "secured an end to an unprecedented 12-day faculty lockout imposed by the LIU administration."

LIU says faculty will return to teaching their classes, effective Thursday

According to the AFT, the Long Island University Faculty Federation's contract that previously expired on August 31 will now be extended to May 31, 2017 so that the two sides can continue to negotiate a contract.

LIU will "make formerly locked-out faculty whole for healthcare costs incurred during the lockout period," according to the AFT.

In a statement, Gale Haynes, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and University Counsel for LIU, said, The unions commitment not to strike during this academic year provides us enough runway to reach a reasonable and fair agreement, while providing our students the ability to continue their studies uninterrupted. That has always been our intention. Mediation is a positive step to that end.

Students say they're happy to get their regular professors back.

"I'm really glad that this is over, because we've been out here for weeks," said one student. "Most of us came and stood outside with the professors on the outside, because we really care about our education.

"Thus far, we've been paying thousands of dollars for pretty much people who aren't qualified to teach us sitting in front of the room with a stack of papers, not knowing what they're doing. Now, our actual professors are back, so we're actually going to learn," said another,

Faculty members at LIU were locked out when the contract expired.

The union says replacement workers were hired to take over when classes started last Wednesday.

The AFT had been pushing for the 640 faculty members in Brooklyn to get higher salaries that are more in line with what teachers make at the school's Long Island campus.

The administration had said the union caused the wage disparity by how it distributed past increases. It also said salaries at the Brooklyn campus are higher than at some other area colleges.
LinkNYC, the 400 tablet-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots and charging stations which started replacing the city's public phone kiosks earlier this year, announced that it will remove web browsers from its tablets after repeated complaints of vagrants using the free service to view pornography in full view of the public.

The announcement comes just two days after a 41-year-old homeless man was arrested in Murray Hill for using a LinkNYC kiosk for self-pleasure.

"...some users have been monopolizing the Link tablets and using them inappropriately, preventing others from being able to use them while frustrating the residents and businesses around them," according to a statement from CityBridge, the company that runs the kiosks. "The kiosks were never intended for anyones extended, personal use and we want to ensure that Links are accessible and a welcome addition to New York City neighborhoods."

Corey Johnson, a Manhattan City Councilman whose district includes West Side neighborhoods Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, says his office was flooded with complaints after the kiosks went up earlier this year.

According to reports, Johnson wrote a letter to the City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications outlining his concerns:

"These kiosks are often monopolized by individuals creating personal spaces for themselves, engaging in activities that include playing loud explicit music, consuming drugs and alcohol, and the viewing of pornography," Johnson's letter read.

On Wednesday Johnson tweeted his thanks to DoITT:

TY @NYCDoITT for working with me on this! @nytimes: Internet Browsers to Be Disabled on New Yorks Free Wi-Fi Kiosks https://t.co/GUw9ontuNp  Corey Johnson (@CoreyinNYC) September 14, 2016

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, who celebrated the arrival of the kiosks in his borough earlier this month, said the removal of web browsers is a good first step towards addressing community concerns.

"Weve heard a great deal of concern from all corners of the city about the misuse of these kiosks for lewd and nefarious purposes, and todays announcement that web browsing services will be disabled on LinkNYC kiosks is a step in the right direction," Diaz said. "These kiosks and the connectivity they provide are key to bridging the digital divide in our city, and we must ensure that a handful of less-than-wholesome users do not threaten the success of the entire enterprise. Disabling web browsing will prevent the most objectionable uses of these kiosks and make our streets safer, while also preserving the best parts of the LinkNYC service."
Struggling churches are finding developers seeking to build on their land may just be a savior. Bronx reporter Erin Clarke tells us about a trend that is keeping many houses of worship afloat and relevant in their communities.

Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Resurrection has been in the Bronx for decades.

But over the years as fewer people fill the pews, it's become difficult to maintain the the stately building where utility costs can be as much as $20,000 a year.

"This kind of building sometimes has come to be like a white elephant," said Rev. Franklin Simpson, Senior Pastor at Resurrection Lutheran Church.

Church leaders are exploring selling the property, which includes a parking lot and unused space, to a developer.

"This part of the building we're going to keep, but then the whole building that goes all the way inside is going to be demolished."

Housing will be built in its place.

A new church and social space included in the building.

Reverend Simpson's church is just one of many throughout the city that is going through this process. A trend some believe started a couple of years back when developers started aggressively seeking out land outside of Manhattan.

"We're seeing it big time in the Bronx right now," Simpson said.

Renato Matos is a lawyer whose firm is educating churches that are being approached by developers or are looking to work with one.

He says a deal can be beneficial to both parties IF the church is informed and has advisers acting solely in its interest.

"I often say to the churches 'Would you go sell your home to the first person that knocked on your door and offered you money?'" asked Renato Matos, a partner in Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld. "You wouldn't. Market to all developers."

Matos suggests putting out a request for proposal and having developers bid on the project.

That's how Azimuth Development Group began working with churches four years ago.

"Most of these buildings are small buildings sitting on large pieces of property," said Guido Subotovsky, president of Azimuth Development Group. "We find a way to locate the church on an area of the property where we can allocate let' say a residential component or commercial component which would maximize the value."

Azimuth's president admits this development isn't the most lucrative, but a creative way for developers to build in places where space is at a premium and for churches to stay relevant as their communites grow and change.
The recent upswing is real. While economic growth has been modest, the expansion is now in its eighth year. The economy has added millions of jobs and incomes increased last year for households on every rung of the economic ladder. The economic gains have been particularly strong for people who live in the nations large metropolitan areas and for those who have college degrees.

Yet the repeated assertions by Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee, that the middle class is being decimated and the economy is in decline ring true to his supporters. Many Americans, even those who are prospering, remain pessimistic about the fragile recovery. Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival, has been careful to acknowledge the economys problems alongside its progress.

The economic dislocations of recent decades may be contributing to the polarization of the electorate, according to research by David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. By emphasizing the nations economic troubles, the candidates are going where the voters are.

In a new paper, Mr. Autor and three co-authors found that voting patterns had shifted most in the parts of the country that lost the most jobs as a result of increased trade with China. The study, which focused on congressional elections, found that voters in districts with heavy job losses have tended toward ideological extremes, replacing moderates with more conservative or liberal representatives.

There is this undercurrent of economically driven dissatisfaction that works to the benefit of candidates who are noncentrist, and particularly right-wing candidates, Mr. Autor said.
Illustrators such as Mr. Gruau, Bernard Blossoc and Rene Bouche created their own recognizable style to distinguish them from their peers and honed specialized skills to deliver their images. They were real pioneers, Ms. Gray said. They needed to understand not only the life form but also the process of designing, and translate what they saw into a work of art that would sell a thousand frocks. Most had gone to the worlds leading art schools and could have found huge acclaim for their talents had they chosen a different path.

Mr. Parent, who died in February, was one of Frances most influential architects of the 20th century, though he began his career as a fashion illustrator. He also was a longtime friend of Mr. Alaias, and in the months before Mr. Parent died, he collaborated with his grandson, Laszlo Parent, on a series of fashion drawings in ink inspired by the Tunisian designers creations. Each one has silver lines angled across the items of clothing, a graphical and artistic element, according to Laszlo Parent.

He included them to show the way the female body was emphasized in and by the dresses, exposing the axis and motion of the silhouette, and seeking a certain link with architecture, he wrote in a book that accompanies the exhibition, edited by Donatien Grau.

Mr. Grau said by telephone from Paris that Claude Parent, who gained fame as the theoretician of the oblique function in architecture, based on tilted surfaces, used the largely monochromatic works to show that he and Mr. Alaia believed that clothing was an intimate and direct form of architecture. It tackles ideas around the changing female form and lives of women, Mr. Grau said. No one lives their lives like a straight line; they live in an oblique way.

Nick Knight, the British fashion photographer and director of SHOWstudio, said he believed that the significance of fashion illustration would only grow.

Twenty-first-century fashion can sometimes feel a bit removed from peoples lives, and it can be hard to see through its corporate haze and Instagram filters, he said.

But when you see a painting or a drawing, you also get an opinion, a sense of someones emotional response and feeling to a garment as well as its relationship with the contours of the body, Mr. Knight added. We are so used to seeing heavily edited visuals that the true tradition of an artist with pen, ink or paint and paper can make a startling impact. Illustration in todays world is incredibly powerful.
Equatorial mugginess, the scent of meatballs and thrashing mosh pits: The parties of New York Fashion Week took a populist turn when Opening Ceremony held its seasonal rager last Sunday at the Pennsy, a two-story food court next to Penn Station.

Spike Jonze, the Black Eyed Peas and the ascending power couple Iman Shumpert, the N.B.A. player, and Teyana Taylor were there, but the crowd was dominated by 20-something swarms who heaved themselves across the dance floor to Lil Yachtys Minnesota.

The party, positioned centrally in the Venn diagram of style, music and pop culture, was not an outlier last week. As the fashion tent continues to unfurl beyond a cloistered cabal of editors and industry insiders, the accompanying night-life element reflected that growing demographic.

Kanye West was, as usual, omnipresent, including performing at the Harpers Bazaar Icons party last Friday night. I appreciate all of the years yall put up with me learning in front of you, he told a black-tie crowd at the Plaza Hotel.
Even within her oeuvre of murderabilia, Confession of a Serial Killer stands out. Composed of roughly 80 percent of Raders words and 20 percent Ramslands commentary, it is a murderers My Struggle, obsessed with Knausgaardian minutiae, including mistakes in the police report and biographies. One of the books scoops is that Rader planned to kill many more people than he actually did, and he specifically describes stalking an 11th victim. Equally unsettling, for people familiar with the case, is reading the accounts of the murders Rader committed from his perspective. It has long been believed that he put a chair in the bedroom of one victim, Joseph Otero, purely for the purposes of watching him die; Rader denies this, though he claims not to remember the actual reason, saying it might have been to prevent Otero from rolling off the bed. Rader also claims that he drank a glass of water in every house in which he killed someone, then cleaned it and put it back in the cupboard. He describes turning up the thermostat in each home, because he read that doing so could impede a medical examiners attempt to determine a victims time of death.

The C.S.I.-worthy level of detail makes Confession more chilling than the same story told  as it already has been  from the point of view of the heroic cop, the celebrity F.B.I. profiler, the local lawyer, the priest (who believed Rader was possessed), the work colleague unaware of his secret identity or the victims family member envisioning a conspiracy. Seeing things through Raders eyes is indeed a stranger vantage point than all of those. The oddness of his language  his fractured diction and superhero jargon (Ramsland includes a glossary) sets it further apart. Serial killers are Minotaurs. Factor X is Raders drive to kill. Cubing is the extreme compartmentalization that he used to perpetuate his double life. D.T.P.G. stands for Death to pretty girls.

Years before she started studying serial killers, Ramsland wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on Soren Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism. She sees Kierkegaard as informing her most controversial idea in Confession  that some serial killers are more like the rest of us than common wisdom tells us. In the annals of serial killers, Rader is hardly the only one who held down a facade of normalcy while hunting his prey, but he managed it far longer than many others. There are many qualities, Ramsland writes, that ordinary people share with so-called monsters: overestimating our willpower, idealizing ourselves, daydreaming about power, indulging in secret behaviors that keep attracting us, deceiving others and keeping secrets. She believes that all of us should lock our doors at night.

The strange concept behind Confession was hatched in 2010, when Ramsland saw a post on Facebook that Kris Casarona, a self-described accountant and ghostwriter whom Rader had given the media rights to his story, was abandoning the project. Ramsland decided to step in. By that time, Thompson, the lawyer who represents the victims families, had rejected a number of writers looking to do some kind of project about him. He told everyone who called to write a proposal of intent, but few followed through. Those who did were not able to win over the families. Ramsland, however, got the go-ahead. The families liked her, Thompson said, though he added that they didnt really want a book  they would have preferred that he be left in a hole and never heard from again.
A faculty lockout at Long Island University-Brooklyn ended on Wednesday after 12 days, with the administration and the faculty agreeing to extend a contract that had expired at the end of August.

The announcement came on the heels of several student walkouts in protest of the replacement teachers who conducted classes, which began on Sept. 7.

If the university wanted to keep a semester viable for the students, they had to end the lockout because the students stood up and said, This is a betrayal, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said on Wednesday night.

The expired contract will run until May 31, 2017, as negotiations on a new one continue. Faculty members will return to classes on Thursday, the university said.
Julio Gonzalez, a jilted lover whose arson revenge at the unlicensed Happy Land nightclub in the Bronx in 1990 claimed 87 lives, making him the nations worst single mass murderer at the time, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y., where he had been taken from prison. He was 61.

The cause was apparently a heart attack, prison officials said.

Mr. Gonzalez had been at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., where he was serving 87 concurrent sentences of 25 years to life in prison after being convicted of starting the fire, which swept through the club early on March 25, 1990, a Sunday.

At the time, the club, on the second floor of a run-down building on Southern Boulevard in the East Tremont neighborhood, was crowded, mostly with Honduran immigrants celebrating Carnival. Only six people escaped.

Happy Land was found to have lacked fire exits, alarms and sprinklers. It had been ordered closed in November 1988, and its operators were facing eviction.
For nearly 40 years, one name had been synonymous with Lower Manhattan politics: Sheldon Silver.

Now there is a new name  and it bears translating. Yuh-Line Niou, a 33-year-old, Taiwanese-born candidate, won Tuesdays Democratic primary to overturn Mr. Silvers hold on the Assembly district that encompasses the area. Pronounced You Lean New, her name in Chinese, she said, means something so pretty or so precious that you want to hide it.

Instead, Ms. Niou has vaulted into the spotlight. Her victory in November, which is almost assured in the heavily Democratic 65th Assembly District, would double the number of Asian-American state legislators  to two.

I think its a testament to how far we have come in embracing diversity in the city, said Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Korean-born Democrat from Queens, and the other Asian-American in the Legislature. Ms. Niou was Mr. Kims chief of staff during his first three years in office. That gives the next generation, and so many young women of color, inspiration, Mr. Kim added, That I can have a funny Chinese name and I can run for office.

Ms. Niou said she did not know her opponent in the general election. It is Bryan Jung, a Republican district leader.
When Nilay Patel left his office Monday evening, he looked around for a cab.

It was 9:30 p.m. in Midtown Manhattan, but there was not a hint of yellow in any direction.

Mr. Patel, the editor of the technology site The Verge, tried car-hailing apps on his iPhone, and was surprised again. Uber was charging 3.7 times its normal rate  so-called surge pricing, a phenomenon more common on eventful evenings when there is, say, a thunderstorm , than on a boring night in NYC, as Mr. Patel wrote on Twitter.

What was going on?

Many people had the same question this week. President Obama was visiting on Tuesday, and New York Fashion Week was in full swing, but the dearth of cabs could have been attributed to something else on the calendar.

Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday that honors Abrahams sacrifice, began Monday and ended before sundown on Wednesday. Some driver advocates say Muslims from many countries make up as much as one-third of New York Citys taxi drivers.
The agreement also has powerful critics inside the Obama administration, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. On Tuesday, Pentagon officials refused to say whether they would comply with their part of the deal, which calls on the United States to share information with the Russians on Islamic State targets in Syria if the cease-fire holds for seven days. This would be an unusual and possibly risky collaboration with a Russian regime that has become increasingly adversarial and could profit from learning American military secrets.

Such criticism is not uncommon among outside experts as well as administration officials who believe that Mr. Kerry too often pursues unwinnable goals and settles for imperfect outcomes. But there has been something honorable, even heroic, about the persistence, hard work and faith in diplomacy that this decorated Vietnam veteran and former head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has brought to his search for peaceful solutions.

Even as President Obama sought to keep America out of new military entanglements, Mr. Kerry has been determined to keep the nation engaged diplomatically and lead the world toward constructive results, despite times when the problems seem intractable. At 72, he is unlikely to run for office again, which gives him a certain freedom to swing for the diplomatic fences, although it may end in failure. And for a long time, Mr. Obama gave Mr. Kerry plenty of room to run.

Mr. Kerry sometimes displays a naive belief in his ability to win people to his side if he keeps talking long enough. That did not work with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the Palestinians, who never engaged in sustained peace negotiations despite Mr. Kerrys countless trips to the region. In Afghanistan, Mr. Kerrys tireless interventions persuaded two competing Afghan politicians, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, to create a coalition government, an arrangement that now appears on the verge of collapse.

If anything, Syria has been still more complicated, involving many parties, including the Assad government, Iran, Russia, the Islamic State, an affiliate of Al Qaeda and American-backed rebels. Mr. Obama has provided arms to moderate rebel groups and deployed Special Operations forces, but has nowhere near the leverage on the battlefield and at the negotiating table as Vladimir Putin, who has shown no hesitation in conducting lethal airstrikes on Mr. Assads behalf.
Dobsons thinking on the topic of strength and authority is dominated by a single theme:

If the strong-willed child is allowed by indulgence to develop habits of defiance and disrespect during his early childhood, those characteristics will haunt him and his parents for the next twenty years.

As a case study for handling defiant children, Dobson describes his own method for dealing with a six-year-old pet Dachshund, Siggie, who refused Dobsons order to go to sleep in a permanent enclosure.

The only way to make Siggie obey is to threaten him with destruction. Nothing else works. I turned and went to my closet and got a small belt to help me reason with Mr. Freud. What developed next is impossible to describe. That tiny dog and I had the most vicious fight ever staged between man and beast. I fought him up one wall and down the other, with both of us scratching and clawing and growling and swinging the belt. Inch by inch I moved him toward the family room and his bed. As a final desperate maneuver, Siggie backed into the corner for one last snarling stand. I eventually got him to bed, only because I outweighed him 200 to 12!

Permissive adults who fail to learn the importance of establishing whos boss, according to Dobson, will suffer the consequences:

To a power-hungry tyrant of any age, appeasement only inflames his or her lust for more power.

Dobsons story about Siggie gives us a glimpse of how the views on authority of some on the right match up with Trumps views on what it takes to be an effective leader.

Failed leaders  Trumps Republican opponents in the primaries, Republicans who continue to reject his bid and, most of all, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama  are endlessly weak:

On Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire Republican Senator:

On Clinton:

On Obama:

Weak leaders, in Trumps view, encourage adversaries to defy American authority. In this context, weakness and permissiveness are interchangeable.

President Obama has weakened our military by weakening our economy, Trump declared in an April foreign policy address. The result of this weakness, according to Trump, is that:

The list of humiliations goes on and on and on. President Obama watches helplessly as North Korea increases its aggression and expands further and further with its nuclear reach. Our president has allowed China to continue its economic assault on American jobs and wealth, refusing to enforce trade deals and apply leverage on China necessary to rein in North Korea.

Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and one of the few leaders on the Christian Right to oppose Trump, wrote on Feb. 29 in the Washington Post:

For years, secular progressives have said that evangelical social action in America is not about religious conviction but all about power.

This year, Moore noted, Christian leaders who in the 1990s

gave stem-winding speeches about character in office during the Clinton administration now minimize the spewing of profanities in campaign speeches, race-baiting and courting white supremacists, boasting of adulterous affairs, debauching public morality and justice through the casino and pornography industries.

In backing Trump, Moore concluded, a group of high-profile old-guard evangelicals has proven these critics right.

Moores voice has, been drowned out on the Christian Right by pastors like the Rev. Robert Jeffress in Dallas, who has said that if offered a candidate modeled on Jesus:

I would run from that candidate as far as possible, because the Sermon on the Mount was not given as a governing principle for this nation.

In practice, Jeffress said:

Nowhere is government told to forgive those who wrong it, nowhere is government told to turn the other cheek. Government is to be a strongman to protect its citizens against evildoers. When Im looking for somebody whos going to deal with ISIS and exterminate ISIS, I dont care about that candidates tone or vocabulary, I want the meanest, toughest, son of a you-know-what I can find, and I believe thats biblical.

In other words, key leaders of the Christian right want a president who will treat recalcitrant nations and people in the way that Dobson dealt with Siggie  the meanest, toughest, son of a you-know-what I can find. Its little wonder that these same leaders are willing to overlook the bottomless list of Trumps personal and business failings.

Clyde Wilcox, a political scientist at Georgetown who has written sympathetically about the religious right, emailed me his take:

In the end it is partisanship and not religion that drives them nearly 40 years after the formation of the Moral Majority.

But it is Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Dartmouth, who wrote perhaps the most cogent analysis of Trumps evangelical support in an op-ed in the Washington Post in May:
Exodus Refugee Immigration, a social services group that sued to stop the order, argued that under constitutional principles states may not interfere with or penalize refugees who are in the federal refugee resettlement program, which ultimately decides where to send them.

The order was struck down earlier this year by a federal district judge in Indianapolis, who rejected the states contention that it was needed as a defense against terrorists. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt found instead that Mr. Pences order clearly constitutes national origin discrimination in a policy of punishing Syrian refugees already in Indiana in the hopes that no more will come.

As Mr. Trumps running mate, Mr. Pence is in no position to back down from carrying the tickets nativist banner. So the state appealed Judge Pratts ruling, and on Wednesday was back in court to argue that the anti-refugee order was similar to quarantining the contagiously ill from contaminating Indianas residents.

Members of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit were highly skeptical as they grilled Indianas solicitor general, Thomas Fisher. Are Syrians the only Muslims Indiana fears? asked Judge Richard Posner, who noted that the refugee families from Syria have been thoroughly screened by the State Department. You are so out of it! You dont think there are dangers from other countries? he asked.

Judge Frank Easterbrook said slyly that the states insistence that barring Syrians has nothing to do with rank discrimination produces nothing but a broad smile.
In August 2015, The New York Daily News published an exclusive report on a 1991 letter that Donald Trump wrote to the chairman of the State Assemblys Committee on Cities, complaining about disabled veterans vending their wares on Fifth Avenue, home of Trump Tower in Manhattan.

A New York State law dating from 1894 allowed disabled veterans to work as sidewalk peddlers in New York City regardless of municipal rules, as The New York Times wrote in 1991.

But Trump was not empathetic to these wounded warriors plight, at least not on Fifth Avenue. He saw them and their vending as an eyesore.

The Daily Beast published its own report on Trumps efforts to get the veterans booted from this tony part of Manhattan, quoting Trumps letter as reading:

While disabled veterans should be given every opportunity to earn a living, is it fair to do so to the detriment of the city as a whole or its taxpaying citizens and businesses?
US and Dutch authorities are seeking $1.4 billion in fines from Telia to settle probes into alleged bribes by the Swedish telecoms operator in Uzbekistan (AFP Photo/Jonathan Nackstrand) (AFP/File)

Stockholm (AFP) - US and Dutch authorities are seeking $1.4 billion in fines from Telia to settle probes into alleged bribes by the Swedish telecoms operator in the Central Asian state of Uzbekistan, Telia said Thursday.

It said the proposals for the settlement did not go into much detail "but suggests a total settlement amount of approximately USD 1.4 billion" (1.25 billion euros), the company said in a statement.

The probes were opened in March 2014 into alleged payments made to an Uzbek firm for the purpose of obtaining a mobile operating licence as well as a 26 percent stake in the Uzbek operator Ucell.

"I have said on many occasions in the past that Telia Companys entry into Uzbekistan was done in an unethical and wrongful way and we are prepared to take full responsibility," board chairwoman Marie Ehrling said in a statement.

According to Telia officials, the company began operations in the former Soviet republic in 2007 via a Dutch holding company.

Netherlands-based Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, which was involved in a related case, earlier this year agreed to pay $835 million to settle US and Dutch charges it paid massive bribes to get into Uzbekistan's telecommunications market.

Some of the funds transited through US accounts, and according to the US Department of Justice, ended up with a "relative" of former Uzbek president Islam Karimov for mobile phone licenses and frequencies.

US officials declined to identify the relative involved in the VimpelCom case, but Karimov's eldest daughter Gulnara Karimova was placed under house arrest two years ago as she was under investigation for corruption.

Anti-corruption group Transparency International has said in a report that Karimova "is suspected of receiving more than $1 billion worth of shares and payments from mobile phone companies in exchange for her influence."

Ehrling said Telia was cooperating with the US and Dutch probes, but that the company "will now have to analyse the information and decide on how to proceed with the ongoing discussions with the authorities."

Story continues

Ehrling added that "our initial reaction to the proposal is that the amount is very high."

She later told Swedish public radio that the amounts being sought by US and Dutch authorities "... shows that the cost of acting badly is expensive."

The head of TeliaSonera, as the company was then called, resigned in 2013 after an external review ordered by the company directed "serious criticism" at shortcomings in the Uzbekistan investment, although he rejected accusations of corruption.

Telia's shares slid 1.1 percent in morning trading in Stockholm.
INTERNATIONAL

An article on Aug. 15 about a Facebook friendship that ended up saving the life of an Afghan baby who received heart surgery through an Israeli charity, Save a Childs Heart, misstated part of the name of a group led by Tony Laurance, who praised the outreach but criticized Israeli restrictions on medical care for Palestinians. The group is Medical Aid for Palestinians (not for Palestine). The article also overstated the impact of Israeli restrictions on travel and trade in the Gaza Strip, and overstated what is known about the financing of Save a Childs Heart. Although the restrictions have made the import of some medical equipment difficult, the import of medicine is not restricted. According to the charitys director, Simon Fisher, it receives money from the governments of Israel, the European Union and the United States, as well as Christian ministries, Jewish congregations, public and private foundations and individuals worldwide, but he said he did not know whether most of the money was from private Jewish donors.



An article on Aug. 15 about Afghan forces struggle to resist the Taliban outside the southern city of Lashkar Gah misstated part of the name of an Afghan Army unit that was trying to hold the line. It is the Third Regiment, 215 Corps, not the 2015 Corps.

THE ARTS

An article on Wednesday about Museum Voorlinden, created by the Dutch chemical company executive and art collector Joop van Caldenborgh, misidentified the museums site. It is on the Netherlands west coast, not the north coast.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Tuesday about the pastry chef Albert Kumin misstated the year his wife, Eva, died. It was 2012, not 2010. The obituary also misstated part of the name of the school where Nick Malgieri, a former colleague of Mr. Kumins, teaches. It is the Institute of Culinary Education (not for Culinary Education).
So its really subtle, easy, the hairstylist Guido Palau joked of the punk-pastel dreadlock hairstyle he created backstage at Marc Jacobss spring/summer 2017 show today. The inspiration behind the explosively colorful, vertiginous style: Lana Wachowski, the transgender film director whom the designer cast in his spring 2016 ad campaign. Shes got this beautiful wool-colored hair in her hair extensions, so that was the first starting point, said Palau, adding that the effect also riffs on rave culture, acid house and Japanese Harajuku Girls. Its more cyber, in a way, he said. They almost look like they stepped out of a computer.

Fittingly, Palau hit the internet to source the custom-dyed dreadlocks, eventually stumbling upon Jena Counts. The self-taught founder of DreadlocksbyJena.com had been making rainbow-hued dreads for a little over a year in Palatka, Fla., when Palau and his team contacted her last July. One can only imagine how bizarre the order request must have seemed, as Palau didnt just need a handful but hundreds of hair pieces. It was racks of them! he said.

To complete the job, Counts and her assistants  her two daughters  flew into New York and were put up in an apartment, working for six days straight to produce a staggering 12,500 yards of fabric, which was dyed more than 200 different shades. The way Marc works is that he wants to see the dark with the pink, and the dark with the blue, said Palau. Hes such a great designer in that he doesnt see any limitations  and then everybody else starts to have that idea.

Getting the dreads into the hair was labor intensive. If the girls dont arrive one and a half hours before, they cant be in the show, Palau said, smiling, and noting that he arrived at 5 a.m. to get through the lineup of models that included sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid. His technique involved twisting the hair into dreads, then pinning and knotting the snakelike coils into place. Its asymmetric, with bits hanging out over the face, he explained of the shape.
Most people would infer from this that putting a price on carbon is challenging. And, politically, it is. But buried in the polling data is a striking revelation: Many people are willing to pay real money for a carbon policy. In fact, on average, Americans appear willing to pay more than a robust climate policy is projected to cost.

Lets take a look at the results of the poll. Respondents were asked if they would support a fee on their monthly electricity bill to combat climate change, and they were offered fees at various levels: $1, $10, $20, $30, $40 and $50. (Each household was asked about only one of these levels.) The responses were that 57 percent would pay at least $1; 39 percent would pay at least $10; 29 percent would pay $20; 24 percent would pay $30; 17 percent would pay $40; and 20 percent would pay $50.

Yes, 43 percent of the people surveyed said they were unwilling to pay even $1 per month, and that tells us something about the political challenges facing adoption of a climate policy. But the intensity of preferences of the other 57 percent also tells us something important.

Specifically, these responses can be used to infer how much people value addressing climate change. To give you a flavor of the approach, take the 39 percent of households that are in favor of at least a $10 fee and the 29 percent that are in favor of at least a $20 fee. Doing some back-of-the-envelope calculations, I find that 10 percent (39 percent minus 29 percent) of households would favor a fee between $10 and $20. I then assign the midpoint  $15  to this 10 percent of the population. I carry this approach through for the rest of the responses.

The net result is that, on average, American households are willing to pay $15 to $20 per month more on their electricity bill. The $15 is a lower bound because it assumes that the entire 20 percent of respondents who accept at least $50 are willing to pay $50, while the $20 figure assumes that this group is willing to pay $75 on average.
When Americas men and women commit to becoming Marines, we make a promise to them, the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. Robert B. Neller, said in a statement after the investigations were released. We pledge to train them with firmness, fairness, dignity and compassion. Simply stated, the manner in which we make Marines is as important as the finished product.

According to the Marine Corps report, which was reviewed by The New York Times, in summer 2015, a drill instructor, whose name has not been released, made a Muslim recruit do push-ups in a shower, telling him it was his job to root out spies. The instructor then said that the six-foot recruit needed to dry off and ordered him into a clothes dryer.

After running the dryer for 30 seconds, the instructor asked whom the recruit was working for, the report found. When the recruit replied nobody, the instructor ran the dryer again, then asked the recruit his religion. The recruit, who had started crying, replied Islam. The instructor ran the dryer for a longer time, then asked the recruit if he was still a Muslim. When the recruit said yes, the instructor ran the dryer again.

In November, after completing basic training, the recruit reported the abuse and the Marine Corps started the investigation. But commanders at Parris Island allowed the instructor to continue training recruits.

Image Lt. Col. Kate Germano, now retired, who oversaw the training of women at Parris Island. Many of the reforms announced by the Marines are already on the books and not being enforced, she said. Credit... Department of Defense

In March a 20-year-old Muslim, an American of Pakistani heritage named Raheel Siddiqui, was placed in the instructors platoon. Mr. Siddiqui, who was valedictorian of his high school class in Michigan, struggled to adjust, and a week after arriving said he was suicidal. He eventually said he was no longer suicidal, and was allowed to continue training. According to the report, the instructor thought Mr. Siddiqui was feigning illness to get out of training.

On March 18, Mr. Siddiqui gave a note to the instructor before breakfast, asking to go to sick call because he coughed blood a few times last night and completely lost his voice and can barely whisper. The instructor yelled at Mr. Siddiqui and made him do sprints the length of the barracks, which are known in the Marine Corps as squad bays.
A Florida man who espoused anti-Islamic views on social media was charged with arson on Wednesday in connection with a fire on Sunday that damaged a mosque in Fort Pierce, Fla., the authorities said.

The fire broke out around 11:40 p.m. at the mosque, the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, where the gunman who attacked an Orlando, Fla., nightclub in June often prayed. Sunday was the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Officials of the St. Lucie County sheriffs office said that Joseph M. Schreiber, 32, of Port St. Lucie, was arrested around 5 p.m. Wednesday as he was walking in Fort Pierce.

Mr. Schreiber had multiple anti-Islamic posts and comments on his Facebook page, said Maj. David Thompson, the director of law enforcement at the sheriffs office. Mr. Schreiber also wrote about the Sept. 11 attacks, but officials did not elaborate further on a possible motive for the fire.
Good morning.

Welcome to California Today, a morning update on the stories that matter to Californians (and anyone else interested in the state).

Tell us about the issues that matter to you  and what youd like to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

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San Diego may have some of the best fish tacos and year-round beach days, but thats apparently not enough to keep a lot of its tech talent from fleeing for the San Francisco Bay Area.

In a recent column in Voice of San Diego, Alexander Bakst, a computer science student at U.C. San Diego, said that while he and his peers would love to work in the city, Im positive that they all will leave.
WASHINGTON  Three human rights groups on Wednesday urged President Obama to pardon Edward J. Snowden, the former intelligence contractor who leaked secret documents about National Security Agency surveillance in 2013 and is living in Russia as a fugitive from criminal charges.

The start of the campaign coincides with the theatrical release this week of the movie Snowden, a sympathetic, fictionalized version of his story by the director Oliver Stone. Together, the film and the campaign, called Pardon Snowden, opened a new chapter in the debate about the surveillance Mr. Snowden revealed and about whether his leaks will go down in history as whistle-blowing or treason.

The campaign, organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, includes a petition that has been signed by technologists, law professors and celebrities. At a news conference, Mr. Snowden appeared by remote video link, thanking the organizers and arguing that his fate will have a broader impact.

If we are to sustain a free society through the next century, we must ensure that whistle-blowers can act again, and safely, as a check on future abuses of power, Mr. Snowden said. If he is sentenced to a long prison term, he added, people in the future who have information that the public needs to know will be afraid to come forward.
MIAMI  Gov. Rick Scott of Florida announced on Wednesday that the state was getting help to speed up the results of Zika tests, a move that should reduce the inordinately long waits  sometimes up to five weeks  experienced by hundreds of pregnant women who took the state-offered tests at no cost.

In a statement, Mr. Scott said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was sending seven laboratory technicians to help process Zika tests  noting that he had made this request in August. The governor added, however, that in light of the long waits, the seven technicians are not enough and he has requested additional help.

The governor also said more equipment was being rolled out. The Florida Department of Health bought additional lab equipment last week to help accelerate the process.

Pregnant women are among those most threatened by the Zika virus because it can be passed to their fetuses. The virus can lead to miscarriage, severe birth defects and other kinds of impairments in babies.
Donald J. Trump on Tuesday proposed universal paid maternity leave and new subsidies for child care, departing in some ways from Republican orthodoxy. In most respects, his plan is significantly less generous than what Hillary Clinton has called for, and both are far less expansive than the benefits offered by most developed nations.

Here is a look at Mr. Trumps plan and how it stacks up.

What is Trumps maternity leave proposal?

Mr. Trumps plan would, for the first time, guarantee working mothers in the United States paid leave from their jobs when they give birth or adopt.

He proposed requiring employers to give six weeks of maternity leave, with payments made by the unemployment insurance system.

New mothers would be paid the same amounts they would collect in unemployment benefits if they had been laid off, which is usually a small fraction of a persons normal wages and varies enormously from state to state. The maximum unemployment benefit ranges from $240 a week in Arizona to $722 in Massachusetts.
The largest arm of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation will spin off into an independent organization if Hillary Clinton is elected president, the charity said Wednesday in the latest effort by the foundation and the campaign to alleviate concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

If Mrs. Clinton wins in November, former President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Bruce Lindsey, Ira C. Magaziner and Maggie Williams will all step down from the board of the charity, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, or CHAI, which was established in 2002 to improve access to AIDS drugs around the world.

The charity also said that the new board would put in place a succession plan for Mr. Magaziner, a longtime friend and adviser to the Clintons, who also serves as the organizations chief executive.

Under the arrangement, the initiative would be known solely as CHAI. The Clinton name would no longer be used, and the Clinton Foundation would no longer have the power to appoint members to its board.
No, I never, never would, Mr. Trump responded from the stage.

After Mr. Trump finished speaking, one woman in the crowd followed the candidate off the stage, according to the pool reports, repeatedly asking him what he meant by you have nothing to lose, a line the candidate has said repeatedly in his efforts to attract minority voters.

Before his trip to the church, Mr. Trump spent roughly 15 minutes getting a brief tour of a water treatment plant in Flint, according to pool reports, where he thanked managers in the same town that had its water poisoned. Its not an easy situation, but youll get it under control, Mr. Trump told the small gathering of employees and officials. He thanked the folks from Flint and in particular the really, really good executives.

Mr. Trump spoke of his visit to Flint at a campaign rally later on Wednesday in Canton, Ohio, saying the water crisis in Flint demonstrates failure in every single level of government, and repeatedly pointing to the automobile jobs that fled the city decades ago. It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldnt drink the water in Mexico, Mr. Trump told the crowd, repeating a line he said earlier in the day. Now, the cars are made in Mexico and you cant drink the water in Flint. Oh, I hate to say that, but its true, its true, its true.

The candidates swing through Flint, a town with a majority African-American population, follows his campaigns recent outreach to minorities elsewhere and Mr. Trumps visits to states where Republicans havent won Electoral College votes in decades. The last time Michigan voted for a Republican was in 1988, and most recent polls there have shown Mrs. Clinton maintaining a comfortable lead over Mr. Trump.
When Donald J. Trump returns to campaign in New Hampshire on Thursday, he will be greeted by a familiar, if unwelcome, sight  a blistering attack on the front page of The Union Leader.

After assailing Mr. Trump on a regular basis leading up to the states primary, the venerable Union Leader, a conservative bulwark for generations, is now going a step further: For the first time in over 100 years, New Hampshires largest newspaper will not be endorsing the Republican nominee for president.

The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon, wrote Joseph W. McQuaid, the Union Leader publisher, of Mr. Trump in a signed editorial. He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives.

Rather than picking between what Mr. McQuaid termed the lesser of two evils, The Union Leader has bestowed its endorsement on Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee for president. Notably, the paper made clear that it was backing the entire Libertarian ticket, which includes William Weld, a former Massachusetts governor who is familiar to some New Hampshire voters.
Any attempt to interfere with American elections must be treated as a threat to our vital national security interests, Mr. McCain said after questioning Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, at the hearing. Yet so far, the only response from the Obama administration has been a warning from the secretary of defense.

It is unclear if Mr. Obama raised the issue with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia when they met 10 days ago in China. If an F.B.I. investigation finds overwhelming evidence of Russian government responsibility in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee or other recent breaches, the president would have to decide whether or how to respond.

Any response may not be made public, since Mr. Putin is seen as responding better to private warnings, or demonstrations of retaliation, than to anything that openly challenges his authority.

One reason officials like Mr. Comey have expressed confidence in the security of the vote is that most states (Pennsylvania is a notable exception) keep a paper backup of votes as they are cast. Paper trails are not foolproof. But their existence means that after a lengthy audit  even one as politically paralyzing as the 2000 recount in Florida  an accurate count would probably be made.

Voting machines are not supposed to be connected to the internet (though there are some exceptions), providing some additional measure of protection. But results are reported online, and one fear that federal cyberexperts have discussed is that a sophisticated man in the middle attack could allow hackers to take over internet systems used to report unofficial results on election night. Such a breach might not alter the official ballot count, but it could sow deep mistrust about the numbers that are broadcast.

If I were a bad guy, I know I could manipulate the system, said Stuart McClure, the author of Hacking Exposed and the chief executive of Cylance, a company that uses artificial intelligence techniques to repel attacks on networks. But the problem here is not really about manipulation. Its about the damage you can do with disruption, so that people lose confidence in the system.
Fewer than half of patients believe their clinicians understand their goals and concerns, and many people who are seriously ill say their medical care is not aligned with their preferences. Nearly half of the time when doctors say they discussed prognosis and likely outcomes with patients, their patients say there was no such conversation.

Research also finds that its common for doctors to review the benefits of screening and treatment, but discussion of risks  like overtreatment, overdiagnosis and complications  is lacking. One study found that less than 10 percent of patients were told about the potential harms of cancer screening. And more generally, patients tend to vastly overestimate the benefits and underestimate the harms of treatment.

Almost 90 percent of patients have fundamentally mistaken beliefs about how cardiac stents might help them; nearly the same proportion overestimate the benefits of breast cancer and colon cancer screening. For many interventions, the minimum benefit patients say theyre willing to accept is greater than the benefit research tells us theyre likely to receive.

What can be done?

More shared decision-making would be a good start. Shared decision-making initiatives have traditionally used decision aids like educational booklets and DVDs, but new technologies like online interactive tools are increasingly being deployed  with promising results. A recent Cochrane review of over 100 studies and 34,000 patients found that decision aids can improve patients knowledge of their options, help them understand whats important to them, and lead to more accurate expectations about treatments.

The Mayo Clinic and other institutions have developed online decision aids, available to all, to help doctors and patients more easily conceptualize the pros and cons of a given treatment. Mayos Statin Choice Decision Aid, for example, allows patients to enter personal health characteristics and, through visually engaging charts and graphics, assess their risk of a heart attack. It then prompts them to select various options to see how likely they are to have that heart attack with treatment or without treatment. It also presents information on how the risks and benefits vary by statin dose, how many people need to be treated for one person to benefit, and what the costs are to both your bank account and your daily routine. Similar decision aids are now available for other common conditions like diabetes, osteoporosis, depression and cancer.

Our medical era is one of complex technologies, seemingly endless information, and imperfect data. It can be difficult for doctors to explain medications and procedures, let alone adjudicate their relative value for each patient. But we must do a better job of guiding patients through the subtle, sometimes counterintuitive, trade-offs inherent in the tests and treatments we propose.

Decision aids may not solve the problem, but they can help. If effectively and creatively deployed, they can translate what we know and feel  our goals, preferences and values  into what we do and experience.
MEXICO CITY  The chief of criminal investigations for Mexicos attorney general resigned late Wednesday amid an internal affairs inquiry into his offices handling of the case of 43 college students who vanished nearly two years ago.

A brief government statement said the attorney general, Arely Gomez Gonzalez, had accepted the resignation of Tomas Zeron de Lucio from his post as head of criminal investigations, and wished him success in his personal and professional projects.

The statement did not explain the reasons for the resignation, but an official in the attorney generals office said it was intended to repair relations with the students families, who have maintained relentless pressure on the government to solve the case and had demanded Mr. Zerons removal.

But Mr. Zeron was not leaving government entirely. Hours after his resignation, President Enrique Pena Nieto named him as the technical secretary of Mexicos National Security Council. Mr. Zeron could not immediately be reached for comment.
TITLE: MYANMAR LEADERs UNEXPECTED SUPPORTER VO: Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met with United States leadership several times since 2010, when she was released from the 15-years long house arrest. Off all relationships she has made with American officials , the most long standing and somewhat curious is the one with Mitch McConnell. The lead sponsor of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar. They were lifted today after 23 years. SOT OBAMA today United states is now prepared to lift sanctions. VO The Republican senators fascination with the story of Myanmar former opposition leader, however, predates the sanctions. McConnell learned about Aung San Suu Kyi from a newspaper. SOT: September 13, 2012 in LOUISVILLE, Ky. MM: It was such an interesting story. I began to follow you and your activities and what was going on in your country. I guess it was in 1991. VO: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi heard about McConnell on the radio. SOT: September 13, 2012 in LOUISVILLE, Ky. SSK: I listened to the radio carefully when I was under a house arrest, and one day I heard about MM who was working very hard to free me. VO: This interview was shot while Aung San Suu Kyi and McConnell were visiting a horse farm in Louisville in 2012. A few days later they saw each other again, on the Capitol Hill, where Myanmar democratic leader received U.S. highest civilian honor for her commitment to peace and human rights in her home country: SOT: Sep 19, 2012, Washington MM: Congress will award the Gold medal to ASSK to the woman Ive taken a particular interest over the years. Aung San Suu Kyi (woman), Nobel peace laureate and Myanmar opposition leader (English, 12 sec): This is one of the most moving days of my life, to be here in a house undivided, a house joined together to welcome a stranger from a distant land. VO: Since then, after half a century of military rule, Myanmar has got a first freely elected Parliament, where Aung San Suu Kyis party - National League for Democracy - won the majority of seats. At times, she was critical of American overoptimism about Burmese reforms, saying there is a lot more to be done. SOT Obama meeting with SSK in 2014: The economy has begun to grow. Political prisoners have been set free. There are more newspapers and media outlets. Children have been released from the military. And these are all important changes that have opened up greater opportunity for the people of Burma. VO: Yet, Aung San Suu Kyi managed to successfully keep the policy of constructive engagement with the United States. SOT: Nov 14, 2014 0.24 and 0.40 Yangon, Burma Suu Kyi with Obama: There have been those who say there were tensions between the United States and the National League of Democracy....We may see things differently from time to time, but it will in no way affect our friendship. VO: The new leader of Myanmar drew criticism from Republicans who called Aung San Suu Kyi indifferent to some concerns in her country she barely had a chance to run, but her big time supporter Mitch McConnell has remained unapologetic. SOT: AP Archive Yangon - 16 Jan 2012: Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars pro democratic leader: Thank you very much for taking such an interest in Burma over so many years and I have no doubt that you will continue to help and support with us on our way to democracy Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senator: Thank you for all youve done over the years, its wonderful to see you.
Nearly two-thirds of the six million school-age children classified as refugees have no school to attend, the United Nations said Thursday in a report highlighting education as an overlooked casualty of the global refugee crisis.

The report, issued by the United Nations refugee agency, also said refugee children are roughly five times more likely to be not in school than the global average.

It said that in 2014 alone, the refugee school-age population grew by 30 percent.

Refugees often live in regions where governments are already struggling to educate their own children, the report said, further compounding the problem.

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, said in the report that the lack of schools and teachers for children was a sorely neglected facet of the swelling population of refugees.
WASHINGTON  President Obama on Wednesday renewed his call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and argued that it was crucial to Israels security, using the completion of a new agreement to provide $38 billion in American military aid as an occasion to prod Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a long-running dispute.

Mr. Obama said the 10-year, $38 billion agreement  the most generous of its kind ever  would make a significant contribution to Israels security in what remains a dangerous neighborhood. In a statement after the deal was signed in a formal ceremony at the State Department, the president said it underscored the United States status as Israels greatest friend and partner.

But in a nod to his differences with Mr. Netanyahu, with whom he has clashed over the Iran nuclear deal and Israeli settlement activity, Mr. Obama also stressed the importance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an imperative he said was as vital to Israels security as the aid package itself.

It is because of this same commitment to Israel and its long-term security that we will also continue to press for a two-state solution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite the deeply troubling trends on the ground that undermine this goal, Mr. Obama said. As I have emphasized previously, the only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine.
A selected guide to stand-up, improv and comedy shows in New York City.

For news about comedy, including critical commentary: nytimes.com/arts. A searchable guide to these and other shows is at nytimes.com/events.

LEWIS BLACK (Monday) Mr. Black, famous for his Back in Black rants on The Daily Show, returns to Broadway for this two-month engagement, Black to the Future. Mr. Black did a similar Broadway run before the 2012 presidential election, and this stint is likely to focus mostly on current events and politics. At 8 p.m., Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, Manhattan, 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com. (Elise Czajkowski)

 CAROL BURNETT (Friday and Saturday) Ms. Burnett, the legendary comedian and actress, began taking questions from audiences during tapings of her variety series, The Carol Burnett Show. She has carried this off-the-cuff style into her live show, titled An Evening of Laughter and Reflection Where the Audience Asks the Questions. At 8 p.m., Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th Street, 212-465-6500, beacontheatre.com. (Czajkowski)

 CINDER BLOCK COMEDY FESTIVAL (through Sunday) When this Williamsburg-based festival was announced earlier this year, it made headlines for charging female, minority and gay performers less to apply for the festival in an effort to diversify their lineup  with great success. In 60 shows over 4 days, the festival features stand-up, storytelling, improv, sketch comedy and other events from an eclectic collection of performers, including Janelle James, Laurie Kilmartin, Baron Vaughn, Amber Nelson, Erik Bergstrom and Keisha Zollar. At various locations, cinderblockcomedyfestival.com. (Czajkowski)
For 11 months, she traveled the boroughs and personally introduced herself to all of the departments 8,500 workers on their beats. She greeted each with a handshake and the words Thank you for keeping New York City alive. The show has videos of these meetings, some on view for the first time, and theyre very moving. Its clear that for some of the men  almost all the workers were men  Ms. Ukeless gesture came as a kind of secular benediction, and the energy flowed both ways. They took her as seriously, and generously, as she took them.

For the retrospective, the museum has marked out, in tiny lights on its famed Panorama of New York City, all the meet-and-greets Ms. Ukeles made for the piece. And this mapping of a highly personalized, and at some level deeply private, work of public art turns the city into a field of winking stars.

Touch Sanitation was the first of many projects Ms. Ukeles has made for, and with, the department, including a delightful series of Work Ballets, choreographed for sanitation equipment. In 1983, for the First New York City Art Parade, she sent a mirror-covered garbage collection truck rumbling up Madison Avenue, with six mechanical sweepers pirouetting behind. The resplendent truck, called The Social Mirror and still preserved by the department, will visit the museum, under sanmen guard, on weekends during the shows run.

In recent years, Ms. Ukeles has focused on ecological projects, among them the transformation of a former sanitation landfill, Fresh Kills, on Staten Island, into park. The site, once one of the worlds largest dumps, closed in 2001, reopened after the destruction of the World Trade Center, then closed again this year. Ms. Ukeles describes it as a 50-year-old social sculpture we have all produced from undifferentiated, unnamed, no-value garbage, and a public asset that we can, with loving care, repair and preserve. Her proposals for the park are on view in the museums atrium; shell lead a tour of the site in November.

Care, repair and preservation are what Ms. Ukeless art has been about right along. Its as if her early realization that self-empowerment comes not through fighting but through redefining the meaning of power had given her a usable awareness of vulnerability in the world. That awareness has taken her, in ways extremely rare in contemporary art, through potential barriers of class and gender; it has given her an enviable ease with spirituality (her Jewish faith is central to her life); and it has let her produce work thats as companionable as a shared meal and as serious as art can be.
In 1901 he was sent to New York, where he took classes in Southampton, N.Y., with the painter William Merritt Chase and at the Art Students League in Manhattan. Chase, who was famously hard to please, was impressed enough with the teenage student that he painted a portrait of Onderdonk; the canvas now belongs to the Bryan Museum in Galveston, Tex. (Chases caustic critiques were considered so entertaining that nonstudents would crowd inside his classes to watch, according to William Chase: A Modern Master, the catalog for an exhibition of his work opening on Oct. 9 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.)

Image Julian Onderdonk at work around 1915. Credit... Ernst Raba, Onderdonk Family Archives

Despite Onderdonks success with Chase and other prominent instructors  including Robert Henri  he found New York depressing, he told his parents after he arrived. He tried with little success to market his paintings of the Manhattan skyline, Hudson River docks, Staten Island orchards, Shelter Island coves and Catskill farms.

Living in New York made him feel like a small boat barely clinging to the crest of a great wave of hopes, he wrote in September 1902. He told his Texas family that while they were gathered on their peaceful front porch, they would find it hard to imagine his gritty Manhattan apartment, where he watched chilly winds curl and twist the smoke among the chimneys, and wave it fantastically above the heads of the struggling millions.

A little more than a year after he moved to Manhattan, he married a teenage neighbor, Gertrude Shipman. To support her and their daughter, Adrienne, he tried to make money teaching, and founded the Onderdonk School of Art on Staten Island. But it lasted only a few months. He turned out what he described as potboilers, and he reported to his family that he felt cheated by a dealer who sold them for a few dollars each. Onderdonk used pseudonyms like Charles and Chase Turner and Roberto Vasquez for the works.

In later years, he admitted that he felt some guilt about using pseudonyms. The practice, he wrote in 1916 in an unpublished memoir, I have now come to consider as wrong.
Plenty of New York art world figures have taken umbrage at the Museum of Modern Art, but the painter Ben Morea may be the only one who has managed to shut it down. They had the entrance of the museum barricaded, with cops behind it, Mr. Morea, now 75, recalled of the day in 1966 when his manifesto targeting MoMA as one of the objects of a total revolution, cultural as well as political and social persuaded nervous museum staff members to bar the doors pre-emptively.

Emboldened, Mr. Morea went on to become a veritable Zelig of the late 60s, popping up at key moments of countercultural history. He was spotted at the 1967 antiwar march on the Pentagon, leading breakaway protesters into the building, as well as at the 1969 Woodstock music festival, cutting the surrounding fence, helping to create  as thousands of ticketless fans rushed through the gaps  a famously free event.

Left behind in this whirlwind of activity was Mr. Moreas own art. He put down his paintbrush in late 1966, halting an ascendant career, and didnt resume painting until the 1980s  long after hed left New York and was living quietly off the grid in New Mexico. An exhibition of six of Mr. Moreas mid-60s paintings, which opened last week at the White Columns gallery in Chelsea, offers a chance to reassess the art road not taken.

I always painted in a semi-trance, the self-taught Mr. Morea explained of his 5-foot-by-5-foot abstractions at White Columns, all recently rediscovered rolled up underneath a cousins bed. Several use stark geometric forms to invoke the hypnotic flow often associated with Australian Aboriginal dreamtime patterns, while others depict imploding stars and an air of primal energy.
AMSTERDAM  Medical professionals and art historians have concluded that Vincent van Gogh suffered from a form of psychosis, but they could not come to a consensus about the underlying cause of his mental illness.

The diagnosis came out of a meeting of experts sponsored by the Van Gogh Museum here, in connection with its current exhibition, On the Verge of Insanity. It included 35 international psychiatrists, other doctors and art historians weighing in on evidence about van Goghs medical case.

The debate was lively and sometimes fierce, said Louis van Tilborgh, a professor of art history at the University of Amsterdam, who conducts research into the life and work of van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum.

Its difficult to make a diagnosis, so the real progress weve made is that specialists in the field are talking about it, and theyve never done this before, he said.
ROME  If you dont know much about Arte Povera, the 1960s Italian avant-garde movement whose proponents created minimalist works using humble or organic materials, two New York collectors are hoping to change that.

Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu see it as nothing short of a mission to expose to the American public the works of the small group of Italian artists who exhibited together in the late 1960s and early 70s.

That mission is about to materialize, in a stark, outsized industrial building in Cold Spring, N.Y.  about 60 miles north of New York City  where they plan to exhibit about 400 works from their substantial collection when it opens next year.

They call the space Magazzino, which means warehouse in Italian, an unassuming designation that intentionally avoids any association with museums, institutions, art galleries or commercial enterprises. The name was not chosen by chance, said Mr. Spanu of the self-financed project.
PLENTY of orchestras offer soundtrack karaoke these days, playing the scores of films live as they are screened. But there will be a twist when the New York Philharmonic strikes up the band this weekend for the lush Gershwin score of Woody Allens 1979 film, Manhattan: Since the Philharmonic recorded the original soundtrack, the performance it re-enacts will be its own.

Irene Breslaw, a viola player who is one of a handful of members of the orchestra who played on the original film, will find herself performing the same parts, on the same instrument, on the same stage as she did at the original recording session, which was held during a February snowstorm with Mr. Allen and his co-star Diane Keaton, listening in the nearly empty hall. A younger colleague, Pascual Martinez Forteza, will inherit the clarinet solo that opens both Rhapsody in Blue and the film, which he first saw dubbed in Spanish while growing up in Majorca, Spain.

Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonics music director, has been preparing for the performances on Friday and Saturday by studying the film and soundtrack, which his parents played on as members of the orchestra. I distinctly remember when my parents came home from the recording session, he said in an interview in which he discussed the challenges of bringing the score to life while keeping it in sync with the film.

The feast of Gershwin music, coupled with the elegant black and white cinematography of Gordon Willis, gave Manhattan a romanticized vision of New York that came as a tonic in an era of fiscal crisis, Son of Sam killings, and looting during the blackout two years earlier.
On Thursdays episode of The Dr. Oz Show, Donald J. Trump told Dr. Mehmet Oz that he didnt get much exercise these days. This is not really true. Even as he said it, he was in the middle of conducting a one-hour spinning class.

Mr. Trumps much-hyped appearance came in the midst of a news week focused on the presidential candidates health. And Mr. Trump, the former host of The Apprentice, stage-managed it like a reality-TV reveal.

After days of will-he-or-wont-he, as to whether Mr. Trump would provide the findings of a recent physical examination, daytimes favorite doctor walked the candidate through a self-assessment, which Mr. Trump, as is his wont when self-assessing, answered favorably. If you feel so confident, Dr. Oz finally asked, Why not share your medical records?

Mr. Trump responded like a knee to the tap of a mallet, producing two sheets of paper from his jacket as if they were the results of a dramatic elimination episode. The moment set off Mr. Trumps showmans instinct to engage the crowd. I have it right here, he said. Should I do it?
In his mid-20s when we meet him in 1939, Camus was a hugely ambitious, if yet to be published, writer living in his native Algeria. He was working on a novel he would abandon titled A Happy Death; a play about the emperor Caligula; and a philosophical essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. He would soon add the germinal ideas of The Stranger to that mix.

Image Alice Kaplan Credit... Catherine Helie/Gallimard

Camus, though, as is well known, was a man involved in the world, not a writer locked in his room, and his story is deeply entwined with the complex political climate in French-ruled Algeria during the time that France was occupied by the Nazis. Ms. Kaplan, a professor of French at Yale, is the acclaimed author of several previous books, including the memoir French Lessons and Dreaming in French: The Paris Years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis. To this new project, she brings equally honed skills as a historian, literary critic and biographer.

We learn extensively about Camuss relationships with his family and with fellow writers; about his activities as an anti-fascist; and about what led to everything in The Stranger, from the rhythm of its sentences to the conception of the unforgettable scene in which a sun-dazed Meursault murders an Arab on the beach.

Indicative of Ms. Kaplans approach is the chapter on Camuss time as a court reporter for the anticolonial newspaper Alger-Republicain in the late 1930s. The experience gave him a front-row seat in a theater for the tensions and dramas of a society structured on inequality. It also provided him specific material for The Stranger, like the scene in which a judge waves a crucifix at Meursault and insists that he believe in Christian forgiveness.

The Stranger was the first work of fiction to fully convey the icy alienation of existentialism. (Camus didnt like the E word, but the shoe fits, and snugly.) This slim, spartan novels antecedents were garishly voice-driven by comparison. The unnamed narrator of Dostoevskys Notes From Underground has an often spirited, wisecracking relationship with the reader. (In my soul I have never been a coward, though I constantly turned coward in reality, but  dont laugh too quickly, theres an explanation for that; rest assured, I have an explanation for everything.) The protagonist of Sartres Nausea, published in 1938, just four years before The Stranger, is more akin to Dostoevskys garrulous, opinionated guide than to Camuss detached antihero. (To think that there are idiots who get consolation from the fine arts.)
The contenders for the 2016 National Book Award for fiction include novels about American slavery, mental illness, terrorism, post-Civil War America, and a book about a couple on the cusp of marriage that also features a charismatic squirrel.

The 10 nominees were announced on Thursday.

Image Karan Mahajan Credit... Molly Winters

Colson Whiteheads best-selling novel The Underground Railroad, which was selected for Oprah Winfreys book club, centers on a slave named Cora who escapes a Georgia plantation and flees north via the underground railroad  a literal subterranean railroad. In Karan Mahajans novel The Association of Small Bombs, a community in New Delhi struggles to recover from a terrorist attack. Adam Hasletts Imagine Me Gone explores the effects of mental illness on generations of a family. Jacqueline Woodson, who won the 2014 National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature, is nominated this year for Another Brooklyn, a coming-of-age story set in 1970s Brooklyn, which is her first adult novel in 20 years. Other nominees include Paulette Jiles, Chris Bachelder, Brad Watson, the debut novelist Garth Greenwell and Elizabeth McKenzie, whose novel The Portable Veblen features a neurotic soon-to-be married couple and a friendly squirrel, who becomes a sort of sidekick to the novels heroine.

Image Heather Ann Thompson Credit... Laura McDermott for The New York Times

Books about war, racism and slavery also dominated the list of nonfiction nominees, which included two books about slavery, by Manisha Sinha and Andres Resendez, who wrote about American Indian enslavement, and a history of racism in the United States, by Ibram X. Kendi. Viet Thanh Nguyen, who won the Pulitzer Prize last year for his novel The Sympathizer, was nominated for what he has described as a nonfiction companion to that book, titled Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War. Heather Ann Thompsons Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, which has been widely praised by critics as an indispensable work about police brutality, racism and mass incarceration, is also among the finalists.
Many states have continued to resist the Obama administrations entreaties to expand their Medicaid coverage, leaving millions of poor Americans with no affordable health insurance options. And the marketplaces created under the law, in which middle-income people without insurance can buy policies, are struggling in states across the country.

Some insurers are dropping out, and others are sharply raising prices. In New York City, for example, rates for a benchmark plan could go up by an average of 16 percent, according to one analysis.

If the marketplaces do not stabilize, the drop in the uninsured rate could stall or even reverse.

Adding to the uncertainty is the hazy future of the health care law. Donald J. Trump and Republicans in Congress have vowed to repeal it if they get the chance. And even if the Democrats are in control, there is an array of competing proposals on how to adjust the law.

The way I would frame it is, this isnt just about whether the Affordable Care Act works, said Dr. Benjamin D. Sommers, an assistant professor at Harvards School of Public Health and former researcher for the Health and Human Services Department, who has analyzed the remaining uninsured population. Its also about whether the effort to expand coverage has gone far enough.

The Affordable Care Act was not intended to cover everyone, the way that single-payer systems in many other countries do. Undocumented immigrants, for example, are largely shut out of the health insurance system. And because the system requires people to actively sign up for insurance and often pay a premium, there will always be some Americans too independent  or isolated  to seek insurance.
In another case about a year ago, the chief financial officer of a Virginia Beach, Va., lender was accused of failing to conduct due diligence on certain investment firms and not disclosing a personal relationship with one of them. The executive is no longer allowed to work at an insured bank.

Such discipline is often imposed to avoid levying fines that many smaller institutions cannot afford. For big banks, its usually the opposite. Wall Street titans have forked over more than $200 billion in penalties since the financial crisis. At the same time, their leaders have avoided sanctions, rousing the ire of customers, investors and elected officials.

Prosecutors and regulators have been unsuccessful in bringing charges against the senior ranks at the 30 or so biggest financial institutions, often struggling to conclude definitively who is at fault in such sprawling enterprises. The task is often easier at local banks, of which there are about 6,000 in the United States. Wells Fargo gives watchdogs another chance to bite rather than just bark.
WASHINGTON  President Obama, beginning a final uphill push for a trade initiative that is opposed by both partys presidential candidates, will host an Oval Office meeting on Friday to showcase support among public figures in both parties.

Mr. Obama will convene a bipartisan group to discuss the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-nation Pacific trade agreement whose completion he has made a top priority, White House officials said.

Expected attendees include Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a former contender for the Republican presidential nomination, and Henry M. Paulson Jr., who served as Treasury secretary under George W. Bush, as well as Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, a Democrat, and Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, a Democrat.
It goes without saying that raising taxes on the rich while leaving most of the existing tax code intact is anathema to Republicans and conservative economists, as well as many centrist Democrats who have long held dreams of a bipartisan Grand Bargain to carry out a sweeping tax overhaul to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the American economy.

I have admiration for the mechanics of the Clinton proposals, Mr. Holtz-Eakin said. Theyre more detailed and structured than Trumps. But I have serious concerns about the quality. Their philosophy seems to be to give up on economic growth and try to deliver middle-class prosperity by taking from the rich.

Everyone I interviewed criticized as fiendishly complicated and ineffectual what is probably Mrs. Clintons most innovative proposal, which is to put in place a graduated scale for tax rates on capital gains.

Under Mrs. Clintons plan, taxpayers reporting capital gains held for one to two years would pay their ordinary income tax rate, which currently goes as high as 39.6 percent, just as they do now for gains held less than a year. Gains of two to three years would be subject to a 36 percent rate, and after that the rate would decline by four percentage points each year until it reached the current long-term rate of 20 percent. (All rates exclude the additional 3.8 percent surtax on net investment income.) In effect, there would be seven rate brackets for capital gains, compared with two under the current code.

Although this nominally raises capital gains rates for some assets, it is not clear what, if any, effect it might have on overall revenue. The Tax Foundation estimates that it would cost the Treasury $374 billion over 10 years because it would encourage investors to hold assets longer, which would defer their taxes. The Tax Policy Center says it would depress revenue in the early years as investors delayed sales, but would eventually add $84 billion over 10 years.

But the goal is not revenue; its supposed to curb activist investors and others focused on short-term results, and persuade corporate executives to manage for the long term rather than for quarterly profit, according to a speech Mrs. Clinton delivered at New York University in July 2015.
SEOUL, South Korea  It was supposed to be an enormous  but quick  recall.

Samsung Electronics of South Korea said two weeks ago that it would recall 2.5 million units of its new high-end smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7, just days after some customers said their phones had caught fire. The recall is the largest in the history of the smartphone industry, but it also won Samsung praise from some in the mobile industry for the companys speed and decisiveness.

Today, the recall looks anything but smooth.

Safety regulators in the United States have issued warnings in recent days cautioning consumers not to turn on their Note 7s on airplanes  and not to use their phones at all. South Koreas flight regulator, in a reversal, followed suit, as have others around the world.

The constant reminders of potential combustibility have further dented Samsungs reputation and shaved as much as $14 billion off its market value, just when it looked to be gaining ground on Apple, its longtime rival, with its new line of sleek Galaxy smartphones. They also raise questions about whether Samsungs rush to take back the phones created more problems.

Experts say it led to a ham-handed effort that confused customers, frustrated regulators and continued to generate headlines both in the United States and at home. Data from the mobile analytics firm Apteligent showed that while Samsungs recall appeared to have stopped new sales of the phone, a majority of people who had the affected phones were continuing to use them.
What followed was a declaration of faith: In populism for the 1 Percent (they deserve it, too, apparently) and the need for evolution.

Select clients from around the world were invited to join the industry crowd, the Lauren family and assorted celebrities to perch on crisp cotton cushions atop sisal-lined bleachers. The sidewalk was the runway, and the store the set. You are changing the way you live and the way you want to shop, and we are changing with you and for you, read a note placed on every seat.

And there was some change on the runway. Though not too much.

Eschewing his usual tripartite themes, Mr. Lauren built a tighter-than-usual collection  nominally Fall, Part 2, but effectively seasonless (can we all just forget the pointless meteorological nomenclature now?)  on the inspiration from an old Navajo blanket he had in his house, soignee city evening wear in fruity shades and Savile Row suiting.

Stylized suede flowers, the kind normally seen on rodeo shirts, were embroidered up the sides of pinstripe trousers; a buffalo-plaid shirt was paired with a midi skirt dripping asymmetric tiers of silken fringe; and a hot pink Kashmir goat chubby tossed atop a slithery matching halter and trousers.

Some of the Western touches were a little heavy-handed (Stetsons and silk charmeuse?). But a sleeveless black column dress, the shoulders bordered in studded saddle leather that formed a harness at the back, and sporty tank sheaths covered in thousands  or, in the case of one gown, millions  of hand-dyed degrade micro-sequins, had the efficiency of true elegance. It waited for no hand-tooled belt.
Case in point: the Western Edition, printed from 1962 to 1964 in Los Angeles. This pioneering project was a distant predecessor of California Today, which began this month as a morning update on the stories that matter to Californians (and anyone else interested in the state).

Even in the 1950s, that amounted to a lot of people. The West Coast was the place to find growing numbers of the affluent, acquisitive consumers that advertisers love.

California beckoned, demographically.

Image Orvil E. Dryfoos, The Times publisher under whom the Western Edition started in 1962. Credit... The New York Times

Logistically, however, it presented a nightmare. In the electromechanical era, it was almost impossible to conceive of printing two versions of the same days newspaper simultaneously in plants separated by an entire continent. Under the code name Westward Ho, The Times spent several years trying to solve the technological problems.

In May 1962, Orvil E. Dryfoos, the publisher of The Times, said that if the Western Edition succeeded, it would be an important landmark in contemporary journalism.
If youre a young high school teacher, should you lower formal barriers and allow a favorite student to address you by your first name? Thats one of the temptations facing the title character of Julia Harts modest, warmhearted directorial debut, Miss Stevens.

The film, which stars Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) as Rachel Stevens, a 29-year-old English teacher who chaperones three of her students during a trip to an acting competition somewhere in California, comes down gently on the side of carefully loosening traditional boundaries. At the same time, it shows how hard it can be for a teacher to resist befriending bright, attractive adolescents burning with curiosity and a desire for personal contact. Rachel may be the supervising adult, but her charges are computer-savvy, can talk the talk of grown-ups and are far from naive.

While acknowledging the erotic undertow of student-teacher relationships, the movie doesnt descend to prurience. In the eyes of a contemporary high-school student, it suggests, a caring teacher is less a mysterious authority figure than a surrogate older sibling. Ms. Rabes beautifully balanced performance reminds you that people never really grow up.

Rachel is still grieving over the recent death of her mother, an actress. And when her composure suddenly cracks, she needs comfort. If the nearest person who offers a shoulder to cry on is a student, she accepts it with full awareness of the pitfalls.
But he is not a figure of operatic, tragic ambition in the mold of Richard M. Nixon, Jim Morrison or Alexander the Great (at least as Mr. Stone imagined them). Nerdy in aspect and phlegmatic in manner, Edward never takes a drink or chases a skirt. (His girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, is played by Shailene Woodley.) And Snowden is, by Mr. Stones standards, a strikingly sober film. Restraint shows in both the filmmaking and the politics. There are very few wild, bravura visual flights and not much in the way of wild conspiracymongering. Edward is a rational, ethical creature  responsibility is one of his favorite words  and the movie takes pains to be reasonable. Its basic argument about government data-collection would not be out of place on the Op-Ed page of this or any other newspaper. And its dialogue and pacing would work just fine on television.

Maybe Mr. Stone has mellowed, or maybe the world has caught up with him. What used to be paranoia  the idea, say, that your electronic appliances are spying on you  looks nowadays like blunt realism. It can also seem as if the physical world, that bloody, sex-infused battleground of the self where previous Stone heroes have raged and fought, had been displaced by a more abstract zone of codes and algorithms. Edward passes from one realm to the other when an injury ends his career as a United States Army Ranger. There are lots of ways to serve your country, the doctor tells him, and soon enough, his bosses at the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. are explaining that the real war is being waged on computer and cellular networks.

Mr. Stone, well served by his cinematographer, the digital wizard Anthony Dod Mantle, and the composers Craig Armstrong and Adam Peters, evokes the chilly colorations and spooky undertones of our technological reality. The Hong Kong hotel room where Edward meets with Ms. Poitras (Melissa Leo) and the journalists Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) and Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson) is an eerie futuristic box. Snowdens workplaces in Geneva, Tokyo and Oahu are hives full of glowing screens and whispered jargon.
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four concerns four Texas women  Elizabeth Ramirez, Anna Vasquez, Cassandra Rivera and Kristie Mayhugh  who were sentenced to prison after two young nieces of Ms. Ramirez accused the four of sexual assault. The documentary persuasively argues that the charges were wildly implausible, and that homophobia against the women, who had been in lesbian relationships, contributed to the convictions.

The case is portrayed as an example of the satanic ritual-abuse panic of the 1980s and 90s. It is shown as a cause for the Innocence Project of Texas and for Debbie Nathan, a journalist also seen in Capturing the Friedmans, a film about a Long Island family caught up in sexual-abuse allegations.

Southwest of Salem picks up work that began long before a film crew arrived, but the director, Deborah S. Esquenazi, bears witness to crucial moments, such as one of the nieces, now an adult, remorsefully recanting her accusations, and later reuniting with her aunt, Ms. Ramirez. We watch Ms. Vasquez, on parole, experience a changed world. (She finds that she relates to prison shows.)

The context of interspersed home videos might have been made clearer. Mostly, though, Southwest of Salem proceeds with what have become sobering tropes for true-crime documentaries: a defendant saying she didnt realize she needed a lawyer; outsiders explaining how they grew convinced of a miscarriage of justice.
Julio Quintanas The Vessel is a modest, but not maudlin, parable of hope about mustering the strength to vigorously plunge again into lifes uncertainties after a devastating loss.

Ten years after a tsunami took the lives of 46 children in an unnamed Latin American seaside village, the surviving residents remain deeply traumatized. They include Leo (Lucas Quintana), whose mother (Jacqueline Duprey) is a mute mass of quivering sorrow still mourning the death of Leos brother. As for Leo, his anguish cost him the love of Soraya (Aris Mejias), who has married someone else. Only Father Douglas (Martin Sheen, performing in Spanish with masterly assurance) believes in a better future, but his efforts to encourage the locals to replenish the population have been fruitless.(The Vessel is being released in English- and Spanish-language versions.)

When Leo survives an accident that kills a friend who had aspired to escape the village, neighbors react with skepticism, suspicion and demands, if not outright aggression, to Leos seeming resurrection. When he undertakes a daunting project  the construction of a crude boat using ramshackle materials  the antipathy of the townspeople reaches a boiling point.

Mr. Quintana, who has been a cinematographer and a camera operator, has worked with Terrence Malick (an executive producer of The Vessel) and displays a similarly exquisite visual acumen. Using wide-angle lenses, gritty yet stunning Puerto Rican locations and a skilled cast (including Lucas, his brother), he conjures a timeless hamlet devoid of modern appurtenances, the kind of enchanted place where miracles  like breaking the shackles of paralyzing despair  can happen.
As a young girl in Portland, Ore., Renee Watson immersed herself in the words of Langston Hughes, discovering that his poems about black identity mirrored experiences in her own life. Since moving to Harlem more than a decade ago, she has often walked by his old home  a three-story brownstone on East 127th Street with cast-iron railings and overgrown ivy.

The author spent his final 20 years and wrote some of his most notable literary works in this house. It was designated a historic landmark in 1981. Yet in recent years, the property has remained empty. A performance space opened in 2007 but closed when the tenants were evicted about a year later. In 2010, the current owner listed the house for $1 million but found no buyers.

With her neighborhood experiencing rapid gentrification, Ms. Watson, 38, an author and poet, felt that too many crucial landmarks of the Harlem Renaissance, like Mr. Hughess home, were disappearing or going unnoticed.

It feels like, whether its intentional or not, our stories are being erased, Ms. Watson said.

So, after a years worth of planning, she began to preserve the legacy of the house herself. She began a nonprofit organization, persuaded the owner to let her lease and renovate the brownstone, and started raising the money necessary to do so.
A man wielding an 11-inch meat cleaver near Pennsylvania Station and resisting police officers efforts to catch him on Thursday slashed an off-duty detective in the head before being shot by the police, the authorities said, in an episode that sent commuters and tourists fleeing during the evening rush.

It started when the police confronted a man who was trying to remove a boot device attached to a tire on his car, officials said, and escalated into a chaotic chase through Midtown Manhattan that ended with officers shooting at him 18 times.

The man, Akram Joudeh, 32, was critically injured and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, the police said. The off-duty detective, identified by the police as Brian ODonnell, was in serious condition. Two other officers were taken to the center with injuries that were not life-threatening.

The episode began around 5 p.m. at West 32nd Street and Broadway when several officers responded to a report that Mr. Joudeh was trying to remove the device, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said at a news conference on Thursday night. The police said they believed Mr. Joudeh, whose last known residence was in Queens, was living out of his car.
To the Editor:

Re Christie Vetoes Wage Bill, Calling Rise to $15 Radical  (news article, Aug. 31):

Gov. Chris Christie got it wrong. Days before Labor Day, Governor Christie denied a living wage to thousands of hardworking New Jerseyans with his veto of the $15 minimum wage bill.

Governor Christie called such an increase really radical, but it is the responsibility of good government to create legislation so that every citizen has the tools to become economically self-sufficient. In January, East Orange was the first city in the state to increase the municipal minimum wage up to $15 an hour across the board through the collective bargaining process.

Now is the time for solutions, not empty promises or ideological pandering about the role of government. The $15 minimum wage bill may have been defeated, but our ongoing efforts to fight for the rights of working families in New Jersey  whether at the local or state level  must carry on.

LESTER E. TAYLOR III

Mayor

East Orange, N.J.
To the Editor:

Powells Emails Show Scorn for Trump and Irritation at Clinton (front page, Sept. 15) raises troubling questions about journalistic ethics in an age of hacking. Colin Powell, a former secretary of state, retired from public service and returned to private life and should have been allowed to publicly comment on the current election if and when he wished. It is unclear that it was a matter of public interest to know Mr. Powells privately expressed opinions.

True, the hacked information was online for all to see, and other outlets had covered the materials. But I hope that editors of The Times, a paper of record that aspires to high ethical standards, debated in depth whether and what to publish.

When prominent outlets publish hacked information, it spreads to a far wider audience, the hacking is legitimized and the hackers gain greater attention, likely encouraging further hacking.

Leaks of information to which a person has access have their own ethical dilemmas, but hacks of private information are stealing and should be treated as such.
ATHENS  Democracies may be destined to dislike one another. When people have a decisive voice in government, they are guided by self-interest, and put their short-term concerns before those of neighbors or partners. In an effort to channel this endless ebb and flow of passions, institutions provide a framework of rights and wrongs, and governments function by persuading the greatest number of voters that they are doing the right thing.

What happens, however, when leaders are unable or unwilling to turn the tide of nationalism, xenophobia and self-interest?

In many liberal democracies, the network of systems that maintained stability and promoted prosperity (nationally and internationally) appears to be disintegrating. When people cannot be assured of continued prosperity, when they face mass immigration and the threat of terrorism, the pull of populism  with its simple messages of who is to blame and what is to be done  is strong. When leaders cannot (or will not) persuade citizens that their long-term interest lies in dialogue and consensus with other groups and nations, politicians find it even more difficult to do the right thing; they may be carried away by the forces that divide society into ever smaller self-interested groups.

Greece has been on the front line of these changes. Here we first saw the collapse of confidence in elites and technocrats in Athens and Brussels. This was followed by the election of a formerly fringe party, Syriza, whose rejection of reform and austerity (in return for bailouts) was a dead end. The debt crisis has been compounded by the refugee crisis, provoking domestic turmoil and damaging relations with European Union partners. This has resulted in a long limbo. Recession continues and public and private debts increase, with more people falling behind in paying taxes, bank loans and social security fees. And there is further dependence on outside support.
LOS ANGELES  In a move that is sure to draw the ire of Republicans, California officials are asking the Obama administration this week to approve a plan that would allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance on the states public exchange.

Officials say that up to 30 percent of the states two million undocumented adults could be eligible for the program, and that roughly 17,000 people are expected to participate in the first year, if the plan is approved. But the proposal faces serious hurdles in Washington, where it must be approved by the Treasury and the Health and Human Services Departments.

During debates over health care in his first term, and again when Congress considered an immigration overhaul in 2013, President Obama made it clear that health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act would not go to immigrants who are living in the United States illegally. And two provisions of the health care law limit coverage to residents who are here legally. But advocates of Californias initiative argue that the plan should be approved under what is known as an innovation waiver, which allows states to have provisions of the federal law modified, because no federal dollars will be used to fund the program.

This really represents the next step in health for all, said State Senator Ricardo Lara, a Democrat and the author of the bill, who was in Washington this week to garner support for the measure. Were simply asking Washington to allow California to once again allow more people to pay into the system. Were reaffirming once again our desire to make affordable preventative care available to everyone and our belief that health care is a human right not a privilege.
Homicides are hardly common in Norwalk, Ohio, a community of about 17,000 near Lake Erie known as the Maple City. For years there were none, officials said, and last year the Police Department investigated only one. But all agree they have seen nothing like the latest possible case, which has stumped the authorities for three weeks: the curious matter of the bodiless heart.

On Aug. 25, two emergency medics stopped for a break in the parking lot of a gas station in Norwalk, which is about 50 miles west of Cleveland, just after 7 p.m. They spotted an object in the grass near the edge of the pavement: It was a two-quart-size plastic bag with a zip-lock. Inside was a heart.

The medics called their dispatcher, who at first told them to toss the organ into the trash, but then instructed them to call the police. About five minutes later, according to a police report, the police arrived and took custody of the matter.

That is how the case came across the desk of Sgt. James Fulton, a veteran law enforcement officer who is more accustomed to solving drug crimes, sexual assaults, robberies  and homicides with corpses.
A privately operated Mississippi prison that a federal judge once concluded was effectively run by gangs in collusion with corrupt prison guards, closed Thursday, its prisoners transferred to other state facilities, officials said.

Conditions at the prison, the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, were deemed so substandard by Judge Carlton Reeves of Federal District Court, that he wrote in a 2012 settlement order that it paints a picture of such horror as should be unrealized anywhere in the civilized world.

The move to shutter Walnut Grove, in Leake County, comes one month after the Justice Department announced that it would phase out its use of private prisons to house federal inmates after concluding that such facilities are more dangerous and less effective than prisons run by the government.

But the Obama administration decision does not affect states, which have increasingly come to rely on private firms to manage prison populations, including Mississippi.
SHOWS: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 15, 2016) (POOL-ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP SAYING: It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldnt drink the water in Mexico. Now, the cars are made in Mexico and you cant drink the water in Flint. We are going to turn this around. My economic plan rejects the cynicism that says our labor force will keep declining, that our jobs will keep leaving, and that our economy can never grow as it did once before. . . and boy, oh boy, did it used to grow. SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP SAYING: All of these things, and so much more, are possible. But to accomplish them, we must replace the present policy of globalism - which has moved so many jobs out of our communities and so much wealth out of our country - and replace it with a new policy of Americanism. America First, remember that. 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP SAYING: We are the nation that tamed the West, dug out the Panama Canal, and won two World Wars, and put a man on the moon. Its time to start thinking big once again. Thats why I believe it is time to establish a national goal of reaching 4% economic growth. . . and my great economists dont want me to say this, but I think I can do better than that. 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP SAYING: Here is how the plan adds up: we are proposing a $4.4 trillion tax cut that will score as $2.6 trillion under a dynamic growth models, which is how taxes should be scored. This includes the childcare plan that we announced the other day. Our economic team has further modeled that the growth-induced savings from trade, energy and regulation reform will shave at least another $1.8 trillion off of the remaining debt. That leaves around $800 billion dollars. This money can all be saved through simple, common sense reforms. If we save just one penny of each federal dollar spent on non-defense, and non-entitlement programs, we can save almost $1 trillion over the next decade. One penny, we can all do that. Save over a trillion, again this is spending that does not touch defense, because we have to build up our military which is so terribly depleted, and that does not touch entitlements. If our plan exceeds the 3.5% ten-year growth average, then our jobs proposal will actually reduce and start really strongly reducing the deficit. 6. TRUMP SITTING FOR FIRESIDE CHAT, MODERATOR ASKING ABOUT FEDERAL RESERVE 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP SAYING: I think its a terrible thing thats happening, because were doing it for political. . . I believe the Fed is very political. Its become very political like a lot of other groups in this country, beyond anything I ever thought possible. So, I think youre going to have low interest rates until the end of the year, maybe no increase at all and the market will stay artificially high and then were going to see what happens after that, but I think theyre not doing the right job. Now, with all that being said, you know all my life Ive liked low interest rates but because Im doing this I cant even take advantage of it, but thats okay. But, I will say its become, in my opinion, the Fed has become extremely political. I dont think. . . I really believe if it was a political decision or the right decision, theyre going to go with the political decision every single time.
Donald J. Trump said on Thursday that the pastor who interrupted his remarks at an African-American church in Flint, Mich., was a nervous mess when she introduced him and that he thought something was up with her.

During his visit to Bethel United Methodist Church on Wednesday, Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, started to assail his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for being a failure. As he spoke, the Rev. Faith Green Timmons came over to him and said, Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us, and added, not make a political speech.

Mr. Trump addressed the awkward exchange in an interview on Fox News on Thursday, suggesting that Pastor Timmons had a political agenda.

Everyone plays their games, it doesnt bother me, Mr. Trump said, claiming Pastor Timmons was shaking when she came up to him.
Donald J. Trumps presidential campaign released a new note from his doctor on Thursday declaring that he was in excellent physical health, citing various tests over the last three years but releasing nothing beyond cursory details.

The note was accompanied by a boastful news release and distributed just hours before the airing of a taped episode of The Dr. Oz Show, where Mr. Trump spoke glowingly of his own health, but got little by way of questions or pushback from the daytime television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Mr. Trumps newest letter came as he has been criticized for declining to release in-depth records related to his health, taxes and personal fortune, as well as his businesses.

Until now, Mr. Trump had released only a short note from his doctor, Harold N. Bornstein, that was filled with superlatives but offered no window into his fitness to serve.
Donald Trump Jr. invoked Holocaust imagery when complaining about media favoritism given toward Hillary Clinton, arguing that if Republicans lied the way Democrats do, the press would be warming up the gas chamber right now.

The Trump campaign has been complaining aggressively that the mainstream media is working against the candidacy of Donald J. Trump, who has recently been giving most of his interviews to conservative outlets. In an interview with a Philadelphia radio station on Wednesday, the younger Mr. Trump said that the media has built up Mrs. Clinton and that it is her No. 1 surrogate.

Theyve let her slide on every discrepancy, on every lie, on every D.N.C. game trying to get Bernie Sanders out of this thing, said Mr. Trump, the candidates oldest son, alluding to the Democratic National Committee. If Republicans were doing that, theyd be warming up the gas chamber right now.

The comments come as the Trump campaign has faced criticism for failing to sufficiently disavow support from the so-called alt-right movement, a group widely considered white supremacists and who often express anti-Semitic views.
Thursdays vote to impeach Mr. Koskinen was expected to fail, with many Republicans loath to pursue such serious action without at least examining evidence and testimony collected by the Judiciary Committee. But they were also hesitant to be seen as supporting an agency as hated as the I.R.S. Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and other Republican leaders publicly kept their distance from the issue.

How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Learn more about our process.

Representative John Fleming, the Louisiana Republican who initiated the impeachment push on Tuesday, viewed the agreement as a victory.

I am glad to see that the resolution I filed has led to a formal impeachment hearing of John Koskinen, he said in a statement. He needs to be put under oath and this never would have happened without our efforts to bring this issue to the forefront.

Mr. Fleming said he would still reserve the right to force a vote again in November, after the election.

Another member of the Freedom Caucus, Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, last year tried to oust Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the speaker at the time. He did not succeed, but Mr. Boehner ultimately stepped down not only from the speakers post but also from his House seat, having had enough of trying to rein in his incorrigible right flank.

The accusations against Mr. Koskinen stem from revelations in 2013 that I.R.S. officials had singled out a number of organizations  hundreds of them Tea Party-affiliated groups  for additional scrutiny before granting them tax-exempt status. The agency apologized, and a Justice Department investigation ultimately uncovered evidence of poor judgment, among other systemic problems, but not criminal activity.

But Mr. Koskinen was not in government at that time, let alone the head of the I.R.S. He became the nations top tax collector at the end of 2013, brought in to help stabilize an agency struggling with a budget shortfall in addition to the assertions of politically motivated behavior.
WASHINGTON  President Obama on Thursday created the Atlantic Oceans first United States marine monument, preserving an expanse of sea canyons and underwater mountains off the New England coast as he races to use his executive power to protect vast stretches of land and water before he leaves office.

Mr. Obama announced the designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument at an ocean conservation meeting in Washington, shortly after issuing a proclamation protecting an area roughly the size of Connecticut that sits 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.

If were going to leave our children with oceans like the ones that were left to us, then were going to have to act, and were going to have to act boldly, Mr. Obama said at the State Department, recalling his childhood spent in Hawaii, bodysurfing in the Pacific Ocean and gazing out at its waters.

The new monument lies in an area of the Atlantic where ocean temperatures are projected to warm as much as three times as fast as the global average, and is home to endangered whales and turtles, ancient deep-sea coral and species of fish unique to the region. Mr. Obama said protecting it was a vital step to counteract increasingly grave trends taking hold as the planet warms.
The family of Sandra Bland, the woman who Texas officials said committed suicide in jail last year after her arrest during a traffic stop, has agreed to a $1.9 million settlement in their wrongful-death civil suit, the familys lawyer said on Thursday. But state and county officials said there was no final agreement.

The lawyer, Cannon Lambert, said in a telephone interview that the final details of the settlement had been concluded Wednesday night. They include making changes in jail procedures and providing damages for the family.

The settlement would require the Waller County jail, where the body of Ms. Bland, 28, was found in a cell in July 2015, to pay $1.8 million of the settlement, he said, and the Texas Department of Public Safety to pay $100,000, the maximum allowed by law.

After Mr. Lamberts announcement, a statement from the lawyer representing Waller County, Larry J. Simmons, said that a few details still needed to be worked out in the potential settlement agreement and that it needed to be approved by the county commissioners court.
Officials in Columbus, Ohio, appealed for calm, patience and investigative help Thursday, hours after a white police officer fatally shot a 13-year-old African-American boy who had apparently brandished a firearm that was later determined to be a BB gun.

Speaking at a news conference, the mayor, the police chief and other officials offered few details about what led to the death Wednesday night of the teenager, Tyre King. They cautioned that the investigation, which will be presented to a grand jury, will not be quick. So far, they said, they do not know of any video recording of the shooting.

Any loss of life is tragic, but the loss of a young person is particularly difficult, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said. Investigations take time, and I ask for everyones patience during this difficult time.

According to the police, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery in the Olde Towne East neighborhood in central Columbus, and saw three males who matched the suspects descriptions. Two fled and officers chased them into an alley, where Tyre pulled what appeared to be a gun from his waistband, the police said, and an officer shot him multiple times.

The officer was identified as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran, who fatally shot a man in 2012. His superiors cleared him of any wrongdoing in that episode. He has been placed on administrative leave.

Tyres death is one in a long string of deaths of black people at the hands of the police in recent years that have drawn national attention, particularly when video is made public. They have prompted sharp debates about race and policing, intense criticism of the police and, in some cases, civil unrest. One of the most scrutinized cases, and one of the most similar to the one in Columbus, also took place in Ohio: the 2014 death of Tamir Rice, 12, who was playing with a pellet gun in a park in Cleveland.

Columbus officials made it clear that they were acutely aware of that history, saying it was too early to make parallels to Tamirs case, and insisting that they were striving for openness and community outreach that critics have said were lacking in other cities. They also repeatedly stressed Tyres conduct, the credible threats officers face and the gun culture.

Why is it that a 13-year-old would have nearly an exact replica of a police firearm on him in our neighborhoods? Mr. Ginther asked. An eighth grader involved in very, very dangerous conduct in one of our neighborhoods.
NEW DELHI  An activist from the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir said on Thursday that he had been prevented from boarding a flight in Delhi as he was on his way to Geneva to speak at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The activist, Khurram Parvez, of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, planned to submit a civil society stakeholders report to the council on the situation in Kashmir, where the death of a commander for a separatist group in July has set off clashes between stone-throwing protesters and Indian security forces. He had also planned to attend a European Union session in Brussels.

More than 70 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the confrontations, and thousands of civilians and security forces have been injured.
TOKYO  Renho Murata became the first woman to lead the opposition Democratic Party in Japan after winning a leadership contest on Thursday.

Ms. Murata, who has served in the countrys upper house of Parliament for more than a decade, won in a landslide against two male competitors despite controversy over her part-Taiwanese heritage.

By winning the leadership contest, Ms. Murata, who is widely known by just her first name, became the third woman to take up a prominent political job in Japan in less than two months, heralding a budding shift in a country with an abysmal track record of putting women in power.

In her final speech before the vote, Ms. Murata, a former model and television news anchor, spoke emotionally about her children, 19-year-old twins, and how she was sometimes frustrated trying to balance work and motherhood.
MUMBAI  The couple approached the 14-foot statue of the god Ganesh on Wednesday, hands folded, believing with all their hearts in his powers as the one who removes obstacles.

They had seen proof of this two years ago, they said, when they prayed during the Ganesh festival for their daughter to become pregnant. The daughter, who lives in Britain, now has a child.

Perhaps not all that miraculous, but enough to convince the couple, Farida and Jimmy Balsara, who are not even Hindu. Every year, along with tens of millions in street festivals across India, they celebrate the power of Ganesh, the elephant-headed God who has been adopted by some of the countrys other faiths. The festival is particularly popular in Mumbai, the megalopolis of 20 million that is Indias industrial and film capital, where it got started in the 19th century as an anticolonial protest.

And so the Balsaras, who, as Parsees, are followers of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, are among the crowds who pray for Ganeshs blessing. The giant plaster-of-paris statue of Ganesh before them is the most famous in Khetwadi, one of Mumbais oldest, densest neighborhoods, near where the festival was first celebrated.
BANGKOK  Myanmars leaders hope that President Obamas decision to lift sanctions will prompt American companies to invest in the country, one of the poorest in Southeast Asia, and spur economic development as the new government struggles to end ethnic warfare and to establish democracy.

Experts said on Thursday that the removal of American sanctions would benefit the countrys economy by stimulating the growth of smaller businesses, even as wealthy individuals and companies blacklisted because of their close ties to the former military government also stand to benefit.

A level playing field helps mainly small and medium-sized industries in Myanmar, not the cronies who have thrived under sanctions for years and are geared up to circumvent them, said Richard Horsey, a political analyst and former United Nations official in Yangon, the countrys economic capital.

Mr. Obama, joined at the White House on Wednesday by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars leader, said that he intended to remove economic sanctions in the near future because of the countrys progress in establishing democracy.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  At least four people were killed and nearly 90 injured on Thursday when a commuter train carrying Pakistanis returning to work after a three-day holiday rammed into a freight train in central Pakistan, officials said.

The early morning accident occurred about 15 miles from Multan, a city in Punjab Province. The freight train was sitting idle after it had struck a man on the tracks when an Awam Express train bound for Karachi smashed into its rear, Nadir Chattha, a local official, was quoted as saying by the news media.

It was not immediately clear whether the man had committed suicide or had been struck while trying to cross the tracks.

Human error appeared to have caused the accident, officials said.

The driver of the passenger train did not see the red signal, which went up after the man was crushed to death by the freight train, Saima Bashir, a railroad official, told The Associated Press.
MANILA  He was a member of a hit squad that killed hundreds over the years, taking part in about 50 of the murders himself. One victim was fed to crocodiles, he recalled, and four others were hanged and thrown into the sea.

The self-described hit man, Edgar Matobato, said that Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines, presided over the extrajudicial killings of about 1,000 criminal suspects and political opponents when he was mayor of Davao City for most of the past two decades  even ordering some of the killings himself.

We were tasked to kill criminals every day, Mr. Matobato said Thursday at a televised Senate hearing investigating extrajudicial killings under Mr. Duterte in Davao City.

Mr. Dutertes promise during his presidential campaign to pursue his antidrug push nationally has alarmed human rights groups, which fear that extrajudicial killings are eroding the rule of law in the Philippines, an important American ally in Asia.
SYDNEY, Australia  Two decades ago, Pauline Hanson prompted outrage when she said that Australia was in danger of being swamped by Asians in her first speech in Parliament.

This week, she has done it again.

As a newly elected senator, Ms. Hanson, the leader of the One Nation party, called for an end to Muslim immigration and a ban on the burqa, and she told members of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls Liberal Party that she planned to give them a kick up the backside.

But this time, the response from the conservative coalition, led by the Liberal Party, has been carefully calibrated. Although many disagree with Ms. Hansons far-right stances, the coalition is treading warily: The government may need her vote, and those of her fellow party members, to ensure their bills pass through the splintered upper house.

Pauline Hanson was elected by the people of Queensland to represent their interests in the Senate, said Julie Bishop, the foreign minister and one of Mr. Turnbulls most senior lawmakers. She is entitled to her views.
LONDON  After delaying a project to build a nuclear power plant with Chinese investment, Britains government on Thursday gave the go-ahead for the plant, but insisted on new conditions designed to protect the security of critical infrastructure.

The decision ended weeks of uncertainty that had strained relations with China, which is financing more than a third of the $23.7 billion power station, and with France, whose largely state-owned energy giant EDF is paying for the bulk of the project.

By pressing ahead with the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant on the Somerset coast of England, Prime Minister Theresa May appears to be open to greater involvement by China in Britains energy industry. China also wants to build and operate a nuclear plant of its own design at another British site, at Bradwell-on-Sea, in Essex.

Mrs. May said in July that her government would not yet sign off on the Hinkley Point deal, reportedly on security and economic grounds, deciding instead to review the plans for the new power plant. It was one of her first big political moves after succeeding David Cameron as prime minister, and was seen as a sign that she was uncomfortable with some aspects of Mr. Camerons aggressive pursuit of an economic partnership with Beijing.
MOSCOW  With parliamentary elections in Russia just days away, a hot competition is unfolding in the race for the seat from the central district of Moscow.

A candidate from the Peoples Freedom Party and one from the Open Russia movement are running neck and neck, a rarity in this countrys usually all-too-predictable elections.

The problem in this district, and throughout Russia, from the perspective of the political opposition at least, is that both candidates are staunch opponents not only of one another, but also of President Vladimir V. Putin. And both are badly trailing the leaders.

The chances that Russias opposition parties would make any gains in Sundays voting were always vanishingly small. Much of that has to do with Mr. Putin, who, after a rule of more than 16 years, has wiped the slate of Russian politics clean, with opponents killed, imprisoned, driven into exile or sidelined with fabricated criminal charges. Opposition candidates are also barred from appearing on television.
They found something surprising: One of the best predictors of a peace agreements success is simply whether the parties had prior agreements, even if those earlier cease-fires failed. Not even a wars duration or its intensity can so reliably predict a peace deals outcome. Neither does the poverty or ethnic diversity of the combatants.

Failures pave the way for better agreements down the road, Professor Quinn said.

Over time, participants see cease-fires as less risky. If all sides come out feeling that they at least broke even, they grow more willing to make another deal. In Syria, with the status quo so terrible, breaking even doesnt require much.

These items could be as simple as a request that Assad refrain from calling opposition members terrorists in the press, Professors Joshi and Quinn wrote in a Foreign Affairs article summarizing their research. As soon as one party reciprocates, a peace process is underway. And with each successful round, just enough trust and good will may be generated to move on to the next item.

This is trust not in the colloquial sense of proving personal integrity, but in the political science sense: Negotiators believe they understand one anothers incentives and can predict their behavior. Each side becomes more willing to make concessions, believing the other side will deliver on its end.

Take, for example, Yugoslavia, where there were 91 mediated truces or cease-fires from 1989 to 2000. Of those, 35 percent lasted less than a week and 13 percent lasted exactly a week.

Though each appeared to be a catastrophic failure, they culminated in the 1995 Dayton Accords, which ended the Bosnian war that was a subset of the larger conflict, as well as later deals.

We are already seeing possible hints of this in Syria. The tempo of cease-fires is increasing, with the terms expanding and the outside actors investing more political capital. Those gains are slight and the process of building trust is still fragile, so it remains unclear whether the cycle will catch.
Treat your women well and be kind to them, Muhammad himself urged in his last sermon, during his final pilgrimage to Mecca. It is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you.

So, kindness and rights, but also women as something less than men. It can feel patronizing, and diminishing of our full humanity. It is why I started to lose faith after a childhood in an observant family and what I still struggle with, at 38, living a life that is secular but guided by Islamic values.

Each day in Mecca provided powerful reminders of a religion that seems to simultaneously embrace women and push them away.

Another day at the Grand Mosque, I met Saraya, a middle-aged woman who is from South Africa but lives in Australia, where I grew up. She had longed to make the hajj for years but was unable because she lacked a mahram, or male guardian  usually a husband, brother or father  to accompany her; male pilgrims can come alone.

I never thought Id get here, said Saraya, beaming.

She got here only because the Saudi government allows some women over 45 to come with an older female companion. (I got around the mahram requirement because I came on a journalist visa, which included a different kind of guardian, a Saudi minder named Abdul-Rahman who accompanied me during all my reporting.)

Saraya, whose last name and age I never had a chance to ask, said there had been a few incidents that detracted from the positive experience of her pilgrimage, like when someone in her delegation was propositioned in a taxi, and the fact that men frequently pushed in front of her.
GENEVA  The government of President Bashar al-Assad is holding up deliveries of aid in violation of the deal struck last week by Russia and the United States, the United Nations mediator for Syria said on Thursday.

The mediator, Staffan de Mistura, told journalists in Geneva that the cessation of hostilities agreement that took effect on Monday after several weeks of negotiations was largely holding.

He said, however, that the delivery of humanitarian aid that was part of the agreement reached by Russia and the United States had not taken place because Mr. Assads government had not issued the authorization letters that aid convoys needed to pass through checkpoints.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  They are getting used to fewer explosions, and to fewer ambulances racing through their war-ravaged cities. Now, under a tentative cease-fire across Syria, people have more time to think about longer-term concerns.

Weve been keeping in touch with Syrians from all over the country since the truce took effect Monday night. Theyre sharing their thoughts, experiences, videos and photos  and their doubts.

President Bashar al-Assads supporters and opponents alike share a sense of misgiving. They know the cease-fire was negotiated between Russia and the United States, over their heads. They do not know its details, and they do not know if anyone  the world powers or their own putative leaders, whether the opposition or the government  has their interests in mind.
The Indian dance-theater genre Kathakali is exceptionally vivid, its characters often demonstrating a cartoonlike vitality. Its on the cusp of theater and dance; in some performances, its core essence is music. The brightly colored and ornamented makeup is celebrated (some characters have green faces, some red): Its like a crust, usually taking performers more than two hours to apply or have applied. The bright and complex costumes, with some characters in apparel like Elizabethan farthingales, are equally picturesque. Stories from Indian mythology are told, often from those central bodies of legend, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Pictures from Kathakali often serve as cover imagery for guidebooks for India and become poster symbols for all that is most theatrically exotic.

[ More this fall: Dance-makers pay tribute to AIDS victims, and Vail comes to New York ]

Ever since I saw performances of Kathakali in Kerala (its native state) in 2014, Ive been longing for further acquaintance with it. My wish will be granted by this falls White Light Festival. The choreographer Mark Morris, who acts as a White Light guest curator for this years Sounds of India component (Oct. 27 to Nov. 6), is bringing to New York multiple examples of the dance and music of South India; this will include two performances (Oct. 28 and Oct. 30) by the Kerala Kalamandalam Kathakali Troupe, in The Killing of Dussasana (an epic tale from the larger epic of the Mahabharata) at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College.

The two Kathakali events I witnessed in Kerala were given by different companies in different cities. Above all, they revealed how diverse the genre could be. With one, epic style  stage behavior was often tender, intimate  was established primarily by musical meter, as grand, propulsive and firm as the hexameters of Homer. With the other, physicality and sound were explosive, loud, funny, excitingly grotesque. Though there was a raised stage, at least one character in each show made a memorable entrance through the audience.
Two string quartets have defined New Yorks new-music scene over the past decade. The JACK Quartet has made a specialty of nail-bitingly difficult works, including an hourlong piece played in complete darkness and a recent performance in which they labored with rubber restraints and elements of sensory deprivation. But even their straight-up renderings of thorny classics of the European avant-garde are as compulsively watchable as an episode of American Ninja Warrior.

On the other side of the East River, meanwhile, the members of Brooklyn Rider have built a diverse following on their blend of musical globe-trotting  drawing on their experience with the Silk Road Ensemble  and an approach thats equally rigorous with newly commissioned music or Debussy.

[ More classical music this fall: The Met Opera addresses a gender gap, and Venice comes to New York ]

Both ensembles enter a new, mature phase this season marked by changes in personnel. JACK (its name an acronym of its founding members first names) gains a new violinist (Austin Wulliman) and a cellist (Jay Campbell), while Brooklyn Rider swaps out its cellist (for Michael Nicolas). New York audiences can catch the reconstituted ensembles in settings that show how established these trailblazers have become. Brooklyn Rider teams up with the star mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter on Oct. 13 for a Carnegie Hall performance of arrangements of music by Bjork, Sting and Elvis Costello as well as new songs by Caroline Shaw and by one of the quartets violinists, Colin Jacobsen.

The JACK players take over the genteel Board of Officers Room at the Park Avenue Armory on Oct. 30 and 31 with FLiGHT, an homage to the human love affair with aviation featuring readings, video projections and music by Roger Reynolds. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Nicolas, the groups two newbie cellists, go head-to-head on Oct. 20 at the Miller Theater at Columbia University, where both are among the sterling lineup of performers honoring John Zorn. That indefatigable champion of the genre-bending downtown scene opens the theaters Composer Portraits series with a concert proves again how obsolete the old geographical division of New Yorks new-music world  an academic and cerebral uptown and a maverick rock-fueled downtown scene  has become.
When Carnegie Hall presented its first comprehensive celebration of early music  Before Bach, a series of concerts over 25 days last year  it left little room for improvement but plenty to expand the concept. Making the most of its international networks, Carnegie imported some of the finest performers active in Europe, including the viola da gamba wizard Jordi Savall and one of his stellar bands, Le Concert des Nations.

In February, Carnegie will follow that outpouring with La Serenissima: Music and Arts From the Venetian Republic, a 19-day citywide, cross-disciplinary festival, which again relies heavily on European performers. Mr. Savall and more of his ensembles  Hesperion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya  will join Le Concert des Nations to kick off the festival in the Stern Auditorium (Feb. 3) with Gateway to the East: The Millenarian Venice, a program that ranges through the run of the Most Serene Republic. Mr. Savall and Hesperion XXI will add a second concert in Zankel Hall (Feb. 12).

[ More classical music this fall: The Met Opera addresses a gender gap, and two string quartets grow up ]

Venice is an irresistible draw for early-musickers, as it has been an irresistible port of call for travelers since the days of the Silk Road traders. It was home to composers like the Gabrielis, Monteverdi, Cavalli and Vivaldi, and as the birthplace of commercial opera, it played host to Handel, among many others.
Sara Grace Wallerstedt has been waiting all her young life for the chance to get out of Bedford, Tex. I am just so happy to be in this room, said Ms. Wallerstedt, 17.

This room was, in fact, a series of raw spaces backstage at the Proenza Schouler show on Monday, where hairdressers waved curling irons, and publicists bustled around with fingers pressed to ear monitors, and dressers as protective as pit bulls guarded their individual clothes racks. And the designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez ambled through the Dia Center in Chelsea looking disarmingly amused by the tornado swirling around them.

All I ever wanted was to be in this industry, said Ms. Wallerstedt, who has the oval face of a Memling Madonna, a bee-stung mouth and freckles scattered in a paint-gun pattern across her nose and cheeks.

First, I had to wait until I came of age, said the teenager, for whom this was not only a first season in the modeling business but also her first fashion show.
When Sulma Arzu-Browns father traveled from his village in Honduras into the city, people pointed at him, at his black skin. When he spoke his language, people laughed. They said, Look at that monkey, goo goo gaga,  Arzu-Brown told me. When it was time for her mother to be promoted at her job, she stood out a little too much. Blanca, her boss said to her, I know youre qualified, but I cant give the job to you. You have family in the U.S. Go there. Youll achieve there.

Arzu-Brown told me these stories in a calm voice; not the calm of acquiescence but, I assume, of understanding that the present outshines the past. Her family is Garifuna, the descendants of intermarried Africans and Caribs who live on the Atlantic coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala. Rejecting the discrimination they faced in Honduras, her family moved to New York in the 1980s, when she was 5.
I began to feel the weight of this undertaking while practicing for the executions. Teams rehearsed for more than a month. There was a full run through of the execution every week.

The weight intensified during the executions, which took place eight months apart, and it didnt subside until well after they were completed. I cannot put into words the anxiety I felt about the possibility of a botched procedure. I wasnt certain how my staff would fare. These were the first executions in Oregon in over three decades. These were the first executions in Oregon to be administered by use of lethal injections. I was the first black superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary. All of these firsts had the potential to come together in a very negative way if my team made a single mistake.

Planning an execution is a surreal business. During a prisoners final days, staff members keep the condemned person under 24-hour surveillance to, among other things, ensure that he doesnt harm or kill himself, thus depriving the people of Oregon of the right to do the same. I can understand the administrative logic for this reality, but it doesnt make this experience any less strange.

During the execution itself, correctional officers are responsible for everything, from strapping the prisoners ankles and wrists to a gurney to administering the lethal chemicals. One of the condemned men asked to have his wrist straps adjusted because they were hurting him. After the adjustment was made, he looked me in the eye and said: Yes. Thanks, boss.

After each execution, I had staff members who decided they did not want to be asked to serve in that capacity again. Others quietly sought employment elsewhere. A few told me they were having trouble sleeping, and I worried they would develop post-traumatic stress disorder if they had to go through it another time.

Together, we had spent many hours planning and carrying out the deaths of two people. The state-ordered killing of a person is premeditated and calculated, and inevitably some of those involved incur collateral damage. I have seen it. Its hard to avoid giving up some of your empathy and humanity to aid in the killing of another human being. The effects can lead to all the places youd expect: drug use, alcohol abuse, depression and suicide.
Now that American travelers are able to do something that has been prohibited for over 50 years  take commercial flights from the United States to Cuba  we asked experts in the travel industry to add their thoughts to our ongoing coverage of Cuba and its steadily increasing accessibility.

The Rules

Officially, youre still not allowed to have fun, said Jason Clampet, the co-founder of the travel news site Skift.com, referring to the 12 acceptable categories of travel to Cuba outlined by the United States Department of the Treasury.

The ongoing embargo specifically prohibits anything purely touristic, like a beach vacation, in favor of family visits, government business, journalistic work, religious activities and educational activities, among others. Whereas in the past, travelers had to obtain a license specifically for their purpose of travel from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, now those with plans that fall under the 12 categories are covered by a general license granted by clicking a box on an online form when you make air, cruise or tour arrangements.

Its totally self-policing and is essentially based on trust, said Christopher P. Baker, author of the Moon Cuba guidebook who also leads motorcycle tours in the country.
Onboard amenity kits for first- and business-class passengers on international flights are becoming hot-ticket items. While carriers may be stripping away perks for economy customers, they are lavishing them on the front-of-the-plane set.

George Hobica, the founder of the site airfarewatchdog.com, said that up until a few years ago, the kits were ordinary-looking bags packed with little more than the usual eye mask and ear plugs. Passengers would often leave them behind on their seats, but the upscale versions some carriers hand out today are keepsakes that have a second life once youve used up their contents, he said.

Some airlines are commissioning luxury fashion labels like Ferragamo to design the bags, while others are tapping local artisans for the job. And the toiletries go beyond the basics with products from high-end brands like Bulgari and La Prairie.

I call these kits Christmas stockings in the sky, said Chad Clark, the owner of the Phoenix travel consultancy Chad Clark Travel Ventures. Everyone wants more than one.
Filipino food was once an underdog among Asian cuisines.

Five years ago, it was little known in New York City outside ethnic enclaves like Little Manila in Woodside, Queens, and a cluster of groceries and restaurants along First Avenue in the East Village that catered to families of Filipino nurses.

There had been early outliers like Cendrillon in SoHo, which started out pan-Asian in 1995 and gradually shifted to a more Filipino menu, and Kuma Inn on the Lower East Side, which has mingled Filipino dishes with Thai since 2004. Then Maharlika opened in 2011  on First Avenue, yes, but with an irreverent attitude, serious cocktails and no shirking from pig ears, chicken feet or bagoong (fermented baby shrimp).

These days, you can find Filipino flavors at restaurants that dont identify themselves as wholly Filipino, like Pig and Khao and Talde. But there are also self-proclaimed Filipino restaurants whose deracinated food may seem puzzling to those raised on crispy pata (deep-fried pork leg) and balut (duck embryo).

The near-simultaneous opening this year of two Filipino taquerias suggests a tipping point. Filipino has become a culinary label recognizable to and valued by non-Filipinos, so much so that it can be applied, as an enticement, to food with only the faintest resemblance to its origins.
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Still no justice for annualised support staff in Ministry decision

NZEI Te Riu Roa rejects the Ministry of Educations decision to not pay annualised support staff for a fortnight at the end of the annual payment cycle.NZEI and the ministry have been in dispute over the ministrys decision to cut the fortnightly pay of around 6,000 school support staff this year.The Employment Court upheld the earlier ruling of the Employment Relations Authority that the ministry could not unilaterally reduce the pay of 6,000 annualised* school support staff by 3.7% for all of 2016 because of a payroll anomaly that sees an extra fortnight in the payroll every 11 years.The two parties were directed to have further discussion to resolve the issue, but have not been able to reach agreement.NZEI General Manager for operations, Andrew Casidy, said todays announcement was incredibly disappointing.As a result of the court's decision, the ministry have agreed to pay back the wages that have been withheld this year, but have now said that staff will miss out on a fortnights pay at the end of the 12-month pay cycle. That really undermines the whole idea of annualising income for these already low paid employees, he said.NZEI will be meeting with their lawyer tomorrow to consider the next move.*Annualisation: Many school support staff work for only 40 weeks of the year. Annualisation allows them to spread their expected income into 26 even fortnightly payments throughout the year. However, there are 365 or 366 days in a year, rather than the 364 days of 26 fortnightly payments. Every 11 years, this adds up to one extra payment that annualised staff receive. The ministry decided to claw back that extra payment during 2016 by reducing wage payments by 3.7% throughout the year.
Although the merger of Southern Union Community College, Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Central Alabama Community College has been postponed indefinitely, the Alabama Community College System board of trustees gave its final approval for the merger of three schools in south Alabama.

Faulkner State Community College, Alabama Southern Community College and Jefferson Davis Community College will merge to become Coastal Alabama Community College based in Bay Minette at Faulkners main campus.

Following action by the ACCS Board of Trustees in a meeting Wednesday, the merger now must win approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges before it goes into effect.

We are combining two of the states smallest community colleges with a larger campus to create an institution of more than 7,000 students, all of whom will benefit as a result, said Jimmy Baker, acting chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, in a press release on the merger. Money not spent on duplicated administrative functions can be used to expand course offerings for transfer students, to hire expert faculty in more technical fields, and to respond to an ever-changing marketplace to make sure our students get the skills they need to succeed.

No estimate of the cost savings of the merger were released in public documents about the merger.

The lack of information troubled Terri Carter, mayor of Repton, who urged the board to delay the merger.

The biggest red flag for me, we have no idea whether this consolidation will be beneficial or detrimental to our students and to our communities, Carter said. And why is that? That is because, unless you can tell me where to find it, there have been no studies done on this and there have been no long-range projections to give us any idea whether or not this is going to be good or bad.

Repton is a small town south of Monroeville, home of Alabama Southern Community College.

Carter said the public hasnt been properly informed about the merger, and records and documents about the merger have been released at the last minute.

And sometimes not all the documents are even there, Carter said.

Meetings that were supposed to be held to inform the public were not held, according to Carter.

There were meetings with public officials, faculty and luncheons with specific organizations, but no public meetings, Carter said.

No documents have been released to show how the school will be organized, Carter said.

Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, told the board he strongly supports the merger.

Im one that does have grave concerns with the community interests, but Im also one that recognizes that we at the state level are constantly scrapping for dollars and looking for better efficiencies and not trying to duplicate.

Baker said the merger was an opportunity to elevate the system and improve it.

Gary Branch, president of Falkner Community College, said he didnt know what else couldve been done to inform the public about the merger.

Ive had over 50 community meetings, telephone conversations, newspaper interviews, radio interviews, so this process has been going on a long time, Branch said.

Branch said he presented the board letters of support from the mayors of Atmore and Thomasville.

Ive met a lot of people, answered a lot of questions, Branch said. And I still believe, as a higher education administrator for over 55 years, this is whats best for this area.

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education unanimously approved the merger on Sept. 9, and Branch said the executive director of the commission told him the process Faulkner used in organizing the merger should be used as a template for any further consolidation and mergers.

The board of trustees agreed with Branch and Baker, and the vote to approve the merger was unanimous with trustees Susan Foy and Chuck Smith absent from the meeting.

You never want to fly a plane while youre building it, Carter said. And right now with this documentation, I feel like were flying a plane before its been fully built.
Renee Zellweger is as charming as ever in Bridget Joness Baby, a lively return to form for the unlikely trilogy about an ordinary woman and her professional and romantic woes. It turns out a little break is just what this series needed to find its footing after the manic missteps of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which fell into some of the all too common traps of sequels looking to up the stakes (hello, Thailand prison sequence).

Thats likely due to the fact that Sharon Maguire, who directed the practically perfect Bridget Joness Diary, is back (Beeban Kidron directed the second), working from a script from author Helen Fielding, Emma Thompson (very funny as an unamused doctor) and Dan Mazer.

Lets get over the silly fact that this movie essentially had to press reboot on the happy ending of the second, when Bridget said at the end how even at 33 she was able to find love and happiness with one Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Cut to 12 years later (between movies), Bridget is in her 40s and Mark Darcy has gone off and married someone else.

But this is an evolved Bridget.

Sure, she might be eating dessert alone in that same old London flat on that same old couch listening to the same old Celine Dion song, but its not tragic. It just is. Her friends all flaked on her and so she has a night by herself. The sense is whatever not woe is me.

Indeed, her life looks pretty good. Shes now a high-profile TV news producer who seems happy at work  gone are the firemans pole humiliations of on-camera life. Shes also fitter (and quite happy about it) and has gotten a fancier wardrobe befitting of her success.

When her younger friend and co-worker Miranda (a terrific Sarah Solemani) invites her to a weekend getaway, Bridget arrives at the airport looking like a Nancy Meyers leading lady in cream and white. Of course, she doesnt realize theyre going to an outdoor music festival. So, she falls in some mud, but she also gets the attention of Jack (Patrick Dempsey). Hes a single, not sleazy relationship guru who is immediately smitten with Bridget.

She has a good time with Jack and goes on her way. A few weeks later, she finds herself having an unexpectedly romantic night with a now-separated Darcy. She walks away from that, too, and continues on with life until she gets the news that shes pregnant. It could be either Darcys or Jacks.

Both men hop to the challenge, trying to out-partner each other at every turn. Is this a fantasy, or is this just men being kind to the woman who is possibly carrying their child? Does it really matter?

Much of the original cast is back and wonderful (Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Sally Phillips and Shirley Henderson), save for a sorely missed Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). Youll find out what happened to him.

There is still a madcap, slapstick jitteriness to dear Bridget, but calmness has emerged, too  that of a woman who has finally grown into her own skin. She is messy in that way that women in other rom coms say they are but never actually are. And she is certainly not the other single gal of her time, Carrie Bradshaw, who seemed to become less and less relatable as the years went by.

Though the premise of Bridget Joness Baby makes it all seem like its all about the guy again, its never felt so much like Bridgets story. The man is just gravy. This movie, for all its comedic ridiculousness and wild circumstance of the paternity crisis, is a jubilant celebration of women.

If were lucky, well get to check in with her again in another few years.
SANTA ANA  Nearly two dozen advocates for the homeless and people who live at the Civic Center gathered for a memorial Wednesday for a local transient shot by police last month.

Richard Gene Swihart, 32, was near the Plaza of the Flags about 9:30 a.m. Aug. 1 when he was shot during a struggle with an officer from the Civic Center Patrol Unit. The Santa Ana Police Department has said Swihart tried to grab the officers gun, prompting the officers partner to fire multiple rounds. Swihart died in a hospital Aug. 14.

On Wednesday, friends who gathered for a memorial next to the Plaza of the Flags remembered Swihart as a generous and funny man. The memorial was organized by members of the American Civic Liberties Union.

He was a really good guy, said Nikki Thompson, who lives at the Civic Center. I dont want his death to be in vain.

His death remains under investigation by the Orange County District Attorneys Office, which investigates all officer-involved shootings.

The Civic Center has become home to many homeless people.

Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com
Would you drive around on the 405 Freeway with a wagon from the 1890s? Thats the equivalent of what we do every day with our county government, paying full-time compensation for five part-time elected county supervisors.

Orange County taxpayers pay out more than $5 million each year in office budgets for these politicians and their staffers  to basically campaign all day long.

Its a sweet pay and benefits package, with nearly $150,000 in salary plus taxpayer-funded pensions, 401(k) plans and Cadillac health plans. Theres also the hot rod allowance  $750 a month for a car lease. Some even get another free car on top of that if they serve on a regional agency like the Southern California Air Quality Management District.

A taxpayer-funded life in the fast lane. And what do taxpayers get? This year, county supervisors adopted a city council-type (i.e., part-time) meeting schedule, significantly reducing their monthly meetings by just about half. Half the meetings  full-time pay.

Now lets consider their relevance. A good chunk of Orange Countys $6 billion annual budget goes directly to the sheriff and the district attorney. County supervisors rarely question either institution, either operationally or on budget requests, unless a press expose, outside audits or court cases force a conversation. One recent Voice of OC analysis found that in recent years supervisors sent nearly three-quarters of supplemental budget requests to law enforcement.

With all the city incorporations in South County in past decades, Orange County supervisors make fewer and fewer decisions about development. Today, most local land- use decisions are being made at the city level. Orange County schools are handled by independent local school districts, along with the county Department of Education, featuring a elected superintendent. Regional fire services are now largely handled by the Orange County Fire Authority, governed by a board of directors from contract cities.

Other regional issues where supervisors could actually lead  like homelessness, traffic, air and water quality, social services  is where they dont. They just campaign.

If you ask county supervisors for their calendars, as we have at Voice of OC, to see what they actually do every day, guess what? They refuse.

So how do we get better regional leadership and governance? Many across Orange County, people like Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, argue for a countywide mayor of sorts. Theres also been talk in recent years of creating super cities between Anaheim and Santa Ana or in South County. Yet, I dont see a movement to unincorporate cities. Shedding useless politicians is another thing.

Orange County supervisors increasingly politicize their offices, continually tapping basic federal and state pass-through tax dollars for their own campaign fundraising uses. More and more, county supervisors campaign coffers align with county vendor lists. Watching this play out over the last decade, as I have as a reporter from the front of the dais for both the Register and Voice of OC, I can tell you there is a strong argument that county supervisors shouldnt be involved in contract procurement. It only leads to politicization and corruption.

The annual budget is where county supervisors need to make their presence known. Imagine month-long budget hearings each May, where every single department head would come up for a day-long deep dive into that agency, one that ends with benchmarks and a proposed budget for the next year. One by one, supervisors would vote on each agency budget. Following one big omnibus budget vote, county supervisors could do what is done by many legislatures across America: go home.

Supervisors could reconvene for four more public quarterly budget updates throughout the year, where adjustments to department budgets are often considered and agencies held accountable. They would still retain the ability to go back into special sessions, if they are needed, and offer constituent services to district residents needing a voice.

In the meantime, Orange County taxpayers would save more than $5 million each year. And supervisors? With part-time work,comes part-time pay. Annual salaries could be pared down to about $50,000  without benefits. We could allow for one full-time staffer to help with budget analysis. County supervisors also could be imbued with the spirit of civilian grand jurors by imposing one lifetime, six-year term.

Norberto Santana Jr. is the publisher of Voice of OC.
NEWPORT BEACH  Orange Countys top law enforcement officials Wednesday made another public appeal for voters to approve a ballot initiative they say would reform the death penalty process.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and District Attorney Tony Rackauckas also encouraged voters to reject Proposition 62, which would abolish the ultimate punishment in California. Instead, the two favor Proposition 66, which would establish changes in the death penalty process that are aimed at speeding up adjudication of cases.

Gary and Collene Campbell, whose son Scott was murdered in 1982, and Raquel and Steve Herr, whose son was killed and later dismembered in Orange County, joined the top officials at the news conference.

Critics have argued that death row inmates languish in prisons for years until they die of natural causes, costing taxpayers additional money as their cases are repeatedly appealed. Under Proposition 62, convicted killers would get life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of death.

Proposition 66 backers say their plan would save money by speeding up the legal process and having death row inmates work while imprisoned and pay restitution to the victims families.

Instead of waiting to have some attorney assigned, they do that immediately upon a death penalty judgment, Hutchens told City News Service.

The sheriff said its kind of a false argument to say the death row process is too lengthy and, therefore, too costly.

This (Proposition 66) is saying, `Look, well make sure someone is assigned right away and the appeals are limited to five years.

The sheriff added, The other argument is we have all of these people on death row and its costing a lot of money. Well, we can reform that. Theres another way to house these individuals.

Life in prison without the possibility of parole is no guarantee that a defendants circumstances couldnt change and eventually allow them to go free, Hutchens said.

Since 1978, 900 convicts have been sentenced to death in California, but 94 of them have died of natural causes in prison and 13 have been executed. The last execution carried out in the state was in 2006.

Executions have been in limbo since a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling requiring a medical professional to administer lethal injection drugs. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced in May it would work to guarantee none of its chemicals would be used in lethal injections, which has presented another hurdle for pro-death penalty advocates.

We can come up with something other than the three-drug cocktail, Hutchens said.  I just dont believe we cant figure this out and do what the voters have asked us to do, what the jurors have asked us to do and what the victims families have been waiting for.

The sheriff declined to provide alternatives to lethal injection, but said, We could see what other states are doing. Theyre still using the death penalty. Lets see what other people are doing.

Another aspect of Proposition 66 that has drawn criticism is having state Superior Court judges handle writs of habeas corpus appeals instead of federal judges. Critics say that wont pass constitutional muster and it would overburden the state trial courts already struggling with a shortage of judges.

Separately Wednesday, California billionaire activist Tom Steyer announced his support of Proposition 62.

The death penalty is an expensive & failed policy California can no longer afford, Steyer said in a Tweet.

The Register contributed to this report.
MANILA, Philippines  A former Filipino militiaman testified before the countrys Senate that President Rodrigo Duterte, when he was still a city mayor, ordered him and other members of a liquidation squad to kill criminals and opponents in gangland-style assaults that left about 1,000 dead.

Edgar Matobato, 57, told the nationally televised Senate committee hearing that he heard Duterte order some of the killings and acknowledged he himself carried out some of the abductions and deadly assaults, including a man who they fed to a crocodile in 2007 in southern Davao city.

There was no immediate reaction from Duterte, who has denied any role in extra-judicial killings of criminals when he was the longtime mayor of Davao and after he assumed the presidency in June.
The only number that matters in a presidential election is 270. That is the number of electoral votes it takes to be elected president. There are 538 electors and victory requires getting a majority in the Electoral College. If no candidate receives a majority, such as if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each get 269 votes this year, then the House of Representatives chooses the president with each state getting one vote.

Each state has the number of electors equal to the sum of its senators and representatives. Additionally, the 23rd Amendment allocates three electors to the District of Columbia. The six states with the most electors are California (55), Texas (38), New York (29), Florida (29), Illinois (20) and Pennsylvania (20). The seven smallest states by population  Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming  each have three electors.

The Electoral College emerged as the way of choosing the president late in the deliberations at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Electoral College, once proposed, attracted widespread support at the Constitutional Convention.

In part, this reflected the distrust of majority rule on the part of the framers of the Constitution. They had the Senate chosen by state legislatures, Supreme Court justices and lower federal court judges selected by the president with Senate approval and the president determined by the Electoral College. Also, small states strongly favored the Electoral College because it gave them much greater influence than they would have in direct election of the president. In fact, in theory today, states with only 22 percent of the countrys population can choose the president.

Each state determines its own method for choosing electors. Now all states select the electors based on who wins the popular vote. The Electoral College does not actually meet. Rather, the electors in each state gather on the Monday after the second Tuesday in December and determine how the state will allocate its electoral votes. In principle, the electors are to vote in accordance with the popular vote in their state. Occasionally, though, there has been an elector who fails to do so.

All states except Nebraska and Maine allocate electors on a winner-take-all basis. In other words, the candidate who wins the popular vote in a state gets all of the electoral votes from that state. Nebraska and Maine allocate electoral votes by congressional district, with the elector for each congressional district voting for the candidate who got the majority of the votes there, and the remaining electors chosen statewide. This means that there is a much more proportional allocation of electoral votes in Nebraska and Maine, compared to all other states where it is winner-take-all.

Because of the allocation of votes in the Electoral College and winner-take-all, there is always a chance that a presidential candidate could win the popular vote, but not get a majority in the Electoral College. This has happened four times in American history, in 1824, 1876, 1888 and in 2000. The U.S. is the only country in the world that uses an Electoral College, and the only country in the world where the candidate who loses the popular vote can be chosen president.

It is easy to imagine scenarios where either Clinton or Trump loses the popular vote but nonetheless wins in the Electoral College. This should be regarded as unacceptable in a democracy, regardless of which political party triumphs.

The ideal solution would be to eliminate the Electoral College. But that would require a constitutional amendment and there is no way that three-fourths of the states would approve of this; small states that benefit from the Electoral College are not going to vote to abolish it. Another, more realistic, possibility would be for Congress to pass a statute requiring that every state allocate its electoral votes in proportion to the popular vote in the state. If a candidate gets 55 percent of the popular vote, he or she should get 55 percent of the electoral vote, not the current 100 percent.

At the very least, that would mean that every vote in every state would have meaning. It also would dramatically lessen the chance that any presidential candidate could be elected without winning the popular vote.

The problem is that people tend to forget about the Electoral College, especially between presidential elections, and particularly after elections where it makes no difference. But the real possibility of a repeat of 2000 should be an impetus for reform, hopefully, before the country again elects a president who lost the election.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the UC Irvine School of Law.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Wednesday approved the first phase of a sweeping renewable energy and conservation plan for Californias deserts that is expected to shape large-scale wind and solar development for decades to come.

Climate change is the pressing issue of the day  and this region is part of the solution, she said at a signing ceremony at the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center in the hills above Palm Desert.

But while environmentalists hailed the plan, a coalition of solar and wind-energy developers said it doesnt leave enough public lands available for carbon-free energy projects needed to meet clean-energy goals for California and the nation.

In the works for eight years, this first phase of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan covers 10.8 million acres of public land in the deserts of seven California counties, including Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

It is expected to be part of a plan encompassing about 22.5 million acres, including private land.

Jewell said this phase strives to speed up approvals for solar, wind and geothermal projects by focusing such energy development on 388,000 acres where such projects will do the least amount of harm to wildlife habitat and other natural and cultural resources.

It makes development happen in the right way and in the right places, Jewell said.

The plan, developed in collaboration with state planners, also adds conservation protection to 4.2 million acres. Five million acres already are protected through wilderness, wilderness study and national monument designations.

These new conservation areas ensure that bighorn sheep and other wildlife will be able to travel among Joshua Tree National Park, the Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park through newly protected land, Jewell said.

David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy based in Oak Glen, praised the plan as a milestone in desert conservation.

It is a great day for a grand vision of the greater Mojave Desert landscape, Myers said.

Five industry associations representing large-scale solar and wind developers issued a harsh statement Wednesday, saying the plan hamstrings state and federal clean-energy goals.

The plan removed about 3 million acres of public land that was previously available for alternative energy development, the statement said.

Nancy Rader, executive director of the California Wind Energy Association, said most of the land set aside for development isnt good for wind development because of conflicts with military operations or concerns about bird deaths.

There are no assurances, she said by telephone from Berkeley.

The plan also designated 3.5 million acres for recreational uses.

But Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Biological Diversity, said most of that land overlaps with conservation areas.

She faults the plan for not analyzing how recreational uses, such as off-roading, may impact wildlife habitat.

This was a missed opportunity, Anderson said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9471 or ddanelski@scng.com
ANAHEIM  An Anaheim business owner gave $400 to a fake fire inspector this week, prompting public officials to warn the community about such scams.

A man walked into the State Collge Boulevard business on Tuesday and presented the owner with a fake letter saying he worked for the California State Fire Marshall. The man completed an inspection and charged the business $400, said Sgt. Daron Wyatt of the Anaheim Police Department.

The letter head, a copy of which police released on Thursday afternoon, had the names of three separate fire agencies.

Fraudulent scams happen every day, Wyatt said. But this is the first time Ive seen this one in a year, year-and-a-half.

The owner called the Orange County Fire Authority about the inspection, Wyatt said, and was told that Anaheim Fire Department would have handled such an inspection.

The scam is similar to one in Huntington Beach last week, including the use of the letterhead, though it is unknown if the two are related, Wyatt said. The two agencies will be talking.

Local fire marshals also had a conference call Thursday to discuss the scam.

Fire inspectors will always be in uniform. And if a fine is issued, it is not paid directly to the inspector, but to the agencys headquarters. It is illegal to falsely identify yourself as a public fire official.

You may always ask for city-issued identification if an individual is purporting to be at your property on official business, said Deputy Chief Rusty Coffelt, Anaheims fire marshal. If you have questions about the validity of a persons credentials, call the issuing agency.

Contact the writer: 714-796-6979 or chaire@scng.com
SANTA ANA  Three people have pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in connection with an alleged ticket-fixing scheme involving a former Orange County Superior Court clerk.

According to charging documents in U.S. District Court unsealed Wednesday, Tuan Hoan Trieu pleaded guilty on May 20 while Kevin Andrew Castellanos entered a guilty plea on June 3. In addition, Rebeca Sarai Rosell pleaded guilty on July 8.

Trieu and Castellanos are slated to be sentenced Nov. 4, while Rosell is set to be sentenced June 16, 2017. The maximum sentence for bribery is 10 years in federal prison. All three are free on bond.

The guilty pleas are related to a federal ticket-fixing case involving former Orange County Superior Court Clerk Jose Lopez Jr., Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office, said Wednesday.

Lopez was indicted earlier this month on suspicion of running a network that collected bribes to tweak more than 1,000 cases over a five-year stretch.

In addition, 11 alleged recruiters have also been indicted and are suspected of working outside of the courthouse to spread the word that, for a fee, tickets processed at Orange County Superior Court could be altered.

Lopez and 10 of his alleged accomplices have pleaded not guilty.

Investigators have been looking into the alleged ticket-fixing network since at least early 2015, when hundreds of seemingly resolved traffic cases were reopened by local judges. Many plea deals were reversed at that time, and other drivers were ordered to pay new fines.

People who paid the bribes  many non-English speakers from countries where ticket fixing sometimes involves bureaucrats or police  were solicited directly by Lopez or by a recruiter, according to a 69-page indictment.

Prosecutors believe that hundreds of people dodged jail time, paid lower fees or otherwise received reduced punishment after Lopez tampered with computerized documents while working as a clerk.

In the unsealed documents, prosecutors allege Castellanos and Trieu collected money from people seeking to either have their traffic cases filed in Orange County Superior Court dismissed or to have penalties reduced, according to court documents.

Rosell is suspected of collecting $6,000 in 2014 from an individual so he would avoid serving jail time on a second driving under the influence offense, records show.

Attorneys for Castellanos, Trieu and Rosell could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter @thechalkoutline
Clearly, Mojo is blessed with the luck of the Irish.

A few years ago, the ailing Jack Russell terrier was rescued from the brink of death by a spoonful of Irish whiskey  or so believes his co-owner, Karen Kelly. Now elderly yet robust, Mojo has moved to Ireland to reunite with Kellys daughter Mary.

Mojo became the subject of international news stories in 2013 when he obliviously sparked a $1 million lawsuit against the Tustin veterinary clinic that initially treated his wounds after he scampered in front of a car.

Kelly bought Mojo for 11-year-old Mary in 2002.

I fell in love the moment I saw him and weve been inseparable ever since, Mary Kelly said.

When Kelly, now 25, moved to Ireland with her two young children last month, her mom felt bad for Mojo and their second dog, Bailey. So a few weeks later, she hired a service to ship them across the Atlantic.

By some accounts, Mojo shouldnt even be alive  much less weathering a 15-hour journey abroad.

On a July afternoon in 2011, Mojo was hit by a car after escaping Karen Kellys Tustin Meadows house. Kelly rushed him to a nearby animal emergency hospital.

The vet said Mojo had all kinds of life-threatening injuries  a punctured bladder, internal bleeding, you name it, Kelly said. She wanted to either euthanize him or do surgery the next morning, but I didnt have $10,000.

Against the veterinarians advice, she absconded with Mojo. At home that night, Kelly provided the liquor remedy prescribed as a cure-all by her Irish grandfather. Then the next morning she took the patient to another vet for antibiotics and pain medication. Mojo recovered without surgery.

But the first veterinarian lodged a complaint against Kelly with OC Animal Care, alleging animal cruelty for allowing the dog to suffer. The agency did not file criminal charges, however, after verifying that the dog was receiving medical treatment.

Thus began the legal battle that would lend Mojo his 15 minutes of fame. His story went national  and international  even traveling abroad to the British tabloid Daily Mail.

Kelly sued the first Tustin veterinary office for $1 million, claiming civil extortion, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The suit, complicated by the fact the business had changed hands in the interim, was settled out of court later that year.

Mojos sidekick Bailey is no stranger to publicity either. The Register did a story about how the mutt arrived in a surprise litter on July 29, 2008, right after a 5.4 magnitude Chino Hills earthquake shook Tustin.

We didnt even realize our dog Wendy was pregnant, Karen Kelly said.

The dogs are not the only colorful characters in the ubiquitous Kelly clan. Karens late parents, Thomas and Mary Elizabeth, moved to Tustin in the early 1960s, raised 12 children and immersed themselves in civic activities. Mary Elizabeth Kelly helped create the wishing-well memorial at City Hall.

After retiring from the aerospace industry in 1970, Thomas Kelly opened Kellys Cards and Gifts in Old Town. Some of his children also hung out shingles: Kellys Mens Shop and Kellys Hair Design. Son John Kelly served on the City Council.

Karen Kelly passed down her parents affinity for their Irish heritage to her daughter. The single mom, who works as a registered nurse, took Mary Kelly to their motherland as often as possible while she was growing up.

That passion rubbed off. Mary Kelly, also a single mother, decided to move to Galway with Patrick, 6, and Keira, 3, after finishing her nursing degree at Golden West College. Her uncle Tom Kelly, a retired businessman, had set down roots there.

Her mother determined that the dogs missed her daughter and the kids so much that they stopped eating and were lethargic. She contacted Jet-A-Pet, which handles the shipping and airport-to-door delivery of animals. Some $2,800 later, the dogs found themselves in the cargo hold of an airliner.

Tom Kelly compared the opening of the dog carriers Sept. 4 to tearing into presents on Christmas morning.

The happiness was surreal, he said. Mary held Mojo in both arms for half an hour while Patrick and Keira hugged Bailey.

And, he said, In the lilt of the Irish laughter, you could hear the angels sing.

Contact the writer: sgoulding@scng.com
Californias attempt to evaluate schools abilities to educate more than 6.2 million students will no longer rely on test results alone.

Instead, principals and teachers can look forward to being judged by a new system  intended to provide a more comprehensive view of educators work  that will not only assess students performance on standardized tests, but also score schools on such elements as college preparedness, English learners success and how often students miss school.

A panel of California education experts and politicians gathered Wednesday night at Cal State Long Beach to share their perspectives on the states new school accountability system. CALMatters, a nonprofit producing investigative journalism, the Southern California News Group and the local university hosted the event, titled A for Accountability: A Report Card on CAs New Public-School Assessments.

CALMatters reporter Judy Lin moderated the discussion. The panel members were Carl A. Cohn, executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence; Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, the Cal State Universitys assistant vice chancellor for teacher education and public school programs; Assemblyman Patrick ODonnell, D-Long Beach and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Cohn, who helped to develop the prior standards that focused on assessing students test results, didnt anticipate that kind of system to remain in effect for as long as it did.

At the time, we thought the emphasis on test scores was going to be brief. Then along came George W. Bush, who signed No Child Left Behind, and the rest is history, Cohn said, referring to the bipartisan federal law that relied heavily on the standardized test results to judge schools successes or failures.

President Barack Obama signed legislation replacing that law last December. The new law is called the Every Student Succeeds Act, which the U.S. Department of Education asserts will give states more flexibility to improve educational equity among their own schools.

KEEPING SCORE

For more than a decade, California used the Academic Performance Index, or API, to assess school accountability. Students performance in annual standardized tests formed the basis for calculations producing scores for public schools up and down the state. Schools received a score ranging from 0 to 1,000, and state officials set a score of 800 as the standard to judge whether educators at a given campus were doing a good job.

That number, however, didnt do much to tell parents any kind of story about whether faculty at their childs school is succeeding or failing at various aspects of their educational missions.

I lived NCLB (No Child Left Behind), said ODonnell, who taught high school before his election to the Assembly. I taught to the test, because thats what our district taught us to do.

The state Department of Education gave up publishing API scores after 2013, and the plan is for its replacement  still a work in progress  to report on schools performance in several different areas, much like a pupils report card may show he or she is doing well in math, but not so well in history.

Instead of assigning schools letter grades, the plan is for the state to publish color-coded reports for schools. Much like the old Homeland Security warning system, the cooler the color, the better things are. Blue would be the best score, whereas red would be the worst.

That plan aroused some criticism from Villaraigosa, who said educators may as well receive the same letter grades that are good enough for their pupils.

The new evaluation system, which the state Board of Education approved earlier this month, would provide an assessment of 10 different aspects of student performance. Standardized tests would continue to be measured, but there would also be separate evaluations for college and career readiness, graduation rates, English learners progress, as well as more subjective aspects of school life, like parental engagement and school climate.

ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

The move to a new accountability system follows recent  and major  developments in education policy such as the adoption of Common Core curriculum standards and the states Local Control Funding Formula.

Common Core, in place across 42 states, resulted in state educators adopting new standardized tests that have been assigned to students since 2015. Those test results will be incorporated into future accountability scores.

In California, the Local Control Funding Formula gave local school boards more autonomy over spending decisions and also required school districts to craft accountability plans setting goals for student achievement. Replacing the API with a more broad-based system could identify specific issues where educators efforts may be lacking and, in some cases, require technical intervention.

Grenot-Scheyer, who works for the CSU system, said there is an opportunity for university researchers to help develop standards to measure schools progress in areas that may be difficult to measure, like school climate. That said, Grenot-Scheyer also asserted that measuring multiple aspects of school performance may create a more equitable situation for students attending different schools since it may become easier to identify problems that need to be solved.

Im holding off on a grade, but I like what I see, she said.
A woman who is accused of seeking to avoid prison by feigning suicide has been indicted by a federal grand jury for failing to surrender to serve a sentence and obstructing justice.

Maria Santa, 41, appeared for arraignment Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento, along with her husband, Virgil Santa, 43, who was charged with harboring a fugitive, according to a U.S. attorneys office news release.

Maria Santa, a Sacramento County resident, was previously sentenced to 20 months in prison for mortgage fraud and was ordered to begin serving her sentence in February 2014, according to court documents. When her motion for bail pending appeal was denied, she fled the jurisdiction and left a note at her home that made it appear she had committed suicide.

Maria Santa was arrested Aug. 26 in Sacramento. At the time, she was a passenger in a vehicle that her husband was driving, authorities said.

If convicted, Maria and Virgil Santa face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, according to the U.S. attorneys office.
Striking just the right tone for any Charles Busch play can be a tricky proposition. After all, if youre going to tackle Psycho Beach Party or Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, you need actors capable of not-so-subtle stylization and a director who can get sharp comic timing out of his cast.

Red Scare at Sunset offers plenty of juicy opportunities for all of the above. Actual witch hunts like those of Salem in 1692 or figurative ones like the search for Communists in the film industry circa 1951 have been described as having fomented hysteria. Simply overplaying that emotion for over-the-top laughs seems a given for anyone doing Red Scare. Couple that with the chance to mock everything pretentious about Tinseltown, and Buschs 1991 comedy seems a surefire bet for guaranteed laughs.

Costa Mesa Playhouses version misses that bet. Some of director Michael Dale Browns actors obviously get the potential of their roles to generate laughs both through their characters and in the context of the whole. Others appear tantalizingly close to clicking, only to fall short. Still others are either unaware of whats needed or unable to provide it.

That makes this Red Scare a mixed bag at best. A forgiving audience will probably be willing to fill in many of the blanks in their own minds, laughing at the mere suggestion of something witty  no substitute for the real thing.

As director and set designer, Brown has a pretty good idea of what Busch intended. Yet Brown the sound designer has held back: A few key moments of the script are accompanied by hilariously melodramatic musical flourishes cueing actors and audience to the absurdity of the moment  but these wonderfully campy bits are far too infrequent.

Campy, in fact, should have been the watchword for all nine cast members. On the plus side we have Jon Sparks and Angel Correa as Hollywood married couple the Taggarts (with Sparks in the drag lead role Busch wrote for himself); Michelle M. Pedersen as the flag-waving, Commie-hating Red-baiter Pat Pilford, sort of a cross between Ma Kettle, Minnie Pearl and, politically, Anita Bryant; and Julia Boese as Marta Towers, a lovely young starlet whose devotion to Method Acting being closely tied to its many Russian advocates is no mere coincidence.

Sparks is a riotously gawky, gauche and naive Mary, leaving no question the actor fully gets the roles potential. Correas Frank is as tortured and self-important as any B-grade never-was leading man, and Pedersen and Boese are consistently funny throughout.

Were the comic timing of this quartets many scenes tweaked, reviews like this one might inch toward an unqualified rave. And although the plays sharp humor and mock-hokey feel are blunted, the cast has a ball in Laurie Martinezs period-perfect costumes. Audiences who switch off their critical faculties might also find enjoyment in this Scare.

Contact the writer: emarchesewriter@gmail.com
Teachers unions, school administrators, recalcitrant school boards and other interested parties have all too often fought tooth and nail to retain the status quo and resist education reforms, but, despite their efforts, the demands of parents and students for educational alternatives appear to be higher than ever.

Participation in voucher and educational savings account programs, which fund private school tuition and other educational expenses, has more than doubled in the past five years, a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report revealed.

The first school voucher program started in 1990, the GAO noted, and the first ESA program was not implemented until 2011. As of the fall of 2015, there were 20 voucher programs and five ESA programs, three of which had been authorized but were not yet operational.

The number of public school options has expanded rapidly as well, particularly in the form of charter schools, which are offered greater flexibility from bureaucratic rules. In addition, roughly 70 percent of California charter schools are not unionized, according to the California Charter Schools Association, offering them greater freedom from union rules  and oftentimes lower costs  as well.

Minnesota passed the first charter school enabling law in 1991, and by school year 2013-14, 42 states and the District of Columbia had enacted charter school legislation, the U.S. Education Departments National Center for Education Statistics informs. In fact, between 2003-04 and 2013-14, the number of charter schools in the nation more than doubled, from approximately 3,000 to 6,500, and total public charter school enrollment more than tripled, from 800,000 to 2.5 million, rising from 1.6 percent of all public school students to 5.1 percent.

California is above that national average, with its 513,400 charter school students comprising 8 percent of all public school students in school year 2013-14. Even this is not enough to satiate demand for alternatives to Californias struggling traditional public schools, however, with more than 158,000 students on charter school waiting lists, the CCSA reports.

Yet, even modest reforms to the status quo are routinely swatted away by the likes of the California Teachers Association, and teachers unions have essentially declared all-out war on proposed charter schools in places such as Los Angeles, where innovative alternatives are needed most. For example, Assembly Bill 934, offered by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla of Concord, a Democrat and former high school English teacher, which would have relaxed Californias unusually short two-year tenure rule for teachers and provided an expedited process for getting rid of bad teachers who repeatedly achieve unsatisfactory performance reviews, while establishing a program to help substandard teachers who want to improve, was killed off with the insistence of the CTA and the California Federation of Teachers.

The monopolistic government one-size-fits-all approach to education has proven to be a failure. People have different educational goals, interests, methods of learning and capacities for classroom instruction. Greater educational options and competition should be embraced  not stifled  for this will drive innovation, improve the quality and diversity of instruction and place the needs of parents and students above special-interest politics.
This has been coming since Joe McQuaid likened Donald Trump to the movie character Biff from Back to the Future, and now its official: The Union Leader of Manchester, N.H., has refused to endorse the Republican presidential nominee for the first time in a century. The Granite States largest newspaper is backing Libertarian Gary Johnson and running mate Bill Weld instead, writing that in todays dark times, they are a bright light of hope and reason.

McQuaid, the papers publisher, ignited a memorable feud with Trump in December, when he slammed the real estate mogul in a front-page editorial that included the comparison to the bullying Biff.

Trump has shown himself to be a crude blowhard with no clear political philosophy and no deeper understanding of the important and serious role of President of the United States than one of the goons he lets rough up protesters in his crowds, McQuaid wrote at the time.

Trump returned fire at a rally in Nashua the same day, calling McQuaid a lowlife and a sleaze bag.

Given the name-calling, it is not shocking that the Union Leader would reject Trump. Then again, Trump has said that he and McQuaid were previously on friendly terms, so reconciliation had remained a possibility.

And there was history to consider. The Union Leader has always endorsed the GOP nominee, even when it doesnt like him. As McQuaid wrote in his endorsement of Johnson, the paper told readers to hold their noses and reelect Richard Nixon in 1972.

No need to hold your nose this time, McQuaid wrote.

The Union Leader is now the fifth conservative-leaning newspaper of note to withhold its endorsement from Trump. The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle are backing Hillary Clinton; the Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal and the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch have recommended Johnson.
Many years ago when I first joined Cal State Fullerton as a junior faculty member, I had a windowless office in the library, though my department was in another building. I remember that fall vividly. Although I had taught as a graduate assistant while completing my doctoral thesis, having full responsibility for my classes at Fullerton made me nervous  and excited. These days, the classroom nerves are gone, but the excitement at the beginning of each school year remains.

Today I am honored to be writing as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. It is a privilege to step into this role following the tenure of Jose L. Cruz, whose leadership and dedication have been felt throughout the division and across the campus. In line with our 201318 Strategic Plan, my priorities as interim provost in the coming semester and year will be focused on sustaining and advancing the work of the former provost and the success we have already achieved. These efforts include:

 Proceeding with the development of the Academic Master Plan, expected to be finalized by the end of 2016;

 Continuing to expand and enrich faculty support and curricular excellence;

 Carrying on the great work of our Student Success Teams and everyone who has been involved in student success efforts across campus.

Collectively, these and other initiatives advance Cal State Fullertons central aim, as articulated in the Strategic Plan, to become a model public comprehensive university. We are already well on our way, garnering national recognition for student success initiatives, innovations in advising and our commitment to graduating underrepresented students.

There is no consensus on the definition of the model public comprehensive university  and so the definition must come from within, based on our mission and the needs of the public we serve. What kind of model university do we aspire to be? What values, norms, behaviors and outcomes do we want to set for ourselves and see adopted by other institutions across the nation?

My vision for this model is built on three central elements:

First, we are deeply committed to our mission; our students academic and professional success is our central concern. Through a relevant, rigorous and coherent curriculum and a wide range of co-curricular activities and support, we instill within our students the skills, knowledge and habits of thought that will enable them to make sense of todays complex world and be successful in their careers. To provide that optimal learning environment for our students, we must recruit, retain and support highly qualified faculty and staff  which means supporting the intellectual and creative activities of our faculty and the professional needs of our staff.

Second, we establish and maintain the highest standards of behavior and performance for ourselves and each other. We uphold the values of collegiality and civility, defend academic freedom and champion diversity and inclusion. We create and maintain best practices in all that we do  IT, budgets, infrastructure, collegial governance, instruction and more  in order to elevate our performance to the very top.

Third, we measure and reflect on our outcomes and impact. We deliver results that show themselves in the success of our students while at the university and beyond, in the achievements of our faculty in scholarly and creative activities, and in the job satisfaction and professionalism of our staff. We judge ourselves by the contributions we make to our society and our communities as a steward of place.

Imagining the possibilities of such a model public comprehensive university is what keeps me energized and engaged after all these years. I have always believed that Cal State Fullerton is a special place, from the breadth and scope of our community partnerships to the accomplishments of our alumni; from our facultys dazzling intellectual voyages to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to that windowless office in the library, where an assistant economics professor labored over his first syllabus. The reputation and achievements of Cal State Fullerton matter to us because we know whats at stake. Thats why we Reach Higher  and always will.

Anil K. Puri became interim provost and vice president for academic affairs in July. Previously, he had served since 1999 as dean of the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics. Puri earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota.
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay  A former Guantanamo prisoner on a hunger strike slipped into a coma Wednesday, said a doctor in Uruguay, where the ex-detainee was taken in as a refugee nearly two years ago but has been demanding to move elsewhere to reunite with his family.

Abu Wael Dhiab was unconscious and extremely dehydrated when paramedics arrived at the apartment where he is staying in Montevideo, said Dr. Julia Galzerano of the Medical Union of Uruguay, who was treating the former prisoner from Syria.

We hope that it is reversible. We cant know for a while, Galzerano said. The doctor said she was told Dhiab had gone 12 days without water.

Dhiab was being treated at an apartment in keeping with his wishes not to be hospitalized during his protest.

He drew international attention by hunger-striking during his 12 years of occasionally confrontational confinement at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was released from Guantanamo in December 2014 but could not return to his homeland and was allowed to resettle in Uruguay.

Dhiab has grown increasingly disgruntled in the South American country and launched the hunger strike to pressure the government to allow him to join his family in Turkey or to go to another country.

Christian Mirza, the former prisoners liaison with the Uruguayan government, said officials have been working at the highest levels to find another country to accept him.

The 45-year-old Syrian was one of six freed Guantanamo prisoners taken in by Uruguay as a humanitarian gesture by then President Jose Mujica. While the others settled in, Dhiab has struggled. He announced in a Sept. 6 video that he had been on hunger strike at that point for 23 days and that he had taken nothing but water over the preceding five days. His weight was not publicly known.

At Guantanamo, where he was detained as an enemy combatant with suspected ties to militants but never charged, his weight dropped at one point to about 155 pounds (70) kilograms, gaunt for a man over 6 feet tall (183 centimeters). Authorities there said he often struggled with guards, who forcibly removed him from his cell at least 48 times in less than a single year of his protest. Troops also said he assaulted them with feces and vomit several times.

In Uruguay, Dhiab has stayed out of the public eye recently, protected by activists from several generally anti-government groups who have taken up his cause.

Jon Eisenberg, a California lawyer who represented Dhiab in the past, said he had not spoken with him since Aug. 31 and was unable to get direct information.

I have no doubt that he is quite ill and in despair, but I fear that the people now surrounding him are exploiting his personal despair in pursuit of their own political agenda and are not acting in his best interest, Eisenberg said.

It was the latest turn in the case of a man who has become an international headache for Uruguays government.

Less than two months after his arrival in Uruguay, Dhiab turned up in neighboring Argentina, in violation of an agreement not to travel, and denounced the U.S. failure to close Guantanamo. He appeared in a mock orange prison jumpsuit, an icon of the prison that was opened in 2002 to hold suspected enemy combatants in the war against al-Qaida and the Taliban following the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Dhiab then began publicly complaining about life in Uruguay, to the increasing irritation of the government, and protesting outside the U.S. Embassy, angering members of Congress. In July, he set off alarms when he vanished for several weeks, then turned up in Venezuela, which rejected his request to be sent to Turkey to join his wife and children and sent him back to Uruguay.

Ambassador Lee Wolosky, the U.S. special envoy for Guantanamo closure, expressed bewilderment Wednesday about Dhiabs situation, saying Uruguays government had been in very advanced stages of bringing his wife and children from Turkey when he took off to Venezuela.

I think that Dhiab has been offered every opportunity by the government of Uruguay to move on with his life and he has disgracefully repudiated the extraordinary hospitality and generosity of the government of Uruguay, Wolosky said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The envoy pointed out the former prisoner had agreed to the resettlement offer and said Uruguay provided him with a $500 monthly stipend and an apartment and offered language and vocational classes. The resettlement of the other five has been a success, in contrast with Dhiab, he said.

He has gotten more support than refugees receive in that country in the normal course by far and he has received more support than many Uruguayan citizens receive, Wolosky said. Hes had every opportunity to make good choices and be reunited with his family and he has instead made bad choices.
The internet and smartphones have revolutionized the way we live our lives in fundamental, and, in my opinion, fantastic ways. Its now possible to do your banking, buy airline tickets and pick your seats at the movies all while you wait in the lobby at the dentists office. Theres virtually nothing you cant do on your favorite electronic device  except vote.

And it should stay that way.

Give me Scantrons and hanging chads any day of the week over online, or even electronic, voting, where domestic hackers and foreign agents potentially have the ability to alter the result of a U.S. election.

Think about the chaos that swept through the state of Florida after the 2000 presidential election in response to an extremely close election  and then think about what would be in store for us if the losing candidate pins their loss on foreign espionage.

Wed be at each others throats faster than you could say banana republic.

Currently, votes in four battleground states will be cast on ATM-style electronic voting machines with no paper trail  Pennsylvania, Georgia, Virginia and, of course, Florida. Given that there will be no physical printouts as a backup, if there are allegations of hacking, foul play or even just an glitch, there is no way to go back and independently verify the results of the machines.

Defenders of these machines believe we have nothing to worry about.

Youd need physical access to equipment to be able to do anything to it, Virginia Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortes told Politico. It would be a substantial undertaking to try to do something like that.

But, according to Herb Lin, a Stanford University professor who sits on a federal cybersecurity commission that President Barack Obama created this year, thats exactly what agents of disruption are working on right now.

Also speaking in Politico, Lin said, By and large, the electronic voting machines arent able to stand up to graduate students, let alone the KGB, so I dont have much faith in their ability to defend themselves against a nation-state like Russia.  You only need to hack a few of them to shift an election one way or another. You could easily imagine, if you were paranoid  that somebody could just hack a few voting machines and [turn] an election.

Weve seen this type of hacking play out in the news in recent months.

Earlier this summer, a suspected Russian hacker was able to break into a voter registration database in Arizona. Not long after that, the same thing happened in Illinois. As of now, the authorities havent given us any details on who was responsible for that hacking.

In July, right before the Democratic National Convention began in Philadelphia, the DNC had its email system penetrated. Embarrassing details were then published and, as a result, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was forced to resign. U.S. intelligence officials suspect that the Russian government is to blame for this debacle.

And right here in California, Sony Pictures had its email system broken into by suspected North Korean hackers.

In all of these instances, each organization thought that it had taken the proper security measures to prevent this type of cyberattack. In each case, they were wrong.

Because of these breaches, careers were damaged, feelings were hurt and top executives were exposed, but, thankfully, the peace and safety of the nation were never in jeopardy.

If hackers were ever able to break into our voting machines and sway the results of an election, all bets are off.

Modern technology is fine for movie tickets, but for voting we should go back to the future and stick with paper ballots.

John Phillips is a CNN political commentator and can be heard weekdays at 3 p.m. on The Drive Home with Jillian Barberie and John Phillips on KABC/AM 790.
An 18-year-old girl from Austria is taking her parents to court for posting over 500 photos of her on Facebook since 2009, without her permission.

The unnamed girl from Austrias Carinthia state has apparently become fed up with her parents refusal to take down intimate and embarrassing photos of her dating back to when she was a toddler, and is now seeking justice in court. She told Ganze Woche magazine that even though she was 11 years old when her parents started sharing photos of her with several hundreds of Facebook friends, they went as far as to post pics of her as a toddler, without ever asking if it was alright with her. They knew no shame and no limit  and didnt care whether it was a picture of me sitting on the toilet or lying naked in my cot  every stage was photographed and then made public, the young plaintiff said.

Referred to as Anna Meier (name changed by magazine editors under Austrian privacy laws), the girl added that she was only able to see the photos posted on Facebook by her parents when she was 14, after setting up her own account on the worlds most popular social network. Angry and upset, Anna asked her mother and father to remove the over 500 photos of her immediately, but they refused. She kept asking them over the years, but faced with constant refusal, she felt that she had no other way to coerce them than taking them to court. Which she did as soon as she turned 18, this year. Im tired of not being taken seriously by my parents, she said.

Photo via Zdnet

Annas lawyer, Michael Rami, claims they have a good chance of winning the case in court, if it can be proven that the images have violated her rights to a personal life. A judge will hear arguments in November, in what is the first case of its kind in Austria. But, based on similar cases and according to Austrian privacy laws, if the parents lose, they may be forced to pay their daughter a sizable compensation as well as an administrative fine of 3,000  10,000 euros.

Although Anna is convinced that her right to privacy has been violated, her parents, on the other hand, see nothing wrong with posting baby photos of her. I consider it my right to be able to publish these photos, her father said. After all, this is our child and the photos are part of our lovely family album which has been well received by our Facebook friends. We have posted no more photos of our daughter since she stopped allowing us to photograph her. We also have baby photos of her that can only be seen by a limited group of 700 Facebook friends.

Ganze Woche reports that the 18-year-old has moved out of her parents home and is living with some girl friends in a rented apartment.

In a recent press release, German media law firm Wilde Beuger Solmecke advises parents not to post photos of children on Facebook without their consent. Apart from legal consequences and subsequent compensation, they also risk making their children  especially those of school age  targets for cyber-bullying.

via The Local Austria
Signl is an innovative gadget that allows users to take phone calls by simply touching their ear with their fingertip. It then transmits the sound through the body, essentially turning their hand into a phone.

Signl, formerly TipTalk, was developed by South Korean company Innomdle Lab, a new startup founded in 2015 by three ex-Samsung employees. Its a smart strap that can be worn by itself, with a classic watch or any kind of smartwatch ((Apple, Samsung, Pebble, etc.). It connects to your phone via Bluetooth and thanks to a built-in body conduction unit, the strap sends sound through your body, allowing you to hear the caller just by touching your ear with a finger. A microphone of the strap lets you have a conversation just like you would on a mobile phone.

Innomdle Lab CEO Hyunchul Choi says that he came up with the idea for Signl after hearing someone boasting about his new smartwatch, but at the same time being embarrassed that others could hear the phone call conversations as well. Inspired by this predicament, he started working on a solution that he believed would become very popular in the future.

People who prefer classic watch, dont want to wear wearables because it doesnt look nice with their suit, Wenxing Bai, business manager at Innomdle Lab told TechNode. On the other hand, smart watch users dont take phone calls on their watch, because everyone can hear the conversation. Signl solves both these problems, as it is compatible with both classic and smartwatches, and offers great call privacy since only the wearer can hear the sound being transmitted through their hand.

The Signl strand is apparently based on two core technologies n actuator unit that generates a body-conductible vibration with low power consumption, and an audio algorithm that selectively amplifies voice signals with proper wavelength modulation. The battery allegedly offers up to four hours of talk time and can be charged through a micro-USB port.

Innomdle Lab recently launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Signl, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. They were asking for $50,000, but with 23 days to go, they have already raised over $800,000 from 4762 backers. Theyll be able to talk on their fingertips in February 2017, unless Innomdle Lab decided to postpone deliveries, which tends to happen quite often with Kickstarter projects.

Photos: Innomdle Lab/Kickstarter
Commit to an investment plan no matter what your stage in life, 165 members of New York Women in Communications were told Sept. 12.

(L to R) Moderator: Hannah Storm, Award-Winning Journalist, Producer & Director (@HannahStormESPN); Panelist: Dyllan McGee, Founder & Executive Producer, MAKERS (@dyllanmcgee); Panelist: Elisabeth Rosario, Director of Communications, Spark Capital (@emrosario); Panelist: Kathy Murphy, President, Personal Investing, Fidelity Investments; Panelist: Kristine Welker, Media Consultant (@kristine_welker)

Five authorities in the financial arena gave advice and answered questions for nearly two hours at Scandinavia House, 58 Park ave. Investing in one way or another is the surest way to achieve a higher quality of life, they were told.

Panelists advised starting an investment plan as early in life as possible. Information from brokers should include descriptions of various plans and upfront and ongoing costs. The brokers should also tell customers how much they are making from the account both upfront and on an ongoing basis, the panelists said.

Members were advised to take full advantage of 401K plans that are offered by employers. Under such plans, as spelled out on the IRS website, employees can contribute part of their wages, escaping taxes until redemption. Employers may also make contributions.

Recommended was BrokerCheck, which provides a checklist for those thinking of retaining a broker. It is a service of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority which is not part of the government. It provides employment and disciplinary history of brokers and displays their certifications and licenses.

Panelists Shared Personal Stories

Panelists shared their personal stories. Afterwards, guidance for investing was given by panelist Kathy Murphy, president, personal investing, Fidelity Investments.

Other panelists were Hannah Storm, ESPN, journalist, producer and director; Dyllan McGee, founder and executive producer, MAKERS; Elisabeth Rosario, director of communications, Spark Capital, and Kristine Welker, media consultant.

Questions included what percentage of income should be invested and how investments are to be handled by a married couple. Attendees asked how they can approach employers about salaries and bonuses. They were told to check with friends and other sources to make sure they are being paid the market rate for their services.

Members said that more money than ever seems to be going to the government from their paychecks.

The next big NYWICI event is the WiCi Awards Oct. 11 from 8-10 a.m. at Bloomberg, 120 Park ave. Created in 2013, it recognizes the career achievements of rising stars in communications.

Recipients have made significant contributions to their companies and industry and are admired by peers and employees. They embody the values of NYWICI and are actively involved in the communications industry.
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Agricultural News

New Motions Filed in a Flurry as Beef Checkoff Battle Heats Up in Federal Court

A flurry of motions were filed recently in the lawsuit filed by R-CALF USA against the national beef checkoff program (Beef Checkoff). The group's lawsuit was filed May 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.







The initial complaint alleges the government, represented by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is operating the Beef Checkoff in violation of the U.S. Constitution by compelling cattle producers to subsidize the private speech of private state beef councils, notably the Montana Beef Council. Members of R-CALF USA, the complaint alleges, object to the Montana Beef Council's speech because it advocates that all beef is the same regardless of where or how it was produced.







In July the government requested an extension of time for which to answer the complaint and R-CALF USA did not object. But, rather than provide a typical answer, the government filed a motion in early August to dismiss or stay the group's lawsuit. R-CALF USA fired back with its own cross-motion in late August asking the court to award summary judgment and immediately end the checkoff program's unconstitutional taxation of ranchers. The group claims it is entitled to summary judgment because the government, in its motion to dismiss or stay, essentially acknowledged that the Beef Checkoff is improperly authorizing federal taxes to be used to fund private speech.







The government's reply to R-CALF USA's opposition to the motion to dismiss or stay was due September 7 and its opposition to R-CALF USA's cross-motion for summary judgment would have been due September 14. But the government again requested a delay until nearly the end of September and the court granted its request.







On September 12, the same day the court granted the deadline extension for the government, R-CALF USA filed a new motion, this one for a temporary restraining order (TRO), which is an emergency action to prevent the infliction of irreparable injury. In this case, the group seeks a TRO to stop the government from continuing to use tax monies paid by cattle producers to fund the private speech of the Montana Beef Council until the court can act on the group's cross-motion for summary judgment or a preliminary injunction. In its pleadings, R-CALF USA argued that precedent well establishes that a violation of the First Amendment is an irreparable injury and that the operation of the Beef Checkoff in Montana violates the First Amendment. Because the fall cattle run - the time of year when many Montana cattle are sent to market - is now beginning, the group argues the TRO is necessary to prevent compounding violations of cattle producers' constitutional freedoms while the government delays.







The government immediately cried foul and on the next day, September 13, called R-CALF USA's motion for a TRO an "extraordinary request" in its atypical motion seeking to delay resolution of the TRO.

Before the ink could dry on the government's latest motion, R-CALF USA, yesterday, filed its response to the government's motion, accusing the government of repeatedly engaging in procedural tactics to avoid addressing the merits of the case. This, according to the motion, is inflicting additional First Amendment harms on cattle producers as is established "by black letter Supreme Court law."







David Muraskin with Public Justice, Dudley Butler with Butler Farm & Ranch Law Group, and Bill Rossbach of Rossbach Law, P.C. in Missoula, Montana, are co-representing R-CALF USA in the lawsuit.







Source - R-CALF USA













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Agricultural News

Grain Market Specialist Has a Tip for Wheat Farmers This Year - "Focus on Quality"

Oklahoma State University Extension Grains Market Analyst Dr. Kim Anderson talks strategy for wheat farmers with SUNUP's Lyndall Stout this week- and explains what producers need to concentrate on over the next few years. According to Dr. Anderson, the world market is currently flooded with not just wheat, but for the most part all other grains as well. He says if you were to look back at 2000 and years past beyond that, you would find that neither Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others were exporting zero bushels of wheat. Today, those same countries have collectively dumped 1.9 billion bushels of wheat into the global market that less than two decades ago, where not there. Which in effect has drastically lowered the price of wheat. The good news, Dr. Anderson says, is that worldwide, wheat crops have been of low protein and quality - opening a little room for strategy.





For farmers that have already planted this year or plan to, Dr. Anderson insists that focus should be on producing a quality, high protein crop that is good for milling. Wheat like that is difficult to find right now and he believes the market will pay for a high quality product. Farmers already are looking at reducing their input costs, but Dr. Anderson believes this would be a mistake. The only way to compete now in international trade will be to outperform our competitors with better quality. Dr. Anderson says monocropping is becoming a thing of the past. He says farmers need to begin looking at rotating crops to break weed and disease cycles that only bloat the cost of production. You can watch their visit tomorrow or Sunday on SUNUP- but you can hear Kim's comments right now by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.





Beyond Lyndall's weekly chat with Dr. Anderson- the SUNUP crew has a very full lineup for your viewing this weekend:





This week on SUNUP, the 2016 fair tour continues with a stop in Blackwell for the 99th Kay County Free Fair.





-Tom Royer offers management advice on controlling fall armyworms in wheat and canola fields.



-In Cow-Calf Corner, Glenn Selk discusses ways to ensure yearly replacement heifers are ready for fall breeding season.



-Next, Dave Lalman explains the benefits of stockpiling bermudagrass to meet cattle feeding needs during fall and winter.



-In Shop Stop, Randy Taylor and Wayne Kiner have a handy tip to help viewers identify and measure u-joints.



-Kim Anderson analyzes how foreign exports have affected wheat prices the past few years.



-In the Mesonet report, Al Sutherland and Gary McManus answer the question: "Is summer really over?" They also look at shifting air temperatures, soil moisture levels and the latest drought monitor.



-Finally, we'll introduce you to three members of a Kay County family who have been showing livestock for many generations. County Extension director Corbin Dewitt tells us why family traditions are so important at the fair.





Join SUNUP:





Saturday at 7:30 a.m. & Sunday at 6 a.m. on OETA-TV



















Get the scoop on your neighbor - to listen to Dr. Kim Anderson's advice to wheat farmers, click below

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Top Agricultural News
DES MOINES  Attorneys representing a union leader and several state lawmakers argued to the Iowa Supreme Court on Wednesday that Gov. Terry Branstad violated state law by closing two state mental health institutes last year.

Mark Hedberg and Nate Boulton said state law requires the continued operation of now-closed institutes in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant, as well as Cherokee and Independence facilities. Iowa Solicitor General Jeffrey Thompson, representing Branstad, reiterated his veto authority regarding state appropriations.

The president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Iowa and several Democratic lawmakers filed a lawsuit in July 2015, after Branstad vetoed funding for the facilities. Branstad argued patients can access care through other services.

The court could issue a decision within months.
LINCOLN  A federal judge has ruled that the National Park Service went too far in redrawing boundaries for protection and regulation along the Niobrara River, a federally designated scenic river.

If the ruling stands, some of the land owned by Lee Simmons, who operates a cabin resort and canoe outfitting business along the river, would be removed from the scenic river area.

Simmons filed a lawsuit in 2013 challenging the amended boundaries adopted by the Park Service after an earlier landowner lawsuit nullified the initial boundaries.

In a ruling this week, U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf said the Park Service acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner in redrawing the boundaries on Simmons property in 2003 after removing about 25 acres of land from the scenic river area owned by an adjacent landowner, Kerry Kruger.

Omaha attorney Bart McLeay said in a press release Wednesday that he was pleased by the ruling.

It was not immediately clear whether the Park Service would appeal the ruling, as it did when former Omaha businessman David Sokol, who owns ranchland along the Niobrara, won a challenge against the scenic river boundaries.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said police cant forcibly draw blood from suspected drunken drivers momentarily knocked the wind out of law enforcement officials across Nebraska, the Omaha city prosecutor said Wednesday.

After the initial shock, everyone took a deep breath, Matt Kuhse said. Then we said, We can work this out.

Kuhse, who was appointed by Mayor Jean Stothert three months ago, is a former assistant prosecutor with the Douglas County Attorneys Office. He specialized in alcohol offenses and prosecuted all of the countys motor vehicle homicide cases for the past 10 years.

Kuhse was the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of Project Extra Mile, a group that works to prevent alcohol-related injuries. He told the group, which met at the La Vista Police Department headquarters, that passing a state law to allow electronic warrants would streamline the time it takes to obtain a judges signature on a warrant seeking a blood test.

There are some legislative proposals that are not only coming from my office, but the (Douglas) County Attorneys Office and the (Nebraska) Attorney Generals Office, to try and alleviate or correct the situation, he said.

On June 23, the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that police cant forcibly draw blood without a warrant from people suspected of driving drunk. The court continued to allow breath tests without a warrant because it considered them less intrusive.

The ruling stemmed from three cases in Minnesota and North Dakota in which drivers challenged implied consent laws as a violation of the Constitutions ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. The laws previously had withstood challenges in state courts.

Blood draws dont happen very frequently, Kuhse said. (Prosecution) is primarily with breath tests, which our Supreme Court said is fine.

Injured drivers taken to a hospital routinely have blood samples taken in order to be treated. The test results still will be made available to law enforcement, Kuhse said.

Electronic warrants for blood tests would save time for law enforcement officers by allowing them to get a judges permission without having to travel to the judges home and then a hospital. Speed is key, he said, because alcohol dissipates from the body at a rate of about .015 percent of blood alcohol content per hour.

For now, he said, local authorities have drafted a template for warrants to help investigators move quickly. Several Douglas County judges have volunteered to make themselves available to review warrants around the clock.

I sat down with the county judges and explained (the problem) to them, he said. Judges who live in close proximity to a hospital said, Hey, if time is of the essence, call me.
A lifelong Omahan and a recent Nebraska resident will compete for South Omaha and midtown voters in Legislative District 5.

Mike McDonnell, a former Omaha fire chief, and Gilbert Ayala, a grocery store and restaurant worker, hope to take veteran Sen. Heath Mellos seat.

Mello is term-limited and announced in August that he is running for mayor of Omaha.

McDonnell, 50, received Mellos endorsement and commanded a strong lead in Mays primary.

McDonnell received 2,036 votes  about 76 percent  while Ayala took 641 votes, about 24 percent.

McDonnell had about $42,000 in cash on hand for the period ending in mid-June. Ayala had not raised or spent $5,000. The next campaign finance reports are due next month.

If elected, McDonnell wants to focus on three topics: public safety, public education and jobs.

I believe that good neighborhoods build good cities, and good cities build good states, said McDonnell, a Democrat. I have a responsibility to my parents, neighbors, friends and families, and to the next generation.

McDonnell said he is still talking to voters to decide what policies need to be adjusted and what bills he would seek to introduce or support. He wants to hear from experts in the community and said he wouldnt be too proud to borrow a good idea thats working in another state.

He said his 24 years as an Omaha firefighter, including six years as chief and 10 years as union president, gave him experience working with others, which he would need to do in the officially nonpartisan Legislature.

Youre at the negotiating table. You have to look at areas where you can compromise, he said. Lets look at how we can keep moving things forward, improving things.

Ayala, a Republican who calls himself a strong conservative, said he doesnt like that the Legislature is nonpartisan and wishes party affiliation were included on ballots.

I think its wrong. I know people like it, they think its a positive, he said. What it ends up doing is that so-called conservative legislators are running, but theyre not really conservative.

Ayala, who has lived in Nebraska for three years, wants to cut spending and give the money back to taxpayers. He is opposed to medical marijuana or cannabis oil for pain relief, and said permitting them would be a Trojan horse leading to the legalization of marijuana.

He also disagrees with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on abortion and legalizing same-sex marriage.

Democrats are opposed to our values, and Republicans are afraid to defend them, said Ayala, 46. Ill be a strong vocal proponent talking about those issues.

McDonnell said he has lived his entire life in District 5 and hopes he can have the privilege to serve its residents.

I believe I have the leadership experience to really make a difference working with other senators across the state to try to improve our state in a number of different ways for the current and next generation, he said.

Ayala said a public service background like McDonnells isnt necessary for a senator, but that a senator must stick to his values.

Im running based on what I believe, Ayala said. There is a choice. How (McDonnell or I) vote on things is going to be very different.

* * *

MIKE MCDONNELL

Age: 50

Party: Democratic

Home: Omaha

Occupation: Labor educator, UNO William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies

Public offices held: None

Education: Masters degree, public administration, Bellevue University; associate, bachelors degrees, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Family: Married, one child

Faith: Catholic

GILBERT AYALA

Age: 46

Party: Republican

Home: Omaha

Occupation: Grocery store and restaurant worker

Public offices held: None

Education: Bachelors degree, political science, University of Texas at El Paso

Family: Married, two children

Faith: Catholic

Website: None
Helicopter crews have begun aerial spraying of invasive noxious weeds along the lower Platte River in some eastern and east-central Nebraska counties.

The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District said the lower Platte is clogged with invasive vegetation  phragmites and purple loosestrife. The noxious weeds are robbing eastern Nebraska of critically needed water and wildlife habitat for the threatened and endangered piping plover and least tern, the district said.

Human safety also is at risk due to ice-jam flooding, which officials blamed partially on the weeds along the Platte River bordering Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders, Dodge, Colfax, Butler, Platte and Cass Counties.

Aerial spraying, which began Tuesday, is being conducted on up to 300 acres of selected sandbars on the lower Platte River from Columbus downstream to the Missouri River, the district said.

The chemical being used is EPA-approved and it is not harmful to humans, officials said. However, two canoe access sites will be closed on the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers for a couple of days as a precaution. The sites are Platte River Landing at Nebraska Highway 64 near Valley and Elkhorn Crossing at 252nd Street and Bennington Road.

The areas are being treated at a cost of about $200 per acre, officials said. Landowners have been asked to cover 50 percent of the cost.
For the second time, Springfield is suing Papillion over a recent annexation.

The new suit, filed Wednesday morning in Sarpy County District Court, challenges Papillions August annexation of land owned by Metropolitan Community College south of Nebraska Highway 370 between 132nd and 144th streets. That annexation brought Papillions zoning jurisdiction to the border of Springfields.

Sarpy County is also listed as a defendant in the suit, which questions the validity of the new annexation. The city is also seeking a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunction preventing Papillion from enforcing its annexation.

Springfield alleges that Papillion annexed land that is not urban or suburban in character as well as not adjacent or contiguous to the existing boundaries of the city, according to the court documents. The zoning jurisdiction is now more than 2 miles beyond the validly annexed corporate boundaries of Papillion, the suit says. And the annexation is impeding Springfields area of future growth, the city says, as designated by a 1995 Sarpy County industrial sewer construction plan.

(Papillions) purpose was to extend its sphere of influence in the area rather than to serve the public interest, the complaint says.

A Nebraska Supreme Court judge recently ruled that Springfields other lawsuit, challenging Papillions 2015 annexation of the Prairie Queen Recreation area, was found to have standing. That lawsuit will return to district court.
Donald Trump discussed his personal health during a taping of "The Dr. Oz Show" on Wednesday morning and shared some of the results of his most recent physical examination, according to the show, not long after top campaign aides told reporters that he would not release any records on set and planned to talk about general wellness, not his personal health history.

After the taping, the show emailed reporters a photo of Oz studying at least two pieces of paper as he sat next to Trump. But it remains unclear what those pieces of paper are and whether Trump plans to release more detailed health records. The campaign has yet to respond to requests for those records.

The episode featuring Trump will not air until Thursday, and reporters were not allowed to attend the taping. According to a press release from the show, Trump shared the results from a physical examination performed last week by Dr. Harold Bornstein of Manhattan. The show did not disclose what those results were.

Oz also took Trump through a review of his major systems, along with his family medical history and a history of cancer, according to the release, which did not include Trump's answers. The description of the taping provided by the show was at odds with what the Trump campaign said would happen.

On Monday  the day after Hillary Clinton became ill at a 9/11 memorial ceremony  Trump, 70, announced on Fox News that he underwent a physical last week and would release the "very, very specific" results this week. He spoke of his health with great confidence and said that he finds the campaign trail "very invigorating," not exhausting. He also bragged that he has a busier campaign schedule than Clinton, an assertion that has been challenged.

On Tuesday, Trump's campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said that "more detailed records will be released later this week." On Wednesday morning, the campaign told reporters that the records would be released "soon" but would not say when. They also would not say what sort of information Trump would release and how comprehensive it would be.

Oz said on Fox News Radio on Tuesday that he didn't expect Trump to release any embarrassing information during the show.

"It's his decision," Oz said in the interview. "The metaphor for me is it's the doctor's office, the studio. So I'm not going to ask him questions he doesn't want to have answered."

Later that day, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway confirmed in an interview with MSNBC that the focus of the interview would be Trump's health report  although she indicated that the information that Trump planned to release might not be extensive.

"I'm with Dr. Oz and millions of Americans on this. I don't know why we need such extensive medical reporting when we all have a right to privacy," Conway said on MSNBC, then launched into an attack on President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act.

The campaign faced some mocking for selecting "The Dr. Oz Show" as the forum to discuss the candidate's health. The celebrity doctor's credibility has been questioned in recent years. In 2014, Oz appeared on Capitol Hill to testify about weight-loss product fraud and was grilled by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who accused him of being part of the problem. That year, the British Medical Journal published a study analyzing Oz's claims and found that medical research either didn't substantiate or contradicted more than half of Oz's recommendations.

If Trump wins, he will become the oldest president ever elected. In December, Trump released a four-paragraph letter signed by Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan that contained few specifics but declared that Trump would "be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

Bornstein, a gastroenterological specialist based in Manhattan, told NBC News last month that he composed the letter in about five minutes while a limo sent by the candidate to collect the letter waited outside. When asked how he could justify saying that Trump would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency," Bornstein told NBC that some presidents had dementia, tumors or were "paranoid" or "psychotic."

"All the rest of them are either sick or dead," Bornstein said.

The brief letter paled in comparison to the more than 1,000 pages of medical records released in May 2008 by Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was then 71 and went on to become the Republican nominee. The records detailed eight years of care McCain received while fighting cancer. For months, Trump has subtly attacked Clinton's health, saying that the 68-year-old former secretary of state doesn't have the "strength" or "stamina" for the presidency and accusing her of being "exhausted" and sleeping too much. Clinton's campaign said she plans to soon release more information about her health.

Conway said Tuesday that Trump had a physical late last week, although she didn't know whether it was with Bornstein. She said the health of the candidates is "an important issue" but that Clinton is the one who owes the public more information.

"I think that there's one candidate in this race who's had recent health challenges that we all saw," Conway said. "I agree with Donald Trump on this. ... We're glad Hillary Clinton says she's feeling better and she'll be back on the campaign trail soon, but the question remains: If this is about transparency and medical records and health conditions, then why was she so forted in the business of concealment here?"
Hillary Clinton kept her pneumonia diagnosis under wraps for two days because she didnt think it was going to be that big a deal.

Right. Thats what she used to say about her private email server.

Yes, I know Clintons email server is an obsession that her rivals on the right will not let go. Fear and loathing motivate great political fundraising.

But as I have written before, the former secretary of state knew that she and her ex-president husband had an abundance of political enemies before she gave them more ammunition to use against her.

What irritated me most about the news that Clinton really was ill with pneumonia, forcing her to leave the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in New York early, is how it gave a moment of undeserved I told you so satisfaction to the industry of conspiracy theorists.

Even WikiLeaks appeared to be taking sides Sunday, posting a poll that asked users to speculate about the cause of Clintons collapse. The poll, which WikiLeaks later deleted, looked to seasoned political eyes like a push poll, a legal but unethical practice of writing a poll not to measure public opinion but to sway voters with loaded or manipulative questions that help to spread negative rumors.

For months, various conservative cable TV and Internet conspiracy theorists have been alleging that the former first lady has Parkinsons disease, epilepsy or dementia, which she is covering up with the help of a lookalike stand-in and a Secret Service agent who actually is a doctor and a hypnotist.

Like most conspiracy theories, all of this is going to make a really cool horror movie someday, but it has no basis in the real world.

More troubling for Clintons supporters is the behavior pattern of which her pneumonia cover-up is only the latest example. David Axelrod, director of the University of Chicagos Institute of Politics, captured it well in a tweet: Antibiotics can take care of pneumonia. Whats the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems?

Axelrod, who helped President Barack Obama beat Clinton to the Democratic nomination in 2008, understands how Team Clinton has plenty of right-wing critics and conspiracies to be paranoid about. But thats an excellent reason to be more transparent, not less.

Unfortunately, transparency is the opposite reflex to what Clinton has been inclined to do. Clinton aides who derided reporters health questions were admitting Sunday that they should have let the world in on her health problems sooner.

Ironically, Clinton, once a young staffer on the House Judiciary Committee that was weighing President Richard Nixons possible impeachment, has taken on a Nixonian tendency toward self-destructive obsessions with privacy.

Although her critics try to call her lazy when she doesnt do enough and a workaholic when she does a lot, one has to admire her stamina, which has been challenged by Trump in his characteristic schoolyard bully fashion.

Yet one has to wonder how much her illness had to do with her other big stumble of the weekend. On Friday she said at a fundraiser that half of Trumps supporters belonged in a basket of deplorables that were racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic  you name it.

She was talking about the white nationalist and alt-right faction of Trumps supporters to which Trump has given little objection and a bonanza of publicity. Although she later retracted one crucial word, half, from her statement, she pointed out that many Trump supporters feel the government has let them down, adding, Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.

Nice try. Clinton obviously was trying to separate the rights racist-sexist factions from the persuadable mainstream. Trump countered by treating Clintons critique as hatred in her heart for . . . working-class Americans.

Its hard to say that Clintons illness led to her less-than-artful statement, which reopened charges that shes too aloof about ordinary Americans. But it would be even harder to argue that it helped her.

Clinton did catch a break on the health question thanks to the shortcomings of her opponent. Trump has been almost as reluctant to release his medical records as he has been about releasing his tax returns.

Compared to him on both issues, Clinton has been a model of candor and accountability.

Physical health is a legitimate issue as we voters judge candidates. But for reliable information we turn to the candidates and their doctors, not to rumor mills.
Heavy rains brought flash flooding to parts of northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa on Thursday night.

The rainfall rate was intense, and some areas got 6 inches or more of rain.

Stanton County was among those heavily hit, recording 2.25 inches of rain in 45 minutes in one locale, and 6.25 inches of rain at another  with more storms to come.

A segment of Highway 32 near Highway 15 in Stanton County flooded and was to be closed late Thursday. Water on the highway was 6 inches deep and rising, Stanton County Emergency Manager Sanford Goshorn said. I have numerous reports of farmers that have had over 5 inches of rain, he said.

Its just running out, he said of the water. Theres nothing we can do.

Goshorn spoke by telephone from the emergency operations center, where he was taking flooding reports and nibbling on crackers and cheese for supper. The rain was continuing at full force.

In Tekamah and Beemer, standing water covered some roads.

In Cuming County, deputies were directing traffic around flooded areas on U.S. Highway 275 late Thursday night. But as of 10 p.m., no flooding in homes had been reported, according to the county dispatch center.

Portions of Washington County received golf ball- and ping pong ball-sized hail.

Tornado sirens sounded in Douglas County on Thursday afternoon as a line of storms moved across the northern metro area. No tornadoes occurred, but the sirens triggered safety precautions.

The warning for Douglas County was issued about 4:40 p.m. and lifted shortly after 5 p.m.

Students and staff who were still at Omaha Public Schools were directed to seek shelter in their buildings until the warning was lifted.

OPS bus drivers were instructed to pull over, get to shelter immediately and not allow students to get off at stops. Once the warning was lifted, the buses were able to continue on their routes.

World-Herald staff writer Andrew J. Nelson contributed to this report.
Assassination of Hindus plot: 13 Lashkar men convicted

Bengaluru

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Sept 15: A special court today convicted 13 persons in connection with the assassination plot or the Lashkar-e-Tayiba conspiracy case. The National Investigation Agency had chargesheeted 14 persons in this case after it was found that they were involved in a plot that aimed at killing prominent Hindu leaders from Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra.

Out of the 14 persons 13 have been convicted. One accused Zakir has been shown as an absconded. The quantum of the sentence will be pronounced by the court tomorrow. All persons were convicted under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The case was first registered by the City Crime Branch, Bengaluru. It was stated that the banned terrorist organisation, Lashkar-e-Tayiba had hatched a conspiracy and target important personalities from the Hindu community in Bengaluru and Hubbali. During the course of the probe the ambit widened and the police found that several leaders from Maharashtra and Telangana too were on the radar of the accused persons.

The probe also found that these persons were also planning to target a well known columnist of a newspaper. Investigations also revealed that they were in touch with several persons from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and the intention was to wage a war against the government of India. The NIA states that the conspiracy was originally hatched in Riyadh and it was decided that Hindu leaders, journalists, politicians and police personnel from Bengaluru, Hubbali, Nanded and Hyderabad would be targeted.

OneIndia News
Why does ISIS refer to Indian Muslims as the 'Hindi Miskeens'?

Feature

oi-Vicky

We have heard of the stories of how Indian Muslims joining the ISIS in the so-called Caliphate have ended up cleaning toilets. To add to their misery, they are tricked into becoming suicide bombers as Indian Muslims are considered not good enough to fight.

Amidst so much insult here is another terminology that the ISIS has for the their recruits from India- Hindi Miskeen.

The term Miskeen is something that the Saudis use for Muslims from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines and Indonesia. This has been picked up by the ISIS who refer to Indians in their camps as the Hindi Miskeens.

The word Miskeen found in the Quran means someone who is completely down and out. In Hebrew, the word means poor. It is derived out of the Arabic word skn which means one who has lost all movement. In Urdu the word saakin means static, the one who cannot move.

A false dream

The story of Areeb Majeed, the youth from Kalyan who joined the ISIS only to return in panic after he was told to clean toilets and was ill-treated could be a case study why the Indian Muslims should avoid the ISIS.

Going through various investigation reports and intelligence bureau files both from India and abroad, it is clear that the ISIS does not have even an iota of respect for the Indian Muslim.

All Indians who reach the so-called Caliphate in Syria or Iraq are greeted with, "welcome Hindi Miskeen," before they are taken away to the Hind camps (A camp for Indians).

For the ISIS, the Arab and the fighters from the West are superior and they are the ones who are given battle duty or even can be part of the ISIS police force. The Europeans are referred to as rafiq which means friends.

The Arabs are referred to as Ummah, which broadly means all Muslims are one nation. Most Indian Muslims have landed up with the ISIS while chasing a false dream. They are made to believe that they are entering the Caliphate and will become true Muslims if they join the ISIS.

However on reaching there, they realise that the story is something else.

At first Indian Muslims are given menial jobs to perform. These would include cleaning, cooking and in the case of women, prostitution.

While allowing these people to pose with guns and upload photographs on the internet so that it generates an interest for possible recruits, the ISIS does make it clear that they will not be allowed on the battle field. No training is even imparted to them

However, in the case of the six Indian recruits who have died, it has been found that all of them were cheated. They were asked to step into an explosives laden vehicle and told to deliver it at a particular point.

They were further told to park the vehicle in a crowded area where a contact would pick up the explosives. On reaching the destination, they would call the contact and the vehicle would explode as the bombs are triggered off through the cell phone.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 11:51 [IST]
India's steel industry now 2nd biggest, target is to double crude steel output in 10 years: PM Modi

Fact Check: Rishi Sunak never said India needs a PM like Manmohan Singh

From being a victim of terrorism to exploring global solutions: India praised at UN's Counter Terrorism meet

26/11 trial: India suggests ways to expedite trial

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Sep 15: With the 26/11 trial continuing to drag, India has suggested ways to Pakistan to expedite the trial of perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a senior official said on Thursday.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar has written to his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Chaudhry to expedite the trial, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup at a media briefing here.

"As you know, the Mumbai terror attack trial in Pakistan has not progressed expeditiously although it will soon be eight years since the dastardly attack," Swarup said.

"In order to bring the guilty to book, our Foreign Secretary has recently written to his counterpart in Pakistan suggesting ways in which the trial could be expedited by cooperation through the legal channel," he said.

He was responding to reports of the acquittal in a Pakistani court of a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist involved in the horrific attacks.

Want to see accountability and justice in 26/11 attacks: US

At least 166 people were killed when 10 members of the LeT carried out a series of shootings and bombings in Mumbai across four days starting from November 26, 2008.

While nine of the terrorists were killed during the attacks itself, the 10th, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive, prosecuted and subsequently executed in November 2012.

In April last year, a Pakistani court granted bail to the attacks' foremost leader, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Jaishankar's letter, dated September 6, was handed over to Chaudhry on September 9, according to Swarup.

IANS


Cauvery issue: None can protest against court verdicts, SC tells Karnataka, TN

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Sep 15: The Supreme Court reminded both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu that it is the sacred duty of the state to ensure that no agitation, damage or destruction to property takes place.

The observations were made by the Supreme Court which is hearing a petition that sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to improve the law and order situation in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Earlier in the day, Justice C Nagappan recused himself from hearing the petition following which the matter was posted before a new Bench. [Cauvery Row: Security increased in Srirampura, Okalipuram, Shivajinagar and Prakashnagar]

The Supreme Court said that no one is permitted to protest against a court order. We hope that wisdom prevails on both the states and peace is maintained.

Further Bench also said that both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should be ready with answers when the court hears the matter on September 20. [Cauvery row: How Bengaluru coped with curfew]

The Supreme Court has posted for September 20 hearing a petition by Karnataka which said it cannot release more water to Tamil Nadu. On the last date of hearing while directing the release of water, the matter had been adjourned to 20th of September.

The Bench sought to know why both the states were unable to control the situation. There were protests both in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the court sought to know why the mobs could not be controlled.

The court once again reiterated that strikes, bandhs or agitations cannot take place against the order of this court.

The petitioner said in the aftermath of the Cauvery Waters interim order both states have witnessed violence and the situation is likely to worsen if the court does not intervene.

The situation is already volatile and hence the court must step in and issue directions to ensure that law and order is maintained. Further, the petitioner also seeks the court's direction to both states to act against all those persons who have indulged in violence.

OneIndia News
SC notice to Centre on plea against supply of electoral roll to candidates

Centre disposes record 93,000 public grievances in one month

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 15: A record over 93,000 public grievances against various government departments have been disposed off by the Centre within a month's time.

A total of 1,00,903 grievances were received in August alone and of these 93,379--or 93 per cent--have been resolved, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh said today. "We have resolved the highest number of grievances.

The government's efforts is to minimise the pendency and to ensure quick disposal of complaints from the citizens," he told PTI.

Singh said the number of grievances being received had multiplied in the last two years, thus depicting the faith of citizens in the redressal mechanism of the central government. A total of 8,81,132 public grievances were received last year as against 2,70,255 in 2014.

During 2012, a total of 1,76,126 such grievances were received as against 2,09,637 in 2013, according to an official data.

As part of a new practice started by the government, the Minister makes telephone calls, randomly, to different complainants for a reality check and verification of grievance redressal as well as to receive their feedback.

Singh said that he has asked all the departments to ensure that public grievances are resolved within a maximum of two months time.

People can raise their complaints at Centralised Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal-- aimed at providing the citizens with a platform for redressal of their grievances.

The complaints received on this platform are redressed by the ministry, department or state government concerned.

PTI
This is 21st century, where have we reached in name of religion: SC on hate speeches

Close down family planning sterilisation camps, SC tells government

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Sep 14: The supreme Court on Wednesday asked the central government to persuade the states to halt the holding of sterilisation camps with well-equipped primary health care centres taking over the role.

The court also asked the central government to take a decision by December 31, whether it would like to frame a National Health Policy or not.

"The Union of India should make efforts to ensure that sterilisation camps are discontinued as early as possible but in any case within the time frame (of three years) already fixed," said a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit in their judgment.

Calling for a decision on the National Health Policy, the court said: "We have already expressed our sadness at the fact that the National Health Policy has not yet been finalized despite the passage of more than one and a half years."

Besides calling for a halt to the sterilisation camps, the court said that there should not be any targets for the implementation of the sterilisation programme.

"Although the Union of India has stated that no targets have been fixed for the implementation of the sterilization program, it appears that there is an informal system of fixing targets," said Justice Lokur speaking for the bench.

"We leave it to the good sense of the each state government and union territory to ensure that such targets are not fixed so that health workers and others do not compel persons to undergo what would amount to a forced or non-consensual sterilisation merely to achieve the target."

Pointing to the policy imperative of increasing the proportion of male sterilisation from existing five per cent to 30 per cent, the court said: "Coercive methods are not justified and are not even effective in meeting the goals of population control. Improved access, education and empowerment should be the aim.

Woman gets pregnant after sterilisation operation, doctor fined in UP

"The right to health is an integral part of the right to life does not need any repetition."

Referring to 363 deaths that have taken place due to sterilisation procedures during 2010-2013, the court said that discontinuation of sterilisation camps would "necessitate simultaneous strengthening of the Primary Health Care centres across the country both in terms of infrastructure and otherwise so that health care is made available to all persons".

Stressing that the significance of well-equipped PHCs across the country "certainly cannot be over-emphasised", the court said: "We direct the Union of India to pay attention to this as well, since it is absolutely important that all citizens of our country have access to primary health care."

Referring to the submission of the central government in the course of the hearing that as a matter of public health issue, sterilisation programme was the responsibility of the states, the court said that it could not pass the buck of its failure of giving national campaign for population control and family planning the importance it deserved.

"It is rather unfortunate that the Union of India is now treating the sterilisation program as a public health issue and making it the concern of the state government. This is simply not permissible and appears to be a case of passing the buck," the court said.

"This game of passing the parcel and treating a national program as a public health issue has to stop and somebody must take ownership of the Population Control and Family Planning programme."

The verdict came on a PIL by a health rights activist Devika Biswas who had sought the court's intervention following spate of botched-up sterilisation camps that were conducted across the states - from Bihar to Chhattisgarh - resulting in loss of precious human lives.

IANS


Focus on self-care, home isolation says Ayush Ministry in fresh guidelines

Ayush ministry all set to launch portal to document alternate therapy outcomes

Government, US cancer institute discusses using traditional medicine

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 14 The Ministry of AYUSH today held talks with US-based National Cancer Institute (NIC) for cooperation in the use of traditional medicines in cancer cure.

Secretary AYUSH, Ajit M Sharan, along with other senior ministry officials met Dr Edward Trimble of the NIC and discussed work plan and modalities for co-operation in use of traditional medicine.

Cancer research was the primary focus of the talks. While we want plants with cancer curative properties to get a global acceptance.

The United States is also interested in procuring scientific leads on our traditional medicines and thereafter establish the science behind their treatment power.

"Once the US approves these medicines you can imagine the global acceptance these treatments will get," Joint Director Anil Ganeriwal said.

India will shortlist its research studies on treatment of cancer using ayurveda and unani systems of medicine.

These will be then shared with NIC by December.

PTI
ED is 'completely independent' in what it does: Nirmala Sitharaman

Had no conversation on devaluation of any currency: Nirmala Sitharaman

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said she did not make any comment on devaluation of the Indian rupee.

"I had no conversation on devaluation of any currency with any news correspondent," Commerce and Industry Minister Sitharaman said in a tweet.

"Any quotes/mentions referring to me on this topic baseless."

The Indian rupee had weakened after a media report claimed that the Commerce Ministry planned to propose a round of rupee devaluation to shore-up dwindling exports.

However, the Indian rupee pared its losses after the government denied any plans of devaluation. Currency market observers pointed out that intervention by the country's central bank might have also resulted in rupee paring its early losses.

The news report on the proposed devaluation had dragged the Indian rupee to 67.07 against a US dollar. It traded at 66.98 to a greenback at 2.30 p.m.

On Wednesday, the rupee had strengthened by two paise to 66.90 against a US dollar from its previous close of 66.92 to a greenback on Monday.

"Dollar/Rupee made a sharp U-turn mid-day as rumours of 'policy driven' devaluation made rounds in media outlets," Anindya Banerjee, Associate Vice President for Currency Derivatives with Kotak Securities, told IANS.

"We find little substance in the news as rupee remains a market-driven exchange rate, and unlike currencies which are pegged, like Chinese Yuan, it is not easy to devalue or appreciate a currency as per the whims and fancies of the policy-makers."

IANS
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Why is BJP not bringing Uniform Civil Code across the country: Kejriwal in Gujarat

HC seeks Gujarat government reply on plea to hike mid-day meal budget

India

oi-PTI

Ahmedabad, Sept 14 The Gujarat High Court today sought the state government's reply on a petition seeking hike in the budgetary allocation of mid-day meal scheme from the existing Rs 4.17 per child per day.

A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi today asked the government pleader to submit the reply on the matter during the next hearing scheduled on September 21.

Petitioner K R Koshti filed a civil application in connection with his PIL that he had filed in January alleging non-implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013 in the state, even as the state later (in April) implemented the Act as 'Maa Annanpurna' scheme.

In the application, Koshti said that Rs 4.17 per child budget under mid-day meal scheme should be revised and hiked considering that the money was not enough to cover food requirements of a beneficiary in the light of increased cost of food items.

He contended that the Supreme Court had recommended eggs and milk be given at least three times a week under the scheme, but under the existing allocation it is not possible to cover this.

He also sought the court's direction to the government not to hand over the operations of the mid-day meal scheme to NGOs, saying that the state alone should be responsible for its implementation.

PTI
In two separate firing incidents, two men injured in Thane

Maha gazetted officers plan stir from Sep 20

India

oi-PTI

Thane, Sep 14: Around 1.26 lakh government gazetted officers will launch a two-stage agitation next week to press for their demands including stern action against those who target officers while discharging their duty.

"The officers across the state will put on black ribbons on September 20, 21 and 22. On September 22, they will also resort to 'pen down' strike despite sporting black ribbons," said 'Maharashtra Rajya Rajpatrit Adhikari Mahasangh' general secretary Samir Bhatkar.

He alleged that several instances of attack on officers had taken places since 2011.

PTI
Tamil Nadu bandh over Cauvery issue today: All you need to know

Cauvery row: Motorists dropped number plates to escape violence

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Bengaluru, Sep 15: Motorists with vehicles registered in Karnataka took off their number plates while driving through or entering Tamil Nadu during the Cauvery riots, a Bengaluru resident said on Thursday.

A company executive based here was caught up in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu during the violence in both states and spent a night in a hotel in the city to escape mobs targeting vehicles with Karnataka (KA) number plates.

Widespread violence had broken out in the capital and southern Karnataka on Monday over the apex court order to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, with angry Kannadiga protesters torching over 30 buses of a Tamil-owned bus depot in Bengaluru.

A few hundred protesters entered the bus depot and reportedly manhandled the drivers and other employees there.

Hotel staff in Coimbatore had advised the executive to park his vehicle underground to escape notice.

"As I finally left Coimbatore for Bengaluru, I was stopped by Tamil Nadu police personnel who warned that they could not guarantee safety to my car because of the Karnataka number plate," the executive told IANS asking not to be named.

Read More: Cauvery row: Now bandh in TN, Siddaramaiah writes to Jaya to safeguard Kannadigas

"I kept driving... As I reached Salem, another group of Tamil Nadu policemen told me to remove the KA number plate. I did that, only to find that numerous vehicles were plying similarly without number plates.

"Clearly, all of them were from Karnataka, either on their way out of or had just entered Tamil Nadu, and had been given the same instruction," the executive said.

When mobs in Karnataka attacked vehicles with Tamil Nadu (TN) number plates during the Cauvery row, there was counter violence in Tamil Nadu where Karnataka (KA) vehicles were targeted.

Violence had erupted after a group of unidentified assailants attacked the New Woodlands Hotel, owned by a Kannadiga, in Mylapore in Chennai.

In Karnataka, the violence started soon after the Supreme Court ordered the state to release 12,000 cusecs of the river water daily till September 20, modifying its earlier order to release 15,000 cusecs.

Angry protesters in Bengaluru took to streets and initially targetted trucks bearing Tamil Nadu registration numbers and also attacked hotels and shops in localities where more Tamils reside across the city.

As per the 2011 census, around 2.5 million of the 10-million people in the city are Tamils, constituting the second largest community after Kannadigas.

Vehicular traffic on the busy 150 km Bengaluru-Mysuru state highway had came to a standstill as hundreds staged demonstrations at Ramanagaram, Kengeri, Mandya and Srirangapatna against the court order. Violence began subsiding on Tuesday after curfew was imposed.

According to the executive, some motorists managed to procure Kerala (KL) number plates from wayside shops to give their vehicles a sense of "neutrality" in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

"This could have happened only in India," he said, after reaching Bengaluru. "Where else would police tell motorists to drive without number plates?"

IANS
NSG membership priority for India: MEA

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 15: Noting that NSG membership is a priority, India today said there should not be any differences between it and China on issues such as development and clean energy, a day after Beijing said it is yet to form a position on the accession of any specific non-NPT country into the elite nuclear club.

"The two sides have had a substantive and pragmatic exchange on the issue of NSG membership, which is a priority for India because of our plans for civil nuclear energy.

"On certain issues such as development and clean energy, there should not be differences between the two sides," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said at his weekly briefing here.

China and India this week discussed issues of mutual interest in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation with a focus on India's entry into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

He added that the two countries have agreed that both sides should approach these issues with mutual sensitivity to each others' concerns and priorities. "The exchange was useful in enhancing understanding of each other's perspective and will be continued," he said.

Swarup said the two sides were also of the view that a process has been set in motion after the Seoul NSG plenary on the issue of membership and they should support this process.

India, China discuss NSG membership, disarmament issues

"This can demonstrate to the whole world that India and China approach such issues with strategic maturity and are working together to narrow and resolve any difference of view. This is urgent and timely," he said. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told media in Beijing yesterday that India and China are "yet to agree on accession of any specific member into the group".

She said this referring to Tuesday's first round of talks between the two countries on India's admission into NSG, which controls global nuclear commerce. The talks came nearly two-and-a-half months after China scuttled India's NSG membership bid.

Asked about China's argument that energy issue is no longer a bilateral matter between it and India, Swarup said on issues such as development and clean energy or terrorism for that matter, given the positions that have been taken, there is a strong bilateral dimension.

"That is why we had this dialogue. The understanding of the two sides is that this is both a bilateral and a multilateral issue. There is no contradiction," he said. In the June Plenary of NSG in Seoul, despite strong American support, China stonewalled India's bid to join the group on the grounds that it was a not a signatory to the NPT.

PTI
People already getting 5Gs of 'garibi', 'ghotala', 'ghapla', 'ghalmel', 'gorakhdhanda under BJP: Akhilesh

Ram Gopal meets Akhilesh Yadav but no breakthrough

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, Sep 15 The crisis in Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party continued on Thursday with General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav failing to persuade Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to call a truce with Shivpal Yadav, his uncle and another party leader.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had asked Ram Gopal Yadav to bring about a truce between his son Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav.

Emerging after a 50-minute meeting with Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav said he was hopeful that a solution to the leadership crisis in the party would come about soon.

Saying "Netaji" -- Mulayam Singh -- was the final authority in the party and family matters, Ram Gopal Yadav also ruled out any discontent or anger in the state's first family.

Like the Chief Minister earlier, he too hinted that an "outsider" was behind the crisis that has rattled the Samajwadi Party ahead of assembly elections early next year.

Asked if he was referring to Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh, he said: "The world knows who the man is."

He also suggested that Amar Singh was the person who got Shivpal Yadav appointed as "in-charge" of the state some months ago in a bid to destabilise the Chief Minister.

"A man is out to destroy the party and he is taking undue advantage of the simplicity of Netaji," Ram Gopal Yadav said.

Clearly tilting in favour of Akhilesh Yadav, he said it would have been better had the Chief Minister been informed of his removal from the state Samajwadi Party chief's post.

"I tried to put across this point to Netaji but I was told to issue the orders immediately. That triggered a chain reaction."

Ram Gopal Yadav also seemed to justify the Chief Minister's tit-for-tat decision to divest Shivpal Yadav of plum portfolios, saying "every action has a reaction".

Asked about a possible timeline when the crisis will be resolved, Ram Gopal Yadav said "soon" as there would be talks between Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Chief Minister. "Things will be sorted out."

But he refused to reveal what transpired between him and Akhilesh Yadav, saying he would first brief Mulayam Singh.

Meanwhile, Shivpal Singh Yadav returned from New Delhi to Lucknow on Thursday to a rousing welcome by hundreds of supporters at the Chaudhary Charan Singh airport.

Asked to comment on the power struggle in the party, he said he had nothing to say but he would "work dedicatedly to uphold the responsibility given to him by Netaji".

His son Aditya Yadav, who had accompanied his father to New Delhi, said the post of state president of the ruling party was a major responsibility that Shivpal Yadav would discharge to the best of his abilities.

A power struggle erupted in the state on Tueday when the Chief Minister removed Chief Secretary Deepak Singhal, considered close to Shivpal Yadav.

Soon after, Mulayam Sinngh Yadav removed Akhilesh Yadav as the state Smajawadi Party chief.

Akhilesh Yadav hit back within hours and took away the key portfolios allocated to Shivpal Yadav.

IANS
Bihar: When asked to take off hijab to check for bluetooth device, Muslim student leaves exam centre

Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Bihar's Gopalganj by-poll to see a tough fight between BJP and RJD

Religious riots down in 2015, but other riots rise

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Religious tension in Ballabhgarh, Haryana, when 150 Muslims sought refuge in a police station; clashes between Hindus and Muslims during Ganesh festival processions in Belgaum, Karnataka; and riots over the birth anniversary celebrations of medieval ruler Tipu Sultan in Madikeri, Karnataka, represented Indias religious volatility in 2015.

However, communal rioting cases in the country declined by a third, from 1,227 in 2014 -- the year that Narendra Modi was voted Prime Minister -- to 789 in 2015, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

About 40 per cent fewer Indians died or were injured -- called "victims" in NCRB terminology -- in 2015 (1,174) than in 2014 (2,001).

Haryana, India's 17th largest state by population, reported the most (201) communal rioting cases in 2015, with 200 dead or injured, followed by Karnataka (163 cases, 203 victims), Maharashtra (80 cases, 104 victims) and Bihar (79 cases, 146 victims).

In Haryana, the rate of riots remained unchanged at 7.5 rioting cases per million population. Karnataka reported an increase in riot incidence, from 0.6 rioting cases per million to 2.6 rioting cases per million, while the cases quadrupled, from 38 in 2014 to 163 in 2015.

Kerala had more "political riots" than any other state, with more than half of India's cases.

Jharkhand reduced its rate of riots, from 10 rioting cases per million to two per million. The overwhelmingly tribal state became five times more communally peaceful in 2015 compared to 2014 -- when assembly elections were conducted -- with communal rioting cases dropping 80 per cent from 349 to 68.

Thirty-five years after rioting cases in India peaked at 160 per million in 1980, the country witnessed a relatively peaceful decade with respect to communal violence, especially in the period 2003-2012, when riot rate dropped to 50 cases per million.

The incidence of riots has increased over the last three years to 60 cases per million, or 20 per cent more frequent compared to the last decade.

Rioting cases increased 251 per cent over six decades, from 20,529 in 1953 to 76,131 in 2015 -- the highest ever. For 2014 and 2015, we have included in "riots" crimes listed under "unlawful assembly" because they were clubbed together in previous years.

Of 76,131 rioting cases registered in 2015, 65,255 were filed under sections 147 to 153 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), meaning offences relating to riots, while 10,876 cases were filed under sections 141 and 142 of the IPC, meaning offences relating to unlawful assembly. As many as 74,633 cases in 2012 and 72,126 in 2013 were registered under riots and unlawful assembly.

Cases filed only under "riots" have decreased between 2014 and 2015, while those relating to "unlawful assembly" have increased.

Mass unrest nationwide in 2015 by dominant caste groups -- Patels in Gujarat and Jats in Haryana -- likely resulted in the high cases of "unlawful assembly".

In absolute terms, Bihar had more riots than any other state with 13,311 cases registered in 2015, followed by Maharashtra (8,336), Uttar Pradesh (6,813), Karnataka (6,602).

The assembly elections in Bihar in 2015, and the parting of ways of the 25-year-old coalition of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) resulted in a rise in riots in the Hindi heartland state over three years from 2013, the Indian Express reported in August 2015.

Kerala had 164 rioting cases per million population -- the country's highest rate -- followed by Bihar (129) and Karnataka (126).

While Jharkhand reported eight caste-based rioting cases per million population, Tamil Nadu reported six.

Bihar reported more "agrarian riots" cases than any other state, (1,156), or 43 per cent of cases in the country.

IANS/IndiaSpend
This is 21st century, where have we reached in name of religion: SC on hate speeches

SC sets aside death sentence of Kerala man in 2011 rape-murder case

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the death sentence of a Kerala man accused of rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 2011, exonerating him of murder charges but said he would undergo life imprisonment for rape.

Govindaswamy had been convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court, and the sentence was confirmed by the Kerala High Court.

The apex court on Thursday set aside the death sentence for murder but upheld conviction and sentencing for rape and other charges.

Govindaswamy had raped and murdered the victim when she was travelling by train from Ernakulam to Shornur on February 1, 2011, to attend her betrothal ceremony the following day.

Govindaswamy first tried to rob her in a deserted ladies compartment, and when she resisted he assaulted her and threw her out of the moving train. He alighted from the train and brutally raped the unconscious and badly injured victim. The crime took place between Vallathol Nagar Railway Station and Shornur. She died a few days later.

"The sentence of death for commission of offence under Section 302 IPC is set aside ...," said the bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit while upholding the conviction of Govindaswamy for rape under Section 376 (Punishment for rape) IPC.

Read More: Molestation: Shocking incidents where victims could not fight back like Rohtak sisters

Speaking for the bench, Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, "We are of the view that not only the offence under Section 376 IPC was committed by the accused, the same was so committed in a most brutal and grotesque manner which would justify the imposition of life sentence as awarded by the learned trial court and confirmed by the High Court."

Upholding Govindaswamy's conviction and sentencing for rape, the bench in its judgment said, "So far as the offence under Section 376 IPC is concerned, from a consideration of the post-mortem report, DNA Profile and the evidence of (prosecution witnesses) there can be no manner of doubt that it is the accused... who had committed the said offence."

"The DNA profile... clinches the issue and makes the liability of the accused explicit, leaving no scope for any doubt or debate in the matter," the bench said.

On the question whether the man was responsible for injury caused by the fall of the woman from the moving train, the court said, unless the fall can be attributed to Govindaswamy based on "cogent and reliable evidence" the "liability of the accused for the said injury may not necessary follow".

The court said what has also to be ruled out is the possibility of the deceased herself jumping out of the train.

Discussing the evidence, the judgment said, "The fact that the deceased survived for a couple of days after the incident and eventually died in hospital would also clearly militate against any intention of the accused to cause death by the act of keeping the deceased in a supine position."

Holding that Govindaswamy could not be held liable for the injury caused by the fall of the victim, the judgment said, "We are...of the view that the offence under Section 302 IPC cannot be held to be made out against the accused so as to make him liable therefore. Rather, we are of the view that the acts of assault, etc. attributable to the accused would more appropriately attract the offence under Section 325 IPC (Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt)."

While setting aside the conviction for murder under Section 302 IPC, the court altered it with Section 325 (Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of IPC.

The top court has maintained the conviction of Govindaswamy under Section 376 (Punishment for rape), Section 394 (Voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) read with Section 397 (Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), and Section 447 (Punishment for criminal trespass) of IPC.

All the sentences imposed shall run concurrently, the bench said.

IANS
SC dismisses survivor's plea to change trial court in assault case against actor Dileep

This is 21st century, where have we reached in name of religion: SC on hate speeches

SC notice to Centre on plea against supply of electoral roll to candidates

Special anti-corruption courts in every district: SC to take up plea next week

News flash: Petrol price go up; diesel price decreases

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Sept 15: Supreme Court to hear plea on the ongoing protests against the court's verdict on the Cauvery water sharing dispute. Meanwhile, State visit of Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India to begin today.

Get all the latest news updates of the day:

12.00: Supporters gather outside Shivpal Yadav's residence after he gave his resignation.

11.45 pm: This is political drama, which is affecting the state's development: BJP on Shivpal Yadav's resignation

11.30 pm: Petrol price increases by Rs. 0.58/litre; diesel price decreases by Rs. 0.31/litre.

11.15 pm: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav rejects Shivpal Yadav's resignation.

11.00 pm: SP parliamentary board meeting will resolve the issues;Akhileshji & Shivpalji will start working together:R Mehrotra

10.58 pm: 7.87 Billion euro Rafale deal to be signed on September 23.

10.35 pm: Shivpal Yadav resigns from the UP government, quits as SP state unit president.

9.50 pm: Want to thank PM Modi, EAM Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu: T Gopalkrishna's elder brother.

9.30 pm: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav reaches to meet SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav in Lucknow.

9.00 pm: At least 6 dead, 22 injured after a state transport bus rammed into a stationary truck in Godhra.

Gujarat: 6 dead, 22 injured after a state transport bus rammed into a stationary truck in Godhra. (Earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/4QMGYqtXXe  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

8.30 pm: Bollywood stars Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor push media persons at Ganesh visarjan in Mumbai.

8.00 pm: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan participates in Ganpati visarjan in Bhopal.

7.50 pm: Shivpal Yadav met UP CM Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, meeting got over in 15 minutes.

7.40 pm: India-Nepla relation:We want to have relationship based on trust, says Nepal Foreign Affairs Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat

7.32 pm: Visiting Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal meets Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Delhi today.

7:28 pm: Law will take its course, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Shahabuddin issue.

7:17 pm: People's problem is secondary to AAP government, their political motive is much more important: Arvinder Singh Lovely, Congress.

7:10 pm: We still believe that he is alive: Wife of Muthukrishnan (Coast Guard officer onboard missing IAF AN-32).

6:56 pm: Entire state is peaceful; life has come to normal in Bengaluru. No incidents reported in other parts of state: K'taka HM G. Parameshwara.

6:50 pm: 10yr old girl dies after a rod accidently fell on her at a construction site at Attari Border where she had come to witness retreat ceremony.

6:40 pm: Delhi: Finance Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth meets PM Narendra Modi.

6.28 pm: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis immerses Ganpati Idol in an artificial pond to create environmental awareness.

6.16 pm: Indian Coast Guard chopper conducts aerial surveillance over Girgaum beach where immersion activity takes place.

6.10 pm: CBI arrests a Sub-Inspector, Railway Protection Force (RPF), Jakhal (Haryana) along with a private person in a bribery case of Rs.10,000.

6.00 pm: It is an unfortunate and sad incident, says BSF on death of a girl at Attari border after rod fell on her accidentally.

5.47 pm: CBI registers a case against unknown persons in Siwan journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case.

5.30 pm: MCD's job is to prevent diseases like Chikungunya & Dengue and we are doing it properly: Punit Goel (SDMC Comm).

5.25 pm: Whether a govt is formed at Centre or in any state, people have expectations with them: Rajnath Singh, Home Minister.

5.10 pm: The sport should be clean and we should have the best anti doping system as it sets an example for all the kids: Rafael Nadal on doping.

5.08 pm: 10 kg IED recovered from Pankhajur area of Chhattisgarh, it was later defused.

5.05 pm: Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni to play against Feliciano Lopez & Marc Lopez on second day of Davis cup in Delhi.

5.04 pm: If Pak is serious about expediting Mumbai terror attack trial then they'll follow our suggestions in the letter, says MEA.

5.03 pm: Chief Minister Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan takes his Ganpati idol for immersion #GanpatiVisarjan

5.02 pm: CBI has arrested two then Directors of a Kolkata based private company in an ongoing investigation relating to one of the Chit Fund Cases.

4.55 pm: There has been no reply yet: Vikas Swarup, MEA on FS's letter to his Pak counterpart dated 6th Sep.

4.49 pm: If Pak is serious about expediting Mumbai terror attack trial then they'll follow our suggestions in the letter: MEA.

4.48 pm: Will soon be 8 yrs since that dastardly attack, FS wrote to bring guilty to book, to expedite trial thru co-op through legal channels: MEA.

4.47 pm: Foreign Secy recently wrote to his Pak counterpart suggesting ways to expedite Mumbai terror attack trial, letter delivered on 9th Sep: MEA.

4.43 pm: EAM Sushma Swaraj will address the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 26: MEA.

4.42 pm: Mumbai MET department issues "heavy to very heavy rain" warning for today, tomorrow & day after tomorrow in Mumbai.

4.22 pm: People can't take law onto themselves; it's obligation of authorities of both states to take preventive action, says SC on Cauvery Issue.

4.17 pm: SC says, we expect people from both states to maintain peace,harmony and above all dignity and respect for low;next hearing on Sept 20 on Cauvary issue.

4.15 pm: US 'not fulfilling' Syria agreement: Russian military.

3.45 pm: "It's duty of states to see that no agitation and damage take place," said SC on Cauvery Issue.

3.30 pm: You can experiment with Pink ball in both 20-20 & ODI's but at least leave one format of the game: Gautam Gambhir.

3.15 pm: I don't play for selection, my job is to play & score runs: Gautam Gambhir on not being selected for test team in Delhi.

3.01 pm: HM Rajnath Singh speaking at 'Shraddhanjali Sabha' of former MP Late Harikewal Prasad Kushwaha.

2.55 pm: Congress VP Rahul Gandhi pays respect to Former Uttar Pradesh CM Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna in Allahabad.

2.45 pm: Not necessary to take Mayawati's suggestion (that Mulayam should retire from politics), she should keep it with herself: Shivpal Yadav, SP

2.41 pm: On being asked if he is fine with Akhilesh being SP's UP CM face for 2017 elections, Shivpal says "I accept whatever decision netaji takes"

2.28 pm: We all have to remain united, it is election time and we have to form Govt again in 2017: Shivpal Yadav,SP

2.27 pm: In what circumstances did he (CM) take this decision, we can't raise a question mark over that: Shivpal Yadav on withdrawal of departments

2.26 pm: Decision of departments allocation is of the CM. It is his right: Shivpal,SP about withdrawal of his departments

2.25 pm: One 7.65 mm pistol, grenade and ammunition recovered from the duo that had been carrying out extortion and unlawful activities.

2.23 pm: The operation led to the apprehension of Binod Gowla who is SS Deputy C-in-C and one cadre of National Socialist Council of Adivasi.

2.23 pm: Red Horns Division carried out operations in East Karbi Anglong district of Assam along with police: Army

2.22 pm: Update: Fire at Hiranandani Tower in Kandivali is now under control.

2.19 pm: Whenever I sought an appointment with CM Akhilesh, I got it. I didnt know that I would be made state President so soon: Shivpal Yadav, SP

2.17 pm: Netaji se humesha baat hoti hai, jab chahte hain tab baat hojaati hai: Shivpal Yadav, SP

2.16 pm: And I accepted that. Netaji took that decision carefully and after consideration surely: Shivpal Yadav, SP

2.14 pm: Nobody can challenge netaji's decisions. In 2011, when I was state pres ,back then I was removed & Akhilesh was given responsibility: Shivpal

2.11 pm: If I am given a responsibility, I will work to the fullest for it: Shivpal Yadav, SP

2.10 pm: Party koi musibat mein nahin hai: Shivpal Yadav

2.09 pm: Whoever is given responsibility, whatever it be..we have to follow that: Shivpal Yadav,

2.05 pm: Nobody trapped in Hiranandani Tower fire as such, building is fully evacuated, extinguishing and search operation is on, says Fire department.

1.57 pm: 20 vehicles involved in Hiranandani Tower fire fighting ops, including fire engines, water tankers and other vehicles. No casualties as yet.

1.53 pm: 13 accused undergoing trial in the LeT Bangalore case have been convicted by the NIA special court at Bangalore today.

1.38 pm: Level II fire at 22nd floor of Hiranandani tower. 4 fire tenders, 2 ambulance & 3 water tankers reach the spot.

1.26 pm: Girgaum beach: Even as rain lashes Mumbai, people are on the streets to take their Ganpati for Visarjan.

1.25 pm: Madhya Pradesh minister Lalita Yadav suffers injuries on her shoulder after her car rammed into a wall in Sagar city.

1.16 pm: Fire breaks out at Hiranandani Tower in Kandivali West, Mumbai.

1.10 pm: A Sukhoi war plane of IAF landed at Agartala airport today to check facility of landing & takeoff during war: Official of AAI.

1.05 pm: The Railway Police says that the situation at the railway stations across Karnataka is peaceful and all trains are running as per schedule.

12.59 pm: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's Kisaan Yatra in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh).

12.38 pm: The police at Bengaluru have detained pro Kannada activist Vatal Nagraj and several other members of the Kannada Rakshana vedike.

12.31 pm: There are some people who take advantage of Netaji's simplicity, and these people dont have party's well being in mind: Ramgopal Yadav.

12.10 pm: Justice C Nagappan of ths Supreme Court has recused himself from hearing a matter seeking directions to improve law and order situation in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Justice Nagappan is from Tamil Nadu. Matter to be posted before appropriate bench.

12.00 pm: Karnataka Rakshana Vedike stage "Rail Roko" protest in Bengaluru.Vatal Nagraj & other Pro Kannada Activists detained.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike stage "Rail Roko" protest in Bengaluru.Vatal Nagraj & other Pro Kannada Activists detained pic.twitter.com/ZucHPw7Bbh  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

11.10 am: There was a minor misunderstanding, nothing else. I will meet UP CM, ask him what he meant about "bahri logh": Ram Gopal Yadav.

10.55 am: Maharashtra: People taking Ganpati idol for Visarjan in Nagpur.

Maharashtra: People taking Ganpati idol for Visarjan in Nagpur. pic.twitter.com/Ed39MElaIh  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

10.40 am: SC set aside death sentence given to convicted Govindachamy in Soumya murder case however held him guilty of rape.

9.55 am: Two Indians who were held captive in Libya last year have been rescued says Sushma Swaraj. Gopalkrishna and Balram were abducted in Libya last year.

9.33 am: Additional forces pressed into service at Mandya railway station where the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike is staging a protest. Earlier several protestors were detained.

9.15 am: 6 dead, 150 hurt after Karachi-bound Awam Express collided with a freight train near Multan (Pakistan), officials say - Geo News

8.40 am: All trains are running as per schedule. There is no cause for panic says Railway Police in Karnataka.



8.30 am: Earthquake of magnitude 5.0 hit Andaman islands at around 2:30 AM (Coordinated Universal Time), 8:00 am local time.

8.13 am: Security has been stepped up at all railway stations ahead of the rail roko protest in Karnataka. Security is particularly high at the Mandya railway station. Pro-Kannada activists have called for a rail roko to protest the Supreme Court's verdict which ordered the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Security deployed at Mandya Station as "Rail Roko" protest by K'taka Rakshana Vedike is expected #CauveryProtests pic.twitter.com/DhxgrSmvqc  ANI (@ANI_news) September 15, 2016

8.00 am: Supreme Court to hear plea on the ongoing protests against the court's verdict on the Cauvery water sharing dispute.

OneIndia News
In India terror down by 34%, civilian deaths by 90% since Art 370 scrapped: Shah

Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh

Tension in Rajouri after assault for slaughtering camel

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Jammu, Sep 14: Tension gripped Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday as some members of the Muslim community were beaten up by unidentified assailants for slaughtering a camel on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, officials said.

Reports here said that the incident occurred in the Palma village of Rajouri in Jammu region when the Muslim men slaughtered the camel on Eid day on Tuesday.

As news of the assault spread in the Muslim-majority district, tension gripped the area and police was deployed to prevent any untoward incident, officials said.

IANS


My life is 1%, dear death: The spooky diary of the accused in J&K DGPs killing

Victims' family to challenge Shahabuddin's bail in SC today

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 15: Chandrakeshwar Prasad of Siwan, whose three of four sons were murdered allegedly by gangster- turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, would tomorrow file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging Patna High Court's order granting bail to the former RJD MP.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan's office said they were giving final shape to the petition in which they are challenging how bail can be given to a "history sheeter".

"We are filing the appeal tomorrow on behalf of victims' father Chandrakeshwar Prasad alias Chandra Babu. We are on way to give final shape to the appeal and it will be filed tomorrow in which several grounds are taken.

"We will be challenging how bail has been given to a person who is a history sheeter. Facts are being verified about the number of cases etc and convictions that have taken place against him," advocate Rohit Singh from Bhushan's office said.

Shahabuddin, who was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 7, was released from Bhagalpur jail on September 10. He was in jail for 11 years in connection with dozens of cases against him.

Controversial RJD strongman Shahabuddin was granted bail in the 2014 murder case of Rajiv Roshan, son of Chandrakeshwar Prasad.

Roshan was a witness to the murder of his brothers Gitish and Satish, who were drenched with acid in 2004. The trial for Roshan's murder is yet to start.

Meanwhile, facing flak over Shahabuddin's release from jail, the Bihar government is also reportedly considering filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the bail granted to him.

"This has been an established process followed by Nitish Kumar government in the past 11 years that if the state is not satisfied with the bail of somebody, it goes in appeal in higher court," JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok said, adding that "it has been done in the past and would be followed in the present case of Shahabuddin too.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 12:41 [IST]
Second time lucky? AAP conducts Punjab-like 'Who should be CM' survey in Gujarat

Vande Bharat Express rams into cattle near Atul station in Gujarat, third incident this month

PM Modi to dedicate 2 key rail lines in Gujarat to nation Monday

Why is BJP not bringing Uniform Civil Code across the country: Kejriwal in Gujarat

Will ensure 7 lakh people download 'Namo App': Gujarat BJP chief

India

oi-PTI

Vadodara, Sep 14 The Gujarat BJP will ensure that at-least seven lakh people download the 'Namo App', a party office bearer said today.

"This will be gift from the BJP unit in Gujarat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 67th birthday on September 17," Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said after addressing party workers here.

"The state unit of the party will ensure that at-least 7 lakh people download the 'Namo App'," he added.

Meanwhile, the party's state unit has organised week-long programmes including cleanliness drives to celebrate Modi's birthday. MP Ranjanben Bhatt and mayor Bharat Dangar were also present on the occasion.

PTI
TRS, BJP are two sides of same coin: Rahul Gandhi in Telangana

Amit Malviya alleges criminal conspiracy by The Wire, says will lodge police complaint

Delhi Police files FIR against The Wire on complaint by Amit Malviya

Women neglected during Congress rule in India: BJP Mahila Morcha

India

oi-PTI

Jammu, Sep 14 BJP today accused Congress of neglecting women during its rule.

Addressing a one-day Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha Working Committee Meeting here, its president Vijaya Rahatkar claimed only BJP has been concerned about the social and economic upliftment of women.

"Narendra Modi after becoming the Prime Minister launched a number of welfare schemes with an objective of making women self dependent and make her lead a dignified life in the society," she said.

She highlighted several initiaves of Modi Government like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Mudra Bank, Kanya Samridi Yojana, formulation of national women policy, passing of Bill on maternity leave for the empowerment of women.

Rahatkar said Jammu and Kashmir is the land of sacrifices and every nationalist feels pride in getting associated with work which is undertaken here.

State BJP President and MLA Sat Sharma said BJP has given 33 per cent reservation to women in its organisational setup and is committed to ensure that they get due representation in decision making bodies like Parliament and state Assembly.

He said the coalition government in the state has also launched exclusive schemes for women like Ladli Beti, Scooty Scheme and Marriage Assistance Scheme similar to Central government initiaves.

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh lauded the contribution of women activists in giving the party strength in all three regions of the state.

"We claim that we are a party with difference because it is neither caste or region-based nor run by a family," he said, stressing the welfare schemes launched by the Centre and the state governments need to be popularised among the people.

State Education Minister Priya Sethi elaborated on the welfare schemes being launched for women by the state government and claimed that for the first time due care has been taken for women while formulating new projects.

PTI
Video: Why Chinas former president was escorted out from stage

China set for another giant leap into space with launch of space lab tonight

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

China will take another giant step into space on Thursday night, with the launch of its second space laboratory, Tiangong-2, into low-earth orbit from its Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert in the country's northwestern region.

You can watch the live webcast, starting 7.30 pm IST, here: http://www.cctv-america.com/2016/09/14/countdown-to-tiangong-2

The Tiangong-2 is the second of a series of three launches that began in 2011, with the Tiangong-1, that will culminate in the building of a manned space station by around 2022 with Tiangong-3.

China National Space Agency (CNSA) engineers on Wednesday began fuelling the Long March-2F T2 rocket that will carry Tiangong-2 into space.

"All systems are ready for lift-off," the Xinhua news agency quoted Wu Ping, deputy director of the agency's manned space engineering office, as saying on Wednesday afternoon.

"The launch of Tiangong-2 will lay a solid foundation for the building and operation of a permanent space station in the future," she said, adding that China's manned space program had entered a "new phase of application and development."

Once launched into space, the 8.6-tonne Tiangong-2 will fire its own rockets and maneuver itself initially into an orbit about 380 kilometers above Earth and later into an orbit 393 kilometers above, the height at which the future Chinese space station will operate.

Sometime in October, China will launch two male astronauts aboard a Shenzhou-11 spaceship, which will dock with the Tiangong-2. The two astronauts will work in the space laboratory for 30 days and then return to Earth.

In April 2017, the Chinese space agency will launch its first cargo ship, Tianzhou-1, which, too, will dock with the Tiangong-2 and replenish it with fuel and other supplies.

The launching and docking of the Shenzhou crew module and the cargo ship will help the CNSA evaluate technologies involved in on-orbit propellant re-supply, equipment repairs and long-term stays in space by astronauts, Xinhua quoted Wu as saying.

The Tiangong-2 space lab itself will operate in space for at least two years, with astronauts launched into it by multiple missions through the period conduct over 40 space science and application experiments onboard, including in aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, quantum key transmission, space atomic clock and solar storm studies.

The Tiangong-2, a bigger version of its 2011 predecessor Tiangong-1, measures 10.4 meters in length and 3.35 meters in maximum diameter, and allows for two astronauts to live in space for up to 30 days and can receive manned and cargo spaceships.

China is pulling out all the stops with the Tiangong-2, not just with the large number of experiments and their sophistication but also by the way it has gone about it. There are foreign collaborations and experiments onboard -- one payload, called POLAR, for instance, is a collaboration between Swiss, Polish and Chinese institutions to study gamma ray bursts; the space atomic clock, which experts claim loses only one second every 30 million years, is meant to make future navigation more accurate; three of the experiments onboard were designed by winners of a Hong Kong middle school contest. And, there's even a micro-satellite sharing the ride with the Tiangong-2, which will orbit close to the space lab.

China will "share the fruits of its development in its manned space program with all countries, especially developing countries", Xinhua quoted Wu as saying.

Spectacular, Step-by-Step

China began its ambitious space station plan as far back as 1992, when Project 921-2 received initial approvals. The final approvals came just as India was giving approvals to ISRO's Chandrayaan mission.

In 2001, Chinese engineers publicised the three-step process by which China would realise the space station ambition. The original target date was 2010, but now, the project will see fruition only sometime in the 2020s.

The first phase was to be manned space flight, which China achieved in 2003, with the Shenzhou crew modules.

The second phase was the orbiting of a space laboratory, which began with the Tiangong-1 in 2011.

The third phase will be the launch of a large space laboratory that will be permanently crewed and will be China's first true space station, rivalling the US-Russia-EU-Canada International Space Station, which will begin to be dismantled by about 2025, around the time China puts its station in place.

China is now somewhere between Phase 2 and Phase 3.

Tiangong-1

Tiangong means 'Heavenly Palace'.

With Tiangong-1, China mastered space docking as well as performing a limited number of experiments.

The 8.5-tonne laboratory was visited by the Shenzhou 8 unmanned and the Shenzhou 9 and 10 manned spacecraft during its two-year operational life. The Shenzhou 10 carried China's first female astronauts, Liu Yang and Wang Yaping. But given its size, though, it was not meant for astronauts to stay on it long.

Tiangong-1 is now in an orbit about 370 kilometres above Earth and descending 100 metres every day. It is expected to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere in the second half of 2017.

Tiangong-2 is a 20-tonne space lab that will support two astronauts for 30 days at a time. The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft will dock with it in October and bring the lab its first crew.

The lab is 14.4 meters in length and 4.2 meters in maximum diameter. A third-generation space lab, comparable to the Russian Mir, it has two docking points, to receive both manned spacecraft and unmanned cargo ships.

Tiangong-3 will be a 22-metric-ton core module, 18 meters in length, 4.2 meters in diameter, on which three astronauts can live for 40 days at a stretch.

It will help China develop regenerative life-support technology and methods of orbital replenishment of propellant and air.

It will also provide a multi-docking berthing mechanism, allowing four spacecraft to dock with it simultaneously.

It is expected to be launched in the 2020-2022 timeframe.

Following these, sometime in the mid-to-late 2020s, China will begin to build its large modular space station, expected to be a 60-tonne 'Heavenly Palace'.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 20:08 [IST]
More than 7,000 Indians sought asylum in US in 2017: UN report

Rajasthan elections: Hindus who fled Pakistan and took shelter in state remain overlooked

Should illegal immigrants get refugee status: Centre asks SC to take a call

Wont rest until every refugee from Pak is given citizenship: Shah

Is the Refugee Convention living up to the times?

'Fewer than half of world's refugee children in school'

International

oi-PTI

Geneva, Sep 15: Fewer than half of the world's some six million refugee children are in school, making them five times less likely to get an education than the global average, the UN warned today.

A full 3.7 million school-aged refugee children have no school to go to, the UN refugee agency said in a report.

"This represents a crisis for millions of refugee children," UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement, urging international action to get the children back to school.

His comments came ahead of the first-ever UN summit on refugees and migrants, to be held in New York on September 19, and which will be followed the next day by a pledging conference for new offers of aid to refugees hosted by President Barack Obama.

"As the international community considers how best to deal with the refugee crisis, it is essential that we think beyond basic survival," Grandi said, pointing out that refugees on average are displaced for about 20 years.

That, he said in the UN report, "is more than an entire childhood."

"Education enables refugees to positively shape the future of both their countries of asylum and their home countries when they one day return," he stressed.

Today's report, which compares UNHCR data on refugee education with data from UNESCO on global school enrolment, showed that only 50 per cent of the world's refugee children have access to primary education.

That compares to a global average of more than 90 per cent.

"And as these children become older, the gap becomes a chasm," it said, pointing out that only 22 per cent of teens living as refugees attended secondary school.

That compares with a global average of 84 per cent.

As for university, only one percent of refugees attend, compared to 34 per cent globally, the report showed.

Today's report said efforts by UNHCR and others to enrol more refugee children in school were being overshadowed by soaring numbers of newly displaced people.

While the global number of school-aged refugees remained fairly stable at around 3.5 million during the first decade of the 21st century, it has swelled on average by 600,000 children and adolescents annually since 2011, it pointed out.

In 2014 alone, the school-aged refugee population swelled by 30 per cent, UNHCR said, stressing that at this rate an additional 12,000 classrooms and 20,000 teachers are needed each year to cover the refugee needs.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 17:24 [IST]
Accept mistake thats the only way: Prachanda faction to Oli

My party-BJP have different ideologies but common aim of uplifting poor: Nepal ex-PM Prachanda

Nepal PM Prachanda embarks on 4-day India visit

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Kathmandu, Sept 15: Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leading a 125-member delegation, on Thursday left for a four-day state visit to New Delhi at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

This is his first foreign visit after Dahal was elected in August.

Dahal is being is accompanied by his wife, Sita, two ministers, senior Nepal government officials, media team and member of the Nepali business community.

On the top of the agenda, his meting with Modi is scheduled for Friday at the Hyderabad House which will be followed by signing some agreements and a joint press briefing.

According to Rishiraj Adhikari, Foreign Relations Advisor to Dahal, a breakthrough is expected on an agreement on long pending Panchewhwor Hydro Project in Nepal that has installation capacity of 48,00 mw.

Nepal and India had jointly agreed to develop this project in 1996 but no progress has been made due to some outstanding issues.

The Prime Minister will seek Indian's support to build another 400 mw hydro power plant in Nepal, Adhikari added.

Officials told IANS that a $1 billion soft loan and grant for the reconstruction of damaged structures in Nepal, will also be discussed.

Proposal on feasibility study of east-west electric rail in Nepal, building an 80 km long Buddhist circuit linking key heritage sites between Nepal and India were also in the agenda.

Several others agendas like growing trade deficit with India, construction of a sub station for trading energy between Nepal and India, aid for second phase for construction of Postal road in Nepal's southern plain will also be discussed.

Both sides will commit to review and update all bilateral agreements and pacts through the Eminent Person's Group which has already met in Kathmandu once.

Dahal will also visit Himanchal Pradesh to inspect one hydro power plant before his return to Nepal.

IANS
Sanctions against Myanmar to be lifted soon, says Barack Obama

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Sept 14: The United States would "soon" lift its sanctions against Myanmar, the US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday but stopped short of giving a time frame for this.

"The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that have been imposed on Burma for quite some time. It is the right thing to do in order to ensure that people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office in a joint media appearance with the visiting Burmese Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Soon," Obama said when asked when these sanctions would be lifted. Referring to the transition of Burma to elections, Obama said the new government is giving voice to the hopes and dreams to new generation of Burmese people.

As a consequence, the new government is in a position to begin shaking a remarkable social, political and economic transformation, he said.

Describing the progress made in Burma towards strengthening of democracy, Suu Kyi stressed on the need of lifting sanctions. "We think time has now come to remove all the sanctions that hurt us economically," she said, adding the Burmese parliament in the next few weeks would bring in new investment law.

This along with lifting of sanctions, Burma would be a very attractive destination for people from all over the world, she said.

"We think, the country is in a position to take off," she said. The Burmese Constitution, she asserted, is not entirely democratic, because it gives the military special powers.

"I want our military to be an honorable institution and capable of protecting and defending our rights... but we do not think, politics is a place for the military," she said, adding that her government would continue to work to make the Constitution truly democratic.

"We have reached at a point where people did not expect us to reach five years ago," she said. But there is so much that now has to be done, she added. She also referred to the steps taken by her government to look into communal strife in the country.

"We want to make sure that everyone who is entitled to citizenship is accorded citizenship as quickly and as fairly as possible," she said. "This is what we are trying to do in Rakhine (State)," she added.

PTI
Fact Check: Did Trump thank Musk for welcoming him back to Twitter

Donald Trump releases his medical record

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Sep 15: Donald Trump today released the results of his recent medical test, with his personal physician saying that the 70-year-old Republican presidential candidate is in "excellent physical health".

"In summer, Trump is in excellent physical health," Dr Harold N Bornstein said in a one-page medical report dated September 13, which was released to the press by his campaign.

Earlier today, the Democratic presidential candidate, 68- year-old Hillary Clinton released her updated medical record after a bout of pneumonia, with her doctor saying she is "fit to serve" as US President.

Trump, who is 6 foot 3 inches tall, weighs 107 kilograms, and his liver and thyroid functions are "all within the normal range," the report said. His vital statistics including blood and cholesterol are also normal, but he does take a lipid lowering agent (rosuvastatin) and a low dose aspiring, it added.

He does not use tobacco products or alcohol. "This study was reported within the range of normal," said Dr Bornstein, who has been personal physician of Trump since 1980.

Hillary Clinton led destruction overseas, says Donald Trump

"We are pleased to disclose all of the test results which show that Trump is in excellent health and has the stamina to endure  uninterrupted  the rigors of a punishing and unprecedented campaign and more importantly, the singularity demanding job of President of the United States," the campaign said.

Trump's latest medical record was made public, a day after the billionaire appeared on Dr Oz show. Dr Oz, who saw the medical record, said that Trump "without question" is healthy enough to be the President.

"If I as doctor had a patient like him, I would think he had good health for a man of his age and I'd send him on his way," Dr Oz told the NBC News in an interview.

PTI
Second time lucky? AAP conducts Punjab-like 'Who should be CM' survey in Gujarat

Vande Bharat Express rams into cattle near Atul station in Gujarat, third incident this month

Why is BJP not bringing Uniform Civil Code across the country: Kejriwal in Gujarat

Vibrant Gujarat roadshow receives tremendous response in US

International

oi-Lisa

By Lisa

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017 is receiving tremendous response in the US, members of a high level state delegation said after meeting senior government officials and CEOs of top tech companies here.

In a bid to promote the business summit that will take place in January next year, the delegation led by Bharat Lal, Resident Commissioner, Government of Gujarat, organised roadshows and met with business leaders.

Paving the way for growth #vg17roadshow was successfully held at Washington DC! pic.twitter.com/hy59xyGKCO  Vibrant Gujarat (@VibrantGujarat) September 14, 2016

The delegation also met with Indo-American Chamber of Greater Houston (IACCGH) earlier this week and received huge positive response from the business community. "Vibrant Gujarat is connecting India to the world," Lal said.

"Our objective is to interact with government officials and the business community during this roadshow in Canada and USA, to attract investors, scientist, and entrepreneurs from all over the world to come to Gujarat and participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017," he told PTI at the reception organised by Consul General of India, Dr Anupam Ray.

"Vibrant Gujarat is the biggest platform for enabling business in India. In the post GST (Goods and Services Tax Bill) scenario, when India becomes 'One Nation - One Market', Gujarat holds a unique distinction with favourable geographical location, state-of-the-art infrastructure and sound policies," he said.

We have had various meeting with leading companies across USA and had an amazing response. People are very excited about GST... Business industry is bullish, they think this is the right time to invest.

Underlining the rapid economic development that is taking place under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lal referred to Gujarat as being the driving engine of Indian growth.

"The state accounts for 19 per cent of industrial output, 41 per cent of cargo exports and 10 per cent of India's manufacturing industries," he said, adding that Gujarat ranked number one in "ease of doing business".

Shri Bharat Lal led the discussions with Top notch Business Leaders to identify sustainable development opportunities. #vggs17  Vibrant Gujarat (@VibrantGujarat) September 14, 2016

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett who was special invitee at the roadshow said Houston is looking forward to Prime Minister Modi's visit in the near future.

His visit will further strengthen the ties between Houston businesses and India, he added.

India's Counsel General Ray said India is the world's largest fastest growing economy and India and the US are natural partners.

Had a very fruitful engagement with IT BT and electronic industry professionals in SF. # Roadshow #vibrantGujarat pic.twitter.com/VxkTRWWECR  D Dwivedi (@Dwivedi_D) September 14, 2016

The delegation was accompanied by government officials, CEO Invest India and senior executives from GIFT City, iCREATE, Cadilla Pharmaceuticals, Gujarat Agro, Suzlon Group, Reliance, and GSPC among others. They met around 100 top officials of Houston based companies during the roadshow and series of one-to-one meetings.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 10:21 [IST]
World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim heads for 2nd term

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Sept 15: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim effectively won a second five-year term after nominations to lead the global development bank closed with no other candidates proposed.

The World Bank executive board said in a statement that, following official procedures, it would formally meet with Kim as a candidate "with the expectation of completing the selection process by the 2016 Annual Meetings," which take place on October 7-9.

Kim, 56, a Korean-American medical doctor who has focused the World bank on programs to reduce extreme poverty, earned solid backing for a second term from the United States, France, Germany, China, and other major shareholders of the bank.

But as with his first nomination in 2012, the bank was criticized from inside and outside for not truly opening the selection process to all comers and not managing it in a fully transparent mode.

Following an unwritten rule, since the World Bank was created in the wake of World War II to help rebuild the global economy, its leader has always been an American chosen by Washington.

In 2012, Kim was the first American candidate to face competition when Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also contended for the presidency. Kim's first term ends on June 30, 2017.

PTI
2 Indians held captive in Libya released

New Delhi

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Sept 15: Two Indians who were held captive in Libya have been released. Announcing the same on her Twitter handle, External Affairs minister said: "Happy to inform that T Gopalkrishna and C Balram Kishan have been rescued. They were being held captive by a group at Libya since July 29 2015."

On July 29, four Indians were abducted by a group suspected to be owing allegiance to the ISIS. All of them worked with the University of Sirte in Nothern Libya. On the day of the abduction, the four were planning on travelling to the airport to reach India.

I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) & C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since 29 July 2015 have been rescued.  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 15, 2016

The four people abducted were Laxmikant, Vijay Kumar, Balram and Gopalkrishna. While Laxmikant and Kumar from Karnataka were freed within four days of being held captive, Balram of Telangana and Gopalkrishna of Andhra Pradesh were not as lucky.

The families had started to get impatient and had even given up hope. However, the External Affairs Ministry constantly assured that there would be a breakthrough. Although the terms of the release is not clear, the ministry had remained in constant touch with Libya and finally the breakthrough happened.

OneIndia News
Triple talaq ban likely to get Centre's nod

New Delhi

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Sept 15: A ban on triple talaq is expected to get the nod of the union government. In a meeting attended by senior ministers it was decided that the government would not oppose the ban on triple talaq as sought in a petition before the Supreme Court of India.

While the general consensus in the government is not to oppose the ban, the Law Ministry would still need to work on the response to be given to the Supreme Court which has sought for a reply.

The Law Ministry would refer to international practices before preparing a reply and submitting it to the Supreme Court. The reply by the law ministry is to be submitted in the Supreme Court by October 5.

A law ministry official informed OneIndia that they are working on the issue. The official also said that last year a high level committee of the women and child development ministry had recommended a ban on triple talaq.

The official says that there should be no problem in not opposing the ban as countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have either banned or restricted the practise.

The matter which will come up next month will be closely watched by one and all. The All Indian Muslim Law Personal Board had made some scathing observations in an affidavit while opposing the ban on triple talaq.

The board had said that there is a good chance that if the practise is banned the husband may end up killing the wife if he is made to go through a lengthy divorce process.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, September 15, 2016, 10:46 [IST]
Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Bihar's Gopalganj by-poll to see a tough fight between BJP and RJD

Protest in Bihar against Shahabuddin's release

Patna

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Patna, Sep 15: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday staged protests across Bihar against the release of former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin.

"NDA leaders and workers have staged dharnas at all district headquarters across the state to protest against the release of Shahabuddin," Bharatiya Janata Party state president Mangal Pandey said.

Pandey said that BJP and its allies will continue to raise this issue to expose the state government's double standards on rule of law. "We will also approach President Pranab Mukherjee in this matter soon," he said.

Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi told the media that the NDA will stage a massive protest in Siwan on Friday against Shahabuddin's release. Modi has demanded to Shahabuddin back to jail.

The NDA on Wednesday staged a day-long protest in Patna.

Shahabuddin was granted bail by the Patna High Court on September 10 in a case involving the murder of a witness in the killing of two brothers in Siwan.

IANS


Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday afternoon reprimanded them for sullying `Brand Bengaluru' and directed them to deal with vandals with an iron fist. Siddaramaiah warned them that `heads will roll' if any fresh incidents of violence are reported in Bengaluru. Some think that the police force was ordered to go slow with regard to the crackdown against arsonists, but that is not true. To know more watch Video.
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LAC 2017 Upgrades to Londons ExCeL Venue

Published September 15, 2016 by Mike P

LAC 2017 will now take place in Londons ExCeL exhibition centre to make room for a 10% rise in visitors.

The London Affiliate Conference (LAC) is one of the most important industry events in the online gambling calendar, with thousands attending each year to forge new relationships and secure better deals. LAC has steadily expanded over the years and Februarys conference will be the biggest yet, with organisers having switched the event to Londons ExCeL exhibition centre.

LAC Attracting More Delegates

LAC 2017 has been planned as a three-day exhibition and conference that will run from 9-12 February. Ahead of LAC 2017, it is forecast that more than 5,000 delegates will be in attendance, which would represent an approximate 10% increase on the 4,555 visitors who travelled to LAC 2016 at Londons Olympia exhibition centre.

When announcing the upgrade in August, iGaming Business head of operations Shona ODonnell highlighted how LAC attracted just 600 delegates when it was first hosted in 2016. ODonnell believes the additional space will enable LAC to integrate new features and strengthen the overall experience.

Visitors to LAC 2017 can expect all of the same benefits promised in the schedule, which is filled with panels covering an array of igaming topics. The conference also contains networking opportunities on the exhibition floor and at evening parties.

iGaming Business Acquisition

The switch to the ExCeL is also notable because the venue is already home to another major igaming conference in the form of ICE Totally Gaming 2017, which ends on the first day of LAC 2017. Along with the space requirement, there is another reason for the change in venue.

Back in December 2016, LAC organiser iGaming Business (iGB) was in the process of being acquired by Clarion Events, which is the organiser of ICE Totally Gaming. After acquiring 75% of iGB for 19.7 million, Clarion Events is now in a position to share resources with ICE and create a more efficient setup for the conferences.
Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

Financial services software provider SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc., is to acquire Wells Fargo Global Fund Service (GFS), a provider of administration, middle-office, operations and cash/collateral management services to alternative investment managers, for an undisclosed amount.

"The acquisition of GFS will create a compelling advantage for our customers as they access and manage sophisticated asset classes," said Bill Stone, chairman and chief executive officer, SS&C Technologies in a statement. "This transaction will expand our capabilities in the global fund market, reinforcing SS&C at the forefront among fund administration and extending our strong cloud-based platform for future growth."

GFS administers more than $42bn in alternative assets, covering strategies traded by global portfolio managers including fixed income, credit, distressed, structured credit, macro, equity, commodities, CDO, CLO, private equity, private debt, real estate and hybrid structures. Wells Fargo's fund administration business has in, Hong Kong, London, New York, Minneapolis and Singapore.

"Joining with SS&C will allow us to dramatically accelerate our global growth plans and pace of innovation," said Chris Kundro, head of GFS. "SS&C's innovations in cloud, mobility and fund technology are transforming in......................

To view our full article Click here
Opalesque Industry Update - Tages Capital, one of Europe's leading specialist alternative asset managers, has announced the launch of Tages Alternative Risk Premia Fund (the 'Fund), a fund focused on the rapidly growing area of alternative risk premia. The Fund offers investors access to Tages' proven excellence in absolute return investing in a segment of alternative asset management that has gained increasing attention from institutional investors seeking diversified sources of return. The Dublin domiciled ICAV fund launched with over US$100m of capital from leading European institutional investors. The Fund's strategy has been uniquely developed to provide an attractive risk adjusted return profile, aimed at delivering uncorrelated returns to traditional asset classes. Berouz Fatemi, Portfolio Manager and Head of Quantitative Strategies, commented: :The analysis of alternative risk premia, and the specific risk factors contributing to the hedge funds' returns, have always been at the core of Tages' manager selection and portfolio construction. It is therefore a natural step for Tages to establish a product designed to enable institutional investors to systematically capture these specific returns whilst minimising traditional market risk premia. "Tages Alternative Risk Premia Fund uses a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques to evaluate and select a subset of investable alternative risk premia. The Fund is designed to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through a process driven, liquid portfolio. This is diversified by strategy, asset class and region combined with comprehensive daily risk controls." Jamie Kermisch, CEO of Tages Capital, commented: "As one of Europe's leading alternative asset managers, Tages has a history of working with leading institutions to provide next generation customised solutions to alternative investing. Alternative risk premia strategies are increasingly high on the agenda for institutional investors and Tages is well positioned to deliver access to competitive and market leading alternative risk premia products that may be customised to meet clients' objectives." Article source - Opalesque is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Opalesque Industry Update - Australian based fund administrator MainstreamBPO Limited group has announced its expansion into the UK and Europe following receipt of in principle regulatory approval from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to act as a Fund Administrator in Malta. The announcement follows the Groups recent move into the United States, via the opening of its New York office and acquisition of Fundadministration, Inc, and its established operations in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Malta is one of the key domiciles of alternative investment funds in the European Union, alongside Luxembourg and Ireland, with a Net Asset Value of 10 billion in over 500 locally based funds. Commenting on the announcement MainstreamBPO Chairman and Managing Director, Byram Johnston OAM, said the Groups Malta based fund services will be a beach head for the Groups operations in Europe, with a focus on administering UCITS and SICAVs. "Europe and the UK are crucial for our ambition of attracting new hedge fund clients, while many of our existing clients in Asia and Australia are increasingly active in the region. With an administration centre in Malta we will be able to service UCITS and SICAV funds for our clients at the same level as Ireland or Luxembourg. said Mr Johnston. To further establish its presence in Europe the Group has opened serviced offices in London and Dublin and hired experienced business development manager Colin Stott to be responsible for new business development in the region. Prior to joining the Group, Mr Stott, who has more than 30 years industry experience, provided lead generation and outsourced business development services primarily targeting the private equity and alternative investment management industry in London and Europe.
Reprinted from Unz Review

"Secret cables and reports by the U.S., Saudi and Israeli intelligence agencies indicate that the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline, military and intelligence planners quickly arrived at the consensus that fomenting a Sunni uprising in Syria to overthrow the uncooperative Bashar Assad was a feasible path to achieving the shared objective of completing the Qatar/Turkey gas link. In 2009, according to WikiLeaks, soon after Bashar Assad rejected the Qatar pipeline, the CIA began funding opposition groups in Syria." --Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Why the Arabs don't want us in Syria, Politico

The conflict in Syria is not a war in the conventional sense of the word. It is a regime change operation, just like Libya and Iraq were regime change operations.

The main driver of the conflict is the country that's toppled more than 50 sovereign governments since the end of World War 2. (See: Bill Blum here.) We're talking about the United States of course.

Washington is the hands-down regime-change champion, no one else even comes close. That being the case, one might assume that the American people would notice the pattern of intervention, see through the propaganda and assign blame accordingly. But that never seems to happen and it probably won't happen here either. No matter how compelling the evidence may be, the brainwashed American people always believe their government is doing the right thing.

But the United States is not doing the right thing in Syria. Arming, training and funding Islamic extremists -- that have killed half a million people, displaced 7 million more and turned the country into an uninhabitable wasteland -- is not the right thing. It is the wrong thing, the immoral thing. And the US is involved in this conflict for all the wrong reasons, the foremost of which is gas. The US wants to install a puppet regime in Damascus so it can secure pipeline corridors in the East, oversee the transport of vital energy reserves from Qatar to the EU, and make sure that those reserves continue to be denominated in US Dollars that are recycled into US Treasuries and US financial assets. This is the basic recipe for maintaining US dominance in the Middle East and for extending America's imperial grip on global power into the future.

The war in Syria did not begin when the government of Bashar al Assad cracked down on protestors in the spring of 2011. That version of events is obfuscating hogwash. The war began in 2000, when Assad rejected a Qatari plan to transport gas from Qatar to the EU via Syria. As Robert F Kennedy Jr. explains in his excellent article "Syria: Another pipeline War":

"The $10 billion, 1,500km pipeline through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey...would have linked Qatar directly to European energy markets via distribution terminals in Turkey... The Qatar/Turkey pipeline would have given the Sunni Kingdoms of the Persian Gulf decisive domination of world natural gas markets and strengthen Qatar, America's closest ally in the Arab world. ... "In 2009, Assad announced that he would refuse to sign the agreement to allow the pipeline to run through Syria 'to protect the interests of our Russian ally.' "Assad further enraged the Gulf's Sunni monarchs by endorsing a Russian approved 'Islamic pipeline' running from Iran's side of the gas field through Syria and to the ports of Lebanon. The Islamic pipeline would make Shia Iran instead of Sunni Qatar, the principal supplier to the European energy market and dramatically increase Tehran's influence in the Mid-East and the world..."

Naturally, the Saudis, Qataris, Turks and Americans were furious at Assad, but what could they do? How could they prevent him from choosing his own business partners and using his own sovereign territory to transport gas to market?

What they could do is what any good Mafia Don would do; break a few legs and steal whatever he wanted. In this particular situation, Washington and its scheming allies decided to launch a clandestine proxy-war against Damascus, kill or depose Assad, and make damn sure the western oil giants nabbed the future pipeline contracts and controlled the flow of energy to Europe. That was the plan at least. Here's more from Kennedy:

"Secret cables and reports by the U.S., Saudi and Israeli intelligence agencies indicate that the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline, military and intelligence planners quickly arrived at the consensus that fomenting a Sunni uprising in Syria to overthrow the uncooperative Bashar Assad was a feasible path to achieving the shared objective of completing the Qatar/Turkey gas link. In 2009, according to WikiLeaks, soon after Bashar Assad rejected the Qatar pipeline, the CIA began funding opposition groups in Syria."

Repeat: "the moment Assad rejected the Qatari pipeline," he signed his own death warrant. That single act was the catalyst for the US aggression that transformed a bustling, 5,000-year-old civilization into a desolate Falluja-like moonscape overflowing with homicidal fanatics that were recruited, groomed and deployed by the various allied intelligence agencies.

But what's particularly interesting about this story is that the US attempted a nearly-identical plan 60 years earlier during the Eisenhower administration. Here's another clip from the Kennedy piece:

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Reprinted from Consortium News

A British parliamentary inquiry into the Libyan fiasco has reported what should have been apparent from the start in 2011 -- and was to some of us-- that the West's military intervention to "protect" civilians in Benghazi was a cover for what became another disastrous "regime change" operation.

The report from the U.K.'s Foreign Affairs Committee confirms that the U.S. and other Western governments exaggerated the human rights threat posed by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and then quickly morphed the "humanitarian" mission into a military invasion that overthrew and killed Gaddafi, leaving behind political and social chaos.

The report's significance is that it shows how little was learned from the Iraq War fiasco in which George W. Bush's administration hyped and falsified intelligence to justify invading Iraq and killing its leader, Saddam Hussein. In both cases, U.K. leaders tagged along and the West's mainstream news media mostly served as unprofessional propaganda conduits, not as diligent watchdogs for the public.

Today, we are seeing an even more dangerous repetition of this pattern: demonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, destabilizing the Russian economy and pressing for "regime change" in Moscow. Amid the latest propaganda orgy against Putin, virtually no one in the mainstream is exercising any restraint or finding any cautionary lessons from the Iraqi and Libyan examples.

Yet, with Russia, the risks are orders of magnitude greater than even the cases of Iraq and Libya -- and one might toss in the messy "regime change" projects in Ukraine and Syria. The prospect of political chaos in Moscow -- with extremists battling for power and control of the nuclear codes -- should finally inject some sense of responsibility in the West's politicians and media, but doesn't.

When it comes to Putin and Russia, it's the same ole hyperbole and falsehood that so disinformed the public regarding the "threats" from Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Just as President George W. Bush deceptively painted Hussein's supposed WMD as a danger to Americans and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dishonestly portrayed Gaddafi as "genocidal," U.S. officials and pundits are depicting Putin as some cartoonish villain or some new Hitler.

And, just as The New York Times, Washington Post and other mainstream media outlets amplified the Iraq and Libyan propaganda to the American people -- rather than questioning and challenging it -- these supposedly journalistic entities are performing the same function regarding Russia. The chief difference is that now we're talking about the potential for nuclear annihilation. [See Consortiumnews.com's "The Existential Madness of Putin-Bashing."]

According to the new U.K. report on Libya, Britain's military intervention -- alongside the U.S. and France -- was based on "erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding" of the reality inside Libya, which included a lack of appreciation about the role of Islamic extremists in spearheading the opposition to Gaddafi.

In other words, Gaddafi was telling the truth when he accused the rebels around Benghazi of being penetrated by Islamic terrorists. The West, including the U.S. news media, took Gaddafi's vow to wipe out this element and distorted it into a claim that he intended to slaughter the region's civilians, thus stampeding the United Nations Security Council into approving an operation to protect them.

That mandate was then twisted into an excuse to decimate Libya's army and clear the way for anti-Gaddafi rebels to seize the capital of Tripoli and eventually hunt down, torture and murder Gaddafi.

Ignored Terror Evidence

Yet, there was evidence before this "regime change" occurred regarding the extremist nature of the anti-Gaddafi rebels as well as those seeking to overthrow Bashar al-Assad in Syria. As analysts Joseph Felter and Brian Fishman wrote in a pre-Libya-war report for West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, "the Syrian and Libyan governments share the United States' concerns about violent salafist/jihadi ideology and the violence perpetrated by its adherents."

In the report entitled "Al-Qaeda's Foreign Fighters in Iraq," Felter and Fishman also analyzed Al Qaeda's documents captured in 2007 showing personnel records of militants who flocked to Iraq for the war. The documents revealed that eastern Libya (the base of the anti-Gaddafi rebellion) was a hotbed for suicide bombers traveling to Iraq to kill American troops.

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Greater Good Versus Lesser Evil

Stephen H. Unger September 14, 2016



Washington D.C. - The White House

(Image by DerFussi) Details DMCA









Once again the major parties offer a choice between two terrible presidential candidates. The only novelty is that there is real controversy over which candidate is worse. Usually, the Republican candidate endorses the positions of big business interests with respect to financial matters, advocates more aggressive positions with respect to foreign policy and the military, and shows little, if any concern about the environment. The Democrat usually takes somewhat less extreme positions on these matters, and often has liberal positions on matters of little interest to the wealthy elite, e.g., on abortions.

But today, the Republican, Donald Trump, while following the conventional Republican line with respect to most financial matters, such as taxation, is deviating substantially in two important areas. He has vowed to sharply reduce immigration, which he claims (rightly) is adversely affecting American workers, and he says he would reduce our military involvement in the Middle East, and perhaps elsewhere. Of course, this may be only rhetoric--Trump has never held a government position, so we can only speculate as to how he would behave in office. In general, he appears to be an erratic, intemperate person, often contradicting himself. (Sadly, the other 3 candidates, in effect, all favor unlimited immigration [1][2][3]). I think this is a very bad idea [4].

Hillary Clinton, after 8 years as an active First Lady, served as a senator, and then as Secretary of State. So she has a real track record in government. We need not pay much attention to her speeches and statements; her performance in office is a far better basis for estimating how she would behave as president.

Clinton has clearly established herself as a strong ally of Wall Street. While Secretary of State, Clinton strongly supported several trade agreements along the lines of The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), referring to it as "the gold standard in trade agreements". (But, more recently, as a presidential candidate, prodded by Bernie Sanders, she reversed herself and said she now opposes the TPP [5].)

Clinton has always been an enthusiastic supporter of aggressive military actions. For example, as a senator, she voted for the Iraq attack [6], and fully backed legislation aimed at beefing up the military. As Secretary of State, she played a major role in instigating the assaults on Libya [7], and on Syria [8], that devastated the people of those countries. She has always fully supported the use of drones [9].

(As a footnote: I was sickened by a brief video [10] showing Clinton laughing about the brutal killing of Moammar Gaddafi.)

Hillary Clinton, certainly in comparison with Trump, is a smooth politician, often mouthing lofty sentiments. Because her rhetoric is more carefully crafted, and delivered than Trump's, many rank and file Democrats would strongly tend to go along with whatever she did as president, while most Republicans would not oppose some of her worst actions. Trump is not a politician, does not have the full support of Republicans, does not have any organization backing him, and would face significant opposition from Democrats. As president, he would not be able to do much--good or bad. Clinton would be able to do a lot more damage than Trump, even if we give no credence to his positive positions regarding avoiding military clashes with the Russians and Chinese, and his declared intent to cut down on immigration [11]. (Note that Trump is the only presidential candidate who has stated strong opposition to immigration, which is an important factor in the employment problems of a great many Americans. This probably accounts for Trump's popularity among working people.)

Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have received large sums of money from big corporations, and from wealthy people, via at least 3 different mechanisms: fees for speeches, donations to the Clinton family foundation, and campaign contributions. From 2001 thru last spring the Clintons received more than $153 million for speeches, mostly to audiences of executives of financial giants such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank. Fees averaged well over $200,000 per speech [12].

Why are the Clintons on such warm, friendly terms with the rulers of Saudi Arabia? [13][14]. The Saudis, surely one of the most brutal dictatorships, have donated millions of dollars to the Clinton family foundation, and the Clintons have facilitated the sales of powerful weapons systems that the Saudis are now using to devastate Yemen.

A common reaction to arguments for voting for a third party presidential candidate is that such "throwing away of one's vote" is a quixotic gesture--an irresponsible act--since it amounts to shirking an important responsibility as a citizen. For decades, people generally characterized as "liberals", or "progressives", have routinely voted for candidates they disagreed with on many, if not most, important issues, in order to help prevent the election of another candidate that they felt was worse. This is a powerful argument. Many thoughtful, moral people have been swayed by it. But, experience has shown that it is shortsighted. Let's look at what has happened in terms of presidential elections since WWII.

In a typical election, the Republican candidate takes positions clearly favoring environmental abuse, wealthy interests, and militarism. The Democrat, while verbally expressing beautiful liberal sentiments, in effect, usually takes similar, but somewhat less extreme, positions on these topics, and takes liberal positions on some social issues of little concern to the wealthy. Liberal voters invariably vote for the Democrats in efforts to keep the Republicans in check. Since the Democrats, in effect, own the liberal vote, they can afford to, and do, ignore the wishes of liberals and adjust their political positions and actions to attract the votes of people inclined to support more right wing candidates. Republicans, of course, ignore liberals altogether (except perhaps to mock them.)

So liberals have virtually no influence on governmental behavior. One result is that, over the years, the government has been more and more controlled by the rich, which is why the rich have been getting richer, and most of the rest of us poorer. (A measure of the extent of this process is that the total wealth of the 20 richest Americans now exceeds the total wealth of half of the US population [15].) At the same time, the environment is deteriorating, and we are virtually in a permanent state of war.

What can be done about this? The key is to look beyond the next election. Since it is hard to imagine turning things around in one election cycle, it is necessary to accept the possible election of the worst candidate at the start of the transition process. Rather than foreclosing the prospect for a better set of options next time around, a more forward looking strategy is to vote for a really good candidate in the current election, even if that candidate has little chance to win. I.e., vote for a third party candidate. If enough people do this, then, the next time around, there would likely be a much better set of viable candidates on the ballot. (An unusual aspect of the current situation is that there is real room for disagreement as to which major party candidate is worse. As suggested above, a good case can be made that Clinton would likely do more damage than Trump.) If you think the idea of voting for a candidate very unlikely to win sounds far out, consider the following.

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This op-ed was first published in the September 15, 2001, edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times.

As you read this my wife, Shonnie, will finally be home. That will never be said again for thousands of our fellow citizens.

I sit here by myself early Thursday morning. Over the past two days, I have moved from shock and numbness to a place of deep sadness and grief. I mourn for those who lost their lives or were injured in the suicide attacks. I mourn for those they left behind. I mourn for our nation. I mourn for those around the world who face the violence of terrorism on a daily basis.

I am lucky. Shonnie is en route from Denver to Asheville via Greyhound (a 36-hour journey) after having been stranded there because of the FAA's no-fly order. But she is coming home.

What happened on Tuesday was impossible for me to fully comprehend at first. I watched the 767 crash into the World Trade Center, but it was more like a rerun of some action flick than reality. Yet every time I heard a siren outside my Biltmore Avenue office, I was startled, thinking an attack might be underway in Asheville. Shonnie called from her dad's in Denver. I called my mom in Tennessee. She had talked to my daughter who lives outside Washington, D.C., and reported that she and her family were OK. I couldn't get through to any of my friends or relatives in the D.C. or New York City areas. I prayed they were safe. Folks in my office suite gathered to watch the tragic events unfold. Not much work got done that day.

On television I watch those who call for vengeance, an eye for an eye. And, yes, I'll admit, there is that part of me that wants a full measure of revenge right now. On the radio I hear those who call for stringent security measures in order to create a safer nation. And while I don't relish a three-hour wait each time I fly somewhere, I understand the desire for greater safety. I see leaders who believe we must increase our military might in order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. And I recognize the need for us to be prepared.

Yet, I wonder: Will further violence bring an end to violence? Is any security measure going to bring us the safety we long for? Will a missile-defense system keep a small band of committed militants from their dastardly work?

One thing has been accomplished by the appalling actions of the terrorists: We have come together as a nation in support of those in need. We have opened our hearts. The best in us is evident in full measure. Heroic deeds; open-hearted prayers; evocative words; an outpouring of blood, money, and supplies. I feel pride in being an American, and I resolve to do more than simply writing these words and sending them out.

We have been dealt a horrendous blow. Our lives have been changed in ways yet to be fully revealed. Yet in the midst of all this turmoil, out of the darkness of these deeds, we are presented with a crucial choice. How will we ultimately respond to this egregious tragedy? What kind of world will we seek to create? I pray we choose wisely. I pray we choose well.

May God help us all.

If we practice and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, soon the whole world will be blind and toothless. ~Mahatma Gandhi





Postscript--September 11, 2016

9/11 presented us with an immense opportunity. A few days after that horrendous event I wrote that one thing had been accomplished by the appalling actions of the terrorists: We had come together as a nation in support of those in need. And not only that; the world community joined in mourning our loss. Many nations pledged their cooperation in confronting the challenge of terrorism, and we had considerable solidarity in this effort ... for a while.

In the months following 9/11, however, President George W. Bush hijacked our interval of unity. Intent on retribution, Bush, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Vice President Cheney, and others told us that that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They were not. These same men told us that Iraq posed a grave threat to our nation. It did not. We were told our troops would be welcomed by the Iraqi people with open arms. They were not. We were told that weapons of mass destruction would be discovered in Iraq. They were not. We were told that the conflict would end quickly. It did not. We were told that selling Iraqi oil would pay for rebuilding that nation. It did not even come close, and the tab is still running.

The vast majority of the members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, bought into the propaganda put forth by the Bush Administration immediately after 9/11 and voted overwhelmingly to give President Bush a virtual blank check to go to war whenever, wherever, and however he saw fit. Of course, there are also the actions by Congress curtailing our civil liberties right here in the United States, such as the Patriot Act and the growing surveillance society, among others, but I'll save this discussion for another time.

The nation's mainstream media became the Administration's stenographers, merely repeating their pre-Iraq War propaganda and feeding it to us devoid of opposing views. I spoke out against the Iraq War before it began in my op ed "A few illogical arguments for the elimination of Saddam Hussein," that was published on October 12, 2002, in The Asheville Citizen-Times and on a number of progressive news websites.

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Reprinted from Unz Review

It doesn't matter who is elected

There is considerable chatter about who will win in some of the hotly contested congressional races around the country, but one thing is certain: whoever triumphs will soon be receiving a nice all expenses paid luxury trip to Israel to learn all about Benjamin Netanyahu's views regarding what more Washington can do to support him and his government. The "educational seminars" are organized by the Israel Lobby, more specifically by a tax exempt entity referred to as the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), which is a part of the hard-line American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Participation in the journey by all freshman congressman is not mandatory but is advisable if one wants to stay on the right side of the Lobby. In August 2015 the class of 2014 only had three abstentions out of 53 new congressmen when it traveled to Israel along partisan lines with a Democratic group, followed shortly thereafter by a GOP contingent.

These orientation trips are in addition to the frequent taxpayer funded visits made by congressmen to update themselves on Israel's expanding list of "needs." One such recent excursion involved Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who enthused that "in a region consumed by terrorism and oppression, Israel stands out as a shining beacon of hope and freedom." Congressman David Rouzer, also from North Carolina, observed that "Any attack on Israel of any kind is an attack on the American people. It was an honor for us to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

My own congressman, Barbara Comstock, a Republican representing the 10th District of Virginia, made the freshman trip last year. Comstock is a supremely ambitious lawmaker who has proven herself to be a dedicated GOP apparatchik. Recently she supported the presidential candidacy of Senator Marco Rubio, the ultimate Republican establishment candidate, who has appropriately been described as an "empty suit" when it comes to any understanding of the serious issues confronting the American people.

Comstock has been involved in a number of unsavory enterprises as she climbed the GOP ladder. She once headed the defense fund for Scooter Libby, the White House aide who was eventually convicted of perjury and other crimes after outing deep cover CIA Officer Valerie Plame, a felony offense. Outing Plame not only destroyed the woman's career, it also set back CIA efforts to find and neutralize nuclear proliferators, which is what Valerie was working on.

I do not want to appear to be picking on Comstock but she and I have had a bit of a go around on her Israel trip and regarding her statements upon returning to Virginia, which I would like to share. And I must note that she is far from unique. She in reality differs but little from the numerous other congressmen on the make who are short on principles and compassion and long on their commitment to remain on the good side of Israel. And it is completely bipartisan. If Comstock is replaced by Democratic congressional candidate LuAnn Bennett this November I am sure Bennett will make the AIPAC sponsored trip in 2017 and will grovel just as embarrassingly on the Israel-Palestine issue. After all, that is what politicians do.

Comstock commented on her travel experience in a local newspaper, the Loudoun Times-Mirror, saying that she had met with Israeli government leaders who unanimously opposed the then impending nuclear deal with Iran. She agreed, coming to the conclusion that Iran is "very much a threat, not just to Israel and the entire region, but to the United States." She repeated the Israeli view that the agreement would make it likely that Iran would develop a nuclear weapon in 12 or 13 years. She also opposed weakening sanctions as an inducement for Iran to drop its program, observing that "I think if anything we should increase the sanctions."

Exercising my First Amendment rights, I then wrote a letter to the newspaper:

"So Congresswoman Barbara Comstock has traveled to Israel on a trip paid for by the Israel Lobby. While there, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns her about the Iranians being a threat to America (and, of course, Israel) so she believes him rather than her own president and returns to regurgitate the propaganda she has been fed. It never occurs to Ms. Comstock that Netanyahu might be feeding her and the other congressmen a lot of rubbish. Neither Israel's own generals nor the American ones at the Pentagon actually consider Iran to be a serious threat, no matter what it tries to do. Neither the CIA nor the Mossad believe that Iran has ever sought to build a nuclear weapon.

"Perhaps she should do her homework on this one. The Iran deal significantly reduces that country's capability to produce a nuclear weapon and its research labs will be subject to intrusive inspection. Sure no deal is perfect, but there are plenty of safeguards built in and if Iran fails to keep its end of the bargain sanctions will be re-imposed. It is an agreement that is good for all parties involved, including for Israel.

"Ms. Comstock might also want to revisit her oath of office which pledges her to defend the Constitution of the United States, not to become an accomplice in what a foreign nation wants us to do. Our First President George Washington wisely urged Americans to maintain friendly relations with everyone, to avoid a 'passionate attachment' to another nation which just might be creating 'the illusion of a common interest ... where no common interest exists.'"

The newspaper would not print my letter, so I wrote directly to the congresswoman beginning with "The media is reporting that you have traveled to Israel on a trip paid for by the Israel Lobby" and then adding the points I had made in the newspaper letter.

Comstock responded, and I am quoting verbatim her first three paragraphs:

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The ruling political elite in Gotham City would not like things to remain as they are today, come 2017. For them, there is something that must change and they've all aching to send the city's most liberal mayor in over 50 years packing. For sometime now, I've been keeping my ears close to the ground to pick up on and monitor the whisper campaigns against Mayor Bill DeBlasio as he continues to "take charge of the city" and run things his own way. I have to say that as a proud Progressive Leftie of the Marxist kind, the good mayor oftentimes gives me quite a few really bad cluster headaches.

But of late he's settled down and is getting the job done much to the chagrin of his political detractors, especially those Democrats on the political Right and the Republican conservative machine that would rather things go back to the 1950 days of "bobby socks and stockings." But that does not mean that all is easy sailing for a mayor that I personally admire and know to be a good and decent man deep down. The thing is that New York City was ruled for about 20 years by some pretty God-awful people ranging from the ultra-conservative, race bating, Rudy Giuliani, to the short-tempered, dictatorial, and autocratic billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

It's as if we've become so used to their brand of brash, selfish, anti-people politics that says that "white was right and if you've Black get the hell to the back, " that we cannot stomach the sharp departure which DeBlasio represents. Hurricane Giuliani, the darling of the NYPD and other punitive elements in New York City, went on a campaign of alienating the most racially diverse city in the nation. His Administration did not reflect the ethnic and racial composition of the city and he looked with contempt and disdain at Black and Latino leaders as if they had just crawled out from under a large stone.

Mike Bloomberg decided to make New York City a "nanny state" and to feud with any and all groups that disagreed with him. While he was not as extreme in his actions and policies as Giuliani he did very little to head the city's racial pain in the light of the devastation wrought by the Giuliani Years. More concerned with is image and resume, Bloomberg muffed the Hurricane Sandy response and demonstrated just how incompetent and inept his administration really was so much so that the New York Times published a story highly critical of Mayor Bloomberg's recovery efforts.

"By the time Mr. Bloomberg left office at the end of last year [2013], the program had paid $8.3 million to one of the nation's most expensive business consulting firms. Another consulting firm was poised to collect several hundred thousand dollars to run contests seeking ideas that might help businesses in future storms. Nearly $300 million had been awarded to the mayor's coveted long-term disaster planning effort. But the rebuilding of people's homes was completely stalled, a situation that remained largely unchanged through the spring, several months into Mr. de Blasio's tenure." [ Hurricane Sandy Recovery Program in New York City Was Mired by Its Design /Broken Pledges and Bottlenecks Hurt Mayor Bloomberg's Build It Back Effort/www.nytimes.com]

Bill DeBlasio was a breadth of fresh air and won an election with he backing of a broad cross-section of the city's voters. He also had the support of organized labor and the Working Families Party (WFP). That grand coalition propelled the former Public Advocate to victory as he positioned himself as the candidate of the "common people," showcasing a modern, racially mixed family. New York loved it and decided to give the Brooklynite a shot.

Admittedly, Mayor DeBlasio's first year in office was a rocky one. I believe that he was pulled every which way as he tired to "pay the people he owed." His spats with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the vitriol hurled in his direction by police unions formerly molly-coddled by BOTH Giuliani and Bloomberg, when he stood up their perceived wrongdoing, did not earn him many spurs. I suppose the vast majority of the NYPD's rank and file will not vote for him.

Then a local media culture historically petted and pampered by successive mayors decided to give him a hard time over access and the fact that he was focused too much on "doing the people's work" and not on a spoiled, thin-skinned media corps. He paid for that with the kind of nasty, scurrilous reporting that only a peevish and childish press corps could manage. Through it all the mayor took his blows and pressed on. His careful endorsement of his old boss, Hillary Clinton, for president of the United States again gave the media a new manufactured story as if somehow Mayor DeBlasio was a mindless zombie who just "played trump and followed suit." And when the fandango about the NYPD bribery scandal broke ALL of the mainstream media was just drooling on themselves to try and tag DeBlasio with it. That too failed to stick.

Finally, there is the still ongoing low-level political war between DeBlasio and New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo. This war revealed some very important things. First, it exposed Cuomo's absolute spitefulness and juvenile behavior as evidenced by his handling of the Ebola issue and other political power-plays where he tried to upstage and deliberately outflank the mayor on his own turf solely to embarrass him. Cuomo's infantile reaction to the mayor's request for control of the city's public school system was laughable as was his behavior over the Pre-K and housing programs championed by the mayor. Cuomo just had to show everybody who was "the boss."

After DeBlasio called him out for his petty spite and really stupid shenanigans there were attempts to patch things up but they will never be buddies. The reason? Cuomo is an arrogant control freak and DeBlasio, for all his gentleman's qualities, will have nothing of it. He's not going to be a "yes man" to a governor who always wants to have his way and anyone who opposes him will "draw his fire and ire."

So now we're nearly at the end of 2016 and going into an election year. While Gotham's political elites are hoping to find a suitable and qualified candidate to run against DeBlasio, aided and abetted behind the scenes by Governor Cuomo, the lift may be a very, very tall one indeed. I'm no a betting man, but my money is on DeBlasio for a second term. Cuomo et al can jack up Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz or Brooklyn Congressman Hakeem Jeffries all they want but DeBlasio will have a good record to run on for his first term. Plus, Diaz does not have the name recognition in the other boroughs that the mayor has nor can he bank on the counties political clubs to back him against DeBlasio -- even Bronx.

But here are the reasons why I believe that New Yorkers will re-elect Bill DeBlasio. Let's start with some of his accomplishments.

He settled long outstanding labor contracts covering approximately 300,000 public-sector union members.

His municipal ID card program is hugely successful and popular among a majority of New Yorkers -- not only the undocumented and immigrant communities. The program has issued 850,000 ID cards and given thousands of immigrants their first real form of NYC identification.

Paid sick leave -- knocked out of the political ballpark. Especially popular among working women -- a key constituency.

Free universal pre-K for more than 100,000 kids -- many living in at-risk and low-income neighborhoods ACROSS ALL FIVE BOROUGHS.

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Reprinted from The Guardian

His whistleblowing was among the most important in US history. I would publicly acknowledge his heroism, as Barack Obama should, without delay

On 6 June 2013, the Guardian broke the news National Security Agency (NSA) had ordered Verizon to provide it with the phone records of its customers. As the story developed it became clear that the two other major telephone networks as well as credit card companies were doing the same thing; and that the NSA and FBI were being provided with access to server systems operated by Google, Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, Microsoft and Skype.

On 11 June the Guardian reported the source as Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old who had been working at the NSA for four years.

More revelations followed that exposed a massive national security complex that spies on virtually everyone, everywhere. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), which is a secret court that was supposed to protect our privacy rights, was rubber-stamping every NSA request for the authority to spy without any real oversight. The US government was spying on foreign leaders, working with British spies to collect massive amounts of global data across the planet, and collecting over 200 million text messages daily. And the NSA was working to stop encryption (a technology developed to protect the privacy of both private individuals and businesses).

NSA director James Clapper was forced to acknowledge that he had given false testimony to Congress about NSA spying on Americans, and that Snowden's leaks had created a healthy public debate about the balance between privacy and national security. "It's clear that some of the conversations this has generated, some of the debate, actually needed to happen," he said. Even Barack Obama admitted that the revelations required the US to re-think how we uphold "the civil liberties and privacy protections that our ideals -- and our Constitution -- require."

Federal judges ruled that such massive collection of citizens' metadata without any connection to a particular investigation was patently illegal, essentially vindicating Snowden. His goal was to tell the truth about the government spying on all of us, and to create public and judicial pressure on the government to create real changes in the way things are done and to stop the trajectory towards a surveillance state.

Snowden's whistleblowing was among the most important in US history. It showed us that the relationship between the people of the United States and the government has gone off track and needs a major course correction.

The fourth amendment of the constitution provides that a court must find probable cause that an individual has committed a crime before issuing a warrant, and forbids systematic spying on the American people. The requirement of individualized suspicion should prohibit this type of dragnet surveillance. Spying on whole populations is not necessary, and is actually counterproductive.

If elected president I will immediately pardon Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and John Kiriakou for their important work in exposing the massive, systematic violation of our constitutional rights. I would invite them to the White House to publicly acknowledge their heroism, and create a role for them in the Stein-Baraka Green party administration to help us create a modern framework that protects personal privacy while still conducting effective investigations where warranted.

The American people have a right to privacy. My hope is that Obama uses his power to pardon Snowden now. The debate he began must be continued so we find a resolution that protects the freedom of press, association, religion and speech as well as the privacy of people in the United States and around the world.
Reprinted from Wallwritings

Syria's cease-fire, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, began Monday night on Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival which commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to follow Allah's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

The agreement, reached last Friday, began under a cloud of opposition within the U.S. and Israeli governments. The plan would lead to American and Russian forces jointly targeting terrorist groups.

The New York Times reported that the cease-fire exposed "an increasingly public divide between Secretary Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter."

Secretary Carter "was among the administration officials who pushed against the agreement on a conference call with the White House last week as Secretary Kerry, joining the argument from a secure facility in Geneva, grew increasingly frustrated."

In the end, Secretary Kerry prevailed. After hours of debate, on Friday President Obama approved the cease-fire, even as Pentagon officials "remained unconvinced."

The Australian Broadcasting Company reported that under the truce agreement, the United States and Russia would reduce violence over seven consecutive days before moving to the next stage of "coordinating military strikes against Nusra Front and Islamic State militants, which are not party to the truce."

Secretary Carter and Israel's right-wing government are united in their opposition to this "coordination."

In an appearance on The Real News Network, Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in the Bush Administration, said:

"A lot of what's going on in Syria, indirectly or directly, has impact on Israel. I think what the Israeli leadership is thinking right now is that the longer this war goes on, the safer Israel is, because it can do as [Prime Minister] Netanyahu has said, for example, in regard to the Golan Heights: they're ours forever; we're never going to give them up."

Wilkerson added that, in his opinion, anything else Israel can grab away from Syria "while this turmoil is going on is [Israel's]... increasing the distance an enemy would have to come to invade Israel."

From Wilkerson's perspective, Netanyahu opposes the current cease-fire because "all these powers are occupied killing one another, as it were, and so they can't take on Israel."

Wilkerson "begs to differ" with Netanyahu, insisting:

"I think strategically this [fighting in Syria] is dynamite for Israel. We are looking at the potential for things to start falling apart for Israel quickly and dynamically and dramatically.... "The United States [has] some really serious choices to make about this... That is another element we don't like to talk about much in the United States, but it is intrinsic to this situation, and certainly to an ultimate solution to it."

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Reprinted from Alternet

Don't believe a word Donald Trump says about getting money out of politics -- he's part of the problem, and his apparent bribe of Republican Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi highlights it.

Although this scandal has been overshadowed by all the drama surrounding Hillary Clinton having the flu, her emails, the Clinton Foundation, etc. -- it's actually a really big deal.

Here's the gist of what happened: Back in 2013, Bondi was thinking of joining a massive lawsuit against Trump University, which was accused of ripping off thousands of students.

Shortly after receiving a $25,000 campaign check from the Donald J. Trump foundation, however, Bondi decided not to join that lawsuit.

Bondi, of course, denies any wrongdoing, but no one in Florida is buying her excuses.

All three major Sunshine State newspapers -- the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times -- have now called for a federal investigation into an incident that certainly looks like a classic case of quid-pro-quo corruption.

The Tampa Bay Times was especially tough in its call for a federal probe, arguing that since "The appearance of something more than a coincidence is too serious -- and the unresolved questions are too numerous -- to accept blanket denials by Bondi and Trump without more digging and an independent review."

Now, under normal circumstances, a scandal of this magnitude would be all over the news.

If Clinton, for example, were involved in anything like this, we'd never hear the end of it.

But because it's Trump, the whole story has slipped down the memory hole.

And that's despite the fact that the campaign donation that set off this scandal was itself illegal and worthy of a $2,500 fine for Trump breaking the law!

So what's going on here?

How is Trump able to weather a pay-to-play scandal that would probably doom another candidate?

The answer is simpler than you might think: Trump can survive this kind of scandal because being involved in this kind of scandal is a huge part of his appeal.

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Would you like to know how many people have visited this page? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

Since 2013, Professor Franklin P. Lamb has traveled extensively throughout Syria. His primary focus has been to document, photograph, research and hopefully help preserve the vast and irreplaceable archaeological sites and artifacts in Syria.

Like Iraq, Syria is the cradle of civilization, and as such it has been a rich source of our shared global culture and historic heritage. Already endangered from illegal excavation, looting, international trafficking and iconoclasm; the theft and destruction of these sites has greatly increased as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

Many of the endangered archeological sites and artifacts are over 7,000 years old. The oldest remains found in Syria are from the Paleolithic era (c. 800,000 BCE). The most endangered artifacts and archaeological sites currently are in Tell Halaf, the north of Syria near the Turkish border with Syria. These archaeological sites date as far back as 5,500 BCE. They include archeological sites and artifacts of the Babylonian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Phoenician, Aramaic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Ayyubid and Ottoman civilizations and empires.

Professor Franklin Lamb has also been working, sometimes under dangerous circumstances, to record and photograph the war damage done to religious icons, images, monuments, and ancient structures that span pre-Roman civilizations, and structures such as Islamic mosques, Christian churches and Jewish synagogues.

Professor Lamb is working tirelessly to record and photograph these sites and artifacts because they are in danger of complete destruction for religious, political and illegal trafficking reasons, especially due to the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

Professor Franklin Lamb's website and his latest book, "Syria's Endangered Heritage, an International Responsibility to Preserve and Protect" presents exclusive and never published before photographs, records, data, articles, and interviews from across the whole of Syria. His book can be purchased at his website http://www.syrian-heritage.com/.

In addition to Dr. Lamb's urgent archaeological work he is also deeply committed to rescuing and aiding refugee children in Syria. He is a volunteer with the Lebanon, France, and USA based "Meals for Syrian Refugee Children, Lebanon (MSRCL)", which seeks to provide hot nutritional meals to Syrian and other refugee children.

Lamb says that the goal of MSRCL is to be able to provide one meal a day to 500 children. More donors are needed in order for him to reach that goal. At $2.25 per meal x 500 children per day ($1,225), the budget for a month (30 days) requires approximately $36,000. Over 95% of each donation goes directly towards the cost of each meal. The MSCRL volunteer teams give their time, energy and even their own money to help the refugee children so that they will not become part of the "lost generation" of Syria.

Lamb's books and publications include "Pollution as a Problem of International Law"; "International Legal Responsibility for the Sabra Shatila Massacre"; "Israel's 1982 War in Lebanon: Eyewitness Chronicles of the Invasion and Occupation", "The Price We Pay: A Quarter Century of Israel's Use of American Weapons against Civilians in Lebanon in addition to the three volume set, "Palestine, Lebanon & Syria Palestine, Lebanon & Syria (Commentary and Analysis 2006-2016)." Due out during Fall 2016, in English and Arabic, is "The Case for Palestinian Civil Rights in Lebanon: Why the Resistance Sleeps."

Dr. Lamb's most recent book is "Syria's Endangered Heritage: An International Responsibility to Preserve and Protect". www.Syrian-heritage.com

Lamb's Academic Credentials include: BA, and Law Degrees from Boston University, Master of Law (LLM) Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Economics (LSE); Diploma in International Air & Space Law from the University College of London; Post-Doctoral Studies at Harvard University Law School of East Asian Legal Studies Center, specializing in Chinese Law; International Legal Studies at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Studied Public International Law at The Hague Academy of international Law, at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands.

Lamb's Professional and Political Activities include Assistant Professor of International Law, Northwestern College of Law, Portland, Oregon and Assistant Counsel to the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, During the Administration of President Jimmy Carter, Lamb was elected for a four year term to the Democratic National Committee, representing the state of Oregon. Lamb served on the Democratic National Committee Judicial Council with California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi as well as the Platform Committee on East-West Relations. Professor Lamb served on the presidential campaign staff for Presidential Candidate Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
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Clustering Software Market - Global Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecast by 2024

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Clustering Software Market: OverviewClustering software is designed to help computing resources function together as a cluster to provide high availability (HA), continuous operation benefits, and failovers. Traditionally, clustering software is sold in a package with storage management and applications, operating systems, and other standalone products. Clustering is deployed across various levels of operating systems, including middleware, system management and its application, and hardware.The growing dependence on unified IT infrastructural support of industries around the globe has augmented the need for unified platforms and complementing software solutions. Additionally, organizations have also grown keener to include virtualized environments, leading to increased investments in cloud deployments. Clustering software has emerged as the most potent solution to cater to the aforementioned organizational requirements, enabling computer resources to work as a cluster.Get FREE Sample PDF file of Clustering Software Market :Clustering software has proven to be indispensable for any organization, particularly for the management of downtime caused by natural disasters or manmade errors. It provides contingency capabilities such as failovers, enabling organizations to evade unforeseen perils. These applications are therefore considered essential for enhancing IT flexibility and supporting high availability.The report presents an in-depth analysis of the latest trends and technologies shaping the evolution of the market for clustering software. It studies in detail the drivers and restraints of growth that the market is anticipated to encounter over the forecast period. The impact of government policies on prevailing demand and supply trends in the market is also studied in detail. Using SWOT analysis, the report also weighs out the strengths and weaknesses of the companies operating in the market. The effect of Porters Five Forces on the overall market dynamics is also studied in detail.Clustering Software Market: Key Trends and OpportunitiesGlobally, the demand for clustering software has significantly risen, since these solutions help organizations reduce the cost incurred during downtime in the IT infrastructural setting. The highly competitive market is making it imperative for businesses to manage the existing workload through specialized clustering software. Apart from assisting companies in managing the complexities of business processes, manufacturing, and workload, the software will also help them stay ahead of the competition. Furthermore, following the advances introduced recently in cloud technology, the market for clustering software is likely to witness more state-of-the-art developments for the virtual management of workloads and end-to-end application availability. The advent of the latest technologies will also help companies manage the high availability of services in cloud environments.Clustering Software Market: Region-wise OutlookBased on in-depth research, demand in this multi-million dollar industry is poised to surge exponentially between 2016 and 2024. With industries flourishing in Latin America and Asia Pacific, the global market for clustering software is anticipated to gain significant impetus in the forthcoming years. The Middle East and Africa is also anticipated to exhibit lucrative prospects for the clustering software industry. However, the market for clustering software is likely to witness the largest volume of demand from North America. The markets for clustering software in Asia Pacific and Europe are expected to trail the North America market on the basis of their share in the global industry.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Ceramic Tiles (Floor Tiles, Wall Tiles, and Others) Market for Residential Replacement, Commercial, New Residential, and Other Applications - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024

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Ceramic tiles are manufactured by using substances derived from mining operations such as minerals and clays. Floor tiles, wall tiles, and others are the major product segments of the global ceramic tiles market. Ceramic tiles are solely used in the building & construction industry. Residential replacement, commercial, and new residential are the major application segments of the ceramic tiles market. The residential replacement segment constituted the largest demand for ceramic tiles in 2015. However, new residential segment is expected to build substantial growth opportunities for the ceramic tiles market during the forecast period. GCC countries, Turkey, and Brazil are expected to offer lucrative opportunities in the ceramic tiles market during the forecast period, owing to rise in construction activities in these countries.Download Free exclusive Sample of this report:The report estimates and forecasts the ceramic tiles market on the global, regional, and country level. The study provides forecast from 2016 to 2024 based on volume (Million Square Meters) and revenue (US$ Mn).The study offers a comprehensive view of the ceramic tiles market by dividing it into product segments such as floor tiles, wall tiles, and others. In terms of application, the global ceramic tiles market has been segmented into residential replacement, new residential, commercial, and others. Application segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends, and the market has been estimated from 2016 to 2024 in terms of volume (Million Square Meters) and revenue (US$ Mn). Regional segmentation includes current and forecast demand for ceramic tiles in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report includes country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for product and application segments. Key countries such as the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, China, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, as well as ASEAN and GCC have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual products and applications in all regions and countries.The report comprises an all-inclusive value chain analysis that provides an extensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also provides detailed information about value addition at each stage of the value chain. The report covers drivers and restraints of the ceramic tiles market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. Additionally, it includes the study of opportunities in the ceramic tiles market at the global level.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to gauge the degree of competition in the ceramic tiles market. The report encompasses a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein applications have been analyzed based on their attractiveness, growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated to derive general attractiveness of the market. The report also includes price trend analysis of ceramic tiles as well as their raw materials derived from the mining industry such as feldspar, bentonite clay, kaolin, and silica sand from 2015 to 2024.Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of the research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and reinforcing our secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.The report covers a detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics, Siam Cement Group, Grupo Lamosa SAB de CV, Kajaria Ceramics, Mohawk Industries Inc., China Ceramics Co., Ltd., and Ceramiche Atlas Concorde S.P.A, Crossville Inc., Florida Tile Inc., Porcelanosa Grupo, Saloni Ceramica, and Gruppo Ceramiche Ricchetti S.p.A. are the key players profiled in the report. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview.This report segments the global ceramic tiles market as follows:Ceramic Tiles Market  Product AnalysisFloor TilesWall TilesOthers (Including Ceiling Tiles, Roofing Tiles, etc.)Ceramic Tiles Market  Application AnalysisResidential ReplacementCommercialNew ResidentialOthers (Including Industrial, etc.)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Diabetic Macular Edema Market: Competitive Dynamics & Global Outlook 2019

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Macular edema is the condition when the fluid and proteins start collecting on or under the macula of the eye thereby resulting in swelling. Due to such swelling, a persons central eye vision gets distorted. Macular edema is classified into two types namely cystoids macular edema (CME) and diabetic macular edema (DME).Diabetic macular edema is the major reason for loss of vision in patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes patient are reported to have a 10% risk of developing this condition during their lifetime. On the basis of the cause of disease, DME is classified into two types:Diffuse macular edema: due to abnormalities in dilated capillaries present in the retina.Focal macular edema: due to abnormalities in microaneurysmsDownload free exclusive Brochure of this report:For diagnosing diabetic macular edema, an ophthalmologist checks the retina for symptoms of the disease including leaking blood vessel, retinal swelling, damaged nerve tissues and pale, fatty deposits on the retina. For further confirmation, comprehensive eye examination such as visual acuity test, dilated exam test and tonometry are performed.During the initial stages of DME, no treatment is needed unless the patients efficiently control their blood sugar levels. If the condition becomes severe, the standard treatment for diabetic macular edema is laser photocoagulation. This procedure utilizes laser to reduce edema byapplying a pattern of burnsor bycauterizing leaky blood vessels. For avoiding the side-effects of this treatment, retinal specialists apply injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factorcorticosteroids along with laser photocoagulation. Currently, there are only two approved drugs available in market for treating DME namely Lucentis and Ozurdex. Other treatment methods are currently under clinical trials.The markets for America and Europe are at the maturity stage for diabetic macular edema because large proportion of population is suffering from diabetes. Lucentis and Ozurdex ocuppy the major part of the market share in the therapeutics market. Asia-Pacific is also growing at faster pace while the markets of Africa and Australia are currently at initial stages. Some of the companies and institutes which are involved in clinical trials for treatment of diabetic macular edema are Allergan, Inc., Novartis AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer, Inc.,Bayer AG, Bausch & Lomb Incorporated,the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network, The National Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University and ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Sciences.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Building Information Modelling Market to Tap US$11.5 bn by the end of 2023

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As per TMR, the global building information modelling market stood at US$2.7 bn in 2014. Rising at a CAGR of 19.1%, the market is projected to reach US$11.5 bn by the end of 2023.Government bodies that take up construction management are encouraging the adoption of BIM in countries such as the U.S., the U.K., China, and Japan. For instance, as per new regulations in the U.K, implementing BIM for public projects will become mandatory by the end of 2016. Additionally, a BIM-based building permitting system has been implemented in Singapore. Such regulations will bolster opportunities for sales of BIM across developed nations.Free PDF For Full Details with Technological breakthroughs is @The implementation of BIM makes estimation of budget way easier, thereby significantly reducing the overall maintenance cost, said a TMR analyst. Since BIM software makes project planning less complicated, their adoption is gradually increasing across construction companies looking to redefine their role in the industry, he added. BIM systems simplify scheduling and budgeting during the commencement of any construction project. The rising awareness regarding the convenience offered by these solutions will augur well for the global BIM market.High Initial Investment and Inadequate Expertise to Limit Widespread BIM AdoptionOn the flip side, building an information modelling requires high initial investment. This limits the deployment of BIM across small-scale contractors and developers. Furthermore, hiring services of a consulting firm or technical experts to develop this software can incur additional cost, which also limits the scope for widespread deployment of BIM solutions.The lack of technical expertise also hinders the adoption of BIM solutions. Being a critical system, BIM requires a specialist to design a building model using the software. Furthermore, it needs coordination between the team at different stages of deployment. Inadequate technical expertise could hamper the frequent upgrades and reconfiguration of both hardware and software, thus resulting in less adoption of the building information modelling solutions.Inclusion of Training Programs Can Mitigate the Issue of Lack of Technical SkillsDespite being one of the major hindrances, the absence of technical expertise can be addressed by the inclusion of suitable training programs. These programs can be made available at institutional level or at open source providing access to lite versions of the BIM software. With governments encouraging such programs, TMR expects demand for BIM solutions to surge in the near future.Market Insight can be Viewed @Furthermore, the opportunities for BIM implementation are also expected to rise with the increasing spending construction projects across suburban areas. Besides this, shifting to a cloud infrastructure can help the market overcome problems associated with the high cost of software.TMR expects the companies in the BIM market to witness the most lucrative opportunities in North America and Asia Pacific. By revenue, North America emerged as a major contributor in the market, with a dominant share of 33% in 2014. On the basis of end users, the global BIM market is led by architects.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
US Dry Eye Syndrome - Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2024

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"The Report Dry Eye Syndrome - US Drug Forecast and Market Analysis to 2024 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Dry Eye Syndrome (DES), also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface. This ocular condition can cause ocular discomfort, visual disturbances, and tear film instability, which can potentially damage the ocular surface. The DES market has had few new therapeutics in the last decade with Japan seeing the most change in this time with the arrival of Diquas and Mucosta in 2010 and 2013, respectively. However, the lack of treatment options is about to change with the expected launch of numerous pipeline DES drugs during the forecast period, which will be a significant driver of growth in the 9MM. Indeed, this change has already been initiated with Ikervis recent arrival in Europe in 2015. Furthermore, additional marketing approvals are being sought for currently marketed DES drugs, Restasis and Diquas, in new countries in the 9MM, which will provide a source of growth in this market.GlobalData estimates that DES drug sales in the US reached $1.3 billion during 2014, making it the largest market within the 9MM. After an initial period of minimal growth, GlobalData estimates that the DES market will undergo a period of steady growth from 2016 and beyond, but this growth will begin to wane slightly towards the end of the forecast period. This growth is mainly attributed to the expected introduction of the highly anticipated pipeline DES drug, lifitegrast in late 2016, and additional pipeline products in 2018. This expansion of treatment options for DES patients will have the added effect of increasing overall treatment rates in the US.Download Sample copy of this Report at :Scope- Overview of DES including epidemiology, etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, pathology and treatment guidelines as well as an overview on the competitive landscape.- Detailed information on the key drugs in the US including product description, safety and efficacy profiles as well as a SWOT analysis.- Sales forecast for the top drugs in the US from 2014-2024.- Analysis of the impact of key events as well the drivers and restraints affecting the US DES market.Reasons to buy- Understand and capitalize by identifying products that are most likely to ensure a robust return- Stay ahead of the competition by understanding the changing competitive landscape for DES.- Effectively plan your M&A and partnership strategies by identifying drugs with the most promising sales potential- Make more informed business decisions from insightful and in-depth analysis of drug performance- Obtain sales forecast for drugs from 2014-2024 in US.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 61.2 List of Figures 82 Introduction 92.1 Related Reports 93 Disease Overview 113.1 Etiology and Pathophysiology 113.1.1 Etiology 113.1.2 Pathophysiology 143.2 Disease Classification 163.3 Symptoms 173.4 Prognosis 203.5 Quality of Life 214 Disease Management 224.1 Diagnosis and Treatment Overview 224.1.1 Diagnosis 224.1.2 Treatment Guidelines 254.1.3 Clinical Practice 264.2 US 325 Competitive Assessment 375.1 Overview 375.2 Product Profiles 385.2.1 Restasis (cyclosporine) 385.2.2 Diquas (diquafosol tetrasodium) 485.2.3 Mucosta ophthalmic solution (rebamipide) 545.2.4 Ikervis (cyclosporine) 595.2.5 Artificial Tears 665.2.6 Other therapies 746 Unmet Need and Opportunity 796.1 Overview 796.2 New Therapies for DES 816.2.1 Unmet Need 816.2.2 Gap Analysis 826.2.3 Opportunity 846.3 Better Diagnostic Tools 856.3.1 Unmet Need 856.3.2 Gap Analysis 866.3.3 Opportunity 886.4 Appropriate Clinical Trial Design to Secure Regulatory Approval 896.4.1 Unmet Need 896.4.2 Gap Analysis 916.4.3 Opportunity 926.5 Simplified Dosing 936.5.1 Unmet Need 936.5.2 Gap Analysis 946.5.3 Opportunity 956.6 Patient Education to Improve Tolerance and Compliance 956.6.1 Unmet Need 956.6.2 Gap Analysis 97MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
EpiCast Report - Global VTE Market Analysis, Trends And Forecast to 2025

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"The Report EpiCast Report: Venous Thromboembolism - Epidemiology Forecast to 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Venous thromboembolism (VTE), comprised of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a blood clot (thrombosis) of the circulatory system that leads to impeded flow of blood, which can have serious consequences in the affected individual. VTE can occur at any age, though it is more common in adults ages 60 years and older and is very rare in children. VTE events are highly dangerous and are associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity.GlobalData epidemiologists forecast an increase in the diagnosed incident cases of VTE in the 8MM, from 1,116,358 cases in 2015 to 1,354,846 in 2025, at an Annual Growth Rate (AGR) of 2.14%. The 8MM had 314,886 diagnosed incident cases of Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in 2015 and GlobalData epidemiologists expect the diagnosed incident cases of PE to increase to 377,612 by 2025, at an AGR of 1.99%. GlobalData epidemiologists forecast an increase in the diagnosed incident cases of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in the 8MM to increase from 801,472 cases in 2015 to 977,234 cases by 2025, at an AGR of 2.19%. GlobalData epidemiologists also forecast the number of medically ill patients at risk for VTE to increase in the 8MM from 44,611,144 in 2015 to 54,143,874 in 2025. In addition, GlobalData epidemiologists forecast the number of total knee replacement and revision procedures to grow from 1,532,360 in 2015 to 1,867,289 in 2025. Furthermore, the number of hip replacements is forecast to grow 1,220,965 in 2015 to 1,512,215 in 2025. GlobalData epidemiologists have identified the predominant drivers of this market to be changes in country-specific incidence and procedure rates, as well as in the underlying demographic trends.Download Sample copy of this Report at :Scope- The Venous thromboembolism (VTE) EpiCast Report is an overview of the risk factors, comorbidities, and the global and historical trends for VTE in the eight major markets (8MM: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, and China). It includes a 10-year epidemiological forecast for the diagnosed incident cases of PE, DVT, and VTE; the number of VTE attacks; the number of medically ill discharges that are at risk for VTE; the number of primary total knee replacements and revisions; and the number of hip replacements, each segmented by sex and age. Additionally, it includes a forecast for the number of recurrent VTE cases at one and 10 years after incident event, and the number of diagnosed VTE cases with cancer as comorbidity.- The VTE epidemiology report is written and developed by Masters- and PhD-level epidemiologists.- The EpiCast Report is in-depth, high quality, transparent and market-driven, providing expert analysis of disease trends in the 8MM.Reasons to buyThe VTE EpiCast report will allow you to -- Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving the global VTE market.- Quantify patient populations in the global VTE market to improve product design, pricing, and launch plans.- Organize sales and marketing efforts by identifying the age groups and sex that present the best opportunities for VTE therapeutics in each of the markets covered.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 41.1 List of Tables 51.2 List of Figures 62 Epidemiology 72.1 Disease Background 72.2 Risk Factors and Comorbidities 82.3 Global Trends 102.4 Forecast Methodology 112.4.1 Sources Used 112.4.2 Forecast Assumptions and Methods 172.4.3 Sources Not Used 332.5 Epidemiological Forecast for VTE (2015-2025) 342.5.1 Pulmonary Embolism 342.5.2 Deep Vein Thrombosis 372.5.3 VTE 402.5.4 Number of Hospital Discharges Meeting Criteria for Medically Ill and Those at Risk for VTE 502.5.5 Number of Primary Total Knee Replacements and Revisions 512.5.6 Number of Hip Replacements 532.6 Discussion 552.6.1 Epidemiological Forecast Insight 552.6.2 Limitations of the Analysis 562.6.3 Strengths of the Analysis 573 Appendix 583.1 Bibliography 583.2 Physicians and Specialists Included in this Study 613.3 About the Authors 643.3.1 Epidemiologists 643.3.2 Reviewers 643.3.3 Global Director of Therapy Analysis and Epidemiology 653.3.4 Global Head of Healthcare 663.4 About GlobalData 673.5 About EpiCast 673.6 Disclaimer 68MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Asia-Pacific Food Coating Ingredients Market is Expected to Witness the Fastest Growth (8.7% CAGR) Globally During 2015  2020

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The global food coating ingredients market is expected to increase from $2,645.6 million in 2014, and reach $3,698.6 million in 2020 with a CAGR of 5.8%. The up surging bakery and confectionery industries, increasing demand for convenience foods, growing consumer demand for food protection agents are some of the factors, driving the growth of the global food coating ingredients market. The consolidating industry of food coating ingredient is a key trend that can be seen in the global food coating ingredients market. The Asia-Pacific food coating ingredients market is expected to witness fastest growth, with a CAGR of 8.7% during 2015  2020. The higher economic growth and busy lifestyles are also driving the growth of the frozen food market, and consequently driving the upsurge in the global food coating ingredients market within the region. Due to the increasing health awareness, the demand for foods with organic ingredients has been propelling, which is providing growth opportunities for the global food coating ingredients market.Explore Report Description with Detailed TOC on Global Food Coating Ingredients Market at:The growing demand for bakery products and up surging domestic bakery production in North America is intensifying the growth of the food coating ingredients market in the region. Western Europe is the largest food coating market in European region, as of 2015. The main reason for the growth of the food coating ingredients market in Western Europe is the existence of large number of end-user industries in the bakery and confectionery segment.Ask for Sample Pages:The chocolate industry is growing at a rapid pace, which is offering considerable growth opportunities for the cocoa and chocolate segment in the Rest of the World market. The rapid industrialization and increasing disposable incomes are propelling the demand for food coating ingredients. With the increasing disposable income, the consumers are willing to pay extra for health enhancing products. The innovative new product development that effectively target the most pertinent consumer needs, such as meeting age-specific nutritional needs, and getting the best value and convenience are up surging the growth of the food coating market. The increasing population, along with growing disposable income is propelling the demand for end user industries, such as bakery and confectionery. The increasingly busy lifestyle and rapid urbanization are expected to drive the demand of products for on-the-go consumption.Browse Related Research at:The major companies operating in the global food coating ingredients market include Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), Cargill Inc., E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Ashland Inc., Ingredion Incorporated, Agrana Beteiligungs AG, Kerry Group, Dohler GmbH, PGP International Inc., and Balchem Corporation.FOOD COATING INGREDIENTS MARKET SEGMENTATIONFood Coating Ingredients by Type Cocoa and Chocolates Fats and Oils Spices and Seasonings Flours Batter and Crumbs Starches Hydrocolloids Sugars and Syrups OthersFood Coating Ingredients by Application Bakery Confectionary RTE Cereals and Snack Bars Dairy Savory Snacks Frozen Foods Meat and Poultry OthersGEOGRAPHICAL SEGMENTATIONFood Coating Ingredients Market by Region North Americao The U.S.o Canadao Mexicoo Rest of North America Europeo The U.K.o Germanyo France.o Italyo Rest of Europe Asia-Pacifico Chinao Japano Indiao Australiao Rest of Asia-Pacific Rest of the World (ROW)o Brazilo Rest of RoWAbout P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:DeepAssistant  Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:347 5th Ave. #1402- 210New York CityUnited States
Expandable Polystyrene (EPS)Market Size, Company Share, Price Trends, Capacity Forecasts of All Active and Planned Plants Outlook in Poland to 2019

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"The Report Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry Outlook in Poland to 2019 - Market Size, Company Share, Price Trends, Capacity Forecasts of All Active and Planned Plants provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"GlobalDatas new report, "Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry Outlook in Poland to 2019 - Market Size, Company Share, Price Trends, Capacity Forecasts of All Active and Planned Plants", provides in-depth coverage of Polands EPS industry and presents major market trends. The report covers Polands EPS plants and presents installed capacity by process. It also gives historical and forecast market size, demand and production forecasts, end-use demand details, price trends, trade balance data, and company shares of the countrys leading EPS producers to provide comprehensive coverage of all parameters of the EPS industry.Download Sample copy of this Report at :Scope- EPS industry supply scenario in Poland from 2005 to 2019, comprising plant capacity growth and installed plant capacity by process- Detailed information of all active plants and planned EPS projects in Poland with capacity forecasts to 2019 and additional details such as process, operator and equity- EPS industry market dynamics in Poland from 2005 to 2019, consisting of market size, demand and production outlook, demand by end-use sector, and average prices- Trade balance data from 2005 to 2019, including import and export data and net exports and imports as a percentage of demand- Company snapshots, including company overview, business description and information on current and upcoming EPS plants- Company capacity shares for key EPS producersReasons to buy- Obtain up-to-date information on Polands EPS industry- Benefit from GlobalDatas advanced insights and analysis- Identify the macro and microeconomic trends affecting the industry- Understand the market positioning of the countrys EPS producers- Learn about opportunities in the EPS industry- Develop market-entry and market-expansion strategies- Benchmark your operations and strategies against those of major companiesFollow us on LinkedIn:Table of ContentsTable of Contents 2List of Tables 4List of Figures 5Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Supply Scenario, 2005-2019 6Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Total Plant Capacity, 2005-2019 6Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), Industry, Installed Plant Capacity by Production Process, 2014 9Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Company Share, 2014 9Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Market Dynamics, 2005-2019 10Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), Industry, Market Size, 2005-2019 10Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Demand and Production Outlook, 2005-2019 12Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), Industry, Demand by End Use Sector, 2014 14Poland, Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Price Forecasts, 2005-2019 15Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), Trade Balance, 2005-2019 17Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Imports and Exports, 2005-2019 17Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Net Exports, 2005-2019 19Poland Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry, Imports as Percentage of Demand, 2005-2019 21Synthos S.A., Company Snapshot 23Synthos S.A., Company Overview 23Synthos S.A., Key Information 23Synthos S.A., Business Description 23Business Overview 23Synthos S.A., Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Market, 2014 25Synthos S.A., Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Capacity Split, Poland and Rest of the World, 2014 25Synthos S.A., Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Plant Capacity Share in Poland, 2014 26Synthos S.A., Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Capacity in Poland, 2005-2019 26Synthos S.A., Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Plant Details in Poland, 2014 26SWOT Analysis 27Overview 27Synthos S.A. Strengths 27Synthos S.A. Weaknesses 28Synthos S.A. Opportunities 28Synthos S.A. Threats 29Appendix 31Definitions 31Installed Plant Capacity 31Process 31Abbreviations 31GlobalDatas Methodology 31Coverage 31Secondary Research 32Primary Research 32Expert Panel Validation 32Contact Us 32MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global IoT Security Market Dynamics, Segments and Supply Demand 2015  2021

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Internet of Things (IoT) connects devices such as industrial equipment and consumer objects on to a network, enabling gathering of information and management of these devices through software to increase efficiency and enable new services. IoT combines hardware, embedded software, communication services, and IT services. IoT helps create smart communication environments such as smart shopping, smart homes, smart healthcare, and smart transportation. The major components of IoT include WSN (Wireless Sensor Network), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), cloud services, NFC (Near Field Communication), gateways, data storage & analytics, and visualization elements. IoT helps in effective management and monitoring of the multiple interconnected. IoT security can be addressed through network powered technology.Download Sample @The Internet of Things has access to organizations existing operational technology (OT) networks and information technology in addition to multiple devices, sensors and other smart objects. Increasing dependence on the existing network connectivity gives rise to challenges including security threats. The priority and focus of the IT network is to protect data confidentially and secure access, ensuring operational and employee safety. Thus, there is an increased demand for IoT security solutions at workplace. The companies such as Cisco systems are trying to develop the approach that combines physical and cyber security components for employee safety and protection of the entire system.To ensure the efficient functioning of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and PDAs at workplace, it is crucial to maintain network infrastructure security. The global IoT security market can be segmented on the basis of end-users and geography. Based on end-users, the market can be segmented into utilities, automobiles, and healthcare among others. On the basis of geography the global IoT security market can be segmented on five major regions which includes North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Middle East & Africa.The need for the regulatory compliance is one of the major factors driving the market growth. With huge amount of digital information being transferred between people, the government of several economies are taking steps to secure networks from hackers and virus threats by establishing strict regulatory framework. Thus, compliance with such regulations is expected to support the demand for IoT security solutions. Furthermore, with advancements in technologies such as 3G and 4G LTE, threats such as data hacking have increased, which in turn have forced governments across the globe to establish stringent regulatory framework supporting the deployment of IoT security solutions. Emergence of smart city concept is expected to offer sound opportunity for the market growth in the coming years. The governments in the developed economies have already taken steps to develop smart cities by deploying Wi-Fi hotspots at multiple locations within a city. However, the market for IoT security solutions suffers from high cost of installation. The cost of installation is usually high to provide machine to machine communication, which has impeded the market growth in emerging cost sensitive economies.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some of the key players in global IoT security market includes Cisco Systems, Infineon Technologies, Intel Corporation, Siemens AG, Wurldtech Security, Alcatel-Lucent S.A., Axeda Machine Cloud, Checkpoint Technologies, IBM Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, AT&T Inc., and NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc. among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Global Oil and Gas Pipes Market Competitive landscape By 2015  2021

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With the intensification in the oil and gas pipeline infrastructure, the demand for pipes is growing incessantly. Oil and gas pipelines are used for a wide range of applications, such as distribution, line pipe, and oil country tubular goods (OCTG). Escalating crude oil production in conjunction with growing deep drilling operations is likely to catalyze the growth of the oil and gas pipelines market.On the basis of types, the global oil and gas pipes market is segmented into: Steel pipes, plastic pipes, and others. Steel pipes, the largest segment of oil and gas pipes, accounted for over 80% of the total market in 2013. The steel oil and gas pipes market is further segmented into welded, seamless and fittings pipes. Welded pipes are the largest segment of the steel pipe market and are further categorized into electric resistance welded (ERW) and longitudinal submerged arc welded pipes. Seamless pipes are the fastest-growing segment of steel pipes and its market share is projected to surpass that of the welded pipe segment by the end of 2022.Download Sample @On the basis of application, the global oil and gas pipes market is segmented into: Oil country tubular goods (OCTG), line pipes, and distribution. At present, the market is dominated by the line pipe segment owing to growth in construction of new transmission lines needed to transport oil and gas from drilling sites to customers. OCTG is the fastest growing application sector for the oil and gas pipelines market and is anticipated to surpass line pipes in the next five years. Rising penetration of OCTG pipes in high-pressure drilling applications is increasing its demand exponentially. Demand for distribution pipes is growing on account of rising residential construction, which is increasing the need for natural gas lines to new homes.On the basis of end users, the global oil and gas pipelines market is segmented into two categories: Oil pipe and gas pipe. The oil industry remains the largest customer of the global oil and gas pipes market. Increasing crude oil production is driving the growth of the oil and gas pipes market in the oil industry. In 2003, global oil production stood at 77,639 thousand barrels per day, which increased to 86,754 thousand barrels per day in 2013. The demand for oil and gas pipes from the gas industry is driven by the mounting natural gas production, primarily in developing countries. Global natural gas production is growing robustly; in 2003, it was 2,621.3 billion cubic meters, which increased to 3,369.9 billion cubic meters in 2013.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some of the leading players operating in the global oil and gas pipes market include American Cast Iron Pipe, Anhui Tianda Oil Pipe, Arcelor Mittal SA, Baosteel Group, Boomerang Tube, Chevron Phillips Chemical, China National Petroleum, Dura-Line Holdings, Jiangsu Changbao Steel Tube, Jiangsu Yulong Steel Pipe, Jubail Energy Services, Luleh Gostar Esfarayen, National Oilwell Varco, Northwest Pipe, OAO Gazprom, OJSC Chelyabinsk Pipe-Rolling Plant, Shandong Molong Petroleum Machinery, Tianjin Pipe Group, Tubos de Acero de Venezuela, United States Steel, Vallourec SA, Welded Tube of Canada, WSP Holdings, and Zhejiang Kingland Pipeline and Technologies.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Global Micronized PTFE Market Supply & Demand By 2015 2021

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Micronized Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), also known as polytetrafluoroethylene micro powder, is used where higher surface lubricity and anti blocking properties are required. Micronized PTFE is prepared by the utilization of virgin PTFE resin or recycled PTFE scrap. In order to make micronized polytetrafluoroethylene, virgin or recycled PTFE scrap is irradiated via technologies such as thermal degradation and electron beam irradiation. After the irradiation, the PTFE resin is ground into micro powders.Micronized PTFE resin is used in a wide range of industries such as thermoplastic, coating, ink, elastomers and lubricant and grease, for the enhancement of physical and chemical properties such as tensile strength, wear resistance, lubricity, and flame retarding attributes. Improving infrastructure and increasing infrastructural spending, coupled with rising disposable incomes of the average consumer, is expected to drive the demand for coating market. This in turn provides strong growth opportunities for the micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market.Download Sample @Asia Pacific and North America are the key contributors to the growth of the global micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market where China and the U.S., respectively, occupy a majority chunk of the market share. Demand for micronized PTFE in these two countries is driven by a strong domestic production base of ink, coating, thermoplastic and elastomer industries.The ink industry is the largest consumer of micronized PTFE and the U.S. dominates the global printing ink market in both value and volume terms. Printing ink consumption in China stood at 305.7 thousand metric tons in 2005 and rose to 592.6 thousand metric tons in 2010, before further increasing to 1,046.9 thousand metric tons by the end of 2014. Strong growth in the packaging, e-commerce, and -books markets is driving the demand for printing ink consequently intensifying the growth of micronized PTFE.Japan, South Korea, and India, in that order, are the other major markets for micronized PTFE after China. Owing to continuous industrialization and the rise of the manufacturing sector, Asia Pacific is projected to reflect the highest growth during the forecast period. Rising innovation and developments in the micronized PTFE consumer industries for high-quality products is positively impacting the use of PTFE micro powders.On the basis of end-users, the global micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market is segmented into: Inks, coating, thermoplastic, elastomer, and others. The ink industry, followed by coating, remains the largest consumer of micronized PTFE globally.However, the thermoplastic industry witnessed the highest growth among all end-users. The global thermoplastic market is growing robustly thanks to an increasing demand from the automotive industry, advancement in the TPE processing industry, and replacement of EPDM and EPR. This in turn, is providing growth opportunities to the micronized PTFE market in the thermoplastic industry. Leading manufacturers of thermoplastics such as tyrenic block copolymer (SBC), thermoplastic olefins (TPO), thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), copolyester ether (COPE), and polyether block amide (PEBA) are continuously focusing on the development of bio-based thermo plastic  a factor that is again driving the growth of micronized PTFE market.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Some leading global players operating in the micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market include: Shamrock Technologies, Inc, Daikin Industries Ltd., E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company, Solvay SA, Micro Powder, Inc, 3M, Asahi Glass Co., Ltd, Chenguang Research Institute of Chemical Industry, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, Reprolon Texas, Guarniflon S.p.A, and Shanghai 3F New Materials Company Limited.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.305 Broadway,7th FloorContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Global Xanthan Gum Market Segments By 2015  2021

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Xanthan gum is a microbial polysaccharide used as a thickener in several industries such as food and beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical. It is also known by other names such as bacterial polysaccharide, and corn sugar gum. Xanthan gum is manufactured by fermenting corn sugar with a bacterium named Xanthomonas Campestris. After the consumption of food containing xanthan gum, it swells in the intestine and stimulates the digestive tract. Xanthan gum also slows the absorption of sugar in the digestive tract and functions like saliva to lubricate the mouth of people who have Sjogrens syndrome. Xanthan gums are also used in drilling activities in the oil and gas sector. Food and beverage is the key end-use industry for xanthan gum and the bakery and confectionary industry accounts for the largest demand.The growth of end user industries is the key driver for the global xanthan gums market. Rising disposable income is propelling the demand for food and cosmetics, which is consequently boosting the demand for xanthan gums. The consumption of convenience foods that contain xanthan gums has also increased significantly in the recent past. The increasing population and a growing economically-active population in Asia Pacific is further increasing demand for on-the-go foods. Increasing government investment in healthcare is also boosting pharmaceutical sales across the globe, which is driving the xanthan gums market.Download Sample @A mounting demand for gluten-free foods is also driving the xanthan gum market. Xanthan gum is used in the gluten-free baking process for several products such as cookies, cakes and pancakes, muffins and quick breads, breads, pizza dough, and salad dressings. Among these, xanthan gum is used in large quantities in the preparation of pizza dough. The nutritional characteristic of xanthan gum further increases its acceptability, as it contains carbohydrates and fiber. One of the greatest restraints for the xanthan gum market is the availability of guar gum as a substitute. However, guar gum is mostly used in ice cream and pastry fillings, whereas xanthan gum finds its largest use in the manufacturing of bakery products. Another restraint for the xanthan gum market is that it is not suitable for people with certain allergies.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Asia Pacific dominated the global xanthan gum market in 2014 owing to increasing demand for bakery and confectionary products from countries such as China, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Europe also has a large share in the xanthan gum market thanks to its large bakery and confectionary industries. Key players in the global xanthan gum market include Danisco, Cargill, Pfizer Inc, Jungbunzlauer, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), CP Kelco, and Fufeng Group Company Ltd.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Canola Oil Market - Global Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2016  2024

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OverviewProduction of canola seed has grown rapidly over the past forty years. Globally canola has become the third largest oil crop. Canola production occupies 15% to 20% of word oil crop production. Canola oil is produced from crushing canola seed which is the third most produced vegetable oil across the globe. After deriving the oil the remaining material is used as a meal for livestock feed. This is the second most preferred feed stock after soybean. Canola oil contributes approximately 20% to 25% share in Edible oil market. Canola oil is very much suitable for heart health as it contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which is fueling the market growth across the globe.Download Free exclusive Sample of this report:Canola Oil Market SegmentationThe canola oil market has been segmented on the basis of end use which includes food service restaurants, food processor, cosmetics and retail (end consumers). Among all these segment retail segment is expected to occupy the major market share. Rising cardiovascular diseases has shifted the consumer focus towards consumption of food containing low cholesterol which is expected to drive the segment growth in the near future. Moreover, food processor segment is expected to account for substantial growth over the forecast period. Consumers are now focusing on healthy lifestyle, due to this they carefully choose the products they buy and use. In addition, easy access to information has made them aware about the availability of different types of oils and fats in the market. Thus, now food processors are trying to respond to consumer demand by offering stable and healthy products.Canola Oil Market Regional OutlookGlobal canola oil market is also segmented on the basis of distribution channel. The distribution channel is only segmented for retail (end consumers). The distribution channel for retail includes supermarket, hypermarket, departmental stores & grocery stores. Among all this segment hypermarket & supermarket is expected to contribute major share in the market. Groceries stores is expected to show a favorable growth over the forecast period. Increasing penetration of health food in smaller grocery stores is expected to support the segment growth over the forecast period.Globally Europe is the major producer of canola oil. In 2014, the region represented approximately more than 38.0% of share in terms of volume production to total Canola oil market. Among the countries China was the highest producer of canola oil contributing to approximately 23.0% of share in terms of volume production to overall canola oil market. While, Canada occupied the second highest position in terms of volume production of canola oil. In 2014, the country accounted for more than 12.0% of share to the overall canola oil market. Moreover in the same year China was the highest exporter of canola oil followed by Russia. Canada accounted for more the 65.0% of total export of canola oil.Canola Oil Market DriversCanola oil comprises high oleic acid which can reduce the level of bad cholesterol, without affecting the good cholesterol, thus limiting the risk of developing heart disease. Which is expected to drive the market growth in the near future. Moreover canola oil is also gaining importance in cosmetics industry as it is good for skin and has an ant aging properties such as it enables to control the fine lines, wrinkles, acne, blemishes and spots which is further expected to support the market growth over the forecast period. However, factors such as canola oil is quite expensive as compared to other edible oil and availability of other substitute such as soybean oil may affect the market growth.Canola Oil Market Key PlayersKey players operating in canola oil market includes Archer Daniels Midland Company, Associated British Foods plc (Ach Food Companies Inc.), ConAgra Foods, Inc, The J.M. Smucker Company and Jivo Wellness Pvt. Limited among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Latest Research Report on Database Encryption Market: Trends, Business Strategies and Opportunities 2025 The Insight Partners

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The Database Encryption Market to 2025 - Global Analysis and Forecasts by Types, End User and Deployment Type report provides a detailed overview of the major factors impacting the global market with the market share analysis and revenues of various sub segments.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the Database Encryption Market to 2025 @Increasing sensitive internal data breaches and cyber-attacks has forced companies to adopt efficient database encryption software which offers high level of encryption for crucial data. Enterprises of all kinds across the globe has started embracing database encryption solutions as it provides them data safety, confidentiality of the data stored and adherence to compliance regulationIncreasing focuses on compliance adherence, exponential growth rate of data and wide availability of different type of flexible encryption solutions are some of the factors that are driving the database encryption market. High cost of encryption associated solutions and encryption key management are few of the reasons which may slow down the adoption of database encryption solutions among various industry verticals and domains. Increasing growth rate in requirement of cloud based encryption solutions in different industry verticals along with the high growth in requirement in small and mid-sized enterprises are expected to provide suitable opportunities for various market players that are operating in the global database encryption market.Request sample copy @The database encryption market is segmented on the basis of type into column level encryption, file-system encryption, key management, application-level encryption and transparent/external database encryption. The database encryption market is also divided on the basis of end users into small and medium enterprises and large enterprises. The database encryption market is also segmented on the basis deployment types into On-premise and cloud deployment. The database encryption market is segmented by different industry vertical into IT & telecommunication, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), government and public sector, retail and e-commerce, aerospace and defense, healthcare and others. The global database encryption market is bifurcated on the basis of regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Middle East & Africa.North America holds one of the largest share in the global database encryption market. High technical adoption trends among various industry verticals and business in North American region has fueled the growth of the North American database encryption market. Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing database encryption market and provides lucrative opportunity for various solutions vendors, high volume of data generation and its security requirements along with the growing adherence towards the regulatory compliances are some of the factors that are driving the Asia Pacific database encryption market.Inquire about discount on this report @Some of the key players operating in the global database encryption market are Intel Security (Mcafee), Microsoft Corporation, International Business Machines Corporation, Symantec Corporation, Netapp, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Sophos Ltd., Vormetric, Oracle Corporation and Gemalto among others.Some of the key points covered in the report: Database Encryption Market Landscape Database Encryption Market  Key Industry Dynamics Database Encryption Market  Five Forces Analysis Database Encryption Market  Competitive Landscape Database Encryption Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Type Database Encryption Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Deployment Model Database Encryption Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  End-user Database Encryption Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Industry Vertical Database Encryption Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Geographical Analysis Database Encryption Market, Key Company ProfilesAbout The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comThe Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Shifting Marketing Dollars Strategically to Market and Sell for the Future

Multinational organisations are looking for new effective ways to rise up to the challenges emerged from the pharmaceutical industry in China. Possibly one of the major challenges is pricing pressure faced by big-time pharma manufacturers.Gathering established marketers from the globe and China, Marcus Evans has launched the 4th Annual Pharma 2016: Sales & Marketing Excellence Forum scheduled on the 24th  25th November 2016 in InterContinental Hotel Shanghai Pudong, China. This years topics will be covering on business growth in the large yet volatile market, effective expansion to broad market; and actionable data and commercial excellence through multichannel sales and marketing tactics.Top speakers includes Frank Wang (Vice President of Commercial Operation, Takeda), Joseph Jia (Vice President/Business Unit Head, Shanghai CP Guojian Pharmaceutical), Victoire Maugis de Lajudie (Director, Customer Innovation, Sanofi), William Liang (Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca), Timothy White (Global Head of Customer Experience, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Netherlands), Derrick Miu (Regional Integration Lead, Amgen, Hong Kong), Meilin Li (Centre of Excellence (COE) Director, Abbott) and Tony Liu (Principle, Technology and Application, Greater China, IMS Health).This forum focuses on the impact of regulatory changes and how pharma organisations reengineer their business growth strategy, highlighting though roundtable discussions on themes of transforming and empowering the marketing department and sales force in the age of Internet of Things (IoT). This event is also proud to present the Gold Sponsor from IMS Health and Aktana; and Exhibition Sponsor from Veeva Systems.A global, multifaceted media, corporate marketing and information company, employing 3000 professionals in 59 worldwide locations. Our activities are wide ranging, providing up-to-the-minute information for businesses and professionals worldwide. Our summit and conference divisions deliver the latest technical and cultural skills training through our professional training divisions.Marcus Evans GroupSuite A-20-1, Level 20Hampshire Place Office157 Hampshire1, Jalan Mayang Sari50450 Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
Market Forecast Report on Poultry Feed, 2015-2025

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Poultry feed market is a part of vast animal feed market and makes an important part of it as poultry is invariably consumed in most parts of the world. The concept of animal feed has been there in the market for several years especially in the developed markets. However, with the advent of globalization and rise in the standard of living of consumers, companies are expanding in the emerging markets of the world with improved products and wide range of options for each animal group. Poultry meat is the highest among others such as pork, beef and fish meat. Therefore, vast opportunity lies in the poultry feed segment.Poultry Feed Market: Drivers & RestraintsRising per capita income and widespread poultry diseases are the major driving factors of the poultry feed market globally. In addition, growth of domestic and international quick service restaurants in developing countries and demand for quality meat products by consumers has significantly contributed to the rising demand of poultry feed those regions. In 2014, Asia Pacific was the largest market in terms of poultry feed demand and revenue and would continue to dominate the market for several factors. The market growth is attributed to the higher standard of living among consumers coupled with shift towards away-from-home-eating. Manufacturers are closely working with the factory farmers to direct them towards higher yield of poultry thereby increasing their return on investment (ROI). For instance, Cargill Inc. were engaged closely with Malaysia based TD Poultry to deliver best poultry solution. As a result, TD Poultry could achieve remarkable results in broilers with 1.63 feed conversion rates. Also, 2.35 kg body weight was achieved in 35 days, down from previous 40 days.Request Free Report Sample@Poultry Feed Market: SegmentationThe various type of poultry feed additives available in the market consists of antibiotics, vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, feed enzymes and feed acidifiers. Feed acidifiers are the largest among all other poultry additive segment across the world. The regional segmentation includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the largest market followed by North America. On the basis of type, the poultry feed market can be segmented as broilers, layers, turkey and others. The consumption of meat varies from region to region, for instance, in North America, broilers is the most preferred meat category and antibiotics falls under the largest category under the feed additives segment.Poultry Feed Market: Market OverviewPoultry feed is required to increase the feed conversion ratio by improving gut micro flora thereby enhancing animals health. It also maintains animal health by preventing diseases among them. The manufacturers are concentrating more on the developing markets to tap the under penetrated feed market in countries such as Vietnam, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Lebanon and Turkey. These markets offer greater opportunities to increase revenue and sales with higher per capita expenditure on quality food. Moreover, it is a proven fact that with rise in per capita income, people tend to consume more meat and meat products. Therefore the poultry feed market is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR through the forecast period (2015-2020).Poultry Feed Market: Recent DevelopmentPlayers such as Novus International, Inc. and Kemin group continue to deliver new products for poultry farmers. In November 2012, Novus International, Inc. launched AVIMATRIX- a feed solution for optimized broiler performance by acting over gut environment through targeted and controlled release of compounds in the broilers gut. There is an increasing demand of solution oriented customized products from the poultry farmers in the emerging markets. In May 2013, a South African firm AgriProtein Technologies bagged the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) for developing a commercial method to develop animal feed through maggots.Request For TOC@Poultry Feed Market: Key PlayersKey global players of the poultry feed market include Alltech Inc., ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Company), ABF Plc (Associated British Food), BASF (Badishce Anilin und Soda Fabrik), Charoen Popkhand Foods, Cargill Inc., Evonik Industries AG, CHR.Hansen Holdings A/S, Novus International Inc, Nutreco NV, Royal DSM N.V., DLG Group and InVivo NSA.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Market Size of Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert, Forecast Report 2015-2025

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Ice-cream and frozen dessert belongs to frozen food industry. Ice-cream and frozen dessert are primarily consumed after meal or served as a refreshment and can be enjoyed between the meal courses. Ice-cream and frozen dessert are mainly made up of milk and cream, and often combined with fruits, nuts and flavours. Rising consumer disposable income coupled with increasing inclination of people towards sweet dishes is expected drive the growth of Ice-cream and frozen dessert market across the globe.Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Market SegmentationIce-cream and frozen dessert market is segmented on the basis of types includes regular Ice-cream and low fat ice-cream. Among both of these segment regular Ice-cream is expected occupy the major contribution on the pie. However low fat ice cream is predicted to account for healthy CAGR in next five to six years. Shifting consumer preferences towards consumption of healthy food is expected to support the demand of low fat Ice-cream in the near future. On the basis of type frozen desserts segmentation includes sherbet, frozen yoghurt, frozen ice, frozen tofu and others. Among all of these segments frozen yoghurt is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue followed by sherbet. Introduction of frozen yoghurt in various flavour and in innovative packaging is attracting children a lot which is expected to fuel the growth of frozen yoghurt in the near future.Request Free Report Sample@Ice-cream and frozen dessert market is segmented on the basis of end user which includes household and hotel/restaurant/cafe. Among both of these two segments hotel/restaurant/cafe is expected to account for major share in terms of revenue contribution. Rising consumer preferences for outside dining coupled with increasing inclination of teenager towards the consumption of frozen food is expected to support the demand of ice-cream and frozen desserts market during the forecast period. Moreover, household is expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. Increasing availability of ice-cream and frozen dessert in packaged form and in variants for household consumption is expected to support its growth during the forecast period.Geographically, North America is expected to be the major contributor in terms of value followed by Europe. However, these region is predicted to be a mature market and is expected to show a stable growth in the near future. Introduction of new variant in flavours coupled with offering low fat products may fuel the growth of Ice-cream and frozen dessert market in these region. In developing countries of Asia Pacific region, China is expected to dominate the market in terms of Ice-cream and frozen dessert consumption followed by India. Moreover Japan is expected to show a substantial growth during the forecast period. Increasing consumption of flavoured yoghurt especially in countries such as China and Japan is predicted to support the growth of ice-cream and frozen dessert market across Asia Pacific region during forecast period.Request For TOC@Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Market DriversRising disposable income coupled with shifting consumer eating habits is expected to drive the demand of Ice-cream and frozen dessert in the near future. Moreover, increasing availability of flavoured yoghurt especially in developing region is predicted to be major factor supporting the growth of Ice-cream and frozen dessert market during the forecast period.Ice-cream and Frozen Dessert Key PlayersSome of the major players operating in ice cream and frozen dessert market includes Baskin-Robbins, Nestle SA, Unilever, Danone Groupe SA, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., Cielo USA, Kraft Foods Group Inc. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Market Intelligence Report Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices, 2015-2025

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Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery is performed to treat disease occurring in various parts of brain, spinal cord or skull base through a small opening. Diseased area may require repair, removal and in the worst cases replacement which is being done through neurosurgery. Neurosurgical device used for the visualization purpose inside the human brain or spinal cord is known as Endoscope which is kind of a small microscope inserted through minimal invasion. Endoscope helps in magnifying critical anatomical structure and assist the surgeon in the treatment. Endoscopic neurosurgery requires minimal incision thus it is also known as Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery. Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery avoids complication post-surgery, leads to faster recovery, minimal scarring/pain and high accuracy. Recent advancement in endoscope design produced endoscopes that are compact, more efficient with improved resolution and better illumination than the earlier devices.Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices Market: Drivers & RestraintsMinimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market is probably the last speciality to move to minimally invasive because of the complexity involved in the surgery however due to continuous advancement in medical technology for the treatment of neurological disorders have raised the demand of Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices. Rise in the ageing population leading to increase in the incidence of neurological disorders are some major factors driving the growth of Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market. More awareness amongst the surgeons is helping the market to dwell in developed countries however the market of developed countries are more or less saturated and have a limited growth opportunity as compared to developing countries especially Asia Pacific countries where due to large population the market growth can be significant in the upcoming years. Lack of skilled professionals in the developing countries and poor or unstable reimbursement regulations are hampering the growth of Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices in developing countries.Request Free Report Sample@Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices Market: SegmentationMinimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market is classified on the basis of product type, surgery type and geography.Based on product type, the global Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market is segmented into the following:Fiber optic cablesMiniature video cameras (Endoscopes)Special surgical instrumentsExternal video monitorsBased on surgery type, the global Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market is segmented into the following:Intracranial SurgeryEndonasal NeurosurgerySpinal SurgeryMinimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices Market: OverviewMinimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices is a growing market due to various benefits offered like less recovery time, shortened hospital stay, greater accuracy, less pain and muscle sparring which is making minimally invasive neurosurgery a preferred option for the medical practitioners and surgeons. Proliferation of joint ventures and cross utilization of technology in minimally invasive surgical devices market is a plus for different market players as they dont have to invest much on the research and development of different types of products. Introduction of robotic devices to perform the surgery is an alternative for better outcomes and increased accuracy.Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic regions, global Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the leading region in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market due to the high volumes of surgical procedures being performed. Also, the availability of established healthcare infrastructure, high contribution of healthcare to economy, patient compliance are the reasons for the high demand in North America. Europe has the second largest Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market due to vast technological advancement in terms of healthcare sector. Asia Pacific market is expected to grow at a good rate as compared to NA and Europe as there is ample market opportunity in countries like India and China.Request For TOC@Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in global Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery Devices market are Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG, Olympus Corporation, Conmed Corporation, Richard Wolf GmbH, Boston Scientific Inc., Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, Aesculap Division, Smith & Nephew Plc, Medtronic and NICO Corp. to name a few.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Smart Meter Market Forecast By End-use Industry 2015-2025

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On a global scale, many countries are facing challenges to meet the growing demand for energy. Thus utilities are looking for innovative and efficient ways to manage generation, transmission and worldwide distribution of energy. Global smart meter market consists of digital electronic devices for measuring and two-way information sharing to manage and control power consumption by customers. Customers also have the advantage of tracking their energy consumption and billing through internet. Global smart meter market demand is more in residential areas as compared to commercial areas and electric smart meter is prominently used among the types of smart meters. Environmental concerns for reducing carbon and energy wastage and for regulating supply of energy, are major factors driving global smart meter market. Global smart meter market is anticipated to grow with a single digit compound annual growth rate during the forecast period.Smart Meter Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe major driving factor for the growth of global smart meter market is government support and incentives, as utilities are initially reluctant to make huge investment in new technology without their support. Technological advancements such as smart grid development, infrastructure development, growing population and rise in economic developments are some of the other factors boosting the growth of global smart meter market. The successful deployment of global smart meter market is dependent on logistics which influences the delivery, installation and performance of smart meter. The health effects concerning wireless signals in smart meter, security concerns, regulatory constraints and stiff competition are some of the challenges faced by global smart meter market.Request Free Report Sample@Smart Meter Market: SegmentationOn the basis of product type, global smart meter market can be segmented into following segments:Smart electric meterSmart gas meterSmart water meterOn the basis of application, global smart meter market can be segmented into:Residential applicationCommercial applicationOn the basis of technology, global smart meter market can be segmented into:Radio Frequency (RF)Power Line Carrier (PLC)Smart Meter Market: Region-wise OutlookGlobal smart meter market is expected to exhibit healthy growth in Asia-Pacific and Western Europe regions which is either due to increasing installation of new smart meters as well as upgradation of the existing smart meters. China is expected to display substantial progress of global smart meter market, as incorporated in its five-year nationwide plan to upgrade its grid infrastructure. In Japan, large scale installation by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started on 2014 which is expected to last during the forecast period leading to increase in demand for global smart meter market. In North, America, the growth of global smart meter market is expected to slower down as infrastructure for energy is well developed and funding for the new projects has become limited. In Latin America, global smart meter is set to exhibit steady growth of global smart meter market, as compared to Middle East and Africa.Request For TOC@Smart Meter Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global smart meter market are: Aclara Technologies LLC., Echelon Corporation, Elster Group GmbH, General Electric, Holley Metering Limited, Iskraemeco d.d., Itron, Kamstrup A/S, Landis+Gyr and Sensus.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Aroma Ingredients Market Globally Expected to Drive Growth through 2026

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http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/aroma-ingredients-market

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Aroma chemical is a complex fusion of natural and/or synthetic ingredients that are added to various products in order to incorporate desired odor. These ingredients are widely used in consumer care and personal care products. Personal care industry is one of the major application industry for aroma ingredients market. The global aroma ingredients market has witnessed steady growth over the recent past owing to increasing demand for natural aroma ingredients. Soaps and detergent is estimated to account for a significant share in the global aroma ingredients market followed by cosmetics and toiletries applications. The global aroma ingredients market is expected to register a steady growth during forecast period.Global Aroma Ingredients Market: DriversIntroduction of innovative and novel products especially in cosmetics, toiletries, and skin care and hair care products has driven the overall growth of the global aroma ingredients market. The increasing demand for natural ingredients coupled with change in consumer preferences are considered to be the important driver for global aroma ingredients market. Furthermore, significant technological advancements have also fuelled the growth of the market. Moreover, the increase in demand from the emerging and developing nations for natural fragrance due to health concerns related to synthetic chemicals is likely to act as an opportunity for the growth of the global aroma ingredients market. These factors are likely to drive the global aroma ingredients market during the forecast period. A key trend witnessed in global aroma chemicals market is that the key aroma chemical producers are responding to growing opportunities by expanding their global presence. One of the major factor that is likely to restrict growth in demand for natural aroma ingredients is high costs associated with switching from synthetic chemical to natural ingredients.Request Free Report Sample@Global Aroma Ingredients Market: SegmentationThe global aroma ingredients market can be segmented on the basis of type, application and region. On the basis of type, the global aroma ingredients market can be segmented intoessential oilsaroma chemicalsEssential oils segment can further be sub-segmented into menthe arvensis, cedar wood, orange, eucalyptus, citronella and others (basil, clove, jamrosa, litsea cubica, sassafras, coriander, patchouli, camphor and lemon grass) Whereas, aroma chemicals segment can further be sub-segmented into turpenes, musk chemical, benzenoids and others (alicyclic, heterocyclic and aliphatic compounds).On the basis of application, the global aroma ingredients markets can be segmented intocosmetic and toiletriessoap and detergentsfine fragranceOthers (household products, aroma therapy and pesticides).Global Aroma Ingredients Market: Region Wise OutlookOn the basis of regions, Europe is expected to be a promising revenue generating region for the global aroma ingredients market and is expected to grow at steady growth rate during forecast period. Latin America and Asia Pacific are anticipated to witness relatively faster growth both in terms of value and in terms of volume. Potential opportunities in Asia Pacific and Latin America due to availability of labor and low cost of raw materials are expected to drive growth in these regions over the forecast period. North America and Middle East & Africa are also expected to show positive growth in the near future.Request For TOC@Global Aroma Ingredients Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the global aroma ingredients market are as follows:BASF SEMane SAInternational Flavors and Fragrances Inc.Givaudan SAFermenich International SAFrutarom Industries Ltd.Symrise AGAgilex Flavors and Fragrances, Inc.Hindustan Mint & Agro Products Pvt. Ltd.Browse Full Report@ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Utilization Of Internet Of Things (IoT) In Robotics To Fuel Global Smart Robots Market

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MarketResearchReports.biz has added a new report, titled Global Smart Robots Market 2016-2020, to its offering. This study explains the growth prospects as well as the current scenario of the market for smart robots. The report evaluates the market based on different parameters such as types of smart robots, trends, and geography.The report is a comprehensive study on the prime drivers, opportunities, and restraints in the market for smart robots. It also encapsulates an evaluation of the current technological developments taking place and their impact on the growth of this market. The Porters five forces model and in-depth profiles of chief players dominant in the market have also been presented in the report.view Press Release At:The market landscape section of the report throws light on the current size of the market and its predicted size by the end of the forecast period. In addition, the definition of smart robots has also been presented in this section of the study. The global smart robots market is predicted to rise at a whopping 20.65% CAGR between 2016 and 2020.Smart robots are manufactured to function in a self-governing manner and have artificial intelligence embedded into them. This helps them function on their own without the requirement of a human-machine interference. These robots are increasingly being deployed in automotive manufacturing and the healthcare industry.The best example of smart robots as elaborated upon in the study is of robotic vacuum cleaners. Due to the increasing research and development by a number of vendors, cutting-edge vacuum cleaners, including advancements such as Wi-Fi-enabled robots, have been introduced in the market. Robotic vacuum cleaners are being highly demanded globally due to their increasing flexibility.Moving further, the segmentation of the market for smart robots has been presented. In terms of type, the report segments the market into collaborative, smart mobile, and personal service robots. Amongst these, the segment of personal service robots led the market with a share of 60% in 2015. The growing demand for vacuum cleaners is a prime factor augmenting the growth of the segment of personal service robots.For Sample Copy, click here:Geographically, the report segments the market into the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC). Of these, EMEA is poised to represent a share of approximately 39% in the market by 2020. The increasing demand for smart mobile robots from the automotive industry will drive the growth of this market in EMEA.The market dynamics influencing the development of the global smart robots market come next in the report. The soaring cost of human labor globally is a chief factor fuelling the growth of this market. In addition, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in robotics is a prime growth opportunity seen in the market. However, the increasing issues in the performance of smart robots owing to battery constraints may inhibit their demand in the coming years.As per the report, the prominent vendors in the global smart robots market are iRobot, LG Electronics, Neato Robotics, Samsung Electronics, Anybots Inc., Hajime Research Institutes Ltd., Robosoft Services, and Savioke Inc., among others.About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports.MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients.We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. Nachiket90 Sate Street,Suite 700 Albany,NY 12207 USATel: +1-518-621-2074Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:
Marine Diesel Engine Market Size, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016  2023: Global Market Insights, Inc.

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Global marine diesel engine market size was valued at around USD 6 billion in 2015 and is anticipated to exceed USD 8 billion by 2023, with growth rate at over 4% from 2016 to 2023.Proliferating demand for financially efficient as well as operationally dependable ships is expected to drive the industry. In addition, momentous modernization in marine propulsion is also likely to propel the industry demand over the forecast period. Diesel engine technology is a reliable technology and can also be used for auxiliary power generation.Increase in maritime tourism coupled with growth in the shipbuilding industry is anticipated to be the key driving factors for the marine diesel engine market size growth over the next seven years. Moreover, expansion in international seaborne trade is likely to favor demand. Several providers such as Wartsila, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and MAN utilize technology licenses for sale and production. Wartsila and MAN are the foremost license providers across the globe; in 2015, they accounted for more than 95% of the global low speed engine market share and over 75% of medium speed engine market share.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @The global marine diesel engine market share can be segmented on the basis of product, application, and region. By product, low speed (two-stroke) and high speed (four-stroke) diesel engines are the major segments. Inland waterways vessels, commercial vessels, and offshore support vessels are the key applications.The inland waterways vessels application segment is likely to witness significant gains over the forecast period. Rising demand in several regions such as Europe, Africa and South America has led to an increase in production. Majority of these vessels are manufactured in Asia Pacific owing to low labor and manufacturing cost. However, high initial cost is anticipated to hinder the demand over the forecast period. Commercial vessels are expected to be the fastest growing application segment over the next seven years.Browse complete summary of this report @Asia Pacific marine diesel engine market share was the largest in 2015 and is likely to continue its supremacy owing to the existence of key shipbuilding nations such as Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, and India. At present, Japan, China, and South Korea collectively account for over 80% of the regional marine diesel engine market size. South Korea holds majority of industry share in low speed segment, while Japan and China lead the medium speed segment. Use of renewable energy sources such as wind energy and solar energy for meeting auxiliary power requirements is expected to increase over the forecast period.The industry finds application in areas including transportation, recreation and small boats. Companies dominating marine diesel engine market share include Wartsila, Caterpillar, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Doosan Engine, Dalian Marine Diesel, Hu Dong Heavy Machinery, MAN Group, Weichai Heavy Machinery, and CSSC-MES Diesel.About GMIGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.29L Atlantic Avenue, Suite L 105Ocean ViewDelaware 19970United States
Automated web-based solution for Mining industry for generating customized quotations

With the billions of software being developed in the industry, it is difficult to stand out in the competition and additionally, business requirements keep on changing according to the trends. Being a leading software development company and updated with the latest market trends, TatvaSoft developed a web-based solution by integrating the updated functionalities from quote generation to job inspection for one of its clients from South Africa and active in Mining industry. The developed system was highly adaptive, customizable and innovative which helped our client in quotation generation, timesheet management, job inspection through timesheets, job scheduling, and reporting module.The Client availed the expertise of TatvaSofts web application development services to convert the idea into a working solution. It enabled them with a competitive advantage in the mining industry which enabled all the features along with the customizable forms for generating quotations and customizable reporting module. The brain behind the success of the comprehensive web-based system is TatvaSofts team of Microsoft.Net and SQL.TatvaSoft integrated four main modules to develop this highly adaptive web-based quotation system. These are a) Quotation Module, b) Scheduling Module, c) Timesheet Module, and d) Customizable Report Module.The client was highly benefited with this system, as it provided the solution for managing the jobs, quotes, and timesheet. This automated system provided quotations on time. TatvaSoft took care of the security and transparency of the system and ensured that no loss of any quote or data.The developed system also provides time investment of various users which is tracked effectively and helped the upper management on planning various activities. Customizable reports also helped them to get the right information at the right time. Job Scheduling, monitoring had been made much easier than a manual process and hence, it streamlined the tedious process. The provided solution helped the company in improving the business execution in a more intellectual way for the growth and success of the business.TatvaSoft is a CMMI Level 3 and Microsoft Gold Certified Software Development Company offering custom software development services on diverse technology platforms, like Microsoft .NET, SharePoint, BizTalk, Java, PHP, Salesforce, Open Source, Big Data, BI, and Mobile.With the rich and varied experience of 14+ years in software development and stringent quality standards, we offer utmost qualitative, on-time and cost-effective software solutions. We serve clientele across the industries and globe with offices in US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Development Center in India with a workforce of 500+ IT professionals. We have successfully completed 1600+ projects with 700+ SMEs and Fortune 500 companies.104 BURRS LN DIX HILLS, NY 11746 USA
Global Digital Pathology Systems Market: Growing Demand for Virtual Microscopy to Expand Market at 11.9% CAGR

Digital Pathology Systems Market

http://www.mrrse.com/digital-pathology-systems

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Albany, New York: Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has added a new report to its repository. The report, titled Digital Pathology Systems Market (By Technology - Virtual Microscopy, Telepathology (Static Telepathology and Dynamic Telepathology); By Applications - Drug Discovery and Development, Disease Diagnosis and Academic Research) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020, offers an overview of the global digital pathology systems market. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2014 to 2020 and reach a valuation of US$492.8 mn by 2020. The report studies the market on the basis of technology, applications, and regions. The report further profiles some of the key players in the global digital pathology systems market.The report states out that the rising prevalence of cancer, coupled with improvement in laboratory diagnostics, has accelerated the growth of the global digital pathology systems market. The increasing workload on pathologists has led to the demand for development of digital pathology systems. However, the report mentions that the strict regulatory requirements and prolonged duration for the approval of digital pathology systems will negatively affect the manufacturers for product commercialization. The overall market has a huge opportunity to grow in the anatomical pathology laboratories.Browse Full Global Digital Pathology Systems Market Report with TOC:In terms of technology, the report segments the global digital pathology systems market into telepathology and virtual microscopy. Telepathology has been sub-segmented into static and dynamic telepathology. The virtual microscopy segment dominated the overall market in 2013 and is expected to display the highest growth during the forecast period due to digitalization of microscopic slides.According to applications, the global digital pathology systems market has been categorized into drug discovery and development, academic research, and disease diagnosis. The disease diagnosis application segment accounted for the largest share in the market in 2013. The growth of this segment can be attributed to minimal diagnostic errors and efficient test results. During the forecast period, the demand for digital pathology systems across academic research is expected to surge with extensive tumor morphological studies and biomarker profiling.Request A Free Sample Report :The report studies the global digital pathology systems market across four key regions: Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. In 2013, North America accounted for the largest share in the market and is expected to grow at a steady rate during the forecast horizon. The growth of the North America digital pathology systems market can be attributed to growing usage of companion diagnostics and favorable reimbursement policies. Europe emerged as the second largest region in the market in 2013. The growing geriatric population in the European Union has contributed majorly towards the growth of the market. However, during the forecast horizon, the region is expected to witness the slowest growth owing to economic downturn.Describing the competitive landscape, the report profiles some of the prominent players in the global digital pathology systems market such as GE Healthcare, Olympus Corporation, Ventana Medical Systems Inc., Philips Healthcare, Mikroscan Technologies Inc., and Leica Biosystems.About UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.com
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Membrane Separation Market Worth USD 39.2 Billion by 2019 : PMR

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Persistence Market Research Released New Market Report on Global Market Study on Membrane Separation: Water & Waste Water Segment to Witness Highest Growth by 2019, the global membrane separation market was valued at USD 19.0 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2013 to 2019, to reach an estimated value of USD 39.2 billion in 2019.Mandatory government regulation and increasing demand for clean processed drinking water is propelling the water processing industry to provide the public with clean processed drinking water free of impurity. Providing growth opportunity for water treatment industry among which, Membrane separation technology is one of the most popular methods used for cleaning water. Mandatory adherence of certain environmental standards by the national government such as the Clean Water Act especially in areas with water scarcity have influenced the demand for better water treatment technology, including membrane separation technology. Shifting from chemical to physical treatments of water is also a major driver as chemical treatments are perceived as an environmentally unclean technology with associated disposal costs. Additional awareness of water scarcity has influenced the demand for water reuse in water stressed areas.Governments and municipal authorities are increasingly waking up to the effects of environmental degradation on the economy. Worldwide industrial expansion and growing population are propelling the demand for better water treatment technology, providing growth opportunity for the global market of membrane separation technology. Additionally, the oil and petroleum industry is well established in the gulf and European countries such as Italy and Germany which involve membrane separation technology for liquid separation. Expansion of such industry is expected to increase the overall demand for membrane separation technology. Membrane separation technology is bifurcated into four major processes, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. Microfiltration dominates the market with more than 35% global market share in 2012. Whereas water & wastewater dominates the end-user market with 36% global market shares in 2012. The global membrane separation market grew from USD 19.0 billion in 2010 to USD 21.2 billion in 2013.Download Sample Study of This Report @European membrane market (largest in 2013) is expected to reach USD 13.8 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 9.6%. In 2012 water & wastewater sector was the major end-user of membrane separation technology and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 11.1% during 2013-19. The membrane separation market is fragmented with several players in the market supplying membrane separation products to the end-users (water and wastewater, industrial and healthcare) in the market. Most of the companies produce different types of membrane products such as microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis and sell them globally. Major companies operating globally and manufacturing all four products are Evoqua Water Technologies, Pall Corporation, Koch Membrane Systems Inc., Merck Millipore, Degremont SA, Dow Chemical Company, GEA Filtration, 3M Company, Nitto Denko Corporation and Veolia Environnement.Browse the full Global Market Study on Membrane Separation: Water & Waste Water Segment to Witness Highest Growth by 2019 report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Medical Lifting Slings Market worth 910.6 Million USD by 2024; reports by TMR

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The vendor landscape of the global medical lifting slings market is consolidated in developed countries, which are home to major international players, but remains fragmented in emerging nations, says Transparency Market Research (TMR). The presence of local and small-scale enterprises in large numbers has rendered the competitive landscape of the market in developing countries highly fragmented. There is keen rivalry among top players in the market due to the increasing demand for customization to cater to the specific requirements of users.Request a Free PDF Brochure with Report Analysis:Since the market exhibits high demand for cost-effective, adaptive, and technologically advanced devices to address the diverse mobility needs of patients, opportunities for the entry of new players are quite high.Based on in-depth research, TMR forecasts the global medical lifting slings market to rise at a CAGR of 9.2% between 2016 and 2024. The market was valued at US$391.8 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$910.6 mn by the end of 2024Hill-Rom Holding, Inc., ArjoHuntleigh, Inc., Invacare Corporation, Guldmann, Inc., Barrier Free Lifts, Inc., Silvalea, Vancare, Inc., Joerns Healthcare, LLC, MedCare, have emerged as the leading players in the global medical lifting slings market. TMR new study recommends companies to broaden their product offerings and services to strengthen their position in the market.Favorable Government Policies Create Lucrative Prospects for Medical Lifting Slings MarketSeveral governments worldwide have implemented policies favoring growth of the healthcare industry, the benefits of which are extend to the medical lifting slings market as well. Encouraged by these stringent regulations, leading manufacturers have been investing on advanced designed of medical lifting slings, thus positively fuelling their demand globally. The emerging rental provisions have also significantly boosted the sales of medical lifting slings. This new trend is facilitated by the rising demand for home health care and the subsequent requirement of slings for shorter durations.Despite exhibiting growth at an impressive rate, the lack of technical expertise and absence of proper training provisions are likely to have an adverse impact on the markets trajectory, said a lead TMR analyst. For instance, if lifts are not attached with proper slings it can prove dangerous for both patients and care providers, he added. TMR recommends the healthcare industry to focus on training of care givers for them to understand the potential risks of various types hoisting better.Hospitals Exhibit High Demand for Medical Lifting SlingsBy end users, hospitals emerged as the largest segment in the global medical lifting slings market in 2015, accounting for a share of 47.54%. The rising obese population in developed countries such as the U.S. has been positively influencing demand from this segment. The increasing incidence of lifestyle impairments is also boosting demand for medical lifting slings across hospitals.The high demand from hospitals is aided by the bulk purchase of medical slings from this segment due to their limited product life. Besides this, the demand for cost-effective medical lifting slings is expected to rise considerably in Asia Pacific. TMR forecasts the hospitals segment to exhibit a CAGR of 8.9% between 2016 and 2024. The hospitals segment stood at US$186.3 mn in 2015. Besides this, the home health care segment is also exhibiting rising demand for cost-effective medical lifting slings.Europe to Emerge as Largest Regional Market for Medical Lifting SlingsRegionally, Europe emerged as the largest market for medical lifting slings, accounting for a share of 33.09% in 2015. North America, in the same year, emerged as the second-largest market for medical lifting slings with a share of 28.90% in the overall market. The favorable government policies will boost sales of medical lifting slings in Europe.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market ResearchTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Auto Cyber Security Market to Cross US$ 31.0 Million by 2021

Auto Cyber Security Market

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Florida, September 15: With its recently published study on Global Auto Cyber Security Marker Trends & Forecast  2015-2020,Global Auto Cyber Security market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.2% during the period 2015-2020.Browse Full Report:MRE predicts wireless security is set to be the higher priority for the automakers to leverage the advanced connected vehicle technology market growth in upcoming years (2015-2020). The increasing demand for the connected vehicle for the consumers is expected to impact on the automotive industry ecosystem. As per the market study, North America set to be a leading continent for this market growth followed by Asia Pacific and Western Europe regions.In near future, billions of the connected cars and driverless car will be on road as this technology grows that exponential increasing the concern regarding security. Due to this, automakers and cyber security vendors are need to working together to understand about scenarios to reduce the security issues.The increasing demand for digital technology from the consumers leads automakers to consider the connected vehicle technology as a new business model for their future growth. In the next five years, connected vehicle technology is expected to positively impact on automotive industry market growth.Download Free Sample Report:Key Insights of Global Auto Cyber Security Market reports 2015-2020 The Global Auto Cyber Security Market is analyzed by Security Types, Solutions, Services and Regions. Latest trends, Current market scenario, government initiative and technologies related to the Auto Cyber Security market. The regions covered in this report are North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. Connected vehicle and security market outlook.About Market Research EngineMarket 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 | +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Global Digital Manufacturing Market to Exhibit 7.60% CAGR 2016-2020 owing to Rising Adoption of Cloud-based DM Systems

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Recently, ManpowerGroup and the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) announced their collaboration in Chicago. This new partnership is meant to map and define the roles, skills, and processes required by companies to manage advanced digital manufacturing systems. The collaboration is a part of an initiative by federal agencies to propel the growth of new-generation digital manufacturing and production capacities in the United States. This has inspired many companies to adopt new-age digital manufacturing technologies, state a new report added by MarketResearchReports.biz to its online databank.The report, titled Global Digital Manufacturing Market 2016-2020, states that the market will exhibit a 7.60% CAGR from 2016 to 2020. Many organizations have started using digital manufacturing (DM) as a vital link in their manufacturing procedures. This is credited to be the key factor driving the global digital manufacturing market. However, pirated digital manufacturing systems and software will always remain a threat to the leading players. Even though the growth of the market is restricted by the entry of pirated software, the introduction of cloud-based digital manufacturing software can boost the demand for digital manufacturing software and systems.The study highlights the changing trends in the adoption of digital manufacturing software and systems. Many manufacturing organizations require product lifecycle management software to deal with product designing, manufacturing, and design engineering. The rising need to effectively manage products throughout the manufacturing process has led to the introduction of product lifecycle management software. Revenue management, increased capital efficiency, and cost reduction are the benefits that can be credited for the growing implementation of product lifecycle management software in organizations. In todays digital era, even manufacturing procedures have gone digital. Thus, cloud-based digital manufacturing systems have gained tremendous acceptance.Digital manufacturing finds application in the automotive industry, the electrical and electronics industry, and the aerospace and defense industry. As per the findings of the research, the rising application of digital manufacturing in developing nations is expected to propel the global market. The growing awareness about the many benefits of digital manufacturing software is expected to propel the market, predicts the analysts. However, the high switching costs of DM software and low adoption of DM software by SMEs are two of the challenges expected to hamper the global market.Download Sample Copy of This Report at:By region, the global digital manufacturing market is divided into the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The report also lists all leading companies operating in the global digital manufacturing market. Siemens PLM Software, Dassault Systmes, Autodesk, Mentor Graphics, PTC, CAD Schroer, Open Factory 3D, and Bentley Systems are some of the key companies listed in the report on the global digital manufacturing market.Marketresearchreports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports, supporting clients market intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market profits in its repository. We also offer consulting support for custom market research needs.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Europe Hadoop Software Industry: New Report Delivers 2011-2015 Review, 2016-2021 Forecasts

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The report examines the current condition of the Europe Hadoop software industry and presents a comprehensive analysis of the various factors that have influenced the markets trajectory in the historical study period. The 132-page report is titled Europe Hadoop Software Industry 2016 Market Research Report and is available for sale on the official website of MarketResearchReports.biz. The report provides 2011-2016 figures regarding the markets economic and competitive dynamics and development forecasts from 2016 to 2021.Hadoop is a software framework that is becoming crucial in todays big-data-dominated data analysis market. The highly scalable model allows customers to have their own data storage solution across one or multiple machines. One of the major drivers for the Hadoop market is the increasing popularity of social media websites, which is leading to the generation of unprecedented volumes of data and forcing companies to adjust their data storage technology accordingly.The report provides a complete overview of the Europe Hadoop software industry, including detailed analysis of both upstream and downstream value chains of the market. The policy framework of the Europe Hadoop software industry is also elaborated upon in the report, along with information on key recent events in the industry.The manufacturing cost structure of the Europe Hadoop software industry is elaborated upon in the report, which includes a breakdown of the manufacturing cost structure into labor costs, depreciation costs, and other manufacturing costs. In this way, the price of the bill of material of the Europe Hadoop software industry is described in detail. The development of the manufacturing cost structure of the Europe Hadoop software industry from 2011 to 2016 is discussed in the report.Competitive analysis of the Europe Hadoop software industry is also presented in the report to provide actionable insights to readers. A company profile, product information, capacity and production figures, and a general financial analysis of major players such as Cloudera, Amazon Web Services, HortonWorks, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Teradata, Oracle, Pivotal, and Datameer are provided in the report.Download Sample Copy of This Report at:The latest available capacity and production figures of major players in the Europe Hadoop software industry are given in the report. The R&D status of major companies in 2015 is also provided to enhance the readers understanding of the contemporary Hadoop software industry in Europe.The report segments the Europe Hadoop software industry region, type, and application, and provides a granular analysis of the market by each criterion for the 2011-2016 review period.The report includes a key section on the 2016-2021 forecasts for the Europe Hadoop software industry. Capacity and production forecasts, sales and revenue analysis, expected changes in the regional import-export dynamics, and consumption forecasts for the Europe Hadoop software industry are provided for the 2016-2021 forecast period.MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports, supporting clients market intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market profiles in its repository. We also offer consulting support for custom market research needs.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
DC-DC Converter Market - Global Trend, Growth Forecast & Industry Outlook Analysis Report 2015-2022

DC-DC Converter Market

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The report on global DC-DC converter market evaluates the growth trends of the industry through historical study and estimates future prospects based on comprehensive research.Access full report at:The report extensively provides the market share, growth, trends and forecasts for the period 2015-2022. The market size in terms of revenue (USD MN) is calculated for the study period along with the details of the factors affecting the market growth (drivers and restraints).A glimpse of the major drivers and restraints affecting this market is mentioned below:A. Drivers> Rising focus on new avenues for power conservation> Emergence of new power saving architectures> Development of thick-film hybrid DC-DC converter for spaces applications> Increased high power requirement by the information & communication technology industry> Development of digital power management & controlB. Restraints> Inability of DC-DC converter to switch-off during no-load situationGet Free Sample Copy of this Report @Furthermore, the report quantifies the market share held by the major players of the industry and provides an in-depth view of the competitive landscape. This market is classified into different segments with detailed analysis of each with respect to geography for the study period 2015-2022.The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.The report classifies the market into different segments based on output voltage, output number, output power and application. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the market.The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the worldwide market with company profiles of key players such as Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Bel Fuse Corporation, Cosel Co., Ltd, Crane Aerospace and Electronics, Delta Electronics Inc., Ericsson, FDK Corporation, General Electric, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Texas Instruments, Traco Electronic AG, and Vicor Corporation. A detailed description of each has been included, with information in terms of H.Q, future capacities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial overview, partnerships, collaborations, new product launches, new product developments and other latest industrial developments.SEGMENTATIONS IN THE REPORT:1. By Output Voltage:3.3v5v12v15vOthers2. By Output Number:SingleDualOther3. By Output Power:Less than 20W20-40W40-100W4. By Applications:CommunicationServer, Storage And NetworkIndustrialAerospace And DefenseMedicalConsumer5. By Geography:AmericasEMEAAsiaMajor Table Of Contents:1. INTRODUCTION2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY3. MARKET ANALYSIS4. DC-DC CONVERTER MARKET ANALYSIS BY OUTPUT VOLTAGE5. DC-DC CONVERTER MARKET ANALYSIS BY OUTPUT NUMBER6. DC-DC CONVERTER MARKET ANALYSIS BY OUTPUT POWER7. DC-DC CONVERTER MARKET ANALYSIS BY APPLICATION8. DC-DC CONVERTER MARKET ANALYSIS BY GEOGRAPHY9. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE OF THE DC-DC CONVERTER COMPANIES10. COMPANY PROFILES OF THE DC-DC CONVERTER INDUSTRYPurchase DC-DC Converter Market Analysis Report At:DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.3rd Floor,Fountain chambers,Nanabhai Lane,Fort, Mumbai - 1E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.comPhone: +91 99 28 237112Web:
ASEAN Confectionery Market Growth, Trends and Value Chain 2015-2025 by FMI

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-as-420

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-as-420

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ASEAN Confectionery Market OverviewItems in confectionery market consists of candies, chocolates, toffees, lollies, bakery items;basically food items that are rich in sugar and sweet content. Mostly confectionery market items consists of food products like butter, cocoa, honey, milk, flour, fruits, honey, nuts, sugar syrup and more. They are consumed globally, mostly by all regions and countries and are expected to grow in developing countries. Confectionery market is growing in mostly all the South East Asian countries and saw a tremendous growth in the last couple of years.ASEAN Confectionery Market SegmentationThe confectionery market is segmented into three segments  Chocolates, Sugar confectionery and Gum. Chocolates constitutes the significant part of confectionery market. Cocoa and sugar are the raw materials for chocolate and latex is the raw material used for gum.Worlds largest cocoa processor Barry Callebauts production has also moved to Asia pacific and Latin America because of its low production costs and great future opportunities.Its factories are in Malaysia and Thailand. Nestle has acquired a majority stake in Chinese confectioner Hsu Fu Chi.Europe constitutes the biggest share of confectionery market, followed by Asia Pacific confectionery market. ASEAN region has become an attractive place to do business. Some big MNCs have shifted their base(plants) for the production of chocolate to Indonesia to improve efficiency and reduce costs in supply. Indonesia has the most consumption of confectionery items as compared to other South East Asian countries. Flavors GmbH (WILD), another company is opening its branch center in Singapore to serve the hub for the ASEAN region. Main markets in South East Asian countries include Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia for confectionery market.Request Free Report Sample@ASEAN Confectionery Market DynamicsRising disposable income, higher population, high GDP growth and consumer spending are the major key drivers of ASEAN confectionery market. The biggest constraint to ASEAN confectionery market could be rise in raw material cost and uncertain consumer behaviour. Also health issues, increasing government regulations, could also be the biggest challenge for confectionery market. Chocolate segment expected to grow the most under ASEAN confectionery market. On special occasions and celebrations, sale of confectionery items increase because people gift each other and its consumption and demand increase. Vietnam is gradually cutting down the import tax imposed on products of ASEAN, countries in accordance with the ASEAN Free Trade Area, AFTA, regulations. As a result, the Vietnamese confectionery market is vibrant compared to other nations.ASEAN Confectionery Market Distribution ChannelMostly confectionery items are sold in retail stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores. Multinational flavor companies and smaller local manufacturers are active in South EastAsia confectionery market. The latter offers good distribution expertise and local connections. Innovation by producers playing a great role in experimenting with flavors, taste, size which is driving a growth of this market. Enterprises operating under Vietnamese confectionery market use modern technology of foreign countries such as Germany, Italy, Japan and Austria to make their products, and apply non-chemical preservation techniquesVisit For TOC@ASEAN Confectionery Market Key PlayersKey players in this confectionery market are Ferraro, Hersheys,Lindt, Wrigleys, Perfetti Van Melle and ChupaChupa. Product innovation and consistent in quality are the reasons for their success. Dunkin Donuts has signed a franchisee agreement to develop a brand in Vietnam with Vietnam Food and Beverage Co. domestic confectionery companies have simultaneously launched many new products in confectionery market. Pioneers of the campaign included famous companies such as Kinh Do, Bibica, Kotobuki, and smaller producers like Nguyen Tran and ThanhPhat, etc. ierce competition was found between Malaysian Khongguan biscuits and Vietnamese productsABOUT US:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Axigen Messaging proudly sponsored World Hosting Days Sailing Event in Kiel, Germany

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/Axigen

Axigen Messaging, leading vendor in the messaging industry, was proud to participate from September 8th to 10th in the World Hosting Days Sailing event that took place in Kiel, Germany. This exclusive event is designed for owners, founders, and senior executives from the hosting and cloud industries.As a sponsor of World Hosting Days Sailing event, Axigen had the opportunity to brand one of the exquisite 12-Metre class racing sailboats that were used in sea cruising, the coolest and most enjoyable part of the event.The Axigen product portfolio for service providers serves as a viable all-in-one alternative to the high end email and collaboration solutions available on the market. Our goal is to empower service providers  leveraging Axigens flexibility  to bring to market services tailored to SMEs.Axigen has aggressively invested in the research and development of a series of features with strong focus on service providers specific needs. Axigen is a multi-tenant infrastructure messaging solution for service providers and businesses of all sizes, able to host hundreds to tens of millions of business-level email users, based on a powerful mail server technology.Axigen differs from other email, calendaring, and collaboration solutions in that it is fully integrated, multi-platform, easily brandable, and localized in over 20 languages (including right-to-left writing mode). It also allows flexible service offerings for customers, so that the SP can develop a structure of plans including SaaS, colocation, rental, or reselling.Antivirus and antispam integration is also available with some of the most known, used, and trusted solutions such as Kaspersky, Cyren, and Bitdefender.By offering a premium email, calendaring, and collaboration solution to their customers, the SPs will make sure they provide the best user experience and capitalize on the real added value Axigen can offer.We are very happy we had the opportunity to be part of such a great, specific audience. Axigen has been developed with service provider needs focus first, so now our solutions are ready to answer to the biggest challenges a service provider is facing: infrastructure, antivirus and antispam concerns, administration and server operation challenges, licensing flexibility, and end user experience.WHD has been a great experience for us and an opportunity to gather most valuable feedback from the best service providers in the industry. We are happy we could present a flexible, robust, easy to manage, fully integrated, multi-platform email solution.We look forward to being part of the next WHD event, global edition, in March 2017, Rust, Germany.Bogdan Moldovan, Axigen Head of Sales and Professional ServicesAbout Axigen MessagingAxigen is a premium all-in-one email, calendaring, and collaboration platform, based on an innovative, proprietary technology, providing unmatched manageability for system administrators.Integrating all modules in a robust messaging solution, Axigen is developed for demanding users, from small businesses to large service providers.Axigen is a young product, and we have been able to use that in our advantage  weve been developing the Axigen product having a high standard to start, taking requests from a mature market that knows very well what it wants and needs from such a product.Bogdan Moldovan, Axigen Head of Sales and Professional ServicesWe welcome you to find out more or try it on axigen.com. Just make sure you send us your feedback.Additional InformationLearn more about Axigen for Service Providers here.Take the Axigen Admin Demo right now here.Take the Axigen End User Demo right now here.Follow @Axigen on Twitter:Like us on Facebook:Follow us on LinkedIn:Address: 61C Nicolae Caramfil Str., building B, first floor Entrance from Scoala Herastrau 014142 Bucharest 1, RomaniaPress contactCristina ConstantinescuAxigen Messaging+4 0 21 303 2080Cristina.constantinescu@axigen.com
Oil Storage Market heats up

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Oil Storage Market size comprises of companys manufacture and individual owner participants which may positively impact on oil storage demand, trade between terminal, and countries. Oil storage are canister or reservoir used to store petroleum products.These storage tanks contain biological liquid, non-biological liquid used for oil processing for products such as petrol, diesel oil, paraffin and others at different stages. These are broadly classified into two different categories atmospheric and pressurized, where atmospheric pressure is high in Atmospheric tanks (AST) which holds liquid at atmospheric pressure, liquid which evaporate are stored in Pressurized Tanks (PST).Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Furthermore, product segmentation is categorized as fixed roof oil tanks (FRT), floating roof oil tanks, horizontal cylindrical oil tanks, spherical oil tanks, and others are some of the types of oil storage which are widely used among the different end use industries. Fixed roof tank is cone or domed shape steel shell which is permanently mounted on tank shell, used to store biological liquids owing to its clog preventing properties. Floating roof storage tanks are cylindrical in shape and having floating roof which rises or fall according to the change in level of liquid and used to store the product having vapor pressure greater than 0.5 psia and less than 11 psia.Horizontal storage tanks are constructed in such a way that length of storage tank is equal to or less than six times of its diameter and specifically used to store most refined oil products. Oil storage tanks is being used in various industries like petrochemical and chemical manufacturing, steel industry, mechanical industries, bulk storage and transfer operation, automobile industries, petroleum producing and refining and others, for different uses.Demand supply mismatch in oil and gas industry, where production is more than demand, would increase the demand for oil storage during the forecast period. Consolidation has absolutely redefined the oil and gas industry, which have seen several large mergers such as BP-Amoco and Exxon-Mobil. Consolidation has been largely concentrated in North America with major drivers dealing for strengthening competitive positioning, shareholder value, cost savings, access to technology. This idea invited a strong breed of stronger, integrated, bigger and more aggressive players. Refining scope has been concentrated and rationalized, both in USA and Europe. Consolidated players have dominated sub-segments in oilfield services. With future liberalization and deregulation sector worldwide, more consolidation is expected, chiefly in Asia Pacific.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.29L Atlantic Avenue,Suite L 105, Ocean View,Delaware 19970United States
North America to remain in the dominant position in the Patient Temperature Management Market till 2021

Patient Temperature Management Market | Beige Market Intelligence

http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/reports/research-report-healthcare-market/global-patient-temperature-management-market-strategic-assessment-and-forecast-till-2021/

North America accounts for the largest share of the Patient Temperature Management market and is expected to continue in the near future. This dominance can be attributed to a large number of surgical procedures that are taking place in the region. Mostly the market penetration is in the two major countries in the US and Canada.A recent report published at Beige Market Intelligence provides an in depth analysis of the Patient Temperature Management Market. The report along with the market growth by products and end user segment also gives a detailed analysis of the major regions holding the accountable number of market shares. The report has also outlined the factors which are going to drive the market for the forthcoming years.The report says In 2011, more than 1.2 million hip and knee replacement surgeries were performed in the US and this number is estimated to cross approximately 3.5 million by 2030. This figure shows the increased use of Patient Temperature Management systems.The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and Canadian Institute for health Information confirms that more than 2,00,0000 surgeries took place together only in Canada and US till 2013. (Exact figure and information available in the report). It gives a clear indication about the expected increase in use of Patient Temperature Management Devices. Furthermore, factors such as rise in number of surgical centers, high incidences of cardiac arrest and neurological disorders, and high adoption rate of technologically advanced products in North America can be attributed for the highest market share of North America.Patient Temperature Management Market in USThe US holds the largest share in the patient temperature management market in North America. The market in the US is primarily driven by high incidences of various diseases such as neurological disorders and cardiac arrests, rise in aging population, adoption of technologically advanced patient warming and cooling systems, to name a few to improve healthcare infrastructure.According to the American Medical Association (AMA) nearly 60% of the population aged above 65 years will be suffering from more than one chronic disorder by 2030. Furthermore, more than 85% of the population in this age die from heart disorders every year. Certain surgical procedures are required to be performed for the treatment of age-related disorders. Also large volumes of surgical procedures are being carried out in the country.The increasing prevalence of chronic disorders such as heart diseases and brain strokes in the US will continue to boost the growth of the patient temperature management market during the forecast period.View the Report Global Patient Temperature Management Market  Strategic Assessment and Forecast Till 2021.Patient Temperature Management Market in CanadaThe patient temperature management market in Canada is likely to increase due to high incidence and prevalence of strokes in Canada during the forecast period.It is estimated that more than 50,000 strokes (one stroke in every 10 minutes) occur in Canada every year. In 2012, approx. 6% (nearly 14,000) of deaths in Canada resulted due to strokes (Source: Statistics Canada). Also, the risk of strokes doubles every 10 years after an individual reaches 55 years of its age (Source: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, Canada).In addition, growing number of surgeries is further accelerating the growth of the market. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), almost 500,000 Canadians underwent priority surgical procedures and specialized treatments in 2012, which was an increase as compared to 2011. Also, initiatives by the government to increase the number of highly qualified and skilled surgeons in Canada is also supporting the growth of the market. For instance, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2012 initiated the Future of General Surgery Project with an aim to ensure that all graduates undergoing Canadas General Surgery residency programs were well prepared to deliver surgical care in various practice settings across the country.According to the report after North America, Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow. Europe is expected to grow at a slow pace amongst all the geographies. The report provides a detailed analysis of the market size and growth aspect of the major regions. It includes a detailed analysis of the strategies used by major vendors in the market along with the emerging vendors analysis.For More Information ,Click :About Beige Market Intelligence:Beige 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.Beige Market IntelligenceChinapannahalli Main Road, Doddanekundi, Bangalore - 560037Contact info:contactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473
This is going to be a big potato.Kevin Garratt back home in Canada following release by ChinaKevin Garratt, the Canadian who was detained in China in 2014 and indicted on charges of spying and stealing state secrets, is back home in Canada following his release, CBC News has learned.Garratt's release comes just over a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned from his first official visit to China as prime minister.During a press conference with Trudeau in Bejiing on Aug. 31, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made reference to a Canadian citizen who had been detained in China for two years on suspicion of spying, saying he would be treated humanely and his case would be handled in accordance with the law. Li did not mention Garratt by name at that time.Li will visit Canada next week for an official visit, and is scheduled to meet with Trudeau in Ottawa.
Establishing a Climate Sensitive International Freight Sector

Olivier dOlne, General Manager of Aderco Marine

At the recent International Chamber of Shipping conference held in London, its chairman, Esben Poulsson highlighted concerning trends that the shipping and maritime sectors need to be aware of. He recognised there are three major challenges for the industry to tackle: maintaining the authority of IMO; addressing the legitimate demand for even greater levels of environmental protection and making policy makers better aware of the industrys existing achievements. He continued by stating that the current trend of the EU Member States positions to be co-ordinated by the EU and given as one response rather than individual members taking part in the debates is having a negative impact on decision making. This is something the sector needs to be mindful of in order to protect the global maritime regulatory system provided by IMO.In light of this, the shipping industry must be proactive in its response to the increasing demands for environmental performance. As the demand for the worldwide shipment of goods increases, so does the impact to the environment; each year maritime transport emits approximately 1000 million tonnes of CO2 and is responsible for around 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Shipping emissions are predicted to increase between 50% and 250% by 2050  depending on future economic and energy developments. Strong leadership and innovation within the industry is needed in order to meet commitments made to climate goals. The reputation of the shipping industry depends now on its environmental performance.Complete sustainability is impossible to achieve as fuel itself is non-renewable, however once petroleum-based fuel is bought, the efficiency of operations can still be measurably improved and environmental impact reduced. The important thing is to maximize sustainability wherever possible.Aderco specialises in the development and production of advanced fuel treatments to address that issue as well as improve fuel efficiency. For an engine to operate efficiently, the fuel burn must be as complete as possible. Aderco fuel treatment solutions ensure a cleaner, more complete combustion, eliminating many of the difficulties that arise in untreated fuels. Acting as a sludge dispersant, fuel stabiliser and combustion improver, Aderco fuel conditioners protect the fuel investment while delivering better efficiency and performance as well as lower emissions. Vessels can then operate at their full efficiency, with reduced fuel consumption and maintenance costs, alongside reduced emissions into the environment.An additional benefit for the maritime industry is that Aderco products offer the highest concentration, which translates into a low cost per tonne treated and ensures an immediate return on investment. The high product concentration unique to Aderco products also means a smaller packaging footprint, which in turn further reduces logistics costs. These savings are further enhanced by Adercos high level of stock availability at strategic locations around the globe. The fact that Aderco fuel treatments are classified as non-dangerous and are not subject to transport restrictions is also a very important aspect in ensuring quick response and trouble-free delivery.Olivier dOlne, General Manager of Aderco Marine, adds: With our fuel treatment competence being second to none, we are committed to satisfying very demanding customers both through innovative solutions and outstanding service. Based on a partnership for progress, it greatly assists that our fuel treatment products more than pay for themselves with the savings they generate.As a company that continuously and progressively looks forward, the fast approaching challenges of biodiesel fuels are already being addressed by Aderco, with solutions showing compelling results for keeping bacterial growth under control without biocide action. Already more than 20 million metric tonnes are treated every year and this is growing as customer numbers increase.The Global Fuel Additives Market 2015-2019 report states that the market is expected to be worth 8.6 billion USD by 2020.The shipping industry needs these kinds of proactive approaches to improve environmental performance and meet the demands of society.Aderco International, a company involved in the research & development, manufacture and distribution of specialised fuel treatment covering the key maritime, industrial, mining and automotive sectors.Aderco started operations in 1981 when Canadian Paul Crevier identified a molecule with unique properties for improving fuel efficiency and addressing the issues specific to fuel oil-fired operations. Together with the Quebec Industrial Research Centre (CRIQ), the formulation was further optimised and validated into what is today, a highly regarded and trusted brand used across the globe.Adercos initial product iterations successfully overcame the problems of fuel incompatibility, sludge formation, inefficient combustion and deposit formations. Extensive laboratory and field testing ensued, with numerous base cases delivering compelling results.By the turn of the millennium, Aderco had further refined the formula to incorporate the benefits of vegetal organic derivatives. Besides enabling a higher concentration than was possible with solvent-based methods, it also addressed the sustainability dynamic, the result being a product that not only promised a far lower cost per tonne treated but also one that was more environmentally responsible and came with the all-important Non-Hazardous classification. The advantages included convenient 20-litre pails rather than 200-litre drums and no transportation restrictions. The green pails of Aderco 2055G, the latest-generation fuel conditioning formula, are increasingly a common sight on vessels of all types the world over.In 2011, Aderco had already begun applying R&D resources with regard to the growing concern of sulphur emissions, especially in view of impending Emissions Control Area legislation. Aderco L1050 Lubricity Improver  like 2055G a vegetal-organic formulation, 100% ashless and 100% metal-free  was introduced well in advance of the new, stricter SECA (Sulphur Emissions Control Area) regulations that came into force on 1st January 2015, enabling ship owners and ship managers to seamlessly and cost-effectively adapt to the new regime.Specifically developed to compensate for the loss of lubricity due to desulphurisation whilst also protecting vital engine components, L1050 has already established itself as the go-to solution when entering Sulphur Emission Control Areas (ECA). Aderco 2055G and L1050 consistently prove to be the ideal combination for ensuring risk-free fuel switch-over operations.Image Line Communications8 Skyline Business VillageLondonE14 9TSAmy Gregory
European Linked Data Award given to Projects in Education and Legal Sector

Alessandro Adamou, Martin Kaltenbock

Now in the second year the European Linked Data Award presents two winning projects coming from the legal/law domain and the research/education sector. With 37 submissions coming form 16 countries this years ELDC showed that European Research and European Industry are capable of presenting top research and innovation results based on Linked Data Technologies. On 13.09.2016 the awarding ceremony take place in Leipzig's Moritzbastei.Linked Enterprise Data---------------------------The Winner in the category "Linked Enterprise Data" is the BBC in partnership with Learning on Screen and Jisc with their project The Research and Education Space (RES).2016.semantics.cc/projects/research-and-education-space-resPart of the BBC's Archive strategy for the benefit of teachers and learners, the Research and Education Space (RES) uses Linked Open Data to deliver public value out of publishing digital collections for the benefit of teachers and students in the UK. Its reach includes major stakeholders in the UK public sector such as the British Museum and British Library. It is developed in partnership with Jisc and Learning on Screen (formerly BUFVC), two British not-for-profit organisations that play a key role in bringing open research media to the UK community.BBC's Hilary Bishop stated in her acceptance speech: "The BBC supports Open Linked Data especially in News and Sports, the natural next step is to see how we use Linked Data to deliver publi value. It's motivating to our team, to receive an award which says - keep trying this."The jury highlights, "RES demonstrates the suitability and potential impact of Linked Data as a medium for delivering large-scale educational resources, an achievement which the ELDC jury has elected to honour in the 2016 edition."Linked Open Data---------------------Winner in the category "Linked Open Data" is the Austrian Startup openlaws.2016.semantics.cc/projects/openlawsopenlaws is a web service for businesses and legal experts. The platform makes legal search easier and provides tools to better organize legislation, case law and personal legal information, like contracts. The database is built on open data from the EU and its member states. openlaws is aggregating and linking legislation and case law. In addition, openlaws involves the legal expert community in an open innovation approach. Experts can publish legal portfolios and can highlight text in important public legal documents, which will then be visible for other users. In order to make the service sustainable, premium features are offered for more advanced users.openlaw's Clemens Wass in his acceptance speech: "Linked open data is a powerful resource for resource for us and the legal domain in general. It is really fundamental for the democracies in Europe. We a very grateful about this award, because it shows that legal technologies matter."The jury claim: "Openlaws showcase how European investments in Basic Research and the latest efforts to open up substantial datasets will be taken by European entrepreneurs to build smart products and develop sustainable business out of it."Also honored---------------:: Catergory Linked Enterprise Data2nd) AtomGraph by Martynas Jusevicius2016.semantics.cc/projects/atomgraph2nd (ex aequo): WAVES: Big Data Platform for Real-time Semantic Stream Management by ATOS2016.semantics.cc/projects/waves-big-data-platform-real-t...:: Category Linked Open Data2nd) LOTUS: A Search Engine for the Web of Data by The Network Institute, VU Amsterdam2016.semantics.cc/projects/lotus-search-engine-web-data3rd) Describing local governments and their activities using Linked Data by Civil Kapocs Egyesulet2016.semantics.cc/projects/describing-local-governments-a...Find the complete directory of Linked Data projects and products at 2016.semantics.cc/map?qt-projects=1#qt-projects.About the ELDC-------------------The ELDC awards prizes to stories, products, projects or persons presenting novel and innovative projects, products and industry implementations involving linked data. The two-step contest consists of a country wise nomination, followed by a pan-European selection. At the heart of the contest is an international jury of ambassadors from over 15 European countries. Those ambassadors act as country representatives to look out for the most exciting projects, people and products and elect the winner of the contest. This year the ELDC is awarded in the categories Linked Enterprise Data and Linked Open Data, with 1.500,- for each of the winners.About the Semantic Web Company---------------------------------------------------------Semantic Web Company GmbH (SWC) is the leading provider of graph-based metadata, search, and analytic solutions. SWC has been named to KMWorlds 2016 list of the 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management.The Semantic Web Company was founded in 2004 and is acknowledged as a global leader in Semantic Web technologies. The company is the vendor of PoolParty Semantic Suite and is involved in R&D projects with a volume of more than 17 million EUR.A team of Linked Data experts provides consulting and integration services for semantic data and knowledge portals.Boehringer Ingelheim, Credit Suisse, European Commission, Springer Nature, Wolters Kluwer, and The World Bank are among many other customers, which have successfully adopted Semantic Web solutions.Semantic Web CompanyNeubaugasse 11070 ViennaAustriaContact: Thomas Thurnernewsletter@semantic-web.at+43 1 4021235
Wearable Technology Market to Show Unprecedented CAGR of 42.1% With Rising Trends of Cashless Payment

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2579

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/europe-wearable-technology-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

While advances in material sciences in Europe have helped achieve unprecedented compactness in wearable devices, their adoption has received a boost because of their increasingly easy-to-use features. The prices of wearable technology products, however, continue to remain a hindrance to the growth of the European wearable technology market. The development of wearables for healthcare and fitness applications is a key opportunity that hitherto remains comparatively unexploited. By focusing on this opportunity, companies in the Europe wearable technology market can mitigate the negative impact of market restraints to some extent. Although the market for wearables continues to gallop ahead, battery technology is yet to catch up. This limits the availability of a satisfactory power source for wearable gadgets. Thus, till the time battery technology lags behind, the wearable technology market will lose out on some growth opportunities.For the purpose of this study, the European wearable technology market has been segmented on the basis of application into into: Fitness and wellness, healthcare and medical, infotainment, and industry and military devices. The fitness and wellness segment was the largest in the European wearable technology market in 2012, and is expected to remain in this position through the reports forecast period.Free PDF For Latest Advancements with Technological breakthroughs is @Based on product, the market has been has been further segmented into smart clothing and smart sport glasses, activity monitors, sleep sensors, smart watches, head-up displays, smart glasses, continuous glucose monitor, drug delivery, monitors, wearable patches, hand worn terminals, and augmented reality headsets.Among the regional markets studied in the report, Germany was the largest with a share of 32% as of 2012. Awareness about wearables is comparatively high in Germany thanks largely to wearable-tech-related conferences held here. The country is also a hotbed of innovation related to self-powering wearable devices. On the other hand, the wearable technology market in the United Kingdom, too, has been picking up consumers across demographics. The wearable technology market in the U.K. is poised to exhibit a 41.8% CAGR through the reports forecast period.Leading players profiled in the report on the European wearable technology market are: Google Inc., Microsoft, Nike, Adidas, Samsung, and Sony.Europes standing as a hotbed of innovation in technology, materials science, and augmented reality will reflect positively on the wearable technology market in the region. In its latest report on the Europe wearable technology market in , Transparency Market Research says that wearable technology will represent a US$2.54 bn opportunity in Europe by 2019. The European wearable technology market was valued at US$308.69 mn in 2013. This translates to a CAGR of 42.1% for the market between 2014 and 2019. The report is titled, Wearable Technology Market - European Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019.The report pins the growth of the European wearable technology market to the following factors: A rising demand for wearables in defense and military, healthcare, and infotainment applications. The report points out that the high demand for mobile devices will indirectly benefit the wearable technology market in Europe.Browse the full European Wearable Technology Market - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019 report atThe research study has been segmented as below:Wearable technology Market: By applicationsFitness and WellnessInfotainmentHealthcare and MedicalIndustrial and MilitaryWearable technology Market: By productsSmart clothing and smart sport glassesActivity monitorsSleep sensorsSmart watchesHeads-Up displaysSmart glassesContinuous glucose monitorDrug deliveryMonitorsWearable patchesHand worn terminalsAugmented reality headsetsMajor regions analyzed under this research report are:GermanyUKDenmarkNorwaySwedenTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
A sex offender convicted of kidnapping and raping two women inside his car in separate attacks last year was sentenced to 56 years in prison Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court.

Jose Omar Ortiz-Rico

Judge Janelle Wipper found Jose Omar Ortiz-Rico, 29, guilty of all 15 counts of first-degree rape, sex abuse, sodomy and kidnapping during a bench trial last month. The attacks occurred in April and May 2015 in a rural area outside Aloha.

Both victims asked the judge to impose a lengthy sentence during Wednesday's hearing. One of the women, now 19, wrote an emotional statement that was read in court by her case manager with the Sexual Assault Resource Center.

She believed she would die that night in May, she wrote. During the attack, she wondered what her friends and family would do if she did and what her death would mean.

"I didn't do enough in life," she wrote. "I hadn't even graduated from high school yet.

"It may have been the day after my 18th birthday, but I was still a child."

Ortiz-Rico was arrested in the days after the attack, which occurred while he was under investigation for another assault a month earlier.

In April 2015, he'd asked an acquaintance to help him move, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The two met in Hillsboro, but Ortiz-Rico instead took the woman to a farm field in a rural area near his Aloha home. He sexually assaulted her there over the course of eight hours, letting her go in the morning.

In the May 2015 case, the then-18-year-old woman had posted on Craigslist that she was soon graduating from high school and needed a room to rent in Vancouver, according to court records.

A man, later identified as Ortiz-Rico, quickly replied with a text message, records say, and picked her up in Vancouver to show her the living quarters.

Instead, they crossed the Columbia River into Portland and the young woman began to worry, according to court records. They eventually passed through Beaverton, she told police, until they stopped in an isolated, rural place. There, he attacked her and raped her.

Afterward, court records say, Ortiz-Rico started driving again. Once they reached Beaverton, the woman ran from the car and to a Chevron gas station, where she reported to police what happened.

In her statement to the court Wednesday, the woman said it was hard for her to explain to others what happened. After the assault, she saw men as predators. Her home felt unsafe. Everyone felt dangerous.

She suffered from disordered eating, she said. She started hurting herself. She learned what rape really means.

She's grown stronger, she wrote. She's chosen to forgive him. She can't stay angry forever.

"Though I do not want to, I will claim him as my rapist," she wrote in her statement. "But I am no longer his victim."

Prosecutor Allison Brown noted Ortiz-Rico's criminal history, which includes second-degree sex abuse, prostitution, assault and methamphetamine possession convictions. She asked for a sentence long enough to prevent him from harming anyone else.

Brown also mentioned another sex assault investigation involving Ortiz-Rico that didn't result in charges. The court also heard testimony from Ortiz-Rico's former girlfriend, who through tears and trembling hands, said that he had beat and sexually assaulted her during their relationship.

Ortiz-Rico's lawyer, Erik Bucher, told the court that his client suffers from a mental illness and asked that the judge consider that before making her decision.

Ortiz-Rico made a rambling, and at times nonsensical, statement. He said after he spent time in prison for his earlier crimes, he became lost.

"I can't explain what happened," he told the court.

He said he grew up involved in the justice system. He mentioned a time in seventh grade that he had touched a girl's breast and got in trouble.

He said he had tried to get help from the state hospital. He has faith in God, he said, and thinks he'll be OK.

He asked Wipper for a lesser sentence.

"I never wanted to be in the news or be famous or infamous," he said. "All I ask is for a little bit of help."

The judge told Ortiz-Rico that her job was to hand down a fair sentence. And that sentence would be long.

--Rebecca Woolington

503-294-4049; @rwoolington
On the latest edition of The Oregonian's Beaver Banter podcast, Oregon State beat reporters Gina Mizell and Danny Moran discuss the Beavers' bye week and home opener against Idaho State. Plus, they answer your Twitter questions.

Listen to the podcast in the player below or subscribe on iTunes by searching "Beaver Banter." Submit questions via Twitter to @ginamizell or @DannyJMoran.

--

|
ITT Tech fallout

Oregon students left in the cold after the collapse of for-profit giant ITT Tech could learn more about their options at an open house in Gresham Friday, Sept. 16, 2016

Seven colleges scheduled an open house Friday to help answer questions for hundreds of Oregon students left stranded in the wake of for-profit higher education giant ITT Tech's demise.

Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham is hosting the "transitions fair" at its East Multnomah County campus to offer ITT Tech students face-to-face meetings with federal and state education officials and representatives from six other colleges. An estimated 555 students were studying at ITT Tech campuses in Portland and Salem at the time of the company's closure Sept. 6.

Bruce Battle, Mt. Hood Community College's spokesman, said Oregon's fourth-largest public two-year school was inundated with dozens of emails and hundreds of social media interactions after ITT Tech's collapse. The news came a little more than two weeks after the federal government banned the school from enrolling new students who rely on financial aid.

But while Oregon colleges are extending a hand, they are not sugar-coating the situation or making any promises to former ITT students.

"There's been a lot of questions," Battle said of what options are available to ITT students. He said the college can't say whether it will accept credits from incoming students, saying officials will evaluate it "on a person-by-person basis."

Di Saunders, a spokeswoman for Oregon Institute of Technology, which is participating in the open house, said she feels for ITT Tech students. "They were put in an untenable situation. It's terrible."

"Now they're stuck with debt, no degree, and no acceptable [college] credits," Saunders said.

While Saunders said the technical college will work with students to see whether they can test out of certain courses, it's not likely OIT will accept any ITT credits or experience. Potential students must be admitted first to the school, which is based in Klamath Falls but also has a Wilsonville campus.

"We want to help, because everyone feels so bad for them," she added. If admitted, ITT Tech students couldn't start at OIT until the winter term.

OIT is taking an arm's length approach in part because it does not recognize the quality of schools which report to the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. That accrediting body is also facing federal scrutiny.

Ben Cannon, executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, said the state is putting particular attention to addressing the fate of 275 students in ITT Tech's two-year nursing program.

He is telling those students "not to abandon hope."

The state, which can revoke a school's ability to issue degrees and was closely monitoring ITT Tech, had no reason to question the nursing program's quality.

Cannon said the state is talking with Portland and Mt. Hood Community College about potentially inheriting the program. The biggest issue is a lack of available seats in those programs, he said.

"We are still trying to figure something out," he said.

Irritated and freaking out

A former ITT Tech professor and student said Thursday the for-profit school did little to help its students figure out what to do before or after the Sept. 6 announcement the company would shut all of its 138 campuses nationwide immediately.

Brandon Bass, who said he taught cybersecurity and other courses to ITT Tech students at the Salem campus for more than three years, said his students were "freaking out" after the news spread. "There's next to no information that's being shared with students," Bass said. The professor contacted former students through social media to try and help, because the company cut off access to his school email.

ITT Tech Transfer Fair

Where: Mt. Hood Community College Learning Success Center - room AC3300, above the library, (

)

When: Friday, September 16, 1-5 p.m.

Who: Officials from the state and federal education departments, plus staff from Mt. Hood, Clackamas, Linn-Benton, Chemeketa and Portland Community Colleges. Oregon Tech and Warner Pacific College will also be at the fair.

Bass, who also teaches at other for-profit schools, said his time at ITT Tech was "a mixed bag." He inherited what he considered an outdated curriculum and had some struggling students. He also saw many talented students caught in the closure.

One of his former students, Preston Milstead, said he first learned about the closure from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Milstead, a former U.S. Army sergeant who spent 11 years in the military and twice deployed to Iraq, used his GI Bill benefits to pay for the school. The VA called to inform him that his benefits would no longer be accepted at ITT Tech.

Milstead, and the thousands of other veterans who were using their benefits to pay for ITT Tech, are not able to restore those benefits and use them at a different school. According to the Military Times, as of last year the school had 11,223 post-9/11 GI Bill students enrolled nationally, pulling in more than $151.2 million.

On its Facebook account before the school's closure, the VA warned vets about the school. "Please keep in mind that we cannot restore your GI Bill benefits used at ITT if for some reason ITT closes its doors before you achieve your educational goals there."

Milstead said he will have to take out student loans to finish his degree.

The 36-year-old said he also called at least a dozen Oregon colleges and universities to ask if they would accept coursework from ITT Tech, and none would. He hopes to transfer the bulk of his credits to another for-profit school, ECPI University, which has said it would offer ITT Tech students a lifeline. According to the school's website, it may accept some credit from ITT Tech transfers.

Somewhere else

Milstead chose ITT Tech because it was close to his Keizer home and he was familiar with the school's commercials.

"I was like, 'this is the perfect opportunity,'" he said.

He walked into the building and he was signed up and enrolled in classes in the same week back in 2014.

While Milstead learned a lot from Bass and a few other professors, he said overall the coursework and instruction were subpar.

But despite losing his remaining GI Bill benefits, Milstead considers himself "a lucky one." He was also able to get a job with the Department of Energy one-and-a-half years ago.

Upon reflection, he said he's "extremely irritated" about his experience at the for-profit college. If he could start over, he'd attend a four-year public university instead.

"I wish I would've gone somewhere else and never knew ITT tech existed," he added.



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 1.26.10 PM.png

Brett Christy-Hamilton, a paraeducator for Portland Public Schools, has been on paid administrative leave since November 2015 after allegations arose that he molested a 7-year-old student. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

Portland Public Schools could face a lawsuit over allegations that a teacher's aide sexually abused a 7-year-old girl with special needs last fall, The Oregonian/OregonLive has learned.

Brett Christy-Hamilton, 31, is accused of touching the girl in a school bathroom on two consecutive days last November. He faces two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. The charges could result in a mandatory prison sentence of 121/2 years.

He has pleaded not guilty. Christy-Hamilton's criminal defense attorney declined to comment for this article, citing the ongoing criminal case.

The girl's mother filed a tort claim notice, received by the district Sept. 6, that warns Portland Public Schools and Christy-Hamilton may be sued over allegations including assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and abuse of a vulnerable person.

The mother's attorney, Peter Janci, said the family will decide whether to sue once the criminal case finishes.

"We don't want to comment on specific details because we don't want to jeopardize anything in the criminal case," Janci said. "When the criminal case is complete we intend to do a full investigation to determine whether Portland Public Schools followed the proper safety protocols."

Christy-Hamilton told a detective he was responsible for "toileting" the girl, who has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, according to a memo filed by the prosecution in Christy-Hamilton's criminal case. Her disability causes her to have trouble with mobility and communication.

Because of her disability, the girl was assigned a one-on-one aide. Christy-Hamilton began working with her in kindergarten and followed her when she transferred schools in first grade, the memo says. Not long after first grade started last fall, the girl told her parents Christy-Hamilton inappropriately touched her after she had finished wiping herself while using the toilet.

The district doesn't restrict opposite-gender employees from helping students with disabilities use the bathroom, said Courtney Westling, a district spokeswoman told The Oregonian/OregonLive in August.

That means, a male employee wouldn't be prohibited from helping a female student use the toilet. Westling said that can change in cases when children have experienced trauma or have a preference about the gender of the employee assisting them.

Westling said children are assisted by "trained, supervised staff, who have undergone thorough criminal background checks as required by district Human Resources procedures."

Christy-Hamilton was hired as a teacher's aide, or paraeducator, in the 2009-10 academic year, Westling said. He worked at Marysville School during the 2014-15 academic year. The district said he worked at Whitman Elementary from the beginning of the 2015-16 school year until Nov. 5, 2015, when he was placed on paid leave.

He also held temporary student worker assignments from 2005 to 2007.

The district didn't respond to questions Wednesday on whether Christy-Hamilton was still a Portland Public Schools employee.

Paraeducators work alongside teachers to provide instructional support, and many work with special needs students, according to the National Education Association.



-- Bethany Barnes
commoncore.JPG

In this photo taken on Tuesday, March 25, 2013, Common Core standards are posted on a bulletin board in a second grade classroom at George Buck Elementary School in Indianapolis. The Smarter Balanced exam administered in Oregon and 14 other states this year are designed to measure whether students are meeting Common Core standards.

(The Associated Press)

Smarter Balanced tests remain poorly understood by parents and the public, but the exams can, in fact, do a good job of measuring whether students have learned the English and math skills that Oregon schools are supposed to teach, a statewide study group has concluded.

The tests also are important for helping Oregon identify learning gaps separating boys and girls as well as students of different races, ethnicities or language backgrounds, the panel found in a report released Wednesday.

But the study group found the tests don't do other important things that some people think they do: They don't help teachers see how to adjust instruction mid-year to get better results for individual students and the tests don't suggest ways to narrow the achievement gaps they help identify.

The state panel, appointed by the Oregon Department of Education, included teachers, principals, parents, testing opponents, school improvement specialists, superintendents, professors and others.

It said equipping everyone with more knowledge about the tests and their limitations - teachers, parents and the public - would help students and schools.

The panel also called on the state to do more to level the playing field in terms of technology, so students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their learning on the controversial tests, which are given online.

Smarter Balanced tests were designed under the direction of a coalition of 17 states to measure how well schools have equipped students to meet Common Core standards in reading, writing, listening, logic, research and math. They require students to show far more sophisticated writing and thinking skills than Oregon's previous state reading, writing and math tests.

They've become controversial for many reasons, including their difficulty level and the fact that a typical student takes six hours to complete the exams -- with some taking far longer. Thousands of families chose not to let their children to take the exams.

The Oregon Education Association took a strong stand against using the exams, partly amid fear the results would be used to help rate teachers' performance.

As a result of the outcry, the 2015 Legislature required the Secretary of State's office to audit the exams and called for a study group to investigate the exams and their results.

The audit also was released Wednesday, and both reports reached similar conclusions about the need for better communication and training about what the results mean and how they can best be put to use.

The audit said many people in Oregon are confused about the purpose of giving Smarter Balanced tests. The audit, however, put the purpose plainly.

The tests provide "accountability, data to identify achievement gaps, and information about whether students meet standards overall," the audit says. The tests also are required if Oregon wants to continue receiving $300 million a year in federal aid to schools, it notes.

Both reports also call for the state to take the lead on helping educators develop a "balanced" testing program that doesn't just measure end-of-year results but actually shows how teaching can be made more effective.

One element is training teachers how to measure students' skills and knowledge before and while teaching them a topic. The other involves "interim tests" that are aligned to the end-of-year Smarter Balanced tests or portions of them. The interim tests would be given mid-year to see what students still need to learn.

Both pieces are offered by the consortium that created the Smarter Balanced tests, and 13 of 15 states that give the exams purchased the complete suite of tests and training for their teachers, at a cost of $3.35 per student. Only Oregon and Michigan have not.

In its report, the statewide panel said it favors having Oregon's 197 districts each develop their own interim tests. And the Legislature, in policy directions attached to the state budget, prohibited Oregon from buying an interim testing system created by a multi-state consortium.

Tony Alpert, executive director of the Smarter Balanced Consortium and Oregon's former testing director, said there are advantages to having teachers develop their own interim tests. But doing it right costs more money than any state he knows of could afford.

Making sure the tests are accessible to all students, including being available in languages from Vietnamese to American Sign Language, and undergo multiple reviews for bias, validity and Common Core alignment, costs a fortune in time and money, he said.

Alpert, who still lives in Salem while working for the University of California-Los Angeles-affiliated consortium, said he is optimistic Oregon will buy all of the training materials and interim tests.

"I learned from Oregon districts," Alpert said. "Testing coordinators and curriculum directors in Oregon convinced me we needed tests that aren't just multiple choice and that help guide instruction. I am doing this because of what I learned in Oregon."

The audit found that, while the Smarter Balanced tests do offer many features and accommodations to make them more fair for students who have special learning needs, teachers and test administrators don't always know what those features are and often don't know which ones to match with students.

The test was also marred by technical issues in the computer platform, the audit found.

"We heard multiple reports of computers freezing and accommodations, such as text-to-speech, not working properly," the auditors wrote. "When that happens, proctors are not always able to stop the test to address the technical error.... This can be stressful, especially when students and proctors are not clear if work will be lost."

-- Betsy Hammond
Adebolajo inquiry: Lee Rigby killer's Kenya mistreatment claim dismissed

By Gordon CoreraSecurity correspondent, BBC News15 September 2016An inquiry into Michael Adebolajo - one of the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013 - has found no evidence of UK involvement in his arrest in Kenya in 2010 or of subsequent mistreatment.Adebolajo had alleged mistreatment by Kenyan authorities before his deportation to Britain.There had also been allegations of a conspiracy involving British intelligence to arrest him.The Intelligence Services Commissioner found no evidence for either claim.However, in a report, the commissioner did criticise MI6 over "serious failings" in the way it dealt with events.He also criticised what he said was "wholly inadequate" co-operation from MI6 with his inquiry.Adebolajo had been arrested in Kenya in November 2010 as part of a group suspected of planning to travel to Somalia to join the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.He was held by the Kenyan authorities and then deported to Britain. He made allegations that he had been mistreated during his time in Kenyan custody.Adebolajo is presently serving a whole-life term for murdering Fusilier Rigby. He and an accomplice Michael Adebowale, who was jailed for a minimum of 45 years, drove into Fusilier Rigby with a car before hacking him to death in Woolwich, south-east London, in May 2013.Adebolajo's allegations of mistreatment in Kenya raised questions about whether MI6 - which works closely with Kenyan counter-terrorism units - had been in any way complicit in his detention or treatment there in 2010.A report by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee in 2014 had raised further questions which led to a deeper investigation by the Intelligence Services Commissioner.The commissioner's report, published on Thursday, found no evidence that Adebolajo was actually mistreated or that Britain had been involved in engineering his arrest.But the commissioner, Sir Mark Waller, did say that MI6 had made mistakes in following correct procedures.He said he was not satisfied that MI6 had sought and obtained assurances from the Kenyans regarding any mistreatment of Adebolajo, even though MI6 claimed it had done so.Another concern was that MI6 had not recognised that the circumstances of the arrest meant that officers needed to follow a set of rules called the consolidated guidance. There were also "serious failings" in its subsequent investigation into the allegations Adebolajo made on his return to Britain.The inquiry was particularly critical of MI6's co-operation with the commissioner's investigation, describing it as "wholly inadequate". MI6 failed to consult properly with its own staff and senior management then refused to allow the independent counsel for the inquiry to be present during interviews, taking a "defensive" tone rather than engaging constructively.The result was the inquiry took closer to two years rather than one year to complete, although the commissioner added that he did not believe there had been any kind of "cover-up" and that eventually - "after some difficulties" - he had received full co-operation from all the agencies involved.In a statement, Prime Minister Theresa May said: "I welcome the fact that he has firmly rejected any suggestion of a conspiracy by the security and intelligence agencies in Mr Adebolajo's detention and that he has found no evidence to support the allegation that he was subject to mistreatment at the hands of the Kenyan authorities."The government will look carefully at Sir Mark's detailed analysis of the handling of this case and will take steps to address the issues where he has identified shortcomings in the response at the time, drawing upon the report's recommendations."
Hayhurst.jpg

Dangerous lead paint dust or debris containing "very elevated" lead levels was detected in both classrooms at Hayhurst Elementary that a mother requested be tested.

(Google Maps)

Portland Public Schools found "very elevated levels" of lead in paint debris in two classrooms at Hayhurst Elementary School and, as a result, is disallowing anyone from opening any window until a qualified firm can clean up the hazard.

That announcement was made to Hayhurst parents and employees Wednesday afternoon.

The district tested for lead paint hazards after it assigned a child of Lead Safe America founder Tamara Rubin to be educated in those rooms. The boy was lead poisoned when he was young, probably from lead paint renovations in his neighborhood, and he has had significant learning disabilities and mental health challenges as a result, his mother said. He cannot be exposed to more lead, Rubin said.

When she informed the Hayhurst community via Facebook that there was an active lead paint hazard in the classroom to which he had been assigned, and pulled him out of school and insisted the district fix the problem, some fellow parents pushed back, questioning whether her accusation was accurate.

The school district subsequently "hired an independent third party to test lead paint levels in two of the classrooms at Hayhurst. In those classrooms, there were very elevated lead levels noted in the window troughs, most likely from paint chips accumulating over a number of years," the district wrote in its message to families.

The district now plans to hire a certified lead abatement contractor to perform clean-up, Courtney Wilton, interim executive director of operations, said.

In the meantime, the school is under orders to keep all windows closed and will be provided with fans to help keep people cool, district officials said.

Rubin said that is a poor decision, since lead dust travels and there is likely lead paint dust all over the classrooms and perhaps elsewhere in the school, and bringing in fans that will blow it into the air is a hazard to young children. She said no children should be educated in the two classrooms until surfaces are wiped clean and a lead wipe test shows lead levels are safe.

Lead is a neurotoxin that is dangerous for people to ingest, even in very small amounts, and is particularly hazardous to young children. Most children in Oregon who become lead poisoned do so by ingesting lead paint dust and debris.

Rubin requested that she be provided with results, but Wilton declined to give them to her.

Neither Rubin nor her husband received the notice that was sent to a schoolwide email blast Wednesday, she said, nor did the district call her or email her directly to let her know her claims that the room was unsafe for her son were accurate.

Wilton said he did not receive the report until Tuesday evening and worked expeditiously to learn from experts what it meant, see the rooms and decide on an immediate course of action. That did not leave him time to disclose the results to Rubin in advance, he said. And philosophically, he did not want to.

"It's an issue that impacts all students and I believe the better course is to communicate to all at the same time," he said via email. Wilton said he thought she was on the email list that received the notice and apologized that she did not receive it.

-- Betsy Hammond
Traveling is a privilege that people take for granted.

Many people fly the skies to places all over the United States for business and vacation, without giving more than a passing thought that so many people dont have the same opportunities.

Others dont leave their home state, and some barely get out of the town they were born in.

One person who has been fortunate enough to travel the world  and who certainly doesnt take it for granted  is Fremont native and explorer Dean Jacobs.

Growing up, Jacobs always had the travel bug, and it gave him an itch that never went away.

I knew this was what I wanted to do ever since I was a 9-year-old boy growing up in Fremont, Nebraska, Jacobs said.

All throughout the day Wednesday, Jacobs interacted with students, faculty and parents at Archbishop Bergan Elementary, sharing photos and stories of his world travels, but more importantly, providing life lessons.

Im on a mission to inspire kids to be engaged in the world and to have hopes and dreams, he said. We are constantly told to be afraid of the world rather than to be engaged in the world. That thought process doesnt inspire us to do our best.

And perhaps thats why Jacobs decided to grab the world by its horns in 2001, when he took a leap of faith, quit his good-paying job at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, packed his bags and went abroad.

Although he dreamed of travels his entire life, there was finally a turning point that made him say, Its time.

I started thinking, how much stuff does one really need to be happy? Jacobs said. Then I started thinking, what do I really dream about?

Maneuvering around the world, of course.

And not for some quick adventure  Jacobs spent the next 22  months traveling to 28 countries, living on less than $15 daily. Now, hes been to 57.

He first traveled to the Cook Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean near Fiji. He ended his travels all those months later in Portugal.

And then there were all those people and places in-between.

Jacob learned of Australian peoples kindness on Sept. 11, 2001, when America was brought to its knees when the planes struck.

I was at a hostel and saw 9/11 unfold, Jacobs said. They were so empathetic, and I use it as a reminder to let people know that we have a lot of friends in the world, it just never seems to make the headlines. Im not saying bad stuff doesnt happen, but there are so many people out there filled with generosity, kindness and respect that arent going to make the headlines on CNN.

He felt the power of the earth while standing at Victoria Falls in Zambia  a mile-long stretch of water cascading over a cliff face.

Jacobs put his hand on the ground.

It was so powerful that the ground was shaking, he said.

While in Syria, a country torn by war, Jacobs was invited inside of an Islam Mosque. Here, he found solace and took a much-needed nap. For one of the first times since entering the country he felt safe.

The only thing we hear about this religion (Islam) is the worst of the worst, he said. But theres a lot of good there that most people dont get to see.

In Israel, Jacobs walked in the footprints of Jesus for a day, and in Egypt, Jacobs entered a pyramid and was in awe as he touched its inner walls.

It becomes a part of you, and you become a part of it, he told a group of third and fourth-graders he was addressing in the Bergan Elementary gymnasium.

And while Jacobs saw so many beautiful things, what really sticks with him is the beautiful people he met.

People who have nothing are always giving me everything, he said.   People always seem to think that we are so much different than other people in the world, but we are actually far more alike than we are different.

As Jacobs addressed the students, he incorporated themes they learn about in their daily schooling.

Bergan Elementary has a Knight Code, so I took the code and gave examples of how I experienced those things around the world, he said. So now they (the code) arent just words, they are actual things that challenge us to do better.

Jacobs encouraged students to use their eyes, their ears and their heart to find good in the world.

He encouraged them to have courage, and to never stop chasing their dreams.

He challenged students to always have hope. Because without hope, what does anybody really have?

When we have hope, we have a belief in the goodness of tomorrow, Jacobs said.
Nancy Black-Copple hopes area residents will take a ride to help provide a good Christmas for local children.

The public is invited to participate in the Izaak Walton Leagues annual Joy Ride.

Again this year, the event is designed to help raise funds and donations of toys for children in Dodge County who might not otherwise get Christmas gifts.

This event starts at 1 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Walmart parking lot. Motorcycle riders and drivers of cars, trucks or even buses are invited.

The more, the merrier, said Black-Copple, an event worker.

Participants simply are asked to purchase and bring an unwrapped toy to the event.

Black-Copple said participants meet at 1 and the ride starts at 1:30 p.m. Dodge County REACT will escort the group  led by Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus on a motorcycle.

The group will leave Walmart parking lot and travel west down 23rd Street. Theyll turn right and go north on U.S. Highway 77 to Nickerson and then to Winslow and Hooper before returning to Fremont.

Back in Fremont, the group will go to the Izaak Walton for a meal provided for all riders and drivers. The meal includes pulled pork, baked beans and chips. Hot dogs will be provided for children. Music will be provided by Bobby Figueroa.

This is a family friendly event, Black-Copple said.

Toys collected through the event will go to the Low Income Ministry of Dodge County for Christmas presents for children this year. Cash donations will go to the Shop With a Cop, a program in which members of the local police union take children shopping for Christmas.

Those who want to bring a toy, but dont wish to participate in the ride may go to the Izaak Walton for the meal. Riders plan to reach there about 3:30 p.m., Black-Copple said.

Black-Copple encourages area residents to participate.

This is for kids who probably wouldnt have a Christmas and the more toys we can collect, the more Christmas smiles that there are going to be on the morning of Dec. 25, she said.

Just before the 2015 ride, Deb Niles talked about the benefits of taking part in the event.

Niles said she was participating to help generate more interest in the Low Income Ministry. She noted advantages such as helping provide toys to children who really will appreciate them.

She saw other benefits.

You get to visit with other bike riders, she said.
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Three Rivers Corp. of Midland received a 2016 Excellence in Construction Award and a Platinum Safety Training & Evaluation Process (STEP) Award from the ABC Greater Michigan Chapter at the Greatness & Gratitude Awards Celebration.

The ABC Excellence in Construction Award seeks to recognize the entire construction team  construction owners, designers and contractors  working in collaboration to successfully complete a project on time, with exceptional quality and in a cost-effective manner. Entries were submitted by providing a project narrative and detailed description of the construction process used with specific attention to new processes, time and space restrictions and special challenges faced to complete the project.
Cape Breton is a small island at the eastern end of Nova Scotia. It features all four seasons, the population (as or 2001) is just under 150,000 and the community is true to its small town roots.

The Farmer's Daughter Country Market, a bakery and general store, is a staple of this hidden paradise and it is looking to expand. They have everything they need, except people.
Bay City Central High School, Bullock Creek High School and Academic Career Education, Coleman Junior/Senior High School and Meridian Early College High School will host college advisers this fall as part of the Michigan College Access Networks AdviseMI program. This program is in its second year and aims to help more students make it into college.

AdviseMI focuses on placing recent graduates to serve as college advisers in high schools with low college-going rates. They will work alongside school counselors and other staff to smooth the transition from high school to post-secondary education. Michigan high school counselors currently average caseloads of more than 700 students apiece, making it hard for them to provide one-on-one college advising or help students navigate the complex process of college admissions and financial aid.
Midland welcomed back a familiar travel agency on Wednesday. The Travel Authority, formerly Passageways Travel, recently celebrated its move back from Bay City with a ribbon cutting and open house.

Managed by Erin Ervin, The Travel Authority opened on Aug. 1, at 133 E. Main St., between Peel n Pare and Little Forks Outfitters.

We like being downtown and think it is a better location. There is a lot going on in the community and the downtown along with things to be involved with, Ervin said.

The local Passageways office moved to Bay City in 2009 when the Midland and Mount Pleasant offices consolidated into the Bay City center.

We liked the Bay City community, but felt like it was a good time to make a change and be downtown Midland where things are growing, Ervin said. It is good to be back in Midland.

The office, at the former location of Loseys Fine Jewelers, has restored the interior walls to the original brick and maintained the vault at the rear of business.

We love it and are happy to be here. Were using the safe as a breakroom, Ervin said.

The four employees at the Midland office bring over 40 years of combined experience in the travel industry.

This office is just leisure, so we handle cruising, group tours, guided tours, weddings, honeymoons and more, Ervin said.

Acquired by ALTOUR in 2009, The Travel Authority was founded in 1970 when it was originally based in Louisville, Kentucky. Since then, the company has expanded throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Minnesota and Michigan. The Travel Authority offers a full array of services including corporate travel management, online travel, vacation travel stores, meeting and incentives, along with a 24/7/365 travel support center. In 2005, the Travel Authority joined the American Express Consumer Travel Network.

Were owned by ALTOUR and they have their hands into a lot of things. Its nice to have the backing and buying power of ALTOUR behind us. Were associated with American Express so we can do anything related to Pay with Points or money exchange. We can do a lot more things than just a travel agency, Ervin said.

With sales of over $2.5 billion in 2015, ALTOUR is the largest independently owned travel management company in the United States and one of the largest travel management companies globally.

The ALTOUR website (altour.com) gives an oversight of what the entire company does, Ervin said.

For more information, call the Midland office at (989) 686-2643 or visit its website at: thetravelauthority.com
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department.

Tuesday, Sept. 13

1:03 a.m.  A Kalkaska man, 42, was arrested in Geneva Township for driving with a suspended license. He was stopped for defective equipment, and was cited for improper plate and no insurance.

2:03 a.m.  Deputies were sent to break up a loud party in Ingersoll Township.

9:09 a.m.  A trash can was stolen from a Geneva Township home over the weekend.

9:35 a.m.  A deputy was sent to North Sturgeon and East Shaffer roads for a report of a suspicious cooler. The cooler was found to contain three cans of beer and two bottles of water, and appeared to have fallen from a vehicle.

11:04 a.m.  A Jerome Township man, 38, failed to report as he is required to by the states sex offender registry. A report is being sent to the prosecutor.

12:25 p.m.  A tree branch fell on a vehicle while it was being driven in Mills Township.

4:02 p.m.  Deputies received a report of a truck with a firearm in the bed at a Sanford business. The truck was not found, and no one in the area had any additional information.

5 p.m.  Deputies were sent to an assault and battery in Greendale Township. The victim did not wish to press charges.

9:06 p.m.  Deputies were sent to the Village of Sanford to check a report of a drug deal. Neither of the people involved were found.

9:08 p.m.  A deputy was sent to a Lee Township home to check a report of drug use in the home and inappropriate living conditions for a 12-year-old child. No signs of drug use were found, and the adults were waiting on enough money to buy the child a bed.

9:38 p.m.  Gasoline, valued at $8, was stolen from a Lee Township gas station.

11:45 p.m.  A Grand Rapids man, 23, was arrested in Geneva Township for drunken driving. He was stopped for speeding and an equipment violation.
To the editor:

Recently, I attended a funeral for a man Id known for about eight years. His name was Harry Field. I would like to tell you about the years that Harry and I worked together at Dow Corning.

In 1982, one of my jobs was to inspect the welding on pressure vessels. These vessels were to be heated by steam or heated electrically and they would become part of the product-making-process at the Midland facility. Dow Corning was growing very fast and I needed help with inspecting these vessels.

Harry had just retired from The Dow Chemical Co. where he had started a welding program. I dont know how many people Harry trained in welding but there were a lot in 20 years! Harry also taught welding at Delta College.

Dow Corning hired Harry to help me with the pressure vessel program. We would look at the schedule and see when vessels would be ready for inspection. These vessels were being prepared at various places in the eastern United States from Texas to New Jersey. As I recall, Harry liked to inspect vessels in places that he could drive to. I later found out that he would take his wife, Pat, with him and they would travel to inspection sites. (After I saw his wife, I knew why Harry liked to take Pat with him.) On some of the shorter, driving trips my wife, Pat, accompanied me. When we had to fly, we couldnt take our wives. Harry would log about 50,000 miles per year on his car inspecting vessels between 1982 and 1990. Just in passing, I flew to look at vessels from 1973 until 1998 and logged about 224,000 air miles.

Harry and I had many conversations. He knew more about welding and X-rays of welds than I ever knew. One time he told me about being in the service during World War II. Harry was stationed in Hawaii in August of 1945 with a unit of 30,000 men. They were set to invade Japan in three to four days. They received word that Japan had surrendered after the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For what its worth, the first unit going in during an invasion is usually expendable. So Japans surrender probably saved 30,000 lives and gave Dow Chemical and Dow Corning many good years of Harry Field!

Harry retired in 1990 and I retired in 1998. Dow Corning was very good to both of us!

GARRY COVEART

Sanford
BLOOMINGTON  After joining the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission this year, Lea Kimberly Cline learned no houses on the west side have a historic designation.

"Watching and looking at the city's plans and all of the houses on the east side receiving the assistance and efforts of the commission, I thought it was time for some of the (homeowners) on the west side to think about this," she said.

Cline, who bought the 109-year-old house at 931 W. MacArthur Ave. three years ago, convinced neighbors Matt and Rebecca Spears of 901 W. MacArthur Ave. and Dean Carlson and Danell Dvorak of 913 W. MacArthur Ave. to join her in seeking historic preservation designation for the three homes.

"We took the steps slowly and decided ... to be the canaries in the mine," said Cline.

After holding public hearings where no one spoke in opposition, the Bloomington Planning Commission on Wednesday approved recommending historic designation and related zoning changes requested by those homeowners. Such designation requires Historic Preservation Commission permission for exterior changes, but it also makes the homes eligible for city grant money.

"Instead of putting, for instance, vinyl siding the homeowner will have a little money to help pay for painters to maintain the original (wooden) siding," said Cline. "It's not an excessive amount of money, but it's enough money to help make the decision to keep the historical characteristics easier."

The City Council will consider making the changes when it meets Oct. 10.

In August, the Historic Preservation Commission, with Cline recusing herself, recommended the designation.

"I'm especially pleased that we're really talking about worker-style homes, an important part of the history of the city," said Bloomington Community Development Director Tom Dabareiner.

The three Miller Park neighborhood houses are near the South Hill and Forty Acres neighborhoods, which were settled by Bloomington's middle- and working-class German, Hungarian and Irish families, many of whom worked with the railroad or in nearby coal mines, noted city planner Katie Simpson.

"Usually your historic preservation thing is some monstrous huge building or development that has some overwhelming historical significance," said planning commission Chairman David Stanczak.

"This is the first one I've seen that ... (is) rather specifically reflective of a particular period of history and people who lived there," he added.

The three houses maintain many of the original elements, and "the combination of architectural styles and features are worth preserving," said Simpson.

"There are so many homes on the west side that do not have their character any more because we were considered a blighted area for many years," said Carlson. "We're just proud to keep the characteristics of these homes alive."

His American Foursquare house was built in 1907 by Fred Garling, a prominent local general contractor who built more than 500 houses in the Bloomington area and the main Miller Park Zoo building, according to historical records the owners have compiled.

Garling built the Spears' Victorian home around 1888, and Cline's Illinois Workman's Cottage-style residence followed around 1907.
NORMAL  McLean County Unit 5 officials blamed First Student for continued busing problems a month into the school year, and representatives from the transportation contractor apologized before an audience of angry parents Wednesday.

The district deserves an apology from me, said Bob Rutkoski, First Student area general manager at the school board meeting at Normal Community West High School.

Just before Labor Day we thought we had this thing fixed," he said. "Then the Friday before, everything started to crash because of absenteeism. You deserve better and we didnt give it.

The Cincinnati-based company, which took over busing services from Unit 5's in-house busing system in 2012-13, is experiencing a nationwide bus driver shortage, he said.

With more than 10 percent of about 130 drivers absent each day at the Normal-based district and a lack of substitute drivers, buses are running extra routes to pick up students, resulting in overcrowded and late buses.

Jajwanica Johnson, a Unit 5 parent and bus driver, said that in her 16 years as a driver for Unit 5 and First Student, things have never been this chaotic.

The drivers are doing the best they can. We love these children, said Johnson. I have three extra routes now, and two of them start at the same time. Theres no way I can be in two places at once.

Television stations KTVM in Missoula, Mont., and KMBC in Kansas City, Mo., have been reporting similar problems in school districts with First Student contracts, including driver absenteeism, substitute shortages and late buses.

District Superintendent Mark Daniel said there wasnt a shortage of drivers at the beginning of the school year and noted the lack of drivers makes it impossible to adjust routes effectively to compensate.

We have been discussing routing adjustments, but in order to make those we need drivers, said Daniel. If were going to be creative about this then we need to think of ways to generate drivers.

Daniel said he is communicating with the town of Normal, surrounding school districts and other bus companies, including Peoria Charter, to find additional drivers with commercial drivers licenses who are interested in driving for First Student.

Im very open to other ideas, said Daniel. Were trying to turn over every possible rock to find people who can support us.

"Parents, I can feel your concern. It is very true, very raw and very real. We cant keep going on this way.

Mary Beavins of Bloomington now drives her 3-year-old grandson to school after his bus was 90 minutes late dropping him off.

Ive heard from both sides and it just seems like everyone is spreading a little fertilizer hoping something beautiful will grow, she said. You have performance requirements with First Student, and those havent been met. Im wondering if this disaster has a recovery plan.

Board members voiced disappointment with communication and service from First Student.

Board member Mike Trask said that while he accepts the apology, hes extremely disappointed in the current bus situation.

When we did this in March, we were assured (the new routing) wouldn't be an issue, said Trask. The epic fail that happened on Aug. 17 and continues to happen is inexcusable.

Daniel said he also met with Mark Jontry, superintendent of the Regional Office of Education 17, which serves DeWitt, Livingston, Logan and McLean counties.

The lack of accurate information from First Student regarding the statuses of some routes on a daily basis has prevented Unit 5 from providing reliable estimates to parents of affected students, said Jontry earlier this week.

We are not aware of any other issues with transportation (in the region) similar to what is being experienced with First Student.

Jontry said his office has added additional bus driver training opportunities for the next few weeks in case more people apply to drive for First Student. Those interested in applying can call 309-557-4287.
BLOOMINGTON  When investigative reporter Jenny Nordberg traveled to Kabul in 2009 to look into how the women of Afghanistan were doing since the start of the war, she wasn't sure what she'd find.

But she never expected to learn that some families were passing off daughters as their sons  a practice that predated the war in a society where genders still are largely segregated and opportunities are greater for men.

The big takeaway for me is sometimes you think everything is said and everything is done and all things are written.  There's so much we're missing, said Nordberg, author of The Underground Girls of Kabul, a book read by incoming freshmen as part of the Summer Reading Program at Illinois Wesleyan University. She delivered the keynote address at the President's Convocation on Wednesday at Presser Hall.

Nordberg was interviewing Azita Rafaat, one of the few female members of Afghanistan's parliament, when one of Rafaat's older children told her, You know our brother is really a girl.

Rafaat explained that she had received pressure and criticism because she hadn't given her husband a son, so they changed the name of their youngest, cut her hair, dressed her as a boy and treated her as a son.

Those in this situation are called bacha posh, which literally means dressed up like a boy, said Nordberg.

She found that families have done this for many reasons: to increase their status, to improve education opportunities, to bring money into the family because a son can work or to provide greater freedom of movement as a son can escort his sisters. Generally, when the girls enter puberty, they are transformed back into daughters, but the change can be difficult, she said.

The practice is something that is a tragedy that is very hard on people  and it's also something that is one of the best expressions of human creativity, said Nordberg.

A native of Sweden who immigrated to the United States, Nordberg told students to rejoice in outsider status and not overlook what's going on just to fit in.

I have learned how useful it is to be an outsider and to ask big questions, she said.

When Nordberg asked Rafaat why she was willing to talk about her family secret, she was told it was because Nordberg was a woman and because she was not an Afghan. Sometimes it is easier to tell tough stories to strangers, Nordberg said.

As for the current status of women in Afghanistan, Nordberg said after her talk that most progress has been confined to larger cities where there is a moderate level of security.

She said, Overall, it's going to get worse before it gets better, admitting that sounds super pessimistic.

Nordberg said those Afghans who get an education and some money are the first to leave, seeking a better life.

You need Afghans to fix Afghanistan, Nordberg said. But, at the same time, you can't blame them for wanting to leave.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois State Board of Education is in the early stages of drafting legislation that would prohibit school districts from dropping students from their enrollment rosters for failing to meet minimum academic and attendance standards.

Under current state law, districts can deny enrollment for one semester to students 17 and older who in the previous semester failed to earn at least a D average or were absent more than 20 percent of the time without valid excuses.

Because students are only required to attend school until they turn 17, the existing policy could increase the chances that at-risk students will drop out, state education officials say.

Thisll be an effort on our part to prevent these students from being pushed out of the system, Amanda Elliott, the state boards co-legislative director, told board members Wednesday during the first day of a two-day meeting in Springfield. Theres been a lot of conversations over the last couple of years and a lot of legislation thats been filed, and we think that this is an important component of that conversation.

State Superintendent Tony Smith said the proposal is in line with other efforts the board has made in recent years.

It resonates with conversations weve had at the board for the last year and a half about ways to connect and hold onto kids and not be pushing kids out, Smith said, so the fact that there are some areas in the law that make it possible seems in conflict with the position the boards taken.

Officials said school districts should be encouraged to provide services to those students to help them stay in school and graduate.

While the Illinois School Code gives districts the ability to deny enrollment based on attendance or academic performance, its unclear how widely the practice is used. Thats something board staff is researching.

Sarah Hartwick, the state boards other co-legislative director, said the board still needs to have discussions with school administrators, teachers and others in the education community.

A spokesman for the Illinois Association of School Administrators couldnt be reached Wednesday for comment.

Elliott said the new proposal dovetails with a statewide school discipline overhaul that takes effect Thursday.

That law is aimed at reducing the racial disparities in how suspensions and expulsions are meted out and cutting down on their overall use.

Among other changes, the law prohibits schools from suspending a student for more than three days unless his or her presence is an ongoing threat and all other options have been exhausted. School boards also are required to provide detailed justifications for suspensions and expulsions.
Groups Race to Find Way to Keep Tolko Kraft Paper Mill Open

The following is an excerpt of a story posted on Sept. 10, 2016 on the Winnipeg Free Press website:

As the clock ticks down to the Dec. 2 deadline for the closure of Tolko Industries' pulp and paper plant in The Pas, union and political leaders are scrambling to come up with scenarios to keep the facility open.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway by other resource industry employers in the region to poach some of the 330 workers who will lose their jobs when the plant closes.

In the race to find a solution, there's plenty of people bearing down to investigate all options.

Bill Henderson, a former longtime employee of Tolko and the predecessor owners of the mill, has been hired by The Pas Community Development Corp. to lead its response team.

Henderson held several key positions at The Pas mill from 1985 to 2001. He recently retired from Manitoba Hydro after 15 years of service.

He was en route to The Pas to have meetings with community officials this weekend.

"We're focused on trying to see how we can work with the stakeholders to come up with a regional solution for a sustainable forestry industry in the north," he said Friday. "I'm one of the people who feels very strongly about, hey... let's not sit back and let something happen, let's try to make something happen."

Jennifer Williams believes one thing that could happen is an employee-share ownership plan (ESOP). Williams works for Toronto-based consultancy ESOP Builders, which has been advocating increased use of such plans in Canada.

The full story is available at:

 www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/fight-for-survival-heats-up-in-the-pas-392970841.html

SOURCE: Winnipeg Free Press

See related story:

 Tolko to Close Kraft Paper Mill in The Pas, Manitoba in December - Aug. 23, 2016
Police in Sumter County, South Carolina has flagged an unlikely traffic offender. A 2-year-old boy had been driving his battery operated BMW toy car on the streets at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11 when the police took him in. It is alleged that the toddler left his house as his parents were sound asleep. The incident has brought to light the importance of toddler safety issues, particularly childproofing one's house.

Yahoo News reports that the 2-year-old was still in his diapers and sweat pants when he drove his BMW x6 toy car in the dark. Some locals noticed the car, which is featured with tail lights and rims, so they notified the police. Authorities was able to reach the boy before he was almost on the main road.

Ken Bell of the Sumter County police told reporters that the toddler was more confused, than frightened, when he was taken in. He was then turned over to Department of Social Services, while the police searched the boy's house to notify his parents.

Following the track marks, the police was able to locate the boy's residence and was able to talk to his mom and dad. The authorities believe that no wrongdoing was intended. The child was subsequently returned to his parents without any cases filed against them. "This appears to be simply a case of an industrious 2-year-old slipping out in the middle of the night," said Bell, as per WCBD News.

Though this incident ended well, it could have gone wrong in an instant as the boy could have been harmed. Thus, the police hopes that parents, especially those with small children, will take away a valuable lesson from this.

"Be sure [to have] have child locks on your door where they can't reach it or a chain where they can't open the door," advised Major Allen Dailey of the Sumter police via WBRC. For other tips on childproofing the house for toddlers, watch this video below.
"Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 premiere will be a curious meet and greet between Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and new partner Diana (Janina Gavankar) for whom the Fox series reserves a shocking twist. While "Sleepy Hollow" essentially reboots from a previous pair up between Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) in New York, the Fox series moves to The Basement in Washington D.C.

According to Deadline a clash between Ichabod Crane and Diana, as they get acquainted in "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4, is inevitable. While Ichabod Crane will find Diana as devoted as himself in missions, the new "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 partners have distinct differences in their methods.

Do we sense a Crane cookbook in the future? #SleepyHollow pic.twitter.com/q0xaSk7jty  Sleepy Hollow (@SleepyHollowFOX) September 13, 2016

Interestingly, Ichabod Crane will develop a soft spot for Diana's 10-year old daughter, Molly. Still, not everything in "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 will be upfront.

Trying to get through this week like... #SleepyHollow pic.twitter.com/wr0zM8vhA8  Sleepy Hollow (@SleepyHollowFOX) September 7, 2016

Diana will keep Ichabod Crane and most everyone in the dark on the identity of Molly's father. According to Deadline, Ichabod Crane, Diane and The Basement team will eventually uncover a secret connection that ties the new "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 partners.

To say the least, this "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 revelation could be shocking for Ichabod Crane and Diana. Whether this has to do with Ichabod Crane finding the new second Witness will be revealed in the new "Sleepy Hollow" episodes soon enough.

"Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 will debut to mixed reception as a strong segment of followers of the NBC series remain loyal to Nicole Beharie and feel that NBC should not have continued the show with Abbie Mills gone as Parent Herald cites. A recent photo by Janina Gavankar with Tom Mison at 2016 Dragon Con, however, indicates that Diana is comfortably easing into her partnership with Ichabod Crane.

NBC is yet to announce the final "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 premiere date for 2017. All the same, do you think the "Sleepy Hollow" Season 4 will be successful in the pair up Ichabod Crane and Diana?
"Mulan" is getting a live action treatment on the big screen and it is not just for one movie. Sony is developing its own version to compete with Disney, which is also doing a live action adaptation. However, fans who have loved the animated movie released in 1998 are hoping that Hollywood studios won't be doing any whitewashing.

A petition on anti-whitewashing was lodged against movie studios planning to do a "Mulan" live action at The Petition Site. So far, it has already earned more than 90,000 supporters in the few days it was posted.

"Whitewashing, the practice of casting white Caucasian actors and actresses in roles originally meant to be characters of color, is all too common in Hollywood," the petition stated. It hopes that the studios will cast actors who are actually Asians for "Mulan." After all, the story of "Mulan" is inspired by a Chinese legend. Hua Mulan, the legendary female warrior, was believed to have fought in battle in the sixth century and has been merited for her skills and bravery.

There's a perception among studio executives that moviegoers might not see the movie if there are no Caucasian actor in it. Thus, "Mulan" fans worry about white actors being given roles meant for Asian actors. BBC reports that this problem existed with live adaptations of "Ghost in the Shell" and "The Last Airbender," which has earned a lot of ire from the original sources' fans.

Disney announced that it will be developing "Mulan" as a live action version in March 2015, per The Wrap. However, casting announcements and production have yet to start. On the other hand, Sony announced it would also doing its own version of a "Mulan" live action recently, per Variety. The report stated that Sony has plans to shoot the film in China with a "mostly Chinese cast." Both productions have not yet indicated its movie release dates at this point.
By January, the Obamas will have to move out of the White House following the president's eight years in office. First Lady Michelle Obama is looking forward to becoming a regular and private tax-paying citizen, but she admits she has her concerns for teen daughters Malia and Sasha.

Malia and Sasha were still young kids, in the ages of 10 and seven, when President Barack Obama and his family assumed residency in the White House. Their foundation as children was not only influenced and nurtured by their parents, as they had a full staff to look after them as well. This is why the First Lady believes her teens "will have a tough time" with their inevitable move out. There are emotional connections that one cannot easily be packed in a box.

Speaking with Ellen DeGeneres on her show, Michelle Obama honestly admitted that the girls have been used to seeing the White House staff every day of their growing up years. "These are people who have helped us raise our kids," the mom-in-chief said, according to People, "The minute we leave, that's it."

In helping the teenage girls with the transition, Michelle Obama said that she has been encouraging Malia and Sasha to relish their last moments in the house they grew up in. Though the younger Obamas think they are prepared to leave the White House, their mother knows better. "They won't be able to knock on a door and say, 'Can I see my room?' That's not gonna happen."

The Obamas, though, will not be moving far from their famous Washington home as they will still be in the same state. Woman's Day reports that the family has picked an eight-bedroom manor that will be their new home in January.

Michelle Obama said that she is looking forward to living a life without too many Secret Service agents all around them. "I dream of opening up my front door and walking out without any notification, without any security," the First Lady said.
Some 400 high school students from Nashville came together and agreed to skip classes at the Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) on Sept. 7 to visit one of their teachers at home. Ben Ellis, who has taught Latin and Bible at the said school since 2008, has been battling cancer and has been going to chemotherapy. But recent news from his doctors seemed to have dashed hopes. His students thought that they should show their support because Ellis has never wavered in showing his, even if his cancer turned aggressive.

ABC reports that CPA students from the ninth to twelfth grade, together with some 30 teachers, visited Ellis in his home, where they did something heart-touching. The kids stood outside their teacher's house and serenaded him with a Gospel song. The moment was captured in video and was shared on country superstar Tim McGraw's Facebook, which has been receiving nearly 30 million views.

Co-teachers at the CPA attest that Ben Ellis remained in touch with the school community even as he's been battling cancer. All of his children are CPA students, which is why the family is well-oriented with everyone in the school.

When his story went viral online, the school administration also released a statement in support of the kids' gesture and Ben Ellis. "The decision to go to his house and sing was not planned," the statement read, via WSMV. "Ben and his family had received some hard news the night before and our students and faculty wanted to express their love for someone who has significantly changed their lives."

Ellis told the press later on that he's grateful for the unexpected visit. "In that moment, I felt like I was not alone," the teacher said. School headmaster Nate Morrow also said that it had been an honor to witness how the students showed that they cared for their teacher. Watch more about the students' visit in the video below.
A teenage girl died after being exposed to a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in freshwater creeks in Cecil County, Maryland. Nineteen-year-old Kerry Stoutenburgh passed away days after her Naegleria fowleri infection.

Stoutenburgh swam in several freshwater creeks while she was visiting family in Cecil County in August. The teen was with her boyfriend, Luke Carquillat, and her family when she jumped for around eight times from a bridge into the waters of the Conowingo creek, which contains the brain-eating amoeba, People reports.

Carquillat said Stoutenburgh was "usually good at keeping her nose closed and blowing out," but she complained that the water got up her nose after one of her jumps. The teen experienced headaches and sensitivity to light days after returning to New York.

The brain-eating amoeba is usually found in freshwater bodies such as lakes, streams, and rivers, Parent Herald previously noted. Swallowing the organism won't give you an infection, but it becomes life-threatening when water goes up a person's nose with enough force to allow the brain-eating amoeba to travel to the brain.

Upon entering the brain, Naegleria fowleri causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The disease is characterized by headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, seizures, hallucinations, stiff neck, altered mental status, and coma. PAM is generally fatal, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stoutenburgh's condition days after she went swimming mirrored the symptoms listed by the CDC. According to Carquillat, his girlfriend began to "lose her mind" and was crying at times and then "going back to normal," People further relates.

Stoutenburgh was also "speaking incoherently," "screaming," and "crawling on the floor." Carquillat recalled how she got so terrified and clueless as she was attacked by headaches and wooziness. As Stoutenburgh's condition worsened, Carquillat knew that his "soul mate" and "love of [his] life" will be gone, though that didn't stop him from staying with her until the "very, very end."

Stoutenburgh was declared brain dead by doctors on Aug. 30, according to further report by People. A Naegleria fowleri diagnosis was confirmed the next day, prompting doctors to take the teen off from life support. Stoutenburgh's family held a wake at a church in Kingston, New York a week after she died.

Several brain-eating amoeba infections were reported in the U.S. recently. In South Carolina, an 11-year-old girl named Hannah Collins died after a Naegleria fowleri exposure. An Ohio teen, Lauren Sykes, also met a similar fate after a rafting trip in North Carolina's National Whitewater Center in June.

Only 138 cases of Naegleria fowleri infection were reported in the past 50 years, as per CBS News. Out of those, only three people survived.
Helicopter parenting or overparenting has been one of the most talked about parenting styles due to its impact on child development. Many parenting experts believed that this controversial child-raising style often hinders the development of independence and resilience among children, resulting to an unprepared and overly protected adulthood.

Many might have been wondering what exactly helicopter parenting is.... Child and adolescent psychologist Samantha Carella has one simple definition. Carella said helicopter parenting is basic parenting skill but have gone on an extreme or excessive level, Parent Herald previously covers.

It is already a known fact that helicopter parenting comes with a series of unintentional and negative consequences when it comes to child development. According to Irish Times, overparenting could have some drastic influences on a child who's going to college.

Even though it's understandable that parents often find it hard to give up control and their involvement on their children's education, University College Dublin (UCD) student adviser Colleen Blaney Doyle stressed that parents should take a step back when their kids are already in college. Instead of being too intrusive, parents should play the role of a "consultant" who can offer some advice when it's asked.

Despite the fact that helicopter parents only aims to protect their children and create a safer and more secure environment for them, too much hovering can be suffocating and could have negative implications on their development. That's why, it's best for parents to allow their children to find their own place in life, explore things that interest them, allow them to fail and learn from their mistakes.

With grownup kids in college, being independent does not only mean letting them go but also being there whenever they need you. University of Limerick director of clinical psychology Dr. Patrick Ryan even emphasized the importance of family and parents in a child's college life, Irish Independent reports.

As for the effects of helicopter parenting in children's well-being, children may develop a huge level of anxiety while their sense of responsibility and personal freedom are hampered. Overparenting also creates incompetent or too dependent child.

In addition, helicopter parenting can also affect the child's mental health and school performance in the K-12 years. In severe cases of overparenting, children may also suffer from anxiety and depression, not to mention creating children who are emotionally inhibited and too dependent, Huffington Post clarifies.

Parents should always remember that life as a parent is suffused with unexpected transitions. Although parenting never stops when you have a grownup child, it really wouldn't hurt to allow children to be more independent and experience life without the intrusion of an overbearing parent.

Meanwhile, due to the prevalence of helicopter parenting, the Catholic High School for Boys in Arkansas has decided to ban helicopter parents from coming to school. According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, school principal Steve Straessle has one strict rule that's written on a placard, telling parents to exit the building and not to drop off forgotten things like lunches and assignments as their children will learn to solve the problems in their absence.

What are your thoughts on helicopter parenting? Feel free to comment below and check out Parent Herald for more news and updates.
It has been nearly three years since "Game of Thrones" fans saw Gendry, who was last seen fleeing from Dragonstone in the third season of the highly popular show. A recent scoop from a fan, however, may have hinted that the character is coming back to the series.

Joe Dempsie, the actor who portrays Gendry, was spotted arriving at the airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland this month. That place is not just any other place for avid "Game of Thrones" fans because it's one of the HBO drama's shooting locations. Check out Dempsie's arrival in Belfast on Twitter.

The last time "Game of Thrones" viewers saw Gendry, the bastard and the only surviving son of the late king Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), he was rowing away from Dragonstone to escape Melisandre (Carice van Houten). The Red priestess wanted to use Gendry's royal blood in one of her dark magic rituals, but Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) intervened and facilitated the boy's escape.

Some "Game of Thrones" fans saw Gendry's departure from the show as unsettled given how much of a significant character he is. Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown.

In the book "A Song of Ice and Fire" (which the show was based on), Gendry is very much alive and was working as a blacksmith at the Inn of the Crossroads in the Riverlands, according to Time. A Reddit user theorized that Gendry's blacksmith skills will reappear on "Game of Thrones" and it would put him in the path of Sam (John Bradley-West), who's currently working on his master training at the Citadel in Oldtown.

According to the Redditor's theory, Sam will study how to create Valyrian steel and will need a blacksmith to make the powerful weapon. In this scenario, Gendry is also in Oldtown, making it quite easy for Sam to locate him.

What is Valyrian steel? During the battle of Hardhome in "Game of Thrones" Season 5, it was said that Valyrian steel is one of the two weapons (the other being dragonglass) that can kill White Walkers. However, the art of forging Valyrian steel came down along with the Doom of Valyria.

Of course, "Game of Thrones" fans are skeptical as to how Gendry would create Valyrian steel without any instructions lying anywhere, but it should be noted that Gendry was an apprentice of Tobho Mott (Andrew Wilde) in King's Landing. Tobho Mott is one of the few armorers who know how to forge Valyrian steel and he might have imparted the secret to Gendry. "Game of Thrones" Season 7 premieres on HBO in the summer of 2017.
To every family who has a child falling into the risks associated with childhood obesity, it is never too late to do something about it. Nowadays, more recent studies have viewed childhood obesity as a leading major health concern in the U.S., topping off smoking and drug addiction.

In observance of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, the goal to reducing the incidence rate of obesity among young children has been a continuous advocacy in New Mexico. A survey conducted recently have shown dramatic progress in terms of declining numbers for childhood obesity.

As of 2015, the Public Media for Southern New Mexico & Far West Texas cited that the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has shown a 16.4 percent decline in child obesity rates, especially among third graders. The importance of keeping the numbers on the low further would significantly lower the probability of having obese adults in the future.

How Parents Can Help

Becoming and staying healthy may be overwhelming for every obese child to accomplish in such a short time, however, it can be slowly yet surely managed with the help of their parents, according to the Huffington Post. And as parents, it is vital to recognize, accept and get ready to face childhood obesity together. An obese or overweight child needs all the respect and support to make the journey towards a healthy lifestyle the ultimate goal.

Discouraging activities which would allow children to deviate from being mobile at least 5 hours daily would eventually give them a better mindset to unconsciously burn whatever excess calories they ate. While unhealthy food is the foremost culprit to developing obesity in children, it's best recommended to keep these away from home if possible.

The rising incidence of childhood obesity is not a laughing matter at any point. On this note, every family member needs to extend all the help needed for every overweight or obese child.
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A new poll says that Republican Donald Trump has sprung to an 8-point lead in Iowa.

The Monmouth University Poll released Thursday said that 45 percent of likely Iowa voters said they support Trump with 37 percent backing Democrat Hillary Clinton. Another 8 percent back Libertarian Gary Johnson and 2 percent were for Green Party hopeful Jill Stein.

Six percent were undecided.

The poll comes as Trump is closing the gap with Clinton in other battleground states. In some states, polls say he has pushed ahead of her.

In Iowa, the two have been running fairly evenly, according to surveys throughout the summer. Monmouth in July had Trump with a 2-point lead.

The poll says that while Trump has seen his support erode among Republicans since then  and Clinton has improved her standing with Democrats  the Republican expanded his edge with independents to 15 points, 44 percent to 29 percent.

The poll also says that while Trump leads among Iowans without a college education, the two are running fairly even among voters who have a college degree.

That is out of step with other polls, which have typically said Clinton has a decided edge over Trump with college-educated voters.

Iowa is one of the few places where Trump has been able to make inroads among voting blocs that generally support Clinton, said Patrick Murry, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which is based in West Long Branch, New Jersey.

The Monmouth survey, conducted Sept. 12-14, sampled the opinions of 404 Iowa residents who said they are likely to vote in the election. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the poll says that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is leading Democrat Patty Judge in the U.S. Senate race. Grassley had the support of 56 percent of likely voters while 39 percent backed Judge, the former lieutenant governor. That is up from a 10-point margin the poll said Grassley held in July.

Most polls in the Senate race have put Grassleys lead at about 7 to 10 points, although a survey from RABA Research published earlier this week put Grassleys lead at 13 points.
So some time ago, I read an article in The Atlantic, the main theme of which was that poor whites and poor blacks have more in common than they know. I remember it too vaguely to find it now, but it seems to me that one of the key statements was, in both cases, when theres nothing left, pride and respect become all-important. And in the case of inner-city blacks, respect becomes murder, or shooting, anyway, when youve been disrespected, dishonored. (For whites, if I remember right, this need for respect was manifested in support for Trump.)

Anyway, I thought of that in reading the article in todays Tribune, Chicago passes another grim milestone: More than 3,000 shot this year. And incidentally, Chicago has now had more shootings than the city had in all of 2015.

Whats going on? Reportedly, the police have pulled back in their policing due to fear that theyll be accused, again, of an unjustified shooting. I dont know that the impact would be felt so dramatically, so quickly, solely due to pull-backs in policing, but presumably its more a matter of criminals feeling more confident that they can act with impunity, because whatever worry they might have that their neighbors might cooperate is diminished.

And if you think of this honor/respect element  well, thats where the world of these hyperviolent neighborhoods feels as alien as the Muslim tribal societies in the Middle East, or, say, Pakistan. Yes, I know, the killings are attributed to gang violence, but thats not really an answer, is it? I mean, would you or I decide we needed to kill someone because wed been disrespected, or to avenge some other slight? Or would any of the young men we know do so?

And youve no doubt read other explanations. But the experience of growing up in poverty (and/or lead poisoning) produces young adults with no impulse control, assumes that we all have the desire to go out and shoot our neighbors, and only our superior impulse control prevents us. I dont know about you, but I have no such desire.

But at the same time, consider this: in the end, this isnt some alien tribe. There is no bright line between them and us. The Pakistani honor killers live in a geographically circumscribed area, with village and regional and national borders, and an ethnic identity that creates distinctiveness and separation. But are there similarly defined borders surrounding the respect-killing neighborhoods of Chicago? Are the people living there some mysterious tribal group, that anthropologists study and idealistic young people visit as a part of a Peace Corp project or an exotic trip? No, not really. Or at least I imagine that the neighborhoods populated by the poorest of the poor arent somehow culturally wholly set-apart from the adjacent neighborhoods of those not-quite-as-poor, and those neighborhoods are broadly similar to the more working-class neighborhoods, and so on. But sometimes it sure seems that way.

image: a crime scene. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACrimeScene.jpg; By Supaflyrobby (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Patna: Four days after he was shot multiple times in head by criminals on Bhootnath Road under Agam Kuan police station, Akaash Dey, the 20-year old son of a photojournalist died of his injuries at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Wednesday.

As reported previously, Akaash was shot three times in his head as he sat at his medical shop on Bhootnath Road on September 10. The son of National Sahara newspaper photojournalist Indrajeet Dey was rushed to the PMCH where he had been battling for his life until today when he succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a 22-year old man identified as Bilal who admitted of shooting Akaash.

According to a police statement, Bilal told the authorities that Akaash was in the business of supplying guns to motorcycle-borne criminals. He had bought couple of guns from Bilal about six months back but failed to pay for them. Furthermore, another man who was identified as Mohammed Iqbal, was also trying to recover Rs. 1 lakh that he had loaned to Akaash.

"When he failed to make the payment, I shot him," Bilal reportedly told the police.

Police are investigating the case. Search is also on to arrest Iqbal, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said.
News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
Podcast

About 75% of military recruits arrive at a training base with no bank account and have to be bussed to a local bank to open one, says Jill Castilla, CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond. The bank's team is building a platform that will help service members save and build credit.
AWAITING A HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENCY

09/15/16

By Kambiz Zarrabi



Hillary Clinton

artwork by Bozorgmehr Hosseinpur on cover of Iranian magazine Seda





To repeat, my main interest in the Clinton/Trump rivalry in their campaign for the presidency of the United States is how each candidate might affect the prospects of a rapprochement between the worlds greatest economic and military superpower, and the Middle Easts most consequential counterweight, Iran.

I must admit that, like everyone else, I also have my own personal preference, call it bias, in formulating my opinions in this regard; and here it is: I believe that a methodical, gradual and measured opening between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America is not only of tremendous benefit for the Iranian economy and global status, it would also serve Americas best legitimate interests and image worldwide. To accomplish that, some burnt bridges must be rebuilt.

On the one hand we have a clueless, self-promoting opportunist, whose foreign policy motto can best be summarized as: Holler boisterously and carry a bazooka! On the other, there is the seemingly hawkish nouveau-neocon, war-mongering Democratic Party candidate, with a reputation for lying and deceitfulness.

But regardless, lets not forget that, when it comes to foreign policy issues, especially regarding the Middle East, there is little or no difference in attitude between the two political parties, but only in the methods of approach: The designated enemies and allies remain Americas enemies and allies, regardless of the merits of such designations. One party would not hesitate to bring the perceived enemies into submission by brute force, while the other prefers a diplomatic approach to coax them into committing suicide!

It is not that the politicians in top positions in Americas administrations have not been aware of the realities on the ground; but there are so many factors influencing their decision making process, which remain beyond publics understanding or even interest to be openly and honestly revealed or debated.

Donald Trump has not been focusing on what goes on beyond his myopic self-centered vision of whats good for The Donald. In my opinion, Trump had no idea hed rise to prominence in the Republican Party nomination process; he wasnt ready for this success, as temporary as it might hopefully be; and hes got too much on his gluttons-delight plate to worry about the outcome of his bid for the presidency of the United States, a position I do not believe he was seriously after in the first place.

He has surrounded himself, or perhaps more correctly put, he has been unwittingly surrounded by, a group of assistants and advisers who see Trump as a clueless jester, in whose administration theyd have a free path to pursue and promote their own respective agendas. Lest we forget, there are plenty of Saudi moneys and Zionist political rewards to seduce almost any opportunist! People like the sleaze bucket, Rudy Giuliani; or the butler-in-waiting, Chris Christy; and the junior light-weight anti-Iran Champ, Senator Tom Cotton; or the whining Iran-hater, Senator Bob Corker; and most recently the hardcore neocon, James Woolsey; plus a contingent of well-known Israel-firsters to whom Israels interests supersede Americas own, are just a few examples. He simply doesnt care who these people are or what they represent, as long as these sycophants pat him on the back when they introduce him on the podium.

So, it is no surprise that Mr. Trumps stated agenda regarding dealing with Iran is to tear up the P5+1/Iran nuclear agreement the first day he sits at the Oval Office, and to renegotiate a better deal for America as only he knows how: Remember; this legend-in-his-own-mind is a shrewd negotiator, as he has stated many times! It makes me wonder what kind of image of Iran and its leaders or negotiators Trump has inside the cocoon of his mind: Perhaps he is envisioning an Arabian-Nights setting, where hagglers buy and sell pomegranates and hashish paraphernalia at the corner souk!

This fellow is clearly unaware of what the P5+1/Iran negotiations and the final agreement were all about: he has even expressed his views that the bad deal was a disaster -his favorite word-, where we gave the mullahs 150 billion dollars and got nothing back in return. The problem is, most Republican Party bigwigs, as well as some Democrats, repeat the same nonsense, not because they believe it, but for the pursuit of their own less-than-honorable personal agendas!

Hillary Clinton is, as the old Persian proverb goes, a wolf who has spent many nights under stormy skies! She is a crafty politician with vast diplomatic experience and well-honed skills, and is a master in the vital art of manipulative hypocrisy. Being regarded as crafty and a hypocrite or a liar, as she has often been labeled, has been putting her on the defensive in the public domain. Perhaps Trumps persona as a naive non-politician, shoot-from-the-hip Rambo who spills his guts out crudely with no reservations, has had the appeal to enough like-minded folks to gain him the ratings he has enjoyed thus far in the race.

The average voter supposedly prefers an honest, God-fearing, truthful and blemish-free, yet strong, hero to be in charge of the nations affairs, and as a Commander in Chief to protect the nation against enemies foreign and domestic. This is something very characteristic of the American psyche in general: Honesty, fairness, righteousness, compassion and graceful humility at the peak of strength, are some of the qualities that those who actually believe in American Exceptionalism admire and pride themselves in. We could then conclude that hypocrisy, something that Mrs. Clinton is being accused of, is a terrible trait for any politician or a prospective leader of the nation.

How ironic, indeed, that it is the height of hypocrisy to claim aspiration to such lofty, self-redeeming ideals! Who wouldnt enjoy being served a cut of the best filet mignon, as long as the details of how the doomed animal was butchered and cut up to pieces are hidden behind an artfully designed, colorful menu? In truth, the mindset is: Just give me the best and the most, but hold the details of how you got it and at what cost to whom! or: Go ahead and do what you must, even if it is violating the international laws or even our own proclaimed standards and values, but doctor up the dirty details to avoid blemishing the publics sense of innocent righteousness!

According to the recently declassified documents, when Ronald Reagan was made aware that Saddam Hussein was using the internationally banned poison gas against the Iranians during the latter stages of Iraq/Iran war, he, nonetheless, pressed on with support for the Iraqi forces, proclaiming that An Iranian victory is not an option!

Mr. Trump has declared more than once that the United States should have taken all of Iraqs oil before leaving that country; as he cites the proverb: To the victor belong all the spoils! Victor in what war, Donald? So, this modern day Genghis Khan believes that invading Iraq under false pretenses constituted a fair fight or a just war, and that claiming ownership to the devastated countrys natural resources should have been the right thing to do as the reward for destroying a nation that was posing no threat to the United States. Does he think that a nations natural resources half-way around the world are his granddaddys inheritance he has a right to reclaim?!

Well, to be fair, Trumps naively innocent expression of his ignorance is not that far from what his Democratic counterparts have been planning to do all along, albeit in a much shrewder and more sophisticated way: That is partitioning Iraq in the guise of creating regional peace and stability by supporting the Iraqi Kurds ambitions for autonomy, on the condition, of course, that the new Kurdistans oilfields of Kirkuk and Mosul, Iraqs main oil reserves, would be licensed to American oil companies; and guess what: with the construction of a direct pipeline via Jordan to Israel to immediately begin!

Again, to be fair, Trumps criticism of Hillary Clintons e-mail issues is no more hilariously ridiculous and impertinent than Mrs. Clintons accusations against Trump for his supposedly seditious admiration of Russias Vladimir Putin. The allegation that Mr. Putin likes or prefers Trump because he is afraid of a Clinton presidency is so superficial that it is laughable. Any affection or admiration shown by the Russian leader toward Mr. Trump; or any hatred or animosity shown against Hillary Clinton by Mr. Putin, should improve the image of the Democratic candidate in the eyes of the voting public, who have bought into the big hype that Putin should be considered as an enemy of the United States; not a rival or competitor like China, mind you, but an enemy.

So, who would potentially be the better choice among the viable candidates to become the next Commander in Chief of the worlds mightiest empire, at least as far as foreign affairs is concerned?

Listening to the Libertarian Party Candidates team, Gary Johnson and William Weld, one would think that the VP choice, Mr. Weld, would have been a better presidential choice than the rather absent and less articulate Gary Johnson. Nevertheless, their position on foreign policy founded on non-intervention, sounds far more intelligent, reasonable and practical than what Hillary Clinton has been offering with great theatrical bravado and that aggressive frown and unblinking wide-open eyes when she wants to appear serious. I am not even going to bother with what Mr. Trump has to offer - zilch! This brilliant real estate tycoon suggests blowing the Iranian boats, which tease the American cruisers in the Persian Gulf, out of the water: Oh, wow; nobody would dare mess with this tough motha!

I am sure if our libertarian candidates felt they had any chance at all to rise to the top, that theyd also be demonstrably more arrogant and bombastic in their speeches in order to impress the voting public and improve their fighting chances. This was also the case with poor Bernie Sanders, who likewise raised some important but sadly seldom discussed issues before he faded away. Its interesting how honest and brave politicians can be when they have nothing to lose by expressing their views.

There seems to be little doubt that Hillary Clinton will be the next occupier of the White House: If so, should I take that as an encouraging turn of events, considering the alternative? Id cautiously say yes.

We have to keep in mind that to run a campaign with any hope of winning, Mrs. Clinton, like the other candidate, must attract the lions share of votes in the general elections. In the current sociopolitical atmosphere here, there are dos and donts that could make or break any candidates chances of success. She does have to sound tough and strong, which shows the potential leaders resolve, perhaps Hollywood style, in dealing seriously with global threats and challenges. Therefore, there must, by necessity, be threats and challenges globally, and especially where the United States has already been involved, in the Middle East, to deal with. How could you be a dragon slayer with no dragon to slay?

Since there is no time to re-educate the public, she must play into the publics well-established sentiments that, for instance, Iran is an untrustworthy adversary, is a supporter of terrorists, and remains the source of agitation and instability in the region. She must also appear as Israels best friend and supporter, who would endorse any legislation favoring Israel passed in the Zionist dominated US Congress; and order her Ambassador in the UN to oppose or veto any proposal against Israels actions, regardless of what that would do to Americas global interests and image. I cannot even conceive of a scenario in which a president of the United States or even any congressional leader could find the courage to say anything or act in any way against the Jewish states agendas, and survive politically. That much we can be quite certain of!

Other issues, such as the need to boost the military, or to provide the most and the best for the American people, remain on the menu, of course. Trumps patented phrase: Ill make America great, again. as vague and truly meaningless as it is, has been his most appealing slogan among his supporters: no explanation needed as to what being great means to him, or how he is planning to achieve that mission.

Trump wants to beef up the military, remove the generals who, according to him, have been reduced to rubble during the Obama/Clinton period, and appoint new generals, as though he is engaged in a PlayStation computer game, where he could do as he wished by pressing a button.

Clinton is also for improving the military, which, unlike Trump, she admits is already the worlds mightiest and the best prepared. She also knows that support, whatever that is supposed to mean is, in effect, support for the gigantic industrial infrastructure that is geared to and feeds Americas war machine. And she is experienced enough to know that any budgetary shortfall in this regard could well be compensated by extorting hundreds of billions of dollars from the hapless oil-rich Arab Kingdoms and Emirates who are coerced into asking for expensive defensive arms to protect against the regional evil, not Israel, but Iran! The worlds biggest arms dealer could sell submarines to a land-locked country in the middle of the Sahara if it wanted to!

Mrs. Clinton is not about to admit, at least not until next year, that Irans Quds forces and the Shia Hezbollah of Lebanon have been in the forefront of war against the Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda terrorists in both Syria and Iraq, and suffering significant casualties. No; according to the junior Senator, Tom Cotton, the only function of Irans Quds force has been to kill Americans! That charlatan actually said that in a formal Senate hearing. It doesnt take a genius to figure out where his marching orders are drafted.

Hillary Clinton does understand, but will not admit the fact that without Irans cooperation, just like Russias, there will be no hope of reaching a diplomatic resolution in Syria. And, likewise, she would never betray the Obama administrations efforts in carrying out behind-the-scenes dialogue with the Iranian government in coordinating anti-terror operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as the military-to-military information exchanges to avoid an accidental or false-flag incident by Israel or the Saudis that could ignite the regions powder keg.

Unlike her Republican counterparts, Mrs. Clinton never once during her campaign accused Iran of attempting secretly to develop nuclear weapons after the P5+1/ Iran agreements. All she has said in that regard has been the same as what President Obama and his Secretary of State, John Kerry, have been saying; that the agreement succeeded in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and not that Iran was actually on its way to doing so. There is a big distinction between the two versions.

People with adequate insight into Irans nuclear energy program knew all along that, while the technical knowledge of manufacturing explosive nuclear devices is a byproduct of any peaceful production of nuclear energy, diverting resources in that direction clandestinely would have been too risky, too expensive, and counter to Irans national interests. And, even if Iran had managed to obtain a nuclear bomb, it could not have been of any use other than as a potential deterrent against a nuclear attack, itself a highly unlikely scenario to deserve the costs and the risks involved.

As I have been maintaining all along, the prospects of any Iranian nuclear threat to the region or to the world has been a concocted allegation created by Israel and promoted by the United States to serve other purposes. I am sure many members of the House and Senate, mostly Republicans, believe that Iran did have plans to acquire the bomb, so that those suicidal maniacs could blow Israel out of existence; and that the P5+1/Iran agreement will in no way deter Iran from that pursuit. But the more savvy among them know full well that such phony allegations against Iran are intended to gain them various personal and political rewards.

So, what might be Hillary Clintons angle in all this?

Several decades of antagonism, threats of direct and indirect military action, direct and indirect attempts at regime change - by the way, all illegal - and diplomatic and economic sanctions failed to bring the Iranian regime to its knees. So, it makes one wonder why this strategy was allowed to continue for so long, and why are the Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate so intent on legislating more ways to prolong this ineffective strategy. The answer is that while this strategy has been ineffective in delivering the openly expressed results, it has been quite effective in certain other nefarious ways.

Putting Iran under unrelenting pressure, both openly and covertly, left the post-revolution Islamic Republic with but two choices: either capitulate and comply, or adopt any and all measures to resist the pressure, even if some of these measures were too radical, suppressive and distasteful for the citizenry. Misjudging the social dynamics of the Iranian populations, it was hoped by the opponents of the Islamic regime that the increasing oppression and economic and social hardships would result in a public uprising and a regime change. But this strategy backfired and, instead, the conservative orthodoxy gained increasing legitimacy and power to crack down on any movement or voice of dissent or opposition that could have been perceived as plots against the Islamic Republic.

Direct endorsement of some of these even indigenous and honest reform-oriented movements by the United States was enough to delegitimize them as agents of the enemy superpower. It may not be simply a conspiracy theory to conclude that Americas open support for these movements was specifically intended to torpedo their efforts, in order to perpetuate the image of the Islamic Republic as unpopular and oppressive internally, and as a threat against peace and security of the region, especially Israel and Americas Arab allies.

The demonization of the Islamic Republic of Iran did serve, and continues serving, manifold purposes: Without a regional pariah, the merits of American military presence and near permanent bases all around the Middle East, as well as the resulting alliances of convenience, would have been brought to more scrutiny, perhaps leading to a potential sea change in Americas policies in that region; the kind of sea change that appears to be rising near the horizon.

I had predicted several years ago, at the beginning of the Obama presidency, that Pakistan, a real and not imaginary source of potential nuclear proliferation, and a conduit for funneling Saudi money to the various terrorist groups and for the spread of Wahhabi extremism, would displace Iran as the regions troublemaker. I suppose the system wasnt ready for that, quite yet.

My observations and analyses tell me that President Obamas administration, which included Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, had concluded that it was time to rethink Americas counterproductive entanglements in the Middle East and avoid the lurking potential of being dragged deeper in the regions quagmire. But the Saudi financial grip, especially with its alliance with Israel, and the pro-Israel political pressures over the US Congress, proved too formidable to overcome.

Reaching out to Iran, under the pretext of talking the Islamic Republic out of developing atomic weapons (a fictitious allegation), in exchange for removing economic sanctions against Iran, was an unprecedented move by an American administration, in which the President and his Secretary of State took pride in accomplishing that supposedly enormous task.

Against unrelenting Republican opposition to any opening with Iran, the President continues to express his decision to veto any new legislation that would torpedo the P5+1/Iran agreement while he is still in office. Hes got nothing to lose with his term expiring in a few months.

But Hillary Clinton would be risking her bid for the presidency if she ignores some realities on her bumpy path. Here is where her long experience in manipulative hypocrisy could come into play. She could criticize Iran and continue accusing it of destabilizing the region, and approve additional sanctions (all easy to circumvent!) against Iran for its support for terrorist groups and human rights violations, etc.; but at the same time continue the policy of rapprochement with the Islamic Republic by being supportive of Obama administrations defense of the nuclear treaty, and remaining committed to protect Mr. Obamas legacy, in which she has shared significantly. That might entail engaging in some very creative diplomacy with the troubled Saudis; as well as pouring more money, with Congress blessings, into Israels coffers to keep it out of mischief.

Only the future will tell if I am the incorrigible optimist that I am often accused of being, or a realist.





About the author:

Kambiz Zarrabi is the author of In Zarathushtra's Shadow and Necessary Illusion.He has conducted lectures and seminars on international affairs, particularly in relation to Iran, with focus on US/Iran issues. Zarrabi's latest book is Iran, Back in Context.






Calling Iranians "Descendants of the Magi" Is Actually a Compliment

09/15/16

By Shireen T. Hunter (source: LobeLog)



The three magi, from an illuminated manuscript in Farnborough Abbey



Recently, the chief mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, said that Iranians are Majus. This is the Arab name for Irans Zoroastrians, who were the majority of the people at the time of the Arab invasion of Persia in the 7th century AD. The mufti was implying by this statement that Iranians are not Muslims.

This belief is neither new nor limited to the Saudis or the Wahhabis. However, as far as I can recall, no significant Muslim religious leader had openly called them non-Muslims, although some secular leaders had done so before. For example, during the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam Hussein regularly referred to the Iranians as Majus, and even worse, as insects that should be sprayed with pesticides. Indeed, he did just that by using chemical weapons against them.

This widely held Arab belief that Iranians are not real Muslims is based on the premise that they never fully converted to Islam. Instead, they developed Shiism, which is allegedly nothing more than their old religion with a thin guise of Islam. Moreover, Arabs believe that the Iranians did so in order to subvert and undermine their true and pure Islam. In a Cairo bookshop near Al-Azhar several years ago, I saw a book for sale entitled Shia Conspiracy Against Islam. Since then, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and others, along with religious figures such as the Egypt-born resident of Qatar Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi, have sponsored many more books on Shiisms threat to Islam and Irans plans to convert Sunnis to Shiism.

Some highly educated and otherwise reasonable and tolerant people also subscribe to this view. Once at a meeting in Cairo, long before the current upsurge in Sunni-Shia disputes, a very enlightened and tolerant Egyptian colleague, in response to a comment of mine about the dangers of sectarianism in the Muslim world, said: Yes, you are right. We have a big problem and that is the conflict between the Muslims and the Shias. He thus betrayed an ingrained attitude toward Shias.

The idea of Shiism as an Iranian creation has, of course, no historical validity. The split that occurred within the Muslim community of Arabia immediately after the Prophet Muhammads demise and that eventually led to the Sunni-Shia divide, was a purely Arab phenomenon. At the time, Arab/Islamic armies had not yet conquered Iran. Later, some Iranians might have seen in the Shia split from Sunnism a reflection of some of their ancient values and rites. But they certainly did not invent Shiism. The first impetus for the Iranian embrace of the House of Ali came after the Arab invasion and the policy of ethnic discrimination practiced by Irans new Arab rulers, beginning with the first Caliph Omar, despite Islams claim to the racial and ethnic equality of all Muslims. The Abbasids even perpetuated this practice, although Persian Muslims had contributed considerably to their victory over the Umayyad dynasty.

If Iranians are non-Muslims then Islams edict that Muslims should not fight other Muslims does not apply to them. Therefore, you can kill Shia Iranians just like any other infidel without any twinge of conscience. In the current atmosphere of tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, spreading the view of Iranians as non-Muslims has considerable political ramifications. For example, it can help the Saudis enlist other Muslims in their fight, both overt and covert, against Iran. Already, groups such as the Taliban, the Islamic State, and al-Qaeda have internalized this Saudi view and view the Iranians as infidels.

The Real Gift of the Magi

The Saudi muftis undignified outburst is understandable given these latent prejudices as well as Ayatollah Ali Khameneis criticism of Saudi handling of the Haj. More surprising is that Iranians are offended at being called Majus. Majus means disciples of the Magi (Mogh), which means Zoroastrian (or pre-Zoroastrian) priest. These same Magi, of whose wisdom Plato spoke highly, brought gifts to the Christ child.

In fact, Zoroastrianism is the first of the worlds monotheistic religions, although it is often seen as dualistic because it recognizes the existence of an evil force (Ahriman) that fights the good God (Ahura Mazda). But, as in the Old Testament, the good God ultimately triumphs. Zoroastrianism has a sophisticated cosmology and is the foundation of many principles that are part of the Abrahamic religions, including the abstract concepts of heaven, hell, a bridge of judgment, a cosmic denouement at the end of the world, and the coming of a messiah, or Mahdi (Saoyeshant) in Zoroastrianism.

In fact, Zoroastrianism offers the first dialectic rather than circular understanding of human history and destiny. The conflict between two opposing forces leads to a final denouement rather than perpetual reincarnations or the souls absorption into a vast center of energy. Its ironic that Westerners, with their emphasis on the battle between good and evil on display during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, do not recognize its source. Zoroastrianism recognizes free will and enjoins good thoughts, good works, and good words. It is a positive religion and emphasizes the role that the individual should play in the ultimate victory of good over evil. Also a happy religion, its festivals outnumber its mourning ceremonies.

Under the Sassanids, Zoroastrian Iran developed what the Danish historian, Arthur Christensen, has called a magnificent edifice. Although not on a par with Greece or Rome, it had its centers of learning, including the famed university of Jundi Shapur, todays Ahwaz, where many Christian and Greek scientists came when Byzantiums policies discouraged learning. The sixth-century Sassanid King Khosrow Anoushirvan had a reputation for modeling himself after Platos philosopher king, a reputation that enticed some Greek philosophers to go to his court. Although he did not live up to their expectations, they were surprised that he was familiar with Greek philosophy and the ideas of Plato and Aristotle. Sassanid Iran had a flourishing culture of art, painting, sculpture, and music. In short, the children of the Magi had not done so badly for themselves.

By the time of the Arab invasion in 642, Irans Zoroastrianism had lost some of these positive aspects. It had become more fatalistic, partly because of the influence of Babylonian creeds, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Asceticism had replaced its more active spirit. Imperial overstretch had weakened the Sassanid Empire, thus making it easier for the Arabs to defeat it.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Despite their defeat, the Iranians largely formed and shaped what has come to be known as Islamic Civilization. For 300 years, Muslims used the Sassanian tax and other archives for their own administrative purposes. Sassanian administration, court etiquette, and governing methods became the model for the Islamic Caliphates and later Turkic rulers from the Seljuks to the Ottomans. Most post-Islamic books on politics, such as Siyastnameh of Khajeh Nezam ul Molk-the vezir of the Seljuk king, Malekshah-and later books were modeled after the book of Ardeshir Babekan, the founder of the Sassanid Empire, called Karnameh Ardeshir Babekan. Many Persians, such as the Barmaki family, actually ran the chancelleries of the Abbasid caliphs and later those of Turkic rulers.

The Baghdad Dar Ul Hikma was modeled after the Sassanid Khaneh e Danesh (both mean houses of knowledge). Its art forms, which later were much diminished by Islamic restrictions on painting, sculpture, and music, shaped Islamic art from Mesopotamia to Andalusia to Mogul India. As noted by Professor Roman Girshman, the real inheritor of Sassanid art was Islam, which took that art with it everywhere it went. Professor Ada Bozeman has called this influence Irans conquest of Islam. Sibveyh, a Persian, wrote the first Arabic grammar, and the Iranians, together with Christians, translated Greek works into Arabic. Even the Persian One Thousand and One Nights (Hezar Afsaneh) became the Arabian Nights. In short, while not perfect, Irans pre-Islamic civilization could more than hold its own with other existing civilizations, including that of Byzantium.

Its not surprising for the Saudi mufti, out of political expediency, to call Iranians Majus. What is sad is that present-day Iranians should see this appellation as an insult. But then Irans Islamists have been waging a campaign against the countrys indigenous culture for at least 60 years. Since their victory in the 1979 revolution, they have worked relentlessly to erase all vestiges of Irans indigenous culture and to subsume it under a state-sponsored, politicized, and ideologized form of Islam that is totally alien to Irans traditional Shia Islam, which is closely intertwined with Irans early civilization.





About the Author:

Shireen T. Hunter is a Research Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Her latest book is Iran Divided: Historic Roots of Iranian Debates on Identity, Culture, and Governance in the 21st Century (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).




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CHARLES CITY  For students who think attending classes can be a chore, a grant-funded program is expanding an initiative designed to give them project-based skills.

This year, Charles City, Osage, RRMR and New Hampton are offering elective courses through the IOWA BIG program.

The program aims to connect high school students with local businesses using workplace-type projects  with real goals and deadlines  to solve mutually shared problems.

The program is open only to juniors and seniors from all four schools, said Charles City teacher Donna Forsyth.

A typical class setting for me is pretty boring, said Charles City senior Sam Mullen, 17.

But she was drawn to the program because she would be able to tackle practical projects  including possibly helping to develop access to counseling at school for students who may have lost a parent. Mullen plans to become a nurse after high school.

At the former Charles City Middle School, a work space is set aside for 37 juniors and seniors who registered to take the program as elective classes this semester.

Three different classes will be offered: applied English, science or professional studies.

Each student has to participate in at least two projects to learn how to juggle real-world priorities, Forsyth said.

Last year, Gov. Terry Branstads STEM Advisory Council awarded a $25,000 start-up grant to four districts.

The program  now in use in Cedar Rapids  provides students academic credit in return for collaborative projects with businesses and local industries.

Business and school leaders see the grant as an opportunity to retain technical expertise in rural areas.

Participating businesses and organizations include Cambrex Charles City, Reicks View Farms, Valent BioSciences Corp., NIACC, Floyd County Medical Center, OmniTel Communications, Mercy Medical Center-New Hampton and the Charles City Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, the STEM council made 12 STEM awards around the state totaling $630,628.
The FBI may have paid a small fortune to unlock an iPhone 5c used by the San Bernardino shooter. But a security researcher has demonstrated a way to do it for less than US $100.

Sergei Skorobogatov at the University of Cambridge used a technique known as NAND mirroring to bypass the passcode retry limit on an iPhone 5c. Using store-bought equipment, he created copies of the phones flash memory to generate more tries to guess the passcode.

Skorobogatov detailed the whole process in a new paper that disputes the FBIs assertion that the San Bernardino shooters iPhone couldnt be accessed with the NAND mirroring technique.

It doesnt work, FBI Director James Comey said back in March. To gain access, the FBI instead resorted to reportedly paying a contractor less than $1 million to hack the phone.

The device in question had been passcode protected with an auto-erase function that would activate after 10 failed tries, deleting all the data inside.

Prior to paying a contractor, the FBI demanded Apple assist in cracking the phones passcode, sparking a major legal tussle over privacy and security.

However, earlier in the year, computer experts said that the FBI could possibly crack the phones security using the NAND mirroring technique. NAND refers to the phones flash memory, which researchers have said can be copied.

Skorobogatovs paper, published on Thursday, provides a working prototype on how to pull off the hack. The equipment he used consisted of off-the-shelf components, and his tests involved iPhone 5cs updated with the latest 9.3 version of iOS.

However, it took four months of Skorobogatovs spare time to understand how to successfully copy the phones memory and exploit it. It was a backburner project carried out on my own, because no one believed it would be possible, he said in an email.

Skorobogatovs method  which is quite technical  involves taking apart the phone, desoldering the memory and then creating a copy. Because I can create as many clones as I want, I can repeat that process many, many times, he said in a video explaining the process.

The phones passcode still needs to be guessed, but Skorobogatovs paper said the process of testing the codes can be automated.

He estimates that at most it can take 20 hours to guess a four-digit passcode. For a six-digit passcode, it would take about three months.

So far, the FBI and Apple havent commented on the paper. But Jonathan Zdziarski, a security expert, called the research very respectable. Earlier this year, he also demoed a software-based concept method to use NAND mirroring on a jailbroken iPod Touch.

Skorobogatovs research does exactly what Zdziarski had previously outlined, the second researcher said in an email. Zdziarski faulted the FBI for spending so much to unlock an iPhone when a security researcher had done so with almost zero budget.

The FBIs due diligence practices clearly leave room for improvement, and these should be reviewed, he added.

Skorobogatovs research might also weaken the FBIs arguments that Apple should create an alleged backdoor into its products.

The FBI needs computer-security expertise, not backdoors, wrote Bruce Schneier, a long-time security guru, in a blog post.
Gmail service for users of the Google for Work cloud-based productivity suite was down for over 12 hours on Wednesday, apparently affecting users in a number of countries including the U.S.

Google reported early Thursday that the problem was resolved for the vast majority of affected customers, and it would be working individually with the rest of them. It said it would provide a more detailed analysis of the incident to customers once its internal investigation is completed.

The company first acknowledged the problem on its Apps Status Dashboard at 8:16 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, stating that it is investigating reports of an issue with Gmail. Based on reports, it affects only Google for Work Gmail users, Google said. Affected users were redirected to a page with Service not available, contact your administrator.

The company reported soon after that it had identified the root cause of the issue and was implementing a potential fix. Google subsequently said that the Gmail service had already been restored for some users, and at one point said it expected a resolution for all users in the next one hour. In later posts it dropped the promise of a resolution for all users in one hour, suggesting that the problem could be more serious.

Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change. Delivery of messages sent to affected users during the issue may be delayed, it said in these subsequent messages.

When contacted for information on the issues involved and how long the disruption was expected to last, Googles press team referred to the Apps Status Dashboard for the latest information. A number of users reported they were affected. Gmail is down & I work as a freelance writer & am I law school. You can imagine how my nights going, wrote a user in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who said she had to apologize to clients but couldnt do that either.

Purple Dog Design, a web design and e-marketing company in New Zealand for small and medium enterprises, said a number of its clients were affected in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. The Idaho Statesman said late Wednesday that widespread Gmail outages in the U.S. and U.K. left many of its editorial, circulation and advertising staff unable to access their accounts.
An international debt collection agency that has allegedly harassed consumers throughout California and other states is facing a lawsuit filed by four counties, including Riverside County.

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based iQor US Inc. and its subsidiary, Allied Interstate LLC, are being sued by the district attorneys offices of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Clara counties, which accuse the company of violating of the Rosenthal Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and provisions of state law that guarantee residents right to privacy.

Prosecutors are seeking $10 million in penalties and fines, which would go toward future consumer-protection efforts.

According to county prosecutors, iQor and Allied have a history of using intrusive methods and targeting people who are victims of mistaken identity.

The corporate giants debt collectors number in the hundreds and are spread worldwide, including in China, India, Mexico and the Philippines.

The civil complaint alleges that California residents have been called before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.  a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violation. In some instances, victims have been contacted repeatedly through automated calls that fail to recognize when a persons phone number has changed.

A couple from Windsor, Calif., is referenced in the complaint as having received hundreds of calls over a three-year period, even though they werent the individuals sought for collection. Allied representatives were informed numerous times that they were calling the wrong people, but the calls persisted  even after a police officer (told) the company to stop calling the wrong number, according to court papers.

The Riverside County District Attorneys Office noted in a news release that Allied has been sued before  in Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon and West Virginia. The civil actions resulted in judgments and voluntary compliance orders.

The Federal Trade Commission also has taken action, suing Allied in 2010 for violating consumer protections, culminating in a $1.75 million settlement, prosecutors said.

Anyone who may have been victimized by the collection agency was urged to call 619-531-3115.
Work is underway to remove contaminated soil from a former sewer plant site in Riverside, but an environmental groups lawsuit could halt the cleanup.

The state Department of Toxic Substances Control is overseeing work at the roughly 60-acre property between Crest and Rutland avenues thats known as the Ag Park.

A sewage spill in 2003 led to the discovery of cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in the soil.

After an earlier two-part cleanup, toxic substances officials in 2014 declared the site was suitable for homes. But neighbors and the Jurupa Valley-based Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice pressed for new testing, which last year showed contamination in some spots exceeded the states cleanup target.

Final cleanup under a new plan, which was reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as regional air and water regulators, started in August and was in full swing Wednesday, Sept. 14.

While an excavator dug dirt and a worker with a hose sprayed the pile on one part of the land, semi trucks with bins lined up to be loaded with soil from a stockpile and water sprayers drove back and forth to control dust.

Up to 70,000 tons of dirt will be removed, followed by more testing. The process should take five to six months, after which property owner Henry C. Chuck Cox hopes to move ahead with building 113 homes, project manager Bob Beers said.

Progress could be slowed or stopped by a suit the environmental justice center filed last month.

It alleges Riverside improperly lifted a stop work order the city placed on the property last year, and that the final cleanup plan should have received a more stringent environmental review.

Riverside Deputy City Attorney Kristi Smith could not be reached for comment Wednesday. City Manager John Russo declined to comment on the suit, but said he didnt lift the stop work order. It wasnt immediately clear whether the order would apply to cleanup activities.

Penny Newman, the centers executive director, said the suits goal is not to stop the cleanup.

What were trying to do is get (the state) to do the work properly, and were very concerned given the past history of what has happened at that site that local residents are going to be contaminated and exposed to chemicals as they are conducting the work, she said.

Some residents have said they believe contaminated dirt from the property has gotten into their homes and has caused health problems such as rashes, tumors and cancer. None have made their medical records public, but they continue to press for a health study and testing and cleanup of their homes.

The site cleanup plan required dust monitoring equipment that can be moved downwind of wherever work is taking place, and someone from the toxics department is on the site during the work, said Greg Neal, engineering geologist for the department.

Since work began, a phone line for reporting dust problems has received two calls, and no PCBs were detected in the eight available days of air samples, he said.

Newman said she objects to the cleanup plan for several reasons. It focuses on PCBs but ignores other harmful chemicals, and the soil removal and testing dont go deep enough, she said. Also, she added, air monitoring equipment doesnt measure very fine particles, which can be breathed deep into the lungs.

The lawsuit asks that work be halted and the city be forced to do further environmental review of the cleanup plan. A hearing is set for Oct. 5 in Riverside County Superior Court.

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Contact the writer: 951-368-9461, arobinson@scng.com, @arobinson_pe
As a crash that killed a 2-year-old Temecula girl and her grandmother this weekend remains under investigation, prosecutors are still reviewing the case against the suspect detained hours after the collision.

Grant Thoren, 31, of Vista, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder, driving under the influence and hit-and-run in a crash that killed 64-year-old Lina Pelembergo Nebrida and her granddaughter Keira Magat, said California Highway Patrol Officer Jacob Sanchez.

Magats 5-year-old sister and 35-year-old mother  who is also Nebridas daughter  suffered major injuries in the crash, which occurred about 1:45 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, on southbound I-15.

The family was moving from Temecula to National City. The mother was driving and the other three were in the backseat.

North of Scripps Poway Parkway in San Diego County, they were struck from behind by a 2003 Cadillac CTS, according to the CHP. The Cadillac pulled over to the right shoulder momentarily but then fled, officials say.

The Honda, left disabled in a freeway lane, was then hit by a Red Toyota Tacoma being driven by an Arizona man.

The Tacomas passenger, a 24-year-old San Diego woman, was taken to the hospital, the CHP said.

Using information from witnesses, the CHP identified Thoren as the Cadillacs driver. He was arrested at his home at 7:15 a.m., officials say.

Sanchez said investigators have not yet determined whether Nebrida and Magat were killed by the first or second crash.

He said the driver of the Tacoma is cooperating with law enforcement.

While Thoren hasnt been charged in the crash, he remains in jail on probation violations, according to San Diego County District Attorneys Office spokeswoman Tanya Sierra.

Family members of the victims could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9693 or agroves@scng.com
Re: Confederate flags absent Tuesday at Lake Arrowhead high school [News, Sept. 6]: My grandfather was a white lumber worker born in Arkansas in 1893, and he despised the Confederate battle flag. Like approximately 100,000 others (mostly hillbillies) from various southern states, his forebears fought for the Union. Inexplicably, many ancestors of people used as cannon fodder to prevent lazy rich people from paying for honest labor somehow feel pride in this symbol, and insult the U.S. by flying it next to the flag of fallen patriots of multiple ethnicities and cultures. There is no more anti-American symbol created by a regime whose sole purpose was the violent destruction of the very concept of the U.S. When I see the Confederate flag, I see a multi-faceted hatred of the U.S.

Sandra Terry

Riverside

  

I object in the strongest terms to this reports description of alternate meanings for the Confederate flag. That flag has only one meaning: it represents an attempt to destroy the U.S. in order to preserve the institution of slavery. Because the display of this evil symbol is inflammatory and cruel, it should be discouraged  and it certainly should never be displayed at a U.S. government institution.

People are free to say the Confederate flag means something else to them, but that doesnt change what it really means. For those who want a flag to represent freedom and constitutional liberty, we point out that such a flag already exists: our stars and stripes.

Diane K. Mitchell

Hemet

  

The American flag is a symbol of the U.S. The Confederate flag is not  not even close. It is a symbol of slavery and racism for economic gain. Perhaps it would be beneficial for a special student assembly exploring the differences along with why they evoke such different visceral reactions in those that see them, whatever their racial background. Of course, that would take time and effort rather than merely restating school policy.

Eileen Crecelius

Perris
A voter registration drive by a national nonprofit has erroneously notified scores of voters throughout Southern California that they are not registered.

Thats causing absolutely unnecessary voter confusion, according to Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley, whose office has received dozens of calls from voters who received letters from the group and wanted to verify that they were registered.

Officials in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties also reported a recent rash of calls from puzzled voters, as the nonprofit has launched the latest phase of a mailing that has reached more than 4 million California households this year.

Whether by intent or by accident, it is clear that the organization that sent out these mailings used bad data and failed to compare that data with the existing voter file, said Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters.

The group behind the mailing, the nonprofit Voter Participation Center based in Washington, D.C., has made headlines before.

In 2008, the nonprofit organized automated phone calls in North Carolina to African Americans that confused some registered voters about their status. And in 2012 the organization was criticized for mailings to ineligible voters, including sending a voter registration form to a dog in Virginia named Mozart.

Supporters of the group note there has been no indication it intended to suppress turnout or register ineligible voters.

After the 2012 incident, Virginia state Rep. Alonzo Lopez defended the group in a Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed piece.

Any large-scale effort to reach millions of Americans is guaranteed to include some clerical errors and inaccuracies, he said. Lopez went on to praise the group for its efforts to register portions of the population that have low voter-participation rates.

The group, formed in 2003 as Womens Voices Women Vote, says its working harder to make its lists more accurate.

We are taking unprecedented steps to ensure that our mail pieces reach the right people, founder and president Page Gardner said in an email, adding that the group purchases mailing lists and compares them with state voter files. Despite our best efforts, sometimes mail goes to the wrong recipient.

The group focuses its efforts on African Americans, Latinos, millennials and unmarried women, Gardner said. However, recent recipients include Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson, a married, middle-aged white man whose job requires him to be a registered voter.

I just chalked it up to some ridiculous merger of mailing lists, Nelson said.

The letter received by Nelson and others begins, According to public records, no one at this address is currently registered to vote. If you have already registered at this address or are ineligible to vote, please disregard this notice.

It then encourages the recipient to register to vote and includes a voter registration application, whose first question is whether the applicant is a U.S. citizen. Citizenship is required to vote.

Gardner said her group has helped more than 270,000 people register in California over the past 12 years. But thats a small fraction of the letters it has sent out.

Some 4.7 million of the centers registration letters have been mailed to Californians this year alone, according to documents from the Secretary of States office. That includes 1.3 million in Los Angeles County, 370,000 in Orange County, 274,000 in Riverside County and 262,000 in San Bernardino County.

Voters are concerned that they just voted in the primary and now theyre being told theyre not registered, said San Bernardino County elections spokeswoman Melissa Eickman, who said her office has been receiving 12 to 15 calls a day from registered voters who have received the letter. I would much rather they call us than worry that theyre not registered.

The center is funded by institutional donors and small donors, but its nonprofit status means those donors are not required to be disclosed.

The group paid a $100,000 fine for the 2008 automated calls in North Carolina, but the violation had nothing to do with misleading registered voters. Rather, it was for failing to identify, in the recording, the name of the group behind the voter registration drive.

Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com
A Moreno Valley woman has been arrested and charged with helping her husband flee to Mexico after he admitted to illegally entering in the country four times.

Elba Soto, 36, is charged with driving Jose Guadalupe Vega-Zuniga into Mexico on Aug. 18 to help him avoid being sentenced, according to an affidavit in support of criminal charges filed Sept. 9.

Vega-Zuniga has previously been convicted of drug trafficking and assault with a deadly weapon, according a news release from the U.S. attorneys office. He admitted on Aug. 3 that he had been in the country illegally four times between 2000 and 2008.

Vega-Zuniga was released on $100,000 bail and given an ankle bracelet for monitoring until his Oct. 17 sentencing. At some point, Vega-Zuniga freed himself from the bracelet and someone who looked like Soto brought it to the courts pretrial services office and said she didnt know where he went, court documents say.

Then, on Aug. 18, Soto was photographed driving Vega-Zuniga across the border and returning without him.

She told a Deputy U.S. Marshal that she didnt know where he was.

If Soto is convicted of being an accessory after the fact, she could face up to 10 years in prison. Her husband could be sentenced to as many as 20.
CHARLES CITY | A Charles City man police say had meth, two digital scales and $700 cash in his truck faces criminal charges.

Jeremy John Round was charged with felony possession of meth with intent to deliver and misdemeanor driving while suspended and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The drugs were found after a Floyd County sheriff's deputy pulled Round over about 12:25 p.m. Tuesday at Corporate Drive and 11th Street because he believed the 33-year-old's driving license was suspended, the Floyd County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The statement said Round had a meth pipe and $700 in cash on him. A bag of meth, small plastic baggies, scale and a locked box were found in the truck.

A search warrant allegedly revealed more baggies and another digital scale.

-- Molly Montag
The announcement late last month by Ashleys Furniture HomeStore that it was laying off hundreds of factory workers in Colton was a major blow to the Inland Empires manufacturing sector, which has seen steady growth in the past five years.

Overall, the growth of manufacturing in the region, with the addition of 13,000 jobs since 2010, has trended positively since the recession, when 38,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. However, the decision of Ashleys Furniture to lay off approximately 840 employees will significantly cut into this years projected addition of 2,700 jobs.

In context, the regions creation of 13,000 manufacturing jobs since 2010 is significant considering the entire state saw just about 42,500 jobs created in the same time period. But both are dwarfed by the reality that California itself saw just 5 percent of the manufacturing jobs created nationally, as 836,000 jobs were created across the country.

One plausible explanation for this is the reality that Californias excessive, stifling systems of taxation and regulation are simply too much for many businesses, which may decide to either curtail expansion in California, leave the state or simply produce their goods elsewhere.

The burden falls on workers who lose their jobs or never see blue collar jobs created that could get them out of poverty, John Husing, chief economist at Inland Empire Economic Partnership, told one of our editorial writers.

Much of this has been reflected in monthly reports by the Institute of Applied Research at California State University, San Bernardino.

The IARs most recent Inland Empire Report on Business reports a mixed, but still cautiously optimistic view of the state of the Inland economy, particularly the manufacturing sector. The report favorably noted increases in the regions purchasing managers index, which reflects new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment.

However, the report noted, even with these encouraging figures, purchasing managers continued to be less than enthusiastic about the state of the local economy for the coming quarter. Many reported overall sluggish business, while one noted their business has considered relocating to Nevada and Arizona.

I hope the business environment in California improves, the purchasing manager said. Sacramento uses businesses as a cash cow.

Regrettably, there is a lot of truth in that perception and so long as that remains, progress will continue to be needlessly stunted, both in the state as a whole and the Inland Empire in particular.
A self-proclaimed Doomsday Prepper caught with 23 firearms and thousand of rounds of ammunition in his Riverside home has pleaded guilty in federal court to being a felon illegally in possession of the weaponry, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Hector Mariscal, 41, pleaded guilty Monday, Sept. 12, to an indictment before U.S. District Judge Manuel Real in Los Angeles and faces up to 10 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Nov. 21, authorities said in a news release issued Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers served a federal search warrant June 29 at Mariscals residence in the 5100 block of Magnolia Avenue, near Riverside City College. In addition to the firearms and ammunition, they found silencers, stun guns, body armor and a flare launcher, according the news release.

Mariscal admitted he was not legally allowed to possess the arsenal because he had previous felony convictions for burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm, both in San Bernardino County in the 1990s, according to a sentencing agreement in the federal case.

The investigation involved undercover investigators and confidential informants who dealt in guns and methamphetamine and knew Mariscal as a weapons collector, according to court records.

The bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives handled the investigation, with assistance from the Riverside and Los Angeles police departments.

Mariscal told investigators that he regularly goes to swap meets to obtain firearms and other weapons, according to an affidavit in the new case.

Youd be surprised what you can find at a swap meet, the affidavit said he told investigators.

The court documents gave no indication that authorities believed Mariscal planned to use the weapons for any criminal activity.

Doomsday preppers  a concept popularized by a National Geographic Channel reality television show  are survivalists who prepare for catastrophic situations. They may stockpile food, weapons or other supplies, build bunkers to live in if necessary and learn survival strategies.

Articles shared in recent days on PrepperWebsite.com, for example, include What to put in your bunker, Are you prepared for a pandemic?, Backyard edible or toxin? Learn the difference and 5 worst types of firearms to use for home defense.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9075 or gwesson@scng.com
A San Bernardino County sheriffs deputy testified Wednesday, Sept. 14, that he was removed from a prestigious motorcycle traffic-enforcement assignment after he criticized what he characterized as a supervisors illegal traffic-ticket quota and continued to cite Victorville elected officials, city officials and off-duty deputies over that same supervisors objections.

Quotas are illegal. Period, Deputy Brian Moler testified in Superior Court in San Bernardino on the first day of a civil whistleblower-retaliation trial over a lawsuit he and two others filed against the county.

Theres so much distrust in law enforcement. We have to stand up for whats right, no matter what the cost.

When Moler lost his motorcycle assignment  a job he said he felt blessed to do  he was moved to patrol duty.

The department tells you to do whats right. I did that. And I was punished for it, Moler said.

The other plaintiffs seeking damages are Deputy Jeff Wetmore and retired Sgt. Tim Jordan.

When Wetmore complained of the orders of Capt. Sam Lucia and Lt. Jon Billings, he too was transferred, the lawsuit said.

Jordan, the motorcycle unit supervisor, had to retire because of a hostile work environment, said Molers attorney, Ontario-based Christopher L. Gaspard, in his opening statement.

Paloma P. Peracchio, an attorney for Los Angeles-based Burke, Williams and Sorensen and representing the county, told the jurors in her opening statement that scores of deputies are routinely transferred every year, not as punishment, but to expose deputies to more assignments. She said that when Billings told motor officers they should write at least 200 citations a month, it was a guideline and not a quota.

The truth is that the departments actions had nothing to do with them. They were not singled out, Peracchio told jurors. The fact that the these three disagreed with decisions does not make it retaliation.

Peracchio said she plans to call Sheriff John McMahon as a witness.

Moler, who said he tried to treat everybody the same, said he he once ticketed the then-mayor of Adelanto for speeding, and cited off-duty sheriffs deputies. He said many of those officials or deputies pressured him not to write a ticket.

Moler testified that Lucia told him not to cite elected officials because he had to ask them for resources, and not to cite deputies because he feared starting a station war. He said he refused Lucias order.

In July 2013, Moler testified, Billings told Jordan to tell the motorcycle officers they had to write at least 200 citations a month. Moler quoted Billings as saying he didnt want to hear anyone scream quota. Moler testified that the California Vehicle Code expressly prohibits quotas.

Gaspard later showed three years of Molers annual performance reviews that included exceeds expectations in almost all categories. But after Molers complaints, a 2014 review included many more of the lesser meets expectations. And that review included notations of discipline for what Moler considered minor and mischaracterized offenses.

Moler said he considered that review retaliation.

When Moler was asked if he could think of any deputy who had committed a serious offense and escaped punishment, he described  as Gaspard projected on a screen  a photo showing a deputy dressed as the Grinch, leaning out the window of a Victorville patrol car and waving as the car ran a stoplight and a red-light camera snapped a photo.

It was posted around the station as if it was a big joke. I didnt think it was funny, said Moler, who said the stunt was illegal.

Judge Bryan F. Foster suspended testimony until 10 a.m. Monday just as the cross-examination of Moler began.

Contact the writer: brokos@scng.com or 951-368-9569
Following national trends, Riverside and San Bernardino counties saw upticks in household median incomes in 2015, according the the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey released Thursday, Sept. 15.

Poverty levels also fell in both counties, but remain above national and state percentages.

The median household income for Riverside County rose to $58,292 last year, up 2.25 percent from 2014s $57,006. In San Bernardino County, the income for 2015 was $53,803, up 3.38 percent from the previous years $52,041.

The United States median income was $55,775 in 2015, up 3.9 percent from 2014, while Californias was $64,500, up 4.14 percent from the previous year.

The populations of both Inland counties increased.

Riverside County was at 2.36 million, up 1.36 percent over 2014, while San Bernardino was at 2.12 million, up 0.7 percent.

Poverty fell in both counties, both in percentages and real numbers. The overall population number reviewed for poverty differs slightly from the general population numbers.

In Riverside County, 376,181 people, or 16.2 percent of 2.32 million, were living below the poverty level in 2015, compared with 392,509, or 19 percent, in 2014.

San Bernardino County had 392,509 living in poverty, 19 percent of 2.06 million. In 2014 the number was 422,111, or 20.6 percent.

The national poverty number was 14.7 percent, or 46.15 million people. In California, the poverty percent was 15.3 percent, or 5.89 million.

Contact the writer: rdeatley@scng.com or 951-368-9573
The NAACP Riverside branch sent six students to a scholastic and performing arts competition this summer in Cincinnati, Ohio.

They were among the 600 students who participated in the National Academic Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics, or ACT-SO, according to a news release. It says Amaya Marks of North High won the gold medal and a $2,000 scholarship in the contemporary dance division.

All of the local students attend John W. North High School in Riverside or Valley View High School in Moreno Valley.

From North High was Joshua Beverly, who competed in Poetry-Performance and Poetry-Written; Imari Harper-Williams in Short Story; and Marks. From Valley View High was Tiera Hill in Music: Vocal-Contemporary; Keyara Howard in Photography; and Aliyah Martin in Dance: Modern.

The Riverside ACT-SO team is recruiting students for the next ACT-SO season. An informational meeting is set for 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Louis Robidoux Library, 5840 Mission Blvd., Jurupa Valley.

Information: 951-323-8306
A 41-year-old San Bernardino County convicted murderer is a suspect in the slaying of his cellmate at a state prison in Sacramento, investigators say.

Former Pinon Hills resident Meeko Carraway is being held in solitary confinement at California State Prison Sacramento following the death Tuesday, Sept. 13, of 44-year-old fellow inmate Cleophus Bealey.

Bealey was found unconscious at 1 p.m. Friday in the cell he shared with Carraway, prison officials say. Bealey was serving a 43 year-to-life sentence for a Los Angeles County first-degree murder and attempted murder conviction.

Carraway is serving a 50 year-to-life term for the October 1999 first-degree murder of 36-year-old Brenda Richardson at Carraways home.

At his trial, Carraway testifed that he and Richardson had used drugs and had sex.

He cut off her head and threw it in the California Aqueduct and dumped her body in the desert, according to trial testimony.

Deputy District Attorney Steve Sinfield said the turning point in the case was when Carraway took the stand in his own defense, according to a December 2006 report of the conviction published by the Desert Dispatch in Victorville.

Carraway also testified that memory loss was a side effect of medication he was taking at the time of the slaying. But according to the Desert Dispatch, the prosecutor still elicited a confession in front of the jury.

Do you remember cutting off Brendas head? Sinfield was quoted as asking. Yes, Carraway replied. Do you remember dumping her head and body Sinfield continued. Yes, Carraway answered.
Cal State San Bernardino is holding a conference Saturday, Sept. 17, to help undocumented students in and around the Inland area prepare for graduate school.

Dubbed Dreaming of Grad School, the event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be hosted by the DREAMers Resource and Success Center, a space where undocumented students can access immigration and financial aid services. It will be held at the College of Education.

The center opened in November 2013 to help the universitys estimated 500 undocumented-immigrant students. Its believed that by this fall there could be up to 700 undocumented students attending Cal State San Bernardino.

Maria Barragan, coordinator for the DREAMers Resource and Success Center, said the conference is crucial because many undocumented students who want to proceed to graduate school are not aware of the resources available to them.

Saturdays conference will include workshops for parents and students, that will cover everything from medical and graduate school expenses to traveling abroad and resume writing.

Barragan added that President Barack Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, has opened up resources for those who are part of the program, but more is needed, she said.

Most fellowships, Barragan added, are available only for those who are recipients of DACA, which allows people who arrived in the United States before age 16, and who meet certain other criteria, to defer deportation. They can get work permits and continue their education.

We need more for those who have  and those who dont have DACA, Barragan said.

Yadira Ortiz, admissions counselor at Cal State San Bernardinos Educational Opportunity Program, said DACA has encouraged more students to consider graduate school since they would be authorized to work in the U.S. and put their degrees to use.

Contact the writer: amolina@scng.com, 951-368-9462, or on Twitter @alemolina
Update with information regarding officers employment status.

A Riverside police officer faces both a criminal and an internal investigation following his arrest last week on suspicion of animal cruelty.

Anthony Watkins, 42, of Moreno Valley, was booked into jail Sept. 6, then released hours later after posting $10,000 bail, according to jail records. By Wednesday, Watkins had not been charged.

Neither the Riverside Police Department, which employs Watkins, nor the Riverside County Sheriffs Department, which polices Moreno Valley and made the arrest, disclosed it until this week after an inquiry by The Press-Enterprise.

Sheriffs deputies responded to a home in the 9900 block of Pasatiempo Place about 8 p.m. Sept. 6 regarding a report of animal cruelty, said Deputy Armando Munoz, a sheriffs spokesman. Deputies found Watkins at the location and took him into custody.

Munoz would not say what type of animal was involved, what Watkins is suspected of doing  except that no firearms were involved  and whether the animal or animals lived or died.

Munoz said the case has been handed over to the Riverside County District Attorneys Office, which will decide whether to file criminal charges.

Riverside Police Department spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said Wednesday that Watkins remains employed, but would not say whether he is on administrative leave or full duty.

On Thursday, Railsback confirmed Watkins was on administrative leave.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9284, atadayon@scng.com, @PE_alitadayon
Target said this week it will hire 70,000 seasonal workers for its stores and an additional 7,500 for its distribution and fulfillment centers  about 1,000 more than last year  as e-commerce takes on a larger role in retail sales.

The retailer, with stores throughout the Inland area, announced a web site listing open jobs and in-store hiring events across the country planned for Oct. 14 and 15.

Target has 1,800 stores across the country. In announcing its hiring plans, officials said about 30 percent of its online orders are fulfilled through it stores.

The announcement joined ones earlier this week by Toys R Us, which said it planned to hire 3,000 holiday season workers in the Los Angeles area, including additional staff for its Rialto distribution center.

The big-box toy store said job candidates can go to a web site, Toysrusinc.com/holidayjobs to apply. There also will be two national hiring days at Toys R Us stores, on October 10 and November 11.

The company said in a statement that its holiday season hiring target for California this year is 5,500.

Also Wednesday, UPS announced it planned to hire between 90,000 to 95,000 workers nationwide for seasonal work. UPS has a regional air hub at Ontario International Airport, plus stores and service centers throughout the Inland area.

CHECK EARLY, OFTEN

The announcement is part of a seasonal hiring pattern that is already under way from some department stores and distributors such as the Walmart Fulfillment Center in Chino.

Not all the usual outlets have yet announced their plans and hiring numbers for holiday jobs, but some, including Amazon and JCPenney have dedicated seasonal hiring websites up now.

The money isnt great, the hours can be challenging, and most jobs are over by January, but work in retail stores or fulfillment and distribution centers has regained a reliable spot for extra holiday earnings since taking a dip or flattening out during the Great Recession.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Holiday positions are already listed on Kohls regular jobs website, which encourages a seasonal associate search. The Sears-Kmart site invites visitors to register for seasonal jobs.

And there are crossover opportunities as e-commerce continues to surge  chain department stores are as likely to offer jobs at their distribution centers as work in the aisles and counters of their stores.

WORKER COUNTS UP

For the Inland area, retail workers jumped by more than 12,000 between September and December of 2015; the warehouse and transportation workforce jumped by 6,600 during the same period.

Both job categories then dropped by thousands in January of this year.

Contact the writer:rdeatley@scng.com or 951-368-9573
Editors note: The Globe Gazette asked the eight candidates in the Sept. 20 Mason City Council special election why they decided to run for the open at-large seat. Today we feature the response of Joshua Masson.

A vote for me is a vote for progress, due diligence, research, decorum, openness, accountability and intelligence.

My belief about the guiding principle of government can best be stated in this excerpt from the Jaycees oath of office, which I once took: government should act according to the laws of democracy, under which every person who wishes to speak shall be heard, toward the end that in every matter considered, the best opinion shall prevail through the express will of the majority, and best course of action followed.

I truly believe that every different voice should be heard. I listen to a lot of people. Not just recently, but I have for my whole life. People know me as someone who asks a lot of questions, doesnt accept I dont know as an answer, and inquires deeper than the initial byline.

I started going to every City Council meeting 18 months ago to become a more informed citizen. I study every issue. I question the status quo. I speak with facts. I ask the questions that are necessary.

When the time came to fill an empty seat on the Council, I felt this was my time to take it to the next level. I strongly believe that I am the best candidate for the position. I havent just started this recently and I am not going away any time soon. It is time that I put this energy to work for you, for everyone.

Vote for me if you want someone on the council who will listen to your story, give you intelligent, honest answers and strive to make sure that the council looks out for the best interests of all applicable parties.
Reliable information available to The Finder indicates that barring any last-minute hitch, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) will release the results of the 2016 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) today.



Consequently, The Finder contacted officials of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) on their readiness to post candidates to Senior High Schools (SHSs) on merit.



National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Kwasi Abankwa Anokye, affirmed the readiness of his outfit to place BECE candidates into Senior High Schools.



SHSs declare 516, 867 vacancies



He disclosed that Senior High Schools in the country have declared 516, 867 vacancies in 832 public and private SHS, 151 technical schools and 41 new Community Day SHSs for the admission of qualified BECE candidates



The vacancies declared are 55,858 more than the number of BECE candidates who wrote the exams which is 461,009 candidates.



He stated that the 41 new Community Day SHSs would be ready and available for placement by October and the number is expected to increase to 70 by December.



Regional breakdown of vacancies



The regional breakdown of the vacancies declared include Upper West - 13,747, Greater Accra - 53,817, Eastern Region - 81,442, Central - 50,931, Western - 35,050.



The rest are Ashanti - 130,512, Brong Ahafo - 51,435, Volta - 56,051 Northern - 27,447 and Upper East - 16,435.



The declared vacancies of 516, 867 is more than the 461, 009 candidates from 14,267 public and private junior high schools who took the 2016 BECE.



According to Mr Anokye, vacancies have gone up because of the addition of 41 new Community Day SHSs.



He explained that the additional vacancies would help CSSPS to place more candidates.



In view of the congestion is SHS across the country, the National Co-ordinator of the CSSPS was happy that the additional vacancies would help to decongest schools.



He, therefore, entreated parents, guardians and candidates to be patient and desist from going to the CSSPS secretariat or the GES headquarters to check on the placement.



According to him, once CSSPS receives raw scores or merit list, it should be able to finish the placement exercise.



Mr Anokye said the CSSPS, which became operational in the year 2005, played a major role in this transition as its operations were intended to reduce human errors by depending on technology.



He said the decision to automate the selection and placement of successful BECE candidates into senior high schools, technical and vocational institutes was a measure taken to address a number of weaknesses inherent in the manual operation.



These include the use of hardcopy placement cards, the annual regional selection exercise and the regionalised choice of schools, which was restrictive and subject to national disintegration.



Mr Anokye said the CSSPS, apart from placing candidates, had taken advantage of the huge potential technology provided to introduce innovations such as candidates checking their BECE results online and also using mobile phones to easily access placement results.



He said access into SHS, technical and vocational institutes had greatly improved with the inception of the system as nearly 90 to 95 per cent of BECE candidates were selected and placed in their chosen second-cycle schools.







Source: The Finder









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has introduced solar-powered irrigation schemes in northern Ghana to safeguard farmers the trouble of relying on erratic rains for farming activities in the countrys poorest regions.



USAID is introducing solar-powered irrigation systems in northern Ghana, the US Ambassador, Mr Robert Jackson said, farmers will no longer have to rely on unpredictable rains to grow their crops.



Mr Jackson said this during the launch of an a $3.8 million Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP) project aimed at developing a robust master plan to improve Ghanas power sector planning for efficient, cost-effective and reliable energy supply to consumers.



The project was jointly launched by the Deputy Minister of Power, Mr John Jinapor, and Mr Jackson at IRRP project workshop on Tuesday.



We have installed more than 3,000 solar modules and 32 inverters to date, Mr Jackson said, these investments are increasing incomes for hundreds of farmers in the north.



He said the second Millennium Challenge Compact was entered into on September 6 and described the deal as good for the nation.



The compact itself will bring $498 million in investment from the American people, he said.



The private sector operator chosen by the government of Ghana is required to invest another $100 million a year for the first five years of the concession.



That is more than a billion dollars going toward returning ECG and other power companies to profitability and reliability.



Mr Jackson added that he concessionaire would not be setting the tariffs, the public utilities regulatory commission will continue do that.



The compact should not spell the end of rural electrification because the concessionaire will want to increase the number of customers, and the United States government and other private companies will continue to push the development of solar power and other renewables.



The IRRPP seeks to transform the countrys wobbling power sector and improve lives and businesses.



Power blackouts hamper productivity, discourage private sector investment and inhibit economic growth, he noted.



Through the project we will work with the Ghanaian government to improve power sector planning, establish transmission and distribution infrastructure and increase Ghana generation capacity, he said.



Mr Jackson said the USAID would boost the sector while promoting cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-effective energy.



Together we will help Ghana move toward low emissions and low carbon investments, build resiliency to climate change, and safeguard the environment for the long term, he said.



Officials said most of the IRRP project work will be carried out by Ghanaian experts located in ICF International office in Accra  a US consulting firm implemented the project over the next two years.



A steering committee made up of inter-sectorial Ghanaian stakeholders, including key agencies from power, petroleum, environment and finance sectors, will guide, coordinate and review the project activities.



The energy commission which is the mandated agency for energy planning, will be focal institution for the IRRP project.

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.

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A group of students, some in primary school, have been arrested in an orgy of sex and smoking bhang.The students were arrested in Kabati estate after a tip off from the public.



The orgy, which involved two primary school girls, had been going on in a rental house allegedly since Friday. Among the students arrested were 12 from Naivasha Day Secondary School. The others were from Magereza High, Highway Secondary and Naivasha Central Primary. Shocked parents and teachers crowded the police station following the arrests in which several condoms and rolls of bhang were found. Police are investigating the matter.When we moved in after a tip, some of the students were very drunk and others were high on bhang, said one of the officers. A teacher from one of the affected schools who declined to be named confirmed the incident, adding that the students would be provided with counselling.

The teacher said the students were arrested over the long weekend, as the party was going on, and locked up at the Naivasha Police Station. nearby church The students who included some girls from primary school were allegedly having sex, drinking alcohol and smoking bhang before police arrested them, said the teacher. A parent said the students had said they were going to a nearby church to prepare for a music competition. The majority of us are still in shock because our children told us they were going to church only to be informed that they had been arrested, said the parent.



video below:

Source: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/









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A Former Minister of State at the interior Ministry and Current Deputy General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Obiri Boahen, has disclosed that President John Dramani Mahama will go into history books as the worst leader the country has ever had.



He alleges that his management of issues relating to the economy and other sectors which are ingredients to the countrys economic growth has so far proven to be a disaster.



Comparing the current dispensation to previous regimes including the military, he said President Mahama has performed abysmally contrary to his own claims the countrys economy is on a sound footing.



President Mahama doesnt come near any of the previous head of states including the late Professor Evans Fiifi Atta Mills. He is incompetent and this has resulted in the country being saddled with corruption, he alleged



Speaking to Kwame Adinkra on Abusua Nkomo, the private legal practitioner said the NDC led government has failed Ghanaians and should be quickly removed from office to pave way for Nana Addo and his NPP party to transform Ghana.



President Mahama is a visionless, incompetent and corrupt leader who has done nothing good to help raise the Ghanaian sinking economy under his leadership, he claimed.



He stated that Ghanaians are tired of Mahamas corrupt leadership and will kick him out come December 7 to bring back the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which is capable of implementing good economic policies to enrich the lives of Ghanaians.



Ghanaians in general are yearning for a change and there is going to be a change. Mahamas leadership has been full of corruption to the extent that, day in day out you hear District Chief Executives, MCEs and government appointees squandering the funds with impunity.

Source: Ultimate1069.com









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Pro-opposition pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance(LMVCA) will Friday, September 16, 2016 hold a rally in commemoration of the one year anniversary of the bloody demonstration over the 2012 voters register, last year.



A statement issued by the group and signed by the Convener, David Asante said the rally to be held at the Central Business District  Okaishie drug lane will afford the opportunity to recapture events and review the fight for credible, free and fair transparent election slated for December, 7.



 Indeed, it has been an eventful year during which LMVCA has led efforts to protect the integrity of the electoral process. These efforts have reaped significant gains, some of which will be outlined during the rally. the staement said.



On the 16th September 2015, the Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) in collaboration with the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), Movement for Change the NPP, PPP PNC and other civil society groups, held a demonstration to present a petition to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to demand a credible voters register for the 2016 elections.



The peaceful demonstration was disrupted when the police and security operatives charged unarmed, non-violent civilian demonstrators with guns, batons, hot water cannons and tear gas, leading to several degrees of casualties.



One of the demonstrators, Mr. Justice Adzakumah, lost one eye as a result of the brutalities meted at the demonstrators by the police.



Below is the full statement by LMVCA



LMVCA HOLDS RALLY AT OKAISHIE DRUG LANE



The LMVCA is organising a rally on Friday, September 16, 2016 at Okaishie drug lane at 1pm. The rally is to commemorate the one year anniversary of the demonstration to demand a credible voters register in 2015.



On the 16th September 2015, the Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) in collaboration with the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), Movement for Change the NPP, PPP PNC and other civil society groups, held a demonstration to present a petition to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to demand a credible voters register for the 2016 elections.



The peaceful demonstration was disrupted when the police and security operatives charged unarmed, non-violent civilian demonstrators with guns, batons, hot water cannons and tear gas, leading to several degrees of casualties. One of the demonstrators, Mr. Justice Adzakumah, lost one eye as a result of the brutalities meted at the demonstrators by the police.



Thus, in commemoration of that fateful day when a peaceful demonstration was marred by the brute force of the security operatives,

LMVCA is therefore calling on all democracy-loving Ghanaians to attend this rally for a progress report on the demand for a credible free fair open and transparent election. Indeed, it has been an eventful year during which LMVCA has led efforts to protect the integrity of the electoral process. These efforts have reaped significant gains, some of which will be outlined during the rally.



With less than three months to Election Day, LMVCA wishes to reiterate its unrelenting commitment to ensuring transparency and fairness in the electoral process. The future of Ghanas democracy hinges on the 2016 elections. LMVCA will therefore unveil a line-up of activities, leading up to Election Day, aimed at strengthening democracy in Ghana and improving the electoral process.



Speakers at the rally include Hon. Kenndy Agyapong, David Asante, Sammy Awuku, Abu Ramadan, Hopeson Adroye, Ibrahim Adjei, Justice Adzakumah, Charles Owusu and Owusu Bempah



Thank you.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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In what can best be described as a shocking twist, the Vice-President, H.E. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has cancelled his planned Public Lecture which was expected to be a response to the Lecture delivered last week by NPP Running Mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.



In a supposed tweet from the Vice-Presidents twitter handle, the cancellation was blamed on the light rains in Accra this morning. Due to the Rains this morning we have decided to call off my Public Lecture. A new date will be communicated in the coming weeks, the tweet said.



The Lecture, was advertised under the theme  Ghanas Economy  Separating Truth from Fiction.



An announcement of the event, which was put out first on social media, indicates that Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and former Presidential Advisor, Ato Ahwoi will be the Chairman for the Public Lecture which was also scheduled for the National Theatre, the same venue for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumias Lecture last week.



The event which would have come off exactly a week after Dr. Bawumias Lecture titled  "The State of the Ghanaian Economy  a foundation of concrete or straw"; was advertised to kick off at 1pm.



The Vice-President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur on Sunday gave the strongest indication that he was arming himself to respond to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who on Thursday, chronicled a tall list of issues backed with empirical data to show that President John Mahamas government had been the worst government for Ghanas economy.



Speaking at an NDC rally in Ashaiman, the Vice-President stated at the appropriate time, we shall respond in full measure to all the lies that have been told; at the appropriate time, we shall correct him and teach him the things that he doesnt know but thinks he knows.



Reporters who visited the venue of the Lecture saw an empty hall with virtually no officials present aside a few persons clad in NDC paraphernalia.



The Lecture was widely advertised on pro-government and NDC social media accounts and which was confirmed on Peace FMs Kokrokoo programme by Communications Specialist at the Presidency, Sam George on Wednesday, who insisted that the Vice President was not just going to respond to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia but to set the records straight on the performance of the economy after he was queried by NPP MP for Bantama, Kwabena Kokofu.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Earlier this year, it became quite clear that both Labor and the Coalition were united on one specific savings measure: the taxation of ciggies. Yup, a big fat dart tax was part of the economic plan of both parties, and now its real.

Its likely that smokers will be paying up to $40 a pack within four years after the legislation sailed through Parliament last night, thanks to a scheduled yearly bump in tax. It was a Coalition bill, but Labor supported it  unsurprising, given their own support for a similar measure.

During the debate, many Liberals backed a possible rethink of Australias current ban on nicotine e-cigarettes. James Paterson, the new Senator and a former heavy-hitter at free market think-tank the Institute of Public Affairs, argued strenuously, as its pretty clear hes not keen on a bump in taxation full stop.

We could in our lifetime see the end of conventional cigarette smoking and tobacco smoking and it could be replaced by a much safer alternative, he told parliament.

We have to look at very seriously whether or not we should legislate these products.

Obviously vaping hasnt seen a whole lot of research when it comes to longterm health effects  except by your mate Darren who walks around permanently swathed in a thick cloud of vape smog and reckons theres a CIA conspiracy to keep the average vaper down.

But until that debate sorts itself out, youll prob be paying 40 big ones for a pack of darts.

Source: AAP.

Photo: Train Station.
We know the obvious immediate response to that headline is fuck no, but for the purposes of public interest we press on regardless.

Following on from Pauline Hansons opening senatorial speech yesterday evening, a virtual find/replace job done from her original maiden speech back in 1996, Hanson has appeared on Channel Sevens morning grumblefest Sunrise to not so much be put on the grill, as more have a light dusting of sugar applied to her caustic words that now permanently reside in Hansard.

The show, which for months featured Hanson as a regular (paid) guest and as such is at least partly responsible for putting her back in the senate, brought Hanson on to discuss her speech, with host David Koch casting a sympathetic ear over her sentiments, going so far as to suggest hed be willing to help Hanson drive immigrants back to the airport if they didnt respect this country and our culture.

Hanson also refuted co-host Natalie Barrs assertion that Australias muslim population is only 2.2%, because not only has she read that its a whopping TWO POINT FOUR instead, but that shes heard that they are having a lot of children.

Hows this for a barnburner of a quote:

I have a lot of people, Lebanese Christians, that have come up to me in the street and said Pauline, you are so right, we lost our country.'

Just for funsies, take that line and replace Lebanese Christians with Americans or good people and then replace Pauline with Donald or Mr. Trump.

Were half surprised she didnt describe her speech as a huge success, TBH.

Source: 7 News Queensland/Twitter.
No, go on Richie.

You too, Alex.

Post the video you most likely filmed weeks before The Bachelors emotional atom bomb flattened Australia.

Flaunt your happiness.

Exercise your right to be joyous, and in love, while we pick ourselves up from the kitchen floor.

All the best, guys. Really. Dont Dont waste this. We just want you to have a good life.

Honest.

Source and photo: The Bachelor / Facebook.
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Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2015 file photo, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco speaks at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection in Stanford, Calif. Monaco said Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, that it would be very hard for someone to hack into America's voting systems in a way that could alter an election outcome. Monaco, speaking at an event commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the Justice Department's national security division, said election systems by and large are not hooked up to the Internet and are diffusely operated by state and local governments. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Thousands of Native Americans at Standing Rock in North Dakota are protesting a pipeline project that puts their water supply at risk, threatens to plow up their sacred sites and would worsen climate change.

Their rallying echoes hundreds of local struggles across the U.S. that question the prudence, safety and necessity of thousands of new gas pipeline projects.

The gas industry tells us these projects promote energy independence and meet local gas needs. But the driving force behind most of these billion dollar infrastructure projects? Gas export.

Big gas is desperate to get their cheap shale gas to global export terminals  and theyve dug up a lot of backyards to do it. Fortunately for the industry, they have a subservient federal agency that grants them the power of eminent domain to take those backyards.

The anti-pipeline movement brings together mayors, state officials and engaged neighbors concerned about health and safety, unnecessary rate increases and the environmental irresponsibility of constructing new fossil fuel infrastructure. Theyre fed up with a system that allows the profits of private energy corporations to override local concerns and dictate our future.

Many politicians remain stuck in the gas as a bridge fuel perspective. But growing scientific evidence shows that methane from gas extraction and transportation poses a greater short-term climate change risk than burning carbon fuels like coal and oil.

We should be rapidly shifting away from all new fossil fuel infrastructure projects and investing in fixing existing gas leaks and using renewable energy like wind, hydro and solar. This shift will create millions of high-paying jobs in the new energy economy.

The anti-pipeline movement is gathering steam. Residents have mobilized to stop pipeline projects in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and have stalled others in Kentucky.

But not all anti-pipeline efforts have been successful.

In the Boston neighborhood of West Roxbury, residents have vigorously opposed a high-pressure pipeline that arcs into the heart of a densely populated neighborhood and terminates across from an active blasting quarry. All of Bostons elected officials unanimously oppose this project  but big business is still winning.

Texas-based Spectra Energy sued the city and took their streets by eminent domain. The city of Boston is still trying to block the project in court but construction is almost complete. In the last year, almost 200 neighbors and religious leaders have been arrested for blocking construction.

How is this possible in a democratic society?

The answer lies with a little-known and unaccountable agency called the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Under the Gas Act of 1938, FERC may grant private corporations the power of eminent domain over local jurisdictions.

Maybe this was necessary in 1938 to build a modern energy system. But today, we need an energy agency thatll balance a wider set of considerations, not just the interests of a politically powerful gas industry.

In the last few years, FERC has rubber-stamped just about every project the natural gas industry has sought to build. These include high-pressure pipelines running next to nuclear power plants, across fragile water supplies, and across traditional Native American lands.

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FERC is a rogue agency. The U.S. Senate should convene oversight hearings to examine FERC overreach. Congress must modernize the Gas Act to protect communities and reduce carbon and methane emissions. And an independent agency should assess our nations real energy needs.

Decisions about our energy future shouldnt revolve around a self-interested gas industry and investor-owned utilities. For the sake of the planet and our democracy, other voices must be at the table.
Rep. Steve King sure is lucky that President Barack Obama isnt a clone of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Otherwise, King might find himself in a rat-infested cell.

Hero worship of the Russian despot is a thing now in some circles of hard-right Republican politics. Donald Trump admires Putins strength and willingness to put his country first. Last week, King, R-Iowa, lent his voice to this weird bromance with Russias dictator.

Putin, King said, has been a better leader for his people than Obama.

Maybe King doesnt think much of those political opponents, artists and protesters whove wound up in prison for speaking out in Putins Russia. Maybe King admires a process where election arent worth the paper on which the results are printed and held only as another excuse to again coronate the strongman-in-chief. Maybe King, a representative, is just tired of this whole representative government thing.

Weird attacks on Obama from the right arent anything new. Trump, the partys presidential nominee, first dipped his toes into the racially tinged swamp of politics years ago when he led the birther movement that insisted the nations first black president wasnt actually born within the United States. Unsurprisingly, white supremacists now celebrate his candidacy.

Even mainline Republicans have questioned Obamas commitment to his own country and religious affiliation.

But the sudden love affair with a tyrant who rules through fear and force is beyond pale. It is, in essence, a rejection of American democracy. And this is from a guy who proclaims his alleged love of freedom.

King, no doubt, argues that hes speaking simply for the Russians. Often outlandish, King isnt stupid. He even included that careful little clause, for his country, in his comparison of Putin with Obama. Kings career lives or dies in the gray area between simple fear-mongering and full-blown sedition. Hes gotten pretty good at inserting plausible deniability.

Its Putin promotion of hyper-nationalism that King so admires. And thats the key. Its all about an unthinking, slavish allegiance to a flag. Kings perspective is a rejection of the very Renaissance focus on critical, thinking individuals that toppled European monarchies.

Obamas crime? Hes admitted past American foreign policy mistakes. Hes avoided the rampant jingoism thats kept the U.S. in a constant state of war for decades.

Kings nostalgia extends beyond the mid-20th century thats so prevalent among Trumps supporters. Suddenly, in some GOP circles, men like King long for power held by an all-powerful nobility.

Its power built upon fear, xenophobia and threat of violence. Its a world where information is solely doled out by the government and the media acts as a ministry of propaganda. For Trump and King, thats what strength looks like.

The fact is, neither Trump nor King know real strength. Its the ability to defend ones position through ideas and rhetoric. Its the security to weather constant verbal attacks. Its to acknowledge other viable contrary opinions.

King recently joined the lovefest for Putin, a man so insecure that hell do anything to maintain power. Putin threatens his neighbors. His people are force-fed patriotism. Ideas are controlled and dissenters are jailed.

Putins is an iron-fisted approach that offers but one dark benefit: We wouldnt have to listen to Kings drivel anymore.

 By the Quad-City Times, another Lee Enterprises newspaper
Pete Buttigieg visits Charlevoix to support Democratic candidates

In a show of support for the local slate of Democratic candidates, Pete Buttigieg made an appearance at the Charlevoix Public Library on Saturday.


Mexico's newest energy player IEnova plans to raise $1 billion in shares



Mexico's IEnova A unit of U.S. firm Sempra Energy plans October share offering of over $1 bln -sources

LONDON

Petroleumworld.com 09 15 2016

Mexico's Infraestructura Energetica Nova (IEnova) aims to raise more than $1 billion in a secondary share offering in October, three people with knowledge of the matter said, in what would be one of the biggest Mexican equity placements in recent years.

A unit of U.S. firm Sempra Energy, IEnova has hired Credit Suisse and JP Morgan to underwrite the offer that will help it fund major investments, according to two of the people, who declined to be named as the offering is not yet public.

A spokeswoman for IEnova declined to comment. Credit Suisse and JP Morgan also declined to comment.

IEnova is in the vanguard of Mexican companies that have pushed into the oil and gas industry since state oil firm Pemex lost its monopoly under a 2013 energy reform.

Since then, falling crude prices and budgetary constraints have forced Pemex to sell off assets. Last year, IEnova agreed to buy out the 50 percent stake owned by Pemex in pipeline company Gasoductos de Chihuahua for more than $1 billion.

That deal has now been restructured to satisfy regulators and should be completed in the third quarter, IEnova, which went public in 2013, said in a recent filing.

The company has won other big contracts such as a joint effort with TransCanada Corp to build and operate a natural gas pipeline from South Texas to Tuxpan in Mexico.

Chief Executive Carlos Ruiz said in July that IEnova planned to fund expansion through a mix of equity and long-term debt, but he gave no timing for the placement.

IEnova got shareholder approval in September last year to issue equity of up to 330 million additional shares. At the current share price of around 73 pesos, that would generate as much as 24.1 billion pesos ($1.27 billion).

However, secondary offerings are typically priced at a discount to the current trading price.

The planned offering would be the largest in Mexico since 2014, when real estate investment trust Fibra Uno issued 32.82 billion pesos ($1.74 billion) worth of investor certificates, according to data from the Mexican stock exchange.

Mexico's energy sector, particularly in infrastructure, has drawn some of the world's biggest investors, such as U.S. asset manager BlackRock, Canada's Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Goldman Sachs' private equity arm.

IEnova stock is one of the few ways investors can bet directly on the industry via Mexico's bourse.

IEnova has also been active in renewable energy, which the United States, Canada and Mexico in June agreed should account for 50 percent of power in the region by 2025.

This month it agreed to buy 100 percent of the Ventika wind farm in northeastern Mexico from investors led by private equity firm Blackstone for $852 million. ($1 = 18.9050 Mexican pesos)








I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me and my husband about 30 years ago. I'm 73 right now. It happened to me when I was in my 40s. We were bass fishermen and we fished in tournaments. On this particular day in question, we fished in a tournament on Lake O' the Pines in east Texas. We won a prize and our best-friends happened to come up there at the weigh in and they said Hi to us and everything. They said, why don't you give us the fish and come over to our house after you drop your boat off and eat dinner with us. She said, I'll cook it and you won't have to. So they look at their watch and they said, well, you'll be at our house at about 5 o'clock so it'll be ready. And so they knew where we lived and how long it took, as many trips as we made back and forth. So they were correct about the time.We went home and dropped the boat off, changed clothes real quick, fed the dogs, got back in the car, headed to their house... Our friends lived about 45 minutes away from us around Lake Murvaul around Carthage, Texas. So we were headed there and we got about five miles into our trip and the last thing that I remember was stopping at a red light in this little town about 9 miles from our house. Then, the next thing that I remember was crossing the bridge at Lake Murvaul, turning down a little road where my friends lived and driving up into their driveway. They come running out, all of a sudden. Where in the world have you all been? My god, the fish is cold. We were so worried about you. We said, Well, we came straight here. And they said, You couldn't have. I said, We did. You had to have stopped somewhere. She said, Frida, do you know what time it is? I said, No, I left my watch at the house. She said, Frida, it's 6:30. And so I sat back a minute. I looked at my husband and he looked at me. We didn't say anything for about a minute and then he, a non-believer in anything paranormal, popped up and said, You know, folks, I think we may have been abducted by aliens. I don't know what to think. I've wondered every day of my life ever since it happened. If they did something to me, put something in me... What else could it have been?**********These Mexican teenagers had to be exorcised after they tried to summon a ghost using the ouija board-inspired 'Charlie Charlie' challenge.In disturbing video footage filmed in Iquitos, Peru, one of the girls jumps forward and tries to grapple with another teenager, before being restrained by police.Church workers shouted bible verses at the girls as they lay writhing on the concrete floor.Preaches reportedly spent five hours trying to exorcise the girls after they were 'possessed by demons'.When this failed, they were sent away for medical treatment.The so-called 'Charlie Charlie Challenge' is a supernatural ritual that supposedly makes it possible to contact a ghost. Read more at **********In an ABC 33/40 news exclusive report, a mysterious illness spread like wildfire in a Lamar County school.The illness ending a large number of students home sick.Right now, the cause of the illness is yet to be determined. Roughly 120 students were out at South Lamar today. The school system contacted the state health department.An environmental health specialist will be at the school Thursday to investigate what caused the students to get sick.On Wednesday afternoon, crews were at the school cleaning the building and school buses thoroughly.Several parents posted about the mysterious illness on Facebook. Some say they noticed their children getting sick Tuesday night, and that several households got hit at once. Many agree, they have never seen anything like this.Some question whether there was food contamination.Superintedent Garth Moss tells ABC 33/40, some students got sick who ate in the cafeteria. Other students got sick who didn't set foot in the cafeteria.ABC 33/40 also spoke by phone with Jenny Long, a registered nurse with the Tuscaloosa County Health Department. Long says right now, they don't know what they're dealing with. And, that it's too early to tell whether other areas around Lamar County could be impacted.Moss sent a statement to parents, saying if they are not comfortable with sending their child to school tomorrow, the absence will be excused. - Mysterious illness spreads in Lamar County school **********
PASCAGOULA, Miss., Sept. 14, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $19.1 million contract modification for design acceleration on the U.S. Navys amphibious warfare ship replacement, known as LX(R).



This acceleration contract is extremely important for a shipbuilding program that is extremely important to this nation, said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. The LX(R) program will continue a stable, hot production line of talented shipbuilders and a robust supplier base across this country. The competitive value that Ingalls brings to design and build these affordable, capable and survivable warships is essential to meet the missions of our Navy-Marine Corps team.

In the original announcement on June 30, Ingalls was selected to perform the majority of the contract design work for LX(R) as part of the contract to build the amphibious assault ship LHA 8. Combined with a $13.7 million contract modification awarded on Aug. 26, Ingalls has received a total of $32.8 million for design efforts on the LX(R) program.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/file?fid=57c494672cfac21cbb8e3eac.

LX(R) will replace the Navys Harpers Ferry- and Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships and will use the same hull as the San Antonio (LPD 17) class. Ingalls has delivered 10 of the LPD 17 ships to the Navy, is currently building the 11th, Portland (LPD 27), and has received more than $258 million in advance procurement funding for the 12th, Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).

Huntington Ingalls Industries is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of engineering, manufacturing and management services to the nuclear energy, oil and gas markets. For more than a century, HIIs Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs nearly 35,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 14, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keystone Capital Markets, Inc. ("Keystone") is pleased to announce that Spec Seals has been acquired by Boyd Corporation, a platform investment of Genstar Capital. Keystone served as the exclusive advisor to Spec Seals in this transaction.

Headquartered in Anaheim, California, Spec Seals is a supplier of synthetic rubber O-rings, gaskets and seals to a wide range of industrial seal distributors and original equipment manufacturers throughout North America. The company is known for maintaining a large inventory of standard size O-rings in a variety of popular compounds. All parts are manufactured to stringent ASTM, FDA, or unique customer specifications.

Based in Modesto, California, Boyd Corporation is a global provider of precision-engineered, specialty material-based energy management and sealing solutions with specific expertise in engineering and design, manufacturing, and supply chain management. The company operates in markets around the world and serves customers in electronics, mobile computing, medical technology, transportation, aerospace and other B2B and consumer-critical industries.

The successful transaction culminated an international marketing process that was led by Keystone Capital Markets. Ken Schaefer, Owner of Spec Seals remarked, No M&A firm could have created a better worldwide market for selling our company than Keystone Capital Markets. I am very pleased with the outcome.

We are very excited to get this transaction closed and begin to introduce these new specialties to our valued customers. This transaction further enhances the breadth of advanced solutions we bring to customers who are hungry to simplify supply channels by consolidating more spend amongst fewer trusted supply partners, said Mitch Aiello, Boyd Corporation President and CEO.

We are thrilled at the outcome of our marketing process. This was an extremely successful transaction for our client, and is further evidence of the excellent conditions that exist in the current M&A market, said Allan Siposs, Managing Partner of Keystone.

Keystone Capital Markets, Inc. is a leading investment bank that provides sophisticated Mergers & Acquisitions and financial advisory services to middle-market businesses. Keystone approaches each transaction with a high level of expertise and commitment, while maintaining the flexibility, energy and creativity of an entrepreneurial firm. This transaction was sourced and executed by the Keystone team in Irvine, California.
English Swedish

Toronto, Ontario (September 15, 2016) - Lundin Mining Corporation (TSX:LUN) (OMX:LUMI) ("Lundin Mining" or the "Company") announces that Lundin Mining, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (Freeport), and China Molybdenum Co., Ltd. (CMOC) have agreed to further extend the notice period during which the Company has the right to acquire Freeport's indirect interest in TF Holdings Limited ("TF Holdings") to September 29, 2016.

On May 9, 2016, Lundin Mining received a notice from Freeport offering Lundin Mining the right to acquire Freeports indirect interest in TF Holdings at the same purchase price and on the same terms and conditions offered by CMOC.

TF Holdings is the holding company that indirectly owns an 80 percent interest in Tenke Fungurume Mining S.A. ("Tenke"). Freeport and Lundin each hold a 70 and 30 percent interest, respectively, in TF Holdings.

Lundin Mining, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, continues its strategic review in connection with its ownership interest in TF Holdings.

About Lundin Mining

Lundin Mining is a diversified Canadian base metals mining company with operations in Chile, the USA, Portugal, and Sweden, primarily producing copper, nickel and zinc. In addition, Lundin Mining holds an indirect 24% equity stake in the world-class Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Freeport Cobalt Oy business, which includes a cobalt refinery located in Kokkola, Finland.

On Behalf of the Board,

Paul Conibear, President and CEO

The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Lundin Mining under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was publicly communicated on September 15, 2016 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mirantis today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TCP Cloud. Headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, TCP Cloud employs 30 people and specializes in managed services for OpenStack, OpenContrail and Kubernetes. The acquisition will support Mirantis initiative with Google and Intel to enable OpenStack on Kubernetes by equipping Mirantis to continuously deliver OpenStack to customer datacenters. The combined entity will solve the problem of upgrades, one of the primary burdens of on-premises infrastructure.



"The model for delivering infrastructure employed by traditional vendors is fundamentally misaligned with modern software development patterns. Disruptors of the digital era push new code to production multiple times a day, while traditional enterprise vendors ship infrastructure as packaged software once every few years and require forklift upgrades, said Alex Freedland, Mirantis CEO. Mirantis empowers enterprises to embrace the new, continuously delivered infrastructure model on their terms. TCP Clouds technology and expertise helps us accelerate that vision."

"The integration of OpenStack and Kubernetes simplifies deployment and expands enterprise cloud capability," said Jonathan Donaldson, vice president of Software Defined Infrastructure at Intel. "Mirantis acquisition of TCP Cloud provides a major step forward towards our joint goal of delivering this breakthrough open SDI stack to the market."

Mirantis will integrate TCP Clouds technology, called MK.20, with Mirantis OpenStack to provide true public cloud experience on customer premises. The design pattern for managing computing infrastructure in MK.20, commonly referred to as managing infrastructure-as-code, is also used today by top public cloud vendors like AWS, Google Compute Cloud and Microsoft Azure to maintain their clouds. Beginning in the next version of Mirantis OpenStack, MK.20 will become part of Mirantis' Fuel software for deploying and managing OpenStack and related open source infrastructure software.

Mirantis and TCP Cloud share a vision of building open source software, and continuously delivering it to digital enterprises, said Adam Scotnicky, TCP Cloud CEO. By acquiring TCP Cloud, Mirantis will have increased influence in key open source communities and broader expertise in continuously delivered infrastructure. This powerful combination will help customers like AT&T and Volkswagen build software faster, and emerge as winners in the digital economy.

Mirantis is the top contributor to OpenStack open source project, with the most committers, core contributors, and lines of code contributed to the most recent release, Mitaka. Mirantis is also a top contributor to Ceph, and is quickly emerging as one of the most active contributors to Kubernetes.

About Mirantis

Mirantis helps top enterprises build and manage private cloud infrastructure using OpenStack and related open source technologies. The company is the top contributor of open source code to OpenStack project and follows a build-operate-transfer model to deliver its OpenStack distribution and cloud management services, empowering customers to take advantage of open source innovation with no vendor lock-in. To date Mirantis has helped over 200 enterprises build and operate some of the largest OpenStack clouds in the world. Its customers include iconic brands like AT&T, Comcast, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, eBay, Wells Fargo Bank and Volkswagen. Learn more at www.mirantis.com.
HAMPTON, Va., Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clinical trials are often associated with the "guinea pig" mentality, especially among the elderly, racial and ethnic minorities, women, those living in rural areas, and persons with low socioeconomic status. In partnership with Sickle Cell Disease Association of Illinois (SCDAI) and other organizations, Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a national nonprofit dedicated to helping underserved populations overcome healthcare barriers, is pleased to announce the launch of the #BeAGift campaign during The Importance of Diversity in Clinical Trials: A Briefing for the Chicago Community, event hosted in Chicago, Illinois.



The #BeAGift campaign focuses on the "gift" anyone involved in a clinical trial gives. From researchers using their "gift" to investigate potential cures to patients whose "gift" is participation in clinical trials to advance innovation, #BeAGift will focus on vulnerable communities whose misconceptions about clinical trials are common and whose need for participation in clinical trials are higher.



"We want to evolve the narrative around clinical trials especially among those whom we think could benefit the most," Shonta Chambers, EVP of Health Equity Initiatives and Programs says. The #BeAGift campaign works to close the gap in clinical trial health disparities through social media initiatives on Twitter and Facebook. "By addressing and subsequently shifting the negative connotations associated with clinical trials among minority and undeserved populations, we can incorporate more diversity so clinical trials are more representative of all communities regardless of circumstance," Chambers continues.



The #BeAGift campaign is just one of Patient Advocate Foundation's initiatives to combat health disparities and educate underserved populations about clinical trials. "Lighting the Way: A Practical Guide to Clinical Trials" is a complimentary publication outlining facts and common misconceptions about clinical trials and is available for download along with other PAF patient advocacy tools at www.patientadvocate.org/publications. In addition, PAF offers a free interactive webcast covering the ins and outs of clinical trials as part of their Patient Empowerment Series, an online program providing patients with the resources and tools they need to self-advocate. To view PAF's "Clinical Trials: A Pathway to Cutting Edge Treatments" webcast on-demand, along with other webcasts in the series, visit www.patientadvocate.org/webinars.



Patient Advocate Foundation is also proud to support Project Innovation, a national movement designed to accelerate the pace of medical discovery in cancer, using the support of clinical trials regardless of background. Project Innovation is supported by PAF's sister organization, National Patient Advocate Foundation.



Other partners supporting the #BeAGift campaign include UI Health: Cancer Center, The University of Chicago Medicine: Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health, Loretto Hospital, Northwestern Medicine, Healthware, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, B1G: Cancer Research Consortium, Susan G Komen: Chicago Illinois, African Ancestry, CHI: Center for Healthcare Innovation, and Pfizer Field African American Network (PFAAN).



The #BeAGift campaign will launch in September recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and Sickle Cell Awareness Month, continue through February during Black History Month, and finish at the end of April during National Minority Health Month.



To be a part of the LIVE Facebook event celebrating the launch of #BeAGift campaign, join us Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at The Chicago Urban League on 4510 South Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60653 beginning at 3:00 PM. For more information, or to register online, visit http://conta.cc/2cCfacZ. Registration on site begins at 2:30 PM.



About Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF): Established in 1996, Patient Advocate Foundation assists patients who have been diagnosed with serious illness overcome healthcare access barriers. PAF provides in-depth sustained assistance through personalized case management, financial support, and connection to critical community resources, all at no cost to the patient or their caregiver. For more information about Patient Advocate Foundation and its mission to improve health access to all patients, visit www.patientadvocate.org or call (800) 532-5274.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



WHO: Yong Kim, CEO and co-founder of Wonolo, an on-demand staffing platform enabling businesses to fill their immediate labor needs. WHAT: Kim will present in a session titled, Five-Minute Fill Times and Other Wonders of Just in Time Staffing Platforms, during the all-new Staffing Industry Analysts Collaboration in the Gig Economy conference. WHEN: The conference will take place Wednesday, September 21 and Thursday, September 22, 2016. Kim is scheduled to speak on September 21 at 4:30 p.m. PDT. WHERE: Red Rock Resort Casino & Spa 11011 West Charleston Boulevard Las Vegas, Nev. DETAILS: For an increasing number of employers, talent acquisition requires traditional staff mixed with contingent, contract and temporary workers. To meet these changing needs, employers need to remain agile and put the right tools in place to ensure positions are filled at all times, even on short notice. Sometimes this means finding workers with just minutes to spare. During the Collaboration in the Gig Economy Conference, Yong Kim, CEO and co-founder of Wonolo, will join a panel discussion on the growing just in time staffing movement. Moderated by John Nurthen, executive director, global research for Staffing Industry Analysts, the session will focus on taking an app-enabled approach to securing talent for last-minute needs in large volumes. Kim will draw on his experience building Wonolo and share stories from the border between traditional staffing and a fully automated cloud-based world of work. Attendees will learn more about staffing in the gig economy and take away actionable insights to help their organizations fill job openings efficiently and effectively. For event registration and more information, visit: http://www.collaborationgigeconomy.com.

About Wonolo

Delivering maximum flexibility to companies and talent, Wonolo - which stands for Work. Now. Locally. - connects companies with thousands of vetted workers within moments. Taking on-demand to a new level, Wonolo is the future of the gig economy and flexible workforce helping companies address their unpredictable labor requirements. Headquartered in San Francisco, Wonolo serves major metro markets across the United States.

Learn more at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Note to editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners.
An officer with the McCrory, AR, police department was killed in a automotive crash on Highway 17 Thursday morning.

At approximately 5 AM Officer Robert Aaron Barker, 26, was responding to a call to assist a Woodruff County sheriffs deputy when his patrol car collided with a deer. Barker was traveling north along Arkansas Highway 17, south of the Patterson community, when his patrol car struck the animal, KTHV TV reports.
Chicago city government is trying to keep Chicago Police officers personal emails regarding the shooting of Laquan McDonald private.

The City of Chicago is asking a judge to overturn a state Attorney Generals Office ruling that said the emails are public record and, therefore, subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The city filed the complaint Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court against the Illinois Attorney Generals Office and CNN, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Last January, a CNN producer filed an FOIA request with the Chicago Police Department that sought all emails related to Laquan McDonald from Police Department email accounts and personal email accounts where business was discussed for 12 specific Chicago Police officers, according to the filing. The request sought emails that were exchanged between Oct. 19 and 24, 2014, and again between Nov. 19 and 29, 2015.
HARTSVILLE, S.C., Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonoco (NYSE:SON) today announced that it will raise the price for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) products by $40 to $60 per ton depending on grade, effective with shipments in the United States and Canada, beginning October 3, 2016.



It is critically important in a mature business, such as our paper business, to run our operations efficiently and provide a return that justifies continued investment, said Palace Stepps, director of sales and marketing for Sonocos North America paper business. The increase is necessary to capture generally higher operating costs so we can continue providing high-quality, value-adding products to our customers.

Sonoco is one of the largest producers of uncoated recycled paperboard in the United States and Canada, producing more than one million tons annually from 11 mills. For more information about Sonocos complete line of URB paper products, or to learn more about current pricing, please visit the Companys website (www.sonoco.com) or contact the Company at 1-800-377-2692.



About Sonoco

Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $5.0 billion, the Company has 21,000 employees working in more than 300 facilities in 34 countries, serving many of the worlds best known brands in some 85 nations. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.








Trooper Kenneth Velez (Photo: Ohio State Police)

A Trooper from the Ohio State Highway Patrol was struck and killed along Interstate 90 just west of Cleveland on Thursday.

According to the patrol, Trooper Kenneth Velez died shortly after the crash which occurred in Cuyahoga County on Interstate Route 90 shortly before 1 p.m.

Trooper Velez was conducting traffic enforcement when we was struck outside of his patrol car.

Trooper Velez, 48, who has been with the Patrol since 1989, is survived by his three children, WFMJ TV reports.
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The bad news: Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor, says a Donald Trump would be a nightmare for the United States.

The good news: Stiglitz doesnt think Trump is likely to be elected.

Video:

In an interview with CNBC, Stiglitz said of a Trump presidency:

I think it would be extraordinarily difficult with our relations with other countries  our economic relations and our foreign policy relationships. Building that wall between Mexico and the U.S. is building a wall between the U.S and Latin America. It has done more damage already than one could imagine. For our economy, I think the uncertainty of this political leader who clearly has no deep understanding of economics other than knowing how to go bankrupt. And we could only hope he wont bankrupt the country.

But he has said things like lets renegotiate the national debt. Thats the kind of thing that is almost unimaginable that any leader would say, When you lent us money, that was just the initiation of a negotiation. Well negotiate when well pay you back. Thats a nightmare; fortunately, I think the probability of that nightmare coming true is small, and I hope it is getting smaller by the day.

He added, Im not having too many sleepless nights, because I think the probability of [a Trump presidency] happening is not very large.

Stiglitz is just the latest economist to warn that a Trump presidency would be bad news for the United States.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that not a single economist that has advised previous presidents is openly supporting Trump. Moodys Analytics, which praised Hillary Clintons economic plan, warned that Trumps agenda would throw the country into a downturn worse than the Great Recession, resulting in millions of lost jobs. The Economist has even ranked a Trump presidency among their list of top ten global risks.

Among organizations and people that deal purely with the economy, Donald Trump is seen as a great threat.

Any American voting with their pocketbook should remember that as they head to the polls in November.
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Its safe to say that Donald Trump got some relatively good polling news today, particularly in the key swing states of Ohio and Florida. It didnt take him long to tweet out the results, of course.

In Ohio, according to CNNs poll of likely voters, Trump leads Clinton by five points (the same margin as a Bloomberg poll also released today).

In Florida, CNN shows the Republican nominee leading Clinton by just three points among likely voters, within the polls margin of error. The Democratic nominee is leading Trump among registered voters, though.

In another swing state, Nevada, the race between Clinton and Trump is a statistical tie, with Trump ahead by two in a new Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday.

This single day of polls has caused some Clinton supporters to panic. Im here to tell them not to  at least not yet.

Even if we treat these surveys as gospel, despite the methodology questions that many on social media have spent the day discussing, its important to remember that no single poll should dictate ones thinking about the presidential race. Its better, instead, to look at polls in the aggregate.

Thats just what Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight noted today in his tweet about Bloombergs poll of Ohio:

1. Selzer/Bloomberg Ohio poll could be right. 2. You should average. 3. Trump needs to win Ohio. 4. Clinton doesnt.  (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) September 14, 2016

Adding the CNN and Bloomberg polls into the average of recent Ohio polls including one from CBS News/YouGov that shows Clinton ahead by 7  gives Trump a lead of just over one point, which is much more realistic.

In Florida, RealClearPolitics shows the race essentially tied  again, not very surprising given the electoral history of the Sunshine State.

As Michael Cohen of the Boston Globe pointed out today, Trump doesnt just have to win Ohio and Florida to become president; he has to run the table in all the swing states, which remains incredibly difficult:

Bottom line: for Trump he needs to win every swing state: OH, FL, IA, NV, NC; also GA & AZ AND one of NH, WI, VA, CO, MI   Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) September 14, 2016

Its also worth noting that these favorable polls for Trump were taken during a time of not-so-favorable news coverage for Hillary Clinton, whether it was her basket of deplorables comment the media labeled a huge gaffe or her illness.

And even with all of these factors clearly benefitting the Republican nominee, the race is a virtual tie at worst or  and this is more likely  still Clintons to lose, as Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight tweeted today:

The *good* argument for Dems not panicking is that:

1News flow has been very negative for Clinton

2Despite that, she's *probably* winning  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 14, 2016

So, no, I dont think its time for Clinton supporters to panic just yet. Its been a rocky weekend, both personally and politically for the Democratic nominee. I would argue its been the most trying of her campaign  and she is still the favorite in this race.
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In a disastrous phone interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, Ivanka Trump played the entitled royal when asked questions about her fathers paternity leave plan, eventually hanging on up Cosmo as she fled from the negativity in the questions, saying it wasnt useful to speak to the interviewer anymore if they were going to be like that.

Cosmos Prachi Gupta asked reality based questions like, Hillary Clinton released [aspects of] her plan over a year ago. Why did the Trump campaign wait so long to release this policy?

This probably stung, as Ivanka Trump had told Fox News on Tuesday evening a wild whopper of a lie that Clinton had no policies, Theres no policy on Hillary Clintons website pertaining to any of these issues, childcare, eldercare, or maternity leave or paternity leave for that matter. Theres no policy thats been articulated on how to solve the problem.

In fact, Hillary Clintons policy (three pages of it) is exactly what you would expect from someone with her background of championing the human rights of women, men and children around the globe and pushing this issue as a U.S. Senator. Clintons policy helps families, not just women.

It was a short interview that began derailing at the second major question, when asked about not having paternity leave, which is a great factor in creating gender equality. So Im wondering, why does this policy not include any paternity leave?

Ivanka replied that this was a huge step from where we are today.

Cosmo, OK, so when it comes to same-sex

Ivanka, So its meant to benefit, whether its in same-sex marriages as well, to benefit the mother who has given birth to the child if they have legal married status under the tax code.

Cosmo, Well, what about gay couples, where both partners are men?

Ivanka told Cosmo to go read it online, The policy is fleshed out online, so you can go see all the elements of it. But the original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth.

Cosmo, So I just want to be clear that, for same-sex adoption, where the two parents are both men, they would not be receiving special leave for that because they dont need to recover or anything?

And here begins the crumble where Ivanka laughed at the plight of two-dad families, Well, those are your words, not mine. [Laughs.] Those are your words. The plan, right now, is focusing on mothers, whether they be in same-sex marriages or not.

Sorry, not sorry, dads!

Cosmo pushed Trump on her fathers previous stances, things like saying pregnancy is an inconvenient thing for a business. Ivanka reacted with outrage that there would be any question about reality.

So I think that you have a lot of negativity in these questions, and I think my father has put forth a very comprehensive and really revolutionary plan to deal with a lot of issues. So I dont know how useful it is to spend too much time with you on this if youre going to make a comment like that, Ivanka said, trying to shame Gupta for doing an actual interview.

Newsflash, the interview is supposed to be useful for the people, not for Donald Trump and his glossy propaganda.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton said something like this when asked a benign question about a previous stance. This is not hardball, this is Cosmo, asking an easily foreseeable question.

It got worse.

Cosmo: I would like to say that Im sorry the questions  youre finding them negative, but it is relevant that a presidential candidate made those comments, so Im just following up.

Trump: Well, you said he made those comments. I dont know that he said those comments.

Cosmo: This is quoted from an NBC [interview] from 2004. I definitely did not make that up. I do want to talk to you a little bit beyond the plan, as well

Trump: I think what I was  theres plenty of time for you to editorialize around this.

Ivanka sputtered some more, and finally ended on the Republican Get Out of Jail Free card of suggesting that the interviewer was asking questions because they are on the other side. I hope that, regardless of what your political viewpoint is, this should be celebrated.

The old impugn the motives tactic. Yeah, its not like anyone would expect a presidential candidate to answer questions.

Transparency? There isnt any. The Trumps expect to deliver propaganda and be fawned over. The Trumps reveal in interviews a troubling amount of privilege and entitlement. Its practically, How dare you question the King.

Asked how Trump was going to pay for it, Ivanka listed off some generalities and before Cosmo could ask her how it impacts unemployment benefits to take from them to pay for his women-only leave policy that will actually incentivize discrimination in the work place, Ivanka fled.

Im going to jump off, I have to run. I apologize.

Ivanka Trump hung up on Cosmo, fleeing like Donald Trump at an African-American church photo-op.

The entire Trump family suffers from an expectation of deference and an expectation that they should be allowed to make things up without being called on them. To question a Trump is to be an enemy, a political enemy with an agenda apparently- instead of someone who is trying to get to the bottom of a newly unveiled policy so that the American people can understand how it would impact them.

This was yet another disastrous Trump interview, wherein the entitlement problem and the fantasy problem caused Ivanka to flee the interview when it was just getting started.
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Hillary Clinton used her recent bout of pneumonia as the vehicle to return to the campaign trail with an inspiring, clear, and deliberate Trump killing message in North Carolina.

Clinton took the stage in Greensboro to the James Brown class I Feel Good, just in case anybody didnt get the not so subtle message that Hillary Clintons health is fine.

Former Sec. of State Clinton departed from the standard stump speech and talked about why she is running and what matters to her.

Clip of Clinton returning to the campaign trail:

.@HillaryClinton calls herself lucky: Millions of Americans can't afford to take sick days https://t.co/10PaA2uW8E pic.twitter.com/kD599IF0oT  CBS News (@CBSNews) September 15, 2016

Clinton did mention Trump later and his half-baked child care plan for less than half a minute:

.@HillaryClinton: "We don't need someone who rushes out a half baked planafter decades of ignoring" working moms https://t.co/cPdmpOAo18  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 15, 2016

What stood out about this speech was that Hillary Clinton took her focus off of Donald Trump, and put it back on herself and her campaign.

Clinton said:

So in these final days, lets try to tune out all of the chatter and the non-stop analysis that often doesnt have much to do with what the next president has to do to create good jobs. To create opportunity, to make it possible for every young person to afford to go to college, or to get the skills that you need for the jobs of the future.

Lets talk about what really matters, and heres my promise to you. Im going to close my campaign the way I began my career, and the way I will serve as your president, should you give me that great honor. Focused on opportunities for kids, and fairness for families.

Trump was barely mentioned in the speech.

Hillary Clinton built a lead in the polls with a positive message about America and the future, and political science tells us that positivity wins presidential elections.

It may turn out that the message that kills off the campaign of division and negativity on the Republican side, wont be about Donald Trump, but whether or not Hillary Clinton can rally voters to her positive vision of the future.

Hillary Clinton is back, and she is challenging Trump with a message that is going to be difficult for his narrow and dark campaign to match.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

There was a time prior to January 21, 2009 that the only instance of someone calling for insurrection against the United States government came from anti-government extremists and nut-cases. As a reminder, that January date was when an African American man was sworn in office as the President or what no few conservative extremists claimed was the day a tyrant destroyed America.

One of the favorite calls of racists and conservative extremists beginning in 2009 was Thomas Jeffersons statement about watering the tree of liberty with blood; a statement teabaggers, racists, and theocrats have no rudimentary concept of or the context it was uttered. A nice explanation of what Jefferson was referring to is here; suffice it to say he wasnt calling for regular rebellions against the newly-formed United States government. He was talking about the necessity for the young government to crush insurrections like the ones Republicans have been calling for. As an aside, prior to 2009 the only reference to Jeffersons quote came from Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, so dismissing these calls to insurrection are foolish indeed.

The latest Republican, and it is always a Republican, to suggest armed insurrection against the United States government is Kentucky governor and devout Southern Baptist Matt Bevin; the importance of Bevins religion is considered later. This time though, the Republican Bevins insurrection talk has elicited the second call for his impeachment as governor in six months; the first came within a month of him being sworn in office as Kentucky governor.

The newest call for Bevins impeachment is courtesy of a Congressional District candidate, Reverend Nancy Jo Kemper, who held a press conference late Tuesday to assail Bevin. In her press release, Ms. Kemper said that the Governors comments are unconstitutional and an impeachable violation of his sworn oath to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth. Whether that is the case or not, is unclear because in America these days even talk of insurrection against the government is protected free speech; particularly for Republicans. A spokesman for the Kentucky GOP, Tres Watson, dismissed Reverend Kempers statements and said, This is nothing more than a desperate act by a desperate candidate who trails badly in the polls.

It may be difficult to impeach, or even investigate Bevin though, because the original call for his removal, replete with a petition, came primarily due to his handiwork abolishing any state agency or legislative committees power to investigate the executive branch for ethics violations. This all occurred within Bevins first month in office. It was, by any measure, a very inauspicious beginning for any politicians first month in office.

The call for Bevins impeachment is the result of his statements in a speech to religious fanatics that vote (Values Voter Summit) when he warned that if Hillary Clinton wins the White House in November, it is likely blood will have to be shed. It is becoming a standard campaign tool for Republicans since the American people first elected an African American man as their leader, and those calls began the day after the 2008 general election.

Bevin told the faithful at the Values Voter Summit that:

I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we dont have to do it physically. But that may, in fact, be the case.

Somebody asked me yesterday, Do you think its possible, if Hillary Clinton were to win the election, do you think its possible that well be able to survive, that wed ever be able to recover as a nation? And while there are people who have stood on this stage and said we would not, I would beg to differ. I do think it would be possible, but at what price? At what price? The roots of the tree of liberty are watered by what? The blood of who? The tyrants, to be sure, but who else? The patriots.

Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren. I have nine children. It breaks my heart to think that it might be their blood is needed to redeem something, to reclaim something that we, through our apathy and our indifference, have given away. Dont let it happen.

Now, its unclear what the uber-religious Bevin thought the reaction would be to suggesting armed insurrection against the United States government if an election didnt provide the results he wanted, but the pushback against his remarks elicited a truly Trump-worthy lie. Bevin claimed that he wasnt even talking about a Hillary Clinton election victory, or that the faithful in attendance or their mini-theocrats dying in a rebellion to water the tree of liberty; he lied and said he was really talking about the military.

If Bevin spent even a minuscule fraction of time refreshing his memory about his bibles 9th commandment prohibiting lying on pain of death as hes attempted to reign as a tyrant, he might have come up with some kind of plausible explanation for his remarks. Instead he lied and said what he really meant was:

Today we have thousands of men and women in uniform fighting for us overseas and they need our full backing. We cannot be complacent about the determination of radical Islamic extremists to destroy our freedoms.

Only in 2016 and only an alleged devout Southern Baptist Republican would think anyone in their right mind would believe suggesting an armed insurrection if Hillary Clinton won an election victory was the same as men and women in uniform overseas needing backing; even the Value Voters understood what he really meant and what he really said. Bevin has been listening to Donald Trump too long and needs to understand that even many of the GOP faithful and Trumps supporters recognize a blatant lie when they hear one.

If Bevin was half-the-teabagger he pretends to be, he would have either stuck to his guns, or acted like a real Christian and apologized to the faithful at the Values Voter Summit for even suggesting they might have to violate Romans 13:1-7 if their chosen candidate fails to win an election. For the scripturally challenged, the passage in Romans is the Christian gods immutable word to his followers to always be in subjection to the government authorities; not consider rising up to shed blood.

It is difficult to come to grips with one of the two major political parties spending even a nanosecond of time warning or fear-mongering about rising up in insurrection against the government over the results of an election. Bevin is not the first Republican to suggest shedding blood and unfortunately he is unlikely to be the last.

Many Americans claim the nation is doing just fine and that the racism, bigotry, religious fanaticism, and lust for violence arent really America. That statement is only half true; racism, violence, bigotry and religious fanaticism is conservative America, and if the entire nation was really doing fine abominations like Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin would never have been elected, much less incite a second call for impeachment for a second reason within six months.
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Donald Trump gave a speech to outline his economic vision that was completely divorced from facts and reality that offered an empty fairy tale of Trump fixing an economy that isnt broken with tax cuts for the wealthy.

Trump went on an old man rant about things used to be in the United States, It used to be cars were made in Flint and you couldnt drink the water in Mexico. Now, the cars are made in Mexico and you cant drink the water in Flint.

Trump made crazy promises that have already been debunked by economists, In working with my economic team, weve put together a plan that puts us on track to achieve that goal. Over the next ten years, our economic team estimates that under our plan the economy will average 3.5% growth and create a total of 25 million new jobs. You can visit our website to see the math.It will be deficit neutral. If we reach 4% growth, it will reduce the deficit.

The Republican nominees brilliant plan is the same failed strategy that Ronald Reagan used to blow up the deficit, and caused the Great Recession under George W. Bush.

Trumps plan is a tax cut for the wealthy sold as a middle class tax cut:



Our tax plan will greatly simplify the code and reduce the number of brackets from 7 to 3. The 3 new brackets will be 12, 25 and 33, but low-income Americans will pay no income tax at all  in fact, our plan will remove millions and millions of workers from the income tax rolls entirely.

By lowering rates, streamlining deductions, and simplifying the process, we will add millions of new jobs.

In addition, because we have strongly capped deductions for the wealthy and closed special interest loopholes, the tax relief will be concentrated on the working and middle-class taxpayer. They will receive the biggest benefit  it wont even be close.

This is a working and middle-class tax relief proposal.

The non-partisan Tax Policy Center analyzed Trumps plan and found that most of the benefit would go to the wealthy while spending for programs that benefit the middle-class and poor would need to be cut or the debt will grow by 80%.

The Center For Budget and Policy Priorities found that Trumps tax plan contains a massive tax cut for the top one percent, Mr. Trump, who has proposed a 15 percent corporate tax rate, proposes a pass-through rate of 15 percent as well. The Trump pass-through proposal would be an expensive tax cut that would flow primarily to the wealthiest Americans. Thats because more than two-thirds of pass-through business income flows to the highest-income 1 percent of tax filers.

The rest of Trumps plan is to slash regulations, kill clean energy, and start a trade war.

Statistics and the eye test show that the US economy is doing very well. What Trump is proposing is more of the same policies that George W. Bush used to crash the soaring the Clinton economy that he inherited at the turn of the century.

Donald Trumps economic policy speech was a lie filled disaster full of the same policies that benefit the wealthy that voters have been rejecting for years.

Trumps speech was a tutorial on how to take a growing economy and turn it into a dumpster fire of a recession. Donald Trump is pushing a policy that would do for the United States what it did for his business, make the rich richer while bankrupting the rest of us.

Democrats should pounce because Trump just tossed them a softball that they will hit out of the ballpark. Trump billionaire populist is really just an oranger version of out of touch rich guy Mitt Romney.
ATLANTA  Honeywell plans a new software development center in Atlanta and also will relocate a key division's headquarters to the city.

Company and government officials say the move will bring about 800 jobs and $19 million to the city's midtown area. Most of the jobs are full-time software engineering posts or related spots. The company's Home and Building Technologies headquarters will bring 100 jobs. It's not clear how many of those people will be hired locally.

Honeywell officials say the state of Georgia and city of Atlanta offered about $2 million in grants and the state offered another $10 million in tax credits tied to employee hiring totals.

Honeywell is based in Morris Plains, New Jersey, but already has about 1,000 employees at 11 locations in Georgia. Honeywell was based in Minneapolis until 1998 when it moved its corporate headquarters to Morris Plains.
HAMPTON, VA., Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reducing advanced stage female breast cancer is one of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Healthy People 2020 national objectives; an initiative dedicated to improving the lives and health of all Americans. Although breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, breast cancer mortality rates are the highest among African-American women, followed by Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.(1)



SelfMade Health Network's Regional Resource Lead Organizations (RRLOs) are selected based on their ability to advance Healthy People 2020 objectives geographically and culturally to eliminate health disparities across adversely affected regions, states and counties. Meharry Medical College, the nation's oldest historically African-American medical colleges, has been tasked with serving Tennessee, where African-American women are disproportionately affected by breast cancer late-stage diagnosis and subsequent mortality rates.



Meharry Medical College's Vice President of Faculty Affairs and Development, and Family and Community Medicine Professor, Patricia Matthews-Juarez, Ph.D., has been actively working to create, promote, and sustain health equity for African-American and other underserved women across Tennessee and will act as a key member of this project.



Among the country's 25 largest cities, the breast cancer mortality disparity is highest in Memphis, Tennessee, where African-American women are twice as likely to lose their lives to breast cancer as Caucasian women.(2) Several critical factors associated with higher breast cancer mortality rates are lower median household income, as well as financial and geographical barriers to care.



Serving as a regional hub of engagement, training, dissemination, and community-clinical linkages, Meharry Medical College has taken on an important role to reduce breast cancer disparities among African-American women and low-resourced female populations. In collaboration with its partners, efforts are currently underway in seven priority Tennessee counties, including: Haywood, Williamson, Knox, Fayette, Lauderdale, Davidson (in Nashville), and Shelby (in Memphis) to address breast cancer screening, treatment and survivorship.



"The reduction of breast cancer mortality overall in Tennessee is our ultimate goal. We can achieve that by increasing awareness, as well as improved access to screening and culturally-relevant education. More black women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Nashville than Memphis, yet Memphis has higher mortality rates. We're focused on bringing both of those numbers down," Dr. Matthews-Juarez says.



Dr. Matthews-Juarez says, "Community engagement efforts are targeted toward increasing the number of African-American women in Tennessee who will change their breast screening-seeking behavior related to mammography services. While screening is not the total answer, it is an important step in the right direction for improving early detection and breast cancer control among African-American women."



Dwana "Dee" Calhoun, M.S., SelfMade Health Network Director adds, "We are excited about advancing health disparity efforts in Tennessee through this partnership with Meharry Medical College. It is a historic academic institution with a commitment to economically disadvantaged communities, not to mention one of the nation's top five major educators of African-American primary care physicians."



Dr. Matthews-Juarez adds, "As a RRLO, we are working to improve knowledge and awareness, especially among at-risk black women about early detection by engaging black breast cancer survivors in the priority counties, where too frequently breast cancer is diagnosed at later stages. We want to change the fact that our Tennessee women are dying at rates greater than the national and county averages."



"As we partner with the Health Disparities Research Center of Excellence at Meharry, we look forward to low-resourced women residing in cities and rural towns remaining physically active, as well as maintaining employment and living longer following an earlier breast cancer diagnosis. We are honored to team up with Meharry Medical College, who has continually demonstrated their commitment to exploring solutions to address the intergenerational cycle of breast cancer disparities among Tennessee grandmothers, mothers, sisters, daughters and wives," said Calhoun, M.S. says.



References:

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Breast Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity, www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/race.htm

2 White-Means, S., Rice, M., Dapremont, J., Davis, B., & Martin, J. (2016). African-American Women: Surviving Breast Cancer Mortality against the Highest Odds. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(1), 6. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010006



SelfMade Health Network is a national network of dedicated organizations, businesses, service agencies, academic institutions and communities seeking to conquer tobacco-related health disparities and expand the promotion of cancer prevention, screening, treatment and survivorship in vulnerable populations. It is our mission to educate, empower and mobilize regions, networks, communities and systems leading to a healthier world, workforce and generation free of preventable lung, colorectal and breast cancers. For more information, please visit www.selfmadehealth.org or follow us Twitter at @SelfMadeHealth. Individuals and organizations interested in joining SelfMade Health Network or subscribing to our communications may email us at info@selfmadehealth.org.
Autumn is an anxious time for many small and medium-sized business owners as they wait to learn whether their health insurance costs will go up for 2017  and if so, by how much.

"There's always a lump in your throat because you don't know what you're going to get," says Darren Ambler, a managing director at Insight Performance, a Dedham, Mass.-based human resources provider.

Whether a business sees a minuscule rise, a double-digit percentage increase or even a decline depends on factors including the state where the company is located and how much its insurance carrier paid in claims during the past year. If the average age of a company's employees rose or fell significantly  quite possible in a business with 10 or fewer employees  that also could affect the outcome.

Most of the increase in insurers' costs is a result of rising prescription drug prices, Ambler says.

While companies with 50 or more workers are required to offer affordable insurance to them and their dependents, many smaller businesses also do so because they believe it's right or they want to attract and retain good employees. When their carriers hike the premiums, companies have to decide whether to absorb the costs, scale back their coverage or find other alternatives.

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Several medium-sized clients of The Megro Benefits Co., a consulting company, are facing 38 percent increases in their 2017 premium costs. Surges such as that have owners thinking about what's called self-funding, says Cheryl Kiley, an adviser at Conshohocken, Pa.-based Megro.

In self-funding, a business pays for all or part of employees' medical costs and hires an insurance company to administer its health plan. Companies typically purchase special policies to reimburse them in the event of employees' or dependents' catastrophic illnesses. Insurance companies charge less to administer self-funded plans because they don't have any risk, and employers also save because self-funded plans aren't subject to a 6.5 percent federal tax on premiums.

Although companies may be forced to find alternatives, Megro isn't seeing clients dropping insurance, president Bob Viola says.

"People won't come to work for them unless they have health insurance," he says.

RizePoint, which makes software for the food, lodging and retail industries and has about 75 employees, is paying 16 percent more for premiums on a policy that renewed Sept. 1. It's already considering self-funding for next year.

"It's a little bit risky," says Peter Johnson, a vice president at the Salt Lake City-based company. "But I don't want to see another 16 percent increase  it's nowhere near sustainable."

Johnson had budgeted for a rise of 12 percent. When RizePoint's carrier said premiums were going up more than that, Johnson searched unsuccessfully for a cheaper policy.

Rocky Finseth had the opposite experience. His premiums fell 11 percent although the policy virtually was unchanged from a year ago.

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"I was surprised not only about the drop, but how large of a drop," says Finseth, owner of Carrara Nevada, a Las Vegas-based company that does lobbying on state and local issues in Nevada. His policy, which covers seven staffers, renews Oct. 1.

Finseth didn't question why his premiums dropped. He decided to use the savings to add vision coverage for his employees.

Some companies find their policies have been discontinued.

"The plan we had was mysteriously canceled, and we were slotted into what we were told was the same plan, but when you looked at it, it was a worse plan," says Joseph Nagle, marketing director at EverCharge, a maker of electric vehicle charging stations. Among other things, the new plan had a higher deductible  $6,000 versus $5,000.

EverCharge, based in Emeryville, Calif., began researching other carriers and plans, chose three and asked its seven employees which they preferred. The company, which previously paid for all its staffers' insurance, gave them an option of continuing to have fully funded coverage, paying about $10 per month for better coverage, or $120 for another. They chose the middle option, and EverCharge was able to keep its health care costs unchanged, Nagle says.

Jason Anderson, owner of Datagame, a Kansas City, Mo.-based maker of software for online market research, hasn't received his renewal package yet. Anderson pays 100 percent of his three staffers' premiums and 50 percent of their dependents' premiums.

He had a 5 percent increase for his 2016 premiums, an amount he doesn't see as significant. He says he can handle a 10 percent increase, but if he's facing a 20 percent hike, he might have to cut back on coverage for dependents.

"I keep waiting for the shoe to drop," says Anderson, who acknowledges he'd be angry at an increase in the 20 percent range. "I don't see 10, 20, 30 percent improvements in what I am able to charge my clients."
This is absolutely the last weekend of summer, even though signs of autumn are everywhere.

Astronomical summer switches over to astronomical autumn this Thursday morning, Sept. 22, at 9:21 a.m., the moment of Autumnal Equinox. At that time, the sun's daily arc across the sky from east to west slips below the celestial equator, a projection in the sky of the Earth's terrestrial equator.

That basically means that the sun's daily path of in the sky will stay completely in the southern half of the sky, and will continue to progress lower and lower until the first day of winter in December. As that happens, the east-to-west arc will also become shorter and we'll lose even more daylight hours. That suits me just fine, as the night for stargazing becomes longer and the stars are out earlier in the evening.

You've no doubt heard that the first day of autumn also means that days and nights are equal in length. That's why it's called the equinox.

Actually, that's not exactly true. Here in the Rochester this Thursday, sunrise is at 6:58 a.m. and sunset is at 7:06 p.m. We still have about eight more minutes of daylight than nighttime. The Earth's atmosphere causes this to happen. The sunlight along the horizon has to plow through a lot thicker layer of air than it does higher in the sky. The thicker atmosphere near the horizon bends the sun's rays so much that the sun may appear above the horizon when it's actually below it. This is called astronomical refraction. Days and night actually become equal on Sept. 25.

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The dark side

A great way to kick off the autumn stargazing season is to make a date to get out in the dark skies of the countryside if you're not already living out there. I would hold off this stargazing adventure until later this week or next weekend, because for the next several nights we still have a waning full harvest moon whitewashing the early evening skies.

I guarantee that this will be a treat that you'll remember for a long time, no matter if you're by yourself or with family or friends. Bring the blankets, the binoculars, star charts, snacks, and beverages, and be prepared to sleep in the next morning. Even better, turn this into an overnight campout. It will be a great show. The clear autumn skies are more transparent because there's much less humidity in the air.

When you settle under the autumn evening heavens, make an attempt to estimate how many stars you can see with your naked eye. Traditional astronomy textbooks say that you can see about 3,000 stars, but I'm sure there's a lot more than that. Don't even try to count or you'll fall asleep and the show will be over.

If the skies are dark enough, you can't help but notice the bright band of milky light that bisects the sky from roughly north to south like a cosmic artist's stroke. You may have been taught at an early age that the band is the Milky Way galaxy. While that's certainly true, what you have to realize is that every single star you see anytime, including the sun, is a member of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. The stars that aren't in the band are relatively close by. The stars in the band are much more distant and make up the plane of our home galaxy, the thickest part of the Milky Way. There are so many stars in the band that are so far away that all we can see is a collective ghostly glow.

Billions and billions

From all that's been learned over the last hundred years, astronomers have concluded that the Milky Way galaxy is made up of about 400 billion stars that form a nearly circular disk that's broken up into spiral arms. There's a huge hump of stars in the center. The Milky Way is a little more than 100,000 light-years in diameter and 10,000 light-years thick,. Our sun is about 30,000 light-years from the center of the galaxy in one of the arms.

When you see that milky band of light across the sky, you are looking edgewise into our galaxy. All of the stars we see obediently orbit around the center of the Milky Way. Our sun takes over 200 million years to make one circuit. In case you're wondering, the center of the Milky Way lies in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius the Archer in the low southwest sky. Sagittarius's nickname is "the Teapot," because that's what it really looks like.

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The Milky Way band is not really all that much brighter around the teapot, because there is a lot of dark interstellar gas and dust that blocks the "hump" at our galaxy's center. It's been said that if we could see the Milky Way's central region unobstructed, that area of the sky would be much brighter than a full moon!

Lie back on the ground or a reclining lawn chair and roll your eyes from one end of the Milky Way band to the other. Just a decent pair of binoculars will greatly enhance the celestial treasures you come across like bright patches, dark rifts, and star clusters. You might even see a few human-made satellites rolling across the heavens.

While you're enjoying our own galaxy keep in mind that our Milky Way is only one of millions of other galaxies out there. Astronomers have spotted billions and billions of galaxies more than 13 billion light-years away!
Dear Answer Man, can you text to 911 in Rochester and Olmsted County ?

No. You can text to 911 in a crazy patchwork of cities and counties all over America, but not yet in Rochester or Olmsted County.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety i s working on a statewide Text-to-911 solution that will be rolled out later this year. I have a call in to get more details, but as it stands, the infrastructure is in place at 911 call centers to accept texts and the "projected statewide launch is in late 2016," an informative Department of Public Safety website says.

That's good, because a whole lot of cities and counties nationally already have it, including many in Iowa and Wisconsin. I'll attach a document to this column online that lists all the nationwide emergency dispatch systems that already have it.

I'm no expert on fiber optics and cellphone technology, but wouldn't you think this would be a lot easier process, or at least a higher priority? It's been discussed in Minnesota for years , and for many of us, text messaging has already been eclipsed by other ways of text-communicating. Soon, 911 call centers will need to factor in Facebook Messenger, Snapchat or the next flavor of the day.

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One of the problems with texting to 911 is that it's less accurate in terms of GPS -- the location isn't as precise with text as with a call. So even after the system goes live, authorities will strongly encourage you to call 911 if you can, rather than text. The mantra will be, "Call if you can, text if you can't."

Of course, people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or have a speech disability don't have that option, and there are some situations, such as when a crime is in progress, when the reporting party has to keep quiet and texting is the only option.

Here are other notes about the system that's soon to launch :

-- "As with all text messages, 911 messages can take longer to receive, can get out of order or may not be received."

-- When you call 911, background noises, "cues from voice inflection" and other information are useful to dispatchers. That's obviously lost when a person texts.

-- Texting to 911 won't be available when roaming.

-- Language translation for non-English speaking callers may not be available.

FYI, currently if you text 911, you'll get a message back directing you to call 911.

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The Crime Stoppers of Rochester and Olmsted County website says you can text a tip about crime, but "when there is an immediate threat of injury, harm or danger, we advise that 911 be called for immediate help." The number for texting is CRIMES (274637), and you're supposed to stasrt the message with TIP674...all very cumbersome.

O nly about 15 percent of emergency dispatch centers nationally are capable of taking 911 texts at this time. Again, this seems bizarre to me.

I'll have more on this next week, but to repeat: For now, call 911 in an emergency in Rochester and Olmsted County, don't text.

Dear Answer Man, is it pronounced "125 Live," rhyming with "hive," or 125 Live, rhyming with give? -- Jacqueline

Jacqueline is referring to the transformed Rochester Senior Center , which will be called 125 Live in its new co-location with the Rochester Recreation Center. I've answered this one before, but it remains an interesting question.

My boss says that at an event last week, the Senior Center's Sally Gallaghersaid you can pronounce it either way, and at a public meeting this week, it was pronounced, "One-Two-Five Live," rhyming with "hive."

Apparently you can take your pick, but I believe "One-twenty-five Live," rhyming with "hive," makes the most sense.
An investigation that began in July with a tracking device on a car has led to multiple charges against a Rochester man.

Maurice Golston, 61, made his initial appearance Wednesday in Olmsted County District Court, where he's been charged with possession of stolen property, bringing stolen goods into the state and possession of burglary tools, all felonies. He remains in custody in lieu of $40,000 conditional bond; his next court date has not been set.

Golston, who has no fewer than eight convictions for burglary, was under suspicion for a series of rural burglaries in July, the complaint says, leading to the installation of the tracking device on his vehicle.

On Aug. 26, a detective monitoring Golston's movements saw that he was traveling in several rural Wisconsin areas, consistent with his history, court documents say. About 11 a.m., Golston's vehicle was reportedly in rural Pepin County; the local detective contacted law enforcement there to advise them of Golston's location.

About noon, local officials learned there'd been a residential burglary very near the address indicated by the tracking device on Golston's car. A door had been pried open and a safe containing personal papers and old coins was taken. A neighbor reported seeing a car fitting the description of Golston's vehicle arrive at the home, stay for a short time, then leave.

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The rare coin collection was estimated at $5,000 to $10,000, the report says.

Golston was tracked back to Rochester, where he was stopped in the 3700 block of Broadway Avenue North. Inside the trunk of his car was the safe allegedly taken in the Wisconsin burglary; on the front seat were a pair of gloves and a screwdriver with a straight blade.

Golston told investigators he hadn't been to Wisconsin that day, the vehicle belonged to a family member and the screwdriver was used for yard work.

Though he remains in custody in Olmsted County, a search of the Wisconsin court system reveals a felony burglary case against Golston was opened Aug. 29.
An 18-year-old Rochester resident accused of being in possession of a stolen handgun, a felony, made his initial appearance Wednesday in Olmsted County District Court.

Jay Lee Hicks also faces one count of possession of a firearm by a user of controlled substance, a gross misdemeanor.

The investigation began Aug. 28, when Rochester police were sent to a home after a loaded handgun and ammunition were found in Hicks's bedroom. The other residents wanted officers to talk to Hicks and remove the weapon and ammunition.

Hicks, who told officers he'd found the firearm, allowed them to take it from a desk drawer in his bedroom, the complaint says. A check of the serial number revealed it had been reported stolen.

Police also found marijuana, pipes and a digital scale in the room, court documents say, and Hicks admitted he smoked it.

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He's been released in lieu of $5,000 conditional bail and is due back in court Nov. 22.
The hunt is on for a pair of suspects who authorities say assaulted a man Tuesday evening.

Rochester police were called at 7:22 p.m. to 703 First St. SW, in front of the Dorothy Day House. The 27-year-old victim said two men had just attacked him after a verbal confrontation, said Capt. John Sherwin.

During the assault, one of the men hit the victim in the face several times, at times using keys attached to a lanyard, the report says. When the victim began to fight back and gain the upper hand, the other suspect pulled a knife and told the man to stop, or he'd be stabbed, Sherwin said.

The assault ended and the two men left in a silver vehicle; they haven't been found, but police know who they are, Sherwin said.

According to the report, the victim had injuries to his face and eye, but wasn't seriously injured.
FOREST LAKE  Authorities say a police chase in eastern Minnesota ended when a man with a gun fleeing on a motorcycle took his own life.

Wyoming police attempted to stop the man shortly after 10 p.m. Monday after receiving information that he had been involved in an incident with a gun in the Anoka County city of Oak Grove.

Authorities say the 38-year-old Coon Rapids man led police on a five-mile chase which came to an end when he crashed his motorcycle into a fence at an Interstate 35 wayside in the Washington County city of Forest Lake. Officials say he took his own life with a handgun and that no shots were fired by law enforcement officers at the scene.
Public space design will come to life in a three-day event beginning Thursday in downtown Rochester.

Sixteen teams are set to display design creations in the Placemakers Rochester Prototyping Festival.

The festival will kick off Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. with each of the 16 teams of "makers" displaying and demonstrating the projects they have constructed to promote the festival's theme, "Health and the Built Environment."

Streets will close for the block-party style event that will take place on Third Street Southwest and First Avenue Southwest.

The event is the product of a partnership between Destination Medical Center, Downtown Rochester and the Rochester Art Center. Prototyping is a process of creating, testing and experimenting with new ideas and in this festival, the product is public space.

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"(The festival) is the community's opportunity to hear directly from the makers why they came up with the prototypes they did and what it took to create what they have created," Jenna Bowman, Rochester Downtown Alliance executive director, told the Post-Bulletin.

The three-day festival is what organizers and makers have been working toward, Bowman said, but it is by no means the end of these creative prototypes for public design installations.

"I anticipate that the various prototypes may find a second life past the festival," Bowman said.

Each of the teams will have a dedicated time to present their prototypes Friday as the festival continues from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. A schedule of teams and times is available online at downtownrochestermn.com .

A live DJ will add music to the festival from 5 to 8 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday evenings.

The festival concludes Saturday with family and children's activities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children can pick up a Placemakers passport and visit prototyping teams to win prizes.

Additional information on activities, themes and partnering organizations are available online .
EYOTA  All the education tenants have long moved out of the Dover School building, but the Dover-Eyota School Board will hold a public hearing Sept. 26 at the district high school in Eyota to officially close the building.

Superintendent Michael Carolan said the meeting is scheduled as to fulfill a state requirement, though anyone wishing to come forward and comment on the closing of the building is welcome.

The building is currently for sale. The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. immediately after a meeting to adopt the proposed 2017 levy at 6:30 p.m.
GATLINBURG, Tenn., Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sugarlands Distilling Company is giving away $60,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations nationwide through its third annual MoonShare program.



MoonShare is the giveback component of Sugarlands Distilling Co. that helps nonprofit organizations positively influence their communities by offering MoonShare grants, fundraisers, and donations.



"Our company has a deep respect for our heritage and the 'mountain way' of living, which includes lending a hand to those in need," said Courtney DeLaura, National Director of MoonShare. "The MoonShare program allows us to actively offer assistance to communities across the country that are in need."

Apply here: http://www.moonshare.org/



Nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for a $5,000 MoonShare Grant beginning September 15. Fifty organizations will be chosen in December to enter the public voting stage. Throughout January 2017, supporters of various NPO's will vote for their favorite 12 nonprofits to receive a grant.



The 2017 Year of Giving MoonShare grant recipients will be announced February 3, 2017.



"I would encourage all nonprofits to get involved in the MoonShare program," said Les Fout, Executive Director of Provision CARES Foundation. "It's a wonderful opportunity to promote your nonprofit and a great way to highlight the impact you are making."



"Thanks to the MoonShare Grant, The Caring Plate program will provide more than eight hundred meals to patients and their families."



In addition to the monetary award, each of the 12 organizations will be assigned a month to be featured in the "Month to Shine" series on Sugarlands Distilling Company's website and social media platforms to help bring awareness to the cause of each MoonShare recipient.



Since 2015, Sugarlands Distilling Company has donated more than $120,000 to deserving nonprofit organizations.



About Sugarlands Distilling Company:

Sugarlands Distilling Company is a producer of craft, quality moonshine and whiskey. The distillery in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee has become a popular destination for tourists from across the U.S. Inside the distillery, guests can taste free samples of authentic Sugarlands Shine, take a behind-the-scenes tour of the production, and purchase a variety of moonshine flavors, mountain merchandise, and apparel. To enhance their experience, guests can enjoy live music, Appalachian storytelling, and book outdoor adventure tours in the Sugarlands, an area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park historically referred to as "moonshiners' paradise." The company is East Tennessee-owned, with a focus on bettering the local community through a variety of events and charitable giving.
ST. CHARLES  The St. Charles City Council approved its preliminary 2017 levy Tuesday, setting an increase of 8.07 percent over the 2016 levy.

The 2017 levy maximum was set at $971,429, an increase of $72,556 over the 2016 levy of $898,873. City administrator Nick Koverman said the big differences between the two years include a $23,000 bump in workman's compensation insurance and an $18,000 increase in the payment for the city's new EMS building.

"We should see that bond payment stay level going forward," Koverman said. "There was a partial payment in 2016."

The new levy does not necessarily mean an 8.07 percent jump in actual tax dollars for residents, Koverman said. For example, a home valued at $200,000 would see an increase of just $41 per year.

In other business, the city approved a zoning change for the property at 213 W. 13 St. The land had been zoned for light industrial use but was changed to downtown commercial to make way for a new business. Shane Kastenschmidt and Jason Giem, who own J & S Automotive, will use the property as a new permanent home for their auto repair business, Koverman said.

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Finally, Koverman said he received an update from the owners of Envirolastech Inc., the company that plans to build a manufacturing facility at the Chattanooga Business Park on Interstate 90. The company is closing in on its financing goals to build and open its physical plant.

"We're actually hoping in the next few weeks they can come back to the council and finalize the deal," he said.
The starting point for Join the Journey's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk won't be hard to find: The place will be covered in pink.

Traditionally, breast cancer survivors have strolled in pink T-shirts, but organizers this year decided that everyone would wear the color "to show solidarity and support," said Join the Journey executive director Christine Fredriksen.

The walk starts at Mayo High School at 8:45 a.m. Sunday, loops around Silver Lake and concludes with a lunch and closing ceremony. An estimated 1,000 survivors, participants and volunteers will be involved in the 10-mile walk, and the aim is to raise around $100,000 to support local programs.

About one in eight U.S. women, or about 12 percent, will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2016, an estimated 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 61,000 new case noninvasive breast cancer, according to U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics.

Some walkers will walk in teams, their team names emblazoned on their T-shirts, such as "Christy Schmidt and the Zeppa Chix," and "Michelle's BrEaST Friends.

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Money raised from the walk goes toward a variety of local programs, Fredriksen said. One of the biggest programs is the Pink Ribbon Mentors. These are breast cancer survivors and volunteers at Mayo Clinic who meet with those newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Rochester. Each is given a backpack containing a gas gift card, chemo caps, special aluminum-free deodorant and other support items. Each is also given a copy of the Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer book. All these items are paid for by Join the Journey proceeds.

Each walk begins with a ceremony dedicated to honoring breast cancer survivors and those who have died. This year's walk co-chairwoman is Crystal Kittridge. Raffle tickets will be for sale for prizes and winners will be announced during the closing ceremony. Non-perishable food items will be collected for Channel One Food Bank.

The walk will be capped with lunch provided by Catering by Design, music by the Reunion Band (formerly the Booker Mini Band) and a closing ceremony.
When news reached Brad and Joan Trahan that Mayo Clinic's insurance would begin covering intensive autism therapy, the couple didn't waste any time celebrating.

They found some paper cups in their garage and popped open a bottle of champagne. The impromptu party capped off a nearly 14-year effort by the founders of RT Autism Awareness Foundation to convince Mayo Clinic leaders its employee health insurance plan should cover the therapy.

"It is so surreal. I just can't believe it. When you fight for something for just under 14 years, you just don't know if it's going to happen. And I'm just so happy that it has," Brad Trahan said.

Mayo Clinic spokeswoman Susan Barber Lindquist confirmed in a statement that Mayo's health insurance for employees will begin covering intensive behavioral intervention for autism. That includes a type of one-on-one therapy known as Applied Behavior Analysis.

"Mayo Clinic recognizes the medical challenges faced by parents of autistic children. We're now including intensive behavioral interventions, including applied behavioral analysis, to treat autism spectrum disorder within the employee benefits package," Lindquist said.

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The coverage will take effect Jan. 1. It affects all Mayo employees in Minnesota, as well as those in Arizona and Florida.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates one in 68 children in the United States has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism spectrum disorder is the name given to a group of brain development disorders, according to Autism Speaks . These disorders often involve difficulties in social interactions, trouble with verbal and non-verbal communication and repetitive behaviors.

'A big step forward'

The decision by the state's largest private employer to include this therapy in its insurance coverage is being welcomed by advocates for people with autism.

Jon Sailor, director of the Rochester Center for Autism, applauded the move.

"It's obviously a pretty big step forward for Mayo to do that, and I think that's the right choice," Sailor said.

His center provides intensive autism therapy for children ages 1 to 13. The one-on-one therapy is tailored to meet the needs of each individual child. In some cases, it can require as much as 30 to 40 hours per week. While the therapy doesn't work for every child, he said research has shown it can make a big difference in the lives of children with autism.

"It's a great step forward for (Mayo Clinic) to say we're recommending it, we're going to pay for it," Sailor said.

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A man on a mission

For years, Brad Trahan has waged a very public campaign to convince Mayo Clinic leaders that intensive autism therapy should be covered by the clinic's insurance. It began on Jan. 23, 2003, when his then 2-year-old son, Reece, was diagnosed with autism. A Mayo Clinic doctor recommended this type of therapy for his son to ensure he have the best quality of life possible. Then came the bad news.

"Even though the Mayo doctor said this is exactly what your son needs, the Mayo insurance side said, "Nope, we're not covering it,'" Brad Trahan said.

Frustrated, Brad Trahan left his job at Mayo Employees Credit Union while his wife kept working as a nurse at the clinic. Eventually, the Trahans decided to enroll Reece in Medical Assistance to get him the therapy. But the couple was faced with parent fees of $900 a month. They ended up deciding to stop the therapy due to cost.

"It just got to be too much. We had to decide. Are we going to keep a house over our head and food on the table or stop this therapy? And we had to stop it," Brad Trahan said.

But he wasn't about to give up on his fight to get insurers to cover the therapy. In 2013, he teamed up with two Rochester lawmakers  DFL Rep. Kim Norton and GOP Sen. Dave Senjem  to get a bill passed requiring large employers in state-regulated health plans to cover the intensive therapy. The measure became law despite opposition from insurance companies and some business groups concerned about the cost. The cost of the therapy can vary dramatically, ranging from thousands of dollars per year to tens of thousands of dollars. But the insurance mandate doesn't apply to employers who self-insure  such as Mayo Clinic.

Brad Trahan kept up the pressure on Mayo, frequently sending emails to clinic President and CEO Dr. John Noseworthy. He urged politicians to take it up with clinic leaders and frequently posted about it on on his Facebook and Twitter accounts. One of those Facebook posts featured a photo of a now teenage Reece sitting by the Mayo brothers statues accompanied by an open letter to Noseworthy asking him to cover the therapy. It was shared 971 times.

"The bottom line is, as related to autism and this portion of it, they were failing," Trahan said.

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'The right thing to do'

Norton said she repeatedly reached out to Mayo officials and asked them to begin covering the therapy. She is ecstatic about the clinic's decision to make sure this therapy is available to its employees' children.

"I'm thrilled that all those families and future families that have Mayo Clinic insurance will have the best possible treatment available for their kids. It's great news," Norton said.

Senjem also heralded Mayo's decision.

"We've come to understand and accept and realize that early treatment of autistic kids can go a long way toward changing their lives and giving them a larger role in society," Senjem said.

First District DFL Rep. Tim Walz recently met with Mayo officials and urged them to cover the therapy after talking with Brad Trahan.

"Brad has always been a tireless advocate on the issue of autism, both as a policy expert and as a father. This is the right thing to do, and I thank Mayo for doing right by its employees and their families on this issue," Walz said in a statement.

As for Brad Trahan, he said it is unfortunate that Reece wasn't able to get the therapy right away and do it for a longer period of time. Nonetheless, Trahan said he is delighted that other children will get access to this therapy thanks to Mayo's decision.

He added, "I'm very thankful to Dr. Noseworthy. I'm thankful to all the decision-makers who were involved in this. It took a long time, but it is definitely going to help our autism community. It's going to help these kids get this therapy much sooner."
A proposed redevelopment of Rochester's Miracle Mile shopping center was given a two-week pause at a Wednesday public hearing. New information on the project reached the city's Planning and Zoning Commission just hours before the hearing.

The redevelopment proposal would create a new, 30,000-square-foot grocery store and about 6,800 square feet of additional commercial space west of 16th Avenue Southwest between First Street Southwest and West Center Street. On the upper floors of the planned five-floor building, the developer proposed to build 107 apartment units.

After reviewing the plans, Rochester-Olmsted Planning Department staff had prepared a recommendation for denial of the application based on insufficient detail in several areas of the plan. But the developers were able to provide that information prior to the planning commission meeting, and staff switched its recommendation to approval.

Planning commission members received that new information just hours before the Wednesday night public hearing and several said they were not fully prepared to review the project.

Developer Nate Stencil , who represented project owner Miracle Mile LLC at the hearing, said the new information did not change the substance of the plan and he asked the commission to proceed with its review rather than delay its response to a future meeting.

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Neighbors and the project team offered more than three hours of adversarial commentary on the project before the commission reached its decision.

"I think the fact that enough changes came in at 4 o'clock or whenever to switch the staff's recommendation from 'denial' or 'continue' to 'approve' is enough reason to say this needs a close look," commission member Wade Goodenberger said.

The commission voted 6-3 to support a continuation of the application to the commission's Sept. 28 meeting. Commission members Kraig Durst, Thomas Hill and Steve Sherwood voted against the continuance.

During the public hearing, the main point of contention between neighbors of the potential project and the developer was the orientation of the building on the site. Neighbors felt the project should face 16th Street Southwest and provide an active street front, rather than continue the current orientation of Miracle Mile that left an unattractive back wall facing the neighborhood.

"Some of the major concerns the neighborhood had  (there is) almost unanimous dissatisfaction with the orientation of the building," said Jesse Welsh, president of the Kutzky Park Neighborhood Association.

Welsh also said there was near unanimous excitement among neighbors to see the area redeveloped with a dense, mixed-use project. Neighbors could not see past the issue of another backside of a building facing the neighborhood.

Stencil argued the development team had worked hard to address those concerns by adding architectural features to the building's 16th Avenue frontage. The team had also explored every option of reorienting the building on the site but none made more sense than the current proposal, he said.

While the design might not be the "dream vision" neighbors had hoped for, Stencil said, "I don't feel that it's this 'ugly' back of the building that it's being portrayed as."

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A third party offered to help find a design solution that would benefit both the neighbors and the developer, Welsh reported. At a previous neighborhood association meeting, Patrick Seeb, economic development director for the Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency, said the two groups could work with the University of Minnesota's Metropolitan Design Center to find an acceptable urban design solution.

The design center has prepared urban design guidelines to be used in conjunction with DMC development.

Stencil was wary of putting off a project that has an anchor tenant in place and financing that could evaporate with lengthy delays.

"Today, it's a great project, it's a great design, it's viable, it can happen, it's a game-changer  it might not be perfect but it is a great project," Stencil said.

The project will return for further consideration at the commission's Sept. 28 meeting. Due to the zoning of the property and the city's land development manual standards, the project will receive only one public hearing at the commission level and one hearing before the Rochester City Council for a final decision.
On September 18, youth and adult community leaders will share their Project Legacy "moments of discovery" at the third annual Grace in the Margins community gathering at the People of Hope Church in Rochester.

Project Legacy participants will tell their stories of why they decided to work with Project Legacy to break from patterns and pasts that were neither healthy or sustainable. Adult supporters tell their stories of how they came to recognize the needs met by Project Legacy.

"Now, more than ever it's important that people come together for the purpose of understanding how America has been a country divided by race and what each of us can do to heal this divide," said Project Legacy co-director Karen Edmonds.

Youth speakers Akoy Marial, Kameron Jones, Nicole Henry, Elijah Norris and Steven Henderson will share the "epiphany moments" that helped them decide to create a new and positive path through Project Legacy.

Senator David Senjem; Catherine Hanson, Office of the Public Defender Third District; Nicole Nfonoyim de Hara, author and social justice advocate; and, Dr. Sharonne Northcutt Hayes, MD, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Mayo Clinic will all speak to the moments that called them to support Project Legacy's work.

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Also speaking will be Project Legacy co-directors Karen and John Edmonds. Project Legacy board chair, Dave Beal will provide the welcome.

Project Legacy youth are young people of color who are breaking generational patterns of poverty, homelessness, gang-affiliation and trauma. Currently, over twenty youth are in colleges across the country, twenty others are in high school or technical programs completing their GEDs, receiving chemical dependency treatment, and leaving gangs.

Project Legacy offers complete and intensive support for youth seeking to move off the streets and forward on a positive path. Housing, food, rental assistance, tuition assistance, drivers education, access to medical and dental care, assistance entering and completing drug-treatment, college visits, and mental health therapy to address historical and childhood trauma are just some of the ways Project Legacy supports youth. Project Legacy also provides outreach to incarcerated youth.

The community is invited to attend Grace in the Margins III: Stories of Hope, Possibility, and Transformation, Sunday, September 18, at 2 o'clock at the People of Hope Church, 3703 Country Club Road West, Rochester, MN 55902. Registration for the event is available online by searching Grace in the Margins at eventbrite.com. Donations will be welcomed. Seating is limited.
WABASHA  The Wabasha area women have been dubbed the Dream Team because they are leading the final push to finish the $430,000 dream the community has to bring the small town a more sophisticated machine to fight breast cancer.

The dream, however, is not only theirs but hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others in the area because, again, the community has put its time and money into helping the center in north Wabasha with its 25-bed hospital, clinic, pharmacy, physical therapy, pharmacy and senior housing.

The fundraiser for St. Elizabeth's Medical Center already has $245,000 in the bank, $53,000 in pledges and $67,000 in matching grants, said Jenny Schlagenhaft, director of community relations.

Getting the final money to match the $67,000 so the tomosynthesis machine can be installed late this year is the dream of that team of Sandy Fitzgerald, Carol Scott, Shelby Schlosstein and Kim Brunkow.

"You won't find this in rural communities our size," Scott said. But the small town needs to have good medical care to keep people, and the community healthy. "The impact of breast cancer on a family can be very devastating at times," she said.

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"No patient should feel they can't have access to the very best health care because they live in a rural community," Schlagenhaft said.

The Wabasha area has a long history of supporting St. Elizabeth's. The community, in fact, raised $400,000 for the mammogram machine they have now that was installed in 2008, said Tom Crowley, president and CEO of St. Elizabeth's.

"This is being purchased for the benefit of the rural area," he said.

Many of those coming to his hospital or clinic are from Wisconsin, are elderly and can't easily get to bigger cities or don't like to drive to big cities for care, Crowley said.

The idea for it came late last year from doctors, nurse practitioners and many in the community who told St. Elizabeth's getting tomosynthesis would be a good move, he said.

Dr. Alicia Arnold, of Eau Claire, Wis., a certified radiologist with Medical X-Ray Consultants that reads X-rays for many hospitals in the region including St. Elizabeth's, said the machine at the hospital today reads breasts in 2-D and is quite uncomfortable for the users.

With 2-D, it's harder to quickly detect the cancer. The faster it's found, the better chances are of surviving. False positives are much more likely because of overlap of the tissue, Arnold said.

"That makes women feel very anxious," she said. Fewer callbacks are great, "that's something we're really excited about."

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Tomosynthesis is less painful and gives a 3-D image. With better images comes faster, more accurate diagnosis. Tomosynthesis is especially good for women with dense breast tissue, she said.

Her company believes so strongly in the new machine that it has donated to the fundraiser.

"I think this is going to really make a difference in the lives of the community," she said. "It has been well proven that this is a breakthrough in technology."

The only other hospital with tomosynthesis that her practice works with is Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, she said.

Crowley said the machine can save money because of early detection. Also, many insurance companies cover it because it can lead to earlier, less expensive treatments.

It's also a feather in the hat of the small towns, said Rita Fox, chairwoman of the fall bazaar, another fundraiser where proceeds will go to the new machine.

"It means we're not in the back woods," she said.

When so many hundreds or thousands get involved, "they feel ownership," she said.
WEST CONCORD  One of the requirements for a Boy Scout to earn the Eagle Scout ranking is to plan and develop a service project that benefits a school, religious organization or community.

Triton High School senior John Zeller Jr. has chosen to honor service people with his project and needs your support to complete it.

Zeller's idea for a memorial is a little different than most.

"I was bouncing around ideas with my parents, and we noticed that none of the other memorial parks honored police officers and firefighters, so I decided to make it a service memorial park," Zeller said.

The memorial will be in Centennial Park, along Minnesota Highway 56 in downtown West Concord.

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Zellers effort is in combination with other community members who wanted to honor service people as well. Carol Walker and Barb Jacobson worked through the American Legion to construct the monument thats been there for about three weeks.

"When I went to the mayor about this project, he said there was another lady working on a memorial, too, so we got in touch," Zeller said. "She said she had a granite monument, so we decided that she'd put hers in front, and I'd put my flags in back."

The memorial plan includes a V-shape of flags representing the different branches of the military and first responders, plus a POW-MIA flag, American flag and city and state flags. The flags will be embedded in cement with plaques on each end of the V. The existing monument will be at the top of the V's opening. It's been in place for about two weeks.

Zeller, who has been in Boy Scouts for about seven years, has until February to receive all the funding he needs to go forward. He has a GoFundMe page set up and also welcomes donations via check.

"I am working with the city council and local businesses and residents to raise funds and services to construct the site," Zeller said on the GoFundMe page. "I was made aware of additional construction requirements raising my anticipated expenses by $10,000. The project has been delayed until the additional funds can be raised to cover the site flag pole mounting platform and masonry work."

While the community is enthusiastic about the project, Zeller's father, John Sr., mentioned the fact that it being such a small rural town makes it more of a challenge to get the funds they need. Anyone can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/2k9y4e4.

What he anticipates doing in his future makes the project all the more important to Zeller.

"I know that I'm probably going into the military, and after I get out, I know I would want people to honor me," Zeller said. "They keep us safe. The first responders keep us safe in civilian life, and the military keeps us safe from the outside threats."
WINONA  Whether you're "With Her," looking to make "America Great Again" or just planning on flipping a coin in the voter's booth, you'll need to be registered to vote in Minnesota.

If you have not registered to vote, the Winona League of Women Voters along with Blue Heron Coffeehouse will hole a voter registration day from 2-3:30 p.m. Monday at the coffeehouse in downtown Winona, said Lynn Theurer, the Winona LWV voter registration chairperson.

A second event will be held the following week at the downtown location of Blooming Grounds coffeehouse from 2-3:30 p.m. on Sept. 28, she said.

Whether you have never registered to vote or have had a change to your voter information since you last registered  a change of address or a name change are common reasons to update your voter information  the LWV invites you to come get ready to make a difference on Nov. 8, Theurer said.

To register to vote at these events, the Theurer said, you'll need to be at least 18 years old, have lived in Minnesota for 20 days, and need a Minnesota driver's license or Minnesota state ID.
Near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, N.D., it started small.

In April, a few Standing Rock tribal members set up camp in a small valley where the Cannonball River flows into Lake Oahe. They were protesting a pipeline designed to carry oil 1,200 miles from the Bakken oil fields to a distribution center in Illinois.

Fueled by social media, the protest caught fire, and the camp now is larger than most small towns in North Dakota.

Standing Rock Tribal Chair Dave Archambault said he's been overwhelmed by the response to a carefully considered decision to fight the Dakota Access pipeline.

"This started with prayer; this started with ceremony," he said. "I think there's a spirit rising in all of us across this nation, across this world, saying, 'Enough is enough.' I'm not the one that's doing all of this. It's beyond people. It's the creator is taking over."

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Small victory

The protesters won a small victory late last week when the federal government announced it would review the Dakota Access permit and consult with tribes on the permit process.

"It's earth-shaking, something like this, where three departments come together and start to recognize and expand the jurisdiction for indigenous people and to look at what the wrongs are," Archambault said.

Tribal nations on the prairie haven't had many victories since the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and it's still unclear how significant this one will be.

The company building the $3.8 billion line says it remains committed to the project. Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren told employees in a memo this week that concerns about the pipeline's impact on the local water supply are unfounded.

The pipeline company removed its equipment near the protest camp Tuesday, but construction continued on other parts of the nearly 1,200-mile pipeline. Authorities arrested several protesters who were blocking construction work Tuesday.

The head of North Dakota's Petroleum Industry trade group said the protest is really an effort by environmental groups to shut down another pipeline project. Ron Ness pointed to the Keystone pipeline from Canada and the Sandpiper line from North Dakota across Minnesota. Both were scuttled after a controversial permit process.

Ness said the Dakota Access line is a huge infrastructure project. "It's the equivalent of maybe the interstate highway system." If the pipeline doesn't open as planned, he said, oil will keep flowing from the Bakken  moving by rail if necessary.

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Preparing for a winter camp

A tribal official says protesters are preparing to support a winter camp to keep construction at bay. The local sheriff says bluntly it can't stay open long term.

Archambault is just as clear about his position.

"There's never going to be a time when the state or the federal government comes in and tries to dismantle this," he said. "That won't happen."

Yet, even as protesters dug in on the Dakota Access project, it became clear the movement at Standing Rock is about more than one pipeline.

"It feels powerful," Galeson EagleStar, of Pine Ridge, S.D., said as he stood overlooking a second encampment that became necessary when arriving sympathizers outgrew the first. It sits on land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Hundreds of colorful tents dot the landscape among motor homes, campers, cars and trucks. About three dozen traditional teepees are scattered across the campsite. There are rows of portable toilets, a camp kitchen, a tent school for children, dozens of horses and mountains of donated supplies.

100 tribes

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Dozens of tribal nation flags flap in the breeze.

"I gathered information that there was over 100 different indigenous North American native tribes here camped out," EagleStar said. He's nearly 70, but he still proudly wears a T-shirt bearing the logo of the American Indian Movement, a protest group he joined in the 1970s.

EagleStar pointed to a large tent in the center of the camp. It houses the seven warrior societies of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations.

"The first time the seven societies have come together in this way since the 1800s, during the time when this character named Custer committed suicide along with his flunkies," he said.

Occasional references to the Plains Wars notwithstanding, tribal leaders say they're not looking to start an armed conflict. The tactics they focus on today are legal action, the regulatory process and civil disobedience.

"Within the past seven years we have seen the indigenous peoples rising up in defense of our Mother Earth," said Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Bemidji-based Indigenous Environmental Network, which has been working with tribes on environmental issues since 1990.

Goldtooth sees the tribal engagement in environmental and social issues as a natural progression, building on a return to traditional culture, spirituality and language during the past 15 to 20 years.

Tribal nations at the camp have had some frank discussions, he said. There's not unanimous agreement on tactics and strategy, but there is a commitment to stand together.

"We pride ourselves on a sovereign nation like the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who's standing up recognizing their traditional heritage that defines what their responsibility is to be the guardian of the Unci Makha, Grandmother Earth," he said.

Campfire conversations by the dozens

Tribal elders are leading this movement, but it started with a push from younger American Indians impatient with the status quo.

One such young man calls himself WindCloud. He grew up on the Standing Rock Reservation but left to get an education. He wears a long black braid and a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He's working security at the camp and dreaming of a better future for his homeland.

"So how to get rid of bullies? You create bigger and stronger guards. The bullies just check themselves at the door. Peace ensues," he said.

WindCloud's guards are metaphorical; he's talking about economic strength. He said the tribe can build a clean-energy economy and industries around industrial hemp.

He wants tribal leaders to stop expecting fair treatment from the U.S. government.

"It's not up to us to worry about them; it's about us to govern ourselves," he said. "As a sovereign nation, we can manage ourselves. All we have to do is show them. The 1851 treaty allows us to trade with Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia. Any one of those countries. We can do it on our own. We have to practice it. That's the next step."

Conversations like this are happening around dozens of campfires.

Such discussions are what brought Devery Fairbanks back to the camp for a second time. Fairbanks is a member of the White Earth band in Minnesota and works at the Red Lake Nation College.

"It's hard to describe the feeling of it. It's emotional, spiritual. It is powerful," Fairbanks said. "You come here, your eyes are opened, your consciousness level is raised. You can't help but learn important things here."

Fairbanks brought a group of students to the camp. They will stay only a few days, but he expects them to return to Minnesota with a changed world view.

Something about this camp brought people from across the country, from California, Georgia, Colorado, Arizona.

Martin Coons, of the Onandoga Nation in upstate New York, spent five days in the camp before he and his partner had to head back to Buffalo. They felt compelled to come here and will leave with a desire to do more.

"This river ain't just here for us, it's here for everybody," Coons said. "And if it gets contaminated, it affects everybody. There's no Planet B. Once you screw this one up, you can't fix it."
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quattro Exploration and Production Ltd. (TSX-V:QXP) ("Quattro" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the engagement of Durham Capital Canada Corporation (Durham) as its financial advisor to assist with the Companys pursuit and evaluation of various options with respect to a proposed funding of up to $25 million in senior or subordinated debt, supported by the remaining assets of the Company upon the completion of its $24.5 million Divestiture Plan initially announced on August 4, 2016.

Furthermore, as anticipated with the Companys expanded plan announced on August 11, 2016 to increase its Divestiture plan to $30 million while under Court Protection, on September 8 Quattro made an application to the Court of Queens Bench of Alberta (the Court) seeking to transfer its restructuring proceedings initially commenced on August 10, 2016 under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the BIA Proceedings) to the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

The Court has granted the Companys application and issued an order under the CCAA (the Initial Order) under which the Company will now be continuing its divestiture and restructuring plan.

Quattro has also engaged NRG Divestitures Inc. (NRG), a Calgary-based independent marketing firm to act as advisor and agent for the divestiture and sale of certain of Quattros assets. In addition, NRG will manage the solicitation of, and act as an advisor on all other offers received for the remaining assets deemed non-core by the Corporation.

Quattro is encouraged by the number of proposals and inquiries it has received to date for both the divestiture of non-core assets and the financing of the development of its Core Properties, said Leonard B. Van Betuw, President and CEO. The combination of Durham as Financial Advisor dedicated to the financing objectives of the Corporation and NRG as agent for Quattros divestiture program is a source of growing confidence that Quattros plan to date is quickly gaining momentum. With the granting of the CCAA order, both the divestiture and financing plans will be completed within the orderly confines of the CCAA. Each mandate will have the opportunity to be executed in an expedited fashion, incorporating the flexibility and opportunities afforded to the Company under the Act. It is Quattros objective to ensure that all Stakeholder concerns will continue to be managed in an equitable manner.

Quattro is also pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced purchase of the 100% interest in the El Cedro License, Block 6-2012 in Guatemala, consisting of 34,723 hectares in the South Peten Basin.

The final purchase price, including adjustments for the acquisition is CDN $6,175,000, to be paid through the issuance of 60,000 non-voting, Class C, series 3 Preferred Shares at a deemed price of $100 per share (Preferred Shares) and the assumption of approximately $175,000 in liabilities related to current work in progress.

The Preferred Shares bear an annual yield of $3.50 per share.

In the short time that has passed since embarking on creditor protection, Quattro has continued to be extremely encouraged that the capabilities within the Company are becoming more appreciated by both financiers and the industry at large. This is reflected in the due diligence process that has been conducted to date and the unsolicited inquiries from industry that continue to be received by the Company. Through the Companys Divestiture and Capitalization plan that is underway, the Company anticipates achieving the additional financial capacity and revitalization necessary to continue to reward its shareholders for supporting the Corporations targeted exploration and production efforts in combination with the acquisitions and consolidation that has been conducted over the past 5 years, said Mr. Van Betuw.

Quattro is also pleased to be a member of the 8020 Connect network, and invite all our shareholders to become members with us. 8020 Connect (www.8020connect.com) is the investment industrys newest social network, developed to deliver corporate information to shareholders, investment industry experts and like-minded investors, while enabling these member groups to interact with each other and with our corporate management team.

Through the 8020 Connect Shareholder and Investor Network, Quattro is able to communicate its corporate message and update project advancements and financial information to all shareholders and investors in a timely and effective fashion. The 8020 Connect social media component provides direct interaction with shareholders, allowing the Company to answer questions and inquiries directly or in group forums. The 8020 Connect network will also allow Quattro to expand its audience exponentially to interested investors and industry experts worldwide.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Leonard Van Betuw President and Chief Executive Officer

Office (403) 984-3917 Ext.102

Direct Line (587) 228-7070

leonard@qxp-petro.com

Or

Tianda Dranchuk

Business Development

tianda.d@qxp-petro.com

www.qxp-petro.com

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Companys registered filings which are available at www.sedar.com.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities offered have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

BOE presentation:

Barrel ("bbl") of oil equivalent ("boe") amounts may be misleading particularly if used in isolation. All boe conversions in this report are calculated using a conversion of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one equivalent barrel of oil (6 mcf=1 bbl) and is based on an energy conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the well head.

Trading in the securities of Quattro Exploration and Production Ltd. should be considered highly speculative. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
"Concerning" is putting it mild.

That's what Rochester City Attorney Terry Adkins said about a tour of the 125 Live facility, which included five Rochester City Council members, but excluded the media and residents who attended the public meeting prior to the tour.

In this instance, taking a quorum of the council into a closed portion of a city-funded building and telling members of the public they can't tag along is more than concerning. It's a violation of public trust.

Minnesota has specific rules outlining when elected bodies can gather outside of the public eye. A tour of new construction is not on the list, even if there is a concern about public safety. If it's so unsafe, why was there even a tour? If the risk was minimal, why not ask those wanting a peek at the project to sign a waiver, removing any liability concerns?

The tour was on the agenda for Monday's committee of the whole meeting at the Rochester Recreation Center, which presented the assumption it was open to the public. By adjourning the meeting prior to the tour, the council slammed the door on anyone who attended the meeting to see what their public dollars had bought.

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By excluding the media, 125 Live officials made sure the door was locked.

125 Live Executive Director Sally Gallagher says she was unaware of open-meeting requirements. However, city officials should have been wary and raised concerns.

We aren't saying the media should be allowed special access. We are saying the public  media or any resident  should have access for any gathering involving a quorum of elected officials, even if a discussion about public business wasn't planned.

Since residents  and the media in its role as a public watchdog  were barred from the meeting, we have no way of knowing for sure what was discussed by 125 Live staff and the city council members. The lack of information simply spurs questions.

At a time when 125 Live appears to be struggling with its public image and needs community support to raise more than $1 million for move-in expenses, it does not need to be taking steps that raise questions. Rather, it should be creating an open image that invites community conversation.

The choice to exclude the public from the tour is concerning at the least.

The fact that all involved don't seem to realize it, takes that concern to a new level.
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Plenty of conservatives are balking at the prospect of voting for Donald Trump, and not just the NeverTrumpers. There is also the Hardly Ever Trump contingent, some of whom, like me, are still making up their minds.

One option I would thought have no conservative would choose is to vote for Hillary Clinton. Yet, some conservatives intend to do just that. As far as I can tell, they consist mainly of what Professor Robert Kaufman calls Reagan Internationalists.

But Kaufman argues in the Wall Street Journal that this crowd delud[es] itself if it believes that Clinton will be better than Trump on issues of foreign policy and national security. His argument seems pretty strong.

Among the items Kaufman asks us to consider are these:

Hillary Clinton named the ill-fated reset with Mr. Putin, subverting Ukraines independence and imperiling Americas Eastern European NATO allies fearful of becoming Mr. Putins next target. She also blocked efforts to place the murderous Boko Haram on the State Departments list of international sponsors of terrorism, fostering the Obama administrations fictitious narrative that killing Osama bin Laden had ended the war on terror. Mrs. Clintonemblematic of the administrations unwillingness to acknowledge radical Islam as a dangerblamed the attack on the Libyan Embassy on a Coptic Christian video denigrating Islam rather than on the obvious culprits and their Islamist motivations timed for the anniversary of 9/11. She fatuously called Syrias Bashar Assad a reformer with whom we could do business, and she touted the absurd notion that American smart power could substitute for American resolve, moral clarity and military might. Mrs. Clinton remained silent, too, on President Obamas systematic, unwise and dishonorable obsession with putting distance between the U.S. and a democratic Israel while conciliating the worst and most anti-American regimes in international politics. Candidate Clinton still defends an indefensible Iran deal she advocated as secretary of state that puts Iran on the autobahn to crossing the nuclear threshold while tranquilizing Americans to the gathering danger.

The reset suggests that Clinton may be as bad as Trump on Trumps worst issue  Putin. Her support for the Iran deal makes Clinton seem even worse than Trump on the more general issue of how to deal with our adversaries.

Kaufman continues:

As secretary of state, Mrs. Clinton bears heavy responsibility for the debacle in Libya. She was the administrations leading proponent for American intervention under the auspices of the United Nations, NATO and the Arab League, bypassing the Congress. Libya has become a breeding ground of Islamist terrorism because Americas mission was ill-defined and its withdrawal premature. Nor did Mrs. Clinton resign on principle when Mr. Obama prematurely withdrew from Iraq, failing to negotiate a status of forces agreement that would have retained a sizable American presencesomething the president could have achieved had he wanted it. On the contrary, Mrs. Clinton voiced no public objection to Mr. Obamas catastrophic decision precipitating Iraqs collapse, with ISIS and a revolutionary Iran filling the vacuum. Nor, despite her allegedly private misgivings, did Mrs. Clinton resign on principle or object publicly to Mr. Obamas bungling and vacillating policy toward a Syrian civil war that has metastasized into a murderous, regional and sectarian civil war and a humanitarian refugee crisis wreaking havoc not just the region but also in Europe and the U.S.

Kaufman doesnt sugar coat things when it comes to Trump, about whom he writes:

Donald Trump has repudiated the main staples of Reagans moral democratic realism, routinely disdaining the value of alliances with fellow democracies such as NATO, Japan, South Korea and India; advocating conciliation rather than firmness toward an increasingly authoritarian and expansionist Vladimir Putin; and ignoring the gathering military danger of a Chinese tyrannys military buildup aimed at dominating East Asia, the worlds most important geopolitical region for the 21st century.

He concludes:

The internationalist conservatives who oppose Mr. Trump on foreign-policy grounds have a point. But they shouldnt fool themselves that they will get something better with Mrs. Clinton.

Nor, it seems to me, should Clintons domestic agenda, much of which is well to the left of what Trump is espousing, be a matter of indifference to Reagan Internationalists.
The Clinton campaign released a letter from her personal physician addressing her physical condition following her collapse at the 9/11 Memorial ceremony in New York on Sunday. The letter disclosed that Secretary Clinton was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. A copy of the letter has been posted online here. Clinton returns to the campaign trail today. We asked the prominent internist who wrote us regarding Clintons diagnosis of pneumonia this past Sunday to comment on Dr. Bardacks letter. He writes:

Yesterday Dr. Lisa Bardack, Hillary Clintons personal physician, released a letter designed to dispel worries about Hillarys fitness as candidate for president. Unfortunately for those such as me who seek reassurance, the letter fails adequately to address valid concerns about Hillarys health.

For example, the letter does not address Hillarys history of falls, such as what was witnessed last Sunday. Bill Clinton recently described them as being frequent in occurrence (before changing his tune) and attributed them to her becoming severely dehydrated.

In addition to being a board-certified internist I am also board-certified in nephrology, the field of kidney disease. I am therefore expert on how the body handles fluids and electrolytes. As such, I find Bills explanation wholly unpersuasive. Severe dehydration does not occur easily, especially in people who live Hillarys sedentary type of lifestyle. Perhaps President Clinton was trying to say that Hillary has a problem with fainting spells. But a number of possible serious illnesses involving the heart or nervous system that may also present in this manner were not addressed in Dr. Bardacks letter.

Similarly, Dr. Bardacks description of what occurred last Sunday is puzzling. Here is what she wrote: On Sunday, September 11 at the 9/11 Memorial event, she became overheated and dehydrated and as a result felt dizzy. I examined her immediately upon her return home; she was re-hydrating and recovering nicely.

From what I could tell using online historical weather data, the temperature at the time of the 9/11 memorial ceremony was in the upper 70s with humidity in the 60s. This is warm but not the type of climate that would cause someone to become rapidly dehydrated.

Moreover, the video taken of Hillary collapsing suggests more than this being just a dizzy spell. Finally, about 90 or so minutes after she collapsed Hillary appeared outside her daughters apartment appearing fine. In my experience the degree of dehydration that would cause someone to collapse the way she did cannot be reversed in 90 minutes. In fact, it would usually require placement of an intravenous catheter for infusion of fluids and close observation for at least several hours.

In summary, Dr. Bardacks explanations fail to alleviate my concerns about Hillarys health status.
No American president has ever done more damage to American national security or Americas standing in the world than Barack Obama. Weve never had a president quite like him before. I think the damage is attributable to his rabid belief in the myths of the left-wing critique of the United States. We will be living with the damage he has done for a long time to come (if we are lucky, I guess).

Let us count (a few) of the ways. We have the great kick-me moment of the 2009 Cairo speech and its false history (an Obama trademark).

We have the Russian reset.

We have the withdrawal from Iraq and the rise of the yuk-it-up jayvee ISIS.

We have the sucking up to his buddy Vladimir via Medvedev, advertising his continued misreading of Putins game.

We have Obamas support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

We have the unbelievable deal to bless and finance the Iranian nuclear bomb.

We have Obamas fictitious Syrian red line and the destabilization of the Middle East, including Libya.

We have the growth of Chinas ambitions, Chinas hacking and Chinas assertion of power in the South China Sea.

We have Obamas failed outreach to his former BFF, the Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

We have Obamas patent hostility to Israel (see Michael Orens memoir Ally).

One could compile a separate foreign policy edition of my proposed compilation Quotations From Chairman Barry.

After prosecuting the Blind Sheikh for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Andy McCarthy wrote the book on Willful Blindness. The book is a memoir. His recent NRO column Fifteen years after 9/11, willful blindness is official policy raises a cri de cur opposing the superstitions of the Age of Obama. Official policy is almost unbelievable. Someone really oughta do something about it.

In the rosy dawn of the Obama presidency Victor Davis Hanson took note of Our historically challenged president. This year he has followed up on Obamas foreign policy in columns such as The dream of Muslim outreach has become a nightmare and Is deference really safer than deterrence? (answer: no).

Last year Fred Fleitz noted that The Iran nuclear deal just keeps getting worse. Someone could put together a good book on that subject all by itself. This week Daniel Doron explains The deal to finance the Iranian A-bomb and John Schindler observes Were losing the war against terrorism. I havent even scratched the surface or gotten much beyond the Middle East, but wanted to draw your attention to these columns.

UPDATE: Aargh! As a result of adult onset ADD, I forgot the September 10 Wall Street Journal column by Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney that expressly set forth the theme of this post: Dangers rise as America retreats (accessible via Google here). If I am able to focus I will also note it in a separate post tomorrow.
Delightful time in Los Angeles on Tuesday (I even met by chance a Power Line reader on the streets of Pasadena at lunch timeyoure everywhere!), where I was invited to address the fall dinner of the Friends of Ronald Reagan at the California Club downtown. They asked for a Reaganite perspective on Trump and the election. Here are a few short excerpts from the talk:

I take as my opening theme Winston Churchills remark that the future, though imminent, is obscure. Yet we are confronted with an astounding spectacle: the two parties have nominated candidates each seemingly destined to lose. The GOP has nominated the one candidate that could lose to Hillary Clinton, and the Democrats have nominated the one candidate who could lose to Donald Trumpthough I suppose Democrats could have tested that proposition by nominating Bernie Sanders instead. And somehow Hillary clearly misunderstood the suggestion that she be more like Bernie, and decided to imitate Weekend at Bernies instead. From the viewpoint of the voters, it is tempting to call this situation deplorable, but that term has lately been pushed into the waste basket . . .

* * *

While we might not think of Trump as another great communicator, he has certainly been effective in tapping into, or giving expression to, some of the inchoate frustrations of millions of Americans who have lost confidence in the political class. There is something quite interesting about Trumps rhetorical style, which contrasts very sharply with Reagans communication practices.

A clarifying example of this can be found back in 1976, when Reagan, then challenging Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination, became embroiled in a controversy about his views on Social Security, which he had suggested ought to be reformed perhaps in some radical ways. When asked about the matter, heres how Reagan answered:

Ive always believed that you say the qualifier first. If you say, Now look, lets make it plain; the first priority must be that no one who is depending on [Social Security] for their non-earning years should have it taken away from him, or have it endangered. It is endangered today by the shape it is in. So then you go on and say, Now, the program is out of balance. Down the line someplace, can come a very great tragedy of finding that the cupboard is bare. Before that happens, lets fix Social Security.

Theres a certain gentleness, not to mention reasonableness, to Reagans way of putting the matter. This is not unique to Reagan; he was just very good at it. It is the way most politicians take positionsstating qualifiers before laying out a tough conclusion or proposal for change. You lose fewer votes that way; to the contrary, it is the way to build a majority for change.

The most salient thing to notice about Trump is that he states his positions in exactly the opposite fashion: he states a hard position first, in an utterly unreasonable or seemingly extreme way, and then allows for qualifications later. Lets build a wall and deport illegal aliens; but then well let a lot of them back in through some kind of normalized processand perhaps not deport many at all. Lets have a total ban on Muslim immigration, while later saying we have to get better at how we screen Muslim immigrants and refugees from certain dodgy countries.

This is highly unusual, as I say, but also effective in one way. Trumps seeming unreasonableness is precisely what attracts a large number of frustrated Americans, while also repelling a large number of Americans. A large number of Americansperhaps a majorityare disgusted with our political class, and the conventional rhetoric by which our leadership class conducts our public business. Trumps direct and plainspoken contempt for this state of affairs is like a bracing fresh wind in a stuffy room.

What Reagan did with humor and a deft touch, Trump does with broad insults. Were governed by idiots and clowns and stupid people, Trump likes to say. I agree with him every time I go through a TSA line at the airport. Reagan thought much the same thing, but he never expressed himself the way Trump does.

Reagans barbs at bureaucrats and dysfunctional government were usually expressed with a light touch, which I think was all the more effective for cloaking its contempt within his humor and storytelling ability. Reagans stories always got the point across without having to state the point directly. Who can forget Reagans fondness for the timeless chestnut that The most frightening words in the English language are Im from the government and Im here to help? Or his favorite joke about economists, who are a handy proxy for government planners: Ive seen too many economists who have a watchchain with a Phi Beta Kappa key at one end of the chain and no watch on the other end.

Theres none of that kind of finesse in Trump. Trump, I think it is fair to say, is the most humorless presidential nominee of modern times, with the possible exception of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, who struggles mightily at the effort to display any authentic wit in public.

* * *

The are many reasons for doubting Trumps political prudence and prospects in office should he win, but at the top of the list is this fact: We have never elected someone to the presidency for whom that office was his first public service. Only once before has a major party ever nominated a person with no prior public service, in 1940, when Republicans picked utility executive Wendell Willkiea good and able manto be their standard-bearer. And there is a similarity between the circumstances that yielded up Willkie as the GOP nominee in 1940 and the circumstances that have yielded up Trump today. In 1940, FDR had simply driven Republicans out of their minds with frustration, and someone from outside the political class seemed to have the most clear critique of the state of things. And, dont forget, Republicans had done extremely well in the mid-term election of 1938the biggest off year blowout until 2010 came along. And yet there was a difficulty on the presidential level then, as we see today for Republicans. Obama has driven Republicans out of their minds in frustration in ways similar to FDR.

All of the conventional analytics right now lead you to conclude that Trump will lose. But this has been an unconventional election, so who knows. Since we in LA are celebrating the final year of Vin Scullys remarkable radio career, Im reminded of Scullys spontaneous remark about Kirk Gibsons famous home run: In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. We might well be saying the same thing the night of November 8.

* * *

One of the most important single sentences in the Federalist Papers comes from James Madison, who reminded us of why our constitutional structure was being set up as it was: Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. Whoever wins in November, were going to be testing Madisons proposition like never before.
I've noted it here on more than one occasion; the power grid in the United States, that we all depend upon, is a surprisingly fragile beast. One lone car hitting a power pole can take out power for hours. One misguided animal can fry a transformer. The folks in Waukee, Iowa recently got a taste of that lesson first-hand as a random animal took out a transformer in Waukee Tuesday, showing us all how important backup power systems really are.

The transformer in question was at the Mid America Energy substation just north of Waukee High School, at around 10:15 AM. The resulting blackout caused by the blown transformer cost 3,822 customers the use of power, and though the outage only lasted about 45 minutes, it was proof of just how easy it is to lose power even without an obvious storm in the area. As for the causeas the opening paragraph notedthe blown transformer was chalked up to a small animal that made contact with it.

A 45-minute power outage isn't exactly a disaster, though given its impact, it's much worse than the duration implies. The outage took both power and phone lines out for much of the local schools, including Waukee Elementary, Middle and High Schools, as well as Timberline School, Prairieview School, South Middle School, and the district offices. The schools went to an adjusted schedule, but lunch was still to be served and dismissal time had also not changed.

How a lunch got produced without power is beyond meI know people involved in school lunch production effortsbut it might well have been reduced to a comparatively simple affair involving sandwiches and potentially salads. It may not have even been all that badly impacted. Still, 45 minutes without power and phone lines in an actively-running school cannot be a pleasant activity.

This in turn should serve as a lesson to us all. The use of uninterruptible power supplies can be a big help in power outages, whether just enough power to save documents and shut down systems, or sufficiently sized to carry through a full outage. Turning to larger generating systemsfull generators, solar panels, wind turbines or similar mattercan provide even more time away from the grid, which can be even better for extended outages. It's even worthwhile to consider telecommuting options so, in the event of outages, employees can simply pack up and continue working from alternate locations that still have power.

In the end, there's one key point to take away. When a business experiences a power outage, it can either plan ahead and carry on, or be shut down. Going with the second option runs the risk of loss to those businesses that went with the first option, so be ready, and have backup systems in place so that a power outage doesn't mean a business outage.

Edited by Alicia Young
NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that the following Guggenheim equity exchange traded funds (ETFs) have declared quarterly distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution for each Fund.



Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share XLG Guggenheim Russell Top 50 Mega Cap ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.814 RSP Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.300 OEW Guggenheim S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.080 RPV Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Value ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.265 RPG Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.010 RFV Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Value ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.145 RFG Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Pure Growth ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.153 RZV Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Value ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.111 RZG Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Growth ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.131 RTM Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.340 RGI Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.300 RYT Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.229





Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share RYH Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.198 RHS Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.578 RCD Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Discretionary ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.222 RYE Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.236 RYF Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.011 RYU Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.735 EWMC Guggenheim S&P MidCap 400 Equal Weight ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.186 EWSC Guggenheim S&P SmallCap 600 Equal Weight ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.092 EWEM Guggenheim MSCI Emerging Markets Equal Country Weight ETF 9/16/16 9/20/16 9/30/16 $ 0.221

Past performance is not indicative of future performance. To the extent any portion of the distribution is estimated to be sourced from something other than income, such as return of capital, the source would be disclosed on a Section 19(a)-1 letter located on the Funds website under the Literature tab. Distributions may be comprised of sources other than income, which may not reflect actual Fund performance.

For more information, please visit http://www.guggenheiminvestments.com/etf.

About Guggenheim Investments

Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, with $202 billion1 in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. Our 275+ investment professionals perform rigorous research to understand market trends and identify undervalued opportunities in areas that are often complex and underfollowed. This approach to investment management has enabled us to deliver innovative strategies providing diversification and attractive long-term results.

Read a funds prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the funds investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at http://guggenheiminvestments.com or call 800.820.0888.



The referenced funds are distributed by Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC. Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management business of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (Guggenheim), which includes Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors (GFIA), Security Investors, LLC (SI), the investment advisors to the referenced fund. Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC is affiliated with Guggenheim, SI, and GFIA.

1 Guggenheim Investments total asset figure is as of 06.30.2016. The assets include leverage of $11.4bn for assets under management and $0.5bn for assets for which we provide administrative services. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, Transparent Value Advisors, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited, and Guggenheim Partners India Management.
Inactive telephone numbers in the country increased from 67,331,498 in June to 76,164,149 in July, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed, Thursday.

In its Monthly Subscriber Data report released in Lagos, the commission said there were 8,832,651 unused numbers during the period, making up the total inactive lines.

It showed that of the 226,426,215 connected lines, only 150,262,066 numbers were active.

The report stated that of the 76,164,149 inactive numbers, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks had a share of 72,732,130.

The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA mobile) operators had a share of 3,240,313 while the Fixed Wired/Wireless networks had a total of 184,819 unused lines.

Similarly, of the 150,262,066 active lines, the GSM networks had 149,708,077 numbers, adding a total of 528,994 lines to their June number of 149,179,083 active lines.

It said that the CDMA operators had 371,613 active lines, as their active numbers reduced by 82,479 lines from the June figure of 454,092 active numbers.

The fixed/wireless networks had a share of 164,114 of the active lines, reducing their June record of 170,539 by 6,425 lines in July.

In addition, the report said that teledensity of Nigerias telecommunications industry also climbed to 107.33 per cent in July, compared to 107.01 per cent in June.

It explained that teledensity measures the percentage of a countrys population with access to telecommunications services as determined by the subscriber base.

The teledensity is currently calculated on a population of 140 million people.

The data showed that some subscribers purchased SIM cards but dumped them after using them for some time.

(NAN)
The family of a Burundian military officer and police confirmed that the officer died on Thursday after being questioned by the national intelligence service.

His family said in Bujumbura that Regimental Sgt.-Maj. Eddy Nyongera was arrested on Wednesday on charges of endangering national security.

Police spokesman, Pierre Nkurikiye said Nyongera had grabbed a grenade and blown himself up after questioning.

But, a source close to him accused the intelligence service of torturing and killing him.

The source said that Nyongera belonged to the Tutsi ethnic group, which made up about 14 per cent of the east African countrys 10-million population, while Hutus account for 85 per cent.

He said the opposition accused the Hutu-dominated government of whipping up ethnic hatred against the Tutsis in order to divert attention from the opposition to President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Nkurunzizas election victory in July 2015 after he sought a third term in spite the constitutional two-term limit, ignited a wave of political violence which claimed hundreds of lives.

Meanwhile, human rights activists said Nyongera was the first person whom the authorities admitted had died on the premises of the intelligence service, but that dozens of people had disappeared after being taken there.

The activists accused the government of trying to purge Tutsis from the army.

They said dozens of soldiers had allegedly been arrested, killed or had disappeared since armed government opponents and renegade soldiers attacked army barracks in December, 2015.

The activists noted that in May, a court handed life sentences to 21 people, including senior military officers, who had been implicated in a failed coup against Nkurunziza in May, 2015.

Burundis 1993-2005 civil war which was partly ethnically based, left 300,000 people dead. (Reuters/NAN)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has questioned the chairman and owner of Zinox Technologies Limited, Leonard Stanley Ekeh, and two other officials of the company over a shocking N170 million contract fraud allegation.

The Zinox boss is accused of conspiring with the other officials to hijack and illegally execute the contract awarded by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to an Ibadan-based IT firm.

Mr. Ekeh denied the allegation, and told PREMIUM TIMES the petitioner was trying to blackmail and extort Zinox.

As a businessman, anybody can write a petition against you, he said.

But details of the alleged fraud have shocked investigators, who are probing how Citadel Oracle Concept Limited, based in Ibadan, Oyo State, lost the FIRS contract, yet discovered over a year later that the same job had been executed in its name.

Citadel Oracle said it lost the offer after it refused to pay bribe.

The EFCC took over the case after a petition was sent to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, years after the police refused to charge the case to court, despite establishing the facts of the matter, PREMIUM TIMES understands.

The former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said he preferred the matter be resolved through civil processes.

The Force Criminal Investigation Department of the police began its investigation in 2013, and arrested and detained suspects.

Years after, Mr. Arase advised in a May 14, 2015 letter that the civil matter should be allowed to run its full course to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

How things started

The alleged fraud began in April 2012 after Citadel Oracle tendered for the supply of 668 computers to FIRS at N170.3 million, the head of the firm, Joseph Benjamin, said.

On October 22, 2012, an e-mail from the secretary to the FIRS tenders board, P.B Hena, invited the company to tender for the maintenance/servicing of fire alarm systems at the western regional office.

Mr. Benjamin said shortly after being shortlisted as preferred bidder, he was introduced to the chief executive of a Port Harcourt-based IT company, Admas Digital Technologies Limited, Onny Igbokwe, who claimed to have FIRS insiders who could influence the contract process.

The meeting was arranged by Princess Kama, Citadel Oracles appointed representative in Abuja during the bidding.

At the meeting in Lagos, Mr. Benjamin said Mr. Igbokwe spoke of his relationship with the Zinox boss, Mr. Ekeh, and how, with support from associates within the FIRS, they could decide who got the contract.

He said Mr. Igbokwe asked him to either accept N15 million and hands off the contract, or pay N85 million and execute it.

Mr. Benjamin said he rejected the offers and opted out of the deal. The company promptly disengaged Ms. Kama. It lost the contract.

But, by August 2013, over a year later, Mr. Benjamin said his company made a shocking discovery.

While at the Ibadan office of FIRS to file the companys tax returns for the year, officials there accused Citadel Oracle of under-declaring its earnings and not including an N8.1 million withholding tax and value added tax in respect of a N170 million FIRS contract.

Mr. Benjamin said he immediately suspected Mr. Igbokwe and co, and wondered whether they had gone ahead to execute the contract using his firms name.

Citadel Oracle launched an investigation, and the findings were startling.

Officials said they realised those who impersonated the firm cloned its official headed paper, with which they issued an acceptance letter for the FIRS contract.

To facilitate payment of the contract sum, they said, the suspects approached the Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, branch of Access Bank where some of its officials allegedly connived and availed them original copies of documents used by Citadel Oracle to open its corporate account.

The fictitious account No. 0059202675 at Access Bank, was opened on a public holiday, Monday, October 1, 2012, PREMIUM TIMES confirmed. Meanwhile, in its original filings for the contract, Citadel Oracle used a First Bank account, and not Access Bank account.

How FIRS came to accept the Access Bank account it paid the contract sum into and not the First Bank account, which was accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the bank management guaranteeing to provide finance to the company, remains a mystery, Mr. Benjamin said.

After weeks of delay, Access Bank spokesperson, Abdul Imoyo, said on Monday that he would make consultations and respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiry.

Also, in the documents filed for the contract, Citadel Oracle Concept Limiteds office address was listed as Suite A11 New Banex Plaza, Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja.

This newspaper confirmed the address is the Abuja office of Admas Digital Technology Limited owned by Mr. Igbokwe.

Even more alarming, Citadel Oracle found that a resolution purportedly issued by its management conferred the power of attorney on Chris Ozims, the Group Company Secretary/Legal Adviser for Technology Distribution and Zinox Group.

In the resolution, Mr. Ozims, along with Folashade Oyebode, a director of Technology Distribution, and Mr. Igbokwe, were listed as Citadels directors and signatories to the account.

In his statement after his arrest in 2013 over the contract, Mr. Ozims told the police the trio were appointed through a December 18, 2012 Citadel Board Resolution. But, none of them was either among the owners of the company or on its Board.

When PREMIUM TIMES sought to speak with him shortly after his invitation by the EFCC, Mr. Ozims declined. The matter is currently before the court. We have to wait till the appropriate time, he said.

Mrs. Folashade equally did not comment over her involvement in the matter. Oga, I dont know what you are talking about, she said when PREMIUM TIMES called to inquire before immediately terminating the call. Subsequent calls to her were not answered.

The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Ozims and Ms. Oyebode were quizzed by the commission, alongside Mr. Ekeh.

Mr. Ekehs wife, Chioma, was also invited by the EFCC on August 18 for questioning. But Technology Distribution wrote back to say she had traveled to the United States for a family obligation.

PREMIUM TIMES also confirmed that Mr. Igbokwe and Ms. Kama had earlier been interrogated before submitting their written statements to the anti-graft agency.

Brazen fraud

After the company submitted an Access Bank account, the FIRS made the first payment of N53.763 million into the fictitious account for the supply of 233 laptops.

Three days later, another payment of N62.531 million hit the account from FIRS account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

About 24 hours after, the N62.531 million was withdrawn from the account. The same day, another N37.842 million was lodged in the account as payment for the supply of 164 laptops.

Checks with Hewett Packard (HP), where the laptops were purportedly sourced, showed there was no purchase order No. FIRS/PD/10/12/12/564 which the so-called Citadel Oracle claimed to have been delivered to FIRS.

Mr. Benjamin said there were compelling reasons to suspect the N62.531 million transferred from the account to unknown beneficiaries may have been transferred to some FIRS officials who facilitated the fraud.

The FIRS refused to comment on the case.

A freedom of information (FOI) request by PREMIUM TIMES, seeking clarifications on the agencys role in the controversial contract, has not been answered nearly two months after.

Further analysis showed Charles Adigwe, an accountant at Technology Distribution, had on January 25, 2013, advised the companys managing director, Chioma Ekeh, who is Mr. Ekes wife, to approve the transfer of N115.268 million from the fictitious Access Bank account to the companys account at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

Another N38.057 million was approved to be transferred to Admas Digital Technologys account at Zenith Bank.

Mr. Adigwe also requested approval for the transfer of another N43.685 million from Admas account at Access Bank to TDs account at GTB.

The requests, which followed a similar request by Mr. Igbokwe for the transfer of N38.057 million to his account, No. 1010699686 at Zenith Bank, were approved by Mrs. Ekeh on January 31.

On February 4, 2013, as earlier approved, N115.268 million was transferred from the account to TDs at GTB, while another N38.057 million was also transfer same day to Admas account at Zenith Bank.

By February 28, 2013, the fictitious account was depleted to only N2, 137.33.

To push it into dormancy before abandoning it, the group withdrew N5, 200 for a curious search conducted at the Corporate Affairs Commission bringing the account to a debit balance of N3, 062.67.

Confronting the fraud

Armed with the details and the auditors shocking findings at the Ibadan tax office, Mr. Benjamin said he confronted Mr. Igbokwe and Ms. Kama. Both denied knowledge of the dealings.

Citadel Oracle laid a formal complaint at the police special fraud unit in October 2013, and hired Afe Babalola & Co., legal practitioners in January 2014 to write the two individuals, alongside Mr. Ozims and Mrs. Oyebode.

Similar letters were sent to Access Bank. The bank promised to investigate and revert. It never did.

Another letter to the Financial Policy and Regulations Department of the CBN regarding the role of Access Bank, received no response either. The bank also promised to investigate. It did not provide any response.

In his statement to the police after his arrest in 2013 over the scandal, Obilo Onuoha, then a Relationship manager with Access Bank, said Citadel Oracle Concept account was opened by a Board resolution executed by its promoters introduced by Zinox Technologies/Technology Distributions.

I have not communicated with any of the Citadel directors, he admitted. My communication on this account was just once with the signatories on the account and the man that signed as Citadel representative, one Chief Igbokwe.

In the letter to Mr. Ozims and Mrs. Oyebode, Afe Babalola asked how they became directors of Citadel Oracle and signatories to the Access Bank account.

The letter to Mrs. Ekeh wanted to know why she approved payments from the illegal account, which she knew was opened with a forged Board resolution and other documents.

After the letters were sent, the accused persons proposed a meeting presided by Mr. Babalola, to seek ways of resolving the case.

Mr. Benjamin said at the end of the meeting held at Mr. Babalolas private residence in Ekiti, the accused persons, through their lawyer, Anthony Okah & Associates, offered N5.7 million as compensation to Citadel Oracle. The amount was rejected.

On February 20, 2014, Mr. Igbokwe wrote to Mr. Benjamin to raise the amount to N10 million as our veritable olive branch for an enduring peace, according to details seen by this newspaper.

Mr. Benjamin said the offer was also rejected.

He said his company only demanded a public apology and an undertaking by the suspects to take responsibility for any claim(s) by FIRS, Access bank and any other party against Citadel Oracle in connection with the contract, in future.

On January 22, 2014, Mr. Ozims, in his capacity as group Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, TD Limited, responded to the letter by Afe Babalola & Co. for clarification of his role in the scam.

In the letter, he did not deny his involvement. He said the Board of TD had approved their nomination to represent the company in those capacities, while Mrs. Ekeh was authorised to handle the disbursements from the illegal account.

Mr. Ozims said following a petition by Citadel Oracle to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the police, he and Mrs. Oyebode were arrested in December 2013, and later were granted bail after their statements were collected.

Mr. Ozims described the threat by the law firm to take the matter to court as an attempt to duplicate the punishment for a case already before the SFU, urging them to await the conclusion of investigations.

The matter lingered for years, with the police in Lagos and Abuja refusing to charge the suspects to court.

Mr. Benjamin said he was instead prodded by the police investigating team to accept financial offers by Mr. Igbokwe.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Zinox Technologies for comments, its head, Corporate Communications, Gideon Ayogu, dismissed the allegations linking his company as false and cheap blackmail.

Mr. Ayogu promised to send a vigorous response later. Weeks after that promise, his response was still being awaited till press time.

However, Mr. Ekeh, in a lengthy response to this newspapers inquiries, denied any role in the case.

The man is claiming that TD did not deliver computers to FIRS, he said. They (EFCC) have been to FIRS and found every equipment with serial numbers. But, he said they used his company to defraud government. That is not true. He wants to destroy me.

He wanted me to give him money. I will not do it. Zinox has never done business with the man. FIRS confirmed they gave business to that company, and the company brought the papers to us through his agent. We have several companies we help like that.

He agreed Mr. Igbokwe has been a business partner/distributor to TD for over 15 years, but denied knowledge of the fictitious account at Access bank where the payment was lodged by FIRS.

However, bank documents seen by this newspaper showed transfers of monies between FIRS account at the CBN and the fake account as well as approvals by top officials of Zinox Technologies for disbursements from the account to Zinox banks accounts and those of the suspects.

Police Petitioner turns accused

Following former IGP Arases advice against the police charging the suspects to court, Mr. Benjamins lawyers, Enyinnaya Uwaezuoke, on June 5, 2015 accused the IGP of attempting to shield the accused from prosecution.

He issued a 21-day ultimatum for the IGP to transfer the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution, Federal Ministry of Justice, for the prosecution of the suspects.

After the encounter, the police wrote the attorney general of the federation to say the accused had already been arraigned at a Lagos High Court.

Curiously, on June 16, 2016, three days before the end of IGP Arases tenure, the police charged Mr. Benjamin to court, accusing him of providing false information in his petition against the accused.

The former IGP said his allegation in the petition of July 3, 2014 about the Board Resolution Citadel Oracle company used in opening the fake account in Access bank through which the FIRS paid for the contract was false.

On July 2, 2016, Mr. Benjamin was arraigned before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja on a one-count charge of false petitioning IGP Arase with intention of misleading him over a case of identity theft, impersonation and criminal conversion of contracts against the accused.

Mr. Benjamin was accused of falsely alleging the plaintiffs, namely Mr. Igbokwe, Ms.Kama, Mrs.Oyebode, Mr. Ozims, Admas Digital Technologies Limited, Pirovics Engineering Services Limited, Technology Distributions Limited and Zinox Telecommunications Limited, conspired to forge his signature on a fake Board resolution of his company to open an account at Access bank.

He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail by Justice Peter Kekemeke in the sum of N200, 000. The case was adjourned to October 6, 2016 for hearing.

The EFCC took over the investigations after a petition went to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
A 30-year-old man, Bature Iliya, on Thursday confessed to a Lokoja Chief Magistrates Court that he only attacked his victim with a machete and not a gun.

Mr. Iliya is being tried on a two-count charge of alleged criminal conspiracy and armed robbery.

The accused while in the dock patiently waited as the charges preferred against him were read out by the prosecutor, Tuesday Ganagana, and was asked if he understood the charges.

He simply raised his hand and asked: Magistrate, can I say something? and the Chief Magistrate, Levi Animoku, obliged him.

They lied against me. See, I never had a gun, I only attacked him with my machete and collected the motorcycle when he proved stubborn but I did not use a gun, I am not an armed robber, he said.

Mr. Iliya of Fulani Camp, Gidan Gwari, Ajaokuta Local Government, along with one other, now at large, was alleged to have attacked Abdullahi Musa of Adogo Fulani Camp and robbed him of his Gionee handset and Daylong motorcycle valued at N130,000 on August 16.

Mr. Musa, who claimed to be returning home from his father in-laws place on a bush path at Gidan Gwari, said the accused and his alleged accomplice were armed with dangerous weapons, including sticks, cutlasses and guns.

He said that they beat him with stick, inflicted machete cut injuries on his head and left elbow and robbed him of the items after which they left him in the bush.

The prosecutor said the complainant was rescued by Abdulmumuni who rushed him to a hospital in Eganyi, headquarters of Ajaokuta Local.

He told the court that the case was under investigation and submitted that the offence of armed robbery under section 298(c) of the Penal Code was not bailable as it carries life imprisonment upon conviction.

In his ruling, Magistrate Animoku said: the offence of armed robbery is horrifying and one of the serious social vices that often lead to death of Nigerian citizens.

Bail is not granted as matter of course, the presumption of innocence notwithstanding.

He, therefore, ordered that the accused be remanded at Federal Prisons, Okene.

He adjourned the case till September 22, for mention.

(NAN)
Investigators have confirmed that a piece of aircraft debris that was found in Tanzania nearly three months ago was part of the missing MH370.

The Malaysian Minister of Transport, Liow Lai, said on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur that the debris, an outboard wing flap, was recovered along the coast of the island of Pemba in Tanzania on June 20.

He said the finding that the debris was part of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft was established after thorough examination by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau with the concurrence of the MH370 Safety Investigation team.

The team also identified several part numbers, along with physical appearance, dimensions and construction, which confirm the piece to be an inboard section of a Boeing 777 outboard flap.

A date stamp associated with one of the part numbers indicates manufacture on Jan. 23, 2002, which is consistent with the May 31, 2002 delivery date for MH370, he said.

Liow said experts would continue to examine the debris in the hope of finding more evidence that may provide an explanation as to what happened to the Beijing-bound passenger jet.

Flight MH370, with 239 people on board, disappeared without a trace on March 8, 2014, nearly an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Experts believe the plane crashed in a remote part of the Southern Indian Ocean, but an Australian-led international search team has yet to locate the main wreckage.

Several pieces of debris have been recovered since last year along the coasts of Africa, which investigators believe to be part of the missing plane. (dpa/NAN)
The Nigeria Police said 1,120 vehicles recovered from robbers are awaiting repossession by their owners in police stations across Lagos and Ogun states.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, Abdulmajid Ali, disclosed this on Thursday while appraising the activities of the command he took over six weeks ago.

He advised members of the public who have lost their vehicles to robbers to check the recovered ones at police formations across the two states.

Mr. Ali said the vehicles were being kept by the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence departments, Anti-Robbery Squads, Special Anti-Robbery Squads, and Zonal Intervention Squads in the states.

The police chief urged members of the public to make enquiries from the police on any security issue that can assist in achieving better policing and protection of lives and property.

He also encouraged Nigerians to report any unpleasant or unethical conduct by police personnel to his office, through the Zonal Monitoring Unit (08038255873), Public Relations Department (08037168147) or his personal line,08055885544,(SMS only) for necessary action.
Concord staked its claim to be the birthplace of Independence during the celebration of "Americas jubilee" on April 19, 1825, the fiftieth anniversary of Concord Fight. Concord in 1825 was an expansive town of nineteen hundred inhabitants, thriving with crafts and trade in the village and surrounded by farms prospering on demand from rising urban centers in the long boom that accompanied the opening phase of the Industrial Revolution in the Northeast. It also occupied a prominent place on the political landscape; as a shire town, where the county courts convened, it had risen into a leading center of Middlesex County, and its politicians were major players on that stage. Economic and political ambitions, as well as pride in the past, drove the insistence that Concord was the "first site of forcible resistance to British aggression."



A decade later, by the mid-1830s, with over two thousand inhabitants, Concord was probably at its political and economic pinnacle . The central village hosted some nine stores, forty shops, four hotels and taverns, four doctors and four lawyers, a variety of county associations, a printing office and a post office. Manufacturing was humming, too, with a growing mill village in the west part of town, along the quick-running Assabet River, and rising production of carriages and chaises, boots and shoes, bricks, guns, bellows, and pencils.



But a good many people were left out of the prosperity. In what was still a farming town, 64 percent of adult males were landless, while the top tenth of taxpayers, some fifty men, controlled nearly half the wealth. Those who failed to obtain a stake in society, native and newcomer alike, quickly moved on. The ties that once joined neighbors together were fraying. On the farms, the old work customsthe huskings, roof-raisings, and apple beesby which people cooperated to complete essential chores gave way to modern capitalist arrangements. When men needed help, they hired it, and paid the going rate, which no longer included the traditional ration of grog. With a new zeal for temperance, employers abandoned the custom of drinking with workers in what had been a ritual display of camaraderie. There was no point in pretending to common bonds.



With the loosening of familiar obligations came unprecedented opportunities for personal autonomy and voluntary choice. Massachusetts inaugurated a new era of religious pluralism in 1834, ending two centuries of mandatory support for local churches. Even in Concord, a slim majority approved the change, and as soon as it became law, townspeople deserted the two existing churchesthe Unitarian flock of the Reverend Ripley and an orthodox Calvinist congregation founded in 1826in droves. The Sabbath no longer brought all ranks and orders together in obligatory devotion to the Word of God. Instead, townspeople gathered in an expanding array of voluntary associationslibraries, lyceums, charitable and missionary groups, Masonic lodges, antislavery and temperance societies, among othersto promote diverse projects for the common good. The privileged classes, particularly the village elite, were remarkably active in these campaigns. But even as they pulled back from customary roles and withdrew into private associations, they continued to exercise public power.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following was true of Concords economy in the 1840s?



(A) Manufacturing was a growing industry, overtaking farming in importance.



(B) The economy likely was stagnant or in decline relative to the previous decade.



(C) Land ownership among adult males was on the rise.



(D) The sale and consumption of alcohol declined sharply.



(E) The construction of new farmhouses and other farm buildings slowed.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Tuesday addressed top US defence officials and policy leaders on the efforts of military in the fight against insurgency in the North-East.

The Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, told the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone interview that Mr. Buratai spoke at the Africa Centre of the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, United States of America.

Mr. Usman said the presentation was titled: Nigerian Army Challenges and Priorities in the Ongoing Operations against Boko Haram Terrorists and Other Threats to Peace and Security.

He said the presentation at the Centre was part of the Army chiefs programme on his official visit to the US.

Mr. Usman said Mr. Buratai emphasised the fact that the fight against terrorism was one that concerned the entire global community and not only the countries.

He said the chief of army staff talked about addressing the issues of insecurity in Nigeria at the strategic, tactical and operational levels as well as the challenges in tackling the threat of terrorism.

Mr. Usman said the Army chief applauded the strategic leadership provided by President Buhari in the reinvigorated fight against Boko Haram.

Buratai enumerated the Presidential strategic directive of relocating the Military Command and Control Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri, which was followed by the directive of defeating the insurgents by the end of December 2015.

He spoke about (how) the involvement of neighbouring countries, as well as provision of necessary arms and logistics, assisted in the defeat of the terrorists.

Buratai maintained his stand to undertake and sustain the current level of operations to ensure complete defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists.

The aim is in ensuring the safety and freedom for all abducted persons and creation of favourable environment that would permit the return of all refugees and internally displaced persons to their original home, he said.

Mr. Buratai, Mr. Usman noted, also informed his audience of the Armys commitment to developing capacity through local training and international collaboration in the provision for equipment, training support, equipment maintenance, intelligence and respect for human rights.

He said Mr. Buratai sought the support and understanding among all cooperating agencies and international partners for a collective action against Boko Haram terrorists.

Mr. Usman said a roundtable discussion was held on Nigerias counter-terrorism efforts and issues surrounding human rights abuses by Nigerian troops.

He said eminent personalities including senior retired military officers, policy makers and other top government officials participated in the discussions.

He said participants at the forum included director of the Centre, Peter Pham; Ambassador Philip Carter III; and Former Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Engagement AFRICOM, Serah Margon.

Other participants include Washington Director, Human Rights Watch, Clarence Cook; Chair of the Ballard Group LLC, Lesley Anne Warner; and House Foreign Affairs Committee, Morgan Vina.

The list also includes policy analysts, US Committee on Foreign Relations and Colonel Chris Wyatt, Director of African Studies and US Army War College.

Mr. Usman said the Chief of Army Staff also presented another paper at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington.

(NAN)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said local government administrators across the country should push for an amendment to the Constitution that will limit the powers of state government over their activities.

This will limit the damage they can do to you. The quicker you do this the better, so that you can help your people much more, Mr. Buhari said in a statement signed by his media aide, Garba Shehu.

Mr. Buhari offered the advice when he played host to the leadership of Association of Local Governments in Nigeria in Abuja.

He said some ambiguities in the constitution have made it difficult for local governments to operate independently and serve as a loophole for the state governments to manipulate local councils.

The relationship between the three tiers of government is not a very nice one, especially that between the local governments and the states, Mr. Buhari said.

The states feel like they own the local government, if they are of the same party. It is worse if they are not.

This is a very serious constitutional problem and unless there is absolute clarity and transparency, the relationship will continue to be exploited against the interest of the ordinary people of the country.

Mr. Buhari, therefore, urged ALGON leadership to quickly draft an amendment to the Constitution and push same through the legislature.

The local government officials used the occasion to remind Mr. Buhari about a pending $3.2 billion which the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly illegally deducted from local government allocation as part of the 2005 national debt settlement.

Acting National Chairman of ALGON, Ibrahim Karaye, told Mr. Buhari local government workers would be grateful if he could help resolve the stalemate.

The statement also said Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, was also present at the meeting.
The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday said it would continue to clampdown on militant groups and criminal elements in the Niger Delta.

This is contained in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, in Abuja.

The Navy said it arrested one of the top leaders of a group called Bakassi Strike Force (BSF). It added that nabbing the suspect was part of efforts to eliminate unwholesome activities by criminals in the Niger Delta.

The suspected militant, Mr. Uduak Thompson aka SANGATA, was arrested on Sept. 12 in his hideout in Calabar by a joint team from Nigerian Navy Ship VICTORY and Defence Intelligence Agency, it said.

The statement recalled that some top members of the BSF had earlier been arrested.

In a related development, the patrol team deployed by Naval Outpost (NOP) Ikuru has arrested four suspected sea robbers, who were alleged to be responsible for several attacks and robbery incidents.

According to the statement, they carry out these attacks at Oyorokoro, Ataba, Kaa and Oyorokoro communities in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers.

The gang was alleged to have particularly attacked market women on Sept. 4, 2016 at Oyorokoro Community.

These arrests bring to fore, the commitment of the NN and other security agencies to stamp out the menace of criminal brigandage in the region.

Investigation into these untoward activities has commenced and the perpetrators will be handed over to prosecuting agencies for further action, the statement said.

(NAN)
Plans to mark the half a decade anniversary of PREMIUM TIMES in providing the Nigerian community and consumers of Nigerian news with the most factual, reliable, truly verifiable, and professional journalism have commenced with the board announcement of some staff and management movement at the paper.

PREMIUM TIMES is Nigerias first non-profit newsroom founded on a unique social model to actively contribute to the emergence of a truly democratic society imbued with the values of accountability, justice, integrity, and respect for human rights.

Central to its organizational goals include the creation of sustainable and inclusive value to a Nigerian economy that provides enduring value to people, communities and markets, and one that creates empowering human development environment where the team of staff and executives can explore their potentials to be their very best.

The papers operation is defined by the best traditions of ethical investigative and data journalism.

In the new movement, Dapo Olorunyomi, former Editor-in-Chief, moves now to the position of Publisher/Chief Executive Officer of the paper.

He will help nurture the organisation along its vision in new product developments to become the most profitable and competitive media outfit in the country.

Mr. Olorunyomi, a veteran journalist and social entrepreneur, led the company from its modest origin five years ago, growing it to one of the most respected media establishments in Africa today.

He is an award-winning reporter and editor with varied experience in Nigeria and internationally, earning, as one of the two only Nigerian past recipients of the International Editor of the Year Award. He also won the Freedom to Write Award from PEN (West) while also clinching the Press Freedom Awards from the National Association of Black Journalists in the United States.

He co-founded The News magazine in Lagos; was enterprise editor at Next Newspapers, and founded the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism. He served as director and chief of staff at Nigerias Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from 2005 until 2008, voluntarily resigning when the then EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, was illegally dismissed in 2008.

Mr. Olorunyomi worked as a journalist, media development officer in the later half of the 1990s after moving to the United States, where he worked, first, as Senior Fellow, Africa, at the Washington DC offices of Panos Institute, and later as the Nigeria Project Director for Freedom House.

Moving into the position of Editor-in-Chief is Musikilu Mojeed, erstwhile managing editor of the paper, who earns an added role as Chief Operating Officer of the organisation in the new dispensation.

In his new role, Mr. Mojeed will help plan and direct all aspects of PREMIUM TIMES operational policies, objectives, and developments to ensure future growth, Mr. Olorunyomi said in an internal memo, conveying the board decision to staff.

Mr. Mojeed came highly credentialed to these new responsibilities: A 2013 Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University; a masters in journalism from the famous City University of New York, a Certificate in Political Reporting from the International Institute of Journalism, Berlin, Germany, and a top-of-his-class Bachelor of Communication Arts degree from the University of Uyo after which he worked in some of the nations top media organisations and as freelance for the New York Times.

Only few, I must say, among his peers, can match the quality of his professional gifts and the breadth of his experience.

As he edited the paper with extraordinary talent and grace, our expectations are boundless that in his new role, Mr. Mojeed will help take PREMIUM TIMES to the next pinnacle of editorial and organisational possibilities in line with the values and vision of the company.

Following Mr. Mojeeds transition to a new role, a new managing editor has been named. Idris Akinbajo, erstwhile head of the papers investigations desk, was named after an intense competitive process.

Mr. Akinbajos new role in the organisation will be to direct the ever-growing news/editorial operations, and to particularly shepherd our newsroom of talented reporters and writers to continue in the tradition of groundbreaking news reporting that has defined us as market leaders in the now five years of presence in the Nigerian media landscape, Mr. Olorunyomi said in his memo.

Mr. Akinbajo entered the wild, exciting world of journalism after graduating with honours in engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University where he also served as the Secretary General of the Students Union.

He was a member of the investigative desk of the now rested NEXT newspapers that produced some of the greatest investigative stories from Nigeria between 2008 and 2011.

Among his numerous awards include being twice named Nigerias investigative journalist of the year, the Future Awards young person of the year, and the FAIR African Investigative reporter award. He was also a finalist at the 2012 edition of the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the Year award.

He recently completed his Masters programme at one of Europes best schools of communication, the Graduate School of Communication at the University of Amsterdam, where his thesis was adjudged one of the best at the department and has been shortlisted for the university prize.

Mr. Akinbajo is affable and a natural team worker, qualities that will allow him enjoy cooperation and warmth from the broad PREMIUM TIMES family, Mr. Olorunyomi said.

To assist Mr. Akinbajo in his new role are two giant pillars.

Ini Ekott, former associate editor moved up to become Assistant Managing Editor for News. He is joined in that role by a new member of the family, Bisi Abidoye, who has since begun work as Assistant Managing Editor for Standards and Features.

Mr. Ekott, a physics/electronics graduate of the University of Port Harcourt, is an immensely talented investigative journalist, and is the self-effacing workhorse who, for years, gave grace to most of PREMIUM TIMES copies. In 2013, he was named Nigerias Investigative Journalist of the Year by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Mr. Abidoye however came from outside the organisation with a chest full of badges on account of meritorious services in the private and public sector lanes of the information/media industry.

With 25 years experience in journalism, Mr. Abidoye has worked at various times and capacities at Nigerian Tribune, Daily Independent, Daily Comet, The Herald, Newswatch and Daily Times.

He was also a former chief press secretary to the Kwara State Governor.

What unites all the people we are welcoming to new roles today is that they also represent the best in the tradition of ethical journalism, something in terrible short supply in our industry today, Mr. Olorunyomi said.

The new staff movements came on the heels of the innovation of the Business Development Unit of the paper which is now erected on a distinct business model structured to effectively enable PREMIUM TIMES unique social vision.

Ime Enang, a talented professional who has over 23 years experience in Human Resource Management, managing public affairs, stakeholder analysis, project initiation, design and management is leading the new unit as Business and Partnership Director.

Her expertise also includes advocacy and coalition building, research and administration.

While at the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), she contributed to developing networks with regulatory institutions and other likeminded organizations in Nigeria and also worked on projects across countries in Africa. She has spoken to different audiences in Africa, Europe and the United States.

A highly sought trainer, Ms. Enang has a BA History (Ed) degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University and is currently working on a second Masters degree in Management and Public Policy at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

A key factor in her work is her passion and creativity in problem solving and event planning.

Also on the Business Services team as General Manager is Inemesit Oyebanji who is operating out of the papers Lagos office.

Ms. Oyebanji comes to her position with over 16 years experience, most of which was in telecommunication management. Her experiences cut across office management, client liaison service, quality assurance coordination, management and training, business logistics, as well as administrative and operational support.

Ms Oyebanji holds a Bachelors degree in Economics Education from the Ahmadu Bello University and has attended several professional training courses in Nigeria and abroad.
The Federal Government says the call by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for President Muhammadu Buhari to resign is irritant and attempt to distract the government from its rescue mission.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who said this in a statement issued on Thursday, said that the government would not be deterred by such calls.

We are on a rescue mission to resuscitate Nigeria after the PDP left it in a coma, and the noise from the same PDP seems designed to sabotage the rescue efforts. But we are not deterred.

While the PDP was emasculating Nigeria on all fronts, including social, economic and political, the rapacious party was deceiving Nigerians by giving them the illusion of growth and prosperity.

Instead of showing remorse and rebuilding itself to a strong opposition party, the PDP has continued to blame the successor Buhari administration which is left to pack their mess.

PDP undertakers have continued to engage in a blame game, when they should be hiding from the shame they brought upon themselves and the nation, he said.

Mr. Mohammed said the government could not stop talking about the past maladministration of the PDP because of its dire effects on the economy and the need to prevent reoccurrence.

The candid truth is that we failed under the successive PDP administrations to save for the rainy day, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of that so that we wont repeat the mistake, he said.

The minister said the government was still trying to recover huge sums looted from the national treasury under the PDPs watch, with 15 billion dollars stolen from the defence sector alone.

He said because of the way funds (about 322m dollar) returned from Switzerland were mishandled, the government had to accept certain conditions before the stolen fund could be remitted.

Mr. Mohammed faulted the claim by the PDP that it reduced the nations national debt.

At the time that we were earning such large revenues from oil, we only managed to double our external debt from 5.6 billion dollar to 10.7 billion dollar between 2011 and 2015.

The case of domestic debt was even worse, almost tripling from N888 billion to N2.1 trillion in the

same period.

Even these figures mask the extent of unpaid obligations to contractors and the huge plethora of uncompleted projects on which money continued to be spent without visible results.

Payments to contractors stopped several years ago while not a single dollar was contributed to the Joint Venture activities.

Over N4.5 trillion was spent on fuel subsidy in just two years under the PDP, he said.

The Minister said the government would continue to welcome constructive criticism from well meaning Nigerians. (NAN)
The United Nations has decided to establish two Aviation Security Training Schools in Nigeria to help boost safety and security in the countrys aviation sector.

The United Nations-appointed Project Manager for the schools, Douglas Melvin, made the disclosure when he visited the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, in Abuja.

Mr. Melvin said the main objective of the project was to support the nations overall counter-terrorism strategy by providing a key element of a robust national aviation security policy.

A statement released by James Odaudu, Deputy Director, Press & Public Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, quoted Mr. Melvin as saying that this would help to mitigate the threat posed to civil aviation by terrorist groups.

Mr. Melvin said the initiative would also enhance the capacity within the UN system to help interested member states implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in an integrated manner.

Mr. Melvin said the choice of Nigeria out of 25 countries considered was in appreciation of its clear roadmap in developing the aviation sector, with particular emphasis on safety and security.

The country stands to reap more benefits than the training of its aviation security personnel by the best available security experts, Mr. Melvin was quoted as saying.

He said other benefits include the provision of, and exposure to hi-tech Aviation Security equipment and the generation of revenue from training of aviation security personnel from other countries.

The UN representative also informed the minister that the forthcoming UN General Assembly was billed to make a proclamation on aviation security with specific reference to Nigeria.

He said the step underscored the importance attached to the project as a flagship and high profile one which the country was privileged to be a beneficiary.

Responding, Mr. Sirika commended the UN for recognising and identifying with the governments vision and efforts to establish and nurture a safe and secure world class aviation industry.

He assured him of the governments readiness to provide all that was needed for the effective take-off and operation of the two institutes to be located in Abuja and Lagos.

He also described the choice of Nigeria for the institutes as a massive boost to the nations desire to become a regional aviation hub.

The project is to be fully funded by the UN and delivered by the UK Department of Transportation.

Nigeria is expected to participate in the provision of training premises and supply of low-cost aviation training equipment, among others, he said. (NAN)
Governor Muhammadu Jibrillah of Adamawa on Thursday said the Central Bank of Nigeria denied about 100,000 farmers in the state participation in the Anchor Borrowers Programme because they did not have bank verification numbers.

Mr. Jibrillah, who disclosed this while launching the distribution of farm inputs to farmers participating in the anchor borrowers initiative in Yola, described the development as disturbing.

I am worried and disturbed by how about 100,000 farmers captured in the national anchor borrowers initiative in the state were rejected by CBN due to lack of Bank Verification Number.

There is need for the state ministry of agriculture and farmers associations to closely work together and sensitise the farmers to avoid this rejection in future, Mr. Jibrillah said.

He said the 28,000 farmers that were registered for the exercise were not enough for the state, and called for more effort to register more farmers.

The governor noted that money meant for Adamawa under the initiative was lying at the CBN, but assured that effort would be made to enable the farmers get it.

Speaking earlier, Waziri Ahmadu, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, said there are 120,000 registered farmers in the state.

Mr. Ahmadu said the ministry would ensure that those that were rejected were captured again.

In his remark, Venantius Jiddere, the state chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria thanked the federal government for the initiative.

Mr. Jiddere promised the cooperation of members of the association with the state government for successful implementation of the programme.

(NAN)
A Lokoja Chief Magistrates Court on Thursday remanded an 18-year-old Disc Jockey (DJ), Ugbede Iyeh, in prison custody for killing his friend, a barber, Ikani Amodu, 30, with a pestle.

The Chief Magistrat, Levi Animoku, in his ruling, described the killing as horrifying.

Mr. Animoku said the offence carried the highest penalty and remanded the accused at the Federal Prisons, Dekina.

He also transferred the case to the Chief Magistrate Court in Dekina, and adjourned it till Sept. 27 for mention.

Prosecutor Tuesday Ganagana had told the court that the case was reported at the Divisional Police Headquarters, Dekina and Criminal Investigation Intellience Department, Lokoja, by Samson Ebenehi, the elder brother of the deceased.

Mr. Ganagana said the accused on Aug. 28, at about 8 a.m., went to the barbing saloon of the deceased on the pretext of trying to download some music tracks from the deceased laptop computer into his own.

He said the accused in the process, deleted all tracks in the barbers laptop and a misunderstanding ensued.

He said the accused thereafter armed himself with mortar pestle with which he struck the deceased on the head.

Mr. Ganagana said the barber fell down and became unconscious and was rushed to Peace Hospital, Anyigba where he was confirmed dead on arrival.

The prosecutor said investigation into the matter was ongoing and applied for another date to mention the matter.

He reminded the court that the offence of culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code was not ordinarily bailable and therefore, urged the court to remand the accused in prison custody. (NAN)
A mother of seven, Uzoamaka Onu, 39, has been abandoned by her husband at the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre, Nkpor in Anambra over a bill of N520,000.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the woman had stayed in the hospital for four months following the non- payment of the bill.

Ms. Onu, a food vendor from Okpoto community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi, said that the husband had absconded and abandoned her to her fate.

She said she had lived in the hospital for four months and every attempt to reach her husband had failed.

My husband stopped visiting the hospital after I successfully underwent a surgery on my right breast, she said.

She said she did not blame her husband for absconding because he had suffered a lot since 2013 when signs of cancer started manifesting.

My husband sells rat poison and cannot afford the money to pay the balance and I think that is why he has run away.

I am appealing to good spirited Nigerians to come to my aid and help me to get back home.

My problem started in 2013 when I started experiencing excruciating pain in my body, specifically in my lungs.

I started visiting patent medicine stores for solution, but unfortunately that compounded my problems.

However, it was on the advice of some friends and family members that I decided to visit General Hospital, Abakiliki where I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ms. Onu said.

She said she had visited the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for solution.

Ms. Onu said that she also went to the New Mayor Hospital and Fertility Centre where she had a successful surgery, leading to outright removal of her right breast.

She said that N750,000 was the total amount by the hospital management for the surgery, with her family paying N230,000, leaving the outstanding balance.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Ben Ossai, confirmed the incident, describing Ms. Onus case as pathetic.

Mr. Ossai said that the womans right breast was in a deteriorating state and was emitting offensive odour due to the devastation the ailment had caused.

We decided to perform a surgery on her to remove the affected breast, he said.

Mr. Ossai said the patient underwent a successful surgery and had long been discharged pending when her family would pay the balance of her medical bill.

But for four months now, her husband has not visited and we suspected he has absconded, he said.

(NAN)
A former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, said he opted out of the senatorial election last year because the ticket was offered him with a price tag.

Mr. Daniel made the disclosure Wednesday at a social media forum known as PenPushing Platform.

He said he considered the price tag for the slot as immoral, in view of the fact that he expected to go to the senate to serve the people.

In the build up to the 2015 general elections, there had been speculations that Mr. Daniel, who was governor of the state at the time, was interested in running for the Ogun East senatorial district on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

A financier of the party, Buruji Kashamu, was, however, also interested in the seat. Mr. Buruji eventually won the election on the ticket of PDP.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Daniel said he was not discouraged from seeking the partys ticket until he was made to realise it would go to the highest bidder.

I was offered the ticket at a price but I rejected it because I could not come to terms morally and in good conscience with purchasing a ticket to contest election to serve.

Some people even tried to pay the price but I stopped them. Insiders are fully aware of these details. Just setting records straight with respects, he stated.

Mr. Daniel claimed a presidential delegation of PDP, led by Tony Anenih was at his house in Sagamu to offer him the ticket.

I voluntarily declined, as I was engaged to coordinate President Jonathans campaign in the SouthWest for PDP, while supporting most of our cheated candidates who went to PPN at that time.

On the crisis in the PDP, the former governor said such development was also applicable to other parties, as no political party is immune to crisis.

The crisis in the PDP in the build up to the 2011 election, which led to the change in the leadership of the party has been well documented in my memoirs Daniel in the Lions Den, he said.
The Treaty of Utrecht, a series of documents signed in 1713, brought a peace that put an end to the plan of Louis XIV of France to upset the balance of power in Europe by gaining significant influence over the Spanish Empire .



(A) The Treaty of Utrecht, a series of documents signed in 1713, brought a peace that put an end to the plan of Louis XIV of France to upset the balance of power in Europe by gaining significant influence over the Spanish Empire



(B) The Treaty of Utrecht, a series of documents signed in 1713, bringing peace by putting an end to the plan of Louis XIV of France, who wanted to upset the balance of power in Europe when he gained significant influence in the Spanish Empire



(C) A series of documents signed in 1713, known as the Treaty of Utrecht, restored peace to Europe by putting an end to the plan of Louis XIV of France, who, in gaining significant influence over the Spanish Empire, wanted to upset the balance of power in Europe



(D) The balance of power in Europe was threatened when Louis XIV of France tried to gain significant influence in the Spanish Empire; therefore the Treaty of Utrecht, a series of documents signed in 1713, restored the peace by ending this plan



(E) Louis XIV of France planned to upset the balance of power in Europe by gaining significant influence with the Spanish Empire, but in 1713, a series of documents known as the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, and this put a peaceful end to the plan



Magoosh Test Prep





Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Mike McGarryEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Signature Read More

Logic and meaning are an important part of SC: a choice that is grammatically correct that changes the meaning or presents the information illogically has to be wrong. For a discussion, as well as the OE for this question, see:Mike_________________
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has said that his administration did not receive ecological fund from the Federal Government in last five years.

This is contained in a statement by Semiu Okanlawon, media aide to the governor in Osogbo on Thursday.

Mr. Aregbesola said the demand by the state chapter of PDP that government should justify how it spent ecological funds in the wake of the flood that affected some parts of the state was uncalled for.

Osun did not receive any ecological fund from the PDP Federal Government from Nov. 27, 2010 to May 29, 2015.

We have expended our legitimate revenues from all sources to annually dredge our waterways up till 2015 when revenue decline hindered our efforts.

Despite the dirty politics played by the PDP government at the centre, Osun remained one of the few states that had never experienced any flooding since 2011not until the unfortunate incident of Tuesday, Sept ember13.

We are concerned with the agony of our citizens and shall do all in our power to limit the pains and prevent a reoccurrence.

We are committed to eliminating all hindrances to free flow of water in the canals, drainages and waterways in the state.

Mr. Aregbesola, while calling on the people of the state to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse, urged them to always patronise registered waste collectors.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that flood wrecked havoc in some parts of the state on September 13, during which property worth million of naira were destroyed.

(NAN)
Needed are such moves which will make Europeans associate the EU with efficiency instead of bureaucracy, Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a meeting of the Arraiolos Group presidents in Sofia on Thursday.

Apart from Andrzej Duda the meeting was attended by the presidents of Malta, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Portugal, Latvia, Germany, Hungary and Finland. It focused on moves necessary to regain citizens' trust in the EU as well as Euroatlantic integration of the Balkans. May be of interest to you Polish president in Bulgaria on need to restore EU freedoms

The Arraiolos Group comprises non-executive heads of state who, on the other hand, have a strong democratic mandate to hold the office.

Addressing a joint press conference at the end of the meeting, the Polish president said that the nine heads of state shared the opinion that the EU should not only continue to exist but also remain open. Andrzej Duda stressed that one should never say "that the EU building project has ended and that no new member will be admitted to the union".

"There is no country in the EU in which living standards of its citizens would be higher before joining the EU than after. In the long run the EU membership is profitable for everybody," the Polish president stressed.

President Duda added that the EU needed a change. "(...) What should we do in the EU today - if Britain leaves the union - to make Britons want to return in a few years," he asked.

According to Duda, in order to make the EU development process move into a right direction and make Europeans associate the EU with freedom and development instead of incomprehensible bans and orders, needed are such moves which will make Europeans associate the EU with efficiency instead of bureaucracy.

The Polish president admitted that the EU was necessary since particular countries would not manage to cope alone with many problems, including the migration crisis. "The EU should show that it is effective in such situations, as if it fails, its authority is damaged," he stressed.

"(...) The EU should be determined and effective so that European solidarity meant mutual understanding and cooperation instead of solutions imposed on each other," President Duda said.

Speaking about the Western Balkans, the Polish president stressed it was necessary to develop infrastructure linking Northern Europe and the Baltic States as well as Poland with the Balkan countries.

The Polish president also supported steps aimed at energy security and said that infrastructure in the entire Three Seas region (countries between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas) should be adjusted to EU standards. "The region must be developed like other EU countries; this is our great task," he said.

May be of interest to you "EU community should be based on European solidarity" Last year Arraiolos Group presidents met in Germany and in 2013 in Poland. (PAP)
CAPE MAY  Frank Bowker walked through the entrance to Historic Cold Spring Village this week dressed in complete Civil War attire: a cotton bummer hat, wool overcoat and pants, a leather belt and gold-plated badge pinned over his chest.

He had a rifle slung over his back and an ax resting in a holster. He was playing a concertina.

It was just like 1864  except that Bowker had arrived in a Hyundai SUV.

Bowker participates in Civil War re-enactments and will take part in Civil War Weekend on Saturday and Sunday at Cold Spring Village. Bowker, of the Steelmantown section of Upper Township, has studied the Civil War for 26 years.

For me, re-enacting is understanding (a soldiers) motivation, Bowker said as he talked about his favorite compilations of war letters. Why was it important for them to talk about these things was what really interested him.

That kind of understanding helps Bowker stay in character when hes in uniform. As he walked through the historic village, he explained the soldier he portrays with his re-enactment group. He was a pioneer whose job was to cut down trees to clear paths. Hence the ax on his back.

He spoke in the first person of a soldiers experience roasting coffee beans in either a frying pan or part of a canteen.

Cape May will take part in worldwide photowalk For those in South Jersey who are looking for the right place to showcase their photography 

But on this day, Bowkers son, Owen, held onto Bowkers canteen while he played with the chickens and pigs at the village. Bowker said Owen is more accustomed to the Civil War era than the present day.

He could drink from a canteen before he could drink from a straw, Bowker said of his 2-year-old boy. Owen has mostly seen Bowkers re-enactment buddies in their period dress. (They do not like the term costume.) In fact, Owen seems to find it strange when he sees his dads friends out of uniform.

Owen loves the re-enactments.

He knows that Daddy goes out and gets shot and then comes back, Bowker said.

This weekend, Bowker will cook a historically accurate supper for himself and his crew. They will line up, put on their gear and then go to battle for 20 minutes in front of a crowd. Cannons and rifles will be fired (shooting blanks), and, as the participants are killed, they will lie dead until the battles end. Bowker likes to crawl to a shaded patch under a tree to avoid the sun.

And when spectators go home after a battle, the re-enactment will continue for Bowker and his friends. No flashlights are used for the rest of Saturday night  lanterns only. No iPods or record players will be playing  only guitars, mandolins and accordions for live music.

Cape May Stage a tiny theater powerhouse It may be small, but Cape May Stage isnt afraid to be bold.

If people need to contact their families, they have to leave the camp. Bowker will even put his phone in his hat and press it against his ear when hes making a call  pretending that hes injured.

Its all about creating as authentic an environment as possible.

When you see the campfires and the tents as you walk through camp, it looks, best as we can reference, to the 1800s, Bowker said.

After the staged battle, a cease-fire is called. Northern and Southern soldiers will help each other up. Bowker said that type of camaraderie occurred during the Civil War, when men sometimes fought neighbors or people they knew.

At the end of the battle, there is always an appreciative roar from the crowd.

At this point, Bowker admits, he expects to break character.

I will thank them and tell them that Ill be here all weekend, he said.
An Atlantic City police sergeant recently arrested, and charged with lying to federal agents, denied knowing her live-in boyfriend was on federal probation, despite him wearing an ankle monitor for three months.

Kiyia Harris, 39, of Egg Harbor Township, had a five-year relationship with Donnell Williams, who is identified in the two-count criminal complaint against her only as DW.

The Atlantic City native is well-known in the citys neighborhoods, and has been part of Community Policing Unit. A year ago, she watched as the Junior Police Academy  which she spearheaded  held its first class.

Now, she is free on bond, facing charges that she helped hide more than $120,000 in cash and lied to federal agents. Each charge carries a maximum five-year prison term.

Department policy does not allow police officers to associate with known criminals, but Harris allegedly denied knowing Williams had a criminal background.

Harris defense attorney said his client had done nothing more than get involved with someone she shouldnt have.

By no ones measuring stick, including the FBI or the U.S. Attorneys Office, is this a case involving allegations of official misconduct or corruption in my clients capacity as an Atlantic City police sergeant, attorney James Leonard Jr. said. Rather, what is alleged by the government involves conduct relative to a relationship in her personal life with someone who turned out to be the wrong guy.

Williams was arrested in September 2006 on federal charges of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

He was sentenced to five years probation on April 10, 2010, the same date he and Harris started dating, according to the federal complaint against her.

Last December, he was arrested as part of a drug-trafficking bust involving Pleasantville businessman Toye Tutis. Williams was additionally charged with violating his federal probation.

Harris and Williams dated for five years, and Harris was even granted joint custody of one of Williams children on March 19, 2013, following a Family Court hearing in which Harris testified that Williams has been staying with me in my Egg Harbor Township residence and has changed his residence to my address, according to the complaint.

Later that year, Williams was placed on an ankle monitor after he violated his probation by traveling to the Dominican Republic without notifying probation.

He had the monitor on his ankle from June 13 to Sept. 27, 2013, but Harris allegedly told investigators she never saw it and was unaware of Williams status.

She later said that Williams had not stayed overnight at her home until that Thanksgiving, after the monitor was removed.

Upon further questioning, Harris admitted to knowing Williams had been jammed up for something, but thought it had to do with a car, the complaint states. She allegedly refused to elaborate.

Investigators arrived at Harris home Dec. 11, 2014, to arrest Williams on the drug charges. Harris was taken into a SWAT vehicle while the investigators unsuccessfully looked for Williams.

According to the complaint, Harris asked what the charges were. When she was told drug-trafficking, she allegedly asked, Was I with him?

Harris then walked investigators through her home allowing a search of limited areas, including her bedroom. She also was interviewed by agents at her kitchen table.

That is when she allegedly gave false information, including that she had never deposited cash into any of her accounts. But, the complaint claims, she deposited about $17,825 into her three bank accounts from June 8 to 11, 2012. The amounts were always less than $10,000 so it didnt have to be reported, the complaint alleges.

When she paid for a car that was allegedly for Williams, her highest cash payment was $9,999.

From Jan. 8, 2007 through Nov. 26, 2014, Harris deposited more than $120,000 in cash into three bank accounts, the complaint states.

About a week after the first interview, Harris gave another, also allegedly giving false statements. Four months later, Harris was promoted to sergeant.

She is now suspended without pay from her job, which pays $113,696 per year. She also had to turn in her department-issued gun.

Like Ive said before, the government has their interpretation of the facts and we have ours, Leonard said.

He has requested a 60-day continuance in the case to allow him to get the evidence against her and possibly negotiate a plea deal, according to filings in the case.

Contact: 609-272-7257

Twitter @LyndaCohen
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ATLANTIC CITY  For last 17 years, Anna Swierczewski of Ocean County has been a table games dealer at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, come Oct. 10 that career will come to an end as the property closes.

The 52-year-old resident of the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township spent part of her Thursday afternoon at a job fair put on by the states Department of Labor and Workforce Development at Atlantic Cape Community College City Division. The event was geared toward Taj Mahal employees who are set to be laid off in early October.

I dont know what is going to happen after it closes, I hope to come here and find something, said Swierczewski, who is originally from Poland. This is a great opportunity to get face-to-face time with people that are hiring, that is the best way to build relationships.

Approximately 30 businesses, ranging from casinos to health care employers, attended the event, state officials said.

In earlier August, Taj Mahal management blamed striking Unite Here Local 54 workers for preventing a path to profitability and forcing the closure of the property.

On Aug. 5, employees of the casino were given state-mandated layoff notices that the property would close Oct. 10. They include the more than 1,000 Local 54 members  cooks, housekeepers, bellmen, bartenders, cocktail servers and other service workers  who have been on strike since July 1.

The state has been working with union and Taj Mahal representatives to ensure that soon to be unemployed workers would have access to unemployment insurance and re-employment services, said Catherine Starghill, executive Director of the Workforce Operations and Business Services for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The department is no stranger to working with laid off casino workers. In 2014 following the shuttering of four casinos the agency hosted a variety of events including a job fair. Taj would be the city's fifth casino to close since 2014, costing more than 10,000 jobs in total.

When we receive the WARN ( Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notices, we then provide rapid response, Starghill said. We hold activities like job fairs, resume writing workshops, also have information sessions on how to apply for unemployment. Our goal is to get these people to a job before they are actually laid off so they never have to collect unemployment.

For Michael Abelson, 38, of Mays Landing, the job fair offered him a chance to look at different careers outside of the casino industry.

I really dont know what I want to do, Abelson said. There a bunch of different careers here to look at.

For more information on the Department of Labor and Workforce Development visit: http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/

Contact: 609-272-7046

Twitter @ACPressHuba
WILDWOOD  Booing the governor has been a longstanding tradition at the New Jersey State Firemens Association convention, which is being held in Wildwood this weekend.

Jon Corzine, James McGreevey and Jim Florio all received less-than-positive receptions over the years. Its a problem current Gov. Chris Christie hasnt had to deal with recently because he hasnt attended the convention in four years  even though the group says Christie previously told them he would attend every year.

George Heflich, president of the Firemens Association, said he does nt believe Christie will attend this year either, and hes not scheduled to speak.

Brian Murray, a spokesman from the Governors Office, said he couldnt release Christies public schedule for the weekend. He said Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno attended in recent years.

Traditionally, the governor was the keynote speaker at the convention, which is held by a group representing more 70,000 municipal firefighters. But Christie only attended the event twice during his six years in office.

He gets a letter as the head of the state every year, said George Heflich, president of the Firemens Association.

Heflich said Guadagno and Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, are scheduled to speak to the more than 7,000 delegates at the convention.

He said Christie promised to attend every year prior to his election in 2010.

He told me hed be at every one, Heflich added.

Heflich said that he doesnt know why Christie skipped recent conventions.

Christie was famously booed at the 2010 convention after proposing cutting pensions for firefighters. The governor didnt shy away from his critics that day.

If you guys think you can shut me down, its going to be a long day, Christie told the crowd during his address.

He came back to deliver an address in 2012, when he received a warmer reception  he was even rewarded with a standing ovation. Hes not the first to receive applause. Former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman was also praised after she announced plans to build the new Wildwoods Convention Center, which opened in 2001.

Heflich said the political views of the associations firefighters vary greatly, but he said he wished they could agree more.

If us 75,000 firefighters stood together for a change, we could elect our own governor, he said.

The Firemens Associations annual convention starts Friday and continues Saturday. The event, which brings about 20,000 firefighters and their families to Wildwood, includes two meetings, a large display of firefighting equipment and a parade.

On Saturday, the convention parade will start at 2 p.m. and march along New Jersey Avenue from Crocus Avenue north to Eighth Avenue.
In July and August, bouts of heat and humidity often overstayed their welcome, lasting for weeks at a time.

But now that were in September, surges of heat and humidity are usually short-lived. Sure enough, Wednesdays spike of near 90-degree temperatures was a one-and-done deal, as cooler and comfier air rides a brisk northeast breeze into South Jersey on Thursday.

Lessons learned from Hermine: The 2016 Cape-Atlantic Severe Weather Conference We all know we dodged a destructive meteorological bullet with Hermine. And while there's a 

That onshore breeze, coupled with an approaching full moon Friday, could spell some minor tidal flooding along the shore the next few days. Otherwise, expect no weather worries. Skies should be partly sunny Thursday and mostly sunny Friday, with crisp 50s at night and mild 70s each day.

As the weekend nears, the ocean breeze relaxes and temperatures slowly inch back up above average  likely around either side of 80 for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is the better weekend day, with warm sunshine from start to finish. Sunday wont be a washout and should feature some sunshine, but will also offer a chance for some late day scattered showers or thunderstorms. We need the rain, and Monday will be our best chance as a cold front slowly pushes through.

Tropical Storm Julia formed over Florida on Tuesday night, a rare instance when a tropical storm forms over land. Julia is not expected to influence our weather, but will cause flooding rains for coastal Georgia and South Carolina. Farther out in the eastern Atlantic, Karl is on the cusp of developing, but is a long way away from being a concern to any land, at least for now.

Speaking of the tropics, Id like to cordially invite you to the Ocean City Music Pier from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday for the 2016 Cape Atlantic Severe Weather Conference. Its a chance for you to ask questions, address concerns and offer suggestions to a panel of experts, and its your questions that will drive the conversation. After storms Irene, Sandy and Jonas and the Hermine scare, theres likely plenty to discuss. The floor is all yours, and the event is free and open to everyone, so I hope to see you there.
A federal investigation into a Cumberland County dog-fighting ring has illuminated a secret and vicious subculture, experts said.

Ten people are charged in U.S. District Court with running a dog-fighting network in New Jersey and three other states. Among them were seven suspects from South Jersey.

Investigators used surreptitious methods such as wiretaps and aerial surveillance to document evidence of dog-fighting. Authorities seized 66 dogs, including dogs from homes in Millville and just outside Vineland.

Few people are prosecuted for dog-fighting and account for a fraction of those believed to be involved in the blood sport in New Jersey, experts said.

People dont realize that were a common training area in Cumberland County because were so rural and were close to New York and Philadelphia where the fights actually take place, said Bev Greco, director of the Cumberland County chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Its harder to hide a training facility in the city, she said.

Anthony Gaines, 35, and Tiffany Burt, 34, two suspects awaiting trial in the case, live on a rural road just outside Vineland in Gloucester Countys Franklin Township. Surrounded by cornfields, the home has a tall, white privacy fence surrounding a large back yard.

Investigators executed a warrant at the home where they seized six dogs found in crates in the basement along with a dog treadmill, weighted collars and surgical supplies such as a skin stapler, intravenous fluid bags and veterinary medications.

Neighbors, none of whom wanted their names used, said they were alarmed by the idea that dogs were being raised for fighting in the neighborhood. They heard barking on the property but never saw the dogs, they said.

According to court papers, seized animals were frightened of people but aggressive toward other dogs. They were heavily muscled and had scars consistent with fighting.

The U.S. Attorneys Office said detailed pedigree records were found in the house along with trade magazines on dog-fighting,

Its very organized and not that hard to get involved and educated about it, Greco said.

Greco said people engaged in dog-fighting take pains to keep their dogs out of public view. The FBI intercepted a phone call on Oct. 17, 2015, in which Gaines told an associate he wanted to build a soundproof pole barn at the home so his dogs could not be seen or heard beyond his property.

Investigators relied on aerial surveillance to gather evidence in the case, documenting dogs in kennels at one suspects home in New Mexico. One of those dogs was shipped by air to Gaines home outside Vineland, authorities said.

Gaines allegedly tried to hide his fighting dogs from authorities by dropping them off with accomplices in Illinois and Indiana, according to court papers.

Theres big money in these fights. Some of the puppies sell for thousands of dollars, Greco said.

Dog-fighting is found across New Jersey. Documenting its prevalence is difficult because of its clandestine nature, said Matt Stanton, an investigator with the New Jersey SPCA.

We get 10 to 15 cases per year. Its underground and it moves around a lot, he said.

Its rare to walk in on an actual fight. Its more common to come across a training facility where dogs are kept and bait dogs are used.

Bait dogs are used for practice against the fighting dogs and usually sustain serious injuries by mauling, he said.

Theyll pull an animal off the street and then dump them afterward, he said.

Dogfights typically take place in secret locations arranged hours before a fight. Two dogs fight, sometimes to the death, in an enclosed space that can be set up and taken down quickly.

More often, investigators find evidence of training.

These dogs are athletes. They need to train, he said. You need a dedicated area.

The dogs owners keep detailed records on fights, which can add to its value for breeding future fighters, he said.

Its like an underground AKC, he said in reference to the American Kennel Club.

Typically, training or fighting facilities have medical equipment such as antibiotics and sutures to treat injured animals after fights.

Dogs trained to fight have an uphill battle to find new homes, she said. Typically, they are aggressive around other dogs.

Theyre traumatized to the point where theyre a huge liability. They cant be placed in just any home, she said.

Added to that is the often years-long confinement to shelter kennels while their owners court cases are adjudicated. Confinement alone can make dogs difficult to adopt, she said.

The dogs are victims through it all, Greco said.

Contact: 609-463-6712

Twitter @ACPressMiller
enigma123 wrote:

Whales originated in the freshwater lakes and rivers of ancient Asia about sixty million years ago. Not until about ten million years later did species of whales develop specialized kidneys enabling them to drink salt water. Although fossil evidence shows that some early whale species that lacked such kidneys sometimes swam in the Earths saltwater oceans, these species must have had to return frequently to freshwater rivers to drink. Which of the following is most strongly supported by the information given?



A. Fossils of whale species dating from between sixty million and fifty million years ago will not be found on continents that were at the time separated from ancient Asia by wide expanses of ocean.

B. Among whale fossils that date from later than about fifty million years ago, none are fossils of whale species that drank only fresh water.

C. Fossils of whale species that drank fresh water will not be found in close proximity to fossils of whale species that drank salt water.

D. The earliest whales that drank salt water differed from fresh-water-drinking whales only in their possession of specialized kidneys.

E. Between sixty million and fifty million years ago, the freshwater lakes and rivers in which whales originated were gradually invaded by salt water.



Guys - any idea what the answer will be?

Quote:

My take:



Whales originated >>-where->> in ancient Asia about sixty (60 million years ago)

species of whales (Asia/which continent dont know) develop spl salt water kidneys (50 million years ago).

Although fossil evidence >>says>>> (species - kidneys) sometimes swam in the Earths saltwater oceans (not of Asia as Asia has fresh water), these species must have had to return (return means they travelled back) to drink.



means, kidney -minus whales of salt water (not Asia) went to freshwater (in Asia) ..this is saying that it did cross..



Why A is correct>??





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I am uncertain how you arrived at the conclusions above.Here is the explanation:- 60 million yrs ago, whales originated in freshwater (which means lakes and rivers) of Asia- Special kidneys that allowed whales to drink salt water evolved 50 million yrs ago.- Sometimes whales without special kidneys swam into saltwater but they had to return frequently to freshwater.Think about your geography - Continents are separated by huge saltwater oceans. A continent has lakes and rivers (freshwater) within it. The rivers connect to the ocean. If you want to travel from Asia to North America by water, you will need to go through the huge ocean between them.60 million years ago, whales originated in Asia's freshwater so they were in the continent of Asia. They did not have special kidneys so they could not travel across the ocean. Even if they did enter the ocean, they needed to return back to the freshwater of Asia. Point is, they couldn't swim far from Asia. Till 50 million yrs ago, special kidneys did not develop. So for the 10 million yrs from 60 million to 50 million yrs ago, whales couldn't leave the coast of Asia and swim far. So they couldn't reach the continents far from Asia separated by saltwater oceans.Answer (A)_________________
Federal prosecutors asked the court to take possession of six dogs that were confiscated from one of 10 suspects charged in an interstate dog-fighting ring.

The U.S. Attorney said the dogs were taken June 1 during a court-ordered search of a home in Westville, Gloucester County, at the home of a relative to Justin Love, 36, of Glassboro, who was charged with violating the Animal Welfare Act.

In seeking the forfeiture, prosecutors are hoping the animals can be adopted.

The dogs are currently in the care of the Humane Society of the United States.

Investigators in court papers said the dogs, including a female named Momba, had scars and behaved aggressively toward each other consistent with being trained for fighting. They also found the remains of several dogs in the yard.

Investigators also found a car battery beside one of the dog kennels.

"Electrocution is one of the means used by dog-fighters to kill dogs that lose fights, fail to show gameness or otherwise have outlived their usefulness to the dog-fighting venture," the U.S. Attorney said in its forfeiture application this week.

Authorities also seized evidence of alleged dog-fighting such as flirt poles used to condition a dog and spring poles used to strengthen a dogs neck and jaw muscles. And they found veterinary medicines, topical and oral antibiotics and syringes associated with treating dogs that are injured in fights.

Love faces up to five years in prison for each violation of the Animal Welfare Act, which makes the possession, training, buying, selling or transporting of dogs for the purposes of fighting them a crime.

The U.S. Attorney also could seek costs for the animals care from the defendant.

Loves attorney, Wayne Powell of Cherry Hill, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Love is among seven defendants from New Jersey charged with operating a dog-fighting ring. Suspects in New Mexico, Illinois and Indiana also were charged. The investigation was named Operation Grand Champion, the term for a dog that wins five fights.

Investigators used aerial surveillance and wiretaps to infiltrate the alleged ring.
The latest deplorable example of medical extortion - the sky-high cost of EpiPen emergency allergy relief - prompted state lawmakers to propose a misguided tax break, a pointless mandate and simply doing nothing.

Pennsylvania-based Mylan's epinephrine self-injector costs $600 for two, up from $100 about a decade ago. Now that health care reform has made high insurance deductibles common, many people are paying much more out of pocket for a device needed to stop potentially fatal allergic reactions, especially in children.

Though the problem is nationwide and typically American, New Jersey elected officials responded as usual, guided by politics. One proposed tax incentives for retailers who (somehow) keep the cost of EpiPens at $100. A bill cleared by an Assembly committee on Friday would require pharmacists (somehow) to offer a cheaper alternative to EpiPens.

State senators were at least more realistic, admitting there is little they could do about the cost. So they just joined the rest in complaining loudly about Mylan.

Mylan can charge $300 each for a medical product costing several dollars to make because it has a near monopoly now in the billion-dollar epinephrine injector market.

In a properly functioning pharmaceutical market, there should be a lot of competitors each ready to sell cheap injectors and still make plenty of money. Epinephrine has long been generic and only costs a dollar a dose, and the EpiPen spring-loaded auto-injector hit the market in the 1970s, so companies should be free to offer generic versions of it.

But U.S. Food and Drug Administration pressure on Sanofi, maker of the alternative Auvi-Q epinephrine injector, prompted it to exit the market last year. In June, the FDA ordered a would-be generic maker to do more and expanded trials and reliability studies, leaving only the authorized Adrenaclick generic on the market.

The FDA in February rejected generic drug powerhouse Teva's application to offer a generic EpiPen. Last week, a Teva executive said it then asked the FDA for guidance on how to proceed toward generic approval and got no response.

Mylan's CEO, Heather Bresch, meanwhile announced that lowering the price of EpiPens wasn't an option. But the company will in the future offer its own generic version for the still pricey $300 for two.

Bresch's father happens to be U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. That's suspicious enough, but then Manchin pushed the story into the absurd by announcing last week that he plans a detailed review of how Mylan has responded to the drug-ripoff outcry. Well, at least he'll have an easy time getting hold of the CEO.

The FDA now hears the outcry, too. It contacted Teva last week to say guidance on getting generic approval would be available after all. Maybe Teva will have a generic EpiPen on the market late next year or in 2018.

If New Jersey senators and assemblymen would like to do something about an issue mostly above their pay grade, they could start by admitting that the fundamental problem is government crony capitalism and a health care and insurance system almost designed for abusive profiteering.

Their political parties could begin the much needed reforms whenever they wished, if they wished.

Our view
ATLANTIC CITY  Resort police officer Joshlee Vadell, who was shot in the head 12 days ago, left AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, on Thursday as a crowd of about 200 officers and firefighters erupted in applause.

He left on a gurney, covered in a white blanket and wearing a helmet adorned with an Atlantic City police patch.

Vadell, 29, appeared to smile, waved his hand and gave a thumbs up as he was taken to a waiting ambulance while his pregnant wife, Laura, followed him.

Motorcycle officers escorted the ambulance to a facility where Vadell will undergo rehabilitation.

Donations for wounded A.C. officer pass $100,000 The fundraising goal of $100,000 has been met for Atlantic City police Officer Joshlee Vadel

Joshs recovery so far is remarkable. We went from a conservative 50/50 almost two weeks ago to now he is sitting up, speaking and remembers the whole incident, said Capt. Chris Kammerman, who oversees the Police Departments Patrol Division.

Vadell was shot when he responded to an apparent robbery. The shooting occurred Sept. 3 outside the parking garage of Caesars Atlantic City. Vadells partner returned fire, fatally shooting Jerome Damon, 25, of Camden, police said.

Two other suspects, Martel D. Chisolm, 29, of Millville, and Demetris Cross, 28, of Bridgeton, were charged with two counts of attempted murder, three counts of robbery and two counts of conspiracy.

Trauma doctors at AtlantiCare said Vadell is expected to make a full recovery.

Dr. Jorge Eller, chief of neurosurgery at Atlanticares City Campus, said Vadell suffered a gunshot wound to the right parietal lobe of his brain.

Luckily, it was an injury he was able to survive, and he was actually talking when he reached the hospital, Eller said. Hes young enough and healthy enough to withstand an injury like this and make an amazing recovery.

Mayor Don Guardian attended Vadells release from the hospital.

This is a good day. Weve had a lot of bad days. I know the difference, Guardian said.

Atlantic City police Capt. Frank Brennan smiled as looked at the crowd Thursday.

Police pack hearing in A.C. officer-shot case MAYS LANDING  Officers representing nearly every police department in Atlantic County watch

Police officers from Atlantic City, Galloway, Absecon, Brigantine, State Police and other departments lined the driveway of the front of the hospital.

Were all in the same family, and this is a great show of support and outpouring from a slew of other departments. From what I understand, Josh has made a remarkable recovery, and its given us a great sense of hope, Brennan said.

Deputy Chief William Mazur said the officers will, spirit and love from family and the community have aided his recovery.

A.C. councilman's Facebook post prompts resignation calls after police shooting ATLANTIC CITY  A city councilman is being asked to resign by a police union official and bu

When I went to see him, he knew exactly who I was, and he probably said thank you about a dozen times, he said.

Hes a fighter, said city Officer Willy Santiago, who graduated from the Cape May County Police Academy with Vadell nine years ago.

A GoFundMe page called This Blue Life Matters has raised $105,250 from more than 1,100 donor so far for Vadells family, exceeding its $100,000 goal.

Contact: 609-513-6686

Twitter @ACPressWeaver
The latest deplorable example of medical extortion - the sky-high cost of EpiPen emergency allergy relief - prompted state lawmakers to propose a misguided tax break, a pointless mandate and simply doing nothing.

Pennsylvania-based Mylan's epinephrine self-injector costs $600 for two, up from $100 about a decade ago. Now that health care reform has made high insurance deductibles common, many people are paying much more out of pocket for a device needed to stop potentially fatal allergic reactions, especially in children.

Though the problem is nationwide and typically American, New Jersey elected officials responded as usual, guided by politics. One proposed tax incentives for retailers who (somehow) keep the cost of EpiPens at $100. A bill cleared by an Assembly committee on Friday would require pharmacists (somehow) to offer a cheaper alternative to EpiPens.

State senators were at least more realistic, admitting there is little they could do about the cost. So they just joined the rest in complaining loudly about Mylan.

Mylan can charge $300 each for a medical product costing several dollars to make because it has a near monopoly now in the billion-dollar epinephrine injector market.

In a properly functioning pharmaceutical market, there should be a lot of competitors each ready to sell cheap injectors and still make plenty of money. Epinephrine has long been generic and only costs a dollar a dose, and the EpiPen spring-loaded auto-injector hit the market in the 1970s, so companies should be free to offer generic versions of it.

But U.S. Food and Drug Administration pressure on Sanofi, maker of the alternative Auvi-Q epinephrine injector, prompted it to exit the market last year. In June, the FDA ordered a would-be generic maker to do more and expanded trials and reliability studies, leaving only the authorized Adrenaclick generic on the market.

The FDA in February rejected generic drug powerhouse Teva's application to offer a generic EpiPen. Last week, a Teva executive said it then asked the FDA for guidance on how to proceed toward generic approval and got no response.

Mylan's CEO, Heather Bresch, meanwhile announced that lowering the price of EpiPens wasn't an option. But the company will in the future offer its own generic version for the still pricey $300 for two.

Bresch's father happens to be U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. That's suspicious enough, but then Manchin pushed the story into the absurd by announcing last week that he plans a detailed review of how Mylan has responded to the drug-ripoff outcry. Well, at least he'll have an easy time getting hold of the CEO.

The FDA now hears the outcry, too. It contacted Teva last week to say guidance on getting generic approval would be available after all. Maybe Teva will have a generic EpiPen on the market late next year or in 2018.

If New Jersey senators and assemblymen would like to do something about an issue mostly above their pay grade, they could start by admitting that the fundamental problem is government crony capitalism and a health care and insurance system almost designed for abusive profiteering.

Their political parties could begin the much needed reforms whenever they wished, if they wished.
Severe weather isn't alone in impacting the New Jersey coast.

Weather forecasts also have a big effect on people's lives and businesses here.

Now residents and visitors can ask a panel of meteorologists and emergency managers how they approach forecasting and planning for big weather events like hurricanes and nor'easters, at a severe weather conference at the Ocean City Music Pier Thursday evening.

"It will be audience-driven, with an all question-and-answer format," said Press of Atlantic City meteorologist Dan Skeldon, one of the panelists.

It's the first such conference in Ocean City since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, said Skeldon.

The recent failure of meteorologists to accurately predict the course of Tropical Storm Hermine over Labor Day weekend will likely be on people's minds, he said.

"With Hermine there were dire forecasts," Skeldon said, of heavy rains, winds and flooding for the South Jersey coast. Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency for Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties.

But instead the storm veered out to sea.

Skeldon said the conference should be eye opening on all sides, as meteorologists talk about how they forecast, emergency managers talk about planning to save lives and property, and members of the public can ask questions and vent their frustrations.

Co-sponsored by the City of Ocean City and the Press of Atlantic City, the conference is free and open to the public. It will be live-streamed so people who cannot get to Music Pier can ask questions via social media, said Skeldon.

Participants will be:

-- Moderator Frank Donato, Ocean Citys Office of Emergency Management.

-- Kathy Orr, FOX 29 News Philadelphia meteorologist

-- Dan Skeldon, Press of Atlantic City and Longport Media meteorologist

-- Joe Miketta, National Weather Service in Mount Holly meteorologist

-- Jim Eberwine, retired National Weather Service meteorologist

-- Jonathan Carr, founder and forecaster of Weather NJ on Facebook and Twitter

-- Martin Pagliughi, Cape May County Emergency Management director

-- Vince Jones, Atlantic County Emergency Management director

-- Vince Maione, Atlantic City Electric region president

The flow of conversation is up to you, Skeldon said of the event. It's your chance to ask questions of anyone on the panel, express concerns, and make suggestions as we all talk South Jersey weather and how to better prepare it, forecast it, and communicate that forecast and emergency information.

View it live on pressofatlanticcity.com or after the event on Skeldon's Facebook page.

It will also be rebroadcast during the weekend on WOND 1400 AM on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. preceding The Jim Craine Show, and Sunday 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. leading into The Bill Cunningham Show.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: The 2016 Cape-Atlantic Severe Weather Conference

WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15

WHERE: The Ocean City Music Pier on the Boardwalk between Eighth and Ninth streets

COST: Free. Also live streaming on pressofatlanticcity.com and will be available on Dan Skeldon's Facebook page
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.




Starting in 2018, students applying to State University of New York schools will no longer be asked whether they have a felony conviction.

"The State University of New York is committed to providing all New Yorkers the broadest possible access to quality public higher education, including those who have succeeded through the justice system following a felony conviction," SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman H. Carl McCall said in a statement.

SUNY leaders voted on Wednesday to ban the yes/no boxes and accompanying question about criminal history from the college system's applications. In voting, the Board of Trustees cited a 2015 analysis that showed nearly two-thirds of applicants who disclosed past felonies dropped out of the application process.

SUNY is the country's largest public university system. (The City University of New York system does not ask applicants about their criminal history.) SUNY started doing so in 1998, and the common application, used by more than 500 schools nationwide, started in 2007, the year of the Virginia Tech shooting.

"Higher education represents an important stepping stone toward personal and professional fulfillment," Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement commending the decision. "Every New Yorker deserves a fair and equal chance to achieve their goals."

In recommending the change, SUNY senior vice chancellor Joseph B. Porter cited statistics showing there is no crime rate difference between campuses where officials screen for criminal history and those where they don't.

We realize this is a big sea change were proposing, and controversial, he told trustees.

President Obama took up the charge of Ban the Box campaigners last year, and SUNY was one of 22 colleges and university systems to sign on to the White House Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge.

A SUNY spokeswoman told The Marshall Project that what advocates call the box will still factor into applications for on-campus housing, internships, and study abroad programs. Data analyzed by the Center for Community Alternatives showed that three out of five SUNY applicants with felony records dropped out of the admissions process, compared to only one in five applicants without records. Also, even though the screening is generally oriented towards scrutinizing ex-felons, approaches vary widely from school to school, with one community college near Buffalo demanding a letter on court letterhead explaining arrests that didn't result in convictions, while other schools require records directly from the Division of Criminal Justice Services, even though the agency only releases such documents to the person they're about.

All SUNY campuses currently require applicants with felony convictions to appear before a committee and answer questions about their record.

The deterrent effect on applicants with records particularly affects African Americans, who are incarcerated at rates massively disproportionate to the total population, in New York and around the country. The SUNY study found that at the community college level, black applicants with felony convictions outnumbered black applicants without them 3-1.

New York University did away with the felony conviction question last month, but still asks about convictions related to "violent incidents."

In the workplace, activist campaigns to ban the box may have an ugly downside rooted in the United States' intractable problem with racism. In a 2015 study, scholars from Princeton and the University of Michigan sent out job appli c ations to employers in New York and New Jersey, which barred criminal history questions on applications that year, under fake names.

Some applications were assigned criminal histories and some not, and some were assigned stereotypically black and stereotypically white names. Prior to the ban going into effect, all those with criminal histories were less likely to get calls back. But when the regulations took effect, employers became less likely to call back all black-seeming applicants, apparently regarding all African Americans as potential criminals.
Svindal, who won the gold medal in super-G at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and a five-time World Champion, said raising awareness about the dangers of radon exposure is important to him.

"The air we breathe is the most critical component to living healthy, happy lives," he said. "The Airthings team is breaking down barriers and educating people on the impact of air quality on their health, and the dangers that can be found in their homes, schools and places of work. The simplicity of Airthings' products, and their incredible potential to empower people to take control of their air quality, encouraged me to get personally involved in this mission."

Airthings is committed to ensure that people around the world understand and take control of their indoor air quality through simple, affordable and accurate technology solutions  making radon and air quality detectors as common as smoke detectors.

Corentium's brand name evolution to Airthings is a direct representation of the company's mission to create smart air quality products that increase awareness of invisible dangers in indoor air and empower people to reduce the health impact of breathing polluted air in the places they live their lives.

Led by a team of experienced scientists, CERN researchers, engineers and technology industry veterans, Airthings is focused on educating people worldwide about the prevalence of radon and its impact on health and wellness. In the EU alone, lung cancer resulting from radon exposure is responsible for more than 20,000 deaths annually. Corentium Home and Corentium Pro by Airthings make it easy to do short-term radon tests and long-term radon monitoring, which is recommended for consumers by the most Radiation Protection Agencies.

"Air quality is fundamental to the health and wellness for every one of us," said Oyvind Birkenes, Airthings CEO. "We are making it easy and affordable for consumers to increase awareness of the state of their environment with incredibly intuitive products. We're leaders with our current products, and we're continuing to innovate our future offerings."

The Corentium Home by Airthings is the most popular radon detector on the market for homeowners. Radon gas fluctuates daily, therefore constant monitoring is the only way to know if you are affected by the deadly gas. The EUR199 digital radon monitor is extremely accurate and easy to use.

The company's Pro product, which is certified by the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists, is a professional-grade device that ensures highly accurate measurements for facility managers, radon mitigators and other professionals.

New legislation concerning radon gas will be introduced to the European Union in 2018, making Airthings' specialty knowledge and products even more relevant and important.

For more information on Airthings or to purchase a device, visit www.airthings.com.

Related Links

https://www.airthings.com



SOURCE Airthings
SANTA CLARA, California, DUBAI, UAE and BANGALORE, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Trianz, a global consulting and turnkey execution services firm, announced that Biswajeet Mahapatra has joined the company as Head of Strategy and Research. Biswajeet is well known in the industry and brings 19 years of Product Management and Research experience in IT systems security, risk and infrastructure technologies at many large IT organizations globally. At Trianz, he will play a vital role in both defining the strategy and roadmap for the organization, as well as building the research capabilities that will complement overall growth strategy of the organization.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408223 )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160615/809578 )

Commenting on the appointment, President and CEO of Trianz, Sri Manchala said, "Biswajeet's addition to our leadership team is timed perfectly for us - we have recently aligned our Go-To-Market strategy to the changing business and technology paradigms across various industries and geographies. His experience and market knowledge will further fuel the execution process in the desired direction."

Biswajeet also worked closely with IT leaders, CxOs, boards of directors of large organizations, and government agencies across the globe to assist them in defining their IT strategy, deriving metrics to help measure ROI in IT investments.

Speaking on his appointment, Biswajeet said, "I am happy to be part of Trianz leadership team. Trianz has a unique value proposition that got my attention and I have a strong conviction that given my experience and knowledge on strategy, I will be able to contribute to the overall success of the organisation."

Prior to joining Trianz, Biswajeet was a Research Director at Gartner, based out of Dubai. In this role, Biswajeet worked closely with business and IT leaders, to help them formulate strategies and fine-tune their offerings to suit their respective region and industry specific needs. He also had a successful track record in the area of Product Management at firms such as Novell, HP and Oracle.

About Trianz

Trianz is a dynamic and fast growing firm that helps leaders in client organizations formulate and execute operational strategies to achieve business results from a senior management perspective. Leveraging the Cloud, Analytics, Digital, and Security paradigms, Trianz brings the best of consulting and technology experiences, execution models and IP to deliver consistent success to clients. With offices in Silicon Valley, Washington DC Metro, New York, Dubai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai and Hyderabad, Trianz serves a wide range of clients from Fortune 1000 to emerging companies in high tech, insurance, financial services, retail, manufacturing, life sciences, public sector and logistics industries. Over the past decade, Trianz has developed a reputation for excellence in execution, enabling global organizations to achieve results envisioned by their senior management. Trianz measures success completely in client terms - the impact created through business execution.

Media Contact:

Prashant Bhavaraju

Director, Marketing

+1-408-387-5800

reach@trianz.com

http://www.trianz.com





SOURCE Trianz
LONDON and CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Curelator Headache, the digital healthcare application pioneering "individualized mapping" for people with migraine, will present three scientific posters at the 5th European Headache and Migraine Trust International Congress in Glasgow (September 15-18).

The posters are titled:

Identification of individual 'protectors' (factors associated with reduced risk of migraine attacks) in the PAMINA study database.

Christian Wober MD, Stephen Donoghue PhD, Alec Mian PhD, Marc Albert, Gabriel Boucher BSc, Francesc Peris PhD

Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Curelator Inc., Cambridge, MA USA

Identification of "protectors" against migraine attacks using Curelator Headache

Stephen Donoghue PhD, Alec Mian PhD, Marc Albert, Gabriel Boucher BSc, Francesc Peris PhD, Christian Wober MD

Curelator Inc., Cambridge, MA USA

Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Migraineurs' suspected triggers vs associations statistically determined using a digital platform

Stephen Donoghue PhD, Paul R. Martin DPhil, Gabriel Boucher BSc, Francesc Peris PhD, Alec Mian PhD

Curelator Inc., Cambridge, MA USA

School of Applied Psychology, Griffin University, Queensland, Australia

About Curelator Inc.

Curelator is a patient-centric digital platform that enables patients, clinicians and healthcare providers to optimize individual therapeutic pathways in chronic diseases with episodic attacks. The Company's first application, Curelator Headache, guides individuals to map their personal triggers, protectors, and factors not associated with their migraines, enabling them to experiment with behavioral changes that may reduce the number or severity of their attacks.

SOURCE Curelator Inc.
BRADFORD, England, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at UCL Consultants, a wholly-owned subsidiary of University College London (UCL) and one of the UK's leading providers of academic consultancy services.

Offering a bespoke consultancy service, UCL Consultants handles a variety of projects for a range of clients - from small, single day projects, to large, milestone-focused multi-party projects. The team provides organisations with world-class expertise from over 6,000 academic staff across a wide range of disciplines, to help solve the many challenges faced by society and businesses today.

Due to a significant increase in business volume, UCL Consultants recognised the need for a comprehensive system to automate its contract and client relationship management activities. Working in conjunction with Eclipse, UCL Consultants will develop a bespoke Proclaim Case Management system to ensure maximum productivity and streamline the opportunity to contract process.

Additionally, Eclipse's Lead Management tool will aid with overall opportunity management. This will enable the consultants to track, analyse and report upon all live opportunities for academics, as well as provide intelligence as to which companies and academics have previously worked together.

Roger de Montfort, Managing Director of UCL Consultants, comments:

"As a leading provider for academic consultancy services, we've seen a huge increase in business volume - so much so that we've over doubled in size in the last three years - and as a result, it became clear that we could benefit from enhanced automation of our processes.

"Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management system will be crucial to our business operations by stripping away the time-consuming elements of opportunity and contract management, enabling us to provide an even better service to our clients and support our continued expansion."

About Eclipse

Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita Plc, is the UK's leading provider of legal software solutions, employing over 160 staff at its Yorkshire HQ with a turnover of 10million.

The firm's Proclaim software system is in use by 23,000 professionals within a vast range of market sectors, territories and work areas. Proclaim is Endorsed by the Law Society (the only solution of its type to hold this accreditation) and integrates all case management, accounting, document management, reporting, time recording, task and diary functions into one desktop solution.

TouchPoint is Eclipse's unique self-service system, providing an always-on, platform agnostic portal for law firm clients and business partners.

Proclaim clients include:

Eversheds

DC Law (Move with us)

Co-operative Legal Services

Network Homes Limited

Carillion plc

QualitySolicitors ( Howlett Clarke , Lockings, Oliver & Co, and others)

Eclipse's market territories include:

UK and Ireland

Latvia

Australia

Canada

Nigeria

Zambia

British Virgin Islands

For further information, please contact Darren Gower (Marketing Director) at darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk or call 01274 704100.

Alternatively, visit http://www.eclipselegal.co.uk

SOURCE Eclipse Legal Systems
ALBANY, New York, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and radiology information system (RIS) market is extremely consolidated, with the top five companies accounting for a share of over 61% in 2015. Transparency Market Research finds that GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, McKesson Corporation, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, and Siemens Healthineers have significantly contributed to the global market over the years by providing an extra advantage to customers at a reasonable price.

"In contrast to the competitive landscape in the global PACS and RIS market, the market in developed countries is fragmented, with the presence of several companies vying for the top spot," the author of the study notes.

The opportunity in the global PACS and RIS market stood at US$2.2 bn in 2015 and, rising at a 7.0% CAGR during the forecast period, is estimated to be worth US$3.9 bn by 2024.

Request a Free PDF Brochure with Report Analysis: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1232

PACS Emerges as Leading Segment in Global PACS and RIS Market by Product Type

Based on product type, PACS held the majority in the global PACS and RIS market, accounting for a whopping share of over 82% in 2015. This segment is projected to register a 7.2% CAGR from 2016 to 2024, emerging as one of the most promising product segments by the end of the forecast period.

By end user, hospitals led the PACS and RIS market in terms of revenue. On the other hand, ambulatory surgical centers are anticipated to report a CAGR higher than any other end-use segment by 2024. On the basis of component, the services segment dominates the PACS and RIS market and is also projected to register a high growth rate during the course of the forecast period.

By deployment, web-based PACS and RIS held the leading share in the overall market, with cloud-based systems presenting the most lucrative options for players.

Geographically, North America accounted for a leading share of just under 47% in the global PACS and RIS market in 2015. However, the market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand at a high CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period.

Talk To Our Research Analysts: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=ASK&rep_id=1232

Rising Adoption of EHR Systems Drives Usage of PACS and RIS

"The importance and benefits of healthcare IT have been recognized with several governments around the world, spurring technological advancements in the field," the lead analyst states. The usage of PACS and RIS for the accurate and detailed evaluation of patient's health has increased as a result of this. An example of favorable government intervention would be the U.S. Government, which encourages the adoption of healthcare IT products such as RIS-PACS and hospital information systems (HIS) to maintain electronic health records (EHR).

The rising adoption of EHR systems in hospital as well as office-based practices has also increased in recent times, further driving the demand for PACS and RIS. These systems allow medical images to be saved electronically and ensures the effective and easy accessibility of the images to caregivers.

On the other hand, high equipment cost acts as a major deterrent to the global PACS and RIS market. "In addition to the initial expense of hardware and software licenses, costs pertaining to ongoing tech support and implementation also restricts the adoption of PACS and RIS by healthcare facilities," the author of the study reports.

Browse market research report on picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and radiology information system (RIS) market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pacs-ris-market.html

This review is based on the findings of a TMR report titled "PACS and RIS Market - (By Product - RIS and PACS; By Component - Hardware, Software, and Services; By Deployment - Web-based, Cloud-based and On-premise; By End-user - Hospitals, Diagnostic Centers, Research & Academic Institutes, and Ambulatory Surgical Centers) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024."

Global PACS and RIS Market, by Product

RIS

PACS Cardiology PACS Dental PACS Oncology PACS Orthopedic PACS Others



Global PACS and RIS Market, by Component

Hardware

Software

Services

Global PACS and RIS Market, by Deployment

Web-based

Cloud-based

On-premise

Global PACS and RIS Market, by End User

Hospitals

Diagnostic Centers

Research & Academic Institutes

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Global PACS and RIS Market, by Geography

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany France Italy Spain U.K. Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa

&

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http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/optical-imaging-market.html

Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) Market: Global and China Forecast, Share, Size, Growth and Industry Analysis, 2014 - 2020

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=115

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
GATESHEAD, England, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

David Sessford is a marketing expert and runs a successful online marketing agency in the North East of England. David's agency works closely in the UK property industry, and believes a number of estate agents are letting down homeowners when it comes to advertising their properties.

When it comes to selling a property, there are often two things on a homeowner's mind. Speed; as in how quick a house will sell on the open market, and secondly, price; the anticipated return a home will achieve. Homeowners rely on estate agents to deliver results, and expect that a local estate agent will have the knowledge and experience to utilise all means necessary to achieve a property sale.

However, do estate agents always do everything possible to assist a house in selling? One marketing industry expert believe that a number of estate agents don't assist homeowners enough in terms of online advertising and selling advice.

David Sessford of internet agency Way Of The Website claims that a number of estate agents are missing the point entirely in terms of successfully marketing a property. "Marketing a property is just like marketing any other product, you need to emphasis the positivity's and maximise exposure," said Mr Sessford.

David went on to say: "A number of local agents don't even list on Rightmove or Zoopla, which instantly decreases the number of potential buyers able to see a property. This is a must for anyone looking to sell quickly in my opinion."

White Doors, Clean Windows & Sparkling Floors

It's not just exposure that is the problem with local agents according to Mr Sessford, he also feels that homeowners are not given enough advice from estate agents on how to effectively assist with the marketing of their properties.

Recent statistics show having a white door increases your chances of selling a property by over 50 percent, and further research conducted by TSB shows an incredible '60% of Brits can't see past the details, and are instantly put off by poor paintwork, a scratched front doors and bad carpets'.

Estate Agents Aren ' t Photographers or Copywriters

Mr Sessford also stated that some estate agents are "terrible" at writing ad-copy, and taking photographs. "I have seen some awful photographs on Rightmove, that really don't highlight a properties good points. In fact, some photographs would instantly make me not want to view a property," said David.

"As for ad-copy, it needs to be punchy, informative, but most of all sell the property. Has the property been reduced? Is it a bargain? Is it the only one available on an estate? These points all need to be mentioned wherever possible to assist with the sale of the property."

Free Selling Guide For Homeowners

David is currently preparing a 58-page document which he aims to give away to customers on his website http://www.readysteadysell.co.uk, detailing his marketing tips to achieving a faster than average house sale.

The document will include everything from choosing decor to how to get the most out of an estate agent.

Ready Steady Sell offers cash to customers looking to sell quickly, but also offers free online advice about estate agents, valuations and the house sale process.

SOURCE Ready Steady Sell
LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX), a leading global supplier of transportation equipment and services to the railroad industry, will be an exhibitor at InnoTrans 2016, the world's leading transport technology trade show. InnoTrans will attract more than 135,000 visitors from 55 countries to Berlin, Germany from September 20-23, 2016.

Greenbrier builds new railroad freight wagons for rail transport markets worldwide including North and South America, the Middle East/GCC region and Europe. Greenbrier manufactures new wagons at facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and Poland. Greenbrier provides freight wagon repair and aftermarket services in the U.S. and Europe and operates an aftermarket railcar support program in Saudi Arabia.

Greenbrier invites InnoTrans visitors to meet with company representatives from various global locations to learn more about its product and services. Greenbrier will host a display at Hall 3.2, Booth 303 and the outdoor display of rolling stock will feature Greenbrier's 113m3 Tank Wagon and Hopper Wagon at FG SUED/T1/21 and 22.

About Greenbrier

Greenbrier (www.gbrx.com), headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading supplier of transportation equipment and services to the railroad industry. Greenbrier builds new railroad freight cars in manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Poland and marine barges at our U.S. manufacturing facility. Greenbrier sells reconditioned wheel sets and provides wheel services at locations throughout the U.S. We recondition, manufacture and sell railcar parts at various U.S. sites. Through GBW Railcar Services, LLC, a 50/50 joint venture with Watco Companies, LLC, freight cars are repaired and refurbished at over 30 locations across North America, including more than 10 tank car repair and maintenance facilities certified by the Association of American Railroads. Greenbrier owns a lease fleet of over 8,900 railcars and performs management services for over 264,000 railcars.

Related Links

http://www.gbrx.com



SOURCE The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (GBX)
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GENEVA, Switzerland, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum will take place at Palais des Congres Marrakesh, in Morocco, from 9 to 11 November, 2016

Horyou, the social network for social good, announces the 3rd edition of its Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum (SIGEF), a leading side event of COP22, the UN Climate Change Conference of which will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco in November of this year. Titled Shaping Better Times to Come, SIGEF 2016 will welcome a wide array of internationally renowned speakers to cover the UN Sustainable Development Goals and, through constant positive dialogue with its participating officials, private sector, NGOs and civil society, propose strategies and solutions for a better future for all.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407918 )



SIGEF is organized by Horyou to give visibility to initiatives that contribute to advancing social innovation and global ethics worldwide. Plenary sessions, panels, cultural activities, networking events and interviews will take place during the 3 days of the event. The first SIGEF to be held in Africa will take place in Palais des Congres Marrakesh, which already hosted COP7 in 2001.

The SIGEF 2016 will have plenary sessions and panels about topics like Access to Health Services and Drinkable Water; Affordable and Clean Energy; Cities of Tomorrow and Sustainable Finance and Impact Investment in Africa. SIGEF 2016 will also showcase cultural events such as the Night for Hope, on November 9th, with concerts and standup performances before 1500 people. On November 10th, a Horyou Foundation Dinner will host special guests to explore new groundbreaking approaches to philanthropy with Spotlight, the first social global currency for economic inclusion.

The SIGEF Awards will reward humanitarians, innovators and organizations during a special ceremony just before the closing session. And last but not least, NGOs that are Horyou members will have a dedicated area to expose their projects during the event. Says Yonathan Parienti, founder and CEO of Horyou: "We are honored to offer such a variety of activities to a broad and diverse public, to join forces with COP22. With SIGEF 2016, Horyou truly meets its purpose to Connect for Good".

SIGEF2016 is organized by Horyou and is the result of the collaboration with dedicated partners such as founding partners Eneco Holdings and Horyou Foundation.

Click here to see more about SIGEF 2016.

About Horyou

SOURCE Horyou
ATHENS, Greece, September 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Intralot Finance Luxembourg S.A. (the "Offeror") announced today, that it is offering to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offer") any and all of its outstanding notes of its 325,000,000 9.750% senior notes due 2018 (the "Notes") from holders of the Notes (the "Holders") on the terms set out below. The Tender Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on September 20, 2016, unless extended or earlier terminated by the Offeror (the "Expiration Deadline").

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160406/352016LOGO )



The Tender Offer is being made on the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the offer to purchase dated September 14, 2016 (the "Offer to Purchase") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery prepared in connection with the Tender Offer, and is subject to the offer and distribution restrictions set out below. The Offeror reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive any and all conditions.

Capitalised terms used in this announcement but not otherwise defined have the meanings given to them in the Offer to Purchase.

The following table sets forth certain information relating to the Notes.

Common Common code/ISIN for code/ISIN for Outstanding Description of Regulation S Rule 144A Principal Purchase the Notes Notes Notes Amount* Price EUR1,051.55 EUR325,000,000 per EUR1,000 9.750% Senior 094717663 / 094717736 / in principal Notes due 2018 XS0947176631 XS0947177365 EUR276,682,000 amount

*Excludes 48,318,000 in principal amount of Notes held by the Group, which will be cancelled by the Offeror prior to the Settlement Date.

Purpose and Background of the Tender Offer

The Tender Offer is being made as part of the Group's liquidity management and is aimed at optimizing its liquidity position and its cost of debt. Concurrently with the Tender Offer, Intralot Capital Luxembourg S.A. is offering senior notes due 2021 (the "New Notes") unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Intralot S.A. and certain of its subsidiaries, on terms and conditions reasonably satisfactory to it. The proceeds of the New Notes will be used, among other things, to purchase the Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer.

Details of the Tender Offer

The consummation of the Tender Offer is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, including the Financing Condition, the Loan Commitment Condition and the General Conditions. These conditions are described in more detail in the Offer to Purchase under "Conditions of the Tender Offer." There can be no assurance that such conditions will be met or waived.

For Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Deadline and accepted for purchase, the purchase price per 1,000 principal amount of the Notes will be 1,051.55 (the "Purchase Price") In addition, Holders whose Notes are purchased pursuant to the Tender Offer will also receive a cash payment representing the accrued and unpaid interest on their purchased Notes from the last applicable interest payment date for such Notes to, but excluding the Settlement Date (as defined below).

As soon as practicable on or after the Expiration Deadline, the Offeror will announce whether the Financing Condition, the Loan Commitment Condition and the General Conditions have been satisfied and the results of the Tender Offer. Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the Tender Offer, the settlement of the Tender Offer will occur promptly after the Expiration Deadline (such settlement is expected to be September 23, 2016) (the "Settlement Date"). All payments will be made on the Settlement Date, unless the Offeror extends or earlier terminates the Tender Offer or redeems the Notes under the mandatory redemption provisions of the related indenture.

Notes purchased by the Offeror pursuant to the Tender Offer will be cancelled and will not be re-issued or re-sold.

Additionally, the Offeror has also issued a notice of conditional redemption and any Notes that remain outstanding following the settlement of the Tender Offer will be redeemed by the Offeror on the redemption date, expected to be October 14, 2016, pursuant to the notice of conditional redemption.

None of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers, the Tender Agent, the Notes trustee or any of their respective affiliates makes any recommendation, or has expressed an opinion, as to whether or not Holders should tender their Notes, or refrain from doing so, held by them pursuant to the Tender Offer. Each holder should make its own decision as to whether to tender its Notes and if so, the principal amount of the Notes to tender.

Any questions or requests for assistance or additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Tender Agent at the telephone number or the address listed below. Holders may also contact the Dealer Managers at their respective addresses or telephone numbers set forth below or such holder's broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Tender Offer.

The Dealer Managers are: J.P. Morgan Securities plc, 25 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5JP, United Kingdom, Attention: Liability Management, Telephone: +44 207 134 3438 E-mail: emea_lm@jpmorgan.com; and Societe Generale, 10 Bishops Square, London E1 6EG, United Kingdom, Attention: Liability Management, Telephone: +44 20 7676 7579, E-mail: liability.management@sgcib.com.

The Tender Agent is: Lucid Issuer Services Limited, Tankerton Works, 12 Argyle Walk, London WC1H 8HA, Telephone: +44 20 7704 0880, Email: intralot@lucid-is.com, Attn: Thomas Choquet/Arlind Bytyqi

Copies of the Offer to Purchase are available at the following web address: http://library.lucid-is.com/intralot

Disclaimer

This announcement is not an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a solicitation of consents with respect to any securities. This announcement does not describe all the material terms of the Tender Offer and no decision should be made by any holder on the basis of this announcement. The complete terms and conditions of the Tender Offer are described in the Offer to Purchase. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. The Offer to Purchase contains important information which should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Tender Offer. If any holder is in any doubt as to the contents of this announcement, or the Offer to Purchase, or the action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own financial and legal advice, including in respect of any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial, tax or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee must contact such entity if it wishes to tender such Notes pursuant to the Tender Offer.

Offer and Distribution Restrictions

Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase constitutes an invitation to participate in the Tender Offer in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable securities laws. The distribution of this announcement and the Offer to Purchase in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement or the Offer to Purchase come are required by each of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers and the Tender Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions.

Italy

None of the Tender Offer, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Tender Offer has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB) pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Tender Offer is being carried out in Italy as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended. Holders or beneficial owners of the Notes that are located in Italy can tender Notes for purchase in the Tender Offer through authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of October 29, 2007, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority.

Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-a-vis its clients in connection with the Notes or the Tender Offer.

United Kingdom

None of the communication of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Tender Offer are being made and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Financial Promotion Order")) or persons who are within Article 43(2) of the Financial Promotion Order or any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion Order.

France

The Tender Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other document or material relating to the Tender Offer has been or shall be distributed to the public in France and only (i) providers of investment services relating to portfolio management for the account of third parties (personnes fournissant le service d'investissement de gestion de portefeuille pour compte de tiers) and/or (ii) qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies), other than individuals, acting for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, Articles L.411-1, L.411-2 and D.411-1 of the French Code monetaire et financier, are eligible to participate in the Tender Offer. Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase has been or will be submitted for clearance to or approved by the Autorite des Marches Financiers.

Greece

In relation to the Tender Offer:

(i) no public offer, as defined in L. 3401/2005, art. 10 of L. 876/1979, article 8a of Codified L. 2190/1920 and L. 3461/2006 (all, as amended and in force), shall take place; and

(ii) no advertisement, notice, statement or other action has been or shall be reviewed, approved or authorized by the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission under L. 3401/2005, art. 10 of L. 876/1979, article 8a of Codified L. 2190/1920 and L. 3461/2006 (all, as amended and in force),

in, from or otherwise involving the Hellenic Republic.

Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase has been approved by the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission.

Luxembourg

Under no circumstance shall the Tender Offer constitute an offer to buy or subscribe for securities in Luxembourg. Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase has been reviewed or approved by the Luxembourg Financial Sector Regulator (the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier).

ENQUIRIES

Intralot

Elias Athanasiou

Group IR Director

Tel: +30 210 61 56 000

E-mail: Athanasiou@intralot.com



SOURCE INTRALOT
PUNE, India, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The global LNG tanker market 2016-2020 report says revamping in the carrier propulsion systems is a major trend as these LNG carriers have undergone a paradigm shift in their design ever since the very first LNG vessel was inducted into service, some half a century ago. The historical fleet of LNG tankers in the global trade had been fitted with a reliable, but moderately efficient steam turbine-driven propulsion systems. The only fuel option these systems had was related to the boil-off gases, which was a by-product of the storage of natural gas under cryogenic conditions.

Complete report on LNG tanker market spread across 99 pages, analyzing 7 major companies and providing 61 data exhibits is now available at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/global-lng-tanker-market-2016-2020-market-report.html.

The analysts forecast global LNG tanker market to grow at a CAGR of 6.21% during the period 2016-2020. According to the LNG tanker market report, stringent marine pollution laws will be a key driver for market growth. As with any form of energy consumer, the marine transportation industry also affects the environment adversely in many ways, and the LNG tanker industry provides a potential exception. One of the major trends seen over the past decade is the significant increase in the marine pollution. The result of this has been increase in the focus of the marine environment protection and attempt to revive the marine ecosystem. However, being a relatively cleaner fuel than the counterparts, the LNG tanker market is expected to reap tons of benefits from the imposing of the stricter marine pollution laws.

The global LNG tanker market was dominated by the APAC region with a market share of around 88%. With the consumption figures conventionally high, several nations in the region had started the quest of attaining supply assurance by building their own LNG tankers since long. Japan and Korea have dominated the construction of LNG tankers around the globe for decades, with China gaining its fair share in the recent decade. The projected increase in the number of vessels in this region will fuel the growth of the market in APAC over the forecast period.

The membrane technology segment accounted for around 76% of the market share to become the key revenue generating segment of the global LNG tanker market. This technology, developed in the year 1971, has made significant strides in the past decades and commands almost three quarters of the global LNG tanker fleet. Considering the market share in terms of absolute tanker numbers, the number of vessels, based on the membrane technology, stood at 312 tankers in 2015.

The following companies are the key players in the global LNG tanker market: Samsung Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hyundai Heavy Industries, DSME, Mitsui OSK Lines, NYK Lines, and Yamal LNG. Order a copy of Global LNG Tanker Market 2016-2020 report @ http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/contacts/purchase?rname=688855.

Global LNG Tanker Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. To calculate the market size, the report presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top vendors operating in the market.

Another related report is Global Gas Meter Market 2016-2020: a key growth driver for the gas meter market will be the benefits offered by new smart meters. Smart meters and smart energy monitors allow customers keep track of their energy use in real time and help them make better choices regarding prudent gas use, thus enabling monetary savings. Power utilities roll out and install these devices at residential premises as well as commercial and industrial facilities that use natural gas. Browse complete report at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/global-gas-meter-market-2016-2020-market-report.html

Explore other new reports on Logistics & Shipping Market @ http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/reports/automotive-transportation/logistics-shipping.

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DARMSTADT, Germany, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Four research grants awarded out of 260 proposals from 45 countries

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced recipients of the fourth annual Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) during a symposium at the 32nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in London.

This year, 260 proposals from 45 countries were submitted, representing innovative research projects taking place across the globe. Four research teams from the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, Israel, Germany and Qatar were selected to share in the 1 million grant to support their research:

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis of plasma; a novel, highly sensitive method for monitoring the development and predicting progression in multiple sclerosis: Professor Daniel Anthony , Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford , Oxford, United Kingdom .

Professor , Department of Pharmacology, , . Raman Spectroscopy in M ultiple S clerosis : Dr. Elena Martinez de Lapiscina, IDIBAPS-Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain .

Dr. Elena Martinez de Lapiscina, IDIBAPS-Hospital Clinic, . Cell-type specific methylation patterns in circulating DNA: Towards the clinical application of an innovative blood-based biomarker for oligodendrocyte and neuronal damage in multiple sclerosis : Professor Yuval Dor , Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Jerusalem, Israel ; Dr. Adi Vaknin , Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel ; and Dr. Klemens Ruprecht , Department of Neurology, Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Germany .

: Professor , Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, ; Dr. , Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, ; and Dr. , Department of Neurology, Charite - Universitatsmedizin . Corneal Confocal Microscopy: A Rapid Non-invasive Surrogate Endpoint for Axonal Loss and Repair in Multiple Sclerosis: Professor Rayaz Malik and Dr. Ioannis Petropolous , Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar of Cornell University , Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha, Qatar .

"Merck is committed to advancing care for patients living with multiple sclerosis through internal innovation and drug development, which is strategically complemented by external innovation from our Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation," said Steven Hildemann, Chief Medical Officer, and head of Global Medical Affairs and Global Drug Safety at the biopharmaceutical business of Merck. "This year's grant recipients will study new ways to detect and monitor MS and predict disease progression. These projects once again highlight the leading-edge research being conducted by GMSI teams aimed at treating MS, repairing damage caused by the disease and finding new discoveries that could one day aid in preventing it."

The GMSI was launched in October 2012 with the aim of improving the understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) for the ultimate benefit of those living with the disease. Previous recipients have studied molecular markers of MS, novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and analysis techniques to detect and monitor the disease, and methods to reduce and repair nerve damage caused by inflammation in patients with MS.

The awards symposium was chaired by Professor David Bates, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Neurology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, UK, and a member of the GMSI Scientific Committee. During the symposium, Merck also announced the call for proposals for the 2017 GMSI. Up to 1,000,000 will be awarded to fund innovative research in MS, in topics that could include:

MS pathogenesis

Prediction of MS subtypes

Predictive markers of treatment response

Potential new treatments for MS

Innovative patient support programmes, mobile health devices or patient-reported outcomes

More information about the GMSI can be found online at: http://www.grantformultiplesclerosisinnovation.org.

Merck is committed to rewarding innovation and new thinking that could further advance the field of medicine. To learn more about the variety of innovation grants Merck offers, visit:

http://www.merckgroup.com/en/innovation/grants_awards_initiatives/innovation_grants_awards_initiatives.html.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the central nervous system and is the most common, non-traumatic, disabling neurological disease in young adults. It is estimated that approximately 2.3 million people have MS worldwide. While symptoms can vary, the most common symptoms of MS include blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the limbs and problems with strength and coordination. The relapsing forms of MS are the most common.

All Merck Press Releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Website. Please go to http://www.merckgroup.com/subscribe to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.

About Merck

Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck generated sales of  12.85 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371574LOGO )

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151019/278051LOGO )





SOURCE Merck
Industry Leaders Join Forces to Deliver Superior Proofreading Solutions to the Legal Industry

DOWNERS GROVE, Illinois, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsystems, the leading provider of document authoring, editing, formatting, and proofreading software serving the legal and life sciences industries, today announced their merger with XRef, the company founded by lawyers to assist with document drafting and review.

The industry's two dominant proofreading solutions will join forces to bring better technologies and an enhanced experience to the market.

"We have long admired XRef's international and industry market expertise and success growing a great business with astute insights into the demands that lawyers face," explained Microsystems CEO Stacey Kacek. "This merger will expand our product functionality and result in a superior customer experience," Kacek added.

"Our organizations are the two forces that have built this market. We recognized that working together we would better serve the market and clients' needs," explained XRef Director and Co-Founder Travis Leon. "As co-founder at XRef, my objective was to help law firms around the world to better use technology in dealing with the increasing demands of the legal industry. Working with Microsystems will accelerate the achievement of that goal by leveraging the strengths of our two organizations," Leon concluded.

About XRef

XRef was created to bring the benefits of technology to the world of legal drafting and is intended to assist law firms in dealing with the competing pressures facing them in today's market, namely the demand for the same continued excellence in legal drafting and for a more cost-effective service.

About Microsystems

Microsystems is the leading provider of innovative document technology solutions and cutting-edge software worldwide. Five core products optimize all stages of the document production lifecycle, improving content quality and formatting, identifying errors and inconsistencies, mitigating risk, and enhancing document production efficiency for the legal, professional services and life sciences industries. Today, Microsystems supports more than 650 document-intensive organizations across the globe, helping them satisfy the complex demands of clients and regulators.

SOURCE Microsystems
Since launched in 2010 to inspire and groom the next generation of designers for Malaysia's furniture industry, MIFF FDC has emerged as the top annual furniture design award for young talent. It is open for young professionals and students below 30 years old.

The theme for MIFF Furniture Design Competition 2017 is "Table2Gather" in search for innovative and sustainable concepts of the ubiquitous table-and-chair set.

"The table is one of the most widely used furniture pieces and it brings people to gather together whether for fine dining or meals at home, to share traditions and experiences, to chit chat, make new friends or make new business," said Ms Karen Goi, General Manager of MIFF.

"We are certainly looking forward to the very best from the contestants, something that goes beyond the shape and function, a design that stands out and reflects the new desired living lifestyles for today and tomorrow. It can be a complete dining concept, a kitchen piece or stylish table for cocktails, coffee and snacks, the ideas are simply endless and we want to be impressed."

The top 10 entries will be presented and awarded along with exhibitor accolades during MIFF 2017 held from March 8 to 11 in Kuala Lumpur. The prototypes produced in partnership with local manufacturers will be put on display at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC), the co-venue of the trade show with Putra World Trade Centre.

Interested designers can check www.mifffdc.com for competition rules and conditions and entry form. Entries close 17 October 2016.

MIFF FDC is judged by an international panel of experts in design and industry under Chief Judge Philip Yap.

The winner is announced at the MIFF Prize Presentation Ceremony on Mar 10 for the top prize of RM10,000, the second and third-placed will receive RM5,000 and RM2,500 respectively, and the remaining finalists RM500 each.

For more information, visit www.mifffdc.com or follow MIFF FDC Facebook fanpage "MIFF Furniture Design Competition (FDC)".

Notes to Editors

About MIFF (www.miff.com.my)

Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) is an export-oriented furniture trade show held annually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is also a global leading trade show approved by UFI, The Global Association for Exhibition Industry. Since 1995, MIFF has nurtured invaluable partnerships between thousands of buyers and furniture makers across the globe.

Related Links

http://www.mifffdc.com



SOURCE UBM Asia (Malaysia)
LONDON, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

MindLink, the leading provider of secure Chat Enabled Collaboration (CEC) tools for global businesses, has today announced the results of an independent study with regards to the use of chat & collaboration technology within the financial services sector. The qualitative evaluation found that Chat and Collaboration applications are used by virtually every firm yet a lack of clear ownership of these tools and associated compliance risks are major concerns.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160413/354760LOGO )



(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160701/385631 )



Designed to gather objective feedback from senior executives' views on collaboration technologies, user adoption, ownership, priorities for 2016/17 and internal communication challenges, the report highlights several key findings:

Chat tools are being used in virtually every firm. Nearly all respondents stated that 'they couldn't live without it'

Chat has no defined owner. The complexity and implications of owning chat enabled collaboration systems and data/conversations within, makes it potentially one of the most accountable roles within financial services

Co-existence of legacy and innovative new systems is the biggest challenge

Encryption is the most crucial requirement for CEC platforms

Compliance teams are the gate keepers in terms of overall purchasing decisions

"The advantages of real-time enterprise chat platforms are undeniable, especially within Financial Services where high velocity data exchange is a must. Adoption is soaring, yet the research report has shown several surprising findings. One is certainly the potential need for a Chief Collaboration Officer. Someone who does not only own but also drives collaboration initiative within financial firms and beyond", says Andrew Delaney, Chief Content Officer at the A-Team Group.

For the report, senior business executives of tier 1 financial companies including buy-side and sell-side firms, investment banks and interdealer brokers in the UK and US were interviewed, to find answers to the most common questions regarding 'Chat Enabled Collaboration' (CEC) technology within the space.

"We work with many financial firms, half the Global Systemically Important Banks (GSIBs) for that matter, and whilst chat & messaging are engrained in this sector as a real-time collaboration tool, to share research or execute trades, similar questions, needs and challenges persist," says Annekathrin Hase, CMO at MindLink. "We commissioned a market research report to get first-hand, objective views as to what collaboration technology financial firms require and want."

According to the study, chat is fast becoming the life blood of financial organisations making them more competitive and more agile and without which they would be unable to operate efficiently.

The full research report and findings can be downloaded on http://www.mindlinksoft.com.

About MindLink

MindLink is a highly secure Chat Enabled Collaboration (CEC) platform for global enterprises. Think of MindLink as a secure alternative to WhatsApp designed for corporate use. Its messaging and collaboration app encourages employees to stay actively connected, reducing unnecessary email usage.

MindLink enables real-time collaboration and information sharing without ever overloading the user and allowing access to knowledge in a highly structured and customised way. It is designed to meet stringent data security requirements and regulatory compliance needs whilst maintaining powerful enterprise level functionality and integration with internal and external systems. MindLink recently released its next generation software which also connects to Unified Communication platforms such as Microsoft Lync and Skype for Business whose messaging functionality MindLink now significantly enhances.

Sign up for free: http://www.mindlinksoft.com



Media Contact:

Shamira Alidina, Director, Dina Communications

Tel +44(0)7801-590718

Email: shamira@dinacomms.com

MindLink

Annekathrin Hase, CMO

Annekathrin.hase@mindlinksoft.com

+44(0)20-3582-1487

SOURCE MindLink
In March 2015, the British government announced its intention to create the reserve and to conduct the trial program. Today's designation marks the first time any government has combined creation of a remote, fully protected marine area with a comprehensive plan to use the most up-to-date available technology to enforce prohibitions on fishing and other activities.

"By protecting the vast array of marine life within these rich waters, the United Kingdom has solidified its position as a leader in ocean conservation," said Joshua S. Reichert, executive vice president at Pew who oversees strategy for the Global Ocean Legacy and Ending Illegal Fishing projects. "The Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve sets a new standard for enforcement of protected areas through innovations in satellite technology."

The monitoring trial, which included more than 10,000 hours of surveillance using Eyes on the Seas, found minimal fishing activity in the remote waters of the Pitcairn Islands' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and high compliance with current laws and regulations. With official designation of the marine reserve, all extractive activities, such as industrial fishing and mining, are now prohibited within the EEZ, except for subsistence fishing in a small area set aside for the Pitcairn community.

Her Majesty's government partnered with Pew and the Switzerland-based Bertarelli Foundation to conduct the trial from June 2015 through May 2016. The Bertarelli Foundation provided funding to test a Wave Glider SV3, a floating drone developed by U.S.-based Liquid Robotics, to gather information from the water's surface to be incorporated in the analysis. Eyes on the Seas merges satellite tracking and imagery data with other sources of information, such as fishing vessel databases, oceanographic data, and ships' ownership histories, to provide up-to-the-minute information that can alert officials to suspicious activity.

At roughly 3  times the size of the land area of the U.K., the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve protects some of the most intact marine ecosystems on the planet. The waters are home to 1,249 identified species, including at least two found nowhere else on Earth: a species of squirrelfish and the many-spined butterfly fish. The reserve also safeguards one of the world's only two remaining raised coral atollsa ring-shaped coral reef as well as 40-Mile Reef, the deepest and most well-developed coral reef known.

In 2013, Pew's Global Ocean Legacy project joined the Pitcairn Island Council, the local elected body, and the National Geographic Society in submitting a proposal to the British government for creation of a marine reserve to protect these spectacular waters. Initial consideration started years earlier.

The Pitcairn Island Council praised the designation in a statement: "For over five years, the Pitcairn Island Council has worked closely with the local community and partners to evaluate and promote the benefits of preserving our pristine seas. We are proud that Her Majesty's government has legally designated over 800,000 square kilometres of our marine environment as a fully protected reserve. When you add in the use of cutting-edge technology to monitor our waters, both the island community and our visitors will continue to enjoy this beautiful ocean habitat for many years to come."

With its overseas territories, the U.K. serves as caretaker for 2.6 million square miles (more than 6 million square kilometres) of ocean, the fifth-largest marine area of any country. In recent years, the nation has become a leader in the global movement to safeguard critical ocean habitatestablishing the Chagos Marine Reserve in the British Indian Ocean Territory in 2010 and pledging protections for the waters of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic in January of this year.

The U.K., the United States, New Zealand, Palau, and Chile all have announced creation of large, fully protected marine reserves in the past 18 months, a period in which more ocean has been set aside for protection than any other in history.

Even with this progress, only about 3 percent of the ocean has been designated with strong protections. Recent science shows that at least 30 percent needs to be safeguarded in order to conserve biodiversity, support fisheries productivity, and ensure maximum economic, cultural and life-supporting benefits.

About The Pew Charitable Trusts

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Learn more at www.pewtrusts.org.

About Global Ocean Legacy

Global Ocean Legacy is a partnership established in 2006 to promote the creation of marine reserves in the world's oceans. Current partners include The Pew Charitable Trusts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Lyda Hill Foundation, Oak Foundation, The Robertson Foundation, and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation. Learn more at www.globaloceanlegacy.org. Each of these positive developments has been driven by the Great British Oceans campaign, of which Pew is a member.

Media Contact: Laura Margison, +1 202.849.0272, lmargison@pewtrusts.org

Related Links

http://www.pewtrusts.org



SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts
PUNE, India, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

RnRMarketResearch.com adds new Pine tar market research report that provides 2016-2021 forecasts for the global and Chinese markets covering information on raw materials as well as overall market dynamics.

Global and Chinese Pine tar Market 2016 Research Report initially provides a basic overview of the industry that covers definition, applications and manufacturing technology, post which the report explores into the international and Chinese players in the market.

Complete report on Pine tar market spread across 150 pages providing 8 company profiles and 98 tables and figures is available at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/2016-pine-tar-cas-8011-48-1-industry-market-report-market-report.html .

The 'Global and Chinese Pine tar Industry, 2016 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Pine tar market with a focus on the Chinese industry. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Pine tar manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.

Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Pine tar industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report then estimates 2016-2021 industry development trends of Pine tar market. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Pine tar Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global and Chinese Pine tar market covering all important parameters. Order a copy of Global and Chinese Pine tar Industry, 2016 Market Research Report at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/contacts/purchase?rname=671624 .

Another research titled "Pine Tar Oil Global Market and Forecast Research" We provide independent and unbiased information on manufacturers, prices, production news and consumers for the global and regional (North America, Asia and Europe) market of Pine Tar Oil. Our network of Pine Tar Oil market reporters in 2016 based in Asia, Europe and the US, deliver local insight for each of these markets, which is published in our reports, which, ensure you can make confident commercial decisions: Make better business decisions with reliable price/cost data, Determine industry and company profitability for investment purposes, Optimize procurement decisions, Leverage comprehensive regional coverage and support in one service, Identify most cost-effective raw materials to use.

Browse Complete Pine Tar Oil Global Market and Forecast Research at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/pine-tar-oil-global-market-and-forecast-research-market-report.html .

Explore more reports on the Chemicals market at http://www.rnrmarketresearch.com/reports/materials-chemicals/chemicals .

About Us:

RnRMarketResearch.com is your single source for all market research needs. Our database includes 500,000+ market research reports from over 100+ leading global publishers & in-depth market research studies of over 5000 micro markets. With comprehensive information about the publishers and the industries for which they publish market research reports, we help you in your purchase decision by mapping your information needs with our huge collection of reports.

Contact:

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SOURCE RnR Market Research
DEERFIELD, Illinois, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pregis has acquired Easypack, Hertfordshire, UK, a paper-based protective packaging company, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will enable Pregis to expand its North American product portfolio to include a complete line of paper void fill, cushioning and block/brace solutions.

"We are continuously looking for ways to support brand owners with offerings that will meet any protective packaging needs they might have to create a positive customer experience. This latest acquisition enables us to expand our performance-oriented paper packaging offering in North America, as well as provide Easypack with inflatable packaging solutions to support the European markets they serve," said Kevin Baudhuin, president and chief executive officer.

Pregis will continue to operate Easypack's three UK manufacturing facilities, as well as offices and distribution centers in France and Germany. Easypack employs approximately 70 people across Europe.

"Easypack, with its 20-plus year track record of innovation in paper packaging solutions, is a welcomed addition to the Pregis family. Its successful expansion into Europe led to the company being awarded the prestigious Queen's Award for International Trade on three occasions. We look forward to sharing technology to offer even more protective packaging solutions to customers in North America and Europe," Baudhuin said.

About Easypack

Easypack was established in 1992 in Hertfordshire, UK, when a gap in the market was identified. This led to the development of a range of environmentally-friendly, quality, high-performance paper-based cushion and void fill systems, designed specifically for industrial consumption. For more information: www.easypack.net.

About Pregis

Pregis LLC is a leading provider of innovative protective packaging materials and systems. The company offers solutions for a wide variety of consumer and industrial market segments including food, beverage, healthcare, medical devices, agricultural, e-commerce, retail, automotive, furniture, electronics, construction and military/aerospace. For more information: www.pregis.com.

Related Links

http://www.pregis.com



SOURCE Pregis LLC
Liam O'Brien was crashing on his friend's couch last winter when he found a Craigslist post for a single room in a five-bedroom apartment in Crown Heights, for $775. He responded quickly, and set up a viewing through the management company. Later that week, a man named Gary, who said he was the building manager, let O'Brien into 80 New York Avenue #5 to look around. Four of the bedrooms appeared lived in, though no one was home. Gary said O'Brien's credit history wouldn't be an issue so long as he could pay an extra month's security. "I took the first thing I could get, and this was it," he told Gothamist.

O'Brien, a 29-year-old ironworker, still hadn't met his future roommates when he went to property owners Mendel and Chananya Gold's Williamsburg office the next day to sign the lease. A copy of that lease shows his name written in pen over what appears to be whiteout. Instead of giving him a set of keys, someone in the office provided the code to a lock box that's clamped to the railing outside the four-story pre-war building. According to residents, the lockbox holds keys that prospective tenants, and sometimes brokers, use to enter their apartments unannounced.

Forty-five minutes after signing his lease O'Brien was cc'd on an e-mail from Parker Leigh, 27, a bartender at Sweet Brooklyn on Nostrand Avenue and one of his new roommates. He scrolled down to an earlier e-mail, from the management company to the four people he'd be living with. "I hope this finds you well," it read. "The empty room in your apartment is no longer empty a very guy [sic] will be moving in in the next few days. I will give him your contact information and I hope there will be peace and we will all be in good terms [sic]."

Leigh's reply was furious. "In addition to yet again having to receive another male stranger into our home which is predominantly women we also have rats running rampant in the apartment now," she wrote, adding, "I wish I had the benefit of knowing what I was being conned into prior to signing this lease."

"That," O'Brien said, "put a lot of doubt in my heart."

More and more, landlords across gentrifying Brooklyn are renting out individual bedrooms. Rents on these listings are often under $1,000appealing to young singles who can't afford a one-bedroom or studio and don't have a group of people to go in with. Twenty percent of respondents to a Naked Apartments survey conducted this spring indicated that they would consider the setup.

While it's illegal under the Housing Maintenance Code for a for-profit landlord to establish single-room tenancies within a multi-bedroom apartment, landlords can legally group strangers if they all agree to co-sign a lease. Some realtor websites are transparent about the practice: MySpace, Nooklyn and Lofts and Flats all offer roommate matchmaking services intended to help renters find compatible strangers. In the case of 80 New York Avenue, though, tenants say the group lease is a cover for a living arrangement that looks a lot more like an illegal rooming house.

When the Golds bought 80 New York Avenue in December 2014 for $2.3 million, the eight unit building was entirely rent-stabilized. Most of the tenants had lived there for decades, and had seen their rentswhich ranged from about $575 to $1,200 per monthincrease incrementally. Fast-forward a year and a half, and only three original apartments remain. The other five have been gutted and rebuilt as five bedrooms, many of which are advertised by the room. The Golds are collecting around $4,000 a month for each apartment.

But not without headaches. Two generations of tenants at 80 New York Avenue, each with their own set of grievances, have found common cause against them.



(Scott Heins / Gothamist)

In 1955, then-New York City mayor Robert Wagner prohibited for-profit landlords from creating new single room occupancies. Also known as SROs, these are typically one-room units with locks on their doors around a common kitchen and bathroom. These tiny living spaces proliferated after World War I, but the city began incentivizing their removal in the decades that followed. "No community should equate [SRO] housing with the acceptable living standards of the 1960s," a Wagner aide told reporters in 1965. There are currently 35,000 or fewer SROs in the city, according to a recent estimate from the CUNY Law Review, down from a mid-century peak of 200,000.

"The tenants at 80 New York would be exactly the sort of tenants to live in SROs," said attorney Brian Sullivan of MFY Legal Services, who's representing them pro-bono in a lawsuit they've filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court alleging illegal deregulation and rent overcharges. "You're working but you're not necessarily making a lot of money. You just need no-frills, cheap accommodations. That whole section of the housing market just got demolished, and it creates conditions where landlords can take advantage."

Sullivan believes that landlords see a big upside in renting to this demographic. "They're dealing with a more precarious population that's sort of moving in and out, whose rights are less clear, who are less likely to try to enforce the rent stabilization code as it applies to them," he said.

Landlords "are essentially gutting apartments and turning them into relatively nice places to live," said Bernard Klein, a realtor with the Blooming Sky group. "Then, to increase their rental yield they get a broker to market it by the room."

Gothamist spoke with brokers at numerous other agencies, including Citi Habitats, Apts and Flats, and Naked Apartments, who were all familiar with this practice. "If you go out to a cool restaurant and you have a younger waiter, they all live in these [Brooklyn] neighborhoods," said David Maundrell III, the executive vice president of Brooklyn and Queens developments for Citi Habitats. "And this is how they do it."

"Remember," warned Joe Charet, general manager at Naked Apartments. "When you cosign a lease you are entering a binding contract with roommates. If they fail to hold up their end of the lease, you'll be on the hook for whatever is owed."



The hallway in Leigh and O'Brien's apartment (Emma Whitford / Gothamist).

The newly-renovated apartments at 80 New York Avenue have shiny fixtures, polished floors, and central heat and air. A narrow hallway lined with bedrooms runs off of a living-kitchen space, with a dishwasher.

"The room I was staying in previously had no windows, no ventilation. And I was paying $925 for it," said Scott Kitajima, a 48-year-old valet and bartender who moved into apartment #1 last fall with four strangers. "So to have a room that had a window and central air it was like, you know, get the fuck out of here."

Domenique Gerard, a 21-year-old accounting student at St. Francis College, was also impressed. "My mom didn't want me in any old scummy apartment," she explained.

Gerard was shaken, but not deterred, when she walked into her chosen room to find someone else's bed and suitcases there. She'd paid her deposit a week before, and now all of her things had been moved to a room across the hall, with a much smaller closet. The agent who had shown her the building, who she knew only as Nathan, told her she could move upstairs if she wanted something comparable to the room she'd been booted from.

"I was like, 'I'm in this far and I just want an apartment,'" she recalled.

Though she didn't know it at the time, multiple tenants have since said that the broker is Nathan Smithan agent who has been accused of Craigslist scams in the past and who's currently under NYPD investigation (they recognized his mugshot in the press). An NYPD detective told Gothamist that Smith has worked for the Golds in the past. The men appear to have an ongoing working relationship. One tenant said Smith approached her on the Golds' behalf in July, and that she'd seen him on trips to their office, where he appears to have a desk. Another saw Smith at 80 New York Avenue in August.

Tenants who responded to Smith's Craigslist ads said they didn't understand that the law prohibited them from having their own individual leases. "We were told that we would pay separately and we were only responsible for our portion of the rent," said Kitajima. "And then they were like, "That's not how the lease is, by signing it you will be responsible for the entire unit."

Klein, the broker, said it's not uncommon for landlords and rental agents to work in concert. "The landlord shoves the contract in your face once you're all settled in," he said. "It's complete collusion."

Adding to their confusion, tenants said, the Golds have violated these contracts by rotating new roommates into their apartments without consultation. "It's almost like whoever they can find to pay, they'll just throw them in the apartment," Gerard said.

For Leigh, it's a constant source of anxiety. "Crown Heights is a pretty safe place, but come on now," she said. "You can't just give out people's house key."

She and O'Brien, the ironworker, get along well enough. Their work schedules are opposite, and they seldom cross paths. Still, Leigh thinks the situation sets an alarming precedent. "You take away the ability to be a judge of character," Leigh added. "It's not an auction. It's an apartment, and I have to live with this person."



Bessie Staton's apartment at 80 New York Avenue, which has avoided the fate of a gut renovation (Scott Heins / Gothamist).

Longtime residents at 80 New York Avenue allege that the Golds harassed them with impunity in an effort to clear the way for young tenants like O'Brien and Leigh.

Last winter, 65-year-old Beverly Thompson, a retired home aide, turned down several buyout offers. One night in February, the building supervisor knocked on her door and told her to disregard any loud banginga crew was working across the hall.

Soon, she got a frantic call from her cousin, who was standing out in the hallway. "I got to the door and I can't get out," the 65-year-old retired home aide recalled. "A board, what you would use if an apartment was burnt out or abandoned, was up there covering the entire door."

A second lawsuit filed this January states that Thompson was "unlawfully imprisoned" that night. According to the suit, someone from the management company "barred the entry door to plaintiff's apartment while she was inside by screwing or nailing a large piece of wood to the doorway." The fire department responded to aid a tenant who was "locked in." According to Thompson, management later said that it had been a mistakethat the workers had thought her apartment was uninhabited.

Lisa Mathis, 55, and her 76-year-old aunt Bessie Statonwhose spacious apartment has a living room with four windowsalso refused buyouts. "They'd come on Sundays, ring the bell, knock on the door," Mathis recalled. "Are you gonna move? Can you move? Can we make a deal?"

Longtime tenants also said that renovations to the building have been disruptive and suspect. The Golds ripped out the building's central boiler, which had provided their heata condition of their rent-stabilized leases (altering rent-stabilized tenants' utilities requires state permission; the Division of Housing and Community Renewal is currently investigating). They then installed bulky, individual HVAC systems, which Mathis said produced noxious exhaust and "sounded like an airport." Her lawyer commissioned an independent engineer, who deemed them a health hazard. While new tenants cranked their central heat all winter, the longtime tenants wore jackets and hats inside.

The Department of Buildings issued a partial stop-work order on 80 New York Avenue last December; there was a gas leak around Thanksgiving, and another this May.

"There's poisoned air and there's explosion risk," said attorney Roger Levy, who's representing the longtime tenants on the second suit.

The Golds' attorney Arun Perinbasekar countered in court papers that 80 New York Avenue was "severely" run down when his clients purchased it, justifying extensive renovations. The building had 123 HPD violations in January 2013; that number has since been reduced to 29.



Ben Wolcott (Scott Heins / Gothamist).

The gas leaks drew firefighters and inspectors to 80 New York Avenue, and old and new tenants started talking.

Ben Wolcott, 26, lives with four friends in #8, one of the renovated apartments. He's a union organizer, and all of his roommates were involved in activism on their college campuses. "When long-term residents talk about the issues they are facing, for progressive folks like us it really forces a question," he told us recently. "Are you going to live up to your values or are you not?"

In January the residents of 80 New York Avenue formed a tenant association and, with help from the Crown Heights Tenant Union, retained Sullivan as their attorney. They've rallied outside Brooklyn Supreme Court, and in front of their building. In June, they hung bright green and orange signs in most of the street-facing windows that broadcast an eye-catching message: "S-L-U-M-L-O-R-D: D-O-N-'T R-E-N-T H-E-R-E."

"We have the age difference and all that, I'm dealing with that, but they have been respectful and decent towards me," Thompson said, of her younger neighbors. "We have the understanding that they're being overcharged, and they were realizing some of the things Gold was doing to us to get us out."

The Golds "categorically deny" that 80 New York Avenue is "being run like a boarding house," according to a counter affidavit filed in court. "Prospective tenants contact a broker and all tenants sign leases for a term wherein they are jointly and severally liable for the whole rent."



(Scott Heins / Gothamist)

The Golds rent multiple properties by the room, using more than one rental agent, according to tenants and associates. An agent with Lofts and Flats said that his company has a contract with them, and has filled single rooms at his buildings, including 80 New York Avenue, as recently as this month. (The agent said his company is transparent about tenant liability, and denied any association with Smith, the notorious scammer.) Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) that trace to the Golds' office, 164 Clymer Street in Williamsburg, own 20 Brooklyn buildings and lots, primarily in Crown Heights, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy.

Cyndy Small, a 30-year-old hairdresser, lives in a Gold-owned brownstone at 274 Van Buren Street in Bed-Stuy. Like the tenants at 80 New York Avenue, she responded to one of Smith's Craigslist posts for an individual room. The Golds chopped up each floor of that building in such a way that the residents only have one means of egress, through the basement. "They don't care as long as they get paid," Small said. DOB issued a vacate order in March. Small sued Mendel Gold last month, demanding all of the rent he's collected from her since.

Presented with a detailed list of allegations outlined in this piece, Perinbasekar said that Gold "denies all material allegations made by the tenants." Smith also did not respond to numerous phone calls.



Old and new tenants stand together outside 80 New York Avenue in July (Scott Heins / Gothamist).

The 'slumlord' signs at 80 New York Avenue have gotten under the Golds' skin. In court papers, Perinbasekar writes that the tenants have "chosen to take this petty action to defame and harm the Defendants."

In June, the tenants won a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Golds from engaging in tenant harassment. All of them are being treated like rent stabilized tenants for the duration of the court case, meaning management won't be able to deny them lease renewals.

But prospective tenants are continuing to pass by the signs to view rooms. "People have still stopped me and asked me the number for the landlord," Mathis told us last month. "I was standing on the stoop just Friday and this woman insisted she wanted the number. I said, 'Don't you see the signs?' And she was like, 'Well I'll let my friend figure out for herself.' So I think the housing market is so bad that people are just desperate for someplace to live."

One tenantwho spoke anonymously, fearful that being associated with this piece could hurt his relationship with the Goldssaid that while he appreciates the plight of the longtime tenants, his needs are different. He pays on time, the room is affordable, and he likes the neighborhood. Management has even sent him a list of potential roommates to vet. For now, he said, "it works for me."

Leigh, on the other hand, wants to leave 80 New York and find a studio, if she can afford it. But she's staying put until the lawsuit is resolved.

"If I found out that my grandmother's landlord was harassing heryou know what I mean?" she said. "It just doesn't sit well. All winter long I was talking to my mother, like, 'I don't know what to do. There's a woman underneath me and she doesn't have heat and it's three degrees outside.'"

"It's not about kicking those tenants out," she said. "It's about keeping their respect, and getting our own."
THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Following a year-long investigation into wildlife trafficking hub, Nhi Khe, Viet Nam the Wildlife Justice Commission will hold a Public Hearing on 14 & 15 November 2016 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160912/406563 )

US$ 53.1 million in parts and products of rhinos, elephants and tigers trafficked through a criminal network consisting of 51 individuals.

Our case file (Map of Facts), over 5,000 pages plus audio / visual, was presented to Viet Nam in January 2016 and China in February 2016. Over multiple visits, our investigators observed directly:

-US$42.7m rhino horn, US$6.8m ivory, US$3.6m tiger parts

-From up to 907 elephants, 579 rhinos, 225 tigers

-Pangolin, bear, hawksbill turtles and helmeted hornbills

-579 rhinos - equivalent to half the rhinos poached in South Africa in 2015

-An alarming increase in the illegal tiger trade

-The expansion of Nhi Khe as a trading hub via social media: WeChat and Facebook

-Evidence includes 17 Chinese bank accounts, used by traffickers to receive payments from Chinese buyers

Olivia Swaak-Goldman, Executive Director, Wildlife Justice Commission, said:

"We have provided the Vietnamese authorities a detailed case file with everything necessary to prosecute these criminals and close down the operation. We have offered assistance and worked with stakeholders to encourage the Vietnamese authorities to act, but so far to no avail. The scale of criminality involved simply cannot be ignored."

We aspire to activate justice in a spirit of collaboration, but in the absence of action we have no choice but to present our evidence in a global public forum."

Despite this overwhelming body of evidence, prepared by law enforcement professionals for use by Vietnamese law enforcement authorities, an extensive diplomatic outreach and engagement of international stakeholders, the Vietnamese government has failed to take decisive action to close down this criminal network.

In contrast, authorities in China - the main market for these products - have indicated they are taking this case seriously and have started a preliminary investigation.

Evidence from the investigation, experts and witnesses will be heard over two days by an independent, impartial panel of five international members drawn from our Accountability Panel.

The Wildlife Justice Commission operates globally: five further investigations are underway, others are in review. A recent investigation in Malaysia led to the arrests of 12 traffickers.

Expanded details on http://www.wildlifejustice.org/news/

SOURCE The Wildlife Justice Commission
PORTLAND, Maine, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Results of the annual School Voice Report were released today by the Quaglia Institute for School Voice and Aspirations (QISVA) in partnership with Corwin Press, revealing a number of intriguing insights about how students, parents and teachers perceive their school environment. More comprehensive than previous reports, this year's School Voice Report for the first time contains data from the pertinent perspectives of teachers, students, and parents. The Quaglia School Voice Surveys are designed to measure the 8 Conditions That Make a Difference, a QISVA framework helping educators ensure the work they are already doing fosters an environment characterized by positive relationships, engaged learning, and sense of purpose. These online surveys take less than 15 minutes to complete and provide survey administrators with real-time reports.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, 48,185 students in grades 6-12 and 12,157 students in grades 3-5 took the Quaglia School Voice Student Survey. The surveys were administered in 249 schools in 14 states: Arizona, California, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming. The Quaglia School Voice Teacher Survey was also administered to 4,021 teachers of various grade levels in 13 states, all those represented by the student survey, excluding Arizona.

Among the Report's key findings:

82% of teachers say they actively seek out student opinions and ideas while only 47% of students feel teachers are willing to learn from them

49% of all students enjoy being at school

57% of students agree that "School inspires me to learn"

Only 57% of teachers believe that meaningful professional development exists in their district

Only 64% of teachers agree that their school is a dynamic and creative learning environment

19% of teachers do not affirm that they enjoy working at school

53% of students and 79% of teachers are proud of their school

58% of students feel like teachers respect students while 99% of teachers feel like they respect students

In addition, 2,287 parents completed the Quaglia Parent Voice Survey. Preliminary data from the parent surveys points to several trends. More than one-fifth (22%) of parents agree with the statement, "My child has difficulty fitting in at school," while students express they have difficulty being accepted and being liked. For example, on the student survey given to grades 3-5, only 46% agree "Other students like me," and in grades 6-12, 68% of students agree with the statement, "I feel accepted for who I am at school."

"Over the course of more than three decades of working with students and educators, we have learned the value of listening to their voices," said Dr. Russell Quaglia, President and Founder of QISVA, an organization dedicated to studying, promoting, and putting into practice the conditions that foster student aspirations in schools and learning communities around the world. "If this report does not compel you to initiate dialogue about transforming your school environment, then we have fallen short of our mission."

In partnership with Corwin Press, a full-service professional learning organization, the Quaglia Institute offers a variety of survey instruments to begin or enhance a school's active listening process. By utilizing Quaglia School Voice Survey Reports, teams of educators and students can work together to develop shared objectives and inspire meaningful improvements within their schools. The School Voice Report aims to encourage national discussions about fostering an effective learning environment grounded in mutual respect among teachers, administrators, students and parents.

"The 2016 School Voice Report provides critical insights into the educational climate of our nation's schools," said Mike Soules, President of Corwin. "The Report's findings can help administrators work with parents, teachers, and students to create supportive learning environments that students feel a part of. Corwin is proud to offer a number of resources that support educators as they work to ensure their students are prepared for college, careers, and life."

QISVA is guided by the belief that students are the potential, not the problem, in today's educational system and is driven by the importance of student and teacher voice and a conviction that both groups have something to teach us. QISVA's work is based on over 30 years of research in the field of voice and aspirations which shows that students and teachers who believe in themselves, are actively engaged in their teaching and learning, and feel a sense of purpose in school are more likely to develop high aspirations. QISVA brings its mission and research to life in schools through leadership training for students, staff, administrators and parents, surveys and focus groups. Led by Dr. Russ Quaglia, its mission extends into the larger educational community through publications, speaking engagements, state and national policy work, and online learning.

Corwin, a SAGE company, was established in 1990, first as a professional book publisher, now as a full-service professional learning company, offering professional development solutions on the topics that matter most and the delivery methods that work best to achieve a school or district's objectives. Its many resources range from a library of 4,000+ books to on-site consulting to online courses and libraries. At the heart of every professional learning experience are the book content and author expertise that have made Corwin the most trusted name in professional development.

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SOURCE Corwin
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 3,300 key local government decision makers, exhibitors, and guests from cities, towns, counties, related entities, and private-sector firms throughout the world will convene in Kansas City, Missouri, September 25-28, to attend the 102nd Annual Conference of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association.

"The Greater Kansas City Region has a long and celebrated heritage of professional local government management dating back to the 'reform era' of the early 1940s," said 2015-16 ICMA President Pat Martel, city manager, Daly City, California. "Kansas City offers myriad opportunities for personal and professional growth in a setting that has been touted as one of 'America's Favorite Cities.' This year's outstanding program of speakers, sessions, field demonstrations, workshops, tours, and other eventscombined with the onsite networking and sharingpromises to make this one of our most successful events ever!"

"We believe the ICMA Annual Conference is an excellent way for local government managers to come together to discuss current trends and take advantage of a wide variety of professional development opportunities," said Bob Schultze, president and CEO of ICMA-RC. "As principal sponsor for the ICMA Annual Conference, we value the role the conference plays in the well-being of the communities that local governments serve."

With the theme, "At the Crossroads: Celebrating Legacy, Defining the Future," the 2016 ICMA Annual Conference offers solutions to the growing challengese.g., dealing with disruptive change, building civic trust in an uncivil society, and creating a culture of innovation to improve core servicesthat professional city, town, and county managers face now and in the years ahead.

Three field demonstrations that highlight Kansas City's success will include:

Sunday, September 25 , 12:45 to 2:15 p.m.Repurposing Municipal Farm: Partnerships Supporting Urban Agriculture . Owned by Kansas City since 1911, Municipal Farm has been home to the city's tuberculosis hospital, women's reformatory, and municipal correctional institution. After the jail was demolished in 2009, city staff embarked on a planning initiative to outline the community's vision for the farm's future as the Municipal Farm Sustainable Reuse Plan, an integrated development strategy that embraced agricultural as a viable option. Through partnerships with Kansas City Community Gardens, BoysGrow, Hy-Vee, Heartland Conservation Alliance, EPA, and others, the city is working toward fully implementing the community's vision.

. Owned by since 1911, Municipal Farm has been home to the city's tuberculosis hospital, women's reformatory, and municipal correctional institution. After the jail was demolished in 2009, city staff embarked on a planning initiative to outline the community's vision for the farm's future as the Municipal Farm Sustainable Reuse Plan, an integrated development strategy that embraced agricultural as a viable option. Through partnerships with Kansas City Community Gardens, BoysGrow, Hy-Vee, Heartland Conservation Alliance, EPA, and others, the city is working toward fully implementing the community's vision. Monday, September 26 , 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.Leadership in Storm-Water Management: Green Infrastructure in KCMO. Recognized for its innovative focus on green infrastructure to address the city's combined sewer overflow issues, Kansas City's Overflow Control Program transformed an 80-year-old neighborhood by installing more than 130 green infrastructure solutions to capture storm water. The construction of rain gardens, bio-retention, cascades, and pervious pavement not only addressed storm-water issues but also improved the safety, aesthetics, and walkability of the neighborhood. The project was designated Kansas City's first "Green Neighborhood."

Recognized for its innovative focus on green infrastructure to address the city's combined sewer overflow issues, Overflow Control Program transformed an 80-year-old neighborhood by installing more than 130 green infrastructure solutions to capture storm water. The construction of rain gardens, bio-retention, cascades, and pervious pavement not only addressed storm-water issues but also improved the safety, aesthetics, and walkability of the neighborhood. The project was designated first "Green Neighborhood." Tuesday, September 27 , 12:45-3:15 p.m.Urban Redevelopment: Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships in Kansas City . Learn how Kansas City engaged outside partners and leveraged more than $100 million in private and institutional investment to turn a "bad neighborhood" into one of the city's hottest areas and repurposed a 100-year-old school building into 44 apartments that reenergized the surrounding neighborhood.

For detailed information, visit the ICMA Annual Conference website at http://icma.org/en/icma/events/conference/welcome and click on "Sessions."

Conference keynote speakers will address topics from a range of backgrounds and perspectives:

Sunday, September 25 , 3:00-5:00 p.m. One of the most recognized names in broadcasting, Soledad O'Brien whose highly regarded documentaries examine the challenging and often divisive issues of race, class, wealth, poverty, and opportunitywill address the conference Opening General Session.

One of the most recognized names in broadcasting, whose highly regarded documentaries examine the challenging and often divisive issues of race, class, wealth, poverty, and opportunitywill address the conference Opening General Session. Monday, September 26 , 8:30-9:30 a.m. In a presentation based on his new book, The Road to Character , columnist and commentator David Brooks tells the story of 10 great lives that illustrate how character is developed and how we can all strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth.

In a presentation based on his new book, , columnist and commentator tells the story of 10 great lives that illustrate how character is developed and how we can all strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth. Tuesday, September 27 , 8:30-9:30 a.m.  Barry-Wehmiller Chairman and CEO Bob Chapman shares the story of his company's transformation into a thriving, people-first organization and provides insight into how others can transform their workplaces into someplace extraordinary.

 Barry-Wehmiller Chairman and CEO shares the story of his company's transformation into a thriving, people-first organization and provides insight into how others can transform their workplaces into someplace extraordinary. Wednesday, September 28 , 8:30-10:30 a.m. In addition to the induction of ICMA's incoming Executive Board and recognition of the organization's 2016 award recipients, Vernice "FlyGirl" Armour, will offer an inspiring presentation that will help local government leaders harness the power of a "breakthrough" mentality to propel their organizations to success.

Members of the media should also mark their calendars for a special telephonic press event, "How Local Communities Can Confront the Opioid Epidemic," featuring key local government leaders and experts on Tuesday, September 27, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET/1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT/12:00 to 1:00 p.m. MT/11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. PT. Details, including instructions on how to access the call, will be available after September 22. Contact Michele Frisby at [email protected] if you would like to receive a copy of the event media advisory.

Media representatives receive complimentary registration to attend any ICMA conference educational, special, keynote, or featured speaker session or field demonstration (must provide own transportation). To cover the ICMA Annual Conference or schedule interviews with ICMA member experts on a variety of topics, contact Michele Frisby at [email protected] or at 202-962-3658. Or bring your press credentials and register onsite at the ICMA conference registration area located in Lobby 2300, Level 2, of the Kansas City Convention Center.

About ICMA

ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government management worldwide. The organization's mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build sustainable communities that improve people's lives. ICMA provides member support; publications; data and information; peer and results-oriented assistance; and training and professional development to more than 11,500 appointed city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's members affect millions of individuals living in thousands of communities throughout the world, from small villages and towns to large metropolitan areas.

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SOURCE ICMA

Related Links

http://www.icma.org


NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 360bespoke, one of the fastest growing boutique agencies in media, announced today the addition of two new clients to its collection of first class clientele. Hollywood actor Dylan Bruce, one of the leads in the NBC midseason drama Midnight, Texas and stylist Christopher Campbell, industry recognized for fashion forward editorial shoots and red carpet looks, have joined the firm for public relations, marketing and branding representation. They join a portfolio that includes French fashion/leisure label Vicomte-A, global beauty brand Heaven by Debora Mitchell, world-renown violin virtuoso Charlie Siem, spa bran Cornelia and Four Seasons George V artistic director Jeff Leatham, among others. The news was announced today by Faith Zuckerman, Chief Client Officer for 360bespoke.

"We have an envied collection of only the best-in-class clients  established and emerging brands, international talents and luxurious pursuits -- to which Dylan and Christopher fit beautifully," said Zuckerman. "Dylan is a gifted actor who had reached leading man status and Christopher has the best eye and aesthetic in editorial and celebrity styling. These are two incredible talents and we are privileged to have them amongst a very select group of artists in our portfolio."

"I have worked with both Dylan and Christopher for years and they are the best in class," said Jeremy Murphy, president and CEO of 360bespoke. "We pride ourselves on the versatility and quality of our collection of talents and Dylan and Christopher are proud additions."

"As an actor your first priority is the work -- immersing yourself in the role, backstory and bringing that to screen. But you need to tell your own story in a way that respects the craft," said Bruce, who also starred as a series regular on BBC America's Orphan Black "360bespoke offers very tailored media strategies that will help me align my creative work with my personal journey."

"This is a terrific agency to align with," said Campbell, the acclaimed stylist whose talents extend to editorial shoots, global branding campaigns and red carpet events. "In today's media market it's incredibly hard to get your message seen and heard. 360bespoke offers new, creative ways of story-telling that speaks directly to my image and brand."

Bruce is part of an ensemble cast in the NBC mid-season drama Midnight, Texas, a series with supernatural elements adapted from a three-series book by True Blood author Charlaine Harris. This past summer he also appeared in the CBS series American Gothic, as well as previously starring in the NBC relaunch of Heroes Reborn, which aired last fall. Bruce is most remembered for his starring role on Orphan Black, the acclaimed BBC America sci-fi series that became the network's most successful show ever. Bruce co-starred with Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress Tatiana Maslany as her boyfriend/"minder" Paul Dierden. The actor also has a recurring role on the CW series Arrow, and has starred in TV movies as varied as Flowers in the Attic and Petals in the Wind opposite Heather Graham, and Hallmark's Love's Christmas Journey. As an up and coming actor, Bruce had guest starring roles on The Sopranos, CSI: NY, Vegas and NCIS. He got his start on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns where his lead role as Dr. Chris Hughes became a fan favorite. A native of Vancouver and Seattle, Bruce graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Drama and Economics.

Campbell began his career at The New York Times Style Magazine and went on to work as a fashion editor for Details, Departures, Blackbook and Time Magazine Style & Design before becoming an in-demand fashion stylist. He is a regular contributor to L'Officiel Mexico, OUT, The Robb Report, Vogue Latin America, GQ UK, GQ Style Taiwan and Flaunt. He also regularly consults and styles for clients including American Crew, Brunello Cucinelli, Harper's Bazaar, Hudson's Bay Company, Macy's, Park Hyatt, Parker Meridian, Samsung, and Victorinox. Cambell regularly collaborates with the most famous photographers in fashion, style and celebrity.

360bespoke (www.360bespoke.com) is a boutique media agency offering customized services in public relations, marketing, brand management, unique content development, media training and events to a select collection of clients working in the luxury space. The firm was started by former CBS executive Jeremy Murphy and partners Joe Wilson, Faith Zuckerman and Ashley Cooper, and designs thoughtful, sophisticated strategies for all their clients media needs. Offering a unique '360' perspective, the firm concentrates its experience and expertise in the luxury travel, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, celebrity and arts categories.

Media Contact:

Faith Zuckerman

Chief Client Officer

[email protected]

(1) 646 431 7585

SOURCE 360bespoke

Related Links

http://www.360bespoke.com


CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Acelity, a global advanced wound care and regenerative medicine company, is the proud Exclusive Diamond Sponsor of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' first-ever consumer ExpoASPSXSeptember 24 in Los Angeles.

ASPSX, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' new, premier expo, gives consumers a rare peek behind the curtain of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, as well as insights into emerging health and beauty products from prominent educators and innovative industry leaders.

Hosted Saturday, September 24 at the Los Angeles Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., ASPSX highlights new technologies and techniques in breast, body and face surgery, including demonstrations of facial fillers and injectables by board-certified plastic surgeons.

Additional presentation topics by board-certified plastic surgeons include:

Breast surgery procedures  pre-pectoral breast reconstruction, breast augmentation with fat and implants, breast reduction, and breast lift

The Mommy Make Over

Facial rejuvenation and lip augmentation using fillers and injectables

Finding the facial procedure that fits your needs  facelift, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery

Laser treatments and the best in non-surgical fat reduction and skin tightening

"At Acelity, we are committed to advancing the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery by not only developing innovative clinical solutions, but also by determining ways we can help improve patients' experiences through information and education," said Ron Silverman, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Acelity. "We know that being well-informed is a critical component of a woman's breast reconstruction journey, and are honored to support this important new opportunity to engage these patients."

David H. Song, MD, MBA, President of ASPS, said, "Patient safety is of the utmost importance to a board-certified plastic surgeon, and a key component to patient safety is patient education. Acelity has stood shoulder to shoulder with ASPS in that endeavor and we're honored that they have been generous in their support."

ASPSX is open to the public. The $10 attendance fee includes access to the ASPSX Theater, Breast Reconstruction Lounge, and interaction with product and surgeon exhibitors, as well as a fantastic swag bag free to the first 500 attendees who register. To register, visit ASPSPlasticSurgeryExpo.com.

About ASPS

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons. Representing more than 7,000 member surgeons, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery.

About Acelity

Acelity L.P. Inc. and its subsidiaries are a global wound care and regenerative medicine company created by uniting the strengths of three companies, Kinetic Concepts, Inc., LifeCell Corporation and Systagenix Wound Management, IP Co B.V. Available in more than 80 countries, the innovative and complementary ACELITY product portfolio delivers value through solutions that speed healing and lead the industry in quality, safety and customer experience. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Acelity employs more than 5,800 people around the world.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407755LOGO

SOURCE American Society of Plastic Surgeons
STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aircastle Limited (NYSE: AYR) today announced that Michael Inglese, Chief Financial Officer, will be presenting at the 2016 RBC Capital Markets Aircraft Leasing Investor Day Conference at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, California on September 20, 2016 at 11:25 a.m. Pacific Time.

A live webcast of the presentation will be available to the public on the Investors section of Aircastle's website at http://www.aircastle.com/. Please allow extra time prior to the presentation to visit the site and download the necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast. A replay of the presentation will also be available on the company's website for 90 days following the live event.

About Aircastle Limited

Aircastle Limited acquires, leases and sells commercial jet aircraft to airlines throughout the world. As of June 30, 2016, Aircastle owned and managed on behalf of its joint ventures 179 aircraft leased to 63 customers located in 35 countries.

Contact:

Frank Constantinople  SVP, Investor Relations

Tel: +1-203-504-1063

[email protected]



The IGB Group

Leon Berman

Tel: +1-212-477-8438

[email protected]

SOURCE Aircastle Limited

Related Links

http://www.aircastle.com


PHILADELPHIA and ROCKFORD, Ill., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PCS, LLC, a leading fiduciary retirement plan recordkeeper, today announced that it will be providing a white-label version of its 401(k) platform to Alpine Trust & Investment Group of Rockford, Illinois, which serves approximately 90 plans totaling $225 million.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408259LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408260LOGO

"As a community bank, we are committed to providing the best possible service for the businesses that depend on us to advise and manage their employees' retirement plans," said Julie O'Rourke, Executive Vice President. "PCS offers an outstanding platform for plan sponsors, participants, and the advisors that serve them. We look forward to partnering with them to further enhance our value to our plan clients."

PCS offers a state-of-the-art recordkeeping platform that enables advisors to deliver conflict-free, independent, and unbiased retirement plans to their clients. The solution offers:

Open architecture

Automated processing

Full fee disclosure

Seamless transition process

Customization

24/7 participant support

True fiduciary protection

"We are so pleased to be providing Alpine Trust & Investment Group with a turnkey solution," said Mark Klein, CEO of PCS. "In addition to enabling the bank to administer plans more efficiently, our platform will help their advisors be more effective in acquiring, converting and retaining new plan business."

ABOUT PCS

PCS was founded in 2001 by tax and ERISA attorneys who saw the need for a conflict-free, full fee disclosure, no hidden agenda retirement solution. From Day One PCS had a vision of complete transparency, which has enabled the company to become an industry leader in the retirement plan industry. PCS owns The Advisor Lab, a technology and marketing firm offering solutions for financial professionals to operate more efficiently and effectively in the 21st century. Its 401(k) tools, including the Plan Finder, Retirement Plan Diagnostic benchmarking report, Retirement Plan Efficiency Analysis and Annual Review and Benchmarking Report, are designed to help advisors identify prospective clients, generate insightful reports and prepare effective sales presentations quickly and affordably. For more information: (267) 675-6727 or [email protected].

ABOUT ALPINE TRUST & INVESTMENT GROUP

Alpine Trust & Investment Group, the trust and investment division of Alpine Bank, provides expert investment and financial services for consumers, small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial companies. With approximately $935 million in assets under administration and 30 experienced investment and trust professionals, Alpine Trust & Investment Group offers financial consultation and services in investment management, insurance, personal trust services, and retirement plan services. Established in 1945, Alpine Trust & Investment Group has offices in both Rockford and Belvidere, Ill. For more information, visit www.bankalpine.com/investments.

Contact:

Leslie Swid

Email

(913) 649-5009

SOURCE PCS

Related Links

https://www.pcs401k.com


AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high quality single-family homes for rent, announced today that the Company will make a presentation at the JMP Financial Services and Real Estate Conference in New York at the St. Regis New York. The presentation will begin at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 27, 2016. A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available on the Company's website at www.americanhomes4rent.com under the "For Investors" tab. A replay of the webcast will be available through October 11, 2016.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of June 30, 2016, we owned 48,038 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.

Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com.

Contact:

American Homes 4 Rent

Investor Relations

Phone: (855)794-2447

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent

Related Links

http://www.americanhomes4rent.com


GULFPORT, Miss., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Oil prices jumped recently, as weather shut down shipping lanes and fear of hurricane Hermine forced many to stockpile fuel. American Truck Showrooms closely observes crude oil prices, noting that even small increases in fuel costs impact truckers. According to Louis Normand, CEO of American Truck Showrooms (www.AmericanTruckShowrooms.com), stability of energy prices should be a top concern for Americans interested in a healthy overall economy.

"Today's truckers are actually a canary in a coal mine for the U.S. economy," said Normand. "Each week, the economic fortune of truckers rises and falls with oil prices. We need to protect our American Truckers from rising fuel prices because an unhealthy American trucking industry means an unhealthy economy is on the way." Normand always says, "Without Truckers, America Stops."

Normand points out that energy costs have been stable recently, but moves by oil producing Russia and OPEC may signal changes. Fuel surcharges pass the increased overhead to the consumer, contributing to the rise in cost of staple goods in the grocery store. This impacts every American's cost of living. These surcharges were started by manufacturers and industries to compensate for the rising cost of fuel, however in most cases, the driver paying for the fuel is not the one benefiting from the surcharge.

"The reality is that at any moment, oil producers could agree to cut production and drive prices up in short order," said Normand. "This is what keeps our truckers up at night worrying."

In advance of any changes in oil prices and as a boon on behalf of truckers, www.AmericanTruckShowrooms.com cut down payments in half, where trucks starting off at $4990 down such as 2012 Peterbilt 579s and 2013 T700s currently in inventory have now been remarked to only $1990 down cash or trade. Additionally they announced a 50-50 Nationwide "Better Than A Warranty" Service Plan. If a truck breaks down, American Truck Showrooms puts their customers in an authorized shop and cuts the bill in half, as well as freezing all payments during "wrench time," while the truck is being serviced.

"We are constantly looking for ways to help our truckers," said Normand. "Oil prices are a major concern so every little bit helps."

American Truck Showrooms is a DBA of American Truck Group, LLC. The corporate headquarters is located in Gulfport, Mississippi. Entrepreneur Louis J. Normand Jr., CEO, founded American Truck Group, LLC in early 2000. The company currently has more than 75 employees and manages a fleet of more than hundreds of late model Class 8 semi trucks. The selection of trucks includes Peterbilt, Kenworth, Volvo, and Freightliner. The company also offers maintenance, repair and customization services.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE American Truck Group, LLC

Related Links

http://www.AmericanTruckShowrooms.com


It's almost impossible to believe how long the 5 Beekman building sat in abandonment, given its gorgeous bones and glorious glass atrium. The building was in decay when we last stepped inside in 2010at the time developers were working out what was next for the space, originally known as the Temple Court Building and Annex. After some changes in plans and keys changing hands, the new Beekman is finally here, and visually it looks like a Wes Anderson set, but one created for a grand party thrown by Baz Luhrmann. The top floor, sitting under a dramatic glass roof, is made for tossing confetti and popping champagne.

Actually, it was made for office workers, as the building (which rose back in the 1880s) has prior to this mostly operated as an office building. Sad!

 of the newly renovated 19th century hotel @thebeekmanny for @wmag A photo posted by Teddy Wolff (@teddywolff) on Aug 22, 2016 at 4:23pm PDT

The landmarked building, under the control of GFI Capital Resources Group, has now reopened as a hotel, with a sweet lobby, two restaurants and bar. (There's also a tower right next door that's attached to the project and houses condos.) While the restaurants (run by Tom Colicchio and Keith McNally) and bar aren't quite open yet (they're expecting to open later in September), the hotel rooms await those who have around $600/night to spend. Click through for a look at the building's more public spacesfrom the ground floor to the glass top.



(Scott Heins/Gothamist)

The Beekman is located at 123 Nassau St in Manhattan.
Self-scheduling: Unlike other apps and services, patients using Amwell can self-schedule appointments based on their availability.

Unlike other apps and services, patients using Amwell can self-schedule appointments based on their availability. Joint doctor appointments: The Multiway Video feature lets consumers securely invite third-party participants, such as a family member or significant other, into a live, video visit.

The Multiway Video feature lets consumers securely invite third-party participants, such as a family member or significant other, into a live, video visit. Real-time coordinated care: Behavioral healthcare can be coordinated alongside urgent care physicians who are also a part of the multi-specialty Online Care Group  the only collaborative online medical network nationwide.

Behavioral healthcare can be coordinated alongside urgent care physicians who are also a part of the multi-specialty Online Care Group  the only collaborative online medical network nationwide. Covered visits: Behavioral health services from Online Care Group, and offered on Amwell or select American Well partner apps, may be eligible for insurance coverage.

"Every year one in four people will deal with a mental health disorder, yet less than half of these individuals will actually receive treatment," said American Well's Vice President of Behavioral Health, Dr. Zereana Jess-Huff. "Mental healthcare is in desperate need of real solutions and telemental health can bridge that gap. With our reach and network  American Well currently serves 50 million covered Americans through Amwell and our work with major health insurers  telehealth will continue to serve as a real solution to severe access issues for mental healthcare."

American Well's psychiatry program is available to adults ages 18 and above. Immediate access to a psychiatrist with the Online Care Group on Amwell is available in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Carolina. Additional states will be added each month with nationwide coverage expected in 2017. For up-to-date information on availability by state, please visit Amwell.com.

For more information on American Well's telehealth services, visit www.americanwell.com, or to make a virtual appointment with a psychiatrist in your area, visit www.amwell.com.

About Online Care Group's Behavioral Health Services

The Online Care Group, American Well's clinical partner, has provided behavioral health services as part of its core telehealth offering since Summer 2014. Currently more than 400 credentialed therapists see patients across the U.S. On average these behavioral health clinicians have 15 years of experience and are trained using evidence-based techniques. In September 2016, Online Care Group added psychiatry services to its offering with plans to roll it out across all States in the U.S. by end of 2016.

Therapists sees patients ages 10 and above; psychiatrists currently treat ages 18 and above. Concerns patients present often include: depression, anxiety, relationship challenges, and other life stressors. Visits are traditionally 45 minutes but can be made longer or shorter. Online Care Group behavioral health clinicians are only available by scheduled appointment.

About American Well

American Well transforms healthcare delivery through telehealth. We make online doctor visits accessible to everyone for one-off care issues like colds or infections, and chronic condition management, such as diabetes or depression. We deliver healthcare into people's homes and workplaces through our work with top health plans, health systems and employers, as well as our telehealth app, Amwell. A patient using Amwell can connect to a board-certified doctor of their choosing in just minutes for a visit carried out over smartphone, tablet, kiosk, phone, or desktop.

American Well and Amwell are registered trademarks or trademarks of American Well Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. For more information on our services, visit www.americanwell.com. To download Amwell and have a doctor visit now, visit www.amwell.com.

Media Contact:

Amanda Guisbond

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407856

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SOURCE American Well

Related Links

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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Appiphany Technologies (OTC: APHD), an IP Risk Control Company that provides private enterprise with total, integrated brand protection solutions to prevent revenue loss from counterfeiting, product diversion and gray market activities, is pleased to announce to its shareholders our attendance as a select exhibitor at the 16th Annual "Fraud and Counterfeit in the Imaging Supplies Industry Conference", September 18-20, in San Diego, CA. The event is presented by the Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC), a non-profit trade association comprised of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of consumable imaging supplies (ribbons, toner, inks, cartridges, etc.) and equipment that have joined together to protect their customers by combating illegal activities in the Imaging Supplies Industry.

The coalition includes the largest companies in the industry globally: they include Brothers International Corp., Canon U.S.A., Epson America Inc., HP, Lexmark International Inc., Samsung Electronics America Inc. and Xerox Corporation.

The ISC estimates about $3.5 billion dollars are lost to counterfeit products world-wide in the imaging supplies industry, since there is a ready supply of empty cartridges as well as components and known processes making "entry", relatively easy for the counterfeiters.

Appiphany CEO, Rob Sargent stated, "Before being invited as an exhibitor to this prestigious industry event, ISC Chairman Allen Westerfield assisted us in presenting a webinar for interested ISC members. We are pleased to be a part of this conference and excited about meeting face-to-face, so many members that we have only conversed with by phone or webinar. This is the kick-off to our conference exhibit/sponsorship and guest speaking tour for 2016/17.

About ISC

The mission of the ISC is to protect the members' customers from misrepresented products and services by seeking the worldwide protection of intellectual property and related assets of the Imaging Supplies Industry's distributors, suppliers, and manufacturers.



This is accomplished by training and education in counterfeit product identification, methods of product security, techniques for avoiding telemarketing and e-commerce fraud, and by promoting laws and their enforcement.

The Imaging Supplies Coalition (ISC) is a non-profit trade association comprised of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of consumable imaging supplies (ribbons, toner, inks, cartridges, etc.) and equipment that have joined together to protect their customers by combating illegal activities in the Imaging Supplies Industry.



Coalition members include Brother International Corporation, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Epson America Inc. HP, Lexmark International, Inc., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Xerox Corporation.

About Appiphany Technology Holdings Corp.

Appiphany Technologies (IP Risk Control) (http://www.ipriskcontrol.com) is a full service brand protection company assisting brand owners in risk management solutions covering all aspects of anti-counterfeiting, diversion and fraud. Over the past 13 years the current core risk managers have specialized in full track and trace supply chain solutions and best-of-breed security technologies with a special focus on Watchdog, our comprehensive internet monitoring service. Although our primary business focus is North and South America, we have expanded our roster to include European clientele as well.

The evolution of the Company will be the expansion of our suite of products to include expanded Brand Protection, Risk Management and Brand Integrity consultancy, as well as support services that will augment our current core software creation.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See Appiphany's filings with the SEC, which may identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Contact Info:

http://www.ipriskcontrol.com

Rob Sargent

[email protected]

+1-385-212-3295



SOURCE Appiphany Technology Holdings Corp.
MILL VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Auberge Resorts Collection, owner and operator of award-winning small luxury resorts, residences and clubs, today announced that the company will manage Solage, a contemporary resort located in the heart of California wine country, following the property's recent acquisition by a joint venture formed between Flynn Properties and Auberge Resorts Collection. The resort returns to the Auberge portfolio as the company's third managed property in Napa Valley.

"Auberge has demonstrated an ability to deliver results and has been an excellent operator and partner with us at our other Auberge resort, Esperanza, in Los Cabos," said Greg Flynn, Founder and Chairman of Flynn Properties, Inc. "We're excited to expand our relationship in another spectacular destination. Solage will be in superb hands under the leadership of Auberge."

"The Auberge story began in Napa Valley, and today, Auberge is the pre-eminent luxury leader in California wine country," said Craig Reid, President and Chief Executive Officer, Auberge Resorts Collection. "Together, Flynn Properties and Auberge will bring commitment, creativity and expertise to Solage, which will allow us to enhance the style and contemporary hospitality that has come to define the resort."

Situated on 22 acres and surrounded by panoramic mountains and sweeping vineyards, Solage is an 89-room design-focused, environmentally conscious resort offering a fresh, comfortably cool experience. A must-visit destination for epicureans and a favorite among wine country locals, the resort's seven-time Michelin Star-rated restaurant, Solbar, serves a dichotomous menu of healthful cuisine alongside more indulgent comfort food in a lively indoor-outdoor setting.

The award-winning 20,000-square-foot Spa features geo-thermal soaking pools, a state-of-the-art gym and yoga and movement studio with complimentary daily fitness classes, and a 130-foot outdoor swimming pool, the largest in Napa Valley. A destination-inspired treatment menu offers a range of therapeutic and restorative services, including a contemporary twist on Calistoga's legendary mud and mineral water therapies.

"Solage offers a fresh, active and social experience that perfectly complements our other two iconic Napa Valley resorts," said Mark Harmon, Founder and Managing Partner, Auberge Resorts Collection. "Having three distinctive resort experiences in wine country will enable us to create more unforgettable opportunities for our guests."

About Flynn Properties Inc .

San Francisco-based Flynn Properties has substantial experience in the West Coast commercial real estate markets. Directly and through its REOF funds, Flynn Properties has owned in excess of 3 million square feet of commercial real estate. It also owns, in partnership, the super-luxury Auberge resort Esperanza, located in Los Cabos, Mexico, as well as The Carneros Inn in Napa, Calif. For more information, visit http://www.flynnholdings.com/flynnproperties/index.htm. Its affiliate, Flynn Restaurant Group, owns and operates 850 restaurants in 29 states, generating $1.9 billion in annual sales and directly employing 42,000 people.

About Auberge Resorts Collection

Auberge Resorts Collection owns and operates a portfolio of exceptional hotels, resorts, residences and private clubs. While Auberge nurtures the individuality of each property, all share a crafted approach to luxury that is expressed through captivating design, exceptional cuisine and spas, and gracious yet unobtrusive service. Properties in the Auberge Resorts Collection include: Auberge du Soleil, Calistoga Ranch and Solage, Napa Valley, Calif.; Esperanza and Chileno Bay Resort & Residences (opening December 2016), Los Cabos, Mexico; Hotel Jerome, Aspen, Colo.; Malliouhana, Anguilla; Nanuku, Fiji; The Auberge Residences at Element 52, Telluride, Colo.; Hacienda AltaGracia, Costa Rica; and Auberge Beach Residences and Spa Fort Lauderdale, with several others in development. For more information about Auberge Resorts Collection, please visit http://www.aubergeresorts.com/. Follow Auberge Resorts Collection on Facebook at facebook.com/AubergeResorts and on Twitter and Instagram at @AubergeResorts.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407948LOGO

SOURCE Auberge Resorts Collection

Related Links

http://www.aubergeresorts.com


FCA US LLC hosted its 17th annual MatchMaker on Sept. 15, bringing more than 3,000 participants to its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. MatchMaker provides more than 250 minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses access to FCA US leadership and buyers, tier one suppliers and leaders from advocacy and certifying organizations like the Women Business Enterprise National Council and the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

In 2015, FCA US spent $3 billion with approximately 232 minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers, representing 8 percent of the Company's total annual purchasing. Since 1983, the Company has purchased nearly $55 billion from diverse suppliers.

"FCA US has a rich history supporting diversity in the automotive supply base and we continue to push ourselves to build a network of diverse businesses working toward a common goal," said Scott Thiele, Global Purchasing Officer for FCA NV and Head of Purchasing and Supplier Quality for FCA  North America. "We know that diverse teams spark creativity and help us deliver exceptional products to our global customer base. This leads to sustained growth for all of us."

MatchMaker has generated more than $2.5 billion in new business opportunities for minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers since 2000.

FCA US offers exhibitors the unique opportunity to participate in seminars designed to help strengthen their businesses, as well as give them a forum to pitch innovative ideas to key decision makers. The seminars, led by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and others, cover such topics as creating compelling marketing materials, developing long-term financial strategies, working with customs organizations and refining reporting practices.

The Company's supplier diversity goals require that up to 11.5 percent of a tier one supplier's buy be sourced to certified minority and women suppliers. MatchMaker is just one event where tier one suppliers are matched with innovative, diverse tier two suppliers.

FCA US also supports several organizations that assist tier one suppliers with achieving these sourcing goals, including the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council, the Women's Business Enterprise National Council and the National Veteran-Owned Business Association.

About FCA US LLC

FCA US LLC is a North American automaker with a new name and a long history. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli.

FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."



Follow FCA US news and video on:

FCA Content On Demand (COD): www.fcacod.com

Company blog: blog.fcanorthamerica.com

Company website: www.fcanorthamerica.com

FCA360: 360.fcanorthamerica.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/chryslergroup/

Media website: media.fcanorthamerica.com

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/fcacorporate

Instagram: www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter (Spanish): www.twitter.com/fcausespanol

YouTube: www.youtube.com/pentastarvideo



Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408501

SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


ATLANTA, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Will you be able to get a "steal" when buying or leasing your next set of wheels? While negotiation tactics matter, experts say that timing is a bigger factor than shoppers may realize when it comes to getting a great deal on a new car.

September is an exciting month for bargain hunters with summer clearance and back-to-school sales. Likewise, car dealers are in the prime of summer selldown season, when they try to clear their lots of the outgoing model-year vehicles to make way for new inventory. Accordingly, September is an excellent time to buy or lease a new or used vehicle, and the editors at Autotrader are offering tips to guide shoppers through this process.

"To maximize your chances of getting a great deal on your next car, carefully consider the time of year, the time of the month and even the time of day that you plan to buy, as these things can really make an impact," said Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader. "Once you've done your homework to figure out what vehicle you want and what you should pay for it, grab your calendar and get strategic. For a better chance at driving away in your dream car, take advantage of the leverage you have in the end-of-year car shopping season."

To help prepare car shoppers during this busy buying season, the experts at Autotrader offer the following tips:

Look for seasonal trends. The season in which you purchase your vehicle matters. For example, late summer and early fall is when new model-year vehicles are rolling into dealers' inventories. Some of the best deals are on "leftover" models. For instance, a 2016 model may be steeply discounted once 2017 models arrive. In some cases, dealers will even have the previous model year in stock. For example, Autotrader.com still has listings for brand-new 2015 model vehicles.



The season in which you purchase your vehicle matters. For example, late summer and early fall is when new model-year vehicles are rolling into dealers' inventories. Some of the best deals are on "leftover" models. For instance, a 2016 model may be steeply discounted once 2017 models arrive. In some cases, dealers will even have the previous model year in stock. For example, Autotrader.com still has listings for brand-new 2015 model vehicles. End of the  The prime time to get the best deal is often the end of the weekend, month, quarter or year. If a lofty "end of period" bonus is reachable, salespeople might be more willing to work with you on a deal if it helps them garner an even bigger payout for beating quota. Also, end-of-day shopping can yield advantageous pricing if a weary dealer is ready to go home, but make sure you're serious about your car purchase and aren't wasting anyone's time.



The prime time to get the best deal is often the end of the weekend, month, quarter or year. If a lofty "end of period" bonus is reachable, salespeople might be more willing to work with you on a deal if it helps them garner an even bigger payout for beating quota. Also, end-of-day shopping can yield advantageous pricing if a weary dealer is ready to go home, but make sure you're serious about your car purchase and aren't wasting anyone's time. Shop smart this holiday. Car shoppers should look out for holiday and model-year-end specials. Usually sales events of this kind offer good incentives to buyers, so you might be able to work out a lower price than at another time of the year. Holiday offers are often better, because automakers add extra incentives to meet annual sale goals and targets.

"From dealerships and financing to models and options, the key is to understand what's right for you and your particular situation," said Moody. "Do your homework before you start shopping, and pick the end of just about any period that is convenient. By being knowledgeable about what you're buying and planning your timing wisely, you'll stand a better chance of making the best choice and getting a good deal."

For more information on the ins and outs of car buying, visit Autotrader.com/NewCarBuying.

About Autotrader

Autotrader is the most visited third-party car shopping site, with the most engaged audience of in-market shoppers. As the foremost authority on automotive consumer insights and expert in online and mobile marketing, Autotrader makes the car shopping experience easy and fun for today's empowered consumer looking to find or sell the perfect new, used or Certified Pre-Owned car. Using technology, shopper insights and local market guidance, Autotrader's comprehensive marketing solutions guide dealers to personalized digital marketing strategies that grow brand, drive traffic and connect the online and in-store shopping experience.

Autotrader is a Cox Automotive brand. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 55,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150316/181852LOGO

SOURCE Autotrader

Related Links

http://www.autotrader.com


SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year, the team of color experts at Behr immerse themselves in an extensive process to curate the latest hues by examining trends in art, product design, fashion and architecture. This forecast, paired with the modern ways in which people live, results in the development of the BEHR Color Currents, an all-new collection of on-trend paint colors. The 20 distinct hues of 2017 are available now at The Home Depot, along with an exclusive in-store brochure that inspires consumers to incorporate the hues into both their indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Inspired by individuality and self-expression, this year's collection of on-trend colors create a sense of Comfort, Composure and Confidence.

"Paint is more than just a color; it is a method of communication. Color conveys emotion and allows people the freedom to express themselves and be who they really are," said Erika Woelfel, Vice President of Color and Creative Services at Behr. "In today's busy world, home is a safe haven, a retreat for living in the moment or welcoming guests for a weekend visit. That's why our 2017 colors are time-honored and heart-warming, just like any homecoming should be."

Behr takes a non-traditional approach to color forecasting. Instead of choosing just one dominant color of the year, its team of experts create a collection of hues that are curated into separate themes, empowering individuals to choose colors and color combinations that speak to their moods, emotions and personalities. For 2017, the colors center around three overarching lifestyle themes: Comfortable, Composed and Confident.

"We're constantly innovating from both a product and color standpoint to keep DIYers on the forefront of design," said Woelfel. "Color Currents is a collection of new colors that reflect the ways consumers are living, interacting and expressing themselves."

At The Home Depot, consumers can learn more about the 20 new hues and get inspiration from the BEHR Color Currents 2017 brochure. This brochure features detailed decor themes, as well as design and decorating tips, to help consumers visualize spaces both inside and outside their home. Experienced, friendly associates will also be on hand to assist DIYers with color selection, samples and determining the best product for their unique project.

BEHR Color Currents 2017: Palettes Designed to Elicit Comfort, Composure and Confidence

The Comfortable palette features soft, tranquil and versatile colors. They work well for small spaces and help open up areas that do not get a lot of natural light. Recently, pastels have transformed from sweet to mineral matte shades. Light blue can effortlessly become the focal point when supported by neutral hues on the floor and furniture. These pale hues can be energized with bright accents of yellow, orange or bold green. Comfortable BEHR colors include: Close Knit T17-01 Gold Hearted T17-02 Peek-a-Blue T17-04 Sepia Filter T17-03 Life is a Peach T17-05 Everything's Rosy T17-06 Balanced T17-07

palette features soft, tranquil and versatile colors. They work well for small spaces and help open up areas that do not get a lot of natural light. Recently, pastels have transformed from sweet to mineral matte shades. Light blue can effortlessly become the focal point when supported by neutral hues on the floor and furniture. These pale hues can be energized with bright accents of yellow, orange or bold green. Comfortable BEHR colors include: The Composed palette consists of colors with depth and intensity. Its hues are for those who desire a stronger color experience. Deep, earth-inspired tones and rich jeweled shades provide an excellent background onto which other colors can be layered. These robust shades are reminiscent of traditional grandeur, but offer a contemporary look when combined with gray, black and white. Charcoal gray proves it can happily dominate a space, creating a quiet and relaxing mood. Gray can also provide a modern effect when applied as one color to walls, trim and ceilings. Composed BEHR colors include: Polished Aqua T17-08 Laid Back Gray T17-09 Shades On T17-10 Silent Sands T17-11 Wanderlust T17-12 In the Woods T17-13 Artful Magenta T17-14

palette consists of colors with depth and intensity. Its hues are for those who desire a stronger color experience. Deep, earth-inspired tones and rich jeweled shades provide an excellent background onto which other colors can be layered. These robust shades are reminiscent of traditional grandeur, but offer a contemporary look when combined with gray, black and white. Charcoal gray proves it can happily dominate a space, creating a quiet and relaxing mood. Gray can also provide a modern effect when applied as one color to walls, trim and ceilings. Composed BEHR colors include: The Confident palette is all about vivaciousness and impact. Its colors are saturated and bright, capturing attention and enlivening spaces. These playfully optimistic hues find a sporty edge when combined with dark gray, bright orange and spicy red accents. Dusky blue and citrus-toned yellow make the perfect pairing, while a splash of orange adds an element of fun and adventure. Confident BEHR colors include: That's My Lime T17-16 Midnight Show T17-17 Hot and Spicy T17-18 Fired Up T17-19 Lemon Burst T17-20 Jade Dragon T17-15

palette is all about vivaciousness and impact. Its colors are saturated and bright, capturing attention and enlivening spaces. These playfully optimistic hues find a sporty edge when combined with dark gray, bright orange and spicy red accents. Dusky blue and citrus-toned yellow make the perfect pairing, while a splash of orange adds an element of fun and adventure. Confident BEHR colors include:

Ability to "Remix" the 2017 Hues Allows for Creative Self-Expression

The BEHR Color Currents 2017 are more flexible than ever, as all 20 colors are designed to be mixed and matched with each other, regardless of theme. The matte pastels, light neutrals and dusky grays offer countless ideas and combinations to fit anyone's home and unique vision.

"Whether it's your first time painting or you're a seasoned colorist, the ability to remix the BEHR Color Currents hues among one another allows individuals to find the color and palette that's right for them," said Woelfel. "Our goal is to inspire fresh creativity while allowing homeowners the freedom to make their home their own."

Consumers can view and remix the new hues using the ColorSmart by BEHR Toolavailable online at Behr.com or as a free download for iPhone, iPad and Android-compatible devices. The app allows consumers to preview their color choice in a custom room setting and estimate the amount of paint they need to purchase.

To stay connected with what's happening at Behr, follow the brand on Twitter at @BehrPaint, Facebook at facebook.com/BehrPaint, Instagram at @BehrPaint, Pinterest at pinterest.com/BehrPaint and YouTube at YouTube.com/BehrPaints. Visit Behr.com and the Colorfully, BEHR Blog for color information, inspiration and how-to information.

About Masco Coatings Group

Masco Coatings Group, home to Behr Process Corporation and Masterchem Industries LLC, the makers of BEHR and KILZ Brands respectively, is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of paint, primers, stains and surface finish products for Do-it-Yourselfers and professionals. From high-performing KILZ Coatings Products to award-winning BEHR Paint and Primers In One, Masco Coatings Group is dedicated to meeting the coating and color needs of architectural and design professionals, as well as DIYers with an unwavering commitment to quality, innovation and value. For more information, visit Behr.com and KILZ.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/407337

SOURCE Behr Paint

Related Links

http://www.Behr.com


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta-based John Dixon & Associates, which has been selling millions of dollars worth of real estate all over the United States, showed that there's a lot of demand for properties in Puerto Rico as well.

The company took on the challenge of selling dozens of properties for a United States-based equity fund. The auction drew 70 bidders, most of whom were from Puerto Rico, joined by bidders from 10 states and one bidder from Italy. Properties sold included homes, commercial buildings, retail buildings, condominiums and land for a total of $3.6 million in sales.

"It was a great crowd, with lots of enthusiastic bidding, and we'll be looking forward to our next opportunity to conduct an auction in Puerto Rico or elsewhere in the Caribbean," said John Dixon, president of the auction company.

The company will be back on the mainland for the October 4 auction of 22 bank-owned properties in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. All properties in that event will sell absolute, with no minimum bid or reserve. Other upcoming events include a Nov. 10 bank auction in Philadelphia, including properties from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic states.

Individuals seeking additional information may visit www.johndixon.com or call 800-479-1763.

John Dixon & Associates, based in Atlanta with offices in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, is one of the nation's largest auctioneers of real estate.

For more information:

Carl Carter, 205-823-3273

SOURCE John Dixon & Associates

Related Links

http://www.johndixon.com


CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BitSight, the standard in Security Ratings, today announced that it has closed $40 million in Series C financing, bringing BitSight's total cumulative funding to $95 million to date. Led by GGV Capital, BitSight's Series C round also includes participation from previous investors, including Flybridge Capital Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, Menlo Ventures, and Shaun McConnon, as well as the venture capital arms of three major telecommunications companies  Comcast Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, and Singtel Innov8. GGV Capital's Glenn Solomon will join the BitSight Board of Directors. The new funding will be used to support expansion and partnerships in new geographic markets, make strategic acquisitions, and accelerate product innovation.

The BitSight Security Rating Platform generates objective, outside-in ratings on companies' security performance. Using evidence of security outcomes from networks around the world, BitSight applies sophisticated algorithms to produce daily security ratings ranging from 250 to 900, where higher ratings equate to lower risk. BitSight provides Security Ratings to more than 450 companies, including Lowe's, Ferrari, Hess, Mondelez and The Hartford, to name a few.

"The extremely positive feedback we received from CISOs, security professionals and other industry insiders regarding BitSight's market leading technology, growth, and customer adoption fueled our excitement to proactively lead this financing," said Glenn Solomon, Managing Partner, GGV Capital. "BitSight has created what Gartner is now recognizing as the Security Ratings Services market. As more awareness around this technology is created, and as BitSight continues to build out the infrastructure for a world class security ratings agency, they are poised for great success."

"We saw the huge market opportunity back in 2013 when we first invested in BitSight," said Venky Ganesan, Managing Director, Menlo Ventures and Chair of the National Venture Capital Association Board of Directors. "Since that time, BitSight has further increased momentum, and this additional unsolicited, oversubscribed investment round will enable them to reinforce their leadership and market impact worldwide."

Key milestones achieved since closing Series B financing in June 2015:

Doubled sales for the first half of 2016 over 2015

Quadrupled customer count to more than 450 enterprises

Grew employee count by 58 percent, with a workforce spanning North America , EMEA and APAC

, EMEA and APAC Launched BitSight Discover to identify cyber risk accumulation by automatically pinpointing and assessing third and fourth party connections

Established global vendor risk management partnerships with Singtel and IHS Markit

Appointed professor of management at MIT , Michael Cusumano , as the risk industry's first Security Ratings Ombudsman

"Our customers vote with their checkbooks, as do investors who see our future," said Shaun McConnon, BitSight CEO. "We have now raised $95 million over the past three years, and with $60 million in the bank and 450 customers, 60 of whom are Fortune 500's, BitSight's growth is accelerating. We intend to add an additional 100 people to our current staff over the next 15 months, with a strong focus on engineering and sales. We will increase our brand, double our sales, and solidify BitSight as the global standard in security rating services. We have the people, the products, and the cash to accomplish these goals."

About BitSight

BitSight is transforming how companies manage information security risk with objective, verifiable and actionable Security Ratings. Founded in 2011, the company built its Security Rating Platform to continuously analyze vast amounts of external data on security issues and behaviors in order to help organizations manage third party risk, underwrite cyber insurance policies, benchmark performance, conduct M&A due diligence and assess aggregate risk. Seven of the top 10 cyber insurers, 60 Fortune 500 companies, and 3 of the top 5 investment banks rely on BitSight to manage cyber risks. For more information, please visit www.bitsighttech.com, read our blog or follow @BitSight on Twitter.

About GGV Capital

GGV Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2000 with the unique idea to have one team investing in both the U.S. and China. With $3.8 billion under management across 8 funds, the GGV portfolio includes Airbnb, Alibaba, AlienVault, Ctrip, Didi Chuxing, Domo, Grab, HotelTonight, Houzz, Nimble Storage, Opendoor, Pactera, Pandora Media, Percolate, Slack, Square, Synack, Wish, Youku Tudou, YY, Zendesk, 51credit and more. For more information: www.ggvc.com | Twitter: @GGVCapital | WeChat: GGVCapital

SOURCE BitSight Technologies

Related Links

http://www.bitsighttech.com


DENVER, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Colorado-based Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS) announced that the world's first 24/7 transdermal alcohol monitoring device has monitored its half-millionth client. Known as SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM CAM), the technology is most commonly used to ensure repeat drunk drivers stay sober as a condition of bond or probation.

Since 2003, SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring has supervised more than 500,000 repeat drunk drivers and alcohol-involved offenders. "Keeping these people sober means safer communities, reduced repeat offenses, and hundreds of thousands of lives that have been changed for the better," says Mike Iiams, president and CEO of Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS). But one of the most notable results of the technology isn't one that AMS anticipated when the system was invented. "We hear regularly from participants--or their loved ones--who reach out to tell us that the ankle bracelet helped them get and stay sober long enough to really change the course of their lives," says Iiams. "This technology is truly making a difference--both for communities and for the people who wear it."

In 2003, after a decade of research and testing, AMS launched the ankle bracelet system, which automatically tests the wearer's perspiration every 30 minutes, 24/7, for alcohol consumption. The technology was developed in the garage of Jeff Hawthorne, a forward-thinking engineer who lost a college friend in a crash caused by a five-time drunk driver.

Because alcohol is metabolized so quickly, Hawthorne sought to create a better way to monitor alcohol-involved criminal offenders who are required to be sober long-term. The result was the transdermal alcohol testing system used today throughout the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The milestone underscores just how integral the alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet has become to help communities address drunk driving and alcohol-related crime. The data from the 500,000 individuals monitored by the device shows that 99.4% of all SCRAM CAM clients, every day, are completely sober and compliant. "This means safer communities, reduced repeat offenses, and hundreds of thousands of lives that have been changed for the better," says Mike Iiams, president and CEO of AMS. "This technology has completely re-engineered the way officials monitor and manage drunk drivers."

Changing the world

According to Iiams, one of the most notable results of the large-scale use of the technology is not necessarily one that was anticipated when the system was invented. "We hear regularly from participantsor their loved oneswho reach out to tell us that the ankle bracelet helped them get and stay sober long enough to really change the course of their lives. It isn't often you get to say you changed the world, but Jeff's invention did just that," says Iiams.

About Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. (AMS)

Established in 1997, Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. (AMS) is the world's leading provider of alcohol testing technologies for the criminal justice industry. The company's flagship Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (CAM) technology, launched in 2003, revolutionized the way courts, agencies and treatment providers monitor and manage alcohol-involved offenders. In 2013 the company launched the SCRAM Systems suite of electronic monitoring technologies, which includes SCRAM Remote Breath, SCRAM GPS, and SCRAM House Arrest. AMS employs 240 people worldwide and is a privately-held company headquartered in Littleton, Colorado.

www.scramsystems.com

www.sobering-up.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407931

SOURCE Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.scramsystems.com


LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) has expanded Opportunity Hunter, its predictive analytics solution that empowers fund firms to strategically identify their best sales targets. In addition to top registered investment advisors (RIAs), the prospecting platform now includes independent and regional broker-dealers (IBDs), one of the fastest growing distribution investment channels.

According to Broadridge's Fund Distribution Intelligence, RIAs and IBDs held more than $4.35 trillion in long-term mutual fund and ETF assets at the end of this year's second quarter. During that period, IBDs increased assets by $79 billion over the prior quarter, the largest increase of any distribution channel.

To address this growing segment, Broadridge integrated IBDs into Opportunity Hunter. The expanded platform enables fund firms to also identify IBDs based on actual shareholder positions, giving them instant intelligence on location, clients, sales and fund comparisons. Broadridge clients using the platform have reported a more effective and improved sales process, including a client that reduced the number of sales meetings required to close a deal by 25 percent.

"Before Opportunity Hunter, fund firms had been relying on static, broad datasets that provided general industry information about RIAs and IBDs, making targeting extremely inefficient and challenging," said Dan Cwenar, president, enterprise data and analytics, Broadridge. "Now firms can target the best prospects geographically and help their representatives have a better understanding of how their existing RIA and IBD clients are positioned and engage in more meaningful and informed conversations."

The Opportunity Hunter solution offers access to more than 13,000 RIAs and more than 1,500 IBDs with geographic searches to filter research to specific target locations. It calculates the sales potential with each RIA and IBD office, based on the total assets and types of assets held by advisors working for those firms. It compares funds against actual investments held by prospects using almost 200 data points provided by Morningstar including performance, rating, expense and risk attributes. Presented in a simple, mobile-enabled user interface, Opportunity Hunter substantively increases the efficiency of a firm's sales team.

"When sales people are able to position products against the competition, and quickly identify their best opportunities, they are more efficient and effective. Opportunity Hunter can be thought of as a navigation system that points fund sales teams to their best prospects, and then tells them what is most likely to be successfully sold when they get there," added Cwenar.

About Broadridge



Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) is the leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds and corporate issuers globally. Broadridge's investor communications, securities processing and managed services solutions help clients reduce their capital investments in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. With over 50 years of experience, Broadridge's infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America, and processes on average $5 trillion in fixed income and equity trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 10,000 full-time associates in 16 countries.

For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.

Media Contacts:

Linda Namias Joe LoBello Broadridge Financial Solutions Brainerd Communicators +1 631-254-7711 +1 212-986-6667 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.broadridge.com


DALLAS, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sabine H. Schoenberg, host of Sabine's New House, has been often described as a designer, builder, and Realtor wrapped into one over the years. The combination has set her up well in understanding several nuances that go into home design and home construction. Because of this expertise, she will be a presenting at CEDIA 2016 in Dallas, Texas today. She will dive into the struggles the industry is having to break into broader adoption in households across the country and offer a path to getting smart home tech to go mainstream.

Sabine H. Schoenberg, host of Sabine's New House

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408404

Schoenberg's experience with smart home tech goes all the way back to 2005, when she was one of the first builders in Connecticut to install smart home wiring in a spec house she built. The home got the attention of Robb Report and other publications at the time seeking to capture the trend.

Today, Schoenberg is still working with clients through her real estate brokerage company in Greenwich, Connecticut, a suburb of the greater New York metropolitan area.

"My clients come from all around the world and represent all age groups and income levels," says Schoenberg. "Most of them do not have smart home tech installed and are intrigued, but nervous about having it. They share one common element, they are consumers who are making decisions around what home environments and home products they want to surround themselves with."

Consumers are much more willing to make lifestyle upgrades and changes around the time they are buying a home. It may be adding bedrooms for a growing family, downsizing into retirement, or simply wanting an enhanced the home experience.

"This willingness to make changes is key. It's consumers in this transition that the industry needs to reach out to in order to drive adoption of smart home tech in a mainstream market," added Schoenberg.

Schoenberg's access to feedback and consumer exposure doesn't stop at her real estate brokerage. Through her series, Sabine's New House which launched last fall, she constantly receives feedback from consumers across the country. They are reacting to the various social, editorial coverage and video content that tracks what Sabine calls "smart, healthy, and green - next generation home building."

"Our audience often reaches out to ask questions around what products they should install in their homes, both for renovations and new construction projects."

One example that Schoenberg offers is a follower who recently sold her home and is looking to downsize. She watches Sabine's New House closely and is aware of the various product innovations that are featured. When she approached her builder about smart tech the response was shocking, "Oh, you'll do that later - it's all wireless now."

"Thankfully this viewer reached out when she didn't quite believe what she was hearing. We were happy to answer her questions. Now with better, more complete information, she is ready to tackle her new construction project complete with a full home automation system," added Schoenberg.

Schoenberg feels that the industry is certainly at an exciting junction as it moves from early adopters to going more mainstream in homes. She sees a couple of challenges that the industry still needs to overcome however, emotional barriers and changing habits.

"You'll probably laugh when I tell you this, but people are very much afraid of something as simple as a smart thermostat. They fear losing control over their home," remarked Schoenberg. "They very much feel that someone will start screwing with their heating and cooling systems in order to 'save energy'."

She is confident that consumers want products that improve their lifestyles. They are eager to purchase products that make them feel better and enhance how they live within their home.

Her latest project, dubbed "The Greenwich House," serves as a demonstration on how products can enhance a consumer's lifestyle within the home. It is filled with choices and building products that Schoenberg believes today's consumer wants and often demands.

Lifestyle Trends Shape Consumer Choices

Schoenberg feels that consumers are looking more at new construction and away from fixer uppers filled with DIY projects. She sees new construction as offering less headache, less maintenance and greater comfort through smart temperature control, smart irrigation and other features.

She also notes that consumers today have a different sense of time. "We live in a now culture, there is less time for everything including long remodeling projects," says Schoenberg. She adds that smart home tech really speaks to that instant gratification that consumers are looking for.

Buyers are also seeking out a healthy home that enhances overall well-being. The Shelton Group has conducted several surveys around healthy living and smart home technology and notes that both men and women respond to healthier living. According to a recent survey 19% of women see smart home tech as their path to healthier and safer homes. A key factor that is likely to increase as smart home tech moves into the mainstream.

The same group found a significant spike in how consumers identified eco-friendly products with energy efficiency. For several years the sentiment was at 26%, this year that number jumped to 47% representing a significant change. That same study noted that almost half of female consumers believe smart home tech can help their homes be more energy efficient.

Schoenberg also believes that access and control on the go will define the importance of having smart home tech. She believes that most home systems should be available on any device, any platform, even when you are away from the home to enhance mobility and independence.

Bettering Living, Lifestyle Enhancement Transcends Generational Divide

Often when asked about what age demographic "The Greenwich House" was built for, Schoenberg replies "We all really want the same thing, millennials, gen x'ers, baby boomers. There is a fundamental desire for better living, for lifestyle enhancement."

In her presentation today, Schoenberg walked through what she sees as the major motivators that impact each generation differently.

First, she talks about how we're currently in a "now culture." Millennials have a very different sense of time and expect to be able to access information and needs instantly. In contrast, she believes that baby boomers simply want to be able to pack as many life experiences into their retirement as possible.

Mobility also plays a big part according to Schoenberg. She points out that millennials and baby boomers alike want to be on the go with their jobs and with travel. Both groups have a desire to close the door to their home, yet still be connected with vital home systems and security.

Schoenberg also points out a desire to make maintenance easier. Her experience shows that millennials are new to home maintenance and are frankly fearful of key system breakdowns. Gen X'ers on the other hand are working harder for less and are seeking to simplify and make things easier so they have more time to spend with family and their careers. Baby boomers similarly are seeking easier ways to maintain their home.

Further, she talks about how eco-minded and money-minded go hand in hand for all age groups. Millennials are known for their eco-minded and money-minded approach to life and baby boomers are seeking to stretch retirement savings across longer life spans.

All of these trends amount to lifestyle enhancements according to Schoenberg. Therefore, the focus needs to be on how do smart home tech products improve everybody's lifestyle.

According to Schoenberg, based on the trends all generations will embrace technologies and products that give them an enhanced lifestyle. "This is really good news for the smart home tech industry."

Although millennials are often seen as the likely adopters of smart home tech, they still only account for 2.6% of the home buying market. Schoenberg notes that in order for smart home tech to go mainstream today, the industry needs to focus attention on baby boomers and gen x'ers who make up the remainder of the home buying market.

"As we've just seen, focusing the conversation on lifestyle benefits relates to all age groups and is one of the keys to make smart home tech go mainstream," adds Schoenberg.

Women May Very Well Be The Best Path Forward

Home improvement product manufacturers and retailers have been shifting their marketing focus towards women for years. Stores like The Home Depot are now stocking lighter tools for example that are specifically designed for women's preferences. They are leading the decisions around home products and technologies.

Schoenberg asks, "What are the motivating lifestyle choices for 'these home purchasing managers' when it comes to smart home technology?"

Studies in this area repeatedly show that women are motivated by technologies that provide safety, result in savings, enhance health, and are environmentally friendly.

Sabine tells the audience, "Stop telling women about the latest 'cool' gadgets."

She feels that companies that can figure out how to connect with women's desires and needs, are focused on healthy and safety for families, comfort, and energy efficiency will win this market.

"When I present "The Greenwich House" I know men will head right to the utility room to check out all the gear. Women on the other hand want to be in the kitchen and family room where I often hand them my phone so they can control the thermostat, lighting, and more, they discover quickly that they can control and easily manage their domain, their home out of the palm of their hand. This control over their nest is what they get," adds Schoenberg.

She is confident that smart home technology will go mainstream across the country very soon. It will be dominated by companies who can position their products to enhance daily life within the home and answer key motivating factors that are relevant to women.

Related Links

Sabine's New House

CEDIA 2016

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6NGK5eIuJE

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Sabine's New House

Related Links

http://sabinesnewhouse.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, has named Kim Smith Chief Digital Officer of its North American Application Services and Consulting Services. In this new role, Smith will lead the overall digital portfolio for these North America business units, integrating all capabilities to architect the digital strategy and to collaborate with Capgemini's global innovation initiatives to formulate advanced innovation practices for the collective business. She will report to both Tim Bridges, Head of Capgemini Application Services, North America, and Todd Rovak, Head of Capgemini Consulting, North America.

"Kim has a deep understanding of our digital capabilities and is ideally positioned to architect our holistic strategy to help clients transform and expand their digital core," said Bridges. "She will further accelerate our growth in digital and cloud services, which includes internet of things, cybersecurity, analytics and the ever-advancing digital customer experience."

"We are thrilled to have Kim help deliver the combined power of Capgemini, Fahrenheit 212 and Capgemini Consulting," said Rovak. "This is a unique role that allows us to move clients seamlessly from strategy to scale  a capability we believe is unmatched in the market today."

As Chief Digital Officer, Smith will oversee the digital go-to-market strategy and delivery capabilities of these North American operations leveraging Capgemini's global Applied Innovation platform, which includes its Applied Innovation Exchange network. In the first half of 2016, Capgemini's global digital and cloud offerings grew 32 percent as a result of client demand driven by innovation and digital transformation.

Capgemini has made significant investments in this area, including acquiring innovation strategy and design firm Fahrenheit 212, now part of Capgemini Consulting, and opening Applied Innovation facilities in Toronto and San Francisco. These facilities offer an array of advanced Applied Innovation services for clients and bring an ecosystem of alliance partners, start-ups, industry-specific insight, emerging technologies, and resources to help clients discover and deploy innovative business practices, models and technologies at scale.

Additionally, Capgemini has strengthened its digital offerings. In May, Capgemini launched its Digital Manufacturing Services offering to help organizations in asset-heavy industries embrace digital transformation by bridging the divide between operations technology and IT systems.

"Every company is forming a digital strategy at a different pace, and they need a partner that can help develop a vision and implement it based on external market forces and internal culture," said Smith. "Capgemini has significant depth and breadth in digital capabilities and is viewed as a trusted advisor through our ability to deliver transformative results from strategy through execution  no matter how far a company is in its innovation journey."

In her prior role, Smith was Adobe's first global head of digital services innovation where she led the development of its digital services portfolio strategy, and launched Adobe's Smart Bag for retailers and Immersive Retail Experience offering in collaboration with Capgemini. She was previously a vice president at Capgemini, and led product and service lines for cloud and digital innovation. Prior to joining Capgemini, Smith spent 12 years as an executive at Microsoft leading online, digital, cloud products and services innovation.

Smith was recently a speaker and innovation leader at the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship held at the United Nations. She will continue to work on the issues of digital innovation and diversity through IdeaGen, where she will represent Capgemini at United Nations Forum events. Her diversity and inclusion efforts will also focus on next-generation workforce imperatives, as well as cross-industry innovation and disruption to support the U.S. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on international business from the University of Delaware.

About Capgemini

With more than 180,000 people in over 40 countries, Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services. The Group reported 2015 global revenues of EUR 11.9 billion (about $13.2 billion USD at 2015 average rate). Together with its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business, technology and digital solutions that fit their needs, enabling them to achieve innovation and competitiveness. A deeply multicultural organization, Capgemini has developed its own way of working, the Collaborative Business ExperienceTM, and draws on Rightshore, its worldwide delivery model. Learn more about us at www.capgemini.com.

Rightshore is a trademark belonging to Capgemini

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150128/172130LOGO

SOURCE Capgemini

Related Links

http://www.capgemini.com


"As a global superhub, we are expanding our concessions program to offer a variety of world-class cuisine and healthy options to satisfy any taste," said Chris Poinsatte chief financial officer at DFW Airport. "We know our DFW Airport customers will enjoy the vivacious flavors that are the hallmark of Chef Garcia's Latin dishes."

Garcia is known for her appearances on several reality cooking shows, such as Bravo's "Top Chef All-Stars" and NBC's "The Biggest Loser." She began her television career with Telemundo, Gems and Mundo TV. In addition to her Lorena Garcia TAPAS y Cocina at DFW Airport, she also has cookbooks, a line of cookware and restaurants at two other airports.

"We are thrilled about opening Lorena Garcia TAPAS y Cocina for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport travelers. This restaurant is a great success for the Lorena Garcia brand, and I am excited for travelers to try our delicious menu items," Garcia said. "We have been partners with HMSHost for many years and are very proud to continue that relationship at this new restaurant."

The grand opening celebration featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks from Garcia, DFW Airport leaders and HMSHost representatives. Following the ceremony, Garcia signed cookbooks and even rolled up her sleeves to assist kitchen staff and serve food to restaurant guests.

Garcia is well-known for her use of bold flavors and healthy ingredients. Restaurant visitors can choose from a vibrant menu of tapas, coffee and cocktails. Tapas include olives espanoles, yucca fries, black bean and queso fundido, and ropa vieja. Customers also can enjoy chef's specials or "especialidades," including char-grilled churrasco steak with chimichurri sauce or prickly pear baby back ribs, slow-cooked in the restaurant's signature barbecue sauce. Local Texas wines from Becker Vineyards, Duchman Family Winery, Flat Creek Estate, and Messina Hof will be featured as well.

"It is an honor to bring this restaurant to DFW International Airport," said HMSHost Vice President of Business Development Anthony Alessi. "Lorena Garcia is one of the country's most prominent Latin chefs, and her local and national charisma and innovative approach to small plate dining really shines through on the menu at the new Lorena Garcia TAPAs y Cocina. Lorena and the Airport have been great partners in bringing this exciting dining experience to travelers."

About Dallas Fort Worth International Airport:

Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport warmly welcomes more than 65 million customers along their journey every year, elevating DFW to a status as one of the most frequently visited superhub airports in the world. DFW Airport customers can choose among 158 domestic and 54 international nonstop destinations worldwide. DFW is elevating the customer experience with modernized facilities and updated amenities, as well as through a $2.7 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program to renovate its four original terminal buildings. Centered between its owner cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW Airport also serves as a major economic generator for the North Texas region, producing over $37 billion in economic impact each year by connecting people through business and leisure travel. For more information, visit the DFW website, download the new DFW App for iOS and Android devices, or follow DFW on social media.

About Lorena Garcia

Venezuelan-born restaurateur, TV personality, TV producer, philanthropist and published author Lorena Garcia is currently one of the country's leading chefs, well known for numerous TV series, a successful chain of restaurants and cookbooks. Garcia left the legal world behind her and enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in culinary arts and more recently received an honorary doctorate degree in culinary arts. Garcia created "Big Chef, Little Chef" as a comprehensive non-profit program to help children and their families take control of their eating habits and, ultimately, their lives.

Follow Dallas Fort Worth International Airport On:

Twitter.com | YouTube.com | Facebook.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408430

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408429

SOURCE DFW International Airport
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) announced today it has filed with the Arizona Department of Insurance (DOI) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue its participation as a qualified health plan issuer in the Arizona Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) in 2017. Centene plans to offer health maintenance organization (HMO) health insurance coverage branded as Ambetter in Maricopa and Pima Counties. Centene is working diligently with the DOI and CMS to receive approval for its filing.

"We are pleased to work with state and federal regulators to help maintain quality coverage for over 120,000 residents in Maricopa County. Centene has served Arizona residents for the last decade and we look forward to extending our offering in 2017," said Michael F. Neidorff, Chairman, President and CEO for Centene. "We are confident in our disciplined approach to serving the Marketplace and look forward to leveraging our successful model that has been implemented in multiple states across the country."

Centene estimates that its 2017 Ambetter offerings in Arizona will provide incremental revenue of over $500 million and have a positive impact on earnings in 2017.

The participation in the Marketplace by offering HMO products in Maricopa and Pima counties does not impact the previous commitment to a statewide exit of the Health Net preferred provider organization (PPO) offerings, effective January 1, 2017.

Ambetter is Centene's nationally-recognized brand on the Health Insurance Marketplace. Consumers can start shopping for 2017 coverage during the Open Enrollment period beginning November 1, 2016, with coverage starting as soon as January 1, 2017.

About Centene Corporation

Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a portfolio of services to government sponsored healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Many receive benefits provided under Medicaid, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD), Foster Care and Long Term Care (LTC), in addition to other state-sponsored programs, Medicare (including the Medicare prescription drug benefit commonly known as "Part D"), as well as programs with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Centene operates local health plans and offers a range of health insurance solutions. It also contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide specialty services including behavioral health management, care management software, correctional healthcare services, dental benefits management, in-home health services, life and health management, managed vision, pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy and telehealth services.

Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor relations website, http://www.centene.com/investors.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information provided in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Centene and certain plans and objectives of Centene with respect thereto, including the expected benefits of the acquisition of Health Net. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "anticipate", "target", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "believe", "hope", "aim", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "could" or "should" or other words of similar meaning or the negative thereof. There are several factors which could cause actual plans and results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation from the acquisition will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period, including, but not limited to, as a result of conditions, terms, obligations or restrictions imposed by regulators in connection with their approval of, or consent to, the acquisition; the exertion of management's time and Centene's resources, and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with complying with the undertakings in connection with certain regulatory approvals; the risk that the businesses will not be integrated successfully; disruption from the acquisition making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; the risk that unexpected costs will be incurred; changes in economic conditions or political conditions; changes in federal or state laws or regulations, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care Education Affordability Reconciliation Act and any regulations enacted thereunder; provider and state contract changes; the outcome of pending legal or regulatory proceedings; reduction in provider payments by governmental payors; the expiration or termination of Centene's Medicare or Medicaid managed care contracts with federal or state governments; tax matters; increased health care costs; and risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports that Centene has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). These forward-looking statements reflect Centene's current views with respect to future events and are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made by Centene in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environments, future developments and other factors it believes appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. The factors described in the context of such forward-looking statements in this announcement could cause Centene's plans with respect to the acquisition, actual results, performance or achievements, industry results and developments to /differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although it is believed that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct and persons reading this announcement are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this announcement. Centene does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this announcement (whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise), except as required by applicable law. This list of important factors is not intended to be exhaustive. We discuss certain of these matters more fully, as well as certain risk factors that may affect our business operations, financial condition and results of operations, in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

SOURCE Centene Corporation

Related Links

http://www.centene.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Executive Summary



The report titled "China Organic Food Market Outlook to 2020 - Rising Food Safety Concerns and Urban Population to Prosper Market Growth" which provides a comprehensive analysis of the organic food market in China. The report covers various aspects such as overall size of China organic food market, segmentation on the basis of source of procurement, urban and rural demand, different organic food types, distribution channels and major cities. The report also covers the trade scenario in the market, organic certification process in details and Government's role and regulations in the industry.



This report also offers prevalent trends and developments in industry, Porter's 5 Forces analysis and challenges in the industry. The report also covers the competitive landscape of the industry, in which the information related to the players operating in this industry has been comprehensively presented. Moreover, the report also captures the online market for organic food and offers information regarding the business models operating in the segment. Major macroeconomic indicators affecting the market have also been highlighted in the report. The report is useful for existing organic food manufacturers and processors, importers and exporters of organic food, consultants, small and big retailers including online companies operating in the market.

China Organic Food Market

Owing to increasing food safety concerns and rapidly emerging middle class population, the market for organic food in China has seen a decent growth over the period 2010-2015. China has currently become the world's fourth-biggest consumer of organic food. Also, globally China had the fourth largest area for organic agriculture in 2014. The organic agricultural land in China stood at ~ million hectares in 2014. The organic food market size in China has grown at a CAGR of ~% over the period 2010-2015 and has been estimated at USD ~ billion in 2015. In terms of number of organic products, the market has come a long way from having ~ varieties in 2010 to ~ in 2015.



Consumption of organic food items has also matured at a fair rate to account for approximately ~% of the overall food consumption in 2015 from that of ~% back in 2010. The market has a huge potential in the sense that the industry still fails to meet 30% of the domestic demand. The trade scenario in the market has been quite upbeat, except the hit back in exports during the period 2012-2014. The export market for organic food in China grew at a decent CAGR of % over the period 2010-2015 has registered revenues worth USD  billion in 2015. The import market, though currently very small in size, registered a high CAGR of % over the period 2010-2015 and was valued at USD  million in 2015.



Regions such as United States, Australia and European Union have been the major import sources for China. The competitive scenario in the market is quite fragmented with presence of as many as ~ companies engaged in organic food and beverage production. There are only a handful of small companies who have their businesses totally dedicated to organic production and processing. The market is characterized by larger firms engaged in production and supply of some special organic food products. Therefore, even the largest of the players have a maximum of around ~% of the market share. For example, two large organic dairy companies- Yili and Mengniu together accounted for only ~% of the overall organic sales value in 2015. The market is expected to see some major consolidations as larger players expand their organic product offerings and bind the stake holders in the existing distribution system.

The consumer segment in the market is dominated by the urban population as the major target group. As far as distribution channels are concerned, supermarkets and hypermarkets have been resulting for around ~% of the organic food sales in the country. However, the online stores have garnered a fair share over the years to become one of the prominent channels for organic food procurement. In the segmentation by different food types, vegetable items stood as the most common organic food purchased by the Chinese population with ~% market share. Vegetable sales were followed by grain, tea and fruit as major selling items. Rice and pulses were highest contributing segments within grains with share worth ~%, ~% and ~% respectively in terms of market revenues in 2015, while green tea and oolong tea were the major categories within organic tea



China Online Organic Food Market

The online market for organic food in China is still at a nascent stage but the exponentially growing e-commerce in China has incentivized many organic retailers to venture into the online segment. Online players like Fields China, Tony's Farm and Epermarket has heavily supported the percolation of organic trend in the mainland. A majority of the online organic retailers follow a subscription based model wherein they have various institutions like schools, hospitals and corporate houses subscribe to their portals and receive daily or weekly or monthly deliveries of food boxes. The charges vary depending on the delivery frequency. The online organic food market is expected to grow to USD ~ billion by 2020 at a formidable CAGR of ~% over the period 2015-2020.



Key Topics Covered in the Report:

- The Market Size of China Organic Food Market.

- Value chain analysis of China Organic Food Market.

- Growth Drivers and Challenges in China Organic Food Market.

- Specialty Shops for Organic Products in China.

- Consumer Profiles in China Organic Food Market.

- Market Segmentation by Source of Procurement, Urban and Rural Demand, Distribution Channels, Types of Organic Food.

- Profiles of Major Players in China Organic Food Market.

- Government Role and Regulations in China Organic Food Market.

- Trade Scenario in China Organic Food Market.

- Certification Process in China Organic Food Market.

- Future Projections for China Organic Food Market.

- The Market Size of China Online Organic Food Market.

- Market segmentation of China Online Organic Food Market on the Basis of Mode of Placing Order and Weekday and Weekend Orders.

- Profiles of Major Players in China Online Organic Food Market.

- Business Model in China Online Organic Food Market

- China Online Organic Food Market Future Projections and Outlook.

- Analyst Recommendations.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4138985/



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

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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb has added a suite of new coverages to its specialized clean tech industry insurance program. The Clean Tech Sustainability Suite provides essential protection for firms conducting research and development (R&D) and can help clean tech firms rebuild "green" in the case of a property loss.

"Chubb's Clean Tech Sustainability Suite responds directly to the priorities of today's clean tech companies," said Christi Edwards, North America Clean Tech Segment Leader for Chubb. "This suite of insurance coverages provides protection for property and business income related to research and development as clean tech companies develop new products and services that contribute to environmental sustainability. In addition, it helps these companies further demonstrate their environmental sensibilities by rebuilding 'green' if their facilities are damaged in a covered loss."

Supported by a dedicated team of underwriters who specialize in helping clean tech companies protect against risk, the Clean Tech Sustainability Suite includes:

Research & Development Property and Business Income Coverage: Insures not only a clean tech firm's R&D property such as plans, records and formulas, but also its R&D business income including grants, endowments and other financial contributions as per the policy.

Insures not only a clean tech firm's R&D property such as plans, records and formulas, but also its R&D business income including grants, endowments and other financial contributions as per the policy. Green Standards Upgrade Coverage: Insures the costs to repair or replace lost or damaged building and personal property to the minimum requirements of LEED, EnergyStar and other generally accepted green standards, as well as the corresponding loss in business income due to the increased time it takes to repair or replace to these standards.

Insures the costs to repair or replace lost or damaged building and personal property to the minimum requirements of LEED, EnergyStar and other generally accepted green standards, as well as the corresponding loss in business income due to the increased time it takes to repair or replace to these standards. Pollutant Cleanup Coverage: Insures the costs to clean up pollutants that are a part of property or R&D property while in transit and from land, water or air inside or outside a covered building.

Chubb offers research and development, early stage and commercialized clean tech companies a variety of property and casualty insurance products and risk engineering solutions to help manage risks as these firms evolve. Insurance is available to respond to loss or damage to buildings or personal property, R&D property, loss of milestone payments due to property loss or damage, equipment breakdown, general liability, product liability, umbrella liability, and errors and omissions liability. Multinational insurance is also available for companies as they conduct business across borders.

Chubb's Clean Tech Sustainability Suite is available in the United States and Canada. Product highlights within this press release are summaries only; please refer to the policy for terms and conditions. These product offerings may vary by location.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: new.chubb.com.

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SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world's leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today announced the recipients of its fifth annual Ron Knode Service Award, recognizing six members from the Americas, Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions for their excellence in volunteerism. The honorees were selected by the CSA executive team and chosen based on their valuable contributions towards fulfilling CSA's mission of promoting best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment.

Ron Knode was an information security expert and member of the CSA family who passed away in May 2012. He is remembered as an innovative thinker with endless energy and humor to guide his volunteer contributions. He also was the creator of the CSA Cloud Trust Protocol, which today remains an important asset for the continuous monitoring and auditing for cloud assurance and transparency certification. Established in 2012, the Ron Knode Service Award is awarded to CSA members on an annual basis whose contributions reflect Ron's passion for volunteerism and embody the spirit for which this award was established.

"The six individuals that we are recognizing today epitomize Ron's spirit of tireless efforts and commitment to volunteerism. In his honor, we congratulate and thank them for their vast commitment to promoting and defining best practices in the cloud to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment globally," said Jim Reavis, CEO of the CSA. "We will always remember Ron's energy, humor and incredible generosity. CSA is grateful for his hard work and dedication, and we continue to benefit from his commitment and passion."

This year's six recipients are:

Juanita Koilpillai, CSA Americas: Juanita Koilpillai is the Founder and CEO of Waverley Labs, elevating IT Security to C-level executives and managers to ensure on-line business processes are trusted and helping small technology companies develop their product potential. She is a member of the CSA Software Defined Perimeter Working Group and contributed to Spec 1.0 and 2.0. She is currently leading the open source software defined perimeter effort after securing funding from DHS to launch the effort specifically for distributed denial of service attacks, with the first version of the open source software defined perimeter now available to the CSA members. Juanita presented "An Open Source Software Defined Perimeter" at the Cloud Security Alliance Federal Summit in May 2016 and at the Berlin Conference in November 2015.

Brian Russell, CSA Americas: Brian Russell is a Chief Engineer focused on Cyber Security Solutions for Leidos. He oversees the design and development of security solutions and the implementation of privacy and trust controls for customers. Brian leads efforts that include security engineering for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Connected Cars, the design of secure next- generation energy systems (microgrids) and the development of high assurance cryptographic key management systems. He supports the Center for Internet Security as a member of the 20 Critical Security Controls Editorial Panel and represents the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) on the FCC Technological Advisory Council on IoT. He also serves as Chair of the CSA Internet of Things (IoT) Working Group and lead author of the report 'Designing and Developing Secure IoT Products' and the 'Practical Internet of Things (IoT) Security.'

Anthony Lim, CSA APAC: Anthony Lim is the Director of Marketing Strategy for Asia Pacific at Cloud Security Alliance and an independent cybersecurity professional services consultant, advocating, researching, lecturing and auditing various cloud security and smart cities opportunities. He has led various initiatives and activities at CSA including speaking at numerous seminars and conferences in Asia Pacific in 2016 and acting at the first CCSP instructor in Asia Pacific. He previously was on the Board of Directors for CSA's Singapore Chapter, was a member of the CSA-ICS2 JTA committee that build the CCSP, chaired Trend Micro at CloudSec 2016. Anthony has also appeared on several TV news shows representing CSA including Singapore Chinese Channel and the BBC.

Eric Wang, CSA APAC: Eric Wang is the current CEO of TanoSecure Inc., a holding company supporting emerging technology companies founded by visionaries in the ICT industry. He currently serves as the cybersecurity advisor to the Taiwanese government and has played an instrumental role in the development of multiple technology start-ups. He is the current Co-Chair of the CSA Mobile Application Security Testing Working Group leading efforts on the design and development of a mobile application development certification program.

Bruno Huttner, CSA EMEA: Bruno Huttner is the Product Manager for Quantum Key Distribution Products at ID Quantique, where he develops next-generation encryption, and especially quantum key distribution systems. He is also responsible for a project aimed at providing secure communications with satellites and high altitudes platforms. Bruno is Co-Chair of the Quantum-Safe Security Working Group at the CSA. Leading the group over the past 18 months, he has contributed heavily to the four papers published from the working group. He has been very active at various conferences, including presenting the Safe Security Working Group material at numerous CSA events. Bruno has also participated in CSA's EMEA Congress in Berlin last year and RSA in San Francisco this past March, where he organized and chaired a panel session.

Andreas Fuchsberger, CSA EMEA: Andreas Fuchsberger is the Regional Standards Officer for Central and Eastern Europe in Microsoft's Corporate Standards Group. Andreas participates in the internationalal standards community, predominantyly attending ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 (Security) as an invited expert. Currently for SC 27 he is the editor of two international standards on network security and SIEM. He is a member of the (ISC)2 Application Security Advisory Board where he also chairs the International Standards Committee. He Co-Chairs the CSA Internatiional Standards Councils where he is liaison officer to ITU-T SGs 13 and 17 and chairs the CSA's Open Certification Framework (OCF) working group.

About Cloud Security Alliance

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world's leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, certification, events and products. CSA's activities, knowledge and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud  from providers and customers, to governments, entrepreneurs and the assurance industry  and provide a forum through which diverse parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa .

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PHOENIX, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Communications has partnered with the future First Place, the first-of-its-kind, new residential property serving adults with autism and other special abilities. Announced at a special community celebration last night in Phoenix, the five-year partnership, valued at $235,000, makes Cox the exclusive Internet provider of Gigabit services and telecommunications technology at First Place, which will be located in downtown Phoenix and is estimated to welcome residents in early 2018.

"Cox is thrilled to be able to power the technology needs of First Place residents, ensuring they are equipped with the communication services necessary to lead independent, enriched lives," said Susan Anable, southwest vice president of public affairs at Cox. "Having reliable gigabit speeds will allow residents to remotely meet with health care providers, participate in online education and start businesses, all while having valuable connections with family and friends."

The partnership includes a $175,000 cash contribution to install needed technology and, in addition, Gigabit service and the creation of the Cox Technology Center, a creative space featuring the latest computing/printing technologies that assist residents and students in their entrepreneurial endeavors, education, health care and everyday lives.

Cox Communications' contributions are enabling technology that promotes the daily practice of more independent living skills for residents and students; helps facilitate transitions when some move to their "next places"; provides daily support through communications with family, friends and staff; serves as a critical component for the onsite telehealth program; and connects the First Place Leadership Institute with collaborators across North America.

First Place will provide 54 studio, one- and two-bedroom First Place apartments for lease by residents, supported by a suite of independent living services and amenities. The two-year, tuition-based First Place Transition Academy will be operated by SARRC, and will serve 32 students annually who are transitioning to more independent living.

SOURCE Cox Communications
"Crestron customers expect a truly integrated home technology experience," said John Clancy, VP of Residential Systems at Crestron. "We've been collaborating very closely with Amazon Alexa engineers to make sure we offer an uncompromising voice control experience that is every bit as seamless and satisfying as tapping a button on a beautiful Crestron touch screen, remote control, or designer keypad. You can ask Alexa to set the mood for dinner, or to play a movie in the bedroom, or let her know it's too cold in the bathroom. Just say the word and your Crestron system responds immediately."

Crestron Technology Professionals can quickly define and deploy Amazon Alexa skills using new software modules that interface with both the Smart Home Skill API and the Alexa Skills Kit SDK. These modules are for use with homes using both Crestron 3-Series processors (available October 1st), and Crestron Pyng app (coming soon). More detailed information will be available for Crestron dealers soon as well as a comprehensive suite of training resources.

About Crestron

At Crestron we build the technology that integrates technology. Our automation and control solutions for homes and buildings let people control entire environments with the push of a button, integrating systems such as AV, lighting, shading, security, BMS and HVAC to provide greater comfort, convenience and security. All of our products are designed and built to work together as a complete system, enabling you to monitor, manage and control everything from one platform.

Our products are backed by more than 90 fully-staffed offices that provide 24 x 7 x 365 sales, technical, and training support across the globe. In addition to its World Headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey, Crestron has sales and support offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Discover Crestron by visiting www.crestron.com.

All brand names, product names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain trademarks, registered trademarks, and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Crestron disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Crestron is not responsible for errors in typography or photography. 2016 Crestron Electronics, Inc.

Media Contact:

Ron Epstein

(201) 564-6047

[email protected]

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LONDON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Report Details

Visiongain assesses that the global Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing market will reach $2,373.6m in 2016. It is therefore critical that your strategic planning is in place and your forecasting plans are established to take advantage of the business potential here.

Visiongain's report will ensure that you keep informed and ahead of your competitors. Gain that competitive advantage.

The report will answer questions such as:

 What are the prospects for the overall Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market?

 How profitable is the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market?

 Who are the key players within the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market?

 What are the drivers and restraints underpinning the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market?

5 Reasons why you must order and read this report today:

1) The report provides detailed profiles of 10 leading companies operating within the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market, and brief profiles of 14 other companies operating within the market:

Leading Companies  with market share revealed for the leading 7 companies- QinetiQ Group plc- Lockheed Martin Corporation- Northrop Grumman Corporation- Baker Hughes, Inc.- CGG- Future Fibre Technologies Ltd.- Magal S3- Fotech Solutions Ltd.- LIOS Technology GmbH- Southwest Microwave Inc.

Other Companies

- AP Sensing GmbH

- FibrisTerre GmbH

- Halliburton Corporation

- Intelligent Fiber Optics Systems (IFOS) Inc.

- Omega Company

- Omnisens SA

- OZ Optics

- Savcor OY

- Schlumberger Ltd

- SensorNet

- Silixa Ltd

- Tendeka Group

- Weatherford International

- Ziebel

2) The study reveals where and how companies are investing in the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market. We show you the prospects for the following national markets. These national markets are further segmented into individual forecast for each of the 4 application submarkets.- Australia- Brazil- Canada- China- France- Germany- India- Israel- Japan- Russia- Saudi Arabia- South Korea- United Kingdom- United States- Rest of the World3) The report provides details of 114 contracts relating to the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market4) The analysis is underpinned by an exclusive interview with a leading expert , Hagai Katz, Senior VP Marketing & Business Development, at Magal S3

5) Our overview also forecasts and analyses these 4 application submarkets from 2016-2026. These forecasts are revealed at the global level PLUS individually for each of the 14 national markets

- The DFOS for Critical Infrastructure Submarket

- The DFOS for Military Applications Submarket

- The DFOS for Security Applications Submarket

- The DFOS for Upstream Oil & Gas Submarket

How will you benefit from this report?

 This report you will keep your DFOS knowledge base up to speed. Don't get left behind.

 This report will allow you to reinforce strategic decision-making based upon definitive and reliable DFOS market data.

 You will learn how to exploit new technological trends.

 You will be able to realise your company's full potential within the DFOS market.

 You will better understand the competitive landscape and identify potential new business opportunities & partnerships.

Competitive advantage

This independent 273 page report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competitors. With 268 tables and figures examining the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment market space, the report gives you an immediate, one-stop breakdown of your market. PLUS national market forecasts, as well as analysis, from 2016-2026 keeping your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals.

Who should read this report?

 Anyone within the Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing Equipment value chain.

 Defence contractors

 Energy companies

 Security companies

 Engineering companies

 Business development managers

 Technologists

 Suppliers

 R&D staff

 CEO's

 COO's

 CIO's

 Marketing managers

 Investors

 Banks

 Government agencies

 Contractors

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3902147/

About ReportbuyerReportbuyer 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

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Periodically, Gothamist sits down with teachers at different stages in their careers to talk shop. For the first week of school, we spoke with three teachers about why they chose to teach, what they're doing in their classrooms, and their goals for the year.



Samantha teaches humanities to eighth graders in the Bronx. She entered teaching through the New York City Teaching Fellows program. This is her third year in the classroom.

I came into teaching reluctantly. My mom is a teacher in New York. When you are growing up, the profession that your parents do is by far the least interesting. You never aspire to do what they do. I studied art. And I really thought that was going to be my thing. During college I had these tutoring jobs and I interned in a museum and was a docent. I liked the age of the kids who visited the museum. Middle schoolers, who I teach nowtheres an energy about them I really like. So when I graduated, I applied for the New York City Teaching Fellows program to see where it would take me. And now I teach English and history.

In my high school, we had a lot of free periods where you wouldnt really do much of anything. I would hang out in my art teachers room and grade her papers, which I thought was so cool at the time. I get that strategy now. She tricked me into doing all this work! I would jump at the chance to bring down the attendance. To me, at 15, that was so cool. Her room was a home away from home in a lot of ways. I had such a close relationship with this teacher. I talk to her now as someone who teaches and think, "Wow, I cant believe you gave up all that free time to be around me and my friends, when we were probably just as obnoxious and loud and goofy as my kids are now."

I teach in the Bronx, in Mott Haven. Its a school within a school. We have one and a half floors. Its tiny. The school runs 6th to 12th grade. I teach the entire 8th grade, which is maybe 70 kids. Everyone knows your name. My principal and I will have conversations about kids and he knows every single kid Im talking about. I think that intimacy helps a lot of kids to not get lost in the shuffle. It removes a layer of bureaucracy. If I want to implement something for eighth grade English, it will be implemented. Its not like kids are coming to class and one teacher did it this way, and another did it that wayits uniform across the grade since Im the one English teacher.

We are an early college school, so in middle school, you can test into high school level classes. This is because in high school, you will hopefully take classes at Hostos Community College, which is right across the street. Out of 90 kids in the average graduating class, about 50 percent graduate with an associates degree from a CUNY.

One thing I try to do is not get insulted or take things too personally. For example, if you try to teach your favorite book of all time, you are just going to be disappointed. You will feel too tied up in it. The reality is, I teach a general subject. Its not like kids elect to take my class. I love certain books and I will recommend them to kids. But Im not going to make a whole class of kids read my favorite things because its opening a can of worms to teach something that you love and they just hate.

The hardest thing about this job is the blurred lines of it all. Theres such a personal element to teaching that its hard to turn off sometimes. You are basically parenting 70 kids. Its hard to go home and say, "Thats it, Im home, Im done." Because theres always more stuff you can do. Its a job where you can never sit back and be done.

I got some really good advice the summer after my first year. Someone told me, "Write down five things you want to do next year. Because if you dont write down just five things, you will spend the entire year giving one to two percent of your effort to a thousand things." You wont accomplish anything. Managing your time is really hard. Its tough to say, "This is as good as my lesson or my unit is going to be right now. Ill let go and build on it next year."

I teach a Holocaust unit to my English class. A lot of kids read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas or Stones in Water. These are fictionalized friendship-despite-hardship type of stories and thats great, but those stories are not based in the reality of the situation.

We had a bunch of copies of Elly, a memoir by a Holocaust survivor. Its a better book to teach middle schoolers because it doesnt assume a lot of prior knowledge; the book explains itself. I like that its not a fictionalized account. A coworker of mine knows the writer. So she comes to speak to the students. My kids get to talk to her and she talks to them. Some of the kids cry.

We do the math and I tell them, "Your children will not get this opportunity. This is something you will tell your kids about. Lets say you have a kid in 10 years. This person will be in her 90s. Add 13 more years to that, when your child will be mature enough to get something out of asking meaningful questions of a Holocaust survivor. That person will be 105. If shes alive, do you think shes going to travel to schools and tell kids about her experiences?" That they are the last children who will have these opportunities, they dont forget it.

Im in District 7 and our graduation rate is, I believe, in the mid-90s. Its a district where the average rate is, I want to say, in the 50s, 60s.

I think its the 6th through 12th grade aspect of the school that makes this possible. Kids come back and show me their report cards. Im not their parent, why are they doing doing this? But kids come back to their middle school teachers to show us what they have done in class in their 10th, 11th and 12th grade.

We have one teacher who teaches 6th grade and 12th grade. He had taught the graduating seniors, when they were about to head to college, and he had taught them when they were 11 years old. Some of my 8th graders say, "I wish that when we are in the 12th grade, you will teach us a class just for us." So I say, "If it works, Ill teach a 12th grade reunion class, but just remember when you guys were jerks in the 8th grade!"
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- O.C. Tanner, the global leader in recognition and engagement, today announced The Dow Chemical Company as its 2016 recipient of the Recognition Leadership Award for its outstanding results in building a culture of communication, collaboration, and appreciation of great work.

"Dow is honored to receive the 2016 Recognition Leadership Award, which is a testament to our company's focus on building a culture of appreciation," said Johanna Soderstrom, Corporate Vice President, Human Resources. "Recognition and appreciation are not only corporate priorities, but they help our employees thrive. Our goal was to develop a global strategy that also connects with each employee on an individual level, and O.C. Tanner has been a great partner in this journey."

Each year, O.C. Tanner honors one of their outstanding client organizations whose efforts in helping employees feel appreciated have set it apart in its industry and with its employees. The selection is based on the extent to which recognition is strategically integrated with the winning company's organizational goals and culture, the frequency and reach of recognition experiences throughout the enterprise, the level of senior leadership involvement and support, and its ability to measure and attain exemplary results.

O.C. Tanner selects this winner from among thousands of clients, which includes many from the Fortune Best Places To Work and Global 2000 lists.

The culture at Dow, when described by their own employees, is a culture of openness, innovation, diversity, team spirit, and growth. By focusing on the feedback they heard from their employees, they made changes to their recognition program companywide.

With approximately 50,000 employees in nearly 180 countries, Dow is an iconic global brand that has transformed the way it recognizes the great work of its employees.

In just a short period of time after launching in 2014, Dow has seen incredible results from their work with their Accelerate Great recognition program. An employee recognition moment occurs at Dow every three minutes, resulting in 165,500 recognition moments in 2015, an increase of 18 percent from the previous year. Additionally, 84 percent of Dow's employees are engaged in formal recognition, up 11 percent from 2014.

"In a remarkable amount of time Dow has been successful in elevating a culture of appreciation that is personalized and creates an incredible emotional connection for its employees around the globe," said O.C. Tanner President and CEO Dave Petersen. "Their desire to jump in and innovate their recognition strategy was impressive, and the outcome even more so."

Dow was presented the O.C. Tanner Recognition Leadership Award during O.C. Tanner's annual Executive Recognition Summit in Chicago.

About O.C. Tanner

O.C. Tanner, number 61 on the 2015 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list, helps organizations create great work environments by inspiring and appreciating great work. Thousands of clients globally use the company's cloud-based technology, tools, awards and education services to engage talent, increase performance, and create experiences that fuel the human spirit. For more information visit octanner.com.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from material, polymer, chemical and biological science to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2015, Dow had annual sales of nearly $49 billion and employed approximately 49,500 people worldwide. The Company's more than 6,000 product families are manufactured at 179 sites in 35 countries across the globe. On June 1, 2016, Dow became the 100 percent owner of Dow Corning Corporation's silicones business, a global company with sales of greater than $4.5 billion in 2015, 25 manufacturing sites in 9 countries and approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

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http://www.octanner.com


"It's an honor to be in the company of such a fantastic group," said Justin Mahlik, COO of DRIVIN. "I'm excited and encouraged by the number of dynamic leaders in the automotive space today who are all working hard to innovate and move the industry forward."

As co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Mahlik has been with DRIVIN since its launch in early 2015. He oversees the strategy, operations and financial departments, as well as both industry and strategic dealer partnerships. Prior to DRIVIN, Mahlik had spent the majority of his career in finance, working at a middle market investment bank and private investment firm. As part of those roles, he oversaw a number of investments in the automotive space and gained a keen appreciation for the size, complexity and opportunities available within automotive.

"At DRIVIN, we are addressing a really, tough problem in the used-car space, and we are doing it with analytics, technology, human capital and a motivation to partner with dealers and move the industry forward," said Mahlik. "I am proud of the world-class team we have built across our entire organization, as well as a cultural tenet that the 'Dealer Partner > Company > Self' to address the problem. Without these foundational elements, I believe DRIVIN would not have seen the success that we have in such a short amount of time."

AutoRemarketing will recognize all honorees of the 2016 Remarketing & Used-Car Industry's 40 under 40 class 2016 in a special ceremony at Used-Car Week in Las Vegas in November.

For more information on DRIVIN, please visit http://www.drivindealer.com.

About DRIVIN

DRIVIN is redefining the used vehicle industry by bringing data and technology together in a first-of-its-kind, high-touch fashion to help automotive dealers sell and acquire the right used cars, at the right price, right now. Combining highly personalized service with cutting edge technology and local market analytics, DRIVIN casts a nationwide net to find and vet quality, whole-sale priced vehicles, and connect them with dealers all across the country. Launched in 2015, DRIVIN is powered by CarCo Technologies.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407890

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150810/257183LOGO



SOURCE DRIVIN

Related Links

http://www.drivindealer.com


ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EarthClean Corporation announced it has retained The Chicago Corporation to assist in finding licensees and/or distribution partners for its patented, QPL approved, TetraKO XL firefighting water enhancer product line. EarthClean's innovative, corn starch-based TetraKO XL water enhancers are more effective than plain water, foams, and fire suppressants. The Company currently owns a robust patent portfolio; multiple patent applications; trade secrets; and all rights to development, manufacturing, and regulatory approvals for use in multiple industrial applications.

Click here to watch how TetraKO provides exceptional knockdown and control

The USDA Forest Service has recently evaluated and approved TetraKO XL-P (granular form) water enhancer for use by ground engine, helicopter bucket, and single engine air transport (SEAT) apparatus. An application has also been made to the USDA Forest Service for approval of TetraKO XL-L (in liquid form) for similar uses. The USDA's Qualified Product List (QPL) Certification and listing is required or preferred by many state DNR and worldwide forestry organizations, for wildland firefighting and structure protection products.

"TetraKO XL-P is the first 'ready biodegradable' water enhancer approved by the USDA Forest Service for use in wildland firefighting operations. Its inclusion on the QPL furthers our mission to provide organizations with better tools for their firefighting arsenal," explained James R. Grabek, EarthClean Corporation President. "We have invested a significant amount of time and resources in our plant-based product opportunities, and are looking forward to finding interested partners to accelerate the expansion of our technology to the appropriate markets." The licensees and/or partners will be exclusively responsible for the manufacturing, marketing and sales efforts in their assigned territories.

TetraKO XL easily mixes with water and can be poured directly into a wide range of existing wildland firefighting equipment, including:

Air-pressurized fire extinguishers

Backpack sprayers

Skid units

Utility vehicles (UTVs)

Helicopter buckets

Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) operations

The biodegradable mixed solution provides excellent Class-A firefighting and fire management performance.

EarthClean Corporation of St. Paul, Minnesota, develops innovative, nontoxic, and sustainable plant-based products designed for a wide range of applications, including wildland and urban firefighting. The company continues to expand its product offerings through ongoing research and development.

The Chicago Corporation is a middle-market investment banking firm that provides corporate finance services including merger and acquisition, capital raising and other financial advice to middle-market companies.

Contact: [email protected].

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160913/407040LOGO

SOURCE EarthClean Corporation

Related Links

http://earthclean.com


Make it look as pretty as it tastes. Even simple platters of crackers and cheese can feel extra special when presented on a pretty plate. If you're serving food buffet style, use a colorful tablecloth and stack sturdy boxes of varying sizes underneath to serve as risers that create some visual interest for the spread. Incorporate seasonal decorations such as ornaments or sprigs of holly and poinsettia blooms. For a plated meal, a table-runner adds just the right pop of color and a tasteful centerpiece of candles or evergreen dressed with holiday trinkets elevates an everyday table.

Offer the perfect pairings. When planning your menu, consider the types of beverages you'll serve along with the appetizers and dishes. When paired properly, food and cocktails complement one another, making the flavors more vibrant and the overall experience more impressive. A good starting place is cheese. Pair alpine-style cheese such as Roth Grand Cru with Riesling; creamy blue with gin; smoky blue with merlot; Havarti with pinot noir; Spanish-style such as Roth GranQueso with scotch; and Gouda with prosecco.

Enhance traditional favorites. Putting a fresh, elegant spin on the basics instantly elevates your menu and the overall experience for your guests. Even a staple like cheese can get some special dressing for the occasion. This recipe combines three rich, flavorful cheeses for a fondue that's sure to delight guests.

Explore more ideas for exceptional holiday entertaining at rothcheese.com.

Culinary Education Center House Fondue

Cook time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

3/4 pound Grand Cru Original, shredded

3/4 pound Grand Cru Reserve, shredded

1/2 pound Roth Fontina, shredded

16 ounces Pinot Grigio or other light- to medium-bodied white wine

1 loaf crusty artisan bread

fresh apples, grapes and pears

black and white pepper (optional)

nutmeg (optional)

Combine cheeses and wine in ceramic fondue pot and stir to combine. Allow mixture to soak 15-30 minutes.

Heat mixture over low heat, approximately 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Do not allow mixture to boil. When cheese has melted completely, remove from heat and transfer to tabletop burner.

Serve fondue with chunks of bread and fruit. If desired, provide pepper and/or nutmeg guests can sprinkle onto a plate and use for dipping bread and cheese. Pair with chilled dry Riesling and a shot of authentic Swiss kirschwasser.

Michael French

[email protected]

1-888-824-3337

editors.familyfeatures.com

About Family Features Editorial Syndicate

Established in 1974, Family Features is a leading provider of free food and lifestyle content for print and online publications. Our articles, photos, videos and web content solutions save you time, money and help create advertising opportunities. Registration is fast and free  with absolutely no obligation. Visit editors.familyfeatures.com for more information.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408290

SOURCE Family Features Editorial Syndicate

Related Links

http://www.familyfeatures.com


ST. LOUIS, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial-services firm Edward Jones will host its seventh annual diversity career event from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the firm's headquarters, 12555 Manchester Road in Des Peres.

Edward Jones offers a broad range of opportunities for talented professionals in areas such as finance, internal audit, service and operations, human resources, training and development and compliance.

Firm representatives also will be available to discuss the financial advisor and branch office administrator roles in St. Louis and around the country.

"For our firm to be successful, we must succeed at attracting, retaining and developing a talented and diverse workforce to serve the needs of our clients," said Emily Pitts, Edward Jones' principal responsible for inclusion and diversity. "The diversity career event is a unique opportunity for job seekers to meet Edward Jones hiring leaders and learn more about the exciting careers available at the firm."

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with recruiters and leaders from every division of the firm. At 5 p.m. that evening, Anthony McBride, the firm's chief human resources officer, will welcome attendees and share a few words about careers at Edward Jones.

About Edward Jones

Edward Jones, a FORTUNE 500 firm, provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work. The firm's 13,000-plus financial advisors work directly with nearly 7 million clients. Edward Jones, which ranked No. 10 on FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For 2016," is headquartered in St. Louis. The Edward Jones Web site is located at www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110120/MM33708LOGO

SOURCE Edward Jones

Related Links

http://www.edwardjones.com


NEW DELHI, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Nine Winners of the 2016 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards Join 82 Past Recipients in the Awards' Roll of Honor

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), today announced the winners of the 2016 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards and the 10th year commemoration of the awards.

First introduced in 2006, the program was officially institutionalized within India's scientific community in 2009 through Elsevier's collaboration with NASI. The awards serve to honor researchers under the age of forty years old building a career in academic research and help them gain broad recognition in India and abroad for their work.

Over the past decade, the NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards have attracted more than 4,000 applications which were reviewed by 60 scientific experts from India's scholarly community who were part of the judging panel. As of 2015, 82 winners across nine scientific disciplines have been announced.

The following nine 2016 award recipients were recognized at an award ceremony on September 15, and joined the distinguished ranks of the NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards alumni:

Agriculture

Dr. Sachin Kumar

Indian Institute of Technology , Guwahati

Biological Sciences

Dr. Amit Singh

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Chemistry

Dr. Rajnish Kumar

National Chemical Laboratory, Pune

Earth, Oceanographic & Environmental Sciences

Dr. Vinayak Sinha

Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Mohali

Engineering

Dr. Manav Bhatnagar

Indian Institute of Technology , New Delhi

Mathematics

Dr. Jaydeb Sarkar

Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore

Medicine

Dr. Biman B. Mandal

Indian Institute of Technology , Guwahati

Physics

Dr. Sanjib Kumar Agarwalla

Indian Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar

Social Sciences

Dr. Vishal Gupta

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

"The academy and Elsevier have partnered to recognize and award outstanding scientific talent in India by driving NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards," said Professor Akhilesh K. Tyagi, President, National Academy of Sciences, India. "The recipients have demonstrated great potential to be world-class through hard work, dedication and original thinking leading to innovation. These awards establish their distinction and raise expectations for exemplary leadership in fostering research for a better nation and world."

"The recent focus in India on academic competitiveness at a global level sends a strong signal to the rest of the world about this country's vision to drive innovation and growth through scientific research", said Youngsuk "Y.S." Chi, Chairman of Elsevier. "The NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards is a celebration of the finest scholarly talent India has to offer and for a decade, has represented Elsevier's commitment to supporting India's pursuit of academic excellence."

More than 600 applications were submitted for the 2016 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards from researchers of premier academic institutions across India. Elsevier provided quantitative analyses from Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, and applications were judged by a panel of 32 subject experts from India's academic community on criteria as:

Quality and number of publications

Nature and uniqueness of research

Outcomes of research

Impact on society

Vision of the researcher

Special consideration was also given to novel and innovative ideas with the potential for research commercialization.

About National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI)

Founded in the year 1930, the National Academy of Sciences, India is the oldest Science Academy of the country and is located at Allahabad. The main objective of the Academy was to provide a national forum for the publication of research work carried out by Indian scientists and to provide opportunities for exchange of views among them.

About Scopus

Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyze and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 64+ million items indexed from 21,000 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of Elsevier's Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions - among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey - and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com

Media contact

Jason Chan

Director, Corporate Relations, Elsevier

+65-6349-0240

[email protected]



SOURCE Elsevier
LAKEWOOD, CO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE MKT:UUUU; TSX:EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that due to increased demand, it has entered into an amended and restated underwriting agreement (as amended and restated, the "Underwriting Agreement") with a syndicate of underwriters led by Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation and Rodman & Renshaw a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, acting as co-lead underwriters and joint book-running managers, to increase the size of the previously announced bought deal to US$13,050,000. Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, the underwriters have agreed to buy on a bought deal, underwritten basis 7,250,000 units (the "Units") at a price of US$1.80 per Unit for gross proceeds of US$13,050,000 (the "Offering"). As previously announced, each Unit consists of one common share (each a "Share") and one half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable for five years following the closing date and will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Share upon exercise at an exercise price of US$2.45 per Share. The Company has applied to list the Warrants on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"), though listing will be subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the TSX. The Company intends to list the Warrants on the NYSE MKT within 90 days of the closing of the Offering, subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the NYSE MKT. The Company has granted the underwriters an option, exercisable at the offering price at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on the day that is the 30th day following the closing date of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 15% of the base Units offered in the Offering (which may be exercised for Units, Shares, Warrants or a combination thereof) to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. The Offering is expected to close on or about September 20, 2016, subject to obtaining customary TSX and NYSE MKT approvals.

As previously announced, the Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering (i) to continue to finance the previously announced shaft sinking and evaluation at the Company's high-grade Canyon mine project in Arizona; (ii) to continue to fund wellfield construction at the Company's Nichols Ranch Project in Wyoming; (iii) to continue permitting of the Company's projects, including Roca Honda and Jane Dough; (iv) to repay principal on outstanding indebtedness; and (v) for general corporate needs and working capital requirements. However, management of Energy Fuels will have discretion with respect to the actual use of the net proceeds of the Offering and there may be circumstances where, for sound business reasons, a reallocation of the net proceeds is necessary.

The Company intends to file a final prospectus supplement (the "Supplement") in both Canada and the United States to its Canadian short form base shelf prospectus (the "Canadian Base Prospectus") dated June 14, 2016 and its U.S. shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the "Registration Statement") which was declared effective on May 5, 2016. Before investing, you should read the prospectus in both the Canadian Base Prospectus as well as in the Registration Statement and other documents the Company has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities regulators for more complete information about the Company and this offering. Copies of the Supplement and the Underwriting Agreement will be, and the Canadian Base Prospectus and the Registration Statement are, available for free by visiting the Company's profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml, as applicable. Alternatively, investors may ask the underwriters or the Company to send them the Supplement, when available, the Canadian Base Prospectus and/or the base prospectus contained in the Registration Statement by contacting Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, attention: Equity Capital Markets, 181 University Avenue, Suite 1500, Toronto, ON, M5H 3M7, email: mailto:[email protected] or Rodman & Renshaw a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, 430 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, email: [email protected], or the Company's Investor Relations department at (303) 974-2140.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, Units, Warrants or Shares in any state or province in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state, province, or other jurisdiction.

The Company intends to rely on the exemption set forth in Section 602.1 of the TSX Company Manual which provides that the TSX will not apply certain of its requirements to issuers whose shares are listed on another recognized stock exchange such as the NYSE MKT.

About Energy Fuels Energy Fuels is a leading integrated USbased uranium mining company, supplying U 3 O 8 to major nuclear utilities. Energy Fuels holds three of America's key uranium production centers, the White Mesa Mill in Utah, the Nichols Ranch Processing Facility in Wyoming, and the Alta Mesa Project in Texas. The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today and has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U 3 O 8 per year. The Nichols Ranch Processing Facility is an in situ recovery ("ISR") production center with a licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U 3 O 8 per year. Alta Mesa is an ISR production center currently on care and maintenance. Energy Fuels also has the largest NI 43101 compliant uranium resource portfolio in the U.S. among producers, and uranium mining projects located in a number of Western U.S. states, including one producing ISR project, mines on standby, and mineral properties in various stages of permitting and development. The Company's common shares are listed on the NYSE MKT under the trading symbol "UUUU", and on the TSX under the trading symbol "EFR".

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "Forward-Looking Information" and "Forward Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the expected closing date of the Offering, the timing for listing of the Warrants on the NYSE MKT and the TSX, and the use of proceeds from the Offering. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "may," "will," "plans," "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "opportunity," "goals," or "should". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, herein are considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the closing date of the Offering (if any) or the use of proceeds from the Offering to be different from those expressed by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such events to differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with: the Company's ability to satisfy the conditions to closing of the Offering and to use the proceeds from the Offering as expected, the ability to satisfy the requirements to list the Warrants on the NYSE MKT and the TSX, which could be affected by many of the risks described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 15, 2016, which is available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and its Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is available for review on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtmland in the Supplement dated the date hereof and which will be available for review on SEDAR and EDGAR shortly. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law.

SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.

Related Links

http://www.energyfuels.com


CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Enlivant, one of the nation's largest owners and operators of senior living communities, TPG, a leading global investment firm, and TPG Real Estate, the real estate platform of TPG, announced a series of large, strategic portfolio acquisitions today from several unrelated organizations. The acquisitions result in significant operational expansion for Enlivant, adding another 48 communities, representing 3,084 independent living, assisted living, and memory care apartment units across 14 states, to the company's growing national platform. Sixteen of the communities recently closed, and the remaining thirty two communities are expected to close over the next several months, subject to customary regulatory closing conditions.

Following these acquisitions, Enlivant will operate approximately 230 senior living communities, providing residents with 11,000 apartment units across 27 states. Many of these new communities have larger total unit counts and more services than Enlivant's typical community, enabling aging residents to remain in their communities with added services such as dedicated memory care support.

"These strategic acquisitions, which directly advance our mission of enriching lives through meaningful relationships and vibrant communities, usher in a new and exciting era of robust growth at Enlivant," said Jack R. Callison Jr., Chief Executive Officer. "Although these acquisitions expand the size of our national portfolio by nearly 40 percent, we continue to strive not to become the nation's largest senior living provider, but to become the nation's most trusted senior living provider."

Enlivant was acquired by TPG in 2013. Throughout the life of the growing partnership, Enlivant has continually enhanced its operational capabilities and expanded its national footprint through both organic growth and external acquisitions.

"These transactions mark a period of significant business momentum for Enlivant as they continue to scale their national operating platform while maintaining their founding commitment of providing each of their residents with the highest level of attentive, individualized, and personalized care in a home-like setting," said Avi Banyasz, Partner and Co-Head of TPG Real Estate. "We look forward to growing our long-term partnership with Enlivant by fully and thoughtfully integrating these new communities and further building out this industry-leading business."

The acquired communities are located in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

About Enlivant

With a proud nearly 35-year history as pioneers in the assisted living industry, Enlivant and its subsidiaries, upon the closing of these acquisitions, will operate approximately 230 senior living communities, representing 11,000 apartment units across 27 states. At Enlivant, we are in the business of enriching lives through meaningful relationships and vibrant communities. The ultimate vision for our organization is to earn the right to be viewed as the nation's most trusted senior living provider, by living our core values  Compassion, Humility, Integrity, Excellence and Fun. Our more than 7,000 employees are passionate about their individual role as part of a larger organization that places a premium on culture, values and teamwork. Sound "different"? That's because we are. For more information, please visit www.Enlivant.com.

About TPG Real Estate

TPG Real Estate ("TPGRE") is the real estate platform of TPG, a leading global private investment firm with over $70 billion of assets under management and 17 offices around the world. TPGRE includes both TPG Real Estate Partners, its equity investment platform, and TPG Real Estate Finance Trust, its debt origination and acquisition platform. Collectively, the two platforms have in excess of $7 billion of assets under management. TPG Real Estate Partners has invested or committed to invest approximately $3.5 billion of equity in North America and Europe since 2009 and focuses primarily on investments in property-rich platforms and companies. TPG Real Estate Partners leverages the full resources of TPG in its value-added approach to investing to optimize property performance and enhance platform capabilities. TPG Real Estate Finance Trust manages an approximately $3.2 billion commercial real estate loan portfolio and originates and acquires senior and mezzanine real estate loans across a broad spectrum of asset classes in North America. For more information please visit www.tpg.com

Media Contacts

Enlivant

Amanda Pollard

[email protected]

312-914-4417

TPG

Luke Barrett

(212) 601-4752

[email protected]

SOURCE Enlivant

Related Links

http://www.enlivant.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fintech Telecom, LLC ("Fintech Telecom") announced today that, along with its affiliates Fintech Advisory Inc. and David Martinez, it has commenced a previously announced all-cash tender offer in the U.S. (the "U.S. Offer") for all outstanding Class B Shares held by U.S. holders and all outstanding American depositary shares ("ADSs") of Telecom Argentina S.A. ("Telecom Argentina") for U.S.$3.925 per Class B Share and U.S.$19.625 per ADS, without interest and less applicable withholding taxes, fees and paid distributions.

The terms and conditions of the U.S. Offer are described in the U.S. Offer to Purchase, the Letter of Transmittal and related documents filed by Fintech Telecom and its affiliates with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") today, September 15, 2016.

Simultaneously with the U.S. Offer, Fintech Telecom is making an offer (the "Argentine Offer," and together with the U.S. Offer, the "Offers"), in accordance with the tender offer rules of the Republic of Argentina, to purchase all outstanding Class B Shares of Telecom Argentina not owned by Fintech or its affiliates, for the same price and on substantially the same terms as the U.S. Offer (except that tendering holders in the Argentine Offer will be paid in Argentine pesos).

The U.S. Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time on October 21, 2016, unless the offer period is extended by Fintech Telecom.

Additional Information

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities of TEO. Complete terms and conditions of the U.S. Offer are set forth in the U.S. Offer to Purchase, Letter of Transmittal and other related materials that were filed by the Bidders with the SEC today. In addition, Telecom Argentina is required to file a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 and 13E-3 with the SEC relating to the U.S. Offer. Copies of the U.S. Offer to Purchase, Letter of Transmittal and other related materials are available free of charge from D.F. King & Co., Inc., the U.S. information agent for the U.S. Offer, toll free at (866) 721-1211, or for bankers and brokers, at (212) 269-5550 or via email at [email protected] . The receiving agent in the U.S. for purposes of the U.S. Offer is Computershare, Inc.

SOURCE Fintech Telecom, LLC
Fleet Complete ranks 416th on PROFIT and Canadian Business 28th annual list of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies

TORONTO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Fleet Complete, an award-winning global telematics company, specializing in IoT and fleet management solutions, has been recognized by Canadian Business and PROFIT as one of the fastest-growing companies on the annual PROFIT 500 list. The list represents the highest tier of entrepreneurialism in Canada and, for eight consecutive years, Fleet Complete has been acknowledged among the most successful Canadian businesses, evaluated by their five-year revenue growth. The rankings will be published in the upcoming October issue of the Canadian Business magazine and at PROFITguide.com.

"Companies become a part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit," says James Cowan, Editor-in-chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. "These firms demonstrate what Canadian entrepreneurs can achieve, both at home and across the globe."

"It is a great honour and privilege to be included in the PROFIT 500 ranking for eight years in a row and to be once again among an esteemed group of Canadian companies that have demonstrated business excellence," said Tony Lourakis, CEO of Fleet Complete. "Fleet Complete's five-year revenue growth of 109% is in direct correlation with our solid business strategy, bolstered by strong partnerships, continuous product development, first-rate talent and a drive to be the industry leader."

Visit Fleet Complete: fleetcomplete.com

Like us on Facebook: @FleetComplete

Follow us on Twitter: @fleetcomplete

About PROFIT and PROFITguide.com

PROFIT is Canada's preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 33 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT at PROFITguide.com.

About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total print readership of more than 600,000, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. We provide concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and great photography. Canadian Businesswhat leadership looks like.

About Fleet Complete

Based in Toronto, Fleet Complete is a global IoT provider of mission critical fleet, asset and mobile workforce management solutions. For more than fifteen years, Fleet Complete has been providing dispatching, fleet tracking and mobile resource management solutions to over 5,000 companies worldwide. The company maintains key distribution partnerships with AT&T in the US and TELUS in Canada. Fleet Complete is one of the fastest-growing companies in North America and has won numerous awards for innovation and growth since its inception in 2000 (as Complete Innovations Inc.).

SOURCE Fleet Complete

Related Links

www.fleetcomplete.com


Police are looking for two men who harassed a couple on a subway platform last week, then proceeded to beat and choke them.

The incident happened on Monday September 5th, around 5:50 p.m. at the 149th St.-Grand Concourse station in The Bronx. Cops say the men were harassing the 28-year-old female victim when her 21-year-old boyfriend intervened. One of the assailants then put him in a headlock, while the other started punching him in the face and body. When the woman tried to stop them, one of the men started punching her in the face and knocked her to the ground.

Police released video of the attack, taken by a witness, which you can see below.

The male victim suffered fractures to his face; both victims were treated for injuries at Lincoln Hospital.

The suspects are described as both 18-to-25 years old, 5'8"-5'10"; one was last seen wearing a black and gray t-shirt with the "ninety" and the number 3" on it and white jeans, while the other suspect was last seen wearing a black t-shirt and dark colored pants.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
ATLANTA, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BIAS Corporation, a leading IT solutions company, announced today that the company was named one of the Top 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the country by Inc. magazine for the seventh year.

BIAS Corporation made the Inc. 5000 List for its remarkable growth rate of 96% over the past three years. Notably, BIAS did revenue of $74.2 million in addition to adding 44 jobs. BIAS also made the 2016 Inc. 5000 Honor Roll for being honored seven times on the Inc. 5000 List.

"We are thrilled that our focus on providing world class technology solutions to our customers has led to business growth and success for our dedicated team," said Dinesh Senanayake, Chief Financial Officer, BIAS Corporation. "We have invested heavily in the latest technologies and in employing the best people in the industry, which has been recognized and leveraged by our customers in both commercial and public sectors. We hope to continue to empower our customers by offering solutions in fast growing technologies related to Cloud, Security, Oracle Applications, Business Intelligence and Big Data."

Inc. 500|5000 Methodology

The 2016 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2012 to 2015. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2012. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2015. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2012 is $100,000; the minimum for 2015 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.



About BIAS Corporation

BIAS Corporation is a global systems integrator servicing both commercial and public sector clients with primary offices in Atlanta, Denver, Washington DC, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. The firm specializes in client technology acquisition, strategy, design, implementation, and management of comprehensive IT solutions. BIAS is known for its flagship Oracle consulting practices in the following areas:



Oracle Applications  E-Business Suite, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft

Fusion Middleware  Security, Portal/Content Management, Integration, and Custom & Mobile Applications

Business Analytics  Big Data, Oracle BI Technologies, Oracle BI Apps, and Hyperion EPM Apps

Engineered Systems  Exadata, Exalogic, Exalytics, ZFS, Big Data Appliance, SuperCluster, and Private Cloud Appliance

Oracle Sun Servers, Storage, and Data Center Management

Cloud Managed Services  Oracle Applications, SaaS, BI, BICS, Middleware, DB, PaaS, Infrastructure, IaaS, and related technologies



BIAS works closely with Oracle Development, Product Management, Support, and Sales to build and deploy high performance enterprise business solutions in addition to providing clients with cost-saving managed services for turnkey systems management. For more information on BIAS, please visit the company's website at www.biascorp.com.

Contact:

Ashley Sherwood

BIAS Corporation

+1.770.685.6212

[email protected]

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SOURCE BIAS Corporation

Related Links

http://www.biascorp.com


DUBLIN, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Respiratory Protection Equipment Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The report forecasts the global respiratory protection market to grow at a CAGR of 6.84% during the period 2016-2020.

Emphasis on comfort and personalization will be a key trend for market growth. The fit of the equipment often determines its effectiveness in providing protection to the wearer. Good fit and comfort play a vital role in the effective working of PPE, and manufacturers are abandoning the one-size-fits-all model as fit differs from one person to the next. Proper fit is crucial to protecting the wearer from harmful particles. For instance, Advantage Half-Mask 420 respirators offered by MSA Safety have its UniBond over-mold facepiece to eliminate leaks and AnthroCurve face seal, which adapts to various head sizes and facial contours, offering the wearer comfort and fit. The comfort of the equipment will also increase wearer compliance. Companies often customize the equipment to suit specific working environments. For instance, US-based Total Safety, a leading provider of industrial respiratory protection solutions offers custom designs to comply with end-users' specific requirement.

According to the report, increase in terrorist attacks will be a key driver for market growth. From 1970 to 2014, 143 terrorist attacks, including 95 chemical, 35 biological, and 13 radiological, were reported globally. The increased threat of chemical attacks forces countries to improve their preparedness in future and equip their rescue and law enforcement forces with proper ammunition as well as safety equipment. Although RPE are not effective against all forms of chemical or biological attacks, gas masks, used properly, can protect wearers to an extent.

Further, the report states that for an organization, purchasing PPE like RPE for its employees is expensive.

Key vendors:

Avon Protection Systems

3M

Honeywell

MSA Safety

Key Topics Covered:

PART 01: Executive summary

PART 02: Scope of the report

PART 03: Market research methodology

PART 04: Introduction

PART 05: Market landscape

PART 06: Market segmentation by product

PART 07: Market segmentation by end-user

PART 08: Geographical segmentation

PART 09: Market drivers

PART 10: Impact of drivers

PART 11: Market challenges

PART 12: Impact of drivers and challenges

PART 13: Market trends

PART 14: Vendor landscape

PART 15: Other prominent vendors

PART 16: Appendix

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3hxgll/global

Related Topics: Workwear, Respiratory Devices

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


ANNAPOLIS, Md., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. ("Hannon Armstrong," "we", "our" or the "Company;") (NYSE: HASI), a leading provider of debt and equity financing to the energy efficiency and renewable energy markets, today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per share of common stock, payable on October 13, 2016, to stockholders of record on October 5, 2016. Based upon the Company's common stock closing price of $22.48 per share on September 14, 2016, the dividend represents an annualized yield of 5.3%.

About Hannon Armstrong

Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI) provides debt and equity financing to the energy efficiency and renewable energy markets. We focus on providing preferred or senior level capital to established sponsors and high credit quality obligors for assets that generate long-term, recurring and predictable cash flows. We are based in Annapolis, Maryland.

Forward Looking Statements

Some of the information in this press release contains forward-looking statements and within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this press release, words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "continue," "intend," "should," "may," "target," or similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements include those discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), as well as in other reports that we file with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, assumptions and expectations as of the date of this press release. We disclaim any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements reflecting new estimates, events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Investor Relations

410-571-6189

[email protected]

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SOURCE Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hannonarmstrong.com


WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein Medical Systems, Inc., developers of MicroMD Practice Management and Electronic Health Records (EHR) and a subsidiary of Henry Schein, Inc., announced today its relationship with Forerun, Inc., to sell, implement and support a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based charting solution. The solution, exclusively distributed by Henry Schein as of October 2016, will help clinicians improve workflow efficiencies as a result of accelerating the administrative documentation of a patient's visit.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407898

When patient information is entered into MicroMD's practice management software, the SaaS solution quickly captures the insurance provider and primary care physician's name, as well as check-in time. When checking out of the software at the end of a visit, charges from the visit are sent back to MicroMD and a claim is generated.

"We are excited to partner with Forerun to provide a native cloud SaaS solution that will expedite the documentation of patient charting in the primary, specialty and urgent care settings," said Heather Ansell, General Manager, Henry Schein Medical Systems. "Forerun's expertise in the development of emergency medical and urgent care EHR designs, coupled with Henry Schein Medical System's leading practice management technologies and knowledge of the ambulatory clinical space, will allow us to provide technology positioned to bring speed and agility."

The Forerun EHR solution was developed by physicians to help capture, prioritize and disseminate patient information in the urgent care and ambulatory market similar to the charting tools used by top providers in the ER (Emergency room) environment.

"Henry Schein Medical Systems is an excellent partner for Forerun as we look to expand the functionality of our solutions for the benefit of enabling customers to deliver more efficient, 'smarter care,'" said Ken Wolfe, CEO of Forerun. "Bringing together Forerun's expertise in optimizing day-to-day operations with fast charting technology and MicroMD's development of practice management solutions, we can deliver a complete and robust solution for the ambulatory market and help practitioners operate a more efficient practice so they can focus on providing quality patient care."

For more information, visit www.micromd.com or call 800-624-8832.

About Henry Schein Medical Systems, Inc.

Henry Schein Medical Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Henry Schein, Inc., provides simple yet powerful EMR and Practice Management solutions that facilitate the delivery of superior patient care, automate incentive and quality reporting activities, and streamline operations for today's busy providers. Full-featured, time-tested and budget-friendly, MicroMD EMR is 2014 Edition Complete Ambulatory certified software that helps small practices, large medical groups, community health centers, and billing services accelerate progress toward a paperless environment and health information exchange with minimal disruption and stress. Learn more at www.micromd.com.

About Henry Schein, Inc.

Henry Schein, Inc. is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners. The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites. Henry Schein employs more than 19,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than one million customers.

The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 110,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 150,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 33 countries. The Company's sales reached a record $10.6 billion in 2015, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 15 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995. For more information, visit Henry Schein at www.henryschein.com, Facebook.com/HenrySchein and @HenrySchein on Twitter.

About Forerun

Forerun, Inc. is a preeminent electronic clinical documentation, display and decision support software and services company that provided as a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution to Urgent Care facilities and Emergency Departments. Forerun's sophisticated display and analytics platform transforms disparate clinical data into critical, timely and actionable information allowing health care providers to make better informed and effective decisions on the clinical management of their patients.

Forerun's specialized urgent care EHR UrgiChart helps capture, prioritize and disseminate patient information according to the "logic" of unscheduled care as it is actually practiced by top urgent care providers. Forerun's innovative architecture EHR design displaces the old-school EHR electronic chief complaint method and unleashes the power of computing technology to deliver a new charting experience that allow for fast and complete charting with a logical flow designed by physicians.

The company's products are deployed at numerous teaching and community hospitals and Urgent Care Centers across the U.S. Forerun is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.urgichart.com.

CONTACT:

Destinee Mack

Director of Business Development, Forerun, Inc.

[email protected]

(407) 703-2303

www.urgichart.com

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE Forerun, Inc.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Partners Trust, a leading real estate company in Los Angeles, announced that new development specialist and top producing agent Horacio LeDon has joined the brokerage as Head of New Development. In this capacity, LeDon will oversee the company's newly-launched New Development division and is charged with turning Partners Trust into one of the preeminent players in Los Angeles' burgeoning new-development arena.

Previously President of Douglas Elliman's New Development business in Florida and California, LeDon was responsible for bringing in Greenland Group's Metropolis project, the largest mixed-use development on the West Coast and the key to Downtown Los Angeles's explosive condominium boom. While overseeing Douglas Elliman's Florida and California developments, LeDon was instrumental in growing the portfolio from $500 million to more than $4 billion. His properties included Ian Schrager's The Residences at The Miami Beach EDITION, Faena House, and architect Rem Koolhaas' Park Grove development in Miami.

"I am thrilled to join the collaborative culture that exists at Partners Trust, and I love the company's approach to marketing, its technology platform, and the global reach we'll enjoy with their strong presence in Asia," said LeDon. "The brokerage's CEO, Nick Segal, wants to grow the division organically and that was a big draw for me."

"We are delighted that Horacio chose Partners Trust," said Nick Segal, CEO and Founder of Partners Trust. "It's a pure joy having someone with Horacio's know-how of all aspects of new development, his industry-leading experience, and sales track record to become part of our team and to be at the helm of this new division."

Prior to joining Douglas Elliman in 2013, LeDon was the founder of the eponymous brokerage Horacio LeDon Real Estate, with offices in NYC, Miami, and Los Angeles. Previously, he was West Coast Senior Vice President for Starwood Capital's ST Residential unit.

To learn more about Partners Trust New Development visit newdevelopment.thepartnerstrust.com/. To contact Horacio LeDon, email at [email protected]. For further questions please contact [email protected].

ABOUT PARTNERS TRUST

Partners Trust is a discerning and conscientious real estate company in Los Angeles  now with nine offices and more than 240 associates. It leverages its global network, media savvy, and command of the market to provide clients with a discreet and peerless level of real estate service. Partners Trust associates are distinguished by their high sales volume and reputed for their integrity, market intelligence and a genuine connection to their communities. With offices in Malibu, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica, La Canada, Manhattan Beach, and Pasadena, Partners Trust has been on the Los Angeles Business Journal's "Best Places to Work in Los Angeles" list for the past seven years, and it is the exclusive Los Angeles area member of Leverage Global Partners. Partners Trust recently opened its first international office in Shanghai, China. Learn more at www.thepartnerstrust.com.

Media Contact: Brian Cooley, [email protected], 1-310-480-9100

SOURCE Partners Trust

Related Links

http://www.thepartnerstrust.com


HOUSTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperdynamics Corporation (OTCQX:HDYN) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, SCS Corporation Ltd. ("SCS"), and the Government of the Republic of Guinea have executed a Second Amendment to the 2006 Production Sharing Contract ("PSC"). The document was signed by the Director General of the National Petroleum Office, Diakara Koulibaly and Ray Leonard, Hyperdynamics' President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Second Amendment will be effective on the date it is approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Guinea. The Second Amendment was entered into in accordance with the August 2016 Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between SCS and the Republic of Guinea and formally extends the PSC to September 22, 2017 and confirms that SCS is the 100% interest holder and the Operator in the Concession.

In addition clarifying certain elements of the PSC, the Second Amendment includes the following terms:

Hyperdynamics will retain an area equivalent to approximately 5000 square kilometers in the Guinea offshore and during the one year extension period will drill one (1) exploratory well with a projected commencement date of April 2017 with additional wells optional.

offshore and during the one year extension period will drill one (1) exploratory well with a projected commencement date of with additional wells optional. Hyperdynamics will provide a parent company guarantee for the well obligation, monthly progress reports, and a reconciliation of budget to actual expenditures to the National Petroleum Office ("NPO"). Failure to provide these reports and assurances on a timely basis may result in a notice of termination with a 30 day period to cure.

Hyperdynamics will further guarantee to Guinea that (1) no later than January 21, 2017 it will provide a mutually acceptable security for $5,000,000 on terms customary in international petroleum operations, provided that this security is to be released at the time the drilling rig for the Extension Well is on location offshore Guinea , and (2) no later than April 12, 2017 , Hyperdynamics will deliver a mutually acceptable security for the difference between $46,000,000 and the amount spent to date on the Extension Well. For the purposes of calculation for this clause, however, only cost spent for services and goods provided in Guinea shall be taken into account until the drilling rig to be used in the drilling of the Extension Well is located in the territorial waters of the Republic of Guinea . If Hyperdynamics does not provide either security by the specified dates, the Government of Guinea may terminate the PSC immediately and without prior notice to remedy such deficiency.

that (1) no later than it will provide a mutually acceptable security for on terms customary in international petroleum operations, provided that this security is to be released at the time the drilling rig for the Extension Well is on location offshore , and (2) no later than , Hyperdynamics will deliver a mutually acceptable security for the difference between and the amount spent to date on the Extension Well. For the purposes of calculation for this clause, however, only cost spent for services and goods provided in shall be taken into account until the drilling rig to be used in the drilling of the Extension Well is located in the territorial waters of the Republic of . If Hyperdynamics does not provide either security by the specified dates, the Government of may terminate the PSC immediately and without prior notice to remedy such deficiency. By January 31, 2017 Hyperdynamics will move into the territory of Guinea the long lead items it received in its settlement with Tullow and Dana that are currently in Takoradi, Ghana for the drilling of the exploration well.

Hyperdynamics will move into the territory of the long lead items it received in its settlement with Tullow and Dana that are currently in Takoradi, for the drilling of the exploration well. If the exploratory the well is not drilled within the one (1) year extension period, Hyperdynamics will owe the Government of Guinea the difference between the actual expenditures in Guinea related to the well and $46,000,000 .

the difference between the actual expenditures in related to the well and . Hyperdynamics will allocate and administer a training budget during the extension period for the benefit of the NPO of $250,000 in addition to any unused portion of the training program under Article 10.3 of the PSC, estimated to be approximately $500,000 .

in addition to any unused portion of the training program under Article 10.3 of the PSC, estimated to be approximately . The cost recovery pool to date is limited to Hyperdynamics' share of expenditures in the PSC since 2009, estimated to be approximately $150,000,000 .

Mr. Leonard stated, "I am pleased with the Government of Guinea's continued support of Hyperdynamics and look forward to the opportunity to drill the Fatala well in the near future. Our efforts now shift to taking the operational steps in preparation for the drilling and in raising the required funds and/or teaming up with a partner in order to comply with the terms of the PSC Amendment."

About Hyperdynamics

Hyperdynamics is an emerging independent oil and gas exploration company that is exploring for oil and gas offshore the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. To find out more, visit our website at www.hyperdynamics.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release and the Company's website referenced in this news release contain forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding Hyperdynamics Corporation's future plans and expected performance that are based on assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable. Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "projects", "estimates", "plans", "may increase", "may result", "will result", "may fluctuate" and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will", "should", "would", "may" and "could" are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements, including without limitation, funding and exploration efforts, fluctuations in oil and gas prices and other risk factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Reports on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Jun 30, 2015 and Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2016. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the issuance of this news release or to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with respect to these forward looking statements.

SOURCE Hyperdynamics Corporation

Related Links

http://www.hyperdynamics.com


AUGUSTA, Ga., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels (HHOW) and Augusta-area Hyundai dealers will present Children's Hospital of Georgia with a $250,000 Scholar Grant to be used to improve care and increase treatment options for kids with cancer. Children's Hospital of Georgia was one of 24 recipients across the country selected by a rigorous scientific review panel to receive this highly competitive Hyundai Scholar Grant.

The $250,000 Scholar Grant will be presented at Children's Hospital of Georgia, 1446 Harper Street, Augusta, GA 30912 on Friday, September 16 at 10:00am at a Handprint Ceremony during which the handprints of local Augusta-area brave young cancer patients will be captured on a white 2016 Hyundai Tucson  the Hyundai Hope On Wheels hero vehicle  to commemorate their fight against the disease.

The ceremony will also feature*:

Russell Keen , Executive Vice President for External Relations and Chief of Staff to the President, Augusta University

Executive Vice President for External Relations and Chief of Staff to the President, Lee Ann Liska , Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and Chief Executive Officer, August University Medical Center

Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and Chief Executive Officer, August University Medical Center Dr. Theodore Johnson , Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, GRU Medical College of Georgia

, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, GRU Sue Wideman , mother of Jessica Wideman , a pediatric cancer patient

mother of , a pediatric cancer patient Hardie Davis, Jr. , Mayor, City of Augusta

, Mayor, Walter Dawson , Senior Manager, Regional Genesis Operations, Southern Region, Hyundai Motor America

Senior Manager, Regional Genesis Operations, Southern Region, Hyundai Motor America Todd Torchia , General Manager, Taylor Hyundai

*ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW AND PHOTO/B-ROLL OPPORTUNITIES*

"Our mission at Hyundai Hope On Wheels is clear: End Childhood Cancer," said Dave Zuchowski, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. "These individual awards to hospitals and organizations across the country are pivotal to ending childhood cancer. Although there remains a lot more work to be done, the innovation that comes from this research will ultimately help us find a cure. To all the kids, families and cancer researchers fighting this terrible disease  you are not alone and we remain committed to this important cause."

About the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Scholar Grants and Handprint Ceremonies

The Scholar Senior Research Grants will fund childhood research projects designed to improve the treatment and quality of life for children with cancer. The ultimate goal of the Scholar Senior Research Grant program is to find cures for childhood cancers once and for all. This year alone, HHOW will award more than $13 million in new pediatric cancer grants. Since 1998, the program has funded $115 million in research to Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions nationwide. The program also creates awareness about the importance of the disease, which is the leading cause of death by disease in children in the United States (source).

Attendees at the various ceremonies will include HHOW's two national youth ambassadors and pediatric cancer survivors, Hannah Adams and Ryan Darby, who will deliver a message of hope to children's cancer hospitals. Hannah, now 13 years old, was only five years old when she was diagnosed with a Stage 3 Wilms tumor that enveloped her kidney. Since her recovery, she has pursued her love of dancing and singing to help uplift and encourage other children and families through their fight. Thirteen-year-old Ryan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia six years ago, and since his recovery, he has shared his story and words of encouragement with children and families across the country. Watch Hannah and Ryan's story at www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org

2016 National Call To Action: Give Hope A Hand

In addition to funding a multitude of research projects this September, HHOW is encouraging the public to contribute to the fight against childhood cancer in a personal way. The journey begins with one simple request: Give Hope A Hand. We invite visitors to the newly refreshed website at hyundaihopeonwheels.org to tell how they will use their hands in the fight against pediatric cancer. Once there visitors can Learn + Care + Do + Give = Hope. There are a number of additional engaging, interactive ways the public can get involved and use their hands for good.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $115 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

To learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org or follow us on social media at www.facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, www.twitter.com/hopeonwheels, and www.youtube.com/hopeonwheels.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide.

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com and our blog at www.hyundailikesunday.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

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SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

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SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year, hundreds of independent dealers who previously attended Innovate: The Independent Dealer Conference will instead set their sights on DealerSocket's User Summit. The 7th annual conference will host dealers from both the franchised and independent space, with more than 1,100 guests expected.

This is the first year that User Summit attendees will be able to choose an independent track (from 70+ total classes) that highlights today's most pressing compliance issues, industry insights and best practices from other dealers, as well as new independent technology.

Breakout sessions will cover the latest developments in compliance; digital marketing; customer experience; DMS, CRM and inventory management technology; business management; sales and marketing; and more. There is even a track covering the sales, service, F&I, and collections concerns of buy-here-pay-here dealers.

"We are thrilled to expand our annual User Summit to welcome former Innovate attendees into the fold. Last year, we introduced a small selection of independent classes, but starting this year, we are officially merging with Innovate and multiplying our schedule to include a Texas-sized offering for independent attendees," said Peter Ord, National Sales Director, Independent, at DealerSocket. "Whether you are a member of the DealerSocket family or just interested in educating yourself on the issues facing your business, User Summit will prepare you for the future of independent."

Among the many surprises in store, DealerSocket will officially launch Blackbird at this year's event, complete with on-site demos. Blackbird includes the company's brand-new CRM, as well as the long-awaited iDMS. DealerSocket will also release its second annual Independent Dealership Action Report, a comprehensive, data-packed guide on the state of today's independent industry and how dealers can thrive amidst its challenges.

User Summit 2016 will take place Oct. 35 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. Two huge names in the independent market will be announced soon as featured speakers. In the meantime, for more information or to register for this year's User Summit, visit http://usersummit.dealersocket.com/ind.

About DealerSocket

DealerSocket is a leading automotive technology platform that helps dealerships in the United States, Canada, and Australia improve profitability through a fully integrated suite of marketing, sales, service, customer experience, DMS, websites, data mining, and inventory management solutions. Headquartered in San Clemente, Calif., DealerSocket employs more than 1,000 people, and serves more than 10,000 dealerships and 300,000 active users in the United States, Canada, and Australia. DealerSocket's advanced technology provides benchmarking data that paces the industry, and its insightful experts identify trends and develop strategic roadmaps that help dealers optimize processes and operate more profitably. Visit dealersocket.com/ind for more information.

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SOURCE DealerSocket

Related Links

http://www.dealersocket.com


"Consumer research confirms that the majority of consumers are researching window tint on mobile devices. We are pleased to provide an industry-leading film viewer for our dealers to provide the best experience to consumers, regardless of the devices they are using to research," said Darrell Reed, Commercial DirectorNorth America. "Now mobile users can see how their vehicles look with LLumar window film."

In 2015, Insignia released the window film viewer as a custom tool for the global LLumar website using Insignia's software and patented process (US Patent No. 8,566,714).

"We appreciate the partnership and the opportunity to work with the forward-thinking team at Eastman," says David Stringer, president of Insignia Group. "Eastman's investment in Insignia's technology is growing their market share and pushing the specialty equipment and Vehicle Personalization industry forward."

According to Stringer, the mobile responsive features of the LLumar film viewer are part of a larger vehicle-to-accessory visual configurator redesign already underway. The rollout of the redesign will begin in the fall of 2016.

About Insignia Group

Insignia Group is the innovator and industry leader of accessory sales process consulting and configurator software. Insignia drives exceptional Vehicle Personalization sales training, configurator software, continual leadership, and process improvement to the automotive industry. These core deliverables improve the customer experience, increase customer satisfaction, reduce sales staff turnover, and maximize profits. Insignia currently supports 18 vehicle brands, and serves dealerships nationwide. Insignia's software solution manages the fulfillment of nearly $85,000,000 in accessory sales transactions annually. For more information, visit www.insigniagroup.com

About Eastman

Eastman is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. Eastman focuses on creating consistent, superior value for all stakeholders. As a globally diverse company, Eastman serves customers in approximately 100 countries and had 2014 revenues of approximately $9.5 billion. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA and employs approximately 15,000 people around the world. For more information, visit www.eastman.com.

Media Contact:

Tanja Krouse

Insignia Group, LC

888-579-4458

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407550

SOURCE Insignia Group, LC

Related Links

http://www.insigniagroup.com


JERUSALEM, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Israel's tenth president, Reuven Rivlin, visited the Friends of Zion (FOZ) Museum - one of the newest attractions in the very heart of Jerusalem - inviting visitors from all over the world to experience the courageous stories of Christians who have supported the Jewish people and the State of Israel over the last 200 years. The Museum is located in Nahalat Shiva on Yosef Rivlin Street, which is named after President Rivlin's grandfather Yosef.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin  joined by Dr. Evans, Museum Founder, and Gen. Peled, raised by Christians during the Holocaust  watching an introductory video by his predecessor, Shimon Peres, International Chairman of the Friends of Zion Museum. Photo Credit: Yossi Zamir

The President arrived at the museum yesterday as an official guest of the Museum's founder Dr. Mike Evans and Israeli Chairman of the Board, Gen. Yossi Peled.

Dr. Evans and Gen. Peled presented President Rivlin with a special piece of art from the museum. Over 70,000 visitors have come in the first year and over 7 million Friends of Zion worldwide have joined via social networks. President Rivlin thanked those affiliated with the FOZ Museum for their work and stressed the importance and the educational value of the exhibition. He expressed his "great appreciation for the work done in the Museum and for the friendship between different peoples, regardless of politics, simply because of their love for Israel and the Jewish people."

Since the Museum's opening last year, the International Chairman of the Board, former Israeli President, Shimon Peres has presented along with Dr. Evans, 'Friends of Zion Awards' to President George W. Bush, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and Pope Francis.

President Rivlin saw firsthand the groundbreaking technology used in the exhibits, which allows visitors from around the world to experience the unfolding story in 16 different languages as though stepping back in time. Exhibits employ a wide range of integrated and interactive technologies, from 3D presentations and giant touch screens to video mapping projections on unique sculptures and complex rotoscope animations that transform live-action video footage into a painted media.

The FOZ Museum opened in Jerusalem one year ago with the vision of serving as a bridge, enabling people from around the world to join the scores of people throughout history who have supported the people, the promise and the State of Israel.

Friends of Zion Museum, 20 Yosef Rivlin Street, Jerusalem. A reservation is recommended for museum visits: website: www.fozmuseum.com, email: [email protected], or phone: +972-2-532-9400.

Media contact: Karen Gold Anisfeld, PR360 Ltd. Mobile: +972-54-420-9578, [email protected], telefax: +972-3-544-9494

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408325

SOURCE The Friends of Zion Museum

Related Links

http://www.fozmuseum.com/


The Verizon Building has long been a festering boil of mediocrity on Lower Manhattan's otherwise stunning skyline. When standing on the Brooklyn side of the East River, the beige beast is positioned directly next to the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, meaning every shot of this majestic view is ruined by its very existence. The eyesore is not only visually appalling because of its dowdy design, it's also topped with a big red checkmark atop the word 'VERIZON.' Look at it:



In 2008. (Gothamist)

It is arguably the ugliest in Manhattan, which is an especially dreadful title given its location: it's not hidden away in the layers of Midtown, it's making up the city's iconic downtown skyline. It's right in the sweet spot, directly next to the one of our greatest and visually stunning landmarks. You can't escape it!



(Gothamist)

In 2008, a Brooklyn man was so offended by the building, which he would see while on evening strolls with his new paramour, that he somehow made headlines! At the time, Verizon said they'd just sold part of the building to developers, and planned to open up the facade with a "new glass curtain wall." And now, eight years later, it's all happening. The 375 Pearl Street building has now shed some of its bulky brown shell, and added some glassthis is the state of things as of this week:



2016 (Scott Heins/Gothamist)

Sabey Data Center Properties is behind the renovation of the 32-story, 1.1-million square-foot building (originally designed by Rose, Beaton & Rose in the 1970s). The new plan will create 15 floors of office space, according to NY Yimby, with "three sides of the building on the new office levels receiv[ing] a glass facade." The renovation will be completed later this year.



(Rendering via Sabey, photo by Scott Heins/Gothamist)

Sadly, the renderings show the Verizon checkmark still topping the building off.
DENVER, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For the fourth time in a row, Jay Tiftickjian has been voted best DUI lawyer by Colorado Law Week, the official bar journal for the Colorado legal community. According to Tiftickjian, he's humbled to once again receive the coveted title.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407622

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407623

Attorney Jay Tiftickjian Best Denver DUI Lawyer

"It is an honor to be named Barrister's Best DUI lawyer and for my peers and the Colorado legal community to again consider me for the People's Choice award," stated Tiftickjian. "My team and I work very hard and to see that our efforts are recognized in court is special."

This is Tiftickjian's third "Barrister's Best" award by the journal. He also received the title in 2012 and 2013. In addition to his recognition in Colorado Law Week, Tiftickjian has been recognized by many independent publications and organizations that list the top lawyers in the country.

"I am grateful for the continued recognition. It's truly an honor," stated Tiftickjian. "We put an enormous amount of effort into remaining one of the most competitive law firms in the State of Colorado in an effort to provide top-notch service to our clients."

Along with being an accomplished trial lawyer, Tiftickjian is also an author and legal analyst. He has received extensive training in breath tests, blood tests, drugged driving evaluations, and field sobriety testing. In addition, he has been called upon multiple times to organize Colorado Criminal Defense Bar seminars specialized to DUI defense.

To learn more and Tiftickjian and his law firm, click here.

About Tiftickjian Law Firm: Tiftickjian Law Firm, P.C. is a Colorado law firm with a focus on DUI defense, drug related charges and major traffic offenses. Criminal defense attorneys Jay Tiftickjian, Travis Zeigler and James Nechleba litigate cases in Denver and throughout Colorado with a primary focus on driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs cases. In addition, attorney Douglas Barnes provides over 30 years of defense experience as a defense attorney and former public defender.

Media contact:

Jay Tiftickjian

Email

303-991-5896

SOURCE Tiftickjian Law Firm
FREIBURG, Germany, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jedox AG, a leading vendor of self-service Enterprise Planning and Business Intelligence software, will host its fifth annual Global Partner Summit from September 27-29, 2016 in Berlin. Over 100 business partners from more than 25 countries will get an exclusive preview of its upcoming Jedox 7 release and explore what is keeping Jedox ahead of the technology curve.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408318LOGO



Jedox has invited business partners from all over the world to align, connect and create innovative planning solutions that enable organizations to thrive in an accelerating digital environment. This year's summit, which revolves around the theme "Model Your Success", will provide an exclusive preview of the upcoming Jedox 7 release featuring Jedox Models. These out-of-the-box planning applications for the Office of Finance, Sales, HR and other business areas can be combined to form one integrated planning solution. Intensive technical, sales and business briefings at the Jedox Partner Summit will prepare partners to take advantage of market opportunities, drive business, and accelerate solutions development for their customers.

Two industry experts will join Jedox's partner conference as keynote speakers. Jared Wheeler, Global Director ISV Operations at Microsoft, will explain how Microsoft is working with ISVs to extend the reach of their solutions using Microsoft sales and marketing channels. Toni Adams, Senior VP of Global Partners and Alliances Sales at Qlik, will also explore the business benefits of the recently announced Qlik and Jedox partnership.

"Our business partners and industry alliances are key to Jedox's sustained global growth," said Jedox CSO Bernd Eisenblatter. "We are delighted to welcome attendees from so many regions who offer innovative planning and budgeting solutions to organizations around the globe and add value to our technology. With the Jedox Global Partner Summit we will activate our partners to model their success by enabling them to deliver fast returns for their clients."

Day 1 of the event also features the Jedox Partner Awards ceremony, which recognizes top-performing partners for their outstanding contribution to the joint success.

To learn more about the sessions and speakers or register for the event, visit http://jedox-partner-summit.com/ or follow Jedox on Twitter (#JedoxPS16).

About Jedox:

Jedox simplifies planning, analysis, and reporting with one unified and cloud-based software suite. Jedox empowers decision makers and business users across all departments and helps them work smarter, streamline business collaboration, and make insight-based decisions with confidence. Over 1,900 organizations in 127 countries use Jedox for real-time planning on the web, in the cloud, and on any device. Jedox is a leading Business Intelligence and Corporate Performance Management solution provider with offices on four continents and with over 180 certified business partners. Independent analysts Gartner, Howard Dresner and BARC recognize Jedox for its leading enterprise planning solutions. Simplify planning with Jedox and start your free trial today: www.jedox.com

Contact:

Diana Kuch

Head of PR

[email protected]

+(49) 761 15147 0

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Jedox

Related Links

http://www.jedox.com


TURLOCK, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The board of trustees of Legacy Health Endowment (LHE) announced the hiring of Jeffrey R. Lewis as the newly-formed health care philanthropy's first president and chief executive officer. Founded in 2014, the Turlock-based LHE was created as a result of the sale of Emanuel Medical Center, Inc. to Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, Inc., which is affiliated with Tenet Health. The Endowment will provide funding and technical support for nonprofit health care facilities to create health care solutions within Stanislaus and Merced counties through programs that provide medical services, health screenings and testing, health education, preventative health care services, medical education, medical research and other needed health care services.

"Legacy Health Endowment has the opportunity to leave an indelible mark on our community by building and strengthening health care solutions for people living in Stanislaus and Merced counties," said Lewis, who assumed leadership of LHE in June. "Over the past three months I have traveled extensively throughout Stanislaus and Merced counties meeting with community health experts, college and university officials, physicians and nurses to gain a deeper understanding of the health challenges our community is facing. These challenges present the Endowment with opportunities to create unique solutions for our community." Lewis emphasized that "Our tagline is 'Infinite Possibilities/Endless Opportunities' to underscore the breadth of how philanthropy can deliver value back to the communities it serves over and over again. It's at the core of who we are and what we will be doing every day. There are no problems, only opportunities waiting to happen," Lewis added.

A nationally-recognized health care leader for more than 30 years, Lewis is known as a strategic visionary and accomplished agent of change with a clear sense of purpose. His work is considered both imaginative and pragmatic, and has succeeded in bringing together public, private and nonprofit sectors to develop effective health care solutions. Areas of Lewis' expertise include large scale change management, entrepreneurial leadership, strategic partnerships, capital investment and planning, cost reduction and ROI optimization, and public policy development.

Lewis has worked in Congress, for three United States Senators, in the private sector, and in the foundation world as well. Immediately before joining LHE, he served as president of the Institute for Healthcare Innovation while concurrently serving as the chairman and CEO of the St. Paul's Foundation health care Project in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Lewis also spent 20 years at the Heinz Family Philanthropies as its president and chief operating officer. While at Heinz, he created and implemented a successful strategy to ensure HIV/AIDS patients in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) could access life-saving medications at no cost and without being placed on waiting lists. Lewis also developed strategies to assist governors and state legislators on how to optimize the use of public dollars in the purchasing of prescription drugs.

"The last few months have been so rewarding as the Board and I have been working alongside Jeffrey, thinking through how we can best serve as stewards of our community and use the philanthropic dollars wisely and effectively in order to create lasting health care solutions," said Jennifer Larson, chairman of the LHE Board and co-owner of Kirk Larson Construction in Turlock.

"Jeffrey brings our community a wonderful combination of expertise and decisive leadership, and because of his caring and humble spirit, he is sincere and approachable," said Larson. "We are fortunate to have Jeffrey, his wife Karen, and their family join our community."

Lewis holds a bachelor's degree in General Studies (with an emphasis on History/English) from the University of Michigan, a master's of Science degree in Gerontology from the University of Southern California, and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. He is a prolific writer, with his work appearing extensively on newspaper op-ed pages and in scholarly publications. In addition, he is the author of four books of poetry.

"I know firsthand Jeffrey's commitment to health care and his successful career of building real solutions for real problems across the United States," said Father Andrew Bushell, chairman of the St. Paul's Foundation. "He understands how to use philanthropy as venture capital while leveraging corporate resources to further the value of philanthropic dollars, and I had the privilege to watch him constantly deliver 10 dollars of value for one dollar of charitable donation for over a decade," said Father Bushell.

"Jeffrey excels at challenging the status quo by building sustainable solutions that change people's lives and there is no doubt that Jeffrey's leadership will change the face of health care in the Central Valley of California, across the state and the nation," Father Bushell added.

"Jeffrey Lewis brings incredible personal and professional value to Legacy Health Endowment. A gifted writer, thinker and problem solver all wrapped into one amazing professional who will help the LHE community achieve incredible success," adds longtime colleague Travis Leonardi, CEO of the health care analytics company Sentry Data Systems. "There is no doubt that the Endowment under Jeffrey's leadership will be well positioned to achieve amazing success."

LHE will announce its first set of health care grants to strengthen the overall health of the greater LHE community in the coming months.

About Legacy Health Endowment

Mission Statement

To improve the health and health care of all residents residing within the 19 ZIP codes (95380, 95382, 95315, 95334, 95324, 95316, 95363, 95307, 95301, 95360, 95326, 95388, 95328, 95322, 95381, 95374, 95358, 95303, 95313) in portions of Stanislaus and Merced counties under LHE's jurisdiction, by increasing access to various health care services and educating people about healthy lifestyle decisions. Our objective is to dramatically improve the quality of life within our community by bringing together resources, expertise, vision and the belief we can  and will  make a difference.

Core Values

Serving as a leader and catalyst for the LHE community we serve in creating successful health care change; Fostering open dialogue and collaboration to share knowledge, create strategic alliances and build sustainable health care solutions; Using innovation as a means of promoting positive change that fosters creativity, collaboration and discussion; Recognizing and valuing the contributions of everyone involved, and treating others the same way we expect to be treated; Valuing the differences, strengths and skills of everyone with whom we work; and Serving as stewards of Legacy Health Endowment's funds to ensure that the LHE community obtains the greatest value for every dollar spent to better the health care of our LHE community in perpetuity.

Jeffrey R. Lewis

Biography

Jeffrey R. Lewis, president and chief executive officer of Legacy Health Endowment (LHE), is recognized as a health care thought leader committed to creating real solutions to address the most challenging problems.

Lewis has spent his professional life working in health care in both the public and private sectors. Before taking the helm at LHE, he served as chairman and chief executive officer of the St. Paul's Foundation health care Project Advisory Board, president of the Institute for Healthcare Innovation, and the chief operating officer of a national pharmacy benefits management company. In addition, Lewis spent two decades as president of the Heinz Family Philanthropies and as Chief of Staff for Teresa Heinz.

In the public sector, Lewis served in a number of senior positions in the United States Senate, including Republican Staff Director for the United States Special Committee on Aging for the late U.S. Senator John Heinz (R.-Pennsylvania), U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R.-NM) and senior legislative staff to U.S. Senator Bob Packwood. Additionally, he served in the Reagan Administration as a consultant on pension policy for the Assistant Secretary of Labor. He also served as an Assistant to Governor Vic Atiyeh, the last Republican Governor of Oregon.

Lewis' writing has been published extensively, with articles appearing in the Boston Globe, Detroit Free Press, Sacramento Bee, Atlanta Constitution, Wall Street Journal (online), Good Housekeeping magazine, as well as two legal journals, Notre Dame Journal of Legislation and the Detroit College of Law Review.

He holds an undergraduate degree in General Studies (with an emphasis on History/English) from the University of Michigan, a master's in Science in Gerontology from the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, and a J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College.

He has been married to Karen Judd Lewis for 33 years and they have two adult children, Greyson and Colby Lil.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408464LOGO

SOURCE Legacy Health Endowment
SHANGHAI, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. ("JinkoSolar" or the "Company") (NYSE: JKS), a global leader in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc., has entered into a Master Module Supply Agreement ("MSA") with CONSOLIDATED EDISON DEVELOPMENT, INC. ("CED"), a New York State-based developer, owner and operator of large-scale renewable energy projects.

In accordance with the MSA and multiple Purchase Order issued thereunder, JinkoSolar will supply high-efficiency polycrystalline 72-cell modules, totaling approximately 560 MW in capacity, to CED through August 2017. The Company has already begun shipping modules to project sites. JinkoSolar modules will be used to power various CED projects across multiple states in the U.S.

"We are proud to have reached another significant milestone through this supply agreement with Con Edison Development," said Nigel Cockroft, General Manager of JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc. "JinkoSolar's strong momentum in the U.S. solar industry is a direct result of our company's dedication to reliability in both module performance and customer support."

"JinkoSolar has a clear understanding of the energy marketplace in which we operate," said Mark Noyes, President and CEO of Con Edison Development. "It is important that our company continuously improves solar system efficiency in order to remain competitive with other energy sources. JinkoSolar's product roadmap and operational excellence are perfect fits for our company."

About JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.

JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) is a global leader in the solar industry. JinkoSolar distributes its solar products and sells its solutions and services to a diversified international utility, commercial and residential customer base in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and other countries and regions. JinkoSolar has built a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated annual capacity of 3.5 GW for silicon ingots and wafers, 3.5 GW for solar cells, and 6.5 GW for solar modules, as of June 30, 2016. JinkoSolar also sells electricity in China, and had connected approximately 1,130 MW of solar power projects to the grid, as of June 30, 2016.

JinkoSolar has over 15,000 employees across its 6 productions facilities in Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Xinjiang Provinces, China, Malaysia, Portugal and South Africa, 16 oversea subsidiaries in Japan (2), Singapore, India, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Australia and South Africa. 18 global sales offices in China (2) ,United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico.

To find out more, please see: www.jinkosolar.com

About Con Edison Development

Con Edison Development (CED) develops, owns and operates renewable and energy infrastructure projects. The company is one of the largest owners and operators of solar projects in North America.

Con Edison Development is focusing on renewable energy assets as part of a growth strategy and an overall corporate goal of responsible environmental stewardship. Through its deep resources and trusted relationships with a range of energy-related companies, CED has successfully developed, and owns and operates facilities generating more than 1,400 MW DC/ 1,100 MW AC of renewable power across California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Nebraska, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Rhode Island.

Con Edison Development is one of the competitive energy businesses of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], the nation's oldest and one of the largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $45 billion in assets. More information can be obtained by calling 914- 993-2185. You can also visit the Consolidated Edison, Inc. website at www.conedison.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends, "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this press release and the Company's operations and business outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in JinkoSolar's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

Mr. Sebastian Liu

JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.

Tel: +86 21 5183 3056

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.jinkosolar.com


BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: HTD) and John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Global Shareholder Yield Fund (NYSE: HTY), two closed-end funds advised by John Hancock Advisers, LLC, announced that a Special Meeting of Shareholders of HTD and HTY will be held on December 21, 2016 at 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time, at 601 Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Shareholders of record of HTD and HTY as of the close of business on October 11, 2016 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Special Meeting and at any adjournment thereof.

The Special Meeting will be held for the purpose of approving new subadvisory agreements with Analytic Investors, LLC ("Analytic"), which currently manages the options overlay strategy for HTD and HTY. As previously announced by Analytic, it expects to enter into a transaction with Wells Fargo Asset Management, which under the Investment Company Act of 1940 would have the effect of terminating the current subadvisory agreements with Analytic.

This press release does not constitute the solicitation of a proxy for approval of the new subadvisory agreements or any other matter, which can only be made by means of a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). A proxy statement will be mailed to shareholders prior to the Special Meeting. When a proxy statement becomes available, shareholders are advised to read it because it contains important information. The proxy statement, when available, will be available for free at the Commission's website www.sec.gov.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond a fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider each fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investments

John Hancock Investments provides asset management services to individuals and institutions through a unique manager-of-managers approach. A wealth management business of John Hancock Financial, we managed more than $133 billion in assets as of June 30, 2016, across mutual funds, college savings plans, and retirement plans.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial

John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife Financial, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$934 billion (US$718 billion) as of June 30, 2016. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Investments

Related Links

http://www.johnhancock.com


DALLAS, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- JRjr33, Inc., doing business as JRJR Networks [NYSE MKT: JRJR] today announced financial results for its first quarter of 2016.

"Across the board, by multiple measures of performance, we saw record-breaking growth and continued progress in the first quarter," said John Rochon, Jr., founder and vice chairman.

"When comparing the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2015, we saw a significant revenue increase, an increase in gross profit and gross profit margin, and improvements in the operating loss, while at the same time we made continued progress in reducing our fixed costs," said Mr. Rochon. "In looking at our history, our sales have grown 3,145% in the last 3 years. The market has responded in that since John Rochon became Chairman our stock has experienced 118% compound annual growth through March 31."

"Results like this are exceptional. We continue to give credit where it is due: to our global network of sales force members and employees that are driving our constant record-breaking performance," said Mr. Rochon.

"Our acquisitions from last year, Kleeneze and Betterware, have fit nicely into the organization as shown by this performance. Not only did we see revenue increase, we had significant improvement in the operating loss." said Chris Brooks, JRJR Networks' chief financial officer.

Financial Highlights

Our independent registered accounting firm is in the process of finalizing their review of the first quarter 2016 results and the first quarter 2015 restated results. Management believes the results will not change materially from those reported herein.

Revenue for the first quarter was approximately $36.8 million, compared to approximately $19.5 million in the same quarter a year ago, an increase of $17.4 million, or 89%. The increase was primarily due to a full quarter of Betterware and Kleeneze included in 2016.

Net revenue for the first quarter was approximately $30.9 million or 84.0% of revenue compared to $16.3 million or 83.5% of revenue for a year ago. This improvement in net revenue reflects lower program costs and discounts across the Company for the quarter.

Gross profit increased to $21.4 million, compared to $11.0 million in the same quarter last year, an increase of $10.4 million, or 94.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Gross profit margin increased to 58.2% of revenue, compared to 56.6% of revenue in the same quarter a year ago.

Operating loss improved to $(3.2) million or (8.6%) as a percent of Revenue from $(3.6) million or (18.5%) as a percent of Revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

While net loss attributable to JRjr33, Inc. for the 2016 first quarter of $4.5 million was larger than the $3.6 million in the first quarter of 2015, the first quarter last year contained a $1.2 million expense reduction from share based compensation.

Given the large number of adjustments identified during the preparation of the December 31, 2015 financial statements, the Company previously announced that it was restating the 2015 quarters to properly assign the identified adjustments to the quarter in which they originated. The first quarter 2015 results reported herein have been appropriately adjusted and will be filed on Form 10-Q/A shortly before filing the First Quarter 2016 Form 10-Q.

The Company's next shareholder call will take place upon the filing its' First Quarter 2016 Form 10-Q. The call will be announced shortly before the results are filed.

JRjr33, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

Unaudited



March 31, 2016

December 31, 2015 Assets







Current assets:







Cash and cash equivalents

$ 3,357



$ 6,482

Marketable securities

2,968



5,306

Accounts receivable, net

5,825



4,828

Inventory, net

21,856



20,799

Other current assets

4,620



2,302

Total current assets

38,626



39,717

Assets held for sale

1,043



1,111

Restricted cash





2,857

Sale leaseback security deposit

4,414



4,414

Property, plant and equipment, net

5,025



5,387

Property under capital leases, net

14,353



14,654

Goodwill

5,206



5,427

Intangibles, net

8,344



8,801

Other assets

135



137

Total assets

$ 77,146



$ 82,505

Liabilities and stockholders' equity







Current liabilities:







Accounts payable

$ 15,082



$ 15,937

Related party payables

1,571



1,605

Accrued commissions

2,755



3,033

Accrued liabilities

9,033



7,303

Deferred revenue

1,435



2,307

Accrued taxes payable

5,298



4,830

Current portion of long-term debt

6,260



3,048

Other current liabilities

587



776

Total current liabilities

42,021



38,839

Deferred tax liability

749



744

Long-term debt, less current portion

9,096



12,784

Capital lease obligation, less current portion

16,235



16,332

Other long-term liabilities

2,887



2,864

Total liabilities

70,988



71,563

Commitments and contingencies







Stockholders' equity:







Preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, 500,000 authorized-0-issued and outstanding







Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 250,000,000 shares authorized; 35,785,324 and 35,718,279 shares issued and outstanding, at March 31, 2016 and at December 31, 2015 respectively

4



4

Additional paid-in capital

58,905



58,837

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

(630)



(586)

Accumulated deficit

(49,725)



(45,253)

Total stockholders' equity attributable to common stockholders

8,554



13,002

Stockholders' equity attributable to noncontrolling interest

(2,396)



(2,060)

Total stockholders' equity

6,158



10,942

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$ 77,146



$ 82,505



JRjr33, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except share and per share data)







Unaudited Three Months Ended March 31,



2016

2015 Restated Revenue

$ 36,846



$ 19,488

Program costs and discounts

(5,902)



(3,225)

Net revenues

30,944



16,263

Costs of sales

9,496



5,229

Gross profit

21,448



11,034

Commissions and incentives

8,699



5,207

Variable selling, general and administrative

3,643



1,982

Selling, general and administrative

11,448



8,391

Share based compensation expense





(1,167)

Depreciation and amortization

671



279

Gain on sale of assets

(42)



(43)

Impairment of goodwill

191





Operating loss

(3,162)



(3,615)

Gain on marketable securities

(3)



(192)

Interest expense, net

832



421

Loss before income tax provision

(3,991)



(3,844)

Income tax provision

819



191

Net loss

(4,810)



(4,035)

Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest

338



388

Net loss attributable to JRjr33, Inc.

$ (4,472)



$ (3,647)

Basic and diluted loss per share:







Weighted average common shares outstanding

35,781,030



29,668,069

Loss per common share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted

$ (0.12)



$ (0.12)



About JRJR Networks (www.jrjrnetworks.com)

JRJR Networks is a growing platform of direct-to-consumer brands. Within JRJR Networks, each company retains its separate identity, sales force, product line and compensation plan, while JRJR Networks seeks synergies and efficiencies in operational areas. In addition to Your Inspiration at Home, JRJR Networks companies currently include The Longaberger Company, a 42-year old maker of hand-crafted baskets and other home decor items; Tomboy Tools, a direct seller of tools designed for women; Agel Enterprises, a global seller of nutritional products in gel form as well as a skin care line, operating in 40 countries; Paperly, which offers a line of custom stationery and other personalized products; Uppercase Living, which offers a line of customizable vinyl expressions for display on walls in the home; Kleeneze, a 95-year old UK-based catalog seller of cleaning, health, beauty, home, outdoor and a variety of other products, and Betterware, a UK-based home catalog seller. JRJR Networks also includes Happenings, a lifestyle publication and marketing company.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," or "will" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology and include statements regarding the expected timing of the filing of the Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2016, the continued sales force and employee performance and our continued growth. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, our ability to expand leadership activities in support of our sales, our ability to continue to grow, our ability to integrate the entities that we have acquired, our ability to strengthen our internal controls and the other risks outlined under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 and our other filings with the SEC, including subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contact : Tucker Gagen

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160128/327033LOGO

SOURCE JRJR Networks

Related Links

http://www.jrjrnetworks.com


DALLAS, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) today announced that chief human resources officer Liz Gottung plans to retire at the end of 2016. The company has named Scott Boston as Gottung's successor.

Boston, who joined the company in 2011, has led global HR talent management and been responsible for leading HR within Kimberly-Clark International. He will become senior vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO) effective January 1, 2017 and will work with Liz to ensure a smooth transition.

"Liz has been an outstanding partner and HR professional throughout her career at K-C," said Thomas J. Falk, chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark. "I am grateful for her leadership and contributions to strengthening our business, our talent and our culture."

During her 35-year career at Kimberly-Clark, Gottung held a wide range of leadership roles prior to being named CHRO in 2002. As the leader of the company's HR organization, she aligned the HR function with the company's overall business strategy and championed the culture. She also led the development of the company's people strategy to support global talent and capability building.

"We are also fortunate to have someone of Scott's experience and talent replace Liz. He is a proven, change-oriented HR leader who has demonstrated abilities across our businesses," added Falk.

Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Boston was senior vice president, Human Resources, for McKesson Corporation. He has more than 20 years of global HR leadership experience, including leading extensive HR transformations to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of global talent management functions, HR Shared Services and providing HR Business Partner support.

Boston received a B.B.A. double major in Marketing and Management from Emory University. He also earned an Executive MBA in International Business from Emory University's Goizueta Business School.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the Company's 144-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

[KMB-C]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110928/DA76879LOGO

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Related Links

http://www.kimberly-clark.com


CINCINNATI, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR) Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of 12 per share to be paid on December 1, 2016, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 15, 2016.

Kroger today also announced an incremental $500 million share repurchase program, supplementing the current authorization, which has $392 million remaining as of September 14, 2016.

"Kroger's share repurchase authorization reflects our Board of Directors' confidence in our Customer 1st Strategy and our ability to create value for shareholders," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "We are committed to delivering long-term growth investors can count on."

In June, Kroger's Board raised the quarterly dividend by 14 percent. Kroger has delivered double-digit compound growth in its dividend since it was reinstated in 2006. The company continues to expect an increasing dividend over time.

Over the last four quarters, the company has returned more than $1.5 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends combined.

Every day, the Kroger Family of Companies makes a difference in the lives of eight and a half million customers and 431,000 associates who shop or serve in 2,781 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and its subsidiaries operate an expanding ClickList offering  a personalized, order online, pick up at the store service  in addition to 2,240 pharmacies, 785 convenience stores, 323 fine jewelry stores, 1,423 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Kroger is recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. A leader in supplier diversity, Kroger is a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about the future performance of the company. These statements are based on management's assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Such statements are indicated by the words "expect" and "continues." Our ability to continue to repurchase shares, fund dividends, and increase our dividend over time will be affected by our ability to generate free cash flow at the levels anticipated and our ability to generate expected operating results. These forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to update the information contained herein. Please refer to Kroger's reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150408/197347LOGO

SOURCE The Kroger Co.

Related Links

http://www.kroger.com


CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. ("LGIMA"), a registered investment advisor with over $134 billion in assets under management, has announced that it will host an executive luncheon and roundtable discussion in honor of the Rt Honorable Sajid Javid, UK Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at the residence of Her Majesty's Consul General, Stephen Bridges LVO, in Chicago on Monday, September 19.

Responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Mr. Javid is visiting Chicago with a delegation from the Midlands Engine growth initiative and will promote British business and discuss Britain's continuing role as world leader. In addition to meeting with LGIMA CIO  Fixed Income and interim CEO, John Bender, as well as financial services industry peers, he will discuss a range of issues impacting the investment community, including business relations between the United States and UK, the global economic climate, and the post-Brexit landscape.

"We are honored to welcome the Secretary of State to Chicago," said Bender. "Not only will this roundtable bring together some of the city's most influential financial services professionals, but it is a testament to our strong business relationships across the pond, through virtue of our UK-based affiliate."

"We are delighted that LGIMA is hosting this event for the Secretary of State," said Bridges. "LGIMA is a wonderful partner of the British Consulate in Chicago. Earlier this summer, they collaborated with us on a dynamic business roundtable for the Lord Mayor of London during his visit. As an important supporter of UK business, LGIMA continues to be a positive driver in creating constructive dialogue amongst global leaders."

For more information, please visit http://www.lgima.com/.

Media Contact:

Name: Jacquelyn Wilder

Company: RF Binder

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 212 994 7543

ABOUT LGIMA: Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (LGIMA) is a Chicago-based registered investment advisor specializing in active fixed income, liability driven investment (LDI) and index strategies for the US institutional market. LGIMA was founded in 2006 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management (Holdings) Ltd. (LGIM(H)), which also owns its affiliates Legal & General Investment Management Ltd. and LGIM International Ltd. Legal & General's worldwide assets under management are approximately $765 billion. In May 2014, LGIMA became a wholly owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management US (Holdings), Inc. (LGIMUS(H)) which is wholly owned by LGIM(H).

SOURCE Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lgima.com


CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As 2016 finishes its last few months, LEGOLAND California Resort's General Manager Peter Ronchetti announced at today's press conference that big plans are already in action for 2017 including: new LEGO NINJAGO rooms at LEGOLAND Hotel; an expansion at LEGOLAND Water Park and a new addition to LEGO Star Wars Miniland!

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408578

LEGOLAND California Resort reveals new additions for 2017 and beyond. LEGOLAND California Resort reveals new additions for 2017 and beyond.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408579

A familiar droid joined Ronchetti in announcing a new addition that's sure to bring out the Force in all of the Resort's guests in 2017: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Miniland Model Display.

"Right now, at our secret Model Shop in Carlsbad, Master Model Designer Nik Ehm of our Merlin's Magic Making team is working on creating six scenes that represent the first 30 minutes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens," said Ronchetti. "There are two primary focal points  the more traditional character-driven scenes on the planet of Jakku, and an enormous LEGO model of the Star Destroyer Finalizer. At 16-feet long, it will be the longest LEGO Star Wars Miniland model ever created!"

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Miniland Model Display will be in the center of LEGO Star Wars Miniland and will include these scenes: Kylo Ren's capture of Poe at planet Jakku; Rey's rescue of BB-8; Poe and Finn's escape from the Star Destroyer Finalizer; the wreck of Finn and Poe's TIE Fighter; Rey, Finn and BB-8's escape from Niima Outpost; and the escape from the Starship Graveyard. Lights, sound effects and animation will further bring the scenes and characters to life from this blockbuster film.

The new LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Miniland Model Display opens to the public in March 2017 just in time for spring break and will kick off the fan-favorite LEGO Star Wars Days on March 4 and 5 in 2017.

A giant wave took center stage as LEGOLAND surfers announced little guests can ride their first wave in Surfer's Bay opening in time for summer 2017! This competitive water raceway is designed for children to compete against each other by jumping on a mat and racing down one of six water slides in this California beach themed expansion of LEGOLAND Water Park. Surfer's Bay includes a new "spray ground" with multiple water jets splashing on and off and plenty of new LEGO models to create a fun place to cool off next summer.

"Surfer's Bay is a winning combination of LEGO theming, water and, of course, healthy competition to inspire our guests," said Ronchetti. "We're truly providing guests a family environment filled with fun, interactive experiences that create lasting memories!"

Also opening in 2017: LEGO NINJAGO rooms at LEGOLAND Hotel! Immersing hotel guests in the popular LEGO NINJAGO universe, they will be able to sleep in the company of Cole, Nya, Kai and Lloyd and other cool LEGO ninjas throughout 18 premium themed rooms and two premium themed suites. The NINJAGO rooms are replacing kingdom themed rooms in preparation of the new LEGO Castle themed hotel opening in 2018. Ronchetti presented a first look of the new premium themed 250-room hotel at the press conference revealing the entrance and pool area . The ground breaking is expected in early 2017 and the new hotel will feature a new restaurant, pool area and themed Castle decor throughout.

"At LEGOLAND California Resort, we pride ourselves in innovation, creativity and memorable experiences for our millions of guests we see each year and 2017 continues that tradition," said Ronchetti. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens set records as the top-grossing film nationally of all time and we're excited to bring it to life here in our popular LEGO Star Wars Miniland!" said Ronchetti.

The LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Miniland Model Display is included in the cost of admission to LEGOLAND California Resort. For ticket prices, operating schedule and additional information, visit www.LEGOLAND.com or call 760-918-LEGO (5346).

Link to video: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/ft9Bd

Link to images: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/2NUVq

Media Contact:

Julie Estrada

(760) 918-5377

Jake Gonzales

(760) 918-5379

SOURCE LEGOLAND California Resort

Related Links

https://www.legoland.com


Last time the city heard from urban cowboy Doc Mishler, who enthralled and confused us all earlier this summer when he rode a horse across the Outerbridge Crossing, he was pleading not guilty to animal cruelty. Now Mishler is back in the news, threatening to sue the city of New York if his horses aren't returned, according to the Staten Island Advance.

While Mishler isn't from the big city, he's at least managed to learn our litigious ways, and has enlisted the help of Staten Island attorney Richard Luthmann in a campaign to drop the animal cruelty charges against him and get the city to release the horses he rode here in June. Mishler, despite being hit with animal cruelty charges before, said that us city slickers need to understand that his horses, which investigators said were suffering from deyhdration and bleeding sores, "aren't show horses, these are go horses."

Luthmann and Mishler also sat for a video interview with the Advance, in which Luthmann said Mishler's rights going back to the Magna Carta have been violated, that under New York State's vehicle and traffic law it's legal to ride horses on New York roads and that "prior to the automobile it was all horses."

When Mishler was arrested in June, a Port Authority spokesman said it was a violation to ride a horse on the Outerbridge Crossing.

Luthmann hasn't been above going right for the jugular from the start, telling the Staten Island Advance, "The fact of the matter is we have a kid dying every day of heroin, every five days on this island... Doc is trying to save the children every day. He wants the children to grow up big and strong and not be killed by heroin." (Mishler says he rides his horses across the country as a way to raise awareness about childhood hunger.)

Language like that is about par for the course for Luthmann, who previously asked a judge overseeing a case in Staten Island to allow him to settle a civil suit with a trial by combat. The request was apparently theoretically allowed but was not granted by the presiding judge.

Luthmann also promised to sue "to the ends of the Earth," which, while certainly a stirring sentiment, is also a confusing one. After all, a lawsuit like this could really only go as far as the Supreme Court in Washington, DC and not say, some type of penguin court that's been established in the South Pole.
HERSHEY, Pa., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a musical throwback with a new take on the iconic '808' drum machine. The TAKE5 brand releases the Remixer, the first-ever packaging in the U.S. to use conductive ink to create music on the spot. The limited release TAKE5 Remixer allows users to immediately remix music with built-in speakers and requires no app installation.

The TAKE5 Remixer makes everyone a DJ. The TAKE5 Remixer makes everyone a DJ.

The battery-powered Remixer includes five rows of three beats with pause and stop buttons to produce more than 30,000 unique track combinations. "With all the technology seamlessly blended inside the box, the Remixer allows consumers to take it with them on any adventure," said Dan Mohnshine, director TAKE5 brand. "In a world of headphones and streamed music, the Remixer lets people collaborate together in a group music-playing experience."

On Sept. 17 at Hotel Thrillist, in a New Orleans-style welcome, the TAKE5 brand is giving more than 500 guests their own Remixer.

Consumers can enter for a chance to win a TAKE5 Remixer by retweeting @TAKE5 using #RemixerSweepstakes now through Sept. 23. For complete rules, visit http://bit.ly/2cfCWuv.

The TAKE5 bar is a remix of five classic flavors  pretzel, peanut butter, peanut, caramel and chocolate  into the ultimate bar. It's the perfect salty-sweet, chewy-crunchy snack. The TAKE5 bar relaunched in 2016 by connecting loyalists and new fans through live engagements, social campaigns and brand ambassadorships. Consumers can join the conversation online using #myTAKE5 on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has approximately 22,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside. Building on its core business, Hershey is expanding its portfolio to include a broader range of delicious snacks. The company remains focused on growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to extend its competitive advantage in North America.

At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For more than 120 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on giving underserved children the skills and support they need to be successful. Today, the company continues this social purpose through 'Nourishing Minds,' a global initiative that provides basic nutrition to help children learn and grow. From neighborhoods across the United States to the streets of Shanghai and Mumbai and villages of West Africa, our goal is to nourish one million minds by 2020.

To learn more -

Visit: www.thehersheycompany.com

Follow:

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

YouTube

Instagram

Media Contacts:

Anna Lingeris: [email protected], 717-649-7214

Anita Strohm: [email protected], 816-810-2830

Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/TAKE5.mp4

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408432

SOURCE The Hershey Company

Related Links

http://www.thehersheycompany.com


DENVER, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A new Colorado-based online giving program designed for kids and families was launched today with the help of Colorado Lt. Governor Donna Lynne.

KidsforColoradoGives.org inspires the next generation of givers and is a kid-friendly addition to the popular website ColoradoGives.org, which powers Colorado Gives Day. Since its inception in 2007, ColoradoGives.org has raised $156 million for charities throughout the state.

At a launch event this morning with 6th and 7th graders at Denver School of the Arts, the Lt. Governor said, "This website helps kids learn about all the ways local nonprofits make our lives better and has the power to inspire a lifetime of charitable giving," said Lt. Governor Donna Lynne. "KidsforColoradoGives.org is the only giving program that offers a real-world giving experience in a trusted, safe online environment. Thanks to the Community First Foundation, we can educate the next generation about great ways to give in the Colorado community." The Lt. Governor is serving as a Kids for ColoradoGives program ambassador.

As part of the launch, FirstBank gave every 6th and 7th grade student (approximately 275 kids) at Denver School of the Arts $10 to experience the joy of giving. The money can be given to a nonprofit on KidsforColoradoGives.org immediately or saved and donated on Colorado Gives Day, December 6, 2016.

Here's how kids can give to Colorado nonprofits through KidsForColoradoGives.org.

Parents and grandparents can purchase Giving eCards at KidsforColoradoGives.org and send them to their kids and grandkids by email. Kids then use a Giving eCard code to make online donations to a Colorado charity. Kids and their parents can identify special jobs or projects that kids can do to earn Giving eCards. The cards make great birthday and holiday gifts, too. Buying Giving eCards and making giving decisions as a family is a great way to pass down family values and inspire a lifetime a charitable giving.

"We encourage parents and grandparents to use KidsforColoradoGives.org to introduce children to the joy of charitable giving," said Marla J. Williams, president and CEO, Community First Foundation. "The website includes resource pages for kids and for adults. It also features kid-friendly videos that explain nonprofits, why they need donations and how to choose a nonprofit to help."

To learn more about Kids for ColoradoGives and Community First Foundation, visit KidsforColoradoGives.org or call 720-898-5900 or visit www.communityfirstfoundation.org.

About Community First Foundation

Since 1975, Community First Foundation has been helping generous donors and innovative nonprofits come together to improve the quality of life and create positive change in Jefferson County, the Denver metropolitan area and beyond. We serve as a connector, partner, collaborator and resource to fuel the power of community for the greater good. We are proud to use our energy, leadership and trusted stewardship of financial resources to energize giving across our state, strengthen nonprofits, support donors and find new ways to address community needs. To learn more about Community First Foundation, visit www.communityfirstfoundation.org or call 720-898-5900.

#COKidsGive

Contact:

Kayla Arnesen

Community First Foundation

[email protected]

720.898.5919

SOURCE Community First Foundation

Related Links

http://www.communityfirstfoundation.org


The Accokeek Foundation established the National Conservation Leadership Award in 2001 to recognize those who have made major contributions in the conservation of natural, cultural, and historic resources, while also supporting education. This year's award honors posthumously Maryland Delegate James E. Proctor, Jr. for his lifetime of work as an educator, legislator, and volunteer on behalf of cultural heritage, the environment, and the advancement of youth in Maryland.

Held on the National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park, the annual farm dinner features music by the Griff Kaz Trio, cider tastings by D.C.'s first cideryANXO Cidery, farm-to-fork dinner prepared by Susan Gage Caterers with wine pairings provided by The Vineyards at Dodon. Special guests include Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch, The Honorable Vincent C. Gray, MGM National Harbor, SE Davis Construction, Comcast, BGE, and Visit National Harbor.

Who: Keynote Presentations by:

Maryland Senate President , Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr.

, Maryland Delegate Elizabeth Proctor

Master of Ceremonies

Master of Ceremonies Maryland House Speaker , Michael E. Busch

What: The Taste of Fall farm dinner raises funds to support Accokeek Foundation educational programs at Piscataway Park. This year's event will include a memorial tribute to former Maryland Delegate James E. Proctor, Jr., seasonal dinner prepared by Susan Gage Caterers with wine pairings provided by The Vineyards at Dodon, and a silent auction.

When: Sunday, September 18, 2016

5:00 - 7:30 pm

Where: National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park

3400 Bryan Point Road, Accokeek, MD 20607

ABOUT:

National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park cultivates passion for land and cultural sustainability through exploration. Managed by the Accokeek Foundation in cooperation with the National Park Service, it offers a peaceful space for visitors to enjoy recreation and learning environmental sustainability through authentic experiences. www.accokeekfoundation.org

Media Contact:

Anjela Barnes

(o) 301-965-9566; (c) 301-848-5955

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408489

SOURCE Accokeek Foundation

Related Links

http://www.accokeekfoundation.org


The Southwest Calgary Ring Road Project involves construction from Highway 8 to Macleod Trail SE and includes reconstruction of Glenmore Trail from Sarcee Trail to east of 37 Street. The project includes 31 kilometers of six- and eight-lane divided highway; 14 interchanges; one road flyover; one railway crossing (flyover), 49 bridges and three river crossings over the Elbow River and Fish Creek. This project will advance the completion of the Calgary Ring Road.

"Meridiam feels privileged to be part of this landmark project to advance Calgary's ring road. We're thrilled to develop our second asset in Alberta with the Province and to invest alongside our partners in this key project for continued economic growth. We believe that our long term approach to infrastructure development will allow us to work with all Calgarians in true partnership for the next 35 years," said Jane Garvey, Chairman, Meridiam North America.

Meridiam draws on deep transportation and PPP experience and has closed 11 projects in North America since 2009, including North East Anthony Henday (Edmonton, Alberta), Waterloo Light Rail (Ontario) in Canada, as well as LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal B (NY) and North Tarrant Express (TX) in the US.

Mountain View Partners will start construction in Fall 2016 and expects to open to traffic by October 2021. Mountain View Partners was formed by Meridiam Infrastructure North America Corp., Kiewit Canada Development Corp, Connor, Clark & Lunn GVest Traditional Infrastructure Limited Partnership and Ledcor Developments Ltd. The design and construction of the project will be subcontracted to KGL Contractors, a construction partnership made up of Kiewit Management Co., Graham Infrastructure and Ledcor Group of Companies. The operations and maintenance will be subcontracted to Alberta Highways Services Ltd.

About Meridiam

Founded in 2005, Meridiam is an independent investment firm specializing in the development, financing, and management of long-term public infrastructure projects. With offices in Paris, New York, Toronto, Istanbul, and Dakar, Meridiam is a leading investor in public infrastructure across Europe, North America and Africa. Currently managing 5 billion ($5.7B) of assets, the firm has to date invested in 49 projects. Designated Global Infrastructure Fund of the Year for the fourth time in 2015 by IJ Global, Meridiam is one of the first investors and asset managers to receive ISO 9001 certification for its responsible investment process and is a founding member of the Long Term Infrastructure Investors Association.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140804/132966

SOURCE Meridiam
HINGHAM, Mass., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Talbots, Inc. ("Talbots") today announced that Michael Weiss, the longtime CEO of Express and a highly respected figure in the retail industry for many years, has joined the Talbots Board of Directors, effective September 1, 2016.

"Michael has long been viewed as one of the retail industry's most visionary, charismatic and inspiring leaders, and we are thrilled that he has agreed to join the Talbots' Board," said Lizanne Kindler, Chief Executive Officer of Talbots. "I am confident that my colleagues and I will benefit greatly from Michael's unique insights as we work to achieve our long-term goals."

"I am honored to join the Talbots Board," said Mr. Weiss. "The retail industry is very much about brands and Talbots is one of America's most iconic retail fashion brands with a long history of delivering on its stated mission to provide women with modern classic apparel. I look forward to working closely with the Board, the management team and Talbots' talented associates as the company continues to execute its business strategy and serve its loyal customers for years to come."

Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director of Sycamore Partners, said, "I have known Michael as a friend and colleague for many years. He deservedly has earned an outstanding reputation in the retail industry and I have no doubt that by sharing his wisdom, expertise and warmth with his new colleagues and fellow board members, Michael will make a meaningful contribution to Talbots' ongoing growth and success."

About Michael Weiss

Michael Weiss served in various leadership roles at Express, one of the largest specialty retail apparel brands in the United States, for much of his professional career. Most recently, from 2007 to 2015, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, steering the Express brand through a period of unprecedented growth, culminating in the company's IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010.

Mr. Weiss joined Limited Brands in 1981 as the merchandise manager for an eight-store experimental division, which became Express. He served as President of Express from 1982 to 1993 and took the division from virtually zero to $1 billion in annual sales in less than ten years. He then left to become Vice Chairman of Limited Brands in 1993 only to return to Express in 1997 as President and Chief Executive Officer. He temporarily retired from the division in 2004 and returned in 2007 following the sale of Express to a private equity firm.

Before joining Limited Brands, Mr. Weiss worked with Apparel Industries, Casual Corner and Abraham and Strauss. He has served on the board of Collective Brands, Pac Sun, Chico's, Borders, Retail Management at Brigham Young University, the American Red Cross of Columbus, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, United Way of Franklin County and the Columbus Jewish Foundation. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Weiss holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University, where he majored in English.

About Talbots

The Talbots, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer and direct marketer of women's apparel, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, Talbots is known for its modern classic apparel. The company operates over 500 Talbots stores in 46 states and Canada. Talbots' on-line shopping site is located at www.talbots.com.

About Sycamore Partners

Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in consumer and retail investments. The firm has more than $3.5 billion in capital under management. The firm's strategy is to partner with management teams to improve the operating profitability and strategic value of their businesses. The firm's investment portfolio currently includes Belk, Coldwater Creek, Dollar Express, EMP Merchandising, Hot Topic, the Kasper Group, MGF Sourcing, Nine West Holdings, Talbots and Torrid.

SOURCE The Talbots, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.talbots.com


THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The organizers of the International Monsanto Tribunal today named two additional judges and also announced the programs for both the Tribunal and the People's Assembly.

"The Monsanto Tribunal is one of the most important initiatives of organized citizen society in the last decade," said Boaventura de Sousa Santos, sociology professor University of Coimbra and one of the official Tribunal ambassadors.

"The proposed Bayer-Monsanto merger, announced yesterday, brings even more momentum to the Tribunal," said Marie-Monique Robin, patron of the Tribunal "Plus we now have a panel of five international judges, reviewing testimonies from 30 witnesses and experts across five continents. We encourage the citizens everywhere to endorse the Tribunal, and participate."

Joining the previously announced judges are: Eleonora Lamm, Argentina, human rights director for the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza University, Jorge Abraham Fernandez Souza, Mexico, judge of the Court of Administrative Litigation of Mexico City, Mexico, also guarantor in the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, Chapter Mexico 2011-2015, and Steven Shrybman who practices public interest and international trade law in Canada.

The International Monsanto Tribunal will take place October 15-16 in The Hague, Netherlands. A parallel People's Assembly, starting October 14th, will feature interactive workshops, speakers and films where social movements will rally and plan for a just and regenerative agricultural system that respects human rights and the environment. Registration is now open for both the People's Assembly and the formal Tribunal.

More on the Monsanto Tribunal here and here.

People's Assembly program here.

The Monsanto Tribunal is an international civil society initiative to examine accountability for human rights violations, crimes against humanity, and ecocide, that are alleged to have been committed by Monsanto. Eminent judges will hear testimonies from victims, and deliver an advisory opinion following procedures of the International Court of Justice. A parallel People's Assembly provides the opportunity for social movements to rally and plan for the future we want. The Tribunal and People's Assembly will take place between 14 and 16 October 2016 in The Hague, Netherlands.

SOURCE The Monsanto Tribunal

Related Links

http://en.monsantotribunal.org/


PITTSBURGH, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Federated Investors, Inc. today announced that monthly fund composition and performance data for Federated Premier Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: FMN) and Federated Premier Intermediate Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: FPT) as of Aug. 31, 2016, are now available in the Products section of FederatedInvestors.com. To order hard copies of this data or to be placed on a mailing list, call 800-245-0242 x5587538, email [email protected] or write to Federated Investors, 1001 Liberty Avenue, Floor 23, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Federated Investors, Inc. (NYSE: FII) is one of the largest investment managers in the United States, managing $367.2 billion in assets as of June 30, 2016. With 123 funds and a variety of separately managed account options, Federated provides comprehensive investment management to more than 8,400 institutions and intermediaries including corporations, government entities, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, banks and broker/dealers. For more information, visit FederatedInvestors.com.

SOURCE Federated Investors, Inc.

Related Links

http://FederatedInvestors.com


MCKINNEY, Texas, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MyTelemedicine, a National Telemedicine service provider is pleased to announce the launch of "Acceso a un Medico" the first comprehensive Telemedicine experience targeting Hispanics in the U.S. Members will now have the ability of accessing their personal health portal via desktop or mobile application to maintain their electronic health records, manage dependents and schedule a virtual consultation by video or phone with a physician licensed in their state, all in Spanish.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407666LOGO

Language is the number one barrier between healthcare and Hispanics. It continues to hurt the health of the nation's fastest growing population group. This hurdle is the lack of a true Spanish-language experience for patients who count on telemedicine for all or part of their healthcare needs. Such patients face dissatisfaction and may abandon their efforts if only a small part of their healthcare experience  talking to a doctor  occurs in Spanish. Unfortunately, that's all most telemedicine companies provide. "It's not nearly enough to meet patient needs. That's why MyTelemedicine provides an authentic Spanish user experience," said Rey Colon, MyTelemedicine's CEO.

A large body of research documents the adverse impact of language barriers on access to and quality of care. Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP):

Make fewer doctor visits

Have trouble understanding diagnosis, treatment, and medication instructions

Have greater difficulty with compliance to treatment plans

Are more likely to suffer a serious medical event

Telemedicine represents a proven way to make it easier and more cost effective for any patient to get medical care, but the technology won't do much to improve health outcomes among Hispanics if language remains a challenge. Studies show that 60% of U.S. Latinos say they best comprehend and respond to native Spanish-speaking representatives. Members using the service have round-the-clock access to bi-lingual Care Advocates to assist them with scheduling a consultation with a physician and even receive engagement communication in their native language.

The U.S. Hispanic population is growing nine times faster than any other population in the nation. Hispanics are becoming the leading drivers of growth and emerging as market trendsetters. Despite all this data, they're still very much underserved in the healthcare industry. Companies focused on the US Healthcare market have a choice; they can leverage these trends or choose to ignore them partially or completely. MyTelemedicine has made its choice clear through its actions.

"We are focusing on the needs of the Hispanic market, and our goal is to create change on how Latinos access healthcare, using technology," Colon said.

MyTelemedicine developed a proprietary, HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform that works in the cloud and lets healthcare providers consult with patients remotely. Our Advanced API technology allows third-parties to integrate and offer a customized telemedicine experience to support their brand identity. Physicians can perform on-demand consultations with members anywhere via telephone and video technology. Patients get advice, recommendations and a diagnosis, which may include a prescription for common illnesses. Learn more at mytelemedicine.com.

Media Contact:

Alex Bustillo

469-640-6109

Email

SOURCE MyTelemedicine.com

Related Links

http://www.mytelemedicine.com


WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of 425 large U.S. employers, today honored Aramark for having one of the best workforce well-being programs in the nation.

Aramark is among 55 U.S. employers that received the 2016 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award presented at the National Business Group on Health's Fall Conference. Aramark received a Gold Award for its Take Care health and well-being programs. This marks the eighth year Aramark has received this prestigious recognition.

"Aramark is committed to associate health and well-being," said Jill Malila, Vice President, Global Benefits at Aramark. "We work diligently with our partners to design and implement innovative well-being programs to help educate, enable and encourage our associates and their families to lead healthy lifestyles."

Aramark has incorporated its mission to "enrich and nourish lives" into programs that support and encourage associates to focus on physical, emotional, social and financial well-being. Resources include quarterly health challenges; fitness centers; free biometric screenings; flu vaccination clinics; health assessments; counseling and support from registered nurses; online tools and calculators; smoking cessation program; 24/7 EAP; nutrition, obesity, and fitness counseling; financial literary webinars; wellness fairs; and regular communications on plan resources.

"We believe that our consumer education and engagement program, Healthy for Life, and commitment to improve the health of Americans 20% by 2020 in partnership with the American Heart Association, were instrumental in our recognition as a top employer for well-being," Malila added.

Brian Marcotte, President and CEO of the National Business Group on Health, commented: "We congratulate Aramark for their dedication to improving the well-being of their employees. Employers are transitioning their focus from offering traditional wellness programs focused primarily on improving their employees' physical health to holistic well-being strategies aimed at enhancing the various facets of employees and their families' lives. We commend Aramark and its leaders for their innovation."

Winners of the 2016 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards were honored in one of three categories: Platinum, for implementing a workforce well-being strategy with demonstrated results across the dimensions of well-being; Gold, for organizations with a strong commitment to holistic well-being and related metrics; Silver, for organizations with emerging well-being strategies and metrics; often with a focus on physical health.

About Aramark

Aramark (NYSE: ARMK) delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people's lives through innovative services in food, facilities management, and uniforms. United by a passion to serve, our 270,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people in 21 countries around the world. Aramark is recognized as one of the World's Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE, rated number one among Diversified Outsourcing Companies, as well as among the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers' perspective on national health policy issues and helping companies optimize business performance through health improvement, innovation and health care management. The Business Group leads initiatives to address the most relevant health care issues facing employers today and enables human resource and benefit leaders to learn, share and leverage best practices from the most progressive companies. Business Group members, which include 72 Fortune 100 companies, provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.

National Business Group on Health

Ed Emermen (609) 275-5162

[email protected]

Aramark

Karen Cutler (215) 238-4063

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131212/PH32713LOGO

SOURCE Aramark

Related Links

http://www.aramark.com


CLEVELAND, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of 425 large U.S. employers, today honored KeyBank for having one of the best workforce well-being programs in the nation.

KeyBank, the principal subsidiary of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), is among 55 U.S. employers that received the 2016 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award presented at the National Business Group on Health's Fall Conference. This year's silver marks the third year Key has received a Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award.

"We are very proud to once again receive the 'healthy lifestyles' award and share it will all of our employees, who are taking control of their health and living healthier lives," said Kate Terrell, chief human resources officer of KeyCorp. "This award reinforces Key's commitment to our employees and their overall well-being. We are also pleased to join with the National Business Group on Health and other award members in helping to promote healthy lifestyles in workplaces and communities across the country."

The Business Group honored KeyBank for its innovative, systemic approach to wellness, which has helped employees become more involved in their well-being to improve their health. KeyBank provides employees the tools, information and incentives they need as they journey toward a healthier way of life. Investing in employees' health and well-being is part of KeyBank's broader commitment to foster a talented, diverse and high-performing workforce and includes key program elements such as a simple plan design (HDHPs: two options), comprehensive vendor coordination, annual wellness incentives, on-site wellness activities, on-site immunizations, biometric screenings and healthy lifestyle programming. By offering smart eating options and physical activities, KeyBank helps employees make better, more confident health and wellness decisions.

Brian Marcotte, President and CEO of the National Business Group on Health, commented: "We congratulate KeyBank for their dedication to improving the well-being of their employees. Employers are transitioning their focus from offering traditional wellness programs focused primarily on improving their employees' physical health to holistic well-being strategies aimed at enhancing the various facets of employees and their families' lives. We commend KeyBank and its leaders for their innovation."

Winners of the 2016 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards were honored in one of three categories: Platinum, for implementing a workforce well-being strategy with demonstrated results across the dimensions of well-being; Gold, for organizations with a strong commitment to holistic well-being and related metrics; Silver, for organizations with emerging well-being strategies and metrics; often with a focus on physical health.

About KeyBank

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies with assets of approximately $101 billion as of June 30, 2016. The acquisition of First Niagara Financial Group, which became effective on August 1, 2016, added assets of approximately $40 billion, based on June 30, 2016 balances. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, insurance and investment services to individuals and small and mid-sized businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association and First Niagara Bank, National Association, through a network of more than 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit www.key.com. KeyBank and First Niagara Bank, National Association are Member FDIC Institutions.

About the National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers' perspective on national health policy issues and helping companies optimize business performance through health improvement, innovation and health care management. The Business Group leads initiatives to address the most relevant health care issues facing employers today and enables human resource and benefit leaders to learn, share and leverage best practices from the most progressive companies. Business Group members, which include 72 Fortune 100 companies, provide health coverage for more than 50 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.

SOURCE KeyBank
RENO, Nev., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevada-based Renown Health and the Desert Research Institute (DRI) are collaborating with 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, to launch one of the first community-based population health studies in the U.S. that will combine health, population and genetic information with environmental data and return 23andMe genetic results to study participants.

Funded by the Renown Health Foundation and Nevada's Knowledge Fund, this pilot study will offer community members the opportunity to volunteer for research and gain access to their individual genetic information at no cost.

23andMe's Genotyping Services for Research platform will enable researchers to review genetic data and health-related survey responses from study participants. Combining genetic data with health and population data from Renown, as well as information from environmental databases, DRI scientists will analyze and model public health risks ranging from disease and illness, to the effects of air quality on the health of Nevadans.

"This collaboration addresses one of the fundamental tensions in medicine - which is more important, nature or nurture?" explained Anthony Slonim, M.D., DrPH, Renown Health president and CEO. "Clearly, both are important and by combining Renown's de-identified health data, such as 300,000 health histories that are five years or longer and patient population demographics, with other determinants, like social and environment, we can begin to better understand the health and healthcare needs of the people and communities we serve."

The study is open to the first 5,000 northern Nevada residents that qualify.

"This is the ultimate example of population health in action in a community based setting," Dr. Slonim added.

Each participant will receive 23andMe's Personal Genome Service, including more than 65 personalized genetic reports on their health, traits and ancestry. 23andMe is the first and only direct-to-consumer genetics company to provide reports that meet FDA standards.

"We see this as an innovative approach to population health that will benefit Nevadans, and could serve as a model for other states," said Andy Page, president of 23andMe. "It's exciting to have Renown and DRI, leaders in healthcare and research, come together for a comprehensive study of this scale, and to see such a great application of our Genotyping Services for Research platform."

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, who announced his participation as one of the first Nevada residents to complete 23andMe's simple DNA test as part of this study, said this offers an unprecedented opportunity for residents of the Silver State.

"Nevada's greatest resource is, and always has been, our people," said Governor Sandoval. "Renown's forward-thinking approach to community healthcare, combined with DRI's data and environmental expertise, will create incredible potential for new scientific discoveries and encourage citizens just like myself to take a proactive role in self-care and ultimately change the way we think about our health moving forward."

"This is a very proud moment for DRI and for Nevada, made possible because of Governor Sandoval's vision for innovation through the Knowledge Fund," added Dr. Robert Gagosian, DRI Acting President.

Researchers hope to build an infrastructure to apply the population health pilot to all approximately 2.8 million Nevada residents  doing so could enable researchers to build predictive models and to look for significant population health factors across demographic variables (gender, age, income, location); and distinct population health strata that consider community health, individual health, and chronic disease variables, as well as their interactions.

"We will begin to understand how environmental factors can help predict who may be at risk, allow for quicker diagnoses, and encourage the development of more precise treatments," said Joseph Grzymski, Ph.D., AIC senior director and principal investigator of the study.

"That understanding, combined with the information we will deliver back to study participants, are the first steps toward a future where access to your personal health data will contribute to a higher overall quality of life for all Nevadans."

For more information and to sign up for the study, visit partners.renown.org or call (775) 982-6914.

Renown Health is a locally governed and locally owned, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving a 17-county region comprised of northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe and northeast California. Renown is one of the region's largest private employers with a workforce of more than 6,000. It comprises three acute care hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital, skilled nursing, the area's most comprehensive medical group and urgent care network, and the region's largest and only locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown has a long tradition of being the first in the region to successfully perform leading-edge medical procedures. For more information, visit www.renown.org.

Desert Research Institute (DRI), the nonprofit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education, is a world leader in environmental sciences through the application of knowledge and technologies to improve people's lives throughout Nevada and the world. Supported by Nevada's Knowledge Fund, the DRI Applied Innovation Center (AIC) aims to aid and improve the new, knowledge-based economy in Nevada by integrating DRI's core areas of expertise in hydrologic, atmospheric, earth and ecosystem sciences with data analysis and informatics, visualization, modeling and simulation. More information about DRI's Applied Innovation Center is available at www.dri.edu.

23andMe, Inc. is the leading personal genetics company. Founded in 2006, the mission of the company is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe has more than one million customers worldwide, with over 80 percent consented to participate in research. 23andMe, Inc. is located in Mountain View, CA. More information is available at 23andme.com/researchers

Media Contacts:

Stacy Kendall, Director of Communications and New Media, Renown Health

(775) 691-7308

[email protected]

Molly Livingston for Desert Research Institute

(510) 898-8220

[email protected]

Andy Kill, Media Relations, 23andMe, Inc.

(650) 963-8985

[email protected]

SOURCE 23andMe, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.23andme.com


CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A new integrated campaign has just launched for the Art Institute of Chicago, promoting several innovative digital tools the museum is introducing to the public. Featuring multiple video, print and digital assets courtesy of specialized creative agency Leviathan, the museum's campaign is currently unfolding on the Art Institute's website (http://www.artic.edu), on digital signage throughout the museum, across the museum's social media channels, and in traditional media placements.

First to debut externally was a video spot for JourneyMaker (https://youtu.be/zRygX7VI3Bo), highlighting the museum's innovative new digital installation that is empowering families to create their own oneofakind journeys in the museum. Showing families with young children visiting the interactive kiosk in the museum's Ryan Learning Center, the video uses colorful animation and seamless visual effects to illustrate how using JourneyMaker can transform museum visits into themed adventures.

The Art Institute recently released the second spot (https://youtu.be/IorGGLgOz7w) introducing its new Mobile App. Also combining highend VFX with the campaign's clean design aesthetic, both spots use the museum as a canvas. According to Leviathan's creative director Bradon Webb, "The Art Institute is the perfect background for animated visuals to move throughout the space  as well as being a metaphor of the visitors' journey and what it feels like to experience art with these new interactive technologies."

Leviathan's executive creative director Jason White explained, "Our work with the Art Institute of Chicago is a great, ongoing opportunity to help the museum tell its story of leadership in digital media and interpretation. Our mission was to create compelling and unique assets the museum can use to spread the word about innovative technologies they're introducing to inspire engagement with technology, all of which is designed to help visitors better understand art while driving curiosity surrounding the collection."

Specifically aiming to attract new audiences, the Art Institute's executive director of digital experience Michael Neault envisioned the campaign as engaging visitors both inside and outside the museum. "As a result," White added, "our campaign proposed a collection of premium videos and digital posters promoting the launch of the new digital tools which could appear throughout the museum, and everywhere the museum can reach using traditional and social media."

Another goal for Leviathan was delivering a new way of perceiving the Art Institute, which Trip Advisor consistently ranks as one of the world's top museums. To achieve this, the company's artists set out to convey the actual experiences visitors can anticipate. "The overall stories were developed completely inhouse with collaboration from Michael and his colleagues at the Art Institute," said Leviathan's creative director Kyle Shoup. "A lot of preproduction planning went in to ensure we'd have the shots necessary to integrate illustrative characters and motion graphics on the back end. Pencil storyboards helped sculpt the storyline, and style frames brought the vision one step closer to our final."

Music and sound design for both spots is courtesy of Waveplant. Complete project credits are available upon request.

About Leviathan

Leviathan (http://www.lvthn.com) is a specialized creative agency working at the nexus of design, digital media, and interaction. By bringing phenomenal narrative content and emerging technologies into physical environments, Leviathan transforms ideas into exceptional experiences for brands and creative collaborators worldwide. Established in 2010, Leviathan's innovation has been recognized by top-tier publications including Communication Arts, The Creators Project, Fast Company, Forbes and Wired, among many others.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Please visit this link to download images to company this story: http://darnellworks.com/lvthn/aic16.htm

SOURCE Leviathan

Related Links

http://www.lvthn.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New York Life announced today the launch of "Be Good at Life," a new integrated brand marketing campaign to inspire people to take control of their finances, achieving the financial liberation that enables better lives. The campaign seeks to alleviate America's crisis of underinsurance* by redefining the role life insurance plays in people's lives, and aligning New York Life with evolving consumer attitudes about money and happiness.

"Be Good at Life" is grounded in insights, gleaned from original research that all generations of consumers aspire to be smart with their money and value financial security as an essential ingredient of living well. This is especially true for maturing Millennials who came of age in the global financial crisis and are struggling with record levels of college debt as they establish families and careers. While making sense of finances can be overwhelming and intimidating, they value the kind of advice that will help them make good financial decisions and be liberated to enjoy life. They also value being part of a safe and strong community, one that will help protect their young families today and grow with them through life's defining moments.

"The 'Be Good at Life' campaign is built on shared values among New York Life and our policy owners. We are owned by our clients and we exist to always be there for them," said Kelli Parsons, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, New York Life. "We provide expert guidance and solutions that empower people to make smart financial decisions that benefit them today and throughout their lives. We believe that financial security is attainable and liberates you to be good at life. The new campaign communicates this with an optimistic, breakthrough approach that is especially relevant and interesting to our growing number of Millennial clients."

"Be Good at Life" also addresses broader societal shifts in defining what it means to "live well."

"Americans are increasingly interested in the quality of their lives today, in addition to the legacies they will leave behind," said Kari Axberg, Head of Brand Marketing, New York Life. "New York Life meets both needs, providing peace of mind for unexpected life events, as well as offering benefits for the moments in between  such as income to fund college or a business, buy a home, or enjoy retirement."

The campaign will debut on Saturday, September 17, 2016 with a set of :60-, :30- and :15-second television commercials, digital media, outdoor advertising and a reimagined company website, www.NewYorkLife.com. To present the financial security provided by New York Life in a fresh and unexpected way, the company tapped comedian Demetri Martin for the introductory commercial featuring parents experiencing one of life's defining moments: childbirth. Martin lends his signature comedic talent to help New York Life demonstrate how having your financial future taken care of allows you to focus on life's joyous events.

To learn more about the campaign and how to "Be Good at Life," visit www.NewYorkLife.com or follow @NewYorkLife, #GoodAtLife on social media.

*A New York Life study showed that 75 percent of Americans do not have adequate life insurance coverage. Forty percent are underinsured and do not have enough life insurance coverage in place and 35 percent have no coverage at all. The 2013 survey was conducted by The Futures Company, an independent third party research company.

About New York Life

Committed to inspiring and enabling people to live better lives by helping them take control of their finances, New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer by all four of the major credit rating agencies.** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance.

*Based on revenue as reported by "Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)," Fortune magazine, 6/17/16. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/

**Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 8/09/16.

For more information, please contact:

Terri Wolcott, New York Life

[email protected]



Claire Tucker, Weber Shandwick

[email protected]

212-445-8080

SOURCE New York Life

Related Links

http://www.newyorklife.com


WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP NEWSBYTE  SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the opening of Skyline High School's Computer Science & Technology Academy in Oakland, Calif. This innovative six-year early college high school program will provide young adults with valuable skills and guidance to get a head-start in their pursuit of careers in technology.

"The technology industry will add hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade,*" said Jennifer Morgan, president, SAP North America. "We must ensure the next generation is educated and ready to assume the mantle of leadership and innovation in the digital economy. Public-private partnerships and investments in education are key to equipping today's students with the skills they need for tomorrow and ensuring the United States remains at the center of technological innovation for years to come."

The program was developed in partnership with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), Berkeley City College (BCC) and the Career Ladders Project. Students who participate in the program will acquire technical skills and professional certifications, and have access to SAP employee mentors and workplace learning opportunities within SAP. In addition to earning a high school diploma, all participating students will earn a technology-focused associate degree from BCC free of charge, providing these students with a substantial advantage in the highly competitive technology industry.

"Public-private partnerships, like that of SAP and OUSD, are vital to fostering a STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] pipeline of career-ready talent that will keep California competitive for years to come," said California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom.

SAP's partnership with OUSD is an active step in preparing today's young leaders for technology-focused careers. It builds off the success of other SAP-funded six-year early college high schools such as BTECH in Queens, New York; C-Town Tech in Boston, Massachusetts; and Templeton Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Living in the Bay Area, our students know well the opportunity that lies ahead of them with advanced skills in technology," said OUSD superintendent Antwan Wilson. "The opening of the Computer Science & Technology Academy at Skyline High School creates a critical pathway for our students to reach that opportunity. After graduating from the Academy, Oakland students will go far to help fill the skills gap. We thank SAP for working to ensure that in OUSD, Every Student Thrives."

SAP and OUSD are hosting a celebration event at Skyline High School on Friday, September 16, with the inaugural class of 100 students and 200 current academy students. Oakland A's legend Reggie Jackson, a passionate advocate for STEM education in local communities, California Associate Attorney General Venus Johnson, and Oakland Chief of Education David Silver will be joining the expected crowd of 400 students, family members, educators, and SAP employees.

For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

* U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, "Occupation Outlook Handbook," December 2015.

Media Contacts:

Kellie Drenner, +1 (408) 612-9348, [email protected], PT

Jackie Montesinos Suarez, +1 (786) 325-0568, [email protected], ET

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


WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP NEWSBYTE  Six in 10 global banks are open to partnering with financial technology firms (fintechs), a survey released today on future proofing banks by SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) revealed. One in three banks (34 percent) are open to a collaboration with a fintech company and one in four (25 percent) would consider an acquisition, the survey, conducted by IDC Financial Insights and sponsored by SAP, found.

The IDC e-book, "The Future-Proof Digital Bank," surveyed respondents from 265 retail and corporate banks in 24 countries on how they're driving digital transformation. The study found that while the relationship between banks and fintechs is improving, banks still need to do more to implement key lessons learned from fintechs to achieve full digital transformation (DX). While most banks are quick to report that they are digitally savvy, the study found that most digitally transformative initiatives are still business-led "islands of innovation" only posing as digital transformation, while true business-wide transformation remains rare.

"The relationship between banks and start-ups is an interesting and nuanced one," said Rob Hetherington, global head of financial services, SAP. "Banks are in the midst of digital transformation, looking for ways to speed their time to market and to deliver new value or services to customers. Start-ups on the other hand are mobile, agile and built solely for the customer, yet they lack the regulatory know-how and customer confidence that large, global banks have. Both have something the other wants, and I anticipate that we'll witness far greater collaboration, integration and  in some instances  acquisitions happening in the next year."

Other key findings include:

North America puts core focus on DX as a business enabler, with 40 percent of North American banks investing more than a quarter of their IT budget in DX initiatives and 20 percent seeing DX as an organizational strategy.

puts core focus on DX as a business enabler, with 40 percent of North American banks investing more than a quarter of their IT budget in DX initiatives and 20 percent seeing DX as an organizational strategy. Customer centricity drives investment in EMEA, with 57 percent citing improved customer experience as an outcome of DX and 44 percent of DX initiatives primarily focused on the front office. Less than 25 percent of EMEA banks have a strategic enterprise-wide approach to digital transformation in place.

Latin American banks tend to build fragmented initiatives. Twenty-four percent of the DX initiatives are focused on back office (4 percent higher than global average), while at the same time 42 percent of the DX initiatives are focused on the front office.

Banks in Asia Pacific are moving towards an advanced strategic approach to DX with 29 percent having implemented an organization-wide DX strategy, higher than the worldwide 28 percent. However, there is less of a focus on improving the customer experience in APAC, with 41 percent citing it as a priority compared to global average of 50 percent.

Jerry Silva, research director for IDC Financial Insights, said: "Digital transformation at any bank always begins with an honest self-evaluation involving many questions that touch upon evolving customer demands, strengths, weaknesses and the competitor landscape. From there banks must then invest in a full DX by building board-level involvement, build a leadership structure for organization-wide transformation and finally build an infrastructure that supports partnerships."

To see the full report, visit: http://sapworldbanking.idcinteractive.net. For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

Media Contact:

Birgit Dolny, +49 (6227) 7-61664, [email protected], CET

Alison Keunen, FleishmanHillard, +1 (212) 453-2460, [email protected], EDT

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.

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SOURCE SAP SE

Related Links

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LONDON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation plc (NYSE:NE) today announced that its report of drilling rig status and contract information has been updated as of September 15, 2016. The report, titled "Fleet Status Report," can be found on the Company's Website www.noblecorp.com, under the "Investor Relations" section of the Website.

About Noble Corporation plc

Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The Company owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry. Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 30 offshore drilling units, consisting of 16 semisubmersibles and drillships and 14 jackups, focused largely on ultra-deepwater and high-specification jackup drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide. Noble is a public limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 08354954 and registered office at Devonshire House, 1 Mayfair Place, London, W1J 8AJ England. Additional information on Noble is available at www.noblecorp.com.

SOURCE Noble Corporation

Related Links

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean9 announces the unlimited public release of the Ocean9 Configurator for SAP HANA on Amazon Web Service (AWS). This offering provides fast and easy system scoping for SAP HANA running on AWS environments across a range of sizes  from 30 GB to 14 TB and beyond.

The Ocean9 Configurator finely differentiates between development, test, and productive workloads  including single or clustered systems optimized for business continuity and disaster recovery. It also provides full and up-to-date pricing transparency across all relevant AWS consumption models.

This release comes at a time of growing SAP offerings on AWS. Following the recent announcement of expanded SAP production certifications for the Amazon Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) X1 instance type, Ocean9 customers can deploy the following SAP production certified landscapes (sizing relates to compressed data volume):

SAP S/4HANA systems up to 2 TB

SAP BW/4HANA systems up to 14 TB

"We are excited to provide our unique configurator to all customers and partners in the SAP ecosystem," says Swen Conrad, CEO at Ocean9. "We have seen tremendous interest in our managed cloud service for SAP HANA driven by our unique ability to fully configure and deploy a 14 TB SAP BW/4HANA system in under 20 minutes."

Fast ROI: The Ocean9 Jumpstart Package for SAP HANA on AWS

With the Ocean9 Jumpstart Package for SAP HANA on AWS, organizations can get up to speed with almost any variety of SAP HANA systems in the cloud quickly and securely. This package combines the Configurator with the Ocean9 turnkey Managed Cloud Service for SAP HANA  as well as deep advisory services and comprehensive customer-controlled conference room pilots. And at the end of the week-long engagement, customers retain future access to and control of their SAP HANA cloud environments.

Digital Transformation: The Ocean9 Strategic Advisory Package

In addition, Ocean9 also offers a strategic advisory package, with projects lasting 1-2 weeks. Tailored to focus on the customer's situation, concerns, and goals, this package is designed to deliver deep insights into the latest technology and business trends  such as overall cloud strategy or digital transformation. Deliverables include a strategic architecture and roadmap combined with business cases and concrete proofs of concept  such as a bill-of-services  to get started.

"We just closed all four datacenters running SAP workloads," says Fazley Rabbi, IT Director at Pacific Inter-link Group in Malaysia."Key to our success, was strong cloud advisory services for our migration to SAP on AWS. Finally, we can focus on business transformation  and this has helped change the perception of IT from a cost center to a value center!"

ABOUT OCEAN9:

Ocean9 enables our customers' Digital Transformation journey through cloud native and modular X-as-a-Service solutions with a focus on SAP, Big Data and IoT. Please visit our website at www.ocean9.io to find out more about Ocean9 and its innovative cloud solutions and advisory.

Media Contact:

Patrick Fitzgerald

Saltbox Communications

413 230-3330

[email protected]

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SOURCE Ocean9

Related Links

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BEACHWOOD, Ohio, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN) will hold its conference call to discuss third quarter 2016 results on Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 11:00am ET. The call will be hosted by OMNOVA Solutions' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin McMullen, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Paul DeSantis. OMNOVA will release earnings before the market opens on September 22 for the quarter ending August 31, 2016.

The call will be webcast and participants may log on from the Investor Relations section of OMNOVA's website at www.omnova.com. OMNOVA will archive the call on its website until noon ET, October 12, 2016. Or, to listen to a digitized telephone replay (1:00pm ET, September 22 until 11:59pm ET, October 12, 2016), callers should dial:

(USA) 800-475-6701, Access Code 401203

(Int'l) 320-365-3844, Access Code 401203

OMNOVA Solutions Inc. is a global innovator of performance-enhancing chemistries and surfaces used in products for a variety of commercial, industrial and residential applications. As a strategic business-to-business supplier, OMNOVA provides The Science in Better Brands, with emulsion polymers, specialty chemicals, and functional and decorative surfaces that deliver critical performance attributes to top brand-name, end-use products sold around the world. OMNOVA's sales for the last 12 months ended May 31, 2016, were $788 million. The Company has a global workforce of approximately 1,950. Visit OMNOVA Solutions on the internet at www.omnova.com.

SOURCE OMNOVA Solutions

Related Links

http://www.omnova.com


As a result, the FDA recently issued its strongest warning about combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines, saying:

"After an extensive review of the latest scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it is requiring class-wide changes to drug labeling, including patient information, to help inform health care providers and patients of the serious risks associated with the combined use of certain opioid medications and a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant drugs called benzodiazepines.

"Among the changes, the FDA is requiring boxed warnings  the FDA's strongest warning  and patient-focused Medication Guides for prescription opioid analgesics, opioid-containing cough products, and benzodiazepines  nearly 400 products in total  with information about the serious risks associated with using these medications at the same time. Risks include extreme sleepiness, respiratory depression, coma and death."

Although much focus on this combination of opioids and benzodiazepines is with "street use," said Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, PPAHS), "for example, those seeking detoxification for heroin or other opioid addiction, as evidenced by a recent study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse - this combination may also be deadly for hospitalized patients."

In a recent interview with on the Society of Hospital Medicine comprehensive guide, "Reducing Adverse Drug Events Related to Opioids" (otherwise known as the RADEO guide), the lead author, Dr. Frederickson, emphasized that the sedation risk from the additive effects of non-opioid medications must be recognized by all clinicians when administering opioids to their patients:

"The biggest risk are the benzodiazepines, and the reason that the benzodiazepines pose a risk are really two.

"First is they're very common. Many patients come into the hospital taking benzodiazepines. They're commonly used for anxiety and other conditions as well. So, patients, who are already on benzodiazepines, habituated benzodiazepines, need to continue that medication in the hospital.

"So, when you have an additive effect, or even more than an additive effect of adding an opioid medication to control pain, the sedating effects of the benzodiazepines, as well as the opioids, can be more than additive; and this really is a situation that requires an increased level of caution for providers and policies in place that include more heightened monitoring and such to avoid untoward events."

To watch the interview with Dr. Frederickson with accompanying slides on YouTube, please click here

For a full transcript of the interview, please click here.

About Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety

Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety is a non-profit 501(c)(3) whose mission is to promote safer clinical practices and standards for patients through collaboration among healthcare experts, professionals, scientific researchers, and others, in order to improve healthcare delivery. For more information, please go to www.ppahs.org.

Video - https://youtu.be/cAEhjSkPkKM

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131024/CG03341LOGO

SOURCE Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety

Related Links

http://www.ppahs.org


With all of the divisive, and often depressing, conversations in the media, even the most optimistic among us can feel a little helpless, especially when we think about our children, and the future world they might inherit. From a very young age, children can understand, absorb and internalize negative messages around them, increasing the need for discourse at school and around the dinner table.

Books offer an accessible resource for parents and educators to discuss topics children sometimes struggle to grasp, including differences in appearances, beliefs and lifestyles. With beautiful illustrations and a simple compelling story, The Barefoot Book of Children ignites kids' curiosity and compassion, while also inspiring adults to discuss topics like:

"Our children are watching": Hillary Clinton has a campaign ad showing Donald Trump's language as an example of what we don't want our kids to watch/hear/pay attention to. But what DO we want them to notice and how do we shift the conversation?

has a campaign ad showing language as an example of what we don't want our kids to watch/hear/pay attention to. But what DO we want them to notice and how do we shift the conversation? President Obama's "Empathy Deficit": How can we use diverse and inclusive books to foster empathy in children? How do we prepare them in the 21st century to thrive and contribute in their communities, and in professional and academic spheres?

How can we use diverse and inclusive books to foster empathy in children? How do we prepare them in the 21st century to thrive and contribute in their communities, and in professional and academic spheres? Why children need diverse books: All children deserve to see themselves, their families and their experiences in the books they read. They also need to see and understand others in order to grow into compassionate, responsible global citizens.

"The Barefoot Book of Children encapsulates the mission that we have been committed to from the very beginning," says Nancy Traversy, Co-founder and CEO of Barefoot Books. "Perhaps if we all start sharing its important message far and wide, we can begin to change the conversation and help build a better future for our children."

"Children takes its readers on a visual trek across the globe, where they discover that  despite our different clothes and homes and languages  we are more alike than different."

Caryl Stern, President and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

The Barefoot Book of Children, written by Tessa Strickland and Kate DePalma, illustrated by David Dean, was published on September 6, 2016 (64 pages, hardcover, $19.99 USD / $24.99 CAD).

View digital book

View more information

View more diversity and inclusive books

About Barefoot Books

Founded by two young mothers in England in 1992 and based in Cambridge, MA, Barefoot has published 600+ books for children that encourage discovery, compassion, creativity and global awareness. Learn more...

Contact Jeanne Stafford, [email protected], 617.335.7946 to receive an advance copy of The Barefoot Book of Children, for further resources or to arrange an interview.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407980

SOURCE Barefoot Books

Related Links

http://www.barefootbooks.com


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.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's IoT Emerge, a new event that targets the opportunities and challenges posed by IoT devices, platforms and services, presented by the IoT Institute, today announced a new slate of speakers for its IoT Security track. IoT Emerge is scheduled for November 24, 2016 at McCormick Place in Chicago, click here to register.

"The IoT opens a new world of opportunity for hackers. Each day in the news we hear of possible doomsday scenarios as a result of a cyber attack," said Karen Field, Executive Content Director, IoT Emerge. "Our IoT Security track speakers will address many security challenges. We created this conference to help IoT project teams gain the vital insights they need to build IoT security and data privacy into their planning and best practices."

Kicking off the event at McCormick Center the morning of Wednesday November 2, security expert, hacker and inventor Pablos Holman will deliver a keynote address on "Hacking the Future."

The IoT Security track sessions are on Wednesday, November 2 and Thursday November 3. The track content will showcase some of today's hottest topics and concerns such as "The Connected World- How Secure is the Internet of Things?" and "Setting the Standard for Cybersecurity." Attendees will be part of conversations and discussions about vulnerability and how in the last decade tools and techniques have emerged allowing for verification and validation of cybersecurity. Dan Isaacs, Director Connected System and IIoT Ecosystem Strategy, Xilinx, Inc. will present "IIC's Security Claims Testbed: Targeting Security Early in Product Development" and Bill Butler, Chair, Cyber & Information Security and Director, Critical Infrastructures & Cyber Protection Center, Capitol Technology University will present "The Connected World - How Secure is the Internet of Things?." Examining the vulnerability of these new technologies and connections are part of what will make the IoT Emerge Security Track a must-attend.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear first hand from security experts Curtis Levinson, United States Cyber Defense Advisor to NATO and Robert Vamosi, Security Strategist for the Software Integrity Group at Synposys. Levinson will be joined with Jennifer Smith, Esq, CIPP, Shareholder, Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, PA. Together they will examine the intersection of the IoT and SCADA systems as they present "IoT: Risks to the Power Grid." Vamosi will present "Five Questions to Ask Your Software Provider about Cybersecurity." Examining the need for software testing for known and unknown vulnerabilities. He'll cover topics such as static analysis, fuzz testing, software composition analysis, interactive application security testing and test optimization.

To round out the final day of IoT Security, Rawlson King, Communications Director, Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) will present "Cybersecurity and Intelligent Buildings: Strategies for Managing Your Risk." King will unveil research that focuses on how cyber-attacks can arise from integrated building control systems and the steps that can be taken to limit the likelihood of these incidents and their impact.

IoT Emerge, scheduled for November 24, 2016 at McCormick Place in Chicago, will offer real-world education and insights, hands-on experience of IoT enabled businesses through conference programs, live demos, case studies, and local tours. Mirroring the focus of the IoT Institute on Smart Cities and the Industrial IoT, the event will provide comprehensive insights and guidance on achieving success with IoT strategies and implementations in these segments. The event will feature strategic and technical sessions, workshops, hands-on training, cross-functional peer-to-peer networking, advice and lessons learned on achieving organizational readiness, leveraging data analytics, and instituting security best practices. Embracing the reality that IoT requires multiple stakeholders and departments working together, the event is targeted at private and public sector leaders; operations, IT, engineering, and facilities management; as well as system integrators and IoT product developers.

For additional information on IoT Emerge, click here to view the agenda.

IoT Emerge will be held in tandem with IWCE's Critical LTE Communications Forum, SmartGig Chicago and Empowering Customers & Cities.

Three registration options are available to attend IoT Emerge, The Energy Times' Empowering Customers & Cities, and SmartGig Chicago. Click here for details. To register to attend IWCE's Critical LTE Communications Forum, click here.

Media interested in obtaining media credentials to attend IoT Emerge, contact Bibi Jackson at [email protected].

To learn about exhibiting & sponsorship opportunities, contact Amanda Buehner at [email protected].

Stay connected with Penton IoT Institute on Twitter @IoTiPenton, Facebook: IoT Institute and LinkedIn Group: The IoT Institute. To sign up for the IoT Institute weekly IoTi Informer newsletter, visit: www.ioti.com.

About Penton's IoT Institute

Penton's IoT Institute is an online community and live events franchise focused on practical B2B applications in the rapidly growing world of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT Institute provides actionable case studies, insights, research, and e-learning on the industrial and cultural phenomenon that's changing the shape of business and cities today. The IoT Institute's mission is to enable cross-industry and cross-job function learning to drive business performance.

ABOUT PENTON

Penton is an innovative information services company that empowers nearly 20 million business decision makers in markets that drive more than 12 trillion dollars in purchases each year. Our products inform with rich industry insights and workflow tools; engage through dynamic events, education and networking; and advance business with powerful marketing services programs. Penton is the way smart businesses buy, sell and grow.

Headquartered in New York, Penton is privately owned by MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co., LP. For more information, visit http://www.penton.com or follow us on Twitter @PentonNow.

MEDIA CONTACT

Bibi Jackson

Penton IoT

[email protected]

(510) 423-0345

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SOURCE Penton

Related Links

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NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/alertswire

EXPERT ALERTS

Unique and Intentional Communication Styles of Both Presidential Candidates

Can Someone Sue You for a Zika Infection?

MEDIA JOBS

Producer  CBS News (NY)

Producer  NBC Universal (MA)

Investigative Reporter  Killeen Daily Herald (TX)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

Blog Profiles: Higher Education Blogs

Media Insider: Instagram Most Engaging, BuzzFeed Multiplies

The Five Types of Journalists Using Social Media

EXPERT ALERTS:

Unique and Intentional Communication Styles of Both Presidential Candidates

Ken Tucker

Author, Executive Trainer and Political Conversation Strategist

TAG Consulting

Tucker is able to explain why Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are winning and/or losing using a conversation audit that he created. Says Tucker: "Both presidential candidates, as they use conversation, whether in interviews, speeches or debates, are more or less effective in convincing their audience. By analyzing each candidate's use of conversation, we can measure and relatively predict how effective they are at getting their audience to take action (vote for them), process ideas (think differently and favorably about them), and change behavior (vote for them instead)."

Tucker is a bestselling author and sought after speaker. He is author of "Are You Fascinated? The Four People You Need to Succeed," produced by Dailey Swann Publishing in August 2009. He also authored "Intentional Conversations: How to Rethink Everyday Conversation and Transform Your Career," and "Intentional Relationships: How to Work and Succeed with Others" -- both published by Familius LLC in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Tucker coauthored "Animals, Inc.: a Business Parable for the 21st Century," published by Warner Books in February 2004 and, "The Leadership Triangle." He also contributed to "Your Intentional Difference: One Word Changes Everything," with Todd Hahn and Shane Roberson.

Tucker has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He was selected as a Kellogg Fellow in 1998. He has been interviewed by Sam Donaldson of ABC News. He has also appeared on Bloomberg Television in New York, the FOX-affiliate in Oklahoma City, and the CBS/CW-affiliate in Detroit, Michigan. He has been a keynote speaker sharing the platform at times with General Colin Powell, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jim Collins and Marcus Buckingham.

Website: https://www.tagconsulting.org

Contact: Dwann Rollinson, [email protected]



Can Someone Sue You for a Zika Infection?

Robert Ryan

Civil Law Attorney

Kuzyk Law, LLP.

What we already know about the Zika virus is that it poses the largest threat to pregnant women and their fetuses. What you may not know are the different levels of liability involved in contracting this virus. In other words, can you sue someone if you become infected with Zika? Says Ryan: "The first and most obvious risk is to health care workers, in hospitals and clinics, who may be exposed to the virus in connection with their job responsibilities. All employers in the U.S. have an obligation to provide a safe workplace for their employees. Any employee who contracts Zika as a result of unsafe practices or procedures by their employer could have a claim for resulting damages, including to an unborn baby. We now also know that Zika can be sexually transmitted, which could give rise to legal liability by individuals to their partners who engage in sexual relations knowing they have the virus. There were a number of cases in the U.S. following the herpes epidemic in the 1980's where damages were awarded to people who contracted the virus as a result of having sex with a partner who was aware they were themselves infected. During the AIDS epidemic in the 1990's, both civil and in some rare cases criminal liability was imposed on people who were aware they were infected by the AIDS virus, and who nevertheless engaged in unprotected sex with unsuspecting partners. It remains to be seen whether similar claims arise out of the current public health crises posed by the Zika virus."

Ryan is a Los Angeles area attorney who has built a successful practice litigating in state and federal courts throughout California. After rising to membership in a Beverly Hills-based complex litigation boutique, Ryan made the life-altering decision 15 years ago to re-focus his practice on representing only individuals injured or killed in accidents. He heads the Litigation Department at California-based Kuzyk Law, the largest law firm in Northern Los Angeles

Website: http://kuzyklaw.com

Contact: Ryan McCormick, [email protected]

****************

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

Producer  CBS News (NY)

Producer  NBC Universal (MA)

Investigative Reporter  Killeen Daily Herald (TX)

*****************

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

FEDERAL REGISTER GIVES JOURNALISTS SOMETHING TO CHEW ON. If you're a general assignment reporter, you might not be aware of a helpful resource available to you: The Federal Register. The website, which is updated daily at 6 a.m. , includes proposed rules and regulations that may help you generate relevant stories of particular interest to your viewers. Find out more about it here: http://prn.to/2c4x9Fv

, includes proposed rules and regulations that may help you generate relevant stories of particular interest to your viewers. Find out more about it here: http://prn.to/2c4x9Fv BLOG PROFILES: EVENT PLANNING BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations group selects an industry or subject and a handful of blogs that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the conversation. This week, we look at blogs covering event planning: http://bit.ly/2c5Pbvn

http://bit.ly/2c5Pbvn UNIVISION EXPANDS MILLENNIAL REACH. As audiences grow and consume news in different ways, media organizations are doing what they can to keep up. In the multicultural space, Hispanic broadcast TV behemoth Univision recently agreed to buy Gawker Media for $135 million . The purchase is just the latest in a string of non-Hispanic online acquisitions to be integrated into Univision's Fusion Media Group. As a result, Univision is catapulting into a position where they may become a leading voice of the new America. Read more: http://bit.ly/2cmcyij

****************

PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire.

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SOURCE ProfNet

Related Links

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SAN FRANCISCO and MUMBAI, September 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Startups to get 25% Sponsorship at Leading Tech Conferences, Along With Global Marketing and PR Support

Radix, the domain registry behind new domain extensions like .TECH, .STORE and .ONLINE, has announced its new Startup League initiative that went live at the end of August.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408214LOGO )



The Startup League aims to help startups with their marketing and PR efforts, by providing benefits that will "make global marketing at reputed events a reality for startups using Radix's domain extensions, even if they are strapped for funds," said Sandeep Ramchandani, VP & Business Head of Radix.

The benefits that the Startup League offers include a minimum 25% sponsorship on a Startup's Exhibitor Fees at events like Techcrunch Disrupt, Websummit, SLUSH, CES, SXSW and others. Besides that, startups in the league will get media mentions and spoken about in press releases on leading platforms such as Alley Watch, Tech.eu; gain special access to highly valued premium domain names and more.

The conferences and events covered by the Startup League are reputed for the investors and media they attract, which is what makes attending them a must for any early-stage startup. To be eligible for entry into the League, the startup must have its primary website on one of Radix's 8 domain extensions - .TECH, .STORE, .ONLINE, .SPACE, .SITE, .PRESS, .HOST or .WEBSITE.

"We believe that the right and relevant name for a startup (and its product) is the first step towards effective marketing, which is why the Startup League has been created to support startups on our distinctive domain names in their endeavours to stand out amongst the competition," added Ramchandani.

Many startups like horus.tech, betagig.tech, eyeware.tech, devteam.space and more have joined the League prior to its launch. The League has also partnered with known startup enablers like Founders Space, Whub and Founder Institute to potentially benefit startups under the wing of these communities.

To register for the Startup League, visit http://www.startupleague.online. To know more about Radix and its extensions, visit http://www.radix.website.

About the Startup League:

The Startup League is a Radix initiative, launched in August 2016, aimed at providing Marketing and PR support to startups on new domain extensions. Radix (Radix FZC) is a portfolio Registry for new domain extensions and has secured uncontested registry rights to, .TECH, .STORE, .ONLINE, .SPACE, .SITE, .PRESS, .HOST and .WEBSITE, with an investment of over $40 million in these extensions.

Press Contact:

Lenold Sequeira Vaz

[email protected]

+91-8123691781



SOURCE Radix
Taste of Italy will feature samples, recipe ideas, new food products, buy-one-get-one-free offers and events that bring a taste of Italian culture to nearly 200 Ralphs supermarkets from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

Select stores will host educational "Crack the Parm" events. On September 17 at 12 p.m., Ralphs cheese specialists will demonstrate how to crack a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheel weighing nearly 80 pounds in the Murray's Cheese departments at the following Ralphs stores:

26901 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo

7140 Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad

380 E. 17 th St., Costa Mesa

St., 32555 Golden Lantern, Dana Point

3455 Del Mar Heights Rd., Del Mar

17840 Ventura Blvd., Encino

7257 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

5241 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach

49908 Jefferson St., Indio

5345 Alton Parkway, Irvine

521 W. Foothill Blvd., La Canada

2675 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta

6290 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach

645 W. 9 th St., Los Angeles

St., 260 S. La Brea Blvd., Los Angeles

12057 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

23841 W. Malibu Rd., Malibu

2700 Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach

4700 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey

2555 East Bluff Dr., Newport Beach

10900 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood

19781 Rinaldi St., Northridge

1733 E. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs

10525 4S Commons Dr., San Diego

11875 Carmel Mountain Rd., San Diego

101 G St., San Diego

5680 Mission Center Rd., San Diego

1020 University Ave., San Diego

14049 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks

10901 Ventura Blvd., Studio City

13321 Jamboree Rd., Tustin

14440 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys

910 Lincoln Blvd., Venice

10861 Weyburn, Westwood

21909 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills

The cracking events will be followed with recipes, tastings and suggestions for enjoying this nutty, savory cheese.

Ralphs continues to expand its internationally-inspired product offerings under the exclusive HemisFares brand, which debuted with the company's first Taste of Italy event last fall. In conjunction with the most current Taste of Italy event, HemisFares will introduce Italian favorites including antipasti jars, flavored oils, gelato, and new pastas and pasta sauces.

Ralphs, along with its parent company, Kroger, will host a national Twitter party at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 17, for customers to learn more about Italian cuisine and culture. To participate, follow @kroger on Twitter.

This is Ralphs' fourth Savor World Flavor event, which has included Taste of Mexico in 2014, Taste of Italy in 2015 and Taste of Spain earlier this year. For more details, including recipes and an easy-to-use, authentic meal planning experience, "How to Eat Like an Italian", please visit www.italianworldflavor.com.

About Ralphs Grocery Company

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 198 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. Last year, Ralphs contributed more than $6 million to support education, hunger relief, women's health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company's stores. Ralphs is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation's largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more about Ralphs, please visit our web site at www.ralphs.com.

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SOURCE Ralphs Grocery Company

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During the past decade, Ebner has been instrumental in leading Savoy's market expansion into central and southern New Jersey as well as contributing to growth efforts in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Under her direction, staff and resources have been cultivated to meet the growing needs of market-leading brokerage firms.

"We strive to deliver strategies to our brokers that will promote their brand and drive revenue. By providing true partnership backed by an adaptable infrastructure, we bring brokers the expertise, resources and overall support they need to maintain and grow their business," said Ebner.

As Vice President, Ebner will be responsible for developing company-wide initiatives that will help brokers showcase best-in-class products and services. Ebner will also explore and implement new revenue opportunities for brokers both within and outside of current geographic areas.

Born and raised in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, Ebner holds a B.A. in English from Rutgers University. For over twenty years, Ebner has been a very active member within the National Association of Health Underwriters (AHU). Ebner has held leadership positions including State President of the New Jersey AHU, Southern New Jersey AHU Chapter President, New Jersey State HIAPAC (Health Insurance Agent Political Action Committee) Chair and other local level positions. Ebner was also the recipient of the New Jersey AHU's President's Award.

About Savoy

Savoy is an innovative benefits consulting firm and regional general agency. With over 30 years' experience, Savoy's strategic partnerships bring continued growth to brokers, carriers and vendors throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Savoy tactically provides best-in-class products and services including comprehensive health and specialty benefits, compliance, HR services, technology solutions, research, education and other employer-related services.

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SOURCE Savoy

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ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SBG Technology Solutions, one of the fastest growing and leading technology and program management focused companies in the United States, through its Healthcare Transformation and Benefit Services Division, has been awarded the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) contract vehicle.

About T4NG

The highly sought after T4NG is a 10 year, indefinite delivery, and indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $22.3 billion over 10 years, awarded to a total of 28 companies, small and large. The T4NG program was developed to give VA and other federal agencies the ability to acquire worldwide information technology (IT) services that will help ensure timely delivery of health care and benefits to our nation's Veterans. SBG and its teaming partners will now have an even greater opportunity to deliver healthcare transformational technology and services across numerous T4NG functional areas: Program Management, Strategy, Enterprise Architecture and Planning Support; Systems/Software Engineering; Software Technology Demonstration and Transition; Test & Evaluation (T&E); Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V); Enterprise Network; Enterprise Management Framework; Operations and Maintenance (O&M); Cyber Security; Training; and IT Facilities.

At a recent gathering to announce this major award, Carlos Del Toro, the founder and President of SBG Technology Solutions and also a 27 year Navy Combat Veteran, captured the enthusiasm shared by all SBG associates by commenting, "The SBG Team is deeply honored to receive this award and we look forward to utilizing this vehicle in a greater capacity to continue providing VA and other government agencies the healthcare IT and benefit services needed worldwide to fulfill the commitment to our nation's Veterans and their families. We look forward to substantially expanding our services to deliver the best possible experience along the entire continuum of care."

Come Visit us at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Small Business Veterans Engagement in Minneapolis, St. Paul on 1-3 November, 2016 https://nvsbe16.mybusinessmatches.com/

SBG Technology Solutions, Inc. will be exhibiting at this year's event. Please join us to discuss teaming and capture opportunities at Booth # 425. We will be wanting to meet with large and small companies to explore opportunities together moving forward. Those interested should contact Karen Kimbro at 703-299-9093 or [email protected] to schedule a matchmaking session with us ahead of the engagement.

About SBG Technology Solutions

SBG Technology Solutions, Inc. is a nationwide provider of IT solutions; program management services; enterprise engineering; call center technology and services; and training to federal and commercial clients. A representative sample of our clients include the: Department of Veterans Affairs; Health and Human Services Agency, Defense Health Agency; U.S. Navy; Army National Guard, Defense Threat reduction Agency, and the Transportation Security Administration.

Additional information about SBG can be found at http://www.sbgts.com/ Follow us @sbgts.

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SOURCE SBG Technology Solutions, Inc.

Related Links

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ROSEMONT, Ill., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- seoClarity announced the creation of a new category for its Search Experience Award this month. While the other major categories  Innovations, Strategy, and Synergy  address the efforts of online enterprises, the award for Agency recognizes the outstanding efforts of SEO and Marketing agencies who excel at promoting the long-term benefits of the Search Experience Optimization Framework.

The Q2 2016 Agency Award winner, Crossfinity, has not only embraced the philosophy behind the Search Experience Optimization Framework, but they have undertaken the task of evangelizing the benefits of this shift in approach to SEO throughout the Asia-Pacific and Oceania regions, going so far as to appoint their own SEO Evangelist, Wataru Matsuno.

"We're excited to announce the creation of this award category, because we see so many deserving agencies throughout the world," said seoClarity Co-founder and Chief Architect, Mitul Gandhi. "And we're doubly excited to award the first of its kind to our premier partner in APJ, Crossfinity."

Crossfinity's CEO, Takayuki Kate responded to the award announcement, saying, "We are honored to receive such a great award, and we sincerely appreciate the support of the seoClarity team. Previously in Japan, SEO was "just getting higher rankings by acquiring inbound links". However, since we began collaborating with seoClarity, we have been supporting our clients' efforts to improve the essential value of their websites. SXO, or Search Experience Optimization, is the very best word for describing these efforts, and this phrase will be a key concept in digital marketing. With this award recognition, we will be able to accelerate the introduction of the SXO concept to leading companies throughout Asia. "

seoClarity's Chief SEO Evangelist, Keith Goode, who has spoken at Crossfinity's annual digital marketing conference, Cross Forum, for the past two years, said, "As Google has globalized its ranking algorithm, they've left sites scrambling to come into alignment with its strict webmaster guidelines. We've seen Crossfinity embrace those standards and launch a series of efforts to bring their own clients and the rest of the SEO industry in APJ into alignment with the new paradigm."

When asked about this paradigm shift, Wataru Matsuno, SEO Evangelist at Crossfinity, stated, "I often speak at digital marketing conferences in Tokyo and have conversations with SEOs, and I have seen the concept of SXO rapidly becoming more popular in the Japanese market. This has been really nice for the maturation of digital marketing, and I believe it will contribute to the user-oriented mindset of digital marketers in Japan."

seoClarity first announced its Search Experience Awards in March, when it awarded the Synergy Award to tech giant, Dell. Additional categories for the Search Experience Award include Innovations, Strategy, and Agency. Enterprises and agencies interested in learning more about the Search Experience Optimization Framework may contact seoClarity.To submit your own Enterprise or agency for consideration, follow the link to Search Experience Awards.

About seoClarity

seoClarity provides the most advanced SEO platform to help Enterprises and Agencies tackle the SEO challenges of search visibility and content marketing. seoClarity covers the entire SEO lifecycle, from site usability and relevance to content authority, all within a single platform. seoClarity provides unparalleled insights through its patented analysis and machine learning technology.

About Crossfinity

Crossfinity is a full-service website consultancy providing comprehensive SEO, LPO-based CRO and affiliate management in Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia. Our multifaceted approach enables companies to not only increase traffic from search engines but also greatly improve their conversion rate.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE seoClarity
ATLANTA, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- September Gray Fine Art Gallery is pleased to present The Nature of Art featuring works by landscape painter Richard Mayhew and abstractionist Freddie Styles.

Although occupying different locations on the spectrum from figurative to abstract, when juxtaposed together the commonalities between the works of Mayhew and Styles take center stage. The Nature of Art transports viewers out of the gallery and into a space where the transcendent power of the natural world reaches an apex of beauty and serenity.

The exhibition will be on view from Oct. 14 through Dec. 2, 2016 at the Buckhead location of September Gray Fine Art Gallery at 75 Bennett Street, Suite O-2 in Atlanta. An opening reception will be held at the gallery on Oct. 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Renowned as one of America's preeminent landscape artists, Richard Mayhew's evocations of place are poignant rather than precise. Working from memory, his lush renderings of nature encapsulate the emotional experience of a panorama with a beauty that is entrancingly peaceful, sensual and spiritual.

Nature, though more subtly integrated, is ever present in the work of Freddie Styles. His abstract collages and paintings suggest or incorporate rather than represent specific vegetative forms. For Styles, the uncertainty inherent in his process is part of the artistic vision, and the interplay between texture, pattern, and color that develops alludes both to our ability and inability to control nature.

The Nature of Art will include never-before-shown work from Styles' "Pine Needle" series and pieces from a series of large new collages. It will also include groupings and individual pieces from a series of eight-inch by ten-inch collages on canvas that have never been shown.

About Richard Mayhew:

Born in Amityville, New York, in 1924 of Cherokee, Shinnecock and African American descent, Richard Mayhew has enjoyed a long and distinguished career with over 30 solo exhibitions. Considered one of the most important artists of his generation, his works are included in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum, The Whitney Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Smithsonian, The National Museum of American Art and The Studio Museum in Harlem, to name only a few. Retired from his position as professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University, Mayhew currently resides in Soquel, California, where he continues his work.

About Freddie Styles:

Now a resident of Atlanta, Freddie Styles was born in Madison, Georgia in 1944 and attended Morris Brown College. He has served as an artist-in-residence at Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College and Clayton State University and, from 2003 to 2008, as director of City Gallery East in Atlanta. His works can be found in numerous public and private collections including the HIGH Museum, HartsfieldJackson International Airport, MOCA GA, Spelman College Museum of Art, the City of Atlanta, Clark Atlanta University Collection, Metro Health Center Collection, The Saint Louis Museum, King and Spalding Collection, Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection, Kenneth and Cynthia Prince Collection, Robert W. Woodruff Library, The IP Steinbeck Museum and Planetarium, Atlanta Housing Collection, Paul Jones Collection, University of Delaware, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Brenda and Larry Thompson Collection, The Georgia Museum and Absolut Vodka Collection.

About September Gray Fine Art Gallery:

September Gray Fine Art Gallery (SGAG) is the nation's premier gallery specializing in contemporary works by established, mid-career and emerging African American and African diasporic artists. Now in two locations in Atlanta, Old Fourth Ward and Buckhead, SGAG is committed to presenting historically and culturally significant works as a means for championing the preservation of the African diasporic cultural legacy and narrative. SGAG denudes the intricacies of the art market by assisting corporate and private collectors with articulating and executing single acquisition and long-term collection strategies that both honor their individual tastes and advance their short-term and long-term investment goals. SGAG offers a comprehensive range of complementary fine art, curatorial and consulting services to private and corporate clients and is conversant in the discreet assessment, acquisition and placement of fine art within its exclusive network of collectors. Mission-driven, September Gray also is committed to promoting the arts locally and elevating talented artists to positions of influence globally.

Currently on view at September Gray Fine Art Gallery's Buckhead location are works by Kevin Cole, Alfred Conteh, Kevin Okeith, Charly Palmer, Michael Scoffield and Freddie Styles. Also on view through October 21 at the gallery's Old Fourth Ward location is an exhibition of new works by Lillian Blades titled Fractal Reflections.

The Buckhead gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and by appointment. The Old Fourth Ward gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and by appointment. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit www.septembergrayart.com.

SOURCE September Gray Fine Art Gallery

Related Links

http://www.septembergrayart.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, today announced that Silverado -- a nationally recognized provider of home care, memory care assisted living and hospice services -- has selected Salesforce Health Cloud to create more personalized and connected care experiences. By using a single console to manage all of its care offerings, the organization will improve communication and collaboration with its residents, clients and patients, as well as create more efficient workflows enabling Silverado to help even more people living with Alzheimer's and dementia, chronic illness and those at the end of life.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 35 million people worldwide have dementia, with Alzheimer's disease the most common cause. Patients with dementia often transition between home care, assisted living and hospice -- and struggle with a fractured healthcare system that does not capture a single view of their care journey. Health Cloud will enable Silverado's associates to deliver personalized care and a seamless experience for individuals transitioning through this journey. For example, information stored in Health Cloud will give associates a central place to learn about resident and family likes and dislikes, which creates a personalized experience and seamless handoffs between members of the Silverado team.

Along with Health Cloud, Silverado plans to use Community Cloud in the future to educate family members and share real-time updates about activities happening in their care communities; Service Cloud to coordinate nursing staff visitation schedules to those who rely on at-home services; and Sales Cloud to help sales teams work more efficiently and build stronger relationships with local healthcare providers and universities.

Comments on the News

"Our mission is to enrich the quality of life for every individual we touch, including our clients, residents, patients, associates and each of their families," said Shamim Wu, president and COO, Silverado. "Silverado's deployment of Health Cloud is the driving force behind our digital transformation and will provide associates with access to the tools and information they need to foster stronger relationships across our entire community."

"Healthcare providers today need technology to enable more personalized and connected care for their patients, families and partners," said Joshua Newman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, GM, Salesforce Healthcare and Life Sciences. "Using Health Cloud, Silverado will be able to build stronger relationships with their members, not just populate records. Health Cloud enables communication between members and their extended care team at any time and on any device, helping put patients at the center of care."

"Today's healthcare industry needs the ability to orchestrate data and build informative processes that enable people to make better decisions. Silverado understands the importance of the cloud to realize their business outcomes," said Olga Carames, managing director of Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice for Bluewolf. "With Bluewolf and Salesforce, Silverado has reinvented its client, resident and patient experience, and built a more efficient and personalized business. We're honored to partner with them."

About Silverado

Silverado was founded in 1996 with the goal of enriching lives of those with memory loss by changing how the world cares for people with cognitive decline. Establishing this mindset as the foundation allows Silverado  and its more than 4,000 associates  to leave behind previous misconceptions and operate in a way that provides clients, residents and patients with utmost dignity, freedom, respect and quality of life. Silverado has grown to become a nationally recognized provider of home care, memory care assisted living and hospice services. With 48 locations across Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin  the company delivers world-class care and unmatched service. To learn more, visit silveradocare.com or call (866) 522-8125.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit:www.salesforce.com.

Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All statements other than historical facts included in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the timing and the closing of the transaction, the financing for the transaction, the expected benefits of the transaction, prospective performance and future business plans, and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown, or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the parties' expectations and projections. These forward-looking statements reflect Salesforce's expectations as of the date of this press release. Salesforce undertakes no obligation to update the information provided herein.

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SOURCE Salesforce

Related Links

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The official motion picture tie-in features dozens of color stills from the film and is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores across the country.

"Snowden is an historic figure and Stone is a courageous director," said Tony Lyons, publisher of independent book publisher, Skyhorse. "It's an honor to be working with Oliver, Kieran, and the Open Road team to publish this important movie tie-in book."

Kieran said, "Edward Snowden has opened our eyes to the truth about mass surveillance in the digital era. It is a true privilege to be able to tell his story, and to tell it with Oliver Stone, who has been a guiding voice for me in film my entire life."

Stone added, "Snowden has historically changed our perception of the US government's surveillance capabilities. Given their strong track record in publishing groundbreaking and difficult works, Skyhorse is an ideal partner for sharing this dramatic interpretation in written form."

Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films, said: "From the moment we read the Snowden screenplay, we knew that Open Road Films had to be a part of this epic film. Thanks in large part to this fantastic script, Oliver has crafted an extraordinary film and we are thrilled to be a part of it."

Snowden is based on two booksSnowden's Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena's Time of the Octopus, and Guardian journalist Luke Harding's The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man. In addition to Gordon-Levitt and Woodley, the movie stars Nicolas Cage, Melissa Leo, and Zachary Quinto.

Snowden is the former government contractor who copied and leaked classified information from the NSA in 2013 and is now living in asylum in Russia after revealing his findings to documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill.

OLIVER STONE

Academy Awardwinning Oliver Stone has written and directed more than twenty-five full-length feature films, among them some of the most influential and iconic films of the past decades. Some have been at deep odds with conventional mythfilms such as Platoon (1986) the first of three Vietnam films; Born on the Fourth of July (1989); JFK (1991); Natural Born Killers (1994); and Nixon (1995).

Stone's films have often reached wide, international audiences and have had significant cultural impact. These include Salvador (1985), deeply critical of the US Government's involvement in Central America; Wall Street (1987), an expose of America's new capitalism; World Trade Center (2006), a true story of two (of only twenty) 9/11 survivors; and The Doors (1991), a poetic look at the 1960s and Jim Morrison's ecstatic music.

OPEN ROAD

Open Road Films, led by industry veteran CEO Tom Ortenberg, is an independent film company known especially for releasing 2016 Best Picture and Best Original Screenplaywinner Spotlight, starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d'Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, and Billy Crudup, and directed by Tom McCarthy.

Other notable Open Road Films releases include: Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal; the hit film Chef, written by, directed by, and starring Jon Favreau along with Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Downey, Jr.; and Side Effects, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Channing Tatum.

SKYHORSE PUBLISHING

Skyhorse Publishing, one of the fastest-growing independent book publishers in the United States, was launched in September 2006 by Tony Lyons, former president and publisher of The Lyons Press. It has had forty-three titles on The New York Times bestseller list over the course of its ten-year history.

Lyons is dedicated to publishing books that make people's lives better, whether that means teaching them a hobby, bringing them a unique and important story, or encouraging them to fight against injustices, conspiracies, or abuses of power.

Skyhorse publishes a maverick list that includes fiction, nonfiction, history, politics, rural living, cooking, humor, and children's books. With its fifteen imprints, including recently launched Hot Books, led by Salon-founder David Talbot, it now boasts a backlist of more than 6,000 titles including the entire Arcade Publishing list, which it acquired in 2010. Skyhorse is distributed by Perseus Books Group in the United States and overseas, and by Thomas Allen & Son in Canada.

CONTACT: Charlie Lyons

[email protected]

(212) 643-6816 x 286

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407669

SOURCE Skyhorse Publishing

Related Links

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CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Donna Parks had a sensation of heaviness in her legs for a couple of years  then sharp, stabbing pains began. A vascular surgeon determined that she had peripheral arterial disease, a stealthy but potentially deadly illness that can cause those symptoms  or none at all  in its earlier stages.

Also known as PAD, the disease actually affects many arteries in the body. Most patients with vascular disease worry about stroke or heart attack, but don't realize the disease can have an important effect on the legs, feet and other parts of the body. September is PAD Awareness Month  a time for older Americans to be aware of a common vascular disease that robs many of their independence in their later years.

Because in its early stages peripheral arterial disease can have no symptoms at all, patients tend to be underdiagnosed, said Dr. Daniel Bertges, a vascular surgeon and member of the Society for Vascular Surgery.

A healthy, 50-year-old non-smoker has about a 2 percent chance of having PAD. "But if you have risk factors, such as advanced age, smoking and diabetes," he said, "your chances can be upwards of 30 percent."

The disease is more prevalent with each decade of life. Americans over age 60 have a 5 percent chance of having PAD; those over 70, 15 percent; and those over 80, 20 percent.

"There are different philosophies about when to screen for PAD," Dr. Bertges said, "but generally, if you are 50 or older and diabetic, or a smoker, it is reasonable to ask your doctor about your risk of PAD."

Dr. Bertges, an associate professor at the University of Vermont Medical Center, stressed that patients who have PAD, but no symptoms, should not rush into any surgical procedures.

"The disease is not rapidly progressive and there is generally time to try lifestyle changes, exercise and medications like statins and/or a daily low-dose aspirin," he said.

Some patients with PAD have claudication, leg pain that comes on with walking and goes away after a short rest. But even for those patients, Dr. Bertges stressed taking a "wait and see" attitude.

"There is never an urgency to do a procedure for claudication," he said. "You should have time to think it through."

Those diagnosed with PAD should be sure to follow doctor's orders, though. Left untreated, the disease can lead to open sores that won't heal, or even gangrene. According to the Society for Vascular Surgery, those conditions require immediate medical attention.

But even for people with pain, once they start seeing a vascular specialist, about half of them will stay the same, one in four will need a vascular procedure, and another quarter will improve if they exercise and take their medication.

As for Donna Parks, she eventually received a stent to improve the blood flow in her leg and embarked on a new walking program to get back to the two or three miles she used to be able to walk every day. Watch Donna's story and learn more at the Society for Vascular Surgery website.

Sidebar:

HAVE THESE SYMPTOMS? TELL A DOCTOR

Fatigue or cramping in the muscles of the calf, thigh, hip or buttock that comes on after walking awhile and will go away with rest

Pain in the toes or feet while resting

Feet or toes that appear blue

A wound or ulcer on the toes or feet, often on a pressure point on the foot, that takes two months or longer to heal

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is a 5,400-member, not-for-profit professional medical society, composed primarily of specialty-trained vascular surgeons, which seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research and public awareness. The Society is based in Chicago, Illinois.

SOURCE Society for Vascular Surgery

Related Links

http://www.vascular.org/


SOLEDAD, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Soledad Unified School District approved a contract with OpTerra Energy Services, Inc. (OpTerra Energy Services) at its last board meeting of August to design and construct the first solar project at Soledad High School. The project is funded through a $2 million, zero percent interest loan from the California Energy Commission and is expected to be completed by February 2017.

It is estimated that the project will generate over 745,000 kWh of clean electric energy, which is the equivalent to removing 257 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere annually. The energy savings associated with the project's renewable energy production will save the District approximately $45,000 annually after loan payments  totaling over $4,000,000 in energy savings over the 25-year life of the project.

"Aside from the financial savings, the installation of solar panels at our high school to produce clean electricity represents a tremendous opportunity for the District to help preserve and protect the environment for future generations. It also impacts our local economy as it creates employment opportunities in the green job sector, and supports a homegrown energy source," said Mr. Cesar Vega, Chief Business Official for the District.

"The Board of Trustees is very excited to move forward with this project. We take pride in our ongoing leadership and vision regarding energy conservation, reducing our energy costs, and setting a positive example of sustainability for our students," stated School Board President Marie Berlanga.

The solar project is the first step in a comprehensive energy program that the District hopes will leverage State of California Proposition 39 funding provided to every public school district for energy efficiency upgrades. The potential scope of a district-wide project would include solar at all District sites and upgrading interior and exterior lighting with LED technology which dramatically reduces energy costs and improves the learning environment and campus safety.

"The District is pleased that the State of California has become a partner with Soledad schools to meet our sustainability goals. We are also excited to be partnering with OpTerra Energy Services on this initial project at Soledad High School. We chose OpTerra as a partner based on their successful track record in the region with several Monterey County school districts, cities, and Hartnell College," commented Interim Superintendent Jorge Z. Guzman.

"The OpTerra team is proud to support the District's implementation of the solar project at Soledad High School. Our core values as a company are centered on doing more than just modernizing facilities and engineering technical solutions  our work with Soledad will help the District improve its classroom and learning environments and be an environmental leader in the communities in which its students live," shared OpTerra CEO John Mahoney.

The Board of Trustees approved the project concept at its March 9, 2016 meeting and OpTerra Energy Services was selected through a competitive procurement process in April, 2016. Construction is expected to begin in the fall.

About Soledad Unified School District: The Soledad Unified School District is located in Monterey County in the heart of the Salinas Valley. The district serves approximately 4,900 students in grades K- 12. There are 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 comprehensive high school and 1 continuation high school. The District's website can be found at www.soledadusd.org.

About OpTerra Energy Services: OpTerra Energy Services is a national energy company that works with education, local government, commercial, industrial, and institutional organizations to implement efficiency and sustainable energy solutions that save money, enhance safety, improve assets, and protect the environment. As a subsidiary of ENGIE S.A., the number one energy efficiency services provider in the world, OpTerra Energy Services provides a unique and extensive set of energy and sustainability management services to thousands of customers across the U.S. The company has provided more than $2 billion in energy savings for its customers over the past 40 years. To learn more, please visit www.opterraenergy.com or contact Lani Wild, Communications Manager, at 415-735-9080.

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SOURCE OpTerra Energy Services

Related Links

http://www.opterraenergy.com


PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Soligenix, Inc. (OTCQB: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need, announced today that Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, has been invited to present a company overview at the 2016 Aegis Growth Conference on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. PDT in Room 4. The conference will be held at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information on the conference, please go to www.aegiscapcorp.com.

About Soligenix, Inc.

Soligenix is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need. Our BioTherapeutics business segment is developing SGX301 as a first-in-class photodynamic therapy utilizing safe visible light for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, proprietary formulations of oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP) for the prevention/treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders characterized by severe inflammation including pediatric Crohn's disease (SGX203) and acute radiation enteritis (SGX201), and our novel innate defense regulator technology dusquetide (SGX942) for the treatment of oral mucositis.

Our Vaccines/BioDefense business segment includes active development programs for RiVax, our ricin toxin vaccine candidate, OrbeShield, our GI acute radiation syndrome therapeutic candidate and SGX943, our melioidosis therapeutic candidate. The development of our vaccine programs incorporates the use of our proprietary heat stabilization platform technology, known as ThermoVax. Currently, this business segment is supported with up to $58 million in government grant and contract funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

For further information regarding Soligenix, Inc., please visit the Company's website at www.soligenix.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect Soligenix, Inc.'s current expectations about its future results, performance, prospects and opportunities, including but not limited to, potential market sizes, patient populations and clinical trial enrollment. Statements that are not historical facts, such as "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "hopes," "intends," "plans," "expects," "goal," "may," "suggest," "will," "potential," or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, these statements. Soligenix cannot assure you that it will be able to successfully develop, achieve regulatory approval for or commercialize products based on its technologies, particularly in light of the significant uncertainty inherent in developing therapeutics and vaccines against bioterror threats, conducting preclinical and clinical trials of therapeutics and vaccines, obtaining regulatory approvals and manufacturing therapeutics and vaccines, that product development and commercialization efforts will not be reduced or discontinued due to difficulties or delays in clinical trials or due to lack of progress or positive results from research and development efforts, that it will be able to successfully obtain any further funding to support product development and commercialization efforts, including grants and awards, maintain its existing grants which are subject to performance requirements, enter into any biodefense procurement contracts with the US Government or other countries, that it will be able to compete with larger and better financed competitors in the biotechnology industry, that changes in health care practice, third party reimbursement limitations and Federal and/or state health care reform initiatives will not negatively affect its business, or that the US Congress may not pass any legislation that would provide additional funding for the Project BioShield program. These and other risk factors are described from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Soligenix's reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K. Unless required by law, Soligenix assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.

SOURCE Soligenix, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.soligenix.com


EVELETH, Minn., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) today said that on Fri., Sept. 16, 2016, the union will sponsor a rally to present U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan with an award for his work to save jobs in the Eighth District by demanding tariffs on unfairly traded foreign steel.

USW District 11 Director Emil Ramirez said the union planned the rally to thank Rep. Nolan for a job well done.

"Since taking office in 2013, Rick Nolan has been a relentless advocate for us workers and our families," Ramirez said. "He's standing with us in the fight to save our jobs from subsidized and illegally dumped imports and stood with us through the past year of difficult contract negotiations during a time our industry was in crisis."

USW District 11 Assistant Director John Rebrovich said the congressman's efforts have saved good jobs that could have vanished without his support.

"Nolan's work on trade led to the recall of more than 1,000 union members from layoff," Rebrovich said, "and a $65 million commitment by Cliffs Natural Resources to invest in upgrades that will bolster the viability and sustainability of family supporting, community sustaining mining jobs for the next generation of Iron Range Steelworkers."

USW Local 6860 President Brian Zarn said his local, which represents workers at Cliffs ore mine in Eveleth, is proud to host a rally with the congressman.

"Because of his unabashed and outspoken support for our members, we are proud to stand with our congressman and present him with an award to recognize his commitment to our community," Zarn said, "not only because of his work on trade, but for leading the fight to equalize pay for women, among other important issues."

Rep. Nolan said that despite recently announced duties on certain steel products, the playing field is not yet level for American workers.

"Our hard work and the Obama administration's historic crackdown on illegally dumped foreign steel by China and other trade cheater nations have produced real results," Nolan said. "However, economic recovery on the Range is still a work in progress, and our efforts will continue until every miner is back at work and every mine is back producing at full capacity."

ATTN: Editors, Assignment Desk  Rally Friday  Speakers, Interviews, Award Presentation

Who: U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, USW members and elected union officials

What: Rally and award presentation to recognize Nolan's advocacy on trade and other issues important to working families

When: 3:30 p.m., Fri., Sept. 16, 2016

Where: USW Local 6860 - 416 Pierce St., Eveleth, Minn.

More information, contact: John Rebrovich  (218) 744-2757; [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080131/DC12982LOGO

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- After reaching an all-time high in 2015, consumers' interest in autonomous driving systems has fallen in 2016, reflecting hesitance about the reliance of self-driving technology, according to a recent survey from the In-Vehicle UX (IVX) group at Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com).

Click here for the report: http://bit.ly/2caCwm0

According to the report ("Consumer Interest in Advanced Safety Features Cools in Europe and US"), consumer interest in a variety of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) has fallen from 2015, though willingness to pay for certain systems like blind spot detection remains strong at low price points.

Derek Viita, senior analyst and report author, commented that although advanced safety systems are spreading into more models, and media coverage of self-driving systems is becoming more widespread, "general consumer interest in many ADAS features has hit a roadblock. Media stories of consumers complaining about (and even deactivating) features such as lane departure warning are clearly having a negative impact."

Chris Schreiner, director of IVX, added, "Our research on autonomous parking and driving systems shows that these features are riddled with poor HMI and in some cases add minimal value for the driver. The decrease in consumer interest for these features suggests that the word is getting out, and early implementations of these features are not meeting consumer expectations."

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides the competitive edge with advisory services, consulting and actionable market intelligence for emerging technology, mobile and wireless, digital consumer and automotive electronics companies. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Strategy Analytics delivers insights for enterprise success.

For more information about Strategy Analytics

In-Vehicle User Experience Service: Click here

Report contacts :

US Contact: Derek Viita, +1 617 614 0772, [email protected]

European Contact: Kevin Nolan, +44 (0)1908 423 614, [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130207/NE56457LOGO-b

SOURCE Strategy Analytics

Related Links

http://www.strategyanalytics.com


To be honored as a top Cloud Service Provider on the Talkin' Cloud 100, Penton conducted research on firms analyzing their annual cloud services revenue growth, innovative cloud offerings, and support models. Last year, Synoptek ranked #50 on the Talkin' Cloud 100 Report. Moreover, this is the fourth straight year Synoptek has received this honor by Talkin' Cloud. By aggressively expanding operations in San Diego, CA, Marlborough, MA, Pittsford, NY, New Brunswick Canada and Raleigh SC, Synoptek has evolved into a nationwide top 20 CSP.

Synoptek Recognized by Microsoft as a Certified Azure Provider to the Market

In 2016, Synoptek has made significant investments and improvements to enhance their cloud offerings. Early this year, Synoptek was identified by Microsoft as one of only 18 approved US partners as a member of the elite Microsoft Cloud OS Network (COSN). Synoptek underwent extensive auditing and technical scrutiny to assure they had the required quality of infrastructure and management to properly deploy and support an Azure-based cloud environment. Customers seeking the inherent performance and resilience of Azure along with comprehensive 24/7 support of all IT systems can now strategically source a single service provider for all of their IT support needs. Read the entire COSN press release here.

2016 ACE Awards Shine Light on Outstanding Customer Support Model

In addition to investing in new cloud offerings, Synoptek has focused on improving IT service quality and consistency, enhanced staff training programs, and refined customer feedback processes. Synoptek's commitment to provide customers with the highest levels of service excellent was demonstrated by receiving three 2016 ACE Awards including: Voice of the Customer, Innovation in Customer/ Employee Engagement, and the Judge's Choice Winner for Contact Center. Read more about Synoptek's impressive customer service improvements here.

Synoptek serves many of the top industry leaders in their respective verticals including healthcare, financial services, county and municipal government, and non-profit organizations. Synoptek offers a unique suite of manage cloud services, including private, public, or hybrid custom configurations over multiple locations and environments.

"We continue to invest in high caliber tools, processes, and resources each year, and we are delighted to be honored for delivering exceptional cloud performance and support," said Mike Bank, Vice President at Synoptek. "We are aware that this is a crowded market place. Only by providing enhanced levels of support and an exceptional customer experience can we continue to serve as a leader in the cloud and managed IT services space."

"We are proud to be recognized as a top Cloud Services Provider as it demonstrates our long-term commitment to serving our customers and providing the most innovative offerings on the market. Our goal as an organization has always been to evolve with the technologies we support and be a leader among leaders in Cloud and IT Services. We see the velocity of changes continuing to increase and we expect Synoptek to be at the forefront of that change," said Craig Brechner, President at Synoptek.

Synoptek's clients benefit from the blended experience of over 475 IT professionals with certifications in over 70 disciplines. For more information on Synoptek's cloud services, or the company in general, please contact Synoptek.

About Synoptek

Synoptek provides information technology management services and support to organizations worldwide. The firm manages and operates IT infrastructure with 24/7 operations, automated toolsets, and highly skilled technologists. Headquartered in Irvine, CA with business operations in San Francisco, CA, Sacramento, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Boise, ID, Denver, CO. Marlborough, MA, Pittsford, NY, New Brunswick Canada and Raleigh SC, Synoptek has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Cloud Service Providers by Talkin'Cloud.com and one of the Top Managed Services Providers by MSPMentor, among other honors from Inc. Magazine, Deloitte and others. Learn more about Synoptek at www.synoptek.com.

About Penton

Penton drives performance for more than eighteen million professionals each and every day. They rely on us to deliver: Insights, information, data & workflow tools to inform critical business decisions; networking & community to engage them with industry peers & partners; and marketing services to advance their business performance & deliver ROI.

Talkin' Cloud, produced by Penton, is the go-to resource to learn about the business of cloud. Talkin' Cloud features news, research, Channel Expert Hour Webcasts, FastChat videos, and more. Penton is a growth company with a track-record of strong performance and success and is backed by its co-owners: MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP.

For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.

Media Contacts:

Tyler Suss, Digital Marketing Manager, Synoptek

[email protected]

Nicole Henderson, Editor in Chief, Talkin' Cloud

[email protected]

1 To be honored as a tier-one TSP, a service provider is required to generate 70%+ of revenue from a combination of cloud, managed services, and IT consulting services, and produce $180,000 worth of revenue per employee. When it comes to cloud, managed services leadership, and employee efficiency, only tier-one providers have a "true" Managed Services focus.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408422LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160516/368345LOGO

SOURCE Synoptek

Related Links

https://synoptek.com


THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Team Oil Tools, LP ("Team") announced today that it has acquired the assets of Top Notch Energy Services, Inc. ("Top Notch"). Founded in 2006, Top Notch is a leading provider of thru tubing, fishing and milling services with operations across the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin markets. Top Notch is headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Team is focused on the design, manufacture, sale and service of downhole completions and workover products. In August 2015, Team acquired Odessa Packer Services and in October 2014, Team acquired Schlehuber Oil Tools as part of its ongoing effort to expand its completions and workover services offering. Team is backed by Intervale Capital ("Intervale"), a private equity firm which invests in oilfield manufacturing and service companies.

Adam Anderson, Team's chief executive officer, will oversee the combined business. Anderson has more than 20 years of oilfield service experience managing the completions operations of Baker Hughes International. Anderson commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Top Notch's employees to the Team family. Top Notch's expertise in thru tubing services provides a highly complementary offering to Team's suite of completions and workover services. The acquisition will provide Team the expertise to expand thru tubing operations across its service centers throughout the US."

Terry Bennetsen and Robby Winstead, Top Notch's President and Vice President, respectively, will manage operations for Top Notch and work in close coordination with the management of Team. Bennetsen and Winstead commented, "We're very excited to join Team as an important part of the company's downhole product and service offering. It has been a pleasure getting to know Team's management and Intervale. We look forward to working together to better serve our customers in the Permian and Eagle Ford."

Tuan Tran, Partner at Intervale Capital added, "We are delighted to partner with the exceptional team at Top Notch. The addition of Top Notch's expertise in thru tubing operations to the Team platform marks an important step in our efforts to expand our presence in the 'Plug and Purf' completions space. We are confident that the combination will create compelling cross-selling opportunities and allow Team to better serve its customer base."

About Team Oil Tools:

Team Oil Tools, LP is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of completions products for the oil and gas sector. Team is ISO 9001:2008 certified. Team's core products include ORIO toe valves, packers, composite frac plugs, swellable packers and patented cemented sleeves for hydraulic fracturing applications. The company is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas and has manufacturing operations in Conroe, Texas and Bakersfield, California. Team has 9 service centers located in major U.S. oil and gas markets, including the Permian Basin, South Texas, Williston Basin, Mid Continent, Appalachia and ArkLaTex regions. Company website: http://www.teamoiltools.com/

About Top Notch Energy Services:

Top Notch Energy Services, Inc. provides thru tubing, fishing and milling services. The company is based in Corpus Christi, Texas and maintains a service center in Midland, Texas.

About Intervale Capital:

Intervale Capital is an energy-focused private equity firm with offices in Houston and Boston. Intervale invests primarily in middle-market energy services and manufacturing companies and related technologies. The firm has raised $1.3 billion of committed capital since its inception in 2006 and is currently investing from its third fund.

Intervale portfolio companies include Tier 1 Energy Solutions (wireline and completions in Canada), Aegis Chemical Solutions (oilfield chemicals, water treatment and water transfer), Certus Energy Solutions (diversified oilfield rental equipment), Antelope Oil Tool (casing and cementing products) and Epic Lift Systems (artificial lift and compression), among others.

Contact for Team Oil Tools:

Adam Anderson

President & Chief Executive Officer

Team Oil Tools

[email protected]

Contact for Intervale:

Tuan D. Tran

Partner

Intervale Capital

(617) 401-8405

[email protected]

SOURCE Intervale Capital

Related Links

http://www.intervalecapital.com


KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- TeamHealth Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TMH), a leading physician services organization, announced the acquisition of the provider operations of EmMed, PC. Based in Bay City, Michigan, EmMed, PC provides care to approximately 44,000 patients each year through staffing and management of the emergency department at McLaren Bay Regional Hospital.

"In the changing and dynamic healthcare landscape, TeamHealth will provide the resources and support that we need to continue delivering excellent care to patients and their families at McLaren Bay Regional Hospital," said Kenneth Parsons, MD, president of EmMed, PC. "We are excited to partner with TeamHealthan organization that offers a like-minded, physician-centric culture."

"TeamHealth's strategy is to grow our business through partnerships with quality physician groups, and we are pleased to welcome the physicians and other clinicians of EmMed, PC to TeamHealth," said Lynn Massingale, MD, co-founder and executive chairman of TeamHealth. "EmMed, PC's clinicians are committed to providing exceptional service to our hospital partner and delivering the highest quality care for patients and their families."

About TeamHealth

At TeamHealth (NYSE: TMH), our purpose is to perfect our physicians' ability to practice medicine, every day, in everything we do. Through our more than 19,000 affiliated physicians and advanced practice clinicians, TeamHealth offers outsourced emergency medicine, hospital medicine, critical care, anesthesiology, orthopedic hospitalist, acute care surgery, obstetrics and gynecology hospitalist, ambulatory care, post-acute care and medical call center solutions to approximately 3,400 acute and post-acute facilities and physician groups nationwide. Our philosophy is as simple as our goal is singular: we believe better experiences for physicians lead to better outcomesfor patients, hospital partners and physicians alike. Join our team; we value and empower clinicians. Partner with us; we deliver on our promises. Learn more at http://www.teamhealth.com.



The term "TeamHealth" as used throughout this release includes Team Health Holdings, Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, affiliated medical groups and providers, all of which are part of the TeamHealth organization. "Providers" are physicians, advanced practice clinicians and other healthcare providers who are employed by or contract with subsidiaries or affiliated entities of Team Health Holdings, Inc. All such providers exercise independent clinical judgment when providing patient care. Team Health Holdings, Inc. does not have any employees, does not contract with providers and does not practice medicine.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131111/CL14595LOGO

SOURCE TeamHealth Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.teamhealth.com


Features real people who emulate the courage of Tequila Herradura by resisting compromise and exceeding standards on the path to greatness.

by resisting compromise and exceeding standards on the path to greatness. Honors the brand's iconic horseshoe, demonstrating that it isn't just a symbol of good fortune, but a testament to Tequila Herradura's commitment to excellence since 1870, when Aurelio Lopez found a horseshoe in his agave fields, and named his tequila "Herradura"  meaning horseshoe in Spanish.

commitment to excellence since 1870, when found a horseshoe in his agave fields, and named his tequila "Herradura"  meaning in Spanish. Showcases how Tequila Herradura is crafted with a balance of respect for traditional processes with industry-leading innovation at the last true tequila-producing hacienda on the planet, a true piece of Mexico's cultural fabric.

"We're excited to launch a global marketing campaign that illustrates Tequila Herradura's history, heritage and tequila leadership," said John Tichenor, VP Global Brand Director, Tequila Herradura. "The 'Luck Is Earned' campaign not only reinforces the brand's courageous legacy, but pays tribute to our consumers' real stories of conviction and eminence."

"Luck Is Earned," will roll out its first creative throughout the U.S. on September 16 in conjunction with Mexican Independence Day. Additional creative will be introduced globally throughout 2016 and 2017 and will come to life through a number of elements including:

Video and music steaming services including Hulu

Digital and Print with New York Times T Magazine , Gilt , Time Out

, , Mobile search services such as Foursquare

Social Media Engagement through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Local events across the U.S.

Tequila Herradura relied on the creative minds from Agency of Record GREY Canada to develop and produce the campaign.

"To emulate the true spirit and authenticity of Tequila Herradura, we decided to feature raw, undiscovered talent. There's no acting going on here." said Joel Arbez, Executive Creative Director at GREY Canada. "By showcasing these journeys to excellence, the campaign proves that achieving greatness means no shortcuts."

About Tequila Herradura

Tequila Herradura is an ultra-premium 100% agave tequila crafted by Casa Herradura in Amatitan, Jalisco, the last true Tequila-producing hacienda on the planet and one of Mexico's most historic and renowned Tequila producers. Since 1870, Casa Herradura has been hand-harvesting and estate bottling 100% agave Tequila using only the most mature blue agave and artisanal methods, such as slow cooking the agave in traditional clay ovens and using natural fermentation. Tequila Herradura is distilled twice and aged to perfection in American white oak barrels. Tequila Herradura Silver, Reposado, Anejo, Ultra and Seleccion Suprema Extra Anejo are available throughout the U.S., Mexico, and more than 80 other countries around the world. For more information about Tequila Herradura, visit www.herradura.com/ or connect with Tequila Herradura on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About GREY Canada

GREY Canada is an office of GREY, the advertising network of GREY Group. GREY Group ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP. Under the banner of "Famously Effective Since 1917," the agency serves a roster of blue-chip clients of many of the world's best-known companies including Post Foods, GSK, Volvo, P&G and Brown-Forman as well as working with leading not-for-profits including Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and Ovarian Cancer Canada. GREY Canada was a 9 Lion winner at Cannes last summer, took home the CASSIES Grand Prix award for advertising effectiveness last year for the second time in three years and just recently won the North American Grand EFFIE for effectiveness in advertising. (www.GREYcanada.com)

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdVqbUDwlVg&feature=youtu.be

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMk2q9uNdvc&feature=youtu.be



SOURCE Tequila Herradura

Related Links

http://www.herradura.com


AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 7, the Texas Hemp Industries Association (TXHIA) received notice that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) arrived at People's Pharmacy's four (4) Austin locations to confiscate various industrial hemp Cannabidiol (CBD) products. It is the position of the TXHIA that CBD products legally produced under the Federal 2014 Farm Bill are lawful for sale.



Background: In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed SB 339, Compassionate Use Act to allow intractable epileptics access to medical cannabis for distribution under physician oversight. This law was reported by the media as the "low THC, high CBD bill". Sheila Hemphill, TXHIA Policy Director surmised, "we believe the media terminology may have created confusion with various law enforcement departments by giving the false impression that CBD only comes from a medicinal cannabis plant and would be subject to DPS regulations. We appreciate DPS's diligence to insure product and public safety. This investigation will bring much needed clarity to the public regarding the legality of industrial hemp CBD products containing 0.3% or less THC. We are optimistic for a good outcome for all parties."

About CBD: Industrial hemp is from a variety of the Cannabis Sativa L plant with concentration levels of delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of 0.3% or less as defined by the 2014 Federal Farm Bill. Within the Cannabis Sativa L plant are molecules known as cannabinoids. All mammals have an endocannabinoid system that is nourished from cannabinoids. Non-cannabis plants that contain cannabinoids include: Chocolate- Theobroma cacao, Black pepper- Piper nigrum, Coneflower  Echinacea and others. Humans naturally produce the cannabinoids Anandamide and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG).

Delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the only cannabinoid that creates a psychoactive effect. In the raw plant state, the THC molecule is confined within a different non-psychoactive cannabinoid known as THCA. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the industrial hemp plant and has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and anti-seizure properties.

Cannabidiol derived from a legal industrial hemp plant is an essential oil, like lavender or peppermint, and is not subject to the regulation established by the Texas Compassionate Use Act. This Act created a medical cannabis program that permits THC levels higher than the 0.3% threshold allowed for industrial hemp products. As a medical cannabis program, the Compassionate Use Act increases the THC threshold to 0.5%, and requires that CBD content be "not less than 10% by weight of cannabidiol". This clause is the only reference to CBD in Texas State or Federal law.

Since the DPS investigation is analyzing industrial hemp products, the TXHIA is acting as liaison between the retailers and industrial hemp vendors and DPS. TXHIA is in close contact with DPS as they conduct their investigation into the confiscated products. At this time, there is not a clear time frame for when DPS will conclude their investigation. All media inquiries should be directed to the TXHIA.

"Industrial hemp products are safe, legal and can be purchased on-line or on the shelves of hundreds of retail locations in Texas. Thousands of Texans have purchased and benefited from the use of industrial hemp products such as hemp hearts, protein, milk, cosmetics, and CBD oil," asserts Coleman Hemphill, TXHIA Executive Director.

About: The Texas Hemp Industries Association is a 501(c) 6 state chapter of the Hemp Industries Association.

Media Contact: Sheila Hemphill, Policy Director, TXHIA 325.226.3683 | [email protected]

Lauren Stansbury, Director of Media Relations, HIA 402.540.1208 | [email protected]

SOURCE Texas Hemp Industries Association
CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Calling all school music programs: The NAMM Foundation and The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus are gearing up to bring a hands-on and high-tech music-making experience to three school districts with a recording residency on The Lennon Bus. Now through November 18, 2016 school administrators are invited to highlight their district's music education achievements by answering the question, "What Makes Music Education Great in My School District?" via an online entry form and by involving their students in the creation of a one-minute video submission for a chance at the residency.

"The residency celebrates the most exemplary schools and school districts that hold music and music education as a vital part of their curriculum," shares Mary Luehrsen, Executive Director of The NAMM Foundation. "Students benefit from the opportunity to write and produce music in a professional recording setting thereby furthering their experience, and the community at large with the recognition as champions for music education."

Over a period of two days, students will have the chance to showcase their musical talents by writing, recording and producing an original song, and documenting their music making experience in the form of a music video while on The Lennon Bus: a state-of-the-art, mobile recording and production studio. On the second day, the school and district will come together to demonstrate their support for music education with a SupportMusic Community Forum and rally. Led by The NAMM Foundation, the Forum will share the successes and challenges in music education, and recognize the many accomplishments of music education within the district. The day will conclude with a community celebration and tours of The Lennon Bus.

From now until the November 18 deadline, eligible schools and school districts in the continental U.S. are invited to create their submissions online here. A link to the posted video submission must be included in the online application. Award recipients will be announced in December 2016.

Since 2013, The NAMM Foundation has hosted 13 Lennon Bus residencies in communities throughout the U.S. Past videos of district submissions, SupportMusic Community Forums and music videos of songs created from residencies can be viewed on The NAMM Foundation YouTube channel.

"As we approach our 20th year, it's easy to reflect on what an amazing partner The NAMM Foundation has been for The Lennon Bus. Their commitment, enthusiasm and support for the importance of the mission is nearly unparalleled," says Brian Rothschild, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Lennon Bus. "Working with the organization on this incredible program has truly had an extremely positive impact on the schools we visit and we look forward to another successful residency tour."

Media Contact:

Chalise Zolezzi

NAMM Director of Public Relations

[email protected]

About The NAMM Foundation

The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its 10,300 members around the world. The NAMM Foundation works to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit http://www.nammfoundation.org, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

About The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit state-of-the-art mobile Pro Audio and HD video recording facility that provides hands-on experiences for students of all ages. In its 19th year of touring, the Lennon Bus features the latest audio and video technology, gear and products. The concept began as an offshoot of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, dedicated to providing opportunities for both professional and amateur songwriters around the world; proceeds from which help support the Lennon Bus. The Lennon Bus travels across the U.S. and Canada year-round, providing free tours and workshops at schools, retailers, festivals, on tours with headlining artists, and at major industry conferences. Lennon Bus Europe began providing these same opportunities to the young people of Europe when it launched in Liverpool, UK in May 2013.

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is made possible by Yoko Ono Lennon and the following sponsors and contributors: Canon U.S.A., Inc., Apple, Juniper Networks, Securematics, Other World Computing, Neutrik, The NAMM Foundation, Digital Media Academy, Audio-Technica, Genelec, Yamaha, Gibson Guitars, Epiphone, Focusrite, Sonnet Technologies, Avid, SSL, NewTek, TodoCast, IP Access, ZVEX Effects, Reflecmedia, Baker & McKenzie, Litepanels, Clear-Com, Anton/Bauer, AJA, Copperpeace, Applied Acoustics Systems, Mobile Roadie, McDSP, Native Instruments, IK Multimedia, Noise Industries, JDI, iZotope, Mad Mimi, Ableton, Ampeg, Mackie, Guitar Player, Bass Player, Electronic Musician, Keyboard Magazine, SKB and LiveU.

SOURCE NAMM Foundation

Related Links

http://www.nammfoundation.org


BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Retail and brand marketers from iconic brands like New Balance, The North Face, Nissan, and GE Appliances are gathering in Boston September 14-16th to attend the third annual Aligned Conference, where they will share marketing strategies to empower their local retailers. Over 30 leading brands will be in attendance to hear amazing speakers cover topics such as going global and staying local, brand storytelling through local retailers, rewarding and incenting retailer performance, paid local advertising strategies, and more.

Started in 2014, Aligned is the only national event that brings together brands across industries to discuss how they are supporting their local retail partners, what successes they have experienced, as well as the challenges faced. Since that time, the event has experienced incredible growth, increasing attendance by 50% over the past year.

The Aligned Conference is created and sponsored by Promoboxx, a Boston-based startup that provides the only SaaS marketing platform that connects and aligns national brands and local retailers to drive sales. Aligned was created to address the gap that existed for an industry event that enabled brands with strong local retail networks to share their strategies and collaborate across industries with like-minded peers who experience these same challenges. The common thread is the desire to keep local retailers thriving by helping them become better marketers, and ultimately, better business people.

Aligned speaker and third-time attendee, Mollie Surratt, Senior Director of Public Relations, Social Media and Content Marketing at Mohawk Flooring comments: "The Aligned Conference is a unique opportunity to network with other industries and share best practices in the very targeted subject of local digital marketing. The message is not diluted  it's clear, focused and understood. We're all together to make our businesses better and to elevate the local retailer."

Numerous outdoor brands will also be in attendance at the event, such as first-time Aligned attendee and speaker, Kent Hawkins, North American Marketing Manager at Arc'teryx. Hawkins states, "I am excited to meet other brands that have been crushing it with their local retailers. I want to hear from retailers that are pushing the needle and showing e-commerce that people still want to buy local. I'm looking forward to meeting people from across the continent that are facing different retail challenges that my retailers are likely facing, too. I want to learn from others on what marketing in the flooring, automotive, and sneaker industry is like."

"Over the past three years we have seen tremendous growth at Aligned as it uniquely fosters cross-industry collaboration in the brand-to-retailer environment," says Ben Carcio, CEO and co-founder. "We have some of the biggest brands in the world attending who are paving the way - choosing to invest in a digital, forward-thinking approach to supporting their local retailers. We are also incredibly excited to be hosting this year's event at Boston's District Hall, a dedicated gathering space for the innovation community."

A broad range of industries will be represented at Aligned including brands in the following verticals: outdoor (Arc'teryx, The North Face, Osprey, Smartwool, Specialized), footwear (Mizuno, New Balance), home (Fisher & Paykel, GE Appliances, Haier, Mohawk Flooring, Shaw Floors), automotive (Chevrolet, Nissan), animal nutrition (Cargill, Purina, Standlee), hearing aids (Widex, Phonak) and more.

To learn more about how the Aligned Conference brings together senior brand and retail marketers from brands across industries to share strategies that empower their local retailers, visit www.alignedcon.com or follow @Promoboxx.

About Promoboxx

Promoboxx is the only marketing platform that connects and aligns national brands and local retailers to drive sales. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Boston, Promoboxx works with leading brands in the outdoor, footwear, auto, appliance, flooring, animal nutrition, and hearing aid industries. More information is available at www.promoboxx.com.

SOURCE Promoboxx

Related Links

http://www.promoboxx.com


SURFSIDE, Fla., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At the Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism in Orlando this September 8, 2016, the Town of Surfside, FL was recognized for its outstanding tourism marketing efforts with two "Flagler Awards." The Town of Surfside, the family-friendly, uptown beach town in northern Miami-Dade County, was honored with two first place prizes for their visitor's guide, produced by Jacober Creative.

The Town was awarded a Gold "Henry" in the Resource/Promotional Material-Consumer category, and for "Best In Show" (under $500,000) category. The recognition is for the outstanding graphics, art direction and photography that Jacober Creative produced as part of Surfside's "Simply Surfside" tourism campaign. The campaign showcases the simple pleasures that abound in Surfside, from the white sand beaches to the family-owned ice cream shop in the town's center. The winning design is bright, playful and upbeat, with a retro touch that is simultaneously modern and fun.

"The campaign is gorgeous and is like nothing Surfside has ever seen," said Duncan Tavares, Surfside Tourist Bureau Director. "I loved collaborating with the Jacober Creative team. It's been wonderful to oversee the development of this town's marketing campaigns." Paul Jacober, the principal in Jacober Creative, added, "We are thrilled to have showcased Surfside in this campaign and attract this level of recognition in a state like Florida, where tourism is a major industry. We were competing against some serious players." He also states, "None of this would have happened without Mr. Tavares, the Department of Tourism and their joint vision for Surfside, which allows us to continue to push the envelope in the work that we do."

The Flagler Awards were created by Visit Florida, the official tourism marketing arm of the State of Florida. The Town of Surfside is a beautiful beachfront community located in South Florida, between Miami Beach and Bal Harbour. Incorporated in 1935, the Town is home to approximately 5,800 residents and includes a tranquil and attractive residential neighborhood, a traditional "hometown" business district, exceptional hotels, pristine beaches and year-round activities.

About Jacober Creative: Jacober Creative was founded in 2001 as a visual communication studio specializing in graphic design, branding, logos, websites and video development.



 Hi res images, video and other materials, and interviews are available upon request 

SOURCE Visit Surfside, FL
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star was the band's eighth studio album and follow-up to Dirty . Buoyed by the anxiety-inducing pop-meets-noise classic, "Bull In The Heather," the album peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the band's highest U.S. chart position up until then. Alternative Press noted the album's anti-commercial aesthetic "doesn't get much cooler than this," while Rolling Stone called the record "quietly confident, more ambitious and weirder than Dirty ." The Los Angeles Times concluded Sonic Youth "transcends the confining roles of pretentious art-rock band or palatable alternative group, and instead offers a penetrating album that's all its own."

A Thousand Leaves was Sonic Youth's 10th studio album and the group's first major effort to be recorded at their own Echo Canyon studio in NYC. Free from the constraints of paying for costly studio time, the band was able to work at their desired pace and experiment at will. The result was an album born out of improvisation, chiefly characterized by the guitar interplay between guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. The album title was inspired by Walt Whitman as Moore explained, "The same way he improvises with images and words, we improvise with sounds and notes." Pitchfork praised the epic "Hits of Sunshine (for Allen Ginsberg)" as its centerpiece while the Village Voice's Robert Christgau remained one of the band's strongest supporters, calling the album "the music of daydream nation old enough to treasure whatever time it finds on its hands They wander at will, dazzled by sunshine, greenery, hoarfrost and machines that go squish in the night," placing it at #3 in his year-end Pazz & Jop "Dean's List," and later naming it one of the 10 best records of the 1990s.

NYC Ghosts & Flowers, the band's 11th studio album, represented a slight stylistic departure, mainly as a creative reaction to the theft of their instruments while on tour the summer before. Instead of using the gear they were intimately familiar with, they unearthed instruments in their studio they hadn't used in years, resulting in a flood of new inspiration. Salon insisted the album "has a gloomy, unaccommodating tenacity that's hard to shake," while Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot raved, "These noise-rock renegades are once again happily viewing their guitars as hunks of wood, wire and infinite possibility No rock band makes the avant-garde sound quite this tactile and sensual."

For more information, go to www.sonicyouth.com/main

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/408009

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150324/184009LOGO

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Unique Pizza and Subs Corporation (OTCPK: UPZS) has announced they have signed a deal with New York City based Christopher Street LLC. The terms of the deal states: Unique Pizza will create and market a custom line of Unique Pizzas, containing (2016 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Dr. Reddy's) proprietary active farm harvested probiotics, under the Christopher Street label; Jose Madrid Salsa "The Healthy Fundraiser" (wholly owned subsidiary of UPZS) will create and market a line of custom hand crafted salsas; PopsyCakes "The First & Only Cupcake on a Pretzel" (wholly owned subsidiary of UPZS) will create and market custom flavored and decorated PopsyCakes; Unique will also work with Christopher Street's management group to expand and market the existing CS products. Christopher Street currently carries a line of Bath & Shower Gels, Shampoo & Conditioners and Hand & Body Lotions.

Christopher Street celebrates the start of the Gay Rights movement which took place on Christopher St. in New York City's Greenwich Village in the 1970's and to this day Christopher Street serves as an international symbol of gay pride. Christopher Street is a living, breathing tribute to the Human Rights Campaign and contributor to the LGBT for equality. Our new line of quality products pledge to support the causes that are near and dear to the hearts of our community.

Christopher Street President, Vinny Viola said, "The brand Christopher Street was created because there was a clear void in the LGBT community that was not being properly serviced. The LGBT community has struggled for decades to enjoy the same basic rights as anyone else in the U.S. and is finally being recognized for what the community really consists of: hardworking, loving, intelligent, creative men and women that deserve the same respect and rights as any other U.S. citizen. It is also about time companies appreciate the vast numbers of consumers that make up the LGBT community and create products that better reflect the wants, needs and lifestyle of an extremely diverse and cultured group of consumers. Our line of all natural cosmetic products were created by and for the LGBT consumer and thanks to our new partners at Unique we will be expanding our inventory of products tremendously over the next couple of years! We have already begun developing a beautiful full body Cabernet Sauvignon and a custom line of gourmet jams with very Unique flavors such as Cinnamon Pear, Fig, Raspberry Jalapeno and Damson Plum!"

Visit us on the web: http://www.ChristopherStProducts.com

Twitter: @ChristopherS_T_

@UniquePizzaSubs

@MadridSalsa

@PopsyCakes

About Unique Pizza and Subs:

Unique Pizza franchises pizza and sub restaurants throughout the United States. With a limited menu of pizzas, subs, calzones, salads, and beverages, the company is primarily focused on takeout and delivery services with limited full size restaurants. The company has three wholly owned subsidiaries Jose Madrid Salsa, Unique Pizza Taphouse and PopsyCakes.

Visit us on the web: http://www.uniquepizza.com

Safe Harbor Act: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions. There are no financials in this press release so this is not needed.

SOURCE Unique Pizza and Subs Corporation

Related Links

http://www.uniquepizza.com


PITTSBURGH, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard issued this statement today following the release of a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew, asking that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reject the proposed acquisition of Aleris Corporation by Zhongwang.

Zhongwang is a company with a history of evading and circumventing U.S. laws, and its chairman is a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Aleris is a manufacturer of aluminum rolled products and an employer of USW members.

"This proposed acquisition should be closely scrutinized and then rejected because of its potential impact on national security as well as the pattern of activities of its press-identified owners.

"Some 900 USW members work at Aleris' facilities and produce many advanced, leading-edge products in the aluminum sector. These products are made for the aerospace and automotive industries, which also have national defense applications.

"In addition, Aleris has done significant research, development and design of products such as ballistic-resistant aluminum, which is used as armor plate. These kinds of products could clearly advance the national security capabilities of the Chinese at a critical time in our bilateral relations.

"The track record and the connections of this company and its leaders to the government, combined with the importance of these assets to our country's national and economic security, make it clear that this transaction cannot be approved.

"America's aluminum industry is being undermined by China's predatory and protectionist policies. There are now only five aluminum smelters in the United States, down from 23 at the beginning of the last decade. China's massive overcapacity has contributed to that.

"Aluminum is not only used for national security applications, but in infrastructure, transportation and other sectors as well. China's practices have already decimated our industry. It must not be allowed now to come in and acquire what remains.

"CFIUS should carefully and quickly review this transaction and reject it. America's national and economic security interests must be paramount."

A copy of the letter from President Gerard to Secretary Lew, who presides over CFIUS, is available here.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries, including metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining, mining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.

CONTACT: Wayne Ranick (412) 562-2444

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080131/DC12982LOGO

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), will continue its mission to deliver global field service, sustainment and on-site expertise in support to Raytheon Corporation for their recent award to operate the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). UTC Aerospace Systems' Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Space Systems business unit will provide the necessary expertise in electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) multi-spectral imaging (MSI) exploitation and training.

DCGS is the USAF's primary ISR collection system, command and situational awareness tool. It enables military analysts and operations experts access to vast sets of data acquired from manned and unmanned ISR aerial platforms which employ UTC Aerospace Systems intelligence collecting sensors like the MS-177 and the SYERS. DCGS also provides continuous on-demand intelligence sharing across many spectral domains so that U.S. and coalition military forces can rapidly anticipate and change the course of events in the battlespace.

"Our decades of expertise in providing airborne EO/IR multi-spectral imaging products and solutions enables us to meet our customers' requirements, which includes ensuring vital mission support expertise is on the ground and available for the war fighter," said Kevin Raftery, vice president of ISR Systems for UTC Aerospace Systems.

UTC Aerospace Systems has been supporting the USAF's DCGS operations, flight line sensor maintenance and operator training for more than 25 years. The company will continue this essential function by providing subject matter experts in MSI sensors, analytics, intelligence analysis, equipment operation and mission support at the service's DCGS facilities around the world.

UTC Aerospace Systems designs, manufactures and services integrated systems and components for the aerospace and defense industries. UTC Aerospace Systems supports a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and customer service facilities.

United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit the website at www.utc.com or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.

SOURCE UTC Aerospace Systems

Related Links

http://www.utcaerospacesystems.com


ATLANTA, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture Atlanta announced today that Techstars Atlanta, presented in partnership with Cox Enterprises, will be a headline sponsor of its 2016 conference and will provide added value for investors attending the event. Techstars Atlanta's Demo Day will take place on Nov. 1 and will lead into the conference. Demo Day will feature presentations from Techstars Atlanta's 2016 class of 10 startups. Applications for the coveted spots came from around the globe, including 69 countries and six continents.

"Techstars Atlanta and Cox Enterprises share a common goal of raising visibility for Atlanta's entrepreneurial community," said Techstars Atlanta's Managing Director Michael Cohn. "To help achieve this goal, we've aligned Techstars Atlanta's inaugural Demo Day with Venture Atlanta to create a 3-day startup showcase for in-town and visiting investors. Combined, our two programs will offer investors access to some amazing entrepreneurs and startups from Atlanta, the region, as well as from around the globe."

The Venture Atlanta Conference is attended by investors from across the country, technology entrepreneurs, senior technology executives and others who are interested in supporting emerging technology companies. More than 100 investment funds attended in 2015 to meet with peers and see exciting new companies. To date, Venture Atlanta has helped entrepreneurs raise more than $1.6 billion.

"We can't think of a better way to kick off Venture Atlanta 2016 than with the Techstars Atlanta Demo Day," said Allyson Eman, Executive Director of Venture Atlanta. "Our organizations' goals are synergistic and tying these showcases together will attract and connect even more of the best and the brightest investors and entrepreneurs to our region, making this year's event likely the most inspiring and successful one yet."

Celebrating its inaugural year, Techstars Atlanta provides 90 days of rapid acceleration to boost entrepreneurs' early stage business and product development efforts through focused education, mentorship and funding. Click here to reserve a general admission ticket for Techstars Atlanta's Demo Day, which takes place on Nov. 1 at the Tabernacle.

About Venture Atlanta:

With the shared goal of bringing the premier venture capital event to the state of Georgia each year the Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Technology Association of Georgia joined forces in 2008 to create the annual nonprofit event, Venture Atlanta. Building off 15 years of success and sold-out crowds, Venture Atlanta, a leading national technology conference and the largest investor showcase in the Southeast. Venture Atlanta is where the region's most promising tech companies meet the country's top-tier investors. Venture Atlanta connects local entrepreneurs with local and national venture capitalists, bankers, angel investors and others who can help them raise the capital they need to grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.ventureatlanta.org.

About Techstars:

Located at Ponce City Market, Techstars Atlanta is presented in partnership with Cox Enterprises, a leading communications, media and automotive services company. Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to live. With dozens of mentorship-driven accelerator programs and thousands of community programs worldwide, Techstars exists to support the world's most promising entrepreneurs throughout their lifelong journey, from inspiration to IPO. Techstars provides access to tens of thousands of community leaders, founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners, allowing entrepreneurs to accelerate the pace of innovation and do more faster. Techstars supports every stage of the entrepreneurial journey  from early stage grassroots community development to more formal opportunities that provide education, experience, acceleration, funding, and beyond.

SOURCE Techstars Atlanta
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked Vertical Staffing Resources Inc. No. 41 on the Startup 50 ranking of Canada's Top New Growth Companies. Published in the October issue of Canadian Business and at PROFITguide.com, the Startup 50 ranks young Canadian businesses on the basis of their percentage two-year revenue growth.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408455LOGO

Vertical Staffing Resources Inc. made the 2016 Startup 50 list with a 2 -year growth rate of 144%.

"These young companies promise to transform Canada's economy through innovation and determination," says James Cowan, Editor-in-chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. "Their stories of early success are truly inspiring."

"As a Canadian owned and operated company, we are honored to be listed as the 41st 2016 Startup 50 winners. When we started Vertical in 2013, our hopes were to change the staffing industry landscape in a positive way. This ranking and recognition is a true testament of how that dream is quickly becoming a reality in such a short period of time." says Anthony Calce, President and CEO of Vertical Staffing Resources Inc.

Vertical is an Industrial Specific Temporary and Permanent Recruitment Specialist firm, opening its doors for the first time in January of 2013 in Brampton, ON. Since then, the organization has experienced significant growth to over five (5) Branches in five (5) major cities in Ontario including Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, Stoney Creek and Guelph. Vertical has plans to open up three (3) more offices in Quebec and Vancouver by Q1 2017, making them a National Recruitment Firm.

Along with being listed as the 41st Canada's Top New Growth Company by PROFIT and Canadian Business Magazine, Vertical has also been named as one of the "Best Staffing Companies to do Business with" by Readers Choice and the Mississauga News for 2013.

"Vertical is a unique Industrial Specific Staffing organization that is process and KPI driven. Our employees are held to a standard regarding their attendance and qualifications screening. They are measured and held accountable by their ability to adhere to that standard. This is what sets us apart from our competition and provides a better service for our clients." says Anthony Calce, President and CEO who goes on to add "Technology and innovation is a big part of what we provide to our clients and employees. In this day and age if you are not making things easy for people or taking away problems for them, in any business, you are not moving forward or gaining momentum."

www.verticalstaffingresources.com

www.facebook.com/verticalstaffingresources/

twitter.com/vertical_sr

About PROFIT and PROFITguide.com

PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success is Canada's preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 34 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it's a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT online at PROFITguide.com.

About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total brand readership of more than 1.1 million, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. We provide concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and great photography. Canadian Businesswhat leadership looks like.

About Vertical Staffing Resources Inc.

Vertical Staffing Resources is a market-focused, process-centered organization that develops and delivers innovative Industrial Staffing solutions. We pride ourselves in providing exemplary customer service by going above and beyond to ensure our clients and employees are completely satisfied. Founded in 2013, Vertical is an Industrial Specific Temporary and Permanent recruitment firm concentrating in five key Verticals such as Logistics, Manufacturing, Transportation, Automotive and Packaging Assembly positions. With a heavy focus on technology, KPI tracking and innovative recruitment initiatives, Vertical has quickly become one of the fastest growing young startup companies in Canada.

Media Contact

Anthony Calce, Vertical Staffing Resources Inc., [email protected] and 905.593.0937 ext. 201

Related Links

Website

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Vertical Staffing Resources Inc.
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vinci Capital Markets, founded earlier this year, has entered the international forex markets looking to make waves. Vinci brings a simple ethic to the marketplace: that customers and traders should have the best possible experience in their online dealings. Vinci aims to meet this standard by providing honest, transparent trading conditions, a comprehensive set of market educational materials, a great web-based trading platform, and a wide range of trading assets.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160914/407836

Are you a market bull, or a trading bear?

Vinci's trading conditions are simple. There is no commission. Spreads are kept as tight as possible to avoid slippage. And that's that. Trading is kept simple because it can be tough enough to keep track of the market conditions without also keeping track of the broker's rules. Vinci makes sure that traders can focus on the market, where their attention belongs.

Not every trader comes to the forex markets with the background or knowledge for effective trading. Vinci Capital Markets provides a set of educational materials and ongoing market analyses to help these traders  as well as those more experienced at forex trading  situate themselves in the marketplace. A set of clear website articles explain forex trading to the novice trader, while the ongoing Market News series  a run of daily articles giving and analyzing current market conditions  helps more advanced traders put the forex marketplace into greater perspective. An interactive Economic Calendar rounds out the lessons, showing every trader just what to expect by way of news events, data releases, and economic reports in the week to come. It's an invaluable resource for anyone who aims to work the online financial marketplace.

The web-trading platform is the next leg of Vinci's support for traders. By offering trading customers access to the Sirix Webtrading platform, Vinci at one stroke makes online trading more convenient and more powerful. The web-based platform is not bound to any one device; a trader can log in to his account at any time, from any place, as long as the computer, table, or mobile device has a proper web connection. The web-trading platform is not only highly portable, it is also powerful. Sirix offers trading on all of the major currency pairs and commodities, backed up by top-notch charting options. It's a combination built to promote success in forex trading.

Finally, this brings us to Vinci's fourth big advantage: a wide range of trading assets. At Vinci, online traders can deal in all of the major forex pairs, as well as many of the minor pairs, plus commodities such as oil, gold, and silver. Stock trading is available through Contract for Difference trading, a derivative device that makes equities easier to understand. Vinci Capital Markets isn't just a forex marketplace; it's a full service online brokerage.

Vinci Capital Markets aims to build the best name in online brokerages, as a leader in online forex trading.

The website of VINCICM is operated by Leverate Financial Services Limited. Leverate Financial Services is a Cypriot Investment Firm regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) (License No.160/11), authorizing the company to provide Prime Brokerage Services and Straight-Through Processing to all European Union member states and other third countries.



Risk warning: Trading Foreign Exchange (Forex) and Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are complex financial products that are traded on margin. FX and CFDs carry a high level of risk since leverage can work both to your advantage and disadvantage. As a result, CFDs may not be suitable for all investors because you may lose all your invested capital. You should not risk more than you are prepared to lose. Before deciding to trade, you need to ensure that you understand the risks involved taking into account your investment objectives and level of experience. Seek independent advice, if necessary. Please read Leverates Risk Disclosure Statement.

Related Images

image1.jpg

image2.jpg

Related Links

Vinci On Facebook

Vinci On Twitter

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Vinci Capital Markets
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- eCommerce Software-as-a-Service company Genesis Digital, LLC, achieved a major milestone last month. Its WebinarJam (https://www.webinarjam.com) service reached 30,000 users.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160915/408267LOGO

"We are excited and energized by crossing this important milestone and having the privilege to serve so many businesses in their quest to engage their audiences," says Genesis Digital CEO Andy Jenkins. "We are looking forward to building on the rapid growth of WebinarJam, and the sister product EverWebinar. Over the next quarter, we have many exciting developments, including some new product releases."

Jenkins explains that WebinarJam's success comes from the company's willingness to adapt its products to meet the needs of customers. Chief Technical Officer Hector Yague agrees: "It's remarkable how you often start with a clear vision for your product, and bring that vision to market. Then, your customers start using it and suggesting improvements and enhancements that are beyond your original concept. We owe a huge part of WebinarJam's success to the feedback and input from the first 29,999 users!"

At the fundamental level, WebinarJam is a marketing skin for Google's Hangouts technology. The software takes Google's basic video conferencing system and uses it as the backbone for a full online event service that can scale to an unlimited number of simultaneous viewers. The software adds the collection of leads, targeted follow-up communications, and engagement features like chats, polls and surveys to the Hangouts experience.

"Still," Yague explains, "there's room to grow."

In fact, the company is preparing to reach a service tipping point. "Until now, we've captured a strong share of the online broadcasting service market, but we're just getting started," adds Jenkins.

This fall, the company plans to release an additional service that operates without the Google Hangouts integration. Jenkins spells out the reasoning for this modification: "While our partnership with Google allowed us to deliver a low cost broadcasting option to our users, there's a need in the market for a service with a little more polish than the Hangouts integration provides."



Exit surveys show that reliance on Google Hangouts is the primary reason some people who are exposed to the WebinarJam platform don't fully jump on board. "When we release our proprietary broadcasting service, we'll be reaching out to the market again to let them know their requests have been addressed," Jenkins mused. "I have a feeling we'll be hitting our 100,000th customer milestone very, very soon."

About WebinarJam.com

If you're looking for a reliable way to connect with your audience, customers, or team via audio and video conferencing, look no further. WebinarJam provides broadcasting rooms with the intimacy and privacy needed for an internal team meeting, on a platform powerful enough to reach the world.

For more information, visit http://www.WebinarJam.com.

Contact:

Donna Fox

Marketing Director, Genesis Digital LLC

(872) 777-2727

Email

SOURCE Genesis Digital, LLC
NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WeiserMazars LLP today announced leadership changes that support the firm's long-term strategic plan and continued growth, with a 9% increase in revenues for the Fiscal Year ended August 31, 2016 marking the sixth consecutive year of revenue growth.

Effective September 1, 2016, Michael Coletti succeeds James Blake as the Office Managing Partner in New Jersey. James will continue as the firm's Managing Partner and as a member of the Executive Committee (EC). Craig Fine succeeds Andrew Cohen as the Office Managing Partner in Long Island. Andrew will continue to serve on the EC, along with serving clients and assisting with the firm's growth strategy for Long Island. Charles Abraham is appointed as the leader of the Financial Services Group in New York succeeding James Kinney who will continue to provide support for the Financial Services Group growth plans, as well as the Long Island office. Additionally, effective January 1, 2017, Kirk Eldridge will succeed Vincent Burke as the Office Managing Partner in Pennsylvania. Vincent will continue with the firm as a consultant supporting the Insurance practice and the Philadelphia market.

Michael joined WeiserMazars' New Jersey office in 2003 and has over 18 years' experience. A New Jersey resident, Michael built a strong client base in the state along with significant ties to local businesses and charitable organizations. He is a member and contributor to the New Jersey State Society of CPA's, a board member of the Meadowlands YMCA, and is involved in the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations. Michael held leadership positions in various service lines and led several firm projects and initiatives. Dedicated to talent management and growing the firm's New Jersey office, Michael is focused on specific and strategic initiatives that advance WeiserMazars' local visibility.

Craig joined WeiserMazars in 2012 through a strategic merger and has more than 25 years' experience providing business advisory services to clients in Long Island and the New York metro area. Since joining the firm, Craig has played a key role in several firm initiatives. He is the founding member of the Trusted Advisor Group, a network of industry experts focused on manufacturers and distribution business in the NY metro area. A frequent speaker at industry events, he has presented at several local colleges. Craig will focus on growing the firm's Long Island practice through business development initiatives, and will have a role in the firm's external growth vision to increase visibility and market share in Long Island.

Kirk has more than 30 years' experience providing accounting, auditing, and tax preparation and planning services to a wide variety of businesses in the greater Philadelphia area. He has extensive leadership skills and experience, having led initiatives and programs at WeiserMazars and his prior firm. More recently, Kirk has been instrumental in growing WeiserMazars' Pennsylvania office through cross-team collaboration, mentoring and creating a culture of accountability around client satisfaction. He is also involved in all levels of strategic office planning, from big-picture decisions to day-to-day operations. A lifelong Pennsylvania resident, Kirk was involved with and held board seats at several local charities and organizations.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WeiserMazars, Victor Wahba, stated: "Michael, Craig and Kirk are proven leaders with the industry knowledge and experience necessary to oversee the firm's New Jersey, Long Island and Pennsylvania practice groups. They all played a critical role in helping the firm execute its growth strategy, and their unmatched commitment to clients and collegial spirit makes them the perfect candidates to oversee the firm's continued growth in these regions."

Charles, who joined WeiserMazars in 2003, will take over the Financial Services Group, where he has specialized in auditing investment companies, investment advisors and broker-dealers. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPA's (NYSSCPA) and is currently the chair of the NYSSCPA SEC committee. Charles most recently led the Asset Management sub-sector of the Financial Services Group, and provided leadership for various industry seminars, firm initiatives and training programs. In his new role, Charles will focus on the strategic plans for the Financial Services Group.

"The Financial Services Group is one of WeiserMazars' most dynamic and exciting practices," says Wahba. "Charles's outstanding track record of helping clients address complex regulatory challenges made his appointment an easy decision," Wahba added.

About WeiserMazars LLP

WeiserMazars LLP provides insight and specialized experience in accounting, tax and advisory services. Since 1921, our skilled professionals have leveraged technical expertise and industry familiarity to create customized solutions to overcome client challenges. As the independent U.S. member firm of Mazars Group, we have a global reach of 17,000 professionals in more than 75 countries. Locally and internationally, we build lasting relationships with our clients by addressing their particular needs, creating value and optimizing their organizational performance. For more information, visit us at www.weisermazars.com .

For more information, contact:

WeiserMazars LLP

Beth More, 732-205-2012

[email protected]

Makovsky

Glori Perez, 212-508-9653

[email protected]

or

Kiki Tarkhan O'Keeffe, 212-508-9679

[email protected]

SOURCE WeiserMazars LLP

Related Links

http://www.weisermazars.com


"We uncovered evidence of the evasion of massive antidumping and countervailing duties on imports from China used in solar panel installations," said Barry Zekelman, Chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries. "As the largest pipe and tube producer in North America, we want to ensure that the laws designed to create a level playing field for our industry and our workers are not undermined by duty evasion practices."

Antidumping and countervailing duties were imposed against imports of circular welded steel pipe from China in 2008, after the U.S. Department of Commerce found evidence of dumping and subsidies and the U.S. International Trade Commission determined that these imports materially injured the domestic pipe and tube industry. Dumping margins of 69.20 to 85.55 percent and subsidy rates of 29.62 to 616.83 percent are currently in effect against imports of these products.

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, P.L. 114-125, is the first comprehensive authorization of U.S Customs and Border Protection since 2003. Duty evasion allegations are one of the new features under the law, allowing domestic producers to help shed light on fraud, circumvention and evasion practices by foreign producers and importers.

"Our industry strongly supported the bipartisan efforts of Senators Wyden, Portman and others to pass this law to give Customs the leverage it needs to combat these fraud practices," said David Seeger, President of Zekelman Industries. "With the demand for energy tubulars down, structural pipe used for solar installations is a growing area of increasing demand. We hate to see that demand, and the opportunities it provides for our industry, to be overtaken by unfairly traded pipe from China."

Wheatland Tube filed its allegation through Schagrin Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based international trade law firm led by Roger Schagrin. The firm has over 30 years of experience in Customs matters and counseled Wheatland Tube in the 2008 circular welded steel pipe cases against China.

About Wheatland Tube

Wheatland Tube, a division of Zekelman Industries, produces a wide range of steel tubular products, including standard steel pipe, galvanized mechanical tubing, fence framework, fire sprinkler pipe, electrical conduit, elbows, couplings and nipples.

About Zekelman Industries

Zekelman Industries includes the operating divisions of Atlas Tube, Picoma, Energex Tube, Sharon Tube and Wheatland Tube. It is the largest independent manufacturer of hollow structural sections (HSS) and steel pipe, and the top producer of electrical conduit and elbows, couplings and nipples in North America. Zekelman Industries delivers a broad range of industrial solutions that build its customers' success.

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SOURCE Wheatland Tube
"Whiskies of the World was created to foster a broader and deeper appreciation of whisky and all of its complexities," said Doug Smith, Executive Director. "We're the perfect educational and palate-enriching evening for people who are either curious about whisky or die-hard aficionados."

The event, located at The Four Seasons Austin, will offer tastings of Scotch, Bourbon, Irish, Canadian and other whiskies from around the globe, food and whisky pairings and whisky and cigar pairings. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in one of 6 Masterclasses, featuring whisky leaders Simon Brooking and John Campbell, Laphroaig; Jonathan Wingo, Balvenie; Bruce Russell, Russel's Reserve; David Perkins, High West Distillery; and Brandon McCarron, The Glenmorangie Company.

Tickets are $140 for general admission and guests must be 21 years or older to attend. Valid photo ID required. Guests should expect an entertaining, educational and delicious experience.

What: 2016 Whiskies of the World Austin

When: Thursday, September 29, 2016 7:00  10:00pm

Where: The Four Seasons, 98 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78701

Whiskies of the World Austin is sponsored by Twin Liquors and Austin Monthly. For more information and to purchase tickets visit whiskiesoftheworld.com.

About Whiskies of the World

Originating in San Francisco, Whiskies of the World is now a series of five, hugely popular whisky events taking place in California, Texas and Georgia. Whiskies of the World offers guests the opportunity to taste superlative whiskies and to meet the outstanding personalities of the whisky world. Featuring whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia, Whiskies of the World will surprise even the savviest connoisseur. Whiskies of the World is an event of the IWSC Group, a global events company with operations in the UK and US that is focused on bringing together people and brands through authentic experiences.

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SOURCE IWSC

Related Links

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AMES, Iowa, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK), a leading provider of enterprise cloud solutions for improving productivity, accountability and insight in business data, ranked number 55 on the 100 Best Workplaces for Women list by Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine. The recognition is based on employees' assessments of communications with management, development and training opportunities and support for work-life balance, among other factors.

"Workiva is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace," said Matt Rizai, Chairman and CEO of Workiva. "Our employees are encouraged to freely share ideas and develop mutual respect. We believe that diverse teams build better solutions with greater success."

"I'm excited that Workiva is recognized as one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Women in the country," said Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. "Two years ago, I worked with their leadership to be a partner in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] education in our state. STEM is key to Iowa's ability to innovate and remain competitive, now and in the future. This award is a testament to Workiva's involvement in promoting the value of STEM careers."

"This is another validation of what we've known about Workiva for some time  it is a great Iowa company that fosters an environment where employees can succeed," said Debi Durham, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. "Being recognized as one of the top workplaces for women is quite an honor, but not a surprise!"

"There's a strong correlation between being able to talk openly with company executives and feeling like a workplace is fair," said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. "Traditionally, communication channels with leaders have been less available to women than to men. The Best Workplaces for Women do well at paving the way for those open dialogs, and as a result, women are more likely to feel they get fair consideration in their jobs and careers. Congratulations to these great companies. They are showing everyone how to create a Great Place to Work For ALL."

Workiva also recently ranked #4 on the 10 Best Large Workplaces in Technology list, #6 on the 50 Best Workplaces for Camaraderie list and #34 on the 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials list by Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine.

About Workiva

Workiva (NYSE:WK) created Wdesk, a cloud-based productivity platform for enterprises to collect, link, report and analyze business data with control and accountability. Thousands of organizations, including over 65 percent of the Fortune 500, use Wdesk. The platform's proprietary word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications are integrated and built upon a data management engine, offering synchronized data, controlled collaboration, granular permissions and a full audit trail. Wdesk helps mitigate enterprise risk, improve productivity and give users confidence to make decisions with real-time data. Workiva employs more than 1,200 people with offices in 16 cities. The company is headquartered in Ames, Iowa. For more information, visit workiva.com.

Claim not confirmed by FORTUNE or Time Inc. FORTUNE 500 is a registered trademark of Time Inc. and is used under license. FORTUNE and Time Inc. are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of, Workiva Inc.

About the Best Workplaces for Women

Published together with our partner Fortune, the 100 Best Workplaces for Women rankings are based entirely upon feedback from more than 137,762 women at Great Place to Work-Certified companies. Women completed our anonymous Trust Index survey, answering questions about how frequently they experience the behaviors that create a great workplace, including, for example, their assessment of how fairly they're treated regardless of gender, the quality and authenticity of communications with managers, and equitable pay and promotion practices. Women's anonymous responses resulted in a total score for each company, which was compared to the benchmark for organizations of that size, and ranked accordingly.

Results from the survey are highly reliable, having a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 6% or less. Winning a spot on this list indicates the company has distinguished itself from peers by being a great place to work for women, and has a workplace where women have high representation in the total employee population and in management positions. The 100 companies with the highest employee ratings and female representation were selected for the list.

About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For" and a series of Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists, including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industries.

Follow Great Place to Work online at greatplacetowork.com and on Twitter at @GPTW_US.

Contact:

Kevin McCarthy

Workiva Inc.

(515) 663-4471

[email protected]

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SOURCE Workiva Inc.

Related Links

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- World of Children, an organization dedicated to setting the gold standard in child advocacy, announced today its 2016 Honorees, an extraordinary group of real-life heroes working to dramatically improve the lives of children. This year's recipients, whose work spans a wide range of issues from supporting children living with debilitating and chronic diseases, to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and survivors of sexual abuse. World of Children Award will present these individuals with their Awards at its 2016 Awards Ceremony in New York City at 583 Park Avenue on Thursday, October 27.

The first ever World of Children Protection Award will be presented at this year's Awards Ceremony.

"Nobody really knows the full extent of abuse suffered by children around the world. It happens 'in the dark' and often goes unreported," explains Harry Leibowitz, Co-Founder of the organization. "So many children never receive the support and care they need to heal after experiencing these traumas. It is time for this to stop. We are committed to bringing these terrible issues into the light and supporting those who work to help children who have suffered so long in silence."

Recognized as the "Nobel Prize for Child Advocates," honorees will receive a grant to help their program grow and ultimately impact the lives of even more children. This year's honorees include:

2016 World of Children Protection Award: Dusica Popadic

Co-Founder and Director of Incest Trauma Center (ITC) which provides psychological assistance to child sexual assault survivors and their supporting networks, while also providing child sexual abuse prevention programs.

Read more: http://www.worldofchildren.org/honoree/dusica-popadic/

2016 World Of Children Youth Award: Claire Wineland

Founder of Claire's Place Foundation, an organization that provides support to children and families affected by Cystic Fibrosis.

Read more: http://www.worldofchildren.org/honoree/claire-wineland/

2016 World of Children Health Award: Jimmy Drekore

Founder of Simbu Children Foundation, an organization that provides education and medical treatment to the sick and disadvantaged children of the Simbu province of Papua New Guinea.

Read more: http://www.worldofchildren.org/honoree/jimmy-drekore/

2016 World of Children Humanitarian Award: Iyyappan Subramaniyan

Founder of Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust, an organization that cares for, protects and educates abandoned mentally challenged children.

Read more: http://www.worldofchildren.org/honoree/iyyappan-subramaniyan/

2016 World of Children Education Award: Ponheary Ly

Founder of Ponheary Ly Foundation, an organization that promotes access to quality education for children and youth in Cambodia.

Read more: http://www.worldofchildren.org/honoree/pohnheary-ly/

In addition, Lily Aldridge Followill will be honored at the Awards Ceremony with the 2016 Advocacy Award and Stephanie March will be honored with the 2016 Board of Governors' Award. Caryl Stern, President of US Fund for UNICEF, will speak at the Ceremony, along with Brooke Burke-Charvet and Alina Cho.

The 2016 World of Children Award Honorary Chairs include Cindi Leive, Editor in Chief of Glamour; Zanna Roberts Rassi, Senior Fashion Editor at Marie Claire and E!News Fashion Correspondent; and Sheryl WuDunn, recipient of the 2009 World of Children Advocacy Award, a Pulitzer Prize Winner and New York Times Best Selling Author. World of Children Award is led by Co-Founders Harry Leibowitz and Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz, retired senior executives from Procter & Gamble and Victoria's Secret respectively.

World of Children Award receives thousands of nominations from almost 100 countries annually and uses a uniquely rigorous vetting process to select honorees, including an on-site investigation and independent audit of each finalist.

ABOUT WORLD OF CHILDREN AWARD:

World of Children Award improves the lives of vulnerable children by funding and elevating the most effective changemakers for children worldwide.

Since 1998, World of Children Award has granted more than $8 million in cash grants and program support to more than 100 individuals leading programs serving children worldwide.

CONTACT:

Sunshine Sachs, 212-691-2800

Shira Mahler, [email protected]

Emily Eidemiller, [email protected]

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SOURCE World of Children Award
London, Sep 11 : Passengers onboard a flight from Gatwick were terrified when a handcuffed migrant, who was being deported to Venice, repeatedly screamed "Allahu Akbar" and "death is coming".

Children were reduced to tears and travellers almost feared a terror attack on the two-hour easyJet EZY5263 flight to Venice until it became clear that the handcuffed man was being guarded by British Home Office officials, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.

According to reports, it emerged that the Home Office was using budget airlines to deport illegal immigrants.

In a 11-minute audio recording made by a passenger sitting just yards away, the man screamed "Allahu Akbar" 29 times, "death is coming" 17 times, and "we will die" nine times.

The migrant kept up the "crude and threatening" behaviour for nearly the entire length of the budget flight, according to passengers onboard.

In a bid to control the handcuffed migrant, one Home Office official crouched on his knees facing the man, with an arm on his shoulders, for much of the flight.

The man is thought to be a failed asylum seeker who had spent a year in a Britain detention centre. He was being deported to Italy under the Dublin Regulation, which dictates that people must claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.

It is the first time a deportee has been reported to have disrupted a budget commercial flight to Europe.

The Home Office spends at least $40 million a year on returning illegal immigrants and foreign criminals to their home countries. It charters private jets and pays for individual seats on commercial flights.
Brasilia, Sep 13 : Brazil's lower house was considering whether to expel former Speaker Eduardo Cunha amid accusations that he lied about undeclared Swiss bank accounts, a media report said on Tuesday.

Cunha denies wrongdoing and has said former president Dilma Rousseff's supporters are seeking revenge, the BBC reported.

He has also threatened to reveal compromising information about other politicians.

"This criminal government has been removed thanks to me," he said during the session on Monday, accusing Rousseff's Workers' Party of seeking his removal to bolster her claim that the impeachment process against her had been a "coup".

Cunha was also being investigated by the Supreme Court for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts with state oil giant, Petrobras, the BBC reported.

Petrobras is at the centre of a massive kickbacks scandal which cost the company $2 billion and has led to the arrest of dozens of lawmakers and top businessmen.

At least three businessmen have said under interrogation that they paid bribes to Cunha, which they deposited in his overseas accounts.

In March 2015, Cunha stated that he did not have "any type of account anywhere that is not declared on my income tax", the BBC noted.

But authorities in Switzerland later gave information to a corruption inquiry in Brazil stating that Cunha and his wife, Claudia Cruz, were beneficiaries of secret accounts worth about $5 million.
Los Angeles, Sep 15 : Actress Tara Reid sparked concern for her welfare among fans as she shared an image showing her with a bruised and battered face.

The "American Pie" actress took to Instagram and posted a photograph of herself with a large bruise across her forehead. She was also seen with mascara streaks down her face, reports mirror.co.uk.

"Everyone be kind to each other. This is what bullying looks like #Worthless," she wrote.

Fans spoke of their concern before the star clarified on Twitter that her face was covered in heavy make-up for her new role in anti-bulling movie "Worthless".

"Please let us know you're ok," one fan wrote.

"You can't post and not explain yourself. What happened," another said.

One follower commented: "If it's make-up, (I) think you should give a heads up ....people are concerned."

"Gosh, please tell me that's make-up," another said.

The 40-year-old actress later wrote: "On my new movie #Worthless."

"I'm so excited being back in New Jersey where I was born and raised. I'm shooting my new movie 'Worthless'. It's an anti-bullying movie."
Brasilia, Sep 15 : Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been charged in the Petrobras corruption scheme that cost the state oil company billions of dollars.

The charges of bribery and money laundering were levelled against Lula, his wife, Marisa Leticia, and seven other people, EFE news reported.

"Lula was the big boss of the Petrobras corruption scheme. Lula was on top of the power pyramid," EFE news quoted prosecutor Deltan Dalagnol as saying at a news conference in Curitiba on Wednesday.

The prosecutors had been investigating whether Lula and his wife failed to declare ownership of a luxury penthouse in the seaside resort of Guaruja.

Lula has denied owning the flat and said the case was politically motivated.

The flat was built by the giant construction company OAS, one of the firms at the centre of the Petrobras scam.

OAS bought, refurbished and furnished the luxury three-story beachfront apartment for the former president, according to the federal prosecutor, who said Lula had made the down payment on the property located in Sao Paulo.

That same construction company also paid the rental fees for a warehouse where over a period of five years Lula stored the gifts he received during his 2003-2010 presidency, the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said he had evidence Lula received around $1.1 million in benefits from construction company OAS.

The luxury penthouse is estimated to be worth up to $550,000.

The prosecutor said Petrobras' total losses stemming from the inflated contracts amounted to roughly some $12.7 billion.

Attorneys for Lula, referring to the beachfront triplex, they said prosecutors had provided no evidence that the apartment in question belonged to Lula, adding that the former head of state had paid only one visit to the property when it was under construction and he was considering whether or not to purchase it.

A judge is due to rule in the next few days whether to formally charge Lula.
New Delhi, Sep 15 : Two Indian teachers who were abducted in Libya over a year ago have been released, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday.

"I am happy to inform that T Gopalakrishna (AP) and C BalaramKishan (Telangana) who were captive in Libya since July 29, 2015 have been rescued," she tweeted.

Both Gopalakrishna and Balaramkishan were teachers at the University of Sirte and were abducted while they were on their way to Tripoli airport to return to India.

Sirte was the hometown of ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Washington, Sep 15 : Examining images obtained by NASA's New Horizons probe, scientists have found that the reddish spot at the North Pole of Charon is chemically processed methane that escaped from Plutos atmosphere onto its largest moon.

The cameras on New Horizons spacecraft first spotted the large reddish polar region on Charon in June 2015 - something scientists had never seen elsewhere in our solar system.

Over the past year, after analysing the images and other data that New Horizons has sent back from its historic July 2015 flight through the Pluto system, the scientists think Charon's polar colouring comes from Pluto itself.

"This study solves one of the greatest mysteries we found on Charon, Pluto's giant moon," said study co-autho Alan Stern, New Horizons Principal Investigator from the Southwest Research Institute.

"And it opens up the possibility that other small planets in the Kuiper Belt with moons may create similar, or even more extensive 'atmospheric transfer' features on their moons," Stern noted.

Charon's polar coloring comes from Pluto as methane gas that escapes from Pluto's atmosphere and becomes "trapped" by the moon's gravity and freezes to the cold, icy surface at Charon's pole.

This is followed by chemical processing by ultraviolet light from the sun that transforms the methane into heavier hydrocarbons and eventually into reddish organic materials called tholins, the researchers detailed in a paper published in the journal Nature.

"Who would have thought that Pluto is a graffiti artist, spray-painting its companion with a reddish stain that covers an area the size of New Mexico?" asked Will Grundy, a New Horizons co-investigator from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona and lead author of the paper.

"Every time we explore, we find surprises. Nature is amazingly inventive in using the basic laws of physics and chemistry to create spectacular landscapes," Grundy noted.

For the study, the team combined analyses from detailed Charon images obtained by New Horizons with computer models of how ice evolves on Charon's poles.
Ranchi, Sep 15 : More than 50 per cent of the land owned by tribals has been acquired for a variety of reasons over the years, displacing and marginalising lakhs of them, besides not compensating them adquately, the head of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Rameshwar Oraon, has said.

"The main woe of the tribals is land acquisition. More than 50 per cent of tribal land has been acquired for setting up industries, mining, irrigation projects and other works, while gradually displacing lakhs of the tribal population," Oraon, who belongs to Jharkhand, told IANS in a telephonic interview from New Delhi, adding: "Their plight cannot be expressed in words."

"All over the country, tribal land is acquired for economic development, which is wrong. There is a law to protect tribal land but the law is not implemented properly. This is the reason why tribals are being marginalised," Oraon, the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs in the UPA-I government added.

"It is a matter of serious concern that tribal people were landlords when the country became independent. Over the years, their condition changed for the worse," Oraon, who quit the Indian Police Service to contest the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, said.

"In almost every state there is a provision to protect tribal land. Despite this, lands were acquired," he added.

He cited the examples of the Rourkela, Bhilai and Bokaro steels plants, Ranchi's Heavy Engineering Corporation and the Narmada and Sardar Sarovar projects for which only tribals were displaced.

Oraon said not enough has been done for rehabilitating tribal people and they have not been taken care of.

"The situation of displaced tribals was the worst in undivided Bihar. Land acquisition hit the tribal community and its culture," he said, adding: "When a tribal loses his land he loses his culture and tradition."

"There is a big question mark on the survival of the tribal people and culture due to land acquisition in the country."

Oraon also came down heavily on the Raghubar Das-led Jharkhand government for proposing changes in two land acts -- the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act in contravention of a central law passed in 2013 that said if tribal land had to be acquired, the consent of the Gram Sabha, or village council, was a must.

"The proposed changes in the two acts challenge the act passed by Parliament. As per the changes, land can be acquired without the Gram Sabha's consent and without seeking approval of the Deputy Commissioner," he said.

The proposed changes -- through and ordinance -- are now pending with President Pranab Mukherjee.

"The 2013 act was formulated at a suggestion of the National ST Commission. Tribal land can only be protected if the act is impended honestly. The sad part is that Gram Sabhas have been ineffective in the country. There is need to strengthen the Gram Sabhas," he said.

Oraon also expressed his unhappiness over the ST quota not being filled in central government services, saying that though the ST population increased from 7.5 per cent in 1971 to 8.30 per cent in 2011, their share in central government services is just around five per cent.

"The vacant tribal posts in the central government should be filled by launching special drives," said the ST commission chairperson.

He also expressed concern over Jharkhand's declining tribal population. "It was 32 per cent in 1951, which reduced to 22 per cent in 2001," Oraon said.

He said it was "the arrival of outsiders in the state" that caused the decline.

(Nityanand Shukla can be contacted at nityanand.s@ians.in)
Kolkata, Sep 15 : Customs authorities seized 11 pieces of gold biscuit bars valued at over Rs 15 lakh smuggled from Bangkok at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport here on Thursday.

A Kolkata Customs spokesperson said sleuths of its Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) seized 11 bars weighing 475.100 grams and valued at Rs 15,06,067 from two trolleys at the airport.

They were allegedly smuggled into the city by Flight No. B-3701 of Bhutan Airlines from Bangkok.

Acting on intelligence inputs, the AIU officers checked trolleys of passengers at the entrance of the Green Channel and recovered the gold bars concealed inside two trolleys left unattended by passengers.
Ontracks Consulting ranked by Canadian Business and PROFIT one of Canadas fastest-growing companies for third consecutive year Companies become part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit.

For the third year in a row, Ontracks Consulting has been ranked by Canadian Business and PROFIT as one of Canadas Fastest-Growing Companies, the prominent Canada-based media entities recognizing the leading North American implementer of IBM Maximo products and operational improvement firm for its strategic asset management system implementations, consulting and training solutions. The announcement comes on the heels of Ontracks opening a new office in Edmonton in addition to being named one of Alberta Ventures top 50 fastest-growing companies.

Ranking Canadas Fastest-Growing Companies by five-year revenue growth, the PROFIT 500 list profiles the countrys most successful growth organizations. A joint venture between Canadas premier media brands, the PROFIT 500 is published in the October issue of Canadian Business and online at PROFITguide.com. Ontracks Consulting made the 2016 PROFIT 500 roster based on a five-year revenue growth of 339%, placing 177th on the list.

Companies become part of the PROFIT 500 through innovative thinking, smart strategy and sheer grit, says James Cowan, Editor-in-Chief of PROFIT and Canadian Business. These firms demonstrate what Canadian entrepreneurs can achieve, both at home and across the globe.

Adding to Mr. Cowans sentiments, Craig Mackenzie, Principal at Ontracks Consulting, added, Ontracks focuses on delivering enterprise implementations and helping our clients realize tangible and sustainable operational improvements. We are successful because of the passion we have for our business, the industries we serve and, most of all, our clients. To be recognized by such notable entities as Alberta Venture and now Canadian Business is a true honor, and we have made a pledge to continue working collaboratively to deliver real, long-term and sustainable benefits  because we truly understand the challenges our clients face.

Ontracks Consulting currently employs over 50 individuals and continues to grow, even with regard to its impressive client roster which includes a plethora of firms in the Oil and Gas, Energy and Utilities, Manufacturing, Transportation, Government and Education, Healthcare and Biotechnology, Construction and Real Estate, Mining and Minerals, Retail, Chemicals and Information Technology industries.

About Ontracks Consulting

Ontracks Consulting is a leading implementer of IBMs Enterprise Asset Management product Maximo and operational improvement firm, working with clients around the world to improve their operational performance. Ontracks focuses on delivering enterprise implementations and helping clients realize tangible and sustainable operational improvements.

About PROFIT and PROFITguide.com

PROFIT is Canadas preeminent media brand dedicated to the management issues and opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For 33 years, Canadian entrepreneurs across a vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because its a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them achieve business success and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Visit PROFIT at PROFITguide.com.

About Canadian Business

Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in the country. With a total print readership of more than 600,000, it is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. The publication provides concrete examples of business achievement, thought-provoking analysis and compelling storytelling, all in an elegant package with bold graphics and vivid photography. Canadian Business  what leadership looks like.

Ontracks Consultings main Canada office is located at Suite 202, 14127-23 Avenue NW in Edmonton, Alberta T6R 0G4 and can be reached by calling (780) 637-4130. For more information, visit http://www.OntracksConsulting.com.
PeriopSim Surgical SImulation PeriopSim simulation training offers the opportunity to provide resident and surgical nurse training cost-effectively and efficiently outside of the operating room.

Conquer Mobile today announced the publication of the first research paper assessing the value of simulation training for instrument recognition among neurosurgery residents using the companys PeriopSim simulation training platform. The paper was published in the international, peer-reviewed journal BMC Medical Education and was carried out by a team led by Dr. David Clarke, Head of Neurosurgery at Dalhousie University/Nova Scotia Health Authority and Dr. Ryan DArcy, BC Leadership Chair in Medical Technologies at Simon Fraser University and Head of Health Sciences and Innovation at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

Significance to Surgeon Training

With restrictions in residents working hours, increased surgical complexity and limited budgets, it is increasingly challenging to ensure that surgical residents acquire the requisite competencies of clinical knowledge, diagnostics and surgical skills. Surgery training programs are looking to simulation to supplement traditional training and enable a risk-free setting for experiential learning.

About the Study

The objective of the study was to assess whether PeriopSim instrument training and burr hole surgery training led to improvements in instrument knowledge and recognition. The study took place during the Canadian Neurosurgery Rookie Camp in Halifax, Nova Scotia and involved first year neurosurgery residents drawn from residency programs across Canada. Performance was compared between groups learning through the surgical module alone and in combination with the instrumentation module. Faculty members also performed instrument and surgery training to provide an expert-level performance baseline. Performance was measured through PeriopSim based on time to select an instrument, number of incorrectly selected instruments and total score (a gamification-based formula based on correct responses and time that rewards anticipation of instruments).

The study results showed that recognition for burr hole surgery instruments can be improved by repetitive simulation training using the PeriopSim platform. Performance metrics showed progressive improvement over time indicating that the learning curve for instrument recognition can be shortened with this approach. The study concluded that PeriopSim simulation training can effectively improve performance of surgical instrument recognition.

We need innovative ways to help new residents acquire the core competencies, explained David Clarke. PeriopSim simulation training offers the opportunity to provide resident and surgical nurse training cost-effectively and efficiently outside of the operating room.

Simulation has the power to transform the way that we train surgical staff, remarked Ryan DArcy. By supplementing traditional training methods with simulation we can speed up the learning curve for surgical staff.

We are excited to see concrete evidence of the power of PeriopSim simulation training for all surgical staff, commented Angela Robert, CEO of Conquer Mobile.

About the Research Paper

The study entitled Simulation-based training for burr hole surgery instrument recognition was published on May 27, 2016 in BMC Medical Education journal. The research was led by David Clarke and Ryan DArcy in association with Nelofar Kureshi, Murray Hong and Maryam Sadeghi. Read the full research paper on BioMed Central.

About PeriopSim

PeriopSim is an iPad and VR based simulation learning platform for surgical staff who need to learn surgical instruments and procedures. PeriopSim enables staff to practice safely before surgery. Students are guided through procedures step by step, in a realistic environment with surgical video, voice prompts and continuous feedback. PeriopSim has been developed in close collaboration with medical experts including surgeons, nurses and nurse educators to ensure accuracy and realistic learning outcomes. PeriopSim is available as a free preview version on the App Store.

Read more about PeriopSim.

About Conquer Mobile

Conquer Mobile is a specialist in education technology, with a focus on medical simulation training. The company has a strong medical advisory group drawing together surgeons, neuroscientists, nurse educators and nurses. The company is based in the Health Tech Innovation Hub, part of Innovation Boulevard in Surrey, Canada.
We are honored to have won this distinguished award, said Cocchia. We would like to thank IAPP for recognizing the truly revolutionary nature of the Vysk QS1.

Vysk is proud to announce that its flagship product, the Vysk QS1 smartphone case, has been awarded the prestigious HPE-IAPP Award for Most Innovative Privacy Technology of 2016. With this honor, the San Antonio-based Vysk joins the illustrious ranks of previous winners including VMware, Microsoft, IBM Research, Stanford University, ID Experts, and Novell, Inc., as well as this years co-winner, Protenus.

Administered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the worlds largest association for information privacy professionals, with more than 20,000 members in 83 countries, and sponsored by Hewlett Packard (HPE), the Innovation Award recognizes unique programs and services in global privacy and data protection in the private and public sectors. In selecting the Vysk QS1 as the most innovative technology of the year, the IAPP Judging Committee considered a series of criteria including the level of innovation, breadth of adoption, revenue and profitability enhancement, and proportion of customers impacted.

Vysks award submission highlighted the security and adaptability of the QS1 solution, including its proprietary True End-to-End Encryption (TruE2E). Using proprietary microphone jammers, camera shutters, and independent hardware (encryption processor, speakers, etc.) built into the case itself, the QS1 creates a secure ecosystem outside the potentially compromised smartphone where the user can make and receive encrypted voice calls privately. This proprietary solution protects the actual endpoints of the conversation: the smartphones cameras and microphones. In this way, the QS1 easily and conveniently turns leading smartphones like the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy into the most secure mobile communication devices in the world.

The award was announced during a special ceremony at the IAPPs Privacy.Security.Risk. 2016

conference held in San Jose, California between September 13-16, 2016. Vysk CEO Victor Cocchia

accepted the award on behalf of Vysk.

We are honored to have won this distinguished award, said Cocchia. We would like to thank IAPP for recognizing the truly revolutionary nature of the Vysk QS1, which is poised to reinvent communication in the enterprise and government space. No other device on the market can provide either the security or convenience of the QS1, which can be used with leading smartphone brands and requires only a single button to activate. Our solution is intuitive, easy to use, and nonintrusive.

***

Founded in 2013, Vysk is a San Antonio, Texas-based manufacturer of private secure communications solutions determined to redefine and restore privacy in the digital age. Please visit http://www.vysk.com for more information about Vysk and the Vysk QS1 case for iPhone (Samsung forthcoming).
Now more than ever, nurses need to protect the longevity and financial future of their careers. With the constant upheaval and changes in our health care system, it is essential that nurses diversify their knowledge to incorporate sound business practice knowledge. Plus, so many nurses today are choosing the entrepreneurial path to coincide with their nursing career. One of the best ways to achieve success is to attend conferences such as the one presented by the National Nurses in Business Association (NNBA). In its 31st year, the Nurse Entrepreneurship and Career Alternatives Conference runs October 14-16th in Las Vegas, Nevada. https://nnbanow.com/nnba-conference-2016/

An educational and professional development event whose theme this year is Advancing Nurses Through Entrepreneurship is perfect for all practicing nurses, aspiring nurse entrepreneurs, and current nurse entrepreneurs who wish to grow their business. Those who attend will enjoy nationally-acclaimed speakers and business experts sharing information, tools and actionable take-a-ways to start their business or make their current business even more successful.

Just a few of NNBAs 31st National Educational Conference highlights include:



More than 19 sessions showcasing the following: Opportunities for nurses roles in the new health care landscape; information on how to transition to independent nursing or a nurse entrepreneur; how to start up or grow your existing business; effective business management principles; how to market and diversify your business, Social Media tips by some of the countrys most influential nurse writers and bloggers, and so much more.

Well-respected keynote speaker, Dr. Louise Jakubik, CSP will share Beyond Your Wildest Dreams: Business Ownership as THE Difference-Maker for the Life and Work You Really Want.

Five pre-conference workshops including: Speaking for Fun & Profit; The Hidden Fortune in Elder Care Business; Blogging to Build your Business; Independent Case Management; and The Power of Podcasting  each offering additional insight into career alternatives and essential entrepreneur and business skills.

NNBA is a professional nursing association and springboard for nurses transitioning from traditional nursing to small business ownership and self-employment. NNBA membership provides knowledge and tools to meet entrepreneurial goals and connects members to an extensive network of colleagues and resources to help navigate ones journey to success. Those who join NNBA now can receive $100.00 off the registration fee for this conference.

As Michelle Podlesni, President of NNBA states, It is always so exciting to host our annual Nurse Entrepreneurship and Career Alternatives Conference. Nurses learn how to gain competitive advantage and discover multiple marketable income streams to augment their nursing careers. Mentoring is at the heart of the NNBA and our veteran members resumes include thousands of nurse-owned businesses, awards, and millions in revenues. They continue to expand their offerings and develop valuable partnerships through events such as this.

The conference takes place at the fabulous Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino (formerly the LVH  Las Vegas Hotel & Casino).

For more information and to sign up for the conference go to https://nnbanow.com/nnba-conference-2016/. For media interviews contact Publicist, Diana Ennen, diana(at)virtualwordpublishing(dot)com, (954) 971-4025.

National Nurses in Business Association

http://www.NNBAnow.com

877 353-8888

mpodlesni(at)nnbanow(dot)com

About The National Nurses in Business Association: Nurses Helping Nurses Succeed in Business! The forerunner of the nurse entrepreneurship movement, provides education, support, empowerment and opportunities for nurses in business, since 1985. The NNBA is the #1 Nurse Business Owner Network and serves as The Voice of Nurse Entrepreneurship.
Heather Luhn has consistently demonstrated leadership, vision, and dependability in a variety of challenging roles. She is a decisive, creative influencer, is highly respected, and is extraordinarily well suited to this new position.

The Real School of Music today announced the promotion of Heather Luhn to the newly created position of Director of Education.

In this role, Ms. Luhn will have primary responsibility for faculty across all instrument categories, and all academic services delivered throughout the companys music school operations.

Heather Luhn has consistently demonstrated leadership, vision, and dependability in a variety of challenging roles, said Real School CEO, Thomas Byrne. She is a decisive, creative influencer, is highly respected, and is extraordinarily well suited to this new position.

Ms. Luhn joined Real School as a Strings Instructor in 2012. She was named the Rookie Of The Year in 2013, and quickly began taking on roles of increasing responsibility. As Director of Strings Instruction, Ms. Luhn increased the size of the department by five-fold. As Director of Yamaha Music Education, she built and managed several thriving Yamaha music programsboth at Real School corporate and out-of-state affiliate schools.

When asked to describe her goals for this new role, Ms. Luhn said, "I'm honored to be named Real Schools first Director of Education! In this role I hope to assess, develop, and inspire faculty of all instruments to continue learning on a personal and professional level through sharing, presenting, and collaborating in professional development settings. I look forward to challenging the level of education offered at Real School and nurturing the students through the continued learning and inspiration of our faculty."

Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, Ms. Luhn earned a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University, and a Master of Music in String Pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts. Prior to joining Real School, she worked as a violin teacher and performer and founded a 3rd and 4th grade string program at St. Robert School in Shorewood, Wisconsin. Ms. Luhn also co-founded and ran a string quartet based in Bloomington, IL that performed at over 200 private events and weddings. She remains an active performer as a member of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra.
Pacific Union Financial, LLC achieved another origination milestone surpassing the $1.8 Billion mark in funded volume across Wholesale, Correspondent and Retail channels in the month of August and securing $2.5 Billion in lock commitments during the same month. The company continues to trend upward in every channel, product and geographic category as it continues to establish itself as a proven leader in the mortgage industry.

This is the second significant milestone Pacific Union has hit in the last three months. In June, the mortgage company locked a company-best $2 Billion across all channels.

We have experienced incredible success in 2016. Each of our origination channels are shattering volume records, assembling solid operational and sales foundations, and will finish this record-breaking year stronger than ever and positioned to set more records in 2017, said Rick Skogg, Pacific Unions President & CEO. We have built an extraordinary team that focuses on quality originations, servicing and profitable growth. I am eagerly anticipating the future successes in the coming months and years for our team and customers.

Thus far in 2016, Pacific Union has hired more than 350 new employees and plans to hire 100 additional staff over the next three months. Pacific Unions employee base has quadrupled over the last three years, now totaling almost 1,600.

Our employees are the backbone of our successful, thriving organization. As our company continues to grow, we are working hard to ensure that we hire the brightest and most astute team-oriented individuals, Skogg said. Company culture, employee morale and work life balance are at the forefront of what makes us such a strong and desirable company.

Pacific Union is positioned to have its most profitable year in the history of the company.

About Pacific Union Financial

Pacific Union Financial, LLC is a full-service mortgage company, located in Irving, Texas, with fulfillment centers in Texas, California, Virginia, and North Carolina and more than 40 branch locations across the country. Pacific Union originates and purchases residential mortgage loans through Wholesale, Retail and Correspondent channels, in addition to servicing a $23 Billion portfolio.

http://www.pacificunionfinancial.com
New York State Coverdell Stroke Quality Improvement Program Enlists Hospitals to Improve Stroke Care and Patient Outcomes

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 15, 2016) - The New York State Department of Health (DOH) and Health Research Inc. have expanded the New York State Coverdell Stroke Quality Improvement Program by recruiting 56 hospitals to participate in a federally funded initiative dedicated to improving systems of care for acute stroke. Stroke remains the fourth leading cause of death in New York accounting for 6,000 deaths annually, and is the leading cause of adult disability.

New York's expanded Coverdell program will support the development of comprehensive, regional stroke systems to improve stroke care and patient outcomes by encouraging best practices in primary care, community education, emergency medical services, hospital, and post-acute care related to stroke.

New York is one of only nine states to receive grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program (PCNASP), which works to improve care delivery across the clinical continuum and enhance patient outcomes. Among the goals of the program is to improve timeliness of acute stroke care, improve recovery, reduce complications, lower hospital readmissions and reduce the rates of early mortality.

New York's Coverdell Stroke Program is in the midst of a five-year grant that was awarded in 2015 after receiving a similar three-year grant from the CDC in 2012. The Coverdell program is named after Georgia Senator Paul Coverdell who died of a stroke in 2000 while in Congress. The program provides resources to states to guide quality improvement interventions for stroke care.

"I'm pleased to see that we have 56 hospitals that have signed on to participate in New York's Coverdell Stroke Program," said Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker. "In doing so, they are pledging to work with their partners on improving all levels of stroke care, and helping New Yorkers recover from what is often a life-altering event."

All 56 of the New York Coverdell hospitals have committed to engage their partners in EMS and post-acute settings to better coordinate care provided to stroke patients. Coverdell hospitals have also agreed to collect and report data in key performance areas to the DOH and CDC. The 56 hospitals include both academic medical centers and community hospitals and cover all five regions of New York State.

In addition to being Coverdell hospitals, all 56 hospitals participate in New York's Stroke Designation program, meaning they are ready to provide a basic level of acute stroke care at a moment's notice. New York has a total of 120 designated stroke centers.

During the initial funding period in 2012, the New York Coverdell Program focused on improving components of in-hospital care for stroke, including processes to ensure the timely delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a therapy intended to dissolve clots responsible for stroke. Over the course of the initiative, Coverdell hospitals demonstrated significant improvements in the timely delivery of tPA. Between October 2014 and June 2015, the percentage of stoke patients receiving tPA within 60 minutes of admission increased from 60.9% to 69.9% in the Coverdell hospitals. In 2014, New York had 32,071 strokes and 9,447 transient ischemic attacks, known as mini-strokes, which account for 41,518 hospital discharges annually.

For more information about the New York State Coverdell Stoke Quality Improvement and Registry Program visit http://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/hospital/stroke_centers/coverdell_resources.htm.

For more information about the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program visit http://www.cdc.gov/DHDSP/programs/stroke_registry.htm.

Coverdell Participating Hospitals
This competition reinforces the responsibility of the individual to effect positive change and celebrates young leaders who are ready to put their vision into action.

No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior, wrote Elie Wiesel in 1992. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.

The professor, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor and activist passed away in July, but the impact of his work to end hate and discrimination endures. This year the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out (maltzmuseum.org/stop-the-hate) $100,000 essay competition encourages Northeast Ohio students to draw inspiration from Wiesels human rights legacy while responding to a prompt inspired by the words of this advocate for tolerance: In 500 words or less, share an incident when you or someone you know was treated unfairly or you treated someone unfairly based on race, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, etc. Why was this judgment wrong? How did the experience affect you? What have you done and what will you do to help end intolerance and create a more inclusive community?

The world is filled with inequities and injustices that trouble many of us, but having the courage and motivation to combat those forces is what sets upstanders apart, says Maltz Museum education director Jeffery Allen. This competition reinforces the responsibility of the individual to effect positive change and celebrates young leaders who are ready to put their vision into action.

Since it launched eight years ago, Stop the Hate has empowered more than 20,000 students to stand up for what they believe, awarding $800,000 in programmatic anti-bias grants and academic scholarships. Past winners have gone on to become public speakers, form nonprofits, launch businesses, conduct medical research, pursue advocacy and help shape public policy.

The Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out contest is open to Northeast Ohio 6-12th graders in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties. Students can attend a public, private, religious, home, online or charter school. Entries are due Fri., Jan. 6, 2017, for grades 6-10 and Fri., Jan. 20, 2017, for grades 11-12. Twenty-five finalists will appear at the final judging and public awards ceremony on Tues., April 25, 2017, 6pm at The Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle (1855 Ansel Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, affording the public a chance to hear students from different corners of the region take a stand against the injustices they see around them.

Providing a platform for a diverse cross-section of students to share stories and ideas that could influence each other in positive ways is critical to promoting inclusive communities, says Maltz Museum executive director Ellen Rudolph because, as last years $40,000 Grand Prize Winner Nupur Goel wrote, Education, love and acceptance are the first steps to breaking down barriers.

Teachers are invited to implement Stop the Hate as a classroom project. For deadlines, examples of winning essays, related Museum tours and complete rules, visit maltzmuseum.org/stop-the-hate and follow @stopthehateUS on Twitter. Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out is generously supported by Dealer Tire and Nordson Corporation Foundation.

FOR FACEBOOK, TWITTER OR LINKEDIN: NE #Ohio 6-12 graders can stand up to discrimination for chance at $100k in prizes. @maltzmuseum #stopthehate contest: http://bit.ly/STHcontest

MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE celebrates culture and identity to encourage connection and promote a greater appreciation of Jewish heritage and the diversity of the human experience. Personal stories of struggle, courage and creativity are brought to life through interactive exhibitions and thought-provoking programs generously supported by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and Ohio Arts Council. For more information, visit maltzmuseum.org and follow us on Twitter @maltzmuseum and @stopthehateUS.
Action Potential Learning to Hire Over 100 Texas-Area Tutors This Fall By working with a tutoring company that serves not only private clients, but also schools and school districts, our tutors are able to gain valuable exposure to the education industry and a chance to actually teach within Texas-area schools. Past News Releases RSS

While the Texas job climate is slowly recovering, many new graduates are still having trouble finding work. These often highly credentialed, recent grads have looked to the professional services industry, especially education and health services  a sector that added 7,600 jobs since July of 2015 (The Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly Jobs Report: July 2016) - to supplement their income as they transition into their full-time careers.

Tutoring with Action Potential Learning offers many benefits to these young professionals including work location and schedule flexibility, the ability to choose their own clients and subjects, training, professional development, great pay, and the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of students. Tutoring is an industry recent graduates can count on to help support them as they transition from college to their full-time careers. According to a 2016 Research and Markets report, based on increased competition and high demand for admission to top-tier universities, the global tutoring industry is expected to grow by 6.8% annually through 2020. Tutoring also allows young job seekers to gain experience for entry into another rapidly growing and relatively recession-resistant profession: full time teaching. Tutoring experience can give new educators the skills, confidence, and references they need to make the transition into the classroom, all while supplementing their income in a tough job climate. Our tutors are often young professionals who are considering a full-time career in education. By working with a tutoring company that serves not only private clients, but also schools and school districts, they are able to gain valuable exposure to the education industry and a chance to actually teach within Texas-area schools - Shayna Pond, President and Co-Founder of Action Potential Learning.

Action Potential Learning has connected thousands of Texas-area students, schools, and school districts with high-quality tutors devoted to student growth and achievement since 2013. From a range of science/engineering, medicine/health, and humanities backgrounds, Action Potential Learning tutors are some of the most highly qualified professionals in the education industry. While having to endure the challenge of a very rigorous selection process, those who become a tutor with Action Potential Learning have the advantage of gaining quality training and support from an education company widely recognized for its quality among Texas-area schools and administrators.

To learn more about Action Potential Learnings career opportunities or to join their team of expert tutors please visit Action Potential Learning's Tutoring Jobs page.

About Action Potential Learning:

Action Potential Learning is an intervention and enrichment education company that offers private tutoring, in-school intervention tutorial services, STEM and academic enrichment classes and curriculum as well as professional development to schools, parents, and students. We help connect math, science and literacy learning to real world applications by pairing students with experienced educators and real-world professionals who have a strong record of academic achievement. Our intervention tutoring, enrichment classes and school programs allow us to reach students in multiple ways and helps to foster a love of learning that inspires creativity while building the problem solving skills needed for a lifetime of academic and career success.

Action Potential Learning, LLC is based out of Austin, Texas and offers services throughout the state of Texas. For more information, please visit the companys website at: http://www.APLearning.com.

Contact:

Adam Pond, Ph.D.

VP Marketing

Action Potential Learning, LLC.

Ph. 888.828.7950 x701

apond(at)aplearning(dot)com

http://www.APLearning.com
We have always maintained that through providing workers with a positive, nurturing environment we are better able to properly serve our membership

LECMPA, provider of wage loss protection for railroad and transportation workers, today announced it is a finalist in the Best Employer category from The Stevie Awards for Great Employers program.

Created in 2002, The Stevie Awards for Great Employers are established as one of the business worlds most coveted awards. Stevie Awards recognize the world's best companies to work for, and the HR teams, professionals, achievements, new products, and suppliers that help to create and drive great places to work.

Judges with relevant work experience and an enlightened approach to the workplace are recruited and judge potential award recipients on a number of workplace categories. Each entry is reviewed and rated by five industry experts at a minimum.

LECMPA is a nonprofit, member-owned company founded in 1910 to provide job protection to union railroad workers. It has expanded to provide job insurance protection to workers in all union transportation crafts.

To be considered for The Stevie Awards for Great Employers program is a distinct honor for our organization, stated LECMPA President Susan Tukel. We have always maintained that through providing workers with a positive, nurturing environment we are better able to properly serve our membership. We are delighted to be included among the other companies that value the contribution that our respective staffs make.

Stevie Awards for Great Employers winners will be announced at a banquet in New York City on September 30. Finalists for the 2016 awards can be reviewed here.

About LECMPA

LECMPA, founded in 1910 as a cooperative assessment insurer for railroad workers, provides wage loss protection to unionized transportation workers in all crafts and industries throughout the United States. LECMPA is a nonprofit, member-owned company with approximately 27,000 members nationwide. LECMPA is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan and has regional offices throughout the United States. More information is available at http://www.lecmpa.org.
HBJ 2016 Best Places to Work "Being recognized by our employees as one of the best places to work in Houston for a fourth year is more than just an honor," said Ryan Lakin, President of IronEdge Group.

For the 4th consecutive year, IronEdge Group has been named by the Houston Business Journal as one of the finalists in their annual ranking of the Best Places to work in the Houston area. Final rankings for the 2016 Best Places to Work list will be revealed during a luncheon hosted by the HBJ at the Hilton Americas Hotel on October 12th. The official rankings will be published on October 14th in a special section of the Houston Business Journal.

Finalists are chosen from a large pool of nominated business within the Houston, Texas area. The selection criteria is based on the results of an anonymous, 3rd party survey of their employees. Each nominee receives a score of up to 100 based on the responses of their employees. Topics of evaluation include goals and leadership, communication and support, advancement opportunity and skill development, recognition and compensation, tolerance and flexibility, and embracing innovation and ideas. Employee responses to these surveys were 100% anonymous to ensure the most unbiased rankings of nominees.

Once the business has received their survey score, the results are examined by the Houston Business Journal and the final list of the best places to work in Houston are announced. Businesses named as the top places to work will be spotlighted by the Houston Business Journal in an honorary section that examines what companies ranked on the list do to attract, value, retain and inspire employees.

"Being recognized by our employees as one of the best places to work in Houston for a fourth year is more than just an honor," said Ryan Lakin, President of IronEdge Group. "We are passionate about our employee experience each and every day because happy and engaged team members directly result in delighted clients.

About IronEdge Group

IronEdge Group provides Texas-based organizations and their locations around the globe with enterprise-class IT solutions. From consulting to co-managing client environments, IEG provides concierge level end user experience and powerful data driven decision making tools to the business. From desktops to data centers, the firm provides a level of secure and efficient service clients rave about. IronEdge Group was recently named to CRN Magazine 2016 Managed Service Provider 500 list and voted Best Places to Work by the Houston Business Journal for the fourth consecutive year. Contact them at 1-800-987-4766 or http://www.ironedgegroup.com
Generations FCU President and CEO, Steve Schipull, announced the NCUA has approved the 76-year-old financial institution's charter expansion application.

The National Credit Union Administration has approved a charter expansion request from Generations Federal Credit Union, allowing the 76-year-old financial institution to offer its products to consumers and businesses in Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson counties. Generations FCU operates under a community charter, enabling it to serve anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers, or attends school in a designated geographical area.

"Generations was founded in 1940 with the goal of being a driver of growth and development in the community. We are excited that the NCUA has provided us with the opportunity to offer these new marketplaces the competitive rates and exceptional service our members have come to expect over the years, said Steve Schipull, president and CEO of Generations FCU.

The credit union provides consumers and businesses with a full suite of products and services including lending, investments and insurance, and is also a member of the Shared Branching and AllPoint ATM Network. It has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for its award-winning programs, and has received both the Top Workplaces award as well as the Healthiest Workplaces award.

Our credit union has always been a trusted advisor to our members and to our community, providing them with the tools they need to be financially successful. We look forward to bringing that same level of service and dedication to these new counties, concluded Schipull.
Red Clay Consulting Named as Atlanta Business Chronicle Best Place to Work Red Clays company culture is key to what helps us attract the best employees, encourages them to stay and grow with us, and allows us to win business and outperform our competition.

Red Clay was recognized on September 8 as one of Atlantas Top Ten Best Places to at a breakfast honoring Atlantas top companies and sponsored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Winners of these annual awards are determined by a scientifically-valid employee survey conducted by Quantum Workplace that measures work environment, people practices, managerial effectiveness, trust, and other matrices. Red Clay Consulting was honored in 2013 in the small company division. This year, they were recognized as one of Atlantas top ten medium-sized companies. Atlanta is the countrys most competitive city for this award.

Its a huge honor for us to receive this award. Creating a challenging, collaborative and fun work environment is on our radar each and every day, says Susanne Wagner, Red Clays Managing Director of Operations. Its fundamental to who we are as a company and what we are able to accomplish professionally.

Red Clay Consulting is a fifteen-year-old company with offices in Atlanta and Ontario, Canada. Red Clay is a leading implementation specialist in the utilities industry and has attracted top talent from throughout the U.S. and world. In the last eighteen months, Red Clay has grown by 50% and continued growth is expected. Red Clays company culture is key to what helps us attract the best employees, encourages them to stay and grow with us, and allows us to win business and outperform our competition, says Managing Director of Professional Services, Jill Greene. Our strategy of maintaining and improving Red Clays company culture by taking it into consideration in all major company decisions from recruiting and hiring, to office location and environment, to project delivery is a winning proposition.

About Red Clay Consulting:

Red Clay, a leading consultancy for utilities, delivers seamless integrations of leading software systems. Industry experience, technical expertise, and an unyielding commitment to client success combine to deliver turnkey solutions that maximize value. Red Clay Consulting is the preferred choice for software integration and managed services among utilities. Red Clays unparalleled experience, expertise, and execution fuels project success. To learn more about Red Clay, visit: http://www.redclay.com.

For more information, contact: Susanne Wagner, Managing Director of Operations at wagner(at)redclay(dot)com.
Tactical Defense Media Home Page The newly redesigned website offers a refreshed and simplified look, combined with robust content, improved functionality, and maximum visibility through aggressive search engine optimization and social media programs.

Tactical Defense Media (TDM), a leading U.S, privately owned and operated publisher of civil and military defense-related publications, announces the launch of a newly redesigned version of its website, http://tacticaldefensemedia.com. Key features of the site include a cleaner and more attractive design, a more engaging user experience with enhanced navigation, higher visibility for advertisers, and the capability to view digital publications. Promotional areas throughout the new website provide the opportunity for TDM to better spotlight its advertisers and to convey valuable content provided directly by the military to our readers. The website will feature video advertising opportunities, to further engage the user experience.

"The newly redesigned website offers a refreshed and simplified look, combined with robust content, improved functionality, and maximum visibility through aggressive search engine optimization and social media programs," states Sonia Bagherian, TDM Publisher. "It allows users to better interact with TDM online, and will greatly benefit our advertisers, offering a myriad of opportunities for industry partners to connect with their defense customers.

All publications are available in three formats: Digital, PDF and on-line. TDM titles include Armor & Mobility, Combat & Casualty Care, Unmanned Tech Solutions, DoD Power & Energy, and Security & Border Protection/CST & CBRNE Source Book.

Jane Engel Joins Tactical Defense Media as Associate Publisher

In tandem with the newly redesigned website launch and as part of its continued growth, Tactical Defense Media also announces the appointment of Jane Engel to Associate Publisher of Armor & Mobility, the go-to publication for front-line ground combat, tactical communications, logistics and training. Ms. Engel will be responsible for developing customer-focused marketing programs for Armor & Mobility, as well as maintaining relationships with key members of the U.S. defense community. Prior to joining Tactical Defense Media, Ms. Engel was Associate Publisher of Military Logistics Forum. She has over 25 years of national and local advertising sales experience and has successfully completed Co-Learn, a customer-focused executive sales program, as well as The Wharton School of Business Sales Management Program.

About Tactical Defense Media

Founded in 2009, Tactical Defense Media is the leading U.S.-owned and operated independent publisher of targeted information about military requirements, technologies, and programs, as well as lessons learned through the eyes of military and civilian authorities, and law enforcement. Serving as a unique forum for senior military and Pentagon leadership, TDM publications focus on distinct and essential communities within the defense industry. Tactical Defense Media titles include: Armor & Mobility, Security & Border Protection and CST & CBRNE, Combat & Casualty Care, Unmanned Tech Solutions, and DoD Power & Energy. Visit tacticaldefensemedia.com for additional information.

Media Contact: Cathy Kieserman, Tactical Defense Media, (301) 974-9792
Each speaker has been in the exact seat that every woman in the room will be sitting. Because of that, attendees will learn valuable life lessons, trends, strategy  all in one day  plus establish lifelong friendships.

U.S. women own 9.4 million companies that employ nearly 7.9 million people and generate $1.5 trillion in annual sales. And those numbers are increasing every year. Its associations like the National Association of Women Business Owners which help women navigate social, political and business nuances throughout each growth phase.

NAWBO Chicago is hosting its annual THRIVE Conference 2016: Facing the Future - Together from 9:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive. Tickets are $165 for NAWBO members and $195 for non-members. Registration can be completed at http://www.nawbo.org/chicago.

"The THRIVE Conference is my must-attend event, says Mary Lawrence, president of Richards Graphic Communications, Inc. I love having the opportunity to listen to the speakers as they reveal their career journeys. I always walk away feeling inspired and motivated."

This years conference keynote address will be delivered by Jan Fields, former president of McDonalds USA, LLC. From flipping burgers and cooking French fries, Fields will share her rise from the fast food kitchen to the C-Suite with insightful anecdotes and relatable experiences.

The speaker rostrum also will be shared by prominent women in business including:



Amanda Lannert, CEO of The Jellyvision Lab, one of Chicagos fastest growing tech companies. Lannert was named CEO of the Year at the Moxie Awards in 2014 and 2015.

Suzanne Muchin, co-founder and principal of Mind + Matter Studio communication and strategy firm. Muchin was inducted in the Chicago Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

Sima Dahl, considered Americas Personal Brand Champion, is the founder of Sway Factory, Inc.

Maria Katris, CEO of Built In. Built In is the largest network of online communities for tech companies and startups.

Adela Cepeda, president of A.C. Advisory, Inc., which helps companies and municipalities structure and execute bond issues.

Each speaker has been in the exact seat that every woman in the room will be sitting, says Susan Dawson, an attorney and president of NAWBO. Because of that, attendees will learn valuable life lessons, trends, strategy  all in one day  plus establish lifelong friendships.

THRIVE 2016 is supported by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, Thompson Coburn LLP, Wintrust Community Banks, Wells Fargo Advisors and Southwest.

NAWBO Chicago is the Midwests premiere group devoted to advancing economic, social and political interests of women-owned firms, of which there are more than 300,000 in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. NAWBO Chicago is headquartered at 500 Davis St., Suite 812, Evanston, IL 60201; info(at)nawbochicago(dot)org.

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NEWSCYCLE Solutions has signed new Connect partnership agreements with iPublish Media Solutions, Flan Technologies, Elpical and VersaPay. NEWSCYCLE Connect is an online portal for NEWSCYCLE add-ons, application program interfaces (APIs), software development kits (SDKs) and selected third-party solutions integrated into NEWSCYCLE platforms. Under the terms of these new partner agreements, NEWSCYCLE will offer each companys products and services to news media organizations worldwide.

Recently signed NEWSCYCLE Connect partners include:

iPublish Media Solutions (formerly Wave2 Media Solutions) provides a self-service account management platform for advertisers. The software performs every function a call center typically manages including ad pickups, order changes and ad kill orders. iPublish Media Solutions extends advertising products into special sections and marketplaces to help increase revenue and lower operational costs.

Flan Technologies provides FruitFlan, a real-time analytics and decision-making support tool for publishers. FruitFlan collects and displays complex data in a simple format enabling newsrooms to prioritize website content and build reader engagement and loyalty.

Elpical is a server-based, automatic image enhancement, workflow and image management system for publishers. The software processes high volumes of multimedia images while maintaining a publishers specific style and quality standards.

VersaPay manages all accounts receivable processes for news media companies through ARC, VersaPays cloud-based portal. The system offers full visibility into customer account details to plan effective follow-up. VersaPay helps eliminate costs, enables faster invoicing and improves customer communication.

As part of the Connect program, NEWSCYCLE assesses all partners to determine the added value for customers, and the usability of the partner solutions. Internal quality assurance integration processes are validated with each NEWSCYCLE Connect partner.

For more information about Newscycle Connect, or to become a Newscycle Connect partner, contact Donna Beasley.

About NEWSCYCLE Solutions

NEWSCYCLE develops and delivers software technology that empowers the global news media industry. Our solutions enable publishers to thrive in a rapidly transforming market. We help our clients in their mission to create stronger, better-informed communities while protecting the integrity of news, advertising and customer information. NEWSCYCLE is a trusted partner serving more than 750 media enterprises, including 1,200 companies with 8,000 properties across 45 countries on six continents. The company is headquartered in Bloomington, MN and has U.S. offices in Florida, Michigan and Utah; with international offices in Denmark, Germany, Malaysia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom; and satellite offices in Australia, Canada and Norway. For more information about NEWSCYCLEs technology innovations for 2016, go to NEWSCYCLE.com/innovations2016.

Media Contact

Lisa Speth

NEWSCYCLE Solutions

Marketing Communications Manager

lisa(dot)speth(at)newscycle(dot)com
Equity

At the Myrna Loy

(R)

Grade: B+

Gordon Gekko taught us not to apologize for looking out for Number One.

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good, said Gekko in the 1987 movie Wall Street. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.

Gekko also taught us that greed is a game that boys, in particular, like to play.

In film, capitalism usually showcases a Wall Street world full of men -- with women relegated to supporting roles. The ladies who enjoy corner offices with a view have to be twice as good and work twice as hard.

In the movie Equity a team of female filmmakers set out to prove that women can have it all: They belong in the house, the Senate and on Wall Street.

Surprisingly, the portrait drawn in this raw drama is one of ambitious greedy women who set out to prove they can be as ruthless as the guys. They can wear nice dresses while packing iron.

In a key speech that begins the story, Naomi, an investment banker, lays out her life philosophy.

I like money. I like knowing that I have it, she says. I dont do what I do to help others. Its OK to do it for ourselves. I like how it makes us feel. Secure? Yeah. Powerful? Absolutely. Im so glad its finally acceptable for women to talk about ambition openly.

What follows in Equity is proof that women can, indeed, acquire wealth and power -- and that they are capable of playing fair, but they are also capable of cutting corners and stepping on people if necessary.

Some of the ladies are more cutthroat than others. Some work very hard to stay on the safe side of the line separating legal from illegal. Others are willing to sacrifice relationships to increase their power.

Weve seen this movie before. Tales of the ruthless pursuit of wealth are a Hollywood staple.

But most of those tales were tales of men.

Transposing the genders leaves us to question controversial assumptions: that females are less greedy, less warlike and less selfish than men.

Will these three ambitious ladies succumb to the same temptations as their male predecessors? Will they covet power and crush opposition? Or will they bring a pink touch to a blue world?

The central character is Naomi, powerfully played by Anna Gunn. Shes an investment banker on Wall Street with unbridled ambition. Her assistant Erin is an unquestioning servant to Naomi, sacrificing her own best interest to please her boss.

Finally, theres Samantha, a federal investigator who suspects fraud in Naomis company and is willing to do almost anything to obtain evidence. When she spots a young banker in a bar, Samantha turns on the feminine charm to pry secrets from his juiced-up brain.

Initially, we see Naomi as the one with the broken moral compass.

But as the story unfolds, Naomi becomes more complicated -- cautiously and astutely navigating her way down legal tightropes as she strives to guide a start-up company to a huge Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Meanwhile, the meek Erin begins to grow fangs.

The prosecutor, who starts out as the one who hates greedy capitalists, entertains thoughts of moving to the dark side -- shes tempted to exponentially raise her salary by working for the enemy.

The characters are tightly drawn and not oversimplified. The script draws a complex portrait of each of them.

One things certain: The male insects in Equity are learning to fear the female black widow spiders amidst them. Black widows are known to eat their prey, even husbands.

So whats the takeaway here?

Unpacking the moniker Equity is instructive: The script is about two kinds of equity: equality for women and money for women.

And in this story, equality means the right to be as greedy and shady as need be -- an option always enjoyed by men, but now increasingly available to ladies as well.
Robert Feldman This is an exciting time because I truly believe we are making the workforce and the workplace stronger through diversity in business.

Robert Feldman, Director of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships at NextGen Information Services, has been named to the St. Louis Business Journals class of Diverse Business Leaders for 2016. The distinguished group of 19 award winners was chosen for their commitment to diversity and their dedication to growing their companies and communities. The honorees include a wide variety of diverse leaders, from executives and entrepreneurs to civic and educational leaders. Introduced by the St. Louis Business Journal, more than a decade ago, the publication received more than 100 nominations this year.

I am extremely honored to be included in this group for this award, said Feldman. This is an exciting time because I truly believe we are making the workforce and the workplace stronger through diversity in business.

As the Director of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships at NextGen, Feldmans focus is on building NextGens multicultural business relationships and expanding the firms international talent engagement services. Feldman works with companies and their human resource departments to maximize their strategic partnerships and to optimize their hiring process while strengthening the fulfillment of their diversity and inclusion strategies. With more than a decade of industry experience, Feldman has a proven track record in management, talent engagement, multicultural marketing, and business development.

In support of NextGens newest program, CHAMBA, Feldmans additional responsibility is to build and foster productive relationships in Mexico. He is tasked with developing innovative marketing, recruiting and business development efforts to cultivate the Hispanic market within the Americas.

CHAMBA helps to create global citizens who will work to change the future today, said Feldman.

According to NextGens President, Lori Eaton, CHAMBA, was designed to leverage an international talent community to help satisfy the talent shortage in the STEM areas, while strengthening global communication between businesses. In addition, through the CHAMBA program, NextGen provides integrated workforce solutions which combine business, technology and talent.

Robert demonstrates what a successful global citizen truly is and what a true diversity business leader should be, so he is ideally suited to spearhead our outreach programs and well deserving of the Diverse Business Leader Award said Eaton. "His personal experience and passion for diversity has made him an amazing advocate for fostering change. 

Feldman was born in El Salvador and raised in Dallas, Texas. He is a member of The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Project Mosaic, the Multicultural Society of United Way and Focus St. Louis. Feldman and his family reside in Chesterfield, Missouri.

About NextGen

NextGen Information Services, Inc. is a leading talent engagement firm specializing in information technology and professional services providing Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and emerging tech organizations with a diverse talent community. The $75+ million company headquartered in St. Louis, has satellite offices across the country and 300+ billable consultants. The firm has been named Missouris Minority Business of the Year by Governor Nixon, one of the top privately held companies and fastest growing companies in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal, Hispanic Company of the Year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis and ranked 43rd in the Top 500 Women Owned Businesses in the US for 2016. The firm has also been awarded by Ernst and Young, Enterprising Women Magazine, along with numerous honors from Inc. Magazine, Diversity Inc. and Diversity Business. The company has a tenured recruiting team and sourcing division responsible for placing more than 4,000 people with companies across the United States. NextGen Information Services, Inc. is a Certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise and Certified by the State of Missouri and the Minority Supplier Development Council.

NextGen Information Services, Inc., visit http://www.nextgen-is.com

Contact: Michelle Clark

Email: michellec(at)nextgen-is(dot)com

Phone: (314) 333-5370

News Contact: Jeanine O'Connor at Griffin Consulting

Email: jeanine2144(at)hotmail(dot)com.
Veterans Bell Memorial We are humbled to be able to contribute to this beautiful Memorial, honoring the men and women who have been protecting our country and our freedom for hundreds of years. -Frank Farmer - President, American Metal Roofs

American Metal Roofs is pleased to have donated the roofing materials for the new Veterans Bell Memorial located at Barber Memorial Park, in Montrose Michigan. The dedication ceremony of the Memorial was held on Saturday, September 10th, 2016.

We are humbled and honored to be able to contribute to this beautiful Memorial. Our roof will now protect the building that honors all U.S. Military Veterans; men and women who have been protecting our country and our freedom for hundreds of years.

-Frank Farmer President, American Metal Roofs.

What started out as a tribute by Charlie Emmendorfer of CRE Welding in Montrose, MI to honor his father-in-law Richard Velat, a P.O.W. during the Korean War, became the six-foot tall stainless steel bell which will is the centerpiece of the Veterans Bell Memorial. The two-ton bell has taken 2 years to build.

To learn more about the Veterans Bell Memorial or to make a donation, please visit: http://www.vetsbell.org

About American Metal Roofs: American Metal Roofs provides residential and commercial metal roofing products and services for the Michigan Lower Peninsula.American Metal Roofs, specializes in installing metal roofing from the leading manufacturers of permanent metal roofing. http://www.americanmetalroofs.com
Newark Public Schools 6th grader takes in a book via Learning Ally LINK, on his way to being one of the top readers in NJ Through Learning Ally audiobook technology and the support of our teachers, all of our children have the opportunity to access critical reading material to enhance their personal and academic achievement."

Learning Ally, a national nonprofit organization supporting students who read and learn differently due to dyslexia, blindness and other disabilities, has announced plans to expand partnerships with schools at the district and school system level, in order to reach more students who struggle with reading.

With the launch of its new educational reading app  Learning Ally LINK which is fully functional across all devices, it is now easier for schools to train educators and students to access the organizations learning tools, including its library of more than 82,000 human-narrated audiobooks which help struggling readers improve vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

The LINK program is currently in use via PC, MAC and Chromebooks among more than 250,000 students in over 10,000 US schools. The new app is specifically designed to easily and immediately increase the number of students, teachers, schools and districts/systems who have access to Learning Ally technology, programs and services.

Launch of the new mobile-friendly version of LINK will include continuous improvements and updates, based on educator and student testing and feedback, with students who learn through listening in mind. The LINK app is now available for download in the Apple store and an updated version is coming soon to the Google Play store.

The LINK platform gives students and their teachers instant access to Learning Allys 82,000 human-narrated audiobooks, including a wide range of core curriculum textbook and literature titles. The application has been updated with several new features for ease of use and maximum benefits for students and teachers. These features include:

The ability for users to add books to their bookshelf directly from their mobile devices browser

Fully displayed book covers and audio format labels

New searchable bookshelf

Ability to select download location (Android)

Adjustable speed, text size, text and highlighting color

Compatible with VoiceOver (for iOS)

According to Christopher Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools, Through Learning Ally audiobook technology and the support of our teachers, all of our children have the opportunity to access critical reading material to enhance their personal and academic achievement.

Learning Ally provided educators throughout the Newark district with professional development on how to use Teacher Ally, a web-based student management tool and resource center, and provided training on the Learning Ally LINK app, which Newark was able to download on Chromebooks district-wide. This strong collaboration between Learning Ally and Newark Public Schools helped one school in the district become the top reading school in the state of New Jersey during the organizations national reading contest, the Great Reading Games.

We know that implementing new programs at any school is challenging because of a variety of factors, including the pressure that many education professionals are feeling, remarked Tim Wilson, General Manager of Learning Allys Education Solutions. We also consistently see the transformation that happens when a student gets access to the tools they need to succeed as readers. The best way to reach as many of these students as possible is to partner with schools at the district level. Thats when implementation can truly be effective, because we ensure that all educators are aware and trained district-wide, we focus on community awareness, and we are more likely to reach every child who can benefit.

To learn how to bring Learning Ally to your district, contact programs(at)LearningAlly(dot)org, call 800.221.1098 or visit Learning Ally.org/Educators.

ABOUT LEARNING ALLY

Founded in 1948, Learning Ally, a national nonprofit organization, supports K-12, college and graduate students, veterans and lifelong learners  all of whom read and learn differently due to dyslexia, blindness or visual impairment, and other disabilities. Through its extensive community events and support programs, Learning Ally enables parents, teachers and specialists to help students thrive and succeed. The organization hosts live and virtual events for families and teachers; provides instructive webinars led by experts as well as peer-to-peer sessions led by students; and professional development workshops for educators. Learning Allys collection of 82,000 human-narrated audio textbooks and literature titles can be downloaded by students using their smartphones and tablets, and is the largest of its kind in the world. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Learning Ally is partially funded by grants from state and local education programs, and the generous contributions of individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information, visit LearningAlly.org.
We can now leverage all the little bits of information gathered from our day-to-day teleprospecting activity, intelligence that would not otherwise be captured, and update and validate our vast database of contact records.

Over the last decade, SalesStaff has been at the forefront of the B2B demand generation industry, uncovering sales opportunities for their clients in the form of qualified appointments and leads. Recently, SalesStaff announced the launch of InteliData, an electronic data repository of over 250 million business contacts which is continuously updated and validated from thousands of live phone conversations daily, social profile updates, and several other data sources.

Any sales or marketing professional will concur that a campaign is only as good as the contact data used to fuel it. The InteliData suite of contact data serves to supercharge the sales campaigns SalesStaff executes for their clients. With InteliData, SalesStaff can provide their clients with more precise targeting of pre-qualified contacts with unparalleled sales intelligence. The effect on sales campaigns is tremendous. SalesStaff has cut down on the inefficiencies caused by targeting contacts that are inaccurate or no longer exist. And they have the ability to profile their clients target market with unmatched accuracy.

Since decision-maker data expires at a rate of 16% per year, InteliData acts as a conduit to SalesStaffs live call activity  thousands of B2B decision-maker conversations monthly  and professional social data platforms to replenish expiring data with current and actionable contact information. Best of all, InteliData integrates with any CRM and marketing automation platform to provide seamless and real-time delivery of data developed through SalesStaffs multichannel data development process.

InteliData is a game-changer for our clients, says Joseph Janecka, Vice President of Information Systems. We can now leverage all the little bits of information gathered from our day-to-day teleprospecting activity, intelligence that would not otherwise be captured, and update and validate our vast database of contact records. Janecka continues, Combine that intelligence with social media profile information, and SalesStaff can fuel a variety of B2B campaigns with perfect-fit sales prospects. Long gone are the days of relying on company name, industry, and job title to profile potential prospects.

But how is the data compiled? SalesStaff LLC thrives in the world of B2B appointment setting and lead generation, where the company combs their clients target markets for qualified sales opportunities. In the course of executing client campaigns, SalesStaff engages with B2B buyers through a variety of activity  including phone calls and emails. A by-product of that activity is the collection of sales intelligence about prospects  intelligence that can then be fed back into the InteliData ecosystem.

In addition, InteliData draws on external sources to aggregate new data, which is validated in the course of normal sales activity. SalesStaff also appends B2B contact data with information from social profiles. The result is an unprecedented database of B2B contacts that successfully integrates intelligence gathered from teleprospecting activity, social media profiles, and traditional sales processes.

SalesStaff CEO David Balzen commented, In recent years, SalesStaff has invested heavily in our technology platforms, all with a specific objective: to connect our clients with their ideal buyers and to do it more rapidly and effectively. SalesStaffs growing capabilities to integrate with its clients CRM and marketing automation platforms positions our company to serve actionable decision-maker data, deliver leads and appointments, and provide funnel impact reporting that is unprecedented for our industry.

About SalesStaff

SalesStaff is a premier provider of appointment setting and intelligent demand generation services for high-tech and business-to-business companies. For more information, visit http://www.salesstaff.com or contact by phone 888-591-8022 Ext. 333. To schedule an interview with David Balzen or Joe Janecka, please contact 888-591-8022 or by email at info(at)salesstaff(dot)com.

###
Steve Jobs

Doug Menuez, one of the preeminent documentary photographers of his generation, is now offering affordable digital prints of some of his most iconic photographs from the early days of the Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley. The prints are available at http://www.menuezprints.com/ and were chosen from the archives of Menuezs Silicon Valley photographs housed at the Stanford University Library.

Menuez documented many of the leading innovators of Silicon Valley in action and behind the scenes, including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, John Warnock, Carol Bartz, John Doerr, Jeff Bezos, Bill Joy and Marc Andreesen as they worked on the technology that transformed our world from 1985-2000.

In 1985, Menuez was personally devastated after documenting the famine in Ethiopia and was looking for a more hopeful story for the future of humanity. That same year, Steve Jobs had turned 30 years old, had been removed from Apple Computer, Inc. and was on the verge of hoping to change the world with his new company NeXT. Menuez had found his story inspirational, and Jobs gave him unprecedented access for three years which began his relationship with Silicon Valley.

Proceeds from the print sales will go to support the Fearless Genius project  a diverse media platform that includes an educational curriculum, traveling exhibit, documentary film, 250,000 image historic photographic archive and TV/Web series that embodies the mission to educate, challenge and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and artists.

The Fearless Genius archive contains countless previously untold stories about how this brilliant, eccentric tribe changed so much of what we take for granted today. Menuez was able to capture the human face of a revolution that was taking place in cubicles, around conference tables and on the manufacturing floor.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

The hand selected photographs from Menuezs archive of 250,000 images provide a rare inspiration for students, entrepreneurs, business leaders and geeks. Highlighting the diversity and depth of the archive, the website is curated into four distinct collections:



Culture (shows the shifts in the culture of business that changed the nature of work).

Legends (celebrates the visionary leaders of technology, design and investment who had the wildest of dreams and had the tenacity and patience to make it possible).

Women in Technology (reveals the many women pioneers who took their rightful place at the table before diversity was the standard).

Steve Jobs (portrays the one man who endures as a symbol of fighting for the biggest dreams).

Im delighted to be able to offer these high quality prints from the early days of the Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley with all ages around the world, said Doug Menuez. The photographs give you the behind-the-scenes glimpse of this major shift in American business and culture.

Photographing the unphotographable has long been the passion and the mission of Doug Menuez. How does one photograph genius? How does one visually communicate the creation and dynamics of world-altering concepts and somehow give insights into the personality of the men and women responsible, the people who essentially just sit and think, and in so doing profoundly change our lives? The answer is, call on Doug Menuez, added photographer, Elliot Erwitt.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The images available now at http://www.menuezprints.com are printed on museum quality Hannemuhle paper and are suitable for framing. Prints are available in three sizes  8.5x11; 11x17 and 13x19  unframed or framed and matted in black or white wood frames. Price range is $225 - $1,275.

Menuez Prints will continue to make numbered limited edition silver gelatin prints available to collectors upon request. In addition, the company can design custom print collections and oversized versions.

ABOUT FEARLESS GENIUS PROJECT

The success of the Fearless Genius photography book resulted in worldwide attention  kicking off exhibitions at the Lianzhou International Photography Festival, Lianzhou China and the Moscow Photobiennale, Moscow Russia. The incredible reaction from entrepreneurs and companies around the world led Menuez to develop a program designed to educate, challenge and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. A documentary film/TV series, conference and immersive exhibit are now in production. The silver gelatin print exhibit continues to travel the world.

ABOUT DOUG MENUEZ

Documentary photographer and director Doug Menuez once stood at the North Pole, crossed the Sahara, had tea with Stalin's daughter and held a chunk of Einstein's brain. Quitting his blues band in 1981, he began his career freelancing for Time, LIFE, Newsweek, Fortune, USA Today, the New York Times Magazine and many other publications. He covered the AIDS crisis, homelessness in America, politics, five Super Bowls and the Olympics. His portrait assignments included Presidents Bush, Sr. and Clinton, Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Mother Teresa, Jane Goodall and Hugh Jackman.

Throughout the 1980s and '90s, Menuez pursued a long-term project documenting the rise of Silicon Valley behind the scenes. With unprecedented access to almost every major technology company, he covered digital pioneers such as Steve Jobs, Andy Grove, John Warnock, Bill Joy and John Doerr. Working first for Life Magazine, Menuez continued covering start-ups and established giants until the collapse of the dot.coms. This era was one of the most turbulent and significantmore jobs and wealth were created at this time than ever before in human history.

His extensive archive of over one million images was acquired by Stanford University Library in 2004. His fifth and most recent book Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 was published by Simon & Schusters Atria Books, has gained worldwide viral coverage and is now traveling as a fine art exhibition of rare images of Silicon Valleys greatest innovators. Menuez divides his time between the Hudson Valley and NYC. For more information, visit http://www.menuez.com/about/.
Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator

Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator celebrated its inaugural 2016 cohort at Oregon BEST FEST on September 8. Fourteen cleantech startups took part in the 12-week program, which delivers mentorship, curriculum, connections and funding opportunities. Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator is powered by CleanTech Alliance and Oregon BEST.

The Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator companies presented their final pitches at Oregon BEST FEST in front of a panel of distinguished cleantech industry leaders and investors. Three were designated as standout companies, receiving cash and in-kind prizes exceeding $25,000 in value before moving on to the Cascadia CleanTech Prize competition.

The three standout companies included:



EasyXAFS accelerates cleantech materials innovation by providing instant access to x-ray spectroscopies for the first time. The companys bench-top, turnkey instruments enable measurements on demand, reducing the learning cycle from years to hours.

EasyXAFS won a prize package featuring $5,000 cash, $2,500 in legal services from Dorsey & Whitney, a $5,000 accounting due diligence package from Nth Degree CPAs, a $1,000 credit from FMYI and an invitation to present at an upcoming Element 8 Angels meeting.

Imber Water Treatment developed an onsite, modular, turnkey water treatment and recycling system that reduces commercial building water consumption by as much as 40% with a payback period less than 28 months. Imber Water Treatment won a prize package featuring $3,000 cash and $2,500 in legal services from Dorsey & Whitney.

SmartVineyards means smart irrigation in every vineyard block. The company delivers actionable data in real time at an affordable price. Use only the water you need, no more, no less. SmartVineyards won a prize package featuring $2,000 cash and $2,500 in legal services from Dorsey & Whitney.

In addition to EasyXAFS, Imber Water Treatment and Smart Vineyards, the full 2016 Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator cohort included:

ArcEden is pioneering a smarter, greener way to return as nature intended through green cremation and burial opportunities.

Limon Engineering Solutions helps small orchard farmers save water via its integrated website and automated valves that help decrease labor costs and increase water efficiency.

Botanic Air Corp introduced an indoor air quality system built on combining natural technologies proven to virtually eliminate toxic gases and fine particulate matter, reduce carbon dioxide and increase oxygen.

Cloud Instruments is a cloud application and battery charging station that helps battery scientists and engineers innovate cheaper and faster. Its SaaS platform streamlines data processing while the low-cost hardware serves battery startups and STEM educators.

HydroStar enables the hydrogen economy. The companys THOR system for diesel engines saves fuel, reduces emissions and improves lifecycle costs for diesel fleet owners.

MiCharge offers integrated energy generation storage, and power management system designed to serve growing EV charging infrastructure deployment and local information needs.

Mobius Microfarms grows sustainable, nutrient-dense food year-round, right in the city buildings where people live and work. The company provides live microgreens and compact, closed-loop indoor aquaponics systems to individuals and organizations.

PolyRAP is developing concrete technology for seismic reinforcement and lifespan upgrading along with a geopolymer concrete that is better suited for harsh environments.

Wave Engine Solutions reduces existing class 8 truck exhaust emissions and fuel consumption by 15% by reducing fuel energy lost through the exhaust system.

ZILA Works is creating a vertically integrated supply chain by processing industrial hemp for the Pacific Northwest. The companys flagship product processes hemp into bio-based plastics.

To learn more about Cascadia CleanTech, contact Gabe Boeckman at gabe@cleantechalliance.org or Vanessa Margolis at vanessa.margolis(at)oregonbest(dot)org.

About the CleanTech Alliance

CleanTech Alliance represents 300 businesses and organizations. Founded in 2007 by business leaders, the Alliance facilitates the generation and growth of cleantech companies, jobs, products and services to advance cleantech jobs and the cleantech economy. The Alliance offers a range of business services and benefits uniquely designed to help businesses gain visibility, access services at a lower cost and benefit from public policy advocacy.

About Oregon BEST

Oregon BEST funds and assists cleantech startups, bringing together Oregons significant R&D strengths to support entrepreneurs in the creation of new products and services. As the nexus for clean technology innovation, Oregon BEST builds capability, convenes collaborations and accelerates solutions to environmental challenges that deliver prosperity in all corners of Oregon. More than 250 Oregon BEST Member Researchers and a network of nine Oregon BEST Labs at four partner universities (Oregon State University, Oregon Tech, Portland State University, and University of Oregon) offer research expertise and lab equipment to industry. Oregon BEST competitively awards Early-Stage Investments to collaborations between startup companies and Oregon BEST Member Faculty at partner universities.
PA Right to Work Launches New Mobile Application Our new mobile app is a great new tool to better reach our audience, and most importantly it is so easy to use.

Pennsylvanians for Right to Work, Inc. (PARTW) has taken a powerful step in lobbying PA state legislators by launching a MobileDeck app powered by Purple Deck. PARTW attempts to get a law passed that would put an end to workers being forced to join a union, or pay dues to a union, to get and keep their jobs. They also educate workers on what exactly their union rights are.

This new app makes it easier for PARTW to communicate with members rather than having to rely solely on e-mail. One way the app already does this is through the news feature, so members are constantly being updated on current events and important articles about unions. Starting in mid-October, the app will start sending out notifications to everyone who downloads it. This will better educate people on the steps that PARTW is making to better Pennsylvanians work rights.

Along with the news feature, there is a YouTube feature that gives educational videos and webinars, a map feature that gives directions to the office and any events PARTW may hold, and a Twitter feature to stream all of their accounts tweets. With MobileDecks user-friendly platform, PARTW is hoping to grow their membership by making the app a resource for people to constantly get the most up-to-date information.

Barbara Moran, Executive Director of PARTW says, Our new mobile app is a great new tool to better reach our audience, and most importantly it is so easy to use. With todays youth aggressively interacting on their cellphones, the app now allows them to effectively educate the younger generations about the issue of unions.

Non-profits and companies are looking at MobileDeck more seriously. The need for a mobile application has expanded with the boom of the millennial generation. Over the last three years, we have seen an exponential increase in mobile app usage. All organizations can benefit from a mobile application, but the barrier is the high development costs that can exceed tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is why we founded Purple Deck  to provide organizations the tools to have applications for both iOS and Android. Theyre easy to maintain and cost as low as $500 to get started, stated COO Nathan Neil.

The growth and need for a mobile application is real and PARTW is making a huge step by launching one. A recent Pew Research Center survey had found that in the last four years, mobile app usage has increased by 35%. Another study by The U.S. Mobile App report found that over 10% of a users time on a phone is used doing business research. Younger generations go to their phones for information. PARTW knows that, so they are giving information in a way that people want to receive it.
Past News Releases RSS

Through its proprietary programmatic mobile advertising platform, Aarki now offers responsive ad creative in additional to its wide range of available ad formats. HTML5 technology enables the company to develop and serve one ad creative that fits across various iPhone and Android mobile screen sizes. Whether the target audience has an iPhone 7, other iPhone models, or other Android devices, the responsive ad will automatically resize to fit the device's screen.

As mobile usages continues grow, app marketers are challenged with advertising across a variety of screen sizes. Serving one fixed size ad across different screen sizes with the ad only partially filling up some users screen can affect user experience. As a result, developing an ad for each screen size is the solution many app marketers take. With responsive ad, however, app marketers can launch a more efficient campaign by developing one responsive ad for varying screen sizes. This allows app marketers to streamline the marketing production and also provides better user experience.

HTML5 technology within Aarkis proprietary platform enables creative designers to develop and optimize ad creative for various screen sizes in a single tag. The platform allows creative designers to define margins and behavior of an ad element, enabling the element to scale and position at difference creative sizes. The company then also conducts multivariate creative testing to identify the best creative variants and media placement for its clients key performance indicators. This process enables Aarki to serve the right ad creative to the right audiences without negating the user experience.

Responsive ad does not only help solve for better user experience, it also help app marketers run a more efficient campaign, said Sid Bhatt, ceo of Aarki. With HTML5 and multivariate technologies, Aarki can help app marketers serve responsive ads that can drive stronger return on ad spend.

About Aarki

Aarki is transforming mobile app marketing through unified optimization of creative and media. It delivers superior results using proprietary machine learning technology for performance optimization. The company's customer base includes leading brands, agencies, and app developers. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aarki is a global company with offices in Beijing, London, Manila, Tokyo, and Yerevan. For more information, please visit http://www.aarki.com or follow us on Twitter: @aarkimobile.
Brokers Service Marketing Group (BSMG), a nationally recognized insurance brokerage firm and resource for financial and insurance advisors, is extremely pleased to announce today the appointment of Trish ODonnell as Senior Vice President, Director of Operations.

Having Trish join BSMG is a huge win for both us and our customers she is one of the best at what she does. This is a new role for BSMG and as our operational leader, Trish will work with all departments and managers, focusing on service performance, process optimization, and talent development. She will help our entire team in our mission to deliver excellence every day - Jason Lea, President of Brokers' Service Marketing Group.

Trish has over 20 years of insurance leadership experience in the home office, career agency, and brokerage agency environments. She most recently held the role of operational leader for the largest MassMutual agency in the country, 5th Avenue Financial/Lenox in NYC. While at 5th Avenue Financial/Lenox, Trish was responsible for building a BGA operation from scratch so that 5th Avenue Financial/Lenox could offer non-MassMutual products directly from other carriers. She brings a deep understanding of how carriers function, and how distribution works both on the career and brokerage sides.

This expansion of the BSMG Leadership Team further builds on the existing expertise in the areas of Underwriting from CEO, David Greenberg & Sr. VP, Director of Risk Appraisal, Timothy Moynihan; Accouting and Finance from Controller, Eric Chartier; Sales and Life Product expertise from Sr, VP and Partner, Paul Sepe; Marketing, from Director of Marketing and Communications, Corrie Freudenstein; and Human Resources from Chief Administrative Officer, Pam DeMelim. Under the leadership of President, Jason Lea, BSMG continues its commitment to growth, and to being a leader in the industry. This role is an important step towards insuring future success.

About Brokers' Service Marketing Group:

Built on a 44-year history and leveraging its industry knowledge, Brokers' Service Marketing Group is a life insurance, annuity and long term care insurance brokerage general agency. We support advisors and financial institutions whose clients require asset and income protection as well as retirement solutions. Our innovation, passion and expertise help our customers deliver the best results to their clients every day.
AIM Solder, a leading global manufacturer of solder assembly materials for the electronics industry, announces the release of its new corporate video, Behind the Name | AIM Solder. The video is available on the AIM Solder website (http://www.aimsolder.com), as well as in all AIM Solders social media sites. The new corporate video highlights AIMs philosophy, mission and presence as a leading global manufacturer of assembly materials for the electronics industry.

The Behind the Name | AIM Solder video illustrates AIMs promise of being a local supplier of top-notch global solder solutions, and major provider of around-the-clock unparalleled technical support. The new corporate video showcases AIMs extensive capabilities, including its mission to offer the most innovative and reliable product solutions available to the electronics industry.

We are excited about the release of our new corporate video that highlights AIMs philosophy of supporting the market, said AIMs Executive Vice President, David Suraski. This video accentuates our two key differentiators; our technical expertise and our extreme dedication to customer service and application support, which we believe are crucial factors in maintaining our presence as market leaders.

About AIM

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, AIM Solder is a leading global manufacturer of assembly materials for the electronics industry with manufacturing, distribution and support facilities located throughout the world. AIM produces advanced solder products such as solder paste, liquid flux, cored wire, bar solder, epoxies, lead-free and halogen-free solder products, preforms, and specialty alloys such as indium and gold for a broad range of industries. A recipient of many prestigious SMT industry awards, AIM is strongly committed to innovative research and development of product and process improvement as well as providing customers with superior technical support, service and training. For more information about AIM, visit http://www.aimsolder.com.

Upcoming Events:

September 27-28, 2016  SMTA International  Rosemont, IL

October 5-6, 2016  SMTA Guadalajara  Guadalajara, Mexico

October 26, 2016  SMTA Long Island  Hauppauge, NY
Sully

At the Cinemark

(PG-13)

Grade: B+

Perhaps seeing Sully the night before I hopped onto a plane wasnt such a good idea.

To make matters worse, when I arrived at Helena Regional Airport, I heard that a flight to Minneapolis was delayed because of damage from birds.

Fortunately, my own flights were smooth and uneventful. And my return flights -- on 9/11 no less -- were also blessedly boring.

Airline crashes always seem personal to me. When innocents fall out of the sky -- no matter what the reason -- I cant help but think, There but for the grace of God go I.

The stories of those who survive plane crashes are equally haunting. With the good fortune of a feline, survivors trade in one of their nine lives and walk away.

In the case of US Airways Flight 1549, all 155 passengers and crew walked away, thanks to an exceedingly well executed ditch landing into the Hudson River by Capt. Chesley Sully Sullenberger.

That water landing on Jan. 15, 2009, instantly transformed a humble pilot into a national hero.

Sully was in suddenly in demand, including a visit to the David Letterman show. All accounts suggest Sully was uncomfortable in the spotlight, a refreshing reaction to media attention in an age where people seem to rush to smile at cameras, relishing their 15 minutes of fame.

Clint Eastwood was a good choice to retell Sullys story, given his track record of finding the nuances and complexities inside acts of courage -- in films such as American Sniper and Flags of Our Fathers.

Eastwood chooses to focus on the humility of Sully, rather than on the heroism.

We meet a quiet man who loves his job as a pilot, having dreamed of flying since he was 5 years old. He was Mensa bright and graduated from the Air Force Academy, before moving into a career as a professional pilot for 30 years.

Notably, hes been married for 20+ years and has two kids.

In other words, hes an old fashioned hero: loyal to his employer and faithful to his wife, although Ive not hired an investigator to confirm that.

People who report for work on time and do their job well every day rarely make headlines -- until they save 155 lives by just doing their job.

Tom Hanks is well cast in a role reminiscent of Jimmy Stewart, the humble hero of Its a Wonderful Life.

His performance also reminded me of Gary Cooper who played modest marshal Will Kane in High Noon.

Quiet heroes are out of style these days, with moviegoers preferring over-the-top action figures or chest-beating super heroes.

By honoring humility, Eastwood reminds us that of the nobility of quiet lives.

The script has been assailed, however, as making villains out of the investigators who examined the crash. Former members of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have accused Eastwood of misrepresenting the facts to heighten the drama.

That criticism seems valid. The films tension is ratcheted up by the melodramatic hearings in which Sully confronts the investigators -- and vindicates himself thanks to a simulation of the flight, proving Sully could not have flown back to LaGuardia safely.

In fact, the hearings took months, and by all accounts were not as accusatory or as anti-Sully as Eastwood chooses to portray them. Eastwood defends that choice by saying the Sully felt persecuted -- and the film is told from his viewpoint. I think Eastwood should apologize to the NTSB for his poetic license.

Nevertheless, Sully remains a throwback piece of Frank Capra storytelling in which an unpretentious man is celebrated for his small town values.

Thats a welcome oasis from the crash-boom

***

Apology: My apology for a mistake in my Sept. 8 review of Hell or High Water. I mixed up the plot, saying that the brothers ate at the T-Bone Cafe. The Texas Rangers ate there, not the brothers. Thats a careless and embarrassing error, which has been corrected online. I scold students for such errors. Today I scold myself.
The broadcast and digital teams from 24 local TV properties of The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) have implemented the CrowdTangle platform for real-time social media monitoring. CrowdTangle is a leading social media discovery and analytics company.

The Scripps teams will use CrowdTangle to monitor what stories are trending on social media in their own local markets and across the country and to more easily measure the success of their social publishing. With these insights, stations can discover story ideas for audiences on both digital and broadcast platforms.

CrowdTangle is invaluable in giving our teams insights into stories that matter to our local audiences on broadcast and digital platforms, keeping us competitive in our local markets, said Laura Tomlin, vice president, digital business operations. The platforms built-in analytics help boost the metrics we use to evaluate our success on social.

The E.W. Scripps Company is leading the way in digital storytelling, and its stations are consistently at the forefront of digital adoption in their markets, said Brandon Silverman, CEO and co-founder of CrowdTangle. Were excited to continue this great work with them, and we look forward to a long partnership.

About CrowdTangle

CrowdTangle makes it easy to keep track of what's happening on social media. Designed for a wide variety of uses in a newsroom, CrowdTangle is a simple way for publishers to discover content, benchmark themselves against competitors and identify influencers across some of the world's largest social networks. CrowdTangle currently serves hundreds of publishers and local news networks around the world, including the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, the BBC, Tronc, TEGNA and many more, and powers Facebooks dedicated tool for Journalists: Facebook Signal.

To find out more, go to crowdtangle.com, or check out CrowdTangle in the New York Times Magazine, Fast Company, and Ad Exchanger.
City officials, community members and key contributors to the project gathered at the event in North Long Beach to celebrate the official opening to the public. Working together with this vibrant and passionate neighborhood community has resulted in a unique expression of the local culture and the history,

The City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Public Library Foundation recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Michelle Obama Branch Library designed by LPA Inc., one of Californias largest sustainable design firms. City officials, community members and key contributors to the project gathered at the event in North Long Beach to celebrate the official opening to the public.

The new library was designed to replace the former North Branch Library, which was lacking space for community gatherings, a teen space and adequate childrens services. The new single-story, 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility features dynamic public spaces and effective sustainable strategies with a timeless design approach.

Working together with this vibrant and passionate neighborhood community has resulted in a unique expression of the local culture and the history, said Rick DAmato, Principal at LPA. The library is an expression of the spirit of collaboration which results in a project with which we can all take pride.

Respecting the original urban nature of the neighborhood while incorporating the form of the citys historic Atlantic Theater, a 1940s era cinema, the new library will be visibly linked to the areas vibrant past. To emphasize the sustainable attributes, the original spire from the theater was refurbished and used on top of the tower of the library as part of its structure.

LPA provided its integrated design services including architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, civil and structural engineering.

The architecture of the library is the abstraction of the Art Deco nature of the historic Atlantic Corridor neighborhood. The commercial street development inspired the planning and site placement of the building to ensure the continuation of the urban environment.

Maintaining the scale and rhythm of the original structures also worked to engage the new construction with the existing streetscape. The street facing facade bubble wall with circular shapes provides a unique design element and was constructed with steel plates detailed to elegantly integrate lighting.

Inside the library, technology such as 3D printing, public access computers, kiosk check-out stations, family learning center, three public meeting rooms and more. The facility features a themed childrens and young adult library, a separate adult library and reading room, efficient staff areas, as well as engaging internal and external public spaces.

The opening of the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library is a defining moment in Long Beach history, and will serve as an inspiration for generations to come, stated Vice Mayor Rex Richardson. The added technology and community space will be a vital resource for the residents and youth of North Long Beach.

The librarys sustainable design features focus on two issues that are important to California: water and energy use. The building will use nearly 40 percent less potable water for plumbing fixtures and 55 percent less for irrigation. The landscape palette of drought-tolerant, native California plants coupled with a cutting-edge irrigation system will be a model of appropriate landscape and water use for Southern California. The extensive use of natural daylight throughout the space with lighting controls, efficient HVAC system and a building envelope that responds to solar orientation results in a building that exceeds California Title 24 energy code by nearly 20 percentsaving energy and dollars for the citizens of Long Beach for years to come. The project is also on track to receive a LEED-NC silver rating by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The Michelle Obama Library will represent a new direction for library design and sustainability that will work as a community catalyst and social hub for the surrounding North Long Beach neighborhoods.

About LPA Inc.

Founded in 1965, LPA has more than 350 employees with offices in San Antonio and Irvine, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose, California. The firm provides services in architecture, sustainability, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, engineering and graphics. With a proven commitment to integrated sustainable design, LPA designs facilities that span from K-12 schools, colleges and universities and corporate, healthcare and civic facilities. More than 700 major design awards attest to LPAs commitment to design excellence. For more information, visit http://www.lpainc.com.
Puroast is the Grower's Coffee - coffee with a uniquely rich, smooth taste, much lower acid and an antioxidant boost.

Puroast Coffee, the brand that brought low acid and antioxidant-rich coffee into the market, has expanded its availability throughout the US and beyond, and has added its own coffee stores to the mix.

Puroast has steadily increased its presence on grocery shelves, and now has bolstered distribution in the Northeast region, by adding the Shoprite chain in the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, Conn.), and Shaws in New England, to the growing list of well-known retailers carrying its products. Puroast Coffee will partner with Shaws in sponsoring the Tufts University 10k Run for Women this Fall, where the full range of its coffees will be sampled including drip brew, one-cup brew and espresso capsule.

And this summer, Puroast began selling its coffees abroad, by securing distribution via Amazon into the United Kingdom (available at http://www.amazon.co.uk). Many of the same products sold in the US are also now available in the UK, including Puroasts espresso capsule coffee.

The Puroast Coffeehouse

The secret to Puroast Coffees unique qualities of smooth, rich flavor and low acid, lies in the companys special roasting which the founders learned from growers in the coffee growing regions of Venezuela. Consumers have always wanted to know how Puroast makes its low acid coffee  the answer to that question is now available at the Puroast Coffee coffeehouses. In the decor and setting of a coffee growers plantation home, the customer experiences the full dimension of how coffee is roasted, brewed, and served on the veranda. Traditional brew, espresso beverages and Puroasts signature Greca coffee are available, along with a light breakfast and lunch menu complimenting the coffee service. And of course all the coffees served are the same as those sold in stores  rich flavor, 70% less acid with 7 times the antioxidants of Green Tea.

The companys pilot store in the Brickell area of Miami, FL, and has opened to rave reviews. In eight months of operation it has surged to a #5 rating on Yelp, strong Google reviews (4.7 out of 5), and was named Best Coffeehouse Miami 2016 by the Miami New Times.

In addition to the retailers listed above, Puroast is also available in select Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods, Giant, Frys, Earth Fare, Walmart, Market Basket, Hannaford and Stop & Shop stores, as well as online at http://www.puroast.com.
We love the opportunity to present each award winner with a bonus check, extra recognition, and highlight something in which everyone can achieve.

Bill Howe Plumbing in San Diego began operations over 35 years ago. With a mission built around happy healthy employees, community involvement, and the highest quality of work, they have become one of the largest service companies and recently named San Diego's Best plumber by the Union Tribune Readers. Part of their success comes from ample recognition of employees.

Bill Howe has always recognized excellence within the company and honored employees who exemplify the Bill Howe Way. Through monthly award programs, additional benefits and rewards for outstanding work, the company ensures that employees know they are valued.

Since 2015, Bill Howe has been giving four distinct monthly awards to individuals and teams. The four awards, Above & Beyond, Leading by Example, Customer Service, and Job Excellence, recognize specialists in the field, office staff, and team leaders for their community involvement, craftsmanship, customer service, and adhering to the high standards of Bill Howe. The awards are chosen by a committee of managers with input from supervisors and the office team, and are presented at the company meeting each month. Awards presented are for the previous months achievements.

At the September company meeting, Rigoberto Barajas, Mel Sturla, D. J. Williams, and Brandon Pittway were recognized as the August Award Winners. The Above & Beyond award was presented to Rigoberto Barajas for his participation and outstanding beginning in year 2 of the PHCC Academy, and for his cross promotion within the three divisions at Bill Howe. The Above & Beyond Award always goes to the individual that embodies the spirit go giving back, helping to promote all the Bill Howe divisions, and maintain gin an excellent online reputation, said Marketing Director, Julie Riddle.

Mel Sturla was the award recipient for Leading by Example, adhering to the high Bill Howe standards, D. J. Williams was presented with the Customer Service Award for his outstanding treatment of a late night challenging plumbing repair, and the Excellence Award went to Brandon Pettway for his exemplary craftsmanship on a recent job.

We are lucky to have the best team in San Diego and so proud of our incredible team, said Tina Howe, Vice President of Bill Howe Plumbing. Each month it is hard to choose the award recipient as so many of our team do such an outstanding job. We love the opportunity to present each award winner with a bonus check, extra recognition, and highlight something in which everyone can achieve.

For more information about San Diegos Best Plumber, visit http://www.billhowe.com, or to speak with Bill or Tina Howe regarding this announcement, contact Bill Howe Marketing Director, Julie Riddle at Julie@billhowe.com.

About Bill Howe Family of Companies

Bill Howe Family of Companies is comprised of Bill Howe Plumbing, Inc.; Bill Howe Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.; Bill Howe Restoration & Flood Services, Inc. The family-owned and operated company began in 1980 with the plumbing division and has grown into San Diego Countys largest low-cost one-stop-shop for service, repairs and installation, offering both residential and commercial services. 9085 Aero Drive, Suite B, San Diego CA 92123. Call 1-800-BILL-HOWE because We Know Howe!

###
FIU Rocco Angelo Legacy in Leadership Campaign contributors A legend in the hospitality industry, Rocco Angelo has personally led more than 15,000 students and alumni on their academic and professional paths to success, says FIU alumnus Burt Cabanas, Chair Emeritus, Chaplin Schools Deans Advisory Council.

Florida International Universitys prestigious Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is reaching out to its global alumni base to support the Rocco Angelo Legacy in Leadership Campaign. The new fundraising campaign was created to recognize the contributions and ensure the legacy of the universitys beloved and admired teacher, mentor and friend, Rocco Angelo, acting Associate Dean for Alumni Relations at the Chaplin School. Still active after six decades of service to the hospitality industry, Mr. Angelos exceptional achievements will be honored through an endowment fund that will make certain his legacy endures, benefiting FIU students of the future. The funds raised will provide scholarships, recruitment initiatives to attract the best and brightest students, alumni engagement efforts, mentoring programs, career services, and student enrichment opportunities.

Several prominent alumni of the Chaplin School have already contributed seed money to launch the effort, with alumni John McKibbon 75, Chairman, McKibbon Hospitality; Burt Cabanas 76, Founder and Chairman, Benchmark Hospitality International; and Eric Pfeffer77, Founder and President, The Pfeffer Group, contributing $25,000 each.

A legend in the hospitality industry, Rocco Angelo has personally led more than 15,000 students and alumni on their academic and professional paths to success, says FIU alumnus Burt Cabanas, Chair Emeritus, Chaplin Schools Deans Advisory Council.

A visionary leader and a gifted teacher, Rocco Angelos achievements span the globe, teaching and consulting in North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Middle East and Europe. As co-author of Hospitality Today: An Introduction, he saw his textbook, now in its eighth edition, used in colleges and universities across the United States. His efforts were rewarded with numerous accolades, including the prestigious Statler Foundation Professorship in 1993.

But it is his legacy as a teacher and mentor that inspires and informs. FIU recently launched a campaign page online containing video testimonials and numerous quotations from industry leaders who benefited from Rocco Angelos knowledge, experience, wisdom and his deep commitment to his students.

To learn more, visit the Chaplin Schools campaign page. To give online, visit the Give Online Now page and select the Rocco Angelo Legacy in Leadership Endowment Campaign as your designation.

For more information, contact: Simone Champagnie, Executive Director, Development, FIU, snchampa(at)fiu(dot)edu, 305.919.4810

Attached photo L to R:

-John McKibbon, 75, Chaplin Schools Deans Advisory Council member and Chairman of McKibbon Hotel Group, McKibbon Hotel Management and M3 Accounting + Analytics

-Lee Pillsbury, Co-Founder, Thayer Group and Senior Advisor, Brookfield Asset Management

-Burt Cabanas 76, Chair Emeritus, Deans Advisory Council and Founder and Chairman, Benchmark Hospitality International

-Mike Hampton, Dean, FIU Chaplin School

-Rocco Angelo, Associate Dean for Alumni Relations, FIU Chaplin School

-Jay Litt 74, Deans Advisory Council member and Executive Vice President, Waramaug Hospitality

-Mark B. Rosenberg, President, FIU

-Ken Furton, Provost, FIU

About the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management:

Florida International Universitys Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management has been distinguished as one of the top hospitality programs in the United States. More than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation and around the world choose FIU for its outstanding reputation, advantageous campus locations, expert faculty, rich curriculum and fast-track career opportunities in the international hotel, foodservice and tourism industries. In August 2006, FIU unveiled the first U.S. school of hospitality and tourism in Tianjin, China. The Marriott Tianjin China Program is FIUs largest international program, with a capacity for up to 1,000 students. For more information about FIUs Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, visit http://hospitality.fiu.edu/.

About FIU

Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Floridas anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIUs Medina Aquarius Program houses the Aquarius Reef Base, a unique underwater research facility in the Florida Keys. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

Media Contact: Mihaela Plugarasu

Director, Strategy & Communications

Email: mplugara(at)fiu(dot)edu

Tel: 305-919-4125

# # #
Michelle is coming aboard during an exciting time of growth and opportunity for our company. Her depth of expertise will be of great benefit, and were pleased to welcome her to the team.

Movable Ink, the global leader in contextual email technology, today announced the hiring of Michelle Friend as General Counsel.

As General Counsel, Friend will advise Movable Ink's leadership team on a variety of legal and business issues and oversee the companys legal function, including commercial, corporate, product and privacy matters.

Ms. Friend has more than 10 years of corporate law experience. Prior to joining Movable Ink, she was Associate General Counsel of Yodle, where she played a critical role in the sale of Yodle to Web.com, in addition to handling other corporate and commercial affairs. Friend previously held in-house legal positions at Lawyers Alliance for New York and TruFund Financial Services. She received her JD from Columbia Law School and BA in English and Economics from Trinity College-Hartford.

Michelle is coming aboard during an exciting time of growth and opportunity for our company, said Vivek Sharma, CEO of Movable Ink. Her depth of expertise will be of great benefit, and were pleased to welcome her to the team.

As recent in-house counsel to an innovative and successful tech startup, I look forward to the challenge of helping Movable Ink achieve its continued goals for market innovation, company growth and international expansion, said Friend.

For information about how your brand can benefit from Movable Ink or to request a demo, visit http://www.movableink.com.

About Movable Ink

Founded in 2010, Movable Ink pioneered the application of contextual experiences to email and has powered over 150 billion live content impressions. Movable Ink clients can use any email service provider to deliver dynamic content that changes, in real-time, according to the context of each individual consumer. More than 350 innovative companies including The Wall Street Journal, eBay, Finish Line and Saks Fifth Avenue use Movable Ink to Market in the Moment and optimize their email campaigns to drive ROI. The company is headquartered in New York City with offices in London and San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.movableink.com.
Production still of at-home dad Chip holding his new-born baby girl "We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers.

What happens when mom has the big job and dad stays home with the kids? You have The Big Flip. The timely documentary follows four American families as they navigate the trials and triumphs of at-home fatherhood, mothers as main breadwinners, and changing life circumstances. The feature-length documentary will make its world premiere at the prestigious Austin Film Festival on Friday, October 14, 7PM at the Galaxy Highland Theatre.

Director Izzy Chan, Co-Producer Paige Green, and at-home dad Ross Brooks will be present for a moderated audience Q&A following the screening. The film is featured in Austin Film Festivals The Heart of Film category, dedicated to showcasing diverse and notable storytelling. Immediately after, the film will make its Arkansas premiere on October 15 at the 22nd Hot Springs Documentary Film Festivalthe oldest non-fiction film festival in North America.

The Big Flips director Chan and one of its featured families were first profiled on the Katie Couric show shortly after filming started. Chan and Couric wanted to bring awareness to the fact that mothers are breadwinners in 40% of American families. The media has covered the rise of breadwinner moms and at-home dads extensively since, with President Obama himself writing about the social pressures that big flip families face in the August 2016 issue of Glamour magazine:

"We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers. We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding a tear.

Filmed over 18 months, The Big Flip follows the lives of four flipped families. With baby number 4 on the way, Portlanders Bonnie and Chip work through a delicate transition when they decide that Chip should step back from his flailing business to step up at home and support Bonnie as the main breadwinner. Chuck and Amy live in Washington, DC, where Chuck experiences a lay-off and is forced to be creative in caring for their first child. Julee and Ross are moving from Nashville to Los Angeles, where bigger jobs beckon. In Seattle, Robyn and Fred are stuck in a rut, with Robyn feeling trapped as the sole income provider.

In support of their desire to see The Big Flip, more than 500 supporters raised over $110,000 on Kickstarter and Indiegogo to crowdfund the documentarys production and post-production. Supporters came from all backgrounds. Anne-Marie Slaughter, President & CEO of the New America Foundation, told supporters on Twitter: I just backed The Big Flip. Without change in attitudes and culture, were never going to get there. Slaughter was the first woman in the U.S. State Department to hold the Director of Policy Planning post, and famously wrote the article Why Women Still Cant Have It All in The Atlantic shortly after she left the post.

Another supporter, Leslie Blodgett, former Executive Chairman of Bare Escentuals, was so enthused that she signed on to be Associate Producer: The Big Flip has been our familys way of life for over 20 years. Im so thrilled that these stories are finally being told. I think this film will inspire couples who are beginning this path and help others understand how complicated it can be.

In anticipation of the upcoming premiere, the National At-Home Dad Network has invited the filmmakers to host an exclusive, private sneak peek screening for members attending the National At-Home Dad Conference on October 8 in Raleigh, North Carolina. It will be at Marbles Kids Museum at 4PM.

The filmmakers have screened portions of The Big Flip as a work-in-progress at institutions including Google, Disney and University College London. The heartfelt responses from viewers confirm that the film strikes a chord with many families. Every story resonated with me, said one audience member at a Disney panel. I started crying because my husband and I live this story. The Big Flip is a documentary hitting all the social buttons of modern timeschallenging rigid gender expectations, support for working moms, redefining masculinity and fatherhoodand provides a timely snapshot of the modern American family.

The Big Flip will show at the following times and locations during the Austin Film Festival:

 Fri, Oct 14, 7PM CT at Galaxy Highland Theatre at 6700 Middle Fiskville Rd., Austin

 Mon, Oct 17, 7:30PM CT at Rollins Studio Theatre at Long Center, 701 W. Riverside Dr., Austin

The Big Flip will make its Arkansas premiere at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on Saturday, October 15. At the time of press, the scheduled screening time is 4:50PM at the Arlington Hotel and Spa, Cinema 1please check HSDFFs site for updates/changes.

Two trailers are available for preview and online sharing:

http://bigflipdocumentary.com/original-trailer/

http://bigflipdocumentary.com/coming-soon-trailer-for-the-big-flip/

Media Inquiries: please call Izzy Chan at (415) 968-9891 or email izzy-(at)-thebigflip.com

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBigFlipDocumentary/

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebigflip/

Tweet about us: https://twitter.com/TheBigFlip

Learn more on our website: http://thebigflip.com

Download our full press kit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y3btjujl98nnr9l/AABf1m7SIw_NevZYHKkaeLpPa?dl=0
SPIE President Robert Lieberman presented 2016 awards at the society annual awards banquet during SPIE Optics + Photonics. SPIE is a champion of photonics, inspiring young minds and transforming the photonics world.

Jennifer Barton is the recipient of this years SPIE Presidents Award and Majid Rabbani of the SPIE Directors award, Robert Lieberman, 2016 President of SPIE the international society for optics and photonics, announced at an awards banquet during SPIE Optics + Photonics 2016 in San Diego, California, on 31 August.

Barton is interim director of the BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona, which works to solve complex biology-based problems affecting humanity. She is also professor of biomedical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, optical sciences, and agricultural and bio-systems engineering at UA.

Barton is known for her innovative use of optical techniques in the detection and treatment of cancer and other diseases. Her work includes the development of miniature endoscopes that combine two imaging techniques, optical coherence tomography and fluorescence spectroscopy. She also explores the application of these in detecting early cancer development in patients and preclinical models.

Barton leads a two-year, $1 million project funded by the National Cancer Institute to identify imaging biomarkers of ovarian cancer, the deadliest gynecological cancer in the United States, to enable the first effective screening system for the cancer.

In accepting her award, Barton stressed the value of SPIE to researchers. She told the banquet audience that she first became acquainted with SPIE through accessing its publications, specifically the Proceedings of SPIE. The "yellow books" were the most helpful research resources she encountered as she began her career, she said.

However, she soon found that "exciting as the yellow books were, SPIE conferences were event better. "

A great strength of SPIE is that it is "not elitist, and is interesting in bringing young people in," Barton said.

Rabbani, a widely recognized leader in the field of imaging, will receive the Directors Award during SPIE Photonics West 2017 in San Francisco next January.

He retired this year from Eastman Kodak Company with the rank of Kodak Fellow, and is a full-time visiting professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. His research interests span various aspects of digital image and video processing and analysis.

Rabbani is symposium chair for SPIE Commercial and Scientific Sensing and Imaging 2017 at SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing, has served on symposium and conference committees for other events, is the chair of the SPIE Fellows Committee, and was a longtime course instructor for SPIE. He has published numerous technical articles and book chapters, holds 44 U.S. patents, coauthored the SPIE Press book Digital Image Compression Techniques, and was editor of the SPIE Milestone volume Image Coding and Compression.

At the banquet in San Diego, Lieberman also presented the SPIE Gold Medal to nanomedicine pioneer Paras Prasad, Executive Director of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, State University of New York at Buffalo.

The award (announced earlier) is the society's highest honor, and recognizes his lab's development of Nanoclinic, a silica nanoshell containing various diagnostic and therapeutic agents, and other pioneering contributions to nonlinear optics, nanophotonics, and biophotonics and their application to nanomedicine, along with his three-plus decades of service to SPIE.

"SPIE is a champion of photonics," Prasad said at the banquet. The society's more than 300 student chapters help promote the field around the world, "inspiring many young minds and transforming the photonics world."

Other awards presented by Lieberman in San Diego were:



A.E. Conrady Award: Lacy Cook, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems

SPIE Early Career Achievement Award -- Academia Focus: Jie Yao, University of California, Berkeley

SPIE Early Career Achievement Award -- Industry Focus: Homan Yuen, NewGen Venture Partners

SPIE Educator Award: Cheng Chung (C. C.) Lee, National Central University, Taiwan

Harold E. Edgerton Award: Christopher Barty, Lawrence Livermore National Lab

Rudolph Kingslake Medal and Prize: Xinmin Shen, Qunzhang Tu, Hui Deng, Guoliang Jiang, and Kazuya Yamamura

SPIE Technology Achievement Award: Kent Choquette, University of Illinois

Chandra S. Vikram Award: James Trolinger, MetroLaser, Inc.

More information about 2016 SPIE award winners is on the SPIE.org website.

About SPIE

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves nearly 264,000 constituents from approximately 166 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2015, SPIE provided more than $5.2 million in support of education and outreach programs. http://www.spie.org
Viator

Part of the appeal of Pokemon Go is being outside in real-world locations, hunting for hidden Pokemon, and catching em all. Now the team at Viator, a TripAdvisor company and the leading resource for tours and activities worldwide, has debuted a selection of Pokemon Tours sure to delight travelers and fans of the augmented-reality mobile game. From private tours with families in mind, to bus tours ideal for those looking to make friends, they all offer players authentic local experiences combined with plenty of tips for catching Pokemon and becoming the best trainers in the world.

Viator offers Pokemon Go tours in many destinations around the world, including a walking tour in Split, Croatia and private hunting tours by car or minivan equipped with WiFi in Madrid, Vienna and Berlin. Other Poketours include:



Tennessee: Perfect for families that play together, the Pokemon GO Tour in Nashville via golf cart includes a private guide for a more personalized experience, with plenty of photo opportunities at each stop as players catch Pokemon, visit Pokestops, battle at Pokegyms, and tour Nashville. The Pokemon Go Safari Bus in Memphis, ideal for those looking to make new friends, takes teams around the city as expert guides drop lures at different locations and offer tips, tricks and trivia.

Paris: A professional tour guide who knows the best Pokespots leads the Pokemon Tour in Paris  including areas teeming with Pokemon and others where they hide in plain sight and are trickier to locate. Visit Tuileries Gardens, the Louvre, the Ile de La Cite, Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Luxembourg Gardens, and more while catching Pokemon. The tour ends at a Pokegym to check Pokemon CP, hatch Pokemon eggs and battle with new friends and local masters.

Italy: The Pokemon Go Tour in Venice explores the streets on a walking tour of the city, through Venetian alleys and squares in search of Pokemon. The Pokemon Go Tour in Milan, led by an expert Poketracker, takes travelers on a three-hour walking tour that combines locating rare Pokemon and learning about the areas history and culture.

Bulgaria: Travelers to Bulgaria have numerous options for hunting Pokemon, with a variety of Private Pokemon Go Tours in Sofia, Sliven, Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv that visit many of the citys top attractions, Pokemon Shops and Gyms.

London: Crafted for Pokemon trainers, the Private Tour: Pokemon Go Tour in London uncovers Pokemon while visiting top sites to learn about the citys rich history and culture, including Big Ben, St. Paul Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Your guide will make sure you encounter plenty of Pokestops to fill up on Pokeballs along the way!

Japan: Learn about the Otaku culture on the Half Day Otaku Walking Tour in Osaka, which visits a Den-den town to peruse games and electronics, a maid cafe for lunch, a cosplay theater, fashion center America-Mura in Shinsaibashi, and PokeLounge, a new Pokemon-themed game cafe and bar.

With the Poke-popularity in full force, Viator anticipates adding more Poketours over the coming months. For information on these Pokemon tours and thousands of insider experiences all over the world as well as the latest deals, promotions, contests and news, visit http://www.viator.com or follow Viator on Facebook (ViatorTours) and Twitter (ViatorTravel).

About Viator

Viator, a TripAdvisor company, is the leading global tours and activities provider for travelers, delivering online and mobile access to thousands of trip activities including tours, attractions, shore excursions and private guides, in more than 2,000 destinations worldwide. In-house travel experts work with trusted local operators to ensure the quality and value of every experience, all backed by Viators 24/7 customer service and global low-price guarantee. With more than 1 million verified reviews plus exclusive videos and insider travel tips, Viator has everything a traveler needs to find and book the best things to do. In addition to the flagship site  Viator.com  travelers can book in advance or in-destination via the Viator Tours and Activities App, as well as local-language sites for European, Latin American and Asian travelers. Viator also provides tours and activities to more than 3,000 affiliate partners including some of the worlds top airlines, hotels and online travel agencies. Viator is headquartered in San Francisco with regional offices in Sydney, London and Las Vegas. Viator  travel with an insider.
Being an evidence-based business, Freshservice allows us to track data and helps us drive intelligent decisions.

Freshdesk, the leading cloud-based customer engagement software provider, today announced that their ITSM product, Freshservice is now used by 10,000 happy customers across the globe. Freshservice has doubled its customer base in just nine months, bringing on key customers including SolarCity, Fitbit, Dollar Shave Club, AT&T and Veeva Systems.

Freshservice simplifies the internal support process while being easy to set up and use, a cornerstone of all Freshdesk products. The cloud-based service desk and IT service management (ITSM) tool was designed using Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices helping organizations focus on exceptional service delivery and customer satisfaction in IT as well as other business functions like human resources, finance, legal, facilities, and marketing. Existing customers have commented on the modern user interface, usability, and features like incident management, self-service, gamification, asset management, and integrations with third-party apps.

We have seen dramatic improvements associated with the implementation of Freshservice. said Tom Peach-Geraghty, Global Head of IT Operations at UNiDAYS, Being an evidence-based business, Freshservice allows us to track data and helps us drive intelligent decisions. Our customer satisfaction rating is at 99 percent, an all-time high."

The milestone comes on the heels of the recent recognition of Freshservice as a high performer in G2 crowds service desk software report and Freshservice being the only ITSM tool ranked in G2 crowds Top 25 mid-market software products. The acceleration in customer adoption has been driven by key product enhancements over the last six months including custom reports, built-in live chat, improvements to the highly rated mobile application and integrations with DocuSign and Slack.

There was a clear need in the market when we launched Freshservice in 2014. Our flagship product, Freshdesk, was designed for external customer support but we found many of our customers using it for internal IT support. said Shihab Muhammed, Business Unit Head, Freshservice. Companies need a solution that fits the unique requirements of internal support, the primary reason we built Freshservice. Were excited to welcome our 10,000th customer as we continue to build refreshing products that customers can trust.

To try Freshservice for free today, visit: https://freshservice.com/

About Freshdesk

Freshdesk Inc. is the leading provider of cloud-based customer engagement software. Freshdesks suite of products include the flagship product, Freshdesk, which allows organizations to support customers through email, phone, websites, forums, and social media; Freshservice, a cloud-based service desk and IT service management solution; Hotline.io, an in-app support and engagement platform for mobile-first businesses; and Freshsales, a CRM solution and sales system for high-velocity sales teams. With powerful features, an intuitive interface and a freemium pricing model, Freshdesks products are widely used by teams and companies of all sizes, from SMB to enterprise. Based in San Bruno, California, with offices in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and India, Freshdesk is backed by Tiger Global Management, Accel Partners, and Google Capital. The company has over 80,000 customers around the world including 3M, Honda, Bridgestone, Hugo Boss, University of Pennsylvania, Toshiba and Cisco. For more information, visit http://freshdesk.com.
Temporary road closure in place

A temporary road closure began Sept. 12 and will be in place on the Townsend Ranger District to provide for public safety during logging operations associated with the Cabin Gulch Vegetation project implementation.

The temporary closure will be intermittent, as necessary for safety purposes during tree felling and skyline logging operations. When in place the closure will prohibit any use by any type of traffic on weekdays  beginning on Mondays at 5 a.m. through Thursdays at 5 p.m. and on Fridays at 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. The closure area is Forest Road #423, also known as the East Fork of Cabin Gulch Road from the junction of Roads #423 and #4181 (located in T7N, R40E, Sec 22) to the junction of Forest Roads #423 and #423-B1 (located in T7N, R40E, Sec. 13).

If you have questions, please call the Townsend Ranger District at 406-266-3425.

***

Celebrate Montanas outdoors at park

The Lewis & Clark Caverns Association is hosting a celebratory festival in honor of Montanas outdoors. Folks will have opportunities to watch Native American dancers, visit raptors, pan for gold, sample food from a chuck wagon and much more.

The festival will be held in the group use are at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Beginning at 9 a.m. and going until 1 p.m. guided hikes will visit a variety of locations to showcase the often-overlooked park surface.

From noon to 6 p.m. participants will have the opportunity to visit a number of engaging booths hosted by a number of organizations, agencies, and volunteers. Activities include bat house building, ghost towns, mining, bird identification, bear awareness and many more. Blue Moose BBQ and Grinders Espresso will also be on hand to sell food and drinks. There will be demonstrations on a variety of topics going on throughout the day as well including live raptors from 1 to 4 p.m. and an emergency helicopter landing demonstration at noon.

Saturday evening beginning at 6:30 p.m. the association will host musical guest Kali Armstrong.

This event is free and open to the public but donations are greatly appreciated. Camping is also available by making a reservation on the park website at: stateparks.mt.gov/lewis-and-clark-caverns. For more information about the Montana Outdoor Festival, visit email Amanda Hagerty at ahagerty@lccfriends.org or call 406-479-0089.

***

Dogsledding, skijoring training camp upcoming (photo)

All beginning or experienced mushers, runners, bike enthusiasts and scooter lovers are invited to Canine Fun Days.

Montana Mountain Mushers is holding the dog mushing clinic on Sept. 24-25, at the West Side Bypass Trailhead, near Seeley Lake. The clinic will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday and everyone is invited to a Montana Mountain Mushers meeting at the Seeley Lake Senior Center at 1 p.m. that day. Following the meeting on Saturday, MMM will have a kennel visit and barbecue social near Seeley Lake.

Participants will run dogs Saturday from 8-9 a.m. and again on Sunday from 8-10 a.m. There will be lots of hands-on training for everyone.

The trainers will discuss dog training, equipment, nutrition, and various venues for dog mushing. Whether you are interested in becoming a recreational musher, want to start skijoring or scootering, or would like to race, this clinic is a must for you and it is free. All skill levels are invited. Registration is required.

Participants are encouraged to bring their wheeled rigs (four-wheelers, dog scooters, bikes, or carts) and dogs to the training. The club will also have some four-wheelers for participants to use if they dont have their own rig. People are encouraged to bring their dogs and there will be time to run them both mornings.

For information, call 406-881-2909 or 406-677-3141, go online to montanamountainmushers.com or e-mail adanac@adanacsleds.com for a registration form. Deadline for registration is Sept. 22.
Girl's Night Out Core Compassion is hosting its 4th annual Girls Night Out fundraiser September 22nd, 2016 from 6:30pm-9:30pm at Morning Glory Farm in Monroe, NC.

The side effects of Breast Cancer treatments can last far beyond the cancer free declaration. Regaining mobility, strength and range of motion proves to be an ongoing struggle for most if not all survivors. Pilates has been shown to help reduce these side effects. Thats why Jill Hinson, owner of Core Studio Pilates and Yoga started Core Compassion Project, a charitable organization that offers scholarships to breast cancer patients so they can attend a specialized programs at participating Pilates and fitness studios. Hinson started the 501(c)3 non-profit organization after a client was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and she states, There are so many wonderful organizations that help women with Breast Cancer, and I am grateful for and support them. But I wanted to be able to do something for the women right here in Union County. I wanted them to have a local place of support through recovery and beyond, and help them regain their confidence and self-esteem. Core Compassion Project is now serving women in 5 states.

Core Compassion is hosting its 4th annual Girls Night Out fundraiser September 22nd, 2016 from 6:30pm-9:30pm at Morning Glory Farm in Monroe, NC. The event includes a full dinner buffet catered by Kate Clydes Catered Creations, silent auction, and raffle of items donated from Charlotte area businesses. Cancer survivors will also be in attendance and celebrated with a special designation.

Tickets for the event must be purchased in advance, none will be sold at the door. This event sells out every year. Tickets are $60, and can be purchased at the following website: http://www.corecompassionproject.org. To order tickets by mail, visit the above website for instructions. Core Compassion is also currently soliciting donations and sponsorships.

Please contact Linda Gaura (704-604-0059) with any questions, or to schedule an interview with Core Compassion Executive Director Jill Hinson.
Bob and Sue Scherer Pet Wants is an amazingly nutritious, fresh and convenient option for pet families and were excited to bring that to this community.

Sue and Bob Scherer have always had a passion for animals, so when they heard about Pet Wants, it sparked their interest. Now, just a few months later, the husband and wife team is proud to announce the launch of their new pet food business, Pet Wants of Madison.

Pet Wants carefully developed proprietary pet food is slow-cooked in small batches with fresh, all-natural ingredients once a month to ensure that every kibble is fresh and packed with nutrition. Pet Wants also only sources the best salmon, chicken, lamb, brown rice and other ingredients available. Theres no sugar added, no fillers and no animal by-products and, since Pet Wants never uses corn, wheat, soy or dyes, the food is a great fit for pets with allergies.

Pet Wants of Madison will have a storefront at 292 Hancock Street, which is slated to open in mid-September, as well as free mobile food delivery. The mobile delivery is available now and serves Rockdale County through the Lake Country.

We knew we wanted to open a business, but we wanted it to be something wed be happy doing for the rest of our lives. I knew Bernie Brozek (the president of Pet Wants) from a previous job and, when I saw him posting about Pet Wants on LinkedIn, I connected with him. We are pet fanatics and, after we learned about Pet Wants and went to Meet The Pack in Cincinnati, we knew this was what we wanted to do, Sue said.

Prior to launching Pet Wants, Sue spent 30 years in corporate America in management and sales, mostly in hospitality. Bob also works in sales and will continue to run his own agency, which is tied to the door and window manufacturing industry, alongside supporting Pet Wants. For Sue and Bob  both active animal rescue volunteers  the final decision to join Pet Wants really came down to the food.

We dont have any kids of our own, so our pets are our fur babies. Weve always tried to give them the very best, but the more we learned about the major pet food brands, the more we realized we were not only not giving the best, but some of what we put in their bowls was potentially harmful. Pet Wants is an amazingly nutritious, fresh and convenient option for pet families and were excited to bring that to this community, Sue said.

In addition to being thrilled that families in Madison will be able to offer their pets a more nutritious food with Pet Wants, the corporate team is proud to announce that Pet Wants of Madison is the company's 50th franchise.

"Having Sue - a long-time business friend and awesome professional - mark our 50th franchise is really special and I'm excited that we could celebrate that milestone together. I'm looking forward to seeing Sue and Bob grow Pet Wants of Madison into a leading community business," Brozek said.

Pet Wants is now up to almost 60 franchises sold, but those additional franchise owners are still in the training and business launch process, Brozek said.

Sue is looking forward to starting the next chapter of her career working in a field she loves and supporting the pet community in Madison.

Pet Wants isnt work  weve had a blast working on this business  and were looking forward to growing the company in our community. Were also excited to work with local rescues and the humane society to make sure that animals in our community have access to high quality, fresh, nutritious food, she added.

Pet Wants originally launched in Cincinnati in 2010. Owned by Michele Hobbs, the business was built to provide proprietary crafted, fresh, slow-cooked, all-natural pet food delivered to customers through a retail store and a convenient home-delivery service. Hobbs, now the company founder, turned the business into a franchise in 2015 with the help of Franchise Funding Group, an investment and franchise-development company designed to help entrepreneurs scale their companies nationally as franchise systems.

To order Pet Wants food for your favorite companion or to learn about the company, call (706)521-2998, email SScherer(at)PetWants(dot)com or visit http://www.PetWantsMadison.com.

About Pet Wants: Pet Wants was started by Michele Hobbs out of love for her pets and frustration. Veterinarians were unable to help relieve her dogs painful skin allergies. After doing much research, Michele discovered the national dog food brand she trusted was not fresh, not all natural, and lacked sufficient nutrition...and when pet food sits in warehouses and store shelves for months and months it loses even more nutritional value. She was committed to developing a better solution for all dogs and cats. Their food is exclusively crafted fresh, healthy, slow-cooked and all natural with no sugar added, no fillers and no animal by-products. They source only the best salmon, chicken, lamb, brown rice, and other ingredients. Fresh ingredients make for better food and better health for pets. And since they never use corn, wheat, soy or dyes, the common pet health problems associated with these ingredients are no longer worries. Their fresh food is conveniently delivered to the customer within weeks of production, not months. Roughly half of Pet Wants products are sold through their store and half through their convenient, home-delivery program. You can learn more at http://www.PetWants.com.
General Martin E. Dempsey, speaking at the Navy SEAL Foundation's 5th Annual Chicago Evening of Tribute

An estimated 600 grateful Americans gathered at the Hilton Chicago on Wednesday, September 14th for the 5th Annual Chicago Evening of Tribute benefiting the Navy SEAL Foundation. They were there to recognize the courage, commitment and sacrifice of U.S. Navy SEALs, the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community and their families. The event raised $3.3 million for the charity.

General Martin E. Dempsey, the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered the keynote address. His remarks underscored the continued need to support the Naval Special Warfare community and its families through the Navy SEAL Foundation. "We ask a lot of anyone who decides to put on the uniform for our country. But we also ask even more of a select few. Among that select few are the Navy SEALs. We ask them to not only use their great courage, their great military skill, but we ask them to use their imagination. One hundred percent of the time they come through and one hundred percent of the time they pay the price. And whether they pay the price in terms of a casualty or whether they pay the price in terms of separation from their family on multiple deployments, the Navy SEAL Foundation will be there to help."

In addition to General Dempsey, the dinner program also included testimony from Gold Star wife, Keri Mills and a toast to the Fallen by Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Edward Byers, Medal of Honor Recipient.

The Event Chairs were Melissa and Reeve Waud and was Co-Chaired by Jay Franke and David Herro, Sherry Lea and Richard Holson III, Yvette and Lou Klobuchar, Veronica and Robert Loquercio, Leslie and Michael C. Martin, Diana and Governor Bruce Rauner, Lori and M. Jude Reyes, Shirley and Patrick C. Ryan, Sr., Lydia and Patrick G. Ryan, Jr., Kristen Hertel and Muneer Satter, Ted Schwartz, and Sandy and Bill Strong.

The collective efforts of event Co-Chairs and Vice Chairs resulted in a sold-out event for the 5th consecutive year. Next years Chicago Evening of Tribute is scheduled for September 7, 2017, with Sandi and Bill Strong signing on to Chair the event.

In 2015, the Navy SEAL Foundation invested $10.9 million in its 35+ comprehensive programs specifically designed to reduce the stressors associated with life in NSW. Support generated from the 4th Annual Chicago Evening of Tribute enables the Foundation to continue responding immediately in the wake of tragedy, offer the tools necessary to cope with uncertainty associated with war and provide ongoing support and assistance.

The success of our fundraising efforts is a direct reflection of the grateful nation that supports U.S. Navy SEALs, Naval Special Warfare support personnel and their families. We are constantly humbled by the generosity of grateful American patriots. People really do care about the sacrifices being made by those who serve and tonights outpouring of support is a wonderful example of that, said Robin King, CEO of the Navy SEAL Foundation.

About the Navy SEAL Foundation

The Navy SEAL Foundation is a 501c3 national non-profit charitable organization committed to Americas most elite warriors, supporting U.S. Navy SEALs, their community and families by empowering and assisting them through challenges and triumphs. The Foundation provides over 30 tailored programs specifically designed to meet the unique needs of Naval Special Warfare (NSW) warriors, veterans, families and families of the fallen. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there has been an unprecedented demand for Special Operations Forces around the globe. SEALs spend up to 270 days away from home each year in the most unforgiving environments and train at an unrelenting pace in order to maintain their ability to execute our nations toughest military missions. Their commitment to our country and the mission is only possible because of the significant personal sacrifices made by them and their families. We believe that they should not face these challenges alone.

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Julia B. Fee Sothebys International Realty today announced that Brad Kimmelman has been named Brokerage Manager for the firms office in Scarsdale, N.Y. Kimmelman previously served as Brokerage Manager for the same companys office in Southport, Conn., which does business as William Pitt Sothebys International Realty.

Kimmelman has been involved in real estate for more than 28 years, working in most

aspects of the business including residential and commercial sales, property management,

marketing and development. He became the manager for the Southport brokerage in 2011, and quickly grew his sales teams profits to ultimately achieve a #2 market share position, a dramatic increase from when he first assumed leadership. Notably, in the summer of 2015 he played an instrumental role in the companys acquisition of the reputable Fairfield County firm Nicholas H. Fingelly Real Estate.

A Westchester County native, Kimmelman grew up in Scarsdale and attended Rye Country Day School in Rye. He stated that he views his new position with Julia B. Fee Sothebys International Realty as a return to his roots.

I am excited to come home to Scarsdale, where I will have the opportunity to lead one of the most proven and exceptional sales forces in Southern Westchester County, said Kimmelman. As brokerage manager, my goal is to provide as much training, encouragement and support to my agents as I can to help them reach their highest potential, and make their careers as profitable and their transactions as seamless as possible.

During his tenure as Southport brokerage manager, Kimmelman served as President Elect of the Greater Fairfield Board of Realtors (GFBOR) and sat on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Association of Realtors (CTR). He has taught a course preparing prospective real estate agents for the Connecticut licensing test, a requirement in the state, and has participated in the companys internal new agent training programs. He has also served on the Development Committee for the CT Challenge, a non-profit that provides assistance and resources for cancer survivors, and has spearheaded company fund-raising efforts in support of the organization. Prior to management, Kimmelman was a top-producing sales agent based in Ridgefield, Conn.

Brad Kimmelman brings to this role an impeccable track record of increasing production levels and market share, combined with an intimate lifelong knowledge of our housing markets in Westchester County, said Paul Breunich, President and CEO of William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sothebys International Realty. I believe he will prove an invaluable resource to our sales force in Scarsdale, and greatly look forward to working with him in his new position.

###

About William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty

Founded in 1949, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty manages a $3.9-billion portfolio with more than 1,000 sales associates in 28 brokerages spanning Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Westchester County, New York. William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty is the largest Sotheby's International Realty(R) affiliate globally and the 28th-largest real estate company by sales volume in the United States. A full-service real estate firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty provides ancillary services including commercial services through its affiliation with Building and Land Technology, a second-generation development company based in Stamford, Connecticut; William Pitt Insurance Services; and an award-winning global relocation division. For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com.

Sotheby's International Realty's worldwide network includes approximately 19,000 sales associates located in approximately 850 offices throughout 65 countries and territories.
Improving Outcomes course workshop

Haag-Streit UK (HS-UK) is pleased to announce two further Improving Outcomes Biometry Courses to take place at Edinburgh Zoo on 24th and 25th November 2016.

The basic Improving Outcomes Biometry Course will take place on Thursday 24th November, followed by an Advanced Course on Friday 25th November. The courses are devised to help both technicians and clinicians, beginners or experienced Ophthalmic Consultants get the most from their biometer.

HS-UK has finalised an exciting programme for these two ever popular courses. The first day will cover Improving Outcomes standard biometry methods and the second will focus on more advanced techniques including an introduction to the Hill RBF Calculator, enabling delegates to attend whichever day is more appropriate for their individual learning requirements.

Speakers for the event are confirmed as; Mr David Sculfor, Consultant Optometrist at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Mr Sathish Srinivasan, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Joint Clinical Director in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital Ayr. Both are widely-recognised as experts in their field. The agenda includes lectures on topics such as; Good biometry practice, TORIC IOL surgery and IOL power calculation.

Each day will include practical, hands-on workshops which will support a range of subjects, including; Editing IOL data, Immersion ultrasound and TORIC IOL planning.

Attendees will be able to claim CPD points for each day of the event (CPD points have been applied for, please note that all previous Improving Outcomes courses were awarded 7.5 CPD points). The price for each course is just 100, which will include lunch at Edinburgh Zoo. Due to the popularity of the previous Improving Outcomes courses it is advised that those wishing to attend should book early to avoid disappointment.

To book your place, visit http://www.haagstreituk.com/improvingoutcomes or for further information please contact Jane Smith on (01279) 456266.
Simply put, lifesaving, short-term aid is not enough.

The global organization Mercy Corps calls on President Obama and other world leaders to take bold action against one of the worlds most intractable challenges: the largest-scale displacement of people since World War II.

Simply put, lifesaving, short-term aid is not enough, says Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Corps. The time is now for President Obama to exert his political muscle to break cycles of violence, alleviate suffering and allow refugees to live productive, dignified lives.

On September 19, the United Nations General Assembly holds an all-day Summit on Refugees and Migrants. The following day President Obama will host a Leaders Summit on Refugees.

We applaud the Obama Administration for its leadership in convening a summit to address the needs of tens of millions of refugees, says Keny-Guyer. Mercy Corps urges the U.S. and partner countries to use this upcoming opportunity in New York to commit to stemming the violence thats driving so many families to flee in the first place.

Specifically, Mercy Corps calls upon world leaders to adopt the following commitments at these summits:

1. Reinvigorate diplomatic efforts to end violence and commit to doubling conflict prevention and mitigation funding.

2. Unlock the economic potential of refugees by announcing an Economic Bridges Initiative in which the U.S. and other countries commit to incentivizing better integration of refugees by host nations.

3. Support adolescent refugees in crisis through a Next Generation Fund, which includes targeted psychosocial support, promotion of life skills and commitments to formal and non-formal educational opportunities.

A new Mercy Corps report highlights examples from Mercy Corps peacebuilding programs, including those in Central African Republic and Jordan, which demonstrate how investments in community-led conflict mitigation can lead to more peaceful communities. Mercy Corps currently implements $75 million in targeted conflict mitigation and prevention activities to stem violence. To view Mercy Corps policy recommendations on these issues, click here.
On October 19, 2016, at the Mary McLeod Bethune Legacy Awards Gala, Senator Arthenia Joyner, an Of Counsel Attorney with Vanguard Attorneys, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The gala celebrates the accomplishments of five individuals who work on creating transformative experiences to help enrich students lives.

Senator Joyner will be joined by Nelson L. Adams, M.D., Jacob F. Bryan, IV, Orlando Ashford, and Rufus Wilson as the 2016 honorees.

This achievement recognizes Senator Joyners long-time hard work and successes including becoming the first black woman to hold the position of The Florida Senate Democratic Leader. She has been a leader in her profession and an advocate for civil rights, championing her position on countless occasions. The leadership roles she has held at the local, state, and national levels have proven to be platforms for her voice to be heard and for her to make a difference.

Senator Joyner has earned this prestigious award through her efforts in the community and to help with ongoing support of Bethune-Cookman University.

At Vanguard Attorneys, we are honored to have Arthenia Joyner as part of our firm. We are well aware of the value and dedication she brings to our team and we are proud of her achievements, including this recognition.

To learn more about the firm, call (813) 737-7361 or visit our website at http://www.vanguardattorneys.com/.
Phoenix FD is like a Swiss Army knife for effects.

Today, Chaos Group announces a major new release of its versatile, all-in-one fluid dynamics plugin, Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max. Frequently used to simulate realistic water, fire, and other fluid effects for multiple television series such as Game of Thrones and The Flash, Phoenix FD has been significantly upgraded for fast-paced productions. With its new FLIP liquid solver and improved smoke and fire solver, Phoenix FD is now more powerful and able to bring more realism to visual effects projects.

Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max has been given a full makeover, with new intuitive controls, presets and GPU-accelerated previews, making it a fast and easy way to tackle tight deadlines. The new Phoenix FD integrates seamlessly into Autodesk 3ds Max and renders with V-Ray, Chaos Groups industry-standard, lighting and rendering solution.

Phoenix FD is like a Swiss Army knife for effects. It can handle everything from flaming arrows and drops of water to erupting volcanoes or an armada of ships, said Svetlin Nikolov, Phoenix FD Team Lead at Chaos Group. Its a handy tool that is fast and easy to use without being overly technical.

"Phoenix FD is our go-to tool for fluid simulations," said Joern Grosshans, VFX Supervisor at Mackevision. "When working on the new season of 'Game of Thrones', we needed the wakes coming off the CG ships to look as realistic as possible. Phoenix FD proved to be reliable, fast, and seamlessly integrated into 3ds Max. It was exactly what we needed."

Highlights of Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max include:

Ocean simulations

 Infinite ocean  Create infinite ocean waves that never repeat.

 Ocean & beach waves  Seamlessly transition from procedural ocean waves to simulated beach waves.

Advanced simulations and controls

 FLIP solver  Enables faster, more realistic liquid simulations for splashes, sprays, foam, mist and waves.

 Improved fire and smoke solver  Realistic smoke and fire with natural rolling motion and fine details can be created without increasing resolution.

 Cascade simulations  Create a series of simulations that trigger and interact with each other.

 Refine existing simulations  Add detail and increase resolution without changing simulation shape or behavior.

 Simulation retiming  Speed up or slow down simulation playback, perfect for slow motion effects.

 Custom emission sources  Use a wide range of emission sources including animated meshes, texture maps, particles and more.

 New forces  Influence simulations with forces like wind, spline follow, and mesh attraction.

Pipeline and compatibility

 Compatibility  Compatible with top industry tools such as Alembic, Krakatoa, Stoke MX and OpenVDB.

Pricing & Availability

Phoenix FD 3.0 is available now for Autodesk 3ds Max and is a free upgrade for all Phoenix FD 2.x customers. A Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max Workstation license is $830 and includes one floating user license and one floating simulation license. Additional simulation licenses are available for $210. Contact sales(at)chaosgroup(dot)com for volume discounts.

For more information, visit http://www.chaosgroup.com/phoenix-fd/3ds-max.

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About Chaos Group

Chaos Group is a worldwide leader in computer graphics technology, helping artists and designers create photoreal imagery and animation for design, television, and feature films. Chaos Group specializes in physically-based rendering and simulation software used daily by top design studios, architectural firms, advertising agencies, and visual effects companies around the globe. Today, the company's research and development in cloud rendering, material scanning, and virtual reality is shaping the future of creative storytelling and digital design. Founded in 1997, Chaos Group is privately owned with offices in Sofia, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Seoul, and Tokyo. For more information, visit: chaosgroup.com.
Dreyfus Sotheby's International Realty page on Juwai.com Hosting on both sides of the Great Firewall exposes Silicon Valley real estate to affluent Chinese buyers.

Dreyfus Sothebys International Realty has announced a new alliance with Juwai.com that will enable the Silicon Valley real estate brand to reach even more affluent Chinese buyers. Juwai.com is one of the worlds most prominent real estate websites with over two million monthly visitors. As a truly international brand, Sothebys International Realty now has the most global representation on Juwai.com, displaying luxury listings from 65 countries and territories.

With host servers sitting behind the so-called Great Firewall, Juwai.com avoids the problems that externally hosted sites experience with blocking and long page load times. One of Juwai.coms key advantages is that it is hosted on both sides of Chinas internet firewall, so its listings are visible online both within China and outside of China, notes Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer for Sothebys International Realty Affiliates.

Michael Dreyfus, broker owner and CEO of Dreyfus Sothebys International Realty, is excited about the new program. Weve listed properties on Juwai.com in the past, he says. This new alliance puts more of our listings in front of Juwai.coms audience of high net worth Chinese international property buyers.

Chinese Real Estate Buyers

China is already the second-largest source of visits to sothebysrealty.com, trailing only the United States, and accounts for one out of every 10 visitors. Chinese investors favor real estate as an asset class. Chinese purchasers acquired at least US$350 billion of U.S. real estate between 2010 and 2015[i]. 69 percent of Chinese purchase on an all-cash basis[ii]. Between 2009 and 2015, Chinese buyers went from accounting for 10 percent to 28 percent of all foreign residential real estate acquisitions in the U.S.[iii]

Looking forward, Chinese buyers are expected to continue purchasing international real estate at a significant rate. The best estimate is that they will spend at least US$218 billion on existing U.S. real estate between 2016 and 2020  with investments in the rest of the world on a similar scale[iv].

Details of the Alliance

The Sothebys International Realty brand alliance with Juwai.com includes the following components:



Listing display: Sothebys International Realty property listings will appear on Juwai.com and in its real estate search results.

First responders: Juwai.coms Chinese-language team, located in mainland China, allows them to respond to consumer inquiries in real time, translate inquiries into English and forward them to the Sothebys International Realty sales associate who has the listing.

Brand page: A Sothebys International Realty brand overview page carries information about the brand, a contact form and the networks listings  all in one place.

Banner advertising: Sothebys International Realty banner ads will run on the Juwai.com homepage, promoting the companys brand page and listings to Juwai.coms audience.

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About Dreyfus Sothebys International Realty (dreyfussir.com)  Dreyfus Sothebys International Realty is a leading real estate brokerage specializing in sales and purchases of homes in the mid-Peninsula/Silicon Valley area. The brokerage offers exclusive Sothebys International Realty marketing, advertising and referral services designed to attract well-qualified buyers to the firms property listings. Property listings are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website, as well as on the firms local website, dreyfussir.com.

The Sothebys International Realty network currently has more than 19,000 affiliated independent sales associates located in approximately 850 offices in 65 countries and territories worldwide. Each office is independently owned and operated.
BenchPrep Selected for Prestigious Tyton Growth50 List Companies selected for this year's Tyton Growth50 are exemplars for understanding the transition from early- to growth and later-stage businesses, making that transition successfully, and achieving impact at scale."

BenchPrep, an enterprise SaaS learning platform company, has been named to the 2016 Tyton Growth50 list. The list recognizes innovative organizations achieving impact at scale through a combination of strong financial performance, market awareness and adoption, and demonstrated customer outcomes across the preK12, postsecondary, corporate training, and consumer education markets. As one of the 50 organizations selected this year, the achievement marks a significant milestone in BenchPreps rapid growth.

Based in Chicago, BenchPrep is on a mission to help learners achieve educational and professional success. Since its inception in 2009, the company has helped more than 3 million learners worldwide learn better and faster through a digital platform that combines data science, innovative instructional design, and usability engineering to improve user engagement and success.

Earlier this year, ACT, Inc. engaged BenchPrep to launch a digital learning program aimed at improving college readiness, access, opportunity, and success for low-income students. The partnership offers low-income students free access to the ACT Online PrepTM program, providing an estimated value of $27.9 million per academic year. Several best-in-class education organizations, including McGraw-Hill Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hobsons, the HR Certification Institute and Infusion Nurses Society, also use BenchPrep to help engage learners and improve outcomes.

We are thankful for and honored by this recognition. At BenchPrep, we are committed to helping learners improve outcomes at scale by delivering personalized, game-based and pedagogically robust digital learning experiences, BenchPrep co-founder and CEO Ashish Rangnekar said. Our place on the 2016 Tyton Growth50 List is testament to the strength and effectiveness of our learning platform and the dedication of our team to the product and its users.

Each year, experts on the Tyton Partners team review nominated companies in the education space, evaluating each against the Tyton Growth Framework to narrow the field. That analysis is used to select the 50 companies that best exemplify the impact, engagement, awareness, and sustainability necessary to have lasting impact.

Early-stage investment in education remains strong, but we often lose sight of what happens to these companies after initial funding, said Adam Newman, co-founder and Managing Partner at Tyton Partners. Companies selected for this years Tyton Growth50 are exemplars for understanding the transition from early- to growth and later-stage businesses, making that transition successfully, and achieving impact at scale across a variety of segments of the education market.

Following their selection, BenchPrep will participate in a Chicago forum organized by Tyton Partners on October 6. The forum will bring together Growth50 finalists past and present, their investors and key advisors, and a select group of industry influencers helping to shape the education sector today. Tyton will release more information on the event at a later date.

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About BenchPrep

BenchPrep is an enterprise SaaS learning platform for education and training companies to create and deliver personalized digital learning programs across multiple devices including web, tablet and mobile. BenchPrep is helping millions of people all around the world learn better and faster by leveraging the power of technology, data science, usability engineering, and innovative instructional design models. The worlds leading education organizations, including ACT, Hobsons, McGraw Hill Education, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and HR Certification Institute, use BenchPrep to help learners improve outcomes.

For more information or to request a demo, please visit http://www.benchprep.com.

About Tyton Partners

Tyton Partners is the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector. The firm has offices in Boston and Stamford (CT), and an experienced team of bankers and consultants who deliver a unique spectrum of services from mergers and acquisitions and capital markets access to strategy and market development services that helps companies, organizations, and investors navigate the complexities of the education, media, and information markets. Tyton Partners leverages a deep foundation of transactional and advisory experience and unparalleled level of global relationships to make its clients aspirations a reality and catalyze innovation in the sector. For more information visit http://www.tytonpartners.com or follow us @tytonpartners.